Vegas, Midwest seek the $8 billion for fast trains

Vegas, Midwest seek the $8 billion for fast trains

By JIM ABRAMS
Associated Press Writer

AP Photo/D. Morris

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Republicans attacking President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package point to a project they dub the "Sin Express" - a high speed rail link between Anaheim, Calif., site of Disneyland, and Las Vegas.

Not so fast.

In fact, competition for the $8 billion in mass transit construction is just beginning. Backers of numerous other planned high-speed rail corridors around the country are making their case for the money.

They notably include a Midwest initiative long supported by someone with even more clout than Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who strongly supports the Anaheim-Las Vegas line. That would be former Illinois Sen. Obama.

It was Obama's White House that, in the final hours of negotiations over the $787 billion stimulus bill, sought and won the big sum for high-speed rail projects, far above what either the House or Senate had passed. Reid was happy to agree but there's no guarantee the Anaheim-Las Vegas line will win dollars, to be determined by the Transportation Department.

Also in the running are proposed high-speed corridors in the Northeast, the Northwest, Florida and the South.

Howard Learner, president of the Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center, a group promoting a Midwest high-speed rail network, said his area is in excellent position to capture a good chunk of that money. The Federal Railroad Administration, he said, has recognized the Midwest initiative connecting Chicago and 11 metropolitan areas within 400 miles as the system most ready to go.

He and others brushed aside claims that the $8 billion was set aside for Reid's favorite. Obama, who expressed strong interest in high-speed rail investment during the campaign, and his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, are both from Chicago. Obama's transportation secretary, Ray Lahood, also is from Illinois. So is the Senate's no. 2 Democrat, Richard Durbin.

Quentin Kopp, chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said he was "delighted to see that the momentum has shifted in favor of high-speed train transportation." He outlined $2 billion in state projects that could be initiated before the Sept. 30, 2012, deadline for committing the $8 billion. Those include electrification of the line from San Jose to San Francisco, home to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

But Reid's involvement in crafting the bill still made him and the Las Vegas line a target.

"Billions of dollars for a sin express train from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Necessary? I don't think so," said Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho.

"Tell me how spending $8 billion in this bill to have a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is going to help the construction worker in my district," said House Republican leader John Boehner, whose district is just north of Cincinnati.

Actually, some of the money might ride his way. One offshoot of the Midwest network would connect the Ohio cities of Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati.

Advocates of the Anaheim-Las Vegas line envision using the futuristic magnetic levitation or maglev technology, where trains zoom on an air cushion created by powerful magnets instead of wheels. Obama recently cited the maglev system in Shanghai, China, as an example next-generation transit.

"Our prospects are certainly good," said Neil Cummings, president of American Magline Group, a private partnership that is promoting the Maglev train that will carry passengers the 268 miles between the two cities at speeds of up to 310 miles per hour. Last year Congress approved $45 million for environmental and other studies.

Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, a member of the California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission, said that beyond the goals of connecting two tourist destinations, easing congestion and improving the environment, the link is important because of fast population growth in the two areas. "I think this one will compete well."

Cummings said they could begin the first phase of the project, linking Anaheim and Las Vegas with local airports, within the next 18 months. The estimated completion cost is about $12 billion.

The original House and Senate stimulus bills contained $1-3 billion for rail projects. But when the two chambers met to negotiate a compromise, Emanuel proposed a significant boost. Obama's chief of staff told reporters that the White House decided to come in at the end of the legislative process as a dramatic way of promoting infrastructure investment that had a national quality.

---

On the Net:

California project: http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/

Rail Passenger Association of California and Nevada: http://www.railpac.org/home/

Midwest High Speed Rail Association: http://www.midwesthsr.org/

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

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Oscars 2009

Oscars 2009: The Winners List

Danny Boyle's ''Slumdog Millionaire'' wins eight Oscars total, including Best Picture; Kate Winslet, Sean Penn, Penelope Cruz, and Heath Ledger win acting awards

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SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE Winner of eight Oscars tonight, including Best Picture

Ishika Mohan

By Steven Korn

If you like upsets on Oscar night, 2009 wasn't your year. Slumdog Millionaire met most analysts' pre-show expectations, completing the final chapter of its storybook rise from the little movie with festival buzz to biggest winner at the Academy Awards.

Slumdog ended up with eight Oscars in all, including Best Picture and Best Director for Danny Boyle. In the acting categories, Kate Winslet won Best Actress for The Reader, her first win after six nominations, while Sean Penn's performance in Milk netted him his second Best Actor statue. As expected, Heath Ledger was honored posthumously as Best Supporting Actor for his iconic role as the Joker in The Dark Knight; Penelope Cruz won her first Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, her second nomination.

The one curve of the night: Japan's Departures winning Best Foreign Language Film over perceived favorites Waltz with Bashir (Israel) and The Class (France).

Below, see the complete list of winners at the 81st annual Academy Awards. See the transcript of our live blog, and leave your comments throughout the night. Check back at EW.com for more Oscar coverage overnight and throughout Monday, including our picks for the night's best and worst fashion and the broadcast's highs and lows; news from backstage and the post-show parties; and next-day reactions to the results from Oscar expert Dave Karger and to the broadcast from TV critic Ken Tucker.

The 2009 Academy Award Winners:

BEST PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACTOR
Sean Penn, Milk

BEST ACTRESS
Kate Winslet, The Reader

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Milk, Dustin Lance Black

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
WALL-E

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
La Maison en Petits Cubes

BEST ART DIRECTION
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Duchess

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Man on Wire

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Smile Pinki

BEST EDITING
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Departures (Japan)

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

BEST MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
''Jai Ho,'' Slumdog Millionaire

BEST SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight

BEST SOUND MIXING
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Mind the crevasse: The amazing 3D pavement art that has pedestrians on edge

By Tom Kelly
Last updated at 10:10 PM on 23rd February 2009

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After a sudden shift in the Earth's crust, the ground has cracked open.

What was terra firma is now a gaping crevasse.

And into it - his arms raised in terror - plunges a hapless pedestrian on a shard of rock.

The Crevasse: The giant fissure, in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, spans over 250 square metres and appears to show a fault in the earth's crust

In another apocalyptic scenario, a family desperately struggle to cross what remains of a street. They hold hands while balancing on islands of tarmac.

Below them a rushing urban river laps against rocks that glow with volcanic intensity.

But, of course, neither of these scenes is what they appear. They are giant optical illusions conceived by German artist Edgar Mueller.

Hands across the great divide: But the torrent below is not what it seems

He spent five days, working 12 hours a day, to create the 250 square metre image of the crevasse, which, viewed from the correct angle, appears to be 3D. He then persuaded passers-by to complete the illusion by pretending the gaping hole was real.

'I wanted to play with positives and negatives to encourage people to think twice about everything they see,' he said.

'It was a very scary scene, but when people saw it they had great fun playing on it and pretending to fall into the earth.

'I like to think that later, when they returned home, they might reflect more on what a frightening scenario it was and say, "Wow, that was actually pretty scary".'

Hard work: Together with up to five assistants, Mueller painted all day long from sunrise to sunset

Mueller, 40, used acrylic wall paint to create the scene. He trained a camera lens on his work surface to help him fully visualise the idea before painting in the incredible detail to give an impression of depth on the flat surface.

He added: 'The conditions were difficult because if it started raining before a section had dried it could all wash it all away.

'I was very lucky that I managed to get each part done before the heavens opened.'

Scroll down to watch a video of the making of the The Crevasse...

The picture appeared on the East Pier in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, as part of the town's Festival of World Cultures.

The artist used the same technique to create the street-turned-river scene in the western German city of Geldern.

Use your eyes: The apocalyptic street art by German artist Edgar Mueller

It commemorated the 30th anniversary of an international competition of street painters, which takes place in the city every summer.

Mueller, who has previously painted a giant waterfall in Canada, said he was inspired by the British 'Pavement Picasso' Julian Beever, whose dramatic but more gentle 3D street images have featured in the Daily Mail.

They include a swimming pool chalked on the street so realistically that shoppers swerved to avoid it.

New maze portfolio now available in PDF

New maze portfolio now available in PDF

Click here to see the portfolio NOW

The artist of Team Of Monkeys and Maze of Mazes has a new portfolio out according the the latest reports. The portfolio includes mazes that have been seen before, but not at this quality, as well as new mazes, never seen before.

The entire portfolio is compressed to less than 4MB and will be emailed to various qualifying news outlets to be updated.

The portfolio can be accessed at:
http://teamofmonkeys.com/html/Yonatan-Frimer-Portfolio-Winter-2009.pdf

Scientist Looks to Weaponize Ball Lightning

By David Hambling February 20, 2009 | 8:04:00 AMCategories: Bizarro, Lasers and Ray Guns, Less-lethal, Science!, Shhh!!!

Two hundred years ago this week, the warship HMS Warren Hastings was struck by a weird phenomenon: "Three distinct balls of fire" fell from the heavens, striking the ship and killing two crewmen, leaving behind "a nauseous, sulfurous smell," according to the Times of London.

Ball lightning has been the subject of much scientific scrutiny over the years. And, as with many powerful natural phenomena, the question arises: "Can we turn it into a weapon?" Peculiar as it may seem, that's exactly what some researchers are working on -- even though it hasn't even been properly replicated in the laboratory yet.

The exact cause and nature of ball lighting has yet to be determined; there may be several different types, confusing matters further. But generally it manifests as a grapefruit-sized sphere of light moving slowly through the air which may end by fizzling out or exploding.

In the mid-'60s, the U.S. military started exploring ways that the phenomenon might be weaponized. Take this 1965 Defense Technical Information Center report on Survey of Kugelblitz Theories For Electromagnetic Incendiaries, (Kugelblitz is German for ball lighting). The document summarizes and evaluates the ball lightning theories then prevalent, and recommends "a theoretical and experimental Kugelblitz program... as a means of developing the theory into a weapons application." This led to an Air Force program called Harness Cavalier, which seems to have ended without producing anything conclusive.

However, some years later scientist Dr. Paul Koloc was looking at methods of containing high-temperature plasma during nuclear fusion. There are many schemes for containing plasma in donut-shaped magnetic fields using a device called a Tokomak. Koloc's insight was that, under the right conditions, a donut-shaped mass of moving plasma would generate the required fields for containment itself. No Tokomak would be required for this "plasmoid," which would be completely stable and self-sustaining. It is a very close equivalent of the smoke ring -- another type of dynamic "vortex ring," which remains stable over a period of time, unlike an unstructured cloud of smoke.

Koloc also theorized that if a donut-shaped plasmoid was created accidentally -- say, during a lightning strike -- it would remain stable for a period of seconds of minutes. This he believes is the explanation for ball lightning. He has a lot of competition from other, wildly different theories of ball lightning, though, from nanobatteries to vaporized silicon to black holes. There is no scientific consensus.

In the '80s, Koloc's team succeeded in creating small, short-lived plasmoids from "chicken egg to softball" size in the laboratory. It was a good start, but not enough to convince the world that he's right about ball lightning. Ultimately the work might lead to a means of containing nuclear fusion... but there were some engineering challenges to tackle. Moreover, the scientific mainstream has not bought into the concept. While giant programs to achieve controlled fusion like ITER are sucking up billions, Koloc has found it much harder to attract funding. This is not like cold fusion or bubble fusion which has been challenged on scientific grounds, but it's been very much sidelined in favor of other "confinement concepts" for fusion power.

However, in 2002, Koloc's company, Prometheus II, briefly obtained funding from the Missile Defence Agency. The aim was to create stable 'magnetoplasmoids' a foot in diameter which would last between one and five seconds. In the subsequent phase, the magnetoplasmoid would be compressed and accelerate to two hundred kilometers a second. This "encapsulated EMP bullet" would make an idea anti-missile weapon, generating an intense electromagnetic pulse on impact which would scramble the guidance system and any electronics, as well as causing thermal damage.

Koloc called the weapon "Phased Hyper-Acceleration for Shock, EMP, and Radiation" -- PHASER.

"It can be used for a range of purposes from stunning personnel to destroying the functionality of electronically operated devices, smaller rockets, vehicles and packages that represent an immediate threat to the United States," he wrote. "This dial-able PHASER weapon can be set on 'Stun' or dialed down, selecting a non-lethal level for persons needed for later interrogation... One mundane application for law enforcement would be the disruption of the engine electronics to stop vehicles that would otherwise be the target of a high-speed chase. Dialable versions of the PHASER will be available for use in civilian encounters."

Nothing seems to have resulted after the Phase I contract, so I contacted Koloc to see how his research had progressed. He confirmed that they had successfully formed plasmoids a foot in diameter, but that these could not be made sufficiently stable.

To make it work and overcome the stability problem, they need a device known as a "fast rising parallel plate transmission line." There was not enough funding for this and the company is still trying to raise funds.

"Once the re-engineered formation system becomes operational, we will proceed to form plasmoids of approximately 35 to 45 centimeters in diameter with a stable lifetime of from one to thirty seconds," says Prometheus II Vice President D. M. Cooper. "The plasmoids should be rugged and energetic, and should attain quiescence (thus becoming very stable) within two or three milliseconds of the formation pulse. The plasmoids will be useful for energy applications even if the military applications are not pursued."

So a ball lightning weapon remains tantalizingly out of reach –- or does it? As I noted in a previous article on military ball lightning, the USAF’s Phillips Laboratory examined a very similar concept in 1993. Again, this involved accelerating a donut-shaped mass of plasma to high speed as an anti-missile weapon in a project called Magnetically Accelerated Ring to Achieve Ultra-high Directed Energy and Radiation, or MARAUDER. Based on the Air Force's awesome Shiva Star power system, experiments spat out plasmoids at ultra-high speed that were expected to reach 3,000 kilometers a second by 1995. But nothing was published after 1993, and MARAUDER was classified, disappearing into the black world of secret programs.

Ball lighting is still mysterious 200 years later… and the next time a warship gets struck by weird fireballs they will probably be as baffled as were the sailors aboard the HMS Warren Hastings.

Maze of chicks

Is this it, a commet hits the planet?

Cosmic Stage Set for Comet Lulin's Fly-By

Friday, February 20, 2009
By Robert Roy Britt

Jack Newton/NASA

Feb. 1: Comet Lulin as photographed by amateur astronomer Jack Newton in Arizona.

NASA has imaged the comet, too, finding that it is shedding into space enough water to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool every 15 minutes, as the sun boils the comet's surface material away.

A recently discovered comet is making its closest approach to Earth in the next few days and offers anyone with binoculars or a small telescope a chance to see some frozen leftovers of our solar system's making.

Comet Lulin has, as expected, crossed the threshold to naked-eye visibility for people with dark, rural skies. It hovers just inside that envelope of visibility, however, and is not likely visible from cities, where the glare of urban lights can drown out all but the brightest night-sky objects.

"The comet is now naked-eye (if you're out in the country) and is brightening every day as it approaches Earth," said Jack Newton, who has made several photographs of Lulin from his Arizona Sky Village, a residential community committed to pristine natural surroundings and dark skies. "Some feel it will reach maximum brightness on Saturday morning."

Lulin will be closest to Earth -- about 38 million miles, or 160 times farther than the moon -- on Feb. 24 [sky map].

Challenging to find

The comet, tinted green because of the chemicals in its head, or coma, has been a delight to seasoned skywatchers like Newton, who know how to find faint objects in the sky and then zoom in on them with binoculars and telescopes.

But a comet this dim can prove challenging for the rest of us.

"For those not-so-seasoned folks, I would advise them not to expect anything awe-inspiring," said Joe Rao, SPACE.com's Night Sky Columnist. "Visually to the naked eye in a dark sky, Lulin looks like a dim, fuzzy 'star' and in a small telescope it appears like a fuzzball ... somewhat brighter and more concentrated near the center and more diffuse around the edges. As comets go, it's nice, but casual skywatchers are more likely to say, 'That's it?' as opposed to more experienced observers who might actually utter, 'Oh, wow!'"

Comets are known for their tails, which, like the fuzzy heads, form when solar radiation breaks up surface ice and minerals. The stuff escapes into space, forming an ephemeral atmosphere that glows with reflected sunlight. Lulin has formed and lost its tail at least twice, when gusts of solar wind tore it off.

Observers last night found little or no tail.

Worth a look

Still, even a cosmic fuzzball can inspire a wee bit of awe as one goes out, looks up, and spots a frozen ball of rock and ice that's been hurtling through the solar system since its formation 4.6 billion years ago, just now making its first pass through the inner solar system.

For most locations in the Northern Hemisphere, Lulin rises soon enough to be spotted in the late evening if you know where to look. The light from objects nearer to the horizon must pass through more of Earth's atmosphere, however, so the best time to see the comet is after midnight, when it's high in the sky.

SPACE.com asked Jack Newton if he'd recommend the comet to casual observers Saturday night. "Absolutely," he said. "Binoculars should be just great."

On the night of Feb. 23, Lulin will be just 2-degrees south-southwest of the planet Saturn, which Rao said will serve as a good benchmark to locate the comet.

800 gallons of water a second

Meanwhile, NASA used its Swift Gamma-ray Explorer satellite to photograph Lulin in ultraviolet and X-rays.

"The comet is quite active," said Dennis Bodewits of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. "The UVOT data show that Lulin was shedding nearly 800 gallons of water each second."

"We are looking forward to future observations of Comet Lulin, when we hope to get better X-ray data to help us determine its makeup," said Jenny Carter, at the University of Leicester, U.K., who is leading the study effort. "They will allow us to build up a more complete 3-D picture of the comet during its flight through the solar system."

The comet is headed away from the sun now, back to the dark depths of the outer solar system. It will fade from our view by mid-March.

Click here to read the full article....

CRTC aims to carve out national identity online

CRTC aims to carve out national identity online

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GRANT ROBERTSON AND MATT HARTLEY

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

February 18, 2009 at 12:12 AM EST

Amid fears that Canada's culture is being drowned in a sea of online video from around the world, federal regulators are looking at setting up a $100-million fund to support homegrown programming on the Internet.

The controversial proposal, which is aimed at staking out a more distinct national identity online, has pitted the television production community against Canada's Internet service providers, who may ultimately have to foot the bill, or pass those costs onto customers.

Traditionally, Ottawa has stayed away from treating online content as part of the broadcast industry. But under a scenario proposed yesterday, Internet service providers could be asked to surrender 3 per cent of their subscriber revenue – roughly $100-million – to a fund that would help produce Canadian programs for the Web.

“We must respect the principles of openness and individual choice that govern the Internet, while maintaining access to, and for, Canadian stories, opinions and ideas,” CRTC chairman Konrad Von Finckenstein said yesterday on the first day of hearings into the future of new media in Canada.

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It is the first time in 10 years that the regulator has called hearings on the subject after deciding in 1999 to take a hands-off approach to new media on the Internet. While the move doesn't involve regulating how much Canadian content domestic websites such as those run by the TV networks must carry, it is potentially an attempt to encourage more homegrown Canadian programming online.

Members of the TV production community, including actors and directors, supported the idea at the hearings in Gatineau, Que., saying it would help carve a place, however small, for Canadian content in a borderless Internet world.

The Internet service providers (ISPs) criticized the idea as interventionist and suggested the CRTC lacks the legal clout to create such a fund.

“We don't think that the commission even has the jurisdiction to impose a new tax on ISPs and we certainly don't think that our customers or Internet users should be paying a tax to fund Canadian content,” said Pam Dinsmore, vice-president of regulatory affairs for Rogers' cable unit.

Though it's not certain the CRTC will adopt the idea in the end – the hearings are spread out over the next four weeks – the concept would be similar to the $242-million Canadian Television Fund. The CTF collects about half of its budget from cable and satellite TV companies and turns those dollars over to independent producers to help fund domestic comedies, dramas and documentaries.

Organizations representing Canadian artists told the CRTC yesterday that the evolution of the Internet in the past decade has rendered it no different from television, given the amount of online video being consumed. The average Canadian spends 46 hours a month online, and 83 per cent of people now watch video content, data from the regulator suggests.

“The Internet is just another media-distribution platform like any other that we've had,” said Stephen Waddell, executive director of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists. “And in our view, if the CRTC doesn't give some opportunity to Canadian content to have a place on that platform, we're going to be immersed in non-Canadian content.”

The debate for the CRTC will eventually hinge on whether to treat Internet service providers as broadcasters or as data pipes under federal laws. TV networks have responsibilities under the Broadcasting Act to support Canadian culture.

In 2007, the regulator decided to take a hands-off approach to mobile devices, such as cellphones that stream video content from the Internet.

In a sign of how bitter the fight could be, Shaw Communications Inc. has already sought opinions from two of Canada's largest law firms, Stikeman Elliott LLP and Torys LLP, that it says show the regulator may not have authority to install the levy.

“The introduction of a tax on Internet use or bureaucratic interference in access to content will not be acceptable and will be perceived as an unjustifiable restriction on freedom of Internet expression,” Ken Stein, Shaw's senior vice-president of regulatory affairs told the CRTC in a letter.

While the production community argued such a fund would support jobs across the country, Rogers warned the cost would be passed on to monthly bills, a statement echoed by other Internet providers.

“It would mean that the cost of an Internet subscription would go up because these costs, inevitably, are passed along to the consumer or to the customer,” Ms. Dinsmore said.

Mazes

Wannabe Vampires Are Totally Pissing Off Real Vampires

Wannabe Vampires Are Totally Pissing Off Real Vampires

Posted by Emily Farris

Vampires are all the rage these days. With the popularity of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series, HBO's True Blood and the Sweedish vampire movie Let the Right One In, kids everywhere are appropriating vampire culture. No big deal, right? Well, it's no big deal unless you're a real vampire. And in that case, this fake vampire business is some bullshit.

Peter Rugg, from Kansas City's alt weekly, The Pitch, sat down with a few Midwestern vampires and learned that people who consider themselves real vampires actually drink blood (O negative "tastes like a dessert wine!"), that the consumption of blood is better when it's an erotic experience, and that these kids in their Hot Topic trench coats R DOIN IT RONG.

"A lot of people think they're vampires now," Sylvere says.

"I will say, though, reading those books True Blood is based on, they did their research," Lisa allows. "They even got the flavors of the blood types right."

"There are flavors?" I ask.

Lisa begins. "They got it right that the best one is ... "

"O negative!" they yell out in unison.

"Why is that good?"

"It's hard to describe," Lisa says. "It's sweet. It's like a dessert wine."

"How about AB positive?" I ask, curious if my own blood type — I'm the universal recipient — is any good. Lisa's smile freezes, and she rolls her head from side to side as if searching for a polite way to tell me that I'm unpalatable.

Sylvere scoffs. "Tastes great, less filling."

Most also describe the process in erotic terms. "It doesn't have to be sexual," Sylvere explains. "But it helps if it is, because then you're producing a lot more energy." Sylvere's needs are met more simply. She says she sups bits of energy here and there. For a truly satisfying feed, she requires that they be creative people willing to let her hover above them awhile. Writers and artists are good. Musicians are best....

Though they call themselves vampires, not all drink blood. They tell me that there are different classifications of people who genuinely believe they need more than food. The most common are psi-vampires, such as Sylvere, who say they drink in the energy from surrounding people and willing donors. Then there are the real blood drinkers, called sanguinarians. As they explain blood classifications to me, I wonder if their way of life would sound more acceptable if they presented it as a fetish rather than a health issue.

And just as there are people who are convinced they are vampires, there are people who are convinced, that they, like Buffy, are vampire slayers. This obviously creates some tension in the online vampire communities. While they use online threats in lieu of garlic and kung-fu, according to one Kansas City vampire, "Those people have problems. I don't even want to deal with that."

As for all those kids in their trench coats and plastic fangs? Lisa, a 21-year-old vampire is worried about them:

"I worry about them. They all have this romantic notion of what it's like. Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't give it up for the world — it's who I am — but it's not all candlelit graveyard dances. If I don't feed, it doesn't kill me, but I feel constantly fatigued. Several times, I've slept for 12 hours without feeling rested. Not all of us are as nice as I am, and I worry that others could be taken advantage of — if not by one of our less reputable members, by a more human kind of predator using the persona to his advantage. Even excluding that, the number of blood-borne diseases is staggering. Would they think of having donors provide medical proof of health? Would they sanitize their knives? Would they remember that blood is precious? I don't know."

While we still don't crave anything beyond a bloody Mary, we are now more inclined to finally bust out the first season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer that a friend gave us. We know, we know. That's totally DOIN IT RONG.

[The Pitch: True True Blood]

Related:

True Blood's Anna Paquin In First (True) Nude Scene

Comic Book Buffy Gives Body, if Not Heart, to Fellow Slayer. LADY Slayer.

Accused Murderer Is Italy's Woman of the Year

Maze of Mazes - By yonatan frimer

Maze not of Gwen Stephani, I'll tell you that much

Maze of girl
By Yonatan Frimer

Michael Phelps Won't Face Charges over Pot Photo

By ADAM BRYANT
TV GUIDE

Michael Phelps lost a big endorsement deal and suffered a three-month suspension from competition because of a photo of him smoking a bong — but the 14-time Olympic gold medalist won't face any drug charges.

A South Carolina sheriff said Monday there wasn't enough physical evidence to bring charges against Phelps, according to The Associated Press. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said holding a bong is not a crime, and Phelps never admitted using it.

"He never said, 'I smoked marijuana.' He never confessed that," Lott said.

Phelps said he is now focused on getting back in the water.

"For me, it's all about recognizing that I used bad judgment and it's a mistake I won't make again," the swimmer said in a statement. "For young people especially — be careful about the decisions you make. One bad decision can really hurt you and the people you care about."

Phelps' decision cost him the three-month suspension by USA Swimming, and Kellogg Co. also decided not to renew their endorsement deal with Phelps when the photo was released.

The sheriff said his department had to look into the case. He said Phelps' "bad decision and the highly published photo placed me and the Richland County Sheriff's Department in a no-win situation. Ignore it and be criticized or address it and be criticized. I chose to do what was right."

Olympic Maze Pool

Maze pool, Olympics style, Created by Yonatan Frimer

US task force to convene on GM, Chrysler this week

WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and the White House will convene the Obama administration's task force on restructuring General Motors Corp (GM.N) and Chrysler LLC this week with the government, saying more would be required of the companies and their stakeholders.

"The president's team will be reviewing these reports closely in the days ahead," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Tuesday. His statement came shortly after GM and Chrysler submitted restructuring plans to the Treasury Department outlining new cost cuts, business plans, and seeking a combined $22 billion in new federal assistance.

"It is clear that going forward, more will be required from everyone involved -- creditors, suppliers, dealers, labor and auto executives themselves -- to ensure the viability of these companies going forward," Gibbs said from Phoenix where President Barack Obama was traveling.

The White House did not rule out a government-managed bankruptcy for the automakers.

Geithner said in a separate statement that the task force, to comprise senior White House, Treasury and other government officials, would "analyze the companies' plans and solicit the full range of input from across the administration" on steps necessary to restructure GM and Chrysler.

He said the group which Geithner co-chairs with White House economic adviser Laurence Summers would convene for the first time later this week.

Geithner was not more specific.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said she hoped the plans would "transform the industry" and did not rule out any future action by Congress "that may be needed." House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said Congress would hold the industry accountable for achieving "real reform."

The White House and Treasury did not address the additional request for government loans by GM that would raise its total bailout from the $13.4 billion approved in December by the Bush administration to nearly $30 billion.

Chrysler, considered the weakest of the Detroit manufacturers, received $4 billion in the December rescue and sought another $3 billion. The company asked for an additional $2 billion on Tuesday.

Tuesday's deadline for filing restructuring plans was the first step by the companies in their attempts to show the government by March 31 that they can be commercially viable and worthy of federal support.

Michigan Rep. John Dingell, a Democrat and longtime industry ally, said government "must do whatever is possible" to preserve the U.S. auto industry, which is reeling from recession, consumer credit woes, and a product mix that for many cannot measure up to more efficient foreign brands.

Dingell said GM and Chrysler each demonstrated "a clear path to viability," with their restructuring blueprints that included planned debt reduction, labor cost cuts and plant closures.

"The cost of action will be high, but the cost of inaction will be higher," Dingell said in a statement.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com, told Congress in December that restructuring the U.S. auto industry to keep GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co (F.N) from near-term bankruptcy would cost between $75 billion and $125 billion, depending on how sales hold up.

Ford did not seek a bailout but is struggling, as are suppliers for the entire industry. Ford favors a line of credit from the government if its finances worsen more than expected in 2009.

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, a Michigan Republican, told Reuters that GM and Chrysler have taken "painful first steps" to restructure and have taken seriously the cost and other targets set in the December bailout terms.

"They are trying to comply with the requirements. The question will be how the new task force views it," McCotter said.

He believes the administration will be deliberate in its approach to GM and Chrysler but all have to assume that March 31 is a hard deadline.

Some lawmakers have suggested the timetable set by the Bush administration could be extended if GM and Chrysler make meaningful progress but need more time to prove viability.

Others, however, say that keeping the deadline firm will keep pressure on the companies, labor and bondholders to reach the necessary concessions and take other steps to prevent bankruptcies.

"I do think it would be very helpful for the Obama administration to say, 'Look, this is a line in the sand. These things have to occur," Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, a Republican, told CNBC. (Reporting by Caren Bohan, Jeff Mason, Glenn Somerville, and John Crawley, Susan Cornwell; editing by Richard Chang) (john.crawley@thomsonreuters.com + 1 202 898 8340)

Read this article on Reuters - CLICK HERE

New Maze website? same as Team Of Monkesy, or even better?

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Y.Frimer Maze in the Chinese Newspaper, The Information Times

Download PDF Maze of Mazes Booklet #1

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Digging Up the Mystical Through Mazes By JULIE LEW

Published: July 9, 1992

IN 1989, Alex Champion decided to trade in his test tubes for a shovel.

Though he was not exactly confronting a midlife crisis, Mr. Champion, a biochemist who is now 52 years old, decided that his work at Cutter Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., was not half as interesting as digging earth mazes.

"I was getting dissatisfied with the combination of being in a corporation and with science in general," Mr. Champion said in June, as he inspected one of his recent creations, an earth maze at Lakeside Park for Oakland's public art program. "Besides, I'm more a physical person than I am a mental person. I've always enjoyed working with my hands."

So with his lifelong affinity for gardening and with a new motto, "Have shovel, will travel," Mr. Champion left his job to establish himself as a professional earth-maze builder. And Mr. Champion, who calls his company Earth Mazes, says he knows of no one else who builds earth mazes professionally in the country.

Mr. Champion has built 11 earth mazes in California and Washington over the last five years, including two for himself (one, 60 feet in diameter on his Mendocino County land; the other, a rectangular baby maze in the yard of his Albany, Calif., home).

He hit the big time when, at the prompting of his wife, Joan, an artist, he answered Oakland's call for a public art project with a proposal to build an earth maze that would symbolize the city. Oakland paid him $5,895 for the project, which he began in January. The path of the maze follows the outline of a circle within a cross within a circle, which he said is a symbol of an ideal city. "The boundaries and roads lead to a center," he added. "The park is in the heart of the city."

Regina Almaguer, the public arts coordinator of Oakland, said: "His was one of the few proposals that dealt with earthworks, and that people could walk through, and both children and adults could enjoy. It also broadened the concept of what public art could be. It makes people think about their physical environment." "

Mr. Champion's labyrinths are a sort of earth sculpture with a primeval flavor. They feature a single path winding from an entrance to the center. Generally, the mazes are constructed of landscaped mounds less than two feet high that serve as walls. The mazes are characterized by simple yet distinct symmetrical patterns that resemble ripples in a pond.

The mounds are often lined with rocks and planted with ground cover and flowers. His mazes have ranged in size from 396 square feet to 4,725 square feet. Prices range from $1,000 to more than $5,000.

The purpose behind the mazes is not to be challenged, as in puzzle mazes, but to enjoy the walk.

"It's a pathway to nowhere," said Mr. Champion, who has also published a book, "Earth Mazes" (Earth Maze Publishing, 1990). "The journey, not the center, is the goal." Most clients are homeowners interested in the maze as a meditative tool, he said. On journeys into various mazes over the last five years, he had sometimes felt euphoria, dizziness or an energetic charge, he added.

The earth maze's mystical overtones may sound like a California phenomenon, but labyrinths, and symbols of them, have appeared for centuries in myths, rituals, art, architecture and literature.

"When you look at labyrinths historically, there have been peaks of interest," said Sig Lonegren, a Greensboro, Vt.-based labyrinth consultant who has worked on 15 labyrinths in the Northeast in the last five years. "There seems to be a peak of interest right now."

In 1991, Britain celebrated the Year of the Maze. Parabola, a magazine published by the Society for the Study of Myth and Tradition in New York, devoted its June issue to labyrinths. Recently, the Grace Cathedral for Spiritual Wholeness in San Francisco began a project to build a replica of the Chartres, France, labyrinth in its meditation garden.

Larry Pietrelli, 40, a researcher for a pharmaceutical company, twice spent about five hours in a maze that Mr. Champion built in the backyard of his Concord, Calif., home. Both times, Mr. Pietrelli was in the process of installing a drip-watering system for plants in the maze. "I experienced vivid, intense dreams" on those nights, he said. "And when I awakened in the morning, I was not tired, which is unusual for me."

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Mazes Created by Tel Aviv Artist...

Check out some of these really cool mazes made by Tel Aviv artist, Yonatan Frimer. These images almost look like wood carvings or inblots, but indeed they are fully functional mazes. Fun Fun Fun!

Sniper Maze

Trippy Mushroom Maze

Monkey Maze Optical Illusion

Monkey Maze Close Up

Created By Yonatan Frimer yfrimer @ yahoo.com
TeamOfMonkeys
Maze of Mazes
Mazes of Monkeys Eyes and others

The Human Being Repair Shop By Yonatan Frimer

Ichilov Hospital, 8th floor, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Ward, Tel Aviv, Yonatan Frimer Reporting.

Mid-April had passed and I was still stuck in a hospital bed. I use my crutches once a day to sneak into the bathroom and the medical staff alerts me of the dangers. Some kind of bacterial infection is the culprit that has put me where I am. Although the argument that a distant motorcycle accident is to blame. I ring for the nurse to bring me another helping of pain killers.

Sooner or later this machine we call our bodies breaks down. Good health services and a socialized medical plan, a lifetime warranty for all repairs. A highly complex machine that requires the time of the highest qualified so called "doctors" that will willingly repair anything they can.

Time heals all wounds, and doctors know this. Time is often despensed along side other medicinal prescriptions. Take 2 of these and call me in the morning.

Bloomberger BY Yonatan Frimer

Tel Aviv, Bloom Bar, Yonatan Frimer Reporting

Perhaps it was the somber sky or the gathering storm over a thousand miles away. Perhaps it was the specific angle at which Venus appeared that night in the sky. Better yet, we could blame fate, the shifting rift of chance and luck. Whatever the cause, something was off at this awful bar, Bloom Bar, 2 stories above the hectic intersection of Allenby, King George, and Shenkin St.

This blog was never intended to badmouth an establishment. Nor do we see ourselves on a mission to cause harm to any business. Our arms don't reach that high. But our committee has decided it is our DUTY to warn patrons of impending shortfalls and that decision is effective immediately.

What were they thinking when they designed this place. The location is ideal, the size, shape, view, everything is ideal. Yet some Israeli in the blessed country found a way of ruining it all. You could say it was "overdone". You could say that "they could have done worse". Some where even quoted as saying it’s not "that bad". But it was. It was a disaster. Too many ideas clashing together. One corner had Bob Marley airbrushed on the wall while a nearby window was playing MTV Base on mute thru a projector that made the image visible on both its sides.

Ecstasy trippers where reveling in the corner with that loud pitch response and a propensity to grind and hug each other. The populous of the bar was primarily male. Some where having a beer with a buddy in an inquisitive fashion. Others where trying their luck with the few women that had somehow made the mistake of being there and where bidding their time at the bar. One guy air-guitared as another attempted to impress the ladies to no avail.

There was no more party left in our souls. The Bloom Bar had drained us with it deranged happy Gothness and the beer and whiskey was beginning to kick in. The worst was behind us and we where ready to move on. Perhaps when the trauma wears off, one of us could write about it in the blog.

Vandalism and Saloma

Tel Aviv, Saloma, Nathan Fain Reporting.

If a night begins with a two hour session of vandalism on an ATM then you can be assured satisfaction by nights end. This was true of last Thursday when your intrepid leader took us out into the southern Tel Aviv streets for who knows what. We were one block away from our destination when one of us went to grab some cash from the only bank that would take her alien card. The ATM machine ate the card. I tried mine and it simply wouldn't take it. It was broken and took her card for no reason. There would be no chance to get it back for 3 days. We did what every good malchik would... spent 2 hours trying to convince the bank's 24/7 phone operators that it was, in fact, their fault and doing what we could to occupy our time (see image). Here's the thing, as a bank owner you never want someone in your ATM kiosk for that long.

Ahem, that out of the way the nights bar was a unique one. Saloma. A bar whose decor looks built from years of scavenging the Jaffa market for anything that smelt at least 30 years old. Is it 80's, 70's, 60's? It is some twisted scene where no single piece of furniture or wall hanging looks same. None the less... nice. Couches strewn about but not a lounge. It is filled with 5 or 6 rooms, a courtyard and a bar. Jukebox, wall piano, statue of king kong, sequins on the ceiling.

If you do venture to the spot don't be scared off by the door rat. When we arrived he explained that there was no room. He says this every time I've been there. Previous times friends i was with would beg and convince him to let them in. It's just one of those things. What I suggest doing instead is telling him "fine, we just want to look around". Upon walking in and seeing the place half empty we took our seats, ordered, and the rat went back to guarding his door.

Details: It is on Hertzl St., between Lilenbloom and Yehuda Halevi. Look for the two planted palm trees out front. The music ranges from funk, indy rock, electro... no one particular mood other than not-mainstream. It is a bit pricey with a local beer costing about 23. And depending on when you get there the door rats might require a minimum order. The people are interesting and would probably be approachable if it were not for the stuck-up mood that the door man sets for the place. I'd suggest checking it out at least once.

Wheels Keep On Spinning By Yonatan Frimer

Tel Aviv, Habima, Yonatan Frimer Reporting.

People started showing up around 22:00. Thats 1o PM in military time. This was a bar "roll" nota crawl. A few hundred roller bladers show up for a 2 hour run across the hills of Tel Aviv. A few of the more seasoned rollers dress with reflective vests and carry hand-held fog horns.

Once the madness starts its just concrete and wheels for 2 hours. Traffic is messed up as hundreds of rollers swarm the city. Traffic lights are occasionally respected, but typically they are just a guide for those who need to take frequent breaks. At one point we rolled over a boardwalk that made a precusion sound as thousands of wheels rolled over the wooden surface. The most prevalant road obstacles where not the cars. Two things caused the most danger: pedestrians on cell phones and rollerbladers getting the phone number of some young eager female most likely on her first run.

At the half time stop I spoke with the founder of Israel-Rollers. He made it clear that I am joining at my own risk and welcomed me to the group. He told me along with the others that the websites, www.israel-rollers.net was the best way to answer my questions.

The run ended at some bar in Jaffe. I didn't make it that far. I broke off from the group early in the evening with the advent of a blister on my injured foot. Next time I would go the full length, if I could make it.

Mecca Bites? By Matt Berman

Herzlia, Israel, Matt Berman reporting:

Here's my version of our crawl.

It was an ordinary Thursday night from my calculation. Actually, on an ordinary Thursday I probably would be home watching TV, but instead I was out in Tel Aviv checking out a local scene. The goal was Lillenblum St. to go to the Velvet Underground but we never made it. Oh, we made it to Lillenblum all right, but due to lack of vision or signage we never caught the VU. Next time, next time.

We ended up on Rothschild, I think, and after walking into a black hole of a bar--this place was pitch black--we traversed its length and made a quick exit. The music was deafening and not even very good. Besides, it was a very narrow and claustrophopic place. They called it Bordau, a name intended to sound like French for whore-house. It's wedged in between Churchill's--a place that remains a mystery because of the 40 shekel cover they were charging--and the place we finally settled down in, called Mecca.

Mecca is a very cool bar. Or rather, bars--one upstairs, one down. You walk in and are greeted to a spiral staircase that takes you up to a virtual catwalk. For some reason there are stools lined up but the path from the staircase to the bar is so narrow that if people were sitting there nobody else would be able to pass. Anyway, at the top of the stairs, you go left or right around a square walkway that lets out on one end--you actually want to go left because you hit a dead end going right--and into a cozy area with a full sized bar and some tables. We spent most of our time downstairs, but I think it was more crowded upstairs.

The downstairs bar is in the shape of a question mark. When we sat down, we were presented with friendly service from Oren who, like most Israelis I have met, was disappointed that I spoke to him in Hebrew. He complained that he couldn't practice his English to which I replied, in Hebrew of course, "Speak to me in English, but I have to practice my Hebrew." (He spoke to me in Hebrew.)

The bartender who ultimately served us was a girl from Tel Aviv who seemed very American, but according to her she didn't spend much time there at all. Seemed hard to believe. We ordered beers--they have Goldstar, some light colored ale that Yoni ordered, Carlsberg (I think) and Guiness. I would not recommend the Guiness because the chance of having it poured wrong is about 50/50, but if you're a gambler then go for it. Anyway, I didn't look at the menu, which was a mistake. I would probably eat there next time--if the food is like the rest of the place then it is good. And there will definitely be a next time--but I'll make sure to spend more time upstairs. I might even gamble on a Guiness.

M@