Gene Wilder

11/26/09

Thanksgiving Day—a day of food, family, and football. The latter is currently happening in our living room as I write this, Texas vs. A&M to be exact. I have the other two on the brain a little more right now, though. When I arrived at my parent’s house last night, I proceeded to gorge myself with a huge bowl of my mom’s excellent vegetable stew (except there was beef in it and she STILL called it vegetable stew—that confused me). This was after consuming a good amount of gas station food on the drive to Manhattan. I guess I was involuntarily prepping myself for the huge Thanksgiving feast, but thanks to the fact that I nearly puked after eating all that shit, I wasn’t in much of a mood to eat today. It kinda sucked—although what I DID eat was incredible.

My bro Skyler

As far as family goes, I got that on the brain too, because this had to have been the smallest Thanksgiving I have ever attended in my life. It was my mom, my dad, and me. For those of you who don’t know, my older brother Skyler lives in Amsterdam and hasn’t really been coming home for the holidays for the last decade or so (he lived in Hawaii before that—I can’t deny my envy, but he totally deserves it, as he has worked his ass off almost his entire life to be where he is today). Plus, my mom was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, and though she is now thankfully in remission, the whole experience has understandably made her very emotional about pretty much everything. She is still sort of able to keep it all in perspective, but I think it really got to her this year—more so than others—that Skyler wasn’t here with us. On the lighter side, it was cool doing it differently for once. We didn’t have an entire house full of comatose family members less than an hour after dinner like we are used to, but in the end, we still all got to be with family, and that’s the point of Thanksgiving. So, I can’t complain. Love you, bro!

The Republic Tigers

Musically, wow—there has been a LOT happening. The Dead Girls played our second stellar gig in a month, opening up for our friends The Republic Tigers at the Granada last Friday night. Like the gig before that (Brendan Benson at the Bottleneck) we were first on the bill and went on very early (EIGHT PM this time!). But again, the crowd proved hungry and many of them showed up on time for our set. We didn’t sell as much merch, which kind of disappointed me, but not in a way like “Man, we have to move these units!!! AHHHH!” No, I just like it when we sell merch, because then it makes me feel like it was worth getting it in the first place. It’s tougher to sell stuff nowadays, what with the economy and general disinterest in music and whatnot, but there are still people who are moved enough by it to want to walk away with a souvenir or two. That’s the way I was when I was younger, and I would like to think some of that spirit has been passed on to others and I wasn’t just some unorthadoxically geeky person (even though I know I was…am…). Anyway, that stuff isn’t really important—what IS important is that we played a great, memorable set (lots of compliments after) with bands that we like and are friends with, and a lot of people came out to rock with everyone. That’s why you have shows is to have shows like that one.

Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack

The following Sunday, our friend Justin Pierre (lead singer/guitarist for Motion City Soundtrack) came through Lawrence on his solo tour to promote the new MCS album, My Dinosaur Life. This tour is not a normal one—first of all, he is the only MCS band member on it. He plays solo, acoustic shows in very unorthodox places (in Lawrence, he played at Love Garden Sounds and Blue Collar Distro, a printing studio), and only announces these appearances on his band’s website the day before they happen. Also, while on the tour, Justin finds little projects to participate in during his downtime, and has his friends film them and post them on the website daily.

JD Warnock

The Dead Girls were lucky enough to open for MCS for a couple dates of their last tour, and Justin thought it would be cool to get all of us together to write and record a song in one day. Actually, we only had about five hours. So, we got our engineer friend Steve Squire to bring his mobile rig over to JoJo’s, and we set up four guitar amps, a bass amp, and drums in the basement and mic’d them all. Our friend JD Warnock (of Blackpool Lights/Ultimate Fakebook/Creature Comforts fame) was in on the shindigs as well, hence the fourth amp (he jokingly said we should call the project “Guitarmada”). We strapped on our guitars and proceeded to hammer out a song in about two hours. I had a riff or two ready to go, and Justin had a killer chorus in mind, so it really didn’t take that much time to get off the ground. A couple hours of fucking around with it, shuffling parts, augmenting chord progressions, messing with vocal melodies, and all of a sudden, BOOM—we had a song. Most of the song was recorded live in the basement, with some overdubs later to make it sound less like it was recorded in a basement. Justin and I wrote lyrics in about 20 minutes, but it still sounds like a coherent idea is being communicated. Overall, it was one of the most fun musical experiences I have had in recent memory. It’s so much fun to make music with people who do it as well as Justin does—I mean, he sang those vocals, literally, in under ten minutes. Maybe ten minutes. Either way, that’s pretty freakin’ amazing. It’s the sort of thing that, if you are an engineer especially, really makes your day.

The song is called “It’s All Happening”, and you can hear it now at The Dead Girls Project site.

In other news, I have been posting these capsule reviews of what are, in my humble opinion, the best albums of the last decade. Going through all of them has been fun, but also sort of bittersweet. It is making me realize how much music has changed since I fell in love with it all those years ago. I know I am running the risk of sounding sentimental here, but I don’t really care, you know? I never really have, and maybe that’s my problem—I lose people with this shit. But you know, it’s my shit, and I’m going to say it.

Talking with my friend Josh earlier, we found a common ground about the music of today. “It seems like so many of these new bands and songwriters are just kind of disregarding most of the things I love about music, and it makes me say, ‘Why? No, don’t do that!’” I laughed, but I realized how right on he was. I have been saying for months—maybe years, now—that one of the most uncool things to have in a song nowadays is a really strong vocal melody. If you’re stuff sounds too melodic, people are going to think it’s cheesy. That’s why nobody bought any Big Star records back in the day. It’s why no American buys any Sloan records today. It’s

Superdrag Sound Laboratories

The Canadian Godfathers of indie pop, Sloan, are back at it again to provide you with some sugary tunes.  Yesterday the band has just released via their official website their newest EP titled Hit and Run (Murderecords). The name is pretty self explanatory, as singer/bass player/sometimes drummer Chris Murphy was involved in a hit and run this summer when a car plowed into him crossing the street in Canada. This is a surprising yet clever title to the record.

One of the most interesting things about Sloan is the fact that they switch instruments and vocals. This creates the ultimate diversity within the band, but somehow they seem to bring it all together. The album starts off with the “Take it Upon Yourself,” which is a Murphy penned song that begins with the classic Sloan keyboard sound and handclaps that automatically want to make you dance around the room. This is a great way to start off the record. For the track “Midnight Mass,” Jay Ferguson takes over lead duties as his voice croons over the piano. The rest of the band comes in filling the song with stellar harmonies that also add a 60’s nostalgia feel. Patrick Pentland heads to the front for the track “It Is Never,” which is filled with sonic guitar sounds and brilliant melodies that he always successfully brings to the table. Murphy returns with another song in tow, “Oh Dear Diary,” which at first glance of the title has the potential to be foolish, but turns out to be a sincere song which brings a bit of old school Sloan back into the mix. With the mixture of voices, piano and the retro sounding drums this is one track that will be stuck in your head for days. Andrew Scott comes from behind the drum kit to take on “Where Are You Now?” which is perhaps his strongest song since the band released Between the Bridges in the late 90s. Infectious guitar riffs fill the song with Scott’s strong voice prominant in the song. Hit and Run takes on a life of it’s own and proves that Sloan shows no signs of slowing down.

Sloan is also embarking on a short North American tour in support of the EP that starts on Saturday. Check out the dates below and come back to Modern Mystery for coverage of their show in Brooklyn next week!

Sloan Tour Dates

November 28th- The Filmore- Detroit, MI
November 29th- Skully’s Music Diner- Columbus, OH
November 30th- Maxwell’s- Hoboken, NJ
December 1st- Jammin’ Java- Vienna, VA
December 3rd- TT The Bear’s- Cambridge, MA
December 4th- The Bell House- Brooklyn, NY
December 5th- Kung Fu Necktie- Philadelphia, PA
December 6th- Grog Shop-Cleveland, OH
December 7th- Lincoln Hall- Chicago, IL
December 9th- The Pyramid-Winnipeg, MB
December 10th- Louis’ Pub- Saskatoon, SK
December 11th- The Gateway- Calgary, AB
December 12th- Starlite Room-Edmonton, AB
December 15th- Commodore Ballroom- Vancouver, BC

Sloan—Pretty Together
Murderecords, 2001

Maybe it’s the fact that they are Canadian and American audiences just can’t stomach them, maybe their songwriting is just too saccharine for most American tastes—who knows. Whatever the reason, Sloan will never get what they deserve from America. The press will never acknowledge them (although their 2006 album Never Hear The End Of It did chart on CMJ’s Heatseekers list), the radio won’t play them, and their audience here will always be limited to whoever has the brains to listen to a college radio station every once in awhile. In truth, that’s okay for two reasons: One, it doesn’t make Sloan any less awesome; two, they are HUGE in their home country, so America can just go bugger off, already. Hasn’t everyone already figured out that Canada is a way cooler country than America anyway? They get free health care, their Jagermeister has opiates in it, and one of the best power pop bands of all time is commercially successful there. Seriously, America, take a hint! About the album, though…Pretty Together is one of Sloan’s best, and features all four of the group’s songwriters in top form. Unlike most Sloan records, this one finds the other members giving bassist Chris Murphy a dash for his songwriting cash. Drummer Andrew Scott’s “In the Movies” and “The Great Wall” just might be the two best tunes in his repertoire, and guitarist Patrick Pentland’s “If It Feels Good Do It” has become one of rock’s great morally ambiguous anthems. But most noticeably, guitarist Jay Ferguson really comes into his own on Pretty Together, offering up what is easily one its biggest standouts, the knockout power ballad “Dreaming of You”. Sloan may have reached their plateau with 1999’s Between the Bridges, but Pretty Together was created while they were still hanging around up there.

Super Furry Animals—Rings Around the World
Epic, 2001

This album really scared a lot of rock purists when it came out. When those of us who lived by the 90’s rock credo heard “Sidewalk Serfer Girl” for the first time, it became pretty apparent that everything was about to change. Actually, everything already had changed by that point; we were all just too stubborn to accept it. Rings Around the World helped us to accept it. After the initial scoffing and guffawing wore off, it was impossible to ignore how great this album was—not just how great it was, but how hard to dislike it was. Like a few of the records on this list, it is virtually perfect, though the varied styles of the album make that pretty arguable. One thing is for sure—Rings won’t really sink in until it is viewed on DVD, a rock and roll experience as close to phenomenal as one is likely to get. At the time, it was so phenomenal that SFA decided it had been a little too much, and toned it down halfway to nil for their next release. But, think of it hypothetically—your band makes an album that is revered as a potential “top 5 of the decade” type of record, and in a couple years, you have to follow it up with another? You try it.

Elliott Smith—From a Basement on the Hill
Anti-, 2004

To be straightforward, if ANY other Elliott Smith album had come out between the years of 2000 and 2009, it would have been on the list in place of this one. But, Basement should still be recognized and adored as an imperfect gem that, while unfinished, still retains the feeling of a true entry in the Elliott Smith progression. During sessions for the album, Smith was supposedly teaching himself how to record on the computer, the only recording medium he had yet to master. Aside from the album being compiled posthumously by Smith’s producer and his ex-girlfriend, it’s this wonder-boy-amateur approach that gives Basement its dusty, pastiche-like feel. The acoustic songs are classic nods to Smith’s early years, but the big rock numbers are something else entirely—specifically “Shooting Star”, which teams proggy guitar licks with a gigantic chorus of stumbling drums. Seriously, there have to be at least three drum sets going on at once in there (listen closely). This feeling of extreme density permeates the louder songs, most successfully on the totally junked out “Strung Out Again” and “King’s Crossing”, a wrenching ode to desperation. It might be somewhere behind Brian Wilson’s SMiLE on the aforementioned, forthcoming list of Could-Have-Beens, but Basement is still Elliott Smith, and Elliott Smith still rules.

by Sloan

This has been on my mind for a while now. This award usually seems to go to the coach of the surprise/overachieving team for the year. Let’s take a look at what has happened to some of the recent winners of this award.

Looking at that, how can one be coach of the year, and then get the boot in such a short amount of time after winning the award? Lets also take a look at the coaches that got fired, and how long their coaching careers actually lasted.

Avery Johnson – 4 years (Never won a title as a coach)

Sam Mitchell – 5 years (Missed the playoffs all together three out of his five years, and was eliminated in the first round the two times he did make it)

Byron Scott – 10 years (Never won a title, but did make it to the finals twice early on in his coaching career, and made it to the conference semifinals the year he won the CoY award)

I don’t understand how a coach like Johnson or Mitchell can just come in and win the award, and get fired so soon after. Now lets look at some of the veteran coaches currently in the league.

Jerry Sloan – Entering his 25th year as head coach, but has never won a CoY award

Rick Adleman – Entering his 19th year as head coach, but also has never won the CoY award

Greg Popovich – Entering his 14th year as head coach, and has won the award once, despite having won four NBA championships

Phil Jackson – Entering his 19th year as head coach, arguably the greatest coach of all time, and has won the award ONCE. Also has 10 championships under his belt. He has won a championship more times than he has not won a championship, but only has one. I am completely lost right here.

Maybe the voters just want to keep it interesting. Maybe they know that the same two or three coaches should win it every year. Maybe they think the coaches aren’t great, but the players that they coach are. Even with all that, the award seems plain out stupid to me.

It might have only been a 1 goal game but the Caps deserved to get stomped in this poor showing.  I would love to be able to say that Ovechkin being out was the reason but that right there is a complete and total cop-out.  This definitely is the worst showing by the Caps this year.  The only thing preventing this from being ugly was that the Devils were nearly asleep for the first 2 periods.

For what seems like the hundredth time this year the Caps found themselves in a great position through 40 minutes of play.  It was a tie game.  Each time had only taken 1 minor penalty.  Each team had 17 shots on goal.  Although neither team showed much energy out there it looked like the Caps were going to be able to prove they don’t need the big 8 to win big games.  And then the let down began.  Like has been the case so many times they became lazy in the third and as a result were outshot and took 4 penalties.  2 by Alexander Semin.  Power plays add up and Semin found himself in the box for both of the Devils’ power play goal in the the final frame.  Semin has the ability to be one of the greatest players in the league but he isn’t smart.  As has been the case way too many times in the career he has found himself taking stupid penalties when the game is on the line and finally he payed for it.  With Varly pulled and 1:30 on the clock Semin was pulled of the ice and replaced by Perrault.  This man needs to seriously begin to think or he could find himself missing serious ice time when the it is his chance to prove himself with Ovechkin out.

This loss falls solely on the skaters out there because Varly did everything he could to keep the Caps in this game and he is given in return his first regulation loss in the reguar season.  He made no mistakes through the first 40 as the only way the Devil’s made it on the scoreboard was an unlucky bounce off of Green that just slipped by Varly.  The second goal showed the Caps trying to utilize the trap on the penalty kill, and how horrible it looked.  New Jersey made quick work through it before giving Bergfors a wide open shot over Varly’s glove hand.  And the third goal just shows how confusing Jeff Shultz can be.  He can’t decide whether or not he want’s to hit or use his reach.  The man is massive and not only does he fail to get Bergfors out of the Varly’s way but he himself is screen his goaltender.

I give mad props to that line of Clark, Perrault, and Sloan.  Clark played one of his best games yet, even willing to drop the gloves again tonight.  Perrault was playing in his first NHL goal and that backhand saucer to Sloan for the goal would make Backstrom green with envy.  And last but not least Sloan.  This guy looked like he would get the Eminger treatment at the beginning of the season: held up hear all year long and play less than 20 games.  But he was willing to make that transition to that fourth line center and tonight his goal made him look like an elite in the league.  This line was surely the only brightspot aside from the man between the pipes.

Home-and-home against Florida this weekend.  Hopefully they can turn it around against a sinking Panthers club.  More on individuals tomorrow.

Let’s begin with a fact: the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not as heavy as it may sound. There is no need to study, all you need is to be is in tune with the basics, practical and smart. If cleared well, the test opens doors to several prestigious colleges in the United States (and a few in Europe), and also to financial aid throughout the course. “Almost all the top foreign universities, besides a number of renowned B-schools such as Harvard, Wharton, Sloan, Stanford, etc. consider GRE as a measure of a student’s ability and aptitude,” says Bidyut Dutta, Head-Academics, International Education, Career Launcher.
Developed and conducted by the Education Testing Services group (ETS), GRE can be taken all year round by paying a test fee of US$180. The test is largely mandatory for those who dream of pursuing a Master’s or a Ph.D programme from a university abroad. Admissions panels and committees use the GRE score to support a candidate’s undergraduate records, and other qualifications required for graduate study.

About the test
The examination has a General Test that measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and critical thinking as well as the analytical writing skills of the students. The GRE Subject Tests, if required by the university one is keen to join, gauges undergraduate achievement in eight specific fields of study. The use and value of GRE scores vary not only from one institute to another, but also among departments. For example, programmes in arts may only consider an aspirant’s verbal scores, while the engineering programmes may put more weightage on one’s quantitative ability.
GRE comprises two types of tests namely: the General Test and Subject Specific Test. The former, which is mandatory, evaluates general aptitude via two multiple-choice sections — quantitative aptitude and verbal ability. A third section consisting of essay writing is called Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). The verbal section tests language ability (reading skills and vocabulary), while the quantitative section tests a candidate’s knowledge in arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis. “The AWA section tests one’s prowess in analysing a given situation and presenting complex ideas clearly,” says Vineet Gupta, MD, Jamboree Education, adding, “Since colleges abroad open for admissions from December to April, one must have a GRE score by September.”
As mentioned before, the subject-specific exams assess skills in eight specific disciplines, which include biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, biology, chemistry, computer science, English literature, mathematics, physics and psychology. Each subject test is intended to evaluate extensive knowledge in the subject the GRE aspirant has majored in.

Score and beyond
Beyond the GRE score, colleges look at a student’s grades in college, recommendation letters from teachers and project work done. These will decide how one ranks on the merit list of a university. Depending on the net score, one could get financial aid. “Various funding options are available for international students, including grants, scholarships, loans and work/study options. Your best tool in learning about college financial aid is seeking the advice of the financial aid counsellor at the college you plan to attend,” says Dutta.
The ETS recently launched an updated version of its popular site TakeTheGRE.com that includes information on a host of new tools to help you get noticed by graduate and professional schools. By placing important resources right at your fingertips, the website makes registering for the GRE tests, obtaining free practice material and planning for test day simpler, faster and easier.

Pop is something Canada does really, really well.  Maybe it seems like I’m reaching for another pop post, but I’m actually not.

During my teenagerdom, my sleeves were tagged with the scrawlings of east coast powerpop bands.  These groups were my version of social salvation in those typical disjointed times.  Where music acts as a good guidance counsellor you actually like.  It was simple music, but it’s this type of music that commonly makes one understand its power and communitizing qualities.  From grades 9-12, I was socially in limbo – not fully down with the super cool A-list basketball players, but also too cool for other “lesser” cliques.  So I ended up where many other social intermediaries settled – Student Council. Later in high school I found people that loved this music as much as I did, even though it was in an ironic way.  So we started a shitty band.  And I belooonged !  I found that place to be exclusive and superior and cool.  It felt right and it still does.

My older brother had a large impact on me in high school period, and an even greater impact on what I listened to.  He was high school A-list, and I still felt like it was important to climb the list ladder. So I listened.

It primarily came down to THE Halifax Pop Explosion of the 90s, the clear flagwavers of the movement being Sloan.  I still think they were truly great.

Sloan – Take The Bench

Sloan didn’t care about how close the Beatles were to their respective chests – it was undeniable, very witty, thought out, fun pop music.  Then the “second tier” of bands followed in the promenade, and it was my chance to really impress people with slightly obscure band names.  I was 17 and I felt like a young Cameron Crowe. Thrush Hermit, Local Rabbits, Super Friendz, Flashing Lights, Eric’s Trip, and The Inbreds.  Really bands like Sloan and Thrush came down to revived Beatles and The Who, where Eric’s Trip and Local Rabbits followed a modern influence of American 90s indie like Pavement and Sonic Youth.  Growing up on the Beatles, I already leaned towards certain sounds, but I was thirsty for it all.  More importantly, after thinking Pearl Jam was the be all throughout my earlier days, I was encouraged that great pop rock music could be more feminine than grunge, and that’s even without the out-of-control Chris Cornell hair.

And now we jump to the 00s.  Luckily, we still have great reasons to celebrate straightforward pop music from the east coast.  They destroy the rest of Canada in this department right now, so I present Exhibits A thru infinity.

Mardeen – Kids

Mardeen – Pretty Smart

I still don’t know why this band isn’t at least a national household name.  Their debut record Read Less Minds is just unabashed fun.  Every song is a winner, I’ve said this many times.  Unassuming, fun energy, and brings back the wit and the subtle swagger of east coast rock.  The pre-chorus starting at (0:56) of “Kids” is exactly what people should want in a pre-chorus – drenched in hook but with the knowledge that something epic may just punt your whole body after the turn.

Two Hours Traffic – Nighthawks

This is what irks me – no disrespect to Two Hours Traffic, but they don’t deserve what they got.  If Mardeen was given their chances, boy oh boy.  This is their only song that I’ve really enjoyed, and even then I really only want to stick around for the first verse and the first chorus.  The first line is perfect, too.

In Flight Safety – I Could Love You More

I’ve had a soft spot for In Flight for many years.  Their first record was one of those records that I wish I wrote.  I was simultaneously jealous and enamoured.  A great mix of Sigur Ros atmospherics with homey lyrics and folk aesthetics.  Singer John Mullane feels like a kindred spirit, and from the handful of times we’ve chatted, I think I’m right.  Compassionate, aware, and good dollops of romanticism.  It’s also a bit crazy that as their influences have changed, mine have changed in the exact same way.  From an obsession with reverb ala Sigur Ros to a slightly embarrassing fondness for cheesy Britpop to a more controlled love of darkish, sentimental, well-revealed rock like The National.  This band does not fit into the aloof and apathetic hipster cool mold, and that’s why I like them.  It always comes back to the cheese, man.  They’ve had blips of popularity, but they still are quietly creating beautiful pop music.

Wintersleep – Migration

Wintersleep brings in grungier, folkier, and darker elements to Halifax pop/rock.  They remain as one of my favourite Canadian bands.

Seems like a lot of my friends have been posting tributes to some of their favorite women.  My good friend Trevor Jones of Humanzee recently posted a tribute to the beautiful Vanessa Minnillo (who, by the way, once held the number one spot in my heart).  Fellow King Paolo Jackson just wrote about some of his favorite (female) news anchors.  If you don’t know Paolo, he’s been on this “hot news anchor” tip for a minute.  I can’t blame him really.  Actually, I should probably thank him for puttin me on (even though my crush on news anchors started at an early age).  I guess it’s only fitting I get mine in.

Photo courtesy of askmen.com

I love Sloan.  Anyone who watches Entourage loves Sloan.  But, like, I REALLY love Sloan.  Yes, I know Emmanuelle Chriqui is her “real” name.  But I love Sloan, the character from Entourage, not Emmanuelle.  And that’s not to say I wouldn’t fall in love with Emmanuelle if I ever met her, but the truth is I know nothing about Emmanuelle Chriqui.  I know quite a bit about Sloan, though.  And what Sloan represents embodies is that which I am in love with.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way.  Indeed she’s gorgeous.  And if you know me well then you know her body-type is personally my “ideal”: tan skin, slender body with gentle curves, tall-ish (at least compared to E, who is probably close to my height), features that appear racially mixed (other girls that have had the #1 spot include Vanessa M., as previously mentioned, and J. Alba), yadda yadda yadda.  But Sloan’s beauty is much more than skin deep.  For one, she comes from an affluent family, but she’s not the stereotypical spoiled rich brat.  She’s motivated and career-driven, a true independent woman that works to get hers (have you noticed in season 6 whenever she was talking on the phone with E she was always setting up/working some event?)  She’s not phased or impressed by celebrity.  She’s real – the kind of girl that can be down with the guys to watch the game, and actually enjoy it.  But she’s got class – the kind of girl you take to a company Christmas party or charitable fundraiser and not only will she look drop dead gorgeous in that gown, she will win everyone over with her charm.  And, perhaps most importantly, she makes her man better.  She makes her man WANT to be better.

Does a woman like this actually exist, a beautiful woman with all these amazing qualities?  I mean, it’s hard enough to find “celebrity-status” beauty as we walk in our every day life, so when we actually come across such a creature, what are the chances that she’ll actually be smart, ambitious, charming, “up on e’er thang other hoes ain’t ever on”?  Indeed such a rarity…but I’m convinced she is out there.

I just have to find her…

The Utah Jazz is probably the most talented team that nobody is paying attention. Utah didn’t sign anybody, literally, anybody new on the offseason, instead they matched an offer sheet from Portland for Paul Millsap and every single one of their free agents didn’t opt out of their contracts. Although the faces are the same, we should expect a different team for the upcoming season, since guys like Williams, Boozer and Kirilenko lost lots of games due to injuries last season.

Deron Williams is one of the best PGs of his generation. He’s athletic, can shoot and is an awesome closer but last season because of the injury that hold him for a while in the beginning, he just wasn’t himself and although they are a very balanced team, we can easily say that the Jazz goes as Deron Williams goes.

The other star of the team, Carlos Boozer, also had a tough year after returning from the Olympics. Boozer lost 45 games of the season in which he was replaced by Paul Millsap who played well enough to make people wonder if he was really necessary. With Millsap back and with a long term deal, Utah is signalizing that Boozer may not stick around for too long which means he’ll come hungry for this upcoming season because he’ll be playing for his new deal.

Another hot topic to follow with this Jazz team is coaching. Jerry Sloan is one of the best coaching of all times but everybody can tell that he’s probably not an easy human being to deal with. After last season’s poor performance of the team on the road in which they clearly quit, people started to question if the team didn’t quit on Sloan. It remains to be seen.

Utah has a group of guys that have been together for a while now and although they came close a few times, they never won. It’s safe to say that change will come but for now those guys will have to stick with each other for another season. Surprisingly, I’m one of the few that thinks it won’t end well.

Check More At: MVN

.do they know it’s hallowe’en? performed by the north american hallowe’en prevention initiative.

Whether you love drawing up charts or abhor matrices, Google Squared is a tool you will find useful. Do you want to see which type of dog you want to adopt or see on one page all the information about various cities in Spain? Better still, do you want all the information about all BSchools that you are checking out on one page? Then here it is. I have inputed values for most top tier BSchools here with information from various sources on the web. If you want to add more schools to the list, just append it and see if your table gets made for you.

Check this one out and save it as your own square.

http://www.google.com/squared/table/agjiyF057YcfCwK9rrP_BXzg

MBA students at the MIT Sloan School of Management are taking a little time to publish their own newsletter, 15. Three times a year, short articles describe student life, career dilemmas, and how to make the most of their time in course 15. You can take a dip into MBA life with these recent articles:

• Learn about the student take on the Sloan brand.
• Choice Fest ponders the many, many options facing the first year MBA student.
• “Ask Alfred” is a humorous look at grad student life, like putting the wrong company name on your job application or how to keep up with free-spending classmates.

Past articles tell stories, like this describing the launch of a company that prints photo books of Facebook content. “How you start a company during your MBA at MIT Sloan: Our story at Pixable.”

Hungry for more Sloan news? Try the weekly News @ MIT Sloan.

Fotos promocionales para el capitulo de este jueves ‘I saw what I saw’

Recuerden…Alguien será despedido. (Sí, alguien más.)

Below is an interview I had with Vince Thompson of SmartPlanet Magazine:

What’s happening in our men’s rooms? Waterless urinals? Flies on the porcelain? Here’s one fact that struck me. Each commercial-use waterless urinal can save between 15,000 and 45,000 gallons of water a year. Ah…no wonder waterless urinals are showing up in airports, malls and office buildings? But what about the fly on the porcelain? With an interest in learning more about this fast growing sector, the business of saving water and that fly…. I reached out to Klaus Reichardt. Klaus should know. He invented the waterless urinal and with the company he founded, San Diego based Waterless Co Inc., Klaus and his team sell more waterless urinal than anyone in the world.

Klaus, 15,000 to 30,000 gallons per year. How much does that save on the water bill?

With approximately $7 per 1000 gal of water and sewer cost, each urinal will save approximately $105 to $210 per urinal per year, and that is just the savings on water and sewer. Factor in the normal maintenance on a flushed urinal, flush valve repair, vandalism etc and the savings are usually around $350 total per urinal per year.

How much do waterless urinal’s cost?

Our line ranges from about $200 up to $500 for our most extravagant and cool looking urinals that have a granite look.

How big is the market for the waterless urinal?

We figure there are about 8-9 million flushed urinals installed in the US alone that can be converted over time. That would be 100% of the potential.

Are you selling them to residential customers as well?

Actually we are receiving more and more interest from residential users as they have seen their water and sewer rates go up plus their increased awareness in water efficiency and conservation. But it is still a very small sector.

What about innovation? How has Waterless evolved the offering?

We are the only company offering high performance composite urinals as well as standard vitreous china (ceramic) fixtures. In addition, we came up with the first soybean based resin No-Flush™ urinal this year. Soybeans are a renewable resource.

What are some other water-saving devices you are impressed with?

I particularly like the Leak Beeper which lets you know about leaks in your toilets (really great for hotels as well) and the WaterBroom.

Tell us about the Fly in the urinal? Where did it come from and what’s it all about?

I think the best way to answer that is that it is an aiming device ☺. In every public restroom there are usually lots of… you know what… drips on the floor in front of the urinal. This is from spray and not standing close enough. Positioning the fly in the right curvature of the fixture makes the urine donation fun plus avoids spray.

Does the fly have an environmental impact as well?

In the farthest sense yes in that it keeps the restroom cleaner with less bacteria.

If someone gets excited about this industry how can they become involved in it as a businessperson or as an investor?

I believe that water conservation is not only a necessity but also makes good common sense. Anything that has these two components would be a natural to be involved in as a business or as investment. There is huge room for further product improvements,
Education, distribution as well as simple investments. Best to get involved online under conservation, waterless, drought etc.

Thanks Klaus!

To visit Klaus’s company Waterless Co, Click Here

Canadian indie rock heroes Sloan
have been in the studio preparing for their Fall tour. Brushing off old tunes, writing new ones, the latter of which brings me to my point.

The band has a new internet-only EP coming out soon. (Pretty soon, I would think)


Here’s the band’s latest single which will be on the EP: “Take It Upon Yourself”.

Website
MySpace

Just when we thought we’d have to go the year without Sloan passing through town, we all got a nice little surprise this afternoon that the band is embarking on a late fall tour of the U.S.! The shows are not promoting any new full length record of course, but it will be showcasing their new EP, Take it Upon Yourself , in which you can currently download the single of the same name on Sloan’s site for FREE. We’re glad to see that Chris Murphy is feeling better from his hit and run accident! The tour also makes a stop at Brooklyn’s Bell House on December 4th (What no Bowery?). Tickets went on sale at Ticketweb today at noon so be sure to grab yourself a pair! Below are the most current Sloan tour dates with more to follow. It’s always good to see some Slllllllllllllllloaaaaannnnnnn!

ps. It’s also Jay Ferguson’s Birthday today!!

Sloan Tour Dates

Nov 28 – Detroit, MI
Nov 29 – Columbus, OH
Nov 30 – Hoboken, NJ
Dec 01 – Vienna, VA
Dec 03 – Cambridge, MA
Dec 04 – Brooklyn, NY
Dec 05 – Philadelphia, PA