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Regional Sales Managers
To establish small ticket vendor programs in major metro areas. Excellent compensation/ benefit package. View job description. Send resumes to firstname.lastname@example.com
Company Description: Irwin Commercial Finance (NYSE: IFC) is a true direct lender and in the ever changing leasing environment, we bring stability, creativity and consistent customer service levels to our business.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Robert D. Baker, CLP Classified ads---Sales Former head of Mission Pacific Capital arrested NY AG Sues Dell, Charges Bait & Switch/high interest Interest rates at Dell Looking for a CFO, CIO, CSO Classified Ads---Help Wanted "To Tell the Truth"... By Barry S. Marks, Esq Purchase Money Security Interests Cartoon---Cooper-White-Cooper Partner's Lounge Mark Bazrod Winner: "Article of the Year" Award Three ELFA Op/Tech Award Winners Profits to Be Lost Under New Accounting Rules Balboa Capital Hires Phil Silva as Exec. V-P Netsol-McCue Lease Pak Up-Grade Russia Sues Bank of New York For $22.5 Billion Wolfowitz leaves the World Bank/cornered rat? Fedspeak's new nuances Economy slows, Fed keeps iron grip interest rates Fed Chief Addresses Foreclosures GE close to selling plastics division Seeking more traffic, Google widens formula News Briefs--- You May have Missed--- Sports Briefs--- "Gimme that Wine" Calendar Events Snapple Real Facts Today's Top Event in History This Day in American History Baseball Poem SuDoku Daily Puzzle
######## surrounding the article denotes it is a "press release"
Coming this Monday---Bob Teichman, CLP, Chairman of the Leasing News Advisory Board— the National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers' Nashville Conference---this Monday-stay tuned!!!
Robert D. Baker, CLP
Bob with his finance Debbie Stolte
Bob remains in the Vascular Intensive Care unit at St. Luke's Hospital, 232 South Woods Mill Road - Chesterfield, MO 63017. He is not able to speak on the telephone. Family members have told others that they believe he is aware of their presence in the hospital room; however, according to a nurse, he is not alert and is still considered in critical condition; "guarded" was also used.
The family has requested that no flowers be sent at this time, nor telephone calls.
Leasing News continues to hear from friends who would like to learn how he is doing.
"I am so sorry to hear about Bob Baker. I have been in contact with him and his staff over the years and in fact, had a lovely conversation with him in the last year about our own personal losses. He is in my prayers and my wish is for a complete recovery."
Melinda Granieri 732-828-5844 email@example.com
"I heard about Bob Baker last evening. I was on my way to the NAELB conference. I have known Bob since '87 in my CPLC days. I'll be thinking of him and hoping for a fast recovery."
Jim Merrilees Quiktrak, Inc. 9700 SW Nimbus Ave. Beaverton, OR 97008 firstname.lastname@example.com 503-214-3005 866-274-5492
"Bob is one of the CLP Foundation's ardent supporters, but more import than that, Bob is a very dear friend and I'll be praying for his full recovery and for his family and his Wildwood family too."
Thank you,
Cynthia Spurdle Executive Director CLP Foundation PO Box 302 Wayne, PA 19087 PH: 610/687-0213 FAX: 610/687-4111 E-mail: email@example.com www.clpfoundation.org
"Regret to read the news about Bob. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family."
Charlie Bancroft firstname.lastname@example.com
"It was with great sadness to here about our fellow Leasing News advisor, and very good friend. My prayers are with him."
Fred St Laurent CEO and President SFBI Professional Recruiting Email: email@example.com "Impacting Companies one person at a time." Prayers are with Bob and his family: http://www.leasingnews.org/#pray
Classified ads---Sales
Atlanta, GA Experienced/successful self-starter w/solid background & book of business general equipment & franchise finance/ vendor & direct. Excellent communication, strong negotiation, biz development, ACT, HP19II, etc. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Copenhagen, Denmark 10 years of experience as VP Europe, Middle East and Africa for a US based Equipment Leasing Company. $500,000 plus w/ excellent connections European shipping lines/ maritime financing. Click here.
Montgomery, AL Individual with 10 years advertising sales exp. & 7 years insurance sales exp. Wants independent contractor situation in Alabama. Work with leasing company or broker.334-590-5133 E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Oklahoma Over 30 years of financing experience, resume posted at www.geocities.com/bobbybenmoore, phone 580-351-2531
Philadelphia, PA 25 years in Healthcare and seeking an opportunity to represent a lender for dental/medical funding in the Northeast to Mid-Atlantic states. email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Stuart, FL Years of experience in leasing sales, credit, operations, documentation and syndication. Seeking position with direct middle market lender, equip. mfr or major equip. distributor. email: email@example.com
To place a free "job wanted" ad here, please go to: http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted-post.htm
For a full listing of all "job wanted" ads, please go to: http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Jwanted/Jwanted.htm
Former head of Mission Pacific Capital arrested
Christopher John Aragon, 47, of Capistrano Beach, Clara Lee Aragon, 34, of Capistrano Beach Marcus Phillipe Rojas, 32, of Mission Viejo, along with Guy Itzak Shitrit, 23, of Miami, were arrested for alleged credit card theft.
Christopher Aragon was head of Mission Pacific Capital, Capistrano Beach, California, involved in several advance rental complaints. In 2000, he was one of the first to launch an internet lease processing web site. He called it "Bizlease."
"Bizlease offers a seamless operation through a Web-enabled, multi database system linking vendors to their customers while providing due diligence for its underwriters. Bizlease offers the customer a thorough financial service with value added products and services."
Ironically, February 15, 2001, Chris Aragon wrote Leasing News about the sale of First Sierra to American Express, saying look what happened when American Express bought Rockford: "They know credit cards, but they don't know leasing." http://two.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202001/2-15-01.htm
Aragon, along with the three were allegedly using counterfeit American Express, MasterCard and Visa credit cards to buy items from department stores using counterfeit California driver's licenses.
Items purchased were returned to the stores for cash back and many items reportedly also were sold on eBay.
According to one report, one eBay account of one of the suspects racked up $56,000 in sales in past 60 days.
The police report stated Christopher Aragon and Shitrit reportedly bought $13,000 worth of Coach hand bags using different counterfeit American Express credit cards at Bloomingdales at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.
Officers stopped the suspects after being summoned by store security. The two allegedly had 70 counterfeit credit cards in their possession, and each bag was bought with a different card. A search at Arragon's home found more than 100 counterfeit cards, numerous Coach bags, iPods and cameras.
The Aragons are each being held on $1 million bail; Shitrit and Rojas are being held on $100,000 bail.
Any Leasing News reader with information about Christopher Aragon or the other suspects are asked to call Newport Beach police at (800) 550-6773.
NY AG Sues Dell, Charges Bait And Switch/high interest By Roy Mark Internetnews.com
(Lawyers from Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins filed a class action suit on Feb. 14, 2005 in Superior Court for San Francisco County against Dell, Dell's financial services division (DFS) and its finance partner, CIT Finance, on behalf of Dell customers, alleging similar practices. Reportedly the class action suit was settled for $17 million almost a year later. Most likely, this suit will also be settled with the new attorney general of New York, as his predecessor, now governor, Eliot Spitzer, was prone to do while he was in office. Editor)
Filing: http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/February%202005/02-24-05.htm#dell Settlement: http://www.leasingnews.org/archives/November%202006/11-01-06.htm#dell
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo accused Dell of engaging in "bait and switch" financing tactics and ignoring service and warranty contracts. In a lawsuit filed in Albany, N.Y., Cuomo also charged the Texas computer maker with deceptive business practices involving rebates, billing and collection.
Dell denied the accusations.
Cuomo is seeking restitution to consumers, civil penalties and guarantees from Dell that it will not engage in any further "deceptive, illegal, and fraudulent practices." The state did not release details on financial damages it might seek.
"At Dell, customer service means no service at all. Dell's consumers were intentionally misled, and they had to pay for that privilege," Cuomo said in a statement. "I hope this lawsuit sends a message to companies large and small that delivering a product is simply not enough -- the promises they make must be delivered as well."
The lawsuit accuses Dell of attracting customers with advertising touting no interest or no early payment financing promotions. According to Cuomo, the "vast majority" of customers were denied the deals. Instead, Dell and DFS offered customers financing deals that often exceeded 20 percent.
The lawsuit also claims DFS incorrectly billed consumers on canceled orders, returned merchandise or accounts they did not authorize Dell to open. Cuomo said those same customers were then harassed with illegal billing and collection calls.
In addition, Cuomo alleges Dell repeatedly failed to provide timely on-site repair as promised in service contracts and discouraged customers from seeking technical support. The lawsuit claims Dell's New York customers calling the company's toll free support number were subjected to long wait times, frequent transfers and disconnections.
In cases where on site service was provided, the lawsuit claims, Dell used defective "refurbished" parts or computers to repair or replace consumers' equipment.
Dell (Quote) quickly responded with a statement denying the accusations.
"While our customers remain our top priority, Dell will vigorously defend itself in court. We are confident that our practices will be found to be fair and appropriate," Bob Pearson, a Dell spokesman, said. "The allegations in the AG's filing are based upon a small fraction of Dell's consumer transactions in New York."
Pearson added, "While even one dissatisfied customer is too many…We are committed to providing a positive experience to all of our customers every day."
The lawsuit adds another woe to the world's number one PC maker.
In January, former Dell CEO Kevin Rollins resigned over disappointing results and a pending Securities and Exchange Commission probe into the possibility of financial misstatements. Dell founder and president Michael Dell assumed the role of CEO. (It should be noted that Dell was the leader in computer and laptop computer sales, offering build to suite systems shipped out of Malaysia, but the leader today is Hewlett-Packard. http://www.hp.com/)
Interest rates at Dell
This is from www.dell.com finance $10,000 $1.00 purchase option, utilizing the CIT Vendor Finance program. The program also charges an automatic $75 processing fee.
Note: for excellent and good credit, computation does not include advance rentals which increase yield, nor gross profit charges such as "documentation" or other fees which seem to range from $60 to $150, lease factors quoted are 36 and 48 months respectively, along with yields.
Excellent .0361-.02757 Yield 15% to 17% (depends on advance) http://www.leasingnews.org/items/Dell_Excellentcredit.jpg
Good .0361-.02938 Yield 18% to 20% (depends on advance) http://www.leasingnews.org/items/Dell_Goodcredit.jpg
Fair credit, as it is described, has a "fair market value only," no $1.00 out) Factors are .0393 .0338 Yield is 23% to 25% plus "fair market value" at end http://www.leasingnews.org/items/Dell_Faircredit.jpg
Looking for a CFO, CIO, CSO
As CIT Financial, Key Finance, and others are going to Europe and Asia, SG Equipment Finance is coming to the United States. They specialize in "cross bordering leases," meaning for manufacturers and vendors who want to finance their equipment in other countries.
"Society Generale is entering the US Leasing Market. Our firm (ZRG, previously known as Z Resource Group) is helping them build and grow their business through talent acquisition. Yes, we are doing the recruiting and advisory services to this venture……CFO, CIO and Head of Sales right now! "
Larry Hartmann Managing Partner ZRG, Inc. P - 201-560-9900 x 222 F- 201-701-0374 E - email@example.com www.zrgroup.com
Hartmann is the founder and former board member of Rockford Industires, Inc. Rockford was later purchased by American Express, where he became the executive vice-president of American Express Business Finance. "With 75 branches SG Equipment Finance is located in altogether 21 countries. Thanks to this presence and the expertise of skilled local teams our group is able to provide international manufacturers and distributors with cross-border sales-finance facilities - even in countries with very different characteristics. In all countries, we have bundled our sound industry and project knowledge in the same fields which are transport, high-tech and industrial equipment. " http://www.sgequipmentfinance.com/
According to Larry Hartmann, SG originates $8 Billion Euro's per year in leasing and finance volume, employing 1800 people globally, managing over $14 Billion in assets.
"The US expansion is a critical step in the mission to become a global vendor finance player in the major markets," he says. "The initial project is focused on recruiting three senior leaders to help round out the management team and then mid level and line expansion will be completed. The initial recruiting build-out will focus on three roles; CFO, CIO and Chief Sales Officer."
Societe Generale is a leading global bank with presence in 77 countries around the world. SG provides a wide array of banking services which include retail banking and specialized banking services, Corporate and Investment banking as well as Global Investment Management services. They have 120,000 employees in 77 countries.
Leasing Industry Help Wanted
We are looking for highly motivated sales staff with proven lease experience. If you are currently networked and have a source of business and want to become independent working from your home or current office, we want to talk with you about joining our team. In addition to providing you and your customer base the very best of financial programs, service and support, we offer you a generous 60% of gross commission.
Please email Karl Probst, General Manager firstname.lastname@example.com
Willamette Financial Funding Services LLC has been established since 1986. We are highly efficient, motivated and a leader in placing exceptional and challenged credits nationally. We are well connected with major funding sources capable of taking A, B and C credits. Our credit processing and clerical support to our sales staff is responsive and extremely efficient.
Phoenix, Arizona or Virtual Office; 3 to 5 years of experience; high-end small ticket & Middle-Market vendor programs. Click here for more information.
Manufacturers' Lease Plans Inc. (MLPi) is the pioneer of short-term rental and operating lease financing, funding high technology equipment manufacturers since the 1960s.
Sr. Credit Analyst
Excellent opportunity to work with growing equipment leasing bank division, excellent reputation. Click here for more information.
Purchase Money Security Interests By Barry S. Marks, Esq.
Hopefully, this is a review but for most of us reviews of familiar legal topics actually fill in gaps we did not know existed.
The UCC gives special benefits to "Purchase Money Security Interests." When properly perfected a "PMSI" takes priority over a competing interest in the same property even if the other creditor claims under a previously-filed financing statement perfecting a "blanket" security interest. In other words, a bank filing covering "all assets, whether currently owned by borrower or acquired after the date hereof" loses out to a properly-perfected PMSI.
The reason for this should be fairly obvious: Borrowers, even those already heavily in debt, are encouraged to acquire new items financed by the vendor or a third-party lender who makes the acquisition possible.
The law only really requires two things of a lender seeking to make a purchase money financing: (1) that the financing actually be a purchase money financing and (2) that the PMSI be perfected by a filing made within 20 days after the date the borrower receives possession of the collateral.
Turning to the second of these, it is absolutely crucial that that word "possession" be read literally. Probably the most common mistake made by lenders thinking they have a PMSI is to file after the end of the 20-day period. Sometimes this is done due to sloppiness or laziness but it is often the result of a misunderstanding of the law. The 20 days does not begin to run the date the lease is signed or even the date the Acceptance Certificate is signed. It begins to run on the date that physical possession of the collateral is received by the borrower. (I admit that this is a conservative reading and some judges have been more lenient, but who wants to take the chance where the downside is loss of collateral?).
Sometimes this is easy to determine when possession begins because the borrower signs some form of delivery receipt or the vendor has written evidence of the date of delivery. Sometimes the situation is confusing, however, as where the period between the delivery and the date of acceptance under the lease is extended due to testing, repair, additional deliveries of necessary pieces, etc.
The UCC offers some guidance where deliveries occur in stages: 9-324 states that the 20 day period begins "it would be apparent to a potential lender to the debtor that the debtor has acquired an interest in the goods taken as a whole." Clear? There is also some case law indicating that taking possession as a lessee, rather than an owner/debtor is not being enough to begin the 20 days running.
What happens if there is going to be long period of testing? What is the earliest date that a UCC can be filed? Technically, a financing statement should not be filed until there is a grant of a security interest by the borrower, meaning that filing before the acceptance certificate is signed may be subject to question. Nevertheless, most commentators agree that filing early is by far safer than filing late and sometimes it is possible to obtain a letter or other authorization from the lessee to filing the financing statement in advance of the acceptance certificate, worded in such a way as to give the lender/lessor maximum comfort.
Turning to the first issue, however, is opening another Pandora's Box. A purchase money security interest, by definition, secures a loan which "enables the debtor to acquire rights in or the use of [the collateral]". (This definition requires a bit of semantic calisthenics in Section 9-103(a)). This does not mean a loan that permits the debtor to retain collateral already in its possession or for which it has already paid.
Obviously, a sale-leaseback or any financing of equipment already in the debtor's possession and paid for by the debtor might not qualify for PMSI treatment. Things get more complicated when the debtor pays part of the purchase price to his vendor, either as a down payment or the first of several periodic payments. In those situations, great care must be exercised as the courts are not in agreement as to whether minimal borrower payments, reimbursed by the lender, taint the entire transaction and frustrate the PMSI argument.
The safest course is to insist that the borrower never make a down payment or treat any situation in which even a small amount of the purchase price is paid as reimbursement to the borrower rather than directly to the vendor as a sale-leaseback, requiring a UCC check and subordination or waiver by competing creditors with blanket liens. Too conservative? The riskier course of action, although one that is not entirely unjustified at least in some states, is to allow reimbursement of minimal down payments.
Finally, a word or two about inventory financing is required. There is a special procedure for PMSI's in inventory that requires a UCC check be made before initiating an inventory finance program. If the equipment qualifies as inventory (anything that is sold or rented, even on a one-time basis) the UCC must be checked and, rather than obtaining a subordination agreement, creditors with existing blanket liens in "all inventory" or anything the like must be notified before the collateral is delivered to the borrower. The good news is that this notice be given once every 5 years and it does not need to be specific. A notice simply stating that the lender intends to make a series of loans to the borrower that will be financed by inventory (a general description, if possible, is a good idea) should be sufficient to give PMSI benefits to the inventory financier.
The purchase money security interest is an invaluable tool for equipment financing. Like most tools, it can give a false sense of security and ruin the project if improperly used.
BARRY S. MARKS MARKS & WEINBERG, P.C. Suite 525, 2001 Park Place North Birmingham, Alabama 35202 P. O. Box 11386 Birmingham, Alabama 35203 firstname.lastname@example.com www.leaselawyer.com 205.251.8303 fax 251.8305
Barry S. Marks concentrates his practice in the areas of equipment leasing, commercial lending and finance. He has significant experience negotiating, drafting and providing legal counsel with respect to a large variety of finance transactions. Barry is listed in The Best Lawyers in America®, is a Director Emeritas - National Association of Equipment Leasing Brokers, is a Past Member of Legal Committee of the Equipment Leasing Association, is currently on the Board of Editors for the Journal of Equipment Lease and Financing and Leader's Equipment Leasing Newsletter and was the first attorney to obtain the designation of a Certified Lease Professional. Barry is also co-editor of , a recipient of the Bill Granieri Award for Education in Equipment Leasing, National Association of Equipment Lessors (1999) and a frequent lecturer on business and commercial law issues. He has co-authored three books and chapters in two legal treatises.
Cartoon---Cooper-White-Cooper Partner's Lounge
Mark Bazrod Winner of Journal's "Article of the Year" Award
"Myths of Software Leasing
ELFA eNews Daily
The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation recently announced Mark S. Bazrod, President of LPI Software Funding Group in Wayne, PA is the recipient of the 2006 Article of the Year award.
Mark S. Bazrod, President, LPI Software Funding Group
Some independent lessors have been offering the 100% software lease as a separate leasing product for at least 20 years. The provisions of most software leases are similar to equipment leases, but they require some additional provisions due to the uniqueness of software. One would think that by now most lessors, software vendors, and users would be aware of software leasing, understand it, appreciate its utility, and be familiar with its structures. Not so!
For a copy of the winning article, "Puncturing the 15 Myths of Software Leasing" published in the Fall 2006 issue: http://leasingnews.org/PDF/Punctuating_the_myths.pdf
LPI Funding Group Software http://www.lpilease.com/
Behind the Microsoft and Yahoo Merger talks
The Search Engine short term battle for second place (Google US has the top spot locked for the foreseeable future) between Yahoo and Google UK has Yahoo bouncing back to the number 2 spot with 9.87% market share compared to 9.49% for March. Google UK dips to 9.28% market share after 3 straight months of hovering above 10%.
But, the long term battle is heating up between Microsoft, Yahoo and Google. So, is it the news that Microsoft and Yahoo are considering a merger to better compete against Google that has more people going back to Yahoo? When that deal is analyzed, there are distinct potential advantages as well as potential disadvantages to consider:
The numbers show that between Microsoft, Yahoo and Google, Microsoft has the most traffic, Yahoo has the 2nd most traffic but keeps visitors the longest, and Google is 3rd in traffic but makes the most money off of that traffic. So, what's more likely to happen?
Can Microsoft increase its stickiness and online profitability? The internet revolves around search and advertising. So, can Microsoft catch up to Google better by continuing to enhance its own MSN search, or is it quicker and easier to buy Yahoo with its new Panama search/advertising platform that is reportedly competitive with Google's technology? Microsoft will try to merge with / buy Yahoo, and come up with a Live vs. MSN strategy that includes online versions of its Office tools. They have the operating systems and Office cash cows for now, but competitors are developing better and better offers.
Can Yahoo increase its traffic and profitability? Yahoo is still in an extremely strong position. They don't need Microsoft as much as Microsoft needs them. Website stickiness is Yahoo's strength, and that can sometimes be underestimated. Yahoo still has the best online content of the big 3. Merging with Microsoft would add an enormous amount of traffic to Yahoo's search and advertising platform, Panama (assuming the merged companies would adopt that system for both). But, Yahoo could make a comeback in search without Microsoft. And, the merger itself may become enough of a distraction to negate any benefits in additional traffic.
Can Google increase it's traffic and stickiness? That's what Google's trying to do with purchases like Youtube. But, the copyright lawsuits from that and the potential competition and privacy concerns from their recent purchase of DoubleClick may force Google to hire more lawyers than software engineers. Google may actually welcome a Microsoft Yahoo merger because neither company is accustomed to big mergers and the time it will take to gain any benefits.
Three ELFA Op/Tech Award Winners
Arlington, VA---The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) announces that three companies have been selected as recipients of its Operations & Technology Excellence (O&TE) Award to be presented during the ELFA 2007 Operations & Technology Conference and Exhibition being held today through Friday at the Renaissance Chicago Hotel.
The winning equipment finance companies are:
- California First National Bancorp (CalFirst), submitted by Robert Hodgson, Senior Vice President Operations & Compliance;
- Xerox Capital Services, submitted by Kevin Devine, VP eBusiness and Workflow; and
- TCF Equipment Finance (TCFEF), submitted by Deborah Reuben, AVP, Online Business Development.
Each firm winner will present its award-winning solution either solely or in partnership with a supporting vendor during the ELFA 2007 Operations & Technology Conference and Exhibition.
"The purpose of the O&TE Award is to reward excellence in companies that have realized success in their process improvements," says Joan Simpson, Cisco Systems Capital Corporation and O&TE Award Committee Chair. "These three companies' entries were outstanding and deserve to be recognized for their achievements in solution development and implementation best practices for the equipment finance industry."
The O&TE Award Program identifies and recognizes equipment leasing and finance companies that have demonstrated best practices in developing and implementing innovative uses of technology or creative business processes to improve operations, enhance customer interactions, enter new markets or optimize existing market presence.
CalFirst was recognized for its project that creates a more efficient way to extract data from paper lease vendor invoices, which then feeds multiple business systems. Xerox Capital Services was recognized for its improvement of the company's self-service electronic billing and settlement solution that enhances business processes for after-the-sale transactions. TCFEF's award-winning entry is a unified system for capturing work and information from vendors, program managers and direct sales representatives through credit, equipment management, documentation, funding, booking and into servicing, so every stakeholder in a transaction can access up-to-date status on a transaction.
In addition to receiving the O&TE Award Plaque, the winners will have their company's name inscribed on the perpetual "O&TE Award Cup" trophy.
The O&TE Award Subcommittee is made up of the following: ---Joan Simpson, Cisco Systems Capital Corporation (O&TE Award Committee Chair) ---John Hurt, LaSalle National Leasing Corp. ---Stacey Roig, LaSalle National Leasing Corp.
Profits To Be Lost Under New Accounting Rules (Leasing News is not making this up. This is not a "joke.")
Accounting-rule makers are planning to unveil a draft plan to rework financial statements, the data that millions of investors use every day when deciding whether to buy or sell stocks, bonds and other financial instruments, the Wall Street Journal reports. One possible result will be the elimination of net income or net profit, the bottom-line figure showing what is left after expenses have been met and taxes paid.
It is the item many investors look to as a key gauge of corporate performance and one measure used to determine executive compensation. In its place, investors might find a number of profit figures that correspond to different corporate activities such as business operations, financing and investing.
Another possible radical change in the works: assets and liabilities may no longer be separate categories on the balance sheet, or fall to the left and right side in the classic format taught in introductory accounting classes.
The overhaul could mark one of the most drastic changes to accounting and financial reporting since the start of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, when companies began publishing financial information as they sought outside capital. The move is being undertaken by accounting-rule makers in the U.S. and internationally, and ultimately could affect companies and investors around the world.
The project is aimed at providing investors with more telling information and has come about as rule makers work to one day come up with a common, global set of accounting standards. If adopted, the changes will likely force every accounting textbook to be rewritten and anyone who uses accounting - from clerks to chief executives - to relearn how to compile and analyze information that shows what is happening in a business.
This is likely to come as a shock, even if many investors and executives acknowledge that net income has flaws. "If there was no bottom line, I'd want to have a sense of what other indicators I ought to be looking at to get a sense of the comprehensive health of the company," says Katrina Presti, a part-time independent health-care contractor and stay-at-home mom who is part of a 12-woman investment club in Pueblo, Colo. "Net income might be a false indicator, but what would I look at if it goes away?"
The effort to redo financial statements reflects changes in who uses them and for what purposes. Financial statements were originally crafted with bankers and lenders in mind. Their biggest question: Is the business solvent and what's left if it fails? Stock investors care more about a business's current and future profits, so the net-income line takes on added significance for them.
Indeed, that single profit number, particularly when it is divided by the number of shares outstanding, provides the most popular measure of a company's valuation: the price-to-earnings ratio. A company that trades at $10 a share, and which has net profit of $1 a share, has a P/E of 10.
But giving that much power to one number has long been a recipe for fraud and stock-market excesses. Many major accounting scandals earlier this decade centered on manipulation of net income. The stock-market bubble of the 1990s was largely based on investors' assumption that net profit for stocks would grow rapidly for years to come. And the game of beating a quarterly earnings number became a distraction or worse for companies' managers and investors. Obviously it isn't known whether the new format would cut down on attempts to game the numbers, but companies would have to give a more detailed breakdown of what is going on.
The goal of the accounting-rule makers is to better reflect how businesses are actually run and divert attention from the one number. "I know the world likes single bottom-line numbers and all of that, but complicated businesses are hard to translate into just one number," says Robert Herz, chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the U.S. rule-making body that is one of several groups working on the changes.
At the same time, public companies today are more global than local, and as likely to be involved in services or lines of business that involve intellectual property such as software rather than the plants and equipment that defined the manufacturing age. "The income statement today looks a lot like it did when I started out in this profession," says William Parrett, the retiring CEO of accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, who started as a junior accountant in 1967. "But the kind of information that goes into it is completely different."
Along the way, figures such as net income have become muddied. That is in part because more and more of the items used to calculate net profit are based on management estimates, such as the value of items that don't trade in active markets and the direction of interest rates. Also, over the years rule makers agreed to corporate demands to account for some things, such as day-to-day changes in the value of pension plans or financial instruments used to protect against changes in interest rates, in ways that keep them from causing swings in net income.
Rule makers hope reformatting financial statements will address some of these issues, while giving investors more information about what is happening in different parts of a business to better assess its value. The project is being managed jointly by the FASB in the U.S. and the London-based International Accounting Standards Board, and involves accounting bodies in Japan, other parts of Asia and individual European nations.
The entire process of adopting the revised approach could take a few years to play out, so much could yet change. Plus, once rule makers adopt the changes, they would have to be ratified by regulatory authorities, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission in the U.S. and the European Commission in Europe, before public companies would be required to follow them.
As a first step, rule makers expect later this year to publish a document outlining their preliminary views on what new form financial statements might take. But already they have given hints of what's in store. In March, the FASB provided draft, new financial statements at the end of a 32-page handout for members of an advisory group.
Although likely to change, this preview showed an income statement that has separate segments for the company's operating business, its financing activities, investing activities and tax payments. Each area has an income subtotal for that particular segment.
There is also a "total comprehensive income" category that is wider ranging than net profit as it is known today, and so wouldn't be directly comparable. That is because this total would likely include gains and losses now kept in other parts of the financial statements. These include some currency fluctuations and changes in the value of financial instruments used to hedge against other items.
Comprehensive income could also eventually include short-term changes in the value of corporate pension plans, which currently are smoothed out over a number of years. As a result, comprehensive income could be a lot more difficult to predict and could be volatile from quarter to quarter or year to year.
As for the balance sheet, the new version would group assets and liabilities together according to similar categories of operating, investing and financing activities, although it does provide a section for shareholders equity. Currently, a balance sheet is broken down between assets and liabilities, rather than by operating categories.
Such drastic change isn't likely to happen without a fight. Efforts to bring now-excluded figures into the income statement could prompt battles with companies that fear their profit will be subject to big swings. Companies may also balk at the expense involved.
"The cost of this change could be monumental," says Gary John Previts, an accounting professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. "All the textbooks are going to have to change, every contract and every bank arrangement will have to change." Investors in Europe and Asia, meanwhile, have opposed the idea of dropping net profit as it appears today, David Tweedie, the IASB's chairman, said in an interview earlier this year.
Analysts in the London office of UBS AG recently published a report arguing this very point - that even if net income is a "simplistic measure," that doesn't mean it isn't a valid "starting point in valuation" and that "its widespread use is justification enough for its retention."
Such opposition doesn't surprise many accounting experts. Net income is "the basis for bonuses and judgments about what a company's stock is worth," says Stephen A. Zeff, an accounting professor at Rice University. "I just don't know what the markets would do if companies stopped reporting a bottom line somewhere." In the U.S., professional investors and analysts have taken a more nuanced view, perhaps because the manipulation of numbers was more pronounced in U.S. markets.
That said, net profit has been around for some time. The income statement in use today, along with the balance sheet, generally dates to the 1940s when the SEC laid out regulations on financial disclosure. But many companies have included net profit in one form or another since the 1800s.
In its fourth annual report, General Electric Co. provided investors with a consolidated balance sheet and consolidated profit-and-loss account for the year ended Jan. 31, 1896. The company, whose board at the time included Thomas Edison, generated "profit of the year" - what today would be called net income or net profit - of $1,388,967.46.
For the moment, net profit will probably exist in some form, although its days are likely numbered. "We've decided in the interim to keep a net-income subtotal, but that's all up for discussion," the FASB's Mr. Herz says.
### Press Release ###########################
Balboa Capital Hires Phil Silva as Executive Vice President
(Irvine, CA) Balboa Capital Corporation announces the appointment of Phil Silva as Executive Vice President. Mr. Silva will be responsible for growing the company's Vendor Channel alongside the company's existing Direct, Commercial, and Broker Channels.
Mr. Silva previously developed and managed the National Accounts Group for American Express Business Finance (AEBF). He was the General Manager of the Healthcare, Franchise and Loan segments, along with Marketing, prior to and through the acquisition of AEBF by Key Equipment Finance. Prior to that, he worked for companies such as Transamerica Distribution Finance, Dana Commercial Credit and Master Lease Corporation, in sales and sales management capacities. Mr. Silva holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington.
"I believe Balboa Capital is nimble and entrepreneurial in their execution and decision making. They possess unique service, training, marketing and technology-based qualities and strengths developed for their existing sales channels that will provide value to small and medium-sized vendors and their customers. I am excited about assisting Balboa in growing their vendor channel," said Mr. Silva. Among his first responsibilities will be to add a Vendor Sales Leader and an Inside Sales Manager to the department.
About Balboa Capital
Balboa Capital provides equipment leasing and financing to small and mid-sized business in the United States. The company markets its products through its direct sales force, vendor channel, and broker partnerships. The company offers leases in the range of $ 5,000 to $ 5,000,000. Balboa Capital is privately held and based in Irvine, CA.
Self-Service Electronic Billing and Settlement Enables LeasePak Users to Increase Billing Accuracy and Efficiency and to Improve Customer Service
Burlingame, CA — Netsol-McCue Inc., a leading provider of portfolio management solutions for the equipment finance industry, and Avolent, Inc., the leading provider of Self-Service Electronic Billing and Settlement software, today announce their partnership, and created to offer paperless billing and bill settlement environments.
In addition to this partnership with Avolent, Netsol McCue has shown its commitment to supporting paperless transactions with its recent sponsorship of a comprehensive study by the Equipment Finance and Leasing Foundation, "The Impact of Going Paperless". The study lays the roadmap for the industry and covers the necessary legal, finance, accounting, tax, and sales disciplines that must work in concert for the industry to successfully go paperless. The study can be downloaded at http://www.leasefoundation.org/store/.
Both NetSol McCue and Avolent recognize the increasingly competitive equipment leasing environment and the demands it puts on lessors to create new ways to improve service to their customers, while differentiating their offerings from those of their competitors. When integrated with Avolent, LeasePak will enable lessees to view, pay, and reconcile invoices through a secure online portal, creating a paperless billing environment. Sophisticated reports from Avolent provide advanced analytics, including insight into assets coming off lease, upcoming payments, and past due accounts. Lessors will be enabled to provide this level of control to lessees, greatly improving customer satisfaction and creating a new way to manage financial relationships in a paperless billing and settlement environment.
"We are committed to supporting paperless transactions and intend to lead the way for equipment leasing and finance enterprises to offer an online collaborative environment, giving LeasePak users new ways of differentiating themselves with strong customer service," said John McCue, President of Netsol McCue. "With the Avolent interface, LeasePak users will enjoy the benefits of fuller end-to-end integration and greater productive efficiencies."
The integration of Avolent's Self-Service Electronic Billing and Settlement software and LeasePak from Netsol McCue enables LeasePak users to increase online customer self-service with no disruptive changes to their existing systems, while using web applications to provide flexibility to the asset finance process. Avolent allows companies to design private label invoices, distribute bills electronically, and allows lessees to settle/reconcile and pay bills electronically, eliminating the need for hard copy documents to flow back and forth between lessor and lessee.
Through Avolent, LeasePak customers will be offered dynamic grouping and consolidation of charges by asset or sub-account and tools to easily design custom invoicing templates for private labeling for the most demanding of customers. Avolent gives customers the ability to initiate and resolve disputes and adjustments associated with individual assets or line items in a completely paperless environment. This level of detail and flexibility is a first in the industry. The ability to integrate Avolent seamlessly with LeasePak will allow Netsol McCue clients to introduce this advanced level of self-service quickly and cost effectively.
"The billing and settlement process is the one of the most persistent and problematic interactions that lessors encounter across their offerings. We are thrilled to be working with Netsol McCue to provide self-service electronic billing and settlement capabilities across the entire asset finance lifecycle," states Mike Seashols, CEO at Avolent. "Lessors can now differentiate themselves through exceptional customer service in a paperless environment, increase operational efficiencies, and preserve natural resources."
About Netsol McCue Netsol McCue is a global leader in developing lease/loan accounting and portfolio management systems and services. First as McCue Systems and now as NetSol McCue, the company has been providing portfolio management solutions to the U.S. equipment and vehicle industry for over 30 years. LeasePak, the company's core portfolio management solution, is in use at leading banks, manufacturers, and independent leasing companies throughout the U.S. as well as in Canada and Australia.
Headquartered in Burlingame, California, the company offers the largest and most experienced global consulting, implementation, and technical support teams in the leasing industry. For additional information about Netsol McCue, visit www.netsol-mccue.com.
About NetSol Technologies, Inc.
NetSol Technologies is a U.S.-based multinational provider of enterprise solutions and services for commercial finance. Headquartered in Calabasas, CA, NetSol Technologies, Inc. operates on a global basis with locations in the U.S., Europe, East Asia and Asia Pacific, including: London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sydney, Beijing, Toronto, and Lahore, Pakistan.
The NetSol family of products includes: the LeaseSoft Contract Management System, LeaseSoft Credit Application Processing, LeaseSoft Wholesale Finance System, LeaseSoft Premium Finance System, LeaseSoft EPO system, and the LeasePak system. NetSol clients include: Motorola, CitiGroup, BMW, Toyota, Yamaha, Quest Communications, and Investec. NetSol's largest customer: DaimlerChrysler Services, a division of DaimlerChrysler, the world's fifth-largest carmaker, ranks NetSol as a preferred vendor in 40-plus countries.
NetSol Technologies helps its clients identify, evaluate and implement technology solutions to meet their strategic business challenges and maximize their bottom line. By utilizing its worldwide resources, NetSol Technologies delivers high-quality, cost-effective equipment finance portfolio management solutions and IT services ranging from consulting and application development to systems integration and outsourcing. NetSol Technologies' commitment to quality is demonstrated by its achievement of both ISO 9001 and SEI (Software Engineering Institute) CMMl (Capability Maturity Model) Level 5 assessment. For more information, visit NetSol Technologies' web site at www.netsoltek.com.
About Avolent Avolent is the leading provider of best-of-breed application software for self-service electronic billing and settlement process. The Avolent suite of applications transforms an organization's billing and settlement process into web self-service process that improves customer satisfaction and operational efficiencies, while preserving natural resources. Companies like Xerox Capital Services, Hewlett-Packard Financial Services, Penske, SunTrust Leasing, DELL, and many others use Avolent as their electronic billing and settlement engine to process over one billion dollars of invoices per day on the web to preserve tens of thousands of trees every year. Avolent is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. For additional information about Avolent, visit www.Avolent.com.
For more information call (800) 553-5505 or visit www.avolent.com
### Press Release ########################### --------------------------------------------------------------
News Briefs----
Russia Sues Bank of New York For $22.5 Bln Over Alleged Money Laundering In 1990s http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/TOP%20STORY/553918/
Wolfowitz leaves the World Bank like an angry, cornered rat http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_24576.shtml http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2007-05-17-wolfowitz-resigns-_N.htm
Fedspeak's new nuances http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri_fedspeak0518may18,0,5997254. story?coll=chi-business-hed
Economy slows, but Fed keeps iron grip on interest rates http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2007-05-16-economy-usat_N.htm
Fed Chief Addresses Foreclosures http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/18/business/18fed.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin
General Electric close to selling plastics division to Saudi Basic Industries for $11 billion http://www.snl.com/interactivex/article.aspx?CdId=A-5757285-11866
Seeking more traffic, Google widens formula http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2007/05/17/ seeking_more_traffic_google_widens_format/
New poll: Romney leaves rivals "in the dust" in NH http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/05/new_poll_romney.html
Melinda's farewell -- short and sweet http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2007/05/melindas_farewe.html
San Diego Restaurateur, civic leader Tom Fat dies at 66 http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070517-2018-bn17fat.html
You May have Missed---
Fair Isaac study raises more questions about Internet click fraud http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20070517-1428-ca-clickfraud.html
Sports Briefs----
Pistons finish off Bulls in game 6 http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2007-05-17-pistons-bulls_N.htm
Chiefs QB Green could be closer to joining Dolphins http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/football/pro/dolphins/ sfl-517fins,0,3154222.story?coll=sfla-dolphins-front
Braves sale cost 68 million Time Warner shares http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/05/17/ 0517sptbravesfinancial.html
Gimme that Wine
Wild for Wabo: $80 million will lift Sammy Hagar's spirits http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/07/ BUGOTPMMJ19.DTL&type=wine
South hit by April cold snap http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/May/20070517Busi001.asp
Shortfalls Predicted in Grapes and Labor in Napa County http://www.winesandvines.com/head_may07_symposium.html
Napa Valley Grape Growers Honor Pina as Grower of the Year http://www.sthelenastar.com/articles/2007/05/17/features/food_and_wine/ doc464bc4e6d9b67905594144.txt
Bordeaux 06 will fail in US: Parker http://www.decanter.com/news/119883.html
Paso Robles stakes its claim as part of new wine country http://www.insidebayarea.com/bayarealiving/ci_5907933
To avoid being in a wine rut, be open to experimentation http://www.mercurynews.com/columns/ci_5907232?nclick_check=1
Wine Prices by vintage http://www.winezap.com http://www.wine-searcher.com/ US/International Wine Events http://www.localwineevents.com/ Winery Atlas http://www.carterhouse.com/atlas Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm The London International Vintners Exchange (Liv-ex) is an electronic exchange for fine wine. http://www.liv-ex.com/
Calendar Events This Day
Haiti: Flag and University Day – National public holiday.
International Museum Day – To pay tribute to museums of the world. "Museums are an important of cultural exchanges, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperating and peace among people." Observed since 1977. Annually, May 18. http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/May/internationalmuseumday.htm
National Bike to Work Day – At the state or local level, Bike to Work events are conducted by small and large business, city governments, bicycle clubs and environmental groups. About two million participants nationwide. Annually, the third Friday in May. Est attendance: 2,000,000.
National Defense Transportation day – Presidential Proclamation customarily issued as "National Defense Transportation Day and National Transportation Week." Issued each year for the third Friday in May since 1957.
National Cheese Soufflé Day http://southernfood.about.com/od/cheeserecipes/r/bl30610d.htm
National Pizza Party Day – As the school year winds down, students and parents should celebrate with pizza parties! Local promotions will support the day within classrooms and at home. Annually, the third Friday of May.
No Dirty Dishes Day http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/May/nodirtydishesday.htm
Rooster Day http://homeschooling.about.com/library/blmay18a.htm
Teacher's Day in Florida – A ceremonial day on the third Friday in May.
Turkmenistan: Revival and Unity Day – National Public holiday. Commemorated the 1992 adoption of the constitution
Uruguay: Battle of the Piedras Day – National Holiday. Commemorates battle fought for independence from Spain.
Visit your Relatives Day – A day to renew family ties and joys by visiting often-though-of-seldom-seen relatives. Annually, May 18. http://holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/May/visitrelativesday.htm
Saint Feast Days
13 percent of the world's tea comes from Kenya.
(Actually this statistic is too low, so number 24 not correct: India is the world's largest tea producer but is also the largest tea consumer. Therefore, only 15% - 20% of Indian tea is exported. In 2005, India produced 51% of the world's tea, while Kenya and Sri Lanka each produced about 18%. http://www.teagenius.com/tea-facts.html
Today's Top Event in History
1860 --Republican Party nominates Abraham Lincoln for president. 06 November 1860, Lincoln defeated his opponents with only 40% of the popular vote, becoming the first Republican to win the presidency. The announcement of his victory signaled the secession of the Southern states, which since the beginning of the year had been publicly threatening secession if the Republicans gained the White House. By the time of Lincoln's inauguration on 04 March 1861, seven states had seceded and the Confederate States of America had been formally established with Jefferson Davis as its elected president. One month later, the American Civil War began when Confederate forces under General P. G. T. Beauregard opened fire on Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
[headlines] ----------------------------------------------------------------
This Day in American History
1631 -The General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony decreed that 'no man shall be admitted to the body politic but such as are members of some of the churches within the limits' of the colony. (Separation of church and state was an unthinkable concept in early American colonialism. In contrast to what is taught in schools, most were not escaping for religious freedoms, but were missionaries with strong prejudices against other religious groups except for their own.) 1652- Rhode Island enacted a slavery emancipation law: "No blacken mankind or white... (maybe) forced by covenant bond or otherwise to serve any man or his assignees longer than ten years, or until they come to be 24 years of age, if they be taken in under 15, from the time of their coming within the Liberties of the Colonies, and at the end of termed of ten years... (are to be set) free, as is the manner with the English servants. And that man that will not let them goe free, or shall sell them elsewhere, to that end that they may be enslaved to others for a long time, he or they shall forfeit to the Colonie forty pounds." 1766- The Church of the United Brethren in Christ was organized in Lancaster, PA, under the leadership of Martin Boehm, 41, and Philip William Otterbein, 39. (It became a branch of the Evangelical United Brethren in 1946.) 1798 - The first Secretary of the U.S. Navy was appointed. He was Benjamin Stoddert. http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/stoddert.htm http://www.mariner.org/usnavy/05/05d.htm 1827 -- Josiah Warren opens his first Time Store in Cincinnati, Ohio — the first commercial cooperative. Warren, Josiah, 1798–1874, American reformer & anarchist, b. Boston. An early follower of Robert Owen, he soon rejected Owen's political socialism, advocating instead anarchy based on "the sovereignty of the individual." Warren founded several "equity" or "time" stores, with the idea of exchanging goods for an equivalent amount of labor & on the principle that cost should be the limit of price. He also established three utopian colonies; the most successful was Modern Times (1851–c.1860), Long Island, N.Y. (now Brentwood). The most important of his publications was True Civilization (1863, 5th ed. 1875). http://faculty.evansville.edu/ck6/bstud/warren.html See "The Lemonade Ocean & Modern Times" by Hakim Bey, http://www.evolutionzone.com/kulturezone/bey/lemonade.ocean.and.modern.times.html http://www.blancmange.net/tmh/articles/manifesto.shtml http://www.blackcrayon.com/people/warren/ 1836-- Cynthia Ann Parker, a blue-eyed blonde Caucasian woman, was captured by the Comanche at age nine. When U.S. soldiers found her four years later in a Comanche camp where she was living under the name "Prelock," she refused to return. She said she was happy living as a Comanche. ///In 1860 she and her infant daughter were captured in a U.S. army raid and were forcibly detained. She was sent to Parker's father. The infant died soon after capture and Prelock died in 1864, according to legend, by starving herself to death longing to go back to the Comanche way of life. ///Her eldest son Quanah became chief of the Kwahadi tribe which held out against the white man. Some called him the most ferocious Indian who ever lived. In 1875 he suddenly brought his people in and settled near the Wichita Mountains in Oklahoma and saw to it that Comanche children went to school and were educated. 1849-Sailing ship "Grey Eagle" arrived in San Francisco with 34 passengers from the East in 113 days, a record at that time. 1852- Massachusetts rules all school-age children must attend school 1860 --Republican Party nominates Abraham Lincoln for president. 06 November 1860, Lincoln defeated his opponents with only 40% of the popular vote, becoming the first Republican to win the presidency. The announcement of his victory signaled the secession of the Southern states, which since the beginning of the year had been publicly threatening secession if the Republicans gained the White House. By the time of Lincoln's inauguration on 04 March 1861, seven states had seceded and the Confederate States of America had been formally established with Jefferson Davis as its elected president. One month later, the American Civil War began when Confederate forces under General P. G. T. Beauregard opened fire on Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina. 1863- A new sport became available to Americans with the introduction of roller skating by James L. Plimpton. Plimpton invented the four-wheel skate, which worked on rubber pads, thus permitting skaters to change direction by shifting their weight to one side or the other without lift the wheels of the skate off the ground. Roller skating became fashionable in New York City and soon spread to other cities. In Newport, R.I., the Roller Skating Association leased the Atlantic House and turned its dinning room and plaza into a skating rink. In Chicago, the Casino could accommodate 3000 spectators and 1000 skaters. In San Francisco, a rink advertised 5000 pairs of skates available for rent. 1863- Union General Ulysses S. Grant surrounds Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River, in one of the most brilliant campaigns of the war. On May 16, Grant fought the Confederates under John C. Pemberton at Champion's Hill and defeated them decisively. He then attacked again at the Big Black River the next day, and Pemberton fled into Vicksburg with Grant following close behind. The trap was now complete and Pemberton was stuck in Vicksburg, although his forces would hold out until July 4. In the three weeks since Grant crossed the Mississippi in the campaign to capture Vicksburg, Grant's men marched 180 miles and won five battles. They took nearly 100 Confederate artillery pieces and nearly 6,000 prisoners, all with relatively light losses. 1864--The fighting at Spotsylvania in Virginia, reaches its peak at the Bloody Angle. 1872 -- Bertrand Russell born (1872-1970), Trelleck, Wales. Philosopher, mathematician & social critic, one of the most widely read philosophers of this century. Awarded Nobel for Literature, 1950. Outspoken pacifist, imprisoned during WWI. Abandoned pacifism during WWII, but was a leading figure in the antinuclear movement. Imprisoned in 1961 for taking part in a demonstration in Whitehall. A pioneer of logical positivism. I took a course from him at UCLA and have read most of his books. http://www.mcmaster.ca/russdocs/russell.htm http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/brussell.htm http://www.sci.fi/~phinnweb/links/philosophy.html 1883 - An F4 tornado tracked 20 miles through Kenosha and Racine Counties in Wisconsin. 8 people were killed and 85 were injured. The tornado made a spectacular exit as a multiple vortex waterspout over Lake Michigan and was described as: "whirling columns of air seemed like great wreaths of smoke, bearing with them spiral columns of water...a half dozen could be seen at a time, then all would disappear and new ones would reform". 1896- Plessy v. Ferguson: the Supreme Court ruled separate-but-equal facilities constitutional on intrastate railroads. For fifty years, the Plessy v. Ferguson decision upheld the principle of racial segregation. Across the country, laws mandated separate accommodations on buses and trains, and in hotels, theaters, and schools. The premise was separate, but "equal." When I first went to New Orleans in 1958, the facilities were not equal, but certainly separate. As I traveled in other parts of the South, Blacks would walk on one side of the main street, and whites on the other. Restaurants were "white only." Rest rooms were "white only." Even the French Quarter was quite segregated with "white only" jazz clubs, and further down you would find "black" or "Cajun," which was even "rougher." Drinks were much cheaper, the food simple, but delicious. We were musicians, so we never experienced any difficulty as often the two of use would be the only whites in the club. We had our own mouthpieces, as it was the tradition then, as I believe now, if you play someone else's instrument, you used your own mouthpiece. I had both a clarinet and alto sax; Warren had his trumpet mouthpiece, which he carries still today when we have gone to places where he would be invited to play. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/may18.html 1900--Birthday of author Laura Z. Hobson. She wrote revolutionary novels about social injustices. "Gentleman's Agreement" dealt with anti-Semitism, "Tenth Month," on unwed motherhood, "Consenting Adult," on homosexuality. 1901-Birthday of Jeanette Macdonald, very popular U.S. singer-actor best known today for her singing over the ruins of San Francisco (1936) and duets with Canadian Mounties although she was an accomplished Broadway actor and a fine comedic player. She was one of the top money grossers of her era. 1902 - An f4 tornado struck the town of Goliad, Texas, killing 114 people. No U.S. tornado disaster of similar magnitude has ever occurred further south than this event. 1902 --Birthday of Meredith Wilson, composer and lyricist (The Music Man). http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/willson.html 1911-Blues Shouter Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner born Kansas, City, Mo-- one of the forefathers of rock 'n' roll. His 1950's recordings of such songs as "Shake, Rattle and Roll," "Honey Hush" and "Flip, Flop and Fly" are rock 'n' roll classics. But Turner had been singing for more than 20 years when these songs were recorded. In the 1930's, he teamed with boogie-woogie pianist Pete Johnson. Their appearance at John Hammond's famed "Spirituals to Swing" concert in 1938 helped spark the boogie-woogie craze of the time. In 1951, Turner began recording rhythm-and-blues for Atlantic Records. Many of his songs were rock 'n roll hits when recorded by white artists. Bill Haley turned "Shake, Rattle and Roll" into a million-seller in 1954 and Pat Boone had a pop hit with Turner's "Chains of Love" in 1956. In the '60s, Big Joe Turner turned to jazz singing, continuing to perform and record until his death on November 24th, 1985. 1912—Perry Como birthday, born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. A self-described admirer of Bing Crosby, Como copied Crosby's singing style and relaxed approach. He was a barber whose first record, "Goodbye Sue," was a hit in 1943. And so was "And I Love You So," recorded more than 30 years later. His other successes have included "Till the End of Time," "Temptation" and "It's Impossible." On television, Perry Como was the host of "The Chesterfield Supper Club," "The Perry Como Show" and "The Kraft Music Hall." He was perhaps the most popular singer on television in the 1950's. 1912-Birthday of Sylvia Porter, financial writer who first wrote under her initials because men would not pay attention to a woman financial writer. She was long been recognized as one of the finest authorities in the field. 1922-Trombonist Kai Winding born Aarhus, Denmark 1927 - Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard was opened, the first of the Fox chain of movie theaters. The lavish 2,200 seat theater cost $1 million to build. Its first film was shown on this date, Cecil B. DeMille's King of Kings, at the high price of $2.00 per seat. It was later renamed Mann's Chinese Theater. 1927 -- Bath, Michigan School Disaster. Andrew Kehoe, seeking revenge against the community for taxes imposed on his farm to pay for a new school, set off a TNT bomb in the school, killing 43 people, including 39 grade-school children. After the explosion, Kehoe killed his wife, then drove his truck back, loaded with dynamite & nails, to the school, & set it off, killing himself & the school superintendent. 1931-Bix Biederbecke joins Casa Loma Band for a date at Metropolitan Hotel, Boston. 1933--- President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Tennessee Valley Authority Act. 1942--Birthday of Rodney Dillard, of the electric bluegrass group, the Dillards, born in Salem, Missouri. Formed in 1962, the Dillards left their home state that year for Hollywood where they played a hillbilly band on TV's "Andy Griffith Show." Their albums contained songs by folk and rock composers such as Bob Dylan, and their use of electric instruments helped pave the way for such country-rock groups as the Byrds and the Eagles. 1944- The Allies Captured Monte Cassino (you may remember the movie). There had been five Allied attempts to take the German position at The Benedictine abbey at Monte Cassino. Although the abbey had been reduced to rubble, it served as a bunker for the Germans and they could relay all activity in the area to airplanes and giant cannot attacks. In the spring of 1944 Marshal Alphonese Pierre Juin devised an operation that crossed the mountainous regions behind the fortress like structure, using Moroccan troops of the French Expeditionary Force. Specially trained for mountain operations, they climbed 4,850 feet to locate a pass. On May 15, 1944, they attached the Germans from behind. On May 18, Polish troops attached to this force took Monte Cassino. 1945 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time," Les Brown Orchestra/Doris Day. 1946---Top Hits All Through the Day - Perry Como The Gypsy - The Ink Spots Shoo Fly Pie - The Stan Kenton Orchestra (vocal: June Christy) New Spanish Two Step - Bob Wills 1952 -- US / Canada: Which Side Are You on? Paul Robeson, in dramatic defiance of government's ban on his leaving US soil, standing on a flatbed truck parked one foot inside the US border at the Peace Arch, in Blaine, Washington, speaks and sings to a crowd of 40,000 Canadians & Americans gathered on both sides of the border. (My father Lawrence Menkin was a recipient of the Paul Robeson Award for producing and writing "Harlem Detective" in the early 1950's for WOR-TV) http://www.bayarearobeson.org/Chronology_7.htm 1952--country singer George Strait was born in Pearsall, Texas. Strait's traditional country sound, influenced by Bob Wills, Merle Haggard, George Jones and Hank Williams, began to find favor at the beginning of the 1980's. His rise to popularity was due at least in part to a reaction against the slicker "urban cowboy" sound. Strait is now one of the biggest country stars, with such number-one hits as "Love without End, Amen," "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind," "All My Ex's Live in Texas" and "I've Come to Expect It from You." His 1985 "Greatest Hits" album spent more than five years on the charts. 1953 - The first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound, Jacqueline Cochran, piloted an F-86 Sabrejet over California at an average speed of 652.337 miles-per- hour. 1953-- Robbie Bachman, drummer for Bachman-Turner Overdrive, was born in Winnipeg. The Canadian rock band, which also included Robbie's brothers Randy and Tim on guitars, was internationally popular in the 1970's with such hits as "Blue Collar," "Let It Ride," "Takin' Care of Business" and "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet," a 1974 million-seller. At its peak, BTO won many polls and honors in the US, as well as seven Juno Awards. 1954---Top Hits Wanted - Perry Como Little Things Mean a Lot - Kitty Kallen If You Love Me (Really Love Me) - Kay Starr I Really Don't Want to Know - Eddy Arnold 1955 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White," Perez Prado. 1957-The Chicago White Sox and the Baltimore Orioles played a 1-1 tie, a game called precisely at 10:20pm so that the White Sox could catch a train out of Baltimore. The Orioles' Dick Williams hit a home run on the game's last pitch to tie the game and avoid defeat. The game was replayed from the beginning at a later date, and Baltimore won. 1960 - Salt Lake City, Utah received an inch of snow. It marked their latest measurable snowfall of record. 1960 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Cathy's Clown," The Everly Brothers. 1962---Top Hits Soldier Boy - The Shirelles Stranger on the Shore - Mr. Acker Bilk She Cried - Jay & The Americans She Thinks I Still Care - George Jones 1965 -- Outer Space: Gene Roddenberry suggests 16 names -- including Kirk -- for Star Trek Captain. It will never fly say some. And small hand held devices that you can talk as if you are on a telephone anywhere, who would believe it. In the Next Generation they were on the shirt that you could turn on with a touch or vocal command or attach to your ear. Unheard of at the time; common today.. 1966 -PH Phactor Jug Band opened at 40 Cedar Alley near Polk and Geary in San Francisco. Does anyone else remember Cedar Alley? 1968 - A tornado outbreak occurred across Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, and Arkansas. Charles City, Iowa was devastated by a tornado rated f5 on the Fujita Scale with 13 people killed and 30 million dollars damage done. An f4 tornado tracked through Jackson, Craighead, and Mississippi Counties in Arkansas, killing 35 people and injuring 361. 164 homes in Jonesboro were destroyed. 1969- Apollo 10 began their orbit to circle the moon ten times. 1969 -- The Klamath tribe wins $4.1 million for loss of Oregon lands during fraudulent government surveys in 1880s. 1969-Birthday of 1969, pop singer Martika, whose real name is Marta Marrera. Her "Toy Soldiers" was a number-one record in 1989. 1969 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Get Back," The Beatles. 1970---Top Hits American Woman/No Sugar Tonight - The Guess Who Vehicle - The Ides of March Cecilia - Simon & Garfunkel My Love - Sonny James 1974 - "The Streak" started a 3-week run at number one on the "Billboard" pop music chart. The novelty tune by Ray Stevens was about people running nekkid where they shouldn't be nekkid, like, in public. It was the second number one hit for the comedian who made numerous appearances on Andy Williams' TV show in the late 1960s, as well as his own show in the summer of 1970. His first number one hit, just prior to "The Streak", was "Everything is Beautiful". Both songs won gold records, as did his comedic "Gitarzan", a top ten hit in 1969. Stevens has been the top novelty recording artist of the past three decades. 1978---Top Hits If I Can't Have You - Yvonne Elliman The Closer I Get to You - Roberta Flack with Donny Hathaway With a Little Luck - Wings It's All Wrong, But It's All Right - Dolly Parton 1978- The Buddy Holly Story, a film starring Gary Busey as Holly, has its world premiere in Dallas. The movie will be a critical and commercial success. 1980 - 9,677-foot Mt. St. Helens, quiet for 93 years, blew its top. The volcanic blast was five hundred times more powerful than the atomic bomb that leveled Hiroshima. Steam and ash erupted more than eleven miles into the sky and darkened skies in a 160-mile radius. Forest fires erupted around the volcano and burned out of control. The eruption, and those that followed, left some sixty dead and caused damage amounting to nearly three billion dollars. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Imgs/Gif/Pictograms/may18_sequence.gif 1982 Unification Church founder Reverend Sun Myung Moon convicted of tax evasion. 1983--- Dr. Sally Ride, 32-year-old with a Ph.D. in physics and pilot's license becomes the first U.S. woman astronaut in space as a mission specialist aboard space shuttle Challenger, 20 years and two days after the first Russian woman went into space. It would be another 15 years before an American woman became a co-pilot of a U.S. space vessel. It took until 1995 - 32 years later - for American Lt. Col. Eileen Collins to touch the controls of an American spacecraft as co-pilot on a space mission. In 1998, she was named a space mission pilot and is scheduled to lift off her spacecraft in late 1999. 1985-- Patricia Kimbrell, the first woman admitted to the ranks of the United States Jaycees, was installed as president of the Dallas chapter of that civic organization. 1986---Top Hits Greatest Love of All - Whitney Houston Why Can't This Be Love - Van Halen What Have You Done for Me Lateley - Janet Jackson Ain't Misbehavin' - Hank Williams, Jr. 1987 - Thunderstorms in Kansas, developing along a cold front, spawned tornadoes at Emporia and Toledo, produced wind gusts to 65 mph at Fort Scott, and produced golf ball size hail in the Kansas City area. Unseasonably hot weather prevailed ahead of the cold front. Pomona NJ reported a record high of 93 degrees, and Altus, OK, hit 100 degrees. 1988- A's Dave Stewart breaks a major league record committing his twelfth balk of the season. 1990 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather in the central U.S. spawning sixteen tornadoes, including a dozen in Nebraska. Thunderstorms also produced hail four inches in diameter at Perryton TX, wind gusts to 84 mph at Ellis KS, and high winds which caused nearly two million dollars damage at Sutherland NE. Thunderstorms deluged Sioux City IA with up to eight inches of rain, resulting in a record flood crest on Perry Creek and at least 4.5 million dollars damage. 1991-Gertrude Belle Ellon, co-recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Medicine, became the first woman inducted as a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Elion's researched to the development of leukemia-fighting drugs and immunosuppressant Imuran, which is used in kidney transplants. 1994-- Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley were married in a private ceremony at a judge's home in the Dominican Republic. First word of the marriage came two months later from the judge himself in an interview published in a Dominican newspaper. The Jackson camp denied the story for several weeks. The marriage came after Jackson reached an out-of-court settlement with a teenager who accused the singer of seducing him. Jackson denied the allegations. Presley filed for divorce in January 1996. 1995- Severe thunderstorms spawned 86 tornadoes over the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys, resulting in 4 deaths and 161 injuries. 5 of the tornadoes were rated f4 on the fujita scale. 1997-- Tiger Woods wins Byron Nelson Golf Classic 1998 - The CBS season finale of TV sitcom Murphy Brown aired, with the title character, played by Emmy-winner Candice Bergen, giving birth to an illegitimate son. Vice President Dan Quayle publicly lambasted the comedy, saying that the program "glorified" single-parenthood, and that it made a mockery of families with fathers. He went on to comment that "Murphy Brown" lacked the judgment to be a proper role model for young women, and that her actions were immoral. Despite the national unpopularity of his criticisms, Quayle did not back down from his stand against the popular show, providing fodder for many stand-up comics. http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,3019,00.html 1999 - The Backstreet Boys release their highly anticipated third album, "Millennium." The album goes on to become the best-selling album of the year. 2000- Mark McGwire passes Mickey Mantle into eighth place on the all-time home run career list with 539. 'Big Mac' goes deep three times as the Cardinals beat the Phillies, 7-2. 2004--- At the age of 40, southpaw Randy Johnson becomes the oldest pitcher to ever throw a perfect game as the Diamondbacks beat the Braves, 2-0. The 'Big Unit' joins Cy Young, Jim Bunning, Hideo Nomo and Nolan Ryan as the only hurlers to throw no-hitters in both leagues and creates the longest time span between no-no's having first accomplishing the feat against the Tigers in June of 1990.
Stanley Cup Champions This Date
1971---Montreal Canadiens
Baseball Poem
Written by Don Angel © in 08-1997
Published: Baseball Almanac (08-2003)
The sun is shining bright No clouds are in sight Pitching would be the key Innings one, two and three Inning four Visitors strike a 1-0 score Inning five Bats come alive Eight batters would come to the plate Three runs being the fate Being down by four The home team needs to score A single to left Eyeing a base running threat The pitcher's attention is slow So off to second the runner goes On the catcher's attempted throw Sailing into the shortstop to low Line drive up the middle Another run is whittled As a result of a homerun Now entering the sixth, down one Visitors still winning Sixth, seventh and eighth inning At the start of inning nine It is up to the relief to shine A strikeout of the side Brings the bottom of the ninth in stride As the closer comes into put out the fire Team members are asked to show their desire The batter takes his stance Giving the third base coach a glance Three balls, two strikes Hoping for one he likes An umpire's call "A ball" First base on a walk Second base on a balk With runner intact, the crowd reacts When a feared slugger comes to bat Wishing for a seventh game remembrance Broadcasters giving those not in attendance "It's a long fly, and Aloha, means good-bye"!
The object is to insert the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once. What could be simpler?
Daily Puzzle
How to play: http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm
Refresh for current date: http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm
Cartoons Leasing 102 --- by Mr. Terry Winders, CLP Leasing News Advisors Pictures from the Past Placards Sales Make it Happen Shawn Halladay Collection To Tell the Truth Why I Became a CLP


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Ruwandi Perera goes on a digital diet with a smartphone and plate
Eating is an integral part of human life, be it as a means of sustenance or enjoyment with family and friends. But in an age where the digital is overpowering our lives, it is also spreading its overwhelming presence onto our plates… changing what we eat, how we eat and how we treat food. Where there once was a knife, fork and spoon beside our plates, there's now a smartphone.
Digital technologies have changed the relationship between people and food, covering all aspects of shopping, sourcing, cooking, eating and sharing. Millennials are demanding simplification with sophistication, as they seek three-step ordering processes that cover everything from a humble hamburger to foie gras.
In fact, Business Insider Intelligence has predicted that smartphone orders will make up more than 10 percent of all quick-service restaurant sales by 2020.
Not only are people relying on WhatsApp groups and Facebook threads to organise dinners and parties, many of them are using technology all night long – even at the table. With so many people using their mobile phones to make reservations, choose take-out options and even pay for their food, many restaurants are changing their game plan.
From smart menus to digital ordering apps and self-order options, eating out is slowly but surely turning techy.
Companies like Pizza Hut have gone a step further – they even have interactive dining tables. You only need to keep your smartphone on the table, and it lights up and turns into your very own pizza-making workstation. Not only can you select your crust, toppings and extras, you may also pay online and even play a game while waiting for your food to arrive at the table.
Californian restaurant Harney Sushi uses digital technology to link the ocean to the table by serving sushi with edible QR codes. Diners can scan them using their smartphones, to know the origin of the fish and also the conditions in which it was bred.
Much like how digital disrupted hospitality and transport with 'middlemen' like Airbnb and Uber, food is also moving into a bubble that's yet to burst, through tech-driven delivery. With the sole objective of bringing grub nearer to consumers, global food delivery apps such as UberEATS and GrubHub are enticing more people to dine at home.
Even locally, Sri Lankan delivery companies – ranging from Hot Wheels to Quickee, and newer ventures such as Grasshoppers and Badaginida – are becoming popular. They deliver everything from pizza to hot butter cuttlefish and kottu roti. Thanks to conveniences such as mobile ordering, mobile payments and geo-based tracking, consumers are finding it easier than ever to order in.
But restaurants cannot fully rejoice in the spread of this new channel since tech-driven delivery companies are bringing down food bills, as deliveries rarely include extras such as drinks and desserts.
These delivery companies offer customers the added advantage of being exposed to myriad options complete with peer reviews. This convenience is not necessarily an option for restaurants, which face direct competition at the point of sale.
On the other hand, digital is eating into people's food habits even in the kitchen. Cooking is no longer considered a chore among millennials. They seem to love to experiment with food and post about it every step of the way. A 2015 Google survey revealed that while those over 35 are likely to print a recipe, 59 percent of 25 to 34-year-olds cook with instructions on their smartphones or tablets.
With healthy eating ruling the roost on our plates, consumers are increasingly relying on Google to learn about food, from the healing power of turmeric to ways in which to infuse spinach into dinner rolls. Unlike the strict dietary trends that have prevailed for decades, many people are now seemingly more concerned about what to add to their plates rather than what to take out.
Increased Google searches for locally grown food also shows that thanks to technology consumers are tracking the farm-to-plate route and opting for more locally sourced fruits, vegetables and meats.
Yet, with all the digital positives served to our dining tables, there are issues that pop out in a stream of chaos and lost values. Meal times are becoming increasingly fragmented among family members, who find it difficult to sit down to eat together. Instead, they take refuge in their phones and tabs.
Eating alone is becoming steadily normal, through which people will browse social media, read online or watch videos while they munch their food. But with many varieties of mobile apps enabling us to track our calories, read up on food origins and share pictures of meals, digital eating will surely keep us busy… until we've finished every last morsel.

subset: commoncrawl


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Officials of the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., announced a $67.7 million order Tuesday to the BAE Systems Electronic Systems segment in Nashua, N.H., to provide radio frequency (RF) countermeasures systems for special operations C-130J four-engine turboprop aircraft.
The aircraft involved are the AC-130J Ghostrider close-air-support plane and the MC-130J Commando II, which is designed to fly covertly at night for special forces refueling, infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply.
This order calls for BAE Systems to design, build, and test airborne EW systems to enable special-operations C-130J aircraft to detect, identify, locate, deny, degrade, disrupt, and defeat enemy radar systems during special-operations missions.
Related: Not your old timer's electronic warfare
In addition to BAE Systems, the Northrop Grumman Corp. Mission Systems segment in Linthicum, Md., also is developing EW systems for the AC-130J and MC-130J aircraft. The two companies could split as much as $400 million over the life of this program.
BAE Systems won its original $22.4 million development contract for the AC-130J and MC-130J EW systems in November 2015. Four companies bid on that job, with BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman chosen for follow-on development.
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center awarded the original contract and Tuesday's order on behalf of U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.
The AC-130J Ghostrider's primary missions are close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance. Close air support missions include troops in contact, convoy escort and point air defense. The Ghostrider carries a 105-millimeter cannon, 30-millimeter cannon, as well as smart munitions like the GBU-39 Small-Diameter Bomb and the AGM-176 Griffin missile.
Related: Air Force Special Operations plans to equip AC-130J with laser weapons by 2020
The MC-130J Commando II, meanwhile, performs clandestine, or low-visibility low-level air refueling missions for special operations helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft, and infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of special operations forces.
The Commando II primarily flies missions at night to reduce probability of visual acquisition and intercept by enemy aircraft and air defenses. Its secondary mission includes the airdrop of leaflets.
On this order BAE Systems will do the work in Nashua, N.H., and should be finished by August 2023. For more information contact BAE Systems Electronic Systems online at www.baesystems.com, or U.S. Special Operations Command at www.socom.mil.
Learn more: search the Aerospace & Defense Buyer's Guide for companies, new products, press releases, and videos


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This professional campaign titled 'Always first truck' was published in Germany in February, 2011. It was created for the brand: FedEx, by ad agency: Miami Ad School. This Ambient medium campaign is related to the Transport industry and contains 1 media asset. It was submitted about 13 years ago.
Advertising School: Miami Ad School, Hamburg, Germany
Creatives: Thomas Ilum, Zoe Vogelius


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Warm, amber-coloured glass updates Audo Copenhagen's popular Échasse Bowl - a modern reinterpretation of a glass bowl inspired by laboratory test tubes. Looking to the past and to nature for colour inspiration, to the deep amber hue of traditional apothecary bottles and the golden brown tones in autumn leaves. The mouth-blown glass shapes are suspended on a bronzed brass stilt-like frame, creating a sense of lightness while ensuring stability.
Use the Échasse Bowl for seasonal foodstuffs or perhaps as an elegant serving vessel.


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The heart of the matter | Darren Tanti
Juxtaposing religious imagery with visceral representations of human organs and pitting them under changing lights, young painter Darren Tanti drew attention during the collective exhibition Divergent Thinkers 2 at St James Cavalier. He speaks to us about his evolution as an artist .
"Last year I missed the opportunity to participate due to my studies so I made it a point that if the show was going to be held again the following year I had to be in it. Obviously one has to make it through the first selection made by the curator and the ones in charge and only then he/she can start to focus on the real work to be exhibited.
"As the curator, Raphael Vella, explained to all the artists in the first meetings, the binder that held all the exhibition together was the concept of 'Divergence' and for this very reason the artwork themselves could take any form and shape according to the individuals interests and language. Every artist worked on their own and we've only started to see each others' work when we started to approach the set-up date of the exhibition; it was really exciting to see the variety of the artworks functioning so well together. The fact that the curator modified the structure of the St James Cavalier main hall continued to accentuate the individuality of the artworks whilst binding them together through the space distribution.
"The criteria that the jury sought for was mainly 'creative thinking'. But it is not only about creativity, it was also about expanding and developing different possibilities and solutions from older ideas and concepts. Quoting Raphael Vella's essay in the exhibition catalogue: it is 'mental flexibility that Divergent Thinkers aims to display: that intuitive sense that makes artists see the endless possibilities that fork out of a single point of departure'.
"For me it was a continuation of a journey that I started immediately after 'Omen' (my first solo exhibition). My focus is not only about being a skilful painter (something that I guess I will never end striving for) but to use the same skills learnt over the years to create innovative artworks and new pictorial experiences.
Darren Tanti.
"In this particular exhibition, I juxtaposed sacred imagery against visceral images of bodily organs and placed them under an LED light, which dims accordingly.
"I reinterpreted 'sacred' imagery and concepts with an editorial approach, by drawing as precisely as possible (almost photographically) the subjects depicted, such as the kidney, the Host, the monstrance and the heart but giving them an aura usually attributed to fashion magazine and graphic designing. The alternating bright red-green-white LEDs not only served to make the images 'change' but also to give a contemporary aura to the artworks. This experiment turned out to be something of a meditation on the idea of perception.
"It was a 'planned accident'. It was something that was at the back of mind since last year and I never really had time to develop. One of the latest techniques that I developed was 3D painting, and in order for me to create a fully functioning 3D painting I had to understand and explore different fields of study such as the anatomy of the eye and the biology of vision, stereoscopy and anaglyph imaging - 3D film. All these sources of knowledge made me aware of a variety methods that I could develop and explore. If one understands the process, one can modify it to his own needs, and this is what I did, I used my new knowledge to produce a different end result to an older issue.
"The plan from here on out is to keep on painting. Apart from that, I would like to share my art with the public more often and to create dialogue.
"Indeed I aspire to establish myself as an artist locally. I guess that the majority of the artists aspire to get to that point. It's not about popularity - it is more about creating 'valuable' art that is recognised by the public, and for the artist to reach a wider public he has to become a familiar name."