pred_label
stringclasses 2
values | pred_label_prob
float64 0.5
1
| wiki_prob
float64 0.25
1
| text
stringlengths 41
962k
| source
stringlengths 37
43
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
__label__wiki
| 0.567237
| 0.567237
|
Internet and Telephone Voting
Strathroy-Caradoc voters will once again have the opportunity to vote by internet or telephone, anytime, anywhere, during the Voting Period.
A person may vote in Strathroy-Caradoc if they are:
a resident of the Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc, or an owner or tenant of land in the Municipality, or the spouse of an owner or tenant;
a Canadian citizen;
at least 18 years old;
on the Voters' List and
not legally prohibited from voting by law.
How can I make sure my name is on the Voters List?
The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) maintains the Voters' List for all Ontario municipalities.
Did you move from a home you owned to a rental property?
Have your adult children permanently left home?
Do you have new tenants?
If you answer yes to any one of these questions, you may need to update the occupancy or school board support information for your property. Please call the Municipal Office at (519) 245-1070 to see if your name is on the Voters List.
Additions to the Voters List
If you did not receive a VIL, your name and mailing address may need to be updated on the Municipal Voters List. To add your name to the Voters List, the following application must be submitted in-person at the Municipal Office:
Application to Amend Voters' List (PDF [269 kB])
You may appoint a family member or agent to present the application in-person for you.
What offices can I vote for?
Certified List of Candidates
Strathroy-Caradoc voters may vote for:
Mayor - One (1) to be elected by all voters in the Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc
Deputy-Mayor - One (1) to be elected by all voters in the Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc
Councillor - Ward 1 - Four (4) to be elected by Ward 1 voters (former Town of Strathroy)
Councillor - Ward 2 - Three (3) to elected by Ward 2 voters (former Caradoc Township)
Depending on your declared school support, you may also vote for the following:
Trustee - Thames Valley District School Board - Two (2) to be elected
Trustee - London & District Catholic School Board - One (1) to be elected
Trustee - Conseil scolaire Viamonde (French language public) - One (1) to be elected
Trustee - Conseil scolaire catholique Providence (French language Catholic) - One (1) to be elected
What ward do I live in?
The Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc is made up of two wards:
Ward 1 - Former Town of Strathroy - View Ward 1 Map [PDF (2 MB)]
Ward 2 - Former Caradoc Township - View Ward 2 Map [PDF (6 MB)]
What candidates are running?
How can I vote?
Eligibile voters may cast their ballot online or by telephone during the Voting Period:
Monday, October 15 at 9:00 a.m. to Monday, October 22 at 8:00 p.m.
Voter Instruction Letters will be mailed to eligible electors in advance of the election. The letter will include a unique Personal Identification Number (PIN), which voters can use to either dial into the voting system by telephone, or to log on to the voting system online.
Is internet and telephone voting secure?
Intelivote's system security ensures that every voter’s voting experience is both secret and secure. Similar to the paper voting experience, the electronic voting process disassociates the voter’s identity from the cast ballot when it is “deposited” into the system. The system takes the encrypted ballot information from the voter's PC or phone vote and creates a voter receipt similar to the ballot receipt detached from a paper ballot when it is marked and returned to the voting official.
The encrypted ballot is randomly inserted into the “electronic ballot box”, severing the relationship between the voter and the ballot. The receipt is the mechanism that ensures the ballot was successfully recorded in the system.
This combination of processes coupled with the security of the system results in the trusted and secure status of the system.
What if I need help voting?
Eligible voters may phone or attend the Voter Help Centre located at the Strathroy-Caradoc Municipal Office (52 Frank Street, Strathroy) if they require assistance or wish to vote. The Voter Help Centre will be open the following dates and times:
Monday, October 15 - Friday, October 19: 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 20: 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Monday, October 22 (Election Day): 8:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1520
|
__label__cc
| 0.55393
| 0.44607
|
Home/Getting Active/Documents & Forms
Where Do I Find...
The Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc is proud to sponsor a Medal of Distinction to recognize community engagement and volunteerism.
The aim of the award program is to recognize the important contributions of volunteers in Strathroy-Caradoc. Awards will be given out each year. Individuals and organizations will be considered based on community service over the previous calendar year, or longer, in the case of lifetime achievement awards.
The Medal of Distinction is intended to be the highest municipal honour available to residents and/or supporters of the Strathroy-Caradoc community.
Individuals or organizations can be nominated for a Medal of Distinction by any member of the public. Awards will be available annually in a wide variety or areas.
For more information, see the Medal of Distinction Program page.
Community Partnership Program
The Community Partnership Program is a new way for the Municipality to work with community partners in effectively delivering programs. All groups and organizations seeking assistance in the form of waived fees or discounted use of facilities must apply for such support from the Municipality via the CPP.
Requests eligible for the CPP include:
Financial assistance in support of a service, project, or organization;
Fee waiver(s);
Staff support;
Equipment/materials supply;
Insurance coverage;
Use of municipal property and/or facilities.
This new approach ensures a fair and equitable process for all organizations seeking help.
The application process occurs on a yearly basis. Recipients are approved by Council at budget time each year, based on the number of applications submitted and the availability of funds.
The application deadline for the 2020 budget year is September 27, 2019.
Please note that the Department of Parks & Recreation's Schedule of Fees includes a 25% reduction from standard rates for registered Not-for-Profit organizations, as well as a 12.43% rate reduction for registered minor sports groups. Organizations seeking support beyond these commitments may also apply to the CPP.
2020 Community Partnership Fund Application [PDF (432 kB)]
Municipal Alcohol Policy
The Municipality has developed a Municipal Alcohol Policy [PDF (513 kB)]. This policy will help event organizers using eligible Municipally-owned properties manage alcohol accessibility and consumption in accordance with the Liquor License Act, R.S.O. 1990.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1521
|
__label__wiki
| 0.714847
| 0.714847
|
TCSI
About Vision Campaign Leadership Give Contact
AboutVisionCampaign
Tab Community Services, Inc.
LeadershipGiveContact
We bloom, here in the City, where we've been planted.
To raise, manage, and distribute funds in support of charitable endeavors serving Indianapolis community needs with preference to the Mapleton-Fall Creek neighborhood.
About TCSI:
TCSI was created as a tool to ensure that critical opportunities are not missed due to lack of human or financial resources. As a 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(3) exempt organization, TCSI was established in 2003 to push forward important community initiatives including but not exclusively to Tabernacle Presbyterian Church. Utilizing capacity and connections to raise over two million dollars in the last eight years, TCSI representatives back community initiatives by helping nonprofits with fund development and project management services.
Our History, Our Future
Just north of Downtown Indianapolis sits an uncommon sight: an NFL-caliber athletic field abutting a modified fifteenth century Gothic-style church. Here, a well-worn path leads inner-city youth to a safe, fun space to let off steam. The grounds of Tabernacle Presbyterian Church (Tab) have joyfully engaged and served those that share its urban "backyard" for nearly 100 years. Through its recreation and sports ministry, Tab Recreation has served as fertile soil for over 100,000 future business, political, and community leaders as well as a launching pad for future collegiate and professional athletes. For 92 years, youth have met up with friends, teammates, coaches, mentors, and volunteers on the court, track, and field to learn life and sport fundamentals.
Considered among many as a model of modern urban youth programming, Tab Recreation has a merited reputation of inclusivity in terms of gender, race, income, and faith. Unique among faith-based youth programs, Tab Recreation intentionally blends its service to the youth of the Church with the youth of the surrounding community. For these two groups who might otherwise not interact, the program provides a safe space to play, socialize, and build empathy for each other's experiences. Sustained by the church, led by full-time staff, and fueled by community and member volunteers, six co-ed team sports are offered annually including basketball, track and field, wrestling, cheerleading, football, and soccer.
Tab's Backyard: Community Demographics
Families come from the neighborhood and all over the city to play on Tab's field and in the gym. In addition to Tab Recreation programming, the field is a community field and is heavily utilized by local schools and organizations. As youth violence increases in neighborhoods abutting Tab, youth find a safe haven here. As George Hill, former Indiana Pacer and Tab Rec alumni, describes it, Tab is a refuge "where they don't have to worry about what's going on in the outside world or the violence." Tab's geography in the heart of the city is no accident. The church recommitted fifty-one years ago to stay at 34th and Central to serve the heart of the city and this mission-driven legacy survives today in Tab's community programs. And Tab's not done. A vision is unfolding where even more of our kids can bloom where they are planted. We encourage you to click the button below to learn more.
418 East 34th Street,
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1523
|
__label__cc
| 0.69362
| 0.30638
|
Anna Melloni Rasmussen
Danish medium for physical and intellectual phenomena. Her mediumship was first manifested at the age of twelve, when a table moved both with and without contact.Poltergeist phenomena developed, then died out to give place to a range of phenomena: telekinesis, raps, slate-writing, automatic writing, luminous phenomena and trancespeech under the control of an entity "Dr. Lasaruz."
In October and November 1921, the mediumship was examined at Fritz Grünewald's laboratory at Berlin. The results were placed before the second International Congress for Psychical Research at Warsaw, Poland, in 1923. The electrical condition of the séance room was a particularly noticeable phenomenon.
In September 1922, Christian Winther, of the Polytechnic Academy of Copenhagen, commenced a series of scientific experiments in which a Professor Bondorff, of the Danish Agricultural High School, the Laboratory Director R. Dons, and Dr. A. Marner, a practicing physician also participated. According to Winther's detailed account in Psychic Research (1928) among 116 séances which he had with the medium not a single one was completely negative.
There appeared a steady outpouring of psychical energy and if a séance was not organized the medium became restless and felt ill. In many cases she gave two, three, or even four sittings in a single day. All the sittings took place in actual daylight or in very strong artificial light. The medium sat quietly in the circle at the table, took her share of the conversation, took refreshments, read a newspaper and had apparently no connection with what was going on. Trance, however, was always a great fatigue, and it was only employed when this was the special subject of study.
Some of the automatic scripts came in English. A unique feature of her mediumship was that raps emanated from her left shoulder and answered questions. The British psychical researcher Harry Price placed his ear against the medium's shoulder and distinctly heard decided thumps from her body (Psychic Research, 1928, p. 377).
Source: Gale Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1526
|
__label__wiki
| 0.789389
| 0.789389
|
COOKIE USE: Cookies help us deliver the best possible service to you. By using our site, you agree to our terms, and usage of cookies. GOT IT!
The Art Story.org - Your Guide to Modern Art
Movements Artists Timelines Ideas Blog
The Tibor de Nagy Gallery was instrumental in promoting the art of what is commonly referred to as the Second Generation of Abstract Expressionists, which included Helen Frankenthaler, Kenneth Noland and Larry Rivers. In later years, as Abstract Expressionism gave way to multiple offshoots, the gallery became a champion for the American resurgence of Realist painters. Perhaps most importantly, Tibor de Nagy developed a reputation over the years as a place for collaborative artistic ventures, bringing together visual artists and poets.
Myers and de Nagy
John Bernard Myers, a writer, poet, editor and art enthusiast from Buffalo, NY, first met Tibor de Nagy, a Hungarian banker, in 1948. One of Myers' special interests was puppetry, and together with de Nagy they started the Tibor de Nagy Marionette Company (in order to legally remain in the U.S., de Nagy needed a business that bore his name). The Company staged performances at schools in and around New York City. After a few years, the business collapsed financially, but the two were determined to keep their partnership alive.
The Gallery Opens
Myers was connected socially with many art dealers, critics and artists in New York, including Clement Greenberg, Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner. After years of encouragement to open a gallery of his own, Myers and de Nagy, along with the financial backing of Dwight Ripley, opened the Tibor de Nagy in 1950. Myers was the Gallery Director and de Nagy its business manager.
Initially unsure as to which artists to show at the Gallery, Greenberg and Pollock urged Myers to seek out artists of his own generation. As a result, the artists who soon developed close ties to the gallery were Helen Frankenthaler, Grace Hartigan, Alfred Leslie, Barnett Newman, Kenneth Noland, Fairfield Porter and Larry Rivers.
Semi-Colon, Gallery Editions and The Artists' Theatre
Between 1953 and 1956, the gallery began publishing a poetry newsletter (edited by Myers) called Semi-Colon, which promoted short verse poetry and prose. Also during this time, Myers recruited his poet friends Frank O'Hara and John Ashbery to write a series of plays for a new collaborative venture which Myers dubbed the Artists' Theatre. Myers had turned the Tibor de Nagy into more than just an art gallery; it was a publishing house and a producer of dramatic stage productions as well.
In 1959, the gallery began publishing Gallery Editions, a series of pamphlets that paired the works of poets and painters. This venture marked an important moment in the multi-media arts. Such collaborations included John Ashbery and Jane Freilicher, Frank O'Hara and Larry Rivers, Kenneth Koch and Nell Blaine, and Barbara Guest and Robert Goodnough.
Myers Leaves
In 1970, Myers stopped publishing Gallery Editions and left the Tibor de Nagy Gallery to open his own space on West 57th St. He only kept this gallery open for 4 years before leaving to become a private art dealer. Tibor de Nagy remained at the gallery that bore his name until his death in 1993.
Most of the uptown art galleries that opened in the 1940s and early 1950s established themselves by first showing European paintings (the first exhibits at both the Janis and Kootz were devoted to Léger), and then introducing American works. The Tibor de Nagy took a different and more ambitious approach by opening with relatively unknown American artists; first with abstract paintings and then venturing into even more experimental media. As the home for both the resurgence of American Realism and the Artists' Theatre, the Tibor de Nagy may have seemed contradictory in nature, but it gave avant-garde artists a venue to freely experiment with various crafts.
Most Important Exhibitions:
Artists Represented:
This was the first of 11 annual solo exhibitions Larry Rivers had at the Tibor de Nagy, between 1951 and 1962. Myers was the first gallery owner to recognize Rivers' unique talent. Rivers' pseudo-abstractions were known for their self-effacing irony and subtle infusion of pop culture references that many first-generation Abstract Expressionists loathed. Rivers eventually became known as a member of the Neo-Dada and Pop art phenomenon that followed AbEx, but it was at Tibor de Nagy that he received his big break.
Fairfield Porter
For the first few years the gallery was open, Porter made frequent visits to review shows for Art News. But it was due to John Bernard Myers' friendship with the de Koonings and Larry Rivers that Myers was convinced to give Porter his first solo exhibition in New York. The Tibor de Nagy had previously been known as a place to show more abstract work, but with this Porter exhibition (the first of 15 over the next 18 years), the gallery eventually became a popular site for renewed interest in American Realism in the New York art scene.
"Above all art has divorced itself from literature and reason. 'Words and pictures' as defined by Meyer Schapiro no longer exist except in silly and puerile ways."
- John Bernard Myers
"[The Artists' Theatre] was one of those few and far between enterprises aimed at a merger of writers, painters, and composers."
- Herbert Machiz (friend of Myers'), co-founder of The Artists' Theatre
And it is a mistake to regard [Frank] O'Hara simply as a 'painter's poet' because he was close to so many artists of the New York School. His grasp of literature and the practice of poetry was too sure, his intelligence too keen to limit himself to simple depictions of the visible world, or the process of making art."
"Oh, yes. We were friendly. John was friendly with him. Through John he used to come to our marionette company performances. Once we did our marionette performance practically only for artists in a Bridgehampton church sponsored by Harold Rosenberg, the Pollocks and so on."
- Tibor de Nagy, discussing his relationship with Clement Greenberg
Content written by:
Justin Wolf
We need your donation to maintain and grow The Art Story. Click here to help us.
THIS PAGE IS OLD
The Art Story Foundation continues to improve the content on this website. This page was written over 4 years ago, when we didn't have the more stringent/detailed editorial process that we do now. Please stay tuned as we continue to update existing pages (and build new ones). Thank you for your patronage!
WORKS OF ART:
Frank O'Hara: Poems from the Tibor de Nagy Editions, 1952-1956
Tracking the Marvelous: A Life in the New York Art World
Action, Precision: The New Direction in New York, 1955-60
Articles about The Tibor de Nagy Gallery
Tibor de Nagy, 85, Gallery Owner Who Helped Cultivate 50s Artists
Excerpt from Eyewitness: Reports from an Art World in Crisis
By Jed Perl
Records and Archives
Tibor de Nagy Official Website
Tibor de Nagy Gallery Records, 1950-1988
Smithsonian Archives of American Art
About the John Bernard Myers Papers
Letters from John Bernard Myers
From The New York Review of Books
Interview with Tibor de Nagy, conducted by Paul Cummings
At the Tibor de Nagy Gallery, March 29, 1976
All Movements
Rene Magritte
Movements Timeline
The Top 50 Timeline
The Modern Sculpture Timeline
The Abstract Expressionism Timeline
All Timelines
Idea and Art Theory
Modern Art - Defined
Postmodernism - Defined
Existentialism in Art
Greenberg vs. Rosenberg
Full Section Overview
The Art Story
©2019 The Art Story Foundation. All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Sitemap
Web Services & Hosting by The Computer Studio
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1527
|
__label__wiki
| 0.821127
| 0.821127
|
Before Midnight's Rare, Beautiful Message: Love Is Really, Really Hard
It's the best installment in Richard Linklater's romantic trilogy because it's the wisest.
Jason Bailey
Richard Linklater's 1995 film Before Sunrise and its first sequel, 2004's Before Sunset, tell a pair of simple stories. In the first, a young American named Jesse (Ethan Hawke) strikes up on a conversation on a train with a pretty French girl named Celine (Julie Delpy). There's a spark, and on the spur of the moment, he makes a suggestion: that she get off the train with him and spend the night walking and talking in Vienna. Intrigued, she takes him up on the rather risky invitation, and over the course of that night, they fall into something resembling love. In the second film, the couple reconnects nine years later, as Jesse (now an unhappily married father) spends the last few hours of his European book tour—he wrote a novel based on their initial encounter—catching up with Celine in Paris. That film ends with the hint that he might make a choice as daring as hers at the beginning of the first: to "miss that plane," and hit the reset button on his entire existence.
In other words, the first two films were about the reckless impulsiveness of young romance. Ingeniously, the third film in the series, Before Midnight, is about the consequences of that impulsiveness.
A word of warning: If you've somehow managed to avoid learning where Jesse and Celine have landed, by all means, preserve that surprise. The 2004 film managed to keep the narrative specifics under wraps, but that was a different time in movie marketing, and since the trailers and promotional materials for this one aren't keeping the secret, it's apparently up for discussion. So here's what's what: Jesse did, in fact, miss that plane. He and his wife split, he and Celine have cohabitated but not wed, and they have a pair of twin girls together. They live in Paris, so Jesse doesn't see his son from his previous marriage as much as he'd like, and as the film begins, he's putting the boy on a plane for the States at the end of a family vacation in Greece.
During that goodbye, his son mentions that a proposed visit is a bad idea, "because Mom hates you so much." Linklater's camera follows Jesse back to the car tentatively; Celine and his daughters wait there, but it's a sad trudge, and the contrast to the previous pictures is evident immediately. This life with Celine was, for years, all that he wanted, and the primary preoccupation of his imagination. But now it's a reality, and reality is messier than the flights of fantasy in fiction.
That realization becomes clearer as the particulars of Jesse and Celine's situation reveal themselves. As his son indicated, relations with Jesse's ex-wife are strained; "Why do you think she still hates me so much?" Celine asks. The infrequent visits of the long-distance relationship with his son are getting to Jesse ("I just don't think I can keep doing this"), and he asks her to consider moving to Chicago, so he can be "more present" in his son's life. Celine resists. And it is this bit of tension—a question of geography, not of love or lust—that calls their entire relationship into doubt over the course of Before Midnight's long evening.
The centerpiece of that evening, and of the film, is an encounter in a hotel room, played out in 30 minutes of real time. Their Greek friends have booked the room for the couple and are taking care of their twins, so that they can have a night to themselves, and with simple plotting and stage direction, the scene masterfully examines how a couple can blow a sure thing for themselves. The foreplay is comfortable and homey, but the tension is too thick and knocks them off-course; they start pushing buttons, killing the mood, making the conscious decision not to let things slide. (Even with the dialogue muted, you can track their miscommunication by the wildly divergent removal and retrieval of clothing items.) Much of the scene plays, as these films often do, in long takes, which gives the audience little relief from the all-out, everything-on-the-table viciousness of their fighting. Early on, Celine says "I'm kidding and I'm not, all right," but by the time they get to that hotel, she's not kidding anymore.
It's unnerving and difficult to watch these two avatars for idealistic young love going at each other with such venom—it's like seeing Romeo and Juliet battle. But by grappling with the reality that must eventually invade even the most starry-eyed of romances, Before Midnight becomes the finest, most grown-up film yet in the series. A character says that Jesse's third novel is "a better book—it's so much more ambitious," and that holds for the films as well, because the first two films are about possibility, and the third is about reality.
In Before Sunrise, Celine closes her eyes and takes a leap with Jesse; at the end of Before Sunset, Jesse returns the favor. But acts of reckless abandon have consequences, and in Before Midnight, the couple must deal with those consequences. Yet—and this is the genius of the picture, and the grandness of its achievement—the film demonstrates that a relationship strong enough to withstand the fallout of those actions is infinitely more impressive than the entirely harmonious one of romantic imagination. Before Sunrise imagined romantic love as yours for the taking. Before Sunset saw it as something that might slip from one's grasp. Before Midnight looks it straight in the eye and calls it out as hard fucking work. "It's not perfect," as Jesse says. "But it's real."
Jason Bailey is the film editor at Flavorwire. He is the author of The Ultimate Woody Allen Film Companion.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1529
|
__label__cc
| 0.551242
| 0.448758
|
'Al-Jazeera Equals Israel'
Jeffrey Goldberg
Sometimes the Middle East is too weird for words. Witness the anti-al-Jazeera demonstration in Ramallah: "Oh Jazeera, you are spies!" chanted men loyal to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president. They also lit on fire an Israeli flag with "Al Jazeera" written on it, and wrote in graffiti, "Al-Jazeera are spies," and "Al-Jazeera equals Israel." The predicate cause of this riot was the release of the so-called "Palestine Papers," which paint the Palestinian Authority as -- God forbid -- reasonable and pragmatic. (It's not always healthy for Palestinian negotiators to look too moderate, even when they are). But the riot is rooted in the belief, common among Palestinian moderates, that Al-Jazeera is out to get them, a belief that is not wholly fantastical.
Jeffrey Goldberg is the editor in chief of The Atlantic and a recipient of the National Magazine Award for Reporting. He is the author of Prisoners: A Story of Friendship and Terror.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1530
|
__label__wiki
| 0.703931
| 0.703931
|
Law and Order: Pair of Batavia residents suspected of selling drugs in Village of Attica
posted by Billie Owens in news, crime, notify, batavia, Alabama.
Kendra Kenyon, 22, (pictured left) and Dominic Beck, 23, (pictured below right) both of Batavia, no addresses noted, were among 12 people arrested recently by the Wyoming County Drug Task Force and accused of selling and/or manufacturing drugs throughout Wyoming County over the past year or so. Kenyon and Beck were the only defendants from Genesee County arrested in the sweep.
On March 13, Kenyon was charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fourth degree and conspiracy in the fourth degree. It is alleged that Kenyon and Beck agreed to sell suboxone to an individual in the Village of Attica on Feb. 8. Both allegedly travelled to Attica with the intentions of selling the drug to another subject at which time they were arrested by Task Force Members and Wyoming County Probation officers who were waiting for them when they arrived to sell the drugs.
Kenyon is currently in the Wyoming County Jail in lieu of $15,000 cash bail, while Beck, who was arrested on the same charges March 8, has since posted bail.
The Wyoming County Drug Task Force is a multi-agency unit with members from the Sheriff’s Office, Warsaw, Perry, Attica, and Arcade Police Departments, which all participate.
Tonya Lee Buzzell, 36, of Liberty Street, Batavia, is charged with: third-degree bail jumping; false personation; violation of the Family Court Act; criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree. Buzzell was located in Erie County and arrested on March 13 on four warrants then turned over to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. Following her arraignment in Genesee County Family Court, she was released on her own recognizance. Next she was arraigned in Batavia City Court regarding the false personation charge and released on her own recognizance. Afterward, she was jailed in lieu of $1,500 bail on the criminal possession of a controlled substance charge and $10,000 bail on the third-degree bail jumping charge. Additional charges may be pending. She is due in city court April 24. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Young, assisted by Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello.
Sharnice Shantell Gibson, 27, of Frank Street, Medina, is charged with: aggravated driving while intoxicated -- with a passenger less than 16 years of age; DWI; two counts of endangering the welfare of a child; and loud exhaust. Gibson was arrested March 14 on Alleghany Road in Alabama following a complaint of an erratic driver. She was arraigned in Town of Alabama Court and jailed in lieu of $2,500 cash or $5,000 bond. She is due in Town of Alabama Court on April 4. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy Joshua Brabon, assisted by Deputy Erik Andre.
Jamie Leigh Ayala, 39, of Walnut Street, Batavia, is charged with fourth-degree grand larceny and petit larceny. Ayala was arrested at 6:29 p.m. on Feb. 28 at Palm Island Indoor Water Park on Park Road in Batavia after allegedly stealing and preventing the return of a wallet containing three credit cards and other personal documents while at the water park. Ayala is due in Batavia Town Court on April 4 to answer the charges. The case was handled by Genesee County Sheriff's Deputy James Stack.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1531
|
__label__wiki
| 0.667975
| 0.667975
|
Videos About Abraham Lincoln Life
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln is widely. When the news of Lincoln’s death, 150 years ago today, first reached the public, the reactions were as varied and visceral as the reactions to his.
Abraham Lincoln is irresistible to writers. Historians have delved into Lincoln’s depression, his team of rivals and the hunt for his killer. Now, more than 150 years after Lincoln’s assassination,
How to watch: Available to rent and stream on services such as iTunes, Amazon home video and Redbox On Demand. If there is.
2019-02-16T19:14:07-05:00https://images.c-span.org/Files/ea1/20190216192119003_hd.jpgThe Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum opened in 2005 with the purpose of the telling the life story.
Christopher Columbus Challenges He Faced Oct 05, 2017 · The Columbus Day Problem. to share perspectives on the changing currents around Columbus Day and the challenges of learning and teaching history, James Loewen’s Lies My Teacher Told Me, and his shorter Lies My Teacher Told Me about Christopher Columbus, critique how textbooks have covered Columbus. For instance, they lay out what.
Abraham Lincoln is credited by many with saving a nation. From humble beginnings to a tragic end, follow the events that shaped the life of the United States'.
2016-03-19T15:54:58-04:00https://images.c-span.org/Files/6c1/20160319155816003_hd.jpgSpeakers at the 19th annual Abraham Lincoln Symposium participated in a panel discussion about the life and legacy.
Mar 8, 2015. SHOP AMAZON – GIVE THE GIFT OF AMAZON PRIME http://amzn.to/2d55Gs0 Biography of Abraham Lincoln (full documentary). Thanks for.
Lincoln’s Loyal Governors” was part of the annual Abraham Lincoln Symposium exploring the 16th president’s life, career, and legacy. Stephen Engle, author of Gathering to Save a Nation: Lincoln and.
Description: This biography describes the entire life of Abraham Lincoln in. Description: This video tells about Abraham Lincoln's home in Springfield, Illinois.
Honest Abe—what a nickname. Abraham Lincoln was the president who led the country through the Civil War and abolished slavery. And he rocked that black.
History Of The United States 1889 In any case, the question of presidents and trophy wives reminded me of the original trophy-wife example in American presidential history. Ms. Saulny is apparently. including the chartering of a. United States Census Bureau. At noon on April 22, 1889, a starting gun announced the start of the "Oklahoma. Number of States: 38, 4, Chicago,
According to Mediaite.com, there was another controversial moment on the same show (video below) when Harris-Perry talked about Abraham Lincoln. Guest Jamie Kilstein started a discussion about how.
Abraham Lincoln's Childhood. This page provides a detailed description of Lincoln's childhood in Kentucky and Indiana.
The Abraham Lincoln Institute and Ford’s Theatre Society hosted the symposium at historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. to highlight the 16th president’s life, career and legacy. Historian David.
May 25, 2019. Actor Jon Voight delivered a two-part video message on Twitter where he. that President Trump is the greatest president since Abraham Lincoln. He has more real-life experience in the private sector, decades of it. than.
In the Introductory Activity, students will match vocabulary words with pictures to piece together a timeline of Abraham Lincoln’s life. In the Learning Activities, students will gather various facts.
Abraham Lincoln became the United States' 16th President in 1861, issuing the. before receiving his party's nomination for President, he sketched his life:.
2015-05-30T18:00:13-04:00https://images.c-span.org/Files/b09/20150530180319003_hd.jpgPaul Quigley talked about how Abraham Lincoln’s image has been adapted internationally for different purposes since.
The Abraham Lincoln Institute and Ford’s Theatre Society hosted the symposium at historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. to highlight the 16th president’s life, career and legacy. Author James.
Abraham Lincoln grew up in a log cabin in rural Kentucky and went on to become the 16th President of the United States. Poster for current biography video.
Your browser does not currently recognize any of the video formats available. Click here to visit our frequently asked questions about HTML5 video.
And closing remarks were delivered by Abraham Lincoln Institute President Jonathan White. The institute and Ford’s Theatre Society hosted the symposium at historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.
2015-03-21T00:00:00-04:00https://images.c-span.org/Files/57e/1426777592.jpgBook TV presents LIVE coverage of an all day symposium on the life, career, and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. Topics included.
8 Facts About Alexander Hamilton immersive exhibit” inspired by the life of Alexander Hamilton, as told through Miranda’s hit play—is opening on Chicago’s Northerly Island on April 27 and will remain there until September 8. From. Jan 09, 2017 · Hamilton: An American Musical is a brilliant production about one of country’s most important historical figures. Through the music genres of
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, as the second child of Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a one-room log cabin on.
Aug 1, 2017. Download Anecdotes of Abraham Lincoln and Lincolns Stories Including Early Life Stories Read Full Ebook. 0:34. Download Anecdotes of.
Here's a biography on Abraham Lincoln talking about history for kids. Our cartoon looks at the life of the 16th President, so fun on our Cartoon Network with.
Biography takes a rare glimpse into Abraham Lincoln's personal life; including his tumultuous marriage and abusive father. Poster for current biography video.
The Abraham Lincoln Institute and Ford’s Theatre Society hosted the symposium at historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. to highlight the 16th president’s life, career and legacy. Author Richard.
2015-03-21T00:00:00-04:00https://images.c-span.org/Files/e9a/1426777561.jpgBook TV presents LIVE coverage of an all day symposium on the life, career, and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. Topics included.
And they got married late in life. What research did you do? I learned as much as I can about these guys, and the book is a promiscuous mixture of fact and invention. The book that was helpful was.
Learn more about the life and times of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States.
The Abraham Lincoln Institute and Ford’s Theatre Society hosted the symposium at historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. to highlight the 16th president’s life, career and legacy. Boston.
Amazon.com: Abraham Lincoln: A Life from Beginning to End (Biographies of US Presidents Book 16) eBook: Hourly History:. Product and related videos (0).
There is no one type of patriotic video game, but rather several different kinds that. and the entire mission is overseen.
Previous: 8 Facts About Alexander Hamilton
Next: Christopher Columbus Challenges He Faced
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1534
|
__label__wiki
| 0.855231
| 0.855231
|
Search - Hi-Lo Country (Ws) on DVD
Hi-Lo Country
Actors: Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Patricia Arquette, Cole Hauser, Enrique Castillo
Director: Stephen Frears
Genres: Westerns, Drama, Military & War
Based on the novel by Max Evans and directed by Stephen Frears, The Hi-Lo Country charted a long and circuitous route to the big screen, and the final result proves that the material posed a major--and perhaps insurmoun... more »table--challenge for screen adaptation. It's easy to see why this contemporary Western was once a coveted project of director Sam Peckinpah; its codes of honor, male bonding, and hardened morality would've played nicely into Peckinpah's artistic legacy. There are clear echoes of Peckinpah in the screenplay by Walon Green (who wrote The Wild Bunch), and while the movie is blessed by Woody Harrelson's vivid performance as a reckless latter-day cowboy, Frears fails to maintain a compelling tone and the rest of the cast nearly fades into the background. Billy Crudup (Without Limits) plays Harrelson's best pal, just returned to New Mexico from service in World War II with hopes of starting a cattle ranch free from the greedy clutches of a local rancher (Sam Elliott) who dominates the town of Hi-Lo like a bootclad kingpin. Harrelson joins in the effort, but tensions rise when he connects with the sultry seductress (Patricia Arquette) with whom Crudup has fallen inexplicably in love. Harrelson has provoked others as well, and he seems primed for a fall, but The Hi-Lo Country is a film out of balance. Memorable moments are found in abundance, and the film's period detail is impeccable, but Crudup's character is so underwritten and underplayed that his role as narrator and ostensible hero has minimal dramatic impact. By the time fate deals its inevitable blow, it's too late to care. Frears has suffered from similar missteps before (remember Mary Reilly?), and The Hi-Lo Country leaves you wondering what Peckinpah might have done with the novel he so dearly admired. --Jeff Shannon « less
Creators: Barbara De Fina, Eric Fellner, Liza Chasin, Martin Scorsese, Rudd Simmons, Max Evans, Walon Green
Sub-Genres: Westerns, Love & Romance, Military & War
Studio: Polygram USA Video
Format: DVD - Color,Full Screen,Widescreen,Anamorphic - Closed-captioned
Screens: Color,Full Screen,Widescreen,Anamorphic
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Subtitles: French
The Hi-Lo Country
Espiritu Salvaje
All the Pretty Horses
Director: Billy Bob Thornton
The Culpepper Cattle Co
Director: Dick Richards
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Good Old Boys
Director: Tommy Lee Jones
2012 1hr 58min
The Blue Lightning
Director: William A. Fraker
The Rounders
Director: Burt Kennedy
Authentic dying Old Southwest
Clark C. Siewert | Santa Fe, New Mexico | 09/21/1999
"What critics can't understand is that this is the way these ranch people were and still are. I was partly brought up on a ranch in West Texas, near the Hi Lo country in New Mexico. Ranch People really do have names like big boy and little boy and often speak in a slow taciturn way like Billy's character. And there are a few wild ones like the Woody Harrelson character. What the film portrays is the genuine hardness of life and human relationships in this lonely stark ranching environment, which was even more so in the time portrayed. I have met all these characters many times in real life and this film touched my heart for a way of life which is still painfully dying. The film is a great slice of American life. I will be interested in seeing what the same critics make of the soon to be released All the Pretty Horses, similar in many ways and also filmed in New Mexico. Critics, how about some respect for new Westerns that do not star Clint Eastwood and lots of violence or showcase sentimental Robert Redford?"
Harrelson's Best Performance
Reviewer | 04/14/2001
"This character study, set in New Mexico in the early `40s, begins with an enigmatic narrative that infuses "The Hi-Lo Country," directed by Stephen Frears, with a tension that ultimately runs high throughout the entire film. The story focuses on the friendship between a couple of cowboys, Pete Calder (Billy Crudup) and Big Boy Matson (Woody Harrelson), who upon returning from the war are trying to make a go of the cattle business, while bucking some stiff competition from the local cattle baron, Jim Ed Love (Sam Elliott). At the same time, Pete becomes aware that he is not alone in his obsession with a married woman, Mona (Patricia Arquette); Big Boy has it bad for her, too, and she just happens to be the wife of Jim Ed's foreman, Les Birk (John Diehl). And, as usually happens with a situation involving obsession, things quickly begin to get sticky for all concerned. Big Boy, it seems, is the one headed for trouble; he's hot-tempered, stubborn, and fearless to a point bordering on stupidity. Pete, on the other hand, has a good head on his shoulders and has a couple of things going for him: One is a woman named Josepha (Penelope Cruz), who cares deeply for him, and the other is his unwavering loyalty to Big Boy. The tension continues to mount, and the situation is complicated further by the fact that Big Boy isn't exactly discreet about his feelings for Mona, nor of his disdain for Jim Ed Love, for whom his younger brother, Little Boy (Cole Hauser) now works. Inevitably, things come to a head; but when it happens, the arena in which it transpires is something of a surprise, though not entirely unexpected. Frears does a good job of capturing the essence of another time and place that seems so near and yet so far away. The world was changing around them, but in the Hi-Lo country there were still cowboys who punched cattle and drove the herd to market on horseback. Theirs is a fairly self-contained world, far removed from anything that is happening elsewhere; if a butterfly flaps it's wings in New York, it isn't going to affect Pete or Big Boy. Frears takes a look at the difference between the two men, Big Boy, who lives primarily for the moment (or so it would seem), and Pete, who is more apt to consider the consequences of his decisions, except, that is, when it comes to Mona. But even in that respect, it's Pete who ultimately shows some restraint. And Frears maintains the tension by keeping the situation between the men and Mona precariously balanced on the fence. You know that someone is bound to fall, but you don't know who it will be, where or when. Crudup is convincing as Pete, bringing him to life with a reserved, understated performance. He brings an intelligent and introspective quality to the character that leads you to believe that Pete is always cognizant of what is going on around him, and where it's all heading. With Big boy, on the other hand, you never know if he's ever really aware of his situation, or if he just doesn't care. As Big Boy, Harrelson gives what may be his best performance ever. His portrayal is that of a true, rugged individual who keeps his deepest feelings to himself, but just may be a bit more savvy than he lets on. Initially, it appears that Big Boy and Pete are opposite sides of the same coin, but in the end you realize that they are not so different from one another after all. As Mona, Arquette gives a somewhat subdued performance. Though attractive, she doesn't exactly exude the kind of sensuality that would seemingly elicit the obsessiveness of the men that is called for by the story, especially in Pete's case. Knowing what you know about the characters involved, it is hard to believe that Pete would look past the lovely and more alluring Josepha for even a second glance at Mona. The supporting cast includes James Gammon (Hoover), Darren E. Burrows (Billy), Lane Smith (Steve) and Jacob Vargas (Delfino). A good, solid drama, "The Hi-Lo Country" may not be entirely original, but Frears has a nice touch and gives it a sense of realism that will get you emotionally involved with the characters and their story. And, upon reflection, it's a glimpse of a world that not that long ago was so much bigger than it is today."
SUNRISES AND SUNSETS
wdanthemanw | Geneva, Switzerland | 04/05/2000
"Set in the late 40's in New Mexico, HI-LO COUNTRY has the nostalgic beauty of things passed. Pete and Big boy live in the traditional cow-boy way ; hard days in the company of cows and horses in the tough new mexican climate, heavy drinking in the bars of the towns at night and the usual women & rodeos cocktail on week-ends. But this life cannot last for ever. Progress, lawmen and fast money are killing little by little one of the most enduring american dream.Director Stephen Frears opposes in HI-LO COUNTRY these two different ways of life that can't live together. Curiously enough, the new generation is prompter to use guns in order to solve problems and young senoritas are far more rational than the sons of John Wayne. But one thing doesn't change in the turmoil of time : nature and its breath-taking beauty.HI-LO COUNTRY is a beautiful movie, an out of time movie which can reconcile you with true cinema. Note the wonderful musical score which explores with subtlety different atmospheres : country-music, folkloric tunes and lyrical LEGENDS OF THE FALL-like themes.A DVD for your library."
A Blank Spot on the Map
Douglas Doepke | Claremont, CA United States | 01/11/2003
"The plot may creak a bit, but the film itself remains a superbly done period piece. It is Northeastern New Mexico, circa 1945, and the prairie vistas are wide open with an unbounded sense of freedom, but one that stretches out to monotonously barren horizons. Homesteading cattle is no easy task in the hardpan Hi-Lo country, and certainly no place for the Hollywood glamor factory. Except for a few questionable touches (Sam Elliott's leering villian, for one), the viewer gets a real sense of time and place, and of what goes on with the hard-bitten folks living there. The movie's core, however, remains Woody Harrelson's Big Boy whose boisterously callous behavior develops so slyly, you may not notice your own shifting responses. The jut-jawed Harrelson is near perfect, as are the cow town atmospherics with their smoky Saturday night honky-tonk. Seldom has anyone gotten a cowboy so right, and seldom has any film blended landscape of place with landscape of character more successfully than this one. Both demonstrate how sheer surface expanse can overwhelm frail emotional depth. Martin Scorese ( a most unlikely source for a Western theme) was a background producer, and I suspect it is he we have to thank for getting this very non-commercial story onto the video screen. Stephen Frears directs at a leisurely but revealing pace, allowing the occasional quiet but necessary moment to creep in. This minor gem should satisfy anyone curious about those obscure backwaters of the American West that appear mysteriously as blank spots on the road map. Despite undeniable concessions, Hi-Lo Country remains truer to its prosaic sources than the mock heroics and contrived mayhem of the traditional western, and is thus well worth a look see. Give it a try."
A tribute to Sam Pekinpah and Walon Green...
Thomas F. Redmond | Cleveland, OH | 01/12/2004
"This movie is basically for affectionados of Sam Pekinpah and Walon Green. The message of this film is that the nature of western life is underscored by the propensity of its people to live with recklessness and violence in generational terms. Think of it as sort of like, "The Wild Bunch" aftermath, about forty years beyond. While the "Wild Bunch" was about the west during the period of industrialization around the turn of the century, "The Hi Lo Country" deals with the period of superindustrialization following World War II.Woody Harrelson and Billy Crudup play two cowboys who fall for the same woman, Patricia Arquette. Harrelson as the violent "Big Boy" shows no sense of morality or humilty as the film's main protagonist, while Crudup as "Pete" is almost the exact opposite. Sam Elliot portrays a villanous rancher/industrialist, while the desirable Penelope Cruz is the overlooked, unrequitted love in Pete's life. All of the actors turn in solid performances, but what makes this film special is the story itself, the direction, and Jerry Goldsmith's subtle, forceful soundtrack."
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1536
|
__label__wiki
| 0.931593
| 0.931593
|
Charlotte Henshaw lands Paralympic breaststroke bronze in Rio
Charlotte Henshaw won the second Paralympic medal of her career with 100m Breaststroke bronze at Rio 2016.
The SB6 classification swimmer came home in 1:37.79 to add bronze to her silver in the same event four years ago.
Australia’s world champion Tiffany Thomas Kane clocked a Paralympic record 1:35.39 for gold while USA’s Sophia Herzog took silver in 1:36.95.
But 29-year old Nova Centurion swimmer Henshaw pulled clear of the rest of the field to secure the final place on the podium at her third Paralympics.
World bronze medallist and ParalympicsGB teammate Ellie Simmonds clocked a personal best 1:39.46 to finish fourth.
“That was hard work, it hurt a lot,” said Henshaw, who was competing in her only event of the Games. “I felt really relaxed going into it. I went quicker than this morning but I’m disappointed with the time.
“But I always say people shouldn’t dismiss a medal at the Paralympic Games, it’s a great thing to be here.
“It’s very hard to get a medal now, so to get on the podium at 29, I’m quite happy with that.”
The result was Henshaw’s eighth major medal in nine years in the SB6 100m Breaststroke.
Since finishing fourth on her Paralympic debut in 2008, she has won two silvers and a bronze at World level as well as a silver and two golds – including in 2016 – on the European stage.
Need help with Paralympic swimming classification? Check out the Lexi decoder video
Claire Cashmore sets PB in 100m Fly final
S9 classification swimmer Claire Cashmore was the only other ParalympicsGB swimmer in an individual final on the night.
Having won SB8 100m Breaststroke silver 24 hours earlier, she clocked a personal best to finish fifth in the 100m Butterfly.
The 28-year old touched in 1:09.46 in the final, finishing just 0.25 seconds behind Hungary’s bronze medallist Zsofia Konkoly.
Cashmore’s previous best had come in the morning heats from which the English Paralympic swimmer qualified second fastest in 1:09.77.
Women’s freestyle relay finish fourth
An all-English quartet closed the night with a fourth place in the women’s 34pt 4x100m Freestyle Relay.
Stephanie Millward, Amy Marren, Susie Rodgers and Alice Tai clocked 4:26.95 for ParalympicsGB. But the Brits finished a couple of seconds shy of the podium as China took bronze on 4:24.22.
View full results from day eight finals at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1537
|
__label__wiki
| 0.577387
| 0.577387
|
Victory in Ward 8: Orr Parents Organize for New Building and New Leadership
Laila Patrick held her breath in anticipation, waiting to hear her name called as her two children played on the floor nearby. Ms. Patrick sat with her muscles tensed, at the edge of her seat, with her mother supportively sitting in the chair beside her.
“She’s talking about me!” Ms. Patrick whispered to her mother as the event host shared the story of her role in the parent activism that earned her children’s school two major victories last school year – funding for a new building, and new leadership for the school. As her name was called, Ms. Patrick proudly stood up and walked down the red carpet to be recognized as both her mom and her children watched, beaming with pride and adoration.
On Tuesday, September 30, 2014, more than 40 parents, teachers, students, and community members of Orr Elementary (DCPS) gathered to celebrate their victories in the previous school year and recognize the parent leaders and community members who advocated for a long-overdue modernization and improved leadership for the school. The children watched proudly as their parents were honored and took pictures with them receiving their certificates.
Ms. Patrick was a key leader in the advocacy efforts at Orr Elementary during the 2013-2014 school year. Teaching for Change stood with Ms. Patrick and other parents as they took on the dual battle for modernization and a new principal. Parent leaders advocated for both issues through formal and informal channels: emailing and calling DC Public Schools and city officials, speaking out on the radio, hosting and giving tours to councilmembers, submitting their personal stories for public testimony, protesting in the streets in a public demonstration, meeting with DCPS officials, and finally, organizing a direct action at DCPS headquarters to demand a new principal before the school year ended.
Ms. Patrick wore multiple hats as a key parent leader within the school. She read in classrooms as a “Roving Reader” and recruited parents to participate in workshops and volunteer around the school. Throughout the year she contacted city officials, contributed to strategy meetings, helped organize demonstrations, and spoke publicly about the parents’ concerns despite attempts by DCPS to discredit her and other parents.
When Orr ended the school year with $39 million dollars budgeted for a new building and the controversial principal was removed, Ms. Patrick was elated by the news. The victories were made even more sweet when the school received its top choice for a new principal, Dr. Carolyn Jackson-King, who immediately reached out to the Orr parents and community to move forward in partnership. Dr. Jackson-King met with parents, toured the neighborhood, and rolled out a red carpet for the teachers as the new school year began. She has been actively coordinating with city officials to begin the modernization process with the funding parents so fervently fought for and won during the spring.
After taking her picture, Ms. Patrick returned to her seat as more parents and community members who supported the fights were honored. When the event was over, she and her son took one last stroll on the red carpet before walking home.
Posted Wednesday, October 22, 2014 |
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1539
|
__label__wiki
| 0.972839
| 0.972839
|
U.S. Women’s Eight Is Victorious In Reclaiming World Title After Missing Out For First Time In 12 Years
By Blythe Lawrence | Sept. 16, 2018, 1:21 p.m. (ET)
The U.S. women's eight celebrates winning gold at the 2018 World Rowing Championships on Sept. 16, 2018 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
A year after finishing off the top of the podium at the World Rowing Championships for the first time since 2005, the U.S. women are back on top.
The American boat coxed by Olympic gold medalist Katelin Guregian found its swing 500 meters into the women’s eight final at Sunday in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, making up a half-second deficit to row past a fast-starting Australian team and take a lead it never relinquished on the 2,000-meter course. The Americans crossed the line in 6 minutes, 0.970 seconds to bring the world title back to the U.S.
Among the women in the boat — Olympic champions Guregian and Emily Regan, Olympians Felice Mueller and Tracy Eisser, Youth Olympian Dana Moffat, and Kristine O’Brien, Victoria Opitz, Gia Doonan and Olivia Coffey — only Regan and Guregian were present in 2017’s bitter finish at home in Florida. There, the Americans finished fourth, a shock for a country that had claimed every world and Olympic title in the event since 2006. This year, nothing was taken for granted.
“We knew it would be a very fast race and that the conditions would be rough,” Eisser said to World Rowing. “Our plan was to stay together and support the girl in front of us. When the first time we started to move, I realized we could control.”
Canada, which began the race in fourth place, earned the silver thanks to a superhuman effort midway through, while Australia settled for bronze.
A year after earning silver for its first medal in four years, the U.S. men’s eight finished just 0.170 seconds off the podium in fourth.
Meghan O’Leary and Ellen Tomek last year ended a 27-year medal drought for the U.S. in women’s double sculls, earning silver. This year they proved it wasn’t a fluke, returning to the podium with a bronze. O’Leary and Tomek started slowly, sitting only fifth after the first quarter of the race before climbing to third, clocking in at 6:47.750 for bronze. Lithuania’s Milda Valciukaite and Ieva Adomaviciute took gold, followed by New Zealand’s Brooke Donoghue and Olivia Loe.
“It’s been a hard week of racing in a really tough field,” O’Leary said. “Today, it was a bit dicey at the beginning, but I’m glad that we pushed through.”
In the PR1 women’s single sculls, Hallie Smith earned bronze, a position she held for the entirety of the race behind defending world champion Birgit Skarstein of Norway and Israel’s Moran Samuel. Smith finished more than five seconds ahead of the fourth-place finisher.
Smith’s bronze marked Team USA’s third para-rowing medal in Plovdiv, adding to the gold won by Danielle Hansen and Jaclyn Smith in the PR3 women’s pair and silver by Hansen, Alexandra Reilly, Mike Varro, Charley Nordin and Jaclyn Smith in the mixed coxed four.
2016 Paralympian Blake Haxton was fourth in the PR1 men’s single sculls.
Also just missing the medals Sunday was 2012 Olympic medalist Kara Kohler, who was less than a second from bronze in women’s single sculls.
Blythe Lawrence is a journalist based in Seattle. She has covered two Olympic Games and is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
Team USA Claims Gold In Women’s Four At World Rowing Championships Ahead Of Event’s Olympic Return Sept. 15, 2018
20 Athletes To Watch At The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Aug. 25, 2018
Meet The U.S. Athletes Who Could Make History At The 2020 Olympics In Tokyo July 24, 2018
A Complete Look At All The New Sports And Events For The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 July 24, 2018
Katelin Snyder
Emily Regan
Felice Mueller
Tracy Eisser
Meghan O'Leary
Ellen Tomek
Kara Kohler
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1541
|
__label__wiki
| 0.81457
| 0.81457
|
You've got slightly longer to get a free taste of Overwatch
By Darren Allan 2016-05-09T08:55:00.129Z Gaming
Don't overlook your last chance to partake in the Overwatch open beta
Blizzard has decided to extend the beta for its big team shooter for an extra 24 hours, giving players a little more time to enjoy the game and suss out the various classes before launch.
The open beta, which has been running since last Thursday, now concludes tomorrow, Tuesday May 10, at 10:00 PDT which is 18:00 UK time. Previously, it was supposed to wrap up today.
However, Blizzard said that testers had provided them with invaluable data in terms of shaping the game, and the extra day is a reward for those efforts. The company said: "As a small way of saying 'thank you' to our community and the millions of players who've logged in so far, we will be extending the Open Beta by 1 day on all platforms."
So yes, PC, Xbox One and PS4 players alike will get another day of blasting.
Fortnight before the real fight
Overwatch launches on May 24, so you've got a two-week wait after the beta has finished before you can partake in the team battler again.
The game follows in the footsteps of Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm, in that it takes an existing concept – in this case, it's Team Fortress as opposed to the MOBA – and polishes it up.
Unlike Heroes of the Storm, however, players need to actually buy Overwatch, as opposed to having free access to the game and purchasing individual heroes. Blizzard has said that future maps and new heroes will be made available to the Overwatch player base for free.
Also check out: Is Overwatch the next Team Fortress 2?
See more Gaming news
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1542
|
__label__wiki
| 0.57751
| 0.57751
|
TEREZÍN MUSIC FOUNDATION 2019 GALA
History & 'Our Will to Live'
Andris Nelsons • music
Annette Miller • drama
Daniel Ludwig • art
André Previn, composer
Vytas J. Baksys, piano
Michael Winter, horn
Award: Norman L. Eisen
Sponsor student or survivor tickets
Support TMF
MAESTRO RAFAEL FRÜHBECK DE BURGOS
Originally on our concert program; the Maestro had generously planned to conduct the Pavel Haas Study for String Orchestra at our 2014 Gala.
"I deeply regret to share news of Maestro Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos' passing on June 11, 2014, in Pamplona, Spain. One of the great maestros in classical music, Maestro Frühbeck will be greatly missed by my BSO colleagues, the Boston classical music community, and orchestras and music lovers around the world. We will announce conductor for the Pavel Haas Study for String Orchestra at our Gala concert this summer." —Mark Ludwig, TMF Executive Director
A regular guest with North America’s top orchestras, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos conducted the New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, National, Detroit, St. Louis, Houston, New World, and Seattle Symphony Orchestras in the 2013-14 season, and he appeared annually at the Tanglewood Music Festival.
From 2004-2011, he was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Dresden Philharmonic, and in the 2012-13 season began his post as Chief Conductor of the Danish National Orchestra. Maestro Frühbeck made extensive tours with such ensembles as the Philharmonia of London, the London Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Madrid, and the Swedish Radio Orchestra. He has toured North America with the Vienna Symphony, the Spanish National Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos recorded extensively for EMI, Decca, Deutsche Gramophone, Spanish Columbia, and Orfeo. Several of his recordings are considered to be classics, including his interpretations of Mendelssohn’s Elijah and St. Paul, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Bizet’s Carmen, and the complete works of Manual de Falla.
TEREZÍN MUSIC FOUNDATION • concerts • commissions • recordings • publications • Holocaust education in the U.S. & Europe
Mark Ludwig, Executive Director
www.terezinmusic.org • info@terezinmusic.org • tel. 857-222-8262 • TICKETS 857-222-8263
P.O. Box 230206, Boston, Massachusetts 02123
HONORING THE LEGACY • INSPIRING NEW VOICES
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1544
|
__label__cc
| 0.519619
| 0.480381
|
Karen Galvez
N/A - California Collegiate Athletic Association
Position:Midfielder
College: Cal State Los Angeles
Conference: California Collegiate Athletic Association
Hometown:San Diego, CA
Sa PCT
@ Azusa Pacific 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
vs Dixie State 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
@ Fresno Pacific 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
@ Cal State Chico* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
@ Stanislaus State* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
vs Humboldt State* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
vs Sonoma State* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
vs Cal State Dominguez Hills* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
@ San Francisco State* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
vs Cal State East Bay* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
vs Cal State Monterey Bay* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
@ Cal State Dominguez Hills* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
@ UC San Diego* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
@ Cal State San Marcos* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
vs Cal Poly Pomona* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
vs Cal State San Bernardino* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
@ Sonoma State* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0
Please note that all stats are submitted by each individual college. Please contact that college's Sports Information Department directly regarding any mistakes or discrepancies.
Sapirman Named Assistant Coach
2019 Division I women's transfer tracker
2019 Women's recruiting class announcements
Potential college stars with a USW (...)
Wagner Adds Grad Transfer Mariana Jaramillo
U20 vets lay foundation for World Cup win
2019 Siena Women's Soccer Schedule Released
Commodores Release 2019 Schedule
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1545
|
__label__cc
| 0.611509
| 0.388491
|
General Star Trek September 8, 2016
Home General Star Trek Uncategorized
T'Bonz 3 years ago No Comment Yet
Fifty years ago, Star Trek made its debut on American television. Yet I was not viewing it, unlike many kids my age (I was eight). Why not?
Well evidently my parents didn’t like the show. I remember them mocking it at some point when I was a kid. This made no sense, as they watched just about every other cheesy sci-fi series of the 1960s (Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, It’s About Time) and I watched along with them, but alas no Star Trek. To add insult to injury, Trek was only halfway over when it was my bedtime so even had they watched it, I’d have been booted out of the room at 8:30. Yeah, parents were stricter back then.
Fast forward to junior high, say 1971. A friend of mine was into sci-fi and she brought the James Blish books to school and talked up Star Trek, which was in syndication then. I read one of the books and was immediately interested in seeing the show. I had always loved science and anyone who was a child in the 1960s loved the idea of space travel. Plus – I had grown up on 1960s TV sci-fi (minus Star Trek). The show was airing in my city on weeknights from 5-6 PM and I tuned in and became a great fan. I was lucky enough that some of my friends really liked it too, so unlike many Trek fans, I was not alone in my love of the show. I devoured those Blish books!
What attracted me to Star Trek? Hope. My first non-family memory was JFK’s funeral and I was in front of the TV to see the announcements of the 1968 assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Riots and Vietnam War news were daily fare on the evening news. There was the ever-present threat of nuclear armageddon courtesy of the U.S.S.R. It was a real fear back then.
But Star Trek provided hope for the future and that was very appealing to a young teen. In their world, humanity had finally got past the bad stuff and somehow they hadn’t nuked themselves into non-existence. Humans were explorers now, and meeting all sorts of cool aliens. To someone wondering if she would ever get to grow up in a dangerous, chaotic world, Trek was uplifting.
And who could beat the combination of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy? The three characters meshed together perfectly. As a teen, lost in a confusing world, Spock appealed to me as another outsider in the game of life. Personality-wise, I was (and still am) all McCoy.
I must confess, in 1971, I thought I had missed out on the heyday of Star Trek. How wrong I was. The adventure had only got started. Fifty years on, it’s still going strong.
Happy Birthday, Star Trek. You HAVE lived long and prospered!
Topics: 50th Anniversary
Million Dollar Roddenberry Prize Offered
Star Trek 50 Artists 50 Years Review
Star Trek Discovery: Original Series Episode Is A Touchstone
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1546
|
__label__wiki
| 0.713222
| 0.713222
|
Earnings Watch: Landstar Reports Record Quarterly Revenue, ArcBest Profit Improves
January 31, 2018 • by Staff
More trucking companies on Wednesday reported surging fourth-quarter earnings and higher profits for the year, including Landstar and ArcBest, thanks tax changes and increased freight demand.
Landstar System Inc. reported net income of $64.8 million, or $1.54 per share, in the 2017 fourth quarter on record revenue of $1.05 billion. This compares to net income a year earlier of $39.6 million, or 94 cents per share, with revenue of $892.8 million.
Included in the net income are one-time tax benefits of approximately $19.5 million, related to the company’s estimate of the change in future tax rates on net deferred tax liabilities as a result of Congressional tax reform signed into law late last year. Excluding this, net income was $45.2 million, or $1.08 earnings per share.
For the first time in the company's history, quarterly revenue surpassed $1 billion. Landstar also set new quarterly records for gross profit (defined as revenue less the cost of purchased transportation and commissions to agents) and operating income in the 2017 fourth quarter. Gross profit was $149.7 million and operating income was $70 million.
The number of loads hauled by truck in the fourth quarter was also an all-time Landstar quarterly record, up 3% over the 2016 fourth quarter. This was driven by a 2% increase in the number of loads hauled via van equipment, a 4% increase in the number of loads hauled by unsided/platform equipment, and a 9% increase in less-than-truckload volume.
For all of 2017, Landstar had net income of $177.1 million, with revenue of $3.6 billion, compared to 2016 net income of $137.4 million and revenue of $3.2 billion.
"The year-over-year earnings growth rates are particularly impressive given a significant increase in the provision for incentive compensation in 2017 and the fact that 2016 had one additional week of operations compared to 2017,” said Landstar President and CEO Jim Gattoni. “During the first three weeks of 2018, we are experiencing growth in the number of loads hauled via truck in the high single-digit percentage range over the 2017 first quarter. I expect that trend to continue throughout the 2018 first quarter."
ArcBest Profit Improves, Expects Capacity Will Tighten More
ArcBest Corp. reported net income during the final three months of last year increased to $36.6 million, or $1.37 per share, from $1.6 million, or 6 cents per share, from the same time in 2016.
Revenue edged higher to $710.7 million from $688.2 million for this parent to ABF Freight.
Due to the lower corporate tax rate under the federal tax reform, the fourth quarter 2017 net income reflects the impact of a $24.5 million reduction of income tax liabilities related to deferred income taxes, according to the company.
The mainly less-than-truckload operation also reported tonnage per day in its asset-based segment decreased 4.7% in the fourth quarter, as shipments per day decreased 8.1%. As a result, total billed revenue per hundredweight increased 7.6%.
For all of 2017, net income for ArcBest increased to $59.7 million, or $2.25 per share, compared to $18.6 million, or 71 cents per share, in 2016. Revenue moved higher in 2017, totaling $2.83 billion versus $2.7 billion in 2016.
On an adjusted basis, due to the tax reform package, ArcBest had 2017 net income of $35.6 million, or $1.33 per share, compared to net income of $24.3 million, or 92 cents per share, in 2016.
ArcBest Chairman, President and CEO Judy McReynolds said 2017 presented challenging conditions with tighter capacity resulting from an improving economy, and impacts from the damaging hurricanes in August and September.
"We expect tighter capacity will continue in 2018 as the electronic logging device mandate took effect last December," she said.
Related: ABF Freight to Work with Teamsters on Collective Bargaining Agreement
Read more about ArcBest Corp. Landstar System Fleet Earnings
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1548
|
__label__cc
| 0.593692
| 0.406308
|
Navigate to: Plan Your Visit Group Tours Museum Exhibits Permanent Exhibits The Presidential Years Temporary Exhibits Host an Event Museum Store Volunteer Program The Archives Museum Collections
Exceptional experience – this is a must-see. The museum not only is world-class in every way, it stands out for its balanced presentation.
TripAdvisor Review
Experience the eventful and triumphant life of America’s 33rd president. Harry S. Truman’s story is richly and uniquely American. From humble beginnings, he rose to become the most powerful man in the world. For nearly eight years, he guided our nation and the world through perilous times, from the ending of World War II to the beginning of the Cold War. Since the Library’s dedication in July 1957, the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum has welcomed and inspired millions of visitors from across the globe.
Online Exhibit: Truman and Civil Rights
The Presidential Years
Truman faced challenges on the world stage that no other president has had to face and whether his decisions were right or wrong (and they are still in debate today), he had the guts to make them.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1549
|
__label__cc
| 0.639825
| 0.360175
|
HOME | BUSINESSES | HOTELS
Report: How will Greece’s “stayover tax” affect tourists and its hospitality industry
Additional fees are unlikely to have a serious impact on the number of tourists to Greece, nor an impact on real estate in Greece
Overseas property broker Tranio reports in its latest weekly digest that from January 1, 2018, foreign tourists who stay in Greece for more than a day are obliged to pay a stayover tax, the amount of which depends on the category of their accommodation. Hotel stays will cost an extra €0.5–4 per night for tourists, while renting a room or flat will cost an extra €0.25–1 per night.
Controversial tax
The tax is one of the measures adopted by the Greek parliament in May 2016 to stabilise the country's economy. According to government estimates, the new tax will bring about €80 million a year to the treasury. Greece is also raising VAT from 23% to 24%, and introducing a special tax on cigarettes, tobacco and electronic cigarettes. Greece’s tax reforms and austerity measures are already seeing results – according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Greece’s GDP grew by 1.68% in 2017, and it is expected to grow by 2.5% in 2018.
On the other hand, the new tax has been widely criticised by the hospitality industry. In particular, the Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers (HFF) has expressed its fears that it would negatively affect the development of the industry and asked to limit its enforcement during the summer season. “It will also have a serious impact on any attempt to expand the tourism season, as it is known to everyone that room rates are significantly reduced as we move away from the peak summer months”, GTP Headlines edition quoted HFF as saying.
According to tax advisory company Grant Thornton, the stayover tax will negatively impact the hotel industry and the Greek economy as a whole. Profits of hoteliers, according to its estimates, will fall by €435 million, and the Greek economy stands to lose nearly €340 million. According to Greek Tourism Confederation president Yannis Rezos, the introduction of the tax will increase the average cost of hotel stays by 5-6%, and by up to 10% for small hotels prices, which will force many owners to absorb the tax.
Growth of tourism
In 2017, a record number of international tourists visited Greece – about 30 million, according to estimates by the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO), or 7% more than the number of international tourists in 2016. According to statistics published by the airport of Athens, the flow of international tourists in 2017 grew by 12% from the year before.
According to the Bank of Greece, tourist spending in Greece from January 2017 to September 2017 reached a record €13.02 billion – an increase of €1.24 billion compared to the same period in 2016. The average length of stays during this period increased by 1.5%, raising the average cost per trip by 1.4>#/span###
According to the Greek Statistical Service (Elstat), the number of nights spent by foreigners in hotels of Greece in first three quarters of 2017 was 63.1 million – 6.3% more than in the same period in 2016. Hotel occupancy during this period also grew from 54.1% to 55.3%. Overall, the turnover of restaurant and hotel businesses in the third quarter of 2017 grew by 13.9% compared to the same period in 2016.
Why investors should not worry too much
British company The Property Team pointed out that while Greece is highly dependent on tourism, other cities popular with tourists in Europe have similar taxes and are coping fine. According to The Guardian, the tax on accommodation in Berlin, Amsterdam and Cologne is 5% of the bill for the room; in Paris, it ranges from €0.20 to €1.5 per person per night, while in Rome, an additional fee of up to €7 per night is levied on hotel stays.
According to the Greek tour operator Mouzenidis Travel, the new tax will lead to an increase in the cost of Greek tours by an average of €40. “Rather, it is a question of temporary inconveniences, as tourists in Greece are not accustomed to paying a fee”, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia quoted a representative of Mouzenidis Travel as saying. Several five-star hotels have stated that they will not collect the tourist tax separately, but will absorb the tax as part of their operating costs.
Additional fees are unlikely to have a serious impact on the number of tourists to Greece, nor an impact on real estate in Greece. Prices there are significantly lower compared to most other European countries, so Athens property is expected to remain in high demand among tourists for short stays. According to Airbnb data and analytics provider, the average rental price in Athens is one-and-a-half times lower than in Berlin, twice lower than in Paris and Rome and in three times lower than in Amsterdam.
1) Grand Resort Lagonissi opens new Grand Hall conference center in Athens
2) Sheraton’s new logo appears on hotels worldwide for first time in over 40 years
3) Production value up 9% in accommodation and food service activities in Cyprus
4) Trivago: Five Hotel technologies that can create personalized guest experiences
more articles on HOTELS
Grecotel hotel group invested €475 million between 2004-2018
Autograph Collection Hotels debuts in Greece with Academia of Athens
Hilton report on iconic chain's 100th anniversary: Welcome to the Hotel of 2119
Hellenic Chamber of Hotels survey: Prices reduced by up to 13% this year
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1551
|
__label__cc
| 0.629775
| 0.370225
|
About Tracker Software Products Ltd.
News Update: Upcoming changes for PDF-XChange products in 2019 and more
NEWS UPDATE: Upcoming changes to PDF-XChange products in 2019 and other developments
To all users and resellers of PDF-XChange products,
As the holiday season approaches and 2018 comes to a close, we at Tracker Software Products would like to keep our users and resellers informed of new developments pertaining to the highly anticipated release of V8 of our product line in the Spring of 2019 and some planned changes and improvements to our website during this time.
PDF-XChange V8 will no longer support Windows XP or Windows Vista operating systems
With the release of V8 of PDF-XChange products, there will no longer be support for Windows XP or Windows Vista operating systems. This will not affect XP and Vista users continuing using PDF-XChange products V7 or earlier.
Microsoft ended support for Windows XP as of April 8, 2014 and Windows Vista as of April 11, 2017. This meant that end users will not receive any further updates, fixes or patches for the Windows XP or Windows Vista product lines. It also represents a problem to software application developers such as Tracker Software Products. This is because the Microsoft development tools required to compile our applications to operate in Windows XP and Vista have been removed, no longer allowing our products to function in Windows XP/Vista environments. As well support for some related services, for example, remote file systems such as Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive and the like, require communication notifications systems using embedded browsers that are not available in Windows XP and Vista. As more and more users and organizations depend on remote file systems, it is important to upgrade to later versions of Windows in order for these services to work.
Unfortunately, this process is beyond our control. And with the planned release of Version 8 of our PDF-XChange product line in the spring of 2019 we have been forced to drop support for both Windows XP and Vista as of its release.
It will become necessary for users to migrate to later versions of the Windows operating system in order to ensure access to the latest releases of our product as of the release of Version 8.
Digital River/MyCommerce, retires SWREG platform and our planned migration to latest DR/MyCommerce Share-It platform
One of our main payment processors for online credit cards payments over the past 20 years, Digital River/MyCommerce is retiring their SWREG platform as of Dec 31, 2018. As such we are currently in the process of migrating to their latest platform, Share-It, released on a new technology framework incorporating improvements in both security and usability for both us and our customers.
We wanted to assure our customers and resellers that while over the next month you will notice a new interface in the checkout when selecting payment method: Online via Credit card with the switch over to the Share-It platform and begin receiving receipt emails and communications from Share-It rather than the expected SWREG communications you have received thus far, that Share-It is a trusted Digital River/MyCommerce platform as SWREG was and we look forward to the migration to the new platform.
Have a great holiday season,
Tracker Software Products
Back to all News, Press & Events
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1552
|
__label__wiki
| 0.955974
| 0.955974
|
LIPS ARE SEALED
Hope Hicks Refused to Answer Questions 155 Times in Closed-Door Testimony
The former White House communications director acknowledged one of Trump’s directives as “odd” but otherwise stonewalled during her closed-door testimony.
Sam Brodey
Congressional Reporter
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photo Zach Gibson/Getty
The transcript of Hope Hicks’ all-day Wednesday interview in front of the House Judiciary Committee, released to the public on Thursday afternoon, confirmed what Democratic lawmakers grumbled as they streamed out of the hearing room: She wasn’t much help.
During the course of the eight-hour examination, Hicks’ legal team repeatedly invoked a claim of “absolute immunity” and blocked her response to questions by objecting in 155 separate instances, according to a tally from the Judiciary Committee’s Democrats.
Hicks, a loyal and long-serving aide of President Donald Trump, was directed by the White House not to answer questions related to her time in the administration. That meant she declined to offer any additional information about instances of possible obstruction of justice raised in Robert Mueller’s report, such as Trump’s firing of former FBI director James Comey and the president’s attempts to fire Mueller.
Perhaps the only nugget of information that Democrats mined from Hicks related to Mueller was an admission from the former communications aide that she found it “odd” that Trump requested Corey Lewandowski, his former campaign manager and not a White House employee, deliver a letter to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions instructing him to give a speech undermining the Mueller investigation.
The legal team on hand for Hicks — which included two of her personal attorneys and three attorneys from the administration — blocked questions even tangentially related to her White House service, including where she sat relative to the Oval Office.
At one point, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) asked Hicks basic questions — what the weather was like on her first day at the White House, for example — “to show how absurd the objections from the White House actually are.” Hicks said it was cloudy; she was soon blocked from answering if the president ever talked to her during lunchtime.
As The Daily Beast reported on Wednesday, Democrats also asked Hicks to read portions of the Mueller report into the record — which prompted objections from Hicks’ counsel. “You object,” asked House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY), “even though this is recounted in the special counsel's report?”
“I object, Mr. Chairman,” said Michael Purpura, deputy counsel to the president. “The question asked her to characterize whether it was accurate, which would then cause her to talk about things she witnessed and observed during her time as a close adviser to the President.”
Though Nadler and Democrats sparred with Hicks’ attorneys over the legitimacy of the White House’s immunity claims — and took measures to lay the groundwork for a court battle to dispute those claims — there were no high hopes she would go into detail about her White House service.
Instead, Democratic lawmakers were hopeful that Hicks might provide even a sliver of information useful to their investigation by answering questions about the 2016 presidential campaign and the transition effort.
Even on that front, however, they did not uncover very much. Hicks frequently said she did not recall certain details, and was vague in some of her responses. At one point, she did confirm to Democrats that Trump directed her to issue a statement denying that he had any relationship with Karen McDougal — the former model who was paid $150,000 by former Trump fixer Michael Cohen to stay silent about an alleged affair in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
In other lines of questioning, Hicks defended her former boss. When asked by Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL) if she was involved in any “anti-immigration campaign messaging,” Hicks responded that “ I don't believe any of Mr. Trump's messaging is anti-immigrant.”
At one point, Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) asked if the Trump campaign was “happy” that Wikileaks had released damaging internal emails that had been hacked from Hillary Clinton’s campaign. “I think that ‘happy’ is not — I don't think that's a fair characterization,” said Hicks. “I think ‘relief that we weren't the only campaign with issues’ is more accurate.”
On another occasion, Hicks defended the campaign’s use of materials from the Wikileaks hack, saying “we used publicly available information in the course of the campaign … It is not my position that we benefited from those emails.”
Tensions flared frequently during the marathon session, which the Republican members on hand derided as a sham. The minority used what time they had to praise Hicks and slam the Democrats: “This is really a farce, quite frankly,” said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ). “It's a waste of your time, it's a waste of our time. Because what we see here is the majority wants to relitigate the Mueller investigation.”
And on three separate occasions, Nadler referred to Hicks as “Ms. Lewandowski.” Hicks had been romantically involved with Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s first campaign manager; Nadler apologized after Hicks pointed out, on the third slip, “My name is Ms. Hicks.”
Hicks is the first Trump administration figure named in the Mueller report to sit for an extended interview before a Democratic-controlled House panel. The fact of her appearance alone — even though it unfolded behind closed doors — was considered a win for the Judiciary Committee, which has struggled to bring in witnesses in the special counsel’s investigation for questioning amid simmering frustration in the caucus over White House stonewalling and the pace of their investigations.
But Democrats left the committee room on Wednesday frustrated. On numerous occasions during the hearing, lawmakers took as fact that there would be an upcoming court battle to challenge the blanket immunity claim and compel Hicks to give more answers about her time in the White House.
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) told The Daily Beast on Wednesday that Hicks should appear again before the committee — with the cameras rolling. “We ought to redo what we’re doing here today, it ought to be in public,” said Deutch.
“She needs to be forced to answer the questions, and if it takes going to court to do it, then of course we should do that, because people deserve to hear from her.”
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1556
|
__label__wiki
| 0.555566
| 0.555566
|
Why Don’t Black Leaders Demand More of the President?
The 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus call themselves the conscience of the Congress. But when it comes to forcing Obama’s hand, they seem missing in action, writes Paul Butler.
Updated 07.14.17 12:43AM ET / Published 09.24.12 11:30AM ET
Douglas Graham / CQ Roll Call via Getty Images
Black members of Congress might ask themselves why, as they concluded their annual conference over the weekend, Barack Obama hasn’t done more for African-Americans. They bear some of the blame.
Last week Rep. Emanuel Cleaver admitted that African-American members of Congress hold Obama to a lower standard because the President is black. Pointing to the historic level of African-American unemployment, Cleaver said, “If we had a white president we’d be marching around the White House.” If, for example, Hillary Clinton sat in the Oval Office, Cleaver would tell her, “My sister, I love you, but this has got to go.”
But Obama gets a pass. Cleaver, who is the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said, “The president knows we are going to act in deference to him in way we wouldn’t to someone white.”
This is black solidarity at its most self-defeating. It’s why, as the President hands out goodies to other core groups in the Democratic base, African-Americans get squat. On the campaign trial, Obama delivered to Latinos his own version of The DREAM Act, gays received their long-sought presidential endorsement of same-sex marriage, and union workers get a job-protection intervention directed at China.
African-Americans, on the other hand, are like Charlie Brown on Halloween. While everyone else gets candy, they get a rock. Obama’s most emphatic statement on black unemployment was back in 2009, when he said, “I can’t pass laws that say I’m just helping black folks. I’m president of the entire United States.”
Of course he is. Still, under Obama’s watch, black unemployment has gone from bad to worse. It was 12 percent when Obama took office, and now it’s 14 percent. Yes, the problem cuts across all races, but as the saying goes, when there’s a recession in white America, there’s a depression in black America.
The 43 members of the Black Caucus call themselves the conscience of the Congress. But when it comes to forcing Obama’s hand, they seem missing in action. As Cleaver put it, the caucus “is always hesitant to criticize the president.”
Here African-Americans could learn a lesson from the gay community. Early in his administration, Obama wasn’t giving them much love either. He invited prominent evangelical minister Rick Warren, a leading critic of gay marriage, to speak at his inauguration. He didn’t appoint any openly gay people to his cabinet, and his spokesperson suggested that ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” might take a few years. The Justice Department even filed a brief in a gay-marriage case equating homosexuality with adultery.
So the gay community got fired up. Leaders like Rep. Barney Frank forcefully criticized the president, and prominent fundraisers threaten to withhold campaign contributions. Activists took it even further. They interrupted Obama’s speeches to complain he was not moving fast enough.
All of this forced the president to do the right thing on these issues, and sooner than he probably wanted to. He ended discrimination against gays in the military, and “evolved” on same-sex marriage. The result? Obama is now considered the most gay-friendly president in U.S. history.
There are two lessons for blacks here, and other groups who feel taken for granted by the administration. First, leadership has to lead. From day one, the gay establishment did not cut Obama any slack. In contrast, many African-American leaders, from the Black Caucus on down, seem asleep at the wheel.
Second, the grassroots has to be demanding. Racial justice is never going to be the president’s priority unless people of color get impatient. There is always going to be something—unrest abroad, a natural disaster, a campaign—that will legitimately demand the president’s attention. The gay community didn’t say, “Never mind, we’ll wait our turn,” and neither should African-Americans.
No recent Democratic presidential candidate, including Bill Clinton, has received a majority of the white vote. President Obama needs the same huge turnout of African-Americans that he got in 2008 if he is to win reelection.
But this election there is an enthusiasm gap among African-Americans. Are they better off than they were four years ago? Given the drop in employment, many would have to answer “no.” According to the polls, Gov. Romney has very little black support, but Democrats are increasingly concerned that many blacks simply won’t vote.
This would be a great time for real leaders to step up, and start demanding action from the President in exchange for getting out the crucial African-American vote. Sadly, as Rep. Cleaver’s remarks make clear, those leaders are not to be found in the Congressional Black Caucus.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1558
|
__label__wiki
| 0.87663
| 0.87663
|
Lonelygirl15: how one mysterious vlogger changed the internet
‘My name is Bree, I’m 16 …’ the many faces of Lonelygirl15. Composite: YouTube, Guardian Design
Bree was a funny, friendly 16-year-old video blogger with a strange family. But all was not what it seemed. Ten years on, we revisit YouTube’s first viral sensation
by Elena Cresci
Main image: ‘My name is Bree, I’m 16 …’ the many faces of Lonelygirl15. Composite: YouTube, Guardian Design
Thu 16 Jun 2016 04.00 EDT Last modified on Tue 21 Feb 2017 12.22 EST
In June 2006, a 16-year-old girl began a video blog on YouTube. Her name was Bree, she’d been lurking in the burgeoning community for a while. She was a self-described dork, she thought her hometown was really boring – “Maybe that’s why I spend so much time on my computer …”
She was funny, friendly, had great eyebrows. Her first few videos were relatable and cute, introducing her friend Daniel and complaining about being home-schooled and having to do homework in June. It soon became clear she was pretty lonely, which was probably why her username was Lonelygirl15.
Bree was one of a slowly-growing community on YouTube of confessional video bloggers. They poured their lives into their webcams, not yet an automatic feature on laptops as they are today. Their follower bases grew slowly but steadily, with regular, and often grainy, videos about their day-to-day lives. They were largely ignored by the mainstream media, who at the time dismissed YouTube as just a repository for cat videos.
Lonelygirl15 changed all that. Her followers quickly ballooned and she became one of the young site’s most popular stars. The New York Times had a recurring blog about her. She had her own forum. Hundreds of people wanted to be her friend on Myspace.
The thing is, Bree wasn’t real. Lonelygirl15 actually had a small team of writers. Bree and her best friend Daniel were played by actors.
YouTubers and the media had been duped. Yet this was no mere flash in the pan hoax – this was YouTube’s first web series. This was the first time someone proved you could actually make money on YouTube.
And that changed everything.
Remember Lonely Island’s “Lazy Sunday” video? It was the one where Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell rapped about a Sunday getting cupcakes and going to the movies. Miles Beckett does. Because that’s the video that began his obsession with YouTube.
“Someone posted it on Myspace, I think it was in December 2005?” he says. “And that’s how I found out about YouTube.”
Back then, YouTube was just getting started. It wasn’t yet a year old, but it was growing quickly. The next summer it would be one of the fastest growing sites on the internet and would go on to be bought by Google for $1.65bn. Then a doctor, Beckett was among the millions of visitors to the site in its infancy, following the community and learning from it.
One of the most-viewed videos from the pre-Lonelygirl15 era of YouTube was of two guys lipsyncing to the Pokemon theme songs. It was all filmed on their webcam and netted them about 24 million views before it was removed.
Beckett had a thought. How could you really tell what was real and what was fake on YouTube? Anyone could buy a webcam or cameraphone and upload what they wanted. So how easy would it be to create an entirely fictitious YouTuber?
“I thought it would be really cool if there was a video blogger and you told the story just like you would a TV show,” he said.
He sat on this idea for a while. Then, one evening at a karaoke bar in LA, he met Mesh Flinders.
The two hit it off so well, Beckett took a chance. He told Flinders about this new medium and his idea for a new story on it. Within a matter of days, they began writing the script. Within two weeks, they had the entire plot points for the first three months of videos.
The story goes like so: our protagonist, Bree, is a homeschooled 16-year-old who doesn’t have a lot in the way of friends. Her days are spent on the internet, doing homework or hanging out with her one friend Daniel. She seems like a happy-go-lucky teenager, curious about science and history … except her parents are part of some strange religion, possibly a cult.
For Flinders, who grew up on a commune in Northern California, it was actually a story which was a long time in the making. “I didn’t see the outside world ‘til I was 14/15,” he says. “So I knew what a girl who had been homeschooled her whole life would be like – because that’s what I was like.”
The most important thing? People needed to believe Bree was real. Beckett and Flinders watched all the main YouTubers, studying how they spoke and what kind of set up they used. So with Lonelygirl15, they did everything they could to make it feel completely authentic.
The first couple of videos they put up didn’t feature Bree at all – they were video replies to some of the site’s biggest stars, designed to take advantage of the close-knit community feel YouTube had at the time. They did the job, piquing people’s interests as they encouraged Lonelygirl15 to post more.
As far as Beckett was concerned, it was a race against time before someone else pipped them to the post.
He said: “Somebody was going to create a scripted show on YouTube that uses the vlogger format and if they were marketing savvy they would make it feel real so there would be talk about it.
“If we didn’t do it, then somebody else would.”
The business side was headed up by their friend Greg Goodfried, a lawyer who later became one of the show’s producers. His wife Amanda, then working at the Creative Artists’ Agency (CAA), was tasked with maintaining Bree’s Myspace page.
They had a plan, they had the webcam, they had the scripts. All they needed now, was the right girl for the part.
Jessica Lee Rose was not interested in the internet. Sure, she had a Myspace profile, but it wasn’t something she used every single day.
She had just moved to Los Angeles after graduating from New York Film Academy in Burbank, working two jobs while pursuing a professional acting career. Her LA life was just getting started when, one day, she stumbled across a casting call on Craigslist for a project called The Children of Anchor Cove.
Screenshot of the casting call for Lonelygirl15, then codenamed ‘The Children of Anchor Cove’. Photograph: Screenshot/ExploreTalent
She got an auditon – but she almost didn’t make it. “I wasn’t that familiar with traffic in LA yet,” she remembers. “I didn’t allow enough time and I almost called to say I couldn’t make it!”
It’s just as well she got there. It was only her second or third audition – and she nailed it.
Though she was 19 at the time, it wasn’t a huge stretch for the casual viewer to think she could be 16. It also turned out she too, like Bree, had been home-schooled at one point. Best of all? She was fresh off the plane. No casting agency in the city had seen her yet. Rose was perfect for the part in so many ways.
They also needed the best friend – Daniel, AKA Danielbeast. That role went to Yousef Abu-Taleb, then a bartender and a waiter. He’d moved to Los Angeles a year before and was one of the few who came into the audition not looking like he stepped out of an Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue – Daniel was always meant to be kind of dorky, so his look clearly worked in his favour. All he’d seen of YouTube at that point were a couple of videos of people falling over.
Neither of them knew until after they got the part that it would be on the internet. The creators explained the project to them in a cafe in LA. Abu-Taleb was totally fine with it. He says: “You could have told me I was performing on a street corner and I’d have been like, yes!”
But Rose was heartbroken. Suddenly her first part didn’t seem such a golden opportunity.
“When you’re 18/19, you think about going to LA, and how you’re going to be in a movie or a TV show,” she said. “Then I found out it wasn’t a movie and it was going to be on the internet I instantly though this is some scam. I really thought this was what I’d been warned about moving to Los Angeles.”
The notion of a web series as a mainstream product, as it can be now, just didn’t exist at the time. Neither did the slew of YouTubers who had made it big enough to make money out of their video blogs. It was no wonder she thought it seemed dodgy. She called Abu-Taleb about an hour after the meeting, distraught. “She was like, I can’t do it,” he says. “I think she thought it seemed a little sketchy because online all there really was, was porn. She almost thought she wasn’t going to do it.”
Jessica Lee Rose as Bree (Lonelygirl15) and Yousef Abu-Taleb as Daniel (DanielBeast). Photograph: YouTube/Lonelygirl15
In the end, they both decided to give it a shot. Whatever existed of their actual internet profiles had to be deleted or made private.
Now the work could begin.
“Hi guys! so this is my first video blog, I’ve been watching for a while and I really like some of you guys on here.”
“My name is Bree, I’m 16 …”
That’s how the first LonelyGirl15 video featuring Bree starts. It’s just Rose and the camera and a touch of goofiness. The bed behind her is decorated with cuddly toys and a floral bedspread. On the door is a big, pink, fluffy feather boa.
This was actually Flinders’ room. They’d bought a bunch of stuff from Target so they could make it look like a typical teenager’s room.
The first few videos followed the same formula as other popular vloggers. Here was this cute girl, speaking into a camera about her life. Slowly they introduced Daniel, who mainly sat on the bed in the background while Bree recorded her video. People took to her – they found her charming, cute and funny.
Behind the scenes, Beckett was obsessing over how YouTube worked. How did a video get on the most viewed section? How did it climb the charts? When they realised YouTube counted every single comment including the ones you made yourself, they would make it their mission to reply to every single one – so they appeared in the most commented section constantly, boosting their profile, adding more views.
“If you could just get it into the most viewed for the week, you might get into the most viewed for the month,” said Beckett.
They also mathematically figured out at what point in the video YouTube’s algorithm would scrape the preview image. Flinders said it made a huge difference. “If it was a good freeze frame, you would get like 100,000 more views.
“Miles figured out the algorithm – from then on we could choose our freeze frame. We could make a freeze frame that was thematically connected to the episode.”
The team behind Lonelygirl15 mathematically figured out exactly how to get the best preview image for their videos. Photograph: YouTube/Lonelygirl15
Their efforts paid off. The viewer counts kept rising. Lonelygirl15 appeared in the most viewed section more and more.
The original plan was to create about six months’ worth of episodes, create a buzz and then disappear to create an indie blockbuster. But YouTube’s burst in popularity changed all of that.
In the summer of 2006, YouTube became the fastest-growing website on the internet. People were flocking there to watch what it had to offer. And if you, like Bree, were a YouTuber who updated every two days, you were guaranteed to build a following.
The first video starring Rose went up on 16 June. Two weeks later, a video they posted on 4 July, Independence Day in the US, got 50,000 views within two hours. It was called My Parents Suck and it was the first time Bree got upset on camera. It was also the first time she hinted at her family’s mysterious religion.
Up until that point, previous videos would reach the 50,000 - 100,000 mark within a week or so. By the end of the week, it was at half a million.
Flinders says they soon realised the audience they’d have with an independent film just couldn’t compete with the audience they found on YouTube. He says: “Far more people were following her on YouTube and interacting with her on YouTube than would be interested if we went to direct a film and get it into Sundance.”
But as her popularity grew, so too did the suspicions.
Beckett thought people would figure out the truth a lot sooner than they did. “I didn’t think it would go on as long as it did. I was a little surprised that the mystery of whether or not it was real lasted as long.”
What YouTube’s most viewed section looked like in July 2006, with Lonelygirl15’s video at the top Photograph: YouTube/Wayback Machine
As Lonelygirl15 became the most-subscribed channel on YouTube, beating Peter Oakley AKA geriatric1927, speculation grew. People had questions, but they never had any hard evidence.
One of the main giveaways was the increasingly obvious plot line developing. Bree found out Daniel definitely did have a thing for her, posting a video about it, of course. They fell out, made up – standard teenage drama. There were lighthearted videos about science and hiking ... except when Bree talked about her mysterious religion. It then turned out she had been chosen to participate in some sort of ceremony, one which even her parents wouldn’t be able to attend. Fans’ questions inevitably built to a crescendo.
Yet all the while, none of the videos were discussing the controversy. Usually, YouTubers would respond to the constant questions about hoaxes in their comments. But not Bree.
So fans began signing up at lonelygirl15.com’s forum to discuss their theories. Sleuths noticed the site had actually been registered before Bree even started posting – in fact it had been registered by Beckett and Flinders.
The theories spread far and wide. When a picture of occultist Aleister Crowley appeared in Bree’s bedroom, one video popped up claiming the whole thing was an advert for a hoax website. Other people thought it could be promo for a horror film. When faux-documentarian Brian Flemming wrote a blog post theorising it was all a hoax, fans started wondering if he was actually behind it all.
Journalists from several organisations joined the hunt for Bree, and, if anything, the speculation helped the videos become even more popular. It was intense. Some analysed the flora in videos of Daniel and Bree hiking. Others were trying to prove the whole thing was filmed on a soundstage, claiming background noises in her videos were implanted. They were also convinced the lighting was just too good to not be professional – even though the team in reality used a semi-broken desk lamp and natural light from a window.
Behind the scenes, the creators were constantly trying to keep one step ahead of the press and online detectives. There were many close calls – Rose was recognised once in a bookshop – and she had to admit the truth to her cousin, who lived in the UK, after he stumbled on Bree’s Myspace page, swearing him to secrecy.
While the whole thing was exciting, Beckett remembers it being pretty stressful. No one was making money from online video at that point. They just wanted their project to be popular.
Lonelygirl15 uploaded this video discussing being chosen for her religion’s ceremony on 3 September – while fans and journalists were trying to figure out whether she was real. Photograph: YouTube/Lonelygirl15
“At the time we thought, we don’t want to screw this thing up. When people were getting closer and closer to figuring it out, we were more freaked out because we didn’t want people to be pissed off and feel like we had lied to them.
“We just wanted them to see it for what it was. We never lied, we just put it out there. When people asked us if it was real or not, we never responded, we just let it ride.”
As the summer drew to a close, three members of the forum started a group chat away from the site to try and dig up direct proof Lonelygirl15 was fake. One embedded an IP tracker on a fake Myspace profile and messaged Bree. Of course, they weren’t talking to Bree at all – they were messaging Amanda Goodfried, who maintained the page in between her day job at the Creative Arts Agency.
They took their findings to LA Times journalist Richard Rushfield, who published a story linking Lonelygirl15 to the CAA. The jig was up, sort of, and Lonelygirl15 was front page news.
But they still didn’t know who Bree really was, until Matthew Foremski, then 18, tracked down Rose’s old Myspace. His father, Tom Foremski, is a journalist and writes the blog Silicon Valley Watcher. Both Foremskis had been watching everything unfold with interest.
So Matt did a little digging. He followed a tip in the comments section of a TMZ story, linking to Rose’s old Facebook page. It was private, so there wasn’t much to be found. After searching her Myspace username, he uncovered a cached version of the page. Eventually, he managed to scrape together enough information to verify this was her.
It was time to come clean. What followed was a whirlwind of press attention around the world.
For Rose, the unveiling was quite a lot to deal with. “It was really scary, to be honest,” she says. “I was so young and I was by myself.
“The night they told me they’ve found your name, they know who you are, they’ve found your pictures on the internet, I thought: oh my God, are people going to hate me? How is this going to be perceived?”
After speaking to the LA Times, they held a press conference – a surreal situation for all involved. Abu-Taleb remembers turning up so early, organisers thought he was actually there to help set up.
Fears about a huge backlash ended up being unfounded. As with the speculation, the reveal gave the show an even bigger profile. While she wasn’t getting hundreds of angry emails, Rose still feels she wasn’t prepared for all the attention.
“I didn’t expect to get a job and it be ‘the one’. I didn’t expect it to be the thing that was going to really be my launchpad straight away.
“I’d been told by all my teachers it’s going to take 10 years for you to be an actress, so in my head it would be 10 years before I could even call myself that.
“It almost felt like it was coming too fast – I just wasn’t prepared. I think I was a little bit green and probably needed to have a few more years acting under my belt.”
After the reveal, Lonelygirl15 ran for just over two years. Rose stayed on for a year before her character was killed off. Abu-Taleb remained for all 400-odd episodes, as the series delved into alternate reality gaming, taking fan engagement to the next level. There was also a UK spin-off and a sequel called Lonelygirl15: the Resistance.
The team did go on to make money from Lonelygirl15, becoming the first YouTube series to feature product placement. The money from one deal with Neutrogena was enough to fund an entire season.
In the 10 years since Lonelygirl15 began, more people have gone on to create successful, and profitable, web series. One of the series’ original fans Jenni Powell not only went on to become a producer on the show itself, but also produced a popular YouTube version of Pride and Prejudice called The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. In 2013, it won an Emmy.
As you’d expect, all of the main players have nothing but fondness for Lonelygirl15.
Jessica Lee Rose aka Lonelygirl15 speaking to the Guardian on Skype. Photograph: Elena Cresci/Skype
Rose is still acting and lives in Australia now with her fiance and her dog. She’s very aware of how huge Lonelygirl15 was to YouTube and to the internet in general.
“I loved that character. It’s one of my favourites that I’ve ever gotten to play. It’s obviously a huge part, very similar to a younger version of myself and parts of my personality. But I miss Bree, I miss that world.”
People keep asking her if she’ll do her own YouTube videos, but she says she has enough trouble keeping up with her Instagram.
Abu-Taleb now produces his own videos. He also has a stand up routine in which he jokes he’s “YouTube’s first washed-up star”. He says: “It made me feel like moving to LA away from my family wasn’t necessarily a mistake, I felt like maybe I was on the right path to something.
“Down the road you sometimes wish that you had it back or you wish more had happened, or you wish you made different choices. But you never wish that it didn’t happen, you’re always kind of grateful that it did. At least I am.”
Flinders says: “That Summer was so much fun – I’ve never had a more satisfying creative experience in my life.”
I asked them if they think something like Lonelygirl15 could happen again, perhaps on one of the myriad other video platforms which now existalongside YouTube. They were all pretty sceptical. (Although I should note – around the time we spoke, someone released a horror film in real time on Snapchat, inspired partly by Lonelygirl15. But that was starring an already well-known YouTube star with thousands of Snapchat friends, rather than starting from scratch.)
“I think it would be really hard to do something that feels real but isn’t real and have people be fooled anymore,” said Beckett. “There’s been tonnes of hoaxes and other things since Lonelygirl and I think they’ve been figured out pretty damn fast because people are sceptical.”
Flinders added: “On YouTube now we wouldn’t get away with this for 30 seconds. People would know she’s fake immediately.
“No one will ever trust anyone on YouTube again at face value.”
Myspace loses all content uploaded before 2016
Faulty server migration blamed for mass deletion of songs, photos and video
Meet the people who still use Myspace: 'It's given me so much joy'
Once it was the biggest social network; now it’s a ghost town. But for a handful of hardcore users, Myspace remains essential
When celebrities used Myspace: the profiles A-listers try to forget
With early Tyler, the Creator music unearthed through his page, we tracked down the profiles of other stars – including Tom Hardy and Taylor Swift
Yahoo is not alone: six failed tech companies and how they fell
As the internet company sells its core web business to Verizon, we take a look back at AOL, Myspace and other faded firms
MySpace: site that once could have bought Facebook acquired by Time Inc
Time Inc buys what is left of MySpace for its user data
RIP Friends Reunited – but what else is lurking in the social media graveyard?
Ello, is anybody there? Alternative social networks abound for the peachy-keen
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1559
|
__label__wiki
| 0.988527
| 0.988527
|
Presidents Club scandal
Great Ormond Street may keep Presidents Club donation
Hospital considers retaining £530,000 it received from scandal-hit charity
Rupert Neate
@RupertNeate
Mon 19 Feb 2018 09.25 EST Last modified on Fri 23 Feb 2018 07.21 EST
The Great Ormond Street hospital in London said it would initially return all the funds. Photograph: John Stillwell/PA
Great Ormond Street hospital (Gosh) is reconsidering whether to return £530,000 it collected in donations from the controversial Presidents Club after allegations of groping and sexual harassment at a men-only fundraising gala.
The London children’s hospital, which had vowed to return the money it received from Presidents Club events, said on Monday it was reconsidering the decision to ensure it had the maximum funds to support the hospital and its patients.
Gosh’s charity said it was in discussions with the Charity Commission about keeping the donations and said its trustees would make a formal decision next month.
“Guiding all our thinking is our aim to maximise the support to the hospital and the families it cares for,” a spokesperson said. “We can confirm that we are in discussions with the Charity Commission and are scheduled to meet them later this week.
“Following this meeting and taking into account the latest developments with the Presidents Club charitable trust and feedback from our supporters, we will consider our position at our March trustee meeting.”
Gosh did not receive donations directly from the controversial dinner at the Dorchester hotel in London on 18 January, but received more than £500,000 from previous Presidents Club events between 2009-2016.
In the days after the scandal, the hospital said it would return all the funds “due to the wholly unacceptable nature of the event”.
However, some of the hospital’s other donors were said to be angry about that decision and were understood to have threatened to halt their donations if Gosh did not reconsider keeping the Presidents Club funds.
The Gosh charity’s board of trustees, chaired by City businessman John Connolly, will discuss overruling the decision to return the funds at a meeting on 27 March.
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said: “We can confirm that Gosh’s charity have asked the commission for advice and guidance on returning previous donations and that we are in discussion with the trustees about their decision. It is up to a charity’s trustees to make the difficult decision as to whether they want to return a donation.
“If they wish to do so, they should seek advice from the commission about whether our authorisation is required in their specific case.”
The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, which is fundraising to improve cancer services in Liverpool, is still considering the £15,000 of Presidents Club funds that it had pledged to hand back. “This will be discussed by the board of trustees in due course and it would therefore be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time,” a spokesperson said [see footnote].
Only one of the four charities which had vowed to return Presidents Club donations has so far formally applied to the Charity Commission to do so. The commission has called on anyone present at the Dorchester black-tie dinner last month to give evidence to the regulator’s investigation.
As well as Gosh and the Clatterbridge, the Evelina London children’s hospital and the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) said they would return all donations.
RAM has requested permission to return £10,000 of funds. and a spokesperson for the Evelina London children’s hospital said: “We have written to the Charity Commission about our proposed course of action and are currently in dialogue with them about our next steps.”
• This footnote was added on 23 February 2018. After publication the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre clarified that they are awaiting guidance from the Charity Commission on the return of the donation.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1560
|
__label__wiki
| 0.7493
| 0.7493
|
G Parthasarathy
How not to engage with Pakistan
G Parthasarathy | Updated on October 03, 2018 Published on October 03, 2018
Pakistan must show that it is serious about greater economic integration of South Asia - iStockphoto
It is important to call Pakistan’s bluff on many counts. But resorting to personal attacks is certainly not the best approach
The External Affairs Ministry’s Spokesman announced on September 20 that: “In response to the spirit reflected in letters from the Prime Minster and Foreign Minister of Pakistan”, India had agreed to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s proposal for a meeting between Foreign Ministers of the two countries in New York, during the UN General Assembly session.
The very next day, following the killing of three J&K Police personnel, the same MEA Spokesman sang a different tune, asserting: “It is obvious that behind Pakistan’s proposal for talks to make a fresh beginning, the evil agenda of Pakistan stands exposed and the true face of the new Prime Minister of Pakistan has been revealed to the world, in his first few months in the office.”
While a change in New Delhi’s approach to the dialogue because of the killing of J&K Police personnel was understandable, there are serious misgivings about the crude, undiplomatic references to Pakistan’s Prime Minister, in the statement.
The statement, personally critical of Prime Minister Imran Khan, was contrary to established norms of sober diplomatic practice. Despite provocations, we have sensibly never personally criticised the Head of Government of a neighbouring country, in such terms. Such references have invariably been sober and never personal, while dealing with governments headed by both military rulers like Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf, or ”democratic” ones, like Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.
A close aide of Nawaz Sharif approached me during the Kargil conflict, to request Vajpayee, who would naturally be angered at what had transpired, to not personally criticise his counterpart. The astute Vajpayee acceded to the request. What followed was a stand-off between Sharif and Musharraf that ended with the coup that led to Sharif’s ouster and exile to Saudi Arabia.
A similar approach was adopted during provocative postures by Musharraf during the Agra Summit and the Jaish-e-Mohammed attack on our Parliament. Interestingly, it was the same Musharraf, who thereafter, solemnly declared on January 4, 2004 that “territory under Pakistan’s control” would not be used for terrorism against India. Musharraf abided by that commitment as long as he was in direct control of the army, for around three years. Thus, while personal criticism of Imran Khan and General Bajwa are best avoided, there need be no bar on scathing attacks on Pakistan’s government and military, for acts of omission and commission.
Imran’s background has been one of rise to power on the shoulders of the Army. The notorious former Islamist ISI Chief, Lt. General Hamid Gul, was a dominant founding member of Imran’s party. Imran was elected as Prime Minister, primarily because of the army’s determination to get rid of Nawaz Sharif. We should, therefore, have no doubt that at least in the near future, Imran will be “guided” primarily by the military, on relations with India, Afghanistan, the US and China. But Pakistan’s policies are shaped by circumstances and not consistency, or principles.
Engage diplomatically
Moreover, rather than pouring cold water over his calls for dialogue, India would be well advised to agree to engage Pakistan diplomatically, to assess its sincerity on addressing issues of cross-border terrorism, his espousal of closer economic ties, and his desire to host the SAARC Summit, which has been opposed by Afghanistan, Bangladesh and India, duly backed by Bhutan.
Given the fact that Imran Khan has chosen not to appoint a National Security Adviser (NSA), a meeting between NSAs is ruled out. In any case, our experience has been that the only two NSAs that Pakistan has had — Major General Mehmood Durrani and Lt. General Nasser Khan Janjua — were bereft of any real decision making powers. In Pakistan, foreign policy and terrorist infrastructure, are controlled by the army chief. Talks between Directors General of Military Operations to prevent support for cross border terrorism and dismantling of terrorist infrastructure on and across the border, are meaningless, as the Pakistani DGMO is a junior two star Major General, with little or no discretionary authority. The three Star Chief of General Staff (CGS) wields real Authority in the GHQ in Rawalpindi.
Thus, to seriously and meaningfully address issues of cross border terrorism, talks between the Head of India’s R&AW and the DG (ISI), on the one hand, and between Pakistan’s CGS and the Indian Army’s Vice Chief, on the other, are imperative.
It is also time to call Imran Khan’s bluff on his professed desire for greater trade and economic relations. India and Pakistan are signatories to the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), which came into force on January 1, 2006. Pakistan is the only country in South Asia, which has not implemented this agreement. It continues to ban the import a massive range of Indian products. This discriminatory ban, contrary to the provisions of SAFTA, needs to be removed by Imran Khan, if he is serious about trade and economic relations with India. Moreover, Pakistan agreed to the schedule set in 2004, for South Asian countries to establish a South Asian Customs Union and thereafter a South Asian Economic Union, by 2020.
Stalling on SAFTA
Pakistan remains the sole country, stalling movement on economic integration in South Asia. Imran Khan is keen on having an early SAARC Summit in Islamabad. But, the reality is that it is not just India, but Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Bhutan, who have felt uneasy about having a SAARC Summit, in a country sponsoring terrorism across South Asia. Pakistan will have to address these concerns, before people will be comfortable attending a SAARC Summit in Islamabad.
It will also have to call a halt to its constant propaganda for its all weather friend China, which like other non-South Asian countries is an observer in SAARC meetings, to be made a full member of SAARC. China just does not qualify for such membership.
It is also time Pakistan realised that after India invited BIMSTEC and not SAARC members, to attend the Goa BRICS Summit, the importance of SAARC is secondary to BIMSTEC, which is a grouping set to link South and South-East Asia, with better connectivity, free trade and investment and even enhanced military ties.
Moreover, denial of connectivity between India and Afghanistan by Pakistan constitutes a gross violation of the SAARC Free Trade Agreement with the commissioning of Iran’s Chabahar Port, Pakistan will be a major loser in economic integration, across India’s western borders.
Bond Market
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1562
|
__label__wiki
| 0.751047
| 0.751047
|
Trump says Pittsburgh synagogue should've had armed guards
Image copyright 2018 Getty Images. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Sean Rayford
<p>President Donald Trump addresses the crowd during a campaign rally at the Bojangles Coliseum on October 26, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. President Trump visited Charlotte to campaign for 9th District House candidate Mark Harris. </p>
President Donald Trump said the outcome of the deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue would have been different had an armed guard been in place.
"If there was an armed guard inside the temple, they would have been able to stop him," he said to reporters before boarding a flight to a Saturday rally.
There are multiple fatalities in the shooting, and at least six people are injured, including four police officers, Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich said.
Trump also said the nation should strengthen its laws surrounding the death penalty.
"When people do this, they should get the death penalty," he said. "Anybody that does a thing like this to innocent people that are in temple or in church ... they should be suffering the ultimate price, they should pay the ultimate price."
When asked if the shooting indicated a need to revisit gun laws, Trump replied that the shooting "has little to do with it" and that an armed guard might have been able to stop the gunman "immediately."
Asked if he was advocating for armed guards inside if places of worship, Trump replied, "no, it's certainly an option."
Michael Eisenberg, the immediate past president of Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue, told CNN affiliate WPXI that on the high holidays, there is a police presence. But not on this Saturday.
"On a day like today, the door is open," he said. "It's a religious service, you could walk in and out."
Trump praised law enforcement officials for doing "an incredible job" and said he had spoken with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto. He added that he would give a complete statement during his remarks to the Future Farmers of America in Indianapolis later this afternoon.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1563
|
__label__wiki
| 0.99247
| 0.99247
|
Phil Collins Live Concert In The Air Tonight
Comments Off on Phil Collins Live Concert In The Air Tonight
(Radio.com) Phil Collins may have undergone surgery on his right foot and suffered an injury to his drumming hand, but he sounded as strong as ever as he delivered his ’80s hit ‘In the Air Tonight" on.
NEW YORK – Singer and drummer Phil Collins is taking. a second CD of demos and live recordings, many previously unreleased. His hope is that fans and nonfans will explore more than just his hits, w.
Last June, Collins played his first full-length concert in seven years at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. But a planned five-night stand at London’s Royal.
Claim: Phil Collins wrote the song 'In the Air Tonight' after witnessing an incident in which a man refused to come to the aid of a drowning swimmer.
Myth: Phil Collins wrote “in the air tonight” after a friend of his drowned and a person on shore could have saved him, but didn’t. Phil Collins did not write the song In the Air Tonight about a guy who could have saved another guy from drowning, but chose not to do so. Twists on this urban.
May 25, 2010 · Subscribe to the official Deep Purple channel here! http://bit.ly/WOMNq2 Check out ‘The Ritchie Blackmore Story’ official trailer here: https://www.youtube.c.
Phil Collins kicked off his first tour in over a decade last. Though he’s just 16, Phil says Nic does just fine playing songs like "In the Air Tonight," "Sussudio," "Invisible Touch" and "Easy Love.
The Loudwire. cover of Phil Collins’ "In the Air Tonight" and a buzzworthy pairing with Rob Halford on "Black Wedding," the disc has garnered raves. Meanwhile, In This Moment have been in heavy tou.
Eagle Vision will release the 1990 Live at Knebworth concert this March on their “SD Blu-ray” format with three hours of uncompressed stereo and DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound. The concert was staged to raise funds for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and the Brit School For Performing Arts.
Famous fam: He gets his drumming chops from pop-star dad Phil Collins, natch. Why we’re watching. world’s most famous drum fill — from his dad’s beloved “In the Air Tonight” — to a full house as NY.
According to a message posted on the singer’s Facebook page, the 66-year-old took a spill after his concert on Sunday. marked the In the Air Tonight singer’s first shows in 10 years. But due to his.
Phil Collins has made a number of appearances at Montreux over the years as a solo artist, with his big band or as a guest performer with.
Gospel Music Scores Funk You Vol 1 The PTFAO boys are back with this new heater “You’re Still Here.” The track will be featured on the Streets II The Suites Vol. 1 mixtape
NEW YORK — Singer and drummer Phil Collins is taking. a second CD of demos and live recordings, many previously unreleased. His hope is that fans and nonfans will explore more than just his hits,
Musician Phil. Collins’ European tour will resume with a concert in Cologne, Germany, on Sunday. Collins was drummer for rock band Genesis in the 1970s. before starting a solo career that peaked.
Product Description. Chart-topping singer/songwriter Phil Collins takes the City of Lights by storm in this thrilling live performance, featuring such modern pop classics as "In the Air Tonight," "Sussudio," "Another Day in Paradise" and many more.
Live Aid was a dual-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, and an ongoing music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine.Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London,
The Similarities Between Popular And Classical Music The Phoenix Symphony. Musical Time Periods: The Classical Period. Music. properties; PO 2 (Grade K): compare objects by their observable properties. were a popular way to perform music for enjoyment,
Phil. In The Air Tonight, which has spawned many urban legends about what the song’s subject is. One rumour is that Phil Collins had seen a man ignoring someone drowning, and wrote the song after h.
Live Streamed Show That Had Musical Artist Living In A Los Angelas Mansion We are constantly hosting free live performances, DJ sets, and signing events at. Our Next Show: Joyce Manor. 6400 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028. enthusiasts who wanted to
Lorde appeared on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge program and showed off her love for Phil Collins and the ’80s. which is followed by "In the Air Tonight": Madonna, Amy Schumer, Aziz Ansari, Jon Stewart,
INCREDIBLE Calendar of NightLife Activity, Events & Live Bands & Entertainment in the Berkshires of Western MA! Updated DAILY.
In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position
Biography. Phil Collins’ status as one of the most successful pop and adult contemporary singers of the ’80s and beyond was probably as much a surprise to him as it was to many others.
Check out Best of Phil Collins by Phil Collins, Marilyn Martin, Philip Bailey on Amazon Music. Stream ad-free or purchase CD’s and MP3s now on Amazon.com.
"In the Air Tonight" is the debut solo single by the English singer-songwriter and drummer Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins’ debut solo album, Face Value, in January 1981. Collins co-produced the single with Hugh Padgham, who became a frequent collaborator in the following years.The song was an instant hit,
LONDON – British pop singer Phil Collins. concert in Cologne, Germany, on Sunday, the organizers said. Collins became the drummer for the rock band Genesis in the 1970s before starting a solo caree.
Nov 04, 2006 · Queen’s Golden Jubilee 3 june 2002 Phil Collins – drums Brian May – guitar
Eagle Vision will release the 1990 Live at Knebworth concert this March on their “SD Blu-ray” format with three hours of uncompressed stereo and DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound. The concert was staged to raise funds for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and the Brit School For Performing Arts and featured a very post-Live Aid idea of ‘rock royalty’ with Phil Collins…
A 1997 concert by the Genesis frontman at the Palais Omnisports, featuring hits from throughout his career, including Another Day in Paradise, Against All Odds, Easy Lover and In the Air Tonight. Visi.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1564
|
__label__cc
| 0.658612
| 0.341388
|
Young Man Smoking and A Woman Pouring Beer
faintly inscribed with the back of a brush along table edge: “G MEtsu”
Waiboer, Adriaan. “Young Man Smoking and A Woman Pouring Beer.” In The Leiden Collection Catalogue. Edited by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. New York.
In this convivial tavern scene, a young man dressed in a bright red shirt, brown shorts and stockings leans forward in his seat to light his pipe from the hot coals in the brazier he holds in his left hand. An attractive waitress, who stands behind the makeshift table in front of the youth, smiles endearingly at him as she pours him a glass of beer from an earthenware jug. The hat resting on the back of the man’s chair indicates that he has just arrived in the tavern and has settled in to enjoy his drink and tobacco.
Dutch artists frequently depicted figures smoking in their genre paintings, but the place of tobacco in that society was a subject of great debate. On the one hand, medical experts had drawn attention to the benefits of the plant, which had first been imported to the Netherlands in the late sixteenth century. In his widely read Schat der gesontheydt (Treasury of Health) of 1636, Johann van Beverwijck argued that tobacco was a prophylactic against one of the deadliest diseases of his time, the plague.1 On the other hand, the recreational use of tobacco was criticized because the effects of smoking were considered to be similar to those of consuming alcohol.2 Moreover, smoking carried a social stigma, as initially it enjoyed popularity among sailors, soldiers and the lower rural classes, precisely those groups from which the middle class preferred to distance itself. Over the course of the century, however, the tobacco industry expanded, and smoking became a widely accepted leisure pastime, even among the upper classes.
In this painting, Gabriel Metsu seems little concerned with making a moral judgment about the young man’s enjoyment of smoking, and more interested in depicting the gentle rapport between him and the appealing woman serving him his beer. The length of the man’s pipe even hints at his somewhat respectable status. Poor people could afford only unpolished short-stemmed pipes, whereas members of the middle classes used pipes with longer stems that cooled off the smoke and softened the somewhat bitter taste of burnt tobacco.3
Metsu painted this work in 1656–58, during his early Amsterdam years when he often depicted men and women enjoying tobacco or alcohol in public houses. His first painting of a couple drinking together is A Man and a Woman Sharing a Meal from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (fig 1), which draws on an inn scene from about 1650 by Gerard ter Borch (1617–81).4 Metsu subsequently made two variations of the subject: the present work and A Man Smoking a Pipe at a Fireplace (fig 2). Aside from the different times of the day depicted in these works, they also differ in the character of the relationships of the two protagonists. In the Leiden Collection painting the scene depicts a waitress and a young customer, and nothing more.5 In A Man Smoking a Pipe at a Fireplace, however, the smiling interactions and postures of the young man and woman suggests that an amorous tension exists between them.
In the eighteenth century, when each of these paintings was first recorded, the value of Young Man Smoking and a Woman Pouring Beer was substantially higher than that of the night scene. The Dutch painter and art dealer Philips van Dijk (1683–1753) sold the two paintings to Johan Hendrik Graaf van Wassenaar Obdam from The Hague in 1730 and 1734, at which time he received more than double the price for Young Man Smoking and a Woman Pouring Beer (315 florins) as he did for the night scene (150 florins).6 Van Wassenaar’s heirs sold the latter picture after the collector’s death in 1653, but they held on to Young Man Smoking and a Woman Pouring Beer for some 20 years, eventually selling it in 1769. The difference between the sales prices is again telling: A Man Smoking a Pipe at a Fireplace sold for 283 florins, while the present painting fetched again more than twice as much: 605 florins. This work then passed through several prominent eighteenth- and nineteenth-century collections, including those of the Duc de Choiseul-Praslin, the Baron de Beurnonville, and Edward Cecil Guinness.
Fig 1. Gabriel Metsu, A Man and a Woman Sharing a Meal, 1655–58, oil on canvas on panel, 30 x 28 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, SK-A-249
Gabriel Metsu, A Man and a Woman Sharing a Meal, 1655–58, oil on canvas on panel, 30 x 28 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, SK-A-249
Fig 2. Gabriel Metsu, A Man Smoking a Pipe at a Fireplace, 1656–58, oil on panel, 27.5 x 23 cm, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, 1737
Gabriel Metsu, A Man Smoking a Pipe at a Fireplace, 1656–58, oil on panel, 27.5 x 23 cm, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, 1737
Johann van Beverwijck, Schat der gesontheydt (Amsterdam, 1636), 150.
The Flemish physician and botanist Rembert Dodoens, for example, pointed out that inhaling smoke led to a state comparable to drunkenness (Rembert Dodoens, Purgantium aliarumque eo facientium [Antwerp, 1574], 349–51).
On the connotations of smoking in the Low Countries in the seventeenth century, see Ivan Gaskell, “Tobacco, Social Deviance, and Dutch Art in the Seventeenth Century,” in Looking at Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art: Realism Reconsidered, ed. Wayne Franits (Cambridge, 1997), 68–77; and Eddy de Jongh, “Vluchtige rook vereeuwigd: Betekenissen en tabaksgebruik in zeventiendeeuwse voorstellingen,” in Rookgordijnen: Roken in de kunsten van olieverf tot celluloid, ed. Benno Tempel (Exh. cat. Rotterdam, Kunsthal) (Rotterdam, 2003), 85–126.
Adriaan E. Waiboer, Gabriel Metsu, Life and Work: A Catalogue Raisonné (New Haven, 2012), 62. For Ter Borch’s painting, see ibid., 44, fig. 15.
Other paintings by Metsu featuring a woman and a younger male figure also do not show them interacting with each other or reciprocating glances. See, for instance, Adriaan E. Waiboer, Gabriel Metsu, Life and Work: A Catalogue Raisonné (New Haven, 2012), 185, no. A-35; 210–11, no. A-67, both ill.
Everhard Korthals Altes, “Philip van Dijk, een achttiende-eeuwse Haagse schilder-kunsthandelaar met een lokale en internationale clientele,” Oud Holland 116 (2003): 51, 52, published the receipts of the paintings Van Dijk sold to Van Wassenaar on 11 February 1730 and 16 July 1734. The receipts are preserved in the archives of Castle Twickel in Delden (inv. no. 542, 12). For more on Van Dijk’s dealings with Van Wassenaar, see ibid., 35–41. It should be noted that Korthals Altes erroneously assumed that Van Wassenaar’s “Een stuckie van gl metzu zijnde Een toback Rookertje en een vrouwtie dat bier schenkt etc” (A piece by Gabriel Metsu being a man smoking tobacco and a woman pouring beer etc.) was identical to “een stucke van gl metzu een nagt ligje” (a piece by Gabriel Metsu [depicting] a night light). As argued here, these concern two different works.
adult woman
furniture and household effects
games of calculation and chance, e.g.: card games, gambling, puzzles, etc.
historical person: Gabriel Metsu
Inutility, Noxiousness; 'Nocumento', 'Nocumento d'ogni cosa' (Ripa)
Inutility, Noxiousness; 'Nocumento', 'Nocumento d'ogni cosa' (Ripa) (+ symbolical representation of concept)
kitchen and cellar
kitchen-personnel
looking sideways
Means and Characteristics of Means (opposing concepts)
merchant shipping, shipping trade
morphology of facial expression
morphology of facial expression ~ eyes
morphology of human expression
open window
opening the window
parts (of house or building)
Process of Action
sports, games and physical performances
trade-company
trade, commerce and finance
wooden container: barrel, cask, bucket
(Philip van Dijk, The Hague), sold to Johan Hendrik Graaf van Wassenaar Obdam, The Hague, 16 July 1734; by inheritance to Unico Wilhelm Graaf van Wassenaer Obdam, Delden, The Hague, 1745; (his sale, Amsterdam, 25 October 1769, no. 20 [for 605 florins to Huybert Ketelaar]).
Antoine Poulain, Paris.
Armand Frédéric Ernest Nogaret (his sale, Le Brun, Paris, 2–5 June 1780, no. 26 [for 3,801 francs to Alexandre Joseph Paillet]).
Renaud César de Choiseul-Praslin (1735–1791) (his sale, Paillet, Paris, 18–25 February 1793, no. 64 [for 3,350 francs to his son, Antoine-César de Choiseul-Praslin]).
Antoine-César de Choiseul-Praslin (1756–1808) (his sale, Paillet, Paris, 9–10 May 1808, no. 20 [for 4,001 francs to Alexandre Joseph Paillet]).
Earl of Granville, by 1835 (his sale, Christie’s, London, 21 June 1845, no. 8 [for £231 to Faulkner]).
Baron E. de Beurnonville, Paris (his sale, Féral, George, Petit, Paris, 9–16 May 1881, no. 365 [for 20,000 francs to Sedelmeyer Gallery]; by whom sold in 1881 [for 25,000 francs to Sécretan]).
E. Secrétan, Paris (his sale, Boussod, Valadon, Sedelmeyer, Féral, Mannheim, Paris, 1–4 July 1889, no. 142 [for 64,500 francs to Thomas Agnew & Sons on behalf of Edward Guinness; purchased by Guinness for £2,844.9]).
Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, London, 1889; by inheritance to Arthur Ernest Guiness, Holmbury House, Holmbury St. Mary, Surrey, 1927 (his sale, Christie’s, London, 10 July 1953, no. 62 [for £7,350 to Duits Gallery and Marlborough, London]).
Count Hans Christopher von Seherr-Thoss, Litchfield, Connecticut, by 1958; by descent to Sonia P. Seherr-Thoss, 1992 (sale, Sotheby’s New York, 25–26 January 2007, no. 15 [Johnny van Haeften, Ltd., London]).
London, British Institution, “Catalogue of Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch and French Masers, with which the Proprietors Have Favoured the Institution,” May 1835, no. 111 [lent by Earl Granville].
London, Royal Academy of Arts, “Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters and by Deceased Masters of the British School; Including a Collection of Water Colour Drawings Illustrating the Progress of the Art of Water Colour in England: Winter Exhibition,” 1891, no. 90 [lent by Lord Iveagh].
Paris, “Sedelmeyer Gallery, Illustrated Catalogue of 300 Paintings of the Dutch, Flemish, Italian, French and English Schools, being some of the principal pictures which have at various times formed part of the Sedelmeyer Gallery,” 1898, no. 89 [lent by Lord Iveagh].
London, Royal Academy, “Dutch Pictures 1450–1750,” Winter 1952–53, no. 505 [lent by the Hon. Ernst Guiness].
Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, “Chefs-d’Oeuvres de la Curiosité du Monde: 2e Exposition Internationale de la C.I.N.O.A.,” 10 June–30 September 1954, no. 28, [lent by Duits Gallery].
Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, on loan with the permanent collection, January 2011–August 2015 [lent by the present owner].
Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum, “Work, Pray & Admire: New Views on Calvinism and Art,” 11 November 2018–26 May 2019 [lent by the present owner].
Descamps, Jean Baptiste. La vie des peintres flamands, allemands et hollandois, avec des portraits Gravés en Taille-douce, une indication de leurs principaux Ouvrages, & des Réflexions sur leurs différentes manières. 4 vols. Paris, 1753–64, 2:242.
Smith, John. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters. 9 vols. London, 1829–42, 4: 87, no. 42; 9:519, no. 11.
Catalogue of Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch and French Masters, with which the Proprietors Have Favoured the Institution. Exh. cat. London, British Institution. London, 1835, no. 111.
Blanc, Charles. Le Trésor de la Curiousité tiré des Catalogues de vente de Tableaux, Dessins, Estampes, Livres, Marbres, Bronzes, Ivoires, Terres Cuites, Vitraux, Médailles, Armes, Porcelaines, Meubles, Émaux, Lacques et autres Objets d’Art. Avec diverses Notes & Notices historiques & biographiques. 2 vols. Paris, 1857–58, 2:19, 161, 243–44.
Exhibition of Works by the Old Masters and by Deceased Masters of the British School; Including a Collection of Water Colour Drawings Illustrating the Progress of the Art of Water Colour in England: Winter Exhibition. Exh. cat. London, Royal Academy of Arts. London, 1891, no. 90.
Sedelmeyer Gallery, Illustrated Catalogue of 300 Paintings of the Dutch, Flemish, Italian, French and English Schools, being some of the principal pictures which have at various times formed part of the Sedelmeyer Gallery. Exh. cat. Paris, Sedelmeyer Gallery. Paris, 1898, no. 89.
Von Wurzbach, Alfred. Niederländisches Künstler-Lexikon:Auf Grund Archivalischer Forschungen Bearbeitet. 3 vols. Vienna and Liepzig, 1906–11, 2:150.
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century Based on the Work of John Smith. Edited and translated by Edward G. Hawke, 1:305–6, nos. 171, 203c. 8 vols. London, 1907–28. Originally published as Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten höllandischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts. 10 vols. Esslingen and Paris, 1907–28.
Krönig, Joseph O. “Gabriel Metsu.” Revue de l’art-ancien et modern 25 (1909): 222.
Holmes, Charles. Pictures from the Iveagh Bequest and Collections. London, 1928, xv; no. lviii.
Dutch Pictures 1450–1750. Exh. cat. London, Royal Academy of Arts. London, 1952–53, no. 505.
Plietzsch, Eduard. “Review of London 1952–53.” Kunstchronik 6, no. 5 (1953): 130.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Chefs-d’Oeuvres de la Curiosité du Monde: 2e Exposition Internationale de la C.I.N.O.A. Exh. cat. Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Paris, 1954, no. 28, fig. 18.
Gudlaugsson, Sturla J. Gerard ter Borch. 2 vols. The Hague, 1959–60, 2:201, under no. 219.
Gudlaugsson, Sturla J. “Kanttekeningen bij de ontwikkeling van Metsu.” Oud Holland 83 (1968): 32.
Robinson, Franklin W. Gabriel Metsu (1629–1667): A Study of His Place in Dutch Genre Painting of the Golden Age. New York, 1974, 48, 166, fig. 114.
Bénézit, Emmanuel. Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs de tous les temps et de tous les pays par un groupe d’écrivains spécialistes français et étrangers. 10 vols. Paris, 1976. Revised edition by Jacques Busse. 14. vols. Paris, 1999, 9: 537.
Ingamells, John. The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Pictures: IV, Dutch and Flemish. London, 1992, 206.
Edwards, JoLynn. Alexandre-Joseph Paillet, Expert et marchand de tableaux à la fin du XVIIIe siècle. Paris, 1996, 274–75, 322.
Fredericksen, Burton B., and Benjamin Peronnet et al., eds. Répertoire des tableaux vendus en France au XIXe siècle. 1 vol. to date. Los Angeles, 1998,1: 687.
Waiboer, Adriaan E. “Gabriel Metsu (1629–1667): Life and Work.” 4 vols. PhD diss. New York University, 2007, 1: 122–23, 455–56, A-37, 4: 1086.
Waiboer, Adriaan E. Gabriel Metsu, Life and Work: A Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven, 2012, 62, 199, no. A-54.
Eekhout, Marianne. Werk, bid & bewonder: Een nieuwe kijk op kunst en calvinisme. Exh. cat. Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum. Dordrecht, 2018, 57, illustrated.
The support, a single plank of vertically grained, rectangular oak, has bevels on all four sides.1 The panel is unthinned and uncradled. Three small rectangular wood blocks reinforce worm tunnels along the right edge. The panel has remnants of a red wax seal, two paper labels, a black stencil, and faint machine toolmarks, but no import stamps or panel maker’s mark.
A light orange tone in various places suggests a light warm-colored ground has been thinly and evenly applied. The paint has been applied smoothly in thin layers. The red drapery has a red surface glaze in places, and the blue drapery appears to be richly colored.
No underdrawing is readily apparent in infrared images captured at 720 nanometers. The images reveal faint compositional lines in the fireplace above the young man. There is variation across certain elements, such as the young woman’s face, her white shawl, and the young man’s right boot that are not clearly evident in normal light.
The painting has a faintly inscribed signature along the table edge, which is slightly clearer in infrared. The letters have been scratched through the brown paint and allow the ground to show through.
The painting was cleaned and restored in 2007 and remains in a good state of preservation.2
The characterization of wood is based on visual examination only.
Entry based on 2012 examination report by Jevon Thistlewood, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.
Henri-Emile Lefort, after G. Metsu, Intérieur hollandaise, 1881, etching (first published in sale catalogue, George, Petit, Paris, 9–16 May 1881, no. 365, and reproduced in F. W. H. Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings, and Woodcuts, ca. 1450–1700 [Amsterdam, 1949–], 14:16, no. 32).
Cornelis Buys after Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, watercolor (last seen in 1810, apparently lost).
After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, oil on panel, 37 x 30 cm, formerly Galerie Internationale, The Hague, 1961.
After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, (support unknown), 38 x 32.5 cm, formerly D. L. van Hengel, Arnhem.
After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, oil on panel, 35 x 30 cm, possibly formerly Sedelmeyer Gallery, Paris, 1898.
After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, oil on panel, 38 x 32 cm, formerly Baron Konigswaerter, Vienna.
After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, oil on panel, 37 x 30 cm (probably equivalent with Version 4, or Version 1).
After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, untraceable, 39.4 x 31.8 cm.
After Gabriel Metsu, Woman Pouring Beer and a Young Man Smoking, untraceable.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1565
|
__label__wiki
| 0.830728
| 0.830728
|
Alexander Duckworth
Point One Percent
James Dunning, Jr
The Dunning Group Inc
Ronan Dunne
EVP & Group CEO
Ronan Dunne is Executive Vice President and Group CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, the largest division of Verizon Communications, the leading US telecoms provider. He leads the teams responsible for delivering wireline, TV and wireless connected experiences to more than 100 million consumers every day. In addition, his teams are helping to build the first 5G technology network that will re-define how customers live, work and play.
Ronan is a board member and officer of CTIA, the US telecoms industry body and speaks globally on the power of technology to drive positive outcomes for our society. He serves on the advisory board of the Kairos Society, whose mission is “focusing the next generation on problems worth solving” and is a counselor for the One Young World charity that brings together young leaders from around the world and empowers them to make lasting connections to create positive change.
Prior to joining Verizon, Ronan was Chief Executive Officer of Telefonica UK (O2) the leading UK wireless operator and one of the UK’s most loved brands. Under his leadership, O2 became a leader in Corporate Social Responsibility and he was the Ethical Corporation CEO of the Year in 2015.
While in the UK, Ronan served on the trustee board of Step Up to Serve, the UK social action charity, the UK Government Digital Economy Advisory Group and on the board of the Tech Partnership, focused on developing STEM skills and curriculum for the telecom’s and technology sector.
Dunne is a fellow and former Council member of Chartered Accountants Ireland and a fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers.
Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Ronan maintains strong links with Ireland including membership of the Global Irish Network and The Irish International Business Network (IIBN).
Ronan Dunne’s Newsfeed
Verizon will lock new phones for 60 days after purchase
Verizon says that its 60-day lock on new phones will go into effect "very soon“ and it confirms that after 60 days, the phones will unlock automatically. "Even with these safeguards in place, Verizon will still have the most consumer-friendly unlocking policy in the industry, and we see very little impact on our legitimate customers‘ ability to use their devices,“ says Ronan Dunne, EVP and group CEO of Verizon Consumer Group.
Verizon's Dunne on the trans-Atlantic 5G disjunct, and why the US leads the EU
Europe will follow the US and offer unlimited 5G data plans as standard to consumers and enterprises, and European operators will be forced to respond to the pinch on capacity constraints with more aggressive 5G deployments. This is the view of the transatlantic disjunct on 5G from Ronan Dunne, executive vice president and group chief executive at US Carrier Verizon.
Blocking Robocalls to Get Easier Under New FCC Policy
Ronan Dunne, head of Verizon Communications Inc.’s consumer group, was mentioned in an article on allowing phone companies to block suspected illegal and unwanted calls "by default".
Ronan Dunne’s Background
Sep 2016 - Present
Verizon is one of the larget telecommunications companies globally, helping consumers to stay connected. Verizon aims to inspire tomorrow's creators to use technology to build brighter futures.
O2 (Telefónica UK)
Jan 2005 - Aug 2016
Slough, UK
O2 is one of the UK's most innovative telecommunications companies. Ronan was CFO 2005-2007 and CEO 2008 to 2016. In 2006 Telefónica acquired O2 plc.
Member of the Executive Committee
Telefónica is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world in terms of market capitalisation and number of customers. Ronan served as a member of their Europe and SA Executive Committees.
O2 plc
Deputy to Group CFO / Head of Finance
Sep 2001 - Dec 2004
O2 plc, the UK telecoms group demerged from BT plc in November 2001 and was acquired by Telefonica SA in January 2006.
DHL Exel Supply Chain
Head of Strategic Finance
DHL is the world's largest contract logistics specialist, creating competitive advantage for customers through customized logistics solutions.
Banque Nationale de Paris
BNP has a long banking history in Europe and supports its clients in today's ever changing world. It is one of the leading banks in the Eurozone and prominent internationally.
The American Ireland Fund
Corporate Leadership Award 2019
Our mission is to harness the power of a global philanthropic network of friends of Ireland to promote and support peace, culture, education and community development across the island of Ireland and among Irish communities around the world.
Ethical Corporation | Responsible Business Awards
CEO of the Year 2015
Ethical Corporation Awards: "Ronan has been a clear leader in managing sustainability, putting O2 at the forefront of sustainable businesses on a diversity of topics including youth employment schemes to large industry recycling, environmental stewardship having a direct impact on both employee and consumer behaviour.”
Winner 2018: O2
O2 gathered insights from its customers in relation to their attitudes and behaviours around online safety & how they were currently keeping their children safe online. O2 trained over 6,000 staff in online child safety, with over half of these work in stores, enabling parents to access online safety advice & support, O2 also have a dedicated online safety helpline & webchat service.
Chartered Accountants Ireland
Fellow and former Council Member
Chartered Accountants Ireland is a membership body representing 27,000 influential members worldwide.
The Association of Corporate Treasurers
The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) is the chartered professional body for treasury, the key part in a firm's financial strategy and policy.
Previous Non-Executive Positions
Non-Executive Director, Chairman
Tesco Mobile is the UK's largest mobile virtual network operator and shares O2's network, providing 99% coverage in the UK. Ronan served as Chairman and Director.
Member of the Supervisory Board
May 2014 - Sep 2016
AVG Technologies was acquired by Avast, the global leader in next-gen cybersecurity products for businesses and consumers.
Guardian Media Group plc
Jan 2013 - 2016
Guardian Media Group plc is amongst the UK’s leading media organisations which owns Guardian News & Media, the publisher of theguardian.com, one of the largest English-speaking quality news websites in the world.
One Young World identifies, promotes and connects the world’s most impactful young leaders to create a better world, with more responsible, more effective leadership.
Kairos Society
Member of the Advisory Board
Kairos was founded on the belief that entrepreneurs have the ability to solve the world’s biggest problems. Their purpose has always been to identify these problems and partner with the brightest founders worldwide to build truly innovative solutions.
Step Up To Serve
Board Trustee
Step Up To Serve is a charity set up to promote practical action by young people in the service of others. It runs the cross-sector, multi-party campaign #iwill campaign.
Forum for the Future
Supporter and Speaker on CSR
Forum for the Future is a leading international NGO working with business, government & civil society to solve complex sustainability challenges.
Ronan Dunne’s Education
FCT Dip
Blackrock College, Dublin
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1566
|
__label__wiki
| 0.706958
| 0.706958
|
h Back Stage
Inditex tops Dow Jones Sustainability Index for second year in a row
The Spanish fast fashion retailer continues capitalizing on its eco strategy and has been ranked first in the list, which also includes rival groups H&M and Gap Inc., two of the largest clothing distributors worldwide.
14 Sep 2018 — 16:58
Inditex remains at the helm of sustainable practices for second year in a row. The Spanish group, owner of Zara, Bershka and Pull&Bear, has won once again the gold medal among several global retailers in this field, according to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which is developed in collaboration with Robecosam, a consultancy firm specialized in sustainability investments.
Among major apparel companies worldwide, the index also features H&M, second largest fashion distributor worldwide, as well as Gap, which occupies the fourth position in the global ranking by revenue after years of restructuring. Chilean department store Falabella, whose operations expand across many countries in Latin America, also appears on the list.
German sportswear behemoth Adidas leads the consumer goods’ category with the highest score. Here, Dow Jones also featured Canadian company Gildan Activewear, the American Apparel brand owner since 2017.
To elaborate the index, Dow Jones selects more than 300 groups whose sustainability strategies stand out from among the 2,500 largest companies in the world. This performance indicator has been carried out since 1999 and has become a benchmark for the business and financial community.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1567
|
__label__wiki
| 0.760672
| 0.760672
|
Five top Kogi civil servants arrested for diverting N230m pension fund
Sunday, September 11, 2016 10:01 pm
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State
Five top civil servants in Kogi State have been arrested for allegedly diverting N230m pension fund to their private uses.
The Accountant-General of the state, Alhaji Yusuf Okala, confirmed the development to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lokoja on Sunday.
Okala, who is also the Chairman of the Staff Screening and Verification Committee, said the alleged fraud was discovered in the course of the committee’s work.
“Yes, it is true. We have been able to recover N20m from them through the efforts of the police command in the state,” he said.
Also, the state Auditor-General, Alhaji Ahmed Ododo, said that the money would be recovered in full from the suspects.
The money was part of funds released by the administration of Capt. Idris Wada for the payment of pensioners.
Over 9,000 retirees in the state are owed between four and five months’ pension arrears as a result of the alleged diversion and the lack of funds by the government.
Ododo explained that the suspects would be made to face the law.
He commended the state government for setting up the committee for conducting the verification in the interest of the state.
He said that apart from identifying ghost workers and pensioners, the committee was working to plug loopholes through which public funds were being stolen.
Ododo promised that all genuine workers and pensioners would soon be cleared for the payment of salaries and pensions.
“The screening of workers and pensioners is going to be a continuous exercise.
‘’No authentic staff or pensioner will have any cause to fear. Gov. Yahaya Bello-led administration in the state has high regard for both workers and pensioners.
“The on-going verification is not aimed at victimising anybody but an effort targeted at saving money for the state to take adequate care of its responsibilities,” Ododo said.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1568
|
__label__wiki
| 0.985045
| 0.985045
|
HomeThe Last Kiss
The Last Kiss is a TV show on Australian national television from SBS ONE with an average rating of 3.0 stars by TVCatchUpAustralia.com's visitors. We have 1 episodes of The Last Kiss in our archive. The first episode of The Last Kiss was broadcast in September, 2014. Did you miss an episode of The Last Kiss but don't you wan't that to happen in the future? Please set an alarm and add The Last Kiss to your favourites, so we can remind you by email when there's a new episode available to watch. Completely free: handy!
Episode of September 30, 2014
Expired 30/09/2014 3.0 89 x
Carlo's life is thrown into a tailspin when his longtime girlfriend Giulia announces she's pregnant. As Carlo faces up to his anxieties about adulthood, his buddies Paolo, Adriano and Alberto reluctantly grapple with their own responsibilities. Winner of the Audience Award at Sundance in 2002. Written and directed by Gabri...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1572
|
__label__wiki
| 0.570703
| 0.570703
|
Restrict my search to Office of the Provost
Give to UH
Provost Paula Myrick Short
Deans of Colleges and Libraries
Provost's Cabinet: Vice and Associate Provosts
Office of the Provost Staff
Faculty Engagement and Development
Cougar Chairs Leadership Academy
Faculty Grievance
Non-Tenure Track Faculty
Faculty/Staff Administrators
Undergraduate Academic Advising
Undergraduate Student Success Center
Provost's Prize for Creative Writing
New Coogs
UHin4: Four Year Graduation Plan
Cub Camp: Student-Run, Student Led
Provost Summer Read Program
Learning Abroad
University Success
SACS University Accreditation
UH Global
Global Citizens Credential
Center for ADVANCING UH Faculty Success
Cougar Initiative to Engage (CITE)
Houston Guided Pathways to Success
Foundations of Excellence
Year 1: Foundational Dimensions
Year 2: Themes
Success Indicators Dashboard
Postdoctoral Fellows at UH
Academic Program Planning
Committee on Academic Centers and Institutes
Planning and Budgeting
Policies and Resources
Student Policies and Resources
Faculty Policies, Programs, and Resources
University Policies and Resources
FERPA Resources
Senate Bill 4 Frequently Asked Questions
Travels With Shasta
Cougar Milestones
Cub Camp
Cub Camp Scholarships
For more information, email cubcamp@uh.edu or call 713-743-0289.
Morgan Meeks, Program Coordinator
mgmeeks@uh.edu
Tara Sass, Director
tsass@uh.edu
Cub Camp: Defined
Discover Cub Camp
You Belong Here
Namesakes
Descripción de Cub Camp
Cub Camp is a first year program held the week before classes begin for new Coogs at an off-campus retreat center in Trinity, Texas. For three days and two nights, campers learn more about UH, its traditions, and the on-campus community. This is an opportunity for the class of 2023 to come together as a class, have fun, make friends, and learn more about creating a successful life at UH and in Houston.
Register for Cub Camp!
At Cub Camp you will participate in all of the typical “summer camp” activities like water sports, challenge games, and relaxing by the pool in addition to UH specific activities and discussions that focus on your success as a student.
Cub Camp is student-run and student-led, which means that our entire staff is comprised of current UH students, many of whom are former campers! These student leaders have spent the past year planning and preparing to lead you through your first tradition and into your life at UH.
Your time at Cub Camp will be divided four different ways:
You will be assigned to a small group with other campers. Each discussion group (DG) is led by two current UH experts, who happen to also be UH students, and has its own unique vibe. Your counselors will lead your DG through different discussions centered on tips for student success!
Individual Camps
Each Discussion Group belongs to an Individual Camp. Individual Camps are led by Co-Chairs and Counselors. You will spend the majority of Cub Camp with either Yellow, Purple, Blue, or Green Camp, watching skits, competing in challenges, and participating in discussions. Each Individual Camp has its own unique theme, chants, and Namesake.
All Camp
Each day of Cub Camp all of the Individual Camps come together for All Camp activities and presentations from on-campus departments at UH. During All Camp times, the activities you will participate in will revolve around the four Cub Camp core values: Spirit, Tradition, Unity, and Growth. These are also times for you to show your pride for your Individual Camp!
Free Time and Evening Activities
On Day Two of Cub Camp, you will get the opportunity to “choose your own adventure” during Free Time in the afternoon. Each evening of camp, a different activity is provided for campers to relax and hang out after their busy day.
The UH campus is full of opportunities, with new discoveries to be made around every corner. That is why every moment of Cub Camp is carefully designed to help you find the right resources and build the strongest connections at UH. Discover your next steps at Cub Camp.
Cub Camp Stats:
94% of campers leave Cub Camp feeling proud to be a Coog!
52% of current camp counselors are previous participants
74 student staff members help plan and execute Cub Camp
No matter where your interests lie, you will find something you love at Cub Camp. Check out some of the fun below!
Put your Coog Paws up for your first taste of UH spirit! Following your initial Check-in to Cub Camp, we will hear from the Spirit of Houston, the official UH marching band, and introduce you to your Co-Chairs.
Take some time to decompress in your cabin, hit the lake on a kayak, or shoot some hoops- we will have Free Time on both Day One and Day Two of camp.
Compete with your camp, and show pride in your camp color, to capture the flag of the three opposing camps in this fast paced and strategic game.
Camp Takeover
Now is your chance to participate in Cub Camp’s chant war - yell your loudest but remember to stay on beat!
Relax with your new friends at the Hometown to H-Town mixer at the end of Day One. We will have dance music, board games, snacks, and more!
Ultimate Coog Games
Inspired by the Amazing Race, Ultimate Coog Games will test your DG’s skills of logic, teamwork, athleticism, and perseverance. Each DG will compete to win points for their camp!
During Cub Camp registration, you will have the opportunity to opt into showcasing your unique skills during the Cub Camp Talent Show. You’ve put in the hard work, now show it off!
Camp to Campus
Do you have the right mindset to meet all of your goals? Your Co-Chairs can help out with that. On the final day of Cub Camp we discuss how to successfully bring all of the things you learned at camp back to campus and beyond.
Each Individual Camp is named after a member of the UH faculty, staff, or alumni who has positively impacted the student experience at UH. You will meet your Namesake at camp, where they have the opportunity to participate in all of the Camp activities alongside you.
Find Your Place at Cub Camp
There’s no doubt that you belong at UH. Cub Camp is here to help you walk in like you own the campus on your first day. At camp you will meet people who will radically influence the next four years- your new classmates will become your friends and support system, and help shape your experience as a Cougar. During your time at UH you will discover who you are and find places where you truly belong. It all starts here, at Cub Camp!
Don't believe us? See what past campers have to say about Cub Camp:
The freshmen attending Cub Camp are divided up into four camps (green, yellow, blue, purple) and each camp is led by 2 student Co-Chairs and 12 student Counselors. Every camp is then named after a University of Houston faculty, staff, or alumnus who has positively impacted students' success for students. Namesakes have the opportunity to interact with and impact student camp staff and incoming freshman students in their camp over the course of the year and attend camp in August! Current students or members of the UH community may nominate a faculty member, staff member or alumnus as a way to honor the passion and dedication these individuals have for the Red and White! Current undergraduate and graduate students will not be included for consideration. The Cub Camp Executive Team will review nominations and make Camp Namesake selections.
2019 Namesakes:
Andrew Hamilton | Raven Jones | Floyd Robinson | Richard Walker
Charles Haston | Catherine Horn | Keith Kowalka | Paula Mendoza
Leanica Adams | Jeronimo Cortina | Jeff Fuller | Teri Longacre | Rebeca Trevino
Danny Arocha | Ann Oliver Cheek | Malachi Crawford | Jared Gogets
Cedric Bandoh | Jay Neal | Joe Pratt | Paula Myrick Short
Cedric Bandoh
Cedric K. Bandoh is a proud member of the Class of 2014 and graduated from the Bauer College of Business with a degree in Supply Chain Management. He currently serves a member of the UH Alumni Association Board of Directors and is the youngest alum to ever serve on the board.
During his time as a student, Cedric served two terms as the student body president. When elected in 2012 he was the youngest student in UH's history to be elected president of the student body. Through partnerships with many student leaders, faculty, staff and administrators, Cedric led many transformational university-wide initiatives to improve the quality of the student experience. Some of these include the Rebuild Cullen Blvd. initiative, the $80 million University Center Transformation Project, new football stadium project, UH in 4, and the task force that created the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. He also co-chaired the task force that made recommendations to the Provost on the creation of Cub Camp.
To increase student engagement via technology, Cedric led the implementation of Redline: UH's official mobile app and ImproveUH: an online forum that allows students to contribute ideas on improving the student experience while connecting them with decision makers. He also partnered with the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid to implement upgrades in system technologies to improve financial aid student service. Cedric was also a member of the National Campus Leadership Council, a coalition of student body presidents from around the country and the Bauer student chapter of the Institute for Supply Management.
A native of Dallas, Texas Cedric's life motto is service above self. He is a Global Product Manager at Hewlett-Packard (HP).
Jay Neal
Dr. Jay Neal is an associate professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston. He received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Conrad N. Hilton College. After receiving his B.S., he worked in the restaurant industry for over ten years as general manager and catering director of a successful Houston restaurant chain. He received my PhD in Food Microbiology at Texas A&M University. He has published multiple articles in the Journal of Food Protection, the Journal of Food Science, Food Control, and Food Research International.
Dr. Neal teaches undergraduate Food Safety and Sanitation and graduate Food Service Systems. His current research focuses on best practices for deli employees within the retail setting. He also focusses on food handler safety behaviors especially for non-English speaking individuals and developing food safety cultures. Recently he received a USDA grant titled “Development of Effective Behavior Based Standard Operating Procedures for Fresh and Fresh Cut Produce”.
He manages a production kitchen laboratory, a sensory evaluation lab, 1200 gallon aquaponics laboratory and a BSL-2 food micro laboratory. Dr. Neal serves as a member of the Texas Food Safety Task Force and the Conference for Food Protection. He is also a member of the International Association of Food Protection, Institute of Food Technology and the Food Marketing Institute.
Joseph Pratt
Joseph A. Pratt is the Cullen Professor of History and Business at the University of Houston, where he has taught for the last 16 years. Before coming to UH, he taught in the business school at the University of California-Berkeley, Texas A & M University and at the Harvard Business School. He earned his B.A. from Rice University and his Ph.D. in economic history from Johns Hopkins. A specialist in the history of the petroleum industry, he has written histories of Amoco, the Texas Eastern Corporation, and the National Petroleum Council. He is currently at work on a history of the offshore petroleum industry.
Professor Pratt has also co-authored the books But Also Good Business, Texas Commerce Banks and the Financing of Houston and Texas, The Rise of the Corporate Commonwealth, U.S. Business and Public Policy in the Twentieth Century, and Baker & Botts in the Development of Houston. Publications have appeared in Business History Review, California Management Review, Journal of Economic History, The Public Historian, Research in Economic History, and others. Current work includes a forthcoming history of the Texas Eastern Corporation and a history of the control of oil pollution.
Paula Myrick Short
Paula Myrick Short is the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the University of Houston System, and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at the University of Houston.
In her role as Senior Vice Chancellor for the University of Houston System, Dr. Short is responsible for the academic quality and accreditation of all four UH system institutions: UH, UH – Downtown, UH – Clear Lake, and UH – Victoria. She also serves on the University of Houston System Board of Regents.
As Senior Vice President and Provost of the University of Houston, Dr. Short is responsible for faculty development, strategic enrollment planning, undergraduate student success, education innovation and technology, global strategies and partnerships, as well as two key University initiatives, UH Energy and UH Health, and development of a third priority, the UH College of the Arts. As Provost, the Deans of the 13 UH Colleges and the UH Libraries report to her.
Since her appointment in June 2013, she has established the UH Graduate School, the Cougar Chairs Leadership Academy for Department Chairs, the Foundations of Excellence initiative, Houston GPS as well as implemented student success initiatives such as UH in 4 and Provost Summer Read. Provost Short came to the University of Houston July 2012 as Distinguished Professor and Founding Director of the Institute for Policy, Research, and Evaluation.
Prior to joining UH, Dr. Short served 12 years as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the Tennessee Board of Regents, the sixth-largest governing board system of higher education in the United States, annually serving more than 200,000 students. Dr. Short has served as a tenured faculty member at Auburn University, The Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Missouri – Columbia.
Jared Gogets
Jared Gogets is a proud Houston Cougar, and an alum of multiple student organizations, the Jack J. Valenti School of Communications (Corporate Comm), University of Houston Athletic Department, and the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity. He currently serves as a director on the UH Young Professionals Political Action Committee.
During his time as a student, Jared served as the President of the Student Program Board, a Senator at Large in SGA, the Chairman of the University Center Policy Board, Co-Chair of The New UC Project, and Campus Involvement Chair of Pi Kappa Alpha. Jared lead growth initiatives on campus in the areas of student life, capital projects, and organizational change. These include authoring the TDECU Stadium Referendum, leading the $80 million New UC Project, expanding SPB to include large concerts like Gym Class Heroes in 2011, and securing consensus to keep the UH Chicano Mural in its current location.
In his support of athletics and school pride, Jared has served as PA Announcer as the voice of UH baseball, softball, volleyball, women's basketball, and swimming & diving. He's been the host of Mr. UH, Homecoming’s Strut Your Stuff, Frontier Fiesta's Battle of the Bands, and CEO's International Explosion.
Jared is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is a Recruitment Consultant for TransCanada Corporation in Downtown Houston, and also runs his own talent acquisition consulting business.
Danny Arocha
Look up the phrase “Cougar Spirit” in the dictionary and you’ll find a picture of Danny Arocha. As the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management’s director of Enrollment, Danny is an enthusiastic and passion recruiter and a true advocate of Hilton College and all of its programs and people. A graduate himself, Danny graduated from Hilton College in 1995 with a BS in Hotel and Restaurant Management and brings to his position more than 15 years of industry work experience. Since 03-03-03, when Danny returned to the College as part of the staff, there has been an increase in the overall quality of the students he is recruiting. A coincidence? Not if you know Danny Arocha. His industry experience, coupled with his Hilton degree, gives him a special insight into the questions and needs of prospective students and their parents; he is a natural recruiter and can talk about every aspect of Hilton College life and the ensuing career opportunities in the hospitality industry—and he does it in English and Spanish!
The key to his recruiting success? He treats all perspective students as if they were guests in his hotel. “You have to treat people the way you want to be treated,” explains Danny. “This is a great program located in the 4th largest city in the United States, representing one of the largest employers and the most diverse industry in the world. It’s important not to try to see through our students but, rather, to see them through the entire decision process.”
Danny believes the main reason that prospective students come to the Hilton College is because of his honesty. “You can’t make a student be a ‘go match’ for our program; it has to be a mutual agreement. I tell students who are interested in us that they must visit two to four different programs to make sure that they are making the right choice.”
In addition to his responsibilities in student recruitment and enrollment, Danny is the advisor to the Conrad N. Hilton College Ambassadors, which he founded in 2003. He has also served on the National Advisory Boards to the Distributive Educational Clubs of America, the Future Business Leaders of America, and the National Academy Foundation, to mention but a few of his “extra curricular” activities.
Danny loves his Hilton College and his University of Houston. And, if you want verification of this statement, just ask one of the several hundred students who he has recruited to the Hilton College in the past fourteen years years. GO COOGS!!!!
Malachi Crawford
A native of Pasadena, California, Malachi D. Crawford is assistant director of African American Studies at the University of Houston. He received his doctorate in Twentieth Century U.S. History from the University of Missouri-Columbia, with a focus on examining regional and transnational histories of religion and law, race and law enforcement, and intellectual traditions within the African Diaspora. More specifically, Crawford’s research takes a historical approach to understanding the legal, religious, intellectual and literary attempts by African-descended peoples to challenge the cultural foundations of civil law and human rights in the Western Hemisphere. In January 2015, the Critical Africana Studies Series at Lexington Books, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., published his first book-length manuscript entitled Black Muslims & the Law: Civil Liberties from Elijah Muhammad to Muhammad Ali. Intellectually located within the critical race scholarship of A. Leon Higgonbotham’s classic works on American slavery jurisprudence, this study examines the Nation of Islam’s quest for civil rights as a direct and inaugural challenge to the suppression of African American religious freedom as a matter of law. More recently, Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, approved a major media grant in support of his first digital humanities project, “ One False Step: A Visual History of Muhammad Ali and the Struggle for Civil Rights in Houston, Texas”.
Ann Oliver Cheek
Dr. Ann Oliver Cheek is an Instructional Associate Professor in the Biology & Biochemistry Department. She joined the University of Houston in Fall 2012 and has taught the two Introduction to Biological Sciences courses, BIOL 1361 and BIOL 1362 every year since then. In the summers, she teaches Biological Field Research at UH's Coastal Center in LaMarque, TX. Dr. Cheek's goal in all her classes is to foster students' interest in and enjoyment of biology by sharing her own sense of wonder at the complex and beautiful living world. At the same time she deliberately challenges students to think like scientists: to go beyond learning facts and processes toward applying knowledge to new situations, analyzing data and evaluating hypotheses. Dr. Cheek's favorite aspect of working with first year students is their willingness to ask questions.
Leanica Adams
Leanica Adams is a Housing Manager for Customer Service & Training with the Student Housing & Residential Life department. She joined the University of Houston housing family in Fall 2013. She enjoys working with and assisting students with their housing choices and ensuring they are getting the most value in their on campus experience. My favorite aspect of working with first year students is seeing their excitement during move-in and the eagerness to participate in various activities on campus. Leanica is very ecstatic and honored to be a part of Cub Camp as the 2017 Cub Camp Namesake!
Jeronimo Cortina
Jeronimo Cortina is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Center for Mexican American Studies. He earned a PhD in Political Science from Columbia University where he previously earned a Master's degree in public Administration and Public Policy from the School of International and Public Affairs. Dr. Cortina specializes on Latino politics, survey research and immigration. His work has been published in scholarly and policy journals such as the Journal of Policy Studies, American Politics Research Journal, Foreign Affairs in Spanish, Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy and Migration and Development. His books include “Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State: Why Americans Vote the Way They Do” (Princeton University Press), “A Quantitative Tour of the Social Sciences” (Cambridge University Press) and “New Perspectives on International Migration and Development” (Columbia University Press).
Jeff Fuller
Jeff is the epitome of a diehard UH Cougar. Jeff Fuller has served as the Director of Student Recruitment at the University of Houston since February 2007 where he also began his work back in 1995 as an Admissions Counselor. Jeff leads a team of 25 dynamic individuals that work with entering freshman, transfer and international students and connecting them with campus to see how UH can catapult them into successful careers by having a successful college experience. Originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, Jeff received two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Houston along with a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration. Jeff has held numerous leadership positions in the National and Texas Associations for College Admission Counseling where he served as president of both the Texas and National Associations for College Admissions Counseling. Additionally, Jeff received the first ever Rising Star Award from both organizations. This award recognizes young promising individuals in the profession. Jeff serves his community in various ways. He has previously served as Chair of the Houston Area Operation School Supplies Committee, a project aimed at raising money for school supplies for deserving students. For his commitment, Jeff was recognized as an Outstanding Volunteer by the University of Houston Alumni Association. Jeff is married to Kristyn, also a UH alum and they are the proud daughter Kate, a future Cougar in the class of 2031! Go COOGS!
Teri Elkins Longacre
Responsible for articulating and implementing a strategic vision for the university’s undergraduate student success efforts, including academic advising, research opportunities, and improvement of academic programs. Teri Elkins Longacre currently serves as Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Student Success in the Office of Academic Affairs and is an Associate Professor of Management at the C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston, where she joined the faculty in 1997. Teri previously served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in Bauer and as the University of Houston Faculty and Staff Ombudsperson. She received her undergraduate degree from Baylor University and a Ph.D. and J.D. from the University of Houston. She teaches in the areas of business law, employment law, managerial communication, human resource management, and organizational behavior, and coordinates an internship program with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Teri has published scholarly articles on the topics of employment discrimination, employee selection practices, affirmative action plans, leadership, and academic internship programs. Her articles have appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Leadership Quarterly, Sex Roles, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, SAM Advanced Management Journal, International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, Journal of Managerial Issues, International Journal of Human Resource Management, and the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
Rebeca Trevino
Since Rebeca Trevino started working for CMAS in 1995 she realized the enormous necessity to educate our youth and instill in them a sense of awareness for our Hispanic culture and the value of an education. In 1999, she became Program Coordinator for the SABE Program at Austin High School, outreach program that encouraged students to continue with their high school education and recruit them to the University of Houston. Presently, as the Program Manager of the Academic Achievers Program since 2001, Rebeca is committed to retain and propel more Hispanic students to graduation from the University of Houston. In her role she provides support services such as mentoring, academic tutoring, leadership skills and scholarships to first generation students. Rebeca encourages the importance of understanding how to balance school endeavors with life’s commitment in order to be a successful student and graduate. Rebeca is a certified university studies division academic advisor. Her commitment to students have taken her to serve as UH Staff Council representative, advisor for Kappa Delta Chi Sorority, Delta Gamma Sorority, and currently serves as staff advisor for Sigma Lambda Beta since 2012. In the community, Rebeca has actively worked with the Coalition for Higher Education to help immigrant students obtain a higher education in Texas. Served as council member of the Junior Achievement Hispanic Advisory Board, member of the Latin Women’s Initiative since 2003, UNIVISION “Nuestra Vida” Advisory Council member and has served as Regional Judge for the HEB Excellence in Education Awards. Born in Mexico and raised in Brownsville, Texas, Rebeca attained her Degree from the University of Texas at Brownsville. She came to the University of Houston after working for ten years at UT-Brownsville. Rebeca is dedicated to her students and has played an important role in shaping their academic success and the achievements in their careers. Rebeca takes a great pride in her work and cannot see herself doing anything else.
Charles Haston
Charles Haston is proud graduate of the Bauer College of Business where he graduated with a BBA in Finance from the Honors Business program in 2012 and received his MBA in 2016. He currently serves as a member of the UH Alumni Association Board of Directors. While a student at the University of Houston, Charles held several student leadership positions including Chair of the Student Fees Advisory Committee, Student Government Senator, Chair of the SGA Senate Student Life Committee, and he served as Student Body President in 2014. As a student leader, Charles was very focused on student engagement. Charles was instrumental in pushing through substantial increases in funding for night and weekend programming, Frontier Fiesta, Homecoming, and Football Tailgating. Charles led the very first Football Bowl Trip in 2013 to Birmingham. However, Charles’ signature accomplishment was leading the effort to create the overnight orientation program that would become known as Cub Camp. Charles is a devoted Cougar living in Los Angeles where he is CEO of a digital health start-up, Rebel Labs Inc. However, Charles NEVER misses a home football game at TDECU and wants you to know that you should not ever miss a home game either!
Catherine Horn
Catherine Horn is a Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and Executive Director of the Institute for Educational Policy Research and Evaluation at the University of Houston. She is also the Director for the Center for Research and Advancement of Teacher Education and the University of Houston Education Research Center. Dr. Horn, who received her PhD from Boston College, focuses on the systemic influences of secondary and postsecondary assessment and related policies on the learning trajectories of students especially for students traditionally underserved by the education and social sectors. Prior to joining the University of Houston, she worked as Research Associate for The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University; Senior Research Associate for the Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation and Educational Policy’s National Board on Educational Testing and Public Policy at Boston College; and a teacher at Jefferson Davis High School in the Houston Independent School District. Dr. Horn has been honored with numerous awards including a Fulbright Fellowship to Chile, a University Teaching Excellence Award, and appointment as an inaugural University of Houston Energy Fellow.
Keith Kowalka
Keith T. Kowalka serves as the assistant vice president for Student Affairs, providing leadership, strategic vision, organization and innovation for the development and delivery of programs, services and facilities focusing on learning and student engagement while enriching the campus life experience. Keith provides administrative oversight to the following departments: A.D. Bruce Religion Center/Campus Ministries Association, Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life, Center for Student Involvement, Center for Student Media, Children’s Learning Centers, the LGBTQ Resource Center, Student Centers, Student Affairs and Enrollment IT Services and is the Advisor to the Student Government Association. Keith also chairs the UH Weeks of Welcome program, the UH Homecoming Steering Committee, works with major campus events, and serves as the Student Affairs and Enrollment Services liaison to the following areas/programs: College of Education Higher Education Program for Graduate Assistant and Graduate Intern Placement.
In an effort to build a caring community, Keith has worked diligently to develop programs and services which address the needs of UH student populations by developing programs designed to support student engagement and success. Keith has made a significant impact on the student experience at UH. He was the champion of the Student Center Transformation, from project inception in 2007 through completion in 2015. His joy and pride in working with students on this project was evident on a daily basis. Keith was instrumental in the creation of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in 2014, an office that now provides programs, workshops and educational experiences to over 10,000 students annually. Keith was the founder of the Weeks of Welcome program in 2011, an initiative that has grown from 35 events in 2011 to over 150 in 2017. He was also one of the co-founders of the Cat’s Back event in 2002. Cat’s Back has grown from hosting 1,300 students in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center to hosting over 7,500 students this past fall – one of the largest single day programs at UH.
Based on his campus-wide impact, superior performance, and UH tenure Keith has been a recipient of the University of Houston Staff Excellence Award, and the Charles F. McElhinney Distinguished Service Award (the highest award given to a staff member for exemplary service to the university).
Paula Mendoza
Native Houstonian, Paula Mendoza is an entrepreneur, innovator, advocate, barrier-breaker and tireless volunteer recognized not only for the quality of her work, but for the passion she brings to every endeavor. Mendoza earned a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice and later her MBA in Leadership from the University of Houston-Downtown.
Paula’s humility, discernment and sense of fair play are evidenced by her service as past Chairman of the State of Texas Ethics Commission, as a past board member of the Texas Board of Public Accountants and as past Chairman of the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC). In October 2013, Mendoza was appointed to the University of Houston System Board of Regents, a Tier One institution, by the Governor of Texas for a six-year term. Over the years she has offered her time and talent as a speaker, event organizer and community leader to countless organizations.
Under her leadership, Possible Missions, Inc. (PM), a company she established in 2001, who specializes in Project Management and Procurement Solutions throughout all industries has experienced exponential growth; the business has achieved significant accolades.
Tu Primera Tradición- 12-14 de Agosto
Somos un programa de primer año orientado a mostrar una transición exitosa para los nuevos Coogs conforme a la tradición de Texas de otorgar la bienvenida a los estudiantes de primer año a través de retiros opcionales fuera del campus. El Cub Camp proporciona además una orientación obligatoria para los nuevos estudiantes. Este retiro de tres días y dos noches está diseñado para prepararlos para su transición a la Universidad de Houston (UH).
El Cub Camp está orientado hacia los estudiantes y es dirigido por los estudiantes. Esto significa que sus compañeros han participado en una experiencia de campamento, han capacitado a otros estudiantes de UH para dirigir actividades, entablar grupos de discusión, y están listos para brindar apoyo en cada etapa de su transición a UH. El estudiante podrá participar en todas las actividades típicas de un "campamento de verano", tales como deportes acuáticos, juegos intelectuales, y descansos en la piscina, pero con un toque de UH y un enfoque en el éxito estudiantil.
Haga nuevos amigos, obtenga una comprensión más profunda de las tradiciones y el espíritu de UH y aprenda cómo alcanzar el éxito en la universidad. Todo comienza aquí, en el Cub Camp.
La inscripción para Cub Camp 2019 se abrirá en abril aqui. ¡El cupo es limitado, así que inscríbase lo antes posible! El costo de Cub Camp no es reembolsable y se agrega directamente a la factura de matrícula y otros cargos.
El 96% de los estudiantes que han participado en anteriores Cub Camps regresan a UH después de su primer semestre.
El Cub Camp está orientado hacia los estudiantes y es dirigido por los estudiantes. Nuestro personal está capacitado para ayudar a los nuevos Coogs a conectarse con sus nuevos compañeros e informarse de los recursos disponibles en el campus.
¡El 92% de los participantes terminan el Cub Camp sintiéndose orgullosos de ser un Coog!
Ezekiel W. Cullen Bldg., Room 203
About the Office of the Provost
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1574
|
__label__wiki
| 0.892681
| 0.892681
|
It's time to Step Up for homeless families in Southern Utah and see them for who they are
The true story of a homeless family who lost their home unexpectedly and lived at the shelter, a storage unit, and doubled-up, all with three teens in tow.
Emily Havens, ehavens@thespectrum.com
Published 5:53 p.m. MT Nov. 25, 2017 | Updated 11:29 a.m. MT Nov. 28, 2017
Like many Southern Utah families, Amber Bride and Chris Buchanan have three teenagers. They grew up here. They lived in a four-bedroom home in Ivins. They worked while their children went to school and lived as any "normal" family does.
The big difference, though? Bride and Buchanan have spent the majority of the last four years in and out of homeless shelters, storage units, and crammed into small apartments with untrustworthy acquaintances.
They were homeless, and so were their children, now aged 16, 15 and 13.
"We used to have everything," Bride said.
The looming threat of homelessness began when their home caught fire some four or five years ago. Shortly after, Buchanan was laid off from his job, and Bride's hours had been cut. They took out loans on their vehicles and tried to "borrow money from Paul to pay Peter," but they soon after realized they couldn't repay Paul, and they couldn't repay Peter.
"When it rains it pours," Buchanan said. "It's amazing how fast things can change."
At the beginning of November, Washington County School District reported 545 total homeless students. That number is quite less than the year before, and Mike Carr, the homeless student liaison, said it's because many grade levels haven't yet been included in that figure.
Washington and Iron County School Districts in Southern Utah continuously report having hundreds of homeless students within their schools. Through fundraisers like Step Up in St. George and Cedar City, these children and their families get necessary items they need.
(Photo: Emily Havens / The Spectrum & Daily News)
Carr's goal was to "clean house," so to speak, when it came to reporting homeless student statistics. In order to ensure there weren't students who were no longer considered homeless included in the total, Carr completely started over and began at zero.
A new questionnaire was given to students at registration time; however, there were several grades at several schools who didn't receive the survey.
"I know we're missing some kids," Carr said. "Next year, we're requiring every student fill out that form each year."
The high school with the highest amount of homeless students is Dixie High School, reporting 39. The highest middle school is Dixie Middle at 22, and Tonaquint Intermediate School reports the highest in their category at 26.
More: Finding a home for the homeless: Local committee working to connect needy with the right resources
Hurricane Elementary School reports both the highest amount of homeless students, 42, in the elementary category and also the highest in the district as a whole.
Homelessness doesn't always look like homelessness, Carr said. Most of the students he assists are in the "doubled-up" category, meaning multiple families living in one home.
Most of the time, especially in the upper grades, children have been kicked out of their homes and are living with their friends, unaccompanied, in a state of perpetual couch surfing.
He spoke of one student in particular who lost both of his parents, his mother to suicide.
"He has nobody," Carr said. "He's living with his friend's family now. There's another student in a very similar situation. Oftentimes there's family friends willing to cake care of them, but talk about getting to be an adult quick."
Carr said it's rare that an elementary or intermediate student is unaccompanied by a parent or adult, but it does happen.
"Most people, even in the school system, don't think being doubled-up is a homeless category," Carr said. "They think, if they have a roof over their heads, they're safe. But they don't really think it through."
Imagine, Carr said, you're living in someone else's home. You and your children are likely sleeping on a couch or on the floor. There's no place for the kids to do their homework, and they don't have freedom to decide much of anything or even make simple choices like when they can take a shower.
"I always say they're just one argument away from getting kicked out, because it's just true," he said. "It's stressful."
Bride and Buchanan were placed in a similar situation: They decided to relocate to Las Vegas and live with an acquaintance for a short time. The homeowner said he would help the couple and their children get back on their feet.
It couldn't have been more opposite.
"We went there with the hopes that it was going to be something stable, and he was going to help us," Bride said. "Instead, he saw us as desperate and he could manipulate us because of it."
Buchanan described how the homeowner started treating his children poorly, and he would frequently lie about their "half" of the rent and utility payments by asking them to pay more than their share.
Additionally, the family was once scammed out of $1,000 they had saved and also acquired from a monetary donation from a local church when they responded to a false advertisement online for a mobile trailer. At that point in their journey, falling victim to an online scam was the last thing they expected to happen.
Buchanan said the homeless life is truly survival of the fittest.
'We are in a crisis': Sex traffickers, drug dealers target Utah's homeless youth
That state of constant stress is increasingly becoming a concern for Carr and school district officials.
"There's research that shows children who have been homeless and bounced around here and there in a constant state of stress or trauma, and it can be equal to what soldiers experience in war," Carr said. "If you never get that relief from stress, it's actually damaging your brain."
Many homeless children never experience calm or peace that comes with a safe and secure home.
"Not only is their brain going wacky, but that's why a lot of their behavior is out of control," Carr said. "They're operating in the fight-or-flight part of the brain. They're constantly in survival mode, and their parents are, too."
In addition to the stress Bride and Buchanan's children felt because they lacked a stable living situation, they were also often teased, especially their youngest son.
A homeless family stands on the corner near Costco in Washington City asking for donations Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016. The family said they collect the money to rent a motel room for a night to get by.
(Photo: Casie Forbes / The Spectrum & Daily News)
"He was acting out pretty badly, and we were trying to figure out why," Buchanan said. "He finally told us it's because he was getting picked on. It broke our hearts."
Bride said her children missed out on important social activities during those years as well.
"He would want to play with his friends outside of school, but he couldn't tell them where he lived," she said. "It's not like you can bring them to Switchpoint. It was an embarrassment for them."
All three children experienced a drop in their performance at school — their grades were going down. Bride said she believes they acted out and regressed academically because of the emotional stress they were under.
Even something as simple as having their own belongings, Bride said, can make a child feel safe and secure. She said they didn't realize what those little things meant until they no longer had them.
Homeless, Southern Utah, youth often look to sex work and drugs to survive Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017. Groups like TEAM RAW work to help youth escape these dangerous situations.
(Photo: Chris Caldwell / The Spectrum & Daily News, Chris Caldwell / The Spectrum & Daily News)
"Homelessness affects a family more than people realize," Bride added. "When you're a mom, you take responsibility for everything. It's hard to stay positive for the family. It really takes an emotional toll."
Not only did their family experience the great physical and emotional toll of homelessness, simply the label "homeless" felt like a fast pass invitation for the community to ostracize them.
"Here, you're really treated like an outcast," Bride said. "There's this perception that homeless people are addicts, but it really can happen to anybody."
Job searches went well, Bride said, until the business realized their home address matched that of the Switchpoint Community Resource Center.
More: 12 percent of Americans say a family member is addicted to opioids: survey
"We almost felt shunned by our own community," Bride said. "Even if we don't have a real address, does that make us less of a person? Should we not be given the chance to have a job to be able to better ourselves? What it comes down to at the end of the day is that it could happen to anyone. How can we better the community to be more understanding of those things?"
Bride and Buchanan have been able to offer their children a stable living situation over the past year, thanks to their steady income and help from Carr at the school distrcit.
"(Carr) has been a great help has far as helping us fill the gaps and being a sounding board," Bride said. "We would find somewhere to stay for a week or two, and he was always making sure we had funds for a bus or taxi to make sure our kids would be able to stay at the same school. It was the restart of some normalcy."
Even still, their family is still without a vehicle and continuing to rebuild.
"We're still trying, and it's definitely a process," Bride said. "You're totally starting over. Even though we're back living in a house, we're still constantly rebuilding."
Step Up with us
The Step Up St. George and Cedar City campaigns will run Nov. 27 - Dec. 8.
(Photo: Step Up)
Now in its fourth year, The Spectrum & Daily News' annual Step Up fundraiser for Washington and Iron County School Districts' homeless student populations has provided homeless students and their families thousands of essential items through #StepUpSTG and #StepUpCC.
This year, Southern Utah's school districts present with unique needs. Here are their wish lists: (please donate only new items, please)
Washington County School District
diapers in size 4, 5, 6 and baby wipes
hoodies for 12-18 year olds
shoes for 5-11 year olds
laundry soap and cleaning supplies
Iron County School District
baby items (diapers, wipes, etc.)
Additionally, gifts cards are also being requested, particularly for homeless and at-risk students and families to use to have fun — something they rarely, if ever, think of. Carr recommended gift cards from Fiesta Fun, the movie theater, or tickets for a ball game.
Visa gift cards are also helpful, whereas Carr says district officials are able to use them more lucratively. Carr is able to use community donations in more capacities and better serve individual families than he can with most grant funding.
"If I were to compare what the community gives to the at-risk student fund to what the state gives me, the community gives me 10x more than any state or federal monies," Carr said.
Audience Analyst and Content Strategist Casie Forbes and News Reporter Emily Havens sort Step Up St. George donations at the Spectrum office Friday, Dec. 2, 2016.(Photo: Chris Caldwell / The Spectrum & Daily News)
Buy Photo Fullscreen
Employees at Stephen Wade Toyota and members of the Washington County School District gather donations for the Step Up St. George drive Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016. (Photo: Chris Caldwell / The Spectrum & Daily News)
Employees at The Spectrum and members of the Washington County School District gather donations for the Step Up St. George drive Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016. (Photo: Chris Caldwell / The Spectrum & Daily News)
For example, Carr said he's been able to purchase everything from new tires on a family's car to items necessary for academic success like glasses and hearing aids, items that grants typically limit.
Community members are encouraged to drop off their monetary donations from now until Dec. 12 at The Spectrum & Daily News, located at 275 E. St. George Blvd., or at any of the Stephen Wade Auto Center dealerships located on Hilton Drive.
More: No room at the inn: St. George area faces potential affordable housing crisis
Donation boxes will be provided, and those who donate can choose which agency receives their contribution: the school district's at-risk student fund, Switchpoint, or Youth Futures (an incoming homeless shelter for youth in St. George).
To donate online, click here.
In Cedar City, community members can drop off both their monetary and physical donations at The Daily News, located at 369 N. 100 W. Ste. 1, Monday-Friday from 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Additionally, members of the community can drop-off their items at the first ever Step Up Drive-In event on Dec. 2 at Stephen Wade Toyota, located at 150 W. Hilton Drive.
Follow reporter Emily Havens on Twitter, @EmilyJHavens, and find her on Facebook at facebook.com/emilyjhavens. Call her at 435-674-6214.
© 2019 The Spectrum & Daily News, a division of Gannett Company, Inc.
It's time to Step Up for homeless families in Southern Utah and see them for who they are The true story of a homeless family who lost their home unexpectedly and lived at the shelter, a storage unit, and doubled-up, all with three teens in tow. Check out this story on thespectrum.com: http://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2017/11/25/its-time-step-up-homeless-families-southern-utah-and-see-them-who-they/881278001/
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1576
|
__label__wiki
| 0.809249
| 0.809249
|
Minimum wage laws are destroying jobs — just as predicted
Elder: The most vulnerable restaurants — the more "affordable" ones — appear to be the most hurt by a minimum wage hike.
Minimum wage laws are destroying jobs — just as predicted Elder: The most vulnerable restaurants — the more "affordable" ones — appear to be the most hurt by a minimum wage hike. Check out this story on thespectrum.com: http://www.thespectrum.com/story/opinion/2017/06/23/minimum-wage-laws-destroying-jobs-just-predicted/416597001/
Larry Elder, Creators Syndicate Published 11:30 a.m. MT June 23, 2017
Larry Elder(Photo: Creators Syndicate)
In the '60s my parents opened a small diner near downtown Los Angeles. As a child, I watched my parents sitting at the kitchen table, discussing their plans for what they considered a huge expansion of the business — hiring a dishwasher.
But my parents kept putting off the decision, in large part because of a proposed minimum-wage hike. This would've made the additional employee, as I recall my parents concluding, "too expensive."
This brings us to the impact of recent minimum wage hikes in California. The owner of a small restaurant told me that Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti invited several small business owners to city hall to discuss the impact of a proposed minimum wage hike.
Several brought profit-and-loss statements. Each business person, the small restaurant owner said, tried to convince the Democratic mayor that their profit margins were too small to take the wage hike without laying people off, cutting hours or raising prices, which usually means a falloff in business.
At the end of the meeting the mayor simply said, "I feel confident that you can absorb the cost."
A new study by two researchers, one with Mathematica Policy Research and the other with Harvard Business School, focused on "the impact of the minimum wage on restaurant closures using data from the San Francisco Bay area." The researchers concluded that "a $1 increase in the minimum wage leads to approximately a 4 to 10 percent increase in the likelihood of exit." They wrote: "The evidence suggests that higher minimum wages increase overall exit rates for restaurants. However, lower quality restaurants, which are already closer to the margin of exit, are disproportionately impacted by increases to the minimum wage."
So the most vulnerable restaurants — the more "affordable" ones — appear to be the most hurt by a minimum wage hike.
In January, the East Bay Times reported that 60 restaurants in the San Francisco Bay area had shuttered their doors since September. Even the mighty have fallen. The Fresno Bee recently wrote: "Joining San Francisco's restaurant die-off was rising star AQ, which in 2012 was named a James Beard Award finalist for the best new restaurant in America. The restaurant's profit margins went from a reported 8.5 percent in 2012 to 1.5 percent by 2015. Most restaurants are thought to require margins of 3 and 5 percent."
In San Diego, voters approved an $11.50 per hour minimum wage for 2017, up from an $8 minimum wage in June 2014. This is an increase of 44 percent -- in just two and a half years! The San Diego Union Tribune recently reported: "Evidence has emerged of an economic dark side to San Diego's decision last year to vault over the state minimum wage — it may have already destroyed thousands of jobs for low-wage workers even as higher pay helps tens of thousands of others.
"Consider the restaurant industry, for example, which economists study because it relies on low-wage workers, yet generally faces no foreign or out-of-state competition. Amid an abrupt slowdown in growth, nearly 4,000 food-service jobs may have been cut or not created throughout San Diego County from the beginning of 2016 through February of this year."
The now-defunct organization called the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now came to California years ago to gather signatures on a petition for a ballot measure to increase minimum wage. Incredibly, ACORN sued the state to exempt itself from the then-current minimum wage and overtime laws. In its filings, ACORN said, "The more ACORN must pay each individual outreach worker —
either because of minimum wage or overtime requirements — the fewer outreach workers it will be able to hire."
Can't make this stuff up.
When George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic presidential candidate, left the Senate, he bought the Stratford Inn, a small Connecticut inn and restaurant. It went bust and he blamed, in part, the very kind regulations he passed as a politician devoid of business experience.
"I wish I had known more firsthand about the concerns and problems of American businesspeople while I was a U.S. senator and later a presidential nominee," said McGovern. "... I learned by owning the Stratford Inn is that legislators and government regulators must more carefully consider the economic and management burdens we have been imposing on U.S. businesses. ... Many businesses, especially small independents such as the Stratford Inn, simply can't pass such costs on to their customers and remain competitive or profitable."
As for the mayor of Los Angeles, it should be noted that he worked on a Ph.D.at the London School of Economics. But at this famed institute, Garcetti did not study economics. He studied "ethnicity and nationalism."
Larry Elder is a best-selling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an "Elderado," visit www.LarryElder.com. Follow Larry on Twitter @larryelder.
Read or Share this story: http://www.thespectrum.com/story/opinion/2017/06/23/minimum-wage-laws-destroying-jobs-just-predicted/416597001/
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1577
|
__label__wiki
| 0.934827
| 0.934827
|
Pussy Riot coming to Toronto Pride Parade
By Katrina ClarkeSpecial to the Star
Tues., May 26, 2015timer2 min. read
Pussy Riot is bringing punk protest to Toronto.
The feminist Russian rockers are among several high-profile performers and activists, including David Furnish, Cyndi Lauper, Chaz Bono and John Waters, who are participating in Pride Toronto this summer, Pride officials announced Tuesday.
Pussy Riot will serve as the event’s international grand marshals, leading the Pride parade and taking the stage for a performance at Yonge-Dundas Square on Sunday, June 28.
“Pride is an arts and culture celebration, but it is also a political celebration and demonstration,” said Mathieu Chantelois, executive director of Pride Toronto. “Having Pussy Riot coming to the stage . . . is a very 2015 way to be political and to be relevant.”
The punk art collective made international headlines in 2012 after three members were sentenced to two years in prison after staging an anti-Putin performance in a Moscow cathedral. Member Yekaterina Samutsevich was freed later that year, while Maria (Masha) Alyokhina and Nadezhda (Nadya) Tolokonnikova were released in December 2013.
In Russia, Pride celebrations are often met with violence. Human rights groups routinely criticize Russia for its treatment of members of the LGBT community.
“If the police arrest (Pussy Riot) because they are celebrating Pride in Russia, here we’re going to celebrate them,” said Chantelois, adding that Pussy Riot have long been vocal about women’s rights and gay rights.
Pussy Riot is also scheduled to attend Boston Pride in early June.
Toronto’s 35th annual Pride celebrations run from June 19 to 28.
February 2012: Pussy Riot performs a “punk prayer” in an anti-Putin protest at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral. Video footage showed group members dressed in bright clothing and balaclavas, singing and dancing at the church altar.
March 2012: Three members of Pussy Riot are arrested in Russia and charged with hooliganism. All three — Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich — were convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. Samutsevich was released early on a suspended sentence, while Tolokonnikova and Alekhina were released in December 2013.
February 2014: Members of Pussy Riot are beaten with whips by security forces in Sochi. Tolokonnikova and Alekhina are also detained by police, accused of stealing from a hotel. They are released without charges.
March 2014: A group of men attack Tolokonnikova and Alekhina at a Russian McDonald’s. Video footage shows the men yelling at the punk rockers and spraying them with a green substance. The pair said they sustained head injuries and chemical burns.
February 2015: Tolokonnikova and Alekhina make a cameo appearance in House of Cards, Season 3. In the episode, the two — playing themselves — confront the (fictional) Russian president during a formal dinner at the White House. When they stand to give a toast, the women launch into a scathing criticism of the president, dump out their drinks and storm out of the room.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1579
|
__label__wiki
| 0.973945
| 0.973945
|
Taking a dry run at brain surgery
By Joseph HallHealth Reporter
A breakthrough Canadian technology, unveiled in Halifax this week, will allow brain surgeons to bring their patients in for smoother medical landings for generations to come, the system's inaugurating doctor says.
The device, which mimics an operating table setting, was inspired by advanced flight-simulator technology and allows surgeons to practise on virtual replicas of their patient's brains prior to performing actual operations.
"It's not generic. You have the mountains and valleys of the patient's brain you're going to operate on," says Halifax neurosurgeon Dr. David Clarke, who used the technology for the first time this week as a dry run for actual brain surgery.
"The tumour is the tumour of that patient," says Clarke, who works out of the city's Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre.
The technology, sponsored and developed by the National Research Council, starts with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pictures of a patient's brain that include tumour placement and the type and density of surrounding tissues.
Using mathematical modelling, medical input and virtual technology tricks that took 50 scientists in 10 Canadian centres a year and a half to develop, it takes those images and layers a stunningly realistic brain on top of them, says Clarke, a professor of neurosurgery at Dalhousie University who has performed thousands of brain surgeries.
"Visually, it looks like it does in the operating room. The brain pulsates, you can see the tumour, the normal-looking brain ... and when you use the instrument to remove the tumour, it feels like the instrument that we actually use."
If the tissue is more fibrous, the headway for that pulverizing scalpel wand is harder, he says. Softer tissue is appropriately yielding.
"And when you start to take out the tumour, you get resistance from the tumour like you normally would," says Clarke. "You have real-time feedback of how it feels."
An MRI cartography of the brain's blood vessels also shows where bleeding is likely to occur. And when it does, the three-dimensional channel being bored towards the tumour pools with blood.
In Clarke's first actual use of the system, known as the virtual-reality neurosurgical simulator, his patient's brain was immediately recognizable to him when he opened up her head.
Aside from the practise capacity the technology allows, Clarke says the device will revolutionize the way surgeons train. And it will almost certainly cause a shift in the patient's perspective, which tends to be fretful and focused on the surgeon's career experience, he says.
Ellen Wright, 48, was operated on for five hours Tuesday to remove a benign meningioma tumour from the left side of her brain, after Clarke practised on her case.
"The first question she asked me was: `How did my virtual surgery go?'" Clarke says.
Wright left hospital yesterday and is expected to make a full recovery.
National Research Council neuroscientist Ryan D'Arcy says that, like a flight simulator to pilots, the equipment provides a setting that would be instantly recognizable to most brain surgeons.
"Only very highly trained eyes could tell the difference," he says.
D'Arcy says the technology also maps out for surgeons critical areas of speech and movement functions in the brain that they need to avoid on their way to the tumour.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1581
|
__label__wiki
| 0.556677
| 0.556677
|
Home / Sports / Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team lose to Great Britain 1-3
Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team lose to Great Britain 1-3
Pardeep Singh was Indian Junior Men’s Team lone goal scorer of the match at the U-23 Five Nations Tournament.
SNS Web | July 16, 2018 10:46 am
Pardeep Singh was Indian Junior Men's Team lone goal scorer of the match at the U-23 Five Nations Tournament
The Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team lost to Great Britain 1-3 in their second match at the U-23 Five Nations Tournament (Men) here on Sunday.
In their first match, the Indian Junior Men’s team had beaten Ireland 5-0 but Great Britain put India on the back foot after a goalless first quarter. Through Tim Nurse, Great Britain took a vital 1-0 lead in the 19th minute to put pressure on the Indian Junior squad.
Though Indian Junior Men’s team made some strong forays into the striking circle, they could not convert a goal while Great Britain extended the lead in the 34th minute through Duncan Scott. Their third goal came in the 50th minute when Cameron Gold struck a fine shot to take Great Britain’s scoreline to 3-0. Pardeep Singh of Indian Junior Squad scored a consolation goal for the team in the 57th minute.
On 16 July 2018, Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team will take on Belgium at 23.00 hours IST.
India Men's Hockey team
Indian Women's Hockey team beat South Korea 2-1, lead series 2-0
Hockey India recommends goalkeeper P R Sreejesh for Khel Ratna Award
Indian hockey team blames umpires for defeat against Netherlands
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1582
|
__label__wiki
| 0.967144
| 0.967144
|
Suspects in Skripal poisoning civilians, not criminals: Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that the two suspects in the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are “civilians, not criminals”.
Putin said that his government had found the pair and he hoped they would appear soon and tell their story. “We know who they are, we have found them,” he told the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok city.
“I hope they will turn up themselves and tell everything. This would be best for everyone. There is nothing special there, nothing criminal, I assure you. We’ll see in the near future,” he was quoted as saying by Sputnik news agency.
Skripal, 66, and Yulia, 33, were poisoned in the UK in March. The incident caused tensions between Russia and the UK, as London and its allies accused Moscow of orchestrating the attack, which it refutes.
The UK government named the two as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov and said they were from Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU, according to the BBC.
Scotland Yard and the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have said there was enough evidence to charge the men, who were understood to have travelled to London from Moscow on March 2 on Russian passports.
Two days later, they sprayed nerve agent Novichok on the front door of Skripal’s home in the Wiltshire city of Salisbury, before travelling home to Russia later that day, the police said.
UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid warned that the men will be caught and prosecuted if they ever step out of Russia.
The CPS has not applied to Russia for the extradition of the two men, as Russia does not extradite its own nationals. But a European arrest warrant has been obtained in case they travel to the EU, the BBC said.
Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey also fell ill after responding to the Salisbury incident. He was later discharged from hospital, as were the Skripals.
The police linked the attack to a separate Novichok poisoning on June 30, when a couple — Dawn Sturgess and her partner Charlie Rowley — became unwell at a house in Amesbury. Sturgess died in hospital on July 8.
The police said that Sturgess and Rowley were later exposed to the nerve agent after handling a contaminated container, labelled as Nina Ricci Premier Jour perfume.
British authorities said they do not believe Sturgess and Rowley were deliberately targeted but were exposed after touching the contaminated item left behind by the perpetrators of the attack on the Skripals.
Categories: world
Tags: Russian President, Sajid Javid, Skripal, UK Home Secretary, Vladimir Putin
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1583
|
__label__wiki
| 0.979791
| 0.979791
|
The Wildhearts announce May tour in support of new album, "Renaissance Men"!
The Renaissance Men Tour, Part 2
PHUQ live - download available now!
G.A.S.S. launched
Check out the Tour page for details!
Sign up here for the latest news, straight to your inbox!
Archives Select Month June 2019 January 2019 April 2018 December 2017 October 2017 December 2016 September 2016 June 2016 February 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 May 2015 December 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 August 2012 June 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 December 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 March 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 May 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 September 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 January 2002 December 2001 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 August 2001 July 2001 June 2001 May 2001 April 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 August 2000 July 2000 June 2000 May 2000 April 2000 February 2000 January 2000 December 1999 November 1999 October 1999 September 1999 August 1999 July 1999 June 1999 May 1999 April 1999 March 1999
« Wildhearts Harlow and Guildfest Gigs | Home | Wildhearts to Headline Bulldog Bash 2003 »
Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed – Guest Details
By Kris | June 29, 2003
Andy Cairns has been in the studio with the Wildhearts as reported by the Therapy website last week, to work on the song ‘Get Your Groove On’ from the forthcoming album ‘The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed’.
Says Ginger: “We had Andy Cairns come and do a metal styled political rant about peaceful tactics in the face of anger. Kim Nail (who sang with Marilyn Manson, and provided backing vocals on “A Better Man” from the singles club collection) provided an entire gospel choir from one mouth, and Justin Hawkins, from The Darkness came and sang like only the finest in the land could ever hope to even attempt.”
Tags: album, the-wildhearts
The Wildhearts
The Official Wildhearts Website
The Wildhearts is based upon the RockinChrome theme designed by Cory Miller, with extensive customisation
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1585
|
__label__cc
| 0.746491
| 0.253509
|
The Board of Regents recognizes that public service, including lifelong education and economic development support activities, are fundamental responsibilities of all colleges and universities; that they are important means by which the USG extends and applies the knowledge available in its instruction and research programs to the needs and problems of Georgia citizens, government, businesses, and organizations, and; that such programs can assist the state and nation in providing solutions to major challenges.
Public service includes a wide array of assistance that the USG and its member institutions provide to the state and the community. Such service can be academic or nonacademic, provided under contract or informally, and funded through external, internal, or a combination of sources, depending on the extent of the assistance and the availability of funds.
The Chancellor shall identify statewide needs and develop system-wide initiatives using the USG’s collective networked resources to meet USG public service responsibilities. Presidents shall identify local and mission-related needs and develop methods to respond to these. The Chancellor shall periodically provide to the Board a comprehensive assessment of the way in which the USG and its institutions are applying their resources to serving the people, governments, businesses, and organizations of Georgia (BoR Minutes, October 2002).
5.1.1 Service Agreements with Local and State Agencies
As part of the USG’s mission of public service, institutions are encouraged to provide expertise and services to local governments or state agencies, as needed and appropriate.
The Chancellor delegates to the presidents of the institutions the authority to sign service agreements between the institution and a government or agency. The president must report monthly to the University System Office that a service agreement has been signed. As part of that report, the president should provide:
A summary of the service that the institution has contracted for;
The agency or agencies involved;
The length of the agreement; and,
The amount of money that the institution will receive for the service.
The University System Office shall provide a summary of the service agreements to the Board at each meeting through the Committee on Education, Research, and Extension (BoR Minutes, October 2002).
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1587
|
__label__wiki
| 0.5282
| 0.5282
|
AT LAND'S END
text and photography by Anthony Georgieff
© Anthony Georgieff
Balkan range hits Black Sea at surreal post-Communist antiutopia
In 1808, a German geographer, August Zeune, erroneously referred to southeastern Europe as "The Balkans" because he thought the Balkan range ran all the way from the Black Sea to the Adriatic. It doesn't. It exists entirely in Bulgarian territory: from the border with Serbia to the Black Sea coast at Cape Emine (Emine being a pretty common female Turkish proper name). The Bulgarians themselves refer to the mountain as "The Balkans" only in a poetic context. In everyday speech, The Balkans is just Stara Planina, or Old Mountain.
The village next to Cape Emine is called Emona. There, the usual post-Communist dilapidation and sense of abandonment is excessive even in the antiutopia of today's Bulgaria. A jeep tagged United States Air Force is parked in front of the local pub. The man in the pub who has been drinking strong liquor since at least noon tells me the road is so bad because the military (decommissioned at least 15 years ago) didn't want asphalt as "too many cars would start coming over." As if the Turks would invade driving Ladas. An embattled NATO flag flops in the wind. Bulgaria is Russia's Trojan Horse in Europe. The publican's wife is reading Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy – in German. Die New-York-Trilogie.
In this neck of the woods Zeune's mistake seems to be living on.
Under Communism, Emona was a little known backwater somewhere off the highway connecting Sunny Beach, at that time a quiet resort frequented by East bloc holidaymakers, and Varna to the north. The Black Sea forms this country's eastern border, and as all other borders of what was then Warsaw Pact Bulgaria, it was heavily militarised. The main point of the military doctrine of Bulgaria at the time was for the Bulgarian Army to withstand an incursion by the West (at that time, the "West" meant Turkey, which is to the south) for a few hours until the Soviets came to rescue from Odessa. Plenty of "heritage" from those days can be seen at Emona. As you drive to the village, a still maintained but massively overgrown fence stands, with signs warning off the erstwhile "military zone." Theoretically, you cannot enter as the area is being protected by guards. When I was there I did make the wrong noises, but no one showed up.
Because it lacks a proper beach, Emona has somehow eschewed the fate of the overwhelming majority of Bulgarian Black Sea coast settlements in that it has not turned itself into a shamelessly tourist zone. Just a few people, mainly from Sofia, have bought properties there. The man in the pub tells me now they are the main opponents to the road being renovated. They don't want a stream of holidaymakers, he is telling me. They want exclusivity.
An embattled NATO flag flips in the wind in the centre of Emona
The chief attraction of any visit to Emona is the famous lighthouse, which stands on top of Cape Emine, about a mile along a dirt road east of the village. A sturdy 4WD can negotiate it when it's dry and there isn't any snow, but it is also a pleasant walk. You cannot enter the lighthouse (the military are very self-conscious about it), but you can walk straight up to it and look down the cliff.
The lighthouse, like many other Bulgarian Black Sea cost facilities of this sort, was constructed in the 1880s by a French company, Compagnie Des Phares De L'Empire Ottomane, which had won a concession by the sultan to modernise navigation along the empire's Black Sea coastline. The state of Bulgaria gained control of the area as late as 1909.
In recent years Emona has hosted an arts festival, usually taking place in August, by one of its churches, St. Nicholas.
In the absence of anything else to do, Emona will probably remain the backwater it has been for many centuries. However, it has one very distinct advantage over all other nearby seaside attractions: it is very isolated. A pile of books, especially if you visit off-season, will likely become the highlight of your stay. Don't forget Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy. A tiny little village 8,000 miles away from Brooklyn (both literally and metaphorically) may unleash your imagination in many unpredictable ways.
An unlikely read in the village pub
An USAF jeep in Emona
Abandoned military buildings
Cape Emine's lighthouse was constructed in the 19th Century
High Beam is a series of articles, initiated by Vagabond Magazine, with the generous support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation, that aims to provide details and background of places, cultural entities, events, personalities and facts of life that are sometimes difficult to understand for the outsider in the Balkans. The ultimate aim is the preservation of Bulgaria's cultural heritage – including but not limited to archaeological, cultural and ethnic diversity. The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the America for Bulgaria Foundation and its partners.
Read 11658 times Last modified on Wednesday, 14 March 2018 14:12
PostCommunism
More in this category: « OLD PLOVDIV FOREVER SBORYANOVO »
PLOVDIV TEMPLES PART 3
Fine churches enrich experience of Old Town
PIECE OF BLACK SEA HEAVEN
At Yaylata, nature and culture create unforgettable landscape
A massacre that took place 134 years ago remains the most important event in the collective memory of this Rhodope town
BULGARIA'S NEW RUINS
Building 'historical' fortresses, sometimes with EU money, becomes the fashion of the day
BLUE, BLUEST, SINEMORETS
Pristine beaches still survive amid overbuilding
MATTHEW KNEALE
British writer remembers Bulgaria in 1980s
SONIA'S GANG OF BOMBERS, an excerpt
Stoyan Nenov graduated in Bulgarian philology from Sofia University, where he also earned a master's degree in…
TEACHER, DRINKER, WRITER, FLY
A little sacrilege can be invaluable, Irish writer Jack Harte discovers after the launch of his latest…
SOMEBODY FOR EVERYBODY
Kathy Flann's fiction has appeared in Shenandoah, The North American Review, The Michigan Quarterly Review, New Stories…
HOW I DIDN'T START WORLD WAR III
Zachary Karabashliev's novel 18% Grey, (18% Сиво, Ciela Publishing, 2008) is a bestselling title which has run…
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1590
|
__label__wiki
| 0.975968
| 0.975968
|
Cats: Honestly, What Is Happening in This Bonkers Featurette?
The Politician: Ben Platt Previews Ryan Murphy’s Acerbic First Netflix Show
Gossip Girl Is Getting a Reboot on HBO Max. Is Nothing Sacred?
What Hollywood Owes to John Singleton
The Boyz n the Hood auteur carved out a specific, vital niche as the industry’s defining black studio director.
K. Austin Collins
© Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection.
Around the release of Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther, the story went that our time had arrived: young black people were finally getting a chance to see themselves on the big screen. At long last, black youths were being treated to Hollywood studio fare full of people who looked, sounded, and felt the way they did—never mind the pure fiction of those vibranium capes. Finally, we said. Nearly 20 movies in, here came a Marvel movie for (some of) the rest of us—full of black characters who weren’t relegated to comical side roles or sassy sidekick advice-giving. They were black leads telling black stories with Hollywood money, and to mainstream acclaim. They came in the wake of Get Out, Straight Outta Compton, Creed, Moonlight, Selma, Precious, 12 Years a Slave, Kevin Hart, Tyler Perry—the last 10 years of mainstream American movies, which have legitimately felt like a moment for black filmmaking.
We’re all supposed to feel good about that—in part, Hollywood tells us, because we’re supposed to feel like it’s never happened before. We’re supposed to react to the industry’s new diversity agenda as if box-office and awards-friendly black storytelling were a 21st-century cultural invention, one for which a newer, woker Hollywood could take credit.
John Singleton, who died this week at the age of 51, knew better. He knew, for one thing, that the Hollywood of today isn’t so different from the one that made it nearly impossible for him to get his classic drama Boyz n the Hood into theaters in 1991, when he was an ambitious recent U.S.C. grad. And he knew that despite an influx of new black Hollywood talent, the industry retained an aggressive broader homogeneity—a refusal to let black filmmakers tell the widest possible range of stories available to them.
Even in 2014, he said, black filmmakers still weren’t being hired as consistently as they could have been to direct movies about black subjects. “They want black people to be who they want them to be, as opposed to what they are,” he told a group of students that year. “The black films now—so-called black films now—they’re great. They’re great films. But they’re just product.”
Singleton’s movies, by contrast, were not product. They constitute a canon of black life in the movies—specifically urban and specifically 90s, with all the preternatural sensitivity and vision that the middle-class L.A. native with a film-school degree from U.S.C. could bring to bear on the subject. Boyz n the Hood—the phenomenal urban melodrama that helped launch the acting careers of Ice Cube and future Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr., and made Singleton the first black person nominated for best director at the Academy Awards (as well as the youngest best-director nominee ever)—was just the start. He followed it with 1993’s Poetic Justice, starring Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, and yet another future Oscar winner, Regina King, who also had a small role in Boyz.
Higher Learning (1995), Rosewood (1997), Baby Boy (2001)—these were studio movies about black urban life that, today, have almost no correlate, except in glimpses of the big-budget movies of other people. Those early Oakland scenes in Black Panther owe more than a little to the rich domestic and familial lives of black Angelenos and Oaklanders, the stories of mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters, that Singleton gave us. Straight Outta Compton (2015), about the rap group N.W.A., is more than a throwback: in returning to the look and feel of that group’s era, in trying to wrench the iconography of the black 90s into the present, it practically fashioned N.W.A.’s story into a Singleton movie, beat for beat.
Which makes sense, even as it’s tinged with irony. Though he shifted between the hard-hitting dramas of his earlier career and the action fare he would turn to somewhat later, Singleton was above all a black social realist in the tradition of Oscar Micheaux, a director making movies about the minor black dramas roiling within the larger American ones: movies about familial conflict and everyday joy, despair, and aspiration, taking place amid a larger world aflame with violence, racism, and shifting social tides. A director whose emphatic love of family and black self-preservation necessarily meant that his approaches to telling these stories would feel revisionist compared to so many well-meant liberal “race pictures,” with their black piety and moral goodness.
Singleton made films about race, but he didn’t make simplistic social fare. His black characters were flawed, often failures; his films detailed the extent to which these failures were personal, and made clear when they were systemic. Singleton’s black people were human. They spoke and behaved the language and codes of their times. They were middle class, or at least aspired to be—struggled to be. And rather than trying to offer stern correctives for the bad behaviors that beset hoods like Compton, Singleton would show black people sticking up for—and to—themselves. Gun violence in Boyz n the Hood isn’t so simple as the refrain of “what about black-on-black violence?,” even as it confronts the reality of black gang violence. It’s something much more tragic—just note the climax of that film. A black man with a plan to escape the hood is shot dead in his tracks, and what do you see? Mourning. The rest of the story plays out like a long, angry wail.
Singleton mourned us as he moved us. He educated with a firm but invisible hand. During a heated argument in Poetic Justice, one character calls another a bitch, to which she replies: “If I’m a bitch, your mama’s a bitch. Bitch.” Fights break out over alcoholism and domestic violence, self-love and self-hatred. Long scenes show broken homes that defy the useless stereotypes of the era; they show a gay man getting the call that he has H.I.V., a woman fighting the depression of losing a loved one to gun violence.
He would make movies like these throughout his career. You try to imagine it now, and you almost can’t: a studio the likes of Warner Bros. making a movie like 1997’s Rosewood, a $25 million-budget historical drama about a real-life racist massacre from 1923, directed by a black man. Try to picture it in 2019: a movie that knows Ving Rhames is a movie star post-Pulp Fiction, in which white audiences are forced to reckon with the moral back-and-forth of well-meaning whites who perhaps aren’t doing all that they could to reverse the course of racial injustice. Watching it again last night, I thought, “A studio made this?”
Critics talk a lot about the disappearance of the mid-budget movie for adults. We ought to talk more, and more specifically, about the impact that this vanishing has had on the work of minority directors like Singleton—who eventually turned to action movies and then to TV drama, thanks in no small part to an industry that was squeezing directors like him out of the middle. He could very well have turned to independent filmmaking, of the kind that saw the rise of Barry Jenkins and Ava DuVernay, or the career sustenance of his peer Spike Lee.
But Singleton’s specific role, I think, was to push the studio system forward‚ to show that films about black life shouldn’t have to be relegated to the independent sphere, even as that’s where the black directors of his generation got the most traction. His aim was to make movies about black life in that specific space—films starring Ice Cube that had a Columbia Pictures logo playing up front. Because blackness was, and is, the mainstream. And Singleton knew it, even as his movies sometimes wavered. Even as some felt the slightest bit compromised by exactly the struggles he sought to correct. Even when I’ve seen better movies and, it goes without saying, far worse ones, I don’t think I can say I’ve seen a body of work quite like his. And I don’t think I could possibly love it more.
How Stuber Star Kumail Nanjiani Put His Own Spin on the Buddy-Cop Comedy
Cover Story: How Idris Elba Became the Coolest Man in Hollywood
Lena Waithe Claims Will Smith and Denzel Washington Don’t Support Black Filmmakers
Why We Still Watch Independence Day
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1592
|
__label__wiki
| 0.659191
| 0.659191
|
Leisure Suit Larry in etc, etc: Reloaded
How well does the Reloaded version of Al Lowe’s adventure game Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards stack up against the original?
Back in April last year, Replay Games surfaced on Kickstarter with the news that they’d managed to convince long time conjurer of dirty jokes Al Lowe to come out of retirement for this top-to-bottom re-imagining of his 25-year-old graphic adventure game, Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards.
The game puts the player in the driver’s seat of the story of Larry Laffer, a middle-aged, balding man trying to seduce attractive women. Larry was a nerdy geek all his life and eventually became a computer programmer. He now finds himself in Lost Wages, in front of the bar Lefty’s, with a bottle of breath spray and $94 dollars in his wallet.
I guess I was around 12 years old when I played the original Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards with my friends and even though we never managed to leave Lefty’s, Larry introduced us to new words from the English vocabulary, like “mount”. I think we even got our hands on an uncensored version at some point, but in all its EGA resolution glory, I doubt we really noticed any difference.
What has changed from the original game? Not surprisingly, there has been a major overhaul of the graphics, sound, music and there is now fully vocalized audio. There are also new jokes, new puzzles and even some new characters. One of the Kickstarter tiers allowed you to pay to be one of the drinkers at Lefty’s, and although this was a great idea to rob someone of $5,000 (yes, that was the actually amount you had to pledge to drink at Lefty’s), it introduces an element to the game that just seems shallow and unnecessary. The Kickstarter drinkers should have been replaced with over-the-top fictional characters instead.
The HD background graphics is beautiful, but the character graphics and animation have a lot to be desired. They seem rushed and most of them, expect for Larry himself, stand so much out from the backgrounds, they look a bit like something I could have drawn myself. This especially goes for the Kickstarter drinkers in the bar. Maybe they had to draw themselves, too, who knows? While we’re on the subject of Kickstarter: It permeates too much of this game, Al Lowe even appears at the end, thanking the Kickstarter backers. Get off the set, Al!
Money is an important aspect of Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards: Reloaded, and the $94 dollars in Larry’s wallet won’t last you long. To get more money you have to gamble, and thankfully there are slot machines, blackjacks and other mini games everywhere you look. It does, however, become rather tedious to play these games to get money, and you’ll find yourself saving and loading quite a lot. To go ahead and build up a solid cash balance at the start of the game is probably a good idea, so that you don’t have to back and save/load/gamble time and time again.
More often than not, understanding what you’re supposed to do in the game is far from logical and your play style can easily turn into a click fest, where you try to use the hammer with the squid, the squid with the bungee cord, the bungee cord with the Tabasco sauce and the Tabasco sauce with pretty much every living and inanimate object in the casino, Caesar’s Phallus. Although this is not something that is unfamiliar to point-and-click adventures, it’s sort of in the name of the genre, it just feels like too much in this case. Clicking on everything will eventually pay off in the end, though, but it just seems so random. This kind of game style might not appeal to people who prefer to play adventure games where logic is in fact something that matters.
But logic is not what Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards: Reloaded is about. It’s about Larry Laffer’s crazy adventure and there’s nothing logic about it at all. If you laugh at fart jokes, start to drool at the thought of digital honka-honkas1 and enjoy clicking your mouse a lot, this is a game you should go ahead and buy.
Personally, having finished the game, I’m left with a feeling that it was 5 hours2 I probably could have used on something more entertaining. The jokes are OK, I laughed every now and then, but I think I expected more. Maybe the game simply isn’t for the adult me. Perhaps I left Larry Laffer behind at some point in life, when I actually grew up? But all that said, it was nice to meet Larry Laffer again and realize that the first time I saw Larry Laffer back when I was 12 should have been a warning sign about become a computer programmer myself.
See what I did there?
It should be possible to finish the game in less than 20 minutes if you know what you’re supposed to click on and skip the dialogue. But speed running a game like this might not be that much of an achievement.
June 29, 2013 10:57:28
Computer Games, Kickstarter, Reviews
How To Create Travel Copies of Your DVDs
How To Flash Tomato on the ASUS RT-N66U
Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1595
|
__label__wiki
| 0.506989
| 0.506989
|
St. Francis of Assisi in Venice
Big Names
On 4 October we celebrate St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of Italy, not everyone knows that during his travels the saint stopped in Venice.
According to tradition, in the spring of 1220 on a Venetian vessel returning from the Orient, Francis sought a quiet place to stay in silence to pray and reflect.
He arrived on a small island, owned by the noble Venetian Jacopo Michiel, and was greeted by the singing of a flock of birds (as told by his biographer St. Bonaventure). The island is that which is called ‘San Francesco del Deserto', since in 1233 Jacopo Michiel gave the island to the Friars Minor, stating that a church dedicated to St. Francis on it had already been built.
According to another legend the saint, before he left, planted his walking stick here, which later turned into a pine tree. The tree, which stood in the garden of the convent, withered away in 1701, but a statue of St. Francis was made from its trunk, which was placed in the church. In a corner of the island one can still see a small shrine which contains the remains of the tree in the exact spot where he stood.
All categories Big Names Did you know that... Figures of speech Film Locations Historical Curiosities Local Traditions Mysteries & Legends Unknown places & works
All locations Abano Terme Altivole Bassano del Grappa Battaglia Terme Brenta Riviera Burano Cison di Valmarino Conegliano Cortina d'Ampezzo Dolo Mogliano Veneto Monselice Noventa Padovana Padua Peschiera del Garda Piombino Dese Portogruaro Roncade Sappada Selva del Montello Sospirolo Susegana Treviso Valeggio sul Mincio Venice Verona Vicenza
Venice: The stone heart of St Mark’s Basilica
Unknown places & works
If you are visiting St Mark’s Basilica and have just abandoned the wonderful vision of the Pala d'Oro (which is a must-see), just a f...
Venice: Map of Venice, what to know before you leave
Did you know that...
Did you know that Venice is not a single large island but rather a collection of 117 small islands linked together by over 400 bridges?...
Venice: What to see in the island of Burano
The island of Burano is really a sight to behold and a great emotion for your heart: every year thousands of tourists venture into our ...
Venice: Discovering the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, what to see and how to reach it
One of you may have had the chance to photograph, while travelling in Venice, the marvelous panorama in front of the historic St Mark�...
Padua: Why do people say ‘Rimanere in braghe di tela?’
Historical Curiosities
Have you ever wondered where the popular expression ‘Rimanere in mutande’ o ‘Rimanere in braghe di tela’ comes from? It is a wa...
Verona: The roman walls of Verona
Verona has always been considered a city of considerable importance from a military point of view: being at the mouth of the Adige Vall...
Venice: The Last Supper by Veronese at the Gallerie dell'Accademia
The twelve rooms of the Gallerie dell'Accademia host many works of art from the Veneto Region and the city of Venice made by renowned a...
Belluno: The mystery of the Pietrificatore from Sospirolo
Mysteries & Legends
Nestled inside the Dolomiti National Park, in the province of Belluno lies the small village of Sospirolo. A peculiar man was born here...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1596
|
__label__cc
| 0.565402
| 0.434598
|
New Genomic Ecology of Coastal Organisms Program
UNH and UMaine partner for research
Saltmarsh sparrow (Credit: Dominic Sheron)
UNH, in collaboration with the University of Maine, has established a new research and training program to prepare graduate and undergraduate students in the region on the ecological genomics of coastal organisms. Funds for the project are provide by an NSF EPSCoR grant.
The program is fundamental for understanding links between genomes and phenomes in natural populations, or, more specifically, how genetic underpinnings shape the traits that enable tidal marsh birds to adapt and evolve in response to environmental change. It also aims to advance STEM education by training scientists in an interdisciplinary research approach that transcends biological scales, from the molecular to the ecological.
The program is led by Adrienne Kovach, assistant professor of natural resources and the environment as well as a researcher with the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, and Brian Olsen at UMaine. The collaboration brings together researchers from across northern New England and leverages previous research conducted by Kovach and her collaborators.
“Tidal marshes are natural laboratories for studying the links between genomes, phenomes and fitness of birds in the wild,” Kovach says. “This project will help us better understand the genome-phenome relationship beyond knowledge gained in the lab, where the critical ecological links to the expression and fitness of tidal marsh birds within a complex, natural ecosystem are not feasible to replicate.”
While the genome is the complete set of genetic material present in an organism, the phenome is the set of observable characteristics ranging from physical appearance and behavior to disease resistance and susceptibility. These characteristics are determined by both genetic makeup and environmental factors, as well as the interaction between genetic makeup and environment. Recent advances in genome sequencing technologies have opened new avenues for studying the factors and features that produce particular phenotypes in individuals and populations of organisms.
"This project will help us better understand the genome-phenome relationship beyond knowledge gained in the lab."
“These are key questions in evolutionary biology today, which can only be pursued through studies like this one of wild populations in dynamic, natural environments,” Kovach says. “The project will advance understanding of long-standing questions in evolutionary biology as well as provide new insight into genetic elements and mechanisms that underlie the resilience and adaptive capacity of tidal marsh birds. The latter are important for predicting the ability of tidal marsh birds to respond to rapidly changing environments.”
The scientific knowledge generated by this research will aid with biodiversity conservation in an ecosystem strongly influenced by human populations. It will be directly relevant to tidal marsh birds, which are threatened with extinction by sea-level rise, and a high priority for state, federal, and international conservation organizations. Scientists will share their research results with state, federal and nongovernmental organizations that focus on translating conservation research into on-the-ground actions.
This material is based upon work supported by NSF EPSCoR Track 2 under award number 1826777. This research leverages previous funding from the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, through joint funding of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 1016574, and the state of New Hampshire.
Founded in 1887, the NH Agricultural Experiment Station at the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture is UNH’s original research center and an elemental component of New Hampshire's land-grant university heritage and mission.
NH EPSCoR works to advance New Hampshire's competitiveness in science and engineering by strategically investing in research infrastructure, promoting education in the STEM disciplines, and fostering partnerships with technology-based businesses that enhance job creation and economic development.
Lori Wright '06G | NH Agricultural Experiment Station | lori.wright@unh.edu | 603-862-1452
February 23, 2018 | College of Life Sciences & Agriculture
Sustainable Ag Team Wins Grant to Partner with Peruvian University
July 18, 2017 | Research
A Deep Dive on a Keystone Species
Bird-Spurred
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1598
|
__label__wiki
| 0.901661
| 0.901661
|
Man arrested at JFK Airport with 34 live finches in his carry-on luggage
Darryl Coote
Finches are used in signing contests in New York with winning birds able to fetch up to $5,000. Photo courtesy of U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York
A man was arrested Sunday at John F. Kennedy International Airport with 34 live finches in his carry-on luggage. Photo courtesy of U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York
The man hid the finches in plastic hair-curlers. Photo courtesy of U.S. District Court - Eastern District of New York
June 18 (UPI) -- A man was arrested at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport over the weekend for attempting to smuggle dozens of live finches into the United States from Guyana, prosecutors said.
According to the complaint filed with the Eastern District of New York, Francis Gurahoo, 39, was apprehended Sunday at the airport with 34 live finches concealed in plastic hair curlers stuffed in his carry-on luggage.
Gurahoo, who waived his Miranda rights, admitted that he intended to sell the birds for $3,000 a piece, the court filing said.
According to the complaint, finches are used in singing contests in Brooklyn and Queens and gamblers bet on which finch they think has the better voice.
"In such contests, often conducted in public areas like parks, two finches sing and a judge selects the bird determined to have the best voice," the complaint said.
Finches from Guyana are sought after as they are believed to have superior singing voices compared to other varieties of finch while a bird that wins a signing contest can fetch up to $5,000, the complaint said.
"An individual willing to smuggle finches into the United Staes from Guyana can earn a large profit by selling these birds in the New York area," the filing said.
Gold bars found in South Korea airport trash pose legal quandary Two University of Minnesota wrestlers arrested on suspicion of sexual misconduct Police arrest woman in former Arkansas state senator's slaying Police arrest boy over alleged stabbing of N.J. principal
John F. Kennedy International
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1600
|
__label__wiki
| 0.786326
| 0.786326
|
Schumer asks for probe into delay of Harriet Tubman $20 bill
New York (USA) June 20: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., requested an investigation Wednesday into why the Trump administration postponed plans to redesign the $20 bill, which included replacing President Andrew Jackson with iconic abolitionist Harriet Tubman.
In a Wednesday letter to the Treasury Department's inspector general, Schumer asked officials to look into why the department pushed back the redesign and whether political considerations played a role in the decision.
"Shortly after the Trump Administration took office ... all mentions of the Tubman $20 bill were deleted without explanation from the Treasury Department's website," Schumer wrote. "We do not know the real reason for these decisions, but we do know that during his campaign, President Trump referred to efforts to replace President Jackson's likeness on the front of the $20 note as 'pure political correctness.'"
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Congress in May that efforts to put Tubman on the $20 bill are being delayed until 2028 because of security concerns such as counterfeiting.
"It is my responsibility now to focus on what is the issue of counterfeiting and the security features," Mnuchin told lawmakers. "The ultimate decision on the redesign will most likely be another secretary's down the road."
On Friday, Mnuchin called suggestions that the process was being deliberately delayed "completely erroneous."
In his letter, Schumer called any unnecessary delay to honor Tubman on the $20 note "improper and unacceptable."
"If the Empire State Building could be completed in 13 months almost 100 years ago, the 21st century Treasury Department ought to be able to get this job done in a reasonable period of time," he wrote.
Tubman escaped from slavery in 1849 and played a key role in the Underground Railroad. She helped guide over 300 slaves to freedom and also served as a spy and a scout for the Union Army during the Civil War.
Source: Fox News Network
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1602
|
__label__wiki
| 0.950618
| 0.950618
|
U.S. frats opt for stricter booze policy in wake of deaths
Hundreds of fraternity houses across the US will no longer allow frat members to serve hard liquor amid growing outrage over alcohol-related hazing deaths.
U.S. frats opt for stricter booze policy in wake of deaths Hundreds of fraternity houses across the US will no longer allow frat members to serve hard liquor amid growing outrage over alcohol-related hazing deaths. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: https://usat.ly/2NPivF6
Michael James, USA TODAY Published 7:06 p.m. ET Sept. 4, 2018 | Updated 2:56 p.m. ET Sept. 5, 2018
Fraternities all over the U.S. will no longer be allowed to serve their own hard alcohol. Veuer's Sam Berman has the full story. Buzz60
FILE - This Nov. 9, 2017, file photo shows the shuttered Beta Theta Pi fraternity house on Penn State University's main campus in State College, Pa. Former members of the fraternity are due in court for a preliminary hearing on charges related to the February 2017 death of a pledge after a night of hazing and drinking. The hearing Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, before a district judge will determine if there’s enough evidence to send charges against several of the defendants in the case to county court for trial. The charges relate to the death of 19-year-old Tim Piazza, of Lebanon, New Jersey.(Photo: AP)
Hundreds of fraternity houses across the US will no longer allow frat members to serve hard liquor, according to a self-governing policy announced Tuesday in the wake of growing outrage over alcohol-related hazing deaths.
The North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) policy effectively means that most of the nation's fraternities cannot dole out strong booze unless it is served by a licensed third-party vendor.
“At their core, fraternities are about brotherhood, personal development and providing a community of support," Judson Horras, CEO and president of the NIC, said in a statement. "Alcohol abuse and its serious consequences endanger this very purpose. This action shows fraternities' clear commitment and leadership to further their focus on the safety of members."
The NIC is an umbrella organization for fraternities. The group said the new policy was reached in a near-unanimous vote and must be adopted by more than 6,100 of its chapters by September 2019. Those chapters are located on 800 campuses throughout the country.
Chapters have autonomy to set their own policies and rules, but the NIC has oversight over some broader policies, such as how the fraternities must implement alcohol rules at parties.
Fraternities in several states have been under fire in the past year for horrific deaths related to heavy drinking during hazing rituals and frat-house parties in general. Among them was the February 2017 death at Penn State of 19-year-old sophomore engineering student Tim Piazza of Lebanon, New Jersey.
Piazza died of severe head and abdominal injuries after falling several times at the Beta Theta Pi house the night of a bid acceptance ceremony.
Security video recovered from the house showed the sophomore and other pledges being plied with alcohol, and authorities later estimated Piazza had consumed three to four times the state’s legal limit for alcohol.
Piazza's parents, Jim and Evelyn Piazza, have been vocal proponents for stricter laws against hazing. Jim Piazza said Tuesday night that the new alcohol policy is "a good start."
"It should make a meaningful difference," Jim Piazza said. "There are other reforms they need to put into place, and there's still work to do. But this is a beginning."
Jim Piazza said other possible changes that he and other families of hazing victims would like to see include serving only beer at frat parties and ID checkers at parties to ensure everyone attending is of legal drinking age.
He said NIC representatives have been working with his family and others and "they've been listening to us."
"Our aim is to make overall college life safer," Jim Piazza said.
The first of more than 20 defendants charged in connection with Tim Piazza's death was sentenced to house arrest last month. Ryan Burke, 21, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to three months house arrest in Lackawanna County, 27 months of probation, 100 hours of community service and fined $1,000.
In June, Burke pleaded guilty to hazing, four counts of unlawful acts relative to liquor, malt and brewed beverages and licenses, and one count of purchase, consumption, possession or transportation of liquor and malt or brewed beverages.
Burke was originally facing charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangering another person.
The NIC said in a statement that its new alcohol policy will prohibit "the presence of alcohol products above 15% ABV in any chapter facility or at any chapter event, except when served by a licensed third-party vendor." Most beer and wine is below 15% ABV.
More: Tim Piazza: Penn State fraternity member given house arrest, probation in hazing death
Related: Ohio State suspends Phi Kappa Psi fraternity for four years over hazing, reports say
Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2NPivF6
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1603
|
__label__wiki
| 0.952032
| 0.952032
|
After El Chapo: Sinaloa, other Mexican drug cartels still strong, and now diversifying
As Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman looks at life in prison, alleged Sinaloa cartel leader 'El Mayo' Zambada and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación rise
After El Chapo: Sinaloa, other Mexican drug cartels still strong, and now diversifying As Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman looks at life in prison, alleged Sinaloa cartel leader 'El Mayo' Zambada and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación rise Check out this story on USATODAY.com: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/22/joaquin-el-chapo-guzman-loera-sinaloa-jalisco-nueva-generacion-cartel/2885199002/
Kevin McCoy, USA TODAY Published 11:45 a.m. ET Feb. 22, 2019
U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue says this is a victory for the American and Mexican people along with anyone who has lost a loved one to the "black hole of addiction." USA TODAY
NEW YORK – So long, El Chapo. El Mayo is still around. And El Mencho is on the rise.
El Chapo – the internationally notorious drug trafficker born Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera – faces life in prison for running a continuing criminal enterprise.
Federal prosecutors say the Sinaloa drug cartel leader smuggled tons of cocaine and other drugs into the United States, generating billions of dollars in illegal profits over more than two decades.
The jury in Guzmán's federal trial agreed last week, voting to convict on each of 10 criminal counts. He still faces charges in other U.S. courts.
Officials declared victory, touting the deterrent effect and symbolic value of taking down the world's most famous drug trafficker.
But analysts and researchers on Mexican crime organizations that the actual impact on the transnational drug trade might be minimal.
The Sinaloa cartel remains a strong drug-smuggling and violence threat on both sides of the Southwest Border, they say, and a newer, rival crime group, the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, poses similar danger.
Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia (Photo: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration)
"The conviction is a great moral victory for the United States, Mexico and other countries that have been severely damaged by the flow of illegal drugs coming from the flow of Chapo Guzmán and the Sinaloa cartel," said Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
"The unfortunate aspect is that the Sinaloa cartel continues to function and is just as powerful," Vigil said.
He likened the organization to "a very strong NFL team that has a great backup quarterback," along with a "diversified income stream."
That new Sinaloa boss isn't actually new at all. He's Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who was indicted with Guzmán, but never captured. The longtime cartel leader is believed to be living in Mexico, government testimony during the trial showed.
Zambada's son and brother testified against Guzmán during the trial. But Zambada himself remains a force in Mexico, Vigil and other say.
In this undated photo provided by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, left, poses with an unidentified man. Text messages sent by the Mexican drug lord known as El Chapo about narrowly avoiding capture in 2012 have become the latest damaging evidence at his U.S. trial. Prosecutors presented the texts Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019 in federal court in Brooklyn, where Guzman has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges. (Photo: AP)
As Guzmán's trial opened in November, the Sinaloa cartel remained prominent in the Drug Enforcement Administration's 2018 assessment of Mexican transnational criminal organizations.
"It maintains the most expansive international footprint compared to other Mexican transnational criminal organizations," the DEA reported.
The Sinaloa cartel still smuggles wholesale quantities of methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin and the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States through border crossings in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, the DEA said. Distribution is handled through hubs in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Denver, and Chicago, and other cities.
Major drug seizures in recent years demonstrate the cartel's reach.
DEA investigators in New York City seized more than 145 pounds of fentanyl in August 2017. The synthetic opioid is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Linked to the Sinaloa cartel, it was the largest fentanyl haul in the United States up to that time, the DEA said.
The Ventura County, California, Sheriff's Office arrested 13 suspects with alleged Sinaloa ties in October 2018. Detectives seized 161 pounds of methamphetamine, 121 pounds of cocaine, 13.2 pounds of heroin and 6.6 pounds of fentanyl – a haul with a combined street value of more than $10.8 million.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers reported a record load of hidden fentanyl last month at the border crossing in Nogales, Arizona. They say they discovered nearly 254 pounds of the opioid hidden in a special floor compartment of a tractor-trailer truck carrying a load of cucumbers from Mexico. The compartment also held almost 395 pounds of methamphetamine, they say, bringing the combined street value to an estimated $4.6 million.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection photo shows fentanyl and methamphetamine packages seized at an Arizona border crossing in Nogales in January 2019. (Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)
Driver Juan Antonio Torres Barraza, a Mexican national, was arrested on drug charges. He said he had no knowledge of the illegal cargo. The case against Torres is still at an early stage, and federal investigators have not yet publicly linked the incident to a specific Mexican drug cartel.
David Shirk, director of the Justice in Mexico project at the University of San Diego, says the Sinaloa cartel and its rivals plunged into the growing fentanyl market after Guzmán's reign peaked.
"Fentanyl is shaping the drug trade in Mexico today," said Shirk. "It's cheaper, and so much more potent. With a small amount of fentanyl, you can make the same profit" as with cocaine or other drugs.
Centers for Disease Control and Protection shows U.S. overdoses on the rise due to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. (Photo: CDC)
By many accounts, the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación is vying with the Sinaloa organization for market share.
Described by the DEA as "one of the most powerful and fastest growing cartels in Mexico and the United States," the organization maintains drug distribution hubs in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Atlanta. It smuggles drugs through several border cities, including Tijuana, Juarez, and Nuevo Laredo, the agency said.
Nathan Jones researches drug policy and Mexican security issues at Sam Houston State University in Texas.
He says the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación began a rapid rise in 2010 – aided in part by the U.S.-Mexican strategy of targeting drug kingpins that captured Guzmán.
The group enlisted "orphan" criminal cells left by the fragmentation in Mexico's organized crime groups, Jones wrote in a study last year.
Notorious mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has been convicted of drug-trafficking charges at a trial in New York. (Feb. 12) AP
The rise of the new cartel shows how organized crime groups adapt after leadership structures have been disrupted, Shirk and co-author Lucy La Rosa concluded in a separate study, also released last year.
The organization now rivals the Sinaloa cartel as the primary suspects in smuggling fentanyl across the Southwest Border, the DEA said.
The Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación is also suspected of smuggling "high heat" cocaine, a high-end product reported as more than 97 percent pure.
Investigative reporting from San Diego "identified a wholesaler operating between Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego who was seeking to import 'High Heat' cocaine into the U.S. supplied by CJNG for prospective clients," the DEA reported.
More: Federal jury finds drug lord Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán guilty of all counts
More: 'El Chapo' heading to Supermax prison? Who else is inside the hellish 'Alcatraz of the Rockies'
More: Now that he's been convicted of all counts, what's next for El Chapo?
Federal authorities in North Carolina charged six suspects last week with conspiracy to possess and distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. A confidential informant linked the alleged trafficking to the CJNG, authorities said in a court filing.
The Treasury Department targeted alleged Jalisco Nueva Generación leader Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera-Cervantes under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act in 2015.
Oseguera and 10 other alleged members of the cartel were charged in new or superseding drug-trafficking indictments in October.
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, an alleged leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (Photo: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration)
But U.S. efforts to break or disrupt the alleged criminal organization could prove difficult. In recent years, the cartel has diversified its operations, reportedly making drug trafficking just part of its income stream.
"Kidnaping and extortion have become part of the business model," along with tapping into fuel lines in Mexico and "forcing businesses to sign contracts with vendors favored by the cartel," Jones said.
Follow USA TODAY reporter Kevin McCoy on Twitter: @kmccoynyc
Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/22/joaquin-el-chapo-guzman-loera-sinaloa-jalisco-nueva-generacion-cartel/2885199002/
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1604
|
__label__cc
| 0.685228
| 0.314772
|
Solving the Crisis of the Vanishing IPO
https://www.uschamber.com/series/above-the-fold/solving-the-crisis-of-the-vanishing-ipo
Home / Above the Fold / Solving the Crisis of the Vanishing IPO
In Your Corner
May 07, 2018 - 9:00am
Thomas J. Donohue
Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
023394_uschamber-donohue-commentary-ipo-atf.gif
Key Takeaway
It’s time to stand tall and punch back against the onslaught of abuse aimed at public companies.
It seems like a common occurrence—a company goes public, makes a big splash in the news, and raises billions of dollars through its IPO. But the truth is that this used to happen far more often than it does today. Over the past 20 years, the number of public companies traded on the stock market has been cut in half.
This trend hurts the entire economy. When a company goes public, it receives an infusion of capital that helps propel it to the next level of growth, which means lots of new jobs. In fact, 92% of a public company’s job growth occurs after it completes its IPO. Going public also provides more opportunities for Main Street investors and American families to share in the success of companies of all sizes and sectors.
With these benefits, why are more and more businesses deciding to stay private? Because they see the network of laws, regulations, legal hazards, and public relations pitfalls that await public companies and conclude that it’s simply not worth it.
In recent years, our broken and outdated financial regulatory system has shackled public companies with rules that restrict growth and limit options. Public companies have also been the target of short-term shareholder activists that coerce and even extort them into pursuing policies that advance special interests, rather than the interests of their employees and shareholders. Further, some plaintiffs’ lawyers hold the threat of ridiculous class action lawsuits over the heads of companies in order to get rich.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is working to reverse these trends. We’re urging the Senate to pass the Corporate Governance and Transparency Act, which has already passed the House twice. It would empower the SEC to oversee today’s increasingly rogue proxy advisory firms. We’re also calling for passage of a new JOBS Act to bring our system of 1930s-style securities regulation into the 21st century, and the Securities Fraud Act of 2018 in order to stop the Martin Act from leveling accusations of fraud that can neither be proven nor disproven. Finally, the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform is leading the fight for commonsense reforms to class action lawsuits.
It’s time to stand tall and punch back against the onslaught of abuse aimed at public companies. If we succeed in enacting these measures, we’ll likely see a resurgence in IPOs that will create millions of new jobs, plentiful opportunities for American families to buy shares of their favorite companies, and a stronger, more vibrant, and more innovative economy.
Thomas J. Donohue is chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Quick Take: Your Primer on the CASE Act & Protecting Small Business
Why America Needs EXIM Sooner, Not Later
U.S. Pioneers Space Innovations with Small Satellites
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1605
|
__label__wiki
| 0.830704
| 0.830704
|
WASH Matters (Policy and practice)
About WaterAid India
Why WaterAid
Themes of our work
Schools for schools
FAQs on WASH
Fellowships 2019
Access denied! Will intent translate into action for persons with disabilities
Nitin Bisht
Disability Toilets
The current momentum under the Swachh Bharat Mission to make the state of Uttar Pradesh Open Defecation Free is commendable but needs to pay a little more attention to ensure that toilets are accessible to its 4.1 million citizens with disability.
In the heart of Uttar Pradesh’s state capital, Lucknow is the iconic Buddha Park where Akhilesh is balancing his crutches on glazed tiles struggling hard to climb the steps of the public toilet to attend nature’s call. “It is not just this facility but most of the public toilets in this city or I would say even in other cities are also difficult to access for people like me,” says Akhilesh who is working with a vocational training centre for persons with disability. Barely one Kilometre away from Buddha Park at another public toilet near King George Medical College, Dinesh Kumar, a street vendor was sitting helplessly in his wheelchair. A random reality check of various public and community toilets in the city by volunteers during a week-long campaign to identify accessible as well as inclusive public toilets substantiates Akhilesh’s observations and experience.
Akhilesh struggles hard to balance his crutches on tiles as well as steps in order to access a public toilet in Daliganj, an area in the heart of Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol (A/RES/61/106) and the National Policy for Persons with Disability 2006, recognizes that Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) are valuable human resources for the country and seeks to create an environment that provides them equal opportunities as well as protection of their rights and their full participation in society. It is in consonance with the basic principles of equality, freedom, justice, and dignity of all individuals enshrined in the Constitution of India implicitly mandating an inclusive society for all, including persons with disabilities. But even after a decade of such commitments and resolutions made by the government at the global and national level, people with disability yearn for the basics — accessibility to public spaces and facilities.
The share of persons with disability in the country’s total population is 2.21%. The highest number of disabled persons (4.1 million or 15.5% of country’s PwD population) is from the State of Uttar Pradesh[1]. The strong commitment of the government towards making the state of Uttar Pradesh Open Defecation Free (ODF) has led to huge investments and mobilisation towards the construction of household and public toilets. To reach the mammoth target of building 1.55 crore toilets by October 2, 2018, the state will have to construct on an average 44,000 toilets every day. The ability to achieve this target was ably demonstrated by the state when a record 3.52 lakh toilets were constructed within a span of just 17 days in a special countrywide campaign under the Swachh Bharat Mission from September 15 to October 2, 2017.
The state from time to time has issued instructions to ensure that accessibility is factored in while constructing toilets both at the household level as well as the community level in rural and urban spaces. The Chief Secretaries of the state twice instructed district authorities, on May 28, 2012, and on June 10, 2014, to ensure that accessibility for persons with disability is taken into account for public spaces and facilities. However in the rush to meet the targets, care to ensure an inclusive design in the construction of toilets seems to be nowhere in the priority at the ground level, at least till now. In the state capital alone there are 350 community and public toilets with around 3000 seats (still much lower than the number required) but less than 5% have provisions such as ramps to facilitate access.
“Unavailability of accessible facilities causes a lot of difficulties in the day-to-day life of Persons with Disabilities,” says Suraj Yadav, who leads Uttar Pradesh Viklang Manch (UPVM), a pan UP collective having a membership strength of 45,000 of PwDs. During a discussion with UPVM members, it emerges that 90% of facilities are inaccessible to Persons with Disabilities especially to tricycle users, visually impaired persons, and crutch and wheelchair users. UPVM aims to make accessible toilets as one of its key advocacy demands for its meeting with the Chief Minister scheduled in December 2017.
Countries with a smaller population than Uttar Pradesh
The initiatives taken by the State Swachh Bharat Mission Directorate such as the dissemination of technical manuals on toilet designs for people with disability, as well as conscious efforts to train masons on how to build PwD friendly toilet along with the construction of demo toilets for learning and replication towards promoting inclusive toilets are appreciable. But the mapping of households having persons with disability, provisioning of additional resources towards incentives for toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission (heard there are ongoing discussion at the Ministry level to increase the incentives for PwD toilets) or dovetailing with other schemes or funds will be critical to ensure that intent translates into affirmative action.
During his message on World Toilet Day, Léo Heller, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation aptly states that, “Access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all, and end open defecation was adopted as one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goals. It is not only about constructing toilets or sewerage. It is about understanding people’s needs and finding safe and sustainable solutions that ensure everyone’s dignity.”
With over 200 million people, Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India. In fact, it would have been fifth most populous country had it been an independent nation, hence a positive change in any indicators under SDGs in Uttar Pradesh will have a significant positive influence on national and global performance with respect to SDGs including Goal#6.
[1] Census 2011
Farrukh Rahman Khan is Regional Manager at WaterAid India.
Ishita Rampal
Re-discovering menstruation in India
Together, making a lasting impact!
How the WASH sector can contribute to the National Nutrition Mission
Making ‘no shame in menstruation’ a reality!
WaterAid India, 2nd floor, New Block RK Khanna Tennis Stadium, DLTA Complex, 1 Africa Avenue, New Delhi 110029
WaterAid - water charity | © Copyright WaterAid India - All rights reserved.
WaterAid in India operates as Jal Seva Charitable Foundation holding an FCRA Registration #231661627.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1607
|
__label__wiki
| 0.963345
| 0.963345
|
Kenya’s Cherono wins men’s Boston Marathon in sprint to tape
Lawrence Cherono wins Boston Marathon in wild finish
April 15, 2019 at 4:13 PM EDT - Updated April 17 at 10:33 AM
By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer
BOSTON (AP) — Two-time Boston Marathon champion Lelisa Desisa turned onto Boylston Street with a sliver of a lead, leaning in front of two other runners with the finish line in sight.
Unfortunately for him, one of them was the fastest man in the field.
Lawrence Cherono needed every bit of his speed to outkick Desisa in a sprint to the tape on Monday, passing him just steps away from the finish line to win the 123rd Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 7 minutes 57 seconds.
Desisa, who won in 2015 and 2013, the year the race was overshadowed by a bombing at the finish line, eased up after realizing he was beaten and finished 2 seconds back. Kenneth Kipkemoi was third, another 8 seconds behind, one of seven Kenyans in the top 10.
"It was no man's race to win," said Cherono, who had won in Seville, Prague, Honolulu and twice in Amsterdam but never in a major marathon before. "I kept on focusing. And at the end, I was the winner. I'm so grateful, so happy."
Worknesh Degefa broke away from defending champion Des Linden and the rest of the women's pack in the Framingham flats and ran alone for the last 20 miles to claim the $150,000 first prize and a gilded olive wreath from Marathon, Greece.
The 28-year-old Ethiopian, who set a national record while finishing second in Dubai less than three months ago, won in 2:23:31. Kenya's Edna Kiplagat was second, reducing a gap of more than two minutes to 42 seconds at the finish.
American Jordan Hasay was third and Linden was fifth.
"Seeing Degefa go out — you know her ability, you know what she's done and you wonder how it translates to this course," Linden said. "But when she starts putting down those super quick miles, you say 'All right, this is her race to lose.' She becomes the outlier and you let her just go and hope that she might come back."
Instead, she became the eighth Ethiopian woman to win the race and the third in seven years. A half marathon specialist, Degefa had never seen the Boston course before Monday.
Worknesh Degefa, of Ethiopia, breaks the tape to win the women's division of the 123rd Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15, 2019, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson) (Source: FR170221 AP)
"Last year, I watched all the marathon coverage," she said. "I kept that in my mind."
One year after an icy rain and a near-gale headwind resulted in the slowest winning times in four decades, race organizers again prepared for the foul New England weather. But overnight thunderstorms moved on before the runners left Hopkinton; the sun even made an appearance about halfway through.
Linden took advantage of last year's storm to splash her way to the first win for an American woman since 1985.
But with conditions back to normal, so were the results: East Africans from Kenya and Ethiopia dominating the podiums. At the 30K mark the lead pack was still close to a dozen and included three of the last four champions: Desisa, 2016 winner Geoffrey Kirui and '17 champ Lemi Berhanu Hayle.
"I was afraid of the guy who won two years ago. After he dropped out, I decided to win," said Desisa, who did not finish in either of the last two years. "I tried at the last, I saw (Cherono) suddenly, then I couldn't control the pace."
A field of 30,000 runners followed the elites, ditching their trash bags and ponchos on the Hopkinton Green before embarking on the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Copley Square. It's the first time the race has been run on April 15 since the 2013 attacks; officials held a ceremony at 2:49 p.m. to honor those killed and maimed by the two pressure cooker bombs that exploded near the finish line.
Daniel Romanchuk, 20, became the youngest-ever men's wheelchair champion in Boston, finishing in 1:21:36 for the fastest time ever for an American. Manuela Schar won the women's wheelchair race for the second time, adding it to her titles in in Berlin, Chicago, New York and Tokyo.
If she wins in London in two weeks, she will have swept the World Marathon Major series.
"I was just really happy that the weather turned out to be actually really nice," said Schar, who set a course record in 2017. "When we drove to that starting line, it looked really really bad and I was worried because last year was still in our heads, and I had a really bad experience last year. Today I would say (was) unfinished business."
Associated Press Writer Jennifer McDermott contributed to this story from Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
The home in the hilly Los Feliz district is where Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were slain the night after actress Sharon Tate and four others were murdered by Manson followers in Benedict Canyon.
A U.S. defense official had told The Associated Press earlier this week that America "has suspicions" that Iran seized the oil tanker when it turned off its tracker in the Strait of Hormuz. An Emirati official had told the AP the small oil tanker made no distress call before switching off its tracke
Court acts against N.J. judges for remarks in sexual assault cases
‘They need to go back to their country': Store clerk caught on video confronting family
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1608
|
__label__cc
| 0.662478
| 0.337522
|
Wintershall Noordzee B.V.
Wintershalldea.com
Gazprom International
Company Our Business Our Assets People Media
Home People
Our people Our most valuable asset
We employ over 250 professionals from many different countries and backgrounds. Working in different departments, each one of them is an ambitious expert in his or her field, who enjoys working for us in an exciting and ever challenging environment. The testimonials on this page will give you an idea of their work within our company as well as of their ambition, drive and enthusiasme in their every day working life.
Pieter de Graeff
Esteban Muňoz
Ronald Laarhoven
Stefan Froud
Jan Gabe van der Weide
Careers Compensation and benefits
Our employees are our key competitive advantage. That is why we are committed to helping all employees find opportunities that best fit their unique talents. We believe in providing a stimulating environment and room for professional growth, and we make sure that each new team member has the opportunity to work with the best professionals, ensuring that you will collaborate with interesting people from all kinds of backgrounds.
Pieter de Graeff HSE and Permitting Manager
Pieter de Graeff leads two teams: a team of health, safety and environmental specialists with a focus on minimizing risks, and a team of permitting advisors who request and maintain operational permits and consents from the various governments involved (of the Netherlands, the UK, Germany and Denmark) and focus on maintaining and improving the relations with these governments.
Pragmatic focus
"In this business, it is extremely important to minimize risks, of course. That is why the HSE team consists of experts in a wide variety of fields, including process safety, environmental legislation, operational and occupational safety and two offshore HSE engineers who carry out helicopter deck and platform inspections and assist in the planning of large operations. Usually, HSE professionals have received a lot of training in safety and security. With me, it is just the opposite.
It is incredibly interesting to be part of a company that is in constant motion.
HSE and Permitting Manager
I studied Maritime Technology at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and have a number of years of experience working as a navigator at sea. I find that this background, in combination with my passion for technology and operations, actually helps me a lot to keep a pragmatic focus on technical possibilities. When we build or modify a platform, we need to decide on the best options for the company and for the people who work there."
Constant motion
"Over the years, Wintershall Dea has achieved significant growth. It is incredibly interesting to be part of a company that is in constant motion. Obviously, this requires extraordinary professionalism from the teams. I try to be a sparring partner for them, facilitating their ability to solve issues and problems on their own. I believe that this approach makes the work more challenging and interesting for them, and helps to build their confidence. Operating in this field where technology meets human creativity has been a marvellous experience for me. I have discovered talents in myself I never knew I possessed!"
Esteban Muñoz Asset Manager and Lead for Stimulation, Oil field Chemistry & Production Technology
After spending his childhood in Argentina, the country of his father, Esteban Muñoz decided to follow his passion and study petroleum engineering in Leoben, Austria – the country of his mother.
Esteban Muñoz is responsible for a tight gas field (daisy chain) in the North Sea, and in charge of the Stimulation team, Production Chemistry and Production Technology projects. He was recently promoted to the position of Asset Manager and feels that it is the multidisciplinary approach at Wintershall Noordzee that is conducive to career development.
"At Wintershall Dea, we are continuously looking for new opportunities and innovations to increase day-to-day production. Within three years from now, we plan to start operating a new tight gas producer.
As we are a medium-sized company, talents and expertise are readily recognized in our community.
Esteban Muñoz
Asset Manager and Lead for Stimulation,
Oil field Chemistry & Production Technology
For this purpose, we recently launched a multidisciplinary study involving over fifteen professionals. The study involves seismic interpretation, static modelling, 3D geomodelling, dynamic modelling, drilling and facilities engineering. I personally get a lot of exposure and interaction with the various disciplines I’m working with. You get the opportunity to be exposed to all kinds of information the upstream requires to make a project successful."
Success factor
"One of the main success factors of Wintershall Noordzee is its multidisciplinary approach. Our people are exposed to projects from day one. As we are a medium-sized company, talents and expertise are readily recognized in our community. This is actually very helpful for career development."
SPEAD programme
"I was first introduced to Wintershall Dea when I was studying in Leoben, Austria. Wintershall Dea offers young engineers a very interesting and challenging opportunity to take part in the two-year SPEAD programme, which offers training on the job in projects with various operating companies around the world. Today, ten years down the road, I can personally confirm that this is indeed an excellent opportunity for young graduates!"
Ronald Laarhoven Procurement Manager
Ronald Laarhoven is Procurement Manager and responsible for everything from the procurement of nuts and bolts to leasing drilling rigs. After graduating in Industrial Engineering and Management, Ronald joined an engineering firm, where he gained 10 years of experience. This firm focused predominantly on downstream activities.
From Document Controller to Procurement Manager
"I started out as a Document Controller and was later on promoted to positions including Expediter, Buyer, Lead Buyer, Project Purchasing Manager and Contracts Engineer before I moved on to the position of Project Procurement Manager. I joined Wintershall Noordzee about a decade ago. After a start as Senior Buyer, I am now heading the Procurement department and am responsible for an annual purchasing volume of between € 250 and € 350 million."
Commitment and loyalty
"Our department employs 15 people, four of whom are part-timers. We focus on the procurement of materials and equipment for drilling and exploration, construction, and installation and production purposes. Wintershall is a very active and pragmatic company that offers a wealth of opportunities in a very pleasant atmosphere. Our people show commitment and loyalty to the company, and we all take pride in our collective achievements."
The challenge for the future is the development of F17
"F17 is a partial block in the North Sea, approximately 100 kilometres north of Den Helder, where oil was discovered. We need to look into possibilities to optimize its development. If it proves to be economically profitable, oil is likely to become a key component of our future. This would give our organization, that currently mainly focuses on gas fields, an enormous boost."
Wintershall Noordzee is a very active and pragmatic company that offers a wealth of opportunities in a very pleasant atmosphere. Our people show commitment and loyalty to the company, and we all take pride in our collective achievements.
Stefan Froud Geologist
Stefan Froud’s main goal as a geologist is to improve geological understanding of the focus area to help find more oil and gas reserves and maximize recovery from existing oil and gas fields.
Emphasis on technology
"During my two-year rotational graduate placement at Wintershall Dea, I worked in offices in Germany, Russia, Norway and the Netherlands. I chose Wintershall Noordzee because it is one of the bigger offices with a wealth of experience in exploration of the North Sea and a strong emphasis on technology. The day-to-day job involves a lot of predictions and communication of ideas, which makes it challenging to make the right decisions but highly interesting as well."
We share a lot of knowledge here, which helps me to develop my skills and grow as an individual.
"I am surrounded by skilled people. There are a good number of senior professionals, combined with talented younger professionals with new ideas and fresh energy, and I enjoy working with both of these groups. About half my team is from the Netherlands, the other half are from elsewhere, which ensures that we are never short of different viewpoints. The Dutch office has a very open and friendly culture. That makes it easy to adapt and integrate as a group."
A lot to learn
"I enjoy working at the Dutch office. We share a lot of knowledge here, which helps me to develop my skills and grow as an individual. I plan to stay here for at least another four years, building on my technical background, and then, depending on my personal situation, it will be time for a new step in my career with the Wintershall Dea corporation."
Jan Gabe van der Weide Senior Exploration Geophysicist
Jan Gabe van der Weide is a Senior Exploration Geophysicist at Wintershall Dea. He focuses on regional geological studies to generate, rank and advise on new business opportunities around the world.
"I have worked for Wintershall Dea since 2002. In 2008, I switched to Global Support, where I support both the head office and the various OPCOs. I get to meet a lot of interesting people from all over the world, and I enjoy sharing ideas and knowledge with them."
"I do not want to be a stranger in my own company.
Wintershall Noordzee is just the right size. It is big enough to make a difference, and small enough to get to know one another.
Senior Exploration Geophysicist
Geoscientists are a special type of people. We all love our jobs and are fuelled by a passion for nature and geology."
"Geology and geophysics are broad areas of expertise. A number of skill groups combine several disciplines. When you come up with something new, this is the place to share it. The skill groups encourage interaction between the various specialists. This is the best and fastest way to get involved in the process."
(Best kept secret…)
"Not many people know this, but our office here in Rijswijk was actually built almost on top of an old abandoned oil field!"
wintershall.com
gazprom-international.com
© Copyright 2019 Wintershall Holding GmbH
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1610
|
__label__wiki
| 0.957969
| 0.957969
|
Thousands compete in High Tide Ultimate Tournament
By Ian Klein | March 7, 2019 at 8:46 PM EST - Updated March 7 at 8:46 PM
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - During the month of March, the city of North Myrtle Beach is host to a unique type of sports tournament.
Nearly 200 teams are competing in an ultimate frisbee tournament at North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex.
“It can be super chill but it can also be super intense,” said Morghan O’Neil.
In its sixth year at North Myrtle Beach, the High Tide Ultimate Tournament has grown into one of the largest ultimate Frisbee tournaments in the world.
“The majority of our teams come from the snow belt, they want to come out to a place they can play,” said High Tide Event Coordinator Ed Pulkinen.
Ed Pulkinen and his wife Cathy started hosting the High Tide Tournament 23 years ago and met while playing ultimate frisbee 25 years ago.
Now they use the tournament as an opportunity to minister to college students throughout the country.
“The thing they wanted to convey through the ministry is that we’re just a bunch of people from different areas in life coming together to play a sport,” said O’Neil.
“Whenever you’re caring for people, and they recognize it as you’re being authentic, I think you’re going to see growth and more opportunity,” said Pulkinen.
As the sport of ultimate frisbee grows, North Myrtle Beach continues to be a popular location for tournaments.
The city saw a direct economic impact of $28 million from sports tourism last year.
For players like Morghan, she has played with both guys and girls and helped create the first all girls team at her school.
“When we started our own team it made it very exciting,” said O’Neil.
The month long tournament is free to attend and features some of the top college ultimate frisbee teams from across the country.
“I think in the next three to five years we could have a 50 percent growth increase,” said Pulkinen.
Sean Luffy, who attends Christopher Newport University in Virginia, was one of the thousands competing in the tournament, which allowed his grandmother Martha Higgins from Pawleys Island to visit with her grandson.
“I absolutely love this sport. I love my grandma and she was able to come up for once,” said Luffy.
In its first year, High Tide hosted six teams, 23 years later the tournament welcomes nearly 4,000 players, but for Pulkinen it’s the impact they’re making off the field that means the most.
“Christians love each other and they love people who are not believers so that opportunity to show who we are and what we believe is really important,” said Pulkinen.
All of the games in the High Tide tournament will be played at North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex throughout the month of March.
Video journalist
Ian Klein is a Reporter at WMBF News. He started in September 2017. He comes to us from Raycom's sister station, KAUZ, in Wichita Falls, Texas where he was a Reporter/Producer/Weekend Anchor.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1613
|
__label__wiki
| 0.908417
| 0.908417
|
Gwyneth Paltrow retiring as Marvel's Pepper Potts
Gwyneth Paltrow becomes the latest actor to indicate that 'Avengers: Endgame' will end their regular run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Author: Travis Pittman
Published: 2:16 AM CST February 20, 2019
Updated: 2:40 AM CST February 20, 2019
Say goodbye to Pepper Potts.
Gywneth Paltrow confirmed in an interview with Variety Tuesday that her 11-year run as Iron Man's confidant and significant other will end with April's "Avengers: Endgame."
“I mean, I’m a bit old to be in a suit and all that at this point,” Paltrow, 46, told Variety. She did leave open the possibility of a cameo or a flashback scene down the road in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but she's not planning to be a major player.
Paltrow's Potts made her debut in 2008's "Iron Man," which was the movie that launched the "Avengers" storyline. She has appeared in all three "Iron Man" films, two previous "Avengers" movies and a surprise cameo in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."
Gwyneth Paltrow arrives at the world premiere of "Avengers: Infinity War" on Monday, April 23, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
"Endgame" is expected to mark the end of the current MCU storyline with the future of some of the characters and the actors that play them in doubt. At the end of "Avengers: Infinity War," half of the population of the universe was literally turned to dust at the snap of Thanos' fingers. How many of them will be revived -- and if others will be lost -- will be determined in "Endgame."
Chris Evans, who plays Captain America in the MCU, dropped a hint on Twitter in October "Endgame" will be his last stand.
Of course, this is the world of comic books. In a science fiction genre that can include alternate universes, anything is possible. Paltrow and Evans may be done, but other actors down the road may take up their alter egos.
At least one person is already calling on Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone to take the role.
In the Captain America comic universe, both Sam Wilson (aka Falcon) and Bucky Barnes (aka Winter Soldier) take the mantle of Cap at one point or another. Anthony Mackie plays Falcon and Sebastian Stan plays Bucky in the MCU.
"Endgame" hits theaters April 26. It will be set up by "Captain Marvel" on March 8.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1618
|
__label__cc
| 0.745996
| 0.254004
|
Home Samsung
WIO Team - May 20, 2018
Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime 2 Android smartphone. Announced 2018, March. Features storage 32 GB, 3 GB RAM, Octa-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53, 5.5 inches, 83.4...
Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) Android smartphone. Announced 2017, June. Features storage 16 GB, 2 GB RAM - Global32 GB, 2 GB RAM - LATAM,...
Samsung Galaxy S9+ Android smartphone.storage 128 GB, 6 GB RAM or 64 GB, 4 GB RAM, Octa-core (4x2.9 GHz & 4x1.9 GHz Cortex-A55) -...
Samsung Galaxy S9 Android smartphone. Announced 2018, February. Features storage 64/128 GB, 4 GB RAM, Octa-core (4x2.7 GHz Mongoose M3 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)...
Samsung Galaxy J5 Prime (2017)
Samsung Galaxy J5 Prime (2017) Android smartphone.storage 16/32 GB, 3 GB RAM, Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53, 5.0 inches, 68.9 cm2 (~69.4% screen-to-body ratio), Non-removable...
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2018) USA
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2018) USA Android smartphone.storage 16 GB, 2 GB RAM, Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53, 5.0 inches, 68.9 cm2, IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen,...
Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro (2018) Android smartphone. Announced 2018, January. Features storage 16 GB, 1.5 GB RAM, Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53, 5.0 inches, 68.9...
Samsung Galaxy J2 (2017) Android smartphone. Announced 2017, October. Features storage 8 GB, 1 GB RAM, Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7, 4.7 inches, 60.9 cm2...
Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2
Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2 Android smartphone. Announced 2017, October. Features storage 16 GB, 3 GB RAM, Octa-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53, 8.0 inches, 185.6...
Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) Android smartphone. Announced 2017, December. Features storage 32/64 GB, 4 GB RAM, Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Cortex-A73 & 6x1.6 GHz Cortex-A53),...
Xiaomi Mi A3 announced as the latest Android One phone from Xiaomi
Ossama Masood - July 18, 2019
Twitter to redesign its website to make it similar to the Mobile App
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1620
|
__label__wiki
| 0.543863
| 0.543863
|
Home News PSL 4 to kick start on the Valentine’s day!
PSL 4 to kick start on the Valentine’s day!
Pakistan Super League season 4 to begin on the 14th of February as decided by the PCB and as per the top news about eight matches will be staged in Pakistan however, the final will be played in the heart of Pakistan, the city of lights, Karachi.
The New PCB chairman Ehsan Mani along with all the Franchise owners attended the governing council meeting to finalize things about the fourth season of Pakistan Super League earlier on Saturday. The council decided that eight PSL matches will be held in Karachi and Lahore and the final match will be played in the ground of Karachi. However, the third edition of the National cricket league of Pakistan had only 3 matches held in the country. Now for the 2nd year running, Karachi will hold the final on March 17th, 2019.
The tournament will kick start on February 14th.
In the meeting on Saturday, the council also planned for inviting new bids for title sponsors. In addition to this broadcast rights were also discussed. The initial deal that was signed, was with Habib Bank Limited and Ten Sports which were both for 3 years but now PSL’s value has increased substantially in its 3 seasons. The previous management under Najam Sethi was pretty much able to carve out a niche brand and it resulted as the break-in of a 6th franchise in the form of Multan Sultans.
Several speculations have been made regarding the sponsorship as it is now expected that the new management of PCB will charge a considerably higher amount for the title sponsorship and also for the broadcasting rights as well.
A long-term demand of franchises has been met by the new Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and they have been included in the various subcommittees which are handling the bids related to the entire tournament. Although there was a dispute earlier between Najam Sethi’s team and the Multan Sultan franchise (who wanted to be a part of the bidding process)
PCB chairman Ehsan Mani said,
‘PCB’s aim is to ensure transparency and working in partnership with all franchises in order to make PSL a bigger success. PCB and all PSL franchises are partners in this project and I am confident that we will all work together to bring in good numbers for our next rights cycle. The inclusion of franchises in the decision-making process highlights the need to ensure the collective growth of all partners’
Each team will retain 10 players including two foreign players from the platinum bracket. Each squad can have 20 players including emerging talent. The draft for PSL 4 will follow the same order for the last three drafts, according to which picks would be ordered as per the team league table from PSL 3. However, from PSL 5, the draft would take place randomly.
It has also been decided that the first team to pick during the draft will be Lahore Qalandars.
Pakistan Super League season 4
Previous articleImran Khan promises citizenship to Afghan and Bangladeshi refugees
Next articleThe Movie ‘Cake’ is going to Oscars 2019
It was not pleasant meeting the JIT team: Nawaz Sharif
After Atif Mian, two more economists resign from EAC
Samsung Introducing most costly phone of its history
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1621
|
__label__wiki
| 0.708949
| 0.708949
|
Likely impact of US-China trade war: Prices up, growth down
The world’s two biggest economies have fired the opening shots in a trade war that could have wide-ranging consequences for consumers, workers, companies, investors and political leaders.
Likely impact of US-China trade war: Prices up, growth down The world’s two biggest economies have fired the opening shots in a trade war that could have wide-ranging consequences for consumers, workers, companies, investors and political leaders. Check out this story on yorkdispatch.com: https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/money/2018/07/06/likely-impact-us-china-trade-war-prices-growth/36670997/
Paul Wiseman and Josh Boak, AP Economics Writers Published 8:51 a.m. ET July 6, 2018 | Updated 8:52 a.m. ET July 6, 2018
A ship hauls containers at a container port in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong province Friday, July 6, 2018. The United States hiked tariffs on Chinese imports Friday and Beijing said it immediately retaliated in a dispute between the world's two biggest economies that President Donald Trump says he is prepared to escalate. (Chinatopix via AP)(Photo: AP)
WASHINGTON – The world’s two biggest economies have fired the opening shots in a trade war that could have wide-ranging consequences for consumers, workers, companies, investors and political leaders.
The United States slapped a 25 percent tax on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports starting Friday, and China is retaliating with taxes on an equal amount of U.S. products, including soybeans, pork and electric cars.
The United States accuses China of using predatory tactics in a push to supplant U.S. technological dominance. The tactics include forcing American companies to hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market, as well as outright cyber-theft. Trump’s tariffs are meant to pressure Beijing to reform its trade policies.
Though the first exchange of tariffs is unlikely to inflict much economic harm on either nation, the damage could soon escalate. President Donald Trump, who has boasted that winning a trade war will be easy, said Thursday that he’s prepared to impose tariffs on up to $550 billion in Chinese imports – a figure that exceeds the $506 billion in goods that China actually shipped to the United States last year.
Escalating tariffs would likely raise prices for consumers, inflate costs for companies that rely on imported parts, rattle financial markets, cause some layoffs and slow business investment as executives wait to see whether the Trump administration can reach a truce with Beijing. The damage would threaten to undo many of the economic benefits of last year’s tax cuts.
More:Harley, stung by tariffs, shifts some production overseas
More:Canada tariffs on US goods from ketchup to lawn mowers begin
More:Bluster aside, US and China vulnerable to pain from tariffs
A full-fledged trade war, economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and elsewhere warn, risks tipping the U.S. economy into recession.
And those caught in the initial line of fire – U.S. farmers facing tariffs on their exports to China, for instance – are already hunkered down and fearing the worst. The price of U.S. soybeans has plunged 17 percent over the past month on fears that Chinese tariffs will cut off American farmers from a market that buys about 60 percent of their soybean exports.
“For soybean producers like me this is a direct financial hit,” Brent Bible, a soy and corn producer in Romney, Indiana, said in a statement from the advocacy group Farmers for Free Trade. “This is money out of my pocket. These tariffs could mean the difference between a profit and a loss for an entire year’s worth of work out in the field, and that’s only in the near term.”
Even before the first shots were fired, the prospect of a trade war was worrying investors. The Dow Jones industrial average has shed nearly 1,000 points since June 11.
The Chinese currency, the yuan, has dropped 3.5 percent against the U.S. dollar over the past month, giving Chinese companies a price edge over their U.S. competition. The drop might reflect a deliberate devaluation by the Chinese government to signal Beijing’s “displeasure over the state of trade negotiations,” according to a report Thursday from the Institute of International Finance, a banking trade group.
The Trump administration sought to limit the impact of the tariffs on U.S. households by targeting Chinese industrial goods, not consumer products, for the first round of tariffs. But that step drives up costs for U.S. companies that rely on Chinese-made machinery or components and may force them to pass them along to their business customers, and eventually to consumers.
If you like Chick-fil-A sandwiches, for instance, you may feel the impact of the tariffs. Charlie Souhrada, a vice president of the North American Food Equipment Manufacturers, says the duties could raise the cost of a pressure cooker made by one of its members, Henny Penny. Chick-fil-A uses the cooker for its sandwiches. The administration has placed “these import taxes squarely on the shoulders of manufacturers and by extension consumers,” Souhrada said.
The Federal Reserve is already picking up signs that the threat of a trade war is causing businesses to rethink investment plans. In the minutes from its June 12-13 meeting, the Fed’s policymaking committee noted: “Contacts in some districts indicated that plans for capital spending had been scaled back or postponed as a result of uncertainty over trade policy,”
And if Trump extends the tariffs to $550 billion in Chinese imports, there’s no way consumers could avoid being caught in the crossfire: The taxes would have to hit consumer products like televisions and cellphones.
Consider what happened to the price of washing machines that were subjected to a separate series of Trump tariffs in January. Over the past year, their price has surged more than 8 percent, compared with a slight drop in overall appliance prices.
Even the first round of tariffs means that “American consumers are one step closer to feeling the full effects of a trade war,” said Matthew Shay, president of the National Retail Federation.
“These tariffs will do nothing to protect U.S. jobs, but they will undermine the benefits of tax reform and drive up prices for a wide range of products as diverse as tool sets, batteries, remote controls, flash drives and thermostats,” Shay said. “And students could pay more for the mini-refrigerator they need in their dorm room as they head back to college this fall… a strategy based on unilateral tariffs is the wrong approach, and it has to stop.”
AP Economics Writers Martin Crutsinger and Christopher Rugaber contributed to this story.
Read or Share this story: https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/money/2018/07/06/likely-impact-us-china-trade-war-prices-growth/36670997/
Marijuana users twice as likely to crash, AAA study finds
One reason for a Fed cut: Powell now fears too-low inflation
Hate the open office? Think it’s too loud? Enter the ‘phone booth’
Have an old car? You’re not alone. Vehicle age hits record
Iranians say their ‘bones breaking’ under U.S. sanctions
Consumer confidence falls to lowest level since 2017
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1627
|
__label__cc
| 0.627168
| 0.372832
|
Languages with large vocabularies have simple grammar, study suggests
Last updated on January 30th, 2018 at 7:20 pm by Francesca Schiopca
Languages with large vocabularies, such as Mandarin or English, are simpler grammatically, as opposed to complex languages which possess reduced lexicon.
These two Polynesian women sure do know more grammar rules than any of us.
Credits: Pixabay/Mariamichelle
A team of psychologists composed of Florencia Reali, Nick Chater, and Morten H. Christiansen, suggests that this linguistic paradox is correlated with the size of the speaker’s population.
For example, Mandarin is spoken by a huge number of native speakers and English is the most common second language learned word-wide. At the opposite end of the spectrum are Polynesian languages, which are used in extremely small communities of native speakers, but exhibit complex grammatical regularities.
Researchers tried to explain this tendency by dividing language innovations into two categories: easy to learn — new words that only need to be heard a few times to catch on — and hard to learn — grammar rules, which need to be heard and repeated multiple times to be fully comprehended in the language.
“We were able to show that whether something is easy to learn – like words – or hard to learn – like complex grammar – can explain these opposing tendencies,” said co-author Morten Christiansen, professor of psychology and co-director of the Cognitive Science Program.
In a large city, where a speaker only has contact with a small part of the population, it is quite facile to innovate through new words. In a small community though, grammar innovations seem to catch on more rapidly, because of the numerous interactions the small number of speakers have with each other.
“If you don’t get enough exposure to more complex patterns, those patterns are likely to disappear, whereas the simpler patterns that are easy to pick up are likely to survive,” Christiansen said. “As the population size of a language community increases, the number of hard-to-learn conventions decreased, whereas the number of easy-to-learn conventions increased,” he added.
Next, researchers designed an experiment to prove their theory. They simulated a community of individuals that communicated with each other, modeled on real-life interactions on a cellphone network.
Each individual had a number of conventions (easy or hard to learn) that they could communicate to one another. When one agent met another, they could either use conventions from their inventory or create a new one and use that instead.
“What we did was vary the size of the community and ran simulations on the different variations to see what happened,” Christiansen said.
The results confirmed scientist’s suspicion: in smaller communities, the more complex conventions survived. In larger communities, easier conventions thrived.
The lead author believes not only languages but also most aspects of culture may become simpler as our world becomes increasingly interconnected. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that all culture will become overly simple. Christiansen thinks that maybe only the mainstream parts will lose complexity over time.
And he actually might be right. Let’s think of music — what is the most popular new genre? Electronic music. The simple musical composition and repetitive sounds of techno music have generated a huge amount of fans and their number appears to be growing each day.
But complex aspects of culture might still have a chance.
“People can self-organize into smaller communities to counteract that drive toward simplification,” Christiansen suggests.
The paper was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B on 24 January, 2018.
Tags: Grammarlanguagelinkpopulationsimple
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1630
|
__label__wiki
| 0.967419
| 0.967419
|
Bulger's girlfriend gets 21 months in prison
<p>FILE - This undated file photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows Catherine Greig, the longtime girlfriend of Whitey Bulger, who was captured with Bulger, June 22, 2011, in Santa Monica, Calif. Prosecutors will ask a federal judge to sentence the longtime girlfriend of Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger to three more years in prison for refusing to testify about whether anyone else helped Bulger after he fled the city. Greig is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, April 28, 2016, after pleading guilty to a criminal contempt charge for refusing to testify before a grand jury. </p>
BOSTON (AP) — The longtime girlfriend of Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger was sentenced Thursday to an additional 21 months in prison by a judge who said she had shown a "twisted" sense of loyalty to Bulger by refusing to testify about whether other people helped him while he was a fugitive.
Catherine Greig, 65, already is serving an eight-year sentence for helping Bulger while he was a fugitive. She spent 16 years on the run with him before they were captured in Santa Monica, California, in 2011.
Bulger, now 86, was convicted of a litany of crimes in 2013 — including participating in 11 murders — and is serving life in prison.
Federal prosecutors had asked the judge to add a little more than three years to Greig's prison time for her conviction on a criminal contempt charge for disobeying a judge's order to testify before a grand jury investigating whether other people helped Bulger while he was on the run.
Greig's lawyer had asked for leniency and said she should not get any more than six months.
U.S. District Judge Dennis Saylor IV imposed a sentence in the middle of the two recommendations, but not before rejecting an argument from Greig's lawyer that her only crime was loving Bulger and remaining loyal to him. Saylor called Bulger a lifelong criminal and "serial murderer."
"It is hard to imagine a less worthy object of affection than Bulger," Saylor said.
"History, I think, will remember Bulger as a monster," he added.
Greig's lawyer, Kevin Reddington, called the sentence "very severe" and said Greig does not believe that Bulger committed all the crimes he was convicted of in 2013.
"She still thinks he's the guy she fell in love with," Reddington said.
Patricia Donahue, whose husband, Michael, was fatally shot by Bulger and another man in 1982, said 21 months is not enough time for Greig's refusal to testify.
"How do you go before the grand jury and refuse to testify? ... That's OK to do that? That's what they're saying by giving her less than two years," she said.
Greig already had nine months added to her prison time after she was found in civil contempt for refusing to testify.
During his trial, prosecutors said Bulger worked for the FBI as a criminal informant on the New England Mob, a rival criminal group to his gang. Bulger denied being an informant.
Bulger also called his trial a "sham" because the judge denied his request to present a defense based on his claim that he received immunity for his crimes from a now-deceased federal prosecutor. The judge found that Bulger had offered no hard evidence to support his claim and that a prosecutor would not have had the authority to grant immunity for crimes that included murder.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1634
|
__label__wiki
| 0.736729
| 0.736729
|
Tickets and travel: Oxford United (A), 07/05
Tickets for the final Sky Bet League 2 game of the season at Oxford United are no longer available.
This is an all-ticket fixture which means tickets had to be purchased no later than noon on Friday. Oxford United have sold out their allocation while Wanderers sold 1,047 tickets to their own fans.
Pre-booked tickets can be collected at the Away Ticket Office from 1.30pm.
By Adrian Wood
Recommended road directions
From Wycombe take the westbound M40, exiting at junction 8 taking the A40 towards Oxford. The stadium is well signposted, with brown football signs pointing the way. At the Headington roundabout (with McDonalds on the left) bear left onto the Oxford Ring Road (A4142). Continue over the Cowley flyover and go straight on at the Littlemore roundabout. At the next roundabout (with Sainsburys on the left), take the left turning (signed Reading / Oxford Science Park) onto the A4074. Keep following the brown football signs and you eventually come to the ground on your left.
Mileage from High Wycombe = 30
Recommended area for car parking
There are plenty of FREE car parking spaces around the stadium and at the adjacent Ozone cinema and bowling alley complex. They do tend to fill up quickly so arrive in plenty of time. As expected it can take a time to exit after the match.
Travelling by coach?
OWWSA will be running a coach that will leave Adams Park at 13.00. Travel prices are £9 for adults, £8 for seniors, and £7 for juniors. Places cost £3 extra for non-members. If you wish to book by phone (01494 520179) or by e-mail (bookings@owwsa.co.uk) you need to do so by Thursday May 5th at 17.00 hrs.
Using the train?
This is certainly not recommended as Oxford railway station is over four miles away. If you do end up at the station (or in the City Centre) you can catch Oxford Bus Company Service, Number 5 that runs to Knights Road in Blackbird Leys Road. This is just a short walk from the ground. The service runs every five minutes. The journey from the station usually takes around 30 minutes.
Facilities for away fans
The ground capacity is 12,500 (all seated). Away fans are normally housed on one side of the North Stand, towards the open end of the ground. This stand is shared with home supporters. The facilities within and the views of the playing action are excellent, and there is also good leg room. The atmosphere within the ground is not bad, with the home fans in the Oxford Mail Stand doing their best to raise it.
Facilities around the ground
With the closure of the adjacent ‘Priory' pub then there is a limited choice of bars near to the stadium. One possibility is ‘The George’ at Littlemore just off the ring road (not far from Sainsburys). The stadium is about a 10-minute walk away. Another option is the Holiday Inn Express Hotel on the corner behind the Oxford Mail and South Stand, which has a fair sized bar. Meanwhile there is a cinema and bowling alley complex located adjacent to the stadium, called Ozone. Inside the bowling alley there is a bar, which also has SKY TV and a fast food outlet. Another traditional pub in walking distance (15-20 minutes) of the Kassam Stadium is the Catherine Wheel in Sandford-on-Thames. Otherwise alcohol is also served within the ground.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1636
|
__label__wiki
| 0.855735
| 0.855735
|
ExperienceCurrently selected
Visit a State Historic Site
Visit Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Visit Heritage Communities
African American History in Illinois
FAQ for Research
Museums-Collections
Timeline of Illinois History
Federal/State Project Review
Preservation Laws
Contribute your Expertise
IDNR
Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices
6th & Adams Streets, Springfield
Site is currently closed for renovations.
The Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices are within the only remaining building in which Abraham Lincoln maintained a law office. The site consists of the surviving portion of a three-story brick commercial block constructed in 1840-41. Exterior details reflect the then-popular Greek Revival architectural style. Though designed as a commercial structure, portions of the building were rented for offices and other purposes. Lincoln practiced law in the building from 1843 to about 1852. During his 1847-1849 tenure as a United States Congressman, partner William H. Herndon (1818-1891) maintained the practice. In 1978 the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a part of the Central Springfield Historic District.
The “restored” building’s first floor visitor center consists of an exhibit gallery and audiovisual theater, along with a room interpreted as an 1840s post office facility. On the second floor are rooms representing those used by the federal court, and on the third floor a "common room" and three lawyers’ offices. Two of the offices were used by Lincoln and his partners, prominent local attorneys Herndon and Stephen T. Logan (1800-1880). The recreated offices are notable for the plainness and disorder that were remembered by Lincoln associates.
After viewing an orientation video, visitors receive a twenty-minute guided tour of the historic rooms. On Wednesdays during the summer months, a costumed interpreter portrays Lincoln’s law clerk. Exhibits in the visitor center provide information on Lincoln’s legal career and life on the Eighth Judicial Circuit. The building is fully accessible to persons with disabilities. The Tinsley Dry Goods Store gift shop is contiguous to the Lincoln-Herndon building.
Visit the Old State Capitol Foundation webpage for additional information on the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office.
Visit a State Historic Site Currently selected
Donate to the Historic Sites
State Historic Preservation Office (Preservation Services)
IDNR-One Natural Resources Way
DNR-One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, IL. 62702-1271
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1638
|
__label__cc
| 0.712807
| 0.287193
|
The Selected Poems of Emily Dickinson
See Quarto Gifts Blogs
Follow Quarto Gifts on:
$9.98 / £6.99
Author: Emily Dickinson
Format: Hardback, 240 Pages
Publisher: Chartwell Books
Series: Classic Thoughts and Thinkers
We do not sell books through our website in the UK.
Please use the links below to buy from online retailers
Buy In US/Canada
Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts on December 10,1830, to a prominent family of academics, lawyers, and statesmen. Following her education at Amherst Academy and Mt. Holyoke Female Seminary, Dickinson embarked on her impassioned journey as a poet. Composing first in a fairly conventional style, the poetess soon began to experiment with her writing; her frequent use of dashes, sporadic capitalization of nouns, broken meter, and idiosyncratic metaphors made her work unparalleled for its time.
Dickinson's poetry dealt not only with issues of death, faith, and immortality, but with nature, domesticity, and the power of language to transfer emotions into written text. An obsessively private writer, only ten of her some 1,700 poems were published during her lifetime. Dickinson withdrew from social contact at the age of 23 and devoted herself to writing in secret. It wasn't until her death in 1866 that the scope of Dickinson's work was realized, when her sister Lavinia found her prolific collection in a dresser drawer.
Since this time, Emily Dickinson's writing has had significant influences on modern American poetry; her complex use of language and form has contributed to her reputation as one of the most innovative poets of the 19th century. This collection of some of her finest works illustrates not only Dickinson's talent as a writer but her profound love of language, nature, and life.
Size: 4 in x 7 in / 101.6 mm x 177.8 mm
The Constitution of the United States with the Declaration of Independence
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
The Collected Poems of Robert Frost
Gifts by Occasion | 1 March 2018
Beautifully Said: Dorothy Day
In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re sharing and celebrating the social and economic achievements of women. These beautiful and brilliant quotes are from the book Beautifully Said. Learn more about the book and the authors here. Today’s quote is from a candidate for sainthood, Dorothy Day. Dorothy Day {1897-1980} JOURNALIST • FOUNDER OF THE CATHOLIC WORKER MOVEMENT ...
Beautifully Said: Joyce Brothers
In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re sharing and celebrating the social and economic achievements of women. These beautiful and brilliant quotes are from the book Beautifully Said. Learn more about the book and the authors here. Today’s quote is from Joyce Brothers, the first mainstream media psychologist. Joyce Brothers {1927-2013} ADVICE COLUMNIST • BROADCASTING PERSONALITY • THE ...
Beautifully Said: Sylvia Earle
In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re sharing and celebrating the social and economic achievements of women. These beautiful and brilliant quotes are from the book Beautifully Said. Learn more about the book and the authors here. Today’s quote is from oceanographer Sylvia Earle. Sylvia Earle {Born 1935} OCEANOGRAPHER • SEA EXPLORER • HERO FOR THE PLANET Dubbed Her ...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1639
|
__label__wiki
| 0.707266
| 0.707266
|
Daphne Wysham
Daphne Wysham is a Fellow and board member of the Institute for Policy Studies, founder and co-director of the Sustainable Energy & Economy Network, a project of IPS , and founder and co-host of Earthbeat Radio, which airs on WPFW 89.3 FM in Washington and is being syndicated to other stations nationwide. SEEN conducted the initial research which drew attention to the disproportionate ratio of fossil fuel investments by international financial institutions, including the World Bank.
Translated into numerous languages, these studies resulted in: demands for reform from members of the US House and Senate; hearings held in Italian Senate, Dutch Parliament; Italian Prime Minister and former Vice President Al Gore calling for reforms. SEEN launched an international campaign in 1998 that, in 2001, resulted in World Bank President James Wolfensohn calling for an independent study of extractive industries (EIR). The EIR called for the World Bank to phase out of fossil fuels immediately, and rapidly phase in renewable energy. She is a Fellow of the Transnational Institute, Amsterdam; former editor-in-chief of Greenpeace Magazine; and associate of the Center for Investigative Reporting. She is an energy writer for UPI, a board advisor to the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, a Senior Fellow with the Sierra Club, and a member of the Durban Group for Climate Justice.
Ms. Wysham's analysis and critiques have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Grist, The Guardian, the Financial Times, and on BBC, NPR, and Marketplace, among others.
Source: http://www.ips-dc.org/staff/daphne [1]
Source URL: http://13iacc.org/en/IACC_Speakers/Daphne_Wysham
[1] http://www.ips-dc.org/staff/daphne
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1642
|
__label__wiki
| 0.605799
| 0.605799
|
$10,000 Summer Challenge from Racetrack Television Network (RTN)
May 24, 2019 by Editor Leave a Comment
RTN $10,000 Summer Challenge
The RTN $10,000 Summer Challenge will be a bonus challenge that consists of NHC Tour points accumulated over a 3-month period on HorsePlayers.com. The challenge will kick-off on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27 with a $125 HorsePlayers.com contest and conclude on Saturday, August 31. The top three finishers of the challenge will be awarded $10,000 in cash prizes (1st- $5,000, 2nd- $3,000, 3rd- $1,000).
RTN is offering new subscribers five free days of video live streaming and unlimited race replays. To register for your five free days go to www.rtn.tv and enter promo code TRYRTN. There will be an additional $1,000 bonus awarded to the highest finisher who is a current RTN subscriber or a new subscriber who registers for the five free day promotion.
In addition to the RTN $10,000 Summer Challenge prize, this year’s NHC Tour prize pool will award $325,000 in cash prizes to the overall NHC Tour Leader Board finishers and $15,000 to first-time NHC Tour members. The winner of the 2019 NHC Tour will be eligible for a $5 million bonus if he or she were to win the 2020 NHC.
You must be a NHC Tour member to compete for NHC Tour prizes and to be eligible to participate in the NHC in Las Vegas. There are three more free NHC Tour contests in 2019. These contests are set for June 1, August 2-3, and September 28. For more information on NHC Tour membership go to www.nhctour.com.
About Racetrack Television Network
Racetrack Television Network (“RTN”) is an 80-channel subscription package that caters to horsemen, bettors and racing fans worldwide by delivering every simulcast from North American and select international tracks to televisions, computers, and mobile devices (including iPhones, iPads, Android phones and Android tablets). The television package is available via satellite provider DISH Network, while the online and mobile packages are available directly from RTN at www.rtn.tv. RTN offers the largest simulcast menu in the pari-mutuel industry-either commercially or residentially.
About the National Horseplayers Championship
In its 21st year, the NHC is the most important tournament of the year for horseplayers and is the culmination of a year-long series of NTRA-sanctioned local tournaments conducted by racetracks, casino race books, off-track betting facilities and horse racing and handicapping websites, each of which sends its top qualifiers to the national finals. There are no bye-ins to the NHC. Each year, the NHC winner joins other human and equine champions as an honoree at the Eclipse Awards. The 2020 NHC will be held at Ballys, Las Vegas February 6-9, 2020. For more information on the NHC, visit NTRA.com/nhc.
Filed Under: Horse Racing contests & tournaments Tagged With: contests, nhc, NHC Tour, ntra, Racetrack Television Network (RTN)
NTRA Making Progress on Credit Card Issues in Horse Racing
October 16, 2017 by Editor Leave a Comment
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association expects to soon announce specific banks that will recognize credit card transactions used to deposit money at account-deposit wagering (ADW) online outlets.
Source: NTRA Making Progress on Credit Card Issues
Filed Under: Horse Racing News Tagged With: adw, Credit Card Issues in Horse Racing, credit cards, ntra
Biggest News for Horseplayers & Bettors in Decades
September 26, 2017 by Editor 2 Comments
Treasury/IRS Issue Updates Tax Rules
The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today announced that they will formally adopt modernized regulations regarding the withholding and reporting of pari-mutuel proceeds. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association(NTRA) has long pressed for these updated regulations that will allow horseplayers to keep more of their winnings, thereby increasing the amount wagered on U.S. pari-mutuel racing by as much as 10 percent annually, or upwards of $1 billion, according to independent estimates. The new rules were posted late Monday afternoon as a Public Inspection Document. They are scheduled to be officially published in Wednesday’s edition of the Federal Register and will go into full effect by no later than Nov. 14, giving racing associations, totalisator companies, and advance deposit wagering (ADW) operators up to 45 days to implement these important changes; however, some may elect to start as soon as Thursday.
“These landmark U.S. Treasury regulations will have an enormously positive impact on horseplayers, the racing industry, and the federal government,” said NTRA President & CEO Alex Waldrop. “I am extremely proud of the NTRA’s legislative team for spearheading this effort, which will prove to be among the most meaningful regulatory advances made by our industry in decades. The results of this much-needed measure will be horseplayers keeping more of their winnings, racetracks generating more pari-mutuel handle, and government collecting additional tax revenue. This is a sure bet where everyone wins!”
Added Waldrop: “This day would never have come without the persistence of Thoroughbred racing’s friends in Congress, especially Rep. John Yarmuth of Kentucky, Rep. Pat Meehan of Pennsylvania, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and our many bipartisan supporters on Capitol Hill. We also are indebted to the industry stakeholders and thousands of customers of Thoroughbred racing who signed our petition or submitted public comments in favor of these changes.”
Under the new regulations, the IRS will consider the inclusion of a bettor’s entire investment in a single pari-mutuel pool when determining the amount reported or withheld for tax purposes, as opposed to only the amount wagered on the correct result.
For example, the amount wagered by a Pick Six player who hits with one of 140 combinations on a $1-minimum wager now will be $140, which is the total amount bet into the Pick Six pool. This more accurate calculation will remove the significant reporting and withholding obligations on horseplayers and the unnecessary paperwork for the IRS that was a result of the prior rule that used only the $1 bet on the single winning combination as the amount wagered.
Chris Larmey
“This is a major victory for all pari-mutuel wagering customers,” said Judy Wagner, the Horseplayers’ Representative on the NTRA Board of Directors and winner of the 2001 National Horseplayers Championship (NHC). “It would not have occurred without the leadership of the NTRA and the support of thousands of horseplayers who actively participated in the process to modernize these regulations.”
In 2015 longtime horseplayers Judy Wagner and Chris Larmey traveled to Washington D.C. to discuss this vital issue with the Treasury Department.
The amended regulations, advocated by the NTRA and its legislative team, define the “amount of the wager” to include the entire amount wagered into a specific pari-mutuel pool by an individual – not just the winning base unit as is the case today – so long as all wagers made into a specific pool by an individual are made on a single totalisator ticket if the wager is placed onsite. The modernized regulations will have the same positive results for ADW customers and will not impact how those wagers are currently made.
View the full text of the new rule under section 3402(q) of the Internal Revenue Code here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2017-20720.pdf.
The NTRA has pushed for the modernization of pari-mutuel withholding and reporting rules for several years. As more and more pari-mutuel wagering was directed toward exotic wagering pools it become clear that the tax rules were becoming an increasing and unfair burden on horseplayers as those outdated rules significantly increased the incidence of winning tickets subject to withholding and reporting. These new rules are the product of all the work the NTRA, and other industry stakeholders, undertook with Congressional representatives and Treasury and IRS officials.
“This represents a great triumph by the entire NTRA legislative team, including the bipartisan Horse PAC, which played an instrumental role in the passage of these regulations that will benefit all segments of the industry,” said Horse PAC chairman William S. (Bill) Farish. “We thank the hundreds of individual stakeholders who contribute to Horse PAC; they played a major role in today’s victory.”
Waldrop noted that the NTRA has been working behind the scenes since January with industry groups – including totalisator companies, ADWs, and racing organizations – to ensure a smooth implementation for customers.
“For the industry to fully realize the benefits of modernized regulations for pari-mutuel withholding and reporting it is essential that we deliver a seamless transition to our customers,” he said. “We are optimistic that the industry will be fully prepared to institute these landmark changes by no later than November 14.”
Congratulations to all horseplayers nationwide!
Filed Under: Horse Racing News Tagged With: amount of the wager, Chris Larmey, cost basis, Horse PAC, IRS, Judy Wagner, Modernization of Pari-Mutuel Tax, modernized regulations, ntra, pari-mutuel withholding, tax, taxes, withholding and reporting of pari-mutuel, withholding and reporting of pari-mutuel winnings
Inside Horse Racing’s ‘Hunger Games’ in Las Vegas – Rolling Stone
March 17, 2017 by Editor Leave a Comment
NHC18 Champ Ray Arsenault
RollingStone.com: Inside Horse Racing’s ‘Hunger Games’ in Las Vegas
The NTRA National Handicapping Championship in Las Vegas brings together an assortment of horseplayers from all over the world. and more »
Source: Inside Horse Racing’s ‘Hunger Games’ in Las Vegas – Rolling Stone
Filed Under: Horse Racing contests & tournaments, Horse Racing News Tagged With: nhc, ntra, vegas
Easy Way for Bettors to Contact the United States Treasury Department
January 16, 2017 by Editor Leave a Comment
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) has announced that a system has been established at https://www.ntra.com/comment for individuals to submit an e-mail comment directly to the United States Treasury Department in support of newly proposed regulations related to withholding and reporting of pari-mutuel winnings.
The proposed regulations, which would replace outdated regulations adopted nearly 40 years ago, more accurately reflect today’s pari-mutuel wagering environment and will positively impact a significant percentage of winning wagers, particularly those involving multi-horse or multi-race exotic wagers. It is believed that the proposed changes will result in tens of millions of dollars in additional pari-mutuel wagering annually. If adopted, the new regulations will not only promote greater compliance and more accurate reporting and withholding by taxpayers but also reduce burdensome and needless paperwork system-wide.
Efforts spearheaded by the NTRA on behalf of the industry over the past two and a half years came to fruition on December 30 when Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published proposed guidelines designed to modernize withholding and reporting regulations. The 31-page Treasury document, “Withholding on Payments of Certain Gambling Winnings,” clarifies the phrase “the amount of the wager” to include the entire amount wagered into a specific pari-mutuel pool by an individual–not just the winning base unit as is the case today.
In the NTRA’s official response to Treasury on behalf of the industry, submitted Wednesday, NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop thanked the Treasury and IRS for recognizing the need to modernize regulations related to the withholding and reporting of pari-mutuel winnings and noted that the newly proposed regulations sufficiently address the industry’s concerns. Waldrop asked the Treasury and IRS to enact the new regulations as quickly as possible following a 90-day comment period that concludes on March 30.
This will positively impact a significant percentage of winning wagers, particularly those involving multi-horse or multi-race exotic wagers.
“With horseracing’s all-important Triple Crown season fast approaching, the NTRA urges Treasury and the Service to adopt the proposed regulations as final regulations as soon as it is administratively feasible. Horseplayers, tracks and other industry stakeholders, including governments, are eager to begin reaping the benefits that will result from these updated withholding and reporting rules,” Waldrop said.
The public comment system at NTRA.com/comment provides each person with a clear, consistent message asking the Treasury to adopt the proposed regulations and urging prompt action.
“A unified message of support is critical as the industry urges Treasury and the IRS to finalize the proposed regulations,” Waldrop added. “We ask all who participate in the horse racing industry to submit a comment to Treasury and the IRS using the NTRA system so that we can send the message loud and clear that all of horse racing supports these changes.”
Filed Under: Horse Racing News, Horse Racing Promotion | Marketing, Horse Racing Survival Tagged With: bettors, gambling, National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), ntra, pari-mutuel, tax, taxes, United States Treasury Department, W2G
2016 NHC Tour Comes Down to 5 Tournaments this Weekend
December 30, 2016 by Editor Leave a Comment
NHC TOUR LEADERBOARD ON THE LINE
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Thursday, December 29, 2016) – The 2016 NHC Tour’s cash prize pool of $315,000 as well as eligibility for additional bonuses at the world’s richest and most prestigious handicapping tournament – the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC), Jan. 27-29 at Treasure Island Las Vegas – will come down to five final events this weekend. A Saturday contest on NHCQualify.com, three days of qualifiers at Del Mar’s Surfside Race Place, and a New Year’s Day grand finale at Monmouth Park represent the only remaining chances for players to accrue NHC Tour points and increase their potential prize money.
The top 20 finishers on the NHC Tour will share in $175,000 of prize money, with the 2016 NHC Tour champion taking home $75,000, a trophy, and an automatic berth to the NHC 19 in January 2018. Second place will take home $20,000 and a trophy. The remainder of the cash prize pool is scaled from $15,000 for third down to $1,000 for 20th.
NHC Tour veteran Cheryl McIntyre enters the final weekend of play in first place with 19,898 points, more than 1,000 ahead of Tony Zhou in second with 18,698.
A separate “Second Half” prize pool will pay $10,000 to each of the top five finishers based only on results posted after August 1. Sam Alipio holds the edge in that race, though any top-five finish returns the same prize amount.
The top 150 NHC Tour point leaders receive an automatic berth to NHC 18 in four weeks (those that have already qualified do not receive an additional berth). The top 40 NHC Tour finishers will compete for the $25,000 Tour Bonus, which goes to the individual within that group with the highest finish at NHC 18.
Two lucrative bonuses restricted to specific players will also be decided this weekend. Friday’s NHCQualify.com tournament, the year’s final online qualifier, will determine shares of a $25,000 “Cyber Stars” bonus pool for the top five players based on NHC Tour points earned on NHCQualify.com, with $10,000 to the winner plus eligibility for a $1 million bonus should that player go on to win NHC 18. A $15,000 “Rookie” bonus pool will go to the top five player that signed up for the NHC Tour for the first time in 2016, with $5,000 to first.
George Chute, 15th in the overall NHC Tour standings, leads the “Cyber Stars” standings, while Peter Dresens, 47th overall, is the “Rookie” leader.
Full standings for the 2016 NHC Tour and the bonus divisions can be accessed online via the NTRA website at https://www.ntra.com/nhc/leaders.
Online registration for the 2017 NHC Tour opens Sunday, Jan. 1, at nhctour.com.
In its 18th year, the NHC is the most important tournament of the year for horseplayers and is the culmination of a year-long series of NTRA-sanctioned local tournaments conducted by racetracks, casino race books, off-track betting facilities and horse racing and handicapping websites, each of which sends its top qualifiers to the national finals. There are no bye-ins to the NHC. Each year, the NHC winner joins other human and equine champions as an honoree at the Eclipse Awards. In addition to the founding title sponsor, Daily Racing Form, the NHC is presented by Racetrack Television Network and Treasure Island Las Vegas.
For more information on the NHC Tour and a complete contest schedule, visit NTRA.com/nhc.
About the NTRA
The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky., is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development. The NTRA owns and manages the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance, NTRA.com, the Eclipse Awards, the National Handicapping Championship, NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program, and Horse PAC, a federal political action committee. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com, Twitter (@ntra) and Facebook (facebook.com/1NTRA).
Filed Under: Horse Racing contests & tournaments Tagged With: 2016 NHC Tour, contests, nhc, ntra, tournament
$3M Bonus Tied to BCBC and NHC Tournament Wins
NHC TOUR INTRODUCES $3 MILLION BONUS FOR BREEDERS’ CUP BETTING CHALLENGE-NATIONAL HANDICAPPING CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLE
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sunday, July 31, 2016) – – A $3 million National Handicapping Championship (NHC) Tour bonus – the largest prize ever offered in the handicapping contest world – will be awarded to any horseplayer who wins the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) November 4-5 and the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC) next January 27-29, the NTRA and Breeders’ Cup announced today. The “NHC Tour $3,000,000 Double” starts with the $1 million-estimated BCBC, a lucrative live bankroll contest with a $10,000 buy-in, and continues with NHC 18, the world’s richest and most prestigious handicapping contest, worth an estimated $2.8 million in cash and prizes.
The bonus was first announced during today’s NBC broadcast of the $1 million Betfair.com Haskell Invitational from Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.
Last year’s BCBC winner earned more than $300,000 and first prize at the NHC is $800,000, meaning that successful completion of the NHC Tour Double would be worth more than $4.1 million. Participating individuals must be a member of the NHC Tour ($50) to be eligible to win the lucrative bonus.
“This bonus ties together and strengthens the two most prestigious handicapping contests in the world,” said NTRA Chief Operating Officer Keith Chamblin. “Winning the BCBC in November and the NHC in January would be unprecedented and a feat worthy of the richest pay day in handicapping contest history.”
Now entering its eighth year, the $1 million-estimated BCBC has become one of the most sought after prizes on the tournament calendar. The BCBC, which offers 15 seats to the NHC in addition to cash prizes, is a highly lucrative and exclusive live bankroll handicapping contest with a $10,000 buy-in required to participate. Players enjoy first class access to the two best days of racing in the world with VIP seats that include buffet lunch each day and other amenities. Online and on-site qualifying tournaments, offering $10,000 berths into the BCBC as prizes, continue throughout the summer and fall leading to the November Breeders’ Cup. For more on the BCBC, visit breederscup.com/bcbc.
Qualifying for NHC 18 continues through January in scores of contests held on-site and online. Next weekend’s contest menu includes a Free-to-Play NHC online contest at NHCqualify.com offering four spots to the NHC. For more information on the NHC Tour and a complete contest schedule, visit NTRA.com/nhc.
In its 18th year, the NHC is the most important tournament of the year for horseplayers and is the culmination of a year-long series of NTRA-sanctioned local tournaments conducted by racetracks, casino race books, off-track betting facilities and horse racing and handicapping websites, each of which sends its top qualifiers to the national finals. There are no bye-ins to the NHC. Each year, the NHC winner joins other human and equine champions as an honoree at the Eclipse Awards. In addition to the founding title sponsor, the NHC is presented by Racetrack Television Network and Treasure Island Las Vegas.
About Breeders’ Cup
The Breeders’ Cup administers the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing’s year-end Championships. The Breeders’ Cup also administers the Breeders’ Cup Challenge qualifying series, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races. The 2016 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, consisting of 13 grade I races and purses and awards totaling $28 million, will be held November 4-5 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., and will be televised live by the NBC Sports Group. Breeders’ Cup press releases appear on the Breeders’ Cup Web site, www.breederscup.com. You can also follow the Breeders’ Cup on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube
Filed Under: Horse Racing contests & tournaments, Horse Racing News Tagged With: bcbc, bonus, Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge, contest, las vegas, national handicapping championship, nhc, ntra, touranament
The Evolution of the NTRA/DRF National Handicapping Championship (NHC)
January 15, 2016 by Editor 6 Comments
NHC star and NTRA’s Players Committee member Ross Gallo takes a comprehensive look at the history of the National Handicapping Championship.
Once upon a time, near the end of the last century, a group of horse racing dignitaries* that included my brother Randy Gallo, Steve Crist and Mandy Minger of the DRF, and professional handicapper Dave “The Maven” Gutfreund among others, gathered in a room at The Orleans in Las Vegas. This distinguished group would go on to lay the groundwork for what would become the National Handicapping Championship (NHC), a tournament like no other that was designed for the players.
The basic idea was for racetracks and OTB facilities around the country to host handicapping tournaments that produced four qualifiers. These tournaments would pay back 100% of all entry fees, and the qualifiers would receive an all-expenses paid trip to the NHC finals in Las Vegas to participate in one big money final tournament. At long last, we the players, the backbone of the industry but invariably treated as the ugly step-child, had something created with just our interests in mind. This premise was very appealing to horseplayers on a financial and ego basis. With only about 200 spots available in the early years, qualifying was quite an accomplishment, and to this day the NHC is still our only tournament that you must qualify for to play in.
That first tournament offered a top prize of $100,000, which was great, but payoffs only went down to 10th place. This pales in comparison to where we are now (which I’ll be covering soon), but still more than decent money. I’d like to relate a story from that inaugural event, that is an illustration of how having our own national championship immediately changed the psyche of everyone involved. Maury Wolff is a friend of my brothers. He is/was one of the most respected horse handicappers in this country, and has made a great living in this game. He qualified for that first NHC, but he wasn’t a tournament player per se and the $100,000 wasn’t going to change his life.
Maury had a dismal first day, I think he had $15 or something close to that, and at dinner that night I asked him if he was disappointed. He replied, “I can’t express to you how little I care about this tournament.” Well, on day two, Maury had one of the best days the NHC has ever seen, and in the last race of the contest, he correctly chose the winner, a 9-1 shot if I recall correctly. He proceeded to jump with joy like a child as the horse crossed the finish line, thinking he won the tournament. Unfortunately (for him), Steven Walker, a great player from the Midwest, had the same horse and he would become a worthy first champion. Maury had to settle for second, but I will never forget the unbridled display of emotion that he showed that day, something I had never seen before or since from him. I am not telling this story to make Maury look contradictory in his words and actions, and please if you’re reading this Maury, don’t take it that way. I’m certain he really didn’t care all that much, but when he realized he may have won the NHC? That is an ego boost that none of us could resist. Do you know a horseplayer without an ego? I don’t, and guilty as charged.
The NTRA
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association was formed in 1998, and their goals were simple and clear and paved with good intentions. They were going to promote racing and try to attract some new fans to our great game. Also, they would attempt to bring some uniformity to an industry that couldn’t be more splintered, with racing jurisdictions in Kentucky, New York, Illinois, Florida and California et al, playing by their own individual rules.
Imagine football, baseball or basketball games where the rules change every night depending on where the games are played. In any other walk of life that would be called anarchy, but we call it Thoroughbred racing. At first the tracks were all for it, with nearly all of them signing up with the NTRA and paying their dues. It didn’t take long for everyone involved to realize that the undertaking of getting these different interests to agree on anything was akin to herding cats. And after just a few years their “Go baby go!” slogan unfortunately got up and went.
The NHC was a noble creation, but in the early years it was more of an annoyance to the NTRA. They had bigger fish to fry. This is only my opinion, but I was around for most of them and I believe they felt their time was better spent on the bigger issues, not securing venues and overseeing such a large undertaking every January. I suppose I can’t blame them for that, but fortunately that mood changed as more and more tracks began pulling out of the NTRA. Ultimately, the NHC became top priority, and I think few would argue that the NTRA would have ceased to exist without it.
Times are changing
The landscape of the NTRA was changing, and even more so the NHC. The practice of 100% payback to the players at qualifying tournaments was short-lived. I for one wasn’t happy about it, but I absolutely understood the reason. At first, if you could get 100 players or more into your building to play in a tournament, you could count on serious handle through the windows. This would offset costs and often times the tracks or OTB’s would make money or at least break even from the one or two-day event.
Unfortunately a perfect storm was on the horizon. The emergence of rebate shops led to the handle at tournaments falling off precipitously. Most players were gambling on the phone or online, and it was at this same time that online tournaments began to take hold. The convenience of playing from home could not be ignored. As a result attendance at the brick and mortar tournaments began to wane as well and they were now looking to make money from the players through entry fee drags to cover expenses. It was either that or cancel their tournaments completely, which many did. So most live tournaments weren’t paying back anything close to 100-percent of entry fees and the online tournaments were all making money. [Editor’s Note: One of the few exceptions are the NYRA tournaments which still pay back 100% of the entry fees]. This practice angered many, including yours truly; but this country was built on free enterprise, and the growth that resulted for the NHC was immediate and substantial.
With the revenue generated by NHC Qualify and other sites, the NTRA could charge higher fees per qualifying spot. The original purse was $200,000, the top prize $100,000 and it remained that way for the first five years. When the internet became a major player, the increases were immediate and have continued every year since with new sites popping up out of the woodwork. This year’s NHC will have an estimated purse of over $2.6 million. The original 200 entry field will swell to over 600! Personal value has decreased though, and this is not up for debate. If you play and qualify on NHC Qualify, you get the trip and entry into the tournament but no prize money. This is bad personal value, and I for one do not participate in any tournaments that choose to take this route.
My brother drummed in my head to play value from a young age. He has made a living playing jackpot carryovers where your dollar is worth more than a dollar. At NHCQualify.com your dollar is worth about 70 cents. However, there is also no denying that they are one of the main contributors to the NHC’s massive growth. The prize money is huge now and interest is at an all time high and shows no signs of slowing down; even a cynic cannot argue that the current direction is not successful. They built it and we have come.
I am a member of the NTRA’s Players Committee and have been since it was formed. We are a varied group of knowledgeable horse players from all points of the compass. We are not paid. We rarely agree on everything, but one thing we are all in agreement on is trying to make the both NHC and this game better. We have meetings and debate many subjects and eventually come up with a consensus, and at the end we all support the majority even if it wasn’t the idea we personally had in mind, because we believe it is for the greater good. The NTRA always has final say, but very often they relent, if they can, to our suggestions.
Ron Rippey (Left), Mike Mayo (Right)
Mike Mayo was our original chairman, and he was a wonderful leader. He passed away in 2014 and I miss him everyday. He left his mark all over the NHC and last year he was one of the two original inductees into the newly formed NHC Hall of Fame with former NHC Champ, the late Ron Rippey. Chris Larmey, one of the best players in the world is our leader now, and he has continued Mike’s legacy of excellence. The NHC has changed drastically over the last several years and one could argue that most of the changes have been for the better.
The creation of the NHC Tour has increased interest and NTRA memberships have gone up every year since it began. The NHC itself has been expanded to three days from two, with only the top 10% surviving to play on day three, and finally the top ten entrants midway through day three, making for a seven-race dash to the wire.
Perhaps the biggest and most significant change occurred two years ago when players were allowed to qualify twice a year, a move I was very much against because it took away the level playing field the NHC had always had, one entry one person. But again, I understood the reasoning, and it, of course, worked quite well. In the past players that would qualify earlier in the year would oftentimes shut it down, but now with the opportunity to qualify again, they would keep playing. Couple that with the guys chasing the Tour prizes, the monster purse in Vegas, the new players that have been brought to the game, and tournament participation stays vigorous throughout the year.
The future looks bright for the NHC. The Daily Racing Form purchased NHC Qualify last year and they qualified a record amount of players, I’m sure you can count on more and more qualifying tournaments this coming year. More spots equals a bigger purse for the NHC, but also bigger profits for the parties involved. This tournament that was created FOR the players, has been built BY the players. I am ecstatic that the NHC has grown to what it is and am excited to see where it can eventually go, but it should be renamed, The Players Championship. The NTRA, DRF, NHC Qualify and others deserve credit for the vision they showed adapting to the times and persevering to success, but never lose sight of the fact that it is your dollars that are funding the growth.
Players Brad & Howard at the 2015 NHC
The NHC is still played under hypothetical rules, which means, scores are accumulated using track payoffs, and correct picks add to the player’s score. In recent years, real money tournaments have become popular with players and the venues. The reasons for the venue are obvious; the players are being “forced” to put their money through the windows, the scores are actually the player’s bankroll and the venue gets the handle. Real-money has been directly responsible for some tracks and OTB’s to get back into the tournament game. Theses tournaments are popular with the players because they have much more control of their fates during the tournament.
In hypothetical contests, if you get behind, many times you’re stuck playing hopeless longshots. If you bring exactas and trifectas into the mix, your options increase exponentially, and real-money tournaments are more like day-to-day wagering. I believe real-money is the future, and in turn attracting television could bring the NHC full circle, back to a tournament for the players.
If the prize money could be provided by a sponsor and not have to be generated by the players, then you would have a tournament that the people who came up with the idea in the first place, envisioned all along. The change to a “Final Table” of ten was designed with TV in mind. Keith Chamblin and Michele Ravencraft of the NTRA, are always trying to look to the future to make the NHC bigger and better. They work very well with The Players Committee and as I said before, they take our advice and implement suggestions when they can.
Poker has been our business model. They blew up when they began to show the players hole cards. We started that a couple of years ago at the final table, showing everyone which horse each player selected before the race went off. The increasing excitement was palpable in the room and a great step in the right direction. Poker focused on their colorful characters, and we can certainly hold our own with them on that front. One thing they do have that we don’t is a mindless game. Take the people reading skills out of it, anybody can learn the rules. Anyone can play pocket rockets.
Horse racing is a cerebral game, ‘a game of skill,’ as my friend Rich Nilsen is telling you everyday. That, unfortunately is our biggest obstacle in this short attention span, instant gratification world that we live in. Eventually, we’ll figure it out, but until then things are not so bad. The winner received $800,000 last year! The overall purse has increased over ten times in just 16 years. Where else in this game have they seen growth like that? Nowhere.
If you didn’t make it to Vegas this year, check out the live podcast. It really is pretty good and watching it will make you try harder to get there next year, I guarantee it!
* Editor’s note: Steve Wolfson, Sr., well known horseplayer and son of Harbor View Farm owner Louis Wolfson, was also instrumental in the creation of the NHC.
Filed Under: Horse Racing contests & tournaments, Horse Racing Promotion | Marketing, Horse Racing Survival, Industry Profiles Tagged With: a game of skill, Chris Larmey, Handicapping Tournament, Mike Mayo, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, nhc, ntra, Ron Rippey, ross gallo
Record $2 Million Purse for the 2015 National Handicapping Championship (NHC)
NEW YORK CITY (Thursday, June 19, 2014) – The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) today announced that the estimated purse for the 16th Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC), presented by Racetrack Television Network, Sovereign Stable and Treasure Island Las Vegas, has been increased 25 percent to a record $2 million. The 2014 NHC purse was $1,590,000.
An additional $200,000 in previously announced prize money will be distributed as part of the 2014 NHC Tour, bringing the estimated NHC and NHC Tour purses to $2.2 million.
The purse increases are fueled by robust participation in NHC qualifying contests by NHC Tour members (Tour membership is a requirement to be eligible to qualify for the NHC).
“Virtually all of our qualifying tournaments – onsite and online – continue to perform very well,” said Keith Chamblin, Senior Vice President of the NTRA. “We have more than 1,350 new Tour members thus far in 2014. The NHC will only grow as more people are introduced to tournament contests and experience the thrill of competing for a spot in Las Vegas and a chance at the winner’s share of $2 million in prize money. These are life-changing sums being offered to the top finishers.”
The 16th NHC will be held January 23-25, 2015 at Treasure Island Las Vegas. The 2014 NHC Tour schedule and the official rules for the 2015 NHC have been posted online at NHCTour.com. For the second year in a row, the Championship will feature a three-day format with a Final 50 and Final Table of 10.
Three tournaments scheduled for Saturday, June 21, offer NHC berths, including two online contests currently open for registration. DRF Bets (DRFBets.com) hosts the first of two Super Summer Challenge preliminary rounds leading to a July 5 final with four NHC spots up for grabs and HorseTourneys.com presents a “Live Format” NHC Qualifier with three guaranteed NHC entries available. The Belmont Park Handicapping Challenge at Belmont Park is sold out.
About the NHC
In its 16th year, the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship, Presented by Racetrack Television Network, Sovereign Stable and Treasure Island Las Vegas is the most important tournament of the year for horseplayers. There are no “buy-in” entries at the NHC. It is the culmination of a yearlong series of NTRA-sanctioned local tournaments conducted by racetracks, casino racebooks, off-track betting facilities and horse racing and handicapping websites, each of which sends its top qualifiers to the national finals. Every year, the NHC winner joins other human and equine champions as an honoree at the Eclipse Awards. The 15 NHC Champions since the event’s inception, in chronological order, are Steven Walker, Judy Wagner, Herman Miller, Steve Wolfson Jr., Kent Meyer, Jamie Michelson, Ron Rippey, Stanley Bavlish, Richard Goodall, John Conte, Brian Troop, John Doyle, Michael Beychok, Jim Benes and Jose Arias.
[show-callout-bar]
Filed Under: Horse Racing contests & tournaments, Horse Racing News Tagged With: contests, nhc, ntra, tournaments
New Format Announced for $1.5M National Handicapping Championship in Vegas
“Final 50” and “Final Table” Segments to Highlight the New Third Day of Competition
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced today the format for the $1.5 million- guaranteed Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC) held at Treasure Island Las Vegas January 24-26, 2014.
Next January’s 15th annual renewal of the NHC will feature a number of firsts. The competition has been expanded to three days and will feature a “Final 50” and “Final Table” on Day 3 of the tournament. Players reaching the “Final 50” will each be guaranteed prize money and compete for a seat at the “Final Table,” which will feature a five-race competition. The individual advancing to the Final Table and accumulating the highest individual cumulative bankroll from his or her 45 mythical win-and-place wagers placed over the three days will receive an estimated $750,000 grand prize and an Eclipse Award as the Handicapper of the Year.
“The new three-day format is designed to preserve the many aspects of NHC competition that our players have said they appreciate most—including two full days of robust tournament play featuring both mandatory and optional plays—while generating new points of intrigue and excitement on Day 3, including the ‘Final 50’ and ‘Final Table’,” said Keith Chamblin, Senior Vice President of the NTRA. “These changes to the NHC have been some 18 months in the making and are being undertaken after extensive research, input and feedback from thousands of NHC tournament players. In particular, I want to thank the NHC Players’ Committee and its chairman, Mike Mayo, for the important work the committee performed in helping us identify and develop this new format.”
The first two days of the tournament will have a familiar feel to past NHC contestants. Each of the first two days—Friday, January 24 and Saturday, January 25—will consist of 15 mythical $2 win and place wagers from among contest tracks. On Days 1 and 2, eight of the 15 plays will be on designated mandatory races, and seven will be on optional races of each player’s choosing. There will be no $4 best bet wagers at the upcoming NHC.
The top 50 individual scorers at the conclusion of Day 2 will move on to the “Final 50” on Day 3. A player may earn as many as two entries into next January’s NHC. However, there will be a maximum of one entry per individual in the “Final 50”. If a player has two entries placing among the top 50 scores after Day 2, the higher-scoring entry will move on to the Final 50, and the player will receive a cash bonus for his other entry.
Fiftieth place will serve as the NHC’s “money line”—which means that all 50 Day 3 finalists will be assured of a cash prize. All Day1/Day2 scoring totals will carry over to Day 3 for these finalists.
All those not in the top 50 at the end of Day 2 will have their scores reset to zero and be entered into a free, 10-race, $60,000-guaranteed consolation tournament on Day 3.
The “Final 50” and Consolation competitions on Day 3 will take place simultaneously from approximately 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. local Pacific time. Each of the competitions will consist of $2 win and place plays on 10 races. Three of the 10 plays will be on mandatory races, and seven will be optional race plays. The Final 50 and Consolation tournaments will utilize the same contest tracks and same mandatory races.
At the approximate 1:00 p.m. PT cutoff time, the Consolation tournament will conclude. Also at that point, the top 10 scorers (including any contestants tied for 10th place) will move on to the final segment of the NHC—the Final Table. Those Top 50 contestants not advancing to the Final Table will have their final finishing positions determined based on their scores as of the 1:00 p.m. Day 3 cutoff.
Final Table participants will again have their running score totals carry over into the Final Table. The Final Table segment will begin at approximately 2:00 p.m. PT (following a scoring audit) and consist of five $2 win and place selections—all on mandatory races. All Final Table selections must be made no later than approximately three minutes to post time, and all selections will be publicly announced in advance of the race. Contestants will not know their opponents’ selections at the time their own selections are entered. Updated standings will be announced following each Final Table mandatory race.
NHC Tour membership is mandatory in order to earn an entry into the NHC Finals—the lucrative culmination of the year’s qualifying schedule. Signups for the 2013 NHC Tour are now being accepted. There is a one-time 2013 membership fee of $50.
Click here for the complete format and rules for NHC 15
What do you think of these changes? Comment here on AGameofSkill.com
Filed Under: Horse Racing contests & tournaments, Horse Racing News Tagged With: contests, nhc, nhc 2014, ntra
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1644
|
__label__wiki
| 0.73831
| 0.73831
|
Anna Maria Helgadottir
Anna Maria Helgadottir (°1971, Reykjavik, Iceland) makes films, performances, installations and mixed media artworks. By questioning the concept of movement, Helgadottir tries to create works in which the actual event still has to take place or just has ended: moments evocative of atmosphere and suspense that are not part of a narrative thread. The drama unfolds elsewhere while the build-up of tension is frozen to become the memory of an event that will never take place.
Her collected, altered and own films are being confronted as aesthetically resilient, thematically interrelated material for memory and projection. The possible seems true and the truth exists, but it has many faces, as Hanna Arendt cites from Franz Kafka. By contesting the division between the realm of memory and the realm of experience, she absorbs the tradition of remembrance art into daily practice. This personal follow-up and revival of a past tradition is important as an act of meditation.
Her works isolate the movements of humans and/or objects. By doing so, new sequences are created which reveal an inseparable relationship between motion and sound. By putting the viewer on the wrong track, she finds that movement reveals an inherent awkwardness, a humour that echoes our own vulnerabilities. The artist also considers movement as a metaphor for the ever-seeking man who experiences a continuous loss.
Her works are given improper functions: significations are inversed and form and content merge. Shapes are dissociated from their original meaning, by which the system in which they normally function is exposed. Initially unambiguous meanings are shattered and disseminate endlessly. Anna Maria Helgadottir currently lives and works in Copenhagen.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1650
|
__label__cc
| 0.734505
| 0.265495
|
Alien, Comedy, Sci-fi
The Faculty (1998)
The late 90’s were a magical time. Ask anyone who spent their formative years during the time just before the turn of the millennium. Horror was just starting to make a comeback after a DOWN period, the internet hadn’t yet permeated our everyday lives, and we had no idea movies like The Faculty would come along and feature such early performances from a laundry list of Grade A talent. Just how good is it 20 years later? We’ll tell you via spoilery review below, but the short answer is - it’s radical.
Reviewed by: Jake
Plot Synopsis
Let’s keep this basic. The Faculty’s plot is basically one part The Breakfast Club/high school movie, one part invasion of the body snatchers conspiracy and one part The Thing. It’s elegant in its simplicity and it doesn’t really give a damn about being messy or derivative. A crew of high school seniors from all levels of the social pecking order uncover that an alien life form is taking over the faculty of their school and gradually overcoming everyone around them. Casey (Elijah Wood), Zeke (Josh Hartnett), Delilah (Jordana Brewster), Stokely (Clea DuVall), Stan (Shawn Hatosy) and Marybeth (Laura Harris) are left to try to stop the invasion and save themselves from being assimilated in the process.
Taking a cue from the alien invasion movies and book they know like The Thing and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the students begin to look for the alien queen to try to put a stop to things and they realize that the alien apparently needs a significant amount of water to keep from drying out and dying. Zeke has a homemade drug he sells to students that they begin using as a weapon to shrivel the assimilated faculty and students to death.
Things get dire and their numbers start to dwindle as they are picked off one-by-one and eventually, trapped in the school gym, Marybeth reveals that she is actually the alien queen. Casey is able to trap and kill her in the bleachers, returning everyone to normal and saving the town (maybe the planet). Hooray.
What the Movie Does Right
Did you see the cast? This is an absolute treasure trove of delightful actors, several of which are just getting their starts, making this a great time-capsule film. This is the first screen credit for both Jordana Brewster and Usher. It features Jon Stewart and Famke Janssen, and it’s a breakout for Elijah Wood before we went and played a hobbit in a certain movie series that did ok. Given how prolific and important Wood has become to the genre, this has to be pointed at as an important part of what made that happen. This is also directed by Robert Rodriguez. I am an absolute shameless From Dusk till Dawn fanboy (it’s my favorite horror movie) and some of his frenetic and extremely satisfying action-oriented shots are on display here as well.
Look at this cast.
A lot of the charm in this movie is in how it takes its influences and makes them work within it’s setting. Probably the best example of this is a recreation of the famous blood test scene from The Thing. In The Faculty, the students need to figure out if any of them are infected, and the way to find out is to snort Zeke’s drug in his basement. If they are human they will trip balls but be fine. Alien? They’re dead. This is a hilarious take on an iconic scene and it works super well for the film.
Finally, for the sake of brevity, I will just say that this movie is a delightful time capsule and a bit of an Easter egg treasure trove. The soundtrack is specific and on point for the era, the movie hits the high school tone out of the park and is full of things that fans of the actors, director and action/sci-fi/horror in general can sink their teeth into. One of many examples is that Jon Stewart plays a teacher named Edward Furlong, which is the name of the actor who played John Connor in Terminator 2. Awesome.
What the Movie Does Wrong
Some folks will shit on the derivative elements of the movie and one thing that should be perfectly clear is that this movie is indeed taking and using the elements of the iconic sci-fi films within its own setting. That is not something I am going to consider it does wrong but that lack of originality might have an impact on some peoples’ viewing experience. I think where it gets more dicey is with the general messiness of the plot and with anything remotely approaching science. This movie doesn’t care at all about making the mechanisms that deliver a win for our protagonists make sense, and it certainly doesn’t give a fuck about explaining how everyone survived the film. They full-on decapitate Famke Janssen’s character in this flick and she’s just fine at the end of the movie, like everyone else. If that sort of thing bothers you, you’re probably gonna have a bad time with this flick.
The other main item that belongs in this category is any of the CG effects. There are quite a bit of awesome practical effects in the film, but some really, really heinous looking CG. See earlier point about Famke Janssen’s character. That shit looks preposterously bad.
Ratings (1-10)
Story: 4 - This is a derivative plot that does several interesting things but never feels like it is doing anything high minded. That’s just fine but it won’t net high scores.
World-Building / Immersion: 9 - Rodriguez movies have a direct line to my immersion-bone. I can’t take my eyes off screen in this movie. And that is in spite of the totally messy and unbelievable mechanism that the resolution of the story leans on. As mentioned before, results will vary in this category but for me, this is a great time and one I easily get sucked into.
Scare-Factor: 3 - This is not a very scary movie. There are a couple grisly scenes but it all has more of an action feel in practice than a scary vibe.
Effects (or Judicious Lack Thereof): 7 - All the practical (and there is a pretty good amount) looks great. The CG looks horrible. From an audio standpoint, the score is immensely awesome.
Overall: 7.5 - I feel shame that this was my first time experiencing The Faculty but I will now see it at least annually for the rest of my days. Give it a go.
A to Z Horror
We are so, so sorry about this but it was really only a matter of time until we took the dive into the Scary Movie… https://t.co/ZgN26818gE
Love to hear this and happy we could help at all! Though, objectively, I'm not sure we should be associated with ps… https://t.co/X57QQ7fbiM
RT @don_anelli: Today's #Horror #Podcasts: @NFW_Podcast @ZeroRoomInHell @TPUTScast @BTVcast @Str8_Chilling @thehorrorbiz666… https://t.co/Xol7bvMZcR
Tagged: The Faculty, Robert Rodriguez, Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Famke Janssen, Usher, Jon Stewart, Jordana Brewster, Clea Duvall, Laura Harris, Shawn Hatosy
Newer PostByzantium (2012)
Older PostWhat Lies Beneath (2000)
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1653
|
__label__cc
| 0.576926
| 0.423074
|
James Elsey
I am a PhD candidate in Clinical Psychology, working under the supervision of Prof. Merel Kindt, Prof. Arnold van Emmerik, and Prof. Arnoud Arntz. My research focuses on the translational applications of memory reconsolidation. Specifically, I am assessing whether fear memory reactivation followed by the administration of propranolol can be a means of tackling a range of specific fears and phobias, from spiders to social anxiety. Beyond these clinical applications, my work has considered the ethical implications of memory reconsolidation and other neuroscientific developments (i.e., neuroethics), as well as the optimal means of providing evidence for reconsolidation in human studies.
Outside of my work on memory reconsolidation, I am interested in the promises and pitfalls of novel technological, pharmacological, and psychotherapeutic trends for individuals and society, from consideration of psychedelic drugs to virtual reality technology.
I completed my undergraduate BSc in Psychology at University College London (UCL - First Class Hons). My MSc in Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology (Distinction) was a joint program between UCL and Yale University. While at UCL, I worked as a research assistant for both Prof. Essi Viding and Prof. Helene Joffe. Under the supervision of Prof. Marc Potenza at Yale, I investigated the neurobiological impact of childhood trauma using fMRI, and published further work on impulsivity and behavioural addictions. Following my MSc, I stayed in the States for a further year, working as a research associate with Dr. Jennifer Harris at the Yale and then UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, where we assessed how advertisers target children and teens with unhealthy foods.
http://www.uva.nl/en/profile/e/l/j.w.b.elsey/j.w.b.elsey.html
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1654
|
__label__cc
| 0.600226
| 0.399774
|
Nibru overview
Other name(s) Nippur
Modern name(s) Afak
Section Lower Mesopotamia
Latitude 32.12693858 N suggest info
Info City in the middle of Sumer and center of the Enlil cult.
Nippur is one of the most ancient of all the Babylonian cities of which we have any knowledge (some historians date it back to 5262 BC) , revered cultic center, and seat of the worship to the Sumerian god, Enlil (ruler of the cosmos, subject to An alone) and housed the Ekur, temple of Enlil, leader of the pantheon. According to political ideology, all kings who exercised hegemony in southern Mesopotamia were seen as having been given the kingship by Enlil, and they showed their respect to him by building projects and dedicating war booty and cultic objects.
Underscoring the city's religious purpose is this fact: in Sumerian cuneiform, the signs that translated as 'Nibru' and 'Enlil' are one and the same.
One of the largest sites in Mesopotamia, Nippur covers about 150 hectares, measures over 1-1/2 km across, and rises as much as 20 kilometers above the plain. The site is divided in two by the dried bed of a watercourse. In addition to the Ekur complex, consisting of a ziggurat and temple to Enlil, are other temples, the most important of which is the Inanna/ Ishtar temple. Careful excavations here uncovered more than 20 building levels from the Middle Uruk (4000 BC) - Parthian (220 AD), providing the longest continuous archaeological sequence for Mesopotamia. Small finds include statuary, plaques with carved reliefs, objects with relief decoration and cylinder seals, and foundation deposits,; while the cuneiform texts discovered detail the operation and bureaucratic administration of the temple complex. Many tablets were excavated in an area of the eastern mound known as Tablet hill or the Scribal Quarter. As late as the Parthian period, the Inanna temple was rebuilt, and a fortress was built in the ziggurat area.(which could not be excavated further, as the Iraqi Dept of Antiquities wanted to leave the Parthian fortress standing).
University of Pennsylvania, late 19th c.; Oriental Institute, University of Chicago and University of Pennsylvania, mid 20th c.; Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, mid-late 20th c.
Ubaid to Parthian periods
time frame from 5200 BCE to 2000 BCE
32.126939, 45.230785 === 32.126939 N, 45.230785 E === 32° 7' 37.0" N, 45° 13' 50.8" E
Web Nibru at Wikipedia
Nearest sites Puzrish-Dagan, Tell Drehem, circa 8.9 km (5.5 mi) south-east
Isin, Ishan al-Bahriyat, circa 27.2 km (16.9 mi) south
Sharrakum, Urusagrig, circa 18.8 km (11.7 mi) east
Mashkan-Shapir, Tell Abu Dhuwari, circa 31.3 km (19.5 mi) north
Kesh?, Abu Salabikh, circa 21.9 km (13.6 mi) north-west
Umm al-Hafriyat, circa 23.4 km (14.5 mi) east
Ishan Abu Basur esh-Sharqi, circa 29.3 km (18.2 mi) north-east
Tell Abu Dhaba, circa 33.4 km (20.7 mi) north-east
Abar Yafa, circa 34.2 km (21.2 mi) north
Kisurra, Tell Abu Hatab, circa 39.8 km (24.7 mi) south-east
Tell Banura, circa 36.5 km (22.7 mi) north-east
Shuruppak, Tell Fara, circa 46.9 km (29.2 mi) south-east
Marad, Wana as-Sadoum, circa 42.3 km (26.3 mi) west
Kesh?, Larak?, Tell Wilaya, circa 45.4 km (28.2 mi) north-east
Ishan Abu Hatab, circa 68.1 km (42.3 mi) north-west
Ishan Abu Qabr, circa 73.5 km (45.7 mi) north-west
Niru, Jemdet Nasr, circa 78.2 km (48.6 mi) north-west
Abu Biyariq, circa 73.4 km (45.6 mi) north-west
Karunah, circa 71.7 km (44.6 mi) north-west
Tell Shmid, circa 71.9 km (44.7 mi) south-east
Tags Settlements
Database ID 36, created 15 Jun 2008, 15:14, Last changed 15 Apr 2012, 19:06
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1655
|
__label__wiki
| 0.545085
| 0.545085
|
< Previous Talent
Next Talent >
Robert Goldsby
Robert W. Goldsby began his professional work in the theatre in a touring version of Three Men on a Horse for the troops in the Philippines in 1945 who were sitting in the mud waiting to go home after the war. Directed 153 Equity and University theater productions (including 11 plays by Molière, 46 classical plays from Aristophanes to Shakespeare to Giraudoux, and 98 plays from the modern repertory from Ibsen to Innaurato) in New York, Paris, Marseille, San Francisco. Served on the faculties of UCBerkeley, Columbia, UCLA, Washington, and USC and did several master classes on Molière for Antaeus. Professor and Chairman Emeritus, UC Berkeley. He is currently finishing a book called “Molière on Stage: A Director’s Story.” He has translated Sardou’s Divorcons for the West End in London (Comedy Theater), three plays by Molière and one by Feydeau.
Talent Inquiry Form
Artist You Are Inquiring About *
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1657
|
__label__cc
| 0.748662
| 0.251338
|
Peter Murrieta is an American television producer and writing, is best known for his work on the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place, in which he served as head writer and executive producer during the first three seasons. He went on to win two Emmy Awards.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1661
|
__label__cc
| 0.547114
| 0.452886
|
Retail Groups
Commercial Organisations
Functional Roles
Solution roles
Data Managers/Owners
Data Auditors
Compliance Officers
Agility DataBroker for Auditors
"Big data and analytics promise to transform auditing, but there are still a number of barriers to successfully integrating them into the audit" – Ernst & Young Reporting magazine.
While it is true that current auditing standards have their roots firmly in the traditional audit process, where samples of transactions are examined rather than an entire body of data, auditors cannot ignore the proliferation of data, especially big data. Indeed, Ernst & Young believe that the end goal is to have intelligent audit applications that function within companies’ data centers and stream the results of proprietary analytics to audit teams. There are, however, significant obstacles to overcome in reaching that goal. Ernst & Young identified data capture as one barrier to successful integration. “Companies invest significantly in protecting their data, which makes the process of obtaining client approval for provisional data to auditors time consuming,” the article says. “In some cases, companies have refused to provide data, citing security concerns.” Other concerns are that auditors encounter hundreds of different accounting systems and multiple systems within the same company, all containing different sets and types of data, and that embracing big data will increase the complexity of data extraction and the volumes of data to be processed.
As the Association of Chartered Accountants said in the members magazine, "The quantity of data produced by and available to companies, the replacement of paper trails with IT records, cloud storage, integrated reporting, and growing stakeholder expectations for immediate information — any one of these alone would affect the auditing process, but big data is bringing them all, and more, at the same time.”
We believe that Agility DataBroker, a computer software framework from Arjuna, can provide a mechanism to solve current data-related problems, including the proliferation of data in the cloud, while establishing a framework that will allow movement towards the intelligent auditing of the future.
Most companies consist of a number of departments each of which needs to use data from a different perspective. As a result of this segmentation, data can be duplicated, errors can proliferate, money can be wasted and decisions are often made without access to the information embedded in the data available. Joined-up thinking is difficult without joined-up data to base it on.
Agility DataBroker allows a company to specify what subset of data is required, where that data goes, who may access it under what circumstances and to combine that data with other data sources so that meaningful information can be extracted. Silos of information, in different forms, focused on specific functions such as CRM, supply chain management, and development data, can be collated through Agility DataBroker, and made available to users based on service agreements which enforce access policies. Data becomes available in a usable form by those who need access to it within the policies defined by the data owners. These policies can address all aspects of access e.g. security, pricing, licensing, and can be maintained dynamically within the software. Agility DataBroker can be initially used for integrating as few as two silos of information, but can scale to enterprise-wide use.
Many companies have inflexible legacy systems that impede data integration as well as silos of information stored in the cloud. Agility DataBroker can be used to extract data from the heterogeneous data sources, clean it, collate it, analyse it and distribute the resultant meaningful information to those users who need it, in the form that they require.
Data can be cross-checked or combined with external data sources to better extract meaningful information. In a world where the amount of data is growing faster than it can be used, Agility DataBroker provides a mechanism to improve services, cut down on waste, and generate information that is meaningful and usable.
No matter where the data is stored, or in what format, Agility DataBroker can be used to extract the data, clean it, combine it with other data sources, analyse it and present it to auditors in accordance with strictly enforced but dynamically customisable policies that implement the service agreements dictated by legislation, governance and good practice.
Agility DataBroker is a framework that allows an organization to unlock the value of data through its controlled consolidation, analysis and distribution. Agility DataBroker allows for data to be extracted from any combination of data sources, whether they sit in the Cloud or locally, under strictly enforced, but dynamically changeable service agreements which govern its use and deployment.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1662
|
__label__wiki
| 0.834314
| 0.834314
|
HORST BREDEKAMP - Bernini’s Bees – Picasso’s Bulls. On the Death of the American Art Historian Irving Lavin (1927–2019) (pp. 9–10)
World renown art historian Irving Lavin, born in 1927, perhaps held the most prestigious chair in art history: the professorship established by Erwin Panofsky at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. In the last volume of Panofsky’s correspondence, Lavin emerges as the preeminent talent of his generation, and it was thus only logical that after he had obtained his doctorate in 1955 and his professorships at Vassar College and New York University he was appointed as Panofsky’s successor in 1973. His defining research areas were the classic fields of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque, and above all the artists Donatello, Michelangelo, Caravaggio and Bernini. In particular, the work on Bernini has found an advancement by Lavin, which will endure.
In Hamburg, Lavin has made himself immortal as a Bernini specialist. Georg Syamken, curator of the Hamburger Kunsthalle, noticed a bust that had been in the depot of the Hamburger Kunsthalle as a work of the nineteenth century for several generations. When, in 1984, he voiced the suspicion to Lavin that it was a Baroque sculpture, Lavin was able to prove that it was the portrait of Cardinal Peretti-Montalto: a work of the young Bernini. The brilliance of the connoisseurship had been demonstrated precisely.
But Lavin’s research goes throughout the history of art and back to late antiquity. He authored fundamental publications on fifth- and sixth-century Tunisian floor mosaics, on the Duomo in Florence, on the architecture of the Baroque opera house. Then there is the great book on artistic exploration of the Song of Songs, together with his wife Marilyn Aronberg Lavin, an equally eminent art historian. And he continued to work to the end, as the following article testifi es.
Lavin was a highly influential and also argumentative scholar. He has played a similarly important role in American art history organizations like the College Art Association (CAA), as well as in the World Association of Art History, the Comité International d’histoire de l’Art (CIHA). Especially the latter was of special concern to him. He always stressed that the art history of the German-speaking world had in a way a leading role for the international repute of the field until the National Socialists put an end to it. Numerous Jewish art historians had to emigrate and the ties to international research were severed. For Lavin, who like his wife Marilyn was of Jewish origin, the standards devised by German immigrants remained an even higher benchmark. Among them were Richard Krautheimer and Ernst Kitzinger, with whom he studied as well as Horst W. Janson, who represented a concept of art history as a general visual history. On several occasions Lavin told what it meant for him as a student to have been trained by Janson to take fire hydrants and telephone poles as serious components of gestalt analysis and to perceive the entire environment as one Bildtheater that art history must accept and interpret.
Lavin eyed deconstructionism and the theoretical elaboration of art history suspiciously not, as many believe, because he wanted to preserve a conservative art history, but because he considered this tradition to be more topical and avantgarde than what presented itself as a new art history in the 1980s and 1990s. Those who were lucky enough to be invited to receive a scholarship from the Institute for Advanced Study, were able to experience that rigorous research could also be understood as an act of liberation. Lavin neither cared for conventions of ‘high’ and ‘low’ art or for the borders of near and far. It was memorable, with which pride he explained the American educational institutions with their civic commitment, and at the same time appreciated everyday culture in its authentic value. Anyone who raised their eyebrows over mass culture revealed to Lavin a curiosity that is the necessary elementary determination of all research. His commentary on Panofsky’s essay on the grille of the Rolls Royce contains his own methodological legacy. His essay on Picasso’s bulls is a similar masterpiece, presenting a parforce ride through the entire history of art from cave painting to contemporary art. His passion for collecting focused equally on the work of Bernini yet also on the toaster, that curious micro-architecture whose inner glow is often disguised by sophisticated containers.
A close friendship connected him with Frank Gehry, with whom he travelled again and again through Europe. The interior of Gehry’s Berlin DG-Bank at the Brandenburg Gate, that appears as if spanned by a mighty fabric sculpture, originated from the hoods of monks in which the sculptor Claus Sluter had cloaked the mourners at the tomb of Philip the Bold around 1400. On one of their travels, Lavin had introduced Gehry to the figures of the monks, who was deeply touched and excited by the interplay of stone and matter.
Irving Lavin was the living example of the incorporating powers that the Hamburger Warburg Library had developed in relation to the most various methods and fields of research. When, by the initiative of colleagues in Hamburg, and here in particular Martin Warnke, the opportunity arose to repurchase the building of the Warburg Library, Lavin became a strong advocate for this initiative. With his death, that occurred after a short, serious illness at the age of 91, the international research community and, in a special way, the tradition of the exiled art history of the German speaking world loses a historical – professionally as well as personally broadly radiating – icon.
(Translated from the German by Uta Nitschke-Joseph)
A cut version in German appeared in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 9 February 2019, p. 11.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1663
|
__label__cc
| 0.684567
| 0.315433
|
Par Deus
Par Deus last won the day on February 9 2018
Par Deus had the most liked content!
About Par Deus
Supplement God
sword-
BrettDaulp
BillySip
Lestershoelldox
rapedMap
Probiotics, the Gut, and Muscle Mass -- Part 5
Par Deus posted a blog entry in Product Science
Butyrate Way back when we talked about SCFAs positive effects on inflammation and permeability of the gut, we said we would get back to its actions outside of the gut, and here we are. In addition to butyrate’s peripheral anti-inflammatory effects via keeping LPS contained inside the gut, it also directly inhibits TNF-alpha and the inflammatory response to LPS (460, 461). Elimination of the gut microbiome (thus SCFA production) with antibiotics decreases IGF-1, which is restored with SCFA administration (462). Dietary administration of fellow SCFA, propionate, up-regulated the expression of GH, IGF1 and down-regulated myostatin (463). Butyrate improves insulin-resistance in skeletal muscle, along with its induction of Akt (464, 465). And, it increased muscle fiber cross-sectional area along with improving glucose metabolism in aged subjects (466). Let’s take a closer look at some of the several mechanisms through which it works. GLP-1 Activation of Free Fatty Acid Receptors (FFAR2 & FFAR3) in the gut by butyrate stimulates the release glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) which then enters the blood stream (467, 468). Much like insulin, GLP-1 activates the anabolic Akt/mTOR pathway (469, 470, 471, 472). It also promotes dilation of muscle microvascular (473, 474). This enhances nutrient uptake in the muscle cell and is dependent on Akt/mTOR upregulation of nitric oxide production (475, 476). Its effects in this regard were both independent of, and additive to, insulin (477, 478). Recall also the positive effects of NO on satellite cell activation, muscle regeneration, and repair discussed earlier. In addition to skeletal muscle microvasculature, GLP-1 also significantly increases vasodilation and blood flow in large vessels like the brachial and radial arteries and femoral vein (479, 480). Treatment with GLP-1 improves exercise capacity and mitochondrial function, as well as skeletal muscle mass and strength (481, 482). HDAC While GLP-1’s positive effects in muscle begin with butyrate activity in the gut, butyrate, itself, is also taken up from the gut and enters the systemic circulation producing direct actions that support muscle growth. One of the primary mechanisms is its function as a Histone De-Acetylase (HDAC) inhibitor. This is epigenetic stuff. To put it simply, epigenetics involves (heritable) changes in gene expression without change to the DNA sequence, itself. It basically changes how the DNA is interpreted, similar to translating a foreign language book. The original book (DNA) stays the same, but a different author (epigenetics) is going to translate it differently. Negative epigenetic changes are a huge part of the build-up of dysfunction with aging in everything from metabolism, to muscle mass, to the brain, with inflammation being a particular culprit (483, 484, 485). Propionate and acetate also augment histone acetylation, but the bulk of the data is on butyrate (486, 487). HDAC inhibition amplifies Akt/mTOR signaling, as well as preventing induction of atrophy genes (488). Increased histone acetylation blocks downstream activity of glucocorticoids, including FoxO (489, 490). Inhibition of HDAC during muscle disuse significantly attenuated both disuse muscle fiber atrophy and contractile dysfunction via FoxO (491). The effects of acetylation on FoxO, and other targets such as mTOR, appear to be quite similar to phosphorylation with Akt, though data is still new and scarce (492, 493). But, that will definitely be something to keep an eye on. Finally, inhibition of HDAC activity significantly enhanced androgen receptor mediated protein synthesis (494). You have likely heard the term “muscle memory”, but you may not know that skeletal muscle stem cells do indeed have a memory that is created epigenetically. Stem cells from muscles of young, aged, physically active, and diabetic subjects carry on their altered metabolic characteristics when isolated and cultured (495). In other words, the bad (or good) epigenetic build-up semi-permanently alters them to such an extent that it is maintained when they are taken out of subjects and grown in a lab. HDAC inhibitors promote muscle regeneration through epigenetic regulation of both satellite stem cells and differentiated muscle cells (496). Via upregulation of follistatin (basically the anti-myostatin), HDAC inhibition also blocks the adipogenic potential of stem cells, pushing them toward the formation of muscle cells rather than adipocytes (497, 498). The importance of HDAC inhibition reversing long-term damage from inflammation and aging basically cannot be understated. Heat Shock Proteins Butyrate also induces Heat Shock Proteins (499, 500). Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) are called such because they were initially discovered in cells subjected to hyperthermia, but they function as a protective and subsequent regenerative and repair mechanism against all kinds of cellular stressors (501). Other HDAC inhibitors induce HSPs as well, suggesting this as butyrate’s mechanism in this regard (502, 503). Induction of HSPs protects intestinal epithelial tight junction barriers, decreasing LPS leakage, and reducing the inflammatory response (504). Increased HSP levels also reduce TLR-4, and the subsequent production of TNF-alpha and NF-κB (505). HSPs strongly blunt increases of cortisol to stressors (506, 507). The synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone decreased myotube diameter and protein content, and heat stress prevented this along with recovering Akt signaling (508). HSPs directly bind to and protect Akt, and HSP induction defends against glucocorticoid induction of catabolic FoxO via Akt (509, 510). Silencing of HSP genes decreases Akt and myotube diameter while increasing FoxO, and treatment with an HSP inducer reverses this (511). Exercise also increases HSPs, along with Akt and downstream anabolic signaling (512). Aged subjects have a blunted HSP response to exercise, along with decreased muscle repair, which is reversed with HSP overexpression (513). HSPs’ positive effects on muscle repair and regeneration seems to be to some extent from protection of satellite cells (514). Androgens and Clenbuterol also strongly upregulate HSP expression, with this likely being particularly important for Clen’s anabolic effects (515, 516, 517, 518). Angiotensin II Last but not least, butyrate protects against the negative effects of Angiotensin II (Ang II). Like butyrate, itself, Ang II produces effects both inside and outside the gut. But, its effects are negative. It is kind of a wingman of LPS in that regard. It also displays bi-directional communication between the gut and brain in hypertension, much like cortisol with stress (519). In addition to its effects on blood pressure, it is strongly induced by LPS and mediates some of the inflammatory response to it (520, 521, 522). LPS induction of Ang II may be through TNF-alpha, but it is also a direct ligand for TLR-4, just as LPS is (533, 534, 535). It is a really interesting molecule, and Renin-Angiotensin a really interesting system, as it ties high blood pressure in with inflammation, insulin resistance, and the cardiovascular system in Metabolic Syndrome. You will likely hear a lot more about it over the next 5-10 years, but parts of the understanding are still relatively in their infancy, so we are going to keep it fairly brief. There is a decrease in microbial richness and diversity in hypertension and with Ang II infusion, as well as decreases in acetate and butyrate producing bacteria (536). This is accompanied by increased intestinal permeability and decreased tight junction proteins (537). Butyrate administration elevated Akkermansia levels, with significant positive effects on inflammation and ROS, and led to improvement of hypertension (538). Butyrate significant reduces blood pressure, as well as TNF-alpha, in response to Ang II infusion (539, 540). Data on other HDAC inhibitors indicate that this may be a primary mechanism for butyrate’s antagonism of Ang II’s actions. HDAC inhibitors prevented inflammation and ROS from Angiotensin II (541). They also protected against Ang II induced hypertension and vasoconstriction (542). And, again, the semi-permanent nature of epigenetics makes this especially important. Outside of the gut, Ang II basically does all of the same bad stuff as LPS because, as we mentioned, it mediates some of LPS signaling, plus shares signaling downstream from TLR-4. It shares the same link between inflammation and insulin resistance, and ACE inhibitors or Ang II receptor blockade reverses these (543, 544, 545). It reduces protein synthesis and increases catabolism, leading to muscle atrophy (546). Ang II inhibits the insulin and IGF-1 signaling pathways via Akt inhibition (547, 548). It impairs insulin stimulated nitric oxide and vasodilation (549). This is, once again, via the Akt/mTOR pathway (550, 551). As a result, Ang II also reduces muscle regeneration and satellite cell differentiation into muscle fibers (552). Finally, it increases the glucorticoid/myostatin catabolic pathways (553, 554). Will it work for me and what to expect With the science out of the way, the obvious question is “How much do you need and/or should you want pro- and prebiotics to fix your gut and your body?” Because the gut and systemic inflammation affect every system, and basically every cell, in your body, a good probiotic/prebiotic combo kind of stands apart from any other category of supplement. It is most analogous to going from a shitty diet to a good diet or from an okay diet to a perfect one. We briefly mentioned hardgainers and the “skinny fat” phenotype, earlier. You definitely want to fix your gut. I would expect around an extra 10 lbs of muscle in a year, as your body starts living up to its genetic potential. For significantly fat people (and, even moreso, if showing signs of glucose intolerance), you absolutely need to fix your gut. I would expect very noticeable body composition changes in 1-3 months, and borderline miraculous ones in a year. This article has been about muscle mass, but as we alluded to with the mention of Metabolic Syndrome, the gut and inflammation play a huge role in health, as well. Other general parameters pointing toward its usefulness for you are being over 30, the fatter you are, the worse your diet is, being in a calorie surplus, and having a (personal or family) history of inflammatory related conditions (heart disease, blood pressure, auto-immune, IBS/IBD, etc.). On other hand, if you are 19, quite lean, on great diet with low-moderate carbs including fruits and veggies, with an iron stomach, and in a calorie deficit, it is not going to noticeably do a lot for you. It would be much more of a preventative measure to keep your cells young as you get older, to keep you still being awesome 5-10+ years from now. A big exception would be during bulking phases – and, the dirtier the bulk, the more it would help. Likewise, if you tend to go off the rails during holidays or vacations, it is damage control.
the gut
Outside of the Gut If you are not already convinced of the benefits of pro- and prebiotics on muscle mass, it gets even more interesting outside of the gut. Getting back to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) produced by a dysfunctional microbiota, once it has escaped the leaky gut, it sets off an anti-anabolic, pro-catabolic cascade of inflammation and reactive oxygen species (ROS), systemically (298). As we have mentioned, your body views LPS as an outside, pathogenic invasion via TLR-4. And, it literally is, as these bacteria are living, foreign invaders, thus immune defenses are activated. In such an attack, metabolically expensive skeletal muscle is not prioritized – quite the opposite, in fact. Amino acids and protein synthesis are prioritized for the immune response, at the expense of muscle tissue (299). The activity of insulin and other growth factors like IGF-1 are reduced, as are the levels and signaling of testosterone (300). At the same time, catabolic signals such as glucocorticoids, myostatin, NF-kB, and FoxO are upregulated, activating atrophy producing genes, which initiate the physical breakdown of proteins in muscle (301, 302). Obviously, that is all very bad for muscle size and body composition, so let’s take a look at these pathways in more detail. These will be kind of complicated, so some may better visualize and understand by also viewing the attached GRAPHIC LPS and Anabolic Pathways This is simplified, but the anti-anabolic signaling pathways of LPS basically proceed as follows: LPS/TLR-4/TNF-a/ROS DECREASES Insulin&IGF-1 signaling/Akt/mTOR/Protein Synthesis LPS/TLR-4/TNF-a/ROS DECREASES Amino Acid signaling/mTOR/Protein Synthesis LPS/Cortisol/ROS/Myostatin DECREASES Akt/mTOR/Protein Synthesis To reiterate at risk of being repetitive, the body views lipopolysaccharide (aka endotoxin) as an attack. LPS is a ligand of TLR-4, which literally exists to recognize molecular patterns of pathogens and toxins, then subsequently activate the inflammatory immune response in self-defense. This is great, when your body needs to occasionally protect itself. It is very bad when it is constant and chronic because of diet and lifestyle. LPS injections result in a 50% fall in protein synthesis in skeletal muscle, along with a 60-100% increase in muscle protein degradation (303). Decreases in muscle protein content from LPS are equivalent to those with starvation (304). However, the rate of protein synthesis in the liver and plasma proteins, especially albumin and immunoglobulins, is greatly increased to match (305, 306). Basically, amino acids from diet and muscles are being commandeered for the battle (307). You are not going to get that high of LPS levels from dysbiosis of the microbiota, unless you have sepsis inducing food poisoning or the like, but it goes to show how powerful LPS is as an anti-anabolic, pro-catabolic trigger. Obesity and type-2 diabetes are known to be associated with a chronic, low-grade inflammatory state, and this is accompanied by impairment of protein metabolism such as a lack of stimulation of protein synthesis by insulin and amino acids, as well as lower inhibition of proteolysis by the same (308, 309). The protein synthetic response to exercise is blunted in obesity compared to the lean as well (310). Disruption of the mTOR pathway, and its stimulation of protein synthesis, is also seen in these subjects (311) (312). However, chronic excessive energy intake and increased adiposity, without the metabolic disturbances, do not induce any changes in tissue protein synthesis rates, indicating the primacy of inflammatory pathways in these effects (313). LPS diminishes the anabolic sensitivity to BCAAs and EAAs (314, 315). It also reduces IGF-I levels (316). Repeated LPS administration decreases muscle weight and muscle fiber cross sectional area (317). In addition, LPS treatment reduces blood flow in muscle by as much as 70% (318). So, not only are your muscles less sensitive to various anabolic signals, less of those are even getting there. Exercise reduces the LPS receptor, TLR-4, along with LPS induced inflammation (319). Via TLR-4, LPS massively increases TNF-alpha, the next step in the inflammatory equation – and, inhibition of TLR-4 reverses this (320, 321). TNF-alpha is highly involved in muscle wasting and kicks off the ROS cascade that invokes myostatin, NF-kB, and ceramides, which we will get into in a bit (322, 323, 324). LPS induced TNF-alpha increases result in decreased body and skeletal muscle weight, and TNF-alpha shares with LPS an elevated rate of BCAA oxidation (325, 326). LPS promotes TNF-alpha mRNA transcription, with subsequent declines in IGF-1 (327, 328). Direct TNF-alpha administration also lowers IGF-1, along with gastrocnemius weight (329, 330). TNF-alpha completely prevents insulin-mediated augmentation of capillary recruitment and blood-flow as well, inhibiting skeletal muscle glucose uptake by more than half (331). Reducing TLR-4 and TNF-alpha increases the anabolic signal transducer “Akt”, which we will talk a bit about, now (332). Akt You possibly have never even heard of it, but Akt (also known as Protein Kinase is one of the most important molecular signals controlling skeletal muscle mass. It affects both anabolism, through mTOR regulation of protein synthesis, and catabolism, through FoxO regulation of protein degradation (333, 334). Anabolic growth factors such as insulin, IGF-1, and testosterone, as well as factors inhibiting anabolism such as TNF-alpha and myostatin, transmit their cellular signals on hypertrophy and atrophy by altering the activity of Akt and its phosphorylation of its numerous downstream substrates (335). Basically, Akt turns pro-muscle growth targets on, and anti-muscle growth targets off. Genetic activation of the Akt/mTOR pathway causes hypertrophy and prevents atrophy, whereas genetic silencing blocks hypertrophy in vivo (336). Testosterone administration activates Akt signaling (337, 338). It upregulates the insulin-dependent Akt/mTOR signal transduction pathways in an androgen receptor dependent manner (339). Another androgen, Nandrolone, increases IGF-1 expression and its activation of Akt/mTor signaling while decreasing catabolic FoxO transcription (340). Resistance training induced muscle hypertrophy increases Akt and phosphorylation of mTOR, with a parallel drop in FoxO, and detraining does the opposite on all parameters (341). Mechanical overload also induces muscle hypertrophy via activation of Akt and its downstream anabolic pathways (342). LPS decreases Akt, along with its phosphorylation (thus, activation) of mTOR, as well as upregulating catabolic NF-kB and FoxO (343, 344). Increases in TLR-4 and TNF-alpha also downregulate Akt (345). Akt downregulation by TNF-alpha reduces skeletal muscle protein synthesis and increases protein degradation (346). Inflammatory cytokines like TNF-alpha decrease IGF-1’s activation of Akt, subsequently increasing expression of muscle atrophy-related genes (347). Elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by TNF-alpha inhibits Akt/mTOR pathways and upregulates atrophy promoting genes (348, 349). And, as would be expected, ROS directly promote resistance to insulin signaling in skeletal muscle (350, 351). Amino acids and insulin fail to stimulate activation of Akt/mTOR mediated muscle protein synthesis in aged rats, a model of chronic, low-grade inflammation (352). Likewise, insulin resistant subject have reduced muscle Akt phosphorylation and negligible Akt mediated anabolic response to physiological insulin levels (353). mTOR You may be at least somewhat familiar with mTOR, as it is known to mediate increased protein synthesis from BCAAs such as leucine (354). LPS administration reduces phosphorylation of mTOR by Akt in skeletal muscle (355). Activation of TLR-4 by LPS inhibited the Akt/mTOR pathway, decreasing protein synthesis (356). Unlike insulin, amino acid action on mTOR induced protein synthesis is not modulated by Akt (357, 358). LPS also blocks leucine stimulated muscle protein synthesis, independently of Akt (359). Nitric Oxide and Satellite Cells The Akt/mTOR pathway also mediates the upregulation of nitric oxide (NO) by insulin (360, 361). Prolonged exposure to insulin (i.e. insulin resistance) desensitizes this pathway and blunts NO production (362). You probably are familiar with NO, as it is one of the more popular supplement categories, but we will still take a quick look at a bit of data. NO is a key messenger in myogenesis, particular in response to repairing muscle damage, such as from working out (363). It promotes muscle satellite cell activation and proliferation, as well as induction of myogenic genes such as myogenin and follistatin (364, 365). This satellite cell activation is dependent on the Akt/mTOR upregulation of NO production (366). Aging (which is associated with inflammation, hindered insulin signaling, and muscle loss) results in reduced activation and speed of satellite cell migration to half of that of young cells, which is reversed by NO (367, 368). Ceramides Ceramides are reactive lipid species that, for all intents and purposes, behave like reactive oxygen species (ROS) within muscle tissue (369). It is a 2nd messenger in TNF-alpha inflammatory signaling cascades (370). Ceramide accumulation in muscle is higher in obese and aged subjects, concomitant with decreased sensitivity to insulin and its anabolic effects (371, 372). Ceramide also decreases sensitivity of mTOR to amino acid induction of protein synthesis (373). In addition to insulin signaling, it diminishes anabolic responsiveness to IGF-1 by elevating Akt degradation (374, 375, 376). As would be expected, ceramide also reduces glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis, via inhibition of Akt/mTOR (377, 378). Of note, even though we are focusing on the anabolic and anti-catabolic actions when discussing insulin signaling pathways, uptake up glucose and amino acids, as well as glycogen synthesis, are generally increased when insulin sensitivity is increased. These are not divergent pathways. It simply is not our main focus, here. In addition to decreased anabolic activity, the decreased activity of Akt by TNF-alpha and ceramides also takes the breaks off of catabolic signaling via FoxO and NF-kB, promoting muscle atrophy (379, 380). Exercise (surprise, surprise) reduces muscle ceramide content, restoring insulin sensitivity (381). Testosterone The testis barrier basically works exactly the same as the gut barrier, including 1) being susceptible to increased permeability to LPS and inflammatory damage, 2) the enhanced expression of tight junction proteins and improvement of barrier function by bacterial fermentation products such as butyrate, and 3) modulation of all of this by the gut microbiome (382, 383). LPS administration in healthy subjects inhibits testosterone production directly in the Leydig cells of the testes (384, 385). Germ free mice (which do not have bacteria to produce SCFAs) show increased blood-testis-barrier permeability and lower testosterone production, which is fixed with probiotic administration (386), 387, 388). Obesity and metabolic syndrome are associated with lower testosterone levels, along with the low-grade inflammatory state (389, 390). A close relationship exists between the development of a pro-inflammatory state and the decline in testosterone levels, and these are thought to be very much causally linked (391, 392). Finally, heavy endurance exercise training (like marathons and such) is consistently associated with persistent low-grade systemic inflammation together with reduced free and total testosterone levels (393, 394). You are no doubt familiar with the positive effects of testosterone on muscle, so we won’t get into that, but I will just note that testosterone inhibits the LPS/TLR-4/TNF-alpha inflammatory, anti-anabolic/pro-catabolic pathways (395). LPS and Catabolic Pathways This is simplified a bit, once again, but LPS induced increases in catabolism basically proceed as follows: LPS/TLR-4/TNF-a/ROS INCREASES NF-kB/Atrogenes/Muscle Breakdown LPS/Cortisol/Myostatin DECREASES Akt INHIBITION OF FoxO/Atrogenes/Muscle Breakdown LPS/TLR-4/TNF-a/ROS/NF-kB<->Myostatin<->ROS<->NFKb and FoxO/Atrogenes/Muscle Breakdown Just like with inhibition of anabolic signaling, LPS escapes the gut, increasing inflammatory cytokines like TNF-alpha and reactive oxygen species throughout the body. This elevates NF-kB, which then triggers atrophy promoting genes (atrogenes) that subsequently induce the physical breaking down of proteins in muscle tissue. LPS also amplifies cortisol release, which increases myostatin, which inhibits Akt. This takes the breaks off of FoxO activated atrogene expression which, again, subsequently induces the physical breaking down of proteins in muscle tissue (396). There is also a feed forward myostatin/TNF-alpha/ROS/NF-kB loop, where they all increase each other, which results in activation of both NF-kB and FoxO (397, 398). NF-kB and FoxO, together, account for 95% of muscle fiber atrophy, so let’s take a look at some data on those two (399). NF-kappaB Nuclear Factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kB), along with FoxO, is one of the two primary atrogene activating pathways at the end of the LPS induced catabolic chain (400). It is induced by reactive oxygen species generated by TNF-alpha, and blocking ROS production prevents its activation by LPS administration (401, 402). Blocking TLR-4, upstream of TNF-alpha, also inhibits NF-kB (403). NF-kB is implicated in various models of atrophy (404, 405). It is significantly elevated, along with TNF-alpha, in myocytes from obese type-2 diabetics (406). Insulin resistant subjects display higher elevations in NF-kB in response to LPS than normal glucose tolerant ones (407). The resistance to the anabolic effects of exercise seen in aging is also associated a rise in NF-κB activity (408). Interestingly, the increases seen with aging, and the associated inflammation, is normalized with lifetime calorie restriction (known to be anti-inflammatory) in animal models (409, 410). Though, it increases catabolism in both slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers, NF-kB is more highly expressed in slow-twitch fibers (411, 412). It is particularly noted in disuse atrophy, so hopefully you already have that part of it covered with exercise (413, 414). It also inhibits Akt, perhaps via myostatin, which would ultimately also induce catabolic FoxO, which we will talk about next (415). Thus, its indirect negative effects of NF-kB on muscle may be even more important than the direct ones. FoxO The Forkhead Box O (FoxO) family is the second major atrogene activating pathway at the end of the LPS induced catabolic chain. It is induced by cortisol and myostatin, and it results primarily in atrophy of fast-twitch fibers (416). It is stimulated by ROS, likely through myostatin (417). FoxO is negatively regulated by Akt, as we mentioned previously (418, 419). When Akt’s inhibition of FoxO is removed, atrogenes are induced and loss of muscle mass follows (420, 421). It is inhibited by both insulin and IGF-1 signaling via Akt (422, 423). FoxO is likely the more important catabolic pathway vs. NF-kB, both because of the preferential fast-twitch degradation and because activation occurs in more common atrophy promoting situations due to the nexus with the ubiquitous Akt. Blockade of FoxO also prevents muscle atrophy from glucocorticoids, which leads us to our next segment (424). Cortisol Cortisol strongly activates both anti-anabolic (via inhibition of insulin signaling) and catabolic (via myostatin and FoxO) pathways, but we are putting it in the catabolic section. Being a stress hormone, it is triggered by not just perceived emotional stress, but energetic stress, such as with starvation, or for our purposes, the metabolic stress of the LPS induced inflammatory response (425). Before we get into the negative effects of gut dysbiosis on cortisol in relation to muscle, it should be mentioned that there exists a bidirectional communication system between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain (426, 427). A full treatment of the Gut-Microbiota-Brain axis is well beyond our scope, but in addition to dysbiosis and inflammation messing up the stress axis, stress and anxiety are signaled from the brain to the gut and mess it up, as well (428, 429). In other words, it is a feed-forward vicious cycle. Getting back to LPS and cortisol… As a systemic immunological stressor, LPS invokes a prolonged activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis via cytokines such as TNF-alpha, ultimately increasing cortisol release from the adrenals (430, 431). Cortisol is anti-inflammatory, and synthetic glucocorticoids are well known as being useful for this purpose (432). This anti-inflammatory activity, from an evolutionary perspective, likely serves as a mitigating factor in fever/ROS induced cellular toxicity (433, 434). Indeed, impairment of the HPA axis results in greatly increased lethality from LPS/endotoxic shock (435). Getting to cortisol and muscle, the purpose of cortisol with cellular stress such as from the LPS inflammatory cascade is to rapidly mobilize carbohydrate, fat, and protein stores to provide energy for the fight (436). With inflammation, protein is particularly in demand, as it is necessary for synthesis of acute phase reactants, which are a group of proteins that modulate the immune response (437). Thus, muscle protein synthesis is suppressed while breakdown is activated to provide said protein (438). This response also increases gluconeogenesis from amino acids preferentially over fatty acid oxidation as fuel to quickly provide ATP for increased energetic demands (439). We’ve basically mentioned all of that before, but it is worth repeating, as it is the “Why” on something meant to protect you going so terribly wrong. Cortisol quickly initiates muscle fiber atrophy, as IGF-1 and insulin signaling are blunted while myostatin is increased (440, 441, 442). This is mediated, downstream, through the Akt/mTOR and Akt/FoxO pathways, respectively (443, 444). Even worse, this atrophy is preferential toward high energy demanding fast-twitch fibers (445, 446). Glucocorticoids also initiate NF-κB activation, likely through the myostatin-ROS pathway mentioned earlier (447). In addition to insulin resistance through Akt/mTOR inhibition, glucocorticoids also reduce the activity of GLP-1, which we will talk about in a bit (448) Lactobacillus has been found to block restraint stress induced increases in LPS and cortisol (449). Interestingly, though cortisol inhibits mTOR’s anabolic activity, mTOR modulates glucocorticoid receptor function, counteracting its catabolic effects (450). So, more good news on BCAAs. Myostatin Myostatin is the major mediator in cortisol’s negative effects on muscle size, so we will give it its own little mini-section. It is upregulated by glucocorticoid administration and stress (451, 452). This stimulates muscle atrophy through a cascade of signals that includes activation of FoxO and NF-kB (453, 454, 455). Myostatin overexpression results in an atrophic phenotype with fast-twitch fibers being most sensitive (456). Myostatin also inhibits Akt, thus insulin and IGF-1 anabolic signaling through mTOR (457, 458, 459). Part 5 finale on Thursday, June 28th
Inside the Gut Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) Along with outcompeting the LPS producing bacteria that trigger inflammation, one of the primary and most basic ways by which probiotic bacteria work their magic is by fermenting prebiotics to produce SCFAs (primarily acetate, butyrate, and propionate). So, we are going to talk a bit about those, now. SCFAs primarily work through three mechanisms: 1) Decreasing inflammation and permeability in the gut 2) Activation of free fatty acid receptors, FFAR2 and FFAR3, in the gut 3) Inhibition of Histone De-Acetylase (HDAC) in skeletal muscle We will talk about the first one, now, as it occurs wholly inside the gut (though, it ultimately prevents bad things outside of it). The second one begins in the gut, but mostly does its work outside, so we will cover it a bit here, then get deeper into it and number 3, later, in the section on all of the stuff outside of the gut. I should probably further emphasize that the Gut-Microbiota-Muscle axis is not straight-forward linear and compartmentalized. There is inside and out, as well as back and forth, communication. There are also overlapping functions and pathways. LPS/inflammation increases gut barrier breakdown, thus its own leakage into the body, and SCFAs/butyrate directly reduce inflammation in addition to reducing LPS/inflammatory leakage by strengthening barrier function… in addition to directly attacking problems caused by inflammation related pathways in skeletal muscle. Anyway, back to SCFAs. Both acetate and propionate reduce inflammatory pathways of lipopolysaccharide like TNF-alpha and NF-kB (238, 239). However, butyrate is significantly more potent (240, 241). Butyrate also plays the most critical role in maintaining colonic health via modulation of intestinal cell growth and differentiation (242). It is the primary fuel source for enterocytes, being responsible for up to about 70% of their energy use (243, 244). Butyrate also dose-dependently reduces LPS impairment of tight junction permeability and intestinal barrier integrity. We’ll get into this more in muscle, but one mechanism by which it increases tight junction proteins is by preventing LPS induced inhibition of the anabolic Akt/mTOR mediated protein synthetic pathway (245). Butyrate also dose-dependently increases mucin protein contents of the mucosal layer of the intestine (246). The mucosal layer is the first line of defense against noxious substances and pathogens (247, 248). In addition to being food for some of the best bacteria, mucin improves adherence of probiotics to the mucosal layer of the intestine, thus mucins are perhaps the most important aspects of their viability and colonization (249, 250). Butyrate also improves intestinal barrier function via activation of AMPK (251). Sodium butyrate has been specifically found to be an AMPK agonist (252). And, butyrate increase tight junction assembly, thus improving barrier function, specifically through AMPK (253, 254). This seems like as good of a place as any to add a bit more about AMPK, really quickly, as it is one of the major targets in all of this inside the gut. AMPK AMPK is a primary signaler in the maintenance of tight junction integrity and intestinal barrier function. It is one of the most important pathways in preventing the “leaky gut” we have spoken of earlier in regard to LPS and other inflammatory and infectious molecules escaping into the body to wreak havoc (255, 256). As we’ve mentioned, modern food processing and the Western diet is a particularly egregious malefactor in all of this (257). In addition to its involvement in barrier function, AMPK activation is extremely positive for the great bacteria that we can’t get commercially. Metformin increased Akkermansia 18-fold through AMPK activation. Also, against a high-fat diet, it restored Bacteroides levels and normalized microbiota constituent ratios to that of lean subjects (258, 259, 260). It inhibited LPS induced inflammation and gut permeability increases, while improving glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity (259). Akkermansia increases are likely at least partially due to greatly elevated production of its favorite food, mucin, which is stimulated by AMPK. Its activation also reduces insulin resistance and adipose tissue inflammation in a high-fat diet (260). Free Fatty Acid Receptors Activation of FFAR2 by SCFAs suppresses insulin signaling in adipocytes, which inhibits fat accumulation in adipose tissue and promotes the metabolism of lipids and glucose in other tissues such as muscle (S2). Propionate and butyrate also both activate intestinal gluconeogenesis. Butyrate does so through AMPK, while propionate works through a gut-brain neural circuit involving FFAR3 (261). This glucose then triggers a signal to the brain which normalizes whole body glucose homeostasis (262). In a fasting state, as much as 62% of infused propionate is converted to glucose in the intestine, accounting for 69% of total glucose production (263). This is especially applicable to lower carb diets. Basically, it makes your brain think you are plenty fed with carbs/glucose. When the brain thinks the body is well-fed, energy intensive protein synthesis is supported. It also reduces peripheral gluconeogenesis, sparing amino acids for use in muscle tissue, while improving insulin sensitivity via reduced output of glucose from the liver (262). Short chain fatty acids, especially butyrate, are also direct precursors for ketone formation, obviously handy for ketogenic diets (264, 265). Activation of FFAR2/3 by SCFAs also stimulates the release of the incretin hormone, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), enhancing anabolic and anti-catabolic insulin signaling pathways in muscle (266, 267). We will discuss this more, later. Protein Absorption and Efficiency The earliest studies on pro- and prebiotics were done to replace antibiotics for increasing digestion/feed efficiency in livestock. They result in the production of more meat (i.e. muscle mass), in general, and more meat per unit of food given. So, let’s take a look at the mechanisms on how this works, and how it will work for you. As we have briefly discussed, probiotics and prebiotics, via short chain fatty acids, increase the proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells, as well as increasing villus height and crypt depth, expanding total surface area for nutrient absorption. Likewise, increases in the quantity and quality of goblet cells increases mucin, helping to maintain optimal health and function of the intestine. Ultimately, this increases total nutrient digestibility in the intestinal tract (268). SCFAs, and other organic acids such as lactic acid (produced by lactobacillus, thus the name), reduce pH, increasing bioavailability of protein (269). They also enhance the release of digestive proteases, increasing absorption of small peptides and amino acids by enterocytes. (270). Only 80–90% of protein is actually digested and made available as amino acids in the small intestine, and we obviously want it on the high end (271). This inefficiency results in the entry of a good chunk of undigested protein into the large intestine, which we will discuss more in a moment. Once proteins have been digested and absorbed, we get to yet another area where probiotics and prebiotics, via SCFA acids, are useful – namely, in protein sparing. The gut has one of the highest rates of cellular and protein turnover of any tissue in the body. If cellular needs are not met by diet and supplementation, skeletal muscle proteolysis results, with amino acids being funneled from the periphery to the gut (272The liver and the gut account for 20 to 35% of whole-body protein turnover and energy expenditure, and your big brain gets a crack at those before your muscles, as well (273). Up to 50% of dietary amino acids are oxidized in first pass in the gut, with anabolic BCAAs being amongst the most favored (274). Some of this is inevitable, as these amino acids go toward protein structures in the intestines, such as digestive enzymes, mucins, and the physical makeup of the intestinal cells, themselves. But, they are also heavily used for fuel if their favorite food, SCFAs (especially butyrate), are not available (275, 276) . Dietary amino acids are preferred over glucose as intestinal metabolic fuel, and the systemic availability of dietary amino acids is ultimately one of the biggest determinants of the growth rate of lean body tissues such as muscle (277). And, indeed, both probiotics and prebiotics have been shown to enhance the entry of dietary amino acids into systemic circulation. While the increase in digestion and absorption is modest at around 5%, plasma levels are increased by as much as 30% by the protein sparing effect of SCFAs (278, 279). Given the figure of 50% of amino acids being oxidized in first pass in non-pre/probiotic subjects, for a 200lb person on the standard 1g/lb of bodyweight protein intake, we are talking about the equivalent of an extra 30g of protein per day making it to systemic circulation to be available to your muscles! And, there is more. As we mentioned above, 10-20% of protein is unabsorbed in the small intestine and moves on to the large intestine (with plant proteins being more poorly absorbed than animal ones), which leads us to nitrogen/amino acid recycling by the gut microbiota (280, 281). This recycling is not only of the undigested protein, but also amino acids which have entered the ammonia/urea cycle, generally after having been oxidized for fuel, particularly for the metabolic needs of skeletal muscle (282, 283). Glutamine and the BCAAs are favorites, here (284 , 285). Nitrogen/amino acid salvage and recycling by the gut back into the body amino acid pool is quite substantial, being equal to approximately one-half of total dietary intake (286). The gut microbiota’s recycling of ammonia and urea back into amino acids, especially from glutamine, BCAAs, and EAAs has been found to be on the order of 300+mg/kg/day (287, 288). For our 200lb man, this would be another 27 grams of protein per day reclaimed by the healthy and efficient gut to go toward muscle building. Other studies have found in the 15-30g/day range, but this was with smaller people and smaller intakes than bodybuilding and fitness types (289). Lactobacillus have the best research in this regard, though it is an area absolutely begging for more research (290, 291). This nitrogen recycling seems to be of particular importance in the overnight fasting period when food/protein is not being consumed (292). Basically, it helps you stay anabolic 24-7. All in all, this is massive!! Pun intended. Between greater peripheral delivery of amino acids and nitrogen/AA recycling, we are talking as much as 60g of protein a day, for a 200lb person consuming the typical 1g/lb of bodyweight. This is 2 meals worth of extra protein available to promote muscle growth. Finally, data in animals have shown direct correlations of microbial make-up with superior growth and feed efficiency. There is no such data on humans, as they are not grown for food, yet. Families and genera of butyrate producing genera and species including the aforementioned Bacteroides, Roseburia, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii were all highly represented on the superior growth and feed efficiency side, as you might expect from what we have learned so far (293, 294, 295, 296, 297). Part 4 on Tuesday, June 26th
Bacteria Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus are by far the most common and well-known probiotic bacteria. They are commercially available and quite affordable. We can also readily manipulate levels of the good bacteria that are not commercially available such as Bacteroides species, Roseburia species, Akkermansia muciniphilia, and Facealbacterium prausnitzii via diet and supplementation of ingredients that ARE available. More on that later. Bifidobacteria Bifidobacteria are significantly lower in type-II diabetics and have been consistently shown to combat the cycle of LPS inflammation, leaky gut, and insulin resistance (49, 50, 51). They are reinforcing on intestinal epithelial cells and mucosa, improving the physical barrier of the intestine, preventing translocation of pathogenic bacteria and LPS from intestine to body tissue (52, 53). They limit pro-inflammatory signals and increase tight junction proteins supporting mucosal recovery, ultimately restoring normal intestinal permeability and preserving gut barrier function in the face of inflammation (54, 55). Bifidobacteria administration quells general colonic inflammation, particularly from LPS and its downstream signal, TNF-alpha (56, 57, 58). In reducing LPS levels, inflammation induced insulin resistance is reversed in the face of a high-fat diet (59, 60, 61). They shift the composition of the microbiota toward that of a lean phenotype, reducing inflammatory activity and insulin resistance while lowering body fat (62, 63). Bifidobacteria are also extremely important for cross-feeding. This is where one bacterial strain produces metabolites that other species and strains can use for fuel (64, 65). This is particularly important for the bacteria that are not commercially available, which we will discuss in detail in a bit. Bifidobacteria produce acetate and oligosaccharides which are then consumed by these acetate utilizing, butyrate and propionate producing bacteria (66). Faecalibacterium prausnitzii is almost fully dependent on acetate. It converts it to butyrate with 85% efficiency, and its growth is enhanced by co-culture with Bifidobacteria (67, 68). Roseburia is also an acetate user, and it is generally required for its growth (69, 70). Combined with bifidobacteria, Roseburia was able to grow in pure complex carbohydrate cultures, which it cannot metabolize on its own, owing to cross-feeding (71). Cross-feeding with Bifidobacterium also modulates the positive effects of prebiotic oligosaccharides on growth of Roseburia and F. prausnitzii by making acetate available (72). And, butyrate production increases mucins, which are fed on by Bacteroides and Akkermansia, two more great, but commercially unavailable bacteria. Lactobacillus Lactobacillus consistently increases tight junction protein formation and improves intestinal barrier function, ultimately inhibiting systemic inflammation from LPS and its downstream pathways (73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78). They also increase the levels of butyrate and the other short-chain fatty acids (79, 80). Lactobacillus raises levels of Bacteroides, a propionate producer, and another one of the types of great bacteria that we cannot get commercially (81). They promote favorable intestine morphology, improving parameters such as villus height, crypt depth, mucin expression, and the quantity of goblet cells, all things favoring digestive function and efficiency (82). Lactobacillus decrease LPS, systemically, as well as downstream inflammatory markers including TNF-alpha , IL-6, and COX-2, (83, 84, 85, 86). Relatedly, they also reduce expression of TLR-4, which is basically the “LPS receptor” (87, 88). They have also shown improvements of inflammatory colitis, which is essentially an extreme version of a “leaky gut” (89, 90). The reduction in inflammatory responses downstream of the LPS signaling pathway is a consistent finding in studies with Lactobacillus, including decreased adipose tissue inflammation, further evidence of preventing LPS actions outside of the gut (91, 92, 93, 94). In combating these inflammatory pathways, Lactobacillus lower oxidative stress levels, ultimately improving insulin sensitivity (95, 96, 97). They also increase the insulin sensitizing peptide adiponectin (98, 99, 100). Finally, they specifically improve insulin sensitivity against Western-style, obesity promoting diets (101, 102, 103). In even more direct findings on probiotics and body composition improvements, Lactobacillus have been found to protect the testes from oxidative stress, increasing testosterone levels (104, 105). In fact, testosterone levels were 4-8 times higher in aging mice (a model of chronic, low-level inflammation), given Lactobacillus (106). They have been found to increases growth hormone levels and reduce the expression of atrophy inducing genes (107, 108). They increased weight with the same body fat, meaning more lean mass (109). Lactobacillus dose-dependently increased grip strength, muscle fiber number, and endurance swimming while decreasing muscle tissue breakdown (110). They inhibited increased levels of cortisol in response to stress (111). Finally, Lactobacillus feeding stimulates IGF-1 and decreases myostatin (112, 113, 114). Bacillus, another genus of commercial probiotic, increased goblet cell number, villus length, and mucin synthesis in the intestine (115). This would be expected to improve intestinal mucosal cell proliferation and, ultimately, efficiency of nutrient digestion and absorption (116). And, indeed, improved growth performance and enhanced protein utilization has been found with Bacillus (117). Probiotic Combinations You may have noticed that almost no probiotic formulas contain just a single species of bacteria, nowadays. And, if you did not, I will just say that it is for a good reason. They work better in combination. First of all, microbial diversity seems to be good, in and of, itself. Essentially, a diverse gut is a healthy gut (118). Obesity has been associated with a lack of microbial diversity and, as you might expect, lean subjects have greater microbial diversity in the gut (119, 120, 121). Insulin sensitivity is also improved along with diversity increases (122). Finally, in the interesting but not terribly shocking category, exercise increases microbial diversity (123, 124). Combinations also work to specifically create an environment where probiotic bacteria can thrive, thus enhancing their ultimate performance (125). Compared to individual strains alone, combinations greatly increase adhesion to intestinal mucus, which is necessary for most survival, growth, and activity (126, 127). Conversely, they inhibit adhesion and growth of pathogenic bacteria better when in combination (128, 129). However, you do not want to just throw every single commercially available species and strain into a product as so many companies do. They need to be rationally combined. If not, they can interfere with each other’s actions and compete for space and resources (130, 131, 132). But, perhaps the most interesting benefit of probiotic combinations is through the afore-mentioned cross-feeding of the commercially unavailable bacteria we are about to discuss, right now. The Best Probiotics That Money Can’t Buy Unfortunately, several species of bacteria with some of the very best data are not available commercially, due to regulatory issues and well as practical challenges such as stability and viability of the bacteria themselves. Several groups are working on these, but it will happen later rather than sooner, at best. Fortunately, there are a myriad of ways to specifically target and increase these strains using methods that ARE available. So, let’s take a look at these novel wonder-bacteria. Bacteroides Species Bacteroides are butyrate and propionate producing. Levels were 6-fold higher in lean vs. obese subjects, as well as being reduced in obese patients, in general, compared to control populations (133, 134, 135, 136). Levels in Type-2 diabetics were only half that of subjects with normal glucose tolerance (137). Among various species in the Bacteroides genus, B. uniformis reduced bodyweight gain, triglycerides, and adipocyte volume while improving insulin and leptin sensitivity. It also lowered LPS and other inflammatory signals (138). B. fragilis releases a symbiotic immunomodulatory anti-inflammatory factor called Polysacharride A – kind of an anti-LPS (139, 140). This has been shown not just to prevent but to cure experimental colitis, an extreme version of a leaky, inflammatory gut (141). It has also been shown to prevent demyelination of neurons in the central nervous system, indicative of protection against inflammation well outside of the gut (142). Faecalibacterium prausnitzii Faecalibacterium prausnitzii are butyrate producing and considered a physiological sensor and marker of human health (143). It does not get much more important than that. It is lower in the obese and type-2 diabetics (144, 145, 146). Conversely, it is higher in normal glucose tolerance vs. pre-diabetic subjects (147). Faecalibacterium prausnitzii is also negatively correlated with inflammatory markers and sharply decreased in inflammatory bowel diseases (148, 149). It is greatly reduced in ulcerative colitis and less abundant in Crohn’s disease (150, 151). As would be expected from the above, it improves intestinal barrier function (152). Akkermansia muciniphilia Akkermansia muciniphilia is mucin degrading, meaning it feeds on mucins (153). It is also decreased in obesity and type-2 diabetes. Its administration reduced fat mass, adipose tissue inflammation, and enhances insulin sensitivity. Along with this, improved gut barrier function and increased intestinal endocannabinoid levels were seen (154). This species is also inversely related to fasting glucose, waist-to-hip ratio, subcutaneous adipocyte diameter, plasma triglyceride levels, visceral adipose tissue mass, and insulin resistance (155). Along with enhanced glucose tolerance, it reduced adipose tissue inflammation (156). Akkermansia levels are higher in normal glucose tolerance vs. pre-diabetic subjects (157). It decreases inflammatory cytokine production and protected intestinal barrier function in experimental colitis (158). Finally, its levels are reduced in ulcerative colitis (159). Roseburia Species Roseburia species are butyrate producing (160). An increase in this species is associated with decreased body weight, fat mass, insulin sensitivity, and triglycerides -- independent of calorie intake (161). Increased Roseburia correlated with reduced body weight, improved profile of lipid and obesity related gene expression, along with a normalized inflammatory status (162). It is also lower in type-2 diabetes (163). Levels are increased by a Mediterranean diet, as is insulin sensitivity (164). Finally, its levels display an inverse correlation with disease activity in ulcerative colitis (165). High protein/low carbohydrate diets, which are so effective and popular, reduce Roseburia and SCFA levels, making pro- and prebiotics particularly useful with these (166, 167). Prebiotics Prebiotics are the food for our probiotic bacteria, and they are also the substrates that get transformed into super beneficial short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, so we will look at some data on those as well. Prebiotics have come a long way since oat bran and psyllium husks. Beginning with inulin, a huge array of oligosaccharide and glycan type compounds have been found to be fermented and fed on by intestinal bacteria. These newer prebiotics tend to be basically tasteless and dissolve effortlessly, which is quite handy. With the importance of microbial diversity for optimal gut and body health, we want a number of different prebiotics for them to feed on. Likewise, we want to choose the ones that best increase the bacteria we want to increase, rather than just randomly feeding all of them. Let’s briefly look at some data on the positive effects various prebiotics. Increased Good Bacteria and SCFAs Prebiotics, by definition, increase beneficial bacteria, with data being most focused on Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, as they were the earliest studied and most common. Bifidogenic potential was the primary measurement for prebiotic activity until about 10 years ago. Lactobacilli are promoted by a wide range of fibers and oligosaccharides (168, 169, 170). They can also ferment sugars, such a sucrose, fructose, and glucose (171). They are stimulated even by flour (172). So, one doesn’t have to put that much effort into getting them to grow. As you would expect from their growth being how prebiotics were defined, Bifidobacteria also grow quite well on a wide range of commercial prebiotics, with 5-10 fold increases in some subjects being noted (173, 174, 175, 176). The much more interesting prebiotic data is the increases found in levels of the aforementioned commercially unavailable butyrate and propionate producing bacteria via the aforementioned cross-feeding. As we have mentioned, and as you will really see later, butyrate production is probably the single most important way that probiotics and prebiotics ultimately work their magic. And, indeed, prebiotics have been found to not only raise Bifidobacterium counts, but do so concomitant with increased Akkermansia and F. prausnitzii (177, 178, 179). They also promote increases in Bacteroides (180, 181, 182, 183). Other studies have found elevated Roseburia, F. prausnitzii, and Bacteroides together with greater butyrate levels, with total SCFA increases as high as 2-3 fold (184, 185, 186, 187). Other prebiotic studies have shown increased propionate production along with Roseburia levels (188, 189). They have also been found to increase butyrate and propionate to go along with raised bifidobacteria and acetate levels – again, suggestive of cross-feeding to butyrate and propionate producing bacteria (190, 191, 192, 193). Mucins Prebiotics administration has shown 2-4 fold mucin elevations, which would create a positive environment for mucin feeders such as Akkermansia, Roseburia, and Bacteroides (194). Another found prebiotic augmentation of mucin production of 6-fold, leading to large elevations in Akkermansia, Roseburia, and propionate (195). Akkermansia is the most well characterized mucin consumer (196, 197). Verrucomicrobia, of which Akkermansia is the primary genus, was increased from .03% to 5.25% by mucin (198). That is a 175-fold increase, if you are counting. Multiple species of Bacteroides are also mucin degrading specialist, as well (198, 199, 200, 201, 202). A species of Roseburia, R. intestinalis also colonizes the mucosal layer and feeds on mucins (203). With these bacteria colonizing the mucus and being close to the epithelium, particularly with the butyrate producers, bioavailability for epithelial cell regeneration and barrier function is enhanced, so they are especially important and effective. Gut Permeability and Inflammation Prebiotics augment intestinal protein junction assembly, decreasing intestinal permeability and preventing loss of gut barrier function (204). Oligosaccharides also directly displayed a microbiota independent increase in tight junction assembly and improved barrier function (205). Prebiotics decrease LPS and increase epithelial cell proliferation (206, 207). They decrease downstream inflammatory markers triggered by LPS (208, 209). Increases in tight junction proteins and improved barrier function inhibited systemic inflammation in adipose tissue (210). Finally, prebiotics protect against stress induced LPS inflammation and activity (211, 212). Insulin Sensitivity and Protein Sparing Along with decreased LPS and inflammation, prebiotics reduced plasma glucose (213). They improved glucose tolerance by reducing oxidative stress and low-grade inflammation (214). Prebiotic inhibition of LPS target Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4), and downstream inflammatory affecter TNF-alpha, improved insulin sensitivity (215, 216). They also improve post-prandial blood glucose and insulin levels as well as improving glucose uptake in insulin resistant cells (217, 218, 219). In addition, by supplying SCFAs, the preferred fuel of the enterocyte, prebiotics reduce protein fermentation in the gut (220, 221, 222). This spares amino acids for more useful purposes like building muscle as well as preventing formation of toxic breakdown products (223). We will talk a good bit more about protein sparing, later. Polyphenols as Prebiotics Less well known than with typical prebiotics, polyphenols are also fermented by the gut microbiota. Polyphenols are generally prebiotic for good bacteria (Bifidobacterium, Akkermansia, Bacteroides, and Roseburia), and antibacterial for less favorable and pathogenic ones (224, 225, 226). Fruit/berry based polyphenols seem to be particularly favorable toward Bacteroides and Akkermansia growth compared to other polyphenol sources (227, 228, 229). Lactobacillus lack glycan degrading enzymes, thus do not grow on them particularly well compared to the others, so they are especially targeted to butyrate producers (230). Fermentation of herbs and such containing polyphenols also transforms them, resulting in much higher concentrations of active compounds compared to unfermented (231). This same fermentation is done in the body, but it is highly dependent upon the microbial make-up of the individual’s gut, so it can vary widely from person to person (232, 233). As an example, a fermented herb preparation inhibited LPS mediated inflammatory damage, while the unfermented one was ineffective (234, 235). The same was true for insulin sensitivity (236, 237). So, not only do polyphenols increase good bacteria, but the good bacteria make the polyphenols work better. The prebiotic effect plus the transformation into more active compounds is why polyphenols so consistently show a myriad of great benefits despite supposedly being so poorly bioavailable. Mechanisms of Action With the background information and general overview out of the way, we will now get deeper into the mechanisms of how this affects muscle mass. There are a lot of interacting pathways and systems here, though much of it comes down to inflammation and butyrate, both inside of the gut and outside. First, we will talk about fixing the gut, itself, both the inflammatory signaling (LPS et al) as well as the intestinal barrier that prevents them from escaping. Within the gut, we will also discuss protein sparing and absorption/utilization improvements from a healthy microbiota and gut. Then, we will talk about anabolic and anti-catabolic pathways outside the gut. Part 3 on Thursday, June 21st
Artificial Sweeteners and the Gut
Par Deus posted a topic in Advanced Theory and Discussion
So, it turns out that artificial sweeteners are really bad for the composition of the gut microbiome. Physiol Behav. 2016 Oct 1;164(Pt B):488-493. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.04.029. Epub 2016 Apr 15. Reshaping the gut microbiota: Impact of low calorie sweeteners and the link to insulin resistance? Nettleton JE(1), Reimer RA(2), Shearer J(3). Disruption in the gut microbiota is now recognized as an active contributor towards the development of obesity and insulin resistance. This review considers one class of dietary additives known to influence the gut microbiota that may predispose susceptible individuals to insulin resistance - the regular, long-term consumption of low-dose, low calorie sweeteners. While the data are controversial, mounting evidence suggests that low calorie sweeteners should not be dismissed as inert in the gut environment. Sucralose, aspartame and saccharin, all widely used to reduce energy content in foods and beverages to promote satiety and encourage weight loss, have been shown to disrupt the balance and diversity of gut microbiota. Fecal transplant experiments, wherein microbiota from low calorie sweetener consuming hosts are transferred into germ-free mice, show that this disruption is transferable and results in impaired glucose tolerance, a well-known risk factor towards the development of a number of metabolic disease states. As our understanding of the importance of the gut microbiota in metabolic health continues to grow, it will be increasingly important to consider the impact of all dietary components, including low calorie sweeteners, on gut microbiota and metabolic health. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.04.029 PMID: 27090230 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Nature. 2014 Oct 9;514(7521):181-6. doi: 10.1038/nature13793. Epub 2014 Sep 17. Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota. Suez J(1), Korem T(2), Zeevi D(2), Zilberman-Schapira G(3), Thaiss CA(1), Maza O(1), Israeli D(4), Zmora N(5), Gilad S(6), Weinberger A(7), Kuperman Y(8), Harmelin A(8), Kolodkin-Gal I(9), Shapiro H(1), Halpern Z(10), Segal E(7), Elinav E(1). Non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) are among the most widely used food additives worldwide, regularly consumed by lean and obese individuals alike. NAS consumption is considered safe and beneficial owing to their low caloric content, yet supporting scientific data remain sparse and controversial. Here we demonstrate that consumption of commonly used NAS formulations drives the development of glucose intolerance through induction of compositional and functional alterations to the intestinal microbiota. These NAS-mediated deleterious metabolic effects are abrogated by antibiotic treatment, and are fully transferrable to germ-free mice upon faecal transplantation of microbiota configurations from NAS-consuming mice, or of microbiota anaerobically incubated in the presence of NAS. We identify NAS-altered microbial metabolic pathways that are linked to host susceptibility to metabolic disease, and demonstrate similar NAS-induced dysbiosis and glucose intolerance in healthy human subjects. Collectively, our results link NAS consumption, dysbiosis and metabolic abnormalities, thereby calling for a reassessment of massive NAS usage. DOI: 10.1038/nature13793 PMID: 25231862 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Front Physiol. 2017 Jul 24;8:487. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00487. eCollection 2017. Gut Microbiome Response to Sucralose and Its Potential Role in Inducing Liver Inflammation in Mice. Bian X(1), Chi L(2), Gao B(1), Tu P(2), Ru H(3), Lu K(2). Sucralose is the most widely used artificial sweetener, and its health effects have been highly debated over the years. In particular, previous studies have shown that sucralose consumption can alter the gut microbiota. The gut microbiome plays a key role in processes related to host health, such as food digestion and fermentation, immune cell development, and enteric nervous system regulation. Inflammation is one of the most common effects associated with gut microbiome dysbiosis, which has been linked to a series of human diseases, such as diabetes and obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate the structural and functional effects of sucralose on the gut microbiota and associated inflammation in the host. In this study, C57BL/6 male mice received sucralose in their drinking water for 6 months. The difference in gut microbiota composition and metabolites between control and sucralose-treated mice was determined using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, functional gene enrichment analysis and metabolomics. Inflammatory gene expression in tissues was analyzed by RT-PCR. Alterations in bacterial genera showed that sucralose affects the gut microbiota and its developmental dynamics. Enrichment of bacterial pro-inflammatory genes and disruption in fecal metabolites suggest that 6-month sucralose consumption at the human acceptable daily intake (ADI) may increase the risk of developing tissue inflammation by disrupting the gut microbiota, which is supported by elevated pro-inflammatory gene expression in the liver of sucralose-treated mice. Our results highlight the role of sucralose-gut microbiome interaction in regulating host health-related processes, particularly chronic inflammation. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00487 PMCID: PMC5522834 PMID: 28790923
Probiotics, the Gut, and Muscle Mass Currently, probiotics are mostly thought of and used in relation to a healthy digestive system (reducing upset stomach, gas and bloating, diarrhea, and IBS type symptoms) and to a lesser extent, the immune system (coughs, colds, and general sinus and respiratory health). While they certainly are indeed useful for such applications, the ramifications of an unhealthy gut and microbiota go far, far beyond that. The gut and its microbiome are essentially a massive endocrine organ, controlling and influencing basically your entire body and brain. And, given that all of the trillions of bacteria that call it home originally came from outside your body – and entered without your express written consent – it is by far the most important organ in which we can take steps to manipulate and regain control. “You are what you eat” is more accurate than we ever realized. We will first look at some basic science on how this all works. Then, we will look at studies that have shown alterations in the microbiotic make-up of the gut, and the correlations they display in metabolic health, disease, and fitness. We will particularly focus on the adverse effects of dysbiosis in regard to muscle mass, including diminished protein absorption, testosterone levels, and insulin signaling in the skeletal muscle which results in downregulation of anabolic pathways and upregulation of catabolic ones, ultimately resulting in poor nutrient partitioning that favors accumulation of fat over muscle. It is a massive subject, far too much to discuss in complete depth, here, so we’ll do our best to keep it as short and sweet as possible while still giving you enough background in this field to understand the shocking reality, scope, and importance of this microscopic invasion. Then, we will get down to business and into the specifics of the science of making yourself king of your own biological castle, again, with special emphasis on a lean, muscular body. The Basics The Western lifestyle, including diet and lack of exercise, as well as artificial sweeteners, antibiotics, and alcohol (and, in all likelihood, genetics, though the data just isn’t quite there, yet) leads to an imbalance of the bacterial composition of the gut (1, 2). This results in the excess production and release of inflammatory signals, such as Lipopolysaccharide and TNF-alpha, which subsequently escape the gut and enter the rest of your body, causing havoc (3). Gut dysbiosis also negatively alters production of short-chain fatty acids, with butyrate being most important. This ultimately negatively affects anabolic and anti-catabolic signaling of insulin and other growth factors and pathways, as well as testosterone production. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and its downstream inflammatory and redox sensitive pathways will compose the bulk of our focus. LPS, also known as endotoxin, is the major component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. These are the ones behind pathogenic bacterial infections like E coli and Salmonella, as well as the bad bacteria of gut dysbiosis that chronically or semi-chronically reside inside you. LPS binds to Toll Like Receptor-4 (TLR-4) and produces a potent immune response in mammals (4). TLR-4 belongs to the pattern recognition family of receptors which recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns that are expressed on infectious agents (5). This triggers inflammatory cytokines like TNF-alpha, which then trigger reactive oxygen species. Within the gut, this leads to the general digestive issues and inflammatory bowel disorders like IBS and colitis that you have commonly known probiotics as being used to alleviate (6). While fixing digestive disorders will come along for the ride, our primary focus is going to be on body composition and metabolic health. In other words, we want to make you more muscular, stronger, and leaner. However, there really is so much more to it than that, as a few quotes from the literature aptly demonstrate: “Changes in the composition of the gut microbiota (dysbiosis) may be associated with several clinical conditions, including obesity and metabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases and allergy, acute and chronic intestinal inflammation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)…” (7) “In this milieu… disturbance of the gut microbiota balance and the intestinal barrier permeability is a potential triggering factor for systemic inflammation in the onset and progression of obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.” (8) “Through these varied mechanisms, gut microbes shape the architecture of sleep and stress reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. They influence memory, mood, and cognition and are clinically and therapeutically relevant to a range of disorders, including alcoholism, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and restless legs syndrome… Nutritional tools for altering the gut microbiome therapeutically include changes in diet, probiotics, and prebiotics.” (9) As you can see, alterations in the microbiota can affect basically everything, but the good news is that it is also ripe for positive manipulation. Getting back to the gut and body composition, the aforementioned Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), in combination with the Western diet, disrupts the endocannabinoid system, ultimately leading to an increase in intestinal motility (speed of food going through) in the proximal parts of the intestine (10, 11). This leads to less efficient absorption of nutrients, of which protein and nitrogen are of particular concern. It also reduces nutritive feedback signals that tell the brain you are well fed, thus able to ramp up energy intensive protein synthesis (12, 13). LPS and inflammation also damages the endothelia and microvilli of the gut, further hampering digestion and absorption of nutrients, again with protein and amino acids being of particular concern (14, 15, 16 , 17). It gets much worse from there. Along with this inflammatory state is a disruption in the intestinal barrier. Intestinal permeability is increased, and these inflammatory agents spill out systemically. This is often called a “leaky gut”. This results in a chronic, low-level inflammatory state in the entire body. The biggest culprit here is, once again, LPS (18). LPS interacts with the cannabinoid system in the body and brain, just as in the intestine. In the fat tissue, this leads to activation of PPAR-gamma, and an upregulation of triglyceride synthesis, fat cell formation, and fat storage (19) More important is its activation on TLR-4 which, along with other downstream inflammatory signals (TNF-alpha, interleukins, NF-kB), promotes insulin insensitivity in skeletal muscle, reducing it anabolic and anti-catabolic effects (20, 21). There is also a blood-testis barrier directly analogous to the gut barrier, with equally negative results on testosterone production from these inflammatory invaders (22, 23). This is really bad news in combination with the PPAR-gamma activation in fat cells as it drives nutrient partitioning toward accumulation of fat over muscle. At this point, your phenotype is getting wrecked. You have “skinny fat” or, if blessed with being naturally lean, “hargainer” physiology. Obviously, this is not at all what you want. And, it is just a bunch of microscopic bacteria that call your gut “home” causing all of this devastation. This is the Gut-Microbiota-Muscle axis gone wrong (24, 25, 26). General Data Unless you are quite lean and have an extremely good diet, this is likely affecting you and your muscular gains to at least some extent. Inflammation precedes insulin sensitivity decreases, and the negative effects of such on anabolic and catabolic processes. And, alterations of the microbiota happen even more before that, with all of it happening before significant body fat accrual (27). In other words, it often happens before you have any reason to be aware of it. These changes are extremely rapid. They can occur in a matter of days. Your body simply isn’t built for modern, processed foods (28). They are an attack. In a human colon simulator, the composition of the microbiota was significantly altered within 24 hours by conditions simulating a Western meal (29). In another human study, changes were noted over 4 days, with the earliest changes beginning on day one (30). High-fat feeding for just 3-4 days increased inflammation and reduced insulin sensitivity in mice (31, 32). On the human side, a high fat diet in young, healthy men resulted in an altered inflammatory response within a week. (33). Another study in healthy males found a 3-day hypercaloric and high-fat diet induced decreased insulin sensitivity (34). Perhaps most frighteningly, in a study of a human microbiome transferred into mice, over multiple generations of a low fiber diet some species of bacteria actually became EXTINCT (35). The Western diet is now well into its 4th and 5th generations in the US. And, all of these little attacks are cumulative, so they build up over time (36, 37). Aging, itself, and the deterioration of muscle mass and everything else that comes with it, is basically a whole-body, low-grade inflammatory state (38). Likewise, even in the relatively young, chronic inflammation will epigenetically make your cells “old”, including muscle cells (39). This is known as “inflamm-aging” (40). Basically, unless you are under 30, quite lean, and have a Paleo diet with fruits and veggies, not just low-moderate carbs, you likely have some degree of inflammation induced decreases in muscular insulin sensitivity and protein utilization, thus less than ideal anabolic and anti-catabolic signaling. More powerful evidence of the profound effect of the microbiota on metabolic parameters and the phenotype come from studies on “fecal transfer”. And, yes, that is exactly what it sounds like – transferring poop from one subject’s intestine to another’s. In twins, transfer of an obese microbiota to lean mice was accompanied by an increase in bodyweight, fat mass, and a dysbiotic alteration of the microbiota to reflect that of the obese model (41). A similar transfer replicated the obese phenotype with increased weight gain, lipogenesis, adipogenesis, as well as inflammation and hyperglycemia in formerly lean, healthy subjects (42, 43). On the other side of the coin, transferring the intestinal microbiota from lean donors increases insulin sensitivity in individuals with Metabolic Syndrome, as well as reversing obesity and gastrointestinal issues (44). It also reduced markers of Metabolic Syndrome, inflammation, and oxidative stress in animals challenged with high-fructose diets (45). Other studies have found corrections of high fat diet induced inflammatory status and insulin resistance, accompanied by altered microbiota composition to reflect that of the healthy donor (46, 47). In the most direct findings, transfer of the microbiota from a genetically obese lineage of pig into germ free mice resulted in higher body fat mass, higher slow-twitch fiber proportion, and decreased muscle fiber size and fast-twitch fiber percentage, with the gut microbiota composition of colonized mice sharing high similarity with their donor pigs (48). The microbiome is basically trillions of little biological nanobots going to work on you, for good or bad. Obviously, while it highlights the science, doing a fecal transfer is not terribly practical, appetizing, or readily available -- unless maybe you work for Bill Phillips. Fortunately, we can fix all of this with less intrusive methods. Part 2 on Tuesday, June 19th
Irisin -- Is it a myth?
Par Deus replied to Exoskeleton's topic in Advanced Theory and Discussion
It still has some interesting data stuff, though also some conflicting. Brain Plast. 2015;1(1):55-61. doi: 10.3233/BPL-150019. FNDC5/irisin - their role in the nervous system and as a mediator for beneficial effects of exercise on the brain. Wrann CD(1). Author information: (1)Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, 44 Binney Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Exercise can improve cognitive function and the outcome of neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's disease. This effect has been linked to the increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms driving the elevation of this neurotrophin remain unknown. Recently, we have reported a PGC-1α-FNDC5/irisin pathway, which is activated by exercise in the hippocampus in mice and induces a neuroprotective gene program, including Bdnf. This review will focus on FNDC5 and its secreted form "irisin", a newly discovered myokine, and their role in the nervous system and its therapeutic potential. In addition, we will briefly discuss the role of other exercise-induced myokines on positive brain effects. DOI: 10.3233/BPL-150019 PMCID: PMC5419585 PMID: 28480165 Med Hypotheses. 2016 May;90:23-8. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2016.02.020. Epub 2016 Mar 2. FNDC5/irisin, a molecular target for boosting reward-related learning and motivation. Zsuga J(1), Tajti G(2), Papp C(2), Juhasz B(3), Gesztelyi R(4). Interventions focusing on the prevention and treatment of chronic non-communicable diseases are on rise. In the current article, we propose that dysfunction of the mesocortico-limbic reward system contributes to the emergence of the WHO-identified risk behaviors (tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol), behaviors that underlie the evolution of major non-communicable diseases (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases). Given that dopaminergic neurons of the mesocortico-limbic system are tightly associated with reward-related processes and motivation, their dysfunction may fundamentally influence behavior. While nicotine and alcohol alter dopamine neuron function by influencing some receptors, mesocortico-limbic system dysfunction was associated with elevation of metabolic set-point leading to hedonic over-eating. Although there is some empirical evidence, precise molecular mechanism for linking physical inactivity and mesocortico-limbic dysfunction per se seems to be missing; identification of which may contribute to higher success rates for interventions targeting lifestyle changes pertaining to physical activity. In the current article, we compile evidence in support of a link between exercise and the mesocortico-limbic system by elucidating interactions on the axis of muscle - irisin - brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) - and dopaminergic function of the midbrain. Irisin is a contraction-regulated myokine formed primarily in skeletal muscle but also in the brain. Irisin stirred considerable interest, when its ability to induce browning of white adipose tissue parallel to increasing thermogenesis was discovered. Furthermore, it may also play a role in the regulation of behavior given it readily enters the central nervous system, where it induces BDNF expression in several brain areas linked to reward processing, e.g. the ventral tegmental area and the hippocampus. BDNF is a neurotropic factor that increases neuronal dopamine content, modulates dopamine release relevant for neuronal plasticity and increased neuronal survival as well as learning and memory. Further linking BDNF to dopaminergic function is BDNF's ability to activate tropomyosin-related kinase B receptor that shares signalization with presynaptic dopamine-3 receptors in the ventral tegmental area. Summarizing, we propose that the skeletal muscle derived irisin may be the link between physical activity and reward-related processes and motivation. Moreover alteration of this axis may contribute to sedentary lifestyle and subsequent non-communicable diseases. Preclinical and clinical experimental models to test this hypothesis are also proposed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2016.02.020 PMID: 27063080 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
Irisin
What happened to everyone? 3+ years later?
Par Deus replied to liorrh's topic in Awesome and Off-Topic
In addition to the archives themselves, the chinese Baidu bot guests in the "Online Users" tab lead to some great threads.
Clock Genes, Circadian Rhythms, and Mood Disorders
Pretty interesting shit. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2018 Mar;177(2):181-198. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32599. Epub 2017 Sep 13. The role of CLOCK gene in psychiatric disorders: Evidence from human and animal research. Schuch JB(1), Genro JP(2), Bastos CR(3), Ghisleni G(3), Tovo-Rodrigues L(4). The circadian clock system drives daily rhythms in physiology, metabolism, and behavior in mammals. Molecular mechanisms of this system consist of multiple clock genes, with Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (CLOCK) as a core member that plays an important role in a wide range of behaviors. Alterations in the CLOCK gene are associated with common psychiatric disorders as well as with circadian disturbances comorbidities. This review addresses animal, molecular, and genetic studies evaluating the role of the CLOCK gene on many psychiatric conditions, namely autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, and substance use disorder. Many animal experiments focusing on the effects of the Clock gene in behavior related to psychiatric conditions have shown consistent biological plausibility and promising findings. In humans, genetic and gene expression studies regarding disorder susceptibility, sleep disturbances related comorbidities, and response to pharmacological treatment, in general, are in agreement with animal studies. However, the number of controversial results is high. Literature suggests that the CLOCK gene exerts important influence on these conditions, and influences the susceptibility to phenotypes of psychiatric disorders. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32599 PMID: 28902457 Neurosci Bull. 2015 Feb;31(1):141-59. doi: 10.1007/s12264-014-1495-3. Epub 2015 Feb 6. Genetics and epigenetics of circadian rhythms and their potential roles in neuropsychiatric disorders. Liu C(1), Chung M. Author information: (1)State Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics of China, Changsha, 410078, China, liucy@uic.edu. Circadian rhythm alterations have been implicated in multiple neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly those of sleep, addiction, anxiety, and mood. Circadian rhythms are known to be maintained by a set of classic clock genes that form complex mutual and self-regulatory loops. While many other genes showing rhythmic expression have been identified by genome-wide studies, their roles in circadian regulation remain largely unknown. In attempts to directly connect circadian rhythms with neuropsychiatric disorders, genetic studies have identified gene mutations associated with several rare sleep disorders or sleep-related traits. Other than that, genetic studies of circadian genes in psychiatric disorders have had limited success. As an important mediator of environmental factors and regulators of circadian rhythms, the epigenetic system may hold the key to the etiology or pathology of psychiatric disorders, their subtypes or endophenotypes. Epigenomic regulation of the circadian system and the related changes have not been thoroughly explored in the context of neuropsychiatric disorders. We argue for systematic investigation of the circadian system, particularly epigenetic regulation, and its involvement in neuropsychiatric disorders to improve our understanding of human behavior and disease etiology. DOI: 10.1007/s12264-014-1495-3 PMCID: PMC4821655 PMID: 25652815
Ketones are neurotrophic
Par Deus posted a topic in Health and Longevity
Elife. 2016 Jun 2;5. pii: e15092. doi: 10.7554/eLife.15092. Exercise promotes the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) through the action of the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate. Sleiman SF(1), Henry J(2)(3)(4)(5), Al-Haddad R(1), El Hayek L(1), Abou Haidar E(1), Stringer T(2)(3)(4)(5), Ulja D(2)(3)(4)(5), Karuppagounder SS(6)(7), Holson EB(8)(9), Ratan RR(6)(7), Ninan I(2)(3)(4)(5), Chao MV(2)(3)(4)(5). Exercise induces beneficial responses in the brain, which is accompanied by an increase in BDNF, a trophic factor associated with cognitive improvement and the alleviation of depression and anxiety. However, the exact mechanisms whereby physical exercise produces an induction in brain Bdnf gene expression are not well understood. While pharmacological doses of HDAC inhibitors exert positive effects on Bdnf gene transcription, the inhibitors represent small molecules that do not occur in vivo. Here, we report that an endogenous molecule released after exercise is capable of inducing key promoters of the Mus musculus Bdnf gene. The metabolite β-hydroxybutyrate, which increases after prolonged exercise, induces the activities of Bdnf promoters, particularly promoter I, which is activity-dependent. We have discovered that the action of β-hydroxybutyrate is specifically upon HDAC2 and HDAC3, which act upon selective Bdnf promoters. Moreover, the effects upon hippocampal Bdnf expression were observed after direct ventricular application of β-hydroxybutyrate. Electrophysiological measurements indicate that β-hydroxybutyrate causes an increase in neurotransmitter release, which is dependent upon the TrkB receptor. These results reveal an endogenous mechanism to explain how physical exercise leads to the induction of BDNF. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.15092 PMCID: PMC4915811 PMID: 27253067 J Neurochem. 2016 Dec;139(5):769-781. doi: 10.1111/jnc.13868. Epub 2016 Nov 14. 3-Hydroxybutyrate regulates energy metabolism and induces BDNF expression in cerebral cortical neurons. Marosi K(1), Kim SW(1), Moehl K(1), Scheibye-Knudsen M(2), Cheng A(1), Cutler R(1), Camandola S(1), Mattson MP(1)(3). Author information: (1)Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. (2)Center for Healthy Aging, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. (3)Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. During fasting and vigorous exercise, a shift of brain cell energy substrate utilization from glucose to the ketone 3-hydroxybutyrate (3OHB) occurs. Studies have shown that 3OHB can protect neurons against excitotoxicity and oxidative stress, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Neurons maintained in the presence of 3OHB exhibited increased oxygen consumption and ATP production, and an elevated NAD+ /NADH ratio. We found that 3OHB metabolism increases mitochondrial respiration which drives changes in expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in cultured cerebral cortical neurons. The mechanism by which 3OHB induces Bdnf gene expression involves generation of reactive oxygen species, activation of the transcription factor NF-κB, and activity of the histone acetyltransferase p300/EP300. Because BDNF plays important roles in synaptic plasticity and neuronal stress resistance, our findings suggest cellular signaling mechanisms by which 3OHB may mediate adaptive responses of neurons to fasting, exercise, and ketogenic diets. Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. DOI: 10.1111/jnc.13868 PMCID: PMC5123937 PMID: 27739595
Drunk bugs: Chronic vapour alcohol exposure induces marked changes in the gut microbiome in mice.
Par Deus posted a topic in Drugs and Psychopharmacology
Anyone ever tried huffing vodka? The gut microbiota includes a community of bacteria that play an integral part in host health and biological processes. Pronounced and repeated findings have linked gut microbiome to stress, anxiety, and depression. Currently, however, there remains only a limited set of studies focusing on microbiota change in substance abuse, including alcohol use disorder. To date, no studies have investigated the impact of vapour alcohol administration on the gut microbiome. For research on gut microbiota and addiction to proceed, an understanding of how route of drug administration affects gut microbiota must first be established. Animal models of alcohol abuse have proven valuable for elucidating the biological processes involved in addiction and alcohol-related diseases. This is the first study to investigate the effect of vapour route of ethanol administration on gut microbiota in mice. Adult male C57BL/6J mice were exposed to 4 weeks of chronic intermittent vapourized ethanol (CIE, N=10) or air (Control, N=9). Faecal samples were collected at the end of exposure followed by 16S sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. Robust separation between CIE and Control was seen in the microbiome, as assessed by alpha (p<0.05) and beta (p<0.001) diversity, with a notable decrease in alpha diversity in CIE. These results demonstrate that CIE exposure markedly alters the gut microbiota in mice. Significant increases in genus Alistipes (p<0.001) and significant reductions in genra Clostridium IV and XIVb (p<0.001), Dorea (p<0.01), and Coprococcus (p<0.01) were seen between CIE mice and Control. These findings support the viability of the CIE method for studies investigating the microbiota-gut-brain axis and align with previous research showing similar microbiota alterations in inflammatory states during alcoholic hepatitis and psychological stress. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=25803049
Par Deus posted a topic in Awesome and Off-Topic
After all of that, it was just a few dudes shitposting on facebook and twitter.
The Carb Up (2001)
Par Deus posted a blog entry in Old Product Write-Ups and Big Motherfucker Articles
In the last episode of The CKD Files, Derf and Dan Jr. had just returned home from the gym following their two hour glycogen depletion workout and had subsequently commenced preparations for the ensuing carb-up. Setting: Daytime in a living room DERF: Typical musclehead, 240+ lbs, sub 6% bodyfat, head shaved to hide the consequences of years of 5-alpha reductase activity, rummages through a tackle box full of pills, vials, and syringes. DAN JR: who couldn't grow on a gram of tren a day, sits, rolling a joint. DERF Dude, I'm low on gear. DAN JR. Yeah, me too. We should go back by the gym and see BigWill after we smoke this. He takes a puff and hands it to Derf, who does the same. DERF I'm gonna need to eat first. DAN JR. (annoyed) Did you take your shot already?? He nods, a bit woozy. Dan just shakes his head, grabsa syringe, and stands up. Derf passes out. Dan heads to the kitchen and returns with a bottle of glucose. He draws some into the syringe and injects it into one of the giant veins on Derf's arm. He comes to. DERF Thanks, dude. Let's hit McDonald's. DAN JR. (shakes his head) That's far too high in fat. Glycogen storage and amino acid uptake are optimal right now -- We need high Glycemic Index carbohydrates. A post workout drink of dextrose and whey is ideal. DERF Bullshit. I haven't had anything except whey and flaxfor the last two weeks. I want some food. DAN JR. Fine. But, we're not eating McDonald's -- we'll go toan all you can eat place. Dan takes out a syringe and injects himself in thethigh. DERF Nubain? DAN JR. Insulin. Derf nods. Dan pulls out another. DERF Nubain? DAN JR. GH. He injects it and pulls out another. DERF Nubain? DAN JR. Yep. Setting: Daytime at all All-You-Can-Eat Restaurant They walk into the restaurant, anxious to begin refilling of glycogen stores and raising leptin levels. There are a couple of people in line in front of them, so they step back. They stand there for a moment, already impatient, when an OBESE WOMAN waddles up and cuts in front of them in line. They give each other a "What the fuck?!" look, then stare at her back, in a rage fueled by low blood sugar, serotonin depletion, and supraphysiological androgen levels. DAN JR. Did that chubby bitch just cut in front of us? DERF Yeah. DAN JR. Does she think we're just standing here to greet people as they walk in the door? Derf shrugs. DAN JR. She doesn't need to be getting seconds anyway. DERF Nope. DAN JR. How much do you think she weighs? DERF Three hundred? DAN JR. I'm thinking maybe as much as four bills. But it's pretty hard to tell when they get that big... I'd say she's definitely pushing at least three and somechange... You'd think they'd have some kind of width limit to eat at all-you-can-eatrestaurants. You know? DERF (laughs) Like the height requirements for rollercoasters? DAN JR. Yeah. They should have a sign when you first walk in the door with a guy holding his arms out that says: Dan holds his arms out really wide. DAN JR. "You must not be this wide to eat at this restaurant." -- 'Cause if you are, you damn sure don't need to be eating at an all-you-can-eat restaurant. DERF She needs some EC. DAN JR. Fuck EC, she needs DNP and some meth. DERF Maybe she just has low leptin levels. DAN JR. Yeah, and maybe she swallowed a guy who swallowed a fly, but I fucking seriously doubt it. It takes a concerted effort to get that fat. You don't go to sleep one night looking like a normal human being and wake up the next day with 54% bodyfat. That doesn't happen. It takes years of determination and willpower. To look like that, there can be no skipping meals, no going to bed hungry, no exercise. Shit, just walking from the couch to the kitchen must burn more than a hundred calories when you weigh that much... I bet she keeps a crate of Krispy Kremes, in her fucking living room, so she can grab a box whenever the urge should strike... Low leptin levels my ass. I guarantee you that bitch gets three tiers of food on her tray. DERF (smiles) She's just got more to love, that's all. Derf walks up closer to her back. He pretends to spank her. DERF Big is beautiful. Ain't it baby. DAN JR. (shaking his head) Fat is not beautiful unless you're a sick, deviant motherfucker with a fetish for that shit. It just isn't aesthetically pleasing. The Obese Woman continues piling food on her tray. DAN JR. I mean, granted, culture and normal personal preferences play a role incertain aspects of what is considered beautiful at different times. For example: Hairstyles and fashion change -- certain trends are hip for a while, but fiveyears later are atrocious -- the 1980's come to mind. But some things are universally beautiful. And certain things are universally not beautiful in any way, shape, or form. DERF Like what? DAN JR. Things like Nicole Bass, and pimples, and warts, and melted flesh from third degree burns... And well-fed bitches like her. DERF You make a good argument. DAN JR. Don't kid yourself, Derf. I'm not finished. I haven't yet begun to ridicule. DERF Oh. DAN JR. You know it's gotta be unsanitary. I mean, can you imagine what kind ofbacteria and yeast and STD's and shit are spawning and fermenting betweeneach and every fucking chub roll on that immense body? DERF It's a sick thought. DAN JR. Of course, it is. And the other day I heard on Oprah something about "foodaholism". Like it's a fucking disease, like cancer. Like they can't help. Like it's not their fault. DERF I did read on MFW about a study linking obesity to a virus. DAN JR. Well, then the CDC needs to come out here and quarantine this bitch. DERF (laughing) If it was a virus, what do you think they'd call it. DAN JR. There's already a name for what she has. It's called "gluttony". The Obese Woman turns around with two trays full of food, each with plates piled one on top of the other like a pyramid. DAN JR . (as she walks by) How now, brown cow. She doesn't respond. Derf laughs, and they finally approach the windowto order their long-awaited food. The End. The following was a fictional skit. Any resemblance to actual people, be they from your local gym or alt.support.fat-acceptance, is purely coincidental.
An Interview with TC Luoma (2001)
The following is an interview with TC Luoma. TC is the editor of TestosteroneMagazine, former editor of Muscle Media 2000, bodybuilding pioneer, and badass. THE LESBIAN PIMP How are you doing today, TC? TC LUOMA Man, I accidentally used too much Androsol this morning -- it's got me almost homicidal. I had to stop by a biker bar and kick some ass on my way out here. THE LESBIAN PIMP Really? TC LUOMA Oh yeah. This is powerful stuff. I can literally feel the increased protein synthesis - in fact, I've gained 29 grams of rock solid mass in the last 2 hours. THE LESBIAN PIMP Very impressive. Actually, you've made a number of impressive claims as far as results from different supplements over the years - it seems as though you should be vying for the Mr. O by now, yet looking at you, I can't really tell you work out. TC LUOMA Yeah, a lot of people say that. But, I'm 173 lbs at less than 13% bodyfat, so I just don't get it. And frankly, it pisses a T-dude off. In fact, if this Androsol wasn't wearing off, you'd be dead right now... just for bringing it up. THE LESBIAN PIMP I see. Why did Charles leave T-Mag? TC LUOMA I can't go into that too much, for legal reasons. THE LESBIAN PIMP Most of us assume that all of the hype and bullshit left him with a Biotest stank that he could no longer wash off of himself each night, even with Lava. And that has pumice, so it must have been really bad. TC LUOMA No. That's not it at all. It didn't have anything to do with Biotest. He-- (TC stops) Let's just say he saw something that made our business relationship uncomfortable. THE LESBIAN PIMP Like pissing in the Methoxy-7 or what?? TC LUOMA Like I said, I can't really say too much - so I'll just leave it at this: "Me, Tim, full body latex, and a tub of vanilla Grow." THE LESBIAN PIMP Fascinating. What was your relationship with Bill Phillips like? TC LUOMA (Getting teary eyed) I loved that man. Bill Phillips was a great man in the early years - when he still cared about the sport. But, then came the fame, then the drugs and the fitness bimbos... And after he started those physique transformation contests... he just turned into a completely different person. (TC breaks out crying) THE LESBIAN PIMP There. There. It's gonna be okay. TC LUOMA He made me eat out of a dog bowl. THE LESBIAN PIMP I see... Wait, he what?... Nevermind. (TC calms down a bit) So what does the "T" in "TC Luoma" stand for, TC? I assume it must be something pretty bad if it made you go through life just using your initials - 'cause "TC" really sounds pretty stupid itself. I bet it's a hermaphroditic name- that would explain a lot of the machismo - you know, like a coping mechanism for sharing your name with a girl. Is it Terry?... Tracey? (He bursts out crying again) TC LUOMA Bill used to call me that... Are you clean, Tracey? Are you wearing my favorite dress??... Who's ass is this, Tracey?! (he continues crying) It's your ass Bill -- It's your ass! (He's hysterical) Okay, I'll call you daddy -- please, just don't hit me again! THE LESBIAN PIMP Okay. I think that will just about do it. Thank you for coming by today, TC. We look forward to talking with you again soon. Obviously, this has been a fictional skit -- it is parody, co-written by The Lesbian Pimp and Par Deus, and is not intended to be taken at all seriously, nor is it intended to imply anything about the sexual inclinations of the real TC Luoma, Tim Patterson, or Bill Phillips.
BDNF -- The True Master Signal?
Okay, there is not going to be a true one master signal, as the body has a bunch of redundant systems, but BDNF may be the closest thing to it. It is increased by proper leptin and insulin signalling, decreased by cortisol, modulates the the positive neurotransmitter response and neurogenesis from exercise and anti-depressants, and it controls feeding and metabolic behavior.... Behav Neurosci. 2012 Aug;126(4):505-14. doi: 10.1037/a0028600. Epub 2012 Jun 11. A putative model of overeating and obesity based on brain-derived neurotrophic factor: direct and indirect effects. Ooi CL(1), Kennedy JL, Levitan RD. Author information: (1)Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Increased food intake is a major contributor to the obesity epidemic in all age groups. Elucidating brain systems that drive overeating and that might serve as targets for novel prevention and treatment interventions is thus a high priority for obesity research. The authors consider 2 major pathways by which decreased activity of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) may confer vulnerability to overeating and weight gain in an obesogenic environment. The first "direct" pathway focuses on the specific role of BDNF as a mediator of food intake control at brain areas rich in BDNF receptors, including the hypothalamus and hindbrain. It is proposed that low BDNF activity limited to this direct pathway may best explain overeating and obesity outside the context of major neuropsychiatric disturbance. A second "indirect" pathway considers the broad neurotrophic effects of BDNF on key monoamine systems that mediate mood dysregulation, impulsivity, and executive dysfunction as well as feeding behavior per se. Disruption in this pathway may best explain overeating and obesity in the context of various neuropsychiatric disturbances including mood disorders, attention-deficit disorder, and/or binge eating disorders. An integrative model that considers these potential roles of BDNF in promoting obesity is presented. The implications of this model for the early prevention and treatment of obesity are also considered. DOI: 10.1037/a0028600 PMID: 22687148 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Trends Neurosci. 2013 Feb;36(2):83-90. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2012.12.009. Epub 2013 Jan 18. BDNF and the central control of feeding: accidental bystander or essential player? Rios M(1). Author information: (1)Tufts University School of Medicine, Department of Neuroscience, Boston, MA 02111, USA. maribel.rios@tufts.edu A considerable body of evidence links diminished brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling to energy balance dysregulation and severe obesity in humans and rodents. Because BDNF exhibits broad neurotrophic properties, the underpinnings of these effects and its true role in the central regulation of food intake remain topics of debate in the field. Here, I discuss recent evidence supporting a critical role for this neurotrophin in physiological mechanisms regulating nutrient intake and body weight in the mature brain. They include reports of functional interactions of BDNF with central anorexigenic and orexigenic signaling pathways and evidence of recognized appetite hormones exerting neurotrophic effects similar to those of BDNF. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2012.12.009 PMCID: PMC3568936 PMID: 23333344 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2010 Oct;64(5):447-59. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2010.02135.x. Interface between hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and brain-derived neurotrophic factor in depression. Kunugi H(1), Hori H, Adachi N, Numakawa T. Author information: (1)Department of Mental Disorder Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan. hkunugi@ncnp.go.jp Although the pathophysiology of depressive disorder remains elusive, two hypothetical frameworks seem to be promising: the involvement of hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis abnormalities and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the pathogenesis and in the mechanism of action of antidepressant treatments. In this review, we focused on research based on these two frameworks in relation to depression and related conditions and tried to formulate an integrated theory of the disorder. Hormonal challenge tests, such as the dexamethasone/corticotropin-releasing hormone test, have revealed elevated HPA activity (hypercortisolism) in at least a portion of patients with depression, although growing evidence has suggested that abnormally low HPA axis (hypocortisolism) has also been implicated in a variety of stress-related conditions. Several lines of evidence from postmortem studies, animal studies, blood levels, and genetic studies have suggested that BDNF is involved in the pathogenesis of depression and in the mechanism of action of biological treatments for depression. Considerable evidence has suggested that stress reduces the expression of BDNF and that antidepressant treatments increase it. Moreover, the glucocorticoid receptor interacts with the specific receptor of BDNF, TrkB, and excessive glucocorticoid interferes with BDNF signaling. Altered BDNF function is involved in the structural changes and possibly impaired neurogenesis in the brain of depressed patients. Based on these findings, an integrated schema of the pathological and recovery processes of depression is illustrated. © 2010 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2010 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2010.02135.x PMID: 20923424 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Med Hypotheses. 2016 May;90:23-8. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2016.02.020. Epub 2016 Mar 2. FNDC5/irisin, a molecular target for boosting reward-related learning and motivation. Zsuga J(1), Tajti G(2), Papp C(2), Juhasz B(3), Gesztelyi R(4). Author information: (1)Department of Health Systems Management and Quality Management for Health Care, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei krt 98, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary. Electronic address: zsuga.judit@med.unideb.hu. (2)Department of Health Systems Management and Quality Management for Health Care, Faculty of Public Health, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei krt 98, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary. (3)Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei krt 98, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary. (4)Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Debrecen, Nagyerdei krt 98, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary. Interventions focusing on the prevention and treatment of chronic non-communicable diseases are on rise. In the current article, we propose that dysfunction of the mesocortico-limbic reward system contributes to the emergence of the WHO-identified risk behaviors (tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol), behaviors that underlie the evolution of major non-communicable diseases (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases). Given that dopaminergic neurons of the mesocortico-limbic system are tightly associated with reward-related processes and motivation, their dysfunction may fundamentally influence behavior. While nicotine and alcohol alter dopamine neuron function by influencing some receptors, mesocortico-limbic system dysfunction was associated with elevation of metabolic set-point leading to hedonic over-eating. Although there is some empirical evidence, precise molecular mechanism for linking physical inactivity and mesocortico-limbic dysfunction per se seems to be missing; identification of which may contribute to higher success rates for interventions targeting lifestyle changes pertaining to physical activity. In the current article, we compile evidence in support of a link between exercise and the mesocortico-limbic system by elucidating interactions on the axis of muscle - irisin - brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) - and dopaminergic function of the midbrain. Irisin is a contraction-regulated myokine formed primarily in skeletal muscle but also in the brain. Irisin stirred considerable interest, when its ability to induce browning of white adipose tissue parallel to increasing thermogenesis was discovered. Furthermore, it may also play a role in the regulation of behavior given it readily enters the central nervous system, where it induces BDNF expression in several brain areas linked to reward processing, e.g. the ventral tegmental area and the hippocampus. BDNF is a neurotropic factor that increases neuronal dopamine content, modulates dopamine release relevant for neuronal plasticity and increased neuronal survival as well as learning and memory. Further linking BDNF to dopaminergic function is BDNF's ability to activate tropomyosin-related kinase B receptor that shares signalization with presynaptic dopamine-3 receptors in the ventral tegmental area. Summarizing, we propose that the skeletal muscle derived irisin may be the link between physical activity and reward-related processes and motivation. Moreover alteration of this axis may contribute to sedentary lifestyle and subsequent non-communicable diseases. Preclinical and clinical experimental models to test this hypothesis are also proposed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2016.02.020 PMID: 27063080 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1669
|
__label__wiki
| 0.820337
| 0.820337
|
Is Awami League changing its strategy?
June 27, 2017 | Filed under: Bangladesh Politics | Posted by: bdchronicle
23 June is a significant date for Awami League. This is the day it was founded 68 long years ago in 1949. Political parties crop up like mushrooms in this country and then suddenly burst like bubbles into nothingness. And parties have been split into factions time and again. Even Awami League has had its share of splits. But the mainstream Awami League remains alive and active. Birthday greetings to the innumerable leaders and workers of Awami League.
A party’s well-being doesn’t depend on whether it is old or new. Actually, as the great writer Saratchandra observed in this novel Srikanta, ‘mere survival is not the measure of success. After all, enormous elephants die off, but cockroaches survive.’ Muslim League was established in December 1906 in Dhaka, but fell into rot in 1948. Yet within five years of its birth, Awami League managed to win the majority votes of the people in 1954.
Seven decades have passed since then. The question naturally arises, how far has Awami League come? Awami League can no longer be categorized as a mere political party like any of the numerous parties that have randomly sprung up. Over the decades, Awami League has formed the government several times. Is ideological politics have transformed into power politics. Power politics have two aspects. A party has to go to government to implement its policies and programmes.
That is why it is so important to ascend to the helm of state power. Power, in this context, is a medium or tool that assists in achieving the objectives. On the other hand, if attaining power is the sole objective or goal, then the party undergoes a psychological change. The party then tends to imagine there is no alternative to them, that they are indispensible.
In 1958 when general Ayub Khan took over power in Pakistan, he decided that the country would run on his wishes. He would always say, how can democracy survive in a country where pirs and fakirs control the people, where most of the people haven’t even been able to reach the level of primary education? And so he came up with a ‘home-grown system’ which he called ‘basic democracy’.
He formed the electoral college comprising 80 thousand members of the union councils (now known here as union parishad). They were to elect the members of parliament and the president. Critics would sarcastically remark that Ayub Khan has come up with 80 thousand angels.
It was a dictatorship. In 1965, Indonesia’s president Suharto had declared himself life president. He was toppled by a military coup within a year. There was no dearth of people advocating that Ayub Khan be made life president. He used to lay stress on two words – development and continuity. In other words, if the country was to develop, he would have to remain in power. Once when he had returned from a ‘successful trip abroad’, a plan was drawn up to take his weight in gold and gift him that amount of gold. That plan didn’t materialise eventually.
In 1968 the entire country celebrated a ‘decade of development’. Just short of three months before the year’s end, he had to step down. The last years of his life were pitiful. There was not even an alley in his name in the city of Islamabad which he had built. There was a time when his followers had started calling him Pakistan’s second father of the nation. They would say, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah had brought independence, Ayub Khan had ushered in development.
ven Jinnah’s last days were bleak. Dictators sitting in power cannot even imagine what the days ahead will hold.
I am the most capable, I am the most patriotic, I am the one who has given people their rights, if I was there the country would have fallen into ruin – such rhetoric is heard more or less in all post-colonial societies. Surrounded by sycophants, these leaders are oblivious to the fact that the ground is fast crumbling under their feet.
I have been making all these deliberations because things just don’t seem quite right in Bangladesh at the moment. Awami League is at the helm. The party is fully in its president Sheikh Hasina’s hold. She says she has taken us to the development highway. Unless the government has continuity, this development will come to a halt, she fears. In other words, if the country is to continue to progress forward, Awami League must be brought to power again. A few days back in parliament, an MP of the government’s sidekick Jatiya Party blatantly said, Sheikh Hasina has to remain prime minister for two more terms, without votes, if necessary. Such ideas do not bode well.
There was a time where they had been no alternative to Awami League and its lifeblood Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It has 292 members out of 300 in parliament, so many find hard to understand why Bangabandhu opted for the one-party BKSAL. After a long spell of rough times, Awami League, under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, managed to come back to power.
From 1991 to 2008, we never saw a party manage to form the government two consecutive times. The people voted for change. For the first couple of years, the governments would do well. Then towards the end, there would be an uncontrolled deluge of crime, corruption, forceful grabbing of property and so on. The voters, fed up with the state of affairs, would drop one party and opt for the other. It wouldn’t always be a good thing, but still, the people had the power to choose.
Since 2008, Awami League has come to power consecutively. It is up to the people whether they can make it for the third time. Whether the people can make this decision freely, all depends on the credibility of the election, the election commission and the government’s competence and image. The next election will prove just how competent and mature Awami League is as a party.
Awami League and its main opposition BNP are both desperate to win the next election. We see and hear them squabble every day. All sorts of equations are being formulated for the elections. For long the perception had been that Awami League was an anti-Muslim party and BNP a Muslim one. A total of 90 per cent of the people are Muslims. Awami League had long been eyeing that massive vote bank. It has tried to depict itself to the public as a party of the Muslims in 2006 when it signed a five-point deal with Khelafat Majlis. That effort fizzled out and Awami League also remained mum on that head.
The recent proximity between Awami League and Hefazat-e-Islam and other religious parties and groups, sends out a signal. Awami League wants to break BNP’s monopoly as a Muslim party and to distance the religious parties from BNP as much as possible. Is this an election strategy of Awami League? Or have the leaders and workers of Awami League undergone a change in mindset? After seven long decades, the party needs to answer this question.
Awami League had started off as a Muslim party. It was the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League, and it had been stated that ‘if Muslim League was to be made into a truly strong Muslim League or Muslim jamaat or Muslim national platform, then every adult Muslim would have to join this party….’
Awami League started off as the “people’s Muslim League”. It was in 1955 at the party’s council session that the word ‘Muslim’ was dropped. Since then Awami League has been endeavouring to don a non-communal character. So many years hence, the question now arises as to whether it has been able to become fully non-communal, or has the latent idea arisen once again? Is Awami League changing its strategy for the election, or is it going back to its roots?
* Mohiuddin Ahmad is a writer and researcher and can be reached at mohi2005@gmail.com <mailto:mohi2005@gmail.com> .
*This column, originally published in Prothom Alo Bangla print edition, has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1670
|
__label__cc
| 0.703003
| 0.296997
|
South Africa’s 55,910,000 population comprises the world’s biggest HIV epidemic: an unusually high 18.9% adult people living with HIV (PLHIV)—varying by region—and 270,000 new infections in 2016. Nationwide 320,000 children are infected.
Men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender women, sex workers and people who inject drugs (PWID) experience even higher rates: sex workers nationally 57.7%, in Johannesburg an astonishing 71.8%., yet not many are getting Antiretroviral therapy (ART). The rate of infection among young women is 4 times greater than among same-age men.
High levels of stigma, homophobia and ignorance prevent many people living with HIV (PLHIV) from getting the health care they need.
Yet there is ground for hope. South Africa has the largest Antiretroviral therapy (ART) program in the world, a huge investment. It was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to approve PrEP. It now has a progressive national HIV policy for sex workers, although on the ground, the program meets resistance from local authorities.
(Figures from AVERT, 2016)
Pomona Truck stop
Pomona Truck Stop sits alongside a highway a few kilometers outside Johannesburg. It is an enclosed, secure area with many amenities, where dozens of truckers from all over Africa pass their time waiting for their next load. Here they have a café, a shop, a laundry and a well-equipped garage for truck repairs.
from Zimbabwe
at Pomona
Moses,
Truck-driver
Trucker and Sexworker
Sexworker
Sexworkers
Siphiwe,
And hidden behind the trucks on the edges of the field is a long row of tents, homes to countless female sex workers who help relieve the men when they’re away from their girlfriends or wives at home.
Most of the women we met here come from Zimbabwe. They flee to wealthy South Africa every year by thousands to escape the desperate poverty in their homeland, hoping for an income to support their children and help their families survive back home. Sex with men is their main source of income, but women also deal in used jerricans and second-hand clothes.
The roles are clear in Pomona: both men and women know their place. That creates peace. As long as the men don’t drink too much, there are few problems between men and women.
What’s most important in Pomona, but invisible… what’s not talked about out loud, but only whispered about… is that 80% of truckers and more than 60% of women carry the HIV virus.
These are absurdly high percentages encountered almost nowhere else in the world.
Even so, it’s getting better. “A few years ago practically all the drivers were HIV-infected. Now we see young drivers without HIV,” says nurse Rosina.
She’s in charge of the clinic container standing clearly visible in a central location on the property. Here, regardless of who they are and where they come from, truckers and women can get free testing and treatment. Unfortunately, HIV is still a big taboo in Africa. This raises the threshold of reluctance to visit the clinic.
The truckers, especially, may respond badly to a positive HIV diagnosis. They’re afraid of losing their jobs, and they’re reluctant to confront their wives at home. “Women are stronger than men when they have to deal with HIV” agrees nurse Rosina. “They take their pills faithfully and they never give up. That’s because women are also mothers.”
HIV plays a growing role today in sex between truckers and women. More women than five years ago dare to insist on using condoms, they say, and more men are aware of the risks they run. But if a man doesn’t feel like using a condom, he has the last word. A trucker named Petros, a nice guy, doesn’t want to lie: “The man is the boss, and the women always give in because they can’t afford to lose the money.”
“Only if they buy me a new dress, then they can kiss me.”
Health services to hard-to-reach populations
North Star Alliance Clinic
“I work for 11 months but in december I’m free.”
Truckdrivers at Pomona
“We support each other. We’re sisters. We always support each other.”
Florence and Brilliance
“Women are stronger than men when they have to deal with HIV.”
Truckers and
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1671
|
__label__cc
| 0.625412
| 0.374588
|
Meet my character: blog tour
August 22, 2014 lesley
Are you perhaps wondering just what a blog tour is? So was I, until Lisa Devaney approached me and asked if I’d participate. I’m tempted to describe it as the blog equivalent of a chain letter, but since I have a never-with-a-barge-pole policy with them, I prefer to think of it as a game of tag, or even better, an author’s relay race – the idea being that you take the baton when it’s passed to you, run with it, then pass it on to other authors. So, to begin with, I extend my hand in gratitude to Lisa Devaney for holding the baton out to me.
Lisa has told me a little about herself, describing how she wrote and illustrated her own comic books as a child, created cartoon-inspired websites in the 90s, and took to the stage in New York City to perform in SLAM-poetry style. Even when spinning publicity campaigns for business clients, Lisa has always been enthralled by storytelling and the mediums that can be used to tell her stories. Her imagination finally led her to writing and self-publishing books, and her debut novel ‘In Ark: A Promise of Survival’ is earning 5* ratings and reviews. I’ll be reviewing it myself in due course. You can follow #InArk on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and read more about Lisa and her novel at her website http://www.lisadevaney.com
The idea of this blog tour is to introduce one of our own invented characters, and tell you more about them. With several novels and three short story collections to choose from, I had a queue of them clamouring for my attention, as soon as I began to muse upon which of them I’d pick. I had them draw lots in the end (some just point blank refused to sink that low) and the one who emerged as the winner is Fynn, the narrator of my novel ‘The Drowned Phoenician Sailor’ – typical of her, I might say, to somehow push herself to the front of the queue like that. Of all my characters she certainly is the one with the gift of the gab. She even insisted on writing the novel with her own distinctive voice, rather than let me tell the story.
So now, to comply with the blog tour rules, here are the questions and answers:
What is the name of your character? Are they a fictional or historic person?
Fynn is my character’s name – or is it Kaya? This is a ‘soul name’ bestowed on her in childhood by her ageing hippie mother, Phoebe. Fynn is sceptical and pragmatic, disdaining all things fanciful, but uses the alternative identity of ‘Kaya’ to infiltrate her therapist’s funeral, and the name sticks. She’s a fictional character – she’d probably even say that of herself. One of the things she is well aware of is how much we invent and reinvent ourselves throughout our life – and you might consider, therefore, that there is significance in the fact that it’s in using her ‘soul name’ that she discovers more of who she really is throughout the course of the novel.
When and where is the story set?
The story takes place in the here and now, although if I wanted to be fanciful and clever I’d remind you that the words now and here together make the word nowhere. I just love how words play with our mind (or is it the other way round?) The narrative also takes a bit of a detour into Fynn’s past, much as we all do when we reflect on our life right now and wonder how it was that we got to be exactly here. Our history is only as significant as what we learn from it, and we learn a great deal about Fynn from delving into hers – both childhood and more recent history. The novel is mostly set in Oxford, where she lives, and Cornwall, where her delightful mother, Phoebe, lives, and where she meets the mysterious Jack – another major player in the novel. He looked suitably enigmatic and just smiled when I asked if he wanted to take centre stage for this question and answer session. He knew I knew it was the last thing he’d want.
What should we know about her?
Fynn is strongly independent and a bit of a loner, although if you want to understand more of what she doesn’t reveal – often even to herself – pay particular attention to her relationship with her nefarious cat, Morpheus, which exposes an insecurity and vulnerability she wouldn’t want to own. At the start of the novel you’ll soon discover that she has been in therapy for two years – a last resort after twenty-five years of being haunted by her sister, Abby. She doesn’t believe in ghosts, which is a bit of setback for someone who manages within a few chapters to have two of them dogging her every move. She hasn’t been too successful in relationships, and she certainly isn’t looking for one now. But sometimes relationships – and fate – come looking for you.
What is the main conflict? What messes up her life
Fynn wants to know if her ghosts are real, or whether she is crazy. She is still grieving for her sister – but which of them truly is it who can’t let go? And it’s not just the loss of her sister Abby that haunts her, but everything that went before, and quite a lot since. Her therapist, Paul, had begun to guide her towards the heart of the matter, but then he went and died suddenly and created even more of a mess in her psyche. And what terrible timing – just when she needs him to help her sort out that mess more than ever. Her mother, with a long history of gullibility when it comes to lame dogs and lost souls, seems to have been entirely taken in by Jack, the oddball drifter she met on the beach in Cornwall. He is fast infiltrating himself into Phoebe’s life, and Fynn is suspicious of his motives and protective of her mother. And why is she so strangely drawn to Jack when she doesn’t even like him?
What is the personal goal of the character?
That’s an easy one for me to answer, although I don’t think Fynn herself would be able to articulate it – not at the start of the novel anyway. She sees herself as a free spirit who doesn’t want to be tied down – even though she’s beginning to realise she uncharacteristically tied herself down two years before by adopting a cat and embarking on therapy. What she longs for, couched in denial within her unconscious, is freedom from the pain of grief, and everything that lies behind it: guilt and regret, frozen in time. Isn’t something like that what we all long to be free from? We carry the grief for our own unlived life every day, whether or not we know it. We want to be loved for who we are, and to stand fearlessly in our truth, rather than hide behind an identity that doesn’t honestly reflect who we are. This is very much the underlying theme in the novel, and you will discover in reading it whether this is resolved for Fynn in the end.
What is the title of this novel, and can we read more about it?
‘The Drowned Phoenician Sailor’ is the title – it’s been published on kindle since January 2014. You can read more about it and what led to me writing it on my blog….. and on my website…. and on Goodreads …and of course on Amazon…. where you can also ‘look inside’ and decide whether Fynn’s voice and story is one that speaks to you. All those 5* reviews can’t be wrong!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GPN71GM
Today I am nominating two talented authors whose work has excited, fascinated and delighted me in very different ways – they will in turn carry the baton forward and tell you more about their main characters:
Brett Hawkins
Brett lives with his angelic wife, 2 sons and 2 dogs in the Northwestern suburbs of Sydney. After 20 odd years of sailing the high seas of the corporate world plus another 5 running his own business Brett finally made his decision. That thing, the voice, you know, the one that’s been whispering in his ear ever since he was a teenager. Follow your passion the nagging voice kept saying until eventually in late 2013 he listened. Brett’s reunion with his lifelong passion has been an elated one that has spawned his first novel in the making. Entitled ‘The Stars of the Soul’ it is a provoking Science Fiction/Fantasy adventure spanning 1400 years of man’s eternal search for his soul. For sneak peeks and to discover more of Brett’s writing you can visit his blog: Brett’s Future http://www.BrettsFuture.com
Robin Chambers
Once upon a time Robin was born in Bootle, Liverpool. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis but instead was plunged into the maelstrom of inner city education. Even so, he found time to write children’s stories, published by Penguin in the 1970s. He returned to his northern roots after 14 years of headship in Hackney and in 1993 met his wonderful wife Amy. In 2008 they left for a life by the western shores of the Caribbean. Surviving a murder attempt by local thugs in November 2010, Robin realised he could have died without accomplishing a cherished ambition. They returned to the UK and he began work on ‘Myrddin’s Heir’: the epic story that will be his legacy. It took three years to write the first four books and Book 5 was published in April 2014. They are all on kindle at Amazon for just 99p. This magical story is ideal for bright children from 10–110 years of age – longer than ‘The Lord of the Rings’, longer even than the entire ‘Harry Potter’. To complete it Robin reckons he needs to live another 15 years. He has to finish it, because only he knows how it ends… You can find his website at http://www.myrddinsheir.com
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1673
|
__label__cc
| 0.66048
| 0.33952
|
ISLAM+MODERNITY
a Religion@UVM class blog
← Towards Light and Hands: Visual Grammars of Shirin Neshat and Saba Taj
Essentialization and Erasure in the Occupation of Palestine →
Long Read: Colonialism, Modernity, Racialization, and African American Muslims
Posted on April 30, 2018 by Charis Jones
When I first began my research for this blog, I wanted to investigate how it is that black Muslim identity has and continues to inform Islam in America today. Drawing from David Chidster, D.V. Kumar, and Tomoko Masuzawa’s works on the effects of colonialism, the implications of modernity, and the racialization of Islam, as well as my own assumptions about how I thought I could thoroughly address and answer this question appeared, at an oblivious first glance, doable and linear. I learned quickly, however, that this was not the case. In the slightest.
I hadn’t gotten far in my research when I realized that I had entered into a literary world where little had been published and what had been posed more questions and avenues of thought rather than answers. What became increasingly clear to me was that the scholarly framework in place to explore the relationship between being black and being Muslim in America today was basically absent. This lack of scholarly work also implied the erasure of black Muslim experiences from the broader conversation regarding Islam in America today. The lived experiences of those who are black and Muslim and adequate analysis and research pertaining to their narratives had fallen through the cracks of America’s social, political, and religious paradigms. Why was this?
Frustrated, I continued to read. African American and immigrant relations, conversion to Islam as a protest to white supremacy, and the racialization of Muslims at large were some topics that had briefly touched on this question, although not completely. It was at this point in my research that I had unknowingly begun to uncover a larger and arguably more pertinent reality: namely, that the evaluation on what it means to be black and Muslim in America is largely incomplete.
I took this opportunity to think about the ways in which the narrative and discussion regarding Islam in American could be more inclusive of African American Muslims. My hope was to interrogate various resources, historical and contemporary, in order to formulate a way of thinking that would be inclusive of the black Muslim population in America today. The research thus far has produced models of what it means to be black in America and what it means to be Muslim in America but there has been little to no recognition of their intersectional experience. I had assumed that I would come upon a space made for discussions and analyses about the lived experiences of these people with concise data lying next to it, and I was embarrassed and angered at my blind assumption and the overall absence of conversation. There is writing out there, however, that could be instrumental to push us in the right direction of developing our understanding of the complex narratives and experiences that function beneath being both black and Muslim. With this in mind, there are various sources that may be helpful in merging common notions of what it means to be black and what it means to be Muslim to show that the two are not mutually exclusive.
In order to begin the conversation regarding what it means to be black and Muslim in America, it is important to first talk about colonialism and the heaviest shape it took in America: slavery. The mass enslavement of Africans in the early 1500s as a part of North American colonial expansion is imperative to understanding the construction of black identities. The capturing of Africans, some of whom were Muslim as Islam was (and continues to be) one of Africa’s most dominant religions, thus facilitated the introduction of Islam to “The New World”. At the time, European colonizers were armed with a theological requirement of inviting those to convert freely to Christianity. This, however, was not an option and was violently imposed on Native Americans as well as those who were enslaved. It is important to note here that freedom to publicly practice non-Christian religions was nonexistent at this point. This, however, does not mean that African Muslims of the time ceased to practice. What is known about black Muslims in regards to Islamic practice in America at this point is miniscule, however, the simultaneous construction of identity for what it means to be black in America was underway while Islam remained covert.
Intertwined with this conversation on the effects colonialism and slavery lies the subject of modernity. At this point in American history, development was accompanied by the praise of Christianity through which the vehicle of modernity made a relentless entry into every aspect off society. As mentioned above, this meant rejecting other forms of religious practice and ways of life, specifically among Native Americans and enslaved Africans, which colonizers characterized as being “backwards.” The conceptualization of modernity as being born alongside colonialism as its descriptive counterpart is relevant to the implications of being Muslim in America. The word “modernity” signifies, most often, what we as Westerners would consider to be “good.” “Modernity,” in turn, has many implications and can be employed in various ways. What is not “modern” in character is simultaneously deemed as an “outdated” obstacle (Kumar, 241). This characterization illustrates the historically negative view of Islam held by the West. Because of this, Islam in America has gone from being largely unseen, to tacitly approved, to being employed as a mechanism for social change for some, to demonized and threatening at large. This has led (many white) Americans to abandon social paradigms for seeing the diversity of Islamic practice as many people do not envision it as being socially, politically, and religiously “progressive.” The relevancy of modernity here in furthering our understanding of what it means to be black and Muslim in America is that the “better-than-before” comparativeness implied by modernity simultaneously constructs opposing identities for people who are not deemed to be as such (Kumar, 242). Since America is the emblem of “modernity” as a result of colonialism, how have these bedfellows effected the construction of identities of being both black and Muslim?
The enduring effects of colonialism and America’s obsession becoming all things “modern” has had an enduring effect on the formation of people’s identity, especially those who are both racially and religiously marginalized. So too has the process of racialization, an extension of both colonialism and modernity, in the way that it ascribes ethnic or racial identities to groups and practices to which they don’t belong in order to make easier the categorization of peoples. Colonialism, “modernity,” and racialization all illustrate how those in power have the ability to choose, rename, and reclaim unfamiliar ideas and people in terms of their familiar. In trying to explore what it means to be black and Muslim in America, one must take into account the intersectional identities that operate beneath these repressive processes (Khabeer, 79). Although America preaches diversity and inclusivity, there has yet to be a space for the legitimization of those who are black or African American and Muslim at the same time.
Taking into account these historically complex and lasting processes of power and imposition offers a helpful starting point from which a more in depth study of what it means to be black and Muslim and American can prosper. With this in mind, we must also acknowledge instances throughout American time and space where we can and have seen black Muslim Identity operate. Although I am admittedly limited in my resources and knowledge, I hope I am able to convey a way of thought and space that allows the identities of black Muslims to be at the forefront. We can even start by engaging with and asking questions about a figure many of us may be familiar with: Malcolm X.
Malcolm X, distinguished leader of the Nation of Islam as well as one of the many faces of the Civil Right Movement, was a prominent black Muslim figure during one of the most pivotal periods in American history. X captures one way in which being African American and Muslim has been expressed and popularly seen within and throughout the American context, as an instrument of social justice and a protest to white supremacy. Although Malcolm X does not and should not represent the lived experiences of all African American Muslims, his mere appearance may challenge common notions about what being black and Muslim in America can look like.
Although there is still more to do be done in gathering and evaluating this group of people and their many narratives existing within the American landscape, there are various areas where black Muslim identity has and continues to challenge common (mostly white) notions of being both black and Muslim. These places show that these two identities, contrary to popular belief, do not exist as separate from one another, however, they are confronted with a distinct experience. It is here that I hope to offer some ways of thinking about where we can see this intersectional identity operating, in hopes of broadening the analysis and resisting social constructs that have informed this country since its conception.
Looking at African American and immigration relations regarding Muslim identity politics is in and of itself a huge avenue in regards to thinking about black Muslim identity. Asking questions about and evaluating the effects of race, class, and residence is applicable to understanding the lived experiences of any person and is therefore necessary to consider (Karim, 27). The issue of assimilation and isolation are two components in this discourse due to the fact that African American Muslims struggle with not being authoritative enough to non-Muslims nor representative enough to be thought off as Muslim in American popular vision (Karim, 42). These tensions exist where South Asian and Arab Muslims obtain a certain privilege by being “authentic” Muslims where as black Muslims are ignored and delegitimized because of long lasting historical prejudice embedded in the American framework. Here we can ask questions such as how do the competing notions of Islam influence what “American” Islam discourses look like and how have these tensions informed space and a sense of belonging?
Another and equally important avenue to which exploration of this topic is needed is at the junction of Islam and forms of performance and expression such as Hip Hop. A hugely important and contemporary way of expression that pervades all aspects of American society, specifically the African American community, Hip Hop is a crucial site where African Americans draw upon their blackness to construct their identity of being Muslim. Hip Hop, a historically important location for the illustration of the struggle of being black in America faces the “erasure of Africa from the archive [as a] critical deletion that enables the categorization of Black music as un-Islamic” (Khabeer, 97). Hip Hop then has the ability to become another location where questions regarding protest, assimilation, and isolation in regards to black Muslim identity can be posed (Khabeer, 36). Similarly, faith as a form of rebellion could also contribute greatly in pushing forward yet another category of thought that confronts deeply engrained social paradigms within the American context.
Gender must also be included in the quest for a better understanding of what it means to be black and Muslim in America. The intersection of gender to race and class vary not only depending on location and context, but have informed popular understanding of what it means to be a “model citizen,” specifically throughout the United States. African American females as well as non-binary Muslims are forced into the need to navigate race, class, and gender within a context that deems South Asian and Arab Muslims as the “model minority” (Khabeer, 92). Here, America’s exclusive nature should once again be interrogated by asking questions about the specific discomfort and prejudice that manifests when considering the intersectional experiences specifically of those who are female and black. What does this experience look like when Islam is added and is of equal importance? In a place like America where Islamophobia is at its highest levels, anti-blackness is pervasive, and sexism is the norm, a look into the various narratives of those who are female, black, and Muslim is necessary.
There is a lot to be said about what it means to be both black and Muslim in America. A multiplicity of narratives and experiences are alive and living every day. The absence of standard conversation as well as scholarly analysis is indicative of the problematic way in which many (mostly white) Americans tend to categorize people with unfamiliar identities in terms of what is familiar to them. If you are not recognized, then you don’t have access nor space to esteem who you are, if you’re not legitimized because of who you are, you are not invited to the table of legitimate “diversity” that although has been preached by America since day one, has and continues to be perverted. I hope that by offering some historical analyses shedding light onto various ways in which we can see black Muslim identity functioning throughout America today that the conversation about how and why Islam is racialized can continue. There are stories that need to be told, voices to be heard, and normative ways of thinking that need to be confronted.
Chidester, David, “Colonialism and Postcolonialism.” Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. Lindsay Jones. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 1853-1860. Gale Virtual Reference Library
Curtis, Edward E. Muslims in America: a Short History. Oxford University Press, 2009.
Feddes, David. “Islam Among African American Prisoners.” Sociology: SAGE Journals , vol. 36, 1 Oct. 2008, pp. 505–521.
Karim, Jamillah Ashira. American Muslim Women: Negotiating Race, Class, and Gender within the Ummah. New York University Press, 2009.
Khabeer, Su’ad Abdul. Muslim Cool: Race, Religion, and Hip Hop in America. New York University Press, 2016
Kumar, D.V., “Engaging with Modernity: Need for a Critical Negotiation,” Sociological Bulletin, Vol. 57, No. 2 (May-August 2008), pp. 240-254
Masuzawa, Tomoko. “Islam, a Semitic religion,” ch. 6 in The Invention of World Religions (Chicago: University of Chicago press, 2005), 179-206
Wheeler, Kayla. “It’s ‘Been’ Cool to Cover: Why Ayana Ife Matters.” Sapelo Square, 21 Nov. 2017.
This entry was posted in Student Post and tagged Black Islam, Colonialism, gender, Hip Hop, Intersectionality, Islam, longread, modernity, muslim, Racailization, Race, Religion. Bookmark the permalink.
Islam+Modernity: A Class Blog
The Palestinian Struggle for Independence and the So-Called “Muslim World”
Meaning-Making in the Mosh Pit: Claiming Muslim and Punk Identities in an Alt-Right Era
The Creation of Minder as a Form of Social Bricolage
Essentialization and Erasure in the Occupation of Palestine
Faculty Post
Student Post
'Muslim World'
apologetic
Black Islam
Indian Muslims
rel195a
Turkish secularism
Visual Representations
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1674
|
__label__wiki
| 0.783874
| 0.783874
|
I first encountered Caveh Zahedi when I was sixteen and very stoned. My friends and I were watching Waking Life, an animated Richard Linklater movie beloved by potheads and philosophers alike, and on-screen, a cartoonized version of Zahedi was drawing film frames in the air and talking about “holy moments.” His cartoon eyes were bugging out. Sparks were leaping from his fingers. My reaction was one of: shit, man.
Nine years later, watching Caveh Zahedi’s most recent non-fiction film, I Am a Sex Addict, screening tonight at the Crystal at 7:15 pm, I added an exclamation point: shit, man!
It is impossible to remain unresponsive to Zahedi’s work – his films are open-eyed funny, tangential, lascivious, bizarrely pretty, and honest to the point of untruth. After studying philosophy at Yale, he moved to France, where he failed to charm Jean-Luc Godard and was consistently shot-down in his attempts to convince French television and the French government to fund his work. Tenacious, he moved back to LA to attend UCLA film school, where he co-directed the film A Little Stiff, which (finally!) premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Since then, his films have won wide critical acclaim, and they have also been, to quote his website, “virulently panned.” When his films have lacked in critical adoration, however, they’ve made up for it in cult followings, and BSDFF is proud to be counted among the Zahedi adherents.
Mr. Zahedi was kind enough to answer a few questions for us.
BSDFF: Your films are not the typical “documentary” fare, and I wonder how you view your own work under this umbrella term: do you feel you are seeking to “document” something?
Caveh Zahedi: I do feel that I am seeking to "document" something but that "something" is perhaps different than the "something" that traditional documentarians seeks to "document."
BSDFF: Since you are often the subject of your films, would you say you’re attempting to document yourself?
CZ: Absolutely. Myself and the Reality around me, with a capital R.
BSDFF: And how does documentation differ from storytelling?
CZ: I think the difference has to do with the point of departure. The point of departure in documentation is Reality, which, as has been pointed out many times, is stranger than fiction. In documentaries, storytelling is simply a means to convey the essential strangeness of Reality. Whereas traditional storytelling seeks to convey a sense of reality but the point of departure is really an idea or a narrative construction. In other words, reality is forced to fit into the box of storytelling, whereas in documentary filmmaking, storytelling is forced to fit into the box of Reality. It's never a perfect fit and it is this excess which makes documentaries unique and different from traditional storytelling.
BSDFF: Do you feel more honest with a camera on you? Does film-honesty feel different from everyday honesty?
CZ: There is definitely such a thing as film-honesty and there is definitely such a thing as everyday honesty and the two things are definitely different. I would say that my film-honest quotient is much higher than my everyday honesty quotient whereas my guess would be that for most people, the exact opposite is true.
BSDFF: When showing I Am a Sex Addict at festivals such as BSDFF, how do you feel walking amongst the audience afterward, knowing that they all just watched you receive many re-created blowjobs? Any particularly memorable reactions from audience members?
CZ: It's definitely an odd and often surreal experience. I remember a gentleman in his eighties pulling me aside and asking me in hushed tones which countries' prostitutes gave the best blow jobs, as if he were about to head for the nearest travel agency and buy a one-way ticket to whatever country I had recommended. But the most memorable reactions are from sex addicts and sex workers who come up to me afterwards and reveal the most intimate details of their sex lives. It's actually a pretty wonderful experience and it always feels like an honor and a privilege.
BSDFF: In many ways, you are very exposed in I Am a Sex Addict. However, I couldn’t help but notice the proliferation of naked women in contrast to your mostly-clothed body. Was there a reason behind your comparative modesty?
CZ: The main reason for my comparative modesty was that I needed to hide the fact that I didn't in fact have an erection during most of the scenes in which I was supposed to.
BSDFF: I wonder, too, about a point in the film where you refer to yourself as having been a feminist – does feminism still play a part in your filmmaking process? What does your feminist side think about having so many lovely breasts onscreen?
CZ: I do still think of myself as a feminist but not the dogmatic variety. There are so many different schools of feminism that the word has became very vague indeed. One problem I had with casting during the film was from feminists who felt that the script was too shame-based and not sex-positive enough. That type of feminism is all about breasts being exposed. In other words, my feminist side has no problems with it.
We will be screening four of Caveh Zahedi’s movies over the next two days: I Am a Sex Addict screens Friday, February 24 at 7:15 pm. I Don’t Hate Las Vegas Anymore, In the Bathtub of the World, and his newest untitled film will screen Saturday, February 25 at 3:00 pm, 5:00 pm, and 7:15 pm, respectively. All films screen at the Crystal Theater.
Article by BSDFF Promo Team writer Emma Törzs
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1676
|
__label__wiki
| 0.604951
| 0.604951
|
UPS Vietnam Joint Stock Company
You are here: Home / UPS Vietnam Joint Stock Company
Air Express Carriers and Courier Services (NAICS 4921)
18A Cong Hoa Street Ward 12, Tan Binh District Ho Chi Minh City
UPS is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including transporting packages and freight; facilitating international trade, and deploying advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, UPS delivers 20 million packages and documents each day to about 9 million customers, in more than 220 countries and territories. Today, UPS employs more than 454,000 people worldwide and operates a fleet of about 119,000 vehicles including more than 9,300 alternative fuel-vehicles and 241 aircrafts.
In Asia Pacific, UPS serves 41 countries and territories with air hubs in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The network is supported by a delivery fleet of 1,883 vehicles, 323 operating facilities and more than 3,900 points of access.
In March 2013, UPS became the first global express delivery company to be wholly-owned in Vietnam. The change has extended its express pickup and delivery service to 63 provinces and offered later pick-up and cut-off times. UPS has operations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
In April 2017, UPS Vietnam announced the enhancement of its export services across 19 provinces to support local businesses as they pursue greater cross-border trade. This service enhancement is part of UPS’s long-term strategy to provide local small-and-medium businesses with greater access to global trade.
In October 2018, UPS introduced UPS My Choice to 13 markets in the Asia Pacific, including Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Russell Reed
Jennifer Wong
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1678
|
__label__wiki
| 0.591864
| 0.591864
|
Education Week's blogs > Rules for Engagement See more School Climate coverage
Education Week journalists explore some of the nonacademic issues that bear on students’ learning. Find insights, news, and analysis on a wide range of issues including school climate, student engagement, children’s well-being, and student behavior and discipline.
« The Absolute Best School Climate Blogging (This Week): Hooray for Art Edition | Main | New Federal Guidance Aims to Improve Schooling for Incarcerated Youth »
Minnesota Becomes Latest State to Adopt Policy for Transgender Student-Athletes
By Evie Blad on December 5, 2014 5:31 PM | No comments
This is a cross post from Schooled in Sports.
Beginning next school year, transgender student-athletes in Minnesota will be allowed to compete on sports teams that align with their gender identity.
Earlier this year, the board of the Minnesota State High School League unanimously voted to table the proposed policy due to an overwhelming public response both in favor and opposed to it. On Thursday, the board once again took up the issue, this time voting to pass the changes by a large margin.
According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, 18 of the 20 board members voted in favor of the policy, with one member voting against it and another abstaining. Under the new policy, which goes into effect for the 2015-16 school year, a transgender student-athlete and his or her parent(s) or legal guardian(s) must notify the school in writing that "the student has a consistent gender identity or that the gender identity is sincerely held as part of the student's core identity" that differs from the student-athlete's gender identity assigned at birth. The appeal must include a written statement "affirming consistent gender-related identity and expression to which the student self-relates," along with a written statement from a health-care professional and statements from other parents, friends, and/or teachers.
Upon receiving the appeal, the state high school league will assign an independent hearing officer to review the information. That officer's decision will be binding until the state league's next board of directors meeting.
As John Millea, a spokesman for the association, tweeted, Minnesota isn't exactly paving new roads with this policy:
Minnesota will become the 33rd state to implement a policy for transgender high school athletes.
-- John Millea (@MSHSLjohn) December 4, 2014
However, it proved particularly contentious, as my colleague Mark Walsh covered on theEducation and the Media blog. Roughly 2,800 people signed a petition calling for the Star Tribuneto apologize for running two ads this fall from a group in opposition to the policy. Comments on the association's Facebook post announcing the enactment of the changes also drew heated reaction, with one commenter calling it "discrimination against females" and another describing the decision as "an absolute joke."
Dave Stead, the executive director of the state high school league, told the Star Tribune that not all member schools were in favor of the changes.
"I've heard from a limited number of schools that say, 'I don't like the idea,' and then once we've talked about it they said, 'I still don't like the idea, but I'm supportive of the initiative of trying to give us direction,'" Stead said.
Gender and Schools
LGBT and Schools
Heated Debate About Minority Rights Can Increase Bullying of LGBTQ Students, Study Finds
Florida Governor Signs Divisive Bill Allowing for Armed Teachers
To Fix Student Discipline, Public Favors School Climate Efforts Over Harsher Penalties, Survey Finds
Should 'Mental Health Days' Be Excused Absences? These Students Think So.
Fewer Fights and Increased Security: What New Data Say About School Safety
--- Select a Category --- Bullying (93) Childhood Obesity (38) Classroom Management (12) Dropouts (26) Education Politics (89) Education Research (144) Gender and Schools (26) Grit, Resilience (11) LGBT and Schools (83) Measuring Social-Emotional Learning (11) Mental Health (62) Parent Involvement in Schools (28) poverty (22) Race in Schools (58) School Attendance (44) School Climate (279) School Counseling, Counselors (28) School Health, Child Health (155) School Safety (264) School Violence, School Shootings (176) Sex Abuse and Schools (12) Sex Education, Sex and Schools (55) Sleep and School Start Times (4) Social-Emotional Learning (95) States (98) Student Behavior (117) Student Discipline (217) Student Drug and Alcohol Use (54) Student Engagement (98) Student Mental Health (33) Student Nutrition, School Lunches (122) Student Poverty (58) Teen Pregnancy and Schools (17) Transgender Students (83) Whole Child (41)
Select a Month... May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1679
|
__label__cc
| 0.688438
| 0.311562
|
Fierce Kingdom – The BOLO Books Review
by Kristopher | Aug 23, 2017 | Review
Gin Phillips’ Fierce Kingdom manages to succeed as both a thriller and a mediation on motherhood – not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. Fierce Kingdom is a slim volume in terms of page count, but certainly not when it comes to understanding the maternal instincts associated with a child in peril.
Joan loves to take her son Lincoln to the zoo in the late afternoon when the crowds have dispersed, but on this particular day that choice could be the difference between life and death. As Joan hustles Lincoln to the exit, her eye catches some unusual activity barring their way. There is a man in dressed in black with at least one gun – and the ground is littered with casualties. Grabbing her son, Joan heads into the depths of the zoo desperate to remain hidden.
For the next three hours, Joan does everything possible to keep her son safe and calm, even as she knows this active shooter situation is far more dire than she can let on.
Gin Phillips keeps the tension high and the action credible, but it is the bond between mother and child that will keep readers turning the pages. The characterization of these two unique individuals is so convincing that readers will fully expect them to walk out of the pages of the book and into reality.
The fierce kingdom of the title takes on multiple meanings. Of course, it alludes to the physical zoo with its menagerie of animals, but at various times it is also an apt description of the complexity of Lincoln’s imaginary world, Joan’s complicated family history, the verisimilitude of television programs (Joan’s favorite show is Scarecrow and Mrs. King), and the uncertainty of both nature and the human mind.
While the majority of the novel is told from Joan’s perspective, there are chapters from the points of view of a few others. One overarching theme of each section – including Joan’s – is the idea of isolation and the dangers associated with it.
As stated earlier, Fierce Kingdom is very much a thriller but those looking for standard action set-pieces and thrilling daring-do would do best to look elsewhere. This novel is more about the threat and the risks a mother will take in order to ensure the safety of her child. It is a bit like Heart of Darkness only the African jungle is now a jungle gym (or a carousel really) and the reality is that the malignant force is far more similar to the prey than anyone would like to admit.
Buy Links: Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1682
|
__label__wiki
| 0.815896
| 0.815896
|
BP Claim News
BP Claims, BP Class Action, BP Restaurant Claims, Featured Posts, Fishermen BP Claims, Medical Claims, Oil Spill Attorneys, Oil Spill Claims No comments
Published: Fri, 2011-02-11 20:03
NEW YORK— Kenneth Feinberg, the formerly freewheeling administrator of BP Plc’s fund to compensate victims of last year’s oil spill, could be forced to revamp dramatically how he handles claims now that the fund has come under the jurisdiction of a federal judge in New Orleans. A ruling last week by US District Judge Carl Barbier that Feinberg stop telling potential claimants that he is “completely independent” of BP brings Feinberg and the fund—created in the wake of the largest oil spill in US history—under judicial oversight for the first time.
Beyond the immediate directive about how the fund describes itself, Barbier’s decision also opens the door for more changes to how the fund operates, according to experts in mass torts and legal ethics. Specifically, it could lead to the renegotiation or undoing of settled claims, ongoing court intervention in the fund’s operations, and more claimants seeking legal representation. “It’s a significant assertion of oversight, if not control, of the claims process by the judge,” said David Logan, dean of Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island. “There is now a question mark looming over the accuracy of the decisions made up to this point by the (fund) and over how it will work moving forward.”
The unprecedented $20 billion Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) was set up after a meeting between BP and President Barack Obama last June. The White House said at the time that the claims process would be independent and Obama tapped Feinberg, who ran the 9/11 victims’ compensation fund, to administer it. BP pays $850,000 a month to Feinberg’s Washington, DC, firm, Feinberg Rozen, for his services. Feinberg, who has promoted his claims process as faster and less costly than litigation, has paid out more than 250,000 awards to individuals and businesses worth more than $3.36 billion. Of those, more than 86,000 claimants signed releases saying they will not sue BP or its partners. Until last week’s ruling by Barbier, who is overseeing hundreds of spill-related lawsuits against BP, Feinberg did not answer to any court or government agency.
To be sure, some scholars and practitioners are downplaying the potential impact of Barbier’s order and say the court is unlikely to intervene further in the fund’s operations. In his ruling, Barbier called his own order a “narrowly focused remedy” that “will not unduly burden BP’s, Mr. Feinberg’s and the GCCF’s ability to speak on their own behalf.” But several academics and plaintiffs’ attorneys said that, based on Barbier’s ruling, settlements already made with the fund could be reevaluated. A court could invalidate the agreements or allow them to be renegotiated if claimants can prove there was deception on the part of the fund, said Monroe Freedman, a professor at Hofstra University School of Law and contributor to the Legal Ethics Forum, a popular legal blog.
The court’s opinion makes it clear that Feinberg acted “misleadingly, at best,” by saying he was independent of BP, Freedman said. “As a result, tens of thousands of claimants who were effectively defrauded will have the opportunity to open the settlements they entered into.” In an e-mail, BP said, “We do not believe that there is any basis to undo or challenge the settlements that have been concluded.” Feinberg declined to comment. Kevin Dean, an attorney with the plaintiffs’ firm Motley Rice in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, said he has reached out to clients who had accepted settlements and given up the right to sue to inform them of the judge’s ruling.
He said his clients were forced to accept these settlements under financial duress and were not informed of their rights before they signed legal releases. If the court takes no further action in the next 30 to 60 days, Dean said he will confer again with his clients to explore their legal options. “My firm believes that clients were forced financially to take an ill-advised settlement, and that that’s a violation of the Oil Pollution Act.” The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requires the responsible party—in this case, BP—to set up a claims fund to compensate victims, but does not specify how the fund should resolve claims and makes no mention of claimants signing legal releases giving up the right to sue.
Now that Barbier has brought the fund under his jurisdiction in the Eastern District of Louisiana, he could rule on whether the fund can ask claimants to sign away their legal rights. And he could appoint a special master to supervise the fund’s oral and written communications, including release forms. In addition, more claimants or would-be claimants could seek legal representation for their dealings with the fund. As of this week, fewer than three per cent of those filing claims had their own lawyers. Plaintiffs’ attorney Daniel Becnel, who heads a 21-lawyer firm based in Reserve, Louisiana, said his firm has taken on hundreds of new clients in the days following Barbier’s ruling—most of them looking for help bargaining with the claims fund.
Claimants now understand that the process is adversarial, according to Byron Stier, a professor of mass tort litigation at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. “It’s much more one of haggling and negotiation than of processing paperwork and tendering contracts,” Stier said. “It’s now clear that claimants need counsel to determine if the fund is the right path for them.” Barbier has asked plaintiffs and defence in the consolidated case against BP to submit briefs by today on the claim fund’s compliance with the Oil Pollution Act.
(Reuters Legal)
BP Claims Plan Unveiled
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1686
|
__label__cc
| 0.748638
| 0.251362
|
The Patron Saint Of Comics
It’s hard to describe the impact of this man. His imagination and talent brought forth a tsunami of creativity and escapism to generations of people. From the early days of the fledgling comic book company Marvel to the behemoth of the Marvel cinematic universe, he is one of the handful of people that were the start of it all. His influence was the spark for so many creative people now, and will be for the foreseeable future. From young artists learning to draw right now, to aspiring filmmakers, to artists working in other mediums, like bricks. Builder vincentkiew has crafted this fitting tribute to an incredible man, Stan Lee.
Marvel, Stan Lee, Characters, LEGO
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1688
|
__label__wiki
| 0.584873
| 0.584873
|
General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI, 2 June 2010 – Saint Thomas Aquinas, part 1
After several Catecheses on the priesthood and on my latest Journeys, today we return to our main theme: meditation on some of the great thinkers of the Middle Ages. We recently looked at the great figure of Saint Bonaventure, a Franciscan, and today I wish to speak of the one whom the Church calls the Doctor Communis namely, Saint Thomas Aquinas. in his Encyclical Fides et Ratio my venerable Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, recalled that “the Church has been justified in consistently proposing Saint Thomas as a master of thought and a model of the right way to do theology” (n. 43). It is not surprising that, after Saint Augustine, among the ecclesiastical writers mentioned in the Catechism of the Catholic Church Saint Thomas is cited more than any other, at least 61 times! He was also called the Doctor Angelicus, perhaps because of his virtues and, in particular, the sublimity of his thought and the purity of his life.
Thomas was born between 1224 and 1225 in the castle that his wealthy noble family owned at Roccasecca near Aquino, not far from the famous Abbey of Montecassino where his parents sent him to receive the first elements of his education. A few years later he moved to Naples, the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily, where Frederick II had founded a prestigious university. Here the thinking of the Greek philosopher Aristotle was taught without the limitations imposed elsewhere. The young Thomas was introduced to it and immediately perceived its great value. However, it was above all in those years that he spent in Naples that his Dominican vocation was born. Thomas was in fact attracted by the ideal of the Order recently founded by Saint Dominic. However, when he was clothed in the Dominican habit his family opposed this decision and he was obliged to leave the convent and spend some time at home.
In 1245, by which time he had come of age, he was able to continue on the path of his response to God’s call. He was sent to Paris to study theology under the guidance of another Saint, Albert the Great, of whom I spoke not long ago. A true and deep friendship developed between Albert and Thomas. They learned to esteem and love each other to the point that Albert even wanted his disciple to follow him to Cologne, where he had been sent by the Superiors of the Order to found a theological studium. Thomas then once again came into contact with all Aristotle’s works and his Arab commentators that Albert described and explained.
In this period the culture of the Latin world was profoundly stimulated by the encounter with Aristotle’s works that had long remained unknown. They were writings on the nature of knowledge, on the natural sciences, on metaphysics, on the soul and on ethics and were full of information and intuitions that appeared valid and convincing. All this formed an overall vision of the world that had been developed without and before Christ, and with pure reason, and seemed to impose itself on reason as “the” vision itself; accordingly seeing and knowing this philosophy had an incredible fascination for the young. Many accepted enthusiastically, indeed with a-critical enthusiasm, this enormous baggage of ancient knowledge that seemed to be able to renew culture advantageously and to open totally new horizons. Others, however, feared that Aristotle’s pagan thought might be in opposition to the Christian faith and refused to study it. Two cultures converged: the pre-Christian culture of Aristotle with its radical rationality and the classical Christian culture. Certain circles, moreover, were led to reject Aristotle by the presentation of this philosopher which had been made by the Arab commentators. Avicenna and Averroës. Indeed, it was they who had transmitted the Aristotelian philosophy to the Latin world. For example, these commentators had taught that human beings have no personal intelligence but that there is a single universal intelligence, a spiritual substance common to all, that works in all as “one”: hence, a depersonalization of man. Another disputable point passed on by the Arab commentators was that the world was eternal like God. This understandably unleashed never-ending disputes in the university and clerical worlds. Aristotelian philosophy was continuing to spread even among the populace.
Thomas Aquinas, at the school of Albert the Great, did something of fundamental importance for the history of philosophy and theology, I would say for the history of culture: he made a thorough study of Aristotle and his interpreters, obtaining for himself new Latin translations of the original Greek texts. Consequently he no longer relied solely on the Arab commentators but was able to read the original texts for himself. He commented on most of the Aristotelian opus, distinguishing between what was valid and was dubious or to be completely rejected, showing its consonance with the events of the Christian Revelation and drawing abundantly and perceptively from Aristotle’s thought in the explanation of the theological texts he was uniting. In short, Thomas Aquinas showed that a natural harmony exists between Christian faith and reason. And this was the great achievement of Thomas who, at that time of clashes between two cultures that time when it seemed that faith would have to give in to reason showed that they go hand in hand, that insofar as reason appeared incompatible with faith it was not reason, and so what appeared to be faith was not faith, since it was in opposition to true rationality; thus he created a new synthesis which formed the culture of the centuries to come.
Because of his excellent intellectual gifts Thomas was summoned to Paris to be professor of theology on the Dominican chair. Here he began his literary production which continued until his death and has something miraculous about it: he commented on Sacred Scripture because the professor of theology was above all an interpreter of Scripture; and he commented on the writings of Aristotle, powerful systematic works, among which stands out his Summa Theologiae, treatises and discourses on various subjects. He was assisted in the composition of his writings by several secretaries, including his confrere, Reginald of Piperno, who followed him faithfully and to whom he was bound by a sincere brotherly friendship marked by great confidence and trust. This is a characteristic of Saints: they cultivate friendship because it is one of the noblest manifestations of the human heart and has something divine about it, just as Thomas himself explained in some of the Quaestiones of his Summa Theologiae. He writes in it: “it is evident that charity is the friendship of man for God” and for “all belonging to him” (Vol. II, q. 23, a. 1).
He did not stay long or permanently in Paris. In 1259 he took part in the General Chapter of the Dominicans in Valenciennes where he was a member of a commission that established the Order’s programme of studies. Then from 1261 to 1265, Thomas was in Orvieto. Pope Urban IV, who held him in high esteem, commissioned him to compose liturgical texts for the Feast of Corpus Christi, which we are celebrating tomorrow, established subsequent to the Eucharistic miracle of Bolsena. Thomas had an exquisitely Eucharistic soul. The most beautiful hymns that the Liturgy of the Church sings to celebrate the mystery of the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the Eucharist are attributed to his faith and his theological wisdom. From 1265 until 1268 Thomas lived in Rome where he probably directed a Studium, that is, a study house of his Order, and where he began writing his Summa Theologiae (cf. Jean-Pierre Torrell, Tommaso d’Aquino. L’uomo e il teologo, Casale Monf., 1994, pp. 118-184).
In 1269 Thomas was recalled to Paris for a second cycle of lectures. His students understandably were enthusiastic about his lessons. One of his former pupils declared that a vast multitude of students took Thomas’ courses, so many that the halls could barely accommodate them; and this student added, making a personal comment, that “listening to him brought him deep happiness”. Thomas’ interpretation of Aristotle was not accepted by all, but even his adversaries in the academic field, such as Godfrey of Fontaines, for example, admitted that the teaching of Friar Thomas was superior to others for its usefulness and value and served to correct that of all the other masters. Perhaps also in order to distance him from the lively discussions that were going on, his Superiors sent him once again to Naples to be available to King Charles I who was planning to reorganize university studies.
In addition to study and teaching, Thomas also dedicated himself to preaching to the people. And the people too came willingly to hear him. I would say that it is truly a great grace when theologians are able to speak to the faithful with simplicity and fervour. The ministry of preaching, moreover, helps theology scholars themselves to have a healthy pastoral realism and enriches their research with lively incentives.
The last months of Thomas’ earthly life remain surrounded by a particular, I would say, mysterious atmosphere. In December 1273, he summoned his friend and secretary Reginald to inform him of his decision to discontinue all work because he had realized, during the celebration of Mass subsequent to a supernatural revelation, that everything he had written until then “was worthless”. This is a mysterious episode that helps us to understand not only Thomas’ personal humility, but also the fact that, however lofty and pure it may be, all we manage to think and say about the faith is infinitely exceeded by God’s greatness and beauty which will be fully revealed to us in Heaven. A few months later, more and more absorbed in thoughtful meditation, Thomas died while on his way to Lyons to take part in the Ecumenical Council convoked by Pope Gregory X. He died in the Cistercian Abbey of Fossanova, after receiving the Viaticum with deeply devout sentiments.
The life and teaching of Saint Thomas Aquinas could be summed up in an episode passed down by his ancient biographers. While, as was his wont, the Saint was praying before the Crucifix in the early morning in the chapel of Saint Nicholas in Naples, Domenico da Caserta, the church sacristan, overheard a conversation. Thomas was anxiously asking whether what he had written on the mysteries of the Christian faith was correct. And the Crucified One answered him: “You have spoken well of me, Thomas. What is your reward to be?”. And the answer Thomas gave him was what we too, friends and disciples of Jesus, always want to tell him: “Nothing but Yourself, Lord!” (ibid., p. 320).
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1693
|
__label__cc
| 0.573009
| 0.426991
|
Technology-Supported Learning In and Out of the Japanese Language Classroom Advances in Pedagogy, Teaching and Research Edited by: Erica Zimmerman, Abigail McMeekin
Ebook(PDF) - 376 pages
Paperback Hardback EPUB
This book addresses several pressing concerns of teachers and researchers who are looking for ways to integrate technology use in and out of their classrooms and assess its usefulness in the learning process. It provides an up-to-date examination of technology-supported pedagogy and language acquisition in a variety of Japanese as a foreign or second language contexts. It equips readers with practical pedagogical information, including methods of implementation and learning assessment, and ideas for how technology can be applied to achieve a wide range of learning objectives. The topics examined include cultural learning, identity construction, speaking, reading, writing, pronunciation, collaborative online learning, digital and 3D virtual reality games, online text analysis, and participation in online communities. In addition, different e-learning configurations such as flipped, online, and distance learning classrooms are explored. Studies examine various current technologies (e.g. blogs, synchronous/asynchronous telecollaboration, corpus analysis software, modern pronunciation tools) and will have both direct and indirect consequences for teaching and learning a second/foreign language with technology across all languages.
Zimmerman and McMeekin have given the Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL) field a huge boost forward with this significant volume on integrating technology with teaching. JFL teachers will surely find new ways to help their students in this impressive collection of innovative projects.
- Jonathan deHaan, University of Shizuoka, Japan
Technology has drastically changed the nature of language use, learning and teaching, and yet many educators continue to ponder how best to change familiar instructional methods. This edited volume introduces a range of tools, materials, and activities adopted in and out of the classroom and carefully evaluates their impact on language learning. As such it offers opportunities for researchers and educators of Japanese and other languages to reflect on their current practices and to consider ways forward.
- Junko Mori, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
In addition to the focus on structural aspects of Japanese learning, this volume is rich in studies taking communicative, integrative, and ecological approaches to CALL. The analysis of learning outcomes, innovative pedagogy, and a range of theoretical underpinnings, along with an outstandingly thorough introduction, make this volume a must-read for CALL researchers and educators far beyond those working in JSL/JFL.
- Noriko Ishihara, Hosei University, Japan
Erica Zimmerman is an Associate Professor of Japanese in the Languages and Cultures Department at the United States Naval Academy. She has published in the areas of the acquisition of Japanese as a second/foreign language, language pedagogy, computer-assisted language learning, conversation analysis, intercultural communication and identity in talk.
Abigail McMeekin is an Associate Professor of Japanese and Japanese Program Head in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Lethbridge, Canada. Her published research focuses on Japanese pedagogy and second language acquisition, study abroad, computer-assisted language learning, conversation analysis and intercultural communication.
Postgraduate, Research / Professional
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1698
|
__label__wiki
| 0.654911
| 0.654911
|
HomeNewslettersLand sale talks continue as parties fail to agree
Land sale talks continue as parties fail to agree
Scottish environment minister Paul Wheelhouse says he’s “sorry” island laird Alex Howard and the community development company have been unable to reach a deal yet to buy estate owned land for affordable housing.
Its understood the laird is refusing to accept the District Valuers appraisal of the land earmarked for four affordable homes and is demanding a higher price.
Community development company convener Gavin Clark said he was unable to comment on the state of the negotiations with Alex, but revealed they were holding urgent talks with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, who have been assisting with the bid, in Mid August.
However environment minister Paul Wheelhouse, who is in charge of the Scottish Government’s land reform agenda said he hoped a deal can be done.
“I am sorry the community and landowner have so far been unable to reach agreement on the sale of the land, and hope there may be scope in future for the parties to reach an agreement all are happy with. The Scottish Government has a target of 1 million acres of land in community ownership by 2020, and we are keen for as many communities as possible to enjoy the many benefits that community land ownership can offer.”
Alex told the Corncrake: “Earlier this month, Jane and I had a very positive meeting with the Directors of the CCDC regarding the provision of land by the Estate for more Affordable Housing on the island. We are working on a number of possibilities. I am aware that the District Valuer has produced a draft report following an initial Brief from the CCDC which is providing some guidance on likely valuations for land in the Scalasaig area.
Alex and Jane
“The Estate, as a business based on and wholly involved with the island, is committed to working with all agencies involved in helping to develop a sound and secure economic development plan for the island. We are therefore working closely with the CCDC directors to ensure that a suitable package can be put together in the coming months to enable the Affordable Housing project to move forward.”
The minister told the Corncrake: “My vision for Scotland is for a fairer, wider and more equitable, distribution of land across our nation, where communities and individuals have access to land. I have made clear my intention of introducing a Land Reform Bill in this term of the Scottish Parliament. We are committed to working with communities and land owners to ensure that communities are able to deliver their economic, environmental or social aspirations.”
CCDC convener Gavin Clark said he hoped to be in a position to update the Colonsay community on the progress of the negotiations in time for the September 1 issue of The Corncrake.
Freight crisis threatens island economy – charges set to double
Scottish Water start investigation into low pressure claims
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1701
|
__label__wiki
| 0.50549
| 0.50549
|
Pre-Kinder
Littlies Prep
Middlies 1/2
Biggies 5/6
Cooked Lunch
Garden Market
The physical space of The Cottage School has come a long way since its beginnings in Sally’s garden in 1975. Slowly over the years the school has grown as it moved down the road into the Green Cottage that still exists today as the Middlies class rooms. It continued to grow with the purchase of the ‘spare block’ next door and the White Cottage where the Littlies call home and the staff have their own space. In 2000 the school purchased number 10 Queen St which is where the Biggies spend their last years before moving on to high school.
In 2010 The Cottage School was awarded Federal Government funding to renovate all three cottages. This was the schools latest and greatest renovation project and was completed in 2011 and officially opened by Senator Bilyk. This has provided the school with a new fresh look whilst retaining the feel of a homely learning environment. It has also created a number of new spaces that greatly support the ability to deliver a high standard of education for our kids.
To see more pictures of the school buildings and grounds GALLERY
To view map click here
Copyright © 2011 The Cottage School. All Rights Reserved. Login.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1703
|
__label__cc
| 0.517168
| 0.482832
|
Sam Husseini
To the US Government, Israel is, Again, Totally Off The Hook
by Sam Husseini on Friday, May 18, 2018
State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert on Tuesday stopped responding to questions on the Israeli massacre of Palestinians in Gaza. While proclaiming a regret of loss of life, she effectively justified the killing: “Israel has a right to defend itself. When people are being sent to the border, they are bringing weapons, they are threatening to […]
500 Palestinians Dead: Veterans Call for End to Violence
by Sam Husseini on Monday, July 21, 2014
BBC reports: “Gaza has suffered the highest death toll since Israel’s offensive began, with at least 87 people reported killed on Sunday — 67 of them in one area. ANN WRIGHT, microann at yahoo.com TARAK KAUFF, takauff at gmail.com Wright is a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel, a 29-year veteran of the Army and Army […]
Israel Begins Ground Invasion
by Sam Husseini on Friday, July 18, 2014
Reuters reports: “Israel stepped up its land offensive in Gaza with artillery, tanks and gunboats on Friday and declared it could ‘significantly widen’ an operation Palestinian officials said was killing ever greater numbers of civilians.” JOE CATRON, [in Gaza], joecatron at gmail.com, @jncatron Catron was recently profiled in “Inside a Gaza Hospital Under Israeli Rocket […]
Sam Husseini is a writer and political activist. He is the communications director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, a D.C.-based nonprofit group that promotes progressive experts as alternative sources for mainstream media reporters. He formerly worked at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and at the media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.
Areas of Specialization: politics, public accuracy
Occupation: communications director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, political activist
activist,
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1704
|
__label__cc
| 0.69663
| 0.30337
|
The Wars of the Roosevelts by William J. Mann
posted in Reviews on April 4, 2017 by Jeff Grim
William J. Mann has recently wrote a masterpiece on one of America’s most powerful political families in the first half of the Twentieth Century – the Roosevelts. The Wars of the Roosevelts: The Ruthless Rise of America’s Greatest Political Family is a deep look at Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, their spouses, siblings, and children.
Here is a good summary from the publisher:
The award-winning author presents a provocative, thoroughly modern revisionist biographical history of one of America’s greatest and most influential families—the Roosevelts—exposing heretofore unknown family secrets and detailing complex family rivalries with his signature cinematic flair.
Drawing on previously hidden historical documents and interviews with the long-silent “illegitimate” branch of the family, William J. Mann paints an elegant, meticulously researched, and groundbreaking group portrait of this legendary family. Mann argues that the Roosevelts’ rise to power and prestige was actually driven by a series of intense personal contest that at times devolved into blood sport. His compelling and eye-opening masterwork is the story of a family at war with itself, of social Darwinism at its most ruthless—in which the strong devoured the weak and repudiated the inconvenient.
Mann focuses on Eleanor Roosevelt, who, he argues, experienced this brutality firsthand, witnessing her Uncle Theodore cruelly destroy her father, Elliott—his brother and bitter rival—for political expediency. Mann presents a fascinating alternate picture of Eleanor, contending that this “worshipful niece” in fact bore a grudge against TR for the rest of her life, and dares to tell the truth about her intimate relationships without obfuscations, explanations, or labels.
Mann also brings into focus Eleanor’s cousins, TR’s children, whose stories propelled the family rivalry but have never before been fully chronicled, as well as her illegitimate half-brother, Elliott Roosevelt Mann, who inherited his family’s ambition and skill without their name and privilege. Growing up in poverty just miles from his wealthy relatives, Elliott Mann embodied the American Dream, rising to middle-class prosperity and enjoying one of the very few happy, long-term marriages in the Roosevelt saga. For the first time, The Wars of the Roosevelts also includes the stories of Elliott’s daughter and grandchildren, and never-before-seen photographs from their archives.
Mann does a superb and thorough job of covering Theodore, his children, Franklin, and Eleanor. He also provides much detail into Theodore’s brother Elliot. However, he does not delve as much into Theodore’s second wife Edith or Franklin and Eleanor’s children. I am curious to know why – was there not as much information or did Mann have to draw a line somewhere because the book would be two volumes?
In any case, Mann shows the cut-throat nature of the family as each person (Theodore, Franklin, and Eleanor) rose in political power. I was stunned to learn how cruel Theodore and his siblings were when dealing with their brother. Elliot clearly needed help, but neither Theodore nor his siblings were willing to help. They were more concerned about protecting the family name. Mann provides numerous examples of how the family poorly treated the other “black sheep” of the family, as Elliot was considered.
Just as shocking was how Franklin and Eleanor ignored their children and focused their energies on Franklin’s political career. Neither spent an inordinate amount of time with their children. Mann lays it all out for the reader to absorb and analyze.
Mann shines a well-deserving light on Elliot’s illegitimate son Elliot. Although the son was abandoned by Theodore and the rest of the family, Elliot prospered out of poverty. His life is a true inspiration and a great example of American prosperity from hard work.
It seems that Mann is a little lighter in his criticism of Franklin and Eleanor than of Theodore. It is not blatant, but more nuanced. For example, he does not seem to focus on Franklin and Eleanor’s shortcomings as much as he does on Theodore’s.
Although it is a thick volume at 530 pages, Mann’s writing is excellent and the book is a quick read. Great work on the Roosevelts.
American History, American Presidents, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt, William J. Mann
Jeff Grim
Jeff Grim has been a reader all of his life. He has had a particular interest in military history, any war at any time. His fascination with military history has brought him to an interest in historical fiction where the history comes alive with fictitious heroes and villains. Recently, Jeff has become interested in historical mysteries set in various time periods.
← The Great and the Good by Michel Deon
Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor →
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1709
|
__label__cc
| 0.705474
| 0.294526
|
Postsynaptic potential vs action potential. Excitatory postsynaptic potential 2019-02-15
Postsynaptic potential vs action potential Rating: 7,9/10 556 reviews
Compare the properties of excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) and action potential. State where they occur on a postsynaptic membrane
There is an excess of negative charges inside and excess of positive outside and this is known as the resting state. But a small amount of glutamate will not open the channel. The Y-axis of the graphs are Membrane Potential mV and it shows that the cell starts out with -70. So that if the membrane potential at the trigger zone can be moved from the resting potential, which is often around negative 60 millivolts, over the threshold potential, which is often around negative 50 millivolts, then a totally different potential change will happen, called the action potential, that will shoot all the way down the axon. During the first part of the refractory period, the membrane cannot produce an action potential, regardless of how strong a stimulus is.
Neuron graded potential description (video)
Receptor potentials are generated in the specialized sensory receptor cells. The three stages of the action potential are shown in figure 2. The main difference between graded potential and action potential is the characteristics of each type of membrane potentials. According to the law, the longer the stimulus, the better chance it can attain the number of quanta needed for vision. You can ask any homework question and get expert homework help in as little as two hours. Now one effect of the fact that graded membrane potential changes decay with distance is that the closer an input is to the trigger zone, the greater effect it will have on the likelihood of an action potential being fired down the axon. This type of receptor is found, for example, in areas important for memory.
What is the difference between excitatory postsynaptic potential and inhibitorys
The metabolism of Phenobarbital is particularly slow, and variations in the steady-state concentration are therefore small within individual patients on a constant dosage. Excitatory synapses stimulate neurotransmitters while inhibitory synapses inhibit them. The example shows summation of postsynaptic potentials because they occur close together in time. And on the x-axis, we'll put time, and on the y-axis, we'll put the membrane potential in millivolts. Here, the internal charge changes from negative to positive.
Activation of the input zone creates a postsynaptic potential. A presynaptic neuron emits neurotransmitters which fall into one of two categories: excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters. But, action potentials do not decay during the transmission. Action potentials start at the area called the trigger zone, which is the initial segment, or the start, of the axon. Phenobarbital causes few systemic side effects, but its use is limited mainly due to the high rate of sedation and cognitive impairment.
Unsourced material may be challenged and. Some synapses show effects of this type; others do not. This extracellular signal recorded from a population of neurons is the field potential. Both are transient changes in the membrane potential see Figure 3. In other words, the amplitude of action potential, for a given axon is constant and independent of the magnitude if triggering event. Hyperpolarization of the membrane potential reduces excitability and the probability that the neuron will fire action potentials. The subunits can skate under the membrane to open ion channels.
What is the exact difference between spontaneous (sEPSP/Cs and sIPSP/Cs) and mini (mEPSP/Cs and mIPSP/Cs) postsynaptic potentials or currents?
Only one postsynaptic action potential occurs rather late in the recording. At the peak of the action potential, the inside of the neuron is positively charged rather than negatively charged as a result of the flow of sodium into the cell. Ion Channels Graded Potential: Graded potential is generated by ligand-gated ion channels. The main difference between graded potential and action potential is that graded potentials are the variable-strength signals that can be transmitted over short distances whereas action potentials are large depolarizations that can be transmitted over long distances. The neuron goes from a polarized state at the resting potential 1 with the neuron more negatively charged inside than outside the membrane to a depolarized state during the action potential 2 with the cell positively charged on the inside. The interior of the plasma membrane is negatively charged while the exterior is positively charged. Graded potentials do not pass into the axons of most types of neurons.
When the action potential reaches the end of the axon, it is at the presynaptic terminal of the axon. The excretion of Phenobarbital is considerably higher when the pH of the urine is alkaline. Ions flowing through the channels create a shift in the resting membrane polarization, which usually has a slightly more negative charge inside the neuron than outside. Because the number of Na + ions moved outside the cell is greater than the number of K + ions moved inside, the cell is more positive outside than inside. This separation of charge sets up conditions for the neuron to respond, just like a separation of charge in a battery sets up conditions that allow a battery to provide electricity. Importantly, action potentials depend on the activation of voltage-gated ion channels.
Compare and contrast the EPSP, IPSP, and action potential as to ions involved, a
As the sodium channels are opened, the migration of the positively-charged sodium ions into the nerve cell causes more positive charge inside the cell. But synapses do not just transfer information, they also are the key element in processing neuronal information. But then I smell the pizza and I really want it again. And so let me put, right in the middle here, this negative 60 millivolts that's a common neuron resting potential. It is a ligand gated ion channel. Hyperpolarization The transmission of a nerve impulse. A single action potential involves only a small portion of a total excitable cell membrane and propagates throughout the remainder of the cell membrane without any reduction in the strength of the signal.
In contrast, action potentials are generated at the axon hillock. Just because one receptor binds specifically with acetylcholine to produce an excitation does not mean that it is impossible for another receptor to exist which specifically binds with acetylcholine but opens a different type of ionic channel to result in an inhibition. They may cancel each other out and leave the membrane potential at the resting potential. Na +, K +, Ca + or negative ions e. . It is the main type we will be discussing. Now this adding together of graded potentials is called summation.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1710
|
__label__wiki
| 0.753695
| 0.753695
|
VIDEO: Shanell Performs “My Button” In L.A.
UncategorizedBy DDot Omen June 11, 2011 Leave a comment
@Shanell_SNL is set to drop the visual for her new single My Button. The Young Money Gypsy took stage at The Staples center for the second leg of I AM Still Music tour and performed the song. rap-up
VIDEO: The GAME Talks Next R.E.D. Album Single & Working With Nelly Furtado
@TheGAME ran down the list of artists he’s worked with for his forthcoming album, R.E.D. Album. He names new comers Tyler, The Creator Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Khalifa amongst veteran collaborators such as Rick Ross, Lil Wayne and Lupe Fiasco. The Neptunes produced a reflective record with Nelly Furtado called “Mother Knows.” “It’s just a walk…
VIDEO: Young Jeezy ft. Boo & Scrilla – “Talk About It”
Jizzle gets a visual for this joint off The Real Is Back.
VIDEO: Fat Joe Speaks On Weight Loss
Joey Crack went from lean back to, just lean. The bronx rapper spoke with NYDailyNews on his recent shedding of 88lbs. “They’re all trying to alter my name, but I can’t see myself as anything else,” he said, referring to friends who started calling him “Skinny Joe” and “Joey Flaco” (Spanish for “thin”). “I think…
Lloyd – Stay (Prod. Polow Da Don)
Polow Da Don lets loose of another potential jam from Lloyd’s upcoming album, King Of Hearts. In stores July 5th. [audio:http://www.ddotomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Lloyd-Stay.mp3]
VIDEO: Joe Budden “Pump It Up” @ Club Eve (Miami, FL)
@JoeBudden took his talents to South Beach for a show Ashley Outrageous put together with Bread & Butter at Club Eve. Jumpoff performed his first charted hit, Pump It Up.
VIDEO: Maffew Ragazino – Rhymepays (Vlog #1)
Maffew Ragazino and Glass Eye Media take you on a short stroll thru lower Manhattan where Maffew gives his picks of some of his influences growing up in hip hop. The choices that the Brooklyn Native picked may be shocking considering the current climate of what’s hot in hip hop now.
VIDEO: J. Cole Pays Tribute To Biggie & Tupac @ Bonnaroo 2011
Jermaine showed respect for the late greats during his set at Bonnaroo. Cole World did a rendition of Pac’s “I Ain’t Mad Atcha” and transitioned into Higher over The Isley Brother’s jam “Between The Sheets”.
VIDEO: Lil Wayne “Bill Gates” Live At Bonnaroo 2011
Weezy also took stage to close out Bonnaroo as the headlining act performing Bill Gates off his I Am Not A Human Being album.
Frank Ocean Working With Kanye & Jay-Z On Watch The Throne
@FRANK_OCEAN has already has managed to secure himself a writer’s credit on Beyonce’s album, 4. Now the Odd Future crooner is said to be contributing to Yeezy and Hov’s highly anticipated duet LP, Watch The Throne. Frank responded to a fan’s question via Tumblr in which he was asked to “Explain your current situation to…
234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950515253545556575859606162636465666768697071727374757677787980818283848586878889909192939495969798991001011021031041051061071081091101111121131141151161171181191201211221231241251261271281291301311321331341351361371381391401411421431441451461471481491501511521531541551561571581591601611621631641651661671681691701711721731741751761771781791801811821831841851861871881891901911921931941951961971981992002012022032042052062072082092102112122132142152162172182192202212222232242252262272282292302312322332342352362372382392402412422432442452462472482492502512522532542552562572582592602612622632642652662672682692702712722732742752762772782792802812822832842852862872882892902912922932942952962972982993003013023033043053063073083093103113123133143153163173183193203213223233243253263273283293303313323333343353363373383393403413423433443453463473483493503513523533543553563573583593603613623633643653663673683693703713723733743753763773783793803813823833843853863873883893903913923933943953963973983994004014024034044054064074084094104114124134144154164174184194204214224234244254264274284294304314324334344354364374384394404414424434444454464474484494504514524534544554564574584594604614624634644654664674684694704714724734744754764774784794804814824834844854864874884894904914924934944954964974984995005015025035045055065075085095105115125135145155165175185195205215225235245255265275285295305315325335345355365375385395405415425435445455465475485495505515525535545555565575585595605615625635645655665675685695705715725735745755765775785795805815825835845855865875885895905915925935945955965975985996006016026036046056066076086096106116126136146156166176186196206216226236246256266276286296306316326336346356366376386396406416426436446456466476486496506516526536546556566576586596606616626636646656666676686696706716726736746756766776786796806816826836846856866876886896906916926936946956966976986997007017027037047057067077087097107117127137147157167177187197207217227237247257267277287297307317327337347357367377387397407417427437447457467477487497507517527537547557567577587597607617627637647657667677687697707717727737747757767777787797807817827837847857867877887897907917927937947957967977987998008018028038048058068078088098108118128138148158168178188198208218228238248258268278288298308318328338348358368378388398408418428438448458468478488498508518528538548558568578588598608618628638648658668678688698708718728738748758768778788798808818828838848858868878888898908918928938948958968978988999009019029039049059069079089099109119129139149159169179189199209219229239249259269279289299309319329339349359369379389399409419429439449459469479489499509519529539549559569579589599609619629639649659669679689699709719729739749759769779789799809819829839849859869879889899909919929939949959969979989991,0001,0011,0021,0031,0041,0051,0061,0071,0081,0091,0101,0111,0121,0131,0141,0151,0161,0171,0181,0191,0201,0211,0221,0231,0241,0251,0261,0271,0281,0291,0301,0311,0321,0331,0341,0351,0361,0371,0381,0391,0401,0411,0421,0431,0441,0451,0461,0471,0481,0491,0501,0511,0521,0531,0541,0551,0561,0571,0581,0591,0601,0611,0621,0631,0641,0651,0661,0671,0681,0691,0701,0711,0721,0731,0741,0751,0761,0771,0781,0791,0801,0811,0821,0831,0841,0851,0861,0871,0881,0891,0901,0911,0921,0931,0941,0951,0961,0971,0981,0991,1001,1011,1021,1031,1041,1051,1061,1071,1081,1091,1101,1111,1121,1131,1141,1151,1161,1171,1181,1191,1201,1211,1221,1231,1241,1251,1261,1271,1281,1291,1301,1311,1321,1331,1341,1351,1361,1371,1381,1391,1401,1411,1421,1431,1441,1451,1461,1471,1481,1491,1501,1511,1521,1531,1541,1551,1561,1571,1581,1591,1601,1611,1621,1631,1641,1651,1661,1671,1681,1691,1701,1711,1721,1731,1741,1751,1761,1771,1781,1791,1801,1811,1821,1831,1841,1851,1861,1871,1881,1891,1901,1911,1921,1931,1941,1951,1961,1971,1981,1991,2001,2011,2021,2031,2041,2051,2061,2071,2081,2091,2101,2111,2121,2131,2141,2151,2161,2171,2181,2191,2201,2211,2221,2231,2241,2251,2261,2271,2281,2291,2301,2311,2321,2331,2341,2351,2361,2371,2381,2391,2401,2411,2421,2431,2441,2451,2461,2471,2481,2491,2501,2511,2521,2531,2541,2551,2561,2571,2581,2591,2601,2611,2621,2631,2641,2651,2661,2671,2681,2691,2701,2711,2721,2731,2741,2751,2761,2771,2781,2791,2801,2811,2821,2831,2841,2851,2861,2871,2881,2891,2901,2911,2921,2931,2941,2951,2961,2971,2981,2991,3001,3011,3021,3031,3041,3051,3061,3071,3081,3091,3101,3111,3121,3131,3141,3151,3161,3171,3181,3191,3201,3211,3221,3231,3241,3251,3261,3271,3281,3291,3301,3311,3321,3331,3341,3351,3361,3371,3381,3391,3401,3411,3421,3431,3441,3451,3461,3471,3481,3491,3501,3511,3521,3531,3541,3551,3561,3571,3581,3591,3601,3611,3621,3631,3641,3651,3661,3671,3681,3691,3701,3711,3721,3731,3741,3751,3761,3771,3781,3791,3801,3811,3821,3831,3841,3851,3861,3871,3881,3891,3901,3911,3921,3931,3941,3951,3961,3971,3981,3991,4001,4011,4021,4031,4041,4051,4061,4071,4081,4091,4101,4111,4121,4131,4141,4151,4161,4171,4181,4191,4201,4211,4221,4231,4241,4251,4261,4271,4281,4291,4301,4311,4321,4331,4341,4351,4361,4371,4381,4391,4401,4411,4421,4431,4441,4451,4461,4471,4481,4491,4501,4511,4521,4531,4541,4551,4561,4571,4581,4591,4601,4611,4621,4631,4641,4651,4661,4671,4681,4691,4701,4711,4721,4731,4741,4751,4761,4771,4781,4791,4801,4811,4821,4831,4841,4851,4861,4871,4881,4891,4901,4911,4921,4931,4941,4951,4961,4971,4981,4991,5001,5011,5021,5031,5041,5051,5061,5071,5081,5091,5101,5111,5121,5131,5141,5151,5161,5171,5181,5191,5201,5211,5221,5231,5241,5251,5261,5271,5281,5291,5301,5311,5321,5331,5341,5351,5361,5371,5381,5391,5401,5411,5421,5431,5441,5451,5461,5471,5481,5491,5501,5511,5521,5531,5541,5551,5561,5571,5581,5591,5601,5611,5621,5631,5641,5651,5661,5671,5681,5691,5701,5711,5721,5731,5741,5751,5761,5771,5781,5791,5801,5811,5821,5831,5841,5851,5861,5871,5881,5891,5901,5911,5921,5931,5941,5951,5961,5971,5981,5991,6001,6011,6021,6031,6041,6051,6061,6071,6081,6091,6101,6111,6121,6131,6141,6151,6161,6171,6181,6191,6201,6211,6221,6231,6241,6251,6261,6271,6281,6291,6301,6311,6321,6331,6341,6351,6361,6371,6381,6391,6401,6411,6421,6431,6441,6451,6461,6471,6481,6491,6501,6511,6521,6531,6541,6551,6561,6571,6581,6591,6601,6611,6621,6631,6641,6651,6661,6671,6681,6691,6701,6711,6721,6731,6741,6751,6761,6771,6781,6791,6801,6811,6821,6831,6841,6851,6861,6871,6881,6891,6901,6911,6921,6931,6941,6951,6961,6971,6981,6991,7001,7011,7021,7031,7041,7051,7061,7071,7081,7091,7101,7111,7121,7131,7141,7151,7161,7171,7181,7191,7201,7211,7221,7231,7241,7251,7261,7271,7281,7291,7301,7311,7321,7331,7341,7351,7361,7371,7381,7391,7401,7411,7421,7431,7441,7451,7461,7471,7481,7491,7501,7511,7521,7531,7541,7551,7561,7571,7581,7591,7601,7611,7621,7631,7641,7651,7661,7671,7681,7691,7701,7711,7721,7731,7741,7751,7761,7771,7781,7791,7801,7811,7821,7831,7841,7851,7861,7871,7881,7891,7901,7911,7921,7931,7941,7951,7961,7971,7981,7991,8001,8011,8021,8031,8041,8051,8061,8071,8081,8091,8101,8111,8121,8131,8141,8151,8161,8171,8181,8191,8201,8211,8221,8231,8241,8251,8261,8271,8281,8291,8301,8311,8321,8331,8341,8351,8361,8371,8381,8391,8401,8411,8421,8431,8441,8451,8461,8471,8481,8491,8501,8511,8521,8531,8541,8551,8561,8571,8581,8591,8601,8611,8621,8631,8641,8651,8661,8671,8681,8691,8701,8711,8721,8731,8741,8751,8761,8771,8781,8791,8801,8811,8821,8831,8841,8851,8861,8871,8881,8891,8901,8911,8921,8931,8941,8951,8961,8971,8981,8991,9001,9011,9021,9031,9041,9051,9061,9071,9081,9091,9101,9111,9121,9131,9141,9151,9161,9171,9181,9191,9201,9211,9221,9231,9241,9251,9261,9271,9281,9291,9301,9311,9321,9331,9341,9351,9361,9371,9381,9391,9401,9411,9421,9431,9441,9451,9461,9471,9481,9491,9501,9511,9521,9531,9541,9551,9561,9571,9581,9591,9601,9611,9621,9631,9641,9651,9661,9671,9681,9691,9701,9711,9721,9731,9741,9751,9761,9771,9781,9791,9801,9811,9821,9831,9841,9851,9861,9871,9881,9891,9901,9911,9921,9931,9941,9951,9961,9971,9981,9992,0002,0012,0022,0032,0042,0052,0062,0072,0082,0092,0102,0112,0122,0132,0142,0152,0162,0172,0182,0192,0202,0212,0222,0232,0242,0252,0262,0272,0282,0292,0302,0312,0322,0332,0342,0352,0362,0372,0382,0392,0402,0412,0422,0432,0442,0452,0462,0472,0482,0492,0502,0512,0522,0532,0542,0552,0562,0572,0582,0592,0602,0612,0622,0632,0642,0652,0662,0672,0682,0692,0702,0712,0722,0732,0742,0752,0762,0772,0782,0792,0802,0812,0822,0832,0842,0852,0862,0872,0882,0892,0902,0912,0922,0932,0942,0952,0962,0972,0982,0992,1002,1012,1022,1032,1042,1052,1062,1072,1082,1092,1102,1112,1122,1132,1142,1152,1162,1172,1182,1192,1202,1212,1222,1232,1242,1252,1262,1272,1282,1292,1302,1312,1322,1332,1342,1352,1362,1372,1382,1392,1402,1412,1422,1432,1442,1452,1462,1472,1482,1492,1502,1512,1522,1532,1542,1552,1562,1572,1582,1592,1602,1612,1622,1632,1642,1652,1662,1672,1682,1692,1702,1712,1722,1732,1742,1752,1762,1772,1782,1792,1802,1812,1822,1832,1842,1852,1862,1872,1882,1892,1902,1912,1922,1932,1942,1952,1962,1972,1982,1992,2002,2012,2022,2032,2042,2052,2062,2072,2082,2092,2102,2112,2122,2132,2142,2152,2162,2172,2182,2192,2202,2212,2222,2232,2242,2252,2262,2272,2282,2292,2302,2312,2322,2332,2342,2352,2362,2372,2382,2392,2402,2412,2422,2432,2442,2452,2462,2472,2482,2492,2502,2512,2522,2532,2542,2552,2562,2572,2582,2592,2602,2612,2622,2632,2642,2652,2662,2672,2682,2692,2702,2712,2722,2732,2742,2752,2762,2772,2782,2792,2802,2812,2822,2832,2842,2852,2862,2872,2882,2892,2902,2912,2922,2932,2942,2952,2962,2972,2982,2992,3002,3012,3022,3032,3042,3052,3062,3072,3082,3092,3102,3112,3122,3132,3142,3152,3162,3172,3182,3192,3202,3212,3222,3232,3242,3252,3262,3272,3282,3292,3302,3312,3322,3332,3342,3352,3362,3372,3382,3392,3402,3412,3422,3432,3442,3452,3462,3472,3482,3492,3502,3512,3522,3532,3542,3552,3562,3572,3582,3592,3602,3612,3622,3632,3642,3652,3662,3672,3682,3692,3702,3712,3722,3732,3742,3752,3762,3772,3782,3792,3802,3812,3822,3832,3842,3852,3862,3872,3882,3892,3902,3912,3922,3932,3942,3952,3962,3972,3982,3992,4002,4012,4022,4032,4042,4052,4062,4072,4082,4092,4102,4112,4122,4132,4142,4152,4162,4172,4182,4192,4202,4212,4222,4232,4242,4252,4262,4272,4282,4292,4302,4312,4322,4332,4342,4352,4362,4372,4382,4392,4402,4412,4422,4432,4442,4452,4462,4472,4482,4492,4502,4512,4522,4532,4542,4552,4562,4572,4582,4592,4602,4612,4622,4632,4642,4652,4662,4672,4682,4692,4702,4712,4722,4732,4742,4752,4762,4772,4782,4792,4802,4812,4822,4832,4842,4852,4862,4872,4882,4892,4902,4912,4922,4932,4942,4952,4962,4972,4982,4992,5002,5012,5022,5032,5042,5052,5062,5072,5082,5092,5102,5112,5122,5132,5142,5152,5162,5172,5182,5192,5202,5212,5222,5232,5242,5252,5262,527
2,5332,5342,5352,5362,5372,5382,5392,5402,5412,5422,5432,5442,5452,5462,5472,5482,5492,5502,5512,5522,5532,5542,5552,5562,5572,5582,5592,5602,5612,5622,5632,5642,5652,5662,5672,5682,5692,5702,5712,5722,5732,5742,5752,5762,5772,5782,5792,5802,5812,5822,5832,5842,5852,5862,5872,5882,5892,5902,5912,5922,5932,5942,5952,5962,5972,5982,5992,6002,6012,6022,6032,6042,6052,6062,6072,6082,6092,6102,6112,6122,6132,6142,6152,6162,6172,6182,6192,6202,6212,6222,6232,6242,6252,6262,6272,6282,6292,6302,6312,6322,6332,6342,6352,6362,6372,6382,6392,6402,6412,6422,6432,6442,6452,6462,6472,6482,6492,6502,6512,6522,6532,6542,6552,6562,6572,6582,6592,6602,6612,6622,6632,6642,6652,6662,6672,6682,6692,6702,6712,6722,6732,6742,6752,6762,6772,6782,6792,6802,6812,6822,6832,6842,6852,6862,6872,6882,6892,6902,6912,6922,6932,6942,6952,6962,6972,6982,6992,7002,7012,7022,7032,7042,7052,7062,7072,7082,7092,7102,7112,7122,7132,7142,7152,7162,7172,7182,7192,7202,7212,7222,7232,7242,7252,7262,7272,7282,7292,7302,7312,7322,7332,7342,7352,7362,7372,7382,7392,7402,7412,7422,7432,7442,7452,7462,7472,7482,7492,7502,7512,7522,7532,7542,7552,7562,7572,7582,7592,7602,7612,7622,7632,7642,7652,7662,7672,7682,7692,7702,7712,7722,7732,7742,7752,7762,7772,7782,7792,7802,7812,7822,7832,7842,7852,7862,7872,7882,7892,7902,7912,7922,7932,7942,7952,7962,7972,7982,7992,8002,8012,8022,8032,8042,8052,8062,8072,8082,8092,8102,8112,8122,8132,8142,8152,8162,8172,8182,8192,8202,8212,8222,8232,8242,8252,8262,8272,8282,8292,8302,8312,8322,8332,8342,8352,8362,8372,8382,8392,8402,8412,8422,8432,8442,8452,8462,8472,8482,8492,8502,8512,8522,8532,8542,8552,8562,8572,8582,8592,8602,8612,8622,8632,8642,8652,8662,8672,8682,8692,8702,8712,8722,8732,8742,8752,8762,8772,8782,8792,8802,8812,8822,8832,8842,8852,8862,8872,8882,8892,8902,8912,8922,8932,8942,8952,8962,8972,8982,8992,9002,9012,9022,9032,9042,9052,9062,9072,9082,9092,9102,9112,9122,9132,9142,9152,9162,9172,9182,9192,9202,9212,9222,9232,9242,9252,9262,9272,9282,9292,9302,9312,9322,9332,9342,9352,9362,9372,9382,9392,9402,9412,9422,9432,9442,9452,9462,9472,9482,9492,9502,9512,9522,9532,9542,9552,9562,9572,9582,9592,9602,9612,9622,9632,9642,9652,9662,9672,9682,9692,9702,9712,9722,9732,9742,9752,9762,9772,9782,9792,9802,9812,9822,9832,9842,9852,9862,9872,9882,9892,9902,9912,9922,9932,9942,9952,9962,9972,9982,9993,0003,0013,0023,0033,0043,0053,0063,0073,0083,0093,0103,0113,0123,0133,0143,0153,0163,0173,0183,0193,0203,0213,0223,0233,0243,0253,0263,0273,0283,0293,0303,0313,0323,0333,0343,0353,0363,0373,0383,0393,0403,0413,0423,0433,0443,0453,0463,0473,0483,0493,0503,0513,0523,0533,0543,0553,0563,0573,0583,0593,0603,0613,0623,0633,0643,0653,0663,0673,0683,0693,0703,0713,0723,0733,0743,0753,0763,0773,0783,0793,0803,0813,0823,0833,0843,0853,0863,0873,0883,0893,0903,0913,0923,0933,0943,0953,0963,0973,0983,0993,1003,1013,1023,1033,1043,1053,1063,1073,1083,1093,1103,1113,1123,1133,1143,1153,1163,1173,1183,1193,1203,1213,1223,1233,1243,1253,1263,1273,1283,1293,1303,1313,1323,1333,1343,1353,1363,1373,1383,1393,1403,1413,1423,1433,1443,1453,1463,1473,1483,1493,1503,1513,1523,1533,1543,1553,1563,1573,1583,1593,1603,1613,1623,1633,1643,1653,1663,1673,1683,1693,1703,1713,1723,1733,1743,1753,1763,1773,1783,1793,1803,1813,1823,1833,1843,1853,1863,1873,1883,1893,1903,1913,1923,1933,1943,1953,1963,1973,1983,1993,2003,2013,2023,2033,2043,2053,2063,2073,2083,2093,2103,2113,2123,2133,2143,2153,2163,2173,2183,2193,2203,2213,2223,2233,2243,2253,2263,2273,2283,2293,2303,2313,2323,2333,2343,2353,2363,2373,2383,2393,2403,2413,2423,2433,2443,2453,2463,2473,2483,2493,2503,2513,2523,2533,2543,2553,2563,2573,2583,2593,2603,2613,2623,2633,2643,2653,2663,2673,2683,269
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1713
|
__label__cc
| 0.743653
| 0.256347
|
In an ideal location, St. Lawrence University, chartered in 1856, is diverse, liberal arts learning community of inspiring faculty, serious students and accomplished alumni, guided by tradition and focused on the future. We provide an inspiring and demanding undergraduate education to students selected for their seriousness of purpose and intellectual promise. St. Lawrence enrolls approximately 2,100-2,200 undergraduate students from 41 states and 46 nations, and about 120 graduate students in a non-residential Master of Education program. Over 95% of our undergraduates reside on campus. About 11% of our students represent US ethnic diversity. Located between the high peaks of the Adirondack Mountains and the national capital of Canada, the University provides unparalleled access to international government, cultural and social opportunities and outdoor recreation. Among the features of St. Lawrence’s curriculum are international programs in 15 nations and three domestic off-campus programs (including an Adirondack Semester); a nationally recognized, model interdisciplinary program for first-year students; and 12 interdepartmental programs. A science complex, LEED certified at the GOLD level, opened fall 2007 and new arts technology center opened spring 2007. A new performance hall was dedicated in the fall of 2010.
Request information from St Lawrence University
Complete the form below and DegreeSearch.org will send your information to St Lawrence University.
- Select one - ----------Canton Campus---------- Bachelor's in Anthropology Bachelor's in Biochemistry Bachelor's in Biology/Biological Sciences, General Bachelor's in Chemistry, General Bachelor's in Computer and Information Sciences, General Bachelor's in Conservation Biology Bachelor's in Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General Bachelor's in Economics, General Bachelor's in English Language and Literature, General Bachelor's in Environmental Studies Bachelor's in Fine/Studio Arts, General Bachelor's in Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other Bachelor's in French Language and Literature Bachelor's in Geology/Earth Science, General Bachelor's in History, General Bachelor's in International/Global Studies Bachelor's in Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies Bachelor's in Mathematics, General Bachelor's in Music, General Bachelor's in Neuroscience Bachelor's in Philosophy Bachelor's in Physics, General Bachelor's in Political Science and Government, General Bachelor's in Psychology, General Bachelor's in Religion/Religious Studies Bachelor's in Social Sciences, Other Bachelor's in Sociology Bachelor's in Spanish Language and Literature Master's in Counseling Psychology Master's in Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services Master's in Education, General Master's in Educational Leadership and Administration, General Graduate Certificate in Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services Graduate Certificate in Educational, Instructional, and Curriculum Supervision
By checking this box, I consent to receive phone calls, text messages, and/or pre-recorded messages at the number previously provided, including a wireless number, using automated technology, by a representative from St Lawrence University and DegreeSearch.org about their educational services. I understand that I am under no obligation to provide consent to purchase goods or services.*
Degree Search is not affiliated with St Lawrence University, but will attempt to send this request on your behalf. Your privacy is important to us. Privacy Policy
If you are affiliated with St Lawrence University and would like to update the information or learn more about our college directory, please contact us.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1714
|
__label__cc
| 0.746671
| 0.253329
|
Love in All Forms: Calvin's Cowboy by Drew Hunt
Calvin Hamilton reluctantly returns to his home town of Parrish Creek, Texas, to sell his parents' house. Finding the place in need of repair he hires John "Brock" Brockwell to renovate the house before putting it on the market. Brock bares a passing resemblance to Gary Cooper, especially as he often wears western clothing. Calvin has always had a weakness for cowboys.
Time has reversed the two men's fortunes. In high school Brock was the big man on campus, his popularity allowing him to hide his true nature. Calvin was a nerd, bullied by most of the jocks for being perceived as gay. Now Calvin is a successful New York advertising executive, and Brock is a divorced father with a teenage son who faces financial ruin, unable to pay his late father's hospital bills.
Can Calvin put past bitterness behind him and help the cowboy with whom he is rapidly falling in love? Will the deeply closeted Brock be able to admit he has feelings for Calvin? Or will pride, fear, distance, and the past prevent them from building a future together?
I don't often read M/M fiction but from time to time I find a book that I enjoy and which I feel has merit, both in its writing as well as the nature of the story. I really can't remember why I was drawn to this book, but I know that I found it to be one of the most enjoyable I have read in some time.
This story has a natural feel, a gentle flow, and characters that feel and sound incredibly authentic and real. These two main characters have a past, one that goes all the way back to their high school days when Calvin was small for his age, was a book worm or geek, and John Brockwell was the Big Man jock with the well-heeled dad and the popularity that went with his athletic prowess. Now "Brock" is broke, his pockets so empty he barely has money for food, has a truck that may or may not start, is two months behind on his rent. He married because the girl in question got pregnant and it was his family's policy that marriage in that case was absolutely demanded. Now Brock's son lives with him and he is trying to find a way to keep body and soul together.
Calvin is now the wealthy advertising executive in New York City, co-owner of his own firm, with plenty of money to spare. He has returned to his hometown to sell his parents' home where he grew up, and Brock's company is given the sizeable contract to renovate and refurbish the house in preparation to sell it. In the course of their negotiations and getting re-acquainted as mature men, it becomes evident that Brock is gay but has not come to peace with his orientation. Calvin has been "out" for years. While some reviewers have seen this story as being without the "conflict" that is an important part of any novel, I maintain that the conflict is two-fold: first, there is immediate conflict between the two men over their past history and over Brock's issues with Calvin who tries to relieve his financial pain; second, there is very obvious conflict over Brock's sexual orientation. In spite of their strong attraction to one another, Brock is continually worried about anyone finding out about his new involvement with Calvin. This inner struggle also translates into the questions Brock has to face about his financial woes as well as how this will impact his future relationship with his son. I have a hard time seeing this story as being conflict-free.
This is a warm and intimate look-see into the new relationship between these two men who have grown into fine human beings and who have moved past the silliness and petty behavior of high school immaturity. It is evident that Brock is very different now than he was in his high school days as he owns up to his destructive behavior as well as his willingness to overlook the bullying and meanness of others. Calvin's attraction to Brock is a bit of a difficulty initially since he has been misused and emotionally abused by past lovers who saw him as a well-heeled ticket to future success rather than as a person with whom they wanted to share their lives. Yet it is a credit to Brock that he refuses to take undue advantage of Calvin even though he could have easily done so. I was deeply touched by Calvin's efforts to re-connect with Brock even before he became aware of his sexual attraction to the man. Calvin was just a really good man whose sensitivity to others was an indication of his sterling character.
This story is a reminder to everyone that human love comes in all sizes, shapes, and genders. It is a reminder that how people love is far less important than their willingness to allow love to be an important part of their human experience. The flow of the story is gentle as is the ending. It is far more true to life than many novels I have read and I applaud Mr. Hunt's effort to give us characters that are so real. I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.
Posted by Dr J at 4:03 PM No comments:
Love or Career? Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stacey
It's the fourth day of Christmas and I have enjoyed this week between Christmas and the New Year's celebrations. It always has seemed just a little more relaxed with the two major holidays like bookends enclosing this eight day period. It has also meant a good bit more time to do some reading and reviewing and I have been spending time catching up on both. Here's a review of a book I read about a year ago and thought it was wonderful. Now it has been released as a published book rather than just an ebook, and hopefully more readers will discover the beginning of this delicious family series.
When Keri Daniels' editor finds out she has previous carnal knowledge of reclusive bestselling author Joe Kowalski, she gives Keri a choice: get an interview or get a new job.
Joe's never forgotten the first girl to break his heart, so he's intrigued to hear Keri's back in town--and looking for him. Despite his intense need for privacy, he'll grant Keri an interview if it means a chance to finish what they started in high school. He proposes an outrageous plan--for every day she survives with his family on their annual camping and four-wheeling trip, Keri can ask one question. Keri agrees; she's worked too hard to walk away from her career.
But the chemistry between them is still as potent as the bug spray, Joe's sister is out to avenge his broken heart and Keri hasn't ridden an ATV since she was ten. Who knew a little blackmail, a whole lot of family and some sizzling romantic interludes could make Keri reconsider the old dream of Keri & Joe 2gether 4ever.
The choices women face in today's world are significantly more complicated than in former days. Even as I was finishing high school and college, women were beginning to make a stand for better opportunities outside the home, better educational opportunities, and better pay for their contributions to business and commerce. But that increased level of personal and professional opportunity has come at a price. Choices between having a full and fulfilling personal relationship and following a demanding career path has been a rather significant struggle for many women. In this story the author never backs away from investigating Keri's dilemma--one that has been present in her life and emotions from those days when high school came to an end and with it her relationship with Joe. She walked away and didn't return until now when her publication is insisting on an exclusive interview with a man who is now well known and whose privacy will only succumb to someone Joe knows--someone who shares a past with him.
This novel is the beginning of a series that highlights several members of the Kowalski family. Joe and Keri have moved on -- or have they? Their past may very well be poised to make an appearance in their present, something Keri isn't terribly anxious to have happen, largely because there is still that old struggle over a woman's independence and the right to follow a career dream. This novel is fun to read, and the introduction to the Kowalski family is done beautifully. The characters are very well crafted so that readers really know the various family members. The interaction within the family circle is delightful, even some of the snafu over kids, the upsets the teens experience, and some of the issues that become important for Joe and Keri.
This is a book worth reading and if it is already in your library as an ebook, it's worth re-reading! I know I have gone and re-visited the entire series and found each to be just as delightful and satisfying a read as it was the first time around. This is one book all real and genuine romance fans need to have in their possession. I encourage you to make it one of your literary friends. I give it a 4.75 out of 5 rating.
This novel has been re-released by Harlequin in December, 2011.
Posted by Dr J at 3:32 PM 1 comment:
It's Almost The First Day of Christmas
It's almost here -- the First Day of Christmas. It is almost time to do whatever the Christmas Eve traditions are in our families. In my hubby's family, my mother-in-law would always make oyster stew, white cornbread, and candle salad--a flat piece of leaf lettuce, a half of a banana standing upright, a little bit of mayo/cream cheese mixture that had been colored with red food coloring, with 1/4 of a maraschino cherry in the top like a flame. We have continued that tradition for many years, even though my in-laws are both gone now. It is not only now our families tradition but it is a way of remembering so many years when they were still with us and when our kids were little.
We always opened our presents on Christmas eve--my dad started that. He always said that Christmas Eve was for us, and Christmas Day was for Jesus--it's his birthday anyway. So we got to have our oyster stew supper, then we all had a mug of hot chocolate, we would gather around the Christmas tree, my hubby would read the Christmas story out of the Gospel of Luke, and then we would open presents. We always handed the gifts out, one child at a time. Everyone had to wait while that person opened their presents. This started when my sister and I were young--we only got two or three presents. One from my parents, and one from each of my grandparents. It just made the presents last a little bit longer. Even now, with our grown-up kids and our in-law children and grandkids with us, we still take the time to enjoy each person's presents. I think everyone likes being in the spot-light for just a little while.
I heard a wonderful song the other day and the lyrics really impressed me.
Do you remember me
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies.
Well, I'm all grown up now
And still need help somehow;
I'm not a child
But my heart still can dream.
So here's my lifelong wish
My grown up Christmas list:
Not for myself
But for a world in need.
No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end.
This is my grown up Christmas list.
It's my sincere wish that all of you and yours will experience true joy and peace during this Christmas season, and I continue to hope that we will all take some time to find ways to help those who have so little and share some of the great prosperity that we all have experienced.
Merry Christmas to you all!!
The KISS Method for Christmas -- It's A Gift To Be Simple . . .
I couldn't stop laughing when my sister sent me this photo . . . how creative and yet, I have to won up to the fact that as I gaze at some of the Christmas lighting excess in our community, I would have wanted to do something just like this. While I think these folks wanted all the next door visitors to have a good laugh, it did indeed make the point that the big electric bills weren't going to be coming to their house. In this case, as far as their bank account was concerned, simple really was the way to go.
Yet there is also the annual decisions to make when the holiday approaches. For me, lots of Christmases have come and gone, and for some years we have had the house decorated inside and out. A couple of years ago my hubby and I were so busy with family and community and church we ended up having Christmas at our daughter's house and didn't even get the Christmas tree out of the closet--yet, we do have an artificial tree. I guess I'm one of those "save a tree" people in a very real sense, but I also remember the annual "pain in the vacuum cleaner" we had every year growing up when we were trying to vacuum up all the dead tree droppings off the living room rug. I will admit I missed the tree. I have some old fashioned, Dickensonian houses that I have accumulated through the years and we did put those out on the book shelf, but I missed the tree. I love Christmas trees. One year I left ours up until April . . . it was almost an Easter tree that year.
But there is also that part of me that knows that my faith is rooted in the belief that Christmas is really not about presents and commercial sharing. I want to do my part for our nation's economy, and I do like getting a present or two--who doesn't? Yet, there is that reality that most of the time hubby and I are getting things for each other all year, and at our age, what is there that we really need? He's always buying me jewelry that he thinks I will like, and I am always trying to find clothes that will delight him. He isn't a clothes horse by any stretch of the imagination, but I know that he really gets a sparkle in his eye when he puts on one of his beautiful suits, picks out a cute tie, and "gussies up." At Christmas--and his birthday is also five days before Christmas--trying to find something he really needs or wants is very nearly impossible.
Now our family does the annual name exchange, usually one of the daughters puts us all together with a drawing just after Thanksgiving. We include the long-distance parts of our family as well, knowing that it means that they will probably not get our gifts to them until after Christmas. However, we Americans don't pay much attention to the "Twelve Days of Christmas" which, by the way, begin on December 25. So we always soothe our sense of "being late" with the fact that the gift will arrive sometime during those twelve days.
Last night, on the Family Channel, we watched "The Polar Express" again. What a great story. I remember when we went to a little church annually, not far from our daughter's home, the priest always pulled out that book and shared it with the congregation as his Christmas Day homily. It is about believing in those things we can't see--friendship, caring, and even in the spirit that is Christmas, whether or not we refer to that spirit as "Santa Claus." It was a fun reminder that keeping our holiday observances close to those kinds of realities--the ones we can't see--that will make the holiday live in our hearts. For Christians it is about remembering whose birthday it really is. For Jews it is about a faith that carried them through a time of great persecution to a victory over their enemies. And for many others it is about remembering that our loved ones and friends, our authentic relationships are what keep us grounded and focused on realities that make us truly human.
It is indeed a gift to be simple--as the old Shaker hymn reminds us. I trust that this will be a gift we can all claim this year.
Posted by Dr J at 9:36 AM No comments:
An Oldie But STILL A Goodie: Haunted By Dreams by Norah Wilson
John Deadmarsh had loved Cassandra Ashe once, a long time ago. As a student in Toronto, he'd wooed the mysterious Maliseet beauty to his bed, only to have her steal away while he slept, taking his heart with her. When he runs into her seventeen years later in sleepy Fredericton, New Brunswick, the betrayal stings like it was just yesterday. Cass would like nothing better than to steer a wide berth around this tall, dark and dangerous reminder of her youthful mistake. But John, now a psychologist, is treating Cass's young friend Nikki. Their mutual concern for Nikki puts them in frequent conflict. From the first encounter, it's obvious the attraction is still there.
To Cass's dismay, so is all that loaded emotion from that long-ago summer. Even more disturbing, she sees that John is just as haunted by the events of that summer as she is. How can she continue to deny him the truth about why she left him? But if she tells him the truth, what will it mean for the fragile new bond that's growing between them?
It isn't often that many of us find such delightful treasures unless we are the kind of book lovers who haunt used bookstores. I do love the old stuff almost as much as the new books that are appearing at an unbelievable rate. I find, though, that I get caught up in waiting for the next batch of new books and as a reviewer I am usually inundated with stacks of them. Once in awhile I begin researching an author and find a treasure like this book and am reminded of all the great reading that is "out there" that I have missed because of being taken over by the "new book craze."
This is a story that caught my interest largely because the two main characters meet after seventeen years. Yes, that's right, seventeen years. Seventeen years of pain, remembered shared delight, questions, anger, and most of all, that empty feeling that comes whenever one allows those painful memories to remind each one that something that was so very special got put aside almost before it had a chance to become the wonder it was destined to be. Cass is now 34, divorced but still very close to her ex. He is a warm and caring man who loved Cass in his own way until he met his soul-mate. He was prepared to honor his marriage vows and it was Cass who realized that something was dying inside her husband and set him free to be with his true love. Our hero John is now 40, a licensed psychologist and professor at the local university, a man who could never really face marriage to someone other than Cass, and it is in the pursuit of her long-held dream of becoming a social worker with First Nation families that she and John meet after nearly two decades. The anger and hurt surface immediately in the form of sarcasm and inuendo of a not very nice sort. Through a strange set of circumstances, they continue to meet and those encounters force them both to sort out their feelings.
This story is full of surprises for the characters as well as for the reader. At first I felt the animosity between Cass and John was a pit protracted, but when I thought about the nearly two decades of pain and questioning and, in Cass's case, carefully burying some important truth about that long-ago experience, I began to see their difficulties in moving beyond the anger. It is also a novel that exposes readers to the extensive difficulties First Nation peoples continue to encounter because of their color and their racial origin. Canada struggles with prejudice against people of color as much as does any other country. As Cass encounters the low self-esteem, the social problems, the lack of good housing and educational opportunity for her own people, she realizes that being adopted into a white, middle-class family has insulated her from so very much.
So this is really a wonderful love story about second chances as well as a very skillful social commentary on the realities endured by Canada's original inhabitants. Thus, it is a beautiful literary expression of Ms Wilson's writing skill as revealing some of her own concerns about some of these social ills that have plagued a really wonderful country for a very long time. I hope you will consider this novel and enjoy it as much as I did. It is really worth going back and re-claiming this book that first appeared a decade ago.
In future days I will be reviewing some of Ms Wilson's newer work. Hope you stop back by often.
Posted by Dr J at 11:20 AM No comments:
Labels: Canada, contemporary romance, First Nation peoples, Norah Wilson
I've Been Over At "The Island" For Three Days and Now I'm Back with A Book Review I Hope You'll Read
As a guest blogger over at Desert Island Keepers and had fun writing in that genre for three days. It's a fun place and right now there are posts from Vanessa Kelly as a guest blogger.
I have been reading lots the last couple of days as I have been dealing with a repeat bout of vertigo. The Dr. doesn't seem to know how to get to the root cause so am just taking antihistamines and--would you believe--sea sick pills. They seem to be working but having the room spin every time I make a quick movement gets old really fast. So I want to share a review of a book that I really enjoyed and kept me relatively immobile for quite a while.
Out spoken and independent, Lady Alexa Bingham enjoys the heady freedom of making all her own decisions, even though the challenges of overseeing her family's country estate are daunting. But when a chance encounter with London's most notorious rake awakens a secret longing for adventure, she accepts her aunt's invitation for a Season in Town . . . only to find that breaking the rules of the ton has serious consequences.
The Earl of Killingworth uses his rakehell reputation to hide the fact that poverty has forced him to work for a living. As the owner of a gambling den and brothel, Connor has no time for glittering ballrooms or innocent young ladies. But after a reckless wager leaves him with a new business partner, he is forced to take a risky gamble . . . Will the cards fall in their favor?
Alexa and Connor begin to play a dangerous game of intrigue and deception as they seek to outwit a cunning adversary who wants to put them permanently out of business. But if they are not careful, it is the flames of their own fiery attraction that may destroy them.
The "crisis" in this story is initially the subtle but effective attack against the hero. Connor Linsley, Earl of Killingworth, is another one of those aristocrats who inherits an empty bank account and properties that make financial demands when there is not money, thanks to the gambling habit of his father. As a whiz at card games, he uses that skill to eventually become the owner of a gaming hell and brothel, one that is known as The Wolf's Lair. Connor then becomes known as the Irish Wolfhound, thanks to his mother's Irish heritage and it in the upper reaches of the brothel, of all places where Lady Alexa and Connor first encounter each other's independent spirit, their razor wit, and their mutual loyalty to those who are important to them. The kiss they exchange (Connor's "payment" for the information Alexa wants about her brother's whereabouts) begins as Connor's way of putting Alexa off, exposing her to the rough ways Connor has come to expect in his occasional romps with the fairer sex. However, it doesn't put either one of the "off" -- it becomes the kiss that Connor simply can't forget.I have been reading contemporary romance mostly in the past several months so it was fun to go back to my original passion: historical romance. Cara Elliot was an author I had encountered a while back so was delighted to read and review this newest book in a new series. I think she is a truly gifted writer who knows her stuff when it comes to telling a story in a way that keeps the reader's interest while teasing that interest forward.
This relationship seems to be a background story at first, because the initial action of the book is taken up with Connor's concern over the fact that someone is trying to "do him and his business in." Not only did a very skilled card sharp take him "to the cleaners" but the safe in his office was robbed almost immediately afterward, followed by an attack on both him and Lady Alexa. It is during his recuperation that these two begin to find their attraction to one another is more binding than they thought initially.
This is a well-written historical that takes in the ways of the ton as well as exposing the reader to the less refined levels of English society. It is also a mystery and the threads of that story are woven skillfully throughout the love story between Connor and Alexa. It's not a short read and it is not a simplistic story. It is very up-front about Alexa's resentment against a society that puts women in a display case and allows men to essentially do whatever they want as long as they pretend to be upstanding and proper. It explores that sense of independence and while it clashes with society and the expectations of friends, it also allows Alexa to be free with her concern, use her skills as a "country-bred miss" in helping Connor, and brings Alexa's mind into the story as well as her heart.
I make no bones about liking this kind of novel. I think it is a treat for the mind as well as for the heart. It is one of those stories that deals with the deeper and darker issues that make us truly human, that have been at the heart of human efforts to define individuals and societies historically, and which makes the heart of modern women glad. The freedoms that women enjoy today were hardwon by many who chafed under the yoke of social expectation. Alexa could be the poster girl for women who want to be esteemed as much for their mind and abilities as they do for the cut of their gown or the way they execute a dance step. I hope you'll consider making this novel a part of your "to be read" stack of books.
I give this novel a 4.25 out of 5.
Too Wicked to Wed was released in November under the "Forever" imprint.
Let's Talk Turkey . . . Being Thankful for More Than One Day
Well, turkey day has come and gone, and this year I didn't have to cook dinner for my entire tribe. We actually had Thanksgiving Dinner at someone else's home, and that was really neat and lots less work! One inevitable downer: no left-overs!! And I think the second best day of the year is the day after Thanksgiving with all the turkey left-overs. Yummmmm!! Hot turkey and gravy sandwiches; turkey pot pie; my mom's turkey croquettes; turkey hash; and on and on. Hubby and I would bake a turkey every month if we would think about it more often. We LOVE turkey.
But in truth, the food on Thanksgiving Day is really secondary, and perhaps more this year than for lots of years past, I am more aware than ever that my life is lacking a healthy portion of gratitude. Of course, I am thankful for friend and family--most of the time, that is. The kids and grandkids can be a bit wearing from time to time. What I am realizing is that I don't often stop and express thanks for the little things in my life--and some of the big ones, either. Like a good job, even at my age, lots of opportunities to read good books and to communicate with other readers, bloggers, authors, and people who share in that particular obsession. I am thankful for a hubby of long-standing -- a man who now is retired and who regularly tries to micro-manage my life, but who is always there to support and fit in, even if he really doesn't fully understand sometimes where I'm "coming from." I'm thankful for my health--something I have taken for granted for most of my life. Good genes and I think some good health practices early in my life are paying off now.
The real issue is that being thankful really does change the overall outlook people have in their everyday lives. It has even been known to change the body chemistry--changing the negative into the positive, and helping to move individuals through some rather overwhelming difficulties. "Counting Your Blessings" may seem as innocuous to many as counting sheep to overcome insomnia. But the anecdotal evidence shows that it really does work, makes a difference when some difficult happenings, situations, circumstances, etc. are threatening to overwhelm and upend.
So it is my sincere hope that all my readers and "followers" had a truly blessed and restful Thanksgiving Day holiday, didn't get too frazzled by "Black Friday," and are looking forward to the coming days, weeks, and months of living with thankful hearts and spirits.
Labels: Thanksgiving commentary
Love Those Men In Blue: "The Night Is Darkest" by Jayne Rylon
Some secrets refuse to stay hidden.
Lacey Daughtry's perfect weekend is interrupted by tragic news of her brother's murder in the line of duty. Plagued by a rash of mysterious phone calls, she turns to her brother's best friends and fellow officers for protection-and comfort.
Spending time in close contact with Mason and Tyler, the two men she's dreamed of since her first girlhood crush, seems like the answer to a prayer. Especially when they begin to explore the desire she's harbored for so long. But the partners are holding out on Lacey. Determined to suppress the most extreme facets of their lust, they agree to settle for sharing the woman they crave while concealing their desire for each other. Until Lacey cracks their resolve, unleashing a torrent of emotions that threatens to distract them when they can least afford it.
Their blossoming relationship is complicated by secrets. And the only way to evade the killer threatening their lives is to bare their souls in the darkest hours of the night. Or everything will come crashing down, just before the dawn.
I recently read a couple of books written by Ms Rylon in collaboration with Mari Carr (The Compass Brothers Series: Northern Exposure, Southern Comfort) and really liked the style and content of the stories. So I looked up this author as an individual writer and discovered some additional books and this series entitled Men in Blue. (I had read and reviewed several of her books previously from Ellora's Cave for The Book Binge.) This first book was released in 2009 but is one that is very much rooted in contemporary times and places, is really about three people who have been friends for years, who are mourning the death of a much loved brother and friend, and who are keeping secrets from each other--at least they think the others are clueless. Like so much else in their long-standing association as friends and lovers, that assumption is wrong also. Mason and Tyler have been secret lovers for quite a while, have "wanted" Lacey as their third for even longer, but have agreed that their pursuit of her will be conducted as if they are just best friends. It's a small town with some fairly accomplished gossips and some highly judgmental people. Add in Mason's unwillingness to accept his attraction to Tyler, and you have a pretty good level of conflict on every front.
Lacey knows that she is seen as "the little sister" of their friend who has just been killed in the line of duty. She can't seem to get them to see her as a grown woman with a serious love for them and the need to have them in her life. They also don't realize that she has been aware that their friendship is closer than just "best friends" and that this reality certainly doesn't "turn her off." That is one of their greatest fears. She is being stalked but hasn't shared that with them either as they seem to be avoiding her.
This is not your simple boys-meet-girl kind of story. It isn't a simple menage tale where two men grab the girl and they are off for hot sessions of threesome sex. It is a story that is full of the conflicts the men feel over their attraction to each other, their worry about being open in acting on that attraction, their worry that Lacey might run from them if she knew, their conflict over her being their friend's "little sister," and their most urgent concern that Lacey won't be able to deal with their "dark" and kinky needs. There is also the mystery about who might be stalking Lacey, or perhaps the slowly emerging clues that the death of Lacey's brother might not have been accidental at all.
At its most basic, this novel is about discovering the depth and breadth of relationship--the grandeur that Mason and Tyler need to discover in their own love for each other, the maturity and acceptance that Lacey has for them both as lovers and her own dark needs that they can fulfill, and their need to come clean with each other and live in the open as honest lovers and friends. There is also an entire circle of "men in blue" that form a kind of extended family for these three, all of whom are accepting of them as individuals as well as a triad. As they discover each other they are going to be challenged to discover the authenticity of their friends' caring for them as well.
This novel is really beautifully written as the strands of each of these people's lives are woven together alongside the mystery that has engulfed them. Their discovery of the perpetrator, their sense of betrayal at who this is, their recognition of their ability to move beyond a very limited view of life and relationship are the factors that shape and form the context of a story that is full of surprises and which never leaves the reader bored or at loose ends. It is a worthy beginning to a trilogy that will draw the reader into the lives and experiences of a circle of friends--all of whom are different but equally talented, whose own experiences make the reading just that much more interesting. I loved the book and was so pleased to know that the experiences of these characters would continue on through books two and three. I give it a rating of 4.25 out of 5.
Labels: BDSM, contemporary romance, Jayne Rylon, law enforcement, Men in Blue series
My Feelings Exactly!! "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy" by
Garrett was sure his obsession with Tessa would be the death of him. He'd watched her patiently for a very long time. Okay, so "patiently" wasn't exactly a good description. He'd run off every man within a mile of her for years. He knows her habit of skinny-dipping in the lake that joins their properties, and this time, he plans on taking advantage of it.
Tessa thought Garrett was out of reach. He's ten years her senior and always has a horde of slim blondes hanging off him. She's short, curvy, and black. Definitely not his type. Too bad no one told Garrett that. Now, Garrett is determined Tessa will be his, and this is one cowboy who won't take "no" for an answer.
While this story isn't a part of Cara North's Country Music Collection, I still noticed the book because of the title and its reference to a current contemporary country/western ballad. It is one of those stories that is tense and filled with less than optimum relationships right off the bat with characters that must struggle with the social barriers of race, color, and an age gap. It is about a cowboy who has never veered away from his wanting Tessa even though to most people it looked like he was a player--he always had the cute blonde salivating over him. Perhaps that is how he dealt with the issues he had to confront about their differences. His heart and his libido paid little attention to the social difficulties. They wanted Tessa.
I have always enjoyed interracial romances because they, like so many stories, take the reader away from the comfort zone most WASPs live in and they pose some scenarios that challenge every reader to be open to new possibilities. I have always thought that it takes a very determined couple to live outside what many would see as "norm" -- within their own racial structure and finding life partners within that context. Love is not aware of color barriers or even age gaps. Ten years is a lot of years--they make little difference initially, but eventually they make far more of a difference. Men simply don't live as long as women--at least, that is the national average--and those kinds of age differences can separate lovers eventually in the course of growing old. Don't get me wrong--I don't think that should make any difference in deciding who will be one's life partner. It's just the reality folks have to face.
I found this story to be so readable and enjoyed it a lot. I hope some of you will check it out. I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.
Labels: contemporary western romance, Marteeka Karland
There's More To Me Than Just Being A Mother: "One Hot Mama" by Cara North
Rafe decides that it is time to make his move on Layla. Layla adores the man, but she has secrets too dark and too risky to let herself fall for him.
For a man who knows everything about women, he doesn't know anything about Layla and to earn her trust he has to do more than win over her children.
The is the third in the "Country Music Collection and a story which now features the third brother in the family--a man who has always been the peace-maker, the one who has stood in the gap when difficulties make family life uneasy and tense, and who now is drawn to a single mother with two kids. His efforts to draw her into any kind of relationship continually fall flat, and even the relationship he has established with the kids--they absolutely adore Rafe--doesn't seem to make much difference when it comes to bringing Layla and Rafe closer to where he would like to be.
As has been the case in the first two books, the story is edgy and real, the characters are not gilded with literary smooze, and the story smacks of contemporary life. The background characters are, in many cases, persons readers have met in the first two books, and their stories continue on just a bit. Certainly Layla is now in a quandry because the real stories of her past are in danger of being revealed. Yet she craves the relationship Rafe's brothers have managed to have and she wants security for herself and her kids.
This story is one of those novels that grabs your emotions and just doesn't let go until the last word is read. Even then I found it difficult to move away from the story and kept on thinking about the characters long after I had finished the book. I find that is true of the really good ones. If nothing else, the characters and their story connected with me on some level.
I think Cara North is a very accomplished writer and have enjoyed her style and her use of the language. Readers of contemporary romance fiction will like her writing and will find that her stories are compelling and worth the time and effort to read. I give this book a 4.25 out of 5.
Labels: Cara North, contemporary romance, Country Music stories
Back Up Ten And Punt: When Things Get Hairy in the Locker Room
I guess having lived for decades with a high school sports coach and having a son who is a football coach has finally rubbed off on me. If you don't believe me, then you'll probably have trouble believing that one of my thrills at being in Chicago recently was seeing Soldier's Field--the venue where the Chicago Bears play. I have heard about, been party to, and had my entire weekend taken over by sports, namely football. In the days when thee was only a single 13" TV in our living room, the kids and I got lots of other stuff done. Dad, of course, had taken over the TV for the entire weekend.
Most recently I have been shamed and saddened by the happenings at Penn State--the hurt that was revealed after being covered up for 13 years and the fall-out that is affecting the university now. I am most ashamed when I hear commentators speaking about the great damage done that day for Penn State. Oh Hello!! The hurt happened years ago and it wasn't just to the university. The loss of a beloved coach has to feel harsh and is difficult for lots of people the consider that such an action to fire Joe Paterno and the college president has to make lots and lots of students and alumni very upset. I know this is a hot button issue and I'll probably get scalded for my writing about it, but I am upset about lots of stuff pertaining to this situation.
First, I realize that Mr Paterno reported the illegal activity to the Athletic Director in the late 90's, but my understanding is that at the time Pennsyvania had a mandatory reporting law. That means that the coach had an obligation to report the information received to the law enforcement officials. That's not what happened. And perhaps the greatest sadness about this entire affair, apart from the damage done to the victims, is that Joe Paterno decided to protect his legend instead of making sure that a staff member was prevented from doing any harm to more youngsters. I know that sounds harsh and judgmental, but when people begin to believe their publicity and allow their public persona to be what they protect instead of seeking justice for those young boys, then there is something seriously wrong. I also know that college football is a force with which to be contended in our society and that influence is supported by millions of dollars worth of TV exposure, the whole NFL scouting machine, and the flow of those media dollars into the coffers of university and college athletic programs. And as beloved as Coach Paterno may be to the Penn State students and alumni, he became a part of the cover-up as soon as he opted out of his mandated reporting responsibilities.
This situation, like many others of the same kind, are full of wounding and scalding sadness--not only for the victims, but for lots of friendships and relationships that get caught up in and ground to powder by the the inevitable fall-out that will happen sooner or later. For those victims, it is justice long delayed. For the coaching staff and college administration it is a powerful wake-up call to honesty and transparency. Strangely enough, I am impelled to send prayers to everyone that will be ultimately touched by this tragedy. No matter how grand the football aura may be, no matter how legendary the coach, the sanctity of and respect for the human person of any age, much less a child, can never take second place.
Labels: a commentary, football scandal
No, I Haven't Died!! I'm Really Home, Finally!
What an incredible privilege to be able to travel throughout our beautiful country and experience the beauty that we so often take for granted! Train travel affords a unique view of what is often seen from roads and freeways. Train tracks are most often in a different part of the town and wind their way through meadow and hill a far piece from the roadways. And I continue to sing the praises of train travel--quiet, long periods of time to read, knit, sleep, listen quietly to music, meet people from all over the country, and see some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet. What's not to like??
I continued my journey through Cara North's "Country Music Series" of novels and continue to find her writing very much to my taste. Book Two, She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy is another compelling story about a very different situation: a marriage that is on the rock even before the
marriage begins. Now admittedly we read of such happenings now and then among celebrities--i.e. the rece
Kardashian fiasco is a case in point. But I don't often encounter it in romance fiction. This book deals with such a scenario in a way that is edgy and seems to "go for the throat." It is visceral and gutsy and the characters are hurting big time. There were times when I wasn't sure this book could come up with a resolution. It almost read like a Greek tragedy.nt
Ms North has a wonderful way with a story. I hope that those of you who really like contemporary romance--straightforward, gutsy, and a healthy dose of eroticism mixed in--will take a look at this series. It caught my eye because I like the songs that are referenced in the titles, and while each is a stand alone novel, I would recommend starting with book one since the family and secondary characters are fascinating and really hold the reader's interest. Be prepared to feel the hurt, disappointment, passion, fear, and complicated relationships that are the stuff of real life. I think you'll be glad you indulged.
Never fear: I'll be posting some interesting reviews shortly. I am trying to catch up with some reviews I owe The Book Binge so right now I'm spread kind of thin. Those of you who checked in and found me absent, thanks for your faithfulness. Hopefully we'll all be back together and sharing some of the stuff that we have been reading in the past 4-6 weeks. Let me hear from you. I really love all the comments I receive.
Reading On The Train: "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" by Cara North
If you have been checking in from time to time, you know that hubby and I are on our BIG annual train trek, spanning the United States, moving from train to train, and having a ball doing it. Lugging suitcases around can be tiring, but at our age we don't get enough exercise anyway, so that has been all to our good. Moving from West to East, arriving in Boston, trekking North to Portland, Maine, then journeying South to Washington, D.C. and visiting friends who live nearby in Virginia, moving into my home state of Georgia and renewing friendship with long-time friends (that we met and got to know 49 years ago) near Atlanta, and now we are sitting a spell in the home of our oldest daughter who lives in Alabama. Hubby and daughter conspired to drive me to Nashville where we explored really old and unusual cars at the Lane Automobile Museum--absolutely a hoot and trip down memory lane--and an afternoon at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Special displays highlighting the talents and careers of Chet Atkins and Hank Williams, Jr were only a small part of the fun and really encountering a music genre that is uniquely American.
All that train riding makes time for computer games (that's hubby's thing), knitting afghans for church and friends, and, of course, READING!! As many of you have come to recognize, I like some of the older publications I missed out on in years past, and the two novels of Cara North I recently discovered were a treasure uncovered, to be sure. The titles caught my eye be
cause I really love country music and particularly liked the fun titles of these quirky songs.
Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off is a fun contemporary erotic romance about two people needing each other for different reasons and finding out that together they are one insatiable force. Bethany Dodson is running from her past and her fiancé. She needs a new last name and to get lost fast! Jack Johnson needs to marry a woman to get his inheritance so he can stop working on other ranches and rebuild the one he shares with his two older brothers and younger sister. When he meets Bethany, his goal is basically to get some action then get on searching for a wife. But Bethany kills two birds with one stone and the next thing he knows he's the one getting drug down the aisle! What they discover is more than just surface needs. They take each other to new heights in and out of the bedroom, push boundaries, and even fall in love!
What's a girl to do when she has everything money can buy, enough money to float a boat in her underwear drawer, and absolute certainty that she means nothing at all to her parents or the man who is "scheduled" to marry her? Why, she goes to Las Vegas, of course. She needs someone to marry her, give her a new name, let her begin a new life, and then he will be free--that is, if he wants to be free. In the same way, Jack Johnson needs a woman to marry, one who isn't a gold-digger, who can "put out" for at least three months, and who will gladly divorce him in three months--that is, if he is willing to let her go.
Thus the story of Bethany and Jack begins, tossing back shots of tequila, allowing their physical attraction to draw them into each other's sphere, daring one another to marry, and signing on the dotted line--temporarily, to be sure. Yet as life has a way of snookering us into surprises, so the attraction that these two explore and enjoy becomes the hook that seems to keep them connected as their respective stories unfold.
This story explores the healing power of love for a woman who knows her own mind, who has a killer education and plans to use it, and a curvy, voluptuous body she thinks of as fat. Yet Bethany is typical of many women who have incredible talent and learning but who are stunted by the disregard, disrespect, and actually be used rather than appreciated by the people who should have loved her best. Just the simple hugs Jack is willing to share, the fact that a gorgeous man seems to really be turned on by her body as well as her mind, has Bethany beginning to believe that she is loveable and can be valued for herself alone.
I found this novel to be so enjoyable, not really light-weight as it deals with some substantive issues that are unfortunately alive and well in the experience of a multitude of today's women. The loving is warm and inviting, the sex is incredible, and the story of how a relationship that began under less-than-optimum circumstances all combine to make a novel that is a joy to read and, might I add, re-read. Published in 2007, Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off is still contemporary and pertinent to the world of today's women. I highly recommend it as a novel that will warm your heart, massage your libido, and engage your mind as well. Don't miss this one. I give it a rating of 4.25 out of 5.
Labels: Cara North, contemporary western, Country Music stories, western romance
On The Road Still . . . Reflections of an Amtrak Traveler
If you have been checking in, then you know that
we are on our Amtrak trek across the United States, and we are now in Virginia where we are visiting some long-time friends with whom we served in the Army nearly 50 years ago when we were all stationed in Berlin. It was a weary world then as it is now, and we were in the midst of what was then called "The Cold War." We have stayed in touch through the years, but this is the first time we have been together in nearly 16 years. Renewing old friendships is such fun, especially when we were surprised with the information that our friends were celebrating a wedding anniversary. We celebrated by driving along the ridges of the Blue Hills of Virginia at the Skyline National Park. The colors were spectacular--hills dotted with yellow, orange, and red trees. All testified that the winter was coming and were showing off their beauty in a last blast of glory.
Now we are off to Atlanta where we will re-connect with another couple who were stationed with us in Berlin. Perhaps being several years behind the Iron Curtain (as the boundaries of the Soviet Union were then called) can cause people to forge friendships that have better-than-average strength, a tensil strength that lasts for years afterward. We will be moving on in a couple days after that to visit with family, spend a couple of days in New Orleans, then journey to Chicago and after a couple of days' sojourn there, journey home via the California Zephr.
Hope all of you are staying well and getting your flu shots, the relatively new pneumonia shots, and updating your immunity regularly. Adults aren't usually good at that so we do well to look to our own health even as we are trying to care for those around us. Keep on keeping on, and I'll be updating you again soon. Until next time . . .
There Ain't Any Such Thing As A Werewolf!! "Cry Wolf" by Angela Campbell
Andrea Lockhart's job as a reporter for cheesy tabloid The Naked Truthisn't exactly where she thought her journalism career would end up. She's determined to make the best of it, but when her editor sends her to Woodbine, South Carolina, to investigate a werewolf sighting, Andrea decides the ridiculous assignment will be her last. Until she meets Sean Hunter.
The last time she saw Sean, he had just beat her out for the position of editor of their college newspaper, and told her she'd never make it as a reporter. Given his grand ambitions, she's shocked to find him editing theWoodbine Weekly. Once they start competing for leads on the werewolf, Andrea becomes determined to break the story first—she can't let Sean beat her again.
As they each get closer to finding the source of the rumors, the only thing more surprising than the truth are the feelings Sean is able to stir in her, feelings she thought she had left behind...
We've all seen them . . . those sensationalism-filled news "rags" displayed by the check-out stands in grocery stores and other retail stores. Some of the head-lines are so bazaar that it is more a source of comedy than information. No one really takes the tw0-headed baby seriously! Yet there are people who continue to work for these organizations and they continue to flourish because customers continue to buy their craziness. No serious journalist would work for one of those publications--or so we think.
Yet in this novel that is exactly who is writing for a tabloid called The Naked Truth. Andrea is an award-winning journalist who has been writing for some of America's most respected news organizations, but who now finds herself as a feature writer for a tabloid. And her most unwelcome story to date: getting the "naked truth" about the werewolf sightings in a small community who has reported these for years. All because she laughed out loud at the ludicrous nature of the assignment. Now it is hers.
Adding to the crazy nature of this assignment is the shock of finding herself hanging upside down in a hunter's snare, being rescued by a young reporter on the local weekly newspaper along with his editor who turns out to be her chief competitor from college and an old college crush who "crushed" her with his scathing words about her appearance, wardrobe, and general unsuitability as an aspiring journalist. Those old verbal wounds are still very much alive in her heart and mind, and now she finds that he not only doesn't remember her but she has to rely on him for some of her contacts connected to running down this story.
This is a book that is about werewolves but in a strong sense isn't really about that phenomenon. It is more about the people who are struggling with the issue of whether or not such a creature exists, whether to debunk the legend, dealing with those in the community who will not be moved from their conviction that such a "monster" exists, and the human element in confronting this issue--the old love-interest, family, getting over old wounds, dealing with unscrupulous journalists connected with the tabloid, preserving one's own integrity professionally, and so on. There is so much going on in this book, yet I had the feeling throughout that the author really had it all under control and was going to make it all come together. The story really centers around Andrea Lockhart's own inner struggle as a professional, dealing with the old emotional hurts even as she is getting re-acquainted with the source of those hurts--a man who has clearly changed as much as she has in the ten years since they first knew each other. Her challenge is to balance those old hurts and feelings with what she is learning about him now and who he has become.
I found this novel to be more about the people involved in the story than just about the "werewolf" stuff. And because of that it was a very good reading experience. My entire interest in all romance fiction is exploring the human relationships, the struggle with the human thought process and the issues that influence the way people determine their choices and how they proceed on their life journey. Andrea is like so many others: just trying to do her job, not really sure she can look forward to any kind of private life that will be fulfilling. The hurts of her recent past have cast a pall over any hopes and dreams she may have had. How can she get around those, how can she hope to have a life that is fulfilling and connected to others when any connections from the past have been so disappointing?
Contemporary romance fans will enjoy this book with its many background characters and its interesting story line. Add in the "spice" of the paranormal and you have a unique story that is worth the time and effort to read and enjoy. I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.
This novel has an expected release date from Carina Press of 10/31/2011.
Labels: Angela Campbell, Carina Press, contemporary romance, paranormal romance
Whew!! I Made It Home In One Piece
Can you believe it? Rain in Los Angeles? Lots of rain in Los Angeles? Well, I'm here to tell you we had buckets of rain on Wednesday, and as usual, the LA drivers took that as a sign that it was a good day to drive even faster than normal. On my way home from a hotel near the Los Angeles airport where I was reading ordination exams for our denomination, the freeway was crowded, as always. But wonder of wonders, the traffic moved along fairly well . . . UNTIL . . . I got closer to home, nearly to the junction between Fwy 5 and 14, and everything came to a stop!! It took two hours to go about 3-1/2 miles -- two accidents were on the side of the freeway only about 400 yards apart. So in addition to the emergency vehicles weaving in and out of bumper to bumper traffic--always seems like a miracle to me that they can even manage to get anywhere--we had all the professional "lookey loos" who think it's the best show in town and they have to see it!! So in addition to having a fried brain from reading 37 not-really-well-written exams in three days and commenting on each answer, I was almost comatose from sitting in the car and moving 10 inches at a time, breathing car fumes, and truly coming to the conclusion that I was never going to see my hubby ever again!!
We're nearly ready to launch ourselves on our Fall 2011 Train Trek back to the East Coast, traveling to Chicago, along the Great Lakes, to Boston, then on to Portland, Maine, back to Washington, D. C. to visit some long-time friends, then on to Atlanta (more long time friends), to Alabama to visit with daughter #1, then to New Orleans where we will veg out for a couple of days, back to Chicago and two days down time, and then home on the Amtrak California Zephr to Northern California and south on the Amtrak Capitol Corridor to Bakersfield where we will take an Amtrak bus to Newhall, pick up our car, and literally race down Fwy 405 to attend an election seminar for election workers for the November 8 election. Restful, huh?? My hubby is a train nut, and he is so excited because he will be riding on 5 -- get that? 5 trains he has never ridden on ever before. Be still my foolish heart!!
So as I am able to get internet access during the next month, I will post some pics and info about where we are traveling. Until then, enjoy the cooler weather and we hope that all of us who need the rain will continue to be blessed.
Labels: a commentary
Friends: Our Greatest Treasure!
Hubby and I have been working to finalize the arrangements for a cross-country train trek that he and I will be taking in mid-October when during which we will be visiting with two families who have been friends for over forty years. Actually, we all served together back in the late 1950's-early 1960's when we all were stationed in Berlin, Germany. We were a part of what was then referred to as the "German-American Community" and worked in a setting that was not segregated from the German establishments around the various military offices. It was a very unique setting and we had wonderful opportunities to get to know people we would ordinarily not have met. Planning this trip has sort of turned our thoughts back to those days, made both hubby and I realize that we have encountered some very special people in our life, many of whom we have had to bid farewell or whose lives have taken them in different directions.
Added to the remembrances engendered by all this trip planning is some thought brought on by a discussion I had with a local friend about holding grudges. I guess the direction of our thought was along the lines of: "What is really most important? Holding the grudge or keeping the friend?" I found it a question I hadn't considered often in recent years. As one who really doesn't hold grudges, I haven't thought much about what really is going on. But I have realized in recent days that two of my really good friends are mad at each other and, in my humble opinion, are holding grudges about really silly stuff. Obviously, it isn't silly to the two of them, but really, is the grudge so important that they are willing to sacrifice a long-time friendship so they can hold on to their particular "take" on a given situation? I'm worried about them, and yet I know I have to stay out of their way.
This, of course, has moved me on to thinking about the value of friends in my life. I am presently counseling with a lady who seems to have a talent for choosing people as friends and acquaintances who are absolutely toxic for her. They continually disappoint her and have, in fact, had some destructive influence on her and her life. She is so needy, and so lonely. Made me realize just how precious to me my friends have been throughout my life. Thanks to Facebook I have been able to connect with some friends of the past (although their lives are so different now and we really don't have nearly as much to share these days). I will always treasure the times we spent together. I choose to believe that they were there when I needed them, and hopefully, I met a need in their life as well.
Of course, I also remembered people I thought of as "friends" and realized later on that they were acquaintances or people I worked with, but that they had not investment in my life as a true friend would have. Those experiences taught me a lot about being insightful about the people in my daily life--are they co-workers I value but don't have much to do with my life outside of my job? And I realized that the number of true friends I have had in the past and have now are a much smaller number than I first assumed. All the more reason to treasure the true friends I have.
Lastly, I can't have any commentary on "friends" without acknowledging my very best friend who happens to also be my hubby of many decades. He has stayed with me through thick and thin, through kid troubles, money troubles, job troubles, and with his irrepressible sense of humor, made me laugh when I least felt like doing so. I am truly blessed to have him in my life.
Hang on to your friends . . . they are our greatest treasure!
Posted by Dr J at 8:27 AM 1 comment:
Labels: a commentary, Friends
When Is The Pain Going To End? "Becoming Three" by Cameron Dane
Deputy Jace Maxwell looks out for Sarah Tennison, and wants her. Although the fiery feisty woman is a friend, he knows he can’t have her. Because as much as he craves Sarah, he also lives with a secret, fierce attraction for men. And Sarah just won't understand.
Sarah has suppressed her love for Jace, knowing he only sees her as a chore. Enter cowboy Jasper Simmons. Jasper is as sweet and gentle as Jace is hard. Sarah tries to keep both men separate in her mind, but can’t stop fantasizing about being tangled and sweaty in bed with both of them.
When Jasper finds a dead woman nailed to a tree, he is thrown into contact with Jace. The proximity unearths an attraction neither of them had felt before. Seeing Jace with Jasper in an emotion-filled situation gets Sarah wondering if her roommate is keeping secrets. Then Jasper admits to Sarah he once had a crush on another man, Jace suddenly kisses her in a shocking lapse of control, and suddenly Sarah's fantasies are taking on a vivid reality. Will sweet, awkward Jasper be the key to two becoming three?
This novel is the 6th book in a series and the majority of the novels are M/M stories. However, the author has brought other romantic relational configurations into the saga of the Hawkins Ranch which figures prominently in connecting all the characters throughout these stories. The other consistent ingredient is that all the characters are either involved in ranching or law enforcement. So it is in this story. This novel was released in 2009, but I encountered it recently and found it to be a compelling read.
Both the male characters in this story are very masculine, especially Jace who is alpha in his way of relating to both men and women. His relationship with Sarah is very complicated since Sarah's brother, presently serving in the military in the Middle East, really "gave" Sarah into Jace's care and protection when he was deployed. Now it has been a number of years, Sarah has grown into a mature, sexy, strong-minded woman, and Jace is having a very difficult time maintaining the "big brother" relationship with her.
Along comes Jasper, a kind-hearted, caring, gentle but strong-minded man who fell for Sarah when she was just 18 years old. Now, four years later, Jasper feels he can make his move. He has issues of feeling unworthy because of his roots, his lack of superior education and talking skills, as well as a brother who is incarcerated for rape. Yet his heart has belonged to Sarah for so long and he knows that her attraction to him is of long standing and such that he is confident that they have something special brewing.
This is a story of discovery and growth, of coming to terms with one's own issues and acknowledging oneself honestly in all the facets of being--inner strength, comfortable in one's skin, sexual orientation, etc. For Jace, he knows he needs to be in a multiple partner relationship but he has been deeply hurt by couples who welcome him initially and then discard him in the end. He is bi-sexual but has kept his "secret" from anyone in his small community. Keeping all this important stuff about himself under wraps has spawned lots and lots of tension that has impacted his relationships. For Jasper, he struggles with feeling good about his abilities, his growth past his feelings of inferiority, moving forward after some poor adolescent choices, and acknowledging that he is "good enough" to be Sarah's lover. For Sarah, she has had to face her attraction to Jasper but she also knows that Jace is important to her in a romantic way. She also has to find a way to move Jace away from the "big brother" feelings so that he can be open about his feelings for her.
This is also a story that contains a parallel murder mystery involving a serial killer and one that has invaded their small community. Jasper finds the first body, nailed to a tree in a back pasture on the Hawkins Ranch, reminiscent of a crucifixion. Ultimately suspicion falls on almost everyone involved with the Ranch and most of the town's citizens. As a sheriff's deputy, Jace is also deeply involved in the investigation. Jasper's brother, the rat-fink nasty guy who has always lorded it over Jasper and who is now, once again, attempting to use Jasper & Sarah's romance--threatening to do harm to Sarah--as a means of blackmail and such. So this entire murder mystery story line adds a good deal of complicated, messy factors into the story, and I, for one, think it just makes the novel a whole lot better.
The real issue, though, is the way these three people discover that their mutual attraction can be forged into a relationship that will meet all their needs. It is tense, hot, sexy, and very revealing as the layers of propriety are peeled away and each of these three must make some critical decisions about their future as a person and as a part of this triad. They all struggle, and that struggle is the core of the story. It is almost as if everything else swirls around the central action which is the almost inevitable way these three come together. But don't get me wrong--it isn't smooth, easy, or simplistic. Lots of heavy emotion, lots of self-doubt, lots of worry about the social ramifications, lots of concern each carried around over how they are perceived by each other and the wider community. It's a messy story, but let's face it--life is messy!
I first read Cameron Dane when I bought Ride, the fourth novel in this series about the town sheriff and his compelling attraction to a woman who was a semi-professional bull rider. Boy did he struggle with the whole idea of a woman involved in that part of Rodeo. Liking that book a whole lot led me to this present novel and I am delighted to have found it. I think this author--who writes lots and lots of M/M novels--has managed to translate her considerable understanding of human nature and relationships into engaging stories. She also manages to write the love scenes in such a way that they are not contrived--as if the story makes opportunities for sex--but rather allows the sex to be a natural outflow of the story and the relationships.
All in all--this is a really terrific book and one that is on my favorites list. I give it a rating of 4.25 out of 5.
Labels: Cameron Dane, contemporary romance, mmf, western romance
Love or Career? Exclusively Yours by Shannon Stac...
The KISS Method for Christmas -- It's A Gift To Be...
An Oldie But STILL A Goodie: Haunted By Dreams by...
I've Been Over At "The Island" For Three Days and ...
Let's Talk Turkey . . . Being Thankful for More Th...
Love Those Men In Blue: "The Night Is Darkest" by...
My Feelings Exactly!! "Save A Horse, Ride A Cowbo...
There's More To Me Than Just Being A Mother: "One...
Back Up Ten And Punt: When Things Get Hairy in th...
Reading On The Train: "Tequila Makes Her Clothes ...
On The Road Still . . . Reflections of an Amtrak T...
There Ain't Any Such Thing As A Werewolf!! "Cry W...
When Is The Pain Going To End? "Becoming Three" b...
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1718
|
__label__cc
| 0.633525
| 0.366475
|
Annual Report 71/72 Thomas Nelson Community College
THE BUSINESS OFFICE
To give maximum support to the teaching mission of the College
through optimum utilization of resources available to the College. More
specifically, within the purview of the Dean of Financial &
Administrative Services, to provide the personnel, facilities, equipment,
supplies, and services essential to the achievement of quality
The most significant events centered around the budget, and facilities
planning. The 1972-74 biennial budget was approved for $3,700,650,
or $1156 per FTES. A working budget in the amount of $1,803,755
for the 1972-73 was also submitted for approval.
There was considerable progress in our building program. The Student
Center (Commons) addition, consisting of approximately 5000 square
feet was completed and equipped. Approval was obtained for the
Educational Master Plan, Master Site Plan, and Capital Outlay requests;
subsequently then, for our architect's schematic and preliminary floor
plans for a 69,550 square-foot building, which will provide space for
student center, library, learning resources center, and occupational-technical
acitivities.
By the end of the fiscal year, site preparation fund requests in the
amount of $336,600 appeared to have been sanctioned by political
subdivisions served by the College as follows: Hampton 49.27%,
Newport News 37.69%, York County 9.00%, James City County 2.20%
and Williamsburg 1.84%.
Upon completion of the Commons addition, physical plant personnel
converted trailer space into faculty offices and a nursing laboratory.
Title Annual Report 71/72 Thomas Nelson Community College
Transcript SECTION III THE BUSINESS OFFICE Objectives To give maximum support to the teaching mission of the College through optimum utilization of resources available to the College. More specifically, within the purview of the Dean of Financial & Administrative Services, to provide the personnel, facilities, equipment, supplies, and services essential to the achievement of quality instruction. Activities The most significant events centered around the budget, and facilities planning. The 1972-74 biennial budget was approved for $3,700,650, or $1156 per FTES. A working budget in the amount of $1,803,755 for the 1972-73 was also submitted for approval. There was considerable progress in our building program. The Student Center (Commons) addition, consisting of approximately 5000 square feet was completed and equipped. Approval was obtained for the Educational Master Plan, Master Site Plan, and Capital Outlay requests; subsequently then, for our architect's schematic and preliminary floor plans for a 69,550 square-foot building, which will provide space for student center, library, learning resources center, and occupational-technical acitivities. By the end of the fiscal year, site preparation fund requests in the amount of $336,600 appeared to have been sanctioned by political subdivisions served by the College as follows: Hampton 49.27%, Newport News 37.69%, York County 9.00%, James City County 2.20% and Williamsburg 1.84%. Upon completion of the Commons addition, physical plant personnel converted trailer space into faculty offices and a nursing laboratory.
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1720
|
__label__wiki
| 0.80778
| 0.80778
|
Duke University Professor Apologizes, Steps Down from Admin Post
Dr. Megan Neely, an assistant professor of biostatistics at Duke University who recently emailed students requesting they speak “English 100 percent of the time” while in campus facilities has apologized for her email, noting that it was inappropriate. She also stepped down from her administrative position.
“I deeply regret the hurt my email has caused,” Neely said in a follow-up email recently sent to students. “It was not my intention. Moving forward, it is my sincerest wish that every student in the Master of Biostatistics is successful in all of their endeavors.”
Dr. Megan Neely
Neely’s original email sent to dozens of first- and second-year biostatistics Duke students on Jan. 26 said that two faculty members went to her office earlier that day, asking for images of biostatistics graduate students who were “speaking Chinese (in their words, VERY LOUDLY)” in study areas and in the student lounge, according to The Washington Post.
The faculty members wanted to record the student’s names so they could remember them if they ever “interviewed for an internship or asked to work with them for a master’s project,” she said in the email.
“They were disappointed that these students were not taking the opportunity to improve their English and were being so impolite as to have a conversation that not everyone on the floor could understand,” Neely added.
A statewide petition was created by “concerned” Duke students in response to the email, requesting the university to investigate Neely’s emails and the anonymous faculty members. As of Jan. 27, the petition had over 1,900 signatures.
“We are disheartened . . . when Duke’s faculty members implied that students of diverse national origin would be punished in academic and employment opportunities for speaking in their native language outside of classroom settings,” the petition said. “We are demoralized even more that a Duke graduate program director explicitly condones and even encourages such discriminatory practices by our faculty members.”
Semantic Tags: Biostatistics • Dr. Megan Neely • Duke University • International Students • Racial Discrimination
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1723
|
__label__cc
| 0.741242
| 0.258758
|
Elliott Law Firm, Huntersville NC
Attorney Profile - Michael K. Elliott
Michael K. Elliott
13420 Reese Blvd. W
E-Mail: Mike@elliottlawfirm.net
Bankruptcy, Real Estate Law, Mechanics & Statutory Liens, Estate Planning & Estate Administration, Corporate & Commercial Law, Mergers & Acquisitions, Social Security Disability
Litigation – 50%; Transactions – 50%
B.S. - N.C. A&T State University; J.D. - Regent University School of Law
North Carolina Bar; U.S. District Court Western and Middle Districts North Carolina; U.S. Tax Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for 4th Circuit
Michael K. Elliott is the founding member of Elliott Law Firm P.C. in Huntersville and focuses his practice in the areas of Bankruptcy, Real Estate Law, Mechanics & Statutory Liens, Estate Planning, Corporate & Commercial Law, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Social Security Disability.
Mr. Elliott is a member of the North Carolina Bar, North Carolina Bar Association (Bankruptcy, Estate Planning and Real Estate Sections), American Bar Association, and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. Mr. Elliott is licensed and admitted to pratice before all North Carolina State Courts, U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. District Courts for the Western and Middle Districts North Carolina and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. In addition, Mr. Elliott is the author of “Tales of Parenthood from the Crypt: The Predicament of the Posthumously Conceived Child,” Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal, Vol. No. 39, Issue No. 2 (Spring 2004).
Mr. Elliott earned a Juris Doctor from the Regent University School of Law. During law school, he served as the Finance Director for the Regent Journal of International Law, and was a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Board. Mr. Elliott earned a Bachelor of Science Summa Cum Laude in Agricultural Economics & Business from N.C. A&T State University.
Huntersville , NC 28078
Elliott Law Firm | 13420 Reese Blvd. W | Huntersville , NC 28078 | Phone: 704-947-3838 | Fax: 704-947-6547
Halstead Design Website Design SEO
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1725
|
__label__wiki
| 0.537363
| 0.537363
|
Imagica partners with Vh1 Supersonic to bring the biggest bash this summer
The one-day bash had a footfall of 5000 plus people that came to enjoy the rides and the music.
04 June, 2018 by Sanghamitra Mishra
4th edition of Vh1 Supersonic delivers more than just music
Major Lazer comes to India for its three city tour
“You have to challenge the fans in India with your performance”- Markus Schulz
Vh1 Supersonic to bring Swedish performer John Dahlbäck to India
Imagica, the largest amusement park in India, which has the capacity to host over 15,000 people, has partnered up with Supersonic to introduce a new concept for the people to experience an all-in-one-package.
Imagica celebrated its anniversary bash with an incredible Vh1 Supersonic takeover. What made the bash even bigger was the collaboration between Zaeden and Lost Stories- the two incredible artists who are world-class DJ’s. The one-day bash had a footfall of 5000 plus people that came to enjoy the rides and the music. The park was kept open throughout the day and then the celebrations proceeded through the night till the bash finally ended.
“We at supersonic are now taking over experiential venues and transforming them to give better experiences throughout the year to our audiences. This partnership with Imagica is one such gateway for us to bring out something new for our audience to experience and engage with them beyond the 3-day festival that happens every year”, said Sameet Sharma, Head of Live IP’s and Vh1 Supersonic.
In order to keep up to its promise of bringing the best of entertainment, Imagica also
collaborated with Kingfisher to help beat the summer heat and hot wheels partnered to display some of their fancy cars at the event.
Commenting on the anniversary celebrations, Ashutosh Kale, Joint CEO Adlabs Entertainment added, “By day this place has its dynamics but, by night it takes on a different hue altogether with the lights and the music which a lot of people haven’t experienced yet. This partnership with supersonic has definitely been the next step for us to move into the future. This show is a litmus test where we considered factors like perfectly poised geography, entertainment, music and activities to bring an experience that could potentially transform the growing festival scene in India. We have received an amazing footfall for this event and this is just the beginning of what the future will look like.”
We also spoke to the artists that were a part of this one-day bash and they seemed to have some incredible stories to tell.
“Supersonic is my favourite music fest in India and it’s great to be a part of the sonic family and this collaboration was definitely an unforgettable experience for me“, stated Zaeden.
“Seeing India's Premier Theme Park for the first time was exciting. I’ve been to Alton Towers in the UK and thought it wouldn't be close. I was surprised to see such an amazing theme park in India; I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Was great to play on a big stage in front of a 5000+ crowd, and also having the carousel in front of the stage was epic,” added bass artiste Paper Queen.
Imagica VH1 Supersonic adlabs entertainment
|
cc/2019-30/en_head_0046.json.gz/line1728
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.