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Unmarried and buying a home together? 3 must-dos
Many couples don’t realize how risky buying a home with an unmarried partner can be. Here’s how to deal with these risks.
Unmarried and buying a home together? 3 must-dos Many couples don’t realize how risky buying a home with an unmarried partner can be. Here’s how to deal with these risks. Check out this story on yorkdispatch.com: https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/money/business/2018/01/25/unmarried-buying-home-together-must-dos/109806402/
Nerdwallet Published 2:11 p.m. ET Jan. 25, 2018
FILE - This June 4, 2015, file photo, shows a sign indicating a site has been sold in a new home development in Nashville, Tenn. If youâre in a committed relationship but nuptials are on the back burner, just know your dream of buying a home doesnât have to be. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)(Photo: Mark Humphrey / AP)
Love and marriage don’t always go together, no matter what Sinatra says. If you’re in a committed relationship but nuptials are on the back burner, just know your dream of buying a home doesn’t have to be.
Sixteen percent of first-time homebuyers in 2017 were unmarried couples, an annual National Association of Realtors report found, the highest share the organization has recorded since 1981, says Jessica Lautz, managing director of survey research and communication for NAR.
But many couples don’t realize how risky buying a home with an unmarried partner can be. Here’s how to deal with these risks using some planning, a good lawyer and a slightly awkward conversation or two.
1. SIGN A PRENUP FOR THE HOUSE
No couple wants to talk about breaking up, but if you’re going to be co-homeowners, it’s a must, says Renee Bergmann, a real estate attorney and owner of Bergmann Law LLC in Westmont, New Jersey. She recommends unmarried couples create a co-ownership contract with the help of a legal professional before closing day.
The agreement should answer basic questions such as: What happens to the property if you split? What if one of you becomes disabled or dies? Who pays utility bills or for major repairs?
Don’t just “wait and see what happens,” Bergmann says, because without a written agreement “things could get messy very quickly.”
2. CHOOSE THE RIGHT TYPE OF TITLE
Turns out there’s more than one way to own a house, and taking title the right way is especially important for unmarried couples. Options vary from state to state but generally include:
– Sole ownership: Only one name is recorded on the deed and that person has all the rights and responsibilities of ownership.
Pros: Sole ownership might yield tax savings if your incomes are drastically different. And, if your partner has bad credit, applying for a home loan in your name only may help with approval. However, remember ownership rights are determined by names on the deed, not the mortgage, Anna Fabian, vice president of product at lender SoFi, said via email.
Con: If the relationship ends and you’re not on the title, you’ll risk walking away with nothing even if you contributed money to the purchase or mortgage payments.
– Joint tenancy: Each person owns 50 percent of the property. If a tenant dies, that person’s share automatically transfers to the other joint tenant.
Pro: Joint tenants enjoy right of survivorship, so you won’t have to worry about fighting the estate or relatives for the house in the event of your partner’s death.
Con: An unfriendly breakup could spell trouble, especially if one partner can’t or won’t buy the other out.
– Tenants in common: Allows unequal ownership, so you could own a 75 percent stake while your partner owns 25 percent, for instance.
Pro: Ownership shares can be tailored to match financial contributions; if you paid more toward the down payment, for example, you can own a larger percentage.
Con: If one tenant dies, the other has no automatic right to that person’s share of the property unless named in a will or living trust.
No matter which approach you choose, if you tie the knot after buying, consider revising the deed to reflect your new legal status with something called a “quitclaim deed,” Bergmann says.
3. LEAVE YOUR PARENTS AT HOME
Buying a home is a stressful decision, so younger unmarried couples often involve their parents, but sometimes this only makes things more confusing, says Danielle Moy, an agent with Coldwell Banker residential brokerage in Orland Park, Illinois.
“I can tell the parents are unsure of the situation, and it causes a bit of an emotional roller coaster when they’re looking at homes,” Moy says.
Ultimately it’s your house and your decision, Moy says, so make sure you and your partner agree about what you want – no matter what Mom and Dad think.
This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Beth Buczynski is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: bbuczynski@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @bethbuczynski.
NerdWallet: Homebuying checklist
https://nerd.me/homebuying-checklist
Read or Share this story: https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/money/business/2018/01/25/unmarried-buying-home-together-must-dos/109806402/
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What is the best Houdini biography?
With the Houdini miniseries having aired this week in the U.S. (and in the UK this weekend), my blog has seen a massive increase in traffic. Many have discovered WILD ABOUT HARRY for the first time, and I welcome you! Most have come searching for more information on Houdini, and several have asked me via email what I consider the best Houdini biography.
I consider the best Houdini biography to be Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss by Kenneth Silverman. For me it's the book that best succeeds in separating fact from fiction. Published in 1996, it is now out of print, but you can still find copies on Amazon at reasonable prices. So if you want to go beyond the movie get into the real life of Houdini, start your journey right here.
CLICK TO PURCHASE ON AMAZON
Below are links to posts I've made discussing the contents and merits of the other major biographies of Houdini:
"This book is full of lies" (Houdini His Life Story)
The gateway biography (Harry Houdini Magician Extraordinary)
The first great Houdini biography (Houdini The Man Who Walked Through Walls)
An alternative gateway (Houdini Master of Escape)
The textbook (Houdini The Untold Story)
The Brandon book (The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini)
Unmasking The Secret Life of Houdini (The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero)
If there's another Houdini book that you feel is even better than Silverman, please share your candidate for Best Houdini Bio in the Comments below.
Written by John Cox at 7:30 PM
Tags: 1990s, Books, Books: Biography, Kenneth Silverman
Carnegie September 4, 2014 at 7:45 PM
I think Silverman's book is the best. I also like The Untold Story and Houdini His Life and Art. I'm rereading Escapes and Magic right now and am having some kind of reawakening, lol. That book is amazing.
John Cox September 4, 2014 at 7:50 PM
I really need to re-read some of those older books from the '30s. I really only reference them, I've never really read them cover to cover.
You want to have a reawakening, re-read Kellock. That book my be "full of lies", but it's a great read! It's still the book that gives the best sense of Bess. It really is the closest we may ever get to book about Bess.
I really enjoyed Kellock's book, too, even with Houdini's embellishments. No recent biographies have even tried to reproduce most of the anecdotes in there. The Untold Story is my favorite as I like reading the first-hand account of things rather than how they were interpreted later on.
-Meredith
There was someone on Amazon who read my review of the miniseries and wanted to know more about Houdini. I gave him some book suggestions and also mentioned your site as a great source for Houdini history.
John Cox September 4, 2014 at 10:08 PM
Cool. Thanks for that Meredith.
Leo Hevia September 4, 2014 at 11:18 PM
It looks like this movie is making John really famous. Well deserved....
John Cox September 5, 2014 at 12:35 AM
Not sure about famous, but it has certainly drawn traffic to the blog. Had close to 100,000 hits yesterday. An all time record. And my Fact Check of Night One is my all-time most viewed post.
The Amazing Gordo September 4, 2014 at 11:38 PM
I liked The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero: William Kalush & Larry Sloman, Houdini The Man Who Walked Through Walls by William Lindsay Gresham, The Secrets Of Houdini by J.C. Cannell, and the classic Houdini The Untold Story by Milbourne Christopher.
Houdini The Untold Story is still a rock solid bio. "The textbook" is what I called it.
Mantoo September 5, 2014 at 12:20 AM
I just watched the documentary, "Houdini: Unlocking the Mystery". Wow! It was more captivating and informative in two hours than the mini-series was in two-nights. IMO.
That's a great documentary. Probably the best one. (Although my favorite will aways be The Truth About Houdini.)
Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz September 5, 2014 at 3:15 AM
John, great list. Nice that you have it pretty much in order.
We feel you should add some where on the list the Kalush and Sloman book, "The Secret Life of Houdini", and the two book set, with the proviso that it includes most every Houdini story both fact and fiction. We find it great for research.
The Houdini Museum
The Only Building in the World Dedicated to Houdini!
John Cox September 5, 2014 at 7:16 AM
That's not really meant to be a list of recommended reading. It's just a list of posts I did. That's why several good books, like Secret Life and Pat's book, aren't there, because I didn't do "overview" posts on them yet.
David Byron September 5, 2014 at 6:13 AM
There are a couple of things to dislike and many, many things to like about Silverman's biography. Its most important feature is that it's scholarly (in the sense that it follows academic conventions, including the provision of copious footnotes-- especially for those who acquired the companion volume, Notes to Houdini.)
Second in importance (and I agree with John here) is Christopher's bio. It's quite well researched and organized, and Christopher shows good judgment at many key points. However, it lacks the scholarly apparatus. As with his Illustrated History of Magic, Christopher's footnotes are few and nearly useless to the serious researcher.
Kellock's tome gives a good sense of the officially sanctioned spin ca. 1928. I'd have to reread Graham's book; the first time, it didn't impress me as important (except as a bridge between Kellock and Christopher), but maybe reviewing it with fresh eyes would change that.
The Kalush/Sloman tomes (book, notes) share Silverman's generosity in documentation and footnoting but lack Christopher's judicious approach. Not every item of evidence, or proposed evidence, should be given the same weight as every other; historical judgments about plausibility and probability are important among the historian's tools, and here again, Silverman trumps.
My first Houdini biography was Williams/Epstein. In effect , it's fiction aimed at children. My second, however, was Christopher's. The contrast between them sparked my interest in historiography. What happened happened, as the Losties would say, and yet the recounting is a hydra!
Very nice rundown, David. Thanks.
William September 5, 2014 at 5:54 PM
I've only got one Houdini book, Houdini His Life Story, and it was in bad shape when I got it. I'd certainly like to replace it, but you've given here several alternate titles I know I'll enjoy -
Leo Hevia September 5, 2014 at 6:25 PM
I love the way Silverman wrote his book. It is in a no nonsense prose with just the nuts and bolts facts he was able to uncover in his 5 years of research. There are parts where Silverman speculates about Houdini's methods that are still largely a mystery like Houdini's jail escapes. We still know so very little about this one aspect of Houdini's life. Silverman keeps his thoughts about these things tightly reigned and doesn't go overboard with wild theories.
After publication of his book, Silverman was interviewed by Stan Allen's Magic Magazine. He mentioned that there was still much more about Houdini that was waiting to be discovered by future researchers. I found that hard to believe until John started Wild About Houdini. Silverman was right...again.
Well put. You always know where you stand with Silverman. He's an excellent biographical writer (a Pulitzer Prize winner!) and you always know when he is presenting something as fact and when something is coming from a source that might not be 100% reliable (like Houdini himself). It's just superbly done and, yes, he certainly doesn't go overboard with any wild theories. Quality work.
Patrick Culliton September 5, 2014 at 10:18 PM
That's simply not true. I sent Ken three different sources to prove that Jacob Hyman suggested adding an "i" to Houdin. I gave him the October, 1942 Genii magazine in which Edward Saint, in his obituary of Jacob Hyman, said just that, but, in that academically arrogant way of his, he writes that whoever suggested adding an "i" to Houdin is unknown. I let him examine the original Metamorphosis trunk at great length. He got in it and I shut the lid. I showed him the gaff and the evidence I'd gathered that absolutely identified it for what it was. He completely mis-described the trunk in his book, giving the impression that the original trunk was not the trunk I owned. Years later, he told Kevin Connolly that the trunk that Culliton had was "a very important piece." There are rules for biographers: no editorials, but, Ken squeezes in quite a few (and I enjoyed them) and biographies end in the death of the subject. So, Ken ended his book with the burial at Macpelah, ignoring the fact that with his death, Houdini had just begun to live. No Arthur Ford stuff, no final seance, no biographies, no movie. Okay. Nothing anecdotal, no family stories without validation, Ken felt nothing in the Kellock book was accurate -- unless it fit his argument. He looked down on his subject because, in my opinion, he thought Houdini wasn't as smart as an English Professor. His Houdini biography doesn't come close to his biography of the Salem witch burner, Cotton Mather. That WAS quality work and it won him the Pulitzer.
It is curious that Silverman didn't accept the Hyman sources. But for me, that shows that he had some pretty rigorous standards of proof before he presented something as fact. I don't mind him pulling back and expressing doubt or caution, even about something this widely accepted. And knowing that he consulted with you on it tells me he did try.
Yes, I would have loved him to continue the Houdini story past his death. But the recollections of Bess and Hardeen by Marie and Sid in the appendix do a nice job of that.
Patrick Culliton September 6, 2014 at 6:16 PM
All the good will between Marie and the book came to an end when it was published. Guess why?
In the publisher's prospectus (Ken cannot be blamed for this) it says: "You'll read about Houdini's early adventures in the Welsh Bros. Circus." Know how much coverage of the circus is in the book? Two paragraphs (and Ken is answerable for that).
Silverman is certifiable? No. He makes as many mistakes as the rest of us. That having been said, The Kenneth Silverman biography of Houdini is the best so far.
Re Marie: I'll guess she didn't like the Charmian London revelation?
To say the least. She had no idea about the book establishing an "affair" if that's what it was until it was published.
The Epstein-Williams book was my first Houdini biography. I was twelve and I was reading through the biographies in the Bancroft Jr. High School library -- starting, of course, with Davy Crockett. The Wrights, Edison, George M. Cohan, and eventually Houdini. And that was that.
Now that book doesn't mention the biggest story in Kellock -- the under ice escape. And the writers spoke at length with a man who really knew Houdini that the other biographers seem to have ignored: Ralph W. Read, who is best known among magicians for editing the Tarbell Course. Read also ghosted the instructions for the Defiance Handcuff Act for Houdini. And when the Gresham book came out in 1959, my mother bought it for my birthday. She picked up the Epsein-Williams book at the same time. I asked her why? She said, "I just thought it might be interesting for you to compare them." As usual she was right.
Milbourne said to me: "The Kellock book was Bessie's story, you could say that my book was Hardeen's story, and Buddy Meyer's book is Leopold's story. Milbourne was very generous with Bernard Meyer. When Ken Silverman set out to write a biography -- he'd been a kid magician and his father looked like Houdini, and he was a University Professor and eventually a Pulitzer prize winning biographer (the Life and Times of Cotton Mather), but this was before that. He called Milbourne to ask for help. Milbourne told him he'd help any way he could. Then Milbourne died and Ken didn't get back to Houdini for about 15 years. The book has a flaw that is part and parcel of Ken's personality: a kind of academic arrogance. Sometimes his writing is soul-stirring particularly the parts about Houdini's flights in Australia. His final paragraph is absurd. No biographers added more personalities to Houdini's story than Kalush and Sloman. They found that Houdini's story about being apprenticed to a locksmith was true, that he had a relationship with Melville of Scotland Yard. I could go on and on. Did you know that both the Hardeen boys were in intelligence work when they were in the military during World War 2 and later. I don't find it shocking that Houdini had a relationship with the intelligence community. But being a passive observer and reporting what he'd seen does not rise to the level of espionage -- and that was their flaw, they were trying to find the unfindable and prove the unprovable, but, to the researcher, their books are more valuable than Ken's because, as I said, they vastly enlarged the cast of characters.
Of all of them, Gresham's and Kellock's are the most fun to read and Milbourne's first book was filled with spirit, in fact, the N Y Times compared a beautiful passage from Houdini--the Untold Story to a dull and passionless bit from Houdini--a Pictorial Life. I was visiting him in New York in 1967 and he told me, "I've just finished the hardest chapter to write, can I read it to you?" and he read me the chapter called "Ehrie." Magical experience.
I love that your mother bought you both books to compare. She knew her son. :)
Good point about Kalush and Sloman adding more personalities to Houdini's story.
I never liked the way "Ratso" and Kalush utilized interior monologue in their depiction of Houdini. At times, it felt like I was reading a novel starring Houdini instead of a biography:
"I... must...get out of these handcuffs! So...difficult...to...pick the locks...but I must keep trying!"
Oh brother. At least they did uncover some new information like the burglary at 278 and other interesting items. In order to find the wheat, I had to fight my way through the chaff of Houdini's inner monologue and run the gauntlet of that whole spy nonsense.
A biographer has the right to exclude anything from his or her book if he or she believes there is insufficient evidence to back up a story. In The Patriarch, his bio of Joseph Kennedy, David Nasaw refused to discuss the allegations of Kennedy's involvement in bootlegging during Prohibition. Nasaw pointed out that he could not locate any direct evidence linking Kennedy to this crime. He obviously did not give any credence to the stories told by the people who were there and claimed to have seen Kennedy involved.
I know. I dislike that style as well. It's something that a lot of biographies do nowadays. I think it's all about getting Hollywood to see the "cinematic" value of the story, because a movie sale is the only way to real money on a book these days. Or it's just trying to make the book read more like a novel for general readers. Hate it. Silverman might be the last Houdini biography that's actually written as a biography. Another reason to cherish it.
Thank you for the warning John. The next time I see a biography that I am interested in, I will close the book and re-shelve it if I see that stupid inner monologue by the subject.
Dan Bradbury currently has a first edition copy of the Silverman bio for $16.00 plus shipping. I'm not sure if it's a paper or hardback. Anybody interested should pick this up.
dan@bradburybooks.com
Watching Houdini: Unlocking the Mystery and just felt like reading a good Houdini biography, thanks for recommendation of Silverman's book.
Leo Hevia October 3, 2015 at 11:42 AM
I see the Silverman book come up from time to time on auction sites. Not difficult to locate and reasonably priced.
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The Three Best Holiday Villas in Sicily
17 Mar, 2015 | by Winerist. | 1 min read
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As the largest island in the Mediterranean, Sicily’s already got a lot to offer even the most jaded of travellers. There’s the city of Syracuse, dating back to antiquity where the streets and surrounding countryside are studded with priceless ancient monuments. Then there’s Mount Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes and Sicily’s fiery heart, where you can wander around fields of solidified lava and take in some magnificent views (make sure you get a guide though, as it’s prohibited to venture up unaccompanied!). See it all when you plan your wine holidays here with us, but first, have a look at the three best holiday villas in Sicily.
Sicily in a nutshell
If you think Sicily is just an extension of the Italian mainland, you couldn’t be more wrong – and it’s certainly not the kind of thing you should ever say in front of a genuine Sicilian. The island is fiercely proud of its culture and identity, from the aforementioned history and archaeological treasures to the fantastic rural countryside. Richly fertile thanks to its abundance of volcanic soil, the farms and fields of Sicily produce some fantastic ingredients for the unique Sicilian cuisine – a fusion of Italian, Arabic and Greek cookery that’s as representative of the island’s history as Etna’s towering presence in the East.
Then, of course, there’s the wine. Though the locals are renowned for moderate drinking, the island is still Italy’s third-largest wine producer, and consequently, you’ll find some superb bottles and winery tours available. And while the climate has that unmistakable Mediterranean feel, Sicily has an atmosphere and an aura all on its own, a distinct feel that visitors won’t find anywhere else.
So why mitigate that atmosphere by staying in a faceless hotel chain? The island offers a host of authentic and luxurious holiday homes that’ll add a whole new dimension to your stay, and are great value for money too, so choosing where to stay in Sicily is an important decision. We checked out Oliver’s Travels, who specialise in luxury holiday homes, and picked three of our absolute favourites.
Castello Cavica
Sleeping 16, Castello Cavica sits on the island’s south side and overlooks a natural canyon that provides a truly unforgettable view. Renovated to ensure total luxury both inside and out, the villa is surrounding by rural tranquillity (and is actually located in the UNESCO World Heritage site at Val di Noto) and some pretty unique wildlife – if you’re lucky, you might even bump into a porcupine or two! You’re also conveniently close to a number of great family-friendly beaches and the beautiful Baroque town of Modica, and seeing as the villa even offers guests complimentary bicycles you can pedal off to contemplate, appreciate and enjoy everything the Sicilian surroundings have to offer.
Casa Cipressi
If you’re looking for somewhere a little more contemporary, Casa Cipressi is the perfect blend of a relaxing rural location and a wholly modern look and feel. The building (which accommodates eight guests) has been designed to make full use of the views over Sicily’s spectacular northern coastline, with large windows that fill the interior with light and space. There’s a pool for chilling out and a terrace for BBQs and entertaining, and the historic town of Cefalu is only a short distance away.
Not only does Cefalu offer a beautiful beach there that makes a great escape from the hustle and bustle, you can spend hours wandering around and exploring the tightly-knit medieval alleyways of the old town - one of the many reasons it's one of our selected best holiday villas in Sicily. There’s also nothing better than sampling some of the local food and wine from one of the fantastic local restaurants, many of which look out across wide vistas of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Villa Visso
Don't fret about where to stay in Sicily on your wine holiday, because close to Mount Etna towards the Eastern side of Sicily, there's Villa Visso (which sleeps up to six people). Enjoy commanding views over the volcano itself and the Gulf of Catania and the truly sumptuous interiors in the Liberty style. It’s ideal for those who want to holiday in true opulence, and the 4,000sqm of manicured grounds only add to the dazzlingly luxurious effect. But it’s not all lounging around, as this villa offers the opportunity to enjoy a cookery class that’ll help you get to the heart of Sicilian cooking and the wine that goes with it! It’s doubly fitting property for wine aficionados too, as the ancient ‘Palmento’, which was formerly used to press grapes, now acts as a fitness and entertainment room.
There's plenty of great things to do in Sicily, so for more help on planning your trip browse our Sicilian Diaries - Part 1 and Part 2. Discover the taste of Sicily with a look of the top wineries to visit in Etna. Feeling thirsty for something a little more specific? Learn of the 6 Sicilian wineries to discover the true marsala wine.
Oliver’s Travels has a great selection of luxury holiday villas in Sicily (as well as throughout the rest of Italy), so if you’re planning a trip to take in the wine and wonders of the Mediterranean, head across to their site and take a look. But if hotels in Sicily is what you're really after, we've got you covered there, too.
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Intel Can't Win Mobile, But It Owns the Cloud—For Now
Author: Cade MetzCade Metz
Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg/Getty Images
When Intel announced that it would lay off 12,000 workers in an effort to restructure itself for the post-PC age, there was one notable word missing from its spin-heavy press release: mobile.
The press release said that the chipmaker was cutting 11 percent of its global workforce in order to "accelerate its evolution from a PC company to one that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices." But that doesn't mean smartphones—or, at least, it doesn't seem to. The bit about "smart, connected computing devices" is a reference to the Internet of Things. Okay, that gawd awful buzz-phrase doesn't really capture the full scope of what Intel is trying to do there (it's not just Internet-connected thermostats). Either way, Intel really isn't a PC company or a smartphone company. And since the Internet of Things doesn't really exist, that makes Intel a cloud company.
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And that's good for Intel—for now. Whatever you think of the cloud moniker, this market is real, and Intel dominates it. Cloud computing—a way for businesses to build and operate massive amounts of software without setting up their own servers—will be a $191 billion business by the year 2020, according to Forrester Research. And Intel supplies almost all the chips inside the hundreds of thousands of machines that underpin the world's cloud services, including those offered by Amazon and Google and Microsoft.
Considering that the PC market is dying and that Intel had never really been successful as a chipmaker for mobile phones, Intel is right to restructure (and remarket) itself as a cloud company—and, per the press release, as a data center company. Indeed, Intel dominates all the data centers, not just the ones that drive the more buzz-worthy cloud services. According to research firm IDC, Intel controls 99 percent of the market for chips that drive computer servers. So for now, that's Intel's future.
The Cloud's Chips of Choice
Intel sees where consumers are moving (away from PCs and towards other devices like phones and tablets). And it sees where businesses are moving (into data centers as they seek to deliver Internet services to all those phones and tablets). But at the same time, it seems to realize that its strength is not in mobile devices. Sure, the company is still trying to push mobile chips and cellular network modems, but at least it knows—especially as it lays off so many workers—not to paint itself as a mobile company. That's an opportunity it missed long ago.
Whatever you think of the cloud moniker, this market is real, and Intel dominates it.
As for the Internet of Things, Intel hasn't been left behind. But that's because the Internet of Things hasn't really gone anywhere, and it's hard to tell how far it will go—at least in the short term. "No one is strong in IoT yet," says Patrick Moorhead, the president and principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, a firm that closely follows the chip business in general and Intel in particular. In short, Intel is pretty much telling the truth when it says that "the data center and Internet of Things (IoT) businesses are Intel’s primary growth engines."
Ah, but even in the data center world, Intel faces a somewhat uncertain future. Nowadays, the giants of the Internet—including many of those big cloud computing companies—are moving rapidly towards a breed of artificial intelligence called deep learning. This is the AI technology that now helps drive everything from photo recognition to voice recognition to the Google search engine. And deep learning depends on chips known as graphics processing units, or GPUs—chips that Intel doesn't really sell.
Yes, Intel does offer an alternative, a chip known even more opaquely as an FPGA. But today, GPUs are the AI mainstay. As deep learning tech spread across the Internet—and across cloud computing services—the influence of GPUs makers like Intel-rival nVidia will only grow. For now, Intel's restructuring makes sense—but its place in the cloud is far from guaranteed.
#Artificial Intelligence
#Cloud Computing
#microchips
#PCs
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Jack Dorsey Says You Really Won't Get an Edit Tweet Button
John Brandon
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Updated M8 navigation app includes local gourmet guides & hotel booking
01/11/2013 (press release: DPRi) // Helen Reid
Location based navigation and community mobile application M8, your local mate in the UK (M8) – developed by Telmap, an Intel company – has received a recent major update designed to offer UK consumers a more compelling user experience and practical location-based service that is relevant to them.
The updated version sees the launch of an M8 community, and content from trusted travel sources Michelin and The Good Pub Guide joins its lineup of inbuilt local travel and culture information guides for those seeking top rated pubs, restaurants and other leisure facilities. Adding to the significant update, M8 offers users enhanced visuals, premium novelty voices and updated motoring functions for navigation, while integrating leading hotel portal HRS’s booking service into the app’s raft of existing features.
With a current blend of travel guides and peer review services that includes premium Michelin and The Good Pub Guide content together with Lonely Planet, Trip Advisor and Yelp information incorporated as standard, the M8 navigation app offers the most extensive range of aggregated local content available to the UK market all-in-one application. Set to help travellers, motorists, foodies and UK users in general better explore the areas they find themselves in, the mobile app is designed to offer users a rich, social experience and is pitched as the ultimate mobile companion for UK iPhone, Android and BlackBerry Touch device users.
Placing users in control of their experience, M8’s latest version provides a personalised experience, enabling app users to select and source the information and reviews they want from a host of trusted travel guides and review sites. Enhancing the personal and social nature of the user experience, the new M8 Community has been created to encourage users to share tips and hints when travelling or exploring within the UK, adding to M8’s existing social media integration.
Boosting the navigation function of the mobile app, users are now able to access speed limits and calculate journey times and ETAs, while those wishing to customise the turn-by-turn navigation can do so by purchasing one of the novelty voices on offer. Selecting from a range of voices, users can set their navigation to the real voices of actors Kim Cattrall and Verne Troyer or elect to be directed by Mission Patrol or the Voice of God.
Launched in October 2012, M8 has been recognised by industry and consumers alike for the app’s ability to support users as they discover, interact and connect with the communities and locations around them. Adding to the turn-by-turn navigation, real time traffic news and local information – including cash machine, petrol station and parking finder features – offered since its launch, and the update which saw the integration of active deals on MyVoucherCodes, this latest update amplifies M8’s offering by delivering 3D landmark visuals, premium novelty sat nav voices, enhanced functionality and additional sources of relevant and local information and recommendations wherever it is used.
“We believe this latest version of M8 really is top class for the people in the UK. All-in-one app, users are able to explore the UK more deeply by checking local content from multiple sources, are able to book hotel rooms and access advanced navigation delivered by the voice of their dreams, and can locate those facilities and places that make daily life that little easier.
“We hope the updates will make a huge difference to users whether they’re using M8 to make a long journey, to locate a cash machine, to find the best spot for lunch, or to get the inside track on a new area, and of course, we believe that the updated app – jam packed with a full library of useful information – most certainly retains that fun, easy-to-use experience,” said Tim Owen, UK Country Manager at Telmap, developer of the M8 app.
A sophisticated mobile application fusing aggregated content and multiple layers of dynamic location-based data with the latest satellite navigation technologies, M8 seamlessly integrates with social media channels, providing a next generation navigation app enabling UK users to access instant, hyper-relevant information and recommendations from sources they trust whenever they wish, wherever they are while being able to share their experiences with fellow users.
Currently available for download on both iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry Touch devices, M8, Your Local Mate in the UK has been designed and developed by Telmap, the world leading location- based services provider.
Social Media Tags:M8, mobile, mobile app, mobile technology, social media, Michelin, The Good Pub Guide, Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet, maps, Apple Maps, navigation app, sat nav, iTunes, Google Play, BlackBerry, Android, Apple, iPhone, mobile device
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Tags: Android, Apple, Apple Maps, blackberry, Google Play, iphone, itunes, Lonely Planet, M8, maps, Michelin, Mobile, Mobile App, mobile device, mobile technology, navigation app, sat nav, social media, The Good Pub Guide, Trip Advisor
January 13, 2013 vision
Press Releases, Technology Android, Apple, Apple Maps, blackberry, Google Play, iphone, itunes, Lonely Planet, M8, maps, Michelin, Mobile, Mobile App, mobile device, mobile technology, navigation app, sat nav, social media, The Good Pub Guide, Trip Advisor
123Print announces its new business card range with discounts of up to 50%
New York Microscope Company Adds Seiler Microscopes To Product Line
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Culture & History Science & Nature
Wisconsin’s Brewsters Share What They Love About Beer
By Kristian Knutsen | December 11, 2015
Among the dozens of craft breweries around Wisconsin, women run the show in only three of them.
Jamie Baertsch has been brewmaster at Wisconsin Dells Brewing since 2005. She discovered her passion while studying biology in college.
“I didn’t drink beer and didn’t know anything about it. But we had bioreactions class, and I don’t know how they wrote up the course syllabus, that the dean didn’t know what we were doing, but all we did was make beer in the class. And I was good at it. I was doing tricks with my yeast, so instead of getting a nut brown that would be like 6 percent, I was turning it into imperial porters with nine percent, and the teachers were like, ‘wow, and you could be a brewer!’ I was like,’that’s a job option?!'” says Baertsch.
Allyson Rolph has three years under her belt as head brewer at the Thirsty Pagan, a brewpub in Superior. She began as a homebrewer.
“I just kind of getting into fermentation in general, and then really got into making beer specifically. I love brewing, the whole process, [and] the whole social aspect of it, just being able to walk out into our pub and talk to the people that are drinking my beers is fantastic,” says Rolph.
Ashley Kinart started at Capital Brewery in 2012. She took over last year as brewmaster at the large Middleton-based operation.
“I really love that beer is both a science and an art,” says Kinart. “The industry itself has so many different areas that you can become a part of. Especially the craft industry right now. There’s just so many things everybody’s focusing on. There’s the quality. Using local ingredients. Using local vendors. Or just coming up with something fun and new.”
Brewing may be fun but it’s also a job, requiring a host of skills and a “can-do” approach. Baertsch describes herself as “a jack of all trades.”
“I get to know enough electrical to be dangerous. I do lab work, chemistry all day long. Math. You get to work with the TTB [the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau], and the state on regulatory issues,” explains Baertsch. “I’m not just stuck behind a desk. You physically get to touch things, move things, there’s engineering involved, you’re always tweaking things, building, creating, so you’re constantly creating, trouble-shooting, solving. Even though we do pretty much test, brew, filter, package, brew, filter, package, every day is different, every day is challenging. So it definitely does not get boring or stale.”
Kinart is currently involved more in the ordering and scheduling rather than making beer. But she began in the brewhouse, lifting grain sacks, hauling 40-to-50 pound boxes of hops, and shoveling grain. It was hard work but she loved it.
“It is a lot of hard work and it is pretty exhausting at certain times of the year when production is up at the highest [level],” says Kinart. “Sometimes we’re pretty close to brewing around the clock.”
But brewing is also very rewarding. Baertsch emphasizes how much one’s personality can affect the beer.
“Brewing is so creative. And it’s really like a great haiku,” explains Baertsch. “It doesn’t change much from recipe. Looking at a blank slate, looking from one recipe on paper to the next. They can look very similar. A bock recipe wrote down can look very much like an Oktoberfest recipe. But it’s the little things that the brewer, the inflections that the brewer puts into it. Maybe it’s the water temp in the mash. It obviously has to do with your water chemistry. It’s the timing of how long you might boil, or when you tend to add in the hops. It’s all these little personal inputs that you put into the beer that’ll make yours so much different from everyone else.”
For Rolph, the brew day itself is a simple pleasure.
“There’s nothing like mashing in super early with that, and sitting down on the brew deck while the mash is running in, and smelling all those flavors, and getting to drink my coffee, and breaking in your day with that, that’s definitely my favorite part is, just being able to sit back and smell those aromas, taste those flavors, and really enjoy what I do,” says Rolph. “I mean we clean a lot, we spray stuff with hoses, we scrub stuff, but really at the end of the day, we’re making beer, and I can’t think of a job that I would rather be doing.”
Kristian Knutsen
Kristian Knutsen is a writer, editor and Wisconsin Public Radio contributor who is based in Madison but gravitates towards its Great Lakes.
Related Links for this Article
Hear more from and about Jamie Baertsch, the state's first female brewmaster
CLEE252018-01-19T17:52:47+00:00Tags: beer, brewing, science, women|
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Analysis: Republicans forget Trump asked Ukrainian president to investigate Biden
President Donald Trump responds to the House Judiciary Committee vote to move forward with articles of impeachment.
Updated: Dec 14, 2019 2:15 PM
President Donald Trump's senior aides have further restricted the number of administration officials allowed to listen to the President's phone calls with foreign leaders since his July 25 call with Ukraine's President was revealed and became the centerpiece of the impeachment inquiry, according to multiple White House sources in a new CNN report.
'Nobody is allowed on the calls,' a White House official said, describing the new effort to limit those with access to the President's senior-most aides. 'The barn door officially closed after the horse escaped.'
On to the House -- The House Judiciary Committee voted on party lines Friday morning to refer two articles of impeachment to the full House of Representatives, which is expected to vote to impeach Trump next week. The House Rules Committee will consider them Tuesday and Trump could be impeached Wednesday. Read Maeve Reston's analysis.
Long time coming -- Trump said, during an appearance next to the President of Paraguay in the Oval Office, impeachment will give him a political boost. He said the impeachment effort might have been underway even before he announced his presidential campaign in 2015.
'Impeachment is a hoax. It's a sham,' he said.
'It started a long time ago, probably before I came down the escalator with the future first lady. Started a long time ago.'
Complete coordination -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was coordinating with White House attorneys on an impeachment strategy. It should not be surprising that the Republican-led Senate will work to preserve the Republican in the White House, but Democrats were arguing that McConnell should be keeping an open mind about the charges. That doesn't seem like a realistic position.
Trump's taxes at the Supreme Court -- The court said Friday that it would hear arguments this term about subpoenas demanding Trump's financial records. That means we'll have a decision by June.
Short trial or long trial?
Senate Republicans, during their coordination with the White House, have been pushing a speedy trial. Trump has been partial to the idea of a longer trial with witnesses, to make a spectacle of his impeachment.
He may be coming around to the wisdom of McConnell and other Republicans like Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
Trump told reporters on Friday that he was open to a short trial or a long trial and that he wouldn't mind a longer one if it meant more witnesses. Graham, who was very involved with the Bill Clinton impeachment, can remember the testimony of Monica Lewinsky, albeit on video, at that trial.
'I don't need any witnesses at all. I am ready to go,' Graham said this week on Fox News. 'I don't want to give it any legitimacy because it is a crock.'
Republicans been coming around to this idea for some time, as CNN's Capitol Hill team reported earlier this week.
A long trial could backfire on Trump because it would also give Democrats a chance to relitigate their case. There's evidence now that Republicans are circling to defend their party leader.
Republican forgets that Trump asked Ukrainian President to investigate Joe Biden
Manu Raju asked Rep. Debbie Lesko, an Arizona Republican, if it's ever OK for an American president to ask a foreign power to investigate a political rival.
Raju: 'Why do you think that's OK?'
Lesko: 'He didn't. He didn't do that.'
Raju: 'He did ask Zelensky.'
Lesko: 'He did not do that.'
You can argue that what Trump did is OK. You can argue that it's not an impeachable offense. You can even argue, contra the evidence, that he didn't pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. If you're going to do those things, you need to be able to explain why it's OK.
But you cannot factually say that Trump didn't ask Zelensky to investigate Biden. Here's the transcript.
Something similar happened Thursday, when Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, found it difficult to explain why references to Joe Biden should be removed from the articles of impeachment -- since, in the call, Trump mentions Biden by name.
These are symptoms of a collective case of viral amnesia that seems to be spreading around the GOP.
From Kiev to the White House, Rudy Giuliani is everywhere
The Wall Street Journal used a social media tracker to show where all Giuliani has traveled on his own behalf and Trump's since Trump became President. It's all over the place. Last week Giuliani was in Ukraine, still digging up dirt. He told the Journal that Trump had called him while his plane was still taxiing, asking what he'd gotten in Kiev.
Friday he was spotted at the White House.
Flashback: Clinton authorized military strikes in Iraq just before impeachment vote
Chris Cillizza published an interesting interview with Joe Lockhart about what it was like to live through the Clinton impeachment. It's a good reminder that Bill Clinton, like Trump, had a lot going on while he was being impeached. Five days after the House Judiciary Committee voted to send articles of impeachment to the House floor, Clinton authorized a bombing campaign against Iraq. It culminated on December 19, 1998, the day he was impeached.
Today in impeachment hypocrisy
I will never ever get tired of watching these videos of lawmakers from both parties saying completely opposite things in '98 and '99 vs. today.
The President has invited foreign powers to interfere in the US presidential election. Democrats want to impeach him for it. It is a crossroads for the American system of government as the President tries to change what's acceptable for US politicians. This newsletter will focus on this consequential moment in US history.
Keep track of congressional action with CNN's Impeachment Tracker. See a timeline of events. And get your full refresher on who's who in this drama.
UPDATED: Transcript shows Trump asking Ukrainian leader to 'look into' Biden, DOJ says no crime committed
Don't forget #GivingTuesday
Prepping for the Ukrainian Fall Festival
AP analysis: Unemployment, income affect life expectancy
Cuomo: Biden makes 'best case' for president among Democrats
Joe Biden announces he is running for president in 2020
Iran admits to shooting down Ukrainian passenger plane unintentionally
Utica College announces new 'Criminal Intelligence Analysis' program
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F. Michael Maloof
F. Michael Maloof, contributing writer for national security affairs for WND and G2Bulletin, is a former senior security policy analyst in the office of the secretary of defense, and is author of "A Nation Forsaken."
@ANationForsaken
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Wellness & Aesthetic Services
We offer non-surgical cosmetic procedures for patients who wish to maintain their looks (or turn back the clock) without the risks of traditional plastic surgery. Options for treatment include FDA approved fillers (all Juvederm products including Voluma and Volbella), neuromodulators including Botox, and Latisse.
WHAT IS BOTOX® COSMETIC?
BOTOX® Cosmetic is the first and only FDA-approved product to temporarily improve both moderate to severe frown lines between the brows and crow’s feet lines around the sides of the eyes in adults.
HOW DOES BOTOX® COSMETIC WORK?
BOTOX® Cosmetic targets one of the underlying causes of frown lines and crow’s feet—the repeated muscle contractions from frowning and squinting over the years. Your doctor will inject these muscles with BOTOX® Cosmetic to temporarily reduce muscle activity. You’ll begin to notice a visible smoothing of these lines.
HOW IS BOTOX® COSMETIC (onabotulinumtoxinA) ADMINISTERED?
To temporarily improve moderate to severe crow’s feet, your doctor will inject BOTOX® Cosmetic into the muscle surrounding the sides of your eyes—called the orbicularis oculi.
For temporary improvement of moderate to severe frown lines, BOTOX® Cosmetic is injected into 2 muscles—the corrugator and procerus muscles.
Treatment with BOTOX® Cosmetic takes approximately 10 minutes and requires minimal downtime or recovery—it’s often called a lunchtime procedure.
Think 2 treatments, 1 visit. Ask your doctor aboutreceiving BOTOX® Cosmetic for moderate to severe frown lines and crow’s feet at the same time.
WILL BOTOX® COSMETIC MAKE ME LOOK LIKE I'VE HAD WORK DONE?
When BOTOX® Cosmetic is administered by an experienced injector, you should not lose the ability to show expressions. BOTOX® Cosmetic is a techniquesensitive procedure that should only be performed by a licensed and trained aesthetic provider who has expertise in facial anatomy.
Talk to your doctor about your expectations and the results you want to achieve with treatment.
BOTOX® Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA) Important Information
BOTOX® Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA) is indicated in adult patients for the temporary improvement in the appearance of:
– moderate to severe glabellar lines associated with corrugator and/or procerus muscle activity
– moderate to severe lateral canthal lines associated with orbicularis oculi activity
– moderate to severe forehead lines associated with frontalis activity
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION, INCLUDING BOXED WARNING
Postmarketing reports indicate that the effects of BOTOX® Cosmetic and all botulinum toxin products may spread from the area of injection to produce symptoms consistent with botulinum toxin effects. These may include asthenia, generalized muscle weakness, diplopia, ptosis, dysphagia, dysphonia, dysarthria, urinary incontinence and breathing difficulties. These symptoms have been reported hours to weeks after injection. Swallowing and breathing difficulties can be life threatening and there have been reports of death. The risk of symptoms is probably greatest in children treated for spasticity but symptoms can also occur in adults treated for spasticity and other conditions, particularly in those patients who have an underlying condition that would predispose them to these symptoms. In unapproved uses, including spasticity in children, and in approved indications, cases of spread of effect have been reported at doses comparable to those used to treat cervical dystonia and spasticity and at lower doses.
BOTOX® Cosmetic is contraindicated in the presence of infection at the proposed injection site(s) and in individuals with known hypersensitivity to any botulinum toxin preparation or to any of the components in the formulation.
The potency Units of BOTOX® Cosmetic are specific to the preparation and assay method utilized. They are not interchangeable with other preparations of botulinum toxin products and, therefore, units of biological activity of BOTOX® Cosmetic cannot be compared to nor converted into units of any other botulinum toxin products assessed with any other specific assay method.
Spread of Toxin Effect
Please refer to Boxed Warning for Distant Spread of Toxin Effect.
No definitive serious adverse event reports of distant spread of toxin effect associated with dermatologic use of BOTOX® Cosmetic at the labeled dose of 20 Units (for glabellar lines), 24 Units (for lateral canthal lines), 40 Units (for forehead lines with glabellar lines), 44 Units (for simultaneous treatment of lateral canthal lines and glabellar lines), and 64 Units (for simultaneous treatment of lateral canthal lines, glabellar lines, and forehead lines) have been reported.
Serious Adverse Reactions With Unapproved Use
Serious adverse reactions, including excessive weakness, dysphagia, and aspiration pneumonia, with some adverse reactions associated with fatal outcomes, have been reported in patients who received BOTOX® injections for unapproved uses. In these cases, the adverse reactions were not necessarily related to distant spread of toxin, but may have resulted from the administration of BOTOX® to the site of injection and/or adjacent structures. In several of the cases, patients had pre-existing dysphagia or other significant disabilities. There is insufficient information to identify factors associated with an increased risk for adverse reactions associated with the unapproved uses of BOTOX®. The safety and effectiveness of BOTOX® for unapproved uses have not been established.
Hypersensitivity Reactions
Serious and/or immediate hypersensitivity reactions have been reported. These reactions include anaphylaxis, serum sickness, urticaria, soft-tissue edema, and dyspnea. If such reactions occur, further injection of BOTOX® Cosmetic should be discontinued and appropriate medical therapy immediately instituted. One fatal case of anaphylaxis has been reported in which lidocaine was used as the diluent and, consequently, the causal agent cannot be reliably determined.
There have been reports following administration of BOTOX® of adverse events involving the cardiovascular system, including arrhythmia and myocardial infarction, some with fatal outcomes. Some of these patients had risk factors including pre-existing cardiovascular disease. Use caution when administering to patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease.
Increased Risk of Clinically Significant Effects with Pre-existing Neuromuscular Disorders
Individuals with peripheral motor neuropathic diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or neuromuscular junction disorders (eg, myasthenia gravis or Lambert-Eaton syndrome) should be monitored when given botulinum toxin. Patients with neuromuscular disorders may be at increased risk of clinically significant effects including generalized muscle weakness, diplopia, ptosis, dysphonia, dysarthria, severe dysphagia, and respiratory compromise from onabotulinumtoxinA (see Warnings and Precautions).
Treatment with BOTOX® and other botulinum toxin products can result in swallowing or breathing difficulties. Patients with pre-existing swallowing or breathing difficulties may be more susceptible to these complications. In most cases, this is a consequence of weakening of muscles in the area of injection that are involved in breathing or oropharyngeal muscles that control swallowing or breathing (see Boxed Warning).
Pre-existing Conditions at the Injection Site
Caution should be used when BOTOX® Cosmetic treatment is used in the presence of inflammation at the proposed injection site(s) or when excessive weakness or atrophy is present in the target muscle(s).
This product contains albumin, a derivative of human blood. Based on effective donor screening and product manufacturing processes, it carries an extremely remote risk for transmission of viral diseases and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). There is a theoretical risk for transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), but if that risk actually exists, the risk of transmission would also be considered extremely remote. No cases of transmission of viral diseases, CJD or vCJD have ever been identified for licensed albumin or albumin contained in other licensed products.
ADVERSE REACTIONS
The most frequently reported adverse reaction following injection of BOTOX® Cosmetic for glabellar lines was eyelid ptosis (3%).
The most frequently reported adverse reaction following injection of BOTOX® Cosmetic for lateral canthal lines was eyelid edema (1%).
The most frequently reported adverse reactions following injection of BOTOX® Cosmetic for forehead lines with glabellar lines were headache (9%), brow ptosis (2%) and eyelid ptosis (2%).
Co-administration of BOTOX® Cosmetic and aminoglycosides or other agents interfering with neuromuscular transmission (eg, curare-like compounds) should only be performed with caution as the effect of the toxin may be potentiated. Use of anticholinergic drugs after administration of BOTOX® Cosmetic may potentiate systemic anticholinergic effects.
The effect of administering different botulinum neurotoxin products at the same time or within several months of each other is unknown. Excessive neuromuscular weakness may be exacerbated by administration of another botulinum toxin prior to the resolution of the effects of a previously administered botulinum toxin.
Excessive weakness may also be exaggerated by administration of a muscle relaxant before or after administration of BOTOX® Cosmetic.
USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS
There are no studies or adequate data from postmarketing surveillance on the developmental risk associated with use of BOTOX® Cosmetic in pregnant women. There are no data on the presence of BOTOX® Cosmetic in human or animal milk, the effects on the breastfed child, or the effects on milk production.
BOTOX & FILLERS: PRE-TREATMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Do not consume alcoholic beverages at least 24 hours prior to treatment (alcohol may thin the blood and increase the risk of bruising).
Avoid anti-inflammatory/blood thinning medications, if possible, for a period of two weeks before treatment. Medications and supplements, Ibuprofen, Motrin, Advil, Aleve and other NSAIDs have a blood thinning effect and can increase the risk of bruising and swelling after injections.
Schedule your Dermal Filler and Botox appointment at least 2 weeks prior to a special event which you may be attending, such as a wedding or a vacation. Results from Botox injections will take approximately 4 to 7 days to appear. Also bruising and swelling may be apparent at that time period.
Discontinue Retin-A 2 days before and 2 days after treatment.
Reschedule your appointment at least 24 hours in advance if you have a rash, cold sore or blemish on the area to be treated.
Be sure to have a good breakfast, including food and drink before your procedure. This will decrease the chances of lightheadedness during your treatment.
You are not a candidate for injectables if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
BOTOX: POST-TREATMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Do not manipulate the treated area for 3 hours following treatment.
Do not receive facial/laser treatments or microdermabrasion after Botox injections for at least 10 days. Ask Dr. Reidy if you are not sure about the time frame for certain services.
Avoid consuming alcohol for 8 hours after treatment.
Do not lie down for 4 hours after your Botox treatment. This will prevent the Botox from tracking into the orbit of your eye and causing drooping eyelid.
It can take approximately 4 to 7 days for results to be seen. If the desired result is not seen after 2 weeks of your treatment you may need additional Botox. You are charged for the amount of product used. Therefore, you will be charged for any product used during any touch-up or subsequent appointments.
Do not perform activities involving straining, heavy lifting or vigorous exercise for 6 hours after treatment. This will keep the Botox in the injected area and not elsewhere.
FILLERS: POST-TREATMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Avoid significant movement or massage of the treated area, unless instructed to do so by Dr. Reidy.
Avoid strenuous exercise for 24 hours.
Avoid extensive sun or heat for 72 hours.
If you have swelling you may apply a cool compress for 15 minutes each hour. You may use the ice pack we provide as much as is comfortable for the first 1-2 hours after treatment.
Use Tylenol for discomfort.
Try to sleep face up and slightly elevated if you experience swelling.
We also offer CoolSculpting and MonaLisa Touch services.
If you would like more information, please call our office at (256) 759-9269.
COMING SOON: Laser Hair Removal, Spider Vein and Stretch Mark treatments and more!
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EXCLUSIVE: WWE Schedules ANDRE THE GIANT DVD Documentary for 2019 – Cover Artwork & Synopsis
January 29, 2019 by Daniel Bee
After you waited patiently… and then waited some more… for news on the next WWE DVD/Blu-ray in the works, WrestlingDVDNetwork.com has a “Giant” exclusive to share with you today!
Joining the line-up on the 2019 WWE Home Video schedule known so far will be a DVD simply titled “Andre The Giant” (tagline: “Even bigger than you imagined”); the second Andre DVD released by the company to date following the 2005 offering of the same name.
HBO Sports and WWE will once again become a tag team to bring us a physical copy of the 1-hour and 25-minute HBO documentary feature from last year and we can confirm that the documentary will be accompanied by some new extras selected by WWE.
Mark your calendars for a worldwide release beginning May 2019. Additional details and pre-order opportunities are on the way!
TEASER TIME: The new Andre The Giant DVD is another Home Video concept that first appeared on a fan survey issued by WWE back in June 2018. “Best of NXT TakeOver 2018” was another one found there in advance of being made official. And WrestlingDVDNetwork.com can now reveal that as of right now there’s one more on that list that will soon be confirmed for 2019.
From HBO Sports, WWE, JMH Films and Ringer Films comes Andre The Giant, a documentary examining the life and career of one of the most beloved legends in WWE history.
The ambitious, wide-ranging film explores Andre’s upbringing in France, his celebrated WWE career and his forays into the entertainment world. It includes interviews with Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Crystal, Rob Reiner, family members and more.
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Posted in Blu-Ray, Covers, Media, News Tags: andre the giant, andre the giant dvd, announcement, Blu-Ray, documentary, extras, gene okerlund, hulk hogan, jerry lawler, jerry the king lawler, jim ross, jr, legends, News, release dates, ric flair, schedule, stephanie mcmahon, trailer, vince mcmahon, wrestlemania, wwe blu ray, wwe documentaries, wwe dvd 2019, wwe dvd 2019 releases, wwe dvd extras, wwe dvd release dates, wwe dvd schedule, wwe dvd trailers, wwe legends, wwe superstars
17 Comments left on this article...
REVEALED: Complete Match Listing for WWE’s 2019 ‘John Cena – Hustle, Loyalty, Respect’ DVD | Wrestling DVD Network – Channel 365 says:
[…] has learned that in the United States the new “Andre The Giant” DVD releasing this April will include a free “Fathead” (wall decal) inside the packaging, presumably of Andre The […]
SRB says:
Seems like lots of changes are happening in the wrestling media world and I personally am not ready for these changes that are coming. I realize whether I like it or not, change is inevitable, but doing one and two disc releases is a huge letdown. I am in a position where I am watching home media slowly die and it’s very sad. I was a kid of the 1990s and will always prefer physical copies of things rather than streaming devices and Networks. That’s just me.
RabidHeat says:
I am too. You can’t collect footage from a Network that may be taken down any day at the owner’s discretion. Plus, I like not having to have a WiFi connection to watch my sh*t.
Ruthless.Attitude.Eras4Life says:
wwedvd.co.uk already have the content for it ready..unfortunately only 1 disc, and just DVD edition. I hope the documentary alone will be worth it, because the extras could have been better for sure.
maybe the expression BETTER is not fit regarding the extras..more so, the extras could have been plenty more in numbers, hence it should have been a 2-discs bluray.
Mark Markson says:
Too bad it’s not a 3 disc set, and no blu-ray. But I expected no blu-ray.
Not sure if I’ll get it. I want it, but living in the EU, we will soon have to pay custom fees on goods bought in the UK. Not a fan of this whole brexit thing, lol.
I think this is the first documentary release since Kevin Owens. (minus WWE 24 – 2018) Even though this was an HBO thing, I hope this is the first step in going back to releasing more docs and other DVDs. It’s been pretty underwhelming ever since WB started taking part in their production.
I’m not sure it necessarily means that WWE will start producing their own docs again. This is another fairly low-cost release for them since the doc was already released last year and funded by HBO, so all WWE had to do was pull some matches from the vault (and it looks like we’re not even getting those in the UK!)
I stand corrected – the UK is getting the matches, but it’s only a handful. This release is still “easy fruit” for WWE to pick. Still no evidence that there are going to be any truly interesting 3 DVD sets in 2019.
Timothy Thorpe says:
I’m wondering how many discs it will consist of. It’ll be interesting to find out.
This would be a good place to get creative with the match listing. Especially I’d like to see Andre’s early career more.
SteveG says:
The 2005 release was pretty disappointing. One of the greatest superstars in wrestling history and they only devote 90 minutes to him. The matches were pretty disappointing. Hopefully with this new release, they will give us never before released matches. They’ve got to be sitting on a lot of footage from the 70s and 80s.
LP1 says:
The 2005 Andre DVD was just a re-release of on an old Coliseum Video from 1985. It wasn’t new. This upcoming Andre release is the first new Andre set in almost 35 years. Not counting the 1999 A&E biography video.
Kain says:
That was actually a re-release of an old Coliseum Home Video Tape:
See the Tape: https://www.genickbruch.com/index.php?befehl=medien&medium=427&feld=3
And the DVD: https://www.genickbruch.com/index.php?befehl=medien&medium=323&feld=3
I rather enjoyed for what it was.
About time we got some news! This is long overdue.
RCS1988 says:
I wonder if they will include some TV taping dark matches with this set?
That would be a great idea.
This was a really good documentary. Glad it’s getting a home video release. With HBO involved, I would think a blu-ray will be guaranteed, but with WWE lately you never know.
Reply to SteveG
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2018 - ROME - ITALY
Italian inspiration: The story of the week in Rome
The Internazionali BNL d'Italia started with an emotional retirement and ended with a brave title defence. Look back on the week in pictures here.
The final match of Vinci's career took place before her adoring home fans in Rome - and though she fell 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 to Aleksandra Krunic, they had plenty of love to give her (Getty)
Elina Svitolina kicked off her title defence at the Foro Italico with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Petra Martic (Getty)
Naomi Osaka squashed the hopes of Victoria Azarenka, winning one of the most anticipated first-rounders in short order 6-0, 6-3 (Getty)
Sloane Stephens and Barbora Strycova put on a late-night treat for Italian fans, with the American winning an absorbing contest 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-1 (Getty)
Another stalwart of the Italian golden generation in action was the indefatigable Francesca Schiavone, who lost in three sets to Dominika Cibulkova (Getty)
Maria Sakkari upset Karolina Pliskova in a dramatic match 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 for her second Top 10 win - and back-to-back defeats of the Charleston and Stüttgart champions (Getty)
Maria Sharapova came from a set down to defeat Dominika Cibulkova 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 (Getty)
Daria Gavrilova came from 0-4 down in the third set and saved two match points to win the third-longest match of the year 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(6) over Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round (Getty)
Venus Williams battled for over two hours to quell Elena Vesnina 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 (Getty)
Ostapenko's signature celebrations were in full flow as the Roland Garros champion turned on her form to beat Johanna Konta 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the third round (Getty)
Svitolina took a brewing upset off the boil, though, coming through 0-6 6-3, 6-2 over Daria Kasatkina in the third round to keep her title defence alive (Getty)
Kontaveit's breathtaking backhand was the money shot for the Estonian, who defeated Williams for the second time in as many weeks 6-2, 7-6(3) in the third round (Getty)
Maria Sharapova scored her second Top 10 win since her return to the game in a dramatic 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-5 quarterfinal over Jelena Ostapenko (Getty)
Anett Kontaveit continued her fine Rome run with victory over Caroline Wozniacki (Getty)
Elina Svitolina skipped into her second straight Rome final with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Anett Kontaveit in the semifinals (Getty)
Simona Halep was thrilled to eke out her second straight win over Maria Sharapova 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 to set up a reprise of the 2017 Rome final against Elina Svitolina (Getty)
Simona Halep got off to a slow start in the final, winning just eight points in the first set (Getty)
Elina Svitolina successfully defended her Rome title with a 6-0, 6-4 defeat of Simona Halep in the final - her third trophy of the year (Getty)
History repeats as Zhang stuns Stephens again at Australian Open
2020 Australian Open 4 hrs ago
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WTA Ranking Movers: Halep hops up, Rybakina on the rise
Gauff bests Venus again in blockbuster Australian Open rematch
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A Good Home Theater WTF
Thread starter Diesel
Clitpickle
I had such a miserable experience this past weekend that I feel compelled to share. At the very least, it might warn people of a potential situation that could end up ruining their plans or costing them more money than necessary. At best, it provides a good WTF story.
Background: gf's dad was planning on renovating his basement to make it a family room/bar/entertainment room/home theater.
He's a lifelong die-hard NY Jets fan, a season ticket holder as long as I've known him, and goes to every home game with his group of family and friends who are also Jets fans. In all, they tailgate with about a dozen people prior to each game, and have been doing this for years. His hope, I believe, was to be able to setup something where he could entertain the group during the road games, but keep the fun atmosphere of the home game tailgating parties.
So, about a year and a half ago, he mentioned to me that he'd like to setup a home theater once the basement is renovated, which was about to kick into gear. So, I helped him spec out a bunch of good quality equipment to handle everything from movies to sports to music. Not audiophile quality, but higher-end than him or his group was used to, and more than sufficient for their needs.
Whatever he needs, I ordered. I made sure that no stone was left unturned, so there would be no surprises when it came to hooking everything up, and that it would be everything he wanted. He ended up getting a fairly nice setup, but also waited for deals to come around for each of the components, so he paid rock bottom prices for high-end consumer grade equipment.
He ended up with the following:
Harman/Kardon AVR 520 7.1 receiver
Pioneer Elite DV-45a Progressive Scan DVD/DVD-A/SACD player
Klipsch KSSB1 bookshelf speakers (mains)
4x Klipsch Quintet (surrounds)
Infinity IL25C center
Infinity IL120 12" subwoofer
Fast forward to now.
The basement finally got finished, long after much of the equipment had been purchased. The stuff sat in boxes waiting for the day when the basement would be ready, the tile laid down, the electric lines run, the cable installed down there, etc. Everything was finished just in time to try to hook up everything for the Super Bowl.
He also finally found a good enough deal on a 42" HD plasma set he liked, so placed the order. That ended up being a problem because he had apparently picked out a well-reviewed Hitachi that had gotten recalled (although I can still find no evidence of a manufacturer recall), but the company offered to substitute a higher-priced Sony Wega plasma set for the same price.
So, I go over to hook everything up for him, since he self-admitted that he had no idea what to do with any of it. After roughly 20 hours, spread out over 3 days, of assembly, unpacking, drilling holes in walls, wall-mounting speakers, and hooking up everything, I was finally ready for the final step of hooking up all of the speakers into the receiver.
Just as an FYI, at the time of purchase, the H/K AVR 520 was one step below H/K's flagship receiver, so it was one model below their top-of-the-line product. This will help to explain the ensuing frustration and anger.
At this point, I'm on the floor, reaching around to the back of the AVR to try to see where to plug in the speakers, only to find that there are only 5 sets of speaker outputs on this 7.1 receiver. I now think that I'm missing something really important, so I head to the manual.
In the 56-page manual, there is only the following small paragraph which states the following:
11. If a 7.1 channel source device is connected as noted in the item above, you must use an optional audio power amplifier for those channels. Connect the SBL and SBR Preamp Outputs to the inputs of the amplifier
feeding those channels' speakers.
Had I not dissected the wording of that, I would not have realized that they made a 7.1 receiver with only a 5.1 amplifier. If you want to use full 7.1 operation, you need to hook up a separate amp to even be able to use the rear 2 channels. The only reason they're able to call it a 7.1 receiver at all is because it includes 7.1 pre-amp outputs and will do the decoding for 7.1 . Out of the box, however, it's only a 5.1 receiver.
This was a unit that listed for $900, and even with the deal we found for over $550, it was still an expensive unit, especially considering that it would only do 5.1 without having to spend extra on an external amp. Considering the price range, you would at least expect it to work as advertised out of the box.
I've never seen any other company do this. I own an excellent Denon AVR that advertises itself as 7.1 and has a built-in 7.1 amp. My father owns a Marantz amp that advertises itself as 7.1 and has a built-in 7.1 amp. Every 7.1 AVR I've ever seen has come with a built-in 7.1 amp.
Based on this, I will never purchase, nor recommend, another Harman/Kardon product. I never really thought too much of them before this incident, and I feel that what occurred was nothing more than deceptive marketing aimed at taking advantage of less-knowledgable consumers, as well as confusing experienced, knowledgable consumers, in an attempt to require them to purchase additional expensive equipment. It was, unfortunately, too late for her dad to return the unit, as he had it sitting in his home for over a year, but perhaps some of you can learn from his misfortune and avoid the same kind of disappointment and frustration.
fasteddie
that's shitty, just find a group of people that bought that POS and file a class action lawsuit. I'm sure there's plenty of scummy lawyers that want a piece of that action.
Seriously, you f***ing americans... there are far more concerning matters in the world. you think we british people are behind you.. well we're not. Your president is thick, and clearly so are you... get a life, wake up to whats going on in the world... and FUCK OFF.
gumercules
Ultra Mega
welcome slipmatt! it sounds like you'll be a wonderful contributor, what with all your angst and whatnot
Professional Deviate
I'd find the barstard who sold it to you and steal the drive shaft off his car
Should take the mongrel a little while to figure out why his car isnt moving.
jamesp
In Memory...
Premier said:
that is fucking great, me need more people like this guy in the world. Seriously.
What the !?
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VAR2CSA Serology to Detect Plasmodium falciparum Transmission Patterns in Pregnancy
Ebola Virus and Malaria Parasites, Gabon
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Ana Maria Fonseca, Raquel González, Azucena Bardají, Chenjerai Jairoce, Maria Rupérez, Alfons Jiménez, Llorenç Quintó, Pau Cisteró, Anifa Vala, Charfudin Sacoor, Himanshu Gupta, Jennifer Hegewisch-Taylor, Joe Brew, Nicaise Tuikue Ndam, Simon Kariuki, Marta López, Carlota Dobaño, Chetan E. Chitnis, Peter Ouma, Michael Ramharter, Salim Abdulla, John J. Aponte, Achille Massougbodji, Valerie Briand, Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma, Meghna Desai, Michel Cot, Arsenio Nhacolo, Esperança Sevene, Eusebio Macete, Clara Menéndez, and Alfredo Mayor
Author affiliations: ISGlobal, Hospital Clinic–Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (A.M. Fonseca, R. González, A. Bardají, M. Rupérez, A. Jiménez, L. Quintó, P. Cisteró, H. Gupta, J. Hegewisch-Taylor, J. Brew, C. Dobaño, J.J. Aponte, C. Menéndez, A. Mayor); ICBAS–Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal (A.M. Fonseca); Centro de Investigação em Saúde da Manhiça, Maputo, Mozambique (R. González, A. Bardají, C. Jairoce, M. Rupérez, A. Vala, C. Sacoor, C. Dobaño, J.J. Aponte, A. Nhacolo, E. Sevene, E. Macete, C. Menéndez, A. Mayor); Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo (E. Sevene); CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Madrid, Spain (R. González, A. Jiménez, A. Mayor, A. Bardají); Université d’Aboméy Calavi, Cotonou, Benin (N.T. Ndam, A. Massougbodji); Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya (S. Kariuki, P. Ouma); BCNatal–Barcelona Center for Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine–Hospital Clínic and Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, Barcelona (M. López); Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands (J. Brew); MERIT, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France (N.T. Ndam, V. Briand, M. Cot); Institut Pasteur, Paris (C.E. Chitnis); Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany (G. Mombo-Ngoma); Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany (M. Ramharter, G. Mombo-Ngoma); University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg (M. Ramharter); Ifakara Health Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (S. Abdulla); Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon (G. Mombo-Ngoma); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (M. Desai)
Pregnant women constitute a promising sentinel group for continuous monitoring of malaria transmission. To identify antibody signatures of recent Plasmodium falciparum exposure during pregnancy, we dissected IgG responses against VAR2CSA, the parasite antigen that mediates placental sequestration. We used a multiplex peptide-based suspension array in 2,354 samples from pregnant women from Mozambique, Benin, Kenya, Gabon, Tanzania, and Spain. Two VAR2CSA peptides of limited polymorphism were immunogenic and targeted by IgG responses readily boosted during infection and with estimated half-lives of <2 years. Seroprevalence against these peptides reflected declines and rebounds of transmission in southern Mozambique during 2004–2012, reduced exposure associated with use of preventive measures during pregnancy, and local clusters of transmission that were missed by detection of P. falciparum infections. These data suggest that VAR2CSA serology can provide a useful adjunct for the fine-scale estimation of the malaria burden among pregnant women over time and space.
Agile malaria surveillance and response systems that can be sustained over time are needed for the optimal design of control programs (1,2). Rates of Plasmodium falciparum infection among pregnant women are sensitive to changes in transmission (3,4) and correlate well with infection in infants (5) and children (6,7). Thus, passive detection of malaria cases at maternal health care services constitutes a promising approach to providing contemporary data on the levels, and changes in levels, of malaria burden in the population for successful malaria control and elimination (8).
After exposure to P. falciparum parasites that sequester in the placenta (9), antibodies against VAR2CSA, a multidomain variant antigen of the P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 family, develop in pregnant women (10). VAR2CSA is expressed on the surface of infected erythrocytes and mediates placental sequestration of parasites through binding to chondroitin sulfate A (11). Levels of antibodies against VAR2CSA are affected by variables that influence the risk for P. falciparum exposure (12–14) and mirror malaria trends during pregnancy (3). Moreover, levels of VAR2CSA IgG at delivery correlate with the risk for malaria in the offspring (14), suggesting the value of these antibodies for pinpointing areas of high malaria transmission (15). Because VAR2CSA antibodies persist after the infection is cleared (16), they can provide a sensitive adjunct for P. falciparum monitoring, especially in areas of low malaria endemicity, where the chances of detecting antibodies are higher than those of detecting the parasite (17).
The utility of serosurveillance depends mainly on specific properties of the antigen, including immunogenicity, polymorphism, cross-reactivity, and longevity of the antibodies. Because different VAR2CSA domains elicit IgG responses with varying magnitudes and dynamics (16,18,19), we hypothesized that short-lived antibodies against immunogenic nonpolymorphic VAR2CSA epitopes would enable a fine-scale estimation of recent P. falciparum transmission during pregnancy (17). We examined plasma from pregnant women living in areas in which P. falciparum transmission varied from high to low and absent (Benin, Gabon, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, and Spain) against a quantitative suspension array containing VAR2CSA and general parasite antigens. We first selected IgG responses that were rapidly acquired after P. falciparum infection, did persist in circulation, and were sensitive to the level of parasite exposure in pregnant women from Mozambique and Spain. We then used the serologic assay to quantify the relationship of VAR2CSA antibody responses with P. falciparum infection as well as with temporal, spatial, and intervention-driven changes in malaria burden among pregnant women.
Study Sites, Population, and Procedures
We included in our study pregnant women who participated in 3 clinical trials of intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp) during 2003–2005 in Mozambique (NCT00209781) (20) and during 2010–2012 in Mozambique, Benin, Gabon, Kenya, and Tanzania (NCT00811421) (21,22). Participants were recruited at their first antenatal visit, and all received a long-lasting insecticide-treated bed net. During 2003–2005, all received 2 doses of sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (20); during 2010–2012, they received 2 doses of mefloquine or sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine if they were not HIV infected (21) and 3 doses of mefloquine or placebo plus daily cotrimoxazol prophylaxis if they were HIV infected (22). At delivery, tissue samples from the maternal side of the placenta, as well as 50 μL peripheral and placental dried blood spots (DBS), were collected. Peripheral and placental blood from pregnant women in Mozambique and Benin were also collected into EDTA Vacutainer tubes (Becton Dickinson, https://www.bd.com) and centrifuged; plasma was stored at −20°C. From a subset of pregnant women in Mozambique who delivered during 2011–2012, peripheral blood samples were also collected at the first antenatal visit and before administration of the second IPTp dose. We geocoded the households of women in Mozambique by using a global information system. Clinical malaria episodes were treated according to national guidelines at the time of the study (20–22). DBS and plasma samples were also collected from 49 pregnant women never exposed to P. falciparum who delivered in 2010 at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain).
The study was approved by the ethics committees from the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, the Comité Consultatif de Déontologie et d’Éthique from the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (Marseille, France), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA, USA), and national ethics review committees from each malaria-endemic country participating in the study. Written informed consent, which included permission to test for immune markers by using stored biological samples, was obtained from all participants.
Laboratory Determinations
At recruitment, we assessed HIV serostatus by using rapid diagnostic tests according to national guidelines and hemoglobin level at delivery by using the following mobile devices on capillary blood samples: HemoCue (Danaher, http://www.hemocue.com), Hemocontrol (EKF Diagnostics, http://www.ekfdiagnostics.com), and KX analyzer (Sysmex, http://www.sysmex.com). Thick and thin blood films and placental biopsy samples were checked for Plasmodium spp. according to standard, quality-controlled procedures (3). We tested blood on filter paper for the presence of P. falciparum in duplicate by means of a real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) targeting 18S ribosomal DNA (3).
Antibody Measurements
We measured IgG in plasma (Benin and Mozambique) or on DBS (Gabon, Kenya, and Tanzania) in appropriate conditions for plasma elution (19) by using xMAP technology and the Luminex 100/200 System (https://www.luminexcorp.com) for 37% of pregnant women participating in the clinical trials with samples available. We constructed 2 multiplex suspension array panels (Appendix 1) (19), 1 including P. falciparum recombinant proteins (VAR2CSA Duffy binding-like recombinant domains DBL3X, DBL5Ɛ; and DBL6Ɛ, apical membrane antigen 1 [AMA1]; and 19-kDa fragment of the merozoite surface protein-1 [MSP119], from 3D7 strain) and 1 consisting of synthetic peptides (25 VAR2CSA peptides covering conserved and semiconserved regions of VAR2CSA and a circumsporozoite peptide [pCSP]) (19). To assess unspecific IgG recognition, we used bovine serum albumin in both arrays (19). Procedures for reconstitution of DBS and quality control, bead-based immunoassay, data normalization, and definition of seropositivity cutoffs are described in Appendix 1.
var2csa Sequencing and 3D Protein Modeling
We used DNA extracted from 50 DBS that were P. falciparum positive by qPCR for Sanger sequencing of var2csa PCR amplification products covering peptides of interest (Appendix 1). Sequence variability with respect to the peptide included in the array was assessed after amino acid alignment, and a 3D model of the DBL1X-ID1 region was developed by using Chimera version 1.5.3 (https://www.cgl.ucsf.edu); Appendix 1).
Definitions and Statistical Analyses
We included in the analysis pregnant women for whom all information was available for IPTp, date of delivery, HIV status, age, parity, and antibody responses. We classified women as primigravid (first pregnancy) or multigravid (>1 previous pregnancy) and categorized age as <20, 20–24, or >25 years (13). Anemia was defined as hemoglobin level at delivery <11 mg/L. We compared proportions by using the Fisher exact test. We used univariate regression models to evaluate the association of log-transformed IgG levels (linear) and seropositivity (logistic) with study periods (2004–2005 and 2010–2012) and country, P. falciparum infection, parity, anemia, and IPTp intervention, taking into account potential confounding variables (HIV and age) in multivariate models. We assessed the modification of the associations by HIV infection or parity by including interaction terms into the regression models. To control the false discovery rate in the selection of antigens, we computed adjusted p values (q-values) by using the Simes procedure (23). We used multilevel mixed-effect linear regression analysis to estimate half-life and time to double (T2×) IgG levels in the longitudinal cohort of pregnant women from Mozambique (Appendix 1). We identified spatial clusters of P. falciparum infection and seropositivity as well as the most likely hotspots by using the Ward hierarchical cluster analysis and Kulldorff spatial scan method (Appendix 1). We performed statistical analyses by using Stata/SE software version 12.0 (StataCorp, https://www.stata.com), R statistics software version 3.2.1 (https://www.r-project.org), and Graphpad Prism version 6 (https://www.graphpad.com).
Study Participants and P. falciparum Prevalence
Study participants consisted of 2,354 pregnant women (Table; Appendix 1 Figure 2) recruited during 2004–2005 (n = 146) and 2010–2012 (n = 2,208) in the context of IPTp clinical trials (20–22). Among them, 993 were from Mozambique, 854 from Benin, 131 from Gabon, 296 from Kenya, 31 from Tanzania, and 49 from Spain. The baseline characteristics of the women selected for this trial were similar to those of the 6,216 women participating in the randomized clinical trials (Appendix 2 Table 1).
The study areas represented 5 sites in sub-Saharan Africa with different intensities of malaria transmission. Prevalence of P. falciparum infection detected by qPCR at delivery, in either peripheral or placental blood (averaged for 2010–2012), among HIV-uninfected women was 46% (332/725) in Benin, 10% (9/89) in Gabon, and 6% (28/452) in Mozambique and among HIV-infected women was 8% (22/273) in Kenya and 4% (13/327) in Mozambique (Table). The prevalence of P. falciparum infection among pregnant women in Mozambique decreased from 25% (37/146) in 2004–2005 to 2% (3/176) in 2010 and increased to 6% (4/72) in 2012. A subset of 239 pregnant women from Mozambique recruited during 2011–2012 was followed during pregnancy; prevalence of P. falciparum infection detected by qPCR was 16% (38/239) at first antenatal visit (mean gestational age ± SD, 20.7 ± 5.45 weeks), 3% (8/239) at the second IPTp administration (25.9 ± 4.98 weeks), and 5% (13/239) at delivery (38.4 ± 2.26 weeks). P. falciparum infection was detected at unscheduled visits for 2% (5/239) of the women. Overall, P. falciparum infection was detected at any of these time points for 21% (49/239) of the women.
P. falciparum–Specific Antibody Profiles and Parasite Exposure during Pregnancy
Figure 1. Plasmodium falciparum VAR2CSA IgG in malaria-exposed and -nonexposed pregnant women. A) nMFI measured in pregnant women from Mozambique and Spain. Red dashed line represents the mean nMFI from bovine serum albumin...
Mean antiparasite IgG levels in pregnant women from Mozambique delivering from 2010 through 2012 were above levels against bovine serum albumin plus 3 SD and higher than IgG levels in pregnant women from Spain except for DBL6Ɛ and 3 of 25 VAR2CSA peptides (Figure 1, panel A; Appendix 2 Table 3). Five VAR2CSA peptides, DBL6Ɛ, and pCSP were recognized by IgG from >5% of the pregnant women from Spain who had never been exposed to P. falciparum (Figure 1, panel B), suggesting unspecific recognition; thus, these peptides were excluded from subsequent analysis. To further narrow down the VAR2CSA peptide candidates, we compared IgG levels in pregnant women from Mozambique delivering in 2004–2005 and 2010–2012, a period when P. falciparum prevalence assessed by qPCR at delivery in peripheral or placental blood dropped from 25% to 5% (Figure 1, panel C) (3). This decline in infection rates was mirrored by drops of IgG levels against 10 of the 18 previously selected VAR2CSA peptides (p1, p5, p8, p10, p12, p20, p27, p36, p38, p39) (Figure 1, panel D; Appendix 2 Table 4).
Acquisition and Decay of IgG Responses against VAR2CSA
Figure 2. IgG responses during pregnancy against selected VAR2CSA antigens and polymorphism in target sequences in serologic study of Plasmodium falciparum in pregnant women. A) P. falciparum prevalence by quantitative PCR (qPCR) in...
We assessed the dynamics of IgG responses in a longitudinal cohort of 239 pregnant women from Mozambique (Figure 2, panel A). At delivery, compared with uninfected women, the 49 (21%) women infected with P. falciparum during pregnancy had higher IgG levels against the 10 down-selected peptides (Figure 2, panel B; Appendix 2 Table 5). At delivery, seroprevalence rates for p1 (23%), p5 (26%), p8 (26%), and p39 (31%) antibodies were above the cumulative prevalence of P. falciparum infection during pregnancy (Figure 2, panel C; Appendix 2 Table 5). No difference in IgG levels was observed between primigravid and multigravid women (Figure 2, panel D; Appendix 2 Table 5). T2× after P. falciparum infection ranged from 0.45 years (95% CI 0.31–0.80 years) for p5 to 1.07 years (95% CI 0.60–5.23 years) for p27 (Figure 2, panel E; Appendix 2 Table 6). IgG half-life among seropositive women at recruitment without evidence of P. falciparum infection during follow-up ranged from 0.55 (95% CI 0.38–1.02) years for p8 to 3.66 (95% CI 0.98–∞) years for p1 (Figure 2, panel E; Appendix 2 Table 6). Among recombinant antigens, IgG DBL5Ɛ showed the lowest T2× (0.31 [95% CI 0.21–0.61] years) and half-life (0.66 [95% CI 0.42–1.65] years), whereas AMA1 IgG showed the highest T2× (1.76 [95% CI 0.76–∞] years) and half-life (4.18 [95% CI 1.86–∞] years).
Among the down-selected VAR2CSA peptides (p1, p5, p8, and p39), IgG against p5 (51 amino acids) and p8 (48 amino acids) showed the lowest half-lives (0.55 [95% CI 0.38–1.02] years for p8; 1.33 [95% CI 0.65–∞] years for p5) and the largest increase in women exposed to P. falciparum during pregnancy compared with uninfected women (adjusted ratio [AR]p5 2.15 [95% CI 1.39–3.31] and ARp8 2.17 [95% CI 1.46–3.23]; Figure 2, panel B; Appendix 1 Figure 5; Appendix 2 Table 5). IgG levels and seroprevalence rates at delivery for p5 and p8 were higher among pregnant women with active or past malaria infection than among women with no parasite or pigment in the placenta, as assessed by histologic examination (Appendix 2 Table 7). 3D modeling mapped both sequences on the exposed surface of DBL1X-ID1 region of VAR2CSA (Figure 2, panel F). Amino acid variability obtained from 50 P. falciparum isolates collected at study sites was 5% ± 2 SD for p5 sequences and 16% ± 5 SD for p8 sequences, compared with the consensus peptide sequence included in the array (Figure 2, panel G; Appendix 1 Figures 3, 4).
Performance of Selected VAR2CSA Peptides for Assessing Spatial and Temporal Differences in P. falciparum Exposure
Figure 3. IgG seroprevalence against VAR2CSA selected antigens according to study period, country, anemia status and intermittent preventive treatment group in the serological study of Plasmodium falciparum in pregnant women. A) Pregnant women...
In pregnant women from Mozambique at delivery, p5 and p8 seroprevalence rates, as well as the composite of both (p5+8), decreased from 2004–2005 to 2010 (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]p5+8 0.27 [95% CI 0.11–0.68]), followed by an increase from 2010 to 2012 (AORp5+8 2.49 [95% CI 1.34–4.61]; Figure 3, panel A; Appendix 2 Table 8). This decrease and subsequent increase mirrored P. falciparum prevalence by qPCR. HIV infection and parity did not modify the associations observed (p value for interaction >0.05 for all cases; Appendix 2 Table 8). Similar to P. falciparum prevalence determined by qPCR, seroprevalence rates were the highest in HIV-uninfected women from Benin, followed by those from Gabon (AORp5+8 0.31 [95% CI 0.21–0.47]) and Mozambique (AORp5+8 0.21 [95% CI 0.16–0.28]; Figure 3, panel B; Appendix 2 Table 9). At delivery, pregnant women living in an area from Tanzania where no P. falciparum infection was detected by qPCR were seronegative for p5, p8, and p5+8 antibodies; 42% were seropositive against AMA1 and 48% were seropositive against MSP119 antibodies (Figure 3, panel B). Among HIV-infected women, seroprevalence rates for p8 and p5+8 were lower in Mozambique than in Kenya (AORp5+8 0.58 [95% CI 0.38–0.88]; Figure 3, panel C; Appendix 2 Table 9). p5 and p5+8 seroprevalence rates were higher among anemic than among nonanemic women (AORp5+8 1.26 [95% CI 1.03–1.55]; Figure 3, panel D; Appendix 2 Table 10). Seroprevalence rates were lower among HIV-uninfected women who received IPTp with mefloquine than among those who received sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (AORp5+8 0.74 [95% CI 0.59–0.94]; Figure 3, panel E; Appendix 2 Table 11). Seroprevalence rates among HIV-infected women were lower among those who received mefloquine than among those who received placebo, although differences were not significant (AORp5+8 0.76 [95% CI 0.50–1.15]; Figure 3, panel F; Appendix 2 Table 11).
Geographic Patterns of P. falciparum Transmission through VAR2CSA Serologic Testing
Figure 4. Geographic patterns of Plasmodium falciparum infection and IgG seropositivity in pregnant women living in southern Mozambique. Geographic distribution of seropositive pregnant women (HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected) living in Manhiça District, Mozambique, who...
Spatial geocoordinates were available for 698 pregnant women from Mozambique residing in Manhiça District (southern Mozambique). Geographic areas experiencing significantly higher seroprevalence rates than would be expected by chance were observed for p5 (radius 2.82 km; p = 0.024) and p5+8 (radius 1.06 km; p = 0.049) but not for MSP119 and AMA1 (Figure 4; Appendix 2 Table 12). The distribution of HIV infection, parity, age, and IPTp was similar among women inside and outside the serologic hotspot (p>0.05; Appendix 2 Table 12).
Routine P. falciparum testing of easily accessible pregnant women at maternal healthcare services has the potential to offer a rapid, consistent, and cost-effective method for evaluating the malaria burden in different communities and tracking progress of interventions. IgGs against 2 VAR2CSA peptides, selected according to their ability to maximize the information about recent P. falciparum exposure during pregnancy, reflected differences in malaria burden over time and space in multiple settings in Africa and changes in parasite rates associated with the use of different preventive regimens. Overall, our results indicate that in areas with well-attended maternal healthcare services, this pregnancy-specific serologic test may serve as a useful sentinel surveillance tool for flagging changes in malaria burden and progress in the path toward elimination.
p5 (51 amino acids) is localized in the DBL1X domain and p8 (48 amino acids) in the ID1 region of VAR2CSA. Limited diversity (5%) of p5 sequence was observed in P. falciparum isolates from a variety of regions of Africa, in accordance with estimates from previous studies for the DBL1X domain (24). p8 corresponds to a more diverse (16%) variant of the ID1 region in VAR2CSA (25). Both peptides are exposed on the DBL1X-ID1 N terminal region of VAR2CSA (18,26) and recognized by IgG from malaria-exposed pregnant women at levels higher than those of pregnant women from Spain and men from Mozambique (19). IgG responses against both VAR2CSA peptides increased with P. falciparum infection during pregnancy. Moreover, higher risk for anemia among p5 and p5+8 seroresponders support these antibodies as markers of recent infection, which adversely affects the women’s health (3). In contrast to the slow decay of IgG responses against AMA1, the half-life of IgG against p5 and p8 was <2 years, the average time reported in Mozambique for a second pregnancy to occur (27). The short half-life of p5 and p8 IgG, together with the similar IgG levels in multigravid and primigravid women, suggests that antibodies acquired during one pregnancy are not maintained over multiple pregnancies; thus, antibodies can be used as a reliable indicator of recent exposure for pregnant women, regardless of parity.
Seroprevalence rates for p5, p8, and the composite of both peptides (p5+8) mirrored trends in P. falciparum prevalence among pregnant women from Mozambique delivering during 2004–2012 (3), a temporal pattern that was also observed for PfPR2–10 (28). Trends were similar among HIV-uninfected and infected women, suggesting that impairment of P. falciparum–specific antibody responses driven by viral infection (29) may not affect short-lived IgG responses against p5 and p8. Seroprevalence also reflected the burden of malaria among pregnant women residing in a variety of settings in Africa, as well as reductions in infection rates resulting from the use of mefloquine as IPTp among HIV-uninfected women (21). Similar trends, although not statistically significant, were observed among HIV-infected women receiving cotrimoxazol prophylaxis alone or in combination with mefloquine (22), possibly because of the longer duration of protection provided by 3 IPTp doses in HIV-infected women compared with the 2 doses in HIV-uninfected women. We also found that pregnant women living in an area from Tanzania where no P. falciparum infection was detected by qPCR as well as pregnant women from Spain never exposed to malaria were seronegative against p5 and p8, suggesting that pregnancy-specific serology might be used to confirm the eventual interruption of transmission.
Geographic distribution of pregnant women from Mozambique who were seropositive against p5 and p5+8 revealed a serologic hotspot in an area close to the river and sugar cane plantations, where the density of anopheline mosquitoes can be expected to be higher. In contrast, antibodies against MSP119 and AMA1 were not able to identify these malaria transmission patterns because of saturation of antibody responses after lifelong exposure to P. falciparum. These results support the value of using VAR2CSA serologic testing to amplify signals of recent exposure and suggest its potential to trigger targeted interventions to persons living in close proximity to passively detected seropositive pregnant women.
Our study has several limitations. First, the peptide array we used may have missed some conformational nonlinear epitopes. Second, different transmission dynamics and host genetic factors may affect the acquisition and decay of antibodies (16). Third, steeper decay of antibodies may be observed out of pregnancy when infecting parasites express non-VAR2CSA variants. Fourth, the reduction of data from median fluorescence intensity to seroprevalence to simplify the serologic information of the assay may reduce the depth of serologic information. Developing alternative mathematical models that use antibody levels (30) may increase the sensitivity to detect temporal and spatial changes in malaria transmission. Fifth, small numbers of pregnant women from malaria-free areas in Tanzania and Spain limit the generalizability of our data to support pregnancy-specific serologic testing as a tool to confirm interruption of transmission. Last, antibody assessments in this study were conducted mainly at delivery; further studies should assess the performance of this testing at antenatal visits or soon after delivery (i.e., during infant immunization). Future research is needed to describe the relationship between pregnancy-specific serologic testing and malaria transmission in the general population and its value for confirming interruption of malaria transmission and providing early signals of P. falciparum resurgence after local elimination.
In summary, this study shows that IgG against 2 VAR2CSA peptides from the DBL1X-ID1 domain reveal temporal and spatial differences in malaria burden among pregnant women and reductions in exposure associated with the use of preventive measures during pregnancy. These antibodies enable the identification of local clusters of transmission that are missed by detection of P. falciparum infections. Our results suggest that inferring recent exposure through VAR2CSA serologic testing would amplify signals of ongoing malaria transmission and increase the power to detect changes, either natural or driven by deliberate efforts, as well as malaria hotspots, among pregnant women (2). Moreover, peptides such as p1 targeted by long-lasting IgG responses may be useful for capturing past changes in transmission by sampling women of child-bearing age and relating seroprevalence with the number and timing of previous pregnancies. Operationally suitable serologic tests (31) capable of detecting antibodies against VAR2CSA synthetic peptides may be used in programmatic environments to stratify areas based on malaria burden, measure the effects of interventions, and document year-to-year changes in transmission.
Dr. Fonseca is a doctoral fellow at ISGlobal, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Hospital Clínic, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Her research focus includes malaria immune epidemiology in pregnant women and strategies to improve malaria surveillance in disease-endemic regions experiencing a low burden of infection.
We thank the women from Benin, Gabon, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Spain who participated in the study, as well as the staff of the hospitals, clinical officers, field supervisors, and data manager. We also thank Laura Puyol, Diana Barrios, Gemma Moncunill, Pau Cisteró, Lazaro Mussacate, Nelito Ernesto Jose, and Ana Rosa Manhiça for their contribution to the collection and organization of sample shipment and Joe Campo, Aida Valmaseda, Marta Vidal, Eduard Rovira-Vallbona, Pedro Aide, Beatriz Galatas, Patrick G.T. Walker, and Peter Gething for providing important inputs for standardization of the Luminex technology, the design of protein 3D models, the interpretation of results and PfPR2-10 data.
This study was supported by the Malaria Eradication Scientific Alliance; the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership; the Malaria in Pregnancy Consortium; and grants from Banco de Bilbao, Vizcaya, Argentaria Foundation (BBVA 02-0), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PS09/01113, PI13/01478, and CES10/021-I3SNS, to A. Mayor), and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (RYC-2008-02631, to C.D.), the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/51696/2011, to A.M.F.), the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India (SB/OS/PDF-043/2015-16, to H.G.) and the Department d’Universitats I Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya (AGAUR; 2017SGR664, to A.M.).
The Centro de Investigacao em Saude da Manhica receives core support from the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development. The Malaria in Pregnancy Consortium is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Malaria Eradication Scientific Alliance is funded by a grant from the Barcelona Institute of Global Health. ISGlobal is a member of the CERCA Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya.
A patent application has been filed for the use of p5 and p8 for serologic surveillance (US 376 patent application no. 62523828, filed on June 23, 2017, by A.M.).
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Figure 1. Plasmodium falciparum VAR2CSA IgG in malaria-exposed and -nonexposed pregnant women. A) nMFI measured in pregnant women from Mozambique and Spain. Red dashed line represents the mean nMFI from bovine...
Figure 2. IgG responses during pregnancy against selected VAR2CSA antigens and polymorphism in target sequences in serologic study of Plasmodium falciparum in pregnant women. A) P. falciparum prevalence by quantitative PCR...
Figure 3. IgG seroprevalence against VAR2CSA selected antigens according to study period, country, anemia status and intermittent preventive treatment group in the serological study of Plasmodium falciparum in pregnant women. A)...
Figure 4. Geographic patterns of Plasmodium falciparum infection and IgG seropositivity in pregnant women living in southern Mozambique. Geographic distribution of seropositive pregnant women (HIV-uninfected and HIV-infected) living in Manhiça District,...
Table. Participants in study of VAR2CSA serologic testing to detect Plasmodium falciparum transmission patterns, by country and HIV status
Original Publication Date: 8/30/2019
Alfredo Mayor, ISGlobal, Hospital Clínic, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer Rosselló 153 (CEK Bldg), E-08036 Barcelona, Spain
Page created: September 17, 2019
Page updated: September 17, 2019
Page reviewed: September 17, 2019
VAR2CSA Serology to Detect Plasmodium falciparum Transmission Patterns in Pregnancyexpand
Fonseca A, González R, Bardají A, Jairoce C, Rupérez M, Jiménez A, et al. VAR2CSA Serology to Detect Plasmodium falciparum Transmission Patterns in Pregnancy. Emerg Infect Dis. 2019;25(10):1851-1860. https://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2510.181177
Fonseca A, González R, Bardají A, et al. VAR2CSA Serology to Detect Plasmodium falciparum Transmission Patterns in Pregnancy. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2019;25(10):1851-1860. doi:10.3201/eid2510.181177.
Fonseca, A., González, R., Bardají, A., Jairoce, C., Rupérez, M., Jiménez, A....Mayor, A. (2019). VAR2CSA Serology to Detect Plasmodium falciparum Transmission Patterns in Pregnancy. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 25(10), 1851-1860. https://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2510.181177.
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Tag Archive: Nancy Harris
“Knockout Game” Escalates To Immolation As Blacks Increasingly Burning Whites To Death … Where’s The Outrage ?
Filed under: Barbarism, Corruption, Crime, Hope and Change, Hypocrisy, Media Bias, Race Relations, Racism, Shame — 1 Comment
BREAKING: Massive Spike In Whites Setting Blacks On Fire
” Did you know that there’s been a massive uptick in white thugs setting black folks on fire, yet the media has been virtually silent on this horrendous subject?
Sure, we all have heard of Darren Wilson’s shooting Michael Brown, but there has been no coverage of the aforementioned. Like in zero… nada… nothing… zilch.
What kind of racist “news outlets” would be so heinous to cover up such gross and unspeakable evil?
Why haven’t the most powerful people in our government and the entertainment industry spoken out and condemned this obvious xenophobic act of viciousness?
How come there has been no national #hashtag crusade or basketball T-Shirt campaign against these barbaric atrocities carried out by white-trash scum who have actually lit black grandmothers, granddads, fathers, mothers, teens and twenty-somethings on fire after dousing them with lighter fluid?
What kind of gross silence and injustice is this? Huh? Huh?
What’s that you say? You say, “That it is not white thugs who’ve been setting innocent blacks ablaze lately, but actually black thugs that have been igniting innocent white people; and these crimes have been grossly ignored by the Lame Stream Media,”?
Whoops. My bad. I guess I should change my title then, eh?
Yep, I mistakenly thought it was white pukes doing that to harmless black folks. This changes everything. Now it makes sense why we’ve heard diddly squat from the “news outlets” and the president and LeBron James and the St. Louis Rams and Al Sharpton; because in Obamaland blacks can literally light whites on fire and there be no “I’m White, Don’t Ignite” protests, or hashtags, or orchestrated mass condemnation of this sudden spike of the most heinous murders and maimings known to mankind.
For those of you who’re not in the know about this recent increase in this ghastly phenom carried out against us “white devils”, one of my guest contributors at ClashDaily.com, Angela Turner, did yeoman’s work last Friday and cobbled together this large list of insanely ill-reported burnings of white people that almost makes one think that lighting white people on fire might be the new “knock out game” perpetrated by black hoodrats on us pigmentally challenged white clods.
Angela states,
With the recent gruesome murder of Jessica Chambers, there is widespread speculation and argument as to whether her killer was black or white. Jessica, a 19-year-old from Mississippi, was found walking, engulfed in flames after her attackers put lighter fluid in her mouth and lit her on fire. The attack happened on December 6, in Mississippi. While we wait for the police to make an arrest, here are sixteen people from ages twelve to eighty-seven that have one thing in common: they are all white and they were all set on fire by blacks.
Robin and Mani Aldridge — Just last week, a beloved special needs teacher and her high school junior daughter from Charlottesville Virginia were beaten before they were burned in a house fire. Police arrested a black man named Gene Everett Washington and charged him with two counts of first-degree murder.
Michael Brewer – 15-year-old Michael from Miami had burns over 60% of his body after three black classmates poured alcohol on him and set him on fire. All three are serving time in prison.
Allen Goin — A 13-year-old from Kansas City, his two black teen attackers put him in a bear hug, poured gasoline on him and set him on fire saying, “This is what you get, white boy”.
Allen Goin
Gabriela Penalba — A 23-year-old teacher in Knoxville Tennessee was set on fire by a 15-year-old black student. She briefly turned her back to the class when the student lit her hair and shirt ablaze.
Kathryn “Kit” Grazioli — Colorado Springs firefighters found Kit’s 87-year-old body burning on a trail after a nearby resident called to report the fire. Officers arrested a black 21-year-old, Marcus Smith, and charged him with 1st degree murder. Kit was a deacon at her church and loved by the community.
Jonathan Foster — In Houston, Mona Nelson, a black 44-year-old woman abducted and killed 12-year-old Jonathan with a blowtorch on Christmas Eve, later dumping his body in a ditch. She was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison. The story was getting mainstream media coverage until they arrested a black woman.
Kenneth Athey — Beaten with a hammer, stabbed, doused with chemicals and set on fire, 87-year-old Kenneth survived to testify against his black male attacker.
Luke Fleischman — a black teenager, who was prosecuted as an adult and sentenced to seven years for the hate crime, set the 18-year-old on fire while sleeping on a bus in San Francisco.
Richard Michael Carter — Two black brothers were arrested for shooting and burning Richard, a father from South Carolina.
Flo “Violet” Parker –The 67-year-old homeless woman from California was set on fire by a black man as she slept on a bench.
Nancy Harris — The 76-year-old grandmother was killed when a black man set fire to her while she was working at a convenience mart. She was loved in her Texas hometown and known as Grandma to everyone.
Melinda McCormick — A black woman and two black men beat and burned Melinda to death.
Jimmy Sanders – Shot and burned after stopping to help two black men, Erik Ellis, 28, and Malcolm Melton, 22, with car trouble. “He didn’t answer his phone. I called about eight or nine times. About an hour after he wouldn’t answer I got really, really nervous and upset,” Betty Sanders said. Jimmy was 65 and also from Mississippi, where Jessica Chambers was just burned.
Raymond Vasholz — Raymond died after his black neighbor, Terrance Hale, attacked him and his wife and set fires. Elizabeth and Raymond were married 58 years.
You and I both know that if the race roles were reversed there’d be a systematic condemnation of such behavior and nationwide protests leveled at “racist whites” randomly torching innocent blacks; but heretofore the media has been pretty damn quiet with little to no connection of the dots.
* Note: my youngest daughter, Regis Giles, creator and owner of GirlsJustWannaHaveGuns.com, has just signed on to narrate and star in a new documentary, produced by the folks who brought us such great films as Hating Breitbart and UnFair: Exposing The IRS, encouraging women worldwide to become proficient in self-defense and be victims no mas. You can check it out and support it here. “
Many thanks to Doug Giles and Townhall for bringing us this virtually ignored development in race relations in the age of Obama to our attention .
Be sure to click the link to Turner’s Clash Daily piece which provides the reader with photos of all the victims .
Tags: Allen Goin, Blacks Burning Whites To Death, Flo “Violet” Parker, Gabriela Penalba, Jessica Chambers, Jimmy Sanders, Jonathan Foster, Kathryn “Kit” Grazioli, Kenneth Athey, Luke Fleischman, Media Blackout, Melinda McCormick, Michael Brewer, Murder By Fire, Nancy Harris, New Knockout Game, Obama, Racism, Raymond Vasholz, Richard Michael Carter, Robin and Mani Aldridge, Shame
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The Art of Turkish Coffee
Allan Langdale is an art historian and lecturer, who earned his doctorate degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara. His specialties include Italian Renaissance art and architecture, medieval art, and Byzantine art. His recent publications include the definitive guidebook to the art and archaeology of northern Cyprus and the travelogue,...
Little Auks in the Arctic
Our recent expedition to the Arctic yielded spectacular wildlife results, including a visit to a little auk nesting site! Watch ornithologist, Mark Brazil, describe the incredible scene of thousands of birds.
Mark Brazil, Ornithologist: This is a dream come true for me. I grew up in the British Isles where the little auk is a very scarce, storm-blown winter visitor, and at last, I’m at a colony in Svalbard. Up behind...
Zegrahm Cofounder, Jack Grove, on Change in the Galapagos
Zegrahm cofounder, Jack Grove, recently gave a TEDx Talk about "A Shifting Paradigm in the Galapagos," and we are thrilled to share it with you! This is a great example of the in-depth knowledge you will be exposed to when traveling with Jack in the Galapagos.
For more information on our Galapagos expeditions, visit our destination page....
Kayaking with Orcas
Our recent expedition to the Arctic yielded spectacular wildlife results - some lucky guests even got to kayak among a pod of orcas! Watch kayak guide and naturalist, Kevin Clement, explain the good luck we came across.
Kevin Clement, Naturalist: So yesterday, we were in the port of Reine. It was only our second opportunity to get out on the water, so I took my little group of kayakers and I had a great plan. I had a good route...
Indonesia's Flying Foxes
In March 2014 we traveled to New Guinea, exploring both the remote islands of the region and the Asmat villages. In Pulau Pualu Su, we were extremely lucky, and found a flying fox colony. Watch naturalist Rich Pagen tell you about this incredible experience.
Rich Pagen, Conservation Biologist: So here we are on an island off the north coast of New Guinea called Palau Palau Su, and we landed to do some snorkeling here,...
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Cliq Customers - Healthcare Tech
VIEW ALLNextPrevious
How Cliq enabled efficient collaboration for healthcare professionals at HTIC
What is HTIC?
HTIC (Healthcare Technology Innovation Center) was created in 2011, as a joint initiative of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, that brings together technologists, engineers, doctors, and healthcare professionals to develop healthcare technologies for the country. HTIC focuses on research and innovation in healthcare, by providing technological solutions in the area of medical devices.
"One of the primary and most interesting projects of HTIC was a mobile unit used for cataract surgeries which has been used to perform over ten thousand surgeries as of now," said Karthik Srinivasa, the Electronics Design Engineer at HTIC. The vision of HTIC is to develop technologies that create an impact and drive innovation in healthcare, and be a leader known for technical excellence and collaborative spirit.
Finding Cliq and replacing Slack
The HTIC division started off in 2011 as a 10-member team and grew steadily. When they realized they needed messaging software for managing communications and online discussions in the organization, they chose Slack. Nine months later, when they decided to look for a more economical alternative, they found Zoho Cliq.
"I got to know of Zoho through Sridhar Vembu, your CEO and an IIT alumnus, at one of his talks at IIT. I decided to check if Zoho had a product similar to Slack for business messaging, and that's how we found Cliq," Karthik said. He also added "we were presented an impressive demo from your support team and found that Cliq had most of the features Slack has." They enrolled in the paid plan, straight away.
Collaboration after implementing Cliq
"We use Cliq on an everyday basis in our center. We have numerous channels with a lot of discussions going on. We also use it for uploading our files and sharing the minutes of our meetings in the channels. The biggest benefit of Cliq for us is the message history. We always need to know what our team discussed last week or last month and we never have to write it down," said Karthik. He also added that "all the history is stored neatly, so we just scroll up and it's right there."
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Reflection of the soul: “Black Mirror” season five review
Jasmine Campos Wednesday, June 26th, 2019 LifestyleReview31 views
Photo courtesy of Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images
The newest season of Netflix’s critically acclaimed “Black Mirror” was deep and haunting, raising many questions
*Spoiler Alert*
What exactly is a black mirror?
According to Urban Dictionary, it’s “the reflection of an unlit computer screen after it is accidentally or unwillingly shutdown while you’re in front of it, giving you a chance to rethink your life as you see yourself.” This is almost exactly the feeling I have every time I watch an episode of “Black Mirror” and I am forced to ponder what I truly believe about my existence as a human.
After four critically acclaimed seasons and an interactive film, fans restlessly awaited the fifth season. Although it was only three episodes, it did not disappoint.
The first episode seems to be about friends growing up and going through life quickly, but it rapidly turns into a virtual reality nightmare when they enter the world of their favorite video game. Inserting themselves into the game world forces them to wonder things about themselves and who they are in the real world that they would have never even imagined before.
As virtual reality becomes more and more popular, we are developing the ability to create new and alternate realities. Essentially, we have the capability to entirely reinvent ourselves. This prospect forces a very interesting thought: who am I really and do I want or need a better version of myself?
Without directly posing a question, the first episode immediately forces viewers to wonder what they would be like if they could be a different version of themselves. To go even deeper, we begin to wonder why we don’t simply become that version in the real world if it is something we want so bad?
The second episode examines an even bigger societal problem: the incorrect use and overuse of social media. With a giant tech company ruining his life, the main character of this episode tries to take matters into his own hands, though not in the most appropriate way.
In today’s big tech dominated world, with companies like Apple and Google controlling our lives, it’s hard not to understand where the character is coming from. Although the episode is initially confusing, in the end, we come to find the man is dealing with his own remorse because he is the reason his fiancée died after getting into a car accident while looking at his social media on his phone.
I’m almost tempted to rationalize his position because he is partially right, social media is the cause of so many issues we have today. Feelings are hurt, car accidents are caused, and lives are ruined because of simple posts on social media.
This episode demonstrated how “Black Mirror” is willing to discuss tough societal issues that most shows would not touch with a ten-foot-pole. The main character blamed social media for his loss instead of taking responsibility for his own actions, a huge flaw of modern society.
Lucy Mangan of The Guardian encapsulated this episode well, writing “like a sweetly sadistic scientist, it delights in shaving off slices of our collective psyche and sliding them under an unforgiving microscope to examine our most current concerns.”
Not only did they tackle the issue, but the execution was flawless. Waiting until the very end to pull all of the pieces together forces the viewer to stay engaged through the entirety of the episode. Furthermore, it ends on an unclear note, leaving the audience to assume the ending they see most fitting.
The final episode features Miley Cyrus as a pop star trying to break free from the constraints of her aunt-manager. Her doll, Ashley Too, is the prized position of a young teenage girl. The doll, programed with “Ashley’s” thoughts, begins to have a mind of its own.
While the episode follows the main character and her sister on a wild journey to end up saving the life of pop-star Ashley, this episode speaks to just how much control we give to technology.
Sophomore business major Jordan Whisler enjoyed the fifth season of “Black Mirror,” one of his favorite shows. He said the episodes “made me question the morality of possible future technology.” They force the question: do we give technology too much power over our lives?
What I find most amazing about the show is how there is no sacrifice in storytelling while they tackle such hard messages. Every detail of this show matters and you have to pay attention if you want to understand them all. Simply put, this is not the kind of show you can put on in the background while doing other work.
Ben Travers of Indie Wire said the show “acknowledges the twisted future we’re already living in by focusing on its effect on people,” and “doesn’t even bother conjuring an alternate reality or futuristic setting — everything that happens is already happening.”
This is arguably the best and worst part of the show. When the episode ends, you are left with a black mirror and you realize the show portrays nothing other than our reality, making the show itself the most horrifying black mirror of all.
Jasmine Campos
Opinion Editor - ZU News
Jasmine is a sophomore triple major in Political Science, Journalism, and Honors Humanities at Azusa Pacific University. Originally from Torrance, California, Jasmine aspires to use her political knowledge and background in journalism to continue to provide insight into differing points of view in our divisive political climate. Any time she gets a free moment you can find her catching up on the latest political news or binge watching Friends.
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