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rates moved modestly higher for some lenders today, while others remained closer to unchanged territory. Following Wednesday's swing to 6-month highs, this leaves the average rate sheet somewhere between there and yesterday's. In terms of the actual interest rate, 3.625% remains as the most prevalent "best-execution" rate, with relatively small adjustments in costs vs yesterday. Market movements during US trading hours have been relatively subdued for mortgage-backed-securities, or "MBS," that most directly affect rates (Wednesday's drama happened overnight in European trading hours. MBS opened much weaker, but didn't move as much during domestic hours).
(What is A Best-Execution Mortgage Rate?)
The recent trend of relative containment of trading ranges during domestic hours continued today, which is a welcome change of pace vs late January volatility. It's not that we haven't seen volatility recently, simply that it's not on the same scale as the last round that took us so quickly to multi-month highs. The current volatility is merely adjusting the closing cost side of the home loan equation whereas previous volatility moved the actual interest rate side.
Looking beyond mortgage rates to broader bond markets, we see February, thus far, has been characterized by a clear compression of extremes. In other words, the ranges of movements and the outright increases have been relatively smaller since the sharper moves in late January. Really, this is just another way to say that volatility is decreasing. This chart of 10yr Treasury yields gives an idea of that phenomenon hour by hour.
Of course we'd be the first to point out that Treasury rates don't always indicate mortgage rates, but the movement over this time frame is generally similar. When we see markets consolidating like this is can suggest that the conflict between "higher vs lower" will make for a brisker tailwind for the victor of that argument. In other words, things have been calm (relatively), but they look close to making a bigger move, either back down to 3.5% or firmly up to 3.75% in terms of Best-Execution 30yr rates.
Loan Originator Perspectives
"Markets bleeding off yesterday's gains as the day progresses. Especially with Monday's holiday, the possibility of worsened prices this PM are very real. My advice for my clients has always been "if the pricing works, take the money and run", so will be locking deals that fit this today. What I don't want to do is promise my clients pricing today that may not be available when the market reopens on Tuesday!" -Ted Rood, Senior Originator, Wintrust Mortgage.
"My advice today is pretty much the same as yesterday. If i was buying a home and closing in the next 30 days, i would lock and remove all risk. If i was refinancing and didn't lock yesterday, i would continue to rolling the dice until Tuesday. The trend has been and continues to point toward higher rates, so float at your own risk." -Victor Burek, Open Mortgage
"We are still in full on lock mode. You can't fight the current trend of slowly drifting higher rates. Until we see something different, we are protecting our customers with a lock at application." -Alan Craft, Acopia Home Loans.
Today's Best-Execution Rates
Ongoing Lock/Float Considerations
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Have you ever wondered about this term? Though you wouldn't have consciously in a scientific manner tried to understand the concept of body image you must have definitely looked in a full-length mirror and wondered "am I too thin, too heavy, just right? Do I have this "trouble spots" on my body like the acne, paunch, large bossoms or no bossoms at all? Yes, finally your body image is how you see yourself and, more importantly, how you believe others see you. Your Body Image says a lot about your mental and physical well-being.
Almost everyone has something about their body they don't like. But some people have extremely negative or distorted views of their bodies and we hope you are not on of them! They don't like most of what they see, and that can be detrimental to their health. Learning to accept your body takes practice and the understanding that there are some things about your looks you can't control. Genetics play an important role in our looks. So whether it is fat bottoms or bad eye-sight you got to blame the genes!
Factors Contributing to a Negative Body Image
Why are so many people prone to a negative or distorted body image? Body image studies reveal several factors that often lead to self-disparagement:
Cultural pressures
Remaking your Body Image
Much of your appearance is genetic. Your father's crooked upper lip. Your mother's pear-shaped bossom. In fact, many top athletes have genetics to thank for their success. They were born to be what they are: A swimmer's wide, flexible shoulders pull him through the water; a runner or skater's powerful thighs for speed; a ballerina's swan-like neck and flexible hips for graceful pirouetting.
It's important to strive for self-improvement, but it's also important to be realistic about what you can change about yourself and being content with what you can't.

subset: commoncrawl


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Skilled LTC facilities that don't want to perform any "skills"?
We continually have trouble transfering hospital patients to a few of our local NH's if the patient has any skilled "nursing" need. Of course almost all of the transfers have PT/OT referals, and they welcome that, but IV antibiotic tx?, sterile dressing changes?, tube feedings?, PICC line?, central line dressing changes? No thanks, no thanks, no thanks, no thanks, and again, no thanks!
Today, one of their patients came as an outpatient for PICC line insertion, and the charge nurse called to say, "I really think he should stay the night to stablize". "Stablize?! He's not, nor has been, unstable! He is being D/C'd right now and we have sent along our routine care of the line, and detailed instructions on his antibx and it's infusion. Call us anytime with questions or in need of any support."
Do you guys deal with this? Is this the way it is everywhere? Thanks for any insight!
About ceecel.dee
Joined: Apr '02; Posts: 968; Likes: 41
Nurse Educator: love those students!
Specialty: Med/Surg,ER,L&D,ICU,OR,nrs. educatorJul 2, '03I forgot to mention above that we do use a home care infusion support company that could have gone out to in-service the nurses and be available for support, but the company also requires that you receive the antibx through them, and the NH had NO interest in this. They were also offered the services of a Home Care nurse to come in as a support person, but the response recieved was, "we do have RN's here you know". How could we have helped make this easier? (I was called to return a call to the DON of the NH (at home) to ease the transition to acceptance of the plan of care for this patient, and that went well, but the time consumed by the panic and call saying they didn't want him back seems unneccesary and expensive!)Jul 2, '03When I worked LTC, we did all of the above things you mentioned, routinely. Also trach care, TPN, etc.
Just had a "skilled" facility agree to do peritoneal dialysis on a pt, then boot her out after she'd had the surgery.Jul 4, '03The LTC where I work handle all of those things, but the problem comes in when we only have LPN on staff and need IV push meds or something of that sort that is out of scope of practice for an LPN. I have no problem calling one of the hospital RN when I need to and I find that when I have a question and ask it in a professional manner that I get my question answered. They have came over to help us out when needed also. (our buildings are connected thru a walkway). The only time we have problems with those sort of skilled nursing requirements is when the staffing is low.. I guess as an LPN, with alot of experience, I still am not comfortable with TPN and PICC lines, we get very few of those, plus I dont think that those are in my scope of practice!! Better to get the extra help and be safe than sorry!! Have a great day everyone!!Jul 4, '03If a facility is licensed to provide Skilled Nursing Services and is receiving Medicare funds, they had BETTER be performing "skills"!Jul 4, '03I think many long term care places only have nurses on certain hours (RNs) not 24/7. So the nurse managers who work all day have to come in during off hours, on days off to do skilled care. Sometimes the ratio of one nurse to a hall, 25 clients makes it almost impossible to do the care. One time I worked LTC/SNF and was supposed to do skilled care of 50 patients. Was impossible. That could be a factor.
renerianJul 5, '03Originally posted by CseMgr1
If a facility is licensed to provide Skilled Nursing Services and is receiving Medicare funds, they had BETTER be performing "skills"!Sep 6, '03You guys are all missing the boat. While skilled nursing is certainly given to residents who reside in Medicare reimbursed facilities, there is no mechanism to get reimbursed for services such as mentioned in this thread. Our state's reimbursement is based on a mix of the resident's conditions and an ancient, rediculous tool to measure the mix (not the MDS). Additionally, in NYS, the code requires RNs only 8 consecutive hours/day. For example, our nursing home gets $158/day for each MA patient. A Medicare resident may bring in more dollars for a very short period, but then we are stuck with the long-term bills from expensive drugs and treatments. The current reimbursement system cannot take care of American's health needs in nursing homes!Sep 6, '03Exactly as you stated Bernadettes. Before admission to a LTC, they even take into account things like the possibility of the resident having to be transported to the hospital during the month for a procedure, supplies like topicals or special dressings that are not regular stock at the facility. All these items eat up the reimbursement funds.Sep 6, '03And in some places the reimbursement is even lower. Therefore there is little impetus to take on patients that require expensive equipment and treatments.Sep 18, '03Originally posted by Hellllllo Nurse
When I worked LTC, we did all of the above things you mentioned, routinely. Also trach care, TPN, etc.
Just had a "skilled" facility agree to do peritoneal dialysis on a pt, then boot her out after she'd had the surgery.
I thought a SNF had to have an Rn on duty 24 hrs, especially for medicare. At least in Illinois.Sep 18, '03re: the above SN issues. i am at a LTC/rehab facility and we consider ourselves skilled. i am IV certified and did home care for 12 years so i have no problem with TPN, IV antibiotics, trach care, or wound vacs, but many of the nurses would rather send the patient back to the hospital than start an IV to rehydrate or treat with antibiotics. our RNs are in-house only 8 hours per day so the LVNs are on their own after that. i'm one of probably 3 nurses that will start their own IVs. and....on that issue of keeping that patient overnight...can we say SHE PROBABLY DIDN'T WANT TO DO THE PAPERWORK. i am of the opinion that people are basically incompetent and given the opportunity to mess up, we usually do. a lot of nurses lack self-confidence as lvns. maybe when i get my degree i can change that in some minute way.Sep 18, '03medicare requires RN coverage 8 out of 24 hours in TX. that's why we have weekend supervisors.


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by Timothy Schafer on Wednesday Oct 11 2017
A recent proposal by Greyhound Canada to cut bus services on a route that serves the Heritage city has city council turning to the community to petition the provincial transportation board.
City council passed a motion Tuesday night during its regular meeting to send a letter to the Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) — an independent tribunal in B.C. established under the Passenger Transportation Act —requesting they decline Greyhound Canada's application to reduce service on the route that services Nelson.
Route D — which runs from Kelowna to the Alberta Border via Highway 3 — was one of the services slated for elimination or reduction in service when Greyhound Canada applied to the PTB in August.
A reduction in service on this route would have significant negative implications for the city and its residents, said Coun. Michael Dailly.
He asked council to consider sending a letter opposing any reduction in service provided by Greyhound Canada, as well as soliciting the support of the Interior Health Authority and other organizations such as the Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce.
"Many residents rely on Greyhound services to travel throughout the province. We know that many residents use Greyhound to access medical services, in particular those that do not have private transportation like seniors," he said.
He added that the city is a "relatively isolated community" where people face the challenge of distance and geography, so the Greyhound service is a lifeline for many of them.
Other councillors called on the letter to be posted to the city's website and Facebook page, with the intent of garnering further support from the community with more letters to the PTB asking it to deny the request.
Currently Route D runs east and west from Nelson every day. Greyhound Canada is applying to the PTB to reduce this service to two days per week from both the east and west routes.
A city report to council noted that, "geographically, Nelson is relatively isolated and is nestled between two mountain passes that must be crossed to get to any major centre."
The closest large centre is Kelowna, which is a four-hour drive away.
"Residents rely on Greyhound services to travel throughout the province," said Coun. Robin Cherbo. "Seniors use Greyhound to access medical services … and those that do not have private transportation and it is relied on as a means of general mobility for those living in poverty."
Greyhound service in the City of Prince George is included in Greyhound Canada's application as one of the routes whose service would be completely cut. The City of Prince George brought a resolution forward at UBCM asking the PTB to decline the application.
The Passenger Transportation Board is accepting written comments from the public with regard to Greyhound Canada as part of the application process until Oct. 13, 2017.
In its submission to the PTB, Greyhound Canada said passenger transport has been challenged by many factors, including declining ridership in rural communities and shrinking populations in some rural areas, increased competition from subsidized national and inter-regional passenger transportation services and commercial ride-sharing businesses and reductions in oil prices which have prompted more people to travel by car.
As a result, Greyhound claims that have been losing considerable amounts of money in an unsustainable manner from its intercity passenger bus operations in B.C. over the past eight years.
In all, Greyhound has applied for the permanent elimination of nine routes from its network as well as the further elimination of 27 route points and one alternative route point on existing intercity routes. The company also asked for the reduction of 10 routes, including the one servicing Nelson.
Greyhound's operating deficit in B.C. was $12.9 million. Since a licence was written pursuant to the new PTA in 2004, the company has applied on six occasions to reduce or eliminate service in low ridership lanes and route points.
"It has done so always in the hope that each application will allow it to turn the corner and return to profitability," read the company's submission to the PTB.
On each occasion the application has been denied.


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Extending a Brand with Syniverse Mobile Campaign Service
As a global financial services company was planning to televise one of its largest charity events of the year, it was missing a branding opportunity: A fun and interactive way to keep viewers engaged and promote its brand in tandem with its corporate giving campaign. In particular, the Mobile Campaign Service provided a scalable platform to allow viewer participation, and a customized solution that could be fine-tuned up to the last minute before going live. In exploring its mobile options, the company turned to Syniverse, which evaluated the needs and proposed a text messaging campaign. The campaign would start during the broadcast of the charity event, and mobile users would be able to send a text message over an eight-hour period and have a charity donation made on their behalf by the company as well as be entered for a chance to win a singular showpiece from the event as a special prize. The solution would provide a powerful promotion of the company's brand through a universal mobile medium that almost anyone would be able to access. However, the solution would need to be able to be quickly deployed, and it would need to accurately tabulate thousands of text messages coming from multiple mobile service providers.
Using its brand solutions portfolio, Syniverse implemented its Mobile Campaign Service tool to develop an SMS campaign management solution that could be deployed quickly and process a high volume of messages rapidly. The solution enabled the creation of all the campaign components, including the setup of a short code, the aggregation and sorting of thousands of SMS messages, and the breakdown of detailed analytics. In particular, the Campaign Management solution provided a scalable platform through which thousands of messages could be sent, received and managed in real time through a single connection to Syniverse. In addition, because the rules and conditions could not be finalized before the normal requisite eight to 12 weeks needed to set up a short code, the solution included consultation and assistance in which Syniverse was able to work with mobile service providers to expedite the process and ensure the short code could be ready before the campaign start date.
"Thanks to Syniverse, we were able to quickly develop and deliver a means to extend our brand via mobile, providing a fun way to engage viewers of our charity event and a channel to help drive more donations. The solution enabled us to create all components for the campaign with one tool and ultimately helped us succeed in receiving nearly 10,000 text messages over eight hours – with more than 5,500 coming in during the peak hour. What's more, the customized solution provided a much wider range of data than we expected, allowing us to make a deeper, more insightful analysis of the number, rate, and geographic breakdown of our customers, and providing a solid foundation for future texting and branding campaigns."


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Everything We've Written About the 2015 Best Picture Oscar Nominees [Updated]
Fun facts and reviews galore.
The 2015 Oscars will be held on Sunday, so you only have a few days to read everything you can about the Best Picture nominees American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash. At Vulture, we've been covering these films all year long, and we've culled our archives to provide you with a dossier on each. (Our latest stories have been added to the top of each sub-section, as this post originally ran on January 15.) Peruse and enjoy.
The Oscar Best Picture Nominees As Pie Charts
"How much of The Grand Budapest Hotel is How I Met Your Mother? How much of Boyhood is mansplaining? And how much are all of the Best Picture nominees about Christ figures?"
Sienna Miller's Dreams: Talking to the Actress About Cabaret, Broadway Anxiety, and American Sniper
"'If you have a film where the opening scene is an American having to kill a child, it's not pro-war.'"
Bill Maher Thinks the American Sniper Is More Like a 'Psychopath Patriot'
"'He's a psychopath patriot, and we love him.'"
American Sniper's Comics Homage Is Perfect — and Terrifying
"For better or worse, Frank Castle would be proud."
I Served in Iraq, and American Sniper Gets It Right. But It's Still Not the War Film We Need.
"If we saw Iraqis as humans, we'd have to learn how to live in a world far, far more complicated and painful than the difficult, painful one we currently live in."
5 Things American Sniper's Chris Kyle Allegedly Lied About
"He found chemical weapons in Iraq that came from France and Germany."
Here's Why American Sniper Used That Creepy Fake Plastic Baby
"Gimme the doll, kid."
American Sniper's Success Could Mess With Chris Kyle's Real-Life Murder Trial
"Eastwood's film will 'be an issue,' defense attorney J. Warren St. John said."
Clint Eastwood Turns American Sniper Into a Republican Platform Movie
"The people Kyle shoots always represent a 'savage, despicable evil,' and the physical and mental cost to other Americans just comes with the territory."
Oscar Films and the Prison of Historical Accuracy
"Clint Eastwood's film, to give itself some narrative shape, invents a largely fictional cat-and-mouse game between Kyle and a Syrian sniper named Mustafa."
Birdman, Boyhood Dominate Critics' Choice Movie Awards
"Birdman stole the show with seven awards, while Boyhood stood up for the second most hardware with four."
Alejandro González Iñárritu Is Proud of His Oscar Nomination, But Also Very, Very Cold
"'I'm just a little tropical banana man.'"
Birdman Scores a Surprise Win at the Producers Guild Awards
"For the last seven years, the PGA winner has gone on to win Best Picture at the Oscars."
How Oscar Front-runner Birdman Suddenly Soared
"This very ostentatious movie spent most of awards season flying under the radar. The votes for it don't validate a canny campaign strategy or suggest some effectively executed turnaround."
Birdman Is the Very Definition of a Tour de Force
"Birdman is the sort of film that wins standing ovations from audiences, and they're not unwarranted. How can you not be in awe of the sheer physical achievement, of the intricate choreography of the actors and the camera, of the gung ho performances? When it ends you go, 'Whew!' It's a triumph of vacuous virtuosity."
The Toughest Scene I Wrote: Why the Birdman Writers Embraced Mediocrity
"The whole process of writing Birdman was tough and frightening and exhilarating. But the motel scene may have been the most challenging — a scene that was supposed to belong to a short story that inspired a play that is being performed in a film. (Don't read it again, just go with us.)"
Emma Stone on Trying Not to Ruin Birdman
"'I totally I fucked up. That scene with Michael [Keaton] and Edward [Norton] on the stage where he's like, That's a fuck you! or whatever, and I come in and lead him around the corner, there was a time where I had to move at a certain speed around the corner because that's where the stitch was, and Alejandro told me, You're ruining the movie! He didn't mean to, but he was like, You're ruining the movie! You have to speed up! Or slow down.'"
The Real Comeback of the Fake Michael Keaton: Scenes From the Birdman Set
"'There were times in my life when I felt desperate, but it was never about this. It's a fear-based industry, and if you buy into it, you're pretty fucked.'"
Alejandro González Iñárritu on Why He Wanted Michael Keaton for Birdman
"'I always have considered Michael Keaton to be a phenomenal actor because he navigates drama and comedy. He has been the bad guy, the funny guy, and I needed somebody who can really navigate those two genres, and I think few actors can do that. What he did is extraordinarily difficult.'"
Oh My God, This 'Boyhood Meets World' Mash-Up Is Perfect
"Girl Meets World premiered 14 years after Boy Meets World's series finale in 2000 — just two more years than the 12-year Boyhood gap utilized by director Richard Linklater."
Ethan Hawke Is Helping His Boyhood Kids Through Oscar Season
"'I've spent 30 years training for how to handle this, and it's emotionally complex even for me.'"
Boyhood Takes Best Picture at the BAFTAs
"The film won Best Picture, along with Best Director for Richard Linklater and Best Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette."
See a Boyhood Mother-and-Child Reunion
"The two got together at Arquette's house in Malibu, where Coltrane has often stayed when he's passing through L.A."
Richard Linklater's Momentous Boyhood Is an Experiment That Makes Time Visible
"I'm not saying Boyhood is the greatest film I've ever seen, but I'm thinking there's my life before I saw it and my life now, and it's different; I know movies can do something that just last week I didn't. They can make time visible."
The Toughest Scene I Wrote: Richard Linklater on Boyhood's Saddest Moment
"If there was one scene that felt like it was looming over all those years, it was the good-bye scene."
Manhood: How Ethan Hawke Finally Grew Up
"His gifts have finally cohered with his triumphantly naturalist work in Boyhood."
Ethan Hawke's Real-Life Boyhood Graduation Gift Is the Most Wonderful
"Turns out Hawke gave his real-life daughter Maya the very same gift."
How Patricia Arquette Got Her Finest Role in Years With Boyhood
"[T]his just fell in my lap and I couldn't deny it. I had to go through this door."
Richard Linklater on Why Boyhood Isn't the Film You Think It Is
"[I]t was about getting in touch with my own memories, too — sometimes I remember the details around the event better than the event itself. I never really think of my first kiss much, I think of all the other fun things along the way."
Ethan Hawke on His 30-Year Career and Why It's Weird for Him to Watch Boyhood With His Kids
"The songs that my character plays are song that I wrote that my kids grew up with. It's surreal to them. Their parents are split up too, and they go between us every other weekend. It was like a portrait of their lives."
Ellar Coltrane Spent 12 Years Acting for Richard Linklater. Now What?
"'This is the beginning of my life, and that movie is the fucking beacon of that. That was my life for the last 12 years. That's over. And now, now what?'"
Sundance: Boyhood and Richard Linklater's 4,207-Day Shoot
"No fiction director has ever attempted such a long-lasting project, and if it had been anyone other than Linklater (who has also smartly chartered the passage of time in his years-spanning Before Sunrise trilogy), you can imagine how mawkish Boyhood might have turned out: Before the film, everyone I spoke to was already expecting to cry as this young boy's life flashed before our eyes, his moments of childhood innocence slipping away from scene to scene. But Boyhood isn't the film you're expecting. It's intimate and elusive, and the landmarks that usually turn up in most other coming-of-age stories are all but absent here."
Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke Talk Boyhood, the Movie They Shot Over the Course of 12 Years
"'I think we're going to have another name. That's always been kind of a working title, but it's so much more than that. It's boyhood, it's parenthood, it's everything.'"
Boardwalk Empire's Patricia Arquette on Playing Sally Wheet and Punching Nucky As Foreplay
"'The strange thing is, [Boyhood is] not really something I want to share with the world now. Of course I want it to come out, but a part of me is like, I don't want to share it with the world. It's such a cool, secret, little part of my life, my artistic life, and then you give it to the world, and they get to decide what they think about it, and it becomes their thing. Right now, it's our thing.'"
Watching Boyhood Made Me Wish I'd Grown Up a Boy
"Boy envy hit me pretty early on in Richard Linklater's Boyhood. It was during a throwaway moment between the main character, Mason, and his sister, Samantha, as they walk around their suburban Texas neighborhood. Mason is on his bike, flanked by two friends, while Samantha trails quietly behind on foot, giggling occasionally with her own friends."
How Wes Anderson Cast The Grand Budapest Hotel
"You know, Willem and Tilda Swinton are both people who love to act, who just love to do this. But they aren't really just actors. They're more performance artists."
Edelstein: Wes Anderson Moves Out of the Dollhouse With The Grand Budapest Hotel
"Wes Anderson's latest cinematic styling is The Grand Budapest Hotel, an exquisitely calibrated, deadpan-comic miniature that expands in the mind and becomes richer and more tragic."
How Wes Anderson's Cinematographer Shot These 9 Great Scenes
"Could [Grand Budapest] have been Anderson's most pastel confection yet? In a shot like this, where Zero (Tony Revolori) and Agatha (Saoirse Ronan) embrace in a car filled with pastry boxes, 'There was so much pink in there, between the boxes and skin tones, that I tried to use bounce cards and white light so that their skin tones wouldn't be overly red.'"
There [Was] a Grand Budapest Hotel Cruise
"It was last year, aboard the Queen Mary 2."
The Grand Budapest Hotel Is Wes Anderson's Highest-Grossing Film Ever
"It surpassed the $100 million mark, and is trailed by The Royal Tenenbaums."
Where Does The Grand Budapest Hotel Take Place? We'll Show You
"The Grand Budapest Hotel doesn't actually take place in Budapest; rather, it's set in Zubrowka, a fictional European country dreamed up by Wes Anderson."
Wes Anderson on The Grand Budapest Hotel, Reimagined Nazis, and His Sock Drawer
"'I like the idea of trying to create a world for the characters to live in, and usually it's sort of an invented place. And that's just something you do in the movies. I don't know if there is a correlation to real life. I'm not even sure if I have a sock drawer!'"
Wes Anderson Made a Fully Animated Version of The Grand Budapest Hotel
"It included 'all the cuts as they pretty much I think wound up to be,'" according to Jeff Goldblum.
The Grand Budapest Hotel Cast Had Its Own Version of Sleepaway Camp
"The cast and crew fittingly forwent trailers for communal residence in a small hotel in the East German town of Görlitz."
Wes Anderson, Bill Murray, and Tilda Swinton Explain The Grand Budapest Hotel
"One reporter was horrified when he noticed that Budapest featured no pajamas– a signature article of clothing in most Anderson films."
Cumberbatch's Captivating Strangeness Elevates The Imitation Game
"Cumberbatch is the one freaky touch in an otherwise conventional movie, but the conventions in this case work handsomely."
The Toughest Scene I Wrote: Why The Imitation Game Cut a Shocking Death
"We always knew that we didn't want to show Alan Turing in the act of suicide — it was our feeling that would tip over into melodrama too quickly and seem over-the-top."
Oscar Films and the Prison of Historical Accuracy
"A truly authentic portrait of the grueling and incredibly tedious work done by Turing probably wouldn't have made for good cinema."
The Wit and Wisdom of Benedict Cumberbatch
"'I love talking about The Imitation Game, and three-minute slots is a really ugly way to do it. I'm shit at that. I would never be good at Twitter.'"
Benedict Cumberbatch's Alan Turing Is Basically Just Sheldon From The Big Bang Theory
"This doesn't necessarily mean that Cumberbatch's performance is any less laudable."
Benedict and the Cumberbitches: What Fame Looks Like From Inside a Meme
"He also takes issue with people asking him where Turing and Sherlock fall on the autism spectrum. 'I think they are both utterly conditioned by their circumstance,' he says. With Turing especially, 'I think it's a really quick shorthand to go 'autistic, Asperger's, learning difficulties, slightly dyslexic,' or some kind of devaluing way of labeling him."
Keira Knightley on Laggies, Imitation Game, and Hating High School
"'[S]he was one of the people that broke the [Nazi] Enigma code, she was briefly engaged to Alan Turing — that's all true. But how she got to Bletchley [Park, and was convinced to work on this top-secret code breaking project], that's not true, and kind of the whole thing with the parents [being strict and wanting her to come back home] isn't true.'"
Selma Was Robbed, and Other Unforgivable Oscar Crimes
"Selma ... got what I can only call a 'token' Best Picture nod."
Selma: Where Did Its Oscar Campaign Go Wrong?
"The main thing that worked against Selma is timing."
Patton Oswalt on Selma's Oscar Snub and the Racist Backlash to the New Star Wars Trailer
"So it's a best movie nominee, and yet none of the performances, none of the writing, none of the directing, none of the cinematography — none of them did an Oscar-worthy job, but the movie is Oscar-worthy. That doesn't make sense."
Ava DuVernay Knew She Wasn't Going to Be Nominated for an Oscar
"'It's math. … I know not one person in my branch.'"
The Producer of Django Unchained Has Some Thoughts on Hollywood's Race Problems
"'It would be great if the phrase 'black film' wasn't just used when a movie makes less than $100 million.'"
Oprah Winfrey and Selma Cast Mates Marched in Alabama for MLK Day
"'We stand here today in honor of you all, in honor of them, not just in memory of them, not just in memory of Martin Luther King, or in memory of Selma and what happened on the bridge.'"
Academy President Calls for More Diversity After Selma Snubs
"'Maybe this year is more just about let's kick it in even more.'"
The Oscars Got Selma Actress Tessa Thompson's Name Wrong on Instagram
"Carmen Ejogo?"
Spike Lee on Selma Oscar Snubs: 'F*ck 'Em'
"'Nobody's talking about motherfuckin' Driving Miss Daisy.'"
Wendell Pierce on Selma Snub: 'The People's Reaction Speaks for Itself'
"'To me, it's what the reaction would have been had Marlon Brando not been nominated for Godfather.'"
Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs on Selma Snubs, Lack of Diversity
"'It's a terrific motion picture.'"
MLK Drama Selma Shows the Grunt Work That Went Into Making History
"The film is about long-lived injustice, short-lived politics, and how to make the latter serve the former. It's sensational in the open air and subtle in smaller, enclosed spaces. It has sweep and intimacy. And, yes, we need this movie now."
Oscar Films and the Prison of Historical Accuracy
"If Selma downplays or subverts LBJ's efforts, that might be because its focus is elsewhere. And it not only shows Johnson struggling to find and assume his place in history, it also shows King struggling to do the same; that's called good storytelling."
Selma Director Ava DuVernay: Don't Reduce This Movie to a Single Talking Point
"'I think everyone sees history through their own lens and I don't begrudge anyone from wanting to see what they want to see.'"
Brad Pitt Teaches You How to Pronounce David Oyelowo's Name
"'I know that there is one lingering question in the back of your minds and that question is, how the hell do you pronounce his name?'"
See How the Film Selma Portrays Lyndon B. Johnson
"In Ava DuVernay's acclaimed new film Selma, Martin Luther King Jr. works to forge an uneasy alliance with President Lyndon B. Johnson in order to constitutionally codify voting rights — a quest that the film portrays as a long and arduous one, since Johnson's initial reluctance to address the issue was what prompted King to stage his famous march from Selma to Montgomery."
With Her MLK Drama Selma, Ava DuVernay Is Directing History
"DuVernay … [is] widely expected to make some history of her own, with Selma, by becoming the first black woman to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Director."
Eddie Redmayne Knows How to Make People Think You're Smart
"'Appear confident in yourself and then maybe people will think you're bright.'"
The Theory of Everything Does Not Deserve Eddie Redmayne's Astonishing Performance
"There's no doubt that Redmayne is working from 20/20 hindsight. But the way he fuses past and future makes this a triumph of sympathetic imagination."
The Toughest Scene I Wrote: On The Theory of Everything's Broken Marriage
"One of the reasons I wanted to tell this story is because their love story is unprecedented."
Oscar Films and the Prison of Historical Accuracy
"After that, I can only presume that Stephen Hawking will start a Twitter war with his Theory of Everything director James Marsh."
Felicity Jones on The Theory of Everything, Lena Dunham, and Spider-Man
"'The film wasn't afraid to explore the female sexuality of a woman who's in the very complicated position of falling in love with two men, and it's also not afraid to explore the sexuality of a disabled man.'"
Eddie Redmayne on What He Learned From The Theory of Everything
" I suppose the only simple truth I took from the film is the idea of living forward, basically, like you want to fill every minute of your life as fully as possible."
Miles Teller Pounds the Skins, and Takes a Beating, in Whiplash
"The fear is contagious, but so is the jazz vibe: When Andrew snatches up his sticks and the band launches into a standard — say, Hank Levy's 'Whiplash' — it's hard not to smile, judder, and sway."
The Toughest Scene I Wrote: How Whiplash Packed the Whole Film Into Its First Moments
"[I]f the opening moments didn't land, I was in trouble. I had nothing else up my sleeve: The movie was this scene."
Whiplash Is Facing Some Oscar Nomination Drama
"Is Whiplash an original or adapted screenplay?"
Ask a Juilliard Professor: How Real Is Whiplash?
"You know how the drummer is so frustrated and scared, and his desire to succeed is so strong? He's practicing, really trying to get faster and faster, and he's drawing blood. That's unrealistic. People don't draw blood like that, playing music."
Oscar Front-runner J.K. Simmons on His Fearsome Whiplash Character
"'God bless Damien, who knew the two actors he wanted were Miles and me.'"
Miles Teller on Whiplash, Pushing Himself, and Fantastic Four
"'I wanted to do the scene where they're fucking throwing things against the walls! If you're going to do one scene from a play, pick the one where the shit's hitting the fan.'"
Nobody's Stalking Miles Teller: The Sundance Breakout on That Awkward Moment, Fame, and Getting Out of Florida
"Teller's career is taking off, thanks to the Sundance success of Whiplash, a far more brutal type of bromance in which Teller's character, a ruthlessly determined drumming prodigy at a Juilliard-like music school, faces off against a sadistic bandmaster played by J. K. Simmons."


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A Barbeque on the banks of the Rogue River is another chance to support the Upper Rogue Boys & Girls Clubs in Shady Cove and White City. The event on Saturday, August 28 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. features delectable BBQ by West 281 Ranch Bar-B-Que Company. Enjoy music while sipping beverages and visiting with like-minded people.
All proceeds benefit the two youth facilities. Sponsorships are available. Tickets are $65. For more information or to get tickets call Carrie Beebe at 541-291-0061 or go to firstname.lastname@example.com


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October 28, 2004 · William Fisher
The previous post provided a few facts suggesting the character and seriousness of the current situation involving access to life-saving medicines in developing countries. This post will sketch, just as briefly, some possible solutions to the crisis. Most of these ideas are not my own; they�ve been outlined elsewhere, often in quite detailed form, by other academics, activists, and politicians. Along with Talha Syed, I�m currently working on an article in which we try to evaluate all of the major pending proposals and suggest a few additional ones of our own. We�d be grateful for reactions to the menu of options set forth below as we hone our essay.
Background. To understand the various reform proposals, it is crucial to keep in mind both the strengths and the weaknesses of the patent system when applied to drugs. Here are the key points: The argument that patent protection is essential to stimulate research and development, although quite shaky with respect to many fields of technology, is very strong with respect to pharmaceutical products. Why? Because (a) developing and securing approval for new drugs is extremely expensive and risky; (b) once produced, drugs can be reverse-engineered easily; and (c) the marginal cost of manufacturing them is very low. This combination of circumstances means that, if the companies that developed new drugs were not protected by the patent system against competition from generic manufacturers, they would be unable to make a profit and thus would soon stop producing the vaccines, treatments, and cures from which we all benefit. Unfortunately, the high prices that the pharmaceutical companies, armed with patents, charge for their products has the effect of denying access to crucial drugs many poor, uninsured people who could have afforded them had they been sold at or near their marginal cost. (The companies could if they wanted make the drugs available at reduced prices to poor patients, but they are reluctant to do so, primarily because they fear that the drugs would be resold in other markets, thereby eroding the companies� primary sources of revenue.) Bottom line: patents are especially socially valuable in the context of medicines, but they also have especially severe social side-effects.
Against this backdrop, how might we get adjust the legal system to more life-saving drugs into the hands of residents of developing countries? Nine options:
(1) Reduce the levels of patent protection for drugs in developing countries, allowing for the production or importation of inexpensive generic versions. To be sure, adoption of this approach would diminish the profits of the pharmaceutical companies. But remember, from the preceding post, that the developing-markets provide the companies only a tiny proportion of their overall revenues. Forcing them to forfeit that source of revenue, so the argument goes, would not materially impair incentives for innovation � and would save millions of lives. The principal impediment to this approach is the TRIPS Agreement, � a treaty binding on all of the member countries of the World Trade Organization � which, even as clarified by the recent �Doha Declaration,� sets sharp limits on the ability of developing countries to either deny or limit patent rights. Some commentators urge that the TRIPS treaty be modified to provide developing countries more flexibility in suspending patents rights so as to facilitate distribution of cheap drugs to their citizens � for example by liberalizing the currently cumbersome requirements that countries must satisfy before imposing compulsory licenses. An especially sweeping recommendation of this general sort is Tim Hubbard�s and Jamie Love�s proposal for an alternative treaty that, in brief, would give developing countries (indeed, all countries) the option of supporting pharmaceutical research either by establishing and enforcing patent protections for drugs or through some other mechanism (several of which are discussed below) that would be more efficient and thus less costly to administer. The adoption of such a treaty would give developing countries a way of providing their citizens access to cheap generic drugs (by eliminating or curtailing patent protection for pharmaceutical products) without shirking their responsibility to help finance R&D. However, persuading the United States or many other developed countries to acquiesce in such a substantial modification of the TRIPS Agreement would be very difficult.
(2) Facilitate Differential Pricing of Drugs. The basic idea here is that the drug companies would be much more likely to make cheap versions of their products available to poor patients if they were confident that those versions would not be resold to rich patients who otherwise could and would purchase the drugs at market (i.e., monopoly) rates. At the international level, the simplest way of providing the companies that assurance would be to strengthen the already substantial impediments to the resale of drugs first distributed in a poor country to consumers in a wealthy country. (Notice that such a ban on �parallel imports� runs counter to the dominant rhetoric of both of the two major political parties in the U.S. today � a rhetoric that depicts any differences in the prices at which drugs are sold in different countries as at least presumptively unfair.)
(3) Regulate the Pharmaceutical Companies. European countries have long regulated drug prices. The United States has traditionally been loathe to do so. Developing countries could force drug prices down simply by limiting what the drug companies could charge for them. The obvious hazard of this strategy is that it might prompt the drug companies to pull out of the developing-country markets altogether. A much more complex approach that Talha Syed and I are just beginning to explore would regulate the drug companies in a fashion analogous to the way we regulate car manufacturers. The so-called CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards oblige carmakers to ensure that the average fuel economy of the fleets of automobiles and light trucks they produce exceed specified levels. This system, in force since 1976, has been credited with inducing carmakers both to invest billions of dollars into research on mechanisms for improving fuel efficiency and to sell more small, high-mileage cars. Both of these effects have been beneficial to the environment. Suppose we imposed an analogous regime on drug manufacturers � specifically, by requiring them to ensure that the average ratio of health benefits to prices of all of the drugs they sell worldwide exceeds a specified level. (The health benefits of a particular drug would be measured by the Disability Adjusted Life Years � another index developed by the World Health Organization � it saved.) Under such a regime, if a pharmaceutical firm sold many high-priced �lifestyle� drugs in developed countries, it would be obliged, in order to meet its statutory obligations, to sell many lifesaving drugs cheaply somewhere � presumably in developing countries. A system of transferable credits might enable companies with low ratios to pay other companies to distribute more cheap drugs or vaccines. One of the advantages of such a system is that it would not attempt to micromanage the R&D or sales decisions of the drug companies (always a hazardous undertaking) but would let them figure out how most efficiently to meet the overall standards.
(4) Donor Leverage. Much of the research that ultimately enables pharmaceutical companies to develop new drugs is done in either government labs or university labs funded by the government. In exchange for making their research results available to the companies, the government or the universities might insist that any products produced in part through the use thereof be provided (either by the pharmaceutical companies themselves or by generic manufacturers) at low prices to the residents of developing countries. Statutory authority for the imposition of such conditions already exists in the United States, in the form of Bayh-Dole �march-in� rights, but that authority has almost never been exercised. Efforts to persuade the universities to exercise their powerful leverage in this fashion are currently being made by Yochai Benkler at Yale Law School. (See his recent essay in Science Magazine.)
(5) Tax Incentives. Developed-country governments might offer tax breaks to pharmaceutical companies that distribute drugs at low prices in developing countries.
(6) Governmental �Push� Progams. Governments in developed countries might conduct or fund research into tropical diseases as a form of foreign aid. If a treaty of the sort advocated by Hubbard and Love were in place, governments in developing countries might conduct or fund such research as a way of fulfilling their treaty obligations to contribute a certain percentage of their GNP to health-related research.
(7) Governmental �Pull� Programs Alternatively, governments (for either of the two reasons just suggested) might offer prizes (like those now being contemplated by NASA as a way of stimulating space research) to pharmaceutical firms that succeeded in producing vaccines or cures for specified, currently neglected diseases. A variation on the same theme: governments (perhaps with the assistance of private foundations and NGOs) might make advance commitments to purchase specified amounts at specified prices of newly developed vaccines or drugs that address particular health needs. (Kremer; Sachs)
(8) An Alternative Compensation System. In the same general vein, some economists (e.g., Calandrillo; Shavell & Ypersele; Kremer) have proposed that governments might substitute a �reward� system for the current patent regime as the primary mechanism by which we stimulate the development of new pharmaceutical products. Such a system would resemble the ACS we discussed earlier this week as a possible solution to the current crisis in the entertainment industry. A pharmaceutical company that created a therapeutically useful drug would be paid by the government. Thereafter, anyone (not just the company that created it) would be free to manufacture the drug and sell it at any price. Competition would soon drive the price down close to the marginal cost of production (just what we want). A few details: Where would the money necessary to pay such rewards come from? Probably from an income tax. Would the rewards be paid all at once or periodically, over time? Probably the latter. How would the magnitude of the rewards be determined? By a government agency, using a combination of sales figures (i.e., the total number of pills or injections sold during the relevant time period by all manufacturers of the drug in question, not just the original developer) plus a measure of the drug�s therapeutic value to estimate its total social value. Would all drugs be covered? Perhaps, but a less controversial (and expensive) variant of the idea would encompass only drugs that addressed currently neglected diseases.
(9) Harness �Traditional Knowledge.� The members of groups indigenous to tropical countries often are aware of the medicinal powers of the plants that grow in the region. Pharmaceutical companies sometimes use that knowledge to identify materials from which they might develop drugs � typically, by employing �ethnobotanists� to interview the members of such groups and then, relying on the information they provide, to collect plant samples, sometimes in violation of local �natural resources� laws. This system is not used as often or as effectively as it might be, in part because the members of the indigenous group ordinarily receive little or no compensation. (Most importantly, they do not share in the patent rights in the drugs that are developed in this way.) More effective (and fair) use of this research technique might be fostered if the TRIPS Agreement (mentioned above) were modified to require all member countries of the World Trade Organization to recognize as a form a �inequitable conduct� under their patent laws the fact that either materials or knowledge used to develop a patented pharmaceutical product was extracted from a country in violation of its laws. Such a reform would dramatically strengthen the hands of developing countries in negotiating deals with drug companies � and might ultimately lead to development of more drugs in this fashion.
I have surely not done justice to the complexity of most of these proposals. But I hope to have provided enough information in these quick sketches to foster a discussion.


text: Digital "Best Job In The World" Comes With Tiny Deadly Jellies By Rachel Kaufman|December 31, 2009Share By Rachel Kaufman|December 31, 2009Share this is not an irukandji, it just looks cool. flickr: brainware3000 The 34-year-old guy who blogged his way to a six-month stint as "caretaker" of (really publicist of) a coral reef in Queensland has been stung by a tiny jellyfish. Irukandji jellyfish are so small they are almost impossible to see in the water, they fit through the nets designed to keep jellyfish out of popular swimming spots, and a sting from one, if it doesn't kill you, can make you wish you'd died. Ben Southall, the blogger/PR guy survived. It's cool. A few thoughts on this: 1. Southall was "just days away" from ending his very public PR campaign for the region. We think Queensland must be kicking themselves for this. (We notice the headlines are suddenly saying things like "Blogger Ignores Tourism Board's Advice To Wear Anti-Jellyfish Suit" which may be entirely true, who knows.) 2. This is probably not going to make many people wary of this mode of publicity in the future, so if you have a yen for promotion and want to go live on a beach or something, don't give up. According to this piece from earlier this year, the tourism board's budget was AUD $1.7 million and BY LAST MAY had already generated more than AUD $110 million. So one little deadly jelly sting isn't going to dissuade people, we think. Which could mean job opps for you. 3. However, if the winery winner gets cirrhosis we may rethink the previous statement. (h/t AgencySpy) Share http://adweek.it/2l4YbUE copy Adweek Adweek


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Legal Status
Document Details
Published Document
Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
Notice of meeting.
This notice announces a meeting of the Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Task Force Research Committee. This meeting is open to the pubic. The meeting topics are identified in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
The Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Research Committee will meet from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12, 2005. Minutes of the meeting will be available for public inspection during regular business hours, Monday through Friday.
The Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Research Committee meeting will be held at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1311-B East West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. Minutes of the meeting will be maintained in the office of Chief, Division of Environmental Quality, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Suite 322, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, Virginia 22203-1622.Start Further Info
Dorn Carlson, Research Committee Chair, Associate Program Director for Aquatic Nuisance Species—National Sea Grant Office, by telephone at (301) 713-2435 or by email at firstname.lastname@example.com Further Info End Preamble Start Supplemental Information
Pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. I), this notice announces meetings of the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force. The Task Force was established by the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990. Start Printed Page 38192
The formation of the Research Committee is part of the implementation of the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Strategic Plan for 2002-2007. The committee's responsibilities include: (a) Advising the Task Force on national research needs, long-term research goals and annual priorities; (b) facilitating Regional Panel research planning and prioritization; (c) facilitating information sharing and coordination of governmental and nongovernmental invasive species research; and (d) assuring that invasive species research does not itself result in the spread of invasive species. This will be the initial meeting of the Research Committee. After the committee meeting ends, the meeting space will be available for breakout discussions if needed until 5.
Topics to be covered during the ANS Task Force Research Committee meeting include: (a) the committee's roles and responsibilities under the Task Force; (b) the ground rules under which the committee will operate; (c) whether there are gaps in the current committee membership; (d) immediate actions for the committee; and (e) first steps towards completing a 2005 committee report and a 2006 committee action plan.Start Signature
Dated: June 23, 2005.
Mamie Parker,
Co-Chair, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, Assistant Director—Fisheries & Habitat Conservation.
[FR Doc. 05-13043 Filed 6-28-05; 1:26 pm]


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CenturyLink generously supports MinnPost's Education coverage. Learn why.
Minnesota Comeback is doling out more than $2.7 million in education grants. So who, exactly, is Minnesota Comeback?
The education coalition Minnesota Comeback made its media debut on Wednesday by announcing an initial batch of grants [PDF] totaling more than $2.7 million to support high quality education for Minneapolis students in district, charter and independent schools.
The investments include $574,575 for the Minneapolis Residency Program to help diversify the teacher workforce, $475,000 to help grow two high-performing charter schools, Hiawatha Academies and Prodeo Academy, a forthcoming $1 million to support parent engagement, and more. (Disclaimer: Hiawatha Academies Executive Director Eli Kramer is the son of MinnPost CEO and Editor Joel Kramer, who was not involved in the preparation of this story.)
Maggie Sullivan, executive director of Minneapolis Public Schools' Human Capital Department who sits on Minnesota Comeback's teacher talent committee, says, "Being able to receive this incredible grant to support our residency program is an incredible benefit to Minneapolis Public Schools. We really believe that the residency program has an incredible ability to impact students, but also to change how we think about preparation and pipeline around high-quality and diverse teachers."
The group has also allocated $250,000 to funding leadership training through the Achievement Network for interested school leaders and teachers across all school sectors.
With the financial backing of 28 foundations and participation of major education players — including Minneapolis Public Schools; Generation NEXT executive director R.T. Rybak; and Way to Grow executive director Carolyn Smallwood — Minnesota Comeback has positioned itself to serve as an umbrella group, helping to coordinate education reform dollars and efforts.
Having declared an ambitious goal of ensuring an additional 30,000 "rigorous and relevant" K-12 seats for Minneapolis students from low-income backgrounds by 2025, the nonprofit has already created a buzz in the education community. (Minneapolis schools enroll approximately 53,400 students in total.)
But in an already saturated education landscape, many are left wondering: Who, exactly, is Minnesota Comeback? How will it create these 30,000 "rigorous and relevant" seats? And is there a real need for another entity to join the likes of Generation NEXT and the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ), which are also dedicated to closing the achievement gap in Minneapolis?
Old initiative, new name
About three years ago, a coalition of educators, community members, funders and organizations committed to addressing the achievement gap in Minneapolis joined the Education Transformation Initiative (ETI). The precursor to Minnesota Comeback, ETI existed as a project inside the Minneapolis Foundation. The Foundation's CEO and executive director, Sandy Vargas, championed the initiative and hired Amy Hertel to lead the work in its brainstorming and research phase.
Under Hertel's leadership, participants engaged in an in-depth systems mapping project [PDF] to plot out the entire local education ecosystem. Once they had plotted out all of the components and dynamics involved, gathering input from more than 150 teachers, education leaders and others, they identified five key levers of change: schools, the talent pipeline, community engagement, policy and facilities.
When Hertel left, the ETI advisory board decided to spin the implementation phase of the work off into a separate nonprofit organization, hiring Al Fan to serve as its executive director.
"We rebranded it as Minnesota Comeback," Fan said, noting it officially launched last July 1. "The whole idea of Minnesota Comeback is to create a rallying cry for the community."
Fan had previously worked as an executive at General Mills for 16 years. His background in education can be traced back to his earlier volunteer work supporting the startup, growth and expansion of charter schools as the founder and executive director of Charter School Partners.
In his role with Minnesota Comeback — which is currently run by four employees, with one new hire in the works — Fan serves as the "keeper of the flame," he said. He primarily works with the 12-member board of directors and 28 funders to ensure they are all focused on the same vision: creating an additional 30,000 "high-quality seats" in Minneapolis schools.
"I think what people are excited about is the idea that there's a very specific, measureable goal that we can all work towards. I think everyone would say it's an ambitious goal, but it's the right one for our community," he said. "It's the principle of collective impact — when you have these common goals that align — that, I think, makes it so powerful."
But translating that vision into tangible initiatives requires input from those most attuned to local education needs, including parents, teachers, education leaders, community members and nonprofits, said Fan.
That is where Nicholas Banovetz's role as the director of external relations for Minnesota Comeback comes into play. He helped create a diverse cabinet of interested parties that are grouped into seven distinct implementation teams to specialize in the talent pipeline, facilities, policy, community engagement, district schools, charter schools, and independent schools. These teams are charged with the task of studying their designated focus area and coming up with strategies for moving the dial forward.
"Nine months in, having the structure and programs [in place], we have implementation team meetings, coalition meetings, cabinet meetings," Banovetz said. "At any given point once a week we can get a table where all three school sectors are there, collaborating."
Defining 'rigorous and relevant' seats
Minnesota Comeback's goal to create an additional 30,000 "rigorous and relevant" seats for Minneapolis students by 2025 has raised a few eyebrows, as critics speculate over what that means and what it will look like from a logistical standpoint.
Addressing speculation that Minnesota Comeback will somehow pull funds away from district schools in support of charter schools, Fan emphasizes that success will require collaboration across all three school sectors.
"We know those seats are going to be in existing schools today throughout the city and we have to find ways to transform them into great seats," he said. "There are transformational strategies, startup strategies, scaling and replication strategies. We agree we need to take multiple approaches to this."
And whatever funding Minnesota Comeback generates to help carry out its work is meant to be new money that's not already earmarked by funders for existing education programs.
As evidenced by the investment of organizations like the Bush Foundation, Cargill Foundation and McKnight Foundation already, Fan says funders are frustrated with fragmented efforts in the education sector and are looking to Minnesota Comeback to better coordinate their investments.
"We're trying to just create a framework so that people can work together in a different way than they have in the past and have their efforts be more aligned," he said.
Using the findings of a report [PDF] conducted by an outside consultant, IFF, Minnesota Comeback came up with a very granular definition of the achievement gap in Minneapolis.
The study categorizes schools based on their state-designated performance status. Schools that receive the Reward or Celebration Eligible designation — based on four standardized measures: proficiency, growth, achievement gap reduction and graduation rates — are in the top 40 percent.
That's what Minnesota Comeback means when it comes to adding 30,000 "rigorous" seats: those in schools that have achieved the Reward or Celebration Eligible status.
Based on 2013-14 enrollment data, the report says there are approximately 53,400 students enrolled in Minneapolis schools. Sixty-seven percent are enrolled in district schools, 22 percent are enrolled in charter schools and the remaining 11 percent are enrolled in independent schools.
Of the 41,933 students who attend public district and charter schools, about 11,000 have access to seats in the 25 schools designated with the Reward and Celebration Eligible status.
In order to match each student living in Minneapolis with such seats, IFF identified 11 highest-need areas, where 48 percent of the service gap currently exists, concentrated in the northwest and central east neighborhoods of the city. In these areas, the report cites higher levels of poverty, mobility and English language learners, along with lower levels of parental educational attainment.
When it comes to defining "relevant," however, Fan admits the measure is still a work in progress.
"We know it's a lot of things to different people, but it should include something around cultural relevance, social-emotional skill building, 21st century skills; it may include something around behavior, teacher retention, community support," he said. "But we don't have any of those measures yet, so we need to develop them. Our work is around 'How do we define it in a way that we can measure it and use it to really fine tune how we define great schools?' "
In order to tackle the issue, Minnesota Comeback has created a relevance working group, led by David O'Fallon, president of the Minnesota Humanities Center, which will meet for the first time on April 11.
In the meantime, Fan says Minnesota Comeback feels comfortable taking action because it's already clear that great schools are going to require teachers, money, buildings and community support.
"How we actually aim these resources at specific schools will vary as we figure out how to fine tune that definition of great. But right now we're primarily using academic rigor as a starting point."
Differentiating itself
Since Minnesota Comeback isn't the first entity to coalesce people around the need to close the achievement gap in Minneapolis, it has a real need to differentiate itself from a few like-minded players, namely Generation NEXT and NAZ.
Currently, representatives from both organizations sit on various Minnesota Comeback committees and Fan serves on the advisory council for Generation NEXT — so collaboration does already exist.
While Fan admits there are certainly some areas of overlap, he says each group tackles the shared goal from a unique angle. For example, NAZ uses family navigators to help support the child both inside and outside of school, addressing things like access to pre-K, and their caregiver's access to things like employment and health care. Generation NEXT places a greater emphasis on ensuring that students are served well through the most effective programs, whether it be early screening, well-trained literacy tutors, credit tracking for all 9th-graders or postsecondary planning for all seniors.
Minnesota Comeback is focused on schools and systems change — more specifically, the talent pipeline, school facilities, education policies, and the community engagement piece that all impact how well-equipped a school is to support its students — with an interest in replicating best practices to ensure that all students have access to a high-quality seat in the classroom.
"I would say all three of our organizations are fairly young, so no one has collected enough data to say, 'This is the right approach.' And even if we did, I think the answer would be we need all to work together," Fan said. "We realize that if we don't provide enough funding and support and resources to the entire ecosystem, and build them up together, we're really just spending our money inefficiently."
Tad Piper, board co-chair of Minnesota Comeback, has been bringing a businessman's perspective to conversations around closing education disparities in the Twin Cities for years. He says Minnesota Comeback reinvigorated his interest in trying to tackle such a complex, stubborn issue, and he sees promise in the group's ability to have a real impact.
"I would be the first one to admit you've got to get a lot of different organizations, personalities, rolling in the same direction," he said. "But there's a lot of energy behind this. There's very little finger-pointing."
Former Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson, who sits on Minnesota Comeback's talent pipeline committee, says there are some big thinkers sitting at the table and those who are vested in the future of this city's education system would be wise to stay in-the-know with Minnesota Comeback.
"I believe that Minnesota Comeback is a collection of individuals who have influence, power and commitment to get better outcomes for students — especially those who are in poverty, based on race — starting in Minneapolis," she said.
Comparing Minnesota Comeback to a racecar that's moving fast, but intentionally, she says the car is adorned with all three school sector logos; Al Fan is sitting in the driver's seat; and all of the implementation teams are working in the pit.
Former MPS school board chair Alberto Monserrate has also been attending Minnesota Comeback meetings. He's involved because he senses a new momentum here that can drive change faster through replicating what works in successful schools and engaging the community.
"Right now, we do have some very concrete examples of schools that are working for low-income students of color. It's about how do we support the schools that are working, and also try to replicate those schools and those teaching methods? I see [Minnesota Comeback] as a way to speed up the process."
As those collaborating under the support of Minnesota Comeback continue to roll out grants and initiatives, their success hinges on their ability to build trust with the community of parents and teachers they're looking to serve.
"I do strongly get the sense at board meetings that it's an issue that is taken seriously and is of incredible importance to the board," Bill Graves, a board member and executive director of his family's foundation, said. "[We're] strongly interested in working with communities to understand what they see as success and failure in K-12 education."
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Comments (7)
…is a word very much over-used by those Ms. Hinrichs interviewed for this piece. On the other hand, perhaps it's merely being accurately used, since my dictionary's secondary definition for "incredible" is "difficult to believe." That's a fair summation, I think.
Mr. Fan does not sound like an unbiased supporter of public education, but more a backer of charter schools, which, if they expand their role, and if they do so in the manner that has, so far, become standard practice, will do so at the expense of public education, not as an aid or supplement to it. I don't see that as something to be applauded, but will try to keep an open mind, and expect Ms. Hinrichs to follow this story in some detail as it develops.
As long as "rigorous" is defined by standardized test scores, and that's pretty much the way it sounds, we won't have moved the dial to any significant degree. Most of this segment of the story, and the explanations and descriptions supplied by interviewees for it, are, to be polite, vague and amorphous.
"…replicating best practices to ensure that all students have access to a high-quality seat in the classroom…" was supposed to be the mission of charter schools when they were first devised. They have instead become leeches, sapping talent and dollars from public education to support the agendas of whatever group happens to sponsor a particular charter school. As a result, I'm going to approach Minnesota Comeback with considerable skepticism.
Hopeful sign!
This is one of the first hopeful articles I have read on addressing Minnesota's achievement gap. Kudos to Sandy Vargas, R. T. Rybak, Bernadeia Johnson and others for their foresight and willingness to work together.
As we know all too well - there is no silver bullet. There is, however, a set of criteria that will ensure student success and close the achievement gap. They are - A School and Community of Choice, Significant Parent Engagement and Community Involvement, A Safe and Respectful Learning Environment, A Comprehensive Student Support System, Engaged and Motivated Student Learners, High Quality Instruction/Staff, Strong School and District Leadership, Consistent and Viable Curriculum, Relevant and Equitable Assessments, Sufficient Resources, and System Alignment from Preschool up to Age 21+.
Best wishes on your efforts. Erin, this was an important article!! Thank you.
MN Comeback real estate group
MN Comeback real estate group wants to secure 30 school buildings. A problem? "Chicago now has 101,000 students in 140 high schools, excluding alternative schools. In 2000, CPS had 93,000 students in 86 high schools. That's a 63 percent increase in schools against an 8 percent increase in students. For neighborhoods like Austin that have lost population, this seats-students mismatch is particularly devastating." http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/04/reviving-a-hollowed...
And then there's this about defining "relevant": 'How do we define it in a way that we can measure it and use it to really fine tune how we define great schools?' "
When education goals are defined by only how well you can measure them and use the data, the output -and then, in fact, the input - becomes limited. Current attempts measure "critical thinking" using a bubble test (so that we can analyze data) rather than asking the skilled teacher about their assessment of the students, are failing. You should see some of these questions!
Who in this organization has students in public education? Would they want their kids in the middle of this grand experiment?
Seems to be another ...
top down approach. Those have not gone well as they are insulated from the reality by those pat themselves on the backs together but somehow are surprised by the fact that turmoil continues. The gap is more then about achievement.
New name for a program, same
New name for a program, same agenda.... I would like to see more out of the box thinking and less doubling down on old ideas.
New MPS teachers
Great to invest in recruiting and developing new effective/diverse teachers (e.g. residency program), but can we keep them if budget cuts happen, for whatever reason?
Nobody likes to talk about the issue and impact of seniority-based employment policies, but they inevitably undermine efforts to attract and retain effective/diverse teachers.
That said, MN Comeback's focus on students and improving their educational opportunities is exactly what's needed.
Who, exactly?
If there had been any actual journalism involved in writing this piece, discussion of where the funding comes from would consist of more than simply stating it came from 28 foundations. Call me crazy, but I think the answer to "who, exactly" should include who those foundations are and what other causes do those foundations support. The fact that the conflict of interest was disclosed doesn't change the fact this is mostly just cheerleading.
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Exclusive apartment for rent in Begnins -NEW PRICE (Geneva)
For Rent in Begnins – La Cézille, large and spacious 3,5 room apartment Protected content in new modern and upscale terraced building with 100sqm sunny terrace with beautiful view on countryside. Available: 1st May Protected content
2 Bedrooms, one with 12sqm dressing with window (can also be used as a room or study).
2 bathrooms with modern and tasteful finishing, one adjoining master bedroom with bathtub and one with shower.
Large living and dining room with bay windows opening to a very large and sunny terrace Protected content . The terrace has a beautiful unobstructed view onto the countryside.
Tasteful open plan kitchen with high-end Miele appliances and marble top.
Equipped with new washing machine and separate tumble dryer.
Large cellar.
Very charming location and very quiet yet close proximity to the A1 Autoroute (5 minutes) and situated halfway between Geneva and Lausanne (both cities can be reached by car in approximately 20 minutes).
2 parking spaces, one inside the building (lockable box) and another outside (covered).
Bus stop to Gland and Nyon circa Protected content from the building.
Price: Protected content + charges
Parking spaces (for the both): Protected content
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Hello, all,
I have setup an amazon affiliate sites for business, industrial and medical supplies. I am going to target businesses that will place a large order from a standard consumer.
My first thought about getting traffic automatically go to the google adwords to get some quick results.
But what else can I do? I did not expect to rank in the organic results because I am not going to add a lot of content to the site


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Please let me know where any problems are or anything that can be done to make this the best site it can be.
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Automatic mesh adaptivity for hybrid Monte Carlo/deterministic neutronics modeling of difficult shielding problems
The CADIS and FW-CADIS hybrid Monte Carlo/deterministic techniques dramatically increase the efficiency of neutronics modeling, but their use in the accurate design analysis of very large and geometrically complex nuclear systems has been limited by the large number of processors and memory requirements for their preliminary deterministic calculations and final Monte Carlo calculation. Three mesh adaptivity algorithms were developed to reduce the memory requirements of CADIS and FW-CADIS without sacrificing their efficiency improvement. First, a macromaterial approach enhances the fidelity of the deterministic models without changing the mesh. Second, a deterministic mesh refinement algorithm generates meshes that capture as much geometric detail as possible without exceeding a specified maximum number of mesh elements. Finally, a weight window coarsening algorithm decouples the weight window mesh and energy bins from the mesh and energy group structure of the deterministic calculations in order to remove the memory constraint of the weight window map from the deterministic mesh resolution. The three algorithms were used to enhance an FW-CADIS calculation of the prompt dose rate throughout the ITER experimental facility. Using these algorithms resulted in a 23.3% increase in the number of mesh tally elements in which the dose rates were calculated in a 10-daymore »
- Authors:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Grant/Contract Number:
- Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Nuclear Science and Engineering
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 181; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 0029-5639
- Publisher:
- American Nuclear Society
- Research Org:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org:
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS; hybrid Monte Carlo/deterministic; CADIS and FW-CADIS; ITER neutronics
- 1213307


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Darren Lynn Bousman Takes 'Sacrilege' To Cannes
With Cannes now under way, Red Sea Media has acquired the horror-thriller Sacrilege, to be directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, best known for Saw II-IV, The Barrens, Mother's Day, 11-11-11 and Repo!.
"In Sacrilege, a family takes back their son 3 years after he is kidnapped & brainwashed by a devil worshipping cult – now, he would like nothing more than to watch them get murdered. With the cult surrounding their cabin, the family must fight for their lives while trying to undo the damage."
No cast has yet been announced. The film is currently available for all territories worldwide excluding North America.
The film will be produced by Rick Dugdale of Enderby Entertainment through Enderby's horror division Tony-Seven Films, Sean E. DeMott through Execution Style Entertainment and Chris M. Bonifay through Limb from Limb Pictures.


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The Museum of the San Fernando Valley
18860 Nordhoff St, Suite 204,
Northridge, California 91324
Northridge, California 91324
- HOURS: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays (except ALL holidays) 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm ADMISSION: FREE (Donations Appreciated) PARKING: FREE
Since its incorporation in California in 2005 as The Museum of the San Fernando Valley, The Museum community continues to strive to reach its goal to bring a first-class institution to serve the entire Valley. Like its enormously creative, industrious and resourceful population, The Museum is positioning itself to be at the vanguard of modern museum concepts. The Museum's new permanent home in Northridge is allowing portions of its collections to be showcased.
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text: Thank you for your gifts and donations to Dominion Fire. Your help allows us to continue producing our original content, and getting the message out about healing, dominion, authority and the power of God. Below you will find two option. First, you will see the option for a monthly recurring gift. This is our preferred method, as it allows us to have a more predictable budget and allows us more time to focus on content creation. Further down the page, you will find an option for single donations. This is handled via PayPal and allows you to enter any amount you wish. Thank you again, and if you have any issues, please contact us for further assistance.


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Elric wrote:The Blood wiki is pretty explicit about that, and it's accurate as far as I know. From what I understood, Chris thought he was the only remaining person in the room and so he shut the door behind him as he was leaving. And he was right: no one has worked on Transfusion since then I think. But the problem with closing the website was of course that it was also closing the forums, the only part of it that was still active. So, Willis put things back into place the next day.
That should be accurate - we were there at the time.


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Beginner's Guide To Multi Business Management
We all have that business idea that we believe if natured might turn our lives around. Many companies have only survived the initial stages and die before they yield any returns. Chances of successes in new businesses have dwindled to one in every five new companies.We all invest with a hope of growth and high returns but end up with losses and debt.The following tips can ensure your potential business has a chance to succeed.
A guide to multibusiness business management
Develop a business plan
This will form a solid basis for your prospective business by giving direction to your business. Many people find it exhausting coming up with a plan for their intended business. Believe you me it's worth the paperwork. It can be used as a basis for acquiring funding from financial institutions or government grants. The most important aspect of the plan is to direct you in the undertaking of the business thus a sense of direction and consistency.
Understand the market
Do an extensive research on your intended customers. Get to know their preferences and what would attract them to your business. You can talk to your potential customers firsthand and find out whether they will accept your product or service as it is or what changes you will have to make to suit their needs. This will ensure you do not venture into the market blindly thus increasing chances of failure.
Level of competition
In a market with existing businesses, you are likely to face stiff competition. With them having established a market share, you will have to come up with better ideas to compete. Finding loopholes in their products can be used to your advantage. Product differentiation can make your product unique encouraging potential customers try out something new. Take your time to research on your competitors and understand how they operate and any sign of weaknesses.
The business structure
There are many forms of businesses ranging from sole proprietorships, companies, partnerships among others. Decide on a structure that will best serve your businesses. Consider how each structure determines tax payable, ownership and expected growth of the business. An example with a sole trader means that all profits will belong to one person, decisions are made faster, but in a case of losses, he carries the whole burden.
Source of capital
Equity alone may not be adequate to kick start your business.You may require extra funding inform of long-term or short-term liabilities. With a well-explained business plan, you will be able to get enough to start.


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LG Shine Software
The LG Shine is a beautiful slider mobile phone that has an impressive set of features. These features include great call quality, 3G support and multimedia playback, and they can be complemented by an array of LG Shine software which is available for free. This list of LG Shine software is designed to give your mobile phone additional features and capabilities. Here are 5 of the best LG Shine downloads to enhance your mobile phone.
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Abiro Unit Converter
This piece of LG Shine software increases your productivity while you're on the move by giving you a tool that converts numbers bases and popular units relevant to the conversion of mass, volume, velocity, distance, angle, temperature and other convertible values. This is extremely useful especially when you're visiting foreign lands where you need to be familiar with their units. In shopping or researching information online, you will sometimes encounter different units that you need to convert to a unit you are familiar with. This software is very useful in these situations. The number base conversion feature of this software is especially useful to software and web developers.
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MemoryUp Personal
If you want to constantly monitor your memory usage on your LG Shine, probably because you're running multiple apps, you can use this app. MemoryUp Personal doesn't just monitor your RAM, though. It lets you free up memory with just one click, giving a boost to your phone's speed and performance. You don't have to be an expert in mobile phones to understand what it can do. All you need to understand is if you're running low on resources and your mobile phone's performance is lagging, you can use this tool to make things run a little smoother.
- slide 4 of 6
GPSed: Track and Map Your Trip
With this software, you can record the routes of a trip and store them in a free personal archive. Recording tracks involves pinning photos on a map via the geotagging feature and marking the places you have visited. This software uses Google maps and it gives you real time tracking of your tracks. You can view your tracks at a later date thanks to the personal storage service provided by GPSed. You can even share your tracks with your family and friends so they can see where you've been and how far you've travelled during your trip. Your geotagged photos can also be viewed by using Google Earth.
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Mobile Blogger
This LG Shine software interfaces with your Google Blogger account so you can blog while on the go. Once you have set up your LG Shine to access your Google Blogger account, you don't have to do any setting up tasks every time you log in to the service. The software remembers your session and your Google Blogger information so you can blog at any time, anywhere without signing in again. This software is extremely useful for people who want to blog about live events as they happen or if they have a lot of followers and blog readers they want to inform of their current activities.
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For football fans, especially those who love the World Cup, this is an app that can provide humor and fun to any situation whenever and wherever you are. The software produces a sound that is similar to the sound produced by the Vuvuzela, an African trumpet that is infamous for turning up the volume in football games. It's the perfect software to lighten up the mood in any situation.
You may also want to change the external looks of your phone with these LG Shine Plastic Cases.