text:
Pop divas, spage-age outfits and the color pink ruled the Sunday night American Music Awards.
Taylor Swift won not only the favorite female country artist and album honors but also artist of the year at the annual pop music popularity contest in Los Angeles. When she did, she gave her trademark Taylor Swiftian look of humbled shock. That artist of the year award wasn't her first; she won it in 2009, too.
Hip-hop Barbie doll Nicki Minaj, who performed in a suit of futuristic armor along with her usual pink wig, won both hip-hop awards — artist and album — as the only woman nominee in either category.
"I never thought this could be possible. Shout out to all the female rappers, past, present and future. I know Queen Latifah's here. Love you," she said tearily as she won her award for her debut album "Pink Friday." (Latifah presented the pop group award.) Minaj also thanked her mentor Lil Wayne, whom she beat out for her other award.
Nicki Minaj wasn't the only pop star blinding the audience with her metallic ensemble, either. Justin Bieber looked set for a sci-fi flick, and J.Lo looked like she had been strategically doused in jewels.
Adele won both pop categories in which she was nominated, too, with a favorite album and favorite female artist win, as well as the favorite adult contemporary artist award.
J.Lo beat out recent ex Marc Anthony for the favorite Latin artist award — and turned in memorable versions of "On the Floor" and "Papi" with a striptease around a car. (Pitbull accompanied her — and also guested in a separate performance by Marc Anthony.) In the night's other battle of the exes, Rihanna beat out Chris Brown for the favorite R&B album award.
And another pop diva who didn't win in any of the categories she was nominated for, despite her outsized award show presence?
Katy Perry, who performed "The One That Got Away" in all pink (that includes the guitar and hair), won a special award that recognized her for being the first female artist to score five number one hits from the same album, "Teenage Dream."
Taylor Swift Leads the Pop Princess Pack at 2011 AMAs
Nicki Minaj and Adele also won big
Pop divas, spage-age outfits and the color pink ruled the Sunday night American Music Awards.


text:
General Discussion area for The Banner Saga: Factions (multiplayer version)
A collection of all previous updates; the most recent one will be posted in the Factions Discussion group and moved here once there is a new update.
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Use this control to limit the display of threads to those newer than the specified time frame.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
UK rural broadband rollout criticised by auditors
The government's rollout of "superfast" broadband to rural areas is about two years behind its original schedule, an official audit has found.
The report said only nine of 44 rural areas would reach targets for high-speed internet by 2015, and four areas could also miss a revised 2017 target.
The National Audit Office also raised concerns that BT would be the only firm likely to win contracts.
It said the company would benefit from £1.2bn of public funds as a result.
"The rural broadband project is moving forward late and without the benefit of strong competition to protect public value," said auditor general Amyas Morse.
"For this we will have to rely on [the Department for Culture Media and Sport's] active use of the controls it has negotiated and strong supervision by [the regulator] Ofcom."
He added the scheme was also expected to cost the taxpayer more than first thought.
Revised targets
In 2011, then Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that 90% of premises in every local authority area of the UK should have access to internet speeds above 24 megabits per second by May 2015 and a minimum of 2Mbps for others.
To do this he pledged £530m of cash for rural broadband projects which would become available to councils if they also provided funds.
He said this would give the country the "best superfast broadband network in Europe".
However, the scheme was hit by delays, in part because it took longer than expected to get approval from the EU.
The NAO said once officials revised their projections, they found it was going to take 22 months longer than first envisaged for 40 of the areas to reach the goal.
Last week the Treasury revised its target, saying it now wanted 95% of UK properties to have access to superfast broadband by the end of 2017, effectively shifting the goal until after the next general election.
The NAO warned four areas - Highlands and Islands, Cumbria, Norfolk and Suffolk - might still miss this new deadline because the local authorities had failed to request sufficient funds.
A spokesperson for Cumbria County Council told the BBC that since the report was compiled it had signed a contract with BT to deliver superfast broadband to 93% of Cumbrian homes by 2015.
The DCMS said that a pledge to invest an extra £250m meant it would meet the goal.
However, the NAO said that past experience suggested the "government is not strong at taking remedial action to guard against further slippage".
'Opaque data'
The revelations prompted claims that DCMS did not have a "good enough grip" on its programme and that BT had been "cagey" about its costs.
"Opaque data and limited benchmarks for comparison means the department has no idea if BT is being reasonable or adding in big mark ups," said Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who is the chair of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee.
However, a spokesman for the DCMS said its efforts to deliver value-for-money were "strong and robust".
"We agree that effective enforcement of the contracts is important and are working with local authorities to ensure this," he said.
"As the NAO report makes clear, the project's funding model greatly reduced the cost and financial risk to the taxpayer."
BT also defended its record.
"There was strong competition when prices were set at the start of the process and that has ensured counties have benefited from the best possible terms," it said.
"Deploying fibre broadband is an expensive long-term business and so it was no surprise that others dropped out as the going got tough."
Sixteen organisations had originally shown interest in competing for the rural broadband projects.
The NAO noted that "competition was envisaged to be a key value-for-money safeguard".
However, it said suppliers had complained the bidding process was "difficult and complicated" and that the process favoured large companies with secure revenue streams.
By early 2013 only BT and Fujitsu were left in the running, and in March Fujitsu dropped out after it said various factors had made winning the work unattractive.
The audit highlighted that officials only scored BT's financial model eight out of 20 - the minimum pass rate.
It said it remained unclear how much of the firm's bids covered "contingency costs" - a safety-cushion to protect it against unexpected charges.
It also raised concern that BT said 40% of its costs would be on staffing - a figure the NAO said was hard to verify.
The report revealed that there had already been one instance when BT had been caught overcharging for management costs by £3m.
It also pointed out that BT's figures were based on the assumption that only 20% of properties would sign up to superfast broadband within seven years of it being enabled.
The study said this was lower than the figure suggested by both industry experts and international comparisons.
A clawback rule is supposed to ensure that if uptake is higher the firm should share the extra profits with the public.
However, the NAO said government workers would have to scrutinise hundreds of thousands of invoices to make sure this happened, and that some councils have already said they might not have enough resources to do this.


text:
Rascal Flatts Kept Things More Fun Than Structured When Recording New Album
Rascal Flatts have been pioneering country music groups since their debut in 2000, which means they've spent a lot of time in the studio, making albums. But this time around, the trio concentrated on the most important thing: having fun.
Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney are hard at work on their upcoming album, which will be home to their new single, 'Rewind.'
"We really concentrated on having fun and not staying into some core perspective of 'this is what we're gonna sing about, this is what we're gonna do.'" LeVox says, explaining the process. "We really just had a blast and the best songs rose to the top and I think 'Rewind' is a great way to debut the new album that drops in June."
Adds the singer, "So we're thrilled to have this music out and just can't wait for everybody to hear it."
Flatts fans can of course expect to hear the band's signature, harmonic sound on the new release, but the band's openness led to songs that are a little outside the realm of what they normally record.
"You know, a song is a song that kind of tells the same story it's just trying to tell it differently in a newer and fresher way," LeVox says. "And I think that's what we did."
"I think we kind of went outside the Rascal Flatts box and took some chances on some songs that we probably wouldn't have cut before in the past," the RF singer concludes.
That only deepens the interest in the upcoming project from Rascal Flatts, and with eight previous records under their belt, it will be exciting to see the product which was born out of fun!


text:
Post 19 shows the mod. A good caliper to measure the ID of a pipe and the area the pipe will go and possibly a drill bit, add that to boiling and it's a fairly cheap mod.
Cads, Insane RC, PWC,and BOAT CORNUCOPIA
Dont need a pipe tube.. Just take the rings off the stock knuckles, and press them on the RPM`s.. Fits like a glove, and probably is ment to be this way..
The boiling part might work after it starts popping out.. I know plastic often gets it`s molded shape back after boiling it, if it gets too cool of slowly again..
Didn't think about the stock PE steel part fitting on there.
Cads, Insane RC, PWC,and BOAT CORNUCOPIA
Guys, I do use the stock steel rings on the rpms that I use in the rear ..... Look at the pics I posted while I installed them among with the Lst drivetrain.
I have been thinking of using them in the fron too, I might do it when I run out of spare stockers...
Ola, I have every single part I need except a new reciever..... They didn´t show up before the weekend.. so no driving..But thats pretty okay, I will be at work 24/7 anyway until wednessday
Ola, have you ever tried to order parts from dollarhobbyz at ebay instead of towerhobbies? I used to shop all my spares at tower before, but every package got stuck in the toll and the delivery time was slow.
When ordering from dollarhobbyz They ship it as a gift so you don´t have to pay toll, and I always have my parts delivered within a week from them. They just have stockparts tho... For the flux and the revo .
I strongly recommend them
Last edited by Manne; 03-26-2011 at 05:33 AM.
Thanks for the tip!
I use Jenny`s alot, but they are mostly auctions and not buy now`s..
I actually bought a 1515 2200kv from them yesterday.. I think the 1717`s gotta go on the shelf for a while To heavy, and makes just more problems than joy right now.
Ill check up on dollarhobby`z next time i need spares! Tollfree is one of my favourite words lol
Well, It happend. I have a new project:
You can read about it here: http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29831
It has some revo parts like the gearbox and such but I doubt Traxxas would let me post it here anyway
Happy Bashing everyone!
Last edited by uninterrc; 06-03-2011 at 06:43 PM. Reason: Continued reading the post and found out the answer to my question
Got another question for you....you see i am making my last order and i want to make sure that i dont miss something out when i convert to the LST diffs and shafts.
I would like to know your suggestion on gearing with the LST diffs, i am sure the ratio changes so could you give me some examples of the ratios i could use?
sikk man, are those paddles the proline maxx paddles? and can you use them with the erevo stock rims?
Traxxas and yamaha - cant do anything without them
sorry for bringing this back up but i need to get an answer for my questions.
Manne where are you?????
out making some vid???????????? i hope, love this thread
my summit suxs
IIRC both Manne and Ola has moved on to other brands and projects.
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
E-Revo Xerun 150A/Leopard 4282//MBX6-Te MMM/CC1518
too bad.....so they dont even bother having a look at the traxxas forums?
For stock knuckles, you use 2x of 15x21mm bearings on the inside, and 1x of 8x16mm on the outer side. Inside fit perfect, the outer bearing is larger than stock bearing, so the knuckle needs some work done.
For RPM knuckles, same outer side bearing/issue as above, but 2x of 15x24mm bearings on the inside. This is when you need a layer of tape around them, to fill the 24.8mm hole in the knuckle.
Long time no see. I´m so sorry, I used too look here now and then to answer questions but no one wrote anything in a long while and then I trusted the " e mail notification"....Shouldnt have done that... Anyway, if you still are wondering
*Yes it´s maxx paddles.
*The 8mm cups are: Hpi 86083.
*Good that you are here Ola when I can´t show up Jusy a little correction, If you use rpm knuckles the 8x16 bearing on the outside is a DIRECT fit and needs no work on the outside.
*I used the rear centershaft from a savage flux, part number HPI 86056.
*Gear it for a bit more speed then you had before the diff swap, go up one or two tooths on the pinion.
I Moved over the electronics, gearbox, wheels and tires etc to the flux the last time I Broke It and then finished the flux build instead of fixing the revo, Haven´t looked at it since, until a few days ago, I started to miss it, so I took it to the work bench and started wrenching
When I get payed I think I will order the following to get the truck running again:
Complete gearbox
6mm outputs to the gearbox
Mamba Monster
RD racing Servosaver mount
RD racing knuckles all around
Aluminum full skid "non cut" for the front bulkhead
Savage headprotector
Some bearings
Wheels and tires.
The plan is to get the revo up and running as a second truck a bit race inspired.
I will get some really light wheels and tires and adjust it to have good handling instead of having 40inches of ground clearence.
I´m thinking badlands, does anyone have a better suggestion?
I am loving my trenchers on my converted revo.
Cads, Insane RC, PWC,and BOAT CORNUCOPIA
Sounds good! But aren't they a bit on the heavy side?
The truck have sucesspfully ran thre packs today!
You should try Traxxas Response Pro + Dish wheel or maybe Pro-Line VTR 4" rims with a VTR tire such as: Caliber, Hole Shot or Revolver. IMHO I prefer the Response Pro + Dish because it is wider (83mm) than Pro-Line wheels (60mm) and that improves handling quite well and the Trx wheel has a (very) little offset too. It is quite hard to find wide offset rims these days…
I have a Badlands for bashing and I never understood why using this - it doesn't give that much traction under loose dirt so maybe it's better to use a race tire for bashing or any other (it certainly look cool but that is not what I want - I want traction!).
The only concern I have about race tire is that they tend to be less strong against rocks and they get torn\cut more easily than any other type of tire - so stay out of the throttle on rocks or you may torn\cut your tire.
It would be better to use a "pillow" tire such as Terra Pin or any other for bashing. I do not like 40's series tires because they are huge but they also weight twice as a racing tire so stay out of it.
I just got HPI Dirt Bonz race tire and I'm looking for a nice offset rim for it (it must be light weight as it is for racing). If any of you guys know one, please tell me!
Strive not to be nitro, but rather to be electric.
Thanks for your tips and your opinion!
At the moment I´m using Hpi Gt2 tires ( stock flux tires ) on pro-line 1/2 offset 23mm standard "maxx" sized dish wheels wich are really hard to get to sweden these days for a decent price..But they are the only wheels that will hold up more then 30minutes of my kind of driving.
I like the vtr´s, but I´m kinda stuck on 23mm, so maybe I´ll go with crime fighters ( I´ve used them before once ) but they tend to wear so wicked fast even when I don´t drive on asphalt, but thats life with brushless insanity I guess.
If anyone know about some rims with 23mm hexes, please shoow me them, except the 40 series...
Threnchers are a bit heavy I don't remember what they weigh off the top of my head.
Cads, Insane RC, PWC,and BOAT CORNUCOPIA
Long long time and no see. But now, we are back.
So what have happend in the time that we were gone?
I got the Savy, and the Revo collected dust for a while, but then, it turned Summit with locked Lst diffs etc.
But I got tired of the speed after a few runs so then it went slayer, that later turned into something IdontknowbutIlikeit:
E-something nice:
And now my flux has been stolen, so the Erbe will now come back to life again in it´s true form! Ordered stuff for 350$ this evening so the rebuild will begin soon! I´m glad to be back. Really missed this truck.
This is how he sits right now:
To be continued.......
So, time for an update!
Have been driving the truck for about 10charges now, and believe it or not, nothing major have broken!
The setup is the following:
Stock esc and motor
Lst diffs
Lst driveshafts
Savage center axels
Hpi Gt2´s on some random 17mm dishwheels.
Got some new 5s lipos for it aswell.
Using some homebuilt bracing front and rear:
Widned the battery compartments for the fat 5s´s to fit:
Bought a fan kit for the motor:
And here is the beatup complete truck
Thats all for now! Happy bashing
Forgot to mention that I bought a sidewinder 8th combo first for it, lovely esc, until it smoked.
The amps got a bit high on 5s, geared for 60mph without the baloning added to the equation...
I think that esc would work great with proper gearing. After the meltdown I bought the MMM again
Unfortunatly when the esc burnt the receiever went along with it... So I went up on the attic and there is was! Back to the oldschool style
But I simply couldnt stand it, all the glitching and studdring... So today the mailman came with a cheepo Hpi remote and receiever. As usual Castle were very kind and replaced my sidewinder for free! Yaay!
u should put a wing on it it would look SICK!!
Don't force it out. GET A BIGGER HAMMER!!
Time for an update again!
Empty wallet: Yeah, I really really like the look with a wing, but It just don´t fit my drivingstyle. I hade a period on my old Erbe when i tried to have a wing...One chassi, five wingmounts, and five bodymounts later I decided to ditch the wing.....
Had some good weather in the bashing spot lately:
Wich made my mood to go trough the roof and buy a new body for it in happiness (ford f650, I really disslike the fit, but that was what the lhs had in stock atm):
And I decided to change the lower rear arms for some stockers, due to the rpm arms flexing way to much and constantly bending the driveshafts. Also changed to Traxxas p3 pushrods in the rear to get some more groundclearence:
And that is all for now
Have you tried Corrosion X ??
I've got it on my Mamba Monster and its been protecting it for the past 3 years now.
Have to reapply every 6-8 months or whenever I do a tear down.
Long time no see again!
A friend of mine have been "renting" the Erbe for about a year now, this is how he´s experience have been with it:
It will now come back from the "renting" and will now once again be turned into something slash/pede looking which you can follow here: https://traxxas.com/forums/showthrea...ayer-pro-build
It will take some time before I will be able to complete it tho.
Happy bashing everyone!


text:
Classic Red Plaid Ceramic Mug
This variant is currently sold out
Start your morning in style with one of our high quality, dishwasher and microwave safe mugs featuring one of our patterns on a while base. This classic mug is made from quality ceramic, has a comfortable handle, and comes in your chose of 11oz or 15oz.
**Lead time: approximately 5-7 days
This product is drop shipped via one of our affiliate partners. If it's ordered with other items, it will ship separately.
Thank you for stopping by, I hope you find something you love! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
Melanie & Hampton Ivy


text:
Walker subpoenaed in former staffer's trial
Staffer pleaded not guilty
MADISON, Wis. — A subpoena has been filed with the court requiring Gov. Scott Walker to testify in the trial of a former Milwaukee County staffer.
Kelly Rindfleisch is accused of using county time to conduct campaign work for a Republican who lost a lieutenant governor race in 2010. Rindfleisch was Walker's deputy chief of staff when he was the Milwaukee County executive.
She's pleaded not guilty to four felony counts of misconduct in office.
The subpoena has been served on Walker's attorney, Michael Steinle, and has been filed with Milwaukee County Judge David Hanscher.
Walker was previously identified by a prosecutor as a potential witness in the Oct. 15 trial. Rindfleisch is one of six Walker associates facing charges that arose from a secret investigation.
"I think you cannot jump to any conclusions because (Walker) has been subpoenaed as a witness, because none of us have read all the police reports. We've read things in the media. We may know some things about the case, but until we all hear the evidence we're not sure what each witness is going to testify to," said Tim Verhoff, a former prosecutor.
The charges against Rindfleisch stem from an ongoing secret John Doe investigation in Milwaukee County. Walker has repeatedly said he is not a target of the investigation, and some are now wondering if more information will come out.
But Verhoff said people shouldn't count on that.
"The judge in this case has said this is not going to be a trial about Gov. Walker, and I believe that the judge will hold the parties to whatever evidence the governor might have to offer strictly as it relates to this case, and not some grander John Doe scheme," Verhoff said.
Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette University Law School poll, said that polling on the seriousness of the John Doe investigation for Walker had gone up and down — higher when charges were first filed against Walker's associates and lower as information about the investigation waned.
"I think the right point is we don't know what (Walker) will say. We don't know what the attorneys will ask," Franklin said. "It depends on how the testimony goes, how the cases go, what facts have been speculated, that will determine what, if any, political impact there is."
It's not guaranteed that Walker will take the stand. It's the prosecution's burden to prove its criminal case, and Walker is now listed as a witness for the defense.
Verhoff said the defense may only choose to call the governor to the stand to rebut previous witness testimony or to lay out part of a counter-case the defense plans to present.


text:
COVID-19 UPDATE: Under the 14-day quarantine travel advisory announced by the Governors of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, individuals traveling to or returning from states with increasing rates of COVID-19 are advised to self-quarantine for 14 days. The current list of states, which will be updated regularly, can be found at NY.Gov and NJ.Gov. This includes travel by train, bus, car, plane and any other method of transportation. If you have traveled to one of these states and have stayed longer than 24 hours, we kindly request you self-quarantine at home for 14 days prior to coming into the office. If you would like to schedule a Virtual Appointment, please call 1-855-ENTA-DOC. For more information on how ENTA is taking extra precautions to provide the safest environment possible during the COVID-19 pandemic, please click here.
Physicians who attended Washington University School of Medicine by Degree Type


text:
Lindenwood University announced today that Brad Soderberg has been named the new head coach of the Lions men's basketball team. Soderberg has been a collegiate head coach for 13 seasons, including six at the NCAA Division I level.
"I am very excited to return to St. Charles and join the Lindenwood University family," said Soderberg. "Lindenwood is the model athletics program in the NAIA and I look forward to helping their men's basketball program take the next step and win the NAIA's marquee event, the Division I Men's Basketball Tournament."
Soderberg was introduced by President James D. Evans at a press conference Friday on the Lindenwood campus.
"We are thrilled that Brad will lead our men's basketball program," said Evans. "He is a high character individual and a strong leader. Brad is the perfect person for the job."
Soderberg returns to the St. Louis area after being the head coach at Saint Louis University from 2002-07. He compiled 80 wins at Saint Louis, the sixth-most in school history, and led the Billikens to two postseason berths.
In his first season at Saint Louis, he was named Conference USA Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com after leading the Billikens to a C-USA semifinal tournament appearance and a berth in the NIT. The next year, the team again advanced to the semifinals of the C-USA Tournament and made it to the second round of the NIT. Soderberg was just the third Billiken coach to take the team to back-to-back postseason appearances in his first two years as head coach.
In 2005-06, Soderberg led Saint Louis to a third-place finish and a semifinal tournament appearance in its first year as a member of the Atlantic-10 Conference. The next year, the Billikens finished in the upper half of the conference standings and Saint Louis won 20 game, the only 20-win season that the program has over the last 11 years.
Soderberg also spent one year as an assistant coach at Saint Louis in 2001-02 under Lorenzo Romar. Prior to that, he was at Wisconsin for six years. He started as an assistant coach under Dick Bennett and helped the Badgers advance to four NCAA Tournament, including the 2000 Final Four, and one NIT appearance. In 2000-01, he took over as the interim head coach early in the season and led Wisconsin to a 16-10 record, and a fifth-place finish in the Big Ten. Soderberg was the first Wisconsin coach since 1911 to win his first eight games and the first to lead the Badgers to the NCAA Tournament.
Soderberg was the head coach at South Dakota State University from 1993-95 and at Loras College from 1988-1993. He was named the National Catholic Basketball Tournament Coach of the Year in 1992 after leading Loras to a runner-up finish. He also had previous coaching jobs at Loras, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Colorado State University, and Fort Hays State University. He has spent the last season back at Loras as the interim Director of Athletics.
Soderberg was a two-year letter winner for the UW-Stevens Point basketball team. He teamed up with former NBA player and head coach Terry Porter to lead UW-Stevens Point to the 1984 NAIA National Championship game. Soderberg earned the "Hustle Award" at that tournament and earned first-team all-conference and all-district honors that year. For his career, he shot 56 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line.
Soderberg graduated from UW-Stevens Point in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in physical education, and he earned a master's in physical education from Colorado State in 1986.
Soderberg will be taking over a Lindenwood men's basketball team that went 19-13 during the 2008-09 season. Among the returning players for the Lions is Toriano Adams, one of the top low post players in the country who averaged a double-double last season.
Soderberg and his wife, Linda, have two sons, Kramer and Davis, and a daughter, Daley.


text:
Dear sister Madaline:
At last our long and monotonous trip has ended very much to my delight. We arrived over seas safe with but a few adventures. Up to now I have been feeling fine and expect when the time comes to go into real battle in good health and high spirits. I suppose dear sister that you all are waiting to receive mail from me but from now on I shall write you everyday or as often as possible. Must close now dear sister with love and kisses to you all,
I am
Your loving brother
© Copyright 2011 by Lanny & Patti Brown, All Rights Reserved. No reproduction without permission.


text: - Account record of Gardner and Dean, "in acct with Phillips & Gardner," in Charleston [South Carolina], listing expenses and profits associated with the selling of slaves from February, 1806, through March, 1806. Includes names of purchasers, D. Vaughn, John Gardner, Littlefield, J. Brinley, J & Dean, B. J. & Cooke, and J. [John] Marsh.


text:
The Beeb's Panorama team demonstrated they've got the investigative right stuff by stalking an alleged stalker's twin brother.
The hit squad working on Stop Stalking Me staked out the chap's house in Ormskirk, Lancashire, for a week, then moved in for the kill. Front man Richard Bilton collared his victim on the street and "accused him of stalking a former girlfriend", the Telegraph explains.
The surveillance target promptly marched to a cop shop to protest. A Lancashire police spokesman explained: "On January 22, a man reported being followed from the end of his road to the police station. He said they had filmed him and asked him questions about a court case that was ongoing but that it was a case of mistaken identity."
He added: "Officers spoke to the crew, who were causing the man stress. The matter was dealt with at the time."
A BBC spokesman offered: "There was a case of mistaken identity involving someone who lived at the same address and used the same vehicle as the man we were trying to put questions to. This did not feature in any way in the broadcast programme.
"The Panorama investigation into stalking is clearly in the public interest and the police investigation into the case is still ongoing."
Stop Stalking Me was broadcast last Monday, without any footage of the alleged perp's innocent twin. ®


text:
I am installing ORACLE 8 for windows NT.
I have installed the client part of it on a windows
98 and configured a service giving the host name,protocol
and the sid when i try to connect or test the service it gives
me this error ora-06413 connection not open what could be the problem.
Any suggetion regarding this issue would be appreciated


text:
Hope College senior accounting major Erin McIntyre has won the Fred Rugg Scholarship presented by the Grand Rapids Chapters of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).
She won the scholarship for her essay "How Has Social Media Changed the Landscape of the Job Search and Hiring Process?" The $1,000 award was presented on Thursday, Feb. 9, during a "Student Night" event co-hosted by the IIA and IMA at the University Club in downtown Grand Rapids.
The primary objective of the event was to give accounting students at the seven local colleges and universities, including Hope College, an opportunity to network with representatives from West Michigan companies and members of the Grand Rapids IIA and IMA Chapters. The companies and professional service organizations represented at the event included Amway, Beene Garter, Ernst & Young, Experis, Gordon Food Service and Stryker.
The scholarship winner was announced following the networking portion of the event. McIntyre's composition was judged the best essay of the 36 submitted from the seven schools invited to participate.
It is the second time in four years that a Hope senior has won the competition. Josh Jelenek won the scholarship in 2010.
McIntyre has accepted a full-time audit position with Deloitte, LLP, in Indianapolis, Ind., after graduation. A 2008 graduate of Munster High School, she is the daughter of Larry and Claire McIntyre of Munster.


text:
Scholastic Book Fair Coming to Beebe Early Childhood
Cindy Powell
Monday, October 10, 2016
The Scholastic Book will be November 11th-18th at BEC.
Our Scholastic Book Fair is a reading event that provides the books kids want to read. It's a wonderful selection of engaging and affordable books for every reading level.
Reading for pleasure inside and outside of school has real and long-lasting benefits. It unlocks the power of information and imagination and helps children discover who they are. Please make plans to come to our Book Fair and be involved in shaping your child's reading habits.
Remember, all purchases benefit our school. See you at the Book Fair!
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Quit the smoke and tell a joke: Stoptober uses comedians to lighten up bid to help people quit
Quit the smoke and tell a joke: Stoptober uses comedians to lighten up bid to help people quit
Stoptober campaigners are advising smokers in the North West to ditch the fags for a gag in an attempt to reduce the number of cigarette users in the UK throughout October.
For the average person it can take up to eight attempts to quit smoking before successfully becoming clean.
But this year's Stoptober campaign hopes to encourage those who are struggling to pack in the habit by involving well-known comedians to spur on those taking part.
Comics including Bolton's Paddy McGuinness, Al Murray, Andi Osho and Simon Brodkin are promised to bring a touch of British comedy to the Stoptober challenge.
Councillor Keith Cunliffe, cabinet member for adult social care and health at Wigan Council, said: "Stoptober is a great opportunity for the smokers across the borough to quit together alongside friends, family and thousands of other people in our area.
STOP! The scheme is supported by comedians such as Paddy McGuinness and Al Murray
"In Wigan Borough 21.8 per cent of residents currently smoke and I hope that the campaign will give them the encouragement and support they need to succeed in their 28-day quit attempt.
"Quitting is the single best thing you can do for your health and with the help of our local stop smoking service, the campaigns support and advice I'm sure this year will be very successful."
Though the campaign from Public Health England (PHE) officially kicks off on October 1, the 28-day nationwide movement has commenced in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens, one of the 24 stops in UK roadshow.
The day was filled with hopeful quitters seeking advice and help from specialists and experts.
Standing outside the stop smoking hub in Piccadilly Gardens, Chris Bell from Stop Smoking Manchester and Barnardos revealed to MM the worries that most smokers had expressed during the day.
FINDING THE STRENGTH: Councillor Keith Cunliffe is backing the campaign
She said: "'Should I use e-cigarettes to stop smoking?', is the biggest question that's heard by advisors like myself more recently now because of the popularisation of e-cigarettes.
"We wouldn't recommend them to anybody to use because we don't know what's in them exactly.
"There are up to 4,000 chemicals in one e-cigarette* but we don't know what exactly these chemicals are so we can't recommend anything that we don't fully understand.
"I would recommend people to treat them like a cigarette, smoke them outside and not in front of children or in enclosed spaces."
Mohamad Mohsan, 22, from Manchester, who signed up to Stoptober yesterday said: "I started smoking when I was 16 years-old socially with friends but I soon became addicted.
"I went on to smoke 40 cigarettes a day, which I have now managed to reduce to 16 a day, but after six years of smoking I feel unwell and constantly tired.
"I have signed up to the Stoptober 2014 challenge because I want to be healthy like the Comedy Fitness Brother here today.
"I am confident I will be able to quit using the support available and would encourage young people in the future to socialise with friends who don't encourage them to smoke."
I WANT TO BREAK FREE: Mohamed has been smoking since the age of 16
Comedy won't be the only technique used to encourage people to stub out their cigs for good.
Quitters will get a range of free tools including a new stop smoking pack, a 28-day mobile app, text support with daily updates.
There will also be quitting advice and tips for coping, as well as the encouragement and support from thousands of people quitting together through social media channels.
Chris continued: "We're a diverse audience, society and country so I believe that having many different approaches is the answer.
"Having a fun spin on it may appeal to some people and that will maybe make it more encouraging.
"Sometimes it's the health messages and sometimes it's the financial side of it. There're a lot of different things that can be the turning point."
The 2013 campaign saw 250,000 people take part and 65% of those who took part successfully quit for 28 days.
The PHE is hoping even more will get involved this year by searching 'Stoptober' online and signing up.
Andrea Crossfield, Chief Executive of North West anti-tobacco social enterprise Tobacco Free Futures said: "After a successful Stoptober 2013, which saw 28,000 people in the North West sign up to quit, it would be great to see even more people pledging to quit this year.
"If you quit smoking for 28 days then you are five times more likely to quit for good, improving your health and putting more money into your pocket."
For more information and to sign up visit www.smokefree.nhs.uk/Stoptober or call 01942 481712 to speak to the stop smoking service.
*While the quote is accurate, MM have been unable to confirm exactly how many chemicals are in an e-cigarette. There are more than 4,000 in a regular cigarette, but many sources say it is a lot less in an e-cigarette.
Images courtesy of Stoptober, with thanks
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"up to 4,000 chemicals in one e-cigarette"
What?? Cite scientific evidence that backs this claim. Unfortunately, you can't.
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Chris Bell has utterly failed to do their job.
They have absolutely no idea of the current state of research into ecigarettes, and are completely ignorant of the realities. I think that if and when they speak to PHE, they may get educated, as PHE seem to have a far better clue about ecigs.
It's this sort of uneducated scaremongering that is sending people back to cigarettes, when ecigs are far less harmful.
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Chris Bell thinks that there are 4000 chemicals in an ecig? lol! (it was one of the jokes right?)
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"We wouldn't recommend them to anybody to use because we don't know what's in them exactly.
- Ok then look it up please very easy to find. A simple google will do.
"There are up to 4,000 chemicals in one e-cigarette but we don't know what exactly these chemicals are so we can't recommend anything that we don't fully understand.
- So you do know!! You are just scaremongering now. And if you had done a simple google search you would have known that 4000 chemicals is a outrageous lie.
it is never safer to smoke a tobacco cigarette than it is to use an ecig
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I hope that comment about 4000 chemicals in ecigs was a typo. Otherwise you discredit your message
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"There are up to 4,000 chemicals in one e-cigarette"
No there aren't. Typically there are four. Please add a clarification to make it clear that Ms Bell has no idea what the hell she's talking about. Her ridiculous claims could deter people from switching, and that's potentially deadly.
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Please retract this nonsense immediately. You are likely killing people with your disinformation.
E-cigs are never more harmful than tobacco.
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I am hoping that this is a typo or misunderstanding of some sort. But, as has been previously mentioned, 4000 chemicals in one ecig? I can only assume that someone has gotten confused with the numbers quoted for cigarette smoke, which of course e-cigs contain none of what with their being no tobacco and no burning/fire etc.
That aside - it is astonishingly irresponsible to tell smokers NOT to switch to vaping if they are asking! The relevant point here being that if they are asking, they are interested which makes them far more likely to succeed at either stopping smoking or switching their habit to a far safer one. The evidence for this is widely available even if the people at this particular Stop Smoking Service are unfamiliar with it.
I would like to know if you are keeping track of all the smokers you have just scared off of vaping so that you may follow them up in 6 months and see how they are doing. I would be willing to bet that a great number are still smoking. And whose fault would that be? Yes. Yours! Congrats on using tax payer money meant to help smokers to...uh...not help smokers!
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Your report states there are 4,000 chemicals in one e-cigarette, which is grossly inaccurate. Please do something to put this right.
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i hope and pray that this was a geniune mistake and not a lie because this was without doubt one of the worst bits on ecigs i have had the misfounture to read . 4000 chemicals when it is 4 . please correct your mistake otherwise this could stop someone switching to ecigs to save
their lives . And in future do some research before you make yourself look stupid
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There are two fields. You are standing in a field full of land mines. The other field has many people in it, kicking a football around, having fun and most importantly, not exploding in it. Do you switch fields? Or do you stay put because you don't know what's in the other field? And yes, there are FOUR main ingredients in ecigs. :)
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- There are actually about 4,000 chemicals in a burned, tobacco cigarette and typically about 4 (and we know what they are) in an e-cigarette
- Has somebody become confused? You probably need to sort out these basics if you're about to start advising people, else you'll look a bit daft and could do quite a bit of harm.
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Quote "There are up to 4,000 chemicals in one e-cigarette" WRONG!
It's tobacco cigarettes that have the 4000 deadly chemicals, e-cigs have Propylene Glycol (E1520), Vegetable Glycerine (E422), Artificial and Natural Flavouring, Nicotine that makes 4.
I can't believe that members of Stoptober Campaign are scaremongering by blurting out facts and figures they know nothing about to stop smokers of tobacco using a life saving device and in so doing they are achieving the total opposite of Stoptober
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I find it genuinely sad when I read a story like this. The quote from Chris Bell stating that e-cigs have 4000 chemicals in them is so grossly incorrect that it can only have come from 1 of 3 things:
- Incorrect or insufficient information. As Mr Bell is described as an expert and a specialist, I would have expected him to be fully conversant with the facts about e-cigs, published by sources such as NICE, NHS Choices, ASH and many many others. As such, a quotation so grossly at odds with reality beggars belief.
- Deliberate misinformation. I find this hard to believe, but include it for the sake of completeness. Why would a man who has dedicated himself to help people stop smoking deliberately spread fear, uncertainty and doubt over a product that has been scientifically proven to be at least as effective as traditional NRT? No, I think we can rule this out.
- A genuine mistake. It is my firm hope that this is the cause, and that this will be rectified either with a statement from Mr Bell, or by the editorial team.
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There appears to be a lot of confusion between tobacco cigarettes, which contain at least 4,000 chemicals, and e-cigarettes, which contain up to four.
I hope this was a typo, that tobacco cigarettes were meant to be named as containing 4,000 chemicals, and a correction is printed. If not, this article could be directly responsible for ill-gealth or death amongst those who cannot or have no wish to stop using nicotine, who have made far more than eight attempts at quitting using 'approved' methods and had given up trying to give up before discovering ecigs.
It may also be a good idea to check the fairly large body of research by repitable scientists with no financial incentive to reach a pre-defined conclusion (yes, there are cases of tenders requested for research that give the desired conclusion in advance) before publishing something that could keep people smoking. This common type of media scaremongering is encouraging people to continue smoking, as approved methods have, at their best, a 90% failure rate on a population level.
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PLEASE realise that due to the fearmongering in all kinds of media toward electronic cigarettes I know several people who are to scared to try to switch to electronic cigarettes and thus keep smoking tobacco. Experiments show that vapor from e-cigarettes cause far less harm to cells than cigarette smoke. PLEASE!
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"There are up to 4,000 chemicals in one e-cigarette* but we don't know what exactly these chemicals are so we can't recommend anything that we don't fully understand.
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"There are up to 4,000 chemicals in one e-cigarette* but we don't know what exactly these chemicals are so we can't recommend anything that we don't fully understand.
This is one of the most ignorant and disingenious statements I have ever had the displeasure of reading in my entire life. We DO know what's in electronic cigarettes, Propelyne Glycol, Vegetable Glycerin, Distilled Water, Nicotine, and G.R.A.S flavorings. Please source where you found this supposed 4,000 number, otherwise we all know, and trust me we already do but just for some extra hilarity, that you are a lying shill. Obivously regardless if a electronic cigarette contained the same 4,000 chemicals a cigarette does, which it doesn't but just for arguements sake we'll say it does, the problem is one is being combusted and one is being vaporized. The overwhelming risk of traditional combustible tobacco products is the combustion itself. So instead of embracing vaping products, you take an alarmist, demonizing position, and instead recommend users just "quit". Y'know, because the statistics of someone being able to flat out quit is under 4%. Instead of choosing a method that has been found to have a cessassation rate of 70%, also known as the product you're deamonizing, electronic cigarettes. I understand you probably in all earnest have no clue about any of this, and simply just make sure that Pharmaceutical check is in your account at the end of the month to see which side you're on, but for the sake of the millions of peoples lives at risk, if you actually have a heart that isn't as black as the peoples lungs that will die without electronic cigarettes, recant your statement. Thank you.
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Over the next few days, Basket Bawful and Free Darko will be previewing each NBA Playoff series. Basket Bawful looks at the Eastern Conference today, continuing with the series between the Detroit Pistons and the Philadelphia 76ers, which begins Sunday.
This series doesn't seem quite as hopeless as Atlanta versus Boston. Instead of having only a snowball's chance in hell, I'd say the 76ers are more like a large, stubborn block of ice in hell. Still melting, but maybe a bit more slowly.
The season series: It was a 2-2 tie, with Detroit winning the first two games and Philadelphia winning the last two.
Good news for the Sixers: They're currently riding a two-game winning streak against the Pistons. And the two games they lost were pretty close: Detroit won 83-78 on November 23 and 86-78 on January 23. (So as long as they don't play on April 23, I guess they'll be okay? Uh oh.)
Bad news for the Sixers: This is Detroit we're talking about. So you can throw all that regular season stuff out the window. Just make sure nobody's standing on the street outside. We don't want anybody getting hurt. Unless it's Bill Laimbeer. In which case, please drop an anvil on him, Wile E. Coyote-style.
Reality check: The Pistons finished the regular season on fire, winning their final four games by an average of 14 points per despite giving their starters plenty of nappy time. Two of those wins — versus Washington and Toronto — came against teams fighting for playoff position. On the other end of the spectrum, Philly limped to the finish, losing its final four games ... including two losses to non-playoff teams (Indiana and Charlotte). Oh, and let's not forget that screw-job against Cleveland.
Basically, the Pistons get to go into this series with confidence, experience and momentum. The Sixers, on the other hand, get to go into it with ... a four-game losing streak. Hey, Sixers fans! What's that over there?! Why, it's Donovan McNabb, and he looks totally healthy! (Are they looking away yet? Good.)
Pistons player(s) to watch: Um, all of them? Detroit's starters can hang with any other starting five in the league, and it seems like someone different dominates on any given night. Oh, and their bench is suddenly capable of beating playoff teams on their own. I don't see any of these games coming down to a final shot, but if they do, I wouldn't bet against Chauncey Billups taking (and making) one. There's also 'Sheed. You've always got to watch 'Sheed.
Sixers player(s) to keep an eye on: In the two games Philly won, Andre Iguodala scored 22 and 25 points, and Samuel Dalembert grabbed a total of 28 rebounds. Iggy's got to score and Sammy's got to rebound for the Sixers to stay competitive. Oh, and Andre Miller has to keep the offense running. Yep. Those three guys have to play at their highest level just to make this a series. And don't think the Pistons don't know that. Also, you should really take a peek at Philly's dance team. Especially Vi.
Key(s) to the series: The Pistons' bench. Detroit's starters have shown a surprising lack of killer instinct in the playoffs over the last couple years. In 2006, they went up 2-0 against Cleveland before dropping three straight. In 2007, they had the Bulls down 3-0 before losing two in a row, then they built a 2-0 lead on Cleveland (again) before getting shut out in the next four games. That's not likely to happen this year, because the Pistons' Zoo Crew brings energy and some big, honking huevos off the bench when the starters begin to relent. Plus, I'm sure Flip Saunders would like to save the "old guys" and their legs for the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston.
Prediction: My brain tells me that this series is going to end in a 4-0 Pistons sweep, but my heart says the Basketball Gods owe the Sixers one for that fiasco against the Cavs. So I'm going to give Philadelphia one inspiring win — probably in Game 4, because the Pistons tend to let up a little when they have an opponent on the ropes — before their playoff dreams are crushed into paste. Detroit wins 4-1.


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MOJAVE, Calif. — The SpaceShipOne rocket plane landed safely here Wednesday after a successful tilt-a-whirl start to its bid to win a $10 million prize for private spaceflight.
The craft fulfilled the first part of the requirement for winning the Ansari X Prize by going beyond the 100-kilometer (62.5-mile) mark, the internationally recognized boundary of outer space.
Radar readings from nearby Edwards Air Force Base indicated that SpaceShipOne topped out at 337,500 feet in altitude (63.9 miles or 102.9 kilometers), said Gregg Maryniak, executive director of the St. Louis-based X Prize Foundation and a member of the judging committee.
Under the X Prize rules, SpaceShipOne must fly above 100 kilometers once more within two weeks. The second flight was tentatively scheduled for Monday.
"One down, one to go," Peter Diamandis, the X Prize Foundation's founder and president, said at a postflight news conference.
Wednesday's flight started routinely, with SpaceShipOne rising from the runway at Mojave Airport hooked to the underbelly of its White Knight carrier airplane. But after SpaceShipOne separated from the White Knight and lit up its rocket engine for the upward boost, the plane went into a dramatic roll.
Video imagery showed the plane corkscrewing at more than 10 revolutions per minute before veteran test pilot Mike Melvill brought it back under control. The engine had been expected to fire for 90 seconds, but ground controllers told Melvill to shut down the motor early. Melvill took a couple of extra seconds, ensuring that SpaceShipOne would hit 100 kilometers.
"We actually were asking him to go ahead and abort, to shut it off to where he wouldn't have gone (to the required altitude)," the spaceship's designer, Burt Rutan of Mojave-based Scaled Composites, said after the flight. "He stayed in there just for a handful of seconds more."
Melvill said that he shut down the motor 11 seconds early, and that otherwise the craft could have risen another 4 miles (6 kilometers) or so.
'Victory roll'
It was the second challenging spaceflight for Melvill, who earned his astronaut wings during SpaceShipOne's history-making mission in June. After Wednesday's flight, Melvill made light of the roll.
"A victory roll at the top of the climb is important for an airshow pilot," he told reporters from the runway. "Did I plan the roll? I'd like to say I did, but I didn't."
X Prize rival Eric Meier of Space Transport Corp. watched the live video of the roll along with hundreds of other VIPs at Mojave Airport.
"Didn't look like a tourist flight," he deadpanned. "That's not to say that they can't smooth it out."
Indeed, once the craft bent its wings into a stabilizing position, the ride became smooth, and Rutan said the re-entry was "very perfect, smooth, straight." As the airport crowd cheered, SpaceShipOne glided back down to a trouble-free landing, then was towed around the runway for a victory lap with Melvill standing on top.
Rutan said his Scaled Composites team was looking into the potential causes of the roll.
Melvill said the spacecraft performed flawlessly, and speculated that he may have stepped on a rudder panel when he shouldn't have. "I'm not sure what kicked it off ... it's probably something I did," he said. However, Rutan noted that significant wind shear might have contributed to the roll.
During the June flight, Melvill had to cope with wind shear as well as a control-system glitch and a descent at almost 5 G's of acceleration — more than shuttle astronauts typically experience. After that outing, Melvill said he didn't plan to fly SpaceShipOne again. But Rutan said Melvill had to be pressed into service two weeks ago when the originally designated test pilot had a medical emergency.
Rutan said the precise timing of the second X Prize flight would depend on the analysis of the roll problem, although the most likely day still appeared to be Monday.
After Wednesday's flight, Melvill voiced reluctance about taking on the second X Prize flight and said he'd like to give one of his fellow test pilots at Scaled Composites a turn at the controls. "I feel like I'm grabbing all the flights ... but of course if no one else wants to fly it, I'll be happy to do it," he said at the postflight news conference.
The crowd of spectators for Wednesday's launch was smaller than it was for the June flight, which marked the first time a privately developed craft reached outer space. There was less history at stake this time around. However, if the next flight hits the 100-kilometer mark, it would earn $10 million for Mojave Aerospace Ventures, a partnership involving Rutan's Scaled Composites and Seattle billionaire backer Paul Allen.
Allen has spent more than $20 million on SpaceShipOne, and he said Wednesday that the X Prize proceeds would serve as partial compensaton for the venture's expenses. A newly announced licensing deal with the British-based Virgin Group, aimed at creating a new fleet of suborbital spaceships based on SpaceShipOne technology, would also help balance the books.
"One day, I hope to get a return on my investment," Allen told reporters, "but there's a huge psychic return beyond getting my money back."
Mementos riding along
This was Melvill's second dose of spaceflight, and he marveled once again at the blackness of space and the views of Earth. "Now, that was fun," he said. "That's why I work at Scaled, to do fun things. … That was a really good ride."
At the top of the ride, he said he was too busy stabilizing the spacecraft and taking pictures to think about stunts like releasing M&M candies in the weightlessness of space, as he did last time. Ironically, M&M was one of the new X Prize sponsors for Wednesday's flight.
Nevertheless, the flight had its own personal touches: During its two prizeworthy flights, the spacecraft is required to carry almost 400 extra pounds (180 kilograms), to represent the weight of two passengers. Rather than loading up the craft with lead weights, Scaled Composites' ground crew packed the seats behind the pilot with video equipment, a flight monitoring device known as the "Gold Box" and mementos from team members.
Rutan said employees had to sign forms promising that they wouldn't sell the items that were flown.
Among the items: photos, personal tools from toolboxes, tree seedlings, a teddy bear for a British charity, Rutan's 1961-vintage college slide rule, an heirloom watch and a copy of "The Spirit of St. Louis," Charles Lindbergh's book about his 1927 solo trans-Atlantic flight. That flight made Lindbergh the winner of the $25,000 Orteig Prize, which in turn provided the inspiration for the X Prize.
Rutan said an even more personal payload was added just before the flight: the ashes of his mother, Irene Rutan, who died four years ago.
"We rounded up her ashes, and she flew today," Burt Rutan said, with his eyes misting up.
"And I'm very, very proud to have carried her," Melvill added.
© 2013 msnbc.com Reprints


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We had a hat fashion show at Missy's today. This was Sylvia's favorite picture. My favorite hat made her look like a little bear. I hope Missy got a good picture of her in that hat, but it might have been tough because she was jumping around like a monkey.
More pics from Missy here
Big Smiles
Sunday, October 24, 2010 | Posted by Brodd Family at 6:01 PM
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The spectacle of faith makes for luminous photography. Buddhism, in particular, lends itself to the lens: those shaven heads and richly hued monastic robes; the swirls of incense; the pure expressions of devotees to a religion whose first precept is "do not kill." But as photographer Adam Dean and I discovered when traveling through Burma and Thailand from May to June, Buddhism's pacifist image is being challenged by a radical strain that marries spirituality with ethnic chauvinism. In Buddhist-majority Burma, where communal clashes have proliferated over the past year, scores of Muslims have been killed by Buddhist mobs, while in Thailand and Sri Lanka the fabric binding temple and state is being stitched ever tighter.
(Cover Story: The Face of Buddhist Terror)
The godfather of radical Buddhism is a monk named Wirathu, a slight presence with an outsized message of hate. Adam followed Wirathu, who has taken the title of "Burmese bin Laden," around Mandalay in central Burma, as he preached his loathing of the country's Muslim minority to schoolchildren and housewives alike. In March, tensions detonated in the town of Meikhtila, where communal violence ended dozens of lives, mostly Muslim. Entire Muslim quarters were razed by Buddhists hordes. Even today, anxiety churns. One late afternoon as Adam walked near Wirathu's monastic compound, a monk hurled a brick at him. Burgundy robes cannot camouflage inborn hostility.
In Southern Thailand, which was once united as a Muslim Malay sultanate, monks count on soldiers to shield them from harm. A separatist insurgency has claimed around 5,000 lives since 2004, and while more Muslims have died, it is Buddhists who feel particularly vulnerable as targets of shadowy militants. The Thai military now stations its troops in Buddhist temple compounds, further cleaving a pair of religions whose followers once shared each other's feast days. One morning in mid-June, a bomb exploded in Kradoh, Pattani province, as Thai rangers patrolled a street where a peace and reconciliation meeting was taking place. Chanchote Phetpong, 28, who was clutching a bag of rose apples as he strolled, endured the brunt of the explosion; his orphaned fruit lay scattered in a pool of his blood.
(MORE: Straying From the Middle Way: Extremist Buddhist Monks Target Religious Minorities)
At the nearby Yarang hospital, Adam photographed as teachers, mostly Buddhist, came to pay their respects to the dead ranger, who normally protected them as they walked to school each day. A Muslim nurse with a head covering quietly plucked shrapnel out of Chanchote's face, cleaning him up for his funeral, while another tended to one of his wounded comrades. A clutch of Buddhist rangers looked on. The nurses' veils felt like a reproach, a symbol of the divide between faiths in this nervous land. "They are scared of all of us," whispered one Muslim hospital worker. "We used to have trust but that's gone."
Adam Dean is a photographer based in Beijing. He is represented by Panos Pictures.
Hannah Beech is TIME's China bureau chief and East Asia correspondent.


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- Nice fit. Kept shape and colour when in daily use in a salt water pool!
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- Was expensive
Published on: 25 August 2017
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At 34, after a degenerative nerve disorder left her unable to live on her own, Michelle Schladenhauffen entered a brain-injury rehabilitation center in Kennebunk, Maine. It was supposed to be for a couple of months, while the staff evaluated her and found an assisted-living placement. Instead, she remained there for more than a year. Eventually, she was transferred to a nursing home in Hampton, N.H., where most of the residents were decades older than she. What was supposed to be another temporary stay turned into months, then years.
"I was young and vivacious and wanting to experience life, and I was around a lot of death," she recalled recently. "I didn't really have room to grow. I felt like it was jail."
Schladenhauffen isn't alone in her experience. People in nursing facilities who would prefer to live in a community often struggle to find the support they need to make the transition to home-based care. But that's starting to change: UNH's Center on Aging and Community Living (CACL) is at the forefront of a statewide effort to enable residents such as Schladenhauffen to live and age where they wish. Under contract with the Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services, CACL manages the N.H. Community Passport program, which has grown significantly since its inception in 2007. So far the program has helped some 200 New Hampshire residents move from an institutional setting to their (or a relative's) house, to a rented apartment, or to a small-group home.
"We're not trying to close nursing homes or say nursing homes are bad," says CACL Co-Director Susan Fox. "We're saying people should have a choice, and people who want to stay at home should have options to receive services at home."
That goal is especially relevant at a time when American society is aging. In New Hampshire, the number of people 65 and older is expected to double by 2032, according to a 2012 report from UNH's Carsey Institute. The New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies predicts that, by 2030, nearly one-third of the state's population will be over 65.
But the Passport program isn't just for the elderly; it's open to all New Hampshire residents who have spent at least three months in an institutional setting, receive Medicaid, and qualify either for a Medicaid waiver program allowing them to receive services at home or for specific state-financed mental-health services.
After learning of NH Community Passport from an attorney at the Disability Rights Center in Concord, Schladenhauffen received a referral from the Passport program to work with Patty Cotton of UNH's Institute on Disability, which runs CACL in partnership with the New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and Practice. "She promised me she wasn't going to give up on me until I got back into the community," Schladenhauffen said. Cotton helped Schladenhauffen think about where she wanted to live and what she hoped to do with her future – and then develop plans to meet her goals. Schladenhauffen also became a strong self-advocate who reached out to agencies and lawmakers. "I was very motivated and driven to get out of the nursing home," she said. "That's not where I pictured my life."
Yet sometimes it was difficult to remain hopeful. At 30, Schladenhauffen had been diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary disorder that damages the nerves of the arms and legs, leading to muscle weakness and loss of sensation. By her mid thirties, she had to use a wheelchair and needed assistance with daily tasks. From her shared room at the nursing home, she conducted a years-long search for a viable living arrangement, frequently encountering obstacles and rejection. Then she got a call from Betty's Dream, an independent-living facility in Portsmouth where she'd been on the waitlist. The property manager said the words she'd been waiting to hear: "You can move in."
Schladenhauffen's story is typical in that she experienced the most common barrier to leaving a facility – lack of accessible and affordable housing, says NH Community Passport Director Margaret Almeida. The Passport program provides access to a specialist who helps participants find a place to live in the community. In some cases, it also assists them in getting medical equipment, modifying their homes to make them safer, and training caregivers.
The Passport program is part of a national effort to address biases toward institutionalization embedded in state laws, budgets and Medicaid plans. In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that two Georgia women had been discriminated against when the state kept them in a psychiatric hospital rather than letting them receive services in their community. In response, Congress passed Money Follows the Person in 2005 to enable states to serve more people at home. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 allocated additional funding for Money Follows the Person and extended it through 2016.
Under the program, the federal government pays for 75 percent of participants' expenses in the first year of their transition back into the community. (The state covers 25 percent). That's larger than the usual federal Medicaid share, which in New Hampshire is 50 percent. The state uses the money it would normally contribute toward Medicaid costs to enhance existing home- and community-based services.
With a budget of more than $3 million for the 2014 fiscal year, the Passport program is set to help more people than ever before – a boon for both taxpayers and the well being of New Hampshire residents, Almeida says. "It's often less expensive to serve people in the community than in institutions. Plus, a lot of times people report better quality of life if they're not living in an institution when they don't want to."
That's true for Schladenhauffen. Now 41, she's been living in her apartment at Betty's Dream for the past year and a half. Her days include cookouts with friends and visits from family. She's taking a watercolor class and enjoys outings to downtown Portsmouth. She adopted a cat, Jasper Rea, from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Though she's looking for steady part-time employment (before her condition worsened she worked as an after-school counselor at a YMCA), she also wants to be a voice for people with chronic conditions who wish to live independently. She participated in the NH Leadership Series, run by the UNH Institute on Disability, which trains families and adults with disabilities to advocate for themselves and others. In addition, she serves on the advisory committee for NH Community Passport.
"In the nursing home, I remember thinking, 'what did I do to deserve this'?" she says. "Here I can say, 'I deserve this, every last bit of it, and there are going to be more and more exciting things on the horizon'."
Originally published by:
UNH Today
Written by Sonia Scherr '13MFA


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This is the family the day of the funeral.
Then the day before the funeral I got the phone call from my sister asking me if I heard from mom and dad? (While she was crying) And I said no. She then tells me that our Uncle Bill passed away that morning. I just couldnt help it but just start crying. I just couldnt handle any more. When were we going to get a break! We came home for 1 funeral not 2!
Now looking back Im greatful that we were able to be there for family and the funeral. I know that they are way better off then us down here.
I hope they both know how much we love them and miss them each day. That they will never be forgotten.


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As I was riding my bicycle today, it occurred to me that I do almost all of my running, and a fair percentage of my cycling and hiking, as a solo activity. CFL doesn't run at all. We do try to bike and hike together, but often he's working on a project with a deadline just as I'm itching to get out the door. This week, CFL is far away attending the funeral of a family member, so I've been busily entertaining myself with some big and audacious activities.
I make a practice of texting him after I've completed whatever it is I'm out there doing. He usually replies with something like, "Good job — you're an animal!"
At first I wasn't sure whether I wanted to be described as an animal, but at some point I decided to embrace the concept. I am an animal. A big part of the endorphin rush is that feeling of becoming attuned to my body and reveling in the things that my body can do.
Yesterday I ran 7+ miles of steep roads and muddy, even steeper trails. There is something magical about trail running that really brings out the animal in me. I bound along, sailing over rocks and roots. I giggle when I get my feet wet sloshing through mud puddles. My eyes and ears tune into the sights and sounds of the forest — this varied thrush, that raven, that mysterious swish of an unknown and unseen creature, those big tree limbs overhead creaking in the breeze. As I ran, I thought to myself: this is a feral activity — and I am feral.
When I run trails, I generally don't set ambitious pace goals for myself. I'm out there to have fun and enjoy the beauties around me. Therefore I had no qualms about stopping to take a few photos. Tell me — would you want to hurry through places like these?
The little guy in the next photo is a rough-skinned newt. He's cute, but don't mess with him. He's highly poisonous. The only creatures that can eat a rough-skinned newt and survive are some populations of garter snake, and only because they have evolved resistance to newt toxin. In response, the newts have become more and more toxic. It's a classic case of co-evolution.
So that was yesterday. Today, however, putting aside the charms of stopping to view rough-skinned newts and other trail delights, I set out with an ambitious and very specific goal. I was going to ride my bike 17.5 miles east on the Olympic Discovery Trail, and then I was going to turn around and ride back. My longest bike ride to date had been the Portland Bridge Pedal last summer at 33 miles. I was going to beat that distance, and I was going to do it as quickly as possible.
Now, let's think about this for a minute. I'm a female in my late 50s. My boyfriend is 1,200 miles away, literally graveside at the moment I'm starting my ride. My jumping-off point is a trailhead on a dead-end road about seven miles east of downtown. I'm going to ride on a "rails-to-trails" biking/running/walking trail that, for the most part, stays well away from well-traveled roads.
In the dozen years I've lived here, there has been only one attack on a lone female on the trail — she escaped successfully and the guy was caught. Still, I've seen all kinds of things on that trail. I've witnessed a moving domestic dispute: the girl bleeding, running after the guy and shouting, "Why did you hit me? Why are you leaving me?" I've watched the local police trying to lasso a runaway ram in a chase scene reminiscent of the Keystone Kops. Just a couple of weeks ago, I rescued a black Lab that some idiot had left chained in the back of a truck. The dog had jumped over the side and was hanging itself. I saved the dog's life. So I'm not kidding when I say, you don't know what you might encounter on the trail. It takes a certain amount of guts just to go out there alone.
I do it because I'm fit, I'm quick, I stay alert, and I will not let fear rule my life. I do it because I know I can do it.
So I got on my bike and off I went! On my eastbound leg I rode almost non-stop, pausing only at street crossings in Sequim. I flew along, barreling up and down the hills (aided a bit by what felt like a slight tail wind), all the way to my turnaround point at Sequim Bay State Park. Here I stopped to eat a small snack, text CFL, and take a couple of photos.
CFL replied to my text: "You go girl!" I texted back: "I am so feral!"
Awash in endorphins, I started back. And immediately hit the headwind! For 17.5 miles I battled a 15 MPH headwind. I even dropped my hands down and fully utilized my drop handlebars in an effort to be more aerodynamic. It didn't help all that much, but I felt ever so athletic.
I thought I'd get a break from the wind in the last couple of miles, which are hilly but heavily wooded. But it was windy there too. Windy and hilly. It took me about ten minutes longer to come all the way back than it had taken to go out, and I was really tired when I finished.
But I never, not even for one moment, doubted my ability to do it.
I rode my bike 35.23 miles solo, and I completed the ride in just a tick over 3 hours — my longest and fastest bike ride ever.
One of my favorite theories (don't we all have a favorite theory?) is Albert Bandura's theory of self-efficacy. Bandura defined self-efficacy as "one's belief in one's ability to succeed in specific situations." It's that sense of "I can" that empowers us when we dare to set big hairy audacious goals and then dare to achieve them. There's a lot more to the theory, but that's the gist. Because I have self-efficacy, I can decide to train for a marathon, and then go out and train for it, and then run it.
I occurred to me, as I was riding into the headwind today, that there is a connection between self-efficacy and experiencing myself as feral. Please bear with me for a couple hundred more words while I try to tease out this connection.
Last month I celebrated my second anniversary of becoming "post-corporate" — okay, I'll say the word "retirement." I truly feel that it's taken all of two years to fully detox from corporate life.
When I finished my undergrad at UCLA lo these many years ago, I jumped into corporate life with the feeling that I would do great things and be amply rewarded for them. For the first few years, that was true. Then I married, had a child, took on a mortgage and a couple of car payments. Suddenly the stakes were higher — I needed my job and I couldn't afford to screw up. I became cautious. I did whatever I had to do to get by and not much more than that. I lost the fire. I lost my sense of self-efficacy.
In the two years since I left the corporate world, I have had to re-learn how to relax. How to take deep abdominal breaths. How to sleep for as long as I need to sleep. How to fully live each day, wring it to exhaustion and deep satisfaction, and then let it go in anticipation of the next day. How to be feral.
I have let go of all that toxicity. I am no longer a garter snake facing down a rough-skinned newt and hoping I'm resistant enough to survive. I have come back to that more-innocent animal that I once must have been.
I have regained self-efficacy.
I am fit, I am feral, and I know that I can do the things I set out to do.
Oh, and I'm still a bit bashful about taking "selfies" — but here I am anyway.
I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!


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The three seniors who ditched class and ended up saving a 94-year-old woman from a burning home are suffering the consequences of playing hooky earlier this week.
Garen Kissoyan, 17, who attends California High School in San Ramon, told NBC Bay Area on Thursday that since he and his two buddies skipped their sports medicine class to get something to eat at McDonald's on Monday, his teacher wanted to make sure their punishment fit the crime.
So, the teens will be volunteering four hours of "sports medicine service" to make up for the fact that they missed his class, Garen said.
The service work is up to them, so the trio decided to help out at the school's lacrosse games on Thursday night. "Anyone who needs taping up and stuff, we'll do that," Garen said.
Other than that, most everyone is still shouting "heroes!" in the halls to Garen, Peter Kravariotis and Kirill Yantikov -- all 17 -- who heard the cries of "fire" from Dianna Davis on Monday morning en route to McDonald's before the breakfast hour ended.
Davis told the boys her elderly mother was inside the burning home. First, they tried in vain to put out the fire with a garden hose. But they quickly aborted that effort and ran inside, picking up a chair -- with Davis' mother in it -- and rushing her outside, along with the family dog. She was taken to a San Francisco hospital's burn unit.
The boys returned to school, saying nothing of their actions, but were called into the principal's office and shown a recording of them ditching school. Still, Principal Mark Corti told NBC Bay Area that he was proud of his students who were "willing to take action in a serious situation."
Corti wouldn't comment on what he thought about skipping school for hash browns and an egg McMuffin. He also declined to say whether he ever ditched class as a kid himself.
Garen is happy that he and his friends were able to be in the right place at the right time.
"I'll be honest," he said. "I've cut class before, but not many. And my parents are definitely proud, even though they didn't like that we missed school."


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Description: Muscle Mist is a herbal spray for Pain. Used by many for relief of Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Headaches, Whip Lash,Sports Injuries and Much Much More. No need to massage in, Just spray on and go on with your day. It works to reduce inflammation and will give cool or heat depending on what your body needs. For sinus problems spray one spray on your wrist and smell from about 4 inches away to help clear nasal passages. The smell will last on your wrist for a few hours, so just smell when needed. Also if you have problems at night or wake up stuffed in the morning put one spray on your pillow at night.
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Nokia is set to unveil six new devices at MWC 2012 in Barcelona, including an international edition of the Lumia 900
The line up was leaked to website Pocket Now which suggests Nokia will be bringing three smartphones and three feature phones to Barcelona at the end of February.
The smartphones are rumoured to be the high-end Lumia 900 with a global rebrand ready for the worldwide market, a budget Lumia 610 and the (final?) Symbian-toting 808 PureView.
The Lumia 900 has already broken cover in the US boasting a 4.3-inch screen and LTE capabilities. Now our Finnish friends look set to bring us non-LTE folk a worldwide version.
Brimful of Asha
Details on the other handsets are thin on the ground with the only information on the feature phones being their names; Asha 302, Asha 203, and Asha 202.
Nokia is looking to reclaim some market share in the smartphone sector as it has lost out to Apple and Android devices recently.
We will be at Nokia's press conference at MWC 2012 to bring you all the latest from the company and full details on the phones it will be launching this year.
From Pocket Now


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Video: Dawn - one year at the asteroid Vesta
From the more than 28,000 images acquired by Dawn between July 2011 and August 2012, DLR scientists computed a global digital surface model of Vesta. Ralf Jaumann, head of DLR's Dawn scientific team, explains a few spectacular observations with the help of this virtual flight over Vesta. The animation was computed by DLR using the highest resolution images acquired on this mission, and shows details down to a size of just 70 metres.
LicenseFair Use


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1. the dividing line or frontier between political or geographic regions
a. a region straddling such a boundary
b. (as modifier): border country
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b. (as modifier): a border illustration
4. a long narrow strip of ground planted with flowers, shrubs, trees, etc., that skirts a path or wall or surrounds a lawn or other area
Allan (Robert). born 1955, Australian cricketer; captain of Australia (1985--94)
Border2 the
1. the area straddling the border between England and Scotland
2. the area straddling the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
3. the region in S South Africa around East London
a part of a theatrical set consisting of a piece of fabric hung above the stage on a rod to conceal the gridiron, suspended sets, and the openings over the sets. The first border is part of the stage portal and of the permanent wings.
a flower bed in the form of a strip measuring from 0.5 to 3 m wide and edged with ornamental border plants. In a large area, a border is divided into sections by paths that are 20–25 m long. Each border contains one type or a mixture of simultaneously annual, perennial, bulbous, mat or leafy ornamental blooming plants set in lengthwise rows or in a pattern. Borders are commonly used for decorative purposes in gardens and parks in populated places, especially in parterres.
In a theater, a strip of material which is stretched horizontally over the top of a stage, usually on rigging; used to mask the flies, lights, and other objects of scenery or overhead machinery.


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The Central Connecticut women's soccer team fell at home on Sunday to NEC foe LIU Brooklyn by a score of 1-0. The Blue Devils (3-9, 1-2 NEC) outshot the Blackbirds 19-10, but were unable to find the back of the net in 90 minutes of regulation play.
Central gave up the lone goal of the match in just the seventh minute of play when LIU's Allison King headed a throw-in toward the goal. The ball was deflected off of CCSU defender Jewel Robinson and found its way between the posts to put CCSU behind by one.
In what proved to be a physical match-up between the two squads, neither team was able to get an opportunity to score throughout the remaining 82 minutes and LIU claimed its first conference win of the season.
Central posted six shots on goal and was led by senior Rachel Cerrone, who posted four shots, two on goal. Freshman Morgan Santoro also posted four shots.
The Blue Devils were able to hold the Blackbirds to just 10 shots, three on goal, in the match. Senior Nikola Deiter tallied two saves on the day while LIU's Jessica Sexton racked up six.
Both teams took three corner kicks on the day.
The loss drops CCSU to 1-2 in the NEC. The Blue Devils will return home on Wednesday, Oct. 16, to take on Boston College at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game live, for FREE, on www.NECFrontRow.com.


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The 7th Annual Los Angeles Greek Film Festival - LAGFF (June 6-9, Writers Guild Theater, Beverly Hills) announced its 2013 Program, including the selected feature for the ever-popular Opening Night gala, which will be Spiros Stathoulopoulos' drama, METEORA, which debuted at this year's Berlin Film Festival. Kimon Tsakiris' (SUGARTOWN) documentary, MITSIGAN – HARDSHIPS AND BEAUTIES, will close the festival on Sunday, June 9th, following the presentation of this year's Orpheus Awards. In addition, festival representatives elaborated on their previously announced tribute to writer/director Elia Kazan, noting the screening of Kazan's AMERICA AMERICA, introduced by HBO's President of Miniseries & Cinemax Programming and LAGFF Advisory Board member, Kary Antholis, on Friday, June 7.
Greece has long been known for cinematic masters such as Theodoros Angelopoulos and Michael Cacoyannis. In the last three years, thanks to directors such as Yorgos Lanthimos, Greek cinema has become increasingly important in the world scene, gaining critical acclaim in prestigious festivals such as CANNES, VENICE, TORONTO and KARLOVY VARY. LAGFF gives the opportunity to U.S. audiences and the U.S. film industry to view and participate in its many depths.
LAGFF Director of Programming Aristotle Katopodis said, "This year we have over 30 features, documentary and short films representing the Greek diaspora in over 11 countries - more than ever before. The theme that permeated the 2013 submissions is the toll taken by economic turmoil, whether the films are from Greece or from Greeks around the globe," further noting that, "These filmmakers have responded powerfully with a redefinition of values and principles. They are raising their voices and shedding light on pressing issues, with anger, pathos and even humor. Our selections capture the most vibrant of these, while showcasing some innovative filmmaking and a slew of new, young, and daring artists not to be missed."
Opening the festival's red carpet gala on Thursday, June 6, is Spiros Stathoulopoulos' (PVC-1) US premiere of the period drama, METEORA, starring Theo Alexander (TRUE BLOOD). Set in a 12th century monastery in Greece, METEORA is the story of an illicit love affair between a Greek Orthodox monk and a Russian Orthodox nun. METEORA was an official selection of the Berlin Film Festival.
The Opening Night gala will also kick off the four-day celebration of all things Greek, including a dinner reception of Hellenic-California cuisine sponsored by Petros Restaurant, as well as a wine tasting by Athenee Importers, featuring Domaine Porto Carras wines from Sidonia Halkidiki, Gentilini Wines from Kefalonia and Thimiopoulos vineyards from Naousa – all regions in Greece renowned for their award-winning wines.
Kimon Tsakiris, whose documentaries SUGARTOWN: THE BRIDEGROOMS and SUGARTOWN: THE DAY AFTER won over audiences at the 2007 and 2011 editions of LAGFF, returns this year with his new film, MITSIGAN - HARDSHIPS & BEAUTIES, about Mitsos "Mitsigan" Tsiganos, a modern-day Greek cowboy and the owner of "Hardships & Beauties", a vegetable and fruit farm in southwestern Greece. The story follows Mitsigan on a journey throughout that region's farming area, as he meets with old and new friends and comes to the realization that his country will never be the same again.
Prior to the Closing Night screening, the festival will present its Orpheus Awards for Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best Short and Audience Choice, as well as Jury distinctions. The winner of LAGFF's inaugural Project Discovery Forum will also be presented with the Aegean Award at that time. The screening will be followed by an exclusive reception for filmmakers, Gold Pass members & VIP guests, hosted by the Consul General of Greece, Los Angeles, Elisabeth Fotiadou.
As part of the tribute to Elia Kazan, the festival will present the filmmaker's 1963 Oscar-winning drama, AMERICA AMERICA, on Friday evening as its Centerpiece presentation. AMERICA AMERICA is loosely based on Kazan's Greek uncle's struggle to emigrate from Anatolia to America in 1893. The film will be introduced by HBO's President of Miniseries & Cinemax Programming and LAGFF board member, Kary Antholis. The LAGFF Tribute to Elia Kazan is sponsored by CINEMAX®, a premium television service offered by Home Box Office, Inc. Cinemax features high-impact original series specifically created for the channel like Strike Back® and BansheeSM, as well as the widest variety of film entertainment, combining select and broad-appeal films that showcase Hollywood's hottest hits, the best in new cinema, action-packed thrillers, wild comedies, classic screen gems and more.
"We are very excited to screen this epic masterpiece on the 50th anniversary of its first release for a generation that has not had the pleasure of experiencing it in the cinema," states Ersi Danou, LAGFF's Creative Director and Co-Founder. "It has been a dream of ours to celebrate Kazan's work, and this seems to be the right moment. And we are grateful to Kary Antholis for shedding light on Kazan's roots and connecting his creative genius with our own history and the history of our ancestors as immigrants," added Danou.
"When I read Elia Kazan's memoir a quarter of a century ago, I related deeply to his perspective on the world... to his immigrant's soul, as he might put it. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kazan's most personal work, AMERICA AMERICA, it is a privilege to curate Kazan's own insights into the experiences of a Greek immigrant to the United States and to offer context to the way these insights shaped his masterpiece," states Kary Antholis.
Adding to the already impressive line-up is Ektoras Lygizos' critically acclaimed and award-winning drama, BOY EATING THE BIRD'S FOOD, which garnered this year's Hellenic Film Academy Award for Best Film and also recently won the prestigious European Crossing Award in the European Competition. Moreover, it will likely be Greece's 2014 Oscar submission for Best Foreign Language Film. BOY, which marks Lygizos' feature directorial debut, is a modern-day adaptation of Knut Hamsun's classic 1890 novel, Hunger, which follows a young outcast desperately trying to survive on the streets of Athens.
LAGFF 2013 will also feature the US premiere of Panagiotis Evangelidis' poignant documentary, THEY GLOW IN THE DARK, shot in post-Katrina New Orleans, about Michael and Jim, two middle-aged gay friends and ex-lovers, penniless and with HIV, who reunite after twenty years. THEY GLOW IN THE DARK won the 2013 FIPRESCI Prize at this year's Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.
Stella Theodoraki's thought-provoking documentary, AMNESIA DIARIES, was filmed almost entirely by Theodoraki herself over a 4-year period in 1985, 1986, 2010 and 2012, and reflects on the rapidly changing world. Theodoraki's past meets her present-day experiences, attitudes and thoughts when, in an environment of social unrest and despair in modern-day Athens, she begins recording her "diary" after the loss of her best friend, trying to make sense of what was, is and will be. DIARIES were awarded the Loukia Rikaki Award and Best Documentary at this year's Hellenic Film Academy Awards.
Another award-winning film, Thanos Anastopoulos' thriller, THE DAUGHTER, will make its US premiere bow at the festival. THE DAUGHTER, one of the major winners at the Hellenic Academy Awards this year, tells the story of fourteen-year-old Myrto who, upon learning that her father has fled to avoid paying his debts kidnaps the son of his business partner whom she blames for bankrupting her father's joiner's workshop.
LAGFF's Executive Producer, Alex Kalognomos, adds, "The past few years have produced a very exciting generation of filmmakers who, in artistic terms, are being heard worldwide by utilizing the power of film to generate understanding about Greece's current state - and the state of the Greek individual. It is with this in mind that our team - supported by a community of patrons, sponsors, and volunteers - works so vigorously to produce the festival year after year. It's our way of using film to fight for change."
The festival's previously announced PROJECT DISCOVERY FORUM will be presented on Sunday morning, June 9, at the Real D Theater in Beverly Hills. The Forum is a new event, sponsored by Pabst Brewing Company and the Metropoulos Family, designed to encourage and help filmmakers of Greek or other Balkan descent with their new projects. A professional panel will critique and judge 5-8 finalist projects during a 20-minute, in-person presentation by the filmmakers themselves. The winning project will receive the $1,000 Aegean Award – sponsored by the Metropoulos Family.
LAGFF's Executive Director, Craig Prater concludes, "Last year LAGFF experienced a 20 percent increase in attendance, selling out many of the screenings. We are already exceeding our 2012 GOLD PASS sales and anticipate reaching our allotment in sales for the popular all-access pass prior to the start of the festival. We are overwhelmed at the enthusiastic response to this year's award-winning films we are receiving from cinema fans outside of the LA basin. We cannot wait to welcome our festival fans and newcomers on June 6. "
BOX OFFICE for LAGFF is now open at www.itsmyseat.com/lagff for Gold Pass Membership purchases. Gold Pass membership includes attendance at the Opening Night screening and reception, as well as an exclusive invitation to the Closing Night Orpheus Awards Gala, plus all-access and priority seating to all screenings and events.
General screening admissions are $13 online / $16 at the door and will go on sale May 16.
Centerpiece Film AMERICA AMERICA and Elia Kazan Tribute is currently on sale $20 online / $25 at the door.


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Where oh where is that Richard Gere?
The wonderful hubby-wife team Anthony and Adriana Taffuri who own A&A Car Service, which the YES Network uses in New York City, told me they sometimes drive Richard Gere.
Isn't he a grand actor, that Richard Gere? Officer and a Gentleman … Pretty Woman … Nights in Rodanthe … Unfaithful … The Hoax (excellent true story book by the way – an unbelievable plot). Just a few of my favorite Richard Gere movies, but he thrives in all of them if you ask me.
In Cooperstown 2007, when Ken and I and the kids drove up for Cal Ripken Jr's Hall of Fame induction, I tried not to get too tickled knowing Mr. Gere was "in the building" during a VIP reception we attended in the museum. Yet my Hollywood antenna rose up as I poked it around the room, bypassing the many famous ballplayers' faces (most of whom I've met numerous times over the years so my enthusiasm meter has fallen) in hopes of zeroing in on one good actor.
Now where oh where is that Richard Gere? I couldn't find him anywhere. Maybe it was a rumor. Rats.
Then Ken and I strolled into the museum's art gallery. We stopped in front of a colorful Willie Mays oil painting – the "Say Hey Kid" is Ken's all-time favorite player – to snap a smile of Ken next to it. No one else was in the room. A few minutes later, in walked Mr. Gere and his young son. He spotted Ken and extended a handshake, introduced himself, and relayed how he has enjoyed Ken's work on the YES Network.
Wasn't that friendly? Here's a famous Hollywood movie star who probably constantly hears the same compliment himself, turning the table to compliment someone else and to indicate he's a fan. I was so proud of hubby.
If my tongue wasn't so twisted, I may have said something clever. I don't actually remember what I uttered. The three of us posed together for a few photos; he introduced his son, a friend, and the friend's son, and we merrily moved along. We never spotted Mr. Gere again over the weekend, although he had to have been at the induction ceremony I'm sure.
John Travolta and Kelly Preston were in the front row, although I didn't spot them either, happened to see only their photo in the newspaper.
I really need to get my antenna fixed.