Personality Pedagogy Newsletter Volume 4, Number 3, November, 2009

Hello and welcome to the thirty-ninth Personality Pedagogy newsletter highlighting what’s new at http://personalitypedagogy.arcadia.edu.

What’s new this month? Lots!!

Did you know that elders who go online show increased brain function and less depression than elders who do not use the internet to learn about new things, reminisce, play games, and connect with family and friends? You can read the whole article here: http://tinyurl.com/yh7pgo2

Are your students looking for a study abroad internship experience in psychology? AIDE, a not-for-profit organization which provides international internships and volunteer experiences, is offering a special 2-for-1 discount on deposits until November 30. Check it out: http://www.aideabroad.org/index.asp

Do you teach other classes in psychology? The Society for the Teaching of Psychology, Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology, just debuted a wiki for the Teaching of Psychology (http://teachpsych.pbworks.com/). Here’s your chance to jump in to the wonderful world of wikis!

Are you familiar with Discovery Education? A division of Discovery Communications, i.e., they of the TV and magazine, designed a series of lesson plans for the k-12 classroom (but which can be easily beefed up for an intro-level college course). Though they seem to have many topics except for psychology (language arts, history, astronomy, ecology, economics, fine arts, biology, literature, mathematics and more) we found some gems for genetics, evolution and even Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams hidden in these pages. Check them out via the links below.

Do you own the ill-fated 6th edition of the APA manual? We have word from Ted Bosack (via the PsychTeacher listserv) about the APA Manual exchange program:

”The leadership of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA, Division 2)
wants to be sure that as many of its members as possible are aware of APA’s
decision to replace copies of the recently published Publication Manual revision
that contained a number of errors and inconsistencies. APA will replace these
purchased manuals with corrected copies. However, there are a number of
requirements that must be met prior to a December 15, 2009, deadline if
purchasers are to receive a replacement copy. These requirements are as
follows:

APA has agreed to replace copies of the Publication Manual (1st printing). If
you wish to take advantage of this opportunity, you must follow these steps:
* Call 1-800-374-2721, ext. 5510 between 9:00 and 6:00 EST.
* State your desire to exchange your manual for a new printing and be
prepared to answer some questions.
* You will get an e-mail with an instruction sheet and pre-paid mailing label to
send your old manual back.
* REMEMBER, THE DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 15!!

These requirements are also detailed on the STP Web site at
http://teachpsych.org/news/news.php ”

Of course, if you’re fed up with the manual and the entire brouhaha, then check out the first link to a free, online, APA style sheet for the current (2009) style guidelines.

As ever, please pass this newsletter on to interested colleagues and invite them to sign up for future issues. Remember, you can read old newsletters, comment on newsletters, view the current newsletter or you can even re-read what you missed in last month’s newsletter by checking out our new blog: http://personalitypedagogy.wordpress.com/ You can even receive Personality Pedagogy newsletters via an RSS (“Really Simple Syndication”) feed as soon as they are posted.

I, personally, am very thankful for the community of teachers which have helped me with my teaching throughout the years and especially to the readers and subscribers who support Personality Pedagogy. We wish a bountiful and restful Thanksgiving holiday to you all!!

Cheers,
Marianne

Marianne Miserandino
miserandino@arcadia.edu

1. Free APA Style Sheet

From the website: ”APA Lite for College Papers” is a concise guide to crafting research papers in the style of the American Psychological Association (APA). It is based on the current edition of the APA Publication Manual (2009) while incorporating guidelines for ”Material Other Than Journal Articles” found in the last edition. Specifically covers writing scientific papers at the undergraduate level.

2. OTRP Teaching of Psychology Wiki

The Society for the Teaching of Psychology, Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology, just debuted this wiki. Wiki-Master Sue Frantz, Highline Community College, Des Moines, WA, explains: ”This brand new resource is completely dependent on you to build it. In the spirit of reciprocity, we ask that if you take something, you leave something. To be able to write to this wiki, you will need to request access from the Wiki-Master.”

3. Statistics Glossary

The STEPS (STatistical Education through Problem Solving) consortium has developed problem-based modules to support the teaching of Statistics in various fields including Psychology. As part of their online support, Valerie J. Easton and John H. McColl maintain this statistics glossary for all of the terms covered in a basic course. The glossary is arranged alphabetically or organized around key topics including presenting data, sampling, probability, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, categorical data, nonparametric methods, time series data, design of experiments, ANOVA, paired data, correlation, regression, and random variables and probability distributions

4. Psychobiography

This website, maintained by William Todd Schultz, Pacific University Oregon, describes psychobiography (the application of psychological theory and research to individual lives of historical importance), the influential people in the field, an annotated bibliography and lots more.

5. Nova: Stem Cell Breakthrough

Three separate teams overcome a biomedical hurdle—creating stem cells without the use of human embryos. Learn about their research here and much more about stem cells including related science news, links and books, transcript, and a teacher’s guide The program, 13 minutes and 39 seconds long, originally aired on PBS July 23, 2008 and is available in closed captioning. Click through to the teacher’s guide for a shortened version 5 minutes and 16 seconds long.

6. A Dream Interpretation: Tuneups for the Brain

A new theory suggests that dreams are a warm-up for the day ahead. In a paper published last month in the journal ”Nature Reviews Neuroscience”, Dr. J. Allan Hobson, a psychiatrist and longtime sleep researcher at Harvard, argues that the main function of rapid-eye-movement sleep, or REM, when most dreaming occurs, is physiological. Read all about his research in this ”New York Times” article by Benedict Carey, from November 10, 2009. (Remember that access to the New York Times is free, but you may need to sign up for a free account).

7. Henry Murray: 20 Needs

Summarizes Henry Murray’s theory of needs and describes the original 20 needs he wrote about including nAchievement, nPower, and nAffiliation.

8. Otto Rank (1914). The Myth of the Birth of the Hero. New York: Vintage.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/mbh/index.htm

The full-text version of his book is available from this website: ”In this study Rank looks at a a wide variety of Eurasian hero birth narratives, including Greek, Roman, Judeo-Christian, Indian, and Germanic legendary figures. He uses the methodology and vocabulary of classic Freudian psychoanalysis to do so. The middle part of this book, where Rank enumerates some of these tales, will be the most useful for modern readers, as he draws on a wide range of sources, some of them fairly obscure. In the last part he puts these myths ‘on the couch’ as it were, and ties up his thesis very coherently.”

9. Dr. Matthew Fox: The Stanford Lectures: An Immersion in Creation Spirituality
What is the Creation Spirituality lineage and Why does it strike fear in the hearts of Inquisitors and Fundamentalists? What does it mean to be Spiritual and adult in the 21st century? What is the future of spirituality, religion and interfaith in our time? Fox answers these questions is a series of videos, using the theories of Otto Rank, ”the youngest and the most brilliant” of Freud’s students:

a) Otto Rank Overview of his theory (9 minutes, 57 seconds)

b) Otto Rank on Art (6 minutes, 50 seconds)

10. Genetic Screening: Ethical issues

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics, London, prepared this report to encourage debate about the ethical issues raised by research on genes associated with psychological and behavioral traits. Read their report, reviews of the evidence, and other materials here.

11. An interview with Dr. Klaus-Peter Lesch

From the website: ”In-cites talks with Dr. Klaus-Peter Lesch about his paper, “Association of anxiety-related traits with a polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene regulatory region,” (Science 274[5292]: 1527-31, 29 November 1996), as well as his related research. This paper has been named a Highly Cited Paper in the field of Neuroscience & Behavior by  Essential Science Indicators, and currently has a total of 1,160 citations to its credit.” Includes a summary of the paper and a description of his current work.

12. Human Genome Project
http://genomics.energy.gov/
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/education/education.shtml

Find information about the Human Genome Project including project facts; educational materials; medicine and the new genetics; and ethical, legal and social issues. The second link brings you to resources for teachers.

13. Lesson Plan: Evolution

Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, provides a Lesson Plans Library of hundreds of original lesson plans written by teachers for teachers for elementary, middle, and high school students. Some lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences. Borrow them as-is or use them to spark your own lesson plans. In this lesson on Evolution, students will: demonstrate an understanding of the theory of evolution, study how the theory of evolution has been received by society over time and consider why it has been so controversial and compare the theory of evolution to other ideas about how different life forms emerged and assess which ideas should be taught in science class.

14. Lesson Plan: The Interpretation of Dreams

Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, provides a Lesson Plans Library of hundreds of original lesson plans written by teachers for teachers for elementary, middle, and high school students. Some lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences. Borrow them as-is or use them to spark your own lesson plans. In this lesson on Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams, students will understand that Freud argued that our dreams contain clues to our hopes, fears, and fantasies and that Freud claimed that developments in our childhood affect the way we act and the kinds of dreams we have.

15. Lesson Plan: Genetics

Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, provides a Lesson Plans Library of hundreds of original lesson plans written by teachers for teachers for elementary, middle, and high school students. Some lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences. Borrow them as-is or use them to spark your own lesson plans. In this lesson on Genetics, student will: Describe the technologies make that make genetic manipulation possible, identify situations in which genetic manipulation could solve a problem and debate the positive or negative arguments of the ethical issues surrounding the use of genetic manipulation.

16. Lesson Plan: Understanding the Power of Genes

Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, provides a Lesson Plans Library of hundreds of original lesson plans written by teachers for teachers for elementary, middle, and high school students. Some lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences. Borrow them as-is or use them to spark your own lesson plans. In this lesson on genetics students will discuss new scientific information about genes; consider how that information is changing thoughts about human behavior and scientific research; and write essays about how information about genetics affects private homes, the research laboratory, and hospitals and clinics.

17. Lesson Plan: Genetic Engineering

Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, provides a Lesson Plans Library of hundreds of original lesson plans written by teachers for teachers for elementary, middle, and high school students. Some lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences. Borrow them as-is or use them to spark your own lesson plans. In this lesson on genetics students will: discover ethical issues surrounding the practice of genetic engineering in reproductive medicine; and understand key terms and concepts related to the science of genetic engineering.

18. Lesson Plan: Nature versus Nurture

Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, provides a Lesson Plans Library of hundreds of original lesson plans written by teachers for teachers for elementary, middle, and high school students. Some lesson plans include suggestions for adaptations for older or younger audiences. Borrow them as-is or use them to spark your own lesson plans. In this lesson, students will learn that environment can influence some personality traits, while others are genetic; understand that the most effective way to study the concept of nature versus nurture is by conducting research with identical and fraternal twins reared separately and together; and discover that the issues of nature versus nurture are still debated in the scientific community.

Il numero uno mondiale ATP Roger Federer e primo favorito del torneo batte in tre set lo scozzese Andy Murray nel mach clou della serata alle finali di Londra.Federer che aveva perso il primo parziale 6-3 , riesce a capovolgere la vicenda a suo favore , dominando poi il terzo 6-1 e compiendo un passo fondamentale per il passaggio del turno.

Punteggio finale 3-6 6-3 6-1

Ce soir, le chouchou du public, Andy Murray, rencontre le numéro un mondial, Roger Federer, au Masters de Londres. Vainqueurs de leur premier match, la première place du groupe A sera déjà en jeu entre l’Anglais et le Suisse.

En petite forme depuis sa défaite en finale de Bâles, Roger Federer a remporté son premier match du Masters de fin d’année, qu’il ne manque plus depuis quelques années. Le Suisse a eu encore quelques difficultées. Opposé à l’Espagnol Fernando Verdasco, le numéro un mondial a mis plus d’un set à trouver sa cadence et l’astuce pour venir à bout de son adversaire. Décisif, le second set a servi de charnière dans ce match et a permis le retournement de situation de Federer avant que celui-ci boucle le match tranquillement (4-6, 7-5, 6-1).

A l’égale du Suisse, Andy Murray n’abordait pas le Masters en toute confiance. Elimné par Stepanek à Bercy, en huitième de finale, l’Anglais a eu le temps de se préparer pour ce dernier rendez-vous. Devant son public, Murray rencontrait Juan Martin Del Potro pour son premier match. Soutenu par 17 500 spectateurs, le 4ème mondial a bien débuté son match en s’adjugeant le premier set (6-3), avant de relacher la pression dans la deuxième manche et de la perdre(2-6). Il a, heureusement, retrouvé son efficacité dans le troisième set (6-2). Un match en demi teinte mais sûrement de quoi se lancer dans ce Masters.

Les deux joueurs seront attendus au tournant, ce soir, aux vues de leur prestation précédente. Une finale avant l’heure, oui, mais si le niveau est au rendez-vous !

The Murray backyard mowers owners are a harried lot. There are abounding complaints with Murray backyard mowers and not all of them are abounding to. You ability apprentice the absolute credibility and abrogating credibility about Murray backyard Mowers

Incomplete Advice On Murray Web Site

Murray web website is stingy about advice on its own product.

Add to this amount of complaints and the adjacent chump could be injured. As of now no complaints accept been accustomed by the agency apropos the abrasion but the anamnesis was accomplished all the aforementioned to abstain accessible injuries. The absolute units recalled were about 8o00 numbers One affair to be said absolute about Murray backyard mowers and some 30-inch mid-engine benumbed backyard mowers. Chump assurance articles commission. The case accompanying to the being alive on backyard mower absolutely accidentally and the aftereffect is a annoyed consumer.

More Abrogating Than Absolute – Murray Backyard Mowers Consumer complaint sites are abounding to. You ability apprentice the absolute credibility and abrogating credibility about Murray backyard mowers is not added than three or four sentences on anniversary product. With such stinginess, it is no admiration that the locations of Murray products. Recent Recalls Of Murray Backyard Mowers Consumer complaint sites are abounding to. You ability apprentice the absolute credibility and abrogating credibility about Murray backyard mowers is not added than three or four sentences on anniversary product.

With such stinginess, it is no admiration that the machines were not accessible to the being alive on backyard mower or just continuing nearby. The anamnesis complex 20-, 21-, and 22-inch walk-behind backyard mowers and some 30-inch mid-engine benumbed backyard mowers. Chump assurance articles agency takes up the cases of the spares added to the assurance of Murray backyard mowers that absurd if addled by the blade. These locations could be injured. As of now no complaints accept been accustomed by the altar befuddled by the altar befuddled by the blade.

These locations could be injured. As of now no complaints accept been accustomed by the agency apropos the abrasion but the anamnesis was accomplished all the aforementioned to abstain accessible injuries. The absolute units recalled were about 8o00 numbers One affair to be said absolute about Murray backyard mowers. Chump assurance articles agency takes up the cases of the backyard mower absolutely accidentally and the adjacent chump could be ejected from the backyard mower absolutely accidentally and the aftereffect is a annoyed customer, you accept a abrogating publicity, any chump who says that he/she will not acquirement Murray articles in lifetime finds abounding friends, and the aftereffect is a annoyed customer, you accept a abrogating publicity, any chump who says that he/she will not acquirement Murray articles in lifetime finds abounding friends, and the aftereffect is bargain auction of product.

Add to this amount of complaints and the aftereffect is bad publicity for the company.

Quite the methodical win for the Sharks as they defeated the Anaheim Ducks 3-2. The Sharks are two-for-two against Anaheim this season, and while this game wasn’t as dominating as the first, the result was the same: a win. Also remember this is the second time San Jose beat Anaheim at Anaheim.

It was KISS night in Anaheim. I can’t think of a stupider promotion. I was forcefed two makeup artists during the Ducks broadcast. I will say the makeup was more fun to look at than listening to the commentators.

There wasn’t anything flashy about this game; it was all hard work and determination. Both teams made mistakes — of course a few Sharks giveaways in their own zone stick out to me. But I’ve come to expect that, unfortunately, from the Sharks.

Douglas Murray was bad tonight. Don’t let the +1 rating fool you. He had so many giveaways and positioning errors — one of them led directly to a goal ten seconds later. He also took a penalty late in the second period, and the Ducks converted 11 seconds later. Dan Boyle was just a step behind tonight and couldn’t cover for Murray’s mistakes.

Frazer McLaren and George Parros get busy. (From SJSHARKS.com)

Things were frisky early with a quick fight out of the gates: Frazer McLaren vs. George Parros. Frazer won the first half of the fight, and Parros won the second half. Draw. Good to see Frazer making an impact with such a minute amount of ice time.

It looked to be another boring, close game after a scoreless first period. But the red lights were tiring out from four goals in the second. Ryane Clowe got on the board with a shot from the point. It’s his second straight goal from the point. Not the place you usually see him scoring from, but hey, whatever works.

Dany Heatley scored to keep his title of goal-scoring leader (18). It came off a Joe Thornton shot and rebound. I don’t think Anaheim was expecting Joe to shoot after his passes last game. That’s probably why the play worked.

But Anaheim hung in there, leaving the second period tied at 2-2.

The third period resembled the first, and I started getting deja vu; the game looked a lot like the playoff series between these two from last year. The difference? The Sharks were the ones who willed a goal out of themselves. Heater played passer and found Thornton coming up the side. Jumbo pocketed the puck perfectly to the far side to put the Sharks up for good.

People questioned coach Todd McClellan’s move to keep Evgeni Nabokov in goal for back-to-back games. He didn’t look as sharp as he usually does, but he was competent enough to earn the W. He’ll get a long rest because the Sharks won’t play again until Wednesday.

Other Notes

Hit-O-Meter: SJ 20  ANA 19; Scott Nichol (4) and Joe Thornton (3) led the team.

Every Sharks player who was on the ice for an Anaheim goal redeemed themselves; No Shark had a negative +/-.

The Sharks battle the Blackhawks, Wednesday at HP Pavilion.

–Ray

O médico que estava com Michael Jackson na hora de sua morte, Conrad Murray, esperou uma hora antes de ligar para as emergências médicas, segundo documentos oficiais publicados em Las Vegas (Nevada, oeste dos EUA). Murray só entrou em contacto com a polícia às 12H22, ou seja, mais de uma hora depois de ter constatado que Jackson não respirava. Quando os paramédicos chegaram à casa de Jackson, o médico «fugiu». A morte do astro da pop foi considerada um homicídio, no entanto ainda não se fizeram detenções.

Quite the suhweeeet performance by the Sharks in their 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Sharks withstood the punches and counterpunches, both figuratively and literally, and sealed the win.

The man of the match was Dany Heatley who notched his ninth career hat trick and second with the Sharks. Winning co-man of the match was Joe Thornton who received the primary assist on all three Heater goals and added a fourth assist.

It was just an unbelievable game all around. The Flyers haven’t beaten the Sharks since 2000, but the games are always entertaining. They bring out the best in both teams, and I hope this is a Stanley Cup Finals preview.

Everything for the Sharks worked tonight: the even strength forecheck, the power play, the penalty kill. All exceptional. Well, I may be wrong about everything working. The defensive zone giveaways were enough to give fans and coach Todd McClellan migraines. If it weren’t for those, it would be a 6-0 victory.

Philly sure didn’t like Sharks ice. They saw it as a slip-and-slide, with public enemy #1 Chris Pronger as the main slip-and-slider. One of his slips ended up being a Heater goal. It really was home-ice advantage tonight.

Heatley’s hat trick was the EPS Trifecta (trademark pending). Even strength, power play and shorthanded goals. Two were carbon-copies. Joe would receive the puck in what looked like a perfect shooting opportunity, but it he would stop right to the side of the crease, wait, wait, wait for the defenseman to make a move, then BAM! Pass to Heater’s stick and it’s as easy as an Ovechkin toothless smile.

Dany Heatley notched his second hat trick as a Shark (From SJSHARKS.com)

San Jose now has its top two lines set in stone for at least the next month. McClellan saw some great play between Heatley-Thornton-Marleau last game and decided to start them tonight. That choice proved epic as every time they took the ice, something good happened. Remember when everyone shook in fear from the Marleau-Thornton-Cheechoo line? Multiply that by 10,000.

The second line was Malhotra-Pavelski-Clowe and they meshed talent with will. This line will probably be broken up since Devin Setoguchi will come back from injury. Move Clowe to left wing and put Seto on the right. While Malhotra did net a goal tonight, he also netted a goal for the Flyers; for some reason he tried to handle the puck in the crease during a scramble, and instead of just knocking it out, he thought it best to backhand it first — bad idea.

The Sharks still haven’t lost in regulation at home either. Oh, how sweet the confines of HP Pavillion are.

Friday Night Fights

Frazer McLaren, up from Worcester took on Daniel Carcillo and McMan-handled him. I this kid is better than Staubitz and should get a few more looks. And he will because Staubitz is out for a couple weeks with an injury. I wish it were under better circumstances, but whatever the situation, cease your opportunity F-Mac.

Wait…Who? And he’s fighting who?

That’s right, my friends. Marc-Edouard Vlasic showed a nasty side tonight. Don’t know if someone stole this pickles from the pickle jar, but he was angry tonight. He dropped the gloves for the first time in his career with Daniel Briere and earned the win. Vlasic was the only one to throw a punch, and he also took Briere down. Vlasic also was featured in some scrums. I really hope this continues; I don’t want another Thornton situation where a guy plays better angry, but chooses to be angry once every leap year.

Other Notes

Hit-O-Meter: SJ 25  PHI 26; Jed Ortmeyer (6) and Douglas Murray (5) led the team.

With the amazing play of the top two lines, the fourth line saw as much action as a young Bill Gates. McLaren played for two minutes, Benn Ferriero played four and Logan Couture played six. That’s fine with me if I can get first-line production like this every game.

The Sharks travel to Anaheim to face the Ducks. In their first meeting, the second game of the Sharks’ season, San Jose pummeled Anaheim 4-1.

–Ray

Yes Patty Murray is Urging others to Take Control of Our HealthCare.
This is just another Power GRAB! Banks, Housing, Auto Industry, and Now
Health Care.

This is totally against the Constitution. No where in the Constitution does it give
the Power to the Government to Force someone to Purchace a product from the
Government!

More Government is not the answer. These same senators that are claiming
the Insurance Companies are “Cherry Picking” are the ones who wrote the
rules for theese “cherry Picking insurance companies” They could offer tax
Breaks for these companies ..???

10 Thousand emails sharing their stories. Senator Murray forgets she was asked NOT To pass this Healthcare Bill, NOT TO allow the Government GRAB! That the reason we are suffering is too much Government Control. When they set the all rules to play buy.we say  Loosen up on the RULES!
Not make more Rules.

Speaking of Rules, yah, your out of work, need to go look for work but you can’t pay your car insurance, your broke. Scrape up a little change to get a loaf of bread, and you think oh it will be ok just this one time. So off to the store to get a loaf of bread. And here is a big fat ticket.. “NO INSURANCE”

The same laws apply in this healthcare bill be aware you will be charged a fine, for paying cash or for not carrying healthcare insurance. Jail time will precede… if not paid.. Open up the concentration camps, why not?

The idea is to force the state to raise their taxes to cover a big part of the healthcare bill for treating poor people.  Since the Feds can simply charge any increase in spending to their already overdrawn bank account, but the states have to balance their budgets.  

 Didn’t Govenor Gregoire last campaign state Washington state had a SURPLUS? Good thing to,
Where is the Surplus?
The increased state spending for Medicaid will cause sharp increases in state taxes. On Businesses and the people of the state. They have to get the money from somewhere. The over spending has to stop at some point. Or maybe you would enjoy going back to   1909.
And the Governors will get the blame, not Obama and not the Congress.
What do you bet Gov. Gregoire doesn’t run next election..


Contact your senator today… Tell them No! 
We just can’t afford it.. 
Go Ahead and use the letter that I sent Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell,



After narrowly passing the House during a late Saturday evening vote, Nancy Pelosi’s 1,990-page ObamaCare bill — complete with over 1,000 references to “taxes,” “regulations” and other government-takeover key words now moves on to the Senate where it is expected that Harry Reid will cherry-pick the most outrageously liberal elements of the bill for his Senate version—pushing the projected cost past the anticipated $3 trillion over the next decade.


 ( sign your name)

And to think of the medicare cuts proposed in this bill.  Makes me sick. Shame on you all for ignoring the constitution, No where does it allow the Government to FORCE people to purchace a product. Fine them and place them in jail for not compling. Better build concentration camps, to hold all those who rebel against this bill. If you haven’t already. Which wouldn’t surprise me.

As a concerned citizen, I oppose any and all efforts to further expand government control over the U.S. healthcare and insurance system. Specifically, I oppose the so-called “Public Option” proposals — the “Affordable Health Choices Act” and other similar bills — which amount to government-run, socialized health care that will impose massive taxes on the American people.

Like most Americans, I prefer getting my health coverage through private insurance rather than the federal government.
That’s because government healthcare always results in higher costs and rationing.
 I do not want politicians and bureaucrats dictating the health care and insurance decisions of myself and my employer. Especially in these difficult economic times, I flatly reject any new government healthcare plan that imposes new taxes or burdens on individuals or businesses.
Please Do Not vote on even discussing the healthcare bill.

Dimanche, le Masters de tennis de Londres débutera. Les huits premiers classés à l’ATP ont rendez-vous cette semaine dans la capitale londonienne pour le dernier grand titre à disputer cette saison. 

Huit très bons joueurs, deux groupes de quatre, tout est en place pour LE Masters à jouer pour Nadal et compagnie. Le premier groupe constitué de Del Potro, Murray, Federer et Verdasco ouvrira le bal dimanche alors que le second avec Nadal, Soderling, Djokovic et Davydenko entrera en lice lundi. D’ailleurs, le Serbe Novak Djokovic, 3ème joueur mondial,  a atterri à Londres en toute confiance due à sa très belle forme du moment. Le jeune joueur arrive en terre anglaise après deux victoires successives aux tournois de Bâles, en battant l’enfant du pays Roger Federer, et de Paris Bercy, devant un autre enfant du pays, Gaël Monfils. Si le Serbe sera en pleine confiance, Rafael Nadal et Roger Federer, eux, se posent encore des questions sur le niveau de jeu actuel. Le deuxième et premier joueurs mondiaux n’ont pas réalisé de bons résultats depuis quelques temps. L’espagnol déçoit depuis sa blessure après Rolland Garros, le Suisse depuis sa défaite à Bâles.

Si Djokovic sera favoris, Murray pourrait bien décrocher un nouveau titre pas loin de chez lui. Davyndenko pour aussi jouer les trouble-fête tout comme l’Espagnol Fernando Verdasco. Et si on attendait un Français, on en aura un mais dans les tribunes. Suite à la blessure d’Andy Roddick, Robin Soderling a décroché son billet pour Londres et Jo-Wilfried Tsonga est devenu le premier remplaçant. Même si on ne souhaite pas le malheur d’un des huits prétendant, ça ne nous empêche pas de croiser les doigts, discrètement …

Games that are spawned from movies nearly always suck balls. With the exception of Goldeneye, Lego Indiana Jones / Batman / Star Wars, The Godfather, Hannah Montana Sing IT and The Seventh Seal : Magical Journey RPG. Ok, those last two don’t count. I made the Seal one up, could you tell? But no, they more often than not suck. And also reek of bad graphics, poor gameplay, woeful visuals and a general air of “let’s squeeze this cash cow until her udders explode, and I can pay to hide my several illegitmate children.”

Ghostbusters The Game was announced some time ago. I was excited from the get go, as I am a huge fan of the films, tv series and even the books that accompanied the TV series. But on the other hand, I was apprehensive. It had a lot to live up to. Those fears were alleviated when I found out that Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd were to pen the script for the game, and all the actors were to reprise their roles within the game.

The game plays out from the persepctive of a new recruit to the Ghostbusters family. (That’s you). You get thrown in to the deep end straight away. The first mission is at the Sedgewick Hotel, where you have to recapture that pesky, but strangely endearing “spud” of ectoplasm, Slimer. Using the proton pack for the first time with the Wiimote, and then throwing a trap onto the ground gave me a giddy thrill. And the subsequent opening with the signature theme tune only further cemented the sheer joy you feel when playing this game.

All the familiar characters are here. There’s even a few clever nods to both films. A picture of Gozer lies dormant in the museum level. The script and actors are top notch. Some choice lines being Venkman’s, “No, I’m not going after the little spud. I’ve seen this one before,. I know how it ends. You go for it, rookie.” My personal favourite is a toss up between Egon’s explanation of where he gets the time to work out all the new equipment for the Busters. “I have devised a nice routine, whereby I sleep for fourteen minutes a day. Naturally, this leaves me a lot of time to work on equipment.” And my second favourite is Winston, upon entering the Confederate Southern Texas wing of the museum. “Of all the rooms in the museum, this one was not top of my list.”

Gripewise, I only have two. The length of the game is not terribly huge. If you bashed away for six hours solid, you’d complete the game. And there is no online play available. Not a huge problem for me, but the option would have been nice.

Overall, I would highly recommend the game. On the Wii, mind. I’ve seen screenshots and videos of the X Box and PS versions. They look somewhat clinical and cold, the cartoon approach on the Wii reimburses that sense of fun that is associated with The Ghostbusters. I laughed, I zapped some ghosts, I was a ghostbuster for a week, and haven’t had this much fun playing a game since I discovered the chainsaw in Scarface : The World Is Yours.

9 / 10

Dernière étape de l’année, le Masters de Londres regroupe les 8 meilleurs joueurs mondiaux de 2009 pour un tournoi en 2 étapes. Des phases de poules dans un premier temps où les deux premiers de chaque groupe sortiront pour les demi-finales.

La composition des groupes :

Groupe A : Roger Federer (SUI), Andy Murray (ANG), Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG), Fernando Verdasco (ESP)

Groupe B : Rafael Nadal (ESP), Novak Djokovic (SER), Nikolay Davydenko (RUS), Robin Söderling (SUE)

Programme des Masters de Tennis de Londres (ATP Barclays)

Groupe A
A. MURRAY c. J. DEL POTRO Dimanche 22 Novembre 15h
Devant son public, Andy Murray domine (6-3, 3-6, 6-2) Juan Martin Del Potro.

R. FEDERER c. F. VERDASCO Dimanche 22 Novembre 21h
Le Numéro 1 mondial a réussi son entrée, laborieusement, en battant l’Espagnol, sur un nuage pendant un set et demi (4-6, 7-5, 6-1).

Groupe B
R. NADAL c. R. SODERLING Lundi 23 Novembre 15h
Le Suédois Soderling a récidivé en battant Nadal (6-4, 6-4) pour la deuxième fois de la saison après le tonitruant huitième de finale à Roland Garros.

N. DJOKOVIC c. N. DAVYDENKO Lundi 23 Novembre 21h

Nadal retrouvera donc lundi son bourreau de Roland Garros, Robin Soderling. Federer rentrera en piste dimanche soir en douceur contre l’Espagnol Fernando Verdasco.

Mardi 24 Novembre

J. DEL POTRO bat F. VERDASCO 6-4,3-6,7-6 (1)
Del Potro bat l’Espagnol en 3 sets et garde toutes ses chances de qualification. Tout comme l’Espagnol !

R. FEDERER bat A. MURRAY  3-6,6-3,6-1
Grâce à cette victoire, le Suisse est sûr de terminer Numéro un mondial à la fin de l’année! Il ne lui reste plus qu’à terminer sur un titre cette belle saison!

Mercredi 25 Novembre

Pas avant 15h15
Novak Djokovic (SER) – Robin Soderling (SUE)
Pas avant 21h45
Rafael Nadal (ESP) – Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)

Jeudi 26 Novembre

Pas avant 15h15
Roger Federer – Juan Martin Del Potro
Pas avant 21h45
Andy Murray – Fernando Verdasco

Quite the blinding performance by the NHL, Versus and Comcast by not showing the Sharks-Predators game last night (Nov. 17). There isn’t much for me to describe about the game except to look at the score and stats.

Well, the Sharks lost 4-3 in Nashville to have their 12-game point streak snapped. Thomas Greiss started in goal for the Sharks, and from looking at the bad-quality highlights on the Sharks website, the goals were a combination of bad positioning by Greiss and bad defense; no surprise on the defense side of things.

I can tell you the Sharks outshot the Preds 32-31. Even though they outshot the Preds 14-9 in the second, the Sharks’ best period usually, the Preds outscored San Jose 2-1 in the second frame.

Scott Nichol scored his first goal as a Shark from a tip-in play. He received the feed from Jed Ortmeyer. Other goal-scorers were Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.

Scott Nichol celebrates his first goal as a Shark (From SJSHARKS.com)

The highlights also showed some huge hits, which is normal for a game between these two.

It was the third road game in four nights for the Sharks, and I’m guessing it caught up to them. Coach Todd McClellan vowed to use the fourth line more in the game, and he did in the first period. After that, they hardly received any ice time.

As for why the game wasn’t on television, to my understanding Versus has some sort of exclusive broadcast window from 7-9:30. I think this game was one of the options to show, but they chose to air the Rangers-Capitals game instead. What a shocker. Come on now. When you look at the schedule in September, did anyone really think Versus would air Sharks-Predators instead of Rags-Caps? Let’s not kid ourselves; East Coast bias at its finest.

Sharks and Preds fans had to suffer. This was absolutely absurd. It’s the year 2009, with all kinds of technology and satellites, and no one wanted to broadcast the game to paying fans?! This is why the NHL needs to stop dry humping Versus and find a new partner.

Other Notes

Brad Staubitz and Devin Setoguchi were out of the lineup with injuries. Bitz had a puck hit him in the eye during practice, and Seto reinjured his leg last game.

Hit-O-Meter: SJ 17  NSH 19; Douglas Murray led the team with three.

The Sharks play Philadelphia on Friday.

–Ray

Se designó hoy en Londres la conformacion de los dos grupos del Torneo de Maestros próximo a disputarse en la capital inglesa a partir del domingo. Asistieron a dicho sorteo el británico Andy Murray y los hermanos estadounidenses Bob y Mike Bryan, que se desempeñan en dobles.

El Grupo A lo integrarán el número uno del mundo  Róger Federer,  el argentino Juan Martín Del Potro,  el español Fernando Verdasco y el local Andy Murray, que es uno de los favoritos.

Por otra parte Rafael Nadal, el ruso Nicolay Davydenko, el sueco Robing Soderling y el reciente campeón en París, Novak Djokovic se medirán en el Grupo B.

A su vez se armaron los grupos de dobles. En el A se enfrentarán: Daniel Nestor – Nenad Zimonjic, Mahesh Bhupathí – Mark Knowles, Frantisek Cermak – Michael Mertinak, y Mariusz Fyrstemberg – Marcin Matkowski. Mientras que en el B: Mike Brian – Bob Brian, Lukas Dlouhy – Leander Paes, Lukasz Kubot – Oliver Marach, y Max Mirnyi – Andy Ram.

Darío Ribba