| The Impossible Art of Deciphering Manuscripts
After a brief e-mail exchange, my publicist confirmed that she'd solicited Grady Harp's review. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but I had imagined Amazon's customer reviews as a refuge from the machinations of the publishing industry: "an intelligent and articulate conversation ... conducted by a group of disinterested, disembodied spirits," as James Marcus, a former editor at the company, wrote in his memoir, Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot.Com Juggernaut. Indeed, with customers unseating salaried employees like Marcus as the company's leading content producers, Amazon had been hailed as a harbinger of "Web 2.0"—an ideal realm where user-generated consensus trumps the bankrupt pieties of experts. As I explored the murky understory of Amazon's reviewer rankings, however, I came to see the real Web 2.0 as a tangle of hidden agendas—one in which the disinterested amateur may be an endangered species.
Nolan's hat trick lifts Flames past Sharks
Owen Nolan recorded his 11th career hat trick as the Calgary Flames held off the San Jose Sharks, 5-4, at Pengrowth Saddledome. It was Nolan's first three-goal game since October 4, 1999 versus Chicago.
Wayne Primeau and Dion Phaneuf also scored for the Flames, winners of four straight. Alex Tanguay and Craig Conroy each added a pair of assists, while Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 27 shots for Calgary, which had not played since last Tuesday, when it beat Minnesota 2-1.
Patrick Marleau, Tomas Plihal, Patrick Rissmiller and Jonathan Cheechoo all lit the lamp for the Sharks, who had a three-game winning streak snapped. Sandis Ozolinsh added two assists and Evgeni Nabokov turned aside 24-of-29 shots in defeat.
Already down 4-1 early in the third period, Plihal helped the Sharks pull within two as he knocked home a loose puck that fell behind Kiprusoff at the 2:44 mark.
Alison Struve
Don't worry, I'll keep practicing. Hi Alison! If you're interested I can definitely give you tips on how to improve your bowling skills! Steve I can definitely use them! I love your bowling reports.Next time insist they drill you a Lane #1 bowling ball.http://www.lane1bowling.com/that is the only brand our team uses."The Hunkster" Thanks! I'll look into it... Holiday Parade and Winter on the Way(12/03/2007) Ok kids, back to the holiday blogs. :) Were you one of the brave people who went to a parade this weekend? Chad Franzen, Jonalee Merkel, Amy Pflugshaupt, Chastity Walberg and I walked in the Wausau Holiday Parade Friday... and Patrick Dailey was kind enough to drive the live truck next to us.
Kristy Swanson skates free
Online. "I am thrilled and excited that the charge has been dropped," says Swanson, who has an 8-month-old son with Eisler. "This never should have happened, and our family can move on." Eisler claims he had been separated from his wife, Marcia O'Brien, who was pregnant with their second child, when he started dating Swanson, but O'Brien says Eisler cheated on her. O'Brien claims Swanson attacked her when the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actress accompanied Eisler on a custodial visit with his two sons. Swanson says O'Brien attacked her, but she never filed charges. .
Berners-Lee: Intelligent Web requires co-operation
Berners-Lee gave the example that Ordnance Survey records the location of a church, but not its denomination, but this information was held elsewhere. "When you start querying properties of [geographic] features, it's no longer just a geographic system. It becomes generic Semantic Web query," he said. Berners-Lee believes that this commonality can be achieved without having to start from scratch or modify systems. "The most important message is: don't change how you're working", he said. The RDF necessary to make the sharing of GIS data possible can be dynamically generated, he explained, in the same way as the HTML for large Web sites is dynamically generated by a content-management system.
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Is "Evolution" Coming To Public Schools?
Should evolution be taught in Florida schools?
By Angela Williams
First Coast News
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Not heated, but passionate. Dozens of parents, teachers, scientists and religious leaders gave their opinions on whether or not Evolution should be added into public high school education in Florida. The question was also raised as to whether the theory of Creation should be taught beside it.
Parent Kim Kendall says she isn't against the teaching but wants all bases covered.
"We are asking for Evolution to be taught but for it to be taught with its supports and its faults, that's what we're asking," says Kendall.
Science teacher Pam DeMent says teaching other non-scientific theories somewhat undermines teaching in general.
Touchdown? Nah... splashdown!
A couple of years ago, one of the local media outlets mentioned us during a series on the most bizarre sports around, lumping us in with things like the table-top hockey league." Sean Ennis, an executive member of the Manitoba Underwater Council, underwater football's governing body, agrees that most people look at him like he's gone off the deep end when he tells them how he spends his Friday nights. "Even the lifeguards shake their heads at us. But you know what? People who try it once come out of the water saying, 'It's crazy, it's nuts... when can I play again?'" The term "underwater football" is somewhat of a misnomer. The game is actually closer to rugby. That is, if rugby were played with snorkels, fins and Speedos. To begin, teams of five line up at opposite ends of the pool.
Bjorkman, Darcis advance to quarterfinals, Govortsova to final in ...
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) -Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman saved a match point in beating American teenager Donald Young 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) in the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships quarterfinals on Friday. Bjorkman, 36 next month, saved a match point at 7-6 in the tiebreaker, then nailed his second chance to end the nearly two-hour match against 18-year-old Young. It will be his first semifinals since June at Nottingham, just before he progressed o the Wimbledon semis. Bjorkman, owner of six ATP singles titles and 10 Grand Slam doubles titles, is making his season debut here this week after staying home for the birth of his second child. On Saturday he'll meet Steve Darcis of Belgium, who crushed Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-1, 6-0 in 51 minutes to reach his second career semis.
Universal Buys Univision Music Division
Seeking to become el grande in the growing U.S. Latin music market, Universal Music Group on Thursday said it had agreed to buy Univision Communications Inc.'s record division, the Los Angeles Times reports. The purchase price was nearly $140 million, according to two people close to the negotiations who asked not to be identified because the financial terms were confidential. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, would more than triple Universal's share of the Latin music market to about 49%. And it would expand the range of the world's largest record company into such popular niches as regional Mexican music, Latin pop, Latin rap and hip-hop. "This deal is about following the changing demographics of the population of the country," said Zach Horowitz, president and chief operating officer of Universal Music, who negotiated the deal.
The Empire State Building and Brides.com Announce Couples for 'The ...
NEW YORK, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- This Valentine's Day, love prevails as The Empire State Building and Brides.com marry 14 couples on the most romantic day of the year in the most romantic setting -- atop the Empire State Building. The day will begin at 7:00 am and go until mid-afternoon as each couple is wed in a half-hour ceremony. Following their sky-high nuptials, brides and grooms will enjoy a champagne toast and receive a Brides.com gift bag valued at $500. Weddings on Valentine's Day have been a tradition at the Empire State Building since 1994. Since the first couples got hitched, there have been over 200 weddings in what is considered to be one of the most romantic buildings ever. Featured in over 90 movies, such as Sleepless in Seattle, An Affair to Remember and King Kong, the Empire State Building epitomizes the love story.
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