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These are the requirements imposed on any event using the OWASP brand. All Events must with and Conference .
These are the requirements imposed on any event using the OWASP brand.
:Global Committee
Revision as of 12:17, 1 March 2011
Our intent in posting these guidelines at the OWASP web site is to give conference planners something more than "Good Luck" as they prepare to host an event. While it is almost impossible to cover EVERY detail of planning, we think we have put together a fairly comprehensive series of recommendations. Just ask anyone who has put together an event of any size and they will tell you it's hard work, but can also be a lot of fun. We are an open community, so your peers are often a great resource. Refer to some of the other conference pages and contact the conference planners directly for advice. Different types of OWASP Events (see the Event Definition tab) have a few requirements imposed on them. See the requirements tab for details.
We've also prepared a Conference Planning Table that summarizes these guidelines and gives you a check sheet to use as you plan your conference.
The Global Conferences Committee is responsible for coordinating all OWASP conferences and events. If you have any questions or comments feel free to ask them at email@example.com
Overall OWASP Conferences Chair is (Eoin Keary & Dave Wichers)
Global Conference Committee Chair is Mark Bristow
OWASP Operations Director is Kate Hartmann
Event Definition
All OWASP events will fall into one of the following categories. If you are unsure as to what types of event you would like to plan contact the Global Conferences Committee and they will be able to help you set your scope. Please also note that various types of events have some requirements set for them, see the requirements tab for details
OWASP Global AppSec Conference
These conferences are the flagship of the OWASP outreach effort. This will be an international conference sponsored by OWASP and approved by the Global Conferences Committee. AppSec Conferences include multiple days of multi-track plenary sessions in addition to pre-conference training offerings. AppSec Conferences, schedules, and trainings must be approved by the OWASP Global Conference Committee and will receive the full support of the OWASP Foundation. In any calendar year, there will be no more than 4 AppSec Conferences of this size. Locations will be determined the prior year and planning must begin at a minimum of 12 months in advance.
OWASP Regional/Theme Conference
Regional/Theme conferences typically have lower attendance than AppSec conferences and typically include multiple days of single track plenary sessions. Training may or may not be offered at the discretion of the regional conference planning team. Regional conferences are not subject to the same rigor as AppSec conferences in terms of planning and only require the local planning team de-conflict scheduling with the Global Conferences Committee with occasional status updates at GCC Meetings (can be provided in writing). Regional conferences are encouraged to have a unique theme (development, Research, PHP, Government, Browsers...) to help differentiate them, although this is not required. Regional teams are free to brand their conference as they wish, as long as the OWASP affiliation is maintained, with the exception of the moniker "OWASP Global AppSec" which is reserved only for Global AppSec conferences. OWASP Foundation support may be available for large expenses at the discretion of the Global Conference Committee.
OWASP Events
Events are typically single day or "OWASP Day" type events that are generally local in nature. Events typically have only one track and span anywhere from a half to a full day. Planning for these events are at the sole discretion of the event team and may be branded in any manner so long as the OWASP affiliation is maintained. In general, significant OWASP Foundation support will not be available for these events.
Local host chapters will share in OWASP event profits under the following schedule. In the case of multiple host chapters, the host chapters will be responsible for determining the division before the event. More detail can be found on the Global Conference Committee Policies page.
- Global AppSec Conference - 25% of event profits with a $5,000 USD cap ($10,000 for multi-chapter events)
- Regional/Theme Events - 30% of event profits with a $4,000 USD cap
- Local Events - 50% of profits with a $3000 USD cap
Board Member Role
The OWASP Board will make every effort to have at least one OWASP Board Member in attendance at each AppSec conference. The Board Member will…
- Provide a keynote or other address on OWASP, our goals, vision, strategy, ethics, projects, membership, and progress. The goal is to introduce attendees to OWASP and our culture, describe membership program, attract contributors, and inspire people about the importance of application security.
- Ensure that OWASP principles and ethics are upheld in all aspects of the prosecution of the conference. In particular, ensure that OWASP's brand is not misused by commercial entities.
- Provide logistical support and the ability to make quick decisions on the ground (within reason) without having a formal board meeting and decision process.
- Serve as a lightning rod for any issues, problems, suggestions or praise that anyone wants to provide about OWASP and bring them to the appropriate committee or OWASP Board.
- Assess the general operation of the local/regional OWASP organization, chapters, sponsors, leaders, and contributors. The goal is to use this information to strategize how to grow OWASP's presence in the region and support the local leadership.
- Meet with local leaders from OWASP, government, vendors, and industry to get them to understand why application security is important and joining with OWASP makes sense.
The amount of planning, committee work, advance deadlines, etc., in part depends on the size conference you are planning. A general rule is to allow about a month for every 20 participants. For example, if you are expecting 200 attendees, you should begin to prepare at least 10 months in advance.
The general dates and time of the conference should be suggested by local variables as well as OWASP speaker availability. For example, it may not be a good idea to plan a conference in Wisconsin in January or Texas in August due to potential weather conditions. Check the OWASP conference schedule to make sure there are not any conflicting events. If you plan to invite out of town speakers, it's best to arrange them months in advance. Good speakers and instructors are often booked up to a year in advance.
Consider the size and scope of your conference. Small groups can be hosted nearly any time. But larger groups will require housing, transportation, and food services that might conflict with other events. Make sure to check the local community events to ensure there will be adequate accessibility to these needs.
Having a cohesive, comprehensive plan for your event is key to the success of your event. While all plans change it is important to consider all of the elements listed in the following tabs when developing your conference planning package.
Once you have developed your plan submit it to the Global Conferences Committee for review and consideration.
Conference Committee
While there is no requirement to organize your conference's committee in any particular way, these structures have worked for successful conferences in the past. It's important to organize a conference committee as early as possible. It is recommended that you establish regular planning/reporting meetings and set up email lists. Always make it clear who is supposed to do what and when. Keep minutes/notes of your meetings and use them to follow up. The more you communicate with each other, the less likely you'll have slip ups.
It is important that the conference committee be predominately comprised of a local team that is able to act locally to speed up and help in all activities related to the conference venue and local services. Planning a conference entirely from a remote location is a challenging job and is NOT recommended. Events without local support are unlikely to get Global Conferences Committee approval.
Conference Organizers
This should be a relatively small group (recommend 3) who are the core organizers of the conference. This group is the "executive leadership" for the conference. There is a tendency for one person to lead a conference, or for this group to be fairly large. experience indicates that one person is likely unable to handle all of the decisions that will be required for managing a successful conference while having too many causes the issue of inaction by committee. In the initial stages, these are the people who will be doing the heavy lifting while the rest of the committee comes into place. It's recommended that specific organizers be initially tasked into the following:
- One of the principle organizers should be designated as responsible for the budget. It is important to reconcile any decisions with the budget as well as keep it up to date. Conferences are the lifeblood of OWASP's financial picture so it's important that they be managed well.
- One organizer should be devoted to developing partnerships/sponsorship leads for the conference. It's important to determine if the conference will be partnering with any local organizations or governments up front and to manage that relationship. Additionally getting sponsorships early will greatly help keep the conference fiscally responsible
- The last organizer should be devoted to facilities. The first step in planning a conference is to develop a contract with the conference facility. There are many things to consider while working this process and it requires dedicated attention. Please do keep in mind however that organizers may not sign contracts, only officers of OWASP (The Board) may obligate the foundation legally.
Functional Leaders
In the past it has been helpful to appoint functional leaders for the conference. These volunteers are typically assigned a specific area of responsibility to work in conjunction with the principle organizer's efforts.
- Sponsors -- To augment the activities of the principal organizer assigned to this task, it's important to assign someone to sponsorships right away. This task will involve a lot of email, conference calls, and footwork and needs all the help it can get.
- Security -- Checking credentials at the entrance to convention only areas and controlling access to convention events. There will be licensed security personnel onsite to handle and "real" security issues should they arise, volunteers are not expected to put themselves in any jeopardy as security staff.
- Speakers -- Helping Speakers and Trainers get to and from their assigned areas, and making sure that they have the resources that they need to do their tasks. Will also interface with the facilities team if any facilities issues arise and need to be remedied.
- Registration/Info Desk/Merch -- Helping run the registration and "Front Desk" functions of the conference. This may also expand to running an Information Desk functionality and/or helping sell merchandise.
- Facilities -- Helping run the "behind the scenes" of the conference. This will mainly be overseeing the various contractors and vendors hired to provide services for the conference, and acting as a liaison between the convention center, contractors, exhibitors and the rest of the conference.
- Volunteers -- Getting a small army is hard to do
Program Committee
You need a group of people to review the papers you will receive.
Good criteria to select Program Committee members include their involvement in OWASP activities (e.g projects, conferences, mailing lists). Selecting people already involved with OWASP helps choosing proposals that are aligned with OWASP's values.
Trainer Evaluators
You need a group of people to review the training proposals you will receive.
Good criteria to select Trainer Evaluators include their involvement in OWASP activities (e.g projects, conferences, mailing lists). Selecting people already involved with OWASP helps choosing proposals that are aligned with OWASP's values.
Remember that the foundation does have some personnel who can help with the conference planning. While it's important not to over-leverage these people, do include them as often as they can support as their insight and experience will be invaluable.
The OWASP Conference Budget Planning Tool has been developed by the Global Conferences Committee to assist in the budget planning process. The tool was originally designed for AppSec conferences but can be used for a conference of any size. When submitting a budget to the GCC, you are required to use this format.
Attendees should be expected to pay their registration fees in advance. This helps provide an accurate picture of the number who will attend because the attendees are more committed to attending. You can consider a slightly higher fee for late registrations or registrations onsite, if your food and facilities planning can handle extra last-minute registrations.
Your conference costs should be handled through the Foundation. Sponsorship funds, venue deposits, travel reimbursements, printing, etc will be managed for you. This allows you to focus more on the event content! Contact Kate Hartmann as soon as possible to get this set up. Don't minimize the importance of a detailed accounting of your conference funds. Setting things up right before you begin to receive registrations fees can make things a lot easier during and after the conference.
Things to Consider
- Shipment of OWASP products will come out of the conference budget
- Conferences are expected to provide travel for at least one board member
- Be sure to budget for fliers, signage and schwag
Profit Sharing
Local host chapters will share in OWASP event profits under the following schedule. In the case of multiple host chapters, the host chapters will be responsible for determining the division before the event. More detail can be found on the Global Conference Committee Policies page.
- Global AppSec Conference - 25% of event profits with a $5,000 USD cap ($10,000 for multi-chapter events)
- Regional/Theme Events - 30% of event profits with a $4,000 USD cap
- Local Events - 50% of profits with a $3000 USD cap
Obtaining sponsorship is essential to the success of your event. Without financial input from vendors to cover costs of food, venue, giveaways, and everything else, your event will inevitably fail. The following document has been prepared to assist you in convincing vendors to give you money. Please tailor the document to suit your event and forward it to any and all potential sponsors.
It is important to have completed your budget early so you can correctly estimate the amount of sponsorship you will need.
Sponsor Displays
If you plan to have an exhibit hall it must be easily accessible and must have adequate space to accommodate vendor booths. There may be costs associated with such a hall. Some facilities require that their own people set things up. Make sure you know what is included with any rental costs, and what you may have to pay extra for.
Make sure that there is adequate time for attendees to visit the exhibits and to talk with vendors. Directing breaks and snacks into the vendor expo will encourage participants to visit the exhibits. Depending on the benefits to the vendors, you may ask that they pay for exhibit space, or leverage their participation by asking them to sponsor one or more conference activities (reception, meal, etc.).
One of your very first items of business should be to reserve necessary rooms for plenary sessions, breakout sessions, classroom sessions, tech expo, breaks, receptions, and conference headquarters/registration.
Adapt your conference to the facilities you have available. For example, good plenary sessions can be better than breakout sessions that don't have adequate facilities. To the extent that you can, schedule conference sessions in rooms that have basic AV equipment (overhead projectors and screens, for example). If the rooms already have computers and computer/video projection, that's even better. Then assign conference sessions to the appropriate rooms.
Try to keep conference costs down by using rooms that are free. Again, this may require some adapting or negotiating. Partnering with a local university is a great way to obtain free space.
A contract to secure your venue is critical. Only a member of the Board can enter into a contract on behalf of OWASP!!! Please forward contracts to be signed to Kate Hartmann for signatures.
Training rooms will require space to accommodate generally 10-30 students per class.
International meetings usually have a general theme. However, for regional meetings, you may want to choose a theme that reflects your chapter's particular strengths or interests.
A good program is critical. Look for variety, interest, timeliness. What do your members need or want to leave with? Try to balance lectures with discussions, hands on, social activities, and time for colleague interaction.
While is is acceptable to target individuals/companies to solicit content, in keeping with the OWASP value of openness, all Call for Papers and Call for Training must be open to all to submit. Calls for Papers or Training must be at a minimum announced on the conference Wiki page.
A general call for presenters should have a deadline that gives you ample time to recruit and to fill in gaps should you not get all the good proposals you need. Network with other members of your organization to identify people who might be invited to make presentations. Immediately after the deadline, begin organizing the conference schedule. Select the proposals you want to use and contact them to verify their availability. Create a tentative schedule, matching presenters to the facilities. You may want to lay out your schedule on a whiteboard, or use 3x5 cards on a corkboard so you can visualize how things fit together. Make sure you plan time for attendees to talk with each other, such as at breaks, before and after dinners, at receptions, etc.
Send a formal acceptance note to each participant, and ask them to confirm by sending an abstract (if you didn't get that as part of their submission) and submitting a request for any special equipment (AV, computer, etc.)
Also note that according to the standard OWASP Speaker Agreement, presenters must submit their presentations (in Powerpoint format) at least 60 days prior to the conference. Submissions should be uploaded to OWASP Presentations after the event.
Consider a CFP system to manage submissions such as EasyChair (it is free) http://www.easychair.org, or OpenConf (free and pro-version) http://www.openconf.com.
Additionally, each OWASP Conference is required to solicit a board member to provide a welcoming or keynote address. This shows foundation endorsement of the local team ensures a consistent OWASP message.
If you are offering training at your event the Call For Training proposal template should help you issue a call for training. While you are welcome to target training organizations, remember to ensure that the call for training be publicly available so that all my propose classes.
Training revenues are to be split 60/40 with 60% of the revenue going to OWASP and 40% going to the trainer. OWASP will provide the facilities, promotion, A/V equipment, and refreshments for all training. Trainers are responsible for travel/accommodations for the training staff, all training materials, and promotion of the training.
All training during OWASP Events must be OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. OWASP and the Trainer may set aside no more than a combined 10% of the available training slots for their own use. Setting aside of training slots in all cases must be approved by the Global Conferences Committee
Audio Visual/Recording
This is another critically important part of the conference, especially in our technology-driven organization. You should assign a member of your committee to head this up since it's a demanding and time-consuming responsibility.
To the extent that you can, schedule conference sessions in rooms that have basic AV equipment (overhead projectors and screens, for example). If the rooms already have computers and computer/video projection, that's even better. Then assign conference sessions to the appropriate rooms.
Determine ahead of time what portable equipment you have available, and whether you have to rent equipment. OWASP owns one projector that can be "loaned" out for events. Contact Kate Hartmann to arrange for the shipping of this and other items. When you confirm conference presentations, ask presenters to provide you with a list of equipment they need.
OWASP has several registration tools available to use. Currently we utilize the CVENT registration system for larger, paying events. There is a fee for CVENT Registrations. If your event is free of charge, but you require an RSVP for space restrictions or food, please contact Kate Hartmann to review registration options for free events.
The following data was taken from several larger OWASP conferences to demonstrate how registrations are typically distributed over time.
Promoting your conference begins as soon as you have selected a conference site and date. All OWASP Branded Events/Conferences are required to have a presence on the OWASP Wiki. You are also welcome to register an external web address (preferably in the .org tld) to help market and promote your event so long as the site links back to the OWASP Wiki (main page or event page) in some way. You are however required to keep the Wiki page up to date and current as the primary source of information for the event, any external resources are secondary sources of information. Post the date and location on the OWASP wiki. Make sure to review pages for other conferences for great ideas and to allow for continuity in page style.
The first wave of publicity comes with the call for presentations.
The next wave comes as you send out the conference announcement, with as much detail as you have, including a tentative program. This is important if you want to convince people they should come. Set a registration deadline that accounts for your own deadlines (food services, etc.) You may have to consider a higher fee for those who are late, especially if that really does incur additional costs for you.
Conference organizers are welcome to negotiate with local newspapers, trade magazines, and other media to help promote the event. OWASP prefers to establish "in kind" agreements with media for promotions but in the past, paid advertisements have been used where appropriate. If you have any questions or concerns please ask the Global Conferences Committee
Design Components
In designing your own Powerpoint templates, tshirts, bags, badges, banners, flags, carpets and what have you, find the original vector graphic of the OWASP logo (in EPS and AI formats) here. Please do share them with the other conference chairs!
The Resources tab has additional resources for assisting in promoting your event.
Conference Materials
At a minimum, you need to provide some sort of printed program. For most conferences, the following is usually adequate: a simple folder with program, maps, lists of local restaurants and attractions, a name tag, and writing materials (pen and pad). For larger, conferences you may want to include a conference bag that includes OWASP books or handouts. Be sure to allow ample time for printing and shipping of OWASP materials. International shipping can take several weeks.
Name Tags
If you plan properly, you should be able to generate name tags to be printed from your conference database program. If you process your registrations through the OWASP office, they can create your nametags.
Keep the name tag layout simple: a small conference logo or title, the person's full name in LARGE, readable letters, and the person's institution. Don't make people squint to read names on name tags.
The actual type of name tag (paper stick-on, pin on plastic case, hang-around-the-neck, etc.) depends on your preferences and budget. If you do provide stick-on tags, you may want to generate at least one tag for each day of the conference since they won't be able to reuse the tags. If you use plastic badges, you can invite attendees to recycle them at the end of the conference.
Well-planned meals and snacks are critical to a successful conference. Consult with your venue food services, or with a local caterer, determine what is needed, and what it will cost. Let food services or the caterer do the work.
Be sure to negotiate food services in such a way that you are not liable for food costs beyond what you can cover through conference fees. Usually food planners will allow up to 10% more people than you contract for (e.g., for late registrations), but be sure this is clear up front.
To reduce costs, seek sponsors for specific meals where possible. Some larger vendors are happy to get the publicity that comes from sponsoring a breakfast, lunch, reception, or even a dinner. In any case, it doesn't hurt to ask. If the sponsor desires it, let the sponsor choose the caterer and take care of the arrangements.
For small conferences, many if not most of the meals can be left up to the attendees. Be sure to provide a good list of local eateries. Include information about which are within walking distance, which are not, and how to get to those that are not.
Strategically scheduled snack breaks, with drinks and fruit or cookies, can add a touch of class to your conference. These don't usually cost too much, and can be covered by registration fees. Don't skimp on the time allotted for breaks, since attendees will want to network and will take the time anyway. Be sure to take care of all the caffine junkies in the crowd. If possible, try and arrange for a pre event tasting. You don't want people remembering your event for the bad coffee or sandwiches.
Be sure to allow for special dietary considerations. Always offer some vegetarian options for your meals.
Social Events
After a long intensive day of speakers and/or training, a more casual opportunity for networking will be welcomed by most all attendees. Depending on the size and location of your event you may want to consider one or several of the following options:
- OWASP "meet up" at a local pub
- OWASP gala dinner
- Corporate sponsored party
- Guided site seeing tours
- Group outing to a sporting event
In many cases you can include an optional fee to be paid to cover the costs of the event. In the case of a corporate sponsored event, the sponsor would cover the costs. Very often, however, an informal yet organized (planned) evening at the pub will be sufficient to facilitate networking among conference attendees and speakers.
Be sure to remind everyone at the end of the last talk for the day of the location of the gathering, the cost (if any), and the start time for the next days speakers.
Whatever you plan, however, be sure to include some free time for people to do things on their own.
Your conference venue usually has maps and travel information on how to get to the location. If there aren't adequate limo or shuttle services to your venue from the airport, you may need to make your own arrangements.
OWASP on the MOVE funds are not to be used for conferences or events. If you are planning on covering ANY speakers travel and/or accommodations, be sure to plan for this in your event budget.
Visitor's Guide
All global conferences that will attract a substantial international audience should create a city Visitor's guide. A great example of a visitor's guide was put together by the AppSec Research 2010 teamThis guide should include sections like:
- Country Overview
- Common Languages
- Money
- Tipping and Haggling
- Local Customs
- Special Events during the conference
- Transportation to Event
- Taxi Company Phone numbers and estimated prices
- Buss or Mass Transit information, schedules, and prices
- Directions on how to get to conference site WITH PICTURES (It's recommended you walk from the major transportation hubs and take pictures along the way)
- Host City
- Local points of interest
- How to get around the city (metro/bus maps)
- Bars near the event
If you plan on a regional or international event, it is considerate to negotiate a discounted room rate with a local hotel. In many cases, if you event is at a hotel, they will happily give you greater than 50% discount on rooms. If your event is at another type of venue (convention center, university campus, corporate building) there are often referral relationships between the venue and nearby hotels. Be sure to ask you coordinator.
When reserving your room blocks take into consideration the number of out of town speakers and guests you are expecting and how many room nights will be required. Be sure to avoid commitment for the unsold rooms. The hotel wants to get paid of course. Be sure that the hotel will not hold OWASP responsible for unbooked rooms.
delete me
These are the requirements imposed on any event using the OWASP brand. All Events must be coordinated with the Global Conferences Committee and receive their approval. Event requests can be submitted via the OWASP Conference Management System (OCMS). If you do not have an account, you can signup for an OCMS account here, please use an @owasp.org email address if available.
If you have questions or require an exception to any of these please contact the OWASP Staff.
|All content must be vendor neutral
|All Events - Core Value
|All content must be made available to the public after the conference
|All Events - Core Value
|All calls for papers, training and registration must be open and promoted to the public
|All Events - Core Value
|Selecting Committee Members (Training or Papers) must not submit
|All Events
|Use the conference website/wikipage to submit papers. It must supports blind paper submissions.
|All Events
|All events must be conducted in a manner consistent with the OWASP Mission, Principles and Code of Ethics
|All Events - Core Value
|OWASP Event Definitions
|All Events
|OWASP Event Requirements
|All Events
| Local host chapters will share in OWASP event profits under the following schedule. In the case of multiple host chapters, the host chapters will be responsible for determining the division before the event. Policy Document
|All Events
|All OWASP Events must be coordinated with OWASP Foundation Staff by submitting an events description via OCMS. An approval that the event will be posted on the OWASP Wiki and Event announcement webpage will be sent from the OCMS input. Any request for funding support must follow normal funding request procedures separate from the OCMS submission.
|All Events
|Events must have an OWASP Wiki Page, or a webpage showing the OWASP logo and be linked to the OWASP wiki Events Pages
|All Events
|Only OWASP Board members or their designates may enter into contracts on behalf of the foundation
|All Events
|All finances must be handled by the OWASP Foundation
|All Events
| Complimentary conference admissions are provided to speakers, volunteers, staff, Global Board members and active OWASP Leaders.
A "Leader" is defined as a chapter or project leader that is clearly identified on the chapter or project wiki page AND has been documented as a leader in the Foundation's records. If a leader registers for a conference complimentary ticket but does not appear for the conference, the chapter will be charged 60% of the retail cost of a conference ticket.
|All Events
|OWASP individual members in good standing shall receive $50 off admission to all OWASP events charging more than $50 entry fee.
|All Events
|A complete budget must be submitted if the event requires any funds from the OWASP Foundation and funding requests will be reviewed and approved by OWASP Executive Director. Please submit a requests via our Contact Us link on the OWASP Wiki homepage.
|Regional/Theme Conferences
|An OWASP leader should be invited to provide welcome and state of the union.
|All Events
|Global AppSec Conferences must include training
|Global AppSec Conferences
|Global AppSec Conferences must charge an admission fee
|Global AppSec Conferences
|Sessions must be recorded and posted to the public after the conference
|Global AppSec Conferences
|There must be at least one networking event at the conference
|Global AppSec Conferences
|All Training providers are required to sign a Training Instructor Agreement
|Training revenue will be split 60/40 (OWASP/Training Provider)
| Each training class allows for two complimentary seats to be made available to OWASP Leaders. This must be included in the Training Instructor Agreement. These are available on a first come basis. Only one training seat per session is allowed per chapter to allow for diversity in distribution of seats.
If a leader registers for a complimentary training seat but does not attend the full training session the chapter will be charged 60% of the retail cost of the training session and the leader will not be given a complimentary ticket (conference or training sessions) for any other Global AppSec events in the following year.
|Speakers must sign a Speaker Agreement
|Speakers will not receive compensation for their speaking engagement
|Event organizers must reach out to the WIA program to assist with the program committee and to help find suitable keynote and invited speakers.
|Global AppSec Conferences & Regional Events
|Event organizers must send an open call for participation for volunteers, papers committee.
|Global AppSec Conferences & Regional Events
|Event organizers should encourage all training and CFP proposals to go through the "Talk bootcamp" process.
|Global AppSec Conferences & Regional Events
|WIA initiative should lead a search for women keynotes, featured, panel speakers.
|Global AppSec Conferences & Regional Events
|Event organizers and WIA initiative should reach out to women speaker lists to encourage training proposals and speakers to submit through the normal CFP process. If there is to be a women in AppSec panels to be organized, the WIA initiative must be involved and feature predominantly women panelists.
|Global AppSec Conferences & Regional Events
| These aren't quotas, but a goal. Global events organizers are free to exceed these metrics.
*At least 10% of the program committee must be women, and must include the WIA initiative members *At least 50% of keynotes and featured speakers must be women *At least 25% of panel participants must be women. If there are no women participants, the panel should be cancelled. *At least 10% of talks must be women
If these metrics cannot be reached, the organizing committee should reach out to the Conference Manager for assistance, and must apply for an exception if they can't be reached after all avenues have been exhausted.
|Global AppSec Conferences
|These aren't quotas, but an aspiration goal for regional events. Organizers are free to exceed these metrics.
*At least one of the program / papers committee must be a woman, and should include the WIA initiative members *At least one of keynotes, featured and invited speakers must be a woman *At least 25% of panel participants should be women. If a panel has no women participants, it should be cancelled *At least 10% of talks chosen should be women speakers
|Regional Events


text:
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
There's No Way It's Been 100 Years
According to my research, the first forward pass thrown by a Michigan quarterback took place the season after Bo retired, on September 15, 1990 in the opener against Notre Dame. There were, however, records of opposing teams throwing the ball forward, particularly in the Rose Bowl.
Legend has it that the forward pass was considered "trendy garbage" that wouldn't last by prior regimes in Ann Arbor.
4 comments:
- Chris of Dangerous Logic said...
I was in high school when AC played. Sometimes I think about what he could have done in a Moeller offense, and it makes me sad.
- September 06, 2006 9:48 AM
- surrounded in columbus said...
somewhere, sometime,this week we should all hoist a glass of grand marnier in toast to Gary Moeller. because of his "innovation", Elvis, Todd Collins, Griese, Brady, Navarre, & Henson all came to Michigan and then made it into the NFL. whatever his other short comings, he brought the forward pass to A2 and should be celebrated for that alone.
- September 06, 2006 10:06 AM
Hi Guys,
You have got to watch the recent Michigan Football Memories DVD and get the low-down on UM football history... Back in the early part of last century, Fielding H. Yost pioneered the forward pass in American football, which had previously been nothing more extensive than glorified rugby. That is how we used to rack up 49 - 0 scores against Stanford in the Rose Bowl, etc.
You can buy the DVD on M-Den or rent it at michigan area movie-rental places (same section as all the Red Wing commemorative DVDs, etc.), but it is definitely worth the 1.5 hours to learn about Yost, Crisler, Oosterban, etc. There is also some bonus footage of 70's era games, etc.
Anyway, bottom line, we invented the forward pass!!!
- September 06, 2006 10:32 AM
- TitleIX said...
and, that's also why, Virginia, the helmets are winged....so the QB could tell our guys from theirs when passing the ball....
- September 06, 2006 4:05 PM

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Ella (Now Bella)Ella came to us because her owner got her from a friend unaware she did not get along with other dogs and they lived in an apartment building with an elevator. Ella was placed into a foster to adopt home with her new mom Phyllis. Happy tails Ella!
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Beleaguered Nokia Claws Its Way Back To Profitability
Finally, some good news for Nokia, which reported a $270 million profit in its fiscal fourth quarter after losing $1 billion in the same period last year.
OK, so revenue dropped 20 percent, smartphone sales were off considerably compared to last year and Nokia's outlook was kind of grim. Still, the glimmer of hope afforded by the quarterly profit stood out like a glittering diamond on the wretched landscape of Nokia's recent fiscal performances.
"We are very encouraged that our team's execution against our business strategy has started to translate into financial results," Nokia CEO Stephen Elop (pictured) said in the company's earnings call. "Most notably we are pleased that Nokia Group reached underlying operating profitability in the fourth quarter and for the full year 2012."


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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Apparently halftime in the Tosu locker room was one big brawl.
"I couldn't believe that guys were fighting with other guys, this isn't a barroom. You don't need to be fighting with your own teammates. We were here to play football, (but) some guys didn't get that," a still-stunned Alex Boone, the massive Ohio State tackle, said as he stood in the middle of the nearly empty Superdome field an hour after his Buckeyes had been embarrassed by LSU, 38-24, in the BCS Championship Game.
"Everyone was fighting with each other and I'm like, 'Calm down. It's OK. It's halftime.' But everyone's like, 'This is your fault,' and 'No, this is your fault.' I was like 'Calm down, we got a half to go.' But some guys panicked like the game was over ..."
Ouch. Not good. And no excuse for something like this happening. This obviously isn't even my team, but Tosu fans should be very pissed about this sort of crap taking place.
14 comments:
- srudoff said...
hey - only 8 days after the game too! way to be topical yost ;)
the great news is that we get EVERYONE back except gholston - assume he'll go on owning Jake Long in the pros. should be an interesting year although we'd have to go undefeated and hope that there aren't two other undefeated teams before they allow us back in the mnc game.
we play @ USC in september - should tell us everything we need to know right there.
as for the "fight", lack of senior leadership definitely showing. bunch of young kids obviously letting their emotions get the best of them. crazy thing is that they came out in the 2nd half like gangbusters til Spitler fucked it all up with the roughing the punter penalty. so perhaps the brouhaha inspired them more than we know
- January 15, 2008 3:31 AM
- Oh Yeah said...
The only thing I was pissed about was Boone airing dirty laundry. I am sure JT has had a word with him as well. LOL. Somehow I doubt the slugfest you are invisioning, more like a shout-match of overrun emotions.
- January 15, 2008 6:14 AM
- TitleIX said...
I think the missing element was COACHING LEADERSHIP sru.
I'm just sayin'
- January 15, 2008 7:21 AM
- I'm blue, da ba dee said...
So apparently it only takes 2 post-season losses to develop a "wait til next year" attitude... and if JT loses next year's bowl game (or-gasp- the Michigan game), you get to look forward to the old "can't win the big one" tag on your beloved coach. Good times...
- January 15, 2008 8:11 AM
- Crock said...
T9 once again hits the nail on the head!
- January 15, 2008 9:52 AM
- Bigasshammm said...
More and more comes out that maybe Tressel isn't the amazing coach most of us thought he was. As I was saying earlier that it totally rests on the coaches for all the personal fouls and total lack of control the team showed. This just proves it more. A "good" coach would have had his team ready and prepared for both NC games and Tressel failed to do that two years in a row. I said it in an earlier post this may be the end of the "Sweater Vest" era. If MI can start beating OSU and they fail in more and more bowl games Tressel will be out in two years.
Good luck against USC. lol.
- January 15, 2008 10:34 AM
- Crabapple Buck said...
Maybe if UM could get to ONE BCSCG we could consider your comments regarding JT. Since you haven't solved the riddle yet, stay on the couch and watch. What do you expect us to do, give up like you guys do and concede? In a rebuilding year, we go to the national title game. We have 40 of our top 44 back with a #1 recruiting class coming in 2008. It sure sucks to be us. RR isn't Bo, so don't expect 1969 results next year. Enjoy another middling year while you try to resurrect your program.
- January 15, 2008 11:33 AM
- Andy said...
TresseLL isn't going anywhere. He would have to lose 4 or 5 in a row to Michigan for the shine to come off his star.
Although it is pretty funny to read the defensive posts from the buck fans here. You guys sound a bit anxious. [sarcasm] Everyone knows that your team is stacked. You should walk thru the season next year with no problem. Everyone knows that the team with the most talent always wins...[/sarcasm]
- January 15, 2008 11:41 AM
- Bigasshammm said...
Already my prediction for next year. USC 42 Bucks 17.
Buck fans only comment always is "Least we got to the NC game." Then were embarrassed again and now have the media circus of the entire country bad mouthing your program and team. You can run the table next year and beat every opponent by 40 and I still doubt they would vote you into the NC game for a third straight time since everyone is just sick of watching it. Way to somehow benefit from a year where everyone seemed to lose because the talent pool is getting to be that spread out. Heaven forbid college football ever be like the NFL where ANY team can compete. No let's leave it how it is so we can see the same boring teams year after year go undefeated and then bitch about who's better than who. Personally I'd love to see a year where every team in the top 20 has 3 losses. It will never happen but it'd be great.
- January 15, 2008 11:41 AM
- srudoff said...
we were picked in the preseason to finish 3rd or 4th.... in the big ten! we lost numerous first round picks to the nfl as well as a 1200 yd rusher and the Heisman trophy winner.
i'll take losing the national championship game at pretty much the home site of the winning team in a "down" year any day of the week. and so would everyone here. actually that's a good example. i'd bet money that with all of the players leaving and losing out on pryor ;) that Michigan is looking at 3rd or 4th in the big ten and about a 15th to 20th national ranking (if that). everyone in their right mind would look at that and be happy as hell to just be IN the mnc game, even if losing it meant 2 straight losses.
- January 15, 2008 8:39 PM
- MGoBlue93 said...
Did anyone read the footnotes in that article? tOSU is scheduled a home and home against the Sooners. And a few years ago, they did the same with Texas, and beginning next year, tOSU has a series with USC (no the other one, the one in LA who they can beat; not the SEC one who owns them).
At any rate, I'm looking at tOSU with a bit of envy. I wish Michigan's chicken shit AD would have the stones to make such deals. And we know an early loss to a respectable opponent does not disqualify one from the BCS hunt. Texas and tOSU both found that out first hand.
tOSU works with Texas, USC, and OU. Michigan's AD gets Ball State, App State, and Eastern. What a complete fucking embarrassment.
- January 16, 2008 1:33 AM
- srudoff said...
it's better than that actually
2005-2006 texas
2007 washington (back end of a home and home scheduled right after washington won the NC)
2008-2009 usc
2010-2011 Miami fl (again scheduled when they were awesome)
2012-2013 Cal
2014-2015 virginia tech
2016-2017 oklahoma
- January 16, 2008 1:45 AM
- MGoBlue93 said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- January 16, 2008 2:01 AM
- Joshua said...
Deep balls are thrown. WRs are required to catch or break them up. Ray did not do this, so teammates got in his grill about it.
- January 17, 2008 3:13 PM


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"Arise and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time." Winston Churchill
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Monthly Archives: March 2010
Help me understand
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Reading during school vacation is essential in preventing literacy loss
TIVERTON — When a person thinks of summer vacation they typically think of the beach, cookouts — and summer reading? According to Janet Linhares, the children's librarian at Tiverton Essex Library, summer reading is essential in preventing literacy loss among youth.
In an attempt to prevent such loss and to continue to further education, libraries are embarking on a summer reading adventure with children and young adults in their towns.
"Summer reading goes before me and I've been here for 25 years," Linhares said. "But I've been involved with it for 25 years."
This educational adventure begins long before elementary school.
"My program targets birth through grade five," Linhares said. "We usually get around 400 children."
The program was created to enhance literacy skills and keep the children engaged in their education.
"I do the children's program, and for my program what I have for our theme is 'Fizz Boom Read', it's a science-based program," Linhares said. "To complete the program I ask that all children read or listen to one book a week. It's our science summer so we're looking to cause a reading explosion."
Success is based on the number of participants who complete the program.
"We look at how many books are read over the course of the summer and the completion rate," Linhares said. "Last summer 89 percent of the participants completed the program. We were number seven in the state of public libraries, we want to be up at number one this year."
While most towns and families struggle with getting their child to pick up a book for summer reading, many children in Tiverton look forward to the library programs each year, Linhares said.
"I'm really going to say that I am super fortunate in Tiverton," Linhares said. "I go out to the schools and I get to go classroom to classroom and I promote the program. They get excited about the program every year."
Part of the issue with reading is finding something enjoyable, but Tiverton Essex Library has found the solution.
"We have a great staff who does 'Good Readers Advisory' and make sure we find what they want to read, that's the real key," Linhares said.
Libary summer reading programs get the families and caregivers involved as well.
"The parents and grandparents and caregivers are key to getting the transportation," Linhares said. "They introduce their children to the library and get that early literacy and then they see the results as their children are taking their school class. Reading is part of every subject."


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Review: Tannoy i30
Company: Tannoy
Website: www.Tannoy.com
Model: i30
Price: $400
Compatible: iPod 4G, 5G, mini, nano*, classic*, touch*, iPhone*
In recent months, we've decided to focus less on me-too iPod accessories and more on truly innovative ones. Consequently, our review of the Tannoy i30 ($400) -- an all-in-one speaker designed by a noted British speaker company -- is brief.
Simply put, we've heard the pitch and the sound signature behind the i30 countless times before: Tannoy created the i30 as an audiophile alternative to the Bose SoundDock, which we've noted many times does a good but not spectacular job of performing any Dock Connector-equipped iPod's audio in a single room. Rated a B+ by iLounge, the $300 SoundDock sounds good without tweaking right out of the box, but has been surpassed in both aggregate sound quality and value for the dollar by many of its competitors, most notably including Altec Lansing and Logitech speakers that deliver considerably more dynamic audio and other superior features, often at lower prices.
i30 is basically a bigger and louder alternative to the SoundDock. Measuring roughly 17.5" wide, it's longer than the SoundDock but rounded on the sides and back, and similarly has a Universal Dock in the center. Silky fabric speaker grilles on the front are non-removable, and the only major visual differentiator to set i30 apart from the scads of all-plastic speakers we routinely receive for testing. The more subtle and important difference is that it has literally no buttons on its body; unlike all of its competitors, which feature at least volume controls, and most often power buttons, i30 is entirely remote controlled with an included seven-button Infrared unit. Power, USB, audio-in and video-out ports are on its rear, with metal screw holes for wall mounting. Inside are a DSP for iPod audio optimization, two four-inch drivers, a 50-watt custom BASH amplifier, and an international-ready power supply. You can pick i30 up with a handle on its rear and tote it around, but it runs only off of wall power, not batteries.
If i30 had actually sounded better overall than the SoundDock, we might have been willing to overlook its control idiosyncrasies—despite its necessity, the remote's not always responsive, and its simple power, volume, mute, and track controls are not as fully featured as many lower-priced competitors, which offer shuffle, repeat, and sometimes menu navigation features as well. But in our testing against the SoundDock, the i30 came across as comparatively slanted in the bass department at normal volumes, with a relative lack of treble and mid-treble detail. That says something, as the warm-skewing SoundDock also isn't known for its high-frequency performance, where it routinely loses out in comparisons with peer-priced systems such as Logitech's Pure-Fi Elite and AudioStation, as well as less expensive options from many other companies. It's not that i30 sounds bad—it doesn't—but it's flat by comparison with many $200 and $300 speakers we've tested.
For comparison's sake, we took the time to play tracks through i30 and a few other options, such as the SoundDock, AudioStation, and Apple's iPod Hi-Fi, expecting that the i30 would best at least one of the systems in some way. Unfortunately, Tannoy's bass-heavy sound signature failed to win over any of three iLounge editors during testing; it's the rare system that makes the now-discontinued and similarly bassy iPod Hi-Fi sound good, even balanced, for its $349 asking price, and after an hour or two of comparative testing, we found ourselves just wanting to turn it off and ship it back. It didn't help that the system was apparently designed and released overseas some time ago, and therefore its video-out feature doesn't work with current-generation iPod classics, nanos, touches, or iPhones.
There's a temptation in the case of rounded, super-simplified, and expensive systems such as the i30 to presume that their prices and smooth curves make them good speaker choices, but the contrast between this system and, say, Bowers and Wilkins' Zeppelin is a sharp one. Zeppelin is a daring, innovative, and well-balanced speaker that happens to be too expensive; i30 is a forgettable design with a polarizing sound signature and controls that were underthought rather than streamlined. Some people may like its bassy presentation, but others, like us, won't be able to understand why a $400 speaker can't offer definitively better sound or design than systems that sell for less. Apart from its potential for amplification, there's nothing here to even justify a price premium over the SoundDock, so we'd advise readers to consider i30 only if they need something loud and slightly smaller than the iPod Hi-Fi, and are willing to deal with its control and treble limitations.
Editors' Note: iLounge only reviews products in "final" form, but many companies now change their offerings - sometimes several times - after our reviews have been published. This iLounge article provides more information on this practice, known as revving.


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Return to Transcripts main page
Prime Cuts, Season 1
Aired April 12, 2014 - 22:00 ET
ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST: I wish I can hear over the sound of my exploding capillaries. I'm feeling every minute, every hour, every month and year of my age. No, maybe we should figure out how to cook dinner unless you don't want to eat any dinner, because we are really not going to eat any dinner tonight. I can't say that I'm evolving or maturing or doing anything differently. You know. What was the question? (MUSIC) I would like to spend some time at a beach. Because the beaches here are beautiful. I would have liked to have eaten more widely because I know the food is delicious. I would have liked to have seen more of some of the places that we went to. I would like a pony, a magical pony. Possibly a unicorn even. I describe PARTS UNKNOWN as a series of essays, standalone essays that generally try to focus on the subject of food and where it comes from. But not always. You know, food is the entryway. I'm a guy who spent 30 years cooking food professionally. That's where I come from. That's how I'm always going to look at the world. But food isn't everything. And something comes up, I'm happy to get up from the meal and wander off elsewhere. Myanmar. After 50 years of nightmare, something unexpected is happening here and it's pretty incredible. Not too long ago, even filming here officially as an open professional Western film crew would have been unthinkable. In 2007, a Japanese journalist was shot point-blank and killed filming a street demonstration. Be seen talking to anybody with a camera and there would likely be a knock on your door in the middle of the night. Yet so far, confronted with our cameras, a few smiles and mostly indifference at worst. Shocking considering how recently the government has started to relax its grip. PHILIP LAJAUNIE, FRIEND: So you heard our sleeping car lost a wheel? BOURDAIN: The what? LAJAUNIE: The sleeping car lost a wheel. And the dining car so we get -- BOURDAIN: We lost the dining car, I hear. LAJAUNIE: We lost a dining car but even our original sleeping car lost a wheel. So we just have to hope for the best. BOURDAIN: The night express to Bagan. Six hundred kilometers of what will turn out to be kidney softening travel by rail. But Bagan, Myanmar's ancient capital, I've been told, is a must-see. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The true old English experience. The engine is a French engine from the '70s. BOURDAIN: We've been told it's a somewhat uncomfortable 10-hour trip. So really the question on this end of the journey is come back on the train or fly in coffin. Mishaps on both Burmese planes and trains are not, shall we say, unheard of. The widow-maker express. LAJAUNIE: That is the choice. That may be the signal to depart at some point. BOURDAIN: Yes. All aboard. Whoa. We're moving. Here we go. LAJAUNIE: Here we go. That's it. We are at cruising speed. BOURDAIN: Really? This is cruising speed? We can literally outrun this thing. LAJAUNIE: We could. Jog ahead, have a nice meal in some, you know, recommended restaurant. BOURDAIN: We could catch up with it. LAJAUNIE: It's like a digestive walk. Here we go. This is stop number one of 75. BOURDAIN: Heading north, the scenery opens up. The space between things gets wider, more pastoral, and more beautiful. Looking around at my fellow passengers, it could be hard to distinguish between the 135-plus ethnic groups that make up the Burmese population. The very name, Burma, refers actually to only one of these groups. What they all seem to have in common, however, is tonika, a face paint and sun block made from tree bark that masks many of their faces. It's ubiquitous here. At first jarring to see, it quickly becomes something you get used to and take for granted. Yangon's gravitational pull broken, and with darkness falling, the train picks up speed. At times terrifyingly so. LAJAUNIE: If this thing is going to derail at some point. They have lost how many wheels yesterday? On this one train? So truly it's about being in the right car, the one that keeps its wheels. BOURDAIN: Derailments or rail splits, as they are referred to here, is somewhat more benign sounding occurrence than, say, rolling off the tracks into a rice paddy are not uncommon. And one can't help wondering what the engineer and conductor are thinking as the train speeds heedlessly on faster and faster. LAJAUNIE: I mean, it must be, what, about 40, 50 miles per hour at this point. BOURDAIN: I wonder if anyone has ever, like, flown right out of their seat out the window. LAJAUNIE: Hey, (INAUDIBLE), sure. BOURDAIN: You don't want to be, like, holding a lab dog. LAJAUNIE: Or a baby or anything. I mean. BOURDAIN: Try pissing in the bathroom and find yourself launched straight up into the ceiling, bringing to a rude conclusion what was already an omni-directional experience. It's smooth now. It's very relaxing. LAJAUNIE: What kind of beer did you have? I want the same. BOURDAIN: What I'm amazed is how friendly and open people are with this. It's very easy for me to sit here and say whatever I want about the government, right? Me can go home. You know. Our lives will go on. We don't pay the price. Everybody who helped us could very well pay that price. It should be pointed out that a lot of people did not. A lot of people were very nice to us, but said look, I've just -- I've already been in jail. You know. I -- I really don't want to go back. It's a very really concern. What happens to the people we leave behind? You know, what do we think that -- one's freedom, they've tasted freedom. Well, you know, you can't put the tooth paste back in the tube. You know, There's no doubt about that. But for the moment, at least, things seem to be moving in the right direction. A country closed off to most for so long, sleeping, a 50- year nightmare for many of its citizens finally, maybe waking up. To what? Time will tell. My approach to what I do is in no way changed. I mean, you are who you are. I'm marginally more hopeful about the world. I'm marginally more optimistic. I actually kind of believe after all these years of travel that -- I don't know, my estimation of the basic goodness of, you know, the human animal is maybe a little better than it was. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) BOURDAIN: It's OK, I'm deliberately looking dreamy and thoughtful. Travel tip, number one. Travel is not always easy. I don't know what this is, but it's good. What I would do to a bucket of fried chicken right now, it would be unholy. Unholy, I tell you. It would be an awful thing to see. I want to get some popcorn. Martini time. I would describe myself as a lucky cook who gets to tell stories. And I'm certainly not a journalist. I'm not a chef anymore. I'd like to flatter myself by saying I'm an essayist, but I'm a storyteller. I see stuff, I talk about that, I talk about how it made me feel at the time. If you can do that honestly, that's about the best you can hope for, I think. Without, like, talking about yourself in the third person. Stereotyping coming. Look, how do I put this? Good Korean kids grow up to be doctors, lawyers or engineers, goes the story. There are expectations. But what if you're a bad Korean? What if you're Korean-American and just didn't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED)? What if you look around, ask yourself, who am I? Who I suppose to be? Where do I fit in society? And were unsatisfied with the answers you were getting? What if you were an insanely talented artist in a small startup company called Facebook asks you to do some murals in their offices, and they paid you with stock, and you became ridiculously wealthy, and you still didn't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED)? Well, then you might be David Choe. DAVID CHOE, ARTIST: Hi. I'm David Choe. I'm going to paint you today. Is that cool? BOURDAIN: Yes, sure. CHOE: All right. So just sit right there, and -- sorry, I don't usually paint this early in the morning. BOURDAIN: OK. CHOE: I'm going to go more expressionistic, if you don't mind. BOURDAIN: I want to know, you said young people are looking to follow your road to success, your advice is, whatever you do, don't date a Korean girl? CHOE: OK, I try to be open-minded about things, right? But, oh, I'm racist. You know, for me, I've given this a shot and then I end up in a situation where I feel like I'm dating my mom. BOURDAIN: So what characteristics in common were you -- CHOE: Overbearing. BOURDAIN: Overbearing? CHOE: Jealous, unreasonable, like unrealistic about life, demanding. Like, it's -- I mean, I could go on and on. But also the men, too. Like if you're a woman, I would never recommend dating a Korean guy. For the very few women out there that are into Asian guys, if you are going to go that route, definitely go Chinese. Yes. Come check it out. BOURDAIN: Oh, yes. Whoa. Awesome. (LAUGHTER) Wow. CHOE: I don't know. What do you think? BOURDAIN: Dude, I'm honored. I've never had my portrayed done before. Thank you, man. CHOE: Hey, man. You're welcome. BOURDAIN: And this shit could have been worth some money on eBay, for sure. CHOE: Now I'm definitely ready for Sizzler's. BOURDAIN: Nice. Standing tall and prominent amongst the many Asian and Central American restaurants in the community, one place holds a cherished position in the collective memories of many second- generation Korean- Americans. I am personally unfamiliar with the Sizzler brand. I know it by name, but never have I managed to actually cross its doors. CHOE: After you. BOURDAIN: Thank you. Wow. CHOE: How are you doing today? I'm doing fantastic. I have my Sizzler outfit on. So here's the thing. You can get, like, a steak and then add the salad bar with it. BOURDAIN: Right. CHOE: Get the best bang for your buck or you could just get the salad bar. BOURDAIN: I've got to have a little steak. CHOE: I am going to go traditional and just get just the salad bar. BOURDAIN: Yes. CHOE: Thank you. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can sit wherever you like. CHOE: Excellent. BOURDAIN: Oh, yes. Oh, now, you're getting Korean on me. CHOE: Yes. Super embarrassed right now because we're in Korea town, and I'm taking you to eat at Sizzler, which, for a lot of Koreans, it's the best food in Korea town. BOURDAIN: So if you eat non-Korean, this was it. CHOE: We never ate out ever, and if we did, it was McDonald's. And if it was a birthday and a special celebration and you want to kick it up a notch and go a little bit more special, then it was Sizzler. BOURDAIN: This is a judgment-free zone, where there are no mistakes. A world to explore in congruous combinations without shame or guilt, free of criticism from snarkologist, because there are no snarkologists at Sizzler. CHOE: Obviously, here's all the accoutrements for making a nice nacho, taco salad, and here's -- BOURDAIN: Right. CHOE: -- all the stuff for -- BOURDAIN: Pasta. CHOE: Pasta, spaghetti, whatever. The move is you get a hard taco shell and put meatballs in it. This is Italian/Mexican dining, and you make a meat ball taco, and there's nowhere else in the world where you can have this. You put three meatballs in the taco, some guacamole, and then you put all this nacho cheese, all these other stuff. BOURDAIN: I know what I'm going. I'm going for the full south of the border experience here. CHOE: All right. There you go. BOURDAIN: No, no. I'm not kidding around here. Oh, yes, now we're talking, my friend. CHOE: It's a little bit nicer than I remember. There it is. That's the best bread that you can get. So you tell me if you like that. BOURDAIN: Now wait a minute. Are you saying that the cheese bread is complimentary? CHOE: It's a complimentary. And once we found that out, we would order stacks of it. So it was our favorite part of Sizzler. And we're like we need to figure out how to manufacture this at home. BOURDAIN: So were you good Sizzler customers, your family? Do you think they were happy to see you when you come in? I love this dish, man. When I go back, I might have to have a meatball taco. CHOE: So we did -- we like goosed the system a little bit, but not like completely abused it. There would be the guilt associated with we never eat out, but now we are going out to eat. So you better (EXPLETIVE DELETED) eat. If you've got to put down at least three plates. So what do you think of the bread? BOURDAIN: It's delicious. CHOE: Yes. BOURDAIN: I totally get why this would be a wonderland. CHOE: It's really good. BOURDAIN: For you, Sizzler a happy place? CHOE: Still, lots of memories. It's satisfying. Let get me more of this cheese bread. BOURDAIN: This shouldn't be work. I'm a big believer in failing gloriously in the cause of trying to do something interesting. You know, I have the best job in the world. I'm trying to stay interested and engaged. You know, the minute I have nothing to say about a place, it's going to be pretty boring for you. And certainly boring for me. And I guess at the end of the day, I'm just looking to make television that doesn't suck. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) BOURDAIN: What do you need to know? I'd love to be able to give you advice. But I'm really the last person in the world who should. What do I know? Not a hell of a lot. I've been here a week. You don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what I'm talking about. Best to leave it alone. I'm a guy who likes being wrong. I don't mind feeling like an idiot about a place, like showing up and thinking I know something about a place and then being shown a very sort of painful and humiliating way that I, in fact, know nothing. That -- you know, that's interesting to me. I am pretty vain, but I'm not that vain that I might terribly looking ignorant. It's kind of fun. If anything, the best case scenario for me, the really exciting ones are the place where I know absolutely nothing, where the learning curve is so steep that every day, in every way, every minute of wandering around a place like Tokyo, for instance, you're confronted with the absolute certain knowledge that you will never learn even anything close to everything there is to know. I don't know. For me that's exciting. I like being in a place where I don't speak the language, I have no idea what the menus say. I don't understand the customs. As long as the food is delicious and people care about what's going on, different is good. This is Tripoli. After 42 years of nightmare. How to build a whole society overnight and make it work in one of the most contentious and difficult areas of the world is what people are trying to figure out. Outside Tripoli's center, there's this. One time axis of all power and untold evil. A huge complex and sinister offices, barracks, residences, on top of erratic war and of secret tunnels and underground facilities. The Bab al-Azizia, Gadhafi's enormous compound. And on August 23rd, 2011, it fell to rebels. Gadhafi and his family having fled. This is what's left of Gadhafi's palace. So when's the last time you were here? OMAR: Last time is when the revolution is finishing. The machinery, going in first fighting. BOURDAIN: Right. OMAR: After then, the people. BOURDAIN: Right. OMAR: After then, coming a lot of people, normal people. Listening about something expensive here. BOURDAIN: Right. OMAR: Like the salt and like the gold and -- BOURDAIN: Pardon? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop now. Stop now. BOURDAIN: What? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They want us to stop filming right now. BOURDAIN: OK. While talking, we didn't notice several pickup trucks of local militia had closed in on us. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop. Stop. BOURDAIN: I've stopped. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. You stop. BOURDAIN: Just relax. Relax. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Relax. Relax. OMAR: What's happening? BOURDAIN: This is their turf, or their area of operation, or somehow under their control. Whatever the case, they're the group in charge today. An argument ensues between our guys and their guys. All of whom fought against the same forces on this ground a year ago. OMAR: They need an authorization just for this place. (CROSSTALK) OMAR: They want to delete the tapes. Let's leave. They said you had to delete what you've got. Let's leave. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. BOURDAIN: OK. Let's go. (CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold it down. Hold it down. Hold it down. Another morning in Tripoli and life goes on. Vendors are out. People go about their daily routines. AKRAM, FORMER FREEDOM FIGHTER: This is our traditional breakfast. BOURDAIN: What is this dish called? AKRAM: Sfenz (INAUDIBLE), which is an overstretched doughnut, I suppose. BOURDAIN: Right. With an egg. AKRAM: With an egg on top. You can get them with cheese, you can get them with chili paste. You can have them with honey, with sugar. BOURDAIN: What are you having? How do you like yours? AKRAM: I like mine cooked, to be honest. BOURDAIN: What's the name of this neighborhood? AKRAM: This is Hashnum (ph). This is a cradle of the revolution. BOURDAIN: Right. This was the first neighborhood to rise up? AKRAM: Yes. This is the first place to rise up. BOURDAIN: Why do you think this neighborhood and not -- AKRAM: It's an impoverished neighborhood. It's been always liked here by the regime. They made them feel like they're not from this country, to be honest. And we go for it. BOURDAIN: Oh, yes, dip. Right in the egg. AKRAM: And dip it in the egg. BOURDAIN: Delicious. So where were you when it all started? AKRAM: I was in London. Well, actually Manchester at the time. BOURDAIN: Why? AKRAM: By the 27th, I was in Libya. BOURDAIN: We went out to see his house yesterday. The compound. AKRAM: I was one of the guys who entered from the southern gates. No, the northern gates. BOURDAIN: Akram is in the security business. A thriving industry here as you could probably imagine. A lot of things happened in a lot of different parts of the country, sort of simultaneously. Kind of amazing that all of these people came together very fast. AKRAM: How did it happen? BOURDAIN: Yes. AKRAM: Easy. Twitter. BOURDAIN: Twitter? AKRAM: Yes. BOURDAIN: It was really like that? AKRAM: Yes. We sent so much information to NATO via Twitter. We get a phone call from Tripoli or Benghazi or whatever. We get to call this via Google Earth. BOURDAIN: Right. AKRAM: We verify that there is a location there that needs to be hit. Send the tornado at NATO and then it's gone. BOURDAIN: Really? AKRAM: Yes. BOURDAIN: How does that feel knowing you've been calling it Tomahawk missile over there? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all to the movies. BOURDAIN: Did anyone think it was possible that in their lifetime they were going to see the end of this and most people are telling me they never dream. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know if you can call them dreams, hopes, wishes. It was just something in the sky. Something I look at every night. BOURDAIN: Right. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But when I hit that point, and got into (inaudible) and spit on Gaddafi's body, any dream would come true. BOURDAIN: What's the situation now? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's fluid. It can swing any direction. BOURDAIN: Well, look what happened in Benghazi a few months ago, I mean what does this mean to the country? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there is a dark, mysterious hand. Who doesn't like this country to prosper. They see system and organization as a big enemy to them. These are kinds are slowly getting diminished. It's a matter of time before we can get rid of them. BOURDAIN: How hard do you think that's going to be? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How hard that's all. We got rid of Gaddafi, nothing else is hard. BOURDAIN: I like your attitude. (inaudible) This is supposed to be the biggest, fanciest new hotel development in town and like a lot of the newer structure is that they pretty much stops when they started to pull down the government. There were a lot of cranes building nothing at the moment. A lot is just like sort of frozen until we figures out what happens next, let's wait and see, you know. It's one of many moments of unexpected weirdness of Libya. The mosque, the Medina, the frozen wait and see hotel and I think a truck with militia looking at us. Meanwhile, right over there, there are -- they're playing, Rod Steward, do you think I'm sexy to an amusing park full of kids? Makes no sense at all in a vaguely encouraging way. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) BOURDAIN: I had colonoscopy just before coming here. It was far more enjoyable. I often find myself picking longingly of that comfy table, gentle probing of trained rubber gloves, the slow drip of opioid synthetics into my blood stream. Good times. So far, I wish I had a bunch of really interesting places. The challenge is simply this. It's always how do we make a show that looks completely different than the show we did last week. It's nice if you really, really like last week's show but I'm not going to do that one again. I would rather make a show next week that you really hate as long as it's different and it was interesting for us. It's about moving forward and then step out doing things differently. I'm pretty much -- I'm feeling out of this. I feel like Elton John at home. Oh, yes. It's when the other one's start to come in, have so many kicks, really good. Really, you get three of those going, you know, you're not the only New Jersey. You know you're someplace. In Tangier, I lived in one room in the native quarter. I have not taken a bath in a year nor changed my clothes or removed them, except to stick a needle every hour in the fibrous gray wooden flesh of terminal addiction. I never cleaned or dusted the room. Empty ampoule boxes and garbage piled up to the ceiling. Life and water long since turned off for nonpayment. I did absolutely nothing. I could look at the end of my shoe for eight hours. I was only roused to action when the hourglass of junk ran out. The words of William Seward Burroughs, one of my heroes. He came to Tangier in 1953, shortly after shooting his wife to death in a drunken accident in Mexico City. He was a heroin addict, a homosexual and an inspiration to those proto-hipsters who came known as The Beats. Burroughs, however, was not a hipster. There was nothing beatnik about him. He was a somewhat stuffy, well-dressed St. Louis son of a good family gone wrong. He was also to my mind the greatest writer of the whole damn bunch. On the road, you can have it. His classic "Naked Lunch" was written here, a nonlinear, dark, dry humor of searingly critical, satirical and profane masterpiece. Burroughs was apparently high for much of the process, on heroin or a locally available prescription opiate called Eukodol. And of course the daily staple of many of these parts, hashish, kief, and majoon. How was it made? This is what I wanted to know. They were kind enough to demonstrate. Kief is first chopped into fine granules and then slowly added to melted butter and chocolate over a low heat to toast it and release the psychotropic goodies within. While the binder element of the majoon is slow-cooking in the plan, combination of spices are blended with cashews, almonds, walnuts and dried fruit. This will be the framework to suspend the THC-laden goodness in the next step. The cannabis-laced butter chocolate is added along with plenty of honey to bind together all the ingredients. Then mix. Last you roll the entirety of the mixture into a ball and either refrigerate or dig right in. You can pretty much spend like, you know, five years of your life, you know, siting around in a room, in your (ph) garment, looking out that direction going (inaudible). I take a lot of people here have spent five years who wish doing that. Oh, wow dude. I hate the word stretch creatively, you know, I'm not going to suddenly, you know, join a world company of King Lear, or you know, learn to play drums. But as long as I'm telling stories I would like to tell a different story every week. And I ask myself, will it be interesting to do the selfish process. Will it be fun if I don't have any expectation that being fun will it be interesting? Who will it be interesting too? I think most importantly will it be interesting to me, because if it's not interesting to me, I can see why it would be interesting to anyone else. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) BOURDAIN: I'd say I feel cleansed but that could be the diarrhea. Really don't understand this whole purging thing people are like there was a purging cleanse or juice cleanses, right. Just travel with this show for awhile, I'll tell you I'm feeling pretty good with my crew. Clean is a whistle, you get four mineral water throw them in and then it would come out crystal clear. There's no fault to the fine cuisine here, by the way. I'm convinced it was the showing me at the hotel buffet. You warn him, you warn him, you warn him. Do they listen? And I guess I'm at the point in my life like where I could get off a plane and I think it's true of all of us who make the show. You get off the plane in a place you've never been. You walk out of the airport, you inhale and I don't know what it is. It's like a smell like this place smells like some place we're going to be making interesting encounters (ph). This is going to be interesting and fun. Other places sneak up on you like but they -- over the course of a week or however many days I'm on location gradually confound my expectations, you know, I come out thinking something very different than or very contrary to my assumptions when I arrived in a place. That's a really good feeling. Wow, nice, best to wait this one out. Crashes are pretty common place. Not so long ago a plane with nearly a 100 people on board went down on the same route we're taking today. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, most planes they crash in Congo crashed because of the weather, right? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, most of time, yes but ... BOURDAIN: Not us. Don't worry. The weather clears up, sort of so we decide to give it a go. Our destination what Conrad referred to "Heart of Darkness" has the inner station. Here surrounded by dense jungle binds our rendezvous with the Congo River. In "Heart of Darkness", Conrad writes about the greed of the Belgian colonizers. They grab what they could get for the sake of what was to be gotten. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale. And after 75 years, the Congolese had had enough but independence came quickly that when the new country manage to inaugurate their first democratically-elected leader Patrice Lumumba, the CIA of the British working to the Belgians had him killed. We helped to install this miserable bastard in his place, Joseph Mobutu. He stole billions of dollars from his people and pretty much became the template for despotism in Africa. Needless to say this situation deteriorated over the next 30 odd years and by the time Mobutu was done, the Congo was mired in a series of civil wars. The government was no longer paying its bills and the trains basically stopped running. This is Kisangani Station. There's one short run left service once a week when operational which is an off and on which is not often, I'm guessing. Abandoned by the Belgians, shut up and stripped by rebels in the '90s, the station, the engines, the ancient passenger cars and the tracks themselves has slowly receded into the jungle. And yet all these years later with hardly any resources, Monsieur Alub Emile, the railway administrator and a staff of clerks, conductors, mechanics and engineers show up at work and do what they can in an attempt to keep things in working order. The railway employees I'm told do not get paid, yet they continue to show up and work. It said of the building of the country's once vast rail network one Congolese died for every single time. END


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T O P I C R E V I E WOWLDoes anyone have any information on any future astronauts in Neil Armstrong's class when he was employed as a lecturer?trI did a quick search for "Cincinnati" on www.astronautix.com and did not come up with any astronauts who got a degree from the University of Cincinnati. Thus, it appears unlikely that Neil Armstrong taught any future astronauts.
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'America's Next Top Model' Recap: Yvonne Gives Bryanboy Attitude
Friday, September 28, 2012
Jilliane Johnson
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
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TGIF, smizers! The modeling world meets that of video games in tonight's episode of
America's Next Top Model: College Edition
. With many video games dropping before the holiday season, I suppose this challenge is relevant enough. The remaining eight models are asked to jump into a virtual world.
After playing heroines, guest photographer Mike Ruiz welcomes the models into a setting where the Victorian era meets industrialization. One model in particular fails to leave her new-found video game strength behind, and Bryanboy is caught in the crossfire.
"Anybody can go home at any time," says Nastasia, who won best photo last week. Leila was a fan favorite, but is now watching the show just like everyone else in America ... from her couch. Anyways, Nastasia will stay focused, grabbing Kiara to join her in the Tyra Suite this week.
Brittany isn't forgetting things so easily, though. If you can recall last week's results, Bryanboy made it very obvious that he wanted Leila to stick around, giving Brittany a mean girl look. So Yvonne has teamed up with Brittany on Team Anti-Bryanboy. She should really be focusing on the task at hand if she is really wanting to make it in the fashion industry. "It just sucks," Yvonne whines as she talks on the phone. Apparently, no one sent her the memo explaining that models are simply a blank canvas at the disposal of the true artists behind the cameras. She sure has a lot to learn.
Victoria, on the other hand, is really scared about her position in the competition right now after seeing Leila go home, so she's exercising. Somehow, this makes sense.
Virtual Challenge:
Supermodel duo Rob Evans and Christie Tiegen welcome the models dressed in onesies with little glowing balls in strategic places. No, it's nothing erotic! They're acting as characters in a video game that's being projected on a screen. One by one, each contestant must take on the female role, committing to stunts and script. Whoever does the best will have their "taunt" move featured in
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Laura goes first, believing that she's sitting pretty at the top of the bunch. She does okay, but is quickly outshone by Kristin's quirky approach. While both of these girls do great jobs, Brittany seems to leave the biggest impression. Christie even comments that from the moment Brittany walked on set, she was the closest to what the character asked for. Could Disney Girl be breaking out of her shell?
Challenge Winner: Laura
I'm a fan of Laura; I am. Yet Kristin actually did a very good job and so did Brittany.
Christie sits the girls down to speak to them about the importance of social media not just in the competition but in the working world. Laura, the challenge winner, doesn't realize how much of an influence society is on the professional side of things. Really? The bleach must have seeped into her pours.
"I always want to be the best ... and that's obviously not going to happen," says Brittany, who is really upset that she lost the challenge. This is nothing when compared to the emotions flowing from Victoria in the phone booth while on the phone with -- you guessed it -- her mother. The tears make it almost impossible to understand what Victoria is even upset over. Her poor mother remains cool and collected on the other end of the call, probably relieved to have a bit of peace and quiet around the house.
Patrique is back, and she or he delivers the Tyra Mail. After maybe a three-second visit, the girls run off to the set of the photo shoot where Johnny Wujeck is standing with Mike Ruiz. Tonight, the girls enter the world of steam punk and will be working with a very special co-star, Groovy, who is an owl. She's cute, but temperamental.
Johnny has some good things to say about Brittany's performance in front of the camera. He says, "She did come with a fierceness." Boy, did she ever! Brittany confronts Bryanboy about the last panel and his disappointed moment. He, of course, makes nice and Disney Girl comes back with wanting to show the different sides of "The Mouse." She definitely commits this time around.
Meanwhile, the models who are waiting their turn are just sitting around, eating and hanging out. Yvonne is vocally irritated, ready to leave and do her own thing. Once her turn with Mike, Johnny and Bryanboy comes around, the last thing Yvonne wishes to hear is that her wardrobe needs to be changed. The attitude immediately settles in and is projected at the social media representative. I think she just sealed her own fate. Her performance is lacking as well.
Johnny makes the mistake of asking Victoria about her character's back story. We're given a short novel about how Victoria's boyfriend ran a circus, and the animals were mistreated, and she was an animal activist and more things that are unnecessary.
At the end of the shoot, Yvonne breaks into tears, obviously frustrated, and talks with Bryanboy again. Luckily, he accepts her apology, but I wouldn't be surprised if he talks behind her back. She cannot just prepare to take pretty pictures; she needs to be ready for the rest of it as well.
"Androgyny is one thing, but Kiara looks like a man with makeup on," says a fan of Kiara -- if you can call them a fan. This implementation of social media is both good and ridiculous, I feel. This is art, and people will always have different views of art. I think in the next cycle, Tyra needs to take some things into consideration.
This particular panel is full of across-the-board feedback for all of the models besides Yvonne. Or perhaps Kelly Cutrone is simply looking to be different and difficult. Tyra addresses Yvonne's attitude with some words of wisdom. She says, "You are a model. You are hired to perform and to swallow it." These are definitely not words that Laura will hear anytime soon. She earns a perfect score from all three judges.
Best Photo: Laura
"This is crazy," says Tyra as she hands over the photo. Laura is the first model in this cycle to have a second stay in the Tyra Suite.
Brittany is pulled out of her misery, earning the second spot with her combined points. Unfortunately, Victoria and Yvonne are on the opposite end of the spectrum, landing in the bottom two. Will Victoria's loss of fire send her home? Or has Yvonne's attitude cost her a spot in the competition?
Eliminated: Yvonne
Breathe easy, Momma! Your little girl will be away from home for at least another week. During her exit confessional, Yvonne still has the understanding that Bryanboy was rude to her at the photo shoot. Don't look for her to come back from the
Comeback Series
Next Friday, the models are going on a road trip. Tyra takes the girls to Palm Springs in the next episode of
America's Next Top Model: College Edition
, and Victoria makes another phone call that worries her roommates. Tune in to The CW and check in here at BuddyTV to keep up with the competition.
Jilliane Johnson
Contributing Writer
(Image courtesy of The CW)
'America's Next Top Model: College Edition' Week 6 Photos: Steam Punk'd
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