And while the race for the top pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft is months away, the Galaxy are making a early case to challege Toronto FC for the top spot with their 1-0 defeat to Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

At this rate, the Galaxy are looking at a Top 5 selection in the draft (currently No. 4). If they keep this losing streak up, we could be looking at a Top 2 selection for Los Angeles.

Subpar performances result in subpar ratings. Here are the player ratings for Los Angeles Galaxy against Chivas USA.

Brian Perk 5

Brian Perk is no Manuel Neuer when it comes to stopping penalties. Actually, Neuer could help the Galaxy with their penalty-stopping in more ways than one.

Perk’s failure to stop Jose Correa was the only low point in what was an average day for Perk, who made only two stops for the entire match. He was also responsible for not being able to clear a ball in the 70th minute.

Sean Franklin 4

Decent on the hold-up play and initiating sequences, but the long-ball delivery has been a problem for Sean Franklin, and Chivas USA did their homework in neutralizing him.

David Junior Lopes 2

The Goat that helped the Goats. Or is it ex-Goat that became the goat the helped the Goats? Whatever the case, any efforts that David Junior Lopes did on defense were essentially nullified—and some—by a brain explosion in the 70th minute on a failed clearance that resulted in his sending off.

A.J. DeLaGarza 5

Average night for A.J. DeLaGarza. Didn’t have to do a lot in the back. Made routine clearances and initiated a number of offensive sequences for the Galaxy, but other than that, nothing too remarkable.

Todd Dunivant 5

Like DeLaGarza, it’s a more-of-the-same performance from Todd Dunivant on the defensive backline. Was not responsible for the gaffe in the 70th that cost LA, but Dunivant could have done better with the restarts and long-ball delivery.

Marcelo Sarvas 6
Juninho 4

Meshing them together here because they were trying to work with Donovan in the midfield, but they were not helped at all by the lack of forward punch from Pat Noonan or Edson Buddle.

Sarvas, however, did have a better performance than his fellow Brazilian: winning six tackles, intercepting five passes and recovering 11 balls. Best player defensively for LA on the night.

Mike Magee 3

Magee Magic was absent without leave for another week. Oh dear. Never could get a chance to finish on goal or finish a delivery from Landon Donovan. Disastrous display.

Victor Decolongon/Getty Images

Kyle Nakazawa 2

I don’t think Kyle Nakazawa has much of a future in LA Galaxy uniform. Maybe he has a chance as a member of the Los Angeles Blues, but I just don’t think he has what it takes to make it as a midfielder.

Landon Donovan 6.5

Best player of the game, but in all honesty, he was working with a bunch of lemmings that just could not help him out. Tried to orchestrate opportunities for players like Mike Magee, but Donovan’s supporting cast left him out to dry.

Pat Noonan 3

Completely inept. Invisible for long stretches of the contest and had one good chance on goal at best. Pat Noonan is no Robbie Keane, that’s for sure.

Edson Buddle 5

You can’t win games on simple emotion alone. But Edson Buddle was playing with a look of frustration on his face, and that results in poor play. This was an average outing, given that he came in late in the match.

David Beckham 4.5

If only he did not take part in that torch relay…David Beckham only played 16 minutes and stoppage time and did have a few set-piece opportunities, but he simply did not have enough time to make an impact on the outcome of this match.

Chad Barrett NR

Came into the game late, no rating given.

Article source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1189466-los-angeles-galaxy-vs-chivas-usa-rating-the-galaxy-players

slideshow

Griffin High’s expected up-tick in offense this season means it could be a chance for the defense to take a breather — and get better, as far as sixth-year Bears defensive coordinator Rusty Easom is concerned.

“I guess the best thing is in the past we felt like we had to give up 14 or fewer points — we’re still going to plan and scheme not to give up a lot — but the pressure to pitch five shutouts is not there any more,” said Easom, whose unit had one shutout last season and held three others teams to seven or fewer points. “We still can’t become complacent. We have to maintain our edge.”

That could spell trouble for Griffin’s opponents this upcoming season.

The Bears return seven starters — an eighth was lost to discipline problems — from last year’s 9-3 team which reached the second round of the state playoffs for a school-record fourth year in a row while increasing the school-record string of consecutive state playoff appearances to 11 seasons. The unit allowed 12.1 point per game against during the regular season while yielding 18 ppg through the regular season and playoffs combined.

Fans can catch their first glimpse of most of those starters in Thursday’s Griffin-N-Gold scrimmage 5 p.m., at the GHS practice fields. Most are expected to be in action. Several, however. have missed time because of injuries this spring.

Back to lead anchor the unit are rising senior Richard Wilder at safety and rising sophomore Malik Miller at rover linebacker.

“As far as Richard Wilder and Malik Miller it’s like we never stopped practicing,” said Easom. “Malik Miller is so much better right now than he was last year — that 12 games of experience really made a big difference. He has really made some big breaks on balls this spring. He really understands now. I rarely have to say anything to Malik, whereas last spring it was on every play, constant coaching.”

In all, Griffin is looking to replace three of four linebackers.

The Bears have been working rising sophomore Ryan Cochran, rising seniors Trey Mallett and Quintavious Jackson at will linebacker. Telly Sloan has worked at the mike linebacker spot, while Stephen Welch and John Pope have each seen time at sam linebacker. Mallett, who suffered a concussion on Monday and rested several days thereafter, could be back in time for the spring game.

While the team is looking for a corner opposite Quantico Dodson where Hunter Shoemate, “has been having a solid spring,” according to Easom, the line remains a source of comfort for the staff. Treyvon Sullivan, Ronquerris “Sapp” Davis, Johnathan Frost and Kenneth Ogbo all return. About the only bad thing that has happened has been an injury to Davis (knee) the first day of practice.

“We lost Sapp, probably the first or second play of inside drills, so that made me move some kids around and get some kids some looks at different sports,” said Easom, who was looking to develop depth along the offensive wall anyway.

One player who has risen to fill the void is Brandon Berry.

“Frost has had a good spring so far and Berry has also had a good spring,” said Easom.

Overall, Easom couldn’t be any more pleased.

“You can see the progress the kids have made from the first day of spring practice to where we are no,” he said. “We’ve gotten better.”

One of the things that has helped spur the growth has been Griffin’s highly touted offense.

Easom is the first to admit it, too.

“Our defense has kind of been forced to move forward more,” he said.”I don’t feel we’re going to see a spread team that’s going to put as much strain on the defense as ours does. We feel like if we can hold on to field position and hold on to the situation, we’ll be well prepared for anyone we see during the season.”

As for Thursday’s scrimmage, Easom is looking forward to it.

“We’re going to see how we can handle situations and how we can handle calls we make to try to match against anyone we’re going to play,” he said. “We’re going to see teams that have talented players, but we’re not going to see as many talented players — that as soon as somebody goes down or out another one can step right in a boom, take off again.”

He predicts the offense will have an edge, because it’s working off a script and hasn’t revealed tendencies yet.

“The thing about a scrimmage is — when you go into a game, you have tendencies by formation and tendencies by down and distance and hash (marks) and things like that — you really can’t game plan for a scrimmage,” he said. “You kind of do what you do and if you do anything extra you kind of hope you match the right call to put you in a good situation.”

Then again, at this early date, there’s no defense in the state who has seen Griffin’s offense as much as Easom’s.

GRIFFIN FOOTBALL

Preseason

Date |Opponent

8/17 |@ Newnan

Regular Season

Date |Opponent

8/31 |@ Dutchtown

9/7 |@ Northgate

9/14 |Jonesboro *

9/21 |@ Woodland

9/28 |Stockbridge

10/5 |@ Riverdale *

10/12 |OPEN

10/19 |North Clayton *

10/26 |@ Upson-Lee *

11/2 |@ Spalding *

11/9 |Region Playoff

* — Region 4-AAAA, Div. B

Article source: http://www.griffindailynews.com/view/full_story/18661134/article--UPDATED-WITH-2012-SCHEDULE--With-pressure-off--Bears-reloading-on-D?instance=home_sports_news

Luis Piffer answered a late charge by the Kansas City Brass with his second goal of the night and the the Des Moines Menace escaped with a 3-2 win on Saturday night.

Piffer scored with 7 minutes remaining in the game, just moments after the Brass completed a comeback from a 2-0 deficit. The goal gave Des Moines its third consecutive Premier Development League soccer victory before a crowd of 3,600 at Valley Stadium.

“It’s always a pleasure to score for the Menace,” said Piffer, who hadn’t scored in the team’s first three games. “We are like a family here. We help each other out.”

The Brass, who were playing their first game of the season, got two goals in the last 18 minutes from Nick McDonald to tie the score at 2-2.

“We played some wonderful soccer tonight,” Menace coach Laurie Calloway said. “We should have put it away earlier, but a win is a win.”

The Menace recorded the game’s first goal in the 28th minute, when Brent Kallman collected a deflection off Kansas City goalkeeper Alex Drambour and blasted it into the vacated net from 5 yards out. Javier Lopez’s diving header off a 35-yard free kick by Logan McDaniel set up the score.

The Menace took the 1-0 lead into halftime after failing to capitalize on three corner kicks.

“Going into halftime, we weren’t happy with a one goal lead,” Kallman said. “We wanted to build on it.”

In the second half, the Menace continued their aggressive play, putting two shots on goal in the first 4 minutes.

Piffer, a midfielder, gave Des Moines some cushion in the 63rd minute, when his first goal of the season found the right corner of the net off his left foot.

Kansas City Brass 0 2 — 2

Des Moines Menace 1 2 — 3

First Half—Kallman 28th (DSM)

Second Half—Piffer 63rd (DSM), McDonald 75th (KCB), McDonald 82nd (KCB), Piffer 84th (DSM)

Menace women win in debut

The Menace women made quite the impression Saturday in their first-ever game at Valley Stadium.

Des Moines beat defending women’s league champions FC Indiana 4-0, getting two goals from midfielder Maggie Kukuk and a goal and two assists from Brittany Morgan.

Kukuk scored the team’s first-ever goal in the 13th minute off an assist by Carlan Samuelson, then struck again early in the second half off a Brittany Morgan cross in the 48th minute.

Article source: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20120519/SPORTS/120519016/1003/

The concert includes “Dead Man Blues” by Jelly Roll Morton, the Allegro from Concerto in c minor by J.S. Bach and Antonio Vivaldi and “Lonely Goatherd” from the “Sound of Music” by Rodgers and Hammerstein. IT also features some works commissioned or arranged by Mainstreet Brass, incuding the opener, “Hoboken Dance,” “Moonlight in Vermont” and “Mummer’s Dance.”

Mainstreet Brass features Kevin Long and Donald Hughes, trumpet; Shari Gleason-Mayrhofer, French horn; Bryan Hay, trombone; Allen Frank, tuba, and Steve Mathiesen, percussion.

Tickets are $10. The church is at 321 Wyandotte St. Info: http://www.nativitycathedral.org.

—Jodi Duckett

Article source: http://morningcall.feedsportal.com/c/34254/f/623002/s/1f82a04d/l/0L0Smcall0N0Centertainment0Cmc0Egp0Emainstreet0Ebrass0Ebethlehem0E0A520A0E20A120A5190H0A0H34548370Bstory0Dtrack0Frss/story01.htm

Article source: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/05/googles-bots-learn-to-read-interactive-web-pages-more-like-humans/

Examiners provide unique and original content to enhance life in your local city wherever that may be. Examiners come from all walks of life and contribute original content to entertain, inform, and inspire.

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The Canadian Press

Date: Friday May. 18, 2012 6:44 PM ET

OTTAWA — The general who is currently in charge of Canada’s overseas headquarters is expected to be named to lead a newly combined organization that’s at the centre of the Harper government’s overhaul of National Defence.

The Canadian Press has learned the appointment of Lt.-Gen. Stuart Beare could come next week.

Beare’s appointment as head of the newly created Canadian Joint Operations Command is expected to mark the beginning of a series of command appointments and changes.

The shuffling comes in the wake of a major re-organization that will see the department lose about one-quarter of its headquarters overhead.

Senior government and military sources confirmed Beare’s appointment to The Canadian Press late Friday, calling him a natural choice after nearly a year of leading the military’s expeditionary command.

It potentially removes him from contention for the job of chief of defence staff.

Beare, a veteran of a senior NATO command post in Afghanistan, has been among those on the list as a possible replacement for Gen. Walt Natynczyk.

Others considered in the running include Vice Admiral Paul Maddison and Maj.-Gen Mike Day, who is about to end a stint as the deputy commander of the NATO training mission in Kabul.

Rumours have been circulating for weeks that Natynczyk is ready to retire after nearly four years as the country’s top military commander.

The re-organization of Defence is prompted by a nearly $1.5 billion reduction in the department’s budget, but defence sources say the changes will not be entirely noticeable until next year.

The restructuring of commands will see the headquarters that manage domestic, international and support operations merged into one organization and Beare will have three deputy commanders working under him.

Whether staff at the other headquarters will be packed into the separate overseas command building in east-end Ottawa remains to be seen.

The consolidation is something that was described as a necessity in a review report by last year by the former head of the army, retired lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie.

Precisely how many job losses or retirements that will mean is unclear.

Leslie’s report painted a picture of a military fat with administration and private contracting support.

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Article source: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20120518/military-defence-shakeup-120518/

The Canadian Press has learned the appointment of Lt.-Gen. Stuart Beare could come next week.

Beare’s appointment as head of the newly created Canadian Joint Operations Command is expected to mark the beginning of a series of command appointments and changes.

The shuffling comes in the wake of a major re-organization that will see the department lose about one-quarter of its headquarters overhead.

Senior government and military sources confirmed Beare’s appointment to The Canadian Press late Friday, calling him a natural choice after nearly a year of leading the military’s expeditionary command.

It potentially removes him from contention for the job of chief of defence staff.

Beare, a veteran of a senior NATO command post in Afghanistan, has been among those on the list as a possible replacement for Gen. Walt Natynczyk.

Others considered in the running include Vice Admiral Paul Maddison and Maj.-Gen Mike Day, who is about to end a stint as the deputy commander of the NATO training mission in Kabul.

Rumours have been circulating for weeks that Natynczyk is ready to retire after nearly four years as the country’s top military commander.

The re-organization of Defence is prompted by a nearly $1.5 billion reduction in the department’s budget, but defence sources say the changes will not be entirely noticeable until next year.

The restructuring of commands will see the headquarters that manage domestic, international and support operations merged into one organization and Beare will have three deputy commanders working under him.

Whether staff at the other headquarters will be packed into the separate overseas command building in east-end Ottawa remains to be seen.

The consolidation is something that was described as a necessity in a review report by last year by the former head of the army, retired lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie.

Precisely how many job losses or retirements that will mean is unclear.

Leslie’s report painted a picture of a military fat with administration and private contracting support.

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/shake-among-military-brass-imminent-defence-overhaul-takes-215320047.html

Here’s the latest on the storm clouds swirling around the Ravens and how all this uncertainty could affect the team’s chances of being a contender in the AFC in 2012.

Ed Reed’s 2012 Status in Doubt?

As if the Baltimore Ravens hadn’t experienced enough drama over the past few weeks, safety Ed Reed thought it best to add some more fuel to the fire. Reed told Sirius XM NFL Radio per the Baltimore Sun Thursday that he “wasn’t 100 percent committed to playing in 2012″ and that while the team may not have been aware of this fact before then “I think they will know after this interview.”

Before any Ravens fans start opening windows or climbing on ledges, it’s important to note that the 33-year-old, who griped about his contract status back in April, backtracked on his statements so quickly that I’m surprised he didn’t pull a hamstring. He told the Carroll County Times that he will indeed be roaming the Baltimore secondary in 2012:

“It’s not about retirement, it’s about my focus in the offseason, health, family and football,” said Reed, who has battled hip, neck and shoulder injuries in recent years. “This is the time of year where players think through things. My goal is to play football in the years to come.”

At his age and given his recent injury history, it’s no surprise that Reed would contemplate hanging them up. That said, Ed Reed threatening retirement has become as much of a summer ritual as swimming pools opening on Memorial Day Weekend, and all indications are the eight-time Pro-Bowl performer will give it at least one more go-round this year.

Upshaw “Ready to Compete”

An even bigger issue for the Ravens as we head into training camp is trying to figure out a way to plug the hole left by the loss of 2011 NFL defensive player of the year Terrell Suggs, who tore his Achilles’ tendon while working out in Arizona and will be out until at least November.

All American linebacker Courtney Upshaw, who the Ravens selected with the 35th pick in April’s 2012 NFL draft, will undoubtedly be called upon to pick up a significant portion of Suggs’ slack. The former Alabama star recently conceded to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that he knows he can’t “replace” Suggs, but the Crimson Tide standout is eager to try to lessen the impact of Suggs’ loss.

“The coaches told me to come out here this mini-camp and learn the defense, come out here and compete,” Upshaw said. “Honestly, speaking on Suggs, there’s only one Suggs. You can’t replace Suggs. Everybody’s got to come in as a team. The veteran leadership on this team is not going to allow slacking on my part or anybody else’s. Everybody’s gotta step up.”

Suggs racked up 70 tackles, 14 sacks and seven forced fumbles a season ago. The trio of Upshaw, Paul Kruger and Pernell McPhee may not match that lofty production, but they should at least be talented enough to “tread water” until Suggs’ (hopeful) return. If that is indeed the case, the vaunted Baltimore defense shouldn’t suffer a huge drop-off, even without Terrell Suggs on the field.

The Latest on the Ray Rice Situation

The Ravens’ offseason woes haven’t been limited to the defensive side of the ball. Starting running back Ray Rice, who topped 2,000 total yards for Baltimore a season ago, still hasn’t signed his franchise tender for 2012, and progress regarding a long-term extension has been slow.

However, a contract signed by another star running back may be just the kick in the pants that negotiations needed. The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec and Matt Vensel theorized Thursday that the five-year, $45 million extension signed by LeSean McCoy of the Philadelphia Eagles this week could help set a benchmark for a similar extension for Rice.

If a Rice extension gets done – and I still believe that it will – it will be in the neighborhood of the deals that McCoy and [Arian] Foster got. The same might hold true for Matt Forte, the also-franchised running back of the Chicago Bears, and for Maurice Jones-Drew who is looking for a new contract from the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It appears to be in the Ravens’ best interest to get Rice, who at 25 is already one of the league’s top running backs, locked up long-term, and the McCoy deal sets one more measuring stick for both the team and Rice to base his perceived value off of.

At any rate, Rice still has until July 16 to sign the franchise tender, which leaves plenty of time to hammer out a deal. While anxious Ravens fans would surely like to see this situation resolved yesterday, it’s not even close to time to start freaking out…yet.

Follow @IDPManor

Article source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1188068-ed-reed-and-biggest-questions-surrounding-baltimore-ravens-2012-season

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Article source: http://m.gaffneyledger.com/news/2012-05-18/Front_Page/County_brass_to_discuss_projected_budget_woes.html

CHICAGO — It’s been a long time in coming, both for Roy Halladay and the  Full Story »Halladay finally a winner again as Phils sweep Cubs

The SportsXchange

Article source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sveum-might-pitch-changes-cubs-091022388--mlb.html

The Columbus Dispatch

Thursday May 17, 2012 11:39 AM

A recent rehearsal of the Central Ohio Brass Band had all the flow of a rush-hour commute: The
music started and stopped, started and stopped.

During the breaks, director Jessica Sneeringer tried to untie the musical knots — with the tempo
too fast or the drums too loud.

As they were chided and cajoled during a practice at Columbus Academy, the 35 musicians of
varying ages — most of them adults — acted more like the teenagers who typically use the band room
in the Gahanna school.

Conversations buzzed. Giggles broke out.

When the director suggested that the percussion had lagged behind the beat, Cari Geyer suggested
that perhaps Sneeringer had sped up.

Sneeringer turned to Geyer and stared. Geyer grinned and said, “Love you, Jess!”

Such a relaxed vibe is by design.

“Some groups put the emphasis on the musicianship first, and personality is second,” said the
35-year-old Sneeringer, the Academy band director and a former trombonist in the Ohio State
University marching band.

“We put personality first. We want somebody with a good attitude. Divas don’t work for us.”

The musicianship, though, is there, too: The community band recently won a fourth straight title
in the 1st Section division — the second most competitive — of the prestigious North American Brass
Band Association contest, conducted in Cincinnati.

It has won five such titles in the past six years — a testament to the group’s notable progress
since its founding in 1989.

“There were years and years where we never placed at NABBA,” said Kim DeKay, 36, a
soprano-cornet player from Baltimore, Ohio, who joined the group in 1993. “We’ve really come
together and come to a consensus that we know who we are. We’re real with ourselves.”

The band — made up of soprano cornets, B-flat cornets, fluegelhorns, tenor and bass trombones,
baritones, euphoniums, E-flat and B-flat tubas, and a percussion section — follows the instrumental
requirements of a “British-style” brass band. The traditional arrangement is rooted in British
community brass bands that rose to popularity in the 1840s and 1850s.

Most of the central Ohio musicians played in high-school and college bands. Some, including
Sneeringer, work as music educators (or are retired educators), but the majority don’t have
music-related jobs.

With no formal tryout process, the band typically fills an opening through recommendations,
often from other members.

“They normally sit in with the band for a couple of rehearsals,” Sneeringer said. “I will have
them play a piece or two for me so I can hear them, and then it’s just about personality: Can they
take direction? Do they get along with everyone and have the same sense of humor?”

Most years, the band competes only once a year, at NABBA.

The rest of the year is spent rehearsing and performing at concerts or private events, usually
one or two a month.

The Central Ohio Brass Band sees itself as a big musical family, with members often socializing
after their weekly rehearsals. The roster features five married couples, including one who met
through the band (Scott and Cari Geyer).

“It’s a quirky little group, but we all understand each other,” said trombone player Todd
Seymour, 47, of Bexley. “We’ve got that level of professionalism we can pull off, but we’re pretty
light.”

The group is an offshoot of the Brass Band of Columbus, founded in 1984. (See story, right.)

“Both are performing at the highest level of bands in the country,” said Brian Stevens, director
of the Brass Band of Columbus since 2009. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Central
Ohio Brass Band and for Jessica and how they do things; they do a great job.

“It’s just a choice to play a different level of music.”

For now, Sneeringer is comfortable with that choice.

“I have been asked several times when are we going to move up,” she said. “My response has been ‘
When we’re ready.’

“But I’m not going to bring people in and not be the Central Ohio Brass Band for a while just to
do that. Eventually, when our personnel can do it, we’ll move up.

“But I’m not willing to risk that family atmosphere.”

kgordon@dispatch.com

@kgordon

Article source: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2012/05/17/personality-first.html

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Cubs owners Tom Ricketts and Laura Ricketts tried hard, Thursday, to distance themselves from their father’s politics.

Earlier Thursday the New York Times published a piece about a Joe Rickett’s backed SuperPac that had planned to run advertisments tying President Barack Obama to firebrand reverend Jeremiah Wright.

Joe Ricketts disavowed the plan shortly after the article appeared. But the mere suggestion of a plan poses problems for the Cubs owners.

Tom Ricketts has been negotiating with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel — who is a big supporter of Obama’s — to help fund a ball park renovation.  Emanuel is reportedly livid about the SuperPac plan.

A source within the mayor’s office said:

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The Mayor was livid when he read that the Ricketts were going to launch a $10 million campaign against President Obama – with the type of racially motivated ads that are insulting to the President and the Presidential Campaign. 

He is also livid with their blatant hypocrisy. 

The Ricketts have tried to contact the Mayor but he’s said that he does not want to talk with them today, tomorrow or anytime soon.

Both Tom and Laura Ricketts must have sensed the problem, because the pair had statements at the ready.

Tom Ricketts’ statement read:

As chairman of the Chicago Cubs, I repudiate any return to racially divisive issues in this year’s presidential campaign or in any setting—like my father has.
 
My focus is on one of the great American pastimes, baseball. And our team and every other Major League Baseball team are great examples of people of diverse backgrounds working together towards a common goal. I shall have no further comment on this or any other election year political issue. My full-time focus is on making the Chicago Cubs a World Series champion preserving Wrigley Field and making the Chicago Cubs a great corporate citizen.

Laura Ricketts’ statement read: 

All of my family members and I love this country and are passionate about doing what is right for the country.  That love of country was instilled in us by my father.  We have different political views on how to achieve what is best for the future of America, but we agree that each of us is entitled to our own views and our right to voice those views.
 
Though we may have diverse political views, above all we love and respect each other.

My own personal view is that President Obama has been a great leader in very difficult times. He has been leading us to an economic recovery; served with great honor as commander-in-chief during a time of war; been a strong proponent on issues important to women and just last week he exhibited great courage in endorsing the freedom to marry for Gay and Lesbian Americans.

I am doing all that I can to help President Obama get re-elected because it is what I believe is best for America.

We’ll have to wait and see if the statements were enough to soothe Emanuel’s ire.

News breaks at inconvenient times. Stay tuned to NBCChicago wherever you go. Download our iPhone and iPad apps, now available on the iTunes App Store. Get  your iPad App. Get your iPhone app.

Article source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Cubs-Scramble-to-Avoid-Emanuels-Ire-151964705.html

Report by James Franklin , Reporter
Thursday, May 17, 2012
2:00 PM

BRASS enthusiasts should head to Weston’s Winter Gardens this weekend for an entire day of brass band music.

The 44th Brass Band Own Choice Contest concert will be held on Sunday at the seafront facility, with the contest commencing at 10am and the results and presentation ceremony expected to happen at about 8pm.

This year’s event, which will feature bands from as far afield as Shropshire and Oxfordshire, will be the first to be overseen and promoted by South West Brass Band Association.

In total 35 bands have entered from the South West, Wales, the Midlands and the South East, and will compete across four sections.

Tickets, priced £4.50-7, are available from the Winter Gardens box office on 01934 417117 or at www.thewintergardens.com

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Article source: http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/what-s-on/best_of_brass_at_winter_gardens_event_1_1380496

“Things are getting worse for them,” says Greg Zuckerman, senior writer at The Wall Street Journal. “I wouldn’t …

Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/setpoint-ammo-announces-federal-brass-100000236.html

(The Beacham show is a homecoming for the Soul Rebels’ New Orleans-based manager, Adam Shipley, who started his career booking shows there in the early 1990s.)

Throughout the four-night run of Metallica concerts, the Soul Rebels started the celebration by marching through the crowd with brass-band arrangements of “Enter Sandman,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “One” and other Metallica classics. They returned to close the night as part of an all-star jam session finale.

“It was all a case of being in the right place at the right time,” says snare drummer and Soul Rebels founding member Lumar LeBlanc in a phone interview during a break from the band’s busy schedule during the recent New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

At Jazz Fest, the Soul Rebels made more high-profile friends, including actor Seth Rogen, in town for a movie shoot. Rogen snagged a copy of the band’s latest album, “Unlock Your Mind,” at a late-night club performance.

“We had a great time, met great people, and we had a ball,” says LeBlanc about a performance schedule that found the Rebels following RB revivalist Cee Lo Green on Jazz Fest’s Congo Square Stage. In June, the band will play Metallica’s Orion Music Festival in Atlantic City, N.J., the only act invited to play both nights of the two-day event.

So what’s the common link between the Soul Rebels and Metallica?

“I think it’s more on a musicianship respect level,” LeBlanc says. “We’ve been fans and impressed with Metallica, but we had no idea they would be impressed with what we did. They were entertained and saw that we took brass-band music seriously.”

Still, LeBlanc admits that he was initially surprised when Metallica offered the chance to perform at the anniversary shows — and then was worried about the prospect of doing it.

Metallica suggested the idea, but there was a thought that the band members were “just saying it to be courteous,” says LeBlanc, who traveled to Metallica’s rehearsal studio with the band to debut the Rebels’ versions of the songs. “I’m always nervous before a show, but I was really nervous. Even though we had spent hours practicing and had them down by memory, you never know. They could’ve sent us right back home.”

Instead, the connection has expanded the Rebels fan base, with “Enter Sandman” requests now common at the band’s shows.

Article source: http://orlando.feedsportal.com/c/34256/f/623148/s/1f727b58/l/0L0Sorlandosentinel0N0Centertainment0Ccolumnists0Cos0Ejim0Eabbott0Esoul0Erebels0Eorlando0E20A120A5170H0A0H1610A6220Bcolumn0Dtrack0Frss/story01.htm

Saul Loeb / AFP – Getty Images

President Obama presents Rose Mary Sabo-Brown with a Medal of Honor for her late husband, Army Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr., during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

President Barack Obama presented the country’s highest military decoration to the family of Army Spc. Leslie H. Sabo Jr., who was killed protecting fellow soldiers from an ambush in Cambodia during the Vietnam War.

The 22-year-old Army rifleman killed several North Vietnamese soldiers, shielded a comrade from a grenade blast and forced a retreat in a battle that took place on May 10, 1970.

The Medal of Honor was awarded to Sabo’s widow, Rose Mary Sabo-Brown,  in the East Room of the White House.

“He saved  his comrades who meant more to him than life,” Obama said at the ceremony, while also saluting other Vietnam War veterans. Members of Sabo’s unit, Bravo Company, were in attendance and received a standing ovation.

“A piece of metal won’t bring back my husband,” Sabo-Brown told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in an interview. “But my heart beams with pride for Leslie because he’s finally getting what’s due to him. I will show it proudly for him for the rest of my life.”

Spc. 4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr. is shown during his tour with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. He will receive the Medal of Honor May 16 for his valor in Vietnam.

The records of the Pennsylvania man’s heroics were lost in military archives for decades before being re-discovered in 1999 by a magazine writer researching Vietnam era Medal of Honor winners.

Related: Soldier to receive posthumous Medal of Honor for heroic actions in 1970 Cambodia battle

Sabo’s platoon was on patrol in the Se San River valley in Cambodia when they were ambushed by a larger North Vietnamese force.

Sabo quickly charged and killed several enemy soldiers. Then, according to the White House, Sabo rushed at another oncoming flanking force and drew fire away from American troops, forcing the North Vietnamese to retreat.

As Sabo was reloading his rifle, a grenade landed nearby. He picked it up, threw it and shielded a fellow soldier with his own body. Wounded from the blast and enemy fire, he continued to fight, storming an enemy emplacement and throwing another grenade. The grenade explosion silenced the enemy, but also killed Sabo, the White House said.

Sabo’s remains were shipped home in a body bag marked “Remains Unfit for Viewing,” his hometown newspaper, the Ellwood City Ledger, reported. His father and namesake died in 1977 without knowing the full story of his son’s death.

The U.S. Army Specialist will posthumously receive the award for his actions in the Vietnam War in 1970. NBC’s Brian Williams reports.

A citation recommending Sabo for the Medal of Honor was lost after the war, but resurfaced in 1999 when Alton “Tony” Mabb, a writer for a military association magazine, was researching Vietnam-era Medal of Honor winners at the National Archives.

Mabb contacted Sabo’s widow and met with her and other members of his platoon at the Vietnam Veteran’s War Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 2002, according to an account in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Mabb also contacted U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, who wrote the Defense Department requesting that Sabo’s actions be recognized. In 2006, Sabo was recommended for the Medal of Honor by the Secretary of the Army.

It took an act of Congress to extend the time limit for the medal, which was passed in the 2008 defense authorization act.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Veterans to return war medals in protest
• ‘Mama bear’ sued by church over online criticism
• Trio lured Marine wife to her death, prosecutors say
• Mother of homeless man beaten by cops gets $1M settlement
• US has 55 daily encounters with ‘suspected terrorists’
• Video: Dad of sole plane crash survivor: It’s a miracle

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Article source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/16/11733641-heroic-vietnam-war-soldier-awarded-posthumous-medal-of-honor?lite

Coming off a ground-breaking season, Sunlake’s football program is looking to reach new heights despite losing many of the key playmakers that took the Seahawks to the region semifinals of the Class 6A playoffs.

Players like quarterback Cameron Stoltz, athletes Rashaud Daniels and Jamal Jones and lineman Nate McCoole were vital parts to the Seahawks’ 10-2 record in 2011, which ended with a 21-14 loss to Gainesville.

But the thing about Sunlake now is the squad doesn’t think about rebuilding at all, but more about reloading, and that is what’s taking place this spring.

First order of business for Sunlake is replacing Stoltz, who threw for 1,735 yards and 28 touchdowns, will be a tough task for Seahawks coach Bill Browning. Enter 6-foot-3 southpaw Josh Zifer, who last season completed three of six for 58 yards in limited action. Many on the team believe Zifer will be more than an adequate replacement for Stoltz, including the junior himself.

“Throughout the spring, I’m just hoping I can help the team in any way that I can,” Zifer said. “I’m a factor on this team. I have taken everything I can from Jacob Jackson from two years ago and Cameron from last season. I took a lot from them, like how they read defenses and they both helped me out a lot. This year coming up as a senior, I expect to be as good or better than both of them.”

Expectations are no longer just to make the playoffs but to advance every time in, with Sunlake picking up the school’s first playoff victory in a 22-21 thriller against Ocala Vanguard. Daniels and Jones were two all-everything players that played a huge role in that postseason victory, but someone will have to step into their cleats.

That will fall upon junior Eddie Burgos (22 catches, 369 yards), who is a standout on both the weightlifting and track and field squads for the Seahawks. Burgos will be all over the place on offense for Sunlake, and could possibly see time at wide receiver, running back, cornerback, safety and punt returner. None of that phases Burgos, as he knows there’s plenty of work to be done if Sunlake wants to get back into the playoffs this fall.

“It’s going to be a real big change with us losing all of our seniors,” Burgos said. “We’re going to strive for greatness. Coach Browning has a lot in store for us. Rashaud and Jamal were great players, but now we have to have new great players step in and step up.”

Article source: http://www2.tbo.com/sports/prep-sports/2012/may/13/pasprto1-seahawks-plan-on-reloading-ar-402821/

D K Pandey, a CRPF inspector-general (IG) posted in Ranchi and in-charge of anti-Maoist operations for the central force in Jharkhand, had made the pitch, which is seen to be his personal view.

Speaking to TOI, CRPF director-general K Vijay Kumar rubbished the demand for AFSPA for anti-Maoist operations. “We certainly don’t want AFSPA. As long as we are covered by Section 197 CrPC, which gives our officers immunity against prosecution, we are fine,” he said.

According to Clause 2 of Sec 197 CrPC, “No court shall take cognizance of any offence alleged to have been committed by any member of the Armed Forces of the Union acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty, except with the previous sanction of the Central Government.”

Senior CRPF officers in charge of operations in other Maoist-hit states, too, said AFSPA is not required. “We don’t need to go overboard. That will only alienate the people further and aggravate the Maoist problem,” said a senior CRPF official.

At a meeting, held at the CRPF headquarters on April 20, to review anti-Maoist operations, Pandey sponsored the agenda point relating to imposition of the draconian AFSPA in “at least selective pockets” in Jharkhand if it is not possible in the entire state. Pandey, a 1984-batch IPS officer of Jharkhand cadre and currently on deputation to the CRPF, was, however, not present at the meeting.

The agenda point, sponsored by Pandey, said, “In the present system, Jharkhand Police is requisitioning CRPF for providing troops for anti-Naxal ops. CRPF is not in a position to launch any operation of its own. Therefore, our achievement is subject to proactive approach of State police. Hence, CRPF should be given Armed Forces Special Powers (AFSPA) for at least six months.”

Now, 16 CRPF units and two CoBRA units are deployed in Jharkhand to assist the state police in anti-Maoist operations.

“I stick to my stand on AFSPA that I spelled out last year,” said the CRPF chief. Last November, Kumar had said CRPF was amenable to withdrawal of AFSPA from certain areas of Jammu Kashmir, which was in line with Union home ministry’s stand.

Article source: http://timesofindia.feedsportal.com/fy/8at2EtY0ZgEP92No/story01.htm

WASHINGTON — Army leaders have begun to study the prospect of sending female soldiers to the service’s prestigious Ranger school — another step in the effort to broaden opportunities for women in the military.

Gen. Raymond Odierno, Army chief of staff, said Wednesday that he’s asked senior commanders to provide him with recommendations and a plan this summer. And while he stressed that no decisions have been made, he suggested that Ranger school may be a logical next step for women as they move into more jobs closer to the combat lines.

Related reading

Combat jobs open to female soldiers this week (May 15)

Women in combat: Army to open 14K jobs, 6 MOSs (May 2)

“If we determine that we’re going to allow women to go in the infantry and be successful, they are probably at some time going to have to go through Ranger school,” Odierno told reporters. “If we decide to do this, we want the women to be successful.”

According to Odierno, about 90 percent of senior Army infantry officers have gone to the school and are qualified as Rangers. Allowing women to go to Ranger school, he said, would allow them to be competitive with their male counterparts as they move through the ranks.

Going to Ranger school, however, does not automatically mean women would be allowed to serve in one of the Army’s three elite Ranger battalions, which are Army special operations forces. In fact, many male soldiers who wear the coveted Ranger tab on their uniforms never actually serve in one of the three battalions.

Currently, women are not allowed to serve as special operations, infantry or armor forces, which are considered the most dangerous combat jobs. They are, however, allowed to serve in a number of support jobs such as medics, military police and intelligence officers that are sometimes attached to combat brigade units.

Odierno said his commanders are looking at whether the Army should open up infantry and armor jobs to women, and how that should be done.

As of this week, 200 women reported to nine different battalions around the country, as the Army implements plans to formally allow women to serve in smaller units that are closer to the front lines. New Pentagon rules allowing women to serve at the battalion level — rather than just the larger brigade — were unveiled earlier this year, opening up about 14,000 more jobs for women across all the military services. There are currently more than 250,000 positions that are closed to women.

A brigade is roughly 3,500 troops split into several battalions of about 800 soldiers each. Historically, brigades were based farther from the front lines and they often include top command and support staff, while battalions are usually in closer contact with the enemy.

Women make up about 16 percent of the Army.

Article source: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/05/ap-army-leaders-mull-sending-women-ranger-school-051612/

[See There's Retail Magic in Silicon Dust.]

The company is a technology pioneer in other ways. According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Starbucks uses cloud services to communicate with baristas about sales and daily deals. Starbucks also claims to be among the most-liked brands on Facebook, among the most-tweeted brands on Twitter, and the most popular retail destination for users of Foursquare, a site that allows people to share their locations.

Despite the company’s success with mobile payments, Brotman says Starbucks is keeping an open mind. “We are frankly agnostic when it comes to the technology itself,” he explains, noting that if something better comes along, the company would adopt it. “We realize mobile’s always changing, and we’re trying to stay ahead of the curve.”

Article source: http://money.usnews.com/money/business-economy/articles/2012/05/15/starbucks-brews-loyalty-with-mobile-payment?page=2

Click here to find out which other top insider buys by the ”top brass” you need to know about »

Stabley bets big on REXX:

Stabley’s average cost works out to $10.85/share. In trading on Wednesday, bargain hunters could buy shares of Rex Energy Corp (NASD: REXX) and achieve a cost basis lower than Stabley, with shares changing hands as low as $10.01 per share. Shares of Rex Energy Corp were changing hands at $10.04 at last check, trading up about 0.7% on Wednesday. The chart below shows the one year performance of REXX shares, versus its 200 day moving average:

Looking at the chart above, REXX’s low point in its 52 week range is $8.80 per share, with $18.00 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $10.04.

According to the ETF Finder at ETF Channel, REXX makes up 1.53% of the SPDR SP Oil Gas Exploration Production ETF (AMEX: XOP)which is trading up by about 0.4% on the day Wednesday.

See what other ETFs contain REXX »
See what other stocks are held by XOP »

Special Offer: Find out how Dave Moenning is trading around the most recent insider transactions with a free 30 day trial and a special 20% off coupon from Forbes.

Article source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/energystockchannel/2012/05/16/top-buys-by-top-brass-cfo-stableys-108-5k-bet-on-rexx/?feed=rss_home

Click here to find out which other top insider buys by the ”top brass” you need to know about »

Veltmaat bets big on AGCO:

Veltmaat’s average cost works out to $42.80/share. In trading on Wednesday, bargain hunters could buy shares of AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AGCO) and achieve a cost basis lower than Veltmaat, with shares changing hands as low as $40.90 per share. Shares of AGCO Corp. were changing hands at $40.99 at last check, trading down about 0.9% on Wednesday. The chart below shows the one year performance of AGCO shares, versus its 200 day moving average:

Looking at the chart above, AGCO’s low point in its 52 week range is $30.11 per share, with $54.00 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $40.99.

AGCO makes up 2.11% of the Dynamic Industrials Sector Portfolio ETF (AMEX: PRN)

Special Offer: Find out how Dave Moenning is trading around the most recent insider transactions with a free 30 day trial and a special 20% off coupon from Forbes.

Article source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dividendchannel/2012/05/16/top-buys-by-top-brass-svp-veltmaats-194-3k-bet-on-agco/?feed=rss_home

Ansar Khan of Mlive.com hears from Red Wings assistant GM Jim Nill there’s youth on the way in the form of forwards Calle Jarnkrok, Teemu Pulkkinen and Tomas Jurco (pictured) and he’s very excited to see what they can do at the next level… Eventually.

“We’re very happy,” Nill said. “They all have high-end offensive skills.

“You need 2-3 players to become better than you projected. That’s what (Henrik) Zetterberg and (Pavel) Datsyuk did. We’re fortunate Zetterberg and Datsyuk came along. We’re still looking for the next wave of talent.”

Nill says all three will be invited to training camp in September and that they’ll see where they’re at. Add those three along with youngsters like Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyqvist and what once looked like an aging team has a ton of hope for the future.

You don’t want to say the Wings are reloading rather than rebuilding, but they’ve got a heck of a case to make to a guy like Ryan Suter this summer when it may come time to sway his opinion on playing for Detroit rather than against them.

Article source: http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2012/05/14/uh-oh-detroit-is-excited-about-their-young-talent-on-the-way/

“I am concerned with suggestions that accurate estimation and the inclusion of personnel, operating and maintenance costs are not important, since they would be incurred regardless of the aircraft selected to replace the CF-18,” Ferguson said in his opening remarks to the House of Commons public accounts committee Tuesday.

Defence officials told the same committee May 1 that it is not their practice to include all life-cycle costs in project estimates.

“While we believe in and support life-cycle costing, it is not a requirement established by the office of the auditor general,” Ferguson told MPs.

It is, however, required by the department’s own policies, as well as by the Treasury Board, which sets spending standards in the federal government.

It was also specifically requested by Parliament in a 2010 motion from the House finance committee and in a ruling by then Speaker Peter Milliken.

Ferguson’s April 3 report, in which he found the department wasn’t upfront about the costs of the fighter jet that defence officials wanted, contained a chart showing internal estimates the department used but didn’t disclose to the public.

Those figures, which showed the jets would be billions more than the government had said, were all defence estimates – not auditor general estimates, Ferguson noted.

Ferguson wrote in his report that the Department of National Defence didn’t exercise due diligence in choosing the F-35 to replace the CF-18, wasn’t forthcoming with Parliament about its true estimated cost and made key decisions without required approvals or proper documentation.

His report also showed the department had internal estimates that 65 F-35 jets would cost $25 billion over 20 years, but would only admit to a cost of $14.7 billion. Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino avoided answering questions about the full cost, insisting the jets would be $9 billion, despite months of formal and informal requests.

Ferguson told MPs his team had access to all the information they needed to write the report, although they were surprised to see some information that they expected to find within the departments only existed in secret memos to cabinet.

“There were types of analysis we felt should have been prepared and should have existed just as part of normal departmental process and it shouldn’t have been something that they would have waited until preparing the memorandum to cabinet to include it,” Ferguson said.

Something has to be done to make sure National Defence starts estimating full life-cycle costs, the auditor general suggested.

“The fact that we are still talking about life-cycle costing and we are still talking about what’s appropriate in life-cycle costing means that there needs to be some serious consideration about just how life-cycle costing is supposed to be applied,” Ferguson said.

“It needs to be re-examined to determine the best way to apply it.”

Earlier this month, Robert Fonberg, deputy minister of the Department of National Defence, told the committee that DND traditionally includes the purchase price and sustainment, or maintenance, costs only, not operating costs. He said that’s because those are included in annual budgets for the whole department, which are approved by Parliament.

The same approach was used for the F-35s as the four previous air force equipment procurements, he said.

Fonberg also contradicted Ferguson, saying cabinet didn’t have the full cost estimates in 2008 the way Ferguson said they would have.

Ferguson says he stands by his report.

New Democrat MP Malcolm Allen says National Defence has “really gone rogue.”

“And this defence minister has totally lost control of that department,” he said.

Allen said he wants to see Fonberg back at committee to explain his remarks in light of Ferguson standing by his report, and suggested the top officials with National Defence could have to resign.

“If the officials in the Defence Department are actually misleading committee and misleading Parliament, then I guess they’ve gotta be gone. You can’t have folks at that level misleading Parliament or misleading the committee if indeed that’s what they’ve done,” Allen said.

Tuesday’s meeting is Ferguson’s third appearance before MPs studying the process to replace Canada’s CF-18 fighter jets with F-35 aircraft, more than a month after his report exposed internal estimates far higher than the ones disclosed publicly.

Ferguson was initially scheduled to appear for before the public accounts committee on May 8, but an unexpected medical treatment left him recovering at home.

During his April 26 appearance, Ferguson told the committee that there was significant information missing from the government’s cost estimates for the fighter jets.

Read Kady O’Malley’s liveblog. Mobile friendly feed here.

Article source: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/f-35-committee-hear-auditor-general-again-090452641.html

There’s no question that the better Josh Hamilton does, the higher the asking price is going to be for the Texas Rangers to keep their star player.

I’ve written and many others have written that Hamilton is showing the club why he’s an important asset. It’s obvious the power he possesses, along with his other batting and defensive gifts. But has this incredible streak given the Rangers pause because they know it’s going to cost a pretty penny? Perhaps.

Consider team president Nolan Ryan’s comments April 14 with ESPN Radio. “It’s really hard to predict where it’s going to go,” he said of the contract negotiations with Hamilton’s side. “Obviously, Josh is in a really good position right now.”

Ryan doesn’t want to play his hand or even show his cards in the media, which is smart. Maybe I’m reading too much into his statement, but you would think that Ryan can predict exactly where it’s going to go. Also, his comment about Hamilton’s streak putting him in “a really good position right now” sounds more like an indictment on how contract talks could get a little more complicating while the center fielder makes history.

What has been eerily silent during Hamilton’s explosion has been Rangers’ leadership stepping forward and publicly stating they want him back. I think it goes without saying, but GM Jon Daniels had an opportunity to do that after the team signed Ian Kinsler to a long-term deal. Daniels, instead, opted to decline comment about contract negotiations with Hamilton’s group.

The club has every right to have concerns with a huge deal with Hamilton that eats up several years, especially given Albert Pujols’ start with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this season after signing a 10-year, $240 million contract. With the Rangers, they know what they are getting with Josh; the Angels assumed they knew what they were getting with Pujols.

Also, Hamilton won’t have to switch leagues, which I think has caused some of Pujols’ problems because he’s playing in parks that he really doesn’t know. Maybe that’s a stretch, but I think it’s the same for pitchers who switch leagues.

What I would think would be a reasonable contract would be a five-year deal somewhere in the neighborhood of $125 million. That would put him in the same ballpark as Pujols in regards to compensation, but would lower the risk for the Rangers. Another benefit for Hamilton is Texas has no state income tax, not that that should matter for millionaires, but I’m sure it’s a consideration.

It’s difficult as a fan to sit by and watch Hamilton have an incredible season, knowing that this could be his last in a Texas uniform. I suppose I should just watch and enjoy it and let the front office guys work to keep the face of the club in the Lone Star State.

John Ingle is a graduate of the Midwestern State University Mass Communication program with an emphasis in journalism. He’s been a Texas Rangers fan when he met Bump Wills and Buddy Bell when he was in elementary school in Arlington, Texas. Follow him on Twitter @inglejohn1973.

Article source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/fans-texas-rangers-brass-thinking-204700331--mlb.html

Weather permitting, unloading will be begin with the first trailer on May 25 at 10 a.m. The second trailer will unload at 4 p.m., according to Legion officials.

Reloading will occur on May 29 on the same time schedule.

Anyone wishing to volunteer to put up or take down the flags are invited to do so. All volunteers are asked to report to the west cemetery entrance.

All times and dates are subject to the weather, officials said.

Those wishing to put up their own flags should have them in the sockets of their choice before the first trailer unloads at 10 a.m. May 25 and remove the flags before the first trailer begins reloading at 10 a.m. on May 29.

Approximately 650 flags will be put this year.

Legion officials asked that area residents contact the Webster City Police Department if anyone noticing any suspicious or unusual activity while the flags are displayed. Anyone who damages a pole section can pay the replacement cost of $30 by contacting Ron Keigan, 832-6250; Leo Lanctot, 832-6609 or the American Legion post at 832-1087 after 4 p.m.

Article source: http://webstercitynews.com/page/content.detail/id/518979/Red--white-and-blue-tribute.html?nav=5011

Weather permitting, unloading will be begin with the first trailer on May 25 at 10 a.m. The second trailer will unload at 4 p.m., according to Legion officials.

Reloading will occur on May 29 on the same time schedule.

Anyone wishing to volunteer to put up or take down the flags are invited to do so. All volunteers are asked to report to the west cemetery entrance.

All times and dates are subject to the weather, officials said.

Those wishing to put up their own flags should have them in the sockets of their choice before the first trailer unloads at 10 a.m. May 25 and remove the flags before the first trailer begins reloading at 10 a.m. on May 29.

Approximately 650 flags will be put this year.

Legion officials asked that area residents contact the Webster City Police Department if anyone noticing any suspicious or unusual activity while the flags are displayed. Anyone who damages a pole section can pay the replacement cost of $30 by contacting Ron Keigan, 832-6250; Leo Lanctot, 832-6609 or the American Legion post at 832-1087 after 4 p.m.

Article source: http://webstercitynews.com/page/content.detail/id/518979/Red--white-and-blue-tribute.html?nav=5011

Click here to find out which other top insider buys by the ”top brass” you need to know about »

DE bets big on CHD:

DE’s average cost works out to $52.99/share. Shares of Church Dwight Co., Inc. were changing hands at $53.85 at last check, trading up about 1% on Tuesday. The chart below shows the one year performance of CHD shares, versus its 200 day moving average:

Looking at the chart above, CHD’s low point in its 52 week range is $36.78 per share, with $53.87 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $53.85.

The current annualized dividend paid by Church Dwight Co., Inc. is $0.96/share, currently paid in quarterly installments, and its most recent dividend ex-date was on 05/10/2012. Below is a long-term dividend history chart for CHD, which can be of good help in judging whether the most recent dividend with approx. 1.8% annualized yield is likely to continue.

According to the ETF Finder at ETF Channel, CHD makes up 1.38% of the DWA Technical Leaders Portfolio ETF (AMEX: PDP)which is trading relatively unchanged on the day Tuesday.

See what other ETFs contain CHD »
See what other stocks are held by PDP »

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Article source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dividendchannel/2012/05/15/top-buys-by-top-brass-evp-gen-counsel-secretary-des-106k-bet-on-chd/

“I am concerned with suggestions that accurate estimation and the inclusion of personnel, operating and maintenance costs are not important, since they would be incurred regardless of the aircraft selected to replace the CF-18,” Ferguson said in his opening remarks to the House of Commons public accounts committee Tuesday.

Defence officials told the same committee May 1 that it is not their practice to include all life-cycle costs in project estimates.

“While we believe in and support life-cycle costing, it is not a requirement established by the office of the auditor general,” Ferguson told MPs.

It is, however, required by the department’s own policies, as well as by the Treasury Board, which sets spending standards in the federal government.

It was also specifically requested by Parliament in a 2010 motion from the House finance committee and in a ruling by then Speaker Peter Milliken.

Ferguson’s April 3 report, in which he found the department wasn’t upfront about the costs of the fighter jet that defence officials wanted, contained a chart showing internal estimates the department used but didn’t disclose to the public.

Those figures, which showed the jets would be billions more than the government had said, were all defence estimates – not auditor general estimates, Ferguson noted.

Ferguson wrote in his report that the Department of National Defence didn’t exercise due diligence in choosing the F-35 to replace the CF-18, wasn’t forthcoming with Parliament about its true estimated cost and made key decisions without required approvals or proper documentation.

His report also showed the department had internal estimates that 65 F-35 jets would cost $25 billion over 20 years, but would only admit to a cost of $14.7 billion. Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Associate Defence Minister Julian Fantino avoided answering questions about the full cost, insisting the jets would be $9 billion, despite months of formal and informal requests.

Ferguson told MPs his team had access to all the information they needed to write the report, although they were surprised to see some information that they expected to find within the departments only existed in secret memos to cabinet.

“There were types of analysis we felt should have been prepared and should have existed just as part of normal departmental process and it shouldn’t have been something that they would have waited until preparing the memorandum to cabinet to include it,” Ferguson said.

Earlier this month, Robert Fonberg, deputy minister of the Department of National Defence, told the committee that DND traditionally includes the purchase price and sustainment, or maintenance, costs only, not operating costs. He said that’s because those are included in annual budgets for the whole department, which are approved by Parliament.

The same approach was used for the F-35s as the four previous air force equipment procurements, he said.

Fonberg also contradicted Ferguson, saying cabinet didn’t have the full cost estimates in 2008 the way Ferguson said they would have.

Ferguson says he stands by his report.

“We laid out what happened throughout 2008 and 2010,” he said.

Tuesday’s meeting is Ferguson’s third appearance before MPs studying the process to replace Canada’s CF-18 fighter jets with F-35 aircraft, more than a month after his report exposed internal estimates far higher than the ones disclosed publicly.

Ferguson was initially scheduled to appear for before the public accounts committee on May 8, but an unexpected medical treatment left him recovering at home.

During his April 26 appearance, Ferguson told the committee that there was significant information missing from the government’s cost estimates for the fighter jets.

Read Kady O’Malley’s liveblog. Mobile friendly feed here.

Article source: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/f-35-committee-hear-auditor-general-again-090452641.html

Catch up with the group as they answer questions about life inside and outside the music world.

You’ve been working together as an ensemble for quite a while now, what has been the highlight of your career so far?

Andrew: It was probably our first ever performance at Wigmore Hall. Our reception brought me very close to blubbing!

Amos: We’re lucky enough to have had lots of highlights! Our Wigmore Hall début is definitely up there, but doing a masterclass and recital at the Juilliard School in NYC was great too (with a great meal after which also sticks in the memory…)

Two composers have commissioned works for the concert (Andrew Hamilton and Dan Jenkins). What challenges/rewards has each new commission presented you with?

Amos: Andrew’s piece looks simple on paper, but that’s highly deceptive! It’s completely original and full of emotion, and the challenge lies in achieving accuracy and pathos at the same time. 

Niall: It’s always fun deconstructing a new piece. Usually new pieces look fantastically difficult and prove to be slightly easier than expected. The Hamilton was the opposite! It looked very simple at first sight and in fact proved to be quite difficult.

Dave: Without giving the game away, the Jenkins has a specific set of challenges centred around being extrovert, which has a different appeal to different members of the group. As in each new commission case we have had over the years, there is an inner satisfaction that we are able to help contribute to what is a relatively meagre repertory.

If you could commission a piece for Onyx from any one great composer of the past, who would it be?

Andrew: Beethoven! If we could have anything like the late string quartets, brass quintet as a medium would be so much more mainstream!

Niall: Well it’s a difficult because how can one imagine how Brahms or Beethoven would have written for that line up? I’d like to try a quintet by Haydn though – very difficult tuba parts I should think!

Great answers! Do you think anything is lost or gained from arranging these classic works from the repertory for brass ensemble?

David: The purists will say a lot has been lost but I would encourage them to wake up and smell the coffee! All the great composers, Bach especially, were happy to rearrange their music. If it means it appears in the public domain more often then it has to be in everyone’s interests.

For this project you are teaming up with the baritone Mark Stone. How would you describe Mark’s voice in one word?

David: I’d say Velvety…

Niall: Treacle?

Amos: Hmm. Bovril! (warm, smooth and meaty!)

So if you could do karaoke with Mark Stone, what would you sing?

Amos: It would be ignominious, but probably Burt Bacharach’s “Close to you”…

David: I’d have to go for “How Deep is Your Love” – the Bee Gees version.

That sounds like a great future collaboration! So do you guys have any strange pre/post-performance rituals that you go through?

David: We strip our clothes off and dance around a fire chanting to the Greek Gods of music. No that is a lie. We just relax and chat usually, taking the Mick out of ourselves and each other.

I was worried for a moment there, but it sounds fun! So when the concerts end and you get time off, what hobbies do you have outside of music?

Andrew: I enjoy cycling and Real Ale (not any old beer and certainly not mass produced lager!)

David: Well, trying to raise two children and see as much of my family as possible, combined with tuba playing, does not leave much time for other stuff. But when there is more time, I hope to go to the theatre a bit more. I love it.

What is your greatest fear?

Andrew: Leaving the bell section or mouthpiece of my horn at home…

Amos: My greatest fear is that I will never be able to persuade John Adams to write us a piece!

Niall: Probably watching an entire episode of Coronation Street!

Where do you see yourselves as an ensemble in 10 years time?

Amos: World domination! 

David: Yes, and hopefully just chugging away at what we do best. Digging out new repertoire and performing it in a non gimmicky, but informative way

Ok my final question. What is your favourite ever piece of music?

Amos: Aaargh. I’m going to have to say ‘Daphnis and Chlöe’.

Niall: I don’t have one, and if I did it would change every week. But I know you’re simply dying for an answer so I’m going to say ‘Rite of Spring’!

For more information about Onyx, have a look at their website www.onyxbrass.co.uk, and catch a glimpse of their work below in a clip from their recent tour to Ireland.

Read more

Article source: http://www.mysouthbank.co.uk/news/read-an-interview-with-onyx-brass

Ramos claims he has repeatedly
failed to convince the Traffic Management
Office TMO to meet as a council
to discuss urgent possibilities such as
the imposition of the no-parking rule
in downtown highway roads which are;
Perdices, Real, Silliman Ave and the
Flores Avenue.

Another is his proposal to split he
2,500 tricycles into two zones.
The LTO chief believes his presence
in the traffic management council
is inutile because most of his recommendations
to decongest traffic in
the city are all pinned down. He made
it clear that he is not resigning as LTO
chief but as member of the traffic management
council only.

He said the mayor as TMO chairman,
can always find a replacement
for his seat in the council, as he expressed
surprise when an ordinance
establishing the alternate day traffic
scheme for motorcabs was already
scheduled for a public hearing which
is similar to his version.

The proposed ordinance is
authored by Coun. Dan Leon, Vice
Mayor Alan Gel Cordova, councilors
Franklin Esmena, Jr., Jose Victor
Imbo and Erwin Michael Macias.
Ramos was referring to his recommendations
to split and disperse
the 2,500 motor cabs in different
zones of the city, the first half of which will be allowed to ply the commercial
district, and the other
half of the units to operate in
the outskirts of the city.

“As odds and evens as
they will be numbered, these
tricycles will switch routes
daily or weekly. A dry run for
one month will not affect much,
but why are city officials blocking
his good proposal? Is it because
some elective local officials
might get the ire of tricycle
drivers and lose votes in
2013?” Ramos asked.

Another recommendation
of the LTO chief is for the conduct
of a dry run of a traffic
scheme along the main highway,
which is Real Street.

Ramos was merely requesting
the city to disallow
motorcabs from plying Real
Street, out of four national
highways inside Dumaguete —
-and if not doable, it can be
shelved.

However, Ramos’ recommendation
was held in abeyance
since it was presented in
September last year, prompting
him to believe that his ideas are
not anymore needed in the traffic
management council.//jg
 

Article source: http://www.negroschronicle.com/web-archives/headlines/LTO%20brass%20bolts%20traffic%20council.html?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=540&width=850

Click here to find out which other top insider buys by the ”top brass” you need to know about »

Mason bets big on VCI:

Mason’s average cost works out to $20.37/share. Shares of Valassis Communications, Inc. were changing hands at $21.01 at last check, trading up about 3.1% on Monday. The chart below shows the one year performance of VCI shares, versus its 200 day moving average:

Looking at the chart above, VCI’s low point in its 52 week range is $14.71 per share, with $31.95 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $21.01.

VCI makes up 2.30% of the Dynamic Media Portfolio ETF (AMEX: PBS)

Special Offer: Small cap value stocks have outperformed the markets since the end of the recession — see what you’ve been missing with this free 30 day trial

Article source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dividendchannel/2012/05/14/top-buys-by-top-brass-ceo-masons-101-8k-bet-on-vci/

Utah Premiere Brass will perform its spring concert, “Brass on Broadway,” on Monday, May 14, at the SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem.

The show starts at 7 p.m. The SCERA is at 745 S. State St., Orem.

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UPB, founded in 2000, is British-style brass band featuring 30 horn musicians. Dr. Kirt Saville is the music director.

Admission is $10 for adults, and $8 for seniors, students (with ID) and children 12 and under. Tickets are available at the door, or through the SCERA website, http://www.scera.org.

Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Article source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment/54097710-81/brass-scera-premiere-utah.html.csp

Catch up with the group as they answer questions about life inside and outside the music world.

You’ve been working together as an ensemble for quite a while now, what has been the highlight of your career so far?

Andrew: It was probably our first ever performance at Wigmore Hall. Our reception brought me very close to blubbing!

Amos: We’re lucky enough to have had lots of highlights! Our Wigmore Hall début is definitely up there, but doing a masterclass and recital at the Juilliard School in NYC was great too (with a great meal after which also sticks in the memory…)

Two composers have commissioned works for the concert (Andrew Hamilton and Dan Jenkins). What challenges/rewards has each new commission presented you with?

Amos: Andrew’s piece looks simple on paper, but that’s highly deceptive! It’s completely original and full of emotion, and the challenge lies in achieving accuracy and pathos at the same time. 

Niall: It’s always fun deconstructing a new piece. Usually new pieces look fantastically difficult and prove to be slightly easier than expected. The Hamilton was the opposite! It looked very simple at first sight and in fact proved to be quite difficult.

Dave: Without giving the game away, the Jenkins has a specific set of challenges centred around being extrovert, which has a different appeal to different members of the group. As in each new commission case we have had over the years, there is an inner satisfaction that we are able to help contribute to what is a relatively meagre repertory.

If you could commission a piece for Onyx from any one great composer of the past, who would it be?

Andrew: Beethoven! If we could have anything like the late string quartets, brass quintet as a medium would be so much more mainstream!

Niall: Well it’s a difficult because how can one imagine how Brahms or Beethoven would have written for that line up? I’d like to try a quintet by Haydn though – very difficult tuba parts I should think!

Great answers! Do you think anything is lost or gained from arranging these classic works from the repertory for brass ensemble?

David: The purists will say a lot has been lost but I would encourage them to wake up and smell the coffee! All the great composers, Bach especially, were happy to rearrange their music. If it means it appears in the public domain more often then it has to be in everyone’s interests.

For this project you are teaming up with the baritone Mark Stone. How would you describe Mark’s voice in one word?

David: I’d say Velvety…

Niall: Treacle?

Amos: Hmm. Bovril! (warm, smooth and meaty!)

So if you could do karaoke with Mark Stone, what would you sing?

Amos: It would be ignominious, but probably Burt Bacharach’s “Close to you”…

David: I’d have to go for “How Deep is Your Love” – the Bee Gees version.

That sounds like a great future collaboration! So do you guys have any strange pre/post-performance rituals that you go through?

David: We strip our clothes off and dance around a fire chanting to the Greek Gods of music. No that is a lie. We just relax and chat usually, taking the Mick out of ourselves and each other.

I was worried for a moment there, but it sounds fun! So when the concerts end and you get time off, what hobbies do you have outside of music?

Andrew: I enjoy cycling and Real Ale (not any old beer and certainly not mass produced lager!)

David: Well, trying to raise two children and see as much of my family as possible, combined with tuba playing, does not leave much time for other stuff. But when there is more time, I hope to go to the theatre a bit more. I love it.

What is your greatest fear?

Andrew: Leaving the bell section or mouthpiece of my horn at home…

Amos: My greatest fear is that I will never be able to persuade John Adams to write us a piece!

Niall: Probably watching an entire episode of Coronation Street!

Where do you see yourselves as an ensemble in 10 years time?

Amos: World domination! 

David: Yes, and hopefully just chugging away at what we do best. Digging out new repertoire and performing it in a non gimmicky, but informative way

Ok my final question. What is your favourite ever piece of music?

Amos: Aaargh. I’m going to have to say ‘Daphnis and Chlöe’.

Niall: I don’t have one, and if I did it would change every week. But I know you’re simply dying for an answer so I’m going to say ‘Rite of Spring’!

For more information about Onyx, have a look at their website www.onyxbrass.co.uk, and catch a glimpse of their work below in a clip from their recent tour to Ireland.

Read more

Article source: http://www.mysouthbank.co.uk/news/read-an-interview-with-onyx-brass-ahead-of-their-purcell-room-performance

MAXIMALS
PHASE 1
Optimus Primal (Black and silver gorilla. Will go with an OP just not sure from which movie)
Rhinox
Rattrap (The rat non wheeled version)
Dinobot (Tan raptor look)
Cheetor (Original cheetah look)

PHASE 2
Tigatron (Probably should be same figure as Cheetor)
Airrazor (Just not Arcee, I still want her as a Flyer. If I have to I’ll put breasts on a robot, lol.)

PHASE 3
Silverbolt
Depthcharge

PREDACONS
PHASE 1
Megatron (My favorite look for him, the Barney look)
Waspinator
Tarantulas (Original purple spider)
Terrorsaur
Scorponok (He will get claws)

PHASE 2
Inferno
Blackarachnia (I hated her as a TM, keeping her the black and gold black widow)

PHASE 3
Quickstrike
Rampage

-Tony

Article source: http://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/new-project-need-input-p1379496.php

HOLBEACH Town Band has been selected to take part in the 2012 Brass the Baton relay.

The band will receive the black baton on June 4 for use when the band plays for the lighting of the Holbeach beacon for the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The black baton will return to Holbeach on July 4 and will be used by the Holbeach Victoria Training Band when it plays as the Olympic torch goes through the town.

The band has to use the baton while it plays a new piece of music called Going the Distance, which was specifically commissioned.

Having used the baton, the players have to deliver it to the next band in the relay, and as yet it is not know which band this is.

Bands are encouraged to find innovative ways of using the baton and the bands’ two events are for very special occasions.

See the extract on the website www.mad4bb.com

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Article source: http://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/community/community-news/brass-the-baton-relay-1-3826008

That wasn’t a problem Saturday for the inaugural game at BBVA Compass Stadium. The game was a sellout at 22,039 fans. There were no tickets to sell.

That gave Leiweke and other Dynamo and AEG executives, past and present, ample time to admire the fruits of six years of negotiating and planning that produced the team’s new $95 million home.

“It’s beautiful, and I’m really proud of the fact we figured out a way to do it without the taxpayers having to write a check,” he said. “I thank everyone for being patient while we figured it out.”

Leiweke and AEG chairman Philip Anschutz, who owns 50 percent of the Dynamo, were joined by Oscar de la Hoya, the retired boxer who is a minority partner in the team, and Oliver Luck, the former team president who is now athletic director at the University of West Virginia.

“I’m so happy to see the fans here with their families to enjoy the day,” de la Hoya said. “We worked really hard for this, and everybody cooperated. Everybody wanted this (stadium), especially the fans.”

Luck, who received among the biggest rounds of applause from the team’s supporters in the south end zone bleachers prior to kickoff, said the stadium lived up to his expectations.

“Every stadium deal has issues, and were able to solve them with cooperation from the city and county and from good people across the board,” he said, “The bottom line is that we got it done and did it in a responsible manner for everyone, including the taxpayers.”

Luck wore his bright orange jacket, and there plenty of orange for sale elsewhere, too. Fans lined up to get into the team gift shop, where they had to stand in line to snake their way through racks of jerseys, T-shirts and caps, ending in the obligatory checkout line.

Pedro Benitez of Houston, who spent more than $250 on two Dynamo jerseys, said the new stadium will be a beacon for Houston’s East End.

“This is a pretty bad-ass day,” he said. “This stadium is going to be a great attribute to Houston. It’s a great advertisement for the city.”

Members of the four supporters groups also took possession Saturday of their bleacher area in the south end zone, which seats about 500. Several supporters met Friday with MLS commissioner Don Garber to discuss issues related to fans’ rights and conduct policies, and James Hromadka of the Texian Army said discussions went well.

“(Garber) was very cool and very candid, and we got straightforward answers,” he said.

Hromadka said the Texian Army’s good time began even before the group entered the stadium.

“Every time we were at Robertson it was a home game, but we were always tenants,” he said. “Now you feel like it’s yours. We were at our tailgate today, and it felt like we were on our property.”

Team president Chris Canetti said the opener was a signature moment for a team and a sport he thinks will continue to grow.

“This stadium provides more than stability. It provides an incredible future for growth,” he said.

“MLS is going to become the second most popular sport in this country at some point, behind the NFL. People don’t believe me. They don’t want to accept it. But I’m in the middle of it. I’m seeing what happens. We’re thinking big here. We’re not happy just being stable.”

david.barron@chron.com

Article source: http://www.chron.com/sports/dynamo/article/Dynamo-AEG-brass-reflect-on-stadium-s-opening-3554333.php

Tampa — Coming off a ground-breaking season, Sunlake’s football program is looking to reach new heights despite losing many of the key playmakers that took the Seahawks to the region semifinals of the Class 6A playoffs.Players like quarterback Cameron Stoltz, athletes Rashaud Daniels and Jamal Jones and…

» Read More

Article source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47402111

Peter Vecsey

If Nuggets president Josh Kroenke and general manager Masai Ujiri have made an important personnel mistake in the two years since their minds meshed as Babes in David Stern’s Toyland, feel free to alert me to it.

Regardless of the Game 7 outcome last night against the once heavily favored Lakers, the patient and prudent duet has transformed folly into a force after seemingly being ensnared for half a season in Carmelo Anthony’s tricked-out briar patch.

While hoodwinked outsiders believed Kroenke and Ujiri to be palmed hostages of Melo the Merciless, for months they played the Knicks and Nets against each other and copped far more than the original sticker price.

It pains me to concede Camp Cablevision concierge James Dolan was not alone in being masterfully manipulated by the Nuggets’ juvenile scam artists in blue jeans. Jewels also were shoplifted this season from the Blazers, Mavericks and Wizards.

Kroenke and Ujiri converted Raymond Felton, part of the Knicks booty, into Portland’s Andre Miller. The floor plan — wholly sanctioned, if not initiated, by coach George Karl — was to show Ty Lawson how much trust the coaching staff and management had in him as a scoring point guard, first by packaging Chauncey Billups with Melo then by substituting a young starter for an elderly understudy.

In a separate stroke of genius, listlessly endorsed in this space, Nene was exchanged for Washington’s JaVale McGee, whose finger rolls and one-handed dunks from 3-point range bring back thrilling images of Wilt Chamberlain and Connie Hawkins. Had rookie Kenneth Faried, a hardcore hitman plucked No. 22 in last year’s draft, not matured so rapidly, it’s doubtful management would have chanced giving up their chronically-wounded macho forward.

No pulse was even taken when Corey Brewer, a little-used member of Dallas’ championship congregation (23 minutes in six playoff games), and Rudy Fernandez were imported to Denver on Dec. 13, 2011.

Ten months after signing the amped-up 6-foot-8 free agent to a baffling three-year, $9 million guarantee, Mark Cuban surrendered the two-time titlist at Florida and the sharp-shooting Spaniard for — get this — a future second-round selection … additional salary-cap dumps that were overlooked in the wake of the departure of free agents Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea, DeShawn Stevenson and Caron Butler.

Many talent scouts projected Brewer, chosen No. 7 overall in the 2007 draft by the Timberwolves, would be more effective as a pro than college teammates Al Horford and Joakim Noah.

Article source: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/nuggets_brassy_brass_made_out_like_UB93BC2MhesMYfxpCKKg2L?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=More%20Sports

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Lakers issued a statement publicly backing Mike Brown on Saturday after Magic Johnson declared the first-year head coach would be fired if Los Angeles lost Game 7 of its first-round playoff series with Denver.

The club issued its statement a few hours before the third-seeded Lakers hosted the Nuggets in the series finale.

Johnson spoke Friday night on ESPN, where he serves as an analyst. The Hall of Famer sold his minority ownership stake in the Lakers, but is still a club vice president and a close friend of the Buss family, which owns the team.

“The opinion expressed yesterday by Magic Johnson regarding Mike Brown was his personal opinion and was made in his role as a TV analyst,” the team statement read. “His words were not made on behalf of the Los Angeles Lakers, and in no way do they reflect the feelings or position of team ownership or management. We are fully committed to and supportive of Mike Brown as head coach of the Lakers.”

Johnson also said 7-footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol will be “run … out of town” if the 16-time champion Lakers are eliminated by Denver.

A year ago, Brown replaced 11-time NBA champion coach Phil Jackson, who walked away from the franchise after the Lakers’ second-round loss to Dallas last spring. Brown led the Lakers to their fifth straight Pacific Division title and a 41-25 record, but Los Angeles lost two straight closeout games this week against the Nuggets, leading to a winner-take-all Game 7.

Brown brushed off Johnson’s comments during the Lakers’ shootaround Saturday morning. Brown has two more guaranteed years on his contract with a fourth-year option, making an average of $4.5 million per season.

“Magic is a good guy, and he’s entitled to his opinion,” Brown said. “Magic has a job to do, and one of his jobs is to voice his opinion. He’s a great guy. There’s nothing for me to be concerned about there. I’m coaching to win this game tonight, and that’s it.”

Denver coach George Karl wasn’t quite as kind shortly before Game 7, saying Magic’s comments were “totally out of control.”

“That statement is wild and crazy,” Karl added. “It’s ESPN-ish. I think he got another year on his contract for that.”

Johnson and other Lakers legends often weigh in with dramatic pronouncements about the current teams. James Worthy frequently provides meaty sound bites in his role as a local television studio analyst – and last year, Johnson famously declared the Lakers should “blow up” the roster after their second-round loss to Dallas.

Johnson has been busy lately with his new job as a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he still found time to criticize Brown, a successful coach who has won just about everything but a championship.

Brown won 272 games over five seasons with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who fired him in 2010 after losing in the second round. The Cavs reached the NBA finals in 2007, and Brown was the NBA’s coach of the year in 2009 after Cleveland went 66-16.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Article source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/basketball/nba/05/12/lakers.magic.johnson.ap/index.html?sct=nba_t2_a5&xid=si_nba

At the Annual Welcome Spring event, along with tunes from their successful CD It’s a Jungle Out There, Jambalaya Brass Band will be performing other original and traditional favorites. The band’s foundation will be provided by Ralph Hamperian on Tuba, Kevin Razcke on Snare Drum, and Dave Butler on Bass Drum—and this rhythm section cooks on high octane, so be sure to bring your dancing shoes! Filling out this tasty gumbo and adding the spice on top will be the trombone of Curtis Fowlkes, the trumpet of Frank London, and the tenor sax of leader and founder Ric Frank, an alumnus of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.

“Jambalaya could stand side-by-side with… any New Orleans brass band in terms of sheer exuberance and energy… a party from start to finish.” —Henry Smith for All About Jazz

The Jambalaya Brass Band is a group of seasoned musical pros from a variety of impressive previous musical settings as diverse as the Duke Ellington Orchestra to the Lounge Lizards, yet they have a knack for integrating these disparate musical experiences into one dynamic setting. They embody the history of the best American music of the last hundred years while at the same time suggesting a prescient trajectory of America’s musical future. Some of the Band’s arrangements are traditional, and many are original and innovative while the playing is precise and spontaneous at the same time, yet all is conceived with imagination and wit. After-all, this is New Orleans party music and Jambalaya Brass Band is a joyous and exuberant musical celebration as they have proven on many occasions. From the Warner Bros. film Where the Wild Things Are, to the Britney Spears Super Bowl Party in New York City at Planet Hollywood, to the half-time Mardi Gras show for the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden this group of talented musical revelers has literally made the party.

It’s a Jungle Out There is a rollicking musical journey and a great celebration of American music while at the same time an appetizing preview of what this group is capable of live. Putting on It’s a Jungle Out There at a party is a sure bet, but seeing these talented players live really brings the party directly home to you.

Time: From 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Admission: Free

Location: Begins at 35th St., just East of 10th Ave., across 35th to 9th Ave., up 9th Ave. to 40th St.

Visit Website

Article source: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=97150

1. We’ve been saying this for the last couple of seasons, but it might finally ring true in 2012: Florida State has enough talent to return to the upper echelon of college football. The Seminoles are going to be as talented as any defense in the country. Quarterback EJ Manuel returns for his senior season, and the Seminoles did a good job rebuilding their offensive line this spring. FSU is going to have to stay healthy and run the ball more effectively to play in a BCS bowl game.

2. Don’t sleep on Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets return what many believe might be the best offensive line in coach Paul Johnson’s tenure at Tech. Quarterback Tevin Washington doesn’t do anything spectacularly, but he avoids mistakes and operates Johnson’s triple-option spread offense well. If Tech can find a nose guard to run defensive coordinator Al Groh’s 3-4 defense, it will be a tough out in the ACC.

3. Clemson might have the best receiver tandem in the country. We knew sophomore Sammy Watkins was a superstar and one of the best playmakers in the country. But DeAndre Hopkins would be the No. 1 receiver on any other team in the conference — and maybe the country. Quarterback Tajh Boyd has two receivers who will give ACC defensive coordinators some sleepless nights.

4. North Carolina is going to play really, really fast under new coach Larry Fedora. The Tar Heels won’t be eligible to play in a bowl game this coming season because of NCAA probation, but it might end up being a blessing for Fedora. The Tar Heels will learn Fedora’s no-huddle spread offense without much pressure or expectations.

5. Virginia Tech has won at least 10 games in eight consecutive seasons, the longest such streak in the country. We’re used to the Hokies simply reloading every season under coach Frank Beamer. It might not be as easy this season, though. Virginia Tech must replace four offensive linemen, tailback David Wilson and top receivers Danny Coale and Jarrett Boykin. The Hokies will probably be slow out of the gates.

Article source: http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/38762/five-things-we-learned-in-the-acc

“He knew the estimates, for sure,” Maj.-Gen. Jon Vance said. “In fact, he presents the estimates to cabinet. So yes, the minister would have known what the all-up estimated costs of the mission could be.”

The revelation, coming weeks after the Conservative government admitted it did not reveal the F-35 would cost $25 billion, likely will reinforce allegations Canadians have been misled and put pressure on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to replace MacKay.

As reported by Postmedia News on Thursday, figures buried in a Defence Department report tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday put the full price of the Libya mission at nearly $350 million, including more than $100 million in “incremental costs.”

The Defence Department generally does not report full costs — an issue that has been at the heart of the F-35 controversy — but it generally is expected to reveal incremental costs, which are those deemed to have been incurred specifically because of a mission.

The $100-million figure stood in stark contrast to comments made by MacKay to CBC in late October, when he told Canadians the incremental costs were less than $50 million — which he noted was about $10 million less than the Defence Department had predicted.

MacKay warned during that interview that “there could be more costs that come in after the fact,” but the $50-million figure was later broadcast to other media outlets by MacKay’s office and widely regarded as the mission’s final tally.

Vance, speaking at a hastily-arranged news conference at National Defence Headquarters on Friday afternoon, said the military had told MacKay before his interview that the incremental costs for the Libya mission were expected to top $106 million.

“We’re pretty proud of them because they were very accurate,” Vance added regarding the Defence Department’s estimate.

In the House of Commons on Friday, MacKay said he was simply stating what the cost of the mission had been as of mid-October, and that extra costs were incurred as equipment and personnel returned home from the mission.

Opposition parties, however, drew a link with recent revelations the government failed to reveal weeks before the last election that the F-35 stealth fighter program would cost $25 billion and not the $14.7 billion that was put forward by the Defence Department.

“Every time (MacKay) speaks you’re going: ‘Well, is this the real number or is it going to change by tomorrow?’” NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar said. “The buck stops with Peter MacKay and the bucks aren’t being counted properly. And that’s his job.”

“When the real numbers become available, they’re just quietly slipped in under the table, hoping no one will notice,” Liberal deputy leader Ralph Goodale said. “This seems to us to be a deeply troubled department with a minister that is just not capable of handling the job.”

Opposition members refused to call for MacKay’s resignation, but that may be only a matter of time.

They already have accused MacKay of incompetence after he incorrectly claimed last month that the F-35s’ $25-billion cost estimate came from the parliamentary budget officer when it was actually his own department’s number.

The minister also has been criticized for being picked up from a private fishing lodge in Newfoundland two years ago by a search-and-rescue helicopter.

lberthiaume@postmedia.com

Twitter:/leeberthiaume

Article source: http://www.canada.com/news/Military+brass+says+MacKay+knew+full+estimated+cost+Libya+mission/6608693/story.html

The Nets may not re-sign Deron Williams this summer, but it won’t be for a lack of trying.

The star point guard, who repeatedly has said he will opt out of the final year of his contract to test free agency this summer, spent yesterday in Istanbul, Turkey with Nets general manager Billy King and, as first reported by The Post, owner Mikhail Prokhorov.

It only can be seen as a good sign for the Nets that Williams would choose to spend time with King and Prokhorov during the offseason.

With Williams officially under contract until June 30 — the deadline for when he has to decide to exercise the early termination option in his deal — the Nets have a two-month head start on the competition to show Williams he should remain with the franchise and be the face of the team’s transition to Brooklyn this fall.

Last week, King said he would be in Istanbul for this weekend’s Euroleague Final Four so he could meet with the Nets’ second-round pick in 2011, swingman Bojan Bogdanovic. Though it wasn’t known Williams was planning on making the trip, as well, it makes sense. He spent last fall playing in Istanbul for Turkish power Besiktas during the lockout.

Williams was one of the lone stars to agree to play overseas during the work stoppage, and has talked openly about how much he enjoyed his time there. Istanbul is only a few hours by plane away from Prokhorov’s home in Moscow.

The three men were on hand for the first of yesterday’s two Euroleague semifinals, watching Andrei Kirilenko lead CSKA Moscow, Prokhorov’s former team, to a hard-fought 66-64 win over Panathinaikos to advance to tomorrow’s final. Kirilenko finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for CSKA, and has an extensive history with Williams and Prokhorov.

Kirilenko and Williams were teammates with Utah from 2005 — when the Jazz drafted Williams — until they traded him to the Nets at the trading deadline in 2011. Instead of trying to return to the NBA this season, Kirilenko, who endorsed Prokhorov’s failed Russian presidential bid, decided to play for CSKA, where he played from 1998 to 2001 before going to Utah.

He went on to have a terrific season for CSKA, widely considered the best team in the world outside of the NBA and a heavy favorite to win the Euroleague title this weekend.

Considered one of the most versatile players in the NBA during his time with Utah, Kirilenko averaged 14.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.0 blocks while shooting 59 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range in Euroleague competition.

Multiple sources shot down a report last week that the Nets are nearing a verbal agreement with Kirilenko, but also said the Nets have monitored his performance this season.

If King and Prokhorov can convince Williams to re-sign, they will have plenty of room to augment the roster to their star’s desire. Only four Nets — guards Anthony Morrow and MarShon Brooks, forward Jordan Williams and center Johan Petro — currently have contracts for next season.

tbontemps@nypost.com

Article source: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/nets/nets_brass_deron_on_turkey_trip_t2gXkBMGyk51lsxSNLukIL?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Nets

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Published Saturday, May 12, 2012 12:16 AM

Eagle Staff Report

A 21-year-old Bellaire man was arrested for carrying brass knuckles, authorities said.

College Station police said officers stopped a vehicle with an expired registration about 1 a.m. Thursday. Officers said when they approached the driver’s side window, they could see a bag of marijuana sitting in the man’s lap.

Police said they also found a brass-colored pair of knuckles sitting under the driver seat. The man told officers he carried them because he lived in Houston and did not feel comfortable carrying a gun, according to police reports.

He was charged with the Class A misdemeanor of carrying a prohibited weapon and for possession of less than two ounces of marijuana.

He was released from the Brazos County Jail on $8,000 bail.

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Article source: http://www.theeagle.com/local/Brass-knuckles-found-during-man-s-arrest--7154613

The line separating prepaid card accounts and checking accounts continues to fade. The latest development is one that gives prepaid card users the ability to deposit checks by mobile phone. Mitek Systems, known for powering mobile-check deposits for the biggest U.S. banks, is now offering its popular technology to prepaid-card companies.

“Just as smartphones are the fastest growing segment in the telecom industry, prepaid is the fastest growing segment in the payments industry,” said James B. DeBello, CEO of Mitek Systems, during a presentation at a financial-technology conference in San Francisco. “So, we’ve decided to marry the two.”

Mitek Systems introduced the Mobile Check Cashing application, which functions like typical mobile check deposit — a customer uses a smartphone to take photos of the front and backs sides of an endorsed paper check. The funds are loaded into the prepaid card account.

However, a check depositor is also required to snap a photo of his or her driver’s license to validate the customer and to reduce risk to issuers. This step is not found in bank apps.

Mobile check cashing caters to an expanding prepaid card market that targets unbanked and underbanked Americans. There are 60 million Americans who fall under that category, according to the Federal Reserve. And, don’t forget the population who, as DeBello calls them, are “unhappily banked.”

Convenience lower costs

Most prepaid card do not offer check deposits as a method of reloading the account — direct deposit and online bank transfer are the most common options that are free. (Walmart allows deposits of certain types of checks with no fees.) Also, prepaid card users can purchase a reload card with cash, but that usually comes with a fee.

Cashing a check at Walmart costs $3 to $6, while mom-and-pop check-cashing facilities usually charge a fee equivalent to a small percentage of the check amount.

Mobile check cashing introduces a way to directly load funds from a check into a prepaid card, possibly for a fee. It is not as bad as it sounds. “In addition to the convenience, there is the potential of lower fees,” DeBello said in a phone interview.

Prepaid card customers can avoid paying to cash a check and then paying again to purchase a reload card.

Some banks already charge for mobile check deposit — U.S. Bank and BBT charges 50 cents per mobile check deposit.

Mitek Systems is currently in “deep talks” with several major prepaid program managers, reload networks providers and current partners to offer mobile check cashing, DeBello said. DeBello could not share more details due to non-disclosure agreements.

Mitek Systems has partnerships with 250 U.S. financial institutions, including 8 of the 10 largest U.S. banks.

Article source: http://www.mybanktracker.com/bank-news/2012/05/10/mobile-check-deposit-coming-prepaid-card-users/

Destructoid reports that the reason EA has been behind the rented player servers so much for Battlefield 3 so that they can slowly exit from hosting their own servers, while still making money on people who continue to play the game online. The rented servers went live back in April and now, just barely a month later, the company is backing down their own servers in promotion of the user-rented ones.

According to Game Informer the servers haven’t gone anywhere, though, and a spokesman offers the following explanation…

DICE is not shutting down servers. If DICE-managed servers appear unavailable, it is because they have been rented and customized by players. DICE will continue to add servers and will reserve a percentage of servers for players who prefer to connect through DICE-hosted servers.

Custom Servers have always been extremely popular with Battlefield PC players. With Battlefield 3, we’ve introduced a Custom Servers program to console gamers. Response has been overwhelmingly positive. Custom Servers gives players the ability to tailor the settings and parameters of a given server, which directly affects gameplay. It also gives players more choice as they select which server and gameplay style they like best.

The “dangerous precedent” now lies with the potentially good and bad of this situation: The good is that gamers can keep a game alive with their own rented servers, the problem is that it’s quite costly, at $30 for 30 days. As you can imagine, someone paying for a year’s worth of a rented server just dumped $360 into EA’s coffers. Even though EA says that the servers haven’t gone anywhere in their response to Game Informer, according to VentureBeat they report that only 17 official EA servers are still active for the PS3 version of Battlefield 3, which may incline more and more gamers to rent a server for Battlefield 3. It’s interesting because this is already coupled in with the game’s online pass and the microtransaction cash shop EA opted to include as well.

Many unassuming gamers will probably respond with “Well, it’s better than them closing down servers for good like Battlefield 2, EA Sport’s MMA or Dragon Age II.” However, that’s not really the case here, it’s not about them shutting down servers early but removing any expense on their end and dumping it on the consumer’s end. That’s right, now we’re paying to keep their games running, after paying to own the game (or if you got it used, paying to access the multiplayer). I’m sure a lot of people don’t see the harm in this, but EA is slowly offloading more and more expenses onto consumers, probably to make up for the bloated marketing spending.

I always imagined that the rented servers were just supposed to be optional means to setup serverside administration rights and rules, and cater the game to the host’s server rule-sets, just like when hosting a dedicated server on most PC games. However, it never dawned on me (or apparently the rest of the community) that EA would eventually evaporate their own servers and promote user-rented servers in their place. Effectively, it’s a good business strategy to further milk consumers on a product they already paid for.

Much like with day-one DLC, I’m pretty sure we can expect to see more rented servers appear for future EA multiplayer games.

Article source: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/EA-Closing-Official-Battlefield-3-Servers-Place-Rented-Servers-42425.html

Smith, the director of player development and international scouting for the San Diego Padres, got in town in time Wednesday to watch pitcher Adys Portillo take a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

Portillo anchors the pitching staff, which has been the strength of the TinCaps a little more than a month into this season.

“His curveball has improved tremendously. His tempo, his rhythm. His mechanics are a little cleaner,” Smith said. “His delivery is simpler. He looks great. I’m really happy for him. He’s worked so hard. If anybody deserves it, he does.”

Fort Wayne is second in the Midwest League with a 3.15 ERA. In the last five games, the TinCaps have a collective 1.34 ERA.

“If anybody has better pitching than us, I’d like to see it,” Smith said. “These kids all have great arms. They all have a great opportunity to pitch in the big leagues.”

Closer Matt Stites hasn’t given up a run in 13 innings. He has 20 strikeouts and no walks.

“His numbers are stupid,” Smith said. “You look at his numbers this year, they’re ridiculous. You look at his career numbers (1.82 ERA last year, 32 2/3 innings pitched, 36 strikeouts and eight walks last season between Peoria, Ariz. and Eugene, Ore.), I emailed Willie and he said, ‘Are those right?’ They are Nintendo numbers.”

Smith is taking a patient approach with the offense. The TinCaps are 14th in the 16-team league with a .236 batting average.

The team is missing outfielder Donavan Tate. The No. 3 overall pick in 2009 is on the disabled list with a hamstring injury. He played only six games in Fort Wayne after suffering a knee injury.

“If Donavan didn’t have bad luck, he’d have no luck at all,” Smith said. “We’re at the point where hopefully he’s gone through all the injuries and we can get him out there and keep him out there and get him going. He’s anxious to get back. He’s shown that when he’s on the field, he’s pretty good. We just need to keep him on the field.”

Smith pointed to Jace Peterson (.315 average), Travis Whitmore (.271), Austin Hedges (.269), Duanel Jones (.270) as standouts at the plate.

“Peterson has been fantastic from the first day,” Smith said before the game. Peterson had to leave Thursday’s game after a collision with pitcher Colin Rea. “He’s a born leader. I love the way he plays the game.

“Hedges has been very good. Actually, he’s probably exceeding expectations offensively at this point. He’s so young (19) and to come here, and I’d say the same thing about Jones, too. Both of those guys have held their own.”

“As it continues to warm up and we have homestands that last a couple of series where we can get some work done, we’ll see the offense pick up. These guys are all capable of hitting. The offense isn’t where we want it to be right now, but I think it will continue to get better.”

lpope@jg.net

Article source: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120511/SPORTS0604/305119932/-1/SPORTS12

View full sizeCornelia SeigneurAndy Harris

A fundraising concert for the group is set for May 20 at 3 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church at 1838 S.W. Jefferson Street in West Linn.

Tickets are $ 15 general admission for adults and $10 dollars for those 18 and under.

“We are trying to get enough money to pay the musicians and to help carry out our mission,” said Harris, the group’s music director, who plays trombone and euphonium.

He initially started the group because of his passion for playing brass music. Their specialty is Christmas music, and they have an album out called “Christmas with the Big Horn Brass.”

Nonprofit status will allow the group to increase educational outreach, as well as commission new arrangements by local composers, said Harris, a trombone instructor who has played with Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Oregon Renaissance Band, and the Moody Blues.

“I wanted to create something, more of an institution, something that would last, that we could pass on,” Harris said. “We want to be a great forum for great musicians to share with others, that would perpetuate throughout the years.”

For more information, e-mail Harris director@bighornbrass.org.

— Cornelia Seigneur

Article source: http://www.oregonlive.com/west-linn/index.ssf/2012/05/big_horn_brass_to_host_fundrai.html

Brass knuckles and a loaded semi-automatic gun were found in the trunk of a car searched by Walla Walla police gang detectives, authorities said.

Two gang members also were arrested after officers got a call at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday about gang members trying to start a fight in the 900 block of West Birch Avenue, said Walla Walla police Officer Tim Bennett.

The suspects had left in three vehicles when officers arrived.

A short time later, however, a Walla Walla County sheriff’s deputy saw a car with two suspects who had been involved in the earlier incident, he said.

The deputy contacted them after they parked their car and both had warrants for their arrest.

Abel Valdez, 19, was booked into the Walla Walla County jail on the warrant and for investigation of possessing drug paraphernalia.

The second suspect, a teen, was taken to the juvenile justice center.

After the brass knuckles and gun were discovered, the teen claimed the gun was his, Bennett said. The teen is a convicted felon and gang member, and now is being held on investigation of being a felon in possession of a gun.

Article source: http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/05/11/1936721/walla-walla-detectives-find-brass.html

51

Add to My News

Story by Nathan Grayson

Wed, May 09, 2012 | 11:28 BST

Nathan Grayson pulls no punches in his attack on the core gaming press, issuing a rallying cry to promote and support one of the most important sectors of our rapidly transitioning industry.

Here we are, largely ignoring the best and brightest on one of the most ubiquitous platforms in the world because… why? Are we afraid to expand our horizons the tiniest bit? If, as alleged journalists, can’t even be bothered to pick up a different rectangle than the ones we’ve grown accustomed to, then I’m forced to ask: what the hell are we doing?

I think I might be a bad person. I’ve played god, you see – and quite a lot, to boot. Oh, but that’s not the bad part. No, when handed said great power – the forces of birth and death literally at my fingertips – I may have manipulated it for cheap, slightly maniacal laughs. In short, I managed to, sort of on accident, tie a fully functioning ecosystem into an infinite suicide loop where spider-like plant aliens continuously birthed their young directly into the jaws of an evil jump rope monster. I accomplished all of this through gardening. Mars gardening.

The game? Waking Mars. At this point, I’d have to say it’s one of my favorite games of the year. And that’s only the beginning of the story.

So, having sown the seeds of life into the extremely fertile soils of certain demise, I fired up my jetpack and pressed on – oddly proud of my perpetual murder machine. As the hours passed, however, I found myself feeling legitimately terrible about my act of early game callousness. Mars, as it turns out, can be a pretty lonely place, and these twisted entanglements of otherworldly tendrils – obvious enemies in any other sidescroller – became beacons of warm familiarity. They were extremely skittish creatures, but I’d feed them seeds nonetheless – at first to make them multiply in an effort to solve puzzles, but eventually because I simply enjoyed their company. None of this was scripted, either. It just sort of ended up, well, happening.

I’ve never had an experience quite like that in a game before. I sort of completely despise spiders and anything that looks vaguely spider-esque. But then, Waking Mars subverts quite a few expectations – principally by, you know, being an iOS-exclusive. Conventional wisdom says it should be a nickel-and-dime-driven insult to your intelligence with less depth than a puddle located on the surface of the sun. But, as it often tends to be, conventional wisdom is wrong. So very, very wrong.

And yet, it continues to color the entire discussion surrounding iOS games with shocking cynicism. “They’re not real games,” core players clamor. “They’re just a bunch of cheap minigames vying to be the next Angry Birds.” And though we critics and in-the-know gamer types claim to be above all of that nonsense, I don’t think we actually are. After all, larger “core” gaming sites (VG247 included) tend to spotlight iOS titles only when there’s a convenient link back to the console/PC world’s heaviest hitters. Max Payne, Burnout, Baldur’s Gate, etc are getting iOS ports? Story! Battlefield 3′s been removed from the App Store because it’s garbage? Story! Team Meat’s Edmund McMillen makes a giant blanket statement that hardly applies to all mobile games? Story!

Meanwhile, mobile-focused sites tend to take a rapid-fire evaluative approach to the scene’s rarely reloading shotgun torrent of a release schedule. BLAM. Five reviews. BOOM. Six more reviews. KABIFFTHWACKPOWZOTT. Look, now all those games we reviewed are on sale! It’s a senses-overwhelming fast lane of announcements, releases, and reviews that – to be frank – mirrors the horrific organization of the App Store instead of making sense of it.

Waking Mars

Waking Mars is basically amazing, and available from the App Store for $2.99.

There’s no focus – just volume. Waking Mars gets just as much consideration as the latest Infinity Blade clone or half-baked yet fully priced port of something we all played ten years ago. And we can discuss how that might harm developers or cork up the platform’s nearly bursting bottle of original ideas with risk-averse cautiousness, but as games writers, that’s not where our allegiance lies. First and foremost, we’re here to provide a service to our readers, and in that respect, I’d say we’re doing a pretty awful job.

We’re a resource. We tell passionate players about things that interest them. Generally, that means games – good ones, mostly. And when something’s truly interesting or worthy of merit, we give it the well-considered discussion it deserves. Said objects of our chin-stroking affections don’t even need to be mega-seller money magnets (see: Enslaved, Psychonauts, Chocolate Castle) or unanimously beloved (e.g. Far Cry 2). And yet, here we are, largely ignoring the best and brightest on one of the most ubiquitous platforms in the world because… why? Are we afraid to expand our horizons the tiniest bit? If, as alleged journalists – people who are paid to uncover new, interesting, and relevant facts and ideas – we can’t even be bothered to pick up a different rectangle than the ones we’ve grown accustomed to, then I’m forced to ask: what the hell are we doing?

All of this in mind, is it any wonder that the Republiques of the world are failing to gain any traction? I mean, it’s very nearly ludicrous on paper. Here’s a highly cinematic stealth-action powerhouse with gobs of talent from Halo, FEAR, and, oh yeah, Metal Freaking Gear, and yet – unless some roving deity swoops in on the wings of a singing chorus of angel investors – it’s going to get an unceremonious boot from Kickstarter. “Maybe,” say many pundits, “it could’ve succeeded if Camouflaj announced a PC version straight out the gate.” Yes, because iOS is such an obscure platform.

So long as we cling to this outdated notion that iOS games can’t be smart or unique or capable of true depth, we’re holding our favorite medium back.

So long as we cling to this outdated notion that iOS games can’t be smart or unique or capable of true depth, we’re holding our favorite medium back. These tiny devices are – like it or not – the future of media, and yet, we’re treating them like something to be ashamed of or even feared. Actually, no, it’s even worse than that: we’re dismissing them. As ever, difference does not equate to inferiority. Rather, it opens up new, incredibly interesting possibilities. Mobile gaming will not peel back its tiny, innocuous facade to reveal a set of gigantic console-devouring teeth once it earns our trust. It’s another option, and it’s beginning to produce tons of interesting original content. So let’s talk about that.

But, to conclude, I pose this question: even if there was only one truly interesting mobile game, why wouldn’t it be worthy of further examination? Isn’t it our job as writers, critics, journalists and newshounds to be on the forefront of these things? “Up-to-the-minute” and “on-the-scene” shouldn’t preclude our coverage from having substance – sort of like how, you know, “mobile” and “quickly accessible” don’t have to come at the expense of depth. Waking Mars has a fully self-sufficient plant-based ecosystem that’s rooted in actual science. On Mars. And it’s really, really fun. Now try searching VG247 for an article about it. Oh, whoops. Maybe we’ll start paying attention now that it’s coming to PC, the oldest videogame platform on Earth.

[image]

Related posts

Max Payne Mobile dropping on Wednesday for iOS, Android version dropping April 26

Super Monkey Ball Vita demo dropping in Japan tomorrow

Saints Row: The Third trailer takes us out to the ball game

51
Posted in: Android, Mobile, Opinion, Windows Phone 7, iOS, indie
Tags: Waking Mars

Article source: http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/09/why-were-dropping-the-ball-on-mobile-game-coverage/

“My view is that the military has kind of moved beyond it. It’s become part and parcel of what they’ve accepted within the military,” Panetta told reporters during a Pentagon press conference.

Panetta’s comments come a day after President Barack Obama announced he supports same-sex marriage. And the defense secretary’s statement reflects what has been an assessment of the impact that gays serving openly would have on the military. Some military leaders initially had expressed concerns that repealing the 18-year-old ban could undermine unit cohesion, particularly among troops serving on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But a report to Panetta, obtained by The Associated Press, provides the individual assessments of all the military services and the combatant commands, and all said that as of May 1 they had seen no issues or impacts of the repeal.

The military service leaders have been sending Panetta monthly updates on the impact of the repeal, which took effect in September.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said he had seen no negative effects on military order or discipline.

“What were we afraid of is we didn’t know,” Dempsey said when asked why military officials were so worried about the repeal before it took effect. “I think that the way we were given a year to make this assessment to educate ourselves to collaborate, to build the sense of trust on this issue, and given that time to do it, I think it worked out well.”

The Pentagon’s worries were buttressed by early surveys that showed combat troops in particular — including 56 percent of Marines who served in combat — viewed repeal negatively in terms of how it could affect readiness and unit cohesion.

After the repeal date, however, defense officials said the concerns apparently were unfounded, and it turned out to be a “non-event.”

To date there appears to have been just one incident that may have involved anti-gay violence in the military.

Last month a Marine allegedly stabbed another Marine to death in Washington after a fight that reportedly began when the suspect used an anti-gay slur to refer to the victim. The slaying occurred near the Marine Barracks in southeast Washington.

Article source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/05/10/panetta-gay-ban-repeal-has-not-hurt-morale/

Faced with opposition from neighborhood groups, attempts to reactivate the license stalled in February, when Charles Street Restaurant, Inc., the holding company that operated the Brass Elephant, asked the liquor board for a postponement. 

On the eve of the February hearing, however, the association sent its members an email listing concerns about the plans for the property, particularly the inclusion of live entertainment.

“In a predominantly residential neighborhood, we don’t need another lounge at this location,” the Mount Vernon Belvedere Association wrote in a letter to the liquor board. “Within one block today are six nightclub/lounges plus five restaurant-bars.”

Live entertainment was dropped from The Museum’s plans, and the Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association took no position on the license’s reactivation at Thursday’s meeting. 

Known for its fine northern Italian cuisine and elegant atmosphere, the Brass Elephant closed in August 2009.

Article source: http://baltimore.feedsportal.com/c/34255/f/623016/s/1f3ddb07/l/0L0Sbaltimoresun0N0Cnews0Cmaryland0Cbal0Ebrass0Eelephant0Ereopen0Eas0Ethe0Emuseum0E20A120A510A0H0A0H190A8140Bstory0Dtrack0Frss/story01.htm

Thompson held a meeting with his top executives on Thursday to address a controversy over his  educational background that erupted a week ago.

Article source: http://chicagotribune.feedsportal.com/c/34253/f/622842/s/1f3e149d/l/0L0Schicagotribune0N0Cbusiness0Cbreaking0Cchi0Ethompson0Etells0Ebrass0Ehe0Enever0Egave0Eyahoo0Ea0Eresume0E20A120A510A0H0A0H40A670A50A0Bstory0Dtrack0Frss/story01.htm

There is always at least one team that might have to start from scratch because of coaching changes.

Coaches always use the spring to develop their younger players and answer questions surrounding their upcoming season. The fans have the opportunity to rekindle old rivalries and make plans for future championships.

And of course, the players are trying to make an impression on the coaching staff.

In Class 1A, we will see if the Opelousas Catholic Vikings can bounce back from a difficult 2011 campaign under second year head coach Jeff Jordan.

What will coach Thomas David and his Blue Jays do to replace his All-District combination of Adam Clause and David Scott Lafleur?

Will the Westminster Crusaders, led by Tommy Badon, be able to reload and win another district championship?

Will the football program at North Central find a coach to make them competitive with the other area 1A schools?

In Class 3A, can Mac Mistric bring back the glory days of Red Devil football in Port Barre?

Are the Northwest Raiders ready to make noise in the 3A ranks and compete with the likes of Eunice and Port Barre?

What plans does Coach Paul Trosclair have for the new crop of Bobcats?

Finally, what will the Beau Chene Gators and Opelousas High Tigers look like in Class 4A?

Is Beau Chene, led by veteran coach James Waguespack and all-parish performer Jamal Chavis, ready to make a run for the district championship?

Who will be the next coach and help quarterback Josh Fontenot lead the OHS Tigers back to the playoffs?

All nine St. Landry Parish schools will enter into spring with questions that need to be answered and shoes that need to be filled. There is one thing that is for sure, when spring practice is over, seniors will be one step closer to their final season and coaches will have a few more gray hairs.

Article source: http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/DH/20120509/SPORTS/205090308/Spring-football-hits-St-Landry-Parish?odyssey=mod_sectionstories

Article source: http://newhavenregister.com/articles/2012/05/10/news/doc4fabe5d7d43e0740106474.txt

(A British-style brass band typically incorporates cornets, flugelhorns, tenor horns, baritone horns, euphoniums, trombones, tubas and a percussion section.)

Utah Premiere Brass, which is set to perform at the SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem on Monday, is now in its 13th year of blaring brass bravura. Trombonist and UPB booking manager Matt Reynolds said that the group of 30-some players does about a dozen shows every year, at both indoor and outdoor venues, and also performs with youth players at Utah high schools and junior high schools.

The group does about four shows every year at the SCERA Center, Reynolds said: “The audiences there are really fun. People come in with popcorn and candy and drinks. It’s just a completely different type of venue.”

Utah Premiere Brass is most accustomed to performing at concert halls, but they also appear at venues, like the SCERA Showhouse, not specifically designed for instrumental music. Later on in May, they’ll be performing at another non-orchestral space, the Assembly Hall at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Because the two concerts are so close together, Reynolds said, UPB is doing the same program for both shows.

Whereas most UPB shows are themed, the agenda for both the SCERA Center and Assembly Hall shows is a little more loose. It’s sort of a grab-bag program, with bits of everything in the UPB repertoire. “We’ve got traditional brass band pieces, stuff from Broadway musicals, religious music, pop music, classical brass band marches,” Reynolds said.

One piece that Reynolds is particularly looking forward to is “The Plantagenets,” a “test piece” written specifically for brass band competitions. In Britain, Reynolds said, there’s an entire musical culture devoted to brass bands, which rehearse fanatically and compete against each other five or six times a year.

“The Plantagenets” was written by internationally known composer Edward Gregson in 1973, with the specific intention that it be used to challenge competitors at the National Brass Band Championships in Britain. The name of the piece is from the dynasty of kings who ruled England from 1154 to 1485; in his program notes, Gregson said that he chose the name to convey the spirit of that age.

Reynolds said that brass band test pieces are often technical exercises more than thrilling fanfares, but that “The Plantagenets” is different. “It’s a really big, cool piece that showcases every section of the band,” he said. “It’s the best of both worlds for us — we can kind of show off a bit, but people also really get into it.”

Article source: http://www.heraldextra.com/entertainment/music/utah-premiere-brass-horns-in-on-scera-center-for-the/article_60979133-6eee-5f30-a4be-8d8a4f7fb437.html

That historic loss to Norfolk State hasn’t slowed down the Missouri program one bit. (Getty Images)
Save for that whole 15-beating-a-two-seed deal back in mid-March, Frank Haith is really getting it done at Missouri. He continues to impressively do his job on a level that no one outside of Haith’s family and the Missouri big brass expected.

And maybe even that’s a stretch.

But in the wake of the disappointing, premature end to a 30-win season, Haith hasn’t slowed a bit. If anything, Missouri looks stronger now. Few programs have had a better offseason to date than Mizzou, and it’s looking like Haith suddenly really knows how to not only run a program but how to fastidiously craft a major-conference team into a position of prominence, even during supposed years of transition. Again: Frank Haith is the one doing this. Ooh, baby, it’s a wild college basketball world.

The most recent evidence came Monday, when Missouri landed Tulsa transfer Jordan Clarkson. It’s possible, perhaps even likely, that Clarkson never gets to Columbia, Mo., if his former athletic director doesn’t block multiple schools from negotiating with Clarkson.

But that’s another issue and now an dead one. It’s done, Clarkson is going to Missouri and Haith just deftly handled another coup as if he was John Calipari. Clarkson will make a fine replacement in the backcourt (Missouri loses Second Team All-American Marcus Denmon and little-used Matt Pressey). Thing is, Clarkson is the third-biggest transfer to the Tigers this spring; remember that UConn big man Alex Oriakhi is using up his final year of eligibility to play for Haith, and Oregon deportee Jabari Brown, a top-20 2011 recruit, suits up for the Tigers in 2012-13, too.

Not only that, but transfers Keion Bell (Pepperdine) and Earnest Ross (Auburn) are also making their way to Columbia, easing the program’s transition from the Big 12 to the SEC. There will be little drop-off next year for this team, it seems. This isn’t only reloading — Missouri is stockpiling at this point.

For a long view, Haith also got into the package-deal business as of late. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, the philosophy is this: offer roster spots — or in some cases, jobs on the staff to people close to a coveted prospect — to less-valuable people in an effort to reel in the big-time player. So in an effort to nab a pair of touted 2014 kids in Josh Pastner’s backyard, Haith gave out scholarships like Halloween candy over the weekend, per the Kansas City Star.

Four players from Memphis-based Team Thad – which is currently 24-0 and sponsored by current Philadelphia 76ers Thaddeus Young – visited Columbia on Saturday, including four-star forward Leron Black (who is rated by Rivals as the No. 20 overall player in his class) and four-star point guard Anton Beard.

Five-foot-nine point guard Chris Chiozza and 6-7 combo forward Marcanious Hymon also made the trip, and while they haven’t been assigned a star rating by Rivals yet, they – like Black and Beard – also left Columbia with scholarship offers.

“All of them got offered today by Missouri,” said Team Thad coach Norton Hurd, who drove the boys from Memphis to Columbia late Friday/early Saturday. “I was excited for them, just like they were. But right now, they expect the offers. They’ve put in the hard work. Everybody is calling for them left and right.”

Just because they all got offers doesn’t mean they’ll all attend Missouri in a couple of years (the Tigers aren’t No. 1 on some of the players’ list now). But at this point, there are few others with higher prospects and better opportunities than Haith’s program. It is becoming chic, and if all those transfers parlay into a Sweet-16-or-better showing in 2013? The momentum only burrows heavier into the next half-decade.

Yes, there’s much to be proven on the court again. However, I’ll take a minute here to remind everyone that Missouri had the No. 1 offense, third-best offensive turnover percentage and was the second-best 2-point shooting team in college basketball last season. The year prior, when Mizzou went 23-11 under Mike Anderson, it was 35, 19 and 75 in those respective categories.

And so, extending from an exciting and self-assuring 2011-12 Mizzou debut, Haith’s “F the Haters” tour continues with the undeniable track record of a coach that’s dead set on being anything but a fluke. It’s striking while at the same time being the most unforeseen trend in trajectory in the sport’s past eight months.

Article source: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/18992856/frank-haith-continues-to-work-wonders-at-missouri

Within three weeks, all three had become skilled enough to begin selling their pieces and creating new designs other than lettering.

Snow says most of their work falls into the key chain category, but says they also do clips that slide onto vests, jackets or instrument straps.

He says, “Almost everything we do is made custom. We do have certain designs that are ‘standard’ and whenever we have free time we build up a stock of them to sell at events or to carry around to sell to anyone we happen to meet during the day.”

Customers don’t need to wait a lengthy amount of time for their custom pieces, however.

Snow says most standard designs and custom names can be created in less than five minutes. He says, “My fastest that we recorded was ‘Makayla’ with a heart at the end in just under five minutes. Jed’s fastest was a six-letter name in about one minute and 32 seconds.”

Not all of their pieces are so quick and simple. Snow says, “The biggest and most expensive thing I’ve made was an intricate wall-hanger that stands a foot and a half tall, which took almost 5 yards of brass and three days, due to the complexity of the design.”

Snow says Get Brass is trying to get their name out there every chance they get.

“We promote ourselves while out in public, often handing out small, simple pieces with business cards,” he says. “We go to local festivals such as Blue Plum and have also gone to the Tri-Cities and Jonesborough Flea Markets.”

To get in contact with Get Bent, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/getbentbrass.

Customers can also send messages directly to the business page, message any of the members, or post to the timeline to get in touch or to make a request.

Article source: http://www.easttennessean.com/the-scene/student-company-creates-unique-personalized-gifts-1.2870698

Tigers soccer team to begin reloading

TRIBUNE Photo by Rey Sifuentes Jr.Mount Pleasant High School head boys soccer coach Jason Mayfield argues with an official after one of his players was tripped up during the Tigers semifinal match against Wichita Falls Rider at the University Interscholastic League state tournament held in Birkelbach Field in Georgetown on Friday.  

Posted: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 12:23 pm

Tigers soccer team to begin reloading

By REY SIFUENTES JR.
Tribune Sports Editor

dailytribune.net

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Following an appearance in the state tournament, a Region II? Title and their sixth District 29-4A title, Mount Pleasant high School’s varsity boys head soccer coach Jason Mayfield must now begin analyzing how he will field a team with a dozen seniors graduating soon.     

“We are graduating 12 seniors,” Head Coach Jason Mayfield said. “But we have been developing our junior varsity players who will have to step up next year and continue from there.”

Mayfield said his teams repeated success is a result of good junior varsity teams.

“Typically any program that is successful year in and out have good j.v teams,” Mayfield said. “We do too and will continue developing all of our kids from top to bottom.”

The Tigers varsity team went 21-3-6???? this season and reached the state tournament where they were narrowly eliminated by Wichita Falls Rider 1-0 during a semifinal contest. Senior Hamet de la Cruz, meanwhile, was selected for the University Interscholastic League All State tournament team as a defender.

“Hamet really handled the left side for us,” Mayfield said. “He is a great defender but also dangerous on the attack. Ivan Castaneda, on the other side of Hamet, also had a great year as well.”

Brian was also picked for the U.I.L. All State tournament team as a midfielder.

“Brian played in the middle and did a very good job,” Mayfield said. “Him and Kumar were big assets in the middle and made our midfield strong defensively. They both were able to help out on our attacks as well. Brian was on the varsity team all four years of his high school career.”

Mayfield applauded both of his all state tournament selections, but also pointed at the rest of his roster.

“Both Hamet and Brian are wonderful players but only two pieces of the puzzle,” Mayfield said. “If it was not for his teammates, none of our individual players would be as successful, and vice versa. These all-tournament honors are great, but the other players on our team are just as important.”

All in all, it was a very good year for Tigers soccer.

“We had a very good season,” Mayfield said. “We have been working with this group of guys since they were in seventh grade. One of the toughest parts of this job is the kids coming through and then graduating and going off. We are definitely going to miss the seniors who are graduating in May – not only on the field but also because of the personal relationships that we got to have with them. I wish every one of those guys the best in the future and think they all have great potential to do good things with their lives.”     

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Article source: http://www.dailytribune.net/sports/article_23c9ae8e-8e32-11e1-a563-001a4bcf887a.html

The Honolulu Brass quintet is an outreach of Chamber Music Hawai‘i and the ensemble’s repertoire spans four centuries from Gabrieli to Duke Ellington.

The Honolulu Brass, according to the Chamber Music website, features Kenneth Hafner and Mark Schubert on trumpets, Wade Butin on horn and Eric Mathis on trombone.

The free concert is hosted by the Chamber Music Hawai‘i, Friends of the Lihu‘e Library, Friends of the Library of Hawai‘i and the Hawai‘i State Public Library System.

Call the Lihu‘e Public Library at 241-3224 for more information.

Article source: http://thegardenisland.com/news/local/7e8f4eb2-99bf-11e1-91c8-001a4bcf887a.html

This one promises to rank with the most challenging, thanks to the 15 restricted or unrestricted free agents on the Predators roster.

“There are a lot of big, big decisions,” Poile said Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the Coyotes eliminated the Predators from the playoffs.

Some of the players who saw action in the five-game loss to the Coyotes have worn a Nashville uniform for the last time. After all, changes occur every offseason, just as they did last year when the Predators parted ways with Steve Sullivan, Marcel Goc, J.P. Dumont, Shane O’Brien and Cody Franson, among others.

“There’s no likelihood that they (all will return),” coach Barry Trotz said of his 2011-12 players. “No team is ever the same. But how many changes or what changes, I couldn’t tell you right now.”

It seems almost a foregone conclusion that some of the potential unrestricted free agents brought in at the trade deadline for what was expected to be a deep playoff run — defenseman Hal Gill, as well as forwards Andrei Kostitsyn and Paul Gaustad — will find new homes next season.

But what Poile and Trotz are hoping to do is keep together the nucleus of a team that finished fourth in the Western Conference with 104 points, then beat Detroit in the first round of the playoffs before falling to Phoenix.

“I suspect by virtue of this business, we’ll have a lot of changes next year, but the thing I believe in and hope that we can retain the most is the foundation that we have,” Poile said. “You look around at some of the players that maybe have unrestricted free agency. (There are) some players that may not want to come back, and we may not want them.

“But having said that, I hope the core wants to stay here and that we can retain them, because we have a core that can compete with anybody.”

Trotz said he’s confident the core of the team will return, but he was a little vague when asked whether that referred to All-Star defensemen Ryan Suter and Shea Weber, who are considered — along with goalie Pekka Rinne — the cornerstones of the squad.

Suter is a potential unrestricted free agent, and Weber is a potential restricted free agent.

“I can’t speak for (Suter and Weber),” Trotz said. “Let them talk about that. But I believe we’re in a good position that everybody will be back, absolutely. And I think they believe in the group.”

There’s also the question of forward Alexander Radulov, a potential restricted free agent after returning to the Predators from Russia near the end of the regular season. He finished tied with David Legwand for the team lead in playoff points but was suspended for Game 3 against Phoenix after violating team rules.

He’s yet to say whether he plans to stay in the NHL or return to Russia.

Another potential departure is hard-hitting forward Jordin Tootoo, who’s spent all of his eight NHL seasons with the Predators. Tootoo recorded a career high in points this season, but his play faltered toward the end of the schedule and he played in only three of the 10 playoff games.

“We had a lot of guys,” Tootoo said. “It was tough to sit out at times. But that’s part of a team and being together in the playoffs. You have to do the right things and make the right choices. Obviously I respect the coaches for what decisions they make because ultimately it’s up to them.”

Tootoo said he hadn’t thought too much about what the future holds, but Nashville is where he wants to win a Stanley Cup.

“I feel a lot of ties to the city of Nashville,” Tootoo said. “This is where I grew as a person and did a lot of great things and a lot of positive things. For me, it’s one day at a time, and that’s all I can think of.”

Poile is also taking a measured approach as he prepares for his active offseason.

“I’ve got to talk to everybody (about) where we are, what’s transpired,” Poile said. “It will all come together in due time, but not today.

“It’s going to take a lot of work, a lot of time. If I had my druthers, I wish we could take the week off and let the dust settle, but it doesn’t work that way. But we’ve got to take a little time before we approach players and the agents and things like that.”

Article source: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120509/SPORTS02/305090089/2072/SPORTS

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Article source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/sports/chicago-white-sox-cleveland-indians-150711625.html

There is always at least one team that might have to start from scratch because of coaching changes.

Coaches always use the spring to develop their younger players and answer questions surrounding their upcoming season. The fans have the opportunity to rekindle old rivalries and make plans for future championships.

And of course, the players are trying to make an impression on the coaching staff.

In Class 1A, we will see if the Opelousas Catholic Vikings can bounce back from a difficult 2011 campaign under second year head coach Jeff Jordan.

What will coach Thomas David and his Blue Jays do to replace his All-District combination of Adam Clause and David Scott Lafleur?

Will the Westminster Crusaders, led by Tommy Badon, be able to reload and win another district championship?

Will the football program at North Central find a coach to make them competitive with the other area 1A schools?

In Class 3A, can Mac Mistric bring back the glory days of Red Devil football in Port Barre?

Are the Northwest Raiders ready to make noise in the 3A ranks and compete with the likes of Eunice and Port Barre?

What plans does Coach Paul Trosclair have for the new crop of Bobcats?

Finally, what will the Beau Chene Gators and Opelousas High Tigers look like in Class 4A?

Is Beau Chene, led by veteran coach James Waguespack and all-parish performer Jamal Chavis, ready to make a run for the district championship?

Who will be the next coach and help quarterback Josh Fontenot lead the OHS Tigers back to the playoffs?

All nine St. Landry Parish schools will enter into spring with questions that need to be answered and shoes that need to be filled. There is one thing that is for sure, when spring practice is over, seniors will be one step closer to their final season and coaches will have a few more gray hairs.

Article source: http://www.dailyworld.com/article/20120509/SPORTS/205090308/Spring-football-hits-St-Landry-Parish?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Matthew Hinton/The Times-Picayune archiveEric Calhoun, Jr., 14, acts as a grand marshall for tuba players parading during the annual tribute to Anthony ‘Tuba Fats’ Lacen, who played tuba in traditional brass bands in New Orleans for more than 40 years.

Brass bands will gather in Treme tonight, Tuesday, May 8,  to celebrate the memory of sousaphonist Anthony “Tuba Fats” Lacen, who passed away in 2004. Lacen was a founding member of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and performed with many outfits over the length of his career, including the Olympia and Tuxedo brass and jazz bands and his own Chosen Few.

Beginning at 5 p.m. local musicians – including Shannon Powell – who considered Lacen an influence and a mentor will perform at Tuba Fats Square, at the corner of St. Philip and North Roberston St. At sunset, the party moves into the Candlelight Lounge at 925 N. Robertson St.

Article source: http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2012/05/brass_bands_gather_in_treme_to.html

That historic loss to Norfolk State hasn’t slowed down the Missouri program one bit. (Getty Images)
Save for that whole 15-beating-a-two-seed deal back in mid-March, Frank Haith is really getting it done at Missouri. He continues to impressively do his job on a level that no one outside of Haith’s family and the Missouri big brass expected.

And maybe even that’s a stretch.

But in the wake of the disappointing, premature end to a 30-win season, Haith hasn’t slowed a bit. If anything, Missouri looks stronger now. Few programs have had a better offseason to date than Mizzou, and it’s looking like Haith suddenly really knows how to not only run a program but how to fastidiously craft a major-conference team into a position of prominence, even during supposed years of transition. Again: Frank Haith is the one doing this. Ooh, baby, it’s a wild college basketball world.

The most recent evidence came Monday, when Missouri landed Tulsa transfer Jordan Clarkson. It’s possible, perhaps even likely, that Clarkson never gets to Columbia, Mo., if his former athletic director doesn’t block multiple schools from negotiating with Clarkson.

But that’s another issue and now an dead one. It’s done, Clarkson is going to Missouri and Haith just deftly handled another coup as if he was John Calipari. Clarkson will make a fine replacement in the backcourt (Missouri loses Second Team All-American Marcus Denmon and little-used Matt Pressey). Thing is, Clarkson is the third-biggest transfer to the Tigers this spring; remember that UConn big man Alex Oriakhi is using up his final year of eligibility to play for Haith, and Oregon deportee Jabari Brown, a top-20 2011 recruit, suits up for the Tigers in 2012-13, too.

Not only that, but transfers Keion Bell (Pepperdine) and Earnest Ross (Auburn) are also making their way to Columbia, easing the program’s transition from the Big 12 to the SEC. There will be little drop-off next year for this team, it seems. This isn’t only reloading — Missouri is stockpiling at this point.

For a long view, Haith also got into the package-deal business as of late. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, the philosophy is this: offer roster spots — or in some cases, jobs on the staff to people close to a coveted prospect — to less-valuable people in an effort to reel in the big-time player. So in an effort to nab a pair of touted 2014 kids in Josh Pastner’s backyard, Haith gave out scholarships like Halloween candy over the weekend, per the Kansas City Star.

Four players from Memphis-based Team Thad – which is currently 24-0 and sponsored by current Philadelphia 76ers Thaddeus Young – visited Columbia on Saturday, including four-star forward Leron Black (who is rated by Rivals as the No. 20 overall player in his class) and four-star point guard Anton Beard.

Five-foot-nine point guard Chris Chiozza and 6-7 combo forward Marcanious Hymon also made the trip, and while they haven’t been assigned a star rating by Rivals yet, they – like Black and Beard – also left Columbia with scholarship offers.

“All of them got offered today by Missouri,” said Team Thad coach Norton Hurd, who drove the boys from Memphis to Columbia late Friday/early Saturday. “I was excited for them, just like they were. But right now, they expect the offers. They’ve put in the hard work. Everybody is calling for them left and right.”

Just because they all got offers doesn’t mean they’ll all attend Missouri in a couple of years (the Tigers aren’t No. 1 on some of the players’ list now). But at this point, there are few others with higher prospects and better opportunities than Haith’s program. It is becoming chic, and if all those transfers parlay into a Sweet-16-or-better showing in 2013? The momentum only burrows heavier into the next half-decade.

Yes, there’s much to be proven on the court again. However, I’ll take a minute here to remind everyone that Missouri had the No. 1 offense, third-best offensive turnover percentage and was the second-best 2-point shooting team in college basketball last season. The year prior, when Mizzou went 23-11 under Mike Anderson, it was 35, 19 and 75 in those respective categories.

And so, extending from an exciting and self-assuring 2011-12 Mizzou debut, Haith’s “F the Haters” tour continues with the undeniable track record of a coach that’s dead set on being anything but a fluke. It’s striking while at the same time being the most unforeseen trend in trajectory in the sport’s past eight months.

Article source: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/18992856/frank-haith-continues-to-work-wonders-at-missouri

In the abstract, that’s a … slightly surprising recruiting coup! UNLV and Oregon outlasting Florida and Kentucky? When does that happen?

In reality, it’s not all that shocking. Bennett is looking for immediate impact playing time, and he would have joined a crowded Kentucky frontcourt, one that landed the top big man in the country — No. 1 overall player Nerlens Noel — just a few weeks ago.

Likewise, Xavier transfer Mark Lyons, who had been considering Kentucky but chose Arizona instead, takes a possible guard addition off the board, too.

Which means, allowing for the possible exception of another incoming transfer, or a hard push for another unsigned prospect (forward Amile Jefferson being the only real option), Kentucky is almost certainly done adding players for 2012. Given that, now probably as good a time as any to take a look at what the Wildcats are going to be in 2012, a season they will enter ranked again among the top five teams in the country — even as coach John Calipari overhauls his lineup and incorporates an entirely new group of players.

That’s nothing new, of course; no coach in the country has become more adept at reloading with top talent and competing at the highest levels of the sport each and every season. The reason? The trait we once overlooked about Calipari, and one that can no longer be ignored by even the most casual of college basketball fans: defense.

For all of Calipari’s strengths as a coach — recruiting, his flexibility on offense, his ability to stage manage young players through the public rigors of playing at a place like Kentucky — his unique ability to turn teams full of young stars into committed, cohesive defensive squads is perhaps his best. One look at Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted efficiency data tells the tale (numbers indicate national offensive and defensive efficiency rankings):

Since 2006, every single one of Calipari’s teams (first at Memphis, then at Kentucky) has ranked among the nation’s top 15 in adjusted defensive efficiency. All but two of those seven teams — 2011′s Brandon Knight-led Final Four team and the 2007 Memphis Tigers — have ranked among the top 10. This, in essence, was the most remarkable thing about the 2012 national champion Kentucky Wildcats: As good as they were on defense, with Anthony Davis blocking everything in sight and Terrence Jones muscling on the interior and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist locking down the opposing team’s best guard on the perimeter, Kentucky was even better at scoring the ball than stopping it. By the end, the talk about Kentucky’s offense — as led by “National Kentucky’s Offense is Even Better than its Defense Month” creator John Gasaway — finally caught up to reality. The blitz through the NCAA tournament (through quality Big 12 defenses like Iowa State and Baylor) was more than enough for the non-converts. The Wildcats defended like usual, sure. But boy, could they put up points in a hurry.

As that team collected its final accolades at the White House Friday, Calipari said he “may never coach another group like this.” He was referring to that team’s collective spirit — which is what allowed it to excel with such balance on the offensive end — and in more ways than one, he’s right. The 2011-12 Wildcats were a uniquely selfless bunch, particularly for a group led by one-and-done stars, but they were also an innately brilliant offensive team. The chances that 2012-13 Kentucky replicates that performance are slim.

But by now, we know Calipari’s teams, and what he does to get them to defend like mad almost as soon as they take the court, and it’s safe to expect a similar defensive trajectory for his new-look squad. That starts with Noel, a massive interior presence who specializes in blocking shots. Many recruiting analysts believe Noel is already a better shot-blocker than was Davis, who set all kinds of team and conference records as a freshman. Noel is a different sort of player than Davis, a more traditional big man who’s been big all his life (as opposed to Davis’s freakish high school growth spurt), but it’s safe to expect him to provide a similar role on defense: When Kentucky’s guards and forwards are beat off the dribble, Noel will be there to cover it all up.

Knowing Calipari, that will be step one in building out another defensive force. It never hurts when your best recruit just so happens to excel precisely at keeping the ball out of the basket. Handy, that.

The bigger questions are on offense, where Calipari has proved amenable to changing his system based on the needs of his current group of players. Noel is far rawer offensively than was Davis, but Calipari has a pair of talented incoming wings in small forward Alex Poythress and shooting guard Archie Goodwin, the No. 3- and No. 4-ranked players at their positions, respectively. He will also have former NC State transfer Ryan Harrow inheriting point guard responsibilities, and the lone holdover from the 2012 rotation, sophomore forward Kyle Wiltjer, stretching the floor with his shooting.

It’s not inconceivable to think Wiltjer may become Kentucky’s leading scorer in 2012-13. Though Wiltjer played just 11 minutes a game as a freshman, he took the highest percentage of his team’s shots (25 percent) while on the floor, and he excels at running pick-and-pop plays designed to get him open looks on the perimeter. As SI’s Luke Winn wrote in his latest power rankings, a Harrow-Wiltjer pick and pop may become UK’s bread and butter play, a win-win for Calipari and his players. If Harrow can spread the floor and utilize all three of UK’s weapons on the wing, he’ll benefit right along with Kentucky’s offense. (Pro scouts love a good pick and roll point guard, after all.)

But the offense will be a work in progress for much of the fall, into the winter, and maybe even in SEC play. There will be no immediate, obvious dominance on that end of the floor, or at least we shouldn’t expect it.

What we should expect from Kentucky in 2012-13, however, is more of the same. That doesn’t mean a repeat of 2012′s irreplaceable team. What it does mean is more of what Calipari has done for the past seven years: He’ll take a lauded recruiting class and turn it into one of the 10 best defensive teams in the country, sooner in the season rather than later.

Once that’s done, Kentucky can figure out how it wants to score the basketball. But the defense will be there — early and often. With Calipari, it always is.

Article source: http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/58732/new-look-kentucky-sure-to-guard

Maj. Stewart Parkinson is testifying before the Military Police Complaints Commission hearing into how the military handled Cpl. Stuart Langridge‘s death.

Ten months after Langridge killed himself, Parkinson sent a terse email to his superiors wondering why a board of inquiry hadn’t been convened.

The hearing was told the email said the family was being “deceived, misled and intentionally marginalized” by the military and needed the inquiry to be called.

Parkinson testified that the response he received questioned whether he’d become too close to the family.

But he says he was just doing his job and trying to get the military to do its own.

In addition to a board of inquiry helping answer questions around Langridge’s death, it would also allow the family to receive his personal effects.

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/witness-suicide-probe-says-impartiality-questioned-military-brass-170232147.html

I bet those openers are not made of brass. Probably aluminum, though I agree with UncleRuckus: they do look like plastic.

Oddly, in some states, a CCW permit covers not only firearms, but also knives, blackjacks, and brass knuckles.

In the “good old days,” such weapons were used in street gang fights, along with chains and clubs. No need for those primitive weapons today, though.

Article source: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05/passenger_trying_to_bring_colo.html

BOSTON, May 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ — Brass Monkey, the company that allows iOS and Android device users to play games in a browser using their device as a controller, announced today that they have implemented their first online multiplayer game, Tank vs. Alien Online.

Previously, Brass Monkey’s games were available for local multiplayer, but the release of the networked multiplayer game signals a shift in strategy for the company.”People love to play online from the comfort of their homes,” said CEO Chris Allen, “and we want to give players the best experience available.  This also opens up opportunities for developers that want to create networked games for players that want a console experience without buying a console system.”

Brass Monkey is working on creating this type of experience in public spaces, additionally, with an initiative called “Monkey Bars”.  The program will bring the game system into bars, restaurants, and retail locations, where patrons will be able to connect with smart devices and play locally or online.  The pilot program is expected to launch at Tech Superpowers Patriot Place location in late spring, expanding to other cities soon.  

Finally, Brass Monkey announced a drawing for an iPad 3, sponsored in part by Tech Superpowers, that features their new online multiplayer game.  Players with a profile that achieve a rank of 3 by June 1st, 2012, will automatically be entered into the drawing.  Contest details are available here.

To get Brass Monkey, players can simply download the free app, called “Brass Monkey”, from the Play Store or iTunes App Store, connect to Wi-Fi, and point a browser to www.playbrassmonkey.com.

About Brass Monkey
Your Phone is the Controller, Your Browser is the Console.Brass Monkey is a gaming system that lets you turn your phone or other smart device into a controller and play games in your browser. All you need is a device (iPhone or Android), a web browser and a wireless network. Instead of purchasing a gamepad or using your keyboard to play games on your PC, you can use hardware you already have for a fun, easy-to-use gaming experience. Your friends can join in the fun using their own devices for multiplayer games.  Start playing at www.playbrassmonkey.com.

About Tech Superpowers
Tech Superpowers was founded in 1992 by MIT graduate Michael Oh when he realized that Boston lacked truly professional Mac support. Originally a small boutique consulting firm, Tech Superpowers has grown to a global resource for Macintosh solutions and full service tech support. Their clients range from individual users to big names like the Boston Celtics and Novartis. In 2007, Tech Superpowers opened a second office in London, UK specializing in consulting and remote support for the European market. In 2010, they opened a new retail location at Patriot Place, near Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA.  

Media Contact:

Caroline Murphy Brass Monkey, (617) 942-0582, caroline@playbrassmonkey.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com 

SOURCE Brass Monkey

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RELATED LINKS
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Article source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brass-monkey-announces-online-multiplayer-and-ipad3-raffle-150597725.html

Grand Island, Nebraska (PRWEB) May 08, 2012

“Zombie” hunters armed with handguns, shotguns and rifles, will head to Heartland Public Shooting Park in Grand Island, Nebraska, June 29 through July 1, 2012 for a battle against the “undead” in the “Zombies in the Heartland – Pandemic 2012″ 3-gun shooting match brought to you by Hornady and the Nebraska Army National Guard.

Registration is limited to 350 entrants, and begins May 1, 2012 for the $275 “VIZ” (Very Important “Zombie” slayer) category, which includes all competitive and side match stages, one commemorative box of ammunition, a commemorative t-shirt, lunch on both days, and a bug-out bag stuffed with goods. Registration for sponsors, which will include the complete “VIZ” package, will begin on May 14th. Also beginning on May 14th will be Registration for the $165 “ZS” (“Zombie” Slayer) category that will include entry into the eight competitive stages, lunch on both days, and a bug-out-bag. Register at http://zombiesintheheartland.com/fees-and-registration.

The event will feature eight competitive stages, and six side match stages. Event sponsors will provide many new and reactive “zombie” targets developed specifically for this match, with most targets falling over, moving, or exploding. Shooters will be required to compete with pistol, rifle and shotgun. For a complete list of rules / equipment requirements, please go to the “Zombie” Guide aka Rules and Regulations at: http://www.zombiesintheheartland.com/general-zombie-guide/

“We want competitors to enjoy a unique, surreal environment while showcasing their 3-gun skills,” said Neil Davies, Marketing Director for Hornady Manufacturing. “With a prize table of $110,000 in sponsor merchandise (and growing), Pandemic 2012 promises to attract shooters from all over the country.” For complete event information, visit http://zombiesintheheartland.com.

An optional Charity CQB Shoot House, sponsored by the Nebraska Army National Guard, will feature a maze of walls, smoke, lights and sound, and reactive “zombie” targets. Competitors will be armed with an airsoft M-4 with green laser and over 100 rounds of airsoft ammunition. Access to the Shoot House costs an additional $5, with proceeds donated to a military charity.

Current event sponsors and prize table contributors include the following:

Match Sponsors:

• Hornady Nebraska Army National Guard

Division Sponsors:

• Open: Carl Zeiss
• Tactical: Swarovski Optik
• Amateur: Smith Wesson

Founded in 1949, Hornady Manufacturing Company is a family owned business headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska. Proudly manufacturing products that are made in the USA, Hornady Manufacturing is a world leader in bullet, ammunition, reloading tool and accessory design and manufacture.

For further information regarding Hornady products, visit the company web site at http://hornady.com. Media members interested in Hornady products for editorial review, should contact Everett Deger at edeger(at)hornady(dot)com.

Rob Czaplewski
Idea Bank Marketing
(402) 463-0588
Email Information

Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/hornady-sponsors-zombie-3-gun-match-zombies-heartland-080343665.html

Now he hangs out in a domain of Belgian Delirium Tremens, German Reissdorf Koelsch and local favorites like Cigar City.

“They’ve taught me almost enough about beers I never heard of to be a beer snob,” said Slade, a 28-year-old mapping draftsman.

Cashing in on the imported microbrew and craft beer craze, World of Beer and the Brass Tap are trying to revive the drinks-only neighborhood tap room that was declared an endangered species two decades ago. Laws that made the corner tavern more liable for their patrons’ drunken behavior turned thousands of bars into restaurants peddling pub food.

Tampa’s World of Beer, headed by a former president of Outback Steakhouse, and the Brass Tap, a startup from three Wesley Chapel Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchisees, hit on a formula generating a robust $1.4 million in annual revenue per store virtually from beer alone. And the average patron sips less than two brews a visit.

Both are adding stores. The Brass Tap expects to double to six locations by year’s end. World of Beer opens its 25th store this month in Savannah, Ga., and is on track for 42 by the end of 2012. World of Beer sold franchises for 150 stores in 11 states.

No food is only part of an uncomplicated operation. There’s no liquor. No smoking inside. No salty snacks. Only a half dozen wines are served and only by the glass. Between 40 and 70 draft beers flow from the taps, plus up to 500 bottled beers at $4 to $9 each. About a third of the selection changes monthly, thanks to 1,900 U.S. microbreweries.

The dark wood and brick atmosphere is kept warm and inviting. Bartenders are trained to chat and share current beer knowledge. Franchisees must showcase live cover bands three nights a week while keeping the volume in check.

The clientele is half women, partly thanks to women who like more flavorful ales or fruity hard ciders, but also because higher prices limit the riff-raff.

“We attract a lot of blue-chip, blue-collar and young white-collar men,” explained Ben Novello, chief executive of World of Beer, which was concerned about pricing at its first outlet in a college town. “We drew upperclassmen, faculty and grad students but found Millenials to be a Starbuck’s generation. They are willing to pay for quality.”

Hungry? Both chains post take-out menus from nearby restaurants and let delivery people serve tables. It has made both chains more welcome in suburban shopping centers with multiple restaurants.

World of Beer is serious enough about its music that the chain hired a music director. In addition to covers with a Jack Johnson/Dave Matthews vibe, bands are free to play some of their own tunes. In the bay area alone, World of Beers book about 100 bands a year. The chain wants to create a circuit for bands that can package a 14-night Florida tour.

“Long term, we want to be part of the minor leagues for musical talent,” said Dave Bearce, the chain’s music director.

World of Beer also has a loyalty program offering news of obscure beers, events, online chat and contests. About 35,000 patrons paid $15 to join.

The program tracks each beer a member drinks. This summer, a smartphone app debuts that flashes a count of members’ “beers tasted” in big numbers.

That appeals to regulars.

“I’ve tried 80 different beers so far,” Slade said. “But it’s not enough to put me in the Top 20 leaderboard by the bar.”

Mark Albright can be reached at albright@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8252.

Article source: http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/retail/world-of-beer-and-the-brass-tap-offer-a-new-type-of-tavern/1228877

However, Abbie recently sent out a FB message questioning the logic of Jacques Mauger, the host of the ITF (International Trombone Festival) posting on his FB page: “ITF PARIS 2012 — the best trombonists in the world will be there, why not you???” Abbie responded: “Why not? Because there are 42 men invited as soloists and 0 women. And all 7 composers are also men. Total: 49 to 0! This is insulting to all women trombonists, all women musicians, and all enlightened men.” Monsieur Mauger has yet to write back to her.

Trombonist extraordinaire and an inspiration to young women brass artists the world over, Ms. Conant, professor of trombone at the State Conservatory of Music in Trossingen, Germany, is probably the most qualified person in the world to address this issue. In 1980, she had won the position of solo-trombone for the Munich (Germany) Philharmonic. After performing as Principal for the first probationary year, her orchestra colleagues voted to give her tenure. However, the conductor, Sergiu Celibidache, who was opposed to her hiring from the beginning (the orchestra voted her in and he was still new and in negotiations with the city at the time) wanted to demote her to second trombone saying outright: “You know the problem. We need a man for solo trombone.”

Abbie fought this discrimination through a lawsuit which she won after having to undergo medical tests to measure the capacity of her lungs, an audition with a “trombone specialist” who praised her playing to the court, and 43 testimonials of her musicianship from guest conductors and fellow musicians. She won her position back and then she had to fight to receive the back pay that was due her. Her determination and backbone serve as a great example to all embattled women musicians everywhere.

Eventually, Ms. Conant left the orchestra to teach at the State Conservatory in Trossingen and began soloing and performing works that her husband, composer William Osborne wrote for her. She has also been a featured artist at many festivals including the International Women’s Brass Conference where she was warmly embraced not just for her artistry but for her courage and leadership.

I have the honor of not only knowing Abbie personally, (having been a classmate of hers at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA) but playing with her in “The Liberty Brass Trio,” a chamber group started by me on French horn, my sister Nancy on trumpet and Abbie on trombone in 1975. I have great memories of that group. Some of my best musical experiences are of performing with Nancy and Abbie. We had such a blend, resonance and perfect intonation that we sounded like a full brass choir instead of three players. I guess at the time we did not realize the unusualness of an all-woman brass group, but we sure did gain attention from some of the most prestigious male brass players of the time at the New College Music Festival in Sarasota, Florida in the summer of 1976.

I was hoping that by the year 2012, women brass players would be widely accepted and respected by the classical music world. Apparently not in the ITF. According to Abbie, it was not a case where women were asked and they were not available or declined, they just were not invited.

This is disappointing but it is also an opportunity for women brass players of the world to unite. The days of out-of-touch, misogynist conductors such as Celibidache are over. Expert women brass artists such as Abbie Conant in Munich, Susan Slaughter in St. Louis (Symphony), Rebecca Bower of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and Heather Buckman in San Diego paved the way for the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Principal hornist Jennifer Montone and Carol Jantsch, a tuba player. These and countless others have shown that women do have the lung capacity and can excel at expressing beautiful and powerful music through brass instruments.

Now if only someone could convey that message to Jacques Mauger and the International Trombone Association.

Article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-e-dowlin/itf-paris-2012-why-are-no_b_1487269.html

Bands from Madison and Mayville to New Orleans and Michigan will offer everything from traditional brass band music and Dixieland to steel drum island music and a Civil War “Battle of the Bands.”

June 1 brings Madison Brass Band and the Milwaukee Festival Brass to the stage.

June 2 opens with local artists’ Mayville Steel Drum Band and Pete Runde and his Dixieland Band.

Starting at 5 p.m. June 2, direct from Louisiana, two authentic New Orleans Brass Bands are featured: The Storyville Stompers Brass Band and Treme Brass Band.

June 3 will highlight two Civil War bands to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War. The 1st Brigade Band from Wisconsin, a Union band, and the Dodworth Saxhorn Band from Michigan, a Confederate Band, will combine to create a living history program.

For more information about Celebrate Waupun, visit www.waupunfestivals.com.

Article source: http://www.wiscnews.com/news/local/article_58f4270c-98bd-11e1-9a1a-001a4bcf887a.html

By now, New Orleans’ famed Dirty Dozen Brass Band has become so versed in Crescent City jazz sass and second-line funk that it can afford to fly in the face of tradition every now and then.

Take Tomorrow, the leadoff track to the ensemble’s ultra-fun new album Twenty Dozen. After being called to attention with an alert drum roll and a jittery guitar groove, the horns gather over a sunny, soulful strut that hints more at ska and calypso than it does at the street music conventions of the band’s home turf. But as it cruises to a finish, the percussion starts in on a double-time riff and the party takes on a gospel feel. The saints, it seems, can’t keep from marching in on the Dirty Dozen’s fun.

No one can accuse the Dirty Dozen of being great mathematicians this time out. The title suggests a milestone, but Twenty Dozen refers neither to the band’s longevity (which now exceeds 35 years) nor to the number of albums it has made (this is just its 12th). If you want to get down to specifics, the official band roster these days lists only seven players. But there is a very different strength of numbers at work in Twenty Dozen.

For starters, there is no running theme to the record, as was previously the case with Jelly (a Jelly Roll Morton tribute), Funeral for a Friend (a splendid collection of spirituals) and What’s Going On (a re-imagining of Marvin Gaye’s classic 1971 album as a post-Hurricane Katrina prayer). The guest list is also refreshingly limited this time to lesser-known but supremely soulful players like Nigel Hall, who provides the effervescent Hammond organ voice on Tomorrow, the Booker T. Jones-flavored soul meditation Git Up and the Tower of Power-esque We Gon’ Roll.

In short, Twenty Dozen is the most unencumbered Dirty Dozen album in ages. The innovations are still plentiful, though. Trippin’ Inside a Bubble transforms the group’s soul-savvy sound into a quasi-rhumba, Jook lets the brass move within a spicier Caribbean melody, Best of All playfully embraces Afro-pop and the 2007 Rhianna hit Don’t Stop the Music, the album’s biggest surprise, is reinvented with a bounty of street parade smarts.

But Paul Babarin’s Second Line, E-Flat Blues and perhaps the inevitable When the Saints Go Marching In place the band right back in the soulful center of Congo Square.

The album concludes with Dirty Old Man, an amusing vehicle for baritone sax man Roger Lewis that, despite serving as a Dirty Dozen concert staple for ages, has never appeared on an album until now. It’s fitting coda for Twenty Dozen‘s summery jubilance and self-contained splendor.

Article source: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/05/07/2179255/critics-pick-dirty-dozen-brass.html

Set Your Sights Event event has been created to assist customers who are first time gun buyers. In addition, our goal is to address questions you may have on reloading and proper care of firearms.

Our Certified Pro Staff Associates CWP Trainers have the knowledge and experience on everything related to guns, accessories. reloading, equipment and more. We want you to attend a non-intimidating environment in which you may be a new or upcoming gun owner, will feel comfortable by asking lots of questions and participating in all our educational seminars.

Friday May 4

6pm “Guns and Accessories for your Modern Sporting Rifle Project

7pm ““Conceal-Carry – A discussion of Laws, Permits, and Equipment”

8pm “Reloading Basics” – Why should you reload? Learn all about selecting equipment, proper reloading techniques, and tips and tricks to ensure success

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Saturday Sunday May 5 May 6

1pm Guns and Accessories for your Modern Sporting Rifle Project

2pm ““Conceal-Carry – A discussion of Laws, Permits, and Equipment”

3pm “Reloading Basics” Why should you reload? Learn all about selecting equipment, proper reloading techniques, and tips and tricks to ensure success

Visit with local gun club(s) shooting range associate or representative from related businesses. Youth Hunter Education instructors will be on hand

Enter To Win:

Drawing Giveaways – 2 winners per store locations

(1) Bass Pro Shops exclusive Remington 700 ADL rifle -1 rifle per winner drawn,

(1) Otis Technology Elite Gun Cleaning System- 1 system per winner drawn per store.

Official Drawing Rules can be seen at Bass Pro Shops orlando or online at www.basspro.com

All appearances, seminars, times, dates and information are subject to change.

Article source: http://www.wftv.com/events/detail/1569002/

The reason for the disagreement? Location.

Indiana athletic director Fred Glass would not sign a contract to continue the rivalry between the two schools because of an inability to come to terms as to whether the game should be played as a home-and-home or on a neutral floor.

Kentucky coach John Calipari reportedly wanted the game to be played on a neutral floor, while Indiana’s Tom Crean wanted it as a home-and-home.

“While we understand that such neutral site games could be quite lucrative, we think the series should be continued as it is, home and home,” Glass told the Indianapolis Star.  “Playing on campus enables our students to attend these marquee games which we believe is a great component of the overall college experience.”

The two teams met in the 2011-12 regular season, where the Hoosiers pulled a thrilling upset of the eventual national champions. Christian Watford’s three-pointer at the buzzer sent the Wildcats home with what would prove to be one of only two losses the entire season.

Kentucky exacted revenge in the NCAA tournament, though, beating Indiana, 102-90, in the Sweet 16.

The Wildcats will lose Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Doron Lamb, Darius Miller, Terrence Jones, and Marquis Teague to the NBA draft, but will be reloading with talent from the Class of 2012, headed by No. 1 prospect Nerlens Noel.

Indiana has a talented group coming in as well, led by point guard Yogi Ferrell, who will be worked into the mix, in combination with the return of big man Cody Zeller.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_

Article source: http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/05/03/indiana-and-kentucky-will-not-play-in-2012-13/

MANILA, Philippines – Globe Telecom marks a milestone as it partners with Generika Drugstore, one of the fast-growing drugstore chains selling quality affordable generic medicines in the country, to enable customers who are buying medicines to also reload their Globe or TM prepaid phones via point-of-sale (POS) technology at any Generika check-out counters nationwide.

With the tie-up, customers buying medicine will also be able to buy Globe or TM prepaid load in any of the check-out counters of the 260 branches of Generika Drugstore nationwide. Load bought by customers at the counter will be instantly credited to their Globe or TM accounts upon payment. Customers also get instant confirmation of their transaction via text, with the receipt as additional proof of purchase.

“The partnership marks another first for Globe as we integrate our prepaid mobile reloading into the sales system of a major chain—this time, with a fast-growing drugstore chain selling affordable generic medicines in the country,” said Ramon Matriano, Consumer Sales Group Head of Globe.

“We are very pleased with this new value-added service that we are offering to our customers in partnership with Globe. One of our primary goals is to provide our customers the opportunity to maximize their visit to our drugstore—to be able to buy medicines and even load under one roof,” said Julien Bello, Vice President of Generika Franchising Services Corporation.

Generika Drugstore customers can buy a minimum of P15 prepaid load via POS. To purchase prepaid load, a customer simply needs to give his/her mobile number to the cashier at the check-out counter and indicate the desired amount of load to buy. The service provides instant virtual credit upon payment. The customers also get instant confirmation of his/her transaction via text, with the receipt as additional proof of purchase.

Globe has continually improved its product offers for its prepaid subscribers, ending 2011 with over 30-Million subscribers.

Article source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/358968/globegenerika-for-easy-reloading

View full sizeJOHN MCCUSKER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE
The To Be Continued Brass Band performs at the Jazz and Heritage Stage during the last day of the second week of the New Orleans Jazz Fest, Sunday May 6, 2012. Here Edward Jackson plays as the sweat drenches his face.

Fais Do-Do does zydeco and folk, and Lagniappe has pianists and songwriters who work better in an intimate space. The Gospel, Blues and Kids tents are self-explanatory.

If you’re just interested in pure and unadulterated dancing, head for the Jazz Heritage Stage.

The place for brass bands and second-line sounds, the Jazz Heritage Stage – which always has good a crowd, but never has a massive one – consistently hosts some of the most fun and upbeat shows at the festival.

The TBC Brass Band continued that tradition on Sunday afternoon. Best known as the band that plays nightly at the corner of Canal and Bourbon streets, TBC played a swinging, freewheeling set that intermingled originals and brass band standards with pop songs (The Beatles’ “Come Together”) and other crowd pleasers (was that the James Bond theme?).

Tattooed hipsters, balding old men, a hula hooper in a corduroy hat – nearly everybody in the audience was gyrating. Friends of the band hung out in the back of the stage, until the dancing spirit moved them out front.

TBC, led by trombonist Edward Jackson, packed the stage with 14 musicians, including three trumpets, trombones, and drummers (one of whom couldn’t have been more than 10 years old), a tuba, a tenor sax, a singer, and a couple of cowbells. Sporting matching red TBC shirts and white linen pants, they kept the energy high during their hour-long set and never flagged.

The Prince of Wales Social Aid and Pleasure Club was posted up in front of the stage with chairs and umbrellas, and their contingency included some of the most enthusiastic dancers.

“We like the jazz music and second lining,” said Donna, the club’s 2012 queen, about why they’d chosen to spend their day at the Jazz Heritage Stage. “This is home.”

Article source: http://www.nola.com/jazzfest/index.ssf/2012/05/tbc_brass_band_brings_the_danc.html

The lawyer-lobbyist turned university professor is the brass knuckles gatekeeper and omnipotent advisor to Gov. Rick Scott.

Since becoming the governor’s chief of staff last July, MacNamara has controlled access to the governor and his schedule, assumed authority over appointments and dictated press releases and policy memos. He has directed the governor’s message and reached into the bowels of agencies to remove people he doesn’t like and install favorites.

“No one gets in to see the Wizard. Not no one, no how,” reads the sign on the way into MacNamara’s office, an excerpt from the famous movie.

He played the same role as chief of staff for former House Speaker John Thrasher and for Senate President Mike Haridopolos, each time temporarily stepping aside from his teaching, law firm and lobbying work.

Now, nine months later, the governor’s relations with lawmakers have improved. Florida’s unemployment rate is down. Scott had a successful legislative session with a modest agenda and, while his approval ratings remain low, they are on the rise.

“I think he’s doing a great job,’’ Scott said.

“I don’t think there’s any question he’s made a difference for this governor,’’ said Thrasher, now a St. Augustine state senator.

Scott’s closest supporters and some Tea Party followers, however, say that the union between the newcomer governor and the wily insider is for them a Faustian bargain. Though they refuse to be quoted by name, several advisors to the governor — both inside and out of government — fear Scott is squandering his conservative credentials and his outsider brand by engaging in deal-making with special interests who have connections to MacNamara.

His critics call him Florida’s “shadow governor,” noting that agency contracts have been redirected, gambling allowed to expand, and a policy to privatize state prisons, which Scott didn’t focus on during his campaign, has become an administration priority.

“I voted for the outsider and he has hired the consummate insider and he is acting like an insider now,’’ said Henry Kelley of the Fort Walton Beach Tea Party. “It’s very disappointing.” Story here.

Article source: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/steve-macnamara-rick-scotts-brass-knuckles-gatekeeper-or-shadow-governor

Since then, the Pats have signed a half dozen or so undrafted free agents, who will be at the rookie minicamp that begins Friday. Offensive lineman Jeremiah Warren of South Florida and Markus Zusevics of Iowa, Miami defensive tackle Marcus Forston, Iowa tight end Brad Herman and Kentucky wide receiver Matt Roark are officially in the fold. According to reports, but not confirmed, so are Rutgers defensive end/linebacker Justin Francis and Mississippi running back Brandon Bolden.

The Pats have done well in the past with their undrafted players. BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Kyle Love are card-carrying members of the undrafted club.

Who might be the next great find?

Corey Chavous, a former NFL defensive back and highly regarded draft expert for DraftNasty.com, points immediately to Bolden, if reports of that signing are accurate. Chavous had him pegged with a third-round grade and suspects injury problems as a senior led to him not being drafted.

“I was surprised he wasn’t drafted. He didn’t have a great combine. But I think he’s a better athlete than he showed at the combine, a better football player,” Chavous said of the 5-foot-11, 221-pound back. “If you watch the tape on him, his skills are obvious . . . there was some injury issues (last) season. But he had 17 touchdowns in 2010 in the SEC, three receiving. That speaks for itself.”

Chavous also pointed to Bolden’s ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, along with being effective in short yardage and goal-line situations — the latter a Green-Ellis specialty. Chavous, in fact, made a favorable comparison with Green-Ellis, another Ole Miss product, but believes Bolden could be even better given his versatility and receiving ability.

As for another potential sleeper, Chavous pointed to Forston, a player he had projected for the fourth round. Forston is 6-1, 302 pounds. At the combine, he bench-pressed 225 pounds 35 times.

“I think we had him graded higher than most. It’ll be interesting to see where they play him, the zero technique (on the nose), or outside at the five, Chavous said. “We think he’ll play zero. He was able to get separation from offensive linemen. A lot of that came because he surprised people with his punch. He’s very active with his hands. His problem is a history of injuries and undisciplined play.”

Chavous also likes Zusevics, thanks to coming from Bill Belichick protege Kirk Ferentz’ system, and also termed Francis an “intriguing” player. Overall, it would appear another good grade for the the Pats and their undrafted class.

More Seau memories

Calls and emails are still pouring in from Patriots players wanting to share a story or express some sentiments about Junior Seau, who committed suicide Wednesday.

No one had heard much from Adalius Thomas since he was released by the Patriots, and not picked up by another team. But the ex-linebacker sent an email.

“He was a very motivational person and player. But his work on the field can’t compare with his work off it,” Thomas wrote. “The kids he touched in the San Diego area was amazing. I was lucky enough to attend (his charity event) the last 2-3 years and it was a great event. He will be missed terribly by all walks of life. My condolences go out to the family. I am a better person because of him and I will always be ‘buddy, buddy.’ ”

Troy Brown [stats] also reflected on Seau.

“’When he came to the New England Patriots [team stats], he still had the passion, he still had that fire and enthusiasm when he stepped on the football field. He had an intensity that infected his teammates,” Brown said in a phone interview. “I remember him giving those speeches. Sometimes you couldn’t really follow what he was trying to get at, or what he was trying to say, but just the way he delivered those speeches, the way he talked, the way he stomped his feet and snapped his hands, you couldn’t help but feel an incredible rush before you stepped on the field. You felt his passion. That was typical Junior Seau.”

Article source: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/other_nfl/view/20220506pats_can_buffhidden_gems/

Keith I. Marszalek / NOLA.comWycliff Gordon Quintet at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, Friday, May 4, 2012.

Riley and Gordon are old colleagues from the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and they were here for a blazing tribute to Louis Armstrong organized by the trombonist. The rest of the quintet was just as impressive: bassist Roland Guerin, pianist Kyle Roussel, and multi-instrumentalist Michael Dease, who took compelling solos on tenor and soprano sax, trombone and trumpet. Yeah, that’s right: four instruments.

Gordon wouldn’t be outdone, however. He switched between trombone, trumpet, and a pocket-sized, slide trumpet when he wasn’t showing off his skills as a vocalist. As a singer, he resembled Armstrong, and not just for the gravel, charm, and low notes, but also for the seamlessness of his approach to instrumental and vocal music. He makes his trombone sing and tell stories, and always stretches the musical fabric, letting it snap back with whiplash authority.

Gordon clearly relishes the early jazz repertoire that he programmed at Economy Hall — “Basin Street Blues,” “Sleepy Time Down South,” Ellington’s “Caravan” — but he’s far from being a stolid repertory player. He always courts risk: a quality that’s most easily heard in his singing. On Friday, he would pause, hold a word, stroke a single vowel, and gallop over syllabic hurdles to get to the rhyme in time for the downbeat. It’s fun to do that, and fun to hear. It’s also what jazz players mean when they talk about swing.

Gordon’s band was equally sharp, and they benefited from the best acoustic at the Fair Grounds. Because sound bleed from other stages is less of a problem here, one could hear felicities: the reedy vibrato and warmth of Dease on tenor; Guerin’s ability to carry the pulse while unscrolling counter-melodies and witty harmonic ideas; the block chords and octaves that Roussel threw back at his veteran colleagues, sometimes sounding like an impassioned 21st century version of Erroll Garner.

And what about Riley? The New Orleans native was first among equals on Friday: a font of rhythmic complexity who kept the music moving, a dramatist who underlined the work of his fellows; a colorist who could make his kit sound like a bailophone, a talking drum, spoons, or a triangle. He even scatted on one tune, trading vocal choruses with Gordon in an exchange that counts as one of the most joyous moments of the 2012 Jazz Fest.

It was a fine way to end a day at the Fair Grounds.

Article source: http://www.nola.com/jazzfest/index.ssf/2012/05/brass_master_wycliffe_gordon_e.html

Last Updated:
12:38 AM, May 6, 2012

Posted:
12:38 AM, May 6, 2012

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The police officers’ union is launching a series of attack ads against the NYPD to blast a program that sends teams of Internal Affairs investigators to traffic court to spy on officers.

The print ads accuse top brass of docking pay and vacation days from officers who lose in traffic court.

NYPD Spokesman Paul Browne said, “Contrary to critics, officers are [not] punished for purportedly ‘losing’ traffic court cases.”

Article source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/pba_tixed_off_at_brass_YJms21sxfeyV8mA6cpHwUI?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20Local

The victim of the first incident, a 21-year-old South Lake Tahoe man, told deputies he was leaving Harrah’s Lake Tahoe with a friend about 2:40 a.m. when they were approached by two men who asked if they wanted to “take it outside.”

One of the men then reached into his pocket, retrieved a pair of brass knuckles, and punched the victim near his left eye, according to a witness statement in one of the reports.

Witnesses were unable to give a description of the assailant during that incident.

During the second incident, a victim reported he was standing with two friends near the MontBleu Resort Casino Spa Theatre about 3:30 a.m. when the group was approached by two men.

The pair of men became aggressive toward the group, pushing one man down a set of stairs and punching another when he approached. The man who was punched, a 36-year-old Stateline man, immediately started to bleed near his left eye. He told deputies he thought he had been hit with brass knuckles.

The pair of men then left the scene of the attack via the casino’s elevator, according to the report.

The suspect who allegedly threw the punch at MontBleu is described as a white male with a shaved head who is between 6 feet ,1 inch and 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs about 180 pounds.

Both victims were treated at Barton Memorial Hospital and received 10 stitches near the corner of their left eyes.

Both incidents were reported to deputies at Douglas County’s Lake Jail several hours after they happened, according to the reports.

Article source: http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20120504/ARCHIVES01/120509957/1007

Recently
by Tim Case: Natural
Laws

“Sometimes
people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their
illusions destroyed.”

~ Friedrich
Nietzsche

If there are
two things that can be said with all confidence they are that throughout
American history the American public has had and continues to have
an enduring commitment to owning firearms. Second is the government’s
unerring ability to be the sole cause of economic calamities, regardless
of how vibrant the markets.

War and the
market place are strange bedfellows. A case in point is the Spencer
Repeating Rifle.

On March 6,
1860 the Spencer Repeating Rifle was patented in the United States.
This rifle was developed for the sole purpose of brother using it
against brother during the War Between the States. In the words
of Warren Fisher, Jr. treasurer of the Spencer Repeating Rifle company:

“…In
the hands of scouts or sharpshooters, or regular troops – taking
into consideration all the elements of range, rapidity of firing,
and facility of reloading, the Spencer Rifle is so effective as
to render one man with it fully equal to half a dozen men armed
with single-loading muskets…”

Of this rifle
and in conjunction with testimony of a great many within the Federal
Army’s General staff, George Armstrong Custer wrote:

Mr. F. Cheney,

Dear
Sir: – Being in command of a Brigade of Cavalry which is armed
throughout with the Spencer Carbine and Rifle, I take pleasure
in testifying to their superiority over all other weapons. I am
firmly of the opinion that fifteen hundred men armed with the
Spencer Carbine are more than a match for twenty-five hundred
armed with any other firearm – I know this to be true from actual
experiment.

Very
respectfully, c.,

G.A.
Custer

Brigadier
General

(An admonition
that Custer seems to have either forgotten or through his arrogance
rejected when on June 25, 1876 he pitted his greatly divided and
ill prepared 7^th Cavalry using slow firing breach loading
Springfield Model 1873 45-70 rifles against a greatly superior force;
many of whom pressed the battle at the Little Bighorn with Spencer
and Winchester repeating rifles.)

In December
1874 George Cary Eggleston, a veteran of the War Between the
States, who had fought for the Confederacy, wrote in “The Atlantic”
of the events in the South following the war:

“The
end came, technically, at Appomattox, but of the real difficulties
of the war the end was not yet. The trials and the perils of utter
disorganization were still to be endured, and as the condition
in which many parts of the South were left by the fall of the
Confederate government was an anomalous one, some account of it
seems necessary to the completeness of this narrative.”

“Our
principal danger was from the lawless bands of marauders who infested
the country, and our greatest difficulty in dealing with them
lay in the utter absence of constituted authority of any sort.
Our country was full of highwaymen – not the picturesque highwaymen
of whom fiction and questionable history tell us, those gallant,
generous fellows whose purse-cutting proclivities seem mere peccadilloes
in the midst of so many virtues; not these, by any means, but
plain highwaymen of the most brutal description possible, and
destitute even of the merit of presenting a respectable appearance…”

The circumstances
Confederate soldiers found themselves in upon returning home were
a direct result of Federal policy toward the Southern states and
the National Bank Notes (AKA National Currency) that were now a
permanent fixture in America’s monetary system. This “new”
money was liability-money (debt-obligation money) and with it came
the real possibility of inflation as Jay Cooke, one of the creators
of the national banking system, was acutely aware. At the war’s
conclusion any money the Confederate government had issued was rendered
worthless and the “greenback” dollar wasn’t far behind;
the value of which was no more then 35 cents in 1860 gold.

I am sure more
than one Southern gentleman desired to own the Spencer rifle to
protect his hearth and home during this era, but the 1866 Spencer
Repeating Arms Catalog shows the rifle in the 44 caliber retailed
for a whopping $45.00.

To a present
day buyer this may not sound like a lot but let’s put this in perspective;
a frame of reference, which will remain constant throughout
the rest of the article.

In 1866, according
to nber.org, the average weekly wage of working Americans was $41.18,
(adjusted to 1866 dollar), with the average work week being estimated
at sixty-four hours. The results were an hourly wage of $0.64. With
this in mind it would take a worker dedicating everything they earned
from 70 hours of labor to purchase a Spencer rifle.

The rifle was
undoubtedly obtained by those in the North who had an income somewhere
equal to the national average. For the Confederate veterans who
needed the rifle but were faced with high taxes, hyperinflation,
the need to feed and cloth their families, then rebuild their society,
which had suffered the scorched earth military policies of the Northern
high command, such an item, for the moment, was far too expensive.

It was also
in 1866 that an American icon under the corporate name of “Winchester
Repeating Arms Company” came into being. At the same time “Winchester,”
as the company was to be commonly referred to, began production
of the “Winchester Repeating Arm, Model 1866″ better known
as the “Yellow Boy” which sold to the public at around
$45.00.

The Winchester
Model 1866 was the standard bearer of repeating rifles until 1873
when Winchester introduced the Model 1873 repeating rifle.

Of the Winchester
Model 1873 William F. Cody writing from Fort McPherson, Nebraska
said this:

“I have
been using and have thoroughly tested you latest improved rifle…While
in the Black Hills this last summer I crippled a bear, and Mr.
Bear made for me, and I am certain had I not been armed with one
of your repeating rifles I would now be in the happy hunting grounds.
The bear was not thirty feet from me when he charged, but before
he could reach me I had eleven bullets in him, which was a little
more lead than he could comfortably digest.”

“Believe
me that you have the most complete rifle now made.”
(Emphasis in the original)

W.F.
Cody

“Buffalo
Bill”

During the
intervening years between 1866 and 1873 the hourly wage of American
workers steadily increased first to $0.71 and hour in 1867 to $0.89
in 1873. During the same period the work week decreased from 64
hours 62 hours.

In 1870 the
Montgomery Wards catalog (of 1870,) advertised the Sharps (?) 7
shot repeating rifle at $50.00 still requiring the American worker
to dedicate 59.25 hours a 15% reduction in hours needed to work
before purchasing the rifle.

1873 saw Winchester
introduce the “Model 73″ repeating rifle, however September
1873 ushered in the event known as the “Panic of 1873″
followed by its supposed depression.

Historians
argue concerning what caused this panic but there is no doubt the
following factors contributed to the US economy’s predicament.

1. Postwar
   inflation
2. a large
   and growing trade deficit
3. High Tariffs
4. Reported
   in the Nebraska
   Advertiser, September 13, 1877 former Vice President Schuyler
   Colfax, in a speech entitled “Hard Times Their Cause and
   Cure” said this: “The chief, though not the only cause,
   for the panic of 1873, was the overbuilding of railroads, and
   the enormous amount of money they withdrew from other uses.”
   (The other causes conveniently missing in Colfax’s statements
   certainly must take into account the state and federal subsidies
   which resulted in blatant, widespread corruption.)

(To read a
fascinating discussion of the corruption during this era, see “The
Consolidation of State Power via Reconstruction, 1865-1890”
by Thomas J. DiLorenzo)

Regardless
of the cause or causes the first indication of a problem occurred
on September 8 with the failure of the New York Warehouse and Securities
Company. Then Daniel Drew’s firm Kenyon, Cox and Company ceased
business a week later.

Jay Cooke,
who had been instrumental in establishing the national banking system
during the war by marketing government bonds, was next. Cooke had
taken control of the Northern Pacific Railroad during the 1860s
which had been the recipient of Federal land grants to the tune
of 47 million acres. Cooke was so heavily invested in the railroad
that once the Northern Pacific Railroad failed, in 1873, when millions
of dollars in NPR bonds
became unmarketable, it took the financial house of
Jay Cooke and Company with it.

With the collapse
of Jay Cooke and Company the house of cards began to fall rather
quickly. Two other important financial firms closed their doors
the same day with 37 more on September 19^th. These shocks
waves to the financial world set off the Panic of 1873.

There were
business failures, some 5000 bankruptcies in the first year, and
there were certainly many who became unemployed. Unemployment took
place most notably in the railroad industry which was the largest
single employer outside of agriculture. Persistent joblessness among
the railroad workers eventually resulted in violence during the
summer of 1877.

Of course the
failing bankers immediately called for a “bail out”, but
President Grant, to his credit, refused to sign the April 14, 1874
bill that would inflate the currency supply by 100 million dollars.
Grant justified his veto stating that the short term advantage of
such a bill did not out weight the long term damage it would do
to the economy.

President Grant’s
veto was important in that it gave the “hard money” politicians
the needed impetus to pass the 1875 Specie Resumption Act, which
programmed the US to return to a gold and silver standard on January
1, 1879.

President Grant
was right. The yearly average wholesale hundred weight price for
native beef steers, all weights from 750 to 1800 pounds, as compiled
by the Chicago Daily Drover Journal indicates, during the period
of 1874 to 1879, they were not as volatile as the prices were during
the prosperous expansion years of 1881 to 1890.

Studying this
era one is hard pressed to find the “Long Depression”
so many historians claim occurred.

Between October
1873 and March 1879 there was no contraction in the money supply.
It has been reported that during this period the money held by banks
increased from 1.964 billion dollars to 2.221 billion dollars; increasing
at an average rate of 2.6% per annum. Furthermore, we have to wonder
how a “depression” could possibly result in an expansion
(some even go so far as to call it an extraordinary expansion) of
industry and real per capita income.

Nor do we see
goods chasing dollars in the gun industry of the 1870s. Remington
firearms catalog of 1875 shows the Remington’s breech loading rifle,
with 24 or 26 inch barrel, sold for $32.00 requiring the general
public to dedicate 33 3/4 hours of labor to acquiring one. These
prices reflect the value of the US greenbacks which were now roughly
worth $0.86 in prewar gold dollars.

Prices had
fallen since 1866 but not because of any tightening in the money
supply. What had occurred was that under President Grant’s direction
the Federal government, through its banking system, hadn’t caused
a marked increase in the money made available. The lack of inflation
allowed the relatively free-market capitalists to increase production
along with economic growth at a rate greater than the rate new money
was being pumped into the US economy.

The ensuing
prosperity hadn’t resulted in a price change within the Winchester
line. The 1876 Winchester catalog shows the least expensive standard
New Model ‘73’ Sporting Rifle with 24 inch barrel in the 44 caliber
sold for $45.00; requiring the purchaser to contribute his earning
from slightly more than 47 hours of toil before claiming it, as
opposed to 70 hours in 1866.

What had happened
was that wages had increased so that the average consumer was rewarded
by having to work 23 hours less to purchase the Model 73
then it took in 1866 to acquire the Spenser rifle at the same price.
Even a notoriously under paid sheriff from North Platte, Nebraska,
of whom the Republican said was a “worthy and efficient
sheriff”, found he could own a Winchester rifle. Writing Winchester
corporate headquarters Sheriff Struthers remarked:

“I have
succeeded in getting one of your guns here that is first-class.
It is, without any exception, the best gun I ever shot, and I
am safe in saying that I have handled all sorts.” (Emphasis
in the original)

Alex.
Struthers,

Sheriff,
Lincoln Co., Nebraska

With the implementation
of The
Resumption Of Specie Act of January 14, 1875, the miracle of
what can transpire in a free market, began to expose itself. Congress
had commanded that the fiat greenbacks be redeemed by either gold
or silver coin.

The increase
in the Federal government’s gold and silver holdings in combination
with the ongoing flushing of the fiat dollars from circulation set
up the American economy for the decade of the 1880s, which produced
an era of remarkable economic growth.

In the intervening
years of 1875 to 1880 this action by Congress had a positive influence
on American’s lives. During these years American’s cost
of living dropped by nearly 15%. This increase in American’s
standard of living is emphasized by the average yearly wholesale
price of 750 to 1800 pound beef steers being reduced in value by
over 17% during the same period.

While wages
also declined, they dropped at the much slower rate of just over
9%. When adjusted to the value of the dollar of each respective
year and its purchasing power – a consequence of the increased volume
of gold and silver in circulation – there was a modest but positive
improvement; the hourly wage in 1875 lost ground until 1877 before
recovering in 1878 and again in 1879. While the money people had
to spend had decreased in volume (up to 1878) their overall purchasing
power had increased.

That firearms
were beginning to be seen less as necessary tools of the West and
more as sporting objects, due to people’s increasing disposable
income, can be gleaned from the an article printed in the “Nebraska
advertiser” of September 05, 1878 which featured a Mr.
Adam Goldie of Shannon County, Missouri.

Adam Goldie
was a sharpshooter who many thought could beat the up and coming
then later acknowledged reigning king of marksmen, William
Frank “Doc” Carver.

The article
entitled “The Greatest Marksman Yet” states the 38 year-old
Goldie could break “299 glass balls out of 300 in twelve minutes
with a forty-four caliber Winchester rifle…A seemingly incredible
feat that he performs is as follows: A soda-water bottle is thrown
into the air in a certain manner, and before it falls, Goldie will
send a bullet down the neck of the bottle and make a hole in the
bottom.”

At distance
Goldie was not a bad shot either. Remember these shooters were shooting
with open sights. “…At one thousand yards he will hit the centre
of the bulls eye and then send six bullets one after the other
hitting the very indent made by the first…”

I don’t know
if the shooting match between Goldie and “Doc” Carver
ever took place, but an article like this had to spark the imagination
of every young man – along with anyone who fancied themselves good
with a rifle – to sharpen his shooting skills. Nor would it hurt
Winchester sales whose advertising stressed their rifle’s rapid-fire
ability and its accuracy.

As the end
of 1880 approached Winchester Repeating Arms August catalog reports
that the Model 73 had been reduced in price by 33% to $30.00 from
$45.00 in 1876. The American buying public now was able, with less
then twenty-nine and a half hours of labor to purchase a Winchester,
down nearly 58% from 1866.

With the now
continuing expansion of railroads, overland shipping costs – moving
goods to markets – were continually falling. Technology resulted
in large-scale production (and lower cost) of many goods including
steel. By 1880 the once agrarian society, which had been so dominant
in the U.S. was almost evenly divided between farm and non-farm
workers.

The 1880s
saw a nearly 13% increase in the average America’s wage.

An example
of wages during 1881 comes to us from Webster County, Nebraska paper
the “The
Red Cloud Chief”, of June 02, 1881 in which “Billy
the Kid” was hired, in the vicinity of Albuquerque New Mexico,
to stop a rash of sheep thefts. Billy’s starting salary, according
to the article, was $40.00 a month, but within two days and because
of his proficiency with his Winchester rifle was quickly raised
to $60.00 a month.

The next day
Billy “dispatched” two more thieves and as a result his
boss purposed “that hereafter… his salary from the time he
entered his employ would be $100 per month, (plus) grub (room/board)
and ammunition.” This raise, plus room and board, put Billy
the Kid’s total monthly income no more than $30.00 short of the
national average.

The continuing
expansion of the US economy during the 1880s produced a real GNP
of approximately 24%.

Thomas J. DiLorenzo
from his 1991 paper “The Antitrust Economists’ Paradox”
explains:

“As with
measures of output, not all of the relevant price data are available,
but the information that is at hand indicates that falling prices
accompanied the rapid expansion of output in the “monopolized”
industries. In addition, although the consumer price index fell
by 7 percent from 1880 to 1890, prices in many of the suspect
industries were falling even faster.

“The average
price of steel rails, for example, fell by 53 percent from $68
per ton in 1880 to $32 per ton in 1890. The price of refined sugar
fell from 9 cents per pound in 1880, to 7 cents in 1890, to 4.5
cents in 1900. The price of lead dropped 12 percent, from $5.04
per pound in 1880 to $4.41 in 1890. The price of zinc declined
by 20 percent, from $5.51 to $4.40 per pound from 1880 to 1890.”

And fall prices
did! In February 1890 rifles from Winchester had been further reduced
by 35% from the 1880 cost to the following: Model 1873 – $19.50;
Model 1876 – $19.50; with the newest Model 1886, in a round barrel
also retailing for $19.50. These prices represented a reduction
in hours the buyer needed to work by 78.28% over 1866 and down 48.35%
from 1880. The sportsman now needed only to dedicate less then 16
hours (one and one half days labor) in wages before owning a new
Winchester rifle.

To some it
may seem like today is light-years removed from the world of the
late 1860s and early 1870s.

Have we really
advanced that far when property values continue to fall; 100 million
out of a population of 242 million Americans, of working age, are
unemployed; 15% of the American population needs government assistance
just to survive; inflation is running close to 10% making working
people poorer by the day; and the value of the American dollar has
lost 97% of its purchasing power since 1913?

Are we content
with rampant corruption on Wall Street with its deceitful mortgage
schemes and reckless looting of the American people? Is it to our
advantage when, no longer capable of continuing their criminal scheme
and faced with financial ruin, this corrupt system is granted trillions
of dollars in bail outs, further impoverishing the nation? Are we
better off when rampant crony capitalism, which makes the swindling
of Americans out of their future a virtual certainty; is the standard
operating procedure among all levels of American government? 

Most Americans
aren’t happy with either their current situation or the path that
is being taken by government. In a recent Rasmussen Report the headline
read “92% Favor Strict Limits on Government to Protect the
Individual”.

How this is
to be accomplished is never mentioned.

Americans
have convinced themselves that the only way to solve the continuing
federal, state and local debt problem is by the creation of more
debt. This lie will only add to their sorrows as the federal debt
is projected to reach 20 trillion dollars by 2020 resulting in larger
government and with it an escalation of the use of fear to acquire
unprecedented powers intended to subject, harass, imprison, and
murder citizens of this country.

As we have
just seen, anyone who is serious about restoring smaller government
MUST begin with the establishment of honest money.

In The Commercial
and Financial Chronicle of May 6, 1948 Congressman Howard Buffett
from Nebraska makes a strong case for honest money. In his article
entitled “Human Freedom Rests on Gold Redeemable Money”
Congressman Buffett saw clearly America’s future if it continued
with a debt ridden fiat money system.

“…[T]he
individual citizen is deprived of freedom of movement. He is prevented
from laying away purchasing power for the future. He becomes dependent
upon the goodwill of the politicians for his daily bread. Unless
he lives on land that will sustain him, freedom for him does not
exist…”

Nor was the
fact that honest money and freedom go hand in hand lost on the former
Chairman
of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, who wrote in his 1966
article “Gold and Economic Freedom”:

“…[T]he
opposition to the gold standard in any form-from a growing number
of welfare-state advocates-was prompted by a much subtler insight:
the realization that the gold standard is incompatible with
chronic deficit spending (the hallmark of the welfare state).
Stripped of its academic jargon, the welfare state is nothing
more than a mechanism by which governments confiscate the wealth
of the productive members of a society to support a wide variety
of welfare schemes… But the welfare statists were quick to
recognize that if they wished to retain political power, the amount
of taxation had to be limited and they had to resort to programs
of massive deficit spending, i.e., they had to borrow money,
by issuing government bonds, to finance welfare expenditures on
a large scale…” (Emphasis mine)

For
those who continue to remain ensconced in the delusion that “it
can’t happen in America” remember this. If your income falls
within the medium average family income of most Americans at $46,326.00
a year and you wish to own that icon of the Old West, the Winchester
Model 1894, it will cost you $1399.99. You are now committed to
dedicating a minimum of 63 hours labor to owning one.

Welcome to
the defeated South of 1866 and your future.

My sincere
thanks to Abby Mouat at Cornell Publications whose guidance helped
me in purchasing the right catalogs for this article. If you enjoy
old catalogs for either reading or research Cornell Publications
at www.cornellpubs.com
has available over 3000 titles which they will reprint on acid free
paper at more than reasonable prices.

May
1, 2012

Tim
Case [send him mail]
is a 30-year student of the ancient histories who agrees with the
first-century stoic Epictetus on this one point: “Only the educated
are free.”

Copyright
© 2012 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in
part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.

Tim
Case Archives

Article source: http://lewrockwell.com/case/case45.1.html

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The Beastie Boys are considered to be pioneers in the music industry, and boast some of the greatest pump up songs of all time.

Adam Yauch, one of the group’s founding members and better known as MCA on the mic, was an important part of the Beastie Boys’ success from the time of their inception in 1979. Yauch’s passing on Friday, May 4, propeled the Boys back onto the top of the music scene and the group’s songs could be heard in sports venues across the country.

The variety of Beastie Boys’ music being played to pump up crowds in sports arenas got the old mind racing about which of the group’s songs provided the most energy.

So, here’s a list of 10 Beastie Boys songs that will surely get you amped for the big game, whichever game that may be.

Check out some of the greatest Beastie Boys’ pump up songs here

Photo via Twitter/Andy Gray

Article source: http://www.nesn.com/2012/05/adam-yauch-brass-monkey-fight-for-your-right-highlight-best-beastie-boys-pump-up-sports-songs-videos.html

MacKay and the Conservative government came under fire in the Commons from opposition MPs after the Ottawa Citizen revealed the Defence Department is cutting the jobs of medical professionals involved in suicide prevention and monitoring of post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD).

At a hastily called news conference Friday afternoon, Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen. Walter Natynczyk, made a brief appearance with other top brass to heap praise on MacKay and to welcome media scrutiny of the forces’ treatment of mentally damaged warriors.

“It means that Canadians care about the needs and well-being of our sailors, soldiers and air men and women who have been injured,” said the nation’s top soldier. “I believe we have one of the best military health-care systems amongst our allies and are leaders in health care in this country. But we are far from perfect.”

Natynczyk appealed to the nation’s psychiatrists and psychologists to come to the aid of the military and volunteer to work at more remote bases such as Petawawa, Ont., and Gagetown, N.B., and then abruptly left the news conference before reporters were able to question him.

DND officials say Natynczyk added himself to the program at the last minute and had to return to his regular schedule.

The news conference was arranged as more questions were asked in the Commons Friday about the mental health treatment available to Canadian soldiers.

On Thursday, opposition MPs criticized MacKay for his lack of action on the issue.

Soldiers and the unions representing some DND health workers have come forward to news media with their concerns the system to take care of troops dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues is broken.

But officers at the news conference said the system is among the best in NATO, while praising the commitment of MacKay and the government.

Asked whether political pressure was behind the last-minute news conference, Rear-Admiral Andrew Smith, Chief Military Personnel, responded, “I think it’s more importantly a clear indication to the degree which this issue — mental health care of the ill and injured — is taken seriously by the department and that includes our minister of national defence, who is a huge supporter of the troops.”

Asked the question again, he added: “We are here to reaffirm the leadership of the Canadian Forces’ support to men and women and we enjoy and have always enjoyed the support of our minister in that regard.”

The officers, however, didn’t deny that some workers have been notified that their jobs are being cut but said the situation was still being reviewed and no final decisions had been made.

Unions have been told that DND’s Deployment Mental Health Research Section is being shut down, cutting four jobs, including those of suicide-prevention specialists. The employees also monitor PTSD rates and traumatic brain injury.

Eight of the 18 jobs in DND’s epidemiology section will also be cut. Those include epidemiologists and researchers who analyze mental health issues such as depression, PTSD and suicide.

“Due to financial restraints, we are looking for ways and means to make our non-clinical support, our non-front line support, more efficient so we can focus our efforts where they need be — the medical care of our military members and their families,” said Natynczyk.

The move comes on the heels of a new report indicating that suicides have increased in the Canadian Forces. At the same time the issues of suicide and PTSD are also under scrutiny at a military police complaints hearing in Ottawa. That hearing is examining how the Canadian Forces dealt with the case of Cpl. Stuart Langridge, an Afghanistan veteran who killed himself.

In a scathing report obtained by the Ottawa Citizen this week, a group of civilian health-care professionals providing much of the care for emotionally damaged Afghanistan war veterans at Petawawa said the system is in “crisis.”

The report said the military is making a mistake in closing an Ottawa clinic for PTSD cases without having any firm plan in place for when care for those patients is transferred back to Petawawa in July.

Currently, the 6,000-member base has no psychologists and just one working psychiatrist, who because of other duties is able to devote only a quarter of her time to treating patients.

But Col. Jean-Robert Bernier, Deputy Surgeon General, said Friday that the two civilian psychologists now working out of the National Defence Medical Centre in Ottawa have both agreed to commute to Petawawa to treat patients.

Competition for psychiatrists and psychologists is tough, added personnel chief Smith.

“There is a shortage of mental health professionals Canada wide,” he said. “We can offer a very competitive salary to physicians in general — mental health practitioners included — and we are in the market for those services.”

In a statement Friday, the Canadian Psychiatric Association criticized the planned cuts across the military’s health-care system.

“These cuts will seriously damage DND’s ability to monitor the health of Canada’s military members,” said association president Dr. Fiona McGregor.

The military insist that the closing of the Ottawa clinic, and the dearth of mental health services that is forcing damaged, often suicidal soldiers to wait months for treatment, has nothing to do with budget restraints.

But the civilian report urged the government to re-think its entire treatment program, which they said is broken and underfunded.

“Our soldiers who fought for the freedom of children, mothers, fathers, grandchildren and all others in faraway countries are worthy of quality mental health services,” said their report. “They are only asking for the same thing: the opportunity to heal and gain sustainable mental health. They should not have to fight for services, or wait in the desert of their minds hoping help will come soon.”

Article source: http://www.canada.com/news/Military+brass+circle+wagons+MacKay+hammered+over+mental+health+cuts/6569342/story.html

Senior officials, including the Chief of Defence Staff and the head of military personnel, are responding to criticism over proposed cuts at National Defence and the potential impact on soldiers returning from Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress.

Rear Admiral Andrew Smith, who oversees military staffing, says no decision has been made on eliminating research and analyst positions. Those experts have been notified by their union that their jobs could be cut.

Rear Adm. Smith and the Forces’ top commander, General Walt Natynczyk, say everything is being done to protect front-line health services.

Gen. Natynczyk says, however, there is a shortage of psychologists and psychiatrists at remote military bases across the country and he’s appealing for volunteers to serve in such locations.

“The bottom line is that we want to improve the care we provide to our men and women. Any reductions or realignments we make are aimed at doing just that,” the Chief of Defence Staff told a hastily arranged briefing Friday.

“Where the soldiers are; where their families are; that’s where we want to put the care.”

Two Ottawa-based civilian psychologists, who are treating roughly 40 soldiers from Petawawa, Ont., will soon begin travel back and forth instead of operating out of local office.

“It’s fair to come back and look at the administration and management of the health-care system and have a critical review and analysis of it to look for efficiencies,” Rear Adm. Smith said. “That review continues.”

Federal unions have been told the department’s Deployment Mental Health Research Section faces closure. The unit includes suicide-prevention specialists who also monitor traumatic stress rates and traumatic brain injury cases.

The epidemiology section is also losing up to 18 staff who research issues such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide.

“Whatever the outcome of the current review, we will retain a research and analytical capability,” said Colonel Jean-Robert Bernier, the military’s deputy surgeon-general.

“We also have various other methods that we’ve invested in over the years to assist us.”

They can contract services, or rely on data and studies from either Veterans Affairs Canada, universities or NATO, he added.

The concern comes in the same week as National Defence said 20 soldiers died by suicide in 2011. That’s up from 12 soldiers who took their own lives the year before.

Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett pointed to the figures on Friday, asking how the Conservative government could justify slashing any mental-health positions.

The country’s junior defence minister deflected the question by saying that the rate of suicides in the military remains constant and has not risen, despite the increase in the overall numbers.

Chris Alexander also said the suicide rates among those in uniform are well below that of the civilian population.

Like Gen. Natynczyk, he said the government is investing in front-line care.

“We have almost doubled the number of professional front-line health care workers,” Mr. Alexander said. “They will remain in place. We have the highest ratio of professional health-care workers to soldiers of any country.”

Article source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/dnd-brass-on-defensive-over-cuts-to-mental-health-research/article2423336/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=National&utm_content=2423336

PHOENIX – The traditional closing-day feature, the $35,000 Hasta La Vista Handicap, brings down the curtain Sunday on the long Turf Paradise meet. The 1 7/8-mile grass event is the final event on an 11-race program, and drew a field of nine grass marathoners headed by 122-pound highweight Brass Plate.

The meet’s final card also features the $35,000 ATBA Sales Spring Stakes for 2-year-olds going five furlongs.

Brass Plate, owned by Steve Henson and trained by Jim Frey, was big here in the winter, winning three straight dirt races including two parts of the Marathon Series, at 1 1/4 miles and 1 5/8 miles. He rallied to finish a strong third in a grass stakes at Santa Anita March 24, returned here, and gamely prevailed in the Wildcat Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on the turf. That is the traditional prep for this race.

The 4-year-old Brass Plate figures to be favored under Scott Stevens.

His main opposition may come from Keen Bidder. A 5-year-old gelding trained by Phil Hartman, Keen Bidder comes here razor sharp and adores this course. He’s won five of his seven starts on this layout and comes off two big wins here, first in the Turf Distance Trial at 1 1/8 miles March 4 and then in the Turf Distance Final at 1 1/2 miles April 9. Vicky Baze has the call at 118 pounds.

Northern Indy invades from California. He finished off the board in three starts this year and off the board in his only two grass tries, but this colt has been knocking heads with tough competition on the West Coast. Double Shuffle has a puncher’s chance, as the late-runner rallied for third behind Brass Plate in the Wildcat.

◗ Twelve juveniles are set to go postward in the ATBA Sales Stakes (race 10), headed by big trial winners Youbetshewon, Gadsden Purchase and My Little Tweety, as well as promising runners Rib Eye and Falcon Lane.

Racing returns to the Phoenix track for the 2012-2013 meet in the fall.

Article source: http://www.drf.com/news/turf-paradise-brass-plate-favored-hasta-la-vista

A brass angel, broken apart and nearly sold for scrap, has police
looking for the rightful owner.

Authorities are looking for the criminal to crack a case, working
backwards to figure out whose angel is no longer watching over them.

Workers at Metal Check alerted police when a man tried to trade
the five-foot angel for cash. The head, arms and legs were cut off.

“A guy brought it in, but his story didn’t quite check out. He
said he ran into it with his car and he wanted to tear it up or something. But
we just didn’t buy the story,” said Jimmy Nanez of Metal Check.

5/4/2012
Related Story: OKC Police Look For
Owner Of 5-Foot-Tall Brass Angel Statue

They didn’t tell him that, initially they unloaded the statue as
if they were accepting it, then called police.

Police say they know the man who presented the angel for
payment is no saint. He was arrested previously for stealing metal. Now
police are trying to figure out if the man stole the angel, but until then she
won’t be scrapped.

“We are not in the business to buy stolen stuff…we are in the
business of buying scrap metal,” Nanez said.

The five-foot antique is estimated to be worth thousands of
dollars, yet for scrapping the brass, Metal Check would’ve paid $300.

If you have any information on the angel’s owner, call Crime
Stoppers at 235-7300.

Article source: http://www.news9.com/story/18152486/okc-police-hope-to-track-down-owner-of-stolen-angel-statue

USA Shooting

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. --(Ammoland.com)- Hornady Manufacturing announces their continued support for USA Shooting in their pursuit of gold at the 2012 London Olympic Games through a multi-year contract with the National Governing Body (NGB) which supports USA Shooting (USAS) and the USA Shooting National Team.

“Hornady is honored to partner with the NGB to help fund America’s preeminent shooting team, and increase awareness for the shooting sports both nationally and internationally.” said Steve Hornady, President of Hornady Manufacturing.

“American shooters always perform well in every level of competition, but that is especially true in an Olympic setting. We are proud to be associated with the USA Shooting Team, and wish them great success in their quest for gold.”

In addition to their corporate sponsorship, Hornady recently donated a rare Zombie Max Ammo Plant to USA Shooting, which was auctioned on Gunbroker.com.

“USA Shooting is grateful for the opportunity to partner with an industry leader like Hornady to help drive our mission and accelerate our abilities to provide the very best support for our athletes and members,” said USA Shooting Team Foundation Executive Director, Buddy DuVall. “Hornady is an institution built on quality and dependability, and this partnership is another way for us to connect with the broader shooting sports community.”

Hornady has been an active promoter and supporter of the shooting sports through a wide variety of causes, including the Hunting and Shooting Sports Heritage Fund, National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI), National Rifle Association, National 4-H Shooting Sports Foundation, and more.

Founded in 1949, Hornady Manufacturing Company is a family owned business headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska. Proudly manufacturing products that are made in the USA, Hornady Manufacturing is a world leader in bullet, ammunition, reloading tool and accessory design and manufacture.

For further information regarding Hornady products, visit the company web site at http://hornady.com. Media members interested in Hornady winning products for editorial review, should contact Everett Deger at edeger@hornady.com.

About USA Shooting:
USA Shooting, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, was chartered by the United States Olympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport of shooting in April 1995. USA Shooting’s mission is to prepare American athletes to win Olympic medals, promote the shooting sports throughout the U.S. and govern the conduct of international shooting in the country. Check us out on the web at www.usashooting.org and on Twitter at twitter.com/USAShooting.

Article source: http://www.ammoland.com/2012/05/04/hornady-sponsors-usa-shooting-team/

“The government has not privatised any public sector after Balco. Hence, there is no scope for the proposed 10 per cent offloading of government’s equity in RINL paving the way for privatisation,” RINL Chairman-cum-Managing Director A.P. Choudhary told The Hindu on Thursday.

He said the unions and the employees should not worry over disinvestment and contended that its listing which was essential to retain Navratna status by November 16 would only enhance the credibility of the company in the market.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared disinvestment up to 10 per cent in September, 2011 after which UBS Security, Deutsche Bank, Edilweiss Capital and IDBI Capital were appointed as the book running lead managers to manage the IPO.

RINL is a zero debt company with a paid-up capital of Rs.4,800 crore and preferential equity share of Rs.3,000 crore as on March 31, 2011. RINL shareholders recently approved the conversion of the company into a public limited company as per Companies Act to facilitate its listing.

RINL recently presented Rs.1,556 crore to Government of India for redemption of preferential capital and dividend.

The company has set an internal target to achieve a turnover of Rs.20,000 crore this year as against last year’s Rs.14,457 crore – which itself was an all-time high turnover.

Justifying the listing of the company to raise funds at 1:1 debt equity ratio for the proposed 11 million tonne expansion with estimated cost of Rs.22,000 crore, Mr. Choudhary said listing would give better confidence to the financial institutions to invest in RINL.

Retaining Navratna status would continue to give the board of RINL unlimited powers for capital investment without which the board could only clear investments up to Rs.500 crore, he said efforts were on to ensure raw material security to reduce the production cost.

He said the AP Government was in the process to supply iron ore from Bayyaram and some mines in Prakasham and Anantapur through AP Mineral Development Corporation. RINL and APMDC will soon sign MoU. RINL is also confident of getting captive iron ore mines in Rajasthan with a reserve of 325 million tonne.

Keywords: disinvestment/ privatisation of RINL

Article source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/article3383423.ece

Click here to find out which other top insider buys by the ”top brass” you need to know about »

Bonavia bets big on UNS:

Bonavia’s average cost works out to $36.72/share. In trading on Friday, bargain hunters could buy shares of UniSource Energy Corp. (NYSE: UNS) and achieve a cost basis lower than Bonavia, with shares changing hands as low as $35.80 per share. Shares of UniSource Energy Corp. were changing hands at $35.92 at last check, trading up about 0.3% on Friday. The chart below shows the one year performance of UNS shares, versus its 200 day moving average:

Looking at the chart above, UNS’s low point in its 52 week range is $32.96 per share, with $39.25 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $35.92.

The current annualized dividend paid by UniSource Energy Corp. is $1.72/share, currently paid in quarterly installments, and its most recent dividend has an upcoming ex-date of 06/06/2012. Below is a long-term dividend history chart for UNS, which can be of good help in judging whether the most recent dividend with approx. 4.8% annualized yield is likely to continue.

According to the ETF Finder at ETF Channel, UNS makes up 4.60% of the SP SmallCap Utilities Portfolio ETF (NASD: PSCU)which is trading relatively unchanged on the day Friday.

See what other ETFs contain UNS »
See what other stocks are held by PSCU »

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Article source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/energystockchannel/2012/05/04/top-buys-by-top-brass-ceo-bonavias-110-2k-bet-on-uns/?feed=rss_home

Article source: http://www.helena-arkansas.com/homepage/x272283465/Funky-Butt-Brass-Band-to-close-out-Warfield-Fest

“The Three Stooges Brass Band!”

One could hear the chorus of “Really?!”s as The Stooges – take note, monsieur announcer — took the stage, utterly killing it to a packed lawn of toe-tapping festgoers at Congo Square.

If there is a number to be mentioned, it’s 12. The Stooges’ powerhouse sound came courtesy of a dozen perfectly synchronized showmen, who tore through an hour that testified to the act’s traditional roots while dabbling in modern urban influences like rap and nu soul.

The players lit into things with “We Got That Fire” and simply didn’t quit. It doesn’t get more polished than the men in red tees, joined by two guest vocalists, West Coast hip hopper TQ among them for “Why They Had to Kill Him,” a recently recorded memorial to a fallen friend.

Minimal in-between song banter kept the focus on the music, whose culmination is bound to be a fest highlight: a closing medley dedicated to fellow Crescent City icons Rebirth Brass Band, who Stooges frontman and tuba player Walter Ramsey explained brought home a Grammy for the first time in the history of brass bands.

Tearing through “Do Whatcha Wanna,” John Boutte’s ubiquitous “Treme” theme song, Solomon Burke-turned-Blues Brothers classic “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” and, finally, “We Made It Through That Water” — the latter, Free Agents tune certainly not its first performance of the day, and likely not the last — the budding superstars brought a party like no other.

That some much-appreciated mid-afternoon clouds, the occasional breeze and even a few drops of rain dropped in only made it that much more joyous an affair.

Article source: http://www.nola.com/jazzfest/index.ssf/2012/05/the_stooges_brass_band_triumph.html

Article source: http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2012/05/04/bruins_executives_disappointed_with_early_exit