Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/236153407?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Saturday, June 30, 2012
Video: Morgan ready to go for her dream in London
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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/21134540/vp/48027940#48027940
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Hoax prompts Taco Bell to serve up 10,000 tacos to Alaska town
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[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hoax-prompts-taco-bell-serve-10-000-tacos-103019001.html
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Friday, June 29, 2012
7 Places You Should Be Checking Around Your Home (but Aren't)
A shifting foundation is a blueprint for disaster. The first warning signs are usually cracks in walls, uneven floors, and doors and windows that don't operate correctly. "The No. 1 problem I see [in homes] is the foundation, which is usually caused by [inadequate drainage of] water," says Yuriy Stakhiv, owner of Handyman Force in Aurora, Colo. "If the foundation moves, your doors go off level. They squeak and do not close properly, and the windows have problems closing." (If doors and windows have always opened and closed without any trouble, then suddenly started sticking or have moved out of alignment, a sinking foundation could be to blame. If they've always operated poorly, you're probably just the victim of poor installation.)
Soil can expand when wet and contract when dry, putting pressure on the foundation or leaving voids in the ground into which the foundation can sink. This can also lead to a leaky or damp basement. The best solution is to keep an eye on your foundation and improve the grading around the house so rainwater runs away from the foundation instead of into it. Stakhiv says to walk around the house and inspect the foundation annually. "Make a note of any cracks you haven't seen before?even spider cracks," he says, adding that homeowners should also look for places were the soil is pushed away from the foundation, which could allow water to enter the basement.
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Rumor: Amazon prepping new 7- and 10-inch tablets
17 hrs.
A larger version of Amazon's popular Kindle Fire tablet is being readied for release, an anonymous source tells BGR. The company is also planning to revise the original with an improved metal body and upgraded specs.
The Kindle Fire is far and away the single most popular Android-based tablet, though Amazon replaced most of the user-facing part of Google's OS with its own interface and apps. Although the company's policy is not to state sales numbers, it's clear that millions have been sold, and the gamble of competing with Apple's iPad?? by offering a smaller, cheaper tablet???paid off.
But there is clearly demand for larger tablets as well, and rumors have persisted that Amazon was working on a 10-inch tablet the entire time, but deemed it too risky to launch both. Now that the Fire has proven successful, it's less risky to put a more expensive option out there, and BGR's source claims this is just what they are doing.
The 10-inch device is said to be equipped with a quad-core processor, which would make it a more powerful media playback machine than the current Fire, which some now?regard as slightly underpowered. It would also have a front-facing camera, presumably for video chat purposes.
Both the larger and the smaller devices will have high-quality metal builds, an improvement on the Fire's slightly plasticky feel. Both will also have HDMI-out ports for plugging the device into your TV or monitor, and neither one will have any buttons on the front.
No timing or pricing data was suggested by the anonymous source, but it would be reasonable to assume that the smaller one will remain around $200, if not a little less, and the larger one will go for $100 to?$150 more, carefully avoiding competing directly with the year-old?iPad 2, which still sells in an 8GB version at $399. Expect a large announcement sometime fairly soon, though, at which time we may also expect the glowing?Kindle leaked out in April.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. His personal website is?coldewey.cc.
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Parenting Raises Similar Intimacy Challenges on Gays and ...
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Parenting Raises Similar Intimacy Challenges on Gays and Straights
Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 28, 2012
A new study discovers some gay male couples make significant lifestyle changes as they parent a child. And gay parents tend to face many of the same challenges as straight parents when it comes to sex and intimacy after having children.
The life changes may reduce the risk of HIV, according to researchers writing?in the journal Couple and Family Psychology. However, not all gay parents will change their lifestyle and become monogamous, highlighting the need to continue prevention efforts.
?When gay couples become parents, they become very focused on the kids, they are tired, there is less time for communication and less desire for sex,? said Colleen Hoff, Ph.D., professor of sexuality studies at San Francisco State University. ?They go through a lot of the same changes as heterosexual couples who have kids.?
Researchers report that nationwide, approximately one in five gay male couples is raising children.
In the study, Hoff and colleagues investigated if becoming a parent causes gay dads to change their lifestyle in ways that protect them from risky sexual behavior, or if the stress of parenting leads to increased health risks such as infidelity and unprotected sex with outside partners.
The researchers interviewed 48 gay male couples who are raising children together.
?We found that gay fathers have less time for sex and less emphasis on sexuality, which could mean they are at less risk for HIV,? Hoff said. ?Many fathers said they feel a sense of responsibility toward their children which motivates them to avoid risky sexual behavior.?
Many of the couples reported that having children increased their commitment to each other and deepened their relationship. Fathers reported they gained a new admiration for their partner as they observed them parenting.
Although the frequency of sex declined after becoming parents, gay couples generally found this to acceptable. ?From the fathers we studied, there was this pragmatic acceptance that this is what happens at this stage of life,? Hoff said.
One surprising finding is that becoming parents did not affect the couples? sexual agreements ? the contracts that many gay male couples make about whether sex with outside partners is allowed.
?There wasn?t the shift that we thought we might find,? Hoff said. ?For the most part, those who were monogamous before becoming parents said they stayed with that arrangement. Those who had open relationships before having children reported that they kept to that agreement.?
Clearly while some of the lifestyle changes associated with parenthood might reduce HIV risk for monogamous gay couples, the study suggests problems could arise for couples with open sexual agreements.
Typically, these couples have fewer opportunities to discuss their sexual agreements with each other, and a few men said that once they became a parent they felt uncomfortable talking to their friends or their doctor about the fact that they are in an open relationship.
?Some men felt that there is this assumption that if you are a gay parent you are monogamous,? Hoff said. ?This kind of stigma around gay parents? sexuality could be a concern if gay fathers are reluctant to talk to their physician about their sexual agreement and get tested for HIV.?
Researchers said the study shows that gay men do not all become monogamous when they become a parent. As such, physicians and counselors should allow a gay man the opportunity to discuss sexual agreements and to have access to testing services.
In particular, the study highlights the need for HIV prevention programs to find alternative ways to reach gay fathers since they spend less time in gay social venues where sexual health messages are typically promoted.
Source: San Francisco State University
APA Reference
Nauert PhD, R. (2012). Parenting Raises Similar Intimacy Challenges on Gays and Straights. Psych Central. Retrieved on June 28, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/06/28/parenting-raises-similar-intimacy-challenges-on-gays-and-straights/40791.html
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Thursday, June 28, 2012
Pakistan's Texas-sized problems
Despite the some cultural overlaps, the American and Pakistani paths are parting ways.
A Pashtun boy stands at the window of his family's mud house, looking at children playing nearby on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, last week.
Fayaz Aziz/Reuters
EnlargeYears ago, before Sept. 11, when I first started traveling in South Asia, a Pakistani diplomat gave me a quick tutorial about how his people, Pashtuns, were not so very different from my own people, Texans.
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We both follow conservative religions, although not so closely as we like others to believe, said the diplomat, delicately cutting into a plate of enchiladas at a Tex-Mex joint in Washington. Like Texans, we love our guns. We have very traditional beliefs about marriage and the role of women in society. We love barbecued meat. We distrust government, and hate paying taxes. We?re not as different as you might think.
As intriguing as this Pashtuns-are-Texans theory is, it is clear that the differences between the United States (which includes Texas, for the time being) and Pakistan (which includes many ethnic Pashtuns, for the time being) have become vast. US military airstrikes, aimed at Islamist militants but also killing civilians and even Pakistani soldiers, have turned many Pakistanis against what they see as a ?great Satan.? Pakistani tolerance of, and even support for, Islamist militant groups on Pakistani soil has pushed many US military commanders to conclude that Pakistan is, in effect, more an enemy than an ally. According to Christine Fair in this week?s Foreign Policy magazine, some are contemplating a new approach: either containment, or benign neglect.
At present, Pakistan no longer allows the US military or the NATO alliance to use its ports or roads to resupply NATO troops based in Afghanistan. And with US elections approaching, and Pakistan?s government increasingly fragile, it is hard to see how the two countries can bridge the gap.
Pakistani public opinion has turned sharply against the United States, with a recent Pew Research poll showing that 74 percent regard America to be an enemy, up from 69 percent in 2011, and 64 percent three years ago.
Recent headlines indicate that things are not getting better, but rather worse.
* In her?Foreign Policy piece, Ms. Fair suggests that US military are close to giving up on its tactical alliance with Pakistan. As Fair writes, Pakistan is in such a state of crisis, it couldn?t change course even if it wanted to do so.
Pakistan is in crisis. Its courts act on whim rather than jurisprudence. Its political parties are vast pools of corrupt patronage networks that aggregate elite interests while disregarding the interests of Pakistan's struggling masses. Neither elected politicians nor military rulers have had the political courage to right the nation's fiscal woes by enforcing income tax or imposing industrial and agricultural taxes on the ruling elites and their networks of influence. While the army has retrenched from a direct role in politics, it has done so likely because it has no other option: Pakistan's military suffered a mighty humiliation after the bin Laden raid, which left many citizens wondering whether their country is a failed state, a rogue state, or both.
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Mysterious Fairy Circles Are 'Alive'
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Change Management ? Types of Performance Appraisals
Change happens! The flow of evolution in business is imperative. Indeed, change is all around us and for many it is an exciting idea but for some it is quite a frightening prospect.
Change Management Training is put in place by many companies and organisations in order to ensure that all members of the company are skilled, trained and comfortable with any changes which are about to occur in the near future. As the entire business world is moving and changing quickly, Change Management is vital to many companies.
Change Management allows an element of movement towards future success within a company. It also allows staff to be more organised and understand the changes and work together as a team. The management of change can refer to changes in anything from mission, strategy, operation, technology, attitude, to behavior. Changes in all these aspects are important to companies and employees. Therefore it is important to execute these changes punctually and decisively. However because this can be difficult in some circumstances there are now dedicated change managers with a great deal of experience in the area which can help companies change for the better along with ensuring all changes run smoothly.
However when companies want to import change the primary hurdle is getting other people within the company on side. It is extremely important to acknowledge and understand why resistance is occurring within the organisation.
An important aspect of imposing change upon individuals is answering their first question which will be; ?what?s in it for me?? We are all human and only desire change if it will benefit us. So, don?t be afraid to answer this question honestly. But always remember if people do not understand what benefits they will receive from such a change they will be less likely to respond positively.
Team work is vital in all companies especially when changes are being made. Many people feel unstable and unsure when a change in their job is taking place, especially if they do not understand the why?s of this particular change. Therefore it is important that all members of the organisation understand the change as it will allow all members of this ?team? to be involved in all changes. It is important that change does not happen to someone but with them.
Change Management has gained a great deal of popularity amongst some of the largest companies nationwide. Change Management is a science in itself which allows companies to gain organisational skills and in turn ensures all changes to run smoothly. Change Management experts achieve the desired goal by placing a large focus on the company and how it works. Whilst doing this they also arrange group meetings in order to maintain a team spirit across the company.
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Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Behind The Scenes: The Making Of Google?s Jelly Bean Android Statue
As is customary, Google has erected a giant statue earlier today on the grounds of its Mountain View headquarters that represents the latest version of Android: version 4.1 Jelly Bean, which is expected to make its debut very shortly at Google I/O. Created by Giovanni Calabrese of Themendous, the statue is a large, clear jar, fitted with the proper Android accoutrements, filled to the brim with 9-inch jelly beans. The company has announced the unveiling on its blog, but we went behind the scenes with Giovanni to see how the statue was made in his New Jersey studio.dennis quaid bruce weber fired notorious big biggie smalls lyrics azores emmylou harris disco inferno
Obama prepping thousands of lawyers for election
FILE - This April 24, 2012 file photo shows a sign at the entrance of a polling station in East Greenwich, R.I., advises voters that identification is required. President Barack Obama's campaign is recruiting legions of lawyers to handle disputes that may arise from now through Election Day. Thousands of attorneys and support staffers have agreed to aid in the effort, providing legal support that appears to be unrivaled by Republicans or precedent. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
FILE - This April 24, 2012 file photo shows a sign at the entrance of a polling station in East Greenwich, R.I., advises voters that identification is required. President Barack Obama's campaign is recruiting legions of lawyers to handle disputes that may arise from now through Election Day. Thousands of attorneys and support staffers have agreed to aid in the effort, providing legal support that appears to be unrivaled by Republicans or precedent. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
President Barack Obama places an order at The Varsity restaurant, Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney greets workers as he campaigns at Carter Machinery Company, Inc., in Salem, Va., Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) ? President Barack Obama's campaign has recruited a legion of lawyers to be on standby for this year's election as legal disputes surrounding the voting process escalate.
Thousands of attorneys and support staffers have agreed to aid in the effort, providing a mass of legal support that appears to be unrivaled by Republicans or precedent. Obama's campaign says it is particularly concerned about the implementation of new voter ID laws across the country, the possibility of anti-fraud activists challenging legitimate voters and the handling of voter registrations in the most competitive states.
Republicans are building their own legal teams for the election. They say they're focused on preventing fraud ? making sure people don't vote unless they're eligible ? rather than turning away qualified voters.
Since the disputed 2000 presidential election, both parties have increasingly concentrated on building legal teams ? including high-priced lawyers who are well-known in political circles ? for the Election Day run-up. The Bush-Gore election demonstrated to both sides the importance of every vote and the fact that the rules for voting and counting might actually determine the outcome. The Florida count in 2000 was decided by just 537 votes and ultimately landed in the Supreme Court.
This year in that state alone, Obama and his Democratic allies are poised to have thousands of lawyers ready for the election and hope to have more than the 5,800 attorneys available four years ago. That figure was nearly twice the 3,200 lawyers the Democrats had at their disposal in 2004.
Romney has been organizing his own legal help for the election. Campaign attorney Ben Ginsberg did not provide numbers but said the campaign has been gratified by the "overwhelming number of attorneys who have volunteered to assist."
"We will have enough lawyers to handle all situations that arise," he said.
The GOP doesn't necessarily need to have a numerical counterweight to Obama's attorneys; the 2000 election showed that experienced, connected lawyers on either side can be effective in court.
Former White House counsel Robert Bauer, who is organizing the Obama campaign's legal deployment, said there is great concern this year because he believes GOP leaders around the county have pursued new laws to impede the right to vote.
"The Republican Party and their allies have mapped out their vote suppression campaign as a response to our success in 2008 with grass-roots organization and successful turnout," Bauer said. "This is their response to defeat: changing the rules of participation so that fewer participate."
Several states with Republican leaders have recently pursued changes that could make voting more difficult, including key states such as Florida and Ohio, despite objections from voting rights groups that believe that the laws could suppress votes from low-income and minority blocs.
Republicans dispute that the laws are political, pointing to cases of election fraud and arguing that measures like those requiring voters to show identification are simply common sense.
Independent from the Romney team, a conservative group is prepping an Election Day team of its own to combat possible fraud.
Catherine Engelbrecht, president and founder of True the Vote, said the organization hopes to train and mobilize up to one million volunteers this year, many of them to serve poll watchers. One of the group's main initiatives is to "aggressively pursue fraud reports."
"Being a poll watcher is an age-old tradition and we're fortunate that so many volunteers are ready and willing to take a day off, learn what they need to know and help out at the polls," Engelbrecht said. True the Vote already has thousands signed up to help and had 500 trained election workers monitoring the Wisconsin recall vote earlier this month.
"They serve as volunteer guardians of the republic, to ensure that procedures at the polls are in keeping with state law," she said.
It's one of the efforts that have Obama's team fretting. The Democrats fear that anti-fraud activity could get out of hand, with vigilante poll watchers targeting and intimidating voters who may not know their rights.
"We will have the strategy and the resources to address the threat and protect the voter," Bauer said.
The Obama-aligned attorneys, most of whom are not election experts by trade, undergo training and have materials to show them how to help at the polls on Election Day.
Charles Lichtman, who is helping advise the effort in Florida this year after leading it in the last two cycles, first created the Florida Democratic Lawyers Council after the 2000 election, vowing that there would never be a repeat of that disputed vote. He contends Democrat Al Gore would have won the presidency over Republican George W. Bush if a similar legal infrastructure had been in place then.
Lichtman's efforts have since been replicated for other states. He said that is vital to provide voter protection.
"My experience has been that, in every election, the other side has taken drastic measures to try to suppress the vote," Lichtman said. The volunteer organization has not been involved in the 2012 legal disputes so far, though they are monitoring the developments.
Four years ago, the teams of lawyers organized by Obama and Republican candidate John McCain in 2008 went largely unused since the election wasn't very close.
But this year may be different given all the changes to voting laws ? and the closeness of the race in recent polling.
The states with the strictest ID laws require voters to show photo identification before casting ballots. If they don't have proper identification or fail to bring it, they can cast a provisional ballot but must later go to meet with state elections administrators to sort things out before the ballot is counted.
Voting groups see a variety of potential problems, such as how voters are informed of the rule changes, how poll workers handle voters who fail to bring IDs and whether voters are provided adequate notice of the steps they need to take after casting an absentee ballot.
About 30 states have some form of an ID law, with varying methods of implementation.
Legal challenges typically start coming in the weeks before the election, but "litigation has started coming sooner and more vociferously" this year, says Edward Foley, an elections law expert with Ohio State University. That includes lawsuits surrounding Florida's plan to purge ineligible voters from the rolls.
Foley said. "We're in an era of increased litigiousness over the voting process."
He said lawsuits after Election Day may occur only if votes in a battleground state are within the "margin of litigation." That would probably be a difference of just hundreds of votes, a result that would be rare.
___
Associated Press writer Mike Baker can be reached on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/HiPpEV
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Google wants you to join the party, announces Google+ Events (video)
At the tail end of today's Google I/O keynote, the company demoed Google+ Events, which, as you might imagine, let's you invite your virtual buds to an in-person hangout. You've probably already guessed that there's some pretty tight integration with Mountain View's other virtual properties, including Calendar, which means that sending your friends or coworkers a "save the date" to brunch or brainstorming no longer requires clunky email, or a phone call. That's not to say that your contacts need to opt-in to the search giant's social networking site to join the fun -- email invites are still available by typing your friend's address alongside your circles, or individual friends should you wish to plan an awkward inter-group soiree. You can choose from a variety of themes for your e-vite, which integrate motion or static banners. Once the fun begins, you can hop into Party Mode from your mobile, and photos you shoot during the event will appear beside the invite -- friends can add pics to the page as well, which you can later download. For now, please accept our invitation to jump past the break, where a Google demo video awaits.
Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012's opening keynote at our event hub!
Continue reading Google wants you to join the party, announces Google+ Events (video)
Google wants you to join the party, announces Google+ Events (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 13:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Jury: Ex-detective was sane during California rape
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (AP) ? A California jury on Tuesday found that a former police detective who blamed the antidepressant Zoloft for his behavior was sane when he abducted and raped a waitress at gunpoint.
Jurors delivered their findings in the case of 32-year-old Anthony Nicholas Orban in San Bernardino County Superior Court, according to the district attorney's office.
Jurors previously convicted the former Westminster police detective of raping a waitress in a brutal attack that began outside a mall in 2010.
Prosecutors say the off-duty officer used his service weapon to force the woman to drive to a self-storage lot, where he sexually assaulted her and shoved a gun in her mouth. The woman escaped when Orban was distracted by an incoming cellphone call, prosecutors said.
Orban's attorney had argued that his client could not be held responsible for his actions because he was taking the antidepressant Zoloft, which had rendered him effectively unconscious at the time of the attack.
Orban, who served in the Marines in Iraq, had pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to eight counts, including kidnapping and rape. He will now be scheduled to appear before a judge for a sentencing hearing, and could face a life sentence.
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PFT: Ex-BU hoopster charged with extorting RGIII
APSince it?s supposed to be a slow week, here?s an item that is best suited for consideration during a slow week.
Colts owner Jim Irsay has taken to Twitter to call me out personally for a joke included at the bottom of a Saturday item regarding Irsay?s position that marketing rights aren?t holding up an eventual contract with quarterback Andrew Luck.
Since most of the latest available pictures of Luck show him wearing a mortar board and a gown tied and draped over his shoulders like an Andy Bernard sweater, and given that the topic of the item was Luck?s marketing rights via the poorly-crafted tweets of Jim Irsay, I closed with this:? ?Luck likely will be free to endorse whatever he wants to endorse, including the use of images of his Stanford graduation to be included in a campaign for online courses aimed at teaching rich, middle-aged white guys how to type legibly on Twitter.?
It was a slap at Irsay?s notorious habit of oft-indecipherable Twitter messages, and using the term ?rich, middle-aged white guys? was aimed at describing Irsay?s overall demographic.
Irsay didn?t see it that way.? On Monday morning, Irsay started the debate with this:
Then, without a response, he said this:
I considered not taking the bait; after all, the guy owns an NFL team.? But like I mentioned above, it?s slow right now.? Also, I wasn?t entirely comfortable with the not-so-subtle effort to suggest that I expect only white people to type legible Twitter message.? (For the record, I expect everyone to type legibly on Twitter.)? Besides, Irsay asked a question.? The least I could do was answer it.
A loyal PFT reader (I knew there was at least one) thereafter responded to the kerfuffle. Irsay then replied to Wes LaFever?s tweet with this:
So, basically, Jim Irsay thinks I?m a racist and I don?t like old people (even though I?m now seven years into the legally-protected class of old people) and I don?t like rich people (even though I?d very much like to be one, someday).
Wow.? He really has cracked the code.
Now if only I could crack the code for interpreting 99.8 percent of his Twitter messages, this job would be a lot easier.
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Seven summer books for smarties
Duane Hoffmann / msnbc.com file
Can summer reading make you smarter? Definitely!
By Alan Boyle
Just because it's summer doesn't mean you have to turn your brain off. And just because it's a science book doesn't mean it has to be boring. If you're trying to beat the heat, here are seven recently published or soon-to-be-published books that will keep your brain purring along even when you're at the beach?? or inside your air-conditioned heat-wave hideaway.
"2312": This is the only fictional work on the list, but it's a doozy. This 576-page novel from Kim Stanley Robinson (who's best-known for his Mars Trilogy) is a crime-and-politics thriller set in an era when humans have colonized most of the solar system. There's even an asteroid-mining angle, which fits well with the recent revelations about Planetary Resources' plan to build a trillion-dollar industry. Some reviewers say the book meanders too much, but isn't that part of the appeal of a summer read? "2312" is one of the books on NPR's list of summer sci-fi recommendations.?
"Before the Lights Go Out": BoingBoing's Maggie Koerth-Baker focuses on two big questions in her book about the looming energy crisis. "Why should I care about energy?" and "Now that I care, what do I do?" She teases apart what's happening to the electricity grid and other elements of the world's infrastructure, then delves into the strategies that are being developed to change energy policy as well as personal lifestyles. The subject matter is serious fare, but Koerth-Baker takes you on a readable ride ??and there's no better time than a heat wave to get smarter about global warming.
"Darwin's Ghosts": The way some people talk, you'd think the theory of evolution was born full-grown from Charles Darwin's head, like Athena springing from Zeus' brow. Novelist Rebecca Stott tells the stories of the thinkers who blazed the trail for Darwin to follow, from Aristotle, to the 9th-century Islamic scholar al-Jahiz, to Alfred Russel Wallace, Darwin's lesser-known contemporary. If you're looking for a historical grand tour with a biological bent, this one's for you.
"The Ocean of Life": A sea tale always makes for great beach reading, but this one has a salty bite to it. Callum Roberts, a marine scientist at the University of York, traces how the world's oceans have changed over the decades?? and why we don't seem to notice the degradation. "Roberts is that precious pearl: a practising scientist who not only knows his field inside out, but also understands how to write compelling, persuasive non-fiction," The Guardian's Leo Hickman says. Roberts sets forth his case for a "New Deal" that could stem the tide and save the oceans.?
"Trinity": My?book list for last year's holiday season?included a graphic book about the bongo-playing pioneer of quantum physics, "Feynman." This summer's graphic recommendation is "Trinity," Jonathan Fetter-Vorm's illustrated saga about the creation of the first atom bombs and their use at the end of World War II. The thin volume covers the science of radioactivity as well as the political and moral dimensions of the Manhattan Project. Fetter-Vorm tells the tale in complex shades of gray ? literally and figuratively.
"The Violinist's Thumb": Sam Kean's tribute to the periodic table, "The Disappearing Spoon," was heaped with praise a couple of years ago, and a similar reception awaits his book about genetics and its effects on our past, present and future. Kean throws in lots of historical tales with genetic twists ? for example, why Niccolo Paganini was naturally suited to play the violin, and?why JFK's skin was perennially tan.?"Our whole history is packed into DNA, back to the proverbial soup; think of it as a really long bedtime story, and then be sure to put 'The Violinist's Thumb' by your bed," Library Journal's Barbara Hoffert writes. Due out in July.
"Why Is the Penis Shaped Like That?" If you're hankering to learn more about the human body's naughty bits, psychologist Jesse Bering's book should be right up your alley. Even if you're not obsessed with the shape of sex organs or the evolution of body fluids, you'll find lots of facts to fascinate you, or maybe infuriate you, in this compilation of essays from the "Bering in Mind" blog on Scientific American's website. If this is the kind of thing you're into, be sure to check msnbc.com's Body Odd blog as well. Bering's book is due out in July.
What's on your reading list for this summer? Share your faves in a comment below, or on the Cosmic Log Facebook page. And for still more book suggestions, check out the Cosmic Log backlist:
Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
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The Dick's Sporting Goods Foundation, ImPACT and Pro Football ...
PITTSBURGH, June 25, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ?
Concussions continue to affect all levels of athletics in the U.S., with an estimated 3.8 million recreation and sports-related concussions occurring in professional, collegiate and youth sports each year.(1) According to the American College of Sports Medicine, approximately 85% of those concussions go undiagnosed.(2) The Dick?s Sporting Goods Foundation today announced that it has partnered with world champion All-Pro quarterback Drew Brees and ImPACT for PACE, the groundbreaking concussion awareness and education program.
PACE, which stands for Protecting Athletes through Concussion Education, aims to inform young athletes about the dangers of concussions in sports and provides free baseline neurocognitive testing for schools and youth athletic programs nationwide. Parents, coaches and school officials can visit
www.DicksSportingGoods.com/PACE to sign up eligible middle, high school and youth athletic organizations to receive free ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) testing software licenses, which provide baseline tests for up to 300 young athletes free of charge for one year ($500 value).
Utilized by more than three million athletes at thousands of middle and high schools, collegiate and professional sports teams, ImPACT is the first, most-widely used, scientifically-validated computerized neurocognitive evaluation system available. ImPACT begins with a 20-minute baseline test that is administered pre-season. If a concussion is suspected later, another post-injury test is administered by trained clinicians to assess the possible after-effects. The program evaluates multiple aspects of brain function including memory, processing speed, reaction time and post-concussive symptoms, assisting doctors in making return-to-play decisions and potentially reducing the possibility of long-term neurological effects.
?The Dick?s Sporting Goods Foundation has a unique opportunity through PACE to empower parents, coaches and young athletes with the right tools to make sure they?re informed and taking the necessary precautions to manage concussions,? said Edward W. Stack, Chairman and CEO of Dick?s Sporting Goods
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. ?Together with Drew Brees and our partners at ImPACT, our goal is to provide awareness and information so that every athlete, every team and every school can be smart about concussions.?
Record-breaking pro football star Drew Brees, who suffered a concussion in 2005, will serve as the national spokesperson for PACE in 2012, participating in various marketing initiatives to support the program including online video, public relations, and social media engagement.
?As an athlete who has taken the ImPACT baseline as well as the post-injury test following a concussion, I can say firsthand how valuable the results can be in helping to properly determine a safe return to play,? said Brees. ?Through The Dick?s Sporting Goods Foundation PACE Program, we can help educate kids, parents and coaches on some simple, but impactful ways to identify and manage concussions ? including getting a baseline test ? so young athletes can be smarter and safer on the field, on the court and on the ice.?
To help bring even greater awareness to the topic of ?Concussions in Youth Sports? and the benefits of baseline testing for young athletes, The Dick?s Sporting Goods Foundation will host a panel discussion tomorrow at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) Auditorium in New York. Moderated by pro football insider Adam Schefter, the panel will feature Drew Brees, neuropsychologist, CEO and Co-Founder of ImPACT, Dr. Mark Lovell, gold medal-winning women?s soccer goalkeeper Briana Scurry, two-time world champion football star Carl Banks and hockey world champion and Hall of Famer Mike Richter.
?The Dick?s Sporting Goods Foundation PACE program represents the largest baseline neurocognitive testing initiative ever and ImPACT is proud to be associated with this program,? said Dr. Mark Lovell, CEO and Co-Founder of ImPACT. ?The PACE program will create a safer environment for youth athletes and represents an exciting opportunity to better educate athletes, their parents and all other participants in youth sports.?
For more information on The Dick?s Sporting Goods Foundation PACE Program, including how to sign up your school or athletic program to receive free ImPACT software or how to receive a free PACE green wristband at participating Dick?s Sporting Goods stores, please visit
www.dickssportinggoods.com/PACE .
(1) Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Vol. 126 No. 3, September 1, 2010, pp. 597-615 (doi:10.1542/peds.2010-2005)
(2) American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM): ?Concussions: ACSM Issues Recommendations for Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention,? Press Release, June 2, 2006
About The Dick?s Sporting Goods FoundationThe Dick?s Sporting Goods Foundation is an exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation created by Dick?s Sporting Goods, Inc. as a private corporate foundation to support Dick?s charitable and philanthropic activities.
About Dick?s Sporting Goods, Inc. Dick?s Sporting Goods, Inc.
/quotes/zigman/310940/quotes/nls/dks DKS
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is an authentic full-line sporting goods retailer offering a broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel and footwear in a specialty store environment. The Company also owns and operates Golf Galaxy, LLC, a golf specialty retailer. As of April 28, 2012, the Company operated more than 480 Dick?s Sporting Goods stores in 44 states, more than 80 Golf Galaxy stores in 30 states and eCommerce websites and catalog operations for Dick?s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy. Dick?s Sporting Goods, Inc. news releases are available at
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/investors . The Company?s website is not part of this release.
About ImPACTImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) is America?s most widely used, and independently validated and researched neurocognitive-evaluation system. Founded by Drs. Joseph Maroon, Mark Lovell and Michael ?Micky? Collins, this comprehensive approach today is the standard adopted across the NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball, college and high school athletics. ImPACT follows a traditional, medically-based program involving clinics, hospitals, certified athletic trainers, doctors and other medical professionals trained in concussion evaluation and management.
SOURCE Dick?s Sporting Goods, Inc.
Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
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Add to portfolio
DKS
Dick's Sporting Goods Inc.
US
: U.S.: NYSE
$
46.50
-1.03
-2.17%
Volume: 962,932
June 25, 2012 3:59p
P/E Ratio20.82
Dividend Yield1.08%
Market Cap$5.61 billion
Rev. per Employee$517,275
/quotes/zigman/310940/quotes/nls/dks
Add to portfolio
DKS
Dick's Sporting Goods Inc.
US
: U.S.: NYSE
$
46.50
-1.03
-2.17%
Volume: 962,932
June 25, 2012 3:59p
P/E Ratio20.82
Dividend Yield1.08%
Market Cap$5.61 billion
Rev. per Employee$517,275
Financial Glossary
Words used in this article:
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EURO 2012 LIVE: England 0, Italy 0
WARSAW, Poland (AP) ? England and Italy are vying for the last semifinal berth at the European Championship ? and the winner will play Germany. Follow all of the action and build-up here. All times are Polish.
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2201: Double substitution for England with Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott coming on for Danny Welbeck and James Milner.
___
2155: Three chances fall to Italy. De Rossi tries his luck from 25 yards and gets closer to scoring than he did in the six yard area as Hart has to beat the ball away. It lands at the feet of Balotelli, who shoots straight at the body of Hart before the rebound is prodded over by Riccardo Montolivo who was only a few yards out. How are the Italians not ahead?
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2151: De Rossi misses a great chance for Italy who should really be 1-0 ahead. Pirlo delivers a deep corner into the area that is punched away by Hart. The ball is headed back into the mix and drops perfectly to De Rossi who volleys wide, on the turn, from around six yards out. He was under no pressure from the England defense but the chance goes begging when the midfielder had the goal at his mercy.
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2146: The second half is underway and there are no changes on either side.
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2136: Oddly, Wayne Rooney and Andrea Pirlo swapped shirts as the players went off for halftime, despite having at least another 45 minutes to play. If the scores are still level then, there will be 30 minutes of extra time to determine a winner. If neither side is able to book a spot in the semifinal after that, there will be a penalty shootout.
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2133: Italy edged it but most of the chances have fallen to Balotelli, who is yet to bring a meaningful save out of Joe Hart.
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2130: HALF-TIME: England 0, Italy 0.
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2128: Great moment from Pirlo, who shows just why he is so highly regarded as he floats a pass into Cassano at the back post. Cassano heads the ball back into the path of Balotelli in the center, but Lescott gets to it first and, somehow, from point blank range, pokes the ball over the bar for a corner, which England clears.
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2125: Fantastic play by Cassano, receiving the ball from Balotelli 25 yards out with his back to goal, before instantly turning and unleashing a stinging right-footed drive that Hart palms up into the air before pouncing upon the rebound.
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2121: England goes straight up the other end, Rooney and Welbeck linking up with a neat one-two before Welbeck sidefoots the ball over the bar from the edge of the penalty area. Good, entertaining game so far.
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2119: Good chance for Balotelli who gets inbetween Johnson and Terry as Marchisio clips a looping ball into his path. The Italian forward hits a tame effort on the half volley straight at Hart, his Manchester City teammate in the England goal. He had more time than he realized and was disgusted with himself as Hart made a simple stop.
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2114: Johnson has slipped over twice now when quickly changing direction and sprinting after the ball. That decision to water the pitch 15 minutes before kick off seems to be hindering the England defender and perhaps a change of footwear could be in order. Mind you, nobody else seems to be suffering in the same way.
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2110: Wayne Rooney has started to play a bit deeper in the last five minutes or so. Andrea Pirlo, the midfield dangerman who won the 2006 World Cup with Italy, has yet to see much of the ball and the Italians will have to bring him into the game more if they want to gain a greater control of the play.
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2106: The English are definitely enjoying the better of the early proceedings and look threatening going forward. Both Roy Hodgson and Cesare Prandelli have spent time in their technical areas barking out instructions to the their players but you would expect it is Hodgson who is the happier with the start to the game.
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2100: Another great chance for England. Johnson swings an inviting cross into the penalty area from the right and Rooney bends his run to meet the delivery, but he flicks his diving header well over the bar under pressure from a defender.
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2058: England seems to be encouraged by that chance from Johnson, with Wayne Rooney breaking away down the left to force a corner. The Italians clear the imminent pressure but the ball is crossed back into the center and, after an unorthodox punch away from Buffon, Parker drills the ball wide from outside the penalty area.
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2052: And now it's England's turn to go close. England works the ball down the right and Milner delivers a low cross into the penalty area and after a couple of deflections, it lands between the feet of Johnson. The right back eventually gets his shot away and it seems destined for the back of the net from close range but Buffon makes a splendid save, clawing the ball up in the air and catching the rebound.
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2050: So close! De Rossi sends a left-footed shot on the bounce crashing off the post. The ball is pulled back to the midfield man who, with the outside of his boot, sends a shot swerving onto the face of the left post from 25 yards, with an outstretched Hart in the England goal comprehensively beaten. Early letoff for Roy Hodgson's side.
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2045: And the match gets underway, with Italy, in blue, kicking off.
___
2042: A rousing rendition of the Italian national anthem by Buffon, roaring out the lyrics with his eyes closed.
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2040: Buffon and Gerrard lead their teams out.
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2035: gdunbarap: Kiev pitch being watered 15 mins before kickoff. Italy happy to agree to it vs England, but not Spain 2 weeks ago. (via Twitter.)
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2030: For England, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard, Ashley Young, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are all a yellow card away from missing a potential semifinal clash against Germany. For Italy, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is joined on the list of bookings by Fedricio Balzaretti, Mario Balotelli, Daniele De Rossi, Riccardo Montolivo and Leonardo Bonucci.
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2020: So Mario Balotelli starts for Italy against three of his Manchester City teammates in the England side: Joe Hart, Joleon Lescott and James Milner. England are unchanged from the side that beat Ukraine 1-0 in the last Group D match. That means Wayne Rooney partners Danny Welbeck in attack, with Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott starting on the substitutes' bench.
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1950: Italy forward Mario Balotelli returns to the starting lineup to face an unchanged England team. Balotelli is selected ahead of Antonio Di Natale. Defender Giorgio Chiellini injured his left hamstring against the Irish and his Juventus teammate Leonardo Bonucci continues to fill in. Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has opted for Riccardo Montolivo in midfield over Thiago Motta.
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1945: Here are the lineups:
England: Joe Hart, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Joleon Lescott, John Terry, Steven Gerrard, James Milner, Scott Parker, Ashley Young, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck.
Italy: Gianluigi Buffon, Ignazio Abate, Federico Balzaretti, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Daniele De Rossi, Claudio Marchisio, Riccardo Montolivo, Andrea Pirlo, Mario Balotelli, Antonio Cassano.
___
1940: AP's Rob Harris, in Kiev: "For the first time at Euro 2012, England fans are making their presence felt in Kiev ahead of the quarterfinal against Italy. Logistical problems getting to the outer reaches of eastern Europe seem to have been partly overcome. The chorus of "We are the Champions" seems a tad premature though."
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1835: Defending champion Spain is hoping the extra two days rest that Portugal has before the semifinal encounter on Wednesday will not prove to be of advantage when they compete for a place in the final in Donetsk.
___
1815: simonhaydon: Pedro Proenca was nursing broken teeth after being headbutted by a fan. Ten months later, he refs Italy vs England tonight (via Twitter.)
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1500: Former Portugal great Eusebio is in stable condition after undergoing tests on his heart. The 70-year-old Eusebio was admitted to hospital in Poznan late Saturday after feeling ill and suffering what was initially suspected to be a heart attack, hospital spokesman Stanislaw Rusek said. Doctors performed a coronary catheterization, which determined that Eusebio had not had a heart attack but merely complications from poor health. "I had the chance to speak to him this morning and asked him whether his heart hurt at all," Rusek told The Associated Press. "He smiled and said, 'not at all,' and that shows that this morning he was in good form."
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The Evolution of Art and Culture at NXNE + 7 Good Bands - Zouch
photos by Amy and Sal
*If all you want is to be exposed to 7 cool bands pls skip to the bottom of this page.
My first and only prior trip to NXNE was back in 2007. ?Five years really is an eternity when it comes to digital culture. This year I was really looking forward to learning about changes in the music industry and digital media space, and getting a feel for how the event itself has evolved.
For example, how did we get from the demented bunny (NXNE logo circa 2007):
To an array of magical monzies and robos?
ZOUCH wants answers!
It was nice to see that NXNE is still based in the same hotel (Hyatt took over the property, but it functions the same). King Street West?in Toronto is the perfect location because most music venues are walking distance, which ?makes it feel like we?re taking over the city. I love that.
The general hangout room at NXNE
After two full-fledged experiences at NXNE, I now call it a must-have experience for any music or film focused creative, entrepreneur, or band. Whatever festival/conference pass they give bands is well-worth showing up and playing a set of music pro bono. Attending so many shows at so many great venues is a dreamlike experience. With the music bracelet you can see 800 bands in some of the best venues in Canada for $50. That works out to $0.06 per band. Good deal.
If you?re inclined to learn about new media and the music industry you shouldn?t pass up the?opportunity?to attend the?NXNE interactive?conferences. It?s easy to network there. I feel like I met and discussed ideas with all the right people even though I?m not much for schmoozing. It becomes easy to talk because everyone?s mind is alight with ideas. The vibe is friendly and authentic.
A cautionary note to bands:?Many bands neglect to promote their shows and end up with no audience. The picture below shows an awesome bluesrock band from San Francisco called?Papa?s Garage?playing almost exclusively for Zouch (and an old dude on a stool). It was a riot! There are a zillion venues and time slots, so be assertive if you want to be heard.
If you?re in from out of town make sure to stay awhile to soak up the experience. And if you?re part of a project don?t just show up for one day to plop some swag down on a random table and expect to get noticed.
Endless 2012 NXNE promo swag. Can you spot the lone audio CD!
The liberation of creativity
The panel entitled The Rise of the ?Artistpreneur? & Entertainment Industry 2.0?was a bit of a letdown. But a rapper named?D-Sisive had some cool stories about how he recently turned a corner in his life by taking the business aspect of his music more seriously.
The panel carried on with anecdotes, and overall the message was: ?We?re really cool rapper guys, you should probably take your music as seriously as us if you want to succeed?.
They debated the pros and cons of ?common issues like whether or not you should give your music away for free, arriving at no?consensus, providing only a glimmer of insight.?However, a take away here is just how easy it is to try all sorts of promotional ideas in the digital space. As a general rule hip hop artists are the best at promotion (and metal bands are the bloody worst).
Back in 2007 the idea of podcasting wasn?t well understood. NXNE even had then?CBC3?radio host?Grant Lawrence on a panel to explain what a podcast was! I remember it vividly.?We attendees were ravenous with the desire to learn. ?The experience even inspired me to start my own underground podcast in 2009. It?s rather easy now to broadcast music or podcasts across many channels, so the focus can really be on quality content.
Over the past five years it feels as though the onus has been taken off the technical aspects, and is graduating to the artistic side of things. This trend is liberating creativity. An artist like D-Sisive is able to focus mostly on writing and producing new tracks, doing what he loves to do, without being at the mercy of technological barriers or a corporate agenda outside of his control.
Saul Colt?s?Startup Marketing: Techcrunch is not a Marketing Plan?was the most well put together presentation I saw this year. He told stories about crazy things he?s done in marketing.
My favorite was a contest where he asked people to submit their guess at what the BEST SONG IN THE WORLD is. First prize was $1 MILLION DOLLARS. Second prize was a box of cereal.?Of course nobody got the answer right, but there were over 200 2nd place winners and Saul sent each of them a little box of cereal stuffed with a $5 or $10 gift card for iTunes or Starbucks.?The overall buzz created by a contest like this can be well worth the investment of a couple hundred cheap prizes.
Saul?s message was that if you want to start a sustainable business, you need to be?continually creative and aggressive with marketing, and that it is much better to work to inspire people than it is to simply try to influence them. I knew it would be an enlightening experience to listen to a man who bills himself as ?The Smartest Man In The World?.
Saul Colt shows a massive slide of himself.
How to Start a Start-up?was a panel of particular personal?interest to me. Since soon after the launch of the Zouch website on September 30th 2010, we have been looking at ZOUCH?as a startup company (even though Jeff Campagna and my idea for Zouch Magazine wasn?t exactly born that way).
This panel was loaded with super-strong entrepreneurial minds. I had the chance to have a conversation with super-dynamo entrepreneur and?Ycombinator?graduate?Michael Litt?(whom I now refer to as ?The Waterloo Wonder?). I had some unique private questions for him about starting a company and he graciously gave me advice to ponder.
Litt?s?message was that a good founder must be a person who has the will and the skill to act on his or her good ideas, as well as the ability to pass that energy on to others. I suppose with any new media project there must be both a solid technical component, and a good socio-cultural component, and that a good founder must focus on being able to handle both of these. Whereas, in the past being so versatile may not have been so crucial.
Participants and panels were more business and entrepreneurship focused this year, as compared with 2007. The age of technological emancipation we are in now seems to be slightly shifting the focus of artistic talent. Again, I feel like artists and writers today have a better chance of being successful?entrepreneurs while remaining true to their artistic vision (this is exactly how and why?Zouch Magazine??was born).
I don?t remember there being as much buzz about startups at NXNE in 2007. The explosion of technology products of late seems to have led to many people feeling empowered enough to start their own entrepreneurial ventures in web media spaces.?On one hand all of this technology is great because artists can collaborate more easily with new people with whom they share related visions and complimentary talents. On the other hand, it provides more competition.
In my humble opinion, in order to create good art and literature, it?s important for the creative mind to be released from the common day to day competitive feelings of the business world. Art is supposed to be about connecting with your true voice or your ?soul?, and then showing the world something unique. Good concepts for art and literature have a unique power to guide culture, and they are most often?created from a point of serene introspection.?If artists become more and more business-minded, what happens to the art? What happens to our culture? [I don't have an answer, but a teacher once told me I should end these things with an "opening". Hit me up on twitter?to continue this discussion]
Everyone swooned and swayed and fell in love with?Widowspeak?when they?played The Garrison.
Shoegazers?BELIEFS?at?The Drake? met them after the show at the ice cream sampling truck and became friends.
Young Magic entranced the crowd at their secret show at The Garrison. This was a big highlight of the festival for me.
Ottawa band Silvergun and Spleen carrying the pop-punk torch at the Bovine Sex Club.
?Eternal Summers?have a unique sound. I?d say they are your true pioneers of post-punk?pop, or something good like that.
?Power pop UK sensation KOVAK?were a sexy sight to behold at El Mocambo.
The punky?LA band BLEACHED drew a big crowd at the The Silver Dollar and didn?t disappoint.
??Already looking forward to next year.
Check out this free NXNE music download:
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