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Politics & Government
Lexington mayor says pension costs have 'spiraled out of control'
FRANKFORT — For every $5 the city of Lexington spends, $1 goes to public pension obligations, proof that "our pension costs have spiraled out of control," Mayor Jim Gray said at a news conference Monday.
"For Lexington and Kentucky, if ever there was a 'going out of business' model, this is it," Gray said. "Our pensions are unsustainable. There is no more kicking the can down the road."
Gray, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and other local government leaders spoke to urge the 2013 General Assembly to pass pension reform, which could include a reduction in retirement benefits and a massive infusion of extra state cash into the Kentucky Retirement Systems. The various pension funds of KRS have a $13.8 billion unfunded liability.
The 30-workday legislative session begins Tuesday, but it's unclear whether the legislature would seriously consider pension reform during this session, largely because no one has identified where to get the several hundred million dollars a year needed to shore up the pension funds. An overhaul of state taxes proposed by a task force last year could raise some or all of the money, but the fate of tax reform also is uncertain in the 2013 session.
"We're hearing a uniform interest in pension reform," Fischer said. "Nobody has come up with the magic formula of how to pay for it, which is obviously what the challenge is. The desire is there. The method is what the great discussion will be centered on."
Senate Republican caucus chairman Dan Seum said it was possible that state government could afford much higher pension contributions without too much pain simply because the economy is growing and tax revenue should rise with it. Seum, R-Louisville, attended the mayors' news conference.
But a report published last week said it's unrealistic for Kentucky to count on "natural revenue growth" to make larger pension payments. State budget officials forecast revenue growth of $213 million this fiscal year. Even if none of that money went to other spending needs, such as education, it might not be enough to satisfy the pension funds, said the report by the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy in Berea.
"There's no getting around the need for additional revenues through tax reform, including perhaps a dedicated funding source for the pension payment," the center's authors wrote.
In the meantime, skyrocketing pension obligations are squeezing out other priorities, from police to playgrounds, the mayors said Monday. State lawmakers have failed to adequately fund state pensions, dragging down the entire retirement system that serves more than 337,000 state workers, local government employees and state police, they said.
Among the other measures they said would help, the mayors embraced proposals approved last year by a legislative task force. These include repealing a law requiring annual cost-of-living raises for public pensions and placing new public workers in hybrid cash-balance plans that are similar to private 401(k) accounts but with a promised return of at least 4 percent. Presently, KRS guarantees lifetime pensions to public workers based on their highest years of salary.
In Lexington, the state's second-largest city, spending on pensions jumped from 6 percent of the city's outlay in 2000 to 20 percent in 2012, Gray said. That includes Lexington's contributions to KRS for its employees enrolled there and the cost of a separately managed but similarly struggling plan for its police and firefighters.
If the pension obligation keeps growing, Lexington will be able to afford little else, Gray said.
"These are real numbers," he said. "These are not abstractions. They are very real numbers. And if you were in business and looking at your income and balance sheet, you would say, 'This is insane.'"


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Ministry: Hope Beyond Bridges
Need: Volunteers needed to cook & serve
Please arrive no later than 9:00AM for Cooking and 10:30AM for Serving. Park in the school parking lot off Klein Church road rather than the Family Life Center parking lot off Spring Cypress road. Cooking is generally 9AM to 11AM. Serving is generally 10:30AM to 2:30PM
When: Saturday, February 17th from 9AM - 2:30PM
Where: We meet in the cafeteria of Trinity Lutheran School located at 18926 Klein Church Road, TX 77379.

subset: commoncrawl


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Slipping, sliding, gliding through the cool, clear water of their home, the three friends play all day long.
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Editor's note: We used Cover It Live for this event, so if you missed the live blog, you can still replay it in the embedded component below. Replaying the event will give you all the live updates along with commentary from our readers and a few CNET editors. For those of you who just want the updates, we've included them in regular text here. To get the key points from today's announcements, you can check out our summary of what got announced, in our roundup here.
Google's Android Day managed to get upstaged by another announcement: Google TV.
Earlier today, we provided the live coverage below of the second day of Google I/O earlier on Thursday. As expected the keynote focused heavily on Google's smartphone operating system, with references to Adobe's Flash player and shots at Apple's strategy galore. But Google TV--an Android adaptation that puts regular television and the Web in one user interface--stole the show, complete with support from some of the consumer electronics industry's biggest players.
8:23 a.m.: Welcome back! Day 2 of Google I/O is almost ready to begin, as the Running of the Geeks takes over the third floor of the Moscone Center. It's expected to be all Android, all the time, and I think it's safe to confirm those Smart TV rumors: Intel CEO Paul Otellini is front and center.
8:28 a.m.: The place is amazingly full for an 8:30 a.m. event after the conference party the night before. Your comments are flying in fast and furious, hang on a moment as Josh gets up and running. To answer a few questions, it's not clear whether 2.2 will be available today, perhaps for the N1, but carriers tend to control the pace of the updates for other phones.
8:29 a.m.: Josh manages to get our Sprint card software up and running on his Mac, but only after Boot Camping to Windows. "Windows 1, Mac 0," Josh says, kicking off the first fanboy battle of the day.
8:34 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): Danny Sullivan from Search Engine Land says Eric Schmidt is at the keynote. Schmidt would have to be there given Otellini's attendance, otherwise there would be a protocol parity violation and the universe would implode.
8:35 a.m.: Lights going down...
8:36 a.m.: Vic Gundotra comes back out, hoping people enjoyed the party last night. 24,000 people watched the stream on YouTube yesterday, Vic says. He's going to start with a story: his first day at Google.
8:37 a.m.: That first day, Vic met Andy Rubin, the head of the Android project. At that point Android was a secret, Vic says, and after Andy's pitch Vic expressed skepticism: why does the world need another operating system? Andy's response? 1. It's critically important to provide a free open-source operating system, so hardware makers can build whatever they want.
8:38 a.m.: 2.: Rubin said that if Google didn't act, "we faced a draconian future, where one man, one carrier, one device would be our future," Vic says, with a picture of George Orwell's 1984 book. The clear allusion is to Apple and Steve Jobs, and developers respond with a healthy cheer.
8:39 a.m.: Vic says Android partners have made over 60 compatible devices, although he doesn't say anything about how fragmented those different devices might be. 21 companies are making Android devices in 48 countries on 59 carriers.
8:40 a.m.: Last year, Android partners were selling 30,000 units a day. In February, they were selling 60,000 a day. As of this point, 100,000 Android phones are being activated a day. Android is now second in U.S. smartphone sales, second only to RIM. According to AdMob, Android phones are first in Web usage.
8:42 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): I'll be interested to see Android incursions into feature phone market, not just iPhone-class devices.
8:42 a.m.: Vic says that Android users have navigated over 1 billion miles, although I'm not sure how they know that. "There are some who say people don't use Google search on smartphones," Vic said, in the second shot at Steve Jobs in 10 minutes. People are searching on smartphones with Google, Vic says.
8:42 a.m.: So how will Google and its partners keep this going? With 20 demos! Seriously, 20?
8:43 a.m.: Vic officially announces Android 2.2, code-named Froyo. It has five pillars that we're about to run through.
8:45 a.m.: Speed is the first. Android is built on the Dalvik virtual machine. "We have big dreams for Android, and part of those dreams means Android will go to new places with new chip architectures," Vic says, 15 feet away from Intel CEO Paul Otellini. Froyo will ship with a just-in-time compiler that will speed up application performance by 2x to 5x, Vic says. They're about to demo a game, running on the same hardware but with one phone on Froyo, and one on Eclair. The Froyo phone can maintain 40 frames a second because of the compiler.
8:46 a.m.: The second area is the enterprise: and those people want specific features, Vic said. There are 20 new enterprise features, and one of them is Exchange-friendly technology: auto-discovery, security polices, and GAL lookup. These phones are also getting remote wipe.
8:47 a.m.: Developers will have new services to use: such as an application data backup API. Android backs up applications when moving to a new phone, but not the data. Froyo will allow developers to move data with new applications.
8:49 a.m.: Shot number 3 at Apple: Google announces a cloud-to-messaging API that "is not designed to compromise" for the lack of multitasking. Vic demos the API, showing how a desktop in Google Maps can send directions to his phone with an "Android intent." That's not a text: it kicks the device into navigation mode automatically once it receives that intent. The crowd likes it.
8:49 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): Did Vic just say "boom"? I've heard that on another company's keynotes...
8:49 a.m.: "That's how you do a cloud-to-device API," Vic says. He brings up another example where you can send an article you're reading on your desktop to your phone, which automatically brings up the article on your phone without having to press any other keys. "We can't wait to see what you're going to do with this API."
8:50 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): Cloud-to-device messaging API in Android reminds me of WebSockets in HTML land. I wonder if it's related. It'll certainly help once Chrome OS arrives.
8:50 a.m.: "You're going to love this," Vic says: Tethering and portable hotspot.
8:51 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): It's fitting they're demoing this with an iPad.
8:51 a.m.: "You should be able, at the platform level, to enable tethering." Android devices will be portable hotspots, and we're getting a demo: a Nexus One enabled as a hotspot.
8:52 a.m.: Now we're moving onto the browser. The most popular thing people use smartphones for? Phone calls, text messages, and Web browsing. That means Android has to constantly improve the browser, and Google has improved the performance by 2x to 3x: Froyo is getting the V8 technology from Chrome.
8:53 a.m.: Demo time: A Froyo machine, an Eclair machine, and an iPad. Guess which one is going to look bad. They are running benchmarking tests on all three machines. They start the iPad first, just for kicks, and believe it or not, its browser is slower than the Android machines.
8:53 a.m.: This keynote so far is one big running joke at Apple's expense.
8:54 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): Which means we're probably never going to see Google Nav on the iPhone...
8:55 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): I wonder when Google will brand the Android browser as Chrome, like Apple did from the start with Safari on iPhone. Google is usually pretty smart about brand equity.
8:55 a.m.: "Froyo has the world's fastest mobile browser," Vic says. They're working on ways to get more capabilities that are usually reserved for native applications and get those into Web applications, like the camera or accelerometer. Google will demo some of the more advanced browser features not available in Froyo. They demo a Web maps application that can rotate with the accelerometer.
8:55 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): Funny you should say that Stephen, b/c the current Android browser icon looks like Mozilla's minefield.
8:56 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): I wanted that orientation feature in the Nexus One I was navigating with two days ago. Had to hold the phone backwards when I was walking around.
8:56 a.m.: What about uploading pictures to Google Buzz through the camera? The demo gods fail Vic this time, but the idea is to let Web applications access the camera.
8:57 a.m.: Mobile devices should be platforms on which people use voice input more often, simply because of the limited input options. Demo time again, as Google demonstrates the voice search capability with a long query: Pictures of Barack Obama with the French president at the G8 summit. It works, as Vic channels Steve with a "Boom!"
8:58 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): Voice search in Froyo looks like it starts up a bit faster, and Google has made the whole interface much larger and finger friendly.
8:59 a.m.: Voice recognition is coming in more and more languages, but the next step is understanding human intentions, Vic says. "Call 5th floor restaurant," for example, triggers the dialer. Google manages to get the Buzz Web app running again briefly before it crashes, returning again to the speech capabilities. As with the camera and accelerometer, Google wants to make it so Web apps can access the voice recognition software, demoing an English to French translation service.
9:00 a.m.: Vic formally announces support for Flash 10.1, in the least surprising development of the day. "Turns out people on the Internet use Flash."
9:01 a.m.: Vic relates a story about how his daughter couldn't access her favorite Nickelodeon site because it runs in Flash, but she could on Vic's Android device. "This is what openness means."
9:02 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): Note that just as Google is supporting Flash Player 10.1 in Android--no announcement of actually building it in--Adobe is adding support for Google's VP8 code into Flash Player in the next year. The two companies are very buddy-buddy these days.
9:02 a.m.: We're now moving onto the Android Market. Users are installing more than 40 apps on Android devices, Vic says, and users want to search within apps and move to removable storage. The search function on the Android home page can now search applications as well, finding a Safeway transaction within the Mint Android application by typing "safe."
9:04 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): The YouTube stream is working for me and some others--might be a local issue.
9:04 a.m.: People want to move apps to the SD card, Vic says. Froyo will allow this to happen in a secure way, and in a way where the user doesn't have to worry about it. Back to demos: Matt the demo guy moves Need for Speed from the device to the SD card, where it can still be launched and played.
9:05 a.m.: Updating applications has been improved, which developers like. "I'm kind of embarrassed you felt you had to clap there," Vic says. Android developers will now be able to set their applications to update automatically.
9:06 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): The auto-update idea is very Googley. Chrome updates itself with no user intervention, as do Chrome extensions. Google likes it: says it's just like with Web apps.
9:06 a.m.: Matt the demo guy starts an app called "Crashes" which, well, crashes. It's an error-reporting exercise to demonstrate how error-reporting will now work for Android developers: they'll get the stack trace of a bug that lets them know exactly what went wrong. Developers really like that one.
9:08 a.m.: So what's next for the Android Market? They are showing off an Android Market that's PC browser-based, where you can browse, add reviews, and link your Android devices with your account. The market shows you all your Android devices associated with the account, and lets you download apps right from the store. Shot number 93,984 of the morning at Apple involves the App Store purchase process and the need to connect your iPhone directly to your Mac or PC. Android devices will now be able to download applications over the air directly from the PC or Mac.
9:08 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): Tom--you missed a couple. It was Apple potshot No. 93,986.
9:08 a.m.: What's next for the Market? MUSIC. Android devices can now purchase and download music from the Android Market, over the air.
9:09 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): And the upcoming version of Android Marketplace on the Web will finally get a search box!
9:09 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): Basically, Google is working to reproduce iTunes abilities with just a browser, no iTunes.
9:10 a.m.: What about people who already built iTunes libraries? Google is planning to let users run software on their home systems to let non-DRM music run on Android devices. They're demoing an iTunes library, but first they have to hang up the demo call that really called the restaurant. "Magically" all your music is available to your device but with a catch: as a stream.
9:10 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): This is legitimately awesome--as long as you have an Internet connection.
9:11 a.m.: Now, we're going to talk about advertising. "It turns out that we know a little bit about advertising," Vic says.
9:12 a.m.: Google has been providing advertising for 10 years, and in order to provide a healthy ad ecosystem, and you need advertisers. "We're not working with a handful of partners and charging them a million dollars," Vic says. Google says you need flexible advertising formats, and that advertising needs to be measured.
9:13 a.m.: "It turns out that we have some tools you might have heard of," Vic says, reminding people that Google has AdSense and DoubleClick. Google is also open to innovation in advertising, he says. iAd clearly has Google's attention.
9:15 a.m.: Google is currently running a beta project: AdSense for Mobile Ads. Ads are tricky in mobile devices because the screen is small, although you can do tricks like hooking up directly to the Android marketplace, banner ads, text ads, and new for today: expandable ad format. "Users would like to stay within the context of the application they are using," Vic says, consciously or unconsciously echoing Steve Jobs' iAd presentation a month ago.
9:16 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): By the way, the official Google blog post on Android 2.2 aka Froyo now is live: http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/05/android-22-and-developers-goodies.html
9:16 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): Looking at this video ad with a player, it looks like the Froyo update adds a quality selector button to the YouTube player. That's a nice touch, as you currently have to toggle a two-level-deep contextual menu to switch between low- and high-quality levels.
9:17 a.m.: Vic is trying to make the point that different advertisers will need different ad formats. He's demoing the click-to-call option that Google has been using for a while. They're now showing the expandable format, which can incorporate Maps, call to click, or other formats right within the application without having to launch the browser. Vic also shows off how DoubleClick can allow developers to serve "the most relevant ad to the user: sometimes from Google, sometimes not."
9:18 a.m.: More information on the new Google Ads can be found at google.com/mobileads. Developers are getting into the beta project, and will get a $100 credit for setting up ads in their applications.
9:19 a.m.: Now, we're onto devices, highlighting the newly released Sprint HTC Evo 4G. We're running down the spec list, highlighting the screen size and 4G network, the kickstand, and the 8MP camera.
9:19 a.m.: Google is giving away Sprint Evos to everybody at the conference. They like that.
9:20 a.m.: "Those of you who are watching on YouTube, I'm sorry. Remember to register next year," he says.
9:21 a.m.: "Thank you for supporting Android," Vic says. "Thank you for voting on the side of openness and choice. It's halftime, Vic says, and we're about to see where Google is going next for Android. Rishi Chandra, project lead for "a new initiative," comes up on stage. "I'm going to introduce you to Google TV: a new platform that we believe will change the future of television."
9:22 a.m.: First, however, Google has to tell us why TV sucks today. Americans spend 5 hours a day in front of the television, and advertisers spend $70 billion on television advertising. Worldwide, 4 billion people watch television.
9:22 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): @Scott, nope--no date was given. Yet.
9:23 a.m.: "People just love television. TV just works." It's a pretty brainless exercise, as we all know, and the basic format of television hasn't really changed over the years. But more and more people are getting entertainment from mobile devices and PCs, based on their connections to the Web.
9:24 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): @Scott from Google blog: "Android 2.2 will be here soon, and some devices will get the update in the coming weeks. I invite application developers to download the new SDK and tools and test your applications today."
9:25 a.m.: The Web hasn't really made it to the TV, Chandra said. The PC industry has certainly tried over the years, but it just hasn't happened. So you're left with awkward compromises: a family huddled around a laptop, for example. "Video should be consumed on the biggest and brightest screen in your house. And that's your TV." He notes that many people have tried to make this work, but there's three reasons why it hasn't worked.
9:25 a.m.: 1. They try to dumb down the Web for TV. You're essentially re-creating the Web: "It's WAP all over again," Chandra says, eliciting knowing groans from the mobile-oriented audience.
9:26 a.m.: 2. These systems are closed, and 3. they make you choose between TV and Web, toggling the "input" button. "If you give a user a choice between Web and TV, they're going to choose TV: it's the experience they know."
9:27 a.m.: Google's strategy is to make TV and the Web better, and the plan is Google TV. The tagline: Where TV meets Web, and Web meets TV.
9:27 a.m.: Google's pitch is to improve findability, give more control over what you watch, make existing content more interesting, and make your TV more than a TV. Demo time.
9:29 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): I was sold at better search. I am having bad flashbacks of trying to use my Comcast box's search tool to find a show.
9:29 a.m.: Vincent Dureau, technical director for the project, is going to lead the demo. They flip on NBC Bay Area, flipping through a bunch of channels. So far, nothing big, but Googlers are using a special remote control: you'll need a special remote to use this, adding to your living room collection of 26 remotes.
9:31 a.m.: TV Guide is the tried and true program-discovery method, but Google wanted to make the process more like the Web. They're adding a search box to Google TV, bringing good old Google search to television. Vincent's wireless keyboard isn't working, and he switches to another backup television? While we wait, we're watching Will Farrell funnel beer.
9:32 a.m.: Finally, it comes up. A search bar drops down from the top of the screen, resembling the Android search bar. It can search both television and the Web, Chandra says, trying a test query for MSNBC. That brings up television listings for MSNBC as well as Web searches generated by that term.
9:34 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): I've yet to see a keyboard control that looks like it would fit into the classic living-room entertainment milieu.
9:34 a.m.: You can search for specific shows, and link the service to your DVR to search that as well. Another demo attempt is derailed by the connectivity issues that surfaced during yesterday's keynote, and tension is building. Finally, Google manages to find a working box, only to lose connectivity again.
9:37 a.m.: Vincent has to move around to try and get a better signal. He's using a wireless keyboard that seems to be the main problem, in that this place is lit up like a Christmas tree with wireless signals. Unfortunately for Google, we're getting a sense of why television is called "a vast wasteland," as the Today Show moves between bizarre Nicholas Cage quotes and Octomom updates.
9:37 a.m.: Google is asking attendees to turn off their cell phones, as the interference has ground this demonstration to a halt. Awkward.
9:37 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): There ought to be some company that offers keynote demo rehearsal stress testing. They could have a giant box that spews out 2.4GHz radio noise and charge $1,000 an hour. Maybe a big unshielded microwave oven.
9:38 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): Google TV search was pulling up apps too. Maybe this will be tied into the Chrome Apps store unveiled yesterday?
9:38 a.m.: Finally, the search box comes back up on the screen, as an embarrassed Chandra resumes the demo. The search box pulls up content from both the TV and the Web, showing that episodes of House are available on Fox, USA, and Hulu.
9:39 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): @Josh, well, they did say bringing the Web to TV... An app store would be handy for YouTube pay-per-view.
9:40 a.m.: "To a user, it doesn't really matter where I get my favorite content." They select a specific episode of House, which gives the user the choice of recording a future airing of that show or watching it on Amazon Video or Hulu. If you pick Amazon video, it takes you directly to Amazon where you can play the trailer or download episodes. While that happens in the background, the episode starts playing as it appears on the TV.
9:42 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): Interface looks a bit like Windows Media Center. Just sayin'.
9:42 a.m.: The idea is to avoid having to switch manually between "TV mode" and "Web mode." You can also browse for content within the Google TV software, bringing up your Netflix queue, for example. It brings up your instant queue and suggestions. This isn't new to anybody using set-top boxes connected to the Internet, but the difference with Google's pitch is that you didn't have to switch the input to your Xbox or other device.
9:43 a.m.: There's a ton of video on the Internet, Chandra says, everything from YouTube cat videos to ESPN highlights. Google TV users can browse to YouTube.com, and play any video available there. Switching sites and switching channels is basically the same process, he says. Video content is "unlimited," he says, and can be very personalized.
9:44 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): That volume control slider in the YouTube-on-TV demo looked exactly like the volume control slider on my Android phone.
9:44 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): That's Windows Media Center...look familiar?
9:45 a.m.: Chandra's two-year-old son watches Sesame Street, but he only likes Elmo. Chandra can search for Elmo clips that he has bookmarked, or directly from Sesame Street's site. He brings up Elmo's "Alphabet Rap." "How can you not love Elmo?" Chandra wonders.
9:47 a.m.: "I just created my own episode of Sesame Street," he says. Upon switching back to TV, ironic Today Show clips continue to play, highlighting Pakistan's decision to block Google's budding rival, Facebook. The search box can also find archived clips, such as "2010 State of the Union." Within the search box, you can get video results, text results, and find the video directly from Whitehouse.gov. "I can access the content I want to whenever I want," says Chandra, who must not like watching sports live on television.
9:48 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): This Web-on-the-TV demo seems like a good opportunity to talk about Flash support. Even if Web developers take Steve Jobs' memo to heart and ditch Flash tomorrow, there's a lot of Flash-hosted video out there on the Web today.
9:48 a.m.: The search box provides a way to link the big-screen TV with the reams of Web content: "a million channels." Chandra says he's actually a sports nut, meaning he's maybe about to address the licensing issues inherent in sports television consumption.
9:50 a.m.: He simulates the Suns-Lakers game from last night and shows how you can do a picture-in-picture view that layers Web content such as box scores or fantasy sports data on the same screen. "This has totally transformed how I watch sports," Chandra says. Other companies have tried to offer these kinds of sports-related widgets on the past on televisions, namely Intel and Microsoft's ill-fated Viiv and Windows Media Center projects.
9:51 a.m.: It's more than just video: the TV would also be good for music, games, and social-networking sites. Chandra goes back to the Google TV Home screen and brings up bookmarks, which can be used to bookmark channels or Web sites, side by side. He heads over to Flickr.
9:52 a.m.: The best photo viewer in your house is your big screen TV, he says. That's only possible now, however, since you can access any Web site from your TV with Google TV. You can get Facebook games, too, or Pandora. Or shopping sites. Or...
9:53 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): Logitech's statement on Google TV partnership: http://www.logitech.com/google/GoogleTV "We'll be providing the full product details for our Google TV companion box later this fall....We're creating a system that includes a companion box--an external device that connects to your TV through an HDMI port--and an intuitive controller that's been designed to take full advantage of everything the Google TV platform offers."
9:53 a.m.: "We can now create an experience which is the most comprehensive, personalized, and accessible entertainment experience out there." So far, no details on partners, availability, pricing, or system requirements, or, everything you need to know to make a purchase decision.
9:55 a.m.: Vincent gets into the hardware: there are going to be TV sets, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes. They will work with existing cable and satellite boxes, he says. There are four specs: Wi-Fi and Ethernet, HDMI connectors, an I/R sensor, and a "strong processor." There will also be a GPU, but no specifics yet.
9:56 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): This sounds like pretty high-end hardware to me. In other words, not cheap.
9:56 a.m.: Google TV input devices will be required: a keyboard and a pointing device. However, you'll also be able to use your Android phone as a remote control. You can connect over Wi-Fi, and you can use voice search to search your television.
9:57 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): The voice search feature will be nice for people who don't want to have a keyboard sitting around in their living room. Not so useful for channel surfing though.
9:58 a.m.: Different people in the house can connect multiple remotes, therefore, to the same Google TV box, which seems like a divorce catalyst just waiting to happen. You can find videos on your Android devices and push them directly to the TV, as Chandra shows us a clip of Conan O'Brien's recent visit to the Googleplex.
9:58 a.m.: Developers will be able to build their own applications and devices through an API, Vincent says.
9:59 a.m.: On the software side, Google TV runs on Android 2.1, and Google will upgrade over time. The browser, as might be expected, is Google Chrome. And the other component? Flash 10.1.
10:00 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): What happens when the TV audio track commands your Android phone to change TV channels? New idea for advertisers. :)
10:02 a.m.: By using Android, that means you'll be able to run Android apps on your television. The search box can also find applications through the Android Market, putting the mobile version on the Google TV screen. You can then search within the Android market and open applications like Pandora, running the mobile app on the TV. One interesting note: the application does not expand to fill the screen, meaning that Google has just introduced another possible fragmentation screen for Android apps.
10:03 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): Official blog post about Google TV: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/announcing-google-tv-tv-meets-web-web.html
10:04 a.m.: Brittany Bohnet comes up to demonstrate the desktop-based Android market, and how you can purchase applications for Google TV through the market. She downloads a Twitter app, and the app appears on the applications screen of Google TV.
10:05 a.m.: Developers now have other ways to get their applications out there, and will have two application frameworks for Google TV: Web apps and Android apps. An SDK won't be available until after the products ship, a date Google has still not outlined.
10:05 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): This news would seem to bode well for Android tablets, yes? Big, widescreen displays with easy-to-click buttons.
10:07 a.m.: Many applications and sites will run on Google TV as-is, but Google plans to show developers how to optimize their sites for Google TV. Google will also release APIs for Google TV applications. YouTube is getting in on the act, having designed a version of its site called YouTube Leanback, a way to make YouTube easier to see at the "10-foot" experience that those in the biz call the TV experience.
10:08 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): I wonder if they'll push this over to game consoles, as they've already had a living room version of YouTube available for a while: http://news.cnet.com/youtube-launches-tv-friendly-site-for-consoles/
10:08 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): Google says this about Google TV availabilty on the blog: "These devices will go on sale this fall, and will be available at Best Buy stores nationwide."
10:09 a.m.: You can get recommendations from friends, and suggestions from YouTube. It's also sorted by default channels, and you can customize channels. Before, you had to give up control of your experience, but this service allows you to put more control over the full-screen experience. Expect to hear more about that in several weeks.
10:10 a.m.: The NBA has developed a site for Google TV. NBA.com created a new user experience for the Google TV product. They show off highlights of the Suns-Lakers game from last night, so we'll get to see who the Celtics will eventually steamroll in the finals.
10:12 a.m.: You can also set your DVR to record Game 3 of that series through the application, although they can't show us that because they're trying to do everything wireless, and believe it or not, it's hard to get 5,000 people to turn off the multiple wireless devices they have in their pockets.
10:13 a.m.: Brittany is back to show off how Google Listen will work on the Google TV devices, although, because of the wireless issues, it's not working. It finally arrives: it's a podcast RSS reader that will now have videos in it as well, and has therefore been renamed "Google Listen and Watch."
10:16 a.m.: "Live HD video podcast right on your television." This lets you sync subscriptions across devices, and you can search within the Listen app from the search bar for specific podcasts. Another application was developed by an engineer who moved to Google recently but who's wife doesn't speak English, so she doesn't understand American television. So he created a Google Translate application for Google TV, sort of a combination of the Google Translate service and the auto-captions recently introduced in YouTube.
10:19 a.m.: Chandra comes back on stage to talk about "partners and timelines." This idea has a lot of potential, he says, because the TV experience has been closed and fragmented. This could help create a new category of devices that are open to developers and users. "Our goal is to have the same impact on the TV experience that the smartphone had on the mobile experience."
10:19 a.m.: The Google TV program will be open-sourced into Android and Chrome streams, he said.
10:20 a.m.: Google has partnered to deliver three Google TV devices: The first is from Sony, as reported over the last few weeks. They're going to launch a line of TVs and Blu-ray players. Logitech is also on board, launching a "companion box" to integrated Google TV with your current system, and Logitech being Logitech, they'll create peripherals. And Intel's Atom chipset is the power.
10:20 a.m.: Coming in fall 2010.
10:21 a.m.: Google has also extended its partnership with Dish Network for this project. Dish subscribers will have an enhanced version of this service. Best Buy, as Shankland noted above, will distribute the devices.
10:22 a.m.: Developers can start optimizing their sites now, but the SDKs won't be available until "early 2011" and the open-source part won't happen until later in that year.
10:22 a.m.: Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, finally makes an appearance.
10:23 a.m. (Josh Lowensohn): Chairs are coming out, too. This is going to be a panel.
10:24 a.m.: 20 year ago, Schmidt heard pitches for electronic television. 10 years ago, PC companies tried to integrate this, he said. "We've been waiting a long, long time to make this happen." It took a lot of things to make this happen, such as the development of the Web, fast processors, and other technology. It's been harder to marry old technology and new technology than the new tech guys thought, Schmidt said.
10:25 a.m.: Schmidt brings up Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel and a Google board member. Also here are Sir Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony; Jerry Quindlen, CEO of Logitech; Charlie Ergen, CEO of Dish Network; and Brian Dunn, CEO of Best Buy. Last but not least, Shantanu Narayen,CEO of Adobe. That's a panel of heavy hitters.
10:27 a.m.: Schmidt asks Otellini why the Atom processor is so cool (basically). Otellini says that the chip is actually a separate version of Atom, with specialized circuitry for television devices, like HD video encoding and decoding. So it's not just a Netbook motherboard we're talking about. Otellini said this was one of the uses that Intel had in mind for Atom all along.
10:28 a.m.: Schmidt jokes with Narayen about the recent tiff between Apple and Adobe, asking him why Flash is so important. Narayen says that it's all about engaging experiences on the Web, and it's all about getting that content and applications to any device. "This is about trying to create family harmony," he says.
10:30 a.m.: Schmidt's channeling his inner Charlie Rose here, moving on to ask Narayen if there's anything special in Flash 10.1 that makes this possible. Narayen says Adobe tweaked the product to improve battery life.
10:31 a.m.: Stringer is next: Schmidt wonders if people are going to go out and buy new televisions because of this? Stringer calls it "thrilling," confirming that he'll have televisions out and ready for the holiday season.
10:33 a.m.: Stringer points out that Sony Ericcson "dominates" in Japan, prompting Schmidt to remind Stringer not to use the word "dominant," but rather "significant market share," as Schmidt and Otellini dissolve into giggles.
10:35 a.m.: This is basically an advertisement for Google TV partners, giving them a chance to highlight their technology. Logitech's Quindlen talks up their plans to deliver peripherals and boxes, allowing Google TV users to get up and running quickly.
10:35 a.m. (Stephen Shankland): I find it curious that Google believes both in the easy, passive version of TV with YouTube LeanBack but also the interface-heavy modes controlled by a keyboard, search, configuration.
10:38 a.m.: Dish Network's CEO thinks this service will attract more subscribers, and also increase the amount of time they spend using that service. He lets slip that Google has been working on Google TV for several years, dating back to the early days of Google's partnership with Dish on TV advertising.
10:41 a.m.: Schmidt gives Best Buy a nod as the "surviving" big-box retailer. Dunn notes that the holiday season provides a ton of Best Buy's profits, saying that Best Buy has an internal slogan that "this is the most important holiday season of all time," which they trot out every year.
10:45 a.m.: Stringer notes that beyond the set of partners being feted on stage, third-party developers will be able to create even more. Schmidt picks up on that, urging developers in attendance to build the things that Google and its partners can't envision. This is a chance to change the way that people experience television, he says.
10:46 a.m.: We're now getting a commercial for OnStar as the show wraps up. That will do it for Day 2 of Google I/O, but we are certainly not done digesting the Android 2.2 and Google TV announcements, and check back throughout the day for ongoing coverage. Thanks for hanging out again with us this morning, and thanks for reading CNET.
Editors' note: The initial, bare-bones version of this story was posted May 19 at 3:43 p.m. PDT.


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The FC Dallas Player Development system consists of five levels, with each level crossing over with the one below and / or above. The goal of the program is to ensure that each step is connected, thus giving players an opportunity to develop and advance throughout the system:
- The FC Dallas professional team , consisting of up to 28 professional players
- The FC Dallas Academy Program, consisting of two elite teams, U16 and U18, which play in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
- The FCD Premier Development Program, an elite core of teams that are selected by invitation only, one team per age group of both girls and boys.
- Over 140 Select boys and girls teams ranging from ages U11 to U19.
- Over 75 Junior boys and girls teams ranging from U7 to U10.
The FCD Youth Select Program contains over 2,500 boys & girls ages U7 through U19. Players compete on over 140 Select teams and 75 Junior teams. Select teams play in divisions I, II, and III in Classic League and Lake Highlands Girls Classic League, as well as in Plano. Junior teams play in FCD Liga, SDL, PSA, and CAL. Our teams continue to excel both locally and nationally. FCDY players represent our program in the most prestigious programs including (but not limited to) ODP, ID2, ECNL, Development Academy, various national teams, and have also been drafted to play professionally both here in Dallas, at other MLS Franchises, and for international clubs worldwide. The FCDY Academy Teams have continued to dominate both the U16 and U18 age groups in their respective divisions, currently being ranked 1st and 2nd, respectively, in their particular divisions. Our teams travel worldwide to tournaments such as the Aegon Future Cup in Holland, where FCDY were matched against teams from Ajax,Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayen Munich, and AC Milan. FCDY also competes in the Supergroup of the prestigious Dallas Cup, as well as several other FCDY teams who regularly qualify for the Dallas Cup in various age groups. FCDY players who do not play professionally move on to the top U.S. colleges. FCD players are generation Adidas players, homegrown players, & are at the pinnacle place for national and international recognition, recruitment, & development.
For a list of Select teams, click here
Junior Soccer has also been referred to as "Pre - Select" soccer for boys and girls ages U7 to U10. Typically it's for those players that excel at the recreational level and desire an additional environment that is more competitive with advanced coaching. It is, however open to all players. After graduating from our Academy, select soccer begins at U11.
The FC Dallas Juniors Program
The Juniors Program focuses primarily on individual skill development. The goal of the Juniors program is to prepare players for a club soccer environment for their later years. It is designed for the more competitive player, and the more committed families. It has licensed coaches, and has more travel /expenses involved. There is an unhealthy bias towards promoting athleticism rather than taking time to develop players at the younger ages, which is having a profoundly negative effect on soccer in the USA. Therefore at FC Dallas, we believe in age appropriate coaching which ensures that we are teaching not only the RIGHT things, but moreover teaching them the RIGHT way with an emphasis on long term development rather than short term 'wins'.
The FC Dallas Juniors Focus
FC Dallas as a whole is focused on player development. We are striving to create a solid learning experience by eliminating the "must win" stress placed on the player and team. FC Dallas has a unique Player Development system consisting of five levels in which follow our curriculum of developing creative and confident soccer players through out each stage of transition through. We recognize that the Juniors Level is the first and most important stage in structuring player development. The 4 major themes from the Juniors Curriculum are:
Ball Mastery - using both feet and multiple surfaces, we encourage players to experiment with all turns, tricks and skills whereas to develop their technical confidence with the ball. All players are developed to be dribblers first.
Shapes & Support - developing the idea of triangle and diamond shapes by supporting the player on the ball. Thus giving players more options to keep the ball rather than just kick it away.
Small Sided Environments - lots of 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 free play within each training session. Thus allowing players to experiment and maximise development though muliple contacts on the ball and also recognise the triangle and diamond shape within the game.
Independent Player Thinking - we encourage the players to think for themselves and solve soccer problems with the skills we have taught. Our coaches guide players to the answers by asking questions rather than telling them the answer. Thereby creating independent thinkers who will play the game and solve soccer problems without the coach constantly telling them what to do in any given scenario. This leads to longer term information retention and higher levels of skill aquisition.
FCD Liga
FCD Liga is our "in house" development program exclusively for FC Dallas Junior teams on Sunday afternoons at Toyota Soccer Center. It was created to provide a better environment to develop our players. We wanted our soccer "classroom" to be positive and nurturing where players can experiment using their tricks/skills to solve the soccer problems on the field in a healthy and competitive environment. The Liga format is 3v3, 4v4 and 5v5 so players maximize ball contacts as well as their "soccer experiences". All experts agree that this is the purest form of soccer and it's widely known that most of the best players in the world were developed playing in the "streets", so we wanted to replicate that as best we could. Additional information will be provided to you regarding the format. Liga is mandatory for all our U7 and U8 teams.
For a list of Junior boys teams, click here
For a list of Junior girls teams, click here


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OAKLAND — A rapper shot several times in East Oakland Saturday night by someone who told him to stop filming a video remained in critical condition Monday.
Police confirmed that Amir Rashad, 33, who performs under the name Kafani, was the man shot at about 11:36 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of Seminary Avenue and Foothill Boulevard.
Police said Rashad was part of a group filming a rap video when a man approached and told them they shouldn't be filming there. As they were in the process of leaving the man shot Rashad numerous times, authorities said.
Rashad's friends drove him to a hospital, where he underwent surgery.
Rashad is based in Oakland, and is the founder of the group Babyface Assassins, according to his official website. In November 2011, police said Rashad was at the scene of a West Oakland shooting in which eight people were shot, including 23-month-old Hiram Lawrence Jr., who later died. A van belonging to the rapper was riddled with gunshots, police said at the time.
The day of that shooting, the toddler's father, producer Hiram Lawrence Jr., was shooting a music video with two fellow rappers that disrespected a gang from the Acorn public housing project, according to court testimony in April. The testimony was given in a preliminary hearing for Fredrick Coleman, who is one of three people accused of firing at least 40 bullets into the group of people on Nov. 28, 2011.


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Sunday, January 20, 2019 9:58:06 AM Sex With Wrestler Girls Anilingus
Water Bondage Gallery Descrption: Sexy black girl gets the Waterbondage treatment Gallery Type:
Click "Go to Site" to see the original site, or click "Cancel" to close this dialog and go back to Sex. Relevance Water-bdsm Pics Sort: Water bdsm demons for a slave girl!❿
Attention! We want to warn you that sexually explicit information might be found on this website, it also includes links to porn sites. Provided you are under age of 18, or this content is insulting to you, or is it is illegal in your community to observe this kind of internet materials, please leave now. All information on this site is in compliance with the 18 USC 2257 US Federal Law. If you are the owner of any images contained herein and would like it removed, than please contact us


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Kevin Garnett delivered a hilarious and nonsensical postgame monologue on team chemistry after last night's win against the Wizards, and he ended up slamming Comcast in the process.
KG was trying to explain how team chemistry develops slowly over time, and compared it to how Comcast doesn't let you fast forward and makes you watch "silly-ass commercials" for certain shows when you watch them on-demand.
"Did I just take a shot at Comcast? F--- it, I did. So what," he said.
Comcast SportsNet New England owns the broadcasting rights to Celtics game in the Boston metro area, so we imagine they're not too pleased at this screed (via SB Nation):
"You can't speed chemistry up. The more you practice, the more you get familiar with each other. There's no hit the fast forward button here. You got Comcast. Some shows you can't fast forward through, you got to let it go through and watch the silly-ass commercials and be pissed, right? This is what this is. Did I just take a shot at Comcast? F--- it, I did. So what. I'm a Direct-TV guy anyway. Anyway look, this is what this. I'm not helping myself am I? F--- it, anyway that's what's this is. We totally messed that up, right? But this is one them things where it just takes its course and you can't speed anything up. Next question. Please."


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Qualpay Payment Gateway .Net/C# SDK by Qualpay Comments
This Qualpay .Net/C# SDK allows access to the Payment Gateway API. The Qualpay Payment Gateway provides a way to access an approved transaction, timing of the batch that needs to be controlled by the merchant, online authorization requests received, reason code and the merchant received, an authorization from a voice or automated response system and returns success if the cardholder information was verified by the issuer that includes; Verify and Authorization, Close batch, Force transaction approval, Verify Card and more. Qualpay is a web-based management portal with reconciliation reporting, to enable credit card payments within the application. It is a platform for in-person, online, mobile, mail and telephone order processing, from the same merchant account.


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More snaps from Abu Ghraib
Some of the 60 previously unpublished photographs that the US Government has been fighting to keep secret in a court case with the American Civil Liberties Union.
- Photo 3 of 15 |View all thumbnails
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Abu Ghraib prison. Photo: SBS/Dateline.


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Everything about joining and cutting/splitting video. Adding or removing logos. Also advanced video editing and NLEE with Premiere, Ulead, Vegas Video, etc.


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Built for performance and show, HPS Powder Coated Red cold air intake kit for 2007-2009 Saturn Sky 2.4L Non Turbo relocates the world's best K&N air filter outside of the engine compartment to deliver the coolest air inlet temperatures. Compare to the tradiational shortram air intake, HPS long ram cool air intake kit delivers cooler air with more oxygen, which translates into a more intense explosion in the vehicle combustion chamber to increase horsepower, torque and improve throttle response. The included installation instruction has clear pictures and description to guide the installer throughout the whole process. The kit does NOT require tuning and no modification is required, however, removal of front bumper is necessary during the installation. HPS light weight mandrel-bent aluminum alloy piping replace the stock restrictive air box and optimize the air flow. HPS cold air induction system features HPS signature race proven reinforced silicone hoses and industrial grade 100% stainless steel T-bolt clamps, which ensure the durability and reliability during the extreme driving condition. The included K&N High-Flow conical air filter designed to provide increased surface area and dust capacity. This extra surface area provides even more airflow at lower restriction than a standard replacement filter that is limited to the size of the factory air box. The oversize air filter also captures more dirt increasing the service life before a cleaning is required (up to 100,000 miles).
HPS Cold Air Intake Kit Features and Specification
- Increase horsepower, torque and improve throttle response. Does not require tuning after the install.
- Features HPS signature race proven reinforced silicone hoses and industrial grade 100% stainless steel T-bolt clamps
- Mandrel-bent aluminum piping replace stock restrictive air box and optimize the air flow
- Includes K&N High-Flow, Washable/Reusable Air Filter which is backed by Million Mile Limited Warranty
- Includes easy to follow step-by-step installation guide with clear pictures and instruction to guide the installer throughout the whole process.
- No modification is required during the installation, however, removal of front bumper is necessary which will make the whole installation process easier.
- Color: Powder Coated Red
- CARB Exempt: No
- System Type: Cold air intake system
- Vehicle Application: 2007-2009 Saturn Sky 2.4L Non Turbo
Additional Info
Additional Info
|Pipe Color
|Replacement Filter Part Number
|Part Number
|Vehicle Application
|2007-2009 Saturn Sky 2.4L Non Turbo


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rkneufeld necesitaba un nuevo diseño de otro y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 14 diseños de 3 diseñadores freelance.
I'm building a very simple Dungeons and Dragons combat initiative tracker for both my own use and for others enjoyment. D&D takes place in a medieval fantasy setting and their is no location more recognizable in D&D than the local Tavern.
I want my app too look and feel like sitting down in one such tavern - be it the old worn grain of the tables you sit at, the coarse threading of the tapestries on the wall, or the weathered look of parchment scrawled in calligraphy and dripped with candle wax. These are the kinds of textures and atmosphere the app needs to convey.
Initiative aims to appeal to Dungeons and Dragons players, more specifically Dungeon Masters (DMs). DMs are the driving force behind any player campaign. These incredibly hard working individuals dream up fantastic stories and plots (many of which span years of play), spend countless hours preparing and some times even spend hundreds of dollars on books and supplies; all in the effort of providing an enriching and rewarding play experience for the five or so players they meet with on a regular basis. Initiative needs to provide an easy to use and attractive interface to make DM's jobs easier.
I need graphical designs for Initiative's two main screens.
The first and highest traffic screen is the initiative tracking view. In this view the user will cycle through a list of characters ordered by dice roll. See attached mockup.
* Table cells need to have three different colors/styles (one for each player, friendly and hostile characters)
* Table cells need an active and inactive color/style/indicator for the currently selected character).
The second view is where new characters are added. See attached mockup. You're free to take some liberties with this view.
1. Please try and stick with standard UI elements. Re-texture's are fine though. (That said, if you have something great I'm willing to entertain the thought)
* Table cells are an exception to this – you have free reign over height and contents.
2. Keep the design fantasy or "pen and paper" style.
Submitted files should include raw PSD files and textures necessary to reproduce the interface in iOS (png please).
Resolution needs to be high enough to accomodate the iPhone 4 yet still be attractive at the reduced resolution of the 3GS


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"The video is awesome! Thanks so much for the work you guys put into it. Everything that comes out of your shop looks like it was charted by HMX."
- Matt Rasmussen (Rose of Jericho)
- Matt Rasmussen (Rose of Jericho)
Rhythm Authors News
Richard Campbell's "Frankenstein" coming to Rock Band Network
February 7, 2013 - Richard Campbell's "Frankenstein Teaser Trailer" released in 2011 was a small taste of the 60+ minute rock opera, Frankenstein. It's now complete and coming soon in its entirety to the Rock Band Network.
- "Beyond the Night" (6:02)
- "The Modern Prometheus" (7:50)
- "The Spark of Life" (5:10)
- "A House of Sorrow" (7:18)
- "Shadow of the Beast" (4:49)
- "Fallen Angel" (4:57)
- "Enslaved" (4:29)
- "The Veil" (4:52)
- "Retribution" (8:03)
- "Walton's Reprise" (2:22)
- "The Barren Sea" (6:49)
Published on February 7th, 2013
Victory Records preview #4 - A Day To Remember, Close Your Eyes, Aiden, Counterparts, Carnifex, Within the Ruins
March 22, 2012 - Victory Records and Rhythm Authors bring another batch of eight songs to the Rock Band Network:
- A Day to Remember - "The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle" (Buy now!)
- Carnifex - "Until I Feel Nothing" (Buy now!)
- Close Your Eyes - "Keep the Lights On"
- Close Your Eyes - "Song for the Broken"
- Close Your Eyes - "Valleys"
- Aiden - "Broken Bones"
- Counterparts - "Jumping Ship"
- Within the Ruins - "Controller"
Published on March 22nd, 2012
Victory Records brings eight tracks to RBN including BTBAM's "Selkies: The Endless Obsession"
October 7, 2011 - Victory Records and Rhythm Authors work together to bring another batch of eight hit songs to the Rock Band Network:
- A Day to Remember - "2nd Sucks"
- A Day to Remember - "All Signs Point to Lauderdale"
- A Day to Remember - "If It Means A Lot to You"
- Between the Buried and Me - "Selkies: The Endless Obsession"
- Design the Skyline - "Break Free From Your Life"
- The Bunny the Bear - "Ocean Floor"
- These Hearts - "Apology Rejected"
- Aiden - "Hysteria"
Published on October 7th, 2011


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Unofficial figures show that episode seven of Series Four, The Unicorn and the Wasp, was watched by 7.7 million viewers, giving it a 36.1% share of the total television audience.
The programme was helped by a later start and wet weather across much of the United Kingdom and achieved an increase of over a million on last week's figures.
The top rated programme was still ITV1's Britain's Got Talent with 8.6 million. Doctor Who was the highest rated programme on BBC1 for the day, beating Casualty by 1.3 million.
The programme is currently the 8th most watched of the week, almost guaranteeing a final Top ten place. Final figures will be released by BARB in ten days time.


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The first season of AKB0048 was a big surprise for me for taking such a silly premise, and actually creating something good out of it. Here is the second season, and was it as good as the first? Nah. Still, it's worth watching if you watched the first season.
The direction for the sequel is slightly different from the first. The first had a lot of fun with criticizing the idol business next to telling its story, showing its darker sides. The second season takes this the other way around, by celebrating it instead. everything here is glorified, instead of played down. It's got an interesting effect, and it is great to see these two sides of the coin together. But standalone it does miss something.
Mostly because I find idols to be incredibly cheesy, and this series just goes all out in glorifying them (like, what I was afraid of that the first season would be). That's a bit of a bummer, because it does make the series a lot less interesting in terms of its plot.
So it was up to the characters and the music to save the day! They did partially. There is a lot of good character-development in this sequel, and the rather large cast has a lot of moments for even the side characters to show off themselves. The series has a really large cast, and unfortunately it does look like a bit of a mess because of it, but the advantage of this is that this series can come from out of nowhere to deliver something heartfelt and genuine.
The disadvantage of such a messy cast of characters is that some characters just don't work. For variety's sake this does not have to be such a big problem, but it kind of is when one of those characters is the main character. She never really knows what her role is in this series until it gets forced upon her in an entirely non-subtle way.
One-Sentence Review: AKB0048's sequel is not as good or interesting as the first season, but it's still quite an entertaining, albeit messy, animated musical.
– Macross Frontier
– Simoun
– Mouretsu Pirates


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As a director, Robert Redford has repeatedly been drawn to narratives that if not recounting real events, are often inspired by them. As follow-up to his historical drama The Conspirator, which focused on the vengeful aftermath of Lincoln's assassination, Redford offers an adaptation of the Neil Gordon novel The Company You Keep, which uses the 1960s far-left radical group the Weather Underground as the base for a provocative thriller.
Set in contemporary America, Shia LaBeouf heads a star-studded cast playing Ben Shepard, a journalist who desperately needs a scoop to keep his job. When news breaks that a member of the Weather Underground (Susan Sarandon) who has long been wanted in connection with a bank robbery and murder has been arrested, interest in the group and its lone unaccounted for member is renewed. Chasing the story of what ever happened to fugitive Nicholas Sloan, Shepard pulls strings with an ex (Anna Kendrick) at the FBI, and soon discovers a mysterious man named Jim Grant (Robert Redford), whose paper trail only goes back to 1978. But as you might expect, this is only beginning of the rabbit hole The Company You Keep lies out. Dive in with the film's TIFF trailer courtesy of the Playlist:
The Company You Keep will make its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 6th; it's North American premiere will follow on September 9th at the Toronto International Film Festival. Sony Pictures Classics acquired domestic distribution rights to the drama last week, but no release date has yet been announced.


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Relentless Tiger
DETROIT - Jeremy Bonderman is often overlooked.
That's just the way he likes it.
The Detroit Tigers have six All-Stars, including their manager, and Bonderman will only join them next week in San Francisco if he is voted in via an Internet ballot.
Bonderman (9-1) has a winning percentage that trails only one player in the majors, Brad Penny of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and his latest gem was Sunday night.
The right-hander pitched eight scoreless innings - giving up six hits, striking out seven and walking only one - to help Detroit beat Minnesota 1-0.
"He seemed to make the ball disappear," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Bonderman would be happy if he could make his body do the same when reporters and TV cameras fill the clubhouse, looking for stories.
Detroit All-Stars Magglio Ordonez, Ivan Rodriguez, Placido Polanco, Carlos Guillen, Justin Verlander and manager Jim Leyland attract the most attention.
Rookie Andrew Miller and 42-year-old Kenny Rogers generate more buzz than Bonderman, too.
When Detroit's young pitchers are praised, the 24-year-old Bonderman rarely is a part of the discussion.
"I've never been an 'I' guy that wants to be in the media spotlight," he said. "I love to compete and play. I love being around my teammates and coaches. I don't need the rest."
Bonderman decided he didn't need a senior year at Pasco High School in Washington, so he earned a general equivalency diploma and entered the draft at the age of 18.
The Oakland Athletics took Bonderman with the 26th pick overall in the June 2001 draft, making him the first U.S. native to be drafted after his junior year in high school.
He was traded to Detroit a year later as the player to be named in a three-team deal that sent Jeff Weaver to the New York Yankees.
After only one season of Single-A seasoning, he was rushed to the majors and went 6-19 in 2003 as the Tigers lost an AL-record 119 games.
He bounced back with an 11-13 record the next year and a 14-13 mark in 2005.
Bonderman's breakout season came last year, when he was 14-8 with a 4.08 ERA in the regular season.
"He always had it in him," said former teammate Dmitri Young, an All-Star this season with the Washington Nationals. "It was just a matter of him maturing. He was 20 years old his first year, but he was one of those guys who was determined to be the best.
"I always looked at him like a young Roger Clemens."
Bonderman was the winning pitcher in Game 4 of the AL division series, helping Detroit eliminate the Yankees. He had a 3.10 ERA in three postseason starts, helping the franchise reach the World Series for the first time since 1984.
"He grew up last year, especially in the playoffs," Detroit closer Todd Jones said.
The Tigers rewarded Bonderman with a $38 million, four-year contract in the offseason and kept him off the free agent market after the 2008 season.
His ERA is 3.58 and if he received better run support in his first four starts - when he gave up a total of seven runs and didn't factor in the decision - his 9-1 record would be even better.
"He's blessed with a great arm, and he's a competin' fool," Leyland said. "He's making progress. It's not a difference between day and night with him, it's a gradual thing, but he's really good.
"He's a treat because you write him in and he's a horse. He wants the ball. He has no fear of anything. He's a manager's dream."
After agreeing to the terms of his new deal in December, Bonderman said the financial security would help his performance. Six months later, he said the money has indeed helped him on the mound.
"I don't worry about taking care of my family anymore. I just have to pitch," he said. "If I don't pitch well, I don't think about what it might mean to me money-wise anymore. It's just human nature that you look over your shoulder and wonder, but that's not happening now."
Bonderman also was helped by another off-the-field development. He and his wife, Amber, had their first child, Mailee, who turned 1 a month ago.
"She takes my mind off the game when I'm home, like nothing else ever did," Bonderman said. "Whether I won or lost, she just wants to play."
Bonderman will have even less to worry about career-wise if he can develop and trust a changeup to go along with his 95-mph fastball and one of baseball's best sliders.
"He's a two-pitch guy," Jones said. "If he can get hitters with his changeup, he'll really be tough."
Tigers pitching coach Chuck Hernandez said Bonderman's changeup has gotten a lot better, but insisted that hasn't been the key to his development.
"His thought process and ability to learn how to pitch has taken a big leap," Hernandez said. "He's not just relying on good stuff, rearing back and firing like he used to."
Leyland could've put Bonderman on the All-Star roster, creating a rare dose of publicity, but he chose Minnesota's Johan Santana over him. Leyland did, however, put Bonderman's name onto a list of players who could earn the final AL spot via Internet balloting.
"I'm not worried about that stuff," Bonderman said. "Skip made the right decision."


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2020 TLM Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
- JonPatrick: "Nob ody expects Frank the Hippie Pope! Our 2 main weapons – airplane pressers, ambiguous documents, and synods – 3 main weapons … 221;
- Jacques-Antoine Fierz: I beg your pardon. Francesco Borromini and Carlo Maderno were Swiss and not Italian. As well as Domenico Fontana (Scala Santa, Saint Peter dome, the removal and erection of...
- JamesA: Great podcast, Father. Much to contemplat e. I enjoyed the sounds of Rome in the background !
- Barnacle: @ Charles E Flynn Thank you, and thanks for the link. To be fair to me, I did say, 'usi ng our minds,R 17; not 'rea ding our minds,R 17; where the thought I had behind...
- Rob83: San Giovanni dei Fiorentini was my usual spot for Sunday Mass in English while visiting Rome in the pre-Sumoru m days. It was undergoing repairs at the time, which meant the priest had to...
- TRW: Very interestin g point. I had the same thought. It is apparently a common species in the Mediterran ean region. Still, the holm oak is specifical ly mentioned in accounts of all the apparit...
- matt from az: I'm not sure why everyone is up in arms about Pope Francis and this pagan stuff. John Paul II, allegedly "The Great," kissed the Quran, participat ed in a pagan smoke ceremony rather...
- Charles E Flynn: @Barnacle, You have raised an interestin g distinctio n between having access to our imaginatio n and being able to "rea d our minds̶ 1;, which the books I have read...
- Barnacle: The Devil has access to our imaginatio n. He loves it when foul images are planted therein, because he exploits those images to corrupt us, manipulate our thinking, and/or to blasph...
- Markus: Reminds one of "Monte Python's Flying Circus." Made me wonder if one is not seeing the remake, "Monte Petro's Flying Curia?"
- Mac in Calgary: Lutheran Satire absolutely rocks. It's funny and usually targets the right heresies. Although I am pained by the occasional appearance s of Frank the Hippie Pope.
- Charles E Flynn: From Christus Vincit: Bishop Schneider' s Powerful and Luminous New Book — And Its Presentati on in Rome , by Prof. Peter Kwasniewsk i: Bishop Schneider critiques worldlines s...
- FrAnt: Satire the thin line between reality and the absurd. Bravo.
- mattg: There is a strange cultural undercurre nt eroding our sanity. Scott Adams calls it the Parody Inversion Point. https://di lbert.com/ strip/2019 -10-02 https://di lbert.com/ strip/2019 -10-03...
- JesusFreak84: I love Lutheran SatireR 30;even if his Christolog y videos give me flashbacks to my hardest Theology class in college >.<; ;;
- DeGaulle: Why do we need a figure to represent 'lif e' in the house that holds He who represents Eternal Life?
- rhhenry: RLseven, Certainly we should know more about who, exactly, the "fem ale figureR 21; is, and with what she is pregnant. The Virgin Mary pregnant with our Lord is different from...
- Andrew Saucci: Bobbortoli n, all I can say is wow! That was 30 years ago. Glad to see it helped someone.
- Il Ratzingeriano: This synod is going way out of its way to discredit itself. The whole pontificat e increasing ly has the feel of an accelerati ng late stage crack-up.
- Semper Gumby: This Onion bit is rather amusing (though I understand The Astronomer and Kathleen10 ). Maybe The Onion will write a new piece for 2019 and the Amazon Synod. The pagan rituals, ̶...
- RLseven: Simmer down, WVC. Your examples are a bit far fetched. This is not a prayer about abortion or Satan. It is about Creation and those who deeply respect nature as part of their spirituali ty...
- RLseven: He did name what it was: "a female figure representi ng life.̶ 1; Why is that so hard to believe? We are pro-life Catholics, correct? Therefore, a representa tion of a pregn...
- bobbortolin: Andrew Saucci – I just wanted to say that I remember your old Rosary program! I have muscular dystrophy and I used your program a lot and, since I can' t physically cycle...
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- Semper Gumby: Thank you for the video of Bp. Schneider& #8217;s talk. The last 30 seconds were particular ly inspiratio nal. RichR: Good one. That prayer is problemati c. WVC makes a good point...
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Recent Posts
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- ROME DAY 13: A Suicide, a Life Hack, and an ALERT to Roman Seminarians
- You can't make this stuff up: eRosary. Wherein an annoyed Fr. Z rants.
- 2016: Ecumenical Exchange Program with winged Mayan snake god Kukulkan
- PODCAzT 178: Fr. Weinandy and the possible "Internal Papal Schism"
- Bp. Schneider's talk at the presentation of the book: Christus Vincit
- ROME DAY 12: Chapels Stupid and Stupendous, Important Book and Talks
- ACTION ITEM! Baptismal Font for Rome's Traditional Parish – UPDATE
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- ROME DAY 10: Conference, Requiem and Guts
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- ROME DAY 9: Campo, Clams and a Canonization Sonnet
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- Mass for Benefactors ,11 Oct, and Requiem
- "Supertradmum" (Marie Dean): R.I.P.
- ROME DAY 7: Weird Amazon Stuff, Death and a Spatula
- The Holy See: Goat Rodeo
- #AmazonSynod, optional celibacy, divorced and remarried priests, and Amoris Laetitia
- ROME DAY 6: Twisty Tower, Tuna, and "Tini"
- "Amazon rite" proposed at Amazon Synod: more condescension to follow
- A priest opines on the effect of optional priestly celibacy
- Amazon Synod and deaconettes?
- ROME DAY 5: Marks, Medieval Lions, and Mussolini Trees
- #AmazonSynod -1st attack on the Priesthood: The Cassock
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- ROME DAY 4: Carbonara, Caravaggio, altar idiocy
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Let us pray…
Grant unto thy Church, we beseech Thee, O merciful God, that She, being gathered together by the Holy Ghost, may be in no wise troubled by attack from her foes. O God, who by sin art offended and by penance pacified, mercifully regard the prayers of Thy people making supplication unto Thee,and turn away the scourges of Thine anger which we deserve for our sins. Almighty and Everlasting God, in whose Hand are the power and the government of every realm: look down upon and help the Christian people that the heathen nations who trust in the fierceness of their own might may be crushed by the power of thine Arm. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.
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Category Archives: Sermons
Your Sunday Sermon Notes
Was there a good point made in the sermon during your Mass of Sunday obligation? Let us know. For my part, I underscored – on this 4th Sunday after Pentecost – that God doesn't choose men who are worthy to … Continue reading
Posted in Our Catholic Identity, Sermons 13 Comments
Advice from a saint, praise for a priest, explanation for a practice
According to the Novus Ordo calendar, today is the Feast of St. Alphonsus Liguori. In the traditional calendar it falls tomorrow. He is a Doctor of the Church, whose writings set the Church's approach to moral theology on a healthy … Continue reading
Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Sermons Tagged St. Alphonsus Liguori 2 Comments
PODCAzT 137: Augustine on bad pastors; Sermon in the wake of Pope Francis' interview
At the time of this writing it is still the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, aka the 18th Sunday after Pentecost in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. It has been just a few days since the release of … Continue reading
PODCAzT 137: Augustine on bad pastors; Fr. Z Sermon, Francis Interview [ 44:07 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1822)
A 1st Sunday of Advent sermon
I haven't posted a sermon in quite some time. Here is a Sunday offering.
10-11-28 Sermon Advent 01 [ 11:53 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2808)
Posted in ADVENT, Sermons 11 Comments
Bp. Slattery's Sermon in Washington DC – unforgettable
Here is the audio of Bp. Edward Slattery's marvelous sermon at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Amazing. Bp. Slattery, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, stepped up and made himself available to be celebrant for the Pontifical Mass in the older, traditional … Continue reading
Bp. Slattery's Sermon [ 17:55 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (9623)
Posted in Brick by Brick, Classic Posts, Our Catholic Identity, Pope of Christian Unity, Sermons, SESSIUNCULA Tagged Bp. Slattery, Oklahoma, Tulsa 48 Comments
Did you hear a good Ash Wednesday sermon? Share a point.
If you heard an Ash Wednesday sermon which was worthwhile, share ONE SINGLE POINT you can recall for us, as concisely as possible… a single sentence, if possible.
Posted in Sermons, SESSIUNCULA Tagged Ash Wednesday, LENT, sermon 42 Comments
Quinquagesima sermon: a program for Lent
Here is a sermon for Quinquagesima. I propose something for your Lent.
Quinquagesima: sermon [ 17:31 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2415)
Posted in Sermons 13 Comments
Safe in New Jersey… sort of…
I am at Mater Ecclesiae in Berlin, NJ. This stay is going to be interesting! First, I am here to do some of the heavy lifting (things that involve talking) for the great Fr. Pasley. He is recovering from surgery … Continue reading
Posted in Mail from priests, Sermons 22 Comments
A Sunday sermon
In the wake of many disappointments we have all seen in the press, continually see from people who should know better, concerning even Christians, Catholics, even whole Christian communities which betray both reason and Scripture and Christian Tradition, here is … Continue reading
09-08-23 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time sermon [ 11:17 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2423)
Posted in Sermons, The future and our choices 5 Comments
12th Sunday of Ordinary Time – sermon
I am at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Manhattan right now. The pastor, Fr. Murray, kindly asked me to preach today. The notice was short, so this is about as close to an extemporaneous sermon as I might give … Continue reading
09-06-21 NYC - St. Vincent's - 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time [ 12:09 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1632)
Posted in Our Catholic Identity, PODCAzT, Sermons, SESSIUNCULA, The Drill, Year of Priests 15 Comments


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San Francisco Public Library celebrates the reopening of the renovated Park Branch Library on Saturday, Feb. 26. The 101-year-old library, which first opened its doors in 1909, has been returned to its neo-classical glory with a sensitive renovation that was also designed and built to meet silver certification standards or greater, under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.
The grand reopening celebration kicks off with Chinese lion dancers at the renovated branch at 1833 Page Street, between Cole and Shrader streets.
Festivities begin at 1 p.m.
A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held with City Librarian Luis Herrera, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, Department of Public Works Director Ed Reiskin and other city and state officials.
Library services start at 2 p.m.


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Nim's Island
Pleasant enough, but not quite magic
Go to showtimes
Nim's Island is a mild-mannered family movie with no huge shockers or big-time wows. Its heroine is a dewy 10-year-old girl. Its hero is a handsome swashbuckler. Its backdrop is a sunny Pacific isle. Its villains arrive on a pirate ship (in a manner of speaking).
But there's one component, just one little twist, that adds a tingle of rattled urban idiosyncrasy to this idyllic setting: the arrival of a chronically delusional obsessive-compulsive-agoraphobic germophobe from San Francisco. I'm pretty sure that's not a standard character in most childhood fables.
Her name is Alexandra Frost. Jodie Foster plays her, and if you think the presence of a stern-jawed Oscar winner lends the film some artsy cred, you're wrong. She seems to understand her purpose here: to go altogether crackers in service to the plot, which is best described as the aforesaid agoraphobe's prolonged intervention by one of her own delusions. That would be ``Alex'' Rover (Gerard Butler), the Indiana Jonesy alter-ego who ``narrates'' Alexandra's best-selling adventure yarns. He is intrepid, ill-shaven, opinionated and yummy.
Chief among his fans is young Nim (Abigail Breslin, an Oscar nominee in her own right for Little Miss Sunshine), who lives on a remote South Pacific island with her marine-biologist dad, Jack (also Butler), and abundant friendly wildlife.
Nim's life is perfect until Jack heads off alone in his sailboat in search of plankton. While he's gone, Nim gets an e-mail from Alexandra asking about the island's volcano - she wants to know if it actually bubbles with lava - and the girl injures herself rappelling down its side. The wound gets icky; she gets scared. But she can't reach her father, who's been side-swiped by a monsoon, and instead asks Alexandra to come to the rescue.
Except Nim thinks she's addressing ``Alex,'' not Alexandra. And Alexandra hasn't left her apartment in months. And her only hope is a gabby hallucination in leather half-gloves. ``Be the hero of your own life story. . . Come on a road trip with me!'' he urges. She finally complies, armed with bottles of hand sanitizer.
So it goes. There are boats, planes, a helicopter, a turtle, a sea lion, a lizard called Fred and a solicitous, plot-ministering pelican named Galileo. There are overweight tourists and invading porta-potties. There are many scenes in which Alexandra, unaccustomed to the cumulative indignities of travel, freaks out on public transit. And through it all there is the disarming and valiant Nim, who puts on a brave face but clearly misses her daddy.
Based on the children's book by Wendy Orr and Kerry Millard, the film was co-directed by Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin, who last collaborated (she as writer, he as director) on the 2005 grade-school romance Little Manhattan. That was a smaller, more winning film about a big-hearted kid on a different lonely island. Their new movie veers from Little Manhattan's prepubescent cityscape to Nim's sun-kissed paradise, but both films are dotted with brief animations and other imaginary fugues exploring the minds and hearts of children (and the agitated mental state of one neurotic grown-up).
An undefined mysticism pervades the story, including a hint of Lost-like gibbering that suggests a sentient land mass. And of course, the premise is absurd: Globe-trotting father-daughter teams don't often lay claim to abandoned tropical islands, and I can't imagine a blissed-out childhood (or adulthood) resulting when they do. But the film's chief problem isn't its fantasy elements; it's the lack of real magic in their telling. Nim's Island is a pleasant-enough jaunt for a family outing, but it never fully arrives at that ``perfect, secret world.''


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While Santa was a little slow to get to Wall Street, January could bring gladder tidings.
The looming inauguration of Barack Obama combined with the so-called January Effect—in which stocks traditionally rise in the first week of the new year as year-end tax sellers return to buying—are expected to give stocks a boost.
There's still considerable caution about stocks. And as Monday's market shows, any rally is likely to be in fits and starts. But the outlook for the early part of 2009, at least, is optimistic.
"There's a good chart formation on the Dow, an upside-down head and shoulders that was created," says Michael Cohn, head of Atlantis Asset Management in New York. "This market could rally all the way through sometime getting toward the inauguration. We deserve a couple-week rally."
Indeed, chart analysts are seeing a battery of positive factors, including a breakout from the 50-day moving averages that indicate a market poised to climb higher.
"What you have taking place here right now is something in addition to the January Effect," says Jordan Kimmel, fund manager at Magnet Investment Group in Randolph, N.J. "There's so much incredible lemming or crowd following. There's a lot of people saying the market's definitely cheap enough, there's enough value around for me, I just have to personally wait for the moving average to turn up. All of a sudden you've got it now."
Global-growth plays such as shipping companies and infrastructure will benefit in the days ahead, Kimmel says. Some market pros are looking at energy leaders, both traditional and alternative to show the way, while still others think health care will benefit as a defensive play in difficult economic times.
There's plenty of historical support for a January rally.
The market has an average gain of 1.2 percent in January, which posts a monthly gain about two-thirds of the time. In addition, Januaries following a presidential election rise nearly 1 percent, though the gain is usually half that when the White House changes parties, as it will do this year.
"We would suggest to them to start taking some positions and get back to what their asset allocation should be whether they're conservative or aggressive," said Rob Morgan, of Clermont Wealth Strategies.
Sector Outlook
To be sure, there is considerable disagreement over what sectors will be leaders as the market looks to recover the value lost in 2008, and in particular over whether emerging markets will resume their place as a fashionable investment.
For foreign market supporters like Kimmel, areas such as shipping companies and basic materials will gain as the pockets of strength abroad materialize.
"Lately there's been a little bit of leadership in health care," Kimmel also points out. "I do believe that a lot of the best-valued companies, the ones generating the most cash, are still in areas like basic materials, the things that support the global build-out."
In fact, Kimmel thinks the new year will bring back a whole slew of buyers who were forced out of the market in 2008.
"I just believe that what happened in the last quarter of last year was more forced redemptions than actual sellers," he says. "You had portfolio managers that wanted to buy and they were forced to redeem stuff that they were buying."
The buying climate also could be strong despite a rash of bad news expected to continue to hit the markets—growing unemployment and poor earnings outlooks chief among them.
"Everything from the numbers to the guidance going forward is going to be pessimistic going into earnings season," Cohn says. "But it's all baked in the cake as far as I'm concerned. So I like this year. There's a lot of green on the screen."
Alternative energy companies, particularly solar, should be attractive this year, says Cohn, who sees the trade getting a boost from the Obama administration's attempts to alleviate the country's dependence on foreign oil.
"We think it will be a good year for investors, and this represents a historic buying opportunity," Phil Dow, director of equity strategy at RBC Wealth Management, told CNBC. See video for Dow's full comments.
Playing it Safe
While aggressive bulls like Kimmel see the Dow surging to 11,000 this year, others are more cautious.
As Cohn points out, any push at this point is going to be considered a bear market rally because of how high the indexes have tumbled from their highs.
Yet even among bears, there's a feeling that some stocks will stand to gain and should be included in investor portfolios.
"The technical picture has been good over the past few weeks. That might push the market a little bit higher," says Jay Wong, portfolio manager at Los Angeles-based Payden & Rygel. "The fundamentals still remain weak and I think that people might just be a little bit overly optimistic with a new president coming in."
For Investors
- Video: Commodities Set For Rebound
- Tips: Dow May Hit 10,000 in 'Bear Rally'
- Contrarian: Ag Stocks Poised for 'Nice Rally'
Of the sectors that could help the market, Wong likes energy, particularly ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), which he calls a bellwether for the sector. Payden & Rygel, which uses large-cap growth strategies in its investments, also likes Consol Energy (NYSE: CNX), XTO Energy (NYSE: XTO) and Petrobras (NYSE: PZE).
Private education companies have been popular among many investors as well--capitalizing on a trend of laid-off workers looking for training--and Wong says Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) is solid in that area.
Another weak-economy play he backs is Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR), which has been a leader on the retail side.
Indeed, even Kimmel, who predicts a bull run that will be measured from the market's Oct. 10 lows, says investors still need to be careful in what he and others call a stock-picker's market.
"It's always the wrong time to buy the wrong company," Kimmel says. "You have to be very careful in this market, but I do think we have a new bull market that has already been started."
For more stories from CNBC, go to cnbc.com.


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Diary of an Eco-Outlaw: An Unreasonable Woman Breaks the Law for Mother Earth
Environmentalist, writer, and spitfire Edward Abbey coined a term with his most-admired book, The Monkey Wrench Gang. Now imagine a one-woman gang, climbing 75 feet up a chemical-spewing smokestack at a plastics plant in rural Southeast Texas, dropping a spray-painted banner that declares, "Remember Bhopal." How did she get there? Isn't India just about as far from rural Texas as you could imagine?
That character, in Diary of an Eco-Outlaw, is not fictional. She's a mom of five—her youngest is a honky-tonk-blasting autistic 16-year-old boy—living in a trailer in a company town owned by Dow Chemical/Union Carbide/Alcoa, depending on which way the corporate winds blow. She's also a high-profile environmental activist, who began by trying to protect the Gulf Coast bays where her family had worked as shrimpers for generations, a story told in her earlier book An Unreasonable Woman.
Listen to Diane Wilson talk about trying to pull off a hunger strike in Texas, and the isolating experience of being in prison. Audio courtesy of Allan Campbell, KOOP radio
This is Diane Wilson's rollicking tale of how she was moved to action by the infamous tragedy in Bhopal, where lethal fumes from a Union Carbide chemical plant killed thousands overnight. Sometimes Wilson raises hell just for the sake of it, but she also connects a senseless tragedy and the pain of mothers half a world away to her own family and community. It takes some elbow grease to reveal the connections between Texas and India, not to mention wine and cheese with Dick Cheney. Read on.
- A jail sentence for civil disobedience led Wilson to to improve the conditions of the 70,000 incarcerated in Texas.
How does the United States try cases of civil disobedience? Activist Tim DeChristopher on how much has changed since the founding fathers.