RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- The Oct. 21 deadline to apply for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay is fast approaching.
Airmen who were involuntarily held on active duty between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30, 2004, may be eligible for the special pay compensation of $500 for each month they were affected.
The 2009 War Supplemental Appropriation Act set aside $534.4 million for the retroactive stop-loss special pay compensation authority. Officials said Sept. 1 only $219 million has been paid so far.
Eligibility includes active, retired and former servicemembers as well as members of the reserve component who served on active duty while their enlistment or period of obligated service was involuntarily extended, or whose eligibility for separation or retirement was suspended as a result of Stop Loss.
More than 8,220 current and former Airmen have been approved for retroactive stop-loss special pay since Air Force Personnel Center officials here began accepting claims in 2009, officials said.
Claims are evaluated based upon historical records as well as all supporting documentation that the applicant may submit, said Capt. Rose Englebert, chief of the AFPC Separations Branch.
"The more information the member provides, the better," she said.
Air Force officials used stop-loss for Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 and 2002 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. The deadline to apply, originally set for October 2010, was extended to allow for more people affected to apply for the retroactive pay. To file a claim, eligible members or legally designated beneficiaries may download a stop-loss claim application at www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/stoploss.
"If you are unsure as to whether or not you are eligible, you have nothing to lose by applying," Englebert said.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
McDonald's Beating Caught on Tape
Police arrested a fast-food cashier who is accused of beating two female customers at a Greenwich Village McDonald's -- and the vicious attack was all caught on tape
Prosecutors say the cashier, 31-year-old Rayon McIntosh, became so enraged Thursday morning after two female customers jumped the counter that he picked up a metal rod and began beating them with it
One of the women is still in the hospital with a fractured skull and a broken arm. The other suffered a deep cut.
Prosecutors say McIntosh is a convicted felon, and was recently released after serving a ten year manslaughter sentenced. His lawyer was unavailable for comment.
The owner of this McDonald's on Sixth Avenue, Carmen Paulino, said she was "extremely disturbed" by the events.
"The actions of this individual are unacceptable and not characteristic of my employees," she said. "This individual no longer works for my organization."
Prosecutors say the cashier, 31-year-old Rayon McIntosh, became so enraged Thursday morning after two female customers jumped the counter that he picked up a metal rod and began beating them with it
One of the women is still in the hospital with a fractured skull and a broken arm. The other suffered a deep cut.
Prosecutors say McIntosh is a convicted felon, and was recently released after serving a ten year manslaughter sentenced. His lawyer was unavailable for comment.
The owner of this McDonald's on Sixth Avenue, Carmen Paulino, said she was "extremely disturbed" by the events.
"The actions of this individual are unacceptable and not characteristic of my employees," she said. "This individual no longer works for my organization."
Twenty Years Later: Covering the Anita Hill Story
Twenty years ago Oct. 15, I was standing on the front steps of Anita Hill's home in Norman, Okla. In Washington, the U.S. Senate was taking up the Supreme Court nomination of Clarence Thomas. I was a TV reporter for a Dallas, Texas, station, and my assignment was to get Hill's reaction to the Senate's vote.
As the senators debated Thomas' fate, Hill was in her bungalow cooking dinner for her mother. Outside, I and other reporters pleaded with her to talk. She refused.
After Thomas' was narrowly confirmed, I knocked on the door again. Hill finally opened it and came outside. I begged her to say something. America's women, I said, wanted to hear from her on this historic night.
"Do you have anything to say to Justice Thomas?" I asked.
"I have no comment on that really, " she replied.
But then she suddenly seemed to realize the significance of what she had testified to at Thomas' confirmation hearings.
"It is almost as though a silence has been broken, and women are talking about experiences that they never have spoken about before, and that should not die," Hill said.
Far from dying, the experiences of that week set off an electoral revolution and brought unprecedented protection to working women in America. Anita Hill made it all possible by naming a "beast" that had long been untamed in the workplace - sexual harassment.
At Thomas' confirmation hearings, Hill had accused the Supreme Court nominee of making sexually provocative comments to her when she worked for him at the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Broadcast live on television, the drama surrounding her testimony was heightened by the fact that it was unfolding in the presence of a skeptical, sometimes dismissive all-white male Senate Judiciary Committee. Days earlier, another powerful image had imprinted itself on the public's mind: A group of women House members had charged up the Senate steps to demand that Hill's claims against Thomas be aired.
The political fallout of the hearings was monumental. Ruth Mandel, who developed and directed the Center for American Women in Politics in the Eagleton Institute of Politics' at Rutgers University, said the controversy "called the country's attention to the absence of women in high political office."
That changed the following year. Six women were elected to the Senate, bringing the total to eight. Leo McCarthy, who lost to then-Rep. Barbara Boxer in the Democratic senatorial primary in California, said he had "got caught up in a tidal wave without a surfboard."
Many factors contributed to the political upheaval known as the Year of the Woman. But CBS News exit polls also revealed that many voters supporting female candidates were still angry over the disrespect and near-ridicule that Hill had experienced in giving her Senate testimony the previous year.
Hill's testimony not only shook up the political class. It also dramatically changed the working lives of ordinary women. By identifying the beast as sexual harassment, said Mandel, Hill "gave women the ammunition they needed to confront it in the workplace."
Legislatures across the country passed laws prohibiting and punishing sexual harassment. California's law provided for suspension, even expulsion, of a perpetrator as early as the 4th grade. Meanwhile, businesses, governmental agencies and universities all put tough anti-sexual harassment policies in place.
The result was immediate. Sexual harassment cases more than doubled from 1991 to 1996, according to filings by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In Norman that Oct. 15 night, I asked Hill if she would do it all over again. "I'm not sure if I could have lived with myself if I had answered those questions any differently," she replied.
America's working women should be thankful that Hill answered the way she did, because her brave testimony 20 years ago helped forever change the workplace for them.
As the senators debated Thomas' fate, Hill was in her bungalow cooking dinner for her mother. Outside, I and other reporters pleaded with her to talk. She refused.
After Thomas' was narrowly confirmed, I knocked on the door again. Hill finally opened it and came outside. I begged her to say something. America's women, I said, wanted to hear from her on this historic night.
"Do you have anything to say to Justice Thomas?" I asked.
"I have no comment on that really, " she replied.
But then she suddenly seemed to realize the significance of what she had testified to at Thomas' confirmation hearings.
"It is almost as though a silence has been broken, and women are talking about experiences that they never have spoken about before, and that should not die," Hill said.
Far from dying, the experiences of that week set off an electoral revolution and brought unprecedented protection to working women in America. Anita Hill made it all possible by naming a "beast" that had long been untamed in the workplace - sexual harassment.
At Thomas' confirmation hearings, Hill had accused the Supreme Court nominee of making sexually provocative comments to her when she worked for him at the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Broadcast live on television, the drama surrounding her testimony was heightened by the fact that it was unfolding in the presence of a skeptical, sometimes dismissive all-white male Senate Judiciary Committee. Days earlier, another powerful image had imprinted itself on the public's mind: A group of women House members had charged up the Senate steps to demand that Hill's claims against Thomas be aired.
The political fallout of the hearings was monumental. Ruth Mandel, who developed and directed the Center for American Women in Politics in the Eagleton Institute of Politics' at Rutgers University, said the controversy "called the country's attention to the absence of women in high political office."
That changed the following year. Six women were elected to the Senate, bringing the total to eight. Leo McCarthy, who lost to then-Rep. Barbara Boxer in the Democratic senatorial primary in California, said he had "got caught up in a tidal wave without a surfboard."
Many factors contributed to the political upheaval known as the Year of the Woman. But CBS News exit polls also revealed that many voters supporting female candidates were still angry over the disrespect and near-ridicule that Hill had experienced in giving her Senate testimony the previous year.
Hill's testimony not only shook up the political class. It also dramatically changed the working lives of ordinary women. By identifying the beast as sexual harassment, said Mandel, Hill "gave women the ammunition they needed to confront it in the workplace."
Legislatures across the country passed laws prohibiting and punishing sexual harassment. California's law provided for suspension, even expulsion, of a perpetrator as early as the 4th grade. Meanwhile, businesses, governmental agencies and universities all put tough anti-sexual harassment policies in place.
The result was immediate. Sexual harassment cases more than doubled from 1991 to 1996, according to filings by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In Norman that Oct. 15 night, I asked Hill if she would do it all over again. "I'm not sure if I could have lived with myself if I had answered those questions any differently," she replied.
America's working women should be thankful that Hill answered the way she did, because her brave testimony 20 years ago helped forever change the workplace for them.
Selena Gomez to Judge Disney's 'Make Your Mark' Dance Competiton Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/entertainment/2011/10/12/selena-gomez-to-judge-disneys-make-your-mark-dance-competiton/#ixzz1avLuxI6J
Selena Gomez is following in the footsteps of Jennifer Lopez and Chrisitna Aguilera – the starlet has reportedly signed on as a judge for Disney Channel’s upcoming dance competition “Make Your Mark.”
Access Hollywood reported that singer will join fellow Disney stars Roshon Fegan and Debby Ryan as judges on the show.
“I have never judged anything,” Gomez told Access Hollywood. “I’m kind of excited.”
The winner of the competition will have the opportunity to strut their stuff in Disney’s show “Shake It Up,” a dancing show in which teens groove, pop and lock.
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Did Gomez & Bieber Break Up Over Jasmine Villegas?
Selena Gomez Dishes on 'Monte Carlo'
SelGo to Host MTV Europe Awards
Gomez recently showed off her chic style in Los Angeles at the premiere of the new thriller, 'The Thing.' Us Weekly reported that all eyes were on Gomez as she sported “a teeny tiny pair of sparkly black shorts, sexy strappy heels and a white floaty top.”
The singer reportedly has been in the midst of a breakup with superstar boyfriend Justin Bieber.
Entertainment website ShowbizSpy.com reported that Gomez is “growing increasingly frustrated” with the Biebs' behavior.
“Justin is still like a kid,” an undisclosed source told the website. “All he wants to do is watch movies and play video games.”
The shocking news comes days after Bieber went public about how great Gomez makes him feel and his
“She makes me laugh and she puts up with my practical jokes,” ShowbizSpy quoted Bieber saying. “We were both raised by our moms in single-parent households, and that’s given us a lot of the same family values in life.”
Still, the anonymous source claimed “that it’s not working.”
“Selena is very much a young woman,” the source said in the interview. “Most of the time they are apart because of work commitments.
“She wants to go out and have romantic dinners,” the source added. “But that’s not happening.”
Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/entertainment/2011/10/12/selena-gomez-to-judge-disneys-make-your-mark-dance-competiton/#ixzz1avLzXQn9
Access Hollywood reported that singer will join fellow Disney stars Roshon Fegan and Debby Ryan as judges on the show.
“I have never judged anything,” Gomez told Access Hollywood. “I’m kind of excited.”
The winner of the competition will have the opportunity to strut their stuff in Disney’s show “Shake It Up,” a dancing show in which teens groove, pop and lock.
Related Slideshow
American Idol's Pia Toscano's Sexy Style
Related Slideshow
Selena Gómez and Justin Bieber's Fun Day in Santa Monica
Related Slideshow
American Idol Top 10 Latino Moments
Related Stories
Did Gomez & Bieber Break Up Over Jasmine Villegas?
Selena Gomez Dishes on 'Monte Carlo'
SelGo to Host MTV Europe Awards
Gomez recently showed off her chic style in Los Angeles at the premiere of the new thriller, 'The Thing.' Us Weekly reported that all eyes were on Gomez as she sported “a teeny tiny pair of sparkly black shorts, sexy strappy heels and a white floaty top.”
The singer reportedly has been in the midst of a breakup with superstar boyfriend Justin Bieber.
Entertainment website ShowbizSpy.com reported that Gomez is “growing increasingly frustrated” with the Biebs' behavior.
“Justin is still like a kid,” an undisclosed source told the website. “All he wants to do is watch movies and play video games.”
The shocking news comes days after Bieber went public about how great Gomez makes him feel and his
“She makes me laugh and she puts up with my practical jokes,” ShowbizSpy quoted Bieber saying. “We were both raised by our moms in single-parent households, and that’s given us a lot of the same family values in life.”
Still, the anonymous source claimed “that it’s not working.”
“Selena is very much a young woman,” the source said in the interview. “Most of the time they are apart because of work commitments.
“She wants to go out and have romantic dinners,” the source added. “But that’s not happening.”
Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/entertainment/2011/10/12/selena-gomez-to-judge-disneys-make-your-mark-dance-competiton/#ixzz1avLzXQn9
To save birds, feds hope to drive mice from Farallon Islands
Melissa Pitkin's hand darts into a rocky crevasse beneath a stone wall, emerging moments later with a fluffy gray chick.
The fluttering bird in Pitkin's hand is an ashy storm-petrel — one of the 13 species of birds that nest on the wave-battered shores of the Farallon Islands, and one of only 10,000 to 15,000 ashy storm-petrels worldwide. About half of those birds live in the Farallones, a remote and desolate series of islands 27 miles outside the Golden Gate that supports the largest breeding colony of seabirds south of Alaska.
Most of those birds — gulls, oystercatchers and auklets — departed at the end of the summer. But the ashy storm-petrel is something special: one of the smallest and shyest birds in the islands, active mainly at night and spending most of its time at sea.
"I've never seen one before, much less been able to hold one," said Pitkin, a member of the Marin-based PRBO Conservation Science, who has worked and lived on the Farallones for weeks at a time since the late 1990s. "Most people will never get to see one."
Ashy storm-petrels can live a long time — an average of 20 years, with at least one bird living to the ripe old age of 36. But they're in trouble. The petrels of the Farallones are falling victim to a most unlikely enemy. And efforts by members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to save them has plunged the Farallon Islands into controversy.
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class="subhead">Far and away
While they're technically within the city limits of San Francisco, for most residents of the Bay Area the jagged teeth of the Farallon Islands might as well be on Mars. It's a two-and-a-half-hour journey by boat from Sausalito to reach the nearest island — Southeast Farallon — and there are no docks or landing zones on shore. Visitors are hoisted out of the water in a small boat and deposited on the cliffs 50 feet above them.
Almost all of those visitors are Fish and Wildlife personnel or PRBO scientists, who live in a pair of hundred-year-old lighthouse keepers' homes, powered by a solar generator, and keep tallies of the birds, seals, sharks, whales and anything else that visits the islands. Until a scheduled media tour last week, the last reporter set foot on Southeast Farallon more than three years ago.
Yet neither the islands' remote location, their rocky shoals or the fact that they are a popular feeding ground for great white sharks has kept humans away in the past. Fur traders from Boston and Russia nearly wiped out the islands' population of northern fur and elephant seals in the 1880s. The demand by Gold Rush miners for eggs almost did the same for the common murre, a black-and-white seabird.
In fact, competition between rival San Francisco egg-gathering companies led to the "Egg War" of 1866, a series of skirmishes on the islands that left two people dead. The violence led the federal government to ban egg collecting on Southeast Farallon in 1881 and President Theodore Roosevelt to name the Farallon Islands as one of the nation's first national wildlife refuges in 1909.
These days, the murres are one of the Farallones' success stories: though they suffered from gillnetters and an oil spill in the 1980s, the murres now number about 250,000, about a quarter of their original population. Fur and elephant seals are also making a comeback, as are other species of birds: the first breeding pair of peregrine falcons in decades now swoops and dives among the cliffs near the Southeast Farallon lighthouse.
Of mice and men — and owls
But at least one unpleasant legacy of the islands' past remains: the common house mouse, which arrived with fur traders sometime in the 19th century. The sands and cliff walls of Southeast Farallon are honeycombed with mouse holes, and in the fall — when the mice are most numerous — tiny brown heads pop up constantly from the sand, as though the entire island was a giant Whac-a-Mole game.
"About 20 to 100 mice per hectare is considered a lot of mice," said Dan Grout, who visited the Farallones on Thursday as a representative of Island Conservation, which specializes in the extermination of island-bound pests. "Last fall, our survey established that there are about 500 mice per acre here, or 1,200 mice per hectare. That is the largest density of mice we have on record."
The mice themselves don't seem to bother birds like the ashy storm-petrel. But their presence on the island has had an unusual effect on its annual gathering of migratory birds. About 160 different species of birds arrive in the islands each fall, some from the eastern United States, some from as far away as New Zealand.
One of those visiting birds is the burrowing owl. Under ordinary circumstances, the owls show up in the fall, stay for a month or so, and then continue on their migratory journey. But the presence of the mice — a scampering smorgasbord for owls — has changed things.
"The owls stay longer than they normally would because of the mice," Petkin said. "Then in the winter time, when the mouse population crashes, they start eating storm-petrels."
Only about 15 to 20 owls visit the islands each year. But they're responsible for a decline of about 40 percent in the ashy storm-petrel population, said Gerry McChesney, acting manager of the Farallones National Wildlife Refuge. And the situation isn't doing the owls any favors, either: the petrels aren't particularly nutritious food, and many of the owls — a species of special concern in California — are dying before they can leave the islands, McChesney said.
"We want to restore the native ecology and eradicate the mouse problem," said McChesney, holding up a pail filled with owl-ravaged petrel parts.
Other islands have taken a similar approach to their rodent problems. Island Conservation has claimed success in island groups within the Caribbean and Pacific, mostly by dropping rat-killing poison pellets from the sky. The company believes a similar approach could work in the Farallones.
"We've lost a lot of species over the last 300 to 400 years, and the epicenter of those extinctions has been islands," said Bradford Keitt of Island Conservation. "Rodents have been responsible for a host of extinctions globally."
Yet Fish and Wildlife officials — who have spent much of the last half-century helping to repair the damage humans have caused to the Farallon Islands in the past — remain cautious. They worry that poisons used to kill mice could be gobbled up by gulls, or passed along the food chain to predators like owls and falcons.
The service is preparing an environmental impact statement on its eradication plans. That statement will be ready by the spring of 2012; the agency will accept public comments on the statement until next fall. Should the agency choose to act, it will use $972,000 available from the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
While the plan has already received the endorsement of PRBO Conservation Science and Audubon California, acting manager McChesney expects to hear questions — and concerns — about the proposal once discussion of the eradication effort begins. The measure has been actively opposed by San Rafael-based WildCare, an animal rescue and advocacy group.
McChesney says he's happy to hear those criticisms, if discussion of the issue helps people to understand how remarkable, and fragile, the islands under his care really are.
"A lot of the general public doesn't even know the Farallon Islands exist," McChesney said. "We want people to know how special these islands are."
The fluttering bird in Pitkin's hand is an ashy storm-petrel — one of the 13 species of birds that nest on the wave-battered shores of the Farallon Islands, and one of only 10,000 to 15,000 ashy storm-petrels worldwide. About half of those birds live in the Farallones, a remote and desolate series of islands 27 miles outside the Golden Gate that supports the largest breeding colony of seabirds south of Alaska.
Most of those birds — gulls, oystercatchers and auklets — departed at the end of the summer. But the ashy storm-petrel is something special: one of the smallest and shyest birds in the islands, active mainly at night and spending most of its time at sea.
"I've never seen one before, much less been able to hold one," said Pitkin, a member of the Marin-based PRBO Conservation Science, who has worked and lived on the Farallones for weeks at a time since the late 1990s. "Most people will never get to see one."
Ashy storm-petrels can live a long time — an average of 20 years, with at least one bird living to the ripe old age of 36. But they're in trouble. The petrels of the Farallones are falling victim to a most unlikely enemy. And efforts by members of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to save them has plunged the Farallon Islands into controversy.
Advertisement
class="subhead">Far and away
While they're technically within the city limits of San Francisco, for most residents of the Bay Area the jagged teeth of the Farallon Islands might as well be on Mars. It's a two-and-a-half-hour journey by boat from Sausalito to reach the nearest island — Southeast Farallon — and there are no docks or landing zones on shore. Visitors are hoisted out of the water in a small boat and deposited on the cliffs 50 feet above them.
Almost all of those visitors are Fish and Wildlife personnel or PRBO scientists, who live in a pair of hundred-year-old lighthouse keepers' homes, powered by a solar generator, and keep tallies of the birds, seals, sharks, whales and anything else that visits the islands. Until a scheduled media tour last week, the last reporter set foot on Southeast Farallon more than three years ago.
Yet neither the islands' remote location, their rocky shoals or the fact that they are a popular feeding ground for great white sharks has kept humans away in the past. Fur traders from Boston and Russia nearly wiped out the islands' population of northern fur and elephant seals in the 1880s. The demand by Gold Rush miners for eggs almost did the same for the common murre, a black-and-white seabird.
In fact, competition between rival San Francisco egg-gathering companies led to the "Egg War" of 1866, a series of skirmishes on the islands that left two people dead. The violence led the federal government to ban egg collecting on Southeast Farallon in 1881 and President Theodore Roosevelt to name the Farallon Islands as one of the nation's first national wildlife refuges in 1909.
These days, the murres are one of the Farallones' success stories: though they suffered from gillnetters and an oil spill in the 1980s, the murres now number about 250,000, about a quarter of their original population. Fur and elephant seals are also making a comeback, as are other species of birds: the first breeding pair of peregrine falcons in decades now swoops and dives among the cliffs near the Southeast Farallon lighthouse.
Of mice and men — and owls
But at least one unpleasant legacy of the islands' past remains: the common house mouse, which arrived with fur traders sometime in the 19th century. The sands and cliff walls of Southeast Farallon are honeycombed with mouse holes, and in the fall — when the mice are most numerous — tiny brown heads pop up constantly from the sand, as though the entire island was a giant Whac-a-Mole game.
"About 20 to 100 mice per hectare is considered a lot of mice," said Dan Grout, who visited the Farallones on Thursday as a representative of Island Conservation, which specializes in the extermination of island-bound pests. "Last fall, our survey established that there are about 500 mice per acre here, or 1,200 mice per hectare. That is the largest density of mice we have on record."
The mice themselves don't seem to bother birds like the ashy storm-petrel. But their presence on the island has had an unusual effect on its annual gathering of migratory birds. About 160 different species of birds arrive in the islands each fall, some from the eastern United States, some from as far away as New Zealand.
One of those visiting birds is the burrowing owl. Under ordinary circumstances, the owls show up in the fall, stay for a month or so, and then continue on their migratory journey. But the presence of the mice — a scampering smorgasbord for owls — has changed things.
"The owls stay longer than they normally would because of the mice," Petkin said. "Then in the winter time, when the mouse population crashes, they start eating storm-petrels."
Only about 15 to 20 owls visit the islands each year. But they're responsible for a decline of about 40 percent in the ashy storm-petrel population, said Gerry McChesney, acting manager of the Farallones National Wildlife Refuge. And the situation isn't doing the owls any favors, either: the petrels aren't particularly nutritious food, and many of the owls — a species of special concern in California — are dying before they can leave the islands, McChesney said.
"We want to restore the native ecology and eradicate the mouse problem," said McChesney, holding up a pail filled with owl-ravaged petrel parts.
Other islands have taken a similar approach to their rodent problems. Island Conservation has claimed success in island groups within the Caribbean and Pacific, mostly by dropping rat-killing poison pellets from the sky. The company believes a similar approach could work in the Farallones.
"We've lost a lot of species over the last 300 to 400 years, and the epicenter of those extinctions has been islands," said Bradford Keitt of Island Conservation. "Rodents have been responsible for a host of extinctions globally."
Yet Fish and Wildlife officials — who have spent much of the last half-century helping to repair the damage humans have caused to the Farallon Islands in the past — remain cautious. They worry that poisons used to kill mice could be gobbled up by gulls, or passed along the food chain to predators like owls and falcons.
The service is preparing an environmental impact statement on its eradication plans. That statement will be ready by the spring of 2012; the agency will accept public comments on the statement until next fall. Should the agency choose to act, it will use $972,000 available from the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
While the plan has already received the endorsement of PRBO Conservation Science and Audubon California, acting manager McChesney expects to hear questions — and concerns — about the proposal once discussion of the eradication effort begins. The measure has been actively opposed by San Rafael-based WildCare, an animal rescue and advocacy group.
McChesney says he's happy to hear those criticisms, if discussion of the issue helps people to understand how remarkable, and fragile, the islands under his care really are.
"A lot of the general public doesn't even know the Farallon Islands exist," McChesney said. "We want people to know how special these islands are."
Love, etc.: Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth separate
Separated: Alt-rock pioneers Kim Gordon, 58, and Thurston Moore, 53, after 27 years of marriage. Unclear what happened to the Paul Newman/Joanne Woodward of post-punk — or what this means for Sonic Youth, the band they co-founded in 1981. A rep for their record label told Spin late Friday that both will participate in concert dates scheduled in South America next month; nothing decided beyond that. They have a 17-year-old daughter.
Tips, Links for Weekend Oyster Festival
This weekend's gathering on Oyster Bay's waterfront is expected to draw 200,000 people. Here are some last-minute tips for attending.
By Joe Dowd
Email the author
October 15, 2011
&nbps;1 Comment
Photos (6)
Oyster Festival will draw tall ships.
The large flag ripples from the stern of the Harvey.
Explore all the rides in the amusement park area.
Crew members prepare the Harvey for this weekend's Oyster Festival.
Oysters and a variety of seafood delights will be a culinary focal point at the festival this weekend.
Take a camel ride, in the petting zoo, for a small fee.
Add your photos & videos
The Oyster Festival takes over historic Oyster Bay Harbor Saturday and Sunday, where 200,000 people are expected to flock for food, games, entertainment and maritime exhibits.
The festival is the largest waterfront spectacle in the Northeast.
If you plan to attend, here's a few things to expect:
Saturday's weather is expected to be cloudy with a chance of rain or thunderstorms, particularly toward evening and windy. Mid-day temperatures in the 60s. A jacket is recommended. Sunday's forecast looks better.
Northbound traffic into Oyster Bay via Route 106 is notoriously arduous, particularly at mid-day. Local residents use words like "nightmare" and "Armageddon" to describe the congestion in the hamlet of Oyster Bay on festival weekends.
There is extremely limited parking anywhere in the immediate vicinity of the festival site.
Parking fields are set up at various locations leading into Oyster Bay. They include the Equestrian Center off Route 106 in Muttontown, the Vernon School lot in East Norwich and the Mill Max Mfg. parking garage and lot on Route 106 (Pine Hollow Road at that point) just past the CVS and McDonald's restaurant.
From each satellite lot, free shuttle buses take visitors to and from the harbor. These lots are clearly marked.
By Joe Dowd
Email the author
October 15, 2011
&nbps;1 Comment
Photos (6)
Oyster Festival will draw tall ships.
The large flag ripples from the stern of the Harvey.
Explore all the rides in the amusement park area.
Crew members prepare the Harvey for this weekend's Oyster Festival.
Oysters and a variety of seafood delights will be a culinary focal point at the festival this weekend.
Take a camel ride, in the petting zoo, for a small fee.
Add your photos & videos
The Oyster Festival takes over historic Oyster Bay Harbor Saturday and Sunday, where 200,000 people are expected to flock for food, games, entertainment and maritime exhibits.
The festival is the largest waterfront spectacle in the Northeast.
If you plan to attend, here's a few things to expect:
Saturday's weather is expected to be cloudy with a chance of rain or thunderstorms, particularly toward evening and windy. Mid-day temperatures in the 60s. A jacket is recommended. Sunday's forecast looks better.
Northbound traffic into Oyster Bay via Route 106 is notoriously arduous, particularly at mid-day. Local residents use words like "nightmare" and "Armageddon" to describe the congestion in the hamlet of Oyster Bay on festival weekends.
There is extremely limited parking anywhere in the immediate vicinity of the festival site.
Parking fields are set up at various locations leading into Oyster Bay. They include the Equestrian Center off Route 106 in Muttontown, the Vernon School lot in East Norwich and the Mill Max Mfg. parking garage and lot on Route 106 (Pine Hollow Road at that point) just past the CVS and McDonald's restaurant.
From each satellite lot, free shuttle buses take visitors to and from the harbor. These lots are clearly marked.
Tri-County area Haunted House
People are fascinated with the unknown, the supernatural. In October, hundreds of thrill-seekers of all ages flock to the manmade haunted houses and castles and take haunted hayrides through spooky woods.
Are there actual haunted houses? Do they really exist or are they the figments of vivid imaginations?
Residents who occupy tri-county area haunted structures are adamant that spirits or ghosts exist.
The historic Fenton Hotel has long been said to be haunted. Are the spirits there more than liquid? Stories of strange noises, doors slamming shut by themselves, water turning on by itself and eerie voices are among the hauntings.
There are tales about Emery, the former hotel bartender, whose favorite drink was Jack Daniels (whiskey). This drink just happens to show up on a certain table in the bar area. But, when it is served, no one at the table has ordered it.
A cleaning woman, early one morning after the hotel had closed, was scared out of her wits when someone (no one was there) tapped her on the shoulder while she was vacuuming. Other staff members have been frightened when entering a storage area.
An artist from Pontiac once came to the hotel, sat in the dining room and sketched the ghosts he believed were trapped in the building.
The historic Holly Hotel also has strange happenings, including the sound of a child crying, eerie noises and lights going on mysteriously.
The Old Fenton Grain Elevator is another building besieged with eerie occupants. When it was being renovated, doors slammed and strange sounds echoed through the structure.
A family lived in an old 1880s Fenton home on South Holly Road for many years without ghostly occurrences. However, when they moved to Grand Blanc to a home built in the ‘30s, it was a different story. Pictures on the walls began to tilt and keys disappeared, only to return a day or two later. One time, the missing keys were found outside in the mailbox. The television and stereo would sometimes go on "full blast" at about 3 a.m., awakening the household.
One day, birdseed was found on the floor in a perfect symmetrical cone shape. While the woman of the house was sorting clothing one day, wild birdseed fell from the clean laundry. The family didn't have a bird.
The piano in the music room would occasionally play unrecognizable tunes for about five minutes and stop. One day the china cabinet opened suddenly and a delicate crystal goblet fell to the floor undamaged. Family members decided to always say "good morning" to the spirit.
"It doesn't hurt to be friendly," they said.
Both apparitions and strange happenings have occurred at another Shiawassee Avenue home. The heavy front door has flown open; things have mysteriously fallen off walls and a rocking chair in a bedroom rocked by itself.
The feeling of force pushing the owner down the staircase was experienced and drapes and sheers in the living room would whip out and strike those walking by, when there was no breeze or no window open.
A Baptist minister who lived there more than a century ago was seen in apparition form on the front steps one evening when a teenage neighbor boy was walking his dog across the street. The dog stopped dead in his tracks until the apparition disappeared.
Are there actual haunted houses? Do they really exist or are they the figments of vivid imaginations?
Residents who occupy tri-county area haunted structures are adamant that spirits or ghosts exist.
The historic Fenton Hotel has long been said to be haunted. Are the spirits there more than liquid? Stories of strange noises, doors slamming shut by themselves, water turning on by itself and eerie voices are among the hauntings.
There are tales about Emery, the former hotel bartender, whose favorite drink was Jack Daniels (whiskey). This drink just happens to show up on a certain table in the bar area. But, when it is served, no one at the table has ordered it.
A cleaning woman, early one morning after the hotel had closed, was scared out of her wits when someone (no one was there) tapped her on the shoulder while she was vacuuming. Other staff members have been frightened when entering a storage area.
An artist from Pontiac once came to the hotel, sat in the dining room and sketched the ghosts he believed were trapped in the building.
The historic Holly Hotel also has strange happenings, including the sound of a child crying, eerie noises and lights going on mysteriously.
The Old Fenton Grain Elevator is another building besieged with eerie occupants. When it was being renovated, doors slammed and strange sounds echoed through the structure.
A family lived in an old 1880s Fenton home on South Holly Road for many years without ghostly occurrences. However, when they moved to Grand Blanc to a home built in the ‘30s, it was a different story. Pictures on the walls began to tilt and keys disappeared, only to return a day or two later. One time, the missing keys were found outside in the mailbox. The television and stereo would sometimes go on "full blast" at about 3 a.m., awakening the household.
One day, birdseed was found on the floor in a perfect symmetrical cone shape. While the woman of the house was sorting clothing one day, wild birdseed fell from the clean laundry. The family didn't have a bird.
The piano in the music room would occasionally play unrecognizable tunes for about five minutes and stop. One day the china cabinet opened suddenly and a delicate crystal goblet fell to the floor undamaged. Family members decided to always say "good morning" to the spirit.
"It doesn't hurt to be friendly," they said.
Both apparitions and strange happenings have occurred at another Shiawassee Avenue home. The heavy front door has flown open; things have mysteriously fallen off walls and a rocking chair in a bedroom rocked by itself.
The feeling of force pushing the owner down the staircase was experienced and drapes and sheers in the living room would whip out and strike those walking by, when there was no breeze or no window open.
A Baptist minister who lived there more than a century ago was seen in apparition form on the front steps one evening when a teenage neighbor boy was walking his dog across the street. The dog stopped dead in his tracks until the apparition disappeared.
Cassidy: Archaeologist Christine Finn digs up Silicon Valley's recent past
Christine Finn is an Oxford-trained archaeologist digging in Silicon Valley.
And no, I didn't get it at first, either.
Archaeology in Silicon Valley? What is that? Throwing on a pith helmet, brushing off a Palm Pilot Pro and holding it up to the light? Not exactly
"It's looking at the archaeology of now," says Finn. As in examining digital devices that seem to go from hot to obsolete in the course of a day or mining miles of computer code before it evaporates into the ether.
It turns out that Finn, who has been studying the valley for more than a decade, is among the scholars looking at "contemporary archaeology," a field fascinated by the artifacts of our everyday lives and what they mean to us today.
And it turns out Silicon Valley is an incredible place for those who want to analyze the here and now while it's still here now. Think of it this way, Finn says: It is one thing to unearth (even from a drawer) a microprocessor and note the intricate packaging involved in its design. It's another to be able to talk to the man who designed the packaging, as Finn did in the case of retired Intel (INTC) designer George Chiu. It's like finding a Ming potter to tell you how he made the vase you dug up.
"You can handle a stone tool and you can almost feel the mark of the maker,"
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Finn says of more traditional archaeology. "But, of course, you can't talk to the person. Whereas, with a person like George, I was able to ask, 'What's the packaging about?' I needed him to make it beautiful, make it interesting."
Archaeology has always been about how humans relate to their stuff, says Michael Shanks, a Stanford University archaeologist and director of the Stanford Archaeology Center's Metamedia Lab. What better place to study that than Silicon Valley, where we seem to constantly crave and accumulate more and more stuff? Understanding our relationship with our digital gizmos can help us understand why we value what we value -- which in turn can guide those working to develop even more things for us to crave.
Think of the dominance of iPods and iPhones. Do we love them because of their functionality, Shanks asks as we talk by phone. "Actually, the iPhone I'm talking on right now is damn crap as a phone," he says. "Does that mean I've given it up? No. Why? Because it's lovely, and I like stroking its back, and it looks gorgeous."
Finn, who is based in England and also works as a journalist, has been studying the valley for more than a decade. In 2001, as the dot-com boom was bursting, she published "Artifacts: An Archaeologist's Year in Silicon Valley," which looked at the valley as it was then. She's been making regular visits since. Now she's writing a chapter on the valley for the "The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Contemporary World," a comprehensive volume planned for publication in 2013 by Oxford University Press.
Finn's challenge is writing about a place that is changing so quickly. Finn's advantage is her 10 years of archaeological observations, which give her a perspective on just how the place has changed. One of her early conclusions resonates with me. The dot-com bust, she says, gave valley residents a chance to slow down and reflect. The reflection has led to a certain nostalgia. Finn cites the rise of vintage computer collecting and the evolution of the Computer History Museum in Mountain View as evidence.
And the new nostalgia, she says, has led to a new anxiety. The wave of worry comes from "the acknowledgement that much of Silicon Valley's elan comes from the strong and household-name characters who forged it," she wrote in an early draft of her Oxford work. "The area is going through a time of change at the top."
Though she wrote the line before Apple (AAPL) co-founder Steve Jobs died, she says his death and the outpouring of spontaneous tributes illustrate the point. "Once you've got a pioneer like that dying, it marks the end of an era," she says. "He was quite a defining person, rather like a Roman emperor."
A Roman emperor, she says. And suddenly the whole notion of digging for archaeological truths in Silicon Valley makes much more sense.
And no, I didn't get it at first, either.
Archaeology in Silicon Valley? What is that? Throwing on a pith helmet, brushing off a Palm Pilot Pro and holding it up to the light? Not exactly
"It's looking at the archaeology of now," says Finn. As in examining digital devices that seem to go from hot to obsolete in the course of a day or mining miles of computer code before it evaporates into the ether.
It turns out that Finn, who has been studying the valley for more than a decade, is among the scholars looking at "contemporary archaeology," a field fascinated by the artifacts of our everyday lives and what they mean to us today.
And it turns out Silicon Valley is an incredible place for those who want to analyze the here and now while it's still here now. Think of it this way, Finn says: It is one thing to unearth (even from a drawer) a microprocessor and note the intricate packaging involved in its design. It's another to be able to talk to the man who designed the packaging, as Finn did in the case of retired Intel (INTC) designer George Chiu. It's like finding a Ming potter to tell you how he made the vase you dug up.
"You can handle a stone tool and you can almost feel the mark of the maker,"
Advertisement
Finn says of more traditional archaeology. "But, of course, you can't talk to the person. Whereas, with a person like George, I was able to ask, 'What's the packaging about?' I needed him to make it beautiful, make it interesting."
Archaeology has always been about how humans relate to their stuff, says Michael Shanks, a Stanford University archaeologist and director of the Stanford Archaeology Center's Metamedia Lab. What better place to study that than Silicon Valley, where we seem to constantly crave and accumulate more and more stuff? Understanding our relationship with our digital gizmos can help us understand why we value what we value -- which in turn can guide those working to develop even more things for us to crave.
Think of the dominance of iPods and iPhones. Do we love them because of their functionality, Shanks asks as we talk by phone. "Actually, the iPhone I'm talking on right now is damn crap as a phone," he says. "Does that mean I've given it up? No. Why? Because it's lovely, and I like stroking its back, and it looks gorgeous."
Finn, who is based in England and also works as a journalist, has been studying the valley for more than a decade. In 2001, as the dot-com boom was bursting, she published "Artifacts: An Archaeologist's Year in Silicon Valley," which looked at the valley as it was then. She's been making regular visits since. Now she's writing a chapter on the valley for the "The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Contemporary World," a comprehensive volume planned for publication in 2013 by Oxford University Press.
Finn's challenge is writing about a place that is changing so quickly. Finn's advantage is her 10 years of archaeological observations, which give her a perspective on just how the place has changed. One of her early conclusions resonates with me. The dot-com bust, she says, gave valley residents a chance to slow down and reflect. The reflection has led to a certain nostalgia. Finn cites the rise of vintage computer collecting and the evolution of the Computer History Museum in Mountain View as evidence.
And the new nostalgia, she says, has led to a new anxiety. The wave of worry comes from "the acknowledgement that much of Silicon Valley's elan comes from the strong and household-name characters who forged it," she wrote in an early draft of her Oxford work. "The area is going through a time of change at the top."
Though she wrote the line before Apple (AAPL) co-founder Steve Jobs died, she says his death and the outpouring of spontaneous tributes illustrate the point. "Once you've got a pioneer like that dying, it marks the end of an era," she says. "He was quite a defining person, rather like a Roman emperor."
A Roman emperor, she says. And suddenly the whole notion of digging for archaeological truths in Silicon Valley makes much more sense.
Sonic Youth co-founders Moore, Gordon split up
(Reuters) - Sonic Youth co-founders Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon have separated after 27 years of marriage and the future of the noise-rock band is uncertain, its label's parent company said on Saturday.
Sonic Youth, including indie-rock pioneers Moore and Gordon, will go ahead with its South American tour in November as planned, Catherine Herrick, a spokeswoman for Beggars Group, the owner of the band's Matador label, said in a statement.
The couple, "married in 1984, are announcing they have separated," the statement said.
"Plans beyond that (November) tour are uncertain. The couple has requested respect for their personal privacy and does not wish to issue further comment."
Sonic Youth's tour has five dates, starting with a November 5 show in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and concluding on November 14 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Gordon, 58, and Moore, 53, co-founded the quartet in 1980 in New York amid the so-called "no wave" movement.
Moore and Lee Ranaldo were on guitars and Gordon played bass. Drummer Steve Shelley joined later.
The pair first met when Gordon played in a band named CKM. "I guess it was love at first sight," she said in the 2001 book "Our Band Could Be Your Life."
Moore and Gordon live in Northampton, Mass., with their daughter, Coco, 17, who is a singer with the local band Big Nils.
Sonic Youth's 16th record was "The Eternal" in 2009. (Reporting by Zach Howard; Editing by Ian Simpson)
Sonic Youth, including indie-rock pioneers Moore and Gordon, will go ahead with its South American tour in November as planned, Catherine Herrick, a spokeswoman for Beggars Group, the owner of the band's Matador label, said in a statement.
The couple, "married in 1984, are announcing they have separated," the statement said.
"Plans beyond that (November) tour are uncertain. The couple has requested respect for their personal privacy and does not wish to issue further comment."
Sonic Youth's tour has five dates, starting with a November 5 show in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and concluding on November 14 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Gordon, 58, and Moore, 53, co-founded the quartet in 1980 in New York amid the so-called "no wave" movement.
Moore and Lee Ranaldo were on guitars and Gordon played bass. Drummer Steve Shelley joined later.
The pair first met when Gordon played in a band named CKM. "I guess it was love at first sight," she said in the 2001 book "Our Band Could Be Your Life."
Moore and Gordon live in Northampton, Mass., with their daughter, Coco, 17, who is a singer with the local band Big Nils.
Sonic Youth's 16th record was "The Eternal" in 2009. (Reporting by Zach Howard; Editing by Ian Simpson)
Michigan State states its case, loudly and with force From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20111015/OPINION03/110150407/Michigan-State-states-its-case--loudly-and-with-force#ixzz1avKVk8I1
East Lansing— This wasn't about a fashion statement.
It was about a mission statement.
And in the end Saturday, as Michigan State's players charged onto the field celebrating and, yes, taunting after another victory over their bitter in-state rivals — it was 28-14 over 11th-ranked Michigan before a crowd of 77,515 at Spartan Stadium on this day — the mission was as clear as the message that was delivered.
Loudly, and with no apologies for the way it was packaged.
"That Michigan State is here to stay," MSU defensive tackle Jerel Worthy said, when asked what kind of statement the Spartans made, delivering the hardest hits and then piling on the punishment Saturday afternoon. "We're trying to show our dominance in the state. Coach (Mark) Dantonio has instilled in our minds that we won't lose to Michigan."
And since they haven't in quite some time now — winning four in a row in this rivalry for the first time since 1962 — they're more than happy to let everyone know what's on their minds.
As MSU safety Isaiah Lewis raced toward the end zone with a 39-yard interception return late in the fourth quarter, effectively icing the game, he made sure to show Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson the football before pulling it back. Later, he joked he thought twice about that celebration, but couldn't help himself.
After all, this was Michigan, wasn't it?
"You saw how they didn't shake our hands after the game?" Lewis said. "It's a lack of respect."
A matter of respect
Indeed, the Spartans are still talking about Mike Hart's infamous "Little Brother" comments that lit a fuse back in 2007. Their fans were chanting it derisively as the Wolverines left the field Saturday, while many of the MSU players were giving their defeated opponents a four-finger salute before hustling over to pick up the Paul Bunyan Trophy.
And really, can you blame them? They're still following the lead Dantonio set back in '07, too, when he fired back and said the Wolverines "need to check themselves" while noting "pride comes before the fall." Dantonio made this rivalry personal then, just as he does today.
"You've got to take it to heart a little bit, because of the fact you're constantly being disrespected," insisted Worthy, who wears his emotions on his sleeve almost literally, with a tattoo of a Spartan warrior stomping a wolverine wearing a block 'M' helmet. "The 'Little Brother' comments and things like that kind of get to you. So you've gotta go out there and make a statement."
And now that it's made — again — the question was posed to Dantonio. Does he finally feel as if his team has earned Michigan's respect?
"I don't have to answer that," replied Dantonio, who is now one of only two MSU coaches to win four of his first five games against Michigan. "That's for other people to answer. But our (motto) this week was, 'Right here, right now.' We got it done."
They got it done because they're the better team, unquestionably. They're more physical, with more playmakers, particularly on defense.
And on this windswept Saturday afternoon in East Lansing, it was plain to see as the Spartans blitzed and badgered Robinson into his worst game statistically as a starter at Michigan.
Robinson, the nation's ninth-ranked rusher averaging 120 yards per game, was held to just 42 on the ground in this one, finding very little daylight after his 15-yard touchdown scamper capped the game's opening drive.
He also finished the day 9-of-24 passing for 123 yards and two touchdowns — one for the Wolverines to pull within a touchdown with 9:49 left, and other for the Spartans' Lewis with 4:31 left. Robinson watched the end of the game on the sideline after absorbing one final indignity, as MSU defensive end Marcus Rush tossed him to the ground and drew the last of the Spartans' handful of personal-foul penalties Saturday.
Asked later if Michigan State played dirty, Robinson said, "No. We were playing football. It's a dirty game."
Dressed to thrill
Much was made about the Spartans' snazzy new, green-and-gold Nike Pro Combat uniforms, unveiled a month before Saturday's game. But when the Wolverines got back to the visitors' locker room after warm-ups, longtime equipment manager Jon Falk had a surprise waiting for them, too. Instead of its traditional road uniforms, Michigan came out in new "legacy" outfits with striped sleeves, white pants and two-tone socks.
"They tried to match ours," Worthy said, smiling. "But I still think ours were better. You know, maize and blue really doesn't go together, in my book."
Hey, when you look good, you feel good, right? But it's in the football — not the fabric — that teams show their true colors in a rivalry game like this.
And no matter how many times MSU players crossed the line Saturday — defensive end William Gholston deserved an ejection for punching Michigan tackle Taylor Lewan, and he might yet face some supplementary discipline — there's no arguing the bottom line.
Michigan State dominated at the line of scrimmage, rushing for 213 yards on 39 carries — that's 39 of the last 42 years the team with the rushing edge won this game — and sacking Michigan's suddenly two-headed quarterback rotation seven times. (Cue the debate again about Robinson's ability — or durability, at least — to be a successful Big Ten quarterback.)
The Spartans pounced on obvious snap counts and curious play-calling, most notably a fourth-and-1 play-action pass from Michigan State's 9-yard line that ended with Robinson buried by a cornerback blitz with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter.
"They were definitely more physical," Michigan safety Jordan Kovacs said. "They pounded us, and ate us up."
And their fans understandably will eat this up, reveling in the recent rivalry domination, not to mention a 2-0 start in the Big Ten, good for sole possession of first place in the Legends Division. The last time the Spartans beat both Michigan and Ohio State in the same season was 1999, by the way.
"We've been doing things since Coach Dantonio got here that've been first, things that haven't been done in a long time," said Kirk Cousins, the first MSU quarterback ever to beat Michigan three straight years.
And here's the thing about that, in case you hadn't figured it out by now. These Spartans aren't going to give back what they've taken, not without a serious fight. Maybe even a seriously dirty fight.
"You've got to understand," Worthy said. "Anytime we beat a school like Michigan, the arrogance in 'em — they never want to come shake our hands, they never want to come and just say, 'Good game.' But they were all up in our face in previous wins they had. So it feels good to get even a little bit.
"We didn't want to boast and brag. But just understand that, 'You're Michigan, yeah. That's great.' But it's all about, 'What have you done for me lately?' And they've got to go out there and prove that they can beat us."
And until they do, they can expect to hear about it.
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20111015/OPINION03/110150407/Michigan-State-states-its-case--loudly-and-with-force#ixzz1avKbW7bw
It was about a mission statement.
And in the end Saturday, as Michigan State's players charged onto the field celebrating and, yes, taunting after another victory over their bitter in-state rivals — it was 28-14 over 11th-ranked Michigan before a crowd of 77,515 at Spartan Stadium on this day — the mission was as clear as the message that was delivered.
Loudly, and with no apologies for the way it was packaged.
"That Michigan State is here to stay," MSU defensive tackle Jerel Worthy said, when asked what kind of statement the Spartans made, delivering the hardest hits and then piling on the punishment Saturday afternoon. "We're trying to show our dominance in the state. Coach (Mark) Dantonio has instilled in our minds that we won't lose to Michigan."
And since they haven't in quite some time now — winning four in a row in this rivalry for the first time since 1962 — they're more than happy to let everyone know what's on their minds.
As MSU safety Isaiah Lewis raced toward the end zone with a 39-yard interception return late in the fourth quarter, effectively icing the game, he made sure to show Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson the football before pulling it back. Later, he joked he thought twice about that celebration, but couldn't help himself.
After all, this was Michigan, wasn't it?
"You saw how they didn't shake our hands after the game?" Lewis said. "It's a lack of respect."
A matter of respect
Indeed, the Spartans are still talking about Mike Hart's infamous "Little Brother" comments that lit a fuse back in 2007. Their fans were chanting it derisively as the Wolverines left the field Saturday, while many of the MSU players were giving their defeated opponents a four-finger salute before hustling over to pick up the Paul Bunyan Trophy.
And really, can you blame them? They're still following the lead Dantonio set back in '07, too, when he fired back and said the Wolverines "need to check themselves" while noting "pride comes before the fall." Dantonio made this rivalry personal then, just as he does today.
"You've got to take it to heart a little bit, because of the fact you're constantly being disrespected," insisted Worthy, who wears his emotions on his sleeve almost literally, with a tattoo of a Spartan warrior stomping a wolverine wearing a block 'M' helmet. "The 'Little Brother' comments and things like that kind of get to you. So you've gotta go out there and make a statement."
And now that it's made — again — the question was posed to Dantonio. Does he finally feel as if his team has earned Michigan's respect?
"I don't have to answer that," replied Dantonio, who is now one of only two MSU coaches to win four of his first five games against Michigan. "That's for other people to answer. But our (motto) this week was, 'Right here, right now.' We got it done."
They got it done because they're the better team, unquestionably. They're more physical, with more playmakers, particularly on defense.
And on this windswept Saturday afternoon in East Lansing, it was plain to see as the Spartans blitzed and badgered Robinson into his worst game statistically as a starter at Michigan.
Robinson, the nation's ninth-ranked rusher averaging 120 yards per game, was held to just 42 on the ground in this one, finding very little daylight after his 15-yard touchdown scamper capped the game's opening drive.
He also finished the day 9-of-24 passing for 123 yards and two touchdowns — one for the Wolverines to pull within a touchdown with 9:49 left, and other for the Spartans' Lewis with 4:31 left. Robinson watched the end of the game on the sideline after absorbing one final indignity, as MSU defensive end Marcus Rush tossed him to the ground and drew the last of the Spartans' handful of personal-foul penalties Saturday.
Asked later if Michigan State played dirty, Robinson said, "No. We were playing football. It's a dirty game."
Dressed to thrill
Much was made about the Spartans' snazzy new, green-and-gold Nike Pro Combat uniforms, unveiled a month before Saturday's game. But when the Wolverines got back to the visitors' locker room after warm-ups, longtime equipment manager Jon Falk had a surprise waiting for them, too. Instead of its traditional road uniforms, Michigan came out in new "legacy" outfits with striped sleeves, white pants and two-tone socks.
"They tried to match ours," Worthy said, smiling. "But I still think ours were better. You know, maize and blue really doesn't go together, in my book."
Hey, when you look good, you feel good, right? But it's in the football — not the fabric — that teams show their true colors in a rivalry game like this.
And no matter how many times MSU players crossed the line Saturday — defensive end William Gholston deserved an ejection for punching Michigan tackle Taylor Lewan, and he might yet face some supplementary discipline — there's no arguing the bottom line.
Michigan State dominated at the line of scrimmage, rushing for 213 yards on 39 carries — that's 39 of the last 42 years the team with the rushing edge won this game — and sacking Michigan's suddenly two-headed quarterback rotation seven times. (Cue the debate again about Robinson's ability — or durability, at least — to be a successful Big Ten quarterback.)
The Spartans pounced on obvious snap counts and curious play-calling, most notably a fourth-and-1 play-action pass from Michigan State's 9-yard line that ended with Robinson buried by a cornerback blitz with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter.
"They were definitely more physical," Michigan safety Jordan Kovacs said. "They pounded us, and ate us up."
And their fans understandably will eat this up, reveling in the recent rivalry domination, not to mention a 2-0 start in the Big Ten, good for sole possession of first place in the Legends Division. The last time the Spartans beat both Michigan and Ohio State in the same season was 1999, by the way.
"We've been doing things since Coach Dantonio got here that've been first, things that haven't been done in a long time," said Kirk Cousins, the first MSU quarterback ever to beat Michigan three straight years.
And here's the thing about that, in case you hadn't figured it out by now. These Spartans aren't going to give back what they've taken, not without a serious fight. Maybe even a seriously dirty fight.
"You've got to understand," Worthy said. "Anytime we beat a school like Michigan, the arrogance in 'em — they never want to come shake our hands, they never want to come and just say, 'Good game.' But they were all up in our face in previous wins they had. So it feels good to get even a little bit.
"We didn't want to boast and brag. But just understand that, 'You're Michigan, yeah. That's great.' But it's all about, 'What have you done for me lately?' And they've got to go out there and prove that they can beat us."
And until they do, they can expect to hear about it.
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20111015/OPINION03/110150407/Michigan-State-states-its-case--loudly-and-with-force#ixzz1avKbW7bw
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