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Thank you for visiting The Pilates Center. We offer a variety of videos to enrich your Pilates practice and teaching experience. Here you will find many different videos for each piece of equipment, these video have been adapted from our world renowned teacher training programs. We have everything from individual exercises to classes to full-length workshops. Please begin with our complimentary video A Preview Video to learn more about The Pilates Center history and to preview our teacher training program. All of the videos are listed alphabetically so you can easily find what you're looking for. It is our hope that you find exactly what you need to enhance your understanding of the Pilates method. Enjoy!
Online Courses
Barrels: Leg Split on Wall - Individual Exercises
Barrels: Leg Split on Wall - Individual Exercises
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Leg Split on Wall performed on the High Barrel.
Learning Management System
by Litmos


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Mega Buzz: A True Blood Sacrifice, Once's Parental Secrets and a Castle Reset?
Aug 5, 2014 6:39 PM EDT
Each week, senior reporter Natalie Abrams satisfies your need for TV scoop. Please send all questions to email@example.com. Will Sarah escape from Eric on True Blood? — Boris Aww, did you want her to live? That's cute.… Read more

subset: commoncrawl


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Hey guys, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post this here or not, if not sorry! I haven't made an AMV in like 5 years and to get back into things I started playing with Final Cut Pro on my macbook and ended up making this lol. It's not an AMV or anything really but thought people might enjoy it here. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGf6ratXI5E)
A few questions though, how is the voice clarity and the background music? I realized the voices are kind of muffled and tried fixing them but wasn't sure if it worked out since I already know what's being said. Also, does the music fit with the scenes or does it throw you off? I'm new to this so help would be appreciated too. Thanks!
My Pokemon Parody - Bellsprout's Badass Adventures
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
- Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2007 8:02 pm
- catgod
- cat stalker
- Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2012 1:12 am
Re: My Pokemon Parody - Bellsprout's Badass Adventures
damn watching Transformers as torture, that's a cruel cruel villain right thar
do you even kininarimasu!?
2 posts • Page 1 of 1


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Heading back-to-college? Yes, you'll need to purchase textbooks for most, if not all of your classes. And that means lots of money being spent. Rather have that cash in your wallet? Check out these five ways to cut the costs of textbooks for good:
1. Skip the School Bookstore: Textbooks at the school bookstore are typically top dollar. Instead, compare textbook prices using textbook search engines online – use HelpSaveMyDollars.com's Textbook Search Engine. Simply type in the name of the book or the book's ISBN number and the search engine will find the cheapest textbook retailer.
2. Sell Your Textbooks: If you're going to purchase textbooks (instead of renting them), sell the books back at the end of the semester. Amazon has a new "Textbook Buyback Program" where they'll give students up to 70% of the book's value in an Amazon gift card, which is as good as cash these days. This works even if the books weren't originally purchased from Amazon.
3. Rent Textbooks on the Kindle: You can now rent textbooks on your Kindle and save upwards of 80%, thanks to Amazon's new "Kindle Textbook Rental" service: . You can rent the books from Amazon for 30 days or as long as one full year.
4. Rental Fees: If you're renting from a traditional textbook rental site, like Chegg.com, make sure you know the fees in case you lose the book or return it late or damaged. If returned late, the rental company will usually extend the duration of your rental – for a fee – sometimes as high as 25% of the book's price. If the book is damaged or lost, you might need to replace it – at your own cost!
5. iPhone/Smartphone Apps: The "Inkling" app lets you purchase textbooks to be used on the iPhone or iPad, this way you don't have to lug around books around campus. The app even lets you purchase individual chapters of various textbooks, which is considerably cheaper than buying the entire book.
Follow HelpSaveMyDollars.com on Facebook and Twitter.
Read more posts on Help Save My Dollars »


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Ask John
Effects of the five-point try, voting rights on the IRB Council and the youngest Test debutant
John Griffiths
April 12, 2010
Ireland would have won the Grand Slam in 2009 under rugby's old points-scoring system © Getty Images
Welcome to the latest edition of Ask John where renowned rugby historian John Griffiths will answer any rugby-related query you have!
So, if there's something you've always wanted to know about the game we love but didn't know who to ask, or you think you can stump our expert - then get involved by sending us a question.
In this edition, John answers questions on the fffects of the five-point try, voting rights on the IRB Council and the youngest player on debut.
The whole purpose of upgrading tries from three points to four points and then five points was to encourage more tries per game and rely less on penalties. Is there any evidence that we see more tries in internationals in the five point era compared to the three point era? It is my impression we do not. Brian Jones, Australia
This isn't an easy hypothesis to test. When New Zealand play Samoa or Portugal, or indeed when any higher-ranked nation plays a considerably lower-ranked side then of course tries will dominate the scoring.
Close matches however, particularly in knockout competitions or where a title is at stake, often seem to be decided by goal kicks - ie, the winners are unable to score more tries than the losers. Three of the four Rugby World Cup Finals since the try was upgraded to five points have been won by goal kicks rather than a majority of tries (those of 1995, 2003 and 2007).
In last year's knockout stages of the Heineken Cup, only two of the seven games were won by the team scoring more tries. (Munster beat the Ospreys 43-9 in a quarter-final and lost to Leinster 25-6 in a semi-final - important games but neither of which could be classed as a close match.)
More recently, France beat England without scoring a try to win the Six Nations Grand Slam title, while in the quarter-finals of this year's Heineken Cup the two close matches ended in wins for the sides scoring fewer tries. Both Leinster and Biarritz won 29-28 but managed only two tries to their opponents' three.
It is certainly true to conclude that the upgrading of the try from four to five points has had little influence on the actual results of matches in the Five Nations/Six Nations Championship.
There have been 235 matches in the Championship since the five-point try was introduced in 1992. Trawling through the results, only seven matches would have produced a different outcome under the previous scoring values:
1993: Wales 10-9 England - would have been a 9-9 draw under the four-point try
I would like to know what the IRB's rules state regarding serving officials. I am particularly referring to Billy Beaumont's role on the successful England bid team for the 2015 RWC while at the same time serving as the IRB vice chairman. Wayne, South Africa
There was no conflict of interest because the Vice Chairman of the IRB Council has no voting powers at Council Meetings.
The relevant IRB bye-law is 9.7 (c) which states: "The Chairman shall only have a casting vote at any Council Meeting. The Vice-Chairman shall not have a vote at any Council Meeting."
The Council has 26 voting members who convene under two officers of the Council, the Chairman (Bernard Lapasset) and Vice Chairman (Bill Beaumont).
The Council members comprise representatives of eight Unions with two votes each (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia), four Unions with one vote each (Argentina, Canada, Italy and Japan) and the IRB's six regional Associations (Africa, Asia, North America & the Caribbean, South America, Oceania and Europe) also with one vote each. (England's two representatives are Martyn Thomas and Jonathan Dance.)
In May 2009, England, South Africa, Italy and Japan submitted RWC tenders and made presentations to the IRB Council. The RWC Limited Board then reviewed the tenders before recommending England as the Host Union for 2015 and Japan for 2019.
The final decision was made by the IRB's Council at their meeting in Dublin last July, when the 26 members voted 16-10 in favour of England and Japan.
Who was the youngest-ever international capped player? Chris, Wales
Dates of birth for every Test player are not available, but among the eight founder unions of the International Board - England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia - two Scots appear to share the record for youngest cap in major Tests. Ninian Finlay (against England in 1875) and Charles ("Hippo") Reid (against Ireland in 1881) were each aged 17 years and 36 days on debut.
The purists argue that Finlay should be shown as younger than Reid (by a day in fact) for the reason that not all years are of equal length.
Finlay was born on 31st January 1858 and entered Test rugby as a threequarter on the 8th March 1875 … having lived through four leap-days (February 29th) in 1860, 1864, 1868 and 1872 before winning his cap.
Reid's date of birth is given as 14th January 1864 and he appeared as a forward for his first Test on 19th February 1881 … having lived through five leap-days in 1864, 1868, 1872, 1876 and 1880.
The youngest player in the Five/Six Nations Championship was Ireland's Frank Hewitt, who played fly-half in a 13-10 win against Wales at Cardiff in 1924. He was only 17 years, 157 days and scored a try on his debut.
Who was the youngest Welsh player to score a Test try on debut? John Jenkins, Wales
The Cardiff wing Tom Pearson was the youngest player to score a try on debut for Wales. He was 18 years, 238 days when he crossed for Wales against England at Rodney Parade, Newport, in January 1891.
Keith Jarrett was also 18, but a couple of months older than Pearson, when he made his memorable debut as fullback scoring a try, five conversions and two penalties against England at Cardiff in 1967.
The youngest forward to score on his Welsh debut was Tom Baker Jones of Newport who was aged 19 years, 134 days when he crossed against Ireland at Lansdowne Road in 1882.
I played rugby for five years and have enjoyed watching it for twelve. Something baffled me about two years ago, and as yet no-one has been able to explain it to me. When the ball is cleared say from inside the 22 metre line, and it crosses the touch line, why can it be tapped back into play without a throw in? (ie. the ball hasn't gone dead). Why do touch judges seem to come back for a throw in where it crosses the line and not where it lands when it isn't knocked back into play? Marc Hancock, England
The Laws used to rule that the ball was in touch if it landed on the touch-line or simply crossed it. A note to the (old) law emphasised: "If the ball crosses a touch line and is then blown back it is in touch at the place where it first crossed the line."
When the Australian Dispensation law restricting direct kicking to touch came into force in 1968, the lineout after finding touch directly from outside the 22 became the place on the touchline next to where the ball was kicked.
Then, about thirty years ago the law was subtly amended and touch was not awarded unless the ball pitched on or beyond the touchline (or struck a player on or beyond the touchline). Even so, the point where the ball crossed the line still marked the position for the lineout (unless kicked from outside the 22).
Those who were playing fullback at the time the law changed might remember the calls of their coaches to "Beware the swirling ball." The amendment meant that on windy days a high ball crossing the touchline and then blowing back into the field of play before pitching was still in play.
The laws now state that, for as long as a player has both feet in the field of play when taking or deflecting a ball that has crossed the touchline but not yet pitched, the ball is still in play (provided the deflection does not propel the ball forward). Moreover, if the player jumps to catch or deflect a kick into the field of play, it is not touch as long as the jumper lands with both feet in the field of play. Again, any deflection must not propel the ball forward.
When touch is found directly from a kick made in general play from inside the 22, and the ball hasn't previously been laid back from outside the 22 by the kicker's team, the place indicated for a lineout will be the point where the ball first crosses the touchline.
For a quick throw-in, however, the laws allow the lineout to be taken from anywhere on the touchline between that point and the thrower's goal-line. That's why play sometimes restarts from the point where the ball was caught or pitched in touch.
Which country has had the most New Zealanders represent them apart from New Zealand? Henry Cripps, England
New Zealanders have appeared for more different countries in Tests than players originating from anywhere else in the world.
Approximately 500 who could have qualified to play for the All Blacks have appeared for other nations in Tests. The teams that have benefited most, not surprisingly, are the Pacific Islands.
More than 100 players who would have been eligible to play for New Zealand have played Test rugby for Samoa and more than sixty have done so for Tonga.
© Scrum.com
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New SoccerPlus Camp in Boston 2017
Get ready! Do you remember SOCCERPLUS Camp in Los Angeles? it's coming, SOCCERPLUS Camp in Boston 2017! More information soon!!!
Professional Soccer School Academy
The GOALKING Academies are now year-round training schools for youth soccer players in the Edmonton Region, for field players and goalkeepers. GOALKING Academies are endorsed by the Alberta Soccer Association, with a 3-Star Endorsement for the established GOALKING Goalkeepers Academy, and with the new GOALKING Soccer Academy already with a 1-Star Endorsement at its opening.
GOALKING Soccer Academy is the new GOALKING training program for field players. GOALKING has put together a top-notch Licensed Coaching staff, including former Professional players (such as a former Uganda National Women's Team player), with many years of experience training and coaching youth soccer players in different countries.
The Mission of the GOALKING Academies is to provide basic to advanced training to youth who wish to improve and master technical and tactical abilities to compete at higher-level soccer competitions in our Edmonton Region or beyond. GOALKING Academies are independent from any soccer team or Club, but the Academies function as a complement to teams or clubs for players who want to develop to the top of their potential.
Several GOALKING Goalkeeper Academy trainees have already advanced in their soccer careers by being accepted or serving as tryalists in youth Regional programs of the Alberta Soccer Association (Winter Program, Alberta Team, REX, etc.), and GOALKING Soccer Academy is set up to lead to the same opportunities for its field player trainees.
Get ready! Do you remember SOCCERPLUS Camp in Los Angeles? it's coming, SOCCERPLUS Camp in Boston 2017! More information soon!!!


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Limbaugh: Obama lie worse than Nixon
Rush Limbaugh on Friday said President Richard Nixon "resigned over a lie" nowhere near as big or damaging as President Barack Obama's "lie about keeping your insurance," which he called perhaps "the biggest lie ever told by a sitting president."
Limbaugh told his listeners that Americans "are losing coverage by political design." And Nixon's resignation over the Watergate scandal was nothing compared to what's happened under this administration, the conservative radio host said.
Story Continued Below
"It's a purposeful, deceitful, fraudulent law," he said, according to a transcript. "I think Obama's lie about keeping your insurance may be the biggest lie ever told by a sitting president. This is not an error. It was not a mistake. This was a calculated, purposeful lie — and the mainstream media carried his water on this until just last week. And now? Now they're claiming that they knew it was a lie all along! Isn't it funny how they never told us, though? But now they say, 'We kinda knew this.'"
And, Limbaugh said, "the White House knew out there that 93 million Americans were gonna lose their policy."
"Richard Nixon resigned over a lie nowhere near this big," he said. "And you know the hell of it is that Obama doesn't think he lied. I don't think Obama, in his mind, is capable of lying. Whatever is necessary to say or do to advance the agenda is what is morally correct. Doesn't matter. He doesn't care. He doesn't think he lied."
But the Obama administration knew about the coverage cancellations and kept it secret "with the intention of deceiving the American people for the express purposes of electing Barack Obama in 2008 and reelecting him in 2012," he told his listeners.
"Folks, Richard Nixon resigned over a lie that was much less damaging in scope than this one," Limbaugh said.
And the conservative radio host isn't the only media figure who has brought up Nixon in connection with Obamacare this week. On Wednesday, CNN's Newt Gingrich tweeted that Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' "dishonesty in testimony this morning exceeds anything president Nixon was accused of. The Obama team cant tell truth and survive." The former House Speaker later told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that "exceeds may have been too strong. I'll modify it: equals anything."


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Happy Birthday Mark.
Thanks this made for intresting reading. I really adore your site, the theme is really cool.supra skytops I have came here numerous times but have never commented, just wanted to let you know…Adidas Outlets Keep up the brilliiant work! Another thing i like to do when reading blogs is play Flash games
Mark we (I) are squabbling over what triggers the page visits in your profile...my name appears in someone elses profile as if I visited thier page but I swaer I don't remember doing so...any other possibilities ? I noticed pm's don't count
IFGA national guppy show come to San Diego April 16-17-2011
Room 104 in the Prado Bldg in Balboa Park. Come check out some of THE most incredible guppy show in the country! well know nationaol breeders will be showing off( and auctioning) some their best prize winners at this friendly accessible show . Please feel free to visit the ifga website for more details. Sponsored by the san Diego Tropical Fish Society ( sandiegotropicalfish.com)
Senior Member
Junior Member


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The race you're watching finished 21 years ago. The results are in the public record, the championship is decided. So why is it so exciting to watch? Oh right, Stratos.
Truth be told, just about all vintage European Rallycross is still fantastic to watch. This is the qualifying for Round 8 of the ERC at Lydden Hill, where Top Gear did their feature. There's no question it's exciting to see those Porsches try and catch the tiny Lancia Stratos, often sideways and on three wheels. Righteous.


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Is Stevia Really Better than Other Sweeteners?
Q: Is stevia really better than artificial sweeteners?
A: Imagine walking out into your garden and picking a sweetener to add to your coffee or tea. A quarter to a half of a leaf is all you would need to sweeten your entire drink if the leaf was from a stevia plant. Stevia rebaudiana, also known as sweetleaf, is being sold in many forms as a natural sweetener — an alternative to refined sugar and artificial sweeteners. Stevia is unique in that it tastes naturally sweet, but has a glycemic index of zero, which means that it does not affect blood sugar and can be used by diabetics and others who wish to avoid blood sugar spikes or calories. Best of all, a small amount of stevia is 100 – 300 times sweeter than cane sugar; a little goes a long way.
Stevia is a plant that enjoys subtropical and tropical temperatures. But this sweet tasting plant can also be easily cultivated in Western North America and South America. This being said, I grew stevia in my yard a couple of years ago in Maryland! It thrived and I enjoyed using it as a sweetener.
Stevia has been used for centuries in three different ways: as a natural sweetener, as an herbal tea and as herbal medicine. As a natural sweetener, it is used in whole leaf, liquid extract and powder form. "Whole leaf" stevia is simply the dried stevia leaf, which has been cut and sifted. Another form of whole leaf stevia is in powder form where the leaf is simply powdered. In this way, stevia can be used in baking and cooking. You can tell if stevia powder is from unprocessed whole leaf stevia if the color of the powder is dull green. If the powder is white like cane sugar, it has been processed. The processed stevia extract powder is what is typically found in the grocery store. These products often contain other added ingredients.
Liquid stevia extract can be found in natural food markets. This extract differs from the whole leaf and processed powdered extract by the extraction process. The active compounds — steviosides and rebaudiosides — are extracted in either a water and alcohol base or a water and glycerin base. A few drops of liquid stevia extract are usually all that is needed to sweeten a beverage.
Medicinally, stevia is often recommended as an alternative to cane sugar and artificial sweeteners because it does not affect blood glucose. Furthermore, whole leaf stevia contains inulin, a soluble fiber that cannot be absorbed by much of the digestive tract and therefore does not raise blood sugar levels. Inulin also aids in the growth of friendly bacteria in the small intestines.
Stevia has also been shown to have possible antimicrobial action, which is why it is now being used in toothpastes and mouthwashes. This may also be why a lowered incidence of colds and flu has been observed in stevia users.
Digestive health support is another benefit of this sweet plant. In China, many drink stevia as an herbal tea to increase digestion, help regulate digestion and as a weight loss aid. Regarding the skin, several tribes like the Gurani Indians located in South America use stevia topically to help with acne, dermatitis, eczema, cuts and wounds. Stevia applied topically seems to help heal cuts and wounds without scarring, leaving a smooth appearance.
So, in conclusion, stevia is in most cases almost certainly better than artificial sweeteners. The more unrefined the product, the better though, so opt for whole leaf stevia or a natural liquid extract (SweetLeaf and NuStevia are good brands to try) over highly processed products like Truvia. Truvia is different from stevia in that it contains the chemical compound rebiana from stevia, erythritol and natural flavors. We don't know what the natural flavors are and without using the whole stevia plant, you do not get the health benefits of stevia. As for erythritol, although it is a natural sugar alcohol, it is extracted through excessive processing and its side effects include loose stools, bloating and gas.
I have to admit, stevia is not one of the sweeteners I use often, as my heart belongs to honey (which we will discuss next week). However, I am planning to start using it more. Lastly, I'd like to emphasize the fact that only a small amount of stevia is often all that is needed. Using too much often leads to a bitter or astringent taste.
This post is part of our series on natural sweeteners. Click here to read the rest.
Erythritol. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythritol on 6/18/10
"Life with Stevia: How Sweet It Is!" Retrieved from http://healthfree.com/stevlife.html on 6/9/10
Stevia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia on 6/9/10
Stevia Rebaudiana. Retrieved from http://www.n8ture.com/herbs-stevia.html on 6/9/10
Lissa's passion for educating people about the healing powers of herbs led her to obtain a Masters of Science in Herbal Medicine from the Tai Sophia School of the Healing Arts. She has also studied nutrition and women's health extensively, and has trained as a doula.
Have a question for Lissa? Send her an email and she'll get back to you!


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Medlite Research necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 52 diseños de 16 diseñadores freelance.
You Decide!!!!
We are a US based company that is about to launch a completely unique prostate supplement. We want a name and logo for the product that can be trademarked and a basic layout for a label design. It is likely that we will choose the winning designer for a much larger design of website and retail materials design work as well.
The market for this product is men over the Age of 40 years old in the US market. There are currently 100+ prostate supplements that target this market and there designs are all over the place.
We are looking for a clinical/scientific/high-tech, yet unique, design with a compelling and "rememberable" name and logo that is trademarkable and appears similar to a "pharmaceutical" name. The name may actually be the logo as well. Look up any pharmaceutical for "typical" type names of the drugs we would be looking for similar type names. Please check your name by at least typing it into google to see if anyone has already used it. We will do the final trademark search.
Hopefully the name will not be to long, can "kind've" be related to prostate (if possible but the least of our concern), and is rememberable. Think Ambien, Celexa, Viagra, Zoloft, etc.
We need a logo, name, and basic layout for a label design for a product. Type in "Prostate Products" in google and you can see how that would work with a normal label basically split into thirds with the front 1/3 design being the name and logo - they "eye catcher", and the side "one-thirds" being 1/3 for intro, and 1/3 for ingredients and indications.
The logo can be the name if that is what you think would work best.
In addition, on the front of the label with the logo it needs to be the name of the product and underneath we need a placeholder that is the name and it has the saying in smaller letters with "XXXXX" you can just fill that in with the word "Extra" at this point as we are not disclosing the actual word to the public at this point. That should match the overall design features.
So, the front 1/3 should have name and logo and under the name/logo it should include the phrase "with Extra" as part of that overall design. It should also have the following information on the front 1/3 the term "for prostate health" and under that DIETARY SUPPLEMENT (usually in very small and very "thin" letters) and at the very bottom it should say 60 VEGETABLE CAPSULES as well.
The "required" info for the front 1/3 such as for prostate health, dietary supplement, and the 60 vegetable capsules can be in small letters.
You can just put filler text in the other thirds of the label.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Morocco may have just scored big in its hopes to host the 2006 World Cup Finals.
Tied to these hopes is the chance to bring the planetary competition to Arab soil for the first time in history. Ahmed Shoubir, former Egyptian Goalkeeper and current ambassador for Morocco's bid , perhaps said it best, "Hosting the World Cup is the dream of each and every Moroccan, Egyptian and Arab." But experts agree that if the kingdom is to win the hosting honors, it will need strong backing from other Arab nations, particularly those with a 'loud voice' with FIFA. Egypt, having dropped its bid earlier this year, has fully announced its support for the Moroccan bid.
Morocco is one of 5 nations vying for the honor to host the world's largest and most important football tournament - with tight competition coming from other football-crazed nations, such as Germany, South Africa, Brazil and England.
FIFA inspectors visited Morocco for 6 days last week to check the nation's infrastructure, roads, telecommunications capabilities, sports facilities and major stadiums. The inspectors were reportedly, "Very, very impressed with Morocco's 2006 World Cup bid. The Head of FIFA inspectors, Alan Rothenberg said at a press conference in Marrakesh, "We were very impressed by the official commitment to organize the cup." Rothenberg added that he was pleased with the "professional and complete bid."
The FIFA delegation was received last week by King Mohammed VI and also met with Prince Moulay Rachid, who chairs the bid's promotional committee. While in Morocco, the delegation was treated to a local football match featuring Casablanca's two major clubs, Rajaa and al Widad (ended 0-0) - a game attended by 80,000 enthusiastic fans. The love of football in the nation was evident.
Morocco, with two past unsuccessful bids (1994 and 1998) to host the world soccer cup, has advanced the state of its road infrastructures, hotels, as well as its sporting facilities since 1998. Morocco even devised a 560-million dollar plan to construct modern stadiums to meet FIFA standards. Fez International Stadium is currently under construction. The FIFA team was briefed on another 45,000-seat stadium to be built in Meknes. Morocco currently boasts several soccer stadiums, but only the 90,000-seat Mohammed V stadium in Casablanca and the 70,000-seat Moulay Abdallah stadium in Rabat comply with FIFA requirements.
As the FIFA delegation departed Morocco for a similar visit to South Africa, Moroccans were left with a great sense of promise, but obviously no guarantees. The giant football tournament's host will be announced in July 2000, and Moroccans and Arabs alike, are waiting for something big to cheer about.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)


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By David Henry
NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said he has been diagnosed with throat cancer but that the ailment is curable and he plans to remain actively involved in the largest U.S. bank's business.
In a memo to the bank's employees and shareholders on Tuesday, Dimon, 58, said the cancer was caught at an early stage and is confined to the original site and the adjacent lymph nodes on the right side of his neck.
He will undergo radiation and chemotherapy treatment that is expected to last about eight weeks. The company did not disclose the stage of the cancer.
"I feel very good now and will let all of you know if my health situation changes," Dimon wrote. "Importantly, there is no evidence of cancer elsewhere in my body."
The cancer was discovered after Dimon, who was not feeling well about two weeks ago, went to see doctors, a person familiar with the matter said. Dimon spent last week in intensive tests and visiting multiple doctors, the person said. Dimon was never a smoker.
The company has a short, medium and long-term succession plan in place, the source added.
The news of Dimon's ailment is an unexpected blow for JPMorgan. Dimon, who has been chief executive of the bank for the past eight years, was credited with steering the company successfully through the financial crisis.
In recent years, however, the bank has run into headwinds that have taken off some of its sheen. In 2012, the bank lost $6.2 billion from risky derivatives bets that came to be known as the "London Whale" trades. And late last year, it agreed to a $13 billion settlement with the U.S. government to settle charges that it overstated the quality of mortgages it was selling to investors in the run-up to the financial crisis.
The bank's massive London Whale loss prompted shareholders last year to push Dimon to give up the chairman's role, which he also holds. But shareholders backed off when Dimon's allies suggested at the time he might leave the company if he lost one of the titles.
"One of the main reasons I'm a shareholder is Jamie Dimon, one of the biggest reasons by far," said Michael Holland, founder of Holland & Co, an asset management firm overseeing more than $4 billion of assets, including JPMorgan shares. "He is by numbers and the record one of the best financial CEOs of our generation."
JPMorgan's shares were down 0.6 percent in after-market trading.
Dimon began his career as a protégé of Sanford "Sandy" Weill after graduating from Harvard Business School in the 1980s. He helped Weill build what is now Citigroup, starting with Commercial Credit, a consumer finance company based in Baltimore, and turning it through a series of acquisitions into a financial supermarket, with businesses ranging from insurance to investment banking to commercial lending.
In 1998, Weill fired him, and he set out on his own, eventually ending up as chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Matt McCormick, a portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel, said investors probably "give a 5 percent premium to his leadership."
But McCormick added, "I think it behooves him to ramp up the succession plans a little quicker than expected, even if his prognosis is great."
It is not clear what impact, if any, Dimon's health would have on JPMorgan's board succession planning process.
Sources have previously said that the bank has several senior executives who could potentially succeed Dimon.
The most obvious successors from within the bank include Daniel Pinto, chief executive of corporate and investment bank, and Matthew Zames, JPMorgan's chief operating officer.
Other possible in-house successors include Gordon Smith, the CEO for the consumer bank, which accounts for about half of the company, and Mary Erdoes, chief executive of asset management.
Dimon was not in the office during the last half of the afternoon because he was seeing his doctor again. The company made the announcement after he called in from that visit to the doctor.
The CEO recently had confided in some top JPMorgan executives that he was going through tests and medical examinations, said an executive. Since then, "there's been a huge outpouring of support for him," the executive said. People who knew about the illness have called and emailed to encourage him, the person said.
Dimon runs and plays tennis and looks fit to his colleagues in the bank's executive offices. He exercises several times a week. When on business trips, he usually starts his days in hotel gyms.
In his memo, Dimon said the treatment is still being finalized and would curtail his travel.
He canceled previously scheduled plans to travel to Europe later on Tuesday, where he had been set to meet with the prime ministers of Greece and Italy and also visit Spain, England and Germany.
Dimon plans to seek treatment at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, which is widely considered one of the best cancer hospitals in the world.
According to the National Cancer Institute, the survival rate for mouth and throat cancers diagnosed at any stage is 63 percent after five years.
If the cancer is caught when it is still localized, meaning it is confined to the primary site, the five-year survival rate is 82.7 percent. That drops to 60.5 percent if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, and 37 percent if it has spread to distant sites in the body.
"These cancers are very treatable and have a good prognosis," said Dr. Robert Haddad, clinical director of the Head and Neck Cancer Treatment Center at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center in Boston.
Treatment, however, can be very debilitating. "The radiation therapy is a very tough treatment," Haddad said. "It can leave the patient with mouth sores, and difficulty swallowing and speaking. Some patients are not able to eat at all during the treatment and require a feeding tube to get them through it."Because there is often residual damage from the radiation, Haddad said, "Even two or three months after the radiation is finished can be very tough for a patient."
Other CEOs have led companies after being diagnosed with cancer. In 2012, for example, Berkshire Hathaway Inc Chief Executive Warren Buffett said he had stage 1 prostate cancer that required a two-month treatment, consisting of daily radiation treatments.
In 2010, American International Group Inc said CEO Robert Benmosche had cancer and an unclear prognosis. Benmosche led the insurer for the next four years, helping the company repay taxpayers for their crisis-era bailout. Benmosche will retire from AIG in September this year.
(Additional reporting by Peter Rudegeair, Sharon Begley, Dan Wilchins and Greg Roumeliotis in New York and Abhirup Roy in Bangalore; Writing by Paritosh Bansal; Editing by Chris Reese, Ken Wills and Lisa Shumaker)


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Oracle Corp. slid on Friday after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings while CarMax Inc. rallied as its quarterly results surprised on the upside.
Oracle ORCL, -1.18% said late Thursday its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell, sending shares 4.1% lower. The tech giant said it earned 92 cents a share on an adjusted basis. Analysts had expected 95 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters. Revenue came in at $11.32 billion, compared with analyst expectations of $11.48 billion.
CarMax KMX, -0.39% jumped 17% after the used-car retailer said it earned 76 cents a share last quarter, on revenue of $3.75 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected 67 cents a share on revenue of $3.60 billion. AutoNation Inc. AN, +1.54%, which also operates auto dealerships, climbed 4% as well.
Shire PLC US:SHPG UK:SHP surged 16% after the European biopharmaceutical company rejected a buyout offer from competitor AbbVie ABBV, +0.07%. AbbVie shares retreated 0.8%. AbbVie offered $46.35 billion in its latest effort to buy out Shire, which the company balked at as too low.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. ALXN, -3.27% shares gained 3.2%. The company's Soliris was granted orphan drug designation by the Food and Drug Administration earlier this week. Orphan designations are usually granted to drugs that are intended to treat rare diseases that affect less than 200,000 people, according to the FDA. Soliris is for treatment of patients with Myasthenia Gravis, a rare neurologic disorder.
RadioShack Corp. US:RSH shares tumbled 10% to 93 cents a share, the first time they have fallen below a buck. The retailer has been struggling to turn around business with little success. Earlier this month, RadioShack reported a first-quarter loss of 98 cents a share, significantly deeper than a 52 cent-per-share loss projected by analysts.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. REGN, -1.03% shares declined 4.1%. The possibility of Regeneron's Eylea losing market share to Avastin is one of the factors pressuring the stock but analysts at RBC Capital Markets believe the stock's weakness presents a good buying opportunity.
Darden Restaurants Inc. DRI, -0.04% shares fell 3.9%. The operator of Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains on Friday reported its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell to $86.5 million, or 65 cents a share, from $133.2 million, or $1.01 a share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected per-share earnings of 94 cents. Revenue rose 3.6% to $1.65 billion.
Shares of Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. US:SWHC dropped 9.4% after the gunmaker projected earnings outlook for the new fiscal year that missed analyst expectations. Smith & Wesson said it expects to earn between $585 million and $600 million, below forecasts of $622 million, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.
Tickers to Watch
FDO: Family Dollar Stores Inc. US:FDO gained 0.4%. Activist investor Carl Icahn on Thursday called on Family Dollar to put itself up for sale and threatened to replace the discount retailer's board. Icahn holds a 9.4% stake in the discount retailer chain and has claimed that the company can do more to be competitive. Shares of Dollar General Corp. DG, +0.06% rose 1.7%.
CBS: CBS Corp. CBS, +0.42% shares fell 2.4%. Worries over how the Supreme Court will decide on the legality of Aereo has weighed on the stock recently, according to analysts at Nomura. Aereo provides services to allow subscribers to stream local over-the-air broadcasts to various electronic devices.
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
Has the English language been reduced to 'Yo'?
What Maya Angelou told me about money


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Undecided about your major?
The Advising Center for Exploring Majors helps students explore their interests, skills, and goals and connect that exploration to a choice of major.
Did you know that most college students change their major at least once during their college career? The path to choosing a major can be different for everyone; for some the answers will become clear within a short period of time, while for others it will take longer to investigate and take the needed steps to finalize this decision.
The Advising Center for Exploring Majors helps undecided students explore their interests, skills, and goals so that they can make an informed choice of major at Pace University. Through individual advisement sessions and self-assessment tools that help foster greater self-understanding of personal, academic, and professional goals, the Center helps students move forward toward graduation.
For more information, visit https://www.pace.edu/center-academic-excellence/advising-center-exploring-majors.


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Brass Ring Luncheon chalks up another success
"Welcome, to all 800 of you." No one could have been happier to say those words than the woman who did: Kathy Crapo, chair of the 33rd Brass Ring Luncheon. She accepted the job with no illusions, knowing full well what a struggle it could be to fill a ballroom the size of the Marriott City Center's during tough economic times, no matter how worthy the cause.
Fortunately, this benefit for the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes remains a priority for individuals and corporations. And for that she was very grateful.
The Nov. 1 affair featured a runway showing of Canadian designer RozeMerie Cuevas' JAC and Jacqueline Conoir collections; it was the second year that Cuevas has been the presenting designer. The net amount that was raised is yet to be determined, but estimates are the low- to mid-six figures.
One might think that because the name of the event is the Brass Ring Luncheon, it would start with an 11 a.m. social hour, with lunch at noon and the fashion show to cap things off. Nope.
Doors open at 9:30 a.m. for silent auction bidding and the Jewels for Hope sale. At 11:30, everyone is invited to take their seats in the ballroom, not to eat but for a program that includes a live auction and both video and in-person testimonies about the Barbara Davis Center's work with children and young adults living with Type 1 diabetes. Sponsors are thanked, VIPs are introduced and then the fashion show begins.
Lunch — sweet potato and leek soup, cardamon roasted chicken and poached pears with cashew brittle — followed the show. The decor, coordinated by Jesse Ketter of Design Works by Dave and Mike, had an ice palace feel to it, with Lucite-back chairs, a sparkling crystal "curtain" on the stage, rich purple linens and gorgeous centerpieces that incorporated white roses and whole artichokes.
The Barbara Davis Center lost several longtime supporters over the past year, and master of ceremonies Ed Greene introduced a slideshow that honored the memory of John Cowee, Cal Pope, Arnold Pohs, Norma D'Amico and Nancy Cotton.
The Brass Ring Luncheon is the signature event of The Guild of the Children's Diabetes Foundation at Denver, and president Judy McNeil was seated at a foot-of-the-runway table with her husband, Charlie, whose NexGen Resources was one of the Angel Sponsors.
Their guests were their children — daughter Kealey Reynolds, sons Travis and Ryan McNeil and daughters-in-law Celeste and Erin McNeil — along with Linda Keyser, Sharon Fresquez, Deborah Winward, Chris Yaros and Caroline Karlin.
Anne and Ralph Klomp, who'd hosted the Brass Ring kickoff party last summer at their Trice Jewelers, were seated at Kathy and Dr. James Crapo's table. The Klomps had donated a citrine and diamond necklace for the live auction; James Crapo bought it for his wife.
Miss Mile High Hannah Porter and Mrs. Colorado Janelle Ames, second runner-up in the Mrs. America Pageant, were at the event, as were The Guild's president-elect, Gina Abou-Jaoude, and silent auction chairs Gleneen Brienza and Kimberly Stone. Brienza will chair Brass Ring in 2012.
Sharon Magness Blake also was among the supporters, joining such others as Diamond Table sponsors Jamie Angelich and Tangy Buchanan; Sharon Whiton Gelt and Diana Docktor, who'd chaired the party that thanked patrons and other major donors; Nancy Cowee; Betsey Fuller; Jane Hetrick; Nancy Waring; Sharon Kamen; Dr. Adrienne Stewart; Joan Gerberg; Patty Jenkins; Bonnie Mandarich; Bertha Haugen; Andrea Gray; Sharon Cooper; Wendy Glazer; Debbie Gradishar; Faye Washington; Pamela Helm; Loretta Kelce; Jan Chase; Maureen Barker; Marsha Duemke; Helen Hanks; Jeanne Saunders; Kimi Porterfield Brown; Debi Tepper; Linda Bowen-Scott; Linda Yip; Texie Lowery; Debra McKenney; Jeanette Azar; Gayle Novak; Eunice Romano; Wendy Aiello; Gail Johnson; Adrienne Fitzgibbons; Pat Peterson; Deb Smith; Cheri Axelrod; Sally Frerichs; Dalyla Creaghe; Chris Foster; Betsy Sklar; Sandy Burfitt; Jane Kranich; Sally Newcomb; Chris Petre; Heather Adams; Chris Foster; Eva Schoonmaker; Gretchen Pope; Pam Schell-Varkony; Melissa Oster; Denise Gliwa; Paul Docktor; Arlene Mohler Johnson; Lisa Daniel-Johnson; Frieda Eisenbarth, whose husband, Dr. George Eisenbarth, is the Barbara Davis Center's executive director; and Josh Schmitz of Ruckus Apparel, whose Ruckus Army led the flash mob that served as the signal for everyone to move from the reception area to the Marriott's main ballroom.
Much of the day's success comes courtesy of such generous sponsors as the Anschutz Family Foundation; CBS4; Bill and Deb MacMillan (The Crazy Merchant, the WILMAC Foundation); Tom and Lisa Corley; NexGen Resources; Richmond American Homes Family Foundation; Wells Fargo Bank; G5 Financial; Marty and Dr. Ole Jensen; Republic Financial Corp.; SAP (Steve and Shelley Lucas); Allan and Margot Frank; and Herbalife distributor Leslie Stanford.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, email@example.com and @GetItWrite on Twitter


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Posted 8 years ago
(31 items)
A geisha holding WAGASA- Paper Umbrella
These umbrellas are made using Mino washi, a strong local paper. A number of natural materials are used in the production process and there are a limited number of people who have the skills to make the umbrellas.
Among traditional crafts in Japan, Wagasa is particularly difficult to make with over 100 steps involved from start to finish. Because of all the skills required to make the umbrellas, it would be difficult for one person to make an umbrella through each step.


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The Wayne County Chamber of Commerce presents "Luck of the Irish" Casino & Game Show Night, to be held on Saturday, March 16 at Ehrhardt's Waterfront Resort in Tafton.
The Wayne County Chamber of Commerce presents "Luck of the Irish" Casino & Game Show Night, to be held on Saturday, March 16 at Ehrhardt's Waterfront Resort in Tafton.
The event will be filled with lots of fun, prizes and much more.
The evening will begin with the opening of the casino and silent auction at 6:30 pm. Bold Gold Media will supply music the entire evening.
Entertainment will begin at 8 p.m. with Tonylou Productions' Tricks & Trivia Competition. Test your knowledge in several categories, like movies and TV, casinos and gambling, and local history – including trivia about Wayne County and area businesses.
Besides showing off their smarts, volunteers from the audience get to demonstrate their coordination (or lack of) in physical challenges. Prizes will be handed out, so brush up on your trivia and limber up those muscles.
Live music tops off the evening, with a special appearance by singing sensation Dani-Elle, the girl next door with a country flair. There will be something for everyone to enjoy – a delicious buffet served at 6:30 p.m., casino action, a show, silent auction, dancing and a 50/50 drawing.
The top casino winner will receive a $500 gift certificate valid for any Wayne County Chamber member business. Several additional gifts/certificates will be awarded to lucky runner-up winners.
The major sponsors for this fun-filled evening are Bold Gold Media, Grimm Construction and Pioneer Construction.
The "Luck of the Irish" Casino & Game Show Night Committee is happy to coordinate this annual event.
"The casino is always a big hit and the event has included Murder Mysteries in the past. Elvis dropped in a few years ago. Last year included music and laughter from our own Joe Roche of Mojo Music and Roger Hunt. This year will again feature local talent provided by Tonylou Productions, along with the musical stylings of Dani-Elle," commented Helen Piorkowski, Committee Chairperson.
This is always a sold-out event so reserve your tickets early for this fun filled evening. For sponsorship information and to order tickets, please contact the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce at 32 Commercial Street, Honesdale, PA.
You may call (570) 253-1960 or email firstname.lastname@example.com for more information.


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Waltraud Hanl "Playful Darlings" Poseable Baby Dolls
First-ever African-American vinyl baby dolls with Hold That Pose! technology for infinite range of motion and poseability. Poses stay in place!
Measure approximately 19" L
From The Ashton-Drake Galleries
- Price:
- s&s◇
With every pose, a precious baby can truly melt hearts! Now, delight in the charms of the Playful Darlings Baby Doll Collection, available only from The Ashton-Drake Galleries. The Playful Darlings collection is the first-ever African-American doll collection by Master Doll Artist Waltraud Hanl to feature the innovative Hold That Pose! technology, allowing each doll an infinite range of motion for lifelike poses that hold until you move them again! Your So Truly Real® baby doll collection begins with Issue One, Alexis. Soon, your collection will continue with Issue Two and additional Hold That Pose! baby dolls, each a separate issue to follow.‡
Each a stunning vision of So Truly Real® artistry, these poseable dolls are handcrafted in RealTouch® vinyl. Their soft features are painted by hand, from their round cheeks to their little fingers and toes. As the perfect finishing touch, each doll in this collection has soft, hand-rooted hair and is picture perfect in their adorable ensembles. Enthusiastic demand is expected, so don't wait to enjoy pose after pose with these realistic baby dolls. Order now!
Fine adult collectible, not intended for children under 14.
- Delight in picture-perfect poses with the Playful Darlings Baby Doll Collection, the first-ever African-American doll collection by Master Doll Artist Waltraud Hanl featuring the innovative Hold That Pose! technology, available only from The Ashton-Drake Galleries
- Hold That Pose! technology allows these poseable dolls to have infinite ranges of motion for hundreds of lifelike poses that hold until you move them again
- Handcrafted of RealTouch® vinyl with hand-painted features, from their adorable facial expressions to their perfectly shaped little toes
- Hold That Pose! baby dolls feature soft, hand-rooted hair
- Dolls outfitted in charming ensembles that complement every pose
- Certificates of Authenticity
- Measure approximately 19" L; 48.3 cm L
- Reserves the entire collectible Playful Darlings Baby Doll Collection from The Ashton-Drake Galleries in your name so you never risk an increase on the price of other collectibles in this collection, or miss a single issue of this collection
- ‡Each issue will be shipped to you for your review, about one every month or two (pending availability), at the same low issue price and charged to the credit card on which your order was placed. No need to order each one separately
- You may cancel your collection at any time with no obligation
- "Issue One - Alexis," will be followed by "Issue Two" and additional realistic baby dolls as they become available
Fabrics and trims may vary slightly
©2013 The Ashton-Drake Galleries. All rights reserved.


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Kansas Family History Research
This entry was originally written by Marsha Hoffman Rising, CG, FUGA, FASG and Mary Clement Douglass, CGRS for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
History of Kansas
Kansas derives its name from a tribe of plains native peoples, the 'Kansa,' who lived in earth lodges along the Missouri, Kansas, and Blue rivers in the northeastern section of the state. Kansas, which was a segment of the vast area known as the Louisiana Purchase, became part of the United States in 1803. With the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, it became the Kansas Territory. On 29 January 1861 Kansas was admitted as a free state and became the thirty-fourth state in the Union.
Kansas was first designated as permanent 'Indian territory' and it became the home for many of the displaced tribes from the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri as well as the remaining indigenous plains people. In 1825 the Kansa and Osage tribes were induced to give up part of their eastern Kansas lands to make way for those from the east: the Shawnee, Kickapoo, Delaware, Wea, Piankeshaw, and others. By 1846 nineteen reservations had been established within the boundaries of what is now Kansas. The first mission for Native Americans in what is now Kansas was Mission Neosho, established in 1824. A Methodist mission was founded for the benefit of the Shawnee in 1829.
It did not take long for the restless white settlers to desire permanent homes and farms in Kansas. This settlement, however, was spurred not so much by natural westward expansion as by the determination of both pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions to achieve a majority population. This struggle became an important part of the peopling of Kansas, and the genealogist with early Kansas settlers will want to become familiar with the details.
Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 only accentuated the difficulties, and this early civil war ultimately turned the Kansas Territory into 'bleeding Kansas.' As each faction attempted to establish a majority, fraud became common. As an example, the 1855 Kansas state census showed 53 voters in the seventh district, but three months later, 253 votes were cast. From 200 to 300 men from Missouri went into the seventh district of Kansas Territory in wagons and horseback on the day preceding the election. They were armed with pistols and other weapons and intended to vote to secure the election of pro-slavery members to the territorial legislature. These examples are typical of the stuffing of ballot boxes by residents of Missouri who were hoping to create a slave state. In 1859 slavery was prohibited by the Wyandotte Constitution, but this law did not go into effect until statehood in 1861. Kansas became a strong Republican force when it entered the Union. For the settler of Kansas, this period was a long, bloody, and difficult one. Bushwhackings, burnings, lootings, and murder became an inevitable part of life. Graphic testimony is offered in the Reports of the Special Committee (see Background Sources for Kansas) and in the stories reported in surviving newspapers published along the Kansas-Missouri border and in eastern newspapers such as the New York Tribune.
The first act of the Kansas territorial legislature on 30 August 1855 was to designate thirty-three counties in the eastern section of the territory. The second act created Marion and Washington counties, and a third created Arapahoe County out of territory that would later become part of the territory of Colorado.
Kansas experienced its greatest population expansion at the end of the Civil War when peace brought development of the prairie lands. The construction of railroads and the availability of cheap lands through both the railroad companies and the federal government brought many settlers to the area until 1867. The Homestead Act was available only to Union veterans, giving Kansas a distinctly Yankee flavor. Kansas was not always hospitable; pioneers were visited by prairie fires, droughts, blizzards, dust storms, grasshopper plagues, cyclones, and floods. Many would-be settlers retreated saying, 'In God We Trusted; In Kansas We Busted.' Some early settlers returned to the safety of the east. The settlers who remained and those who came later established the farms, communities, and businesses that shaped Kansas history.


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Yakuza is a launch game. That's a big deal. The series is very popular in Japan.
Specifically, it seems like games that use touch features a lot simple won't work.
Sony's Chris Ashimine not sure if next Naughty Dog game will be Uncharted, but it will be on PS4 -- Source: DualShockers


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LeTourneau University will feature Dr. Mark Yarhouse speaking on the issue of sexual identity during its Family Life Week March 19-21. Each of his presentations is free and open to the public. His presentations will be held in the S.E. Belcher Jr. Chapel and Performance Center at the following dates and times:
• Wednesday, March 19 at 10:50 a.m. "Stewardship of our sexuality"
• Wednesday, March 19 at 7 p.m. "Sexual identity and the Christian"
• Thursday, March 20 at 11 a.m. "Understanding gender identity concerns"
• Thursday, March 20 at 7 p.m. "Engaging in cultural discourse on sexuality with convicted civility"
• Friday March 21 at 10:50 a.m. "Helping Christians overcome pornography"
Yarhouse is currently the Rosemarie Scotti Hughes Endowed Chair of Christian Thought in Mental Health Practice at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va., where he is a core faculty member in the doctoral program in clinical psychology. He launched the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity (ISSI) and works with doctoral students in three major areas including research, training and clinical services.
They conduct research on how sexual identity develops and synthesizes over time and the attributions people make in response to their same-sex sexuality. Trainings are conducted monthly for students in ISSI and clinical services include individual, couple, family and group therapy are provided for people who are navigating these issues.
Yarhouse has spent several years promoting dialogue between people who view the topic of sexual identity differently. In 2000, he chaired a groundbreaking symposium at the American Psychological Association's annual convention that brought together gay psychologists and conventionally religious psychologists to discuss common ground in treatment options for persons sorting out sexual and religious identity conflicts.
Yarhouse chaired similar symposia (dialogues between professionals who represent different communities) at the APA on the many meanings of marriage (among different religions and among various groups within the gay community), services for adolescents experiencing sexual identity confusion, and a recently-proposed sexual identity therapy framework.
Yarhouse is the past recipient of the Gary R. Collins Award for Excellence in Christian Counseling (American Association of Christian Counselors) and the Chancellor's Award for Excellence at Regent University (Professor of the Year). He was a past participant with the Ethics and Public Policy Center think tank in Washington, D.C., and he was named Senior Fellow with the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities to conduct a study of sexual identity concerns among sexual minority students at Christian colleges and universities.
He has published over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and is author or co-author of several books, including Sexual Identity Synthesis: Attributions, Meaning-Making and the Search for Congruence, Ex-Gays? A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation, and Homosexuality and the Christian: A Guide for Parents, Pastors, and Friends.
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By Brian Grow and Anna Driver
(Reuters) - Gulfport Energy Corp (GPOR), a publicly-traded oil and gas company based in Oklahoma City, allowed its former chairman to receive millions of dollars in equity interests at no cost in more than a dozen firms that have done business with Gulfport.
The equity stakes awarded to Mike Liddell, who stepped down as Gulfport chairman in June, were granted by Wexford Capital LP as part of an uncommon arrangement. While working for Gulfport, Liddell also served as an advisor for energy investments by Wexford, a $4.3 billion Connecticut investment firm.
In response to questions from Reuters about Liddell's dual roles, Gulfport said all "material terms" of Liddell's equity stakes had been disclosed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Gulfport appears to be in compliance with SEC disclosure requirements, said three corporate-governance specialists who reviewed Gulfport's SEC filings and its responses to Reuters.
The stakes awarded to Liddell in companies that do business with Gulfport could nonetheless create the risk of a conflict of interest, the governance specialists said, because the deals could benefit Liddell at the expense of Gulfport shareholders. They said the company could have provided a fuller understanding of the relationship between Liddell and the Connecticut investment firm.
Gulfport said it "regularly solicits bids" from independent providers of oil-field services and other vendors, in addition to bids from firms in which Liddell owns a stake. "Because of the competitive bidding process … and the oversight of our audit committee, Gulfport believes its decisions are always in the best interest of its stockholders," the company said in a statement.
In written responses, Charles Davidson, Wexford's co-founder and chief investment officer, said Liddell's equity interests were "compensation for services rendered." Gulfport's business deals with Wexford companies in which Liddell owns an interest are "normal arms-length transactions," he said.
The SEC's rules on so-called related-party transactions address only deals between officers, directors and the company that employs them. The regulations don't compel disclosure of transactions with outside entities. They do require companies to provide "other information" that is "material to investors." Companies have discretion to determine what's considered material.
An SEC spokesperson declined to comment.
Gulfport first disclosed in a 2012 proxy filing that Liddell held a 10 percent equity interest in an unspecified number of companies in which Wexford is the controlling or a principal shareholder. But Gulfport hasn't told investors Liddell received the stakes at no cost, according to a review of Gulfport filings with the SEC. In its 2013 proxy, Gulfport identified 13 companies with which it has done business and in which Liddell has a stake.
The company said SEC rules only require disclosure of compensation earned by Liddell for work on behalf of Gulfport. The amounts and estimated value of the equity interests awarded to him by Wexford, it said, "were not and will not be for services rendered by Mr. Liddell to Gulfport" and therefore aren't covered by SEC rules.
The corporate governance experts who reviewed Gulfport's SEC filings agreed with that view. But they said Gulfport may have left out information important to shareholders, such as why Liddell was awarded the equity interest by Wexford.
"This creates a huge question about whose interests the (former) chairman is serving. And that is why the withheld information is important to investors and likely rises to the level of a material omission on the part of Gulfport," said James Cox, a law professor at Duke University who specializes in securities law.
Gulfport disputed Cox's assessment. "The Company strongly believes it has complied with its disclosure obligations under the securities laws," Gulfport said in a statement. "Despite Mr. Cox's generalized assertion, the Company has not 'withheld' information about these transactions from investors and there is certainly nothing that rises to the level of a material omission."
The company said its board was informed of Liddell's equity interests "prior to the time Gulfport engaged in transactions with or invested in the (Wexford) entities."
Gulfport has won praise from Wall Street analysts and investors. The company is seen as having acquired lucrative oil holdings in Ohio's Utica shale formation, one of the hottest U.S. drilling zones. On September 23, Gulfport stock closed at $61.52. That was near an all-time high of $64.73 per share, putting Gulfport's market capitalization at $4.8 billion.
Liddell continues to work for Gulfport as a consultant earning $65,000 per month. He owns about 1 percent of Gulfport's stock, filings show. Gulfport declined to make Liddell available for an interview.
Gulfport and Wexford have had close ties since 1997. That year, Wexford brought the predecessor company of Gulfport, WRT Energy Corp, out of bankruptcy. In March 2012, Davidson and Wexford entities controlled by him owned nearly 12 percent of Gulfport's shares. By the end of last year, Davidson had sold down his stake; it is now less than 1 percent, according to SEC filings.
"Because of his knowledge and expertise, Wexford occasionally requests that Mr. Liddell advise on or provide strategic oversight of certain investments," Gulfport said in a statement.
Gulfport's SEC filings show that Liddell received interests in, or served as an officer or operating member in, at least 19 different companies in which Wexford is the controlling shareholder or a principal one. Over the past seven years, Gulfport has invested about $439 million alongside Wexford in 13 of those firms, according to Gulfport's latest quarterly SEC filing.
One example: Since 2006, Gulfport has invested $176 million in a Wexford oil-sands project under construction in Alberta, Canada. Gulfport owns 25 percent of the project, called Grizzly Oil Sands. Investment funds owned by Wexford hold the remainder. Liddell has an interest in the project entitling him to a 10 percent share of any future profits, according to regulatory filings.
Some of the equity stakes awarded to Liddell in Wexford-controlled entities have paid off handsomely.
In December 2012 and February 2013, Gulfport paid a total of $590.4 million to purchase about 59,000 acres in Ohio's Utica shale formation from a Wexford-controlled firm called Windsor Ohio LLC. Gulfport issued about 11 million new shares to help pay for the transaction, according to SEC filings.
Liddell, still chairman of Gulfport at the time of the sale, owned a 10 percent stake in Windsor Ohio. According to SEC filings, he will earn as much as $31 million from the deal.
Gulfport said it bought the acreage from Windsor Ohio, its joint-venture partner, "in a fully negotiated transaction." Liddell "recused himself from participation" in arranging the deals, which were managed by a special committee of directors, Gulfport said.
Investors and analysts have applauded the Utica deal for adding valuable acreage to the company's top energy prospect. The transaction helped drive Gulfport's stock price up 64 percent this year.
Of the 21 investment analysts who follow Gulfport, 10 rate the stock a "strong buy," while 11 rate the stock a "buy," according to data from Thomson One Analytics.
Gulfport shareholders aren't hurt by the fact that Liddell took stakes in firms such as Windsor Ohio, the company said. "If a contingent equity interest is offered (to Liddell) that contingent interest comes solely from Wexford's portion" of an entity, Gulfport said in a written statement.
In such arrangements, Liddell typically got a 10 percent interest in the entity and Wexford investors received the other 90 percent, which is only paid out once Wexford recouped its initial investment, the company said. Liddell has no say over when these entities are sold or traded, Gulfport said.
On September 10, Gulfport warned investors its acreage in the Utica would produce less than expected in the third quarter. The news sent the stock down as much as 5 percent before it recovered to end slightly lower.
(Reporting by Brian Grow in Atlanta and Anna Driver in Houston. Edited by Michael Williams)


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New research provides insight on why the New Madrid Seismic Zone is unique and may continue to pose a higher earthquake risk than adjacent areas in the central United States.
Using innovative and sophisticated technology, scientists now have high-resolution imagery of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, allowing them to map the area in more detail than ever before. The maps allow for greater understanding of the weak rocks in this zone that are found at further depths in the Earth's mantle compared to surrounding areas. Scientists also determined that earthquakes and their impacts are likely to be narrowly concentrated in this zone.
U.S. Geological Survey scientists led this research and recently published their findings in the journal, Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
A swarm of some of the largest historical earthquakes in the nation occurred in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, in particular three earthquakes greater than magnitude 7 occurred from 1811 to 1812. There have been several smaller, yet still significant, earthquakes in the area since then. This zone extends about 165 miles from Marked Tree, Ark., to Paducah, Ky. and the southern end of the zone is about 35 miles northwest of Memphis, Tenn.
"With the new high-resolution imagery, we can see in greater detail that the New Madrid Seismic Zone is mechanically weaker than surrounding areas and therefore concentrates movement and stress in a narrow area," said USGS scientist Fred Pollitz, who is the lead author of this research. "The structure beneath this zone is unique when compared to adjacent areas in the central and eastern United States. A more in-depth understanding of such zones of weakness ultimately helps inform decisions such as the adoption of appropriate building codes to protect vulnerable communities, while also providing insight that could be applied to other regions across the world."
Prior to this research, the New Madrid Seismic Zone has been mapped by the USGS as an area of high seismic hazard, but those assessments were a consequence of a short (about 4,500 years) earthquake record for the area.
This research specifically investigated the Reelfoot Rift area, which is a 500-million-year-old geologic feature that contains the New Madrid Seismic Zone in its northernmost part. Scientists imaged rocks deep beneath Earth's surface to see their characteristics and understand their mechanical behavior, especially their ability to withstand the huge stresses constantly placed on them.
A surprising finding was that weak rocks underlie the fault lines in the crust of the Reelfoot Rift and extend more than 100 miles down into the mantle. In contrast, weak rocks in other ancient rift zones in the central and eastern United States bottom out at much shallower depths. These weak mantle rocks have low seismic velocity, meaning that they are more susceptible to concentration of tectonic stress and more mobile.
USGS scientists used data from USArray, which is a large network of seismometers that is a component of the EarthScope program of the National Science Foundation. These seismometers provide images of the crust and mantle down to 120 miles (200 kilometers) beneath the surface using the methods employed by these scientists.
"Our results are unexpected and significant because they suggest that large earthquakes remain concentrated within the New Madrid Seismic Zone," said USGS scientist Walter Mooney, the co-author of the report. "There are still many unknowns about this zone, and future research will aim to understand why the seismic zone is active now, why its earthquake history may be episodic over millions of years, and how often it produces large quakes."
In the future, USGS scientists plan to map the seismic structure of the entire nation using USArray. This effort started in California in 2004, is focusing on the east coast next, and will then move to Alaska. All of the USArray and other Earthscope efforts will also help inform the USGS National Seismic Hazard Maps.
USGS provides science for a changing world. Visit USGS.gov, and follow us on Twitter @USGS and our other social media channels.
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By Jeannie Kever
Houston Chronicle
Wind farms blanket the western half of Texas, turbine blades spinning across the Panhandle and Permian Basin, making the state the nation's leader in generating electricity from wind.
But for most of the country, the greatest potential for wind energy lies offshore. Developers are pushing ahead with projects on the East Coast and elsewhere despite environmental concerns about fishing habitats, migratory bird paths and even the seaside views valued by tourists and coastal residents alike.
This activity is largely driven by requirements for utilities to include a certain percentage of electricity from renewable sources. Beyond the environment, permitting and other concerns, investors also struggle with the high cost of offshore wind developments.
Now research by an engineer at Texas A&M University at Galveston aims to make the turbines less expensive and allow them to be moved farther from shore, reducing complaints about visual blight.
"Wind energy profits are razor thin," said Bert Sweetman, associate professor of maritime systems engineering at A&M-Galveston. "Cost has to be a bigger issue than when you're building an oil platform."
IEA: Renewables will surpass natural gas for power generation by 2016
Although his work is still based on mathematical models, he said he's confident it will result in savings.
Sweetman estimated that various design possibilities would cut the amount of steel required by 30 percent.
Like other offshore wind turbine designs, these would be tethered to the seabed. A cable to carry the current generated would also run to the sea floor and on to an onshore power station.
Wind energy is well established in Texas, accounting for 13 percent of generating capacity in 2012, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas reports. Most of that comes from turbines in West Texas, although there are two coastal wind farms, both in Kenedy County south of Corpus Christi.
Andy Lubershare, senior analyst with IHS Emerging Energy Research, said many states don't have Texas' "phenomenal wind onshore."
Densely populated areas in some states, especially in the Northeast, make building wind farms inland even more difficult.
"Offshore might have an advantage in New England and the Mid-Atlantic," he said, and that area is expected to be the first where offshore wind developments come online.
Still, it's expensive. Although Europe has a number of commercial offshore wind developments in operation, none have begun in the U.S. and several projects under development in New England face challenges.
Chris Long, manager of offshore wind and siting policy for the American Wind Energy Association, said offshore winds tend to blow when energy demand is greatest.
"On that hot summer afternoon, the temperature differential between land and sea creates the sea breeze," he said. "Just as everyone is cranking up their air conditioning, that's one of the times the sea breeze is greatest."
Fired up: Trump finds new adversary in wind power
Offshore wind developments also could create economic opportunity, similar to offshore oil drilling, Long said, citing engineering and design, project management, fabrication, marine services and supply companies.
The U.S. Energy Department has tried to jumpstart offshore wind projects by funding demonstration projects along the Atlantic Coast, the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, including a grant to an Austin company to install three 6-megawatt wind turbines in state waters near Port Isabel.
The Interior Department has begun leasing offshore blocks and assessing wind resources to speed development, Lubershare said. Even so, he said, finding the right location and getting permits can take as long as seven years.
Sweetman spent a decade working for Mobil Oil before joining the A&M faculty, "back when deep water was 3,000 feet."
Companies now drill at twice that depth and more.
Sweetman's research interests include floating production concepts and software tools for engineering applications, and he helped develop the American Petroleum Institute's guidelines for floating production.
He approached the current project, supported by a $313,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, as a mathematical puzzle, looking at various combinations of wind and wave patterns, wave heights and other variables, including the impact that a lighter base would have on the turbines' efficiency in harvesting energy from the wind.
Renewable energy: Google becoming big energy player
Using a computer model to predict how much electricity a floating turbine will generate, as well as how it would react to wind and waves in the ocean, he and his team — A&M doctoral graduate Lei Wang and students Shu Dai, Ju Gao and Blake Wilder — have compared various designs.
The ability to move the wind turbines farther from shore would avoid public controversy while still taking advantage of the population density close to the coast.
"Ten miles offshore, you're in the middle of nowhere," Sweetman said. "But 10 miles offshore, you're close to (the electricity) market."
Floating oil production platforms and floating wind turbines are made from similar materials, he said. But there are stark differences as well.
"They're much, much smaller," he said of the wind turbines. "They are much cheaper. They're unmanned. Safety's less important, because the consequences of failure are lower."
And in a commercial-scale offshore wind farm, "there are a lot more of them."
Technical challenges, from building to installing the turbines, account for much of the cost, Lubershare said.
"The major issue with offshore wind, as with any energy resource, is cost," he said. "Based on costs we're seeing in Europe, it's a more expensive energy resource than many others."
Wind capital: Houston to buy half its power from renewable sources
But as more U.S. states require utilities to include electricity generated from renewable sources in their portfolios, wind energy has become part of the mix.
The question, he said, is whether the cost will drop enough for wind energy to compete successfully with other energy sources.
Also on FuelFix:
Google makes big bet on 'kite power'


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Sen. Barbara Boxer and Republican challenger Carly Fiorina will face-off Wednesday in their second debate. And, it might be the last.
The hourlong debate at the Pasadena studio of KPCC FM will be divided into 3 1/2-minute segments. Host and Los Angeles Times columnist Patt Morrison and La Opinion Metro Editor Gabriel Lerner will alternate asking questions and follow-ups. Some of the questions may come from KPCC listeners and La Opinion readers.
The debate can be heard live from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Boxer and Fiorina, a former chairman and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard, debated Sept. 1 at St. Mary's College in Moraga.
In that debate, the two candidates talked a lot about the environment and jobs. With a state unemployment rate that tops 12 percent, the jobs issue is sure to come up again Wednesday.
Boxer has criticized Fiorina's record at Hewlett-Packard.
"She shipped 30,000 jobs overseas," Boxer said during the first debate. "And through all that pain, what did she do to show any sacrifice? She took $100 million.
Fiorina countered by saying business leaders sometimes need to make difficult decisions. She said it was an "agonizing choice to lose some jobs to save more."
She said her jobs plan includes less regulation and lower taxes. The California Chamber of Commerce and the California Manufacturers and Technology Association, recently endorsed Fiorina.
In a statewide survey form the Public Policy Institute of California, respondents listed jobs as "the most import issue facing people in California today" at least three times more than non-pocketbook issues like same sex marriage, illegal immigration and off-shore drilling.
"I'm hopeful that we're going to get from these candidates their real sensibilities, their real philosophies and their practical solutions about government," Morrison told City News Service. "It's always good to get past the advertising to find out more about their thinking about how government is supposed to be run.''
Both campaigns have expressed a willingness to debate additional times, but have not been able to reach agreement on dates or locations.
A new Rasmussen survey of likely voters was released Tuesday. It showed Boxer four points ahead of challenger Fiorina, 47 percent to 43 percent with 6 percent undecided.


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UNLV's most successful team isn't the beloved basketball squad that graces billboards around town, or the football team that broke hearts against UNR last weekend after scoring 21 unanswered points in the first half. No, the most successful team on the UNLV campus is one that competes wearing cowboy boots and wide-brimmed hats: rodeo. For the last 22 years, Ric Griffith has been head coach of the UNLV rodeo team, leading them to 14 team and individual national titles. Over the phone from a rodeo in Susanville, California, Griffith took a moment away from the ring to talk injuries, mental toughness and one very muscular horse.
How did you get started in rodeo? Through my father. He was a horseshoer, and we were just around horses and stuff like that. I competed for, oh, too many years—my whole life. I rode bareback horses when I was younger, and then I calf roped and steer wrestled mostly.
Did you sustain any major injuries as a competitor? Yes, I've had 12 operations—broken my back and neck and knees and lots of bones.
How do you find your athletes for the UNLV rodeo team? Do you hold tryouts? I have a lot of kids send me videos. Basically, kind of like any other team—basketball, football, whatever. I have about 200 kids apply each year. I've got 14 kids [on the team] this year. We turn away quite a few, because I just can't manage it.
Do you have to recruit? I try to get the cream of the crop, and everyone actually really knows that.
I've only seen professional rodeo. How does college rodeo compare? Almost half of the students I have are professional cowboys or cowgirls. They go to pro rodeos, too. A lot of them win at a lot of the pro rodeos.
If you're coaching pro-caliber riders, do you run into big egos? No, I really don't. With me being older—and I've actually rodeoed my whole life—I might have that with some kids out of high school, but as soon as they get around me and I'll say stuff to them, they're like, yeah, that guy's right. After the first week, everything changes. It's like a reality check.
How do you get somebody mentally ready to get on a bull? Every person is different, so I handle one kid one way and one kid another way. I might be a little rough on one and the other one I can't be, just because they don't take it as well. Some of them mentally like being tore up and then brought back down. And some of them like to be coddled a little more.
What's the key to staying on that bull? A lot of it's balance and a lot of rhythm and a lot of hard try. A lot of rodeo comes from the heart—on all the events. In bull riding, it's a tough, rough sport. Actually, we've had some of the best bull riders in the world go to UNLV, like Justin McBride, he went to school here, too.
How much rodeo culture is in Las Vegas? There's a lot more than what people really think. The horse community is a lot bigger than most people would imagine. … There's an event almost every weekend—barrel racing, team roping or something in Las Vegas that people don't really realize.
Do you have a horse right now that is your favorite? Yes, there is, and I let several of the students use him also. His name is Steroid. He's so muscle-y he looks like he's on steroids. We did it as a joke and it stuck with him.
Who's your biggest competition nationally? Where are the other really good college rodeo kids? I don't know, because I got them all (laughs). Texas is very competitive, too. [But] we've always been on the map here. Our women's teams have been in the Top 5 for five years, and our men's team is winning the region right now. We've won the nation 14 times.


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Quality Pest extermination service and customer satisfaction. As a family-owned-and-operated company, our responsibility is to provide you with the most efficient and effective pest control service in the safest possible manner; throughout our review process, application techniques and devices have made changes in certain pesticides, and application methods. Please note that all materials used by A.S.A.P. are registered with the EPA and the washington Department of Pesticide Regulation. 98116. Published by Ampm Exterminators. #Exterminators Near Me #Exterminators in My Area #Find a Local Exterminator #At Home Pest Control #Pest C
BED BUGS SPREAD LIKE WILD FIRE IN SEATTLE SCHOOL DORM ROOMS LEGEND EXTERMINATORS MISSION TO CONTROL AND REMOVAL – Docs.com
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Welcome to Latest Intel, a new page where we'll keep you up to date on the latest announcements concerning Black Hat USA 2012, which will take place July 21-26 in Las Vegas. Black Hat conferences are the infosec world's premier meeting of the minds, but you probably already knew that.
To kick things off, we've got one very important reminder: The Black Hat USA 2012 registration fee increases on June 1st, so if you'd like to save $500 on your registration now is the time to act. Now, not tomorrow. We mean it! Hey, think of it as an extra $500 for the Blackjack tables.
Whether or not you snag those early-bird savings, we think everyone will enjoy the comprehensive program of talks and trainings we've got scheduled for the show. Here are three briefings and trainings to make note of.
Windows 8 Heap Internals by Chris Valasek and Tarjei Mandt
Generic heap exploits are long dead, but reliable heap exploitation is still achievable with intricate knowledge of the operating system's memory manager. Chris Valasek's training will focus on the transition of heap exploitation mitigations from Windows 7 to Windows 8, from both user and kernel perspectives. Expect to wade hip-deep into the inner workings of the Windows memory manager, with plenty of tips and tricks along the way.
Advanced ARM Exploitation by Stephen Ridley and Stephen Lawler
Stephen Ridley and Stephen Lawler are back from the front lines, ready to report on what they've learned from developing their five-day course on ARM exploitation. They'll tell you how to reliably defeat XN, ASLR, stack cookies, and more using nuances of the ARM architecture in Linux, demonstrating their tech and telling you how they developed it via custom-built ARM development platforms. That's not an incoming call you feel buzzing ñ thatís your devices is shaking in fear.
Torturing OpenSSL by Valeria Bertacco - If the hardware layer of a secure system is compromised, the software will inevitably follow. Valeria Bertacco will walk you through a complete end-to-end attack that will show how hardware vulnerabilities can be exploited to target software-secure systems, in this case via a side-channel attack on the RSA signature algorithm. Modest voltage variation faults are just one of several undetectable vectors Ms. Bertacco will detail that can lead to complete extraction of private RSA keys. How many servers in how many data centers are on their last leg, dutifully serving SSL connections? Answer: More than a handful.
Be sure to check back regularly for all the latest updates. And don't forget to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook!


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There was a time when Houston Zoo passed off rubber snake as real
The recent tale out of China about a Tibetan mastiff dog being passed off as a lion at a zoo, along with other decidedly domestic beasts masquerading as leopards and wolves, brought to mind similar Houston story from September 1984.
A frequent visitor to the Houston Zoo asked then curator-in-charge John Donaho why the coral snake in the reptile house hadn't moved in nine months.
His answer was priceless.
''We have had live snakes in the exhibit, but they don't do well - they tend to die,'' said John Donaho. ''Rather than kill snakes, we put out a rubber one for people to be able to see what they look like.''
Today, the Houston Zoo can positively say that all of their animals on display are the real things.
"The only fake animals at the zoo today are the sculptures," said PR director Brian Hill at the Houston Zoo, adding that all of their current animals are true down to their DNA.
He's not sure whose idea it was back in 1984 to fake the snake.
"The only option now would be pure speculation," Hill said. He says that there are employees still on staff who date back to the coral snake era.
For their part, the Chinese zoo claimed that they were doing the best they could in difficult economic times.


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ENGM 179: Accounting
Cannot be used to satisfy any A.B. degree requirements
Accounting is the accumulation, reporting, and analysis of a company's financial data. It is used by both external decision makers, such as creditors and investors, and internal decision makers, from product line managers to the board of directors. This course develops the basic concepts underlying corporate financial statements, such as overhead allocation and product costing. It also introduces tools used by both external and internal decision makers to analyze and use accounting information.


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Self-study of Programs and Student Services
Policy Statement
Marywood University is committed to continuous, systematic self-study of its academic programs as a means of attaining excellence. The self-study process includes a review of all of the components of an academic program: philosophy, curriculum, faculty, and students, as well as support services and other resources needed for its successful operation and future development. The review cycle for program review is based on a five-year period.
Administrators, faculty and staff participate in this process, which is linked to the University's institutional planning and budgeting. General institutional guidelines for this process are developed by faculty and administrators; however, each college and department will be able to devise components suitable to its mission, level of education, and academic discipline. The deans with appropriate committees are responsible for designing, implementing and monitoring these component parts of the self-study.
Academic programs that, for accreditation purposes, develop self-study documents for external organizations are allowed to submit these documents for review; however, some additional material may be required to meet the University's self-study requirements.
Self-study documents are also prepared for the principal areas of student services: Admissions, the Registrar's area, Library and Instructional Technology Services, Advisement, and Academic Computing Services.


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The Virgins are an American band formed in 2006 in New York, consisting of Donald Cumming (vocals, guitar), Wade Oates (guitar), and Nick Ackerman (bass).
Their first outing on the road was a 7-week American tour in direct support for the Australian band Jet. Subsequently they have opened for Iggy Pop and The Stooges, Lou Reed, Sonic Youth, Patti Smith, Kenneth Anger, Abel Ferrara, and others. They have also enjoyed several television appearances on David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O' Brien, The Jimmy Fallon show, and Carson Daly. Their first full length album titled The Virgins was met with great critical success. They have since played at the All Points West Festival, SXSW festival, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Leeds, Reading, and T in the Park festivals, among other major French, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian festivals in the summer of 2009. In the fall of 2009 they were invited to perform in Moscow.
The song "Rich Girls" was number 68 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008 (although no sequential order was intended). They are currently in their hometown of Manhattan, writing and recording their second full-length LP. The song "One Week of Danger" was featured on the soundtrack "OMFGG (Official Music Featured on Gossip Girl)" for the first season of "Gossip Girl."


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Read: Happiness
By Joan Chittister (Eerdmans, 2011)
Joan Chittister's admirers take up her books expecting to draw from a well of wisdom and insight. They approach a writer of her stature with a challenge and a plea: "Tell me something I don't already know." Or, at least: "Tell me what I know in a way that unlocks spiritual doors and shines light on new ways of experiencing God." We are seldom left wanting.
Yet it must be said that much of the information Chittister presents in Happiness is familiar to those who read Rohr, Rolheiser, and other contemporary writers of our faith community. Happiness does not disappoint, but the journey can feel dry and repetitive at times. Chittister explores the nature of happiness in all its expressions and definitions, from Hinduism's four aims of human life to contemporary social, psychological, and neurological studies that probe what brings happiness across worldwide cultural and religious spectrums.
Fortunately we can always count on Chittister to deliver, although satisfaction is deferred until the book's latter sections and the epilogue. Expanding on some of her earlier work, she mines the great world religions for insights and secrets to achieving—or better, recognizing—human happiness. The payoff arrives in a wave of summary insights like, "The sociologist . . . says, choose carefully what you think will make you happy. The physician says, be happy so that you will be at your physical best your whole life and so be able to take advantage of the multiple dimensions of life. . . . The psychologist says, take responsibility for your own happiness. The philosopher says, realize that happiness is more than pleasure. But religion is the only one of the disciplines that says to us directly, 'Happiness depends on this . . . ' "
Some will surely dispute Chittister's declarative conclusion. The wise response for people of faith is to test its truth in their own yearning for happiness.
This article appeared in the May 2012 issue of U.S. Catholic (Vol. 77, No. 5, page 43).