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Journal of the South African Veterinary Association
On-line version ISSN 2224-9435
Print version ISSN 1019-9128
J. S. Afr. Vet. Assoc. vol.82 n.1 Pretoria Jan. 2011
Serial plasma glucose changes in dogs suffering from severe dog bite wounds
J P SchoemanI,*; A M KitshoffI; C J du PlessisI; P N ThompsonII
IDepartment of Companion Animal Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa
IIDepartment of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa
The objective of this study was to describe the changes in plasma glucose concentration in 20 severely injured dogs suffering from dog bite wounds over a period of 72 hours from the initiation of trauma. Historical, signalment, clinical and haematological factors were investigated for their possible effect on plasma glucose concentration. Haematology was repeated every 24 hours and plasma glucose concentrations were measured at 8-hourly intervals post-trauma. On admission, 1 dog was hypoglycaemic, 8 were normoglycaemic and 11 were hyperglycaemic. No dogs showed hypoglycaemia at any other stage during the study period. The median blood glucose concentrations at each of the 10 collection points, excluding the 56-hour and 64-hour collection points, were in the hyperglycaemic range (5.8- 6.2 mmol/ℓ). Puppies and thin dogs had significantly higher median plasma glucose concentrations than adult and fat dogs respectively (P < 0.05 for both). Fifteen dogs survived the 72-hour study period. Overall 13 dogs (81.3 %) made a full recovery after treatment. Three of 4 dogs that presented in a collapsed state died, whereas all dogs admitted as merely depressed or alert survived (P = 0.004). The high incidence of hyperglycaemia can possibly be explained by the 'diabetes of injury" phenomenon. However, hyperglycaemia in this group of dogs was marginal and potential benefits of insulin therapy are unlikely to outweigh the risk of adverse effects such as hypoglycaemia.
Keywords: dog bite wounds, glucose, SIRS, trauma.
Published reports on the incidence of bite wounds in dogs and cats vary from 10.2 % to 14.7 % of trauma cases24, with a high incidence of severe bite wounds in intact male dogs weighing less than 10 kg39.The average dog's canine tooth can generate a crushing pressure of 150 to 450 pounds per square inch8,36. The shearing and tensile forces involved in the crushing and shaking of especially smaller dogs can cause a large amount of damage to the underlying fascia, muscle, vasculature, nervous tissue, bone and parenchymatous organs10,20,35,36, which predisposes these wounds to swelling, ischaemia and necrosis. This type of tissue damage is a result of the penetration of the dog's teeth from an area with elastic tissue to an area with less elastic tissue36. This phenomenon has been referred to as the 'iceberg effect', because the external wounds conceal the severity of the underlying damage10.
Local and systemic factors can influence the wound healing process. Some of the local factors needed for optimal wound healing include oxygen and nutrients9. During the early stages of healing, proteolysis of endogenous proteins mobilises amino acids, which are in turn used for glucose production10. Glucose is the primary source of energy for leucocytes and the predominating carbohydrate substrate for fibroblasts in their synthesis of proteoglycan polymers during wound healing10. However, excessively high plasma glucose concentrations can potentially inhibit neutrophil function by impairing phagocytosis and diminishing the production of oxygen radicals1,14.
Dogs with dog bite wounds are generally in a state of shock when admitted and are therefore under excessive sympathoadrenal control11,12,38. After injury there is a rapid increase in plasma cortisol levels, which peak within 4-6 hours and decrease to resting levels within 24 hours38. Changes in blood volume and afferent sensory nerve stimulation of the hypothalamus due to injury result in the release of catecholamines into the bloodstream23,38. These hormones increase cardiac output and raise blood pressure. Furthermore, epinephrine increases basal metabolic rate by as much as 100 % and stimulates metabolic activities such as glycogenolysis in the liver as well as glucose, cortisol and free fatty acid release into the blood38. Patients with severe injury therefore undergo an accelerated form of starvation7,11,37. During the hypermetabolic state, a number of alterations in carbohydrate metabolism are induced, these include1,23,34,42:
Enhanced peripheral uptake and utilisation of glucose by the wound and other organs such as the liver and spleen, which are involved in the immune response;
Increased glucose production stimulated by the release of epinephrine, cortisol, glucagon and growth hormone;
Hyperlactataemia due to hypoperfusion;
Decreased glucose production due to the release of gram-negative bacterial endotoxin, interleukin-6, insulin-like factors and decreased hepatic export or increased utilisation;
Depressed glycogenesis due to the persistent high rate of glycogen breakdown under the influence of epinephrine and glucagon, decreased glycogen synthetase activity or the presence of tumour necrosis factor (TNF);
A rise in extra-cellular glucose concentrations due to defective suppression of gluconeogenesis, glucose intolerance and resistance to the peripheral action of insulin, also termed 'diabetes of injury'.
Tissue trauma with or without infection can initiate the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), in which multiple inflammatory, immunological, coagulation and fibrinolytic cascades are activated and interact18,20. SIRS is characterised by hypermetabolism, a hyperdynamic cardiovascular state and clinical manifestations of fever or hypothermia, tachycardia, tachypnoea and leucocytosis or leucopaenia4,18,44. Sepsis has been defined as SIRS with infection and severe sepsis as SIRS with infection and haemodynamic compromise18,20. Septic shock is defined as severe sepsis that requires both volume replenishment and inotropic support to restore tissue perfusion18. All these syndromes are commonly seen in dogs with bite wounds20.
Alterations in blood glucose concentrations represent one of the most consistent findings in models of experimentally induced sepsis6. Sepsis and SIRS can lead to hypoglycaemia due to impaired gluconeogenesis, especially from amino acids45and increased peripheral uptake and utilisation of glucose18,32. Lethal models of sepsis in animals demonstrate an initial hyperglycaemia followed by a phase of hypoglycaemia during which glucose production is suppressed6,32.
Hypothermia33, anorexia15, age2,29, pregnancy21,27 and breed2,27 have also been shown to influence blood glucose concentrations. A previous veterinary study has shown that blood glucose concentrations were significantly higher in dogs and cats with head trauma than in the control animals, but were not associated with outcome41. In contrast, canine babesiosis cases with low blood glucose concentrations were more likely to die22. However, dog bite wounds are peracute injuries usually inflicted on otherwise healthy animals and cannot be directly compared with a more chronic illness like babesiosis in which dogs can be presented days after the start of the disease process22. Hyperglycaemia has also been reported in dogs with heart failure5, a condition in which dogs are often presented days to months after the onset of the disease, rendering a comparison with acute trauma cases problematic.
The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence and prospective incidence of hypo-, normo-or hyperglycaemia in admitted canine bite wound cases over a 72-hour period. Historical, signalment and clinical factors were investigated to determine their possible effect on blood glucose concentrations.
Twenty dogs presented to the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital (OVAH) that had been bitten within the preceding 24 hours, with at least 1 open wound, and whose clinical condition, in the opinion of the attending outpatients clinician, warranted the use of intravenous fluid therapy, were recruited into the study. The criteria set out above were used in order to collect the most severely affected animals. All the patients recruited for the study were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the OVAH. Possible Babesia canis infection was excluded by means of a peripheral blood smear, because this disease can result in perturbations in blood glucose concentrations22.In order to minimise any confounding influences on plasma glucose concentrations, all patients that received intravenous fluids containing dextrose or drugs that act by antagonising alpha2-receptors were excluded from the study. These cases presented over an 8-month period.
The dogs' owners signed a consent form and were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding the approximate time of the bite incident, time since the last meal, the dog's pregnancy status, known medical conditions and the administration of any medication prior to presentation.
On admission a full clinical examination was performed and habitus (alert, depressed or collapsed), age, sex, breed and body weight (Table 1), body condition (Purina Nine Point Body Condition Score), temperature, pulse and respiration were recorded. Blood was collected after a fasting period of at least 2 hours via the cephalic or jugular vein into a paediatric EDTA tube and a tube containing Sodium Fluoride Oxalate (NaF/Ox) 28. Additional, serial NaF/Ox samples for plasma glucose determination were taken at 8-hourly intervals post-trauma and haematology at 24-hour intervals, measured from the time the bite was inflicted, as indicated by the owners. These blood collection time points were selected with the purpose of comparing the dogs at similar times in the trauma pathway. A full haematological examination was also done on admission. The NaF/Ox samples were centrifuged within minutes of collection at a speed of 1730 g for 8 minutes. The plasma was separated and aliquoted into cryopreservation tubes, labelled and immediately frozen at -20 ºC. Glucose analysis was performed in a single batch using the hexokinase method, ensuring that the primary investigator was blinded as to the blood glucose concentrations of the patients for the duration of the study. Hypoglycaemia was defined as plasma glucose concentration below 3.3 mmol/ℓ 13,43and hyperglycaemia as plasma glucose concentration above 5.5 mmol/ℓ 43.
Temperature, pulse and respiration were recorded at each collection point. The study period extended from infliction of trauma to 72 hours, or until euthanasia or death. The study did not interfere with the normal clinical management of the cases.
Habitus at admission, time since last meal, time from infliction of trauma, age (<6 months = puppy; >6 months = adult), sex, body weight, body condition and outcome (died vs survived) were included as predictor variables for plasma glucose concentrations. Patients were classified into discrete, clinically meaningful categories of each predictor variable. The median plasma glucose concentration for each category of a variable was compared using Kruskal-Wallis 1-way ANOVA on ranks for multiple categories and the Wilcoxon rank sum test for 2 categories.
The presence of SIRS was determined from the admission data and other clinical and haematological data collected at 24-hour intervals after the initial trauma. To be considered SIRS positive, patients had to satisfy the following19,44:
White cell count <6000/mm3or >16 000/mm3and/or >3 % band cells, plus at least 1 of the following:
- Rectal temperature of 38.1 or >39.2 ºC;
- Heart rate of >120 beats per minute;
- Respiratory rate of >20 breaths per minute.
The plasma glucose concentration of SIRS-positive and SIRS-negative groups were compared at each blood collection time point using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. The association between habitus on admission and outcome was assessed using Fisher's exact test. Statistical analysis was done using NCSS 2004 (NCSS, Kaysville, UT, USA.).
The 3 dog breeds that were over-represented in this study included: Jack Russell terriers (5), Dachshunds (3) and Boerboels (3). The mean age of the patients in this study was 41.7 months. These patients had a mean weight of 10.1 kg and most dogs were females (11). Of the female dogs, 5 were intact (Table 1).
Two dogs were euthanased within 8 hours of being bitten and only admission samples were obtained. One dog was euthanased after 48 hours. All instances of euthanasia were attributable to financial reasons and not prognosis. Another dog was discharged after 16 hours, also because of financial constraints; this dog's outcome was unknown. This left 16 dogs in the study in which mortality could be assessed. One dog died during the study period and 2 died thereafter. Thus, 15 of 16 dogs survived the 72-hour study period and 13 of 16 dogs made an eventual recovery. All the dogs admitted as either alert or depressed survived (12), whereas 3 of 4 of the dogs admitted as collapsed, died (P = 0.004).
Incidence of glucose abnormalities
The medians and inter-quartile ranges of plasma glucose concentrations and the proportion of dogs that were hypo-, normo-and hyperglycaemic at each given collection time point, are shown in Table 2.
On admission, 1 dog was hypoglycaemic, 8 were normoglycaemic and 11 were hyperglycaemic. None of the dogs showed hypoglycaemia during the remainder of the study period. The median plasma glucose concentration at each of the 10 collection points was consistently in the hyperglycaemic range (5.8-6.2 mmol/ℓ), excluding the 56-hour (5.4 mmol/ℓ) and the 64-hour collection points (5.5 mmol/ℓ), which were normoglycaemic. No dogs were found to be severely hypo-(<2.2 mmol/ℓ) or severely hyperglycaemic (>10 mmol/ℓ) during the study.
Systemic inflammatory response syndrome
The prevalence of SIRS at the 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour collection points is shown in Table 3. No significant differences in median plasma glucose concentrations between SIRS-positive and SIRSnegative dogs were detected at any collection point (Table 3).
Putative risk factors/predictor variables
No significant differences (P > 0.05) in the plasma glucose concentration were found, when assessing the groups within the different risk factors/predictor variables, with the exception of:
At the 32-hour collection point (depressed dogs = 5.6 mmol/ℓ; collapsed dogs = 6.3 mmol/ℓ).
On admission (puppy=7mmol/ℓ ; adult = 5.4 mmol/ℓ) .
At the 8-hour collection point (puppy =7.6 mmol/ℓ ; adult = 5.7 mmol/ℓ) .
At the 16-hour collection point (puppy = 7 mmol/ℓ ; adult = 6 mmol/ℓ) .
Body condition
On admission (thin dogs = 6.8 mmol/ℓ ; fat dogs = 4.7 mmol/ℓ)
At the 16-hour collection point (thin dogs = 6.9 mmol/ℓ; fat dogs = 4.5 mmol/ℓ)
A number of significant correlations were found between clinical or haematological variables and plasma glucose concentration:
A positive correlation with respiratory rate (r s = 0.63; P = 0.0051) only on admission.
A negative correlation (r s = -0.5467; P = 0.0126) with the total red cell count on admission; a negative correlation (r s = -0.5184; P = 0.0477) with the total red cell count at the 72-hour collection point.
A negative correlation (r s = -0.5663; P = 0.0092) with haematocrit on admission; a negative correlation (r s = -0.5135; P = 0.0503) with haematocrit at the 72-hour collection point.
A positive correlation (r s = +0.5406; P = 0.0306) with eosinophil count only at the 24-hour collection point.
This study has found a significantly lower survival rate in bite wound cases that presented in a collapsed state. The low survival rate of collapsed animals should be investigated further as this may prove to be a relevant measure of severity and predictor of outcome of dog bite wounds, as was found in a recent study in 100 dogs with virulent canine babesiosis3.
In contrast with the babesiosis study, no association was found between hypoglycaemia and collapse at presentation22. The low prevalence of hypoglycaemia might be attributed to the low case numbers. This study found no association between the degree of hypo-or hyperglycaemia and the eventual outcome, which was similar to a study on head trauma41.
Median plasma glucose concentrations were never in the hypoglycaemic range and hypoglycaemia was only encountered in 1 case on admission. The low incidence of hypoglycaemia found in this study was surprising, considering the fact that hypoglycaemia has been associated with profound metabolic illness and severe sepsis in dogs6,32,40.
A consistently high median plasma glucose concentration was found at all collection points, except at 56 and 64 hours (Table 2). Plasma cortisol levels in healthy hospitalised (stressed) dogs would provide additional information if it can be compared with the plasma cortisol levels in dogs with dog bite wounds. Stress during hospitalisation might thus have contributed to the hyperglycaemia and could perhaps explain why 40 % of dogs that presented with normal glucose levels subsequently developed hyperglycaemia.
During the post-traumatic 'ebb phase', the body's initial response is centred on the release of glycogen, the mobilisation of lipid stores and reducing energy expenditure. The metabolic rate declines during this phase, but increases later. The final stage of the ebb phase is recognised by marked sympatho-adrenal discharge, lasts approximately 24 hours and can be associated with hyperglycaemia13,32. If the animal survives this 'ebb phase', it progresses to the 'flow phase', which is characterised by an increased metabolic rate and enhanced breakdown of lean body mass. The afferent signals from the wound via pain and other peripheral receptors, as well as cytokines, interleukin 1 and tumour necrosis factor, initiate the process13,15,18. These signals are integrated in the hypothalamus and stimulate the secretion of glucagon, cortisol, catecholamines and growth hormone12,38. The net effect of these hormones, coupled with a defective suppression of gluconeogenesis and resistance to the peripheral action of insulin, is hyperglycaemia. This is all part of the hypermetabolic response to trauma12,30,34, which may last for 7-10 days12. This phenomenon has been described in human medicine in response to acute injury and has been termed 'diabetes of injury'42. A positive correlation has been found between the degree of hyperglycaemia and the risk of death in human trauma and cardiac patients42. In human critical care medicine, insulin resistance has been implicated as a major contributor to this phenomenon1,25,26,42. Aggressive control of even mildly elevated glucose concentrations, using insulin therapy, has shown a significant decline in death rates in human intensive care units, from 20.2 % to 10.6 %42. Insulin has been shown to counteract the metabolic changes in sepsis. It is hypothesised that insulin protects the endothelium (thereby contributing to the prevention of organ failure), modulates inflammatory pathways, protects cells from direct glucose toxicity, preserves hepatic mitochondrial function, improves dyslipidaemia and shows an anabolic effect by suppressing proteolysis and activating protein synthesis1,23,26,42. Although benefits have been documented with insulin therapy in humans, the use of insulin in small animal patients cannot yet be recommended due to the lack of supporting evidence23.
A high prevalence of SIRS was encountered (Table 3) on admission and during the study period. Sepsis has been defined as SIRS with an associated infection of the host by microorganisms. All bite wounds should be considered contaminated or dirty and infected and the local environment of the wound is ideal for bacterial replication and infection10,20,35, with subsequent bacteraemia and or endotoxaemia. A previous report states that these syndromes are frequently seen in dogs with bite wounds20, but no significant statistical differences in the median plasma glucose concentrations could be established between dogs with and without SIRS in our study. The trend seems to be the same as that in a previous retrospective study done on dogs with bacteraemia, in which 81.7 % of the dogs met the criteria for SIRS17. The criteria used for classification of SIRS19,44 have been questioned, because a large percentage of clinically healthy dogs have respiratory rates higher than 2017.
A limited number of significant associations were found between the predictor variables and plasma glucose concentration. It is interesting to note that puppies and thin dogs tended to have higher plasma glucose concentrations than adult or obese dogs, respectively, particularly during the 1st 16 hours of trauma. The authors hypothesise that these dogs might differ in their cortisol responses to traumatic scenarios or have age-related differences in their cortisol feedback mechanisms.
The differences in response to cortisol can also be the result of differing sensitivities of the GLUT 4 transport proteins to cortisol and glucagon. The positive correlation between respiratory rate on admission and the blood glucose levels can potentially be related to stress on admission. Higher cortisol and glucagon levels can result in a decrease in GLUT 4 activity23.
Increased utilisation of glucose by bacteria and polymorphonuclear leucocytes has been implicated in hypoglycaemia associated with sepsis6. Consequently, it is surprising that this study did not find any correlation between glucose concentration and leucocyte counts. The negative correlation between plasma glucose and haematocrit and the total red blood cell count can be the result of post-traumatic bleeding. Haemolysis can also be the result of infection due to an increase in the production of antibodies against red blood cells and the activation of the complement-and phagocytic systems. It has also been shown that certain bacteria produce haemolysins during septicaemia (Leptospira spp., Clostridium spp., Streptococcus spp. and Staphylococcus spp.)16 These bacteria made up 30 % of the aerobic and 36 % of the total bacteria cultured from dog bite wounds in a study conducted in the same hospital as our current study, in which 84 % of bite wounds yielded positive cultures31.
Due to the clinical and ethical nature of the study, all animals were maintained on Lactated Ringers solution (Ringers lactate, Fresenius Kabi) as intravenous infusion. Lactate can act as a precursor for glucose and, although unlikely, may have influenced the plasma glucose concentrations40.
Food, although standardised where possible, was allowed ad lib, but removed 2 hours before sampling and could have influenced the plasma glucose concentrations. It is believed that this is unlikely, because the dogs had very poor appetites due to the severity of their illness. Furthermore, feeding small amounts was only commenced after 24 hours, by which time the median glucose concentrations were already in the mild hyperglycaemic range and showed no appreciable increase after this time point. It would be unlikely for varying degrees of food intake to influence plasma glucose in such a consistent manner and we suggest that this phenomenon should be more thoroughly investigated in veterinary medicine. A study on normal beagles showed that 1-2 hours of food deprivation was sufficient to discount the intake of food's influence on blood glucose concentrations28. Other potential limitations of the study include:
Low numbers of patients used with no control group for comparison.
The differing levels of severity (although an attempt was made to select the most severely bitten animals) and the current unavailability of a meaningful severity score for bite wound cases.
The influence of stress induced by hospitalisation.
The low specificity of the SIRS criteria used.
The low incidence of hypoglycaemia is surprising considering the high incidence of SIRS encountered. There was no significant difference between the plasma glucose concentrations of the SIRS-positive and SIRS-negative cases. The results show an almost uniformly high median plasma glucose concentration over the 72-hour sampling period. Although the study has its limitations regarding other potential causes of the mild hyperglycaemia encountered, this could possibly be ascribed to the 'diabetes of injury' response as reported in the human ICU literature. This may warrant exploration in future larger studies, because the use of insulin in these human cases has shown a significant reduction of fatalities resulting from acute injury. Few important associations were made between historical and clinical variables and plasma glucose concentration. However, the high incidence of death in the collapsed group and the higher plasma glucose concentrations found in puppies and thin dogs warrants future investigation with a larger group of animals.
The authors would like to thank Mss Elsbe Myburgh and Gertie Pretorius of the Clinical Pathology Laboratory, Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies (DCACS), for the analyses of samples. Gratitude is also extended to Dr M van Schoor of DCACS and Srs Y De Wit and L Coetzer of the ICU section, OVAH, for their help with the collection of the samples.
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Received: January 2011.
Accepted: March 2011.
* Author for correspondence. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


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subset: commoncrawl


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Sorry if this is a complete dummy question, but I haven't done math in years and I'm quite rusty. I'm reading this explanation of least squares regression, which internally uses the quadratic equation solution. I was wondering if someone can tell me if my analysis of this is correct. I'm trying to explain to myself why
the expression is clearly minimized...
which is
$$a\left(x+\frac{b}{2a}\right)^2 + \frac{4ac-b^2}{4a}$$
Since the second term does not depend upon x, and the first term is a
times a perfect square (and a > 0), the expression is clearly
minimized when x = -b/(2a).
I suppose this is somewhat equivalent:
$z = a(x+y)^2$ + C
which we can take the derivative of to find the function for the slope of $z$:
$\frac{dx}{dz} z = 2a(x+y)$
set this equal to zero to find the point where the slope is zero (e.g. a minimum or maximum--we know that $a > 0$ so this should be a minimum)
$0 = 2a(x+y)$
$a$ is discarded during the division, and subtract to solve for $x$
$0 = x+y$
$ x =-y$


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The iPhone has become quite a popular as a cameraphone, as it has proven a big hit with Flickr users. One of the most noted shortcomings of the device, however, is that its focal length doesn't allow it to take very good close-ups. Flickr user Danial Forsythe took matters into his own hands, however, and manually refocused the iPhone's camera in order to take good close-range pictures and pictures of bar codes.
There are already third-party iPhone camera lenses and filters available, but those products
don't actually alter the focal length (edit) do also alter focal length. Though the iPhone's camera module comes set to infinity focus, you can adjust it. That involves disassembling your iPhone, breaking the glue holding the lens at infinity, and tinkering with the focus a bit.
And that's exactly what Daniel did. Fortunately, he has published a handy set of instructions detailing the process, which doesn't appear to be that difficult (as long as you're not squeamish about cracking open a running iPhone). Once you've fired up the camera application, you will need to open up the case, get the screen out of the way, flip the camera up, break the glue, adjust the lens, and plug the screen back in to check the focus. Easy, eh? Once you're done, you'll be snapping pictures of bar codes and miniature figures with ease, and you can even refocus the camera later if you need to do some longer-distance photography.


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FY08 Access to Artistic Excellence (part 2)
Announced May 1, 2008
Some details of the projects listed below are subject to change, contingent upon prior Endowment approval.
Alabama Symphony Orchestra, $15,000
To support Reflect and Rejoice: A Community Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The three-day celebration of the life and message of King will include a concert, an open rehearsal, and participation by the winner of the Sphinx Competition, an organization that seeks to increase the participation of African American and Latino musicians in classical music.
American Composers Orchestra (consortium), $22,500
To support Orchestra Underground Concerts, New Music Readings, and Playing it UNsafe. In collaboration with the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Pennsylvania, the orchestra will perform in concert and schedule orchestral reading sessions for emerging composers in the area.
Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, $10,000
To support a compact disc recording of works by composer Paul Fetler. The three works to be included on the disc are Fetler's Violin Concerto No. 2, Contrasts, and Three Poems by Walt Whitman for Orchestra and Narrator.
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, $40,000
To support ASO Around Georgia, a community partnership initiative of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The tour will include performances and outreach activities as a means to cultivate meaningful partnerships between the orchestra and communities across the state.
Austin Symphony Orchestra, $15,000
To support the commissioning of a new work by composer Christopher Theofanidis. The premiere will take place in celebration of the opening of the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center.
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, (consortium), $75,000
To support performances of composer Leonard Bernstein's Mass. In collaboration with Morgan State University, semi-staged performances will take place in Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia as part of a celebration of the 90th anniversary of the composer's birth.
Berkeley Symphony Orchestra (consortium), $15,000
To support a year-long introduction to music for Berkeley public elementary school students. In collaboration with the Berkeley Unified School District, plans include classroom visits, school concerts, and free tickets to a subscription concert.
Boston Modern Orchestra Project, $20,000
To support compact disc recordings of works by American composers. The two discs will be premiere releases of works by composers Eric Moe and Anthony Davis.
Colorado Music Festival, $10,000
To support education and outreach programming for adults and children. Plans include a young peoples concert, workshops for children, pre-concert lectures, open rehearsals, master classes, and the production of real-time musical guides for festival audience members.
Colorado Symphony Orchestra, $20,000
To support statewide tour concerts. Performances and educational activities led by Music Director Jeffrey Kahane are planned in Grand Junction, Gunnison, Montrose, and Telluride.
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, $30,000
To support a touring program. Concerts and educational programs will take place in seven rural Texas communities.
Greater Baltimore Youth Orchestra, $10,000
To support Bridging the Divide, a string instruction program, and community outreach activities. The string instruction program, serving students at five public elementary schools, will be complemented by a concert and workshop by violinist and composer Daniel Bernard Roumain and a community concert of Duke Ellington's Three Black Kings.
Greenville Symphony Orchestra, $10,000
To support the Spotlight Series for Underserved Communities. Symphony musicians will perform chamber orchestra concerts for rural communities in North and South Carolina.
Hartford Symphony Orchestra, $15,000
To support Musical Pathways, an educational and community engagement program. Activities include Symphony in the Schools (SIS), discussions on music criticism, pre-concert talks, family matinees, the 10th annual I Have a Dream Martin Luther King, Jr., concert, and Musical Dialogues featuring performances by and discussions with African American and Latino communities.
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, $35,000
To support the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's (ISO) Nueva Vida (New Life) Project. Focusing on discussions and interactions with community members who recently immigrated to central Indiana from Central America, composer Gabriela Lena Frank will create a new orchestral work based on these dialogues.
Irving Symphony Orchestra, $10,000
To support youth concerts. Four free concerts for fifth- and seventh-grade students are planned.
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, $18,000
To support KSO On-the-Road. Ten touring concerts are planned in east Tennessee and southwest Virginia.
Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, $10,000
To support Sound Discovery performances; a music education program. The project involves five open rehearsals with Lido, an illustrated conductor's baton, that will be presented to adults and students in grades five and above; three Friday Nights for Generation X, Y and NextMusic Discovery Experience, an instrument petting zoo, and Symphonic Concerts for Children, designed for students in the third through fifth grades.
Madison Symphony Orchestra, $10,000
To support HeartStrings, a community outreach project. An ensemble of the orchestras professional string musicians will perform interactive recitals for underserved and special-needs communities.
Memphis Symphony Orchestra, $15,000
To support Harmony, an educational outreach program for schoolchildren The project will include in-school ensemble performances and youth concerts at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts.
Mobile Symphony (consortium), $10,000
To support outreach concerts of symphonic repertoire. In partnership with and coordinated by the Washington County Public Library, the orchestra will perform in rural and underserved communities of Alabama.
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, $22,500
To support Saturday matinee family concerts. Full-orchestra performances will be held at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.
New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, $15,000
To support a statewide tour to small, rural, and underserved communities of New Mexico. The project also will offer educational activities in Albuquerque-area schools.
Orchestra 2001, $15,000
To support a tour of composer George Crumb's American Songbook. The orchestra will perform the concert program in Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Peoria Symphony Orchestra, $10,000
To support community outreach concerts. The orchestra will perform concerts in three venues, including Peoria Park District's outdoor amphitheater.
The Philadelphia Orchestra (consortium), $75,000
To support Neighborhood Concerts. In partnership with the Cooper Health System, the orchestra will perform free concerts and ancillary activities in Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey.
Post-Classical Ensemble (consortium), $17,000
To support the Mexican Odyssey project. In partnership with the Mexican Cultural Institute, the orchestra will perform the concert program at the Harman Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, $20,000
To support Symphony 101, an outreach project of community concerts for underserved and low-income residents. Host and Music Director Christopher Seaman and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra will offer a symphonic repertoire and informal lectures designed for first-time concertgoers.
Santa Monica Symphony, $10,000
To support community outreach concerts. The orchestra, conducted by Music Director Allen Robert Gross, will perform chamber concerts in schools and orchestral concerts for families at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, $10,000
To support the Lakota Music Project. The orchestra will premiere a new work by Native American composer Brent Michael Davids for traditional drum, flute, chorus, and orchestra.
Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, $22,000
To support a concert tour to New York's North Country. The orchestra, under the direction of Music Director Daniel Hege, will perform concerts in rural and underserved communities.
Tupelo Symphony Orchestra, $10,000
To support community outreach concerts. The orchestra, directed by Music Director Steven Byess, will perform concerts in underserved and rural communities in Holly Springs and West Point, Mississippi.
Vermont Symphony Orchestra, $20,000
To support the Made in Vermont Music Festival Tour, a series of concert programs in underserved rural communities. The project will present orchestral programs and educational outreach activities and include a premiere of a commissioned work by native Vermont composer Pierre Jalbert.
Virginia Symphony Orchestra, $17,500
To support the Harmony Project, a community partnership project with churches and historically black colleges in Hampton Roads. Activities will include ensemble performances, workshops, and educational programs in the region.
West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, $17,500
To support a statewide tour to underserved rural communities. The orchestra, under the leadership of Music Director Grant Cooper, will introduce orchestral music to new audiences throughout West Virginia.
Wheeling Symphony, $15,000
To support young people's concerts throughout the state of West Virginia. The touring outreach project will reach youth in eight counties of the state.
Ravinia Festival, $20,000
To support community outreach and educational programs. The festival will continue its partnership with the Lawndale community to bring music performances and education to Westside Chicago.


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A tranquil Outdoor garden cafeTreat yourself at our lovely cafe
…Took my visitors from the north coast with me (Woodburn). Well they bought all they could fit in the car going home AND will be back in a couple of months for more. They loved it!
What an enjoyable day I had visiting the nursery a couple of weeks ago, wandering around looking at the plants and chatting to both of your birds. Had a lovely morning tea and brought a few plants, with lovely polite staff who went out of their way to assist me with information on a certain plant. It was so enjoyable I came back the following week and bought some more plants. I will be back even if it is a bit of a drive. COngratulations on a divine place to wander and forget your troubles & just relax
We called in to Wyee Nursery while on a road trip and it was a great place to get some inspiration for our Lanscape Designs. Keep up the good work.
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At the Shyllon primary school in Lagos, students lacked proper toilet facilities, using the grounds of the school for their sanitation needs. The smell was often unbearable, and the girls found it embarrassing to use an open toilet. Water is scarce, making the environment very unhealthy and disease-prone.
Learning of this situation, my Rotary club undertook a project to provide 10 toilets and a water tank to provide adequate water during the day. On the day the toilets were commissioned, there was much celebration. Children and teachers joined together in a short dance and singing to mark the occasion.
A working committee has been established to maintain the toilets and keep everything in working order.
It has also brought our club much joy to help manage an artificial limb center. The limbs provide patients who have lost their legs due to accident or disease with the means for mobility and independence. Our club donates about 20 artificial limbs a month. The patients stay at the center free of charge for a few days while their limbs are customized and fitted.
One young boy who lost his leg at a very young age received an artificial limb, and is now learning to play soccer.
Through efforts like these, Rotary is making a difference in the world. Your contributions to The Rotary Foundation help make projects like these possible.


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Category: P.S. I Love You News Posted by: DaisyMay Johnny and Tim are Together Again but Hil the Thrill Might Be a Better Moguls Bet in Her First Romantic Comedy
Bard's Eye View (Blog)
Article Date: December 5, 2007 | Publication: Fantasy Moguls | Author: Shrykespeare
Source: Fantasy Moguls
Good day one and all, and welcome to the latest chapter of the ever-increasing volume that is Bard's Eye View, where I, your neophyte Nostradamus, nibble at the nuggets of knowledge, nourish the nepenthe of neutrality, and gnaw on the Nestle bar of nonsense (with nuts). Whether you are a regular devotee of this particular column, or whether you are a first-time viewer standing agog at this nattering, narcissistic nincompoop with nary a normal thought nancying about in his noggin, I bid you welcome. And before I go into alliteration overload, let me just say that my newly-created network of noony noony neep neep blurb phhhhhttt (cough, gasp) ... oops, sorry, the Babel fish in my ear just expired. (Wink.)
The December-February leagues are forming as we speak, and I don't know about you, but I've always found this particular three-month stretch rather fascinating. Think of it: you're starting out with perhaps one of the most concentrated months of the year, complete with big-budget blockbusters to glean all the holiday bucks, as well as many Oscar hopefuls gasping for recognition and the last few PTA points of the year. And then, one month later, you have January, pretty much the exact opposite, where box office business drops by an order of magnitude, and where, along with April and September, most studios tend to send their most wayward projects in search of an audience. (There are exceptions, of course, but we'll get to that in coming weeks.) And finally, you have February, where the winter blues are wearing off and some quality is starting to return to the nation's movie houses. How is one to plan one's slate? Short answer: very, very carefully.
You already know my opinions on The Golden Compass, I Am Legend and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, which, along with Cloverfield, constitute the New York strip steak of a menu that looks like mostly hamburger, especially for the first two-thirds of the league. You're probably going to want to take the plunge on one of these films for your Ultimate slates, and most definitely one or two on your Box Office slates. But you'll need some supporting players, lest your cleanup hitters find themselves in a slump, and I've got three films for you today that might fill that role. They are all coming out on the weekend of Dec. 21, and will vie for the scraps left over while the December titans are duking it out.
Has anyone had a hotter year than Judd Apatow? I mean, he was the brains behind two of the biggest comedies of 2007 (Knocked Up and Superbad), and by now anyone who didn't already know his name from The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Talladega Nights is up to speed. He's got no less than four comedies scheduled for 2008: The Pineapple Express (with Seth Rogen), Drillbit Taylor (with Owen Wilson), Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Step Brothers (re-teaming the Talladega twosome of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly). He's also writing the script for Adam Sandler's next big summer comedy, You Don't Mess With the Zohan. Everything, indeed, is coming up roses for Mr. Apatow.
The aforementioned Reilly takes center stage, literally, as a fictional rock superstar in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, which seems to be a mockumentary, a spoof of inspirational musical biopics (especially Walk the Line) and a Waiting For Guffman-like satire all rolled into one silly ball. Certain to be rude, risqu� and roaringly funny, this film will chronicle the life of Reilly (okay, Cox) from his humble, farmboy beginnings to his meteoric rise to fame alongside the likes of Elvis Presley and the Beatles ... before his vices trigger a downward spiral that should be even more raucous to witness. And if that wasn't enough, there are star-studded cameos aplenty: Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman channel the Fab Four, The White Stripes's Jack White takes a turn as the King, and The Office's Jenna Fischer gets her best Witherspoon on as Cox's main squeeze.
Since this is not an out-and-out spoof movie, I'm betting it won't be received with the same vitriol and/or indifference that The Comebacks and Epic Movie were; in fact, I'm almost certain that the pedigree of Apatow and Reilly will push Dewey well past the $39 million box office that Fantasy Moguls has predicted. Top 5 points are more problematic; it probably won't finish higher than No. 3 on its opening weekend, and with three more fairly sizable Christmas releases coming four days later, it'll be hard-pressed to stay there. Don't expect high ratings or any PTA, either. I will say, however, that for $9 (or $12 in Box Office), you could do a lot worse.
While I was preparing to write about P.S. I Love You, I was surprised to note that its star, Hilary Swank, had not really done a film of this sort before. Almost everyone recognizes her from her Oscar-winning dramatic turns in Million Dollar Baby and Boys Don't Cry. She's also done a crime drama (Insomnia), a sci-fi/disaster film (The Core), film-noir (The Black Dahlia, which was also a disaster film of a sort), an uplifting "teacher" flick (Freedom Writers), a horror movie (The Reaping), a costume drama/period adventure (The Affair of the Necklace) and even a teen hero franchise flick (The Next Karate Kid). Suffice it to say that romance and comedy are not the first things that comes to mind when you think of Ms. Swank.
But she's touching down on the shores of Tearjerker Beach (yeah, I know, that's a terrible metaphor, sorry) with her latest offering, which just happens to have the distinction of being 2007's last big "chick flick." Swank plays Holly, a woman whose perfect marriage is tragically cut short when her beloved husband Gerry (300's Gerard Butler) is struck down by an illness. However, it turns out that before he died, Gerry arranged for a series of letters and videotapes to be sent to Holly, to help her get over her grief and move on with her life. What follows is "an exciting and often hilarious journey of rediscovery," according to the plot summary.
This is director/screenwriter Richard LaGravenese's third major project, following 1998's Living Out Loud and the aforementioned Freedom Writers, which also starred Swank and which did fairly well for a January release ($36.5 million in box office and a 7.6 User Rating). The supporting cast includes Kathy Bates (who is having one hella busy winter, I gotta say), Gina Gershon, Harry Connick Jr. and Lisa Kudrow.
Fantasy Moguls has this film earning four Top 5 points, one PTA point, $48 million in revenues and a 6.6 Rating. Honestly, you just never can tell with chick flicks; they can look really sweet on the surface, but end up either being too sappy (Catch and Release), too melodramatic (Because I Said So) or just too damn bitchy (Georgia Rule). P.S. I Love You, if it can avoid those pitfalls and come away with a few solid reviews, might have a chance to stand out. It might have up to a month of solid drawing power, but I honestly think it'll top out at around $40 million. $15 is ... maybe just barely too much to spend. No Reservations ended up squarely in the middle of the road, and I think this film will end up there too.
I'm not sure what the record is for the number of wide-release films involving one particular director working with one particular lead actor, but I doubt there's been a more prolific director/actor combination in the last 20 years than Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. Since 1990, they have redefined macabre weirdness, making outcasts and eccentrics seem wickedly cool. Go through the list: Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Burton's ghoulish and eerie touch has practically redefined a genre, and Depp's incredibly wide range and eclectic charm has been able to throw some of Burton's (and filmdom's) most intriguing characters into sharp relief.
So it is not without a certain amount of relish that we bring the curtain up on Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the sixth joint venture for these two singular individuals. Based on Stephen Sondheim's hit Broadway musical, Sweeney tells the story of Benjamin Barker, a man taken away from his family by a villainous judge (along with the help of a myriad of conspirators). Years later, he returns to London a different man, mad as a hatter and hell-bent on revenge. He sets up a barber shop on (you guessed it) Fleet Street, and plots the demise of the people who destroyed his life, all to a very catchy soundtrack. Joining Sweeney in his quest for retribution is Mrs. Lovett (played by Helena Bonham Carter, in her third film with Depp/Burton), who owns the meat pie shop below the barber's. Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall and yes, Borat himself, Sacha Baron Cohen are featured members of a cast that should prove most dramatic and whimsical for this, the season of Victorian-era Christmas stories.
I'm not entirely sure what the release platform is for this film ... IMDb seems to think that Sweeney will be given a limited release before expanding into a wide-release film in the following weeks, and Fantasy Moguls's prediction that this film will earn a whopping eight PTA points would seem to bear that out. However, Box Office Mojo states that it will be given a wide berth right off the bat and, given the popularity of Depp and Burton, six Top 5 points should be a shoo-in if that is the case. Now, $88 million in predicted output is, I think, stretching it just a bit ... I mean, yes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory earned decent dough, but let's remember that it was given a summer release. And if you look at the numbers, none of their other collaborations have really been bank-breakers at the ticket counter.
Plus, this film has a LOT of competition this month, in virtually every genre, and my instincts are telling me that an R-rated musical is not going to make a splash anywhere close to blockbuster status, no matter how novel it may be. (Of course, remember that I said exactly the same thing about Hairspray five months ago, and we all know how that story ended. Sigh.) I will predict $65 million for this picture, which in no way justifies spending $33 on it for your December Ultimate league (or $27 for Box Office). Unless this film is given a fantastically wide release, look for this film to do moderately well, but that's about it. Then it will join all the other Depp/Burton ventures as "cult classics" on DVD.
Props Department: Congratulations to helfy91782, who, in his debut performance as a "Regular" in September's Regulars Ultimate League, Royale with Cheese, emerged as the victor, by a fairly healthy margin. With a lineup of American Gangster, The Game Plan, 3:10 to Yuma, Enchanted, Dan in Real Life, The Darjeeling Limited, Control and Finishing the Game, he was able to finish in the Top 5 in all four categories. Way to go, squire! Kudos also to d0nnie dark0, who walloped all comers in the just-completed September Box Office league, Taking Falls, beating out seasoned pros Chienfantome and numbersix_99 in the process. (I finished a disappointing ninth, dagnabbit.)
Announcement: I have just finished up a formalized version of the "Rules and Timetable" for the upcoming Super Leagues. For anyone who wants to know just how these leagues are going to work, i.e., how to get in, how to play, etc., that can be found on the Fantasy Moguls Message Boards under the heading "Super Leagues Rules and Timetable." There are still a few details to be ironed out, but I think we have a working blueprint for success. We have nearly 60 entrants for the Super Ultimate tournament so far, and nearly 40 for the Super Box Office, but I would love to get both of those numbers up in the 80-100 range by the end of December. Again, please e-mail me with your username, e-mail address and league preference(s) at the address listed below if you want in, or even if you just have a question or a comment.
Well, that about does it for this week. Please return next week, when I will be closing out 2007 by discussing five movies sliding down theaters' chimneys on Christmas Day: Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts orchestrate a covert operation to arm the Afghans against the invading Soviets in Charlie Wilson's War; and speaking of war, two of the most fearsome species in film history bring their little fracas to Earth (again) in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem; a Scottish boy finds and adopts a baby Nessie in The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep; loveable, terminally ill old codgers (Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) go on one last crusade for adventure in The Bucket List; and Denzel Washington plays the dual role of actor and director in The Great Debaters, in which an African-American college's debate team is challenged by Harvard for supremacy in the racially turbulent 1930's.
Shrykespeare is going to become a demon manicurist on Penny Lane and ruin the cuticles of everyone who's ever beaten him in a Fantasy Moguls league. So chew on THAT all of you "regulars" wannabes. And please direct all correspondence to email@example.com.
Category: P.S. I Love You News
Posted by: DaisyMay
Johnny and Tim are Together Again but Hil the Thrill Might Be a Better Moguls Bet in Her First Romantic Comedy


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MyFavorito is the B2C CRM platform for brands and retailers
MyFavorito is THE new multichannel customer engagement, loyalty and CRM platform for FMCG brands, retailers and store owners. It performs up to 23X better than a Facebook fanpage and generates measurable customer relationships, sales, referrals and store visits, not likes.
As a brand, retailer or store owner you spend a lot of time, effort, passion and money to develop and create your products. You establish sales and distribution channels and setup dealer networks online and offline. Maybe you even run your own stores, have an online shop, restaurants, super markets or other selected stores where people can buy your products. You run lots of marketing activities to make your product well known and increase market-share against the established players.
Build direct relationships with your millions of customers
And every day hundreds, thousands or even millions of customers buy your products. Many of them for the very first time, others consume them regularly. But most of these customers are unknown to you and very hard to reach. How can you motivate them to buy more from your assortment of products? How can you give them ways to show their loyalty and get rewarded? At Myfavorito, we believe this is your biggest growth potential, because with Myfavorito, you can immediately:
Identify your customers
Reach them anywhere and anytime, directly and personally
Engage and appeal to them to generate more visits and sales
With MyFavorito you create a loyalty club for your brand. A club that your customers will love, because it offers everything they want. But what do they really expect?
Customers want to be treated personally and feel special. News, personal offers, loyalty points and rewards, instant prize draws and referrals are built right into MyFavorito available to you now. Use them to reach and engage a critical mass of your customers, not just the typical 5% who are bargain hunters.
Mobilize your products, marketing campaigns and partner and dealer networks
But how do your customers hear about the loyalty club and its advantages? Mainly through the channels that you already use: Through your product and its packaging, advertising in stores, digital marketing channels, social media and other marketing channels. All media can be equipped with QR codes or action codes. By doing so, you can reward and give your customers a direct incentive to join the club. For example, with a loyalty point or a participation in a prize draw. And of course: By talking to your customer directly in stores, restaurants, festivals, events or wherever you have direct contact with your customers.
MyFavorito is packed with irresistible engagement tools
The customer now installs the "MyFavorito" app or visits the "MyFavorito" website. He clicks the "Add to favorites" button to build a direct relationship with your business or brand. That's where our name comes from: "MyFavorito". Now you can reach your customers directly and appeal to them and activate them with ready-to-go, irresistible array of automated and managed engagement tools.
Target individuals at a massive scale
With MyFavorito you can send your customers the right message at the right time, directly to their smartphone or via email. And there are lots of interesting things to communicate about your brand, such as:
New products or videos on how you produce them
Seasonal highlights, events or festivals
Customers are always interested to learn when there are new prize draws, new ways to collect loyalty points and new rewards
And of course you can combine your messages with offers that they can redeem in stores immediately.
With MyFavorito you can send offers, coupons and discount codes directly to your customer's cell phones. Your customers can then redeem these offers in selected stores or online shops. You can also define a welcome gift that your customers can pick up as soon as they have joined your loyalty club.
Reward everything, everywhere
Customers can collect loyalty points with every purchase. This is something that loyalty cards and stamp do as well, but with MyFavorito you can reward your customers for engaging with your PR and marketing activities too. That means that customers can collect points for reading your Facebook news or watch a Youtube video or a TV commercial or many other valuable activities. You can reward your customers for attending an event or festival, scanning your product logo, participating in instant prize draws or referring their friends. To make it short: You can reward them for a lot of different activities that are valuable to you.
Loyalty points can be redeemed at selected stores for attractive rewards. For example:
Merchandising articles and gifts
Discounted offers for promotion stores
Tickets for events
Discount-Codes for online shops
And many more ...
A very effective way to engage a large number of customers is to run instant prize draws. Click here for more details on
MyFavorito's Instant Prizedraw engine
Viral referral programs
With the viral referral program, you can motivate your customers to refer your products or stores to their friends, families and colleagues. You can reward them with loyalty points for every referral. And – for a limited time – they can get all the loyalty points their friends collect through purchases or for following your marketing activities. This way, your referrers truly influence their friends' buying decisions and make sure that friends buy your products and visit your stores instead of the competition.
More impact, more measurable results
Myfavorito was invented and built in collaboration with big brands such as McDonald's. Its mission is to earn you more customers, more store visits, more loyalty and more revenue - systematically, measurably and automated with the least amount of maintenance, friction and hand-holding. MyFavorito automatically creates a self-maintaining customer database that's always-up-to-date because your customers keep it current by using the MyFavorito app or MyFavorito.com web portal. The self-service-oriented Myfavorito dashboard allows you and your team to create content, run campaigns and access crystal-clear real-time reports.
Are you intrigued? Then sign up right now. You can setup your brand and stores right away and connect, engage and appeal to your customers. Like never before.
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ZINTAN, Libya, May 2 (UPI) -- Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of the late leader, indicated he was in decent health when he made a brief court appearance Thursday in Zintan.
Former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi was extradited from Mauritania to Libya in early September. He, along with Gadhafi's son, is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of committing crimes against humanity during last year's civil war. Libya claims jurisdiction in both cases.
Gadhafi appeared briefly in a Libyan courtroom Thursday, where he was appointed two Libyan lawyers. The charges stem from an incident last year involving an ICC lawyer.
Melinda Taylor, an ICC lawyer working on his behalf, was arrested by Libyan authorities in June and held for several weeks. She was suspected of passing sensitive documents to him from one of his supporters.
Prosecutors presented a pen that had a camera inside and a watch allegedly used during the suspected exchange last year, the BBC reports.
Gadhafi indicated to a BBC reporter that he was in decent health. John Jones, his British lawyer, told the BBC the detention center in Libya was the equivalent of Guantanamo Bay, the controversial U.S. detention facility in Cuba.


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Emma Stone in Interview Magazine | Pictures
Emma Stone Talks Ryan Gosling in Interview: "I Immediately Felt a Kinship"
Emma Stone covers the September issue of Interview, which had been timed to coincide with the release of Gangster Squad before the film was moved to a January 2013 release. Emma agreed to an interview with director Cameron Crowe, who will direct her in an upcoming project. She opened up about personal topics, like her first heartbreak as a teenager and changing her name for professional reasons. Emma also touched on her relationship with her Crazy, Stupid, Love and Gangster Squad leading man, Ryan Gosling. Here are highlights from Emma Stone in Interview:
- On her first heartbreak: "I was crawling on the floor. I remember throwing up. . . . Like, within the hour. I remember being on the floor . . . I have never felt anything quite like that. It was so visceral. It's like someone has killed you and you have to live through it and watch it happen . . . It was awful."
- On changing her name: "My name is Emily Stone, but that was already taken at SAG. I was 16 at the time, and I hadn't done anything yet, so I was like, 'I can be whatever I want to be. What name do I want to have?' So I went through a list of names and picked Riley. But then I had an identity crisis pretty much right after because I had a guest part on Malcolm in the Middle, and everyone kept on yelling 'Riley!' and I didn't know who they were talking to. So I had to change my professional name to Emma, which my mom always called me."
- On her friendship with Ryan Gosling: "I've asked him to read a couple of scripts. I just really like hearing his viewpoint because I know that it's never going to be tainted. He's very much his own person. It has really just been scripts so far, because I only met him two years ago when we did Crazy, Stupid, Love, but it was like meeting a member of your team or something. I really like his brain . . . I immediately felt a kinship with him." ?
Photos courtesy Mikael Jansson for Interview


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The Immigration Department has issued the next set of invitations for express entry. In the current list of invitations, the department has issued 1502 letters. CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited was 489. The score has gone a higher than the last draw which had the lowest score of 450. The applicants chosen from the pool are the ones who do not have a PNP or a job offer. These are the lowest score applicants till now who have received invitations in the express entry. if you are looking for applying under express entry or want to know more about the program please talk to us. With the temporary pause on BCPNP Express Entry Program, applicants working in BC should contact us for available options.
You may apply under the express entry even if you are outside Canada and don't have a job offer. Students in Canada on a post graduate work permit may also apply under this program. .


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Retail Lessons from Las Vegas Vacation Part 2 of 3 – Omni Channel
In My Part 1 of the retail blog series about Las Vegas I wrote about the use of video in Las Vegas to enhance visitor experience in Las Vegas. In this second blog I'd like to look at the some of the ways Las Vegas using omni channel to reach out across customers across multiple channels to drive loyalty and sales.
Use of Self Service machines
With the high traffic real estate in the casinos, I saw more vending machines than the usual cigarette and soda vending machines. This one by u*tique at the Cosmopolitan hotel Las Vegas and features a lot of higher end gift items. Unfortunately my photo did not do it justice but I found the following video
Video courtesy of anderjason2 on YouTube
At the Rio hotel lobby next to the Starbucks stand (with long lines in the morning on NYE, guess everyone needs coffee especially in Vegas) Best Buy has a vending machine for the electronics needs of the travellers.
Integration to Text Messaging and Mobile
After I reserved my hotel I was sent an Email to sign up for text messages for promotions and offers while in Las Vegas starting the day of my arrival. Given we were quite mobile in Las Vegas text message was more effective than checking Twitter and facebook pages and more personalized.
Digital Sign at the Fashion Show Mall Las Vegas also promoted visitors to sign up for text message promotions for their runway shows and store promotions.
What seems to work well with omnichannel in Las Vegas is the ability to do fulfillment of needs whether it is products (like self service machines) or content (delivery of information on text message, social media, Email) instantly. Las Vegas sells on the story of instant gratification and privacy (What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas), retailers can learn from that on their marketing and customer service.
In the next blog, I will be taking a look at how Las Vegas are now selling the total experience beyond products and services..
If you are visiting National Retail Federation Conference Expo in New York on January 16th and 17th, please drop by and visit me at Cisco booth #851 and Big Idea Session titled "Catch 'em and Keep 'em. Satisfying Today's Shopper" on omnichannel retailing.
In an effort to keep conversations fresh, Cisco Blogs closes comments after 60 days. Please visit the Cisco Blogs hub page for the latest content.


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American rehabilitation: AR., Volume 25
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Politics & Government
Openness in state government? AP survey shows obstacles
More openness in government. Lawmakers across the country, including the Republicans who took control in many states this year, say they want it. But a survey of all 50 states by The Associated Press has found that efforts to boost openness often are being thwarted by old patterns of secrecy.
The survey did find signs of progress in a number of states, especially in technological efforts to make much more information available online. But there also are restrictions being put in place for recent electronic trends, such as limits on access to officials' text messages.
The AP analysis was done in conjunction with this year's Sunshine Week, an annual initiative begun in 2002 to promote greater transparency in government. To observe Sunshine Week, which runs March 13-20, AP journalists in all 50 statehouses reported on both recent improvements and the obstacles that still exist in many places.
First, the positive: In Alabama, where Republicans won control of the Legislature for the first time in 136 years, lawmakers can no longer bring up budget votes without warning. And Budget Committee meetings are now streamed live online. In the past, legislative leaders typically wrote state budgets in private.
"The public and the press can know where the dollars are being spent and why they are being spent," Republican House Budget Chairman Jay Love said of the new practices.
In Indiana, there's a new website that pulls together budget data, spending reports and other financial information that had previously been spread across multiple sites. New Hampshire launched a website in December that gives the public a window on where the state's money comes from and where it goes — with links to budget documents. The public also can look up the salaries of state employees.
But the openness often goes only so far. Secrecy still prevails in many states among lawmakers of both parties, especially on budget matters where competing interests with big money at stake jockey for advantage.
While political watchdogs in Utah have praised some of the state's transparency efforts, a purely political problem remains: Republicans, who have more than a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate, negotiate the budget in private with almost no input from Democrats. The same goes for meetings between the governor and GOP leaders, which usually are unannounced and not open to the public.
In New York's state capital, Albany, critics have compared the budget process to the old Soviet Politburo — but, some suggest, even more secretive and more in the red. Despite a reform bill that passed two years ago, legislative leaders still craft budget bills behind closed doors and send them out for quick votes.
Even when there seems to be progress in some states, governors and legislators routinely exempt themselves from open records laws or defy them altogether.
Take Kentucky, where lawmakers long ago excluded themselves from the provisions of the open meeting law. They've used that exclusion to its fullest in recent budget negotiations, the AP found, closing themselves into legislative conference rooms with state police officers posted at the door as they figure out how to make up a $1.5 billion shortfall.
Or Nevada, a state where the Legislature is exempt from open meeting laws because it is not defined as a "public body" like local governments and agencies. While many budget discussions are carried out in public, the AP survey found most key details will be decided behind closed doors.
"Anytime you do that, go into a secret meeting, it makes the taxpayers wonder, 'What are they saying that they're afraid to tell us?'" said Barry Smith of the Nevada Press Association, which monitors lawmakers' openness.
The public push for transparency stems in part from new political leadership in many states, the AP survey found. Republicans now control 29 governorships and 26 state legislatures, and many pledged to improve openness during campaign season last year.
Technological advances also have played a role, as have expectations from a skeptical public demanding more information about how their tax money is being spent during the still-painful aftermath of the long and deep recession.
Advocates for open government say they believe many states are on the right track.
"We are seeing less of the backroom deal and more openness and engagement with citizens," said Ellen Miller, co-founder of the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation, which promotes government transparency. "Of course politics are what politics are, and as long as there's money, well-heeled lobbyists may always have the inside track. But there is more engagement with the public than we've seen before."
Still, obstacles remain.
In Iowa, Republican Gov. Terry Branstad wants to create a nonprofit organization to advise the state Economic Development Department on attracting business. As a nonprofit, the group would be allowed to set up a private venture capital fund and avoid public records laws.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has taken a step back from his state's generally strong record on transparency. His office has announced plans to charge a fee to fulfill open records requests, a practice allowed under state law but waived by the previous governor, Republican-turned-independent Charlie Crist. Scott's spokesman said the decision was made to save taxpayer money, not to block access to information.
Some states have moved toward greater transparency in the wake of political scandals, the AP found.
In Oklahoma, where felony bribery charges are pending against a current House member and former state senator, the state has taken steps to open up the legislative process. Conference committees that previously met in private will now hold public hearings. And bills must be posted online for at least 24 hours before they can be heard.
North Carolina lawmakers began moving toward greater transparency after a bribery scandal in 2006 sent then-House Speaker Jim Black to prison. Republicans who took control of the Legislature for the first time in more than a century this year promised even more progress, but the pledge fell apart early in the session after GOP lawmakers closed a party caucus meeting with lobbyists to discuss whether to legalize video poker in the state.
In Nebraska, lawmakers are considering a bill that would require high-ranking administrators at the state's public universities and K-12 schools to disclose their employment contracts, including payments and benefits from private foundations. The bill follows a scandal two years ago in which a former state college professor accepted a deferred compensation package from the college's foundation worth nearly $500,000 in private funds.
While taking advantage of improvements in technology, lawmakers in some states have also taken steps to block access to the information technology provides.
In Delaware, lawmakers have opened up Finance Committee hearings while simultaneously exempting from disclosure e-mails they or their aides send or receive. That means communications to constituents, lobbyists and state agencies are off-limits.
In Ohio, the public can't find out whom lawmakers are calling or texting, particularly if they're using a personal cell phone. Public records requests by the AP for the numbers of cell phones legislators use for state business were rejected by both parties and in both the House and Senate. Gov. John Kasich's office also declined a request for personal cell phones for the governor and his staff.
Just in the past week, Utah Republican Gov. Gary Herbert signed into law a measure to prohibit release of public officials' text messages, voice mails and other electronic communications, and to significantly increase the fees to get public records.
As of 2009, 25 states allowed the use of electronic devices on the floor or in committee, according to a study by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
This is one of a series of stories focusing on open government and access to public records. Go to our Open Government web page for articles on how to access public records in Whatcom County.


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Follow RFF News on your cell phone. Text follow rff to 40404 you will receive txt messages with RFF News
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Quote from: puddin on December 25, 2007, 05:41:38 PMTarJunkie999 can't hold a candle to us Blasphemy! TarJunkie999 is a god to me!
TarJunkie999 can't hold a candle to us
BVM:The monsoon in India is really going to kind of put a damper on things and kind of makes it very humorous.
Greetings. To be honest, I am not sure exactly how much help I can be for you, but here are my thoughts. Due to the design and color pattern, I would bet that that drum (taiko) is from a temple, as it is most definitely used in either/or Buddhist or Shinto rituals. Osaka is not known for its temples or shrines (Kyoto, just 15 minutes away on the bullet train holds that badge). Nonetheless, in Osaka, to my knowledge, the largest temple is the ****ennoji Temple, and the most popular shrine is the Sumiyoshi Grand Shinto Shrine.Temples and shrines are known for having intricate drums like that one - the drums are more ornamental than functional, actually. Another possibility (but much less likely) is the National Museum of Ethnology could have a drum like that; but again, I would think a temple or shrine makes more sense...If I had to choose just one, I'd guess the ****ennoji Temple.Hope this helps and good luck with your search!Jesse
Quote from: puddin on October 26, 2007, 11:53:56 PMHe says its Bosnia!!Hey Slowhatch, whattcha got?
He says its Bosnia!!
Busted rebar from the destroyed station on top of Srd hill. Reminds me of ### photos.
I'll show you why I suspected Mumbai I was searching AOL videos as always and missed this by an hour, I think CBS put it up by mistake, yeah I never got to view it, and then quickly revised it.I think what it was, was a Phil video Diary, i took screencaps incase they took it down. AOL link (video won't play )You get the picture ~
Out of lack of something to do, I went looking at temples and came across this one in Nara --I'm trying to get a better view of these candles at Daibutsu-den , picture link
I was lead here as well but will look around later, but if anyone is as bored as I am then please feel free to help Enryakuji ~http://www.xs4all.nl/~daikoku/junrei/reijo/8-ban.htm
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