Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Futurity.org ? Mate tea compounds kill colon cancer

Long consumed in South America for medicinal purposes, mate tea's caffeine derivatives not only induce death in human colon cancer cells, but also reduce important markers of inflammation. (Credit: University of Illinois)

U. ILLINOIS (US) ? Human colon cancer cells die when exposed to the amount of bioactive ingredients in just one cup of yerba mate tea.

For an in vitro study, published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, researchers isolated, purified, and then treated human colon cancer cells with caffeoylquinic acid (CQA) derivatives from mate tea. As the scientists increased the CQA concentration, cancer cells died as a result of apoptosis. The tea has been consumed for years in South America for medicinal purposes.

?The caffeine derivatives in mate tea not only induced death in human colon cancer cells, they also reduced important markers of inflammation,? says Elvira de Mejia, associate professor of food chemistry and food toxicology at the University of Illinois.

That?s important because inflammation can trigger the steps of cancer progression she says. ?Put simply, the cancer cell self-destructs because its DNA has been damaged.?

The ability to induce apoptosis, or cell death, is a promising tactic for therapeutic interventions in all types of cancer.

For this study, researchers were able to identify the mechanism that led to cell death. Certain CQA derivatives dramatically decreased several markers of inflammation, including NF-kappa-B, which regulates many genes that affect the process through the production of important enzymes. Ultimately cancer cells died with the induction of two specific enzymes, caspase-3 and caspase-8, de Mejia says.

?If we can reduce the activity of NF-kappa-B, the important marker that links inflammation and cancer, we?ll be better able to control the transformation of normal cells to cancer cells,? she adds.

The results of the study strongly suggest that the caffeine derivatives in mate tea have potential as anti-cancer agents and could also be helpful in other diseases associated with inflammation.

But, because the colon and its microflora play a major role in the absorption and metabolism of caffeine-related compounds, the anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects of mate tea may be most useful in the colon.

?We believe there?s ample evidence to support drinking mate tea for its bioactive benefits, especially if you have reason to be concerned about colon cancer. Mate tea bags are available in health food stores and are increasingly available in large supermarkets,? she says.

The scientists have already completed and will soon publish the results of a study that compares the development of colon cancer in rats that drank mate tea as their only source of water with a control group that drank only water.

The work was funded by the University of Illinois Research Board and Puangpraphant?s Royal Thai Government Scholarship.

More news from University of Illinois: http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/

Source: http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/mate-tea-compounds-kill-colon-cancer/

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France's Juppe to push Arab League plan at U.N. (Reuters)

PARIS (Reuters) ? France's Foreign Minister Alain Juppe will address the U.N. Security Council in New York on Tuesday in an effort to push through an Arab-backed resolution for political change in Syria.

"The minister will be in New York on Tuesday to convince the Security Council to meet its responsibilities as the crimes against humanity committed by the regime get worse," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said on Monday.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby left for New York on Sunday where he will brief representatives of the Security Council on Tuesday, seeking support for the Arab peace plan, which calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

France and Britain crafted the resolution in consultation with Qatar and Morocco, as well as Germany, Portugal and the United States. It is intended to supersede a Russian draft that Western delegations say is too accommodating to Assad and also no longer relevant in light of the recent Arab League proposals.

Veto-holding Russia, which said last week that parts of the Western-Arab draft resolution were unacceptable, said on Monday it wanted the Council to hear directly from the Arab League's observer mission in Syria before discussing any resolutions.

The French-backed draft resolution, obtained by Reuters, calls for a "political transition" in Syria. While not calling for U.N. sanctions against Damascus, it does say that the Security Council could "adopt further measures" if Syria does not comply with the terms of the resolution.

"It is time the Security Council acts to find a solution to this crisis," Valero said in a daily briefing to reporters.

France has been prominent in Western efforts to try to force Assad to end a crackdown on protests and has suggested a need to set up zones to protect civilians - the first proposal by a Western power for outside intervention on the ground.

Escalating bloodshed prompted the Arab League to suspend the work of its monitoring mission on Saturday. Arab foreign ministers, who have urged Assad to make way for a government of national unity, will discuss the crisis on February 5.

"The situation in Syria is appalling and is just getting worse," Valero said. "Everything must be done to put an end to the spiral of violence that has led to the bloody repression which we've seen for the last 10 months."

Juppe made a similar address in March to the 15-nation council when he urged it to adopt a resolution that would authorize a no-fly zone against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The resolution passed, with Russia and China abstaining, and within two days NATO air forces were bombing Libya.

Given Russian and Chinese objections now, and Syria's position, unlike Libya, at the heart of Middle East power politics, such an intervention seems unlikely as yet.

(Reporting By John Irish; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/un/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/wl_nm/us_france_syria

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Monday, January 30, 2012

HBT: Rangers will meet with Oswalt on Monday

Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers are going to meet with Roy Oswalt on Monday. There?s no offer on the table, but there is a meeting.

This, combined with the multiple denials from the Cardinals that they were, as previously reported, close to a deal with Oswalt, could suggest that Texas is making a move. ?But then again, the Rangers met with Prince Fielder too, and see how that turned out.

So, my guess: Oswalt signs a $200 million deal with Detroit. Because that?s how this works, right?

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/29/the-rangers-are-going-to-meet-with-roy-oswalt-on-monday/related/

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[OOC] Cave Natives

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Former Italian president Scalfaro dies at 93 (AP)

ROME ? Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, a past president of Italy who helped write its post-war constitution and was a founding member of the former Christian Democrats, died Sunday in Rome. He was 93.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano paid tribute to his predecessor as "a protagonist in the democratic political life" and called him an example of "moral integrity."

No cause of death was immediately reported.

Scalfaro held numerous prestigious posts before becoming Italy's ninth postwar president, a position that is largely ceremonial but carries the significant role of moral compass for the country.

As president from 1992-1999, Scalfaro was often called upon to resolve Italy's recurrent political crises, either choosing a new premier or calling early elections. He once called Italy's volatile political situation "pathological."

The National Magistrates Association remembered Scalfaro as a "strenuous defender of constitutional values and the autonomy and independence of the magistrates."

A devout Roman Catholic with a law degree from the Catholic University of Milan, Scalfaro spent the war years working to help imprisoned anti-Fascists and their families.

Then, in 1946, he won a seat in the assembly that wrote the constitution for the Italian Republic, declared in late 1947 after a popular referendum abolished the monarchy.

Scalfaro, a native of the northern city of Novara, was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in the republic's first general election in 1948 and remained a deputy until he was elected president in 1992.

He also was one of the founding figures of the former Christian Democrats, for decades Italy's most powerful party until its demise in corruption scandals in the early 1990s.

Scalfaro held junior posts at various ministries through the 1950s and early 1960s. In 1966, he gained his first Cabinet position when Premier Aldo Moro appointed him transportation minister.

In subsequent governments, Scalfaro served two more stints as transport minister and was education minister and interior minister. He was vice president of the Chamber of Deputies from 1976 to 1983.

He became a senator for life after completing his term as president.

He is survived by a daughter, Marianna.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obits/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_obit_scalfaro

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Goldman, Berkshire names surface in Gupta case (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? The names of a Goldman Sachs board member and a top executive of Berkshire Hathaway surfaced on Friday as potential witnesses in the insider trading trial of Rajat Gupta, a former director of Goldman, Procter & Gamble and other companies.

Gupta, a one-time global head of the McKinsey & Co consultancy firm, is the most prominent corporate executive charged in the U.S. government's broad investigation of Wall Street insider trading, a probe that used secretly recorded phone conversations as evidence.

His trial is scheduled to start on April 9 in U.S. District Court in New York. Gupta, 63, has denied the charges of securities fraud and conspiracy in providing inside tips about Goldman and Procter & Gamble board meetings to hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam.

At a hearing in federal court in New York to discuss potential evidence and potential witnesses, U.S. prosecutor Reed Brodsky identified Ajit Jain, the top Berkshire Hathaway insurance executive, as a "close friend" of Gupta who has already been interviewed by the prosecution and defense.

Jain is not accused of any wrongdoing.

A spokeswoman for renowned investor Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jain, who heads the company's insurance business, has been identified as a possible successor of Buffett's as chief executive.

Dozens of hedge fund managers, lawyers and executives have been convicted since 2009 in the sweeping prosecution, including Gupta's onetime friend and business associate Rajaratnam. He is serving an 11-year prison sentence.

Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein testified at Rajaratnam's two month-long trial last year and could be called to the witness stand in Gupta's case along with other Goldman executives, according to court records.

On Friday, the name of Goldman board member Claes Dahlback also came up in court and he could be asked to testify.

"After Rajaratnam was arrested in October 2009, Dahlback asked Gupta if he knew Rajaratnam," U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said, reading from a government report on the case. "Gupta responded that Rajaratnam was a 'bad man' and further stated that Gupta lost money with Rajaratnam."

A Goldman Sachs spokesman, David Wells, declined to comment.

Government investigators recorded at least two discussions between Rajaratnam and Gupta.

Gupta's lawyer Gary Naftalis indicated that part of the defense would be to emphasize that in 2008 and 2009 - the time the alleged illegal tips took place - relations between Gupta and Rajaratnam had deteriorated. He said Gupta lost all of a $10 million investment he made with the Galleon hedge fund manager.

"We were very unhappy with how he handled our investment and the information he gave us and this is obviously inconsistent with going out and tipping him," Naftalis told the judge.

The government contends that Gupta provided Rajaratnam with advance knowledge of Warren Buffett's $5 billion investment in Goldman at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, as well as information about Goldman's surprise fourth-quarter loss in 2008 and P&G's quarterly earnings in late January 2009.

The case is USA v Gupta, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 11-907.

(Reporting By Grant McCool; Editing by Gary Hill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/bs_nm/us_galleon_gupta

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Samsung 4Q profit rises 17 pct on phones, panels (AP)

SEOUL, South Korea ? Samsung Electronics Co.'s quarterly profit rose 17 percent from a year earlier on the strength of sales in smartphones and flat panels.

Samsung said Friday in a regulatory filing that its net profit reached 4 trillion won ($3.5 billion) in the three months that ended in December. The company earned 3.4 trillion won a year earlier.

The Suwon, South Korea-based company said its operating profit jumped 75.8 percent to 5.3 trillion won in the same quarter. The figure was closely in line with the company's estimate last month of a 73 percent rise.

Samsung, the world's biggest manufacturer of memory chips and liquid crystal displays, said demand for semiconductors in mobile products and servers remained solid despite weaknesses in personal computers.

The company also said it was able to consolidate its profit in smartphones and flat television sales, noting its efforts to expand electronics parts businesses to secure future growth potential.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_bi_ge/as_skorea_earns_samsung

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Mastering the etiquette of texting (while walking)

By Rosa Golijan

YouTube

"Hang on! I need to let them know we're on our way," muttered a colleague as she stopped walking, pressed her back against a wall, and started tapping out a text message. I stared at her, confused. Why couldn't she keep walking while sending the text message?

That baffling moment occurred weeks ago, but it came to mind the instant I saw the video below.

Whether she realized it or not, that gal was apparently practicing proper texting etiquette when she stepped away from the crowd and used her phone without the risk of running into someone (or something).

As you can see in the video ? which?New York-based filmmaker Casey Neistat made as part of the New York Times' Op-Doc, a forum for short, opinionated documentaries???there are a lot of wrong ways to go about texting while walking.

And there is a right way?? my colleague's way.

That particular approach to texting while walking not only?keeps individuals from annoying those around them, but also helps prevent potentially life-threatening situations.

Related stories:

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on?Twitter, subscribing to her?Facebook?posts, or circling her?on?Google+.

Source: http://digitallife.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10243591-mastering-the-etiquette-of-texting-while-walking

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Friday, January 27, 2012

Romney: Gingrich attacks on him are 'repulsive' (AP)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ? Republican Newt Gingrich says he does not believe rival Mitt Romney's proposal to allow illegal immigrants to voluntarily deport themselves would be successful, adding that his presidential rival is the "most anti-immigrant" candidate.

Gingrich and Romney clashed in the opening moments of Thursday's debate in Florida.

Gingrich says the United States is not going to yank grandmothers from their homes and calls for immigration policies to be realistic. He adds that Romney is biased against immigrants.

Romney says such rhetoric is "inexcusable" and "repulsive." He says he wants legal immigration and that existing laws must be obeyed.

Rick Santorum says he agrees with Romney's position. Ron Paul says the U.S. needs to focus on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, not the one between the U.S. and Texas.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_debate_self_deportation

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Jobless claims edge up, but remain at hopeful levels

By Msnbc.com staff and wire

New claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly in the latest week, but remained at levels that point to a slowly improving labor market.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims rose by 21,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 377,000 in the week ended Jan. 21. The four-week moving average, considered a better gauge of labor market conditions, fell 2,500 to 377,500.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 370,000. While last week's rise partially unwound the prior week's sharp decline, claims still held below the 400,000 mark that is usually associated with labor market healing.

Job growth has gained momentum in recent months and the unemployment rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.5 percent in December.

Still, the labor market recovery has a long way to go, with 23.7 million Americans either out of work or underemployed.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve acknowledged the improvement in the labor market, but noted the jobless rate remained too high.

The?central bank vowed to keep overnight lending rates near zero until at least late 2014 and Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed was still mulling further asset purchases to help foster stronger economic growth.

It forecast the unemployment rate at 8.2 percent to 8.5 percent this year.

The number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid rose 88,000 to 3.55 million in the week ended January 14.

Economists had forecast so-called continuing claims rising to 3.50 million from a previously reported 3.43 million. The continuing claims data covered the survey week for the household survey from which the jobless rate is derived.

Continued claims declined 63,000 between the December and January survey periods.

The number of Americans on emergency unemployment benefits dropped 144,822 to 2.88 million in the week ended January 7, the latest week for which data is available.

A total of 7.64 million people were claiming unemployment benefits during that period under all programs, down 188,612 from the prior week.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10241919-jobless-claims-edge-up-but-remain-at-hopeful-levels

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

In historic shift, Fed sets inflation target (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? The Federal Reserve took the historic step on Wednesday of setting an inflation target, a victory for Chairman Ben Bernanke that brings the Fed in line with many of the world's other major central banks.

The U.S. central bank, in its first ever "longer-run goals and policy strategy" statement, said an inflation rate of 2 percent best aligned with its congressionally mandated goals of price stability and full employment.

However, it said it was not appropriate to adopt a fixed goal for employment because the level of unemployment that can be achieved without sparking inflation is not largely determined by monetary factors.

The inflation target is at the high end of what was traditionally seen as an informal target range of roughly 1.7 percent to 2 percent. It caps a long crusade by Bernanke to open a window onto what for years had been the Fed's purposefully opaque and secretive deliberations.

"Communicating this inflation goal clearly to the public helps keep longer-term inflation expectations firmly anchored, thereby fostering price stability and moderate long-term interest rates and enhancing the committee's ability to promote maximum employment in the face of significant economic disturbances," the Fed said.

Skeptics, particularly among congressional Democrats, have in the past worried that an explicit inflation target would relegate the full employment goal to the back burner.

But Bernanke, perhaps with one eye to Capitol Hill, was careful to stress that setting an inflation target did not mean the central bank would lose sight of the other side of its dual mandate.

"We are not absolutists," he said at a news conference. "If there is a need to let inflation return a little bit more slowly to target to get a better result on unemployment, then that is something that we would be willing to do."

The Fed would not make meeting its inflation target its top priority and consider a healthy job market a secondary goal, Bernanke said, as he dismissed the label of "inflation targeter."

"We are a dual-mandate central bank. We put equal weight on price stability and maximum employment," he said.

TIMELY MOVE

While Bernanke, the plainspoken successor of Alan Greenspan, has touted a numerical inflation goal as a cornerstone of central bank best practices for years, the move on Wednesday was timely because it could help quell nagging doubts that the Fed's unprecedented easy money policies are setting the stage for a nasty bout of inflation.

The U.S. economy strengthened toward the end of last year, with the unemployment rate dropping to a near three-year low of 8.5 percent. If the rebound falters, the inflation target could help pave the way to more bond buying.

"I think this is a dovish move showing the Fed is concerned about deflation," said Eric Stein, portfolio manager at Eaton Vance in Boston, who characterized the inflation target as "a big deal."

Since early 2009, Fed officials have provided their views on the longer-run inflation rate they deemed appropriate, projections that were widely seen as an informal target.

They provide similar long-run projections for unemployment that given an indication of how low a jobless rate officials think is sustainable without generating inflation.

Those figures have moved up a bit in fits and starts -- a suggestion that a growing number of Fed officials believe the 2007-2009 recession left lasting economic scars.

Fed officials on Wednesday held their longer-run inflation forecasts at 1.7 percent to 2 percent, and signaled comfort with the outlook for prices. Their favored core price gauge was up 1.7 percent in the 12 months through November.

They also kept their long-run employment projection steady at 5.2 percent to 6.0 percent, but that range had been 4.8 percent to 5 percent in early 2009.

The Fed will reaffirm and "make adjustments as appropriate" to the long-term goals statement each January, it said, leaving open the possibility it could adjust its new target.

The statement was released simultaneously with another first for the Fed: published charts of individual policymakers' projections for the appropriate path of the benchmark federal funds rate.

(Additional reporting by Ann Saphir, Karen Brettell and Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Padraic Cassidy and Leslie Adler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/ts_nm/us_usa_fed_inflation_target

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Polish websites to go dark to protest ACTA (AP)

WARSAW, Poland ? Hundreds of people waged a street protest in Warsaw on Tuesday to protest the government's plan to sign an international copyright treaty, hours before several popular websites plan to go dark for an hour over the issue.

Poland's support for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA, has sparked days of protest, including attacks on government sites, by groups who fear it could lead to online censorship.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk insisted Tuesday that his government will not give in to the protesters. He vowed that Poland will sign the international agreement, which is aimed at protecting intellectual property ? like music and books ? and products including pharmaceuticals and designer items. ACTA enjoys widespread support from the producers of music, movies and a range of goods enjoying copyright protections.

"There will be no concessions to brutal blackmail," Tusk said at a news conference.

The sites that are protesting are primarily ones that are popular with young people and carry a mix of celebrity news, jokes, funny photographs and other entertaining material.

One site, http://www.wykop.pl, said that "under the banner of fighting piracy and concerns about intellectual property, ACTA will limit the rights of each of us."

At the street protest, held in front of a European Union office, people carried banners that said "Stop ACTA," while some had tape over their mouths to signify their fears that ACTA will infringe on freedom of expression online.

An extremist right-wing group is planning a separate protest Wednesday to oppose ACTA.

However, an influential group representing authors and composers ? known by its Polish acronym, ZAIKS ? has thrown its support behind ACTA. ZAIKS argued that ACTA will not hurt Internet freedom but protect the rights of creators. It said that Internet piracy is now robbing artists and the state treasury of hundreds of millions of zlotys (many millions of dollars) in income.

ACTA shares some similarities with the hotly debated Stop Online Piracy Act in the U.S., which was shelved by lawmakers last week after Wikipedia and Google blacked out or partially obscured their websites for a day in protest.

In recent days, a group calling itself "Anonymous" attacked Polish government websites, leaving several paralyzed on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday, most appeared to be working again, though the prime minister's site was unreachable. Still, Polish leaders are vowing to stick to plans to sign ACTA in Tokyo on Thursday.

ACTA has been negotiated by a number of industrialized countries that have been struggling for ways to fight counterfeiting and intellectual property theft ? crimes that cause huge losses to the movie and music industries and many other sectors.

The far-reaching agreement would cover everything from counterfeit pharmaceuticals to fake designer handbags to online piracy. The United States signed ACTA in October in Tokyo along with seven other countries: Australia, Canada, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Morocco and Singapore.

Critics of ACTA accuse the negotiating countries of hammering out the agreement in secret and failing to consult with the broader societies along the way.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_hi_te/eu_poland_websites_attacked

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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Meatless Monday: Balsamic glazed carrots and edamame grilled cheese

The time has come. The cat is out of the bag. My secret has been revealed. My (new) boss now knows my true identity: GrilledShane. Not only is she interested but is also extremely impressed. She lent me a panini cookbook and allowed me to ?have? a loaf of our signature bread, Milton?s Wheat, to use in a grilled cheese. (Don?t tell anyone though?*wink, wink*) From there, I used my Grilled Cheese, Please?cookbook to gain inspiration and create this particular grilled cheese sandwich.

Skip to next paragraph Shane Kearns

When Shane watched his mom create grilled cheese, he knew then that these sandwiches would soon become a major focus of his life. Thus evolved his life?s passion: grilledshane.com, devoted to all things grilled cheese: homemade recipes, news, and enjoyable stories. After reading grilledshane.com, you will come to realize that grilled cheese sandwiches can be much more than two pieces of bread and a slice of cheese.

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ingredients for balsamic glazed carrots & edamame grilled cheese?

grilledBalsamic Glazed Carrots & Edamame (out of the shell)
Kaltbach?Alpine Extra Cheese
Grafton Village Raw Milk Cheddar
Milton?s Wheat

Product: Swiss semi hard cheese, made from silo-free raw milk, with?dark-brown rind, specially cave-matured
?Flavour: Strong and harmonious, yet not at all strong or salty
?Ageing Period: 7 months (Emmi-Kaltbach)

I had no idea what cheese would fit with the ingredients I was going to include. I almost chose beer cheese, but the sous chef talked me out of that. Instead, after searching Whole Foods, I went with a cheese I had never seen before, Kaltbach Apline Extra Cheese.

"KALTBACH Alpine Extra is a new creation aged to perfection by the cellar masters at the Kaltbach?caves located on the edge of the Wauwiler Moos area in the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. (PerishableNews.com)"

How can you go wrong with a cheese that is aged in caves in Switzerland? Really, you can?t. Emmi, the company that is responsible for this yummy cheese, also makes a Gruyere variety as well as?Emmentaler. All of these cheeses are in the same family, with slight differences. In the case of the?Kaltbach, it has a nutty, creamy and very delicious flavor.

Originally I stumbled on this raw milk cheddar and thought I would use it as the only cheese but as I continued looking, I saw the Alpine Extra and preferred it. Then I thought, why not use two cheeses? One can never have too much cheese in a grilled cheese. I bought a large chunk of the Alpine Extra and small chunk of the Grafton Village to use as a secondary cheese.

Grafton cheese handcrafts artisanal cheddar cheese that is aged from one to four years. This award-winning cheddar is made from primarily Jersey cow milk (raw milk, hormone free), all from small Vermont family farms.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/y3yCD76ImHE/Meatless-Monday-Balsamic-glazed-carrots-and-edamame-grilled-cheese

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Discovery Communications to Report Fourth Quarter and Full Year ...

(Silver Spring, Md.) Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) will report fourth quarter and full year 2011 results on Thursday, February 16, 2012, at 7:00 a.m. EST. The company will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. EST to discuss the results. To access the conference call in the U.S.?


You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Source: http://www.magnaglobal.com/global-2/discovery-communications/discovery-communications-to-report-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2011-results-on-thursday-february-16-2/

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Printed Sensors Could Help Save You From Spoiled Food

Whenever I pick up a package of frozen raw meat from the grocery store, I wonder, "How many times did it thaw and unthaw?" There's currently no easy way to tell, but the ambiguity could be addressed with new temperature sensors from Thinfilm..

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/yeANTGx8nog/

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Sony tablets, smartphones to get Android 4.0 upgrades

Sony

The Sony Tablet S, left, and the Sony Tablet P.

By Athima Chansanchai

The upgrades to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich continue with the entire Sony Xperia line of smartphones, starting this spring, according to reports. Those say updates may be applied to applied to?Sony's Android tablets as well.

According to The Verge, sources say that Sony's Tablet S and Tablet P "are already running ICS and are being tested behind the scenes, though Sony wouldn't be drawn on giving any more specific a release window than the spring." Sony also acknowledged the imminent upgrades on a UK-based Sony forum.

Sony's tablets have been making headlines in the past few months. The S tablet?is now more affordable?affordable than the iPad, thanks to a recent price drop.?The tablet seems to have the Pope's blessing as well; the Holy See used a Sony tablet to light?"the biggest Christmas tree in the world." Meanwhile, the pocket-size Tablet P received buzz over its folding dual 5.5-inch screens.

Before the end of 2011, Sony Ericsson gave details about the Xperia smartphone upgrades in this blog post. Starting from end March/early April 2012, the first smartphones to get the upgrade are Xperia arc S, Xperia neo V and Xperia ray.

Then, Sony informs, starting from end April/early May, these will get the upgrade: Xperia arc, Xperia PLAY, Xperia neo, Xperia mini and mini pro, Xperia pro and Xperia active. The ?Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman will also receive one. ?

Sony Ericsson

It summarizes what goes into the upgrade here:

  • It starts with public push when we as a manufacturer get access to the new Android release from Google
  • Our developers take the existing Xperia? software and combine it with the new Android release
  • Once the coding is done we want to make sure the quality of the new software meets our, our partners and your expectations
  • Now we feel the new software is ready but we also need to make sure it?s approved by our external partners
  • All good. We?re all set to roll-out the new software.?

As 2012 kicks into gear, we'll see many more reports of the Android 4.0 upgrades, such as the LG announcements that harkened their coming in November.

More stories:

Check out Technolog on?Facebook, and on Twitter, follow?Athima Chansanchai, who is also trying to keep her head above water in the?Google+?stream.

Source: http://gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/24/10224482-sony-tablets-smartphones-to-get-android-40-upgrades

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Mike Ragogna: "Crazy Crazy": Introducing Guinevere, Plus Chatting With Four Year Strong's Alan Day and Gregory Rogove

2012-01-23-Peacocksquarelowres.jpeg

A Conversation with Guinevere

Mike Ragogna: Guinevere, you're a native of Toronto, right?

Guinevere: That's right.

MR: But you've recently branched out and started releasing your music here in the US.

G: Yes, that's true, and in Djibouti. The horn of Africa is pretty big on pop music. I'm kind of a big deal over there. (laughs) No, but for real, I've released a single called "Crazy Crazy" in Canada and the US, and I'm opening for Nick Carter and doing some headlining shows starting at the end of this month. All the dates are up on my website: http://www.thisisguinevere.com/

MR: So, I hear you're kind of a gamer, ain't ya.

G: Well, I guess you could classify me as a tomboy. I love video games, specifically Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Any game involving guns and zombies, it's a sure way to my heart. Boys, you should be writing this down.

MR: Is it true that you go online anonymously and play with other people?

G: Oh yeah, all the time. I have a little headset so that I can talk smack to people while I kill them off. Sometimes, I'll stay silent until the end of the game after I've buried everyone, and I tell them that I'm a girl. (laughs)

MR: Nice. (laughs) Nuketown Records is the name of your record label, right?

G: That's right. The name comes from a map on the game Call Of Duty, so gamers will get the inside joke.

MR: You're also pretty big into sci-fi. I heard you met a certain Captain Jean-Luc Picard or something like that?

G: Yes, ever since I was a little kid, I watched Star Trek - specifically, Star Trek: The Next Generation. And, no, I didn't actually get to meet him, my manager and his family did. He even took a photo with him and his son, and sent it to me. I almost cried because I was with my manager in LA at the time and only missed Patrick Stewart by a few minutes. I also love Star Wars. I'm a huge fan of those movies.

MR: Okay, let's talk about your new song "Crazy, Crazy," which was produced by Cirkut, who is super hot right now, working with Ke$ha, Britney, Rihanna, Flo Rida, and Taio Cruz. How did you get hooked up with him?

G: He was in Toronto when we met - this was seconds before he really blew up as a producer. We went to his really small studio downtown and he played these crazy massive beats and we knew he was incredibly talented. "Crazy Crazy" was one of the first songs we wrote and we worked on that and it all clicked so well in the studio that we ended up doing a bunch more. By the time we finished all of the songs for the record, Cirkut had been discovered by Dr. Luke and now he's working side by side with him creating these massive records for the biggest superstars. I'm grateful we found him first.

MR: Can you tell us a little bit about where the song "Crazy Crazy" came from?

G: The song came to me in the form of seven separate fortune cookies at a Chinese restaurant late one night. Nah, I'm kidding. We wrote a song about having fun with the person you're in a relationship with. It's kind of highlighting the "lady in the street, but a freak in the bed" mentality. (laughs) Being able to just have fun and being a total slut with your boyfriend or husband and freely expressing yourself, getting uncensored and crazy with the one you love.

MR: Your other single, "I Don't Believe In Love," is another collaboration with Ari Levine from The Smeezingtons who is nominated for the second year in a row for a Producer of The Year Grammy. Plus he produces and co-writes Bruno Mars songs.

G: Yeah, I am so fortunate to be able to work with him. He's so down to earth and cool. After the session, he took me to LA Gun Club and he taught me how to shoot a shotgun. I accidentally shot him in the liver. He's fine now. That was cool.
MR: (laughs) Wow. Can you ever go back to playing video games once you've had a real gun in your hands?

G: There are no zombies wandering the earth yet, so I guess the video games will have to suffice. (laughs) But the next time I'm in LA, I'm definitely going to The Gun Club to fire off a couple rounds.

MR: As I understand it, you started performing at a very young age. Is that right?

G: I think I was in grade one when I performed a Beach Boys song called, "Surfer Girl." That was kind of when I knew that this was something that I wanted to do.

MR: And legend has it some of your musical inspiration comes from your parent's classic rock tastes.

G: Yeah, actually. When I was about 13, I was listening to The Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears when my dad put on "Stairway To Heaven," and by the end of the song, I was blown away. I was like, "What is this? This is amazing!" From then on, I started exploring music from '60 to '79. I sat there and listened to a million different records and fell in love with the music of that era.

MR: Who were some of your influences?

G: Well, I'm a big Black Sabbath fan. I love Fleetwood Mac, The Doors and Stevie Nicks. I love her vocals, her presence. She's incredible.

MR: Can you tell us a little bit about where your stage name "Guinevere" came from?

G: My real name is Gwen, but I decided to go with Guinevere because I am into Arthurian legend, and in the King Arthur stories, she's so badass. She's strong, she followed her heart. She was the rock star of the castle. I like what the name represents.

MR: Nice. Has it ever been determined whether or not those stories have any basis in truth?

G: I would like to think that there's some truth to it.

MR: Can you discuss what went into creating your new album?

G: Most of the songs were written by myself and my manager, Amir Epstein. A lot of the work was done in the car. Driving to the studio on the highway, we'd go over the melodies over and over again and write the lyrics while sitting in Toronto traffic.

MR: Your style of music spans pop, dance and rock. So, how would you define it?

G: I like to call it "dark pop." It has pop sensibility, but the lyrics are very sarcastic and dark. Every single one of my songs conveys a truth - saying things that most people would be afraid to say in most situations. My goal was to send that message out there with aggressive lyrics.

MR: From your new album, let's talk about the song, "Beautiful."

G: (laughs) Ya, that's a good one. It's kind of payback for misogynists. Guys can be pretty cruel to girls in clubs. I have a lot of guy friends who will hook up with a girl in a club and they'll dance all night, and at the end of the night, all the lights turn on and they are like, "DAMN, you UGLY." I decided to write about that same idea, but in reverse. The song is about finding a guy at the bar and as soon as the lights hit his face, you realize that he is fugly!! (laughs) The chorus goes, "Oh my God, just go, now that I can see you, don't follow me home, really nice to meet you!" It's fun, silly and sarcastic.

MR: (laughs) It seems to be the same theme for the song "Liar."

G: Oh, yeah. It kind of pays homage to Alanis Morissette (a fellow Canadian). She's very aggressive with her lyrics. The song's attitude is a lot like "You Oughta Know." It's actually inspired by a situation one of my friends had with her boyfriend. I watched her go through being cheated on and lied to and how pissed I'd be if I were in her shoes. The lyrics are a raw, honest reaction to finding out you were cheated on.

MR: And there's your song "Go."

G: Yeah, a lot of people seem to connect to that song. It's bittersweet because it's talking about a better time. It's saying, "I thought it was love at first, but now that I realize it isn't, we need to move on, and although we will both hurt, we will both be ok. You need to enjoy your life." It's hard breaking up with somebody, especially somebody you love, but sometimes, love isn't enough. It's a dark kind of beautiful.

MR: Absolutely. You also bravely covered Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer."

G: Yes. That was so much fun. The verses and pre-choruses of the song were rewritten to make it my own. What I wanted to do was change the perspective and speak from the girl's point of view - what it must be like to be with someone who is away from home or on the road following their dream. Still, with the killer chorus, but now it's from the perspective of Bon Jovi's wife. It's her struggle in supporting her man and how strong their relationship must be to get through such a difficult lifestyle. Besides, it's fun to role-play being Bon Jovi's hot New Jersey wife in the '80s. I should have been born earlier!

MR: (laughs) Do you have any advice that you'd like to share with new artists?

G: Learn to knit and how to speak Nadsat. Seriously, I would advise to write from the heart. I know that sounds really cheesy, but that's how fans connect. If there's truth behind the songs you record, fans connect to that. Also, it's very important to surround yourself with people you can trust.

MR: And that is exactly what you've done, right? You take a DIY approach to your own promotion, don't you?

G: Yes, I do. I don't mind asking my amazing fans to help where they can. For example, I always ask my fans if they like my single, PLEASE request it repeatedly on every pop station in their town or city. How else will those stations know if their listeners like my single? It really means a lot to me.

MR: What do you feel are the best benefits using a DIY approach?

G: Complete creative control, for one. We get to release any single that we want, we get complete control over the videos we shoot, the producers we work with, the photographers we use etc. I think it's a risky thing to do, but at the same time having the power and freedom to express yourself is the best part of this. I really enjoy that.

MR: How do artists these days fund themselves without a record label?

G: It's different for everyone and it is tricky getting quality work for little money. But Canada has certain grants that the artists and bands can apply for to help fund a record, touring, websites, publicity etc. That's a leg up that Canadians have over people from the US. Also, sometimes, you can get people to do good work for less. Don't be afraid to ask. Try not to screw the starving musicians in your band, but if you can get a deal on unused studio space or a producer to work on spec, do it. A pleading look and a "pretty please?" helps. "Eyelash batting" is good to get musical funding or to simply get someone to buy you a beer. (laughs)

MR: So, how can your fans connect with you? Are you on all of the social networking sites?

G: Yes, for sure. I'm on Twitter and Facebook all the time. (laughs) Whenever someone tweets me, I will most definitely tweet them back. My Twitter account name is @thisisguinevere, and my facebook is www.facebook.com/thisisguinevere. I post things on a regular basis and respond to fans all the time. Check out my video on YouTube. Just search "Guinevere crazy crazy." I enjoy social networking because it's great to receive immediate feedback from fans.

MR: Do you have any more "singles" coming out soon that we should be looking out for?

G: Yeah. We just finished another song called, "Liberated." It's definitely a possible new single. It's a feel good song and I'm hoping to go nuts with the next video. Maybe more PVC and some light sabers or a gorilla in a gorilla suit. (laughs)

MR: (laughs) If there was one thing you would want from your fans, what would it be?

G: I would ask everyone to PLEASE request my song "Crazy Crazy" on their local radio station. Bombard them with requests. It's the #1 support a fan can give me.

MR: (laughs) One more question. As a gamer, have you come up with any video game ideas that you think people need to start working on?

G: How about "Maria Sisters"? Two Italian girls that have to search castles for their kidnapped prince. They can look the same, except one sister will be dressed in red, and the other in green. And one will have a fuller mustache. Feels familiar, doesn't it? How about an interactive reality gun game, where the player can turn on any reality show they hate and kill off any "real" characters they really dislike.

MR: Oh my. (laughs) Guinevere, thanks so much for spending some time with us, and all the best in the future and with your upcoming album.

G: Thanks so much, Mike. It was a lot of fun.

Transcribed by Evan Martin

Guinevere - "Crazy Crazy" Remix by FTR3


2012-01-23-61q3AVcX12L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

A Conversation with Four Year Strong's Alan Day

Mike Ragogna: Alan, I would describe Four Year Strong's sound as power-punk-pop...what do you think?

Alan Day: Yeah, that's pretty accurate.

MR: And maybe a little bit indie?

AD: Yeah, there may be a little bit of that mixed in there.

MR: Four Year Strong's In Some Way Shape Or Form is the band's fourth album. How did this one come together?

AD: We came out with the first record in 2007 and then we waited so long - almost three years - to put our next record out. So, we knew from that experience that we didn't want to wait that long. We were just dying to get this record out. We knew we wanted to do something a little bit different from stuff we've done in the past. We took a new approach to writing songs and that went better than ever. This record was a product of that.

MR: How did you guys write the music for this one?

AD: Well, in the past, we would concentrate mostly on the music - the chord progression, what the drums were doing, what the bass was doing - then write vocals on top of that. This time around, we realized that that approach really didn't make much sense. (laughs) We thought we should start to write the songs as songs - with vocals, melody and lyrics hand-in-hand, so that they actually work together instead of just feeling thrown together. That's what we did this time around and we loved it.

MR: So over the course of four albums - your first album counts as your first album, right?

AD: It's Our Time is actually just a really old recording we did when I was about sixteen or seventeen. (laughs)

MR: Okay, from then until now, besides the songwriting, how have things changed for you guys over the span of these projects?

AD: We've changed just as much as anyone else would as long as we've been together. We've been a band for about ten years and I think people have gotten to see a lot of different sides of the band. So many things can change us, whether we're listening to pop music a lot at the time or the experiences we've gone through as a band from touring to being in the studio. That just shows in our music. We weren't trying to be a different band when we were making this record, we are just starting to evolve into newer people and a newer band.

MR: By the way, the last album has one of my favorite song titles, "It Must Suck To Be Four Years Strong Right Now."

AD: (laughs) That was just a joke, really.

MR: And your fans are an integral part of the way you guys function as a band, isn't that right?

AD: Absolutely.

MR: For instance, you guys offered the free download of the song "Fair Weather Fan," which, I thought, was a great thing to do.

AD: Yeah. I mean, we've always thought that the fans were the most important thing about the band because if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be here. We're not in an age now where we could just sit back and have a record label sell millions of copies of records and make money for us. We do this for the fans first. We tour all over the country and world all year so that we can give people our music. That's what this is all about.

MR: You guys had a sort of mini-tour recently to back up the release of your single.

AD: We just finished up on the AP Tour around the States about a month ago. Our new record came out about halfway through the tour, so of course the tour was definitely in support of that new release, and we started playing, "Just Drive" and a few other new songs. It was going really well.

MR: You guys even had a few pre-album releases of songs such as "Stuck In The Middle" and "Falling For You," though they weren't released as singles, right?

AD: That's right.

MR: Can you discuss the general theme behind this batch of songs?

AD: Sure. One of the things that we did on this record that we haven't really done on previous records is that we touch on darker subjects. We always like to keep our songs pretty open to interpretation because what people latch onto in songs and lyrics is the fact that that they can relate them to their own lives and experiences, not just learning about a story that Dan O'Connor or I wrote, but being able to really latch onto it.

MR: Dan being the other vocalist and guitarist, and you also have Joe Weiss and Jake Massucco in the band. How do all of you interact with each other as a band?

AD: Oh, it's a blast. We're just a bunch of kids on the road having fun and playing music. It doesn't get much better than that, right? (laughs)

MR: Right. (laughs) You mentioned before that some of these songs are a little darker, proof of that being "Security Of The Familiar, The Tranquility Of Repetition," which is a quote from V For Vendetta. Was it someone's favorite movie?

AD: I don't know that it's any of our favorite movies, we just sometimes name songs from movie quotes. It's a thing we do.

MR: So was the song title, "Unbreakable" inspired by the movie?

AD: (laughs) No, that one was more lyrically inspired. That's actually one of my favorites on the album.

MR: Did you guys intend for that to be a sort of sporting event anthem? It does kind of come off like that.

AD: Not really. I'm not even really that much of a sports fan. Joe is crazy about the Bruins, and Dan loves the Red Sox and the Patriots, Jake loves the Celtics, and I'm the odd man out. And I do like sports, I just grew up in a house that listened to music and didn't watch sports. I kind of feel left out all the time.

MR: Are you just saying you're not into sports because you're secretly a Yankees fan?

AD: No. (laughs) I wish that I could be that ironic, but I'm not.

MR: You guys all grew up together in Worcester, Massachusetts. How did you first get together as a band?

AD: Well, the drummer Jake and I grew up together. We went to elementary school together and played in bands every year since the third grade or something. Then, when I was a freshman in High School, we started this band with Dan. We went through a couple of lineup changes at the beginning, but here we are.

MR: A small portion of the proceeds from your "It's A Wonderful Gig Life Tour" are going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, right? How did that come about?

AD: That's right. We've always wanted to do something with a charity organization and Dan's brother passed away of Leukemia in 2004, I believe. He's always wanted to do something for that charity specifically, so we figured this would be a great opportunity to do that.

MR: There was the photo contest that you guys put together with the "Just Drive" video. Can you tell us about that?

AD: We had this thing on Instagram, which is an iPhone app and another form of social networking. It's kind of like Twitter, only Twitter gives you 140 characters to say what you want to say and Instagram lets you post a picture instead, and a picture is worth a thousand words, so they say. We thought it was a cool way to get this cool, new social networking site and the band to work together in a new cool way. People like taking pictures and sharing them with the world and we figured that this was a cool way to do it.

MR: You guys also have a limited edition t-shirt designed in conjunction with Johnny Cupcakes Clothing.

AD: Yes, we do. We've known people that work there for quite a while now because they're from Boston and we're from Worcester. SJC Drums is from Massachusetts as well, so we all just kind of got together recently where we got an event together and all of Johnny Cupcakes, and SJC Drums people were there. So, we did a shirt with Johnny Cupcakes and SJC Drums did a kickdrum head with all of the logos on it. We just thought it was a cool way for these small town kids who actually had ideas and made them realities through time celebrate that.

MR: Where did the name "Four Years Strong" come from?

AD: Well, the actual story is not cool at all. I wish I could make something up to make it sound really interesting, but there isn't. (laughs) There was a band called the Get Up Kids that we all really liked when we were freshman in High School, and one of their lyrics was "five years strong." So, we thought we would be cool and just change it to Four Years Strong and make that the band's name. That's it. (laughs) Not an exciting story.

MR: What's with those beards with you guys. Some kind of statement?

AD: No, we all just really like beards and we've had them a long time. We also all hate razors. I haven't used a razor and shaving cream and shaved my face clean in maybe seven years?

MR: Do you have any advice that you would give to newer artists?

AD: My advice has always been to just get out there and show the world what you've got, you know? It's so easy these days to create a website and record a record in Garage Band and just do it all from home. You can go on the Internet and get so many hits online and people will actually see you and hear your music. The best way, though, is to physically get out there and loose some money. Take money out of your pocket, invest in a tank of gas and go play a gig a couple of States away, even if it's to nobody. Everyone I know that is huge and successful kind of started like that. That's the nature of this business at the start. Eventually, once you've established yourself as an artist, you appreciate all of that so much more.

Tracks:
1. The Infected
2. The Security Of The Familiar, The Tranquility Of Repetition
3. Stuck In The Middle
4. Just Drive
5. Fairweather Fan
6. Sweet Kerosene
7. Falling On You
8. Heaven Wasn't Built To Hold Me
9. Unbreakable
10. Bring On The World
11. Fight The Future
12. Only The Meek Get Pinched. The Bold Survive

Transcribed By Evan Martin


2012-01-22-41P3Jbz1L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

A Conversation with Gregory Rogove

Mike Ragogna: Gregory, let's start with a little background for everyone. You grew up in Pennsylvanian Amish Country, born to Jewish parents, right?

Gregory Rogove: Yes. Well, my father is of Ukrainian-Jewish origins and my mother's side is a mix of English and French. But my mom converted to Judaism when I was born.

MR: And you also spent a year in India on a year-long scholarship?

GR: Right. When I was 18, I went there to study the North Indian classical drum, or the tabla.

MR: And from there, you also went to Singapore, Mali, Mexico and China where you visited the Peking Opera, right?

GR: Yeah. I was mesmerized by those gongs that can be simultaneously beautiful and nauseating when they're repetitively banged in your brain. (laughs)

MR: Later, you graduated from Wesleyan University in 2002 and was a recipient of the Pecora Award, correct?

GR: Yeah. That was more of a surprise than anything. That award wasn't something I was thinking about or planning for, it was something I got in the mail. I didn't think anything of it, really. I thought it had something to do with Indian food. (laughs) I thought maybe it was some kind of joke until I did a little research on the award. I was so pleased and my friends who identified themselves as actual composers were a little upset at that. I'm not sure how it happened, but I was very happy to get it.

MR: From there, you immediately formed the band Tarantula A.D, which later became Priestbird, right?

GR: That's right.

MR: Plus you've even had the opportunity to play with Beck and tons of other hugely talented musicians, and you even bonded with Paul McCartney, right?

GR: Well, to be honest, that's a bit of a stretch. I met Paul McCartney for a second, which was a lifelong dream for me. my mom was a huge Beatlemaniac. When she found out I met him, she cried tears of joy. (laughs) But that was only a brief, really embarrassing meeting. That's another story entirely, though. As for Beck, I played a show with Devendra Banhart in Reno in a God-awful casino. We did one Devendra song together and the Beck's drummer said that he thought I should do the song, so I played the drums with Beck's band as he sang with Devnndra.

MR: And let's not forget Megapuss.

GR: Good ol' Megapuss. (laughs) Before we even made any music, Megapuss was a band that Devendra and I put together while on tour. The name came from a bunch of confusing texts that I got from a very sweet Swedish girl. She was very innocent, but she ended all of her texts with phrases like, "...puss, puss, puss." Well, one of them was, "Megapuss," and I had no idea what she was talking about. I told Devendra and he thought it was awesome, so we had a band name. Turns out that the word means "kiss," so she was just sending me a mega-kiss via text. (laughs) We started writing titles of songs before we even had music, and we had a rule that we quickly write a song before a show so that by the end of the tour we had about 20 song sketches. When we got home I crashed at his place for about two months and we finished and recorded a record. We invited Fab Moretti from The Strokes to come in and sing a song. He's a great friend and a beautiful artist.

MR: Your new album Piana album focuses on John Medeski as the featured musician. Can you tell us about how that came together?

GR: Well, I spent a little time in Mexico writing these pieces. I wrote and recorded a version of all of the songs myself. When I got home I was working on some of the mixes and thought that I was extremely happy with the songs, but I'm not a trained pianist. I feel comfortable writing for the instrument, but I don't have the touch of someone who has an intimate relationship with the instrument. At that point, I had known John Medeski for a few years, though not very well. The drummer in his band was a very close friend of mine and my teacher's for a while. So, I reached out to John and asked him if he'd be interested in playing all of the pieces and he said, "Sure." I was so excited because he's such a master. I also thought it would be very interesting to have him do it because he's a virtuosic improviser and these are short, simple composed pieces. I thought it would be very interesting to have the tension of someone who wants to just paint with notes ad hoc and have that be restrained. He did an amazing job, but you could tell that the whole time, he just wanted to burst out of the strict composition structure, though we had one semi-improvised piece where you can really hear him shine. It's called, "Young Mountain."

MR: It's a beautiful song. So, you're on the Knitting Factory label.

GR: Yes, that's right. The label started in New York and they have a history of putting out a lot of the downtown, avant-garde musicians. Then the label changed hands, I believe. I don't know the whole history behind it. Anyway, they're back on the scene and putting out a really fantastic array of music. They have the entire catalog of Fela Kuti, who is a huge hero of mine. That was actually one of the selling points to me for the label. (laughs)

MR: Right. They also allowed you to do a companion DVD with distinct images that go along with this album. What's behind the concept?

GR: After I had all of the pieces in the can from Medeski's performance, I thought it would be really interesting to pass each one of the pieces on to artists that don't usually work with this material and try to rearrange it. The piano music stands alone, but it's so often a springboard for other music. So, I thought it would be interesting to send something with more of a classical lean to a folk artist or whatever. I started passing it out to musicians, but I also have a lot of friends who are visual artists who thought it would be interesting to do a multimedia project along with it. What if I gave it to painters or visual artists or sculptors to link sounds to these compositions? So, that's what I did. Everything kept rolling and rolling and eventually, I had each piece remixed and rearranged musically and reinterpreted visually. So, the DVD comes with a visual and musical reinterpretation of each song.

MR: And personally, I think the presentation was very unique.

GR: Thank you. The whole concept seemed so simple at first. Of course, it's always more complicated than you may think. But in the end, I'm very happy with the way that it turned out.

MR: Now, you drew inspiration for these pieces from French impressionists?

GR: Yeah. I've been playing the drums since I was 10 years old. It's kind of where I feel most natural. But I always loved writing songs and all kinds of music, so when I was 17 or 18, I came across Erik Satie's music and was completely taken with it. Of course, that led to Ravel and Debussy. But Erik's pieces in particular are so simple. I thought to myself that I could probably play those pieces if I just sat down at a piano long enough. I started teaching myself the pieces and just kind of kept hanging around the piano with those pieces and writing my own. All of that left an indelible mark on my perspective of music and writing. Over the years, I had a bunch of sketches like the ones on this album, but it didn't make sense for Megapuss or Priestbird or any of those bands. I really wanted to have a solo piano record because that's some of my favorite music to listen to as you're going about your day. It enlivens the world and I wanted to make an album like that.

MR: Right. Where was this album recorded?

GR: I wrote the songs in Mexico, but when the stars kind of aligned for us to record it with John Medeski, the plans changed. I had a kind of busy Fall when I needed to record, as did John, and we both happened to have the same two days off when we were both in New York. So, I shot up to Woodstock where John was incidentally starting to make sketches for his own solo piano record. We recorded in one day in this little wooden shack where John used to live in Woodstock, NY.

MR: Who's idea was it to put the apes in tighty-whities?

GR: That was a stop motion animation experiment that my girlfriend, Diana Garcia, and I did. We came across a studio that was allowing people to rent a bunch of studio equipment for free. It was sponsored by Levi's and when we saw all of the equipment, we knew we had to write something to produce. So, I wrote a little something and when I showed her she was a little crestfallen. She thought it would take our entire lives to film. She wanted to take an afternoon to film it and it ended up being about three weeks straight of animating. The story, I think, came from an idea I had while reading Jonathan Safran Foer's novel Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close. It's an image of our ancestors walking arm-in-arm through the savanah. It's kind of romantic - these Australopithecus creatures enjoying love the same way we know it now, back then. Then the sun burns out and there's a bit of chaos and they lose their clothes and are forced to leave the city and enter back into the wild. They no longer had the tools to live in that environment.

MR: Gregory, what advice do you have for new artists?

GR: I hear this from my heroes all the time, and I think it's so true: Do something original. Do something that stretches your boundaries and makes you uncomfortable, but that excites you.

Tracks:

CD:
1. Khadi
2. Carolyn
3. Jackyl
4. Castle Garden
5. Vines
6. Love Cherries
7. Casa Azul
8. Sunken Ships
9. White Room
10. Young Mountain

DVD:
1. Carolyn - The Bees
2. Jackyl - Violens
3. Sunken Sh-illy (Sunken Ships) - Billy Martin
4. Vines - Natalia Lafourcade
5. Young Mountain - Devendra Banhart
6. White Room - The Storms
7. Khadi - Hecuba
8. Castle Garden - Carly Margolis
9. Love Cherries - Adam Green
10. Casa Azul - Lucky Dragons

Transcribed by Evan Martin

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Follow Mike Ragogna on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ragz2008

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ragogna/crazy-crazy-introducing-g_b_1222692.html

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Editorial: RIM's new CEO isn't the shakeup it needed

For a brief moment, I had hopes that RIM had made a move that would unseat it from the funk it's been sitting in for years. And then I watched the introductory video of newly-appointed CEO Thorsten Heins. Anyone who assumes that a simple CEO swap is the answer to all of RIM's issues is woefully misinformed, or worse, just blinded by false hope. Sure, removing Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis -- both of which have been rightly criticized for not responding to market pressures quickly enough -- is a start, but it's not like they're gone. In fact, the two are still situated at a pretty fancy table within Research in Motion's organizational chart.

Have a listen at this: Mike is hanging around as the Vice Chair of RIM's Board and Chair of the Board's new Innovation Committee. You heard right -- the guy who has outrightly failed to innovate at anything in the past handful of years is now championing an innovation committee. Sounds right up his alley, no? Jim's staying put as an outright director, and if you think anyone at RIM is going to brush aside the input of the founders, you're wrong. Jim and Mike may have new titles, but they're still here, and I have no reason to believe that they'll act radically different going forward than they have in the past. Oh, and about Thorsten Heins? Let's go there.

Continue reading Editorial: RIM's new CEO isn't the shakeup it needed

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