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Iceland Has the Hots for FOSS
Mar 26, 2012 5:00 AM PT
The government of Iceland recently launched a one-year migration project for all its public institutions in what appears to be an acceleration of its movement toward free and open source software (FOSS) and away from proprietary systems, according to the European Commission blog Joinup.
The project will apparently lay the foundation for the migration with a common infrastructure.
All the country's government ministries, its capital city of Reykjavik and Iceland's National Hospital are among the organizations involved in the move.
The Opening Up of Iceland's Systems
A series of five letters making various recommendations has reportedly been sent to the heads of all public institutions. These include suggesting the use of open standards.
Further, a group of specialists who will monitor the project has been formed to prevent failures.
The team involved in the one-year project is compiling a list of ongoing work in using FOSS at public institutions to enable collaboration in these attempts. Public institutions have been migrating to FOSS over the past four years, and so far two out of 32 public secondary schools have moved over entirely.
Many of the country's secondary schools already run Moodle, an open source course management system. Iceland's newly formed Media commission also runs entirely on FOSS.
Iceland is also overhauling its national school curriculum to ensure this doesn't restrict the use of FOSS.
The members of the one-year FOSS project are working on a call for tender to purchase services based on FOSS.
Iceland established a policy on FOSS back in 2007.
Why FOSS?
FOSS solutions "are typically cheaper than proprietary software packages, but escaping long-term, onerous and often unnecessary support fees adds a sort of compound interest je ne sais quoi to the equation," Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, told LinuxInsider.
Further, FOSS solutions are less frequently updated than proprietary ones and are less likely to require simultaneous hardware upgrades, King pointed out. "Over time, those various factors can add up to some serious change."
Serious change indeed -- major ERP vendors such as SAP and Oracle charge annual support fees, sometimes to the displeasure of users.
"Software maintenance is a way for vendors to make money because the maintenance fees for software can be very high," Darren Hayes, CIS program chair at Pace University, told LinuxInsider. So, "We are moving more and more to free software."
A Solution for the Penniless
Iceland needs to pinch every penny it can get. Following the financial market meltdown of 2008, the country's national currency, the krona, lost more than half its value against the euro; its banking system crashed; and inflation skyrocketed to nearly 20 percent, sparking protests against its leaders.
The nation ended up borrowing heavily from its neighbors to remain afloat.
"I absolutely think that, because of Iceland's heavy debt burden, it's in need of moving to open software," Pace University's Hayes remarked.
Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts?
However, the move to FOSS is not necessarily a solution for the cash-strapped.
"If your needs are basic and not likely to change, you have a large number of users or copies of software packages, and you can tolerate problems such as the loss of availability and loss of data, then a FOSS solution may save a lot of money," David Hill, principal at the Mesabi Group, told LinuxInsider.
However, if there's need for additional IT administrative personnel or support services and a need for a high level of business continuity, "FOSS may be fool's gold, with the risks outweighing what appear on the surface to be savings," Hill cautioned.
It's best to look at when it would be appropriate to use FOSS and when to use proprietary software, Hill suggested.
"A 100 percent use of FOSS is probably impractical, and [using] 100 percent proprietary software is probably unnecessarily expensive," Hill elaborated. Users "have to figure out what the right mix is."


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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip | The Gaza police operations room and a Palestinianhealth official say separate Israeli airstrikes hit the compound of Gaza City's main hospital, causing casualties.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Camera crews were prevented from filming the area of impact at Shifa Hospital. Healthofficial Ayman Sahabani says several people were wounded in the strike.

subset: commoncrawl


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Dreaming a Little Dream of the Ideal Linux Distro
Aug 2, 2012 5:00 AM PT
Here in the world of Linux, with hundreds of distributions to choose from, it seems safe to say that there's something for just about everyone.
Of course, that doesn't mean we can't all dream a little. While Linux is famous for its virtually infinite customizability, sometimes we may wish our favorite distro were a little bit different, even if just in some minor way.
What does the ideal Linux distribution look like? That, of course, is in the eye of the beholder, but it's also the topic of a recent Open Ballot over on TuxRadar.
"We want to know if you were king for a day, what combination of components would you pluck out of which distributions to recombine into your perfect operating system?" the TuxRadar team asked.
'SolusOS Is King'
More than 50 comments appeared on the topic in short order, as Linux geeks far and wide hastened to describe the distros of their fondest dreams.
"ArchBang, but with a weekly rolling release and Fedora's anaconda installer," offered CJH, for example.
"A stable base of Ubuntu LTS with the Ubuntu software centre, remastersys, multimedia codecs, DVD support & Wine preinstalled," suggested Petescan321, on the other hand. "The closest thing to this is Zorin OS."
Then again: "It was Linux Mint 10 with Gnome but now SolusOS is King," opined Ray Penguin Woods. "It just works!"
Down at the blogosphere's Punchy Penguin Saloon -- whose frosty air conditioning has earned it a particularly loyal clientele during these long summer months -- bloggers had opinions of their own.
'KDE for the Desktop'
"My ideal distribution looks a lot like Ubuntu, but with less unnecessary dependencies and thus less bloat," Hyperlogos blogger Martin Espinoza told Linux Girl.
"There is, for example, no need for mono whatsoever; alternatives exist for anything Mono-based in Ubuntu," Espinoza added. "One of the things that drew me to Linux to begin with was choice, and even on Ubuntu you still have many choices to make."
Google+ blogger Kevin O'Brien had a different view.
"KDE for the desktop, apt for the package management, Debian stability, and the $%#%^&* sound working properly for once," O'Brien said.
'Debian Is About Ideal'
"Something like Debian that ships natively with XFCE interface and Wicd wireless manager," consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack opined.
"I'm finally at the point where I don't feel like I need to be on the bleeding edge to have a nice desktop experience, so it doesn't need to update as often," Mack added.
"My favorite distro is Debian GNU/Linux," blogger Robert Pogson told Linux Girl, citing a variety of reasons:
- "a huge repository of client and server applications available in seconds";
- "a wonderful package manager, APT";
- "several flavors from the newest software to stuff tested for years";
- "a social contract which really states where Debian stands";
- "great developers/package maintainers all over the world"; and
- "widely distributed and fast mirrors."
In short, "Debian is about ideal," Pogson concluded. "The main concern is assembling great software to do what we need done with IT."
'There Isn't Just One'
In fact, "it is hard to say what an ideal distro looks like because there are many important niches," noted Chris Travers, a Slashdot blogger who works on the LedgerSMB project.
"What I need as a software developer for my laptop is very different than what I'd want to deploy my software to," Travers explained.
"On my development laptop I need flexibility, cutting-edge packages I can test for problems early, and the like," he pointed out. "Fedora is a great distro for me in this regard.
"On the server, though, I would prefer to deploy to a more conservative distro, like Debian Stable or Scientific Linux," Travers noted. "The considerations in these two environments are just not compatible and so there isn't just one ideal distribution."
'The Fragmentation Trend Will Continue'
Travers likes to think of the question in terms of ecology, he told Linux Girl.
"We have an ecosystem here, with different niches, and individual distros have evolved to meet their niche markets, so I think there is room for a lot of specialization, and this will become more pronounced as Linux continues to grow," he explained. "Already we have seen distros like Linux Mint split off specifically in order to meet the needs of users who were not well met by other distros. The fragmentation trend will continue, and this is a good thing."
Travers' own ideal distro "is something like Arch or Fedora, but my customers' ideal distro is more like Debian Stable or Scientific Linux," he concluded. "The combination provides a richness that the components cannot individually provide."
'I Never Stay in One Place Very Long'
Indeed, "one of my favorite things about Linux is its versatility," Google+ blogger Linux Rants agreed.
"I never stay in one place very long," Linux Rants told Linux Girl. "I like the DEB architecture, and Ubuntu's repository system works out well. I would love it if I could switch desktop environments on the fly without closing my applications.
"If I want to move from Cinnamon to Gnome3, I don't want to have to close out my apps," he added. "I roll around between Chrome, Firefox, and Epiphany for web browsing tasks, depending on what I'm doing at the time. I'd like to have LibreOffice and multiple web servers and DBs that I can toggle between easily."
In short, "I want a distribution that I can change at the drop of a hat," Linux Rants concluded.
'Made for Users by Users'
The best strategy is to "choose a distro that treats its users like a community, with respect for their needs," Google+ blogger Alessandro Ebersol advised. "Some distros treat their users without care, and forget their roots. They forget that, without a community, they are nothing."
So, "choose a distro that hears you, that you can connect with, that you can interact with the administrators, send feedback, be important," he added. "Don't expect to have everything fixed by others, but help and help fix things too.
"This is my ideal Linux distro: The one made for its users by its users," Ebersol concluded.


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It's been a little while since I wrote a real post. Since I don't have anything specific I am ready to post on, it is time for a new General Update.
Raid Progress:
Well, Anub'arak became available and everyone marched into the loot piñata that is ToC. Once again, the normal mode boss was pretty much a push over in my opinion. We got him down in two shots, and the first was a 2% enrage wipe. If we had been a little more comfortable with the fight mechanics it would have easily been a one shot.
Granted, one of our 10man groups did get in there on Tuesday and had a little bit of trouble. However, that was primarily due to a flawed strategy that they took from the PTR. Once they figured out it wouldn't work they downed him easily.
So with Anub'arak down, we moved onto Heroic ToC. I will admit my expectations were pretty low for the Heroic version of ToC. Given how easy normal was, I thought we would walk in there and down a couple of bosses. Boy was I wrong. Heroic ToC is pretty darn tough. We had a couple of issues with Group Composition given that some of our regular raiders weren't available, but we couldn't get out of phase 2 cleanly on the 25man version. My 10man group didn't even attempt it because we are trying to finish up the Ulduar Meta for a couple of people, but the other group did get in there and downed the first 3 bosses on heroic.
Heroic ToC is definitely doable, but it will take some practice. Unfortunately this poses another problem. We still have some fights left to finish up in Ulduar. We still want to get the meta achievement in there which means we need to pick up Firefighter, Vezax hard, and 1 light in the darkness. Since we have only a 9 hour schedule it will be a little difficult to work on both the ToC and Ulduar hard modes. Luckily they haven't announced the removal of the Drakes yet so we have at least 30 days to finish it up.
BiS Lists:
In some of my comments and emails, I've had a couple of questions about my BiS choices. I would like to address what I think are a couple of misunderstandings. First off, everyone needs to understand that a BiS list is just a Christmas wish list. Ninety nine percent of players in the game are unlikely to be able to get everything they want before a new tier becomes available. So, basing all of your gearing choices on a BiS list is pretty unrealistic.
Second, I never intended anyone to make loot choices based entirely off of my BiS list or the larger gear list. The list is a tool to help you see how things relate. It also organizes all of the options in one convenient place. What I expect players to do is to take a look at what is available and come up with a gear plan. What choices are best for you given the gear you already have and what is likely to be available.
For example, my back is pretty old. I picked up the [Shroud of Luminosity] from Naxx and have been rocking it for a long time. There haven't been a lot of good upgrades since then, and what there has been hasn't really dropped for us. [Jaina's Radiance] is BiS for me, but let's be honest. I am nowhere close to being able to complete a ToC 25man tribute run. I can't hold how for that item. On top of that, most of the best items are from ToC tribute runs, so I need to realize that picking one up might take a while. On the flip side, [Shawl of the Refreshing Winds] is number 11 on my list, but it is an upgrade and drops off of Normal Beasts. The next time it drops I will probably invest a significant amount of DKP into it, despite it not being on my BiS list.
Tier 9 vs Tier 8:
I've commented on this before, but I want to take a look at it again, since I've heard some interesting new ideas, and continue to get questions about it.
- 4T8 vs 2T9: The 2 piece T9 set bonus is better. My math from several months ago showed that instant Starfires were worth about 2.5% DPS while critting Moonfires were worth about 4.0%. When you consider the additional stats from T9 the 2T9 set bonus is an easy winner.
- Which 2 pieces of T9: This really depends on what items you have and what you can pick up, but let's assume you have full T8. If that is the case then I would pick up the T9 Chest and Helm. You're giving up 2 pieces of Spirit for two pieces without. Also, you wouldn't be making any big shifts regarding the hit cap by replacing your T8 gear in this way. Your T8 chest doesn't have hit on it and neither does the T9 chest. The T8 helm has hit on it and so does the T9. This makes for a very easy transition.
- 2T8 vs 4T9: Mathematically, 2T8 is a clear winner unless you're able to build a full set of T9.258. However, I read an interesting point on the WoW forums recently. (Randomsmo posted his point on his new blog here.) The point was that while 2T8 is better than 4T9 mathematically, 4T9 is a lot more consistent. Every Starfire and Wrath you cast will benefit from 4T9, while you can get screwed by RNG with 2T8. When you combine that with the stat advances you get from the T9.245 gear you can make a good argument for the upgrade. I will have to plug it into the model to be sure but I don't think it is a big DPS sacrifice.
Toon Update:
I haven't done much with the Lock or the Priest lately, because Grayvik my mage has been getting all of my alt attention. He is currently level 69 and I am trying to get him to Northrend as quickly as possible. (I know I could take him now, but I want him to be 70 first. It just makes it easier to use the guide that way.) He has been advancing pretty quickly for a couple of reasons. First, Outland is much more fun to level in than Azeroth is. The quest lines are easy to follow and you can do a lot of quests at once. Also, since I can fly, it's a lot easier to complete some of the quests. Second, I need a herber in Northrend. Since I dropped Herbalism on Graylo, I am at the mercy of the Auction House for my herbs. That's not a big deal if you plan ahead, but I don't like not being able to farm if the prices are unusually high.
Overall his levelling has gone well without issue. I did find one very surprising thing, however. The quests in Nagrand have been nerfed quite a bit. I think I remember seeing a note saying that the animal slaughter quests were nerfed, but it doesn't stop there. My guide lists what it thinks the quest requirements are and what the actual quest requirements are. For almost every quest where I had to "kill X number of this" or "collect X number of that," the number of items or kills needed had been reduced, by between 33 - 66%. That is huge. It has made the zone go a little quicker but to be honest I am a little disappointed. I was looking forward to skinning all of the beasts. Anyway, I am about half way through 69 and should ding 70 in the beginnings of Blades Edge Mountains.
One Quick note: Thank you Myraxa and Tigeris. I was doing the bird quest in Shattrath and couldn't seem to solo it. I was getting through the 3 add rushes with no problem, but the last bird did too much damage and had too much health for me to kill on my own. So I asked for help from the guild. Myraxa and Tigeris helped out, and wanted to be mentioned on the blog.
Goblin Activity:
I am continuing with my AH activities. I've had my ups and downs, but overall I think it is going pretty well. A guildie of mine, Nosismyhero, walked me through Auctioneer and explained a little bit of the functionality that I didn't understand. It has made playing the AH a lot easier.
My bag business has been tough lately. The cost of mats has gone up quite a bit. I used to find a lot of the mats around 4 gold and below, but lately a lot of it has been above that. In addition to that, the price of bags has gone down quite a bit, with prices being between 7g and 7.5g. There is still money to be made but it's not a lot. The flask business seems to be on the rebound. The flask prices have gone back up, but the price of Frost Lotus has gone up as well.
Also, I have a lot more respect for people like Gevlon who have been able to make a lot of money from Inscription. Since picking up the profession, I have tried to make money from it a couple of times, but haven't been able to find the right glyphs yet. I may not have discovered the right glyphs yet, but most of what I make has sat on the AH with little profit. It's definitely not as simple as some of the other professions. With Alchemy and Tailoring there are really only a few things you can sell for a profit so it is easy to figure out. Since there are literally hundreds of glyphs it is much tougher to learn for Inscription.
The bright spot in my Goblinish Activity is that I think I've found a good market to play in. It is the Armor Vellum III market. The volume is high, and the competition seems relatively low on my server. I sold several hundred over the weekend for 100% - 150% profit. On top of that, there is no deposit cost for listing them, so the market has very little risk. If this past weekend is any indication I might be able to make 1k gold a week off of just this item.
If anyone reading this is experienced in the glyph market and has any suggestions, please pass them on.
(Edited by Flamedor)


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Peter Jackson
Spielberg, Jackson talk Adventures of Tintin: the game
The director and producer superstar team of performance capture 3D film The Adventures of Tintin have offered their thoughts on Ubisoft's game tie-in. Verdict: they're impressed – check the video for more.
Peter Jackson headlines
Peter Jackson says he's currently enjoying MW2 more than films
Peter Jackson has revealed that he's currently enjoying playing Modern Warfare 2 more than movies at the moment.
MS: Jackson Halo project "on hold"
Remember Peter Jackson saying Halo Chronicles had been cancelled? When he said the project "fell apart," "is no longer happening," has "collapsed," and that his "involvement with the project" has "ended"? Microsoft has released a statement on the matter, using less final wording. From Joystiq: "Microsoft Game Studios is deeply committed to supporting and strategically […]
Halo Chronicles project "no longer happening", says Jackson
Peter Jackson has said that his Halo Chronicles project is no longer gonna happen. You could even say it's as dead as Miranda Keyes, from the way Jackson talked – at least on his end. "That Halo project is no longer happening, it sort of collapsed when the movie didn't end up happening," he said. […]
Ubisoft talks about UPlay at E3, launches this year
Yves Guillemont, head bossman at Ubisoft announced Uplay at E3 during its press event. It's a brand new web-based service and online destination that allows players to create content and share it with friends, and download game information. Out later in the year, some of the big-shots the company will be working with include Peter […]
Rumour: Payton working on Jackson Halo game
Both Kotaku and Shacknews are rumouring that MGS4 producer Ryan Payton has been signed as creative director on Halo Chronicles, the Peter Jackson-developed Halo title. Payton recently left Kojima Productions to return to the US, citing family issues. Hit the links for more.
Halo Chronicles spotted on Live?
Or not, as the case may be. According to this AddictGaming story, a Bungie employee has been spotted playing Halo Chronicles online. The game is the Peter Jackson Halo project, of which zero's known. And that's that.
Microsoft still hiring for Peter Jackson's Halo
According to this Gamasutra job posting, Microsoft is still looking for a "superstar game director" to work on the Peter Jackson Halo Project. "Partner with key Hollywood talent to collaboratively craft a masterful game experience," says the ad, adding that the successful applicant will, "Collaborate with game play designers, story writers, game writers, and said […]
New Halo game confirmed
Xbox head of Business, Don Mattrick, has confirmed to MTV that Bungie's new title is indeed a new Halo game. No direct quote is given, strangely, but Mattrick did apparently say that this is not the Peter Jackson venture: so it's something completely new. This is rather at odds with the decision that Microsoft took […]
Microsoft staffing up for Peter Jackson Halo game
Microsoft is now advertising for a creative director, producer and "game engineers" to work on the Peter Jackson Halo game Microsoft announced at X06. "A Peter Jackson-helmed Halo project was announced at X06 in Barcelona," a Microsoft spokesperson told MTV. "Since then, Microsoft Game Studios has been hard at work collaborating with Peter Jackson and […]
Peter Jackson latest
Peter Jackson says he's currently enjoying MW2 more than films


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Thursday, 24 February 2011
BPO/Rattle - Brahms, Wolf, and Mahler, 23 February 2011
Brahms – Es tönt ein voller Harfenklang, op.17 no.1
Wolf – Mörike Lieder: 'Elfenlied'
Mahler – Symphony no.3
Anke Hermann (soprano)
Nathalie Stutzmann (contralto)
Choir of Eltham College
Ladies of the London Symphony Chorus
Ladies of the BBC Singers
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Simon Rattle (conductor)
Wonderful programming! Unfortunately, the magical Brahms and Wolf introduction proved by far the most musically satisfying part of this concert; not that the mannered – almost beyond belief – performance of Mahler's Third Symphony prevented an inattentive audience of chatterers, consumptives, and mobile telephone users, sometimes all three together, from rising to its collective feet at the end. Hype is a dangerous thing; my fear is that Sir Simon Rattle, an extraordinarily able conductor, has fallen prey to the hype surrounding him one time too often. For we heard a glimpse of what might have been: those opening woodland scenes sounded ineffably beautiful, closer to a Platonic Idea of German Romanticism, horn calls and all, than perhaps ever they have done. When, moreover, shall we have the opportunity to hear them again? Reader, kindly refrain from holding your breath…
The first movement of the symphony was simply an incoherent mess. I have heard a few people describe the symphony as sprawling, but have always until now remained incredulous. This movement alone seemed as though it would never come to an end. Astoundingly beautiful playing from the Berlin Philharmonic alternated with brash, commonplace, hard-driven, Shostakovich-like marches,. The latter represent a point of view, I suppose, though not one I share; yet they seemed to have nothing whatsoever to do with the rest. Frustratingly, aspects of a superior performance thereafter shifted into (aural) view and shifted away just as quickly. Part of the problem seemed to be that the BPO could accomplish pretty much anything. Yet just because it can, does not mean that it should be asked to do so. Phrases were chopped up or elongated at will, likewise swelled or tapered. Had Nikolaus Harnoncourt not publicly declared his aversion to Mahler, one might have imagined him to have been at the podium. The posthorn solo was, I admit, achingly beautiful, though one sometimes struggled to hear it amidst the bronchial auditions for an intensive care ward. Nathalie Stutzmann gave as fine a rendition of her Nietzsche song as I can recall, and when Rattle 'accompanied', he proved sensitive indeed. We had to endure his trademark reading of the 'hinaufziehen' marking, though; it convinced me no more than it ever has done, sounding as if it would be better off in Tin Pan Alley than Pan's world reawakened. If I had been summer marching in, I should have marched straight back out again. And the choral singing, especially that of the Choir of Eltham College, was first-rate in the fifth movement, Rattle's shaping and the Berliners' playing alert to parallels with the opening Brahms and Wolf pieces.
Then came the nadir: the opening of the great Langsam finale. Not only have I never heard it so butchered; I have never heard a performance that has come close. The first paragraph was so grotesquely disfigured by pulling around, chopping up, and arbitrary insertion of pauses, that I almost lost the will to live: this in a work I love beyond words. After that, it was too late for any sort of recovery to be made. Whatever the narcissistic beauties of much of the performance, there was a rootlessness, harmonic and rhythmic, that militated against meaning. Mannerisms became fewer, though still present, but I simply awaited, Wotan-like, the end. Ravishing woodwind could offer only incidental relief; by the same token, an unfortunate slip mattered little. The audience erupted…
16 comments:
Comforting to know that there was someone else thinking the same as me last night. While others stood to clap, I remained very confused in my seat. Had I missed something? I thought the 3rd movement of the Mahler 3 was wonderful, but to either side it was a big mess. This was probably the most unmoving performance of the Langsam I had ever heard. What a shame, as the the orchestra were clearly on wonderful form.
So, another disappointing Mahler evening, following Dudamel. Next up for me is Maazel (though my hopes are not too high). Oh well, at least there's Pollini on Saturday.
- 24 February, 2011 10:07
- Mark Berry said...
I do wonder about some of the people who rose to their feet. It was notably those who had visibly been paying scant or no attention who were most vigorous and indeed most fascistic in glaring at the few of us who stubbornly remained seated. Doubtless some genuinely enjoyed the experience, perhaps somehow found it revelatory, but I suspect that many were simply acting according to a herd mentality.
This was for me a far less rewarding musical experience than Runnicles with the unfashionable BBC SSO at last year's Proms, let alone performances I have heard from the Staatskapelle Berlin and Boulez or the BPO and Haitink at the Barbican some years ago.
- 24 February, 2011 11:23
It's very difficult symphony to pull off,I heard an amazing version with VPO in Salzburg in 2008 and an OK one with the same forces the night before.Also a really awful one with the Concergebouw and Jansons.The Symphony is available in the BPO concert hall,the performance they gave just before London
- 24 February, 2011 12:18
The elderly man to my left was clearly moved by the performance. I was genuinely very happy for him - it's amazing to see someone so touched by music. Though I wonder how much the rest of the audience really listened (phones/coughs/rustling considered). One phone is bad, two terrible, three completely unforgivable. For me, the strange Rattle eccentricities (more than in his new Mahler 2 recording) meant that there was never much momentum in the piece.. there were parts to marvel at, and some of his transitions I found truly magical. But as a whole, 'unmoving' is the best word I can think of to describe the experience. 'Disappointing' comes a close second.
Jurowski, I thought, gave a far better performance last year. Of living conductors, Abbado would be my top pick. I wish he would give us an evening of Mahler when he visits later this year with his Lucerne Festival Orchestra; not that it will prevent me from going on both nights! I heard Runnicles for the first time last year (in Les Troyens).. that was a memorable performance, so I'll be looking out for more of him in the future.
- 24 February, 2011 13:54
- Théo Bélaud said...
It's very interestting to see you english guys seem far more comfortable with saying what a disaster Simon Rattle has become with time ; it's not so much the case in France, maybe not even in Germany as far as I know.
I sometime feel the debate focuses on the wrong issue - something like "has Rattle denatured the Berlin Ph. (so-called) sound ?", and it's quite easy after a concert to answer "no,not at all, so look, this means he is as capable of conducting them as Abbado, Haitink or Metzmacher are, so he is a great conductor, end of discussion".
Well, if people are just happy with the fact Berlin sounds like Berlin (so I guess they somehow feel great history is still living somewhere), orchestral music is in some kind of troubles (at least it's not the only one).
- 24 February, 2011 15:59
@Theo, I don't feel that way at all. In fact, I'm a big admirer of Simon Rattle and think he was the best pick for the Berlin post. I've found his Beethoven symphonies incredibly exciting in the past few years, as well as his Wagner and Sibelius (those are among the things I've heard him perform). I would love to hear his Salome this Easter, but probably wont make it. I also thought the Berlin Philharmonic played very well last night (from other reviews here, I believe on all four nights). I still regard them as among the top orchestras in the world, if not my personal favourite. Last night's disaster I place more on Rattle than the orchestra. But I do acknowledge that was one piece and one night.
- 24 February, 2011 23:20
You have to bear in mind as well that they done 3 different concerts over 3 nights,this is not the norm with this orchestra.Normally in Berlin they will do the same programme 2 or 3 nights in a row.As a rule if in Berlin I always go to the second or third performance as they are well played in by then.I heard Mahler 1 twice in November and the second performance was far better than the first,likewise the VPO in Salzburg for the Mahler 3 in 2008.I think great 2's or 3's will always be elusive.
- 25 February, 2011 05:07
- Théo Bélaud said...
Sorry, I hadn't understood you where a Rattle admirer, since you ad disloked this particular concert as much as some others...
We do agree on the fact the orchestra is still among the very best : well, in my opinion, this says nothing about who the director is. It's actually quite often we can see a musical director giving poor concerts and recordings, but still getting the orchestra to work in order to maintain technical excellence (by all meanings, including global sound signature).
Sometimes the orchestra even improves itslef under their worse tenures... and the man who comes next get all the benefits. Things are strange !
- 25 February, 2011 07:51
- Mark Berry said...
I am more equivocal concerning Rattle. I think he has done some truly excellent things, though more often in Birmingham than in Berlin. The second of the BPO's two Proms last year was very fine indeed, especially when it came to the successive performances of works by Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg. The first (Beethoven's 4th and Mahler's 1st) I thought simply awful, both works pulled around all over the place for no discernible, let alone good, reason and the BPO exhibiting that strange 'rootless' sound I observed in the present Mahler performance. Rattle was an extraordinary Music Director in Birmingham, his achievements going far beyond 'mere' conducting; I am yet to be convinced that this appointment was the best option for either conductor or orchestra. Barenboim seemed a better idea at the time, and in many respects remains so.
As for the orchestra itself, of course it is still a great ensemble. But it seems to have undergone the final transformation from a collective with some kind of identifiable sound of its own to an extraordinary versatile, hyper-virtuosic, international ensemble. I'd choose Vienna or Dresden, if I must...
- 25 February, 2011 09:57
- Gavin Plumley said...
I haven't heard Dresden recently, so cannot comment, but the VPO has sounded as if on auto-pilot on both of its recent trips to London. Its eschewal of a Principal Conductor begins to haunt them when we are subjected to Mehta's unfeeling Brahms 4 or Maazel's prissy La Mer. It goes without saying that we had a very different experience on Wednesday.
- 26 February, 2011 09:14
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/tomserviceblog/2011/feb/24/classical-music-simon-rattle-berlin-philharmonic
Judging by the comments section on his article, Tom Service's opinion is not a very popular one.
- 26 February, 2011 11:19
- Mark Berry said...
Gavin: I suspect part of the problem, for both orchestras, will be the demands of touring. The BPO, under Rattle as well as other conductors, has almost always sounded better to me at home in the Philharmonie than in many other venues, especially here in London. Presenting four different programmes on successive nights seems a bit silly really - though it certainly plays into the mindless press coverage of a 'super-orchestra', etc., which seems to have more in common with athletics than art. Having all concerned run some sort of musical marathon does not necessarily seem the wisest path for artistic results. However, my problem was barely with the orchestra at all on this occasion, but with Rattle's direction. It comes to something when I should rather, just, hear Maazel. I am not at all sure that the VPO needs a principal conductor, given the relatively small number of concerts it gives; after all, as you know, the State Opera does have a music director. The loss of the BPO's distinctive sound is another matter: a matter of considerable sadness, I think, but in terms of its technical prowess, I admit that it is not all loss.
Anonymous: In principle, I sympathise with Service. That idiot who shouted out was extremely annoying. (Whoever would think that such exhibitionism was an appropriate reaction, dragging Mahler down to the level of a Donizetti gala? And who would care so little for the effect it might have on the rest of the audience? That goes of course for the coughers, telephone users, etc.) Had I found the performance more convincing, I should doubtless have been livid; as it was, it seemed to fit rather well with the boorish behaviour of a considerable section of the audience.
- 26 February, 2011 17:24
- Evan Tucker said...
I've always thought that the Rattle/Berlin Philharmonic partnership was a mistake made for the best possible reasons. The Berlin Philharmonic wanted to stay relevant in the 21st century, and Simon Rattle wanted to effect the change he wanted to see in the music world. The problem with these notions is that the Berlin Philharmonic is no longer the center of orchestral life it once was, and Rattle will never be happy resting in the shadows of an organization's past glories. The person who should be the director of the Berlin Philharmonic is Barenboim, but he should have succeeded Karajan, not Abbado. Rattle should have stayed in England, where he could have had his pick of projects with any orchestra he wanted.
I've been listening to the BBC/Berlin Mahler broadcasts all week, and I can't say I was more than intermittently impressed with what I heard - it was as though they were going through the motions of what was expected of them (Mahler in 2010-11). Far more impressive was the Schubert 9, which had real fire.
- 26 February, 2011 18:18
"The loss of the BPO's distinctive sound is another matter: a matter of considerable sadness"
I wonder when you think this loss happened in Berlin and what exactly was lost. The BPO certainly changed a lot under each of Karajan, Abbado and Rattle. It seems rather difficult to work out what might constitute a 'distinctive' orchestral sound in general though; if we take, for example, the VPO, which you praise as the most distinctive of all, the main quality you single out is its distinctive 'sweetness of tone'. And yet you also regularly praise other orchestras for having a sweet sound, including on occasion the BPO, so is it just a matter of an orchestra playing with sufficient sweetness and sufficiently consistently for them to equal or even surpass the VPO? - which as you admit, has its off days and can sound rather ordinary on occasion.
Nowadays many conductors have moved away from a 'one sound for everything' philosophy, and orchestras have also moved away from playing with the same sound for every conductor (obviously to varying degrees). The merits of this change may be debatable, but surely what matters is not whether an orchestra produces a certain sound every night and under every conductor, but whether it is capable of producing a distinctive sound under the right conditions. For both the VPO and BPO, conductors who do not work with the orchestras regularly or who don't have very clear sonic requirements often get rather bland and unimpressive sounds. Yet when Barenboim, Haitink, Abbado, Thielemann, Jansons, Bychkov and others conduct both orchestras, they can produce very exciting and distinctive orchestral sounds. The problem with Rattle is that while he certainly gets very beautiful sounds, often he doesn't get as much mellowness and warmth as Barenboim, Thielemann, or even Abbado. And certainly, like it or not, he is not one to always try and get the same sound in all repertoire, which may lead some to accuse him of failing to preserve a distinctive Berlin sound. But I think listening to the Digital Concert Hall or to concerts under different conductors one can hear that under certain conductors the BPO can still produce a very distinctive, rich, mellow sound - and the ability in general to still do this surely matters more than absolute consistency in always doing so.
I am somewhat surprised at your neglect of the Concertgebouw. It is regularly praised for its distinctive sound and exactly the kinds of qualities you seem to like - golden strings, mellow brass - and yet you rarely seem to attend their concerts, despite their having a conductor in Jansons in my view as great as any today.
- 27 February, 2011 04:09
- Mark Berry said...
Evan, I quite agree re Barenboim. Consciously or otherwise, I suspect that was a subtext to some of what I was saying.
Anonymous, I think the Concertgebouw is a wonderful orchestra: I shouldn't read anything in particular to not having heard it so often (recently), other than that that is just how things have fallen. My travels have not tended to take me to the Netherlands, but I hope to hear the RCOA when here at the Barbican next season. (Haitink, though, I think, rather than Harnoncourt!)
You are quite right to point to the changes under Karajan, at least so far as I am able to discern from recordings (which of course may be a considerable part of the issue: the sound one wishes to produce for a recording, that is). Yet, it seems to me that though the generic sound' - I realise we are painting with quite a broad brush here - was transformed, for better or worse, under Karajan, there still remained something recognisable about it. That quality seemed to be partly lost under Abbado, and no longer seems to exist under Rattle, which is odd, given that I recall Rattle once lamenting the loss of individual orchestral sounds. Clearly, no one would employ quite the same 'sound' for everything, but it seems to me more interesting to find some sort of appropriate relationship between orchestral sound and repertoire, rather than simply impose an homogenenised, often rather empty, 'ideal for x' upon an orchestra. I recall Boulez, for example, saying that when he first conducted Bruckner with the VPO, he was sure that he would have more to learn from the orchestra than vice versa: not a bad attitude to take, given the orchestra's collective experience. For what it's worth, I was pleasantly surprised, perhaps more than that, to hear the depth of tone the BPO was able to muster for a concert I heard given under Thielemann (Brahms and Schoenberg, 12 December 2009).
- 27 February, 2011 09:45
There's an interesting and free interview in the BPO digital concert hall where Rattle talks about the whole Mahler project and also about taking over the Orchestra.Karajan said to him apparently that it would take 5 years for the transition to take place and more than a 100 Beethoven 5's before the BPO washed out the sound of their predecessor.The BPO are different btw under different conductors,Dudamel with them was a revelation for instance.As regards the VPO I was stunned at how BPO like they were under Thielmann and conversely how tradmark like they were under Mehta some years back in a fab Bruckner 9.Rattle and the VPO next year should be interesting.
- 27 February, 2011 16:42


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It was kind of awkward to write. It's been outlined for weeks but the hard part was writing it so that the only characters that get knocked around, or embarrassed, at all were mine. Otakumon is Kaisius's character and it was already weird enough writing dialogue for him. He did make the biggest hit in the fight and that hit from the Samurai Linebacker is going to stick with Susan throughout the rest of the story. I think for a quick scuffle where Susan is completely outgunned everyone came out with their dignity intact.Shock wrote:An implausible escape, but not by comic book standards. Good action!
The escape was originally more detailed. Lets just say that Susan is out five thousand dollars and is currently sneaking across a few roof tops to make it to the end of the block. It just slowed down the pacing a little too much for what I wanted and I honestly preferred the quick comedy beat of Sea-King and Otakumon there at the end. *Shrug*


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donor(redirected from living unrelated donor)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Financial, Encyclopedia.
Related to living unrelated donor: Matched Unrelated Donor, living unrelated donor transplantation
The party conferring a power. One who makes a gift. One who creates a trust.
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donornoun aider, almsgiver, altruist, assignor, backer, benefactor, benefactress, bequeather, bestower, cheerful giver, conferrer, consignor, contributor, deliverer, devisor, distributor of largess, donator, free giver, generous giver, giver, Good Samaritan, grantor, helper, humanitarian, patron, patroness, philanthropist, presenter, rewarder, vouchsafer
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donora person who makes a gift of property.
DONOR. He who makes a gift. (q.v.)


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All are welcome!
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10:30 – 11:00 am Coffee and Fellowship
11:00 am Worship Celebration
11:30 am Children's Church
Join us as we present the ageless truths of the Bible in a format that's easy to understand, even if you've never been to church.
Children's Church for children 4-11 years old and a nursery for infants and toddlers is provided.
We think going to church should be fun! We want you to enjoy yourself when you're here. That means:
– Dress casually and comfortably. Come as you are.
– FREE food, coffee & juice every Sunday during the Cafe Fellowship time.
– Great, live, contemporary music.
– Teaching that is practical and relevant to your life.
– A service that won't last more than 65 minutes.
The Summit Church is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta.
You might also know us as South Fayette Presbyterian Church.
1373 Highway 92 S., Fayetteville, GA 30215 (770) 460-3335
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I would be very grateful for any help identifying the location of the pictures in this link: https://imgur.com/a/LU7nT
The photos were taken some time in the late 1950s and are likely to be in or close to London.
Any help appreciated!
Help identifying location from an image
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The following quotes mention some of the myriad issues that led me to leave the Christian faith in which I was raised. It has been a very interesting journey from faith to atheism. I actually find the fact that I used to believe the unbelievable rather amusing. Our human foibles are interesting indeed.
"...an archaeological analysis of the patriarchal, conquest, judges, and United Monarchy narratives [shows] that while there is no compelling archaeological evidence for any of them, there is clear archaeological evidence that places the stories themselves in a late 7th-century BCE context."
"...an archaeological reconstruction of the distinct histories of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, highlighting the largely neglected history of the Omride Dynasty and attempting to show how the influence of Assyrian imperialism in the region set in motion a chain of events that would eventually make the poorer, more remote, and more religiously conservative kingdom of Judah the belated center of the cultic and national hopes of all Israel." -Silberman and Finkelstein
"Solomon ... in the eyes of Israelite historians, marked the apex of Israelite achievement. Curiously, no reference to him or his father David, or their empire in a non-Israelite source is known ... " – Isserlin (The Israelites, p72)
"Monumental structures once attributed to the building activities of Solomon in the cities of Megiddo, Gezer and Hazor have been shown over the years to date from various archaeological periods spanning centuries." – Rohl (A Test of Time, p34)
'Neither Moses, nor an enslaved Israel nor the event of this Exodus are recorded in any known ancient records outside the Bible ...
Although its climate has preserved the tiniest traces of ancient bedouin encampments and the sparse 5000-year-old villages of mine workers there is not a single trace of Moses or the Israelites.' – John Romer, Testament, pp57/8.
"Damascus reached its zenith during the reign of Hazael ... Transjordanian regions were overrun ... Hazael was able to cross Israelite territory to progress down the coastal plain to take Gath in Philistia ...
In fact, Hazael appears to have established an empire or sphere of influence not unlike that ascribed to David." – B.S.J. Isserlin (The Israelites, p86)
"The desire to read the letters bytdvd as house of david is ... a classic example of scholars working backwards from the Bible rather than forwards from the evidence."
– M. Sturgis, It Ain't Necessarily So, p129.
"'Ur of the Chaldees' in Genesis is clearly an anachronistic reference … 'Chaldaeans' did not appear in Mesopotamia until the 7th century BC." – Magnus Magnusson, The Archaeology of the Bible Lands-BC, pp 31,206.
"One of the curious features of the book of Genesis is the absence of any reference to what is going on in the ancient Near East during the second millennium BC." – S Hooke – Peake's Commentary on the Bible, p 188.
"Ur was Sumerian and had no connection with the people known as the Chaldaeans until a thousand years after any possible date to which Abraham can be attributed." – M. Grant, The History of Ancient Israel, p32.
'Instead of splitting the carcass of a sea-monster to create the world, as Marduk did, Yahweh divided the Sea of Reeds to let his people escape from Pharaoh and the pursuing army. Instead of slaying the demonic hordes, like Marduk, Yahweh drowned the Egyptians.' (K. Armstrong, A History of Jerusalem, p31)
"In the fantasy 'history' (chapter 1 of the Book of Numbers) 603,550 'males of military age' fled Egypt at the time of the Exodus, which implies a refugee army of at least two million – more than the total population of Egypt itself! And this multitude supposedly wandered the wilderness for forty years, contriving to leave not a trace of their passing for posterity."
"Despite the mass of contemporary records that have been unearthed in Egypt, not one historical reference to the presence of the Israelites has yet been found there. Not a single mention of Joseph, the Pharaoh's 'Grand Vizier'. Not a word about Moses, or the spectacular flight from Egypt and the destruction of the pursuing Egyptian army." Magnus Magnusson (The Archaeology of the Bible Lands - BC, p43)
"So anachronistic and inconsistent ... are the profuse legends that have gathered round the figures of the patriarchs that it cannot even be stated for certain that they ever existed at all ...
In any case, the existences and traditions of these patriarchs seem to have been originally quite separate from one another and unrelated." – M. Grant, The History of Ancient Israel, p30.
"The archaeological evidence in Jerusalem for the famous building projects of Solomon is nonexistent.
19th and early 20th century excavations around the Temple Mount in Jerusalem failed to identify even a trace of Solomon's fabled Temple or palace complex." (Finkelstein, Silberman, p128)
"The scientific position is clear. There is no evidence of any kind for the existence of Abraham (supposedly the Israelites' founding patriarch), Moses, or Solomon. At the time of the Exodus, Canaan —the Promised Land to which the Israelites were fleeing—was ruled and firmly controlled by the very Egypt from which they were trying to escape.
The conquest of Canaan by Joshua could not have happened in the way described in the Bible. Most of the towns he is supposed to have conquered either weren't inhabited, didn't exist or were conquered at wildly different times.
Jerusalem, which was supposed to have become the capital of the great unified empire of King David (he of David and Goliath fame), appears to have been tiny and only sparsely inhabited in the relevant period. Many of the great monuments of ancient Israel attributed on the authority of the Old Testament to King Solomon were of a later date.
Excavations of early Israelite settlements on the West Bank of the Jordan since the 1967 Six Day War have suggested strongly that the Israelites were in fact of local Canaanite stock.
They were probably desert nomads who took to hill farming for economic reasons, and developed into two kingdoms—a northern one called Israel, and a southern called Judah. The Bible reflects the slightly differing traditions of the two kingdoms, and when the north collapsed in the 8th century BC and its people fled south, an attempt was made through written texts to unify and reconcile both peoples. Thus the Old Testament began to take shape.
The Bible says the Israelites first began to worship one God in the time of Moses. But in fact, the Israelites from both north and south were actually polytheistic, and the process of monotheism didn't begin till many centuries after that supposed time.
This followed from the centralisation of cult worship in Jerusalem ordered by the king, as a way of rallying the people, and it became focussed on a local Israelite deity, Yahweh (or as we know him, Jehovah)."
"The Yoash stone, named after a ruler of the ancient Hebrew kingdom of Judah, was cited as possibly the strongest historical evidence of the biblical account of the First Temple, built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. and destroyed by the Babylonians in the 6th century B.C. The stone's inscription gives instructions in ancient Hebrew for maintaining the Temple.
The Israeli authorities said Wednesday that Mr. Golan, working through intermediaries, had been behind both the burial box and the Yoash stone.
Israeli officials received a tip questioning the authenticity of the Yoash stone two years ago and began an investigation that kept expanding, according to Mr. Dorfman, the Antiquities Authority head. The authority announced in June 2003 that James's burial box and the Yoash stone were forgeries.
The criminal charges filed Wednesday were the first in the case, and they came just days after the Israel Museum said an independent panel had concluded that the ivory pomegranate, which it bought in 1988 from an unknown seller by depositing half a million dollars in a Swiss bank account, was not authentic.
The pomegranate is believed to date back 3,400 years, but its inscription was added recently, the museum said. The Wednesday indictments cited the pomegranate as an example of a high-profile forgery, but did not charge any of the four suspects with counterfeiting it."
Nice post Cooper. I find the OT to be the most fascinating part of the bible. I know most people tend to focus on the NT and Jesus when trying to disprove the existence of god. However, I believe that the key is the OT. Without the validity of the OT, there is no Jesus or Christianity. Well, there shouldn't be. What I can't understand is how Christians today can so readily dismiss the OT as being irrelevant to what they believe today! The Christians today have essentially created a new religion based solely on the NT. They have completely dismissed the god of the OT when the god of the OT is what Jesus believed in and supposedly was the son of, according to the gospels. It's amazing to me how Christians keep changing the rules of their religion in order to make it more palatable to the masses.
I am not sure how I'm supposed to respond to Cooper's post. Essentially, it comes down to an argument from authority, since he refuses to cite any of their arguments; he just cites their conclusions. If all you have is an argument from authority, then you don't really have anything interesting to add. Furthermore, there are many respected archeologists who find that the archeological record supports the biblical account: James K. Hoffemeir, Kenneth Kitchen and others. Did you ever read, for example, Kitchens' "On the Reliability of the Old Testament"? If not, then you are only exposing yourself to half of the story.
Second, its highly doubtful that archeology can prove a negative. Indeed, the city of Damascus—which existed as early as 2000 B.C according to Egyptian manuscripts—hasn't left a shred of evidence (the earliest finding has been an idol dated to 900 B.C.) Sorry, but I'm a bit more skeptical than Cooper is.
Very nice article and interesting points. I would like to add a few of my own, humbly. There is much to be said, so I may make several entries to avoid long and exhausting text.
From the information I gathered on a TV documentary, it appears that so-called Israeli archaeologists rebury human remains in a common, unmarked pit, after having discovered them. Oddly enough, they preserve and store the small stone urns that contained the bones. This is a religious duty, it seems, but certainly not scientific by any means. This deserves verification though. This means that even if they came across (which may have happened), the skeleton of Jesus himself, science would be cheated out of studying his bones and DNA, etc.
Secondly, The Bible does not contain, to my knowledge, the slightest corroborated calendar date, anywhere. This, by itself, keeps the OT and the NT from being an historic reference.
Thirdly, even if archaeological evidence supports some mentions of events and people, it would only go to show that those who wrote it, placed the events within their historical and physical environment. Even fiction novels like those of Jules Verne have many references to existing cities and people of the environment of Verne's times.
And finally, even if archaeologists discovered Jesus' birth certificate tomorrow, it would still remain to prove that what the NT says about him is accurate and true.
As a complementary entry to my previous post, I am submitting this poem that summarizes several related points.
The title is, HOLY HEARSAY.
I do hope that the format will not be jumbled by this program.
Holy Hearsay
Is there a quantum theory
Through which a god speaks straightaway
From a distant infinity
To any man on Earth today?
How dare some give His attributes,
Proclaiming things no one can see?
"He has a beard and wears some boots".
This is really pure fantasy.
Religions books are all empty
Of anything that would make sense.
Is there even one deity?
We are left sitting on the fence.
These scriptures are a false pretense
Without some authenticity
And legends are a poor defense.
Scriptures have no validity.
Nowhere will you find in scriptures
But one verifiable date,
No chronological measures,
No facts that would help validate.
No credentials for their authors,
Writing decades after Christ's death,
No birthdates, mothers or fathers,
Could they be precise to one breath?
The words of Jesus are a quiz,
Who could have known what he said then,
When in Gethsemane he is,
All were asleep even his men?
James Clovispoint
Dec 2009
The OT starts to make historical sense from the 10thC onwards (we have a seal from the House of Dadu - ie David) although they bigged up Solomon as in the early iron age he could only have been a pretty poor tribal leader. We start seeing synchronisms with Assyrian and Babylonian history from 8th century onwards. The Exodus story is a conventional 'birth of a nation tale' most ancient peoples had them and they are all made up (Romulus and Remus etc). The Exodus purports to be dated in the bronze age during the Egyptian New Kingdom and there were Asiatic populations in Egypt at the time. There are many problems with the story; first the Asiatic populations in Egypt were not slaves and indeed there has never been any evidence to suggest large scale slavery every existed in Egypt; second as stated previously the Levant was part of the Egyptian 'empire' at the time so it would be out of the frying pan into the fire and third the biggest problem Egypt had was keeping people out, everyone wanted to share the good life it would seem, no one would voluntary leave the land of agricultural plenty to scrabble a poor existence in the foothills of the Levant.


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Take America's Funniest Home Videos, add a touch of Fail Blog and CollegeHumor.com and then mix in King of the Web and you'll come up with BlooperBox. The Portland upstart was founded last June after — and we're not joking here — co-founder Brad Hogan's dog chased after a squirrel leashed to a coffee table.
As we like to say, entrepreneurial inspiration hits in all places.
On BlooperBox, five contestants compete each week for votes, Internet stardom and a $50 prize. Right now, you can watch failed flips, belly flops and dives.
We chatted with the 28-year-old Hogan for the latest installment of Startup Spotlight to get the full story behind the squirrel and find out one of the most hilarious world domination strategies we've heard in a long time.
Explain what you do so our parents can understand it: "BlooperBox.com is a weekly funny videos contest that pays cash. Each week, 5 videos compete to see who can get the most votes and win $50."
Inspiration hit us when: "We were at a coffee shop brainstorming a completely different idea we had that would later become Facebook Timeline (glad we decided against that direct competitor). While we were sitting outside of the cafe, my dog Ellie spotted a squirrel and took off towards it. Unfortunately for us, I made the mistake of tying her up to the table instead of my chair. As the table went, so did the coffee, which landed conveniently in my lap. My co-founder Phil (Novara) said: 'Dude, that would totally win on America's Funniest Home Videos if I was taping it.' Shortly after, we ditched the timeline idea and aimed at creating an online funny videos contest."
VC, Angel or Bootstrap: "Bootstrap and seeking mentors."
Our 'secret sauce' is: "We think online entertainment sites like YouTube can be overwhelming with the amount of content (i.e. videos), so instead, we take a handful of funny videos each week and add the excitement of a contest, like America's Funniest Home Videos but without Bob Saget and the cheesy one-liners."
The smartest move we've made so far: "Gathering over 200 funny videos before we launched. It bought us a buffer in case we have weeks with less video uploads."
The biggest mistake we've made so far: "Taking time off from seeking out new videos. While we did gather 200 before launch, we also assumed video uploads would start coming in automatically after launch. We started going through videos quicker than anticipated, which made us realize that it will be a long time before we can stop recruiting funny videos."
Would you rather have Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg or Bezos in your corner: "Steve Jobs. Jobs was a cutthroat entrepreneur that new how to position an idea with an audience even if there were similar ideas within the market. We would pick his brain to help us position ourselves against large video sharing sites like Break.com and CollegeHumor.com."
Our world domination strategy starts when: "While you're coaching your son's baseball game, your wife is recording from her phone. She just so happens to catch you taking an unexpected foul ball to the groin. Once recovered, you say, "That could totally win, we should send that to BlooperBox."
Rivals should fear us because: "We are taking an idea that has been proven to work on television and simplifying it for the online community."
We are truly unique because: "We are the only weekly funny videos contest on the internet."
The biggest hurdle we've overcome is: "Bouncing back from a low-traffic, low-voting week, to get back on pace with our goals."
What's the one piece of advice you'd give to other entrepreneurs just starting out: "Listen to everyone, but don't try to please them all."


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Developer Vigil Games' next Darksiders title retains the hack and slash formula from its predecessor, but it ventures into a new territory with its storyline. And even after just barely catching a glimpse of it, I already want to know more.
My demo on the E3 showfloor starts at the beginning of the game. Death, the new horseman protagonist players get to ride as, is on a mission to free his brother from unjust accusations of starting the apocalypse. But the first obstacle in Death's course to the Tree of Life has him meet face to face with the keeper of secrets, also known as the Crowfather.
Throughout Death's riding, jumping, and scaling of walls and cliffs, an ominous voice resonates through icy blue canyons and caverns, whispering of troubling secrets. An occasional appearance of a figure in a crowfeathered frock indicates that the panicked whispers are coming from him.
Before Death will face off against the crazed Crowfather, he platforms across the frozen level, using wall runs, mantles, bounces, and climbing to navigate. He'll slash skull-like enemies with his scythe, and hammer down on them with a heavier secondary weapon. Since this was early on in the game, I wasn't able to tinker with some of his more impressive abilities—like transforming into a reaper, though some in-battle cutscenes will tease this ability—but it's exciting to read about what he can eventually level towards. Having a personal horde of exploding zombies and being able to split into two entities are just a few of the interesting abilities.
Since my demonstration only lasted about 20-30 minutes, I didn't get a chance to meet NPCs and explore the world—which is supposed to be over double the size of the first Darksiders—but I didn't need it to get excited about investing more time in the game. My tiny peek at Death's role in this game, as well as his responsibilities that the storyline seems to tell me have probably occasionally gone awry, did that for me.
Before my boss battle with the Crowfather, he pleaded with me to destroy the green-glowing amulet chained around his neck. Even with Death's Cubone-looking mask on, I could see pain in his eyes while he explained that he couldn't alleviate the Crowfather's stress by destroying the amulet. It looks like he wants to, and hates that he knows he can't. There's a deeper plotline here that I want to poke through. What's the amulet exactly? Why does it trouble him? Why does the Crowfather have it, and why is it driving him crazy?
By the boss fight's end, the amulet transferred its powers into Death, embedding it into his chest. It's unclear what exactly this will mean for him, or what the deal bartered between Death and Crowfather was that handed the amulet off to him in the first place, but what we do know is that the amulet contains all the souls of Death's annihilated race: the Nephilim. All of his brothers' souls are captured in there, and now trapped in his own body. It's a harrowing thought, to know that the deaths the four horseman were responsible for—the deaths of his own kind—are now flowing through his brain and undoubtedly his conscious.
You can expect more coverage from us before the game's release in August.


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From £14,870
From £14,870OTR
The new BMW R 1250 GS Adventure is built for your challenges. Rough routes, adverse conditions and the most remote destinations are no problem for the queen of travel enduros. With the increase in capacity to 1254 ccm and 100 kW (136 hp), you have even more power for wilderness, desert or country road. In addition to the increased performance, the engine also works more efficiently and gives you the endurance you need in order to reach the next stage finish. The variable camshaft control BMW ShiftCam is an entirely new technology – it offers you sovereignty in every engine speed range and gives the Boxer engine an unprecedented culture. No matter what adventure drives you, the BMW R 1250 GS Adventure is ready to go with you.
Standard Equipment:
BMW Motorrad ABS
Cross Spoke Wheels (Black)
LED Dynamic Brake Light
TFT with Connectivity
LED Headlight
Power Socket
Riding Modes Rain and Road
Centre Stand
Luggage Rack
Adjustable Windscreen
HillStart Control
Storage Compartment
Full-LED Headlight
Dynamic Traction Control
Removable Rear Foot Pegs
BMW Motorrad Multimedia Controller
|Air/liquid-cooled four stroke flat twin engine, double overhead camshaft, one balance shaft and variable engine timing system BMW ShiftCam
|Bore x stroke
|102.5 mm x 76 mm
|1.254 ccm
|Rated output
|100 kW (136 PS) at 7,750 U/min
|Max. torque
|143 Nm at 6,250 U/min
|Compression ratio
|12.5 : 1
|Mixture control / engine management
|Electronic intake pipe injection
|Emission control
|Closed-loop 3-way catalytic converter, emission standard EU-4
|Performance / fuel consumption
|Maximum speed
|Over 200 km/h
|Consumption per 100 km based on the WMTC
|4.75 l
|Fuel type
|Unleaded super, octane number 95 (RON), adaptive fuel quality regulation (91 to 98 RON)
|Electrical system
|Three-phase alternator (510 watts nominal power)
|12 V / 11.8 Ah, maintenance-free
|Power transmission
|Oil lubricated clutch, hydraulically operated
|Constant mesh 6-speed gearbox with helical gear teeth
|Shaft drive
|Chassis / brakes
|Two-section frame, front- and bolted on rear frame, load-bearing engine
|Front wheel location / suspension
|BMW Motorrad Telelever; stanchion diameter 37 mm, central spring strut
|Rear wheel location / suspension
|Cast aluminium single-sided swing arm with BMW Motorrad Paralever; WAD strut (travel-related damping), spring pre-load hydraulically adjustable (continuously variable) at handwheel, rebound damping adjustable at handwheel
|Suspension travel front / rear
|210 mm / 220 mm
|1,504 mm
|95.4 mm
|Steering head angle
|Cross spoke wheels
|Rim, front
|3.00 x 19"
|Rim, rear
|4,50 x 17"
|Tyres, front
|Tyres, rear
|Brake, front
|Dual disc brake, floating brake discs, diameter 305 mm, 4-piston radial calipers
|Brake, rear
|Single disc brake, diameter 276 mm, double-piston floating caliper
|BMW Motorrad Integral ABS (part-integral), disengageable
|Dimensions / weights
|2,270 mm
|Width (incl. mirrors)
|980 mm
|Height (excl. mirrors)
|1,460 mm
|Seat height, unladen weight
|268 kg
|Permitted total weight
|485 kg
|Payload (with standard equipment)
|217 kg
|Usable tank volume
|30 l
|ca. 4 l


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Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
March 17, 2012
United States Secretary of State Hillary "We came, we saw, he died" Clinton's message to Pakistan was stark; try to go ahead with the IP (Iran-Pakistan) gas pipeline, and we're going to take you out financially.
Islamabad, its economy in tatters, living in power-cut land, and desperate for energy, tried to argue. Pakistan's top official in the Petroleum and Natural Resources Ministry, Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry, stressed that the 2,775-km, $1.5 billion IP was absolutely crucial for Pakistan's energy security.
That fell on deaf ears. Clinton evoked "particularly damaging" sanctions – tied to Washington's push to isolate Iran by all means available and the no-holds-barred campaign to force particularly India, China and Turkey to cut off their imports of Iranian oil and gas.
So as Washington has been impotent to disrupt Pipelineistan moves in Central Asia – by isolating Iran and bypassing Russia – it's now going ballistic to prevent by all means the crucial integration of Southwest Asia and South Asia, from Iran's giant South Pars gas field to Pakistan's Balochistan and Sindh provinces.
IP, it should be remembered, is the original, $7 billion IPI; Iran-Pakistan-India, also known as the "peace pipeline". India dropped out in 2009 after non-stop harassment by the George W Bush and then Barack Obama administrations; India was offered access to civilian nuclear technology.
China, for its part, is still eyeing the possibility of extending IP out of Gwadar port, then crossing to Pakistan's north alongside the Karakoram Highway all the way to Xinjiang. China is already helping Islamabad to build civilian nuclear reactors – as part of Pakistan's energy security policy.
By the way, people who know what's coming are taking advantage of our healthy & delicious storable food!


text:
Posted 9 years ago
(1 item)
Vintage Book Fans...! In the collection we have the following timeless classics that include not four great tales, but eight! On the flip-side of each story is another great story book! In fact, you get even more great classic entertainment because two of these eight are collections of awesome short-stories! So, get ready to sit back and enjoy these century-old literary landmarks!: "Grimm's Fairy Tales" by the Brothers Grimm/"Andersen's Fairy Tales" by Hans Christian Andersen; 1963 Hardcover; "The Prince and the Pauper" by Samuel Clemens/"Just So Stories" by Rudyard Kipling; 1965 Hardcover; "The Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum/ "The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling; 1963 Hardcover; "Treasure Island" by Rober Louis Stevenson/ "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift; 1963 Hardcover


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Backed as the 3-2 favorite in the six-furlong race for fillies and mares, Ullapool claimed the lead in the opening sixteenth of a mile.
"[I had instructions] to try to put her on the lead," said winning jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. "My horse relaxed pretty good, and she just picked it up, as you saw, at the quarter pole. I was just a passenger."
Ullapool's victory in the Garland of Roses completed a sweep of races 6-8 for Ortiz.
Trainer Eddie Kenneally owns Ullapool in partnership with Marc Detampel, and the duo claimed the gray daughter of Langfuhr for $25,000 in May 2012 at Belmont. Since then, she has won three of five starts.
Overall, Ullapool is 6-1-0 in 13 starts and has earned $271,911, including $60,000 for her Garland of Roses triumph.
"Eddie had mentioned the Florida Millions [as a possibility for her next start]," said Leonard Dunne, assistant to Kenneally. "She's a Florida-bred, but now that she has won a stake at Aqueduct I'll be lobbying to keep her here, of course." (Jon Forbes)
• The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) has announced the stakes schedule for the 2014 winter/spring meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, with stakes purses totaling $6 million.
The Grade 1, $1 million Wood Memorial, New York's premier prep race for the Triple Crown, tops the stakes schedule and will be contested on April 5.
The Wood Memorial will receive top billing on the card that also will include the Grade 1, $500,000 Carter Handicap, the Grade 2, $300,000 Gazelle, the Grade 2, $250,000 Ruffian Handicap, and the Grade 3, $300,000 Bay Shore.
In addition, Aqueduct will host three graded stakes around two turns for 3-year-olds that lead to the Wood Memorial: the Grade 2, $200,000 Jerome on January 4, the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on February 1, and the Grade 3, $500,000 Gotham on March 1.
The minimum stakes purse is $100,000, up from $75,000 last year.
Aqueduct will predominantly race on a Thursday-through-Monday schedule in January and March, and on a four-day, Friday-through-Monday schedule in February.
From April through the end of the year, NYRA generally will hold live racing on its customary Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule, with the usual exception of the Saratoga meet when there will again be live racing every day except Tuesday.
• Trainers Jeremiah Englehart and Tom Morley will be among the industry speakers participating in The New York Racing Association, Inc.'s (NYRA) next "New Owners Luncheon" at Aqueduct Racetrack on Saturday, December 21.
The event will begin at 8 a.m. with a continental breakfast in Equestris Restaurant followed by presentations and a Q&A session