text:
Regulating in the face of digital disruption
Having studied policy and regulation at university, Zeitgeist is often compelled to look at many issues facing companies today through a regulatory lens. But even the most dispassionate fan of rules and laws would have to concede that as digital innovation disrupts multiple sectors around the world, the way these new innovations and businesses are governed is an important consideration. In this piece we'll be looking at regulatory concerns for disruptors like Uber and Netflix, as well as how regulation effects legacy companies like Microsoft and Comcast. As with many of our articles on this blog, we'll be taking a particular look at the TMT sector. (Bitcoin will have to wait for another article).
Regulators often find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. Should the emphasis be placed ex-ante, to ensure compliance, or ex-post to apply punitive measures and fix problems once they have become apparent? The former seems wise as it sets initial goals for companies. But it also risks opening loopholes, as well as being overly prescriptive and thus failing to adapt. It can also lead to the development of overly-familiar relations between regulator and industry, leading to what is known as 'capture'. Currently, the US favours an ex-ante approach, but as Edward Luce detailed recently in the Financial Times, this has led to a "creeping impulse to micro-regulate". The FDA's recent announcement that they would regulate e-cigarettes, despite no proof it encourages the take-up of smoking tobacco, is such an example. Ex-post – regulating after an event – seems just as bad, mostly because the damage has already been done at that point. While it means that all problems addressed are real-world and practical, they can also be applied with too much emphasis. Above all, regulation ultimately risks stifling innovation; Edison moved to the West coast because he was fed up of the stringent regulations in the East. A recent lead article in The Economist asserted that, far from too little regulation, the global recession was caused by too much state involvement in the wrong places. Too little oversight though, and companies can be allowed to run wild.
Earlier this month, The New York Times featured an op-ed on regulating the online world. It is written by New York State attorney general Eric Schneiderman. As might be expected, he quickly attacks online start-ups saying it is "amazing" that they think just because their business is online, that "somehow makes them immune from regulation". This is all well and good, but it masks the fact that clear regulations have not been established. Schneiderman is right to point out that just because a business now has an app instead of a high street store doesn't mean its responsibilities to the law have changed. It is an apt analogy. But in practice the story is different. As with most innovations, from film to Napster and Airbnb, regulators must constantly be playing catch-up. The complaints of new businesses are not that they should be subject to regulation, rather that those rules are onerous or outdated, applying to a different time. The sharing economy works because it has found cheaper, more efficient ways of offering services that hitherto were more restricted; regulations need to be appropriately dispensed. Sadly, many cities in the US have simply blocked allowing such services to operate. Uber – a car pickup service – is probably not wholly repulsed by the thought of regulation, but they are resistant to rules put in place by entrenched interests and unions. Airbnb might violate the letter of the law, but not the spirit surely. People have always let out their living space to others. The only thing that has changed is scale. Why does scale suddenly make something legally problematic? Schneiderman points out that some lettings are so large, with multiple rooms let at once, that they are essentially hotels. True enough, perhaps, but Zeitgeist has certainly never come across such a property, and they are certainly small in number, and no more represent Airbnb's ethos than any hotel violating its own (regulated) terms. A recent article in The Economist argued for "adaptation, not prohibition". Schneiderman's sentiment is that these start-ups need to work more closely and proactively with regulators, but this fails to recognise that regulators need to also fundamentally change their approach.
Regulation in China has been a hot topic for a while now. This is principally because the region has a low tolerance of free speech. But it extends to cultural concerns as well; the Google Play store, Twitter, and most of Hollywood's annual product do not make it onto Chinese shores (legally, anyway). What this creates is a secondary tier of companies who take Western business models and run with it. That's why there are multiple Chinese Android app stores, why Sina Weibo is a fantastically successful service, and why many poor remakes of US films flood the Chinese market. It has been pleasing then to see two recent developments in the way China regulates the TMT sector that should be good news for consumers and Western companies. Today saw the announcement that Microsoft's Xbox One is to be sold in China. It will be the first foreign games console to go on sale in the country, lifting a fourteen year ban. This would open up the company to the half billion active gamers in China. Additionally, as Michael Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Securities pointed out,
"The middle class in China is pretty large, and positioning the box as an over-the-top TV receiver gives it a lot of appeal to wealthier Chinese."
Earlier this week, Warner Bros was the latest film studio to partner with Chinese site Tencent. The film 300: Rise of an Empire, is available to rent through the site, while it is still in cinemas in territories like the US. The points of the deal were very interesting. Zeitgeist has for a number of years now advocated an increased flexibility to film platform release windows. Such a rigid structure as the industry has in the US is not as apparent in China. This could help alleviate piracy in the country and separately could pave the way for a relaxing of the quota of US films that are let into the Chinese market every year. Hopefully this will be a precursor to more such moves in Western markets. As someone commented on the news when it was published on the Financial Times website,
"Maybe they can do the same in the rest of the world as well?
Or I could wait 2 months for something to come out on Bluray in the UK compared to the US. Or just pirate it when the US version is available since they won't let me buy it in my country, but will let other people buy it in other countries."
While China is taking steps forward, the US seems to be faltering in its regulatory approach. We mentioned the impending restrictions on e-cigarettes earlier, and let's not even go into then-mayor Michael Bloomberg's crusade against sugar. We've written about net neutrality before. The issue has been of interest to Zeitgeist since university days. It was thrust into the spotlight this year when a US court ruled that the FCC had "overstepped its authority" after a legal challenge from Verizon. Last week, new rules were proposed that will undermine the original purpose of the policy of treating all traffic the same, allowing ISPs to charge companies like Netflix more in order to reach consumer with greater quantity or quality, but only on "commercially reasonable" terms. These terms have yet to be defined. These moves touch on a related matter that has also been greeted with consternation by those who favour fairness. This is Comcast's proposed merger with Time Warner Cable. Netflix recently publicly came out against the move. It is easy to see why. As The Economist recently elaborated, such a deal would limit competition and reduce any incentive to innovate. It is also one more example of the assumption companies have that their problems can be solved with size. Comcast have admitted they will raise prices for the end user, while as much as conceding there will no be no discernible benefit to them. One might argue there is little more for such companies to do, but average internet speeds in Tokyo and Singapore are ten times as fast on average as in the US. Even the Financial Times, which can often be counted on to be a bastion of support for capitalists, compared Comcast to the Railway Barons of the past.
The sharing economy is creating difficulty for many sectors, and regulatory agencies have not escaped this. Such forces have been to slow to adapt to fundamental changes in the TMT sector, particularly in print, music and film industries. There certainly seems to be a tendency for over-regulation today, particularly in the US. Returning to an article we mentioned at the beginning of our piece, Edward Luce laments that America "no longer feels unusually free". Perhaps this is part of a cyclical trend. Like the causes of the recession, perhaps the problem is a stifling caused by over-regulation in the wrong places, coupled with a lack of innovation in areas where sensible rules that do not cater to the established are in dire need. It is good to see rules and regulations around consoles and release windows are being relaxed in China, but the furore around regulating the sharing economy needs a similar dose of innovative thinking.
UPDATE (17/9/14): We've included some nice examples in this post of innovative thinking paired with light touch regulation going on in China's entertainment sector. Sadly the pendulum swings both ways; though shows like BBC's 'Sherlock' were made available with authorised translations mere hours after their original broadcast in Blighty, the state is cracking down hard in other ways. The Economist reports that last week, China's TV regulator said that, from April, any foreign series or film would need approval before being shown online. It is looking for "health, well-made works" that "showcase good values". This sounds like a vague excuse to arbitrarily censor content it doesn't like. Explicitly, banned subject matter includes, according to The Economist, "superstition, espionage and—bizarrely—time travel".
Tech's impact on business and culture in 2014
It would be impossible to capture the disruptive influence the latest digital technologies are currently having on the world in a single blog post. But what Zeitgeist has collated here are some thoughts and happenings showing the different ways technology is changing our lives – from the way we do business to the way we interact with others.
Last night saw a highly enjoyable occurrence. No, not the Academy Awards in general, which as ever moved at a glacial pace as it ticked off a list of predicted favourites. Rather, it was a specific moment in the ceremony itself, when host Ellen DeGeneres took a (seemingly) impromptu picture of herself with a cornucopia of stars, tweeting it instantly. The host declared she wanted the picture (above) to be the most retweeted post ever. The previous holder was none other than the President of the United States, Barack Obama, whose re-election message saw over 500k retweets. It took Zeitgeist but a few minutes to realise that Ellen's post would skyrocket past this. Right now it has been retweeted 2.7m times. Corporate tactic on the part of Samsung though it may have been, Zeitgeist felt himself feeling much closer to the action – being able to see on his phone a photo the host had taken moments ago several thousand miles away – and the incident helped inject a brief air of spontaneity into the show's proceedings. Super fun, and easy to get definitive results in this case on how many people were really engaging with the content. But can we quantify how much Samsung and Twitter really benefited from the move, beyond fuzzy marketing metrics? Talking heads on CNBC saw room for improvement (see below).
The big news of late in tech circles of course has been Facebook's $19bn acquisition of messaging application Whatsapp. Many, many lines of editorial have been spilled on this deal already. In the mainstream media, many commentators have found the price of the deal staggering. So it's worth reading more considered views such as Benedict Evans', whose post on the deal Zeitgeist highly encourages you to read. Despite the seemingly large amount of money the company has been acquired for – especially considering Facebook's purchase of Instagram for a 'mere' $1bn – Evans sagely points out that per user the deal is about the same as Google made in its valuation when it purchased YouTube. So perhaps not that crazy after all. The other key point that Evans makes is on Facebook's dedicated pursuit to be the 'next' Facebook, or conversely to stop anyone else from becoming the next Facebook. With a meteoric rise in members (see image below, as it outstrips growth by both Facebook and Twitter), Whatsapp was certainly looking a little threatening.
The worry for investors is how Facebook will monetise this platform, when the founders have professed an aversion to advertising. Is merely ensuring that Facebook is the 'next' Facebook a good enough reason for such acquisitions? Barriers to entry and sustainable advantages will be few and far between going down this route. The Financial Times, in its analysis of the acquisition, points out that innovation is quickly nipping at the heels of Whatsapp. CalPal, for example, is one example of a mobile application that lets users message each other from within an app. In the markets, there has been a relatively sanguine response to the purchase, but only because of broader trends. As the FT points out,
"External forces have also helped to push the headline prices of deals such as WhatsApp into the stratosphere. A global excess of cheap money, along with a scarcity of alternatives for growth-hungry investors, has boosted the stock prices of companies such as Facebook and Google."
One of the most visibly exciting developments in technology in recent years is the explosion of the wearable tech sector. But it is Google's flagship product, Glass, that has met with much ire and distress. An excellent piece of analysis appearing in MIT Technology Review last month hit the nail on the head when it identified why Glass was having trouble winning people over. The article rightly identifies the significant shift in external appearance inherent in making the switch from a device that needs to be taken out of a pocket as makes it clear when it is being interacted with (you need to cover half your face with the product to talk to someone, for example). The article also details the savvy approach Google have taken to the distribution of their product. It's always sensible to try and mobilise the part of your base likely to be evangelists anyway, so as to build advance buzz before a full-blown release. But to get them to pay for the privilege, as Google are doing with their excitable fans, dubbed Explorers, is a stroke of genius for them. However, the key issue, and what the article states is an "insurmountable problem", is that "Google's challenge in making the device a successful consumer product will be convincing the people around you to ignore it". It is this fundamental aspect of social interaction that is worrying many, and now Google is worried too. As detailed in the FT, the company has acknowledged that the product can look "pretty weird". Recognising it has a "long journey" to mainstream adoption, it published a list of Dos and Don'ts. Highlights include,
"Ask for permission. Standing alone in the corner of a room staring at people while recording them through Glass is not going to win you any friends… If you find yourself staring off into the prism for long periods of time you're probably looking pretty weird to the people around you."
It indicates that Google may have a significant 'Glasshole' problem it needs to attend to. The case may be overstated though. One of the problems may just be that potential customers have yet to see any practical uses for it. This is beginning to change. Last week, Virgin Atlantic announced a six-week trial of both Glass and Sony smartwatches. The idea will be for check-in attendants to use the devices to scan limousine number plates so that passengers can be greeted by name and be instantly updated on their flight status.
In the arts, digital technology has inspired much innovative work, as well as helped broaden its audience. David Hockney, one of England's greatest living artists, recently exhibited a series of works produced entirely on his iPad at London's Royal Academy of Arts. He is far from alone. Last week's anniversary issue of The New Yorker featured work from Jorge Colombo on its front cover, again produced entirely on an iPad. Such digital innovation allows for increased productivity as well as new aesthetics. When done well, art can also involve the viewer, encouraging interaction. Digital technology helps with this too. Earlier in the year The New York Times covered how the New York City Ballet redesigned part of their floor in a new scheme to attract new visitors to the ballet. The result, roughly life-size pictures of dancers arranged on the floor, has seen great success, and an explosion of content on social media platforms like Instagram, where users have taken to posing on the floor as if interacting with the images (see above). It's a simple tactic that now reaches a far greater audience thanks to new digital technologies.
A recently published book, 'Now I know who my comrades are: Voices from the Internet Undergound', by Emily Parker, seeks to demonstrate the ways in which digital technology has made helped to coalesce and support important activism in regions such as China and Latin America. But, as The Economist points out in its review, the disappointing situation in Egypt puts pay to some of the author's claims; there are limits to how productive and transformative technology can be. In business, these hurdles are plain to see. A poll taken by McKinsey published last month shows that "45% of companies admit they have limited to no understanding on how their customers interact with them digitally". This is staggering. For all executives' talk of the power of Big Data, such technology is useless without the proper structures in place to successfully analyse it. We also perhaps need to think more about repercussions of increased technological advances and how they influence our social interactions. In the recently opened film Her (starring Joaquin Phoenix, pictured below), set in the very near future, a new operating system is so pervasive and seamless that it leads to fraught, thought-provoking questions on the nature and productivity of relationships. When does conversation – and more – with a simulacrum detract from interactions with the physical world? These considerations may seem lofty, but as we illustrated earlier, the germination of such thoughts are being echoed in discussions over Google Glass.
So technology in 2014 heralds some promise for the future. Wearable tech as a trend is merely the initial stage of a journey where our interaction with computing systems becomes seamless. It is on this journey though that we need to make sure that businesses are making the most of every opportunity to streamline costs and enhance customer service, and that individual early adopters do not leave the rest of us behind to deal with a bewildering and alarming new way of living. One of our favourite quotations, from the author William Gibson, is apt to end on: "The future's already here, it's just not very evenly distributed".
Monetising the Arts – Fundraising and cultural collisions
Damien Hirst divides the art world. No one thinks him a good artist, of course. But there are those who despise him for his commercialism, and those who recognise the ingenuity of the man and his innate sense of self-promotion and salesmanship. The apotheosis of this was undoubtedly Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, the infamous Sotheby's auction held on the eve of the global recession. The diamond skull that was the centrepiece of the auction was described as a "vulgar publicity stunt" by The Economist. In the auction's aftermath, the market for his works "bottomed out"; sales performed poorly versus the contemporary art market as a whole (see chart below). Despite such schadenfreunde, it was satisfying to read a positive review for the artist's new retrospective, "Relics", which opened last month in Doha. The exhibition is part of a major push by Qatar to make itself culturally relevant abroad. Indeed, the physical context in which the pieces are set do apparently allow the viewer to judge them anew, without all the tabloid baggage the artist's works usually bring with them. But concessions have had to be made too:
"In a country where Muslim clerics hold sway, the titles of these works, many of which feature the word "God", have not been translated into Arabic. Mr Hirst sees the sense in this, admitting that he wants his art to be "provocative in the right way". Nudes are also virtually banned from public view."
In an increasingly homogenised culture – by which we simply mean one where content from one nation is easily accessible and ultimately transferable to another – what does being "provocative in the right way" mean?
In New York, such questions were similarly asked in recent months, in particular at the city's two opera houses. One, the New York City Opera, recently filed for bankruptcy. The house has long been suffering from financial difficulties, and despite a last-minute Kickstarter campaign that raised $300,000+ in a short space of time, the curtain will fall on this institution. Its strategy seemed sound – to not be, rather than to beat, the competition, in this case the Metropolitan Opera. In pursuing this end, they often used American singers and often produced avant-garde works, the most recent and famous of which was undoubtedly Anna Nicole, about a Playboy model who captured the hearts of America's flyover states before meeting her tragic end. Such courage should be commended, and in a just world, rewarded, but sadly it was not to be. Indeed, the City Opera lost its biggest donor entirely because of this production.
The other of New York's opera houses, The Metropolitan Opera, a stalwart of tradition, is battling with political ramifications that are happening thousands of miles away. In June this year, in another blow to any sense of fledgling democracy in Russia, President Putin signed into law an act that restricted discussion or promotion of homosexual acts, labelling such things "propaganda". The New York Times cites one Anton Krasovsky, "a television anchor who was immediately fired from his job at the government-controlled KontrTV network in January after he announced during a live broadcast that he is gay, saying he was fed up with lying about his life and offended by the legislation". Such news quickly became internationally relevant when mixed messages came from the Kremlin as to whether openly gay athletes would be welcomed at the Sochi Olympic Games next year. Boycotts are being considered. Just as there are openly gay people in sports, so in the arts. The controversy settled on the Metropolitan Opera as it prepared to launch its new season with Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. The new law, the almost universally acknowledged fact that the composer was homosexual, as well as the presence of talent (soprano Anna Netrebko and conductor Valery Gergiev) that were known Putin sympathisers, served to create a perfect storm. It was not long before opera fans were pleading with the Met to dedicate its opening night performance in support of homosexuals. Gergiev, an indisputably great conductor, as well as being a "close Putin ally", according to the Financial Times, has long been dogged by rumours of political favours from the President, and protesters are becoming increasingly vocal. His claim on his Facebook page that the law targeted pedophiles, not homosexuals, pleased few. The stubbornness was mirrored by the Met. Writing an article for Bloomberg, Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Met, attempted to clarify why the house wouldn't "bow to protest". Gelb conceded he personally deplored the new law, as much as he deplored the 76 countries that go even further than Russia currently by completely outlawing homosexuality. He went on,
"But as an arts institution, the Met is not the appropriate vehicle for waging nightly battles against the social injustices of the world."
Clearly, Gelb is declaring that such a mention before the performance would not have been – to return to Hirst's words – "provocative in the right way". But just as we have called it a perfect storm of political and cultural affiliations, was this not also the perfect opportunity for such a tremendously important institution to take a stand for those people who do not have such a prominent pulpit? Gelb asserts that the house has never dedicated a single performance to a political or social cause. Progressive thinking and innovation rarely develops from such thinking. Moreover, the Met has stood up for the rights of the marginalised in the past when it refused to play in front of black/white segregated audiences. So a precedent exists, which arguably is not being lived up to.
It would be naive to avoid acknowledging the pitfalls in the knee-jerk use of the arts to constantly promote change and stand against discrimination. In some cases, such calls to action can fall on deaf ears, or worse, provoke outrage that costs the institution and earns it an unfortunate reputation. Such damage to a reputation can be financially devastating (the New York City Opera is to an extent an example of this), which apart from anything else rules out any future opportunities to make such important statements. These organisations are, whether for profit or no, ultimately businesses that cannot afford to support every cause, no matter how relevant. Arts organisations have the rare distinction of often being at the intersection of culture, politics and money (which can often make for a murky combination). Perhaps what is needed is an entirely new fundraising model. Monied interests will usually be conservative in their tastes (why would someone want to change the status quo that allowed them to get where they are?). Increased use of crowdfunding, such as the City Opera briefly used with Kickstarter, will surely play a far greater role in the years to come. Such efforts could go some way to negating the worry of avoiding a few vested interests. What an organisation should or should not publicly speak out on must always rest with the individual situation, as well as how any statement is phrased, which does not necessarily need to condemn a party. As Andrew Rudin, the composer who started the petition to ask the Met to make a statement, implored, "I'm not asking them to be against anybody. I'm asking them to be for somebody".
The New Normal of the Internet of Things
In the wake of PRISM, New York Times takedowns and spying London rubbish bins, people on the Internet don't feel that secure any more… at all. Business Insider published an article recently saying the days of truly private email conversations are over. A new trend in "countersurveillance fashion" has sprung up (see above image), and New York's New Museum is opening a 'privacy gift shop' for September.
One of the clients Zeitgeist works for is about to get heavily involved in Machine to Machine (M2M) communication, otherwise known as the Internet of Things (IoT). Intel were making themselves heard last month at an event in London's Spitalfields Market on the subject. And earlier this month, the exemplary blog GigaOm published an article entitled "How can we design an internet of things for everyone (not just alpha geeks)?". This new development, which includes self-driving cars, fridges ordering milk for you when you run out without being asked, potentially brings with it ideas of a utopian world of interconnected devices that do your bidding.
But such potential is now seen in a different light, post-PRISM. The first two user comments, screengrabbed below, were a grim reminder of the new normal, where such a utopian future has already been tarnished by abuses before it even arrives.
Before and after Prism – On liberty in a digital age
First aired on PBS in 1985, filmmaker Ken Burns' documentary on the Statue of Liberty was on Zeitgeist's TiVo watch list this weekend. It's really quite staggering to note how issues being discussed then are even more relevant three decades on.
It goes back to an article we wrote recently on the US government's more legitimate efforts to collect data. These myriad agencies are working so fast to see whether it's possible to collect this or that piece of data on someone, they are not stopping to think whether they should, and what the long-term implications are. By long-term, we mean what such a "Faustian bargain" means for the civil rights of citizens – particularly of course in the relation of the right to privacy – and what such machinations do to the long-term standing of the country as a whole – particularly from the outside looking in.
"Spying in a democracy depends for its legitimacy on informed consent, not blind trust", wrote The Economist in this week's lead article. Not so anymore, seemingly. The recent revelations that the NSA have been collecting masses of data from Facebook, Twitter, Google et al., with little thought for due process and with a focus on communications outside the US, and that at least one telco, Verizon, was ordered to provide significant amounts of user data to the government, is disconcerting to say the least. Zeitgeist wrote a letter, recently published in the Financial Times, before this story broke, that attempted to convey that the true worry for those opposed to such overreach is the high possibility of neglect or abuse, rather than intentional Machiavellian manipulation. Government ineptitude is more likely, and far more dangerous. Clarity and transparency are the enemies of such ineptitude.
As former New York governor Mario Cuomo admits in the clip at the beginning of this post, it can be very tempting to squash a little liberty here and there in return for added security. The situation, which arises at a time when the US is supposed to be taking China to task over its own extensive cyber-espionage (see above graphic), where we are, as one CNBC commentator described recently "hacking ourselves", must give us pause, and begs us to re-examine what our notions of liberty are in an age of digital disruption.
The Big Data Fallacy
The latest issue of Foreign Affairs features the cover article "The Rise of Big Data" by Kenneth Cukier and Viktor Mayer-Schoenburger, which mostly details some of the incredible ways companies like UPS, Google and Apple have come to rely on vast arrays of numbers in order to run their businesses better. But data has always provided a problem in that it gives a substantive assurance of certainty that has a propensity to foster overconfidence in those relying on it. The article attempts to address this:
"[K]nowing the causes behind things is desirable. The problem is that causes are often extremely hard to figure out… Behavioural economics has shown that humans are conditioned to see causes even where none exist. So we need to be particularly on guard to prevent our cognitive biases from deluding us; sometimes, we just have to let the data speak."
The sentiment here is admirable, and the context perceptive. But the final part of the quotation (my emphasis) assumes wrongly that data can speak objectively, that there is a fundamental 'truth' in a number. All too often though the wrong things are measured, or not all variables are measured. What data does not record, or worse, cannot record, can often be overlooked. While ostensibly data is there to provide assistance with building models and predicting future trends and movements, it sometimes leads to a very narrow view of one particular future, and fails to account for possibilities, that, though while unlikely, could potentially be devastating. This is what Nicholas Taleb writes about in his by turns unreadable but seminal work, Black Swan. The fictional, paranoid loner Fox Mulder of the hit series The X-Files had it right fifteen years ago when he lamented "in a universe of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorised or easily referenced". The financial system before 2008 was a victim of such narrow thinking.
Hendrik Hertzberg, in his Talk of the Town column "Preventive Measures" in this week's The New Yorker, made the adroit analogy with the 2002 film Minority Report in our quest to categorise and predict acts of crime. Hertzberg points out that in reality this "turns out to be a good deal more difficult than investigating such an act once it occurs". Indeed, such prediction methods are being implemented, just with somewhat less efficacy than in the Tom Cruise movie. The stop-and-frisk procedure currently employed by the New York Police Department points to a sustained effort to engage in preventative measures to reduce crime, effectively what Cruise and his myrmidons were doing, albeit without the help of psychic imagery as in the film. While the psychic "Pre-Cogs" turned out to occasionally disagree, the success rate with stop-and-frisk is even less attractive. "In the final months of 2012″, writes the New York Times, only 4% of stops resulted in an arrest. But what is this low figure telling us…?
Hertzberg also alludes to the dilemma of mountains of data, produced without concern for oversight or management; producing more just because it's possible to produce it, rather than thinking about the implications:
"This fall, the National Security Agency, the largest and most opaque component of the counter-terrorism behemoth, will [open] a billion-dollar facility [analysing] intercepted telecommunications… each of the Utah Data Center's two hundred (at most) professionals will be responsible for reviewing five hundred billion terabytes of information each year, the equivalent of twenty-three million years' worth of Blu-ray DVDs… that's a lot of overtime."
The other problem this data poses – and increasingly this goes for many industries that are jumping on the Big Data bandwagon – is that intelligence departments and businesses alike are now technically able to put quantifiable targets and figures to what they want to achieve, without considering whether such targets are actually applicable. Police claim the low stop-to-arrest ratio implies that they are preventing crimes by stopping someone before they act. There is nothing to argue otherwise. The New York Times article alludes to the debate over what ratio or percentage the Supreme Court would be comfortable with under the tenet of "reasonable suspicion". This leads down a dangerous path where we treat data as an answer to a question, rather than as supporting evidence to an answer.
Selling the extraordinary
"Everything has become more experiential"
- Dante D'Angelo, brand and consumer development director at Valentino
It is an odd state of affairs indeed for the retail sector at the moment. On the one hand, consumers are flocking to digital devices like never before, particularly for their shopping. Conversely, this means that the physical experience of shopping becomes rarer, creating more opportunities for specialism. An article in the Financial Times a few weeks ago read as if a commercial plague had swept through the UK high street over the past few years. With 4,000 stores affected, 2012 was, according to data from the Centre for Retail Research, the "worst year since the start of the credit crisis in 2008″. Names of erstwhile stalwarts like Woolworth's, Jessop's, Peacocks and Clinton Cards have all fallen under the knife. As we wrote at the beginning of last month, what little salvation there is lies in embracing digital technologies.
The luxury sector however has its own special, gilt-edged cards to play. In St. Tropez, the Christian Dior boutique's ample courtyard has recently been made use of with an all-day restaurant. Louis Vuitton have a cinema screening classic Italian films in their Rome boutique. It's no wonder such brands have also branched into the hospitality sector, the former working with the St. Regis to develop branded rooms, the latter into full-scale hotel management. Ferragamo have been involved in the hotel sector for years. Two recent examples show how companies can extend the experience for visitors, and help drive revenue at the same time.
The auction house Sotheby's will tomorrow auction a rather large collection of surrealist art. One of the few things that definitively puts it ahead of Christie's is that it has its own cafe, which, last week and this week, is pushing the surrealism theme into its catering (see above menu). It's a simple, creative idea that creates a cohesive brand, celebrates a big event, and ultimately hopes to drive revenue from peripheral streams around the auction. The RA's current Manet exhibition is taking a leaf from this tactic, opening later but charging double the usual rates for a special experience, including a drink and a guide. The other interesting news of note was a new tactic being employed by the fashion company Valentino. Not content merely with having a major exhibition at London's Somerset House, the label is also tinkering in an innovative way with its event structure. As detailed last week in Bloomberg Businessweek, Valentino is opening a new boutique in New York later this year, during which the typical glitterati will be in attendance. However, the new idea comes in the form of the company inviting prized customers to the opening for the chance to rub shoulders with said VIPs, for a steep price. Similarly, Gucci is offering its non-VIP customers tours of its Florence workshops for the first time.
Something that Zeitgeist has been noticing for a couple of years now, recently echoed by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) senior partner Jean-Marc Bellaiche, is the importance, particularly for those in their 20s – like Zeitgeist – that people place in defining themselves by what they've done rather than what they own: "In an era of over-consumption, people are realizing that there is more than just buying products… Buying experiences provides more pleasure and satisfaction". On a macro level there is significant bifurcation in the retail market; not everyone will be able to afford in creating extraordinary experiences for their customers. A recent BCG report helps illustrate this, noting that while the apparel sector as a whole saw shareholder returns fall by 1.3% for the period 2007-2011, the top ten players produced a weighted average annual total shareholder return of 19%. Expect then for retailers – those that can – to increasingly provide exclusive experiences to their customers, beyond the celebrity, whether it be early product releases, tours, or events. Just don't expect it to come without a pricetag.
The state of retail
It's a common fallacy to think of a time before a change in status quo as somehow being magically problem-free. A Panglossian world where all was well and nothing needed to change, and wasn't it a shame that it had to. Similarly, we cannot blithely consign the retail industry of the past to some glorious era when everything was perfect; far from it. The industry has been under continual evolution, with no absence of controversy on the way. It was therefore a timely reminder, as well as being a fascinating article in its own right, when the New York Times provided readers recently with a potted history and a gaze into the future of Manhattan department store stalwart, Barneys. Not only is their past one in which the original proprietor sought to undercut his own suit suppliers, creating a bootlegging economy by literally ripping out their labels and replacing them with his own, but it was also one where department stores served a very different purpose to what they do today. They had less direct competition, not least unforeseen competition in the form of shops without a physical presence. Moreover, today they are run in an extremely different way, with an arguably much healthier emphasis on revenue (though some might say this comes at the expense of a feeling of luxury, in a lobby now brimming with handbags and little breathing room). The problems and opportunities for Barneys could serve as an analogy for the industry of which it is a part.
Despite brief reprieves such as Black Friday (click on headline image for CNBC's coverage), as well as the expected post-Christmas shopping frenzy, can one of the main problems affecting retail at the moment simply be that it is undergoing an industry-wide bout of creative destruction? Zeitgeist has written about the nature of creative destruction before, and whether or not that is to blame for retail's woes, the sector is certainly in the doldrums. In the UK, retailers are expecting a "challenging" year ahead. Recent research from Deloitte shows 194 retailers fell into administration in 2012, compared with 183 in 2011 and 165 in 2010. So, unlike the general economy, which broadly can be said to be enjoying a sclerotic recovery of sorts, the state of retail is one of continuing decline. How did this happen, and what steps can be taken to address this?
Zeitgeist would argue that bricks and mortar stores are suffering in essence due to a greater amount of competition. By which, we do not just mean more retailers, on different platforms. Whether it be from other activities (e.g. gaming, whether MMOs like World of Warcraft or simpler social gaming like Angry Birds), or other avenues of shopping (i.e. e-commerce, which Morgan Stanley recently predicted would be a $1 trillion dollar market by 2016), there is less time to shop and more ways to do it. The idea of going to shop in a mall now – once a staple of American past-time – is a much rarer thing today. It would be naive to ignore global pressures from other suppliers and brands around the world as putting a competitive strain on domestic retailers too. Critically, and mostly due to social media, there are now so many more ways and places to reach a consumer that it is difficult for the actual sell to reach the consumer's ears. This is in part because companies have had to extend their brand activity to such peripheries that the lifestyle angle (e.g. Nike Plus) supercedes the call-to-action, i.e. the 'BUY ME'. The above video from McKinsey nicely illustrates all the ways that CMOs have to think about winning consumers over, which now extend far beyond the store.
If we look at the in-store experience for a moment without considering externalities, there is certainly opportunity that exists for the innovative retailer. Near the end of last year, the Financial Times published a very interesting case study on polo supplier La Martina. The company's origins are in making quality polo equipment, from mallets to helmets and everything in between, for professional players. As they expanded – a couple of years ago becoming the principle sponsor of that melange of chic and chav, the Cartier tournament at Guards Polo Club – there came a point where the company had to decide whether it was going to be a mass-fashion brand, or remain something more select and exclusive. As the article in the FT quite rightly points out, "Moving further towards the fashion mainstream risked diluting the brand and exposing it to volatile consumer tastes." The decision was made to seek what was known as 'quality volume'. The company has ensured the number of distributors remains low. Zeitgeist would venture to say this doesn't stop the clothing design itself straying from its somewhat more refined roots, with large logos and status-seeking colours and insignia. Financially though, sales are "growing more than 20% a year in Europe and Latin America", which is perhaps what counts most currently.
In the higher world of luxury retail, Louis Vuitton is often at the forefront (not least because of its sustained and engaging digital work). While we're focusing purely on retail environments though, it was interesting to note that the company recently set up shop (literally) on the left bank of Paris; a pop-up literary salon, to be precise. Such strokes of inspiration and innovation are not uncommon at Vuitton. They help show the brand in a new light, and, crucially, help leverage its provenance and differentiate it from its competition. Sadly, when Zeitgeist went to visit, there was a distinct feeling of disappointment that much more could have been done with the space, which, while nicely curated (see above), did little to sell the brand, particularly as literally nothing was for sale. The stand-out piece, an illustrated edition of Kerouac's On the Road, by Ed Ruscha, Zeitgeist had seen around two years ago when it was on show at the Gagosian in London. Not every new idea works, but it is important that Louis Vuitton is always there at the forefront, trying and mostly succeeding.
So what ways are there that retailers should be innovating, perhaps beyond the store? One of the more infuriating things Zeitgeist hears constructed as a polemic is that of retail versus the smartphone. This is a very literal allusion, which NBC news were guilty of toward the end of last year. "Retail execs say they're winning the battle versus smartphones", the headline blared. What a more nuanced analysis of the situation would realise is that it is less a case of one versus the other, than one helping the other. The store and the phone are both trying to achieve the same things, namely, help the consumer and drive revenue for the company. Any retail strategy should avoid at all costs seeing these two as warring platforms, if only because it is mobile inevitably that will win. With much more sound thinking, eConsultancy recently published an article on the merits of providing in-store WiFi. At first this seems a risky proposition, especially if we are to follow NBC's knee-jerk way of thinking, i.e. that mobile poses a distinct threat to a retailer's revenue. The act of browsing in-store, then purchasing a product on a phone is known as showrooming, and, no doubt aided by the catchy name, its supposed threat has quickly made many a store manager nervous. However, as the eConsultancy article readily concedes, this trend is unavoidable, and it can either be ignored or embraced. Deloitte estimated in November that smartphones and tablets will yield almost $1bn in M-commerce revenues over the Christmas period in the UK, and influence in-store sales with a considerably larger value. That same month in the US, Bain & Co. estimated that "digital will influence more than 50% of all holiday retail sales, or about $400 billion". Those retailers who are going to succeed are the ones who will embrace mobile, digital and their opportunities. eConsultancy offer,
"For example, they could prompt customers to visit web pages with reviews of the products they are considering in store. This could be a powerful driver of sales… WiFi in store also provides a way to capture customer details and target them with offers. In fact, many customers would be willing to receive some offers in return for the convenience of accessing a decent wi-fi network. Tesco recently introduced this in its larger stores… 74% of respondents would be happy for a retailer to send a text or email with promotions while they're using in-store WiFi."
These kind of features all speak more broadly to improving and simplifying the in-store experience. They also illustrate a trend in the blending between the virtual and physical retail spaces. Major retailers, not just in luxury, are leading the way in this. Walmart hopes to generate $9bn in digital sales by the end of its next fiscal year. CEO Mike Duke told Fast Company, "The way our customers shop in an increasingly interconnected world is changing". This interconnectedness is not new, but it is accelerating, and the mainstream arrival of 4G will only help spur it on further. The company is soon to launch a food subscription service, pairing registrants with gourmet, organic, ethnic foods, spear-headed by @WalmartLabs, which is also launching a Facebook gifting service. At the same time, it must be said the company is hedging its bets, continuing with the questionable strategy of building more 'Supercenters', the first of which, at the time a revolutionary concept, they opened in 1988.
One interesting development has been the arrival of stores previously restricted to being online into the high street, something which Zeitgeist noted last year. This trend has continued, with eBay recently opening a pop-up store in London's Covent Garden. These examples are little more than gimmicks though, serving only to remind consumers of the brands' online presence. Amazon are considering a much bolder move, that of creating permanent physical retail locations, if, as CEO Jeff Bezos says, they can come up with a "truly differentiated idea". That idea and plan would be anathema to those at Walmart, Target et al., who see Amazon as enough of a competitor as it is, especially with their recent purchase of diapers.com and zappos.com. It serves to illustrate why Walmart's digital strategies are being taken so seriously internally and invested in so heavily. Amazon though has its own reasons for concern. Earlier in the article we referenced the influence of global pressures on retailers. Amazon is by no means immune to this. Chinese online retailer Tmall will overtake Amazon in sales to become the world's largest internet retailer by 2016, when Tmall's sales are projected to hit $100 billion that year, compared to $94 billion for Amazon. The linked article illustrates a divide in the purpose of retail platforms. While Amazon is easy-to-use, engaging and aesthetically pleasing, a Chinese alternative like Taobao is much more bare-bones. As the person interviewed for the article says, "It's more about pricing – it's much cheaper. It's not about how great the experience is. Amazon has a much better experience I guess – but the prices are better on Taobao."
So how can we make for a more flexible shopping experience? One which perhaps recognises the need in some users to be demanding a sumptuous retail experience, and in others the need for a quick, frugal bargain? Some permutations are beginning to be analysed, and offered. Some of these permutations are being met with caution by media and shoppers. This month, the Wall Street Journal reported that retailer Staples has developed a complex pricing strategy online. Specifically, the WSJ found, it raises prices more than 86% of the time when it finds the online shopper has a physical Staples store nearby. Similar such permutations in other areas are now eminently possible, thanks in no small part to the rise of so-called Big Data. Though the Staples price fluctuations were treated with controversy at the WSJ, they do point to a more realistic supply-and-demand infrastructure, which could really fall under the umbrella of consumer 'fairness', that mythical goal for which retailers strive. Furthemore, being able to access CRM data and attune communications programmes to people in specific geographical areas might enable better and more efficient targeting. Digital also allows for a far more immersive experience on the consumer side. ASOS illustrate this particularly well with their click-to-buy videos.
As the Boston Consulting Group point out in a recent report, with the understated title 'Digital's Disruption of Consumer Goods and Retail', "the first few waves of the digital revolution have upended the retail industry. The coming changes promise even more turmoil". This turmoil also presents problems and opportunities for the marketing of retail services, which must be subject to just as much change. If we look at the print industry, also comparatively shaken by digital disruption, it is interesting to note the way in which the very nature of it has had to change, as well as the way its benefits are communicated. It is essential that retailers not see the havoc being waged on their businesses as an opportunity to 'stick to what they do best' and bury their head in the sand. This is the time for them to drive innovation, yes at the risk of an unambitious quarterly statement, and embrace digital and specifically M-commerce. What makes this easy for those companies that have so far resisted the call is that there is ample evidence of retailers big and small, value-oriented to luxury-minded, who have already embraced these new ideas and platforms. Their successes and failures serve as great templates for future executions. And who knows, the state of retail might not be such a bad one to live in after all. Until the next revolution…


text:
Where did Apple Pay hit and miss?
A Forrester Research report analyzes the early successes and failures of Apple's mobile payments system.
Where did Apple Pay hit and miss?
A Forrester Research report analyzes the early successes and failures of Apple's mobile payments system.
Amazon Q3 revenue increases 20%
The e-retailer heads into the holiday shopping season behind a 30% increase in fulfillment spending and a widening net loss. North American sales increased ...
Sign up for IRNewsLink and get daily reports delivery to your inbox. Sign Up Now
Sponsored by 2013 Social Media 300
Subscribe for free and receive the most trusted source of e-commerce analysis and intelligence either right to your door step or via e-mail every month.
Years after early Internet retailers famously overspent on Super Bowl TV advertising, causing others to avoid the medium, Cars.com is betting that Super Bowl XLII will be the perfect venue for launching its 2008 marketing campaign. Its commercial will be handled by the same creative team at ad agency DDB Chicago that has produced Super Bowl ads for brewer Anheuser Busch.
After spending millions earlier in the decade for Super Bowl television advertising that didn't produce customers, e-commerce companies have generally passed on the pricey spots. But Cars.com is betting that Super Bowl XLII on the Fox Network is the perfect venue for launching its 2008 marketing campaign.
"Advertising on the Super Bowl gives Cars.com a way to kick off that campaign in a big way, reaching an expected 90 million viewers who will tune in live," says Mitch Golub, president. "We are making a significant investment to move the Cars.com brand forward and draw even more new and used car shoppers to the site in 2008."
Cars.com isn't saying what it's spending on the Super Bowl, but the ad is part of the company's announced plan to increase advertising spending overall by more than 50% in 2008. That includes an integrated media campaign that will run nationally through the year. Supporting the national campaign will be the Cars.com network, where local newspapers, TV stations and their web sites both contribute listings to Cars.com and also promote Cars.com in their respective outlets.
Cars.com's ad program next year includes plans to boost online advertising. It's already announced an exclusive multi-year agreement with Yahoo Autos in which more than 2 million pre-owned and new car listings from Cars.com will appear on Yahoo Autos.
With a few exceptions such as the ad featuring a sock puppet touting the now-defunct Pets.com, the ads for e-commerce sites that ran on earlier Super Bowl broadcasts were panned by analysts as not measuring up to the creative offered up by more experienced Super Bowl advertisers. In that knowledge, Cars.com isn't taking any chances. A spokeswoman says the ad will be produced by the company's long-term agency, DDB Chicago, and handled by a creative team that has produced Super Bowl advertising for clients such as brewer Anheuser Busch.
The ULTA beauty brand has gone through an e-commerce revolution in recent years, says one ...
Posted 10/23/14
I was excited for Apple Pay. And I still am. But boy did I ever ...
Posted 10/23/14
If there's something you've bought offline that you weren't able to buy online, we're probably thinking about that."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A new addition to the seminary, the student center boasts creative architecture. A large skylight spans the length of the room, which affords plenty of natural light. Sofas, coffee tables and large round tables provide opportunities for meals, conversation or study. There is even a working fireplace to provide extra warmth during those cold Michigan winters. Equipped with laptop and internet hook ups, and printer connections, the student center is an ideal location for study. Finally, with several microwaves, two fridges, vending machine and game room, the student centre is a hub for fellowship between students, staff and faculty.
To rotate the photograph, click on the image (keep the mouse button down) and move the cursor in the direction you wish to look (left, right, up, or down).


text:
Texas Newswatch
On this week's edition of Texas Newswatch, we take a look at gun laws on and off campus. See how one UT alumni is making a name for himself in the golf world. Spring is here and the bluebonnets are blooming, We'll show you the flowers some UT students think is a big prank from Texas A+M. Plus, learn about a new program in Austin dealing with texting and driving. Also, find out about an event that's bringing traditions from Mexico closer to home. All these stories and more on Texas Newswatch.
On this edition of Texas Newswatch, we take a look at how strutting down the runway in condoms raises awareness for AIDs. April is Sexual Assault Awareness so we see how one play is empowering women. Dry, dry, dry the implications draught has on Texas Rice Farmers. We see how one military veteran is carrying out a new mission to help rehab mans best friend. And the journey another veteran is walking in memory of his friend. Catch all these stories and more on this edition of Texas Newswatch.
Tonight on Texas Newswatch, we take a look at how you can better protect your phone from being stolen. This weekend, the 87th Annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays takes place and we will see the impact it has on competitors. There are many victims still recovering from the tragic South By Southwest car accident. We speak to one victim and learn more about her recovery. Austin Independent School District students use social media to express their concerns about their school conditions. Have you ever attended a UT Rodeo? One student tells us how the UT Club Rodeo is making its way back to campus. We show you how Round-Up Weekend is much more than just a big party. Catch all of these stories and more tonight on this edition of Texas Newswatch.
On this edition of Texas Newswatch, South by Southwest begins this weekend. See the important role social media is playing in the Festival. We will show you how to protect yourself from "skimming" fraud. Austin Police Department is cracking down on jaywalking on the 40 Acres. We take a look at how Title IX affects the UT men's club sport of lacrosse. Plus, learn how one local resident is taking a trip to Mars. Look for all these stories and more on tonight's Texas Newswatch.
On tonight's episode of Texas Newswatch, housing changes are making an impact on campus residents. One Mexican man is biking across Texas for a cause despite his disability. The annual Austin Trail of Lights opens up this weekend along with a wave of freezing weather. Austinites came together in a unique way with their interests in arts and cars. One organization is using dinnerware to raise money for the hungry…all this and more on this edition of Texas Newswatch.
Tonight on Texas Newswatch. The Halloween flood has brought disastrous impact to residents and their pets in Austin, we'll give you the newest update on recovery. We'll show you why some residents are protesting for an oak tree, and one of the oldest parks is having a clean-up to keep Austin beautiful. We'll show you how parents are trying to move screen time to outside playing time. And how riding a horse can be a unique therapy. How painting art and can art are helping the homeless and poor families. And we'll explain where does the raising rent drive UT students to. Look for all this and more on tonight's edition of Texas Newswatch.
Tonight on Texas Newswatch: Austin storms have caused residents to be evacuated from their homes, we'll tell you how the Red Cross is helping flood victims. Leasing for next year is becoming increasingly stressful for UT students. Coyotes are on the loose; find out how these animals are affecting local residents. Raising numbers of school bus injuries has prompted an increase in fines for Austin drivers. Learn how cancer survivors are making a difference in their communities. Tune in to find out more on this edition of Texas Newswatch.


text:
The Beatitudes: A Concise SummaryDEACON DOUGLAS MCMANAMAN
In the 6th century B.C., God promised, through the prophet Ezekiel, that He would gather his people, cleanse them and impart to them a new spirit: "I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your own land.
Christians believe that God fulfilled his promise in the Person of Christ who gathers from all nations (kata holos) all who belong to God, and he forms them into the new Israel through a new covenant. The beatitudes are the basic outline, the interior contours, of this new spirit. Jesus, the new Moses, writes these not on tablets of stone, but on the human heart changed and elevated by grace. Thus, the new law is an interior law.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle pointed out that genuine happiness (eudaemonia) is complete and sufficient unto itself, that is, not precarious and dependent upon outside factors like the weather or the stock market. Thus, true happiness endures. But happiness was not possible for everyone, according to Aristotle, and the happiness of which he speaks is natural happiness, the result of emotional stability brought about by the virtues and the joy of natural contemplation of the highest things. But Jesus is God in the flesh, and God became man so that man could "become" God, so to speak, that is, so that he might be elevated by divine grace, which is a sharing in the supernatural life of God; it is by entering into the Person of Christ that we enter into his joy.
Each beatitude begins with Makarios ("Blessed are..."), which is the blessedness that is sufficient unto itself, complete, and the first taste of life eternal. As a whole, they describe the spirit of the one who lives in the Person of Christ. Let's examine each contour of this new life.
Deacon Douglas McManaman. "The Beatitudes: A Concise Summary." CERC (June, 2014).
Printed with permission of Deacon Douglas McManaman.
Doug McManaman is a Deacon and a Religion and Philosophy teacher at Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy in Markham, Ontario, Canada. He is the past president of the Canadian Fellowship of Catholic Scholars. He maintains the following web site for his students: A Catholic Philosophy and Theology Resource Page. Deacon Douglas studied Philosophy at St. Jerome's College in Waterloo, and Theology at the University of Montreal. He is the author of Basic Catholicism, Introduction to Philosophy for Young People, and A Treatise on the Four Cardinal Virtues. Deacon McManaman is on the advisory board of the Catholic Education Resource Center.
Copyright © 2014 Douglas McManaman
Not all articles published on CERC are the objects of official Church teaching, but these are supplied to provide supplementary information.


text:
Community Safety
What does the Community Safety Partnership do?
Harborough District Community Safety Partnership aims to maintain low levels of crime and promote safe, strong communities.
The focus of the Community Safety Partnership is on a combination of reducing and preventing crime and disorder;and the introduction and promotion of social and economic change. Community Safety activities will aim to reduce offending behaviour and also the harms experienced by individuals and communities because of crime and disorder and will seek to improve their quality of life through efforts to change the wider physical and social environment.
For partners to tackle crime, disorder, drugs and alcohol abuse, anti-social behaviour, hate incidents, domestic violence and improve community confidence around fear of crime and anti-social behaviour.
How are we performing
You can see updates on the impact our work is having using our performance dashboards on the Leicestershire Statistics and Research Online website. There are dashboards covering the following areas:
- anti-social behaviour
- crime reduction
- domestic abuse
Pages in this section
- What does the Community Safety Partnership do?
- Who makes up the Community Safety Partnership?
- What is the Community Safety Partnership doing?
- Latest initiatives & events
- Keep Safe Places
- Our pledge: Embracing difference


text:
What does VZY mean in Firms?
This page is about the meanings of the acronym/abbreviation/shorthand VZY in the Business field in general and in the Firms terminology in particular.
Find a translation for VZY in other languages:
Select another language:
Discuss this VZY abbreviation with the community:
Use the citation below to add this abbreviation to your bibliography:
"VZY." Abbreviations.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://www.abbreviations.com/term/227009>.
Nearby & related abbreviations:
Alternative search:
- Search Victor Z Yanchenko Pty, Limited on Amazon.com
- Search Victor Z Yanchenko Pty, Limited on Google


text:
Up front, I have to say there is a chip in the stone, however, the stone is such a black green color that unless you are really looking for it, you cannot see the chip. I am putting this in my store (chip and all) because it is such an unusual and stunning ring. The stone is glass or at least registers as glass when tested and is a huge round faceted affair that sits in a highly etched fluted cup of sterling silver. The ring is a size 9 and is marked .925 inside the band (tested as well). The stone can be popped out with a pointed instrument from the back opening on the inside of the ring and snaps back into the cup tightly but this is an FYI in case you have another stone you wish to put into the ring. The stone has a diameter of 1/2". If you need the millimeter size, I can get that, too. Other than the chip which is hard to see, the ring stone shows only very minor age related scratches and then only 2 of these which also can only be seen with a jeweler's loupe. The band and design on this sterling ring are quite different and really lovely. Cannot figure the age but probably from the 1980s or so. Weighs 5 grams.
Item ID: dw04180
Only 1 available, and 2 other shoppers are interested. Don't miss out!
Classic jewelry and small collectible items at great prices.
Beautiful jewelry and small collectibles
Price for shipping to USA
change location
*USPS First-Class Mail Parcel


text:
BACK IN THIS BIIIIISH (i think)
zzz-d asked: im officially in love qith your blog :)) its perfect #eastafricanpride lol
Thank yoou!! #EASTAFRICA
poppin-soda-bottles asked: i love ur blog! :) follow back please?
Thank you :) sure!
mcelijahblack asked: You have a BEAUTIFUL blog!
Thank you, so do you :)
nadipearls asked: I love the African theme for your blog and the playlist is Amaziiiiing abaayo xoxoxo
Thaanks abaayo :)


text:
In one of the best videos in skateboard history we see Cowboy BePop rebuild himself in full glory! Don't let things get you down, the brain and body are capable of amazing things! Send Blake your best next time you can…
Rebloging just cus big Dave said my video was one of the best in skateboard history
talk of shamans are still fucking amazing.
please watch this video. these guys are probably the most creative/ experimental artists i knew in my college life.
its fascinating to see these dudes progress and experiment with the sounds/ frequencies that they admire. i guess this is a good example of reflexivity. WATCH.
We're back and fresher than ever! JSM network has been redefining the definition of quality with respect to skateboard content. Here is the most recent film depicting a tribute to the one and only Miam Lorgan… The Bay breeds beauty!
More of my JSM
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 come along and jazzercise you'll want some more! JSM's swallow cam takes us deep inside the jazzy brains of Blueberry Farmer extraordinaire as he releases his pent up cast sauce all over San Francisco!
First started as a joke, Julian Sucks Media has become more that about just myself. It has spread all over the world and involved many talented skaters and people alike. This is also Tiight because it may allow me to have a life in and of skateboarding that in which I can support myself. JSM NETWORK!
2014 NORAM Event Calendar (Assembled by Unkle). 2014 will be packed with awesome events - this calendar features the brand new Push Culture DH Cup Series, as well as new additions to the IDF schedule and a bunch of awesome grassroots offerings. Events are the best places to skate great roads in safe conditions, meet a lot of rad folks and get inspired to progress. So get out there this year! And don't forget to come to Central Mass 5 ;) -MG
I've gotta go to at least one of these events this year. Preferably S.L.A.P. cus I love those ditches!
(me) :You gotta work to smoke!
(crackhead tweaker) : wtf you say to me n1993r!?
(me): nothing.. (skate quickly away)
This was a real conversation but happened way before this video took place.
Christmas Rant.
So get this.
I go down to Palo alto to see my family for Christmas. Aunt, uncle, cousins, mom's new boyfriend, mom, grandma, and most importantly my brother Maxwell. I bout gifts for erryone in the family because of my tiight job at a fine dining restaurant which pays me hella skrilla and allows to pay own rent in the second most expensive city in the USA, buy all the skateboarding Equipment I need, but and all the drugs I could ingest.
Anyway, the entire day was spent pretty well. I had my family watch me skate at the skatepark which I as cool. And I had an awesome dinner with some champagne and wine which was nice.
The problems came on the drive home in which my mom's boyfriend Anthony was driving, and I started going off on my mom about how I thought that the family is a bunch of tools and that I could never be like them. This turned into a downward spiral of self deprecation and depression which drove my mom to tears. I also said for a second time to my mom that I would not be upset if I didn't wake up tomorrow morning. It took fells like shit to make your mom cry and I done it at least two time in the past year. Fuck.
I fucking fucking up and nothing is gonna change that. Besides myself.
I consider death a release from it all. A release from life, pain, joy, and everything else. No more stress, job, School, joy, skateboarding, family, weed, beer, and fucking good times. How can you handle it? Oh wait, you dead so you troubles are over.
Death is a release that puts pain on other people's shoulders. I know people care about me deeply, even though it doesn't seems real most of the time and I forget.
I forget about family, about friends, about possibilities in life to turn your misfortune around. Have a happy life while being content with who you are.
Fucking hell, just writing this has gotten me heated. Now it's time to chug as much beer and smoke as many mole bowls as my body allows me to before I puke my guts out.
I haven't fallen asleep sober in over a year.
Page 1 of 32


text:
Tickety Boo Cakes - Oil Rigger Cake
A special birthday cake for an oil rigger whose job is to a sail down side of rig. Character based on birthday boy with rig and helicopter on top. A keen cyclist the cake also included a design to celebrate the holiday planned to cycle into Europe
Erica, Tickety Boo Cakes, Staffordshire, UK


text:
Goldstar Member's Event Journal
Philosophy Talk
Sunday January 22, 2012 / 3:00pmPhilosophy Talk
1 ticket
General Admission
2120 Allston Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
How was your experience?
4.5 stars really - thoughtful and interesting. I would have liked to have a conversation with each of the presenters, but I understand this format doesn't allow that. Thought inspiring for sure.


text:
Performance golf ball fitting focuses on finding the best ball for your game and lowering your score.
Be the first to hear about product introductions, surveys, promotions, and sweepstakes. Through Team Titleist News we will provide exclusive communication not available in any other forum.
Titleist offers the most precise club fitting experience in the game.
The full-set Titleist Golf Club Trial program provides golfers with an easy way to experience Titleist products on either the course or practice tee to help determine the right equipment for their game.
Need to customize headwear, gloves, bags, or golf balls?
Track your stats. Get video tips. Set goals for your golf game.
Posted: June 21, 2010
How better to celebrate the first day of summer (or, more fittingly, the longest day of the year) than with an exclusive first look at the new Titleist 910 line of metal woods?
We have begun testing and seeding the 910 metal line this week at the Acushnet Oceanside Test Facility in California. We will continue to test and fit players into the 910 metals on the PGA Tour at next week's AT&T National tournament, outside Philadelphia.
Effective today, June 21, the 910 drivers are approved for play in competition, and we anticipate several being put in play on the PGA Tour in the coming weeks.
Click the photo below to view images of the new 910 metals from the Oceanside Test Facility.
Next Post
These woods are very high quality
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 3:12PM
Looks Good -- PGA Member
Ben T
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 3:16PM
Any idea when these will be released to public?
Ben T
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 3:36PM
So are the drivers/woods that will hit retail be adjustable for face angle or is that just part of the fitting system?
Matthew S
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 3:38PM
What difference is there between theD2 909 and the new drivers..
gary s
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 3:41PM
looks like the next best thing
Ben T
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 3:42PM
Pretty radical color change, but sole looks the same as the 909 line. I wonder if those adjustable hosels will be in the production design of the drivers, giving the player adjustability to draw/fade bias, like the Cobra ZL has this year. I wonder if any of the black will wear off the sole like the black nickel wears off the sole of Vokey wedges.
Pete D
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 3:45PM
Can wait!
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 4:12PM
When will it be available from the market? What's the difference to current D 909 model?
Any plan to launch new series of iron? Or 2010 model of AP series will be till end of this year?
Evan W
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 5:05PM
Can't wait *__*
Nicolas D
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 6:01PM
I need these to replace my CGB Max woods!!!!!!!
Erik B
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 6:19PM
I had heard little about these except that their release was imminent. I suspect that they will very popular.
Ben T
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 7:52PM
Will there be any of these clubs availiable for testing??
Paul B
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 7:54PM
So sweet! Can't wait to put these in play.
Michael D.
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 8:10PM
Ben T
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 8:34PM
Those look amazing! cant wait!
Ben T
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 9:44PM
I wonder if you will be letting members try out these new drivers so as to give laymans viewpoint , now that would be interesting
Ben T
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 9:57PM
They look awfully nice.
Ben T
wrote on June 22, 2010
at 11:15PM
I do not like the it because of changeable heads.people get to scerwed up.Im old fashionsorry.
Ben T
wrote on June 23, 2010
at 1:07AM


text:
In the Game VIP Plans and Promotions for the National
In The Game has announced additional VIP and promotional plans for the upcoming National in Chicago. The following information is in addition to plans previously announced by the company which can be found here.
VIP ticket holders will find a specially marked In The Game card in their gift bag that can be redeemed at the company's booth for a special ten-card set. The set includes both baseball and hockey players, as well as celebrities featured in their upcoming Canadiana product.
The checklist for In the Game's VIP set:
- Mario Lemieux
- Mark Messier
- Patrick Roy
- Steven Stamkos
- Tim Thomas
- Steve Yzerman
- Manny Machado
- Mike Trout
- Pam Anderson
- William Shatner
In The Game will also be offering exclusive game-used memorabilia cards for collectors who break boxes of Heroes and Prospects Baseball Series One and Series Two Low Numbers at the booth. The cards will each be limited to 20 copies each. Single, double and triple game-used memorabilia cards will be included.
Players highlighted in the redemption set include both baseball legends and up-and-coming prospects. They include:
- Dave Winfield
- Rickey Henderson
- Roberto Alomar
- Paul Molitor
- Bert Blyleven
- Reggie Jackson
- Bob Gibson
- Stan Musial
- Mike Trout
- Adam Warren
- Cam Greathouse
- Deck McGuire
- Brice Bentz
Lastly, as part of In The Game's wrapper redemption program, collectors who open a box of Decades – The 80s Hockey at their booth will get a stamped one-of-one game-used card made especially for the National. As previously announced, collectors will also get a free ticket to an autograph signing with Mark Wells.


text:
Other LG Banter AX265 Accessories
|LG Banter AX265 Cases
|LG Banter AX265 Batteries
|LG Banter AX265 Chargers
|LG Banter AX265 USB Cables
|LG Banter AX265 Screen Protectors
|LG Banter AX265 Headphones
|LG Banter AX265 Essential Item Bundles
|LG Banter AX265 Signal Boosters
Find the Bluetooth headset you've been searching for @ the best prices now! You can count on a Bluetooth headset to help keep you safe on the road, hands free on the way into the office and ready to tackle your next task while having a conversation. Many states in the U.S. are tightening their rules on cell phone usage while driving. Purchasing Bluetooth headsets can help drivers avoid expensive tickets and unpleasant encounters with the law. Pick up a Bluetooth headset today and receive free shipping on your entire order!
Bluetooth Types
Best Selling Bluetooth Products
Not sure which Bluetooth headset is right for you?
Check out the Accessory Geeks Bluetooth buyers guide by clicking here.


text:
Have you visited Dr. Esly Caldwell? Rate you experience below.
Hematologists in Cincinnati, OHContact Dr. Caldwell
Dr. Esly Caldwell specializes in hematology, family practice, internal medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr. Esly Caldwell has been compared 122 times. Details of Dr. Caldwell's 50 years experience as an MD, his 2 hospital affiliations and education at Howard University are available on your free doctor report.
Dr. Esly Caldwell identified specializing in Hematology, Family Practice and Internal Medicine.
He is certified in Internal Medicine.
A hospital affiliation covers any doctor who has an affiliation, association or admitting privilege with a hospital. A doctor's particular affiliation to a specific hospital can translate to the overall quality of that provider.
Dr. Caldwell is affiliated with 2 hospitals:
Dr. Caldwell attended medical school at Howard University College of Medicine and graduated in 1964 having 50 years experience.
While there is no proven correlation between the quality of one's educational institution and the quality of one's professional competence, it is often an indicator. Medical schools have various levels of selectivity (some are harder to get into than others), and both the quality of their clinical training and level of research are measured. Additional medical training in both residency and fellowships and the facilities they are conducted at also provide a history of the doctors' level of training and experience.
Patients may also know Dr. Esly Caldwell MD as:
10506 Montgomery Rd, Suite 401 Cincinnati, OH 45242
3200 Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229
Oncology Hematology Care, 5525 Marie Ave, Department of Hematology and Oncology Cincinnati, OH 45248
6700 Steger Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45237
5520 Cheviot Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45247
Internal Medicine
Call for Appointment(513) 486-5200
Brought to you by
Family Practice
Call for Appointment(513) 285-3277
Brought to you by
Family Practice
Call for Appointment(513) 268-5943
Brought to you by
Are you Dr. Esly Caldwell?
Update your information


text:
- lupinpilot likes this
- omfgzorz likes this
- oldentriesfromoldyou likes this
- funkychickenmom likes this
- drumstacosnsweatervests reblogged this from funkychickenbrewing
- thelarkins likes this
- marvelousmeiling likes this
- theuncannydaddalo likes this
- lifeasamusical likes this
- qhrumphf said: I've used 1.5 lbs before, but that was also a pound of wet hops so the utilization is much lower. I think the most I've used of pellets was 14 oz in an Imperial IPA.
- qhrumphf likes this
- notesfromthegrump said: Sounds awesome, y'all. Hope it turns out!
- notesfromthegrump reblogged this from funkychickenbrewing and added:
awesome sounding beer.
- notesfromthegrump likes this
- funkychickenbrewing posted this


text:
BREAKING: Charlie Manuel fired, Ryne Sandberg to coach Phillies
8/16/13 in MLB | JoeKukura | 492 respect
Sandberg will manage the Phillies against the Los Angeles Dodgers in tonight's game.
CSNPhilly broke the news that the Phillies would fire Charlie Manuel prior to today's press conference. Manuel goes out as the Phillies' all-time winningest coach, with a 780-636 record. Manuel managed the Phillies to a World Series title in 2008.
"We're making a managerial change that is in the best interest of the future of the organization," Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said at the press conference. "As we talked a little bit further, it became evident the best course of action would be to make this change immediately as we begin to transition by offering the managerial position to Ryne Sandberg on an interim basis."
It is incredibly bizarre that they made poor Charlie Manuel sit there as his firing was announced (seen at left). Manuel looks like he's itching to to punch the daylights of out of that little twerp GM to his left.
According to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times, Manuel was fired and did not resign. "I did not resign. I did not quit," Manuel is quoted as saying.
"I'm mad because they took the best seat in the house from me," Charlie Manuel told ESPN after his firing. "I enjoyed every bit of it."


text:
Durable, red pads for protecting your knees from the wear and tear associated with kneeling for long periods. Heavily padded with a thick plastic outer covering to protect the knees from ground debris. Double elastic straps with Velcro closure to help hold the pads in place comfortably. These pads are surprisingly light but tough.
You have no items in your shopping cart.
Get noticed in a big way with
ProPac's NEW CERT Feather Flag! It displays vivid color CERT graphics and tops out at over 10 feet off the ground! Learn More
2390 Air Park Road
North Charleston, SC 29406
Toll Free Phone: 800-345-3036
Outside the US: 843-308-0994
Toll Free Fax: 888-877-6722
Outside the US: 843-308-0995
Office Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. EDT, Monday-Friday


text:
World News
Google eye glass wearing driver in court
A California woman believed to be the first cited for wearing Google's computer-in-an-eyeglass while driving says she was within her rights and violated no law.
The case to be tried Thursday in a San Diego traffic court could help shape future laws on wearable technology as it goes mainstream.
Software developer, Cecilia Abadie, is among some 30,000 people called "explorers" who have been selected to try out the device, known as Google Glass, before the technology becomes widely available to the public later this year. The device on a kind of glass-wear frame features a thumbnail-size transparent display above the right eye.
Abadie was pulled over in October on suspicion of going 80 mph in a 65 mph zone on a San Diego freeway. The California Highway Patrol officer saw she was wearing Google Glass and tacked on a citation usually given to people driving while a video or TV screen is on in the front of their vehicle.
Abadie has pleaded not guilty to both charges in San Diego traffic court. She said she will feel like her rights have been taken away if the judge Thursday rules in favour of the officer. Tech-lovers, including the 30,000 explorers, will be watching closely.
"It's a big responsibility for me and also for the judge who is going to interpret a very old law compared with how fast technology is changing," said Abadie, who wears Google Glass up to 12 hours a day.
Her attorney William Concidine said the device was not activated when she was driving.
"The officer can't prove they were operating," he said.
The CHP declined comment. At the time of Abadie's citation, the agency said anything which takes a driver's attention from the road is dangerous.
The lightweight frames are equipped with a hidden camera and tiny display that responds to voice commands. The technology can be used to do things such as check email, learn background about something the wearer is looking at, or to get driving directions.
Comments on this story are pre-moderated and approval times may vary. Before they appear, comments are reviewed by moderators to ensure they meet our submission guidelines. Keep it clean, keep it civil, keep it truthful, stay on topic and be responsible. Comments are open and welcome for three days after the story is published. We reserve the right to close comments before then. Comments that appear on the site are not the opinion of Castanet, but only of the comment writer.
Read more World News
Recent Trending
- Rutland park vote reduxKelowna
- Family condemns RCMP BC
- Child pornography sentencePenticton / S. Okanagan
- Bobbitt hearing continuesPenticton / S. Okanagan
- Inquest into teen's Mill deathVernon / N. Okanagan
United Nations
World Health Organization
World Trade Organization
European Union
The Commonwealth
Google Earth


text:
This is Word City - #2. You can also go to Word City #1.
Vocabulary learning comes from studying "roots, cells or stems" with our Rootonym® word puzzles as well as "prefixes and suffixes". Our mission is to "make words come alive" with our dynamic, graphical approach to learning vocabulary featured here.
The root SCRIB-SCRIPT meaning "write" has the following 29 "everyday words". Some of them are derived from the list of 20 possible prefixes and 14 number-related prefixes below:SCRIBal, SCRIBble, SCRIBbler, SCRIBbling, SCRIBe, SCRIP, SCRIPT, SCRIPTory, SCRIPTural, SCRIPTure, nondeSCRIPT, proscribe, subSCRIBE, subSCRIPTion, tranSCRIPT, conSCRIBe, indeSCRIBable, preSCRIBER, tranSCRIBing, conSCRIPTed, deSCRIPTive, inSCRIPTion, manuSCRIPT, subSCRIPTion, tranSCRIPTion, conSCRIPT, deSCRIPTion, inSCRIBE, postSCRIPT.
Prefixes that are Prepositions
and are used with SCRIB:
Prefixes that are number-related where
some may be used with SCRIB:
Can you create other words in this fashion with the above prefixes?
For those of you who want some really high-powered, SAT-type words from the root SCRIB-SCRIPT, try defining these 8:SCRIBblative, conSCRIPT, aSCRIBe, circumSCRIBed, proSCRIBE, superSCRIBE, circumSCRIPTion, eSCRIToire.
You can go directly to the other 5 roots from the Word City Visual Image Map by clicking on the following links:
Thank you for visiting Vocabulary University® and your interest in our English vocabulary efforts.
"Word City" is part of Vocabulary University now and, ultimately, will have its own separate URL of www.wordcity.com.
Go visit another Word City set of roots with the link Go to Word City #2.
We appreciate feedback and snail mail too:
localhost/vocabulary, 3650 Mockingbird Drive, Vero Beach, FL 32963 - phone&fax=772-492-9032
Jan and Carey Orr Cook


text:
Absolutely lovely. So so welcoming, owners are just lovely, helpful and caring. Made us feel really welcome and our kids loved the way they were with them too, really chatty and interested in their stay which they didn't need to do. Breakfast was so good, all had our own little requests as asked what we'd like, all breakfasts were made... More
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, Priceline, Venere, Travelocity and Tingo so you can book your Bannview reservations with confidence. We help millions of travelers each month to find the perfect hotel for both vacation and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.
- Also Known As:
- Bannview Portadown, Northern Ireland


text:
Museums Sheffield: Weston Park
Museums Sheffield: Weston Park
Weston Park
Western Bank
South Yorkshire
General enquiries
Bookings for Tours, Talks, Events and School Trips
0114 278 2655
Main Reception
0114 278 2600
At Museums Sheffield: Weston Park you can explore the world and its past, from millions of years ago to the present day.
Children and adults will love the animated new displays, specially designed to delight even our littlest explorers. From Egyptian Mummies, to a traditional butchers shop. From Snowy the polar bear, to living ants and bees. The city's amazing collections of beautiful, varied and unusual treasures will be brought to life by fascinating histories, incredible facts and hands-on interactives.
Fun-filled, creative activities are available daily for families and school groups. An attractive new café serves fresh and tasty refreshments. All this, combined with regularly changing exhibitions and displays, means there are plenty of reasons to return time after time.
Venue Type:
Mon - Sat 10.00-17.00
Sun 11.00-16.00
Closes 4pm every day 30 October 2011 - 25 March 2012
Admission free, except for some special events.
Additional info
There are up to 6 disabled spaces given by the University of Sheffield off Mushroom lane opposite the entrance to the terrace leading to the café. There is access through here straight onto the terrace area and up to the main entrance or through the café.
Sheffield & the First World War
- 19 February 2014 — 1 March 2015 *on now
Sheffield & the First World War draws on the first hand experiences of Sheffield's people, both at home and on military service, and tells their stories through objects and documents from the city's collections. From poignant personal possessions, to mementoes brought back to Sheffield from the front, the exhibition will illustrate the very local and personal impact of the war to end all wars.
Suitable for
- Any age
A Fine Brother: The Life of Captain Flora Sandes
- 1 November 2014 2-3pm *on now
Louise Miller presents the amazing true story of Flora Sandes, the only Western woman to enlist and fight as a soldier in the First World War. Flora Sandes is restored to her rightful place in history by this biography which uses previously unpublished private papers and photographs.
Suitable for
- 18+
- 14-15
- 11-13
- 16-17
£6.00 (£5.00 concessions)
Lunchtime Talk: WW1 British Civilian Internment in Germany
- 6 November 2014 1-1:45pm
On the 100th anniversary of the internment measure being enforced in Germany, Professor Matthew Stibbe of Sheffield Hallam University will look at the experience of over 4,000 British civilian POWs held at the Ruhleben.
Suitable for
- 18+
- 16-17
- 14-15
Archaeology Identification Afternoon
- 25 November 2014 2-4pm
Bring your own archaeological finds, coins or medals for identification and recording by your local Finds Liaison Officer, Amy Downes.
Suitable for
- Any age
Lunchtime Talk: The Sheffield Armaments Industry in 1914
- 3 December 2014 1-1:45pm
When War broke out in 1914, Sheffield was home to five of the world's leading armaments manufacturers. Chris Corker of Sheffield Hallam University looks at the overseas customers of these firms, the visit in June 1914 by the head of the German armaments company of Krupps to Sheffield, and the impact the war had on their business.
Suitable for
- 18+
- 16-17
- 14-15
Art Cart
Join the Art Cart for some creative fun as it travels around the Museum, for children aged 4-11 years from 11.30-15.45.
How to obtain
Art Cart is free - just drop in. Children must be accompanied by an adult. For more information, contact firstname.lastname@example.com.
Breaking Chains - Sheffield Civil Rights
Exploring the role local campaigners played in securing worker rights in Sheffield, by looking at a dramaisation of a visit to Sheffield by Olaudah Equiano, a former slave who campaigned for the abolition of the slave trade.
- This resource was produced as part of the MLA-funded My Learning project.
Sheffield Wildlife Watch Club
Sheffield Wildlife Trust and Museums Sheffield have joined forces and are looking for nature detectives aged 5–13 years to join a new group, to explore the outdoors and have fun getting closer to wildlife. The club meets on the 3rd Saturday of the month, 11.00-12.30.
How to obtain
Sessions are free, with a small charge for refreshments.Do book in advance as places are limited. Children 8 and under must be accompanied by an adult. For further details about Wildlife Watch or to book a place, please call 0114 263 4335.
Txt Manor: Mary Queen of Scots in Sheffield
Describing a community project with young people at risk of exclusion on the Manor estates in Sheffield. Young people learned about historical facts and characters through drama and art based sessions. The resource also provides information about Sheffield Manor Lodge and the lives of Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, George Talbot and Bess of Hardwick.
- This resource was produced as part of the MLA-funded My Learning project.
- About
- | Collections
- | Exhibitions
- | Events
- | Resources
- | Map


text:
On Tuesday the 29th at NYC's Envoy Enterprises, London-based art crew, Bare Bones (founded by Harry Malt), will be having their US debut show. After a few successful shows in London and three editions of their quarterly zine, they'll also be introducing video for the first time.
Bare Bones artist and video curator Matt Lambert has brought on the talents of Sean Pecknold, David O'Reilly, Andy Martin, Matt Smithson, Ant Food, Niall O'Brien, Ross McDonald and a few other surprise contributors.