text:
Tyler James '11 Authors The Monon Bell Rivalry: Classic Clashes of DePauw vs. Wabash
October 10, 2013
A new book celebrating one of college football's oldest and most storied rivalries, the Monon Bell, will be published at the end of the month. Tyler James, a 2011 DePauw University graduate and a former football player for the Tigers, is the author of The Monon Bell Rivalry: Classic Clashes of DePauw vs. Wabash. The 160-page book, which contains more than 80 images, will be issued by the History Press.
In the book, "James highlights the coaches and players who gained glory capturing the Bell," notes a synopsis. "Deep historical research and personal interviews with players provide an intimate look into the epic games that live on in legend. Along with players and coaches, the fans receive due recognition for their part in this time-honored rivalry. The Bell heists, the songs, the game day traditions -- James recounts fan fervor in vivid, often humorous, detail. Whether readers sport scarlet & white or black & gold, this is a collection no fan should miss."
Pre-order the book by clicking here.
Tyler James (seen at left with ESPN founder and 1954 DePauw graduate Bill Rasmussen) was an English (writing) major and Media Fellow at DePauw. He works as a staff writer for the South Bend Tribune covering Notre Dame football recruiting year-round.
The 120th DePauw-Wabash football game will take place November 16 at DePauw's Blackstock Stadium. Ticket distribution is under way, and the contest will again be televised nationally by AXS TV.
DePauw and Wabash first met on the gridiron in 1890. In 1932, a locomotive bell from the a locomotive bell donated by the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad Company, also known as the Monon Line, was donated and became the winner's trophy each year.
In the all-time series, Wabash holds a 57-53-9 lead. Since the Monon Bell entered the rivalry in 1932, Wabash leads, 38-37-6.
All 119 games to date are commemorated in video vignettes known as "Monon Memories." Created by Ken Owen '82, the clips can be found here and on YouTube.
To date, sixteen contests in the historic series have been captured on DVD. Available are the DVDs of the 1977, 1993, 1994 and 2000-12 Monon Bell Classics (supplies of past games are extremely limited; the 2008 package is a two-disc set including all 115 "Monon Memories" produced to that date). Order them here. The sets are a collaborative venture between DePauw and Wabash.
The Monon Bell was voted Indiana's best college sports rivalry by fans of ESPN, and is noted in the DVD collection, ESPNU Honor Roll: The Best of College Football, as one of the nation's best annual clashes. The Monon Bell was featured on CBS' Sunday Morning and has twice been spotlighted in Sports Illustrated. The annual DePauw-Wabash clash is also detailed in Rites of Autumn: The Story of College Football, a book by Richard Whittingham. Indianapolis Monthly listed experiencing the game among "50 Things Every Hoosier Must Do." (at left: cover of 1928 game day program)
Access DePauw's Monon Bell Web page here.Back


text:
Published on 20.12.08 in Vol 10, No 5 (2008): Theme Issue: Web-Assisted Tobacco Interventions. Guest Editors: Cameron Norman, Scott McIntosh, Peter Selby
Tweetations for "Utilization of Smoking Cessation Informational, Interactive, and Online Community Resources as Predictors of Abstinence: Cohort Study"
"No tweets found (yet). Tweets listed here are archived every night - for real time results search twitter.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Swazi History
The Swazis are a Bantu-speaking people who are predominantly Nguni in language and culture. They originate from east central Africa. As part of the Nguni expansion southwards, the Swazis crossed the Limpopo River and settled in southern Tongaland (today called Mozambique) in the late fifteenth century. Their leader was Dlamini, a man of Nguni background.
After 200 years the Swazi people, still under a series of chiefs of the Dlamini clan moved into the region on the Pongola River, where they lived in close proximity to the Ndwandwe people. Later on, economic pressures of land shortage finally brought these two groups to blows, after which battle the Swazis retreated to the central area of modern Swaziland. Here the Swazis continued the process of expansion by conquering numerous small Sotho and Nguni speaking tribes to build up a large composite state today called Swaziland.
Olden Times To 1900
Modern Swazi History (1900 To Present)
Swazi Kings, Queen Mothers And Royal Villages
History of His Majesty, King Sobhuza II
Malolotja Iron Mines, Gold Mines
Photos: Swaziland Digital Archives


text:
Increasing Storm Chances
We've been watching a cut-off low slowly drift out of Mexico this afternoon. Ahead of the low clusters of showers and storms have developed across western Texas. A push of moisture at the surface will return across our area on Wednesday. The moisture and the arrival of the upper level support should spark showers and storms during the afternoon and evening. If some sunshine can develop some isolated storms could produce some small hail; however, severe weather is not anticipated.
The low will stick around for Thursday with more showers and storms possible. This is a tricky forecast because the shower and storm coverage will be spotty. Not everybody will pick up on the rain.
The weekend is looking interesting with more chances for storms. A front will sit to our west on Sunday. The dryline should become very active Sunday afternoon into the evening. Storms off the dryline will move in our direction for Sunday night. Those storms could be strong to severe and will need to be watched. The upper level energy would be supportive of rotating storms capable of producing hail and isolated tornadoes. We will blog more about Sunday over the next several days.


text:
Shade_of_Gray wrote:I tend to have something of a non-interventionist stance... I'd argue that if the Syrians want our help, they should petition to be annexed as another state. Then, if it passes, we protect them as our own citizens, from enemies foreign or domestic.
It might be argued that this is imperialism. That may be, but at least it's more honest about our intentions to make miniature United States out of other countries.
Skyfa11 wrote:does America really need to police the world?
Shade_of_Gray wrote:Skyfa11 wrote:does America really need to police the world?
Those who think so would usually argue something along the lines of "instability in the rest of the world represents a threat to America, so America must take preemptive action to neutralize or reduce the threat."
-Ninjex- wrote:I personally feel that our military should be a purely defensive military. One that will take actions only to defend their country if a "threat" is made towards us. This does not include what people would call another country blowing itself up.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests


text:
CYPRESS, Texas — A man accused of stabbing more than a dozen people at a suburban Houston community college randomly selected his victims and told investigators he had been fantasizing about conducting such an attack since he was 8 years old, authorities said today.
Dylan Quick, 20, has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault in the Tuesday attack at the Lone Star Community College in Cypress, a school he attended about 20 miles northwest of Houston.
Classes resumed today at the bustling campus where more than 18,000 students take courses. Students and others were overheard talking about the attack, riveted by the sequence of events that left 14 injured, two critically. Students said workers were seen this morning washing away blood stains from outside the school's health science building.
Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia said authorities were investigating a motive for the attack on the first and second floors of the building and noted the suspect had been planning it "for some time." Investigators weren't certain on which floor the attack began and were working today to piece together the sequence of events.
Garcia said Quick has been "forthcoming," adding, "He's been matter-of-fact and interacting well with investigators."
Quick slashed at his victims with a razor utility knife, and a similar weapon was found in his backpack when he was apprehended, Garcia said. Several of the 14 victims were hospitalized with slash wounds to the head and neck, but campus President Audre Levy said all are expected to recover.
Levy said college police were notified of the attack at 11:13 a.m. Tuesday and that Quick was taken into custody at 11:17 a.m. Authorities said students assisted by tackling Quick and holding him down outside the health science building until police arrived.
"The campus response was immediate," Levy said. "We have done a lot of training and preparedness."
Quick remained in custody today and a spokeswoman with the Harris County district attorney's office said no additional charges are expected. She said Quick has been ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation.
Initial reports in the aftermath of the attack indicated a second suspect was being sought, a concern that prompted campus officials to issue emergency notifications despite the attacker's quick apprehension. Garcia said authorities relied on campus surveillance video to determine that one person was responsible for the stabbings.
Investigators have searched Quick's Houston home and confiscated a computer and other items, Garcia said.
No one answered the door or the phone at the red brick home Tuesday, though two vehicles were parked in the driveway, one of them a Honda Accord with a license plate that read "DYLAN." It was not immediately known if Quick has an attorney.
• About 12 people wounded in stabbing at Houston-area college, officials say


text:
Mobile Banking
ALBASHAER Microfinance will introduce Mobile Banking plan for dealing with clients. The plan will be put into action as of the next year 2011. This will enable our clients to deal with collection of loans and settlement of installments much more easily than before.
Who's OnlineWe have 4 guests online
Login Form


text:
Private Lives, playing on TCM on Friday
Almost a manageable number of films this week – only three or four per day, with nothing particularly of note on Sunday at all. Well, okay, maybe that's not actually manageable unless you're retired or something. Whatever. A lot of those are repeats, but we do have some good newly featured ones, too. Like 1975's Oscar sweeper One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest on Tuesday. And the above-pictured Private Lives, which is a treat if you like early 1930s comedies, and the Lena Horne-featuring Cabin in the Sky on Friday. Also just, as a heads-up, Sundance is playing several films throughout the week that I haven't seen (so am thus not including because I find it difficult to write about things I haven't seen), but I'm interested in checking out myself, including Jindabyne, Chalk, War Dance, Man on Wire, and Intacto, so check out Sundance's schedule for yourself on those. Hopefully they'll pop up in future editions of the column. And if anyone wants to speak up for those or anything else playing that I've left off, feel free to do so in the comments.
Monday, May 17
9:45am – IFC – Manhattan
In one of Woody Allen's best films, he's a neurotic intellectual New Yorker (surprise!) caught between his ex-wife Meryl Streep, his teenage mistress Mariel Hemingway, and Diane Keaton, who just might be his match. Black and white cinematography, a great script, and a Gershwin soundtrack combine to create near perfection.
1979 USA. Director: Woody Allen. Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Mariel Hemingway, Alan Alda.
Must See
(repeats at 2:45pm)
5:55pm – IFC – Annie Hall
Often considered Woody Allen's transition film from "funny Woody" to "serious Woody," Annie Hall is both funny, thoughtful, and fantastic. One of the best scripts ever written, a lot of warmth as well as paranoid cynicism, and a career-making role for Diane Keaton (not to mention fashion-making).
1977 USA. Director: Woody Allen. Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane.
Must See
Tuesday, May 18
6:00am – TCM – Gold Diggers of 1933
The story's nothing to get excited about (and in fact, the subplot that takes over the main plot wears out its welcome fairly quickly), but the strong Depression-era songs, kaleidoscopic choreography from Busby Berkeley, and spunky supporting work from Ginger Rogers pretty much make up for it.
1933 USA. Director: Mervyn LeRoy. Starring: Joan Blondell, Warren William, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Aline MacMahon, Ginger Rogers, Guy Kibbee.
8:00am – TCM – Gold Diggers of 1935
This movie is not even as good as Gold Diggers of 1933 (to which it is unrelated in plot), but it does have one thing that makes it eminently worth watching – the epic "Lullaby of Broadway" number that closes the show, with a full story-within-a-dance playing out through three verses of the song. It is possibly the most definitive number of 1930s backstage musicals.
1935 USA. Director: Busby Berkeley. Starring: Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Gloria Stuart, Alice Brady.
Newly Featured!
8:00am – IFC – The New World
Terrence Malick may not make many films, but the ones he does make, wow. Superficially the story of John Smith and Pocahontas, The New World is really something that transcends mere narrative – this is poetry on film. Every scene, every shot has a rhythm and an ethereal that belies the familiarity of the story we know. I expected to dislike this film when I saw it, quite honestly. It ended up moving me in ways I didn't know cinema could.
2005 USA. Director: Terrence Malick. Starring: Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, Christian Bale, Christopher Plummer.
Must See
(repeats at 2:05pm)
10:00pm – TCM – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Criminal Jack Nicholson gets put into a psychiatric hospital to see if maybe he's crazy, and he ends up shaking the place up a bunch, especially the extremely strict by-the-book Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). I like this film but I'm not as big a fan as a lot of people; but if you're a fan of Nicholson, he's never better than here.
1975 USA. Director: Milos Forman. Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Brad Dourif.
Newly Featured!
Wednesday, May 19
7:00am – IFC – Primer
Welcome to sci-fi at its most cerebral. You know how most science-dependent films include a non-science-type character so there's an excuse to explain all the science to audience? Yeah, this film doesn't have that character, so no one ever explains quite how the time travel device at the center of the film works. Or even that it is, actually, a time-travel device. This is the sci-fi version of getting thrown into the deep end when you can't swim. Without floaties.
2004 USA. Director: Shane Carruth. Starring: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden, Anand Upadhyaya, Carrie Crawford.
(repeats at 1:00pm)
2:30am (20th) – Sundance – 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
This unflinching Romanian film remains one of the most powerful things I've seen in the last several years. Set in the mid-1980s, it builds a thriller-like story of a woman trying to help her friend obtain a dangerous illegal abortion – yet it's a thriller so deliberate that its very slowness and lack of movement becomes a major source of tension. When the camera does move, it has an almost physical force. I can hardly describe how blown away I am by this film…tough to watch, but incredibly worth it.
2007 Romania. Director: Cristian Mungiu. Starring: Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov, Alexandru Potocean.
Must See
4:25am (20th) – Sundance – That Obscure Object of Desire
Luis Buñuel, ever one to come up with outlandish conceits, here directs two women playing the same role. The result is trippy and mesmerizing.
1977 France/Spain. Director: Luis Buñuel. Starring: Fernandy Rey, Carole Bouquet, Ángela Molina.
Thursday, May 20
10:00am – TCM – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Frank Capra puts on his idealist hat to tell the story of Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), an inexperienced young man appointed as a junior senator because the corrupt senior senator thinks he'll be easy to control. But Smith doesn't toe the party line, instead launching a filibuster for what he believes in. Wonderful comedienne Jean Arthur is the journalist who initially encourages Smith so she can get a great story from his seemingly inevitable downfall, but soon joins his cause.
1939 USA. Director: Frank Capra. Starring: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Eugene Pallette, Thomas Mitchell.
Must See
4:00pm – TCM – The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Three of the greatest names in westerns – John Ford, John Wayne, and James Stewart – teamed up to make this film just as the classical western was fading out of popularity. Perhaps fittingly, then, it's a film about western myth and the transition from outlaw gunslingers to government rule, a transition aided in one town at least by the man who shot outlaw Liberty Valance.
1962 USA. Director: John Ford. Starring: John Wayne, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien.
6:15pm – TCM – The Man From Laramie
One of several westerns that James Stewart and Anthony Mann made together, and this one is one of the most solid; in this one, Stewart is a wagon train leader who gets pulled into a territorial feud against his will when one side torches his wagons. These westerns begin to show the dark side of the west, where the hero is only a hero because it's expedient for him, or because he has some personal gain to get out of it.
1955 USA. Director: Anthony Mann. Starring: James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, Cathy O'Donnell.
Friday, May 21
6:45am – IFC – Hannah and Her Sisters
Though I love Manhattan and Annie Hall to bits, I throw my vote for best Woody Allen movie ever to Hannah and Her Sisters. It has all the elements Allen is known for – neurotic characters, infidelity, a tendency to philosophize randomly, New York City, dysfunctional family dynamics, acerbic wit – and blends them together much more cogently and evenly than most of his films do.
1986 USA. Director: Woody Allen. Starring: Barbara Hershey, Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, Michael Caine, Dianne Wiest, Woody Allen.
Must See
(repeats at 1:15pm)
7:15am – Sundance – Ran
Akira Kurosawa's inspired transposition of King Lear into medieval Japan, mixing Shakespeare and Japanese Noh theatre tradition like nobody's business.
1985 Japan. Director: Akira Kurosawa. Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu.
Must See
(repeats at 1:20pm)
8:35am – IFC – Away from Her
A very strong directing debut film from actress Sarah Polley, about an older woman (Julie Christie) suffering from Alzheimer's and her husband's difficulty in dealing with essentially the loss of his wife as she has more and more difficulty remembering their life together. It's a lovely, heartbreaking film, bolstered by great understated performances.
2006 Canada. Director: Sarah Polley. Starring: Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Stacey LaBerge.
(repeats at 3:05pm)
9:30am – TCM – Private Lives
A sparkling battle-of-the-sexes comedy from the witty pen of Noel Coward. Norma Shearer and Robert Montgomery play a divorced couple recently remarried to other people – until they end up honeymooning in adjoining suites and can't manage to stay away from each other. It's deliciously pre-code in dialogue and innuendo. It is pretty clearly early in the sound era, though, which tends to make some of it come across a little shrill.
1931 USA. Director: Sidney Franklin. Starring: Norma Shearer, Robert Montgomery, Reginald Denny, Una Merkel.
Newly Featured!
9:30pm – TCM – Cabin in the Sky
In honor of Lena Horne's passing last week, TCM is playing three of her films. This is the only one I've seen, but it's the middle of the three if you're interested in checking out the others. This is also Vincente Minnelli's first directorial effort, a musical fantasy about the battle over a man's soul. If you happen to check out the post I just did on Row Three about the Out of Circulation Cartoon program at the TCM Festival, you'll find a lot of the same stereotypes and storyline here as you will in those cartoons, but it does have stylish direction and some great musical moments from Ethel Waters, Horne, Louis Armstrong, and others.
1943 USA. Director: Vincente Minnelli. Starring: Ethel Waters, Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong, Rex Ingram.
Newly Featured!
Saturday, May 22
8:45am – IFC – Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
Lawrence Sterne's 1769 proto-postmodern novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy has long been considered unfilmable. So what does director Michael Winterbottom do? He makes a film about the difficulty of filming Tristram Shandy. Winterbottom's film is something of an experiment, but it's a delightful one, showing the behind-the-scenes antics of production as well as highlighting the circularity and self-defeating narrative of Sterne's novel in the film-within-the-film.
2005 UK. Director: Michael Winterbottom. Starring: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Keeley Hawes, Shirley Henderson, Jeremy Northam.
(repeats at 1:45pm)
4:15pm – TCM – Tarzan, The Ape Man
Get your pre-code action right here, as swimming champion Johnny Weissmuller brings Tarzan to life and Maureen O'Sullivan teaches him the ways of the human world as Jane. Generally, the sequel Tarzan and His Mate is considered the best of the series, but hey. Gotta start somewhere.
1932 USA. Director: W.S. Van Dyke. Starring: Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan.
8:00pm – TCM – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Charles Laughton plays the put-upon hunchback Quasimodo, a young Maureen O'Hara the lovely Esmerelda in one of the best film versions of Victor Hugo's classic of gothic romanticism.
1939 USA. Director: William Dieterle. Starring: Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell, Edmond O'Brien.
8:00pm – IFC – Blow Out
Sound man John Travolta is recording sound samples one night, and may have accidentally recorded a murder occurring. As he tries to investigate, he's drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. Inspired to some degree by Antonioni's photography-based Blow-Up, but this is definitely DePalma's film all the way.
1981 USA. Director: Brian DePalma. Starring: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz.
(repeats at 1:30am on the 23rd)
Sunday, May 23
Catch-up day, apparently!


text:
If you have not heard of Greek Ollendorff, it's a great way to reinforce your Greek or to continue learning Greek. It's also in the public domain and hence free. The book has 96 lessons; each lesson has a number of simple Greek sentences as exercises. In the beginning lessons, the "sentences" are simple phrases. As the lessons progress, the sentences become more complex, but not overly complex. The beauty of Greek Ollendorff is that it gives you quality practice with relatively simple sentences.
I've begun recording the lessons, and at the current date I have recorded a bit past lesson 60. I have done the recordings as best I can using the Imperial Koine Greek pronunciation, which I learned from Randall Buth's Living Koine Greek book (you can read my review of it here). I am in the process of putting out the recordings I have done, and I plan to eventually record all 96 lessons. You can subscribe to the Greek Ollendorff Podcast through iTunes or through its RSS feed.
I have put additional information about Greek Ollendorff and the recordings on my blog right here; I definitely appreciate any feedback. I've found that listening to the recordings helps me to internalize Greek as a living language, and I highly recommend it!
Audio Recordings of Greek Ollendorff
Tell us about interesting projects involving biblical Greek. Collaborative projects involving biblical Greek may use this forum for their communication - please contact email@example.com if you want to use this forum for your project.
Post Reply
1 post • Page 1 of 1
- Posts: 3
- Joined: January 31st, 2013, 7:31 pm
- Contact:
Audio Recordings of Greek Ollendorff
0 x
κε-ιν μαδδεν
Post Reply
1 post • Page 1 of 1


text:
Gallego wins in District 23
Democrat Pete Gallego unseated U.S. Rep. Francisco "Quico" Canseco in a hard-fought race that saw the lead teeter back and forth between the candidates late Tuesday.
Gallego, a state lawmaker, saw Democratic votes in El Paso and other U.S. border counties overcome an early lead that Republican Canseco held in San Antonio.
"What you will get over the next two years is not a political person but someone who will reach across the aisle," Gallego said in declaring victory.
The Associated Press called the race at 11:47 p.m.
Despite results showing Gallego with an insurmountable lead at midnight, Canseco would not concede.
"This is a close race. This is a nail-biter," Canseco said, adding he would not give in "until every legal vote is counted."
Canseco was bunkered into his campaign war room at the Holiday Inn near the San Antonio International Airport, watching results.
None of the precincts in Val Verde County, on the U.S.-Mexico border, had reported results to the Texas secretary of state as midnight neared.
Early voting in the district was heavy, but it did not reach the levels seen in 2008, when President Barack Obama was elected.
Canseco won 54 percent of the early vote in Bexar County. Gallego earned 41 percent. But Gallego easily trumped Canseco in the Democratic strongholds of El Paso and Eagle Pass.
San Antonio has the largest number of precincts in the 23rd Congressional District. The sweeping district spans 29 counties and is larger than Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware.
The 23rd District was one of the top competitive races in the country. It attracted more than $6 million in spending from the candidates, the political parties, political action committees and special-interest groups.
Canseco raised more than $2.5 million, compared with $1.5 million for Gallego, who emerged from a three-way Democratic primary this year.
The race was marred by mudslinging and a negative tone in advertising that questioned the candidates' ethics and religious beliefs.
"The ads have been so negative, trying to induce fear. They are character assassination," said Larry Hufford, a St. Mary's University professor in San Antonio.
There were many counties in the congressional district that had initiatives or contested local races on the ballot, although most said the race between Obama and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney was driving turnout.
Neither House candidate was marred by scandal, although both suffered embarrassments.
Canseco was publicly questioned about his reaction to an airport pat down, and Gallego, the Democratic establishment candidate, needed a runoff against a lesser-funded opponent to win the party nomination.
The race was seen as one cast by Democratic and Republican ideology.
Canseco attacked Gallego for the backing he received from environmental groups in the energy-producing district, and Gallego attacked his GOP rival for opposing immigration measures such as the DREAM Act.


text: Clay Central Everly does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in admission to its programs, services, or activities, in access to them, in treatment of individuals, or in any aspect of their operations. The lack of English language skills shall not be a barrier to admission or participation in the district's activities and programs. Clay Central Everly also does not discriminate in its hiring or employment practices. CCE offers CTE services in the following areas: Agricultural Education, Business Education, Family and Consumer Sciences Education, & Industrial Education.


text:
Time to jump off the BlackBerry bandwagon?March 4, 2014: 1:31 PM ET
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks.
CrackBerry addicts rejoice! It seems that BlackBerry is here to stay.
At least that what Wall Street -- and Bay Street for my neighbo(u)rs to the North -- think about the company.
Shares of Ontario-based BlackBerry (BBRY) are up nearly 45% so far this year. That makes it the top performer in CNNMoney's Tech 30 index.
BlackBerry even surged on Monday, rising nearly 4% as many global investors were busy worrying about whether Crimea was going to be the 2014 equivalent of 1939's Sudetenland.
So why has the pride of Canada (okay ... that's probably a term better used for the men's and women's Olympic hockey teams) surged? The company is still struggling.
Analysts expect BlackBerry to report a quarterly loss of $329 million and a year-over-year sales decline of 55% when it releases its fiscal fourth-quarter results later this month.
Making matters worse, Wall Street is predicting that the company ended the quarter with 58.5 million subscribers. That would be down 7% from the third quarter and a drop of 23% from a year ago.
The main reason for BlackBerry's problems are well-known. It was too late to jump onto the smartphone wave and was overtaken by Apple (AAPL), companies using Google's (GOOG) Android operating system and even those running Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows Phone.
As we all know from just having watched the Olympics, there is no medal for fourth place.
Related: BlackBerry unveils new Q20 phone
But none of this seems to matter right now because investors are infatuated with new CEO John Chen, who has pledged to turn the company around.
I realize it's ludicrously absurd to start taking suggestions for CEO of the Year on March 4. But I've been called worse things than ludicrously absurd ... so Chen has to be a leading contender as of right now.
And there are indications that Chen is righting the ship. Reports that Ford (F) may replace Microsoft technology in future cars with BlackBerry's QNX have helped lift the stock in the past week.
If the rumors are true, that's a big win for BlackBerry, whose Bluetooth-based tech is already used for entertainment and communications functions in Audi and BMW automobiles.
Related: Car makers to offer iPhone platform
BlackBerry has also gotten a bump thanks to Facebook's (FB) acquisition of messaging service WhatsApp for a stunning $19 billion. The deal seemed to be a wake-up call to investors who may have forgotten that BlackBerry owns messaging platform BBM.
I don't think it's a coincidence that BlackBerry's shares are up nearly 20% since the WhatsApp purchase was announced less than two weeks ago.
Still, you have to wonder if the easy money has now been made in BlackBerry. It may be time to jump off that bandwagon.
As I wrote late last year about Chen, his main job over the next few months is to merely convince investors and customers that the company has a viable future. He doesn't necessarily have to come up with a magical solution to restore BlackBerry to its former glory.
If you talk a good game and stress patience, the new CEO honeymoon period can last for a pretty long time. Just ask Meg Whitman and Marissa Mayer. Shares of HP (HPQ) and Yahoo (YHOO) -- while both hitting some rough patches -- are not far from their 52-week highs and are up a lot over the past year.
But investors may eventually grow tired of viewing BlackBerry as a plucky underdog story. You can't be in turnaround mode forever.
Ultimately, Chen is going to have to prove that BlackBerry has a fighting chance to remain relevant. Its future may lie more in the world of auto tech. Maybe Chen will find a way to sell the BBM unit ... or at least make more money off of it.
But he needs some growth strategy. The numbers are not pretty.
BlackBerry ended the third quarter with $3.2 billion in cash. It got $1 billion of liquidity from a group led by investor Fairfax Financial (FRFHF) to help stop the bleeding.
Related: T-Mobile razzed for dissing BlackBerry
So it will be very interesting to see how much cash BlackBerry burned in the fourth quarter. If it was a lot, then Chen may suddenly find that investors won't be as forgiving.
After all, analysts are predicting that BlackBerry's sales will fall this year and next as it continues to lose subscribers. Wall Street is also forecasting another two years of losses.
That's why Chen should enjoy living in the limelight for now. It is the universal dream, according to some other Canadian legends ... rock power trio Rush! And on that note ...


text:
Back to the brig, Bernie!
Admitted swindler Bernard Madoff will remain in jail pending sentencing, a federal appeals court ruled today.
Yesterday, lawyers for the disgraced money manager asked a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to release Madoff on bail, allowing him to return to his luxury Manhattan apartment.
The ruling said that after a conviction, a defendant no longer has a substantive constitutional right to bail pending sentencing.
Madoff's attorney Ira Sorkin had argued that the judge made a legal error when he ordered Madoff jailed last week.
Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 charges related to the massive Ponzi scheme that annihilated the fortunes of banks, companies, charities and unwitting investors. During that hearing, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin revoked Madoff's $10 million bail, which allowed him to remain under house arrest and in the comfort of his luxury penthouse while he awaits his June 16 sentencing.
Prosecutors said Madoff should remain in prison because he is a higher risk to flee after pleading guilty.
"The defendant has argued that all of his assets are accounted for and are inaccessible to him;" wrote the The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. "however, the district court was not required to treat this defendant's financial representations as reliable. The defendant has a residence abroad, and has had ample opportunity over a long period of time to secret substantial resources outside the country."
Madoff has been detained in an eight-by-seven-and-a-half foot cell on the southern end of the 10th floor at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Manhattan.
The wing, known as 10 South, has housed some of New York's most infamous mobsters. Strict rules and harsh conditions have earned 10 South a reputation from some of its former occupants.
Madoff faces up to 150 years in federal prison when he is sentenced in June.


text: 'XC' means cross-country. 'W' represents its wide-ratio transmission. 'KTM' stands for winning. This model is a race-ready bike built for closed course enduro racing. With the agility of a 125 and enough muscle to take the fight to the 250 cc 4-Strokes, this bike punches well above its weight. That's why when the going gets tough, the tough get an XC-W.


text: Marathon Health is a not-for-profit primary health care organisation that delivers health services and programs to regional and remote communities. We are committed to working together to achieve optimal health outcomes for all. Marathon Health has strong networks in the health sector, innovative community partnerships, and a commitment to delivering sustainable health outcomes.


text:
Staff bitching about their employer, mucking around in the aisles, overheard singing offensive songs, complaining to each other about customers and swearing on the shop floor - why it can only be the fall and fall of the once great Worcester Park branch of Waitrose.
Of course there are many staff (sorry, partners) in the branch who still uphold the once high standards of Waitrose, but the decline in standards in recent months (particularly in the newer intake, but also spreading to the 'older hands') is so pronounced that there must surely be something behind it. A change of branch manager, perhaps?
Whatever the cause of the collapse of standards in recent months, to Mrs WP an encounter with a surly and unhelpful 'partner' last week was the last straw, and she has vowed to steer clear of the supermarket that she once worshipped and adored.
Quite how successful she will be remains to be seen - for however bad Waitrose in Worcester Park has become recently, the alternatives are hardly a tempting prospect.
I shall keep you posted!