By Ben Cohen
Head of ‘The Real News’ network Paul Jay is trying to save the news media, one viewer at a time. Horrified at the corporate media’s acquiescence to the White House during 9/11 and the run up to the war in Iraq, Jay decided to set up his own organization to provide the public with real, unadulterated journalism that would effectively challenge power regardless of the political environment.
‘The Real News’ produces daily thought provoking online video segments on current events, using a network of international journalists, academics and analysts to provide sober analysis without corporate spin. The Real News accepts no government funding, not corporate sponsorship, and no advertising. It is a subscriber-based model that strives for complete autonomy.
If you have not been affected by the recession, and you can spare a few dollars a month, The Real News is one of the worthiest causes around. It is a legitimate and serious force for real change, but can survive only if it is funded. Read the interview with Jay below, and if you agree with his vision, please donate – as their slogan says ‘The Future Depends On Knowing’.

The Daily Banter: The U.S media system is unique in that is has no national broadcast programming services. It is supposed to promote competition between media outlets, and cater to the demands of the public. Do you think this has failed as a system?
Paul Jay: I guess success or failure depends on what your objectives are. The objective of the American Media system was debated really in the early days of radio. And there was a rather serious debate as to whether to have a serious BBC style public broad caster, a debate that went on again during the early days of television to some extent. In fact there was a debate that was a little bit that was influenced by what was going on in Canada. The debate was very fierce in Canada that was whether to have again, a BBC model or a pure market driven model. The U.S system very early on from radio to television – the idea of public airways and airways being a public asset was never taken very seriously. It was always market driven, it was always simply for profit, and the line between advertising and news was always extremely blurred. So you could say the system is a success if your objective is that it should be a profit center for big corporate media companies, but if the objective is news information that gives people a real sense of what the world is about, then I guess you would have to call it a failure. But that never was the objective.

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Your technical support key is: c1c8-ad03-e4de-0453
You can use this key to fix this problem yourself.
If you are unable to fix the problem yourself, please contact jay at insuranceshoppers.net and be sure to provide the technical support key shown above.

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Photo copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Don Smith/NBAE via Getty Images)Game #22, Home Game #11: Minnesota 86, San Antonio 98Game #23, Road Game #12: Los Angeles Lakers 98, Minnesota 86Game #24, Road Game #13: Sacramento 118, Minnesota 103Season Record: 4-201. No D in FunAre we having fun yet? A mere week ago, funwas the bromide then-incoming coach Kevin McHale was invoking as a means to rejuvenate this sorry basketball team. And it made some sense: Ex-coach Randy Wittman had scarred and tethered the mindset of his young charges toward a fear of mistakes, consuming brain cells that might otherwise be engaged in learning how to play this game at the pro level-- or at least remembering the inspiration for *why* you played the game in the first place. Before he had his superstar abortion and was forced to walk around with the letters stenciled in scarleton his reputation, McHale was a fun-loving guy. Besides, when you tell your team of tweeners that your master plan is to outquick opponents in the paint, you cant really do it with a straight face. So, fun it is! A lot of pace up and down the court. Try to put a wry spin on things when youre working the refs. No hangdog on all those muffed layups. Backslaps and handclaps are in, whipcracks and negative feedback are out.And, best of all, nobody has to trouble themselves with playingdefense. Yeah, thats the ticket!Forgive the bad jokes and tortured wordplay. But if you wanted a straight take on the Wolves right now, you obviously havent been watching. Things are profoundly awry with the franchise. Just six days ago, McHale held a postgame press conference after a tough loss to Utah and french kissed the effort of his ballclub, swearing hed become a better coach so that all their hard work would be rewarded. Tonight, strenuously striving to keep the smoke from coming out of his ears, Coach McHale scrubbed the bottom of his bench and played the entire fourth quarter with a lineup that included veteran journeymen Kevin Ollie and Brian Cardinal, rookie Kevin Love, fringe athletic-swingman Rodney Carney, and glutton for vitriol and martyrdom Rashad McCants. Aside from the fact that it appliesthe nail set to the remaining shards of Bassy Telfairs confidence, I cant disagree with this otherwise abstruse snit-by-substitution. It represents the first cracks in the fun facade, which hasnt even worked as wellas Randy Wittmans Boris Karloff imitation.The Timberwolves literally dont know how to play, dont know the basics of functioning as a synergistic five-man unit. Aside from the insult their presence posed to the benched starters, thats why Ollie and Cardinal were in the game, to provide a primer on Team Basketball 101. Seriously.Furthermore, the Timberwolves literally dont know how to compete, dont grasp how shameful it is toconcede eminently winnable games toopponents who joinyou down in the dregs of the NBA talent pool.The Sacramento Kings are a rotten basketball team. Just hours before squaring off with the Wolves, they fired their coach, Reggie Theus, for losing ten of the past 11 games. They have been without their leading scorer, Kevin Martin, for a month now. They opened tonights game missing 13 of their first 14 shots, a product of their incompetence much more than Minnesotas defensive vigor, enabling the Wolves to leap out to a 15-3 lead. The Kings were mentally ready to shut it down for the night, to go through the motions for 48 minutes and then go home and absorb the sea change wrought by Theuss firing. It required an extraordinary level of laziness and dysfunction by the Wolves to reinterest Sacramento in this game. It required a performance on the defensive end of the court bereft of intensity, trust, pride and anticipation. In the grand scheme of the NBA, its small potatoes to hear that a 4-19 team played with such a will for losing that it resusitated a 6-18 ballclub that had been ready to die. But when you watch such a game, it leaves a bad taste on your memory thats not easily erased.s get specific. Even before he damaged his ankle, Mike Miller exhibited an almost shocking absence of foot speed on defense. The injury simply puts him three steps behind his man instead of two. Under McHale, Craig Smith has proven he can pretty much score on anybody--and that most anyone taller than 6-8 can score on him. Al Jefferson and Randy Foye fashion themselves as stars, not gritty glue guys who regarda deft defensive rotation to be as important as finding the rhythm on their jump shots. That leaves 250-pound Ryan Gomes as your defensive stopper against the leagues most gifted scorers out on the wing. Consequently, once up by a dozen against an inept foe whose record was nearly as pathetic as their own, the Wolves relaxed. Whether they truly thought they had the game won or merely hoped it was so is moot; defensively they had no intention of pressing their advantage.After opening 1-14 FG, the Kings sank 4 of their final 7 shots of the first period to make a game of it after all, down just six, 26-20. Their sense of possibility quickens just as the Wolves are hitting automatic pilot--relying on Jefferson for offense and opponents misses on defense--in the second quarter.Big Al is a dervish on the left block, shooting over Brad Miller, splitting double teams and overpowering the other Sacramento bigs. He finishes the period 8-10 FG; the rest of the Wolves are 3-8 FG. But Jefferson is giving it all back at the other end, and his teammates are following his defensive lead. Less than ten minutes into the second quarter, Sacramento already has 16 points in the paint for the period, and has scored on nine straight possessions. A trey at the halftime buzzer gives the Kings a 53-50 lead. The rout begins in the third quarter, as the Kings successfully dedicate themselves to denying Jefferson the ball--he had 22 points in the first half on 11-17 FG, and was shut out with just three FGA in the second half--and maximize their discovery that the Wolves have no one with enough lengthquickness to successfully defend the paint. Sac hits 6 of its first 7 shots, outscore the Wolves 33-17 in the third, and compel McHale to empty his bench.Defense, as the cliche tells us, wins championships, and thats because it is reliable--when the players buy in and learn the schemes, it is far more consistent than the most high-powered offense. But the reverse also tends to be true: Lousy defense will make you a consistent loser. Friday night against San Antonio at the Target Center, Minnesota consistently allowed the Spurs to drift into the corners for open three-pointers--in part because they were sealing the lane to prevent Tony Parker from duplicating his 55 point effort from earlier this year (TP got his crunchtime layups anyway) but in part because they lack the commitment, the experience and the foot speed to effectively extend their rotations. More than two pointers or free throws, the Spurs won the game through their advantage outside--8-18 3pt FG versus Minnesotas 2-6 3pt FG.Then Sunday night at the Staples Center, the Wolves wereup three versus the Lakers midway through the third when they decided to take a half-dozen defensive possessions for granted and it cost them the game (or at least any speck of a chance of winning it). The Laker boomlet began with a long Kobe trey--no shame there. But then Lamar Odom glides by Kevin Love and Luke Walton finds himself open against Shaddy McCants, and no teammates effectively help out in either case. Then, after Love misses an easy jumper off a feed from Mike Miller, Foye and Jefferson totally screw up the pick and roll defense, leading to dribble penetration and a kick out to Walton for a wide-open trey to complete the 10-0 run. Later in the period, Odom against beats Love down the court and Foye again is flat-footed one moment, belatedly bum-rushing a successful three point shooter the next.Just a week into his coaching stint, McHale is already where Wittman descended after two years--playing Ollie and Cardinal (who have no viablerole in the future of this franchise) as both examples of veteran professionalismand punishment for the cocky younguns who dont expend the effort. His current mantra--that he hasnt had sufficient practice time to implement his program and philosophy--is rich to those of us who remember McHale snorting about the sophistication of todays game. Players are players, the grumpy old man would say. It isnt that hard--common sense, actually--to know how to play the right way, hed say. Five guys who play right can beat five more talented guys who dont play right, hed say. During those reductive discussions, tons of practice time was never part of his argument.2. The Unbearable Lightness of the Wolves Recent Draft PicksShaddy McCants and Kevin Love bookend thevision McHale once had for rebuilding the Timberwolves, with or without KG. The Wolves need to hope that Love is further along in Year Four than McCants is now, of course, and Im pretty sure he will be. But both players are significantly flawed and will probably remain incomplete performers--never a good verdict when talking about a first-round pick.s regression this year has become even more apparent witha more sympathetic coach, McHale instead of Wittman, dictating playing time. Shaddy is a ball-hog addict, in that even when hes laying off and playing soberly, getting all his teammates involved, you know theres an integral part of him just dying to control the rock and jack up shots. There is a beguiling amount of genuine talent for filling the hoop lurking here, no doubt. The problem--or maybe its a blessing, because it makes it easier to consider cutting your losses--is that McCants has become either incapable or unwilling to play quality team defense, and has increasingly revealed a pattern of being a garbage-time dynamo and a crunchtime bust. Watching Shaddy stay with Kobe and eventually rise up and block his shot Sunday, and then watching him yet again drain a procession of meaningless baskets late in Mondays game stirs up anger at his lost potential. The fans have already decided--the booing he received after missing a layup against the Spurs Friday was harsh and heartfelt. But those of us who want to see him succeed wonder whats missing from his heart that prevents him from more consistently utilizing the guile and anticipatory quickness he displayed against Kobe? And whats missing from his psyche that allows him to pile on the points in meaningless situations and clank so reliably when the pressure is on?Love has very different issues. The old saying You cant teach height is usually given a positive spin and invoked in reference to a very tall individual. But it applies ina negative way to Love, who has the skill set of a classic low-post operator but is simply too short and unathetic to be a dominant force. Someone who grabs as many offensive rebounds as Love should be shooting well over 50% on the basis of the high-percentage putbacks alone. But if Love cant tip the ball in or finish a putback immediately while crashing the boards on the weak side, hebetter off passing the ball back out and restarting the half-court set. His nose for the offensive board doesnt extend to his timing nor his instinct for drawing contact when he goes up for the putback.This weekends games revealed another disturbing trend: Love is being beaten down the court on a fairly regular basis, by big men such as Bynum, Gasol and Odomof the Lakers and Thompson and Hawes of the Kings. A pint-sized big (and atunder 6-10, Love qualifies) who doesnbeat his man down the floor is targeted for extinction in the NBA, and while Love isnt that blatantly deficient, he needs to upgrade his defense in transition, let alone in the half court, if hes going to remove the question marks from his resume. Of course the same could be said for Jefferson, Craig Smith and every big on the roster except Mark Madsen. Isnt that depressing?3. Some Quick NBA TakesI never liked Theus much as a player, but it is hard not to be impressed with his record in Sacramento. Any coach who could coax 38 wins out of last years Kings ballclub deserved more than 24 games this season.It is turning out to be a fabulous year for rookie point guards and MVP candidates. The best of the former is DerrickRose, of course, but Ive been really impressed with OKCs Russell Westbrook and Miamis Mario Chalmers (the guy the Wolves gave away for nothing because they were so besotted with obtaining Miller, Love, etc, for Mayo and company). In the MVP race, Id put Chauncey Billups up there with LeBron, Wade, and Dwight Howard.Speaking of Mike Miller, hes obviously extremely popular among this teammates, and when I focused on the quality of his passing against the Kings (instead of loudly lamenting his disinclination to shoot), hes also possessed of above-average court vision. But when a bad shot from you is as likely to go in as a good shot from a teammate, isnt the way to play to be a little more selfish.

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This video introduces to us the wheelchair. Here in the US we have nothing to say what a wheelchair is.
So what we end up with are people in need of DIALY USE wheelchairs coded as K0005 and K0009 or K5 and K9 type wheelchairs.
What the US Medical Insurance Industry tries so hard to force down our necks are these K0001 to maybe if lucky a K0002 or K0003 (if we are obese) and lastly the K0004
Why so many codes? Well first the K0001 models came along. Even though the wheelchair goes back to the 15th Century and before possibly these K1 type wheelchairs where considered a real step forward in technology and function.
Sadly, as technology has improved, and as we learned what caused injuries to people when they did not use PROPER FITTTING Durable Medical Equipment.
And, as people decided that the current model K1 or Depot or Standard Wheelchair was to heavy. Broke down way to often, was very hard on the upper limbs, and failed to provide needed support for many if not most people in need of a wheelchair for life.
So we soon saw more people going from being able to use their upper limbs to not being able to do so Soon operations and medical treatments took off sue to the damage long term use of one of these K1 wheelchairs did to people.
As medical science learned the issues with the K1 design the medical professionals would rather do away with these beasts completely.
However, they are super easy to mass produce overseas CHEAPLY. I am talking maybe $5 to $10 each to manufacture. They often sell for under $100 to a thousand dollars maybe more depending on name brand really more than anything else.
As far as adjustments to allow for the best possible support for a human. You are lucky of you can remove (not adjust) the arm rests.
Some offer elvation leg rests I found one that provided swing away arm rests and offered two rear wheel placements. One normal mode, the other HEMI mode
The K1 type chairs and I include ALL of the k1 to K4 in this. Offer nothing that is close to ergonomic enough for fulltime use for an active person.
A K1 wheelchair can weigh over 50 or 60 pounds. I found one that weighed nearly 65.
They use a steel frame X brace to allow for folding.
K2 - This type can weight between 35 to 30 pounds. They are a lighter weight version of the above K1.
Aluminum Frame may be used. But most times is still steel. X Frame folder again.
The K3 is one that is Extra Wide, and made to hold someone over 300 or 350 pounds. All it is, is a large version of the K1.
Steel frame most of the time on this one.
The K4 Is kind of a gap stop between the K1/K5 models from the best I can tell so far. It was designed to give people yet another pointless K1 Version.
The K4 is a heavy duty light weight K2 wheelchair. They can be wider or the normal one size fits most seat pan.
Aluminum X Frame us used to acheive a weight of between 34 and 30 pounds.
For the most part in the US the Medical Insurance Industry will limit us to one of any of these as long as it is $500 or less retail cost.
The insurance company can then pay a lower price of something around $100 or less. So THESE above chairs are the most loved ones by US MEDICAL Insurance companies
Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. IGNORES DISABLED PEOPLE.

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From the Lexapro website: Lexapro is well tolerated by most people. The most commonly reported side effects of Lexapro are nausea, insomnia, problems with ejaculation, somnolence, increased sweating, fatigue, decreased libido, and anorgasmia. Most of the side effects experienced by patients taking Lexapro are mild to moderate and go away with continued treatment, and usually do not cause patients to stop taking Lexapro.
Did you experience a decreased libido? If so, how much did it drop and did it come back as you continued on the drug. I know this is pretty hard to measure. My wife says it has killed hers and we have basically stopped. Seems kind of extreme but possible I guess.
Thank you all for your feedback. Great personal stories and you really helped me more than you know.
I almost awarded best to destinishadow1 for pointing out the poetic nature of my question. LOL
Jess: Thanks for sharing. I think as long as your happy then dont worry about it all.

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am still doing well. Things are just moving right along. I am only 22 days post resolve, but the new year will soon be here and it will be my turn to go take my blood test....and may I add, I can't wait.

One thing I wanted to write about today was something that I read that just about brought tears to my eyes. It was one of the sweetest letters I have read in a long time, it was letter asking for forgiveness, it was a letter of apology.

Some one on the hub had written a letter to a girl she went to high school with. Will this girl ever read the letter, maybe, maybe not...many years have now past. But it didn't really matter. It was a letter apologizing for all of the cruel things she had put this person through in high school. It was a letter of healing. It takes a strong person to admit they had done something wrong...but then and only then can the healing begin.

One of the reasons I had to write about this letter was because of something that was just said to me a couple of days ago. I found out almost a year ago that I have HSV1 gent. Like many of you I was in shock beyond belief to find out. It devastated me and took me quite some time to really come to terms with it.

At the time a male friend of mine was there for me. If he wasn't I really don't know what I would have done. He stayed with me for the week while I cried, screamed, yelled, and last but not least felt sorry for myself. He was my shoulder to lean on. He and I dated years ago, but we have always in some way stayed in each others lives. We have something between us that I have been very fortunate to experience in this life time. He wants to come back into my life on a personal level. He wants to spend the rest of his life with me. We are talking and taking things one day at a time right now seeing where this would go, only time will tell. But he was dating some girl off and on for the past few years. He told her he wanted to be in my life again. Needless to say, she didn't take it well. She threw in his face the fact that I have Herpes.

What is so ironic about the whole story is she has Herpes too....she has HSV1 orally. The exact same virus I have. But she took the time to notify him of my status. She told him that it was gross and disgusting to even want to touch me.

Do I hold it against this woman. No.......she lacks the knowledge of knowing anything about the virus she too walks around with in her body. She lacks the knowledge of knowing she has the exact same thing on her face, but I am fortunate that mine is not for the world to see.

Society has over and over again made oral HSV perfectly fine. We all at one time or another saw through our childhood someone who had a cold sore. We never thought anything about it. But when someone says gent herpes people automatically think the worse. This point was shown by the lack of education by this woman. She too has HSV1, nothing different then me.

If anything Herpes has shown each and every one of us that we too are human. It has taught us many things we would have not known if we didn't have the opportunity to experience it ourselves....and for this I am thankful and can understand why God has placed this on my doorstep.

Oh and let me add......if I do get back with my ex of years and years ago...........he already knows he will be taking Resolve.......cause I too want to experience life again without a breakout.

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Content: Bungie Day ’08 Theme! Price: Free Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions Dash Text: Don’t make the Dashboard kick your… Gamer Picture Title: Halo 3 Content: Bungie Day #39;08 Gamerpics! Price: Free Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions Bungie Day Gamerpics and Theme up. Cold Storage to follow tomorrow. Image stolen from X3F. Downloading now. Also, 8 are actually up but Bungie.net is only saying 7 of them. This has officially gone viral. Superintendent is part of Well, tomorrow being the seventh of July means it is Bungie Day! bungie-kickyourass-logo. As was announced earlier last week, we’ll be getting a new map for free – Cold Storage; a remake of a Halo: Combat Evolved map entitled Chillout.

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are looking at mileage now because fewer miles means less chances of having an accident and thus car insurance companies are more likely to offer lower rates for you. Usage-based car insurance would be favorable for low-mileage drivers but if you drive more often you are most likely to get higher auto insurance ratesregardless if you have very good driving habits. Its not good for people whose jobs require them to travel drive long hours, as they will be charged more for their auto insurance premiums even if they are very careful drivers. If shopping for a usage-based-car insurance it is always worth it to get as many auto insurance quotes as you can. Also ask for discounts available if you drive less than 10,000 per year.

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Beauty is only skin deep. There is some truth to that old saying. Everything you do affects the way you look. Physical activity, what you eat and drink, how you think and, obviously, the state of your skin all contribute to your outward appearance. Aging, damaged and unsightly skin all have causative factors. However, one can combat these factors with proper nutrition and the myriad of amazing products available for topical application. The key is simply to know what's at the root of your skin problem. Then, you can select the best product on the market in an effort to restore your skin's glowing vitality. There are a number of high tech compounds that have been discovered and perfected to deal with aging, wrinkled skin, acne, wounds, scars, uneven pigment, and skin damaged from overexposure to the elements. There are also quite a few old-time remedies that still provide measurable benefits for the skin. After all, it is the largest organ on the human body and understanding the risks and problems associated with it require categorizing the appropriate remedies and habits.

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Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion. This was very easy to get sick of as well; cloying and over-the-top and insisting on its own epic greatness. Blurg. The music's pretty; I have a string quartet version that didn't make it onto the soundtrack (from a promo CD) that's lovely. It doesn't need Celine Dion or lyrics to work. It sounds better without them.
My Favorite Nominee: Ray of Light, Madonna. I don't have much to say about it, but it works.
My Favorite Single That Year: Flagpole Sitta, Harvey Danger. That song just makes me feel awesome. I love it.

1998
Winner: Sunny Came Home, Shawn Colvin. Music from the nineties has an overwhelming percentage of suck, more than any decade. It's like America went through menopause and could only listen to this kind of sappy pap. I hate this thing, and thanks to the Crap and Crap Lite stations being played where I worked constantly, I heard it way too many fucking times.
My Favorite Nominee: MMMBop, Hanson. It's a default choice; it's the one I think is okay whereas I despise all the others (especially "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" by Paul Cole, which should be classified a form of abuse).
My Favorite Single That Year: The End Is the Beginning Is the End, Smashing Pumpkins. I love that they used it in the Watchmen trailer.

1997
Winner: Change the World, Eric Clapton. I'm not much of a Clapton fan, really. I did like this song, although it's association with the awful Scientology-promoting John Travolta film Phenomenon counts against it a tad. It's not earth-shaking, but it's a solid, not-unpleasant song.
My Favorite Nominee: 1979, Smashing Pumpkins. Haunting, beautiful, and bittersweet.
My Favorite Single That Year: 1979, Smashing Pumpkins.

1996
Winner: Kiss from a Rose, Seal. I think it's a beautiful song. I used to hear it a lot on the radio as I was driving to work in the winter at a very dark 5 in the morning. That's the perfect time to hear it. It'll take you on a trip.
My Favorite Nominee: Kiss from a Rose, Seal.
My Favorite Single That Year: Kiss from a Rose, Seal.

1995
Winner: All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow. Blurg. Not a song I like.
My Favorite Nominee: Streets of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen. Beautiful, sad, and seething with quiet ange, disappointment, and acceptance of fear.
My Favorite Single That Year: Streets of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen.

1994
Winner: I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston. Piece of overplayed shit. Especially in comparison to the original Dolly Parton song, which is perfect.
My Favorite Nominee: The River of Dreams, Billy Joel.
My Favorite Single That Year: Fields of Gold, Sting. Kind of a cheesy choice, perhaps, but I can always hear it and always love it. It's simple and pretty.

1993
Winner: Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton. It doesn't quite hold up for me, honestly, but it's miles better than fellow nominee "Achy Breaky Heart." It's a very pretty song, but not my favorite of Clapton's.
My Favorite Nominee: Constant Craving, k.d. lang. I like the passion.
My Favorite Single That Year: One, U2. One of the most achingly beautiful songs I've ever heard.

1992
Winner: Unforgettable, Natalie Cole. The fact that the Grammys honored that hacky, schlocky, sympathy-begging, cloying bit of grave-robbing Natalie Cole did to cash in on honor her father is as sad as it is unsurprising.
My Favorite Nominee: Losing My Religion, R.E.M. It was overplayed, but if you listen to it now, it sounds almost fresh again. It really is just a good song.
My Favorite Single That Year: Crazy, Seal.

1991
Winner: Another Day in Paradise, Phil Collins. Preachy, annoying, and not even the best song from that Phil Collins album. (Actually, I just checked and sadly, it is. I despise "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven," and "I Wish It Would Rain" just sounds like a rip-off of "Wish You Were Here" with Clapton on guitar.)
My Favorite Nominee: Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O'Connor. Of the sappy, preachy, sad sack songs that were nominated this year, this is the one that's actually a good song. (Also, "U Can't Touch This" was nominated this year, but come on, man.)
My Favorite Single This Year: Enjoy the Silence, Depeche Mode. Now there's a love song.

1990
Winner: Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler. I hate this song, and my dad pissed me off by playing it at his wedding reception for his mother, which I specifically told him not to do because it was such a fucking cliche. He said he wouldn't; he did. Wow, my grandma must have been one of 10 million special woman so uniquely honored that year. It's the equivalent of buying your dad a tie on Father's Day.
My Favorite Nominee: The End of the Innocence, Don Henley. Chance is right on when he calls it deceptively angry. It adds some world-weariness on top of that, too. Beautiful song.
My Favorite Single That Year: A Little Respect, Erasure. I usually come out on the side of pop, I guess. Although besides the catchiness, I think the lyrics are beautiful. One of my all time favorite lyrics comes from this song: "What religion or reason could drive a man to forsake his lover?"

1989
Winner: Don't Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin. I always liked this song, but it sure wasn't the best of the year. I think part of it was the novelty of McFerrin doing the whole thing a cappella. Which is admittedly neat.
My Favorite Nominee: Don't Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin.
My Favorite Single That Year: Sweet Child O' Mine, Guns 'n' Roses. The most perfect song they ever recorded.

1988
Winner: Graceland, Paul Simon. I'm not a big fan of this song for whatever reason. It's nice, but it's okay. I wouldn't turn it off if it came on the radio station. Really, I just don't dig Paul Simon's solo work that much.
My Favorite Nominee: Back in the High Life Again, Steve Winwood. Admittedly, mostly because it reminds me of better times. But it's pretty.
My Favorite Single That Year: With or Without You, U2. Grammy nominated the more ubiquitous and much less beautiful "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," a song I don't like. "With or Without You" is real passion.

1987
Winner: Higher Love, Steve Winwood. Meh. It's okay.
My Favorite Nominee: Sledgehammer, Peter Gabriel. It's a lot of sucky nominees this year, but this is a great song.
My Favorite Single That Year: True Colors, Cyndi Lauper. A beautiful love song, especially for people who don't feel so great about themselves. I guess I like genuine songs about understanding, I would say.

1986
Winner: We Are the World, USA for Africa. Of course. Nothing else was going to win this year. As a song, it's okay. The real fun is trying to pick out all the singers. I mean, you know, it's Really Important, but it's just okay.
My Favorite Nominee: Money for Nothing, Dire Straits. One of their couple of songs I like. One of my favorite guitar solos.
My Favorite Single That Year: Take on Me, a-Ha. Pop perfection in all of its catchy, bubblegum glory.

1985
Winner: What's Love Got to Do with It, Tina Turner. There's genuine force behind it (although I think "Private Dancer" is her best song), real heartbreak.
My Favorite Nominee: Dancing in the Dark, Bruce Springsteen. At his most pop. I love this song.
My Favorite Song That Year: Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper. Gorgeous and simple.

1984
Winner: Beat It, Michael Jackson. Not much of a surprise, I guess. And it's a good song. Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo alone...
My Favorite Nominee: Flashdance... What a Feeling, Irene Cara. All of the nominees this year are pretty good but nothing I feel especially attached to. This is one of those cheesy pop songs I like.
My Favorite Single That Year: Our House, Madness. One of the most perfect songs I've ever loved.

1983
Winner: Rosanna, Toto. It's okay.
My Favorite Nominee: Steppin' Out, Joe Jackson. That one always got me and carried me off.
My Favorite Single That Year: Under Pressure, Queen David Bowie. Everything that's shitty about society in four and a half minutes. "And love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night."

1982
Winner: Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes. Meh. I don't feel strongly either way.
My Favorite Nominee: (Just Like) Starting Over, John Lennon. What a great song. I can't believe it lost to Kim Carnes... greatness versus... well, nothing worth commenting on. As usual, John Lennon just nails life and relationships with this song.
My Favorite Single This Year: In the Air Tonight, Phil Collins. Collins used to be a man who just knew darkness and how it felt to be depressed and angry.

1981
Winner: Sailing, Christopher Cross. Put me to sleep, why don't ya?
My Favorite Nominee: Theme from New York, New York, Frank Sinatra.
My Favorite Single That Year: Let My Love Open the Door, Pete Townshend. As great a song as he ever wrote for the Who, his best solo work, and one of his most genuinely passionate songs.

1980
Winner: What a Fool Believes, the Doobie Brothers. I'm not a fan of theirs. This is probably the one song of theirs I'd say I liked. Still, Record of the Year? Feh.
My Favorite Nominee: I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor. I like the sweep of it.
My Favorite Single That Year: Video Killed the Radio Star, the Buggles. Another perfect pop record.

1979
Winner: Just the Way You Are, Billy Joel. It is a pretty song, however much Joel claims now that he wrote it accidentally. Is he ever going to stop apologizing for having good commercial instincts? One of his less angry songs, too. I've always liked it.
My Favorite Nominee: Baker Street, Gerry Rafferty. Or as I always used to call it, "That One with the Great Saxophone Part."
My Favorite Single That Year: Who Are You, the Who. My favorite song of theirs, for reasons I can't quite define. But it's a great damn song.

1978
Winner: Hotel California, the Eagles. I hate the Eagles, but I'll give them this one song. This is a damn good song.
My Favorite Nominee: Hotel California, the Eagles.
My Favorite Single That Year: Hotel California, the Eagles.

1977
Winner: This Masquerade, George Benson. I couldn't tell you how this goes.
My Favorite Nominee: Afternoon Delight, Starland Vocal Band. It's delightful.
My Favorite Single That Year: Somebody to Love, Queen. A beautiful epic of emotion. One of my favorite songs ever.

1976
Winner: Love Will Keep Us Together, the Captain Tennille. It's okay.
My Favorite Nominee: At Seventeen, Janis Ian.
My Favorite Single That Year: Young Americans, David Bowie. That one packs a wallop and makes "Love Will Keep Us Together" sound pretty frivolous.

1975
Winner: I Honestly Love You, Olivia Newton-John. I honestly detest this cloying, overwrought song.
My Favorite Nominee: Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Elton John. You want passion? There you go. Skip the other song entirely.
My Favorite Single That Year: Cat's in the Cradle, Harry Chapin. Hey, hey, it's a cliched choice for a reason.

1974
Winner: Killing Me Softly with His Song, Roberta Flack. It's pretty. It's also soporific.
My Favorite Nominee: You're So Vain, Carly Simon. A nice kiss-off song.
My Favorite Single That Year: Mind Games, John Lennon. Gorgeous.

1973
Winner: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack. I've always found this song kind of overwrought.
My Favorite Nominee: American Pie, Don McLean. Come on, how could you pick a different one? (Although I've always loved Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)," a deceptively bleak and saddening song.)
My Favorite Single That Year: Let's Stay Together, Al Green. You want to get laid? You need some Al Green music.

1972
Winner: It's Too Late, Carole King. I can't place it off the top of my head, but I've never liked Carole King's as a singer.
My Favorite Nominee: My Sweet Lord, George Harrison. It's not much of a song, really, but I didn't like any of the other nominees much.
My Favorite Single That Year: Imagine, John Lennon. I can't believe this was never nominated for Record of the Year. What the hell?

1971
Winner: Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel. An undeniably beautiful song.
My Favorite Nominee: Let It Be, the Beatles. Still Paul McCartney's most beautiful effort.
My Favorite Single That Year: Let It Be, the Beatles. Seriously, they didn't pick this?

1970
Winner: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, the Fifth Dimension. Definitely a good song.
My Favorite Nominee: A Boy Named Sue, Johnny Cash. It's funny and Cash delivers it well. I'll always pull for Shel Silverstein.
My Favorite Single That Year: Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley. His final masterpiece, one of his best songs (in my top five).

1969
Winner: Mrs. Robinson, Simon and Garfunkel. Good but not really special.
My Favorite Nominee: Hey Jude, the Beatles. A masterpiece.
My Favorite Single That Year: (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding. One of the most quietly perfect songs I've ever heard.

1968
Winner: Up, Up and Away, the Fifth Dimension. What a lame choice. I mean, it's a cute song, but what a lame choice at this point in music history.
My Favorite Nominee: My Cup Runneth Over, Ed Ames.
My Favorite Single That Year: Can't Take My Eyes Off You, Frankie Valli. But that's the tip of the iceberg; this year produced, off the top of my head, "Heroes and Villains," "All You Need Is Love," "I Was Made to Love Her," "Light My Fire," "A Whiter Shade of Pale," and "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman," and Grammy nominates "Ode to Billie Joe"? Lame, lame, lame.

1967
Winner: Strangers in the Night, Frank Sinatra. A good song, one I always liked.
My Favorite Nominee: Strangers in the Night, Frank Sinatra.
My Favorite Single That Year: Good Vibrations, the Beach Boys. Another incredible year for rock, and the Grammys can only acknowledge "Monday, Monday." What a foolish institution to pass over the greatness they did.

1966
Winner: A Taste of Honey, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. The best of the several thousand versions that seem to be out there.
My Favorite Nominee: Yesterday, the Beatles. As beautiful a song as was ever written.
My Favorite Single That Year: Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan. Transcendent.

1965
Winner: The Girl from Ipanema, Stan Getz João Gilberto. A lovely little song that I've always liked as background music.
My Favorite Nominee: Downtown, Petula Clark. I forget just how beautiful this one is.
My Favorite Single That Year: Don't Worry, Baby, the Beach Boys. Perfect.

1964
Winner: Days of Wine and Roses, Henry Mancini. Nothing song from a rather turgid movie.
My Favorite Nominee: Dominique, the Singing Nun. That's painful to say, but the nominees this year are just that bad. Again, zero acknowledgement of rock and roll or even the great folk music from this time.
My Favorite Single That Year: Surfer Girl, the Beach Boys. Hey, Brian Wilson just knows how to hit me where it counts. Teenage love deified.

1963
Winner: I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Tony Bennett. A beautiful song.
My Favorite Nominee: I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Tony Bennett.
My Favorite Single That Year: Telstar, the Tornados. That one always takes me right off and makes me love being alive.

1962
Winner: Moon River, Henry Mancini. I'm never sorry to have heard this song. It's always beautiful, and always necessary.
My Favorite Nominee: Moon River, Henry Mancini. Infinitesimal second: "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck.
My Favorite Single That Year: Stand by Me, Ben E. King. The best time to hear this song is in the still of the deep night.

1961
Winner: Theme from A Summer Place, Percy Faith. The music is pretty.
My Favorite Nominee: Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles. It's insane that this didn't win. This is the very definition of a beautiful song.
My Favorite Single That Year: Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles.

1960
Winner: Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin. I like this song; it's fun as hell to sing along to.
My Favorite Nominee: Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin.
My Favorite Single That Year: Sleepwalk, Santo Johnny. Another great late night song.

1959
Winner: Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare), Domenico Modugno. Okay. I can't believe anyone does this song better than Dean Martin, personally. I don't believe I've heard this version.
My Favorite Nominee: The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late), David Seville. I know, I know, but I love this song. It's a Christmas staple to me. It reminds me of being a kid and spending the lead-up to Christmas at my grandmother's house. It's a cozy song for me.
My Favorite Single That Year: Summertime Blues, Eddie Cochran. As vital a song as there is, considering how much rock continues to borrow from it. And more than that, just a catchy tune.

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Last tuesday I was hurt in a basketball game and had my lip busted open and my top tooth broken in half. I had stitches that night at emergency and then the next day I had the tooth re-attached That night in the emergency they prescribed some antibiotics for me (Amoxicillin, or Amoxil) to take 3 times a day for 10 days. A few days ago, maybe starting saturday or what not, my face became very dry and itchy (basically only in certain spots). So dry that the dry skin would fall off here and there. On wednesday I began to put neutrogena moisturizing cream on my face but it was still the same. Today the antibiotics ran out, and I just took a shower and after it I noticed the red marks on my face, so instead of the cream, I used St.Ives Cleansing Pore care. Now what should I do? Should I continue using the pore cleanser and see what happens (since i THINK the problem may be a side effect of the antibiotic since it wasnt like this before)(note,i used oxy triple clean pads a few times too)
by the way.

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Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion. This was very easy to get sick of as well; cloying and over-the-top and insisting on its own epic greatness. Blurg. The music's pretty; I have a string quartet version that didn't make it onto the soundtrack (from a promo CD) that's lovely. It doesn't need Celine Dion or lyrics to work. It sounds better without them.
My Favorite Nominee: Ray of Light, Madonna. I don't have much to say about it, but it works.
My Favorite Single That Year: Flagpole Sitta, Harvey Danger. That song just makes me feel awesome. I love it.

1998
Winner: Sunny Came Home, Shawn Colvin. Music from the nineties has an overwhelming percentage of suck, more than any decade. It's like America went through menopause and could only listen to this kind of sappy pap. I hate this thing, and thanks to the Crap and Crap Lite stations being played where I worked constantly, I heard it way too many fucking times.
My Favorite Nominee: MMMBop, Hanson. It's a default choice; it's the one I think is okay whereas I despise all the others (especially "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" by Paul Cole, which should be classified a form of abuse).
My Favorite Single That Year: The End Is the Beginning Is the End, Smashing Pumpkins. I love that they used it in the Watchmen trailer.

1997
Winner: Change the World, Eric Clapton. I'm not much of a Clapton fan, really. I did like this song, although it's association with the awful Scientology-promoting John Travolta film Phenomenon counts against it a tad. It's not earth-shaking, but it's a solid, not-unpleasant song.
My Favorite Nominee: 1979, Smashing Pumpkins. Haunting, beautiful, and bittersweet.
My Favorite Single That Year: 1979, Smashing Pumpkins.

1996
Winner: Kiss from a Rose, Seal. I think it's a beautiful song. I used to hear it a lot on the radio as I was driving to work in the winter at a very dark 5 in the morning. That's the perfect time to hear it. It'll take you on a trip.
My Favorite Nominee: Kiss from a Rose, Seal.
My Favorite Single That Year: Kiss from a Rose, Seal.

1995
Winner: All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow. Blurg. Not a song I like.
My Favorite Nominee: Streets of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen. Beautiful, sad, and seething with quiet ange, disappointment, and acceptance of fear.
My Favorite Single That Year: Streets of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen.

1994
Winner: I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston. Piece of overplayed shit. Especially in comparison to the original Dolly Parton song, which is perfect.
My Favorite Nominee: The River of Dreams, Billy Joel.
My Favorite Single That Year: Fields of Gold, Sting. Kind of a cheesy choice, perhaps, but I can always hear it and always love it. It's simple and pretty.

1993
Winner: Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton. It doesn't quite hold up for me, honestly, but it's miles better than fellow nominee "Achy Breaky Heart." It's a very pretty song, but not my favorite of Clapton's.
My Favorite Nominee: Constant Craving, k.d. lang. I like the passion.
My Favorite Single That Year: One, U2. One of the most achingly beautiful songs I've ever heard.

1992
Winner: Unforgettable, Natalie Cole. The fact that the Grammys honored that hacky, schlocky, sympathy-begging, cloying bit of grave-robbing Natalie Cole did to cash in on honor her father is as sad as it is unsurprising.
My Favorite Nominee: Losing My Religion, R.E.M. It was overplayed, but if you listen to it now, it sounds almost fresh again. It really is just a good song.
My Favorite Single That Year: Crazy, Seal.

1991
Winner: Another Day in Paradise, Phil Collins. Preachy, annoying, and not even the best song from that Phil Collins album. (Actually, I just checked and sadly, it is. I despise "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven," and "I Wish It Would Rain" just sounds like a rip-off of "Wish You Were Here" with Clapton on guitar.)
My Favorite Nominee: Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O'Connor. Of the sappy, preachy, sad sack songs that were nominated this year, this is the one that's actually a good song. (Also, "U Can't Touch This" was nominated this year, but come on, man.)
My Favorite Single This Year: Enjoy the Silence, Depeche Mode. Now there's a love song.

1990
Winner: Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler. I hate this song, and my dad pissed me off by playing it at his wedding reception for his mother, which I specifically told him not to do because it was such a fucking cliche. He said he wouldn't; he did. Wow, my grandma must have been one of 10 million special woman so uniquely honored that year. It's the equivalent of buying your dad a tie on Father's Day.
My Favorite Nominee: The End of the Innocence, Don Henley. Chance is right on when he calls it deceptively angry. It adds some world-weariness on top of that, too. Beautiful song.
My Favorite Single That Year: A Little Respect, Erasure. I usually come out on the side of pop, I guess. Although besides the catchiness, I think the lyrics are beautiful. One of my all time favorite lyrics comes from this song: "What religion or reason could drive a man to forsake his lover?"

1989
Winner: Don't Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin. I always liked this song, but it sure wasn't the best of the year. I think part of it was the novelty of McFerrin doing the whole thing a cappella. Which is admittedly neat.
My Favorite Nominee: Don't Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin.
My Favorite Single That Year: Sweet Child O' Mine, Guns 'n' Roses. The most perfect song they ever recorded.

1988
Winner: Graceland, Paul Simon. I'm not a big fan of this song for whatever reason. It's nice, but it's okay. I wouldn't turn it off if it came on the radio station. Really, I just don't dig Paul Simon's solo work that much.
My Favorite Nominee: Back in the High Life Again, Steve Winwood. Admittedly, mostly because it reminds me of better times. But it's pretty.
My Favorite Single That Year: With or Without You, U2. Grammy nominated the more ubiquitous and much less beautiful "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," a song I don't like. "With or Without You" is real passion.

1987
Winner: Higher Love, Steve Winwood. Meh. It's okay.
My Favorite Nominee: Sledgehammer, Peter Gabriel. It's a lot of sucky nominees this year, but this is a great song.
My Favorite Single That Year: True Colors, Cyndi Lauper. A beautiful love song, especially for people who don't feel so great about themselves. I guess I like genuine songs about understanding, I would say.

1986
Winner: We Are the World, USA for Africa. Of course. Nothing else was going to win this year. As a song, it's okay. The real fun is trying to pick out all the singers. I mean, you know, it's Really Important, but it's just okay.
My Favorite Nominee: Money for Nothing, Dire Straits. One of their couple of songs I like. One of my favorite guitar solos.
My Favorite Single That Year: Take on Me, a-Ha. Pop perfection in all of its catchy, bubblegum glory.

1985
Winner: What's Love Got to Do with It, Tina Turner. There's genuine force behind it (although I think "Private Dancer" is her best song), real heartbreak.
My Favorite Nominee: Dancing in the Dark, Bruce Springsteen. At his most pop. I love this song.
My Favorite Song That Year: Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper. Gorgeous and simple.

1984
Winner: Beat It, Michael Jackson. Not much of a surprise, I guess. And it's a good song. Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo alone...
My Favorite Nominee: Flashdance... What a Feeling, Irene Cara. All of the nominees this year are pretty good but nothing I feel especially attached to. This is one of those cheesy pop songs I like.
My Favorite Single That Year: Our House, Madness. One of the most perfect songs I've ever loved.

1983
Winner: Rosanna, Toto. It's okay.
My Favorite Nominee: Steppin' Out, Joe Jackson. That one always got me and carried me off.
My Favorite Single That Year: Under Pressure, Queen David Bowie. Everything that's shitty about society in four and a half minutes. "And love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night."

1982
Winner: Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes. Meh. I don't feel strongly either way.
My Favorite Nominee: (Just Like) Starting Over, John Lennon. What a great song. I can't believe it lost to Kim Carnes... greatness versus... well, nothing worth commenting on. As usual, John Lennon just nails life and relationships with this song.
My Favorite Single This Year: In the Air Tonight, Phil Collins. Collins used to be a man who just knew darkness and how it felt to be depressed and angry.

1981
Winner: Sailing, Christopher Cross. Put me to sleep, why don't ya?
My Favorite Nominee: Theme from New York, New York, Frank Sinatra.
My Favorite Single That Year: Let My Love Open the Door, Pete Townshend. As great a song as he ever wrote for the Who, his best solo work, and one of his most genuinely passionate songs.

1980
Winner: What a Fool Believes, the Doobie Brothers. I'm not a fan of theirs. This is probably the one song of theirs I'd say I liked. Still, Record of the Year? Feh.
My Favorite Nominee: I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor. I like the sweep of it.
My Favorite Single That Year: Video Killed the Radio Star, the Buggles. Another perfect pop record.

1979
Winner: Just the Way You Are, Billy Joel. It is a pretty song, however much Joel claims now that he wrote it accidentally. Is he ever going to stop apologizing for having good commercial instincts? One of his less angry songs, too. I've always liked it.
My Favorite Nominee: Baker Street, Gerry Rafferty. Or as I always used to call it, "That One with the Great Saxophone Part."
My Favorite Single That Year: Who Are You, the Who. My favorite song of theirs, for reasons I can't quite define. But it's a great damn song.

1978
Winner: Hotel California, the Eagles. I hate the Eagles, but I'll give them this one song. This is a damn good song.
My Favorite Nominee: Hotel California, the Eagles.
My Favorite Single That Year: Hotel California, the Eagles.

1977
Winner: This Masquerade, George Benson. I couldn't tell you how this goes.
My Favorite Nominee: Afternoon Delight, Starland Vocal Band. It's delightful.
My Favorite Single That Year: Somebody to Love, Queen. A beautiful epic of emotion. One of my favorite songs ever.

1976
Winner: Love Will Keep Us Together, the Captain Tennille. It's okay.
My Favorite Nominee: At Seventeen, Janis Ian.
My Favorite Single That Year: Young Americans, David Bowie. That one packs a wallop and makes "Love Will Keep Us Together" sound pretty frivolous.

1975
Winner: I Honestly Love You, Olivia Newton-John. I honestly detest this cloying, overwrought song.
My Favorite Nominee: Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Elton John. You want passion? There you go. Skip the other song entirely.
My Favorite Single That Year: Cat's in the Cradle, Harry Chapin. Hey, hey, it's a cliched choice for a reason.

1974
Winner: Killing Me Softly with His Song, Roberta Flack. It's pretty. It's also soporific.
My Favorite Nominee: You're So Vain, Carly Simon. A nice kiss-off song.
My Favorite Single That Year: Mind Games, John Lennon. Gorgeous.

1973
Winner: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack. I've always found this song kind of overwrought.
My Favorite Nominee: American Pie, Don McLean. Come on, how could you pick a different one? (Although I've always loved Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)," a deceptively bleak and saddening song.)
My Favorite Single That Year: Let's Stay Together, Al Green. You want to get laid? You need some Al Green music.

1972
Winner: It's Too Late, Carole King. I can't place it off the top of my head, but I've never liked Carole King's as a singer.
My Favorite Nominee: My Sweet Lord, George Harrison. It's not much of a song, really, but I didn't like any of the other nominees much.
My Favorite Single That Year: Imagine, John Lennon. I can't believe this was never nominated for Record of the Year. What the hell?

1971
Winner: Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel. An undeniably beautiful song.
My Favorite Nominee: Let It Be, the Beatles. Still Paul McCartney's most beautiful effort.
My Favorite Single That Year: Let It Be, the Beatles. Seriously, they didn't pick this?

1970
Winner: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, the Fifth Dimension. Definitely a good song.
My Favorite Nominee: A Boy Named Sue, Johnny Cash. It's funny and Cash delivers it well. I'll always pull for Shel Silverstein.
My Favorite Single That Year: Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley. His final masterpiece, one of his best songs (in my top five).

1969
Winner: Mrs. Robinson, Simon and Garfunkel. Good but not really special.
My Favorite Nominee: Hey Jude, the Beatles. A masterpiece.
My Favorite Single That Year: (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding. One of the most quietly perfect songs I've ever heard.

1968
Winner: Up, Up and Away, the Fifth Dimension. What a lame choice. I mean, it's a cute song, but what a lame choice at this point in music history.
My Favorite Nominee: My Cup Runneth Over, Ed Ames.
My Favorite Single That Year: Can't Take My Eyes Off You, Frankie Valli. But that's the tip of the iceberg; this year produced, off the top of my head, "Heroes and Villains," "All You Need Is Love," "I Was Made to Love Her," "Light My Fire," "A Whiter Shade of Pale," and "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman," and Grammy nominates "Ode to Billie Joe"? Lame, lame, lame.

1967
Winner: Strangers in the Night, Frank Sinatra. A good song, one I always liked.
My Favorite Nominee: Strangers in the Night, Frank Sinatra.
My Favorite Single That Year: Good Vibrations, the Beach Boys. Another incredible year for rock, and the Grammys can only acknowledge "Monday, Monday." What a foolish institution to pass over the greatness they did.

1966
Winner: A Taste of Honey, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. The best of the several thousand versions that seem to be out there.
My Favorite Nominee: Yesterday, the Beatles. As beautiful a song as was ever written.
My Favorite Single That Year: Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan. Transcendent.

1965
Winner: The Girl from Ipanema, Stan Getz João Gilberto. A lovely little song that I've always liked as background music.
My Favorite Nominee: Downtown, Petula Clark. I forget just how beautiful this one is.
My Favorite Single That Year: Don't Worry, Baby, the Beach Boys. Perfect.

1964
Winner: Days of Wine and Roses, Henry Mancini. Nothing song from a rather turgid movie.
My Favorite Nominee: Dominique, the Singing Nun. That's painful to say, but the nominees this year are just that bad. Again, zero acknowledgement of rock and roll or even the great folk music from this time.
My Favorite Single That Year: Surfer Girl, the Beach Boys. Hey, Brian Wilson just knows how to hit me where it counts. Teenage love deified.

1963
Winner: I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Tony Bennett. A beautiful song.
My Favorite Nominee: I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Tony Bennett.
My Favorite Single That Year: Telstar, the Tornados. That one always takes me right off and makes me love being alive.

1962
Winner: Moon River, Henry Mancini. I'm never sorry to have heard this song. It's always beautiful, and always necessary.
My Favorite Nominee: Moon River, Henry Mancini. Infinitesimal second: "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck.
My Favorite Single That Year: Stand by Me, Ben E. King. The best time to hear this song is in the still of the deep night.

1961
Winner: Theme from A Summer Place, Percy Faith. The music is pretty.
My Favorite Nominee: Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles. It's insane that this didn't win. This is the very definition of a beautiful song.
My Favorite Single That Year: Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles.

1960
Winner: Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin. I like this song; it's fun as hell to sing along to.
My Favorite Nominee: Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin.
My Favorite Single That Year: Sleepwalk, Santo Johnny. Another great late night song.

1959
Winner: Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare), Domenico Modugno. Okay. I can't believe anyone does this song better than Dean Martin, personally. I don't believe I've heard this version.
My Favorite Nominee: The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late), David Seville. I know, I know, but I love this song. It's a Christmas staple to me. It reminds me of being a kid and spending the lead-up to Christmas at my grandmother's house. It's a cozy song for me.
My Favorite Single That Year: Summertime Blues, Eddie Cochran. As vital a song as there is, considering how much rock continues to borrow from it. And more than that, just a catchy tune.

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President-elect Barack Obama put the rancor and even some of the rhetoric of the presidential campaign behind him on Monday as he welcomed his chief Democratic adversary into his cabinet and signaled flexibility in his plans to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Introducing a national security team anchored by Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, Mr. Obama said a new strategic agreement with Baghdad put the United States “on a glide path to reduce our forces in Iraq.” But while he reaffirmed his desire to pull out combat brigades within 16 months, Mr. Obama emphasized his willingness to consider options put forth by the military.
“I believe that 16 months is the right timeframe,” Mr. Obama said at a news conference, with Mrs. Clinton and Robert M. Gates, whom he is keeping on as defense secretary, as well as other appointees. “But as I have said consistently, I will listen to the recommendations of my commanders. And my No. 1 priority is making sure that our troops remain safe in this transition phase and that the Iraqi people are well served by a government that is taking on increased responsibility for its own security.”
Mr. Obama has long qualified his withdrawal pledge, but in the campaign the emphasis was on his intent to end the war. Now that he is taking office in 50 days, he is calibrating his statements to leave room to maneuver, knowing that some senior military officers are wary of moving too quickly and that the defense secretary he just reappointed has cautioned about timetables.
The impression left by the event at a downtown Chicago hotel ballroom was of a political leader converting to governance from electioneering. Most striking in that regard was the sight of Mr. Obama side by side with Mrs. Clinton, whose foreign-policy judgment and credentials he questioned just months ago, and Mr. Gates, who has for the last two years run the war Mr. Obama condemned for a president he denounced.
Mr. Obama essentially said Americans should not take too seriously some of the things said during “the heat of a campaign.” Reminded of some of his caustic criticism of Mrs. Clinton’s foreign policy experience — “grossly exaggerated,” his campaign called it — Mr. Obama shrugged off the discordant notes with a smile.
“This is fun for the press to try to stir up whatever quotes were generated during the course of the campaign,” he said. He went on to say that he and Mrs. Clinton shared a broad view of American interests, and he praised her experience.
“She is going to be an outstanding secretary of state,” Mr. Obama said. “And if I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t have offered her the job. And if she didn’t believe that I was equipped to lead this nation in such a difficult time, she would not have accepted.”
In deference to Mrs. Clinton’s stature, Mr. Obama gave her an opportunity to make a statement from the lectern, something he did not do with any of his economic appointees last week, and she promised to give “my all” to him and his administration. “I am proud to join you on what will be a difficult and exciting adventure in this new century,” Mrs. Clinton said. “And may God bless you and all who serve with you and our great country.”
The body language was friendly and appropriate, if not necessarily personal. Standing behind Mr. Obama during his remarks, Mrs. Clinton nodded as he spoke of the nation’s challenges; after the event ended, the two walked out of the room arm in arm, her hand gently patting his back.

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The typical cat owner will visit the veterinary and 2.3 times per year to take care of declawing, physicals, vaccines, dental work, neutering or spaying, and ear mites. D. average yearly cost for these 2.3 visits to the local veterinarian each year it is approximately one hundred and seventy-nine dollars. These statistics are based on a 2005 survey done by the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association.      Pet health insurance coverage and is insurance coverage that helps pay veterinary costs if your family pet becomes ill or is injured. Depending upon the policy you purchase your family may be reimbursed if your family pet is stolen, lost, or dies. Pet owners purchased pet health insurance coverage for a few various reasons. The main reason people purchase pet health insurance coverage is to pay for unanticipated and extremely expensive veterinary bills. In many cases the purchase of pet health insurance coverage can be the difference between a recovery and economic euthanasia for many family pets.

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prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

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Take all of the Valtrex that has been prescribed for you even if you begin to feel better. Your symptoms may start to improve before the infection is completely treated. Treatment with Valtrex should be started as soon as possible after the first appearance of symptoms (e.g. tingling, burning, blisters). Herpes infections are contagious and you can infect other people, even during treatment. Avoid letting infected areas come into contact with other people. Wash your hands frequently to prevent transmission. Valtrex is not a cure for herpes virus infections.

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here, on the subject). The article notes that while last Saturday was the 45 day period before the end of the year that is often the one and a half month last chance opportunity to request withdraw of funds as required by some hedge funds, recent volatility cannot be blamed entirely on the forced selling of hedge funds before this date. Many funds have shorter notices, while for some the required notification period is longer. Furthermore, any volatility that was experienced may have been due more to the self-fulfilling prophecy that often follows other calendar events, such as those experienced with the January Effect, option expiration dates, and end of month/quarter trading. Instead, analysts expect that it is more likely hedge funds will systematically continue to sell as needed over the next 12 months in order to meet requests.

Of interest is that many funds have been accumulating cash, with managers eager to deploy funds into a market that some managers feel is depressed and laden with attractive values. While funds are nervous about locking up money in longer-term and possibly illiquid investments, many are also unwilling to simply sit on the cash. As a result, some are engaging in more short-term trading, both from the buy and sell sides, that ironically may be contributing to the volatility being blamed solely on redemption requests. Furthermore, there is an expectation that once redemption requests slow down to normal levels, much of this money will quickly find its way back into the market, generating a rally that could be as large as the one recently seen on the downside, albeit over a longer time frame. Of course, predicting the timing of such a move is difficult, but once previously illiquid instruments such as complex debt securities, private equity, and thinly traded companies start to increase on higher level of trading volume, the market may start seeing the beginning of hedge funds once again throwing their weight, and capital, back into the market.

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Colitis Disease and Crohns: The Colitis means inflammation of the large bowel. It is common in some countries growing pigs and is characterized by diarrhea. The Crohns disease and the ulcerative colitis are similar. They are so similar that they are often mistaken for one another. They inflame the lining of the digestive tract, and cause severe bouts of watery or bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain. The Crohns disease can occur anywhere in the digestive tract, often spreading deep into the layers of affected tissues. But the Ulcerative colitis usually affects only the innermost lining of the large intestine and the rectum. Both can be painful and debilitating and sometimes may lead to life-threatening complications. They are chronic conditions which can last years to decades. They normally begin during adolescence or early adulthood, and rarely begin during childhood. They are found worldwide, but most commonly in the United States, England, and northern Europe. It is estimated that around 500,000 Americans have Crohns disease. The Ulcerative colitis is rarely seen in Eastern Europe, Asia, and South America, and is rare in the black population. Developing nations are more prone to these diseases. Even though there is no known medical cure available for the Crohns disease, there are some therapies which will greatly reduce the signs and symptoms of the disease.

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The Wonderful Benefits on Digital Radiology in the Medical World By : Jonathon Blocker
The radiology field can be considered to be the branch of medical science which employs the use of medical imaging technologies like X-rays, CR systems, sound waves and magnetic fields to quickly diagnose and properly treat diseases. Everyday there are new and exciting developments in the field of medical imaging and CR solutions and cause of this diagnostic procedures have been dramatically simplified. All of this helps doctors and physicians accurately decide a course of treatment without causing stress to their patients.

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The Jakarta Post,Jakarta | Mon, 11/17/2008 10:46 AM
Green movements, which have sprouted up over the last few years, have encouraged hospitals in the capital to adopt environmentally friendly habits.
State-own cancer hospital Dharmais in West Jakarta has been reducing its electricity and water usage, reusing paper and producing compost out of its organic waste for years, said head of public relations and domestic affairs at Dharmais, Bambang Purwanto, in a recent interview.
Dharmais has been encouraging staff members to reuse administration papers and recycle organic waste as compost fertilizer for the past five years, Bambang said.
"We can reduce up to one third of our monthly paper use, for instance, by using both sides of the paper for administration," Bambang told The Jakarta Post.
He said the hospital produced up to a ton of compost every month, mostly used as fertilizer for plants on the hospital grounds. Dharmais stands on a 38,920-square-meter plot of land.
"Several months ago, we began recycling our paper waste. We then use the recycled products as scrap paper," he said, hinting at a plan to go commercial with their recycled paper products some time in the future.
Eight-story Dharmais has also reduced its use electricity and water usage over the last 10 years.
"We have managed to cut some 20 percent off our monthly electricity and water expenses. So, we save hundreds of millions off monthly utility spending and use it for improving our employee's welfare," he said.
"It is not an easy task raising people's awareness and changing their bad habits. They need to be constantly reminded. We make an effort even with the smallest of things."
Bambang said the simplest yet strongest thing the hospital could do was put stickers on all electricity buttons and water taps reminding staff and patients to reduce their utilities usage when applicable.
A banner placed in the hospital area encourages staff to set air conditioners at 25 degrees Celsius.
After years, Dharmais has finally received public recognition for their environmentally friendly efforts.
It was recently chosen as the first winner among nine other finalists in the Jakarta Green Office Competition co-sponsored by several NGOs and companies, including World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia, and the Jakarta Environmental Management Board (BPLHD).
"We are very proud to win the award, especially because we are the only hospital participating in the event among dozens of other commercial companies," Bambang said.
Over the past 10 years, the hospital has established a special team called the Energy Saving Team, which monitors excessive energy use. Any unit reported for failing to save energy will be reprimanded."
The hospital recently does not only encourage electricity, paper and water savings, but also fuel consumption reductions by encouraging staff members to use public transportation, carpool, or cycle or walk to and from the hospital.
Since it was established in 1993, Bambang said, Dharmais had its own waste management system for liquids as well as an incinerator to burn body parts taken during surgery and used-medical equipments, such as needles.
Besides Dharmais, Persahabatan Hospital in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, is also promoting green habits.
It has provided vast green areas in a bid to increase air quality around the hospital, said the hospital's director Agung P. Sutiyoso.
"Providing a green and healthy environment is a part of our service to patients, so they will feel safe and comfortable," Agung said.
"We believe good air quality at the hospital will fasten the patients' recovery," he said.
He said Persahabatan had a 96,717-square-meter green area, more than 70 percent of its 134,521-square-meter plot of land.
The hospital has its own water waste treatment plant, two incinerator machines and an environmental laboratory, he added.
"In the near future, the hospital management will install a non-Freon air conditioner to curb green house emissions. We will also open a special clinic for smokers who want to quit smoking because smoking contributes to air pollution," he said.
Persahabatan management also encourages their employees to adopt eco-friendly habits, such as using both sides of the paper and using water and electricity efficiently, said Oni Konsa, the hospital's gynecologist.

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