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NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein is constantly talking to NFL and college sources about players in the college game. In this space each week, Zierlein will share some of what NFL folks are discussing in their circles.
The scoop: "I'll bet his draft grades are going to be all over the place because some teams will see him as a complementary back and others will see him as a (guy who will get a lot of touches). Teams that run a lot of three- and four-wide looks will like him because he can run those inside zone plays out of the shotgun and they can also motion him out of the backfield and just try to mismatch him." -- AFC personnel director on Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey
The skinny: McCaffrey, who intends to enter the 2017 draft, has been a fairly durable back despite his heavy workload over the last two years. While he might not be considered a big running back, he's pretty well put together. His ability to play on all three downs and return kicks certainly should add to his draft value, but, as the personnel director references, teams might not agree on what he's capable of handling in terms of an NFL workload. It will be no surprise if the team that drafts McCaffrey uses him in a committee since so many teams are trending in that direction.
As for the bowl-participation controversy he found himself in the middle of last week, I don't believe sitting out of Stanford's bowl game will hurt his stock.
* * *
The scoop: "With Vernon (Hargreaves) there last year, he played with a lot more confidence. I don't think he's a lockdown cornerback. He's a good football player and can cover in our league, but he's also going to be a pain in the ass for whoever takes him." -- AFC Southeast area scout on Florida CB Teez Tabor
The skinny: It's hard to argue with Tabor's production over the last two seasons -- he has posted 28 passes defensed, including eight interceptions. Offenses have struggled to complete throws against Tabor despite the fact he was often found giving up almost 10 yards in off coverage. Tabor is extremely athletic and quick, but some scouts are interested to see if his long speed is as good some believe.
As for the attitude issues the scout alluded to, Tabor will certainly face questions about his off-field incidents whenever he enters the league (he has yet to announce his intentions for 2017). Tabor has been suspended for a reported fight with a teammate in fall camp this year and was also suspended in 2015 for reportedly refusing to take a drug test. He was cited for marijuana possession in 2014. He's been known to shoot from the hip on social media, as well.
The jury is out on whether Tabor can be a lockdown corner, but most would agree that he certainly will not be a shrinking violet in any locker room he ends up in.
* * *
The scoop: "I would leave him as a centerfielder and then roll him down over the slot if you needed too. He's too small to cover tight ends, but he's got great instincts in coverage, which is why he should shine as a single-high." -- NFC area scout on Washington safety Budda Baker
The skinny: I think we can all agree that Baker plays the game like his hair is on fire. That's a compliment, by the way. However, I'm not sure that teams will all see him as a single-high safety. Baker is so active and so fast near the line of scrimmage that it almost seems like a team would be limiting his effectiveness if it played him primarily on the back end. Regardless of where he ends up playing, Baker should have an instant impact whenever he enters the league (he's a junior) and could be a starter right away.


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BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Beatles lose Apple court battle: "'I conclude that the use of the apple logo … does not suggest a relevant connection with the creative work,'"
'I think that the use of the apple logo is a fair and reasonable use of the mark in connection with the service, which does not go further and unfairly or unreasonably suggest an additional association with the creative works themselves.'"
– Mr Justice Anthony Mann
Now somewhere in the black mountain hills of Dakota there lived a young lawyer who liked to file frivilous lawsuits against other companies for totally stupid and dense reasons… but it would appear that once again common sense prevails.
Earlier this year you may have read my rant here called Bang Bang Maxwell's Silver iPod and the Absurdity of Licensing with regards to Apple records claim that Apple Computer was violating their creativeness by selling iTunes on the internet.
I, of course, think that iTunes are for suckers, but that is beside the point and another conversation for another day. The point is though that for companies to try and maintain such broad control over copyright is ludicrous.
This case was pretty basic and even though Apple stupidly agreed to in a settlement a number of years back to not get into the music business, this lame attempt on the part of Sir McCartney and Sir Ringo Star was nothing but a money grubbing attempt to get their piece of the honey pie on somebody else's back.
I'm glad the courts did the right thing here and ruled in Apple's favor. Expert, texpert choking smokers don't you think the joker laughs at you.

subset: commoncrawl


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Tag: neuroendocrine cancer advocacy
9th Annual Monica Warner Award: Call for Nominations
Novartis has announced that nominations are open for the 9th Annual Monica Warner Award, which commemorates the life and work of Monica Warner as a driving force in the neuroendocrine tumor (NET) community. Nominations will be accepted until December…READ MORE
5 Blogs and 2 Websites Recommended by the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation
Blogs and personal websites are informative, inspirational, imaginative, and a wonderful way for writers to share what's on their mind with a wide group of people. There are several blogs and websites that the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation finds invaluable…READ MORE
Worldwide NET Cancer Awareness Day Updates
With less than five months until the second Worldwide NET Cancer Awareness Day on Thursday, November 10, 2011, there have been many exciting developments to share with the carcinoid and NET community.
The first Chinese NET website (www.net.org.tw) …READ MORE
Happy New Year from The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation
As 2010 draws to a close, the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation would like to thank each of you for your support of our work. This year has been especially exciting because of the first Worldwide NET Cancer Awareness Day on November 10th. It is our pleasure to…READ MORE
New York Governor Names November Carcinoid and NET Cancer Awareness Month
David A. Paterson, Governor of New York, has proclaimed the month of November 2010 Carcinoid and NET Cancer Awareness Month in the Empire State. He is the 8th governor to participate in the Worldwide NET Cancer Awareness Day campaign. In his proclamation,…READ MORE


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The world of work remains gender-segregated, and research is needed to identify factors that may give rise to women's and men's vocational choices. This study explored bidirectional relations between youth's gendered career aspirations and the proportions of youth's leisure time spent in stereotypically gendered activities and gendered social contexts. Participants were 203 youth (52% girls) from predominantly white, working and middle class families living in the US, who reported on their occupational aspirations and gendered interests in home interviews and on their daily activities in a series of 7 nightly phone interviews on two occasions, in middle childhood (Mage = 10.9) and in adolescence (Mage = 17.3). Path models revealed that aspirations predicted youth's time use more so than the reverse. Time in gendered social contexts, specifically time in female-only contexts, but not time in gender-typed activities, predicted career aspirations. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.
|Original language
|Pages (from-to)
|Number of pages
|Journal of Adolescence
|Publication status
|Published - 2018 Jan
- Adolescence
- Gender
- Leisure time use
- Longitudinal
- Middle childhood
- Occupational aspirations
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Social Psychology
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health


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MINNEAPOLIS – Granite City Food & Brewery announced the appointment of Phil Costner as CEO of Granite City Food & Brewery and Cadillac Ranch All American Bar & Grill. Costner will replace Rob Doran who is retiring after leading the brand for the past six years.
"Granite City Food & Brewery has significantly grown in revenue, number of restaurants, and its capabilities in recent years. Building off that progress, Phil is the right person to lead the organization to new levels of success and growth in coming years," Doran said. "Phil is bringing exceptionally strong leadership, strategic thinking, and organizational growth to the company. I'm confident he can and will take GCFB to the next level."
|Phil Costner, CEO of Granite City Food & Brewery
Costner, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, came to Granite City after serving as president and CEO of the Elite Sports Bar Group. Prior to the role, he worked as senior vice president of food, beverage and retail for Universal Studios Hollywood; vice president of food and beverage at TGI Friday's; president and COO of La Madeleine; and president of Mimi's Café.
"I'm truly excited and humbled by the opportunity to run these two iconic brands," Costner said. "I'm looking forward to working with the team to continue the evolution, growth, and success of both brands."
Granite City Food & Brewery has 35 locations throughout the Midwest. Cadillac Ranch All American Bar & Grill offers country-themed food, music and fun in a country casual atmosphere. Granite City and Cadillac Ranch are owned by CIC Partners, Dallas, Texas.


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The 10 Most Passionate Fan Bases in the NFLJanuary 26, 2009
10. Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos fans are underrated. I don't hear much about them, but they always rank in the top five in attendance. The team has sold out 301 consecutive home games and they have a season-ticket waiting list of 27,600. They also routinely have lots of support at away games, sometimes as much as one-third of the stadium.
They were ranked as the eighth most loyal fans in the NFL. They also have one of the wackiest forms of celebration—every time the opposing quarterback throws an
incompletion, they stand up and scream, "IN-COM-PLETE!" at the top of their lungs.
Give these fans credit. The Bills haven't fielded a playoff team since the 1999 season but that doesn't stop the fans from showing up to games. Last season, the Bills possessed the most season-ticket holders since the team went to the Super Bowl following the 1993 season.
That's pretty impressive for a franchise that has suffered through four consecutive Super Bowl losses, the Music City Miracle, and zero Super Bowl wins in its history.
Give the fans more credit for showing up, considering the Bills' home-field situation—they are the only NFL team to have two home sites, one in New York, and the other in Canada. Bills' fans are famous for their tailgating, with parties frequently lasting the entire weekend leading up to a game.
They also routinely deal with -10 degree weather on game days.
The Washington Redskins ranked second in attendance during the 2008 season, despite finishing in last place in the NFC East. Fans have filled the stadium to capacity in six of the past eight seasons, sporting their trademark feathers and face paint.
They have sold out 327 consecutive games, dating back to the 1960s. This is the longest streak in the entire NFL. They also have a season-ticket waiting list of 200,000, which is the largest waiting list in the NFL.
Their fans were voted the 10th most loyal fans in the National Football League. Their stadium is located 45 minutes away from anything resembling civilization, but fans still flock the stadium.
Their patience is well-known and admired throughout the NFL, which has come in handy with the recent string of head coaches.
There's no way I could leave Dallas Cowboys fans out of my top 10. Trust me, I wanted to, but it just wouldn't be right.
I went through all 32 NFL teams today. There are more Dallas Cowboys writers than any other team on Bleacher Report.
The reference "America's Team" may be debatable, but the Cowboys are the definition of a love 'em or hate 'em team. The Cowboys have fans in every city across the United States and no conversation with a Cowboys fan is complete without the phrases "five rings," and "America's Team."
The Dallas Cowboys' star has become a thing of legend. The only knocks against Cowboys' fans are as follows:
- Many are bandwagon jumpers from the dynasty in the early 90's who have now transformed into 'diehards.'
- Texas Stadium was a joke. Matt Mosley of ESPN called Texas Stadium "one of the safest places in the league to wear an opposing jersey."
It's simple: Kansas City is the sixth smallest market in the National Football League, yet they have had the second highest attendance over the past decade.
They haven't won a playoff game since 1993, despite three home games (1995, 1997, 2003). But their fans still show up and turn the stadium red. The Chiefs have sold out almost 150 consecutive home games. Their stadium is frequently referred to as the loudest stadium in the entire NFL.
How could anyone not admire a Chiefs fan?
The Chiefs are also famous for their barbecue, easily the best in the NFL. The Chiefs are often referred to as the "Green Bay of the AFC," which, as you'll see, is a huge compliment.
Oakland Raiders fans are awesome. I admire them more than any other fan base, with the possible exception of the Cleveland Browns. They have suffered through one of the most pathetic recent strings of losing in the NFL, maybe in all of professional sports.
Since going to the Super Bowl after the 2002 season, they have become the only NFL team to lose at least 11 games for six straight seasons. The 2006 Raiders team is frequently considered one of the worst teams in NFL history. But they still attract fans. Lots of fans.
Younger fans don't realize the history of winning that is associated with the Oakland Raiders. They won the Super Bowl three times: 1976, 1980, and 1983. They've been to the Super Bowl five times, and they have won 15 division titles.
"Raider Nation" is one of the rowdiest fan bases in the history of the NFL, particularly the Black Hole section of the Oakland Coliseum. Sitting in the Black Hole is not a safe place for an opposing fan.
One lifetime Raider fan, asked to describe "Raider Nation," responded with, "The massive Raider Nation is beyond doubt the sleaziest and rudest and most sinister mob of thugs and wackos ever assembled."
Raiders fans dress up in ridiculous costumes for all of their home games. ESPN described them as "maybe the most fun group of fans in the entire league."
My only complaint with Pittsburgh Steelers fans: They are possibly the most annoying fan base in the entire world. Every argument, every sentence, every breath, begins and ends with mention of the phrase "five rings."
Why are the Steelers the best team in NFL history? Because the Steelers have five rings. Why do the Steelers have the best fans? Because the Steelers have five rings. Why is Troy Polamalu the best safety in the game? Because the Steelers have five rings.
But there's no denying the unbelievable passion. The Terrible Towel has become "arguably the best-known fan symbol of any major pro sports team." Since 1996, sales from the Terrible Towel have helped to raise $2.2 million for people with physical disabilities.
They have sold out every single home game since the 1972 season, a streak of 307 consecutive games. They have an incredible fan base on the road, and are often the only reason that the Cincinnati Bengals would sell out for a home game.
In November of 2007, the Steelers were ranked as the most popular local sports franchise out of all 122 teams in the MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA. They also have the highest percentage of female fans in the NFL, ranking twice as high as the average city.
"Steeler Nation" has become legendary and will continue to expand if the Steelers win their sixth Super Bowl.
The only problem: The stats don't back up their reputation. They were ranked as the 21st most loyal fans in the National Football League. They rank just 16th in percentage of seats filled since 1996, despite winning seven division championships in the last 13 years.
3. Cleveland Browns
Why are Browns fans so great? Their teams have never won—ever—and they continually support their franchise. They were ranked first out of all 32 NFL teams in "fan loyalty." They routinely fill their 73,000-seat stadium despite cold temperatures and a dismal recent history, which includes zero postseason wins since the 1994 season.
They have the number one fan group in all of professional sports, the "Browns Backers", which can be found in literally every city in the United States, and even in different countries.
Their fans can be visibly present at home games in the famous "Dawg Pound", which is located in the east end of the stadium. Fans wear dog paraphernalia to all of the games.
The Browns may have lost their team for four seasons, but they never lost their incredible passion.
Everybody has heard stories about Philadelphia Eagles' fans, most of them exaggerated. But face the facts.
They have the second highest capacity rating since 1996 (percentage of seats filled), only topped by the newly-established Houston Texans, who play in a much warmer atmosphere.
They were ranked as the third most loyal fans in all of football, trailing just the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs.
Their fans are also knowledgeable. Ask an Eagles fan the quarterback before Donovan McNabb. He'll know.
Their season ticket waiting list is over 70,000 and they rank in the top three in merchandise sales just about every season. The amount of fans that travel to watch the Eagles in summer training camp sessions is almost legendary, with up to 20,000 fans on some days. They have the most famous fight song in the National Football League.
The booing that is so regularly associated with Philadelphia fans, only Philadelphia fans, and nothing but Philadelphia fans?
Eagles' fans want to win. Now. They don't play the "wait till next year" game. No offense to the Brooklyn Dodgers, but Eagles' fans want a championship every season, and if—when—they don't get one, they'll let their players know. Players like Brian Dawkins and Jeremiah Trotter thrive on this type of treatment.
Philadelphia talk show host Glen Macnow once commented, "You could drop a Martian into Philly the day after a game, and within three minutes, he'd know whether the Eagles had won or lost."
The bullying?
It's toughness. Raiders' fans do it. Sports Illustrated once claimed that Raiders fans are the only other group of fans that Eagles' fans respect. Both pride themselves in bullying the opposition.
There's nothing wrong with installing fear in the enemy. The old 700 level at the Vet—the Nest of Death—was the last place in the world a fan would want to wear a Cowboys' jersey. The 700 level was worse than one of Dante's levels of hell.
What is the favorite team of a Philly fan? The Eagles and whoever is playing the Cowboys.
The greatest fans in the world. Better than Steelers fans. Better than Browns fans. Even better than Eagles fans.
The Green Bay Packers ARE Wisconsin. Nobody cares about the Milwaukee Brewers. It's all Green Bay, all the time. Lambeau Field has been sold out in every game since 1960: win or lose. That's almost 300 consecutive sellouts. Their season ticket waiting list is 78,000.
The fans brave the frequent sub-zero temperatures (remember the Ice Bowl?) to attend every single game. They're loyal also—they were voted the fifth most loyal fans in the NFL.
Four things place the Packers above every other fan base:
- The Lambeau Leap, which is the most famous touchdown celebration of all-time, giving the fans a brief moment to interact with the players.
- The cheeseheads—those crazy yellow pieces of plastic Green Bay fans insist on wearing to each and every home game.
- The owners. You know who owns the team? The fans. The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned major professional sports team in the country.
- The respect they give to their players. Never have I seen any team worship one player more than Packers' fans worship Brett Favre. It's more than the Bulls and Jordan, the Yankees and Jeter, and the Patriots and Brady.
The late, great Reggie White, a man I admire more than just about any athlete to ever live, agrees with me. Reggie had the pleasure of playing in front of the two best fan bases in the NFL, but he picks the Packers as the best fans in the world.
ESPN agrees with me. Before the 2008 season, the Packers tied with the Steelers as the best fans in the entire NFL. The edge was given to the Steelers, thanks to a tiebreaker decided by Pittsburgh native John Clayton (thoughts, Packers' fans?).
Clayton was wrong. Green Bay, the team with more championships than any other team in the NFL, has the best fans in the world.


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Yes, that headline comes with a caveat. While fans of David Gordon Green's early work have bristled at his turn into more mainstream comedies (count me as one of those bristlers), the filmmaker has never denied that said comedies (like Your Highness and The Sitter) are more in line with his personal tastes and preferences. So, no, while Green might be "returning to form" after his comedic outings, that form is really the one we made for him.
Let's not fence Green in. But let's also not try to hide our glee when he starts work on the type of film that sounds like it will fit in quite neatly next to Undertow and All the Real Girls. That possible next film? Manglehorn.
What's a "manglehorn"? Only a love story with a dark twist that could star Al Pacino. Not too shabby, eh?
Deadline reports (via The Playlist) that Worldview Entertainment is on to finance and produce the film, which Green is set to helm form his own script that he wrote with Paul Logan (who I pray to God is this guy). The film centers on "A.J. Manglehorn, an aging, ordinary guy in a small town who nurses his sick cat, squeezes out a conversation with the local bank teller every Friday, and eats at the same place every day. But there is more to Manglehorn than meets the eye: he's an ex-con who, 40 years ago, gave up the woman of his dreams for a big 'job.' He now obsesses daily over the choices he made. After a dramatic effort to start over, Manglehorn faces a terrifying moment and is unmasked as a guy with a very, very dark past."
Green himself expands on the tone and plot of Manglehorn, saying that he sees it "as the story of a guy who gave up the love of his life for a life of crime and now he regrets it as the world crumbles in front of him. His profession as a locksmith is symbolic of a guy who's trying to find the key to put his life back together. It's a love story, the choices you make in your youth and the situations you set up for yourself: you end up sitting alone at the dinner table talking to a cat! I do think there is a beautiful humor in this."
Deadline reports that the team behind Manglehorn is looking to cast Pacino as the lead, and with probable Cannes selling heat on the project, it would be surprising if it didn't pan out.
Green is busy as hell at the moment – his "secret" (i.e. not publicized until it was done, which is sort of the coolest) film Prince Avalanche was a hit at both Sundance and Tribeca and is opening on August 9th, his Nicolas Cage-starring Joe is expected to make the fall festival rounds, and he's still on deck to helm a new Little House on the Prairie feature (still my favorite news of the year so far).


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Today is my lucky day to give away a pair of tickets to Hitched Palm Springs to one lucky reader! You might remember the last Hitched Event – it was super fun and so many great vendors to meet + chat with. This time the ladies are taking the event to Palm Springs at my favorite spot – The Ace Hotel! They have invited so many more great vendors to this event such as GWS faves Max Wanger, Erin hearts Court, Brandon Kidd, Honey & Poppies, Carter & Cook Event Design, Amelia Lyon, Ashley Meaders, Sugar and Fluff, Fiore Beauty and so many more. There will also be a grilled cheese bar, cotton candy, margaritas and a synchronized swimming show by the Aqualillies – ok, that sounds fun! I unfortunately won't be able to make this one, but the lovely ladies from 100 Layer Cake will be there sharing some fun diy ideas. The event is on January 30 from 5-9pm. If you'd like to go party in the desert with all these rad peeps, just leave a comment and I'll pick a random winner on Friday (Jan 21) afternoon.
**Update** The contest is now closed and we have a winner! Congrats to Elise!! I'll be emailing you in a bit!


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This couple lost their house in the terrible wildfires that have recently been ravaging California. When they came back to search for their remaining possessions, it seemed that nothing was retrievable. Surprisingly, the husband found something precious he had bought for his wife quite some time ago, and he's thankful he found it after the fire.
Terrifying fires that dangerously spread across parts of southern California—which firefighters are still battling—had burned almost 180 square miles in Ventura County. Among those affected by the fires were Don and Julie Myers, who fortunately evacuated in time.
Sadly, their house was completely destroyed and transformed into a pile of rubble
When they returned to their house, there was almost nothing left of it
Although the situation seemed helpless, they nonetheless tried to search for their possessions.
"The firemen helped us sift through them insisting there could be something in there and they found a couple other jewelry items," Julie said.
During the search, they remembered that they had a safe and there was a chance that it didn't get destroyed by the fire.
"We had a fire safe and hoped some of the items in there survived. But the fire crew helped us open it and all that was in there was wet charred remnants"
It seemed that all was lost. The situation demanded a lot of faith, and Don insisted on looking further for any of their remaining possessions that may have survived the blaze.
Despite the difficulty, he continued to search through the soggy mess, and that's when he found something of great importance—Julie's wedding ring!
Don didn't stop at this fantastic find; he took the ring and did the most romantic and chivalrous thing. He approached his wife, Julie, kneeled before her, and proposed again.
His action shows that although material possessions come and go, what is truly enduring is love between one another.
This wonderful gesture melted the hearts of many netizens who learned of the couple's story
Whilst the fires have been devastating to say the least, it's nice to know that even in the worst events, people can still find inspiration and hope
As the devastation continues, we can only hope that the fires can be extinguished as soon as possible. We can also hope that all those firefighters out there battling the blaze stay safe in the line of duty.
Credit: NTD


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It's been a busy week in biotech. On Monday, Celgene (CELG) confirmed rumors it was buying Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) in a deal valued at $9 billion, and Sanofi (SNY -2.25%) surprised investors with an $11.6 billion deal to acquire Bioverativ (BIVV). Acquiring Juno Therapeutics catapults Celgene into a leadership position in gene therapy for cancer treatment, and Sanofi's acquisition makes it the fastest-growing maker of hemophilia drugs. Will these deals pay off for investors?
In this episode of the Motley Fool's Industry Focus: Healthcare, analyst Kristine Harjes and Todd Campbell discuss the reasons behind these mergers and whether they were savvy. The two also tackle Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ -1.20%) latest earnings report, diving into the details -- good and bad -- that investors ought to know.
A full transcript follows the video.
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This video was recorded on Jan. 24, 2018.
Kristine Harjes: Welcome to Industry Focus, the podcast that dives into a different sector of the stock market every day. It's Wednesday, Jan. 24. I'm your host, Kristine Harjes, and I'm joined via Skype by healthcare specialist Todd Campbell. Todd! Hey, how are you?
Todd Campbell: Hey, Kristine! How are you today?
Harjes: I'm doing great!
Campbell: Awesome. Well, we have a power-packed show of M&A to talk about, right?
Harjes: Yes! Monday was extremely exciting in the world of healthcare M&A, mergers and acquisitions. A rumor that we covered in detail on last Wednesday's show of a deal in the making between Celgene and Juno Therapeutics came to fruition on Monday. Celgene will buy Juno for $87 per share in cash for a total of $9 billion. And we're not going to dwell on it, because we did talk about it quite a bit on Monday, but the deal has now been approved by both boards. It's expected to close this quarter. Interestingly, there was a 91% premium to the pre-buyout rumor levels of Juno's share price. Todd, were you surprised by the price tag?
Campbell: You know, honestly, I wasn't. Gilead paid $11.9 billion for Kite, which is a Juno competitor. I thought it would come in less than that, because obviously Juno is going to be the third to market with a CAR-T for its indication in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, so I thought it'd be less than that. It was interesting to me. I had three big takeaways I wanted to share with listeners thinking about this deal and what it means. One of the takeaways was, it's actually a pretty fair price if Celgene is right about its forecast for peak sales on JCAR017, or liso-cel.
Harjes: Yeah, they're estimating $3 billion in peak sales. When you think about general buyout levels, you often see about 3 times peak sales, and that brings you right to the $9 billion total deal.
Campbell: And we've actually seen, in biotech, deals getting done at much higher levels. I've seen 5 to 7 times, and we're going to talk about one that's even bigger than that a little bit later on in the show. I think if you include the $1 billion or so upfront that Juno paid to get its 9.75% stake back in 2015, I think you're talking 3.3 times sales just on JCAR017.
And that's really interesting, because JCAR017 wasn't the only drug they got in this deal. They also get, what I think is, they insulated themselves a little bit against their bb2121 program with bluebird bio, because Juno was working on a drug for multiple myeloma that works similarly to bb2121. So, they protect the moat, as far as bb2121, with this deal. And they also now have a backbone gene therapy research program that they can leverage.
Juno is doing interesting work on TCR drugs, which is another approach to gene therapy. They're also working with Editas, which we've talked about on the show previously, working on CRISPR-Cas9 approaches to treating oncology conditions, cancer conditions. I think that's interesting as well, because theoretically that positions them, in 2025 or something, to maybe have a gene editing approach that they could roll out.
Harjes: Yeah, absolutely. There are a ton more interesting details of this story. If you missed last week's, Wednesday's, episode of Industry Focus, make sure to go back and check it out. On Monday, not only did we get confirmation about that Celgene-Juno deal, but Sanofi also announced an all-cash deal to buy Bioverativ for $11.6 billion, or $105 per share.
Campbell: Yeah. That was a little bit more of a pricey deal, as far as price divided by revenue, versus what we saw with Celgene and Juno. Bioverativ's hemophilia drugs are only bringing in, exiting the third quarter, about $1.1 billion in annualized sales.
Harjes: Yeah. Sanofi really paid up here. That was about a 64% premium on the bid. Shares of Sanofi were down a few percentage points on the news, which isn't really that surprising. You'll typically see the buyer lose a little bit of market cap when they announce a new deal. But I think I'm kind of with the market. I'm thinking this seems awfully expensive. For a little bit of background, Bioverativ was a spinoff from Biogen last year. They're a hemophilia specialist. They IPO'd in the range of $5 billion. So now, they're being bought for $11.6 billion, so if you held onto those shares, if you were a Biogen shareholder a year ago, you've done pretty well.
Campbell: Kristine, I just don't understand this deal. How come this didn't get done a year ago? Are you going to tell me that Biogen wasn't out knocking on doors saying, "Who wants to buy this company from us?"
Harjes: Yeah, really.
Campbell: So now, a year later, what's really changed in the past year that makes Sanofi so willing to pay twice what they theoretically could have bought it for pre-spinout? So I think there's reason for some question on how much they're paying for this. But for Sanofi, it's important. They need to insulate themselves against the risk of declining demand for Lantus, their multibillion-dollar diabetes drug. And one of the ways they can do that is by acquiring companies that are generating significant revenue growth.
And by all accounts, that's Bioverativ. Their sales in the third quarter of 2017 were $291 million, and that was up 27% year over year. That's pretty robust growth, especially when you consider the fact that the hemophilia market that they participate in is valued at about $10 billion annually. So that suggests a lot of running room.
Harjes: And it's a pretty competitive market, too. There's Shire in there; there's Bayer in there. But these companies and their hemophilia drugs are not growing nearly as quickly as Bioverativ and its portfolio of hemophilia drugs. I will say, though, I'm a little bit wary about the long-term potential of this because of the revolution that we could see in hemophilia due to gene therapies, like the ones that we've discussed being developed at Spark Therapeutics and BioMarin.
Campbell: Yeah. That was one of the other takeaways I had here. It seems like Sanofi has done some work and is modelling for either a longer than expected wait for those gene-editing therapies to reach the market, or a slower uptake. And I guess I could make an argument that, depending on the pricing that those gene editing therapies may command, you could see a situation where you have extremely severe cases of hemophilia A and B being treated with gene editing and less severe cases being treated with a prophylactic, such as the drugs sold by Bioverativ. So it may be one of those situations where they're looking at their model and saying, "Over the next 10 years, we may start to get bigger competition from one and done therapies, but it will take a while for those therapies to truly displace these prophylactic treatments."
And I think you could make a good argument that Eloctate and Alprolix, the two drugs that Bioverativ markets, those are resonating with doctors and patients. They're reducing patient burden, people are having to receive transfusions of the factors that help them coagulate their blood, less frequently, and that's a big win for these patients. And one of the things that was interesting to me as I was looking through this deal, Kristine, was there's still a lot of patients in this market who aren't or haven't switched over from those old, have-to-take-them-a-lot treatments to these newer, longer-lasting treatments. That suggests that maybe you could continue to have 20% growth for the foreseeable future.
Harjes: Yeah, I can see how one would make that argument. I'll also add to that argument that you could be looking even further down the line. Bioverativ does have a pipeline outside of hemophilia. They're doing some work in sickle cell disease, they have a gene editing collaboration with Sangamo Therapeutics in beta-thalassemia. They're also entering some phase 3 trials in cold agglutinin disease, which currently has no approved options. That also potentially could be where they're seeing the long-term value come from. Due to the expensive nature of this acquisition, they do need to be thinking long-term, because it's going to be a while before they can turn a profit on this.
Campbell: Yeah. Ultimately, the long term, whether or not this is a good deal or not, they overpaid or didn't, may hinge on those other programs that you just mentioned. Each one of those programs individually could be a nine-figure revenue generator for Sanofi over time. Again, they have to figure out a way to offset headwinds tied to Lantus. And I think this is one of the ways they might be able to do it.
Harjes: Yeah, and they've been looking for a while. You'll recall that they came second in trying to acquire Actelion and Medivation. Lantus didn't just lose its patent protection. I believe the patent expired in 2015. Meanwhile, this is the first major acquisition for the company since Genzyme back in 2011. That was a $20 billion acquisition. So they've been on hunt for a while. It doesn't surprise me to see them making some M&A moves.
Campbell: The other thing that's interesting is, the hemophilia market is going to grow. As I mentioned, it's $10 billion or so right now. It's expected to grow about 7% annually from here. That's a pretty solid natural tailwind for this market.
You mentioned there's a lot of competition. There is. If you look at it Baxalta, which is now owned by Shire, they generate $900 million a quarter from their hemophilia drugs, and they still rely pretty heavily on the short-acting therapies. So it's conceivable that you could have sales go from $1.1 billion today to $2 billion to potentially $3 billion, and then as some of these other programs pay off, then maybe you're getting up toward $4 billion. So I think the devil will be in the details. You're going to have to keep an eye on things.
But it's certainly interesting. It certainly makes you say, I want to be keeping an eye on hemophilia companies, because it seems like there's a lot of interest in paying up based on how much Shire paid, and now how much Sanofi paid, to get into the space.
Harjes: Yeah, absolutely. Folks, if you listened to yesterday's episode of Market Foolery, which is one of our other Motley Fool podcasts, you already know that a handful of Fools are going to be in San Francisco in early February for a Motley Fool One event. Anyone that's in the area is welcome to come join us on Wednesday, Feb. 7, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Golden Gate Tap Room. I'll be there. Chris Hill will be there, Mac Greer, Matt Argersinger, many, many more Fools. If you're interested but don't trust yourself to remember those details, shoot Chris an email at [email protected]. We would love to see you there!
Campbell: That sounds like fun!
Harjes: [laughs] Yeah, it should be a really good time! I feel very lucky that I've gotten to hit up the West Coast twice already in 2018.
Campbell: Fantastic. And now you've scouted all the good places to recommend to everyone.
Harjes: Oh, yeah, Golden Gate Tap Room, that was totally my choice. [laughs]
Campbell: Fantastic.
Harjes: We have been doing intern application interviews for the past week or so here at Fool HQ, so I'm going to intro our next segment with a quick story about one of the interviews, in which the candidate asked us, "How do we avoid clickbait?" And I was like, that's a good question, because you see so much clickbait out there on the Web, people posting these outlandish headlines, and then the article totally doesn't back it up. And immediately, when I heard this question, I believe I had this interview with the candidate yesterday afternoon, I immediately thought of the headlines surrounding Johnson & Johnson's earnings, which were just reported, and they had a very shocking headline, which is that Johnson & Johnson posted a quarterly loss of $10.7 billion. This is the healthcare stalwart, Johnson & Johnson, who hasn't posted a loss in any quarter in the 21st century. So that headline right there is just absolutely fascinating, but it's not actually as scandalous as it might appear, and we're going to dig into why.
Campbell: Absolutely. We're talking about one-time items. You have GAAP reporting and non-GAAP accounting, and sometimes it makes sense to look at GAAP, and sometimes it makes sense to look at non-GAAP, and this is one of those situations where it makes sense to look at non-GAAP, to focus on the adjusted GAAP that get rid of these one-time items that aren't likely to happen again.
Harjes: Yeah. The vast majority of that loss was due to a $13.6 billion provisional charge for taxes on $66 billion of foreign earnings that are going to be brought back to the United States due to the recent tax code overhaul. If you exclude that tax charge and other one-time items, earnings were a positive $4.78 billion, or $1.74 per share. So that beat Wall Street expectations.
Campbell: Yeah, they ended up beating on the top and the bottom line -- $20.2 billion in sales versus $20.1 billion estimates, $1.74 per share versus $1.72 per share. I think, you looked at this and said, the stock is up pre-market, and then it opened up, and it finished down pretty substantially for a company of its size. I think I saw it down, at one point, close to 4%. I'm not sure exactly where it closed that day. Are you, Kristine?
Harjes: No, I'm not.
Campbell: It took a little bit on the chin, though. I think that was because people were digging into the numbers a little bit and slightly disappointed with a couple of takeaways on the performance.
Harjes: Yeah. So in order to evaluate Johnson & Johnson's performance in any given quarter, you have the three main business segments to think about: the pharmaceutical segment, which is almost always the most important one to evaluate; then there's also the consumer goods segment and the medical device segment. The pharma segment was up 17% year over year to $9.68 billion. That was mostly led by a 40% increase in sales of cancer drugs like Darzalex and Zytiga and Imbruvica.
But there are a lot of moving parts here, and there are also plenty of important drugs that lost volume in sales. Remicade, for example, that's one we've been keeping our eye on forever. It's an autoimmune blockbuster. It fell about 10% because of biosimilar competition. We knew this was coming, and management actually says that's less of a decrease than they were expecting. But it will probably accelerate in 2018. Another one, Invokana in diabetes, fell 29%. That one was pretty surprising for me, at least, due to competition from Jardiance.
Campbell: There's so much competition now in the diabetes space for Invokana. In December, yet another drug that works the same way got approved. This is a very crowded market. I think people looked at Invokana and said, oh, my God, down 29%, that's more than I was thinking it would be. They looked at the fact that Remicade sales sagged more than 10% year over year. You mentioned Imbruvica. Yes, sales grew pretty substantially, but if you actually look at what Wall Street was looking for, it actually came in below those estimates. Darzalex is probably the best bright spot among the whole bunch, with sales up 82% at $371 million. Analysts were only expecting about $347 million.
The other thing, you mentioned the clickbait-y headline stuff, there's so much stuff to dig into when it comes to Johnson & Johnson. And part of the problem for investors looking at just the headline numbers is, you have to remember they also did a massive acquisition of Actelion. And that has inflated what they're reporting as far as growth. You look at 15% operational growth from pharmaceuticals. Well, get rid of all the benefit from Actelion and currency and stuff, and 4.2% growth overall in the quarter across all of its businesses. So, you're talking about low single digits rather than, if you just looked at the headline number, something like 11.5% growth.
Harjes: Yeah, absolutely. Speaking of low single digits, the consumer health segment was only up about 3.1%, and the medical device segment, just to round us out with the third and final segment, was up 11.5%. They also provided a 2018 outlook, and they are expecting revenue of $80.6 billion to $81.4 billion. That would be operational growth of about 4%, or organic growth of around 2.5-3.5%.
Campbell: Yeah, and I think that was kind of disappointing to folks, too. It marks a slowdown in organic growth from where we saw in 2017. And it's really not that much better than what inflation theoretically could be. If you look at Johnson & Johnson's stock leading up into this, it was trading pretty richly compared to itself over time. If you look at, historically, the P/E range for that company, it was up at the upper band of that. So you were pricing the shares for perfection, and instead you got solid results with some question marks. And I don't think that was the perfect recipe for this thing to continue to put in new highs, at least on day one.
Harjes: One of the big question marks moving forward, and this was extremely evidenced in the Q&A section of the earnings call is, what are they going to do with this newfound cash? They have about $12 billion that's immediately accessible from the repatriation. The way that they answered this question was to reiterate that their strategy is pretty much the same. Their No. 1 priority is going to be research and development. After that, it's going to be to raise the dividend, like they've been doing for so many years. That's what makes them a Dividend Aristocrat and a very attractive stock for so many people. After that, then they'll look at M&A, but only the right company at the right price. And then, maybe, after that, some share repurchases.
But that's clearly way down the road. No. 1 for them is absolutely going to be more research and development, in particular in the United States. For a while now, they've been borrowing money to fund their R&D efforts in the U.S. because it was cheaper to do that than to pay tax on bringing the cash back. Now, they'll be able to both fund those operations better and, hopefully also pay some of that debt down.
Campbell: Yeah. If you look at their costs last quarter, they actually started to spend a little bit more than they normally do on R&D already. There is, though -- again, you look at it and say, that's exciting, that they're going to recommit that money to R&D. But as we know from being healthcare-focused on this show, R&D investment doesn't necessarily translate into growth any time soon. A lot of these drugs in R&D programs end up failing or end up missing the mark as far as what you might hope they may deliver. The thing I thought was interesting, too, is that if you go into the Q&A section of their transcript from their fourth quarter conference call, you kind of get the impression that, yeah, dividend hikes are on the table, but they also seem pretty confident a 50% return rate is pretty solid as far as the dividend goes. So maybe, the dividend increase that people were hoping for will be a little bit smaller when it finally happens. I suppose that could be maybe weighing down a little bit of enthusiasm, too.
Harjes: I think it's their job, in these answers, to temper expectations.
Campbell: Yeah, absolutely. Whenever you have a situation -- you don't want to be involved with biotech companies that pump and dump. [laughs] You want to have them underpromise and overdeliver, absolutely.
Harjes: Yeah, and that's what you get with a stalwart like Johnson & Johnson.
Campbell: I would agree with that. I think the big question marks, the things to watch in 2018 as we go forward is, what kind of things are getting closer to the market in the pipeline? What happens with drugs like Zytiga, which is their leading prostate cancer drug? Sales were up significantly last quarter, and I think they're clocking in around a $2.8 billion run rate, but there's some patent concerns there. The company addressed it on the conference call, and they said, our patent for administration use was invalidated, but we're appealing it, and if we win our appeal, that's going to protect Zytiga through 2027. But if they lose that appeal, then theoretically, Zytiga could start facing off against the competition by the end of 2018. So then you end up with Remicade already facing off against biosimilars, and Zytiga potentially facing off against generics in 2019. So, what's going to offset that, especially when you have very low-single-digit organic growth modeled?
Harjes: Well, could be an acquisition. We don't know. But, with Johnson & Johnson, there's so much going on with that company that there will always be high points and low points. It's the total opposite from a single drug clinical-stage biotech, where you know exactly the single catalyst that you're supposed to monitor. With J&J, the way that I see it is, this company has tailwinds at its back, it has a smart management team, it has ridiculous flexibility on its balance sheet, especially now that it has more access to its cash. Even with a couple of ups and downs and bumps in the road, I do see a very bright long-term future for Johnson & Johnson.
Campbell: It's hard to imagine that this company isn't going to remain a core holding for most income investors and most large-cap mutual funds for decades.
Harjes: Yeah. If you don't think you're a J&J shareholder, you probably are.
Campbell: [laughs] Yeah, absolutely.
Harjes: All right, that's all we have for you guys this week. As usual, you can hit us up on Twitter @MFIndustryFocus or in The Motley Fool podcast Facebook group, or via email at [email protected]. As always, people on the program may have interests in the stocks they talk about, and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. This show is produced by Austin Morgan. For Todd Campbell, I'm Kristine Harjes. Thanks for listening and Fool on!


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IW Capital has published research on UK investor sentiment regarding Brexit and the impact of Article 50. Surveying 1000 investors who have between £10,000 and over £250,000 worth of investments, IW Capital says that a significant number of investors are willing to shoulder greater risk in 2017.
According to IW Capital;
- 2.21 million investors in the UK said they are entering the new financial year with a greater risk appetite and seeking fresh investment angles
- 44% of British investors feel Brexit will have a positive impact on their investment strategy, with 22% not expecting any effects over the coming 12 months
- 3.19 million investors feel the biggest investment opportunity in 2017 lies in private equity investment into the UK's thriving private sector
- 17% of millennials are looking to private equity investment over the coming 12 months
- 1.47 million investors will be using tax-efficient investment schemes such as the EIS in 2017
IW Capital says that one in four investors hope more will be done to support investor interest by way of tax efficient investment schemes and income tax policy. IW Capital believes that investors are embracing the full potential of investment opportunities that lie ahead as a consequence of Brexit.
IW Capital says that with the Bank of England recently upgrading its 2017 growth forecasts for the British economy from 1.4% to 2%, investors are recognizing the investment potential on offer in the country's private sector.
The role of private investment in supporting the nation's digital economy is vital, says IW Capital, citing a report by Tech Nation found that the UK secured £6.8 billion in venture capital and private equity digital tech investment in 2016 (over 50% more than any other European country).
Luke Davis, CEO of IW Capital, said the performance of the UK economy since the referendum has been impressive.
"This research demonstrates that the continuing growth of the private sector is attracting the interest of the nation's investors, who are clearly embracing the future of Brand Britain and the undiscovered investment potential that lies ahead," stated Davis. "With investors increasingly looking to tax-efficient investment schemes as a means of investing into the private sector in the new tax year, it is important the Government considers new reforms to ensure these schemes are both accessible to investors and targeting scaling businesses most in need of growth capital. Importantly, Brexit frees the UK from European state aid regulations, and the Government should use this as an opportunity to expand initiatives such as EIS that has previously been limited by EU policies."


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5 Facts on Why You Should Drink More Water in Winters
All of us understand that remaining hydrated throughout summer is very important to avoid dehydration. However, did you understand that you can easily end up being dehydrated even throughout winter? Lack of sufficient water even throughout winter can be rather harmful and cause some severe illness. A lot of us discover it difficult to Drink More Water In Winters. As winter is nearly here, lets go over why we should consume more water in winter seasons and ways to remain hydrated
Drink more water in winters to Keep yourself hydrated.
As temperatures drop, we utilize gadgets such as room heating units and humidifiers to keep ourselves warm. Though these gadgets keep us relaxing and comfy, it also results in dehydration. Dehydration can cause a number of issues even in winter such as muscle fatigue, light headed ness, cramps and fatigue. Your immune system is also effected and you end up being more vulnerable to illness such as common cold and flu. Considering these elements, it is important to Drink More Water In Winters to guarantee correct body functioning and a healthy lifestyle.
Drink more water in winters to Moisturize your skin
A typical issue that the majority of us face during winter is dry skin. Cold weather and dry winds extract wetness from your body and make skin extremely dry. Remaining hydrated assists in maintaining your body moisture and avoids dryness. Consuming sufficient water hydrates skin and makes it vibrant.
Drink more water in winters to Assist digestion
Dehydration makes it extremely hard for your body to digest food. As a result, it is required to Drink More Water In Winters to help your digestion system work correctly. Consuming plenty of water assists our body to digest food quickly throughout the winter seasons.
Drink more water in winters to Fight Weight Gain
Throughout winter a lot of us tend to gain weight as we avoid exercising. Consuming adequate water assists in keeping our weight even throughout winter. The factor is often times we confuse thirst with appetite and end up overindulging. If you feel starving even after eating a heavy lunch, it shows that you are dehydrated. Drink More Water In Winters will help you avoid overindulging and keep your weight.
Drink more water in winters to Detoxifie your Body
Another reason to Drink More Water In Winters is due to the fact that it detoxifies your body. Drink More Water In Winters flushes out the toxic substances from your body in order to keep it healthy. Remaining hydrated is particularly essential throughout winter as we have the tendency to avoid physical activities during winter.
Some Easy tips to Stay Hydrated in Winter
Nevertheless, among the main problems that a lot of us face is Drink More Water In Winters. If you too find it challenging to keep drinking water during winter at routine period, we are here to assist. Here are some of the easy methods to remain hydrated even during winter.
Eat a lot of Fruits
Fruits are an exceptional source of water. If you discover it challenging to consume water during winter, consume fruits that have a higher water material such as oranges, apples and pears. These tasty fruits contain 86 % water and are sufficient to keep you hydrated. These fruits likewise contain Vitamin C which is assists in combating flu.
Consume Warm and Salty Soups
Winter is the time when we enjoy drinking hot food products. Consuming warm soups is an ideal method of remaining hydrated. If possible, beverage salty soups as high level of salt aid in maintaining water. Consist of a lot of tomato soup, vegetable soup or chicken soup which are a healthy and delicious method of remaining hydrated throughout winter.
Avoid Caffeine throughout winter to stay safe from dehydration
Much of us drink unlimited cups of coffee or tea during winter to remain warm. If you too consume a lot of caffeine throughout winter, it's time to change this practice. Excess amount of caffeine causes dehydration during winter. As a result, it is a good idea to change to decaffeinated drinks to stay hydrated.
Consume Room Temperature Water
Another way to stay hydrated is to consume room temperature water. Your body takes in cold beverages and drinks easily, warm or room temperature drinks help in preserving optimum body temperature. Consuming room temperature water is likewise practical if you suffer from bouts of cold during winter.
Final Words
It is is extremely important to Drink More Water In Winters, however the pureness of the water must not be avoided. Winter also brings numerous health problem with it so in order to safeguard us the hazardous ailment during winters. We must have a water purification system in our the home to ensure the constant supply of Pure water. Some of the top water purifier readily available in the market are mentioned below.
Compare more Water Purifiers below
Spread the Message :5 Facts on Why You Should Drink More Water in Winters,Some Easy tips to Stay Hydrated in Winter.


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Business process outsourcing and IT outsourcing: from saving money to making money.
By leveraging our knowledge of the latest IT trends and using the most advanced technology available to provide innovative solutions for traditional processes, we help our clients increase the efficiency of business processes, improve customer satisfaction and obtain a competitive advantage with excellent cost and performance ratios.
With the growing trend for all functions to be deeply focused on the organization's core business, the traditional impetus for BPO and IT outsourcing—cost reduction—has evolved toward an end goal of generating income and value.
We focus our abilities on cost optimization and increasing value in order to offer business process outsourcing services.
- We provide an outsourced service to optimize the resources and people needed to develop the process, ensuring the highest quality standards.
- We design a comprehensive service with a team that possesses the right skills and training for each task, with work methodologies that guarantee perfect execution.
- The most advanced technology to offer an innovative, optimized service that guarantees an efficient outsourcing process with the highest levels of productivity.
- Sectoral and business knowledge to ensure maximum efficiency.
- Advanced technical team capable of assuming IT functions and maintenance of applications and systems, harnessing our global capabilities.
- We redesign processes by making improvements and deeply analyzing the service in order to increase business performance and operational quality.
Business ProcessOutsourcing
We select, train and manage the necessary teams so our clients are able to outsource all or part of their commercial activity, customer service or human resources, allowing them to focus on the key aspects of their business.
We maintain software applications through a specialized service focused on continuous improvement and rapid delivery of value, flexibility and adaptability, making changes through a dynamic demand management system.
We manage your physical and virtual infrastructure and oversee its monitoring and support (including consulting services) in order to guarantee the optimal use of your resources.


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Chicago Tribune January 9, 1894
Burning of the Peristyle, Music Hall, Casino and Manufactures Building
January 8, 1894
Fire licked up a largo part of the remnants of the World's Columibian Exposition last night. The South Park Commissioners will not tear down the Peristyle, nor will touch of the wrecker defile the Music Hall or the Casino>. A vexed problem that touched the sentiment of the world to the quick nas been solved. Today the Park Commissioners have to deal with ruins where yesterday proud stood.
Twenty thousand spectators saw the east end of the Court of Honor vanish in smoke and flame. The fire started in the Casino, destroyed that building, then swept northward along the Peristyle into Music Hall, and from there across and into the Manufactures Building.
For three hours the flames raged along the past end of the Court of Honor until nothing was left but charred timbers and blackened plaster. A shower of sparks fell upon the ice in the lagoon until it looked like a sea of fire; they fell upon the adjacent buildings, threatening them with destruction. It was a magnificent spectacle that drew ceaseless exclamations of wonder and awe from the spectators that crowded the grounds in the vicinity of the fire. It was the greatest pyrotechnic display of the Fair.
Manufactures Roof Catches.
But the work of destruction did not end with the burning of these buildings. Fire brands were carried to the roof of Manufactures Building and the promenade around the crown of that enormous structure was soon on fire. The wind was strong and the flames soon reached the immense wooden ventilators under the eaves and they were soon burning fiercely. The story under tho roof was in a blaze. From this and through the great holes in the glass roof fell a continuous shower of firebrands, and in twenty minutes there were over a dozen small conflagrations in the Belgian, French, German, and English sections. Firemen and Columbian Guards fought these fires so successfully that, although the facades and exhibit structures were destroyed, not more than a dozen cases containing exhibits were burned.
The goods jeopardized represented $2,500,000; the loss is not over $100,000, principally by water.
How much insurance is carried will not be learned for sone time, as many of the policies were written in foreign countries. There is little if any insurance on the Manufaetures Building and none on the Casino. Peristyle, and Music Hall.
The fire worked clear around the inside of the dome, burning itself out at 3 o'clock this morning.
As in the Cold Storage fire, life was lost in fighting it. William Mackie of Engine Company No. 61 fell from the Peristyle and died an hour later at Mercy Hospital. Three other men were injured.
Alarm Boxes Fail to Work.
The fire was discovered at 5:30 o'clock on the second floor in the northwest corner of the Casino. C. Mason, a guard on duty in Music Hall, saw it and ran to a fire box and tried to turn in an alarm, but the key would not work, Then he went to another box and again failed. He tried a third with the same result and then a fourth. Then he gave it up and hunted up a telephone aud succeeded in getting an alarm at at last. By this thie the flames had gained a strong headway. Marshal Malley responded with one engine and turned in a 4:11 alarm.
A week ago twenty engines would have responded to the call, but owing to the changes that have been made in the arrangement for fire Protection at the Fair only ten engines responded last night. These found that they had more than they coUld contend with, so a special call was sent in, and this was soon followed by a second. It was too late to attempt to save the Casino and the firemen devoted most of their attention to saving the Agricultural Building and to checking the flames on the Peristyle.
Col. Rice was on the ground with about 240 guards. The great majority of these he sent up on the roof of the Agricultural Building to put out any blaze that might be started by flying brands; others he sent to the Manufactures Building, while still others assisted the park police and the details from Woodlawn and Hyde Park in keeping the crowd back and in performing what other duties might arise, Their assistance proved valuable in keeping the crowd back and keeping them out of the way of engines and horsecarts, and they succeeded in saving a small amount of office furniture which happened to be in Secretary Wilson's office in Music Hall. They also rendered important service at a critical time by carrying wood when the two engines which were at the north eni of the Peristyle ran out of fuel.
Insolent Tramps Suspected of Arson.
It is more than probable that the fire was started by tramps. They have been fairly swarming in the Fair grounds since the first of the month, especially around the Casino and Music Hall. There is no guard at all stationed in the Casino nor in fact anywhere nearer that point than Music Hall, where one man keeps watch. There is also a guard in the Convent of La Rabida. About 4 o'clock in tne afternoon a dozen tramps walked into Music, Hall where Guard C. Mason Was on duty. He ordered them to leave, but they made an insolent reply and refused to go. Mason succeeded in driving them out. They went in the direction of the Casino, and in an hour after the fire was discovered. No one had any right to be around the Casino and there has been no fire there for months, but there were a number of old packing cases and a quantity of excelsior in the building, and if the fire was not started by design it could easily have been started by means of a cigar stub or the ashes of a pipe carelessly emptied in the inflammable stuff that thickly covered tho floor in places.
The fire broke out in the top of the Casino (1), which is the building at the shore end of the long pier. The Casino was destroyed. It seemed as if the Agricultural Building (2) would go next, the wind blowing from the northeast. At the critical moment the wind shifted to the southeast and the fire, changing its course, spread north along the Peristyle (3). The Grand Arch soon crumbled and fell. The fire quickly reached the Music Hall. This was destroyed. Firebrands from the Peristyle and Music Hall set the roof of the Manufactures Building (5) on fire and the promenade caught and burned fiercely. A rain of molten metal and firebrands fell to the floor and set on fire the exhibits.
Flames Spread to the Music Hall.
The fire in the Casino quickly burned out. By 6:30 the building was all down and there was nothing left but a bed of burning embers. The guards upon the roof of Agricultural Hall had succeeded in protecting that building and at that hour there were hopes that the fire might be controlled without doing further damage. It had not yet reached the center of the Peristyle and was burning slowly. But suddenly the flames took a fresh impetus; the figures on the central arch were lighted up by a vivid glare and then the fire began its steady march northward, At this time there were only two engines stationed to check its progress in this direction. These did what they could but they had absolutely no effect in stopping the progress of the flames. Down through the center of the Peristyle is a covered arch-way tall enough for a man to stand erect in. There was no partition or other barricade, and the flames swept through the pine as through an enormous blowpipe. At 7 o'clock the tug Fire Queen was brought up where it could play on the Peristyle and two streams were brought to bear on th6 fire, which by this time was within 150 feet of Music Hall. One after another the great columns fell with a terrific crash that sent up great clouds of sparks. The five streams of water on the fire—for by this tine an engine had been brought around on the lake front—had no more effect than if they had been ten miles away. By 7:30 Music Hall was on fire in the southeast corner. Five minutes later all hope of saving it was gone, and the engine on the lake front was drawn around to dry land and safety. Another tea minutes and the whole roof in the center was on fire. Ten minutes more and it was licking around the eaves. Another five minutes and fire was bursting through every window. A strong breeze from the lake fanned the fames and they shot up into the air to a height of 100 feet or more. All the grounds as far north as the north lagoon were lighted up like a midsummer's day at noon. The crowd that lined the shore could be distinctly seen in the bright light, and they could be heard, too, every time a statue or a pinnacle toppled on a crumbling cornice before taking a plunge into the fiery depths below. The crowd cheered as one after another the statues toppled and pitched head foremost, some back into the burning building, others out toward the lake. The man with the camera was also there, and if the energy of his exertions may be taken as an indication, he got some excellent views of the conflagration.
As soon as the fire had gained headway in Music Hall the firemen began to turn their attention to the work of saving Manufactures Building, and it was a task of no small proportions that they had before them. Cinders and burning embers were falling so thickly that the south end of the roof of the vast building was literally paved with them; indeed, two minutes before 7 o'clock a blaze had gained a foothold in the cornice over the south entrance, but, luckily, a Columbian Guard chanced to be stationed near and he put it out.
Fatal Shifting of the Wind.
The fatal moment in the fire came at 8:15 when the wind, which had been blowing steadily for several for hours in the northeast whisked around to the southeast, and the danger which hung over the Agricultural Building and the Convent La Rabida was shifted to thoe Manufactures Building. At that moment the sight from Administration Building was grand and terrible beyond description. A solid wall of smoke and flame 500 yards long in front of the spectators, showing a lurid hue over the adjacent buildings and in the reflections from the ice on Grand Basin. The French statue of the Republic seemed to stand in the midst of it all like a gigantic silhouette, with uplifted arms as if appealing for help. The wind blew furiously, and now and then made great rifts in the smoky wall, revealing the blood-red skeleton of arch and column.
As the spectators walked to the north side of the basin the scene became more and more fearful. The narrow space was jammed with fire apparatus, howling firemen, and hysterical spectators. Music Hall was then in the throes of dissolution. Its bowels were all aflame, and its obelisks and pillars were quivering in the cyclone of flame. The wind seemed to toy with it and twist it in fantastic and diabolical shapes. The scene was more weird and within the great Manufactures Building, dimly lighted with remote arc lights, its cavernous space resounding with horses and shouting firemen and its floors covered with hose. Through thte great gaps made in its roof by snow in various parts of tho building the sparks came down in showers and streams. Its vast east windows were great splashes of blood-red flame too hot for the hand to bear the heat. Looking through these windows to Music Hall a sight was beheld which could hardly ever have been equaled. The spectators were not able to stand within a stone's throw of the great furnace of flame and witness its dreadful contortions. A small number of officials who were admitted to the gallery gazed through the window, waiting moment by moment to see what tho result would be in the great building and its priceless treasures of art and manufactures.
"Ten minutes," they said, "will decide everything.", The-ten minutes rolled by, and it was a quarter to 9 o clock. Then, with a rumble and a roar, the roof and all its surrounding towers fell inward into the furnace and filled the heavens with a cloud of sparks which resembled Vesuvius in action. Almost at the same time the word was sent the Manufactures Building was on fire. Great activity among the firemen was visible at once. Long stretches of hose were carried up the shaky staircases that had been built as fire-escapes. Tho other firemen seized a score of Babcocks, slung thein on their backs, and climbed like spiders to the roof. In a a splashing of streams of water was heard on the great glass roof, but it was evident that the fight for life was begun. Then it was said that the contractors who put into the standpipes into the building had lately taken them out, so that every drop of water that was carried to the dome bad to be forced 230 feet upward to reach the spot of application.
A spectator standing in Columbia behold a perfect view of the new danger. In two places on the east side and one on the west a square yard of flame appeared at a point under the promenade. Guards and officials gazed at it in sorrow. and wondered what would come of it. They said that if the standpipes had been there it would have been easy to handle it, but now it seemed as if all was lost. Within. a few moments hot coals began to drop from the dome upon the exhibits, and at one time a mass of coals as large is as man's head dropped like a meteor on the French section, struck an obstruction and flew into a thousand pieces.
When viewed from without at a point near Electricity Building the minute figures of the firemen on the roof could bo seen through tho clouds of smoke, and it looked as if they must be to powerless to compete with the rapid movements of the flames.
Ruins of the Casino, Peristyle and Music Hall After the Fire,
January 8, 1894.
Tears for Perlityle and Quadriga.
Many expressions of sorrow arnd regret were heard as the swept on through the Peristyle and Music Hall. It was to be noticed that those who did the cheering were boys and youths. Men of mature years were grieved and thoughtful. There were many women in the crowd, and of these not a few wept. The Columubian Guards, too, were deeply touched. To them it was as though they had lost a near and dear friend, as one by one they saW the landmarks of the Exposition crumble into ruin. They wasted little time in expressing regrets, however, but hurried here, there, and everywhere doing everything in
their power to check tho of the flame".
Loudest of all were the expressions of regret when it was seen that the Quadriga was doomed. For some time it had seemed as though the flames would be stopped before they had progressed that far. The fire burned slowly for more than ten minutes, the firemen had two streams playing on the Peristyle from the chocolate pavilion, the firemen from the north end of the Peristyle were working south as far as they could, and it seemed as though the battle might be ended there, but a gust of wind up came up, the great cloud of sparks that bad been floating down upon the lagoon shifted suddenly for a moment, the mute flames in the triumphal chariot were lighted up ns though a searchlight had been turned on them for a single instant, then a dense pall of smoke hid them from view. They were seen no more for a few moments, then a thundering crash on the bridge across tbe lagoon told that the Quadriga was no more. From this point the progress of the flames was steady and swift. One after another the great columns would sway, then with a great groaning and creaking they would topple over into the bed of embers beneath, sending up still greater showers of sparks. and that would be the last seen of it. Burning cinders floated everywhere. They fell so thickly on the dome of the Administration Building that it seemed as though that structure was threatened. They also fell freely on the southern ends of the Electricity and Mining Buildings, and were to be seen settling to the ground even as far out as the Illinois Central tracks on Sixty-fourth street. They formed a beacon which could be seen from down-town, and guided a curious one to Jackson Park.
Electricity Building on left, Mines and Mining Building on right.
Crowds Well Behaved.
Beginning at 7:30 o clock every avenue of approach to the grounds was filled with crowds of people. The street-cars, elevated ears, and suburban trains were loaded down with throngs of excited people on their way to witness the great conflagration. They poured through the gate of the park as rapidly as the guards permit, and after all only a small proportion of those who applied was admitted. Nevertheless the grounds in the neighborhood of the fire was thronged with people. But they were people of tho better class. Their behavior was perfect. There was no noise, no tumult, no disorder, no disturbance of property, everything was quiet and solemn and decorous. Every person's judgment to be that the destruction of the buildings by fire was the best possible solution of the question of What be done with them. Long before the climax was reached thousands of people had walked back home. At the very moment Manufactures Building had caught thousands of people, without the least excitement, were leaving the grounds for home.
After the Fire of January 8, 1894.
Chicago Tribune July 6, 1894
The Destruction Often Predicted Finally Comes to Past—The Fire Starts in the Terminal Station—Then the Administration Building Goes and in Order, the Mines, Electricity, Manufactures, and Agricultural Building and Machinery Hall—Government Building Is Saved.
The White City was almost wiped out of existence last night in three hours by fire. In the following order the buildings named were burned:
(1) Terminal Station; (2) Administration Building; (3) Mines and Mining Building; (4) Electricity Building; (5) Manufactures Building; (6) Agricultural Building; (7) Machinery Hall
The Transportation Building was badly scorched, but hard work by the firement—and the only work they did that appeared to any advantage—saved the Government Building from the flames.
David Anderson Is Killed.
David Anderson, Forty-seventh street and Evans avenue, was killed and E. J. Bassett, No. 6410 Starr avenue, severely injured by the caving of an electrical subway just south of the Electricity Building. They are employed bookkeepers by Marshall Field & Co., were present as spectators. As they were walking past the Electricity Building going towards the Administration Building, when the fire had nearly burned itself out, the earth beneath them gave way and they fell into the subway. Anderson was completely burned beneath the sand and planks, and Bassett only saved himself from death by clinging to the side of the subway. H. H. Palacheck, No. 1501 Schiller Building, came to Bassett's assistance and was finally pulled from his dangerous position. He was painfully burned about the hands and head, but was not otherwise injured. Anderson's body was not recovered for some time.
Start of the Fire.
It was a few minutes after 6 o'clock when some small boys found a little bit of a blaze in a corner of the Terminal Station. They tried to stamp it out but were not successful, and in a few minutes it had got into the framework of the walls and then all over. Firemen came as quickly as possible, but they remembered the Cold Storage tragedy and were not asked to venture to spots from whence they might have fought the fire to better advantage. In a few minutes the big station was red hot and then the roof collapsed, followed a few minutes later by the walls. Here and there stood a few pillars which, as soon as the flames burnt through their bases, tottered and fell with a crash.
Meantime burning brands that had been hurled across to that window of the White City, the Administration Building, started flames here and there around the base of the dome. They quickly burned through and the intense draught from the interior made the dome in a few minutes a furnace. It was not long before smoke came out at the top followed instantly by a roar as a big arm of fire shot into the air. People looked and watched and waited for the collapse. In ten minutes it came. There was a sort of a shifting motion around the base of the dome, and then the monster dream in gold and white tottered, stood still for an instant and then shut up as if it were a huge accordion.
Interior a Roaring Furnace.
Brands from the Administration Building were hurled across to the Electricity Building, which caught fire in the south end, and while the blaze was getting a good headway there the wind had fanned a small blaze in the south end of the Mines and Mining Building into a fire that had eaten its way through the gable roof. The moment it got inside it shot the entire length of the building with the speed of an express train, and in five seconds the interior of the building was a roaring furnace. Then there was an explosion. One half of the west side of the roof and a part of the west wall were blown outward. This gave the fire full vent and it was not long before all that was left of the Mines and Mining Building was a row or two of red hot columns. These bent and swayed while the fire roared around them and one by one they fell.
By this time the Manufactures Building was on fire in the same old place—around the roof promenade. The brands had set fire to the south end of the huge roof and the fire had reached down to through the hollow walls. It took one hour to destroy the huge building. First, the roof burned half of its length. The huge girders that cost so much money and so many lives to put in place and about which there has been so much discussion as to their final disposition might as well have been made of wood. They appeared to collapse, and with them the rook sank several feet, but still did not fall until later, when the big hinges were burned through. Then with a roar that sounded like a discharge of a battery of artillery one half of that monster roof sank into the fiery furnace.
Then went the west wall. It fell inwards and was followed quickly by the east. In fifteen minutes more the other half of the roof had gone the same way, followed in the same manner by the northern sections of the wall. Occasionally a tall pillar reached its way up through the fire and smoke as if it would defy the destroyer, but its reign was brief. Its base was soon melted and it followed its fellows into the burning mass.
Destruction Is Completed.
Meantime the fire was getting in its work on the buildings at the south end of the grounds. It had got a good hold on the Agricultural Hall, and on Machinery Hall. These were soon doomed, and the work of destruction was complete.
The firemen had little to do. They were there from apparently all parts of the city, and as late as 9 o'clock hose carts and engines came flocking into the grounds. The first alarm was immediately followed by a 4-11, and then a special call for ten engines was sent out. The Terminal Station had been destroyed and the Administration dome had collapsed before the first engines got to work. Some engine companies down between the Electricity and Mines and Mining Buildings had a narrow escape when these two structures were ablaze. The men were hard at work trying to do something, but it was a hopeless case. They were hemmed in by two great walls of fire and the men of Company 18 were obliged to abandoned their engine and leave one of their horses dead on the ground—suffocated. Capt. Mergenthaler, Lieut. Kane, and Pipeman Shipper of Engine Company 63, who were at work between these two buildings, were badly choked by the smoke and for a time their situation was dangerous. They eventually succeeded in getting away.
N. K. Collins of engine No. 61 had a narrow escape from death in that terrible lane between the Mines and Electricity buildings. As his engine turned into the narrow passageway the flames from the Mines Building swooped down upon it. The men released their horses and ran for their lives. Later their engine was dragged out of the smoke and ruins and afterward did good service in throwing water on the Government Building.
When the north end wall of the Manufactures Building fell a shower of burning brands went into the air and fell on the Government Building. For an hour, however, all the firemen except those at work keeping the Transportation Building from going up had been drenching the building with water. This saved it. The brands were harmless and as the wind had shifted a few points to the north by this time the heavy sparks and long arms of the fire were carried out over the lake.
Capt. Burroughs with the Fire Queen were the first firemen to respond to the alarm. The Fire Queen was lying by the side of the Goddess of Liberty statue when the alarm sounded, and at 6:05 steamed over in front of the Administration Building by the side of the MacMonnies Fountain. Four large three-inch pipes were at once set to work, but could not check the fire. Soon afterwards Company 71 came up and this was followed by Companies 63 and 60. It was seen that the Terminal Building was doomed and all efforts were directed to saving the Administration Building. This also soon went, and burned so rapidly that both the Fire Queen and Company 60 lost all their hose then playing on the fire. With great difficulty the fireboat was backed out and moved around the lagoon just east of Machinery Hall. All efforts were now directed to saving the building, but the intense heat soon drove the firemen back, and when the building once got started it rapidly spread. The Fire Queen got stuck in the shallow lagoon, and for a few minutes it appeared as if she were doomed. Finally, in a storm of falling cinders and flying brands, all escape from the Grand Basin was cut off, and the steamer took up a position between the Manufactures and Agricultural Buildings. Company 60 was placed on the deck of the Fire Queen and both companies directed all their streams on the Agricultural Building.
In a Glorious Blaze.
A grand, a glorious ending was the expressed sentiment of the great crowd that witnessed the forest of fire. The 100,000 people congregated made the trip leisurely to Jackson Park and good naturedly walked around viewing the sight from different points. After a time the thousands became settled in favored spots and quietly gazed upon the magnificent destruction much as they gazed at fireworks displays last summer. There was no regret; rather a feeling of pleasure that the elements and not the wrecker should wipe out the spectacle of the Columbian season. When it was seen that the Government Building would be saved there were even some who thought the firemen should be called away so it might go, too.
There was no excitement of any kind. Every one was satisfied with the spectacle., and the use of "ahs" and "ohs" were about all that were heard as some beautiful cornices, a clump of columns, or a piece of statuary wavered, toppled, and fell into the seething mass. The only approach to a cheer was when the great rounded roof of the Liberal Arts Building crackled, snapped and sank to the ground. Then in one group of 5,000 there was a long sigh, in the midst of which the clear, bell-like voice of a girl could be heard: "O, it's all over."
Ruins of the Fair After the Fire,
July 7, 1894.
Coming of the Crowds.
But few people were present at the early scenes. At 6:30 o'clock the broad avenue from the Sixty-fourth street entrance looked much like a great bicylcle tournament. The boys and girls and men and women who had been on the boulevards and in the parks of the South Side with their wheels were the first to get to the park and bicycles were everywhere. Soon the appearance of this changed. The electric lines, the cable roads, and the Alley "L" began dumping hundreds of passengers at Stony Island avenue and the cross streets. The sight from 7 to 8 o'clock was like that on great nights at the Fair. The transportation facilities were pressed to the utmost. There were no Illinois Central trains making quick trips, and the Alley "L" was called upon to stand the brunt of the travel. All trains south were of six cars and each car was crowded to the guards up to 9 o'cock.
At first the center of interest was south of the Transportation Building. From there the crowd went down the line to the north, spreading along the lagoon, the Horticultural Building, and in complete circular mass clear around to the lake. The Wooded Island was a popular point and big crowds centered upon and west of it. There was but little save a few men left of the Mines, Electricity, Administration, and Terminal Station Buildings when the larger number of people got to the park, consequently the big Liberal Arts structure was the central feature of the evening.
Big Building Crumbles Away.
On Wooded Island and surrounding the north of the great building was probably a gathering of nine tenths of the people at Jackson Park. First the great west entrance crumbled away. As the columns and the cornices fell passing comments were made and the crowd moved north to see the north end go down. Then the great roof fell and nothing but the north entrance and the north corner towers remained. Those soon crumbled away, the northwest columns being the last to topple and fall. As these sank to the ground there was a great roar from the south as the Machinery Hall roof fell in, and with this roar and the falling of the last great columns to the Liberal Arts Building the crowd figured out that the show was over, and the trip for home began.
"Wasn't grand?" "What a glorious sight!" "A magnificent spectacle!" "A noble end!" were the benedictions pronounced by the people as they left the grounds.
There can be no salvage from the fire of last night. All the iron not melted was torn and twisted into mangled masses that cannot well be handled much less sold or disposed of in any way. The massive girders in the Manufactures Building roof, which were supposed to to be able to stand almost anything, were twisted like wire and were even melted into unwieldy masses of metal.
Statues Reduced to Ashes.
The statues in the Administration Building, many of which were picked out to be ornaments for buildings all over the world and were only awaiting removal, were crumbled to ashes. The big pillars on the same building were split in many instances from top to bottom as the fire shot through them, and then in halves they fell.
At the north end of the Terminal Building, on the top of a high pillar, was the figure of an Indian gazing toward the north. The figure loomed through the fire and smoke until all the building had gone. Still the Indian stood there. He was black by this time and when he finally pitched forward at the same instant the Administration dome collapsed. A cheer went up from the thousands of persons who saw the scene.
Strange to say, the last fancy group at the base of the Administration dome to collapse before the main walls went down was that of "Fire Uncontrolled." It loomed up bravely through the walls of flame, but finally, like that of "Water Uncontrolled," and others of an allegorical nature, it succumbed, and that was its end.
The lagoons at midnight were black with ashes and brands that had blown into the water. Some tracks had been cut through the murky waters by the fireboat and a few rowboats from the venturesome persons went near to the burning buildings. The fire engines took their water from the lagoons, too, and as no plugs of a serviceable nature were near, the Government Building, the salvation of this structure was due to the services rendered by the Venetian sheet limitations.
The lake, too, was well blackened by the showers of sparks, brands , and smoke that poured over it and to the fact that the wind blew from the shore is due the saving of the Transportation Building and probably all the buildings on and near Stony Island Avenue.
NOTE: It was agreed that the city of Chicago would have until May 1,1894, to decide on the purchase of the Manufactures building for removal to the lake front.


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Solar testimonial: Lee-Ann Pinkard
My 12.54kW Solar Edge system was installed at the end of May, and turned on a month and a half later. We decided to go solar because reducing the cost of our electric bill with this natural resource is a no-brainer.
The thing that prohibited us from going solar initially was the capital outlay. We researched and received pricing over a 2-year period. This convinced us that we didn't want to lease. We also wanted the array to be large enough to cover all our consumption. The co-op opportunity solved this problem.
Cost is the biggest issue most people face with the decision to go solar. We found that it made financial sense for us because we plan on staying in our home. The system will pay for itself in a few short years and after that our savings will be long term.
It is also important to make sure your roof is new, and to pay attention to your roof warranty, solar installation warranty and solar equipment warranty. These things will give you peace of mind. Depending upon where you live, you may also have to get involved with the interconnection process from your utility company. After patiently waiting for 30 days I called my utility company myself and within two weeks I they connected my system.
Our system is already producing savings. I was paying on average $179/month. I'm hoping that on an entire year of solar I should be very close to paying $0 for electricity. My first full month's bill with solar cost me approximately $8 which was only for electrical distribution charges. I generated so much power that I have a 72kWh credit carried forward to next month. I'm using this savings to pay off the capital outlay – that is in addition to my SRECs, 30% federal tax rebate, $1,000 state rebate, and hopefully $5,000 county rebate. It's very exciting to know that within 6 years I will be free of a utility bill.


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Saturday was an adventure – I participated in the NYC Color Run, the newest crazy way to run/celebrate/raise money for a cause all at the same time. The Color Run is exactly as it sounds – a run (5K to be exact) where you get splashed with all sorts of colors every kilometer or so. Of course, with such ridiculousness, the run starts and ends with a party reminiscent of spring break (if it involved athleticism and sobriety).
So, six of us dubbed ourselves Team "Hey I Heard You Were A Wild Run" and got decked out in white, sporting fanny packs and bandanas. We headed out to Brooklyn (ok, I guess that's technically NYC) and
ran lightly jogged 5 kilometers through the yellow, orange, blue, pink, and purple showers of powdered colored chalk.
They call it "the happiest 5K on the planet" and I think the event lived up to the challenge. The Color Run in NYC may be closed, but they're headed across the country before traveling to Australia so if registration opens up, check it out! I think I still have a little purple between my toes, but everyone could use a little color, right?
Next stop – Half marathon in September, Tough Mudder in October, and then I'm taking the winter off! 🙂


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James Mulvenon is Vice-President of Defense Group, Inc.'s Intelligence Division and Director of DGI's Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis. At CIRA, Dr. Mulvenon runs teams of nearly forty cleared Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Pashto, Urdu, and Dari/Farsi linguist-analysts performing open-source research for the US Government. A specialist on the Chinese military and cyber warfare, Dr. Mulvenon's research focuses on Chinese C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, and reconnaissance), defense research/development/acquisition organizations and policy, strategic weapons programs (computer network operations and nuclear warfare), cryptography, and the military and civilian implications of the information revolution in China.
Dr. Mulvenon is presently a member of the National Committee for U.S.-China Relations. He is regular media commentator on both China and cyber warfare, and his comments have appeared recently in the Washington Post, New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, Christian Science Monitor, Boston Globe, PC World, Wired, International Herald Tribune, and Los Angeles Times, as well as on BBC, NPR, CNN, and CBS News. He received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1998, and attended Fudan University in Shanghai from 1991-1992. Dr. Mulvenon is married to the former Mary Hampton of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. They reside in Burke, Virginia with their daughters, Kate and Ellie.