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Where: Cape Town, South Africa
Website: Miné Jonker
Who...I was born a 'boere meisie' in a conservative family, in a conservative town called Pretoria, South Africa. Being arty was a good alternative to being boring. I went to a High School for visual and performing arts, which meant I was one of a handful of people in modern history who loved going to school.
After I finished school I went traveling for three years around Europe and the East, which had a huge effect on me. I fell in love with big art museums, old architecture and have continued to be fascinated by different cultures, religions and anthropology ever since I went to India and acted like a real hippy. God only knows why I didn't pick up some strange disease and die from while swimming in the Ganges.
Back home I enrolled in The Open Window School of Visual Communication, but that was dumb, so I moved to Cape Town where I ate very little for a very long time (mainly large amounts of Jungle oats with peanut butter) as I tried to establish myself as an artist and illustrator. I also made and customised clothes for a local boutique and did a correspondence degree in Fine Arts, specialising in Multi-media. If it wasn't for falling into modelling, I would probably never have survived. Nothing glamorous – I did a lot of yogurt and baby nappy TV commercials, which I prayed would never make it to Youtube. My friends still mock me about it.
24/7...I'm currently employed by the Am I Collective, an illustration studio which is a pleasant five minute, downhill walk from where I live, slap bang in the center of Cape Town. I bribed them with cookies to let me work there. I have a view of Table mountain from my desk and a little lucky cat from Hong Kong next to my computer, which keeps me lucky and happy.
The fact that Am I is a flippen kick ass place with amazingly talented and funny guys, also helps (they pay me extra to say these things.) My job mainly involves digital painting. I can listen to audio books while painting for hours on end on this amazing Cintique that I cunningly stole from my Creative Director. I convinced him that it was the reason his side of the office was always too hot. And now… The power is mine!!!
Little precious time...Spare time... hmmm... not much of that at the moment. I still try to squeeze in a bit of traveling, a spot of modelling and some freelance jobs in between work. At Am I we try and do as much non-commercial work as we can make time for. We are currently working on an African themed T-shirt range and we're having our charity exhibition which has been in the pipeline for over a year, called BARE (the auction is on now!). We sent out 50 vinyl bears to 50 different artists to paint and it looking amazing! I also love doing ceramics and having drawing evenings with friends.
My ideal evening is watching a movie or documentary while drawing, which means that I usually don't do either of them properly.
Along the way...My boyfriend showed me Photoshop, which is the coolest thing in my world. I've also learned a lot just from working with clients and other artists/friends/illustrators.
I started with...Well, I used to draw all the time when I was little. My pre-school teacher complained to my mom that I drew too much and didn't interact enough with the other kids, so that much hasn't changed. Everyone at our studio complains about my audio book addiction and anti-social behaviour. As a teenager, I wore Nirvana T-shirts and spent a lot of time on the roof of our house – drawing, writing very deep poetry and staring into nothingness. I've stopped that now.
Big plans...I'm hosting a big 'Garage Art Sale' with my good friend Mikey on the 3rd of October from (you guessed it) the garages in front of our block of flats. We're made up of about 15 artists selling cheap art, lemonade and pancakes. It's like an informal exhibition-slash-neighbourhood-get-together-slash-garage-sale. Should be fun.
Longer term: I'm planning two projects with my boyfriend, Jannes. We want to do art installation pieces, sculptures and LCD screens for video all over Cape Town for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and we also want to publish a book on young South African contemporary artists from all genres. I'm also starting ceramics again and want to improve my cooking.
Love & hate...I love drawing all day. It feels like I'm cheating... how can I get paid for this? I dislike the bad posture I've developed from drawing all day.
Family tree...What was my family like? Weird and Afrikaans and full of boys. My older brother is a writer and painter (and medical doctor). He tends to tell gross stories about his medical experiences at the dinner table, but he did encourage and inspire me a lot during my developing years. He has an amazing imagination and he taught me how to throw a good punch.
My grandmother was a painter and so is my hermit uncle. My aunt used to run a puppet theatre, my cousin is an actor and my dad has a very good sense of aesthetic. So there has definitely been a lot of inspiration and support from my family. My mom has been amazingly supportive and encouraging since I was little.
Hurdles...Mainly my own insecurities about my work. A few years of experience in the ad industry and good feedback has helped a lot. I've also learned how to present myself in a more confident manner – unfortunately you have to be able to sell yourself a bit if you want to convince others that you're able to do the job. I've also learned not to spread myself too thin. I use to take on way too much and then wonder why I'm not seeing more results.
Learning curve...I've learned that sometimes all you need to do is to keep going at an artwork. Most of my pieces look pretty shit at first and only starts coming together when I start crafting it. For me, the most important thing has been to trick myself into not quitting.
Collections...Ceramic pieces, books of all sort, art work from my friends, pretty glasses, antique pieces and clothes that I will never wear.
To get the mojo back...I smoke, doodle with friends, take a look at some of my favourite artists' work which usually either depresses or inspires me.
I have just come back from a trip to Mexico – its colourful culture and people has greatly excited and inspired me. I love traveling and hope to one day be able to make it a bigger part of my lifestyle. Places I'd still love to visit include the rest of Africa, Japan, more of China, Burma, Nepal, Argentina and the rest of South America... the list goes on. Juxtapoz is a favourite magazine, as is National Geographic and Visi (a South African interior and design mag).
Bookmarks...I love the old, traditional fairytale illustrators you find on artsycrafty. I like the variety of things you see on notcot and I love some of the odd photographs on Fffound. Design is kinky, Deviant Art and We are the Image Makers are nice for checking out other artists' work. Stumble Upon can also be mildly entertaining on Monday mornings.
Chilling...I hang out with my man or my friends, drink tea, smoke, draw, walk uphill on a treadmill, visit an antique market, watch documentaries, make dinner or visit my mom.
If I could turn back time...I wish I'd never stopped playing the piano.
Inspiration...Artists Alphonse Mucha, Audry Kawasaki, James Jean, South African history writer Max du Preez, author Frank Herbert from the Dune saga and, off course, my boyfriend. This may seem corny, but go check out their work (Black Heart Gang) and see for yourself.
The dream...Owning a guest house-slash-restaurant-slash-studio-slash-gallery-slash-interior décor shop-slash-project space for workshops for fellow artists somewhere in the countryside.


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subset: commoncrawl


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To be or not to be essential (state worker)
No group of workers, I suspect, want to consider themselves nonessential, except perhaps when it means getting to stay home as the snow piles high and the roads become treacherous.
More than any of his predecessors, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has found himself issuing orders that only essential state employees report to work and that those nonessential folk stay home. This is because the governor has faced more weather emergencies than prior governors - Tropical Storm Irene, the freak snowstorm of October 2011, Superstorm Sandy and, most recently, the blizzard. I am sure I missed a couple.
Such orders always produce snickers, particularly among staunch fiscal conservatives who like to weigh in that, in their opinion, there are plenty of nonessential state workers who should find other jobs permanently. Gov. Malloy has said he is not thrilled with the term, but his administration has yet to come up with a better one.
I asked Andrew Doba, the governor's director of communications, to communicate what exactly constitutes essential and nonessential employees.
"Generally, all police, fire and other public safety related employees are 'essential.' Additionally, those employees who provide security and care for (the) incarcerated, clients, patients and other individuals in the care of the state. Also, some data processing individuals have been designated as essential if they are responsible for the operation of essential state computer systems," Doba explained in his emailed response.
Everyone else is nonessential.
The state can designate some employees as essential if circumstances dictate. Snowplow drivers are essential in a blizzard, for example, nonessential in a hurricane (though highway crews usually have plenty to do in the wake of a disaster).
Labor contracts do not cover who is essential or nonessential, but do make sure that people told to stay home are paid.
As far as the administration can determine, Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. was the first Connecticut governor to use the term "essential" versus "nonessential." With the legislature stalemated over his push to impose an income tax for the first time in the state, and no budget approved, Gov. Weicker ordered nonessential employees to stay home (and not get paid). With many services shut down, pressure on the legislature increased.
When it comes to severe weather, the policy makes sense. During a natural disaster and its immediate aftermath, why send state employees out on the road, causing more work for police and other emergency personnel if they become stranded and, in the case of a snowstorm, getting in the way of cleanup? It is not as if there will be long lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles during a blizzard.
Yet hearing about state workers getting to stay cozy at home is a bit galling for some in the private sector. Many are expected to show up for work even if their jobs are not terribly essential - cashiers at Wal-Mart - and don't get paid if they can't get to work or are told not to come in. Arguably, more businesses, not less, should follow the state's lead.
I asked Doba if he was essential - as he seemingly did not meet the criteria. He explained he must be because he worked 14-hour days during the blizzard. "Communications are of course very important in such situations," he said.
Journalists have long considered themselves essential. During 33 years in this business I have driven through many a snowstorm, and other severe weather event, to and from work. As I have prepared to skid away to work my wife has sometimes asked why exactly is my work essential? Couldn't I write about what happened after the storm is over? And all I do now is write opinions.
While I can't argue that it's essential that the public gets information from the news media about a storm (and other events that may happen during it) as soon as possible - and these days for newspapers that means constant Internet updates - it is something readers have come to expect. During all the chaos it is reassuring; it seems, to know what is going on out there. And after more than three decades of doing this for a living, I'm not about to disappoint them.
Break out the scraper.
Paul Choiniere is the editorial page editor.
Substitute teacher arrested after his gun goes off in first-grade class
Mueller delivers Russia probe report to AG; Blumenthal, Courtney, Murphy weigh in
High school referee Tony Gigliotti and NBA referee Josh Tiven
The demolition of historical buildings in Stonington continues
Mueller delivers Russia probe report to AG; Blumenthal, Courtney, Murphy weigh in
Get Green New Deal facts, ignore Republican mischaracterizations


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sil wrote:Odd thread title. I was a bit worried I'd open it up to find an unflattering picture of a random part of the human body.
this seems to be a good place to remind people that such pictures should be sent to *** via PM, because he is a doctor.


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We're not even quite three months into 2013 yet and already, Janet Jackson is winning. The undisputed queen of sneakaway weddings pulled it off again and announced in brilliant, oh-by-the-way aloofness, that she and Wissam Al Mana, her billionaire businessman boyfriend husband, have actually been married for quite some time. Like since last year. Catch up, y'all.
The secretive mister and missus shuttled a statement over to Entertainment Tonight to squelch speculation about some impending grandiose ceremony, adding just enough detail to hush additional questions: "Our wedding gifts to one another were contributions to our respective favourite children's charities," they statement-ed. "We would appreciate that our privacy is respected and that we are allowed this time for celebration and joy."
And they look beautiful together. Take a gander at this uber gorgeous wedding pic:
Take notes, celebs: if you really want hush-hush nuptials, it can indeed be done. Ms. Janet (consistently) shows us how. You do remember that this isn't her first time on a secretive trip down the aisle? She was married very briefly to fellow singer James DeBarge back when she was just 18—his family didn't know until they saw a magazine cover—and then she secretly jumped the broom with dancer René Elizondo, Jr. in 1991.
(Glad this blog post is almost over. I'm running out of synonyms for "married.")
So to recap why this is shaping up to be JJ's Best Freakin' Year Ever:
1. She's back to being thin and looking svelte and sexy. (Though she never stopped being sexy when she was heavier, which means she's double winning. Chicks who can carry extra weight beautifully always are.)
2. She brought back those box braids like she had in Poetic Justice, making her a re-trend setter.
3. She's in love and she done got hitched.
4. He's cute.
5. He's a billionaire.
6. He's Qatari, and that's a uniquely cool thing to say.
7. He's a billionaire. (Yes, that bears repeating.)
Which celebrity wedding do you wish you could get a special invite to?
Image via -MaDMAn-/Flickr


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Time Warner CEO wishful for an Apple TV set
Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Rumors,
Time Warner CEO, Jeff Bewkes, reiterates wishful sentiments from the cable company that Apple make their own branded television set, and shake up the entire industry, when the question was asked of him at a conference.
"I hope they do," he said, "I think Apple is a great device company."
The Time Warner CEO thinks that Apple can solve the go-to-market-strategy problem with the cable/content business.
"They bring good interface and navigation skills,"
Perhaps an à la carte hardware system is already in the making at the secretive Cupertino labs. Who knows, maybe television and content executives are already privy to the details while deals are being established. Gear Live has reported that Time Warner COO, Rob Marcos, stated that the cable company would be willing to cede control of user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) as long as they can still maintain a relationship with customers.
"It's really all about maximizing the capabilities to get Time Warner customers the best possible experience."
Read More | Business Insider
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Revolver Becoming the Must-See Event of WrestleMania Weekend!
On Saturday, April 1, join Wrestling Revolver at the Wyndham Orlando Resort, 9801 International Drive in Orlando, FL, part of "WrestleCon" for #PancakesAndPiledrivers, becoming the MUST SEE EVENT during WrestleMania weekend!
For the FIRST TIME EVER:
Ricochet vs. Shane Strickland
Japanese Wrestling Legend Masato Tanaka vs. Eddie Kingston!
In a FOUR WAY DANCE:
Mr GMSI Brian Cage vs. REY FENIX vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. ACH
For the FIRST TIME EVER:
Mr. Athletic Jeff Cobb vs. Sami Callihan, The Monsta Montez vs. The Callihan Death Machine!
To declare the first SCRAMBLE CHAMPION, the AR FOX OPEN INVITE SCRAMBLE LADDER MATCH:
AR Fox vs. Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett vs. "MDogg" Matt Cross vs. Lio Rush vs. Serpentico and TWO MORE ENTRANTS!
FANS BRING THE PRESENTS (No Weapons, PLEASE, it's really Closed Out' birthday!)
Closed Out and Ang�lico Official vs. Jake Crist and Dave Crist with JT Davidson!
In a BATTLE OF THE SEXES:
Su Yung faces "Manscout" Jake Manning!
Front Row tickets SOLD OUT and second row going fast. Get yours now at WrestleCon.com. Show support on Facebook at facebook.com/events/352598175087206.
Follow Wrestling Revolver online at facebook.com/pwrevolver, twitter.com/pwrevolver, and instagram.com/pwrevolver.


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This Beauty Organizer is ideal for organizing, make-up, cotton balls, hair ties, cotton swabs and more. No more rummaging through drawers or boxes of accessories. With the Clear Acrylic Beauty Organizer, you can have all the essentials right where you need them, and the clear acrylic design means it looks great no matter where you use it. Made in the USA.
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- Perfect for holding Cotton Swabs, Hair Ties, Cotton Swabs, Makeup and more!
- Product Dimensions: 2¾" H x 3½" W x 3½" D
- Item #: 7-ZA-ZOR1


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2009 Case Settlements
This page last reviewed November 20, 2013
On this page you will find summaries of cases settled in 2009 in lieu of litigation through the Air Resources Board's (ARB's) mutual settlement program and those that were resolved in civil or criminal litigation. Related case documents may be available upon request subject to applicable exemptions from disclosure under California's Public Records Act.
For a list of case summaries from other years, please click on one of the links in the top left hand bar on this page.
Details about case settlements are available by contacting the ARB. For further information about this program, please contact the Enforcement Division at (916) 322-7061 or visit our Enforcement Contacts page for information regarding specific programs.


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We have seen a lot of news about the rise and fall of RIM. Some are happy as they can see how RIM is falling apart even without further investigation, and simply believing in rumors and speculations. Of course, not everyone is affected by the negative news that has been released as they know RIM is still on track and preparing itself to provide a much better services to all.
RIM is indeed not letting their hopes down at this stage as they still have lots of plans, not only for enterprise customers, but also for consumer markets. I have written an article about price reduction of their smartphone in India, and I know for sure that RIM will reduce BlackBerry Smartphone prices in other countries as this is part of their plans for consumer markets primarily to expand their markets.
I was reading some news on the internet the other day and something popped-out about the Android OS. Then I searched different news and articles about Android OS, the good and the bad stuffs. After reading them, it made me think why RIM would not try to acquire Android apps for smartphones as part of their plans. RIM's OS is definitely a top of the line operating system however we cannot hide amongst ourselves that there are still things that need improvements to attain the maximum level of satisfaction being offered to all markets - that is their Applications.
Android apps are like the clones of iOS apps at a cheaper price, if you will compare. However, it does not change the fact that both of them are providing same level of satisfaction to all users. This, for me, is one of the strategies RIM must consider if they will try to keep up, and if they want to keep the ball rolling. I am not saying that "cheaper is better." I just want RIM to somehow anticipate what are the real needs and wants of people in terms of smartphones.
RIM should take into consideration that becoming a small player in the industry while figuring something else is not a lame strategy but rather, a way of providing extra mile to BlackBerry smartphone users. What's stopping them is pride. In situation like this, they have to lower down their pride as it will take them nowhere. They have to face the reality that more and more markets are aiming to have an excellent mobile gadget at a reasonable price. Using the Android apps, for me, is more likely one of their hopes in achieving their goals which is to become stable and to have huge markets worldwide.
Of course, they should still improve their core strength, which are the enterprise markets that brought them to the top years ago. While they are trying to cope up with the needs of the smaller scale market, they must maintain and improve their performance in providing excellent service to enterprise markets.
To sum it up, RIM should focus on how they will be able to provide equal support and service to both consumer and enterprise markets by acquiring other options like Android apps. This is not stepping down their turf but rather, it's just a practical way of gaining more markets at the same time are able to continue providing excellent smartphone experience to everyone.
I believe they are trying their very best to deliver it in time (Android player in OS 10) and all we have to do is trust them, give them undying support and keep on believing with what they can offer to each and every one of us.


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Cape Town's top 10 accolades for 2012
December 24, 2012 Leave a comment
Cape Town is consistently nominated for and awarded accolades for its amazing attractions, including what nature has to offer, its culinary delights and its luxurious accommodation.
This year was no different, and the city walked away with a clutch of awards, including the iconic Table Mountain being inaugurated as one of the New7Wonders of Nature. Table Mountain, with its magnificent views of Cape Town, is a nature-lover's dream, with an abundance of flora and fauna and hiking trails. It is one of the must-dos when you visit Cape Town.
- Cape Town was voted the Number Two City in the World in the Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards 2012.
- It has the highest number of Blue Flag beaches in South Africa, with all of the city's eight submissions having received the coveted international accolade.
- Boulders Beach was voted one of the world's 10 most unique beaches by TripAdvisor. The beautiful beach forms part of the Table Mountain National Park and is home to a colony of African penguins.
- Muizenberg is one of the 20 best surfing towns in the world, as voted by National Geographic. This laid-back seaside village lies on the False Bay coastline. There are a number of surf schools, and each day scores of avid surfers take to the waves.
- Sahara Park Newlands was rated the second-best cricket ground in the world by an expert 40-member panel for The Cricketer magazine. The stadium is home to the Western Province Cricket Club and the Cape Cobras, has seating for 28 000 people, and hosted the opening match of the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Table Mountain forms a magnificent backdrop.
- Cape Town is home to a number of fabulous clubs and bars, including Tjing Tjing, which made the list of The 10 Hottest New Bars Around the World, by Condé Nast Traveler.
- Villa Zest is the trendiest hotel in the world, according to TripAdvisor's Best Hotels 2012. Situated in Green Point, this luxurious boutique hotel has stunning rooftop views, and its decor is a modern take on the 1970s.
- The Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is where floristic magic happens. This year the South African National Biodiversity Institute's Kirstenbosch-SA entry won another gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, in London, UK, for the exhibition, Gateways – a botanical journey.
- Clifton's 3rd beach was voted among the top 10 gay beaches in the world by GayCities.com. Huge granite boulders divide Clifton into four distinct beaches, each with its own personality and crowd
Source – Cape Town's top 10 accolades for 2012


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Well, we are in week 3 of the new year and while I have been making a menu plan, I will admit we haven't been following it, exactly. In general I have made the meals, just not necessarily on the days I "planned". I guess I am still a bit of a "what am I hungry for" and "I don't feel like making that tonight" kind of cook. That being said, I am going to stick with it and maybe it will click. Planning definitely helps when I hit the grocery store.
Carnitas - I bought a big pork roast on sale at Costco yesterday. Some of this will go in to the freezer for another day.
Eating @ In-Laws - I won't be home so the kids and hubby have been invited to my in-laws! Awesome!
Soup - not sure what yet, maybe an Italian soup with sausage & spinach - I will have to let you know
Cheeseburgers & Hashbrowns
Homemade Shrimp & Goat Cheese Pizza (kids will likely just have cheese pizza)
Lunch: Panini Sandwiches
Dinner: Spaghetti & Meatballs
Lunch: birthday party
Dinner: In-laws
I shared on Facebook last week that I made two recipes that I had pinned on Pinterest last week. They both were awesome.
The first was homemade caramel made by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk. Pretty straight forward and very yummy. It is awesome for dipping apples. The boy and I had it for lunch 2 days in a row. Yum!!!
The second recipe was for knock-off Chick-Fil-A Nuggets from My Name is Snickerdoodle. These were absolutely wonderful. Maybe not as good as the original but very tasty. I did 2 versions of these. The first night I followed the recipe and fried them. They were very good although they tasted a bit like the oil.
On night 2 I made this baked version...
I really liked these and of course, they were healthier. (I didn't get a picture of the fried ones, sorry, we were so excited to eat them that it slipped my mind.)
The real secret to the recipe is the addition of powdered sugar in the breading which gives it some sweetness. I never thought about that the nuggets at Chick are sweet, but they kind of are and that is what makes them so tasty. I made a few changes to the original recipe. Since I was baking these, I added some additional sugar to help crisp up the nuggets under the broiler. I also added some Tobasco and cayenne to give the nuggets a bit more flavor and zip. So here is my recipe.
Sweet Baked Chicken Nuggets
2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tbsp Tobasco
1 cups flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Trim away any fat from the chicken and cube them in to bite size pieces. Try to keep them uniform in size so they cook evenly. In a medium bowl whisk the egg and stir in the milk and Tobasco. Place chicken in milk mixture and cover. Let it 'marinate' for 2-4 hours in the fridge (I let mine sit overnight since I made them 2 days in a row). This will make the chicken very nice and tender. Combine your dry ingredients in a bowl or large resealable bag. Add your "marinated" chicken to the dry ingredients and coat. Spread the chicken out on a large baking sheet, leaving space between. Place the pan under the broiler. Watch closely. When the nuggets start to get a bit golden brown, remove the pan and turn over the chicken using tongs. Place back under the broiler to brown the other side. Under the broiler, the heat somewhat carelizes the sugar in the breading which allows the nuggets to turn a golden brown and get a bit of a crunchy crust.
Serve with your favorite dip and enjoy.


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March 17, 2008
Hall of Fame Coach Rob Johnson will call it a career at the end of the track and field season in May, capping a 37-year run as coach, mentor, and friend of the Little Giants.
Johnson took over the Wabash College track and field and cross country programs in 1972. He passed the reins of the cross country program over to one of his many former All-Americans, Roger Busch '96, at the start of the 2007 season.
Johnson, who was inducted in the Wabash College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994, will be honored at a retirement banquet on Saturday, April 19. For more information or to make reservations, contact Michele Tatar in the Alumni and Parent Relations Office by email or phone (765-361-6369).
Coach Johnson was the first Division III coach to serve as an assistant coach with the United States Olympic team when he served the team at the 2000 Sydney Games. He was also the 1995 NCAA Division III Cross Country Coach of the Year when he guided Wabash to a third place finish at the National Championships. He led Wabash to three top-10 finishes at the cross country nationals in the 90s.
He led the Wabash cross country team to six straight conference championships in the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference and Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. His 1995 team posted two perfect scores (15) at the GLCA Championship and Great Lakes Regional. He led the Wabash track and field team to three straight ICAC championships in 1992, 1993, and 1994.
In his first year at the College, Johnson guided the 1972 track team to the ICC Championship (defeating Butler and Valparaiso) and GLCA Championship. All-Americans Ray White and Dick Bowerman represented Wabash at the NCAA College Division National Championships.
Coach Johnson has long been involved with the Olympic Development Committee and helped coach two US Junior National Teams. In 1981, he served as an assistant coach at the National Sports Festival in New York. A year later, he coached sprints, relays, and hurdles in Ethiopia as part of the Olympic Solidarity Project. He was the head track coach for the North Team at the 1983 Olympic Sports Festival in Colorado Springs and later served as an assistant for the US Junior National Team, which set two world records.
A native of Englewood, New Jersey, Johnson was a track and football standout in high school and later attended the University of Idaho, where he graduated in 1965. Johnson was the 1962 Northwest AAU champion in the 440 and was a finalist at the 1963 NCAA Championships in the 220. He earned his master's in education from Purdue University in 1974.


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Where necessary, GAMING.FM - [Games, Video Games and Free Online Games] uses cookies to store information about a visitor's preferences and history in order to better serve the visitor and/or present the visitor with customized content.
Advertising partners and other third parties may also use cookies, scripts and/or web beacons to track visitors to our site in order to display advertisements and other useful information. Such tracking is done directly by the third parties through their own servers and is subject to their own privacy policies.
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Concerns or questions about this privacy policy can be directed to email@example.com for further clarification.
The Quebec government continues to support local developers.
As reported by CTV, the government has announced an investment of $1.5 million into Batman: Arkham Origins developer WB Games Montreal to expand the studio in terms of headcount and technology.
The initial $1.5 million grant is part of a larger $63 million initiative promised to WB Games Montreal for the company to add 100 jobs and buy new equipment by 2018.
The jobs at WB Games Montreal will pay a yearly salary of about $70,000 to employees who are around 30 years old. WB Games Montreal currently employs 325 full-time staff.
"By the end of five years, it'll be 2018, there should be 500 people here and I think we'll be one of the best-known studios in the world," Warner Brothers Interactive president Martin Tremblay said.
Quebec premier Pauline Marois said the video game industry in Montreal is one of the most important markets in the world for production, and the most acclaimed in Canada.
Last week, Ubisoft announced plans to add 500 jobs to its Montreal studio network by 2020, thanks in part to a $9.9 million grant from the Quebec government.
The DualShock 4 controller will work on PCs at launch, Sony has said.
Speaking on Twitter, Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida said the new controller will be able to perform "basic functions" on Windows PCs, adding that "the analog sticks and buttons will work just fine".
Some of the more advanced features of the DualShock 4 controller, and perhaps unlikely to function via the PC, include a light bar, a capacitive touch pad, and motion sensing capabilities. The pad will be available at launch in black, red, and blue colours.
It is unclear if the controller will support PC out of the box, or will require additional drivers in order to function. The PlayStation 3's DualShock 3 controller did not include driver support for PC, though a few third-party workarounds are available.
Microsoft will also release an update for the upcoming Xbox One controller to make it compatible with the PC sometime in 2014.
The PlayStation 4 will launch on November 15 in North America for $399, and on November 29 in Europe for €399/£349.
Grand Theft Auto V has overtaken the lifetime sales of Grand Theft Auto IV in the UK after three weeks on sale, sales tracking company Chart-Track has reported.
Rockstar's latest open-world title sold 1.57 million units in the UK after its first day on sale, overtaking previous record holder Call of Duty: Black Ops' 1.41 million to become the fastest-selling game in UK history.
Chart-Track adds that Grand Theft Auto V is now the UK's 12th best-selling game of all time, and has raked in the fifth largest revenue in gaming records. Grand Theft Auto V has now almost equaled the money made by Call of Duty: Black Ops, the company adds.
This week also saw the launch of Grand Theft Auto Online, with the latest patch for the game--which has been suffering connectivity problems since launch--going live over the weekend.
The massive sales milestone was not enough for Grand Theft Auto V to reclaim the top spot in the UK charts this week from football sim FIFA 14, however. Sales of the annual football franchise have dropped 68 percent in its second week, which is a better result than the 72 percent drop for FIFA 13 this time last year.
Codemasters' F1 2013 entered the charts in third, followed by The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. Just Dance 4 launched in ninth place, with NBA 2K14 landing in seventh.
[UPDATE 3] The GTA Online patch is now available on Xbox 360.
[UPDATE 2] Rockstar Games said this evening that it now expects the GTA Online title update to hit Xbox 360 "sometime overnight." The update aims to address a number of issues, which are listed on the Rockstar Newswire.
[UPDATE] Rockstar Games this morning released the GTA Online patch for the PlayStation 3. The developer is currently working to get it up for the Xbox 360 "as soon as possible."
The original story is below.
Some of Grand Theft Auto Online's numerous bugs and issues could be patched out as early as tomorrow, October 4, Rockstar Games said today.
"We're currently working on a title update for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to address commonly reported issues with GTA Online," the developer said in an update on its website. "We hope to have it out for download as soon as tomorrow."
GTA Online--the multiplayer mode for Grand Theft Auto V--has been beset with numerous issues since launch on Tuesday. In some cases, players have not been able to access the mode at all.
Yesterday, Rockstar removed microtransactions from GTA Online.
The launch issues for GTA Online were expected. Ahead of release last week, Rockstar said players should expect various "growing pains," including crashes, glitches, "crazy bugs," and gameplay modes and mechanics that need rebalancing.
These issues are "inevitable," Rockstar said at the time, due to the "massive" nature of the open-world game.
For more on GTA Online, check out GameSpot's "Five Tips to Get You Started in GTA Online" feature.
Development on the upcoming Wii U Legend of Zelda game is "going well," series producer Eiji Aonuma told 4Gamer in a new interview translated by Siliconera.
"Its going well!, Aonuma said, explaining that the new game will use the Wii U GamePad in "various ways." None of these were specified.
Also in the interview, Aonuma was asked about his recent comment that he is "tired" of making Zelda games. This quote was misinterpreted, he said, because he really meant he is tired of making games based on the same formula.
When I say Im tired, Im not talking about making Zelda, but rather, the same constituent that has been used to make Zelda up until now," Aonuma said. "While on the subject, in regard to how weve always done things the traditional way until now: Why does it have to be traditional? Thats the question Ive been asking myself.
If we dont change that, we cant make something new. Were slightly approaching The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds with that mindset, and also the next Zelda title, which we intend to continue changing," he added. "However, this brings us to the topic, Exactly what is The Legend of Zelda about?
Aonuma said something that is "traditional" is something that, in a sense, copies from the work that came before it. By continuing to do this, a franchise's uniqueness can fade away, he said.
"So, by no means, am I tired of it, Aonuma said. Rather, the more we change it, the more I get fired up. Having someone think Huh? Is this Zelda?! at first, then Oh, it is Zelda, is what were going for. Something that wouldn't make it matter whether Link or Princess Zelda appear in it or not. Something where it wouldn't even matter if Zelda is actually a princess, or not.
Aonuma will discuss the Legend of Zelda series during a New York Comic Con panel next week in New York City.
Valve today announced system specifications for its Steam Machine prototype, which the company will ship to 300 users this year as part of a limited hardware testing program.
In a statement on the Steam Community website, Valve described its prototype as "something special." It is built from off-the-shelf PC parts and is fully upgradable, meaning users can swap out the GPU, hard drive, CPU, or the motherboard if they want to.
"To be clear, this design is not meant to serve the needs of all of the tens of millions of Steam users," Valve said about its prototype. "It may, however, be the kind of machine that a significant percentage of Steam users would actually want to purchase--those who want plenty of performance in a high-end living room package. Many others would opt for machines that have been more carefully designed to cost less, or to be tiny, or super quiet, and there will be Steam Machines that fit those descriptions.
Valve said it is not ready to share a picture of its prototype because "they're not finished enough." However, the company said it will post images of the device before units ship to testers this year. Valve also expects users to redesign the machine from a technical perspective and from an industrial design angle, changing the enclosure in new ways.
"So high-powered SteamOS living room machines are nice, and fun to play with, and will make many Steam customers happy. But there are a lot of other Steam customers who already have perfectly great gaming hardware at home in the form of a powerful PC," Valve said.
"The prototype we're talking about here is not meant to replace that. Many of those users would like to have a way to bridge the gap into the living room without giving up their existing hardware and without spending lots of money," Valve added. "We think that's a great goal, and we're working on ways to use our in-home streaming technology to accomplish it--we'll talk more about that in the future."
Valve's Steam Machine, as well as units made by a variety of companies, will be available beginning in 2014. Hardware specifications for those machines will differ, in many cases substantially, from Valve's system, the company said.
Pricing has not been announced.
Valve ended its announcement today by telling fans to stay tuned for a "closer look" at the Steam Controller.
Riot Games has announced an all-new challenger competition for League of Legends. Through a partnership with Coke Zero, the event will run in tandem with the League Championship Series when it begins again in 2014.
"It's definitely important to foster competitive play at all levels. The Challenger league is a big step in the right direction," Riot Games head of eSports Dustin Beck said.
"It'll provide exposure to the next generation of pro-level teams and players, and give them crucial event experience and stability," he added. "Coke's sponsorship is unique--they recognized the importance of this aspirational level, they're as excited about it as we are."
According to the official announcement, the new challenger series will support rising teams that are hoping to gain entry into the LCS in North America or Europe. Weekly matchups will be broadcast live on lolesports.com.
Top-ranked teams from the Ranked 5s Challenger Tier will play against each other in the challenger series. When the series comes to a close, the highest placed teams will play in a championship tournament for a chance to go to the LCS.
Third-person zombie game State of Decay has now sold more than 1 million copies, up from 500,000 in June, developer Undead Labs announced today. This figure includes Xbox 360 and Steam Early Access sales, the developer said.
"We are humbled by your continuing support and enthusiasm for the ideas in State of Decay," Undead Labs said in a statement. "Your encouragement drives us to keep working and keep improving. You got us here with your energy, your feedback, and your telling your friends about us. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts and brains."
Undead Labs also said it is "so close" to having news to share about the first downloadable content pack for State of Decay. No further information about the expansion was announced.
2K Games announced today the Borderlands 2 $100,000 Loot Hunt, an upcoming event that offers in-game and real-world prizes for players. The event kicks off on October 11 at 10 a.m. EDT and concludes on November 7 at 5 a.m. EDT.
Every day during the event, a special daily target will be displayed in-game. Players can take down the daily targets once a day for a total of 28 entries. On top of weekly sponsored prizes (listed below), one player will win $50,000 and four others will win varying amounts of cash totaling another $50,000.
More than a year after release, Borderlands 2 has "hundreds of thousands" of players, 2K said.
Those interested in participating in the $100,000 Borderlands 2 Loot Hunt event can log in to a special website using their SHiFT account information. Community goals will also be offered as part of the promotion, rewarding users with a "uniquely super-awesome gun" if players cumulatively kill enough enemies singled out in the daily community goals.
In addition to the cash prizes mentioned above, 2K will offer the following throughout the duration of the Borderlands 2 Loot Hunt.
Only United States players are eligible for the cash and sponsored prizes, though all players worldwide can participate in the community-based goals, 2K said.
Borderlands 2 was originally released in September 2012. It has since shipped over 7 million copies and is on pace to become the highest-selling title in the history of 2K. A Game of the Year Edition will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on October 8.
Xbox One maker Microsoft has brushed aside the notion that the mobile market of smartphones and tablets is eating away at the traditional console business.
"I think mobile is great for home consoles," Microsoft Studios corporate vice president Phil Spencer told GameSpot in a new interview. "It creates more gamers. I think playing on televisions is a special experience and I love playing on my phone as well."
Spencer pointed to Skulls of the Shogun--which was released simultaneously across the Xbox 360, Windows Phone, and Windows--as an example of how mobile can work successfully in tandem with consoles.
"I can play Skulls of the Shogun across any screen and my save game is in the cloud and transfers to any device. So I can actually progress through that experience whether I'm sitting there playing on my phone, on my tablet, or on my Xbox 360," Spencer said. "And I feel like I'm playing one instance of the game across all those screens."
Spencer said these kinds of cross-platform experiences are something Microsoft is going to invest in more heavily going forward.
"I think you're going to see more and more of that out of games that we've announced and things that we haven't announced yet," Spencer said, pointing out that next-generation games Fable Legends and The Division will allow for play on consoles as well as mobiles.
Microsoft brought one of its tentpole franchises--Halo--to mobile earlier this year through the top-down third-person shooter Halo: Spartan Assault. Spencer said this game--the first entry in the series designed for touch controls--has been received well, but made clear that Microsoft isn't gearing up to release a Halo first-person shooter on mobiles anytime soon.
"I want it to be native to the control that works. So we obviously did Halo: Spartan Assault on Windows and it's doing really well. That first-person shooter control that I love with a controller in my hand on my console...I've yet to see a perfect adaptation in a touch experience. And I don't want to create Halo FPS on touch just to say I did it, to check a box. I want to make sure it's great."
Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee forced Curt Schilling's video game company 38 Studios into bankruptcy, according to the former head of Rhode Island's Economic Development Corporation.
In court filings obtained by the Boston Globe, Keith Stokes claimed that Chafee impeded 38 Studios' efforts to restructure its debt or raise additional capital to keep the company afloat in late 2011 and early 2012.
The filing also claims that Chafee refused to meet with 38 Studios executives in 2011 to discuss the issues the Kingdoms of Amalur studio was facing. 38 Studios went bankrupt last year, leaving Rhode Island on the hook for an estimated $90 million related to a controversial $75 million loan that brought 38 Studios from Massachusetts to Rhode Island in 2010.
A spokesperson for Chafee's office had no comment when approached by the Boston Globe. The paper points out that Chafee, who was opposed to the deal, insists that he did everything in his power to help 38 Studios remain financially solvent.
Last November, the state of Rhode Island sued Schilling, Stokes, and other members of the team that orchestrated the 2010 deal, claiming they knew the company would run out of money, but did not raise these concerns to the board. In total, the state's complaint includes 17 counts of alleged wrongdoing, including fraud, unjust enrichment, civil conspiracy, and negligence.
Stokes and Schilling deny the allegations, saying 38 Studios did in fact disclose its financial situation to the necessary parties. Schilling has been particularly outspoken about Chafee, calling the governor a "dunce of epic proportions" last summer.
A 38 Studios liquidation auction will take place next month. Featured in the auction are a number of intellectual property assets in the Amalur fantasy universe. These include the massively multiplayer game Project Copernicus, sequel rights to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and merchandise rights and revenue streams associated with the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.
Also featured in the auction are intellectual property rights for Big Huge Games franchises, including Rise of Nations, Rise of Legends, and Catan.
After saying in March that an offline mode for SimCity "didn't fit with our vision," Maxis has confirmed the formation of a special team focused on investigating the possibility of introducing an offline mode for the city-building game.
"Right now we have a team specifically focused on exploring the possibility of an offline mode," Maxis general manager Patrick Buechner said on the SimCity forums. "I cant make any promises on when we will have more information, but we know this is something that many of our players have been asking for."
"While the server connectivity issues are behind us, we would like to give our players the ability to play even if they choose not to connect," he added. "An offline mode would have the additional benefit of providing room to the modding community to experiment without interfering or breaking the multiplayer experience."
It was first suggested that Maxis was considering an offline mode for SimCity in July, when an Electronic Arts customer survey asked fans if they would be interested in such a feature.
The announcement came as part of a wider blog post regarding the state of the game seven months after launch. Buechner recalled the game's rocky release, saying, "Our launch wasn't what anyone on the team hoped for," noting that "we think about this every single day."
Still, Buechner said Maxis is "proud of how far we've come over the past few months." SimCity has sold over 2 million copies since release. Last month, Maxis announced the game's first expansion, Cities of Tomorrow, which will be released in November.
"I want you to know that we are listening to your feedback. We dig deep into the forums, Facebook posts, and Twitter feeds every day to see what players are talking about," he said. "There is a lot of feedback and there is a clear passion for SimCity. That's great to see. And while we appreciate positive feedback, we take very seriously the players who have criticisms. Players have high expectations of what goes into our games and we have an obligation to deliver."
Buechner said Maxis "continuously" reviews this feedback in tandem with its own in-game telemetry to help the developer decide where to focus its efforts going forward. As an example of this, Buechner pointed out that Maxis has released seven major updates for SimCity since launch, addressing issues with traffic within the Glassbox Engine, among other things.
Buechner also confirmed a report from earlier this week about user-generated content coming to SimCity.
"Maxis has a long tradition of supporting User Generated Content (UGC) and the UGC community. We have begun a discussion with our players with the ultimate goal of giving you space to mod while assuring all our players that the multiplayer gameplay experience is safe and has integrity," he said. "It's difficult to determine what makes a 'good' or safe mod and what mods cross the line. Clarifying guidelines for UGC will help players understand where that line is. We want to have an open discussion with our community about what you want out of SimCity and hear your thoughts about UGC guidelines. To join the discussion go here."
Lastly, Buechner revealed that Maxis will not introduce bigger city sizes to SimCity, despite exploring the technical possibilities of this for "months."
"I confirm that we will not be providing bigger city sizes," he said. "The system performance challenges we encountered would mean that the vast majority of our players wouldn't be able to load, much less play with bigger cities. We've tried a number of different approaches to bring performance into an acceptable range, but we just couldn't achieve it within the confines of the engine."
"We've chosen to cease work on bigger city sizes and put that effort into continuing to evolve the core game and explore an offline mode," he added. "Some of the experiments we conducted to improve performance on bigger cities will be rolled into future updates to improve overall game performance."
BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode One will be released this holiday, Irrational Games has confirmed with Joystiq. It is the first of two new expansions for the game set in the original BioShock's Rapture.
Irrational Games studio head Ken Levine said the first episode will be released "before the holiday," while part two's release date is not set yet. Irrational Games director of marketing Leonie Manshanden said, "It's not done yet; we don't have a date yet."
Both expansions are described as narrative-driven and meant to tie the story of Elizabeth and Booker together.
Gameplay has been modified to give players an "original BioShock combat experience" that aims to meld the best parts of BioShock and BioShock Infinite. It will also include new weapons, new Plasmids/Vigors, Tears, Sky-Lines, and Big Daddies.
Burial at Sea - Episode Two will have gamers playing as Elizabeth "as she seeks to bring closure to her story" and the overall BioShock Infinite narrative. This content is also set in Rapture.
Episode One and Episode Two will sell for $15 each when they launch and are included with the $20 BioShock Infinite DLC season pass.
The creative director for The Last of Us, Neil Druckmann, has revealed that the development team behind the game was originally assembled to produce a new entry in Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter series, which was last seen on the PlayStation 2.
Speaking at a keynote address for IGDA Toronto 2013, Druckmann explained the history behind the formation of the team behind The Last of Us, and explained the process behind the creation of the title.
"Back in 2009, our presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra, we had just shipped Uncharted 2 and it was pretty successful for us," said Druckmann. "And they decided there's a lot of people in the team that were very talented but eager to do other stuff, maybe above the role they were at. They were like, let's start branching out. Let's create this second team."
"Our task was to reboot Jack and Daxter," said Druckmann. "We spent a long time exploring the world of Jak and Daxter, and how would we reboot it, what would it mean to bring these characters back, what were some story ideas that we were getting excited by."
"We found the ideas we were passionate about were kind of getting away from what Jak and Daxter was. We were questioning, 'Are we doing this for marketing reasons? Naming something Jak and Daxter, when it's not really Jak and Daxter? Or are we really passionate about it?'
"And the answer is we felt like it was more for marketing... We felt like we weren't doing service to what the fans of this franchise really liked, even if the reinvented Daxter was pretty damn good looking."
"So we went to our boss and said, 'Do we have to do this?' And he said 'No. I thought it would just be easier for you guys if you started with something. But if you want to do something else, come up with something else.'"
Druckmann went on to explain that the core idea behind The Last of Us came in 2004 when he was a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon and had to pitch the idea of a zombie game to Night of the Living Dead director George Romero.
The pitch, which Romero turned down, combined the mechanics of Ico with the world of Night of the Living Dead, with a central character modeled on Hartigan from Sin City. The player would take the role of an old police officer with a heart condition who had to protect a young girl, with the player switching to her perspective when the man ran into medical issues. The game would end with the police officer getting bitten and infected.
Years later, when Druckmann was working at Naughty Dog, he pitched the idea as a story called The Turning, turning the male lead into a former convict who had lost his daughter and was protecting the girl to redeem himself.
When Naughty Dog formed its second studio, Druckmann and game director Bruce Straley kicked around the idea of a game called Mankind, which would feature the protagonist guiding the first immune girl around a world where the cordyceps virus had infected all of the planet's women.
Druckmann said Mankind never came to light because it was a "misogynistic idea." Female co-workers at Naughty Dog would say to Druckmann that, while they understood the idea, "the way it's coming off is you're having a bunch of women turning into monsters and you're shooting them in the face."
The full keynote, which runs for an hour and 20 minutes, is now available to watch online.
Grand Theft Auto V was developed by more than 1,000 people across multiple Rockstar Games studios, Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies told Develop in a new interview.
Benzies said production on "giant" Rockstar titles--like GTAV or Red Dead Redemption--is no longer handled by one studio alone, but rather multiple internal studios working in tandem.
"That's the way we work now--everyone works on GTA, or Red Dead, and so on, then we move on to the next thing," Benzies said. "Now that it takes 1,000 people to make a game; that's a requirement. But we don't want 1,000 in one place."
Asked if it took 1,000 people to develop GTAV, Benzies said, "It's probably more. Much more." Rockstar North's headcount alone is 365 people.
The reason the number of developers has risen is because of the size of the project, Benzies said. The GTAV gameworld is reportedly larger than Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Grand Theft Auto IV combined.
"And that's because of the size of the thing, we are modelling at such a minute detail," Benzies said. "Once upon a time the car models have four moving parts. Now there are 15 alone in a cars retractable roof. The detail is 10, 20 times greater than GTAIV, so it takes 10, 20 times more people."
GTAV launched last month for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, generating a record-setting $800 million on launch day alone and $1 billion in three days. Versions of the game for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are likely to be released in 2014, according to one analyst.
The game's multiplayer mode--Grand Theft Auto Online--arrived on Tuesday and has faced numerous bugs and issues. Rockstar has released a title update aiming to address the issues on the PlayStation 3, while the studio plans to roll out the patch on the Xbox 360 soon.
Those concerned about the potential for the Xbox One's Kinect camera to scan their face and upload that data to the cloud can breathe a sigh of relief. Microsoft director of product planning Albert Penello said in a NeoGAF post that this won't happen for privacy reasons.
The confirmation came as part of a post from Penello addressing questions about the Kinect as it relates to NuAds--interactive advertising--on the Xbox platform. He said the next-generation Kinect was not designed with ad functionality in mind.
In a previous interview, Penello suggested that because the Xbox One's Kinect can read facial expressions and determine levels of engagement, Microsoft could provide this data to advertisers.
"This is the point that seems to draw some controversy," Penello said.
However, "nobody is working on that" kind of technology at the moment, Penello said. "We have a lot more interesting and pressing things to dedicate time towards. It was an interview done speculatively, and I'm not aware (emphasis original) of any active work in this space."
If such an advertising initiative were to come to fruition, Penello said users can be sure that it would not happen without people having full control over it. "Period," he said.
At present, Penello explained that the Xbox One's Kinect can recognize a user's face and log them in directly. He said there could be some "cool features" Microsoft could enable if it stored this data in the cloud, such as being able to be auto-recognized at a friend's house. However, "for privacy reasons, your facial data doesn't leave the console," he said.
"I'll say this--we take a lot of heat around stuff we've done and I can roll with it," Penello said. "Some of it is deserved. But preventing Kinect from being used inappropriately is something the team takes very seriously."
Germany's federal data protection commissioner Peter Schaar said in May that the Xbox One is like a "monitoring device" because it records "all sorts of personal information" about users. Microsoft has since clarified its Xbox One privacy policy, saying that the Kinect can be paused during games and entertainment and that the system will seek user permission before sharing personal data.
The Xbox One launches on November 22. A recent report from the International Data Corporation stated that the PlayStation 4 will outsell the Xbox One this holiday due to its lower price point, among other things.
The main voice actors behind Grand Theft Auto V have spoken out to say the recently released open-world game does not glamorize violence. In an interview with PCAdvisor, the three actors said Rockstar North's production is about more than violence.
"Anyone who has any conception at all about the games and hasn't played them should go play the games before they open their mouths," said Ned Luke, who plays Michael de Santa.
"The biggest misconception is that it glamorizes violence. It really doesn't," he added. "If you look at my character, Michael, he's rich, but he's a miserable man. Even in the commercials you see that. This is a guy who's struggling with his life's decisions."
What players can take from GTAV, Luke said, is that Michael is a man who loves his family, but is lost along the way.
"He's trying to become a good guy, but he can't. He just has all these demons that he's battling. It's the struggle. Take that and look at how he loves his family even though he wants to kill them and that's what it is," Luke said. "Look for the relationships. Look for the humor. Look for the irony and the satire in the game. That's another big misconception, 'What, do they think we're serious?'"
Steven Ogg, who plays the superviolent Trevor Philips in GTAV, said he believes video games are simply an "easy scapegoat" when real-world violence erupts.
"There's a lot of intense stuff out there. Video games are just an easy scapegoat" --Trevor voice actor Steven Ogg.
"The hypocrisy drives me crazy," Ogg said. "It just sets the wrong focus. Why not talk about gun control? Why not talk about parenting? Why not talk of lack of family values? There are so many other things to talk about. Look at what's on TV. Breaking Bad had that episode where ********** got his face blown off. There's a lot of intense stuff out there. Video games are just an easy scapegoat. My nephew plays this game. I asked my sister if she was worried because there's some pretty nasty stuff in there, and she said, 'I know he's not going to go to school tomorrow with a gun. He's not like that.'"
Shawn Fonteno--a former gang member--brought the character of Franklin Clinton to life in GTAV. He said a misconception exists that games are "just for kids," making it easier for some to criticize the game as marketing violence to children, even though it is labeled M for Mature.
"People already have it in their mind that GTA is for kids because it's a game," Fonteno said. "Then they hear about the violence and they're instantly going to attack because it's a game. Now, if it was a movie it would be a different story and these same people would be out there supporting it. GTAV is like a movie. Once they get the game in their hands, they'll see. It says it big as day--Mature. It's not for the kids to go get. It's for Mature audiences only. If kids get it, then that's on their parents."
Ultimately, Luke said a game like GTAV--just like a gangster film like Goodfellas--is alluring because it allows players to experience a fantasy scenario of power. He said even though the game is violent (he does not allow his 11-year-old son to play it) people should not take a game like GTAV so seriously because it's just meant to be fun.
"GTA allows you to tap into everything that you can't do in real life," Luke said. "In real life, you don't get to go out and rampage and do all these bad things. Gangster movies have been huge forever--Godfather, Casino, Goodfellas, all the way back to Jimmy Cagney. People lose themselves in the bad boy. And there isn't anybody badder than the dudes in GTA. That's why they're so popular. You get to actually go out and do all these horrible things."
"As an actor, I got to go out and do all these crazy things and then go back home to my wife and my son and go out in the backyard and throw a baseball around like a normal all-American dad," he added. "I think that's what these games are. People who take them too seriously and go, 'Oh, this is life.' No, this isn't life. This is imagination. It's just fun. You definitely don't want GTA raising your children. But it's not a bad release from them, when you need to get away."
GTAV launched last month for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, generating a record-setting $800 million on launch day alone and $1 billion in three days. Versions of the game for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are likely to be released in 2014, according to one analyst.
Development on upcoming military shooter Homefront 2 is progressing positively, Crytek general manager Nick Button-Brown said in the latest issue of Develop (via Videogamer).
"The team in Nottingham--Crytek UK--is making great progress on our reinvention of Homefront," Button-Brown said.
He added that Crytek UK "has a number of projects we haven't talked about yet," though no further details were provided.
The 2011 original Crytek was developed by the since-shuttered Kaos Studios out of New York City and shipped 2.6 million copies.
Crytek purchased the Homefront franchise from THQ during the company's bankruptcy auction earlier this year for $544,000.
Story details for Homefront 2 have not been divulged, though Crytek said previously that it intends to create a game that "takes the series to new heights."
The Battlefield 4 beta is now open to all players across Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Players will need 1.56GB of free hard drive space to download the beta.
The beta originally launched on Tuesday for those who preordered the Battlefield 4 PC Digital Deluxe Edition, Battlefield 3 Premium members, and owners of Medal of Honor: Warfighter Limited or Digital Deluxe Edition.
The Battlefield 4 beta features the Siege of Shanghai map in Conquest or Domination mode. New features, and elements like Levolution and Amphibious Assault, will be featured in the beta.
The beta ends on October 15.
Battlefield 4 launches on October 29 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The PlayStation 4 version arrives on November 12, while the Xbox One iteration hits November 19.
Players can begin their progress on current-generation versions and have that experience carry over to the next-generation version for a $10 upgrade fee.
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Story maps are lightweight web apps. They combine web maps created using ArcGIS Online, ESRI's mapping system, with multimedia content-text, photos, video, and audio-to let you know about the rich diversity of Oregon/Washington BLM's programs and places.


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One Life to Live's Hillary B. Smith Joins General Hospital — as Nora Buchanan
Feb 1, 2017 9:54 AM EST
Hillary B. Smith is bringing her One Life to Live character, Nora Buchanan, to General Hospital. The soap's executive producer, Frank Valentini, revealed the news in a Twitter video showing Smith in character as Nora. At the end of the clip, the two-… Read more


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Fullscreen Photography Theme for WordPressSimpolio is a clean Photography WordPress theme for creative, portfolio and any creative photography related web site. Built with the latest Wordpress features.
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Photo on the cover of the book features Angel Riccio's Brownie Heart Cupcake, pg 2 (more on Angel below).
"There's plenty of intelligence in the world, but the courage to do things differently is in short supply."
Marilyn vos Savant
Columnist, Author and Lecturer
Great quote, isn't it!
It resonates with the book we produced because our courage was a collective one,
thus, the more people, the more courage, and ultimately a courageous project =
more effective in getting our message across.
Our message is this: the people of Haiti still need our help.
Sure, we all gave $ to a charity back in January, but now, 8 months later that $ has been spent by MSF Canada and FINCA Canada, and they need more to continue their aid work.
The Interprovincial Group printed 1000 copies of Cupcakes for Haiti, for free. Free takes a lot of courage.
Rachael Muir designed the January cupcake bake sale poster for free, then went on to tackle the design of the book, for free. She is a very busy Art Director, mother of two, wife, philanthropist and wonderful friend. Free time is scarce and takes a lot of courage.
Brian Gahan photographed the cupcakes over a period of three weekends. He is a very busy partner at an ad agency, he's a father of two, awesome husband, philanthropist and supporter of many local and international causes. Like Rachael, his free time is scarce. You may think I'm partial to his charm, but it's authentic, and I have loved him for over 12 years because of his courage.
I define community as the people who you can call on the phone, near or far, people we bump into on the street daily, or yearly, people we include in emails, people we've never met in person but chat with on twitter, the word community is endless, like a circle, to me, courage and community are inseparable. Thank you for everyone who has been a part of the Cupcakes for Haiti community, and those that are yet to join the circle.
The Cupcakes for Haiti community is growing day-by-day, here are a few links to get you acquainted with some of the courageous people that enrich our cause (see sidebar for more). Follow these people, learn about them, support them and your community will grow too.
Kari @ ActivekidsClub
Brandie @ Parent Central and The Star.
Kathleen @ good egg communications
Amanda @ FamilyNature
Amanda @ Desmond and Beatrice
ActsofSweetness @ Acts of Sweetness
Joanna @ InsideToronto
Rick Declute @ Team DeClute - RE/MAX Hallmark
Shirley @ Beaufort Decor
Angel @ Shine Blogspot
Thanks for listening. XO
Friday, October 1
What is community?
Posted by village mama at 12:03 p.m.
2 comments:
- Lori said...
you rock. i'm glad you're in my community. :)
- 1:12 p.m.
- village mama said...
Means the world to get this compliment from you, someone who I think rocks really hard. I'm glad you're in my community too Lori. I just know that sooner or later our paths will cross in the flesh! xo
- 4:30 p.m.
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From inside the book
57 pages matching personality factors in this book
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Results 1-3 of 57
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Editors Introduction
The Relationship Between IntroversionExtraversion
Neuroticism and School AttainmentA Linear Relation
32 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
academic ambiverts Analogies ability analysis of variance attainment average boys Brit cent level cloze College cyclothymia delinquency dysthymics educ experimental extra extraversion scores extraversion-introversion extraverts and introverts Furneaux girls greater H. J. Eysenck high anxiety high N higher honour point ratios hypothesis hysterical I-E test indicate individual intelligence interaction interest intro introversion-extraversion investigation job incentives Kegan Paul lie scale log speed London Maudsley Personality Inventory mean scores measures MMPI myocardial infarction N scale nervous system neurotic neuroticism and extraversion neuroticism scores non-swimmers normal obtained pairs patients pattern performance personality dimensions personality factors population predicted Psychol Psychology questionnaire rank reactive inhibition reading test relationship sample schizophrenic second-order factors significant differences significantly social extraversion standard student teaching subjects suggested super ego Table tend tendency theory Thinking I-E tion traits validity variables verts Yerkes-Dodson law


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Lindsay Lohan can find trouble pretty much anywhere ... most recently on the streets of West Hollywood, where she was corralled by L.A. County Sheriff's deputies.
Lindsay was going twice the speed limit -- allegedly -- when she was pulled over Sunday at around 9 PM. According to the ticket, Lindsay -- who was driving a Porsche -- was clocked going 59 mph in a 30 mile zone.
File under the category -- The Least of Her Problems.
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Show catalogue record
High Constable's Truncheon
1839 - 1869
This truncheon was worn
by the High Constable of Croydon.
It was a sign of importance
rather than a weapon.
Before 1840 police were elected locally.
The High Constable was in charge
of all the police in the area.
Unknown source
These accounts
of arrests made in Croydon
are read by an actor:
"Richard Smith of Whyteleafe, a labourer,
was charged with being disorderly
by fighting at Shirley."
"A little boy, Stephen Buckler,
was charged with wandering
at North Park, Croydon.
He said that his parents and relations
had all died in the winter
and he had not slept in a bed for 5 months.
PC 181 took him to the police station."
A police force for Croydon
Before 1800 policemen were not paid.
They were local men
who were elected by each Parish.
From 1829 Croydon's Policemen
were paid for their work.
They weren't always popular.
People complained
that they drank and swore
and there were cases
of police brutality.
Police had little training
and they had to deal with everything
from violence to welfare work.
In 1840, the London Metropolitan Police
was set up by Sir Robert Peel.
Find out more
To find out more about early policing
in Croydon
you can visit the Research Room to look at:
• Local newspapers from the 1860s
• Street directories which mention the police
in Croydon
The Research Room is on the
lower ground floor of the Clocktower,
It is open Tuesday-Saturday


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Author Notes: One of the many reasons steak is well loved I think, is it's versatility. It goes with so many wonderful flavor combinations. This time of year, when cherries are abundant at the markets, I make Red Onion Jam with them and pair them with steak, a salad, and a little blue cheese. Everything can be made ahead and just assembled for dinner. —TheWimpyVegetarian
Serves: 2
Red Onion Jam
2 medium red onions, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/8 cup (1 ounce) granulated sugar
1/8 cup (1 ounce) brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup (about 12) fresh, sweet, ripe cherries, pitted
1/3 cup red wine (Pinot Noir and Zinfandel work well)
1 tablespoons sherry vinegar
3/4 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Steak Sandwich
slices of Na'an bread
2 cups arugula, washed and dried - enough for 2 sandwiches
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 pound flank steak
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
crumbled blue cheese
In This Recipe
Red Onion Jam
- Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the red onion and toss to coat. Once the onion begins to soften and melt into the saute pan, add the sugars, salt and pepper. Toss well again and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for approximately 30 minutes, turning the onions occasionally. By then the onions should begin to caramelize. If not, cook longer. Tip: the more the onions are tossed around in the saute pan, the slower they will caramelize. I toss mine around about every 5 minutes.
- When they begin to caramelize, add the wine, sherry wine vinegar and cherries. Continue to cook on medium-low heat another 15 minutes until the cherries are very soft, the liquid is absorbed / cooked off, and the onions are caramelized.
- Remove from the heat and toss in the fresh thyme leaves. Let cool to room temperature.
Steak Sandwich
- Salt both sides of the flank steak and bring to room temperature, about 30 - 45 minutes. Using a paper towel, dab any moisture off the steak surfaces.
- Combine the brown sugar, salt, thyme, and ground peppers in a small bowl. Rub on the dry steak surfaces. Heat up the grill. Grill the steak over direct heat about 4 minutes per side for medium rare.
- Toast the Na'an bread on the grill. Toss the arugula in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Set aside.
- Assemble your sandwiches: Spread a good thickness of the red onion jam on the toasted bread. Place the arugula on top. Sprinkle a some blue cheese on a cutting board and place the steak on top of it. Slice the meat against the grain. Sprinkle more blue cheese on top and layer the slices over the arugula.
- Pour the rest of the Pinot Noir or Zin in a couple wine glasses and relax.
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Flank Steak
More Great Recipes:
Sandwich|Arugula|Beef|Blue Cheese|Jam/Jelly|Onion|Steak|Thyme|Vinegar|Sherry|Grill/Barbecue|Entree


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HARMAN Audio System Highlights Major Sound Upgrade at Historic Lerner Theatre
[caption id="attachment_22344" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Vista AV recently upgraded the audio system at the historic Lerner Theatre with components from HARMAN's AKG, Crown, JBL and Soundcraft."]
[/caption]ELKHART, Indiana — In a major overhaul of the 87-year-old Lerner Theatre in Elkhart, Indiana, audio integrator Vista AV recently completed a sound upgrade featuring components from HARMAN's AKG, Crown, JBL and Soundcraft. The renovation added 6,000 square feet of meeting space, seating capacity and an expanded moveable stage.
The main theater area is outfitted with 20 JBL VERTECA® VT4887ADP-DA compact powered line array elements outfitted with JBL DrivePackA® technology Crown-designed amplifier modules, as well as four SRX712M and six VRX915M stage monitors powered by Crown amplifiers. The existing theatre system was also supplemented with two JBL SRX718 powered subwoofers and three JBL AC18/26 compact loudspeakers. A host of AKG microphones including the D5, D40, P5, and P6 have also been added to the upgraded house system, while a Soundcraft Vi4 digital console was installed to handle both front of house and monitor mixing.
"This was a challenging installation because we were dealing with an existing historic structure that was not at all accommodating to modern technology," stated Cyril Oake, Project Manager for Vista AV.
"Using the built-in Crown amplifier modules with the VT4887ADP-DA speakers allowed for fast rigging of the arrays and combination of the DP module and the JBL speakers not only provided a clean professional look for the install, but sonically met the needs of the facility," added David Glass, Systems Designer for Vista AV.
The multipurpose room at Lerner Theatre includes 36 Control 26CT small-format ceiling speakers
powered by Crown CTs 4200 series amplifiers as well as a dedicated AKG WMS450 wireless microphone system.
"Quite a few of the other digital consoles have a long learning curve to get to know even the simplest of functions. With the Vi4's Vistonicsâ"¢ control interface, anyone who is familiar with an analog console can make adjustments. For a venue like the Lerner Theater this is a must because of the variety of acts that will be coming and going all the time. Sometimes even the simplest of things makes a difference. The smaller footprint of the Vi4 takes up less room in the auditorium so less seating area needs to be given up for the production location," stated Glass.
) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 12,500 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.0 billion for twelve months ending September 30, 2011.


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Attorney Talks About Role in Clinton Impeachmentby Ian Bonhotal '12 • October 23, 2008 Share:
As Wabash men and professors gathered in Center Hall at seven o'clock on Wednesday night, a sense of irony permeated the air. For, the reason they all met in the same room was to hear a presentation from lawyer Jackie M. Bennett, Jr. Bennett was a prominent senior advisor to Kenneth Starr, who presided over the investigation and impeachment of the nation's 42nd President, William Clinton.
The irony lies in the fact that one of Wabash's most important, well-known alums is David E. Kendall, the summa cum laude Rhodes Scholar Wabash graduate who played a key role in the defense of President Clinton as his personal attorney in the Lewinsky scandal.
Bennett, now a partner at the Indianapolis law firm Taft, Stettinius, and Hollister, gave a presentation to those present regarding the Lewinsky scandal, his role in the investigation, and how he now views the affair in hindsight. "From 1995 to 1999 I worked for the Office of Independent Council," Bennett said, "and was involved in a number of high profile investigations, most notably the impeachment of President Clinton."
Bennett received the John Marshall Award in 1994 for legal excellence in prosecuting corruption, and is, if his presentation is any evidence, deserving of the title. "I hold uncompromising views regarding the criminality of President Clinton," he said. "Clinton explicitly violated Article II, Section III of the United States Constitution, which states, 'He [the President] shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.' For Clinton, the ends justified the means, and he deserved to be impeached."
The presentation began with extensive background information about the scandal. It all began, Bennett said, with the Paula Jones sexual harassment case. The case involved a young woman by the name of Paula Jones who was allegedly solicited by the President for sexual gratification. "At the time, Clinton was Governor of Arkansas," Bennett said. "He had state troopers who were traveling with him go out and look for his women. When they found one, they would escort her up to the suite Clinton was staying at, and leave the two. Clinton, by the way, would procure these suites by telling the hotel managers that he had to take an important call from Washington."
Jones, however, reacted negatively to Clinton's aggressive sexual advances and fled the scene. It would not be until some years later, when Clinton became President and rumors emerged that Jones would come forward. That, Bennett said, was the prelude to Clinton's eventual impeachment.
"Traditionally, the Clinton administration would react to threats with harsh intimidation and smear tactics," he alleged. "It had expended over $100,000 in fees to private investigators to shut the women up. Jones, though, proceeded with a civil suit, and a judge allowed for the pre-trial phase of discovery. That resulted in a list of women to be deposed, of which Monica Lewinsky was one."
Bennett and the Office of Independent Council was involved in the investigation from the beginning. Bennett personally received a call from one of Lewinsky's friends, Linda Tripp, who had inside information on the case as well as recordings of Lewinsky admitting in great detail to her affair with the President. The rest, as they say, is history.
To Wabash's great pride, Bennett acknowledged the incredible tenacity of his opponent in the defense of Clinton, the College's own David Kendall.
"He's brilliant," he said. "One of the greatest lawyers I've had the pleasure of sparring with. I've had a lot of dealings with Kendall."


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Lang Lang isn't a pianist to suit all tastes.
I suppose no musician is, but in any case, there were a few times when he didn't suit mine last week.
The 30-year-old Chinese virtuoso made a single stop in Costa Mesa on Sept. 27. He played with the Pacific Symphony in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. As conductor Carl St.Clair noted, he took on not one, but two concertos.
Impressive indeed, no matter how you square it.
But the manner in which this superstar — a superstar by classical world standards, that is — played Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, the lauded "Emperor," surely got those of us thinking who are used to these pieces (especially the Beethoven) being played a certain way.
Like any good artist, Lang makes the pieces his own — his own being, more often than not, lightning fast and aggressive. And that's a lot fun to hear sometimes.
And sometimes it's annoying when you just want the notes not to be banged out, to be played with more sensitivity and perhaps, dare I say, more meaning.
Though it would be unfair of me to say Lang couldn't and didn't do everything. He could take his time to both savor the subtleties and rush forward in a blaze of octaves and arpeggios. All the while, he certainly kept my interest going, even if I didn't agree with his methods.
To a degree, that's a successful performance. Though I never felt fully satisfied.
In the Liszt, his ease in maintaining fast fingers was extraordinary, probably the most extraordinary I've ever heard. It could be a rage of piano glory. He made it look easy.
In the Beethoven, what set him apart as extra-impressive in the Liszt before wasn't true to the same degree. Throughout it, he seemed a bit aloof — which is probably why I heard two entrance miscues I wasn't expecting — and in his own zone. It was St.Clair's job to interpret that zone on the fly.
I didn't always care for the heavy-handedness of his playing but couldn't deny his watchable ferocity achieving it. He could even turn on the gas, go full steam ahead and then take it away just as quickly.
When it was all over, he received his thunderous applause, as would be expected.
The Pacific Symphony throughout the night accompanied Lang well, and they held their own nicely in a run-through of Rimsky-Korsakov's venerable "Capriccio Espagnol."
In memory of Bill Roberts
Also of note: Last week's concert was dedicated to the memory of Bill Roberts, a former member of the Pacific Symphony's board of directors who died in August. He was 80.
The Newport Beach resident and longtime arts philanthropist, whom St.Clair called a "quiet pillar of our arts community," co-founded the Emulex Corp., a computer technology company now based in Costa Mesa.
Roberts designed the Pacific Symphony's first website, which was one of the first of any orchestra in the U.S., according to John Foryste, president of the Pacific Symphony.
His obituary said his eclectic music tastes ranged from bluegrass and opera to Sinatra and Puccini, and that he danced like Fred Astaire.
Russian music at OCC
The music people at Orange Coast College are playing a Russian repertoire in a concert Saturday.
The 8 p.m. performance at the Costa Mesa campus' Robert B. Moore Theatre, 2701 Fairview Road, features the college's orchestra, chamber singers and chorale — more than 150 musicians total, according to an OCC press release.
Works by Alexander Borodin and the Ravel-orchestrated version of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" are on the lineup.
Best of all is the price: Tickets are only $10 at (714) 432-5880, occtickets.com or the door.
BRADLEY ZINT is a classically trained musician and a copy editor for the Daily Pilot. Email him story ideas at firstname.lastname@example.com or follow him on Twitter @BradleyZint.