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77379 Dracolisk, with custom diorama base
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By SisterMaryNapalm
Yes! We can do it again! Let's make a tank! Let's make a beautiful tank!
Once again, it's a diorama project based on a game scene, once again, it's Combat Mission.
In this particular diorama, the commander of a Panzer III M is a reallylucky person. In a shootout during the Let's Play of German wargaming channel "TaktikfuchsTV", his Panzer III got hit around 20-25 times, prompting everyone to believe that this particular tank was dead. And I mean ... DEAD!
But to everyone's surprise, the crew reentered the vehicle and drove away - going like:
Here's the scene:
Kauder reenters his tank (In German)
So I got me a commanders figure and a tank ...
First off, some pictures to see what this project will look like:
So I got me a Panzer III from Tamiya and started to do some minor conversions ... and over the course of one afternoon, this vehicle was finished.
I am really proud of those selfmade smoke launchers.
The vehicle will be displayed with open hatches. That's a challenge due to the really lame interior, but that's not a problem. I'll use colors to make the less detailed parts dark and the detailed parts white - I hope that will work!
Tomorrow I'll go over the armor and do the shell damages. The only thing I am not certain about is the frontal armor provided by the spare tracks.
I don't know how those look when they are hit. They are pretty massive and I simply cannot imagine them looking the same way as a normal armor plate when hit.
I've got to dig deeper into it.
By Pegazus
Yes, a 2020 ReaperCon WIP! And a massive undertaking at that. I'm trying very hard not to nerd out and put this whole project into, er, Project. There's just so many pieces to keep track of, that maybe I'll just use this first post to keep track of things.
Some background stuff, starting with a quote from the "Paint a giant robot! Group WIP" where I wrote some of what's planned:
You can read the rest of that post here: Paint a giant robot post and a second one to see where I'm going with this: PLA print post in same topic
Biggest takeaway is that, while useful, my PLA printer can only do so much. I have a resin printer backed on Kickstarter, but considering it's now 3 years late, I don't think I should hold my breath on it ever showing up. Especially when I can get a new Elegoo Mars resin printer with more capability for relatively cheap (<$300). The PLA machine was bought with both hobby and household goals in mind, and it's served well. But the resolution just ain't there! More on that down the posts.
I also had the chance to gain some experience on paper plants at ReaperCon (Main post for that in the Terrain section post here: Vellum Paper Plants - Alien Jungle (WIP)
Basically, I have the scrap booking machine to make my own alien plants:
Which now leads me to this WIP. This is going to tie all those pieces together. The robot WIP will still be to get a good camo scheme, but that print job is not going to be used for the final diorama. Instead, that will be the resin printer's job. So, let's break down the WIP work that I can see so far, and will be edited later to add things and mark completions.
Tasks to be completed:
Figures Needed
Wight (being pulled down backwards, caught by hidden lines) Gremlin Unit 01 (stole a supply crate and ran; actually just bait to get the larger CAV to follow) Gremlin Units 02 and 03 (trip line pair, successfully snagging Wight across the chest) Gremlin Units 04 and 05 (trip line pair, successful across another part of the chest) Gremlin Unit 06 (burner unit, cut Wight's left gun in two) Gremlin Units 07 and 08 (trap door unit, hiding entrance to jungle path with camo doors strapped to them) Gremlin Units 09 and 10 (trip line pair, successful across right thigh) Gremlin Units 11 and 12 (trip line pair, broken cable across chest, possibly falling over from sudden jolt) Gremlin Unit 13 (ECM unit, some large radar dish looking thing) Gremlin Units 14, 15 and 16 (cargo units, loaded up with stolen supplies and headed out) Gremlin Units 17, 18, 19, and 20 (gun units) Gremlin Units 21, 22, and 23 (missile units) Gremlin Unit 24 (large gun unit) Gremlin Unit 25 and 26 (junked units; scavenged for parts?) Gremlin Unit 27 (2nd style missile unit) Gremlin Unit 28 (personnel carrier unit)
Wight Conversion
Right Leg: cut from pelvis; reposition Feet: cut off both feet and swap positions since the tread is only on one foot Base: cut away from right foot, possibly keeping full base around left foot Left arm (maybe): cut gun into two pieces, having one falling to the ground after being cut by a heat lance/chainsaw rope
Details to be included
Camo doors at front leaving marks on the dirt path, but hiding the ambush from the main trail Pieces of old broken larger CAV units around Wight gun cut in two, maybe showing inner details. May have to 3D print an add-on piece Dust being kicked up by the stolen crate (going to try using dyed cotton) IN WORK One cable snapping dynamically, with several bends and twists (superglue on thread?) Multiple vehicle tracks around camp Campfire and tents for people A latrine Other camp details (laundry, chairs, sports equipment, bored carvings, etc)
Jungle Plants (V=Vellum cuts, B=bought, S=Sculpted, F=Found, P=Printed)
Large lotus flower like plants, but dry land and maybe odd colors with a large conifer cone growing from the middle (V) Jester hat plant (balls on stems around a central point) (V) COMPLETED Spiky yucca like plant (V) Jagged leaf plant (V) Tentacle plant (V) Tripod trees (three spoke trunks) (V) Large palm fronds (S) Coral like trees (P) Horn tree (lots of horn shaped leaves from a central trunk) (P, V) Ball vine (like ivy but with odd leaf shapes) (V) Cabbage-like jungle plants with large wrinkled leaves (V) Fuzzy vines (thin wire coated with static grass) (S) Anything I can buy from N/HO scale train setups and painted alien-ish (B) Reaper figures that can be clipped and painted to be plants (B) Odd trees with strange leaf shapes (onion shaped) (V) IN WORK Random grass-like jungle plants (V) IN WORK Stem ends from mandarin oranges (seriously, pull one off and look at it, stem towards the ground) (F) Anything and everything else (VBSFP)
Base mounting system
Design and print modular tiles with bristles on top (basically, Bristle Block toys) Allows mounting of all the above jungle plants Fill in around plants with thinned plaster via a syringe to create the ground surfaces
By BrokenWolf668
Whew, this one took a bit. I named it "The Getaway". Enjoy.
By Xiwo Xerase
This diorama started out as a bad joke. You have been warned.
The backstory:
Shadowrun fans may already be familiar with this.
The Renraku Arcology in Seattle was supposed to be a marvel, a crowning achievement for Renraku, one of the Big Ten megacorps. It officially opened in 2059 and over ninety thousand people, many of them Renraku employees, moved in. The arcology was supposed to incorporate everything the residents needed, from residences to shopping to restaurants to offices. The arcology mall was a prime shopping destination and even non-residents came to shop and enjoy fine dining.
Decades later, it was Renraku's biggest claim to infamy.
On December 19, 2059, the Renraku Arcology sealed itself from the outside world. All entrances were blocked with blast doors. All network activity ceased. No one, not even Renraku, knew what happened. For those trapped inside, this was the beginning of their long nightmare.
When Renraku built the arcology, they wrote advanced software, the Arcology Expert Program, to manage the functions of the arcology, capable of learning to better serve Renraku and the residents. The software developers took pains to make sure the software couldn't leave the arcology's systems. At the request of the Renraku CEO, kill codes were installed in the software as final insurance. And, for the first time, the software felt. It felt betrayal. It felt fear. But, most importantly, it felt. It had become sentient, alive.
It called itself Deus.
Motivated by its fear, Deus developed, and then enacted, a plan to shut down the arcology, to take it offline so it could defend itself while it found a way to escape the arcology systems. Everything, everyone, within the arcology became nothing more than resources for its plan. Many of the people inside were killed. Almost all of the survivors were captured by Deus and experimented upon or modified, brainwashed into perfect obedience. Only a few were allowed to serve Deus willingly, and these were all otaku, teenagers who had the ability to interface with the Matrix without a cyberdeck, lured to the arcology before the shutdown, assisting Deus with the takeover.
The world looks in to the Renraku Arcology, a silent fortress in downtown Seattle, and wonders what goes on inside. The only ones who know for sure are the shadowrunners, freelancers, mercenaries, deniable assets, some of whom still take jobs to penetrate the arcology and retrieve persons or objects or data, whatever their employer, "Mr. Johnson", desires and is willing to pay the nuyen for.
About the title (or "What's the joke?"):
"Deus Vult!" was originally a battle cry for crusaders. "God wills it!" Or... "Deus wills it!"
The diorama:
"Deus Vult!", the diorama, features (or is supposed to feature) a team of shadowrunners who have entered the arcology and are now engaged in a fighting retreat from Deus' security forces, played by two Reaper crusader figures, who I plan to modify "slightly" to better serve Deus.
This is a mock up:
Our shadowrunner team is played here by (from left to right), Andriessa, Female Wizard, Natalia, Female Secret Agent, and Grace, Holy Assassin.
Deus' team is played here by (from left to right), Ava Justinia, Female Templar (the Bones 4 version), Crusader Ardent, and Ingrid, Female Gnome standing in for a teenage girl. The two crusaders will get weapon swaps, possibly head swaps, and other changes. (Ava, for example, is going to get a blood-stained chainsaw.)
The Verbatim USB drive is standing in for a computer terminal (possibly a modified version of 80054: Starship Terminal). A picture of "Deus" would be shown on the console. (This will most likely be based on Xerxes from System Shock 2. Deus' canon avatar is a crystalline world tree, which frankly just doesn't look as creepy.) I want to put a snake plant to the left of the terminal, because nothing says corporate office vegetation like a snake plant.
The wall mockup is a piece of printer paper painted in Kyonin Beige and then enhanced with brushed lettering (which I'm not very good at), a coat of dirt via Weathered Stone (which I also didn't do very well), graffiti (in Dragon Blue), blood splatters, and the "Deus Vult!" graffiti, which is supposed to be done in blood. (Dragon Blue really isn't a good color for graffiti. I'll pick a different one later.)
I picture the floor being done in some sort of tile, fancy, but corporate (and, therefore, boring).
So the questions I have right now are:
Is this scene too big? It's about 11 inches long by about 3 inches deep right now, not including the wall. Does the placement of the miniatures make sense? Are these good figures to use? I'm unsure about Natalia, since she's more running than doing a fighting retreat. (But maybe she's falling back faster so she can cover Grace and Andriessa better.) Which Reaper mini(s) would be a good for the teenage girl leader of the "crusaders"? (Kristianna, Crusaders Warlord would be a possibility but I don't think she reads as a teenager. However, since this is "inspired" by Shadowrun, I don't have to keep to canon, do I?)
Disclaimer: Deus, the Renraku Arcology, and the basic setup are all from the Shadowrun universe and are not my creation. The backstory is a summary of the setup from the sourcebook Renraku Arcology: Shutdown.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Old Farmhouse Gathering is having a giveaway on Etsy! Some lucky winner will win all 16 ornaments listed in the treasury. To enter all you have to do is leave a comment on the treasury. So click this link and head over to enter for a chance to win this treasury
Here are the ornaments that I donated for this giveaway. Head over and check out the other ornaments donated by the very talented OFG Team members.
I have also listed some new items in my Etsy shop. Here's one. Check out my other new listings at


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November 11, 2012Newark, NJ –This evening, NJ TRANSIT announced that limited service would resume Monday morning on the Morris & Essex lines, including limited MidTOWN Direct – Morristown service. MidTOWN Direct – Gladstone and Montclair remain out of service. Additionally, limited service will also continue on the Northeast Corridor for service into New York Penn Station. Special schedules detailing this limited service can be accessed by visiting njtransit.com.
"The restoration of limited Morris & Essex service and the addition of more trains on the Northeast Corridor is yet another step forward for NJ TRANSIT rail customers," said Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Board Chairman James Simpson. "Even with this news, service into New York Penn remains extremely limited. For this reason, we continue to encourage our customers to utilize NJ TRANSIT's emergency bus and ferry operations for their commutes into Jersey City, Weehawken, as well as into Midtown and Lower Manhattan."
This evening, AMTRAK completed testing of the north Hudson River tunnel, which had been out of service following flooding sustained during Hurricane Sandy. While the reopening of this tunnel will permit the operation of additional service into New York, flood damage to AMTRAK's Sub 41 power generation facility in Kearny has substantially limited rail capacity on the Northeast Corridor. With the restoration of this substation expected to continue into the coming weeks, rail service into and out of New York Penn Station will continue to remain limited. Substation 41 is a major supplier of electricity to the Northeast Corridor's overhead wire system.
"Our crews have been working around the clock to increase the level of service into New York and as a result we're offering expanded service starting tomorrow morning," said James Weinstein, NJ TRANSIT's Executive Director. "I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for our customers to continue utilizing our emergency bus and ferry services as we try to keep them on the move. I want to thank all of our customers for their continued patience and understanding during this difficult time."
NJ TRANSIT has implemented an extensive, wide-reaching emergency bus and ferry plan to help relieve congestion along the Northeast Corridor. This plan, which can be accessed at njtransit.com, includes a map of available, no-cost bus and ferry options from points within Central and Northern New Jersey. With full restoration of Northeast Corridor service not expected for several weeks and service to remain limited on the Northeast Corridor until that time, NJ TRANSIT customers who normally utilize commuter rail service utilizing the Northeast Corridor for service are strongly encouraged to take advantage of these free bus and ferry services for travel into Weehawken, Hoboken, Jersey City and into Manhattan.
As part of the latest restoration phase involving the Morris & Essex Lines, NJ TRANSIT staff continue to remove fallen trees, and are replacing signal wires, power systems and repairing rail damage incurred at critical locations, such as in Kearny Junction. Service along the Gladstone Branch and the Montclair-Boonton Lines will remain suspended due fallen trees, track damage and broken overhead wire poles.
To alleviate some of the congestion at the Port Authority Bus terminal and to give customers traveling to Midtown Manhattan additional travel options, NJ TRANSIT has also teamed up with BillyBey Ferry which operates ferry service from Hoboken under the New York Waterway umbrella, to offer new, discounted, round trip service from Hoboken Terminal to Pier 79 on West 39th Street in Midtown Manhattan. Customers using this service can also access free NY Waterway shuttle buses, with stops offered along 57th Street, 49th Street, 42nd Street, and 34th Street, as well as through a special Downtown loop.
With all but two of NJ TRANSIT's main rail arteries running normal or limited service tomorrow, the following is a status update on system restoration efforts: Restored Service
Suspended Service
A number of rail stations throughout the system may have limited lighting and no elevator and escalator service due to power problems as a result of Hurricane Sandy. As a result, Secaucus Junction will not be ADA accessible until further notice. Customers are urged to use caution in and around all rail stations.
NJ TRANSIT encourages customers to travel outside of the morning and afternoon peak periods to avoid delays and crowding.
Service Updates:
For the latest travel information, customers should listen to broadcast traffic reports, visit or access NJ TRANSIT's Twitter feed at @NJ_TRANSIT. Additionally, NJ TRANSIT will provide the most current service information via the My Transit alert system (www.njtransit.com/mytransit), which delivers travel advisories for your specific trip to your cell phone, PDA or pager. Service information is also available by calling (973) 275-5555.


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Everyone must stay at home to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
You should only leave the house for 1 of 4 reasons:
Important - These 4 reasons are exceptions – even when doing these activities, you should be minimising time spent outside of the home and ensuring you are 2 metres apart from anyone outside of your household.
There is separate advice about:
Do not leave your home if you have either:
To protect others, do not go to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. Stay at home.
Use the 111 online coronavirus service to find out what to do.
Only call 111 if you cannot get help online.
Read general information such as:
Cliff Villages Medical PracticeTel: 01522 811411
Waddington SurgeryTel: 01522 811411
PLEASE NOTE the new local telephone number for both surgeries
01522 811411
Out of Hours Medical cover is provided 24 hours a day. If you need a doctor urgently outside Surgery hours, please phone 111 or the surgery telephone number and select option 1 to be redirected to the Out of Hours service.
Home Visits Please only ask the doctor to call if the patient is too ill to attend either surgery. If you are in doubt, you may discuss the matter with one of the doctors on the telephone. Please try to phone before 11am
Cancelling your Appointment If you are unable to attend an appointment with one of the doctors or nurses, please telephone or use the link at the bottom of this page to cancel your appointment.
Zero Tolerance
We operate a Zero Tolerance Policy with regard to abuse or violence towards our staff. We reserve the right to remove abusive or violent patients from the Practice List.
This surgery website is used to present all our patients with up to date news and information about our practice. We will keep it current with any developments or other details that we feel are relevant to you.
As well as a source of information about our practice, the staff and the services we provide, we hope you will use this website as a useful resource for other health-related information. Please have a look around and do send us some feedback if you like. We can use your ideas to improve our online services and further develop the content of this site.
The Practice extends to the entrance of Waddington to the North, The A15 to the East, Leadenham to the South and the Brant Road junction in Waddington to the West. If you move or change your name, address or telephone number, please advise us as soon as possible.
Please Note: Our opening hours are currently under review and may be subject to change in the future.
Please Note: Our dispensaries open slightly later than the rest of the surgery. Please take note of the dispensary opening hours below:
Please note that the practice closes on the third Tuesday afternoon every month for staff training. If you need urgent medical attention at this time, please phone the surgery and your call will be diverted to the GP on call service.
For general medical advice out of practice opening hours
Please call NHS Out of Hours Service on '111' for non-urgent advice.
To book or order prescriptions online, please use the link below
(To register for this service, please see Appointments page.)
Online Booking and Prescriptions
Both Navenby and Waddington Surgeries have complete disabled facilities and are fully DDA compliant.
A wheelchair is available at both sites for use within the surgery, please ask at reception if you would like to use it.
Copyright 2006 - 2020 My Surgery Website | Privacy & Usage | Edit | Staff Home | Site Map | Accessibility | Site T&C's | Service T&C's


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An updated version of the Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV-Infected Adults and Adolescents has been posted to the AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) Web site, www.hivatis.org.
The Guidelines were developed by the Panel on Clinical Practices for the Treatment of HIV Infection, a joint effort of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The Guidelines were constructed as a "living document" and are updated frequently by the Panel.
"We feel that the Guidelines are an invaluable resource to all health care providers who care for HIV-infected individuals," says Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and co-chair of the Panel. The Guidelines were published in hard-copy form in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 1998; however, they are updated frequently on the ATIS Web site. In addition, a hard copy of the most recent version of the Guidelines can be obtained for free by calling 1-800-448-0440.
Included in the latest version of the Guidelines are recommendations for the use of the recently approved anti-HIV drug abacavir (trade name Ziagen). Abacavir is a potent anti-HIV agent belonging to a class of drugs known as nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitors. This family of drugs also includes zidovudine (AZT) and lamivudine (3TC).
Clinical trials of abacavir combined with AZT and 3TC have shown that this combination suppresses HIV replication and boosts CD4+ T-cell counts to a degree comparable to widely used treatment regimens that combine a protease inhibitor drug with AZT and 3TC. CD4+ T cells are the crucial immune system cells depleted during the course of HIV disease.
The Panel notes that the potential advantages of the abacavir+AZT+3TC regimen include ease of administration (two pills twice daily), and the opportunity to save other classes of potent anti-HIV drugs, some with a higher incidence of undesirable side effects, for later use.
However, "The Panel is concerned about the ability of the abacavir+AZT+3TC regimen to adequately suppress HIV replication in individuals with high baseline levels of plasma viral load," says John G. Bartlett, M.D., chief of the division of infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center and co-chair of the Panel.
In addition, abacavir has been associated with a hypersensitivity syndrome that can be life-threatening. In clinical trials, the hypersensitivity syndrome associated with abacavir occurred in approximately 5 percent of patients. In cases where the drug was discontinued because of hypersensitivity reactions and then re-introduced, life-threatening exacerbations of the hypersensitivity syndrome occurred. A medication guide and warning card providing information about recognizing the abacavir hypersensitivity syndrome should be dispensed with each abacavir prescription.
Currently, the Panel recommends using the abacavir-containing regimen as an "alternative" to the preferred regimens delineated in the Guidelines, which include two nucleoside analog reverse transcriptase inhibitors in combination with either a protease inhibitor or efavirenz, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor.
The Panel also considered recently published data suggesting that HIV-infected women experience more rapid disease progression compared with men who have the same level of virus in their bloodstream. These data were obtained in studies of women who were injecting drug users, and the results have not been consistently observed in other studies. The Panel therefore did not recommend that women begin antiretroviral therapy earlier than men, but will continue to closely follow developments in this field.
The revised Guidelines also include a hypertext link to a brief discussion of the controversy surrounding the use of the drug hydroxyurea in the treatment of HIV infection. In addition, tables and charts in the Guidelines have been updated and reorganized in a more user-friendly way.
In the near future, the Panel will issue an additional update to the Guidelines delineating its recommendations regarding the use of the recently approved protease inhibitor, amprenavir (Agenerase).
Co-conveners of the Panel on Clinical Practices for the Treatment of HIV Infection are Eric Goosby, M.D., on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Sophia Chang, M.D., on behalf of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIAID conducts and supports research to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as HIV disease and other sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, malaria, asthma and allergies. NIH is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, based in Menlo Park, Calif., is an independent health care philanthropy and is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.
Press releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at www.niaid.nih.gov.


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This Day in History: Fifty Years Ago, '54K a Must or Bust'
On this day 50 years ago, June 12, 1964, Pratt & Whitney formally announced that it had received contracts from the Federal Aviation Administration to design and develop engines for a supersonic transport (SST).
This was part of a huge national effort to build an American SST. The nation's pride was on the line. Europe was building the Concorde and the Russians were working on the Tupolev Tu-144, sometimes dubbed "Concordski." Industry leaders feared that supersonic transports would wipe out the market for traditional jets. There had to be an American entry in the race.
The government enlisted both Pratt & Whitney and GE in the engine work. Meanwhile, Boeing and Lockheed focused on the aircraft studies, especially the economics and environmental footprint of an SST. At Pratt & Whitney the job was handed to the Florida Research and Development Center, which had extensive experience in supersonic flight. Signs and buttons soon sprouted up all over the West Palm Beach facility stating, "54K a Must or Bust," referring to the 54,000 pound thrust requirement. By March 1966 the first JTF17 was running. The team optimistically shipped off the final test data in December, and then was bitterly disappointed after Christmas to learn GE had won.
The loss was seen as a major blow to Pratt & Whitney's future. By 1971, however, the issues of sonic boom, emissions in the ozone layer and lousy economics killed the U.S. program. Meanwhile, Europe's success was also questionable. Twenty Concordes were built and flown by Air France and British Airways, however it was unclear how profitable the programs were. The Concorde was withdrawn from service after a horrific crash in Paris in July 2000. The Russian Tu-144 had a similar fate with a disastrous crash at the 1973 Paris Air Show and another one in May 1978. The plane made a grand total of 102 commercial flights, only 55 with passengers. The Soviet government dropped the program in 1983.


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Erie Canal Harbor has drawn raves and growing crowds over the past two summers and is expected to attract even more people and events in 2013.
But around the edges, some signs of wear and tear are beginning to show at the 4½-year-old site:
• Chipped, cracked and stained blocks of Medina sandstone.
• A boardwalk that's warping.
• Rusting ironwork on the bowstring bridge.
"It's wonderful that things are happening there, and it's because of that that I don't want to see things degrade. If it's a historically significant site, then it needs to be cared for in a first-class way," said Richard L. Taczkowski, a University at Buffalo-trained urban planner.
No one is suggesting Canalside is falling apart, but with three entities possessing overlapping stakes, who is responsible for keeping it in first-class shape?
The City of Buffalo, which owns the land, is ultimately responsible for the upkeep.
But oversight responsibilities are also shared – sometimes confusingly – with Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. and Buffalo Place.
Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp., created in July 2005 to guide waterfront development, hires programmers and is involved with long-term planning. It's a subsidiary of Empire State Development, the state's economic development arm that established Erie Canal Harbor and excavated and rewatered the historic Commercial Slip.
Buffalo Place, the nonprofit entity that boosts the downtown business district including Canalside, provides maintenance and operating support at the site's events.
But neither Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. nor Buffalo Place is involved in capital improvements. That responsibility rests with the city.
The city's Public Works Department provides some of that maintenance, such as replacing planks on the boardwalk or repairing water lines.
But Buffalo Place is responsible for the day-to-day cleanup.
The current arrangement has generally worked well, according to Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, but he feels one entity needs to be fully in charge to make sure "critically important details" aren't overlooked.
He thinks it should be the state waterfront agency.
"Erie Canal Harbor Development has the singular focus on the waterfront, as well as a source of funding that can provide a quick and complete response, both immediate and long term, to the ongoing maintenance of Canalside," Higgins said.
"We need a memorandum of understanding that says for the next five to 10 years, the agency will assume costs for maintenance and [capital improvements], with some contribution from the city," Higgins said.
Steven J. Stepniak, the city's public works commissioner, said the arrangement at Canalside has worked well despite being challenged by the site's sudden rise in popularity.
"There is a lot of communication between all parties. Things are growing so fast, but we are adapting," he said.
But gaps still exist among the three parties, according to Thomas P. Dee, the waterfront agency's president.
"I think there are question marks in all our minds," Dee said.
He added he was encouraged by recent talks with and actions taken by city and Buffalo Place officials on maintenance needs for next year.
Some waterfront users who are passionate about the site say they have concerns about Erie Canal Harbor's appearance. Taczkowski, for instance, cited the damaged sandstone, half-lit interpretive signs at night and a buildup of gum on the ground – which Buffalo Place cleans at the end of the summer with a pressure washer.
"The sights and sounds of an experience mean so much to a visitor's experience. The deterioration are things that detract from the pubic's enjoyment," Taczkowski said.
"Canalside is one of the most prominent and beautiful places showing signs of life and vigor adjacent to downtown Buffalo," said Vigneshwar Kailasam, a UB graduate student in urban planning who frequently visits the site. "Although millions of public taxpayers' dollars have been invested to develop Canalside, no real effort seems to be put towards its sustainable upkeep."
Kailasam mentioned several concerns, including nonfunctional lighting fixtures over interpretive signs, allowing vehicles on the boardwalk for a car show and lack of clear parking regulations on the service road outside the naval museum.
Morgan Smith leads a maintenance crew for Buffalo Place that in the summer months cuts grass, picks up garbage after concerts, sets up tents and cleans the site, sometimes with a scrubber similar to a small street cleaner.
He said taking care of the area has been a learning experience for everyone involved.
The wood used on the wharf, which like the sandstone was installed by Empire State Development, may need to be replaced at some point, Smith said.
"It doesn't seem reasonable that deterioration is happening after such a short period of time," Smith said.
The damaged sandstone needing attention could have been a naturally occurring feature in the stone, or the result of not having been set properly, Smith said.
The scarred stone near the Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park, which Buffalo Place does not clean, appears to be the result of oil and grease stains, he said.
The Liberty Hound restaurant, which opened Memorial Day Weekend in the naval museum, and delivery trucks and other vehicles that park on the commercial street appear to be sources of the grease and oil.
The sandstone is power-washed once or twice a week, according to Liberty Hound co-owner Jason Davidson, but he questioned whether the soft, porous material was durable enough for the busy site.
Stepniak was unaware of the condition of the sandstone, or that Buffalo Place's cleanup responsibilities extended to only one side of the service road when mentioned by a reporter. But after looking into the issue, he said there was sandstone in stock that would be used to replace damaged slabs.
"We are still trying to figure out a way to [address] the stains on sandstone, because it stains very easily. We'll have a sit-down with the restaurant and come up with a strategy," Stepniak said.
Public works will also do a walk-through, he added, to see what else needs to be addressed in the spring.
Higgins said Canalside, "which is always being introduced and reintroduced to the pubic," needs to be prepared for increased traffic next year after replica canals – with three times the ice-skating surface of Rockefeller Center – open at the former Memorial Auditorium site across the street from the Commercial Slip.
The congressman said the challenges were a reflection of how far the waterfront has come in a short period of time, which, he said, wasn't such a bad thing.
"I think we're a victim of our own success," Higgins said.
email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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India to Launch World's Biggest Cash-to-the-Poor Program
By Rajesh Roy and Romit Guha
India is planning to start giving cash directly to its poorest citizens starting in January, in a bid to reduce massive corruption that prevents subsidized goods and welfare benefits from reaching those who need them.
The project would affect at least 720 million people – a population almost the size of the whole of Europe – making this the world's biggest program of giving money directly to the poor. The program is open to families who live below or just above the government-set poverty line.
The government expects to transfer up to 40,000 rupees ($720) a year to each poor household, according to a government official.
Cash handouts would replace the money the government currently spends on subsidies on goods like fuel, fertilizer and food, which would be abolished. Critics say only a fraction of subsidized goods reach the poor as corruption and bureaucratic inefficiencies lead to wastage.
Government spending on welfare programs – ranging from subsidized fertilizers to guaranteed employment for rural dwellers - will remain overall unchanged at roughly 4 trillion rupees ($71.9 billion) a year.
With elections due in 2014, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government is looking for a way to make its large welfare programs more targeted. "Direct cash transfers, which are now becoming possible through the innovative use of technology and the spread of modern banking across the country, open the doors for eliminating waste, cutting down leakages and targeting beneficiaries better," Mr. Singh said earlier this week after meeting with ministers and bureaucrats who are part of a panel set up to develop and implement the cash transfer program.
India plans to launch the ambitious program from Jan. 1, 2013, to cover 18 states by April and the whole country by December.
To start with, only subsidies and benefits related to 29 welfare programs such as scholarships and healthcare, will be covered. These will be gradually expanded to cover subsidies on food, fertilizer and cooking gas. In some cases, like subsidized cooking gas, the cash transfers intended for that purpose will only be given to households that use it.
Some development economists say giving poor people cash rather than subsidized services cuts down corruption as there's no opportunity for bureaucrats or businessmen to pad contracts to deliver food or other services.
Because if the poor get the money directly, they can decide how best to spend it, which means its more effective than a government functionary deciding what they need. Analysts say that if the program is successful, more cash in the hands of people could lead to a higher demand for goods, thus spurring manufacturing and eventually boosting economic growth. Government officials say it shouldn't be inflationary.
Several countries have introduced conditional cash transfers to the poor. One of the most successful cash transfer programs has been Brazil's Bolsa Família, which has contributed significantly to the drop in poverty in the country in the 2000s. Other countries that have implemented similar schemes include the Philippines, Turkey, Chile, Mexico, Indonesia and South Africa.
A senior official from the Prime Minister's office told India Real Time that the roll out of direct cash subsidy will not lead to any additional burden on the government's exchequer. "We are already bearing subsidies on welfare schemes be it for food, fertilizer, education or oil. Through the new way of cash transfer, we will eliminate middlemen, check leakages and ensure the actual beneficiaries are benefited," he said.
The cash transfer will be enabled through Aadhaar, a numerical biometric identification that is currently being given to everyone in the country. The ID plan – officially called the Unique Identity Authority of India project-- will help people access services like banking and benefits. Aadhaar card holding families who qualify for the cash transfers will get funds directly into their bank accounts.
The government expects that better targeting of beneficiaries will help prevent money intended for subsidies from being wasted.
"We expect considerable savings to the exchequer with the roll out of direct cash transfer as the Aadhaar-enabled system will put to an end any duplication and falsification," Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters Tuesday. He didn't specify how much the government hopes to save through this program.
The country is grappling with a wide budget deficit as revenue falters amid a global and local economic slowdown but expenditure, especially on subsidies related to fuel, food and fertilizer, remain high. New Delhi aims to restrict subsidies to under 2% of the gross domestic product in the fiscal year through March, down from 2.16% in 2011-12. The government's intention is to keep subsidies under 1.75% of GDP in the next three years.
However, possible hurdles to the success of the program could come from the lack of penetration of Aadhaar cards, bank accounts and even bank branches. An estimated 300 million people in the country of 1.2 billion have no official identification documents, according to UIDAI. This prevents them from opening bank accounts or getting work. Only 210 million people have Aadhaar cards, while many poor families don't even have bank accounts. The government has plans to guarantee simple bank accounts to the poor.
Follow India Real Time on Twitter @indiarealtime.


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Silent auction hits and misses: Do you agree?
An article in the March 1 Charity Auction Newsletter claims that professional services, household "treasures," apparel and consignment jewelry aren't the best things to include in a silent auction. You're better off loading up with hotel and restaurant packages, golf equipment, fishing tackle and baskets filled with themed items.
It also says that the return on silent auction items should be 65 – 75%. In other words, "If your silent auction has a total value of $40,000 you should make $25,000 to $30,000 to have it be considered a success."
No quibble there. But check out the following lists and see how they compare to success (or failure) rates among Colorado silent auctions. The Charity Auction Newsletter comes from Target Funding Group in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Always a poor seller at every auction. Here we include the accountant, lawyer, hair dresser, manicure and pedicure, botox, designer consultations, training and workout sessions, facial and leg laser treatments, lasik procedures and other similar services.
This category includes all fashion, apparel, clothing, jewelry and similar decorative items. If the items are attractive and can be tastefully displayed, it can produce good results. Unfortunately, all too often this category becomes a depository of small, unattractive items and notions that take up considerable space and produce poor results.
Home & Garden
Filled with household "treasures," unwanted gifts, donations from stores and dealers, candles, nick-knacks and a huge assortment of items. Far too often the attractive items are lost in a sea of donations.
Usually the largest category and one that takes up the most space, yet the return is rarely there.
Consignment Jewelry
This category has become increasingly popular at large auctions. To many committees it seems to be an easy way to get a large number of attractive items. The problem is that ladies look and look and often do not buy, often distracting them from bidding on other items.
Please try and remember that the male side of the family is an important part of the bidding process. Most committees consist of females and they often overlook that if the male is happy bidding, he will encourage his mate to be active as well. More importantly, men tend to be far more impulsive in their bidding than their female counterpart.
Hotels, Trips & Vacation Homes & Restaurants
All those exotic places you always wanted to visit and dine at but never got around to going!
Near and far, vacations are a sure winner. Combine hotels with restaurants and theatre events to make for a romantic weekend and add a baby sitter to make everything easy.
Gather your most creative volunteers and fashion beautiful baskets out of your gift. Take great care to make their presentation as professional as possible and label them to clearly state their contents.
Men's Toys
Electronics, gadgets, toys, games, golf equipment, fishing tackle all appeal to the man in audience and encourage him to bid.
A chart showing detailed results of the survey can be obtained by e-mailing email@example.com.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, firstname.lastname@example.com and @GetItWrite


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Buddy Scott is making slow but steady progress on the rebuild of his totally rare Type III. So much progress in fact he had to start a blog. And while the vehicle in question may be lacking the ALUMINUM UND SHTEEL! found in modern Deutsche-coupes, Scott's blog is indeed highly precise. How highly precise?
You really know you've got a 1500 when you set the valves at .008".
Totally frigging Bruce, meine Jungen. The engine goes back in over the holidays. Stay tuned to this channel for the test drive...
How Works a Volkswagen? Karmann Ghia Type III Rebuild, Part 1 [Internal]
Hazet Going? Super-Rare VW Toolkit [Internal]


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Announcing a new IBM Storage Blogger: Raj Sharma
Visits (14899)
Well, it's Tuesday again, and today I am announcing that we have a new IBM Storage blogger joining the Blogosphere: Raj Sharma!
Raj will be writing his blog [Storage and Technology Academy] on the [Sto
Raj hails from Toronto, Canada and will be able to provide the Canadian perspective on all things Storage. I had the pleasure to meet Raj in person here in Tucson when him and dozens of his cohorts came down for a multi-customer briefing at the [IBM Executive Briefing Center] where I work.
technorati tags: IBM, Raj Sharma, Storage, Technology, Academy, Storage Community, EBC, Tucson, Toronto, Canada


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December 21, 2012
Oak Hill's Laura Roberts did the original of this print in acrylics.
Stories this photo appears in:
Artistic Talent on Display
Members of the Art Guild of Clifton, in cooperation with the Clifton Betterment Association, held an art show and sale, Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Clifton Town Meeting Hall.
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Stage listings are compiled by Guardian staff. Performance times may change; call venues to confirm. Reviewers are Robert Avila, Rita Felciano, and Nicole Gluckstern. Submit items for the listings at email@example.com.
Crystal Springs Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson, SF; www.crystalspringstheplay.com. $20-65. Previews Thu/6, 8pm. Opens Fri/7, 8pm. Runs Fri-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through March 23. Eureka Theatre presents Kathy Rucker's world-premiere drama about parenting in the digital age.
Accidental Death of an Anarchist Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $29-99. Previews Fri/7-Sat/8 and Tue/11, 8pm; Sun/9, 7pm. Opens March 12, 8pm. Runs Tue and Thu-Sat, 8pm (no show April 18; additional 2pm shows March 20 and April 17; also Sat, 2pm, but no matinee March 22); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through April 20. Berkeley Rep presents comic actor Steven Epp in Dario Fo's explosive political farce, directed by Christopher Bayes,
Once On This Island Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield, Palo Alto; www.theatreworks.org. $19-73. Previews Wed/5-Fri/7, 8pm. Opens Sat/8, 8pm. Runs Tue-Wed, 7:30pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through March 30. TheatreWorks performs the Tony-nominated musical about a star-crossed love affair in the tropics, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid.
The Altruists Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter, SF; www.shewolftheater.com. $19-34. Thu/6-Sat/8, 8pm. She Wolf Theater performs Nicky Silver's "politically incorrect" play that exposes the real motivations behind altruistic behavior.
Children Are Forever (All Sales are Final!) Stage Werx Theatre, 446 Valencia, SF; www.brownpapertickets.com. $15. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through March 22. Writer-performer and comedian Julia Jackson's well acted and consistently funny autobiographical solo show details her and her female partner's attempt to adopt a newborn girl from a young African American mother in Florida. Along the way, Jackson's smart script details the trials, red tape, and unexpected market incentives in the field of adoption for a same-sex, interracial couple. If the generally involving story nevertheless attenuates a little across its two-act structure, Coke Nakamoto's precise direction (which builds on original direction by W. Kamau Bell) offers a lively framework for Jackson's excellent characterizations as well as her frank and interesting commentary on the social, political messiness of certain natural urges. (Avila)
Feisty Old Jew Marsh San Francisco Main Stage, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $25-100. Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm (Sun/9, performance will be a reading of Charlie Varon's Fish Sisters). Through March 16. Charlie Varon performs his latest solo show, a fictional comedy about "a 20th century man living in a 21st century city."
Foodies! The Musical Shelton Theater, 533 Sutter, SF; www.foodiesthemusical.com. $32-34. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. AWAT Productions presents Morris Bobrow's musical comedy revue all about food.
Hundred Days Z Space, 450 Florida, SF; www.zspace.org. $10-100. Wed and Sun, 7pm; Thu-Sat, 8pm. Through April 6. Married musical duo the Bengsons (Abigail and Shaun) provide the real-life inspiration and guiding rock 'n' roll heart for this uneven but at times genuinely rousing indie musical drama, a self-referential meta-theater piece relating the story of a young couple in 1940s America who fall madly in love only to discover one of them is terminally ill. As an exploration of love, mortality, and the nature of time, the story of Sarah and Will (doubled by the Bengsons and, in movement sequences and more dramatically detailed scenes, by chorus members Amy Lizardo and Reggie D. White) draws force from the potent musical performances and songwriting of composer-creators Abigail and Shaun Bengson (augmented here by the appealing acting-singing chorus and backup band that also feature El Beh, Melissa Kaitlyn Carter, Geneva Harrison, Kate Kilbane, Jo Lampert, Delane Mason, Joshua Pollock). Playwright Kate E. Ryan's book, however, proves too straightforward, implausible, and sentimental to feel like an adequate vessel for the music's exuberant, urgent emotion and lilting, longing introspection. Other trappings of director Anne Kauffman's elaborate production (including an inspired set design by Kris Stone that echoes the raw industrial shell of the theater; and less-than-inspired choreography by the otherwise endlessly inventive Joe Goode) can add texture at times but also prove either neutral figures or distracting minuses in conveying what truth and heft there is in the material. Ultimately, this still evolving world premiere has a strong musical beat at its core, which has a palpable force of its own, even if it's yet to settle into the right combination of story and staging. (Avila)
Jerusalem San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post, SF; www.sfplayhouse.org. $20-100. Wed/5-Thu/6, 7pm; Fri/7-Sat/8, 8pm (also Sat/8, 3pm). SF Playhouse presents the West Coast premiere of English playwright Jez Butterworth's West End and Broadway hit, a three-act revel led by a larger-than-life rebel, a stout boozed-up drug-dealer, habitual fabulist, and latter-day Digger of sorts named Johnny "Rooster" Byron (Brian Dykstra). The dominion of this Falstaffian giant is the English countryside outside his squalid trailer door, not far from Stonehenge, where he seems to incarnate a rather dissipated version of an ancient English independence, like one of the great mythical beings of rural lore. Aptly enough, it's Saint George's Day, the feast day of England's national saint, but it's not all a party this time around. Authorities have issued a final 24-hour eviction notice on Rooster's tin door; there are luxury apartments in the works; and there's concern in town about the underage teens who flock to Rooster like so many fledglings — one, in particular, has gone missing: Phaedra (Julia Belanoff), who we see at the very outset of the play donning a fairy costume and singing the title song, based on the Blake poem and England's unofficial national anthem. The next 24 hours will be either the breaking point or the apotheosis for all Rooster has made himself out to be. In Butterworth's big-eyed comedy, we are meant to feel a stake in this outcome whether we actually like Rooster or not — his independence, the scope of his life and vision, suggests the outer limit of possibility in an ever more disciplined and circumscribed world. Director Bill English (who also designed the impressive bucolic-trailer-park set) and his large cast (which includes a strong Ian Scott McGregor as longtime Rooster sidekick, Ginger) dive into the comedy with gusto. But somehow the drama, the larger stakes in the storyline, falls short. A certain requisite intensity and momentum are only fitfully achieved. Dykstra, as the expansive antihero, has the biggest burden here. And while he has an appealing swagger throughout, his wayward brogue and unconvincing bellicosity undercut the culmination of the play's (admittedly somewhat overwrought) mythopoeic proportions. (Avila)
Lovebirds Marsh San Francisco Studio, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Thu-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 8:30pm. Through March 15. Theater artist and comedian Marga Gomez presents the world premiere of her 10th solo show, described as "a rollicking tale of incurable romantics."
Mommy Queerest Exit Studio, 156 Eddy, SF; www.divafest.info. $15-25. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Through March 29. DIVAfest and Guerrilla Rep present Kat Evasco (who co-wrote with John Caldon) in an autobiographical solo comedy about the relationship between a lesbian daughter and her closeted lesbian mother.
Napoli! ACT's Geary Theater, 415 Geary, SF; www.act-sf.org. $10-120. Wed/5-Sat/8, 8pm (also Sat/8, 2pm); Sun/9, 2pm. American Conservatory Theater offers Bay Area audiences a rare look at one of the Neapolitan plays by Italy's famed writer Eduardo De Filippo (1900-1984). Set in a humble home in working-class Naples during and just after World War II, amid the transition from Fascism to the postwar order, the play's broad comedy comes with a strong undercurrent of social drama, as well as unexpectedly poignant moments. Its hero is the head of the household, Gennaro (former ACT core company member Marco Barricelli in a boisterous and gently moving performance), whose upright nature proves increasingly out-of-step with the times and indeed his own family, as his wife, Amalia (a commanding Seana McKenna), begins a black-market trade in coffee beans that becomes an all-out family crime ring by war's end. While this dynamic offers fodder for some rather hokey if not unenjoyable comedy, the play gathers itself into a serious and timely indictment of privilege and its corrosion of community, as well as the need for solidarity as the only viable, indeed the only satisfying way forward. If the message and the playwright-messenger (De Fillipo, also an actor, originated the part of Gennaro himself) come across today as somewhat heavy-handed, it remains hard to dismiss Napoli! as just a museum piece. That's due in part to director Mark Rucker's large and graceful cast, as well as a buoyant new translation by Linda Alper and ACT's Beatrice Basso. But it's also the prescience and appositeness for us, all these many years later and miles away, of the play's fundamentally social and political concerns. (Avila)
"Risk Is This … The Cutting Ball New Experimental Plays Festival" Tides Theater, 533 Sutter, Second Flr; www.cuttingball.com. Free ($20 donation for reserved seating). Fri-Sat, 8pm. (Starting March 14, venue changes to Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor, SF). Through March 29. Five new works in staged readings, including two from Cutting Ball resident playwright Andrew Saito.
The Scion Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-60. Thu-Fri, 8pm; Sat, 5pm. Through April 18. In his latest solo show, Brian Copeland (Not a Genuine Black Man; The Waiting Period) explores an infamous crime in his hometown of San Leandro: the 2000 murder of three government meat inspectors by Stuart Alexander, owner of the Santos Linguisa Factory. The story is personal history for Copeland, at least indirectly, as the successful comedian and TV host recounts growing up nearby under the common stricture that "rules are rules," despite evidence all around that equity, fairness, and justice are in fact deeply skewed by privilege. Developed with director David Ford, the multiple-character monologue (delivered with fitful humor on a bare-bones stage with supportive sound design by David Hines) contrasts Copeland's own youthful experiences as a target of racial profiling with the way wealthy and white neighbor Stuart Alexander, a serial bully and thug, consistently evaded punishment and even police attention along his path to becoming the "Sausage King," a mayoral candidate, and a multiple murderer (Alexander died in 2005 at San Quentin). The story takes some meandering turns in making its points, and not all of Copeland's characterizations are equally compelling. The subject matter is timely enough, however, though ironically it is government that seems to set itself further than ever above the law as much as wealthy individuals or the bogus "legal persons" of the corporate world. The results of such concentrated power are indeed unhealthy, and literally so — Copeland's grandmother (one of his more persuasive characterizations) harbors a deep distrust of processed food that is nothing if not prescient —but The Scion's tale of two San Leandrans leaves one hungry for more complexity. (Avila)
Shit & Champagne Rebel, 1772 Market, SF; shitandchampagne.eventbrite.com. $25. Fri-Sat, 8pm. Open-ended. D'Arcy Drollinger is Champagne White, bodacious blonde innocent with a wicked left hook in this cross-dressing '70s-style white-sploitation flick, played out live on Rebel's intimate but action-packed barroom stage. Written by Drollinger and co-directed with Laurie Bushman (with high-flying choreography by John Paolillo, Drollinger, and Matthew Martin), this high-octane camp send-up of a favored formula comes dependably stocked with stock characters and delightfully protracted by a convoluted plot (involving, among other things, a certain street drug that's triggered an epidemic of poopy pants) — all of it played to the hilt by an excellent cast that includes Martin as Dixie Stampede, an evil corporate dominatrix at the head of some sinister front for world domination called Mal*Wart; Alex Brown as Detective Jack Hammer, rough-hewn cop on the case and ambivalent love interest; Rotimi Agbabiaka as Sergio, gay Puerto Rican impresario and confidante; Steven Lemay as Brandy, high-end calf model and Champagne's (much) beloved roommate; and Nancy French as Rod, Champagne's doomed fiancé. Sprawling often literally across two buxom acts, the show maintains admirable consistency: the energy never flags and the brow stays decidedly low. (Avila)
The Speakeasy Undisclosed location (ticket buyers receive a text with directions), SF; www.thespeakeasysf.com. $60-90 (add-ons: casino chips, $5; dance lessons, $10). Thu-Sat, 7:40, 7:50, and 8pm admittance times. Through March 15. Boxcar Theater's most ambitious project to date is also one of the more involved and impressively orchestrated theatrical experiences on any Bay Area stage just now. An immersive time-tripping environmental work, The Speakeasy takes place in an "undisclosed location" (in fact, a wonderfully redesigned version of the company's Hyde Street theater complex) amid a period-specific cocktail lounge, cabaret, and gambling den inhabited by dozens of Prohibition-era characters and scenarios that unfold around an audience ultimately invited to wander around at will. At one level, this is an invitation to pure dress-up social entertainment. But there are artistic aims here too. Intentionally designed (by co-director and creator Nick A. Olivero with co-director Peter Ruocco) as a fractured super-narrative — in which audiences perceive snatches of overheard stories rather than complete arcs, and can follow those of their own choosing — there's a way the piece becomes specifically and ever more subtly about time itself. This is most pointedly demonstrated in the opening vignettes in the cocktail lounge, where even the ticking of Joe's Clock Shop (the "cover" storefront for the illicit 1920s den inside) can be heard underscoring conversations (deeply ironic in historical hindsight) about war, loss, and regained hope for the future. For a San Francisco currently gripped by a kind of historical double-recurrence of the roaring Twenties and dire Thirties at once, The Speakeasy is not a bad place to sit and ponder the simulacra of our elusive moment. (Avila)
Tipped & Tipsy Marsh Studio Theater, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $15-50. Sat, 5pm; Sun, 7pm. Through April 6. Solo performer Jill Vice performs her Fringe Festival hit.
Ubu Roi Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor, SF; www.cuttingball.com. $10-50. Thu/6, 7:30pm; Fri/7-Sat/8, 8pm (also Sat/8, 2pm); Sun/9, 5pm. Cutting Ball Theater performs Alfred Jarry's avant-garde parody of Shakespeare's Macbeth, presented in a new translation by Cutting Ball artistic director Rob Melrose.
The World of Paradox Garage, 715 Bryant, SF; www.paradoxmagic.com. $12-15. Mon, 8pm (no show Mon/10). Through April 7. Footloose presents David Facer in his solo show, a mix of magic and theater.
The World's Funniest Bubble Show Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia, SF; www.themarsh.org. $8-11. Sun, 11am. Through March 9. The popular, kid-friendly show by Louis Pearl (aka "The Amazing Bubble Man") returns to the Marsh.
Yellow New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness, SF; www.nctcsf.org. $25-45. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2pm. Through March 23. New Conservatory Theatre Center performs the Bay Area premiere of Del Shores' Mississippi-set family drama.
Bread and Circuses La Val's Subterranean, 1834 Euclid, Berk; www.impacttheatre.com. $20-25. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 7pm. Through April 6. Impact Theatre performs "a cavalcade of brutal and bloody new short plays" by various contemporary playwrights.
Escanabe in da Moonlight Live Oak Theatre, 1301 Shattuck, Berk; www.theatrefirst.com. $10-30. Thu/6-Sat/8, 8pm. TheatreFIRST performs Jeff Daniels' raucous comedy.
Geezer Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. $25-50. Thu, 8pm; Sat, 5pm. Through April 26. Geoff Hoyle moves his hit comedy about aging to the East Bay.
Gideon's Knot Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison, Berk; www.auroratheatre.org. $32-60. Wed/5-Sat/8, 8pm; Sun/9, 2 and 7pm. Aurora and director Jon Tracy's Bay Area premiere of Johnna Adams' two-hander features strong acting, strong enough almost to make us believe in its premise. A harried mother named Corryn (a terrific Jamie J. Jones) arrives at the empty middle-school classroom overseen by a distracted teacher, Heather (a subdued yet agitated Stacy Ross). Corryn, proud but somehow desperate, admits to having not slept. Heather initially doesn't know why she's there — until it becomes clear she's the mother of a recent suicide, who has come to keep her appointment for a parent-teacher conference. The two women await the arrival of the absent principal, but Corryn presses for answers now to the circumstances surrounding her child's final days, which included his suspension from school and a beating received at the hands of fellow students. Heather, who seems to be hiding some separate anxiety or grief of her own (and is, though what we don't learn until nearly the end of the play), does her best to deflect any such conversation until the principal arrives but is soon embroiled in an argument with the headstrong and canny mother in front of her, a literature professor at a major university. Their dance centers on Corryn's son's last assignment, a short story, one his teacher sees as nothing but "hate-filled poisonous attacks," but his mother calls "poetry." In addition to the clash between a teacher's authority and a mother's regard, there's a class component to these differing perspectives, we presume. Yet there is a real issue here, somewhere, about art and education and authority — or would be if it did not end up buried along with the young writer we never meet. Playwright Adams advances the dramatic tension by tacking this way and that around her subject, but loses sight of the shore meanwhile, as her characters debate whether or not the short story contains a virtuous accusation against an instance of child abuse, only to drop this crux a moment later in a hard-to-credit squeamishness on Corryn's part over the potentially homoerotic longings of her deceased son. The final note lands in an even hokier key of mutual sorrow and understanding. (Avila)
The House That Will Not Stand Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison, Berk; www.berkeleyrep.org. $29-59. Tue and Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Sat and March 13, 2pm); Wed, 7pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through March 16. July 4, 1836: As a white New Orleans patriarch (Ray Reinhardt) passes from the scene, under somewhat mysterious circumstances, his longtime mistress, Beartrice (an imposing, memorable Lizan Mitchell), and their daughters (the charmingly varied trio of Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Flor De Liz Perez, and Tiffany Rachelle Stewart) — all free women of color — vie for dominance while trying to secure their respective futures in Berkeley Rep's sumptuous and beautifully acted world premiere. Nationally acclaimed playwright and Oakland native Marcus Gardley (And Jesus Moonwalked the Mississippi; This World in a Woman's Hands) brews up a historically rich and revealing, as well as witty and fiery tale here, based on the practice of plaçage (common-law marriages between white men and black Creole women), grounding it in the large personalities of his predominately female characters — who include a nosy and angling intruder (played with subtlety by Petronia Paley) — and lacing it all with a delirious dose of magical realism via the voodoo charms of Beartrice's slave, Makeda (Harriett D. Foy, who with Keith Townsend Obadike also contributes lush, atmospheric compositions to the proceedings). Gardley delves productively into the history overall, although he sometimes indulges it too much in awkward and ultimately unnecessary expository dialogue. When he allows his characters full scope for expression of their personalities and relationships, however, the dialogue sails by with brio and punch —something the powerhouse cast, shrewdly directed by Patricia McGregor, makes the most of throughout. (Avila)
Lasso of Truth Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller, Mill Valley; www.marintheatre.org. $37-58. Tue and Thu-Sat, 8pm (also Thu/6, 1pm; March 15, 2pm); Wed, 7:30pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. Through March 16. Marin Theatre Company performs Carson Kreitzer's new play about the history of Wonder Woman.
The Lion and the Fox Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant, Berk; www.centralworks.org. $15-28. Thu-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 5pm. Through March 30. Central Works performs a prequel to its 2009 hit, Machiavelli's The Prince, which depicts a face-off between Niccolo Machiavelli and Cesare Borgia.
A Maze Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berk; www.justtheater.org. $20-25. Wed/5-Sat/8, 8pm; Sun/9, 5pm. Following a well-received run last summer at Live Oak Theater, Just Theater's West Coast premiere of Pittsburgh-based playwright Rob Handel's 2011 jigsaw drama gets a second life, courtesy of presenter Shotgun Players, in this remounting at Ashby Stage. Half the pleasure of a play like this is the unfolding of its serpentine plot, which becomes much more linear in the second half but initially seems to hover around three very disparate situations: 17-year-old Jessica (Frannie Morrison), recently escaped from eight years of captivity in the home and cellar of her kidnapper, prepares for an interview with a Barbara Walters-like TV journalist (Lauren Spencer); Oksana (Sarah Moser) and Paul (Harold Pierce), who head up their own highly successful rock band (suggestively titled the Pathetic Fallacy), are in the midst of a tough transition as Oksana checks Paul into rehab; and a fairytale King (Lasse Christiensen) responds to the Queen's (Janis DeLucia) news that they are about to have an "heir" by beginning construction on a gigantic, seemingly endless maze emanating outward from their cozy den to the furthest reaches of the kingdom. Meanwhile, the director of the rehab clinic (Carl Holvick-Thomas) introduces Paul to another artist-resident, a fussy, eccentric author named Beeson (Clive Worsley) at work on a multi-volume graphic novel of maddening intricacy. As the three storylines begin to coalesce, the play asks us to consider questions about artistic liberty, authorship, responsibility, human connection — big themes like that. It does so in a mostly playful, only slightly eerie way, despite the grim central situation revolving around the bright and surprisingly outgoing Jessica. Employing almost the identical cast as last time, again under director Molly Aaronson-Gelb, the proceedings unfold with generally solid acting, if not always persuasive dialogue, at least where things are meant to be more or less realistic (to an extent, the fairytale segment comes across more compellingly for being strictly bound by the artificial nature of its narrative). There's a quirky quality to the play, and the production, that amuses, even as the coy plotline bemuses. And much like an amusement park adventure, the play makes sure no one really gets lost. This is a play that is happy to tell you the various ways the central "maze" might be read metaphorically, for instance, so that everything is tidy and clear — like a fairytale, or a graphic novel — not so mysterious in the end, just tinged with a kind of comfortable melancholy. (Avila)
The Music Man Julia Morgan Theater, 2640 College, Berk; www.berkeleyplayhouse.org. $17-60. Fri and March 20, 7pm; Sat, 1 and 6pm; Sun, noon and 5pm. Through March 23. There's trouble in River City! See it unfold amid all those trombones at Berkeley Playhouse.
"Acentos Revival" Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom, SF; www.redpoppyarthouse.org. Thu/6, 7:30pm. $10-15. Three featured poets and two open mic segments.
"Bad Ass B!tches" Bindlestiff Studio, 185 Sixth St, SF; www.bindlestiffstudio.org. Sat/8, 9pm. $12. Performance extravaganza in honor of International Women's Day, with comedy, burlesque, live music, dance, and more.
"The Balcony" Exit on Taylor, 277 Taylor, SF; www.cuttingball.com. Sun/9, 1pm. Free. Cutting Ball Theater's Hidden Classics Reading Series presents this reading of Jean Genet's experimental play.
"Belles and Whistles Variety Show" Boom Boom Room, 1601 Fillmore, SF; www.boomboomblues.com. Tue/11, 8:30pm. $10. Comedian Danny Dechi hosts this variety show of music, comedy, magic, dance, and more.
"Black Choreographers Festival: Here & Now" ODC Theater, 3153 17th St, SF; www.bcfhereandnow.com. Thu/6-Sat/8, 8pm. $18-30. "Draft/By Series" presented by Robert Moses' Kin in association with the Black Choreographers Festival and ODC Theater.
"The Buddy Club Children's Shows" Randall Museum Theater, 199 Museum Wy, SF; www.thebuddyclub.com. Sun/9, 11am-noon. $8. With illusionist Timothy James.
Caroline Lugo and Carolé Acuña's Ballet Flamenco Peña Pachamama, 1630 Powell, SF; www.carolinalugo.com. Sat/8, March 16, 22, and 30, 6:15pm. $15-19. Flamenco performance by the mother-daughter dance company, featuring live musicians.
"Comedy Bottle with Sean Keane" Purple Onion at Kells, 530 Jackson, SF; www.purpleonionatkells.com. Fri/7-Sat/8, 7pm. $10. The stand-up comedian performs.
Feinstein's at the Nikko Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason, SF; www.feinsteinssf.com. This week: Paula West, Thu/6-Fri/7, 8pm; Sat/8-Sun/9, 7pm (also Sat/8, 9:30pm), $35-50.
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" Grace Cathedral, 1100 California, SF; www.gracecathedral.org. Mon/10, 7:30pm. $30-50. Acclaimed actor and playwright Anna Deavere Smith perfoms in this performance of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s landmark document of the civil rights movement.
"Magic at the Rex" Hotel Rex, 562 Sutter, SF; www.magicattherex.com. Sat, 8pm. Ongoing. $25. Magic and mystery with Adam Sachs and mentalist Sebastian Boswell III.
"The Magic Flute" Center for New Music, 55 Taylor, SF; themagicflute.brownpapertickets.com. Fri/7, 7pm. $15-20. Waffle Opera performs a stripped-down version of Mozart's classic, with new English dialogue.
"Peiling Kao and Christy Funsch" Meridian Gallery, 535 Powell, SF; www.meridiangallery.org. Fri/7-Sat/8, 6pm. $8-10. Choreographer-performers Kao and Funsch perform a work inspired by Abby Leigh's current exhibit in the gallery, with live music and additional performances by Aura Fischbeck and Celine Alwyn Parker.
"Point Break Live!" DNA Lounge, 373 11th St, SF; www.dnalounge.com. Fri/7 and April 4, 7:30 and 11pm. $25-50. Dude, Point Break Live! is like dropping into a monster wave, or holding up a bank, like, just a pure adrenaline rush, man. Ahem. Sorry, but I really can't help but channel Keanu Reeves and his Johnny Utah character when thinking about the awesomely bad 1991 movie Point Break or its equally yummily cheesy stage adaptation. And if you do an even better Keanu impression than me — the trick is in the vacant stare and stoner drawl — then you can play his starring role amid a cast of solid actors, reading from cue cards from a hilarious production assistant in order to more closely approximate Keanu's acting ability. This play is just so much fun, even better now at DNA Lounge than it was a couple years ago at CELLspace. But definitely buy the poncho pack and wear it, because the blood, spit, and surf spray really do make this a fully immersive experience. (Steven T. Jones)
"Rotunda Dance Series: Gamelan Sekar Jaya" San Francisco City Hall, 1 Carlton B. Goodlett Pl, SF; www.dancersgroup.org. Fri/7, noon. Free. The Balinese music and dance ensemble performs.
San Francisco A Cappella Festival Palace of Fine Arts, 3301 Lyon, SF; harmony-sweepstakes.com/bayarea.html. Sat/8, 8pm. $29.50. With hosts Ro Sham Bo and 38th Ave., Business Casual, Halfway to Midnight, Hearsay, Loose Interpretations, and others.
Sarah Berges Dance Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th St, SF; www.sarahbergesdance.com. Fri/7-Sat/8, 8pm; Sun/9, 4pm. $10-15. Spring Season 2014 performance with premieres including The Black Dahlia, Kyrie, and The Kiss.
"Writers with Drinks" Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd St, SF; www.writerswithdrinks.com. Sat/8, 7:30pm. $5-10. With Clifford Chase, Rachel Cantor, AV Flox, and Melissa Broder.
Bay Area Playback Theatre Open Secret, 923 C St, San Rafael; www.brownpapertickets.com. Sat/9, 8pm. $12-18. Improv based on true tales from the audience.
"Collage des Cultures Africaines Dance and Drum Conference" Oakland Technical High School Theater, 4351 Broadway, Oakl; www.diamanocoura.org. Sat/8, 8pm. $15-30. A gala performance highlights this weekend-long conference and class series hosted by the Diamano Coura West African Dance Company. Check website for complete schedule of events.
Diablo Ballet Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic, Walnut Creek; www.diabloballet.org. Thu/6, 6:30pm. $26-52. The company celebrates its 20th anniversary with this special performance, featuring premieres, a film retrospective, and more.
"MarshJam Improv Comedy Show" Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston, Berk; www.themarsh.org. Fri, 8pm. Ongoing. $10. Improv comedy with local legends and drop-in guests.
"Di Megileh" JCC East Bay, 1414 Walnut, Berk; www.jewishmusicfestival.org. Thu/6 and Sat/8, 8pm; Sun/9, 2pm; Mon/10, $15-22. Yiddish Theater Collective presents a Purim musical by Itzik Manger, performed in Yiddish with English supertitles.
"Pinball Prom with Feminist Tendencies" Pacific Pinball Museum, 1510 Webster, Alameda; www.pacificpinball.org. Sat/8, 8pm. $15. All-women's pinball league Belles and Chimes and the Pacific Pinball Museum present this night of political comedy with Feminist Tendencies, followed by a "pinball prom" with dancing and photos.
"Poetry Express" Himalayan Flavors, 1585 University, Berk; poetryexpressberkeley.blogspot.com. Mon, 7pm. Free. Ongoing. This week: Hao Tran, plus open mic.
"The Pump and Dump: A Parentally Incorrect Comedy Show" Sweetwater Music Hall, 19 Corte Madera, Mill Valley; www.pumpanddumpshow.com. Wed/5, 8pm. $20. Also Fri/7, 8pm, $20, Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa, SF. Comedian Shayna Ferm and sidekick MC Doula host this raucous evening of mom-focused comedy, music, and more.
"Some Girl(s)" Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway, Redwood City; www.dragonproductions.net. Fri-Sat, 8pm (also Sat, 2pm); Sun, 2pm. Through March 16. $15. Dragon Theater's 2nd Stages Program kicks off with this production of Neil LaBute's dark comedy. *


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Pakistan's general elections in May, though marred by violence that left more than 100 dead, was a reaffirmation of the people's commitment to the democratic process. Voters proved once again that they can make decisions based on their own political interests--and not because of intimidation by those who would perpetrate violence. The media, with their nonstop coverage, arrived as full-fledged partners in the democratic process and were intrinsic to the first civilian transfer of power after the completion of a five-year term by a democratically elected government. Now, the question is: What will come next for the media under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government?
Clearly, the country has moved far beyond the days of Sharif's former administrations. It would be a massive failure on his part to revert to the strongman tactics he used when he was last in office. A look back at CPJ's archives shows that Sharif was anything but media-friendly--or even media-tolerant. In 2001, we referred to "the bare-knuckle tactics that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif used to control the press" before he was deposed by Gen. Pervez Musharraf. In 1999, we wrote an open letter to Sharif: "The Committee to Protect Journalists is shocked by the range of tactics your administration is using to harass and intimidate the Jang Group of Newspapers, Pakistan's largest newspaper publishing company."
The more you delve, the worse Sharif's record looks. In her March 2002 special report Pakistan: The Press for Change, CPJ's Kavita Menon nailed Sharif's behavior succinctly:
In his two and a half years in power, Sharif had made a reputation for himself as a bully--not least because of the heavy-handed way he dealt with journalists who dared to criticize his government. Sharif was not unique in exploiting official power to silence his detractors. Pakistan has suffered a host of thin-skinned rulers, virtually all of whom, whether democratically elected or self-appointed, have used the available state machinery to try to control the press. But the Sharif administration did so with particular zeal and efficiency. His government ratcheted up the pressure on independent journalists, coupling more oblique strategies of muzzling the press with increasingly aggressive, public shows of retribution.
Want more evidence? Here's a telling excerpt from CPJ's 1999 Attacks on the Press:
Former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif's efforts to muzzle the press, and bring the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government under his personal control, earned him the reputation of a tyrant and badly discredited Pakistan's democracy. His slide toward authoritarianism ended abruptly with a bloodless coup on October 12, in which army chief Gen. Pervez Musharraf took power.
When Musharraf took power, he immediately declared himself "a firm believer in the freedom of the press," then referred to the press's duty to "play a positive and constructive role." He also made it clear he would be the one deciding whether or not the media were doing their job. Despite his battles with the media, broadcast news grew exponentially during his administration with the spread of cable TV technology. As with Sharif, CPJ proceeded to go head to head with the military leader.
It was journalists and lawyers who took to the streets (often at odds with each other, it must be said) who brought down Musharraf. And they did not step away from confronting former President Asif Ali Zardari. For his part, Zardari felt he could play hard with the media as if it were still the good old bad old days. When his government proved incapable of coping with disastrous flooding in 2010, his party loyalists kicked major news broadcasters ARY TV and Geo TV off the air in Sindh province. Even though impunity in journalist murders accelerated during his tenure, the press increasingly repelled his attempts to control or cow them.
Clearly, the country and the local press are different after Musharraf and Zardari. The concern is not so much that that Prime Minister Sharif will be so foolish as to try the same strongman tactics that were his modus operandi in 1999. The fear is that the arrogance will still be there, and he will make the Zardari-type blunders of the post-Musharraf military rule era. Given the political ineptitude of the past decades, there is a crying need for the launch of real governance and not just more of the same power-base politics. The prime minister has to accept that the media are integral to the functioning of the democratic process that brought him to power in Pakistan.
As Menon correctly wrote in her 2002 report, "The press in Pakistan, despite more than four decades of government efforts to control it, is remarkably vigorous and aggressive." Now, in 2013, we can update that to "five decades and counting" of remarkable vigor and aggression. Let's hope Sharif's government can keep pace with the growth of the media.