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Oldies Versus Classic Rock
A recent post about a rock station top 350 countdown had a reader wondering what's the distinction between oldies and classic rock.
The concept of oldies in the rock era obviously couldn't start until the music had been around a few years. Still, teenagers have a high turnover rate, and Little Caesar & The Romans had a hit with ''Those Oldies But Goodies (Remind Me Of You)" in 1961.
By the end of the 60s, oldies compilations were being released. Even amid all those extended jams, there was a revival of 50s music; remember, Sha Na Na played Woodstock. By the early 70s, there was a huge nostalgic movement for early rock and roll (helped along by American Graffiti) and radio stations adopted the "oldies" format. At the time, oldies essentially meant rock music up to around 1964, when The Beatles conquered the world (and, to some, changed music for the worse). Meanwhile, "classic rock," as we'd call it today, was still being created.
As the 70s wore on, oldies stretched out a few more years--Beatles, Beach Boys and Motown were heard more often, for example. But at a certain point, "classic rock" started. The most convenient line of demarcation would be 1967, when The Beatles changed music yet again (for the worse, yet again, according to some oldies fans) with the Sergeant Pepper album.
By the late 70s, the "classic rock" format--The Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin--became prevalent. These stations didn't play much music from before 1967, and almost nothing past the mid-70s. Certainly no disco or punk. Furthermore, the playlists of oldies and classic rock station had little in common.
However, as time moves on, eras start to run together in people's minds. (I've written about this before regarding movies--I keep hearing about the great screwball comedies of the 1940s). By 1990, it wasn't unusual to hear stations advertise music from the 50s, 60s, and 70s--which would have seemed like three very different eras 15 years earlier.
So it's true, there's been plenty of leakage. What wouldn't be played by an oldies station in 1975--"Imagine"--can make the top ten list of all time today. In fact, oldies, which use to be almost all 50s stuff, has less and less music from that period. (Kids who grew up listening to Elvis are now retirees.) And those who program "classic rock" allow more and more recent stuff as well--though you're still unlikely to hear any doo-wop.
"Oldies" and "classic rock" are still terms that have meaning, but I wouldn't be surprised if someday, the top ten of both include "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
ColumbusGuy adds: Nice post. This is the thing LAGuy does very well. Still, I find myself unable to stop thinking of Phil Spectre's angus.


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I recently attended an informal margarita tasting at Tres Agaves restaurant in San Francisco. I've sampled some great aged tequila in the past, but usually pass on margaritas unless the place is known for being top-notch - too often, the "margarita mix" is just an overly sweet, syrupy mess that is a recipe for a splitting headache the next day.
Tres Agaves, on the other hand, is known far and wide for their tequila selection as well as their margaritas (check out their reviews on Yelp, for example), so it seemed like a perfect choice to sample some of their top-end selections with companions who know and understand this often-misunderstood liquor.
We started with the "Favoritos de los Empleados" (staff picks), a flight of mid-high end tequilas, designed to provide a sense of how far the same liquor can range depending on how long it is aged and in what sort of barrel. The flight consisted of three tequilas, ranging in body from lightest to fullest:
- El Tesoro Platinum
- Casa Noble Single Barrel Reposado
- El Jimador Añejo
The El Tesoro Platinum is from the Highlands, and was crystal clear and very smooth. It didn't have a ton of body compared to the other two, but that is not its role. This one would be perfect as a light aperitif on a hot day or as a restorative after a hard day of work, but might not stand up well as a mixer.
The Casa Noble was a real eye-opener as a change from the Tesoro. It is from the Lowlands, but it is aged in French white oak for the maximum of 364 days that is allowed for a Reposado ("rested") tequila. The combination works very well, both on the nose and in the mouthfeel. Our tasting group tasted a honey-floral flavor in it, akin to a lavender crème brûlée, and sensed that a margarita employing this tequila might taste like an unsweetened key lime pie filling for a buttery pastry. That may not sound like something you'd want to drink (or the best filled pastry treat), but add a salt-rimmed glass and you will likely have a very nice margarita on your hands.
The Casa Noble reminded me in passing of a scotch without the peat (focusing on the aging and the wood notes), and was my favorite of the flight. The rest of the group preferred the next one in the flight; either way, discussing the merits of the Casa Noble gave us a chance to admire its beautiful handmade cobalt blue glass bottle a bit longer as a result ...
By contrast, the El Jimador Añejo was a much fuller-bodied tequila. Also from the Lowlands, it owes much of its richer mouthfeel to the fact that it is aged for a minimum of 12 months in new American oak barrels, and it shows. I got notes of cinnamon and stronger wood than the Casa Noble on the nose; that said, its rich flavor should be savored and not hidden under a mix or lime juice. If you were to use it in a margarita, however, we imagined that it would produce a flavor like the deep-fried lemons (yum!) that are served with fried calamari plates to balance the mix of flavors. Overall, this was a delightful sipping tequila and the group's favorite.
At the end of the flight and interested in stretching our palate further, we got into a discussion with the barman as to which tequila would do a good job in pushing the envelope as an adventurous mixer. Our intuition proved correct and we selected a post-flight set of the "Pancho Villa" margaritas with salt. This margarita uses the Siete Leguas Reposado tequila, whose full body was given room to flourish when mixed with Tres Agaves's austere and clean margarita mix, which practically bursts from the glass with an abundance of freshly-squeezed lime.
Closing out the tasting, we were fortunate enough to be offered a taste of Tequila Chamucos (the devil). This tequila's box alone is enough to justify a taste, and definitely check out their great website as well which features nice animation and a selection of groovy tunes. The Chamucos is aged in white oak barrels for seven months; while this sampling was clean and fresh, our barman indicated that the quality from bottle to bottle is quite inconsistent so caveat emptor.
As for food, we paired the tequila flight with a smattering of starter plates: albondigas in a tomato and cotija cheese sauce; a jicama salad composed of orange sections, cabbage and red onion and seasoned with chili powder; tuna ceviche; and a grilled chorizo verde. It was quite refreshing to see a menu of specialized, regional Mexican cuisine; the chorizo for example is a speciality of the area of Toluca and was a real treat, with a lighter and more nuanced flavor than the more common red chorizo owing to the fact it is made with chile poblano and cilantro (providing both color and taste).
Overall, it was a great tasting and a wonderful initiation as to how complex aged, well-made tequila can be. There's lots more to delve into, so I'll definitely be back to Tres Agaves to explore their expansive list of flights and tequilas by the glass - check it out if you are in the neighborhood.

subset: commoncrawl


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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Let there be no doubt whatsoever that the San Diego Show came to the Perfect Game/EvoShield National Championship (Upperclass) with the intent of carting home championship hardware.
The eighth-seeded Show, the No. 3 team in Perfect Game's most recent 18u National Travel Team Rankings, took a big step toward that goal when they whipped No. 1 seed Angels Blue, 9-0, in a quarterfinal contest Sunday afternoon at one of the Arizona Diamondbacks' spring training practice fields at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.
That win moved the Show (4-0-1) into Monday morning's semifinal round, where they will face No. 5 seed 520 Elite 18u (5-0-0).The other PG/EvoShield Upperclass semifinal pits No. 2 San Diego Gamers (5-0-0) against the No. 14 AZ Athletics (4-0-1), giving the San Diego baseball community a real presence in the Arizona desert. The semis are slated for 9 a.m. (PT) with the Upperclass championship scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
But the Show and founder/head coach Brian Cain came here with a bit of an ulterior motive.
San Diego Show is partnering up with the Ohio Warhawks to put together a joint team to send to the PG WWBA World Championship Oct. 20-24 in Jupiter, Fla., the nation's premier tournament in terms of showcasing the top high school talent in the land. There will be about 14 San Diego Show players on that team with the balance of the roster being supplied by the Warhawks.
"We came into this tournament to use it to get a leg-up for Jupiter. This is our primary focus, to get a leg-up for that," Cain said after his team's quarterfinal victory. "But we also came with the expectation to be playing on Monday. Pretty much every player on our team is already a D-I commitment or is D-I caliber. So, yeah, we expect to be playing on Monday but with the intention of getting everybody right for next month."
Cain said the timing of the PG/EvoShield National Championship (Upperclass) is very good in that regard.
"It gives us really four weeks to get home and work out and really tighten the screws on everything and really dial up the focus and work on some plays and work on our coverages – things like that – before we go to Jupiter," he said. "We're excited, and we're taking a very talented group to Jupiter. We expect to be very competitive over there."
The Show opened this tournament with a 4-4 tie against the Atlanta Blues Jays, but then rattled-off pool-play wins against the Strike Zone Cardinals (9-4) and the Murrieta Valley Hurricanes (8-0). They beat the defending tournament champion EDH Vipers, 9-1, in their playoff opener before knocking off the top-seeded Angels Blue.
"There are some good ballplayers here," Cain said. "The thing for us is we have so many D-I guys it seems like we wear teams down over time. A lot of the games have been good early and then as the game has gone on we kind of open it up and just wear them out. That's the mark of a good ballclub. No matter how it starts out we just grind away at them and seem to widen the run differential."
Cain founded the Show about 10 or 11 years ago and the organization has established a solid history and reputation. The roster that is here this weekend is basically the same one that won the PG WWBA 2011 Grads or 18u National Championship in Marietta, Ga., in July.
The Show seems to excel when it travels greater distances. This isn't by accident.
"Any time we travel for two hours or more, we travel to win. That's always been our thing," Cain said. "If we travel for more than two hours we expect to go and be very, very competitive and this is a five hour trip for us so we're in that mode. If we're a little closer to home the emphasis isn't so much on winning but when we travel this far, or we go to Georgia or we go to Florida for the Perfect Game events, we expect to be competitive."
Perfect Game All-American Trey Williams, one of the country's top-ranked prospects (No. 6 nationally, No. 2 at third base) in the Class of 2012, was on the Show's pre-tournament roster but the Pepperdine commit didn't make the trip. Corey Oswalt, another top-ranked PG All-American who has committed to Oregon, was playing on Sunday, however, and even got a chance to take the mound and close out the win over the Angels Blue.
"We're expanding on the pitching thing with him a little bit," Cain said of Oswalt. "He hasn't pitched in four years and we started him in the bullpen this summer. He's already touching 90 (with his fastball) and maybe that will be an option for him in college as a two-way guy at some point as a back-up plan. He does have a real live arm and it's real effortless. He could be a mid-90s guy here soon if we really put the pedal to the metal."
Oswalt and Williams are only two of the many players who play with the Show who have already committed to D-I schools. Left-handers Ian Clarkin and Stephen Gonsalves are U of San Diego commits, middle infielder Gosuke Katoh is headed to UCLA, MIF Kevin Newman has committed to Arizona, outfielder Nick Ruppert is headed Dartmouth and an Ivy League education and right-hander Bobby Zarubin – the starter and winner in Sunday's game against Angels Blue – has committed to Stanford.
Gonsalves is the nation's No. 5-ranked national prospect – No. 1 left-hander – in the class of 2013.
Those guys have already committed. Other members of the Show have not, and there were at least a dozen college recruiters watching their quarterfinal game. That's why Cain keeps bringing his team to PG events.
"For us personally, we think these are the best events around," Cain said. "I don't think anybody does it better than Perfect Game. I know our guys get a lot of benefit out of being here and taking advantage of all the (college) recruiters who come out to watch them."


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Harper, still under weather, tallies four hits
MIAMI -- The Nationals hope to have Denard Span and Danny Espinosa back for Friday night's series opener against the Mets in New York, but they returned one ailing hitter to their starting lineup Wednesday night.
And make no mistake about it: Bryce Harper was still sick.
The 20-year-old phenom went 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI and recorded three hits off Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco in the Nationals' 6-1 win over the Marlins after sitting out the previous game due to a stomach flu that kept him up all night.
But Harper deemed himself well enough to play after a pregame IV, and he said he felt "solid as a rock" afterward. He simply wasn't going to sit out Wednesday, even as bad as he felt on the field.
"I was still struggling. The biggest thing was trying to keep everything down and fluids down," Harper said afterward. "I think getting in the box and swinging made my head spin a little bit. It was just a matter of trying to have good ABs and trying to get some knocks and trying to help the team out."
Believe it or not, Harper said his worst moment wasn't when he left the dugout to vomit in the second inning. He felt the worst after a sixth-inning double off Nolasco. He was bending over, sick and worn out, but he kept playing.
"I thought he was going to die every time he went up there and he got a hit," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said.
And he continued to beat up on Nolasco. Harper homered twice against the Marlins right-hander on Opening Day and finished 3-for-3 against him Wednesday night, boosting his career average against Nolasco to .450 (9-for-20).
"Now, it's to the point where I make good pitches and they're still falling," Nolasco said. "I just hope he just doesn't turn into Chipper Jones [who hit .341 off Nolasco] for me, where every time I break his bat or make good pitches, they're still hits."
Span, who also sat out Tuesday, felt better Wednesday but wasn't quite feeling up to speed. He seemed to be hit a little harder by whatever stomach flu bug affected him and Harper. He reported to Marlins Park early Tuesday afternoon but was sent back to the team hotel and couldn't even build up the strength to get out of bed and come back to meet a doctor around 6 p.m. ET, so he remained in bed the rest of the night.
Espinosa had been hoping to return Wednesday, but his bruised right forearm didn't heal quickly enough for that to happen. Espinosa has been saying he'll return by Friday "at the latest," but Johnson was even a bit cautious about that projection, though he reiterated that the injury isn't anything more serious than a bad bruise.
Espinosa did field a few grounders at second base during batting practice, but as of Wednesday afternoon, he hadn't taken any swings since the injury occurred.
"I knew there wasn't going to be any chance [Espinosa would be back in the lineup Wednesday]," Johnson said. "We've got an off-day coming, so that gives him another day. I think he's probably got a 50-50 chance Friday."


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US Post Office-Glencoe
US Post Office-Glencoe
18072 Manchester Rd
Glencoe, MO 63038
US Post Office-Glencoe Related Links:
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Homes For Sale: 30
Real Estate For Sale in 63038.
New Construction For Sale: 1
Condos For Sale: 1
Commercial For Sale: 1
Acreage For Sale: 9
Lots For Sale: 21
Total For Sale: 63


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Models have emerged from physics on the laws of city growth, just like the laws on tidal waves and wildfires. In the 1930s Lewis Mumford had associated the growth of a big city with the spread of a microbial colony.
Just like the amoeboid it's failing to divide its social chromosomes and split up into new cells. The big city continues to grow by breaking through the edges and accepting its sprawl and shapelessness as an inevitable by-product of its physical immensity*.
Cairo's edges are cluttered lines that crawl into the Delta and, when the outlines of are drawn and compared with the shapes of microbial colonies, it becomes difficult to tell them apart.


text: Gather together and build beautiful floral arrangements from JJ's new shop inside of Ponce City Market. JJ's provides the flowers, a vase, all supplies, and instruction. Grab a cocktail or growler at your favorite PCM restaurant to sip on during the workshop! This is a weekly, intimate workshop capped at 5 people. If you have 5 pals, bring 'em with you and you've got a private workshop! If not, you'll be paired with 4 of your new best friends.


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Madonna has been banned from Texas-based theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema after she was seen texting during the New York Film Festival premiere of "12 Years a Slave."
According to reports by the New York Post, Madonna, who was seated alongside the likes of Jason Ritter, J. Alexander and Michael K. Williams, spent part of the screening typing away at her phone. Reportedly one audience member asked her to stop, prompting the "vogue" singer to respond by saying, "It's for business…enslaver."
Alamo founder and CEO Tim League tweeted that Madonna would no longer be able to return to the theater until she "apologizes to movie fans."
Following the tweet, League told Entertainment Weekly that the initial tweet was an "offhand joke, a spur of the moment 140 characters," but followed up by saying he is going to enforce it now that the word is out. "I'm serious, but I don't think it really affects her life that much."
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has a long-standing, strict no-talking and no-texing policy in it's movie theaters and has been known to eject audience members who violate the policy. Alamo even features an anti-texting PSA before some of its R-rated movies that contains an actual voice mail left by an angry patron who was kicked out.
Though her business was apparently pressing, the Material Mom was reported to have been a fan of the movie. Directed by British filmmaker Steve McQueen, the film - which follows Solomon Northup, a free black man who was sold into slavery - is already receiving Oscar buzz.
According to The New York Post Madonna made a hasty exit when the credits rolled but returned to the theater when McQueen began Q&A. "I want to hear Steve speak," a source overheard her say.
Madonna has yet to comment on the banning.


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Fishing should be banned in almost a third of British waters to protect the marine environment and save threatened fish species, a panel of experts said Tuesday.
LONDON − Fishing should be banned in almost a third of British waters to protect the marine environment and save threatened fish species, a panel of experts said Tuesday.
Decades of intensive fishing have depleted fish stocks, but measures to protect marine life are so far inadequate, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution concluded.
"Intervention ... is necessary to preserve important ecosystems and to break the present cycle of unrealistic quotas and diminishing fish populations," commission chairman Sir Tom Blundell said.
The government responded, however, that current measures to restore cod stocks should be given more time to have an impact before more radical policies are adopted.
"If we did what he is suggesting now, we would put the whole of the Scottish white fishing industry out of business," Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. "There are signs that cod has stopped declining and other stocks like haddock are at record highs."
The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, is expected to approve a set of proposals for reform of EU fishing policy on Wednesday.
John Farnell, director of the Commission's fish conservation unit, said the proposals would likely involve closing the best 40 percent of cod-fishing areas in the North Sea. But he described the call to close 30 percent of British waters to fishing as a "a very blunt instrument."
Prince Charles gave support to Blundell's position, saying overfishing would become a "major global catastrophe for the world's growing population" if left unchecked, according to The Daily Telegraph newspaper on Monday.
In the Royal Commission report, Blundell said the sea should be treated the same way as endangered land habitats. The report proposes a range of measures to protect the marine environment, including a ban on deep-sea fishing, arguing that deep sea fish are particularly at risk.
Scientists say stocks of cod have shrunk in the North Sea to about one-tenth of 1970 levels. They point to the waters off eastern Canada, where years of overfishing resulted in the disappearance of cod during the 1990s. The stocks have not recovered.
Last year, EU fisheries ministers agreed on some long-term measures to protect dwindling stocks while ignoring scientific advice for a total ban on catches of some species, in a bid to preserve fishing fleets.
Source: Associated Press


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In order to help educate families about childhood seizures, experts at Nationwide Children's Hospital have developed a resource guide to help answer common questions about seizures and epilepsy in children and adolescents.
This 'go-to' guide includes frequently asked questions from parents who have a child who has experienced a seizure and/or been diagnosed with epilepsy and adolescents who suffer from these conditions. From general questions and safety tips about seizures, to how these children can play sports or start to drive, experts pulled these questions into a centrally-located document so families can access this information at their convenience.
"Nationwide Children's Hospital initially offered educational classes for parents to better understand their child's seizures or epilepsy," said Debbie Terry, RN, MSN, CNP, pediatric nurse practitioner for the Epilepsy Center at Nationwide Children's and the author of this resource guide. "The course information, along with questions we commonly receive from parents, helped us develop the content for this guide. We use the information in our on-going efforts in educating patients and family members, and have now made it available online for public reference."
This resource guide can be found online at NationwideChildrens.org/My-Child-Had-A-Seizure To learn more about our Epilepsy Center at Nationwide Children's, visit NationwideChildrens.org/Epilepsy-Center or our Facebook page facebook.com/EpilepsyCenter.


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First Production to Shoot at the Only Stay-and-Shoot(TM) Facility in the
Greater New York MetropolitanArea Starts Today, Monday, January 24th
Executive Produced By Will Wright, Creator of The Sims, and Worldwide Biggies' Albie Hecht, Community Developed Program Premieres Friday, February 11 at 10:00PM/9:00 PM Central
New York - January 24, 2011 - Current TV announced it will begin production on "Bar Karma," the world's first community developed television series, today, Monday, January 24, at the newly-constructed Ironbound Film Studios in Newark, NJ. Filming for the series will run through the end of March 2011. Created by world-renowned video game designer Will Wright (creator of The Sims and SimCity) and Worldwide Biggies' CEO, Albie Hecht, the 12-episode series creates a new benchmark in television programming by inviting a community of fans to drive the show's content - from story lines to art direction, soundtrack to brand integrations. "Bar Karma," which marks Current TV's entry into live-action scripted original programming, is the first television show to give viewers control of a series before it hits the air. The half-hour program will premiere on Current TV on Friday, February 11 at 10:00 pm/9:00 pm Central.
Current TV's "Bar Karma" will be the first production to shoot at Ironbound, on a 15,000 square foot soundstage. Ironbound is the only Stay-and- Shoot(TM) facility in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area, and offers fully serviced, managed and furnished living accommodations.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker said, "As Mayor of Newark, I welcome the �Bar Karma' team to Ironbound Studios, a state-of-the-art facility, and congratulate them on choosing Newark as a home for this ground-breaking television series."
Set at a mystical watering hole at the edge of the universe, "Bar Karma" is a half-hour show which stars William Sanderson ("True Blood," "Lost," "Deadwood") as James, the 20,000 year-old bartender, Matthew Humphreys ("Obsessed," "Big Love," "The Forgotten") as bar owner Doug Jones, and Cassie Howarth ("Deranged High," "Deathclock") as the lone waitress, Dayna. The series answers the age-old question: "What would happen if you could change your fate?" Set in a time traveling bar owned and operated by members of the mysterious organization Karma, Inc., each weekly episode follows a new bar patron as they enter at happy hour and must make a life-changing�and possibly world-saving �decision.
"Bar Karma" uses Wright's innovative, easy-to-use Storymaker application, which users can access by logging on at http://current.com/shows/bar-karma/, as well as through social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter (@barkarma), and a free iPhone App. Each week, the global online community (which has been participating in the creation process since mid-November), is invited to vote on the top storylines chosen by producers. Once a final storyboard is selected by the community at large, the producers will adapt, shoot, produce and edit the winning storyline into a 30-minute episode. Users whose submissions are used will be on the credit roll at the end of the show.
To date, the voting public has selected the storylines for the second and third episodes. Episode two, submitted by user Jason Lee Holm, a Barberton, Ohio Interactive Developer, is about an author who goes into the future to discover the political fall-out from his children's book is going to cause a global meltdown. Episode three, submitted by Moses Silbiger, an Austin, Texas based consultant who is a former architect and graphic designer, follows the story of Lucy, a famous actress in her 60s who enters the bar in a hospital gown and is forced to examine her relationship with her son.
Current TV is an award-winning media company committed to exploring the world's most important, interesting and entertaining stories. With a fully integrated television and online platform, Current connects its audience with what's going on in their world through its blend of bold and unique original and acquired productions. Founded in 2005 by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, Current is available in the U.S., U.K., Italy and Ireland in 74 million households through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107 nationwide); Time Warner (nationwide); DirecTV (Channel 358 nationwide); Dish Network (Channel 196 nationwide); Verizon; AT&T; BSkyB (Channel 183); Virgin Media (Channel 155) and Sky Italia (Channel 130). More information is available at www.current.com.
About Will Wright
Will Wright, widely acknowledged for creating the simulation video game genre, unveiled the highly anticipated SporeTM in September 2008. Spore is a "universe in a box" that allows players to create a species and guide it to sentience, help it build a society, develop its culture, and explore an infinite cosmos of worlds created by other players.Fans eagerly embraced the creation tools in Spore and have created over 100Million pieces of user-created content, as of Summer 2009.
Spore has been distinguished with such honors as Popular Science's "Best of What's New Award," Popular Mechanics's "Breakthrough Award," PC Magazine's "Technical Excellence Award," Time Magazine's "50 Best Inventions of 2008," and the Jim Henson Technology Honor.
A true gaming industry legend as a result of his pioneering contributions to videogames, Wright has been the recipient of several prestigious awards and honors.Rolling Stone named Will Wright "One of the 100 People who are Changing America," in March 2009, placing him among artists, leaders, scientists, and policymakers who are "fighting every day to show us what is possible." IN 2008, Will received the first-ever Gamer God Award at the Spike Video Game Awards as a testament to his revolutionary work. In 2007, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts recognized an individual in theVideo Game Industry for the first time when it named Wright a fellow. He also received the Producers Guild of America Vanguard Award that same year.
Wright first rose to prominence when he developed SimCityTM, the acclaimed, nonviolent, open-ended sim game. Wright then followed up the success of SimCity with a string of popular simulation games throughout the 1990s. Titles such as SimEarth: The Living Planet (1990), SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony (1991), SimCity 2000 (1993), SimCopter (1996), and SimCity 3000 (1999) introduced simulation games to hundreds of thousands of new fans, demonstrating the genre's true potential.
Wright's next groundbreaking game came in the form of The Sims (2000), which has gone on to become the best selling PC game franchise of all time, being available in 22 languages in 60 countries. Wright, who studied architecture in college, originally conceived of the game as an architectural design simulator. To "score" the quality of the design, he added tiny people who would inhabit the buildings. These simulated people quickly stole the spotlight, and Will realized that watching the lives of the Sims unfold was the real entertainment. The Sims franchise has now sold over 100 Million units around the world.
About Albie Hecht
Albie Hecht, noted as one of the most influential and innovative people in entertainment, has created numerous hits, has beennominated for two Academy Awards, guided franchises into household names and introduced groundbreaking entertainment for people of all ages.
As former president of Nickelodeon Entertainment as well as the creator and president of SpikeTV, Albie became a recognized industry leader. While at Nickelodeon, he oversaw the development and production of SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues and also co-created Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards. At SpikeTV his hits included the Joe Schmo Show, MXC andsigning the Ultimate Fighting Championship franchise.
In addition to television, Hecht also produced hit films for Paramount including LemonySnicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which received four Academy Award nominations as well as The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. He was nominated for an Oscar as the producer of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, and he was the executive producer of The Rugrats Movie, which was the first non-Disney animated feature to cross the hundred million dollar mark. Through his non-profit Shine Global, Hecht produced the feature documentary War Dance, which was nominated for an Academy Award and won two Emmys. He is currently in development on the feature film called Swift with Sony Pictures.
In late 2005, Hecht launched Worldwide Biggies Inc., a new digital entertainment studio that produces and creates interactive IP for the digital family and designed for additional distribution across all platforms including film, TV and licensing. This year, Biggies announced a development deal with Syfy for Worldwide Biggies' first-of-its-kind transmedia property entitled Dr. What, a multi-project first-look deal with EPIX, and is introduced its latest character franchise, Bigby, as an iPhone game.


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Play.com owner Rakuten deems Wii U and iPad 2013's most-discussed Christmas presents for kids
Wii U has seen a 75% sales spike since October and currently sits alongside the iPad as Twitter's most-discussed Christmas present for kids.
Play.com headlines
Play.com to halt retail sales, will become eBay-style trading site following tax loophole closure
Play.com will cease retail trading following the closure of a Jersey tax loophole that has seen the site axe many jobs across all territories, and will instead moved into the trading territory currently dominated by eBay.
Play.com sets 3DS XL price point at £179.99
Nintendo announced last night it would let European retailers set the price for 3DS XL, and today, Play.com has come out of the retail gate swinging by offering the new SKU for £179.99. ShopTo has it listed for £179.84 with an estimated RRP of £199.99. Zavvi has it listed for £209.95, with the RRP listed […]
Pocket-burner? Play.com prices Vita games up to £45
Play.com's priced Vita titles and memory cards ahead of official confirmation from Sony, including a listing of £45 for Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Also listed are low-end titles such as Little Deviants and Reality Fighters at £18. Mid-range games like Everybody's Golf, Wipeout 2048 and Modnation Racers are in between £30-£35. For the memory cards, it's […]
Play.com lists Xperia Play preorder at £519.99
UK retailer Play.com has put Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play up for preorder at a hefty £519.99 – about $840.
Rumor: Kinect specifications listed by UK retailer
UK retailer Play.com has published unofficial specifications for Kinect, leading one to believe the hands-free controller only allows for two active players.
ShopTo lists Kinect for £130, November 19 launch
UK online retailer ShopTo's mentioned a £129.99 price point for Kinect when it launches in the UK. November 19 is the magic date, according to them.
Halo: Reach up for pre-order now
With Reach Mania now picking up pace nicely, Play's offering Bungie's next Halo title for £40, beta access and all.
Play guaranteeing day one MW2 delivery for £45
Play.com's guaranteeing you'll have Modern Warfare 2 on launch day for £45, provided you buy the game by midnight this Sunday. That's £10 off the RRP for both the 360 and PS3 versions. The PC version costs £35. Get to it. It's out on November 10.
Pre-order Tekken 6 in the UK, get hats, lapel pins
Admit it. You've always wanted a Tekken hat. Fortune smiles on you this morning, then, thanks to the announcement of Tekken 6's pre-order bonuses for the UK. For the early fight adopters in the audience, Game has special collector cards (PS3, 360); HMV has t-shirts (PS3, 360); Play.com has lapel pins (PS3, 360); Blockbuster has […]
Play lists DJ Hero at £90, Game and GameStation stuck at £110
Play.com's now listing DJ Hero at £90, a significant climb-down from initial pre-order levels of £108. HMV's still punting the game for £100, while GameStation's got it up for an amazing £110. So has Game. Still no word at all on the Renegade Edition's pricing.
Play.com and GAME see sales surge after BAFTAs
A sales surge in UK game sales has followed last week's BAFTA Awards, according to Play.com and GAME. Play.com saw a 14 percent increase over targeted projections in new customers, and GAME said that games sporting BAFTA stickers have been flying off the shelves. "The reaction in GAME stores and online to the BAFTAs has […]
LittleBigPlanet drops to below £18 at Play and Tesco [Update]
[Update – It's £13 on Amazon. That's a bit stupid. Thanks, tenthousandgothsonacid.] Play.com is offering LittleBigPlanet for £17.99, which, in the parlance of the gutter, is fucking cheap. Tesco, not be outdone, has gone even cheaper: how does £17.96 sound? The Media Molecule award-winner currently costs £40 from both Game and Gamestation. So you probably […]
GTA IV, Far Cry 2, BioShock PS3 and more go to £17.99 on Play.com
Our sources never lie: Play.com's launched a ridiculous sale, dropping the likes of GTA IV, Far Cry 2, BioShock PS3, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Saints Row 2 to an eye-watering £17.99. You can buy Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures for a tenner through there. There are even reduced Wii bundles: the console, Wii […]
Sony offering direct-to-customer 40Gb PS3 discount
What do you do when you don't want to drop the price of your console on the high street? You cut out retail, silly. Sony's offering a £40 discount on new 40Gb PS3s through SonyStyle.co.uk, meaning you can pick a machine up for £269 right now. Keep watching, as well. There's a bundle there which […]
Play.com goes low on Last Remnant, "shocking" deals planned for next week
Play.com's selling Square RPG The Last Remnant for £17.99, as you can see here. It's been out for a week. Despite the fact it didn't attract the most amazing scores in the world, if you're in the market for a hardcore 360 JRPG it'd be nonsense not to try it at that price. Xbox 360 […]
Play.com pushes price with PS3 packs
Play.com's doing its best to keep PS3's price down, despite Sony's refusal to offer an official cut, launching two new Christmas bundles for the machine today. The first pack comes with an 80Gb machine, Quantum Of Solace, Batman Begins Blu-ray, the Blu-ray remote and LittleBigPlanet for £300. The second swaps out Quantum of Solace for […]
Resistance 2 beta to start next week?
Dpad's reporting that Play's sent out emails to Resistance 2 pre-orderers saying the game's beta's to go live next Friday. No confirmation yet, but we'll know soon enough from the sound of it.
New DS colours hit UK
Play.com's now listing the three new DS colours announced at the end of May. The red, lime green and light blue machines still cost £100, green or not. Take a look.
Play.com taking "80 orders a minute" for GTA IV"
According to this GI story, Play.com is now taking 80 orders a minute for GTA IV. "We're experiencing trading levels similar to what we would see in the run up to Christmas, taking over 80 orders per minute at peak times," said Play COO Stuart Rowe. "We have had to recruit extra warehouse staff to […]
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Play.com latest
Play.com owner Rakuten deems Wii U and iPad 2013's most-discussed Christmas presents for kids
Play.com to halt retail sales, will become eBay-style trading site following tax loophole closure
Play lists DJ Hero at £90, Game and GameStation stuck at £110
LittleBigPlanet drops to below £18 at Play and Tesco [Update]
GTA IV, Far Cry 2, BioShock PS3 and more go to £17.99 on Play.com
Play.com goes low on Last Remnant, "shocking" deals planned for next week


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I just couldn't conceive of not doing a tutorial on two best friends that are going to be making people laugh all over the place. Today I'm going all out to show you guys "how to draw Gumball and Darwin", step by step. There is no way I was not going to make a lesson of these two hilarious characters from Amazing World of Gumball. These two guys couldn't be more perfect together and in my opinion, they are going to be the next two famous buddies that fall down the buddy wall of fame along with Spongebob and Patrick, Fanboy and Chum Chum, Phineas and Ferb, Timon and Pumbaa, Mordecai and Rigby, and so on and so forth. Of course all best friends have other buddies that may join them in the mix once in a while, but for right now we will just focus on these two wild and crazy guys. Remember The Amazing World of Gumball airs in May so keep your eyes out for the new series on Cartoon Network. In the mean time have fun learning "how to draw Gumball and Darwin", step by step and be sure to let me know what you think. Peace out people and enjoy the rest of your drawing day!
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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WASHINGTON (AP) — A two-star general who commands U.S. Army forces in Japan has been suspended from his duties for allegedly failing to report or properly investigate an allegation of sexual assault, the Army said Friday.
Maj. Gen. Michael T. Harrison was suspended by the Army chief of staff, Gen. Ray Odierno, and Army Secretary John McHugh, the Army said. It provided no details about the alleged sexual assault case.
Until the investigation of Harrison's role is completed, Maj. Gen. James C. Boozer will take his place in Japan, the Army said.
Harrison already had been selected to become deputy commander of the Army component of U.S. Central Command, based in Kuwait. That new assignment was publicly announced in February by the Pentagon, which said at the same time that Boozer would replace Harrison as commander in Japan.
Typically, an officer who has been suspended rather than relieved of command could be reinstated in his job if cleared of all allegations. But this won't happen in Harrison's case because Boozer already was scheduled to take over the command in Japan next week, which is sooner than the investigation is expected to be completed.
Harrison, a 33-year Army veteran, began his assignment in Japan in October 2010.
Amid increased political pressure to crack down on sexual abuse in the military services, the Air Force said Friday it is expanding the office responsible for sexual assault prevention and placed a female two-star general in charge.
Maj. Gen. Margaret H. Woodward, who ran the U.S. portion of the allied air campaign over Libya in 2011 and is one of the Air Force's brightest stars, is running the reorganized office. She will report to the vice chief of the Air Force.
The move won praise from the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., who called Woodward a "breath of fresh air."
The office previously was run by a lieutenant colonel, Jeffrey Krusinski, who was arrested in May and charged with sexual battery. That incident escalated public debate over whether the military was taking seriously the problem of sexual abuse.
The House is scheduled to vote next week on a defense policy bill that would take away the power of military commanders to overturn convictions in rape and assault cases. The legislation also would require that anyone in uniform found guilty of a sex-related crime receive a punishment that includes, at a minimum, a dismissal from military service or a dishonorable discharge.
McKeon said Woodward is well-suited to the challenge she is facing.
"I welcome her voice to this fight," he said.
The Pentagon estimated in a recent report that as many as 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year, up from an estimated 19,000 assaults in 2011, based on an anonymous survey of military personnel.
An Air Force spokesman, Lt. Col. John Dorrian, said Friday that Woodward's office will be given additional resources, including a much larger staff than in its previous configuration. He said Woodward began the job this week.
Woodward entered the Air Force in 1983 with an aerospace engineering degree from Arizona State University. She has one master's degree in aviation science and another in national security strategy.
A command pilot with more than 3,800 flight hours, she flew aerial refueling aircraft and commanded air operations in numerous U.S. military operations, including the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. As commander of 17th Air Force, based in Germany, she commanded the U.S. portion of the allied air campaign over Libya in 2011.
Most recently she served as the Air Force's chief of safety. She also oversaw an investigation of the sexual abuse scandal at the Air Force's training headquarters at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.
Follow Robert Burns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP


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PERENNIAL FAVORITE: If you know your Halloween movies and your offbeat movies and your stop-motion movies and your movies in general, you know that perennial favorites don't come more perennial-y nor favorite-y than Tim Burton's "A Nightmare Before Christmas." It's hard to believe that the sweet story of Jack Skellington, Sally, and the other denizens of Halloween Town is only two decades old; theaters regularly put it on the big screen each and every October, and when Danny Elfman comes to town on Halloween night to sing the role of Mr. Skellington? The internet positively lights up (in orange and black bulbs, of course). And let us not forget that a certain cobwebby mansion in Disneyland's New Orleans Square transforms into "A Nightmare Before Christmas"-esque wonderland each early-fall-to-New-Year's-Day-ish. The film and all of the songs and styles and ideas and stories it wrought continue to enchant, which means one thing: The new Skellington Mickey's Haunted Adventure, a seasonal treat from Disney Floral & Gifts, is right up the Nightmare buff's shadowy alley.
HOTEL HALLOWEEN: Most hotel rooms do not come with creepy candelabras, except in the occasional horror flick, but this deal does. The upshot? While your favorite Jack Skellington fan is out enjoying the Disneyland Resort parks, his or her hotel room will magically -- this is Disney, after all, so "magically" is requisite -- get decorated with a Jack Skellington throw, "Nightmare"-themed playing cards, small Haunted Mansion tombstones, an Ear Hat ornament from the Mansion, candy, and other ghoul-y goodies. Call it a Christmas morning-type surprise, but in the fall and for Halloween. Price is $374.95. Now, who is the really, really big "Nightmare" maven in your life? Shhh, totally do not tell them you're doing this, because the surprise will be real (and worth documenting -- have that camera ready).
Isn't this the sweet something that Jack Skellington might have done for Sally?


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Staff at West Midland Safari Park are celebrating the birth of a male southern white rhino calf.
After a lengthy pregnancy of 16 months, first time mum, six year old Ailsa, gave birth to the long awaited new arrival on Good Friday, 25th March. This is the first baby rhino to be born at the tourist attraction since the baby's dad Barney, who was born in 2005. Within the first hour the cute youngster was up on his feet, demanding attention from mum. Ailsa will have her work cut out for her over the next few weeks, as the newbie needs feeding regularly throughout the day and will stay closely by her side for up to two years.


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What should have happened, but didn't, is that in 2003, when the state legislature decided it wanted to build yet another prison, the state should have been forced to put a $160 million bond issue on the ballot for voter approval. The politicians didn't do this because by 2003 they knew that such a ballot issue would most likely have failed.
Beginning in the late 1980s, more and more municipalities and states began to have trouble getting voter approval for their bonds, particularly bonds aimed at prison construction. In one state after another, including Colorado, voters began to say "no" to the largest prison expansion in history. This prison boom started in the early 1970s and accelerated through the next two decades, thanks primarily to politically expedient hard-on crime legislation such as "truth in sentencing," "three strikes" and the "war on drugs."
Increasingly, taxpayers understood that building more and more prisons was siphoning off funds for things like higher education, child welfare programs and infrastructure. By the end of the Reagan administration, it was a tradeoff they had become unwilling to make, and they began voting down funding for the prison expansion.
This clear action to deny funds for the expansion should have brought it to an end and forced a more restrained approach to criminal justice, with a greater emphasis on cheaper alternatives to prison such as alcohol and drug rehab programs, closely supervised parole and electronic monitoring.
But a funny thing happened when investment bankers like Goldman Sachs and politicians came face to face with voter-enforced fiscal restraint — they ignored it by inventing, or at least repurposing, a variety of funny paper with names like "Lease Revenue Bonds" and "Certificates of Participation" (COPs). By using these financial instruments in never-before-heard-of ways, those who profited either financially or politically by building more prisons were able to continue to create and sell investment-grade debt without voter approval. It was political sleight of hand at its best. By changing the name of the financial instruments from bonds to COPs, the debt no longer had to be shown as debt on the books, so voter approval was no longer required.
It works like this. A $100 million bond to be repaid with interest over 25 years is a debt. Investors buy the bond, then the state or municipality uses the money to build the prison. The state is obligated to pay back the money no matter what. To raise $100 million through the sale of COPs, the state promises to lease the prison from a nonprofit entity created to sell the COPs to the investors whose money is actually used to build the prison. So the state figures out how much it would cost if it were paying off a 5 percent interest bond over 25 years and divides the total payout by 25. It then agrees to pay that amount per year as a lease payment for 25 years to the holders of the COPs. At the end of 25 years, the COP holders agree to deed the prison to the state. Because the state has to reauthorize the lease payment each year, it is legally not considered debt, and thereby no voter approval is needed.
What started as a novel process to occasionally bypass voters when politicians thought they knew best has now become a multi-billion dollar industry that empowers the investment class to suck up profits at the taxpayers' expense on one illadvised building project after another.
Consider Colorado State Penitentiary II.
In 2003, legislators passed HB 1256, allowing them to bypass voters and sell $162 million worth of COPs to construct the 948-bed prison in Cañon City. The prison finally opened in 2011 with about one-third of the beds being used.
However, between 2003 and 2011, the state of Colorado hired an outside consultant to help it re-evaluate some of its practices. As a result of changes in policy around the use of administrative segregation, the prisoner population in Colorado has now been falling each year since 2009 and is expected to continue to do so well into the future. This is the type of costeffective, innovative thinking that often comes about when voters say no to continued prison and jail expansion.
Unfortunately, it came too late for taxpayers this time.
Even though the newly constructed Colorado State Penitentiary II will be closing and left empty a mere 18 months or so after its grand opening, taxpayers will still be spending $18 million a year in lease payments to the investors holding the COPs until the year 2021.
While the state legislature could legally refuse to authorize any further lease payments — after all, that's why COPs aren't considered debt — it won't happen. Refusing to reauthorize the annual lease payment would leave the COP investors holding the bag, and the state wouldn't be able to float future COPs to bypass voters for the next building project. While such a default would be a good outcome for taxpayers — if it limited the state's ability to sell future COPs — it would be an unacceptable imposition for the politicians, investment bankers and investors who currently enjoy and profit handsomely from this new system where public debt and high-interest payments have been magically transformed into a simple lease.
Respond: firstname.lastname@example.com


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This is what happens when you let a radioactive snail in at night. Havoc! Luckily, Evolution Robotics' Mint cleaning robot did a darn good job cleaning up after it, as you can see from a long-exposure photo of its mopping.
The above photo was taken by BotJunkie, when the cleaner was set to the mopping function. It apparently took the cleaner 20 minutes to clean that space, but only 15 minutes to sweep the floor. As you can see from the photo below, it does a more thorough job when mopping.
Mint uses wet or dry Swiffer pads to clean floors with—floors, we should point out, that are non-carpet. $250 is quite a bit to spend on a vacuum cleaner that doesn't do carpet, but by the sounds of BotJunkie's review, it does hard floors very proud. [BotJunkie]


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Study documents early puberty onset in boys – "Pediatricians recorded the earliest stage of puberty as occurring in non-Hispanic white boys at age 10.14 years; in non-Hispanic African-American boy at age 9.14 years, and in Hispanic boys at age 10.4. Overall, African-American boys were more likely to start puberty earlier than white or Hispanic boys."
When Europeans turned white – " White European skin evolved relatively fast during the last ice age, specifically from 19,000 to 11,000 years ago…. These color traits—white skin and a diverse palette of hair and eye colors— are not adaptations to a cooler, less sunny climate. They are adaptations by early European women to intense mate competition, specifically a shortage of potential mates due to a low polygyny rate and a high death rate among young men." — from peter frost.
Intelligence and fertility by class, over time – from the awesome epigone.
The Stupidity of the Discontented? — higher iq people are happier on average — @the breviary.
What Are You So Scared of? Saber-Toothed Cats, Snakes, and Carnivorous Kangaroos – "The evolutionary legacy of having been prey."
Roots of Post-Trauma Resilience Sought in Genetics and Brain Changes – genetics and ptsd.
Young blood really is the key to youth – "[G]iving young blood to old mice can reverse some of the effects of age-related cognitive decline."
Seeking a Chief Exec with the Right Stuff?: Look for a Touch of Psychopathy – "An Emory University psychologist recounts why 'fearless dominance,' a personality trait used to screen for psychopaths, may be a quality to consider in our next chief executive."
Desire for revenge, not anger, helps explain why men are more physically aggressive – from the inductivist.
Head and Heart: Are Conservatives More Moral? – "'Intuitions come first, strategic reasoning second.'"
What Is War Good for? Ask a Chimpanzee. — some interesting points in this article — and the cuuuuutest picture of a baby spider monkey! aaaaawwww! (^_^)
bonus: Seed shrimp thought extinct has been living in cave for 40 mil. years – coooooool!
bonus bonus: First life may have survived by cooperating
bonus bonus bonus: Martian genome: Is there DNA on the Red Planet?
bonus bonus bonus bonus: Corruption Continues Virtually Unchecked in Greece – "'We Are Greedy and Asocial'"
bonus bonus bonus bonus bonus: No Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership – "This week, for the third time in four years, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation announced that its prize for achievement in African leadership would not be awarded." — well, at least they're not completely crazy like the peace prize people. *roll eyes*
bonus bonus bonus bonus bonus bonus: British man arrested for punching Darth Vader's wife — really!
(note: comments do not require an email. aaaaaahhhh!)


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Publication info
LOOKING BACK: Ela Bhatt, India
When asked what drove her to help poor women find economic autonomy, Ela Bhatt credits the society that shaped her early years. "I grew up in a time around India's independence," she said. "It was a heady and idealistic time, and we were all infected with a spirit of optimism."
That newfound energy helped Bhatt break barriers — first becoming a lawyer, defending textile union workers, and then becoming the founder of several groups that have uplifted poor women's economic standing. They include the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) — India's largest trade union with more than 1.2 million members — as well as the All India Association of Micro Finance Institutions and the Women's World Bank.
"From social work to factories, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, dairies, hand looming, health care, childcare, handicrafts, providing shelter — all the employment sectors of any society — that is where women are …" she said.
Yet Bhatt, a mother of two, understood how too many of the world's women were destitute — and often unable to shape their own financial destiny. As she practiced law — a rarity for women at the time — she saw the desperation and hopelessness of her clients. "The injustice was flagrant, and that was what hurt the most. That was why and how the working poor remained poor, how they had no recognition, no vote, no policies … no budgets to provide support," she said. "That tugged at my heart."
It also drove her to create SEWA, which helps women in three key realms: negotiating with employers, contractors and police; organizing strikes and filing court cases; and forming alliances and partnerships. Now a member of The Elders, an elite group founded by Nelson Mandela to support the shared interests of humanity, Bhatt has continued to strengthen her mission to help women help themselves.
"The spider climbs, falls but does not lose hope," Bhatt once wrote. "She is not alone."
There are risks in every action. Every success has the seed of some failure. It is how you go about it. That is the real challenge.
- Ela Bhatt
SOURCES: 1 "A Discussion with Ela Bhatt," May 27, 2010, Katherine Marshall of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs. 2 "The Elders,"www.theelders.org. 3 Bhatt, Ela, We Are Poor But So Many – The Story of Self-Employed Women In India; Nov. 2005. Credit Photo: © 2006 The Associated Press/David Karp.


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Global finance leaders stepped up calls on Saturday for the US Federal Reserve to take care in moving to cut its stimulus, as emerging countries wrestle with financial turbulence.
Numerous countries at the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank said the US central bank's expected tightening had already added challenges to their struggling economies, stirring capital outflows and pressing their currencies lower.
The IMF's steering committee, the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), itself cautioned the Fed and other central banks in advanced economies when they begin "normalizing" their ultra-low interest rates and easy-money policies.
"The eventual transition toward the normalization of monetary policy ... should be well-timed, carefully calibrated and clearly communicated," the IMFC said.
Others were more frank, after struggling with the consequences of a surge in interest rates in the five months since the Fed signaled it was close to "tapering" its US$85 billion a month asset-purchase program.
Africa's IMF and World Bank representatives said they were "worried about uncertainty" arising from the pullback from so-called unconventional monetary policies — which have flooded cheap US dollars, euros and yen onto the global economy for about five years.
Russian Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov said he expects only more turmoil in the markets when the Fed moves.
"The assumption that the asset-price correction that began this summer has already been largely completed does not seem to be plausible to us," he told the IMFC. "Even the first hint on the exit from unconventional monetary policies in advanced economies has already led to many difficulties for emerging-market economies."
Central Bank of Brazil Governor Alexandre Tombini said that economic pessimism had spread due to the expected Fed tightening.
People's Bank of China Deputy Governor Yi Gang (易綱) warned against a "disorderly" wind-down of stimulus programs.
"While unconventional monetary policies helped stabilize growth and financial markets in advanced economies after major crises, more attention should be given to the risks associated with the prolonged use and disorderly exit of such policies," he said. "Policy coordination and clear and effective communications will be essential to ensure the smooth and orderly exit of unconventional monetary policies."
The Fed still has not begun its taper, deciding so far that the US economy is not ready for it, but most expect the stimulus reductions to come in the next few months.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has reaped criticism for allegedly poorly communicating his intent.
National Bank of Austria Governor Ewald Novotny, a member of the European Central Bank's governing council, called on the Fed to communicate better the direction of its monetary policy to minimize the impact of the taper.
Speaking as representative of Austria, Turkey and six Eastern European countries at the IMF, he called on the Fed to "engage in international dialogue in order to minimize unwarranted negative spillovers from the exit of its unconventional monetary policy measures on other countries."
Still, the IMF has repeatedly warned the emerging economies to fortify themselves against likely more turbulence and higher interest rates as the global economy transitions to a more "normal" monetary situation.


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Oct. 8 Anibal Sanchez workout day interview
Q.Even though you've been with the Tigers a relatively short time, does it feel like a long time because of how comfortable they made you feel?
ANIBAL SANCHEZ: Beginning when I come here, I feel like, you know, it's really weird, because this is like my first time I'm out of Miami, because it's my hometown.But besides that, right now, I've been working hard with the coach here. I try to be on the same page for everything. I know the League is a little bit different. It's no big deal, but it's a little bit different. And we have to do the job and that's what I did in my last couple of starts.
Q. How would you describe your slider right now, the feel for your slider? It seems like you're throwing it a little more often, maybe I'm wrong. It appears that you're very comfortable with throwing for strikes, things like that?
ANIBAL SANCHEZ: You know, I feel good with all my pitch. It doesn't make a difference if it's a slider, my curveball. I try to throw every pitch for a strike in any count, I don't go specially on just one pitch.
Q. Who has helped you the most in making you feel comfortable as a Tiger over the last couple of weeks? You were struggling earlier and now everything seems to be in a nice groove, who's helped you the most to make you comfortable?
ANIBAL SANCHEZ: I think it's everybody helped me, the pitching coach, the starting pitchers, Verlander, and the rest of the guys. They help me a lot. Especially the Latin guys, they told me if I come do my job in the National League, I have to do it here. I don't pitch bad in the National League, so they told me feel comfortable on the mound, try to do my best, and just focus on every pitch. And that's what I start doing, that's why I work better in my last six or seven starts.
Q. It's going to be loud and crazy here tomorrow. Do you feed off that? What have you heard about this place when there's a lot of people here?
ANIBAL SANCHEZ: You know, I never pitch here. I just come here when the interleague, I think, with the Marlins. I don't try to focus too much about how loud it's going to be, the field, or I try to focus and do my job. I try to focus to pull my ball for a strike, get it hitter by hitter. That's what I do. And I don't think too much of other things. I try to focus just on one thing.
Q. Some of the A's thought that Alburquerque disrespected the game yesterday with kissing the ball. What's your take on all that stuff?
ANIBAL SANCHEZ: You know, that's part of the game. I respect every emotion for every pitcher. I don't do it. He do it. He's fine. So I respect like every emotion for everybody. That's what only I can say for that. I don't know how other people take it, but it's not my, really, opinion about that, so I don't go and take too long with that. Like I say before, I respect every pitcher's emotion.Q. Has a batter ever done anything that you felt disrespected by?
ANIBAL SANCHEZ: No. I don't understand the question.
Q. You're going to be a free agent, you're in the postseason. Does your mind ever wander to the good position that you're in right now?
ANIBAL SANCHEZ: You know what, I'm the person that thinks day by day. I don't try to be ahead on anything. Right now I just focus on what I'm going to do tomorrow. The free agent I know is coming, but that's my agent's job. That's why I have an agent. Right now I focus on tomorrow. I don't think too much what's going to happen after that. The only thing I take care is I want to finish my postseason out.
End of FastScripts...


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Poor soil? Build up with raised beds
Framed or mounded, raised beds give plant roots the space they need
Kym Pokorny | Nov 8, 2016 | News Story
May 2018 | Fact Sheet
Q: I am considering using some 2x6 inch material for a small raised bed for strawberries. My first thought was to consider pressure treated lumber, but I have read conflicting articles on the the safety of this product, with ...
A: View answer | View all featured questions
Mary Corp | Oct 2018 | Article
Jay Pscheidt, Jerry Weiland | Mar 2015 | Article
Mary Corp | Oct 2008 | Article
Shelby Filley | Aug 2012 | Article


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Product Description
Size Chart
Take out your tailor's tape, grab your model, and measure them to find their size for the perfect fit.
Materials Required
The following materials are required:
- 4-way or 2-way stretch knit fabric with at least a 50% stretch but no more than 75% stretch- Suggested fabrics include: lightweight jerseys with good recovery.
- 1/4" (0.5cm) Lastin Clear Elastic
Yardage Requirements


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Management and conservation of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus) and other highly migratory fish In the Gulf of Mexico under IPCC climate change scenarios: a study using regional climate and habitat models
PIs: Sang-Ki Lee, and Gustavo Goni
External PIs: M. A. Roffer, J.T. Lamkin, F.E. Muller-Karger, and B.A. Muhling
Collaborators: Yanyun Liu
Although the Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is widely distributed, spawning in the western Atlantic has been recorded predominantly in the GoM, from April to June. While bluefin tuna can tolerate colder waters than other tropical tunas, they are adversely affected by warm (> 28°C) waters, and show behavioral patterns to avoid warm features in the GoM, such as the Loop Current.
IPCC-AR4 climate model simulations forced by future greenhouse warming project that the upper ocean in the GoM may increase by more than 2°C by the end of the 21C, and thus suggest that the GoM may become a unsuitable habitat for bluefin tuna spawning due to anthropogenic global warming (AGW). However, since the IPCC-AR4 models have a very coarse resolution (typically around 100km), the simulated changes in the strength, position and eddy-shedding characteristics of the Loop Current (LC), which are important factors for the upper ocean temperature response to the changing climate, are far from realistic.
Therefore, in this study, the potential impact of future AGW on the GoM is examined by using a downscaled high-resolution ocean model constrained with the surface forcing fields, initial and boundary conditions obtained from the IPCC-AR4 models. The high-resolution model results indicate that the GoM is warmed everywhere, but the spatial pattern of the warming is quite different from that of the IPCC-AR4 models. In particular, the SST increase in the high-resolution model is much less especially in the northern GoM away from the Florida west coast. A potential cause for this difference may be the weakening of the LC and the associated reduction in the warm water transport through the Yucatan Channel, which are not well simulated in the IPCC-AR4 models. The simulated volume transport across the Yucatan Channel is reduced by 20 - 25% during the 21st century, consistent with a similar rate of reduction in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). Further surface mixed layer heat budget analysis indicates that the reduced LC and the associated weakening of the warm LC eddy have a cooling impact in the GoM, particularly in the northern GoM. Therefore, the northern GoM is characterized as the region of minimal warming. Low-resolution models, such as the IPCC-AR4 models, underestimate the reduction of the LC and its cooling effect, thus fail to simulate the reduced warming feature in the northern GoM.
In summary, the LC may slow down as much as 25% by the late 21st century, resulting in a mitigation of AGW-induced surface warming, particularly in the northern Gulf of Mexico, a known spawning ground for Atlantic bluefin tuna. This research indicates that the area of spawning habitat for the bluefin tuna may not be as drastically reduced as in the IPCC-AR4 projected. AOML researchers will continue their collaboration with SEFSC to further refine these projections using additional data and improved ocean modeling techniques.
Figure 1. IPCC-projected bluefin tuna spawning habitat extent in March, April, May and June (left to right) for the late 20th century (top), 2045-2055 (middle), and 2085−2095 (bottom). Habitat suitability is measured by probability of larval occurrence, and is using interpolated temperature data from an ensemble of 19 IPCC-AR4 climate models under A1B scenario.
Figure 2. The bluefin tuna spawning habitat extent in March, April, May and June (left to right) for the late 20th century (top), 2045-2055 (middle), and 2085−2095 (bottom). Habitat suitability is measured by probability of larval occurrence, and is using temperature data from the downscaling model.
Muhling, B. A., S.-K. Lee, J. T. Lamkin and Y. Liu, 2011. Predicting the Effects of Climate Change on Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) Spawning habitat in the Gulf of Mexico. ICES Journal of Marine Science, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsr008.