text:
Cybaeus minoensis är en spindelart som beskrevs av Kobayashi 2006. Cybaeus minoensis ingår i släktet Cybaeus och familjen vattenspindlar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Externa länkar

Vattenspindlar
minoensis


People walking by the Vintage Vanguard jazz club in New York. The historic jazz venue has been in the same location, down 15 steps at 178 Seventh Avenue South in Manhattan, since 1935. Legend has it that it's the oldest Jazz club in the world. New York has long been a city known for jazz. What's less known is how kid- and family-friendly jazz performances can be.
NEW YORK — New York has long been a city known for jazz. What's less well-known is how kid- and family-friendly jazz performances here can be.
"When I was a kid, the Vanguard was an extension of my home. It was not only smoky, it was noisy. Now? Forget it. Make a peep and the noise police will shush you," says Deborah Gordon, general manager of the Village Vanguard, opened by her father in 1935. "It was a rough-and-tumble place when I was a kid, and 13-year-olds definitely weren't allowed in. You'd have to hang out on the stairs if you wanted to listen."
"Do your homework first about who's playing, and see if it's what you want to hear," she says. Also, no food is served, and the place is, still, a nightclub.
The Blue Note, Smalls Jazz Club, Birdland Jazz Club and the Jazz Standard have no minimum age and welcome well-behaved children accompanied by adults. The minimum age at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola is 7, and the Jazz Standard hosts a "Jazz for Kids" program on Sundays.
As for types of jazz, Todd Stoll, Jazz at Lincoln Center's vice president of education, recommends vocalists and big band music as a good entry point for kids. He urges families to explore Jazz at Lincoln Center's YouTube channel, featuring videos explaining improvisation and various jazz artists and genres.
"We call them Family Jazz Parties, and we have six to eight of them a year. They're family jazz concerts for a kid and a caregiver, with jazz that is very digestible for kids of that age group (8 months to 5 years) while also enjoyable for parents, held in a carpeted venue where kids can move around," Stoll says. In addition, visitors to New York can buy tickets to a single WeBop jazz appreciation class for a young person and a caregiver.
"Older than that, and most kids are really ready to check out Dizzy's or the Vanguard or whatever other place they're interested in going," Stoll said. "Just do some research before you go. It's not a musical or a pop concert, it's fine art. It doesn't pander."
Jazz, says Marsalis, "demands that we develop our hearing. It's our job to empower kids and to teach them to listen and to hear. We should encourage them to get with the harmony, get to the piano, learn three or four basic chords, a blues — it's a great tool to encourage hearing."
"The first jazz recording ever made was in New York in 1917, just about every jazz great came to New York to make their name here, and the vibe and feeling of New York is still a jazz vibe. New York sweats jazz," he says.
"It's a pretty good bang for your buck. We try to keep admission to $35 with a one-drink minimum," says Gordon, of the Vanguard.
Not only can a family of four sit right up front at a jazz concert for around the price of a single Broadway ticket, but tickets to jazz clubs can often be had the day of a performance. Reservations to shows are made online, and clubs generally have first-come first-served seating. Jazz at Lincoln Center offers student discounts in their concert halls and at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, as do some other places.
"With kids, you definitely want to get them right up close by the drums, where they can see all that's going on. It really blows them away," says Gordon. Arrive well before showtime if you want the best seats.
There's an energy to improvisation and live music, and between a band and an audience in intimate settings, Gordon says.
As for the Vanguard, a cozy basement venue known for its narrow red staircase and red-carpeted stage backed by red velvet curtains, Gordon jokes: "We are dedicatedly un-renovated. It takes a lot of work to keep it as shabby as we do. It looks pretty much like it did in the '30s."
Stoll says kids can learn a lot from jazz: "On an intellectual level, improvisation is the freedom and the importance of the individual voice. Swing is how that voice is related to a group. Blues is facing adversity with optimism. Those are three things we want kids to get from jazz. It also teaches us culturally about America, with lessons about race, gender and socio-economic disparity, if parents want to make it a lesson about that."


Where Deceit failed as a futuristic action-packed story, Lucifer Rising uses this formula to set itself up as one of the best New Adventures novels. Andy Lane and Jim Mortimore combine their talents, providing a fresh, ambitious adventure story. When you compare the over-long prologues and build-ups of previous New Adventures (Deceit being a good example), Lucifer Rising wastes no time. Despite the novel's length (346 pages), the TARDIS crew are already involved in the Belial base crew's affairs, having landed there a couple of weeks beforehand.
Lucifer Rising is the Twin Peaks of Doctor Who; a complex whodunit that can easily lose the reader in its many subplots. If the novel has any bad points, it is that there are too many irrelevant characters that add little to the story and only complicate a fast-paced plot. Paula Engado is Laura Palmer. She is killed in the prologue and her death is elevated as a much more important event than any other character's demise. A lot is found out about Paula and her relationships with others as the story progresses.
The premise of Lucifer Rising can also be compared with The Robots of Death and Terror of the Vervoids. Both followed the Agatha Christie formula in deep space. Lucifer Rising is a gripping little whodunit where, no matter how hard you try, you cannot guess the killer. It is an especially difficult task when so many of the characters (including Ace), have dark secrets or ulterior motives of their own.
The new, tougher Ace is more convincing here because she has a mission. In Deceit she was there to shoot people and shout orders but she never had an underlying motive for her forcefulness so these alterations had little effect. Never in Doctor Who has a character been given so much in-depth characterisation, and Ace in Lucifer Rising is indeed intriguing, but hopefully the 'spotlight on Ace' syndrome of late will soften sooner or later. The Doctor remains true to form and is given some wonderful lines, as is Benny.
Benny is mostly used as a tool to open up other characters' feelings - the in-depth characterisation is a highlight, from the spiritual beliefs of Miles to Cheryl's losses in love. I would never have imagined that thorough character development and fist-clenching action could be combined so successfully in a Doctor Who book, but Lane and Mortimore certainly pull it off.
What is a hindrance is the interior illustrations by Lee Brimmicombe-Wood, which I was tempted to tear out of my copy. These childish pictures served little purpose because Lucifer Rising is the type of novel that flows, unlike perhaps The Pit (where these sorts of illustrations would have worked better). Jim Mortimore provides the antithesis to these doodles with a stunning evocative cover painting.
The addition of the IMC clan may be an obvious change of direction in such a large novel, but it works so well especially the introduction of the bizarre Legion. Lane and Mortimore use the New Adventures format to create an expansive, intricate location filled with three-dimensional characters. For once, the format has been utilized to its fullest degree in book form. It's about time.
After two decidedly average novels, I wasn't sure what to expect from Lucifer Rising. The unappealing cover suggested it would be another average book, so it was with some trepidation that I started reading.
Sometimes there's nothing more pleasing than being proved wrong, and when you expect an average book and get a great one instead, this is definitely the case. Lucifer Rising is an extremely good book with a detailed and well-executed plot.
I can't be bothered with books where the Doctor doesn't turn up till page 59 and doesn't actually become part of the plot until page 80, so from the Doctor's sudden appearance at the end of Chapter One, I was hooked. It's important to grab a reader's attention early on, and that's something The Pit and Deceit failed to do.
Superb characterisation brings the Belial Base personnel to life, and I could see the story as clearly as if it were televised. The Doctor is at his enigmatic best - suspicious, suspected, confused and confusing! Benny seems to be working hard at coping with sobriety; and then there's Ace ... oh, Ace. 'It's not you I hate,' Bernice tells her, 'it's what you've become.' And I think I agree. Ace has changed a lot since she left the Doctor, a lot of which is not necessarily for the better. However this new Ace finds her own answers and often quicker than the Doctor does.
There are many interesting personal conflicts in this story, and some interesting issues, although Cheryl and Paula's relationship is only touched on. The Doctor's dealing with Legion was an almost horrifying moment; at last he is forced to do is own dirty work, this time minus the past cop-outs (such as when he appointed himself Davros's executioner in Resurrection of the Daleks). This could be one of the most important events in the constantly changing characterisation of the Doctor, and annoyingly, it's another of those moments you wish you could have seen done on TV!
Lucifer Rising is up there with Revelation and The Highest Science as one of my favourites - roll on, Blood Heat!


text:
Newnulleds[email protected][email protected] ( Newnulled Customer Services )
TTC – The Entrepreneur's Toolkit
COST: $149.95= Your Free
Author: Dr. Michael G. Goldsby
Website: http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/the-entrepreneur-s-toolkit.html
The numbers are staggering. According to the Small Business Administration, two-thirds of all new businesses fail in their first decade of operation. What does it take to become one of the prosperous few? How does a promising idea survive the startup phase, pass the break-even point, and eventually grow into a flourishing enterprise? In short, what are the tools that entrepreneurs need to succeed?
The answer is critically important. After all, an entrepreneurial spirit is vital to society for many reasons:
•Great businesses depend on the ability of entrepreneurs to handle unpredictable challenges and seize unrecognized opportunities.
• Entrepreneurship applies not just to businesses, but also to many areas, including education, non-profit organizations, sports, and government.
•The world is teeming with breakthrough ideas, but it takes entrepreneurial skills to make them happen.
• Entrepreneurs have created more wealth, more jobs, and more progress than any other force in society; they are truly indispensible.
Taking a risk on a new business or other enterprise can be daunting, but the rules are simple and the payoff is immensely gratifying. It all starts with an idea, a few basic principles, an organizational checklist, and a research plan—a set of tools that helps you build your way to success.
The Entrepreneur's Toolkit is that resource, teaching you how to get started and overcome the many obstacles on the path to a profitable and rewarding venture, whatever it may be. Taught by Professor Michael G. Goldsby of Ball State University, who heads one of the nation's premier undergraduate and graduate programs in entrepreneurship, these 24 half-hour lectures give you the background and skills to get ahead in today's competitive marketplace.
By following Professor Goldsby's proven path, you can embark on your own enterprise with confidence. His presentation is filled with useful tips, case histories, and personal anecdotes, along with a wealth of recommendations for websites and other outside resources, which are cited in the lectures and the course guidebook. These include key agencies and professional organizations, plus sources of vital information such as patent databases, industry standards, and government regulations that apply to your business.
A Course for the Entrepreneur in Everybody
All of us have dreams, goals, and perhaps a project or two on the back burner. The Entrepreneur's Toolkit is your chance to make these aspirations a reality. Professor Goldsby provides a detailed roadmap for starting, nurturing, expanding, and eventually selling a business; and he shows how the same valuable skills translate to other spheres of life. Those who will benefit from Dr. Goldsby's engaging presentation include:
•anyone thinking of going into business, whether it's a freelance career, a small store, a franchise, or an ambitious startup;
•those already in business who want to rejuvenate their organization and make it thrive;
•employees who want to get ahead in their present company, using the tools of entrepreneurship to build their career;
•teachers, ministers, club presidents, and others in leadership positions who want to make a difference in their field;
• people who deal with entrepreneurs, from screenwriters pitching a movie to sales representatives trying to win a contract; and
•anyone who loves a rags-to-riches story—because the annals of entrepreneurship are filled with inspiring biographies.
Get the Big Things Right
Starting a new business means paying attention to countless details. No one can do a perfect job, but the future of your organization depends on getting the big things right. The Entrepreneur's Toolkit helps you focus on the most important elements. You begin with the preliminaries: coming up with an idea for a business, market research, establishing the feasibility of your concept, recognizing how to make a profit, and choosing a business structure.
Then you devote fully one-third of the course to the business plan, which is like a global positioning system for your enterprise; it lets you know where you are, where you're going, and how to get there. It's an essential document for investors, lenders, potential partners, and big customers, and it helps you think through your venture and define and meet your goals. Dr. Goldsby covers the standard parts of a business plan and explains in detail the financial sections that give many beginning entrepreneurs the most trouble, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.
Next you follow up with lectures that address crucial questions: how to get financing, how to make a home office prosper, how to start a family business, and how to buy a franchise or existing business.
Having guided you through the steps in the startup phase, Professor Goldsby devotes the final lectures to ensuring the growth of your enterprise as well as your own personal growth as an entrepreneur. These lectures cover intellectual property, employee relations, customer relations, entrepreneurship in the bigger picture, entrepreneurial exhaustion, how successful entrepreneurs think, and what's next in your career after success.
Role Models for Business and More
There are plenty of role models in entrepreneurship, and some of the most famous launched their ventures on a shoestring. For instance, a nondescript garage in Palo Alto, California, is where Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett started the electronics firm Hewlett-Packard in 1939, paving the way for an entire industry—Silicon Valley. Down the road in Los Altos is another small garage where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started Apple Computer in 1976. You hear these stories and many others in The Entrepreneur's Toolkit, including:
•Walt Disney: "The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing," advised this legendary showman, who is unusual in exemplifying the entire spectrum of entrepreneurial traits analyzed by Professor Goldsby in Lecture 21.
•Edwin Land: "If you can define a problem, it can be solved," said this gifted inventor, whose development of instant photography and the Polaroid camera inspired Steve Jobs to create products that his competitors could not even imagine.
•Nick Saban: How is the head football coach of the University of Alabama a model entrepreneur? Nick Saban revived the storied glory of the "Crimson Tide" by bringing the discipline and organization of a Fortune 500 company to his struggling team.
• Bill Gates: Lecture 24 addresses the role of entrepreneurs as philanthropists, illustrated by Bill Gates, who retired from Microsoft to devote his life to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, dedicated to fighting malaria and other global problems.
The bottom line, says Professor Goldsby, is that the entrepreneurial skills that helped bring success and fulfillment to Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, and so many others can be learned by anyone who's willing to build the right toolkit to get it done.
24 Lectures
1. How to Come Up with a Great Business Idea
2. Understanding Your Market
3. Prototypes-Making Your Idea a Reality
4. Defining Your Business Model
5. Picking Your Business Structure
6. Starting Your Business Plan
7. Market Analysis and Marketing Strategy
8. Business Logistics and Operations
9. Organizational Structure and Management Teams
10. Income Statements and Balance Sheets
11. Cash Flow Statements and Performance Measures
12. Conducting Risk Analysis
13. Finishing Your Business Plan
14. How to Finance Your Business
15. From Your Home Office to Social Media
16. Starting a Family Business
17. Buying a Franchise or Other Business
18. Understanding Intellectual Property
19. Managing Human Resources
20. The Customer's Experience and Your Brand
21. Entrepreneurial Perspectives
22. Entrepreneurial Exhaustion
23. Entrepreneurial Leadership
24. The Successful Entrepreneur
Your Professor:
Ph.D. Michael G. Goldsby – Ball State University
Dr. Michael G. Goldsby is the Stoops Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship and Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship Center in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University.
He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Economics and Public Policy from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, his master's degree in Economics from Indiana State University, and his doctorate in Strategic Management and Business Ethics from the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he was awarded the Jack Hoover Award for Teaching Excellence.
Professor Goldsby's current research focuses on recognition and development of opportunities, design, innovation, and applied creativity. He is a member of many management professional organizations and offers consulting and workshop services to companies, communities, and universities.
In addition to his numerous refereed journal articles, Dr. Goldsby coauthored Innovation Acceleration: Transforming Organizational Thinking, and his research has been reported by major international media outlets, including CBS, MSNBC, CNN, and the Associated Press. His study on entrepreneurship and fitness was covered by Runner's World, Prevention magazine, Muscle & Fitness, and Health magazine.
In his spare time, Dr. Goldsby enjoys athletic pursuits. He has run 25 marathons, including eight Boston Marathons, and he completed his first IRONMAN Triathlon in 2012.
http://filetut.com/ur87thxohjoe/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part01.rar.html
http://filetut.com/s9s9pxf0gvkk/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part02.rar.html
http://filetut.com/b2igr3pm0d7r/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part03.rar.html
http://filetut.com/t2r5ukkfo3ha/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part04.rar.html
http://filetut.com/w1wnhzt0lvwd/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part05.rar.html
http://filetut.com/cazq9tqumal0/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part06.rar.html
http://filetut.com/4lg2r1gea6ik/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part07.rar.html
http://filetut.com/6hlvdpt2mvvw/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part08.rar.html
http://filetut.com/d42tw52hkfzw/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part09.rar.html
http://filetut.com/wi18kcmy48lh/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part10.rar.html
http://filetut.com/wt9whd5p9edx/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part11.rar.html
http://filetut.com/hgwrmgj7pvbu/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part12.rar.html
http://filetut.com/ju61b0bpena7/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part13.rar.html
http://filetut.com/ydl6pcqk7jd8/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part14.rar.html
http://filetut.com/kaqmmo09n8oh/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part15.rar.html
http://filetut.com/kz1z5o70z6bg/TTC_-_The_Entrepreneur_s_Toolkit.part16.rar.html

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The quality, professionalism and experience are the cornerstones of the philosophy of Hostal Marcos. We opened 25 years, but we recently renovated our facilities, to provide a modern, comfortable and functional.
Hostal-Restaurante MARCOS, is located in the village of Alaejos, conveniently located on the way to Portugal or the city of Salamanca..
Please note : Cancellation Policy : 72 hours. Payment accepted on arrival : cash , credit or debit cards. You can contact the property for prepayment by bank transfer. Check-in/ Check-out time : 12:00. Breakfast not included. Taxes included. You can leave your luggage at reception starting at 10:00 a.m. if the room is not ready.


I have to say, extreme lover of Burgundy's wine and people as I am, I have the fear that harder times lie ahead. I hate to write notes such as this, but whilst my reports of the actual wines of 2014 are laced with joy, my view of their market is becoming ever-darker.
Since 2005 there has been a step-change in global pricing. Unlike the decade of the 1990s where there was typically a small price increase each year to cover inflation (plus 5% on the price of the old bottles in the cellar), the prices of some domaines' wines in the market have tripled – and more – often re-sellers earning much more money per bottle than the producers of those bottles. Critical and merchant hyperbole must bear a significant responsibility, but they cannot alone explain the 'Louis Vuittonification' of the produce of Burgundy. Each vintage being reported more in the manner of a fashion show with more articles devoted to the cost of the wines, than the contents of those bottles.
Since 2009 there have largely been small volume harvests – pity the poor vigneron(ne)s with vines from the centre of Meursault to Pernand-Vergelesses, three times hailed. The Côte de Nuits has also seen much lower harvest volumes but don't for a moment think that there are not crocodile tears to be found at the premises of certain Côte de Nuits producers, increasing their prices 15% per year 'in sympathy' with their brothers and sisters in the Côte de Beaune – whilst making maximum yields… There will always be somebody!
Essentially the recent years' marketing of Burgundy's wines into new markets such as China, largely via Hong Kong, supported, since 2010, by a significant reduction in the output of the 'famous domaines' has been largely synergistic in terms of their effect on pricing – most obviously for an echelon of sought-after wines (and their vocal would-be buyers). The problem is that the increase of bulk prices for traditionally harder to sell labels has also tracked, at least to some extent, those most sought-after wines. Large negociants were trying to dampen down sales of Petit Chablis (2013) earlier this year as they were losing money on the bottles – because it's a question of what the end market will pay for a bottle – a wall if you like – and bulk prices were/are too high for some merchanted grapes/must, to achieve that.
Burgundy has two large pricing problems – iniquities – one internal and one external.
Externally; if all the wines you would like to drink cost significantly more than, let's say, Chianti-Classico – you will more often than not, buy the Chianti in a restaurant. Many, many restaurants who used to list villages and 1er Cru wines, have replaced them with Saint Romain and Rully – and even they are a hard sell. Anecdotally, the market for good burgundy 'has tanked' in France in the last six months. And I'm sure that it's not just the case in France. Note, from a recent article in a trade-publication: "When you can get three [cases] of Haut-Brion for the same price of one [case] DRC Richebourg, is the price of rarity justified?" In my own opinion, maybe a small premium, but no more.
Internally; there is a problem of imbalance when villages wines from the Côte de Nuits such as Vosne, Gevrey and Chambolle typically cost more than great 1er Crus from the Côte de Beaune – whites included.
Both of these problems need rectification.
But bulk pricing is multi-faceted; an undoubted driver is the lack of volume – historically such 'volume-related' price challenges have been moderated by large merchant houses or 'maisons' who would harness either their buying power, or their stocks, to moderate the ups and downs of pricing – but with consecutive low volume vintages, and empty warehouses, these maisons' market-making ability has been massively curtailed.
The higher prices are, however, not just 'yield-related;' competition is also a large driver in the last vintages. Of-course competition will become stronger for a dwindling resource, but there are also so many new entrants who want to become negociants that the competition for grapes is further magnified.
The Hospices de Beaune wine auction was often seen as a barometer of pricing, but the increases of recent years, have more and more been dismissed as 'its own thing, and a result only of charity' yet we should not so easily dismiss this. The day after this year's auction, the courtiers were indicating that anyone who HAD to buy today, would see 20% higher prices. Actual settlements have been nearer 10% for those who needed wine to fulfill orders, but that's still another 10%, and overnight too! Perhaps the most recent increases can be attributed to the growing hype towards the 2015 (red) wines, but it seems that every year there is yet another reason for more than a 'cost of living' increase.
Land pricing and inheritance costs are certainly drivers that go all the way through the hierarchy of wines, so it's not just the sought-after premier and grand crus that have problems, it's also the more basic, volume oriented 'commodity/everyday' wines – at least the negociant versions. Established, low debt domaines have an advantage on pricing, but Dujac, for instance, have stopped making a négoce Morey-Saint-Denis, because it would have been more expensive than their domaine version [oops – see comment from Jeremy, below]. It IS still possible to find great pricing on Saint Aubin 1er Crus (less than €20 direct) and Beaune, Pommard and Volnay 1er Crus (less than €25, direct) from domaines – indeed many, many wines and of both colours – but the rest is becoming messy, indeed very messy in the Côte de Nuits.
Prices are also, slowly but surely, changing the culture in Burgundy too – and that's my greatest personal worry. There's an old saying that 'In Bordeaux you can buy everything and taste nothing, but in Burgundy you can taste everything and buy nothing' – well, I have the impression that that's also changing. More and more doors are becoming closed to the casual visitor and the range of wines being offered to taste is shrinking as the grand cru bottles become 'too expensive to open.' For a long time the Bordeaux market was seen as the bad guy, but the market sentiment is also trending towards a similar impression of burgundy wine, with no nuance between Montrachet and Mâcon.
And the big wall coming?
Eventually, there will be a market correction, maybe followed by a couple of, or more, years of introspection and pain. I'm sure that the pricing inertia will hold for the exceptional (weather) 2015s, particularly given the modest volumes, but, for a moment, just imagine a 2016 vintage of high volume and average quality – who is going to buy at recent pricing? Or higher pricing? That would be the straw that breaks a camel's back, at least for a period of re-alignment!
I share your worries more and more. Hopefully the bubble will burst sooner rather than later as the more it will grow, the harder the landing will be…for the lesser know domains as these will be most impacted when it happens.
The demise of our négoce Morey Saint Denis is premature! It is in the villages of Gevrey and Chambolle that I have lost suppliers. The cuvées still exist, albeit in smaller volume than before. The Morey is still in production and in normal quantity. The future of these wines is threatened by pricing inflation, but so far, we intend to carry on. The question is: how much longer?
I had three potential examples, two out of the respective horses' mouths, but went for the second-hand info as it seemed more 'rock-star' 😉 At least I know who to kick in the shins!
I won't change the article, rather I'll link to your comment here.
A very fine article Bill, and I wish you all the best for a wonderful Christmas and excellent New Year. I have personally felt many of the sentiments you express above, but especially the observation about how the culture of Burgundy is changing. In the last decade farmers have morphed into celebrities, domaines which I followed, visited, and bought each year are increasingly unavailable, and what I can now afford to buy is often outperformed by wines from Italy, Germany, or even other regions of France. Except for those one-percenters and extremely wealthy collectors who rarely drink or enjoy what they buy, Burgundy is facing a kind of shrug of the shoulders from the broader market. For those in the know, the well-connected, and the obscenely rich, many recent posts on social media seem to be a kind of one-off ejaculatory excess, as Burgundy passes into a new era (how many of those bottles are fakes?). For many of us who have been intimately involved with Burgundy for 25+ years, it leaves a bad taste, almost a sense of betrayal. I recently described my own feelings to a good friend who is also a Burgundy lover by asking him "Have you ever fallen out of love with someone?" I really do not see a crash coming, merely the passing of Burgundy into the realm of luxury fashion – whether one prefers Vuiton, Cartier, Ghurka, or any other prominently displayed label. In the end, the bottles become advertising, the image and eventually the flavors become a "brand", and like Donald Trump will soon discover, the "brand" can be sabotaged or merely forgotten as the wandering eye is cast on the next objects of desire.
I still think that in each village you will find a wine for a good price.
But it's very hard to find it.
For me with my age, it's easy because I'm buying seulement wine for drinking in the next 8 years.
Good article, Bill. The price evolution and the changes in the region (Beaune is now disturbingly touristy) are really bad for the Burgundy lover. But I don't think anybody specifically can be held responsible for this. Certainly not more the vignerons than others: many of them have seen the price of their wines spiral out of control outside their cellar doors and far away from Burgundy, and have simply wanted to take their share (some more, some less).
On the consumer side I, like many, have been feeling every year a higher pressure to stop buying, but in the end, there are always enough producers whose wines are still reasonably priced that buying from them still makes perfect sense. Especially in view of the fact that other regions (Piedmont, for example) are following a similar evolution, perhaps at a lower pace and with some time delay.
I am not good at making market predictions, so I have no idea whether and when the bubble will burst. Perhaps it will not and some wines will never become cheap or accessible again. In every city there are areas where house prices are much higher than in other areas, and even if there was a time when house prices in that area were still affordable, they may never become affordable again.
As wine lover, the only thing we can do is to actively fight the rockstarification or mythification of some producers and wines and keep looking for very good, beautiful and affordable wines.
Wine journalists and writers could help a lot, of course. Bill certainly does.
Good post and good responses, I could not agree more. Fine Burgundy is in danger of becoming like fine Bordeaux – wines for well-off middle aged men. I hope Bill will focus on the producers that make good wine we can actually afford and leave the DRC's and Roumier's for Forbes Magazine.
I've been a Burgundy lover since the 70s, and began buying in increasing quantities in the late 80s as my income allowed. I've visited regularly for going on 20 years. There was a time when anyone who conveyed a modicum of serious interest and knowledge could send a fax or make a call and arrange to taste with growers who are now in such demand it is virtually impossible to obtain an audience with them. It is also impossible to afford their wines. I can say 'I knew you when,' but I can rarely visit or drink their wines. Resale value has spiraled to the point that my cellar has become a significant asset, one I really cannot justify NOT monetizing. Meanwhile, first growth bordeaux has begun looking downright inexpensive.
Spending time in Burgundy has become a very different experience as well, as the crowds have been growing like topsy, and the conspicuous spenders have encouraged many new 'de luxe' lodgings and restaurants. Big dollar investors have snarfed up domaines, the price of vineyard land has multiplied many times over.
Burgundy has been called a rich man's game for a long time, but until relatively recently, I always said that was a myth. It is not a myth at this point, not when a bottle of young Rousseau Clos de Beze is a 1500 USD proposition, one bottle of La Tache is two or three times that, and one bottle of Romanee Conti three times that. Some of the wines at this level now command more per bottle than they did per case up until a mere decade or so ago. When I can send two or three dozen bottles off to auction and buy a new BMW or fully fund four years of undergraduate tuition at a state university with the proceeds, something has gone terribly wrong. This is no longer about the fermented grape juice in the bottle, it is all about the conspicuous display of wealth, the willingness and ability to easily consume thousand, if not tens of thousands of dollars worth of wine in a single evening.
It is entirely possible this will pass, or at least ratchet back to some degree. A few years ago you may recall a case of 2008 Lafite could sell for over 20,000 USD in Hong Kong. The wine is now about 5,000 USD a dozen. But auction prices alone do not define the tone of the region. My sense is Burgundy is no longer the stomping ground of a rather small band of geeks and obsessives who were willing to devote the time, energy and money required to master the complexity of the myriad climats and lieu-dits of the region. It's fashionable, it's crawling with the rich from all over the globe, and naturally it will develop the infrastructure to accommodate them. The 'blue chip' properties will, in many ways, become luxury branded commodities much like classified Bordeaux, albeit quite a bit rarer, and thus likely even more expensive, which will merely add to the cachet of ownership.
Burgundy will likely remain my true love, and not all is lost. There is still a lot of affordable Burgundy, made away from the spotlight that now shines on the Roumiers and Mugniers and DRCs and Roulots and Coche-Durys and similar 'investment grade' rock stars, wines I have enjoyed for decades but now must pass by most of the time because I cannot justify the expense. Where I once drank Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny or C-M Les Fuees on school nights with a modest meal, I drink Marsannay or Fixin, St. Romain, Monthelie, Savigny, Chassagne rouge. My taste for white Burgundy now runs more to Chablis, and given the ongoing doubts about the longevity of the whites at the highest levels in the Cote d'Or, that isn't a bad thing.
There are other pleasures – terroir driven and deeply mineral wines from the Loire; great, rare old sherries that still sell for a pittance; grower champagnes; and closer to home, Oregon pinot noir that is beginning to find its own voice.
Wine comes from everywhere, year in and year out. So does great wine. It's a bit of adventure to keep tasting to track that wine down, and prrhaps these recent developments in Burgundy are much needed incentive to step outside my comfort zone more often.
I should add I mean no offense by my remarks and hope none is taken. The entire region, from Chablis down to Beaujolais, remains my first and truist love. But where the Cote d'Or is concerned, I can't help but feel nowadays that she has left me for younger, studlier, and far, far wealthier companionship. These things happen. It can't be helped.
Chambolle, your comments are a wonderfully passionate expression of what I also tried to articulate. Thank you!
Very well expressed. Your words echo my own for at least the last 18 months. What you call the "wall," I've referred to as the "impending crash" at least as it relates to the US and UK markets for burgundy It is plainly coming and I think the burgundians as a group are foolish for their inability to see it.
As you aptly put it, it not just the tripling of prices of some of the top wines, but the fact that the burgundians have raised their prices across the board in most instances. (Yes, the price increases for the reds are much worse than the whites for the most part, although several white burgundy producers have also had absurd increases in pricing on the grand crus.) Throughout 2014 I had conversations with several burgundy buyers for the biggest retailers in California and the message I received was the same in every case — (1) their sales of 2011 vintage wines were extremely poor — nobody wanted virtually any of the wines at the prices offered; (2) their sales on 2012 were not much better except for the very highly allocated items — and wines that traditionally sold briskly were still sitting on their shelves and in their bins; and (3) that it is just impossible to sell village level burgundies for $100 or more per bottle and fairly pedestrian premier cru level wines for $150 to $200 per bottle. So a year ago this time, several major retailers were telling me that their stores would forego purchasing most 2013 burgundies unless there was a major price cut. The only exception would be where the offerings consisted almost exclusively of high end wines that they could easily sell, such as DRC, Vogue, Roumier and Rousseau. The burgundians didn't cut prices on the 2013s and most raised them an average of 5% — but the unexpected fall of the Euro in from December 2014 through February 2015 saved the day for the US and UK markets.
While I haven't spoken to many restaurant owners/sommeliers about the issue, a couple of them have volunteered that they've just stopped buying burgundy altogether for their restaurants. They say it is pointless for them to buy bottles of grand crus that retail from $300 to $600 when they will have to sell the bottles for $600 to $1,200 in the restaurants.
There are at least three other phenomena at play here as well.
Yes, the rapidly rising demand for the best wines in Asia has played a big role in the escalation of pricing for the top wines, but what I'm hearing from friends in Hong Kong is that while the demand for the top 10 or 15 brands of burgundy is still quite high in Hong Kong and China, the demand for the other burgundies has fallen off considerably due to both changes in Chinese government policies on gifting to officials and because of weakness in the Chinese economy and the real estate markets.
There also has been what I would estimate as at least a 10-fold increase in the number of merchants selling fine and rare wine since 2000. While I have not seen any statistics on this, I suspect that at least 80% of the purchasers of fine and rare burgundy in Europe today are people "in the trade" who are buying with a view of reselling the wines purchased to someone else at a higher price. This phenomena has certainly contributed to the frenzied rise in pricing of the top 10 to 15 burgundy brands and it has tended to pull up the prices for the closest comparable wines as well. It also means that there are huge stocks of old and rare wines sitting in the hands of brokers and retailers looking for the next higher level of pricing that they can obtain.
The prices on burgundy have risen so high so rapidly that I'm told that virtually all of the traditional burgundy buyers from retail stores in the US have exited the playing field for new releases I spoke to the two biggest online sellers of burgundy in California this year and I was genuinely surprised when they said I was about the only person among their "regular" burgundy buyers over the past decade that was still buying any new releases of burgundy (and I have been buying very few bottles). They both said that there has been an "almost 100%" change in the identify of the people buying burgundies from them over the past four or five years and that the people buying the wines today generally have very limited knowledge about burgundy. These "new customers" are buying because the wines are in very high demand or "trendy" and have been recommended to them by others or they have read one or more of the available reviewers commentary about the wines and have the wealth available to purchase them. Both of these retailers were concerned that these "new customers" could disappear just as fast as they appeared.
Excellent insights, Don — thanks. I agree with you in general. Unfortunately, my own crystal ball is pretty murky right now in terms of calling a crash here. The relative scarcity that plays into traditional supply and demand (realities or perceptions) may keep things going for a while, as will, unfortunately, the wealth imbalance seen worldwide today on an unprecedented scale. The "super-rich" will be able to continue to buy the wines of the "top producers" as long as, and at whatever quantities, they desire. The market correction will have to start at the auction houses — with lots going unsold at the absurd asking prices…..
Spot on Don, spot on. Except for the notion that it will crash. It will stabilize somewhere insanely high. The reason is simple. The limited supply, the growing demand of people with far too much money to spend, and the fact that these wines have become as much status symbols as sources of pleasure. Just look at certain groups of tourists in the area who buy a lot of wines and leave half on the table. That happens at home and parties as well. If Bordeaux is any indicator then the 5x rise is no issue and it stabilizes, leaving quality producers who have the bad luck of being on the wrong part of the curve in the lurch as they have no choice but to wait until someone elevates them to cult status, and that will remain a gamble. This is even the case with rock star producers like Dominique Lafon and Ben Leroux who produce great stuff under one name but struggle to price up on their own labels.
"As in the case of Dutch tulip bulbs a century or more ago, it seems like the combination of circumstances is creating "perfect storm" conditions. Sadly, I think "the crash" is inevitable for burgundy and it is likely going to be pretty brutal for some producers and for many of the brokers in the trade" the leverage in 1erCru's books in their recent Chapter 7 filing surely ought to raise an eyebrow. Furthermore, the diminutive assets are declared as non-perishable. Not entirely wrong but surely also not perfectly correct either. Money's simply too cheap and every dork seems to be in the trade speculating.


text:
Argo Extended Edition out December 3rd
Movie News | By Bryan Kremkau on Aug 28th, 2013
Just when everyone was sick of Ben Affleck news, Warner Brothers announced that Argo will be getting the extended edition treatment. The Oscar winning movie by Affleck will have 9 minutes added to the movie plus lots more special features. Since I loved Argo, I'm interested to see what was added into the movie.
On December 3, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) will release Argo Extended Edition on Blu-ray™, featuring an additional nine minutes of footage that delves deeper into CIA specialist Tony Mendez's personal relationships with his wife and son. Based on the true story of the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans during the Iran hostage crisis, the film also focuses on the little-known role that the CIA and Hollywood played. Ben Affleck (The Town) directed.
Available in Blu-ray (at $49.99 SRP) with UltraViolet* digital copy, Argo Extended Edition will be offered in time for holiday gift giving. This new edition includes three brand new special features: Ben Affleck's Balancing Act and Argo Declassified featurettes; plus a mash-up entitled Argo F*ck! Yourself. In addition, there are collectible premiums of a one-sheet poster, map of Tehran, reproduction of Tony Mendez's CIA ID card, and a 40-page book with behind-the-scenes photos, production notes, cast bios and more.
Jeff Baker, WBHE's Executive Vice President and General Manager, Theatrical Catalog, commented, "We are very pleased to be collaborating with Ben and his team for a second time. This new edition of Argo is even more enriched by the never-before-seen bonus footage and fascinating collectible memorabilia."
Argo was one of the most honored and best reviewed movies of 2012. In addition to the Oscar® presented to producers Grant Heslov, Affleck and George Clooney for Best Picture, Argo won the Golden Globe®, BAFTA and Critics' Choice Awards for Best Picture. The film earned two additional Oscars® – for Best Achievement in Film Editing and for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay – and was nominated for an additional four (Best Supporting Actor for Alan Arkin; Best Original Score, Best Achievement in Sound Editing; Best Achievement in Sound Mixing)
Affleck also stars in the film, leading an ensemble cast, which won the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® for Outstanding Motion Picture Cast Performance. Arkin was recognized with Oscar®, Golden Globe®, BAFTA Award, Critics' Choice and SAG Award® nominations for his performance. Argo also stars Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishé, Kyle Chandler and Chris Messina.
Screenwriter Chris Terrio won Oscar® and Writers Guild of America awards for his screenplay, based on a selection from The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez and the Wired Magazine article "The Great Escape" by Joshuah Bearman.
On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. In the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, the Canadian and American governments ask the CIA to intervene. The CIA turns to their top "exfiltration" specialist, Tony Mendez, to come up with a plan to get the six Americans safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies.
BRAND-NEW SPECIAL FEATURES
· Argo Declassified – Tony Mendez's daring operation gets honored as part of the CIA's 50th anniversary
· Ben Affleck's Balancing Act – Balancing humor, politics, Hollywood and international intrigue as only Affleck and his team could do
· Argo F*ck Yourself – Ben Affleck leads an all-star review of Argo's classic line
ADDITIONAL SPECIAL FEATURES:
Picture in Picture: Eyewitness Account: Relive the takeover of the US Embassy in November of 1979 and the daring rescue mission in January of 1980 through the eyes of those that lived it.
Feature length audio commentary with director Ben Affleck and writer Chris Terrio
Rescued from Tehran: We Were There – President Jimmy Carter, Tony Mendez and the actual houseguests recount the real-life harrowing experience they endured.
Argo: Absolute Authenticity – From characters to heart-stopping action, Ben Affleck's eye and ear for hard-hitting realism and attention to exacting detail has become his signature as an A-list filmmaker.
Argo: The CIA & Hollywood Connection – Director Ben Affleck and former CIA agent Tony Mendez give a firsthand view of the actual documents and cover story used to create the phony movie Argo that had all of Hollywood believing in.
Escape from Iran: The Hollywood Option – Escape from Iran commemorates the 25th anniversary of the "Canadian Caper," taking us back to this startling affair through the direct testimony of the Americans who found sanctuary at the Canadian embassy in Tehran, and the Canadians who risked their own safety to shelter their closest neighbors.
· Argo Files:
A Discussion with the Cast of Argo – Ben Affleck joins Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Clea Duvall and Rory Cochran for a live conversation about their experiences while making Argo
Tony Mendez on Tony Mendez – Former CIA agent Tony Mendez shares additional details and stories from the mission
The Istanbul Journey – Ben Affleck shows us why Istanbul was the ideal place to shoot Argo
All-new Collectible Memorabilia:
· Argo one-sheet Poster
· Map of Tehran
· Reproduction of Tony Mendez's CIA ID card
· 40-page book premium featuring behind the scenes photos, production notes, bios and more
Argo, Argo Extended Edition, Ben Affleck, Blu-Ray, warner brothers
Previous: The Harder They Come being re-released for One-Night-Only screenings on September 5th
Next: Paramount releasing Jack Ryan 4-pack Blu-Ray collection in December
Titans: The Complete First Season (Blu-Ray + Digital)
DVD/Blu-Ray Tuesday Roundup (July 9th 2019)
Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers is adopted!
Really Bad Songs To Annoy Your Friends With
Insulting Pick-Up Lines
Reel Big Fish & The Aquabats @ Roxian Theatre McKees Rocks, PA


text:
MIRACL, or Mid-Infrared Advanced Chemical Laser, is a directed energy weapon developed by the US Navy. It is a deuterium fluoride laser, a type of chemical laser.

The MIRACL laser first became operational in 1980. It can produce over a megawatt of output for up to 70 seconds, making it the most powerful continuous wave (CW) laser in the US. Its original goal was to be able to track and destroy anti-ship cruise missiles, but in later years it was used to test phenomenologies associated with national anti-ballistic and anti-satellite laser weapons.  Originally tested at a contractor facility in California, as of the later 1990s and early 2000s, it was located at a facility () in the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

The beam size in the resonator is about  wide. The beam is then reshaped to a  square.

Amid much controversy in October 1997, MIRACL was tested against MSTI-3, a US Air Force satellite at the end of its original mission in orbit at a distance of . MIRACL failed during the test and was damaged and the Pentagon claimed mixed results for other portions of the test. A second, lower-powered chemical laser was able to temporarily blind the MSTI-3 sensors during the test.

References

Further reading

Chemical lasers
Military lasers
Directed-energy weapon of the United States
Military equipment introduced in the 1980s

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The two players have endured hard months under Santiago Solari since he replaced Julen Lopetegui in October.
"Nobody is going to take away what they have done here", Zidane said about his veteran players. They looked good to me, Isco got a goal.
Real Madrid's Isco celebrates after scoring during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Celta at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, March 16, 2019.
"There will be changes in the summer, but at the moment I can not say more than that", Zidane told reporters.
Another victim, Haji Daoud Nabi, died trying to save a fellow worshiper, his son told an Australian newspaper. Aupito said festival organisers have contacted schools about the decision.
In his last game in charge of Real Madrid before he left past year, Zinedine Zidane would have Gareth Bale to thank for the two goals he scored against Liverpool in the UCL final.
The Frenchman's line-up showed he was serious as he brought back goalkeeper Keylor Navas, as well as Isco and Marcelo into the side.
In fact, the Welshman put in his best display of the season to date and netted his first goal at home since the 3-0 win over AS Roma in the Champions League in September.
Zinedine Zidane brought Real Madrid's outcasts in from the cold and they repaid him with a win over Celta Vigo on Saturday but La Liga's title race could well be over after Atletico Madrid were beaten by Athletic Bilbao.
"They are two key players for us".
Navas has been second choice for most of this season following Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois' arrival from Chelsea, while Sergio Reguilon had condemned a seemingly disinterested Marcelo to the bench towards the end of Santiago Solari's ill-fated tenure. He was far away from his best shape but he fought and open the scoreboard in the second half after a ideal assist from Benzema.
"It's a new beginning", right back Alvaro Odriozola said. We have to stay focused on competing and not thinking about who is playing or who isn't.
"The change of manager seems to have worked", he said. "Instead, we all need to give 100 percent".
Assuming Madrid have assured Zidane that the club will sign the players he wants this summer, we could finally see De Gea join Los Blancos for a fee of around £75 million. In the next 10 games left of the season, the goal is to be back and fight to be competitive.
If a longer extension was sought, that would mean taking part in the elections, something likely to fuel Eurosceptic anger. Mr Farage said: "If politicians think they can walk all over us, then we're going to march back and tell them they can't".
We are just going to enjoy this series win at the moment. "It's a tough place to come play cricket against a very good side". He also maintained that the team is committed to making the most of the World Cup as it comes every four years.
While not the sexiest stat in football , or indeed our game, the defender buoy's his weekly totals with them to terrific effect. There is the good feeling you get from winning in the style that we did (in Munich), the confidence going into the weekend.
Witnesses say about 300 people were inside the Al Noor mosque at the time of the shooting, taking part in Friday prayers. The joint intelligence group has been deployed and police are putting all of their resources into this situation.
Olivier Giroud's ideal hat-trick away at Dynamo Kiev took his Europa League goal tally to nine, the highest in the competition so far.
Facebook on Thursday announced the departure of two key executives, Chief Product Officer Chris Cox and WhatsApp VP Chris Daniels. Facebook announced that its chief product officer Chris Cox and WhatsApp head Chris Daniels are leaving the company.
For sure they will try to win everything but we are ready to compete with them. We never managed to put their goalkeeper under pressure.