The interactive documents can be read in their original form or a translated English version, but thus far, only five of the 972 scrolls discovered between 1947 and 1956 can be viewed.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Dead Sea Scrolls now available online
The interactive documents can be read in their original form or a translated English version, but thus far, only five of the 972 scrolls discovered between 1947 and 1956 can be viewed.
ENGLISH LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP: Barnsley vs Coventry City Handicap 12BET 10/1 10PM GMT+8
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's. The club colours are red and white, and their home ground since 1888 has been Oakwell.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry. Coventry City were founding members of the Premier League in 1992.They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second-highest tier of the English league system, having spent 34 consecutive seasons in the top flight First Division / Premier League between 1967 and 2001. Coventry currently hold the longest tenure in the Championship league of 11 consecutive seasons. Their only major trophy was won in 1987 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 to win the FA Cup, listed by the FA as one of the 12 classic FA Cup Finals. They also reached two League Cup semi-finals in 1981 and 1990.
Gloria Estefan
After a four year hiatus, Gloria Estefan returns with her English -- or "Spanglish" as she calls it -- album, "Miss Little Havana." Estefan delved into her 14th studio album differently than her previous projects, recruiting Pharrell Williams as executive producer. Pharrell came to Estefan with the titled track, "Miss Little Havana," which he'd written specifically for her. Before either of them knew it, Estefan and Pharrell had wrapped up a naughty but nice dance album.
"I gotta tell you this is one of the most fun projects I've ever done," Estefan told Billboard.com "Pharrell and I really clicked. We captured a lot of raw emotion. We got a really good gamut of what we considered different kinds of dance music from Pharrell's world and from mine."
Before "Miss Little Havana" hit stores today (Sept. 27), Estefan sat down with Billboard.com to discuss all 13 songs on the album. The legendary singer discussed the powerful Latin vibes through out the album and the chemistry in the studio. Check out Gloria Estefan's video track-by-track above and find out on which song does Estefan's daugher, Emily Marie, make her guitarist debut.
1. "Miss Little Havana"
"It's kind of 80s freestyle mixed with Pharrell's urban sensibilities brought to present day."
2. "Can't Believe"
"There's very little bass on the whole record. Usually it's the 808s that are carrying the low end. So this song does have a bass that comes in that takes the song into overdrive."
3. "Heat"
"I love 'Heat'! Pharrell arranged and performed the first nine tracks on the record. He had done amazing arrangements of percussion but I really wanted to bring real percussion to the project. We've got the timbales and the congas just kind of battling it out."
4. "Wepa"
"It's about how the working man and how anybody have a great time with music and dance… I wanted to give it a very carnival, festival feeling, the type you hear in street parties in Brazil and Cuba, that people would go down the streets dancing to, just a crazy Caribbean feel to it."
5. "Say Ay"
"The horns are actually carrying the bulk of the harmonic background of this record which I find really cool and different."
6. "So Good"
"This is a straight up Cumbia directly from Colombia. We used the actual drums, and also the drums that are used in typical Cumbia. In a nutshell, this is about Pharrell, horns and drums.
7. "Right Away"
"This was my kids' favorite song. Something about it speaks to them, it's kind of reminiscent of old 70s disco, it's got the wawa guitar that we put in. Goes from very sweet to nasty, and I love that."
8. "Make Me Say Yes"
"'Make Me Say Yes' is reminiscent of early 90s techno pop. I love this because it's got a lot of layered vocals on it, very different sound from the rest of the record; it's one of my favorites from the get go."
9. "Time is Ticking Away"
"I wanted to have at least one ballad for my fans because this has been who I am throughout my career. It's literally talking about my memories growing up in Miami."
10. "Hotel Nacional"
"We wanted a very woody, old fashioned sound, cause its jitterbuggy this song. It's got clarinets, it's got saxes, and a whole different vibe-it just sounds like you could be in the 20s but with hardcore dance."
11. "On"
"We wanted it to be very world African sounding. My little girl is shredding on the guitar, all the guitar is Emily playing the solos - she added this very cool, rock edgy solo to this African sounding beat."
12. "Make My Heart Go"
"The brass section is killer. You could strip out the dance part and it is a straight up Merengue from Santo Domingo but it's got this really hard edge."
13. "Medicine"
"To me, music has always been medicine. Music, dance, those things that unite us as human beings."
"I gotta tell you this is one of the most fun projects I've ever done," Estefan told Billboard.com "Pharrell and I really clicked. We captured a lot of raw emotion. We got a really good gamut of what we considered different kinds of dance music from Pharrell's world and from mine."
Before "Miss Little Havana" hit stores today (Sept. 27), Estefan sat down with Billboard.com to discuss all 13 songs on the album. The legendary singer discussed the powerful Latin vibes through out the album and the chemistry in the studio. Check out Gloria Estefan's video track-by-track above and find out on which song does Estefan's daugher, Emily Marie, make her guitarist debut.
1. "Miss Little Havana"
"It's kind of 80s freestyle mixed with Pharrell's urban sensibilities brought to present day."
2. "Can't Believe"
"There's very little bass on the whole record. Usually it's the 808s that are carrying the low end. So this song does have a bass that comes in that takes the song into overdrive."
3. "Heat"
"I love 'Heat'! Pharrell arranged and performed the first nine tracks on the record. He had done amazing arrangements of percussion but I really wanted to bring real percussion to the project. We've got the timbales and the congas just kind of battling it out."
4. "Wepa"
"It's about how the working man and how anybody have a great time with music and dance… I wanted to give it a very carnival, festival feeling, the type you hear in street parties in Brazil and Cuba, that people would go down the streets dancing to, just a crazy Caribbean feel to it."
5. "Say Ay"
"The horns are actually carrying the bulk of the harmonic background of this record which I find really cool and different."
6. "So Good"
"This is a straight up Cumbia directly from Colombia. We used the actual drums, and also the drums that are used in typical Cumbia. In a nutshell, this is about Pharrell, horns and drums.
7. "Right Away"
"This was my kids' favorite song. Something about it speaks to them, it's kind of reminiscent of old 70s disco, it's got the wawa guitar that we put in. Goes from very sweet to nasty, and I love that."
8. "Make Me Say Yes"
"'Make Me Say Yes' is reminiscent of early 90s techno pop. I love this because it's got a lot of layered vocals on it, very different sound from the rest of the record; it's one of my favorites from the get go."
9. "Time is Ticking Away"
"I wanted to have at least one ballad for my fans because this has been who I am throughout my career. It's literally talking about my memories growing up in Miami."
10. "Hotel Nacional"
"We wanted a very woody, old fashioned sound, cause its jitterbuggy this song. It's got clarinets, it's got saxes, and a whole different vibe-it just sounds like you could be in the 20s but with hardcore dance."
11. "On"
"We wanted it to be very world African sounding. My little girl is shredding on the guitar, all the guitar is Emily playing the solos - she added this very cool, rock edgy solo to this African sounding beat."
12. "Make My Heart Go"
"The brass section is killer. You could strip out the dance part and it is a straight up Merengue from Santo Domingo but it's got this really hard edge."
13. "Medicine"
"To me, music has always been medicine. Music, dance, those things that unite us as human beings."
Jeff Bezos
Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos shows off the Kindle Fire, a tablet device designed to build on the success of the company's e-reader and to challenge the dominance of Apple's iPad.
The seven-inch device will let users download books, magazines, newspapers, videos and music and will be available from November 25 in the US. Amazon is selling the device for $199, significantly undercutting the iPad that starts selling for almost $500.
The long-awaited device is smaller than the Apple's 10-inch iPad, weighs 14.6 ounces and has a dual-core processor. And analysts said that it's the price that may prove the greatest threat to Apple, which has managed to sell millions of iPads despite the lacklustre recovery in most western economies.
Decked out in jeans, white shirt and a jacket, Amazon's founder and chief executive, Jeff Bezos, told an audience in New York that "this is unbelievable value. What we're doing is making premium products and offering them at non-premium prices."
Mr Bezos also claimed that the ability of Amazon to store all the content users download on the internet will prove a key selling point. "All of the content on this device is backed up on the cloud," said Mr Bezos. "The model where you have to back up your own content is a broken model."
Herman Cain
In the reality show of the GOP nomination, Herman Cain is a shoo-in for Miss Congeniality.
During the “Pick a Running Mate” Challenge last debate — one of the weaker episodes of “The Weakest Link” I’ve ever seen — Cain dominated, tying with Gingrich as the most picked mate. Rick Perry even hoped somehow to mate together Gingrich and Cain, in an image that will keep Mitt Romney awake nights.
Who doesn’t like Herman Cain?
He speaks clearly and memorably, sometimes at the same time. Florida voters heard he was bringing a Chilean model to solve their Social Security problem, and by the time they realized he was actually referring to an economic plan, it was too late.
Even Sarah Palin likes him, speaking highly of someone she calls “Herb Cain” who is “doing so well right now. . . . He’s, I guess you could say, with all due respect, the flavor of the week because Herb Cain is the one up there who doesn’t look like he’s part of that permanent political class. Herb Cain — he came from a working-class family. He’s had to make it on his own all these years. We respect that.”
Hey, at least she didn’t call him Herm — “Only my enemies call me Herm,” Cain says.
Palin is right that the GOP nomination process at present is a reality show. And in the test of reality TV — who can appear most real? — Cain is winning by several heads.
Appearing real and being real are two different things. Palin knows this. It’s the beauty pageanter’s gift, the secret to her success. Some people who are perfectly congenial in actual life and as real as they come, when placed on television or behind a podium, turn into quivering lumps of gelatin and have to be removed by their handlers. Forget seeming real. Most GOP candidates will settle for appearing lifelike.
Herman Cain, meanwhile, when he isn’t singing powerful renditions of “Must Tell Jesus,” is charming the pants off the electorate. He smiles behind the podium. He wears gold ties. He doesn’t look nervous and constipated, like nearly everyone to left and right of him. One gets the sense that he is enjoying himself. And he is keeping it simple and logical. His two big policy ideas are the only things I remember from the past 20 years, a timeframe that includes almost my entire childhood.
“Nein, Nein, Nein,” was my favorite economic plan — Ron Paul’s methods taken to an extreme, and in German — until I realized it was actually a system to simplify the tax code by implementing 9 percent flat income, corporate, and national sales taxes.
But the difficulty with Herman Cain — and why, like Ron Paul, in spite of his tremendous grass-roots popularity, no one seems to be taking him more seriously than French Toast Vanilla (flavor of the week at my Baskin Robbins) is that this isn’t reality TV.
It’s like the “Real World,”as far as the Republican field can be said to represent a real anything, which is increasingly doubtful. It doesn’t even look like the “Real World.” The MTV recruiters would take one look at the overwhelmingly pale, conservative field and fire whoever was responsible, in spite of his protests that “We have ideological diversity! Sort of!”
But in the meantime there’s Herman Cain, audience favorite.
“Every effect that one produces gives one an enemy,” Oscar Wilde once noted. That is the secret of popularity — produce as few effects as possible. And except for failing to produce any economic advisers and making some offensive remarks about Muslims and Planned Parenthood, Cain has been a master of producing no tangible effects whatsoever.
What’s the point? Why ruin the magic?
Miss Congenialities never win the pageant. That’s why everyone likes them.
During the “Pick a Running Mate” Challenge last debate — one of the weaker episodes of “The Weakest Link” I’ve ever seen — Cain dominated, tying with Gingrich as the most picked mate. Rick Perry even hoped somehow to mate together Gingrich and Cain, in an image that will keep Mitt Romney awake nights.
Who doesn’t like Herman Cain?
He speaks clearly and memorably, sometimes at the same time. Florida voters heard he was bringing a Chilean model to solve their Social Security problem, and by the time they realized he was actually referring to an economic plan, it was too late.
Even Sarah Palin likes him, speaking highly of someone she calls “Herb Cain” who is “doing so well right now. . . . He’s, I guess you could say, with all due respect, the flavor of the week because Herb Cain is the one up there who doesn’t look like he’s part of that permanent political class. Herb Cain — he came from a working-class family. He’s had to make it on his own all these years. We respect that.”
Hey, at least she didn’t call him Herm — “Only my enemies call me Herm,” Cain says.
Palin is right that the GOP nomination process at present is a reality show. And in the test of reality TV — who can appear most real? — Cain is winning by several heads.
Appearing real and being real are two different things. Palin knows this. It’s the beauty pageanter’s gift, the secret to her success. Some people who are perfectly congenial in actual life and as real as they come, when placed on television or behind a podium, turn into quivering lumps of gelatin and have to be removed by their handlers. Forget seeming real. Most GOP candidates will settle for appearing lifelike.
Herman Cain, meanwhile, when he isn’t singing powerful renditions of “Must Tell Jesus,” is charming the pants off the electorate. He smiles behind the podium. He wears gold ties. He doesn’t look nervous and constipated, like nearly everyone to left and right of him. One gets the sense that he is enjoying himself. And he is keeping it simple and logical. His two big policy ideas are the only things I remember from the past 20 years, a timeframe that includes almost my entire childhood.
“Nein, Nein, Nein,” was my favorite economic plan — Ron Paul’s methods taken to an extreme, and in German — until I realized it was actually a system to simplify the tax code by implementing 9 percent flat income, corporate, and national sales taxes.
But the difficulty with Herman Cain — and why, like Ron Paul, in spite of his tremendous grass-roots popularity, no one seems to be taking him more seriously than French Toast Vanilla (flavor of the week at my Baskin Robbins) is that this isn’t reality TV.
It’s like the “Real World,”as far as the Republican field can be said to represent a real anything, which is increasingly doubtful. It doesn’t even look like the “Real World.” The MTV recruiters would take one look at the overwhelmingly pale, conservative field and fire whoever was responsible, in spite of his protests that “We have ideological diversity! Sort of!”
But in the meantime there’s Herman Cain, audience favorite.
“Every effect that one produces gives one an enemy,” Oscar Wilde once noted. That is the secret of popularity — produce as few effects as possible. And except for failing to produce any economic advisers and making some offensive remarks about Muslims and Planned Parenthood, Cain has been a master of producing no tangible effects whatsoever.
What’s the point? Why ruin the magic?
Miss Congenialities never win the pageant. That’s why everyone likes them.
DWTS
Welcome to this week's Dancing with the Stars recap. On Monday night, the show's judges left fan favorite Chaz Bono with the lowest score and Ricki Lake with the highest. Let's see how the voters treated them:
The result: Voters apparently tapped into their patriotic pride and voted American; out of the bottom three contestants—Elisabetta Canalis, Chaz Bono and David Arquette—they said ciao to pseudo-celebrity Elisabetta. Maybe they simply couldn't muster any sympathy for a woman who is famous merely for being George Clooney's fame-hungry ex-girlfriend. (Honestly, even on this show of "stars," her "fame" was always debatable.) Her fate was sealed by the producers, who did her no favors by portraying her as a diva who made partner Val Chmerkovskiy cater to her every whim. Now Elisabetta must find a new path to stardom. Actually, is David Arquette single...
(LIST: Dancing with the Who? The Most Dubious DWTS 'Stars')
The Ghost of Dancing with the Stars future: Demi Lovato performing her hit "Skyscraper" on the show. How many years until the Disney tween is dancing on that set, instead of singing on it.
Worst musical number: When DWTS producers invited Irish alternative rock group The Script to sing on national television, they probably didn't expect the band to pick a song that required bleeping. This is a clean show, kids! Aside from the low-cut, bust-baring costumes and hip-swiveling sexual innuendo, that is.
Least surprising behind-the-scenes reveal A guided tour of the Dancing with the Stars training center uncovered an on-set spray-tanning booth where stars can touch up their just-off-the beach glow. Equally unsurprising was the lack of food in the kitchen (it's a weight loss show, right Ricki?) and the rooftop putting green for bogey-ing balls at the paparazzi, as demonstrated by David Arquette. Ok, that last one was a bit random.
Most egregious, yet-adorable, competitive statement of the night: Soccer star Hope Solo declaration to to partner Maks Chmerkivoskiy that she wants to be "the best" at everything she does. It's hard to argue with a woman who won the "Golden Glove" at the World Cup soccer tournament, practices with the U.S. national soccer team in the morning, and learns how to jive in the afternoons.
Least tense moment of the evening:When top scorers Ricki Lake, J.R. Martinez, and Kristin Cavallari were pitted against each other. It's the same tension-free gimmick they pulled last week. It took about a minute for host Tom Bergeron to announce the obvious conclusion that the contestants were all safe.
(LIST: Top 10 Terrible Dancing with the Stars Contestants)
Biggest sacrifice by a star: Rob Kardashian wants voters to know that he is giving up a lot to train for the rigorous competition. He is taking this show so seriously he is even willing to make sacrifices like, "Maybe not going out every night." Do you feel his pain, America?
Biggest overstatement of the night: During a montage of the stars describing their anxiety over facing scrutiny each week, Ricki Lake gasped, "Whoa, there's so much at stake here." No, there's really not.
Best paid promotion: The Macy's Stars of Dance and their Busby Berkeley-inspired synchronized routine were worth having to sit through nearly back-to-back Macy's commercials for the rest of the evening. The silver and red spangled performers reminded viewers that dancing can be a beautiful, visual art form, not just a means by which nerve-ridden celebrities desperately attempt to cling onto scraps of cultural relevance.
See you next week, everyone. Same batdance, same batplace.
The result: Voters apparently tapped into their patriotic pride and voted American; out of the bottom three contestants—Elisabetta Canalis, Chaz Bono and David Arquette—they said ciao to pseudo-celebrity Elisabetta. Maybe they simply couldn't muster any sympathy for a woman who is famous merely for being George Clooney's fame-hungry ex-girlfriend. (Honestly, even on this show of "stars," her "fame" was always debatable.) Her fate was sealed by the producers, who did her no favors by portraying her as a diva who made partner Val Chmerkovskiy cater to her every whim. Now Elisabetta must find a new path to stardom. Actually, is David Arquette single...
(LIST: Dancing with the Who? The Most Dubious DWTS 'Stars')
The Ghost of Dancing with the Stars future: Demi Lovato performing her hit "Skyscraper" on the show. How many years until the Disney tween is dancing on that set, instead of singing on it.
Worst musical number: When DWTS producers invited Irish alternative rock group The Script to sing on national television, they probably didn't expect the band to pick a song that required bleeping. This is a clean show, kids! Aside from the low-cut, bust-baring costumes and hip-swiveling sexual innuendo, that is.
Least surprising behind-the-scenes reveal A guided tour of the Dancing with the Stars training center uncovered an on-set spray-tanning booth where stars can touch up their just-off-the beach glow. Equally unsurprising was the lack of food in the kitchen (it's a weight loss show, right Ricki?) and the rooftop putting green for bogey-ing balls at the paparazzi, as demonstrated by David Arquette. Ok, that last one was a bit random.
Most egregious, yet-adorable, competitive statement of the night: Soccer star Hope Solo declaration to to partner Maks Chmerkivoskiy that she wants to be "the best" at everything she does. It's hard to argue with a woman who won the "Golden Glove" at the World Cup soccer tournament, practices with the U.S. national soccer team in the morning, and learns how to jive in the afternoons.
Least tense moment of the evening:When top scorers Ricki Lake, J.R. Martinez, and Kristin Cavallari were pitted against each other. It's the same tension-free gimmick they pulled last week. It took about a minute for host Tom Bergeron to announce the obvious conclusion that the contestants were all safe.
(LIST: Top 10 Terrible Dancing with the Stars Contestants)
Biggest sacrifice by a star: Rob Kardashian wants voters to know that he is giving up a lot to train for the rigorous competition. He is taking this show so seriously he is even willing to make sacrifices like, "Maybe not going out every night." Do you feel his pain, America?
Biggest overstatement of the night: During a montage of the stars describing their anxiety over facing scrutiny each week, Ricki Lake gasped, "Whoa, there's so much at stake here." No, there's really not.
Best paid promotion: The Macy's Stars of Dance and their Busby Berkeley-inspired synchronized routine were worth having to sit through nearly back-to-back Macy's commercials for the rest of the evening. The silver and red spangled performers reminded viewers that dancing can be a beautiful, visual art form, not just a means by which nerve-ridden celebrities desperately attempt to cling onto scraps of cultural relevance.
See you next week, everyone. Same batdance, same batplace.
Antonio Gates
 |
| Antonio Gates |
Yes, Katharine Sharp of ESPN Stats & Information came up with some stunning numbers regarding the seven games Gates has missed since the start of the 2010 season.
The Chargers have actually been better without Gates.
I know, I know. Shocking.
I’m not going to say the Chargers will continue to be better without Gates. It’s absurd. He’s a favorite target of quarterback Philip Rivers, and Gates could someday end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Yet, the Chargers are 6-1 in games that Gates has not played in since the beginning of last season. The Chargers are 5-7 in games Gates has played in since the start of last season. Now, as Sharp points out, six of those games were in the second half of last season when the Chargers are traditionally better than in the first half of the season.
Gates also missed the Chargers’ win over Kansas City in Week 3 with a nagging foot injury. The injury has been bugging him for years and it will likely continue to bother him. Whether Gates can play is a matter of pain tolerance. He saw a specialist Tuesday. Gates doesn’t expect to be out for the long term, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he shut it down through the team’s Oct. 16 bye. The Chargers play Miami and Denver before the bye. Giving it nearly a month of rest could help the foot for the stretch run of the season.
Regardless, the Chargers, statistically speaking, know they can live without Gates.
Since the start of 2010, the Chargers are averaging 25.3 points with Gates. They are averaging 28.9 points without him. Either way, that’s a lot of points. The Chargers are averaging more yards with Gates, who has been outstanding when healthy, than without him since the start of last season by an average of 21 yards per game.
The Chargers, naturally, rely on the running game more without Gates. They are averaging 126 yards per game without him and 102 with him.
What does all this mean? The Chargers have a lot of weapons, including backup tight end Randy McMichael. They can survive without Gates. Still, he’s a special talent and Chargers would certainly rather play with him than without him, regardless of what the numbers may say.
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