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Systematic Identification of the Genes Affecting Glycogen Storage in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Implication of the Vacuole as a Determinant of Glycogen Level
Wayne A. Wilson, Zhong Wang and Peter J. Roach
Molecular & Cellular Proteomics March 1, 2002, First published on February 18, 2002, 1 (3) 232-242; https://doi.org/10.1074/mcp.M100024-MCP200
Wayne A. Wilson
Peter J. Roach
At the onset of nutrient limitation, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae synthesizes glycogen to serve as a carbon and energy reserve. We undertook a systematic survey for the genes that affect glycogen accumulation by taking advantage of the strain deletion set generated by the Saccharomyces Genome Deletion Project. The strain collection analyzed contained some 4600 diploid homozygous null deletants, representing ∼88% of all viable haploid disruptants. We identified 324 strains with low and 242 with elevated glycogen stores, accounting for 12.4% of the genes analyzed. The screen was validated by the identification of many of the genes known already to influence glycogen accumulation. Many of the mutants could be placed into coherent families. For example, 195 or 60% of the hypoaccumulators carry mutations linked to respiratory function, a class of mutants well known to be defective in glycogen storage. The second largest group consists of ∼60 genes involved in vesicular trafficking and vacuolar function, including genes encoding 13 of 17 proteins involved in the structure or assembly of the vacuolar ATPase. These data are consistent with our recent findings that the process of autophagy has a significant impact on glycogen storage (Wang, Z., Wilson, W. A., Fujino, M. A., and Roach, P. J. (2001) Antagonistic controls of autophagy and glycogen accumulation by Snf1p, the yeast homolog of AMP-activated protein kinase, and the cyclin-dependent kinase Pho85p. Mol. Cell. Biol. 21, 5742–5752). Autophagy delivers glycogen to the vacuole, and we propose that the impaired vacuolar function associated with ATPase mutants (vma10 or vma22) results in reduced degradation and subsequent hyperaccumulation of glycogen.
One attractive feature of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an experimental organism has been its ease of genetic manipulation, including the ability to perform genetic screens by which yeast strains with a phenotype of interest can be recognized. Experimentally, the next phase involves identification of the gene(s) responsible, a task that can be time-consuming and sometimes non-trivial. The S. cerevisiae genome contains some 6,200 open reading frames (ORFs),1 and these have been disrupted systematically in the Saccharomyces genome deletion project (1). The availability of the resulting set of deletion strains, each carrying a deletion of one specific ORF, permits a totally different type of screen or survey for genes linked to a particular phenotype. Most importantly, the survey is systematic. The first report of using a partial strain deletion set analyzed growth rates in rich and minimal medium (1). Recently, an analysis of the rapamycin sensitivity of 2,216 haploid disruptants was reported (2), and a systematic study of fluid phase endocytosis using around 700 strains generated by the European Functional Analysis Network has been conducted (3). The first truly genome-wide screen of a defined null mutant collection was reported by Ni and Snyder (4) who analyzed over 4000 strains in a study of polarized growth. Information is also available about viability, based on analysis of the deletion strain set, and is available from the Saccharomyces Genome Database (5) (genome-www.stanford.edu/Saccharomyces) . We report here the use of a specific metabolic end point, the ability to store glycogen, as the basis for a screen of ∼4600 homozygous diploid mutants to identify genes that affect glycogen accumulation.
Glycogen serves as a reserve of glucose. Its accumulation is initiated under conditions of nutrient limitation, such as the approach to stationary phase in liquid culture. Limitation for carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, or sulfur all act as triggers for increased glycogen synthesis (6). Our laboratory has been interested in glycogen as an example, in mammals and yeast, of a compound whose synthesis and utilization is under complex and intricate controls linked to the intracellular energy state, as well as the nutritional status of the environment (see Ref. 7 for a review). Synthesis of glycogen requires the activities of glycogenin, a self-glucosylating initiator protein (encoded by GLG1 and GLG2; see Ref.8), glycogen synthase (GSY1 and GSY2; see Ref.9), which catalyzes bulk synthesis, and the branching enzyme (GLC3; see Ref.10), which introduces the branches characteristic of the mature polysaccharide. Glycogen breakdown requires glycogen phosphorylase (Gph1p; see Ref. 11) and debranching enzyme (Gdb1p; see Refs. 12 and 13) or, under certain conditions, glucoamylase (Sga1p; see Ref. 14). However, the enzymes of glycogen metabolism are under a variety of transcriptional and post-translational controls, and so genes encoding a number of other proteins affect glycogen accumulation (for a review, see Ref. 7). For example, the cyclic AMP pathway controls both gene expression and phosphorylation of key proteins (15–17). Starvation, as sensed by the Tor pathway, stimulates glycogen accumulation (18). Signaling through the Snf1p and Pho85p protein kinases has antagonistic effects on glycogen storage (19). The genes mentioned above have been identified by a combination of conventional biochemical and genetic approaches, and there is no guarantee that all relevant genes have been found or any indication as to how many genes affect glycogen storage. The systematic survey described in this work indicated that 566 of ∼4600 strains from the homozygous diploid release of the deletion library had glycogen levels that differed from wild type. Of these genes, a surprising fraction, about 10%, had functions related to vesicular trafficking or vacuolar function.
Strains and Media—
The homozygous diploid deletion series (BY4743 strain background) was purchased from Research Genetics. The yeast deletion series comprises a set of mutants where each open reading frame has been disrupted from start to stop codon, and a kanMX marker cassette (conferring resistance to the antibiotic G418) has been inserted. The library of deletions was supplied frozen in 96-well microtiter plates. Each well contained 200 μl of YPD (2% peptone, 2% glucose, 1% yeast extract) medium supplemented with G418 (200 μg/ml) and 15% glycerol. For keying, contamination checks and orientation purposes, two wells per plate contained only medium. One empty well defines the bottom left hand corner, and the other serves as an identifier. Complete details regarding series construction and availability can be found at sequence-www.stanford.edu/group/yeast_deletion_project/deletions3.html and www.resgen.com/products/YEASTD.php3. The deletion set contained 4,639 different strains, of which 82 were flagged by Research Genetics as quality-control failures. Excluding these, the collection is of 4,557 strains that correspond to 88% of all possible viable mutants. Additionally, we constructed strains derived from BY4741 and BY4742, which are also available from Research Genetics and are the MATa and MATα parents, respectively, of BY4743. A polymerase chain reaction strategy (20) was used to generate apg1::URA3 in BY4741 and vma10::LEU2 in BY4742. These strains were mated, and tetrad dissection was performed to isolate apg1::URA3 vma10::LEU2 double mutants of both mating types. The genotypes of the strains isolated were MATahis3 leu2 met15 lys2 apg1::URA3 vma10::LEU2 and MATα his3 leu2 met15 lys2 apg1::URA3 vma10::LEU2. These MATa and MATα strains were then crossed to generate a diploid strain.
Growth Conditions—
For analysis, the master plates were thawed, and the cells were resuspended by pipetting up and down using a 12-channel automatic pipette. A 96-pin microplate replicator was used to transfer an aliquot from each well to a fresh microtiter plate containing 200 μl of appropriate medium per well. To assess glycogen accumulation, SC medium (0.67% yeast nitrogen base, 0.079% Complete Supplement Mix (Bio101 Inc.), 2% glucose) was used. Growth on YPG medium (2% peptone, 1% yeast extract, 3% glycerol) was used to assess respiratory competence. For glycogen accumulation studies, plates were prepared in duplicate. The parental wild-type strain (BY4743) was inoculated into well H1 on each plate to serve as an internal control. Plates were incubated at 30°C for 48 h without shaking.
Genomic Survey for Aberrant Glycogen Accumulation—
The 54 microtiter plates that constitute the deletion series were analyzed for both glycogen accumulation and ability to grow using glycerol as a carbon source. Preliminary studies with strains known to over- or underaccumulate glycogen were used to optimize the growth and staining conditions. Growth of cells in the microplate format was slower than in standard liquid culture in shaking flasks, likely because of a lack of aeration. Thus, to obtain enough cells for analysis of glycogen content by iodine staining, we grew cultures for 48 h. Cells were resuspended by pipetting up and down using a 12-channel automatic pipette. The cell suspensions were then transferred to a 96-well vacuum manifold (Bio-Dot microfiltration unit; Bio-Rad) and filtered onto a nitrocellulose membrane. The membrane was removed and stained for 2 min by exposure to iodine vapor, a time that was found to be suitable for uniform and reproducible results. Each membrane was photographed using a digital camera to create a permanent record, and cultures that stained either more or less intensely than wild type were scored (Fig. 1). Images were downloaded from the camera to an Apple Macintosh G4 microcomputer and processed with Adobe PhotoShop LE. In each case, duplicate plates were grown, harvested, and stained to control for any variability in staining intensity, and only wells that gave the same result on both plates were scored in the final tally. Growth in glycerol was assessed by visual inspection of plates and comparison to the congenic wild-type strain.
Screen for glycogen accumulation using a 96-well microtiter plate format. Cells were cultured in 96-well microtiter plates and collected by filtration onto nitrocellulose membranes. The nitrocellulose membranes were stained by exposure to iodine vapor to assess glycogen accumulation, and wells staining either more (ovals) or less (squares) intensely than the well containing the wild-type strain (arrowheads) were scored. The empty keying well, which identifies the plate number in the library, is marked with a circle.
Mutant Identification—
The deleted gene responsible for the aberrant glycogen phenotype in each case was identified by reference to a spreadsheet compiled from data available at www.resgen.com/products/YEASTD.php3 where a text file detailing the ORF deletion present in each well of each microtiter plate can be found. Information from the Saccharomyces Genome Database (5) (genome-www.stanford.edu/Saccharomyces) and from the YPD database (21, 22) (www.proteome.com/databases/index.html) was used to pair ORF numbers with gene names and functional properties where known.
Enzymatic Determination of Glycogen—
For quantitative determination of glycogen levels, cells were grown for 24 h to early stationary phase (∼1 × 108 cells/ml) in 10 ml of SC medium at 30°C. The cell density was checked by counting using a hemocytometer. An aliquot (1 ml) of culture was removed, and the cells were collected by centrifugation (14,000 × g, 1 min, 4°C). The supernatant was aspirated, and the cell pellet was immediately frozen on dry ice and stored at −80°C until use. The culture was maintained for another 24 h, and a second sample (48 h time point) was taken as described. Cell pellets were thawed by addition of 200 μl of 20% (w/v) KOH and boiled in a water bath for 1 h. The solution was neutralized by addition of HCl and processed as described previously (23). The data shown are the mean of at least two independent determinations performed in duplicate.
Determination of Glycogen Synthase Activity—
Glycogen synthase was assayed in extracts prepared from yeast cells by lysis with glass beads using the method of Thomas et al. (24) as described previously (25). Phosphorylation of glycogen synthase converts the enzyme into a less active form that requires the presence of the allosteric activator glucose 6-phosphate to elicit full activity. Thus, the ratio of activity without and with glucose 6-phosphate (−/+ glucose 6-phosphate activity ratio) is an index of the phosphorylation state of the enzyme with high values indicating that dephosphorylated and active glycogen synthase predominates.
Induction of Autophagy, Microscopy, and Image Capture—
To induce autophagy, cells were grown to late logarithmic phase in YPD medium and then starved for nitrogen as described by Takeshige et al. (26) either in the presence or absence of 1 mm phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF). For analysis of vma10, vma22, and apg1 vma10 mutants, cells were grown to logarithmic phase or to saturation in SC medium. Cells were examined under a Nikon Microphot-FXA microscope, equipped with Nomarski optics, using a ×60 oil-immersion objective at a magnification of ×1200. Images were captured using a Pulnix TM-745 digital camera and the public domain NIH Image 1.62 software (developed at the United States National Institutes of Health and available on the Internet at rsb.info.nih.gov/nih-image/) running on a Macintosh G4 microcomputer. Movies were prepared and edited using QuickTime Pro 5.0.1 software from Apple Computer.
The strain deletion set was surveyed, in duplicate, for glycogen accumulation using iodine staining of cells harvested after growth in microtiter plates and filtration through nitrocellulose filters, as described under “Materials and Methods” (see Fig. 1). In addition, the ability to grow on glycerol was monitored. The rationale for including this assay was the well established observation that cells unable to grow using non-fermentable carbon sources cannot store glycogen, usually because of respiratory defects in what are termed petite mutants (27, 28). In this way, we could place mutants in this category, even if the corresponding gene had no known function.
From the 4557 strains examined, we recovered 242 with high glycogen and 324 with low glycogen so that a total of 12.4% of the gene deletions influenced glycogen. We attempted to cluster the mutants into logical families (Table I). In some cases the families are clearly meaningful, with the presence of multiple genes of related function reinforcing the validity of their identification in the survey. In other instances, we grouped proteins according to biochemical function, such as “protein kinases,” where common biological functions were not obvious. A large group of 100 mutants, representing almost 18% of the genes identified, corresponded to ORFs of unknown function, about which little or nothing is known. Thirty-five genes involved in general transcription or RNA processing were identified as were 18 that had to do with DNA structure or maintenance of structural integrity. Our thought is that the mutations in these strains are likely to be only very indirectly linked to glycogen metabolism. Glycogen storage is in part a response to stress, which may be an aspect of the phenotype of these groups of mutants. Such could also be true for the genes encoding small ribosomal subunits, all 12 of which were associated with glycogen hyperaccumulation. Because of the large number of mutants identified, it is not possible to give a thorough description of each (refer to the Supplemental Material for a table containing all of the strains identified and all of our annotations).
Table I
Gene families
The mutants that were identified in the screen were assigned to various different families. For details of all family members and annotations, see Supplemental Material.
A number of mutants were chosen for additional analyses. The selection was made to represent several of the gene families of Table I, together with some subjective choices (Table II). The further analyses included assessment of glycogen levels as judged by iodine staining of colonies on either YPD or SC plates, enzymatic determination of glycogen in liquid cultures, and measurement of glycogen synthase activity. These secondary measures of glycogen usually reproduced the original screening result, especially noting that yeast accumulate generally much less glycogen when grown in rich as opposed to synthetic medium. Thus, a number of mutants scored as high glycogen on the original survey with synthetic medium were wild type when grown on YPD plates. A notable exception is provided by some of the vacuolar and vesicular trafficking mutants (see below). Of the mutants selected for further study, few exhibited very great changes in total glycogen synthase activity. Glycogen synthase phosphorylation, and activation state, can be monitored via the −/+ glucose 6-phosphate activity ratio, lower values correlating with greater phosphorylation (see “Materials and Methods”). Deletion of genes implicated in direct phosphorylation of glycogen synthase, such as PHO85, leads to elevated activity ratio. Of the genes tested, only one, a WD-40 repeat protein of unknown function, had a significantly elevated activity ratio, making it a candidate to be a constituent of a glycogen synthase kinase.
Table II
Further analysis of selected deletion mutants isolated in the screen
The amount of glycogen and the glycogen synthase activities at 24 and 48 h are normalized to the values obtained with wild-type cells at the same time points. For the qualitative determinations of glycogen on YPD and SC plates, wild-type cells were scored as (+). The activity ratio of glycogen synthase in the wild type strain at the 24-h time point was 0.26 ± 0.02 (n = 6). ND indicates no determination could be made.
Genes Implicated Previously in Glycogen Storage—
A number of the genes that were isolated in the screen have been implicated previously in the control of glycogen accumulation (Table III), which we view as a validation of the screening methodology. In an earlier genetic screen for aberrant glycogen accumulation, Cannon et al. (29) had characterized eight so-called glc mutants and identified the corresponding genes. Five GLC genes were found in our screen (Table III). Of the three remaining glc mutants, two were not represented in the deletion series (GLC7 is essential, and GLC5/IRA1 was missing) and one, glc1/ras2, was present but had wild-type levels of glycogen in this genetic background under the growth conditions used.
Table III
Genes isolated by the screen and that had been implicated previously in glycogen accumulation
Genes encoding four enzymes involved directly in glycogen metabolism were identified. Strains defective for the degradative enzymes, glycogen phosphorylase, Gph1p, and debranching enzyme, Gdb1p, were hyperaccumulators. The strain lacking GSY2, which encodes the predominant isoform of glycogen synthase, had low glycogen storage as did the strain lacking the glycogen branching enzyme encoded by GLC3. The PFK1 and TPS1 genes encode components of phosphofructokinase and the trehalose synthase complex, respectively. Both pfk1 and tps1 mutations result in elevated intracellular glucose 6-phosphate (30, 31). It is probable that the increased glucose 6-phosphate levels bypass the phosphorylation control of glycogen synthase resulting in deregulated, hyperactive glycogen synthase (see for example Ref. 32).
Four putative or actual targeting/regulatory subunits for the type 1 protein phosphatase Glc7p were identified. Of these, the best characterized is Gac1p, a protein that targets Glc7p to dephosphorylate and activate glycogen synthase (33, 34). The GLC8 gene encodes a protein related in sequence to mammalian I-2, a constituent of a cytosolic form of type I protein phosphatase (29). The putative Glc7p targeting protein Pig2p was isolated first in a two-hybrid screen for proteins that interacted with yeast glycogen synthase (35). Previous studies had not revealed any substantial role for Pig2p in glycogen accumulation, but this may reflect differences in the strain backgrounds used. The fourth protein phosphatase non-catalytic subunit isolated was Reg1p, which Tu and Carlson (36) had shown to physically associate with Glc7p and which had previously been implicated in glucose repression of gene expression (37). Our laboratory had also isolated reg1 mutants as suppressors of the glc7–1 glycogen accumulation defect (38). The role of SNF1 in controlling glycogen synthase is well established and is thought to result both from a negative control of the phosphorylation of glycogen synthase (17) and a positive control of autophagy, which normally preserves glycogen (39). Strains lacking snf1 are therefore defective in glycogen storage. Likewise, the PKA pathway has long been known to play a role in glycogen accumulation, with PKA negatively regulating transcription of GSY2 and other enzymes of glycogen metabolism (15–17). Rim15p is proposed to function downstream of PKA, as a regulator of entry into stationary phase, and rim15 mutants had been reported to have low levels of glycogen and the other storage carbohydrate, trehalose (40).
Genes Required for Respiratory Growth—
Of the 324 mutants with reduced glycogen stores, 60% of the disruptions were in genes that were either known to be required for respiratory growth (e.g. those encoding components of the mitochondrion) or were found in the screen to be unable to grow with glycerol as a carbon source. Many mutants that fail to utilize non-fermentable carbon sources actually synthesize glycogen (28), but this glycogen is used to fuel growth upon exhaustion of glucose, because, unlike wild-type cells, respiratory mutants cannot oxidize the ethanol produced in the initial growth phase. It is noteworthy that we found 11 mutants that were unable to grow using glycerol but had increased glycogen. It is possible that these mutants are defective in glycogen breakdown and therefore might be worthy of future study.
Other Protein Kinases and Phosphatases—
Protein kinases linked to glycogen accumulation have the potential to be involved in regulatory pathways, like Snf1p or Rim15p, or the direct phosphorylation of metabolic enzymes. Thirteen conventional protein Ser/Thr kinases were recovered in the screen, six with reduced glycogen (including the snf1 and rim15 mutants discussed above) and seven with increased glycogen. Of those kinase mutants with elevated glycogen, none was associated with a significant increase in the glycogen synthase activity ratio, as would be predicted for a glycogen synthase kinase. An additional protein kinase of the phosphatidylinositol 3-/phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase family was identified, namely Tor1p. The strain with a tor1 mutation hyperaccumulated glycogen, consistent with the known effect of rapamycin treatment, to cause increased glycogen synthesis (18).
In addition to the Glc7p-associated subunits described above, several other protein phosphatase subunits were identified. The deletion mutant of RTS1, which encodes a homolog of the mammalian B′ regulatory subunit of type 2A protein phosphatases (41), was found to have greatly increased glycogen. Although type 2A phosphatases had been implicated previously in glycogen storage (42–44), this is the first indication of a role for RTS1 in the process. Deletion of YCR079W, which encodes a protein phosphatase of the type 2C family (45), also caused increased glycogen. Ycr079p has been little studied, and its cellular role is unknown, although deletion of YCR079W has been reported to increase the sensitivity of the cell to caffeine, which could indicate a link to the cyclic AMP pathway (46).
Genes Implicated in Vacuole Function or Vesicle Transport—
The second largest family of genes identified has to do with vesicular trafficking or vacuolar function (Table IV). Approximately 10% of the mutants with aberrant glycogen levels fall into this category. This result would have been quite perplexing but for recent work in our laboratory indicating that yeast defective for autophagy are unable to maintain their glycogen stores even though the polysaccharide is synthesized normally (39). Autophagy, in response to starvation signals, is a process whereby cytosol and organelles are engulfed to become autophagosomes that are delivered to the vacuole for the recycling of constituents (reviewed in Refs. 47 and 48). Therefore, a variety of defects in the formation or delivery of autophagosomes or in vacuolar function could be linked with glycogen storage. Correspondingly, genes with a wide variety of specific roles were detected, and it is not simple to rationalize in detail the results for every individual gene.
Table IV
Genes identified in the screen and that have roles in vesicle trafficking or vacuole function
A clearly defined subfamily in this category involves components of the vacuolar H+-ATPase that is responsible for acidification of the vacuole (reviewed in Ref. 49). This complex comprises some 13 different gene products plus at least four factors that participate in its assembly. Of these 17 different genes, deletion mutants in 13 were recovered in the screen, 11 with high and two with low glycogen. Deletion mutants in the remaining genes (VMA2, VMA7, VMA8, and VMA11) were present in the deletion series but were scored as wild type. The two mutants that had low glycogen (vma5 and vma16) were the only two of the 17 that failed to grow with glycerol as a carbon source, suggesting a respiratory defect that could explain the low glycogen levels. It has been reported that a characteristic of the vma class of mutants is their inability to grow using non-fermentable carbon sources (50), but presumably there must be strain to strain variation, because most of the vma mutants studied here did grow on glycerol. These ATPase genes represent an obvious functional cluster, making a robust link with glycogen storage.
Although the exact mechanistic link between autophagy and glycogen storage is not completely understood, our previous studies (39) led us to two conclusions. First, autophagy provides a source of intermediates and energy in stationary phase, and its absence may promote premature utilization of cytosolic glycogen. Second, autophagy delivers glycogen to the vacuole where it is actually protected from this cytosolic utilization and is degraded by vacuolar enzymes such as Sga1p. Ohsumi and colleagues (26) developed an assay for autophagy in which yeast growing in rich medium are transferred to a starvation medium, totally lacking nitrogen, and also containing PMSF. The rationale is that starvation will induce autophagy, and the PMSF will inhibit vacuolar proteases thus preventing degradation of autophagosomes delivered to the vacuole. Wild-type cells transferred to starvation medium in the presence of PMSF have full, active vacuoles compared with cells not exposed to PMSF (Fig. 2). This difference is hardly evident in the still shot but is very obvious if the cells are viewed over time when undegraded autophagic bodies can be seen moving rapidly within the confines of the vacuole (see supplemental video for Fig. 2). APG1 encodes a protein kinase that is necessary for autophagy, and analysis of apg1 mutants using the starvation assay reveals empty vacuoles, evident even in the still shot. When monitored over time, there is no motion within the vacuole, but particles can be seen moving outside of the vacuole (see supplemental video for Fig. 2).
Comparison of the vacuoles of wild-type and apg1 mutant cells subjected to nitrogen starvation. The wild-type strain, BY4743 (panels A and B), and an apg1 mutant (panels C and D) in the BY4743 background were grown to late logarithmic phase in YPD medium. The cells were then transferred to nitrogen starvation medium (26), and either the protease inhibitor PMSF dissolved in isopropanol (panels B and D) or isopropanol (panels A and C) was added. Incubation was continued for 4 h, and the cells were examined under a microscope equipped with Nomarski optics. The scale bar represents 5 μm.
We monitored by microscopy two of the mutants defective in the vacuolar ATPase, vma10 and vma22, during growth on SC medium in liquid culture. At the stage of exponential growth, the vma10 and vma22 mutants had more clearly defined vacuoles than wild-type cells (Fig. 3), but typically the level of movement within the vacuole was similar (see video for Fig. 3). A small fraction, 5%, of the mutants had large and full vacuoles, however (not shown). After 24 h, most of the mutants cells, ∼60%, had large well defined vacuoles inside of which an accumulation of particles can be seen in rapid motion (see supplemental video for Fig. 3). In fact, these vacuoles resembled the wild-type cells subjected to the autophagy assay in the presence of PMSF (Fig. 2). Autophagy is presumably induced normally upon entry to stationary phase (26, 39), but degradation of autophagic bodies is impaired, because the vacuole cannot acidify because of a defective ATPase (51). A double mutant that lacked both apg1 and vma10 (Fig. 4) resembled the apg1 mutant rather than the vma10 mutant, as has been reported by Nakamura et al. (51). Thus, with autophagy impaired, the inability of the vma mutants to degrade autophagic bodies is not in evidence. Interestingly, analysis of the glycogen content revealed the same epistatic relationship, with glycogen accumulation in the double mutant resembling that of apg1 mutants rather than vma10 mutants (Table V). Therefore, the elevated glycogen storage associated with vma10 and vma22 mutants is most likely explained by hyperaccumulation of vacuolar glycogen.
Accumulation of autophagic bodies in the vacuole of vma10 and vma22 mutants. The wild-type strain BY4743 (panels A and B) and vma10 (panels C and D) or vma22 (panels E and F) deletion mutants in the BY4743 background were grown in SC medium. Aliquots were removed in the logarithmic phase of growth (panels A, C, and E) and again when the cultures were saturated (panels B, D, and F). The cells were examined under a microscope equipped with Nomarski optics. The scale bar represents 5 μm.
The vacuoles of apg1 vma10 mutants fail to accumulate autophagic bodies. A homozygous diploid strain in which both the APG1 and VMA10 genes were deleted was grown in SC medium. Aliquots were removed during the logarithmic phase of growth (panel A) and at saturation (panel B). The cells were examined under a microscope equipped with Nomarski optics. The scale bar represents 5 μm.
Table V
Glycogen accumulation by various yeast strains
The results shown are the mean ± S.E. for three independent determinations.
The availability of the gene deletion strain collection is symbolic of an era in which not only information but also reagents are available on a genomic scale. In the present case, the entire strain collection occupies only 54 microtiter plates so that, even without investment in robotic instrumentation, many types of phenotype scan can be performed with relative ease (for example, see the work of Ni and Synder (4) or Wiederkehr et al. (3)). It is of interest to compare the approach described in this study with conventional genetic screens. Advantages of the genomic scan are severalfold. One is simplicity. Once a phenotype is scored, gene identification is by reference to a database. Nonetheless, if an important conclusion would be based on a single member of the deletion set, it would obviously be prudent to confirm that the phenotype can be reproduced by an independent gene knock-out. This is necessary as part of ongoing quality control as the deletion set becomes used by the yeast research community. Another advantage is that the screen is systematic and does not depend fundamentally on chance; coverage of the genome with mutations is defined. As has been stated by Ni and Snyder (4), there are several disadvantages to this new mode of screening. First, it is limited to studying loss of function mutations. Second, in the simplest approach, essential genes are obviously not included, and for the homozygous diploid set, nor are genes required for mating. Also, because the duplication of the yeast genome (52) has resulted in some pairs of genes of very high sequence identity, no attempt was made to target both genes of the pair, and so not all are represented. A related point, which applies equally to conventional screens, is that any genes that have redundant functions are unlikely to be detected. Finally, some gene deletions are simply missing from the series at this time. Nonetheless, the collection currently includes ∼88% of viable mutants and is a valuable resource for this new approach to genetic screening.
As described under “Results,” many genes known already to affect glycogen storage were identified, providing strong validation of the screen. Some genes that were expected did not surface in the screen. One of the most notable was PHO85, which we know from our previous work is involved in the direct regulation of glycogen synthesis (19, 53). In the genetic background of the strain that we use in most of our work, deletion of PHO85 causes a substantial hyperaccumulation of glycogen. However, in the present screen, the pho85 mutant was scored wild type for glycogen. The explanation is the difference in strain backgrounds, because we have found that, in some strains, loss of pho85 causes activation of glycogen synthase but no increase in glycogen accumulation.2 It is likely that PHO85 has other connections to the control of glycogen storage.3 Lee et al. (54) also noted that in some strains PHO85 deletion does not result in glycogen hyperaccumulation.
With our level of knowledge of yeast glycogen metabolism and its control prior to our screen, one would have had difficulty justifying more than 30 genes that affect glycogen storage if respiratory or mitochondrial mutants were excluded. These would have been the genes responsible for glycogen and related metabolism, direct regulators like protein kinases and phosphatases, or genes involved in known regulatory pathways such as those involving cyclic AMP, SNF1 and glucose repression, PHO85, and the Tor pathway. Therefore, the first notable feature of our results is the large number of genes identified in the screen, which is 362 even if the respiratory mutants are excluded. Of these, 100 have unknown function. It is likely that, as biological functions are assigned, these genes will for the most part fit into existing categories, and we may have already defined most of the biologically important families. Given the large number of novel mutations identified here as affecting glycogen storage compared with the small number known previously to influence this process, it is of interest to ask whether the previously identified mutants were those that conferred the strongest glycogen accumulation phenotype. To a certain extent this may be true, because reg1 and pfk1 mutants, which had previously been shown to have a high level of glycogen, were among the mutants that stained most intensely with iodine in the present screen. However, several of the newly identified mutants, such as rts1, vid21, and ado1, stained just as strongly as reg1.
The second striking aspect of the results was that, based on the 35 strains where we followed up with glycogen synthase assays, a large fraction of the changes in glycogen storage did not correlate with the glycogen synthase activity ratio, which indexes its phosphorylation and activation state. Part of the explanation is our current appreciation that not only synthesis but also the ability to retain glycogen is a key determinant of glycogen storage (39). This conclusion, based on recent analysis of SNF1 and its relationship to autophagy, is reinforced by the results of this study.
The most interesting gene category to emerge is that defined by the genes involved in vesicular trafficking and vacuolar function. This is a family where there is a reasonably good connection with the process of autophagy, which we have recently linked to glycogen storage (39). We have proposed that defective autophagy leads to premature depletion of glycogen stores. The mechanism is not fully understood, but at least two points can be made. First, in the absence of autophagy, the cell has lost an important source of intermediary metabolites and may be forced to use other reserves, like glycogen, at an earlier stage than normal. Second, there is a vacuolar glycogen pool (26), and we hypothesized that vacuolar glycogen is protected from cytosolic degradation until late into stationary phase (39). Thus, many of the genes identified with low glycogen in this group likely reflect some defect in autophagy.
Within the vesicular/vacuolar category, the H+-ATPase genes are especially interesting. First, the fact that such a large fraction of the ATPase genes was netted in the screen makes the case very strongly that this vacuolar function is linked to glycogen levels. It has been reported that elimination of any one of the subunits cripples ATPase function, consistent with our identifying genes coding for several ATPase subunits. Without its ATPase, the vacuole cannot acidify and function normally. In particular, the degradative enzymes of the vacuole, including the vacuolar glycosidase Sga1p, will not be fully active (51, 55). Impaired vacuolar function removes a source of intermediates and energy in stationary phase, and one might have predicted a premature utilization of glycogen from the cytosol, much as is seen for those mutants defective in autophagy (39). The fact that defective ATPase correlated with a hyperaccumulation of glycogen is thus best explained by a stabilization of the vacuolar pool. This proposal is also consistent with the observation that the elevated glycogen in a vma10 mutant is eliminated if autophagy is also impaired by mutation of APG1. In conclusion, the study suggests a significant role for the vacuole in the maintenance of yeast glycogen stores.
We thank Drs. Mark Goebl and Ron Wek for many helpful discussions.
Published, MCP Papers in Press, February 18, 2002, DOI 10.1074/mcp.M100024-MCP200
↵ 1 The abbreviations used are: ORF, open reading frame; PMSF, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride.
↵ 2 M. A. Fujino and P. J. Roach, unpublished observations.
↵ 3 W. A. Wilson, Z. Wang, M. A. Fujino, and P. J. Roach, unpublished observations.
↵* This work was supported by National Institute of Health Grant DK42576 and the Indiana University Diabetes Research and Training Center (DK20542).
↵S The on-line version of this article (available at http://www.mcponline.org) contains Supplemental Material.
Revision received January 30, 2002.
© 2002 The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
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Molecular & Cellular Proteomics March 1, 2002, First published on February 18, 2002, 1 (3) 232-242; DOI: 10.1074/mcp.M100024-MCP200
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Tis the Season of the Sandwich
National Sandwich Day may fall on November 3, but sandwiches are surely most honored on the days following Thanksgiving, when everyone’s fridge is loaded with amazing seasonal fixings, particularly if you think to cook or buy enough for leftovers. Note to self: make plenty.
Should you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner mid-day, by bedtime you’ll need a tide-me-over to breakfast. My favorite under these circumstances has always been the antidote to the feast – simply Roasted Turkey or Fried Turkey Breast on thin-sliced sandwich bread. Still have a bit of Thanksgiving ambition in you? Add a swipe of Blue Cheese-Chive Butter. That should do for a sandwich nightcap.
On the Friday after Thanksgiving, reprise the groaning board with a customized gobbler – Sausage/ Stuffing and the Cranberry Relish are a triple threat. I like a little warm gravy on the side for dipping – the American dip, so to speak, which ought to be a classic.
Day three, the Saturday following Thanksgiving, and you are, undoubtedly a little tired of turkey. Let’s hope the Macaroni and Cheese was one of your Thanksgiving sides. Hey, how about a grilled macaroni and cheese sandwich? It’s a thing, you know, and for good reason. Two nice slices of bread, both buttered on one side, a thick slab of mac-and-cheese in the middle, and grill away. A little bit of ham if you’ve got it, would not gild the lily.
And finally, to top off the weekend, turkey or ham biscuits are in order for Sunday brunch or lunch. That and a long afternoon nap should segue you comfortably into the post-holiday weekdays. Week days that will, if you are lucky, be punctuated by a few more turkey sandwich lunches!
This entry was posted in Company on November 23, 2016 by chessiefinefoods.
“As Seen on CBS Morning News," Smith Island Cakes....
Accessible only by boat, Smith Island, Maryland, is a fishing village located ten miles offshore in the Chesapeake Bay. Years of limits on crabbing and oyster harvesting restricted the work of watermen, the main source of income on the island. Little did they know a cake originally made in the 1800’s for oysterman by their wives would provide a much-needed economic boost to the island. Comprised of at least eight impossibly thin layers, bakers used fudge for the icing which lasts longer than other icing recipes of the time. Each cake is handmade with recipes passed from generation to generation. And so the Smith Island Cake was born.
In 2008, Maryland named the Smith Island Cake its official State Dessert. “Florida has the key lime pie, Massachusetts has the Boston cream pie and Maryland has the Smith Island cake,” said D. Page Elmore, who represents the rural lower Eastern Shore. “This is a source of revenue for them — and a source of pride.” The Chesapeake Bay Crab Cakes & More catalog began featuring the Smith Island Cake in 2007, sending trucks to meet the ferry from Smith Island and transport the cakes back to a warehouse outside of Baltimore for shipment to customers nationwide. In 2010, Mackenzie began featuring a new flavor of the Smith Island Cake, titled the Devilish Cake. Today, our catalog features four flavors of the cake including Traditional, Devilish, Spice, and Lemon (see links below).
Traditional: https://www.mackenzieltd.com/smith-island-cake
Devilish: https://www.mackenzieltd.com/devilish-cake
Spice: https://www.mackenzieltd.com/smith-island-spice-cake-1
Lemon: https://www.mackenzieltd.com/lemon-smith-island-cake
French Beignets and Other Delicious New Product Arrivals in 2017
Host a Ghoulish Halloween Party
Celebrate Father's Day
DimpleGWadle on Unique Cookie Recipes
EdmundHFagen on Spreading Thanks- Reflections of CFFG Food Drive
MaiaWHutsler on Holiday Delights
DwainPLandes on Au Naturale
London escorts on Throwing The Perfect March Madness Party
Terrific Tips
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New Logitech Crayon is Compatible Only With Sixth-Generation iPad
Tuesday March 27, 2018 11:15 AM PDT by Juli Clover
To go along with the new sixth-generation iPad, Apple announced two accessories designed by Logitech -- a $99 Rugged iPad Keyboard Case and a unique $49 Crayon Stylus that shares many characteristics with the Apple Pencil.
The Crayon Stylus looks similar to the Apple Pencil, with a slim aluminum body and an Apple Pencil-style tip. Interestingly, Logitech's website says that the Crayon has been designed for and is compatible with the 6th-generation iPad, suggesting it's not going to work with the iPad Pro.
iMore's Serenity Caldwell was able to get a bit more information on the Crayon from Logitech, and it turns out it's using the same technology as the Apple Pencil. It has the same latency, tilt, and palm rejection features as the Apple Pencil, but there is no pressure sensitivity.
The Crayon connects to the iPad via a single frequency and does not use Bluetooth, and it will last for up to 8 hours before needing to be recharged via an included Lightning port, much like the one on the Apple Pencil. Crayon works with all of the apps that support the Apple Pencil.
Just press the on button and start writing or drawing on iPad right away -- it's that easy. Logitech Crayon connects to iPad instantly with no complex device pairing or other delays.
There was speculation ahead of Apple's event that a lower-cost Apple Pencil might be in the works given the $99 price point of Apple's device, and it appears that we did indeed get that, but from a third-party manufacturer. Students who have a sixth-generation iPad will be able to use the Crayon or the Apple Pencil with the tablet.
Compared to the Apple Pencil, the Logitech Crayon has a more kid-friendly design with a pry-resistant smart tip that requires a special tool when the tip needs replacing. The rubber cap at the end that covers the Lightning connector is also tethered to the Crayon so it doesn't get lost.
It's not entirely clear why the Crayon is not backwards compatible with iPad Pro models, and we've asked Logitech for clarification.
Logitech does not plan to release the Crayon to the public at this time, with the accessory limited to teachers. Teachers will be able to purchase it for $49 starting this summer.
Related Roundup: iPad
Tag: Logitech
Buyer's Guide: iPad (Caution)
nutmac
Stupid limitations. Hopefully, this would be remedied with software update to iOS.
Might be cute for the preschoolers? They're the only ones i see using ipads anyways for education.
You think preschoolers are the only ones using iPads for education? Try through middle/high school upper education as well.
exactly. our niece and nephew are 6 and 10 and they use them all the time. they're even learning programming on them already using Spheros.
Gasu E.
I guess because the cap is made from dead animals, that vegans won't want to use the crayon.
Don't believe MacRumors-- the cap is rubber. Says so right on the Logitech site. Also, seriously, look at the picture.
cardfan
These limitations have a whiff of Tim Cook about them. Don't expect them to be lifted any time ever.
At least it doesn't do that stupid charging technique of placing the pencil in the lightning Port of the iPad itself to charge.
You do realize that’s only an alternative way to charge your Apple Pencil? Apple actually provides an adapter that plugs into the Apple Pencil where you can charge it from a wall outlet or computer.
Nozuka
before needing to be recharged via an included Lightning port, much like the one on the Apple Pencil.
i'm pretty sure the apple pencil has a "male" lightning port and needs to be sticked into the ipad. while this pencil has a female port and can be charged with any lightning charging cable
DoubleFlyaway
My daughter’s (public) elementary school uses iPads a lot. In 3rd through 5th, they even give each kid his or her own.
CJM
The strange limitations, technology sharing and exclusivity to teaching tells me this was developed with the approval of Apple, complete with these restrictions they impose.
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LINEAR SKIN DEFECTS WITH MULTIPLE CONGENITAL ANOMALIES 2; LSDMCA2
Genes related to Linear Skin Defects With Multiple Congenital Anomalies 2; Lsdmca2
COX7B
Top most frequent phenotypes and symptoms related to Linear Skin Defects With Multiple Congenital Anomalies 2; Lsdmca2
Short stature
Growth delay
Hypertelorism
Abnormal facial shape
Talipes equinovarus
And another 28 symptoms. If you need more information about this disease we can help you.
Linear Skin Defects With Multiple Congenital Anomalies 2; Lsdmca2 Is also known as aplcc, aplasia cutis congenita, reticulolinear, with microcephaly, facial dysmorphism, and other congenital anomalies.
Linear Skin Defects With Multiple Congenital Anomalies 2; Lsdmca2 Recommended genes panels
Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation Deficiency Sequencing Panel (Nuclear Genes Only) with CNV Detection.
By PreventionGenetics PreventionGenetics (United States).
BCS1L, MRPL12, MRPL3, SCO1, SCO2, SDHB, SDHD, SLC25A1, SLC25A3, SLC25A4, SPG7, SUCLA2, SUCLG1, SURF1, TAZ, TWNK, TK2, TSFM, TUFM, UQCRB , (...)
BCS1L, MRPL12, MRPL3, SCO1, SCO2, SDHB, SDHD, SLC25A1, SLC25A3, SLC25A4, SPG7, SUCLA2, SUCLG1, SURF1, TAZ, TWNK, TK2, TSFM, TUFM, UQCRB, UQCRC2, FBXL4, GFM1, MRPS16, ELAC2, MRPS7, MRPS22, MRPS23, GTPBP3, PUS1, LRPPRC, NDUFAF5, APTX, SFXN4, MGME1, SLC19A3, NFU1, LIAS, MRPL44, COQ8A, MFN2, LARS2, NDUFA13, RRM2B, TPK1, SARS2, PDSS1, COA6, RNASEH1, ATPAF2, NDUFAF1, COQ8B, MTO1, COQ4, ISCA2, COQ6, NUBPL, TRIT1, NDUFA11, NDUFB11, APOPT1, AARS2, NDUFAF4, SERAC1, FARS2, RMND1, UQCC2, PDHX, LYRM4, RARS2, ACAD9, VARS2, AGK, COQ7, COX10, COX15, COX6A1, COX6B1, COX7B, COX8A, PDSS2, TRMT5, PNPT1, ETHE1, NDUFA12, YARS2, TACO1, BOLA3, FLAD1, COA3, MARS2, COQ2, COQ9, TRMU, MTPAP, DARS2, CARS2, COA7, CYC1, TTC19, TRMT10C, TMEM70, NSUN3, NARS2, C12orf65, FOXRED1, COX20, IBA57, LYRM7, NDUFAF2, COX14, DGUOK, NDUFAF6, COQ5, DLAT, DLD, FASTKD2, DNA2, EARS2, LIPT1, UQCRQ, MTFMT, GFM2, IARS2, ISCU, NDUFAF3, PARS2, TARS2, TMEM126B, TYMP, AFG3L2, ECHS1, COA5, SDHAF1, UQCC3, ETFA, ETFB, ETFDH, PET100, GARS, GFER, HADHA, HADHB, HARS2, HIBCH, KARS, MPV17, NDUFA1, NDUFA10, NDUFA2, NDUFA4, NDUFA9, NDUFB3, NDUFB9, NDUFS1, NDUFS2, NDUFS3, NDUFS4, NDUFS6, NDUFS7, NDUFS8, NDUFV1, NDUFV2, NDUFV3, OPA1, OPA3, ATP5F1A, ATP5F1E, AIFM1, PDHA1, PDHB, POLG, POLG2, PDP1
Nuclear encoded Mitochondriopathies Panel.
By CeGaT GmbH (Germany).
RMRP, BCS1L, MRPL3, SACS, SCO1, SCO2, SDHA, SDHB, SDHC, SDHD, SLC19A2, SLC22A5, SLC25A1, SLC25A12, SLC25A13, SLC25A15, SLC25A3, SLC25A4, SLC6A8, BTD , (...)
RMRP, BCS1L, MRPL3, SACS, SCO1, SCO2, SDHA, SDHB, SDHC, SDHD, SLC19A2, SLC22A5, SLC25A1, SLC25A12, SLC25A13, SLC25A15, SLC25A3, SLC25A4, SLC6A8, BTD, ATL1, SPAST, SPG7, STAR, SUCLA2, SUCLG1, SURF1, TAZ, TWNK, ACO2, TIMM8A, TK2, TSFM, TUFM, UNG, UQCRB, UQCRC2, WFS1, WWOX, YWHAE, GFM1, MRPS16, ELAC2, SLC25A20, HTRA2, SLC25A19, MRPS22, PINK1, PUS1, CHCHD10, LRPPRC, PANK2, NDUFAF5, SAMHD1, GDAP1, APTX, SFXN4, MGME1, COX4I2, SLC19A3, NFU1, PARK7, LIAS, KIF1B, MRPL44, MCEE, COQ8A, MFN2, LARS2, RRM2B, TPK1, SARS2, PDSS1, NAGS, SPART, ATPAF2, NDUFAF1, MMAA, COQ8B, MTO1, MMAB, DDHD1, SLC25A22, CYCS, GLRX5, COQ6, NUBPL, NDUFA11, L2HGDH, CLPP, AARS2, NDUFAF4, SERAC1, FARS2, RMND1, PDHX, LYRM4, RARS2, ACAD9, DIABLO, MPC1, AGK, COX10, COX15, COX6B1, COX7B, PDSS2, PNPT1, CPT1A, ETHE1, CPT2, CRAT, NDUFA12, CISD2, YARS2, TACO1, BOLA3, DMGDH, MARS2, HOGA1, MMADHC, COQ2, COQ9, TMEM126A, TRMU, MTPAP, DARS2, REEP1, CYC1, CEP89, TTC19, SDHAF2, CYP27A1, TMEM70, SLC25A38, C12orf65, FOXRED1, COX20, DBT, IBA57, DECR1, XPNPEP3, NDUFAF2, COX14, D2HGDH, DGUOK, NDUFAF6, DHODH, CYB5R3, DLAT, DLD, FASTKD2, DNA2, EARS2, UQCRQ, MTFMT, DNM1L, ISCU, NDUFAF3, COASY, DNAJC19, FDX2, PNPLA2, TYMP, AFG3L2, COA5, SDHAF1, ERCC6, ETFA, ETFB, ETFDH, FBP1, AK2, FH, FXN, ALAS2, PET100, ALDH4A1, GAMT, GARS, GATM, GCDH, GCK, GCSH, GFER, GK, GLDC, GLUD1, AMACR, AMT, HADH, ABCB7, HSD17B10, HADHA, HADHB, HARS2, HCCS, HIBCH, HK1, HLCS, HMGCL, HMGCS2, HSPD1, IDH1, IDH2, IDH3B, IVD, KARS, KIF5A, MAOA, MCCC1, MCCC2, MLYCD, ALDH6A1, MPV17, MT-CO1, MT-CO2, MT-CO3, MT-CYB, MT-ND1, MT-ND2, MT-ND3, MT-ND4, MT-ND5, MT-ND6, MT-RNR1, MT-RNR2, MT-TL1, MT-TL2, MT-TS1, MT-TS2, MMUT, NDUFA1, NDUFA10, NDUFA2, NDUFA9, NDUFB3, NDUFB9, NDUFS1, NDUFS2, NDUFS3, NDUFS4, NDUFS6, NDUFS7, NDUFS8, NDUFV1, NDUFV2, OAT, OGDH, OPA1, OPA3, ATP5F1A, ATP5F1E, OTC, OXCT1, PRKN, PC, PCCA, PCCB, ACAD8, PCK2, AIFM1, PDHA1, PDHB, PDK3, ACADM, AUH, ACADS, ACADSB, PNKD, POLG, POLG2, ACADVL, PDP1, PPOX, ACAT1, SLC33A1, BCAT2, BCKDHA, BCKDHB
Developmental Eye Disease panel.
By Molecular Vision Laboratory (United States).
BMP4, SHH, SIX3, SIX6, SLC25A1, SNX3, SOX2, SOX3, ELP4, VAX1, ATOH7, RAB18, ZEB2, CASK, RAB3GAP1, RAB3GAP2, FKRP, MFRP, RAX, NAA10 , (...)
BMP4, SHH, SIX3, SIX6, SLC25A1, SNX3, SOX2, SOX3, ELP4, VAX1, ATOH7, RAB18, ZEB2, CASK, RAB3GAP1, RAB3GAP2, FKRP, MFRP, RAX, NAA10, POMT2, VSX2, B3GLCT, DCDC1, CHD7, BCOR, COL4A1, COX7B, CRX, TMEM98, CYP1B1, C12orf57, TENM3, STRA6, FKTN, ISPD, FOXC1, FOXC2, FOXE3, PRSS56, ALDH1A3, GDF3, GDF6, ABCB6, HESX1, HMGB3, HMX1, LAMB2, LARGE1, LHX2, MAB21L2, NDP, OTX2, PAX2, PAX6, PITX2, PITX3, POMT1, RARB
COX7B.
By Fulgent Genetics Fulgent Genetics (United States).
X-chromosome High Resolution microarray analysis.
By Pittsburgh Cytogenetics Laboratory University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (United States).
RP2, RPGR, RPL10, RPS6KA3, RS1, SAT1, SH2D1A, SHOX, SLC16A2, SLC35A2, SLC6A14, SLC6A8, SLC9A6, KDM5C, SMPX, SMS, SOX3, SRY, BTK, CDKL5 , (...)
RP2, RPGR, RPL10, RPS6KA3, RS1, SAT1, SH2D1A, SHOX, SLC16A2, SLC35A2, SLC6A14, SLC6A8, SLC9A6, KDM5C, SMPX, SMS, SOX3, SRY, BTK, CDKL5, STS, SYN1, SYP, TAF1, TAZ, SERPINA7, TBX22, TIMM8A, TSPAN7, MED12, UBA1, UBE2A, UBQLN2, KDM6A, WAS, XK, ZIC3, ZNF41, ZNF711, ZNF81, FTSJ1, HDAC8, NSDHL, CACNA1F, PCDH19, NLGN4X, NLGN3, ARHGEF9, CASK, MBTPS2, RAB39B, BRWD3, ZNF674, PORCN, ARX, PHF6, ATP6AP2, TMLHE, ZDHHC9, NAA10, CHM, GPR143, CLCN5, ZDHHC15, UPF3B, CLIC2, PHF8, BCOR, COL4A5, VMA21, COX7B, TRAPPC2, CSF2RA, ZC4H2, RAB40AL, OFD1, MAMLD1, CYBB, AMER1, DCX, CCNQ, MAGT1, DKC1, WDR45, DLG3, SHROOM4, DMD, CHRDL1, SRPX2, ALG13, EBP, EDA, EFNB1, EMD, AGTR2, F8, F9, ACSL4, FANCB, FHL1, FLNA, AFF2, ALAS2, G6PD, GATA1, OPN1MW, GDI1, GJB1, GK, GLA, GRIA3, AMELX, ABCB7, HSD17B10, HCCS, HCFC1, HPRT1, IDS, IGBP1, AP1S2, XIAP, IGSF1, IKBKG, IL1RAPL1, IL2RG, ABCD1, ANOS1, AR, L1CAM, LAMP2, MAOA, ARHGEF6, MECP2, MID1, ARSE, MTM1, NDP, NHS, NR0B1, OCRL, OPHN1, ATP2B3, OTC, PAK3, ATP7A, AIFM1, PDHA1, ATRX, CFP, PGK1, PHKA1, PHKA2, PIGA, AVPR2, PLP1, POLA1, POU3F4, PQBP1, PRPS1, RBM10
Microphthalmia, Anophthalmia and Anterior Segment Dysgenesis Panel.
By Blueprint Genetics (Finland).
BMP4, BMP7, SHH, SIX3, SIX6, FOXL2, SOX2, TFAP2A, ZIC2, PXDN, RAB3GAP1, ADAMTS18, MFRP, RAX, NAA10, GRIP1, FRAS1, VSX2, SMOC1, CHD7 , (...)
BMP4, BMP7, SHH, SIX3, SIX6, FOXL2, SOX2, TFAP2A, ZIC2, PXDN, RAB3GAP1, ADAMTS18, MFRP, RAX, NAA10, GRIP1, FRAS1, VSX2, SMOC1, CHD7, BCOR, VPS13B, COL4A1, COX7B, FREM1, FREM2, CYP1B1, SMCHD1, TENM3, STRA6, SLC38A8, ERCC2, ERCC5, ERCC6, FOXC1, FOXE3, PRSS56, ALDH1A3, GJA1, ABCB6, HCCS, HESX1, HMX1, MAB21L2, MITF, NDP, OCRL, OTX2, PAX2, PAX6, PITX2, PQBP1, RARB, RBP4
ANOPHTHALMIA/ MICROPHTALMIA: NGS PANEL.
By Laboratorio de Genetica Clinica SL (Spain).
SALL1, SALL2, BMP4, SHH, SIX6, SOX2, PXDN, MFRP, RAX, NAA10, VSX2, SMOC1, BCOR, COX7B, CRYBA4, C12orf57, TENM3, STRA6, PRSS56, ALDH1A3 , (...)
View the complete list with 9 more genes
SALL1, SALL2, BMP4, SHH, SIX6, SOX2, PXDN, MFRP, RAX, NAA10, VSX2, SMOC1, BCOR, COX7B, CRYBA4, C12orf57, TENM3, STRA6, PRSS56, ALDH1A3, GDF3, GDF6, ABCB6, HCCS, MAB21L2, OTX2, PAX2, PAX6, RARB
We have -1 more panels available in our App
OMIM Genetic Syndrome Finder
If you liked this article maybe you will also find interesting the following in-depth articles about other rare diseases, like SPONDYLOCOSTAL DYSOSTOSIS 2, AUTOSOMAL RECESSIVE; SCDO2 NAEGELI-FRANCESCHETTI-JADASSOHN SYNDROME; NFJS BASAN SYNDROME GRAY PLATELET SYNDROME; GPS ERYTHERMALGIA, PRIMARY NEURODEGENERATION DUE TO CEREBRAL FOLATE TRANSPORT DEFICIENCY NEURODEGENERATION WITH BRAIN IRON ACCUMULATION 1; NBIA1
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Suspicious packages sent to Kamala Harris, Tom…
Suspicious packages sent to Kamala Harris, Tom Steyer discovered in Burlingame and Sacramento
Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., joined by from left, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., right, speaks to media about the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
By Casey Tolan | ctolan@bayareanewsgroup.com and Thomas Peele | tpeele@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: October 26, 2018 at 9:45 am | UPDATED: October 27, 2018 at 8:28 am
BURLINGAME — Two new suspicious packages targeting prominent California Democrats Kamala Harris and Tom Steyer were discovered Friday, bringing the threat to Northern California even as federal officials arrested a Florida man accused of sending pipe bombs to critics of President Trump.
Law enforcement authorities rushed to investigate one package addressed to Harris, a U.S. senator, that was discovered by a postal employee in Sacramento and another package addressed to Steyer, a major Democratic donor, that was found at a post office in Burlingame.
The FBI said the packages were similar to to the disturbing string of explosives sent to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and other critics of President Trump this week. A Florida man, Cesar Sayoc, was arrested Friday in connection with those crudely built bombs.
The #FBI has confirmed a package has been recovered in California, similar in appearance to the others, addressed to Tom Steyer.
— FBI (@FBI) October 27, 2018
Sayoc was tracked down after a “latent fingerprint” was found on a package sent to Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Friday at a news conference announcing the arrest. Authorities said that it was unclear whether the bombs could have exploded on their own but that they did contain potentially explosive material.
Cesar Sayoc, the suspect in the bombing case (Broward County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
In Burlingame, federal and local explosives technicians converged on the sprawling mail facility at 1625 Rollins Road to remove the package addressed to Steyer, a former hedge fund chief who’s spent millions of dollars advocating for Trump’s impeachment. The package was found after postal carriers left on their daily rounds at 8:30 a.m. and forced the evacuation of about 25 employees inside the office, which processes all mail for San Francisco and San Mateo County, Postal Service spokesman Augustine Ruiz said.
California postal workers were on high alert after the packages on the East Coast were found earlier this week, Ruiz said.
“We are very tense right now,” said Ed Peralta, the president of the San Jose-area local of the American Postal Workers Union, which covers Burlingame. “This is our workplace, this is our livelihood, and we take our work very seriously — we don’t want the public confidence in the postal system to be eroded.”
About 100 miles away, FBI agents and Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a post office in south Sacramento at 7:44 a.m. about the package addressed to Harris, sheriff spokesman Sgt. Shaun Hampton said. Bomb technicians safely removed the package, an FBI statement said.
A Harris aide said the senator’s office was informed that the package was similar to those sent to other elected officials. It was found by a postal employee, the aide said.
Harris’ office in downtown San Diego was evacuated Wednesday after a passerby pointed out several suspicious boxes outside the building, which also houses the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper offices. But those packages turned out to contain random items like clothes and shoes.
Democratic donor Tom Steyer. (Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group)
Earlier this week, authorities intercepted another suspicious package addressed to Waters, one of Trump’s leading critics and a frequent target of his supporters’ political attacks. Staffs of other prominent California Democrats, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said they had not received any suspicious packages.
Coming less than two weeks before next month’s midterm elections, the spate of bombings became an instant political issue. Some Democrats accused Trump of fanning the flames of violence with his hard-edged rhetoric, while the president complained in a tweet Friday morning that the events could depress Republican turnout.
Sayoc had posted a stream of pro-Trump and anti-Democratic messages on social media, and photos of a van that apparently belonged to him showed the windows covered in images supporting the president and featured photos of Clinton and other liberal figures in the crosshairs.
Harris called for elected officials to avoid polarizing language in the wake of the attempted bombings.
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“At this moment, it is incumbent upon leaders across the political spectrum to take seriously the power they hold,” she said in a statement. “It is the responsibility of our leaders to use their role as public figures to elevate our discourse and bring people together.”
In Burlingame, as local and federal investigators with police dogs went in and out of the postal office Friday afternoon, Marie White was visiting her son at his office across the street.
News of the apparent bomb hit “too close to home,” White said. “You think, ‘it won’t happen in my neighborhood,’ but the devil is everywhere.”
PM Report
Casey Tolan
Casey Tolan covers national politics and the Trump administration for the Bay Area News Group. Previously, he was a reporter for the news website Fusion, where he covered criminal justice, immigration, and politics. His reporting has also been published in CNN, Slate, the Village Voice, the Texas Observer, the Daily Beast and other news outlets. Casey grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from Columbia University.
Follow Casey Tolan @caseytolan
Thomas Peele
Thomas Peele is a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter on the Bay Area News Group's regional team. He has worked at newspapers, including Newsday, for 34 years in California and elsewhere. Peele focuses on government accountability, public records and data, often speaking about transparency laws publicly.
Follow Thomas Peele @thomas_peele
California cities debate trapping, euthanizing coyotes as more residents recount killing of pets, stalking
Two approaches on the growing problem of urban coyotes collide.
Letter: Rodeo needs to go the way of orca shows and dog racing
Nearly every animal welfare organization in North America condemns rodeo due to its inherent cruelty.
Letter: Newsom must force his PUC to lower water rates
San Jose Water customers now pay over 30% more than we did three years ago for the same amount of water.
Berkeley will ban natural gas piping for stoves or water heaters in new buildings at the start of 2020, becoming the first city in the state to require new construction to be all-electric
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NYC subway on-time performance passes 80% for first time in 6 years
New York City Transit subway on-time performance hit 81.5% in June — the first time it’s been above 80% in almost six years.
NY MTA
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials announced new statistics showing the continued dramatic subway performance improvements that have been achieved since the launch of the Subway Action Plan (SAP) and the Save Safe Seconds campaign. Most notably, subway on-time performance hit 81.5% in June — the first time it’s been above 80% in almost six years.
Overall subway performance continued its steady improvement in June 2019, with every weekday metric better than both June 2018 and the average of the past 12 months. On-time performance has continued to improve, and major incidents have declined to the lowest number since this record has been kept, and other customer-centric performance numbers are also pointing higher.
The Subway Action Plan, launched by Governor Andrew Cuomo and then MTA Chairman Joe Lhota, has provided a surge of additional union personnel, outside contractors, and new tools and methods for the maintaining and improving the system.
Weekday on-time performance (OTP) for June was approximately 81.5%, the highest figure since August of 2013. Weekday major incidents decreased 27.4% from June 2018, dropping from 62 to 45 in June 2019. Furthermore, weekday train delays decreased 45.9% from last June, from 56,233 to 30,434, which is the lowest level of delays since September 2013.
A contributing factor to the reduction in delays has been the significant progress made in reducing track debris fires, which are significantly down since NYCT started attacking this problem with new equipment in 2017. This has included clearing debris at an unprecedented rate using new platform-based mobile vacs, and vacuum trains that move around the system picking up trash. Year to date, track fires are down 61 from 185 to 124, and they are down 130 for the previous 12 months, from 410 to 280.
RELATED: NYCT, Visa launch contactless payment cards for subways, buses
During the Subway Action Plan, launched at the direction of Governor Cuomo in July 2017, MTA workers and outside contractors have:
Cleared more than 55,000 street grates to prevent ingress of litter and leaves that build up on the track, causing fires and clogging drains
Sealed more than 6,300 leaks to prevent water ingress that causes power and signal problems, deterioration of track and other equipment resulting in unplanned service changes, delays and track fires
Installed 51 miles of Continuous Welded Rail (CWR) across the system, replacing jointed rail, which is more prone to rail defects that delay trains
As part of the New York MTA's Subway Action Plan, a deep cleaning initiative of over 2,500 car interiors and over 2,700 car exteriors was performed.
Marc A. Hermann- MTA New York City Transit
Repaired almost 25,000 minor track defects that if not repaired can cause delays
Performed 79 miles of track rail grinding to improve ride quality and reduce defects
Repaired or rebuilt more than 1,700 signal components, drastically reducing the backlog of issues that can disrupt service
Completed 1,200 priority maintenance and repair tasks to improve reliability of signal and switch equipment
Rebuilt and modernized more than 300 signal stops to be moisture proof and avoid service interruption
Conducted a comprehensive inspection of door components across all fleets
Made maintenance practices more efficient so cars can be put back into service more quickly
Repaired door control units on over 1,000 cars in our oldest fleets to improve reliability of this critical component that cause 40 percent of car breakdowns
Overhauled more than 2,600 cars in an accelerated major car overhaul program, where the overhaul cycle changed from 7 years to 6 years
Conducted a deep cleaning initiative of over 2,500 car interiors and over 2,700 car exteriors
Conducted a deep cleaning initiative of over 100 subway stations
Enhanced 130 stations via a focused cleaning and repair campaign led by Group Station Managers
NYCT
track maintenance
Anticipating Your Fleet’s Brake Maintenance Needs
DART, City of Dallas lock down streetcar operation agreement
It outlines responsibilities related to the planning, design, construction, procurement, operations, and maintenance of the system.
Training program brings Chinese railcar expertise to Chicago
This spring, nineteen electrical and sheet metal workers traveled to China for classroom and hands-on training.
3 transit agencies land CIG funds for rail projects
The funding represents a significant commitment toward pending multi-year Full Funding Agreements for the projects.
Rail tunnel heat could be captured to warm homes, research says
Heat from the tunnel would cover up to 80% of the heating needs of local apartments in Lausanne, Switzerland throughout winter.
BART wins top honors at 2019 APTA International Rail Rodeo
The annual event was hosted in Toronoto and aims to encourages excellence and professionalism in rail transit operations.
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A List of All 16 Senators Who Left Seth Rogen’s Alzheimer’s Hearing, and How to Contact Them
By Zak Cheney-Rice
Sixteen out of 18 Senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies failed to attend actor Seth Rogen’s now-famous Alzheimer’s testimony on Wednesday. Some walked out mere moments before Rogen began speaking.
One, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), was so bold as to tweet a "thank you" to Rogen in his absence, to which the actor promptly responded:
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, a major advocacy group, Alzheimer’s research and treatment are critically underfunded in the U.S., despite it being the nation’s sixth leading cause of death.
If you feel that representatives in Washington have a responsibility to advocate for Alzheimer’s awareness and greater funding, here is the contact information for all 16 Senators who weren’t at Rogen’s hearing (via Daily Mail):
1. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)
455 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington DC 20510
@SenAlexander
2. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.)
320 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington DC 20510
@JohnBoozman
3. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.)
@SenThadCochran
4. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
@SenatorDurbin
5. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
290 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington DC 20510
@GrahamBlog
6. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.)
@Mike_Johanns
7. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)
@SenatorKirk
8. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.)
@SenLandrieu
9. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
@SenJeffMerkley
10. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.)
@SenatorBarb
11. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.)
@PattyMurray
12. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)
@SenMarkPryor
13. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)
@SenJackReed
14. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
@SenatorShaheen
15. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.)
@SenShelby
16. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.)
@jontester
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Ferry design contract
Deltamarin Ltd
Naval architects Deltamarin has signed a contract with Rauma Marine Constructions Oy (RMC) for the design of a car passenger ferry for Kvarken Link AB, a Finnish-Swedish consortium.
The ferry will have a freight capacity of 1,500 lane-metres for trucks on two cargo decks and she will accommodate 800 passengers. She is designed to have a low environmental impact, with machinery running on a dual fuel and battery solution. The main source of fuel is liquefied natural gas (LNG). The vessel will also be able to utilise liquefied biogas (LBG).
The ferry is planned to be delivered in 2021.
By Jake Frith
Bourbon Mobility, a specialist in offshore personel transport, has partnered with Peugeot Design Lab to propose interior designs inspired by the aviation industry....
Aviation-inspired passenger ca... 16/07/19
SeaBioComp, is a new collaborative project that has been launched to develop and produce novel bio-based thermoplastic composite materials....
Phasing out oil-based composit... 16/07/19
France-based Jifmar has recently relaunched a Neptune Marine EuroCarrier 3212 converted by Neptune to meet the requests of their clients....
EuroCarrier jumboisation for J... 12/07/19
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Tales of Zestiria (??) Episode 5: We interrupt your regularly scheduled program...
Published on August 8, 2016
The long-awaited Berseria episode is finally here! Guess it wasn't actually a crossover since they just interrupted the Zestiria story to give us a couple of episodes from Berseria. It makes sense since integrating Velvet into Zestiria (which is years in the future) would be weird, but it's still awkward that they just stop Zestiria (at somewhat of a cliffhanger) and randomly start a new story. As a fan of the Tales series, I'm fine with it because it gives me more information about the upcoming game...but from an anime-only perspective, I'm guessing this is just jarring. Plus, the terms they use are probably just random (like Malak or exorcist).
As for the actual content of the episode, Velvet seems like an interesting-enough main character at first glance. I feel like there's definitely potential for her to be an interesting "dark" protagonist, but my personal worries have me wondering if she's just going to get lost in her mission to kill Artorius and end up being the crazy one that charges in whenever he's mentioned.
Wait, so I was actually supposed to trust the preview skit from last week? They're just going to switch the story over to Berseria for a bit? Well, let's just sit back and watch Velvet.
From what I've gathered from the Berseria trailers (I haven't watched all of them), Artorius is the one responsible for Velvet's left arm and the primary antagonist of the game. Berseria's world is also the same as Zestiria's, but set in the past, so I guess daemons are its version of hellions.
Oh nooooo...having this sheath in your face must be so intimidating...
I believe the Malak in this series are the magic users of the world and basically act as an analogue to the Seraphim of Zestiria.
This character's not bad, but his personality and appearance remind me of Raven from Vesperia, which is a bit worrying.
I know the party is still level 1 at this stage, but the magic Seres displays as a Malak in this episode seems like mostly party tricks...unlocking doors and closing this one. Is she meant to be a supportive mage or is this the nature of magic in this world? Granted, I'm not fully convinced she's going to be a major party member, but I'm still questioning her abilities.
Something's off about the premise of this game. Velvet's upset because Artorius used a child as a sacrifice to gain his powers? I understand having a moral disagreement with these kinds of methods, but I don't feel like they fully explain her desperate revenge plot. What's her relationship with the kid?
I'm gonna have to complain about physics again, huh? Shouldn't Velvet's arm be dragged up above the rest of her body? Unless she's purposely using extra strength here to keep body moving against the flow of gravity...
I love the song that's playing in the background here. It's used in the trailers for Berseria a lot and I guess it's like a main theme. The music in general for this episode has been a cool introduction into the game's soundtrack, but yeah...this song is awesome.
Aaaand there's your Zestiria tie-in.
Really? The Berseria episode is when you want to use Zestiria's actual video game opening? That makes no sense. The new anime opening even has Velvet in it, so it makes way more sense...
anime daemon malak tales of berseria
This episode did get me interested in the Berseria game, so that's good, right? :D I mean, the story might end up being the standard revenge plot, but still...
*isn't going to be baited by the mention of physics*
well, i was already going to play berseria, so no help there >.>
*wafts the smell of science*
Aug. 9, 2016, 3:25 a.m.
As someone with no clue about the game/s, while this was a jarring shift I actually really enjoyed this episode and the characters it introduced. No idea how it connects to the story I was watching but kind of hoping it will make sense eventually.
The whole cliff jump thing made me roll my eyes. Her logic that the kid fell from further (given the kid is probably dead) didn't really hold a as a reason to launch yourself from a tower and the entire animation of her falling kind of relied very heavily on physics that only work in anime.
Still, really interesting.
i find the characters more interesting at first glance than zestiria and it makes me look forward to playing the game, but yeah...hard to judge on one episode
yeah, that jump is all kinds of sketchy
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I Tried Amazon's Top-Rated Vitamin C Serum & Here's What Happened
By Stephanie Eckelkamp Wellness Editor
Image by Leandro Crespi / Stocksy
Want to smooth and brighten, fade dark spots, and boost collagen production? Topical skin care products containing vitamin C often claim to do all of this and more. In fact, vitamin C has completely blown up within the past two years, with countless brands releasing their own serums and creams featuring the "it" ingredient. The downside: They can be really damn expensive, which has prevented me from buying them in the past.
So, when I heard that Amazon's best-selling vitamin C facial serum and fourth best-selling skin care product overall (with over 4,000 five-star reviews) costs only $20, well, I was pretty pumped—while maintaining a healthy dose of skepticism, of course.
According to some of the most enthusiastic reviewers of TruSkin Naturals Vitamin C Serum (many of whom happily posted before-and-after pics), this product works wonders minimizing acne breakouts, fading hyperpigmentation and sunspots, smoothing skin, and delivering that sought-after natural glow. In addition to vitamin C in the form of sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP), the serum also contains skin-friendly ingredients like hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, aloe, witch hazel, and jojoba oil.
So I ordered up a bottle to see if it would "transform" my own dull, flaky, relatively lackluster skin that's been acquiring its fair share of fine lines lately—but not without first consulting some dermatologists on what I could realistically expect.
Turns out, vitamin C really does hold promise for skin health. Our skin has a higher concentration of vitamin C than other tissues in the body, and lower skin levels of vitamin C are associated with sun damage and signs of aging. "Topical vitamin C is a natural antioxidant that can help prevent free radical damage from environmental elements such as pollutants and UV light, which can lead to premature aging," says Lisa Airan, M.D., a dermatologist specializing in high-tech, natural skin care.
Using vitamin C topically has also been shown to increase collagen production and hydration and reduce discoloration in the skin. According to holistic dermatologist Cybele Fishman, M.D., vitamin C directly stimulates collagen synthesis and may help even out skin tone because it "inhibits tyrosinase, which is the key enzyme in pigment production, through its interaction with copper."
But not all topical vitamin C products are created equal, and not all forms of vitamin C have been equally studied. "A lot of the vitamin C products out there are not very good because vitamin C is unstable, especially when it's exposed to the sun," said Dr. Fishman. Holistic dermatologist Alan Dattner, M.D., agrees, stating that poorly formulated products may actually act as pro-oxidants. Ideally, a product will be packaged in a dark or opaque bottle, and if the serum is brown, it has likely already oxidized, rendering it useless.
Additionally, while there are many different types of vitamin C derivatives being used in skin care products, L-ascorbic acid is the only active form of vitamin C and the only form shown to effectively penetrate the skin. Most experts recommend seeking out a product with this ingredient, ideally present with plenty of additional antioxidant ingredients to keep it stable and help prevent oxidation, says Dattner. Other vitamin C derivatives, such as SAP (used in the TruSkin Naturals product), may be effective, but the research just isn't there to confirm whether they penetrate deeply enough to yield meaningful results.
So, with the pros and cons in mind, I decided to go forth and apply TruSkin Naturals Vitamin C Serum twice a day, after cleansing and before using my favorite face oil. When I received the product, it was packaged in a dark amber bottle and had no visible signs of oxidation. After my first couple of applications, I experienced no irritation but also no major improvements (some Amazon reviewers spoke of instantaneous results). However, after about a week, nearly all of the rough dry patches on my face were gone, and while it didn't completely prevent new breakouts, my blemishes seemed to heal and fade faster than usual, contributing to an overall more even skin tone. As for fine lines, they were still there but maybe a little less noticeable? It was hard to tell, but I could certainly see the appeal.
While the TruSkin Naturals' ingredient list is packed with mostly natural ingredients, Dattner did point out that the serum contains phenoxyethanol, an antimicrobial preservative that can be irritating for some. While it's deemed safe for adults in concentrations of 1 percent or lower, it's still something to be mindful of, especially if you experience a rash or redness when you spot test with this product. "The best [vitamin C] option would be preservative-free," he says.
Overall, I was pretty pleased with the results of this serum, and I'm sold on vitamin C for skin health. Even though results weren't instantaneous, the skin-smoothing effect was still pretty quick, and I'm curious to see what other changes I notice going forward.
Stephanie Eckelkamp Wellness Editor
Stephanie is a nutrition writer and health coach who's obsessed with ginger kombucha, chunky peanut butter, and the Oxford comma. She has a passion for natural, toxin-free living,...
Ketogenic Diet Foods: How To Go On A Ketogenic Diet (And Why)
Magnesium Deficiency 101
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/truskin-naturals-vitamin-c-serum-review
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Welcome to my web page! For links to my blog, please click here: Keep Talking.
You may also use the links above to find resources on graduate study and advising at Michigan State University as well as information on our current doctoral students and graduates in music education.
There is also a link to a page devoted to the distribution of clinic and workshop materials, handouts, research presentations, and other music education resources. All materials are offered free of charge and may be duplicated as needed, with proper citations and acknowledgements.
Publications and Social Media Coverage
June 13, 2017: Interviewed by Ben Wermund, a reporter from Politico.com, on higher education funding in Michigan.
May 27, 2017: Appeared as a guest on the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s radio show, Keep Hope Alive Radio with Jesse Jackson, to discuss Betsy DeVos’ role in the attacks on public education, the privatization of the public schools, vouchers, and charter schools. (http://keephopealiveradio.iheart.com)
May 15, 2017: Interviewed by Avi Asher-Schapiro, a reporter from VICE News, for my perspectives on the influence of the “gig economy” in K-12 and higher education in the United States.
February, 2017: Radio interview on Betsy DeVos with WORT 89.9 FM, A Public Affair
February, 2017: TV interview on Betsy DeVos with Danielle Masterson, WHDT World News
February, 2017: Radio interview on Betsy DeVos with Air Cascadia, KBOO Radio
November, 2016: Interviewed by Ben Wermund from Politico.com on Betsy DeVos’ education policy history in Michigan.
January, 2015: Invited article and interview for Michigan Radio’s The Next Idea, on the importance of music education in Michigan’s schools; Link to article and audio recording of interview: http://michiganradio.org/post/focus-stem-overshadows-importance-music-education
October, 2013: WKAR Current State interview on Lansing School District cuts; Link to audio archive: http://wkar.org/post/local-arts-orgs-seek-return-certified-teachers-lansing-schools
May, 2013: Response to the Lansing School District's decision to eliminate 47 elementary music, art and physical education teaching positions in Spring 2013; Link to editorial and radio interview: http://www.music.msu.edu/news-archive/music-teachers-and-our-community
Also: Associated Press, Bridge for Michigan, WKAR’s State of Opportunity, The American Prospect, District Administration magazine, Education Town Hall at We Act radio, Institute for Public Accuracy, The Nathan Ivey Show, The Thom Hartmann Show, Michigan News Connection, WHDT World News, Friday Eight O'Clock Buzz on Madison, WI public radio, and other radio, newspaper, and television sources on education policy issues.
Popular Media Publications
Beneath the 'heartwarming' teacher stories, there's a real issue with the way public school teachers are treated
Aug. 22, 2018: My essay on Eclectablog was republished by Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/heartwarming-teacher-stories-overlook-real-issues-public-school-2018-8?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=topbar&utm_term=desktop
The Empress Has No Clothes
February 2, 2017: An essay that I co-authored on Betsy DeVos with T. Jameson Brewer, The Empress Has No Clothes, was published by the Huffington Post, a major online news provider.
Privatize, monetize, weaponize: How the DeVos family devoured Michigan's schools
Dec. 6, 2016: My essay was shared by the Daily Kos on their website: http://m.dailykos.com/stories/1607830/
Can it get more absurd? Now music teachers are being tested based on math and reading scores
October 21, 2015: My article on music teacher evaluation was published on The Conversation—a new media platform. This essay has also been republished on Blue Nation Review.
How ridiculous would it be if we did this to our schools? (Oh wait, we did.)
Oct. 13, 2015: My essay was published in the Washington Post’s education column, “The Answer Sheet,” at https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/10/13/how-ridiculous-would-it-be-if-we-did-this-to-our-schools-oh-wait-we-did/
The Most Wonderful Blog of the (New School) Year
September 7, 2015: EdWeek
A professor’s encounter with two Teach For America recruiters
Oct. 17, 2014: Guest column in the Washington Post’s education column, “The Answer Sheet,” edited by Valerie Strauss; Link to article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/17/a-professors-encounter-with-two-teach-for-america-recruiters/
Okemos Parents for Schools
January 20, 2014: This column, a response to a Thomas Friedman column on education policy in the New York Times, received over 16,000 page views in 4 days; link to column: http://okemosparentsforschools.blogspot.com/2014/01/column-asking-wrong-questions.html
Feb. 1, 2019: Ed’s (Not) Dead, interview on Betsy DeVos and her 2 year anniversary as Secretary of Education
Nov. 30, 2018: GOTMFV Podcast, “Top Five Worst Things Betsy DeVos has Done Since She Took Office”
Oct. 15, 2018: BustED Pencils, interviewed by Tim Slekar, Dean of Education at Edgewood College in Wisconsin, Episode 73: We’re (Teachers) Not Worthy, https://bustedpencils.com/episode/episode-73-were-teachers-not-worthy/
Aug. 27, 2018: BustED Pencils, interviewed by Tim Slekar, Dean of Education at Edgewood College in Wisconsin, Episode 69: Tim’s Brother from another Mother
https://bustedpencils.com/episode/episode-69-tims-brother-from-another-mother/
Aug. 21, 2018: GOTMFV Podcast, A George Wallace rally looked a LOT like a Trump rally – with special guests historian Kevin M. Kruse & educator Mitchell Robinson
Mar. 27, 2018: GOTMFV Podcast, Are we misunderestimating Betsy DeVos and the GOP? – with special guest Mitchell Robinson
Dec. 5, 2016: The Sit and Spin Room Podcast, Trump’s pick for Sec. of Education Betsy DeVos UNVEILED & REVEALED with special guest Prof. Mitchell Robinson
Publication of my essays on education policy issues by Diane Ravitch, arguably the most influential blogger on education policy in the United States—these pieces may be accessed here: https://dianeravitch.net/?s=Mitchell+Robinson
Mitchell Robinson: Charter Schools in Michigan Have Done More Harm Than Good
Mitchell Robinson: What We Need to Do Instead of Opening Charter Schools
Mitchell Robinson: Why Schools Are Not Like Uber or Lyft, or, the Hoax of “Choice”
Mitchell Robinson: The Right Way to Arm Teachers—But Not with Guns
Mitchell Robinson: The Educational Malpractice of Eva Moskowitz
Mitchell Robinson: The Reformers’ Great Lie: “It’s All About the Kids”
Mitchell Robinson: The Danger of Silencing Teachers
Mitchell Robinson: The Best Argument Yet for Public Schools
Mitchell Robinson: Some Advice for Betsy DeVos
Mitchell Robinson’s New Year’s Resolutions
Mitchell Robinson: How Betsy and Dick DeVos Devoured the Schools of Michigan
Mitchell Robinson: From Michigan, This is the Real Betsy DeVos
Hey, Matt Lauer, You Have Been Hoaxed!
Mitchell Robinson: The Charter Debate Is Over
Mitchell Robinson: How Private Prisons are Like Charter Schools
Mitchell Robinson: The Brave New World of Student Teacher Evaluation
Mitchell Robinson: Who’s Who in the Education Wars
Mitchell Robinson: How the Reform Agenda of Churn and Chaos Undermined Detroit Public Schools
Mitchell Robinson: What You Need to Know about “Achievement School Districts”
Michigan: An Eye-Opening Charter Scam
Mitchell Robinson: What Does an Education Professor Say to TFA Recruiters?
Publication of my essays on politics and education policy issues on Eclectablog, a Michigan political website—these essays can be read at: http://www.eclectablog.com/author/mitchell-robinson
Let’s talk about Teach for America…
Please save me from the wisdom of self-appointed education experts, Part 293
Hug a music teacher today…
Bill Schuette, and His Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Ideas About Education in Michigan
No, we can’t “just be civil”…and here’s why
Tales of a foolish traveler: Or, random notes from a week in Shanghai…
Betsy DeVos doesn’t know what she doesn’t know about education
Let’s fund education like we value it
The continuing (mis)education of Eva Moskowitz…
BREAKING: “Trump Is A Snob Who Secretly Despises His Supporters,” and other surprises
Pay teachers more? Absolutely, but let’s do it for the right reasons
Please stop with the “heartwarming” teacher stories: this is no way to treat professionals
Schools aren’t “fast-food franchises,” charter schools aren’t public schools,and education isn’t a business
Why are *you* angry? Are you Red or Blue?
Diane Ravitch, fennel, and Cory Booker
Please save us from self-appointed “education experts”…
Trump Appoints “Dance Mom” to Head National Endowment for the Arts
Are we headed toward a “Civil War”…or are we already there?
The Politics of Teacher Walkouts Make Mike & Randi Uneasy Bedmates
An “Achievement School District” Primer, Or Why Charterizing Your School District is a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Idea
A Simple Solution to Fix the Problem of our Failing Public Education System
Why underestimating Betsy DeVos is not just wrong–it’s dangerous
Betsy DeVos says charter schools are the Uber or Lyft of “school choice”–and that’s not a good thing
Betsy DeVos attacks teachers as “defenders of the status quo”–here’s why that makes no sense
The sinister motive behind Trump & DeVos’ plan to “harden schools”
Betsy DeVos is wrong about competition improving public schools
The stunning hypocrisy of Betsy DeVos
Enough with the bonuses, Mr. President*!
Arm Teachers? Yes! (But not with guns…)
Naming the Toxic Male Elephant in the Room
Engler Wrong Choice for MSU
The Educational Malpractice of Ms. Moskowitz
Roy Moore: Poster Child for Republican, Conservative, and Christian Values
Whose Truth is Marching On? A GOP Primer on Veracity
Betsy DeVos thinks schools are like food trucks: here’s why she’s wrong
Zombie Education Reform Strategy #459
Let’s talk about apologies and do-overs…
Too little, too late, Mr. Trump…
They aren’t angry about statues
Want to improve Michigan’s schools? Ask teachers, not Gov. Snyder
There’s a lot to criticize about Donald Trump–why play the gender card?
Some unpopular thoughts on teacher evaluation
The “Brave New World” of Teacher Evaluation
The media’s infatuation with “data”, and why it’s so wrong
Beware the “Gig Economy” version of education
Betsy DeVos flip-flops on school choice
Myths and facts about opting out of standardized tests
What you need to know about accountability, tests, and music
Closing schools is not an educational option
When teacher silencing becomes dangerous…
The biggest loss in education is the loss of teachers’ voices
Are “Big Data” and “metrics” the new religion in education reform?
What’s “choice” got to do with it, Paul Ryan?
East Coast elites, intellectuals, and “smug liberals”: Oh My!
Who knew it could be so complicated?: DeVos edition
Only in Betsy DeVos’ Michigan can schools be “reformed” by closing them
Private school vouchers: A solution in search of a problem
Betsy, Betsy, Betsy…
Teachers and the “social contract”: A parable
What Trump and our society can learn from the arts
Betsy DeVos is approved by the Senate: What do we do now?
It’s Not All About the Kids, Part 2
It’s Not All About the Kids
Betsy DeVos’ spokesperson, Ed Patru, works for a Washington “crisis management” firm that specializes in building “astroturf” groups
Betsy DeVos is not just unqualified, she’s dangerous
Flush this, Mr. President
Stacking the jury in the voucher wars
No, Betsy DeVos is not qualified to be Secretary of Education
How the reformers devalue teaching experience: Forbes edition
My New Year’s Eve resolutions for public education
Another fake news voucher story from the Great Lakes Education Project and Betsy DeVos
Why do we need National Standards in music?
Why we must NOT give Betsy DeVos and school choice “a chance”
Betsy DeVos, Steve Ingersoll, and Michigan as a “cautionary tale” for American education
Who’s narrating the “Teacher Shortage” narrative?
The “false equivalencies” of education policy: Betsy DeVos edition
Privatize, Monetize, Weaponize: How the DeVos family devoured Michigan’s schools
The truth about school “choice”
Dick and Betsy DeVos avoided paying school taxes on summer home
Trump names Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education: It’s Game, Set, Match for public education
Mike Pence is gaslighting us all
Guess who’s the most worried about Donald Trump becoming our next President?
The Today Show’s Matt Lauer deceptively pitches Shinola partnership as providing scholarships to needy Detroit kids
The 2 biggest losers in this campaign: Respect and tolerance
It’s not about you: More adventures in institutional privilege, music education edition
The charter school debate is over
The paradoxical world of education reform
Sorry, when it comes to education policy, this IS personal
Charter school funding fiascos: Misplaced priorities and warped values
See below for links to book chapters, articles, recent radio interviews and media coverage on education policy and other related issues.
My essay on teacher evaluation was published on Eclectablog...click on the link above to see it.
Rev. Jesse Jackson radio show
VICE News interview
May 15, 2017: Interviewed by a reporter from VICE News for my perspectives on the influence of the “gig economy” in K-12 and higher education in the United States.
My New Year’s Eve resolutions for public education, on Diane Ravitch's Blog
My piece on my hopes for education policy in the New Year was published on Diane Ravitch's blog.
How Betsy and Dick DeVos Devoured the Schools of Michigan, on Diane Ravitch's Blog
My article on the appointment of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education was published on Diane Ravitch's blog.
This article was also shared by the Daily Kos on their website.
From Michigan, This is the Real Betsy DeVos, on Diane Ravitch's Blog
My piece on the appointment of Michigan's Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education was shared on Diane Ravitch's blog: https://dianeravitch.net/2016/11/23/mitchell-robinson-from-michigan-this-is-the-real-betsy-devos/comment-page-1/
Hey, Matt Lauer, You Have Been Hoaxed!, on Diane Ravitch's Blog
Honored to have my piece on Matt Lauer's deceptive "scholarship donations" to Detroit's kids on Diane Ravitch's blog, here. And here is the post on my blog.
A number of my essays on education policy have appeared on Eclectablog; click on the titles below to take a look...
Team Eclectablog
I am pleased to announce that I have been invited to join the editorial team at Eclectablog! I will be focusing on education policy, particularly as it relates to public education and the corrosive impact of for-profit charter schools on our public school system, and am thrilled to contribute to my favorite political website in Michigan.
Click here for a brief interview with Chris Savage, the founder of Eclectablog.
Charter school funding fiascos: Misplaced priorities and warped values, on Eclectablog
My essay on charter schools has been reposted on Eclectablog, here.
GUEST POST – Charter Schools: The New Private Prisons?, on Eclectablog
I'm honored to have my essay on charter schools reposted on the excellent Eclectablog, here.
How Private Prisons are Like Charter Schools, on Diane Ravitch's Blog
My post on the similarities between private prisons and charter schools was reposted on Diane Ravitch's blog here. The original blog post can be found here.
What's Choice Got To Do With It?, on Eclectablog
My essay on the fallacies of school choice policy was published on "Eclectablog," a Michigan political blog.
Closing Schools Makes No Sense...For Children, on LA Progressive
I'm very excited to have my first publication in the LA Progressive! I’ve admired this publication for a long time, and am thrilled to have one of my articles appear on their website.
And A Music Teacher Shall Lead Them, on Diane Ravitch's Blog
My post on recent changes to teacher evaluation in Michigan, and their negative impact on music teachers, was reposted on Diane Ravitch's blog here.
A big thank you to Mandy Mikita Scott for her inspiration and contributions to this post!
Radio Interview: Death Knell for Ed Reform?
Mitchell Robinson, of Michigan State University, and Denisha Jones, of Howard University — both active in BadAss Teachers Association — discuss the disappointment of teachers and teacher educators, nationwide, as unions and others jump on the “teachers are the problem” bandwagon of #TeachStrong.
Jones explains how the new effort fails to include many experienced schools of education, possibly in recognition of the fact that previous attempts to privatize and control schools has been thwarted by teachers and teacher educators.
Robinson also argues, however, that recent changes of tack for ed reformers, including Gates Foundation teacher prep funding, suggest reformers’ frustration because “they have not done one thing” and consequent flailing. Signaling, perhaps, a death knell for combative and unsuccessful strategies.
Hey, GLEP: Got Integrity?, on Eclectablog
I'm thrilled to share my recent guest post on one of my very favorite political websites, Eclectablog! Chris Savage does a great job of keeping Michigan's citizens informed about what's happening in the state's political scene, and it's an honor to have my essay shared on this venue.
Who's Who in the Education Wars, on Diane Ravitch...
My essay on the main characters in what is referred to as "the education wars" was reposted by Diane Ravitch on her blog. To read the essay, click here...
My blog has been included on the Teach 100 list of "top education blogs."
"Can it Get More Absurd?", on The Conversation
An article of mine on music teacher evaluation, Can it get more absurd? Now music teachers are being tested based on math and reading scores, was published on The Conversation—a new media platform designed to "Inform public debate with knowledge-based journalism that is responsible, ethical and supported by evidence.”
My goal with this effort is to share my scholarship with a wider audience, and try to influence the narrative around the issues that are important to the profession. This can be difficult with traditional academic venues, like research journals, that have a limited circulation, target only other music educators, and often require a paid subscription in order to access. I believe that we have an obligation as “public academics” to spread our scholarship in these ways.
The Conversation is an open access platform with online editions in the US, Australia, Africa, France and the UK, and has a monthly audience of 2.6 million users, and a reach of 23 million.
"Imagine," On The Washington Post
My blog post, "Imagine," was picked up by Valerie Strauss at the Washington Post on October 13, 2015. To read the essay, click here:
Teach for America interview, on the Rick Smith Radio Show
Click on the link below to hear my interview on the problems with Teach for America on the Rick Smith Radio Show.
https://thericksmithshow.com/2017/03/07/tuesday-march-7-2017-waited-7-years-gop-replacement-plan/
Editorial in Lansing State Journal
Robinson: Young creatives not good for art education
—Mitchell Robinson is associate professor and chair of the music education area in the College of Music at Michigan State University. 6:04 a.m. EDT September 27, 2015
As a former public school music teacher, music teacher educator, arts education advocate and chair of the music education area at Michigan State University, I am writing to express my profound disappointment with the recent announcement from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing of the “Young Creatives Project,” an initiative designed to “support funding of teaching artists in Lansing School District elementary classrooms”. To be clear, “teaching artists” are not certified arts teachers, and are not licensed to provide instruction in schools.
I was deeply involved with the Arts Council’s early efforts to advocate for restoration of the nearly 20 music, art and physical education teaching positions eliminated by the district two years ago, and a central component of our community arts task force’s approach at the time was the recognition that it was the responsibility of the district to provide certified, qualified arts and physical education teachers to deliver instruction to Lansing’s children.
When the cuts were first announced, the Arts Council served as the “convener” of the Lansing area’s community arts providers and agencies, arts educators and other community organizations, and organized the local arts community in a forceful and principled response to the District’s actions. We understood that it was beyond the scope and mission of these organizations to provide sequential, curricular arts education to the children of Lansing, and that agreeing to consider this move would effectively relieve the District of its responsibility to provide instruction.
While the Arts Council’s new “Young Creatives Program” promises to partner with the LSD to provide “teaching artists” in the schools, this initiative will actually result in a greatly diminished arts education experience for Lansing’s children, and all but guarantee that the District will never reinstate art, music or physical education for the city’s youngest children. So while children in Holt, Grand Ledge and Waverly have faced similar budgetary challenges, but still offer and support strong, vibrant art, music and physical education offerings, their peers in Lansing will be deprived of these experiences. And the achievement gap between Lansing and other school systems will continue to grow wider.
If the Arts Council truly wants to do what is best for Lansing’s children, they will reconsider this shameless attempt to profit off of the LSD’s decision to eliminate elementary arts education in the city, and work with the District’s leadership to restore these programs to the schools. Lansing’s children deserve the same quality of education as their peers in other area schools, which includes music, art and physical education instruction delivered by certified, qualified teachers.
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/opinion/contributors/viewpoints/2015/09/27/robinson-young-creatives-good-art-education/72728306/
— Mitchell Robinson is associate professor and chair of the music education area in the College of Music at Michigan State University.
Blog Post on How the Reform Agenda of Churn and Chaos has Undermined Detroit's Schools, on Diane Ravitch
Diane Ravitch recently reposted a blog post of mine on how the reform strategy of "creative destruction" has wreaked havoc in the public schools of many major American cities, including New Orleans and Detroit.
However, one of the more subtle, yet damaging, weapons in the reformers' playbook is simultaneously less visible to the uninformed eye and more insidious in its ability to accomplish the reformers' ultimate goal: the destabilization of public education by an intentional, purposeful strategy of near-constant turnover and turmoil in the leadership and teaching force in the schools.
The business world has a name for this practice: creative destruction. It's a term coined by economist Joseph Schumpeter, and "refers to the incessant product and process innovation mechanism by which new production units replace outdated ones." Also referred to as "churn," this business-centered approach to school reform considers students and teachers as "raw materials," and schools as "factories." The goal is maximizing profits, and significant "collateral damage" (i.e., school closings, teacher terminations, student expulsions) is not only acceptable, but expected, in the single-minded pursuit of the reformers' goals.
"Creative destruction" comes in numerous forms in public education, from the year-to-year involuntary reassignment of teachers from one grade level to another, to the practice of having elementary teachers with "all subjects" certifications teach subjects (i.e., music, art, PE) they are unqualified to teach, to moving principals back and forth between schools as though they are pawns in a game of administrative Pong.
For more, go to "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Destabilize 'Em!"
Blog Post on "Achievement School District" Scams, on Diane Ravitch...
I'm excited to share that my recent blog post on Achievement School Districts has been picked up by Diane Ravitch, perhaps our most influential education blogger and historian.
Click below to read the article:
There is the Recovery School District in New Orleans; the Education Achievement Authority in Michigan; the Achievement School District in Tennessee; and more on the way in other states.
The main thing you need to know about these experimental districts is that they promise rapid improvement in the state’s lowest performing schools, and all of them have failed.
http://dianeravitch.net/2015/07/25/mitchell-robinson-what-you-need-to-know-about-achievement-school-districts/
On the High Wire
I'm happy to share that my chapter, “A Tale of Two Institutions or... Myths and Musings on Work/Life Balance,” appears in the new book, “On the High Wire: Education Professors Walk Between Work and Parenting” from Information Age Publishing.
The purpose of the work/life balance series is to highlight particular challenges that higher education faculty face as they participate in the demands of the academy and try to prevent those demands from invading their personal lives. On The High Wire looks at a specific subset of university faculty, education faculty with school-aged children, and the specific professional/personal balance these faculty need to find. The title On the High Wire suggests the precarious nature of the “walk” for education faculty who are parents of school-aged children. We know that our identities are central to how we experience the world and how the world reacts to us. This reality is clearly visible in this book. These multiple identities and roles come into conflict at multiple points and in different ways. This book explores these identities and roles through autoethnographic accounts written by varied education faculty in order to make these tensions visible for the field to address.
Focus on STEM overshadows importance of music education | Michigan Radio
When we talk about building an education system that prepares children for the creative thinking and collaboration skills necessary in today’s -- and tomorrow’s -- job market, there’s an amazing resource here in Michigan that, like most places, gets almost criminally overlooked: music educators.
My job allows me to travel quite a bit, so I’ve had the opportunity to see some of the finest music programs and teachers across the country, and I believe that Michigan has some of the best school music programs in the nation. There are a few reasons why:
• The quality of music teachers here is outstanding. They are talented, smart and well-informed.
• Michigan's teachers also tend to be well-connected to their professional organizations and seek out professional development. Research tells us that teachers who attend professional development events tend to remain active members of the profession, while those who don’t often wind up leaving the classroom.
• Music programs in Michigan are grounded in solid pedagogical foundations, with comprehensive, sequential general music programs in the elementary schools; and strong band, orchestra and chorus programs at the secondary level.
While we are fortunate to be in a state with excellent music programs, sadly this is not the case in every school. Recently, the Lansing School District made the decision to lay-off nearly all of its certified teachers in elementary music, art and physical education. This creates an enormous equity issue for children and families in this region — those who live in Lansing’s suburbs enjoy rich, meaningful offerings in the arts, while their peers in the city have little-to-no access to these same opportunities. This must change.
So, too, must the way we evaluate music teachers. If studies already show that measuring teacher effectiveness through test score improvements is simplistic and naïve, it is then especially troubling for music teachers that part of their annual effectiveness rating is often based on test scores in subjects that they don’t teach, like math or reading, and on test scores for children that are not even in their classes. That doesn’t seem right or fair.
We often hear the saying, “We test what we value.” I would respectfully suggest that exactly the opposite is true. In fact, the things that we value and care about the most are those things that are precisely the most resistant to measurement. For many students, music is one of those things they care about the most; it brings meaning to their lives. It’s one of the most powerful ways they have to make sense of their world.
I would also like to challenge the notion that the main purpose of schools is to produce the nation’s workforce. This stance represents a re-conceptualization of the true purpose of education, from one that is about the development of meaningful relationships between teachers and learners, and among learners, to one that is simply a transfer of information from teacher to learner -- a sort of educational “banking transaction”, if you will.
To be clear, I am not against the development of students who are capable of moving on to college or the workforce, but that is not the purpose of education and never has been. That’s a byproduct of schooling, not a purpose. Just as the reason for teaching music is not to help children get good ratings at competitions, but rather to help them learn the musical skills and knowledge in order to become lifelong music makers and supporters of the arts.
So what’s the Next Idea?
I remain very optimistic about the future for music educators in Michigan because never before has what we have to offer been more desperately needed -- by our students, our schools and our society. I know that music, when taught well, provides the “antidote” to today’s “teach-to-the-test,” assessment-driven culture because music study offers the very things that employers say they are looking for in the workforce, and for what school leaders emphasize in mission and vision statements: critical thinking, teamwork, problem-solving skills, and creativity. Or, in the words of Dr. Elliott Eisner, renowned arts educator: “Our schools, teachers, and students might be a lot better off if schools embraced the idea that education means learning what to do when you don’t know what to do.”
As the father of two school-age boys, I see firsthand the impact of a fine school music program on my children. They understand that there is often more than one “right” way to answer a question, especially when the question is a difficult one. They are comfortable with what psychologists call “divergent” thinking, which is the ability to see multiple solutions to a problem. Children who study music know how to work together collaboratively in groups, to value the efforts of all team members, and that every person has the ability to make a worthwhile contribution to the group’s work.
In order to help move Michigan toward a future in which all students have access to a strong and vibrant music education, there are two policy initiatives that the Partnership for Music Education Policy Development, a Michigan think-tank dedicated to promoting music education, says will help:
1. To amend the School Code to require elementary schools to provide a comprehensive, sequential music education, delivered by a certified, qualified music teacher, for every student in grades kindergarten to five. Currently, Michigan is one of only a handful of states that does not mandate music instruction for elementary school students.
2. To modify the current teacher evaluation system for music teachers to insure a more fair and more equitable process is followed.
It’s time that music teachers stop apologizing for their role in helping our students to become more comfortable with their feelings and their emotions. This is not a weakness in what we do, it’s a great strength. By ensuring that access to a full and complete education is guaranteed for all of Michigan’s children, we move closer to realizing the great power and promise of music in our schools, because, when taught well, music can provide the means for our students to figure out what to do when they don’t know what to do. And that should be what we want for all of our children.
Share Your Ideas:
How has studying music affected your life?
In your view, what is the purpose of education and where does music fit in?
Join the conversation in the comments section below, on Twitter or Facebook, or let us know your Next Idea here.
Mitchell Robinson is an associate professor of music education and chair of the music education area at Michigan State University.
Click on this link to hear an interview with Cynthia Canty of Michigan Radio about the essay...http://michiganradio.org/post/focus-stem-overshadows-importance-music-education
The Inchworm and the Nightingale: On the (Mis)use of Data in Music Teacher Evaluation
Click here to read this article that appeared in Arts Education Policy Review.
When We Want to Improve Something...
The following post appeared on the Badass Teachers Association blog (http://badassteachers.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2014-12-04T09:29:00-08:00&max-results=7) on December 4, 2014
When we want to improve something--a product, a process, a project--in the business world, we devote more time, money and resources into research and development; we recruit talented people and pay them a competitive wage; we make sure we surround those persons with excellent facilities, equipment, materials, working conditions, benefits, and retirement packages; we treat those employees with dignity, respect and compassion.
When we want to improve something--teacher quality, student learning--in public education, we establish invalid and unreliable accountability measures that have been proven not to work; we eliminate teacher tenure, teacher unions, and minimum salary requirements; we make it easier for unqualified people to enter the profession, taking away jobs from more experienced (read = more expensive) teachers; we deregulate charter schools as we impose unreasonable demands and expectations on our public schools, teachers and students.
And then we blame teachers and students for the problems created by this mismanagement, and label them as "whiners" and "complainers" when they have the nerve to voice their concerns about the damage being done to public education.
Washington Post article on TFA
Click here to read my column on The Answer Sheet in the Oct. 17 edition of The Washington Post. . .
2014 Music Education Policy Summit
Over 50 music teachers, music teacher educators and music education advocates attended and participated in the Music Education Policy Summit at Michigan State University on June 14, 2014. It was inspiring to see and hear from so many passionate, dedicated individuals about their challenges, successes and hopes for the future of our profession. In the words of one panelist, "When people ask me how things are going in Michigan, I always say that it's amazing how much we get done with such bad music education policy in our state." So very true.
Building on this momentum we are excited to pursue the next steps in our agenda:
1. To propose and implement a K-5 music requirement for Michigan's public schools. We are currently one of 5 states to not have an elementary music mandate. This is unacceptable, and our kids and schools deserve better.
2. To strengthen teacher certification requirements that currently allow schools to replace certified music teachers (MI certificate JQ) with those who hold a K-8 "all subjects" certificate. This is unacceptable, and our kids and schools deserve better.
To learn more about the Partnership for Music Education Policy Development, and to support our efforts to influence music education policy in Michigan and nationally, please go to http://pmepd.weebly.com/
Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research in American Music Education
Qualitative research has become increasingly popular in music education over the last decade, yet there is no source that explains the terms, approaches and issues associated with this approach. In The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research in American Music Education, editor Colleen Conway and the contributing music educators provide that clarification, as well as models of qualitative studies within various music education disciplines. The handbook outlines the history of qualitative research in American music education and explores the contemporary use of qualitative approaches in examining issues related to music teaching and learning. It includes 32 chapters that address a range of topics, from ways of approaching qualitative research and ways of collecting and analyzing data, to the various music teaching and learning contexts that have been studied using qualitative approaches.
My two chapters are:
6 ‐ Changing the Conversation: Considering Quality in Music Education Qualitative Research.
31 ‐ The Politics of Publication: Voices, Venues and Ethics.
To browse an online version of the Handbook, please go to: http://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199844272.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199844272
Click below to hear my interview with Cynthia Canty on Michigan Radio's State Side on Feb. 19.
As Michigan moves into new, uncharted waters in terms of testing and evaluating those who hope to become teachers, there are many views on whether this testing and evaluation is fair, helpful, and an accurate measurement of how students, teachers, and schools are doing.
Mitchell Robinson is an associate professor and chair of music education at Michigan State University. A former teacher, his research is now focused on education policy and the mentoring of new music teachers.
He believes test scores like the beefed-up version of Michigan's teacher certification test aren't telling us anything substantial about students or learning.
http://michiganradio.org/post/education-researcher-says-we-cant-blame-teachers-failing-schools
Click below to read my guest column on "Okemos Parents for Schools", a response to Thomas Friedman's piece, "Obama's Homework Assignment":
http://okemosparentsforschools.blogspot.com/2014/01/column-asking-wrong-questions.html
WKAR Current State Radio Interview: Local arts organizations seek return of certified teachers in Lansing schools
Last spring, in response to a budget deficit, the Lansing Public School District laid off 87 teachers who were certified to teach art, music and physical education in its elementary schools.
Now more than a month into the school year, we thought it would be a good time to check-in on how this is playing out and find out what options are on the table to educate Lansing students in these crucial subjects.
In the coming weeks here on Current State, we plan to have a series of conversations with all of the stakeholders – parents, teachers, and district officials. Today, we start off with community arts providers.
Click here to listen to the interview: http://wkar.org/post/local-arts-orgs-seek-return-certified-teachers-lansing-schools
Barb Whitney is a program manager and interim director of the Arts Council of Greater Lansing. And Mitchell Robinson is an associate professor and chair of the Music Education department in Michigan State University’s College of Music.
Music Education Advocacy
Experts at MSU take action and provide perspective
School districts across the nation are faced with challenging economic times. When tough decisions need to be made, arts funding is one of the first things some districts put under the microscope. Music Education at MSU looks at this through a different lens and plays a strong advocacy role for the arts in its community, across the state and nation.
In March of 2013, the Lansing School District announced it would cut more than 80 elementary art, music, and physical education teacher positions beginning in the fall of 2013. Faced with some tough budgetary issues and new State of Michigan Right-to-Work legislation, the school board and teachers union made the decision to eliminate teacher positions and supplement their programing by placing additional demands on existing teachers and seeking non-binding external subject matter resources and personnel.
Dr. Mitch Robinson, associate professor and chair of music education, and Rhonda Buckley, associate dean for outreach and engagement and executive director of the MSU Community Music School, took prompt action. They reached out to local and national arts organizations, teachers, parents, the MSU College of Education, and various associations to advocate for the centrality and importance of arts education in the general curriculum. New dialogues have evolved and relationships have developed as the College of Music continues to provide leadership on this issue.
Click here to read more on the College of Music’s perspective on this issue and listen to a radio interview with Mitch Robinson.
2013 Michigan Music Conference Features MSU Presenters, Clinicians and Conductors
The 2013 Michigan Music Conference will feature an impressive roster of presenters with MSU affiliations--just click to see a full size version of the poster!
We should all be proud of our friends and colleagues who will be sharing their knowledge and expertise with their colleagues in our schools at this event. See below for a listing of these sessions.
I'd also like to point out three events for your special attention:
• Dr. Cindy Taggart will be presenting an all day (8:00am-4:00pm) pre-conference workshop, titled "Illuminating the Mystery: Music Learning Theory in Action. Cindy will be joined by two Spartan alums, Jennifer Bailey and Heather Shouldice, who will be co-presenters. This promises to be a terrific workshop!
• Dr. Kevin Sedatole, MSU's Director of Bands, will be conducting the Michigan All-State High School Band on Saturday. It will be great to have Dr. Sedatole share his musicianship and artistry with our state's young musicians. Congratulations Kevin!
• Dr. John Kratus will be receiving the MMEA "Award of Merit" for his contributions to the state's music education community, especially for his founding of the annual MMEA Honors Composition Concert, which will be held on Saturday, January 19. Congratulations to John for this well deserved honor!
Also, if you are planning to attend the MMC, please remember to join us for the MSU Reception on Friday. The reception will be held from 5:00-6:30pm in the Governors Room, and is a great way to catch up with old friends and touch base with the faculty and current students. We hope to see you there!
Congratulations to all of our presenters and clinicians, and thank you for sharing your expertise and ideas with your colleagues!
It's Out!
Click on the picture to the left to go to the Teachers College Press web page on our new book, What Every Principal Needs to Know to Create Equitable and Excellent Schools, edited by George Theoharis (Syracuse University) and Jeff Brooks (Iowa State University). My chapter is titled, "Music Teaching and Learning in a Time of Reform."
About the book. . .
School leaders who succeed at creating a high-achieving learning community must also be committed to creating an equitable environment for all students. In this new book, key scholars across the content areas show how to put into practice a commitment to equity and excellence across the Pre-K–12 spectrum. Readers learn directly from experts in each of the content domains (literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, music, early childhood, special education, English language learners, world languages, and physical education) how a commitment to social justice and equity can be grounded in core subject areas, why each has a place in the school, and what they need to know and do in each subject area. This book is a critical instructional leadership resource for new and veteran principals who want to see all students succeed.
“This book is a noble work of art; it is thoughtful, well written, and passionate. The authors and editors provide the pathway for all of us to contribute to social justice. It is a must-read!”
—Sarah Jerome, superintendent, Arlington Heights, Illinois, and past president of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA)
“By forging the linkage between equity and leader`s subject knowledge, Theoharis and Brooks provide a much needed and important extension in our understanding of instructional leadership.”
—Joseph F. Murphy, Vanderbilt University
“At last a book on what principals need to know that doesn’t sacrifice the idea of an education to develop the entire human being instead of workers who can compete with China.”
—Fenwick W. English, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
“Bridges the gap between the intellectual considerations of academia and the everyday aspects of leadership practice. It is a must-read for principals, superintendents, curriculum specialists, and those who prepare them.”
—Autumn Cyprès, The University of Tennessee
“Finally, a thoughtful, well-crafted book that guides school leaders on promoting both high-quality teaching and learning and equity principles to improve student learning across content areas and needs.”
—Terry Orr, Bank Street College of Education
“WOW! Social justice leadership with explicit core content areas addressed all in one book. All principals hoping to improve student achievement and equity should consider this book when thinking about their leadership.”
—Deborah Hoffman, principal, Lincoln Elementary School, Madison, WI
“As a school principal in high-need schools for the past ten years, I truly recommend this book to anyone interested in improving the state of learning and increasing achievement scores.”
—Rob DiFlorio, principal, Henninger High School, Syracuse, NY
Contributors: Antonio J. Castro • Julie Causton-Theoharis • Virginia Collier • Katherine Delaney • Catherine Ennis • Virginia Goatley • Beth Graue • Rochelle Gutiérrez • Kathleen A. Hinchman • Anne Karabon • Christi Kasa • Dave McAlpine • Mitchell Robinson • Victor Sampson • Sherry A. Southerland • Wayne Thomas
240 pages Paperback, $29.95 | 978-0-8077-5353-8 Hardcover, $76 | 978-0-8077-5354-5
1. Literacy—Leading Literacy Programs That Foster Excellence in All Students
2. Mathematics—Beyond the Achievement Gap: What It Takes to Become an Effective Leader in Mathematics for Marginalized Youth
3. Science—Creating Effective School Leaders for 21st-Century Science
4. Social Studies—Teaching Social Studies for Democratic Equity and Excellence
5. Music—Music Teaching and Learning in a Time of Reform
6. Early Childhood—Learning to Love Your Noisy Neighbor: A Principal’s Guide to the Education of Young Children
7. Special Education—Leadership for Inclusive Education: What Every Principal Needs to Know
8. English Language Learners—What Really Works for English Language Learners: Research-Based Practices for Principals
9. World Languages—Understanding Foreign Language Instruction in Your School
10. Physical Education—Innovative Practices and Programs in Physical Education
George Theoharis is an Associate Dean in the School of Education at Syracuse University and an Associate Professor in Educational Leadership and Inclusive Elementary Education. He is the author of The School Leaders Our Children Deserve.
Jeffrey S. Brooks is Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Educational Administration at Iowa State University. He is the author of Black School, White School: Racism and Educational (Mis)leadership.
To order, call 800-575-6566 or visit www.tcpress.com
Follow us @TCPress
For special bulk sales, please contact TC Press at: (212) 678-3919
For exam/desk copy requests go to: www.tcpress.com/form1.html
Teachers College
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Jameson, 48, said Everitt is his oldest child and only son. He has three younger sisters, two who are 21 and one who is 13. He said his son had been living in Merced but moved to Modesto within the last year.
The FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday searched the family home in southeast Merced where Everitt Jameson had lived. He said authorities did not take anything from the home.
He said his son began studying the Islamic faith about a year ago and had been learning Arabic.
"He attended the Muslim church in Merced and in Modesto," Gordon Jameson said.
Members of the Islamic Center of Merced did not immediately respond to telephone messages seeking comment.
According to the criminal complaint, Everitt Jameson told a confidential FBI source he attended the Islamic Center in Merced.
Gordon Jameson, who described himself as "devout Pentecostal," said he and his son frequently discussed their religious beliefs.
"We'd talk about Jesus - not argue, just talk - and he'd say 'Yeah, Dad, we all believe in the same God,'" Jameson said. "He never once spoke about hate or wanting to hurt anything. He never said anything about wanting to blow people up."
Jameson said family members even "joked" with Everitt Jameson about his Islamic faith, sometimes calling him "Isis" as a kind of kidding nickname.
But that teasing doesn't seem funny to Gordon Jameson anymore.
"They told me my son's on suicide watch, but they haven't told us anything about where he is. Just in custody somewhere, we don't know where," Gordon Jameson said.
In recent months, Everitt Jameson had turned to his religion for comfort, his father said, after his two children, a 3-year-old boy and 2-year-old girl, were "taken away from him by CPS" in Stanislaus County.
Gordon Jameson said his son lost custody of his children in recent years as his family struggled. Their mother, Ashley M. Jameson, is serving prison time at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla. Details of the sentence were not immediately available.
In August 2016, Everitt Jameson filed for a divorce in Merced County Superior Court. In a court declaration, he wrote: "My children are in foster care, (sic) this divorce will allow me to get them back."
But the reunion never happened.
About three months ago, Gordon Jameson said, his son was told both his children had been "adopted out" and he wouldn't get them back.
"He lost his kids for good and he was devastated," Gordon Jameson said.
Everitt Jameson had recently purchased a car and was talking about getting his own place.
"We thought things were turning around," Gordon Jameson said.
He had been working at Anderson's Towing in Modesto and seemed to like his job. 'This all comes as a shock to us," Anderson owner Duane Thompson said Friday, adding that Jameson had worked for the company since August.
Billy Myers with Myers Towing said in October he held a two-day certification class for local tow-truck drivers and Everitt Jameson was among the attendees. Myers described Everitt Jameson as quiet and respectful and said he only stood out when he took breaks to pray.
"It shocks me," Myers said of the case against Everitt Jameson. He said the arrest shouldn't reflect negatively on Anderson Towing, which he said does background checks on new employees that includes fingerprinting.
But losing his children had sent Everitt Jameson into a deep depression.
"He jumped through every hoop they put up for him to get his kids back," Gordon Jameson said. "They did him pretty well dirty. A dad doesn't have much rights to try to get his kids back."
Gordon Jameson said he'd become concerned his son might take his own life. They discussed suicide more than once, he said.
"I was really afraid. I told him, 'Please don't do that.' I just wouldn't know what I'd do if that happened," Gordon Jameson said.
He said news of his son's arrest seemed to come out of nowhere.
Only last Sunday, Gordon Jameson said, he and Everitt and some friends had traveled to Oakland to watch the Dallas Cowboys play the Raiders.
"We were tailgating, having a good time. It was a great time. It was a great game," he said. "Then, all the sudden, bam! This just drops down on us."
His father taught him to play baseball and coached him as a child, he said. Everitt Jameson attended Enochs High School in Modesto and was on the wrestling team.
Duane Brooks, the Enochs wrestling coach, said Everitt Jameson didn't make much of an impression on him during the two years he was on the team.
"He's not the kind of kid who stood out," Brooks said. "He was on the JV team. He was just a normal kid at the time who wrestled for us and graduated and went to the military."
Tyler Knobel, who was a freshman on the 2008-09 wrestling team, said Everitt Jameson was "a bigger dude ... kind of quiet."
"I remember him from practice," Knobel said. "He was mostly quiet. There was nothing overt about him, not overly aggressive or showing any violent tendencies other than what was happening on the wrestling mat."
Brooks called the news of Jameson's alleged involvement in a possible terror plot "surreal" and "deeply disturbing."
"There wasn't anything that would make you think something like this would happen one day," he said of Everitt Jameson. "It's surprising and sad."
Gordon Jameson said he's confused, frustrated and scared for his son.
"It's not true. I don't know what the FBI are trying to pin on him. I don't know why," he said. "He's never once talked about bombing anything. He'd never hurt a single person. He's more of a sweet type of person, a gentle kind of person.
"He's a peaceful Muslim person."
Modesto Bee reporters Erin Tracy, Kevin Valine and Brian Clark contributed to this report.
Modesto police respond to Kansas Avenue assault
Watch where man was shot in leg in west Modesto
By Rosalio Ahumada
A Riverbank CA man is accused of raping a teen in Merced County after meeting her on an online dating app. He’s also accused of attempted murder in Oakdale. Dominic Madueno is the son of an ex-Riverbank mayor.
Sheriff’s Office identifies man shot to death at Tuolumne County campground
Modesto police seeking witnesses in hit-and-run crash that injured pedestrian
Woman and her 5-year-old son assaulted in alley off downtown Modesto; arrest made
28 arrested in gang investigation. Planned murder and robbery prevented, police say
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Lionel Bringuier: New Artist of the Month
April 2, 2009 | By David Mermelstein
MusicalAmerica.com
LOS ANGELES — On a sunny, early spring day, Lionel Bringuier recalls his childhood in Nice and compares the weather of his hometown to that of this city, where since September 2007 he has been assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, regularly covering for music director Esa-Pekka Salonen and many guest conductors, as well as occasionally mounting the podium himself.
“I study my scores here under the sun just as I used to in Nice,” says Bringuier, 22, who moved to Paris when he was 13 to begin instruction at its famed Conservatoire, where he studied cello and piano in addition to conducting. From there, he came to Los Angeles, his audition in fall 2006 marking his first time outside of Europe.
His parents, though not musicians, were music lovers – frequently taking him and his siblings to symphony concerts at the Nice opera house, which partly explains how all five children wound up in the field. Brother Nicolas is a pianist, two sisters teach piano, and another brother, now in finance, worked as an administrator at the Orchestre de Paris.
“Part of why I work as a conductor” Bringuier says, “is that I see it as a way to share music, something I first did with my brothers and sisters when we would play chamber music together. And when I am conducting, I really feel like a chamber musician, as one musician among others.”
Putting that view into practice, Bringuier eschews the autocratic tendencies sometimes associated with conductors – a wise choice given his age and even younger-looking appearance and demeanor.
“The musicians already know what they do,” he says, speaking not only of the L.A. Philharmonic, but also of the players in other ensembles he has led, such as the BBC Symphony, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Staatskapelle and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. “They don’t need someone to instruct them. They want somebody in front of them who will be able to inspire them – but from a position of mutual respect not arbitrary authority.”
And just as an ensemble’s players need to understand what he wants from them, so the young conductor must familiarize himself with the musicians he is to direct, most of whom are older by far than he. He prefers to start rehearsals by playing scores all the way through, rather than stopping and refining elements early on. “It’s the best way to get to know an orchestra,” he says, “especially one you haven’t already conducted. Then from there, we can create the sound together and start to come up with an interpretation.”
Bringuier will make his first scheduled subscription appearances at Walt Disney Concert Hall April 23-26. He has occupied the podium before, leading a couple of Green Umbrella new-music concerts and, last season, substituting for Stéphane Denève on extremely short notice in a Philharmonic program of Ravel, Poulenc and Roussel for which he earned rave reviews. This time, he leads a program of his own design, consisting of familiar works by Liszt, Ravel and Lalo, as well as a rarity: Florent Schmitt’s ballet “The Tragedy of Salome,” a fierce piece he says helped inspire Stravinsky to compose “The Rite of Spring.”
Over the summer, Bringuier is scheduled to conduct the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Festival in July and make a debut of sorts with the New York Philharmonic in June, leading the chamber orchestra in Britten’s “War Requiem” during one of Lorin Maazel’s final programs as music director. (He worked with Maazel in the same capacity when the L.A. Philharmonic performed the piece last year.) He’ll also return to the Hollywood Bowl, where last year he led Jean-Yves Thibaudet in Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto. This time out, on July 21, the program consists of Dukas, Mussorgsky and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Piano Concerto – unusual fare for the Bowl but a fitting tribute to the man who has mentored Bringuier these past two years.
“I ask his advice frequently,” says the young conductor. “I ask him how to make a program. He always finds time for me, and I’m very grateful. I’m not only learning by seeing him conduct, but also because I can talk to him. Sometimes, even on days of his concerts when he’s finishing his rehearsals, he still finds time for me.”
Bringuier will remain at the Philharmonic after Salonen departs, because his two-year contract was renewed through 2009-10 -- Gustavo Dudamel’s inaugural season. He is set to lead two subscription concerts, as well as serve as cover conductor for many of the new maestro’s programs.
As for the thrill of being in Los Angeles at such an exciting time and leading some of the world’s major orchestras at such a young age, Bringuier says he still can’t quite believe it. “I never wake up feeling I am a conductor,” he maintains. “I am simply happy to say, ‘Oh, nice, today again my day is filled with music.’”
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View more on these topicsPolitics Regulation News
Independent review warns of Govt influence on FCA
By Sam Brodbeck 15th January 2016 1:55 pm
An independent review of the FCA board has warned the FCA board’s powers are “limited” and questions the regulator’s independence from government.
The report follows claims the regulator dropped a review into banking culture after the Bank of England intervened.
In its report, commissioned last summer and published yesterday, Boardroom Review Limited says: “Although constituted as an independent regulator and following the UK’s Corporate Governance Code in many respects, board powers are limited, and its remit is defined by government; this has a significant impact on the role and influence of the board.”
It adds: “All directors are aware that the political landscape is particularly difficult to manage. Recent interventions by HM Treasury and other bodies have raised questions from directors regarding the board’s independence.”
The report also notes intervention and public criticism has impacted negatively on “culture and morale, influencing executive cautiousness, levels of defensiveness, and the willingness to escalate issues and learn from mistakes, as well as, potentially, attracting and retaining talent”.
In October 2015 the FCA committed to an annual review following the closed book debacle that is thought to have led to chief executive Martin Wheatley’s sacking.
Chancellor George Osborne has the power to appoint the chief executive.
Treasury committee chairman Andrew Tyrie says MPs will examine whether the regulator has resolved the issues raised by the review – which was internally published in October – at an evidence session next week.
He adds: “The FCA’s work is extremely important for millions of consumers, and thousands of firms and their employees throughout the UK.
“It performs three roles of the utmost importance: to secure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers, to protect and enhance the integrity of the UK financial system, and to promote effective competition in the interests of consumers. It is essential that it does a good job.”
Regulation Politics Regulation
‘Rudderless’: Lack of leadership breeds uncertainty at the FCA
Fears are rising that the FCA has been left “rudderless” by a protracted search for new leadership as the regulator runs out of time to finalise its 2016/17 plans. Chancellor George Osborne revealed last week, six months after he announced Martin Wheatley’s contract would not be renewed, that acting chief executive Tracey McDermott would not seek […]
15th January 2016 8:49 am
FCA investigates copycat Pension Wise website
A fake Pension Wise website that purports to be a subsidiary of auto-enrolment provider The People’s Pension is being looked into by the Treasury and FCA. Pensionwiser.com – which uses the Tripadviser owl logo – claims to be a Qrops and Sipp provider but also contains detailed information about the Government’s guidance service Pension Wise […]
13th January 2016 5:04 pm
Pensions Regulation
FCA requests provider data after freedoms cash-out blunder
The FCA has requested extra information from providers on full encashments from new sales during the second quarter of the freedoms. However, the results will only be updated when Q3 statistics are published later this year. Earlier today, Money Marketing revealed a figure published by the regulator suggesting 68 per cent of pensions bought in […]
FCA admits pension freedoms cash-out blunder
FCA figures on the proportion of people who fully cashed out their pension during the second quarter of the freedoms are wrong, Money Marketing can reveal. Since the retirement freedoms were launched in April the regulator has published two sets of quarterly data designed to show how consumers are responding to the reforms. The latest […]
Carmignac Investments Investments
Man has always wanted to control his destiny – Discover the film: The soul of Carmignac
Carmignac Portfolio Patrimoine is more than a fund, it’s a philosophy. Over the past 25 years, through a combination of journeys taken, lessons learned and the people we’ve met, our story continues to unfold. Whether old friends or new acquaintances, we look forward to enjoying the next chapter of the Patrimoine adventure with you. Click […]
17th March 2017 5:19 pm
There are 2 comments at the moment, we would love to hear your opinion too.
Harry Katz 15th January 2016 at 2:50 pm
No kidding! I wonder who chucked money away funding yet more useless research. This was evident from the day Crash Gordon started it.
What we have is a situation where the Govt. likes us to think the regulator is independent – so that when things go wrong Parliament can say “It weren’t us Gov. it was them independent regulators”. When things go right (do they ever?) the Govt. can then step in and take the credit and when things don’t go the way that No.11 wishes they can just rearrange the deckchairs.
And you need research to tell you this?
Julian Stevens 15th January 2016 at 4:57 pm
The FSA’s claim on its website to being independent from the government was nothing but a straight lie and has now been replaced with the somewhat ambiguous “We are accountable to the Treasury – which is responsible for the UK’s financial system – and Parliament. However, we’re an independent body and we do not receive any funding from the Government.” Accountable but still independent? How does that work then? And anyway, it’s common knowledge that the Treasury is the real driving force behind the (mis-named) FAMR ~ it has to be, because clearly the FCA can’t be trusted to run its own affairs in anything remotely approaching a competent manner.
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Tyrie hits out at HSBC over IT failures
By Mark Sands 6th January 2016 9:01 am
Treasury Committee chair Andrew Tyrie has criticised HSBC over continued problems with its online banking service, suggesting there are “systemic” issues with banks’ IT systems.
Personal and business account customers were unable to access their accounts on Monday and Tuesday this week, with services returning last night.
Customers of HSBC subsidiary First Direct have not been affected.
The bank previously suffered a service outage in August, which prevented 275,000 payments going through just ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend.
Tyrie says: “Barely six months after the last glitch in their underperforming IT systems, HSBC is apologising again to its customers.
“The frequency of these failures across the financial services sector suggests a systemic weakness in IT infrastructure. This is concerning.
“I will be asking the chief executive of HSBC, and the regulators, for an explanation of these failures, and action taken to sort them out. They just keep coming.”
HSBC UK chief operating officer John Hackett told the BBC yesterday the problems were caused by internal issues with the banks systems.
He said: “I’d like to apologise once more for any inconvenience that this technical issue has caused. We will be waiving any fees incurred as a result of this incident; and we will be happy to help all our customers with any issues that have arisen.”
Regulation Regulation
FCA drops HSBC tax evasion probe
The FCA has reportedly ended its investigation into tax evasion at HSBC, with the bank dodging formal action from the regulator. HSBC spent much of 2015 under fire for the actions of its Swiss private bank, which aided more than 1,000 UK customers evade tax between 2005 and 2007. The FCA confirmed in February 2015 […]
5th January 2016 8:46 am
Politics Regulation
HSBC shareholder backs head office move from UK
One of HSBC’s bigger shareholders has said it would support a move of the bank’s headquarters away from the UK. Standard Life Investments, which owns 1 per cent of HSBC, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the bank was being put at a “competitive disadvantage” by “ever-increasing capital requirements”. SLI head of equities David Cumming […]
23rd November 2015 8:42 am
Ex-HSBC boss and BT chief to take over at Nationwide
BT Openreach chief executive and former HSBC deputy chief executive Joe Garner has been appointed to lead Nationwide Building Society. Garner is set to take over as chief executive from Graham Beale early next year. He has headed up BT’s broadband division since early 2014. In addition to being deputy chief executive at HSBC, Garner […]
16th November 2015 8:35 am
Investments Investments Passives
HSBC cuts passive charges in half
HSBC Asset Management has become the latest manager to cut its passive charges, slashing the cost of some of its index trackers by more than half. The manager’s FTSE All-Share Index Fund now costs 0.07 per cent, down from 0.17 per cent. The cost reduction makes it cheaper than Vanguard’s cheapest passive fund – the FTSE UK […]
12th October 2015 2:51 pm
Canada Life Tax Tax
Canada Life annual IHT survey results
75% of wealthy unaware of new residence nil rate band IHT allowance Just 4% were aware the new allowance will be up to £175,000 per individual Lack of awareness of IHT rules means families risk paying a bigger bill than they need 83% think the current inheritance tax rules are far too complex A remarkable […]
FCA to invest £5m in register
The FCA is investing £5m in its register of regulated firms, chief executive Andrew Bailey has said. Speaking at the watchdog’s annual public meeting this morning, Bailey said that he recognised “there are data quality issues” in the list, but the FCA was aware how important in can be to give consumers information. Bailey said […]
FCA: Firms involved with Woodford ‘not following spirit of rules’
FCA chief Andrew Bailey has accused some firms involved with Woodford’s suspension of not following the “spirit” of the regulators rules. Speaking at the FCA’s annual public meeting this morning, Bailey said culture and accountability was becoming increasingly important to the regulator over box-ticking exercises and a overly-tight interpretation of the rules. Bailey said: “Any […]
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Rare allergy to water cause toddler to blister every time she cries
omg 01/03/2018
An American toddler has been diagnosed with an exceedingly rare allergy - plain water.
Ivy Angerman, an 18-month-old from Minnesota, can only stand about 15 seconds of contact with water before her skin blisters and she breaks out into a rash.
Parents Brittany and Dan became concerned when their daughter's skin turned red while bathing, but initially assumed she was allergic to soap or shampoo, they told Metro.
It was only when they took her to the doctor that they learned the real culprit was plain water. Ivy was diagnosed with aquagenic urticarial, an exceedingly rare form of hives with just 50 recorded cases.
Peter Rabbit film draws controversy for 'allergy bullying' scene
The Angermans have to clean their daughter using hand sanitiser and anti-bacterial wipes instead. They've restricted bath time to once a week, which is always extremely painful for her.
"I'm effectively washing my daughter in bleach," Mrs Angerman told Metro.
Ivy can't even cry as the tears cause her face to blister as well. When she sweats she breaks out in a rash, and she has to be careful to stay out of the rain.
Antihistamines help, but the Angermans only give them to their daughter on days where they know she'll have to get wet as they are afraid her body could become immune to them.
Because aquagenic urticarial is so rare, there's very little information available on how it might affect Ivy later in life. Her parents hope that she will still be able to drink regular water, as others with the condition have had to resort to diet Coke or other liquids to stay hydrated instead.
Mrs Angerman says she's concerned for when Ivy starts school.
"What happens if one day a child at school decides to pour water over her? I'm worried she will get bullied or teased for it when she's older," she told Metro.
"She's going to miss out on certain activities and won't be able to do everything her friends will."
The family is trying to raise US$25,000 (NZ$34,291) through GoFundMe to help pay for Ivy's medicine, as well as research that could hopefully one day cure her condition.
Newshub.
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31st July was a crazy day for me.
Between preparing for the photoshoot, the draining photoshoot itself, dinner after that, there was no time to go collect my book </3 I mean, it was nagging me at the back of my mind, but there wasn't much I could do about it.
So I went and got my book yesterday after work, BEFORE dinner.
Couldn't resist. This sign was on the counter at the Nex Popular. Extreme irony.
YAY MY BOOK!
Photo was taken at NEX Food Junction. The curry chicken at Fu Xiang Kitchen is A.W.E.S.O.M.E. One of those foods that make you actually have a craving and want to travel there specifically for it kind.
No photos of that, because that's not the point of this post, and I ate before even thinking about taking a photograph of it anyway.
I am so guilty though. The photo above was taken at the food court. While Gabriel went to buy food for me I just sat there and read 11 pages. Evilness.
I finished the book at midnight. Even though I was deathly tired.
I stopped at Page 156 around 10 and wanted to sleep actually. But Potter Forever ^^v
So it takes about.. 4 hours of focused reading?
I'll try to summarize based on my foggy groggy tired-eyes reading:
It's written as a script for a play. Imagery and creativity to be provided by the reader.
Strongly recommended for you to at least have read the other books briefly so that you have a mental image, and knowledge of other characters (like Bellatrix Lestrange), events (Triwizard Tournament) and places (Hogsmeade, Whomping Willow), because there is no room to describe everything in a play.
Harry grows up to be Head of Department for Magical Law Enforcement. Ron runs the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Joke Shop. Hermione is MINISTER FOR MAGIC.
Harry Potter is an indulging father who loves his kids. But he doesn't really know how to be a dad as he doesn't have a father figure in his life, and his paternal authority is Dumbledore whom he seeks approval from (yes, Dumbledore finally tells Harry he loves him, albeit from a portrait).
Maybe the protagonist of the story in this case is Albus (who comes across as a fusion of Snape and Harry), but there is little mention of Harry's other two children (James and Lily Potter) who have the same name as his parents. (REALLY?! You had to do that?)
If you get easily confused about alternate realities, maybe this book isn't for you. It's basically focused on Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy going back on a faulty time turner to save Cedric Diggory because they (Albus and Scorpius, but Albus mainly) were hoodwinked by Delphi. More on Delphi later.
They travel back in time thrice, to the three triwizard tounament stages, messing with Cedric to save him. Every time they go back the entire reality changes, sometimes Harry dies, sometimes Snape is still alive, Hermione and Ron don't get married. Humiliated Cedric becomes a low level Death Eater who only killed Neville, causing Nevile to not have killed Nagini (again not explained in the play, but Voldemort had horcruxes which split his soul into seven pieces. Original story they eliminated five horcruxes, sixth was Nagini, final piece was in Harry, so that they could kill a Voldemort who was mortal once more). With Nagini not dead, Voldemort didn't die, Harry dies instead. They realise they cannot save Cedric Diggory (because he's already vampire Edward in Twilight haha).
The final time they time travel, Delphi brings Albus and Scorpius to Godric's Hallow on the day that Voldemort kills Harry's parents. The boys are stuck there, Albus sends a message to Harry by writing a message with a potion on the blanket that wrapped the boy who lived (In one of Harry's attempts to connect with Albus, he gives Albus the blanket, which was thrown across the room and had Ron's love potion poured over it), message is revealed with pearl powder in love potion reacts with potioned message (Chemistry) and burns the message on the blanket.
Harry travels back to save Albus, watches his parents get killed by Voldemort, has to let it happen. Everything goes back to normal (Except they "captured" Delphi but doesn't kill her, which means Harry's scar can keep hurting.)
Okay On Delphi. Bellatrix Lestrange had a daughter with Voldemort after she was broken out of Azkaban. Delphini. Who is older than Albus is, but Albus is attracted to older women :x
Delphini confunds Amos Diggory, who goes and asks Harry to travel back in time to save Cedric (but it's a ruse to get Albus to do it). Delphi was acting because of a different prophecy, but basically she wants to meet her father Voldemort, and cause him not to die.
My thoughts.
MINDBLOWN ABOUT VOLDEMORT'S DAUGHTER.
I mean, it was somewhere in the book that talks about Bellatrix's "lover-like devotion" to the dark lord. But apparantly, It's literal ;)
Scorpius is so KIND. That's like the chief thought that kept popping up through my mind. And he's sweet. His first-sighted crush and hopeful optimism on love is just so adorable. As is his adoration of Rose Granger-Weasley. "She looked at me with pity! It's an improvement!" Or something like that. Just too cute.
Albus is like Snape. Really.
Harry and Malfoy worked together to save their sons. We always knew Malfoy was somewhat good deep deep down inside, but he had daddy issues. Glad to know marriage improved him. So... bad dad bad kid, good wife good kid I guess? But their weird frenemy friendship blossomed, and I'm glad Malfoy loves his son <3
Other than that, quite predictable.
Disclaimer: Review is written from my office desk with no reference to the book. Based on determined reading through sleepiness. Please pardon mistakes and misquotes :)
Love & Peace ^^v
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The new Nissan GT-R arrived in South Africa just in time for the 2016 Festival of Motoring. The new model offers a range of styling, mechanical, luxury and performance upgrades that makes it a more accomplished everyday supercar, with a major improvement in its everyday driveability and more power on tap at mid- and high engine speeds.
In terms of styling the GT-R has received a new bonnet, bumpers, grille and side sills along with new 20 inch forged alloy wheels.
The 2017 GT-R features the most comprehensive styling upgrades to date, with all features offering a performance benefit as well.
Viewed from the front, the new GT-R is fitted with a wider, deeper V-motion grille with new matte chrome trim and a redesigned mesh grille pattern. Apart from the more aggressive look, this new design improves air flow to the engine for enhanced cooling.
The grille is fitted between a new front bumper and redesigned bonnet. The bonnet has deeper character lines, which have been designed to work in unison with the new front bumper and bottom lip and the wider side sills for improved air flow and greater stability at very high speeds.
Rounding off the new design is a new rear bumper with functional air vents. This new bumper also aids high-speed air flow for improved drag on the rear wing and greater downforce at high speeds and on the track. The GT-R’s drag coefficient remains a low 0.26.
The 2017 GT-R features a brand new interior, replete with hand-selected nappa leather and real carbon fibre.
The dashboard has been redesigned to be more elegant and simple, with the number of buttons in view of the driver reduced from 27 to 11. This was made possible by moving many of the control functions to the new, larger 8 inch capacitive touch screen with Nissan’s proprietary Display Command system.
The dashboard itself is upholstered in a large, single piece of hand-selected soft nappa leather. The slight increase in weight of this leather cladding is more than offset by a new type of cushioning material, which is lighter than the material previously used.
The new GT-R now features steering wheel mounted paddle shifts for the dual-clutch gearbox. The new set-up allows for easier mid-turn gearshifts. Both the gear shift paddles and air vent controls have been re-engineered for a more positive tactile feel.
The seats are also upholstered in nappa leather and feature a new carbon fibre chassis for an additional weight reduction, while new sound dampening and an acoustic glass windshield keep unwanted road and wind noise from the cabin.
The hand-built VR38DETT V6 engine remains the heart of the 2017 R35, but it has been further refined and improved for this model.
The engine benefits from greater boost from the turbo chargers, which are similar to those featured in the GT-R GT3 racing car. It also receives individualised timing control on each cylinder for more power and torque and significantly improved engine performance in the mid- and high-rev ranges.
The VR38DETT torque delivery now peaks at 632 Nm (up from 628 Nm) at a wider band from 3 300 rpm to 5 800 rpm. Kilowatt has increased from 397 kW to 408 kW at 6 800 rpm.
A key ingredient in the 2017 GT-R’s blistering 0-100 km/h run is its launch control system and an improved gearbox. The six-speed dual clutch automatically actuated gearbox remains fitted above the rear axle and is connected to the engine with a carbon fibre shaft, but the shifting has been refined to be smoother and less audible.
The GT-R also features a new titanium exhaust system that has been tuned for improved performance and a more appealing mechanical sound. This is enhanced through Nissan’s Active Sound Enhancement system.
The GT-R is equipped with new 20 inch forged alloy wheels that are shod with Dunlop SP Sport 600 DSST ultra-high performance tyres. These tyres were developed in partnership with Nissan for the GT-R and feature RunOnFlat technology.
Upgrades to the suspension and a more rigid suspension structure mean that the GT-R now exhibits even better stability and grip through quick lateral transitions, such as on a fast switchback or hairpin on a race track. Along with these dynamic improvements, the engineers at Nissan have spent considerable resources and time on making the GT-R an even better performer at everyday speeds. In doing so, they have ensured that the 2017 GT-R exhibits none of the quirks that makes other super cars a taxing drive on everyday commutes.
The new GT-R will be available from September at Nissan High Performance Centres. The first consignment of vehicles has already been sold, but order books are open.
Priced at R1 950 000 for Premium Edition, R2 050 000 for the Black Edition the GT-R remains a great value for money supercar.
Tags: Car, godzilla, gtr, nissan GTR
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Official Site of The State of New Jersey
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11/04/15 - Cultural Trust
New Jersey Cultural Trust Approves Nearly $300,000 in FY 2016 Institutional and Financial Stabilization Grants
Furthering the Christie Administration’s ongoing commitment to strengthening the state’s cultural and historic legacy for future generations, the board of the New Jersey Cultural Trust has approved over $297,000 in FY 2016 Institutional and Financial Stabilization Grants to 15 history and humanities organizations statewide.
09/15/15 - Division of Elections
Division of Elections Proposes Rule Amendments
The New Jersey Division of Elections, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:23-45.3, 19:31-6.4a through 6.9, and 19:31-30, has proposed amendments to rule N.J.A.C. 15:10.
08/06/15 - Historical Commission
New Jersey Historical Commission Approves More than $2.5 Million in Fiscal Year 2016 General Operating Support, Project Grant, Mini-grant Funding
Advancing the Administration’s efforts to preserve and promote the state’s unique historical legacy, the New Jersey Historical Commission today approved nearly $2.3 million in Fiscal Year 2016 general operating support grants to 84 historical organizations, sites, museums, archives, and libraries statewide.
07/22/15 - National and Community Service
Lt. Governor Guadagno Announces 2015 AmeriCorps Grant Recipients
Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno today announced that the New Jersey Commission on National and Community Service (Commission) will receive more than $4 million in AmeriCorps funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) for each year of a new three-year funding cycle.
07/21/15 - Council on the Arts
New Jersey State Council on the Arts Approves Over $15.7 Million in Grants
Demonstrating the Christie Administration's commitment to advancing the arts, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts today awarded more than $15.7 million in grant funding for over 700 arts organizations, projects and artists throughout the state.
07/06/15 - Business Action Center
ICYMI: Lt. Governor Guadagno Strengthens New Jersey's Business Community
It's been a busy start to the summer for Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, who has been traveling throughout the state (and just across the river to Philadelphia) to court biotech companies at the Bio International Convention, celebrate several major business developments and catch a glimpse of drones in action.
04/01/15 - Hellenic American Heritage Commission
ICYMI – Lt. Governor Guadagno Celebrates Greek Independence Day With State Hellenic Commission
Commemorating the 194th year of Greek independence, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno welcomed members of the New Jersey Hellenic American Heritage Commission to the State House on March 26th.
03/27/15 - Museum
New Jersey State Museum Director Anthony Gardner Takes New Role With National September 11 Memorial & Museum
Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno today announced that New Jersey State Museum Executive Director Anthony Gardner will leave state service to take on the role of Vice President of Community Engagement at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
03/12/15 - Travel & Tourism
Christie Administration Announces Record-Breaking $42 Billion Tourism Expenditures in 2014
At today’s 2015 New Jersey Conference on Tourism in Atlantic City, Acting Governor Kim Guadagno announced that 2014 proved to be an exceptional year for New Jersey’s tourism industry.
Insight Catastrophe Group Moves from Manhattan to New Jersey
Applauding New Jersey’s ongoing success in economic development through business attraction, Lauren Moore, Executive Director of the New Jersey Business Action Center, today announced the relocation of Insight Catastrophe Group’s (ICG) headquarters from Manhattan to Jersey City, which will add approximately 30 new jobs.
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Home / GBIF data in publicaties / Progress in molecular and morphological taxon discovery in Fungi and options for formal classification of environmental sequences
Progress in molecular and morphological taxon discovery in Fungi and options for formal classification of environmental sequences
David S. Hibbett, Anders Ohman, Dylan Glotzer, Mitchell Nuhn, Paul M. Kirk, R. Henrik Nilsson
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EE, Estonia, GB, GBIF_mentioned, informatics, SE, Sweden, university, US
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biodiversity, classification, Environmental sequences, Molecular ecology, MOTU, Taxonomy
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Fungal taxonomy seeks to discover, describe, and classify all species of Fungi and provide tools for their identification. About 100,000 fungal species have been described so far, but it has been estimated that there may be from 1.5 to 5.1 million extant fungal species. Over the last decade, about 1200 new species of Fungi have been described in each year. At that rate, it may take up to 4000 y to describe all species of Fungi using current specimen-based approaches. At the same time, the number of molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) discovered in ecological surveys has been increasing dramatically. We analyzed ribosomal RNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences in the GenBank nucleotide database and classified them as “environmental” or “specimen-based”. We obtained 91,225 sequences, of which 30,217 (33 %) were of environmental origin. Clustering at an average 93 % identity in extracted ITS1 and ITS2 sequences yielded 16,969 clusters, including 6230 (37 %) clusters with only environmental sequences, and 2223 (13 %) clusters with both environmental and specimen-based sequences. In 2008 and 2009, the number of purely environmental clusters deposited in GenBank exceeded the number of species described based on specimens, and this does not include the huge number of unnamed MOTUs discovered in pyrosequencing studies. To enable communication about fungal diversity, there is a pressing need to develop classification systems based on environmental sequences. Assigning Latin binomials to MOTUs would promote their integration with specimen-based taxonomic databases, whereas the use of numerical codes for MOTUs would perpetuate a disconnect with the taxonomic literature. MOTUs could be formally named under the existing International Code of Botanical Nomenclature if the concept of a nomenclatural type was expanded to include environmental samples or illustrations of sequence chromatograms (or alignments). Alternatively, a “candidate species” category could be created for Fungi, based on the candidatus taxon status employed by microbiologists.
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Pete Doherty makes dedication to Carl Barat at solo show
Watch video footage of Doherty's intimate London gig on NME.COM
Pete Doherty played an intimate acoustic show in London last night (June 17), dedicating a song to his former Libertines bandmate Carl Barat.
You can watch video footage of the gig by scrolling down and clicking on the video below.
Doherty played for nearly five hours for what was one of his longest shows ever.
During the gig he covered The Stone Roses and Neil Young and argued with a fan onstage.
The Babyshambles frontman was supported by his bandmate Adam Ficek, who played an acoustic set under his alias Roses, Kings, Castles, showcasing tracks including ‘Sparkling Bootz’ and ‘Pretty Sue’.
Following another support slot from singer/songwriter Alan Wass, Doherty took to the stage at 10:30pm (BST) and apologised for his lateness.
“I’m sorry I’m late, but I’ve got a blinding excuse,” he joked. “I, er, my escort died of an overdose. No, erm, I broke my crucifix, that’s it!” He then played human beatbox and soundchecked by playing ‘Harvest’ by Neil Young.
Pete Doherty interacted with fans a great deal during the gig, stepping from the stage to chat, take song requests and pose for photos throughout the night. He took four breaks during the gig to allow fans to have cigarettes outside.
After playing ‘The Ballad Of Grimaldi’, Doherty hauled a fan up onstage and had a pop at him about chatting through the set.
“Do you wanna hear some tunes?” he asked the fan, who replied, “yeah, I wanna hear some tunes from you.”
Doherty replied by saying, “well, all I hear is you talking about some bird!”, prompting laughter from the audience.
Later in the set, after covering ‘Who’s Got The Crack?’ by The Moldy Peaches, Doherty discussed Dirty Pretty Things – the band his former Libertines bandmates Carl Barat and Gary Powell are currently in.
“I’ve tried to go and see Dirty Pretty Things twice,” he said, “but I got nicked on the way to both. I’d like to dedicate this song to Carlos Barat.” He then played ‘You’re My Waterloo’.
Later in the set, Doherty was joined onstage by Wass, who played harmonica, and keyboardist Peter De Havilland, who aided the singer/guitarist in playing songs including ‘Back From The Dead’ and ‘UnBilotitled’.
Doherty ended the gig at 3:15am (BST) solo by playing Babyshambles‘ ‘Carry On Up The Morning’ before being driven back to his Wiltshire home.
Pete Doherty played:
‘Harvest’
‘Billy Bilo’
‘Never Never’
‘Tell The King’
‘Dilly Boys’
‘The Ballad Of Grimaldi’
‘Albion’
‘The Lost Art Of Murder’
‘Delivery’
‘Salome’
‘I Love You But You’re Green’
‘You’re My waterloo’
‘Who’s Got The Crack?’
‘Time For Heroes’
‘Can’t Stand Me Now’
‘The Delaney’
‘Death On The Stairs’
‘The Good Old Days’
‘A’Rebours’
‘Why Did You Go Home?’
‘Music When The Lights Go Out’
‘What Katy Did’
‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’
‘Blackboy Lane’
‘For Lovers’
‘Waterfall’
‘Back From The Dead’
‘UnBilotitled’
‘East Of Eden’
‘What A Waster’
‘Love Rain O’er Me’
‘There She Goes’
‘The Ha Ha Wall’
‘My Darling Clementine’
‘Up The Bracket’
‘Radio America’
‘Carry On Up The Morning’
Doherty returns to the venue tonight (June 18) to play a set with Babyshambles ahead of another band show on Thursday (19). Tickets are being sold on the door.
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Police report filed after Florida bus driver removes student’s MAGA hat
By Corvaya Jeffries cjeffries@pbpost.com
Mar 8, 2019 at 3:07 PM Mar 8, 2019 at 3:09 PM
The Martin County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office is investigating an interaction between a bus driver and student on their way to Hidden Oaks Middle School in Palm City, West Palm Beach TV station WPTV reported.
Earlier this week, Gunnar Johansson, 14, participated in a March of Dimes fundraiser in which students could wear a hat of their choice in exchange for a monetary donation. When Johansson boarded the school bus, the driver told him to take off his hat, which read “Trump: Make America Great Again.”
A surveillance video shows the bus driver interacting with Johannson, telling him to remove the hat and put it in his backpack. According to Johannson, the driver then pulled the hat from his head.
Later that day, a police report was filed against the bus driver, who has not been identified.
Johansson’s mother, Jackie Putt, encouraged her son to file the police report.
“We all have a right to who we want to vote for; this is America,” she told WPTV.
According to Lt. Ryan Grimsdale of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, “The crux of our investigation will be the interaction directly, physically with the child and how that panned out.”
Whether or not charges will be filed is unknown.
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Drama in, Outside Court as Cosby Sex Assault Retrial Begins
A recap of day one of the Bill Cosby sexual assault retrial.
Published Apr 9, 2018 at 11:15 AM | Updated at 11:19 PM CDT on Apr 9, 2018
Topless Protester Runs in Front of Cosby
http://www.nbcchicago.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/Bill-Cosbys-Sex-Assault-Retrial-Day-1-479155433.html
A topless woman ran in front of Bill Cosby as he walked to the courthouse for the start of his sex assault retrial. Now the woman, who acted in five episodes of the Cosby Show in the 90s, is speaking to NBC10 about her actions and the message she wants to send.
(Published Monday, April 9, 2018)
Opening statements in comedian Bill Cosby's sexual assault retrial were delayed for several hours Monday while the judge sorted through allegations raised late Friday that a juror told a woman during jury selection that he thought Cosby was guilty. Cosby's lawyers wanted the juror removed from the case.
After questioning all 12 jurors and six alternates behind closed doors, Judge Steven O'Neill ruled the juror could stay, saying all the panelists told him they stuck to their pledge to remain fair and impartial.
Cosby's lawyers also want jurors to hear about the criminal past of an accuser expected to testify at his sexual assault retrial in suburban Philadelphia.
Cosby's lawyers said in court documents Monday that Chelan Lasha's 2007 guilty plea for making a false report to Arizona law enforcement is vital to assessing her credibility.
Her lawyer, Gloria Allred, declined comment.
Lasha is one of five additional accusers who are being allowed to testify as part of the prosecution's effort to portray the entertainer formerly known as "America's Dad'' as one of Hollywood's biggest predators.
The former model and aspiring actress says she was immobilized and unable to speak as Cosby assaulted her after giving her a pill he described as an antihistamine in 1986.
Prosecutor Says Cosby Paid Accuser Nearly $3.4M
She was 17 at the time and he was 48.
Cosby's lawyers have said the accusers' memories are tainted at best.
As Cosby arrived for court Monday morning a topless woman jumped in front of him while chanting "Women's Lives Matter." The protester was taken away in handcuffs.
Cosby's first trial last spring ended with jurors unable to reach a unanimous verdict after five days of tense deliberations on charges that the man who made millions of viewers laugh as wise and understanding Dr. Cliff Huxtable on "The Cosby Show" drugged and molested Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.
The 80-year-old comedian, who has said the sexual contact was consensual, faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault, each punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
His retrial is taking place in a radically changed and potentially more hostile environment. The #MeToo movement caught fire four months after the first trial, raising awareness of sexual misconduct as it toppled Harvey Weinstein, Sen. Al Franken, Matt Lauer and other powerful men.
Topless Cosby Protester Was Actress on His '90's Show
Nearly every potential juror questioned for the case this time knew about #MeToo.
Kristen Houser of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center said that could help prosecutors overcome the skepticism some jurors had last time about Constand's yearlong wait to report her allegations to the police.
"The #MeToo movement is amplifying what experts have been saying for decades: People are ashamed, they're confused, they can't believe somebody they trust would hurt them, and then they worry that others won't believe them," Houser said.
O'Neill said he'd decide his next step based on what the woman tells him.
After limiting the focus of the first trial, O'Neill has been willing to let both sides push the retrial well beyond Constand's allegations.
This time, O'Neill is letting prosecutors have five additional accusers testify — including model Janice Dickinson — as they attempt to show Cosby made a habit of drugging and violating women. The judge allowed just one other accuser to take the stand last time.
Cosby's Sex-Assault Retrial Won't Be Like the First One
"This one will be harder for the defense," Levenson said. This time, Constand "is not alone, and there is strength in numbers."
In another difference, the judge this time is letting Cosby's legal team call as a witness a former co-worker of Constand's at Temple University who said Constand spoke of setting up a "high-profile person" so she could sue and enjoy a big payday. Constand's lawyer has said the co-worker is lying.
A prosecutor said Cosby paid nearly $3.4 million to the woman he's charged with sexually assaulting at his suburban Philadelphia home.
District Attorney Kevin Steele highlighted the settlement amount during his opening statement at Cosby's retrial Monday.
The amount that Cosby paid to Andrea Constand in a 2006 civil settlement had been confidential, but a judge ruled both sides could discuss it at the trial.
Cosby lawyer Tom Mesereau, who won an acquittal in Michael Jackson's 2005 child molestation case, said the jury will learn "just how greedy" Constand was.
Bill Cosby Trial Judge Delivers 2 Big Victories to Defense
In a twist, the judge hinted that he might not allow jurors to hear Cosby's lurid deposition testimony about giving quaaludes to women before sex. He said he would rule on it during the trial. Cosby testified in 2005 and 2006 as part of Constand's lawsuit.
The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand and Dickinson have done.
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Home | About | Case Studies | Nick Modha – Countrywide Grounds Maintenance
Nick Modha – Countrywide Grounds Maintenance
Name: Nick Modha
Your Background: Senior management roles in sales, marketing and strategy in the automotive and telecoms industries.
Year business started: 2004
Franchise Area: London North and East
Current Turnover: £800,000
Members of Staff: 14
What do you like to do in your spare time?
“I keep fit, play golf, pursue my passion for classic cars and travel.”
Why did you want to start your own business?
“I no longer wanted to work in a large corporate environment with the usual company politics especially at senior levels. But, starting a business from scratch on one’s own is not easy and high risk and so the franchise route is very appealing as it’s a proven business model that lowers usual start up risks and has ongoing support.”
Why Countrywide?
“Countywide offered a very simple but compelling business model that had no limits to growth. The gross margins were/are also at a good high level.”
What do you enjoy most about owning a Countrywide business?
“The great balance between being one’s own boss but with the full support from Head Office.”
How beneficial is the ongoing training?
“I find them very useful and informative attending training such as Health and Safety, Same for attending regional seminars and the annual Reunion which is very motivating.”
How does the support from head office help you operate your Countrywide franchise?
“The Franchise Consultant delivers a focus of business development. It is starting to have a very positive impact on my business.”
If you are on the advisory council, how much do you value this as a tool to connect franchisee with franchisor?
“I haven’t been a member of the advisory council for long but it is a very useful forum to make a contribution business direction and growth.”
What is the biggest challenge you face/have faced as a business owner?
“Managing staff and keeping them motivated was a challenge in the early days.”
What have you learnt about yourself during your time as a franchisee?
“I learnt that I can actually delegate after initial apprehension. Now, I can reap the benefits that allow me more free time.“
What advice would you have for those looking into starting a franchise?
“Apart from highly recommending Countrywide, I would strongly suggest not to work on the tools from the start if at all possible. Not doing so will allow good quality time to develop and grow the business and develop staff in a better way to manage themselves more than would otherwise happen if working on the tools.”
What has Countrywide enabled you to do which you couldn’t have otherwise?
“To have freedom being my own boss!”
Your greatest moment as a Countrywide Franchisee…
“Being recognised as Franchisee of the Year made all the hard work and effort worthwhile and boosted confidence of all staff.”
How did you reward yourself when you hit your first business goal?
“Bought new machinery to replace second machinery!”
What are your plans for the business over the next 5 years…
“Achieve over £1m in t/o and improve even further profitability.”
What are your personal goals for the next 5 years?
“To reluctantly sell the business after over 15 years, so as to pay off my mortgage and ride off (in my classic car) into the sunset!”
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Windows 10 news recap: free upgrade comes to an end, Windows 10 is an open platform and more
Jack Wilkinson Email @TheJackah Jul 31st, 2016 in Latest news
Welcome back to our weekly “Windows 10 news recap” series where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s latest operating system. Let’s get started.
Windows 10’s free upgrade is over
The Free Upgrade for Windows 10 came to an end on July 29th. Those who didn’t upgrade before the offer ended will now need to pay the standard retail price for a license to use Windows 10. We take a look at the pricing of Windows 10 and where it can be purchased from.
Windows 10 Anniversary Update makes it harder for admins to remove advertising
Microsoft will be making it more difficult for system admins to remove sponsored apps and advertisements from Windows 10 once the Anniversary Update rolls out. The company will be removing several Group Policies that previously permitted system admins to control the content displayed on connected PCs.
Epic Games’ co-founder continues to rail against Windows 10’s moves toward a “closed platform”
In the latest episodic adventure of Tim Sweeney vs. Windows 10, Sweeney is yet again claiming Windows is a “closed platform” and that it is out to crush Steam and monopolise the gaming market to Microsoft’s benefit.
Microsoft responds to Epic’s Tim Sweeney, says Windows 10 is indeed an open platform
Epic Games’ co-founder, Tim Sweeney, is at it again. Making stark claims about Microsoft having some master plan to monopolise the gaming industry, taking PC gamers with it. The company responded to Sweeney’s latest remarks, standing behind its previous statement of Windows 10 being an “open platform”.
Lenovo launches its newest Windows 10 notebook in China, the Air 13 Pro
Lenovo has launched its latest notebook running Windows 10, the Air 13 Pro, which is now available in China. It comes packed with some neat features, such as fingerprint recognition, to provide a more secure computing experience on-the-go.
Windows 10 Anniversary Update ISOs will be available on August 2nd as well
For those wanting to download the Windows 10 Anniversary Update manually, or save a backup somewhere else, for any reason, they’ll be able to do so from day one – as Microsoft will be releasing the ISOs for the update on August 2nd.
Additional lawsuits popping up involving Microsoft’s Windows 10 upgrade tactics
Microsoft’s strong Windows 10 upgrade tactics have already landed it in some legal trouble, however, those troubles appear to be more widespread as time goes on, with yet more lawsuits heading in the direction of Microsoft’s legal team.
Microsoft has baked Windows 10 Universal Windows Platform support into Unreal Engine 4
Game developers around the world will be pleased to know that Microsoft has already built Universal Windows Platform support into Unreal Engine 4, allowing game developers to make use of the UWP when developing games with Unreal Engine 4.
Microsoft provides updated virtual machines supporting Windows 10 Preview build 14393 and EdgeHTML 14
Web developers will be happy to see that Microsoft has updated its virtual machines, that come with Windows 10 pre-installed, to build 14393 and added in EdgeHTML 14, allowing developers to test against the latest version of Windows 10.
Windows 10 Insider build 14894 appears, could be the start of Redstone 2 for PC and Mobile
With the Anniversary Update, also known as Redstone 1, landing on PCs and Mobile’s around the world on August 2nd, Microsoft is already gearing up to the next big update – Redstone 2 – which will be heavily focused on its Windows 10 Mobile platform. The first build of such has already been spotted.
This week saw a cumulative update passing through the Insider rings:
Windows 10 cumulative update (KB3176927) for PC and Mobile Insiders reaches the Slow Ring
That’s it – let us know your thoughts on Windows 10 this week in the comments below!
Further reading: Epic Games, Lenovo, Microsoft, Redstone 1, Redstone 2, Tim Sweeney, Windows 10, Windows 10 Anniversary Update
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Florida governor's race: Where Ron DeSantis, Andrew Gillum stand on the issues
By Gray Rohrer
| Tallahassee Bureau |
Ron DeSantis holds a victory party after winning the Florida Republican Gubernatorial Primary, at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando.
TALLAHASSEE — Democrat Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis give Florida voters the clearest contrast in their choice for governor in decades.
The candidates are diametrically opposed on nearly every issue – guns, education, immigration, health care and more.
Here are some specifics on where they stand on issues heading into the Nov. 6 general election:
DeSantis supports legislation to allow Floridians with concealed weapons permits to carry guns openly and on college campuses. Bills to allow both have failed in the GOP-controlled Legislature in the last three years.
He has also criticized the gun control measures in the bill passed by lawmakers in response to the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The legislation banned rifle sales to those under 21, prohibited bump stocks and placed a three-day waiting period on all gun sales.
[Popular on OrlandoSentinel.com] Suspended financial regulator seeks whistleblower status »
Gillum called for a series of gun-control measures after the Parkland massacre, including a ban on assault weapons, limiting the size of magazines, banning armor-piercing bullets and prohibiting guns to those with domestic violence felonies or misdemeanors.
The National Rifle Association has given DeSantis an A- grade and Gillum an F.
Democrats picked Andrew Gillum, the charismatic liberal activist and mayor of Tallahassee, as the party’s nominee for governor.
Gillum has campaigned on a platform of "Medicare for all" that a key supporter, U.S. Bernie Sanders, has pushed at the federal level. He also says universal health care is a right. As governor, he's pledged to expand Medicaid in line with the Affordable Care Act, and to guarantee care for those with pre-existing conditions.
Much of that platform will be difficult to achieve with a Republican-controlled Legislature, where leaders in the House have rejected Medicaid expansion after protracted battles.
[Popular on OrlandoSentinel.com] Central Florida immigration advocates among challengers of ‘sanctuary cities’ ban in federal lawsuit »
DeSantis hasn't laid out a specific platform on health care and has said little about health care policy. His issues page on his website, which was published a week before the primary, doesn't include the subject.
In a debate with GOP primary opponent Adam Putnam, he indicated health care wasn't a right.
"What I think you have a right to do is pursue the type of health care you want. Obamacare infringes on your freedom to be able to do that," DeSantis said. "Democrats are saying that there's a bureaucratic right where you create bureaucracies."
DeSantis supports the school-choice policies Florida Republicans have passed in their 20 years in power, specifically, expanding charter-school and voucher programs. He's also praised Putnam's platform of encouraging more vocational education and training.
[Popular on OrlandoSentinel.com] Medical marijuana: Florida House seeks to intervene in ‘monumental’ case »
DeSantis also wants to "stop Common Core" — the standards adopted by 45 out of 50 states as a way to improve education — but the steps he'd take to unwind them is unclear. The standards were criticized by conservatives as a top-down approach to education, and lawmakers responded by tweaking and renaming them "Florida standards" in 2014.
Gillum wants to spend an additional $1 billion on education, part of which would go toward increasing the minimum salary for teachers to $50,000 per year, and for early-education and vocational programs.
But the way Gillum proposes to raise the extra $1 billion – an increase in the corporate income tax from 5.5 percent to 7.75 percent – would likely be nearly impossible to get through the Legislature. On top of the GOP's antipathy to tax hikes, the state constitution requires a three-fifths vote in each chamber to raise the corporate income tax above 5 percent.
Ron DeSantis and Andrew Gillum (Sentinel file)
Even though the power to enact and enforce immigration laws lies exclusively with the federal government, illegal immigration was a major theme of the primary campaigns of both DeSantis and Gillum.
[Popular on OrlandoSentinel.com] Former top prosecutor Lawson Lamar endorses Deborah Barra for Orange-Osceola state attorney »
DeSantis fully backs President Donald Trump's moves to enforce border security and deport illegal immigrants. As governor, DeSantis has promised to ban "sanctuary cities" even though virtually no city in Florida has such policies. West Palm Beach was on a list of cities identified by the Trump administration as possibly having policies of non-cooperation with federal immigration officials, but elected officials there dispute that, saying they cooperate with federal authorities when asked.
Alachua and Clay counties have been accused of being sanctuary areas for not complying with detention requests in some instances, but those claims are disputed as well.
DeSantis also wants to enact an E-Verify law requiring employers to check the immigration status of their workers. It's an idea Gov. Rick Scott pushed in his first year in office but quickly dropped when it failed to get through the Legislature.
One of Gillum's campaign ads called for abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, but he would have no power to enact such a policy as governor.
[Popular on OrlandoSentinel.com] John Morgan compares Andrew Gillum to Bernie Madoff as campaign donation feud continues »
Gillum slammed Trump's move to restrict federal grants to sanctuary cities in January 2017, saying it was "inconsistent with our highest values" and "we can protect our national security interests and have a secure border without criminalizing people who are here undocumented."
DeSantis severely criticized Putnam on environmental issues during the primary, branding him an "errand boy" for the sugar industry, which is seen by environmentalists as one of the main polluters contributing to the green algae spoiling South Florida waterways.
Latest Politics News
Central Florida immigration advocates among challengers of ‘sanctuary cities’ ban in federal lawsuit
Medical marijuana: Florida House seeks to intervene in ‘monumental’ case
DeSantis has shown concern about the algae crisis, which has blighted waterways on the Treasure Coast and southwest Florida, damaging marine life and tourism. He's met with officials and pledged to stop the discharges of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee that led to the crisis. But the water releases are done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a federal department, to prevent the Herbert Hoover Dike from being overwhelmed. Other planks of his platform include beefing up beach restoration and restoring the Everglades.
Gillum has criticized Scott and Trump for not believing in climate change, saying their inaction "threatens the future of our planet." He's promised to promote alternative energy sources as governor.
[Popular on OrlandoSentinel.com] ICE y el FBI entre las agencias federales que buscan licencias de conducir de Florida para el reconocimiento facial, según los registros | Exclusiva »
Trump's elimination and easing of regulations at the Environmental Protection Agency prompted Gillum to run on tightening state-level standards for air and water quality and cracking down on chronic industrial polluters.
grohrer@orlandosentinel.com or (850) 222-5564
Most Read • Politics News
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Brits left £2.85 BILLION to ...
Brits left £2.85 BILLION to charity via gifts in wills last year – the largest amount ever recorded
by Mat Mccabe September 10, 2018
Brits left £2.85 BILLION to charity via gifts in wills last year – the largest amount ever recorded.
The incredible figure is the equivalent of the money raised from 39 Red Nose Days.
Health and cancer charities were the biggest beneficiaries with Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support and the British Heart Foundation in the top five, according to data from 260,000 wills in 2016/2017.
Other popular charities include the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the RSPCA.
The data, secured from research conducted by Smee & Ford, was released to coincide with Remember A Charity in Your Will Week, which runs from September 10-16.
Rob Cope, Director of consortium Remember A Charity, said: “It’s incredibly encouraging to see the collective amount gifted to charities in Wills rise, as it genuinely has a huge impact.
“For example, legacies fund six in 10 lifeboat launches and two in three guide dogs. However, there’s still a job to be done before gifting in Wills becomes the norm.
“At Remember A Charity, we work with over 200 charities – both big and small – to encourage those writing a Will not only to consider leaving a gift to charity in their Will after they’ve taken care of friends and family, but also to have that conversation openly with loved ones.
“It doesn’t matter how much you leave, even a small amount can make such a big difference – whether it’s helping with research into curing life-threatening diseases or taking care of endangered species.”
A separate poll of 2,000 adults conducted through OnePoll.com found a third would be willing to leave a charitable gift in their Will, after taking care of family and friends.
However, currently just six per cent of Brits actually leave a charitable gift in their Will.
The country is split when it comes to the cause closest to their heart. In Glasgow and Brighton, the majority of people choose to support charities dedicated to protecting endangered animals.
Meanwhile in Leeds, 40 per cent of people support cat charities.
The average amount donated by Brits is £3,300, and while most people donate to a single charity, the average number of charitable bequests is three.
Len Goodman, head judge on Dancing with the Stars, said: “I am supporting this year’s Remember a Charity Week because I feel it’s important to leave behind a gift to a charity that you support in order to help them continue their good work once we are gone.
“Over my lifetime I’ve seen first-hand the amazing work that charities do, and it would be a shame for them to stop just because we do.
“I hope that by supporting Remember a Charity Week I can get more people thinking about their legacy, and leaving a gift in their Will.”
To celebrate this year’s, Remember A Charity in Your Will Week, 200 charities have come together to launch Human – the world’s first charity-powered search engine, humansearchengine.org.
To learn more about how to leave a charitable gift in your Will, visit rememberacharity.org.uk
Legacy income of the top 10 charitable organisations over five years
1 Cancer Research UK
2 Royal National Lifeboat Institution
3 Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
4 Macmillan Cancer Support
5 British Heart Foundation
6 The National Trust
7 Salvation Army Trust
8 PDSA
9 Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
10 Royal National Institute of Blind People
High-tech umbrella enables holidaymakers to enjoy summer glow after they get home
JOANNA LUMLEY ASKS ALL TO DONATE TO ‘DON’T FORGET NEPAL’S VICTIMS’ CAMPAIGN
Humanitarian foundation, Humans Of Our World set to provide aid camps for forgotten victims. ...
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FinalRunner – the new way for sports clubs, charities & businesses to raise funds
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Stars paint birthday bouquet for Lancashire children’s hospice
MORE than 25 stars of the stage and screen have got out their paintbrushes ...
prfire 26th February 2019
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Home / Review / Theatre: 1st Irish so far
Theatre: 1st Irish so far
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By Gwen Orel
Pat Kinevane in Silent (@Ger Blanch)
How It’s New York: The 1st Irish Festival is a New York event, conceived in New York, for a New York audience.
How It’s Irish: It’s the 1st IRISH Festival, with plays by Irish and Irish-American writers.
Here’s my wrap-up of what I’ve seen so far in the Festival: these plays close this weekend, except for one that has already closed, but will be in the upcoming Solos Festival in October. New plays in the Festival have started: For Love, Jimmy Titanic, Brendan and House Strictly Private. The Festival ends this weekend, with the closing ceremony on October 1!
A version of this article was first published in Irish Examiner USA, Tuesday, Sept. 25.
The 1st Irish Festival, now in its fifth year, is halfway through.
Some of the shows have closed, others will be closing next week, and others will begin this week.
For details and to buy tickets visit www.1stirish.org.
Here’s our take on what we’ve seen so far:
Running at Irish Arts Center, extended through September 30. Presented by Fishamble: The New Play Company in association with the Irish Arts Center
Written and directed by Pat Kinevane and directed by Fishamble’s Artistic Director Jim Culleton, the play is a one man show about a homeless man, Corkonian Tino McGoldrig, who was named for Rudolph Valentino.He reflects on his closeted homosexual brother, who killed himself after some aborted (and hilarious) attempts on his own life, his failed marriage, and kindness.
Kinevane, as he did with The Forgotten in 2010, engagingly talks to the audience to pull them into the show, and uses his physicality engagingly.At times it felt a little gimmicky, however. I didn’t really buy the device of a bag of exotic dance clothes as an excuse for Tino to dress up, for example, and the ending was a little disappointing.
But Kinevane’s humor never lets you down: a comparison between the French and Cork accent is worth the price of admission alone.
Martin Lynch for Green Shoot Productions, Running at 59E59 through September 30.
Marie Jones, the author of November and Stones in His Pockets, wrote and directed this two-hander about careworkers in Belfast who panic when they find their elderly charge has died.
What begins as a slight panic soon turns into larceny and even arson, with the best intentions in the world.
Katie Tumelty,Tara Lynne O’Neill (Vinnie Loughran)
Frances, sharply portrayed by Katie Tumelty, is proud of her teenage son, who’s been expelled from school but has entrepreneurial skills in selling bootlegged DVDs, and she’s the mastermind of the two women. Fake whiplash? “That’s how I got my new kitchen,” she says without batting an eyelash.
Loretta, a sweet-faced, blonde and cuddly Tara Lynne O’Neill, has a stronger sense of ethics but with an unemployed husband and a Euro Disney-bound child, she’s in sore need of funds.
The play is at its most effective when the reality of that situation comes through in O’Neill’s sad voice.
The dead man was a Sinatra fan, hence the title.
There are a lot of laughs, but not a lot of plot development – the situation goes on a bit long to make its point.
But the women are so over the top ridiculous and fun to watch that you’ll probably not mind very much.
Hard Times: An American Musical
Presented by and at The Cell Theatre through September 30, with an additional performance added on September 29.
Black 47’s Larry Kirwan collaborated with Stephen Foster, the 19th-century composer, for this musical set against the draft Riots in Five Points, New York, in 1863.
There’s energy to spare in Kirwan’s play, which resets some of Foster’s 19th-century ballads in a rock and roll vein, and also includes some Kirwan originals.
At times the characters’ perspectives on minstrelsy, race relations and homosexuality (which was not conceived of as an identity until the 1890s) seem a little modern, but then again, we are singing Foster to a rock and roll beat, so it all makes sense.
Jed Peterson, Stephane Duret, Almeria Campbell
Almeria Campbell winningly plays Nelly Blyrh, the black owner of a bar much like McSorley’s (there’s even McSorley’s ale for sale), which seems a kind of show bar where she’ll occasionally let people drink if they sing. John Charles McLaughlin plays Owen Duignan, a hotheaded young Irishman who starts the play off vibrantly by singing in blackface about how much he hates singing in blackface.
Nelly is courted by Michael Jenkins, played by Philip Callen, a white man with conflicted feelings.
Other characters include Thomas Jefferson, played by Stephane Duret, Stephen Foster, played by Jed Peterson, and Jane, Foster’s wife, played by Erin West.
There’s a live band onstage and it’s particularly clever the way Kirwan has woven in some reels throughout.
At times, lovely as the music was, and beautiful as the cast’s voices were, the songs seemed an interruption to the scenes.
The songs are lovely, though, and include all those Foster songs that are suddenly all the rage again: “Beautiful Dreamer,” “I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair,” “Oh, Susanna,” and of course, “Hard Times.”
Auditions, Zoe’s Auditions, Part 2
Presented by the Be You, All Others Are Taken company, in association with the Drilling company. Closed September 23, but will have additional performances in United Solo Festival on October 15 and 23.
Suzanna Geraghty wrote and appeared in this one-hander about a sweet production assistant on a troubled production of A Christmas Carol who wants to be an actress.
Geraghty’s piece is dear, funny and smarter than it seems – much like her character of Zoe Browne.
Andy Crook offered help with direction and movement.
With a Mary Poppins voice and a dizzy dame appeal, Zoe goes through a series of hilariously bad auditions, with a voice shouting “next!”
Suzanna Geraghty (@Ros Kavanagh)
The Riverdance audition ends with a bagpipe on Zoe’s head, and her sincere wish that nobody was injured.
A voiceover at the top warns the audience that they will be expected to take part or risk ruining “the reality of the show and everybody’s fun.”
So people do take part, answering that no, we haven’t heard her name called yet, or nominating the person sitting next to them to be “Olga,” the director of The Three Sisters.
Geraghty has crafted a smart drama, not just a series of sketches: she shows Zoe interacting with her elderly, crotchety agent, with her dysfunctional cast, and, eventually, with a clever riff on “A Christmas Carol.”
Geraghty has hedged her bets a little by showing us that Zoe doesn’t just have a dream, she actually has talent, and some training – which doesn’t work perfectly with someone who thinks The Three Sisters are people she should know.
But when the ghost of Christmas future answers her “to be or not to be” with “that isn’t the question,” the play goes somewhere surprisingly powerful.
The only New York journalist who writes for both the Forward and Irish Music Magazine.
McLean Avenue, on it’s way to a screen or stream near you
Alice FarrellMay 6May 6
Last week, at the Irish Arts Center, I got the chance to get a sneak peak at the new TV pilot from New York writer Mike Farragher, McLean Avenue.
Michael FitzpatrickMay 5May 7
Johathan Irwin’s animation in ’99 Problems’ How it’s New York: ’99 Problems’ is part of the Tribeca Film Festival. How it’s Irish: It’s set in...
Craic Fest 2019 Launches Paddy’s Week
Alice FarrellMarch 12March 15
How it’s New York: The lead-up to St. Patrick’s Day in New York City How it’s Irish: Features Irish actors, musicians and film in the annual festival that...
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President Trump Hugs American Flag at Conservative Conference
By Melanie Sun March 2, 2019
President Trump hugs the American flag as he arrives to speak at Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md., on March 2, 2019. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)
President Donald Trump cheerfully embraced the American flag as he came on stage to “God Bless the USA” playing in the background at the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
Grinning widely, Trump hugged the flag for more than five seconds before taking a lap around the stage, acknowledging the crowd, and launching into one of his longest speeches to date on Saturday, March 2.
Trump Hugs the Flag
President Donald Trump walks onto the stage and hugs the American flag at CPAC as Matt Schlapp introduces him
Posted by The Epoch Times on Saturday, 2 March 2019
The president was introduced by American Conservative Union (ACU) chairman Matt Schlapp, who praised Trump for committing to speak at the conference fresh off his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Schlapp also praised the Trump administration’s accomplishments to date, saying that it’s all been possible because Trump has not acted like a typical politician.
In Vietnam, the President and Kim had been unable to reach a deal regarding denuclearization due to differences over the timing and degree of sanctions relief.
President Trump hugs the flag on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2019, in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on March 2, 2019. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
North Korea offered to dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear reactor, but requested that sanctions be lifted first. Trump, however, said that dismantling Yongbyon alone was not enough, as the United States is aware that North Korea has “plenty” of other sites.
Trump told the audience at CPAC he believes he made the right decision by leaving the summit without a deal.
“I just returned from Vietnam where I had very productive meetings with Kim Jong Un,” he said. “I had to walk, because every once in a while you have to walk. The deal wasn’t a deal that was acceptable to me.”
North Korea has about 20 undeclared ballistic missile sites, according to a recent study by Beyond Parallel, a project sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.
Trump said earlier in the week that both sides will now continue to work together.
“I’d much rather do it right than do it fast,” the president said. “We’re in a position to do something very special.” He has not specified any date for his next summit with the Korean leader.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump talk in the garden of the Metropole hotel during the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 28, 2019. (Reuters/Leah Millis)
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement on Feb. 28, “The two leaders discussed various ways to advance denuclearization and economic driven concepts. No agreement was reached at this time, but their respective teams look forward to meeting in the future.”
During his speech, Trump also announced that he will soon sign an executive order protecting free speech on college campuses.
He had invited Hayden Williams—the conservative activist who was assaulted last month at the University of California in Berkeley—to join him on the stage.
Trump speaks on Hayden Williams
"Ladies and gentlemen, he took a hard punch in the face for all of us." Donald J. Trump said about conservative activist, Hayden Williams, who got attacked on Berkeley campus
“I will be very soon signing an executive order requiring colleges and universities to support free speech if they want federal research funds,” he announced to enthusiastic applause.
“If they want our dollars, and we give it to them by the billions, they’ve got to allow people like Hayden and many other great young people and old people to speak. Free speech,” said Trump. “And if they don’t it will be very costly.”
Trump also touched on various other topics, from Robert Mueller’s investigation to America’s recent economic successes, the border wall situation, and trade negotiations with China.
Epoch Times reporters Charlotte Cuthbertson and Allen Zhong contributed to this report
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Mehta: Jets believe Sam Darnold will earn Week 1 starting job, according to sources, and it's crucial that he delivers
The Jets want Sam Darnold on that wall. They need him on that wall.
Gang Green fans use words like savior, leader and messiah. They use these words as a way of hoping for better days. Others use them as a punchline.
Although Darnold has wowed team decision makers with his maturity and capacity to learn in the few short months since he’s taken up residence on One Jets Drive, he doesn’t have the keys to the kingdom yet.
[More Sports] Mehta’s Top 20 Jets Countdown: No. 3 QB Sam Darnold »
That should change soon.
For all the promise that Darnold has exhibited in the classroom, there’s no substitute for learning by doing. Lieutenant Sam Weinberg said it best: “There’s a difference between paper law and trial law.”
The Jets believe Sam Darnold can seize the moment and win starting job. (Seth Wenig / AP)
Darnold’s ability to quickly process information inside the building has given folks in the know the belief that anything is possible with this kid. However, he’ll only get exponentially better by applying those lessons on the field.
[More Sports] Mehta’s Top 20 Jets Countdown: No. 4 RB Le’Veon Bell »
The Jets will give Darnold the same opportunity that Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty got last preseason. The team’s preseason quarterback blueprint will look like the 2017 plan if you substitute Darnold and Teddy Bridgewater for Hackenberg and Petty, according to sources.
Only this time, the brain trust believes that Darnold will seize the moment and earn the job.
The notion that the Jets should sit Darnold to start the regular season because of their two veteran alternatives is rooted in faulty logic unless the rookie looks overwhelmed in the preseason that begins against the Falcons on Friday night.
[More Sports] Mehta’s Top 20 Jets Countdown: No. 5 DL Leonard Williams »
Spoiler: There isn’t a soul in the organization that I’ve touched base with who believes that Darnold will look lost in the preseason.
Seeing, of course, is believing.
Regardless, the idea of learning by watching is a myth. The real teaching occurs in the spring and summer when young players get invaluable practice reps. When the regular season begins, coaches and players have a single-minded focus to design a weekly plan to beat the upcoming opponent. Darnold would be relegated to scout team reps, while the coaches prepare the starter to attack the next defense on the schedule.
[More Sports] Jets TE Chris Herndon suspended 4 games for violating NFL’s substance abuse policy »
There’s also a misguided premise that patience with Darnold means having him take a seat for a few weeks or months.
Patience and playing are not mutually exclusive.
The Jets can (and should and probably will) start Darnold in the season opener on Monday night in Detroit and still be patient with his development with creative and smart play-calling. Besides, you’re not “rushing” Darnold if he proves to the brain trust over the next month that he can be an NFL starter.
Sam Darnold has shown mobility in the pocket at Jets camp. (Seth Wenig / AP)
The Jets shouldn’t overanalyze the situation. Although Darnold would have a daunting challenge playing his first three games in a span of 11 days (Lions, Dolphins, Browns), that’s no reason to hand him a clipboard.
The early challenge will embolden him. Instead of worrying about the worst-case scenario, imagine if Darnold actually performs well during that compressed early portion of the schedule?
Would it be a lot on his plate? Yes.
[More Sports] Mehta’s Top 20 Jets Countdown: No. 6 DL Quinnen Williams »
But it doesn’t matter if you believe that he’s capable of handling this first big test. He’s not going to be scarred for life if he doesn’t perform well in those first three games. He’s mentally tough enough to handle it.
This quarterback competition has never been Josh McCown vs. Teddy Bridgewater vs. Sam Darnold. It’s always been Sam Darnold vs. Sam Darnold.
If he exhibits starter traits in a vacuum, he’ll be the starter. It’d be silly to think that a rookie three months into the job would have a better grasp of the nuances of the hardest position in team sports than a 17-year veteran like McCown or even a young former starter with playoff experience like Bridgewater.
[More Sports] Mehta’s Top 20 Jets Countdown: No. 7 TE Chris Herndon »
No, this evaluation has always been about fairly judging Darnold on his own merits. The Jets have been thoroughly impressed with his maturity, football I.Q. and resilience.
The brain trust isn’t naïve. Darnold will make mistakes, but it’s his ability to quickly learn from those gaffes that has people buzzing in the building. His capacity to absorb information and command of the huddle have been outstanding. Although he threw a pair of interceptions on deep passes Tuesday, he still exhibited terrific pocket presence and solid decision making in practice.
Darnold has been able to transfer his ability to process information in the classroom to the practice field, which is no small task. Whether it’s stepping up in the pocket and firing a completion after getting a feel for the rush or getting teammates in-sync with proper pre-snap adjustments, he’s operating on an advanced plane for a rookie signal caller.
[More Sports] Mehta’s Top 20 Jets Countdown: No. 8 LG Kelechi Osemele »
“I’m always looking to get better at really just processing information… because that’s what the quarterback position is all about, no matter what level you’re playing at,” Darnold said. “It’s about being able to eliminate one side, eliminate one player just based on matchup leverages, coverage. So, it’s really about digesting all that information pre-snap, and then post-snap being able to digest it as fast as you can, which is kind of the name of the game at any level of football.”
Darnold made a brilliant full-field read in the red zone Monday that included many different elements playing out inside his head. He diagnosed the defense, which was playing man coverage on his left side and zone on his right. His first read was covered on the left before he hung in the pocket, scanned the middle of the field and found his fourth or fifth option wide open on the far right for a touchdown.
“I’m always looking to get better at really just processing information… because that’s what the quarterback position is all about."
Sam Darnold
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Darnold isn’t Andrew Luck, the last college quarterback who came into the NFL with impeccable full-field awareness, but he’s getting there because of how fast his mind operates after the snap. It’s a rare ability, especially for a young quarterback with only three full years of experience playing the position.
[More Sports] Mehta’s Top 20 Jets Countdown: No. 9 DL Henry Anderson »
Plenty of guys might sound the part in the classroom, but acing a quiz when watching the film is only one small part of the equation.
“I've seen guys over the years, guys that are great classroom guys, that can nail answers,” McCown said. “They know everything that coach is asking them, but they come out here and they drop back and it just doesn't materialize for them and it's frustrating.”
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“Then other guys may not 'wow' you in (the classroom), but when they get on that field, the game just makes sense to them,” McCown continued. “So, being able to process and play the game are two of the most important things you have to have to play this position. You obviously must take it from the classroom to the field because they're two different things. We always say it too. It's easy in the air conditioning. It's easy when there's not guys breathing down your neck and you just got hit or you just jog on the field and 70,000 people boo you or you just threw an interception. Something bad happens and anxiety can creep in. Then how do you process that same information? That's what's critical.”
[More Sports] Muhammad Wilkerson rejects plea deal in latest court appearance for DWI »
That’s precisely why it makes perfect sense to start Darnold in Week 1 as long as he doesn’t turn into Cindy Brady when the lights come on in the preseason. On the small chance that he freezes, the team will adjust accordingly.
Darnold’s mobility and instincts in and around the pocket will mitigate some concerns about an offensive line that won’t be confused with The Hogs anytime soon. The kid’s ability to work off schedule is one of the most appealing elements of his game.
You learn by doing. And failure is the best teacher.
[More Sports] Mehta’s Top 20 Jets Countdown: No. 10 WR Robby Anderson »
“It’s definitely a lot different playing it out and being behind the center, because you have guys rushing you and you don’t always have that birds-eye view of what’s going on,” Darnold said. “It’s definitely a different perspective back there.”
The sooner that Darnold makes mistakes, the sooner he can correct them and move this train forward.
And the only way to make mistakes is to play.
Teddy Bridgewater
Bryce Petty
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Mehta’s Top 20 Jets Countdown: No. 3 QB Sam Darnold
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Fashion|Victoria’s Secret Is Trying to Change With the Times. Or Is It?
Victoria’s Secret Is Trying to Change With the Times. Or Is It?
Fashion — and even Congress — may be changing, but the lingerie brand of Angels clings to its push-up bras and wings.
CreditCreditNina Westervelt for The New York Times
Victoria’s Secret is not going down without a fight.
It knows what people have been saying: The lingerie brand is anachronistic; out of touch; mired in an old and objectifying idea of female beauty that is white, worked-out, boob-centric and essentially about naughty maid role play in the bedroom. It knows there have been analysts notes claiming the label is on a long spiral to nowhere.
It knows that Aerie, with its love-your-body-as-it-is message, is nipping at the label’s (high) heels. It knows Rihanna, with her all-inclusive Savage x Fenty lingerie line at New York Fashion Week, is gunning for it.
It knows that having a show with women dressed up as come-hither Scottish lassies on loan from Rob Roy’s fantasies in teeny tiny panties, over-the-knee argyle socks, push-up plaid bras and pleated tartan miniskirts during the same week that more than 100 female politicians from around the world gathered in the House of Commons in Britain to commemorate women’s suffrage, and the same week that an unprecedented number of women of all races and ages and sizes was elected to Congress was perhaps not the best timing.
Adriana Lima, in a crescent moon and stars.CreditNina Westervelt for The New York Times
So it began that show, which took place Thursday night on Pier 94 on the Far West Side of New York, with a video featuring some of its most famous models talking about how doing the show made them feel “successful,” “powerful,” “empowered,” “strong.” About how “we can be sexy for ourselves and who we want to be, not who a man wants us to be.” It even set the opening lineup to the song “This is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” performed by the soul singer Leela James.
And then came the undies.
And the wings. And the diamanté body suits. The feathers. There was a floral section guest-designed by Mary Katrantzou, a London Fashion Week regular. (And a woman! See! Women like VS!) That section featured some wrap-waist cargo pants that looked suspiciously like … clothes. But that didn’t last long.
The models mugged for the camera (the show will be broadcast by ABC on Dec. 2); blew kisses, waggled their booty, drew hearts in the air, and waved their hands around in an attempt to get the audience to cheer. Adam Levine, in the front row with some friends to support his wife, Behati Prinsloo, obliged by standing up and shouting every time she came down the runway.
During a lull between sets — there were seven “themes,” including Golden Angle and Celestial Angel and Downtown Angel — a voice-over reminded the crowd that VS was the only show that gave tickets to the models so they could invite their families. (See! Community!)
It also rolled out some stats: 1.6 billion people viewed the show last year, of which 70 percent were women. It had 220 billion press and social media impressions.
Winnie Harlow, in florals.CreditNina Westervelt for The New York Times
The point being, of course: Argue with that, haters.
The problem being: You can. (While the social media numbers may be booming, the in-store sales are not, a discrepancy that should be noted by all brands that equate fans and likes with revenues).
VS may well still be — as Edward Razek, the chief marketing officer of L Brands (VS’s parent company) and the man behind the spectacle, insisted in an interview with Vogue before the show — “the 800-pound gorilla in the space,” with a bra that “will sell more as a single item than a small competitor that’s been trying to make a lot of noise lately [sells from its complete range].” (Ahem.)
It may be doing its best to try to move with the times, adding more sports bras and dropping some of the excruciating cultural stereotypes that got it in trouble in the past, avoiding the pitfalls of Native American headdresses this time in favor of safer moons and stars. Its models have become more diverse in terms of skin tone, if not in gender definition or size. (There were a few curvier women on the catwalk but none that could qualify as plus size by any objective definition.)
But its essential vocabulary — its approach to the world — is still dedicated to an idea of sexy rooted in the pinup era, when women and their bodies were defined by the eye and imagination of a male beholder; when they were at the mercy of the moguls. When their flesh was strapped in and sucked in and their cleavage was pushed up and their bottoms were cantilevered out by the physics of spike heels, and everything was waxed and moisturized to airbrushed extremes, and it was all covered by a scrim of lacy peekaboo. And that era is on its way to extinction.
To pretend this is not so is to ignore everything we have learned over the last year about men and women and perception and the danger of received conventions. To think that presenting women as presents to be unwrapped does not shape social expectations is to fool yourself. If Victoria’s Secret wants to remain relevant to the cultural conversation, it has to accept some responsibility for re-forming (and reforming) that conversation. Right now it simply doth protest too much. Climate change is not just about the environment.
Gigi Hadid, on the Victoria's Secret runway.CreditNina Westervelt for The New York Times
The models may see this as a harmless game of role play (though the number of gym hours they famously log to get the gig, and the tears that the brand captured on video when they found out they did, would suggest that the effort goes far beyond a game). But show me the viewer who sees Gigi Hadid strutting down a runway in floral boot leggings and floral push-up bra toting a giant floral — what? parachute? because why?— and thinks: “Empowerment!”
Show me the viewer who sees Shanina Shaik in shell pink lace bra and panties with a silver brocade corset and silver ankle cuffs with her neck tied up in a big bow and thinks: “Damn, that woman is dressing to please herself.”
Maybe they exist. It’s just hard to imagine.
Vanessa Friedman is The Times's fashion director and chief fashion critic. She was previously the fashion editor of the Financial Times. @VVFriedman
A version of this article appears in print on , Section ST, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: Victoria’s Secret Is Out in the Cold. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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Sports|WADA Still Waiting for Russia to Live Up to Its Promises
WADA Still Waiting for Russia to Live Up to Its Promises
Russia’s Federal Scientific Center of Physical Culture and Sport houses the former Moscow anti-doping laboratory at the center of the Russian doping scandal.CreditCreditMaxim Shipenkov/EPA, via Shutterstock
By Kevin Draper
When the World Anti-Doping Agency’s executive committee voted in September to reinstate Russia’s corrupted antidoping laboratories, WADA’s own athletes committee blasted the decision, and warned of what might come.
“Having seen the conditions change once, we have little assurance in them not changing again,” the committee said in a statement, criticizing WADA for letting Russia off the hook even though it had not yet met key requirements of a compliance agreement.
Two weeks into the new year, the athletes’ concerns look prescient. After two days of meetings in Montreal, a special WADA committee charged with overseeing Russian compliance held off on making any official recommendation, even though Russia has yet to turn over data it said it would.
The committee’s options ranged from recommending nothing to recommending harsh sanctions, but James Fitzgerald, a WADA spokesman, said the decision was made to make no recommendation because WADA currently has a team in Russia trying to collect computer data on the country’s drug testing program that Russia was supposed to deliver by the end of last year. Collecting that data was supposed to take three days; Wednesday was day seven of the effort.
Fitzgerald said not making an official recommendation was a precaution because the committee “did not want to do anything that could potentially put the mission at risk and wanted to have confirmed information from the team before finalizing their position.”
Fitzgerald said the WADA representatives seeking the computer data were making “excellent progress” and the organization would “expect the mission to be completed soon but it’s not possible at this stage to give an exact time.”
The delay is sure to raise concerns among athletes who have pilloried WADA for months, arguing that Russia has thumbed its nose at WADA’s efforts to punish the country for too long.
The latest controversy involves Russia’s promise to hand over computer data on about 10,000 suspicious doping samples by Dec. 31. But successive WADA teams sent to Moscow were rebuffed by Russian law enforcement, and the deadline passed without WADA receiving any of the data. A number of WADA critics called for the country to immediately be declared noncompliant.
A three-person WADA team was finally allowed into the laboratory last week.
After the meetings this week, both Fitzgerald and committee chair Jonathan Taylor, a lawyer based in London, declined to say what the committee would recommend.
The compliance review committee was supposed to provide its recommendation to WADA’s ruling executive committee by Thursday, which would allow the executive committee a few days to digest the recommendation before its own meeting to decide what to do about Russia next week.
The special review committee may miss that deadline as well.
“It is taking longer than had been originally estimated but the team is facing no specific issues or difficulties in carrying out their task,” Fitzgerald said of the efforts to collect the computer data, whose integrity still has to be verified, a process that will take months. “The quantity and complexity of the data, as well as the fact the servers and hard drives being accessed are not all brand-new, means it is simply taking longer than originally anticipated.”
Taylor has repeatedly said that WADA must follow the proper procedures to ensure that any possible sanctions can survive Russian legal challenges.
Taylor’s committee wants either the data, “or else a ban that will stand up in court,” he wrote earlier this month in a response to Swedish biathlete Sebastian Samuelsson’s withering criticism.
In an interview last week, Taylor emphasized that WADA has to use its declaration of noncompliance as a last resort. Russian recalcitrance wasn’t unusual, he said, as compliance with WADA rules is often achieved at the last minute.
“If we are going to treat RUSADA equally with everyone else,” he said, using the acronym for the Russian Antidoping Agency, “then you let them comply late.”
Dick Pound, the founding president of WADA and author of a 323-page report on Russian doping, agreed. “When you are looking at the bigger picture, what really is important is that we get the data and access to samples,” he said in a phone interview Monday night. “And we are in the process of getting access to the samples.”
Pound also warned that Russia might be trying to outlast and outspend WADA with expensive and time-consuming legal challenges. Pound suggested WADA’s antidoping code might need to be revised so that sanctions can go into effect after violations are confirmed, “regardless of whether there are legal proceedings.”
That wouldn’t do anything in this case, of course. WADA did sanction Russia, but chose to remove the sanctions before the country had complied with all of the requirements for reinstatement.
Email Kevin Draper at kevin.draper@nytimes.com or follow him on Twitter: @kevinmdraper.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section B, Page 8 of the New York edition with the headline: WADA Still Waiting for Russia to Turn Over Its Drug Testing Data. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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Fighting the Darkest Corners of the Web
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NZEDGE > News > Arts > Author Heather Morris Discusses New Novel
Author Heather Morris Discusses New Novel
After delivering one of last year’s biggest bestsellers with The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Te Awamutu-raised Heather Morris is ready to reveal Cilka’s Journey as a follow-up.
Morris recreated the experiences of Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew who survived the Holocaust as a prisoner and served as an Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist, after meeting him and hearing his life story. The Tattooist of Auschwitz remains a huge hit more than six months after its American release, and now Morris is exploring the world of another character from that novel: Cilka, who was only 16 when she was taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942, and whose beauty both saved her life and condemned her to being the concubine of the camp commandant. Once again based on real events, Cilka’s Journey heartbreakingly traces how she was charged as a collaborator and sentenced to hard labour in a Siberian gulag.
Morris talks with Entertainment Weekly. In addition, EW caught up with the author on what inspired her to write this book, what kind of research she did, and how the phenomenon of Tattooist is sitting with her.
Morris tells EW she engaged a professional researcher in Moscow to provide her with the factual details of the camp Cilka spent 10 years in, the work she would have done, both in actuality and created by herself.
“I read many testimonies of other women who spent time in the same gulag as Cilka,” Morris explains. “There were times I was weighed down and emotionally drained when reading of the circumstances Cilka would have experienced and endured. I travelled to Bratislava and Kosice in Slovakia to meet people who had known Cilka and her husband for many years. I heard their stories of Cilka’s life after the gulag and was uplifted to learn of the happy life she had with the man she loved.”
The magazine asks Morris how she feels about the success of Tattooist.
“At times uncomfortably,” Morris says, “unable to comprehend the success of my debut novel. Always humbled particularly when I meet people who wish to know more about Lale, and the many who write to me sharing their stories of pain and the hope and love they have received by reading about Lale and Gita. Delighted that so many people ask, ‘What happened to Cilka? I need to know.’
“I don’t over-analyse why The Tattooist of Auschwitz has resonated with so many people, in so many countries, other than the need to hear a simple story about an ordinary man and woman, living in an extraordinary time who never gave up hope, loved and survived.”
Morris moved to Melbourne in the 1970s.
Original article by David Canfield, Entertainment Weekly, April 16, 2019.
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Obama Gets His Allbirds On
William Pickering
Flash Mob Haka Surfers Paradise
NZEDGE > News > Arts > Zen-like in the Name of Warhol
Zen-like in the Name of Warhol
New Zealand artist Max Gimblett’s exhibition “The Sound of One Hand” brings to focus the world of Zen Buddhism and is on through 27 November as part of Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Museum’s Word of God series. An artist living and working in New York City since 1972, Gimblett has been focusing on Buddhism since 1965 when he first encountered poet and novelist Kenneth Patchen’s painted “picture poems” in San Francisco. “It has never been the main focus,” Gimblett, 75, says, admittedly “sharing my interests equally with Jungian studies and the history of visual art, particularly painting.” The works on view have an overall zen-like quality, especially the earlier brushworks on paper that date as far back as the 1980s. Here, the work is distinctly divided into two types — enso and koan paintings. “The single stroke does not allow for any modification — the brushed circle,” he says. “In the circle nothing stops, nothing comes to an end, it just keeps going.” Gimblett was born in Auckland.
Tags: Andy Warhol Museum Auckland Max Gimblett Pittsburgh. San Francisco The Sound of One hand Trib Live Zen Buddhism
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Kiwi Comedy On TV
This collection celebrates Kiwi comedy on TV: the caricatures, piss-takes, and sitcoms that have cracked us up, and pulled the wool over our eyes for over five decades. From turkeys in gumboots and Fred Dagg, to Billy T, bro'Town and Jaquie Brown. As Diana Wichtel reflects, watching the evolution of native telly laughs is, "a rich and ridiculous, if often painful, pleasure."
Funny Business - Excerpts
Television, 1988–1991 (Excerpts)
A selection of sketches from this award-winning skit based comedy series featuring Willy de Wit, Ian Harcourt, Peter Murphy and Dean Butler (with occasional animation by Chris Knox). The Hoons display their all of their charm and tact at the beach — but cruising for action (in a car truly worthy of them) results in a heated confrontation with one of their rivals. The classic Norman the Mormon also features, alternative Dunedin bands of the 1980s are lampooned and Lucy Lawless makes her TV debut in an ad spoof that anticipates her future role in Spartacus.
Joe and Koro - High Society
In the 1970s Yorkshire emigre Craig Harrison turned the odd couple tale of a Māori and a Yorkshireman into a novel, a radio play, and this popular sitcom. Joe (Stephen Gledhill) is the nervy, university-educated librarian; his flatmate is city-raised Koro (Rawiri Paratene, in one of his earliest lead roles) who works in a fish and chip shop. In this episode, Koro’s dodgy homemade wine helps inspire embarrassing scenes at a party of Joe’s friends. Among drunkard Pākehā, watch out for a paralytic Kevin J Wilson, and a rare pre-Pork Pie appearance by Claire Oberman.
7 Days - Series One, Episode Three
Well-received comedy panel series 7 Days debuted on TV3 in 2009. The show takes an irreverent look at the past week in the news with such regular segments as “my kid could draw that” and “what’s the taxi driver talking about”. Jeremy Corbett hosts, and there are two teams of regular and guest comedians including Ben Hurley, Jeremy Elwood, Dai Henwood and Paul Ego. This episode’s special guest is Flight of the Conchords star Rhys Darby, and Labour MP Darren Hughes features in “politician in the hot seat”.
Loose Enz - The Venus Touch
Television, 1982 (Full Length)
In this infamous edition of the Loose Enz anthology series, sexologist Rufus (Grant Tilly) has marriage problems, due to being more theoretical than practical when it comes to the ways of the flesh. Things grow more complicated when patient Ernest (Bruno Lawrence, playing nerdy for a change) claims he is suffering from having a magic touch with women. Alongside Joy of Sex japes and punning pillow talk galore, this sex farce gained notoriety for scenes of high-profile newsreader Angela D’Audney (as the dissatisfied wife) going topless, then donning a turquoise catsuit.
Melody Rules - Going, Going ... Goner (First Episode)
'Going, Going, Gone ...' was the ominous title for the opening episode of one of NZ television's most celebrated failures. With her mother on an archaeological dig in Malaysia, Melody (Belinda Todd) is babysitting her brother and sister and counting down to a much anticipated holiday of her own. But will Mum make it back in time (or will she only ever be a voice on the phone)? Will her brother survive his first date? And will her sister get to the big Slagheap concert? And who thought it was good idea for Brendan (Allan Brough) to wear that shirt?
Loose Enz - Graham's Mum and the Goulden Tour
This off-the-wall comedy of errors — from the Loose Enz series — sees hapless tour operator Graham (Ian Watkin) and his wide boy driver Ron (John Bach) leading a busload of international visitors (well) off the beaten trail. the teleplay neatly skewers clichéd promotional travelogue commentaries (with the music of Sibelius never far away) and takes broader shots at the tourists’ various cultural stereotypes. With Graham well-meaning but dim, and Ron too busy looking after number one, Graham’s mum (a formidable Yvonne Lawley) and enterprising local Iwi come into their own as hosts.
Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby - Period One: The Appalling Mr Gormsby
Director Danny Mulheron has fun with the subversive character of Mr Gormsby in this irreverently funny series. In desperation, the Tepapawai High School principal has hired paragon of old school values Mr Gormsby (David McPhail) after yet another relief teacher walks out. Forming an instant dislike for fellow teacher 'Steve from Guidance' and frustrated that his trusty cane has been taken from him, Gormsby comes up a unique form of discipline which manages to offend pretty much everyone. Nominated for Best Script and Best Comedy at the 2006 NZ Screen Awards.
Wayne Anderson - Singer of Songs (First Episode)
This debut episode of a not completely fictional series follows Wayne Anderson, “Manurewa’s greatest singer”, and his attempts to break out of the rest home circuit and find fame and fortune. Wayne dreams of taking the evergreen music of his idols Engelbert and Elvis to the world. But even his manager’s show business links — he works in a video store — aren’t bringing in the 50 dollar gig needed each week. Things may be looking up with the best perm Wayne’s ever had, plus an audition in a Karangahape Road bar. As a non-driver, he will have to get there by bus.
Beyond a Joke!
This 1995 documentary about New Zealand humour features classic TV comedy moments from Fred Dagg, Barry Crump, A Week of It, McPhail and Gadsby, Letter to Blanchy, Billy T James, Pete and Pio, the Topp Twins, Gliding On, Lyn of Tawa and Funny Business. Tom Scott, John Clarke, David McPhail and Jon Gadsby talk about the nature of New Zealand satire; Pio Terei, Peter Rowley, and Billy T James producer Tom Parkinson discuss the pros and cons of race-based humour; and the Topp Twins explain the art of sending people up rather than putting them down.
The Best of The Billy T James Collection
Billy T’s unique brand of humour is captured at its affable, non-PC best in this compilation of skits from his popular 1980s TV shows. There’s Te News (“somebody pinched all the toilet seats out of the Kaikohe Police Station...now the cops got nothing to go on!”) with Billy in iconic black singlet and yellow towel; a bro’s guide to home improvement; skits about first contact, and a take off of Miami Vice. No target is sacred (God, the IRA, the talking Japanese sketch) and there are classic advertising spoofs for Pixie Caramel’s “last requests” and Lands For Bags’ “where’d you get your bag”.
Town and Around: Wellington Highlights
Nightly magazine-style show Town and Around played on New Zealand screens during the second half of the 60s. Hosted by Peter Read, this end-of-1968 special from the Wellington edition showcases highlights from over 500 items that year. The concentration is on lighter material, most famously a hoax piece on a farmer who puts gumboots on his turkeys. In another piece reporter John Shrapnell discovers that locked cars in the city tend to be the exception. Also featured: an interview with entertainer Rolf Harris, and an impromptu Kiwi street-Hamlet.
The Living Room - Series One (excerpts)
A magazine show with an edge, The Living Room did for arts television production what Radio With Pictures did for NZ music — it ripped open the venetian blinds, rearranged the plastic-covered cushions, and shone the sun on Aotearoa’s homegrown creative culture. Often letting the subjects film and present their own stories, it was produced for three series by Wellington’s Sticky Pictures, who also made follow-up arts showcase The Gravy. These excerpts from the first series show a calvacade of local talent, including an early Flight of the Conchords screen outing.
Country Calendar - Spoofs Special
Ask Country Calendar viewers which shows they remember and inevitably the answer is "the spoofs" — satirical episodes that screened unannounced. Sometimes there was outrage but mostly the public enjoyed having the wool pulled over their eyes. Created by producer Tony Trotter and Bogor cartoonist Burton Silver, the first (in late 1977) was the fencing wire-playing farmer and his "rural music". This special episode collects the best of the spoofs, from the infamous radio-controlled dog, to the gay couple who ran a "stress-free" flock, and more malarkey besides.
An epic documentary chronicling the extraordinary life of Kiwi filmmaker Colin McKenzie. Or is it? McKenzie's achievements included cinematic innovations involving steam power and eggs, and an unfinished biblical tale filmed on the West Coast. The first television screening of this Costa Botes/Peter Jackson production memorably stirred up New Zealand audiences. Forgotten Silver went on to screen at international film festivals in Cannes and Venice — where it won a special critics' prize.
Face to Face with Kim Hill - John Clarke
Kim Hill interviews comedy legend John Clarke at his home in Melbourne. In this excerpt, Clarke talks about how easily humour travels and how Kiwis can be funny, and looks back at the birth of his iconic Fred Dagg character in the early 70s, with his black singlet, a hat given to Clarke by his sister, and some torn-off trousers from state television's wardrobe department. Clarke talks about New Zealand being far from alone in claiming to have a laconic, understated style of humour, and how he thinks the country is seen overseas.
bro'Town - The Weakest Link
This animated hit follows the adventures of five kids growing up in the Auckland suburb of Morningside. The show's fearless, un-PC wit was developed from the poly-saturated comedy of theatre group Naked Samoans. In bro'Town's very first episode, Valea gets hit by a bus and wakes up a genius, allowing him to demonstrate that his school is not just full of dumbarses after the boys compete on a school quiz show. The Simpsons-esque celebrity cameos start strong, thanks to Robert Rakete, Scribe, PM Helen Clark, David Tua and "marvellous" John Campbell.
Gliding On - No Smoke Without Fire (First Episode)
In an age before Rogernomics, well before The Office, there was the afternoon tea fund, Golden Kiwi, and four o'clock closing: welcome to the early 80s world of the New Zealand Public Service. Gliding On (1981 - 1985) was the first locally-made sitcom to become a bona-fide classic. Inspired by Roger Hall's hit play Glide Time, the award-winning series satirised a paper-pushing working life familiar to many Kiwis. This episode features Beryl's non-smoking campaign, Jim's efforts to kick the habit, office sexual innuendo and a much-debated fire drill. "Morning Jim!"
A Week of It - Christmas Special
This final episode of pioneering A Week of It ("NZ's longest running comedy programme — discounting parliament") features a three wise men parody (lost without a Shell road map); pirate Radio Hauraki; and a parliament-themed Cinderella Christmas pantomine, with David McPhail's Muldoon playing the stepmother. Jon Gadsby appears as Dr Groper, an un-PC GP; and God is a guest at an Anglican church in Fendalton. British comic legend Dudley Moore appears briefly in the extended 'best of' credits reel, alongside (Jeez) Wayne and the rest of the Gluepot Tavern lads.
McPhail and Gadsby - Best of Series Five
After turning “Jeez Wayne” into a national catchphrase with their hit series A Week of It, comedy duo David McPhail and Jon Gadsby continued their TV dream run with the sketch comedy show McPhail and Gadsby. This 'Best of' from the Feltex Award-winning fifth season includes these highlights: 'pronouncing things proper with Jim Knox'; 'This Is Your Life with Robert Muldoon' (featuring McPhail’s infamous caricature of the then Prime Minister); Lynn Waldegrave’s popular impersonation of music show host Karyn Hay; and a Goodnight Kiwi take-off in 'Goodnight from the Beehive'.
The Jaquie Brown Diaries - Brown Sweat (Episode Three)
TV personality Jaquie Brown plays (and plays up) herself for delightful comic effect in this hit TV3 satire. Brown plays an egomaniacal reporter looking to climb the media ladder any which way she can. Auckland's aspirational set: a cast of Metro social page alumni and wannabes, are skewered with self-referential glee. The show won Best Comedy at the 2009 Qantas Film and TV Awards. This episode sees Jaquie striving to exit Woman's Day's 'Plump it Hottie' section, appropriating a tampon, and performing in a celeb singalong.
The Topp Twins - Highland Games
National treasures The Topp Twins (aka twins Lynda and Jools Topp) have performed as a country-music singing comedy duo for more than 25 years. In the late 1990s they created their own award-winning TV series which ran for three seasons. It showcased their iconic cast of Kiwi characters, including Camp Mother, the Bowling Ladies and cross-dressing Ken and Ken. This episode from the third and final series features the twins in their many guises enjoying an afternoon at the Waipu Highland Games. "Look at the leather work in that sporran!"
Eating Media Lunch - Best Of Episode
In this highlights special culled from the first four years of Eating Media Lunch, presenter Jeremy Wells manages to keep a straight face while mercilessly satirising all manner of mainstream media. Leaping channels and barriers of taste, the episode shows the fine line between send-up and target. The 'Worst of EML' tests the patience of talkback radio hosts and goes behind the demise of celebrity merino Shrek; plus terrorist blooper reels, Destiny Church protests, Target hijinks, and our first indigenous porno flick (you have been warned: not suitable for children).
Billy T Live
In April 1990, Billy Taitoko James came back from years of ill health, and made a triumphant return to performing his unique brand of music and comedy. It was a last hurrah for James, whose transplanted heart gave out on him the following year, but it's a worthy swansong. His unique brand of humour is captured at its affable, non-PC, best, with Billy T giving everything he's got — every gag is rounded off with his trademark 'bro' laugh — a loudly appreciative audience. NZ On Screen has two excerpts. Guests include Sir Howard Morrison. Read more about Billy T and the show here.
An Audience with the King
In 2001 comedian Mike King (with Te Radar) traversed Aotearoa on The Mike King Laugh Out Loud Tour. In this final performance, at Auckland's St James Theatre, King recounts cultural subtleties en route, from Hamilton ("4WDs with mud on them!") to East Coast hongi. No stereotype is left unbruised, as King gives his non-PC bro-down on everything from westie pick-up lines, to sport and childbirth. King shares his favourite jokes: "Here's one you can't tell at work on Monday: a Maori, a Samoan and a Tongan are in a Commodore - who's driving? A Policeman".
Lyn of Tawa - In Search of the Great New Zealand Male
Kiwi icon Lyn of Tawa (Ginette McDonald) — she of mangled vowel fame — goes on the prowl in search of the ultimate Kiwi bloke. The girl-from-the-suburb's mission takes in the gamut of masculine mythology, from Man Alone to mateship, as Lyn provides manthropological reflections ("can a woman ever be a mate?"). Made when the good keen man was facing up to the challenge from SNAGs, the documentary travels from the West Coast (for sex education) to a men's club, from rugby scrums to rabbit culls, and meets hunters, lawyers, students and gay ten-pin bowlers.
Back of the Y Masterpiece Television
This cult late-night TV2 series was a bawdy bogan Kiwi variety show, mixing sacrilege, beer-fuelled hijinks and Jackass-like stunts. Created by Chris Stapp and Matt Heath, it centred around a mock live TV show, with music from house band Deja Voodoo. Characters such as "retarded South Island mechanic" Spanners Watson featured in BSA-baiting segments like 'Randy Campbell's Extreme Stunts' (fodder for film The Devil Dared Me To) and 'Cunstables'. This first series also screened on MTV2 in Europe and Channel V in Australia. A second series screened on C4 in 2008.
Skitz - 'Best Of' Excerpts
Skitz was a popular long-running sketch-based comedy that ran for four series from 1993 to 1997. This selection of excerpts contains sketches from the final season of the Gibson Group satirical show famous for its broad, take-no-prisoners humour, and memorable characters and catchphrases. The wacky Semisi family and their 'fresh off the boat' antics inspire mirth and groans in equal measure and filmmaker Sima Urale is enjoyably ludicrous as the terrifying Aunty Mele. Jemaine (Flight of the Conchords) Clement and members of the Bro' Town posse also feature.
Serial Killers - A Compilation
Working from a kind of 'play within the play' premise, comedy series Serial Killers, cleverly satirises the lives of a group of TV soap writers, actors and the industry they all work for. Featuring Pauline (played by Robyn Malcolm) the permanently stressed-out screenwriter of Heart of Hearts, and her ex-partner/co-worker Alan (John Leigh), these excerpts from the 2005-screened series include the pair trying to reason with their producer (a preternaturally calm Tandi Wright) who demands the writers re-introduce a character they'd formerly killed off.
The Unauthorised History of New Zealand - Sex (Episode Two)
Jeremy Wells brings Kenneth Cumberland-seque authority to this 'alternative' version of Kiwi history, which was made by many of the team that worked on Eating Media Lunch. The Unauthorised History plumbs TV and history archives to poke fun at the pretence of the past (and present). This episode examines artefacts to do with sex and Aotearoa. With tongue planted in check (and in other places) Wells revisits everything from pole-dancing in the "hellhole of the Pacific" — colonial-era Russell — to randy Hutt Valley teenagers "getting laid" in the 1950s.
Pete and Pio - Series One compilation
Peter Rowley and Pio Terei star in this 90s comedy sketch show. While Rowley is a veteran comedy actor famous for his roles alongside Billy T James in the hit Billy T James Show, this was Terei’s first lead television role (it was followed later by his own show Pio!).Each episode opens with a stand-up double act performed to a studio audience and closes with a song led by Terei. In these excerpts, the duo poke fun at racial stereotypes and create their own versions of well known contemporary advertisements. Just say ‘cheese’.
Letter to Blanchy - A Serious Undertaking
Letter to Blanchy is a gentle rural comedy co-written by, and starring legendary comedy duo, McPhail and Gadsby. Each episode is a self-contained story, drawing material from the bumblings of a trio of good friends living in a fictional small town. They are: intellectual Derek (McPhail), rough diamond Barry (Gadsby) and tradesman Ray (Rowley). The narration is a letter written to Blanchy, a friend living in the relative sophistication of Christchurch. The series was adapted for a theatre tour in 2008.
Public Eye - First Episode
Inspired by the British series Spitting Image, Gibson Group's Public Eye features latex puppets based on drawings by cartoonist Trace Hodgson and built by a team headed by future Weta FX maestro, Richard Taylor. Highlights from the first episode include a boxing match between former finance minister Ruth Richardson and Winston Peters; Helen Clark's attempts to convince a bunch of labour party ministers to enforce a ban on pornography; and cricketer Richard Hadlee's failure to promote a life insurance company while being interviewed by Keith Quinn.
Tagata Pasifika - The Naked Samoans
Tagata Pasifika takes a look at Kiwi PI theatre phenomenon The Naked Samoans, and features extensive footage from a number of their stage comedies. Viewers will recognise early versions of a number of characters who would later feature on the Samoans' animated hit bro'Town. Co-founder Oscar Kightley talks about the group. AO-rated, the episode captures the non-PC island humour that would shape five seasons of bro'Town, and two Sione's Wedding feature films.
Pulp Sport
Pulp Sport began life in 2001 as a radio show, the brainchild of copywriters Ben Boyce ('Ben') and Jamie Linehan ('Bill'). Then it moved to television, initially made in an Auckland backyard. After two seasons on Sky, it moved to TV3 and won two Qantas Awards for Best Comedy. The show was wayward, fast-moving and skit based (but not limited to sports). The presenters risked life and limb, while guest celebrities happily sent themselves up. Guerrilla shoots — at the expense of bewildered passersby, security guards and fellow TV hosts — were also a show staple.
More Issues - A Compilation
On the heels of Issues (1990), More Issues offered more of the same satirical takes on local and international current affairs. It pokes fun at the advent of news-presenting personalities like Judy Bailey, Richard Long and Paul Holmes - such a prominent feature of NZ TV at the time, and politicians and celebs of the day. These excerpts from the series include Rima Te Wiata's uncanny impersonation of Judy Bailey, David McPhail's reprisal of a conniving Rob Muldoon, Rawiri Paratene as Oprah Winfrey, and Mark Wright as war reporter Peter Arnett.
Ice TV - Best of
Ice TV was a popular 90s TV3 youth show hosted by Jon Bridges, Nathan Rarere and Petra Bagust. This 1998 'best of' sees a 20/20 satire (a world's biggest bonsai trees scam); Petra meets Meatloaf, Jon meets US brothers boy band Hanson, visits a 'storm-namer', and they both go on Outward Bound; Nathan road tests Elvis's diet (peanut butter and bacon in bread, deep fried); and the trio go to the zoo and gym to discover why humans are the "sexiest primates alive". Includes the show's trademark sign-off where L&P bottles were subjected to various stresses.
Who Laughs Last
Who Laughs Last profiles Roger Hall, New Zealand’s most successful playwright. Three decades after the opening of Hall's Middle Age Spread became a hit, the original cast return for 2006 follow up Spreading Out. The Shirley Horrocks doco explores the secrets behind Hall’s successful brand of comedy (25+ stage plays, plus TV series and musical comedies) and closely explores the popularity of Middle Age Spread and Spreading Out. Among those interviewed are John Clarke, Ginette McDonald, the late Grant Tilly, and Hall himself.
Love Mussel
A TV network hires actor Kevin Smith to front a documentary about a town divided by an unusual discovery. Gooey Duck — a shellfish with reputed aphrodisiac qualities — has appeared off Ureroa. The quota is owned by a local couple but the rest of the town, big business, the government and the local iwi all have their own ideas. Smith's involvement gets complicated when he innocently consumes the mollusk while watching Prime Minister Jenny Shipley on TV. Writer Stephen Sinclair satiries television, celebrity, gender, politicis, small town New Zealand and penises.
Double Booking
Double Booking was a one-off comedy about a bloke, Brett (Kevin Smith), reluctantly celebrating his stag night, and a woman, Jane (Theresa Healey) who is less than happy at her hen's party. When the titular double booking happens their paths collide. Brett and Jane are star-struck at the Ocean Moon restaurant; wedding days are threatened and much ado occurs. The cast is a virtual Gloss reunion. Double Booking was made as part of a series of comedy pilots for TVNZ. A series didn't ensue, but it won James Griffin a Best Comedy Script gong at the 1999 NZ Film and TV Awards.
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Electronics manufacturer to slash jobs
Jodi Pospeschil
Restructuring announced Thursday by Methode Electronics will mean a loss of 700 jobs, about 550 at the company's Carthage plant. Methode makes electronics parts for major automakers.
About 550 Carthage-based jobs will be lost in the coming months after an electronics manufacturer revealed massive cuts Thursday as part of "restructuring."
Methode Electronics officials announced a total of 700 jobs will be lost between the Carthage plant in Hancock County and the Golden plant in Adams County. The company will also eliminate one product line from its Rolling Meadows facility.
Methode manufactures electronics parts for major automobile manufacturers, such as air bag switches and turn signals.
The Golden plant will be closed in the next six months, and only about 200 jobs will remain at the Carthage plant once the restructuring is complete sometime this year.
Methode’s director of investor relations, Joey Iske, said that over the past five years the orders from the traditional "Big 3" American automakers have continued to decline.
"It was that, coupled with the price reductions that automakers demand," she said.
Some of the jobs will be moved to Methode’s facilities in Mexico and China, Iske said.
Employees in Carthage were notified Thursday if their jobs were being cut. It’s estimated they will work for about 60 more days and then will receive a severance package.
Brenda Pyatt, Carthage’s economic development director, said she made a lot of calls Thursday asking for help from several state agencies.
"Obviously our first responsibility is what we’re doing today. We have to first deal with those told today about the (cuts)," Pyatt said. "We’ve also received a lot of calls from the community offering support — there has been a tremendous outpouring.
The next step is to look at what employees will need over the next three months.
"It will be things such as health, banking and food stamps … every resource we can think of that could be needed," Pyatt said. "The trouble is that these folks buy groceries here, they buy their clothes here. (The whole community) will be impacted down the line."
Carthage Mayor Jim Nightingale said he was notified of the closing Thursday by the manager of the Carthage plant. He said Methode’s research and development, engineering and quality control departments were all in the Carthage plant.
The company once had more than 1,500 employees between its three Illinois facilities, Nightingale said.
The impact of the new job cuts won’t be felt just in Hancock County. Nightingale said some of the employees come from Missouri and Iowa.
The company recently invested about $1 million in Carthage in its molding department, Nightingale said. The hope is to help find some additional business for the company that could benefit from its existing services and equipment.
"We hope to get together with management to find out a little more about how we can help," he said. "I’m still in shock."
Reach Journal Star reporter Jodi Pospeschil at (309) 686-3041 or state@pjstar.com.
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Scum adds playable female characters with their very own sliders
It's not just dick sliders anymore.
Scum, the multiplayer survival game with an oddly specific focus on dicks, finally has playable female characters. Introduced in today's Maneater update, the first iteration of women prisoners is still somewhat limited compared to the male characters, but they do have one thing in common.
"Just like our male prisoners have a penis slider, our female prisoners have a breast slider. It works the same way for both," developer Gamepires explained. "At the moment there are still no tattoos on our ladies! Don't panic, though, because we're adding them ASAP, time wasn't on our side and we had to prioritize."
Female characters currently have three head variants to choose from, and there are "also some really neat things we'd like you to discover by yourself," the studio wrote. That could include an "uncensored" version of the new in-game models (because of course it does), although "you're on your own when it comes to finding it," the studio wrote.
The update also promises significant performance improvements that should dramatically cut down on lag and FPS drops, particularly on lower-end CPUs and higher-end GPUs. The first iteration of base-building is in place with "simple defenses and some functional items," although for now they can only be built in certain areas (no building in cities or bases), and the inventory system has been overhauled, which will improve performance and make it easier for developers to implement new features in the future.
The new Mission System teased earlier this year is live, which is a pretty big thing, and features a tutorial mission so new players can get into the action more quickly. Cars are finally repairable following the update, beards can be grown (each head type has its own hairstyle), and there are now safe zones, complete with discos featuring music from F.O.R.M. and "better security than our servers."
The update also fixes a handful of bugs, adds a new page to the ongoing Scum comic, and asks players to "be kind and leave some fresh water outside for animals" now that summer is here. Unfortunately, the release of the Maneater update means another server wipe, but the good news is that it also hits pause on a previously-announced plan to boost the price of the game with this update: For now, Scum will continue to be available for $20/£16/€17.
Gamepires
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The Story of Worlds
The entire life of endogeic earthworms are spent underground, where they live, feed and multiply spending their 2-3 years of life within the top 50 cms (20 inches) of the mineralised soil layer.
Endo = in or internal Geic = Earth
One day an inquisitive young endogeic earthworm, called Peter asked his father, Professor Underground, who had just been awarded the…
Earthworm Nobel Prize for
Knowledge, Logic, Reason and Intelligence
…these two questions: “Daddy, is this all there is?”, and, “Daddy, could there be another world that we are unable to be aware of?”
His father laughed and replied, “Please try to be reasonable Peter – there’s no evidence of another world. Don’t doubt me son – the only world that exists is the ‘world of soil’. This is all there is” It’s beyond the power of earthworm reason to even consider another world.
“Surely Peter,” his daddy continued, “it must be obvious to you that we have everything in this world we need. We can move freely, we have plenty to eat, we can multiply and we are protected from extreme temperatures (both hot and cold) and from overly dry climates. I hope that’s the end of our discussion my son – I can say with conviction ‘quod erat demonstrandum’.
Yes Peter I have proved my point – haven’t I?”
One day an inquisitive young goldfish, called Wanda asked her father, Professor Water, who had just been awarded the
Goldfish Nobel Prize for
…these two questions: “Daddy, is this all there is?” and, “Daddy, could there be another world
that we are unable to be aware of?”
Her father laughed and replied, “Please try to be reasonable Wanda – there’s no evidence of another world. Don’t doubt me daughter – the only world that exists is a ‘water world’. This is all there is” It’s beyond the power of goldfish reason to even consider another world.
“Surely Wanda, it must be obvious to you that we have everything in this world we need. We can swim freely, we can multiply, we have plenty to eat and we can enjoy our great freedom. I hope that’s the end of our discussion my daughter. I can say with conviction ‘quod erat demonstrandum’. Yes Wanda - I have proved my point – haven’t I?”
Thirdly
One day an inquisitive young boy, called Thomas, asked his father, Professor Knowall, who had just been awarded the…
Nobel Prize for
…these two questions: “Daddy, is this all there is?” and, “Daddy, could there be another world that we are unable to be aware of?”
His father laughed and replied, “Please try to be reasonable Thomas – there’s no evidence of another world. Don’t doubt me Thomas – the only world that exists is the ‘world you now live in’. This is all there is. “Your human ‘logic’ should convince you of this – to believe in another ‘world’ would be unreasonable for our highly developed human brains to even consider. We have no invisible means of support Thomas – don’t doubt this.” It’s beyond the power of human reason to even consider another world “Surely Thomas, it must be obvious to you that we have everything in this world we need. With so many advances in science and physics we now lack for nothing. I hope that’s the end of our discussion my son – I can say with conviction ‘quod erat demonstrandum’. Yes Thomas - I have proved my point - haven’t I?”
Unlike Peter and Wanda, who did not question their dad’s comments, Thomas was a doubting type of boy and put more questions to his dad: “Daddy,” he said, “The earthworm’s brain power was so limited that he ‘got it wrong’. There was another world.
“The goldfish’s brain power was slightly more developed than that of the earthworm, yet so limited that she also got it wrong – there was another world. “If the endogeic earthworm and the goldfish were wrongly convinced that no other world existed, could you be wrong daddy?
“Is there no doubt in your mind dad that all the beauty and unexplained wonders all around us have not been designed by the author of yet another world – the unseen (to us daddy) world of God?
“Just as the limited brain power of Peter and Wanda did not allow them to ‘think beyond their braingrade’ and consider the existence of another type of world could it be that in the ‘scale of things’ we are no different to Peter and Wanda. “It may seem insulting to your brain-grade to consider that a higher ‘brain-grade” than yours exists: the brain-grade of God.
“Why should the ‘surprises’ that the earthworm and goldfish got stop with you? Could you not also be surprised dad? Can you tell me please why you think the same principle of ‘brain limitation’ should not apply to humans as much as it does to the earthworm and goldfish?
“While Wanda was a ‘brain-grade step’ ahead of Peter, and you dad are a ‘brain-grade step’ ahead of Wanda, is it not reasonable to you dad that this advancing ‘chain of brain-grades’ could advance even further to yet another world, which, due to our very limited ‘brain-grade’, can only be acknowledged by a word we call ‘faith’?
“Why is it not more reasonable daddy to ‘have rather than have not’ this faith? “I’m only a young boy and I can see that ‘faith’, rather than earthworm, goldfish and human intellect should be considered.
“Dad, it’s not that you are unreasonable, it’s only that, similar to Peter and Wanda, you can only use a human ‘brain-grade’ level to undertake a human reasoning process. There could be numerous dimensions and worlds right in front of your face daddy – it’s just that your brain-grade denies you the ‘equipment’ to go beyond a particular thought level.
“Your sense of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell are gifted to you by a human brain, which although higher than that of Peter’s and Wanda’s brain-grades may well be lower than that of the author and director of an even greater world. “So daddy, you’re not to blame – it’s no human’s fault – it’s just that you are unable to go beyond your ‘pay grade’. You are just a human being.
“Although dad we could not be any happier now, don’t you sometimes get a ‘feeling’ or sense that humans are unfulfilled and must wait a lifetime to be fulfilled in another world – a world we call heaven. “Your self-appointed human pride and human ‘know-all’ attitude could be your problem dad. I don’t blame you - after all as Tammy Wynette says, ‘You’re just a man’.”
Dad. A final question….
“Where do you think our world came from?”
Dad replied:
“Our world arose from a theory we call the ‘Big Bang’. Thomas, my doubting son, our human ‘Big
Bang’ theory is quite easy to grasp and understand. This ‘Big Bang’ theory, regarding our existence, is when a certain collision generated atoms that made our world and eventually – us. It really is as simple as this son. The greatest ‘human brain-grades’ have told us so.”
Thomas replied, “But dad, in my school book I read that a collision is caused by ‘one moving object striking violently against another object with an accompanying ‘bang’.’ So where did the objects that caused this collision or ‘big bang’ you mention come from?
“Also dad where did the space, within which this collision occurred, come from? Is it not more
reasonable, even at our brain’s miniature grade-level, to think that rather than atoms wandering around and eventually, over time, constructing intricate organs and organisms which are anatomically and functionally ‘mind-bending’ to us – is it not much more likely, again at our junior brain-grade level, to ‘let go’ for a while and ponder the idea that perhaps the beauty of nature we observe every day of our lives – is only a name for an effect whose cause is God, the author and director of our world.
“Whether it took trillions of years or a few days to create our world is not of any importance dad. We are cheeky enough to use our human brain-grade’s definition of time. Who do we think we are? We, at a brain-grade of humans, define the word ‘time’. We define ‘time’ as ‘the indefinite, continued progress of existence and events in the past, present and future regarded as a whole’.
“I’m afraid to tell you dad that our ‘Father Time’ is just a figment of our brain-grade. Daddy, I know you are an intelligent man and you believe that what you ‘think’ at your brain-grade level is correct, but in fact all your thought processes exist only within the capacity of your human brain.
“If you had the faith dad to believe that your human brain-grade level is just a mere human brain-grade level, then you would know, Dad, that there is not even the possibility of you knowing the answers to these questions because it’s not ‘given to you to know’. “I think dad that there may well be another ‘Father Time’. Anyway, ‘time will tell’.
“Dad, even though you have been awarded the
Nobel Prize for Knowledge, Logic, Reason and Intelligence
…surely you couldn’t think even at your majestic braingrade level that us humans are the ‘top of the bill’ at the concert of life? You, through a most fragile gift called faith, are invited to attend another concert.
“To paraphrase the words of a song, ‘Your grade was not so great after all'."
George Hilton
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Sport Cruiser Rises
The airplane that briefly became the Piper Sport becomes itself again. Five reasons why that’s a very good thing.
Story And Photography By Isabel Goyer
Introduced just over a decade ago, the Czech Sport Aircraft Sport Cruiser is one of the most popular Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) on the market. With more than 600 operating worldwide and more than 300 in the United States alone, the two-seater continues to impress pilots and to get better. I’d heard good things about the plane from friends who’d flown it, but until a few weeks ago, I’d never flown it myself. Honestly, now I’m kind of kicking myself for waiting so long.
Flying can be a pain sometimes, when the weather isn’t cooperating with our plans to fly an easy VFR trip, when a mechanical issue has you grounded and chasing down a mechanic on the field instead of frolicking around puffy white clouds topside. Then again, sometimes everything goes right. Sometimes, it’s a perfect day to fly and everything cooperates to make it a magical experience. That was my first flight in a Sport Cruiser, which I recently flew at the Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida, buzzing around above in a sport plane while the sports cars buzzed around the Grand Prix track below. It’s been several days since then, but I think there might be traces of the smile left on my face. Yup, that’s why we fly.
I normally hate to fly at airshows. There are too many airplanes up and about, it can be a pain to get the airplane to the flight line, and then it can take a long time to get to the number-one position for takeoff. Little of that was true for Sebring, though on Saturday there was a good bit of air traffic coming in to check out the show.
Czech Sport Aircraft Sport Cruiser
When the FAA, along with industry groups, put together the LSA category a decade ago, I was impressed by how broad a range of aircraft the new rules would allow, everything from powered lift to conventional airplanes. I think the FAA had in mind a rule that would best apply to light, two-seat planes reminiscent of some of the most popular four-seaters in aviation history. Think Cessna 172 and Piper PA-28 (Archer, Warrior, 140…take your pick).
One of the biggest mistakes the agency made, however, was in mandating a crazy-low stall speed. Their reasoning was understandable. The slower an airplane stalls, the safer it will be, but there’s a cost for low stall speeds. To get them, you need a very lightly loaded wing, and that almost always equates to tricky handling in breezy conditions. Indeed, a few of the most popular light sport airplanes, the Flight Design CT series, the Remos GT and the Vans RV-12, are all a handful on takeoff and landing when it’s windy. A few LSA have overcome this in very conventional ways. The CubCrafters Carbon Cub and the Legend Aircraft Legend Cub, both LSA versions of the classic Bedford, Pennsylvania-bred Taylor/Piper Cub design, handle like airplanes you’ve probably flown before.
But planes that push the 120-knot speed limit of LSA are often hard-pressed to combine low landing speeds with relatively high cruise speeds—indeed, many are capable of flying a good deal faster than 120 knots and need to be set up to keep the speeds down, often by adjusting their props to a finer pitch.
You probably already know where this is going, that the Sport Cruiser is remarkable in its ability to go fast very nicely and to go slow just as nicely. When you think back to the Cessna 172 and Piper PA-28, they both have that same characteristic. They fly nicely in all phases of flight. In fact, one of the complaints about both airplanes early in their lives was that they were too easy to fly. Cessna and Piper leaders at the time laughed off the criticism and kept right on delivering airplanes to happy owners. Fifty years and tens of thousands of airplanes later, I guess they knew what they were doing.
Beneath the big glass dome, the Sport Cruiser boasts a wide and comfy cockpit. The red handle below the center display (a Garmin aera 796 in an AirGizmo mount) is the whole-airplane recovery parachute system handle, a great feature in any plane. Above the pilot-side display is the autopilot controller—yes, it's an LSA. The circuit breakers and the fuel selector are all placed in easy-to-see and easy-to-reach locations.
Piper Sport?
The story of the Sport Cruiser is a long and winding one for the airplane, being just over 10 years old. It’s been through a few name changes and ownership changes, and the airplane was marketed by Piper Aircraft for a short time as the Piper Sport. There are still Piper Sports out there, around 80 of them, but they’re for all intents and purposes identical to other Sport Cruisers.
Designed in the early 2000s, the Sport Cruiser is built in Czech Republic by Czech Aircraft Works, now known as Czech Sport Aircraft, in Kunovice, Czech Republic. The country has a long history of aircraft manufacturing experience, having manufactured numerous Soviet Designs during the Cold War era, including large multi-engine airplanes and jet fighter/trainers, including the L-39, a popular jet among private owners in the United States.
The basic design of the Sport Cruiser is in keeping with the tradition of Czech design while being a thoroughly modern-looking model. It’s a conventional tricycle-gear, all-metal, two-seat, side-by-side airplane with clean, straightforward lines and a large bubble canopy that gives remarkable visibility and great headroom while making it pretty easy to get into and back out of the plane.
Beginning in 2010, Piper marketed the plane, with very minor changes, as one of its own for around a year. Then, apparently some kind of disagreement came up between the Czech manufacturer and the American airplane company, and Piper abruptly canceled the partnership.
While Piper’s course since then has been smart, it cancelled its single-engine jet program and focused on its strength, selling its great training aircraft, included its PA-28 singles and PA-44 Seminole training twin, along with its single-engine transportation airplanes, which include the pressurized piston-single Mirage (now the M350) and the Meridian. The Piper Sport, while a worthy addition to the company’s lineup, even if adopted, would have added little to the bottom line. Piper’s GA competitors Cirrus and Cessna arrived at a similar conclusion and canceled their LSA programs, Cessna after having built a number of its Skycatcher LSAs and Cirrus before its involvement had even gotten to the point of finalizing a design.
“If you've trained in a 152, you'll be amazed by the huge space between the two front-seat occupants in the Sport Cruiser.”
The Sport Cruiser has soldiered on. It is, of course, an S-LSA, meaning you buy the completed airplane, and while it’s not cheap, at between $180,000 and $190,000, based on options, it’s a nicely finished airplane that costs very little to operate while delivering great across-the-board performance rivaling or surpassing that of some great conventional four-place singles, the Cessna Skyhawk or Piper Warrior for example. On top of that, the Sport Cruiser costs less to buy, maintain and operate than those Part 23 airplanes.
As an S-LSA, it can also be used for limited commercial operations. The current U.S. distributor uses the Sport Cruiser to conduct a wide range of training. Although it’s not obvious that LSA could be used for instruction in earning a private or commercial rating, an S-LSA can be.
There’s also the fact that you don’t need a regular FAA medical to fly the Sport Cruiser as an LSA. Patrick Arnzen of US Sport Aircraft, the United States distributor for the Sport Cruiser, told me that a good percentage of the company’s business has been from pilots who were moving down to an S-LSA after flying a Bonanza or a Cirrus. With the advent (hopefully) of the easier third-class pilot medical, we’re curious to see if the LSA draw remains as strong when pilots flying under the new FAA physical requirements can do their thing in conventional Part 23 airplanes.
One of the nice things about LSA is that costs are cheaper all around. The Cirrus SR22 parachute repack costs owners around $15,000, while a similar (though not identical) maintenance event for LSA owners will likely cost them around $1,000. Owners with a simplified maintenance certificate can do much of the work on their own plane.
The LSA-style BRS parachute is cheap to add as an option and even cheaper to overhaul.
Design And Configuration
As is the case with all low-wing airplanes, to get into the Sport Cruiser you need to climb up on the wing to get in. Because this plane is so compact, this is a really easy thing to do. There’s a step to assist, but I think some moderately flexible folks could just step up directly onto the wing. It’s easy. The canopy, a big glass bubble affair, hinges at the front, allowing a ton of room to maneuver into a seat. The method is to grab hold of a handle built in between the seats and then step in one leg at a time. It might be a little harder for pilots with limited mobility, but it’s still doable. I’m not a big or tall person, and it was easier than getting into a Cirrus, for example.
There’s no back seat—LSA are two-seaters (at maximum)—but there’s a good-sized baggage hold that could accommodate a couple of good-sized duffle bags and/or various odds and ends, such as a pilot bag or spare headset. For additional storage, and this is cool, there are two wing lockers, one on each side of the plane and about the size of a breadbox—for those of us who remember what a breadbox is or why that’s a thing. You can’t access the contents in flight, but there’s room for a few additional items to make up for the relative lack of storage space in the cabin.
In each wing root is a large storage locker for keeping things you might not want in the cockpit with you, even given the ample storage section behind the seats.
The cockpit itself is terrific. If you’ve ever trained in a 152, you're bound to be amazed by the sheer amount of space tween the two front-seat occupants, and with ample headroom and side room, the spaciousness of the Sport Cruiser is nothing short of luxurious.
There are control sticks, which seems almost standard-issue in LSA. The use of sticks cuts down on mechanical complexity and weight while making it harder, though not impossible, to put things on your lap. The seats are fixed, dense foam cushions with a built-in framework. The cushions rest on a fixed framework below and against the cockpit wall behind. So they’re not adjustable, but by inserting cushions behind the seat backs. Then you can adjust the rudder pedals as suits you. I quickly found the perfect seating position with no extra cushions and the pedals pulled all the way back toward me.
Once inside the cockpit and buckled up, you reach up and pull the canopy down and then latch it on both sides. There’s a lever between the seats that latches and releases the canopy, which is one element of the design I didn’t like. Seems as though it would be too easy for someone to accidentally release the canopy latch in flight. I’d love to see some kind of guard there to prevent just such an accident.
Between the seat backs are the canopy release and a handle to brace yourself when getting into the plane.
One great feature, which was originated around the time of the Piper Sport, is a sliding accordion fabric sunshade that you can slide forward to keep things less sunny up top or keep it retracted to get the full effect of all that glass on a nice but not so hot day. There are two built-in sliding window vents that can be opened in flight, a kind of refined version of the classic Piper “holler holes” that work great and don’t create as much noise as you’d think.
Up front is the Dynon SkyView HDX, a new version of the company’s popular flat-panel system. There’s also, you might note, a red handle on the panel that looks a lot like it might be for deploying an emergency whole-airplane recovery system parachute. And that’s what it is. Arnzen told me that almost every Sport Cruiser goes into a customer’s hands with a chute.
The Dynon SkyView HDX flat-panel avionics system offers stunning displays, synthetic vision and a wide variety of safety utilities. Smartly engineered anchor points make it easier for the pilot to make the right touch in bumpy conditions. SkyView HDX is also highly customizable, so pilots can set it up as they like it.
Flying The Sport Cruiser
It was midmorning on Saturday at Sebring when Patrick and I fired up the Rotax 912 ULS and taxied out to go flying on a gorgeous late winter day in Central Florida. The taxi itself was instructive. The Sport Cruiser taxis very easily. It’s also easier to handle in a crosswind than some LSAs.
For takeoff, we had an intersection departure—not my favorite option, but at the airshow that was the procedure for airplanes on display, and the Sport Cruiser needs very little runway.
I retracted the one notch of flaps at around 300 feet and we climbed out, initially at a faster airspeed than called for (out of habit, my bad) but when I slowed it down to a good cruise climb for the plane I was actually in, we were rewarded with a very nice rate of climb and a still surprisingly decent amount of visibility out front.
In the air, the Sport Cruiser handles really nicely. There’s very little of the adverse yaw you experience in some LSA. It’s light on the controls, which shouldn’t be too surprising. It is a light airplane, after all, just 1320 pounds at max takeoff weight and 855 pounds empty.
One thing I’m not crazy about is the trim switch, which is situated atop the stick, making it hard for me to get my thumb wrapped around the top in a natural-feeling way. And there’s not a lot of feeling of feedback from applying trim, which is, I’m sure, because the plane is, as I said, light enough on the controls that it’s easy to apply enough pressure to counteract a slightly out-of-trim setting manually.
The feel, again, is nicely harmonized, and you need a little rudder pedal to keep things centered, but here the feedback is immediate and clear. The feel I had for how much rudder the plane needed was all I needed to keep the ball centered. Very nice. The basic flight maneuvers I did all showed the plane’s very conventional behavior and easy flyability. Dutch rolls, where you rock the wings while keeping the nose of the plane on a spot in front of you, were crisp and honest, and while we didn’t wring the Sport Cruiser out, when we slowed down, both clean and dirty, the plane retained a high degree of controllability, with lots of aileron effectiveness even on short final at what seems to me a ridiculously slow speed.
On the long list of things I really liked about the plane is its visibility. My eyes were everywhere that morning looking for traffic. Eyeballs are notoriously ineffective TCAS devices, but sometimes they’re the best we’ve got, and if you wanted to maximize your chances of seeing other traffic, the Sport Cruiser is the plane you want to be in.
It was a breezy day in Sebring, to the point where any pilots would have had to work hard to keep things on the straight and narrow, but the Sport Cruiser was no such challenge. Again, it’s light, but it handles like a much larger single only with a bit more touch required. Hit the speed for touchdown and the plane will settle in for a nice flared landing, and if there’s a little crosswind, as there was for us, a little aileron into the wind while keeping the nose straight with rudder keeps it happy and tracking the centerline. Touchdown was maybe a few knots too fast, so there was a little float, but it was so easy to bleed off, or to keep it flying, that it felt as though I could pick my landing spot and put it right there. And this was on my first flight in it.
After Touchdown
One concern that many potential owners have about buying an airplane built outside of North America is that it might be hard to get parts and service. I’m not discounting that issue, but the company has done a lot to address those concerns. The current distributor, US Sport Aircraft, based at Addison, Texas, is a large, well-run company with what seems like a great culture of customer care. The manufacturer is also in the process of setting up shop in South Florida with the express goal of providing support to the North American market, not unlike a couple of business aircraft, Embraer, with its Phenom jets, and Daher with its TBM lineup, have successfully done.
The Sport Cruiser might not be quite as fast or high-flying as those turbine beauties, but for pilots looking for an LSA to transition into and really enjoy flying, maybe even flying places, this is an airplane that’s worth a long look.
5 Things The Sport Cruiser Got Right
Conventional and harmonious flight control: It’s a great flying airplane that handles well, even in breezy conditions. Even taxiing is great.
Cockpit comfort: From great headroom, shoulder room and clearance from the sides, the Sport Cruiser shines here. And the visibility is as good as it gets.
Rotax power: The choice of the Rotax 912 ULS gives pilots a proven powerplant that has a large service network. I should add that Sensenich’s three-blade composite prop is as quiet and smooth as it is pretty.
Dynon SkyView HDX: This is a terrific choice for a sport plane, with large, sharp displays, touch or button control, a great little autopilot and all kinds of additional safety utilities.
Bringing the factory to the customer: The Sport Cruiser’s established support center in Texas and emerging North American headquarters in Florida are signs that the company intends to be in the market for a long time and to give the existing fleet the support it deserves.
The Sport Cruiser we flew for this report was a customer-owned airplane on loan to the factory. It is outfitted with the Dynon SkyView HDX flat-panel system, the Rotax 912ULS and a BRS whole airplane recovery parachute system.
Price As Flown: $180,000
Base Price: $160,000
Czech Sport Aircraft Sport Cruiser Specifications
12 thoughts on “Sport Cruiser Rises”
MICHAEL SHERIDAN says:
Why would I even consider a new, allegedly state-of-the-art plane without the option of fuel injection. Absurd. An ancient technology, prone to carb ice. One cannot buy even a $25,000 car with a CARB!
Editor Goyer gave them a rather big pass here.
Uhh….Rotax offers a fuel-injected version of the 912 engine. I was lucky enough to be a passenger in a SC this week. It was a long trip from Sun-n-Fun back to Texas. We burned 4.5 gph of 93 Octane MOGAS. It was roomy, comfortable and we carried a fair amount of baggage for two full-sized people. The engine started up instantly every single time. We had Garmin GPS (796), Autopilot, Digital PFD, Engine Monitoring, XM Weather & Radio. My friend bought his 6-yr old airplane for well-under $100k. I think it would be “absurd” to consider his plane “ancient technology” or ignore all the benefits listed in the article. No airplane is perfect, but I think the point of the article is that it’s a lot of bang-for-the-buck.
William Depino says:
I would like to know where in Florida are their headquarters.
Concerning the 120 knot cruise, is this the fastest cruise possible? Or is this at sea level? Does top cruise increase at altitude? In other words at 3,000, 5,000 or higher does the top cruise increase? If so, by how much?
David X Bonnar says:
Rotax Bing carbs are pretty cool. They do automatic altitude compensation so no manual leaning etc for mixture control. The Rotax 912 ULS engine also likes mogas or avgas and has been a joy to own and maintain. Yes, the Rotax engine has gotten even better over time with more options avail, however my ’08 SportCruiser with the Rotax 100hp motor is still far more advanced than 90% of the GA fleet flying today. We’re loving it.
Hal McKinnon says:
What is the panel mounted annunciatior located at the top left side of the panel, appears http be yellow, and says EMS; what does it tell you? Thanks.
The EMS stands for Engine Management System. It’s just an additional visual that one or more of the engine/systems are out of the green range. Most also have a voice annunciation as well as being displayed on the screen. Too cold, too hot, low volts, low or high pressure, canopy unlocked, low fuel, etc.
Andrew Nielsen says:
I read somewhere that this plane has a bad safety record. I think it was Aviation Consumer, but I might be wrong.
Kirk Evers says:
Andrew, before you make statements like you did about this aircraft you should do a little research. I just read the only 35 NTSB reports on this aircraft. The main theme was new pilots making bad decisions and issues not related to the aircraft. In fact this aircraft appears to recover and perform outstanding in critical situations according to NTSB findings. Please be more responsible in your remarks.
Tim Kinnon says:
I read in a different article that the Carbs are located on top of the engine and are no prone to Carb icing. Is this accurate?
Ron Craighead says:
I’ve got about 60 hours in various SportCruisers. They are fantastic to fly, even on long trips.
Mike Clifford says:
Their Florida facility is in Sebastian Fl. Airport X26. They are hosting an open house March 24 2018. I plan to stop in and see them as it is only a mile from my house.
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Strong Reactions to New York Rent Control Changes
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June 12, 2019, 11am PDT
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Tax Relief as an Affordable Housing Boost
The city of New Orleans needs approval from the State Legislature and the state's voters before it can implement tax relief measures meant to give more first-time homebuyers access to the housing market.
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A new governor and State Legislature will be faced with increasing pressure on public transportation infrastructure and the need to change the state's approach to public transit, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
The Columbus Dispatch
Legislative Attempt to Block Mojave Water Drilling Project Dies
September 4, 2018, 12pm PDT
A proposal to drill for water in the Mojave Desert will have an easier path to approval, after a bill requiring Additional environmental review of the project dies int he California State Senate.
The Desert Sun
Atlanta Suburbs Reconsidering Public Transit
April 13, 2018, 1pm PDT
A sweeping set of bill approved by the State legislature could pave the way for a "transformational" investment in public transit throughout the Atlanta region.
Tennessee Legislature Blocks Nashville's 2016 Inclusionary Zoning Policy
April 2, 2018, 6am PDT
Republicans in the Tennessee State Legislature made sure Nashville will never know if its inclusionary zoning policy would have delivered affordable housing in the city.
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It is an understatement that Increasing fuel taxes is challenging. If there is an opportune time to do it, it's when gas prices are relatively low, when the state decides to cut other taxes, and when there's bipartisan support.
St. Louis Public Radio
Transit Needs More Allies at the State Level
January 10, 2018, 8am PST
While the federal government withdraws financing support for public transit, one writer says Democrats in the state of Washington need to gird support for Sound Transit 3's funding initiatives.
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Colorado's roads and highways are in poor repair—the state of transportation was even called a 'quiet crisis' ten years ago. The problems persist, as does the state's lack of funding to fix the problem.
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The overwhelming majority of states that increased gas taxes last year were Republican-controlled. In states where the legislature is split, it's more difficult to approve transportation funding legislation. Down-ballot races may prove decisive.
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The Order: 1886™
Weapons/Gadgets
HIGH DEFINITION VIDEOS
A dark threat
The story of The Order
Centuries of war against a supernatural foe have led to desperate times for humanity. But with the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, advanced technologies have emerged that will give The Order an advantage, and help them take the fight back to enemies both old and new. Amid this alternative history; The Order remains a pivotal part of the British Empire, with its council hidden deep within the halls of government.
City of death
Neo-Victorian London
Journey through Victorian-era London, complete with familiar landmarks such as the Palace of Westminster, Mayfair, Whitechapel, Crystal Palace, Big Ben and the London Underground. But this is not the London you know. Giant airships patrol the skies and electric trains traverse the city on elevated tracks above busy streets. This vision of London features advanced technology, brought about by an accelerated Industrial Revolution and the centuries-old conflict between humans and Half-breeds.
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The Order: 1886 | Fusing History & Mythology
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A new threat arises
Introducing the rebels
A rebellion emerges that threatens an already unstable peace. Tight security measures that amount to a near police state, combined with a widening gap between the rich and the poor, have left the citizens of London angry at those they perceive to be the cause of their woes. The ranks of the rebels are growing - as is their boldness - as they declare an all-out war against The Order and the government oppression it represents.
Inhuman Half-breeds
Centuries ago, a dangerous foe emerged known as the Half-breeds. With inhuman strength and speed, humanity was seemingly outmatched by this new supernatural threat. To combat the Half-breeds, an elite order of Knights formed to protect humanity from this deadly menace. Strengthened by a mysterious liquid called Blackwater, the Knights of The Order can heal their wounds and extend their lifespans in order to engage this unnatural enemy.
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PLU selected to host 2018 U.S. Senate debate
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Posted by: Kate Williams Date: September 17, 2018
Washington state senator candidates face off in a debate hosted by the Washington Debate Coalition in Gonzaga University’s Hemmingson Center Ballroom on October 16th, 2016. (Photo by Edward Bell)
By Marketing and Communications
September 2018 – Pacific Lutheran University has been selected to host a 2018 U.S. Senate Debate on October 8 by the Washington State Debate Coalition.
PLU was picked as a host site by the Governance Committee from a pool of 19 applicant organizations from around the state, and is working with community partners Bethel School District, Eatonville School District, Franklin Pierce School District and Tacoma Public Schools to host the debate in October.
“Pacific Lutheran University is honored to host a U.S. Senate debate, providing Puget Sound residents an important opportunity to hear directly from the candidates about how they will represent our state’s diverse regions,” said PLU acting president Allan Belton.
Invitations to participate in the debate were sent to Sen. Maria Cantwell and challenger Susan Hutchison at the conclusion of the primaries. The debate, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 12:30 p.m. in the Karen Hille Phillips Center. Tickets will be distributed in limited numbers to PLU’s student body and community partners, and the remainder will be available to the public on a first-come-first-served basis.
Advocates for PLU being considered as a host site included campus figures like Director of Forensics Justin Eckstein, Associate Professor and Chair of Communication and Theatre Amy Young, Associate Vice President of Campus Life Tom Huelsbeck and Associate Vice President of Marketing & Communications Lace Smith — people who believe the university has a civic obligation to bring events like this to Parkland and Pierce County.
“Bringing our U.S. senatorial representative to campus is a really good opportunity for PLU and the local community,” Eckstein said. “This part of Pierce County is something of a civics desert, and that lack of access leads to low voter turnout. Community members don’t really have any opportunity to meet with the leadership that represents them.”
The Washington State Debate Coalition, founded by Seattle CityClub in 2016 to bolster the number of high-quality, nonpartisan debates available to the public, echoes that sentiment. With 1,800 debate attendees and more than 1 million television and streaming viewers in its first year, the Coalition has succeeded in making political candidates for public office more accessible to voters.
“When neighborhoods are underrepresented, they lose their voice,” Eckstein said. “By bringing this debate to the area, we’re working to enhance our community.”
MediaLab Premiere – “Living on the Edge”
( April 11, 2019 )
Professor Justin Eckstein wins Rohrer Research Award
( December 14, 2018 )
Snapshots from the recent Senate Debate October 8
( October 25, 2018 )
( September 17, 2018 )
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Presynaptic NMDARs and astrocytes ally to control circuit-specific information flow
Isabel Pérez-Otaño and Antonio Rodríguez-Moreno
PNAS July 2, 2019 116 (27) 13166-13168; first published June 14, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908293116
Isabel Pérez-Otaño
aInstituto de Neurociencias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas y Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03550 San Juan de Alicante, Spain;
Antonio Rodríguez-Moreno
bLaboratory of Cellular Neuroscience and Plasticity, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, ES-41013 Seville, Spain
For correspondence: arodmor@upo.es
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The entorhinal cortex (EC) conveys spatial, limbic, and sensory information to the hippocampus, which performs critical brain functions, including learning and memory processes and spatial information coding. Axons from superficial [layer (L)2] EC neurons make excitatory synapses onto granule cells (GCs) of the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG), which prepare the information for further processing in other hippocampal regions (1). Afferents from the lateral and medial perforant path (LPP and MPP, respectively) convey different aspects of information to the DG, with the former related more to sensory information, and the latter to spatial location and limbic signals related to attention and motivation. They also have distinct patterns of input, contacting the outer (LPP) or middle (MPP) third of the molecular layer of the DG, and exhibit different functional properties (1, 2). The mechanistic bases of these differences are unknown and represent a challenge to understand circuit-specific biological computations as well as susceptibility to pathological insults. In PNAS, Savtchouk et al. (3) identify presynaptic N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (pre-NMDARs) as a source of the differences in information processing between MPP and LPP fibers.
Previous work by the group (4) demonstrated that glutamate released by astrocytes enhances the strength of PP-GC synapses. The effect seemed to be mediated by pre-NMDARs, which increased the probability of transmitter release and contained the glutamate receptor subunit GluN2b. However, the work made no distinction between LPP and MPP contributions and left unsolved an apparent incongruence: GluN2b subunits confer high voltage-dependent Mg2+ block to NMDAR channels, but pre-NMDARs at PP-GC synapses could be activated without previous depolarization or in the absence of action potential firing in the axons. The current work (3) demonstrates that this is possible because of the additional presence in the receptor channel of the atypical GluN3a subunit, which largely relieves NMDAR …
↵1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: arodmor{at}upo.es.
A. Solodkin,
G. W. Van Hoesen,
R. Insausti
, “Entorhinal cortex” in Reference Module in Biomedical Sciences (Elsevier, 2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-801238-3.04585-2.
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., Circuit-specific control of the medial entorhinal inputs to the dentate gyrus by atypical presynaptic NMDARs activated by astrocytes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 116, 13602–13610 (2019).
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., Glutamate exocytosis from astrocytes controls synaptic strength. Nat. Neurosci. 10, 331–339 (2007).
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, Emerging roles of GluN3-containing NMDA receptors in the CNS. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 17, 623–635 (2016).
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., Double dissociation of spike timing-dependent potentiation and depression by subunit-preferring NMDA receptor antagonists in mouse barrel cortex. Cereb. Cortex 19, 2959–2969 (2009).
Y. Andrade-Talavera,
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, Presynaptic spike timing-dependent long-term depression in the mouse hippocampus. Cereb. Cortex 26, 3637–3654 (2016).
M. Pérez-Rodríguez et al
., Adenosine receptor-mediated developmental loss of spike timing-dependent depression in the hippocampus. Cereb. Cortex, doi:10.1093/cercor/bhy194 (2018).
., Synapse-specific control of experience-dependent plasticity by presynaptic NMDA receptors. Neuron 83, 879–893 (2014).
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, Long-term potentiation depends on release of D-serine from astrocytes. Nature 463, 232–236 (2010).
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., Presynaptic deletion of GIT proteins results in increased synaptic strength at a mammalian central synapse. Neuron 88, 918–925 (2015).
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Isabel Pérez-Otaño, Antonio Rodríguez-Moreno
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jul 2019, 116 (27) 13166-13168; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1908293116
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A group of evolutionary biologists sees evidence for a hologenome. Others dismiss it entirely. One thing’s certain: The debate remains heated
Image credit: Shutterstock/Piriya Gutsch
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"We look forward to more meetings this week between Supreme Court Justice nominee Gorsuch and senators on both sides of the aisle,” said Ron Bonjean, a spokesman working on Gorsuch’s confirmation. | Getty
Gorsuch to barnstorm the Senate this week
Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is ramping up his Senate charm offensive this week, scheduling meetings with a slew of red-state Senate Democrats and Democratic leaders who’ll be a major influence in determining whether he gets confirmed later this year.
Gorsuch has more than a dozen meetings starting Monday, including with a pair of key Democrats to watch: Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a moderate who is up for reelection next fall, and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee who will lead the Democratic charge during the high-stakes confirmation hearings.
Tuesday will bring meetings with Republican Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Mike Crapo of Idaho, according to an official familiar with Gorsuch’s schedule. On Wednesday, he will hold private sit-downs with Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). Sasse, Crapo, Flake and Blumenthal are members of the Judiciary Committee
And on Thursday, Gorsuch will meet with four Senate Republicans: Susan Collins of Maine, Steve Daines of Montana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Judiciary member Thom Tillis of North Carolina. A meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who declined an initial meeting request last week, is also in the works.
"We look forward to more meetings this week between Supreme Court Justice nominee Gorsuch and senators on both sides of the aisle,” said Ron Bonjean, a spokesman working on Gorsuch’s confirmation.
Republicans hope a combination of Gorsuch’s legal record, his unanimous confirmation to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and immense political pressure on moderate Senate Democrats up for reelection will be enough to get him installed on the Supreme Court.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee launched the first ads of the 2018 cycle against Democratic Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Joe Donnelly of Indiana over the weekend with a pair of 30-second commercials that aired during the Indiana-Wisconsin basketball game on Sunday.
'The Senate is coming apart'
By JOHN BRESNAHAN and BURGESS EVERETT
And since late last week, Wisconsin’s Republican Gov. Scott Walker has been incessantly needling Baldwin on Twitter over the Supreme Court battle.
“The folks up for reelection will prove they are only partisan politicians if they follow the misguided lead of Washington’s liberal elite and go against their own beliefs from just last year,” said NRSC spokeswoman Katie Martin. “It’s time for Senate Democrats to get serious before they cost their colleagues another election.”
Donnelly has said little on Gorsuch’s nomination beyond committing to “carefully review and consider” his record. But Baldwin has already declared her opposition to Gorsuch — citing the judge’s ruling on issues involving access to contraceptives and labor issues — and claimed that Gorsuch “will have a hard time earning bipartisan support.”
“Judge Gorsuch should be held to the same standard that Supreme Court justices have been held to previously,” Baldwin said. “President Trump needs to earn 60 votes in the Senate, but I am not one of them.”
Lisa Murkowski
Jon Tester
Mike Crapo
John Thune
Susan Collins
Richard Blumenthal
Jeff Flake
Joe Donnelly
Tammy Baldwin
Heidi Heitkamp
Thom Tillis
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Understanding What God Is?
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New Faith Family Childrens Home Foundation Inc
admin | May 16, 2019 | Updated: May 16, 2019
Tracy Hoover and Curt Gridley are opening Groover Labs, a technology hub, this fall in the former Printing Inc. space.
I. History. The dream of the New Vision Children’s Home became a reality in 1981, when Charles and Ernestine Benson, Missionaries from the United States after working in partnership with the management of Faith Home in Stony Hill St. Andrew, felt it was time to pull out roots and replant themselves in the beautiful hills of Colleyville, Manchester.
To make a financial contribution to the Children’s Home, please contact: Sr. Anthonia David, Administrator or make a deposit to: The Holy Family Children’s Home A/C No. 7013840 Royal Bank of Canada Wm Peter Blvd, Castries, St. Lucia.
The ultimate goal of New Faith Family Children's Home Foundation Inc. is for the children to love.
New Faith Family Children's Home Foundation Inc. 745 likes. New Faith Family Children's Home Foundation Inc. is a child caring agency which caters to.
Meritxell Children’s World Foundation Inc. (MCWFI) provides love and a caring environment for abandoned, neglected, orphaned or abused children. Meritxell is a non-governmental, non-profit, child-caring agency that aspires to provide protective, nurturing and sheltering homes for children.
20 Ene 2018. New Faith Family Children's Home Foundation Inc., Kids International Ministries An orphanage center for the impoverished children of the.
Children’s Home Society of North Carolina is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Board Chair, as well as to welcome new arrivals to the CHS Board of Trustees. Their diverse talents and rich backgrounds will add greatly to the agency’s enduring mission to promote the right of every child to a permanent, safe, and loving family.
The Children’s Home & Lemieux Family Center. The Mario Lemieux Foundation created unique spaces at The Children’s Home in 2007 collectively called the Lemieux Family Center, when The Children’s Home relocated from Shadyside to a new location in Friendship. The goal of the Lemieux Family.
Feb 12, 2019. In addition, All Faiths serves children, youth and their families. health issues which impact their success at home, school and in their community. to New Mexico's children with fun activities and opportunities all month long!
You Can Help Children All Year! Did you know you can help children and families living at Baptist Children’s Homes just by shopping online? Thanks to a new program from Amazon called AmazonSmile, you can!
Phone, Suggest a phone number · Address. Valley Golf Rd; 1920 Cainta. New Faith Family Children's Home Foundation Inc is feeling excited at New Faith.
SAN ANTONIO — Two family homes were. salvaged bits of faith and fun times, laughing over pictures that survived the inferno, cradling Christmas keepsakes and fragile glassware, vowing to wash.
What Is The Spiritual Meaning Of A Dove Oct 6, 2017. Their symbolism stands contrary to their name, and different cultures have given them varied symbolic significance. Mourning Dove Symbolism. I mean, at the sheer magnitude of the challenge facing every one of us, as we barrel through the seemingly ceaseless interactions of our days — the personal, professional, romantic, digital, sexual, The
Outside his home is a large mural—a Banksy replica—of two children standing. has been writing for The New Yorker since 2003. She won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction for “Amity and.
A New Milford resident won $10,000 through a raffle at an event for Brookfield’s St. Joseph Catholic Academy. Allison Howard,
Brookside Baptist Church Live Stream Anglican Catholic Church Vs Episcopal Church. dioceses under the Holy See that reintegrate the Anglican patrimony with the Catholic Church. In North America, the ordinariate began with a wave of Anglican and Episcopal communities that entered. What Is The Spiritual Meaning Of A Dove Oct 6, 2017. Their symbolism stands contrary to their name, and
Our non profit organization is supported by passionate and empowering leaders that help us help a child every single day.
We've impacted the lives of over 200 million vulnerable children by tackling the root causes of poverty. Over a. We're a Christian humanitarian organization helping children, families, and their. Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, we serve all people. World Vision Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Eliada is a non-profit agency serving the children and families of Western North Carolina. Eliada’s mission is helping children succeed by providing an optimal learning environment that empowers children and their families.
DePelchin Children's Center, founded in 1892 in Houston, Texas, is a nonprofit provider of children's mental health, prevention and early intervention, and child welfare services. DePelchin helps more than 20,000 children and their families each year. 1983: The name is changed from "DePelchin Faith Home and Children's.
LURIE GETS $15 MILLION FOR KIDS’ MENTAL HEALTH: The Pritzker Foundation is giving Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. in.
Baptist Health Preschool Little Rock Top 10 health stories from Arizona in past 125 years Arizona often has played the role of refuge for new residents seeking the healthful benefits of its sunny weather and dry desert climate. Check out. A Prayer For The Punishment Of The Wicked Bible verses about Punishment Of Sin. The righteousness of the righteous shall
Faith Foundation Children's Home (FFCH) offers a variety of therapeutic services to children. Intensive in home services to assist reuniting families successfully.
Ramona has always been a strong believer that children are the future and became involved with Africa Foundation. of New.
(WOMENSENEWS)–Missy Denard prayed for six years before she rented the first home. faith-based-housing-helps-women-leave-prison Angeli R. Rasbury is an educator, artist, lawyer and writer.
At Africa New Life, we believe that for educational sponsorship to succeed, children need a stable home, a growing faith, a community that is developing, and a.
WESTERN Jamaican-born, Canadian-based philanthropist Pastor Hazel Hanson has called on local organisations to support her Compassionate Outreach Foundation Inc. school feeding. hearted persons and.
Faith Foundation Children's Home was founded through the vision of Pastor Buck Proffer, Pastor Janice Proffer, and the members of Faith Tabernacle World Outreach Inc. to include arts and crafts, family visiting rooms, a library, and a video arcade. A new Faith House was built behind the Church and Integrity in town.
Specialized, Community-Based Children & Family Services. highly trained staff with a faith-based philosophy to support individuals and families who want to open their homes and their hearts to foster children. Our decades of experience and “can do” attitude form the foundation for changing lives – yours and theirs.
8, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The National Education Association (NEA) Foundation. new-visions-award "Educators around the country have increasingly more diverse classrooms, with children from.
CHILDREN’S HOME SOCIETY OF FLORIDA, HOME OFFICE. We believe in building a strong foundation for children and families. This begins with providing comprehensive early childhood solutions so children can grow up in safe, healthy homes and enter kindergarten ready to learn. which can open doors for education and employment.A family "home.
BLOOMINGTON — Illinois Prairie Community Foundation, in an effort to. Brass Band of Central Illinois, new music and arrangements; Children’s Discovery Museum, Creative Arts Camp; Children’s Home +.
The Children’s Home & Lemieux Family Center. The Mario Lemieux Foundation created unique spaces at The Children’s Home in 2007 collectively called the Lemieux Family Center, when The Children’s Home relocated from Shadyside to a new location in Friendship. The goal of the Lemieux Family Center is to support and nurture families during the.
What Are The Food Restrictions For Christianity For example, Germany has severely limited ride-hailing services like Uber, and taxi drivers have organized massive protests. There are food restrictions in Islam. Others, particularly those who live in predominantly Christian areas, hold that it is sufficient to pronounce the name of God. no food, life-threatening environment and children away from us. At times we
Mission, Vision, & Values · Meet Our Team · Board of Directors · Statement of Faith · Financial. Sheridan House is a multifaceted ministry dedicated to helping families from our. the Family Values tag will completely fund one of our children's homes!. Whether it's an upcoming golf tournament or a new bible study there's.
“I’ve known him for years and I’ve complete faith in him — that’s all I can say,” said Toll, whose family holds more than 3 percent. of the history of Commerce Bancorp Inc.: Hill started that New.
Awali Church Mass Schedule NEWBURGH — A Mass for Newburgh Free Academy teacher Louis Sigelbaum and his daughter Carly, 9, will be held at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Valhalla. Both were critically injured. Confessions will be heard on Saturdays from 4-5 PM. The church is located at 689 Ritchie Highway in Severna Park.
His House Children's Home is a private non-profit, faith-based organization. by the Department of Children and Families, contracted by Our Kids Inc. in Miami.
With her Dora the Explorer backpack filled with clothes, 5-year-old Faith Acevedo and her mother, Tracy, sat in the darkened and stark shell of an abandoned San Bernardino house they had called home.
We have been helping children and families in need for over 50 years and are. The foundation of that first dormitory style cottage was laid and it was full of.
Because they’ve seen the grand finale: a verdant valley that hosts old homes. head a foundation to raise funds, while his.
I. History. The dream of the New Vision Children’s Home became a reality in 1981, when Charles and Ernestine Benson, Missionaries from the United States after working in partnership with the management of Faith Home in Stony Hill St. Andrew, felt it was time to pull out roots and replant themselves in the.
Feb 1, 2018. Sandy Sauer, Crossnore School & Children's Home's Director of Foster Care. social, and spiritual needs, until they can safely return to their families. The Sergei Foundation, Inc. Celebrating 10 Years of Saving the Lives of Pets. Faith and Family · Children's Devotion · Keep On the Sunny Side · Minute.
Children’s Homes affiliated with the churches of Christ. Alabama:. Childhaven Inc. Arkansas: Agape Child and Family Services, Inc. Children’s Home, Inc. Searcy Children’s Home. Southern Christian Home. California:. Manuelito Navajo Children’s Home, Inc. New Mexico Christian Children’s Home.
. THAT WE AT KIDS LOVE IS GIVING INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, AND TEAMS. New Faith Family Children's Home, please email: [email protected]
Photo ©2019 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE) — Whether Latter-day Saints are doing a happy dance or expressing reservations about Friday’s announcement that the faith. from family.
About Us. Our History. The Gibney Family Foundation of Idaho grant will help provide new resources to Northwest Children’s Home Education Center. Idaho foundation names Northwest. More. Board of Directors.
Faith Family Medical Center. Family. Fannie Battle Day Home for Children. Harvest Hands Community Development Corporation. New Beginnings Center.
The endowment fund, as it grows, will help insure that Potter Children’s Home & Family Ministries has enough operating income to continue serving children and families in need for years to come. The Potter Children’s Foundation endowment fund is currently made up.
The Nelsons’ older children live elsewhere. The family. four-bedroom home that burned. The Nelsons expect to be staying at the Residence Inn for the next several months as their insurance company.
“Shekia, Henry and Aiden, on behalf of our family, the Taylor family and our company [Burdette Beckmann, Inc.], it. said new homeowner Oriel Watts as she wiped away tears. “You have given me and my.
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Pfizer Foundation announced today a new $5 million grant commitment to initiatives in low- and middle-income countries that provide family planning access and education.
Anglican Catholic Church Vs Episcopal Church. dioceses under the Holy See that reintegrate the Anglican patrimony with the Catholic Church. In North America, the ordinariate began with a wave of Anglican and Episcopal communities that entered. What Is The Spiritual Meaning Of A Dove Oct 6, 2017. Their symbolism stands contrary to their name, and different cultures have given them
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State of world population 1987.
United Nations Fund for Population Activities [UNFPA]
In: UNFPA: 1986 report, [by] United Nations Fund for Population Activities. New York, New York, UNFPA, 1987. 6-31.
The implications of population growth and prospects for the future are examined in a 1987 UNFPA report on the state of world population. Demographic patterns in developed and developing countries are compared, as well as life expectancy and mortality rates. Although most countries have passed the stage of maximum growth, Africa's growth rate continues to increase. Changes in world population size are accompanied by population distribution and agricultural productivity changes. On an individual level, the fate of Baby 5 Billion is examined based on population trajectories for a developing country (Kenya, country A), and a developed country of approximately the same size (Korea, country B). The report outlines the hazards that Baby 5 Billion would face in a developing country and explains the better opportunities available in country B. Baby 5 Billion is followed through adolescence and adulthood. Whether the attainment of 5 billion in population is a threat or a triumph is questioned. Several arguments propounding the beneficial social, economic, and environmental effects of unchecked population growth are refuted. In addition, evidence of the serious consequences of deforestation and species extinction is presented. The report concludes with an explanation of the developmental, health and economic benefits of vigorous population control policies, especially in developing countries.
Changing perspectives of population in Africa and international responses.
Sai FT
[Unpublished] 1987. 13, [3] p.
Africa's colonial legacy is such that countries contain not only a multiplicity of nations and languages, but their governments operate on separate cultural and linguistic planes, remnants of colonial heritage, so that neighboring peoples often have closed borders. Another problem is poor demographic data, although some censuses, World Fertility Surveys, Demographic Sample Surveys and Contraceptive Prevalence Surveys have been done. About 470 million lived in the region in 1984, growing at 3% yearly, ranging from 1.9% in Burkina to 4.6% in Cote d'Ivoire. Unique in Africa, women are not only having 6 to 8.1 children, but they desire even larger families: Senegalese women have 6.7 children and want 8.8. This gloomy outlook is reflected in the recent history of family planning policy. Only Ghana, Kenya and Mauritius began family planning in the 1960s, and in Kenya the policy failed, since it was begun under colonial rule. 8 countries made up the African Regional Council for IPPF in 1971. At the Bucharest Population Conference in 1974, most African representatives, intellectuals and journalists held the rigid view that population was irrelevant for development. Delegates to the Kilimanjaro conference and the Second International Conference on Population, however, did espouse the importance of family planning for health and human rights. And the Inter-Parliamentary Union of Africa accepted the role of family planning in child survival and women's status. At the meeting in Mexico in 1984, 12 African nations joined the consensus of many developing countries that rapid population growth has adverse short-term implications on development. Another 11 countries allow family planning for health and human rights, and a few more accept it without stating a reason. Only 3 of 47 Sub-Saharan nations state pro-natalist policies, and none are actively against family planning.
Socio-economic development and fertility decline in Costa Rica. Background paper prepared for the project on socio-economic development and fertility decline.
Denton C; Acuna O; Gomez M; Fernandez M; Raabe C; Bogan M
New York, New York, United Nations, 1985. 118 p. (ST/ESA/SER.R/55)
This summary of information on the development process in Costa Rica and its relation to fertility from 1950-70 is a revision of a study prepared for the Workshop on Socioeconomic Development and Fertility Decline held in Costa Rica in April 1982 as part of a UN comparative study of 5 developing countries. The report contains chapters on background information on fertility and the family, historical facts, and political organization of Costa Rica; the development strategy and its consequences vis a vis the composition of the gross domestic product, balance of trade, investment trends, the structure of the labor force, educational levels, and income; the allocation of public resources in public employment, public investment, credit, public expenditures, and the impact of resource allocation policies; changes in land tenure patterns; cultural factors affecting fertility, including education, women and their family roles, behavior in the home, women and politics, work and social security, and race and religion; changes in demographic variables, including nuptiality patterns, marital fertility, and natural fertility and birth control; characteristics and determining factors of the decline in fertility, including levels and trends, decline by age group, decline in terms of birth order, differences among population groups, how fertility declined, and history and role of family planning programs; and a discussion of the modernization process in Costa Rica and the relationship between demographic and socioeconomic variables. Beginning with the 1948 civil war, Costa Rica underwent drastic changes which were still reflected in national life as late as 1970. The industrial sector and the government bureaucracy have become decisive forces in development and the government has become the major employer. The state plays a key role in economic life, and state participation is a determining factor in extending medical and educational resources in the social field. The economically active population declined from 64% in 1960 to 55% in 1975 due to urbanization and migration from rural to urban areas, but there was an increase in economic participation of women, especially in urban areas. Increased educational level of the population in general and women in particular created changes in traditional attitudes and behavior. Although there is no specific explanation of why Costa Rica's fertility decline occurred, some observations about its determining factors and mechanisms can be made: the considerable economic development of the 1950s and 1960s brought about a rapid rise in per capita income and changes in the structure of production as well as substantial social development, increased opportunities for self-improvement for some social groups, and a rise in expectations. The size of the family became an aspect of conflict between rising expectations and increasing expenses. The National Family Planning Program helped accelerate the fertility decline.
Population growth and economic and social development.
Clausen AW
Washington, D.C., World Bank, 1984. 36 p. (International Conference on Population, 1984; Statements)
In his address to national leaders in Nairobi, Kenya, Clausen expresses his views on population growth and development. Rapid population growth slows development in the developing countries. There is a strong link between population growth rates and the rate of economic and social development. The World Bank is determined to support the struggle against poverty in developing countries. Population growth will mean lower living standards for hundreds of millions of people. Proposals for reducing population growth raise difficult questions about the proper domain of public policy. Clausen presents a historical overview of population growth in the past 2 decades, and discusses the problem of imbalance between natural resources and people, and the effect on the labor force. Rapid population growth creates urban economic and social problems that may be unmanageable. National policy is a means to combat overwhelmingly high fertility, since governments have a duty to society as a whole, both today's generation and future ones. Peoples may be having more children than they actually want because of lack of information or access to fertility control methods. Family planning is a health measure that can significantly reduce infant mortality. A combination of social development and family planning is needed to teduce fertility. Clausen briefly reviews the effect of economic and technological changes on population growth, focusing on how the Bank can support an effective combination of economic and social development with extending and improving family planning and health services. The World Bank offers its support to combat rapid population growth by helping improve understanding through its economic and sector work and through policy dialogue with member countries; by supporting developing strategies that naturally buiild demand for smaller families, especially by improving opportunities in education and income generation; and by helping supply safe, effective and affordable family planning and other basic health services focused on the poor in both urban and rural areas. In the next few years, the Bank intends at least to double its population and related health lending as part of a major effort involving donors and developing countries with a primay focus on Africa and Asia. An effective policy requires the participation of many ministeries and clear direction and support from the highest government levels.
Family planning activities in Mexico.
Alarcon F
In: Martinez Manautou J, ed. The demographic revolution in Mexico 1970-1980. Mexico City, Mexican Institute of Social Security, 1982. 17-97.
Provides summaries of Mexican demographics, with tables showing annual growth rate (1900-1980), demographic growth rates, crude birth and mortality rates, life expectancy at birth by sex (all for 1940-1980), marital status of women and average age at 1st union (1979), rural and urban population with age distribution (1940-1980), fertility rates overall and broken down by urban and rural groups (1971-1979) and specific age groups (1971 and 1979). Discusses population policy development which has changed from formally pronatalist in the 1940s to a gradual realization of the need for slower growth. Relevant laws and regulations are briefly noted. Policy is viewed in the context of international movements (notably the World Action Plan for Population). The National Plan for Family Planning is summarized and placed in the context of overall development and planning and coordination of overall health services. Organizations within the health sector which provide family planning services are briefly described. The coordination of the national family planning program is based organizationally on the general sense of family planning in 3 dimensions: health, demography, and family and community development; it has 2 types of general objectives: intrinsic, at the family level, and extrinsic, at the social level. Family planning activities are developed according to multidisciplinary, micro and macrosocial, and coordinated activity perspectives. The organization of the coordination office of the national program and the composition of the National Plan are detailed, including establishment of common bases for family planning, coordinated intrasectoral programming, and participation of international organizations.
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Communiqué Of The First G20 Meeting Of Finance Ministers And Central Bank Governors Of 2018
Global Market 5325 VIEWS
Wednesday, March 21, 2018 7:10AM / G20
The global economic outlook has continued to improve since we last met in October 2017, with the broadest synchronised global growth upsurge since 2010, and a pick-up in investment and trade.
While we welcome this progress, recent market volatility despite sound fundamentals of the global economy is a reminder of risks and vulnerabilities.
The global economic outlook has continued to improve since we last met in October 2017, with the broadest synchronised global growth upsurge since 2010, and a pick-up in investment and trade. While we welcome this progress, recent market volatility despite sound fundamentals of the global economy is a reminder of risks and vulnerabilities. Downside risks persist and, over the medium term, challenges remain to raise growth and make it more inclusive. This is our moment to take action to address structural growth impediments, rebuild buffers, reduce excessive global imbalances, and mitigate risks. We discussed key risks to the outlook, including financial vulnerabilities that could be revealed with a faster than expected tightening of financial conditions and heightened economic and geopolitical tensions.
We agree to continue using all policy tools to support strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. We will implement structural reforms to enhance our growth potential. Fiscal policy should be used flexibly and be growth-friendly, prioritise high quality investment, while enhancing economic and financial resilience and ensuring debt as a share of GDP is on a sustainable path. Strong fundamentals, sound policies, and a resilient international monetary system are essential to the stability of exchange rates, contributing to strong and sustainable growth and investment. Flexible exchange rates, where feasible, can serve as a shock absorber. We recognise that excessive volatility or disorderly movements in exchange rates can have adverse implications for economic and financial stability. We will refrain from competitive devaluations, and will not target our exchange rates for competitive purposes. International trade and investment are important engines of growth, productivity, innovation, job creation and development. We reaffirm the conclusions of our Leaders on trade at the Hamburg Summit and recognise the need for further dialogue and actions. We are working to strengthen the contribution of trade to our economies.
Technology, including digitalisation, is fundamentally reshaping the global economy given its borderless and intangible nature, and its increasing ability to automate cognitive tasks. We are developing a common understanding of the nature of the changes and their potential implications. Transformative technologies are expected to bring immense economic opportunities, such as new ways of doing business, new industries, new and better jobs, and higher GDP growth and living standards. At the same time, the transition creates challenges for individuals, businesses, and governments. These include changes to labour markets, the growing importance of skills and adaptability, and the risk of increased inequality within and between countries. Policy responses, including international cooperation, are needed to harness the opportunities and ensure the benefits are shared by all. We therefore agree to develop a menu of policy options for consideration at our meeting in July.
Infrastructure is critical to boost productivity, enhance connectivity, sustain long-term inclusive growth and provide our citizens with physical and digital access to the new economy. Despite its importance, a persistent infrastructure financing gap remains. Public financing of infrastructure is essential but mobilising additional private capital is needed to meet global infrastructure needs. To achieve this, we agree to promote the necessary conditions to help develop infrastructure as an asset class. To guide our work, we endorse the Roadmap to Infrastructure as an Asset Class which builds on the outcomes of past G20 presidencies and draws together the steps needed to achieve our ambition. The Roadmap identifies seven work streams, including regulatory frameworks and capital markets, as well as quality infrastructure. In 2018, our focus under the Roadmap will be to improve project preparation, move towards greater standardisation of contracts and infrastructure financing instruments, address data gaps, and improve risk mitigation, taking into account country-specific conditions. We look forward to continuing and deepening the dialogue with the private sector.
We note the report of the Independent Board of the Global Infrastructure Hub recommending renewal of its mandate. We call for coordination among current initiatives sponsored by MDBs and others to avoid duplication of efforts.
We reaffirm our commitment to further strengthening the global financial safety net with a strong, quota-based, and adequately resourced IMF at its centre. We are committed to concluding the 15th General Review of Quotas and agreeing on a new quota formula as a basis for a realignment of quota shares to result in increased shares for dynamic economies in line with their relative positions in the world economy and hence likely in the share of emerging market and developing countries as a whole, while protecting the voice and representation of the poorest members by the Spring Meetings of 2019 and no later than the Annual Meetings of 2019.
Cross-border capital flows offer significant benefits, but their size and volatility may pose policy challenges. We will continue to monitor capital flows and refine our understanding of the tools to improve the resilience of the international monetary system. We recognise the importance of macroprudential policies in limiting systemic risk. We continue to deepen our understanding of capital flow management measures and the conditions under which they might be effective, taking into account country-specific circumstances. We are looking forward to further work by the IMF, based on the IMF Institutional View on Capital Flow Management, that will help inform country actions and to the results of the Review of the OECD Code of Liberalisation of Capital Movement.
Rising debt levels in Low Income Countries (LICs) have led to concerns about debt vulnerabilities in these economies. We agree that building capacity in public financial management, strengthening domestic policy frameworks, and enhancing information sharing could help avoid new episodes of debt distress in LICs. We call for greater transparency, both on the side of debtors and creditors. We reaffirm our support to the ongoing work of the Paris Club, as the principal international forum for restructuring official bilateral debt, towards the broader inclusion of emerging creditors. We support the provision of technical assistance by the IMF and the World Bank Group (WBG) in debt recording and reporting in LICs, where needed, and look forward to the work of these institutions on debt transparency.
The global financial system must remain open, resilient and supportive of growth and grounded in agreed international standards. We will continue to closely monitor and, if necessary, address emerging risks and vulnerabilities in the financial system. We welcome the finalisation of Basel III, which completes main elements of the post crisis reforms. We remain committed to the full, timely and consistent implementation and finalisation of the reforms and their evaluation to help identify and address any material unintended consequences and ensure that the reforms accomplish their objectives. We look forward to the FSB-led evaluation of the reforms, including their effects on the financing of infrastructure investment and on incentives for central clearing of over-the-counter derivatives. We will continue to address the decline in correspondent banking relationships.
We acknowledge that technological innovation, including that underlying crypto-assets, has the potential to improve the efficiency and inclusiveness of the financial system and the economy more broadly. Crypto-assets do, however, raise issues with respect to consumer and investor protection, market integrity, tax evasion, money laundering and terrorist financing. Crypto-assets lack the key attributes of sovereign currencies. At some point they could have financial stability implications. We commit to implement the FATF standards as they apply to crypto-assets, look forward to the FATF review of those standards, and call on the FATF to advance global implementation. We call on international standard-setting bodies (SSBs) to continue their monitoring of crypto-assets and their risks, according to their mandates, and assess multilateral responses as needed.
We will continue our work for a globally fair and modern international tax system and welcome international cooperation and pro-growth tax policies. We remain committed to the implementation of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting package and welcome progress to date. The impacts of the digitalisation of the economy on the international tax system remain key outstanding issues. We welcome the OECD interim report analysing the impact of the digitalisation of the economy on the international tax system. We are committed to work together to seek a consensus-based solution by 2020, with an update in 2019.
We have made substantial progress on tax transparency. Further steps to implement transparency standards and requirements for the exchange of information for tax purposes will take place this year. Jurisdictions scheduled to commence automatic exchange of financial account information for tax purposes in 2018 should ensure that all necessary steps are taken to meet this timeline. We call on all jurisdictions to sign and ratify the multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. We look forward to the OECD’s recommendations on how to further strengthen the criteria for assessing jurisdictions compliance with internationally agreed tax transparency standards. Defensive measures will be considered against listed jurisdictions. We continue to support assistance to developing countries to build their tax capacity. We welcome the first conference of the Platform for Collaboration on Tax and the efforts undertaken to help developing countries implement the new international tax standards. We also encourage countries to enhance tax certainty.
We commit to step up our fight against terrorist financing, money laundering and proliferation financing. We call for the full, effective and swift implementation of the FATF standards worldwide. We reaffirm our support for the FATF, as the global anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing standard-setting body, to further strengthen its institutional basis, governance and capacity. We call on FATF to enhance its efforts to counter proliferation financing.
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Pa. Game Commission asks to hike hunting fees
Pa. Game Commission Executive Director Matthew Hough has urged lawmakers to raise hunting & trapping fees, or to allow the commission to set its own.
Pa. Game Commission asks to hike hunting fees Pa. Game Commission Executive Director Matthew Hough has urged lawmakers to raise hunting & trapping fees, or to allow the commission to set its own. Check out this story on publicopiniononline.com: http://ponews.co/20Zz543
Jim Hook, jhook@publicopinionnews.com Published 10:25 a.m. ET Feb. 26, 2016 | Updated 1:28 p.m. ET Feb. 27, 2016
The Game Commission may have to reduce its pheasant-stocking program and close multiple areas if it can't obtain additional money
The board of Pennsylvania Game Commission has created a new job -- overseeing the fight against chronic wasting disease.(Photo: Pennsylvana Game Commission)
HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough has urged lawmakers to raise hunting and trapping fees or to allow the commission to set its own license fees.
Without additional money the commission may be forced to reduce its pheasant-stocking program and close areas such as the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, shooting ranges on game lands and the Howard Nursery, Hough told members of the House Game and Fisheries Committee. Hough early this past week presented the agency’s annual report to the General Assembly.
“I have no doubt that these proposals will not be popular with the general public and our hunting-license buyers, but without additional revenues we will have no choice but to make significant reductions to our budget,” Hough said.
The price of hunting and furtaker licenses have not increased since 1999, the longest period without a fee hike since the Great Depression. The sale of licenses is the main source of revenue for the commission and comprised 35 percent of the Game Commission’s $102 million budget in 2014. Pennsylvania leads the nation in the sale of hunting licenses.
To save money the Game Commission has cancelled the 2017 Wildlife Conservation Officer class. The next class would start in 2018 with cadets graduating a year later.
“By then, we project almost one-third of the officer districts will be vacant due to retirements,” Hough said. “Obviously, the longer we go without resources to conduct a class, the greater the number of vacant districts across the state, resulting in violations going undetected, a decrease in response time and fewer services that officers can provide to the public.”
The Game Commission employs 195 WCOs and 350 deputy WCOs. Each district officer covers about 325 square miles.
The agency also has responded to declining revenue by eliminating 28 positions and not renewing contracts for 45 limited-term employees, many of whom monitor non-game wildlife.
The reductions however are only a bandage on the much bigger problem, he said.
Commission staff is managing the response to wildlife diseases that weren’t around 20 years ago - chronic wasting disease in deer, avian Influenza in wild birds, West Nile virus in grouse and White Nose syndrome in bats.
“We believe there is widespread support for legislation to increase hunting fees,” Hough told legislators. “Of the statewide sportsmen organizations, 13 have gone on record in support of increasing license fees.”
Hough suggested that the committee consider allowing the Game Commission to set hunting and trapping license fees. The commission could change the fee slowly over the years, rather than boost it every 10 to 15 years.
A Pennsylvania adult pays $20.70 for a basic hunting license with additional fees for archery, muzzle-loader, bear, wild fowl and spring turkey licenses.
The sale of Pennsylvania hunting licenses has dropped from 1.3 million in 1982 to fewer than a million in 2014.
Jim Hook 717-262-4759
Read or Share this story: http://ponews.co/20Zz543
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ff Venture Capital leads Series A round for Socure
Socure has raised $2.5 million in Series A funding. ff Venture Capital led the round with participation from Founder Collective and Two Sigma Ventures. Based in New York City, Socure is a provider of online identity verification solutions that protect businesses against identity fraud.
NEW YORK – October 28, 2014 – Socure (http://www.socure.com), the provider of next-generation SaaS-based anti-fraud and compliance solutions, announced today the completion of its $2.5 million Series A funding round led by ff Venture Capital (http://www.ffvc.com). The round also includes Founder Collective (http://foundercollective.com) and Two Sigma Ventures (http://www.twosigmaventures.com).
Socure’s patent-pending Social BiometricsTM solution leverages online and social behavior checks in real-time, verifying the authenticity of customer identities registered on websites and mobile applications. Enterprises using Social Biometrics APIs achieve higher user acceptance rates with reduced friction, fraud losses and manual review costs. Additionally, Social Biometrics enables a quicker path to Know Your Customer Socially (KYC+S) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance.
“We empirically measure social proof and authenticity that’s hard to artificially create,” says Sunil Madhu, CEO of Socure. “By using and analyzing that social behavior, we’re changing the economics of identity theft and fraud so enterprises can conduct business online with greater assurance and security.”
Companies targeting millennials who use Socure see additional benefits when on-boarding customers in this key demographic. These users, comprising approximately 51% of the world’s population, would ordinarily be rejected using only traditional offline identity verification methods. Social Biometrics can determine online entity risk and validate younger and unbanked or underbanked customers, increasing acceptance rates for this business-critical but “thin-file” audience.
“We see consistent, outstanding performance and results when Socure’s solutions are deployed in the field,” says Johnny Ayers, VP of Business Development at Socure. “On average, our customers experience a 40–80% improvement in fraud capture using Social Biometrics. Every time, Socure delivers significant fraud cost reductions and increased new account acceptances.”
Socure recently won the 2014 North America and Rest of World BBVA Open Talent Awards in the New Banking category BBVA representatives, picked Socure from a field of 8 region finalists, culled from an initial list of 870 applicants.
“Sunil, Johnny and the Socure team are tackling a very important problem in a methodical and creative way,” said John Frankel, Founding Partner at ff Venture Capital. “We are pleased to welcome Socure to the ffVC family and look forward to arming the team with our resources so they can focus on building a game-changing, resilient business.”
About Socure
Socure offers online identity verification solutions that protect enterprises against identity fraud. The company combines structured and unstructured public data from the Internet, all major social networks, and popular web and mobile applications to verify the authenticity of a customer’s identity. When integrated into an enterprise application’s registration and login business logic, Socure materially reduces fraud rates, false positives and false negatives.
Socure is the leader in Know Your Customer Socially (KYC+S) solutions for organizations that want to meet and exceed regulatory compliance standards.
The company, founded in September 2012 by Sunil Madhu and Johnny Ayers, is headquartered in New York, NY. Socure has raised $4.7 million in financing from venture funds such as ff Venture Capital and independent investors in New York. To learn more, visit: www.socure.com
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'The most buzzed-about addictive read' STYLIST
By Anna Hope
Romance / Health & Lifestyle / Contemporary Fiction
A fierce, emotional, contemporary novel about the pursuit of a meaningful life: three women think they can have it all. But soon they realise that even having some of it can be a challenge. For fans of Zadie Smith, Sheila Heti and Sally Rooney.
'Anna Hope has a way of getting inside difficult and painful moments, turning them inside out. I felt I knew these women as my own friends. Taut, electric, complex, funny' RACHEL JOYCE, author of The Unexpected Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
'Few novels leave me genuinely breathless with their brilliance. EXPECTATION is one of them' HANNAH BECKERMAN
Hannah, Cate and Lissa are young, vibrant and inseparable. Living on the edge of a common in East London, their shared world is ablaze with art and activism, romance and revelry – and the promise of everything to come. They are electric. They are the best of friends.
Ten years on, they are not where they hoped to be. Amidst flailing careers and faltering marriages, each hungers for what the others have. And each wrestles with the same question: what does it take to lead a meaningful life?
EXPECTATION is a novel of the highs and lows of friendship – how it can dip, dive and rise again. It is also about finding your way: as a mother, a daughter, a wife, a rebel. Most of all, it explores that liminal space between expectation and reality, the place – full of dreams, desires and pain – in which we all live our lives.
'SO GOOD. A 'What they did next' story of characters from a Sally Rooney novel' SARAH FRANKLIN
'An intimate and touching portrayal of female friendship that shows it's okay to just be' NINA POTTELL
'I tore through EXPECTATION at the weekend. Exceptional, gorgeously written, and reads like a love letter to London. I highly recommend it' STACEY HALLS, bestselling author of The Familiars
'Jaw-droppingly good' SARRA MANNING
'Like Normal People but about female friendship rather than a romantic relationship. It is AWESOME' ERIN KELLY
“ EDITOR'S CHOICE: I enjoyed this contemporary novel about the gulf between the expectation of how life will turn out and the reality... [it] taps into the current conversation about finding fulfilment and living a meaningful life. ”
Alice O'Keeffe, The Bookseller
“ BEST BOOKS FOR JULY: Expectation has defied all my expectations and completely redefined the friendship novel. Each of the characters resonated with me and I’m in awe of the way Anna Hope captures what it means to be a woman, right here, right now, with all the precision of a surgeon’s knife. ”
“ Succulent, tender and honest, EXPECTATION is about the relationships between women: love, loss, triumph and betrayal. It was one of those books that knowingly flirted, then seduced me and then utterly ravished me ”
TOR UDALL
“ Brilliant portrayal of long-term female friendships . . . I was gripped. ”
“ Jaw-droppingly good ”
SARRA MANNING
“ The real joy of this novel – while exploring just what second wave feminism has done for this generation of women (“you’ve had everything… we changed the world for you. For our daughters. And what have you done with it?”) – is in it’s writing; the dialogue and the honesty behind these characters who are doing their best, who are trying to live up to the fictional counterparts that they themselves have created… It’s the perfect summer reading ”
“ Like NORMAL PEOPLE but about female friendship rather than a romantic relationship. It is AWESOME. ”
“ Hope’s writing is sublime and her characters so well fleshed out they will feel like friends at the end ”
“ I loved it. Raw, honest, unputdownable. ”
TAMMY COHEN
“ Few novels leave me genuinely breathless with their brilliance. EXPECTATION is one of them. This book is beautiful. I am in AWE ”
HANNAH BECKERMAN
“ I tore through EXPECTATION at the weekend. Exceptional gorgeously written and reads like a love letter to London. I highly recommend it ”
STACEY HALLS, bestselling author of THE FAMILIARS
“ I absolutely loved this. What really appealed to me was the depiction of the parents, about legacy and about what the mother's generation leaves for the one that comes after ”
ANNE YOUNGSON
“ A generation-defining book, honest and relatable on motherhood, ambition and sex. Like NORMAL PEOPLE with female friendship under the microscope ”
ERIN KELLY, bestselling author of HE SAID/SHE SAID
“ Anna Hope has a way of getting inside difficult and painful moments, turning them inside out. I felt I knew these women as my own friends. Taut, electric, complex, funny. ”
RACHEL JOYCE bestselling author of THE UNEXPECTED PILGRIMAGE OF HAROLD FRY
“ Will resonate with approximately 99 % of all women ”
RED magazine summer pick
“ A Sally Rooney-esque evocative examination of female friendship ”
BEST SUMMER READS, i-newspaper
“ Absolutely encapsulates what it means to be a young woman today, and beyond ”
Grazia Magazine
“ Such a dark, relatable, elegant take on how time alters female friendships: how we become THESE people and our friends become THOSE people. Anyway, I loved it. You probably will, too ”
LIZA KLAUSSMANN, author of Tigers in Red Weather
“ An intimate and touching portrayal of female friendship that shows it's okay to just be ”
NINA POTTELL
“ So fresh, human, kind and relatable ”
“ A deftly crafted hymn to the comfort and frustration of female friendship from one of our most gifted contemporary writers ”
“ Sensual and evocative, deeply attuned to both the inner lives of the protagonists ”
CULTUREFLY
“ The prose is beautiful, the characters achingly real, their flawed decisions enraging and yet somehow still relatable. This wonderful book will resonate with every woman who reads it ”
LOUISE O'NEILL
“ One of the most intensely readable novels I've encountered this year ”
Transworld Digital
Also by Anna Hope
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Home > FactSheet > Aditya Birla Sun Life Fixed Term Plan - Series PA (1177 days) - Growth - Direct Plan
Aditya Birla Sun Life Fixed Term Plan - Series PA (1177 days) - Growth - Direct Plan
Aditya Birla SL FTP-PA-1177D- (D)-Direct Plan - 11.2496
Aditya Birla SL FTP-PA-1177D- (QD)-Direct Plan - 10.7801
Aditya Birla SL FTP-PA-1177D-Reg (D) - 11.2177
Aditya Birla SL FTP-PA-1177D-Reg (G) - 11.2178
Aditya Birla SL FTP-PA-1177D-Reg (QD) - 10.7614
₹11.25 0.1 %Nav, as on 16-07-2019
Fixed Maturity Plans
Fund Overview Growth | Direct Plan
Crisil Composite Bond Fund Index
The scheme seeks to generate income by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities maturing on or before the duration of the scheme.The Scheme does not guarantee/indicate any returns. There can be no assurance that the schemes’ objectives will be achieved.
Crisil Composite Bond Fund Index N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
State Government Securities (17/02/2021)
Kotak Mahindra Prime Limited (29/03/2021) (ZCB) **
7.88% LIC Housing Finance Limited (28/01/2021) **
7.73% Power Finance Corporation Limited (05/04/2021) **
7.70% REC Limited (15/03/2021) **
7.52% Small Industries Development Bank of India (10/02/2021) **
7.85% Tata Sons Private Limited (31/01/2021) ** #
Bajaj Housing Finance Limited (06/04/2021) (ZCB) **
7.96% Sundaram Finance Limited (02/04/2021) **
7.07% Reliance Industries Limited (24/12/2020) **
7.65% Indian Railway Finance Corporation Limited (15/03/2021)
HDFC Bank Limited (06/03/2020) ** #
National Bank For Agriculture and Rural Development (13/03/2020) ** #
About Aditya Birla Sun Life Fixed Term Plan - Series PA (1177 days)
Aditya Birla Sun Life Fixed Term Plan - Series PA (1177 days) is a Fixed Maturity Plans fund and belongs to Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund. It was launched on 16-Jan-2018 and currently has an AUM of ₹283.38 crore. Aditya Birla Sun Life Fixed Term Plan - Series PA (1177 days) is benchmarked against Crisil Composite Bond Fund Index as primary index.
The NAV of Aditya Birla Sun Life Fixed Term Plan - Series PA (1177 days) ended up ₹0.01(0.1%)yesterday to ₹11.25.
Among its top 3 holdings the fund has exposure to State Government Securities (17/02/2021), Kotak Mahindra Prime Limited (29/03/2021) (ZCB) ** and 7.88% LIC Housing Finance Limited (28/01/2021) **
The Aditya Birla Sun Life Fixed Term Plan - Series PA (1177 days) is managed by Mohit Sharma .
Education:PGDCM - IIM (Calcutta), B. Tech IIT (Madras)
Experience:10
Basic Details:He has around 10 years of experience of which 7 years are in financial markets. He joined Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co. Ltd in October 2015. Prior to joining Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co. Ltd, he ran his own healthcare- tech business (June 2012 - May 2015). He has also worked as an Interest Rates Trader in Standard Chartered Bank (May 2007 - June 2011) and ICICI Bank Ltd (June 2006 - April 2007). He started his career in theEquity Research in Irevna Ltd (June 2005 - June 2006).
Aditya Birla Sun Life Balanced Advantage Fund
Aditya Birla Sun Life Low Duration Fund
Aditya Birla Sun Life Money Manager Fund
CARE AAA
CRISIL AAA
ICRA A1+
ICRA AAA
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Strictly star to keep Peterborough charity lunch guests in step
Paul Grinnell
Strictly Come Dancing star Ian Waite will be the guest speaker at a special lunch to say thank you to the breast care unit at Peterborough City Hospital.
The event, which sold out weeks ago, has been organised by charity fund-raiser Carol Collier who was successfully treated for breast cancer by the unit earlier this year.
Carol Collier and Ian Waite
She said: “The care I received was simply fantastic and the least I could do was to organise a fund-raising lunch to say thank you and raise as much money as possible to support the work of the specialist team.”
Businesses Buckles, Larkfleet, Premier Kitchens and the Longhurst Group have sponsored the lunch for 281 people on October 23 and Carol hopes the initiative will raise between £5,000 and £10,000 for the breast care unit.
A special page has been set up for anyone not attending but still wishing to make a donation: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/carol-collier
Carol, who lives in Eye with her husband Chris, said: “There is no doubt that hearing you have cancer turns your world upside down.
“Unfortunately, the statistics suggest that one in eight women will get breast cancer. It is vital that they attend routine mammograms when called. That’s how I discovered mine.”
“I had no idea I had a lump.”
The lunch will be compered by Keith Dalton and Claire Hall from the breast care unit will address the audience and musical entertainment will be provided by local singer Nicole Lawrence.
Carol is no stranger to fund-raising.
She organized the Strictly Glitz evening earlier this year which raised £21,000 for the Peterborough Business Support Group of the NSPCC.
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Electroless Nickel: Beyond ELV
A look at the current state of EN technology
Automotive applications, such as differentials, use EN coatings for their resistance to wear and corrosion and their deposit hardness.
EN coatings have many uses in computer hard drives, such as the disk platters, on the armatures, and on mounts and casings.
Plating rates of three medium-phosphorus EN processes at various temperatures.
Mike Barnstead
The term “electroless nickel” (EN) encompasses a broad class of coatings sharing the common attribute of being deposited electrochemically rather than utilizing an external source of electricity. Electroless nickel was discovered in 1944 by researchers at the U.S. National Bureau of Standards, who were trying to develop a new nickel-based electroplating solution and were investigating additives to reduce deposit stress.
By the 1980s, EN was firmly established. Since then, the technology has continued to evolve and expand into many different plating systems. Over the last 20 years or so, suppliers have refined process chemistry and improved our knowledge of the attributes and suitable applications of the various deposit types. Most of the development work on the technology has resulted in incremental improvements to deposit attributes, such as enhanced corrosion resistance, brightness, and hardness, as well as advances in the operational aspects of the processes, such as increased plating rate, better in-tank stability, and longer bath life.
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Improved understanding of deposit attributes led to development of a classification system for the different types of EN plating. Detailed data on deposit attributes allowed design engineers, end users, applicators, and chemical suppliers to correctly choose and apply the coating with the most relevant attributes for a specific application.
Life was good…
Wham! The 21st century came, and with it came a North American surface finishing industry facing one of the most challenging business climates we’ve ever experienced. Migration of manufacturing to offshore locations has been exacerbated by unprecedented increases in raw material costs, notably nickel metal. Nickel metal prices over the last 5 years have increased astronomically, from a monthly average of $2.41/lb in December 2001 to $15.68/lb in December 2006.
A focus on environmental compliance has also significantly changed the way we approach our business. Among the most significant environmental drivers impacting the use of EN are the RoHS, WEEE, and ELV directives.
The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS, 2002/95/EC) and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE, 2002/96/EC) directives are intended to promote the reuse, recycling and recovery of electrical components. The European End of Life Vehicle Directive (ELV, 2000/53/EC) targets waste minimization through recycling and the elimination of hazardous waste from landfills.
RoHS restricts seven substances: lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chrome, and polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) or polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. It stipulates a maximum concentration value for these substances of 0.1 wt% (1,000 parts per million, or ppm) of lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBB and PBDE and 0.01 wt% (100 ppm) cadmium in homogeneous materials.
ELV Annex II (9/20/05) permits the same concentrations of lead, hexavalent chromium, mercury and cadmium. Both documents consider a plated layer a homogeneous material.
In the United States, NSF/ANSI 51-2005 Food Equipment Materials, published in July of 2005 by NSF International, addresses the content of materials which may contact foodstuffs. It prohibits lead, arsenic, cadmium or mercury as intentional ingredients, and limits lead impurity in coatings to 0.06%.
The Japanese Green Procurement Survey Standard Initiative (JGPSSI) (July 2003) is another environmental driver. Driven by leading electronics companies such as Sony, Matsushita, Canon, and others, this policy contains lists of both regulated substances (Level A) and other substances (Level B) that are not regulated. The concern that at some point some of the materials on the Level B list may move to Level A status—and thus be subject to regulation—has led some Japanese companies to ask for EN coatings that contain no Level B substances. Several of the commonly used replacements in commercially available lead/cadmium free electroless nickel systems utilize materials that can be found in the JGPSSI Level B list.
Impact of Environmental Drivers
Both cadmium and lead have been used in EN solutions for many years to aid deposit brightness and provide process stability. The amount of lead co-deposited in the coating from hypophosphite-reduced EN formulations is normally below 0.06 wt%. In cadmium-brightened, hypophosphite-reduced systems, the amount of cadmium varies widely, but generally exceeds 0.05%, well over the 0.01% limit set by most of the above regulations.
Many commercially available conventional lead-stabilized processes meet some of the current environmental regulations. In particular, most existing lead-stabilized baths that do not contain cadmium will normally provide a deposit below ELV and RoHS limits for lead and cadmium. These systems would currently be suitable for use in applications requiring compliance to these regulations.
However, there is still a potential cause for concern. It is very possible that future legislation and/or OEM specifications will mandate the total elimination of lead and cadmium from electroless nickel deposits.
Adoption of these initiatives and regulations thus meant a significant change for the majority of EN chemistry suppliers for the impacted industries. While lead- and cadmium-free systems have been commercially available for decades, the vast majority of users would still need to change their EN process because the majority of processes used still contained lead and possibly cadmium.
Virtually all electroless nickel suppliers now offer environmentally compliant chemistries. Some of these systems have been specifically developed over the last several years to meet the regulations, while others were previously existing technology. These systems do not utilize either lead or cadmium, and can successfully replace traditional lead/cadmium containing chemistry in virtually all applications. They contain no lead or cadmium beyond trace impurities and thus satisfy the requirements of all the regulations.
But many of the materials utilized in these replacement chemistries are beginning to show up on “lists of concern”. Specifically, the Level B list of the JGPSSI contains several of the commonly used replacement materials. While this list does not in any way purport to a list of substances subject to future regulation, it is possible that some of the items on this list may become regulated materials.
Organic Additives
One avenue under development is to simply eliminate the substances in question and replace the metals commonly used as stabilizers and brighteners with organic compounds which serve the same function. These systems have been commercially available for years, and have performed well in field service. They represent the next generation in environmentally compliant EN technology, because they contain no metallic stabilizers or brighteners. The stabilizers and brighteners utilized in these chemistries are 100% compliant with RoHS, ELV, NSF, and JGPSSI Level A and Level B regulations. These systems eliminate any potential concern over future actions targeting metals contained in many current compliant systems, unless any future regulations target nickel metal itself.
Multiple installations of these processes have shown that bath performance and deposit properties are comparable to both conventional EN as well as currently available compliant chemistry utilizing alternative metals in lieu of lead and cadmium. Plating rate, in-tank stability, deposit phosphorus content, hardness, and internal stress of deposits plated from the non-metal stabilized mid-phosphorus process have been very similar to conventional processes.
Traditionally, EN chemistries have been provided as three-component systems—typically, a common nickel component used in conjunction with both a dedicated component for make-up and a separate component for replenishment. The reason for this is that components of most metal-stabilized systems have potential precipitation issues. For example, most lead-stabilized processes do not mix the lead stabilizer together with the concentrated nickel sulfate component due to solubility issues.
Organic chemistries allow extreme flexibility in system format, both in component concentration and in allowing for a unique two-component system, where one component is added for make-up and one component is used for replenishment. This simplifies operation and reduces the number of components users need to maintain in inventory. Organically stabilized EN processes also offer potential operational advantages which will be discussed later.
Low-Metal Operation
There are a host of choices available to platers looking for environmentally compliant processes. However, what about the other drivers, such as the dramatic increase in nickel prices discussed earlier? One strategy to address this is to maximize the effective usage of the nickel-containing plating solution, and low-metal operation (LMO) has been used successfully for years to accomplish this.
In a normal plating operation, there is some drag-out during processing. Losses vary widely based on part geometry, racking method, rack vs. barrel operation, hang time after plating, rinsing strategy, surface tension of the plating solution, and other factors. If the plating process operates at half the metal concentration of a conventional EN bath, then drag-out losses will automatically be cut in half. This can be a significant source of loss in some plating facilities, and at current nickel prices any degree of loss has an impact on the bottom line.
At the end of useful bath life, the process is usually discarded and a new solution made up. In a conventional system running at 6 g/L of nickel, the loss of metal can be significant. Even plating the process down before dumping only partially mitigates the loss, because the typical plate-down point is somewhere between 100% and about 70% activity, or 6.0 to 4.2 g/L.
By comparison, a LMO bath is dumped at 3 g/L maximum. At a cost of $16/lb of nickel metal, savings can be as high as $0.40/gal of spent solution on metal alone, not counting the impact of other bath constituents or waste treatment costs.
A typical LMO process will plate 5 to 10% more area before dumping than a conventional EN chemistry. At makeup, a standard hypophosphite-reduced EN bath running at 6 g/L of nickel will contain about 120 g/L of dissolved solids. Each metal turnover (MTO) of operation adds 45 to 60 g/L of solids, depending on the bath formula. In a plating bath designed to run at 3 g/L of nickel, we can reduce the solids on makeup by 45 g/L less than a bath operating at 6 g/L. The reduction of dissolved solids on make-up allows the solution to hold more reaction by-products, resulting in a bath life extension of one-half to one MTO.
While LMO offers significant advantages in minimizing waste, there is a consequence of operating the bath at low strength. LMO baths can have a fairly narrow operating window with respect to bath concentration when compared to conventional electroless nickel systems. This is due to the reduced level of metallic stabilizers present in a LMO system.
Metallic stabilizers are commonly present in an EN process in ppm quantities, and these metals are co-deposited with the nickel during plating. In an LMO bath, the quantity of stabilizers is low to begin with, and if allowed to drop below a critical point can result in bath instability. For this reason, LMO processes have been utilized virtually exclusively in facilities with automated controls or in plants with consistent, predictable work loads, which allows for tight maintenance of bath concentration.
One aspect of the organically stabilized chemistries discussed earlier is a greater tolerance to both the absolute amount of stabilizer and the ratio of stabilizer to nickel. What this means operationally is that the need for tight control seen with metallically stabilized LMO processes is alleviated to the point where conventional maintenance of the LMO process becomes a viable option. By running organically stabilized EN as a LMO bath, we create a system that addresses two of the most significant issues facing today’s metal finishing professional by offering total environmental compliance combined with long term cost reductions.
The future is waiting. Are you ready?
The author wishes to thank David Crotty for his irreplaceable assistance in the creation of this article, and also Duncan Beckett and Mark Jankowski for their invaluable input and suggestions.
MacDermid Enthone
Choosing and Troubleshooting Copper Electroplating Processes
A primer on this inexpensive and highly efficient process.
Masking for Surface Finishing
Masking is employed in most any metal finishing operation where only a specifically defined area of the surface of a part must be exposed to a process. Conversely, masking may be employed on a surface where treatment is either not required or must be avoided. This article covers the many aspects of masking for metal finishing, including applications, methods and the various types of masking employed.
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COATINGS 2012 Preview: Meet the Coaters in St. Louis
COATING 2012 has unique activities to go along with 50+ technical sessions.
The Powder Coating Institute has taken a unique approach to marketing its COATING 2012 show, scheduled for Oct. 9-11 in St. Louis. PCI has seen some significant results, as exhibit sales have surpassed last year’s show in Cincinnati by more than 10 percent, says Jennifer Egan, PCI Program Director.
The “Road to St. Louis” marketing campaign, which included emails inviting recipients to play a quiz game about St. Louis and the paint and powder coating industry, enabled the PCI group to get the word out about the event, to be held at the America’s Center convention center.
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Those who didn’t win one of the many cool giveaways still have a chance—there will be a final grand prize drawing at the show among all who participated in the program.
Of course, the COATING 2012 technical conference is the main attraction. Offering a wide range of paint and powder coating sessions targeting everyone from those just entering the coatings world to those who are much more experienced, more than 50 in-depth sessions cover introductory and advanced coating courses, coating application, surface preparation, inspection and testing, green coating solutions, coating failure analysis, and others.
Several special events also will coincide with the technical sessions and the exhibition space on the show floor.
A happy hour will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, on the show floor to encourage interaction between exhibitors and attendees. During the happy hour, DSM Coating Resins also will sponsor an auction of goods donated by exhibiting companies, with all proceeds going to the charity of the donor’s choice, Egan says.
The show also will host a hospitality event from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10 in the Crystal Rooftop Ballroom of the Renaissance Grande Hotel to give attendees another opportunity to network while enjoying food, drinks and entertainment.
The Virtual Painter’s Competition, taking place during exhibit hours, invites attendees to show off their painting skills using VRSim’s SimSpray virtual reality training system, with prizes being awarded each day.
The COATING 2012 show program ends early in the afternoon of Oct. 11, but the PCI staff has arranged two optional tours for attendees later that afternoon, including one of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and another of downtown St. Louis architecture.
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The year 2020 will be here before you know it, signaling the beginning of a new decade and bringing changes to the world as we know it.
National Surface Finishing Day is March 6
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NFSA Restores: The Man from Kangaroo 1919 All Ages
1.00PM Wed 25 Apr 2018 (1hr 11mins)
The Man from Kangaroo will screen from a new 2K digital restoration undertaken by the National Film and Sound Archive Australia. It will be presented with live musical accompaniment from acclaimed Italian classical pianist Mauro Colombis.
John Harland (Baker), a bush parson, is dismissed from his job for teaching children how to box. Harland moves to another town, where he combats ruffians and rescues his girlfriend from a forced marriage.
A great Australian all-round athlete - the only Australian to date to compete in three disciplines at the same Olympic Games - Rex 'Snowy' Baker was a natural choice for Australia's silent-era filmmakers looking to compete with the stunt-heavy action films coming out of America.
His first starring role in The Enemy Within 1918 had been a success and Baker spent early 1919 in Hollywood, learning the industry and bringing back with him a team of creatives to staff his new Carroll-Baker Australian Productions. The Man from Kangaroo was their first film, written by Bess Meredith to showcase Baker's trademark athletic abilities - horse-riding, boxing, diving - very much in the style of Hollywood Westerns of Tom Mix and Harry Carey.
Locations were shot in Gunnedah and Kangaroo Valley, with interiors shot in Sydney's Theatre Royal. The film was popular with audiences, though some critics complained the filmmakers too-obviously had the American market in mind.
35MM, BLACK AND WHITE AND TINTED, 71 MINUTES, AUSTRALIA, SILENT (ENGLISH INTERTITLES) / DIRECTOR: WILFRED LUCAS / SCRIPT: BESS MEREDITH / CINEMATOGRAPHER: ROBERT V DOERRER / PRODUCTION CO: CARROLL-BAKER AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTIONS / PRINT SOURCE/RIGHTS: NATIONAL FILM AND SOUND ARCHIVE AUSTRALIA / SCREENING FORMAT: 2K DCP
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May 12 Game of Thrones Recap, Season 8 Episode 4: The Last of the Starks
Summary: Jon delivers a stirring speech before he and the rest of the leaders ignite the funeral pyres.
The ensuing feast is quiet, with everyone either mourning or avoiding those who are. Dany stops Gendry, and after some questioning names him Gendry Baratheon, Lord of Storm’s End. The mood in the room shifts, and toasts begin, ending with Dany’s toast to Arya Stark, the Hero of Winterfell.
Tormund encourages Jon to drink and begins praising him for his actions since they met, culminating in his resurrection and eventual defense of Hardhome and Winterfell. Dany looks concerned, but smiles and raises her glass when Jon’s gaze shifts to her. She soon exits the room, followed closely by Varys.
Tyrion talks to Davos and Bran before sitting down with Jaime, Brienne, and Pod to play a drinking game. After a bit of back-and-forth, Tyrion guesses that Brienne is a virgin. Uncomfortable, she leaves just as Tormund approaches, and Jaime stops Tormund before following Brienne. Back in Brienne’s room, Jaime makes his move by fumbling with his clothing until Brienne moves to help. Jaime starts undoing Brienne’s clothes, and the camera cuts away.
Sansa sits down across from the Hound, who she’s no longer afraid to look at after seeing much worse. The Hound says he could have protected her, and Sansa responds that she wouldn’t be who she is today if she had remained protected.
Lord Gendry Baratheon finds Arya practicing with her bow, and confesses his love before proposing a marriage. Arya lets him down gently, saying, “But I’m not a lady. I never have been. That’s not me.”
Dany visits Jon in his chambers, and they break off a kiss to discuss their new circumstances. Dany sees the way Jon is glorified by the people in the North and asks him to keep his heritage a secret. Jon wants to at least tell Arya and Sansa the truth, but Dany issues an ultimatum: have their relationship work, or let his secret spread.
In the war room, Dany announces her intention to move swiftly on King’s Landing. Varys and Tyrion remind her to use caution when attacking a city full of commonfolk, and Jon recommends laying siege to the capitol while Cersei’s alliances wither and her support wanes. Sansa asks for time to let their soldiers recover, but Dany insists. Jon takes his Queen’s side, and the decision is made to move south.
Jon meets Sansa, Arya, and Bran in the godswood and decides to tell them his secret.
Tyrion and Jaime discuss Jaime’s new romance, but Bronn and his Lannister crossbow interrupt. After some one-sided negotiations, Tyrion promises him Highgarden if they win.
Arya finds the Hound riding alone and joins him to wrap up their unfinished business in King’s Landing.
Tyrion approaches Sansa, who questions Tyrion’s loyalty to Daenerys. Sensing an opportunity to propose an alternative, Sansa lets him in on Jon’s secret.
Tormund finds Jon and tells him he’ll be returning north of the Wall with the rest of the Free Folk. Jon gives Ghost to Tormund. Sam and Gilly approach, and Gilly is pregnant again; they say they’ll name the child Jon if it’s a boy, and Jon responds “I hope it’s a girl”.
With the impending war in the south, Jaime leaves Brienne in the middle of the night and resists her pleas to remain in Winterfell, saying “She (Cersei) is hateful. And so am I.”
Spotted: the showrunners approaching piles of goodwill and narrative consistency, torches in hand
Analysis: The episode opened with its best material, wherein our characters were forced to find their way back to normal life after a traumatic battle. Dany did a fantastic job reading the room and acting to secure an important strategic ally in Storm’s End by raising Gendry to a lordship, and its ice-breaking effect allowed the rest of the survivors a moment to celebrate. Another toast to Arya Stark, the Hero of Winterfell, pushes the crowd to outright revelry despite yet another vicious side-eye from Sansa.
Most importantly, the scene demonstrated how isolated the publicly-recognized Queen has become. Her face as Tormund runs through Jon’s resume shows a bit of envy, but a large dose of longing as well. She’s now said goodbye to one of her oldest friends and allies in Jorah and almost all of her Dothraki (a self-inflicted wound, but still), and she’s in a remote part of a foreign country. She spent most of her life taking risks and making bold moves to secure a military force capable of capturing King’s Landing, then pledged the same force to a new ally’s cause against a greater threat. Watching her newest and least-trusted allies celebrate each other while she looks ahead has to be difficult. With that in mind, her sudden departure from the room looks downright graceful.
Her later conversation with Jon is similarly touching, especially when she resorts to begging in an effort to solidify and re-establish her path to the Iron Throne. We’ve only ever seen Dany make demands and outmaneuver her opponents to achieve her goals; seeing her ask plainly for something shows how vulnerable she has allowed herself to become. She essentially asks Jon to follow his role model (Ned Stark)’s lead by keeping a secret from his family. The request is too much for Jon, though, who has seen the impact secrets and lies can have and no longer wants anything to do with either.
Jon’s decision to share his heritage with his sisters fits his character, but I have three main issues with their exchange:
Sansa’s reaction to the concept of a promise: “How can I promise to keep a secret if I don’t even know what it is?” How else does a secret between people work? You usually don’t ask someone to keep a secret AFTER you tell them the information, because the idea is to secure the privacy BEFORE expressing something confidential.
Jon’s decision to pass the baton back to Bran after securing their promises is super weird. Just tell them yourself, my dude. You’ve already built up the suspense by going back-and-forth while they sit there watching you, and Bran has to be the worst person to have break serious news to anyone at this point.
The show cutting away from the Stark family’s reaction to the groundbreaking story that has defined the course of the story. The R + L = J story has been at the core of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones since they debuted, and right when the information is about to be shared with the last of Ned’s children, they cut to the next scene? Sure, nothing to see there!
Sansa sharing her newfound knowledge with Tyrion as soon as possible was the only thing in this episode less surprising than everyone getting drunk.
Sansa’s interaction with the Hound has generated a lot of justifiable blowback, and it’s a continuation of the clumsy handling of her story since she left King’s Landing. Her oppression and abuse aren’t the source of her strength, but if we can move past that, I found her acceptance of who she is now and the Hound’s appreciation for it a nice moment between the two of them.
Poor Gendry got crushed by Arya, but at least she let him down gently. I’m sure he’ll do plenty well for himself as the new leader of House Baratheon. I would like to point out, just briefly, that no world exists where he would be named Gendry Rivers; bastards from the Crownlands are named Waters, and unrecognized bastards (like Gendry) don’t have a given surname at all. Cut to the showrunners issuing a massive shrug in response to my complaints.
Speaking of things the showrunners have entirely stopped even pretending to care about: the scene in the war room suggests the Stark-garyen forces were cut in half as a result of their battle against the Night King. Did anyone else watching The Long Night think they only lost half of their troops? Maybe the White Walkers couldn’t make any weapons, and the wights resorted to tackling and attempting to suffocate the living.
Anyway, the remaining 50% of the original Stark-garyen forces are splitting up (what could go wrong?) with Jon leading the Northmen down the Kingsroad and Dany heading to Dragonstone with her dragons, the Unsullied, and any Dothraki who…sat out the charge? Maybe they called in sick.
The general plan to besiege King’s Landing is wise, but again no scouting is done and Dany is ambushed by the Iron Fleet, which her advisors explicitly identified in their planning session. I also don’t fully understand Dany’s sense of urgency here, as she recently took time to endorse the Wight-in-a-box plan and then march her army north; it might make sense to rally the rest of Westeros to your cause before closing in on King’s Landing.
Arya’s final scene in Winterfell brings back one of my favorite pairings, and I’m pumped to watch The Adventures of Arya and the Hound as they move towards King’s Landing to knock off the top targets on their respective lists. Two thumbs up on this one.
Coming this spring, they’ve given up on a normal life in pursuit of vengeance. They are: Arya and the Hound!
Tyrion, Jaime, and Brienne’s drinking game started out as a welcome reprieve and included a warm shot of the Lannister brothers drinking and laughing together. I’m not sure why Tyrion went and murdered the mood by drawing attention to Brienne’s virginity, but I guess they couldn’t come up with a better segue to…
Jaime and Brienne’s hookup! I’m feeling for my guy Tormund, but it seems like he’ll be alright. I was never particularly invested in the Jaime/Brienne relationship beyond their bonding while on the road, but I guess this was a nice payoff for those who were. Otherwise it’s just a bigger reason to hate Jaime when he saddles up in the middle of the night, right? What else did we accomplish in his 80-minute full 360-degree turn here?
Tyrion should know his audience better: talk to Jaime and Brienne about killing people, and talk to Pod about brothels
My read on Jaime’s exit is that he’s now returning to Cersei with murder on the mind. Between his first visit to Brienne’s room and his departure from Winterfell, the major development is Bronn’s appearance to tell him about the bounty Cersei placed on his head. It may not be his only motivation, but his parting line about being hateful makes me think he’s one small step away from fulfilling the valonqar prophecy.
The final farewell in Winterfell takes place between Jon and his longest-standing companions, and they’re appropriately touching with one major exception: did Jon and Ghost get in a fight over a girl at some point? He’s just going to hand the direwolf who has been with him since he left to join the Night’s Watch over to Tormund and not bother saying goodbye? All Ghost did was save his life multiple times, demonstrate unflagging loyalty, and serve as the single biggest tie to his Stark heritage. What a joke.
Ghost deserves better treatment anyway. I’m also in on The Adventures of Tormund and Ghost if they want to make that spinoff.
Also weird: responding to someone naming their unborn boy after you by saying “I hope it’s a girl.” Hopefully Sam and Gilly are off working on a new list of boy names.
Summary: Varys and Tyrion discuss their options and whether claim to or desire for the throne are desirable traits in a ruler. Tyrion proposes marrying Dany and Jon, but Varys points out their shared family as a potential issue. They decide to focus their attention on King’s Landing for the time being.
Flying above their ships, Rhaegal is suddenly struck with a metal bolt. Dany looks down from Drogon’s back to see the Iron Fleet, and Euron Greyjoy hits Rhaegal twice more, sending him plummeting into the sea. Dany makes an approach, but turns away at the last moment. The Greyjoy fleet turns its attention to the Targaryen ships and quickly tears them to shreds using their oversized arrows.
Varys advises against a direct attack once again, citing the innocent lives in King’s Landing. Tyrion wants to attempt another negotiation, and Dany agrees for the sake of appearances.
Tyrion and Varys again discuss their options, with Varys edging ever closer to treason. He sees Jon as a more stable choice, and more appealing to the realm given his gender. Tyrion sticks with Dany, but Varys reinforces his commitment to the realm above all else.
It’s alright Rhaegal. We all expected you to be harder to kill too.
Analysis: I’m not sure why we needed two nearly-identical conversations between Tyrion and Varys, but their eloquent discussions were a welcome return to form, especially for Varys, who had been all but written out of the show recently. I’ll give him further bonus points for being the first person to suggest on camera that the aunt-nephew pairing might be an issue.
It sounds like Varys is now considering changing sides or assassinating Dany himself, but I’m not sure what’s driven him and Tyrion to such a crisis point. Since arriving in Westeros, all Dany has done is heed their advice, resulting in Wight-in-a-box, the plan to send the Unsullied to Casterly Rock, and choosing to travel north to fight at Winterfell for the good of the realm. Her most questionable decision was burning Randyll and Dickon Tarly alive, and even that was tame by historical standards. Hey showrunners, what dramatically shifted their views of the Queen whose cause they pledged themselves too? Necessity for the Mad Queen endgame and some kind of last-minute betrayal, you say? Great, thanks for that.
“Should we hold our bad advice against Dany? If we don’t, we’re going to have to acknowledge our mistakes ourselves…”
Also extremely convenient: Euron Greyjoy’s marksmanship with a giant crossbow from invisible ships! Dude shoots 3/3 on ballista shots at a flying target, then scares off Dany and Drogon before turning his attention to the rest of the Targaryen fleet. I guess Dany just flew off while the Iron Fleet laid waste to her ships, but fortunately they were only interested in capturing her translator (who she no longer needs) and letting the rest of her followers reach shore, including the unconscious Tyrion.
Summary: Dany and a small force of Unsullied arrive outside the walls of King’s Landing, which are now bristling with oversized ballista and archers. Qyburn and Tyrion meet halfway between the Queens to negotiate. Neither side is willing to budge, but Tyrion walks forward to appeal to Cersei’s humanity. He asks her to think of her unborn child, but Cersei doesn’t budge. With no surrender on either side, Cersei orders Missandei’s execution. Missy says “Dracarys” as her last words, and the Mountain cuts off her head.
Cersei learned “don’t shoot the messenger” but skipped over “don’t kill your most valuable hostage before the fight”
Analysis: First of all, everything we know about Cersei suggests she would take the opportunity to eliminate her foes at the first available moment (see: Sept of Baelor, Ned Stark). Second, based on the effectiveness of her Giant Crossbows (TM), we know she’s capable of doing so (see: just a moment ago when 10 ship-mounted ballista killed a dragon and destroyed an enemy fleet). Naturally, with Dany exposed and Drogon grounded behind her group of 50 Unsullied, Cersei doesn’t fire a single shot.
“Should we open fire, Your Grace?”
“No, let’s give them a chance to come up with a better plan first”
Maybe Cersei woke up in a mood to observe societal norms and thought a peaceful parlay made sense. What was the real aftermath of this conversation? With apologies to Missandei, Dany didn’t lose much from a strategic standpoint, and her execution might represent an attempt by Cersei to goad Dany into an attack. In that case, I can only see one potentially substantial development: Tyrion’s comments about Cersei’s unborn baby. It would be absurd for Tyrion to hope an appeal to Cersei’s motherly instincts would work at this point (no more absurd than Wight-in-a-box or the Charge of the Dothraki Brigade, but bear with me), and obviously it didn’t. We cut away fairly quickly, though, and Euron only recently learned about her pregnancy. Tyrion wouldn’t know about Cersei’s pregnancy before Euron unless…Euron isn’t the father. This could be the slight nudge we need to make my prediction of Euron and the Golden Company’s betrayal, a la Tywin Lannister, come to fruition.
Based on what we just witnessed in the Narrow Sea, I give this battle about 10 seconds.
Dragonflame Burn of the Week
“Hmmm yes, King’s Landing, right near Dragonstone”
“Oh the Greyjoy fleet! The ones who ambushed us near Dragonstone last time?”
“I’m glad we’re keeping track of our enemies".”
Sorry friends, we got burnt this week.
Thanks for checking out our recap! If you need some more historical context for what you're seeing, you can check out our Game of Thrones Lore series, which details the history of Westeros and some of what we know of Essos. Check back for another recap next week, and until then, remember: just because someone thinks they’re smarter than everyone doesn’t mean they aren’t.
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The stories of the Starks and Targaryens come to an end together; the leaders of Westeros decide what to do in a new world
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Dany deals with a traitor; the Lannisters are forced to engage in battle; Dany follows in her father’s footsteps
Game of Thrones Recap, Season 8 Episode 4: The Last of the Starks
The survivors of The (not-so-)Long Night mourn the fallen and look forward; Dany, Jon, and the Stark-garyens prepare to move south; Cersei takes a big step to even the odds
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After seven and a half seasons, the realm of men faces down the Night King and his undead army
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May 18 Game of Thrones Recap, Season 8 Episode 5: The Bells
May 2 Game of Thrones Recap, Season 8 Episode 3: The Long Night
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From Apartheid to Xenophobia: Exploring exclusion, persecution and displacement in the post apartheid era
von: Shepherd Mutsvara
GRIN Verlag , 2018
ISBN: 9783668748965 , 5 Seiten
Kopierschutz: frei
» Gratis Leseprobe zum Download
Essay from the year 2018 in the subject Law - Public Law / Constitutional Law / Basic Rights, grade: -, University of London, language: English, abstract: The post apartheid era has failed to deal with difference and tolerance despite a progressive Constitution that embraces diversity. The intense and irrational dislike of foreign nationals and the continued exclusion of the native minorities, can thus be explained as a by-product of overt apartheid policies that led to the exclusion of South Africa from the International community. Arguably, the environment created by the policy of separation with its emphasis on boundary maintenance and tribal trust lands has negatively impacted on South Africans' ability to be tolerant of outsiders and minorities. Framed on (Harris 2002) hypotheses on xenophobia, this paper argues that the contestations over scarce resources, citizenship and political identity has formented into exclusion, persecution and displacement of both foreign nationals and native minorities in South Africa. Native minorities find themselves as victims of politics of identity and their exclusion in key strategic areas of governance and leadership is a source of hostility and intergenerational trauma. As for foreign nationals seeking greener pastures in South Africa, their situation is further exacerbated by the strategic inconsistency in the immigration and labour laws which are both isolationist and stereotypical of outsiders. Drawing from qualitative scholarship, the paper proposes a durable social inclusive theory, which seeks to reconcile divergent community groups and politicians towards embracing the spirit of Ubuntu and nation building. The social inclusive theory is a peace building initiative that aims to heal divisions of the past and solve post colonial conflicts that have caused social instability in South Africa.
Shepherd Mutsvara is a Canon Collins Scholar studying LL.M in International Law and Patent Law with the University of London. His interests lie in the intersection of Public Law and Intellectual Property Rights.
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Britain's Dyson buys Singapore's priciest penthouse
British billionaire James Dyson has bought Singapore's most expensive apartment it gives them a base in the country where he plans to build electric because the three story so called super penthouse was sold for fifty four point two million dollars according to media reports Polish residents penthouse sits on top of Singapore's tallest building the Tanjong Pagar center the apartment has five bedrooms and Tyson can enjoy it's private garden a poll and a six hundred bottle wine cellar the seventy two year old is best known for inventing the bagless vacuum cleaner he also supports brexit but announced plans in January to move his company's head office from Britain to Singapore the Dyson company said the move was to be closer to the fastest growing markets and his firm now plans to build its first electric car in the city state
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Inside the Newsroom
Amplify: Deepening relationships with podcast listeners through SMS
By Hannah Young and Sam Ward / December 21, 2017
In January, Reveal began exploring ways to connect more deeply with our podcast listeners and help them discover our content beyond what they were hearing each week.
During an intensive 10-week design sprint with Stanford University’s d.school, we came up with Amplify, an SMS technology that allows Reveal listeners to request additional information by text – photos, data, video, graphics, etc. – and to receive that information immediately on their phones. We chose SMS because we wanted the experience to meet users where many of them already are when they are listening to a podcast (i.e., their cellphones).
Amplify prototypeCredit: Sam Ward/Reveal
In contrast with text messages that push headlines to users, Amplify empowers users to take control of their experience. It starts with a prompt from our host, Al Letson, at the beginning of an episode, inviting listeners to text us to opt in to the experience. Throughout the show, Letson or one of the reporters on the show invites listeners to text again when there is something for them to see, such as photos of people, key data points or excerpts of documents mentioned in the audio story.
We launched Amplify on three podcasts this year: Misconceptions, Street fight and Inside Trump’s immigration crackdown. With support from the Lenfest Institute, we also partnered with WHYY in Philadelphia – one of 450 public radio stations that carry Reveal – to launch Amplify to its broadcast audience. In total, we’ve sent nearly 30,000 messages to 7,500 users.
Screenshot of Amplify interaction during our Street fight episodeCredit: Hannah Young/Reveal
From our experiments, we’ve learned:
Texting is a powerful tool to build trust with listeners. The most popular assets in Amplify are the ones that offer listeners a peek under the hood of our organization. From selfie shots of Letson and our reporters to the underlying source documents, the most engaged listeners are eager to learn what is behind the journalism they’re hearing, right in the moment they’re hearing it.
Texting allows us to have a deeper, more personal relationship with our audience. In every Amplify experience we’ve launched, we’ve been surprised by the ways our listeners open up to us. Some texted back their own selfies or told us where they were while listening. These exchanges can open the door to deeper sharing. For example, in our Street fight episode, we asked Amplify participants whether they are more or less likely to join a protest these days. More than 150 responded. And our Inside Trump’s immigration crackdown episode prompted more than 450 people to submit their questions about the immigration system. These responses will inform future reporting.
We’re excited to continue experimenting and building on these lessons in 2018.
Amy Pyle, Will Evans, Jim Briggs, Julia B. Chan, Sam Ward and Hannah Young of Reveal developed Amplify in collaboration with Benjamin Johnston and John McGinnis of Stanford University’s d.school.
Hannah Young can be reached at hyoung@revealnews.org, and Sam Ward can be reached at sward@revealnews.org. Follow them on Twitter: @HannahDotYoung and @sward13.
By Hannah Young and Sam Ward Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting December 21, 2017
By Hannah Young and Sam Ward / December 21, 2017
Texting is a powerful tool to build trust with listeners. The most popular assets in Amplify are the ones that offer listeners a peek under the hood of our organization. From selfie shots of Letson and our reporters to the underlying source documents, the most engaged listeners are eager to learn what is behind the journalism they’re hearing, right in the moment they’re hearing it. Texting allows us to have a deeper, more personal relationship with our audience. In every Amplify experience we’ve launched, we’ve been surprised by the ways our listeners open up to us. Some texted back their own selfies or told us where they were while listening. These exchanges can open the door to deeper sharing. For example, in our Street fight episode, we asked Amplify participants whether they are more or less likely to join a protest these days. More than 150 responded. And our Inside Trump’s immigration crackdown episode prompted more than 450 people to submit their questions about the immigration system. These responses will inform future reporting.
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Dark Horse Radio
Ronnie Dean Tinsley Set To Release New Song 'Whiskey For Christmas'
Ronnie Dean Tinsley & The Dark Horse Rodeo is releasing the ultimate bad boy Outlaw Country Christmas jingle on November 22, 2016 just in time for the holiday season. 'Whiskey For Christmas' features the signature story-telling country-rock sounds and tones found throughout the 2016 debut 'Renegade' album and is sure to be the edgiest Christmas song on your playlist this year.
"I came into rehearsal one day back in June and mumbled something about recording a Christmas song. Everyone looked at me a little sideways so I laid into the guitar and started belting out this song that I literally penned 2 hours prior. The consensus was that the song rocked and needed to be done so we did it and it was a blast! I'm really looking forward to seeing where it goes. Seasonal music has a life of its own and it gets dusted off every year so I'm hoping folks put it on their Christmas playlist right up next to Elvis' Blue Christmas..." - Ronnie Dean Tinsley
'Whiskey For Christmas' will be available virtually EVERYWHERE at 30+ online digital retailers such as iTunes, Amazon, GooglePlay, Spotify as well as www.RonnieDeanTinsley.com on Tuesday, November 22, 2016 and will be promoted to national and international online and terrestrial radio throughout the holiday season.
'Whiskey For Christmas' was written by and features Ronnie Dean Tinsley on lead vocal and rhythm guitar, James Hook with harmony vocals and rhythm guitar, Ron Segura on lead guitar, Phil Lock on bass, Chris Drabek on drums, Billie Jean Hughes with harmony vocals and Doug Winski on Hammond and Wurlitzer keys. Recorded and mastered by Brian Baker at Sound Arts Recording Studio in Houston, Texas. Cover Photo by Trevor Ben Feltner II. Published by The Black Light District (ASCAP). Copyright 2016.
Please log in or register to post.
©2012-2017 Ronnie Dean Tinsley | All Rights Reserved. Made in America by Texans.
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17 LISTS Keeping UpIf you think there's nothing more interesting than what each of the Kardashians (and Jenners) are doing, thinking, or saying at any given moment, these lists are for you.
Celebrities Who Hate the Kardashians The Very Worst (Real) Things in Kim's Life Hilarious Kim Memes Kris Is a Step Ahead of You The O.J. Simpson Connections Is Khloe the Best One? Their Sketchiest Biz Ventures Out of the Mouth of Kim Ranking the Kardashians by Hotness Everyone the Whole Family Has Dated Kylie and Jordyn: A Timeline The Very Best Episodes of KUWTK All the Kids' Names, Ranked Best to Worst Which Is Kylie? Which Is Kendall? Every Dress They've Worn to Met Galas All Seasons of KUWTK, Ranked All of Their TV Shows, Ranked
Photo: YouTube
Celebrities Here Are All The Celebrities Who Have Fallen Victim To The Kardashian Kurse
Michelle Nati
667.1k views 13 items
The Kardashians are, for better or worse, America’s current royal family. And, as with all nobility, rumors of curses abound. What is the Kardashian curse? Essentially, anyone who hooks up with a Kardashian is hexed. As Kylie Jenner put it, "Their life kind of just goes down hill after that."
There are plenty of stories about how the Kardashian family causes bad luck, particularly regarding athletes who date the sisters, such as Cleveland Cavaliers' center Tristan Thompson. But the ill effects of the alleged curse seems to have spread to any significant others, no matter their profession – and perhaps even the family itself. How else would you explain all the bad things that have happened to Kim Kardashian?
Examples of the Kardashian curse might give more people an excuse to hate the crew. But, in their defense, the Kardashians are not your average family. They're influential business people and purveyors of pop culture, not to mention television stars. They navigate rarified realms of celebrity, and it’s easy to see how anyone, even high-profile athletes and musicians, can get overwhelmed by sharing the limelight.
Lamar Odom Struggled With Addiction
Photo: bellesqa.nl/via Pinterest
Former Los Angeles Laker Lamar Odom was at the peak of his career when he met Khloe Kardashian in 2009. After about dating for about a month, the two got hitched. He was soon a regular on Keeping Up with the Kardashians and the newlyweds even had a spin-off show, Khloe & Lamar.
But all was not well behind the scenes. In 2011, Odom’s cousin, Curtis Smith, died. Just a week later, Odom was involved in a serious car accident in which his driver struck and killed a 15-year-old boy. By 2012, rumors of hard partying and extramarital affairs dogged Odom and, a year later, Kardashian filed for divorce. Odom continued his downward spiral into drug addiction and in 2015 he was found unconscious in a Las Vegas brothel. After he recovered, Kardashian signed the divorce papers and moved on to Tristan Thompson of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Odom is now sober and reportedly writing a tell-all autobiography.
see more on Lamar Odom
Celebrities Getting Wet With Stuff Other Than Water
Scott Disick Lost Both Of His Parents While He Was On KUWTK
Video: YouTube
Scott Disick, Kourtney Kardashian's former flame and father to Mason, Penelope, and Reign, was so convinced he was a victim of the Kardashian curse that he sought out a psychic to confirm his beliefs. The consultation was the basis for a 2016 KUWTK episode. He was told "a negative energy is following you around. Everything that you try to do, you have a tendency to have many obstacles in front of you. To answer your question, I would probably say you do have a curse."
During his tenure on KUWTK, Disick’s parents died within a few months of each other. He's also had his share of addiction issues, which have been well documented on the show. He and Kardashian have apparently called it quits for good, but continue to co-parent their children.
see more on Scott Disick
The Druggiest Rock Stars of All Time
Caitlyn Jenner Alienated Her Family And The LGBTQ Community
Photo: John Shearer / Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Caitlyn Jenner made headlines around the world after her 2015 interview with Diane Sawyer to discuss her identity as a transgender woman, but the road has been a bit rocky ever since. The former spouse of "momager" Kris Jenner, Caitlyn Jenner had her own spin-off from KUWTK, I Am Cait, which only lasted two seasons before being canceled due to low ratings. Her tell-all book, The Secrets of My Life, angered the "K-troop," as Jenner calls the Kardashians.
Kris and elder daughters Khloe, Kourtney, and Kim are not speaking to Jenner, while younger siblings Kendall and Kylie still manage to spend time with Jenner. She has also alienated members of the LGBTQ community as a Republican and Trump supporter.
see more on Caitlyn Jenner
The Worst Things That Have Ever Happened to Kim Kardashian
Kanye West Burned Bridges With Jay-Z
Photo: kimkardashian/via Instagram
Kanye West remains Kanye West, even after marrying Kim Kardashian. But he's also had some very public struggles; at the end of 2016, he suffered a breakdown that landed him in the hospital under a psychiatric hold.
West has since bounced back, and the couple is holding strong, but his friendship and work partnership with fellow rapper Jay-Z is on the rocks. In 2017, West left Tidal over a financial dispute regarding his album The Life of Pablo and Jay-Z has taken West to task on his release 4:44. Allegedly, the Carters have refused to work with anyone who’s had any dealings with Kimye.
see more on Kanye West
The Most Extravagant Gifts Kanye West And Kim Kardashian Have Ever Given Each Other
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46 LISTS The Universe of Marvel ComicsOriginally known as Timely Publications and then as Atlas Comics, the comic book publishing company known as Marvel began in 1961 when it launched The Fantastic Four.
Fan Theories to Think About The Hottest Female Villainesses Most Powerful Characters in Marvel Comics When Villains Actually Killed Superheroes Bleak Moments in Marvel History Most Powerful Weapons in the Universe The Greatest Marvel Villains & Enemies Characters: Where Are They Now? The Top Marvel Superheroes Gory Moments You Can Never Unsee The Worst Ever Costume Adaptations Alternate Universes and Timelines Adorable Superhero BFFs Fan Theories About Marvel Studios Weird Characters You'll Never See in the MCU Alternate Costumes in Marvel Comics The Best Marvel Crossover Events The Questionable History of the Actual Skrulls Characters Who Waste Their Powers Heroes with the Most Harrowing Origin Stories
Photo: Marvel
Total Nerd All The Primary Timelines In The Marvel Universe
Ranker Comics
3.2k views 41 items
Over the years, the Marvel Multiverse has expanded from one reality into hundreds, if not thousands more mirror universes. With each new story delving into a new alternate reality, be it the familiar What If...? storyline or something entirely different, the creators over at Marvel Comics establish an entirely new world. As each new universe is created, it is given a number in the vein of Earth-616, Earth-12123, etc...
There have been hundreds of these Earths listed in detail throughout Marvel's history (many of them just dedicated to the X-Men), but only a small number could be considered to be primary timelines within the overall Marvel Universe. These typically feature a Marvel imprint or a universe that is so important, it plays a major role in the development of a new book or established series. Here are all of the main Marvel Universe timelines listed with their first appearances (or mentions), who lives or comes from them, and why they are important.
Earth-199999 (The Marvel Cinematic Universe, MCU)
Photo: junaidrao/flickr/CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0
Inhabitants: The cinematic versions of the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Defenders, and all of their associated characters presented in live-action in film and television.
First Appearance: Iron Man (2008)
The MCU was launched with the first Iron Man film in 2008 and includes more than 20+ films and six television series. This world includes the street-level heroes like Daredevil all the way up to cosmic beings like Thor and Thanos.
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Earth-555326 (The Animated Next Avengers Universe)
Photo: Lionsgate / Marvel Comics
Inhabitants: The Next Avengers
First Appearance: Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (2008)
This world appeared in the direct-to-video film, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (2008), which featured a more cartoony version of the characters for a younger audience.
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Earth-3488 (The Animated Ultimate Universe)
Inhabitants: The Avengers from the Ultimate (animated) Universe
First Appearance: Ultimate Avengers (2006)
This world differs slightly from the printed Ultimate Universe and features many of the characters from the comics, but different enough to set this world apart from the standard Ultimate Universe. In addition to Ultimate Avengers, there was a sequel, Ultimate Avengers II released the same year.
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Earth-1218 (This Is Our Reality)
Photo: Josh Liba/flickr/CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0
Inhabitants: You and pretty much everyone else alive in the world at this moment...
First Appearance: New Exiles #3 (2008)
This Earth designation is the one from Marvel Comics that is our own reality. Anyone reading a comic or going through this list right now is living in Earth-1218.
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19,084 total votes
The Fast and the Furious is a 2001 American street racing action film directed by Rob Cohen and starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster. The film is the first installment in The Fast and the Furious franchise and was distributed by Universal Pictures. The film follows undercover cop Brian O'Conner who must stop semi-truck hijackers led by Dominic Toretto from taking expensive electronic equipment. The film's concept was inspired by a Vibe magazine article about street racing in New York City. Filming locations include Los Angeles and parts of southern California. The Fast and the Furious was released on June 22, 2001 to financial success. ... more on Wikipedia
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2,090 total votes
The Haunted Mansion is a 2003 American fantasy comedy film based on the attraction of the same name at Disney theme parks. The film was directed by Rob Minkoff, written by David Berenbaum and stars Eddie Murphy, Terence Stamp, Nathaniel Parker, Marsha Thomason, and Jennifer Tilly. It was released on November 26, 2003 and is Disney's fourth film based on an attraction at one of its theme parks, following the television film Tower of Terror, The Country Bears, and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl with the latter being the first installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. ... more on Wikipedia
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South West Beaches
All eyes are on Semaphore as increasing numbers of interstate investors and sea changers hone-in on the relatively affordable seaside suburb.
Character homes draw crowds of buyers in Semaphore
Eleanor Miller
87 Hall Street, Semaphore is on the market with Ray White. It has an asking price of $1.175 million.
Lack of quality housing stock is driving strong market demand for Semaphore, as interstate buyers start honing-in on the relatively affordable seaside suburb.
Kate Smith, business owner of Harcourts Smith says the area has become increasingly sought-after in the 11 years she has been selling there, but it is also tightly held.
“Once people get into the area, they love the lifestyle and don’t want to move out,” she says.
“Now we’re getting interest in people from outside the area.”
Ms Smith says she has recently started fielding inquiries about Semaphore properties from interstate investors, especially from the eastern states whose markets have dropped in value.
The investors are being drawn by the area’s beachfront location and strong property price growth, coupled with the fact it remains one of Adelaide’s cheapest coastal addresses.
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30 Dudley Street, Semaphore is on the market with Harcourts Smith. It has a price guide of $610,000 to $655,000.
According to CoreLogic, house prices in Semaphore increased by 12.7 per cent in the past three years – far in excess of the wider metropolitan average of 5.3 per cent.
The median house price in Semaphore now sits at $620,000, compared to Glenelg’s $930,000, Henley Beach’s $865,000, West Beach’s $782,000, and Grange’s $740,000.
Ms Smith says the suburb is known for its character houses, many of which cannot be demolished and built-up due to strong local conservation regulations.
“There’s incredible interest in character homes,” she says.
“I sold one recently on Calgoolie Ave, Largs Bay, which is just out of Semaphore that went $140,000 over the reserve at auction. We had 100 groups through the property.”
60 Dudley Street, Semaphore is on the market with LJ Hooker. It has an asking price of $570,000 to $599,000.
A 1970s brick home on 1100sqm that she sold last month at 33 Esplanade Semaphore South, meanwhile sold for $1.64 million, setting a record for its suburb.
“Again, there were really high numbers (through the opens) – not as many as the character villa experience but still really strong interest,” she says.
“We can’t get enough character homes in the area.”
Nick Psarros, principal of Ray White Port Adelaide has also noticed an increase in investors looking to Semaphore, but says the area is also becoming a sought-after sea change location for Adelaide locals.
“A lot of buyers are pulled there from existing friendships based in the area- we’ve noticed that for years,” Mr Psarros says.
“People are being pulled from the hills and the eastern suburbs. I sold one recently to a lawyer from the eastern suburbs.”
“In terms of investing, you invest in a good suburb and you get positive capital growth.”
He says Semaphore listings also regularly attract interest from country buyers.
“I had a couple from Bordertown – they didn’t want Henley and Grange they wanted the character- that’s one of the positives of Semaphore- it’s not getting built up.”
Mr Psarros says Semaphore’s community feel is one of its greatest selling points – it’s a place where you can find a great independently-run coffee shop and the locals like to stop for a chat.
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You are here: Sports Betting Online > NBA Betting Tips > NBA Betting: Hornets host Celtics on Monday
NBA Betting: Hornets host Celtics on Monday
Date: Monday, March 30th 2015
March Madness is starting to wind down – there are only three games left in the tourney. However, the playoff race in the NBA is heating up, as most teams have less than ten games left.
Start betting on the NBA at TopBet and a get a $250 welcome bonus to start with, plus receive a weekly $10 free bet. With great betting lines and fast payouts – you can’t go wrong.
Boston Celtics vs. Charlotte Hornets Picks
Best Bet: Celtics +4 (-110)
The playoff race in the East is incredibly close. You have the Heat (34-39), Nets (32-40), Celtics (32-41), Pacers (32-41) and Hornets (31-41) all within 2.5 games of each other in the East.
Miami are in 7th place in the East and the Hornets are in 11th place. Three of these teams will likely miss the NBA playoffs and with only a regular season games left – everyone game is important.
Boston started March with a 7-3 record, but they’ve since gone 2-5 and they’re now on the outside of the playoffs looking in. Boston are just 14-22 on the road, but they’ve been better lately.
The Celtics are 4-2 in their last six road games and the losses came against the Spurs and Thunder.
Charlotte are just 17-19 at home this season and 3-8 in their last 11 games overall. They just beat the Hawks, but this team is struggling. I’ll be on the Celtics to cover the point spread.
Boston are 1-2 against the Hornets this season, as they won the last meeting at home. In the game in Charlotte earlier this season the Hornets won by 9 points and covered ATS.
Jared Sullinger is out for the C’s, but everyone else is relatively healthy on both sides. If the big men can play some defense, Boston will win the game, as they have an edge at the guard positions.
Phoenix Suns vs. Portland Trail Blazers Picks
Best Bet: Over 211 Points (-110) at BetOnline
I expect a lot of points in the Phoenix Suns (38-36) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (47-25) game.
The Suns can score points (103.8 PPG – 5th), but they also allow a ton (103.4 PPG – 26th). Phoenix are on a 3-game losing streak and they’ve given up 108 and 109 points in two of those recent losses.
Portland have won 3-games in a row after a 5-game losing streak, but they just allowed the Nuggets to score 114 points. LaMarcus Aldridge is coming off a 32-point, 12-rebound performance against DEN.
Aldridge and Lillard will be relied upon to provide a lot of the offense, but Afflalo is slowly becoming more comfortable with his new team and he’s coming off a 21-point performance.
Brandon Knight has been terrible in Phoenix and he’s now coming off the bench in a limited role, but the Suns have a ton of scoring depth. The problem is they don’t play any defense at all.
Phoenix is a respectable 17-18 on the road and there’s still hope they’ll make the playoffs, although that hope is almost gone. I still expect Phoenix to fight to the end and not fold.
Both teams will exceed 100+ points in this game and the Blazers will likely put up closer to 120 points, easily sending this game over the total.
Free NBA Parlay for March 30th 2015
Celtics +4 & Over 211 Points in PHO @ POR
I’m also going to parlay my two straight bets tonight in the NBA. I’m confident in both of these picks and a parlay at GTBets pays +260 odds. If you want just my best bet – take the O211 points.
Free Football Betting Tips & Football Predictions Today
Our expert team of tipsters is tried and tested when it comes to football. Get the latest on all the major leagues and competitons and let us help you find valu...
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Debates Forum
Public ForumsSearchRecommended
"Forget China – it's America's own economic system that's broken"
Duchess64
Debates 24 Jun '19 20:07
Zugzwang
24 Jun '19 20:072 edits
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/23/china-america-economic-system-xi-jinping-trump
"Forget China – it's America's own economic system that's broken.
US weakness is inbuilt – the big 500 companies owe loyalty only to
themselves and the public is shut out from prosperity."
--Robert Reich
"But Xi won’t agree to change China’s economic system. Why should he?
The American economic system is focused on maximizing shareholder returns.
And it’s achieving that goal: on Friday, the S&P 500 notched a new all-time high.
But average Americans have seen no significant gains in their incomes for
four decades, adjusted for inflation.
China’s economic system, by contrast, is focused on maximizing China.
And it’s achieving that goal. Forty years ago China was still backward and agrarian.
Today it’s the world’s second-largest economy, home to the world’s
biggest auto industry and some of the world’s most powerful technology companies.
Over the last four decades, hundreds of millions of Chinese people
have been lifted out of poverty."
"These giant corporations have no particular allegiance to America.
Their only allegiance and responsibility is to their shareholders.
They’ll do whatever is necessary to get their share prices as high as
possible – including keeping wages down, fighting unions, reclassifying
employees as independent contractors, outsourcing anywhere around
world where parts are cheapest, shifting their profits around the world
wherever taxes are lowest, and paying their top CEOs ludicrous sums."
"The American system relies on taxes, subsidies and regulations to
coax corporations to act in the interest of the American public.
But these levers have proven weak relative to the overriding
corporate goal of maximizing shareholder returns.
Last week, for example, Walmart, American’s largest employer, announced
it would lay off 570 employees despite taking home more than $2bn
courtesy of Trump and the Republican corporate tax cuts. Last year,
the company closed dozens of Sam’s Club stores, leaving thousands
of Americans out of work.
At the same time, Walmart has plowed more than $20bn into buying
back shares of its own stock, which boosts the pay of Walmart executives
and enriches wealthy investors but does nothing for the economy."
"But wait. America is a democracy and China is a dictatorship, right?
True, but most Americans have little or no influence on public policy
– which is why the Trump tax cut did so little for them.
That’s the conclusion of professors Martin Gilens of Princeton and Benjamin Page
of Northwestern, who analyzed 1,799 policy issues before Congress and found
that “the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule,
near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy”."
"China isn’t the reason half of America hasn’t had a raise in four decades.
The simple fact is Americans cannot thrive within a system run largely by
big American corporations, organized to boost their share prices
but not boost Americans."
Patzering
is getting old...
24 Jun '19 20:12
Ok 🤔
So what is to be done?
AverageJoe1
@duchess64 said
"But Xi won’t agree to change China’s economic system. Why s ...[text shortened]... ely by
Your post is a bit fractured due to referring to the US as a democracy when it is in fact a Republic.
Secondly, many websites and smart economists (FOX Biz and CNBC et al) will tell you China couldn’t catch us in 100 years. You are About to see the United States use its economic power to exert leverage on any country it wants to. You will see it today, turn on the news and you’ll see it tomorrow. Trump, through his finagling to get us oil independent, can easily push Iran around. Can you see Obama doing that? China not even near the successes we achieve every day, even as the Trump haters scream their guts out. BTW has anyone figured out yet what the Democrats can do that Trump has not already done ?
A good trump test we are about to witness is whether he can get India, China et al to stop buying oil from Iran. That’ll be tough.
AThousandYoung
No1GaveAF*IWasWhite
tinyurl.com/y3czz7bk
23 Aug '04
@averagejoe1 said
Secondly, many websites and smart economists (FOX Biz and CNBC et al) will tell you China couldn’t catch us in 100 years. You are About to see the United States use its economic power to exert leverage on any country it wants to. You will see it today, turn on the n ...[text shortened]... to witness is whether he can get India, China et al to stop buying oil from Iran. That’ll be tough.
A Republic is a Democracy pendejo
Averagejoe1 keeps showing his abysmal ignorance (on about everything).
No wonder the extremely gullible nearly illiterate Averagejoe1 apparently worships Donald Trump.
In fact, China already has a larger GDP (PPP) than the USA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)
Every reputable economist (in contrast to right-wing American propagandists)
projects that China's GDP (nominal) will surpass the USA's within a few decades (at most).
DeepThought
@athousandyoung said
You think the People's Republic of China is a democracy?
@deepthought said
It claims to be. Do you think the PRC is a Republic?
24 Jun '19 21:541 edit
(AThousandYoung replied to DeepThought.)
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) claims to be democratic.
Can AThousandYoung QUOTE any official statement by its government declaring
that the People's Republic of China is a democracy?
KazetNagorra
A republic is a form of government where the head of state is not a hereditary position. This can be a democracy but also, e.g., a dictatorship.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic
First of all, yes.
http://en.people.cn/constitution/constitution.html
Chinese people of all nationalities will continue to adhere to the people's democratic dictatorship and the socialist road, persevere in reform and opening to the outside world."
Second, it doesn’t matter. If it is a Republic than it is a Democracy. If it is not a Democracy than it is not a Republic. Many countries use the word ‘Republic’ in a deceptive way that implies the people have power to elect representatives when they actually don’t.
@kazetnagorra said
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/republic
1. A state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.
Second, it doesn’t matter. If it is a Republic than it is a Democracy. If it is not a Democracy ...[text shortened]... deceptive way that implies the people have power to elect representatives when they actually don’t.
Why does AThousandYoung regard "democratic dictatorship" (whatever that means)
as meaning a democracy, but not a dictatorship?
This subject is frankly too ‘big’ for me to get into, since it is a ‘factually based” thread, a lot of detail readily searchable, no point just throwing facts at each other, I respectfully abstain. But I leave with this.....
Even tho China is ahead in GDP, step back a bit and take note: China GDP “per Capita” is One Third that of the USA. Go Trump.
It does mean a dictatorship. It is a paradox. China uses words like ‘democratic’ and ‘republic’ simply because it sounds good and makes good propaganda.
"This subject is frankly too ‘big’ for me to get into, since it is a ‘factually based” thread..."
--Averagejoe1
Whereas Averagejoe1 prefers to dwell in his cherished right-wing propaganda fantasy world...
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Arsenal receive quick response after enquiry over signing 24-year-old
Randy O. | January 23, 2019 | Arsenal | No Comments
The Gunners have received a swift response after an enquiry over the possible signing of a defender from one of the club’s main rivals in the Premier League.
Unai Emery has watched his side defend terribly for much of this season, despite managing to keep a clean sheet in the win over Chelsea last Saturday.
The Gunners have one of the worst defensive records out of all of the top six sides in the league this season and Emery appears to be keen on changing that.
According to the Daily Mail, Arsenal have now made an enquiry over signing Eric Bailly on loan for the rest of this season.
However, Manchester United have swiftly responded by rejecting the Gunners’ proposal for now.
The Red Devils are in a serious fight with Arsenal for a place in the Champions League next season with both teams sitting outside of the Premier League’s top four at the moment.
The Gunners were interested in bringing Bailly to the Emirates stadium on a temporary deal with the view of a permanent move in the summer.
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Volume 41 Number 5, September/October 2004
Effect of an exercise program on functional performance of institutionalized elderly
Alessandra de Carvalho Bastone, MS, PT; Wilson Jacob Filho, PhD
The University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; D. Pedro II Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil; National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Brasília, Brazil
Abstract-This study determined the effectiveness of a 6-month program of regular exercises for the improvement of functional performance of the elderly living in a nursing home. The 40 subjects aged 60 to 99 who took part in this trial were assigned either to a comparative group or an exercise group. The following variables were measured: functional performance with the use of an obstacle course, a lower-limb function test, and a 6-minute walk test (gait velocity); isometric strength of the knee extensors; proprioception of the lower limbs; mental status through the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE); and depression symptoms with the use of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). In the exercise group, 19 subjects completed the program and attended an average of 32 (68%) sessions. At the end of the trial, the exercise subjects showed significant performance improvement in quantitative and qualitative obstacle course scores, lower-limb function test, gait velocity test, knee extensors strength, and the GDS, while the nonexercise subjects showed significant decrease in qualitative obstacle course score, lower-limb function, gait velocity, MMSE, and the GDS.
Key words: depression, elderly, exercise, functional performance, institutionalization, mental status, proprioception, strength.
Abbreviations: GDS = Geriatric Depression Scale, IKES = isometric knee extensors strength, MMSE = Mini-Mental State Examination, OCQLS = obstacle course qualitative score, OCQTS = obstacle course quantitative score, 6-MIN = 6-minute walk test.
This material was based on work supported by the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development, Edifício Nazir I, Brasília, Brazil.
Address all correspondence to Alessandra de Carvalho Bastone, R. Frei Leopoldo, 173, Apt 104, Bairro Ouro Preto-Pampulha, Belo Horizonte-M.G., Brazil, CEP 31310-190; 55-31-3498-7430; fax: 55-31-3441-3678; email: alebastone@hotmail.com.
DOI: 10.1682/JRRD.2OO3.01.0014
The elderly population has grown proportionally faster than any other age group in Brazil [1]. In 2020, when life expectancy will have reached 75.5 years, the Brazilian population will consist of an estimated 23.5 percent young people (aged 18 or younger) and 7.7 percent, an estimated 16.2 million, the elderly (aged 60 or older) [2]. As the population ages, a trend of health problems and functional disability increases [3], with a significant impact on rehabilitation service needs, such as home care and nursing homes, especially for those aged 85 and older [4]. In the United States, approximately 5 percent of the elderly are institutionalized, and this statistic is unlikely to decline in the coming years. As a result, the demand for long-term care institutions for the elderly will increase [5,6]. In Brazil, census information and research data on institutionalized elderly are scarce. In 1984, Jean Louis Hotê, a French sociologist, quoted the only study known. At the time, he believed that, in Brazil, around 0.6 to 1.3 percent of the elderly were institutionalized [7].
The institutionalized elderly are high-risk patients. The loss of functional mobility has been shown to be associated with 50 percent mortality rate among nursing home patients within 6 to 12 months [8]. Evidence from several studies indicates that this decline in physical functionality as such is due only partly to the aging process, and to a large extent, it is due to the decrease in or lack of physical activity [9-11].
Exercise is an accessible form of prevention of physical decline. Several studies have found that adherence to a regular exercise program can improve muscle strength [9,12-19], reaction time [9,12], balance control [9,12,20], and gait velocity [21-23] significantly. Also some trial evidence has shown that exercise programs may enhance cognitive performance and effective states of the elderly as well [24-26], mainly of frail institutionalized elderly, given their lack of exercise and life stimuli [25,27].
Although sufficient evidence exists to recommend that older people should exercise and the findings just described suggest that exercise can increase function in the elderly, further studies are required to elucidate its role in improving function in institutionalized elderly patients. This research has important practical implications, since the primary goal of rehabilitating the elderly is to contribute to a better life quality by maintaining physical function [28-30].
In this study, we have attempted to address this issue by undertaking a long-term controlled exercise program trial with 40 elderly subjects living in a nursing home. Our aim was to assess the adherence of institutionalized elderly to an exercise program and to determine whether regular exercise has beneficial effects on their functional performance, muscle strength and proprioception of the lower limbs, and cognitive and affective status.
This study was conducted in a nursing home, which hosts 670 people. Of the residents, 85 percent are older than 60 years and among these, only 20 percent are independent.
Initially, among the nursing home residents who had been referred to the exercise program, 40 were selected to participate in this study after a personal interview. Subjects were assigned either to an exercise group, those who wanted to attend the exercise sessions, or to a comparative group, those who did not want to attend the exercise sessions but who volunteered to participate in the study. The subjects were consenting and informed volunteers, mentally capable of understanding and performing the tests proposed, and ambulatory with and without aids.
Inclusion criteria included the subjects being able to perform the functional "get-up and go" test described by Mathias and colleagues [31], without any evidence of risk of falling during the test or at any other time, as considered "normal" in the test's scale. Performing the test also meant that they could follow commands.
Subjects were also medically examined by healthcare practitioners to identify any condition that precluded their participation in the exercise program, such as imminent fall risk, symptomatic coronary insufficiency, and uncontrolled chronic disease-diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension. Exclusion criteria included not living in the institution, not meeting medical criteria, and unwillingness to participate in the study. The Ethics and Research Committee of the Medical School of the University of São Paulo approved this study.
The experimental subjects participated in a 1-hour exercise session, twice a week for 6 months. The sessions consisted of mobility exercises involving ankles, knees, hips, spine, and shoulders. Subjects performed strengthening exercises with weights on the ankles and hands, closed-kinetic chain exercises (standing and sitting on a chair, climbing stairs), a 15-minute walk, and a 5- to 10-minute relaxation (cooldown) to simulate daily activities.
Exercises were undertaken in group activities, with emphasis on social interaction and enjoyment. The comparative subjects continued their daily nursing home routine, without participating in any organized physical activity.
Assessment Procedures
Assessments were made before subjects began the exercise program and after a 6-month period. Assessments included three functional performance tests: an obstacle course (based on an obstacle course quantitative score [OCQTS] and an obstacle course qualitative score [OCQLS]), a lower-limb function test, and a gait velocity test. Isometric knee extensors strength (IKES), lower-limb proprioception, depressive symptoms, and cognitive status were also measured. All tests were done in the same amount of time, with the exception of the obstacle course and the 6-minute walk test (6-MIN), which were done in a separate setting. Each subject test session took approximately 1 hour. The same person assessed all tests.
This test, validated in 1996, consists of a series of 12 stations at which functional tasks or simulations of common functional conditions encountered in and around the environment are presented. The three sections of the obstacle course included four stations with different floor textures, two ramps, two sets of stairs, and four discrete functional tasks (opening a door, rising from a chair, walking around, and stepping over obstacles) [32,33]. The course was set up in an existing physical therapy room (6.8 m × 15.0 m). The stations were set up within a different area from the one described, with minor variations in the obstacle course configuration and the corresponding interobstacle distances.
The subjects were asked to walk the course at a comfortable pace and the elapsed time was recorded based on OCQTSs. OCQLSs were assigned according to specific criteria. A physical therapist guided the test, and the subjects were not allowed to walk the course before the actual test.
Lower-Limb Function
We assessed lower-limb function by measuring standing balance, walking speed, and the ability to rise from a chair [34]. For standing balance tests, the subjects were asked to attempt to maintain their feet side-by-side, in semitandem (the heel of one foot beside the big toe of the other foot), and tandem (the heel of one foot directly in front of the other foot) positions for 10 s each. The subjects received a score of "1" if they could hold a side-by-side standing position for 10 s, but were unable to hold a semitandem position for 10 s; a score of "2" if they could hold a semitandem position for 10 s, but were unable to hold a full tandem position for more than 2 s; a score of "3" if they could stand in the full tandem position foot from 3 s to 9 s; and a score of "4" if they could stand in full tandem position for 10 s.
A 2.4 m walk at the subject's normal pace was timed, and the participants were scored according to quartiles for the time length required to complete the test. The time of the faster of two walks was used for scoring as follows: 5.7 s, a score of 1; 4.1 s to 5.6 s, a score of 2; 3.2 s to 4.0 s, a score of 3; and 3.1 s, a score of 4.
The subjects were asked to stand up from a chair and to sit down five times, as fast as possible. Quartiles for the length of time of this measure were used for scoring as follows: 16.7 s, a score of 1; 13.7 s to 16.6 s, a score of 2; 11.2 s to 13.6 s, a score of 3; and 11.1 s, a score of 4.
We created a performance score profile by adding the three test scores. The subjects were allowed to use their aids if necessary.
6-Minute Walk Test
The subjects were instructed to walk for 6 minutes in the space determined, from one side to the other, and to try to cover as much ground as possible, continuously if possible, but without being concerned if they felt an urge to slow down or to stop. A physical therapist accompanied the subjects and measured the time, giving encouragement as necessary [35]. The distance covered was then measured in meters, with the use of a tape measure.
Isometric Knee Extensors Strength
The modified sphygmomanometer was used to measure the IKES [36]. It consists of a sphygmomanometer folded bladder inside a sewn bag, as described by Helewa et al. [37]. The sphygmomanometer was inflated to a baseline reading on the aneroid scale (20 mmHg). The tester placed the sphygmomanometer on the subject's leg, and the subject was asked to attempt to induce movement by exerting force against the tester. A "break" in movement or a tremor indicated maximal isometric contraction. Measurements were made in triplicate and the greatest force was recorded (mmHg).
Proprioception was measured with the use of an apparatus modified by Lord et al. [38]. This test measured the subject's ability to match the position of the lower limbs. The subjects attempted to simultaneously place the right big toe on the right side of a sheet and the left big toe on the corresponding position on the left side of the sheet in an orthostatic position, without looking to the feet. Error in matching the two toes was measured with a protractor. The test score was the mean error.
Mini-Mental State Examination
The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was administered to assess the subject's cognitive level in items related to orientation, capability of registration, attention and calculation, recall, and language [39].
The maximum score possible is 30. A score below 24, which indicates cognitive impairment, is not considered normal for older people. A score of 21 implies mild intellectual impairment, a score from 16 to 20 reflects moderate impairment, and a score below 15 is considered severe impairment. No adjustment for subject characteristics was made because MMSE was not used as an exclusion criterion, and only the means of the differences obtained by subtracting the baseline from the follow-up values was compared across groups.
Geriatric Depression Scale
We used the GDS to measure depressive symptoms. It includes 30 questions to which subjects answer "yes" or "no" [40], such as-
· "Are you basically satisfied with your life?"
· "Do you frequently feel like crying?"
· "Do you often feel helpless?"
All variables were considered continuous because measurements varied within a certain scale. Baseline differences in group characteristics were analyzed with the use of an unpaired two-tailed t-test for age and with the Mann-Whitney U-test for institutionalization time. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated comparing data from different variables at baseline. We used the one-tailed t-test, Wilcoxon test, and Mann-Whitney test to assess differences between the exercise and nonexercise group means, and after the trial, we subtracted the baseline value from the follow-up value and compared the means. In addition, improvement in the performances of the subjects with and without chronic conditions in the exercise group was compared with the Wilcoxon test. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Of the 40 subjects initially recruited into the study, 3 failed to complete the program: 1 from the exercise group, due to medical conditions that caused discontinuation of participation in the exercise class and 2 from the nonexercise group (1 who died and another who left the institution). The characteristics of the study group are described in Table 1. Chronic conditions considered were those found to compromise the performance of the subjects in the physical function tests.
Characteristics of study group at baseline.
Exercise Group (n = 19)
Nonexercise Group (n = 18)
Mean Age (y)
76.78 (60.42-99.33)
Female, n (%)
Male, n (%)
Chronic Conditions*
Mean Institutionalization Time (y)
10.88 (0.75-31.92)
*Including Parkinson's disease, stroke, osteoarthritis, and poliomyelitis sequela.
No significant difference was found between the groups at baseline in relation to age. But compared to the exercise group, the nonexercise group had a significantly longer institutionalization time.
The total number of sessions in the 6-month period was 47. The mean number of sessions attended by the 19 subjects who adhered to the exercise program was 32 (68%), in the range of 20 to 47 sessions (43% to 100%); 16 subjects (84%) attended 30 (64%) or more sessions. The mean number of subjects per session was 14 (74%), in the range of 8 to 19 subjects (42% to 100%); over 10 (53%) subjects attended 46 (98%) of the sessions.
Mean values and standard deviations of test measures before and after trial are shown in Table 2. The comparison of these values reveals that the exercise group performed significantly better in functional tests (OCQTS and OCQLS), lower-limb function, gait velocity, strength, and the GDS. The nonexercise group had a significantly diminished functional performance (only OCQLS), lower-limb function, gait velocity, MMSE, and the GDS.
Mean ± standard deviations of test measures-baseline and 6-month follow-up.
OCQTS (s)
333.39 ± 168.67
263.56 ± 136.51*
OCQLS
27.47 ± 7.88
29.95 ± 6.59†
22.94 ± 7.63*
LLF
6.68 ± 2.79
7.79 ± 2.97*
6-MIN (s)
204.06 ± 77.62
220.53 ± 86.52*
IKES (mmHg)
95.89 ± 28.06
Proprioc. (°)
MMSE
20.94 ± 6. 83
*Student t-tests: p < 0.05
†Wilcoxon test: p < 0.05
OCQTS = obstacle course quantitative score
OCQLS = obstacle course qualitative score
LLF = lower-limb function
6-MIN = 6-minute walk test
IKES = isometric knee extensor strength
Proprioc. = proprioception (distance in matching toes)
MMSE = Mini-Mental State Examination
GDS = Geriatric Depression Scale
The correlation between baseline variables is shown in Table 3. The highest coefficients were found among functional tests. The proprioception test, MMSE, and GDS had a weak correlation with the remaining tests, except for a moderate correlation between MMSE and lower-limb function tests.
Pearson correlation coefficients (r) of different baseline variables.
6-MIN
Proprioc.
OCQTS (s) (p-Value)
-0.8063*
OCQLS (p-Value)
LLF (p-Value)
6-MIN (s) (p-Value)
IKES (mmHg) (p-Value)
Proprioc. (°) (p-Value)
MMSE (p-Value)
*Strong correlation 0.7 < /r/ < 1.0
Moderate correlation 0.4 < /r/ < 0
When comparing the means of the differences obtained subtracting baseline from follow-up values of the exercise and nonexercise groups, we found that the exercise group performed significantly better in all the tests, except for the proprioception one, as shown in Table 4.
Mean ± standard deviations of differences between baseline and follow-up values for exercise and nonexercise groups.
-69.82 ± 48.5486
37.90 ± 109.5877*
-1.2778 ± 2.3466
16.4763 ± 20.8125
-10.0083 ± 10.7530
*Mann-Whitney test: p < 0.05
Student t-tests: p < 0.05
This study evaluated the effectiveness of an exercise program on functional performance, mental status, and depressive symptoms in the institutionalized elderly. Strength and balance measurements were included because they are prerequisites for successful functional activity performance [41,42]. Proprioception assessment, joint position sense, was used as an indirect balance evaluation [43]. The finding that proprioception was not significantly better in the exercisers compared with the nonexercisers is consistent with a previous study by Lord et al. [44]. They reported that their subjects showed negligible effects on proprioception after a 12-month exercise intervention, suggesting that exercising may have minimal effect on peripheral sensory systems.
According to Rogers and Evans [45], the very old and frail elderly experience skeletal muscle atrophy of Type II fibers as a result of disuse, disease, undernutrition, and the effects of aging per se. However, several studies have shown that elderly men and women retain the capacity to adapt to progressive resistive exercise training with significant and clinically relevant muscle hypertrophy and increased muscle strength [46-49]. Our study supports this finding, showing a significant performance improvement in the strength test in the exercise group compared to the nonexercise group.
Few other studies that addressed adaptation to resistance training in the institutionalized elderly reported improvement in strength, irrespective of the use of a high-intensity resistance program [14], a combination of isometric training and low-intensity weight-lifting exercises [50,51], seated resistance exercises [18,26], and rowing exercises for restrained nursing home residents [52]. Although high-intensity exercise clearly may elicit sizable gains in strength [14], less strenuous programs (similar to the one described in this study) have demonstrated significant gain in muscle strength [53,54].
Some studies have considered changes in functional ability in older people after training [19,21,26,51,55-58]. In our study, we found significant improvement in the three functional indicators used. It is important to point out their strong correlation shown by the Pearson correlation coefficients, which corroborate their validity.
When considering relevant improvements in functional tasks, one should consider the type of training exercises used. Skelton et al. [59], in a study with task independent training exercises (i.e., training exercises specific to increase strength of major muscle groups) and avoidance of those that mimic functional tasks, reported only minimal improvements in 2 out of 12 functional ability tests, despite significant increase in strength and muscle power. In contrast, Skelton and MacLaghlin [21] found significant improvements in chair-rise, timed-up-and-go, stair-climbing time, and floor rise-time tests, in an 8-week study, with a training program mirroring daily activities. They concluded that it might be more beneficial to train using movements that closely mirror daily activities rather than to train to increase strength and the power of individual muscle groups per se.
Rantanen et al. have also suggested that usual daily activities may represent a large proportion of maximal strength for older individuals and, therefore, be an adequate overload [60]. In accordance with that, Schnelle et al. reported a study in which nurses in a nursing home bladder/bowel training program spent an extra 6 minutes helping extremely frail residents exercise every time they got the residents up to toilet [61]. The residents would push their wheelchairs, do sit-to-stands, or try to walk a couple of extra minutes. After 8 weeks, their levels of daily living activity improved significantly; they could walk and propel their wheelchairs further and stand up more easily, which showed that even simple interventions can translate into physical benefits.
The psychological effects of exercise, described elsewhere [62,63], have been confirmed in this study by GDS improvements. Nevertheless, the issue of whether or not exercise affects cognitive function remains controversial [19,25,26,64-66]. In our study, the exercisers showed no significant effect on MMSE performance improvement by the end of the program. However, we would like to note that the comparative group showed a significant decrease in MMSE after the 6-month period.
The mechanism underlying the connection between exercise and mental health is still unknown, but many theories have been proposed to try to explain it [25,67]. There is evidence that exercise enhances the activity of monoamines in the brain; stimulates the release of endorphins, especially in the elderly population; and increases oxygen transport capacity, blood circulation, and energy supply to different parts of the body, including the brain. This last effect has been emphasized in relation to cognitive changes. Powell suggested that the deterioration of cognitive processes among psychogeriatric patients hospitalized for many years may result from disuse or disinterest and that exercise therapy may lead to a revitalization of those mental activities, or at least to the maintenance of cognitive level [68]. According to Barry and Eathorne [69], the social interaction offered by an exercise program provides mental and intellectual stimulation that is often missing. In this study, the lack of association between MMSE and GDS with the remaining tests implies that the psychological and cognitive level of the subjects in this sample had no influence on the physical tests.
Some methodological problems relevant to the evaluation of the effects of an exercise program have not been considered in this study. First, owing to resource limitations, a blind observer did not assess the exercise group, and therefore, observer bias possibly may have intervened. However, poststudy measurements were made without reference to baseline values. Additionally, according to Morgan [70], it is necessary to distinguish between effects caused by exercising and confounding effects caused by social or personal consequences of participating in supervised activities. In practical terms, a need exists to include control interventions, which mimic the exercise program as close as possible, except for the exercise program itself. In this particular study, a control group with an intervention that mimics the exercise program only in the social aspects was not accomplished. McMurdo and Rennie studied a group of elderly who exercised in comparison to those who participated in reminiscence sessions [19]. Those in the exercise group demonstrated significantly better strength scores, but cognitive status declined in both groups. Even though the decline was larger in the reminiscence group, it was not statistically significant.
This study had an interesting finding, despite the initial difficulty to motivate the subjects to attend the exercise program sessions during the subject selection step. This finding was that the subjects' enthusiasm for the exercise sessions was apparent from their expressed hope for continuation of the program.
Our results suggest that an exercise program can produce benefits with regard to functional improvement, reduction of depressive symptoms, and prevention of decline in mental status in the institutionalized elderly, thus contributing to a better quality of life. However, to conclusively confirm these benefits, investigators need to conduct randomized controlled studies with large subject samples and better assessment conditions.
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51. Brill PA, Drimmer AM, Morgan LA, Gordon NF. The feasibility of conducting strength and flexibility programs for elderly nursing home residents with dementia. Gerontologist. 1995;35(2):263-66.
52. Schnelle JF, MacRae PG, Giacobassi K, MacRae HSH, Simmons SF, Ouslander JG. Exercise with physically restrained nursing home residents: maximizing benefits of restraint reduction. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1996;44:507-12.
53. Agre JC, Pierce LE, Raab DM, McAdams M, Smith EL. Light resistance and stretching exercise in elderly woman: effects upon strength. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1988;69(4): 273-76.
54. Vandervoort AA, Hayes KC, Belaner AY. Strength and endurance of skeletal muscle in the elderly. Physiother Can. 1986;38:167-73.
55. Okumiya K, Matsubayashi K, Wada Tomoko, Kimura S, Doi Y, Ozawa T. Effects of exercise on neurobehavioral function in community-dwelling older people more than 75 years of age. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1996;44:569-72.
56. Sipilä S, Multanen J, Kallinen, M, Era P, Suominen H. Effects of strength and endurance training on isometric muscle strength and walking speed in elderly women. Acta Physiol Scand. 1996;156:457-64.
57. Thompson RF, Crist DM. Effects of physical exercise for elderly patients with physical impairments. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1988;36:130-35.
58. Harada N, Chiu V, Fowler E, Lee M, Reuben DB. Physical therapy to improve functioning of older people in residential care facilities. Phys Ther. 1995;75(9):830-38.
59. Skelton DA, Young A, Greig CA, Malbut KE. Effects of resistance training on strength, power and selected functional abilities of women aged 75 and over. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1995;43:1081-87.
60. Rantanen T, Era P, Heikkinen E. Physical activity and the changes in maximal isometric strength in men and women from the age of 75 to 80 years. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1997;45: 1439-45.
61. Schnelle JF, MacRae PG, Ouslander JG, Simmons SF, Nitta M. Functional incidental training, mobility performance, and incontinence with nursing home residents. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1995;43(12):1356-62.
62. Brandon JE, Loftin JM. Relationship of fitness to depression, state and trait anxiety, internal health locus of control, and self-control. Percept Mot Skills. 1991;73(2):563-68.
63. Taunton JE, Martin AD, Rhodes EC, Wolski LA, Donelly M, Elliot J. Exercise for the older woman: choosing the right prescription. Br J Sports Med. 1997;31(1):5-10.
64. Molloy DW, Richardson LD, Crilly RG. The effects of a three-month exercise programme on neuropsychological function in elderly institutionalized women: a randomized controlled trial. Age Ageing. 1988;17(5):303-10.
65. Singh NA, Clements KM, Fiatarone MA. A randomized controlled trial of the effect of exercise on sleep. Sleep. 1997;20(2):95-101.
66. Paffenbarger RS Jr, Hyde RT, Wing AL, Lee IM, Jung DL, Kampert JB. The association of changes in physical-activity level and other lifestyle characteristics with mortality among men. N Engl J Med. 1993;328:538-45.
67. Butler RN, Davis R, Lewis CB, Nelson ME, Strauss E. Physical fitness: benefits of exercise for the older patient. 2. Geriatrics. 1998;53(10):46-62.
68. Powell RR. Psychological effects of exercise therapy upon institutionalized geriatric mental patients. J Gerontol. 1974; 29(2):157-61.
69. Barry HC, Eathorne SW. Exercise and aging: Issues for the practioner. Med Clin North Am. 1994;78(2):357-76.
70. Morgan K. Trial and error: evaluating the psychological benefits of physical activity. Int J Geriat Psychiatr. 1989;4: 125-27.
Submitted for publication January 21, 2003. Accepted in revised form February 19, 2004.
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Your Language: English Deutsch Spanish
DBN
DBN consists of Djani, Patrick and Tobias. They found each other in 2005 without looking for each other. This was meant to be. They had a great chemistry, everybody got along well and most of all, everybody had fun. Although their intentions were completely different: They just wanted to re-invent House Music as it had become a little boring during the first years of our millenium.
The clubs'
dancefloors are
already being
controlled by them
Their first Remix for John Dahlback's “Everywhere“ already hit the scene like Mike Tyson. With their single “The Nighttrain” which gained them at least as much attention, they not only defined their inspiring trademark sound, but they were also able to put themselves on the electronic music's map and in the crates of almost every DJ.
It is no miracle that their big colleagues wanted to have that ground-breaking DBN sound; among them: Avicii, Nicky Romero, Sebastian Ingrosso, EDX, Eddie Thoneick, Roger Sanchez, Bob Sinclar, Erick Morillo, Dirty South, Steve Angello, Laidback Luke, Wippenberg, Norman Doray, Nalin & Kane, Cosmic Gate, ATB and also pop acts such as Ich & Ich, Medina or 2raumwohnung. DBN were exactly where they wanted to be but they remained and still are hungry.
In 2009 their single “Asteroidz” was released on Yoshitoshi Recordings. DBN signed with WePLAY Management as first act. The wheel kept spinning faster than a record at 45 rpm. “Stars” and most notably “Jack Is Back” followed and went straight to the top of the German Dance Charts. The next single “My Belief” - a cooperation with Syke'n'Sugar and Cosmo Klein – and “Chicago” reached the pole position. DBN scaled the throne and became DDC#1 Single Act National 2010.
But resting on their laurels is not their thing. In 2012 they debuted at Mayday. The DBN family's latest baby is their own label “RUN DBN Records”. DBN's journey has just begun. Their aim is not world supremacy but who knows: The clubs' dancefloors are already being controlled by them – and now all doors are open.
DBN uses:
RMX-80 Digital
Keyfadr
RHP-20
DBN about the RMX-80 DIGITAL:
In our opinion, the price for such a product is more than just fair and we really can see ourselves using this mixer. It is definitely an alternative compared to other manufacturers, especially as it is affordable for private users as well as clubs. Moreover, besides the standard functions it also offers new features. So, all in all, thumbs up for the Reloop RMX-80 Digital!
Visit DBN on Facebook
© 2019 Reloop. All Rights Reserved.
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5 Social Entrepreneurs and VCs share why Gender-lens investing is important for the ecosystem
by Hira Saeed
The term ‘gender lens investing’ coined in early 2009, is now being used heavily in the VC world. Throughout the years, women-owned businesses have suffered due to lack of capital, funds, support, and resources. According to an Ashoka global survey, 9% of their fellows reported experiencing gender-specific challenges while attracting funding and investment for their businesses.
In 2005, when Valeurs Feminines fund, created by the French money-management firm Conseil Plus Gestion, started investing in women-owned and women-led European businesses, it led to many other venture capitalists joining the league. Now, some of the famous gender lens portfolios include Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Root Capital, Veris Wealth Partners, Illuminate Ventures, Trillium Asset Management, Gray Matters Capital, Golden Seeds, and the Calvert Foundation.
Gender lens investment yields many benefits to the ecosystem and also contributes to our sustainable future. As times are changing and if we look back, the return on investment or equity of women-owned or backed businesses has never been low. Over a five-year period (2011-2016), U.S. companies that began the period with at least three women on the board experienced median gains in return on equity (ROE) of 10 percentage points and earnings per share (EPS) of 37%.
What other benefits does gender lens investing bring to the table? I had the opportunity to talk to five social entrepreneurs and VCs to share their opinion on it. Let’s hear it from them.
Reema Shah - Investor and Managing Director, Golden Seeds
“Gender investing is absolutely necessary for the ecosystem since women entrepreneurs have been tremendously underfunded around the world, whether it is in Silicon Valley or in an emerging market. Yet, research has shown that companies consisting of at least one female senior executive are more likely to have favorable outcomes than those with an all-male senior executive team. It is also important from a societal impact perspective to invest in women entrepreneurs, as they are significant contributors to innovation and economic growth.”
Mohsen Gul - Co-founder, The Green Box
“Any serious shift towards more sustainable societies must include gender equality. At Green Box, we really believe it is high time to fully invest in ‘her’. Integrating a gender lens in social and corporate businesses can empower women especially young girls in developing countries. We need to remember that they are key to critical, sustainable development challenges: talent acquisition, workplace culture, and the need for holistic innovation.”
Renata George - Managing Director, Zenmen VC fund; Founder, www.women.vc and www.VC.academy
“As a tech VC investor, I can say that many of my fellow colleagues have been missing out on the opportunity of getting better returns from women-led businesses. On the one hand, we cannot blame the men for not having any clue about what women need. However, that brings us to the other issue - the lack of female venture investors who are more than capable of recognizing high-potential tech solutions targeting females that can provide good returns.
Having women investors don’t necessarily automatically lead to a proportional increase in funding for female entrepreneurs because the ratio of them among all entrepreneurs is still low. So unless the investment theses mandate funding female entrepreneurs, the organic share of startups with at least one female founder in a portfolio won’t exceed 15-20%, however, VC firms with female investors do have better chances of attracting female entrepreneurs to their portfolios. It is a fragile structure that needs to be carefully built by all the participating parties with a great share of attention shown to it over time.”
Asra Nadeem - Investor, DraperU Ventures
“Less than 10% of venture capital goes to women founders. This system-wide failure presents a huge opportunity for capital deployment. Women founders, while being underestimated, are working on innovative solutions and building scalable products. Polyvore, Glossier, Canva, and Houzz are great examples of companies that were started by women to solve a need in the market that no one else was tackling. If we don't invest in women and LGBTQ founders, while building emerging ecosystems, we're essentially defueling the rocketship of change as it's trying to take off.”
Asma Salman Omer - Co-founder, Marham
“For the last 3 years, Marham grew exponentially as a healthcare startup in Pakistan and one of the core reasons behind it is women. The power and passion of women on our team has moved mountains. Do you know who has benefited the most? Those women who couldn't find the right treatment for themselves. And who played the role in our massive organic growth and word of mouth? Those women who were helped and wanted to help others. What I know for sure is, women can grow and catalyze everything - from revenue numbers to the impact we created - I must say if we want to grow, gender lens investing is a decision every investor should make to thrive in the ecosystem.”
Hira Saeed joined Miller Center in July 2018 through a partnership with the US Embassy in Islamabad and Atlas Corps. Hira works as a GSBI Women’s Economic Empowerment Fellow to implement new research, initiatives, and projects to help advance women’s economic empowerment through GSBI programs globally and with a specific focus in the Middle East.
tagged with Women's Empowerment, impact investing, social entrepreneurship
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Cyborgs Evolving in the US Military
Several new technologies being developed in the military are merging humans and machines.
By DNews
12:30 PM EST
The U.S. military is working to develop a new chip technology that, when implanted, will connect human brains to computers – making cyborgs.
Should the chip succeed, it could have nearly limitless possibilities. The U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) often plays a big role in the development of technologies that civilians eventually benefit from, such as GPS or the Internet.
For the US military, it could help warfighters on a number of levels, such as augmenting their senses -- hearing, sight and more.
The technology has the potential to restore sight to the blind, transform prosthetics into limbs that function seamlessly like the original one and even possibly control disease.
DARPA recently revealed the new Neural Engineering System Design, or NESD. By investing in research, DARPA hopes to create an implantable neural interface that will connect humans directly to computers at an unprecedented level, essentially turning them into cyborgs.
By definition, a cyborg is a person whose physical abilities are extended beyond normal human limitations by mechanical elements built into the body.
NESD falls within the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative launched by President Obama in 2013. BRAIN is intended to encourage research that will cure or help brain disorders and brain damage.
The new chip will be about the size of sugar cube or two stacked nickels– that's about one cubic centimeter.
NESD will act as a translator between the brain and digital world. The brain neurons use one language and computers another.
The chip would be implanted in the brain. Once implanted, it will act as a neural interface. Its job is to convert electrochemical signals sent by neurons in the brain. The chip will translate these brain signals into the ones and zeros that computers understand and then translate the computer messages into signals the brain understands.
Currently, human-computer interface technology connects a machine to approximately 100 to 1,000 neurons at a time.
With this revolutionary chip, the tech will connect individual neurons to the machine. And ultimately potentially be able to so with millions of them.
By leveraging individual neuron connections, the user would enjoy far better and finer control, a reduction in noise and accelerated communication between the human and the linked computer.
The computer would feed the brain additional digital visual information that augments the user's sense of sight.
For a civilian whose sight is impaired – the computer would feed the brain the additional data, helping to restore the sight so that they can "See." For the warfighter, think feeding visual data in a higher resolution than is currently possible. Maybe even potentially augmenting them to "see" with Superman X-ray vision or seeing through the eyes of a drone.
Current human neural interfaces squash massive amounts of data through about 100 channels. Each of these channels then aggregates signals from thousands of neurons. This approach means you get an outcome that is messy and noisy.
NESD aims to create a system that solves these problems. The groundbreaking tech will allow clear and individual communication with any one of the neurons – and up to a whopping 1 million neurons - in a given region of the brain at any time.
"Today's best brain-computer interface systems are like two supercomputers trying to talk to each other using an old 300-baud modem," explained DARPA NESD Manager Phillip Alvelda, in the defense agency's news release. "Imagine what will become possible when we upgrade our tools to really open the channel between the human brain and modern electronics."
DARPA's proposal says that the chip will be part of wider advances. For some goals to be achieved, further breakthroughs will be needed in medical device manufacturing and packaging, synthetic biology, neuroscience, low-power electronics and photonics.
The agency is encouraging those with expertise and promising ideas to participate and is hosting a Proposers' Day meeting on Feb. 2 and 3. DARPA anticipates investing up to $60 million in the NESD program over four years.
Get more from FoxNews.com
New concealed carry products for women $1 million guns made of meteorite Top military innovations of 2015 This article originally appeared on FoxNews.com; all rights reserved.
A new movement is underway that appeals to a group people unsatisfied with limits of their natural-born bodies. We're not talking plastic surgery here; we're talking bio-hacking. Bio-hackers are mainly interested in augmenting or improving their own biology or the biology of another living organism through the use of biotechnology and genetic engineering. The tools of the trade, once relegated to scientific laboratories, have come down in cost significantly, making do-it-yourself bioengineering and garage-based DNA sequencing available to anyone. Bio-hackers are fundamentally interested in altering the human condition -- usually for the better. We take a look at 10 extreme and not-so-extreme examples.
Hacking Bacteria To Do Our Bidding: Photos
Biohacker
Tim Cannon
, known as the “DIY Cyborg,” implanted a Circadia 1.0 computer chip, which is the size of a smartphone, under the skin of his forearm. The chip monitors his vital signs, then transmits the data in real-time to his Android device via Bluetooth. The device is capable of, say, sending him a text when he’s getting a fever and then determining which factors are causing the fever.
Gruesome: 'Biohacker' Implants Sensor In His Arm
Dutch journalist
Rene Shoemaker
implanted a near-field communication (NFC) chip -- roughly the size of a grain of rice -- in his hand to make it possible to enter buildings, log onto his PC instead of typing a password, and pay for goods. He was also in talks with a global IT security firm to experiment ways to use the chip in his hand to install malware on unsuspecting smartphones.
Chip Implanted In Man's Hand for a Yearlong Experiment
Anthony Antonellis
embedded a radio frequency identification (RFID) under his skin, between his thumb and index finger, to upload new GIFs onto the chip from his smartphone. The images are viewable only by cellphone; if he or others swipe a cell phone over his skin, they'll be able to get a glimpse of the digital tattoo.
Man Embeds Chip In His Hand, Hacks Phones With It
Amal Graafstra
, known as one of the first DIY RFID implantees in the world, has chips implanted in both of his hands. As a result, he can unlock doors, turn on lights and log into his computer just by swiping a hand. Graafstra also started
, an online store, where bio-hackers can purchase supplies for embedding technology into their own lives, and by lives, we mean "skin."
Organ Implant Could Power Pacemakers
, Silicon investor and technology entrepreneur, spent $300,000 to hack his own biology. He set out to discover ways to manipulate his own biology and IQ. He used a variety of supplements and neuro-feedback training to upgrade his brain by more than 20 IQ points. He also lowered his biological age while learning to sleep more efficiently in less time. He biohacked his way toward losing weight without using exercise and invented Bulletproof Coffee, a coffee mixed with butter. Asprey is also the inventor of FATWater, a beverage infused with fat to allegedly help burn fat.
Synthetic Creatures Could Save The Planet
Two California biohackers,
Gabriel Licina and Jeffrey Tibbetts
, created an eyedrop made primarily of Chlorin e6, derived from a deep-sea bioluminescent fish. They claim the drops help them make out people over 160 feet away in complete darkness.
Wanna Be A Superhero? Get Night Vision Injected In Your Eyeballs
Sara Gottfried
, MD, biohacker and author of “The Hormone Cure,” claims that anyone can biohack their hormones. She reportedly hacked her growth hormone (GH), which is the hormone that helps children grow taller as they age and impacts fat breakdown, cellular growth, muscle mass and protein synthesis in adults. Since studies have shown that decreased levels of GH can increase fat and lower energy, Gottfried set out to naturally raise her GH levels with exercise, specifically high-intensity interval training. With this type of exercise, also known as burst training, she increased her GH levels 53 percent, compared to her levels pre-burst training, over a six-week period. Gottfried incorporated a combination of other strategies as well, including cutting out excess sugar in her diet, taking melatonin supplements, increasing her sleep to at least eight hours per night and reducing stress through yoga.
Weird Engineered Organism Has 6-Letter DNA
, regarded as the world’s first cyborg, invented the Eyetap Digital Glass, which he now always wears. Mann allegedly augmented his vision, ability to capture and process images and make decisions by wearing the digital glasses.
and his team created
glow-in-the-dark plants
by synthetically cross-breeding Arabidopsis and marine bioluminescent bacteria. The biohackers assembled the genes virtually using a software called genetic compiler and sent the gene specs to DNA assembling companies to build the actual DNA. The team imported the genes by using bacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
Glow-in-the-Dark Plants Go on Sale
Biohackers from two California groups -- Counter Culture Labs (Oakland) and BioCurious (Sunnyvale) -- have engineered brewer's yeast to produce casein, a milk protein. The protein is mixed with water and vegan oil to make Vegan Milk. The milk is then turned into cheese using standard cheese-making methods.
Is Veganism Really Healthy?
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Former rodeo clown Wanchuk now entertaining on saddle-bronc
From clown to saddle-bronc rider, Wanchuk knows how to entertain
Todd Saelhof
More from Todd Saelhof
Kolby Wanchuk from Sherwood Park, AB, was the day winner for the Saddle Bronc event on day 7 of the 2019 Calgary Stampede rodeo Calgary on Thursday, July 11, 2019. Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia Darren Makowichuk / DARREN MAKOWICHUK/Postmedia
He was once clownin’ around.
These days, Kolby Wanchuk is horsin’ around.
From rodeo entertainer to saddle bronc star, the Sherwood Park cowpoke has been on both ends of the show — making folks laugh and making folks gasp.
An all-around rodeo cowboy, to be sure, and he’s only 22.
Some might say he’s gone from being silly in the ring to being crazy on a horse.
“Yeah … that’s fair,” said a smiling Wanchuk, the son of well-known rodeo entertainer Ricky Ticky. “I grew up in the arena. I grew up helping my dad and travelling all over Canada with him, clowning rodeos.
“But I guess I was always just more interested in bronc riding, and I ended up there in the end.”
On Thursday, Wanchuk ended up being the best saddle bronc rider of ‘The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth,’ as he wowed the crowd at the Calgary Stampede, putting up an 89.5 aboard a snorter of a mount, Zoaria Hills.
The Albertan has, indeed, come a long ways since he was first introduced to the rodeo infield, at a tender age.
“From the time I was two years old, I was out there with my dad at every rodeo, probably until I was 17, and then I started riding broncs pretty hard,” Wanchuk said. “I still help him here and there when I can.
“It’s awesome when we’re at the same rodeo, and he’s clowning and I can help him out a bit and he can watch me ride.”
Ricky Ticky and his entourage, which included a host of family members and friends, including Wanchuk and his little brother, Kyle — who’s now a rodeo roper — are heralded for their entertainment, in hubs such as Grande Prairie, Alta., and Cloverdale, B.C.
By the end of this season, Ricky Ticky will have worked 30 rodeo events across Canada, bringing an amped-up and unusual brand of fun to crowds everywhere.
Dogs, chickens and rabbits are part of the show, which is usually highlighted by turn-and-burns with customized go-karts and all-terrain vehicles.
“I guess when we were known for our biggest and wildest acts, which usually ended up being the biggest wrecks,” Wanchuk said. “We crashed into stuff. We broke stuff. But it was all part of the show. That was our thing. Wild is the only way to describe it, I guess.
“For me, I couldn’t have had a better childhood,” Wanchuk continued. “We were travelling around the country with my family and getting to do fun things and getting paid to be silly out in the arena. You can’t beat it.
“But from the time I was little, I’d never miss the bronc riding — I’d always run up to the fence and watch. And we got to go to great rodeos in Cloverdale (B.C.), where like here, you’ve got to be 90 if you want to win the rodeo. I always wanted to do it. I was always excited about it.”
Well … the kid is here now, painting masterpieces aboard bucking horses rather than painting his face with clown make-up.
“One way or another, one event or another, I was going to be here …” Wanchuk said of competing in Calgary. “There were times when I thought about being a rodeo clown here at the Stampede. I love clowning, and I love doing it. And I guess when I shifted by focus to bronc riding, I focused on getting here to the Stampede in bronc riding.”
Coming into the 10 days of Stampede, Wanchuk sat seventh in the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association standings in saddle bronc, with $8,374,92.
But that got a big boost with the $5,500 day-money he got for besting what was a rowdy field during the third day of Pool B competition.
After two days of finishing shy of the money slots, the 2016 Canadian novice saddle bronc champ needed it, too, to put him back in the mix for a berth into Showdown Sunday and in pursuit of the Stampede’s $100,000 grand prize.
“She was really bucky,” said Wanchuk of Zoaria Hills. “I had her in Houston. She didn’t buck quite as hard, and I didn’t get along with her as good as I did (Thursday). She was feeling good here, and when I got on her in Houston, and I kind of had a bum leg — it wasn’t working so good. I definitely needed both legs to get by her here.”
He also needed a big score to get by his good friend, Dawson Hay, whose 89.0 was the score to beat Thursday. Hay has been remarkable in the first three days of the four-day Pool B saddle bronc with two first-place trips followed by Day 3’s runner-up ride to Wanchuk.
“It’s been awesome seeing Dawson doing so good the last couple of days,” Wanchuk added. “We came up through the novice and the amateurs together. I’m excited for him, and I was the one to do it (Thursday). He came out and put up a good score and let it all hang out, and I had to see if I could beat him, and I guess it worked out.
“It’s unreal the number of young guys coming up and getting it figured out and rodeoing hard and trying to take over the world.”
tsaelhof@postmedia.com
http://www.twitter.com/ToddSaelhofPM
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Centre of expertise In the LEADPart of University of Groningen
Centre of expertise In the LEAD
Managementpractices in the Dutch manufacturing sector
Experts on leadership and performance
Examples of projects with partners
Consultancy work
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In the LEADBlog
The Gender Disparity of CEO Hiring and Firing
Datum: 21 november 2018
Women are still under-represented in top management positions. The highest percentage of female CEOs in the Fortune 500 list until now was 6.4% in 2017. And although this percentage looks to decrease in 2018, it is still a big difference compared to around twenty years ago as, in 1995, there was not a single female CEO yet on the Fortune 500 list. At least we now have female CEOs, see figure below.
Percentage of Fortune 500 CEOs who are women
Source: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/fact-sheet/the-data-on-women-leaders/#ceos
And something else befalls female CEOs, as a recent study has shown. They do not sit securely in the saddle once they have reached the top. Gupta et al. (2018) demonstrate that female CEOs have at least a 45% (!) greater chance of being dismissed. This remarkable study of 2,390 American firms shows that the dismissal of male CEOs depends directly on the company's performance. Simply put, men have a smaller chance of being dismissed when the firm performs well. Female CEOs, however, have a greater chance of being dismissed regardless of the firm’s performance. We already know that if a firm performs badly, everyone immediately looks at the CEO – irrespective of the fact whether it is a man or a woman. But this study shows that for female leaders, performance doesn’t seem to matter. Because also if the situation is more ambiguous and performance is not an evident reason for dismissal, they also get fired. The question is then, of course: what causes this remarkable difference in firing for male and female CEOs?
It could of course be that men are simply better leaders than women. But research has shown that there are not all that many differences between men and women in this respect. Moreover, when differences have in fact been found, women often score better regarding effective leadership styles (Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt & Van Engen, 2003). A more logical conclusion therefore lies in the stereotypes that we apply to gender and leadership. Typically, women don't fulfil the image of the ideal leader. Since the 1970s, research has been done into the characteristics of the stereotypical ‘good leader’, and it appears that these are mostly masculine: a good leader is dominant, forceful and takes risks (see, among others, Stoker et al., 2012). These are clearly characteristics that we traditionally ascribe to men rather than to women. In addition, we also have stereotypical ideas about a ‘good’ woman: namely, someone who is caring, modest and supportive. So, women who want to be leaders are already two steps behind, according to research: they are not seen as ‘good’ leaders, and if they behave rather dominant and forceful – to match the leader stereotype, they are not seen as good women. It may therefore not come as a surprise that investors react more negatively to an announcement about the appointment of a female, rather than male, CEO. Also, start-ups launched by female initiators are deemed less promising than those of their male counterparts, resulting in fewer start-ups by women and lower investments into female-led firms (see Gupta et al, 2018).
The 45% greater chance of dismissal for female CEOs could well be linked to this phenomenon. When women are given top leadership positions, they are seen as less competent because they do not fulfil the stereotype of the good leader. Another possible and related explanation for the fact that female CEOs have a greater chance of failure, is the phenomenon of the ‘glass cliff’ (Ryan et al., 2016). The glass cliff phenomenon is when, in times of crisis, organizations are more inclined to appoint a female leader, because this situation fits with the stereotypical view of women and female leadership. In times of a crisis, the organization wants to try a different path and give a signal to the outside world that they have appointed an atypical leader (a woman): the helm has really been turned around! Furthermore, the leader needed in this crisis-situation should have more feminine leadership qualities, such as better communicative skills, and therefore a woman is asked to do the job. The chance of failure in these types of situations is, of course, high.
Research into women and leadership therefore points to stereotypes and gender bias as the most obvious explanation for the increased chance of failure for female leaders. When selecting and appointing a CEO, we are guided – consciously or unconsciously – by stereotypical views of what men and women can and should do, simply because they are male or female. This is bad news for female CEOs who, even if their organization performs well, have a greater chance of a bad assessment or even dismissal. But it is also bad news for all women who aspire to hold top leadership positions. In the media, the departure of a top female CEO is often linked to their gender, whilst the departure of a top male CEO is never mentioned in the headline as ‘a man has been dismissed at company X'. Recent research by Manzi and Heilman (2018) confirms that the departure of a female leader is indeed bad news for her potential female successors. When a male leader fails, there are no consequences for his potential successors: both men and women (with similar qualifications) are seen as suitable candidates. But if a woman is dismissed from a leadership position, then we assess a female successor with exactly the same qualities as a male candidate as being clearly less suitable. We seem to tie the failure of a female CEO to the fact that she is a woman: apparently, ‘women just can't do this’ quickly becomes the message. The stereotype turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy and has a negative effect on all the women who then try to become CEOs.
But there is also good news. While stereotypes are persistent, they are not completely unchangeable. Research shows that the image of an ideal leader is more a mix of masculine and feminine characteristics, for people who have a female leader and in work environments where female managers are not the exception (Stoker et al., 2012). All the more reason to take gender quota seriously and not just so as to increase the number of female leaders but in doing so, also to increase their longevity as a leader.
A summary of this blog is published in the Börsen Zeitung on December 5th 2018.
Eagly, A. H., Johannesen-Schmidt, M. C., & Van Engen, M. L. (2003). Transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles: A meta-analysis comparing women and men. Psychological Bulletin, 129(4), 569-591.
Gupta, V. K., Mortal, S. C., Silveri, S., Sun, M., & Turban, D. B. (2018, in press). You’re Fired! Gender Disparities in CEO Dismissal. Journal of Management.
Manzi, F. & Heilman, M.E. (under review). Breaking the glass ceiling: for one and all?
Ryan, M. K., Haslam, S. A., Morgenroth, T., Rink, F., Stoker, J., & Peters, K. (2016). Getting on top of the glass cliff: Reviewing a decade of evidence, explanations, and impact. The Leadership Quarterly, 27(3), 446-455.
Stoker, J. I., Van der Velde, M., & Lammers, J. (2012). Factors relating to managerial stereotypes: The role of gender of the employee and the manager and management gender ratio. Journal of Business and Psychology, 27(1), 31-42.
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Gibbs Surfacing Enhances Fleet with new Prolific Sprinter Vans from Rygor
Monday 2nd November 2015
Professional Surfacing Contractors, Gibbs Surfacing has enhanced its fleet with five brand new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans from Rygor, the UK’s largest Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicle Dealer group, to help them continue to deliver the highest levels of quality service to customers.
Adding to its existing fleet which already includes six Mercedes-Benz vans from Rygor, the new Sprinter crew vans will enable the business to transport its employees, essential tools and equipment to projects across the South East, South West, Wales, Devon, Cornwall and The Midlands.
Martin Grounsell, commercial manager at Gibbs Surfacing, said: “For our business it is essential that we stand apart and be at the forefront of the industry. We pride ourselves on our renowned reputation for quality work and reliability and always look to demonstrate theses integral assets of our business to customers, as they truly are at the heart of everything we do. Reliability is a massive consideration for us, which is why when we are considering suppliers to work with and products to invest in, we choose prestigious brands and companies which we to know we can trust. Rygor and the Sprinter product are a true reflection of this ethos.
“Maintaining our professional identity is paramount, which is why it has been beneficial that our recognisable corporate colour brand identity is a factory finish option from Mercedes-Benz, which has not only saved us money, but crucially time too, as we have been able to get our vehicles out on the road quicker,” Martin added.
Gibbs Surfacing places a high level of importance on the comfort of its employees and chose to include several optional extras on the five new Sprinter vans to further enhance the well-being of the team.
“Our vans are real workhorses and are essential to get our employees to site. At any one time we can have up to seven of them working on a contract, so our fleet needs to be able to accommodate them as well as all the necessary equipment. The Sprinter crew van boasts the space necessary for our business needs. We have also worked with Rygor to include auxiliary heaters in the vehicles, so when the weather is bad, our employees can dry their work wear in the vehicle without having to drive the vehicle to run the heating. This is a great option which really does help improve the morale of our team.”
Gibbs Surfacing’s new vehicles are on a highly flexible Agility contract from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services. This finance option boasts the benefits of purchasing a vehicle with low monthly repayments in addition to providing the company with additional options at the end of the term.
“A major consideration for us, like most businesses, is budgeting and managing cash flow. The agility finance product is fantastic for us as we are always clear of the fixed monthly payments. It also gives us the option at the end of the contract to buy the vehicle outright. But for us it is about more than just the upfront costs. We place a great importance on the whole life cost of a vehicle, which is why the fuel efficient Sprinter with excellent running costs is such a good options for us,” Martin added.
The Sprinter vans will be maintained on a Mercedes-Benz full Repair and Maintenance contract (R&M) at Rygor’s Swindon branch, where Gibbs Surfacing will be able to take advantage of the branches’ Tuesday – Saturday 24hour opening.
“R&M contracts mean we can avoid unexpected servicing and maintenance costs and reduce disruption, which is really beneficial to enabling us to manage our cash flow. What’s more with Rygor Swindon’s extended opening hours, we can get our vehicles maintained at a time which is convenient to us to minimise downtime, as opposed to having to take our vehicles off the road.”
The working relationship between Rygor and Gibbs Surfacing has been developed over the past five years. Martin said: “Marcus and Michelle at Rygor Swindon have worked extremely hard to provide us with favourable finance terms as well as managing the order process, so we could get the vehicles on the road as soon as possible. They have been very thorough and informative which has really made my life a lot easier which means I can focus my attention on other areas of the business.”
Marcus Cooper, van sales manager at Rygor Swindon, said: “It is fantastic to be working with Martin and the team at Gibbs Surfacing as it is such a prominent business, not only in the local area, but across the South West. At Rygor we have dedicated business managers as well as an expert sales team to enable us to provide customers with bespoke vehicle and finance options which will truly suit the demands of their business. We look forward to continuing to build on our positive working relationship with Gibbs Surfacing going forward.”
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CHAMBERS: WE STILL BELIEVE
Daniel Briggs
Skipper insists squad still believe in promotion...
Captain Adam Chambers insists Walsall’s squad still believe they can win promotion from League One.
The Saddlers slipped from third to sixth following Saturday’s 1-0 reverse at relegation-threatened Oldham – our second successive away defeat.
Despite the result, Walsall remain eight points adrift of the automatic promotion places but with two games in hand.
And Chambers says he and his teammates are staying positive.
“It was a disappointing result at Oldham because we went there looking to get the win,” he said.
“Despite their league position, they’ve been on a good run and we knew it was going to be a difficult game.
“We kept them down to very little but we didn’t create enough chances ourselves. We had one or two here and there but for the possession we had, not enough.
“In fits and starts we played well but overall, we probably didn’t do enough to win the game.
“We were obviously disappointed but we’ve got to dust ourselves down because we’ve got a big game against Gillingham on Tuesday.
“We still believe. We’ve got a lot of confidence in ourselves – we just need to keep going.”
Walsall will be looking for a positive response when they travel to fellow promotion hopefuls Gillingham tomorrow evening.
Justin Edinburgh’s Gills are fifth in League One, above Jon Whitney’s men only on goal difference.
The Saddlers came from two goals down to win 3-2 in a thriller against Gillingham back in October, with Jason Demetriou scoring a dramatic last-gasp winner.
And Chambers would like a repeat result tomorrow night.
“It was an eventful game the last time we played them,” he said.
“I remember they went 2-0 up and we came back to win the game - we’ll take another one of them on Tuesday.
“We’ve showed a lot of character all season and now is the time to show a bit more. We need to go on a run now.”
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Vol 114 No 1/2 (2018): South African Journal of Science /
Ancient human DNA: How sequencing the genome of a boy from Ballito Bay changed human history
Marlize Lombard Centre for Anthropological Research & Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
Mattias Jakobsson 1 Centre for Anthropological Research & Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa 2 Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden 3 SciLife Lab, Uppsala, Sweden
Carina Schlebusch 1 Centre for Anthropological Research & Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa 2 Department of Organismal Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2018/a0253
Keywords: human genome, hunter–gatherer, Homo sapiens, population split-time estimations
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All articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence; copyright is retained by the authors. Readers are welcome to reproduce, share and adapt the content without permission provided the source is attributed.
Disclaimer: The publisher and editors accept no responsibility for statements made by the authors
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About Sam Shilton
Adult Counselling
Sessions and Fees
Former players help PFA with counselling...
The PFA have recruited a team of former players who have overcome mental health issues and addiction to tackle similar problems afflicting the modern game.
Five former professionals are among a group of 13 qualified counsellors set up as part of a network launched last month to combat the dangers facing players that were brought to the nation's attention by the Gary Speed tragedy.
Concern: PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor Former Brighton winger Michael Bennett has been appointed head of player welfare at the PFA and his team include West Ham psychologist and ex-Huddersfield midfielder Lee Richardson, former Bristol City defender Andy Jordan, ex-Rochdale striker Andy Milner and former Coventry defender Sam Shilton.
The PFA will work closely with the Sporting Chance Clinic and are also likely to draw on the expertise of Darren Eadie, the former Norwich forward who suffered from depression and has now set up a national helpline, and Vincent Pericard, who since retiring has set up a company aimed at helping foreign players avoid depression and loneliness by adapting to life in England.
For more information see: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2297206/EXCLUSIVE-Five-players-spearhead-campaign-tackle-depression.html#ixzz2hWTenM55
ESH Community Rehabilitation Centre appoints Sam Shilton...
Headroom recruits Sam Shilton to support clients...
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Client feedback...
"I felt Sam was very good with me as my counsellor, as I don't think I would have got through my problems so quickly. Thank you again for your help."
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"Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts."
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Ciara and Future welcome a baby boy
by James Dinh
May 20, 2014 at 12:24 pm EDT
Ciara and Future welcomed their baby boy on May 19.
It’s official. Ciara and fiancé Future welcomed a baby boy on Monday, May 19, Page Six reports.
Not many details surrounding the birth are known, but Page Six reports that the R&B singer delivered her son in the early morning hours in Los Angeles. No baby name has been announced. In an interview with Us Weekly, the star said she didn’t know what to expect from the trials of pregnancy, but was eager to find out. “I didn’t even know what to expect, but it’s been a very easy process and it’s been so much fun,” she told the outlet. “Honestly, it’s been the coolest experience in my life! Besides getting engaged, which happened last year, this has been pretty awesome.”
Music review: Ciara feat. Nicki Minaj “I’m Out” >>
It’s been a whirlwind year for Ciara. Back in January, the entertainer took to The View to announce her pregnancy and show off her visible baby bump. Just prior to the baby news, she and rapper Future announced their engagement.
Future made his proposal to Ciara something special by asking the star to be his wife on her 28th birthday in New York City just after a year of dating. The couple’s publicist Chris Chambers detailed the affair and described the ring that the hip-hop heavyweight presented to his beau. “The ring, which doubled as a special birthday gift, is a beautiful 15-carat emerald-cut diamond designed by Avianne & Co.,” he said.
Pregnant Ciara glows in gold at the Grammys >>
Just four days ago, Ciara proved that she can still bust a dance move even with a pregnant belly. In a video posted on Instagram, the singer is seen goofing off and doing the Crip Walk before a trip to the track for a walk.
Ever Seen A Pregnant Lady Crip Walk?:) #BlimpeWalk Goofing Off Before I Hit The Track 2 Walk:) #LoveMusic.#LoveDance. Happy Friday Everyone!!:) XO
A post shared by Ciara (@ciara) on May 16, 2014 at 10:47am PDT
Send your congratulations to the couple in the comments below.
celebrity babies Ciara
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Ray and Dave Davies Recording New Kinks Songs for Possible Album
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STOP10 Jul 2017: '#NOFILTER' by Ghazi Alqudcy and Kyle Ong
Written by Sindie Saturday, July 01, 2017
In #NOFILTER, Ghazi Alqudcy and Kyle Ong present life from the bird's eye view and the ant's eye view. The catch is, we see all of this on a space that's neither here nor there - the screen of our smartphones. In roughly 12 minutes, Alqudcy and Ong document Arief and Mark, two young men with immense drive to follow their unique passions. Yet, both of them have found that their hobbies have led them to the unlikely realm of Instagram. Arief lives in Jakarta where he scales the dizzying heights of skyscrapers to get a view of the city nobody else can.
The film opens with Arief leading the audience on path with his handheld camera to reach the top of a construction site. For the filmmakers to hand the camera over to their subject proves effective here, as we get to watch Arief thinking and strategizing his climb. So much so that we end up experiencing a part of that euphoria when he finally reaches the top. The direction is cheeky, complete with puns about getting high, highlighting Arief’s law-defying (and sometimes gravity-defying) nature.
Next we meet Mark from Singapore, whose hobby is to collect ants. This segment almost seemed to spoof a more traditional ‘nature documentary’. Instead of getting that typical romanticized shot of the subject sitting in his environment, we get a comical shot of Mark doing a strange sort of repetitive dance while sitting on a log in a forest. Visually, I thought it looked a lot like an Instagram boomerang. I even rewatched this bit to see if it was – which just goes to show the extent to which the Instagram way of seeing things pervades our visual culture consumption.
As much as the film sets out to be about social media, the divisive effect of Instagram ends up becoming a half-hearted addendum. If anything, it appears as a misdirected attempt at giving the film some kind of social depth. For me, in those moments where we see the boys at work on their individual passions, the depth is already there. Something I found myself wondering was the role the cities they live in had to play in the way they discovered and fulfil these hobbies. Perhaps exploring this strand further could have resulted in a more interesting socio-cultural perspective. This short film is a great foil to criticisms made against “millennials” for lacking a passion and not knowing how to experience life without a smartphone – when actually, what this generation knows how to do really well is amplify their lived experiences through the use of modern technology.
#NOFILTER premiered as part of the Discovery Channel Jumpcut short film series featuring untold stories of Southeast Asia. You can watch the full documentary here:
Written by Tanvi Rajvanshi
For the full list of July 2017's 10 films under STOP10, click here.
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The Food Instagram Takeover
It always surprises me that when I look to see if a restaurant has an Instagram handle, there is either nothing there or a picture hasn’t been submitted in over 24 weeks. I mean, come on! If you’re in the restaurant business, you’re one goal needs to be to hashtag ‘food porn‘ and ‘num num’at least once a day! The self-proclaimed foodies of the world are disappointed in you… #SMH!!!
But seriously, every time I browse through the search tool on Instagram and go to the Explore Posts section, I stumble upon either a ridiculously delicious looking burger and fries, a crisp bloody mary or some sort of double chocolate cookie from Insomnia. It seems like there are more and more food handles being made every week.
However, even if these food accounts are clogging up our news feeds, they are benefiting restaurants from a marketing standpoint. The reason? Instagram is taking over and for restaurants all over the country, it is a great way to market their dishes in a unique way in 2016.
Instagram-Restaurant-Marketing
Almost twelve years ago, Facebook was created in a Harvard University dormatory. When Mark Zuckerberg first plotted out his vision of what Facebook would become, he saw a search engine to track friends, classmates and people you heard about through gossip at the lunch table. But it has become much more than that now. Besides taking over the lives of over 70% of the world’s adults, it inspired two Stanford alumni, Kevin Systrom and Mike Kreiger to create the photo-sharing service, known as Instagram.
Now Instagram, an app that was recently bought out by Zuckerberg in 2012 for $400 million, is used to share photos and videos on a variety of different social media platforms. According to the Pew Research Center this past August, about 28% of the world uses Instagram (http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/19/the-demographics-of-social-media-users/). This statistic alone is a call that restaurants should be utilizing and optimizing Instagram to the best of their ability.
Here are five steps for Instagram marketing:
1) Use trending #hashtags
Basically every single picture that is posted on Instagram has some sort of trending hashtag. #tbt #nonewfriends #pizza #eatz, whatever – you get the point. But it works! The reason people use these hashtags is to bring awareness to their respective handles. For restaurants, it’s a chance to bring awareness to their business and to the specific dish they are displaying on the picture.
2) Use niche #hashtags
Using a niche hashtag could bring an even more specific audience to your restaurant. If a person were to use one of these hashtags, it would be because they are basically showing the geographical location of the restaurant. Doing something simple like putting a hashtag before the city works too.
3) Photo contests
A contest is a great way to bring awareness to the restaurant. At the end of the day, everyone is on Instagram for the likes, right? By issuing out photo contests, it would bring some fun competition between the customers and it would bring some more awareness and a larger audience to the restaurant.
byuinstagrampromo
By incorporating this, the competitors followers would see their picture, the restaurants followers would see the picture and around and around we go! Also, the winner would get a certain gift from the restaurant and the restaurant would receive some more followers. Win/Win for all.
4) Pictures of the Menu
Because Instagram is constantly being used and browsed every hour of the day, the restaurant followers should have the capability of seeing the meals that are on the menus. It would behoove restaurants to use this opportunity to market their best dishes regularly.
5) Action shots of Employees
By taking photos of your staff using the product or the menu items, it would give followers an interesting perspective of what goes on behind the meal. It could be a chef, hostess, waiter, whatever. But these photos will show that your business values its employees and that they enjoy what they do and that customer service is important to your restaurant.
You Need These Restaurant Event and Promotion Ideas to Win More Business this Football Season
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Where to Begin Your Digital Marketing Campaign as a New Restaurant
Brianna Barcena
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PREVIEW | Travelling support can guide us to victory
Defender believes the backing at The Valley will be massive for the team...
Adam Thompson believes the huge number Southend fans are travelling to Charlton in can help the team onto victory on Saturday.
Over 2,200 tickets have already been sold so far with tickets coming off sale from the Blues Box Office at 3pm, at which point fans can purchase on the day from The Valley.
Thompson says that level of backing is just what the players need at this stage of the season.
“That’s what we need at this time of the season, especially away to Charlton,” he said
“It’s a good stadium and generally when we’re backed by a large following we tend to put on a good show which we’ll be trying to do on Saturday.”
Thompson added that losing to second-placed Bolton on Tuesday in the 90th minute is nothing to be ashamed of.
“The mood in camp is quite positive despite the result on Tuesday.
“We showed that we can do it against the best which obviously Bolton by the looks of it are going to be going up automatically. We’ve essentially played a Championship team there.
“We did ourselves proud and just lost it at the end but I think we’ve got to be positive because there’s five games left.
“There’s no room for negativity, especially at this time of the season and the position we’re in.”
The centre back believes another performance like that will lead to a positive result at The Valley.
“If we can take the second half performance into Saturday then hopefully we’ll do well.
“Over the last month or so we’ve shown good character. The Walsall game, that shows good character to come from 2-0 down and the Oldham game going down to ten men in the 75th minute and we win 3-0.
“We need to show that now again and we feel we’ve got it in abundance.
“On paper Charlton should probably get promoted this year.
“They’ve got a great squad all with experience in Sky Bet League One, so it will be a very tough game.
“We just need a win by hopefully starting on the front foot and getting an early goal.
“We’ve both got things to play for so it should be a feisty encounter because both teams have plenty to play for.”
12 Shrimpers Trust are also walking to the game tomorrow, setting off tonight to arrive in time for kick-off.
If you can contribute in any way, support he 'Amble to the Addicks' walkers by donating here.
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Revisiting L0pht testimony – 20yrs later
Here is a copy of my introductory statement from the May 22, 2018 briefing where L0pht revisited its historic Senate testimony of twenty years earlier. (supporting links at the end.)
Good Afternoon, I’m Space Rogue. Twenty years ago, out of fear of corporate retaliation through lawsuits Space Rogue was the only name I used. Today I also use the name Cris Thomas, although not as frequently, and I work as the Global Strategy Lead for IBM’s X-Force Red which is the offensive security services part of IBM Security.
We are here today to talk about how things have changed in information security over the last twenty years. When we were here twenty years ago a lot of people said, we were a voice of reason attempting to warn people about just how much risk was inherent in our critical systems. A lot of people in information security, or I guess we call it cyber security now, that’s one change right there, will tell you that nothing has changed, that we still have issues with passwords from password reuse, to weak passwords, to no passwords. We still have organizations who ignore the problems either through ignorance, ambivalence or just greed. And we still have people who try to blame users for technological failures.
A Hacker at the Polls
On the second Tuesday in November I burned a vacation day, woke up at five in the morning and drove to a church down the street from where I live. I sat at a long table for thirteen hours and looked up names in a book. While I wasn’t at the church to pray I still felt as though I was cleansing my soul in some way. Over the years for various reasons I had amassed what I felt was extremely high level of personal voter debt and I felt this was a way to at least begin to pay some of it back.
During the last election I spent a lot of time being a pundit preaching about the integrity of the voting process. I figured if I am going to keep talking about elections I should get a look at what actually happens at polling places. So a few months before this election I did a few google searches, found my county’s voter information website and sent an email to the address listed for volunteers. The district where I vote was full so they assigned me to the neighboring district. In Pennsylvania the state voting website has a few videos to help explain to volunteers what to expect on Election Day. Despite them requiring Flash, I watched them all.
Of course I had to live tweet the whole day. When I arrived on Election Day morning it was just me and ‘Mary’ the Judge of Elections. Even though there wasn’t much to see she showed me around, pointed out the coffee and the restrooms and mentioned the voting machines which were already set up off to the side. In my district we use a Direct Record Electronic (DRE) voting machine. They weren’t much to look at but I still had to fight my urges to immediately start pulling them apart. I wasn’t here to test or even play with the machines anyway.
The Continuing Evolution of Cyber
I don’t think there is another word in the English language that provokes as much of an emotional response from information security professionals as much as ‘cyber’. In fact, half of the people who just read that last sentence are like yeah, but cyber is not a word it’s a prefix. (The other half probably just started giggling.) Unfortunately for them Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary have both recently listed cyber as a stand-alone word as an adjective with the definition ‘of, relating to, or involving computers or computer networks’ which to me is an extremely broad definition. The Cambridge, Macmillan and Longman dictionaries all still lists cyber as a prefix but I am sure they will upgrade it to full word status soon. Can official use as a noun, the cyber, be far behind?
Cyber is generally understood to have originated in the Greek word ‘ΚUßερυητης’ or ‘kybernetes‘ which originally meant helmsman, as on a ship, which came to mean ‘to steer’ and eventually ‘to govern’. Norbert Wiener chose this word when, in 1948, he entitled his book Cybernetics or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine It was Wiener’s work on the automatic aiming and firing of anti-aircraft guns during World War II that caused Wiener to investigate information theory. This was the first documented use of the word ‘cybernetics’ in English.
SouthWest Password Ad is both Good and Bad.
Southwest Airlines recently aired a TV ad in their “Wanna Get Away” series that features some serious password blunders. In the ad a General is asked for his password so that they “can lock down the system” which he then reluctantly provides. The password, “ihatemyjob1”, is rather embarrassing and hilarity ensures. Lets watch…
https://www.ispot.tv/ad/AEjj/southwest-airlines-wanna-get-away-sale-sharing-your-password
Let us count the bad security practices used in this ad…
1. A Single point of failure. (The General)
2. He verbally shares his password for everyone to hear instead of typing it in himself.
3. The password is displayed without a mask.
4. The password is displayed in 100 point type on a 20 foot screen for everyone in the room to see.
5. Password does not use uppercase or special characters.
6. While the password uses a number it is appended to the end.
7. No 2 factor authentication.
8. Everyone who sees this ad thinks that while ‘ihatemyjob1’ may be an embarrassing password it is perfectly acceptable since a general uses it.
Let us count the good security practices in this ad
1. The password is longer than eight characters.
2. The password uses a number.
3. Everyone who watches this ad hopefully realizes that they use a similar password and quickly changes it to something better.
Lets face it, while slightly funny this ad will make no one stop and think about how secure their own password may or may not be. However, it might make some people think that ‘ihatemyjob1’ or something similar is perfectly ok to use.
Addendum: The general’s uniform in this ad is a disgrace. Although probably done on purpose so as to not offend any one service they have in fact offended all services.
Tilting It Sideways
Trying to track down the origins of an Internet meme can be an almost fruitless endeavor. Other than giving credit to its originator and perhaps giving them a few minutes of Internet fame there really isn’t a lot at stake by determining who was the kid in the success.gif or what meme Laina Morris is responsible for. Finding the origin of a story involving the breach of critical infrastructure however, can be rather important.
Like funny Internet memes, stories about compromises of water plants, steel factories, power companies or other systems controlled by SCADA or ICS can be repeated over and over until they are accepted as facts with no one questioning their authenticity. Previous events such as power outages in Brazil, a water pump failure in Illinois, the improper shut down of a blast furnace at a German steel mill, a pipeline explosion in Turkey were all originally attributed to cyber attacks. In fact cyber attacks were blamed in almost all cases not because there was any actual evidence but rather the lack of any other explanation. Since nothing else could have caused the problem it must have been those meddling hackers.
I recently heard of a new incident that seems to fall into this same scenario. The story claims that hackers broke into the control system of a floating oil rig off the coast of Africa, somehow messed with the ballast control and caused the rig to tilt. The rig had to be taken offline while the systems were cleaned up. As with most of these types of stories no supporting information is given. No actual dates, no name of the oil rig or its owner, even the location in this story is vague, ‘off the coast of Africa’, an entire continent.
I watched CSI:Cyber so you don’t have to.
CSI has a proven formula for making popular TV shows. Unfortunately that history does not include accurate TV shows. When it comes to tech and things ‘cyber’ this is probably the preeminent example of CSI being bad and wrong at the same time. I thought there was no way they could top this, I was wrong.
Hollywood has had a long history of doing tech wrong. Take a look at the recent Scorpion TV show, on second thought don’t, its almost as bad. Occasionally Hollywood does get Tech correct, like with the recent Blackhat movie, but while the tech was good the movie itself was bad for other reasons. The last time, perhaps the only time, Hollywood got the movie and the tech right was Sneakers, which is coming up on a quarter century in age.
While I think it is great that TV shows like this bring technical issues to a mass audience, scaring people into thinking that the Internet is out to get them is probably not in anyone’s best interest. Humans often do stupid things when they are scared.
Let me talk first about the few things that CSI:Cyber got right. The show mentions that social media is a huge aide to law enforcement and one of the characters jokingly says that’s why he doesn’t use it. This is absolutely correct; Facebook, Twitter and other sites are often the first step in an investigation of any sort, often even before they interview witnesses or suspects.
The softball shaped camera that is thrown through an open window into the bad guys lair near the end is an actual thing that is actually used by law enforcement. They got this right.
In another scene one of the technical characters, who is labeled as ‘the greatest hacker in the world’ (I’m not even going to touch that statement) claims that RATs or Remote Access Trojans are easy to get for $40 on the ‘surface net’. He is right about the easy to get part although his price is a little high and I have no idea what the ‘surface net’ is. But yes, tools that online criminals use like RATs are very easy to come by. The thing about Remote Access Trojans is that they are very similar to legitimate Remote Access Tools like say Go To My PC or Remote Desktop,
Probably the most important thing that they got right in this show was when the Worlds Greatest Hacker was berating the lowly tech employee for allowing a vulnerability to exist in the companies software and the tech guy responds with “I took it upstairs but they didn’t listen.” This is an all to common theme that is often repeated in the information security world. Company executives often refuse to listen to security concerns and instead focus more on the bottom line. This is probably the single truest thing this show got right.
The second most important thing they got right was the weak security present in many Internet connected cameras. Many such cameras have default passwords and are easily searched for over the Internet allowing anyone to connect to the camera and watch and listen to what is happening. There have been cases where people will connect to a camera and then yell at the sleeping baby. Manufacturers of these cameras were told about their default password problems but most refused to fix the problem, that is until these stories started to hit the press and the FTC started to levy fines. Even after the companies issues an update to the devices firmware it is up to the owner of each camera to learn about the update and apply the patch themselves. This seldom happens leaving tens of thousands of devices installed in peoples homes that anyone can access.
Other than that just about everything else in the show is just completely unbelievably wrong. Not only are things wrong but they play on known false tropes, like that lead can block radio signals (it can’t), that convicted criminals are allowed to work in the field on active investigations, that you can quickly separate overlaid audio and translate it, that you need big wall sized monitors in order to catch bad guys, that hackers who could be half way across the world are conveniently just an hour or less away, that non-smart phones can have GPS aps and that cops treat forensic data so carelessly.
One of the most egregious examples was the speed at which the characters analyzed the cameras source code and it came up all green and then turned red. Source code doesn’t just magically turn red when malware is found. Reverse engineering is painstakingly hard, and it takes a lot of time. If code could just magically turn red if it did bad things, like it does in this show, the world would be a much much better place.
I was especially troubled by one of the statements made early in the show “Any crime involving electronic devices is by definition, cyber” While this is just a TV show there are people who believe this or at least will be influenced by this. This scares me as I guess that makes my electric drill cyber.
Also I loved how the characters on the show could do these crystal clear remote videoconferences from remote locations? How? They never bothered to explain where the camera was or what are they are using for bandwidth. If they did it with their cell phones I want to get on that data plan.
And I could not overlook that they had the one black person on the show repeat a racist nursery rhyme “Einie meane miny moe, catch a…” well they changed the word on the show but I’m really surprised they let that through.
If you didn’t watch this show you didn’t miss anything, at all, and I encourage you not to watch it, in fact just forget that that it exists and with any luck it will be canceled. And then we just have to wait for the next TV show to do tech wrong.
All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again
Two teenagers in Winnipeg Canada somehow got the idea to see if the default password on a Bank of Montreal ATM machine was still valid. The got the default password after finding the operators manual for the ATM online. As is often the case the default had not ben changed and was still valid. Instead of taking all the money they could carry and running away the kids instead went to the bank to let them know. Of course being fourteen-year-old kids they went to their local branch, and where, being fourteen-year-old kids, no one believed them. The kids had to go back to the ATM and get it to print out stats like how much money was still in the ATM before the bank branch manager believed them enough to notify the banks security department.
There are a lot of things that can be learned from this story, or actually should have already been known. If these kids had tried this in the United States, despite their good intentions, they may have been charged with a violation of the CFAA (Computer Fraud and Abuse Act). If the bank manager had not been so understanding I am sure they could have been charged with the Canadian equivalent. Testing for default passwords on bank owned ATMs is probably not the smartest way to utilize your free time.
The branch manager should have taken the allegation seriously the first time, regardless of how old the people with the information were. Instead the branch manager evidently told the kids that what they initially reported was impossible. This shows a serious lack of security awareness training for Bank of Montreal employees.
What about the bank itself? Why did the Bank of Montreal leave a default six-digit password on an ATM machine? It is unlikely that only one machine out of several hundred ATMs was configured with the default password. I hope BMO gets around to changing all those defaults before someone is able to make off with the cash.
The worst part about this story I think is that all of this has happened before. A lot of people have heard about the presentation at the Blackhat conference in 2010 by the late great Barnaby Jack where he made an ATM spit out money on stage. That was sort of sensational and required access to the back of the machine. But what about the arrest of two people in Lincoln, Nebraska in 2008 when they used default passcodes to steal money from an ATM? Or the thefts in Derry, PA in 2007 from Triton 9100 model ATM after the default passcodes were found online? Or again in Virginia Beach, VA in 2006, this time using default passcodes in the Tranax 1500 also found online in the operators manuals.
So in this one story we have default passcodes that aren’t changed, people who do not take security alerts seriously, people not learning from history and the possibility of innocent kids running afoul of the law. Of course all of this has happened before and unfortunately all of this will happen again.
Apparently FBI Director James Comey thinks that everyone in the Information Security Industry is a dope-smoking pothead who gets high just before an interview. “I have to hire a great work force to compete with those cyber criminals, and some of those kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview,” James Comey was quoted as saying.
Of course two days later, after basically insulting most of the Information Security Industry by calling them all stoners Director Comey said his comments shouldn’t be taken seriously and that he was only trying to inject some humor.
Currently the FBI says that anyone who has used marijuana in the last three years is “not suitable for employment”. In addition you cannot have used other illegal drugs for the previous ten years. So the FBI has already recognized that marijuana is different from other ‘hard’ drugs and now they may be thinking about relaxing those standards even further. Considering that there are twenty-one states where marijuana for medical use is perfectly OK, and two states, Colorado and Washington, where marijuana is legal for recreational use it makes sense for the agency to revisit its anti-drug policy. However, specifically singling out one specific group such as Information Security professionals may not be the best way to attract applicants.
If the FBI wants to review its marijuana policy in light of the recent relaxation of laws in some states for all potential applicants regardless of job function, well that’s great. The overall sentiment towards soft drugs like marijuana is changing and employers, including the FBI, should adjust to that sentiment at the same rate as society. However, to relax standards for just one specific job type sends the wrong message.
The FBI has open head count for over two thousand recruits this year, most of those will be assigned to cyber crime units. The FBI like every other employer in the security industry is having a difficult time attracting qualified applicants for those positions. The US Army has said in the past that it wants to relax physical fitness standards for cyber warriors Relaxing standards for those applicants, as I have argued before, is not the best way to get qualified candidates and sends the wrong message to applicants or current employees who met the old standards.
This is a simple economics question of supply and demand. When the demand is high and the supply is low the price, or in this case the salary, must go up. Artificially increasing the supply by lowering standards helps no one. If the FBI wants to lower standards to increase the pool of applicants how about it take a look at some of the other things that will automatically disqualify job candidates for employment with the FBI. If you failed to register for the selective service, guess what? No FBI job for you, same with defaulting on a government insured student loan. I have to think that the number of qualified candidate who have defaulted on a student loan and or did not register with the Selective Service is probably several times greater than those who light up a joint just before an interview. If the FBI is serious about increasing its applicant pool perhaps it should reexamine those restrictions as well.
The FBI and other government agencies have a lot of strikes against them when attempting to attract highly qualified applicants. Things like a strict dress code, initial assignments to small offices, and government bureaucracy don’t help at all. However, the FBI does have things that other employers can’t offer like an amazing benefits package, stable employment that isn’t subject to market forces and of course the fact that they are the government. There is a distinct subset of people that look at employment in the government and in law enforcement as an attractive option. Perhaps the FBI and other agencies should play up these strengths when recruiting as opposed to reducing standards.
But seriously are people really getting high before interviews, especially at the FBI, as Director Comey even humorously suggests? If someone showed up drunk to an interview I wouldn’t hire them either, let alone if they were stoned out of their mind. I am sure there is some drug use in the Information Security Industry just like there is with the rest of the population but to suggest that infosec people are a bunch of reefer toking stoners who are getting high so much they can’t sober up enough for an interview tells me they aren’t very familiar with the industry they are trying to recruit from.
Is it time for an industry wide MAPP program?
As you might suspect, the bad guys have much better exploit notification than the good guys. While there is no central repository of vulnerability information that is only released to the good guys, Microsoft does an excellent job with early notification of its vulnerability information via its MAPP (Microsoft Active Protections Program). Should there be something similar setup for all security bugs on an industry wide basis?
On the surface it sounds like a great idea. Information about critical bugs like HeartBleed could be shared with trusted and vetted members early before the information was made publicly available and the bad guys could take advantage of it. This gives those trusted members time to fix the problem before the bad guys could develop new attacks and take advantage of the flaws.
This is how MAPP works. Microsoft has very strict guidelines on who can and cannot be included in the program and if you are found to be leaking information before the specified release date you are ejected from the program. Microsoft historically only granted a few days notice to its trusted MAPP partners of the upcoming Patch Tuesday bugs but have recently expanded this length of time to give vendors more time to develop protections for their products before the bad guys can reverse engineer the patches and develop exploits for those bugs.
This all works for Microsoft because they are in control of their information, the number of members in MAPP is kept small and each much conform to strict guidelines to protect the information Microsoft provides. But on an industry-wide scale this model falls apart. A prime example of the chaos that can surround a critical bug disclosure is the mess surrounding the disclosure of the HeartBleed bug. If you look at the timeline composed by the Sidney Morning Herald it is evident that attempting to keep the disclosure process simple and organized on an industry wide level is anything but simple. The process is fraught with non-disclosure agreements, employee leaks and covert secrecy, definitely not a process that should be trusted with critical software vulnerabilities.
The first issue of an industry wide MAPP style program would be who would run it? Is this a task for the US government? What about bugs found outside the United States? How would you keep the NSA or other agencies from attempting to horde a critical flaw and add it to their weapons stockpile? While an independent international third party could run such a program how would it be funded? You could charge a fee to trusted members but then you introduce the possibility of someone buying their way in even though they shouldn’t be trusted. Not to mention the ethical debate that would arise from ‘selling’ vulnerability information.
Then there is the matter of deciding who can be trusted with handling such information early. As with any secret the more people you tell the harder it is to keep secret and as a the heartbleed timeline shows some people may leak information to their friends and employers or bad guys before a public announcement. Membership should be limited to prevent the circle from getting to large but who decides who is in and who isn’t?
Of course all this completely ignores the actions of the rogue researcher who is free to do whatever they want with their research. There is nothing stopping them from publishing such information publicly, telling a small group of people, selling it to the highest bidder or hording it for their own uses and telling no one.
An industry wide MAPP program sounds good at first but due to governance issues, international politics, and of course money, it would be difficult to keep together, keep the information out of the hands of the bad guys, and probably just create way to much drama and infighting inside the industry. Even if you were able to solve all those problems there will still be the one person who decides they don’t want to play by the rules and will do what they want.
A Psycho Analysis of Jericho
The epic box-o-shit. I don’t know where the tradition started but it has been perfected by Jericho of Attrition.org. Beginning at least five years ago Jericho has boxed up the chotskies, leftover guinea pig fur, random bits of useless tech and whatever else he happened to have laying around and shipped them off to whoever he felt was most deserving, or whoever he felt would make the best victim. I had been waiting in anticipation (actually it was down right fear) until I received what I almost knew was coming, but it never did.
About a year ago I was at a local flea market when I spied at the bottom of a box of random crap a glass squirrel approximately eight inches high. It was depression era pressed glass, speckled with random paint drops, a few chips in the glass and a rather nasty piece of sticky green felt glued to the bottom. Somehow this disgusting piece of glass made me think of Jericho. I figured the squirrel needed a better home than the bottom of some random box full of shit. It needed to become the centerpiece of highly selected box-o-shit. I figured it was time to put my box-o-shit destiny into my own hands, time to tempt fate, time to poke the angry guinea pig with a carrot.
The guy at the flea market wanted $20 for the squirrel with the paint spots, chipped glass and nasty sticky felt on the bottom. Not really sure what he was thinking but I managed to talk him down to $8. I took the squirrel home, scrubbed off the paint drops and the nasty felt. There wasn’t much I could do for the chips in the tail though. By now it didn’t look to bad and I was wondering if maybe I should keep it for myself, that jerk Jericho definitely did not deserve anything half as nice as this.
Instead of using shipping peanuts or those bags of air or even crushed newspapers, I instead grabbed every chotsky, random bits of useless tech and whatever else I happened to have laying around and used that for packing material. Unfortunately I was fresh out of leftover guinea pig fur.
It took Jericho three months before he even acknowledged receiving the box but he eventually wrote it up. And then I waited. I waited for the inevitable retaliation that was sure to come my way. I knew Jericho wouldn’t just let an eight-inch tall glass squirrel arrive unsolicited in the mail and do nothing about it. But I waited, Spring turned to Summer and every trip to the mailbox filled me with more and more dread, when would he strike? When would he put and end to this torture? Why oh why did I ever decide to send that jerk anything at all? I should have kept that squirrel for myself or better yet let it sit and rot in the bottom of that box of random shit at the flea market.
Finally after nearly a year of self imposed torture, of opening the mailbox each day in anticipatory fear, it arrived, a small unassuming brown box. I immediately knew right away what it was and where it was from. On the one hand I was relieved that my torment was over, but I knew I still had to open the box, I still had to pour through the contents of whatever wretched debauchery Jericho’s twisted mind decided to send me. It has taken me a while; months actually, to get up the courage to finally pull back the packing tape to reveal the contents of Jericho’s box-o-shit.
What I realized as I went through the contents of the box was that it wasn’t about me, it wasn’t about revenge for a glass squirrel. This box-o-shit and maybe all boxes-o-shit are glimpses into the deranged mind that is Jericho. Perhaps even a desperate cry for help that echoes from the basement he must live in deep inside the Rocky Mountains.
As you can see on the top of the box was a plastic baggy full of multi colored paper with two stick-on eye balls and labeled with the word ‘puzzle’. Obviously this is a symbol of a cracked and fractured psyche symbolized by the many pieces of different color paper cut up into small sizes. Obviously Jericho is crying out for someone to put his poor soul back together again.
Beneath the puzzle was a collection of magazine subscription cards, which at first glance might seem like nothing more than filler for the box. However, after sorting the cards and conducting a frequency analysis on the represented publications it is clear that these cards are yet another look into at the enigma that is Jericho. While it is well known that Jericho is at or below average intelligence he considers himself to be of above average intelligence. This is indicated by the large number of subscription cards to Discover and Science Today magazine. The subscription cards to Men’s Health and Psychology Today indicate that he knows that he has a problem and is looking for some sort of solution, which he hopes to find by reading these magazines. While he considers himself to technologically knowledgeable and therefore reads Wired magazine the fact that he is still subscribing to dead tree publications shows that he is in fact a Luddite. Of course anyone as mentally instable as Jericho will have deep-seated sexual frustrations as indicated by the subscriptions to Penthouse and Maxim, as well as the included Durex condom found elsewhere in the box.
And while we already have enough information to determine that Jericho needs major professional help there is yet more supporting evidence within the box. A collection of Pimm’s Cup and several tequila bottle caps shows his attempts at self-medication through alcohol. The collection of self-promoting stickers shows a predilection to narcissism and the random keys, rocks, candy and fur balls shows just how schizophrenic he actually is. The collection of dinosaurs is obviously a link to his still present infantilism.
Unfortunately I only do psycho analysis and perpetrator profiling as a hobby, as such there are still a few items in this box-o-shit that I have been unable to apply towards the subject Jericho. A Honda emblem? A Slinky Jr? An Elevation of privilege card game? And who inside the United States under the age of sixty has a copy of a Susan Boyle CD? (I guess I do now.) I am sure with proper analysis these items will also provide valuable insight into the deranged and demented mind of Jericho.
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Gregory Names Egan & Associates LLC as Sales Agency of the Year
Cory Lowe
Gregory, the world’s leading pack maker for over 35 years, has named Egan & Associates LLC as its Sales Agency of the Year for 2012. Awarded at the company’s North American sales meeting in May in Salt Lake City, the annual honor signifies top performance in several categories.
“David Egan and his group are exemplary sales reps and have helped us grow our business significantly in the Northwest,” states John Pieper, Sales Director at Gregory. “In addition to sales growth, Egan & Associates are highly active with local events and promotions in their territory and provide great communication and reporting back to our product, marketing, and sales teams. More than just a sales force, they are great brand ambassadors for Gregory and we are fortunate to have them as part our team.”
Egan & Associates LLC, currently rebranding as Perpetual Motion NW, brings 26 years of Gregory experience to the Pacific Northwest territory that they manage. This sales agency award is presented annually to the rep group with the most notable sales performance and most exemplary respresentation of the Gregory brand to dealers, customers, and the public. To celebrate, the extended Gregory family journeyed out to a remote western Utah mountain range to explore the canyons and the iconic Salt Flats and to hike, run, camp, and connect under the stars.
ManufacturerPeopleOutdoor Industry
trade-show-type:
Summer Outdoor RetailerOutdoor Retailer
Gregory Names the All Mountain Group as Sales Agency of the Year
Gregory Mountain Products, a world leading pack manufacturer for over 35 years, has named the All Mountain Group as its Sales Agency of the Year for 2013. Awarded at the company’s North American sales meeting held in May in Salt Lake City, Utah, the annual award recognizes top ...read more
By Cory Lowe
Gregory Selects New Midwest US Sales Rep Agency
Gregory, the world’s leading pack maker for over 35 years, has named Gerten Outdoors as its new sales agency in the Midwest. Based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and run by industry veterans Paul Gerten and Charlie Anderson, Gerten Outdoors will focus on enhancing brand awareness and ...read more
Mountainsmith Names Decker & Associates as Southeast Sales Agency
– Mountainsmith—craftsmen of iconic backcountry equipment and recreational outdoor gear—has appointed Decker & Associates as its new sales agency for the Southeast region, covering independent retailers and specialty chain stores from Virginia to Louisiana. The Virginia-based ...read more
Gregory Announces Three New Marketing Hires
Gregory Mountain Products, the industry leader in backpacks and adventure travel gear, has hired Colleen Nipkow as marketing director.Nipkow, who joins Gregory with extensive industry experience most recently at Scarpa and Black Diamond, will collaborate with the global product ...read more
PMI Stanley Brand Names Sullivan-Bishop Agency ‘2015 Agency of the Year’
SEATTLE, WA (February 2, 2016) – Pacific Market International (PMI) is pleased to announce that Sullivan-Bishop group has been named the STANLEY brand’s Agency of the Year. The group’s outstanding performance and mounting sales achievements in the south-central region earned ...read more
By Bethany Mousseau
Chaco Names Agency of the Year for 2014
Rockford, Mich. (January 13, 2015) – In what has become an annual tradition, Chaco named its sales agency of the year at its recent sales meeting with the donning of the official gecko green jacket in a nod to golf’s ultimate award at The Masters. Chaco selected Outdoor Sports ...read more
By Kara Armano
Gregory Hires Sales Director and Opens Design Center in Salt Lake City
Gregory, the world’s leading pack maker for over 35 years, continues to build momentum in 2015 with a new sales director and the opening of a dedicated design center in Salt Lake City. Jim Boisd’Enghien rejoins the Gregory team as sales director and the brand is opening a new ...read more
Sullivan-Bishop Named Agency of the Year for Chaco
January 6, 2013 (Rockford, Mich.) – In the world of golf, the green jacket is a time-honored tradition and one of the sport’s most prized trophies. Just as greats like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Tiger Woods have proudly worn the green jacket, so did the Sullivan - Bishop ...read more
Mountainsmith Honors 2015 Sales Agency of the Year with Anvil Award
– Mountainsmith—craftsmen of iconic backcountry equipment and recreational outdoor gear—announces Pacific Recreation Sales as the 2015 Sales Agency of the Year and recipient of Mountainsmith’s Anvil Award. JJ Anderson and Becky LaFord have earned the coveted accolade for their ...read more
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"Live" TV/Radio Coverage Set For SGMA Spring Market
Television and radio stations are focusing their attention on new sports and fitness products. That’s one way to describe what will be taking place next week during SGMA Spring Market.
Andrea Cernich
Washington, D.C. - June 6, 2007 - Television and radio stations are focusing their attention on new sports and fitness products. That's one way to describe what will be taking place next week during SGMA Spring Market (June 11-13; Sands Expo & Convention Center; Las Vegas, Nevada) when the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) will be conducting a TV/Radio Satellite Media Tour (SMT) -- “live†from the show floor of SGMA Spring Market. The SMT will be held on Tuesday, June 12. The “host†of the tour will be Mike May, SGMA's Director of Media Relations. That morning, he will appear on nearly 30 morning television and radio news programs across the country to showcase the latest product introductions in the sporting goods industry. This is the seventh SMT produced by SGMA since January of 2003 – and the fifth one from a trade show. May is a veteran of more than 400 television and radio appearances since 1992.
“The great thing about a Satellite Media Tour is that we can take advantage of satellite technology in order to make a “live†connection with local news programs around the country,†said SGMA President Tom Cove. “Local television stations can't afford to send news crews to trade shows. Still, they are very interested in our industry and what will be on display at SGMA Spring Market. Quite honestly, this is a unique service of SGMA. We have the ability and personnel who can deliver this kind of publicity and generate exposure at a major industry event.â€
In every interview, May will be describing some of the more noteworthy products in the sporting goods industry. Accepting the feeds will be ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and Warner Brother affiliates of local television news stations. Stations from Miami (WTVJ-NBC) to Honolulu (KHON-FOX) have booked this tour. There will four national interviews on radio – on USA Radio Network, Good News Broadcast, and two on the Health Radio Network.
The first interview will be on the USA Radio Network at 3:00 am (Pacific) on Tuesday, June 12. The first TV interview will be on WGHP (FOX affiliate; Greensboro, NC) at 3:20 am (Pacific)/6:20 am (Eastern). The last interview will be more than six hours later at 9:20 am (Pacific) – on the Good News Broadcast. In between, a number of stations in major markets will accept the interview. Some of those major cities include Indianapolis (WXIN-FOX), Denver (KUSA-NBC), Tucson (KOLD-CBS), Phoenix (KPNX-NBC), Las Vegas (KLAS-CBS), Jacksonville (WTLV-NBC), Albuquerque (KRQE-CBS), among others. In all, more than one million people in the U.S. will watch and listen to these interviews.
Listed below are product descriptions for the items to be featured in the SMT:
1. NeverFlat Football (Spalding) – This football will hold air 10 times longer than traditional footballs. It's guaranteed to stay full inflated for at least one year. With this ball, there's no seepage (better air bladder) or leakage (improved cap eliminates air escaping and dirt invading).
2. T1200 Treadmill (Horizon Fitness) -- This treadmill allows users to sync their iPod directly with the LED screen, making access to play lists and other content fast and easy. Users can plug headphones directly into the treadmill, or listen to music through large built-in speakers. The treadmill also comes with eTRAKâ„¢ Performance Tracking Technology, which allows users to monitor a variety of workout statistics over the lifetime of the product.
3. The Gap Hitter (Solid Contact Baseball) – It uses a moving ball, which releases on contact at different positions with in the strike zone, giving the hitter instant feedback as to the direction, speed, and trajectory of the ball. It allows the batter, and/or coach, to correct swing imperfections in real-time. It is a simple device that requires no electricity and can be used virtually anywhere.
4. Bionic Gloves (Louisville Slugger) – These are the most scientifically advanced gloves ever made for consumers. They are designed by one of the world's leading orthopedic hand specialists. Bionic gloves are made to work with the anatomy of your hand, not fight against it. They are made for golf, baseball, and fitness activities like free weights, weight lifting machines, and yoga.
5. ARC Trainer (CYBEX) – The CYBEX Home ARC Trainer delivers better results in less time by providing an unmatched number of workout combinations. The ARC combines elements of a skier, elliptical, stepper, and hiker. This all-in-one machine allows you to focus on your own specific workout needs. The ARC puts less stress on the hips, knees, and ankles compared to other cross trainers. Less stress translates to better and quicker results.
6. 1001 Running Shoes (New Balance Athletic Shoe) – This fitness trainer has dynamic cosmetics. Its 3/4 length Abzorb® EX cartridge
has great cushioning, stability, and durability. This shoe is designed for the athlete who is looking for a versatile shoe for a combination of workouts including cardio, weight-lifting, and running. It has a synthetic, mesh upper for lightweight support and 3M® reflective details for safety
There is room on the SMT for one more product. Interested companies should call SGMA's Mike May immediately at 561-317-6111 (cell).
SGMA Spring Market is a focused sporting goods industry event showcasing full lines of footwear, performance apparel, equipment and accessories for fitness, running, spring team sports and licensed products. SGMA Spring Market brings together the industry's leading brands, specialty, independent and trendsetting retailers, and team dealers—all under one roof. The event also provides sporting goods industry professionals with in-depth educational training. SGMA Spring Market is presented by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) and is managed and produced by Universal Event Management. For more information on the event, please visit www.sgmamarkets.com or call 1-888-535-5199.
SGMA, the trade association of leading industry sports and fitness brands, enhances industry vitality and fosters sports and fitness participation through research, thought leadership, product promotion and public policy. SGMA produces signature industry events including the Spring Market trade show, Sports + Technology Convergence, Industry Leaders Summit and National Health-through-Fitness Day on Capitol Hill. More information about SGMA membership and SGMA's Sports Research Partnership can be found at www.sgma.com.
SGMA on TV: Promoting Fitness Products
SGMA ON TV: PROMOTING FITNESS PRODUCTSSGMA Sends Fitness Message to Consumers in 20+ TV Markets WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 8, 2007 – The airwaves were abuzz with a message about fitness. That's one way to describe what took place on Friday, January 5th when the Sporting Goods ...read more
By Andrea Cernich
SGMA Takes Over Operation of SGMA Spring Market
WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 21, 2007 – The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) is assuming the day-to-day responsibilities of its trade show by bringing management of the SGMA Spring Market in-house, starting immediately. Plans are now underway for the 2nd Annual ...read more
Top Ten Reasons to Attend SGMA Spring Market
If you are looking for a reason to attend SGMA Spring Market (June 11-13; Sands Expo & Convention Center; Las Vegas, Nevada), there are ten good reasons why – especially if you are a member of the media. SGMA Spring Market will be more than a venue where exhibitors showcase new ...read more
Fitness Industry Alert: TV News Opportunity Through SGMA
Lights, Camera, Action! Do you want significant television news coverage for your new fitness product or accessory? If so, then please join the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) on a TV Satellite Media Tour (SMT). It will be held on Thursday, January 10, 2008 – ...read more
UFC® Joins Excitement of SGMA Spring Market
WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 18, 2007 – The world's leading professional mixed martial arts organization, Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®), is bringing excitement and instruction to the show floor at the upcoming SGMA Spring Market (June 11-13, 2007, Sands Convention ...read more
SGMA Spring Market Gains Early Commitments From Leading Industry Brand
WASHINGTON, D.C. June 12, 2006 New Balance Athletic Shoe, K2, ASICS, Under Armour, and Horizon Fitness lead the list of committed exhibitors for next year's SGMA Spring Market (June 11-13, 2007; Sands Expo & Convention Center; Las Vegas, NV). They join more than 80 leading brands ...read more
Sporting Goods 'Titans' Speak Out At SGMA Event
WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 11, 2007 – When ‘captains of commerce' speak, people listen. That's one way to describe the scene during the Manufacturer-Retailer Panel at SGMA's 2nd Annual Industry Leaders Summit (ILS). The event was held March 5-6 at the U.S. Chamber of ...read more
SGMA Sets Future Trade Show Strategy, New Focus In 2007
Beginning in 2007, the sporting goods industry will have new trade show options. Today the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) announced its response to the changing industry dynamics – a trade show strategy focused on two new market events for next year. SGMA ...read more
'On The Air' With SGMA: Talking About Fitness
KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA – January 4, 2007 – Philadelphia, Nashville, Tucson, Baltimore, San Diego, Denver, Phoenix, Tampa, Louisville, and Albuquerque. Those are just a few of the 20+ television markets in the United States which will broadcast the “live†interviews during ...read more
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PassivSystems Signs Exclusive Contract for Monitoring Services for Solar PV Roll-out
Published: Monday, 07 April 2014 14:13
PassivSystems Limited a provider of intelligent connected energy services for residential homes and for optimising Solar PV assets, has announced that it has been awarded an exclusive contract with a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie.
The contract will provide the monitoring of a significant ’free solar PV’ roll-out campaign targeting an initial estimated 20,000 – 25,000 home portfolio of roof top solar photovoltaic systems in the UK.
Macquarie will, fund the installation of solar PV systems, providing free daytime electricity at no cost to the end users. PassivPro the irradiance-adjusted solar PV monitoring platform from PassivSystems will remotely capture generation data and provide alerts of any intermittent faults, as well as in-depth analysis of the portfolio to safeguard these assets and maximise solar PV yields for Macquarie and their installers.
The exclusive contract allows PassivSystems to work with Macquarie and its installation partners to deliver the installation of free residential solar panels and monitoring on up to 1,500 houses a month.
The systems will generate a stable 20-year inflation-linked income through the Feed-In Tariff “FIT” subsidy scheme offered by the UK government. To ensure FIT processing is simple and that deadlines are met, PassivPro generates quarterly FIT reports containing the data required for the chosen energy company to process the FIT payment. Homeowners and tenants will benefit from having access to the electricity produced by the systems at no additional cost to themselves.
Colin Calder, CEO and Founder of PassivSystems, said: “The way in which organisations monitor their solar PV systems can make the difference between an investment fully realised and an investment exposed to unnecessary risk. The rooftop PV systems managed on the PassivPro platform will provide consumers with green, sustainable energy and help to reduce their energy bills. With energy bills rising, this partnership with Macquarie will see us provide households with free rooftop PV and could not have come at a better time for consumers.”
PassivSystems operates an irradiance-performance solar PV monitoring platform, PassivPro, which currently monitors over 15,500 residential systems. Their Global System for Mobile Communications “GSM” meter management service is designed to support different meter types and sustain ultra-large portfolios aggregated from many different sources.
Tags: Company News, solar industry news, e-lec.org
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Our Parliamentary Sports Fellowship scheme offers MPs and peers the chance to make a real difference to grassroots sport in England, both in their community and at a national level
The scheme, now in its fourth round, matches MP and peers from all parties with sports organisations for a two-year period and aims to build a better understanding of sport in Parliament.
The Fellowship also gives national governing bodies of sport (NGBs) and sports organisations champions who can help them deliver strategic and political advice and support.
Sport England set up the Parliamentary Sports Fellowship Scheme in 2005 following a recommendation by former MP Derek Wyatt that the worlds of sport and politics needed to better understand each other and work more closeley together.
MPs and peers spend seven days over the course of their fellowship with their partner organisation to gain real insight into their work and learn how sport can enrich communities. In return, employees from the partnering organisation spend three days shadowing their fellow in Westminster to gain a better understanding and appreciation of Parliament and how to effect change.
To date, the Fellowship has created 57 different partnerships, with many more still to come.
Fellowship 2013 brochure File size: 4.26MB
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Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
Terrible Business Through Multiple Reinventions Now Hyping Drones: Originally a dotcom darling named Wireless Facilities that IPO’ed in 1999 with hopes of being the leading provider of outsourced services for wireless networks, the Company collapsed and later took a large accounting restatement when material weaknesses were revealed. Under new management, a name change to Kratos in 2007, and a divestment of businesses, the Company started focusing its efforts on products and solutions related to Command, Control, Communications, Computing, Combat Systems, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (“C5ISR”). After failing to execute on these opportunities, Kratos is now promoting its billion dollar opportunities in unmanned systems (drones) in the hopes of finally turning the corner to sustain profits and free cash flow, both of which have been forever illusive for shareholders Warning About Management History Associated With Past Scandal: Kratos is led by Eric DeMarco (CEO) and Deanna Lund (CFO) since 2003-2004. These executives joined from Titan Corp, where DeMarco was COO and Lund was Titan’s Controller. Titan was a tainted defense contractor that in 2005 paid the largest fine in history (at the time) to settle criminal and civil charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Lockheed Martin aborted a takeover of Titan Corp after conducting its due diligence on this matter. According to shareholder lawsuit documents, Titan engaged in a scheme to inflate revenues and book fictitious receivables. Titan used “middlemen” and “private consulting companies” with ties to foreign government officials to secure business. The litigation says confidential witnesses claim DeMarco knew about the corruption and DeMarco was responsible for transferring funds to Benin, the African country involved. DeMarco was also allegedly the source of the “percentage of completion accounting techniques learned from the ‘Andersen school of accounting’ that allowed Titan to either overstate or prematurely state revenues at the company.” Beware History of Failure To Meet Expectations, Cash Flow Struggles More Evident: Bulls are buying into Kratos story that it can reach $800m of revenues (pre PSS divestiture) at 10% EBITDA margin, while generating positive free cash flow. Our analysis of its ability to hit its financial targets (especially free cash flow) suggests investors should brace for disappointment. In addition to recent executive turnover in key positions (chief accountant, drone president, and CIO), Kratos quietly started disclosing a large loss accrual on contracts, rising 500% between 2015 and 2016. Its business mix has deteriorated (declining backlog and highest % of fixed-price, high risk contracts in its history). Its historical backlog definition is very aggressive, so take it with a grain of salt. However, most alarming in Q3’17 Kratos materially increased its cash burn estimate, cut drone capex in Q4’17, has DSOs rising to multi-year highs, and unexpectedly sold its PSS segment at a depressed value to raise cash Analysts See +29% Upside, A Terrible Risk/Reward Considering We See 40%-70% Downside: Kratos has among the highest valuation in the aerospace and defense sector (20x and 70x 2018E EBITDA and P/E), despite having weak margins, poor management that cannot prevent activities that run afoul of laws, suspect accounting that doesn’t depreciate corporate segment assets, and a history of failure. Its valuation is at a multiyear high, based on the hope that this time is different. Analysts are bullish, and some arbitrarily pencil in a few dollars per share for “future potential drone opportunities.” Many long-term fundamental Kratos holders have ditched the stock, leaving rules-based indices to buy. Valuing Kratos at a discount to peers on EBITDA, free cash flow, and book value we estimate 40%-70% downside ($3.15-$6.30/sh) DOWNLOAD REPORT
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Don’t Sell Your Brand Equity to Social Media Sites
February 16, 2019 /0 Comments/in Insights /by TCK Media
Google Plus is just the latest social media network to fall and close its doors. Who can remember Friendster, MySpace (still live but lost its popularity), Google Buzz (the predecessor to Google Plus), plus a host of now defunct social networks. Although at the time of this writing LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook (which includes Instagram) are the dominant social networks, it is impossible to predict where they will be in a few years. Facebook already had a number of crises in recent years and is struggling with maintaining growth while battling privacy and security issues.
Google Plus was backed by the biggest Internet company in existence today. Yet here is the email announcing the decision to shut down the social network:
You’ve received this email because you have a consumer (personal) Google+ account or you manage a Google+ page.
In December 2018, we announced our decision to shut down Google+ for consumers in April 2019 due to low usage and challenges involved in maintaining a successful product that meets consumers’ expectations. We want to thank you for being part of Google+ and provide next steps, including how to download your photos and other content.
On April 2nd, your Google+ account and any Google+ pages you created will be shut down and we will begin deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts. Photos and videos from Google+ in your Album Archive and your Google+ pages will also be deleted. You can download and save your content, just make sure to do so before April. Note that photos and videos backed up in Google Photos will not be deleted.
The process of deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts, Google+ Pages, and Album Archive will take a few months, and content may remain through this time. For example, users may still see parts of their Google+ account via activity log and some consumer Google+ content may remain visible to G Suite users until consumer Google+ is deleted.
As early as February 4th, you will no longer be able to create new Google+ profiles, pages, communities or events.
See the full FAQ for more details and updates leading up to the shutdown.
If you’re a Google+ Community owner or moderator, you may download and saveyour data for your Google+ Community. Starting early March 2019, additional data will be available for download, including author, body, and photos for every community post in a public community. Learn more
If you sign in to sites and apps using the Google+ Sign-in button, these buttons will stop working in the coming weeks but in some cases may be replaced by a Google Sign-in button. You’ll still be able to sign in with your Google Account wherever you see Google Sign-in buttons. Learn more
If you’ve used Google+ for comments on your own or other sites, this feature will be removed from Blogger by February 4th and other sites by March 7th. All your Google+ comments on all sites will be deleted starting April 2, 2019. Learn more
If you’re a G Suite customer, Google+ for your G Suite account should remain active. Contact your G Suite administrator for more details. You can also expect a new look and new features soon. Learn more
If you’re a developer using Google+ APIs or Google+ Sign-in, click here to see how this will impact you.
From all of us on the Google+ team, thank you for making Google+ such a special place. We are grateful for the talented group of artists, community builders, and thought leaders who made Google+ their home. It would not have been the same without your passion and dedication.
As you can see, if a business would dedicate countless of hours to create content and build their presence on Google Plus, all that time, money, and effort would be lost. Is that social media platform that last to be scrapped? No. We can only speculate which social network will lose popularity or be sold to another company that will mismanage it.
As a business owner, you want to create a brand that you have full control over. You do this by selecting the best domain name for your brand and getting a professional website built that you control. And use social media to attract attention and traffic to your website and brand.
Tags: Google, Social Media
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The Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe Expands DPN Facility by Adding NanoInk NLP 2000 Nanofabrication Platform
News Sep 09, 2009
Having been the first European facility to use NanoInk’s Dip Pen Nanolithography® (DPN®) technology in 2005, the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (FZK), has recently taken delivery of the first of two new systems to meet the increased user demand.
Located in the Nanomechanics Group of Professor Harald Fuchs, DPN is being used to drive practical applications in the fields of drug discovery, tissue engineering and the early detection of specific diseases. The Centre now offers open access to these instruments through the Karlsruhe NanoMicro Facility (KNMF).
The FZK has developed methods applying DPN for patterning with biological membrane lipids. Phospholipids are important biological molecules that self-assemble under physiological conditions to form the bilayer structure of biological membranes. However, available methods for generating phospholipid arrays on surfaces are severely limited in their lateral resolution. Based on non-covalent adhesion and humidity control of the liquid crystalline phase of the ink, it is possible to use phospholipids as a universal ink for DPN on a variety of substrates. Being able to produce 3D liposome-like structures on a surface allows model cells and membranes to be constructed.
Taken further, DPN’s multiplexing writing with different inks has provided the concept from which combinatorial nanostructure libraries of materials have been successfully developed.
The original platform for DPN was based on an atomic force microscope (AFM). However, for biological experiments, a rapid scale-up system is required to generate hundreds if not thousands of samples for testing to provide the required statistical approach of the biologist. A high powered imaging system was no longer required. This has driven the development of the NanoInk NLP 2000 nanofabrication platform to provide an easy-to-use system with a vastly increased speed of output for the generation of huge phospholipid arrays.
Accelerating Chemical Synthesis With "Turbo Chip"
Researchers have developed a process that facilitates and accelerates chemical synthesis and biological screening by combining all steps on a chip.
Coffee Pots, Lego and Red Cabbage Water Turn Spotlight on “Green Chemistry”
Using light and electricity to activate molecules instead of toxic chemical reagents will enable the sustainable manufacture of next generation medicines and other innovative products, according to scientists.
Rapid Discrimination and Classification of Polymorphs Using the Agilent 8700 LDIR
Cancer Treatment Using Nanoparticles – Is It Possible?
Randox RX series gains NGSP Certification for Direct HbA1c
Sections of Primate Brain
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Muslim Group Slap Viral Sensation Priya Varrier with Police Complaint
Following a police complaint, a case has been registered against viral song ‘Manikya Malarayi Poovi’ for allegedly hurting Muslim sentiments
Actor Priya Prakash Varrier, who became an overnight star after her song Manikya Malarayi Poovi went viral on social media last week, barely got time to bask in its glory. On Wednesday, a group of Muslim men filed a complaint against the Manikya Malarayi Poovi from the Malayalam movie Oru Adaar Love at the Falaknuma Police Station in Hyderabad for it being hurtful towards Islamic sentiments and insults Prophet Mohammad.
Muqeeth Khan, one of the complainants, told reporters that in the song, while the young boy and girl are romancing, the name of the all pious Prophet was mentioned and there was also an “objectionable” reference to Prophet Muhammad’s wife.
Consequently, a case has been registered for deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs, as told to reporters by Hyderabad police officer V Satyanarayana. “The police are meticulously investigating the case and appropriate action would be taken against the concerned as per the facts and law. We will be consulting Islamic clerics about the translation of the song,” he said.
The director, Omar Lulu too revealed that the song Manikya Malaraya Poovi means ‘a pearl flower that is very precious’ and is about the love story of Prophet Mohammad and his first wife. But he also clarified that the song is neither hurtful nor insulting to the Prophet or his wife, rather celebrates their love and is being appreciated by people all over the world. “The song written by CMA Jabbar is sung during marriages and every celebration in Malabar region of North Kerala. Malabar Muslims have been singing this song since 1978. If it was not objectionable then, how has it become objectionable now?” he said.
Meanwhile, the young actress (Varrier) declined to comment on the row over the song. “I don’t know much about it, I think I’d rather keep shut about it,” she said.
Check out the video below:
Priya Prakash
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« Art with a Kiss
FIRST LOOK: Anushka and Varun as Mauji and Mamta »
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Saints vs Rams Live Stream: How to Watch Online
By Ashtyn Evans January 18, 2019 No Comments
Hulu with Live TV has everything you’ll need to watch sports, movies, news, and more. 50+ channels are included with Hulu’s on-demand service. Get 7 days free.
View plansView plans
Also Good
DIRECTV NOW has some of the largest streaming packages available. Choose between packages with 60+ to over 125 channels. A cloud-DVR is also included. Get 7 days free.
fuboTV has all you need to watch sports throughout the day. Over 75+ channels are available. Also included are a cloud-based DVR and an on-demand library. Get 7 days free.
It’s time for the NFC Championship already. If you’ve been looking forward to watching the Saints battle the Rams with a pass to the Super Bowl, you should enjoy the game. Fans of the Saints know their team has what it takes to win, as long as they don’t wait to start playing to their full potential. Of course, the Rams haven’t seen a Super Bowl recently and are looking to change that. No matter who you like, this looks like it will be a game to remember. If you are looking for a way to watch the Saints vs Rams live stream, you’re in luck. There are plenty of ways to watch Saints vs Rams online without cable!
If you want to watch the Saints vs Rams live stream it will air on FOX at 3:05 pm ET on Sunday. Keep reading and we’ll share all the ways you can watch the NFC Championships without cable!
Hulu Live Offers the Saints vs Rams Live Stream
Watch sports, movies, entertainment, and even news
Hulu with Live TV is an extension of the standard Hulu on-demand service. So, in addition to the 50+ channels you receive, you’ll also get the on-demand service, as well. Hulu Live offers access to local channels in most areas, so you shouldn’t have to worry about being able to get FOX. You’ll also have plenty of cable networks in your package. Movie channels like HBO may also be added for an additional fee. The Hulu with Live TV service is $40 a month without add-ons or upgrades. You can cancel anytime you wish as contracts are not required.
Plenty of Upgrades are Available from Channels to Adding Space to your DVR
TV Everywhere apps also work with Hulu Live. A cloud-based DVR is included and will allow you to record up to 50-hours of TV. If you need more space an upgrade is available which will get you 200-hours of space. You can stream on two devices simultaneously. If you need access to more streams, an upgrade will allow you to watch Hulu Live on as many devices as you want at the same time. You can stream Hulu with Live TV on computers, Roku, Apple TV, gaming consoles, smart TVs, Fire TV, Chromecast, and mobile devices.
Hulu with Live TV highlights:
$40 per month without contracts
Watch 50+ channels or add some movie channels to your package
A cloud-DVR is included, offering 50-hours of space
Stream on two devices or upgrade if you need access to more devices
Stream on computers, Roku, mobile, Chromecast, Apple TV, etc.
Watch Hulu Live free for 7-days
Watch Saints vs Rams Online with DIRECTV NOW
$40 a month for 60+ channels and an on-demand library
DIRECTV NOW is a great choice for someone that wants as many channels as they can get. Here you start with more than 60 channels for $40/month. Additional packages are available with as many as 125+ channels in total. Local channels are included in each package but are available based on location. Other channels include AMC, ESPN, TNT, USA, TBS, Syfy, and more. Movie channels are available and can be added to any package for a small fee, depending on the channel. HBO is available for $5, which is the cheapest price in streaming!
Stream on Two Devices or Add a Third for Simultaneous Streaming
An on-demand library and the use of many TV Everywhere apps are also included in your account. You can watch the NFC Championships online on your mobile device, Roku, Chromecast, computers, Apple TV, and many other streaming devices. It’s possible to stream on two devices simultaneously, but a third device can be added for a fee. A cloud-DVR with limited space is also included in every package.
DIRECTV NOW highlights:
Packages start with 60+ channels – over 125 are available
Packages from $40
Movie channels are available including HBO which is $5/month
A cloud-DVR is included offering limited space
Watch on computers, mobile devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, and more
Get the first week of DIRECTV NOW for free
Our DIRECTV NOW review is available with more details!
fuboTV has the Saints vs Rams Live Stream in Many Markets
Watch 70+ live channels or browse the on-demand library
fuboTV is known for being a sports streaming service. While many other channels are available, the sports content available is unrivaled by other services. fuboTV offers more than 70+ channels in their package. Local channels may be available based on their local market. You can also watch sports from regional to international teams. Everything from the NFC Championship live stream to Golf is available. If you want additional channels, there are numerous options that can be added to your package. The cost of a fuboTV membership is $45 per month. However, the first month is available for only $40.
Sports Fans will Find Endless Options on fuboTV
Like many other services, fuboTV offers an on-demand library and the use of TV Everywhere apps. These apps allow you to watch networks through their own app using your fuboTV login details. You can stream the NFC Championship on fuboTV with your computer or mobile device. Streaming devices that are compatible include Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, Fire TV, and others. If you’re worried you’ll miss the game you might even be able to record it with the cloud-based DVR that’s available in your account.
fuboTV highlights:
$45 per month – the first month is available for $40
70+ channels of live TV and an on-demand library
Sports from all over the world
More channels can be added to your package for a fee
Stream on Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, computers, mobile, and more
Record using your cloud-DVR
Watch fuboTV free for a week
Our fuboTV review is also available!
YouTube TV will Air the Saints vs Rams Live Stream on FOX
50+ channels and an unlimited DVR
YouTube TV is one of the newer, but fastest growing streaming services around. Here you get a lot of the same things that you’d get from other services. 50+ channels are available in every package. You’ll pay $40 a month and there are no contracts. This allows you the freedom to change or cancel your account at will. In addition to channels like AMC, ESPN, local channels, USA, and TNT you can also add channels like HBO to your package. YouTube TV also includes access to TV Everywhere apps and an on-demand library.
One of the Best Mobile Apps in Streaming
YouTube TV offers plenty of great features. You can even set up multiple profiles and link them together so that everyone in the family has their own preferences and DVR. Speaking of the DVR, you’ll have unlimited storage space. All recordings are held for a period of up to nine months unless you delete them before then. You can stream on most devices. However, Fire TV devices are not compatible. You will be able to stream on a fabulous mobile app though. Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, and other devices are also compatible.
YouTube TV highlights:
Watch 50+ channels for $40 per month
TV Everywhere apps can be used, and an on-demand library is available
The cloud-DVR offers unlimited storage
Stream on Roku, mobile devices, Chromecast, and Apple TV
Check out YouTube TV for a week free
Our YouTube TV review is also available!
You can Watch Saints vs Rams Online with PlayStation Vue
Stream on up to five devices – enough for the whole family
PlayStation Vue offers multiple package options to choose from. Among them, you’ll start with 50+ channels, which are available for $45/month. The top package has nearly double that amount! Local channels are available in most areas and TV Everywhere apps can be used to enhance your service. Some channels you might expect to find include AMC, Syfy, Food Network, Discovery, History, USA, and others. An on-demand library is also part of every package. Despite the name, you won’t need a PlayStation console to use the PS Vue service.
Watch Live TV on 50+ Channels or On-Demand
PS Vue allows you to stream on five devices at once. This is a feature that is particularly handy for larger families. A cloud-based DVR is also included and is a great tool to use if you’re worried about having to miss your favorite show. You can watch PlayStation Vue programming on mobile devices, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, PS3, PS4, and other devices. Learn more with our PlayStation Vue review.
PS Vue highlights:
50+ channels to start with multiple package options
From $45 per month
Movie channels are available to be added on
An on-demand library and TV Everywhere apps are included
Stream on PS3 and PS4 consoles, Roku, Chromecast, Fire TV, and more
Watch PS Vue for free for 5-days
Sling TV is an Additional Way to Watch the Saints vs Rams Live Stream
Streaming sports usually isn’t this cheap
You won’t find a cheaper way to stream the NFC Championships online than Sling TV. You’ll need Sling Blue to get FOX. This $25 package offers around 30 channels. FOX is available in most areas and you’ll also have use of TV Everywhere apps for FOX and other networks. If you want more channels, you’ll have the option of adding several bundle packages or single, standalone channels. You can also add Sling Orange to your package to double the size and pay $40/month. Some of the channels you could have include ESPN, TBS, USA, Food Network, Freeform, and TNT.
Add a Cloud-Based DVR for a Small Fee
Unlike a lot of other services, if you want a cloud-based DVR on Sling TV, you’re going to have to pay for it. There isn’t a free option with Sling TV. Of course, as with all parts of your membership, there are no contracts, so you can try it out and cancel it or the whole service whenever you want. Sling TV works on most streaming devices including smart TVs, Fire TV, Chromecast, Apple TV, mobile devices, gaming consoles, and more.
Sling TV highlights:
30+ channels or add dozens more with single channel or bundle packages
Packages from $25/month without contracts
Stream on Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, mobile devices, and more
Watch more content in the on-demand library or with TV Everywhere apps
Add a cloud-based DVR for an added fee
Check these new subscriber deals
Don’t forget to try out Sling TV free for a week
Our Sling TV review can tell you more.
Watch the Saints vs Rams Live Stream with your Digital Antenna
You don’t need cable to watch the FOX live stream. As an over-the-air local network, FOX is available through a digital antenna for free. If you’ve decided to cut the cord, a digital antenna will be an invaluable tool. Depending on the model, it will search several miles to get all of the local area channels that are available to you. If you don’t have an antenna yet, here are some good options based on different living situations.
The Mohu Leaf 30 works best for city living and is indoor use only
There’s the ClearStream Indoor/Outdoor Antenna, if you’re in a more rural setting
Finally, the Winegard Platinum Series Outdoor Antenna works outdoors for up to 70-miles
Good luck and may the best team win whether it’s the New Orleans Saints or the Los Angeles Rams. Drop your questions in the comments, if you have any. You can also check out our guide on how to watch sports online.
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Author Ashtyn Evans
Ashtyn Evans is a screenwriter and freelance writer from the Midwest. She owns nearly a thousand films on Amazon and holds streaming subscriptions to everything from HBO and Hulu to Showtime and Starz. Email her at [email protected] Disclosure: Streaming Observer is supported by readers. Articles may contain referral links. For more information, see the disclosure at the bottom of the page.
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Former SESAC headquarters on Music Row sells for $4.2M
SESAC, one of three major musician-representative agencies on Music Row, relocated to new offices nearby in 2016.
Former SESAC headquarters on Music Row sells for $4.2M SESAC, one of three major musician-representative agencies on Music Row, relocated to new offices nearby in 2016. Check out this story on Tennessean.com: https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2018/08/10/sesac-headquarters-music-row-nashville-jim-caden/957042002/
Sandy Mazza, Nashville Tennessean Published 5:50 p.m. CT Aug. 10, 2018
SESAC Nashville Awards 2017
Hillary Scott, right, cheers as the SESAC Legacy Award was presented to music icon Kenny Rogers at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Shannan Hatch, SESACÕs vice president of Creative Services gives a hug to Justin Ebach, who has topped the charts with the hit ÒSleep Without YouÓ performed by Brett Young and was named SESACÕs Songwriter of the Year at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Cary Barlowe, right, is joined by Billy Currington, after 'It Do't Hurt Like It Used To' was named SESAC Song of the Year at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Warner Chappell Music was honored as Publisher of the Year at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Over 500 attend the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Old Crow Medicine Show performs at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards on Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville. Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Hillary Scott receive SESAC Humanitarian Award for Lady Antebellum for their contributions and philanthropic efforts through LadyAID®. at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Billy Currington performs at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
“The Gambler,” performed by Dustin Lynch at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
“Twenty Years Ago,” performed by Lee Brice at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
“Lady,” performed by Craig Campbell at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
“Don’t Fall In Love With A Dreamer,” performed by Kim Carnes and Andy Childs at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Sam Kling, Janine Appleton, Justin Ebach, and Shannan Hatch pose on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Critter Fuqua and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show pose on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Naomi Cooke, Hannah Mulholland, and Jennifer Wayne of Runaway June pose on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Trey Smith and Jennifer Fielder of Smithfield pose on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Cary Barlowe poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Luke Pell poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Victoria Shaw poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Ed Jurdi of Band of Heathens poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Tom Jordan and Mitch Thompson of Seaforth pose on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Rob Hatch poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Jared Kiem, Garrett Nichols, and Zach Beeken of Restless Road pose on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Lee Brice and his wife Sara Reeveley pose on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Jimmy Allen poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Janine Appleton and Justin Ebach pose on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Jim Lauderdale poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Jon Pardi and Brice Long pose on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Caroline Hobby poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Matt McGinn poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Christian Lopez poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Ryan Kinder and his wife Heather poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Seth Mosley poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Erin Enderlin poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Jon Stone poses on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Linda Davis and Hillary Scott pose on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
John Carter Cash and Ana pose on the red carpet at the 2017 SESAC Music Awards Sunday Nov. 5, 2017, in Nashville, TN Larry McCormack / The Tennessean
Jim Caden bought the former SESAC headquarters at 55 Music Square E.(Photo: Sandy Mazza / The Tennessean)Buy Photo
Nashville developer Jim Caden will turn the former SESAC headquarters on Music Square East into his own offices after buying the building this week for $4.25 million.
SESAC, one of three major performing rights organizations on the historic strip, relocated to new offices nearby in 2016. The 1984-built building at 55 Music Square E. has since sat vacant.
Caden intends to invest about $500,000 into renovations and move in early next year with three other office tenants.
The beige building features a striking two-story glass-fronted lobby in its center.
"I'm pretty enthusiastic about creating an upscale, attractive atrium area much like a modern hotel lobby," Caden said. "It's in a great location and very visible."
Carolyn Brackett, a National Trust for Historic Preservation officer, said the building is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places because it was established during the period when Music Row became an epicenter of country music.
"SESAC came to Music Row in 1964. They've been in several different locations," Brackett said. "They do the important work of making sure musicians get paid for what they do."
Caden said he doesn't anticipate making major changes to the building.
"I like to think it will look a lot nicer," he said. "New paint, landscaping and perhaps new glazing. The focus will be on trying to enhance the center section and lobby."
Caden's office in the Gulch is slated to be torn down in the coming months to make way for new towers at 12th and Demonbreun, where Deja Vu strip club stood next to smaller office buildings.
He sold the block-wide site to Texas developers, who began construction this week on the first tower for offices and retail shops. Two more towers will follow with a hotel, residences and retail space.
"I wanted to stay in the area and this building was available," Caden said about buying the former SESAC offices. "It's in a great location and very visible. It represents a lot of potential."
Caden has invested heavily in the Gulch, developing Saint Anejo, Kayne Prime Steakhouse and Whiskey Kitchen.
In June, he bought The Tennessean's newsprint storage warehouse at 1100 McGavock St. But he hasn't announced plans for the site. The newspaper is moving to a new Midtown home in the spring.
Nate Rau contributed to this report.
Reach Sandy Mazza at smazza@tennessean.com or 615-726-5962 and on Twitter @sandymazza.
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Read or Share this story: https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2018/08/10/sesac-headquarters-music-row-nashville-jim-caden/957042002/
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You are here: Home / Front Page News / Novak Djokovic Wins Third Madrid Open Title
Novak Djokovic Wins Third Madrid Open Title
May 12, 2019 by Tennis Panorama News
(May 12, 2019) Novak Djokovic won his second title of the year, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 to win the Madrid Open on Sunday. For Djokovic, it’s his third title in Madrid, 74th ATP Tour trophy and his 33rd Masters Series 1000 title equaling Rafael Nadal’s record total. It’s his first title since he claimed his 14th major crown, the Australian Open in January.
“I feel like this tournament win was very important for my level of confidence because after Australian Open I wasn’t playing my best, I wasn’t finding the right game and the consistency on the court in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo, “ the world No. 1 said to media during his news conference.
“I felt like I was close and needed a little bit of a push, so to say. And a very important win came yesterday against Thiem in a very close match. And today Stefanos, who had amazing match last night and win against Rafa, probably affected him a little bit. He did not, I think, move as well as he did last night and he was probably a bit tired.
“But my goal was to start off well to try to make break as soon as possible, which was the case right away, and I felt I was always ahead in the game. I felt I was dictating the play and played my best tennis so far this week. I haven’t dropped a set and, for sure, it’s a great honor to have this trophy and to win in one of the biggest tournaments in the world.
“And, as I said, at the very important time for me in the year, in the season, because this gives me a lot of confidence prior to Rome and, of course, Roland Garros where I definitely want to play my best.”
“These are the best tournaments, biggest tournaments we have in our sport, in the ATP, of course alongside the Grand Slams,” the Serb said during an on-court interview after his victory. “This is as important and as good as it gets.”
“He deserved the victory, he played unbelievable,” said the 20-year-old Greek finalist. “I couldn’t do much. Really like I think his performance this week — I didn’t play with all the guys, but pretty sure was the best. So physically I was not there. My legs were not coping with my mind. Completely I could feel the fatigue and this soreness, not just in my legs, but everywhere in my body.
“And yes, he played quite smart. He tried moving me around the court. He knew I had a tough match last night, so he took advantage of that knowing that, you know, he’s going to have to make me run and suffer more and I just didn’t have solutions.
“I tried getting the ball, coming a little closer to the line but I didn’t feel today that comfortable doing that. He seemed very solid from the baseline. He knew what he was doing. And that’s about it.”
“He has the best backhand on tour I have ever seen in a human being. He controls it so well. He can play cross, he can play down the line the same way. And that’s very difficult to deal with.
“Usually some players have a good stroke, but it’s not that consistent, so I find if he’s in a day where his serve works pretty well, the placement of his serve, his forehand is not his biggest weapon. He can hit it but it’s not his biggest weapon. But he can, if the backhand and the serve work really well, he can — that is why he has been dominating for so many years.”
Tsitsipas, by reaching the final will move up to a career-high No. 7 in the world on Monday. He was aiming for his third title of the year, after taking the Marseille and Estoril titles.
For the 31-year-old Djokovic, this was his 200th win over a Top Ten opponent.
Djokovic is weeks away from playing Roland Garros, Rome is the last of the tournaments he’ll play before the year’s second major. He holds the last three major titles and is trying to repeat his feat of holding all four majors at the same time.
“I mean, it was a great lead-up I feel for me this week to what’s coming up next in Rome and Paris,” said the 31-year-old. “But I think because of the difference in conditions I’m going to have to obviously try to get as many, you know, quality hours on the court training and also competing because it’s going to be different.”
Filed Under: Features, Front Page News, tennis news, tournament coverage, tournaments Tagged With: ATP World Tour, Madrid Open, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas, tennis, tennis news
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Teradata Vantage - Doing For Analytics What We Did For Data
By Rob Armstrong Oktober 08 2018
In the quest to turn mountains of data into useful—and actionable—information, many companies struggle to establish a repeatable process that leverages architecture layers while avoiding analytical anarchy.
Too often the solution is to think of the problem in silos and vertical solutions—to see the world of operationalized analytics as different from the arena of data exploration and data science. Of course, there is a core relationship between the two as the biggest value comes from first finding the insight and then operationalizing it across the company.
We’ve seen this problem before….
Oliver Ratzesberger, COO of Teradata, recently made the observation,”The industry has ‘unlearned’ a lot of what it had learned in the past.”
The good news is that we have not forgotten the lessons learned. We have seen a variation of this problem before and we conquered it. We understand what it takes to build a complete environment to serve the broader audience and purpose.
The current analytic dilemma is analogous to the data problem in the early eighties. Back then, people had a challenging time trying to store and analyze large volumes of data due to limits of technology. The conventional wisdom was to push data to functional data silos and “data marts” that would allow individuals to run their own processes without having to worry about scaling to an enterprise level.
Welcome to Teradata Vantage, the platform for pervasive data intelligence
A second hurdle was that the mainframe (for the younger crowd - look it up), and the databases of the day, were really for transaction processing—not analytics. Trying to run analytics on the same platform as the transactional processing could impact service level agreements and interfere with production workloads. So again, it was easier to circumvent the problem and just build point solutions around the function. Get the data from wherever, store and manage for your purpose, and move on.
The Teradata Database was designed to effectively manage data at scale to enable enterprise analytics. We solved the technical issues and showed that by integrating the data in a relationship model we could allow any question at any time for any function. We solved the problem by understanding that silos do not create integration nor do they provide a full view of the business.
Silos are back, but with an analytics twist….
Let’s jump to today and a variation of the situation we originally saw in the early days. Today, the “data warehouse” has gone from being the platform to drive exploration and analytics to an environment running mission critical operational reports and analysis. Some companies are running 10s of millions of queries per day and the business relies on consistency and performance to meet SLAs.
In short, the data warehouse has become a protected species. When companies want to extend the user community to include data scientists and business analysts who need to do some new investigation and innovation, they are taking the path of least resistance and creating analytic silos. The twist is that there are now many more tools and functions that are being brought to bear in these processes so people are now creating “analytic silos.”
For example, we may have an analyst using SQL to create a small database to ingest new data and combine it with some data pulled from the data warehouse or other production systems. We also have different data scientists, each with his or her preference for language and tools. Some like R, others want Python, some want to use SAS, and the list just keeps growing. Everyone wants to use the tools they are comfortable with to run a particular function.
BUT… they all need to analyze the data, and now that is everywhere. Some data is in the warehouse, other data is in S3, Blob storage, or HDFS. We are again facing the situation that people turn to silos as the solution because they are not aware of the long-term pain associated with the short term gain (which happens to be the title of one of my first white papers, some 25+ years ago). The majority of time is spent unproductively moving and re-modeling data for analytic process.
Think horizontally, not vertically
Tip of the hat to Wayne Dyer who said when you “change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Given our experience and understanding of the past, we are ready for the future. Rather than thinking in silos, we turned our heads and looked at the tiers necessary to drive this expanded world of data and analytics to solve the problem.
The first realization was that we needed to expand the types of analytic engines within the larger environment. These engines and functions are used across a wide variety of use cases and rather than constantly replicating the functions (and hope they work the same in various places), it is much better to bring the engines into a logically central architecture and let them be called when necessary.
To that end, Teradata extended from just having a SQL Analytic Engine (i.e the Teradata Database) to including Machine Learning and Graph engines, with more to be added in the future. Now all types of programmers can simply reference the engine and function they need. This minimizes cost and data movement as well as improves consistency and performance. A win-win for all.
The second part is that we had to enable the engines access to not only much larger, but also much more diverse, sets of data, and not all that data will be suitable for relational database storage. So again, we provide the necessary connectivity across the data storage environments. Some data will be repeatedly used and have structure and good governance. Some data will simply need to be quickly stored, have unknown or variable structure, and have access by a limited number of people (maybe even just 1 person!).
The final integration point was the tools and languages out in the user community. The easiest way to kill any analytic system is to limit the tools that can access the platform. Again, we saw this before with all the SQL-based BI tools in the early 90’s. The tool choice should not limit access, thus we simply had a standard interface (SQL) to the data and let the user choose among the wide array of tool options. Today, the tools have exploded and include many more languages than just SQL. Teradata has abstracted the tools and languages, so any programmer can write in the tool of choice and still leverage the data and analytic engines. This drives more insights from the data, at a lower cost, and faster time to explore and develop new capabilities.
Teradata Vantage: Integrating analytics for greater outcomes
Long ago, we learned that integrating data is the key to increasing business understanding and better actionable insights—and that lesson is true as well for analytics.
A final analogy: In today’s day and age, you do not want a separate device for e-mail, music, navigation, photos, gaming, and web searches. You want to have a platform that integrates all this capability, and is ready to absorb new capabilities and applications, as quickly as they are developed.
You should demand the same of your business analytics environment – Welcome to Teradata Vantage, the platform for pervasive data intelligence.
Vantage allows enterprises to uncover actionable answers to the toughest business questions by tightly integrating the best analytic functions and engines to provide a scalable, agile platform that enables organizations to drive business value. It also provides access to a wide variety of descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics; autonomous decision making; machine learning functions; visualization tools and more, deployed across public clouds, on-premises, on optimized or commodity infrastructure, or as-aservice.
Users can also access and analyze all their data without having to learn a new tool or language, or worry about where data is located. This streamlined access is bolstered by Vantage’s integration with popular third-party tools and analytic languages, meeting users where they are and allowing them to work in the environments they already know best.
We all know that the future will come with a lot of change. Vantage is ready for that change, and it also allows you to increase that rate of change. It provides the architecture to quickly adopt new tools, languages, engines and storage into a scalable framework. One that provides the accessibility, auditability, and integration to enable your business answers—from innovation to full deployment and accelerate your outcomes!
Read more about Teradata Vantage here.
Rob Armstrong
Starting with Teradata in 1987, Rob Armstrong has contributed in virtually every aspect of the data warehouse and analytical processing arenas. Rob’s work in the computer industry has been dedicated to data-driven business improvement and more effective business decisions and execution. Roles have encompassed the design, justification, implementation and evolution of enterprise data warehouses.
In his current role, Rob continues the Teradata tradition of integrating data and enabling end-user access for true self-driven analysis and data-driven actions. Increasingly, he incorporates the world of non-traditional “big data” into the analytical process. He also has expanded the technology environment beyond the on-premises data center to include the world of public and private clouds to create a total analytic ecosystem.
Rob earned a B.A. degree in Management Science with an emphasis in mathematics and relational theory at the University of California, San Diego. He resides and works from San Diego.
View all posts by Rob Armstrong
Business Analytics What Working “at Scale” Really Means
Business Analytics 3 Easy Ways to Turn Data into Actionable Answers
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Nerdy Charlize Theron Beats Liberal Lena Dunham at the Webbys
They're not exactly the Oscars of online, but when this year's Webby nominations came out, we were convinced that Dunham was going to take home yet another award for making Republicans angry in that Obama ad. But lo, the winners were announced this morning, and Lena got beat. By Charlize Theron.
Esther Zuckerman
They're not exactly the Oscars of online, but when this year's Webby nominations came out, we were convinced that Lena Dunham was going to take home yet another award for making Republicans angry in that Obama ad. But lo, the winners were announced this morning, and Lena got beat. By Charlize Theron.
The Oscar-winning actress was crowned the winner in the "Best Individual Performance" category for her performance in Funny or Die's "Charlize Theron Gets Hacked." The web series Burning Love won the People's Voice award in that category. Nothing for Dunham.
Meanwhile, other Webby notables were granted "special achievement" prizes. The guy who created the GIF got one of those, as did Frank Ocean for being the "Webby Person of the Year," as did Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti for bringing House of Cards into our lives. And despite Dunham's loss for her Obama ad, Obama for America 2012 was crowned the "Webby Breakout of the Year." Because nothing says breakout like a reelection campaign and a bunch of trend pieces.
Also, someone tell Justin Bieber his fragrance won the People's Voice prize in the "Social Media Campaigns" category.
You can watch Theron's Funny or Die video one more time here:
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A Christmas Maggie
by Tiffany Reisz
When he’d heard “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” playing on the radio that morning, Daniel’d had a wonderful, awful idea. Anya looked so delectable in her little slip of silk negligee, he ordered her to stay in it all day long. Now evening, she still wore it…but not entirely without complaint.
“C’est l’hiver,” Anya reminded him unnecessarily. Of course it was winter. A foot of snow had piled up outside the windows of his New England estate, trapping them happily inside. “I should be in flannel.”
Daniel rolled his eyes at his little spitfire of a Québécoise lover.
“You wouldn’t wear flannel if I bribed you with a million dollars and threatened you with a beating.”
Daniel knew his Anya. She barely had a cent to her name, but that didn’t stop her from designing and sewing her own clothes—clothes that wouldn’t look out of place on the runways of Paris and Milan. Even the negligee she’d shimmied into and out of last night had been one of her creations.
Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her slight form against his. God it was good to have a woman in his life again, in his home, in his bed…especially a woman with Anya’s tastes.
“Perhaps if you bribed me with a beating…then I would wear flannel for you.”
“I like the sound of that.” Daniel cupped the back of her thighs and slipped his hands over her bare bottom and up her back. At moments like this he felt the age difference between them most keenly. She’d only turned twenty-three while he could reach out and touch forty with his eyes closed. His rough hands would never recover from his year of rappelling and mountain climbing in South America. The smoothness of Anya’s young skin served as a bitter reminder of how many years separated them. He didn’t like to think about what else should and could separate them.
“I only said ‘perhaps,’ Sir. No promises.”
Daniel dipped his head and kissed her. Anytime she called him “Sir” in that respectful tone he couldn’t resist a kiss. That word empowered him like nothing else. The second a “Sir” escaped her lips, he had to drag her to the bed, the floor, the sofa…
But today he pulled back. Too much to do.
“No. None of that.” Daniel gave her his most stern stare. “Work. Now.”
She flashed him a faux pout. “Yes, Sir.”
Anya turned her back to him, and he gave her a quick swat to hasten her retreat to the living room. They’d had the tree up with lights on it since December 1st but hadn’t decorated it with any ornaments yet. Now Christmas Eve, Anya tore into the boxes Daniel had brought out of storage and started digging through all the glass stars and candy canes and silver and gold garlands.
“So tell me why we had to wait until Christmas Eve to decorate the tree…?” Daniel asked as he opened a box and removed a small sock monkey ornament—a gift from his friend and former lover Eleanor.
Anya shrugged, a move that caused her nightgown to lift up high enough for Daniel to see the pale pink birthmark on the top of her left thigh. His groin tightened at the sight of so much skin illuminated by the Christmas lights.
“Ma mère…she always had us wait until Christmas Eve to decorate the tree. Papa had to work so much, he never had a day off until then.”
“That’s very thoughtful of your mother.” Daniel placed the sock monkey ornament high on the tree, front and center. Maggie would have gotten a kick of such a silly thing on the otherwise traditionally decorated tree. Maggie…where had she come from? Daniel exhaled and tried to away push thoughts of his late wife. Maggie had been dead for as long as Anya’s mother. Time to move on…both of them.
“She was far kinder to my father than he deserved.” Anya pulled a footstool to the tree so she could adjust a string of lights near the top. “She tried to make him a better man by treating him like a king. It didn’t work.”
“I’m sorry.” Daniel reached out and tickled the back of her knee to coax another smile out of her. She responded by hanging a candy cane on his ear.
“Lovely. Thank you.” He poked her in the stomach with the candy cane and she flinched harder than he expected her to. But she quickly laughed, tore the candy cane from his hand, and placed it on the tree.
They continued decorating. Anya had a habit of repositioning nearly every ornament he placed on the tree. At first he assumed she was showing off her perfectionist side again, but soon he realized she did it solely to annoy him. And it would have except the impish grin on her face only made him adore her more.
As Anya climbed back onto the footstool to put the star on top of the tree, Daniel reached into the box and pulled out one last ornament. While she was distracted, Daniel hid the last ornament on one of the bottom boughs. When he looked up from the floor he could see right up Anya’s nightgown.
“Anya, if you were one of Santa’s reindeer, you would be Vixen,” he said, tracing a line up the back of her leg with his fingertips. He slipped his hand between her thighs and teased her until she moaned softly.
“You ordered me to wear this,” she said, her voice breathless and soft. “You didn’t tell me to put any panties on.”
“And for very good reason.” Daniel pulled her off the footstool and dragged her to the floor.
“What is that reason, Sir?”
Daniel turned her onto her stomach and over his knee. He flipped up the back of her negligee and exposed her exquisite backside.
“Christmas spankings.” He swatted her hard a few times just for the pleasure of hearing that indignant yelp of hers.
“Spankings are for birthdays.” She squirmed on his lap.
“It’s Jesus’s birthday.” He gave her one more playful slap on her thigh before pushing her onto her back.
“Maman said he was actually born in Spring,” Anya protested as Daniel kissed his way down her stomach. With one hand he pulled the straps of her nightgown down her arms while the other hand yanked it up from the bottom. He could have simply ripped the damn thing off but that would have taken a second longer than he wanted to wait.
“You’re arguing theology with me?” Daniel pushed her thighs open wide and found her clitoris with his lips.
Anya gasped in pleasure.
“Not anymore, Sir.”
His mouth was too occupied to tell her to shut up and enjoy herself. But his tongue inside her seemed to work better than an order.
Once had had her sufficiently wet and more than sufficiently aroused, Daniel kissed his way up her body to her lips. He let Anya taste herself as he opened his pants and pushed into her. As he sheathed himself deep inside her, she raised her hips, and moaned into his mouth.
When he began to thrust, he couldn’t help but laugh as his back tapped the bottom boughs and sent all the ornaments tinkling and shivering. He lay flat along Anya’s body hoping to avoid knocking the tree over in his enthusiasm. Or hers. And her enthusiasm often eclipsed his. She’d come so loudly last week that his ears had rung for a few hours after.
As he moved in her, Daniel studied her face so lost in the moment, lost in the pleasure. Her eyes wore the most beautiful glazed look. A strand of red hair fell across her cheek and he blew it off with a puff of air. She laughed and he whispered an “I love you” in her ear.
“I love you too, Sir,” she whispered back, arching underneath him. He’d given her one explicit order at the beginning of their relationship—she was always to call him “Sir” when he was inside her. This was an order she happily complied with every time.
He held back and waited as long as he could before coming. Everything disappeared when he was inside Anya—his sorrow, his memories, the dreams that still haunted him on the bad nights that thankfully had become few and far between since bringing her home with him.
Anya clenched around him with a lusty cry. He would have laughed at her vocal acrobatics, but he was too pre-occupied with his own orgasm.
He pulled gently out of her and watched her face for any telltale winces or grimaces. The girl had been a virgin before him, and sometimes he left her raw from her thrusts. But she wore only a smile of angelic bliss.
“Simultaneous orgasm,” he said as he rolled onto his side and pulled her back to his chest. “That doesn’t happen very often.”
“It’s a Christmas miracle.” Anya pressed into him and sighed.
“I’m not sure if God gives Christmas miracles to sinners like us.” He gently bit the back of her shoulder.
“We are not sinners,” she protested and Daniel heard a note of hurt in her voice. “We love each other. I’m your…” she paused and searched for the right word.
Daniel grinned into her skin.
“Property is the word you’re looking for. A nice Old Testament concept. I think God would respect that.”
“Moi aussi,” she said, slipping into French. Me too. She did that often when tired or spent. On those rare occasions she didn’t fall into French after sex, he knew his job wasn’t quite done yet.
They lapsed into contented silence as they stared up at the Christmas tree from the carpeted floor. He and Maggie had made love so many times under the tree that he knew this view well. Maggie had been Christmas crazy. Her first husband had been both an atheist and an asshole and had outlawed Christmas in the house. When she and Daniel had married, it had been a December, Christmas-themed wedding and all seven years they spent together, Christmas had meant not only celebrating the season, but commemorating their love.
Anya stretched out her hand and tapped an ornament.
“What is this?” she asked, gently removing it from the tree to inspect it closer.
Daniel’s stomach dropped, but he kept his voice even and calm.
“Maggie gave that to me our first Christmas.”
A simple ornament, it consisted of nothing but a bell painted snow white with the words “Daniel and Maggie’s First Christmas” on it and the year they were married.
“It’s pretty.” Anya’s voice held only sincerity and no hurt that he could detect.
“Maggie loved Christmas.” He took the ornament from Anya’s hand. “She has an older sister named Carol. Maggie said when she was a little girl she drove her parents crazy. She thought it was so unfair Christmas was all about Carol. They sang Christmas Carols. They read Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Four-year-old Maggie was so jealous, her parents had to start singing ‘Christmas Maggies’ just to shut her up.”
“Did you read her A Christmas Maggie?” Anya asked, taking the ornament from his hand and placing it back on the tree.
“I did better than that. I found a beautiful leather-bound early edition of the book and had a bookbinder friend of mine sewed in a new title page that said A Christmas Maggie. She cried when she opened it our second Christmas together.”
Christmases with Maggie had been perfect, every last one of them better than the one before. Until the last one when they knew it would be their final Christmas together. And even then…
“Do you miss her?” Anya asked the question so softly he barely heard her.
“Of course. She was my wife for seven years.” He spoke matter-of-factly, almost brusquely, and only realized the error of his tone when Anya wriggled off the floor and fled the room, tears on her cheeks.
“Dammit.” Daniel came to his feet and followed her. She’d run not to the bedroom they shared but one of the guest rooms. He turned the knob and found the door locked. “Anya, open the door right now. That’s an order.”
The order was not obeyed. Nor the next one to talk to him or the one after to please please talk to him.
Daniel rested his forehead against the door and took a deep breath, cursing himself. Anya, barely twenty-three, virgin before him, he reminded himself. In other words…emotional, sensitive, scared, and fragile. His marriage had always been a touchy subject between them. Anya admitted once that she feared he’d never love her like he’d loved his wife. No amount of reassurance had made that fear in her eyes completely disappear. By saying that of course he still missed Maggie, he’d played right into Anya’s deepest fears.
“I’ll be downstairs,” he called through the door. “I’ll be there when you want to come out.”
He almost added “I love you” but the one bitter spark of anger at her overreaction stopped his tongue.
For the rest of the evening, Daniel straightened the mess they’d made of the living room with the Christmas decorations. He called a few relatives to wish them a Merry Christmas and pretended everything was perfect when they asked about his new girlfriend.
“Together since summer,” he told his cousin Matthew in Ontario. “She’s not a ‘new’ girlfriend anymore.”
“Lost that new girlfriend smell already, huh?”
“And your mother wonders why you’re still single at thirty-three, Matt.”
He considered and discarded the idea of calling Carol, Maggie’s sister. On the phone, their voices sounded almost identical. Hearing Carol on the phone was akin to coming face to face with the ghost of his dead wife. And Maggie had been haunting him far too much already today.
The time crept closer to midnight and Anya still hadn’t come downstairs to talk to him. He considered going to bed but didn’t want to sleep alone in the room they shared. So instead he sat in the big armchair Maggie had given him as a birthday gift one year. She’d called it his Masterpiece Theater throne and said any librarian worth his salt needed a chair that pretentious.
Before he closed his eyes, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny box of Tiffany blue. Opening it, he stared at the princess cut diamond engagement ring. In the low light of the Christmas tree, the diamond sparkled like the Star of Bethlehem. If he didn’t close the box soon, wise men and shepherds would start showing up on his doorstep. But he couldn’t close it. Not quite yet. Tomorrow morning, Christmas morning, he’d planned on surprising Anya with the ring as her last present—the ring and a promise to love her and keep her for the rest of his life. But now he wondered if the fight hadn’t been a moment of serendipity saving him from making a huge mistake. Anya…so much younger than he, so much less experienced and so sensitive. Until their fight this evening, he’d been absolutely certain she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, the woman he wanted to raise children with. He didn’t even care if they were his children or her younger brothers and sisters she called every single day to check on. But now…now he wondered if Anya hadn’t been right to be afraid. Did he love her as much as Maggie? And if he didn’t, should he marry her anyway?
Sleep slowly stole into the room and crept up on him. The ring fell from his fingers as his eyes closed.
A few minutes or a few hours later, he felt a hand on his knee gently shaking him awake.
“What?” he asked, his eyes still shut.
“I told you that if you sleep in that damn chair, you’ll get a permanent crick in your neck.”
“Then you shouldn’t have bought it for me, Mags,” Daniel said as pried his eyes open. Mags? “Maggie?”
Daniel sat forward in the chair, suddenly more awake than he’d ever been in his entire life. In front of him kneeling on the floor by his feet with her chin on his knee was Maggie, his wife who had been dead and buried for years.
“What?” he asked again, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. “What are you doing here?”
She gave him a wicked blue-eyed smile, her chestnut hair falling in waves around her oval face. She didn’t look a day over thirty-five, younger than he’d ever seen her. In fact she looked breathtaking—so young, so beautiful, so untouched by the pain and suffering the cancer had inflicted on her, the cancer that had killed his beautiful wife.
“Merry Christmas, Daniel.”
Daniel didn’t bother asking any more questions. How Maggie got there…why she was there…he couldn’t care less. He came out of the chair, dragged her to her feet, and held her more tightly in his arms than he’d ever held anyone in his life. He didn’t know what to do–hold her for eternity or drag or to the ground and make love to her for the rest of his life. While he decided, he kept his arms around her, pulling her even harder against him.
“Good thing I’m dead,” Maggie gasped in his ear. “Or you might kill me.”
Daniel laughed through tears as he buried his face into her hair and inhaled. Vanilla…Maggie’s hair always smelt faintly of vanilla.
“Don’t say that. Don’t say you’re dead. I know I’m dreaming so at least let it be a good dream,” Daniel whispered, pulling her even closer, so close he could feel her heart beating against his chest. He loved that feeling–heart to heart. After sex he would stay inside her a few moments just to relish that sensation as long as possible.
Maggie reached up and pinched him viciously hard on his arm. Flinching, Daniel laughed and pulled back to look at her face.
“You’re not dreaming, Daniel.” Maggie grinned at him.
“Then how are you here?”
She shrugged and her eyes gleamed with secrets.
“Someone upstairs decided you needed something for Christmas. Something that wouldn’t fit into a box. Not even one this size.” She held up the tiny box of Tiffany blue.
“Look…I can explain-” Daniel began but Maggie cut him off.
“I’ve been gone a long time.” Maggie kissed him quick and soft on the lips. “You’re allowed to move on, fall in love, get remarried…”
Daniel shook his head.
“I know I’m allowed. I even know that’s what you wanted…” In the months before Maggie died, she’d brought up Daniel’s future without her several times. She did everything she could to persuade him that not only should he move on after she died, she wanted him to. Even in her last hours she’d whispered to him, I’m going to die but you’re going to live for a long time. Promise me you won’t live alone…you’re the best man I’ve ever known. Don’t let that go to waste…don’t give up on love, on life…promise me…And through his tears he’d nodded and replied with a hoarse, I promise, Mags.
“Then what’s the problem?” Maggie arched an eyebrow at him. How many times had she asked him that question during their marriage? He’d never figured out a good answer to that question.
“Anya…She’s…too young, too…” Pausing to search for words he could only sigh. “She’s not you.”
“Very true.” Maggie nodded sagely. “And for that you should be eternally grateful.”
Daniel’s eyes widened in shock. “What is that supposed to mean?” He glared at her. “You were the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“And you were the best thing that ever happened to me too. Our marriage was strong most of the time. I didn’t know I could love anyone as much as I loved you. Didn’t even think I was capable of that kind of love and happiness. But.”
“But?”
Maggie smiled at him again, a mysterious other-worldly smile. In life he’d never seen her smile like that.
“But…for such an intelligent man, you have a very bad memory,” Maggie teased as she raised a hand and ran it through his hair. She tapped him on the forehead.
“I remember nothing but amazing days with you. And even more amazing nights,” he said, running his hands up her arms. She wore red silk pajamas, a pair he’d gotten her for Christmas one year. Boxy and boyish, they hid her incredible curves but she needed something to wear when family came around. And nothing turned him on more than stripping her out of them and slowly revealing the female figure beneath the masculine cut.
“Really?” She pursed her lips at him. “Let me show you something. Close your eyes.”
“I always loved this game,” Daniel said, closing his eyes as she’d asked.
“Don’t get your hopes…or anything else up, you Wicked Man. Open your eyes.”
Daniel opened them and inhaled in surprised. The dark and quiet living room had suddenly been transformed. Light came in from everywhere–the tree, the Christmas candelabras in the windows, the lamps, the red and green candles…voices filled the room, laughter. Two dozen people–Maggie’s family and Daniel’s family mixed together as Christmas music played in the background.
“Shit.” Daniel grabbed Maggie’s hand and pulled her against the wall as another Maggie passed them holding a bottle of wine and three empty glasses.
“No one can see us,” she said, squeezing his hand. “This is just a memory we’re in.”
“A memory?” Daniel glanced around. He saw himself standing by the fireplace with Maggie’s sister Carol talking softly and smiling. He knew this memory. Christmas number three with Maggie–the Christmas they’d decided to invite everyone in both families to her house in the country. “God, it is. I do remember this. You gave me a watch that year.”
“A Daniel Roth watch–seemed fitting.”
“And I gave you…”
“This.” Maggie held up her hand to show a three-stone diamond ring on her right ring finger.
“One diamond for each year of happiness you’d given me.” Daniel took her hand and kissed the ring.
“I loved being married to a man who knew how to buy jewelry.”
Daniel grinned as he surveyed the scene. “This was a good Christmas. I loved having my parents here, your parents, the sibs…”
“The kids,” Maggie said, nodding toward Rachel and Jayson, Maggie’s niece and nephew.
“Yes. The kids.” Daniel swallowed as eight-year-old Rachel stuck a bow on top of four-year-old Jayson’s head. Jayson ripped it off and slapped it onto Rachel’s head and the screeching laughter of the children echoed off the walls.
Maggie led Daniel toward the fireplace where he and Carol whispered back and forth while sipping at their wine.
“So will you finally talk my sister into having children?” Carol asked, smiling at Rachel and Jayson who now had become enamored of the toy train that wound around the Christmas tree.
“She says she doesn’t want kids,” Daniel watched himself say. “I think she means it.”
“Motherhood would be so good for her. She’s just a Type A, always has been. Having a baby would calm her down. All your priorities change when you have children. You want them, don’t you?”
Daniel watched the younger version of himself inhale deeply, saw his eyes soften as he looked at Jayson staring with silent fascination at the toy train.
“I do. Very much.” Daniel knew “very much” had been an understatement. Once the shock of being married to a goddess like Maggie had worn off, all he’d wanted was to have a child with her. A daughter with Maggie’s mind and wit, a son with his love of books…he ached to add to their family of two.
“Talk to Maggie. Maybe she’ll come around.” Carol smiled at him. “Do it soon. She’s running out of time.”
“I’ll talk to her tonight.” The younger Daniel lifted his wine glass to his lips while the older Daniel could only wince.
“I remember that conversation,” Daniel said as Maggie took his hand and led him away from the fireplace, away from the memory. “It didn’t go as I’d hoped.”
“I remember it too. It went a lot like this.” Maggie bent over and blew out one of the candles. Every light in the room went out but for the ones on the Christmas tree. In the darkness, Daniel heard harsh whispering.
“Keep your voice down,” Younger Daniel ordered. “The kids are sleeping downstairs.”
“Yes, let’s worry about the kids,” Maggie from the memory said. “They matter so much more than we do.”
“I never said that.”
“You don’t have to say that. I told you before we got married I didn’t want children. I have my work. I have my life with you. I have everything I need or want. Asking me to have kids is like asking me to take on a second job. Why would I do that when I love my first one so much?”
“But having kids…it’s not supposed to be a job.”
“What would you call something that involved non-stop manual labor, Daniel?”
“Are you actually angry at me for wanting to have children with you?”
“Yes. Yes, I am. It’s not who I am. It’s not what I want. You’re asking me to be someone and something I don’t want to be. How would you feel if all of a sudden I decided I wanted us to be vanilla? No more kink, no more submitting to you in bed…and elsewhere? No more you being in charge in the bedroom?”
Daniel watched his younger self blanch at the question.
“I’d be furious,” he admitted. “And I’d hate every second of it. But it’s not-”
“It is the same thing,” Maggie countered. “Exactly the same thing. Deciding we’re going to be a vanilla couple from now on is just like you asking me to be a mother. It would be a total betrayal of my very self. So either you accept that kids are just not part of our future or I’m not part of your future. What will it be, Daniel? Your decision.”
And Maggie in the memory had fallen silent. And Daniel watched his younger self fall silent too. Neither of them spoke.
Not a single word.
“Close your eyes, Daniel,” Maggie whispered and Daniel obeyed readily wanting to get out of this memory as quickly as possible. When he opened them again, they’d returned to the present, to his living room with his Anya still angry and secluded upstairs in her room.
Daniel could barely meet Maggie’s eyes.
“I hated myself for weeks after that,” Daniel said. “Not for talking to you about having children. But because I didn’t answer when you asked me ‘What will it be?’ I should have answered immediately. I should have said, ‘You, Maggie. No matter what.’ I’m sorry. I’m so, so-”
Maggie stopped his apology with her fingertips on his lips.
“It’s all right. You were upset and hurt and sad. You had dreams, and I crushed them.”
“You had your own dreams that I was asking you to give up.”
“You were. But I stood my ground. That night and every single time we had the fight about kids.”
“We didn’t fight that-”
Maggie snapped her fingers and before Daniel’s eyes a parade of memories flashed.
We’ve discussed this before. I’m done talking about it.
We can adopt. You don’t even have to-
How many times do I have to tell you-
You would be an amazing mother. Once you had a baby, you would-
What? Be miserable?
And on and on it went…seven years of marriage, heated conversations, subdued fights, resentments waxing and waning…
The ghosts of a hundred arguments past went silent and Daniel could only press his hand into his forehead to steady himself.
“You know, if I hadn’t gotten my diagnosis,” Maggie said, gently prying Daniel’s hand off his forehead, “we would have gotten divorced in a couple of years.”
Daniel shook his head. “No. That…no.”
“I’m not conjecturing. I know.” She smiled sadly at him. “I know,” she repeated.
“Divorced…you and me?” Daniel reeled from the very thought of it. They’d had such a good marriage. Divorce seemed utterly inconceivable. And yet…so many fights he’d forgotten. Time had erased all those bad memories.
Maggie sighed. “Divorced. Yes. And the consequences wouldn’t have been pretty.”
“I can’t…” Daniel said. “No. I don’t-”
“But you need to, Darling. You need to see…” Maggie touched his face, closed his eyes for him, and Daniel braced himself.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in Maggie’s office at her Manhattan law firm. She’d been a partner and had made millions in her practice. Her office gleamed with money and success and power.
“Maggie…no…” Daniel whispered as his eyes came into focus. She said nothing, only crossed her arms over her chest like she always did when embarrassed or nervous. Another Maggie sat at her desk. No, not sat. Not really. Slumped over would have been the words Daniel would have used. This Maggie, the divorced-from-Daniel Maggie he’d never met, reeked of alcohol. A dusting of white powder marred the otherwise pristine surface of Maggie’s black desk.
“Jesus, Mags…”
“I never told you that in my late twenties I had a little bit of a drug problem. Manhattan law firm. High-powered. High stress. Me trying to deal with all the pressure. I indulged more often than I should have. Behaved much better in my thirties. But after you and I divorced I threw myself into my work and all those old bad habits came back.”
Daniel said nothing. He walked around the desk to get a closer look at this Maggie he’d never met before. One tiny drop of blood had leaked from her nose and onto a contact.
“She’s alive.” Maggie nodded at herself. “Physically, at least. Emotionally, spiritually…gone. It’s Christmas Eve and this Maggie is supposed to be auditing a contract. But this Maggie will work herself into an early grave by age fifty. She won’t need cancer to kill her. She’ll do it to herself.”
Daniel knelt by her chair. He started to touch her hair but pulled his hand back.
“She’s not real.” Daniel stood up and walked back to his Maggie. “I refuse to believe she’s real.”
“She’s not. She’s merely a shadow of what could have been. Let me show you another shadow.”
“Whose?”
Maggie exhaled heavily.
With a single blink Daniel disappeared from the penthouse office and discovered he now stood in a cramped and dingy apartment. Glancing out the window he saw narrow brownstone houses, trash in bags piled high on the street, plastic faded Santa Clauses illuminating the dirty front porches. It appeared to be Queens or the Bronx maybe.
“Where I am?” Daniel asked. He’d never set foot in this place before.
“Home sweet home. After we divorced you refused a cent of alimony from me. You took the first library job you could get. Small branch in the Bronx. You spent most of your days at work trying to keep homeless people from moving into the bathrooms.”
Daniel shrugged. “At least I’m working in my field. Sort of.”
“You took the first job you could find after our divorce. And married the first woman you dated after our divorce.”
“I did?” Daniel stared at Maggie in shock. She nodded.
“You did. A page at the library named Mara. A couple years younger than you but already with two small children.”
At that Daniel had to smile. “I’m a step-father?”
“You were a step-father. The marriage lasted about six months. You bonded with the kids far more than the mother. Mara was jealous that you seemed to love them more than her. And you did. Vanilla woman, wouldn’t even consider any D/s in the bedroom much less anything kinkier. She left you and took the kids, and this is your Christmas two years after our divorce.”
Daniel heard a key in the door and saw a different version of himself come in. That Daniel looked tired, haggard, older than he had any right to. In his hands he carried a bag of Chinese take-out.
“Your family in Canada invited you back home for Christmas. You had too much pride to tell them you couldn’t afford the airfare this year. You lied and said you had a new girlfriend and wanted to spend Christmas with her. But it’s just you alone with Chinese food. It’ll be the same Christmas after Christmas. You’ll give up on love, on marriage, on your dreams of fatherhood. And this will be you until you die…”
Daniel watched himself sink into a battered arm chair and turn on the television to an American football game. He didn’t even like American football. But it was noise, light, movement…Dozens of women during his life had told him he was sexy, handsome…he’d even gotten gorgeous a time or two. But this Daniel had gone soft around the stomach, a heavily-lined face, and nothing in those blue eyes of his so many women had swooned over. Nothing at all.
“I’m a wreck.”
“Yes, you are. At least you don’t have a nose full of coke and a fridge full of vodka.”
Daniel looked at Maggie.
“You’re telling me that it’s for the best you died of cancer? I can’t…I won’t believe that.”
Maggie gave him a look of deepest compassion.
“I’m telling you that things happen for a reason. Even the bad things. That’s all.”
Daniel turned away from the vision of himself.
“Can’t you show me something good? Something that doesn’t make me feel like throwing up? Please, Mags?”
Maggie took his hands again and kissed his now bare ring finger.
“I can show you something absolutely beautiful if you really want to see it.”
“I do. Please let me see something beautiful. A good Christmas memory. We had as many of those as the bad ones. Didn’t we?”
“We did, my Love. We absolutely did. But I won’t show you a good memory of us. Not yet anyway.”
“What could be more beautiful than you and I having a good Christmas together?”
Maggie raised her hand, snapped her fingers, and Daniel now stood outside the bedroom where Anya had hidden herself away from him.
“What your Anya is doing right now.”
Maggie pointed at the door and Daniel looked at her in embarrassment.
“She locked me out.”
“Smart girl. You need locked out every now and then so you can get your head on straight. But she didn’t lock me out.”
“I hope you’ve got a key then.”
“Oh, Daniel…” Maggie said, clicking her tongue. “Where I’m from we don’t need keys…”
And with that she took him by the hand and swept them both right through the door.
Daniel’s heart tightened in his chest at the sight that greeted him. Anya had taken the blanket off the bed and wrapped herself in it for warmth. In the corner of the bedroom she huddled on the floor next to the heating vent, a telephone pressed to her ear with her grey furball of a cat, Leonard, curled up at her feet.
“Anya.” Daniel spoke her name softly and stepped toward her. “Sweetheart, I’m so-”
“She can’t hear you, remember?” Maggie took him gently by the wrist. “We’re not really here.”
“She’s got to be cold. Of course she’d pick the coldest room in the house to hide in.”
“Crying women with breaking hearts don’t always make the best decisions, Daniel. Remember when we got into that fight on our fifth anniversary and I ended up backing the car into a duck pond?”
“That one duck is still in physical therapy because of you.”
Maggie grinned at him. “Exactly. Now shush and listen. I’ll translate if you need me to.”
Back in the old days, Maggie would have gotten The Ouch for telling him to “shush.” The Ouch had been her name for a particularly vicious stare Daniel would given her when either annoyed with her or, even better, pretending to be annoyed with her for the purposes of inflicting erotic punishments. She always called it The Ouch because whenever she saw it, she knew she’d be in pain the next day.
But now Daniel couldn’t take his eyes off Anya long enough to give Maggie The Ouch. His little girl looked miserable…the blanket pulled tight around her, and her beautiful face lined with dried tears. It killed him that he couldn’t gather her in his arms and hold her until she felt warm and safe and loved again.
“It’s okay, my Love,” Maggie whispered to him as she squeezed his arm. “Where I am, there’s no pain, no pettiness, no sorrow or jealousy. It doesn’t hurt me to see you look at her.”
Daniel smiled at Maggie and his heart swelled with his old love for her. It felt comfortable and warm like his favorite pair of jeans pulled straight from the dryer. His new love for Anya felt completely different. It scared him, exhilarated him, dug into him like fingernails in his back.
Kneeling down next to Anya, Daniel studied her face as he listened to her soft voice speaking into the phone. He’d had to learn French and learn it quickly once he and Anya had gotten together. His little spitfire Québécoise lover took a little too much pleasure in correcting his errors. She took so much pleasure in it that he started correcting any and all of her mistakes with English. The wooden ruler he kept in his office and her perfect round bottom had gotten very well acquainted.
“Did everything arrive in time?” Anya whispered. “We had a heavy snow, and I couldn’t walk to the post office for a few days.”
She paused and someone on the other end answered her.
“Who is she talking to?” Daniel asked Maggie.
“Here…” Maggie said. “This might help.”
Daniel watched as Maggie reached out and touched a large mirror hanging on the wall. The image in the glass wavered and turned into a new picture. A young man stood in the middle of a narrow hallway holding a cordless phone to his ear. He had shaggy auburn hair and pale skin, hazel eyes, and a face that would turn handsome in a year or two once he put on a little weight.
“That’s Etienne, Anya’s brother. Haven’t met him yet. Just saw a picture.”
“He’s the guardian of the family now with Anya in America. Their father is useless,” Maggie explained.
“Anya told me the same thing.” Daniel looked back at Anya on the floor. In the mirror Etienne walked down the hallway to a living room. A small tree barely three feet high with only one sad strand of white lights decorating it stood guard over a mountain of presents wrapped in elegant silver and gold paper.
“I can’t believe you were able to afford all this,” Etienne said staring at the presents. “How did you do it?”
“Daniel asked me to stay with him. With the money I saved on rent I could buy the presents.”
Etienne winced. “I would rather you hadn’t gotten the presents. I don’t trust rich men.”
“He’s a good man,” Anya protested. “Very good. The best. And he’s so kind to me. And so handsome I can’t…nevermind.” She smiled a little no doubt realizing her brother was the last person on the planet who’d want to hear about her attraction to her boyfriend.
“If he’s so kind to you then why do you keep so much from him? Hmm? Did he know you had a mountain of presents to mail when you walked them to the post office?”
Anya grimaced. “He would have driven me if I’d asked. But if he’d seen the presents he would have wanted to know where the money came from. And if I told him it was all I had, then he would have made me let him pay for them.”
“You should have let him if he has that kind of money.”
“I have some pride, Etienne.”
“Too much pride, Anya.”
“I have to agree with Etienne,” Daniel said, wanting to badly to touch Anya. He was here, alive, unlike Maggie. Why couldn’t she see him? Why couldn’t he hold her? “The girl is 90% pride and 10% spite.”
“And 100% in love with you.” Maggie grinned at him.
“I like that kind of math.” Daniel turned his attention back to Anya. Of course the girl took every last cent she had and spent it on her six younger siblings. He should have known, should have helped. He’d been so caught up in finding the perfect engagement ring, creating the perfect Christmas for the two of them that he’d forgotten she had her family back in Quebec that she worried constantly about. What else was she keeping from him?
“Are the little ones asleep?” Anya asked, tucking the blanket tighter around her.
“It’s Christmas Eve,” Etienne said with a roguish grin. Oh yeah, Daniel realized. That kid was going to be a heartbreaker. Better keep Kingsley away from him. “Of course they aren’t sleeping.”
“Can I talk to them?”
“They’d never forgive you if you didn’t. They’re all in Camille’s room trying to get her to sleep.”
Etienne carried the phone back down the hallway. Daniel winced at the sight of the house. House? It looked more like a two, maybe three bedroom apartment. Small, cramped, dark and dismal. Old carpet, stained walls. The place looked clean but only the presents under the tree gave any hint that love lived in the home.
Inside the mirror, Etienne opened a door to a tiny room that held twin beds. Children aged between eight and fourteen piled on top of or around the bed. The smallest girl, Camille, clung to a pink elephant stuffed toy and whispered to one of her sisters.
“Beautiful family,” Maggie said and Daniel saw his late wife smiling at the children. “I do love kids. Other people’s kids. Just never wanted any of my own.”
“I did,” Daniel said with a sigh. “So much. I loved the thought of taking care of these little people who couldn’t take care of themselves.”
“You always took such good care of me. You’ll make a wonderful father someday. I’m sure of it.”
“If that day ever comes…” Daniel watched the scene in the mirror. Etienne entered and told them Anya was on the phone. Smiles crossed all the faces, but Camille lunged for the phone and ripped it from Etienne’s hand.
“Anya?”
“Hello, my little monkey,” Anya said and Camille giggled. “Are you ready for Santa Claus?”
Camille’s small, sweet face clouded over. “Papa said he wasn’t coming this year.”
“Don’t listen to Papa,” Anya said. “He’s on the Naughty List. You listen to me. Santa’s coming for all of you. He told me so.”
“He did?”
“Yes. Santa spends a lot of time Christmas shopping in New York City.”
“That’s where you live.”
“I did live there. Now I’m in a big house out in the country. It’s so pretty.” Anya wiped a tear off her face. Daniel could hear the pain in her voice beneath the forced levity.
“Can I come visit you?”
Anya’s eyes seemed to flinch at the question.
“I’ll come visit you first. I miss you. All of you.”
Camille sighed heavily and sadly, far too sadly for a child so small. Daniel wanted to pick the little girl up and hold her in his arms and tell her silly stories until she smiled again.
“I miss you too. Nobody’s here to sing to me.”
Anya gasped loudly in feigned shock.
“Not even Etienne? He won’t sing to you?”
Camille shook her head. “He says he can’t sing or it’ll ruin Christmas for everybody.”
“He’s right about that actually,” Anya said and Daniel chuckled. “But I can sing to you if you’ll get into bed and turn out the lights. Promise?”
“Promise, promise,” Camille pledged, solemn as a judge. She told Etienne that Anya was going to sing to her. Etienne took the phone from her hand and pushed a button to turn the speakerphone on. All the kids gathered even closer to the bed. Camille laid her head down on the pillow and pulled her pink elephant in close, holding him by his fuzzy foot.
Anya cleared her throat and closed her eyes. Quietly in a voice both melodic and tremulous, she began to sing an ancient carol in her native language.
“The first Noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay…”
Daniel’s throat tightened at the sweet sound of Anya’s singing voice. Rarely had he heard her singing before and never like this, never to soothe a child on Christmas Eve.
All of Anya’s brothers and sisters listened intently to the words. Until the chorus when the two older girls, Aimee and Nicole, began to sing along.
“Noel…Noel…Noel…Noel… born is the King of Israel…”
“She has a beautiful voice,” Maggie said, her voice nearly a whisper.
“And a beautiful heart…” Daniel stood up. It physically hurt not being able to touch Anya and comfort her. Her grumpy grey cat Leonard slept at her feet but couldn’t do much for her other than help keep her toes warm.
“She does have a beautiful heart. And soul. And face and body,” Maggie teased. “You’re lucky. She’s a catch. But then again, so are you.”
“I don’t feel like much of one right now.” In fact, Daniel felt horrible. He’d made Anya question his love for her and on Christmas Eve of all days.
“Come here. I want to show you one more thing.” Maggie tugged on his arm and Daniel reluctantly let her lead him away. He didn’t want to leave Anya. Not now. Not ever. But since he couldn’t help her, couldn’t talk to her, it was best to just leave until he could again.
Maggie took him from the guest bedroom and down to the living room, back to the Christmas tree.
“Beautiful tree. She did a good job decorating it.” Maggie nodded her approval.
“She’s a designer. You should see the clothes she makes for herself.”
“She made an all new wardrobe for her sisters for Christmas.”
Daniel stared at Maggie.
“What?” Maggie asked. “I peeked.”
“That girl amazes me sometimes. Who am I kidding? She amazes me all the time.”
Maggie only smiled into the tree. She reached up and lightly touched the little sock monkey ornament.
“A young woman named Eleanor gave that to me,” Daniel said. “She’s an-”
“Oh, I know exactly who Eleanor is.” Maggie’s eyes widened. “I know who she is even better than you do. You just thank your lucky stars you didn’t end up with that one.”
“Well, I know she doesn’t want kids either.”
“Least of your worries, I promise. Her future…” Maggie whistled through her teeth. “Let’s just say it gets…interesting. But I won’t say any more. I’d hate to ruin the surprise for you. I’m almost out of time anyway. And there’s something else you need to see.”
Daniel’s heart clenched at her words “out of time.” He wasn’t ready to let her go again. Not now. Not ever.
“Nothing much,” she said with a sly smile. “Only this.”
Maggie waved her hand and the living room exploded with light and sound once more. Daniel heard laughter and music. Voices everywhere speaking French and English. Spinning around he saw a room full of children and teenagers wrapping and unwrapping gifts. And in the middle of it stood Anya looking beautiful and flushed and frazzled.
“Where are we?” Daniel asked before realizing the absurdity of the question. “I mean…when are we?”
“One possible future. You’ve invited Anya’s siblings to come for Christmas. Anya’s never been happier.”
Daniel watched as another version of him came into the living room, Camille slung over his shoulder.
“Did anyone ask for a Camille for Christmas?” Daniel bellowed to the room. “Santa left her on the front porch. Anyone?”
“I did!” Anya came and to him and took a squealing, giggling Camille from his arms. “I wanted a Camille to do my dishes for me. And cook. And clean. And brush Leonard and scoop his poop.”
“No! No! No! Not poop!” Camille cried out in giggles. “Give me back to Santa!”
Daniel couldn’t stop staring at the other version of himself, the future version. He looked like an idiot, grinning from ear to ear like that as he gazed at the room full of children and Anya beaming like a new bride. New bride? Daniel glanced at future Anya’s hand and saw his engagement ring shining on it. In this version of the future, he’d asked her to marry him and she’d said yes. He liked this version of the future. Whatever it took, he’d make it happen.
“I’ve never seen you look happier either,” Maggie said. “Not even on our wedding day.”
“I was terrified on our wedding day.”
“Thought you were making a mistake?” Maggie asked with a wink.
“Thought you were.”
“Marrying you was the smartest thing I ever did.” Maggie waved her hand and the lights dimmed, the laughter died, and the future faded away. Once more they stood in the quiet, Christmas tree-lit present.
“We were good together, you and I.” Daniel took her into his arms and held her close. He felt her fading on him already and refused to let her go. Not just yet anyway.
“Better than good.” Maggie relaxed into his arms and slowly swayed. “I can sing too, if you recall.” Softly she hummed an old favorite Christmas song of his.
“Have yourself a Merry little Christmas…” Maggie sang into his ear in a voice lower and huskier than Anya’s, but no less beautiful.
“Not this one,” Daniel begged, spinning Maggie as she sang. “This one’s so depressing.”
“No it isn’t. It’s just honest,” she protested. “Through the years we all will be together…if the fates allow…”
“The fates didn’t allow,” Daniel said as he pulled her tight to him. “I wish they had sometimes.”
“I know, my Love. I know you do. And I did too once upon a time. But the fates had other plans for us. And in time you’ll be standing where I am and the whole course of your life will stretch out before you like an open scroll…and you’ll see and understand. And then you will be grateful things happened as they did. I promise.”
“I believe you. I do. Only it’s hard…hard to believe.” He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of vanilla on Maggie’s hair.
“I know it is. It’s like trying to see in the dark. But someday you’ll stand in the light.”
“And we’ll be back together?” he asked, hoping in some way he would be reunited with Maggie, with everyone he’d ever loved and lost.
Maggie smiled once more at him. One more smile. One more wink. One more soft kiss on his lips.
“If the fates allow,” she whispered.
And then she was gone.
Daniel started, stunned by her sudden departure. “Maggie?” he called out and heard no answer.
A mantle of sadness settled over him. Gone…once more she had left him before he was ready. He sat back down onto the chair. The box of Tiffany blue rested on the arm of the chair. In his hand he held the little box tight and knew what he would do. But not yet. Not quite yet. Not until morning.
Sleep came for him as he relaxed into the chair. Visions of Christmases future danced in his head. He and Anya…they would get married and they would be happy together. And all her brothers and sisters would come live with them and he would finally have the house full of children he’d always wanted. And it wouldn’t matter once bit they weren’t his own children. He would make them his children by loving and treating them like the father they deserved. They would sit at his feet and listen to stories he would read them. Even now he could feel Camille’s chin on his knee.
“Monsieur…you’ll hurt you neck if you sleep like that.”
Daniel slowly opened his eyes. Sunlight and snowlight filled the room. And Anya, his beautiful Anya sat at his feet.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t sleep in this chair. I’ll get a permanent crick in my neck if I do.”
He reached down and pulled Anya off the floor and into her arms.
“What are you doing?” she demanded as she wiggled on his lap.
“Playing Santa. Tell me what you want for Christmas.”
“It’s Christmas morning,” she reminded him. “Shouldn’t we have had this talk weeks ago?”
“Just tell me. We’ll see what Christmas miracles I have in my pocket.”
Anya sighed as she rested against him. Nothing felt better than Anya’s head on his shoulder.
She raised her hand and touched his face, his lips.
“I have you. There’s nothing more I want or need.”
Daniel’s chest tightened. He knew he should be on his knee for this but it felt so much more natural to have Anya on his.
“Not even this?” He held up the Tiffany box and laid it in the center of her palm. Her eyes went wide as the sky when she opened the box.
“But…” she started to protest and Daniel stopped her mouth with a kiss.
“But nothing. Marry me, Anya. That’s an order.”
He took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. Tears flooded her face as she threw her arms around him.
“Yes, Sir,” she breathed in his ear.
“Good girl.” Those two words were all he could push past his throat. He’d never been so relieved in his life.
For a few minutes they merely held each other and cried and laughed and kissed. But finally Daniel came to himself enough to start teasing her again. He couldn’t go five minutes without teasing her.
“Now that ring cost a fortune. So I expect something equally valuable right now in return as my Christmas gift. Pay up.”
Anya blushed from ear to ear.
“I have a present for you. I do.”
“Good. Go get it. I want it. If it’s not at least twelve pairs of new socks, you will be roundly punished until next Christmas.”
“I can’t go get it,” she said, nervously turning the new ring on her finger. “It’ll be late.”
“Shipping problems are unacceptable. No excuses. How late are we talking?”
Anya took his hand and kissed it before she slowly settled it flat onto her stomach.
“A little less than nine months.”
Merry Christmas, Everyone. All my readers and friends are presents to me every single day. I have all I need or want in the people I know and love. I hope we’re all together for years to come. If the fates allow…
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New Season, New Opportunities
Freshman overcome hurdles and gain new experiences in signing up for their first high school sport
Freshman Alyssa Rask participates in a club gymnastics tournament, but will be making a switch to the TJ gymnastics team this season.
Annika Duneja, Staff Writer
Filed under Features, New on tjTODAY
It’s that time of year again, when the days get shorter, the homework load gets bigger, and some freshman decide that maybe they are ready to do their first high school sport.
When we were younger, many of us watched movies of stereotypical high school students flipping on beams and rushing at each other in the wrestling ring, wondering when it will be our turn to the same in high school. Now that we have our chance to be part of a school sports team, what do we have to look forward to?
For many freshmen, the winter season provides a whole new set of sports to try out, including indoor track, wrestling, basketball, and gymnastics. Freshman Felix Cherkasskiy, who is doing wrestling for the first time this winter, looks forward to improving his skills and strength and participating in matches.
There are many differences between doing club and high school sports, which is a cause of worry for many freshmen. Freshman Alyssa Rask, who just joined the gymnastics team has these fears as well.
“There are a lot more jumps involved on the beam, and in club gymnastics, there’s not as many, so there are all these new requirements that I’ve never had to do before,” Rask said. “If you do a skill that is high difficulty in club gymnastics, then you don’t get extra points, but in high school, your points are based on the difficulty of your skills.”
For some, it’s also a strange experience to have their sports and school life collide. Instead of those two things being separate, some could be lifting weights with the same people they eat lunch with.
“It’s different because I’m different in school than I am in gymnastics, so it’s like my teammates know me both in school and during the sport, and it will be a different team experience,” Rask said.
Though Cherkasskiy is eager to participate in his first sport at Jefferson, he is worried about not being able to carry the weight of both school work and the time commitment that comes with doing a sport.
“I am mostly worried about how much [wrestling] is conflicting with my after school activities. I find myself missing many practices or having to drastically change my schedule,” Cherkasskiy said.
However, at the same time doing a sport can push people to be able to effectively do work in a short amount of time. High school sports go on for two and a half hours after school, so most students only get home at 7pm, drastically cutting down the time they have for homework. This means that when they do get work, they have no choice but to either do it ahead of time or do it quickly without any procrastinating and distractions.
“People have said that those who do sports tend to be better at time management, because they don’t have as much time to get work done,” Rask said.
Either way, whatever view people have on the hardships of doing winter sports, it is a fun way for freshmen to be involved in non-academic school activities and meet people with the same interest in certain sports as them after spending a quarter settling into the school.
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Sport / Golf
Monty needs ample refreshment after a frustrating day on the Old Course
by Steve Scott
July 27 2018, 10.07pm
Colin Montgomerie in a lighter mood early in his second round at the Senior Open.
Colin Montgomerie needed some refreshment and comfort, it seemed, for his frustrations between his round and the Q&A with Andy Nicol in the Senior Open tented village just after he walked off the course.
On the face of it a 68 to get back into the championship at five-under – eventually just three off the lead – didn’t seem bad at all. But with a double ice-cream cone in one hand and a pint in the other, it was obvious Monty was in need of something restorative .
“Bloody awful” was his verdict, to launch into one of those vintage Monty post-round press huddles when you’re never totally sure whether he’s joking or being serious, and usually it’s a bit of both.
“I was four-under through eight and had 10 chances, missed them all,” he said. “It was golden opportunity to get going today and I didn’t do it.”
Further references to “it’s all negative in my world” and “there’s a wee black cloud that follows me around”, probably showed he was still feeling those two dreadful lies in the Wig and Road bunkers that cost him three strokes in two holes on Thursday night.
He also made reference to “the German” who had just left the first tee as he arrived. “The wind usually drops when he starts”, he bemoaned (actually, it didn’t).
“Langer is going to plot his way around, he doesn’t make mistakes,” he said. “But we wish him well because we love him and he hasn’t won for a while, has he?”
His frustrations were not that well disguised by the jokes, however.
“I’ve never played better here from tee to green,” he said. “I hit the ball exactly where I wanted to at most holes, but I didn’t hole out at all.
“You’ve got to take your chances to win these, because unfortunately someone here will. I’ve left myself a lot to do.” Just three shots off the lead was maybe not as much as he had imagined.
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Colin Montgomerie
Old Course St Andrews
Senior Open presented by Rolex
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