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Using Cubase in the Classroom
Music technology is now an established part of the music curriculum, and can be used to enhance and enrich the learning experience for students. The greater emphasis upon a practical, enactive programme of study where students develop and refine their musical skills through composing, performing and listening, opens up numerous opportunities for the use of Cubase.
The most common uses for Cubase within the school curriculum include:
- Sequencing
- Recording
- Producing
- Composing
- Arranging
- Score-writing
Sequencing can be associated with MIDI or Audio, or both!
It allows students to create pieces of music by playing in bars, phrases, parts, instrumental lines, or even individual notes one at a time. In this way they can build up more complex musical structures using copy and paste commands, and be able to realise musical performances using Cubase as the playback device.
Sequencing can be used to develop an understanding of the following musical elements:
- Pitch
- Rhythm
- Tempo
- Phrasing
- Articulation
- Structure
- Form
- Instrumentation
- Notation
MIDI sequencing can also be used as a very effective rehearsal tool, where students can develop backing tracks or accompaniments to perform along to.
Recording and Producing
Cubase software is a highly sophisticated recording and production tool that allows students to capture, edit, develop and produce high quality audio recordings.
With the appropriate audio hardware, it is possible to use Cubase as the centre piece of a multi-track recording studio that is capable of recording live bands.
Students can develop a thorough understanding of the key elements of the recording process all within Cubase! The highly flexible mixer and vast range of plug-in effects processors provide students with all the tools to create professional recordings.
Recording and Production work can be used to develop the following skills:
- Capture - microphone placement and choice
- Balance and Blend
- Using EQ controls to shape and refine the sound
- Controlling dynamic levels
- Using effects processing to create ambience or specific timbral changes
- Placing sounds within the stereo field using pan control
- Mixing the sounds to create a stereo track
- Listening and Appraising - developing aural skills for the studio
- Communication, Management and Social skills associated with running a recording session
Composing and Arranging
Cubase is an excellent composition tool that allows students to explore a wide range of creative musical ideas.
It is important to remember that Cubase does not compose itself - it has no auto accompaniment or auto-arrange features, but it does allow students to build up textures and ideas, track by track, or line by line. As such, it should be thought of as a 'medium' through which students can realise their creative ideas - a digital sketch book.
Cubase will allow students to create conventional tonal music, using established forms and structures and electronic timbres, or it can be used to nurture more abstract creativity through the exploration of sounds, timbres and textures using electronic synthesized sounds or original digital samples. In either situation, it functions really effectively and facilitates musical learning.
Developing arranging skills and a wider knowledge of orchestration can also be achieved using Cubase. Using good quality instrumental sounds or samples, students can develop original arrangements that allow them to explore instrumental voicings and orchestration techniques. The process can even be taken one step further and staff notation scores produced from within the software for use with real musicians.
Music Technology has had a significant impact upon the way in which composition is taught in schools, and the styles and formats of music that our students can produce. No more is composition an activity for those with perfect pitch and a high command of staff notation. Through the use of Cubase, students of all ages and musical abilities can compose and realise their own musical ideas.
Composition activities with Cubase can develop the following skills:
- Aural skills
- Notation Skills
- Pitch
- Rhythm
- Melody
- Harmony
- Arrangement
- Structure and Form
- Texture
- Instrumentation
- Timbre
Score- Writing
The score- writing capabilities of Cubase vary according to which version you have purchased.
Cubase SX has full professional scoring. This allows you to have all types of note heads, drum notation, guitar chords, guitar tab, text, lyrics etc…
Cubase SL and SE have very limited notation features - they can still allow students to input pitch and rhythm data, and enter basic page titles etc, but have much less editing capability. However, for KS3 and GCSE work, they can provide a very good means to support the development of notation skills.
One of the most attractive aspects of working with the score-writing features of Cubase SX is that it is totally integrated within the MIDI sequencing software that students have learnt to use. They do not have another piece of music software to learn!
Handling staff notation is an important skill that has a place within a balanced music curriculum, and if through the use of music technology, teachers can help students to build a link between the 'aural sound' and the 'written notation', then this will be a positive educational activity.
As well as basic notation, using the score-writing features within Cubase can help students to develop their knowledge and understanding of:
- Pitch
- Rhythm
- Harmony
- Instrumentation
- Score layouts
- Ensemble groupings
- Transposition
- Clefs
- Key signatures
- Drum notation
- Guitar Chords
- Lead sheets


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What You'll Get
Allegiance to a sports team can last a lifetime, like true love, or dissipate after a rocky season, like true love. Cheer up with this deal to see the Chicago White Sox or Los Angeles Dodgers play during spring training at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix, Arizona. For $6, you get one ticket for baseline-reserved seating, marked in red on the seating chart (up to a $15 value, depending on the game chosen), at a game, which starts at 1:05 p.m. unless otherwise noted. To access these specially priced tickets, choose from the following 15 games and enter the coupon code "GROUP" at checkout:
Chicago White Sox
- Against the Dodgers on Sunday, February 24
- Against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, February 27
- Against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, March 2
- Against the San Francisco Giants on Monday, March 4
- Against the World Baseball Classic's Team USA on Tuesday, March 5
- Against the San Diego Padres on Friday, March 8

Los Angeles Dodgers
- Against the White Sox on Saturday, February 23
- Against the Chicago Cubs on Monday, February 25
- Against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, February 26
- Against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday, February 28
- Against the San Diego Padres on Friday, March 1
- Against the Cleveland Indians on Sunday, March 3
- Against the World Baseball Classic's Team Mexico on Wednesday, March 6
- Against the Texas Rangers on Thursday, March 7
- Against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday, March 8, at 7:05 p.m.

When you click "Buy," you'll be redirected to MLB.com to complete your transaction. This offer applies toward the face value of tickets, but you'll still need to pay all fees and taxes in full.
Come February, with most of the country still trapped in winter's deep freeze, Major League Baseball teams migrate to warmer areas to prepare for the upcoming season. Carrying high hopes for 2013, two of those teams, the White Sox and Dodgers, share the field at Phoenix's Camelback Ranch to train before their respective stadiums have finished blow-drying the grass.
A year ago, the White Sox emerged as one of the American League's most surprising clubs, combining for 211 home runs—third-most in all of baseball—during an 85–77 campaign, landing them in second place in the Central Division behind the eventual AL champion Detroit Tigers. Out west, the Dodgers endured a similar fate in the National League, coming up short to the eventual world-champion Giants, but not before shocking the baseball world by acquiring some of the game's biggest names. The Dodgers finished with an 86–76 record, thanks in large part to the third-best pitching staff in the MLB, which finished with a tidy 3.34 ERA. Thanks to their time in the desert, both teams expect to improve on those outcomes come spring, easily surmounting any armadillos that roll their way.
The Fine Print
Promotional value expires Mar 5, 2013. Limit 25 per person. Valid only for option purchased. Customers buy through MLB. Contact Camelback Ranch at (623) 302-5000 with questions. See Groupon's Third Party site terms here. Must purchase together to sit together. Ticketmaster is the issuer of tickets. Discount reflects Ticketmaster's face value ticket prices - price may differ on day of event. Processing fees not included. Must enter code GROUP at checkout. Merchant is solely responsible to purchasers for the care and quality of the advertised goods and services.

subset: commoncrawl


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Please welcome Katie O'Sullivan to the virtual offices! I was curious about Katie's new book, Son of a Mermaid, so I asked her by to chat about the book.
[Manga Maniac Cafe] Describe yourself in 140 characters or less.
[Katie O'Sullivan] Katie O'Sullivan lives next to the ocean on Cape Cod, drinking too much coffee and inventing excuses not to dust. She writes YA and romantic suspense.
[Manga Maniac Cafe] Can you tell us a little about Son of a Mermaid?
[Katie O'Sullivan] This young adult book is aimed at advanced middle grade and beginner YA readers and makes a perfect young teen beach book for summer, filled with adventure, light romance and beautiful descriptions of life along the sandy shores – and beneath the waves.
Son of a Mermaid is the first book in a planned series about Shea MacNamara and the undersea world of mermaids and mermen that he discovers off the shores of Cape Cod. The blurb reads:
Shea MacNamara's life just got complicated.
After a freak tornado devastates his Oklahoma farm, the fifteen-year-old orphan moves to Cape Cod to live with a grandmother he's never met. Struggling to make sense of his new surroundings, he meets a girl along the shore who changes his life forever.
Kae belongs to an undersea world hidden from drylanders. The daughter of royal servants, she knows the planned marriage of her Princess to the foreign King should put an end to the war between the clans. Two things stand in the way of lasting peace: an ambitious Regent and rumors of a half-human child who will save the oceans.
Sparks fly when she meets Shea, but could the cute drylander really be the Son of a Mermaid?
[Manga Maniac Cafe] How did you come up with the concept and the characters for the story?
[Katie O'Sullivan] My kids and I have always liked mermaid stories. One day my son and I were walking the dogs on the beach and found a strange rock with a hole cut through the center. We started weaving a tale about the mermaid who lost it… and the book grew from there.
[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three words best describe Shea?
[Katie O'Sullivan] Loyal, strong, insecure
[Manga Maniac Cafe] If Kae had a theme song, what would it be?
[Katie O'Sullivan] Iris, by the Goo Goo Dolls
[Manga Maniac Cafe] Name one thing Kae is never without.
[Katie O'Sullivan] Her transmutare medallion. Harvested from the heart of the ocean, the transmutare stones help mermaids channel and focus the ancient magick of the seas. Kae uses her medallion to help her transform her tail into human legs, to go ashore.
[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things will you never find in Shea's bedroom?
[Katie O'Sullivan] Since he lost everything in the tornado, you won't find much that is his own in Shea's new bedroom. He didn't bring much with him when he moved to Cape Cod, just what was in his backpack at school that day.
But things you'd never find? He's a straight arrow kind of guy, so no alcohol or drugs, and he's not into pop culture or fads, so no Pokemon or Homestuck stuff. He also has no photos of the mother who abandoned him as a baby – until he moves to his grandmother's house and finds one. And recognizes her from his dreams.
[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is Kae's greatest regret?
[Katie O'Sullivan] Kae regrets being so constrained by the rules of her family and society, and wishes she had more freedom. She can't wait to go away to school, where she thinks she'll be able to have a fresh start. When she meets Shea, she starts bending those rules but finds that she's not the only one with secrets, and that things aren't always as they appear.
[Manga Maniac Cafe] What are your greatest creative influences?
[Katie O'Sullivan] For this book, living by the ocean was a big influence, lol. Like my character Shea, I walk my dogs along the beach at sunrise every morning, and spend that alone time working through stories in my head.
I've also been reading a lot of YA in the last few years – the genre has changed significantly over time and is one of the more exciting areas in publishing today.
[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things do you need in order to write?
[Katie O'Sullivan] The 3 C's: My computer, coffee, and chocolate.
[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is the last book that you read that knocked your socks off?
[Katie O'Sullivan] I'd have to say Death Lies Between Us, by Jody Kessler. Before that, it was The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern.
I read and enjoy a lot of books (a LOT of books), but love it when an author brings something really fresh to a book, something I haven't read before.
[Manga Maniac Cafe] If you had to pick one book that turned you on to reading, which would it be?
[Katie O'Sullivan] My mom was into mysteries and Agatha Christie, so she started me off with the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. I read them all, but at the age of 10 read The Girl Who Owned a City, by O.T. Nelson and it changed the way I looked at books. Everything didn't have to strictly "real" in the world of fiction, and grownups didn't have all the answers.
[Manga Maniac Cafe] What do you like to do when you aren't writing?
[Katie O'Sullivan] If I had my choice, I'd spend more time reading! But. I have three active, involved teens (over involved?) who keep me busy, as well as two big dogs who like to walk on the beach every chance they get. I watch a lot of soccer games and track meets, and go to a lot of concerts and plays starring my kids and their friends.
[Manga Maniac Cafe] How can readers connect with you?
[Katie O'Sullivan] My website: www.katie-osullivan.com
My blog: http://katieosullivan.blogspot.com
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorKatieOSullivan
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/OkatieO
Add Son of a Mermaid on your Goodreads list: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17184560-son-of-a-mermaid
[Manga Maniac Cafe] Thank you!
Purchase link:
GoodReads http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17184560-son-of-a-mermaid
About the book:
Shea MacNamara's life just got complicated.
After a freak tornado devastates his Oklahoma farm, the fifteen-year-old orphan is whisked away to Cape Cod. Struggling to make sense of his new surroundings, he's trying hard to deal with feelings of abandonment… and the emotions stirred by a girl he meets along the shore.
Kae belongs to an undersea world hidden from drylanders. The daughter of royal servants, she knows the planned marriage of her Princess to the foreign King should put an end to the war between the clans. But two things stand in the way of lasting peace: the ambitions of the foreign King's regent, and rumors of the Princess's bastard child.
Sparks fly when she meets Shea, but could the cute drylander really be the Son of a Mermaid?
About the Author:
Katie O'Sullivan lives with her family and big dogs next to the ocean on Cape Cod, drinking way too much coffee and inventing new excuses not to dust. She writes YA and romantic suspense novels, and has worked for the last four years as the editor of CapeWomenOnline.com magazine and writes "The Write Way" column for the magazine.
She hopes her debut YA novel, SON OF A MERMAID, will make a big splash this summer, engaging young readers with a Cape Cod tale of a boy who discovers both his roots and his destiny far below the waters of Nantucket Sound.


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AU Awarded $54,112 NSF Grant
Top HeadlinesDate: June 26, 2007
Contact: email@example.com
Phone: 269-471-3322
Andrews University has just been awarded a second National Science Foundation (NSF) grant totaling $54,112 to study the factors that contribute to the unusual success of the Biology Department's undergraduate students.
Students in the department were doing unexpectedly well with freshmen graduation rates of more than 70 percent, rankings in the 90th percentile on Major Field Tests, and medical school acceptance rates of around 85% - more than twice the national average.
A closer look at demographics makes these statistics even more interesting. Andrews University is known for its breadth of diversity, being noted as both the 14th most diverse National University and having the sixth highest percentage of international students by US News & World Report. This population is reflected in the Biology Department's make-up, with between 30-40 percent of its students from underrepresented minority groups. National figures for minority students in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) are below ten percent.
Not only are students from diverse backgrounds finding success in Andrews University's biology program in record numbers, so are students who may never have had the chance to even study biology at other schools due to low test scores and GPAs. Knowing that students in his department were doing better than they "should," John Stout, professor of biology and dean of Scholarly Research, did his own unofficial survey of ACT/SAT scores of entering freshmen in a dozen other church-affiliated colleges and universities. His results were quite amazing. Comparing the ACT/SAT scores of graduating biology majors with the scores of entering freshmen in any field in the other schools, Stout found that his students' scores were below the average of any entering freshman in any discipline. "We had a substantially larger number of students below the average test score," Stout stated.
In 2003, Stout and Gordon Atkins, professor of biology, applied for a $490,600 NSF STEP Grant to figure out what was causing the students' unexpected success. NSF funded this proposal, which was used to start a new behavioral neuroscience (BNS) program, an interdisciplinary program that combines behavioral science, biology and mathematics. The idea was to create a program that would be attractive to students who might not normally choose a STEM-related field of study, and in this program, use the same five-step approach used in biology, which includes lots of personal mentoring and a strong emphasis on participation in research opportunities. They then would be able to study the results and figure out which elements were causing the "educational transformation."
The study, however, took a turn during a meeting with NSF officers and other STEP grant recipients a little more than a year ago. NSF officials told David Mbungu, associate professor of biology and the project's evaluation coordinator, that they needed to take a different approach to assessing the department's unusual success, first learning what has been successful with the biology program before analyzing the new BNS program.
"NSF said we were doing mechanical things, but that we needed to know what people who have gone through the program think is working," Stout explained. With the guidance of Elaine Seymour, an expert in science education assessment, and the School of Education's Larry Burton, professor of teacher education, a whole new assessment plan was developed that would evaluate biology graduates as well as current students. However, this new assessment plan would require additional funding. The NSF encouraged them to apply for a second grant, which has just been awarded and went into effect on June 15. Burton will serve as the principal investigator on this portion of the project.
Once the factors of the program's success have been determined, NSF plans to share the biology program's model with other universities around the country. "NSF considers our current biology program as one of the best models of transformational science education in the country," Stout said.
But it doesn't take years of careful assessment to note a few obvious differences about Andrews University's approach, which focuses on taking a high interest in the individual student's lives-personally, academically and spiritually. It's a responsibility that the professors take personally.
"On the part of biology and behavioral neuroscience professors, there's a shared expectation that if one of our students has to drop our class or drop out as a major, we consider that to be our failure," said Stout. "That we, [as teachers], have not been successful. That is perhaps the most distinctive feature [of the program]."
This mindset alone sets Andrews University apart from most other science programs in the country. "The most commonly held belief is that [biology] is hard and that you have to be smart," Stout continues. "One of the most important things you learn is that you're not cutting it. Science faculty think that one of their roles is to weed out, where ours is to help students study and find success. Of anything we say to others, that brings the greatest amazement."
The evaluation process is already underway, and the project has a final completion goal of 2009.


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RELATED LINKs
Far and Away Places
October 19th, 2012
7:00-8:00pm, Barmes and Noble
Dr. Patrick Pranke from the University of Louisville will discuss the Paths to Liberation in Burmese Buddhism.
Horseback Riding, Chariots, and Ancient Warfare
Dr. David Anthony
October 25th, 2012
4:00pm, Gary Ransdell Hall Auditorium
In his talk, Dr. Anthony reviews recent archaeological discoveries in the Eurasian steppes related to the invention of horseback riding and chariotry. He argues that these were first developed by tribal herders in the steppes and only later diffused to the civilizations of the Near East, China, and South Asia.
Wuhan Scholar to Teach Bi-Term Course
Dr. Liu Lehen will be coming to WKU in the spring and will teach a Chinese Philosophy course in which he will cover Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist from ancient times through the present day.
Please check back with us for events coming this spring!
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Horrorfest '07: The Deaths of Ian Stone (US - DVD R1)
Gabe wishes he could be reincarnated as Vincent Cassel. You know why...
Ian Stone (Mike Vogel), an American living in the UK, continues to find himself pursued and murdered by mysterious black figures. Every time he dies he wakes up in a new reality, almost completely unaware of his past 'lives'—almost. As time goes on Ian begins to recall faces and situations, all leading him to a mind-bending truth.
The Deaths of Ian Stone gets early points for originality, but unfortunately never quite lives up to the bizarrely amusing premise of a sort of grim Quantum Leap montage (even if Groundhog Day already did that). Once the plot gets moving the movie turns into another reality skewing mystery movie, very much in the tradition of Dark City or The Matrix. It's not necessarily a bad 'Sci-Fi reality' twist, it just rolls into some less then original realms. The filmmakers run into the common problems of producing a new brand of mythology within a single ninety-minute film, namely a lack of proper unravelling. This epic mystery simply isn't given the time (or money for that matter) to burn correctly, and it adds to the overall feel of missed opportunities. Fortunately the mythology is more interesting then that of lesser studio releases like the Underworld films.
The most unfortunate images appear around the third act. If your film is already garnering unflattering comparisons to Dark City and The Matrix you probably don't want your villains showing up in skin-tight vinyl and black trench coats. I'd ruin the almost original plot if I went into the specifics of these images and their context, so you'll just have to take my word for some of it. The Deaths of Ian Stone has a pile of style, and some of it even belongs to director Dario Piana. Despite the costume faux pas there isn't a lot of mimicking The Matrix's love of blue and green coating. There's an attention to details and some great camera work during the more exciting attack scenes. I found myself genuinely thrilled despite noticing obvious budgetary constraints.
The cast is uniformly pretty great, especially male lead Mike Vogel and lead villain Jaime Murray. Vogel has the charm and looks of someone like Chris Evans, and turns what could've been an obnoxious and whiney character into a hero we can root for (for the most part, I still don't really buy him in the last act). Murray is a fantastic and unexpected vixen, and a fine contrast to heroine Christina Cole, who doesn't get the best chance to sell us her character, but also doesn't become a simple screaming damsel either. Michael Feast brings dignity to what could've been a sub-Yoda character, and experience to what could've been an entirely (relatively) amateur production.
The creature effects aren't the best, which isn't totally unfair to expect from a Stan Winston production. The full-on demons kind of reminded me of the hybrid from Underworld, and their 'hand weapons' are sort of Terminator 2ish, but the digital effects that make them up are pretty neat, and are an effective cover up of the lowish budget. There's also a pretty funny comparisons to be drawn between The Deaths of Ian Stone and Pixar's Monster's Inc. (as originally pointed out by L.A. Weekly critic Luke Y. Thompson), though fortunately these monsters aren't quite as cute and cuddly.
Though one of the more interesting Horrorfest titles, and one that particularly lends itself to a high definition presentation, The Deaths of Ian Stone has one of the weakest looking video presentations. The top issue is the interlacing effects, which were noticeable before I even started looking for them. There isn't much in the way of combing, but the doubling interlaced images actually made it hard to get clean screen caps. The film's clean and high contrast look (one of its biggest draws) is slightly salted by a lack of truly deep blacks, and there's a hint of noise throughout the whites. Colours are bright enough, though the reds do block up a bit, and details are pretty sharp for a standard definition release.
Though it probably could stand up to the likes of the film's it tends to emulate, The Deaths of Ian Stone sounds like several million bucks. The sound design is imaginative and picks the right moments to aggressively break out. The monsters sound familiar as movie creatures, but still have an original feel, and when they go all out all 5.1 channels go with him. The surround effects work, ensuring that the right monster moves the right direction at the right time. The film's score didn't impress me a whole bunch, but the mix is pretty solid (if not a little soft) and the dialogue track is centred and clear.
I was crushed when I realized this was one of the bare Horrorfest discs, because I was looking forward to finding something out about the filmmakers and their process. Had I known something about what might've been cut for budgetary reasons, etcetera, I may've been inclined to seek these guys out the next time they have something to release. As it stands this disc carries only trailers and the Miss Horrorfest webisodes.
I'm glad The Deaths of Ian Stone found its home among the other Horrorfest titles, even if it doesn't have much 'horror' to it. The film carries high aspiration, and even though it ends on the derivative side the filmmakers at least attempt something new and different. Overall the film isn't great, but it shines at some moments, and was likely the best of the Horrorfest bunch this year.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian
Disc Details
Release Date: 18th March 2008
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Single side, single layer
RCE: No
Video: NTSC
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Extras: Trailers, Miss Horrorfest Webisodes
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Dario Piana
Cast: Mike Vogel, Jaime Murray, Christina Cole, Michael Dixon,
Genre: Action, Horror and Mystery
Length: 90 minutes
6Review Guide
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Wolverine Claw Necklace and Earrings
"Snikt!" in style
- Wolverine earrings and 28" necklace
- Silver-toned jewelry with iconic claw design
- Officially-licensed Marvel accessories
One disadvantage of super-powered healing is that you couldn't really get your ears pierced. And then you'd never be able to wear these stylish Wolverine claw earrings, which display in a subtle-but-not-too-subtle way the affection you might hold for one of the greatest set of sideburns in Marvel's catalogue.
Three individual long, sleek claw designs dangle from the round silver tone studs marked with the X. These earrings also coordinate with the Wolverine Claw necklace on its 28" chain, a great accessory when you want to dress up your superteam unitard for a night on the town!
For our customers with nickel allergies: The necklace is made from 316L grade surgical stainless steel. That means their five main components are iron, chromium, nickel (10-14%), molybdenum, and manganese. This is implant-grade steel. The metal in these earrings and their earwires are made of imitation rhodium, a nickel-free tin alloy.
Product Specifications (not all will be relevant to every product)
- Wolverine Claws necklace and earrings
- Officially-licensed Marvel accessories
- Superhero jewelry for stylish fans
- Earrings are 2" long
- Necklace comes on a 28" chain


text: Latest News British MP George Galloway Blasts Tony Blair In This Facebook Video Post Chilcot Report video post from MP George Galloway, "Mr Blair: this is for Iraq". Published 2 years ago on July 7, 2016 By Alex Christoforou 809 Views Share Tweet British MP, broadcaster, and writer George Galloway lays into Tony Blair in this Facebook video post, referencing the explosive findings of the Chilcot Report, released yesterday. Galloway garnered close to 6K shares and nearly 300 comments with this simple statement: Mr Blair: this is for Iraq Via: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialGeorgeGalloway/?fref=nf Liked it? Take a second to support The Duran on Patreon! Related Topics:IraqTony BlairGeorge GallowayChilcot Report Up Next Did Hillary Clinton Bribe Loretta Lynch? Donald Trump Thinks So Don't Miss Feminist politician Barbro Sörman says 'Swedish men rape by choice, migrants rape by ignorance' Advertisement You may like Amnesia & Lack of Accountability Reign as Wall Street Celebrates Halliburton's 100-year anniversary Trump Weighs In On The Single Worst Mistake In American History Prayers for the souls of hundreds of thousands of children that died because of McCain Click to comment Leave a Reply This comment form is under antispam protection This comment form is under antispam protection Subscribe Notify of new follow-up comments new replies to my comments Latest BREXIT chaos, as May's cabinet crumbles (Video) The Duran Quick Take: Episode 18. Published 16 hours ago on November 16, 2018 By Alex Christoforou The Duran's Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris take a quick look at the various scenarios now facing a crumbling May government, as the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement is forcing cabinet members to resign in rapid succession. The weekend ahead is fraught with uncertainty for the UK and its position within, or outside, the European Union. Remember to Please Subscribe to The Duran's YouTube Channel. Follow The Duran Audio Podcast on Soundcloud. If Theresa May's ill-fated Brexit Withdrawal Agreement is eventually rejected this could trigger a vote of no confidence, snap elections or even a new referendum… Here are six possible scenarios facing Theresa May and the UK (via The Guardian)… 1 Parliament blocks Theresa May's draft withdrawal agreement and political declarations May faces an enormous task to win parliamentary approval, given that Labour, the SNP, the DUP and 51 Tories have said they will not vote for it. If the remaining 27 EU member states sign off the draft agreement on 25 November, the government will have to win over MPs at a crucial vote in early December. If May loses the vote, she has 21 days to put forward a new plan. If she wins, she is safe for now. 2 May withdraws the current draft agreement The prime minister could decide that she will not get the draft agreement through parliament and could seek to renegotiate with the EU. This would anger Tory backbenchers and Brussels and would be seen as a humiliation for her government. It might spark a leadership contest too. 3 Extend article 50 May could ask the European council to extend article 50, giving her more time to come up with a deal that could be passed by parliament – at present, the UK will leave on 29 March 2019. Such a request would not necessarily be granted. Some EU governments are under pressure from populist parties to get the UK out of the EU as soon as possible. 4 Conservative MPs trigger a vote of no confidence in the prime minister If Conservative MPs believe May is no longer fit for office, they could trigger a no-confidence vote. Members of the European Research Group claim that Graham Brady, the chair of the powerful 1922 Committee, will receive the necessary 48 letters this week. A vote could be held as soon as early next week. All Tory MPs would be asked to vote for or against their leader. If May wins, she cannot be challenged for at least 12 months. If she loses, there would be a leadership contest to decide who will become prime minister. 5 General election – three possible routes If May fails to get support for the current deal, she could call a snap general election. She would table a parliamentary vote for a general election that would have to be passed by two thirds of MPs. She would then set an election date, which could be by the end of January. This is an unlikely option. May's political credibility was severely damaged when she called a snap election in 2017, leading to the loss of the Conservative party's majority. Alternatively, a general election could be called if a simple majority of MPs vote that they have no confidence in the government. Seven Tory MPs, or all of the DUP MPs, would have to turn against the government for it to lose the vote, triggering a two-week cooling-off period. May would remain in office while MPs negotiate a new government. Another route to a general election would be for the government to repeal or amend the Fixed-term Parliaments Act which creates a five-year period between general elections. A new act would have to be passed through both the Commons and the Lords – an unlikely scenario. 6 Second referendum May could decide it is impossible to find a possible draft deal that will be approved by parliament and go for a people's vote. The meaningful vote could be amended to allow MPs to vote on whether the country holds a second referendum. It is unclear whether enough MPs would back a second referendum and May has ruled it out. Liked it? Take a second to support The Duran on Patreon! Continue Reading Latest Brexit Withdrawal Agreement may lead to Theresa May's downfall (Video) The Duran – News in Review – Episode 151. Published 18 hours ago on November 15, 2018 By Alex Christoforou The Brexit Withdrawal Agreement has been published and as many predicted, including Nigel Farage, the document is leading to the collapse of Theresa May's government. BREXIT WITHDRAWAL AGREEMENT: https://t.co/CEyIPuhtFA — James Rothwell (@JamesERothwell) November 14, 2018 During an interview with iTV's Piers Morgan, remain's Alistair Campell and leave's Nigel Farage, were calling May's Brexit deal a complete disaster. Via iTV… Alastair Campbell: "This doesn't do remotely what was offered…what is the point" "Parliament is at an impasse" "We have to go back to the people" …"remain has to be on the ballot paper" Nigel Farage: "This is the worst deal in history. We are giving away in excess of 40B pounds in return for precisely nothing. Trapped still inside the European Union's rulebook. "Nothing has been achieved." "In any negotiation in life…the other side need to know that you are serious about walking away." "What monsieur Barnier knew from day one, is that at no point did Theresa May intend to walk away." "Fundamental matter of trust to the electors of our country and those who govern us." The Duran's Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss Theresa May's Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, and why the deal is a full on victory for the European Union and a document of subjugation for the United Kingdom. Remember to Please Subscribe to The Duran's YouTube Channel Follow The Duran Audio Podcast on Soundcloud. Coming in at 585 pages, the draft agreement will be closely scrutinized over the coming days but here are some of the highlights as outlined by Zerohedge… UK and EU to use the best endeavours to supersede Ireland protocol by 2020 UK can request extension of the transition period any time before July 1st, 2020 EU, UK See Level-Playing Field Measures in Future Relationship Transition period may be extended once up to date yet to be specified in the text EU and UK shall establish single customs territory and Northern Ireland is in same customs territory as Great Britain The future relationship document is less than seven pages long. It says the U.K. and EU are seeking a free-trade area with cooperation on customs and rules: "Comprehensive arrangements creating a free trade area combining deep regulatory and customs cooperation, underpinned by provisions ensuring a level playing field for open and fair competition." The wording might raise concerns among Brexiters who don't want regulatory cooperation and the measures on fair competition could amount to shackling the U.K. to EU rules. As Bloomberg's Emma Ross-Thomas writes, "There's a clear sense in the documents that we're heading for a customs union in all but name. Firstly via the Irish backstop, and then via the future relationship." Separately, a government summary of the draft agreement suggests role for parliament in deciding whether to extend the transition or to move in to the backstop. But perhaps most importantly, regarding the controversial issue of the Irish border, the future relationship document says both sides aim to replace the so-called backstop – the thorniest issue in the negotiations – with a "subsequent agreement that establishes alternative arrangements for ensuring the absence of a hard border on the island of Ireland on a permanent footing." On this topic, recall that the U.K.'s fear was of being locked into the backstop arrangement indefinitely in the absence of a broader trade deal. The draft agreement includes a review process to try to give reassurance that the backstop would never be needed. Basically, the U.K. could choose to seek an extension to the transition period – where rules stay the same as they are currently – or opt to trigger the backstop conditions. In fact, as Bloomberg notes, the word "backstop," which has been a sticking point over the Irish border for weeks, is mentioned only once in the text. As Bloomberg further adds, the withdrawal agreement makes clear that the U.K. will remain in a single customs area with the EU until there's a solution reached on the Irish border. It's what Brexiteers hate, because it makes it more difficult for the U.K. to sign its own free-trade deals, which they regard as a key prize of Brexit. Predictably, EU Commission President Juncker said decisive progress has been made in negotiations. I have just sent a letter to @eucopresident recommending to the #EUCO #Article50 to find that decisive progress has been made in the negotiations on the orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. #Brexit pic.twitter.com/7twf2adwkO — Jean-Claude Juncker (@JunckerEU) November 14, 2018 Meanwhile, as analysts comb over the documents, Jacob Rees-Mogg, chairman of the European Research Group, has already written to Conservative lawmakers urging them to vote against the deal. He says: May is handing over money for "little or nothing in return" The agreement treats Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the U.K. It will "lock" the U.K. into a customs union with the EU It breaks the Tory election manifesto of 2017 The full document… Liked it? Take a second to support The Duran on Patreon! Continue Reading Latest 4 resignations and counting: May's government 'falling apart before our eyes' over Brexit deal The beginning of the end for Theresa May's government. Published 23 hours ago on November 15, 2018 By The Duran Via RT… Four high profile resignations have followed on the heels of Theresa May's announcement that her cabinet has settled on a Brexit deal, with Labour claiming that the Conservative government is at risk of completely dissolving. Shailesh Vara, the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office was the first top official to resign after the prime minister announced that her cabinet had reached a draft EU withdrawal agreement. An hour after his announcement, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab – the man charged with negotiating and finalizing the deal – said he was stepping down, stating that the Brexit deal in its current form suffers from deep flaws. Esther McVey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, submitted her letter of resignation shortly afterwards. More resignations have followed. Any cabinet member who is a genuine Brexiteer must now resign or never be trusted again, this is the worst deal in history. — Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) November 14, 2018 Labour's shadow Cabinet Office minister, Jon Trickett, predicted that this is the beginning of the end for May's government. The government is falling apart before our eyes as for a second time the Brexit secretary has refused to back the prime minister's Brexit plan. This so-called deal has unraveled before our eyes Shailesh Vara: UK to be stuck in 'a half-way house with no time limit' Kicking off Thursday's string of resignations, Vara didn't mince words when describing his reservations about the cabinet-stamped Brexit deal. Theresa May's EU withdrawal agreement leaves the UK in a "halfway house with no time limit on when we will finally become a sovereign nation," his letter of resignation states. Vara went on to warn that the draft agreement leaves a number of critical issues undecided, predicting that it "will take years to conclude" a trade deal with the bloc. With much sadness and regret I have submitted my letter of resignation as a Northern Ireland Minister to the Prime Minister. A copy of my letter is attached.It has been a joy and privilege to serve in the Northern Ireland Office and I will always cherish the fondest memories. pic.twitter.com/SN8j4OwhYD — Shailesh Vara MP (@ShaileshVara) November 15, 2018 "We will be locked in a customs arrangement indefinitely, bound by rules determined by the EU over which we have no say," he added. Dominic Raab: Deal can't be 'reconciled' with promises made to public Announcing his resignation on Thursday morning, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab tweeted: "I cannot in good conscience support the terms proposed for our deal with the EU." Today, I have resigned as Brexit Secretary. I cannot in good conscience support the terms proposed for our deal with the EU. Here is my letter to the PM explaining my reasons, and my enduring respect for her. pic.twitter.com/tf5CUZnnUz — Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) November 15, 2018 Raab claimed that the deal in its current form gives the EU veto power over the UK's ability to annul the deal. No democratic nation has ever signed up to be bound by such an extensive regime. Former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith said that Raab's resignation as Brexit secretary is "devastating" for May. "It sounds like he has been ignored," he told the BBC. Raab's departure will undoubtedly encourage other Brexit supporters to question the deal, political commentators have observed. Esther McVey: Deal 'does not honor' Brexit referendum Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey didn't hold back when issuing her own letter of resignation. According to McVey, the deal "does not honour" the result of the Brexit referendum, in which a majority of Brits voted to leave the European Union. Earlier this morning I informed the Prime Minister I was resigning from her Cabinet pic.twitter.com/ZeBkL5n2xH — Esther McVey (@EstherMcVey1) November 15, 2018 Suella Braverman: 'Unable to sincerely support' deal Suella Braverman, a junior minister in Britain's Brexit ministry, issued her resignation on Thursday, saying that she couldn't stomach the deal. "I now find myself unable to sincerely support the deal agreed yesterday by cabinet," she said in a letter posted on Twitter. Suella Braverman, MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Exiting the EU © Global Look Press / Joel Goodman Braverman said that the deal is not what the British people voted for, and threatened to tear the country apart. "It prevents an unequivocal exit from a customs union with the EU," she said. Liked it? Take a second to support The Duran on Patreon! Continue Reading JOIN OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL Your donations make all the difference. Together we can expose fake news lies and deliver truth. Amount to donate in USD$: 5 100 Validating payment information... Waiting for PayPal...Validating payment information...Waiting for PayPal... 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Anyone else immediately think of The Sully Chronicles, the pack-in demo included with old versions of VERGE?-- edit ---OH SHIT SULLY THE CLAM? FUCK THAT IS RELATED.WAIT THIS IS A FUCKING REMAKE OF THAT :D OH MY GOD I PLAYED THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THIS BACK IN THE 90S.OH MY GOD SO MUCH NOSTALGIA.(I guess this is technically a legit retro RPG, and not a retro parody, in that sense).Jesus goddamit I really want a VITA now.


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Chandler Massey Exits Prominent Gay Role As 'Will' On 'Days Of Our Lives'
Chandler Massey, the two-time Daytime Emmy winner who deftly navigated Days Of Our Lives' poignant, multi-year coming out and coming-of-age storyline, made his official exit from the GLAAD Award winning daytime drama on Friday.
Massey received critical acclaim for his work as Will Horton on the series and became one-half of one of the show's most prominent couples, Will and Sonny (played by Freddie Smith).
The 22-year-old actor tells Gay Star News that NBC has agreed to let him out of his four-year contract more than three months early so he can focus on
The role of Will is going to be recast, Massey said.
He will
'I'm done. It's bittersweet,' said Massey who won his second Emmy for the role in June. 'These four years have been so amazing I've built a family here. I'm so grateful to NBC and everyone for these amazing four years. It's been my privilege and honor to work there.'
The actor added: 'I'm appreciative for Days and NBC for letting me out of my contract early so I can go and pursue these opportunities that I have not been able to pursue before.'
It was after his second Emmy win that Massey first indicated that he would not be staying on the show beyond his current four-year contract which ended in December 2013.
Days of Our Lives producers had initially said the role would not be recast. But the coupling of Will Horton and Sonny Kirakis (Freddie Smith) has proven popular with fans and managed to avoid backlash from advertisers.
'I think it's a good move (to recast),' Massey said. 'I'm biased because I fell in love with Will and Sonny and I want Will and Sonny to be together.'
Massey said he is thankful to the show's fans for making Will and Sonny such a popular pair.
'We would not have a show without them and it is their love and support that keeps us afloat,' he said. 'I feel incredibly blessed to have received that love.'
Will you miss Chandler on Days of Our Lives, Instincters? Think the recast for "Will" will be as popular? High hopes for Will and Sonny?
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PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) – Paul Bessire, better known by the name of his simulation program, "The Prediction Machine," joined The Fan Morning Show on Wednesday to offer the machine's advice for filling out brackets this year.
Bessire's machine is extremely high on Pitt, and gives the Panthers a 12 percent chance of winning the West regional and making the Final Four, with only top seeds Gonzaga and Ohio State having a better shot of doing so.
He added that Pitt is "one of the better eight seeds we've probably ever seen."
The machine has Pitt winning 67-59 over Wichita State in the opening round and then losing 68-65 to Gonzaga.
However, Bessire feels that the Panthers would have a great shot of winning that game, and he explained that their road to the Final Four will probably become much easier should they get past the Bulldogs.
Bessire's Pitt outlook and a plethora of his invaluable bracket-filling advice can be heard here!


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Latest Features
AHL Game Night: 4/4/11 Admirals at Checkers
A magical night in Charlotte for Jones and the Admirals.
Jaroslav Janus rose up and played his best AHL game of the season stopping 21 of 23 shots, including a Brett Sutter penalty shot, to take his first win as an Admiral this season. He kept the Admirals where they needed to be through the first two periods and then made sure to make the last stop or two the team needed to pull away at the end. What Mike Smith was for the Lightning against Chicago last night, Janus was for the Admirals tonight.
First Period
NOR Ritola, (6) (Pouliot, Barberio), 7:54 (PP)
CHA Terry, (33) (Sanguinetti, Matsumoto), 12:30 (PP)
Second Period
NOR Labrie, (6) (Wright, Berry), 7:56
CHA Sanguinetti, (3) (Graham, Matsumoto), 13:18 (PP)
NOR Jones, (22) (Pouliot, Milam), 18:49 (PP)
Third Period
NOR Ritola, (7) (Jones, Pouliot), 0:36 (PP)
NOR Jones, (23) (Ritola), 7:40
Blair Jones, Mattias Ritola, and Marc-Antoine Pouliot were the game's three stars.
Blair Jones is now the Norfolk Admirals' all-time leading scorer. He tied and then destroyed the record with a 3 point night that now leaves him just 3 points shy of his career high in points, despite the fact he set that mark in 80 games in 2008-2009 and he's played just 52 games this year. Jones has always been a BoltProspects favorite since his days with Moose Jaw and his rookie season with Springfield in the AHL. Through all the ups and downs of his professional career, he's kept getting better and climbing the ladder. To surpass some of the most beloved Admirals in the history of that franchise to claim the mantle of leading scorer is truly impressive and special.
His new line, with Marc-Antoine Pouliot and Mattias Ritola showed tonight it could be one of the league's best going into the playoffs. Ritola also had a 3 point night and now has 22 points in 13 AHL games this year. For his part, Pouliot climbed to 6th in the AHL in scoring with 69 points in 65 games.
Mark Barberio got point 29 tonight. He needs 1 more point in the 4 games remaining this week to reach the 30 point plateau.
Norfolk pulls to within 3 points of the Checkers for 3rd in the East Division with 2 games in hand, and now holds a 2 point edge over Binghamton with 1 game in hand. More to the point, the Admirals magic number for making the postseason is now 1 point. With a 6 point lead over Worcester and just 3 games remaining for the Sharks, any combination of a point gained by the Admirals or a point lost by Worcester will clinch a playoff berth for the Admirals by, at a minimum, the crossover rule. Interesting note about the crossover rule, if Norfolk were to crossover they could gain the 3rd seed in the Atlantic Division if they can continue to lead the Atlantic's 3rd place team, the Connecticut Whale. However, for tonight, the crossover seems like an afterthought for a team that controls its destiny to climb into the #3 spot in the division.
Box score from TheAHL.com.
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- Statistics
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Zion Lutheran Church - September Newsletter
Christ For All Generations - Zion for All Generations
Meet Zion
Pastor Christian Muellerleile
Pastor Troy Pflibsen
Nancy Monson
Denise Fransen, Kids of the Kingdom Director
Dean Potter
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Council President
Kids of the Kingdom Childcare Center
Zion's Missionaries
Zion Church Directions
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Day Camp Registration
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G6770, Revised February 2005
This publication has been prepared for managers of football and soccer fields who are frustrated by trying to grow cool-season grasses where irrigation is limited or where fields receive heavy use during optimal seeding times of the year. Another situation many groundskeepers face is a field that receives heavy use through the summer with no opportunity to recover before the the fall season begins. If you have found yourself in these situations, you may want to consider bermudagrass as a means of establishing a reasonable stand of grass to maintain good playability and safety.
Cool-season grasses are preferred for athletic field turf in Missouri. However, their success is sometimes compromised because of harsh summers, excessive traffic and restricted cultural management practices. The following information is provided as a possible solution to heavily worn athletic fields where cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass or tall fescue have been tried without success.
Consider the six factors listed below to evaluate efforts to manage cool-season grasses. Drainage, irrigation and traffic control are the most crucial factors in grass survival from year to year, especially on a limited budget. Once the options for maintaining cool-season grasses have been exhausted, bermudagrass may be the choice.
Before changing to bermudagrass, consider the following six factors necessary for growing cool-season grasses on athletic fields in Missouri:
1. Rapid drainagePlaying surfaces should be graded or crowned (1 to 1.5 percent) to provide rapid removal of surface water from heavy rains. Fields with reverse crowns (concave) in the center should have soil replaced to reestablish proper grade.
Subsurface drainage also is necessary to prevent anaerobic conditions (lack of air) in the root zone. Even when drainage is adequate for plant growth, turf on soil with a low water infiltration rate may be severely damaged when athletic activities are held during or shortly after heavy rain. Sand or modified soil fields that have infiltration rates between 2 and 4 inches per hour offer the best means of rapidly removing water from the surface and reducing the chance of severe field damage.
2. IrrigationThere is no substitute for adequate irrigation. It should be a high priority in upgrading athletic fields. Irrigation will do more for the potential to establish and keep turf in Missouri than any amount of seed, sod, fertilizer, pesticide, or cultivation.
The best solution is a permanent, and preferably automatic, irrigation system that evenly supplies a minimum of 1/4 inch of water every day to each field. Commercial traveling gun sprinklers have been used successfully to irrigate athletic fields. They are portable for multifield use but usually require 8 to 10 hours to irrigate a single field. Home lawn sprinklers, even traveling models, are not adequate for large athletic fields.
3. Traffic controlAssess nontraffic areas of the field, such as beyond the end zone. If the current level of management is providing acceptable turf in the nontraffic areas, change the pattern and amount of traffic, rather than changing the grass species or management practices.
Management of athletic fields requires coordination among administrators, coaches and groundskeepers. Administrators should keep in mind that proper traffic control costs nothing and at the same time offers the most effective means of reducing dangerously worn areas on game and practice fields. The coach must take an active interest in scheduling activities and preventing excessive turf wear. The coach and the grounds superintendent can work together to develop improved grass areas specifically for drills that are conducted off of the game and practice fields.
As much as possible, reserve athletic fields for games only. Hold scrimmages on practice fields. Practice drills should be held in areas off the game and practice fields, and they should be rotated among those areas to allow for turf recovery.
Band practice on the game field should be limited to once per week and only when the soil is dry enough to resist compaction in marching paths. Yard lines can be painted on parking lots or other turf areas for daily band practice.
Table 1Nitrogen fertilizer recommendations for cool-season grass athletic fields.
March 15 to April 1
May 1 to 30
September to November
4. Spring, summer and fall fertilitySoils should be tested yearly and proper adjustment should be made for pH, phosphorus and potassium. Table 1 represents a good program for scheduling nitrogen application to cool-season grasses. Additional nitrogen may be required on soils amended with sand.
In addition to a general nitrogen schedule, it may be necessary to force growth and recovery of turf in high traffic areas of athletic fields. In these special areas, apply nitrogen each month from March through November, especially on highly leachable, sandy soils. Do not exceed one pound of soluble nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per month. Forcing growth in this manner will require additional irrigation and mowing.
If these basic fertility requirements have not been met, cool-season grasses have not been given a fair chance to grow.
5. CultivationCore cultivation needs to be a regular practice for any athletic field program. In areas receiving little traffic core cultivation may only be needed once or twice during the year to prevent thatch and increase water infiltration. In heavily worn and compacted areas, however, cultivation may be needed on a more regular basis to break up hard ground, allowing for spread of established grasses and establishment of seedling grasses. Few athletic fields exist that would not benefit from core cultivation during certain times of the year.
6. OverseedingOverseeding to reestablish turf may be necessary where it has been worn to the point that recovery from underground stems and crowns is not possible. Bluegrass/ryegrass fields should be overseeded with a bluegrass/ryegrass mixture or straight perennial ryegrass. Tall fescue/bluegrass fields should be overseeded with a tall fescue/bluegrass mixture or straight tall fescue.
Tall fescue and perennial ryegrass should not be combined in a seed mixture, nor should one be interseeded into an established stand of the other. Fall or early winter dormant seedings of cool-season grasses are preferred to spring seedings.
Sod should also be considered when cool-season grasses are desired but there is not enough time to establish cover from seed during the off season.
Bermudagrass, a warm-season grass, has advantages and disadvantages. You should know what to expect once you are committed to using it.
Table 2Bermudagrass varieties for Missouri athletic fields.
Seeded varietiesSeeded varieties are usually planted at a rate of 1 to 2 pounds per 1,000 square feet.
Fair cold hardiness implies establishment in the southern third of the state, some winter kill can be expected in severe winter conditions.
Good cold hardiness implies establishment in the southern two-thirds of the state, some winter kill can be expected in severe winter conditions.
Vegetative varietiesVegetative varieties are usually sprigged at a rate of 8 to 10 bushels per 1,000 square feet.
Bermudagrass is not the answer to all athletic field problems. It should not be viewed as a substitute for irrigation, proper fertility and a regular cultivation program. Winter survivability of bermudagrass in the lower two-thirds of Missouri is greater than the summer survivability of cool-season turfgrasses grown without irrigation and subjected to the rigors of athletic field use.
Using bermudagrass to repair worn out areas of the field will result in better vegetative cover during more of the playing season. However, the appearance of the field may not be uniform since bermudagrass has a slightly different texture and shade of green. It is brown during the fall and spring and is easily distinguished from weeds and other cool-season grasses.
Fields that are entirely bermudagrass will have a more uniform appearance, but will still have the problem of winter dormancy. Bermudagrass overseeded with Kentucky bluegrass or perennial ryegrass will have the best vegetative cover and appearance during the entire year.
Seed or sprig bermudagrass between early May and mid-July. August seeding or sprigging is not recommended because of insufficient time for proper establishment before cold weather. Bermudagrass will not germinate or grow until soil temperatures have adequately warmed. Seeding or sprigging before May will result in heavy competition from spring weeds.
If an early spring covering is needed, bermudagrass sod can be cut and laid from late March through July. Dormant sod should not be cut and laid on fields where spring games are scheduled. Improved varieties of bermudagrass are now available as seed, sprigs, plugs and sod. Seeding and sprigging are the most common means of establishing bermudagrass (Table 2).
Many improved varieties of bermudagrass are now available as seed. Seeding rates should range from 1 to 2 pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet.
Sprigs are pieces of torn turf usually containing a stolon with roots and up to four nodes. Sprigs can be planted by broadcasting them over loose soil followed by a light disking to partially cover them with soil. A portion of each sprig should remain exposed after planting. Mechanical spriggers are available that slit the soil open, plant the sprig and cover the sprig with a small amount of soil. In either case, the sprig should promote roots and creeping stems from the nodes. Sprigs can be purchased as sod and then shredded, or often can be purchased by the bushel. One square yard of sod makes approximately one bushel of sprigs.
Plugs are usually 1 to 2 inches in diameter with 1 to 2 inches of soil attached. They should be fitted tightly into prepared holes and tamped firmly into place. Plugs are generally placed 6 to 12 inches apart. Closer spacing may be used to hasten cover of the turf area.
Control broadleaved weeds, particularly knotweed and creeping speedwell in April so that broadleaf herbicide applications will not interfere with summer establishment of bermudagrass.
Immediately after spring field activities, regrade the surface if necessary, fill depressions with soil and smooth the surface.
Irrigate in late April and early May to germinate as much crabgrass as possible.
Where no desirable grasses exist, kill all vegetation with glyphosphate and seed or sprig seven to 14 days later. If desirable grasses exist, kill newly emerged crabgrass with MSMA or DSMA and seed or sprig 14 days after application. Killing the first flush of crabgrass before seeding or sprigging bermudagrass reduces crabgrass competition, and the need to control it, the remainder of the year. Bermudagrass establishes much better with less weed competition and if there is no need to apply repeat applications of post-emergence herbicides.
Loosen hard soils and prepare a seed bed by intensively coring, spiking, or slicing. After seeding lightly, rake or drag the surface to ensure good seed-to-soil contact. If a drill or slit seeder is used, make at least two passes in opposite directions using half the total amount of seed. The remainder of the seed should be broadcast to provide faster and more uniform coverage of bermudagrass.
Add lime, if needed, and fertilizer. Add one pound of nitrogen, phosphorus (K2O) and potassium (P2O5) per 1,000 square feet per month during the first three months of establishment. Make the lime and first fertilizer applications immediately before preparing the seed bed to improve incorporation into the soil.
Water frequently to encourage germination and rapid turf coverage.
Begin mowing at 1.5 inches as soon as the grass is tall enough to be clipped.
Apply MSMA or DSMA according to label recommendations to control crabgrass that competes with the establishing bermudagrass.
One of the reasons bermudagrass has been recommended is because of its ability to maintain active growth and recovery during typically dry summers in Missouri. However, establishment of bermudagrass is greatly enhanced when some irrigation is provided. Sprigs should not be installed unless they can be kept moist for at least the first three to six weeks after planting. Seeded bermudagrass will not germinate and establish unless rainfall or irrigation keeps the top 1 inch of soil moist for a minimum of two to four weeks. Ideally, temporary or permanent irrigation should be available to supply water daily for the first month after planting and at least twice a week thereafter. During the first three weeks, water shallow and frequently to keep only the area of actively growing roots moist. As plants begin to tiller and produce deeper roots, irrigate deeper and with less frequency.
Established bermudagrass will usually survive the driest summers in Missouri, however if it has been severely worn and is expected to rejuvenate from rhizomes and spread into bare areas, it will require weekly water from either rain or irrigation.
Whether bermudagrass is seeded, sprigged or plugged, crabgrass and nut sedge rapidly establish in bare spots during summer. Preemergent herbicides should not be used on weakened bermudagrass in the spring or summer, or when attempting to establish newly seeded bermudagrass in the summer. Ronstar preemergent herbicide is labeled for the establishment of bermudagrass sprigs. Read the label for proper rates.
Control annual grass weeds and nut sedge with postemergence applications of MSMA or DSMA. Repeat applications, seven to 14 days apart, may be necessary for adequate control. Delay application of MSMA or DSMA until turfgrass rooting has occurred and spreading stolons are visible. Try to time your MSMA application after three or four mowings when warm season grasses are actively growing and crabgrass begins to dominate the turfgrass canopy.
Cool-season grasses are preferred for athletic fields in Missouri where proper attention is given to turf management and traffic control. Bermudagrass may be the best choice, however, where irrigation is limited and fields receive use through the spring, summer and fall.
Order publications online at http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/shop/ or call toll-free 800-292-0969.


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India's manufacturing activity surged to a six-month high in December, boosted by strong factory output and a spike in new orders, both of which hit their highest levels since June, a business survey showed on Wednesday.
The HSBC Markit India Manufacturing PMI, which gauges the business activity of India's factories but not its utilities, jumped to 54.7 in December from 53.7 in November, its biggest monthly rise since January 2012.
The PMI index has now stayed above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction for almost four years.
"Activity in the manufacturing sector picked up again, led by faster output growth and a further uptick in new orders, which led to a faster increase in backlogs of work as companies struggled to keep up with demand," said Leif Eskesen, economist at HSBC.
Official data released last month showed industrial output soared 8.2 per cent annually in October, its highest in more than a year, although the rise was attributed by economists to a low base a year earlier.
However, the new orders sub-index in the survey, a reliable gauge of future output, jumped to 58.0 from 55.8 in November, its biggest monthly jump since April, suggesting the factory sector might be in for better days ahead.
New orders from overseas clients also grew at a faster pace than last month, the fourth consecutive expansion after shrinking during July and August.
While there is strong overseas demand for Indian goods, the U.S. economy will remain sluggish in 2013, underscoring a very fragile world economic outlook, according to a Reuters' poll.
The survey further showed both input and output prices rose at a slower pace during the month. That will likely take some steam off the headline inflation rate, which at 7.24 per cent in November is well above the Reserve Bank of India's commonly perceived 5 per cent comfort level.
The central bank has held interest rates steady since April, citing high price pressures, even as financial markets and the government have clamoured for rate cuts.
A majority of economists polled by Reuters last month expect a total of 50 basis points cut in the benchmark repo rate by March, citing weak growth and a generally declining inflation trend.
But Eskesen said inflation only eased marginally and expects it to remain strong in the coming months with firmer demand leading the pick-up in growth.
Copyright @ Thomson Reuters 2012


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Calera High School secures PRIME funding.
Press Release Summary:
STEM pre-engineering program designed by Instructor, Brian Copes, has secured Calera High School of Calera, AL exemplary school status and funding from SME Education Foundation through its PRIME program, a community-based approach to manufacturing education. In addition to funds totaling $35,000 for 3 years, PRIME designation comes with 3-year commitment by SME Education Foundation to help create partnerships with local manufacturing base to provide job shadows, mentoring, and internships.
Original Press Release:
Calera High School Secures PRIME Funding: Alabama Manufacturers and Local Businesses Rally Support
The SME Education Foundation has selected Calera High School, Calera, Alabama as an exemplary school for its PRIME (Partnership Response In Manufacturing Education) program, a comprehensive, community-based approach to manufacturing education.
DEARBORN, Mich., CALERA, Ala., — More than 200 Alabama businesses, industry and local government partners are rallying their support of Calera High School, Calera, Ala., and its innovative approach to manufacturing education. The STEM pre-engineering program designed by Instructor, Brian Copes, has secured Calera High School exemplary school status and funding from the SME Education Foundation through its PRIME program (Partnership Response in Manufacturing Education), one of nine schools in eight states receiving the designation.
The Calera High School pre-engineering program has Copes' students involved in projects ranging from building basic utility vehicles (BUV), prosthetics and a hydro-electric plant inspired by their trip to a Honduran village last summer, to redesigning and customizing a fuel-efficient hybrid car, which is introducing them to a green energy program. These and many other innovative approaches to manufacturing education have allowed students to learn how to function in a complex world and see first-hand how their knowledge of critical STEM technical skills is important to helping shape their lives, allowing them to help others. They are learning to innovate, lead and mentor.
The PRIME designation for Calera High School comes with a three-year commitment by the SME Education Foundation to provide assistance in creating and fostering strong partnerships with the local manufacturing base to provide job shadows, mentoring and internships. In addition, PRIME schools receive funds totaling $35,000 for three years to support equipment upgrades, continuing education for instructors and a STEM-based camp for middle-school students. The SME Education Foundation Scholarship Program provides students with access to scholarship funding.
"Brian Copes has built an infrastructure of more than 200 industry partners anxious and willing to support them on multiple projects, not just one," says Bart A. Aslin, CEO, SME Education Foundation. "Calera High School is fairly new, only six years old, and its students are inspired and totally involved and excited about working in pre-engineering classes that are motivating their future learning and capturing the support of business, industry, educators, state government. We're proud to include them in our PRIME program."
PRIME, a community-based approach to manufacturing education, is part of a commitment by the SME Education Foundation to address the shortage of manufacturing and technical talent in the United States. Launched in 2011, with the selection of six schools in six different states, model schools funded through PRIME offer STEM-based curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) prepare young people for highly skilled jobs with lucrative potential. One of the richest sources of employment and economic growth will be jobs requiring a solid STEM education.
PRIME was developed as a response to the growing skills gap crisis in the United States along with its greater mission to inspire, prepare and support STEM-interested students. Upon graduation, they will leave school with the tools to further their education and become future innovators and contributors to industry.
In summer 2012, Copes and ten students traveled to a Honduran village to deliver basic utility vehicles made from Toyota Corolla parts and prosthetic legs they learned to design and manufacture for amputees in the village. This initiative provided the impetus and direction for additional similarly innovative engineering projects where students can learn skills such as teamwork, mechanics, engineering, design, manufacturing, Internet technology and research, CAD, and problem-solving.
PRIME funding will be used to update equipment including a 3-D printer, and software and a summer technology-based camp for fifth to seventh graders which will expand the program to include more students and build the pipeline of students interested in pre-engineering.
"We have a two-year, long-term plan, says Brian Copes, "My students are now redesigning the basic utility vehicle since some of the components to the basic utility vehicles are no longer available. Our other projects include refining the design and manufacture of a prosthetic that can be mass-produced and building a portable hydro-electric station for the Honduran village. We were fortunate enough to have engineer, William Hobbs from Alabama Power (a Southern Company), help us to ensure this project's success. He's one of many offering their time and expertise."
Don Miller, a retired engineer from Alabama Power, is working with students and helping to build a custom hybrid car – a 2004 Dodge Neon - to make it operable and fuel efficient. Copes' students will then drive the car across the country by driving the length of I-65, linking the south at the Gulf of Mexico to north of Detroit, Mich. They start in Mobile, Ala., with the first stop in Leeds, Ala., where they will tour the Barbers Motorcycle Museum. They will also travel with a Bio-Diesel Lab, bringing further awareness to Green Fuel Technology, which will allow them to make their own fuel from cooking oil from fast food restaurants on the route. Scheduled stops include the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky., the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Ind., and finally the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich.
In October 2012, People Magazine honored five teachers across the nation in its first "Teacher of the Year" competition which included Calera High School pre-engineering instructor, Brian Copes.
PRIME sites for 2013 include: Alabama: Calera High School, Calera, Ala., California: Esperanza High School, Anaheim, Calif.; Petaluma High School, Petaluma, Calif.; Indiana: McKenzie Center for Innovation and Technology, Indianapolis, Ind.; Iowa: Cedar Falls High School, Cedar Falls, Iowa; Massachusetts: Westfield Vocational Technical High School, Westfield, Mass.; Michigan: Jackson Area Community Center, Jackson, Mich.; Ohio: Centerville High School, Dayton, Ohio, and Wisconsin: Bradley Technical High School, Milwaukee, Wis.
To-date, the SME Education Foundation has provided funding of more than $285,000 through PRIME to model high schools to help manufacturing and its advanced technologies drive the economic vitality of local communities. This initiative builds on a five-year, $5.2 million investment in their STEM-based manufacturing education workforce development programs.
About Industry Partners:
Community and industry partners supporting the Calera High School, "Children Are Changing the World" program include: A. C. Legg, Alabama Power; Alfa Insurance; Argos; American Foundry Society; Augusta Fiberglass; Birmingham Business Alliance; Britt Engineering; Central State Bank; City of Calera; Spencer Bachus; Dr. Baker Chambliss; Dole Foods, Magnolialand Entertainment; Martin-Marietta; Mass Communications; Scott's Jewelry and Pawn; Shelby County Office Manager, Alex Dudchock; Shelby Ridge Nursing Home; Project One Enterprise; Shelby Baptist Hospital; Skilled Knowledgeable Youth (SKY); SME Education Foundation; Tenn Chiropractic; The University of Montevallo; Toyota, Christy L. Travis; Unimin, and Watts Auto Diesel Service.
About Calera High School:
Calera High School, Calera, Alabama, provides an enrollment of approximately 900 students, grades 9-12, with a learning environment in which students can acquire skills to become productive and responsible citizens and enjoy successful careers. The school provides a positive learning experience through quality teaching, a safe environment, and curriculum that meets the diverse needs of all students. Their pre-engineering program offers opportunities for student scholastic achievement with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) curriculum. Visit: Calera High School.
About SME Education Foundation:
The SME Education Foundation is committed to inspiring, preparing and supporting the next generation of manufacturing engineers and technologists for the advancement of manufacturing education. Created by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 1979, the SME Education Foundation has provided more than $31 million since 1980 in grants, scholarships and awards through its partnerships with corporations, organizations, foundations, and individual donors. Visit SME Education Foundation at www.smeef.org. Also visit www.CareerMe.org, for information on advanced manufacturing careers and www.manufacturingiscool.com, our award-winning website for young people.
Media Contacts: Bart A. Aslin, chief executive officer, SME Education Foundation, 313.425-3302, email@example.com; Brian Copes, technology education instructor, Calera High School, 205.682-5982, firstname.lastname@example.com


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If you've been paying attention to the increasingly heated debate over the "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA), you may have noticed a significant spike in today's news about the "Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011," or PROTECT IP Act (PIPA, for short). Newsletters and blog posts have flooded in, with the declaration that "PIPA is the new SOPA." But what, exactly, is PIPA? And why is it the 'new SOPA'? Let's break down the differences and similarities between these two pieces of vexed anti-piracy legislation, and why major Internet players are blacking out their sites this Wednesday, January 18, in an attempt to keep either of these bills from becoming law.
What are SOPA and PIPA?
SOPA and PIPA are, essentially, two versions of the same anti-piracy bill. SOPA is the House of Representative's version (House Bill HR. 3261), while PIPA resides in the Senate (Senate Bill S. 968). Both SOPA and PIPA are intended to curb online piracy, specifically piracy facilitated by "foreign rogue websites," meaning sites that are hosted outside of the United States, and thus outside the reach of US law. (The Pirate Bay is a prime example of a "foreign rogue website.")
So, SOPA and PIPA are exactly the same?
No, not exactly. While SOPA and PIPA have the same goals, and much of the same provisions, they are not identical. The wording of each section is often only slightly different, though the meaning is the same, making these differences meaningless.
There are a number of key differences, however. Unlike SOPA, PIPA lacks a provision that requires search engines (like Google and Bing) to remove a "foreign infringing site" from their indexes. This provision in SOPA is one of the most highly criticized.
PIPA also contains provisions that require greater court intervention to go after an accused website than SOPA does. But it does not contain any provisions that would penalize copyright holders for misrepresenting the alleged infringing activities of an accused website — a potentially disastrous omission for innocent sites put through the PIPA ringer. SOPA does contain a provision that penalizes those copyright holders who "knowingly materially misrepresent" the alleged infringement of a website by making them "liable for damages, including costs and attorneys' fees, incurred by the person injured by such misrepresentation as a result of the misrepresentation."
Does the lack of a search engine provision make PIPA less offensive to critics?
It has, until now, at least somewhat. But SOPA's search engine provision is far from the only section with which critics found a problem, in either SOPA or PIPA. Both bills require US-based payment services, like PayPal, or American advertisers, to stop doing business with foreign sites that are found to be "dedicated to infringing activities." In addition, both bills currently require Internet service providers to block users from accessing specific websites using a technique known as DNS blocking, which is used in countries like China to block citizens' access to certain websites.
Because of an outcry from a large number of technical experts (including the very people who created the Internet in the first place) who say that DNS blocking could cause damage to the underlying infrastructure of the Internet (the domain name system, or DNS), both Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the chief sponsor of SOPA, and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chief sponsor of PIPA, have agreed to strip the bills of the DNS-blocking provision.
What else do critics dislike about SOPA/PIPA?
Also included in both bills is an anti-circumvention provision, which would make it illegal to inform users how to access blocked sites. According to First Amendment expert Marvin Ammori, a Legal Fellow with the New America Foundation Open Technology Initiative and an Affiliate Scholar at Stanford Law School's Center for Internet & Society, this provision could be interpreted to require any website that features user-generated content (think Facebook, Reddit, or YouTube) to make sure that no circumvention information has been posted to their site, or risk legal action.
Another provision highly cited by critics is the "vigilante" part of SOPA/PIPA, which allows ISPs to voluntarily block access to certain foreign websites, "in good faith," if they have "credible evidence" that these sites are devoted to illegally distributing copyrighted material. Both SOPA and PIPA give immunity to ISPs who take voluntary action against websites that are believed — but not proven — to be dedicated to the illegal distribution of intellectual property. Because of this, critics say the potential to abuse this power is unconscionable.
Finally, critics argue that SOPA and PIPA could severely stifle free speech online. Lawrence Tribe, a renowned constitutional law expert at Harvard Law School, argued in a letter to Congress that SOPA's vague definition of a "rouge website" could potentially suppress free speech without a proper judicial hearing.
"Conceivably, an entire website containing tens of thousands of pages could be targeted if only a single page were accused of infringement," writes Tribe. "Such an approach would create severe practical problems for sites with substantial user-generated content, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and for blogs that allow users to post videos, photos, and other materials."
PIPA's definition of an "Internet site dedicated to infringing activities" appears to be more narrowly defined than SOPA's definition of a "foreign infringing site," but could still potentially apply to the examples cited by Tribe.
If SOPA or PIPA became law, would it mean widespread Internet censorship?
Maybe yes, maybe no. For the most part, critics of these bills are basing their arguments on the potential for abuse — a hypothetical worst-case scenario. In other words, if copyright holders and the US government never exploit the powers granted to them in SOPA/PIPA, no innocent website will be affected. In fact, that is the argument of these bills' supporters; that law-abiding, US-based websites and companies have nothing at all to worry about. But the critics (which include more than a hundred law experts from places like Stanford and Harvard Law) say that the bills are too broad in their language, making them ripe for abuse. The Electronic Frontier Foundation cites instances in which current copyright laws, like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA), have been used by companies to silence speech that they found distasteful.
Protecting intellectual property still seems like an important goal. Are there any proposed alternatives to SOPA/PIPA?
Yes, opponents of SOPA/PIPA have introduced the "Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade" or "OPEN Act," to both the House and the Senate. Rather than give powers of enforcement to the Attorney General, and to copyright holders, OPEN simply expands the Tariff Act of 1930 to allow the International Trade Commission (ITC) to "take action against unfair digital imports or unfair imports that are digitally-facilitated by foreign rogue websites," instead of being limited to physical goods that violate US intellectual property law. This includes requiring financial institutions (again, like PayPal or Internet advertisers) to sever business ties with sites that are found to be in violation of US copyright law. Supporters of SOPA/PIPA say OPEN will be ineffective, and the bill has so far failed to gain any serious traction in either the House or the Senate.
Why has the focus shifted from SOPA to PIPA?
Because House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) told SOPA opponent Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) this weekend that SOPA will not come up for a vote until consensus on the bill is achieved. Prior to Rep. Cantor's assurance that SOPA would not come up for consideration before the House, it appeared likely that the bill — which had broad support in the House — would be voted on, and pass.
Since it is unlikely that anything close to consensus will be achieved anytime soon, the threat of SOPA's passage in the near future is extremely low. That said, the bill is not completely dead, and could be revived at anytime.
PIPA, on the other hand, is still very much alive. It has already passed through committee hearings — a step further than SOPA ever took. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has so far stood firm on bringing PIPA up for a vote before the full Senate on January 24.
Update: It appears that SOPA is not as down-and-out as previously thought. Rep. Smith has vowed to resume markup hearings on the bill in February. That said, support for both SOPA and PIPA is dwindling, with co-sponsors of both bills pulling their support.
Does PIPA have a good chance of becoming law?
Unclear. Currently, the bill still has bipartisan support in the Senate, but it is growing weaker by the day. This past weekend, six Republican senators wrote a letter to Sen. Reid, asking him to postpone a vote on the bill. And the White House issued a statement declaring that it "will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet," a vague threat to veto either SOPA or PIPA, if one of these bills managed to make it all the way to President Obama's desk.
So, what's next?
A mass online blackout on Wednesday, January 18. In an attempt to spread the word about SOPA/PIPA, a number of popular websites — including Reddit, Boing Boing, Destructoid, I Heart Chaos, TwitPic, all 64 sites under the Cheezburger Network, WordPress and more than 3.8 million pages of Wikipedia, among others — will display a page informing visitors the potential consequences of PIPA (or SOPA) becoming law.
Updated with additional information at 12:11am ET
[Wordcloud image created using Wordle.net, with the help of all the words in this article]