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Current & Forthcoming
Shirley Tse: Stakeholders, Hong Kong in Venice
11.05.2019 to 24.11.2019, Venice, Italy
The Venice exhibition is a culmination of Tse's career-long interest in plasticity and in the various meanings and possible interpretations of materials and things
Five Artists: Sites Encountered
07.06.2019 to 20.10.2019, M+ Pavilion, Art Park
Five Artists: Sites Encountered brings together an international group of artists whose varied approaches offer ways to rethink ideas of site and place
What is Stage: Space as Poetry
01.07.2019 to 27.09.2019, The Box & The Room, Freespace
This September, renowned German stage and costume designer Anna Viebrock joins us for a public seminar and five-day artist workshop on how stage design goes beyond space. In preparation for the workshop, Edward Lam introduces Viebrock's work with a public talk and series of professional screenings exploring the aesthetics of some of her most important opera and stage productions
Chinese Culture Talk Series IV West Kowloon 101
Chinese Culture Talk Series IV
28.08.2019 to 30.10.2019, Seminar Hall, Xiqu Centre
In this series of expert talks, renowned academics and artists including Ou Da-wei, Dr Otto Lee, and Tony Miller introduce some of the ancient arts of Chinese literati and scholar-officials
Tea House Theatre Experience
19.09.2019 to 31.10.2019, Tea House Theatre, Xiqu Centre
Presented by our Tea House Rising Stars Troupe, this 90-minute narrated performance is specially designed to introduce new audiences to Chinese traditional theatre. To recreate the atmosphere of Hong Kong's early 20th century tea houses, audiences are also served traditional tea and dim sum during the show
Xiqu Centre Guided Tours (English) Xiqu Centre Guided Tours
Xiqu Centre Guided Tours (English)
21.09.2019 to 19.10.2019, Xiqu Centre
Supplemented with multimedia elements, this 60-minute guided tour helps you explore the Xiqu Centre facilities and discover fascinating facts about our new venue, and the culture and stories behind the art of xiqu
Xiqu Centre Guided Tours (Cantonese) Xiqu Centre Guided Tours
Xiqu Centre Guided Tours (Cantonese)
21.09.2019 to 22.10.2019, Xiqu Centre
Supplemented with multimedia elements, this 60-minute guided tour helps you explore the Xiqu Centre facilities and discover fascinating facts about our new venue, and the culture and stories behind the art of xiqu
Xiqu Centre Guided Tours (Mandarin) Xiqu Centre Guided Tours
Xiqu Centre Guided Tours (Mandarin)
22.09.2019 to 12.10.2019, Xiqu Centre
Supplemented with multimedia elements, this 60-minute guided tour helps you explore the Xiqu Centre facilities and discover fascinating facts about our new venue, and the culture and stories behind the art of xiqu
The Music of Cantonese Opera West Kowloon 101
The Music of Cantonese Opera
24.09.2019, Seminar Hall, Xiqu Centre
This talk explores the wide range of musical elements used in Cantonese opera, looking at the different vocal styles used for male and female roles, and the use of percussive instruments and rhythmic melodies to enhance mood and narrative
M+ International × Mori Art Museum: What Do Collections Mean to Museums?
26.09.2019, Academyhills, Tokyo, Japan
Reflecting on the ideas raised during the two-day symposium, this public event takes museums of different regional, historical, and financial backgrounds, and with various administrative structures, as a starting point for discussion
Boomabliss 31st Anniversary Presentations
26.09.2019 to 03.10.2019, Grand Theatre, Xiqu Centre
Established in 1988 by Dr. Law Ka-ying and Dr. Liza Wang, Boomabliss Cantonese Opera Troupe celebrates our 31st anniversary and we are proud to present a series of Cantonese opera. Main cast includes Law Ka-ying, Liza Wang, Leung Siu-ming, Chan Wing-yi, Yau Sing-po, Liu Kwok-sum, Sun Kim-long and Wan Yuk-yu
Experimental Cantonese Opera "Farewell My Concubine" (New Adaptation) by Xiqu Centre, West Kowloon Cultural District
Experimental Cantonese Opera "Farewell My Concubine" (New Adaptation) by Xiqu Centre, West Kowloon Cultural District
01.10.2019 to 12.10.2019, Xiqu Centre Studio 1
Blending traditional Cantonese opera techniques with contemporary stage and lighting design, this groundbreaking production reinterprets the legendary story of the downfall of Xiang Yu, the self-proclaimed "Overlord of Western Chu"
Community Engagement at the Core: Rethinking Museums for the Twenty-First Century
02.10.2019, Hotel Stage
In this talk, Kelly McKinley explores the ways in which museums are evolving in order to remain relevant and sustainable community resources in an increasingly divided and technology-driven world
Edward Lam Dance Theatre – Art School Musical
03.10.2019 to 13.10.2019, The Box, Freespace
This October, Art School Musical returns to Hong Kong for a fourth restaging adapted for The Box at Freespace. Featuring 18 original songs, and a cast from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, the plot centres around three young students and their struggle to find meaning in love, art and life
M+ Screenings: Restored Images from Taiwan
04.10.2019 to 06.10.2019
M+ Screenings: Restored Images from Taiwan is co-presented by M+ and Kwang Hwa Information and Culture Center, bringing together a selection of moving image works, including feature films, shorts, and newsreels
Experimental Yue Opera "Destiny of Rebirth" by the Shanghai Yue Opera Group
18.10.2019 to 19.10.2019, Studio, Xiqu Centre
Based on a romantic lyrical poem from the 1700s, this experimental Yue opera looks at female identity in the modern world, blurring the boundaries between men and women, and performers and audience, in a fully immersive encounter
Bookbinding Workshop
19.10.2019, Studio, Xiqu Centre
By learning the basic bookbinding techniques, participants will be able to create their own schedule book decorated with a traditional and exquisite cover inspired by Chinese paper-cutting
Cantonese Opera Works by Li Kui-ming
07.11.2019 to 10.11.2019, Grand Theatre, Xiqu Centre
"A Display Of Cantonese Opera Works by Li Kui Ming" Selected masterpieces that must be watched
Freespace Jazz Fest: The Box Music Programme
09.11.2019 to 10.11.2019, The Box, Freespace
A weekend of great jazz from around the world. Highlights include Robert Glasper Trio, GoGo Penguin, House of Waters, the Noa Drezner Flamenco Quartet, and local stars Mo-Men-T x Wuji, Teriver Cheung, Eugene Pao, Ted Lo, Angelita Li and more
CCDC in Residence: VR Dance Video (13–17.11.2019)
13.11.2019 to 17.11.2019, The Studio, Freespace
Part installation, part experimental VR dance experience, this futuristic meta-fiction film by director Singing Chen and choreographer Chou Shu-yi, offers audience a unique look at the possibilities of moving image dance works
"Li Yaxian" and A Master Selection of Sichuan Opera Excerpts by Chongqing Chuanju Theatre
15.11.2019 to 17.11.2019, Grand Theatre, Xiqu Centre
Three-time Plum Blossom Award winner Shen Tiemei leads the Chongqing Chuanju Theatre in a full-length production of Li Yaxian and a master selection of excerpts showcasing some of the distinct characteristics of Sichuan opera
CCDC in Residence: Re-Mark
16.11.2019 to 24.11.2019, The Box, Freespace
A reflection on the relationship between body, space and memory, this thought-provoking new work by CCDC Resident Choreography Sang Jijia explores the landscapes of Hong Kong's contemporary culture, the city's collective memory, and the traces of the past that echo through the years
CCDC in Residence: Almost 55
19.11.2019 to 20.11.2019, The Box, Freespace
A heartfelt solo dance created by Taiwanese choreography Chou Shu-yi for veteran dancer Qiao Yang, resident artist with CCDC, Almost 55 is also conversation between two artists of different generations and homelands on the history of contemporary dance and notions of home and identity
Rimini Protokoll – 100% Hong Kong
13.12.2019 to 15.12.2019, The Box, Freespace
Part theatre, part reality, 100% Hong Kong brings together 100 Hong Kong citizens live on stage. Responding to 100 questions – as performers, as people, as percentage points – they enact a series of ever-changing statistical groupings and create a thought-provoking living, breathing portrait of Hong Kong
Company Wayne McGregor – Autobiography
10.01.2020 to 12.01.2020, The Box, Freespace
Inspired by the sequencing of McGregor's own genome, Autobiography is performed by 10 dancers to a genre-defying soundscape by electronic musician Jlin and offers a mesmerising reflection on the fractured, multilayered nature of our lives and personal stories. Asian premiere
M+ Rover 2020
03.02.2020 to 03.07.2020
This year's programme is designed for primary schools, and it will see M+ Rover visiting local schools from February to July 2020
ON VIEW: Panorama
09.04.2020 to 19.04.2020, The Box & The Room, Freespace
Sydney-based choreographer, filmmaker and artist Sue Healey partners with performers from Hong Kong, Japan and Australia to present a cross-disciplinary, cross-cultural production combining live dance performances, film installations and exhibitions. Joining the project from Hong Kong are dance artists Mui Cheuk-yin and Joseph Lee, and cinematographer Maurice Lai


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Every day it seems as if sports introduces to a new name or face. One day it's Katherine Webb, the next it's Spike Albrecht. Some stay in the headlines, some come and go. The phenomenon certainly applies to college basketball. Nicole Auerbach and Scott Gleeson of USA TODAY Sports caught up with three people in the sport who we didn't know when practice began in October but who earned a place in the season's story lines:
Jack Taylor is a Grinnell College sophomore whose 138-point performance on Nov. 20 in the Pioneers' 179-104 victory against Faith Baptist Bible College set an NCAA all-divisions record for most points in a single game. Taylor shot 52-of-108 from the field — averaging three shot attempts per minute.
"Looking back now, it's still hard to believe it happened. People still don't believe me when I tell them it was a team effort. That was part of our game plan. I have a lot of memories, but the game is just a blur to me looking back. The reaction after is what I'll remember the most. I woke up the next morning, and saw Kobe Bryant was talking about me. He's my favorite player, but I've had to play more like Allen Iverson because of my size. That dribble-drive, left-to-right crossover (Iverson used) is a move I used a lot in that game.
"After a few weeks, I think the popularity came to a crashing halt. The game became a lot harder because most defenses were double-teaming me. That only motivated me to get better, it helped me stay grounded instead of being bigheaded. Then I broke my wrist midway through the season. That was disappointing because I wanted to be there for my team and one of my goals was to lead the country in scoring. In the offseason, I'm going to get up a lot of shots. Some guys will take thousands of shots, but for me, it's about taking quality shots vs. the quantity. I'll shoot 300 shots that I'll actually take in the game when I'm in the gym. Plus, I take a lot of shots in the game, anyway."
FORECAST: Next seasons' top 25
Will Privette is a North Carolina State senior better known as the wheelchair-bound student who rushed the court when N.C. State beat Duke on Saturday, Jan. 12:
"It's just crazy thinking how, when I got off the court, went up the service elevator, called mom and waited around the PNC Arena entrance to thank C.J. (Leslie), I thought that was the end of it. I got to rush the court again, which was fun, and we beat Duke. I'd gotten knocked down, and C.J. had given me an assist. At that point, I was like, 'This is pretty cool. It's been a good day.' I had no idea it would become such an Internet craze. The following two or three weeks were just a whirlwind. I kind of wish I could get it back and re-live it or be like my sister or something and watch it from a distance and see it all happen again. I think my phone battery never recovered from how much my phone was blowing up.
"I got an email last week about the RollPack shirts that were created. Two dollars of every shirt sold went to We Connect Now, which is involved with disability services as N.C. State. I got an email with the sale total. We sold 1,666 shirts, which comes up to $3,322 that's going to be donated to We Connect Now, so that's pretty exciting."
NBA DRAFT: Players leaving early
Brett Comer is a sophomore guard for Florida Gulf Coast who essentially held the keys to "Dunk City", the playing style that made FGCU the first 15 seed to reach the NCAA's Sweet 16.
"Everything's happened so fast. We put our school on the map as a Cinderella. We have our own place in history. There' so many great memories, but I'd have to say that alley-oop I threw to Chase (Fieler), that's one that will always stick with me. Just hearing that final buzzer go off after we beat Georgetown, words can't describe that feeling. No one can ever take that from you. It was such a great ride."
PHOTOS: Relive FGCU's magical run
Of coach Andy Enfield's departure for USC last week, Comer said: "It killed me. I'm sitting on my phone and seeing these Twitter updates saying he's on the verge of accepting an offer. I called one of the assistants. He didn't know. Then we get a call to meet in the locker room five minutes later. On the way there, we saw that he accepted it. So, we knew he was leaving before he even talked to us. Look, I understand it's a business, but as a player, that hurts. When my Dad passed away, he was there for me. He helped me tremendously.
"Coach (Enfield) gave us the blueprint, but those dunks came in transition, a lot of it was (instinctual)," Comer said. "Dunk City ain't going nowhere."

subset: commoncrawl


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Find out more about our children's health initiatives below.
Alliance for a Healthier Generation
The American Heart Association supports and provides leadership to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which was founded by the association and the Clinton Foundation. Working together, we've have made schools healthier, negotiated provider reimbursement for preventing and treating childhood obesity and raised awareness in children and adults about the importance of getting healthy to prevent childhood obesity. www.HealthierGeneration.org
Childhood Nutrition/Childhood Obesity
About one in three American kids and teens are over weight or obese, which can lead to a broad range of health problems. The American Heart Association works to help families live heart-healthy lives by providing tools and resources to encourage healthier eating and physical activity. Better nutrition focuses on sodium reduction, fruits and vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages and more. www.heart.org/healthierkids
Cardiovascular Conditions of Childhood
Most families don't know the risks of congenital heart defects, what they are and how they're treated until they are diagnosed around the time their baby is born. In fact, about 32,000 infants are diagnosed with a congenital heart defect each year and 1.3 million Americans are living with a CHD. The American Heart Association works to educate and support parents and their loved ones during pregnancy. If your child has been diagnosed with a heart condition, it can be a scary and emotional time. Find answers to common concerns about many types of heart conditions.
With inaugural funding provided by The William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, the American Heart Association and Nemours are launching Healthy Way to Grow, a technical assistance program, for child care centers across the country aimed at decreasing obesity among children ages birth to five years old. The program provides direct, hands-on assistance, customized training, resources and tools to support healthy lifestyles in child care environments. www.healthywaytogrow.org
Jump Rope For Heart and Hoops For Heart
Jump Rope For Heart and Hoops For Heart are education and fundraising events sponsored by the American Heart Association and the Society of Health and Physical Educators. These events engage elementary and middle school students with jumping rope or playing basketball while empowering them to improve their health and help other kids with heart-health issues.
KaBOOM! Playgrounds In a recent poll, 59% of parents reported that there is no place to play within walking distance of their homes; in poorer neighborhoods the figure increases to 69%. That means almost two out of three children have no place to play. Together with playground expert KaBOOM!, the American Heart Association is working to build playgrounds and lead community health education for kids and their families.
NFL Play60 inspires kids to get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity every day in school and at home and helps schools become places that encourage physical fitness year-round. Kits to track physical activity, learning materials, downloadable online materials for teachers and community outreach events coordinated by NFL Clubs and the American Heart Association are all part of the program.
Simple Cooking with Heart for Kids
Nationally funded by Walmart, this guide makes the concepts of our award-winning Simple Cooking with Heart program accessible for kids ages 8-12. With simple, fun recipes to spark young people's interest in food, cooking and health, this resource provides instructions to host an educational and entertaining hands-on cooking demonstration for kids plus information for parents to keep the creativity happening in the kitchen. www.heart.org/simplecookingkids
Less than one percent of children in the United States get the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. The American Heart Association's Teaching Gardens give elementary school students hands-on experience in a real-life laboratory so they can learn how to plant seeds, nurture growing plants, harvest produce and understand the value of good eating habits. www.heart.org/teachinggardens
Voices for Healthy Kids is a national advocacy initiative focused on uniting the movement to prevent childhood obesity. A collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and American Heart Association, the initiative seeks to help reverse the nation's childhood obesity epidemic by 2015 by ensuring children have access to healthy foods and beverages, as well as safe opportunities for physical activity. www.voicesforhealthykids.org.
The American Heart Association believes kids are the answer to saving more lives. That's why AHA is helping prepare more students, their teachers and their families to save lives with the CPR in Schools Training Kit™. The hands-on, interactive kit is based on the latest science and makes it easy for educators to train the next generation of lifesavers in 30 minutes or less. heart.org/CPRinSchools
Life's Simple 7 for Kids helps kids and their parents understand the seven components of heart health and lets them know how to keep them in healthy ranges. All of the recommendations have some important things in common: any person can follow them, the steps are not difficult or expensive to take, and even adding small parts of these recommendations into your life can go a long way toward helping you feel your very best.
The American Heart Association and the NFL are proud to come together to create the free NFL PLAY 60 app, empowering kids to get active and healthy. The app encourages players to get their 60 minutes of daily recommended physical movement in a virtual adventure by running, jumping and pivoting with device in hand. Available for iOS and Android. Download it today.
The American Heart Association and the National Hypertension Association are working together to combat childhood obesity and teach healthy habits with the VITAL program. VITAL stands for Values Initiative Teaching About Lifestyle. Instilling healthy habits for nutrition and physical activity in young children (Pre K through early elementary) before unhealthy habits set in, which is important for future health, self-esteem and quality of life. VITAL emphasizes child participation, educational entertainment and parent involvement. heart.org/VITAL.
Since 2009 over 400 research awards broadly related to children's heart disease have been funded by the AHA totaling $58.7 million. The American Heart Association and the Children's Heart Foundation have joined forces to fight congenital heart defects (CHD) by jointly funding at least $2.5 million over the next two years to support innovative research. In addition to funding lifesaving research, both organizations will be working together to raise awareness of CHDs. For more information visit heart.org/congenitalheartdefects.
Saving Children's Lives International Program
Worldwide, 6.6 million children under the age of 5 die each year, with over 4 million of these deaths occurring in limited resource countries. More than half of these deaths are due to conditions that could be prevented or treated with access to simple, affordable interventions. AHA's Saving Children's Lives international program is designed to increase the basic yet critical knowledge and skills of front-line healthcare workers in limited resource settings and was piloted in 2013 in two African countries – Botswana and Tanzania – through a grant from the Laerdal Foundation.


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|Goals scored
|Attempts on target
|Attempts off target
|Fouls committed
|Yellow cards
|Red Cards
SL Benfica may have scored two away goals in the first leg of their play-off tie against FC Twente, but they look unlikely to settle for the clean sheet that would see them through in Lisbon on Wednesday night.
Behind and then ahead in Enschede last week, Benfica eventually had to settle for a 2-2 draw to take back to Portugal. Both teams were in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage but with only one able to take their place in Thursday's draw in Monaco, Benfica coach Jorge Jesus is keen for his side to take the initiative.
"The 2-2 result in the Netherlands does not count," he said. "We may have the advantage of playing at home in front of our supporters, and because we drew over there, but there are no favourites. Our mind is always focused on winning and we only play attacking football.
It will be a very well-balanced match between two good teams. Twente have great players and are great going forward, but we want to reach the group phase with a win."
Midfielder Bruno César, a scorer in the 3-1 Portuguese Liga win against Feirense at the weekend, is equally reluctant to get carried away. "We know Twente are a very strong team and the first leg was a very difficult match," he said. "Both sides have quality and are always searching for a goal, but it is very important for us to qualify."
Jorge Jesus' charges are wise to be wary of a Twente side high on morale after a 5-1 victory at sc Heerenveen on Saturday, a performance Co Adriaanse labelled "our best match so far; everything went right". The win, earning sole possession of top spot in the nascent Eredivisie standings, helped soothe frustrations after Nikolay Mihaylov was ruled out with a neck injury, joining attacker Nacer Chadli on the sidelines.
The Bulgaria goalkeeper is expected to return in Lisbon, and defender Douglas says he is likely to play a crucial role. "It will be difficult, but I believe in our chances," he said. "
It's important we don't concede. If we succeed in that then we have a good chance of qualifying. I have a lot of faith in our attack. I'm sure they will score in Lisbon."
That confidence is well grounded, fortified by last season's European success: a repeat of two years ago, when an away-goals defeat by Sporting Clube de Portugal halted progress, is not being entertained. "Our experiences in the Champions League group stage, and then in the Europa League [reaching the quarter-finals] have made us stronger," Douglas concluded. "Now we know what is required."
©UEFA.com 1998-2011. All rights reserved.


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Amusing Musings for your Perusing: Life-Affirming Energy in Architecture, Design, and Culture
January 27, 2013
January 23, 2013
Evil Twins
Evil Twins are the antagonists, opposites, and look-alikes of storytelling. They tend to have distinct physical differences: goatees being the most common, along with the occasional scar or alternate outfit. An evil twin is typically not a biological twin, but rather exists as a physical duplicate, albeit with a different world view, who has entered the story from a parallel universe or other sci-fi phenomena (i.e. Star Trek's Mirror Mirror).
As architectural copying intensifies, the Evil Twin could be adopted as a fictional device to promote a critical method for duplication. Some quick thoughts on architectural Evil Twins follows:
But first, be advised, the recent pirated Zaha building is not an Evil Twin of the original - it's more of a biological twin - a Canal Street rip off of the original. It's for people who prefer GAP over Versace; Ford over Ferrari. The copy has no agenda - no alternate view of reality, no reason to undermine the original, and an agenda obsessed with achieving the same effect for less money. Interesting, but not an Evil Twin.
ARM's Negative of the Villa Savoye might be a better candidate for an Evil Twin. It's appearance, some 70 years after the original, seems to have time warped into Earth from an alternate universe. Also, the sinister "goatee" of ARM's copy has been manifested through the applique of chunky jet black panels - seems visible. The most terrifying aspect of ARM's copy is the roof deck, which appears to be a 1:1 copy until further examination reveals your mind has been fooled.
Perhaps one of the best Evil Twins I've ever seen - and what sparked my interest in the topic - is the recent reemergence of a beloved pavilion in a small Midwestern river town, Rising Sun (Indiana). The cloaking of a utilitarian public restroom building with camouflaged aesthetics of the town's pavilion, coupled with a very sinister reversal of program (public to private) is masterful. The evil twin trope of the goatee manifested as an aluminum front door. And, unlike Corb's and Zaha's twins, this building is doing something more - it goes beyond mere copying towards mockery, perhaps even jealousy. It is not quite a copy, but desperately wants to be. And in not fully succeeding in replication, it calls attention to a new possible future for the further reduction of architecture to image.
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Please see the query below and send your responses by 28th Feb. Many thanks
Dear all,
I am Nong Thi Ngoc, Advisor at Pro-Poor Partnership for Agro Forestry Development Project in Bac Kan Province, Vietnam. Our project has initiated work towards developing value chains in the community. We have identified two value chains, these are Local Chicken, and Glass Noodles. As we are in the starting phase of developing value chain we need inputs on how to involve more poor people in value chain stages and how to increase economic opportunities for them.
In Project many people talk about gender but in reality they don't know how to mainstream gender in value chain stages. Though Women Union has organized some gender trainings for project staffs in communes and districts level but the participation of women is very low in project activities. I can say that, women in this province contribute a big role in family's income by growing rice, maize and feeding livestock, and many other tasks, but they do not get the economic benefits.
I would like to discuss with the group:
1. How to involve poor with the activities of value chain to increase their income?
2. How to improve market access for poor?
3. How to mainstream gender in these value chains?
Please give suggestions from your project experiences, your suggestions will benefit us to develop our project strategy for value chain development.
Please see attached file, if you want to know more about my project and the products we have identified.
Thank you,
Nong Ngoc,
Pro-Poor partnership for Agro forestry Development Project,
Bac Kan Province, Vietnam.


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Arizona is seeking a full-time Emergency Veterinarian to join our team. Each hospital is well-equipped with surgical suites, Hallowell ventilators, digital radiography with 3-hour turnaround of radiologist interpretation, in-house laboratory including NOVA blood gas analyzers, ultrasound, continuous pressure monitoring, and cross-communication of medical records and radiographs between hospitals.
Emergency Veterinarian- Phoenix Valley Area
If you answered "yes" to these questions, then we want to speak to you.
BluePearl Veterinary Partners Phoenix is seeking a full-time emergency veterinarian to join our team. The four 24-hour emergency hospitals, located in the Phoenix area, serve the communities Scottsdale, Peoria and Avondale. All of our hospitals are well-equipped with:
Each hospital offers a variety of services and partnerships with specialists to provide quality care for pets. Our Avondale hospital has a partnership with board certified dermatologists. Our Scottsdale hospital has partnerships with board certified surgeons, an internist, ophthalmologists, dermatologists, cardiologists and oncologists. The Phoenix area also has availability and access to numerous other specialists including: dentistry, neurologists, exotic specialists and pathologists.
Perks to Living in Phoenix Area:
BluePearl is committed to a diverse work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, creed, sex, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, sexual orientation or affectional preference, or gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and a Drug Free Workplace.


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Roboteq has released a new, wireless-enabled motion controller that can be used to design both full- and semi-autonomous robots with a highly accurate control capability and custom functionality. The "most unique feature" of the SBL1360, a miniaturized version of the company's MBL1650 controller, is Basic Language Interpreter that can execute more than 50,000 Basic instructions per second, allowing for the development or scripts for custom functions or automated systems without the need for an external PLC or microcomputer, Mike Peterson, product marketing manager at Roboteq, told Design News.
"This is a simple and powerful, basic-like programming language that allows the users to add all sorts of functionality to the controller," he said, adding that it's also what makes the SBL1360 intelligent. "Extremely few products have that capability. Absolutely no other has it in controllers of this price range." Roboteq sells the controller for $225.
Together with motor-hall sensors that can measure speed and traveled distance accurately, as well as other features, the controller allows for the development of fully or semi-autonomous robots. Engineers can design these robots by connecting the controller's serial port to single board computers, wireless modems, or WiFi adapters. Additionally, by using CAN bus, up to 127 controllers can be networked on a single twisted pair network. Roboteq currently has customers using the product in robotics and small-vehicle applications, Peterson told us.
The controller accepts commands from a number of sources, including analog pedal/joystick, standard R/C radio, USB, CAN, or RS232 interface. It can operate the motors in open-loop or in closed-loop speed or position mode with a 1 kHz update rate.
Physically, the SBL1360 is compact, with a 70mm x 70mm, board-level open-frame design. An aluminum bottom plate allows for sufficient heat dissipation for operation without a fan in most applications, while mounting the board and its bottom plate directly against a metallic chassis can achieve additional cooling. The controller has a voltage operation up to 60V, which is "unusually high for a small product," Peterson said.
To prevent a power surge or overheating, the SBL1360 features intelligent current sensing that will automatically limit the power output to 30A in all load conditions. The controller also includes other protection against overheat, stall, and short circuits.
In terms of inputs and outputs, the controller includes up to four analog, six digital and five pulse inputs, with two 1.5A digital outputs for activating brakes or other accessories. The controller also includes nearly 80 optimization parameters that engineers can configure, such as programmable acceleration or deceleration, amps limits, operating voltage range, and use of I/O.
To configure, tune, and exercise the motor, Roboteq offers a free PC utility. The controller also can be reprogrammed and updated with the latest features in the field by downloading new operating firmware from Roboteq's website.
Related posts:
- DARPA Wants Your Danger-Seeking Robot
- Army Uses 3D-Printed Tentacles to Help Robots Manipulate Objects
- Video: Toshiba Develops Fukushima Robot
- Human-Like Bipedal Walking Robot
- Video: DARPA Stair-Climbing Robot Gets Arms
- 'MacGyver' Robot Can Use Found Objects to Solve Problems
- Slideshow: Robotic Hands Mimic Humans
- Slideshow: Competitors Gear Up For DARPA Robot Challenge
- Robotic Fish Glides, Swims While Looking for Oil
- 3D Printing & Robots at MD&M West
- Mitsubishi's Dexterous Robots for Factory Automation


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U.S. officials, experts: No high-level Afghan peace talks under way
WASHINGTON — Despite news reports of high-level talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, no significant peace negotiations are under way in Afghanistan, U.S. officials and Afghanistan experts said Thursday.
These same experts said the reports, which appeared in a number of U.S. media outlets, could be part of a U.S. "information strategy" to divide and weaken the Taliban leadership.
"This is a psychological operation, plain and simple," said a U.S. official with firsthand knowledge of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's outreach effort.
"Exaggerating the significance of it (the contacts) is an effort to sow distrust within the insurgency, to make insurgents suspicious with each other and to send them on witch hunts looking for traitors who want to negotiate with the enemy," said the U.S. official. He requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Ali Jalali, a scholar at the National Defense University and a former Afghan interior minister who maintains close contacts with the Afghan government, said he knew of no significant peace negotiations.
"There is a desire (by the Afghan government and its foreign backers) for talks with the Taliban and others, but the situation is not ready for these talks yet," he told McClatchy. "There is a lot of smoke, but no fire."
News accounts have said the talks with the Afghan government were held in Kabul and that the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force, facilitated travel for the Taliban from their sanctuaries in Pakistan.
The reports said the talks had deliberately excluded Mullah Mohammad Omar, the head of the Quetta Shura, the leadership council that controls Taliban forces in southern and eastern Afghanistan from the western Pakistani city of Quetta, and circumvented the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency.
U.S. intelligence thinks that the ISI supports the Taliban and the allied Haqqani network, which Islamabad denies.
A Department of Defense spokeswoman said she could not comment on the allegation of an "information operation." She also would not say whether there had been high-level peace talks, stating: "That's really something for the Afghan government to discuss."
The Quetta Shura denied Thursday that senior council members had taken part in peace talks.
"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan refutes outright these false claims, neither has it sent any delegations for talks and neither does it intend to negotiate at a time when the country is under occupation," said a statement posted on the council's English-language website.
U.S. officials said there are talks in which mid- and low-level insurgent commanders and their fighters have switched sides to join local militias created under a U.S.-backed reintegration initiative.
There also have been meetings, some facilitated by coalition forces and other countries, between Afghan officials and insurgent leaders to explore ideas on the form and substance of possible negotiations, they said.
"I have had personal meetings with some Taliban leaders. Some of my colleagues have had meetings with the Taliban both in Afghanistan and outside Afghanistan," Karzai said in an Oct. 15 interview with al Jazeera English television news.
"But those contacts have been more countrymen to countrymen. That type of talks. Unofficial contacts that sometimes they initiated, that sometimes we initiated," he said.
U.S. intelligence officials have "some question" about whether the insurgent leaders participating in these contacts have any authority to engage in peace talks, said a second knowledgeable U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The contacts were "not Reykjavik (the site of U.S.-Soviet nuclear arms negotiations), the U.N. Security Council or the Paris peace talks (that ended the Vietnam War)," the official said.
U.S. officials and Afghanistan experts said insurgent leaders have no incentive at the moment to engage in serious talks. They pointed out that insurgents still hold sway over large swaths of Afghanistan despite sustaining significant losses in Army Gen. David Petraeus' intensified counterinsurgency drive and stepped-up night raids by U.S. Special Operations Forces.
"We have the impression that all of the commanders that have been taken out have been replaced quite quickly," said Thomas Ruttig of the Afghan Analysts Network, a respected independent policy institute. On a scale of one to 100, Ruttig put progress on peace talks "at somewhere between one and two."
"That (psychological warfare) is exactly what it is," said a former senior U.S. official in touch with the White House. "Petraeus has been upping the attack on the Taliban, and trying to intimidate, and at the same time, reaching out : 'let's talk.'" The former senior official requested anonymity to avoid jeopardizing ties with the Obama administration.
While publicity about peace talks is partly psychological maneuvering, the former senior official said that Petraeus' strategy of escalating attacks while expressing a desire for diplomacy "seems to me certainly worth trying." He added: "I don't know if it'll work."
Insurgents think that President Barack Obama's announcement last December that the 110,000 U.S. troops will begin withdrawing in July 2011 means that the United States is leaving Afghanistan and all they have to do is wait, according to experts.
Furthermore, they said, the Pakistani military remains unwilling to close down the Haqqani network or the Quetta Shura, seeing them as instruments for securing a government in Kabul that will forge closer ties with Islamabad than with Pakistan's its arch-rival, India.
"High-level (peace) talks cannot meaningfully occur without the tacit or explicit acceptance of the ISI," said ret. Army Col. Thomas Lynch, a research fellow at the National Defense University.
(John Walcott contributed)
U.S. soldier held in probe of Taliban detainee's death
U.S. forces may have killed aid worker accidently
Pakistan blocks NATO convoys but Taliban get free passage


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Petra Schubert, DDS - Orthodontist in Dallas, TX
Petra Schubert is a Orthodontist (Orthodontics/Dentofacial Orthopedics dentist) practicing in Dallas, Texas. This dentist is listed on Dentist Network with a medical license speciality in Orthodontics/Dentofacial Orthopedics.
You can reach us on phone number (214) 987-0055, fax number or email address firstname.lastname@example.com. Our office is located on 6128 Sherry Ln, Dallas, TX,
For full contact details to this dentist have a look at the the column to your right (or scroll if you're viewing this on a mobile device.)


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European Commission recognises the environment is at the forefront in fight against poverty
(Brussels, 27th February) Today the European Commission launched 'A Decent life for all: Ending poverty and giving the world a sustainable future' a communication that will map out the EU's proposed negotiating position on the follow up to Rio+20 and to the UN Millennium Development Goals, the eight targets agreed in 2000 to halve world poverty.Commenting on the joint communication from the DG Development and Cooperation and DG Environment, Sally Nicholson, Manager of Development Policy & Finance at WWF European Policy Office said:
"WWF welcomes the EU's intentions to take an integrated approach towards environment and development in the UN discussions. We hope that their vision will help galvanise strong action to shift development paths in the future. Unsustainable patterns of current economic development mean that globally we are using 50 per cent more resources that the planet can afford."
"However we are disappointed that the EU's position does not provide more detail on how it will address the impacts of its own demands for resources on sustainable development in other parts of the world. The EU's policies and their external impacts must be examined closely in the coming years to make fair and sustainable development a reality and its resource use tackled in ways that go beyond resource efficiency."
The Commission's proposal will be discussed in the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in May and the Environment Council in June. The EU's joint position will be taken next September to New York where the United Nations will carry out a further review of progress towards the MDGs and will start planning a global development framework post-2015.
Sally Nicholson
Manager, Development Policy & Finance
WWF European Policy Office
Phone: +32 2 740 09 37
Mobile: +32 492 591 401
Alba Màlaga Homs
Communication and Media
WWF European Policy Office
Phone: +32 2 743 88 15


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Stock Image
Phone: (603) 466-5454
Built specifically with compact ergonomics, electric start, and performance perfectly scaled for new riders.
Get the latest 2019 model snowmobile with financing as low as 0% for 12 months.
Get great deals on 2017 & 2018 snowmobiles with financing as low as 0% for 12 months.
Spend $1000, Get $150 off Accessories, Parts, Lubricants & Apparel
For online redemption, use promo code: FAC2019.
Offer valid July 24, 2019 – September 30, 2019.
Polaris Snowmobiles –
Factory Authorized Clearance - US
July 24, 2019 – September 30, 2019
Legal disclosure
Offers vary by model. Offers valid on select new 2017 – 2020 Polaris snowmobiles purchased between 7/24/2019 - 9/30/2019. Minimum Payments required. Offer may not be combined with certain other offers, is subject to change and may be extended or terminated without further notice. All rebates are paid to the dealer. The Promotional Limited Warranty consists of the standard 12-month factory warranty plus an additional 12, or 24 months of additional promotional limited warranty coverage for a total of 24 or 36 months of warranty coverage. Any additional warranty coverage after the initial 12-month factory warranty is subject to a $50.00 deductible per visit. Valid at participating Polaris Snowmobile dealers only. Model & year exclusions apply. See your local dealer for details. Approval, and any rates and terms provided, are based on credit worthiness. Program minimum amount financed is $5,000 and 0% – 10% down payment required. Sales tax, registration fees, and dealer fees not included. Minimum Amounts Financed, Interest Charges, and penalties for accounts non-current, may apply. Promotional offer of 0% for 12 Months, then 9.99% for 60 months thereafter based on $10,000 financed would have monthly payments as follows: $138.89 per month for the introductory term and $177.02 post introductory period. Financing promotions void where prohibited. Valid at participating Polaris dealers only.


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Site Contents
|Beginner Tai Chi Classes
We are now offering classes geared towards the entry level beginning tai chi student.
This is a modified version of the classical Northern Wu style of tai chi. Emphasizing correct tai chi principles, this style of tai chi is significantly easier and quicker to learn than the much longer and more difficult traditional Wu style of tai chi. It is an excellent introduction to this wonderful Chinese art.
The fee is $25 per month, making this a very affordable way to begin studying tai chi.
David F. Dolbear, White Crane Martial Arts
Please read: Is tai chi a martial art?
Note: Click on "Taijiquan Links" on the menu bar at left to see videos of David Dolbear demonstrating Northern Wu Taijiquan.


text: I have recently completed my PhD thesis, entitled 'Thomas Hoccleve as Poet and Clerk', at the University of York. This was part of Prof. Linne Mooney's AHRC-funded project, 'Identification of the Scribes Responsible for Copying Major Works of Middle English Literature'. I am now working with Prof. Mark Ormrod and Prof. Mooney on 'The Writing of Petitions in Later Medieval England' project.


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december 2018
Morocco Desert
The desert trip. Not for the faint hearted - A trip into the back of beyond.
10 Days
december 2018
Fly to Agadir (AGA). Get to the airport for the morning. EasyJet has regular flight from Gatwick. We'll be there to meet you and drive you down South to the villa. We will then make a plan on where and when to head according to the forecast.
Trip overview
Who doesn't like adventure? This trip is all about letting the forecast dictate your trip. There are so many amazing surf spots in the Sahara which we will visit and call home for the duration of the trip. Armed with a fleet of trucks, supplies and tents. We'll be heading down into the desert hunting for perfect waves. Eating locally caught seafood which will be prepared by our Berber guides.
What's included
- Specific lessons and coaching to your personal needs as well as to the group.
- Coaching using at least one video analysis or photography session per day.
- Guidance to and "in" the best breaks with specific tips on where to sit on the break for that session.
- Water safety.
- Transport to and from the villa.
- Full board accommodation either in tents, fisherman's huts, local's houses or in the main villa. Either place will be close to the waves.
- Transfers to and from the airport.
Don't forget
- 4x3mm wetsuit + reef boots.
- Small first aid kit.
- Warm clothes and a waterproof/windproof jacket for the cold desert nights.
- Head torch.
- Holiday insurance which covers surfing. I really recommend surfoffsure.co.uk for a surf specific policy that even covers your equipment.
- Waterproof sunscreen. I recommend Aloe Up for kids which you can find here.
- Some local currency to buy souvenirs, local massage, or some snacks on the way to the beach.
- Spare everything - fins, leashes, boards, a ding repair kit. As you can imagine there are no surfshops where we're heading.
Jez's tips
We're going to have nothing but a fire, our surf kit and essentials. No electricity either. So bring a book or 2, some card games and a good sense of humour. This is going to be camping but with ridiculously good, empty waves out front. This trip is like a survival course with surfing involved


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When most of us were in school, the definition of an 'attentive classroom' meant rows of desks with students sitting up straight in absolute silence while the teacher delivered a lecture in front of the chalkboard. In fact, the greatest compliment a class could receive was passing the dreaded "Can I hear a Pin Drop?" test, conducted by the teacher (usually right after recess) to make sure everyone was as powered-down as possible. The message it delivered? Don't get too excited, kids, you're in school.
Luckily those days are behind us (well…they should be at least;). Today, a happy class is an engaged class. Finding ways to capture student attention and motivate them to want to learn more is the key to learning.
To help you in this area, we are declaring Show and Tell Friday (huzzah!). Each Friday, we'll highlight a web 2.0 tool, technology, or really cool idea that we're seeing teachers using in Edmodo to engage students at all grades and learning levels.
Pixton Comics for Schools is a great way to start. Pixton allows students to create interactive comics to demonstrate their understanding of a concept or idea. We're seeing a lot of Pixton projects posted to Edmodo across all subject areas and it seems to be a great tool for all disciplines. Students can write book reports for Language Arts, create a timeline of events for Social Studies, or create a math riddle to be solved by other students — all using the features provided in Pixton. (It gets even better! There's an Edmodo button so you can post completed comics directly to the Edmodo library)
Ok – so now we've "Shown" – it's time for you to "Tell": Have you tried Pixton yet in your classroom? What do you think?
6 comments. Leave new
Yes, my classroom is a Pixton for Schools subscriber… What a tool for students to show their understanding of a concept. Teachers can also customize rubrics to fit the assignment for assessment and/or allow students to invite their peers to collaborate and evaluate.
My students are integrating Pixton Comics with Edmodo in our Literature Circle program. Not only am I getting visuals for their understanding of their reading, but their fellow members are discussing/debating points of view that can only come from graphic representation. The comic comments posted in the Edmodo embed linger to spark further dialogue or interest in a book.
ooh – i love that idea for Literature Circles – especially the follow up debates. I used to do Story Trains with my third graders (I was in a very low performing school and all of my students were below basic readers – one of my big challenges was helping them tap into their imagination and creativity). We'd go around the room and each person would add one sentence to an oral story. They'd each write their sentence on construction paper and draw a picture of it and I'd hang them all up along the perimeter of the room in one long train, with The Engine at the Front and "The End" as a caboose. It took them awhile to catch on to flow and sequence of events, but we came up with some really fun stories that served as a great launching point for them to write their own. I can only imagine what they would have done had they had something like Pixton — but I could see Edmodo and Pixton both becoming great tools for a Story Train type lesson too.
Unbeileablve how well-written and informative this was.
tqZeCs wwifxurgvhsl
Yes, I use Pixton regularly. I have been a user of Pixton for over 2 years now and I love it. Thanks to Clive! We use it to create chapter summaries in our readers as well as to provide situational conversations in and out of the classroom. The site is by far the best web 2.0 technology for my FL classroom to date.
No, I haven't, but it sounds like a good idea.


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The Floor Covering Weekly reports Armstrong announced a price increase to take effect in July of this year on all solid hardwood and select engineered wood floors in the US and Canada.
They attribute the raise in prices to their own increasing costs due to limited supply of raw materials and a greater national demand. The price increase will be in between 5-7%, and it's likely other manufacturers will follow suit as lumber prices are expected to climb.
Price increases are not uncommon, and it's almost always the customer who ends up paying more when the manufacturer's cost increases. This is not news to anyone and the way it's always been, but if you are in the market for new hardwood, this is a good thing to know. You might want to step up your timeline.
It also never hurts to open up your options. If you haven't considered alternatives like bamboo or cork flooring, you might want to take a look.


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The Perfect Gift For Her - Wire Wrapped Verdigris Patina Wing Pendant
Description: Between turquoise bronze Picasso 6mm czech glass beads, a single brass verdigris patina wing dangles from tiger tail beading wire. Wire wrapped and accented, this piece dangles 16 inches from antique brass chain and is finished off with a lobster claw clasp and 2 inch extension. Verdigris patina is an eco-friendly process to imitate weathered metal such as brass or copper, giving it a shabby vintage appearance. The most amazing addition to any accessory collection!
Price: $47.00


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Walkers Raise Funds for Alzheimer's Association
Participants enjoyed beautiful weather on Saturday, Oct. 5 for psychology's walk to benefit the Alzheimer's Association
The two-mile walk through downtown Grinnell was a psychology service project to raise awareness of the national Alzheimer's Association's program of Walks to End Alzheimer's.
Our successful event was organized by Psi Chi, our chapter of the national psychology honor society, and Grinnell's psychology Student Education Policy Committee (SEPC), an organization of majors.
Thanks to the walkers and sponsors who raised over 300 dollars to support research in finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease, in which Iowa has the third highest death rate in the nation.. See more photos in our album.


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You don't need shop for bread anymore with these great bread recipes including fruit bread, wholemeal bread, soda bread, bread rolls, pita bread and naan bread.
This tasty fruit and nut bread is easy to make. If you use your food processor to chop the nuts and cranberries you will save loads of time.
This banana bread is moist and delicious, with loads of banana flavour. Friends and family love my recipe and say it's by far the best. It's wonderful toasted!
This recipe is one that was passed down from a family friend, and every one that tastes it loves it. Virtually mess free, no mixer required, just a bowl and spoon... now that's my favourite kind of baking...
Nothing fancy - just delicious, melt in your mouth rolls made from simple ingredients.
When the recipe that came with the bread maker didn't work out how I wanted I played around until I came up with this one that always creates a soft and tasty loaf of bread.


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Graduate Research Symposium 2007
Biological Sciences and Physics Building. Room 1309:00 AM - 4:00 PM
The EEB Spring Symposium will be on Saturday, March 31st. This is an all day event where graduate students get a chance to present their research to other graduates and faculty in the department. Regardless of your research level, this symposium provides an opportunity to present project ideas and/or results in a low-stress atmosphere, and obtain valuable feedback from grads and faculty. Because this is an all day event, lunch and snacks will be provided by funds requested from the GSS by our graduate student GSS senators. Grads, please consider giving a talk.
Please submit titles to: firstname.lastname@example.com Early submission of titles is encouraged!
- 8:15-9:00 Breakfast
- 9:00-9:15 Tsitsi McPherson
- Transboundary Protected Areas: potential for the Guiana Shield Corridor
- 9:15-9:30 Suegene Noh
- Testing for preference of song characters in Chrysoperla lucasina
- 9:30-9:45 Kristiina Hurme
- Tadpole schooling and parental care in an aquatic-breeding tropical frog, Leptodactylus insularum
- 9:45-10:00 Nicholas Tippery
- Expanding the phylogenetic utility of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region using predicted secondary structure.
- 10:15-10:30 Beth Jacobsen
- Gene flow between multiple species in the New Zealand cicada genus Kikihia
- 10:30-11:00 Break
- 11:00-11:15 J. Pablo Arroyo
- Natural Forest Management Plans: A framework for assessing tree diversity
in Costa Rica.
- 11:15-11:30 Susan Z. Herrick
- Spatial Interactions of Breeding Male Green Frogs (Rana clamitans) and Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana)
- 11:30-11:45 Krissa Skogen
- Does atmospheric nitrogen deposition contribute to the decline of a native nitrogen-fixing species, Desmodium cuspidatum?
- 11:45-12:00 Jang K. Kim
- Are Intertidal Seaweeds More Efficient at Nutrient Absorption?
- 12:00-12:15 Adam Wilson
- The Fire-Weather relationship in the South African Fynbos: Implications under Climate Change
- 12:15-12:30 Roberta Engel
- Origins of pseudoscorpion lineages endemic to the outcrops of southwestern Australia
- 12:30-1:45 Lunch
- 1:45-2:00 Susan Letcher
- Methods for evaluating ecological similarity in large multivariate data sets: an example using forest succession data from northeastern Costa Rica
- 2:00-2:15 Carrie Fyler
- Erection of a new genus: A total evidence approach to tapeworm systematics
- 2:15-2:30 Karolina Fucikova
- New Algal Species Records for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S.A.
- 2:45-3:00 Diego Sustaita
- Prey processing in predatory birds: food for thought
Tsitsi McPherson
Transboundary Protected Areas: potential for the Guiana Shield Corridor
Recognizing that species ranges extend beyond the political boundaries of individual countries, there is increasing advocacy for the creation of protected areas, or networks, extending into two or more countries. These transboundary conservation areas serve to protect species at a landscape scale approach. Conflicts over existing international boundaries between neighbouring countries are a hindrance to such conservation efforts. The countries of the Guiana Shield clearly illustrate why conservation must focus on a transboundary approach. Occupying a unique geological region, many of the countries on the Guiana Shield have contested borders with neighbouring countries. It is proposed that the focus of conservation along the Shield should be on the maintenance of systems that provide local, regional, and global goods for the public and private sectors. The potential for a transboundary biological corridor across the Guiana Shield, as a method for the continued provision of public goods, is discussed for Guyana relative to its neighbours, Venezuela on the west and Suriname on the east.
Suegene Noh
Testing for preference of song characters in Chrysoperla lucasina
Enter Abstract Here
Kristiina Hurme
Tadpole schooling and parental care in an aquatic-breeding tropical frog, Leptodactylus insularum
Group-living is a widespread phenomenon among animals that increases survival through increased predator detection and dilution of risk. Parental care is also widespread; parents may increase offspring survival through predator defense, food provisioning or nest building. Despite high levels of predation in aquatic environments, parental care of tadpoles is rare, probably because most adult anurans are terrestrial whereas tadpoles are aquatic. Within the Neotropical genus Leptodactylus, research has revealed an adaptive tendency towards tadpole schooling and female care and the novel use of stereotyped signals in female-offspring communication. Leptodactylus insularum tadpoles form dense aggregations that experience intense predation from terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates. Females attend the eggs and aggregations of tadpoles, and lead these schools to different microhabitats in temporary ponds. I will address multiple hypotheses about the effect of group size on predation risk and oxygen availability in tadpole schools, the biology of parental care, and the genetic composition of female-tadpole groups in Leptodactylus insularum. Additionally, I will discuss current research on growth rates and lung development in tadpoles, the effect of variation in female attendance on offspring growth and survival, and parent-offspring communication.
Nicholas Tippery
Expanding the phylogenetic utility of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region using predicted secondary structure.
Molecular phylogenetic methods often are based purely on the linear sequence of nucleotides for the region of interest. Methods that explore additional facets of sequence data include models of codon evolution for protein coding regions and doublet models that account for covarying sites. I have developed a method that extracts further phylogenetically-informative data from the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, based on predicted models of ITS secondary structure. Like their flanking ribosomal genes, the ITS regions (ITS-1 and ITS-2) have secondary structures ('stems' and 'loops') that are conserved across taxonomic groups as divergent as algae and angiosperms. In the method presented, seven conserved structural regions of ITS (three from ITS-1 and four from ITS-2) were encoded for their nucleotide composition and pairwise alignment type (match or mismatch). Data for different taxa were aligned to each other under the primary criterion of structural similarity, which differed from the traditional, phenetic alignment. Rather than incurring costs simply for changes in nucleotide identity, the method penalizes changes that disrupt secondary structure. Thus, by aligning sequences based on structure and assigning costs to structural changes, the method generates phylogenetic data that are nearly independent from the simple nucleotide sequences on which they were based. In an application from the family Menyanthaceae, the method substantially improved support for nodes that were ambiguous under analysis of traditionally aligned sequences.
Beth Jacobsen
Gene flow between multiple species in the New Zealand cicada genus Kikihia
The Kikihia genus of New Zealand cicadas has 20-30 species that extend over the entire country. There are over twenty contact zones between recently diverged Kikihia species and subspecies and hybridaztion has been found to occur between some of them. I propose to use microsatellite data to ascertain to what extent gene flow is occuring, between what species, and what effect on genetic differences gene flow is having.
J. Pablo Arroyo
Natural Forest Management Plans: A framework for assessing tree diversity in Costa Rica.
Enter Abstract Here
Susan Z. Herrick
Spatial Interactions of Breeding Male Green Frogs (Rana clamitans) and Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana)
Many anurans breed in mixed-species assemblages, and in some cases, breeding males engage in interspecific aggressive interactions. North American bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) and green frogs (Rana clamitans) are broadly sympatric, often are found together in permanent or semi-permanent breeding ponds throughout the summer months, and have very similar mating systems. Males defend territories that offer appropriate vegetation for egg-laying, and they have similar vocal repertoires used in territorial interactions and in attracting females. This similarity in breeding ecology creates a potential for interspecific competition among breeding males, but very few studies have focused on interspecific adult interactions. I used ArcView to study the movements and spatial interactions of individually marked bullfrogs and green frogs in a pond in Connecticut. Calling and oviposition sites of each individual were characterized by measuring water depth, distance from shore, water temperature, and amount of overhead cover. I found that in the presence of bullfrogs, green frogs occupy sites that are closer to shore, in shallower water, and with abundant cover overhead, although some green frog territories were adjacent to those of bullfrogs. Green frogs also were more likely to use artificial shelters as territory sites than were bullfrogs. When bullfrog numbers declined late in the breeding season, some green frogs move into sites previously occupied by bullfrogs and sites that were farther from shore and with less cover. Large males of both species showed strong fidelity to particular territories, but smaller individuals often moved between territories or behaved as satellite males in the territories of larger frogs.
Krissa Skogen
Does atmospheric nitrogen deposition contribute to the decline of a native nitrogen-fixing species, Desmodium cuspidatum?
Nitrogen (N) deposition is one of three anthropogenic factors most likely to cause biodiversity changes in the future. Increased N deposition may have an especially large impact on temperate forests, which are highly N limited and occur in regions with the highest levels of atmospheric N deposition. Legumes growing in temperate forests may be especially sensitive. N2-fixing plants, including legumes, often have a competitive advantage in areas of N limitation, but they may be outcompeted by other species when N deposition increases. The influence of N fertilization on agricultural species and on community-level properties has been extensively documented, but only recently have plant conservationists begun to consider the possible role of N deposition in species declines. This project investigates whether N deposition in the northeastern United States has contributed to the loss of a N2-fixing species, Desmodium cuspidatum (Fabaceae). Desmodium cuspidatum disappeared from suitable habitat in New England in the last 30-40 years. A greenhouse experiment tested whether D. cuspidatum competition with Solidago sp. is influenced by levels of applied N. To control for density effects, plants were grown alone, with another D. cuspidatum, or with Solidago sp. Five N treatments – no N, three simulated N deposition rates, and half-strength Hoagland's solution - were applied weekly for 10 weeks. Measures of plant size were collected weekly. At harvest, aboveground and belowground biomass, number of nodules and delta 15N stable isotope ratios were measured. Delta 15N signatures identify the source of N used by each plant. The relationship between applied N, nodulation, and delta 15N and the implications of these results for D. cuspidatum population dynamics will be discussed.
Jang K. Kim
Are Intertidal Seaweeds More Efficient at Nutrient Absorption?
Desiccation stress can determine the upper distribution limits and could enhance the uptake of nitrate and ammonium of intertidal algal species. Emersion following desiccation might stimulate several aspects of metabolism. Upper shore species may exhibit greater stimulation of N uptake following desiccation and achieve maximum uptake at higher desiccation levels. The objective of this study was to determine whether Porphyra species from different vertical elevations respond differently to the desiccation stress, in terms of nitrate uptake and growth. The intertidal species (Porphyra umbilicalis) and subtidal species (P. amplissima) were utilized in this study. Both species were cultivated at 100–150 umol m-2 s-1 light intensities, 500 uM nitrate concentration and 10 C (P. umbilicalis). Porphyra amplissima was cultivated at 15 C for three days, and P. umbilicalis was cultivated at 10 C for three weeks at a photoperiod of 12:12h L:D. Samples were exposed to air for 0, 30 min (30-50% water loss) and 2 hrs (90% water loss), 4 hrs after light exposure each day. Desiccation was more stressful to the subtidal species, P. amplissima, than to the intertidal species, P. umbilicalis. When tissues were exposed for 2 hrs daily, P. amplissima lost weight and pigments, while the growth rate of P. umbilicalis dropped by only 30% compared with that of continually submerged blades. Nitrate uptake rate of subtidal P. amplissima was only 73% (30-50% water loss) and 62% (90% water loss) of that of continually submerged tissue. Nitrate uptake rates of P. umbilicalis were not significantly different in each treatment. These results suggest that species in the intertidal zone, which have longer exposure times, may have higher time-use efficiency than the subtidal species in terms of nitrate uptake. This indicates a possible correlation between nitrate uptake and observed vertical distribution patterns.
Adam Wilson
The Fire-Weather relationship in the South African Fynbos: Implications under Climate Change
Fire is a defining component of the fynbos ecosystem in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) of South Africa. Many ecologically important species require fire for reproduction and the frequency of fire is a primary determinant of species composition. It has been hypothesized that climate change will increase fire frequency by raising temperature and reducing the reliability of rainfall. However, little work has been done to quantify the relationship between fire occurrence and climate factors. I am currently working on spatio-temporal statistical models to explain the monthly variability of fire frequency in mountain fynbos regions from 1980-2000. Preliminary results suggest a clear relationship between temperature, precipitation, and fire events, with more and larger fires occurring in hotter, drier months and years. These findings have important ramifications for conservation and management of fynbos. If climate change leads to higher temperatures or lower rainfall, our models imply that fire frequency will increase. Increased fire frequency will favor re-sprouters and other species that reproduce quickly over plants with slower reproduction cycles. Thus, if the fire regime changes, the community composition of the fynbos could change.
Roberta Engel
Origins of pseudoscorpion lineages endemic to the outcrops of southwestern Australia
Enter Abstract Here
Susan Letcher
Methods for evaluating ecological similarity in large multivariate data sets: an example using forest succession data from northeastern Costa Rica
Since species abundance data sets are often massively multivariate, extracting useful axes of variation is a challenge. Here, I present a data set of woody plant abundance from 30 sites along a forest succession gradient in northeastern Costa Rica, comprising 8914 individuals of 477 species. I summarize the state-of-the-art methods for examining similarity in species composition between sites, performing an ordination based on the similarity matrix, and examining the validity of a priori groupings in the data set. This analysis reveals significant changes in the species composition of sites along a chronosequence.
Carrie Fyler
Erection of a new genus: A total evidence approach to tapeworm systematics
New tapeworm species are continually being discovered and described from a variety of vertebrate hosts. Traditionally, all taxonomic assessments have been based on morphology alone. Recently an increase in tapeworm molecular sequence data has made it possible to construct molecular phylogenies to confirm morphological hypotheses and thus incorporate a total evidence approach to tapeworm systematics. In the current study the elasmobranch host Pristis clavata Garman, 1906 (dwarf sawfish) was examined for a unique tapeworm complex suspected to be a genus new to science. Traditional morphological techniques were used to erect the new genus and to describe three new species. Molecular sequence data from the nuclear ribosomal subunit 28S were generated for at least two individuals of each putative new species. Bayesian inference and maximum parsimony were used to analyze the dataset within a much larger phylogenetic framework. The morphological results led to the erection of a new genus and three new species. The molecular results confirmed the presence of three species. Each hypothesized morphological species formed a clade distinct from the other two species. The molecular results however did not support the placement of all three species in a single genus. In both parsimony and Bayesian analyses species A and B formed a clade phylogenetically distinct from the most closely related genera, however species C was always sister taxon to the genus Acanthobothrium. The results of these molecular analyses suggest that the cestode species parasitizing sawfish are some of the most basal lineages of a very interesting clade including Acanthobothrium (parasites of elasmobranches), Proteocephalidea (parasites of fresh water teleosts) and Potomotrygonocestus (parasites of fresh water rays in South America). This is a very diverse group of parasites in which each genus has at least some affinities to freshwater. This is in contrast to their closest relatives, which are found entirely parasitizing elasmobranchs in marine environments. These new species may be the key to understanding the origin and diversification of the group.
Karolina Fucikova
New Algal Species Records for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S.A.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park harbors a remarkable biodiversity. Within the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI), a project that has been in progress in the park since 1997, 976 algal taxa have been reported to this day. This number includes a few old historical records from the 1940s, as well as hundreds of taxa reported by the algal Taxonomic Working Group (TWiG) of the ATBI. From the total of 976 taxa, 392 have been added since the last published species record list (2004). Ranges of several algal taxa have been extended as a result of this work. In addition, some new species of diatoms (Bacillariophyta), blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria), green algae (Chlorophyta), and conjugating green algae (Charophyta) have been described. Even more taxa, ca. 50, have not been identified to species level with certainty, and are therefore putative new species as well.
Diego Sustaita
Prey processing in predatory birds: food for thought
Prey processing generally refers to the act of manipulating prey to facilitate its passage through the alimentary tract. Naturally, there is tremendous variation in the way different groups of birds go about this. In predatory birds for instance, this process begins with capturing and killing prey, followed by further processing prior to consumption. Here I discuss my endeavor to study the biomechanics of prey processing and feeding in a predatory songbird – the Loggerhead Shrike – through an intraspecific, ecomorphological approach. Given their morphological and behavioral adaptations for processing vertebrate prey, unique impaling behavior, broad geographic distribution, and omnivorous food habits, shrikes form a particularly interesting system for examining functional trade-offs, and the mechanistic basis to patterns of phenotypic variation.


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EDITORIAL: Time to abolish Electoral College
The Electoral College is best described as a contrivance.
The Electoral College system gives each state the number of electors equal to the state's representation in Congress. Each elector casts a single vote and the candidate winning a majority becomes president. If no candidate wins a majority, the issue is decided by each state casting a single vote for a presidential candidate in the House of Representatives.
At its best, this was a complicated way to convert the will of the people into the choice of a president.
Worse, it never really worked as it was supposed to work, which was to depoliticize the presidency.
For the first two presidential elections, George Washington was essentially a shoo-in. By 1796, however, political parties were on the rise and have been with us forever since.
Unfortunately, so has the Electoral College, which every four years skews what should be a national election into a battle over a relative handful of undecided voters in a relative handful of so-called swing states.
Because every state gets two senators, the system also naturally gives greater weight to the votes of citizens in states of small population than those held by residents of states with greater populations. As noted by Carolyn Cocca and Thomas Lily Jr., professors at SUNY Old Westbury, voters in Wyoming get one Electoral College vote for every 189,386 residents, while voters in New York get one vote for every 668,210 residents, making a Wyoming ballot cast worth more than three more than a New York ballot.
And the system of winner-take-all allocation that most states choose effectively disenfranchises altogether, for instance, Republicans in the state of New York, or Democrats in Utah.
In a representative democracy where every person is supposed to have one vote, this system effectively weights some votes as crucial, while dismissing many, many others as just so much chaff.
Further, while it usually is true that the person who gets the most votes also wins the Electoral College, it is not invariable. Three times a candidate has been elected who received fewer votes - by which we mean ballots cast by everyday citizens - than his main rival.
Congratulations, you just won a nationwide vote! And better luck next time.
That's what happened in 2000, when Al Gore won the popular vote, but, losing in the Electoral College, lost the election.
It is not out of the question this could happen again this November if Romney wins the popular vote, but Obama manages to hold the swing states of Ohio and a few others.
That would be a travesty. It's also completely unnecessary.
It's time to amend the Constitution to put the election of the president directly in the hands of the nation's citizens.


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BESSEMER CITY � There was little about Monday night�s meeting between Cherryville and Bessemer City that fell into the routine category for this bitterly contested basketball rivalry.
The game produced only a moderate crowd by the standing-room-only attendance that the contest typically generates. The atmosphere at Jackson �Ace� Parker Gymnasium could best be described as lukewarm.
And the final score was an abnormality for a series that is known for dramatic endings. The Yellow Jackets went on a 20-10 run in the second period and used that momentum to cruise to a 95-58 win in the first round of the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference tournament.
Brad James, one of two seniors on the BC roster, scored 27 points and pulled down 18 rebounds in a game that was never close after the first eight minutes.
Ronnie Webber added 14 points and nine rebounds to accentuate Bessemer City�s dominance of the lane area against a small Cherryville front line.
What�s more, guard Tyrece Meeks of BC had one of his better floor games, handing out a game-high seven assists while getting in the paint himself for eight boards.
Even late additions to the varsity roster had shining moments. Sophomore Taquez Lane, an erstwhile member of BC�s 17-3 jayvee team, scored 13 points off the bench on 6-for7 shooting.
�We were fortunate enough to get a home game in the tournament, and we did not want to lose that,� BC coach Danny McDowell said. �I looked at the guys in the locker room, and I could tell they were geared up and ready to play. I could not be more proud of them.�
It was a case of the Jackets returning to what McDowell called �Bessemer City basketball.�
He said, �We are not a 3-point shooting team. We need to go inside-outside, and we did a good job of that tonight.�
The Yellow Jackets (18-6) won every quarter, a rarity for them, and blew the game open with a 29-point flurry in the third period, extending a 16-point halftime cushion to a 32-point margin, 73-41.
Cherryville coach Scott Harrill went deep into his bench as early as the six-minute mark of the third period, replacing at least three starters for a brief stretch.
Al-Malik Vinson was the lone Cherryville player in double figures with 10 points. Three-point specialist Kenny Poston was limited to seven points on 2-for-10 shooting.
After a fast-paced first quarter in which Bessemer City opened up a 24-18 lead, Cherryville�s shooting turned stone cold.
The Ironmen shot 19 percent in the second eight-minute segment, making 4 of 21 attempts. Although Cherryville ended the first half on a positive note � a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Spencer Stamey from the deep left wing � the Ironmen went into the break down by 16, 44-28.
In contrast to Cherryville�s offensive woes, the Yellow Jackets rode their dominance on the offensive glass and high percentage shots to 62 percent shooting in the second quarter (10-for-16).
BC advances to the tournament semifinals Wednesday at East Lincoln against second seed East Lincoln. The teams split their regular season series.
The extension of the season for Cherryville (11-14) depends on a possible wild-card bid to the 1A playoffs.
East Lincoln 66, North Lincoln 53 � Chazz Surratt (17 points), Tyler Brock (12 points), Domonique Smith (12 points) and Charlie Hills (10 points) led the Mustangs to a first-round tournament win. East Lincoln (18-6) will host Bessemer City in Wednesday�s 6:30 p.m. semifinal.
Christian Ramos (17 points, four assists), Zach McGinnis (12 points, four assists) and Hunter Caldwell (nine points) led North Lincoln (10-15), which will compete in the 2A state playoffs Monday against a to-be-determined opponent.
Lincolnton 43, Highland Tech 42 � Alonzo Mobley (13 points) and D.J. Cunningham (10 points) led Lincolnton to a first-round road victory in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference tournament . The Wolves (13-10) will face Lake Norman Charter in Wednesday�s 8 p.m. semifinal at East Lincoln.
Kameron Harper (15 points), Sebastian Neiminen (11 points) and Josh Neely (10 points) led Highland Tech (9-14), which will compete in the state playoffs Monday.
Lake Norman Charter 75, West Lincoln 27 � Malik McCormick (15 points) led top-seeded Lake Norman Charter to a quarterfinal win in the Southern Piedmont 1A/2A Conference tournament. The Knights (19-4) will face Lincolnton in Wednesday�s 8 p.m. semifinal at East Lincoln.
Alec Bruning and Daniel Schesney scored six each to lead West Lincoln, which ended its season at 2-21.
Monday�s first round at higher seeds
(3) North Lincoln 70, (6) East Lincoln 39
(2) Lake Norman Charter 80, (7) Cherryville 31
(4) West Lincoln 56, (5) Bessemer City 46
(1) Lincolnton 48, (8) Highland Tech 30
(3) Bessemer City 95, (6) Cherryville 58
(2) East Lincoln 66, (7) North Lincoln 53
(5) Lincolnton 43, (4) Highland Tech 42
(1) Lake Norman Charter 75, (8) West Lincoln 27
Tuesday's girls semifinals at East Lincoln
North Lincoln vs. Lake Norman Charter, 6:30 p.m.
West Lincoln vs. Lincolnton, 8 p.m.
Wednesday�s boys semifinals at East Lincoln
Bessemer City vs. East Lincoln, 6:30 p.m.
Lincolnton vs. Lake Norman Charter, 8 p.m.
Friday�s finals at East Lincoln
Girls championship, 6:30 p.m.
Boys championship, 8 p.m.


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FRITZ!Box 6591 Cable Service - Base de connaissance
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International Conference on Family Planning
"Reaching Out at Rio: Explaining Population Growth and Family Planning to Environmentalists" Panel
November 30, 2011, 9:30 – 11:00 am
Robert Engelman, President, Worldwatch Institute
Geoffrey Dabelko, Director of Environmental Change and Security Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Sandeep Bathala, Program Associate for Environmental Change and Security Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Meaghan Parker, Writer/Editor for Environmental Change and Security Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Roger-Mark de Souza, Vice President for Research, Population Action International
Le Méridien President, Dakar, Senegal
In preparation for next year's U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, the International Conference on Family Planning is holding a panel in which experts will discuss the disconnect between the family planning and enviornmental fields. In his "Intentional Childbearing and Population Growth" presentation for the panel, Worldwatch President Robert Engelman imagines a future in which all women have the right and means of exercising personal control over their pregnancies. He calls on the family planning community to demonstrate that population policy seeks to increase the percentage of births that result from intended pregnancies, and eliminate those that are unwanted. To earn public support for rights-based population policies, advocates of family planning need to communicate that empowering women to make their own reproductive choices will improve both their individual well-being and our collective environment.
Several population and environmental experts will join Engelman on the panel. Meaghan Parker and Sandeep Bathala will both represent the Environmental Change and Security Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS), an independent think tank in Washington D.C. Roger-Mark de Souza, Vice President for Research and Director of the Climate Program of Population Action International, will speak as well. Geoffrey Dabelko of WWICS will serve as the session chair.
Please click here for more information.


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U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
Company Disciplined and Fired Employee Because of Disability and in Retaliation for Complaint, Federal Agency Charges
PHOENIX — A Glendale, Ariz., golf club violated federal law by disciplining and then firing an employee on the basis of his disability and in retaliation for his discrimination complaint, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today.
According to the EEOC's suit against Evergreen Alliance Golf Limited, LP, the parent company of Arrowhead Country Club in Glendale, Kevin Rasnake complained about a discriminatory remark made by a new manager in December 2008. Rasnake, who has cerebral palsy, worked in the sales department at Arrowhead Country Club. After Rasnake complained about the offensive remark, Evergreen's management reduced Rasnake's sales responsibilities, set unattainable sales goals for him and disciplined him. Within six months of his complaint, Evergreen fired Rasnake. The EEOC charged that Evergreen took these actions because of Rasnake's disability and in retaliation for his complaint.
Such alleged conduct violates Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits private employers from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Evergreen Alliance Golf Limited, L.P., Civil Action No. -2:11-cv-00662-PHX-JAT) in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for Rasnake as well as appropriate injunctive relief to prevent any further discriminatory practices.
"People with disabilities continue to have extremely high unemployment and under-employment rates," said Mary Jo O'Neill, regional attorney for the EEOC's Phoenix District Office. "The ADA was intended to ensure that workers with disabilities have equal employment opportunities. Taking negative employment actions against an employee because he is disabled or because he reported discriminatory conduct is unlawful."
EEOC District Director Rayford O. Irvin added, "We will continue to vigorously pursue our mission of fighting employment discrimination on all fronts. Employers must take complaints of discrimination seriously, address them appropriately, and protect their employees from retaliation."
Evergreen operates 70 golf courses across the country, including facilities in Arizona, Nevada, and California.
The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. The EEOC's Phoenix District Office has jurisdiction for Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and part of New Mexico (including Albuquerque). Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.


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Christina Bianco to Return to NEWSICAL, 1/29; Carson Kressley Joins as Guest Star
Original NEWSical cast member Christina Bianco returns to Off-Broadway's smash hit NEWSical The Musical on January 29th one week prior to Carson Kressley's premiere. Bianco replaces Hairspray vet Susan Mosher who is leaving the production to star in Gordon Greenberg's The Single Girls Guide at Capital Repertory. Bianco was seen in NEWSical for three years spoofing everyone and everything from Sarah Palin's political ambitions, to Kim Kardashian's short-lived first marriage, to Lady Gaga's fight for equality, to Christina Aguilera's memorable National Anthem mishap. With Bianco's return to NEWSical so will the fan-favorite sketch involving Celine Dion's take on "The Hokey Pokey".
Emmy-winning television star Carson Kressley joins the cast of off Broadway's NEWSical The Musical for four weeks only. Kressley is the latest star to grace the NEWSical The Musical stage. Previously, celebrity gossip guru Perez Hilton joined the show for a limited run, followed by Broadway's original Annie, Andrea McArdle and most recently, Saturday Night Live's Cheri Oteri. Carson Kressley will appear in NEWSical The Musical from February 6th - March 3rd.
NEWSical the Musical is the forever changing, completely un-sanitized musical mockery of all the news that's fit to spoof. From Honey Boo Boo Child to Lance Armstrong to Obama's Inauguration, NEWSical The Musical sets all of today's biggest pop culture headlines to song. The Associated Press calls it "The Daily Show set to music!" and the show was named Best New Musical of 2011 by the Off Broadway Alliance.
The show also features Christine Pedi (Sirius XM Host, Little Me, Talk Radio), Michael West (When Pigs Fly, Forbidden Broadway,), Tommy Walker (Evil Dead The Musical), Emily McNamara (NYC Nightlife star) and Ryan Knowles (host of Nickelodeon's ME:TV).
Rick Crom is the creator and writer of NEWSical The Musical. He has appeared on Broadway in Urinetown, Footloose and The Goodbye Girl. On television, he appeared on FX's critically acclaimed series "Louie" starring comedian Louis C.K.
NEWSical the Musical is directed by Mark Waldrop (When Pigs Fly, My Deah, Inventing Avi, Papermill Playhouse's Gypsy) and produced by Tom D'Angora (Naked Boys Singing!, ICONS, Broadway Diva Christmas, Divas I've Done). Rounding out the creative team are Ed Goldschneider (music director), Jason Courson (set designer), and Ryan Obermeier (stage manager)


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Dungeon Siege II: Broken World is an action/role-playing game set in a dark, post-apocalyptic fantasy world that concludes the story of Dungeon Siege II. You must hunt down the Dark Wizard in order exact your vengeance and undo the evil brought to the world of Aranna. * 10 additional hours of primary quest gameplay and an additional 5 hours of optional quests and levels, including two new modes of play, Mercenary and Elite. * Over 40 new monsters and beasts with powers that will change the way you play. * New items including all new powerful weapons and armor, as well as enchanting magic items. * Two brand new character classes that combine the powers of magic and combat. All new spells and powers. * New pets have been added to enhance gameplay in addition to new races for the world of Aranna - the Dwarves are now back by popular demand! * All new powers and skills, including new reagent recipes that will allow you to create unique and powerful items.
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.


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Johann van der Walt
Johann is a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and a fellow of the Photographic Society of South Africa. He is also a honorary member of China Photographers Association and the country representative of Global Photographic Union.
Johann is an amateur photographer who takes his hobby seriously.
He especially enjoys landscape photography but like any amateur photographer, he is "fluent" in many genres of photography. He has won many accolades for his photographs over his photography career of which his first salon acceptances was for a landscape photograph in 1977.
In 2007 Johann was elected to the Board of the Photographic Society of South Africa (PSSA) as a regional director. Johann held this position until 2011 when he was elected as a national director of PSSA. In 2009 Johann was elected as 2nd vice president of PSSA and in 2010 as 1st vice president of PSSA. In November 2011 Johann was elected to the position of President of PSSA for a 2 year term. His term as president ended in November 2013. Currently Johann is a national director of PSSA.
Johann lectures part time in photography in South Africa as well as at international photography festivals. He also participated in several international exhibitions with his photos.
About the Fujifilm X- system, Johann says "I initially bought into the Fujifilm X system in order to travel light, but soon found out that the ergonomics of these cameras far surpasses the traditional DLSR setup, and the image quality of the Fujifilm cameras definitely out perform the competition by far. I just did not want to use anything else anymore. The Fujifilm system is a love affair!"


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Connecting Communities Tenant School- Advocating For and With Your Clients
Date:June 17, 2013 - 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Would you like to learn more about landlord and tenant law?
Do your clients deal with housing concerns?
Registration for the May-June 2013 Connecting Communities Tenant School is now open. Sign up by completing the registration form and returning it to:
Howard Tessler- Tenant School Coordinator
email@example.com; Fax: 416-921-4177; Phone: 416-413-9442
Note: This series of workshops is geared towards settlement workers who work with newcomers. If you are a tenant with questions about the law, please call our Tenant Hotline at 416-921-9494.