Media Convergence Initiative

Ancient Wine Cellar Discovered in Northern Israel

Posted on November 25, 2013 by evannebersberger

In northern Israel, a team of archeologists discovered 40 jars of wine in an ancient cellar that dates back to 1700 BCE. The wine cellar is thought to be oldest- and largest- in the world. The team found the cellar in Tel Kabri, a site within the ruins of a northern city called Canaanite. According to the Discovery Channel, its age predates both the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls by hundreds of years.

Towards the beginning of the excavation, the researchers found a three-foot-long jar that they decided to name “Bessie” Eric Cline, chair of the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at George Washington University, said “We dug and dug, and all of a sudden, Bessie’s friends started appearing — five, 10, 15, ultimately 40 jars packed in a 15-by-25-foot storage room.”

The jars had a capacity of about 8453.5 cups (about 2,000 liters), which would add up to the equivalent of almost 3,000 bottles of wine today. However, the jars were broken and contained no wine. Researchers believe that the cellar was destroyed in about 1600 BCE in a “violent event” such as an earthquake.

Without any liquid, how did the scientists know that the jugs had contained wine? Andrew Koh, an assistant professor of classical studies and Brandeis University, analyzed the jar fragments and found traces of tartaric and syringic acids, which are both key ingredients in wine. USA Today reports that he also found other compounds such as honey, mint, cinnamon bark, juniper berries, and resins which are all common ingredients used in wines. Koh said that ““We knew when we hit the first jar — we were hoping beyond hope this was something big for us.”

“The wine cellar was located near a hall where banquets took place, a place where the Kabri elite and possibly foreign guests consumed goat meat and wine,” said co-director of the Yasur-Landau, chair of the Department of Maritime Civilizations at the University of Haifa. These “recipes” are similar to medicinal wines that were used in ancient Egypt. Koh asserts that ““This wasn’t moonshine that someone was brewing in their basement…This wine’s recipe was strictly followed in each and every jar.

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Retailers getting heat for opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day

Posted on November 25, 2013 by bsnider92

Leave it to corporate America to commercialize yet another special holiday. “Black Friday” is becoming a thing of the past—“Grey Thursday” is very quickly taking its place. It has become an oddity for a major retailer to not be open on Thanksgiving.

The newest store to announce its Thanksgiving opening, Target, will swing wide their doors at 8pm on the holiday, meaning most opening employees will have to be there as early as 5:30 or 6pm. K-Mart, on the other hand, will open at 6am on Thanksgiving and remain open until 11pm the next day, giving them forty-one consecutive hours of operation.

I worked at Target for six years, so I am quite familiar with the retail holiday scheduling. Although this hurts me to hear, I am not at all surprised. For the last few years I worked there, my store never hit their projected intake for Black Friday and thought to make up for it by opening earlier and earlier each year. I quit a few years ago, but on my last Black Friday working there, I had to be in at 11pm on Thanksgiving to open at Midnight. I thought that was bad.

Honestly though, part of this problem of nearly erasing Thanksgiving for many of those who work in the retail industry is due to those who actually show up at 8pm when the doors open. As long as there is a line outside the doors on Thanksgiving, dollar signs will remain in corporate’s eyes and people will always be missing out on precious time with their families.

Posted in Economy, General | Comments Off

The World Cup Field is Set for the Draw, and the US look to Avoid a Tough Group

Posted on November 25, 2013 by taylorkoziol

The 32 team field for the 2014 World Cup is finally set. It has been a long road for some of the qualified teams like France, Mexico, and Portugal, but that doesn’t matter anymore because everything is wiped clean. The United States breezed through their qualifying in CONCACAF, but they look to be placed in a tough group no matter what. Since the US didn’t qualify for pot one, they will be placed in a pot with Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Iran, Australia, Japan. and South Korea. This will be the weakest pot and it makes it difficult for the US to draw a weaker team because most of them are in this group.

The US will face one of the top teams in the world from pot one no matter what, but they hope it is Switzerland. Switzerland is obviously the weakest team from the top pot. Don’t get me wrong, Switzerland is a solid team, but compared to the likes of Spain and the other top teams, Switzerland looks like the best case scenario. The pot filled with the African nations, Ecuador, Chile, and most likely France looks to be filled with tricky teams. The US do not want to see Ghana again. They have ended the Americans hopes and dreams for two straight World Cups. Cameroon or Algeria are the best possible draws from this group. Neither has too much of an attack, and the US could play their style versus either of these teams.

The European pot has some dangerous scenarios for the United States. Netherlands, Italy, and England are usually pot one teams that have slipped down to this pot. The US want to avoid all three of these teams especially the Netherlands. The US have already beaten Bosnia-Herzegovina and Russia, but both of those teams are sneaky good. Croatia or Greece are defiantly the United States preferred teams to face. Greece plays a defensive game, and Croatia will be missing star striker Mario Mandzukic for at least one game, possibly more.

These were all best case scenarios for the US, but the threat of a group of death is very possible. It will be tough for the US to avoid a great team from pot one since there is really only one out. I think the worst case scenario for the US would be getting paired with Argentina, France, and Netherlands. If this group were to happen, the US would be scrapping for points. No matter what group the US is put into it is going to be a tough road to make the knockout stage.

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Holidays Shopping or Tortured Employees?

Posted on November 25, 2013 by natalie.izquierdo

Over the years, black friday has become known as the day after Thanksgiving where everything under the sun is on sale. During the past few years though stores have been opening earlier and earlier to the point where they were opening Thanksgiving night. This year however stores are opening Thanksgiving morning at 8 am. It seems absurd to many of us that people would skip the holiday spent with friends and family for shopping instead. However to me, the worst part is that all of these employees are being forced to work and deal with crazy crowds on what should be a day off for everyone.

When did the country become so obsessed with money that we no longer care about celebrating holidays and spending time with family and friends? We are taking away holidays from people who make minimum wage or barely anything more so that other people can run around and spend there money earlier instead of allowing everyone a day off. Employees are being forced to work and even with extra holiday pay it’s still not enough to justify what they have to go through being up all night and the rude people involved with these sales.

What is causing this ridiculous reason to take away someones day off? If people weren’t so concerned about these sales, we could boycott the fact that people are being forced to work these unnecessary days. Teens and adults are being taken away from there families on these days we consider special out of the year and now its not only Thanksgiving but also being forced to work these retail jobs on Christmas eve until the last possible minute causing them to be away from their families.

Posted in Economy, General | Comments Off

Sunday Night American Music Awards Run Without a Hiccup

Posted on November 25, 2013 by gabriellemotto

Last night, the American Music Awards played on the ABC network. The show was truly amazing. Most of the performances were outstanding and a lot of the top songs of the year were played. There were some big winners who took home over two awards. Most of the fashion was fantastic as well, although there were a few that weren’t so great.

There were a few performances that stood out to me. Jennifer Lopez was probably the best performance at the AMA’s it was full of costume changes, good vocals, and impressive dance numbers. The opening act, Katy Perry, I thought had a great performance but the vocals could have been a little better. Christina Aguilera looked great and sounded amazing. Justin Timberlake’s performance was full of soul and fantastic vocals. One Direction also had a successful performance, although I could have done with a little less of Harry Styles belting. I really enjoyed Ariana Grande’s performance. Her voice is awesome and she sang one of her top hits. What I loved most about hers and Christina’s performances is that they weren’t dependent on an elaborate set and lights and acrobatics. They literally just stood on stage and sang, which shows that they don’t need everything else to have a successful performance. I also enjoyed Rihanna’s performance of “Diamonds.” The only thing I found weird was her hair. Her hair was up and wrapped around her head and held in place by very obvious bobby pins. I thought it was very tacky. One of the last performances was by Miley Cyrus. It was a very strange performance. She did her song “Wrecking Ball” with a giant cat in the background and she wore a bikini that also had cats on it. At least this time she didn’t involve any foam fingers.

Posted in Entertainment | Comments Off

Pope Francis Displays St. Peter’s Relics and Stirs Scientific Debate

Posted on November 25, 2013 by brookeadams91

Pope Francis put the relics of St. Peter, the first pope, on display on Sunday. This was the first-ever display for public veneration in Vatican City. The display took place at St. Peter’s Square (in Vatican City). This display revived the debate among scientists and historians who wonder whether the contents found in the case really do belong to St. Peter.

St. Peter’s relics are kept in a bronze display case. The relics consist of nine pieces of bone. The bone pieces are nestled comfortably in the box. Pope Francis prayed before the pieces of bone at the beginning of Sunday’s Mass service. The case was then set on the side of the altar and Mass proceeded as the end of the Vatican’s yearlong celebration of the Christian faith was commemorated.

Archaeologists are having a hard time believing the bones are the remains of St. Peter. According to NBC, no pope has ever definitely declared that the bones belong to St. Peter, but in 1968, Pope Paul VI said fragments found in the necropolis under St. Peter’s Basilica were “identified in a way that we consider convincing.”

The bones were found during an excavation in 1939. While excavating, archaeologists found a funerary monument. In the monument was a casket that was built in Peter’s memory. The engraving on the casket read “Petros eni,” which translates to “Peter is here.” The remains led to a dispute between Vatican Jesuits and archaeologists, the latter wanting to conduct research on the remains, while popes never permit an extensive research study due in part to a 1,000-year-old curse that threatens anyone who disturbs the peace of St. Peter’s tomb.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, a top Vatican official, said it “almost doesn’t matter if archaeologists one day definitely determine that the bones are not those of Peter’s, saying Christians have prayed at Peter’s tomb for two millennia and will continue to, regardless.”

Posted in Education, General, World News | Tagged Pope, Vatican | Comments Off

Carolina Panthers vs. Miami Dolphins Recap and Analysis

Posted on November 24, 2013 by jmoore524

Another day, another devastating Dolphins loss.

The Panthers came into Sun Life stadium on the heels of a 6 game winning streak, while the Dolphins had just defeated the San Diego Chargers in a game that held major playoff implications for the AFC’s second wild card spot.

Miami started the week tied with the Jets for that spot, and if the playoffs started after last week, The Dolphins would have narrowly missed the postseason because of their poor division record.

The Dolphins started the game with a typical misstep as Tannehill threw an interception that was tipped around at least five times before being pulled in by a Panthers defensive back. However they would recover from their miscue by holding strong on defense and blocking the Panthers’ field goal attempt.

Miami would go on to dominate the first half and actually managed to capitalize on a 56 yard deep ball from Tannehill to Wallace for a touchdown (the first of its kind all season), and led the game 16-3 at halftime.

But, and stop me if you’ve heard this story before, the Dolphins went on to completely fall asleep in the second half as the Panthers went on an 8 minute touchdown drive to start the 3rd quarter. 16-10, and it was all downhill from there.

As has been the case most of the season the Dolphins run game was completely inept and without it the Panthers began to key in on Tannehill and the passing game. Also, the Panthers established a run game of their own, taking advantage of what has been one of the NFL’s worst rushing defenses, despite boasting a defensive line which features three pro bowlers.

Unable to run the clock out, the Panthers were given plenty of time to field goal the ‘phins to death and put the final nail in the coffin on a last minute drive and a defensive implosion by the Dolphins complete with a 15 yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Cam Newton as the elusive QB scrambled out of bounds.

However the Dolphins weren’t done ripping their fans’ collective heart out as they threw a would-be hail mary touchdown with under 30 seconds left, only to be dropped by $60 million dollar free agent acquisition Mike Wallace which would have essentially placed the team firmly in the last AFC wild card spot.

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Constroversial Float in the Upcoming Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Causes Uproar Among Animal Rights Activists.

Posted on November 24, 2013 by jsjones

There has been much controversy surrounding SeaWorld in the wake of the premiere of the documentary entitled Blackfish. Blackfish, which aired nationally on CNN, closely followed the negative effects of orcas being held in captivity by the theme park. The documentary detailed the cramped enclosures the orcas must live in as well as the fact that so many SeaWorld trainers have been killed due to the frusterations of the confined orcas that so badly desire the freedoms of the ocean.

Such oppossing viewpoints apparent between animal-rights groups and SeaWorld’s desired monetary gains has led to quite a controversial upset regarding the upcoming Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Many animal-rights activists have begun to protest the annual parade in response to the announcement that they are planning on featuring a SeaWorld inspired float. The legendary animal-rights group, PETA, has released a statement which basically described Macy’s act of including such an insensitive display in their parade as an utter endorsement of animal suffering. The fact that more than thirty orcas have died while under the control of SeaWorld has led to the immense uproar against the float and has also resulted in many celebrities voicing their disdain for the parade.

So far, over 50,000 supporters have joined PETA by emailing the department store and requesting the cancellation of the SeaWorld float. Macy’s has countered the petitions by stating that their floats are merely for entertainment and that they have no plans to cancel the controversial float. In any case, the correspondence between the two groups has brought even more attention to the plight of such wondrous creatures and the negative effects that holding them in captivity has.

Posted in Environment, General | Comments Off

4 delicious vegetarian recipes for Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 24, 2013 by alexalima

The first thing everyone thinks about when they hear “Thanksgiving” is turkey! Where does that leave vegans and vegetarians? I’ve found 4 delicious vegetarian twists to Thanksgiving favorites that will leave your guests asking for more.

Stuffing:

Who doesn’t love stuffing? This hearty and healthy alternative will wow the crowd. Quinoa with vegetables replaces the bread in conventional stuffing. You can buy quinoa and your favorite vegetables and cook them separately, or you can buy frozen bags of quinoa already mixed with vegetables at Whole foods. The latter will certainly save you time and I assure you it’s just as tasty. You can add celery, apples, kale, fresh cranberries, walnuts, and chestnuts. Nuts are a fantastic alternative to meat because they add heartiness to any recipe.

Sweet potatoes:

Sweet potatoes are another Thanksgiving staple. They are a great source of protein and vitamins for vegetarians. Personally, I can roast sweet potatoes in the oven, add a little brown sugar and devour them! However, if you’re doing a casserole, they usually call for marshmallows. Luckily, you can find vegan marshmallows at Whole foods. I ran across these fluffy wonders 2 weeks ago when I was grocery shopping. At first, I wasn’t too sure about vegan marshmallows but I was brave enough to buy them and give them a try. They are fantastic! Try this: make a sweet potato casserole, add vegan marshmallows and don’t tell your guests they are vegan. I bet no one will notice.

(Side note): According to the chefs on the Food Network special “Thanksgiving Live,” you should always roast your sweet potatoes to preserve their sweetness.

8-10 large sweet potatoes (depends on how many people you’re cooking for)

Baking sheet

Walnuts or pecans (optional topping)

Vegan marshmallows (optional topping)

Brown sugar (optional topping)

Thoroughly wash the sweet potatoes. Poke holes in them with a fork. Roast them in the oven, until they are soft, for about 1-2 hours at 375 degrees. If you serve them as they are, you can have an interactive topping bar for your guests to choose what they want.

Thanksgiving Sangria (this is huge in my house):

You don’t need to wait for the holidays to make this cocktail but you can definitely add certain ingredients that will scream, “the holidays are here!” Traditional, Spanish sangria (vino tinto) is made with a white or red wine of your choice, liquor, a sweetener, and chopped fruit. In this case, you’ll need to buy a vegan wine. To make it perfect for Thanksgiving dinner, you can add fresh cranberries, pears, oranges, and apples. If you want to add a sparkly surprise, club soda is the way to go.

1 thinly sliced pear, apple, and orange or blood orange

1 container of fresh cranberries

½ cup of brandy or rum

Coconut Nectar (optional, to sweeten. It will not taste like coconut.)

Club soda (optional)

Mix all the ingredients in a pitcher, and drink up.

Pumpkin Pie:

Pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving staple. If you prefer to buy something already made, Whole foods sells vegan pies that are just as delicious as the original.

Pies are not complete without a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream. You can buy rice-based whipped cream at whole foods, and although this is a great alternative, there’s an even better one. Buy a can of coconut milk (make sure its full fat instead of low fat) and refrigerate the can for a few hours to a day. When you open the can, you will have the tastiest, vegan whipped cream. If you prefer ice cream on your pie, there are coconut, cashew, and rice-based ice creams that are even better than the milk based ones. The different ice creams are sold in Publix, Target, and Whole foods.

The great thing about these 4 recipes is you can make them your own. Feel free to replace any one of the ingredients I recommended. As I’ve shown here, a vegetarian Thanksgiving is just as special and delicious as a traditional one.

Posted in General, Health | Comments Off

UnBEARable Circumstances In Central Florida

Posted on November 24, 2013 by stephaniemmuniz

As if raccoons and stray cat noises didn’t alarm you in the night, a new grizzly family has been spotted in Central Florida. Lake, Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties have reported Florida Black bears sitting within their neighborhoods getting into trash cans, pools areas and even laying out on driveways. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have seen an increase of bear siting reports since early 2008. Tripling in number, there have been over six thousand bear siting’s this year alone varying from county to county. This is barely nothing new for Central Florida home owners; where reporting’s stagger over a thousand calls in Orange county alone.

These grizzly beast are known for going on a left over frenzy before they prepare for winter. They have been known to come out before their hibernation period between late December to early March. These giants are not so gentle in some neighborhoods around the county. Calls have reported bears destroying sheds, breaking into cars, and killing local farmers animals and house pets. There have been over two thousand property damages reported statewide and about two hundred cases of bears attacking animals. Although numerous amount of calls have been made to wildlife officers, only about a dozen bears get relocated to the Ocala National Forest. The problem with relocation is that some bears eventually find their way out and often find their way back as well.

Florida home owners show concern for these large terrorizers fearing for their pets, property, or even themselves. Although Florida Black bears are not violent in nature, one shouldn’t go by that with every bear encountering. Home owners can prevent trouble with these bears by locking away garbage cans, leave grills cleaned, and removing all pets foods from around the home.

Posted in Entertainment, Environment, General | Comments Off