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It's been a good few months for animal rights advocates: Massachusetts banned surgeries to silence a dog or cat and a Spanish province approved a ban on bullfighting.
The silencing procedure, called debarking, severs or removes an animal's vocal cords making it difficult or nearly impossible for a dog or cat to vocalize. Gov. Deval Patrick, D-Mass., signed a bill April 22 banning the procedure, which activists said left scar tissue in the pet's throat making it difficult for the animal to breathe.
Some dogs and cats that underwent "debarking" were left wheezing, coughing and choking for the rest of their lives, said Beth Birnbaum of the Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets. The law bars veterinarians from performing the surgery and carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a $2,500 fine.
"This is so remarkable, the passage of this legislation," she told the Boston Globe.
Massachusetts may also consider making it illegal for landlords to require a cat be declawed or a dog be devocalized to rent an apartment.
Opponents of debarking said it was usually performed on dogs owned by commercial breeders and the public should understand it was done for convenience.
Animal advocates say it's more important to understand why a pet is making noise, adding behavior modification and obedience training can help keep chronically noisy pets quiet.
Is the dog barking because it is left alone, isolated or unsupervised for long periods? Is there constant noise in the environment, especially in urban areas? Does the dog have other bad social habits like constant chewing?
Some techniques to mitigate barking include confronting a dog immediately when it starts to bark. Approach the animal and say "No!" or immediately spritz it with a blast of water from a spray bottle, BarkingDogs.net suggests. Don't reinforce bad behavior by running to play with a dog to get it to stop barking. You have to be in charge, not the pet.
Some owners use electronic bark collars that deliver a mild electric shock when the dog begins to bark. Others leave a radio or television on when they leave home so the pet left alone won't be totally bored.
Exercise or the presence of another pet, even a singing or talking bird, can ease isolation and be a good non-aversion barking deterrent. The Monks of New Skete, in their book "How to be Your Dog's Best Friend," warn keeping a dog in a rectangular outdoor dog run can encourage fence running and incessant barking in some dogs. Their advice: Enrich the dogs' environment by turning a kennel into a fun obstacle course with bridges, tunnels, curved boards, rope toys and safely hanging toys with bells. Shrubs planted around a dog run can block a dog's view and help keep it quiet.
In the Spanish region of Catalonia, lawmakers voted to ban bullfighting, considered a part of traditional Spanish culture, starting in 2012.
Animal welfare groups had campaigned against bullfighting for more than 18 months calling the ritualized killing of bulls barbaric and outdated.
However, observers said bullfighting has been on the decline in the region for years and had been mainly a draw for tourists. They contend an end of bullfighting is akin to the gradual disappearance of the afternoon siesta as Spain modernized.
"This is a historic day for all who have worked to promote animal rights in a modern society like ours," animal rights activist Jose Ramon Mallen of Fundacion Equanimal told the New York Times. "This is not about politics and Catalan identity but about ethics and showing that it's simply wrong to enjoy watching an animal getting killed in public."
Catalans have long sought greater independence from Madrid and the rest of Spain.
Odds and Ends:
While some 4H members may consider a prized bull more pet than livestock, few farmers go as far a Canadian bison rancher Henry Makinson, who lets buffalo roam inside his home in Grandview, Manitoba. The 80-year-old rancher allows his massive pets inside a one-room farmhouse and a larger home, and one bison likes to lie down and nap on the living room carpet. The Winnipeg Free Press said Makinson's bison can perform tricks like dancing in a conga-like line at rodeos.
Best Friends Pet Care Resort opens Aug. 27 at Disney World in Florida. People traveling with their pets to the Magic Kingdom can drop them at a 50,000-square-foot resort that includes a water park for dogs, a "kitty city," VIP suites with flat-screen televisions and two doggy day camp rooms that open onto a yard. The suites rent for $69 to $79 a night. Smaller pets like rabbits and ferrets can stay for $12 to $23 a night, but no reptiles or primates are allowed.
Chew Chew, an all-organic restaurant for pets, opened in Sydney, Australia. The popular spot has a regularly changing menu with such entrees as beef steak, carrot and shitake mushrooms, goat yogurt jelly and lamb bones and chicken wings — for dogs and cats only. Pet owners can buy a coffee or cappuccino next door for themselves.
Online voting ends Aug. 16 for the second annual "VPI Hambone Award, given to the pet responsible for the most unusual pet insurance claim of the year. The award is named after a dog that got stuck in a refrigerator and ate a Thanksgiving ham. This year's nominees include a Labrador retriever that ate an entire bee hive — bees and all — and a cat that tumbled around inside a clothes dryer. www.VPIHamboneAward.com
Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.


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Welcome to Portofino's Restaurant,
We will be open for take-out and delivery Wednesday through Sunday from 12 noon till 8 pm, serving food from our Dinner Menu only during this time.
Orders must be called in and payment can be made by credit card over the phone or if you prefer cash upon delivery. We are also offering a no contact delivery service, where the driver will call you when they are in front of your house and leave the order by your doorway. If you wish to preorder for a few days in advance so you know you will have a delicious meal ready for you at the end of the day, please call us to make the arrangements. For larger families or if you want to stock up, we'll also have trays of delicious food available for pick up or delivery.
The health and safety of our customers and staff is our top priority and we are taking important preventive measures to maintain a clean and safe environment in order to continue serving you and all our guests during this time.
Please look out for your family, friends, and neighbors during this time. So we can all do our best in helping everyone stay healthy.
Thank you for your support.
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subset: commoncrawl


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There's a fizzy silliness to "Despicable Me 2" that will make it a huge word-of-mouth hit among key demographics. That would be 2- to 6-year-olds, and parents who enjoy seeing their kids curled into balls of uncontrollable laughter.
You need to have seen the original 2010 comedy to get the most out of this sequel. Luckily, a lot of people have.
"Despicable Me," Universal Studios' first venture into computer animated cartooning, was a smash. It offered a nifty novelty, with a would-be supervillain as the central character. Gru (Steve Carell with a larynx-twisting Hungarian accent) was a perversely winning mash-up of Dr. Seuss' Grinch and Charles Addams' Uncle Fester.
The film had a dark and whimsical sense of humor that was occasionally downright grisly. Gru adopted three sugar-sweet orphan girls who could help him infiltrate his archenemy's compound. He put the girls to sleep in hollowed-out bombs. When one appeared to be skewered inside an iron maiden he kept in the kitchen, he shrugged, "Plan can work with two."
Margo, Enid and Agnes are back and more prominent in this tale. No longer a misanthrope, Gru dotes on his daughters and spends much of his time fending off inappropriate dates foisted on him by his busybody neighbors. An odd-couple potential romance appears when he teams up with an agent of the Anti-Villain League (Kristin Wiig, returning from the original, but in a new role) to discover which shop owner at the local mall is a baddie in disguise. Is the new fiend on the block the oddly coiffed owner of the wig shop (Ken Jeong)? The proprietor of the Mexican restaurant (Benjamin Bratt), who serves his customers life-sized taco sombreros filled with guacamole?
As before, Gru's assisted, sort of, by a zany band of yellow, pill-shaped Minions, who jabber a gibberish language and cook up all manner of clumsy monkeyshines. The roster of grown-up characters is smaller than in the first outing to make more room for the Minions' accident-prone antics and gobbledygook versions of platinum-selling pop hits. It's all as bright and bouncy as a roller-coaster ride.
Pretty much any gag that would go over the head of a 7-year-old has been removed. In fact, the only grownup joke I noticed was that one missile in an array of doomsday rockets targeted Hoboken. But this is not a movie for jaded grownups. A squeal of excitement shivered through the preview audience when the Fart Gun reappeared from the first film. Same again for the comeback of Kyle, Gru's green, fangy pet dog creature. And for Dr. Nefario, Gru's assistant, and his very slow moped.
For an adult, the predictability could turn you blase. For kids, revisiting these jokes is a howl. Pinkie promise.
3 stars
Rating: PG for rude humor and mild action


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Royal Mail wishes to inform the designated operators of other Union member countries that, over the last week, EMSEVT scans for the express and registered (both import and export) products have been affected by an IT system issue.
This is being treated as urgent. A fix is expected soon and the backlog of messages will then be relayed. At this stage, Royal Mail is not transmitting any EMSEVT scans to its partners, although they are available at https://www.royalmail.com/track-your-item#/.
Royal Mail thanks designated operators for their understanding and cooperation and will inform them as soon as the situation returns to normal.


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- anti-aquaporin-4 antibody (1)
- aquaporin-4 autoantibodies (1)
- cerebrospinal-fluid (1)
- extensiv transverse myelitis (1)
- immune-response (1)
- immunoglobulin-G (1)
- intractable hiccup (1)
- multiple sclerosis (1)
Contrasting disease patterns in seropositive and seronegative neuromyelitis optica: A multicentre study of 175 patients (2012)
Background: The diagnostic and pathophysiological relevance of antibodies to aquaporin-4 (AQP4-Ab) in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) has been intensively studied. However, little is known so far about the clinical impact of AQP4-Ab seropositivity. Objective: To analyse systematically the clinical and paraclinical features associated with NMO spectrum disorders in Caucasians in a stratified fashion according to the patients' AQP4-Ab serostatus. Methods: Retrospective study of 175 Caucasian patients (AQP4-Ab positive in 78.3%). Results: Seropositive patients were found to be predominantly female (p < 0.0003), to more often have signs of co-existing autoimmunity (p < 0.00001), and to experience more severe clinical attacks. A visual acuity of <= 0.1 during acute optic neuritis (ON) attacks was more frequent among seropositives (p < 0.002). Similarly, motor symptoms were more common in seropositive patients, the median Medical Research Council scale (MRC) grade worse, and MRC grades <= 2 more frequent, in particular if patients met the 2006 revised criteria (p < 0.005, p < 0.006 and p < 0.01, respectively), the total spinal cord lesion load was higher (p < 0.006), and lesions >= 6 vertebral segments as well as entire spinal cord involvement more frequent (p < 0.003 and p < 0.043). By contrast, bilateral ON at onset was more common in seronegatives (p < 0.007), as was simultaneous ON and myelitis (p < 0.001); accordingly, the time to diagnosis of NMO was shorter in the seronegative group (p < 0.029). The course of disease was more often monophasic in seronegatives (p < 0.008). Seropositives and seronegatives did not differ significantly with regard to age at onset, time to relapse, annualized relapse rates, outcome from relapse (complete, partial, no recovery), annualized EDSS increase, mortality rate, supratentorial brain lesions, brainstem lesions, history of carcinoma, frequency of preceding infections, oligoclonal bands, or CSF pleocytosis. Both the time to relapse and the time to diagnosis was longer if the disease started with ON (p < 0.002 and p < 0.013). Motor symptoms or tetraparesis at first myelitis and > 1 myelitis attacks in the first year were identified as possible predictors of a worse outcome.
Safety and clinical outcomes of rituximab therapy in patients with different autoimmune diseases: experience from a national registry (GRAID) (2011)
Introduction: Evidence from a number of open-label, uncontrolled studies has suggested that rituximab may benefit patients with autoimmune diseases who are refractory to standard-of-care. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and clinical outcomes of rituximab in several standard-of-care-refractory autoimmune diseases (within rheumatology, nephrology, dermatology and neurology) other than rheumatoid arthritis or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in a real-life clinical setting. Methods: Patients who received rituximab having shown an inadequate response to standard-of-care had their safety and clinical outcomes data retrospectively analysed as part of the German Registry of Autoimmune Diseases. The main outcome measures were safety and clinical response, as judged at the discretion of the investigators. Results: A total of 370 patients (299 patient-years) with various autoimmune diseases (23.0% with systemic lupus erythematosus, 15.7% antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated granulomatous vasculitides, 15.1% multiple sclerosis and 10.0% pemphigus) from 42 centres received a mean dose of 2,440 mg of rituximab over a median (range) of 194 (180 to 1,407) days. The overall rate of serious infections was 5.3 per 100 patient-years during rituximab therapy. Opportunistic infections were infrequent across the whole study population, and mostly occurred in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. There were 11 deaths (3.0% of patients) after rituximab treatment (mean 11.6 months after first infusion, range 0.8 to 31.3 months), with most of the deaths caused by infections. Overall (n = 293), 13.3% of patients showed no response, 45.1% showed a partial response and 41.6% showed a complete response. Responses were also reflected by reduced use of glucocorticoids and various immunosuppressives during rituximab therapy and follow-up compared with before rituximab. Rituximab generally had a positive effect on patient well-being (physician's visual analogue scale; mean improvement from baseline of 12.1 mm)


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Steven Mark Needham
Be sure to drain the salad before adding to the sandwich.
- 1 French or Italian bread (7 to 8 inches long)
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 8 tender arugula leaves
- 1 ripe plum tomato, cut into 1/4-inch strips
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 slices mozzarella (about 1/8 inch thick)
- 4 whole fresh basil leaves, rinsed and patted dry
- 2 thin slices (2 ounces) prosciutto di Parma
- 4 thin slices (1 ounce) Genoa salami
- 1. Split the bread lengthwise and pull out some of the insides. Brush the insides of the bread with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil.
- 2. Make the salad: Toss the arugula and tomato strips in a bowl with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.
- 3. Layer the bottom of the bread with the mozzarella, basil, prosciutto and salami. Top with the salad. Cover with the top of the bread. Cut the sandwich in half on the diagonal and wrap well for the road.
Nutritional analysis per serving: 900 calories, 67 g carbohydrate, 43 g protein, 50 g fat, 90 mg cholesterol


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I discovered mythology as a seventh grader.
My Jr. High school was a mile from home, and I walked in all but the very worst weather. Often I would find a brief refuge in the public library which was on the way home.
I remember one illustrated book about the Greek and Roman gods. The artwork was amazing and in my mind's eye (probably enhanced by memory) as detailed and amazing as Michelangelo's triptychs.
The 12-year old me was launched on a love affair with all things mythological. The librarians in the children's section were happy to provide me with age appropriate versions of the Iliad and Homer's Odyssey. I devoured the tales of King Arthur and Camelot. I hunted out every version of the tales of Greek and Roman gods that I could find. Eventually, I became a bit of an expert.
When I became an adult, I discovered a new genre. These books took the well known myths and rewrote them from a new perspective. I loved them as much as the original stories, and even in some cases, better.
Current day authors, the most well known – Rick Riordan – portrayed a retelling of Greek gods in present day incarnations in his Percy Jackson Heroes of Olympus series. He went on to take a look at Egyptian mythology in his next series, the Kane Chronicles.
But hold on there, he's not the only author writing these amazing tales. Here are some other books to try if you are mythological tale hound like me.
Tracy Barrett has several tales drawn from antiquity. But says she is only following a long tradition:
I've always been confused by the notion that the stories we know from Greek and Roman mythology are the "real" version, and that when I write a book based on one of them, I'm retelling a story from an authoritative text. The fact is that the myths, the hero legends, the incidents of the Trojan War (if such a war ever took place), the voyages of Odysseus—all these tales were told orally for centuries before someone wrote them down. Whoever that writer was, he (almost certainly a "he") picked and chose which details of the traditional tale to include, invented others, and put on his own stylistic stamp. A poet a generation later who told the same story would have a different spin on it.
That's all I'm doing in King of Ithaka and Dark of the Moon. I love hearing stories told by a narrator who is a minor character in a familiar tale, so I chose Telemachos (Odysseus's son) to relate his own coming-of-age story in the former, and Ariadne (sister of the Minotaur) to set the record straight about what was really going on with her monstrous brother in the latter.
Each poet in King of Ithaka says at the start of his song, "Hear this," and finishes it by saying, "And now my tale is told." The first words in King of Ithaka are "Hear this," and the last are, "And now my tale is told." I'm just one in a long line of people who have taken inspiration from the adventures of Odysseus and the story of the Minotaur.
A mysterious talisman transports a boy back to ancient Italy
No one ever listens to Hector. He wanted to hang out with his friends this summer, but instead he's stuck in Italy at an archaeological dig with his mom. The ancient Etruscan artifacts are interesting, but no one has time for him.
Then he makes a discovery of his own-a strange, unsettling stone that looks like an eye. The stone brings nightmares about Arath, an Etruscan boy who died thousands of years ago but now begs for Hector's help. Are these just dreams, or is Arath really in danger? As Hector unearths the truth, he realizes that he can make himself heard when it counts.
Ariadne is destined to become a goddess of the moon. She leads a lonely life, filled with hours of rigorous training by stern priestesses. Her former friends no longer dare to look at her, much less speak to her. All that she has left are her mother and her beloved, misshapen brother Asterion, who must be held captive below the palace for his own safety.
The King of Ithaca Telemachos has a comfortable life on his small island of Ithaka, where his mother Penelopeia keeps the peace even though the land has been without its king, his father Odysseus, since the Trojan War began many years ago.
But now the people are demanding a new king, unless Telemachos can find Odysseus and bring him home. With only a mysterious prophecy to guide him, Telemachos sets off over sea and desert in search of the father he has never known.
L.J. Smith pens an enjoyable series based on the characters from the Arthurian Tales.
The Night of the Solstice Four siblings join forces with a talking vixen to rescue the vixen's mistress, the sorceress Morgana Shee, and stop the evil sorcerer Cadal Forge before he can pass through a gate to Earth during the winter solstice.
When I was ten, I was still searching for magic, real magic. One day my family went to the movies to see something called Camelot, which I was happy to watch until I saw a billboard that said it was an epic romance. Romance? Yuk! Cooties! But my dad dragged me in and I watched, and I cried, and I knew that I had glimpsed a kind of magic I had to have more of. I didn't notice any of the film's flaws—I was a kid. What I took away was the idea of a round table and "might for right" and, of course, the idea that we are all just drops of water in the great blue ocean. But some of the drops sparkle!As soon as I could I read the book, The Once and Future King by T.H. White. After that there was no stopping me. I was determined to be a sparkling drop (and find magic, rescue a prince, fight a great foe, and also, as I quoted to people's understandable bewilderment, "Die a hero or not at all!") I read everything I could about the Arthurian legend and somehow, slowly, my entire life started to develop around it. I became a militant idealist.When I was in high school I began The Night of the Solstice, meaning it to be the first book of a trilogy. It was about magic, of course, and by the time it came out I'd already written the sequel, Heart of Valor, introducing the idea of a female descendant of King Arthur. I meant to sum it all up in Mirror of Heaven, and I still mean to—someday. Perhaps when the once and future king comes back. The world is certainly ready for his return.
A nail biting series where the hero battles evil to save the world is the Erec Rex tales by Kaza Kingsley.
No list on mythology would be complete without a tale of beasts.
Though not strictly a middle-grade book, Jane Yolan's newest graphic novel offering is too beautiful not to be included. The Last Dragon tells a tale how two hundred years after humans drove the dragons from the islands of May, the last wyrm rises anew to wreak havoc, with only a healer's daughter and a kite-flying, reluctant hero standing in its way.
When asked about this book, Ms. Yolan replied:
"Dragons (as well as unicorns and selchies) have been great inspirations to me. But dragons–because they can be good, bad, and ugly, have fascinated me for as long as I've been a writer. This book began as a short story called "Dragonfield" (close to novella length) published in 1984 in a collection of mine also called DRAGONFIELD. The first publisher who saw the graphic novel version and wanted it was DC, but they have a contract that is not known to be "creator friendly." In fact they wanted all rights to my story till the heat-death of the universe. Which may be just about okay if I'd been writing in one of their created worlds, but this story was all mine–characters, setting, etc. So my agent and I took it from them and sold it to this wonderful young editor at DarkHorse Rachel Eidden who was a fan of both Rebecca Guay's artwork and my storytelling. (She has a blog over at the DarkHorse site which tells you about how she approached the book.) It took about half a year to write and revise at least eight times on my own, before I started doing revisions for the editor. The illustrations took Rebecca closer to two years. And aren't they astonishingly beautiful! I own one of the original pieces." Jane Yolen
While I love and am fascinated by what other authors come up with as a new spin on classic tales, my daughter thinks it's oh so wrong. She complained bitterly about how the Percy Jackson gods were not themselves and totally out of character. She declared that Mr. Riordan must have not done his research very well and just made things up because he wanted to.
Which side of this equation do you fall on? Do you love seeing old tales with a new spin? Or are you like my kid and just wish authors would leave well enough alone?
Wendy Martin spends her days drawing fantastical worlds. In the evenings she writes about them, then she visits them at night during her dreams. Visit her universe at her web site http://wendymartinillustration.com


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Bringing Sentinel-3 together
An important milestone has been reached for ESA's Sentinel-3 mission. The satellite platform has been delivered to the Prime Contractor in France where the instruments will be installed and tested along with the numerous components that make up this sophisticated new mission to monitor Earth.
Once complete, Sentinel-3 will host an array of state-of-the-art instruments that mainly focus on measuring different aspects of ocean waters, such as the temperature and colour of the surface waters along with the height of the sea surface.
The new technology will not only lead to a better understanding of the marine environment, but also that of the land, atmosphere and cryosphere.
The mission, which will eventually operate as a pair of satellites, is dedicated to providing data for services that will be offered through Europe's Global Monitoring for Environment and Security programme, recently renamed 'Copernicus'.
The first Sentinel-3 satellite is due to be launched in 2014.
The satellite platform, apart from the solar arrays, was integrated and tested at Thales Alenia Space in Rome, Italy, before being shipped to Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, France.
In the second half of this year it will have its array of instruments installed before going through a stringent testing programme in preparation for launch.
Building on heritage pioneered by ERS and Envisat and demonstrating Europe's technological excellence, Sentinel-3's instrument package takes ocean monitoring to a new level.
The advanced capability of the Sentinel-3 Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter will deliver 300 m along-track resolution sea-surface height data with high precision, improving Copernicus marine forecasts and environmental monitoring.
With 21 bands at 300 m resolution, the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument will provide measurements to biogeochemists and ecosystem modellers to support Copernicus water quality and land-monitoring applications.
The Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer will provide much-needed continuity to Envisat and ERS. It will offer highly accurate sea-surface and land temperature measurements for ocean, climate and weather services all over the world.
In an operationally robust and sustained near-realtime system, Sentinel-3 will provide policymakers and public authorities with the knowledge required to take decisions with confidence, prepare environmental legislation and policies, monitor their implementation and assess their socio-economic impacts and benefits.


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for US Continental orders over $99
Small Boat underdeck furling units are ideal for sportboats and daysailers from 4.8 m to 9 m (16 to 30 ft). The drum is located beneath the deck, lowering the tack height for maximized sail area. An optional hoistable ball bearing halyard swivel can be installed on your headstay so you can raise or lower the sail without removing the headstay. Swivels are independent of the headstay, allowing you to tension the luff separately from the mast rake.
Includes drum and upper swivel. Does not include hoistable swivel.
MAURIPRO Sailing is committed to sell the products we offer at a fair price, but we also want to earn your business.
We'll match any published price posted by any US-based authorized e-retailer for an identical item (same size, color, year) in new condition.
If you found the better price on one of our competitor's sites, contact us after placing your order, and we'll credit your card the difference (auction sites do not apply).
Note: We will match total cost to destination (price + shipping).
We ship worldwide with USPS, DHL or Fedex.
If Requested we can accomodate prepaid taxes or provide information regarding duties, custom fees and/or local sales tax.
We have a dedicated team of global logistics experts and we'll work with you on any specific needs.
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United States
|Business Days*
|Example if ordered on Monday 4/1**
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Duties, Taxes, and other fees are the recipient's responsibility and due at the time of delivery.


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Photo Coverage: Liza Minnelli and More Gather to Honor Nederlanders as Living Landmarks
James M. Nederlander (Chairman) and James L. Nederlander (President) kicked off the 100th anniversary of The Nederlander Organization by becoming the New York Landmark Conservancy's first father/son duo to be named "Living Landmarks," an honor that was bestowed last night at their annual gala at the Plaza Hotel. BroadwyWorld was there for the event and you can check out full coverage below!
This honor reflects the entrepreneurship and social contributions made by this nationally known company that began in 1912 when D.T. Nederlander (James M. Nederlander's father) secures the lease on the Detroit Opera House. Since then, the Nederlander's have become industry leaders in theatre ownership, the production of Broadway shows, and the presentation of world-class theatrical and concert events on stages in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Durham, Los Angeles San Diego, San Jose, and elsewhere across America and in London.
In observing the company's 100th anniversary, the company is celebrating the life and career of the visionary theatrical impresario, James M. Nederlander, and saluting his son, James L. Nederlander, for his business acumen as he continues to lead the privately owned organization into the future.
Fittingly, Nederlanders' 100th anniversary also coincides with the opening night of Annie, a show that was originally produced by James M. Nederlander in 1977 and has since become one of the most beloved musicals in Broadway history. Annie opens tonight at the Palace Theatre, the first of 13 Broadway theatres James M. Nederlander purchased in New York since 1965.
James M. and James L. Nederlander are industry leaders and generous supporters of arts organizations and social causes for which they have received countless honors.Photo Credit" Jennifer Broski
Donald Tober, Barbara Tober
Stanford Warshawsky, Sandra Warshawsky
James M. Nederlander, James L. Nederlander
Charlene Nederlander, James M. Nederlander, James L. Nederlander, Margo Nederlander
Charlene Nederlander, Margo Nederlander
Paul Binder, Shelley Doctors
Margo Nederlander, James L. Nederlander, Robert Osborne, James M. Nederlander, Liza Minnelli, Charlene Nederlander
Ina Caro, Robert Caro
Howard Rubenstein, Amy Rubenstein


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At a Glance
- Anytime, anywhere collaboration
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At AOL, Collaboration is a Family Affair
The Huffington Post attracts 94 million views a month. Advertising.com serves more than 3 billion impressions a day. Adap.tv delivers 10 billion global video impressions a month.
These three properties represent just a tiny slice of today's AOL, a $2.3 billion constellation of brands and experiences that inform, entertain, and connect the world. The Internet pioneer, once famous for cementing "You've got mail!" into the digital lexicon, now connects a quarter-billion visitors with some of the world's most respected journalists, artists, and musicians. They access this content through AOL brands including Tech Crunch, Mapquest, Engadget, MovieFone, and StyleList. It's all part of the company's mission: to build brands that make the Internet better – period.
Doing so, though, requires AOL's 5,000 employees (known as AOLers) to work together in ways that let creative thinking and new ideas take the lead, no matter where those creative thinkers may live or work. "The culture at AOL is one big family," says Jimmy Appleby, network engineer for Unified Communications at AOL. "And we need to optimize, innovate, and collaborate on a daily basis."
In this always-on environment, you won't find anyone waiting around to see if they've got mail. Instead, says Appleby, AOLers engage with one another in any fashion that helps them "propel our business to the next level." For this, he credits Polycom's RealPresence CloudAXIS software, which lets AOLers collaborate face-to-face without worrying about the application, system, or device they're using. "Anybody, anywhere, anytime can get connected by one click. You can have video, audio, and content solutions all from a meeting invite."
AOL once had only room-based videoconferencing systems that required meetings to be scheduled well ahead of time, which prevented the spontaneity the company needed to spark a free-flowing exchange of ideas. Today, with AOLers joining meetings from their desks and mobile devices, it's a new world. "Scheduling is now a thing of the past," says Appleby. "Ad-hoc conferences are now the only way to conference here at AOL."
In fact, AOLers use video collaboration an average of 2.4 million minutes every month. Appleby says this widespread use – the equivalent of 2,000 hours a day – stems from the top-down support the effort has received among AOL executives, who believe video collaboration must be ubiquitous "from the boardroom to the basement." It's so crucial that the company has identified Polycom collaboration as one of the top three mission-critical tools for the business.
AOL's wide-open, work-the-way-you-want approach seems perfectly suited to a company where staffers defy distance by overcoming more than miles. "Distance obviously is going to separate you and your colleagues, but flexibility is really what's going to bring it all together."


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Apple's MagSafe power adapter is kind of a mixed bag in the eyes of the Ars staff. While we all appreciate the thought behind the concept, sometimes it lets go far too easily while, at other times, it holds on like an overprotective mother. And, while none of us have experienced this particular problem as of yet, Apple has acknowledged that some of the power adapters that came with MacBooks and MacBook Pros have a flaw where they fray at the base of the plug.
If your adapter looks like this: 1. Smack yourself for continuing to use it. 2. Bring it to an Apple Store for a replacement.
Apple has decided to replace these at no cost to the user at authorized Apple service centers or official Apple Stores. As long as the adapter has not received any abuse from the user and there are more in stock, it should be replaced on the spot. The power adapters flaw are found specifically in MacBooks, 15" Glossy MacBook Pros, and 17" MacBook Pros.


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Comparing individual differences to a jigsaw puzzle leaves an important question unanswered: What is the source of the pieces and their interrelationships? In other words, how are personalities structured? Although we do not have all the answers, the prevailing theories suggest that personality structure can be understood from the standpoint of three elements: determinants, stages, and traits.
My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir – Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.


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Howard Blake is one of the most popular and prolific living English composers. Successes include scores which he wrote for films such as 'The Duellists' and 'A Month in the Country', both of which won prizes.
In 1982 he wrote words and music for the animated Channel 4 TV film and Sony CD 'The Snowman', with its song 'Walking in the Air', so much loved by children all over the world. Its concert version continues to receive many performances worldwide, and the stage version runs every year at Sadlers Wells' Peacock Theatre in London.
In 1994 Howard Blake received the O.B.E. for services to music and is Fellow and Visiting Professor of Composition at The Royal Academy of Music.
1. S.O.S. Titanic Main Theme
2. Hearts Of Oak/Men Of Harlech
3. Waltz From Eugene Onegin
4. Rule Britania
5. Queenstown Harbour (Jig)
6. She Moved Through The Fair
7. Roses From The South
8. Madame Bonaparte (Jig)
9. Mr Moon-Man Turn Off The Light
10. Elite Syncopations (Rag)
11. I'm Bidding You A Long Farewell
12. Connemara Waltz
13. Every Little Moment
14. I'm Falling In Love With Someone
15. Isn't It Grand, Boys?
16. Titanic Waltz
17. The Hit
18. S.O.S. To The Carpathia
19. S.O.S. Come Quickly!
20. Abandon Ship
21. Bethena (Rag)
22. Beesley's Jump
23. Day Of Judgement
24. God Of Mercy (Autumn)
25. The Sinking Of The Titanic
26. Survivors
27. Desolation
28. "There Is No God" (Boarding The Carpathia)
29. S.O.S. Titanic End Titles
30. Bethena (Bonus Track)


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What is the Best Telescope to Buy?
There are several characteristics you'll want to pay attention to when buying a telescope, including:
Focal Length
- This helps determine a telescope's focal ratio and field of view which impact how far you will be able to see.
- The aperture determines the quality and amount of light your telescope or optical tube assembly (OTA) will capture.
Telescope style
- Reflecting telescopes are reliable and versatile with their use of mirrors to capture light.
- Refracting telescopes use lenses and come in popular styles such as achromatic and apochromatic.
- Catadioptric telescopes combine lenses and mirrors into one cohesive optical tube assembly.
These factors make each telescope unique, providing a different viewing experience.
Telescopes for Sale Online at High Point Scientific
High Point Scientific offers an unparalleled selection of telescopes for sale ranging from small Newtonians, collapsible Truss-Tube Dobsonians, modern astrographs, high-powered computerized GoTo GPS telescopes and everything in between. We carry the most popular brands, such as Celestron, Explore Scientific, Meade, Orion, and many more to give you the best selection for your budget. Each telescope or OTA presented on our site has been personally selected by an experienced member of our team to ensure that each of our customers ends up with a high-quality product at a great price when purchasing telescopes online. In addition, we have outfitted every telescope we sell with unlimited tech support for life! No matter how you look at it, we have you covered and we want you to appreciate the hobby of amateur astronomy as much as we do!
We have a wide variety of telescopes for sale so we are confident you will find what you are looking for. Our reflecting telescopes include Newtonians, Dobsonians, and Ritchey-Chretiens. We also have both achromatic and apochromatic refracting telescopes. Our most popular catadioptric OTAs are Schmidt-Cassegrain and Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes. Don't forget about our wide selection of astrographs, perfect for avid astrophotographers, and computerized telescopes to help you find celestial objects with ease.
Figuring out the best telescope to buy can be daunting. We at High Point are here to help you make the right selection based on your aspirations and budget. Need help getting started? Check out our telescope bundles including vital accessories such as eyepieces, tripods, barlows, filters, cleaning tools, and much more.


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Funds That Support Communication
Above: Dr. Elizabeth Ribarsky, Communication professor, studies dating and sexual communication.
Make a Difference for Communication Students
Your gift in any amount to the funds below provide support for communication students. You can use the Donate button to give online. Thank you!
- Communication Department Fund
Communication Collaborative Conference
Communications Video Computer Graphics Fund
- Scholarship Funds
James Andrews Scholarship Fund
Dara Drew Memorial Scholarship Fund
Alfred E. and Mildred I. Roese Memorial Scholarship Fund
Communication Department Fund
This fund provides money for special opportunities or extraordinary needs.
- Faculty and students can travel to a conference to present their research.
- Faculty can take part in a special opportunity to update their skills. Professors need to be aware of the latest developments in their field, so that they can pass this knowledge on to their students.
- The department can purchase special equipment, test materials, resources, or training modules to help our students attain success and achieve their goals.
These activities and others like them enrich our students immeasurably, enhancing the education they receive at UIS—but we could not do any of them without the discretionary money given to this fund.
Communication Collaborative Conference Fund
This fund assists graduate students with paying for registration or travel expenses to attend conferences in the field of communication.
Communication Video Computer Graphics Fund
This fund provides support for video computer graphics, an important new direction in communication.
Scholarship Funds
James Andrews Scholarship Fund
The James Andrews Memorial Scholarship is funded annually by his daughter, Sally James McKenzie. James Andrews taught at Springfield High School, retired, and then resumed worked as a substitute teacher. In his substituting, he found that students who were not in the highest English classes were not exposed to the arts. Mr. Andrews was hired to teach Faulkner, Hemmingway, and Shakespeare. He often told his students, "Art and humor make life bearable." This scholarship is intended to help the average, blue-collar worker taking a class in the arts – whether as part of major or for personal fulfillment.
Dara Drew Memorial Scholarship Fund
Dara Drew was employed at Saga Communications (Capital Radio Group). This scholarship was established as a memorial after her passing in November 2016. It will be awarded to a student at UIS in Communication or Marketing.
Alfred E. and Mildred I. Roese Memorial Scholarship Fund
The Alfred E. and Mildred I. Roese Memorial Scholarship was established by Deborah Roese, a 2002 UIS Special Merit Master's Thesis winner, in memory of her parents. Applicants for the scholarship should be female graduate students in Communications or English, with a minimum GPA of 3.75 and course enrollment of at least four hours.
We welcome your inquiries. Please feel free to contact us.


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European share trading posted mixed results on Friday, with London gaining on Chinese growth data that beat expectations while Frankfurt and Paris slipped back on disappointing European and US figures.
London's FTSE 100 index of top companies gained 0.36 per cent to 6,154.41, despite official data which revealed falling British retail sales in December. In Paris, the CAC 40 index slid 0.07 per cent to 3,741.58 points, while Frankfurt's DAX 30 index shed 0.43 per cent to 7,702.23 points.
On the London Bullion Market, gold prices increased to $US1,688.50 an ounce from $US1,675.
''While the better than expected Chinese GDP numbers may have boosted the resource heavy FTSE 100 they've done precious little to boost the rest of Europe's markets,'' said Toby Morris, a trader at CMC Markets UK.
Asian shares posted strong gains earlier in the day after China released data showing a strong pick-up in the economy for the past four months, while Japanese stocks were boosted by another fall in the yen's value, which should help exporters.
Tokyo soared 2.86 per cent, Hong Kong rose 1.12 per cent, Seoul added 0.69 per cent and Hangzhou put on 1.41 per cent.
Beijing said the world's number two economy expanded by 7.8 per cent in 2012, better than the government target of 7.5 per cent, but nonetheless marking a second straight year of easing owing to weakness in key overseas markets. It also said that gross domestic product grew 7.9 per cent in the October-December period, snapping seven straight quarters of slowing growth.
Economists surveyed by AFP had projected GDP growth of 7.7 per cent in 2012 and 7.8 per cent in the fourth quarter. The figures reinforce recent indications that the Chinese economy will not come crashing down, but rather that it is emerging from a drawn-out slumber that has had a knock-on effect on activity in other countries.
London-listed mining stocks were boosted in early trading on the news of solid growth in China, which is a major consumer of raw materials, but the gains disappeared as the day wore on.
Rio Tinto nonetheless rebounded by 1.83 per cent to 3,502.5 pence. The stock had fallen on Thursday after the resignation of chief executive Tom Albanese following shock news of a huge $US14 billion ($A13.34 billion) write-down on assets.
But Morris said other markets ''struggled to make headway against a backdrop of a GDP downgrade for Italy from the Bank of Italy, and another rise in non-performing loans in the Spanish banking sector.
Italy's central bank said the country's economy is likely to contract by 1.0 per cent this year, half the expected shrinkage in 2012, but far worse than a previously expected downturn of 0.2 per cent in the coming 12 months.
Meanwhile Spain's central bank said the mountain of bad loans held by Spanish banks reached a new record in November, with more than one in nine at risk of not being repaid.
And British retail sales fell 0.1 per cent in December despite the key Christmas shopping period, amid weak consumer spending that pushed several high-street chains to the point of collapse.
The original release of this article first appeared on the website of Hangzhou Night Net.


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Cornerstone Church set to unveil $5 million Noah's Ark for kids
From the outside, the new children's building at Cornerstone Church is just another white brick edifice on the sprawling North Side campus.
On the inside, it has Noah's Ark built into its walls and roof, a two-story ship with 16 life-sized passengers — most with animatronic features, including a giraffe whose head bends from the floor to the second level.
In its 13 classrooms, high resolution wallpaper has animal themes, from bears and birds to safari and farm beasts.
Called The Ark, it cost almost $5 million and will open to the public Saturday and for church programs the next day. It aims to spur wonderment but also to underscore the Bible's authenticity, said Matthew Hagee, executive pastor.
"I want them to say it happened," he said. "The Ark was real. Salvation is real. What God desires for Noah, God desires for me. For Noah, it was a boat. And for me, it was Jesus Christ."
In recent years, churches nationwide have ramped up resources for innovative children's buildings, mindful of their appeal to young families, and Noah's Ark has enjoyed longstanding popularity for such spaces. A Christian theme park in Kentucky is building a full-scale replica.
But the scale and sophistication of Cornerstone's new facility — and particularly its collection of electronically controlled animal replicas — might be unmatched nationally, say experts in Christian children's ministry.
"You'd be hard-pressed to find any church with animatronics," said Michael Chanley, executive director of the International Network of Children's Ministry, which maintains a social media network of 10,000-plus members worldwide.
"It communicates so much value to the family. 'We don't just want your kids to come here and learn. We want them to experience God,'" he said.
Churches today must compete against "the whiz-bang, Disney stuff," Chanley added. "Kids are learning from the immersive environments, online or in real life."
Construction began on the 28,400-square-foot structure in November 2011. It is designed to handle about 850 children.
The cost was covered by cash donations from the congregation. The church has adopted a debt-free policy since paying off its sanctuary mortgage in 2008.
More Information
The Ark's public viewing
What: a new children's building with a Noah's Ark built in and 16 life-size animals inside.
Where: Cornerstone Church, 18755 Stone Oak Parkway
When: Noon to 4 p.m., March 16
Info: 210-490-1600, sacornerstone.org
Cornerstone was founded in 1975 by Matthew Hagee's father, John Hagee, and the campus at Stone Oak Parkway and Loop 1604 has added new buildings since opening its 5,000-seat sanctuary in 1987. Eventually, the church wants to expand its sanctuary to hold at one sitting the 8,200 who attend its two Sunday services.
The Ark has vestibule entrances with outdoor scenes of the ship's hull, crafted with alder wood panels. At one vestibule will be a talking macaw playing host.
Each of the animals in the central area of the hull — from a tortoise, sheep and zebra to a rhinoceros, lion and elephant — will be named for a great church figure from history, Matthew Hagee said, as a springboard to lessons on John Bunyan, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Charles Wesley and others.
Nine of the 16 creatures will be animatronic, created by Animal Makers, a Southern California firm that specializes in robotic animals for Hollywood movies.
Some are new, and some were formerly leased. The rhino, for example, had a short appearance in the John Cusack film "2012," Hagee said.
By design, the church sought out realism in its animals and ark, said the project's architect, Dan Wigodsky, a member of the local Jewish community who designed the other Cornerstone buildings there.
"It was important that it really feel more real than just a playground," he said. "We never wanted a curtain to look behind. No place where it gave it away."
Church leaders said they also considered the fear tolerance of children with such realism — but concluded the value of biblical authenticity outweighed the chance it would scare children.
The ceiling above the central area is painted with clouds and sky and two 30-foot shooting stars. There are 400 simulated candles to create day and night environments. Inside classrooms are carpet floors and ceiling tiles resembling wood planking.
Asked whether the animatronics was too extravagant, Hagee said no — not when today's culture bombards children with competing venues for their attention on Sundays, from recreational sports to theme parks to kid-themed pizza restaurants.
"If casinos can build opulent buildings to incentivize gamblers to want to come and enjoy their weekend, how then can you justify not building something that would incentivize people to come and hear about the Word of God?" he said. "I don't have any problem with somebody saying it's over the top."
Children's ministry experts agreed.
"Churches are competing with things that capture kids' attention," said Christine Yount Jones, executive editor of Children's Ministry Magazine. "Not every church can afford the animatronics.... But every church should do something that pulls in and loves children."


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Biden says gun curbs won't end mass killings
Vice President Joe Biden says curbs on guns can reduce firearm deaths but won't ensure an end to mass killings like December's slaying of 20 first-graders in Newtown, Conn.
Biden met with Senate Democrats on Thursday to urge them to support the gun restrictions that President Barack Obama has proposed. They include bans on assault weapons and on high-capacity magazines for ammunition and requiring all gun buyers to undergo background checks.
After that session, Biden told reporters that the administration's plans would not eliminate the chances of another mass shooting, or bring gun deaths down to 1,000 yearly from the current 30,000 estimated by the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence.
Biden said lives can be saved by curbing firearms without restricting the right to bear arms.


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ISDE Goes to Argentina; KTM Ready to Race with Its KTM Services 2014
OutdoorHub 05.06.14
The International Six Days Enduro, the oldest offroad competition on the FIM motorsports calendar breaks new ground this year when it travels to San Juan in Argentina from November 3-8, 2014. As always, KTM will be there as the event's exclusive partner both ready to race and with its comprehensive KTM Services to both professional and passionate amateur riders.
The 2014 edition signals the ISDE's return to South America for the first time since Mexico hosted the classic in 2010. It offers six days of superb competition and camaraderie over fantastic terrain in and around San Juan, some 1,100 away from Buenos Aires and at the foot of the legendary Andes Mountains.
The ISDE offers thrills and excitement and the best of Enduro racing in a format that not only pits nation against nation but also provides the opportunity for Enduro enthusiasts from all over the world to compete under the same conditions and alongside their racing heroes. In 2014 it will be the French national teams that the other nations will have in their sights after they have dominated the coveted World and Junior Trophies for the past two editions.
The French squad will again draw on the services of KTM factory riders and multi world champions Christophe Nambotin and Antoine Meo, but their factory teammates like Ivan Cervantes and Cristobal Guerrero of Spain and Matt Phillips of Australia will also be racing in their national colors at this unique event. With Argentina as the host and the ISDE promising to deliver both spectacular competition and challenging terrain, it will also attract many top riders from throughout South America.
Organizers report that some 500 riders from 40 countries have already registered for the 2014 edition and KTM is again the major partner for the ISDE. The Austrian sports motorcycle manufacturer will be in Argentina to offer its exclusive KTM Services that provides a comprehensive package including: KTM rental machines, Race Service and Spare Parts Service and much more.
The KTM Services package for ISDE has been perfected over many years to ensure riders have all the best equipment and professional support they need for six days of unprecedented riding and competition pleasure. In a location that is far from home for the majority of the competitors, the KTM Services package is as finely tuned as its renowned machinery to ensure riders who subscribe have all the right equipment, spares and expert advice they need to make their ISDE Argentina experience truly memorable.
Early subscription to the KTM Services, which are available in a limited number of customer packages, is the guarantee that prospective ISDE competitors experience the very best of our 'World of Orange' at this, the premium Enduro event of 2014. All relevant information and application forms are included as attachments with this information.
The KTM Service Team looks forward to welcoming you to San Juan, Argentina for six days of exciting Enduro racing.


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Newgrounds introduced the Audio Portal in 2003 and began featuring audio entries on the front page in 2005. In August 2014 we began archiving these features for historical browsing.
More Newgrounds History
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This is not an offer for credit and should be used for estimation purposes only based on the information you provided. You should not base your decision on this estimate alone. Title, registration, tax and other fees, and personal circumstances such as employment status and personal credit history, were not considered in the calculations.
Front - Linked Hydraulic Dual Disc
Rear - Linked Hydraulic Disc
Parking - Front Brake Lock
Front - 24 x 8-12
Rear - 24 x 10-12
Digital - Fuel Gauge, Speedometer, Odometer, Trip meter, Clock, Drive Indicator, Tachometer
Engine Hour Meter, High Beam Indicator, Engine Service Indicator, High-Temperature Light
Headlight - Dual Halogen w/ LED Markers
Taillight - Dual
Front - Independent Dual A-Arm; 7 in. travel
Rear - Independent Dual A-Arm; 7 in. travel
Shocks - 5 Position Adjustable Oil Dampened Shocks
Front Rack - Standard / 75 lbs.
Rear Rack - Standard / 150 lbs.


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As of today, Adobe will disable new installs of Flash via the Google Play Store, marking the end of Adobe Flash on Android devices, and therefore shutting itself out from 85 per cent of the mobile market.
The abandonment of Flash for mobile follows conflict between Adobe and Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs, who was famously dismissive of the plug-in and refused to allow the technology on the iOS platform. Instead, Jobs fought for the alternative HTML5 standard, which is beginning to replace Flash around the web.
In 2007, Adobe said that, with Flash it had "passed a major milestone in bringing a desktop experience to mobile and transforming the wireless industry," and once claimed that Flash would enable "the full web experience" on mobile devices. But, in 2010, Jobs wrote a public letter outlining his thoughts on Flash and its problems with "reliability, security, and performance".
In 2011, Adobe announced that it would stop developing Flash Player for new mobile device configurations, and said that HTML5 is the "best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms," signalling the demise of Flash for mobile. "We are excited about this, and will continue our work with key players in the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM, to drive HTML5 innovation they can use to advance their mobile browsers."
Then, in June 2012, Adobe released a statement that read: "We have not continued developing and testing Flash Player for this new version of Android and its available browser options. There will be no certified implementations of Flash Player for Android 4.1."
Microsoft is only planning to offer limited Flash support in Windows 8, which could be the final nail in Flash's coffin, reports The Verge.


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Jenson Button's McLaren topped the second day of pre-season Formula 1 testing at Jerez, as the Mercedes-engined teams demonstrated an early advantage in 2014.
Button topped the official wet-weather running in the morning, despite the MP4-29 not having appeared at all on day one in Spain. The track dried after midday and drivers switched to slick rubber. Button then swapped fastest laps with the Force India of former teammate Sergio Perez.
The Renault-engined teams struggled with a suspected energy store issue. Caterham's Ericsson managed the most laps with 11, but his best was nearly 14 seconds slower than Button.
Red Bull gave up running altogether after Sebastian Vettel had managed a handful of laps early on, while Toro Rosso failed to make it out at all.


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Report: Apple applies for 'iWatch' trademark in Japan
Here's one more possible sign Apple is jumping into the smartwatch business.
Bloomberg reports the company is seeking a trademark in Japan for "iWatch, categorized as a handheld computer or watch device. The report cites a public filing made on June 3 at the Japan Patent Office.
According to the report, a Tokyo-based spokesman for Apple would not comment.
Wearable computing is expected to grow quickly over the next several years, with devices from watches to eyewear like Google Glass making appearances.
Earlier this year, Kickstarter backers got their hands on the Pebble smartwatch, which pairs with a smartphone to deliver text messages, weather reports or Twitter updates straight to the user's wrists.
The first reports of Apple's smartwatch plans appeared in February, when multiple outlets claimed the company was experimenting with a device that runs the iOS mobile operating system.
Currently, the only big tech company with a smartwatch available is Sony, which launched a device last year.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @bam923.


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Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church, Christian church headed by the pope, the bishop of Rome (see papacy and Peter, Saint). Its commonest title in official use is Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
Roman Catholicis a 19th-century British coinage and merely serves to distinguish that church from other churches that are
Catholic(see catholic church). The term
Roman Church,when used officially, means only the archdiocese of Rome. Roman Catholics may be simply defined as Christians in communion with the pope.
Sections in this article:
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches: Branches, Schisms, and Heresies


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Want to Buy a Car? Go Digital!
WSJ Eyes on the Road columnist Joe White takes you inside the car dealership and explains how dealers are going digital to speed up the selling process to buyers. Photo: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... the the ... the by the well ... that that is that I'm Kelsey had heard that back and forth negotiations and price haggling have long been a part ... of the traditional car buying experience to go by the wayside if it did the digital revolution takes hold ... Wall Street Journal's Joe White joins us from Detroit to pursue on the designs on the red column to think semester being with this morning ... I don't see ... so a lot of the mold I know rather enjoy or they fear that sad moment we need to go to the car dealership insert haggling on price but that whole process could be changing tells about ... the Dalai people really enjoy ... it what's what's interesting here is that there's for a number of years this did this gap between consumers to shop online ... to get all kinds of information about our walk into the dealership is clean knowing what they want to ... watch the cost and then they have to spend two to three hours in the old school process and what's happening is ... that some of the big cart in ... the region which is like AutoNation sonic the group one ... up in the car makers themselves are starting to realize this is the last people to take this ... as though they're trying to get ahead of this way by putting into their stores some of the interactive technology that people are accustomed to when they shop for other stuff to try to speed this process up ... and so far the car buying experience haven't been as chains by the digital revolution has saved me as we buy music has been buying clothes and other things but ... he said this is going to change so what do what should consumers expect experience ... will be going forward when they when they Dillon's the dealer said ... when it first losses could take a while it's not can it be like soft lights on sort of thing ... you're starting to see ... again AutoNation I spoke with them they're they're trying to put more up there ... with a price that they're willing to sell you a car truck for ... online you basically start their it's it's a surgical no haggle prices this isn't new in the industry ... but it but for AutoNation's a big deal they're they're they're big chain and they're trying to move with a strong will for tracking negotiation over price that's number one number two is Dior ... is are starting to invest in technology to more quickly and more transparent me tell you where your financing options one of the interest rates on one of these terms ... laid out a well he's got that outlook what's a or or or or Clear pronounced closes Stronger ... on with a Sharpie and a piece of paper inherent worth and many other thing is that the I the the I pad has played a role ... in this Psalm tell us how that has come into play ... well I think your Tennessee and you are seeing how you're going to see much in the future of dealerships arming their Presidio and I pass on not just in this in in the front of the of the store with Brazil's happen ... but particularly in the back of the store were service happens the number of dealerships are investing in technology that basically allows someone who's due to increasingly common for service ... to have a high fat menu of with information about your car if you bought it there ... in that in that I ... had to talk about Leo Gini preaching service is one of which are the last time we can fix before ... are now becoming ... if your customer of you didn't need to have ... your ears ... there because they didn't try to sell you stuff that you don't really want or need ... but it's going to take all that faster if nothing else ... the consumer that really and outsource the haggling process it'll cost though offers a servant that though ... it didn't say that Mr is guy now a little bit about that going by car in deciding what price are going to tell us how their mom ... local Costco and had a number of other ... organizations some at TrueCar dot com and powers stresses the Consumer Reports buying club makes you caught that ... at least the beginnings of really new but I think we're in we're seeing more more people start to turn to the cost openly had ... their best months ever ... is in December ... to discuss the progress ... it began as a boozy you know what maybe I'm not getting the ... absolute lowest price but are getting a fair deal has to happen fast and I can get it done to get in get out to go back to what I do ... me I think that that's appealing to a lot of people particularly big and when you can go on the internet you can figure out what work are supposed to cost ... it's not a big mistreating her ... right now Mr. beret said


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An Interview with Inder Singh
I first met Dr. Singh in New York City, while attending LinuxWorld. He was quite cordial, soft-spoken and informed. His passion for his work was apparent. We talked, over breakfast, about the future of embedded Linux, the release of BlueCat Linux 1.0 and Linux in general. Dr. Singh is the CEO and Chairman of LynuxWorks, a company focused on providing embedded applications to OEMs and beyond. I spoke with him in early July about the current and future state of the embedded Linux world.
LJ: What made you choose Linux? What tools/developments would like to see added to Linux?
Inder: At LynuxWorks (formerly Lynx Real-Time Systems) we have always been a strong proponent of open standards in the field of real-time and embedded systems. We started out with implementing a real-time operating system (RTOS) from the ground up, LynxOS, which was highly compatible with UNIX (just as Linux is today), and we have played a pioneering role in the POSIX standardization effort. We were the first to implement the POSIX real-time extensions and POSIX threads, which are widely implemented in most UNIX systems today, and LynxOS was the first non-UNIX system to obtain POSIX certification.
Now, Linux has emerged as what we all hoped UNIX would be, a POSIX-compliant open system, which is available from a large number of suppliers on a wide array of hardware platforms and rapidly gaining wide software support.
Thus, Linux represents a great opportunity for us and a natural evolution of our open systems strategy. LynxOS is already a POSIX compliant, hard real-time operating system that is scalable down to very small footprints (minimum code size 32 Kbytes). And LynxOS is in many ways closer to Linux than any other RTOS. As a POSIX certified RTOS, it is highly compatible with Linux at the source level.
Additionally, LynxOS uses the same development environment as Linux, since both are based on the GNU tool chain. And LynuxWorks customers have frequently used large amounts of application code from the Linux environment (as well as from other UNIX systems such as Solaris) and moved them to LynxOS. This generally involved little porting work beyond recompiling and building. Similarly, Linux device drivers are easily ported to run on LynxOS.
The LynxOS kernel provides a highly scalable, fully preemptible hard real-time kernel specifically designed for real-time embedded systems. However, much of the non-kernel part of the LynxOS distribution is based on open-source technology and is already very close to Linux. This includes the GNU C/C++ compiler tool chain, X-windows, TCP/IP networking software, a large number of BSDI utilities, Samba and Apache. LynuxWorks is already heavily involved in and very familiar with the open-source model.
So it was a natural step for us to be the first established RTOS vendor to embrace Linux. As a part of the Lynx Linux Initiative (L2I), which we announced last November, we introduced BlueCat, a version of Linux specifically tailored for embedded applications that builds on our experience and infrastructure developed over the last decade serving our embedded customers. At the same time, we decided to evolve our LynxOS technology to bring the manifold benefits of Linux to LynxOS users. Future releases of LynxOS will feature full binary compatibility with Linux. The objective of that move is to insure that a binary executable file that runs on Linux can be loaded and executed directly on a LynxOS system (on the same CPU architecture, of course) without requiring recompilation or porting.
LJ: Can you briefly talk about pros and cons of using Linux?
Inder: For the embedded arena, which is very fragmented and populated with proprietary OS solutions, Linux provides for the first time the potential of an open, multi-vendor platform with an exploding base of software and hardware support.
The Open Source community development model, with the Web playing a crucial role, has been key to both the quality and robustness of Linux, as well as its popularity, and this will continue to be a major strength. In the embedded market, the royalty free nature makes it very attractive for high volume, cost-sensitive applications such as many of the emerging "post PC" appliance type of products. The wide availability of source and a huge and growing web-based developer community facilitates quick availability of support for new semiconductor devices, including ports to new CPU architectures. This makes Linux an important vehicle for tracking the technology curve.
The growing population of Linux-literate programmers, consultants and service organizations is a big plus.
The Linux kernel itself was developed for general purpose use, and its ongoing development is likely to be driven by the needs of the server area, particularly upwards scalability in competition with Solaris and NT. Thus it will fall upon the embedded Linux vendors like LynuxWorks and others to provide distributions tailored for embedded use. These vendors are addressing areas like cross development environments, tools for embedded systems and support for a variety of hardware configurations specific to the embedded world. Such embedded versions of Linux will serve the needs of a significant subset of embedded applications. However, many embedded applications require hard real-time performance, or smaller footprints that have been the province of proprietary RTOSes. There is only so much that you can do with an implementation that was designed for a different purpose. LynuxWorks is extending the benefits of Linux to such applications by its unique approach of supporting the Linux APIs and ABIs with LynxOS, which has been developed from the ground up for such applications. One of the nicest things about open standards is that you can have multiple implementations from different vendors that meet the needs of different constituencies.
LJ: What tools/developments would like to see added to Linux?
Inder: A well defined hardware abstraction layer (HAL) would make Linux a lot easier to port to a variety of different CPU architectures and hardware platforms. This is particularly important for embedded systems, but it would be very helpful for the server area as well, as the world moves beyond the Wintel architecture. In LynxOS, we use what we call a CSP/BSP (chip support package/board support package) architecture which separates out the hardware dependent code related to the CPU, and the supporting peripherals at the board level, from the hardware independent code in the rest of the OS.
LJ: You recently changed your company name from Lynx to LynuxWorks. Why, and how do you explain the unique spelling?
Inder: The name change makes a clear statement about our commitment to Linux as our corporate strategic direction. It is kind of interesting that our previous name Lynx, which predates Linux, becomes Lynux with the addition of a "u". The unique spelling with the "y" emphasizes our continuing commitment to our current LynxOS technology, which is an integral and important part of our strategy for bringing the benefits of Linux to the embedded world.
We have a taken a unique approach to embedded Linux by offering our customers a choice of two kernels: BlueCat, which is our open-source Linux distribution tailored for embedded applications; and LynxOS, our Linux-compatible, POSIX compliant world-class, real-time operating system (RTOS) technology with a track record of a decade in demanding, mission-critical applications.
The dual OS approach offers choice and flexibility to our customers and enables us to bring most of the benefits of Linux to a wide range of applications, including those traditionally served only by embedded RTOSs.
From the embedded perspective, you can look upon Linux in two ways:
as an excellent open-source operating system technology which can be adapted to many embedded applications; and
as an open standard platform for software that runs on Linux, as defined by the Linux APIs and ABIs. Both of these aspects are very significant for the current and future success of Linux.
The former has a lot to do with the where Linux is today, but it is the latter aspect of Linux as a platform for a growing base of open-source as well as commercial applications, in particular, that will make Linux have its greatest impact on the computer industry, and especially so in the embedded industry.
The key to Linux maintaining its momentum, and having the huge impact on the computer industry that many proponents are hoping for, lies in its achieving wide acceptance as an open standard platform for applications.
The fact that Linus Torvalds chose to implement the UNIX interfaces rather than simply create a new operating system, and that Linux substantially conforms to POSIX, has been largely responsible for its popularity, and it further strengthens its position as an open standard.
In the embedded world, this aspect of Linux is particularly significant, because this is such a fragmented industry without any kind of a standard or leading platform. Around half of all embedded designs still use in-house operating systems, and the leading commercial RTOS product accounts for only a fraction of new embedded designs. As a result, the embedded world is missing a robust software industry such as the software industry that developed around DOS and Windows for the desktop. Embedded developers do a lot of reinventing the wheel and developing much more software from scratch, instead of building on top of existing tools and application software like their mainstream counterparts.
Linux as an open standard has the potential to serve as the missing platform that can foster an embedded software industry. As embedded applications are becoming more complex, the boundary between embedded and mainstream applications is blurring. So more and more of the mainstream software becoming available on Linux is already useful for embedded developers.
LJ: Congratulations on being named to the directorial board of the recently formed Embedded Linux Consortium. What role do you see yourself playing within the Consortium? Will it be greater on the technical side, with regard to developing standards, etc., or on the marketing/promotional side, with regard to getting OEMs to consider embedded Linux as platform?
Inder: Thank you.
I strongly believe that Linux has an enormous and beneficial role to play in the embedded area. In fact, Linux will eventually have an even bigger play in embedded systems than in servers, and I believe that the Embedded Linux Consortium can play a very influential role.
The initial focus of the ELC is largely in the promotional, marketing and communications area, to create greater awareness of Linux's benefits and create market momentum, but it will undoubtedly evolve depending in large part on the desire of the membership.
It is very important for the embedded Linux community to avoid a rerun of the "UNIX Wars". The ELC can play a key role in getting the embedded Linux community to rally behind standards activity such as the Linux Standards Base and POSIX, although the ELC is not planning to directly engage in the development of standards at this time.
LJ: What are the issues that embedded Linux systems providers need to agree on, given the fact that they are competing with each other also?
Inder: Avoiding fragmentation even as we compete with each other is really the most important issue, which I have covered in answer to your previous question on the subject. The key is to establish Linux as an open standard platform for applications to foster the growth of an embedded software industry around Linux. A broad agreement to build in the standardization work of the POSIX and LSB groups instead of creating new APIs or standards that favor a single vendor, and a recognition that it is in our mutual interest to support Linux as an open standard in preference to proprietary single-vendor solutions, even as we compete and add our own kinds of unique value, is something we should all work towards to avoid a replay of what happened to UNIX over the last decade.
It is also important for embedded Linux providers to be good members of the Open Source community, make meaningful contributions to the open code base and adhere to not only the letter but also the spirit of the open-source rules. I believe in this strongly, even though at LynuxWorks we provide both open-source and licensed products.
LJ: In regards to embedded Linux deployment: How promising is the handheld arena for embedded Linux—given the current preference for OSes like Windows CE/Windows Pocket PC? What are some of the other major areas for embedded Linux that LynuxWorks' has taken or plans to take advantage of?
Inder:In spite of the current dominant position of PalmOS, and the strong Microsoft push with Windows CE and PocketPC, I believe Linux can still establish a major position in the handheld arena. This whole field of "post PC appliances" is still in a state of flux, with a plethora of new Internet connected devices of many kinds about to hit the market over the next year or two. As an open system supported by many vendors, Linux is a very attractive candidate, and many large vendors that we are working with are in fact designing many next generation products around Linux. The low royalty costs (can't get much cheaper than zero!), freedom from dominance by a single vendor and the huge community of potential developers of add-on software makes Linux a very attractive choice.
In addition to the emerging applications in this post PC appliance arena, we are also addressing the automobile, point of sale terminals and wireless markets, as well as the broad Internet and communications infrastructure area, the aerospace and military industry and instrumentation with our Linux based thrust. In fact, I have been pleasantly surprised at the broad interest in Linux across all the markets that we have been addressing.
LJ: The standard C library for Linux is the GNU C library, or glibc, which is rather large. (libc-2.1.3.so on my box is almost 900K, and a statically linked "hello world" is more than 200K.) How can embedded Linux vendors keep embedded code small while at the same time maintain the advantages of a large pool of contributors and testers?
Inder:This is one of the areas in which embedded Linux vendors can add special value by providing facilities that offer more configurability and greater control over the "footprint". As your question makes clear, this applies not just to the kernel, but compilers, libraries and other parts of the environment. In the case of libraries, the objective would be to include only the minimum amount of code required for a given system, and cutting down on loading any unneeded code.
LJ: Everyone's talking about preventing fragmentation, to the point where fragmentation-prevention strategies seem to be fragmenting. What's the One True Way to prevent fragmentation?
Inder: The success of an operating system is dependent on the applications support that it generates more than any other single factor. So I would say that the One True Way to prevent fragmentation is a strong, industry-wide commitment to ensure that there is a clear definition of what constitutes "a Linux application", and that an application developer has the assurance that a single version of his or her application will run on any Linux system.
The Linux Standard Base (LSB) project, whose specific goal is "to develop and promote a set of standards that will increase compatibility among distributions and enable software applications to run on any compliant Linux system", is intended to prevent this very problem. It deserves strong support from application developers and users.
LJ: There's a plethora of cheap boards, free developer tools and Internet discussions about embedded Linux. It's a virtual toy store. If I'm a Linux hobbyist looking to build a cool toy, like an embedded Internet stereo for my car or an autopilot for my model airplane, where do I start?
Inder: First I would look at what are the requirements of the entire system that I am trying to build. Then, I would select a basic hardware platform and a version of embedded Linux.
For a hobbyist application, I would recommend starting with an inexpensive Pentium PC motherboard, perhaps one of the many small variants with smaller form factors. For a commercial application, one would also explore other architectures, including system-on-chip (SOC) solutions which provide a variety of different adjunct processing functionalities (i.e., communications controllers, display controllers, etc.) that are being added onto the core chip and satisfy a variety of embedded system needs.
Next, continuing to focus on a commercial rather than a hobby application, I would find a Linux supplier that fully tests this processor technology with their embedded Linux Product. The available testing on the standard PC is very well supported but on other architectures is more "spotty." I would also look at the long term stability of the vendor and if they are ISO 9001 quality process certified. Additionally, I would look at what the chances are that the vendor will be around for the next ten years, for support and additional upgrades to the Linux product. Most embedded systems have a much longer lifecycle than the lifecycle of a standard PC. Finding the right software vendor for a long term solution can often be most important to the success of the project. So, in some cases, choosing the right processor might come from the list of the supported platforms from your preferred software provider.
I would also use the Web as a tool to look for other pieces required for the solution, such as digital tuners and Linux drivers to support the required hardware components. This is one of the great benefits of using Linux—the Web based community and all of the useful hardware and software solutions, as well as advice, that are available.
LJ: TiVo printed a notice in their product manual stating that any customer who wanted a copy of their modified Linux kernel could get one by writing to a certain address. This is a great way for a company to both fulfill its obligations under the GPL and build a mailing list of hackers. Is this the plan other vendors of devices containing Linux will adopt?
Inder: This is a reasonable solution to complying with the GPL requirements for device manufacturers who use Linux as the OS for their embedded software. They only need to do this if they make modifications to the Linux kernel itself. If they simply use an embedded Linux product such as BlueCat Linux from a vendor like LynuxWorks and build their embedded application on it without making any changes to the kernel, which is the norm, then this is not an issue for them. It is the responsibility of the embedded Linux OS vendor to provide the sources to all the changes made to tailor Linux for embedded applications. We do this by including the sources in our distribution, and we plan to make the sources available on our web site as well.
LJ: The Linux kernel developers are struggling with the issue of devices that can be added and removed on the fly, like PCMCIA cards and USB devices. Do you think that the need to support these devices will make the kernel too complicated for embedded systems? And how responsive do you think the "mainstream kernel" is to the needs of embedded Linux developers?
Inder: You are going to see increased use of both USB and PCMCIA interfaces and devices in embedded systems. Supporting dynamic plugging and unplugging of such devices is essential, especially for embedded products where you should never have to reset or reboot a system. The important thing for embedded systems is to make sure that, as for many other facilities, this is configurable and you do not carry the code whether your need the facility or not.
The issue is broader than USB and PCMCIA. Dynamic reconfiguration of any embedded system is desirable whether it is for detecting devices on system start or being able to add or remove devices on the fly. This often allows system developers to have one core kernel (for system support and configuration control considerations), especially in embedded devices where the customers might need a minimal memory footprint. In this case, only the needed kernel drivers and applications are added to the system upon detection. In some cases, embedded developers are looking at having the required drivers on the piece of hardware that is inserted and, at device installation, the driver is extracted from the hardware and installed into the system. This level of dynamic reconfiguration increases the usefulness of the system as a whole.
LJ: Any plans to fund more open-source software that can be available to embedded Linux developers? Tools like media compression and decompression or voice and handwriting recognition would come in handy, for example.
Inder: We recently announced the contribution of our LynuxWorks Messenger technology for BlueCat Linux to the Open Source community to establish a new standard for advanced CompactPCI inter-board messaging in distributed and high availability (HA) systems. Implemented as a kernel extension and associated ApplicationProgramming Interface (API) for messaging, LynuxWorks. Messenger is a technology that enables CPU boards (system and non-system) to exchange information on a peer-to-peer basis across the CompactPCI backplane.
We have also contributed multi-threading extensions to the GDB debugger to the Open Source community.
We fully intend to continue to support and make significant contributions to the Open Software community.
LJ: Thank you very much for your time.
Don Marti is the Technical Editor for Linux Journal. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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My girlfriend, Kelly, is working on her Master's Degree in Anthropology, and a significant portion of her research involves, well... us. It is mostly focused on FFS, our weekly Starcraft II extravaganza, and it has already been discussed among players during the event. But FFS and Campaign Creations are certainly interconnected, and thus her research has brought her to this forum. So here is her pitch:
"I am doing research for my master's thesis in Anthropology. My research is looking at how online gaming communities are formed, maintained, and dissolved. Some sub-topics include the role of technology itself in creating opportunities and barriers for community building and the relevance of national identity online. Specifically, I am looking at SCII (as opposed to MMORPGs like WoW or virtual worlds like Second Life, which are more popular in the anthropological literature). Most of my research entails participant observation in terms of watching and playing SCII with a particular group of players. This phase of my research is nearly complete. I am also planning to talk about the role of gaming spaces outside of the game such as forums, wikis, YouTube, etc. in community building.
Talking about CC would be a relatively small, but important, contribution to that research as it relates to the group of players I am looking at. Mostly, I would like to talk about the history of the website in relation to the group - information I have already found on here (but have not incorporated into my writing, yet, due to lack of consent to use it). I would not be using any direct quotes or real screennames.
Also, I have already conducted a couple of interviews, but I am looking for at least two more participants. The only restriction is that you must be over 18 years old (although I am considering updating my IRB to allow for minors in my research - but I do not know if it's possible, yet). For those who play SCII during the weekly event that Honejasi hosts, I would love to talk to more people who have only been playing within the past 1-3 years. I could also use more information from people who are active here (or were in the past), but no longer attend the event (or are less active on here) to get an idea of why people come and go. If you are interested in being interviewed, you can either post here, let Billtheemu know, or email me at email@example.com. Interviews would ideally be conducted over IM, but I can do voice or email, too.
I am hoping to complete all of my research by the end of April (I've been working for quite some time now), and then have my thesis completely written (already in the works) by the end of June. It will be available for anyone who wants to read it once it is finished.
If it's cool with everyone here, feel free to ask me questions in this thread (I will be replying under Bill's name).
Also, as a part of this research, I have been gathering replays and running them through a little analyzer I made to have data on how active FFS players have been over time. As an example, here is a graph of my own activity within the group, represented as the percentage of events that I have attended per month:
My data spans 5 years and 136 players who have played at least two games during an FFS event (So there are many who only showed up for one or two events, but I weeded out people from publicly hosted games). If you have played SC2 with us during FFS in the past, then I have a graph with your name on it. I would like to post them all here, but I don't want to without getting permission. So if you want your graph posted here in the thread, let me know, I can add it in. If you want to see it, but don't want it posted, I can PM it to you.
An astute observer might notice that several months are missing from the x-axis. This is because I am missing data. I have replays covering the majority of the lifespan of FFS, thanks to the wonderful archival habits of Ricky, Q, and HighZealot. But there are a couple chunks of time for which I have no data. See this post I made about it, and if any of you have replays during the times that I am missing, I would really appreciate it if you could send them to me!
(I may also try to incorporate WC3 replays, if I can manage to find a replay parsing library for python)


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Apps this, apps that. Everyone's gone app crazy, even Ford, which will deliver the 2013 Mustang with a 4.2-inch LCD screen from which a driver can get massive amounts of performance-related information — from G-force readouts to temperature gauges spanning various internals (engine, transmission, intake, etc.) — and even "Track Apps."
What are these Track Apps? As far as we can tell from a few display panels recently shown to dealers, they're mostly accelerometer-related, including 0-60 mph and 0-100 mph times, eighth-mile and quarter-mile times, by way of a simulated dragstrip Christmas tree.
There are probably more, but we'll probably have to wait a year (or until the next leak) to get a look at them. Either way, looks like Ford engineers have taken a cue from the Nissan GT-R and created an interface fit for the detail-obsessed track nerd in all of us.