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Pocket Tofu Shreds Boiled Water Spinach Cucumber Salad Cup Instant Orange Soy Milkshake Oct 18, 2008
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Pocket Tofu Shreds
Boiled Vegetables
Cucumber Cup
Orange Soy Milkshake

Pocket Tofu Shreds

  • Pocket tofu, shredded
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 shallot (or leek), chopped
  • Handful of pine nuts
  • Few drops of Maggi sauce
  • Black pepper (optional)

Boiled Vegetables

  • Water spinach, cut into small pieces
  • Carrot, cut into small pieces
  • Red bell pepper, cut into small pieces

Cucumber Cup

  • 2 cucumbers, cut in half horizontally
  • 3 tomato
  • Coriander (or cilantro), minced
  • 3 toothpicks

Salad dressing:

  • 2 parts olive oil
  • 1 part vinegar
  • Sprinkle of salt
  • Brown sugar
  • Black pepper (optional)

Orange Soy Milkshake

  • 1/3 – ½ cup of soy milk
  • 2/3 – ½ cup orange juice

Pocket Tofu Shreds

  1. Add oil to a pan.
  2. Add shallots and fry until they’re brown and fragrant.
  3. Add the shredded pocket tofu and pine nuts, and fry over medium high heat.
  4. Add salt, Maggi sauce, and black pepper to taste. Mix well.
  5. Reduce heat and fry for a little longer until the shredded tofu and pine nuts turn a golden color.

Boiled Vegetables

  1. Boil enough water to cover the vegetables.
  2. Add all the vegetables. Boil for about 2 minutes and transfer to a plate.

Cucumber Cup

Salad Dressing:

  1. Add olive oil, vinegar, salt, sugar, and black pepper to taste. Mix well.

Cucumber Salad:

  1. Peeled ½ cucumber and diced.
  2. Use the sharp knife, shell around a tomato with a ring, to make a rose out of it for decoration.
  3. The remaining tomatoes, diced
  4. Mix cucumber, tomato, and coriander together. Transfer to a plate.
  5. Add some salad dressing on. Mix well.

Cucumber Cup:

  1. Cut the remaining cucumbers in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the inside.
  2. Put 2 pieces of cucumbers together with a toothpick, to make a cup. Place cucumbers on the plate.
  3. Stuff cucumber salad into the cucumber cup.
  4. Roll the tomato skin so that it looks like a rose and set on one side of the plate.
  5. To cover the toothpick ends, use a piece of red bell pepper or cherry tomato.

Orange Soy Milkshake

  1. Fill a glass ½ or ⅓ with soy milk and fill to the rim with orange juice

  1. Pocket Tofu Shreds can be served with rice and Boiled Vegetables. Put the Pocket Tofu Shreds on corner of a plate, add rice and Boiled Vegetables and serve.
  2. Cucumber Cup can be served as a side dish or as a snack.
  3. Serve with Orange Soy Milkshake.

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Kempton Rug

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A Matter of Choice

By Nathan Scharn

The guy bullying the peak isn’t necessarily someone who left his “Old Guys Rule” shirt in his Land Rover or an angry-faced local who couldn’t even spell thruster. He’s probably your average Bro-Six-Pack sitting on something a little shorter than you’re used to seeing.

The shape of shortboards is changing, and I’m not talking about a squirrelly swallow-tail with two fins. Naturally, shapers and shops have been the first to notice.

“People want alternative boards,” said John Ennis, manager and board buyer for SurfRide Solana Beach, one of the largest retailers of surfboards in Southern California and a barometer for board sales in San Diego. “We’re starting to see shapers err on the side of more foam. They’re gearing boards toward your average surfer, who can get out maybe three or four times a week, so they want to make every wave count. If you’re on more foam, you catch more waves.”

According to Ennis, in the last year, sales of shorter, wider tri-fins that are more rounded on the nose and tail have increased, while sales of traditional thrusters have dropped. These boards are designed with good waves in mind, so many are using them in place of their staple thrusters, not as a halfway point between a longboard and a shortboard.

“People who have been riding them have been really impressed,” Ennis said. “We’ve gotten more calls from people saying they like them than ever before. Normally when you get people calling it’s usually ‘this board sucks,’ so that’s nice.”

Surfers and shapers tired of the traditional shapes may have realized that the science of the shortboard has not been completely exhausted when Dane Reynolds won the expression session at Lowers on his Channel Islands Dumpster Diver, a stubby, wide-tailed tri-fin originally carved from a piece of foam wrestled from the garbage man.

Across the board, the new shapes are getting shorter. “It’s neat to see guys thinking outside of the box,” Ennis said. “We’ve been seeing the same shapes in the shop for the last 15 years, so it’s refreshing to see new shapes coming in here.”

Though sales of differently shaped boards are up, surfboards were not out of the recession’s reach.

“More people are definitely looking at the used market or for package deals,” Ennis said. “Boards under $600 are selling best. But these boards [the Channel Islands alternative models] are $780, and we’re selling about two a day.”

Surfers are just as tired of the traditional shapes as shapers are and recognize that they can advance their surfing by mounting a new chunk of foam that performs like a shortboard even in small surf. They want changes more drastic than an inch or two in width, a rocker adjustment, or glassed-on fins. They want boards that might give them an edge. They want to see what happens to their surfing when they switch things up.

Ennis said sales are coming around now, and that he was never really worried, because surfers always need boards.

“It’s therapeutic for a surfer...if you get a new board and you’re liking it, you’re looking good for the next six months.”

Channel Islands Surfboards / Santa Barbara, CA “We’ve mostly been selling Flyers and the Whip. Also, our specialty boards, like Pods and Biscuits, have been selling really well, too. They’re just fun boards—a lot different from your standard shortboard. Especially around this area, they’re good boards to have in the quiver.”

7th Street Surf Shop / Ocean City, NJ “It’s been all over the place: Pattersons, Sharpeyes, JSs. But right now, it’s thrusters. It’s seasonal, obviously. It’s different in summer—we sell a lot of fishes then.”

Hanalei Surf Company / Hanalei, HI “This time of year we’re selling winter boards. Just sold a 9'6" gun, so boards like that. Boards are the slowest category of things that have slowed down in the recession. We’ve been selling a little bit of everything—cheaper boards by our local shapers, Al Merricks, and Surftech boards.”

Maui Surf Shop / Kahului, HI “It’s probably not legal for me to say this to you, but stand-up boards. The stand-up thing is just going off here. The sad reality is that surfboard sales have gone down as a result of stand-ups going up.”

Bert’s Surf Shop / Surf City, NC “We still sell a lot of longboards. It’s small as sh-t most of the time. A lot of people are just getting started. And we always sell a lot of regular thrusters.”


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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

"Every Day a Blessing" Devotional Giveaway

Every day is a blessing with my precious children. I can't imagine my life without them. Every moment of every day, even when I am frustrated, tired, or angry, I am thankful beyond words for God's calling of adoption and for choosing our precious children for us just as He chose us and saved us.

I am excited to share another amazing devotional books for Kids. Every Day's a Blessing, a Year of God's Love is a sweet precious devotional book that teaches kids about how God blesses us every day as we serve Him and point others to Him.

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Enter for a chance to win your very own copy!!

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  1. What a sweet devotional, I'd love to win this book for my children!

  2. Our older children have begun volunteering with my mother in law in the community through the United Way. They have really enjoyed being hands on and involved. Between assisting low income parents shopping for Christmas toys for their children to bagging up care packages for the homeless they are learning to bless others.

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In Oregon, 19 Days Until Votes are Counted, Obama 7 points Atop Romney; 4 Ballot Measures Examined

SurveyUSA Operations - 10/20/12 08:39 AM

In an election for President of the United States in Oregon today, 10/18/12, with voting about to begin, Barack Obama defeats Mitt Romney 49% to 42%, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for KATU-TV in Portland. All interviews were conducted following the 10/16/12 Presidential town-hall debate in New York. Obama carried Oregon by 16 points in 2008, but leads by 7 points today. Compared to a SurveyUSA poll 5 weeks ago, Obama has lost 2 points: then, he led by 9.

Among men, Obama has gained ground: he had trailed by 3 points now leads by 2. Among women, Obama has lost ground: he had led by 21 points, now leads by 11. Obama’s advantage among Independents has been shaved by 3 points: he had led by 7, now leads by 4. Obama has lost ground among lower income voters, gained ground among middle-income voters. Romney has made inroads among upper-income voters. In the region of Oregon outside of greater Portland, the contest has flipped: Obama had led by 3, now trails by 10. Compared to 5 weeks ago, Romney voters are voting more “for” Romney than they are voting “against” Barack Obama, a sign that Romney is seen today as a more attractive candidate, not just an “anybody but Obama.”

Measure 80, which would allow adults to grow and possess marijuana, continues to trail narrowly. Today, “No” leads “Yes” 43% to 36%. Compared to a SurveyUSA poll 5 weeks ago, opposition is up 2 points, support is down 1 point. The measure had trailed by 4, now trails by 7. The margin of support among Democrats has dropped 10 points.

Measure 82, which would allow privately owned casinos, today trails 53% to 28%. Opposition to the measure has grown from 16 points 5 weeks ago to 25 points today.

Measure 83, which would allow a privately owned casino in Wood Village, today trails 54% to 26%. Opposition to the measure has grown from 11 points 5 weeks ago to 28 points today.

SurveyUSA asked about Measure 85 in 2 different ways for this release. First, consistent with last month, SurveyUSA told voters very little about the measure, an attempt to gauge “certain” support. This approach is designed to identify the most-committed backers and opponents of a proposition, and is an approach used by SurveyUSA across the country to measure public awareness of ballot initiatives. Using this approach, 25% of voters tell SurveyUSA they are “certain” to vote No on Measure 85. 15% of voters tell SurveyUSA they are “certain” to vote Yes on Measure 85. 60% of voters are “not certain” how they will vote.

Separately, SurveyUSA read to voters a complete description of Measure 85. Using this approach, “Yes” on 85 leads “No,” 53% to 26%, with 21% undecided. This approach to initiative measurement includes “soft” support as well as “hard” support and incorporates into the findings those who may be hearing the exact ballot language for the first time. Given the full description: Democrats and Independents support the measure, Republicans split. Conservatives oppose the measure, moderates and liberals support.

Cell-phone and home-phone respondents included in this research. SurveyUSA interviewed 700 state of Oregon adults 10/16/12 through 10/18/12. Of the adults, 644 were registered to vote. Of the registered voters, 579 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely to vote in the 11/06/12 election. This survey was conducted using blended sample, mixed mode. Respondents reachable on a home telephone (77% of likely voters) were interviewed on their home telephone in the recorded voice of a professional announcer. Respondents not reachable on a home telephone (23% of likely voters) were shown a questionnaire on their smartphone, tablet or other electronic device.

Copyright 2015 SurveyUSA®, Clifton NJ, all rights reserved. Terms & Conditions.


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User Topic: Quiet by Susan Cain
♀ 19946
Member # 19946
Default  Posted: 11:18 AM, May 12th (Saturday), 2012View ProfileEdit MessagePrivate MessageHomepage

It's about how our culture favors extraverts and assumes they will be better leaders but many top companies who have the best growth actually have introverts as CEOs. It goes into biology (many species have both introverts adn extraverts) and physiology (introverts handle dopamine differently so they get less buzz from the promise of a reward so they take less risks) and the history of the US - how we went from valuing character to valuing personality.

It's fascinating.

I made peace with being an introvert long ago. I hated being told I was 'shy', which sounds like I'm afraid or have a problem. I just get a lot out of life from being quiet that other people miss. And I'm capable of public speaking and promoting myself when I need to.

It was so great to read (actually i listened to the audiobook) a book that I relate to so much.

And it doesn't bash extraverts at all. It's about valuing everyones' contribution.

Highly recommended!

BS, 54 years
D-day 6-2-08
D after 20 years
The journey from Armageddon to Amazing Life happens one step at a time. Don't ever give up!

Posts: 6308 | Registered: Jun 2008 | From: Rural California
♀ 29461
Member # 29461
Default  Posted: 12:13 PM, May 16th (Wednesday), 2012View ProfileEdit MessagePrivate MessageHomepage

It's been on my reading list for a while now, thanks for reminding me

me - tsol, that's all for now

Posts: 1208 | Registered: Aug 2010 | From: Canada
♀ 10310
Member # 10310
Default  Posted: 2:24 PM, May 17th (Thursday), 2012View ProfileEdit MessagePrivate MessageHomepage

Adding to the virtual basket

Real love is a CHOICE, NOT a feeling...

Posts: 3436 | Registered: Apr 2006 | From: Dallas, Texas
♂ 26859
Member # 26859
Default  Posted: 9:07 PM, May 17th (Thursday), 2012View ProfileEdit MessagePrivate MessageHomepage

As a proud introvert, I look forward to reading this someday.

WH - 44
BW - gerrygirl

Posts: 6103 | Registered: Dec 2009 | From: Boise
♀ 33606
Member # 33606
Default  Posted: 5:55 PM, May 30th (Wednesday), 2012View ProfileEdit MessagePrivate MessageHomepage

I'm reading this book now, after watching Cain's Ted Talk and seeing it on the NYT Bestseller List for months. It is great, and it's changed the way I think about so many things. I'm an introvert, which was not valued in my family. I was always the "smart" one, and my brothers were the "sociable" ones.

Interestingly, I went on to marry a real extrovert to compensate. And here I am, sixteen years later, on!

I want to make sure I don't do the same thing to my own daughter, who is a sweet, well-adjusted introvert. She's perfect, just the way she is.

Posts: 1767 | Registered: Oct 2011
♀ 20563
Member # 20563
Default  Posted: 9:32 AM, June 6th (Wednesday), 2012View ProfileEdit MessagePrivate MessageHomepage

Will put this on my reading list. My mom was an introvert. Not shy, but a little reticent. Very smart. She always said, you don't learn while talking. You learn while listening. Have to remind myself of that more.

Me- BS
Him- FWS (I hope- F)

Posts: 7143 | Registered: Aug 2008 | From: Not Oz
Topic Posts: 6

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    All doctors on this site are affiliated with Sutter Health's network of care - members of the medical staff of Sutter-affiliated hospitals, affiliated medical groups, and independent practice associations that participate in clinical initiatives. Doctors do not pay a fee to be included in this directory. If a physician ceases to fall within one of the categories noted, he/she would no longer be listed on the site. Doctors meeting your search criteria are presented in alphabetical order by last name, or by geographic proximity if a zip code has been used as search criterion.


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Go Long, Go Strong: Stretching for Swimming

By Wayne Goldsmith

Most swimmers stretch. But why?

It may play a role in injury prevention or minimization. It may help you recover from injury. It may increase your range of motion.

However, the critical issue for swimming, where the body is weight supported, (i.e. unlike running or field games which are weight bearing) is that being flexible allows you to get into the right positions for efficient technique for little or no effort.

Like everything else in swimming, ideas on stretching have changed considerably in recent years. What are some current ideas on the role of stretching in swimming?

1. Traditional stretching – the old way

Traditional stretching is the old lean against the wall and pretend to stretch shoulders, back and arms. While these more traditional static stretches have their place, there are more effective flexibility options available.

If you must stick to the old favorites try to follow these tips:

** Hold each stretch for 30 seconds
** Keep breathing, long, slow and relaxed while stretching – about 5-6 breaths per minute
** Try to stretch while in a swimming position, i.e. keep your body long and tall and your spine straight.

2. Stretching mid Session (i.e. between sets)

This is becoming an increasingly popular idea. In the past, stretching has been done before or after training. Some teams are now having short stretching breaks between sets to enhance their ability to perform the set. For example, ankle, hip and thigh stretches before kick sets or shoulder, lat and triceps stretches before pull work. These short breaks have the potential to turn each set into something special.

For an even better effect, if you have a spa or warm showers available, stretch under the water.

3. Minimal pre/maximum post

In general, stretching before training prepares your body to train. Stretching after training is for long-term flexibility gains. The main reason: warm muscles stretch better.

Pre-training stretches should be done slowly and with some caution as your body has not fully warmed up. Post-training stretches can be done with a little more pressure and held for longer as your body is warm from your workout.

For example:

Chest and shoulders stretch before training: Stand up tall with your chest out and back straight. Clasp your fingers together behind your back with your arms straight. Hold for 30 seconds. Concentrate on deep, slow breathing.

Chest stretch after training: Stand up tall with your chest out and back straight. Grab your towel with both hands and twist it until it looks like a long piece of thick rope. Place your hands about one meter apart, at opposite ends of the towel. Reach tall up above your head with the towel and slowly lower it behind your head keeping your arms straight. Hold twice for 90 seconds concentrating on deep, slow breathing and inflating the top of your rib cage fully with every breath.

Taking a few minutes after training to maximize the effectiveness of your stretching routine can really make a difference.

4. Yoga

Want to really improve your flexibility? Learn yoga. Hundreds of years of studying and enhancing movement through flexibility makes yoga the perfect stretching activity and yoga teachers the ideal people to help you improve your flexibility. Find a qualified, experienced yoga teacher and talk to him/her about your needs. As a team activity, why not have everyone in the team pay one dollar extra each per session and have a yoga teacher come to training twice a week and lead post-training stretching.

5. Props

Let’s face it, stretching can get boring, particularly doing the same stretches every morning and every night six days a week. Why not introduce some props to make your stretching program more interesting (and effective)?

** A piece of rope can be looped around the foot of an outstretched leg and can help with calf, hamstring and quad stretches.
** A Swiss ball can be used to liven up most traditional swimming stretches.
** A block of wood can be used to help with calf and ankle stretches by standing on it with your toes and slowly lowering your heels over the edge of the block.

You are limited only by your imagination.

6. No stretching at all…..just long movements

There is a growing argument that stretching for healthy, uninjured swimmers may be a waste of time. The logic behind this argument is that as swimming is a body weight supported activity, swimmers only need to do minimal stretching and a better option would be to just concentrate on long, stretched out, exaggerated movements in the early stages of training.

For example drills like long-glide breaststroke and catch-up freestyle (long hold in front) can double as stretching – a very specific stretching – but still stretching.

7. Mental side of stretching

There is no doubt you feel great when you are loose, relaxed and flexible after working on your stretching program. There is a real mind-body connection with flexibility and it makes sense if you think about it.

Imagine trying to relax and stay loose before a race. How hard would it be to relax if your neck, chest, shoulders and arms are all tight and tense? How tough will it be to do a great dive and start if your glutes, thighs, hamstrings and calves are tight? How can you breath deeply and powerfully if your chest and abdomen are tight and resisting the breathing action?

Try some mental rehearsal when stretching. For example, if your event is one minute long, try holding chest and shoulder stretches for one minute, all the time concentrating on keeping relaxed and imagining how you will keep that relaxed feeling next time you race…..mind and body in action.

8. Breathing – not stretching

It is amazing how many people stop breathing when they stretch. Breathing and stretching are closely linked and relaxed. Calm breathing can actually help you stretch more effectively.

Next time you stretch, concentrate not on the stiff, creaky muscles but on your breathing. Keep your breathing deep, slow and relaxed. You will be surprised how quickly your flexibility increases.

9. Combining Stretching with Strength training

Strength training can be a useful addition to any swimming program. However, recent studies have concluded that stretching and strengthening exercises, when done in combination, can be even more effective than when the exercises are done separately.

For example:

Chest / shoulder routine:

** Stretch
** 10 Push ups
** Stretch
** 10 Dips
** Stretch
** 10 Bench presses
** Stretch

Repeat the above x 3.

10. Team development

Team stretches are a great time for the team to meet, chat and work together and help each other achieve great things. This is particularly true at swim meets. A really effective team stretching technique at meets is to form a circle at one end of the pool deck, everyone in team gear and have the team captains (not the coach) lead a really well executed and technically perfect stretching session.

Does three things:

1. Helps the swimmers relax and stretch effectively as they are among friends
2. Freaks all the other teams out. They are thinking, “If this is how that team warms up, imagine how they swim.”
3. Provides psychological support for younger and less confident swimmers.

The final words

You can improve your flexibility with as little as ten minutes a day.

The key to being consistent with your stretching is to make it interesting, so add some variety: yoga on Monday, stretching in the spa on Tuesday, traditional stretching on Wednesday, stretch between sets on Thursday, etc. People tend to do the things they enjoy and enjoyment comes from developing interesting, stimulating and innovative stretching routines.

Everyone is different. Stretch to meet your own needs and find a stretching routine and flexibility program that helps you achieve your swimming goals.

Comments Off on Go Long, Go Strong: Stretching for Swimming

Author: Archive Team

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Surprised By The Housekeeper

What happened here was a total surprise. It was on a Friday morning and around 8:30am. My housekeeper was be at my house at 9:00am so I decided to jump into the shower and get dressed before she got there. After taking off all my clothes before getting in the shower the phone rang and I had to walk thru the house to answer the call and when I got to my den to answer the phone the housekeeper was at the front door looking in getting ready to ring the door bell. Here I am standing here naked talking on the phone and her at the door. So I said oh well and opened the front door to let her in because she had already seen me naked it did not matter at this point. As I let her in I told her that I was very sorry for her to see me like that and that I did not expect her until 9:00. Now my housekeeper is 46 years old and a very pretty and very sexy woman. Well she said don't worry no problem. Well I went back into my bedroom to get ready for a shower and she walked in asking me a question about what room I wanted cleaned first. As we where talking I noticed she was looking down at my cock and it was beginning to get very hard with a hot sexy woman looking on. She without asking touch my cock and said it has been awhile since I have had one of these. I said why not, you are a married woman who is very pretty. I was sure the way she looked her husband was banging her every night. But she told me that her husband was on medication and it is hard for him to get up for sex. of course I told her thats fine I have no problem getting it up for you. She then went down to her knees taking my cock into her mouth and boy did she know how to suck a cock. I bought her up to her feet and lead her to my bed as I lead her to the bed I began to feel her nice tits and I then took her shirt off and started to suck on her nice tits. Still sucking I reach down to unbutton her pants and as I unzipped her pants she said this will be the first time I have ever stepped out of my marriage vows. When I reach to feel her pussy she was a natural woman who was so wet. I pulled her pants off and went down with my face to her pussy and it tasted so sweet and I began to lick her clit and she was moaning so loud and wanting me so bad. She started to cum and I was licking every bit of it. I then went to her lips and started to kiss her and when our tongues meet we got into some deep kissing as I was on top of her I could feel my hard cock at the opening of her nice wet pussy. I know she could feel the throb of my cock and without saying a word she move forward letting my cock go in just a little and thats when I started to slowing work it into her as I went deep I started to pull in and out at a slow pace until she said fuck me hard!!!! We fucked for about a hour non stop. I had to get up and shower to get dressed for work as she cleaned my house. Wow, what a morning maybe when she comes back in a couple of weeks we can go at it again since her husband cannot take care of her needs then I will.

End of Story


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Famous Artists Hits High Notes With "Memphis"

The national touring company of the musical "Memphis" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at the Crouse Hinds Theater at the John H. Mulroy Civic Center, 411 Montgomery St., Syracuse. (Photo courtesy of Jeremy Daniel)
Tony Curulla | Contributing writer By Tony Curulla | Contributing writer The Post-Standard
on January 29, 2014 at 12:44 PM, updated January 29, 2014 at 2:21 PM

Shake, Rattle, and Roll!

That's what you're going to feel like doing thirty seconds into this barnburner of a song and dance show aptly titled "Memphis". This road show version of the 2010 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Orchestrations rolled into town for a three-night stint at the Mulroy Civic Center, and is presented as part of the Famous Artists Broadway Theater Series.

With book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music and lyrics by David Bryan, "Memphis" demands a large cast of some twenty actors with strong voices and footsteps to match, and this ensemble doesn't disappoint in the least as evidenced by the enthusiastic standing ovation of a full house on Tuesday evening.

Set in the 1950's, the story that melds together serious, historical racial practices and expectations with the burgeoning changes in popular music, isn't new. These themes have ridden parallel paths before in shows like "Hairspray" and films like "Cadillac Records", among others. And the fact that rock and roll didn't start with Bill Haley, Little Richard, Elvis, or Buddy Holly, but was born of the rich blues tradition of the Mississippi Delta area, not too far from Memphis, is a long-settled argument. So, the idea that the authors would choose that city's name for the show title makes perfect sense from a geographical perspective.

With some twenty-one musical numbers played in overdrive by a crack eight-piece onstage orchestra, "Memphis" is awash with not only a spectacular rock score, but also with shining performances of gospel, rhythm and blues, and Motown-style soul. Musically, my only reservation that registered as a personal disappointment was the show's failure to include a deserved dose of authentic, "rootsy" blues which was, along with gospel, the foundation for rock and roll.

The story centers around the efforts of white radio DJ and personality Huey Calhoun (Joey Elrose) to get what was known, euphemistically, as "race music" out to a larger, whiter audience, and in so doing, to get the black composers and singers their due. The Huey character is most likely based on the real Memphis disc jockey, Dewey Phillips, who was instrumental in helping to bring black music into the mainstream during the 1950's.

Elrose brings abundant energy and enthusiasm, along with a boatload of personality and considerable vocal ability to the character of Huey as he unabashedly spearheads a cause that might be doomed by stubborn tradition.

Armed with a Whitney Houston-like physicality and a power voice of the Diana Ross variety, Jasmin Richardson is Felicia, the budding diva who sweeps Huey off his feet romantically, despite the stern warnings of her brother, club owner Delray (RaMond Thomas), who has many shining vocal moments in the show.

Huey's doubting mother (Pat Sibley), and Delray's club cronies Gator (Avionce Hoyles) and Bobby (Jerrial T. Young) provide some great lines along with fine centerstage song and dance sequences.

The large ensemble choreography is infectious and very well done as it is spread judiciously throughout the production to remind us that, despite the serious social underpinnings of the show's themes, it is also a visceral celebration of a truly American art form.

Length of Performance: Two hours, thirty minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.
Attendance: Near-full house; approximately 2000.
Family Guide: Some adult and socially-sensitive themes. Probably fine for mature middle school age.

Famous Artists Broadway Theater Series presents "Memphis" January 28 through 30, 2014 at Crouse-Hinds Theater, Mulroy Civic Center, Syracuse. For tickets and information: Oncenter box office at 435-2121, Famous Artists at 424-8210, and


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Syracuse man charged after Chenango County raid turns up crack cocaine

Ken Sturtz | By Ken Sturtz | The Post-Standard
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on September 11, 2013 at 11:53 PM, updated September 12, 2013 at 12:14 AM

New Berlin, N.Y. -- A Syracuse man was charged Wednesday after authorities raided a home in Chenango County and seized a large quantity of crack cocaine and cash, the sheriff's office said.

Dequay L. Shoulders, of Syracuse, was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and second-degree criminal possession of drug paraphernalia.

At about 8 p.m. Wednesday, sheriff's deputies raided a home at 118 Meadow Lane, in the town of New Berlin. The raid followed an investigation into the sale of crack cocaine in Chenango County.

During a search of the home, a large quantity of crack cocaine was seized, as well as cash, packaging material and drug paraphernalia, the sheriff's office said.

Jessica and Alan Crisell, of 118 Meadow Lane, were each charged with first-degree criminal nuisance for maintaining a premises for the purpose of engaging in the unlawful sale of controlled substances. Jessica Crisell was also charged with criminal possession of a hypodermic instrument.

Shoulders was arraigned and remanded to the Chenango County jail in lieu of $15,000 bail.


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After debating transfer, former Syracuse walk-on Clay Cleveland earns scholarship and playing time

A former walk-on, Clay Cleveland has worked his way to a scholarship and a job as Syracuse's starting fullback. (Dick Blume |
Chris Carlson | By Chris Carlson | The Post-Standard
on September 10, 2013 at 6:30 AM, updated September 10, 2013 at 6:38 AM

Clay Cleveland was introduced as Syracuse's starting fullback before nearly every game last year, recognized on a giant video board, his name announced over the loudspeakers, seemingly an integral part of the Orange offense.

"I got in two formations all year," Cleveland said. "Stony Brook and West Virginia. Four plays against Stony Brook, two against West Virginia."

When former offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett changed course before the season and opted for the no-huddle spread, Cleveland was made insignificant. He had gone from walk-on to starter to observer.

"His name and face coming on the Jumbotron as a starter and his friends and family were coming out and then saying, 'What happened? Where were you?'" his father, Skip, said. "That was the hardest. He actually said he felt like a bigger part of the team the year before when he was on the kickoff return."

But then came a moment three weeks ago.

Head coach Scott Shafer stood in front of the Orange before a team meeting and rattled off the qualities he looks for in a walk-on. He talked about solid academics and hard work, determination, reliability and a team-oriented attitude.

Then he asked Cleveland and roommate Joey Nassib to come to come in front of the team. They were told they'd earned scholarships Syracuse had left over, setting off a round of hooting from teammates.

"It's been a long time coming," running backs coach DeAndre Smith said. "When I first got the job I thought he was a scholarship player. You look at ability, dependability, and he's really smart. I just assumed. I was really shocked he wasn't a scholarship player."

A few months earlier, after three years of dashed opportunities, Cleveland had been contemplating leaving Syracuse entirely.

Cleveland arrived at Syracuse after four years at Masconomet High School (Boxford, Mass.) and a year of prep school at Phillips Academy (Andover, Mass.).

He'd hoped to attend an Ivy League school, was offered starting spots at Division III schools and earned interest from FCS schools before SU head coach Doug Marrone promised him a roster spot as a walk-on.

For Cleveland, who never upped his SAT scores quite high enough for the Ivys, it was a chance to fulfill a dream he had since third grade. He'd broken his arm in a bike accident before football that year, an injury that might have kept many young kids from playing. Cleveland, though, would sit in the front seat of his father's truck before each game or practice, his helmet buckled and ready to go. He played the whole season with a heavy black cast weighing down one arm, an absurd sight on such a small child.

"It looked bigger than he did," Skip said.

It was the first sign that Cleveland could stick through tough times.

Skip said that Marrone had told Cleveland he'd try to get him on scholarship after his freshman season. The constant influx of recruits, though, never left one available.

A college football buff, Cleveland ached to play at Southern California his sophomore year but never got on the field.

2013-09-03-gw-interviews027.JPGClay Cleveland played more offensive snaps in Syracuse's opening game than he did all of 2012.

Last season, his junior year, was most painful.

Cleveland earned the starting fullback job in the spring, and the staff planned to use him regularly. Hackett's change in philosophy ignited the offense but made Cleveland irrelevant.

The 6-foot-1, 230-pound senior never complained to his teammates. His father said his attitude remained positive. But when he sat down for his first meeting with Smith before this year, Cleveland was mulling a transfer. Smith told him that the Orange intended to use a fullback this season and that he'd play an important role.

"Yeah, well, we were running it last year and then we changed," Cleveland said. "I'd heard that before. I hoped it was true."

Still, hearing those words was enough to make him stay, and the start of this season has made it all worth it.

Jerome Smith said Cleveland is the smartest running back on the team, constantly thinking of what a defense will do to counter SU's offense, and thinking about how the Orange will respond.

"He double questions everything," Smith said. "'So, what if they do this?' 'Aw man, come on Clay, I don't think they're going to do that.'"

Cleveland has excellent hands for a fullback, bringing versatility for a player his size.

He was on the field for 16 plays against Penn State in Syracuse's opener, and on his first offensive snap of the season, he was tasked with sealing off a defensive end.

Against Northwestern, Cleveland's name was announced as a starter. This time he was on the field, no longer a starter in name but one in reality.

"I was excited just to play," Cleveland said. "The scholarship is just a bonus. It's awesome. I just wanted a chance."


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Louisiana Festivals Map

St. Martinville Pepper Festival St. Martinville, La September 18-19, 2015

While many of our dishes do bring a lot of heat, most Louisianans will tell you that our food is generally more well seasoned than fiery hot. But there’s no dispute that chili peppers – especially the cayenne pepper and the tabasco pepper, which is used to make TABASCO® brand Original Red Sauce – are indispensable to the unique flavors of South Louisiana cooking.

Which is why, each year in the fall, fans converge on St. Martinville for a celebration of the pepper in all its glory. Alongside the rich array of South Louisiana delicacies focusing on the chili pepper that are on offer, you’ll also find standard South Louisiana festival cuisine – jambalaya, crawfish étouffée, crawfish and shrimp po-boys, seafood pasta and more. Attendees will be able to learn a little bit about South Louisiana cooking, as local chefs will be giving cooking demonstrations throughout the day.

For many, the main event of the annual festival is the pepper-eating contest, during which the bravest souls compete to see who can eat the most Louisiana peppers in a five minute period. This is one competition that’s not for the faint of heart. Since it’s always good to have hot sounds to go with hot flavors, the Pepper Fest offers a top-notch musical line up. Past performers include 2008 Grammy Nominee Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie, as well as Nik-L Beer Band, a long-standing St. Martinville party band that covers the greatest oldies, hard-driving Zydeco tunes, Motown hits, country, funk, swamp pop, Cajun, Mardi Gras music and more.

You’ll also find a number of arts and crafts booths, as well as booths selling pepper plants, pepper cookbooks and locally made foods. The fest kicks off with a 5K road race, followed by the Motorcycle Poker Run. Be sure to take some time to wander around historic St. Martinville. The festival is located on the town square that backs up to Bayou Teche. Located just down the bayou is the Evangeline Oak, marking the spot where two Cajun lovers were reunited, as described in Longfellow’s famous poem.

For more information, visit the Pepper Festival page on Facebook.


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Rose Pistola Reopens Wednesday

Photo of the old interior from Rose Pistola (Facebook).

I literally got this news minutes before my post time, so here are the salient points: ~ROSE PISTOLA~ is reopening on Wednesday February 16th. There is an updated interior by original architect Cass Calder Smith, and a re-worked menu by new executive chef Mark Gordon (Terzo, Rose’s Café); Pablo Estrada remains in his position as chef de cuisine—he has been in the kitchen since Rose Pistola opened in 1996. New items on the menu include an expanded sandwich menu at lunch, and a daily baked pasta at lunch and dinner. New manager Lisa Robins (formerly Rubicon and Marché) will collaborate on the wine list with Mark Gordon. 532 Columbus Ave. at Green, 415-399-0499.


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Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? Sometimes, it’s a little bit of both: in the summer of 2006, Israel invaded Lebanon for the second time, and every year since, Israeli filmmakers have replied with films that are sharply critical of their government’s prosecution of its first war, in 1982, and subsequent 18-year occupation of a border zone within its northern neighbor. But each part of the resulting trilogy—Joseph Cedar’s Beaufort, Ari Folman’s Waltz With Bashir, and now Samuel Maoz’ Lebanon, playing this week at the New York Film Festival—originated years, or even decades, before the latest round of hostilities broke out, and all three were already in various stages of production when bombs began falling on Beirut three years ago.

“Everything can burst here tomorrow morning, and you just never know,” said Katriel Schory, executive director of the Israel Film Fund, a government-backed nonprofit that provided financing to both Folman and Maoz. “You cannot say the Second Lebanon War triggered these projects—it was a sheer coincidence.” And, he insisted, there was no master plan, just a desire to let a generation of filmmakers who had all served in the first, controversial Lebanon war—what Maoz calls the “Lebanon generation”—explore the lasting effects of combat on Israel’s young.

“What isn’t a coincidence is that we are all obsessed with this war,” said Amy Kronish, the former curator of Jewish and Israeli film at the Jerusalem Cinematheque. “But the film fund’s policy is to fund every feature film, if possible, that’s worth funding—they won’t say to a director, we had a film about this already, we won’t fund you.”

Theoretically, all three films could have come out at the same time. Cedar, a former paratrooper, and won financing in early 2006 from the Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts, another government-sponsored film fund, and wrapped in June of that year, weeks before the start of the 34-day second invasion. The film, which Cedar began writing while sitting in a military jail after refusing to do reserve duty, captures the final days of the occupation of an ancient fortress in southern Lebanon, just before IDF troops pulled out in 2000. Folman, a writer for the Israeli version of In Treatment, began his script for Bashir around the time of the pullout, after he requested early release from his reserve duty as a writer for IDF safety-instruction movies on the grounds that he needed therapy for PTSD stemming from his experience at the front in 1982. In the spring of 2006, he presented Schory with a 10-minute pilot for an animated film exploring his struggle to remember what exactly he did during the massacre at Sabra and Shatila, and released his film last year, just ahead of the Gaza invasion, triggering a heated national debate about the nature of responsibility and memory.

Maoz, a production designer and cinematographer who made his living for years shooting music videos and commercials, wrote his screenplay in a four-week burst in 2006. “I said to myself, you are over 40 and you need to do something with yourself—you are not a young director, and it’s now or never,” Maoz said in an interview last week. He began shooting in 2007, but completion of the film was delayed after the death of one of his producers. Chronologically, his movie belongs at the beginning: it describes the experience of four soldiers manning a tank on June 6, 1982, the first day of the first Lebanon invasion. Set entirely inside the claustrophobic metal walls of the machine, it captures the narrow experience of soldiers whose only view on the carnage is through the sight of a scope—cracked by a missile, for good measure—and who wind up having to bear the brunt of making life-or-death decisions while their feckless commanders sit considering abstractions in safe war rooms, far away.

Now, Maoz—who once told Variety that he watched the news coverage of the second Lebanon War with the uneasy sense that they were filming his script—bears the burden of being in the shadow of his compatriots. Both Beaufort and Waltz with Bashir were huge successes both domestically and abroad, garnering laurels at international film festivals along with consecutive nominations for the best foreign-language Oscars, Israel’s first since the early 1980s. (Folman, who lost the Academy Award race to a Japanese film, won Israel’s first Golden Globe.) “If they’d come out in the same year, maybe one would have succeeded at the expense of the others,” Cedar said.

Lebanon, which is set for theatrical release in America early next year, won the top prize last month at the Venice film festival, but was edged out for best picture at Israel’s Ophir awards, which means Maoz won’t have a shot at a foreign-language Oscar statuette. “In the beginning I thought it was bad luck to be number three,” said Maoz. “But I know that millions of people will see it, and I don’t have reasons to complain.”

Time of Favor [Tablet]

Fortress of Solitude [Tablet]

Soldier’s Story [Tablet]


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Madoff in New York City, March 2009.(Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

When Bernard Madoff was moved to his prison’s hospital yesterday, a spokesperson at the federal North Carolina facility would not say why, although she did deny that Madoff was either terminally ill or had cancer. Today, we still don’t know for sure, but reportedly his injuries include broken ribs, a collapsed lung, facial fractures: in other words, it’s looking likely that the 71-year-old Ponzi schemer, currently serving a life sentence, was beaten up.

Report: Madoff Treated for Facial Fractures, Broken Ribs [ABC Local] (via Vos Iz Neias?)


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Arnold Layne Tabs

More from Pinkfloyd

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Pinkfloyd Lyrics

Arnold Layne

Pink Floyd

B Fm6 G F#

Arnold Layne had a strange hoBy

F7 B G# D# F

collecting clothes moon shine washing line

D# Db B

they suit him fine

Fm6 G F#

on the wall hung a tall mirror

F7 B G# D# F

distorted view see through bG#y blue

he dug it

G# D# B Db G# D#

Oh Arnold Layne it's not the same

Db G# D# F G# G#7

takes two to know two to know two to know

D# G# F B

why can't you see

(B) (sus4) B

Arnold Layne Arnold Layne Arnold Layne Arnold Layne

B Fm6 G F#

now he's caught a nasty sort of person

F7 B G# D# F

they gave him time doors clang chain gang

D# Db B G# F B

he hates it Arnold Layne dont do it again

v toni v

v mail: fact1@cipsol.cs.uni-sb.de v

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Staff Report

Back to: News
February 1, 2013
Follow News

Prescribed fire on Spooner starts next week

The U.S. Forest expects to begin prescribed fire operations on Spooner Summit starting Tuesday, according to a statement from the agency.

Crews expect to burn about 10 acres per day, weather permitting. Operations will continue through the week as weather and conditions allow, according to the statement.

Residents and visitors can expect to see smoke from the area. Smoke-sensitive residents should consider staying indoors and keeping doors, windows and outside vents closed.

To directly receive prescribed fire updates, send an email to

Stories you may be interested in

Tahoe Daily Tribune Updated Feb 1, 2013 08:05PM Published Feb 1, 2013 08:04PM Copyright 2013 Tahoe Daily Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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MOEA mum on new oil price formula

By Helen Ku  /  Staff reporter

Fri, Jul 12, 2013 - Page 13

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday remained mum on when it will implement a revised oil price formula, after two research institutes completed their studies on the pricing mechanism on Wednesday.

According to the Taiwan Research Institute’s (TRI, 台綜院) and the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research’s (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) reports, a revised formula for state-run oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) will be based on 65 percent of Dubai crude oil and 35 percent of Brent crude.

CPC’s current formula is based on 70 percent of Dubai oil and 30 percent of Brent oil.

The two think tanks also suggested CPC fix its operating expense to avoid overcharging consumers. Consumers have often complained the CPC has raised its prices even when global crude oil prices fell, because the company’s operating expenses have varied from time to time.

The ministry appeared dissatisfied with the reports and asked for further input from two think tanks.

“CPC may adopt suggestions offered by the TRI and TIER in the future and may publicize more information to consumers in order to reduce their concerns,” the ministry said in a statement.

In a bid to avoid causing a panic, the ministry did not say when CPC would begin using the new pricing formula as the revised formula is likely to increase consumers’ fuel expenses.


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Howley aims to lift gloom after loss

Sun, Nov 18, 2012 - Page 19

Wales interim coach Rob Howley insists the prospect of facing world champions New Zealand can lift the gloom hanging over his team after Friday’s 26-19 loss to Samoa.

Wales may have won the Six Nations this year but are veering toward crisis point after Samoa subjected them to a fifth straight defeat.

Wales, World Cup semi-finalists this time last year, have slumped to eighth in the world rankings with the All Blacks due at the Millennium Stadium next Saturday.

“Many of us have been here before and we know what it’s like as players and coaches,” Howley said.

“Over the past 12 months this team has been to a World Cup semi-final and a Grand Slam, we’ve had many highs and now we’re going through a low point. We have to look at ourselves individually and collectively and bounce back,” he said.

“Rugby gives you an opportunity to do that and I’ve told the players to look forward to when they’re winning again. We will stick together and we have two good games to come in New Zealand and Australia,” Howley said.

Ashley Beck gave Wales a 13-6 lead with an interception try on his home debut only for Fa’atoina Autagavaia, George Pisi and Johnny Leota to cross as Samoa evoked memories of their famous World Cup victories over Wales in 1991 and 1999 — as Western Samoa — with a combination of ferocious tackling and clinical finishing.

That was in stark contrast to Wales who failed to put together any sustained pressure due to basic errors and a lack of composure that led to Samoa captain David Lemi branding the European champions as “predictable.”

“We’ve been watching Wales since the World Cup. They used the same tactics in the Six Nations and against Argentina. If you stop their go-forward man then you stop them playing,” Lemi said.

Howley responded: “We have changed things so if they [Samoa] want to say we’re predictable then it’s up to them.”

“We are disappointed as a coaching team and players. International rugby is about discipline and making the most of opportunities when they come along,” he said.

“We were out-performed by a Samoa team able to keep the ball for longer periods than we were, which was the most disappointing aspect. We were not smart enough with the ball,” Howley said.

Wales lost Ospreys trio Richard Hibbard (shoulder), Dan Biggar (shoulder) and Ian Evans (knee) before half-time and all three now look set to join a growing casualty list that already includes Adam Jones, Dan Lydiate and Alun Wyn Jones.

Samoa now head to France for next week’s Test in Paris.

“We will give it our best shot against France. The boys have proved we can achieve our goals. We were not here to make up the numbers, we came to win and try to get in the top eight. The players proved they wanted it,” head coach Stephen Betham said.


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 FEATURE: Tighter control over agricultural know-how needed - Taipei Times
Tue, May 24, 2011 - Page 3　News List

FEATURE: Tighter control over agricultural know-how needed

COMPETITION:Academics said increased cross-strait exchanges had led to the outflow of Taiwanese know-how to China and eroded Taiwan’s global market share

By Chung Li-hua  /  Staff Reporter

The government must take an inventory of how many key agricultural species and technologies are still indigenous to Taiwan and hold on to them to safeguard the superiority of the Taiwan brand on the international market, academics said recently.

Along with the rapid growth in cross-strait exchanges and China’s establishment of the so-called “Taiwanese innovative farming parks,” the techniques that have led to the development and production of Taiwanese agricultural wonders, such as orchids, golden diamond pineapples, golden mangoes and Oolong tea, have been exported to China, seriously undermining Taiwan’s share of the international market.

Chen Lee Agricultural Reform research team executive director Tu Yu (杜宇) said Taiwan has limited agricultural land compared with China and cannot count on mass production to sustain economies of scale.

That is why Taiwan should take advantage of its self-developed techniques and products to form the core of its agricultural exports, Tu said, adding that about 70 to 80 percent of the products, which are not limited to flowers and fruit, but also include fish farming, found in China’s “innovative farming parks” were from Taiwan.

The parks, which have been officially approved by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and Ministry of Agriculture, provide land, tax incentives and assistance with software and hardware development, as well as discounts on joint ventures. Those incentives are seen as a means to encourage the transfer of Taiwan’s techniques and experienced workers to China.

Tu said the government should consider imposing criminal sentences on people caught smuggling techniques and seeds or shoots to China.

There were only five such parks in China when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) assumed office in May 2008, but that number increased to 20 in 2009 and to 25 at the end of last year.

One of these parks, Zhangping Yongfu, markets itself as the “Chinese Alishan” (阿里山) and has become the largest settlement of Taiwanese-style Oolong tea in China.

Encouraged by the success of these parks, the Fujian Province Agricultural Department said on Monday last week that it was pushing for the creation of three national-level innovative parks in China.

In a report released in February, Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture said inspections of the parks in November last year showed that they were systematically importing top-grade products from Taiwan, as well as personnel and techniques to enhance and upgrade China’s traditional agriculture.

The report said that everything from management and shoots were imported from Taiwan at the Zhangpu Park in Fujian and that most of the agricultural products planted there were top-of-the line fruit, including golden pineapples, black pearl modifications of bell fruit, lychee, the modified Japanese persimmon kaki, dragon fruit with red fruit meat and pineapple-flavored custard apples, as well as aiwen, yuwen and golden mangoes.

The current focus at the Zhangpu Park was on dragon fruit, the report said.

Chinese fruit growers are not well educated on product rights protection, the report said, adding that some could mass produce varieties of Taiwanese fruit from only a branch or shoot off the original tree.

Oolong tea species and techniques for making the tea have been fully exported to the parks, and some tea leaves are even sold back to Taiwan through Vietnam or in crates that may have found their way back into Taiwan via the “small three links,” the report said.

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Call Of Duty Elite App Gets Updated To Support Black Ops II

Activision’s Call Of Duty Elite Android app has been updated to support the latest version of the first person shooter, Black Ops II. The app allows players of the Call Of Duty franchise to access historical player stats, game summaries and edit in-game options like custom weapons sets and logos. If going through all of your stats or watching Call of Duty Elite TV gets you in the playing mood, remember you can always jump on Call Of Duty Black Ops Zombies on any Android device.

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Call of Duty Black Ops Zombies Now Made Available For All Android Devices

Call of Duty Black Ops Zombies has lost its exclusivity to Sony’s Xperia Play and is now made available to all devices. Finally, we can all partake in yet another zombie shoot-em-up game style. While the price is a little steep for a mobile game at $7, that’s all you have to pay to fully enjoy the game and not have to mess around with in-app purchases.

You can grab the game via the QR code or download link after the break! Read more

Android, Call of Duty, Zombies…Need I Say More?

What do you get when you cross Android with zombies and Call of Duty? Pure amazingness Ie. Call of Duty Black Ops: Zombies. The popularity of zombies, rather, the popularity of killing them has grown exponentially. So much so that there is a version being developed for Android and by the looks of it, is almost ready for prime time! Are you freaking out yet?

At the present time little information is known about the game but we have been able to get some stuff for you thanks to a manual obtained by Xperia Gamer. You will be able to play with your friends in multiplayer mode via bluetooth, or you can play online with people all over the world. There will be 50 levels and as you can see from the image below even some hidden ones!

Currently we have no specific time as to when the app will be unleashed in the Play store. It very well could be in the next couple hours or could be a couple days. We will be sure to update you as soon as we know something! Until then, get your game face on cause it could land any moment.

Read more

Call of Duty ELITE Tablet App Coming

Call of Duty ELITE is a premium service for players of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Activision launched a mobile app for ELITE members on iOS and Android, and it has been installed over 2 million times. With the success of the smartphone app, Activision is now working on a tablet version for both platforms.

According to Activision Product Director Noah Heller, they are “working on the tablet app right now, I can’t tell you much about it but what I can tell you is that it will be a truly native, customized application for the tablet, it’s not just a simple port.

Optimized for a tablet’s larger screen, the app will most likely feature all the features of the smartphone app, and Heller didn’t deny the possibility of having live Heat Maps on the tablet while playing the game on your console or PC.  You’ll need an ELITE account and a copy of Modern Warfare 3 on your console or computer to use the app. No other information is currently available, but we’ll be sure to post any news as we hear it.

Any ELITE members with tablets looking forward to this? Leave a comment!

source: t3
via: androidcentral

Beta Modern Warfare 3 App Hits the Android Market

If you’re one one of the millions waiting anxiously for the release of Modern Warfare 3, look no further than this app from XDA member j.13.leach. Though the app is still in beta and the game has not yet been released, it functions as a comprehensive guide to many new perks, videos, maps, weapons and more. This isn’t the first CoD app to hit the market, but it may be among the few polished ones. It features updates twice daily, and even will alert you when new content is made public. Check it out if you’re into the CoD franchise, and tell us how it holds up.

[via xda]


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Talkin' Broadway HomePast ColumnsAbout

Off Broadway

Emerald Man

Theatre Reviews by Matthew Murray

So it doesn't have The Flash's efficiency or the full range of Batman's intelligence. But Emerald Man, the new rock musical at 37 Arts playing as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, has enough going for it to convince you that it's pretty darn super nonetheless.

If the comic book heroes that so enamor 15-year-old Duncan (Ben Rauch), the central character in this musical by Janet Cole Valdez (book and lyrics) and Marc Bosserman and Tom Valdez (music), can't rescue him from his familial doldrums, it's not for lack of trying. Duncan's always loved comics, just like his long-ago vanished father, and uses them to imagine his way out of the disadvantaged life he and his mother Linda (Kathleen McCann) are living.

One light at the end of that tunnel - Linda's on-again-off-again flame, the violent biker Big Joe (Christian Whelan) - leads only to more darkness: When Duncan witnesses the abusive Big Joe murder another man, Big Joe threatens him into silence. Duncan runs away to the "safer" streets of distant Los Angeles, where his exposure to the resident artists, prostitutes, and drug dealers convinces him that that's a world he can save. Donning his most prized possession, his father's ring, he transforms himself into his own hero: Emerald Man.

Yes, this is a familiar story: Don Quixote by another name, Man of La Mancha without the Spanish Inquisition. But nothing about this treatment feels forced or false, and it earns its stripes as an amusing and affecting take on Miguel de Cervantes's story. With streetwalker Candy (Jessie Novotny) as his Dulcinea and street artist Jamal (Dashaun Young) as his Sancho, Emerald Man is just as apt a man as Cervantes's creation to work toward fulfilling his own impossible dream.

True, the first half of the show (apparently written in two acts, but is performed with no intermission) is often clunky, and establishing the numerous characters and specific locales would benefit from a lighter expositional touch. But once Big Joe begins tracking down Duncan, who rechristens him as his mortal enemy Dark Rider, the show jolts to nuclear life that doesn't abate until the heartbreaking but inspiring tableau that closes out the story.

Along the way, there's a spate of terrific rock and pop tunes encompassing the majestic (for Rauch's dreams of "Superheroes"), the passive-aggressive ("You Are Not My Dad," a tortured and torturing duet for Duncan and Big Joe), the urgent ("Gimme a Ticket," for an escaping Duncan and later for his worried mother), and even the lovely (two simple, gorgeous ballads, "Angel to Me" and "You Make Me Feel Alive," chart Duncan and Candy's reluctant romance). The real, the fantastic, and the in-between worlds that collide time and time again during the show are all defined through the score in ways that pay appropriate heed to the logic of Cervantes, comic books, and reality.

The show falters primarily in its depiction of Duncan's relationship with Marty (Stephen Graybill), the successful music producer Duncan befriends in L.A., which creates considerably less suspense than the authors seem to think. Big Joe could also be better musicalized; he only comes alive in song in the first-act-finale confrontation that sets the stage for the second act's superhero-supervillain battle to the death. And a scene set in a mental institution, decorated with an unfortunate song called "Little Pink Pills," sounds like a psychedelic castoff from another show that should find its way home post haste.

The performers, forever, should stay firmly in place: McCann's amazing belt and her confliction Duncan and Big Joe give the show its real heart. Whelan is legitimately threatening, while Novotny and Young nicely play both their characters' outer tarnish and the gold waiting to be revealed beneath their skins. LaDonna Burns has a few choice moments as a bag lady who could star in Dreamgirls any day of the week; and if Graybill reads too young for Marty, he gives a warmly avuncular portrayal, and has wonderful chemistry with Rauch.

Only in Rauch does the casting become mildly problematic: While energetic, appealingly innocent, and surprisingly capable of navigating Duncan's difficult songs, he's always too grounded to believably need to escape into the fantasy world of comic books. Rauch looks, sounds, and behaves just the right age, but his thorough well-adjustedness too lightens the dark undertones so crucial to the cumulative emotional punch the show packs by the time it ends.

Director-choreographer Josh Prince otherwise keeps the proceedings precisely balanced between the serious and, well, the comic. This gives the show a consistency and centeredness that mark it as a carefully considered work just in need of a bit more polish to shine its brightest. If the creators can provide that without straying from the path they're already following, the futures for Emerald Man look rosy indeed.

Emerald Man
37 Arts, 450 West 37th Street
Tuesday, September 12 at 8:00pm
Friday, September 15 at 8:00pm
Saturday, September 16 at 4:30pm and 8:00pm
Sunday, September 17 at 1:00pm
Friday, September 22 at 4:30pm
Tickets online at


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Tallest Building in the World . COM

If its TALL we have it.

Burj Khalifa - Dubai

Country UAE Burj Khalifa
Floors 160
Height(m) 828
Height(ft) 2717
Builder Emaar Properties
Architect Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Developer Emaar Properties
Date Built 2010
Link Building Link
Concept No
Complete Yes

Burj Khalifa, known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m.


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Education news and notes from Tampa Bay and Florida

Bill to overhaul high school FCAT filed in Florida House

As we first reported three weeks ago, the Florida Legislature has big plans to revamp student assessment in the state's public high schools, adding more rigorous graduation requirements along the way.

That 47-page bill finally got filed by the House Pre-K-12 Policy Committee late Wednesday, in advance of committee discussion next week. The Senate version is pending. Among the highlights, the legislation would:

  • Require algebra 2 and geometry as two of four math graduation requirements. Algebra 1 and geometry would further be paired with with end of course exams that students must pass to earn graduation credit.
  • Require biology and either chemistry or physics as two of three science graduation requirements. Biology would include an end of course exam that students must pass to earn the credit.
  • Eliminate FCAT science and math exams at the high school level.
  • Begin the process of creating end of course exams for algebra 2, English 2, chemistry, physics, earth/space science, U.S. history and world history, subject to available funding.

This initiative, about four years in the making, could be one of the biggest changes to the state's assessment system since the Jeb Bush A-Plus plan. Perhaps surprisingly, though, these changes are getting bipartisan support — perhaps because they would further de-emphasize the importance of the FCAT as a single measure of success.

Still, some details likely will require some compromise. Stay tuned.

For more, see also our recent interview with committee chairman John Legg.

[Last modified: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 10:50am]

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Education news and notes from Tampa Bay and Florida

Florida education news: FCAT prep, school prayer, restructuring and more

Her_sonyaa091309_84997c HELLO, GOODBYE: Hernando welcomes new interim superintendent Sonya Jackson in the wake of former superintendent Wayne Alexander's dismissal.

SMART MOVE: USF is right to offer employees domestic partner benefits, the Times editorializes.

FEELING THE PINCH: Florida's university students begin to feel the effects of changes made to the Bright Futures program, the Lakeland Ledger reports.

STUDYING ON SATURDAYS: A Duval high school offers an FCAT prep academy on weekends for interested freshmen and sophomores, the Florida Times-Union reports.

A NEW ROUTINE: A growing number of south Florida elementary schools have students switching teachers during the day so the teachers can specialize in subject areas, the Miami Herald reports.

DRIVE SAFELY: Collier teens hone their skills in a special weekend driving class, the Naples Daily News reports.

NOT JUST FOR LOCALS ANYMORE: Florida Gulf Coast University expands its reach to students outside southwest Florida, the Fort Myers News-Press reports.

WIRED: Brevard kicks off its virtual education program, Florida Today reports.

PRAYER RALLY: The fight over prayer at Pace High in Santa Rosa continues, the Northwest Florida Daily News reports.

RESTRUCTURING: Marion reopens one of its struggling elementary schools as a demonstration school as part of its plan to improve the district, the Ocala Star-Banner reports.

[Last modified: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 10:35am]

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Education news and notes from Tampa Bay and Florida

Now for the explanation

Scourt_4 We already know what the Florida Supreme Court decided on Amendments 5, 7 and 9. Now we have their rationale. Click here for the decision on 5, and here for the decision on 7 and 9. Both were released a few minutes ago.

If you'd rather skip 33 pages of court opinion, here's the shorthand: The justices shot down 5 because they said it was misleading. And they said the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission exceeded its authority on 7 and 9.

On 5, they wrote: "In recent years, advantageous but misleading 'wordsmithing' has been employed in the crafting of ballot titles and summaries. Sponsors attempt to use phrases and wording techniques in an attempt to persuade voters to vote in favor of the proposal. When such wording selections render a ballot title and summary deceptive or misleading to voters, the law requires that such proposal be removed from the ballot –- regardless of the substantive merit of the proposed changes."

And on 7 and 9: "We find that the plain reading of the term 'state budgetary process' is clear and unambiguous -– TBRC's jurisdiction to propose constitutional amendments does not extend to a subject solely because the State will expend funds on that subject or because it could affect the State's expenditures."

Both rulings were unanimous.

(Photo from State of Florida)

[Last modified: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 9:56am]

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LeAnn Rimes used to date Tiger Woods -- 8 years ago

Tbd-leannrimes032610 Yeah, we're kinda late with word that Tiger Woods used to date LeAnn Rimes, but ask yourself: Did you really care? Nah, we didn't think so.

Us magazine points out the two "went out a few times" in 2002, according to a source, which we have to quote in order to remain a gossip rag of record. "They hooked up and everything," the source says. "Tiger was really into her. He likes those blondes!"

Apparently the problems began because Rimes, now 27, was too young to date the golfer, now 34, the mag says. She was a teenager and Tiger was seven years older than she.

"Then her dad almost had a heart attack," the source says. "And he made her stop seeing Tiger."

And to think, these days we know at least 14 other reasons LeAnn's dad would make her stop seeing him. As it is, Rimes is now divorcing Dean Sheremet because she cheated on him, so maybe she and Tiger were a good match.

[Photo: Getty Images]

[Last modified: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 11:25am]

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Review: 'Vera Gran: The Accused' recounts survival, morality amid Holocaust

As a young girl, she idolized Marlene Dietrich; much later she sang with Charles Aznavour and was compared to Edith Piaf. Vera Gran, who burst to fame as a teenage Polish Jewish singer in the 1930s, craved admiration. "I wanted to stir emotions," she proclaimed. She did so with her seductive contralto voice. But when she ended up singing in the nightclubs of the Warsaw ghetto during the German occupation, she stirred much more dangerous passions. For the rest of her long life, she was subjected to accusations that she had collaborated with the Nazis, fueling her increasing desperation and isolation.

By the time Agata Tuszynska, a Polish poet and biographer of Isaac Bashevis Singer, managed to convince Gran to admit her into her nearly sealed-off Paris apartment in 2003, she was 87, bore almost no resemblance to the glamorous beauty captured in earlier photos and was understandably paranoid. Yet with infinite patience, Tuszynska coaxed her to recount her version of events. This, along with Tuszynska's review of every bit of testimony she could find, allowed her to write Vera Gran: The Accused. It is as much a moving meditation on survival and morality amid the horrors of the Holocaust as it is a reconstruction of Gran's tragic tale.

Born into a poor family, Vera Grynberg wanted to be a dancer in Warsaw. After an auto accident ended that dream, she quickly found her calling as a cabaret singer, singing on Polish Radio and making records and advertisements. Suddenly, she was a star, making more than a good living, providing help to her mother and older sisters.

When the Germans invaded, she had a chance to flee to Italy but passed it up. "I was brazenly young, unaware of what threatened us in this situation," she recalled. Kazimierz Jezierski, a young doctor, made it his mission to save her. He whisked her away to northeastern Poland, where he presented her as his wife. But she insisted on going to Lwow, then part of Soviet-occupied Poland, to resume her cabaret singing. When her mother refused to leave Warsaw, Gran and Jezierski returned to German-occupied Poland.

She began singing in the Cafe Sztuka, inside the Warsaw ghetto. While the Polish underground ordered artists not to perform in German-run theaters and stages and executed collaborators, looser rules applied inside the ghetto. Wladyslaw Szpilman, who gained posthumous fame because of Roman Polanski's film The Pianist, based on his memoir, was one of Gran's accompanists. Both managed to survive, but their fates afterward couldn't have been more different. He was celebrated, she was denounced.

For 15 months she performed in the ghetto. She wanted to be admired again, but she also wanted to survive — and to ensure that her mother would, too. That meant performing before "the rich people in the ghetto, the black marketers, guys from the Jewish police, all those … who refused to end up as victims, or as a bar of soap," Gran told Tuszynska. "I didn't want to become soap." Her mother didn't survive, nor did a son who lived only three months. But Gran, thanks to the faithful Jezierski, managed to escape the ghetto and go into hiding.

When the war ended, she went to Szpilman, then the musical director of Polish Radio. "You are not dead!?" he exclaimed. Refusing to hire her, he told her of the accusation that she had worked for the Gestapo. She appealed for an investigation, but was arrested and interrogated. Eventually the citizens' court of the Central Committee of Polish Jews heard more than 50 witnesses. After more than two years, it acquitted her of all charges.

Soon Gran left both Jezierski and Poland, hoping for a new life. She performed in France, Venezuela, the United States — including at Carnegie Hall — and Israel. But the accusations followed her, with added venom. In Israel, there were calls for a boycott of "the Gestapo whore."

Gran died in 2007. The author, who discovered her own Jewish origins when she was 19, offers no answers. And while often exhausted by the haunted old woman she found in Paris, she can't help but sympathize with her. "I have the feeling of being caught, just like Vera, in this web of contradictory testimony," she concludes. Any reader of this harrowing book is likely to feel exactly the same way.

Vera Gran:

The Accused

By Agata Tuszynska

Translated from the French of Isabelle Jannes-Kalinowski by Charles Ruas

Knopf, 305 pages, $28.95

Meet the author

Agata Tuszynska, above, will deliver the Debbie and Brent Sembler Florida Holocaust Museum Lecture at 3:30 p.m. Monday in the ballroom of the Student Center at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, 140 Seventh Ave. S, St. Petersburg.

Review: 'Vera Gran: The Accused' recounts survival, morality amid Holocaust 11/15/13 [Last modified: Friday, November 15, 2013 6:09pm]
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Tampa Bay ranks low in smarts. How do we recruit talented people?

Tampa Bay — all of Florida, for that matter — wants in the worst way to evolve into a 21st century state with an economy driven by brainy, well- paid workers like biotech scientists and nanotech engineers and hordes of young, university-trained entrepreneurs motivated to relocate, or stay, and start new companies.

I say go for it. Who says The Thinker can't have a Florida tan, wear a Speedo and enjoy Guavaween? But let's first do one very big reality check.

In the pecking order of metro areas with supereducated populations — precisely the kinds of folks best trained to do those jobs we so covet — we are the tail wagging the dog, the fast-food burger trailing the filet mignon, the TV audience watching The Biggest Loser instead of Lark Rise to Candleford.

Put bluntly, in the race to be a global player and a competitive metro area, Tampa Bay has to run faster, hotter and longer to recruit and retain talent just to catch up with at least some of the vast majority of major cities in the United States. Not that our business, educational and political leaders are not trying. They are. But they still lack focus, the resources and the intensity to elevate this metro area and this state up the evolutionary ladder of better-paying workplaces.

Nobody says this is easy or a quick task. But it does raise some practical questions. What can Tampa Bay really aspire to economically? Can we shoot too high intellectually in our quest for higher-end jobs? Can we suffer a failure to launch?

In two recent surveys ranking major metro areas by brainpower — one by CNN's Money magazine and the other by the Daily Beast, the online news commentary site now run by Tina Brown — Tampa Bay sits uncomfortably low on the totem pole.

Don't get upset. Tampa Bay is what it is: a very livable metro area with plenty to do, lots of natural beauty and plenty of frontage on the Gulf of Mexico. But it's not a megamind metro area like Boston or Washington or San Jose, Calif., or even Raleigh, N.C. It is not home to Harvard or MIT or Stanford or Duke. It boasts no headquarters like Google or IBM or Coca-Cola or Microsoft.

What is Tampa Bay? These two surveys suggest it's a metro area low in the pecking order of cities flush with college grads and Ph.D.s. Here, libraries do not bask on every street corner. We lack big lines of avid book readers purchasing lots of adult nonfiction.

Thinking big thoughts, being innovative, creating businesses and jobs — this stuff matters, as the Daily Beast suggests in its ranking of metro areas:

"A city's potential lies mostly with the ingenuity and brainpower of its citizens. Regions with intellectual vigor are more likely to bounce back; those without risk a stupor."

Now I take offense to such regional bias. I limit my stupor time, usually, to weekends and before 9 a.m. on weekdays.

The latest Daily Beast survey of smartest cities ranks Tampa Bay 49th in brainpower among 55 metro areas, just below No. 47 Miami and No. 48 Louisville, Ky., but above No. 50 Orlando.

Boston ranks first; Las Vegas was last at 55th.

At No. 49, Tampa Bay has only 16 percent of its population with bachelor's degrees and 8 percent with graduate degrees. The metro area purchased 2.2 million adult nonfiction books this year. That sounds like a lot, but consider that No. 1 Boston (granted, a larger metro area) bought more than 7 million nonfiction books.

Most disturbing in this ranking is how much lower Tampa Bay fell from its 2009 ranking at No. 33. That's a brainpower drop of 16 metro areas in one year.

The CNN Money magazine survey of smart (and dumb?) cities is more basic, relying on U.S. Census Bureau data, but is no less revealing. Tampa Bay ranks in the bottom 10 of cities based simply on a relatively slim percentage of its population with college degrees.

There's a price to pay for a less-educated community and a less-credentialed work force. It's well documented by the likes of urban economist Richard Florida and others that smart and creative people tend to look for other smart and creative people when they migrate to a new metro area.

Conversely, young college graduates here — be they grads of the University of South Florida or the University of Tampa or Eckerd College or Stetson Law School or the Ringling College of Art and Design or other area schools of higher learning — still tend to look to other metro areas with greater densities of smart jobs in hopes of securing both attractive work and a genuine opportunity to advance.

What's low-ranked Tampa Bay to do to recruit smarter workers?

That question has nagged business leaders for decades, well before Tampa adopted its 1980s hyper-hopeful slogan "America's Next Great City" or, in the 1990s, its less formal but more accurate nickname "Call Center Capital of America."

To attract more talent, I have three suggestions.

First, market (and do it right, not slapdash) Tampa Bay's best attributes that might appeal to smart and motivated people, young or older. These days that would include our weather, lifestyle, the concentration and variety of museums and sports teams, beaches, nature, increasingly affordable housing, the lack of a state income tax, the rise of USF, cutting-edge firms like SRI, Draper Lab and M2Gen, the military presence of MacDill Air Force Base, Bill Gates' choice of committing $100 million to Hillsborough County schools, the Florida Orchestra, and the atmosphere of Ybor City and Busch Gardens.

That's enough, for starters.

Second, market the testimonials of smart people already here. Nothing draws well-educated folks like more well-educated people. It reinforces that there are relevant job opportunities here, there is culture and, most of all, there are real, smart people who are happy to work and live here.

Third, let's elevate the intensity of improving the Tampa Bay area. Pick up the pace on economic development planning. Find, celebrate and recruit some of Tampa Bay's superior innovators — the folks starting cool companies, the authors writing worthy books, the managers deftly handling complex ventures, the professors who wow students and faculty — and draw on their combined talents for new metro-improving ideas and their sheer energy.

And stop glossing over Tampa Bay's subpar public schools. Raise the bar, even if it is only by building a volunteer army from the community to pitch in and help.

Here's one more suggestion. Advocates of Tampa Bay's proposed regional mass transit system need to get up after being defeated in the Nov. 2 election. That's when the penny tax to fund Hillsborough County's regional light rail, enhanced bus and roads plan was trounced by voters. Those backing the regional system need to dust themselves off, figure out why the transit initiative failed to pass — antitax sentiment in a recession factored as much or more than specific opposition to better mass transit — and get better prepared for Round 2.

Hint: Maybe sticking all the make-or-break work on Hillsborough County to lead the way, while Pinellas and Pasco and others sit and gawk, isn't the best regional strategy next time. (Remember the Daily Beast line above: Regions with intellectual vigor are more likely to bounce back; those without risk a stupor.) If we're still failing to win a better regional mass transit system by 2020, we deserve to rank last in smart city surveys.

Tampa Bay's no utopia. But if you don't market the area in a smart way, smart folks won't know it's here. Marketing, of course, is not the whole answer — not by a long shot — but it's a piece of it we don't seem to grasp lately.

Nobody likes to see surveys ranking Tampa Bay near the back of the line of innovative, smart metro areas.

Nobody says we have to stay there.

Robert Trigaux can be reached at trigaux@sptimes.com.

Tampa Bay:
Low among cities
for smarts

In the Daily Beast annual ranking of 55 large cities with brainpower, Tampa Bay came in low at 49th:

Top 10

1. Boston

2. Hartford-New Haven, Conn.

3. San Francisco-Oakland-San José

4. Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

5. Denver

6. Seattle-Tacoma

7. Austin, Texas

8. Minneapolis-St. Paul

9. Washington, D.C.

10. Rochester, N.Y.

Bottom 10

46. Greensboro, N.C.

47. Miami

48. Louisville, Ky.

49. Tampa-St. Petersburg

50. Orlando

51. Memphis

52. Houston

53. Fresno, Calif.

54. San Antonio, Texas

55. Las Vegas

Source: The Daily Beast, using U.S. Census Bureau, Nielsen BookScan, libraries per capita, other data

CNN's Money magazine ranking

Large metro areas with the highest and lowest percentages of college degrees.

1. Washington, D.C. 47.3%

2. San Francisco 43.5%

3. San Jose, Calif. 43.2%

4. Raleigh, N.C. 42.2%

5. Boston 42.2%

6. Austin, Texas 38.7%

7. Minneapolis 37.6%

8. Denver 37.6%

9. Seattle 37.4%

10. New York 35.6%

1. Riverside, Calif. 19.2%

2. Las Vegas 21.5%

3. Memphis 24.2%

4. Tampa Bay 24.6%

5. San Antonio 24.8%

6. Louisville, Ky. 24.9%

7. New Orleans 26.2%

8. Detroit 26.3%

9. Orlando 26.6%

10. Cleveland 26.9%

Source: CNN, U.S. Census Bureau

Tampa Bay ranks low in smarts. How do we recruit talented people? 11/13/10 [Last modified: Monday, November 15, 2010 11:54am]
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