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Gene functionalities and genome structure in Bathycoccus prasinos reflect cellular specializations at the base of the green lineage
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Bathycoccus prasinos is an extremely small cosmopolitan marine green alga whose cells are covered with intricate spider's web patterned scales that develop within the Golgi cisternae before their transport to the cell surface. The objective of this work is to sequence and analyze its genome, and to present a comparative analysis with other known genomes of the green lineage.
Its small genome of 15 Mb consists of 19 chromosomes and lacks transposons. Although 70% of all B. prasinos genes share similarities with other Viridiplantae genes, up to 428 genes were probably acquired by horizontal gene transfer, mainly from other eukaryotes. Two chromosomes, one big and one small, are atypical, an unusual synapomorphic feature within the Mamiellales. Genes on these atypical outlier chromosomes show lower GC content and a significant fraction of putative horizontal gene transfer genes. Whereas the small outlier chromosome lacks colinearity with other Mamiellales and contains many unknown genes without homologs in other species, the big outlier shows a higher intron content, increased expression levels and a unique clustering pattern of housekeeping functionalities. Four gene families are highly expanded in B. prasinos, including sialyltransferases, sialidases, ankyrin repeats and zinc ion-binding genes, and we hypothesize that these genes are associated with the process of scale biogenesis.
The minimal genomes of the Mamiellophyceae provide a baseline for evolutionary and functional analyses of metabolic processes in green plants.
KeywordsSialic Acid Horizontal Gene Transfer Ankyrin Repeat Sequence Similarity Search Horizontal Gene Transfer Event
big outlier chromosome
- bp
base pair
Center for Culture of Marine Phytoplankton
expressed sequence tag
horizontal gene transfer
National Center for Biotechnology Information
Roscoff Culture Collection
small outlier chromosome.
Marine phytoplankton is responsible for about half of the photosynthetic activity on the planet [1], the second half being carried out by terrestrial plants. Two major traits differentiate these two classes of organisms. First, phytoplankton is essentially composed of unicellular organisms that have a high turnover; whereas terrestrial plants are renewed, on average, once every 9 years, the global phytoplankton population is replaced approximately every week [1]. Second, while photosynthesis is confined to specific organs of plants, often only a minor component of the plant biomass, in phytoplankton, photosynthesis essentially takes place in each cell. Phytoplankton populations are thus highly dynamic and may be able to adapt rapidly to changing environments. Even so, a global decline of photosynthetic micro-organisms over the past century has recently been reported [2], motivating research aimed at better understanding the global diversity of phytoplankton and how these species adapt to changing marine environment.
Phytoplankton is usually pragmatically classified according to size, from pico- (below 3 µm), nano- (3 to 8 µm) to micro-algae (above 5 to 8 µm), although these categories have no evolutionary significance. The eukaryotic fraction of picophytoplankton accounts for a modest part of the oceanic biomass, but nevertheless contributes an important part to primary production in many oceanic waters [3, 4]. Among these picoeukaryotes, environmental diversity studies based on ribosomal gene sequences showed that small green algae, and notably the three genera Bathycoccus, Micromonas and Ostreococcus, are distributed worldwide and are numerically important in coastal areas. These three genera are characterized by their small size (1 to 2 µm), their rudimentary cellular organization (one mitochondrion and one chloroplast) and their small genomes (from 13 to 22 Mb). Micromonas [5] is a naked cell with one long flagellum whereas the two other genera are non-motile. Ostreococcus [6, 7] is naked whereas Bathycoccus [8] is covered with scales. The complete genome sequences of two Micromonas [9], two Ostreococcus [10, 11] and a low-light adapted strain of Ostreococcus (strain RCC809, available on the Joint Genome Institute web site) have been analyzed. The three genera belong to the order Mamiellales, in the class Mamiellophyceae [12, 13], a monophyletic group in the phylum Chlorophyta. The ancestors of these micro-organisms emerged at the base of the green lineage and knowledge about them provides a baseline for exploring the evolution of this lineage, which also gave rise to terrestrial plants. Given their small cellular and genome sizes, they may reveal the 'bare limits' of life as a free-living photosynthetic eukaryotes, thus presenting a simple organization with very little non-coding sequences [14].
Here we report the analysis of the genome of one Mediterranean strain belonging to the genus Bathycoccus and its comparison with Mamiellales and other green algae, allowing a survey of the genome organization at the base of the green lineage. Although Bathycoccus was initially isolated from deep water (100 meters) [8], it has been frequently reported in various marine environments and seems an important component of the picoeukaryote compartment [15, 16, 17, 18]. The availability of this genome, coupled to the development of new sequencing possibilities for metagenomes [19, 20] from various marine environments, opens the way for comparative studies and to a better understanding of the adaptations of this organism to its environment(s).
Results and discussion
Characterization and phylogenetic position of the Bathycoccus prasinos RCC1105 strain
Global characteristics of the Bathycoccus genome
Nuclear genome characteristics of green algae
Genome size (Mb)
Chromosome number
Gene number
Bathycoccus sp. RCC1105
Micromonas sp. RCC299
Micromonas sp. CCMP1545
Ostreococcus lucimarinus clade A
Ostreococcus sp. RCC809 clade B
Ostreococcus tauri clade C
Chlorella sp. NC64A
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Volvox carterii
Based on the annotated gene sets of different land plants and green algae, sequence similarity searches were performed to group homologous genes into families (a family being defined as a set of two or more homologous genes; see Materials and methods). Subsequently, pan and core genome plots were built to quantify the number of shared and unique genes and families between different species (Figure S5 in Additional file 1). Comparing the set of core genes between different algal groups reveals that the smaller genome sizes of Mamiellales, as well as the lower number of genes, correspond both with the decrease of the average number of genes per family and with the number of families conserved within a specific clade. For example, whereas the number of gene families shared between all land plants, Chlamydomonales, and Trebouxiophyceae is 2,692, this number drops to 1,959 when including all Mamiellales species. Similarly, based on a set of core gene families conserved in both land plants and algae, the average gene family size is smaller for Mamiellales compared to Trebouxiophyceae or Chlamydomonales (average of 1.63, 1.78 and 1.93 genes per family, respectively). More than 500 gene families were found that were conserved between land plants and green algae but that were lost in all Mamiellales species (Figure S6 in Additional file 1). These families were enriched for functions related to zinc ion-binding and transport (ten families), UDP-glucosyltransferase activity (six families), vitamin ion binding (eight families) and sucrose and fatty acid metabolism (eight families) (Table S2 in Additional file 1). Although this pattern suggests a reduction of the functional gene repertoire, we also found more than 400 gene families that are specific to Mamiellales and found in all Mamiellales species. Whereas many of these Mamiellales-specific genes have unknown functions, three families related to drug transport and ten families including genes related to zinc ion binding were found (Table S2 in Additional file 1). Although rapid sequence evolution can interfere with the accurate detection of homologs using similarity searches, the observed pattern indicates a high turnover of zinc ion binding-related genes.
Biological role and evolution of the big and small outlier chromosomes in Bathycoccus and in the Mamiellales
Characteristics of the small outlier chromosomes for Bathycoccus and one Micromonas and one Ostreococcus species
Chromosome number
Size (kb)
ORF number
Gene densities (bp/gene)
Identified genes
Sugar metabolism
Methylation enzymes
Other function
Bathycoccus sp.
34 (47%)
17 (24%)
7 (10%)
4 (6%)
Ostreococcus lucimarinus
32 (41%)
16 (21%)
5 (6%)
11 (14%)
Micromonas sp. RCC299
30 (38%)
14 (18%)
7 (9%)
9 (11%)
The big outlier chromosome in Bathycoccus
The BOC1 region also displays structural specificities that are absent in the rest of the genome. Besides its low GC content, genes in the BOC1 region are split by many small (40 to 65 bp) AT-rich introns [10, 11]. This feature is present in all of the sequenced Mamiellales genomes (Figure S10 in Additional file 1) and absent from the genomes of other green algae (Figure S10 in Additional file 1). There is no universal RNA-fold for these introns and no conserved sequence motifs (for example, branch points, splice sites) could be detected. Although the only intrinsic indication from their DNA sequences that they are introns comes from their AT-richness relative to the surrounding GC rich exons, their existence is clear from EST data. Consequently, the BOC1 region includes a high proportion of multiple exon genes, a feature absent in the rest of the genome (Table S2 in Additional file 1). In Bathycoccus, 103 of the 214 BOC1 genes harbor 330 introns, an intron content tenfold higher than in the rest of the genome (average of 1.54 and 0.15 introns per BOC1 and non-BOC1 gene, respectively).
In conclusion, the BOC1 region in the Mamiellales has unique structural characteristics: it represent one contiguous low(er) GC content region in the chromosome, flanked by two high(er) GC content regions at the extremities and carries between 193 and 633 genes depending on the species examined. The gene order within the region shows little colinearity between species and it encodes a high proportion of often vital housekeeping genes with elevated expression levels clustered together in a pattern unique to the Mamiellales (Figure 4). The biological reason for the existence of this region remains obscure, although its structural characteristics (shuffling of genes, small introns, low GC content) concur with the hypothesis that it may be a sex or species-barrier chromosome [27, 28].
The small outlier chromosome in Bathycoccus
The size of the Bathycoccus small outlier chromosome is 146,238 bp. compared to around 150 kb in Ostreococcus lucimarinus and 200 to 250 kb in Micromonas. The SOC average gene density in B. prasinos is slightly lower than that observed in the other chromosomes (72 genes with an average of 2.0 kb per gene in SOC compared to 1.7 kb per gene in the global genome), with a similar expression level based on EST counts. Only 44% of the genes in SOC have a potentially identified function compared to 77% in other chromosomes. Furthermore, up to 75% of the SOC genes have no known plant orthologs, in sharp contrast to most other chromosomes, where most genes share green lineage descent. Last but not least, in Bathycoccus, 24 of the 34 SOC genes having an identified function group in two categories. The first group encodes enzymes involved in metabolism of glycoconjugates (17 genes), mainly glycosyltransferase (12 genes), and the second is related to methyl transferases (7 genes). These features are globally similar in the other known Mamiellales SOCs, where the same two dominant gene functions were found (Table 2). However, despite their common function, no synteny and almost no orthologous relationships could be established between the SOCs of the different Mamiellales' species, suggesting a more functional convergence than a common phylogenetic origin. To explain the presence of such genes in SOCs, an alien origin of these chromosomes was proposed, which could have yielded some selective advantages in cell surface processes, potentially related, for example, to defense against pathogens or other environmental interactions [10]. However, since SOCs and BOCs have now been found in all sequenced mamiellophycean genomes, it is likely that their lower GC composition, higher proportion of specific genes and higher evolution rates [9, 29] are being maintained by the same evolutionary pressure in all of these species. Interestingly, a paper on the cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus describes how variable genomic islands showing similar characteristics to those found in SOCs (low number of orthologs, a high level of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and a high fraction of sugar-modifying enzymes, methyl transferases and membrane associated proteins) are involved in resistance to viruses [30]. The viral resistance determined by these genomic islands induced a fitness cost measured either by a reduced growth rate and/or a more rapid infection by other viruses. The three genera Bathycoccus, Micromonas and Ostreococcus are the microalgae tested, which are among the most attacked by viruses [31], and viral resistance phenomena showing similar characteristics to what is reported for Prochlorococcus (reduced growth rate and higher infection rate by other viruses) have been reported to occur frequently [32]. It is tempting to link this unusual high viral sensitivity and the ability to develop rapid and frequent resistance to these attacks to the presence of SOCs. Interestingly, two other Mamiellales species (Mamiella sp. or Mantoniella squamata) were tested recently and did not show this high viral sensitivity (N Simon, personal communication). It can be predicted that if our hypothesis on the link between SOC and viral hypersensitivity/resistance is correct, these species should not present a SOC-like structure in their genome.
Phylogenomics suggests many horizontal gene transfers
In line with a recent report about the acquisition of ice-binding proteins in sea ice diatoms from prokaryotic origin [38], it is tempting to speculate that the HGT genes contribute new functional properties to the Bathycoccus genome. The analysis of a large DNA virus in Ostreococcus tauri suggested that the capture of host DNA in viral genomes could represent a mechanism for the transfer of genes between eukaryotic cells [39]. This idea was confirmed by the additional sequencing of four double-stranded DNA marine prasinovirus genomes (infecting Bathycoccus, Micromonas, and Ostreococcus), showing that these viruses encode a gene repertoire of certain amino acid biosynthesis pathways never previously observed in viruses that are likely to have been acquired from lateral gene transfer from their host or from bacteria [40]. A similar eukaryotic phytoplankton-virus system was also described in Emiliania huxleyi, mediating the transfer of seven genes related to sphingolipid biosynthesis [41].
To verify whether specific genomic regions or chromosomes would be more likely to harbor genes arriving via HGT, we estimated the number of HGT genes per chromosome. We observed that transferred genes were more or less equally distributed over the different chromosomes, except for the low GC outlier chromosomes, which contained higher fractions of HGT genes (BOC1 and SOC contain 1.63 and 1.54 times more HGT genes compared to the genome-wide average; Figure 5b). Different possibilities for the increased abundance of HGT on the outliers include, for example: (1) they may have specific sequence features that can serve to integrate HGT genes that are subsequently re-arranged and embedded in other locations in the genome; (2) it may reflect a lower density of essential gene functionalities in outliers, which could thus support a higher density of random insertions; or (3) there might be a lower level of recombination on these chromosomes, reducing the rate of removal of deleterious alleles via sexual recombination. None of these scenarios are mutually exclusive.
Expanded gene families in the Bathycoccus genome
Gene familya
Copy number in Bathycoccus prasinos
Copy number in Micromonassp. CCMP1545
Copy number in Micromonassp. RCC299
Copy number in Ostreococcus lucimarinus
Copy number in Ostreococcussp. RCC809
Copy number in Ostreococcus tauri
Glycosyl transferase, family 29 (IPR001675)
Ankyrin repeats (IPR020683)
Sialidase/neuraminidase (IPR011040)
Zinc finger, C2H2
Sialic acid metabolism in Bathycoccus
The second gene family includes sialidases (or neuraminidases), which are enzymes cleaving the terminal sialic acid residues from glycoproteins or glycolipids. Again, this gene expansion is specific to Bathycoccus. In contrast to the previous family, no clear domain organization could be defined in sialidases, but some key amino acids known to be involved in the catalytic activity are conserved in the Bathycoccus family. The taxonomic origin of the sialidases is less clear than that for the sialyltransferases discussed above, and could correspond to either metazoans or bacteria. For sialidases, scores are globally weak and best blast hits are found mostly with hypothetical proteins either from the choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicolis or from the green alga Chlorella variabilis (where only one sialidase has been annotated).
The expansion of these two enzyme families prompted us to look for specific potential 'sialic acid' metabolism in Bathycoccus. The composition of flagellar scales in Scherffelia dubia (phylum Chlorophyta, class Chlorodendrophyceae) was found to be a mix of acidic polysaccharides having similar structures to sialic acids [46]. Although the chemical nature of the scales covering the Bathycoccus cell membrane is unknown, it is tempting to establish a correlation between the potential biosynthetic pathway of these scales and the expansion of gene families involved in the metabolism of sialic acids. Furthermore, we confirmed previous electron microscopy studies [8, 47] showing that, in Bathycoccus as in other Mamiellophyceae, scale biosynthesis occurs inside intracellular vesicles with striking resemblance to Golgi vesicles (Figure 6b-d); that is, in agreement with the notion that they might be produced by sialyltransferases located at the luminal side of intracellular vesicles. Scales almost identical to those of B. prasinos are observed in the more closely related Mantoniella squamata [48], where they are also extruded to the surface after transport via the Golgi body [49, 50, 51].
Other Bathycoccus expanded gene families
One of the two other highly expanded gene families in the Bathycoccus genome are ankyrin-repeat proteins (149 gene copies). This family is also expanded, although to a lesser extent, in the Micromonas strain CCMP1545 (56 copies), whereas only very few copies were detected in other Mamiellales (Table 3). These genes have ankyrin repeats located in the carboxy-terminal part of the protein whereas the amino-terminal part has no hit in GenBank. There are also many other ankyrin repeats containing genes in Bathycoccus as in both plants and microalgae, but associated with different protein domains that often have predicted functionalities. Indeed, the ankyrin repeat is considered as one of the most common protein-protein interaction motifs in nature [52]. The 149 Bathycoccus-specific genes were not distributed randomly among chromosomes, with the bigger chromosomes having few copies, whereas chromosomes 12 or 19 bear many tandem duplicated genes (Figure S12 in Additional file 1). No obvious function can be attributed to these genes. However, by analogy with the human membrane-associated ankyrin, which is responsible for the attachment of the cytoskeleton to the plasma membrane, it is possible that a number of these genes might function in some way to bind extracellular scales to the plasmic membrane, although experimental evidence is lacking. It has been shown, however, by electron microscopy coupled to immunogold that scales in Scherffelia dubia are linked to the membrane by glycoproteins [46]. In addition, in Tetraselmis striata (Chlorodendrophyceae) some scale-associated glycoproteins may provide connections between scales and the underlying flagellar membrane [50].
The last group of expanded genes in Bathycoccus are zinc finger proteins. There are many zinc finger proteins in microalgae and in plants, but the family specifically expanded in Bathycoccus is most related to the C2H2-type zinc finger DNA-binding domain of certain integrases, which share a common alpha/beta two-layer sandwich core structure. The typical organization of the 48 copies identified in the Bathycoccus genome (Table 3) includes a short amino-terminal part (around 20 to 40 amino acids) followed by a strongly acidic region (10 to 20 amino acids) and by 2 to 6 C2H2 domains. Zinc finger proteins were originally identified as DNA-binding domains, although a growing body of evidence suggests an important and widespread role for these domains in protein binding. There are even examples of zinc fingers that support both DNA and protein interactions, and, globally, C2H2 protein-protein interactions are proving to be more abundant than previously appreciated [53].
The most parsimonious explanation for the abundance of the four expanded gene families would be an initial single HGT event followed by expansion in the Bathycoccus genome. The potential function of these four gene families and their expansion only in Bathycoccus also suggest that they could all be involved in the biosynthesis, exportation and fixation of the scales around the external membrane, and possibly for protection of the cell. Several other members of the Mamiellales have morphologically similar scales around the cells, but they are absent in the two genera Micromonas and Ostreococcus. The most parsimonious evolutionary scenario to explain these observations is that the scale synthesis pathway was acquired by the ancestor of the Mamiellales (or even before) and has been lost in the two naked genera. This scenario predicts that similar gene family expansions should be found in the genomes of other scaled Mamiellaophyceae but not in Micromonas and Ostreococcus. This is the case for Micromonas and Ostreococcus, but the genome sequences of other scaled species are not yet available.
Mamiellophyceae, and more particularly the three genera Bathycoccus, Micromonas and Ostreococcus, are dominant in different marine areas, where they can play an important role in the primary biomass production. However, the ecological importance of Bathycoccus has probably been overlooked these past years, although it was sporadically mentioned in several studies [5, 16, 17, 18]. The availability of this genome, coupled to the development of new sequencing possibilities for metagenomes [19, 20] from various marine environments, opens the door to future comparative studies and to a better understanding of the adaptations of the organisms to their environment.
Materials and methods
B. prasinos RCC1105 genome and EST sequencing and annotation
The sequenced strain B. prasinos RCC1105 was isolated in the bay of Banyuls sur mer at the SOLA station (Additional file 1). The genomic DNA was extracted from cell pellets containing a collective total of 6.4 × 1010 cells, using a cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide protocol (adapted from [54]). The Bathycoccus genome was sequenced using Sanger technology on three independent shot-gun libraries with insert sizes of 3 (TK0AAA, vector pcdna2.1 (BstXI)), 10 (TK0AAB, vector pCNS (BstXI)) and 50 kb (TK0ACA, vector pBeloBAC11 (HindIII) and TK0ACB, vector pBeloBAC11 (BamHI)), resulting in 230,496 reads (180 Mb), 118,070 reads (152 Mb) and 10,368 reads (14 Mb), respectively. After trimming, read numbers were 223,577 reads (174 Mb) for the 3 kb library, 112,842 reads (145 Mb) for the 10 kb library and 8,189 reads (11 Mb) for the 50 kb library, and represented a coverage of 22-fold from 330 Mb of sequenced DNA. The data were assembled using the Genoscope pipe-line that includes the software Arachne 3.0 [55]. ESTs were sequenced from a Bathycoccus culture grown to log phase (107 cells/ml), harvested by centrifugation and the cell pellets were immediately flash frozen in liquid nitrogen. The total RNA was extracted using the TriReagent (Sigma-Aldrich, Saint-Quentin, France) protocol and mRNAs purified using Poly(A)Purist (Ambion-Applied Bioystems, Saint Aubin, France). Complementary DNAs were constructed and cloned using the CloneMiner procedure (InvitroGen, Saint Aubin, France) with some minor modifications. EST sequences were obtained using pyrosequencing technology developed by Roche (Boulogne-Billancourt, France). A total of 253,791 EST reads were processed through the Genoscope EST pipeline. Short (<60 bp) and low complexity sequences were identified and removed. Clustering and assembly of all 251,875 filtered EST reads resulted in 8,370 EST consensus sequences.
The genome was annotated using the EuGene [56, 57] gene finding system with Splice- Machine [58] signal sensor components trained specifically on Bathycoccus datasets. The functional annotation resulted from the synthesis of InterPro and the BLASTP hits against the non-redundant UniProt database. Gene Ontology assignments were derived from the InterPro results. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis was performed using the hypergeometric distribution with Bonferonni correction for multiple hypothesis testing and corrected P-values <0.05 were retained as significant. The resulting database is publicly available at [59] in a format that includes browse and query options and the genome has been submitted to GenBank.
Comparative sequence and expression analysis
Starting from all protein-coding genes from the included species (Table 1), only retaining the longest transcript if alternative splicing variants exist, protein sequences were used to construct gene families by applying sequence-based protein clustering. First, an all against all sequence comparison was performed using BLASTP, applying an E-value threshold of 1e-05 and retaining the best 500 hits [60]. Next, the complete sequence similarity graph was processed using Tribe-MCL (mclblastline, default parameters except I = 2 and scheme = 4) to identify gene families. A set of 154 single-copy core gene families was used to construct the phylogenetic tree depicted in Figure S1 in Additional file 1 (see also Additional files 2 and 3).
The boundaries of all Mamiellales BOC1 regions were manually delineated based on gene coordinates, gene family information and GC content (Table S2 in Additional file 1). For non-Mamiellales, a 'virtual' BOC1 region was created by taking the best BLASTP hit for each B. prasinos RCC1105 BOC1 gene. Putative BOC1 Mamiellales core gene families (Figure 6, blue lines) were identified by first retaining only those families that contain at least one protein for each Mamiellales species. Next, each family was aligned and manually curated. This was done by inspecting and correcting, if necessary, the structural and functional annotation (NCBI BLAST results plus InterProScan) of all cluster members. For Ostreococcus sp. RCC809 no SOC could be identified in the current draft genome assembly (Additional file 1).
Comparative genomics
To detect co-linearity within and between species, i-ADHoRe 3.0 was used (Additional file 1) [61] and all chromosomes from all species were compared against each other and significant colinear regions were identified. All gene colinearity can be browsed using the pico-PLAZA comparative genomics platform [62]. i-ADHoRe was run with the following settings: alignment_method gg, gap_size 30, cluster_gap 35, q_value 0.9, prob_cutoff 0.0001, anchor_points 5 and level_2_only false.
EST databases were retrieved from their respective public repositories and mapped on the Mamiellales genomes using GenomeThreader [63] with a minimum alignment score threshold of 0.95 and minimum transcript coverage of 0.89. Only uniquely mapped ESTs were retained and assigned to genes. When an EST with no strand information overlapped with two adjacent genes, it was assigned to the gene with the highest overlap. For the BOC expression analysis global gene, EST counts were first summarized per functional category. In a second stage, expression enrichment was determined by comparing for each functional category the fraction of BOC expressed genes against the overall fraction of BOC expressed genes (denoted 'relative BOC expression enrichment' in Figure S8 in Additional file 1).
Analysis of potential horizontal gene transfer
For each protein-coding gene a BLAST sequence similarity search was performed against the NCBI protein database, which contains the proteins of all sequenced Ostreococcus, Micromonas and Chlamydomonas species (E-value <1e-05). Starting from a selection of BLAST hits a phylogenetic approach was used to identify the putative origin of all genes. Briefly, good hits (20% top hits relative to the best Bit score excluding query self-hits) were retained per gene, protein sequences and detailed taxonomic information was retrieved, a multiple sequence alignment was generated using MUSCLE and a maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree was constructed using PhyML (100 bootstrap sets, WAG model, kappa estimated, 4 substitution rate categories, gamma distribution parameter estimated, BIONJ starting tree, no topology, branch lengths and rate parameter optimization). For each query gene the corresponding tree topology was investigated to identify the nearest neighbor gene/clade, including bootstrap support, and determine the nearest neighbor taxonomic information. Genes showing complex punctuate patterns [64] (that is, clustering with homologs from different phyla outside the Viridiplantae; labeled 'multi-kingdom' in Table S5 in Additional file 1) were excluded. Singletons refer to genes for which no phylogenetic analysis could be done because they only have a single BLAST hit based on the 20% top hits. Nearest neighbors with bootstrap support >90% and gene coverage of 50% or more in the multiple alignment were scored as reliable HGT genes to estimate the fraction of eukaryotic origin. Although the low number of HGT genes found in Arabidopsis does not serve as a perfect negative control for the detection of HGT in unicellular green algae, it suggests that, when applied to a full set of proteins of a specific organism, this approach gives a conservative estimate of putative transfer events with a low number of false positives. To verify if, for some HGT genes, homologous genes exist in other algae that were missed during the process of gene annotation, a systematic sequence similarity search (using tblastn, E-value threshold 1e-05 against intergenic sequences of O. tauri, O. lucimarinus, Ostreococcus RCC809, M. pusilla and C. reinhardtii) revealed that, on average, no homologous locus could be found for 93% of the HGT genes. A list of all HGT genes together with protein alignment and phylogenetic tree statistics is available in Additional file 5.
C-hunter analysis
Four functional categories (two types with two subdivisions each) were defined and genes were assigned to each class, if applicable. The first type of functional category describes the expression state of a gene (based on uniquely mapped ESTs; is a gene expressed (number of ESTs >0) or highly expressed (number of ESTs >2)) while the second type describes the intron content of a gene (contains an intron (number of introns >0) or contains a 'lot' of introns (number of introns >2)). C-hunter [65] software was used to identify, in all genomes, significant clusters of genes belonging to one of the four functional categories. The C-hunter thresholds for each category subdivision were determined by reviewing the average expression and intron content of all Mamiellales genes. C-hunter was run with the following parameters: <C-hunter categories.go genome.index genome.go 2 80 80 0.001 50 T chunter output>.
Accession numbers
Sequence data from this article (the genome of B. prasinos RCC1105) can be found in the EMBL/GenBank data libraries under accession number [FO082258] (mitochondrion), [FO082259] (chloroplast), [FO082278] (chromosome 1), [FO082277] (chromosome 2), [FO082276] (chromosome 3), [FO082275] (chromosome 4), [FO082274] (chromosome 5), [FO082273] (chromosome 6), [FO082272] (chromosome 7), [FO082271] (chromosome 8), [FO082270] (chromosome 9), [FO082269] (chromosome 10), [FO082268] (chromosome 11), [FO082267] (chromosome 12), [FO082266] (chromosome 13), [FO082265] (chromosome 14), [FO082264] (chromosome 15), [FO082263] (chromosome 16), [FO082262] (chromosome 17), [FO082261] (chromosome 18), [FO082260] (chromosome19). The annotation of the genome can be found at the BOGAS web site [66]. EST data are available at the ENA database (accession number ERA148021) and raw genome sequencing data are available at the Trace archive database of the NCBI under the query: species_code="BATHYCOCCUS SP. BAN7".
We are very grateful to L Fibla and L Subirana for technical help, R Cooke and M Laudié for sequencing and S Proost for technical assistance during the colinearity analysis. Sequencing of the Bathycoccus genome has been supported by the Genoscope (Evry, France) and this research was supported by the CNRS and the University Pierre et Marie Curie (UMR 7232) and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche grants PHYTADAPT n° NT09_567009 and Tara-Girus 09-PCS-GENM-218. We thank Igor Grigoriev, Brian Palenik and the Joint Genome Institute for the access to the Ostreococcus strain RCC809 genome. BV, KV and YVdP acknowledge the support of Ghent University (Multidisciplinary Research Partnership 'Bioinformatics: from nucleotides to networks') and the Interuniversity Attraction Poles Programme (IUAP P6/25), initiated by the Belgian State, Science Policy Office (BioMaGNet).
Supplementary material
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This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


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|"Death to the false...cough hack urgh blegh....emperor!" Perhaps I should call this unit the Charmers....oh dear I should've converted one into a banner bearer.
|I love the detail on the models although some of it is a bit too easily snapped off to my taste.
|Noooooooo! Another shade pot empty, at least this time it wasn't due to knocking it over.
|I suddenly realize I should've made the rim of my bases brown, or did I go for black on the Poxwalkers? Oh no it was brown and Dryad Bark there, German Grey and black here. Something to be fixed at some point I guess.

subset: commoncrawl


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Full Length of A Bigger Splash in High Quality VideoNow you can play full A Bigger Splash in best quality with duration 120 Min and was released on 2015-11-26 with MPAA rating is 8.
- Original Title : A Bigger Splash
- Movie title in your country : A Bigger Splash
- Year of movie : 2015
- Genres of movie : Mystery, Crime, Drama,
- Status of movie : Post Production
- Release date of movie : 2015-11-26
- Companies of movie : StudioCanal,
- Countries of movie : France, Italy,
- Language of movie : English,
- Durationof movie : 120 Min
- Average vote of movie : 2.9
- Youtube ID of movie :
- Translation of movie : EN,IT,FR,HU,EL,
- Actors of movie :Dakota Johnson (Penelope Lanier), Ralph Fiennes (Harry Hawkes), Tilda Swinton (Marianne Lane), Matthias Schoenaerts (Paul De Smedt), Aurore Clément (Mireille), Corrado Guzzanti (Maresciallo Carabinieri), Lily McMenamy (Sylvie), Elena Bucci (Clara)
Movie synopsis of A Bigger Splash :
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Mid-level practitioner needed for South Pole summer
As of today, there has been no one hired yet to replace me in Medical for the summer season. A couple of potential Physician Assistants were offered the position but they both dropped out for various good reasons. I'm scheduled to fly out of here on October 29. My replacement is supposed to fly in here on the 18th so that we can have adequate turnover. Now I may not have anyone to do turnover with but I'm still hoping they just let me on that plane on the 29th.
Here's my own job ad: Needed: Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner to work at the South Pole clinic from late Oct to early Feb. The pay will be less than you've ever made before. The hours will be long as you never really leave work for the day and you won't have any days off except for Sunday and then you'll be on call. Your patients will be your neighbors, your co-workers, your fellow Bingo players. Your commute to work will be less than one minute, depending on if you get stopped in the hallway for a consultation on someone's rash. You get free, unlimited food and a free membership to the gym which is less than a minutes walk from your office. You'll meet the most fascinating carpenters, plumbers, cooks, electricians, mechanics, oh yeah and scientists and have bizarre conversations that you would never have anywhere else in the world. You'll meet people with masters degrees who are taking jobs washing dishes or shoveling snow just for the experience of visiting Antarctica. And you yourself will have the grandest adventure of your life while you're being paid for it. No lazy wankers need bother applying.
We're running out of time. In less than a month, we would need to have someone interviewed, hired, PQ'd (the process of extensive medical exams that must be passed before you can deploy), flown down to New Zealand then McMurdo then South Pole with enough time to make sure that the person isn't going to crump from the altitude or freak out at the sight of this place.
If you are a PA-C or an FNP or know of one who is interested, email me at email@example.com


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Binary Files
Binary files are bytes or streams of 0s and 1s which computer's hardware can understand. On the other end we have source code which is series of literals and enlish like keywords which are "human understandable". Source code is a set of instructions intended to achieve some desired goal/objective/functionality. These two broadly are the two ends of spectrum of software industry.
Terminology may differ. People in OOP would make source files and class file representing them but the fact remains same. Machines and humans dont understand each other's langauge. Part of the reason the situation remains same is architecture of computing machines taken. When they where made machines where thought of as number crunching monsters. So there hardware was designed so as to compute addition, multiplication and all the logical stuff needed. Then from computing we moved to word processing and office automation which thpugh required totally different features. These features where mapped on the same hardware and general purpose machines where made. This is a separate topic of discussion. Lets not move in hardware lets just talk about the SOFTware.
Language incompatibility amongst machines and humans led to creation of this spectrum. Human readable source code on one side and machine readable binary on otherside. Source code in all its essence represents human will which gets translated in machine instructions. What happens in between? If i am the master and computer is the slave then why do i need big big companies to make my PC understand what i want to do.
Software in real life would be flexible to allow user to express her/his whims and fancies. The way we currently do it is that binary would read from a file/setting/property and change its behaviour. If you want to change "behaviour" of a program then either we have to change the "settings" somewhere which the binary would read and determine what to do. Notice that the binary is to check the values in setting and perform some action. Now behaviour of binary hasn't changed.


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Tiger Woods is alleged to have been treated by Canadian doctor, Anthony Galea. Galea is under arrest in Toronto. Dr. Galea is under a Performing Enhancing Drugs (PED) probe, but there is no evidence that Tiger Woods received such drugs from Anthony Galea.
Tiger Woods
Dr. Galea reportedly told The New York Times that Woods' management group, International Management Group (IMG) referred Woods to Galea because Tiger's knee was taking to long to rehabilitate. Woods' agent at IMG, Mark Steinberg, said:
"The New York Times is flat wrong, no one at IMG has ever met or recommended Dr. Galea, nor were we worried about the progress of Tiger's recovers, as the Times falsely reported."Steinberg sent this email to the NYT:
"I would really ask that you guys don't write this? If Tiger is NOT implicated, and won't be, let's please give the kid a break."PGA officials said they have read nothing about the Galea story that leads them to believe Tiger Woods violated the anti-doping policy.
Galea is said to have visited Tiger's Florida home four times, beginning in February 2009, and his treatment of the golf legend was a "platelet-rich plasma therapy" that had nothing to do with Human Growth Hormones (HGH), although the doctor, himself, used HGH for 10 years. Galea says he has never treated any athlete with HGH or Actovegin.
Related and Background:
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Elin Nordegren Woods Puma? Elin Woods Puma Endorser? Elin Woods Wedding Ring Gone?
Tiger Woods Julie Postle? Julie Purple and Tiger? Another Tiger Trashy Lady?
Tiger Woods and Dr. Anthony Galea: Human Growth Hormone Scandal?
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Jamie Jungers Tiger Woods Together when Tiger's Dad Died
Florida Department of Children and Families Visit Woods' Home?
See new video of Holly Sampson talking to a reporter about Tiger Woods 12-13-09
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Tiger Woods Tag Heuer Drops Tiger: Madam Michelle Braun and Tiger Woods Prostitutes?
nbsp;Tiger Woods Nude Photos? Tiger Woods San Clothes: Playgirl Nude Tiger Photos?
Breaking: Tiger Woods Joslyn James? Tiger's Porn Star No. 2? Rachel Uchitel Tiger's Pimp?
Tiger Woods Holly Sampson No. 7? Tiger's Possibly 11 Mistresses? Oprah Phones Tiger?
Rachel Uchitel Miffed - Mistressed Miffed about Girlfriends
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Tiger Woods Accident


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Time did permit during the break to work on the next Vanilla Ice production, but I felt my time was better spent honing my Rock Band drumming and guitar skillz. Watch out Tommy Lee! Or don't watch out as the case may be.
Turns out that if my 7 year old neighbor drums while GirlChild works the foot pedal and BoyChild sings while I guitar...we're not half bad. Or half-good.
This two week break held a lot of firsts for me that I'd like to share...
1) It's my first time that I housed a dead cat in my garage for 3 days. My poor old cat Mina decided to kick the bucket on the floor of my bedroom while I was reading a book. She sort of let out a little squeak and when I looked over, her tongue was hanging out of her mouth. We were sad.
We wrapped her in blankets and put her on the sofa in the garage. I guess I wanted Babycakes to have a final viewing or something.
The next day was pretty cold so we left her on the sofa. And thought about Pet Semetary.
The next day was even colder, but three days was my max since I'm already fearing that we have a cat ghost. A good friend of mine informed me of a great pact she has with her fam...if you think you're gonna die...you have to pull yourself out to the yard first. I second that emotion!
2) I snorted cayenne pepper up my nose.
I rarely cook. And by rarely, I mean that my kids made the comment the other day - "Hey! This dinner is hot!"
Anyhow...I made one of the few dishes I know how to make which involves lentils and rice and some Indian spices. I tossed in some cayenne pepper. My nose itched. I wiped my nose with the hand that contained cayenne pepper residue and snorted. It burns.
3) Redneck Headrests
Babycakes manufactured some redneck headrests so we had something to strap the DVD monitors to on the drive to Savannah. Yee Haw! Pictures of the styrofoam blocks with dowels when I can find the cable for the camera.
We successfully blended at our annual pitstop at South of the Border. I'm not sure if it was the headrests or that our minivan has lost all four hubcaps now and has a Snorlax sticker on the back windshield.
Happy New Year All!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Time did permit during the break to work on the next Vanilla Ice production, but I felt my time was better spent honing my Rock Band drumming and guitar skillz. Watch out Tommy Lee! Or don't watch out as the case may be.


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I came across this post on The Oatmeal the other day:
I mean....really. Why is ink so expensive? This is ridiculous.
I did a little more research and I came across this little gem:
So basically, I can save someone else's life, clear up an infection, get drunk, hydrated, energized, AND drive cross country before I could pay to print a few pieces of paper.
Something should be done about this.....who's with me?!


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Monday, May 09, 2011
Fragments of the galaxy
I am more of a representational artist rather than abstract, but occasionally fragments of colour or light happen that please me and they are usually arrived at quite unintentionally as it is with this piece.
This is a small (8 x 8) gallery canvas that I originally earmarked for experimentation with gyotaku printing. I had layered the canvas with different shaped pieces of various Japanese papers, some showing through in colour or texture. The resulting surface was the support for a print that never really happened.
Late last night I found a piece of textured paper, very thin, with spirals covering it, held together with threads of fabric/paper, almost like a lace doily. I put a piece of this over the canvas then randomly chose a colour to apply. My hand pulled out a perlescent liquid acrylic called 'galactic blue'. A bit wild but what the heck, it was an experiment. I poured it over the textured paper and brushed it on pressing it well into the gaps, rather like a stencil. When I pulled it off, it had the desired effect of leaving the papered canvas with fragmented shapes of the spirals.
Early this morning (my wish for surviving on less sleep seems to be coming true) I studied it again and decided to slap on a series of fairly complementary gold, orange, yellow and red to fill the empty fragments and spill over onto the acrylic ink surface.
Its a unique piece that is almost impossible to photograph because it changes in colour completely depending on the lighting, going from intense blues to rich purples and greens. It may be worth experimenting with it on a larger scale with different acrylics and textures to see what will happen.
5 comments:
- Lisa Le Quelenec said...
Very different and very interesting... it put me in mind of looking at fish scales really close up, almost like an abstracted macro view. The colours sound lush, I know how hard it is to photograph those pearlescent paints. Is it one made by Daler Rowney by any chance?
- 10 May, 2011
- Jeanette said...
It could morph into all sorts of things and I'm not sure if I'm completely done with experimenting yet. The colours work well in terms of contrast and richness I think. The pearlescent ink? Not really sure yet, its a strange thing but broken with matte areas as it is it works somehow.
Yes the brand is Daler Rowney.
- 10 May, 2011
- debwardart said...
I'm not much for abstract, either, but want to do "something" with design for design sake. Have those bits and pieces of ideas floating around in my head but can't quite get a clear picture of what to do. This may inspire me; I like it as it is, but have the feeling more is to come!
- 10 May, 2011
- Sue Pownall said...
I like it!
- 11 May, 2011
- jane minter said...
i like it alot jeanette the colours and textures are beautiful
- 15 May, 2011


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What I'm writing: Chapter 3 (was chapter 5) scene 2.
What do you think of as a 'romantic' moment? Flowers and chocolate on Valentine's Day? A glittery something on your birthday? Flowers delivered every Friday?
For me, romantic means thoughtful. Doing something unexpected. Sure, a guy's going to be in deep yogurt if he forgets Valentine's Day, but it's the action that says "I'm thinking of you all on my own" that trips my heartbeat.
Is a Swiss Army knife a romantic present? Some would say no, but the circumstances, not the gift, define the romance. Years ago, I watched MacGyver. Hubby could take it or leave it, and it definitely wasn't a 'let's sit down and watch this together' sort of a show. I was vaguely aware that he'd come into the room, but didn't even turn my attention from the set. When Mac got out his trusty knife, I mumbled, "Why don't I have one of those?" So when I unwrapped my birthday present and found my very own "mini-MacGyver" (hubby wasn't sure I was ready for the real MacGyver version), I was thrilled. Not for the knife, but for the fact that he actually heard me, even when I wasn't staring right at him, and making a specific request.
Sometimes the gifts can be glittery – such as the time when hubby and one of our daughters were out for dinner. Afterward, as we walked through the strip mall toward our car, I decided to look in the jewelry store. Hubby was definitely against it, but daughter and I pointed out things we liked while hubby grumbled. The next week was Valentine's Day, and daughter and I each received one of the, "that's nice" pieces.
Other things that say romance to me:
Hubby saying, "You're working hard, how about if I take over washing the dishes and one baby feeding every day". Bonus points for it being the 2 AM feeding.
Hubby poking his head into my office where I'm busy typing away, and saying, "Dinner will be ready in 20 minutes."
Coming back from the Y and finding the bed made.
Hubby saying, "I'm making eggs, should I cook some for you?"
Note: leaving the dirty frying pan on the stove 'in case you wanted to have eggs' is NOT thoughtful and romantic.
If we have to ask, it's not romantic. If those Friday flowers are because you (or your secretary) has a standing order at the florist, it's not romantic. If, however, you bring home flowers for no reason other than, "You looked sad when you had to throw out the last ones," then that IS romantic.


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I'm completely obsessed with Hermione de Paula's exotic prints at the moment, they're the ultimate florals on acid. These images are my collages of some shots from the latest collection for AW12 titled Marguerite's Menagerie, photographed by Kristin Vicari and featuring some gorgeous shoes by Nicholas Kirkwood. Some of the most inspiring and original prints I've seen in a long time!
Images from Hermione de Paula


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Today I have spent a couple of hours turning a "quirky cat" into a birthday card for the Craftbubble "Crazy for Kitties" birthday exchange. Tomorrow the quirky cat will be winging it's way over to the UK.
I stitched the design from a mini chart booklet that came with one of the "Cross Stitch Crazy" magazines - can't remember what issue though, sorry. The booklet is called "Best Ever Pet Charts" and has animal designs by Lesley Teare, Sharon Welch and Lucie Heaton. The one that I chose to stitch comes from the "Cheeky Chums" section of the booklet and was designed by Lucie Heaton. It is a rather quirky patchwork cat in yellow and blues and I thought it would be lovely quick design to stitch and turn into a card. It was quite quick to stitch and only took me about 4 evenings to stitch it. It took almost as long again to turn it into a card this afternoon! I'm not very creative when it comes to making cards so it takes awhile to think of what to do.... but I am quite pleased with the outcome.
|Quirky cat - designed by Lucie Heaton
Best ever pet charts booklet - Cross Stitch Crazy magazine
Stitched for Craftbubble "Crazy for Kitties" Birthday Exchange
Til next time, happy stitching


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|Your Famous Movie Kiss is from Romeo + Juliet
"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night"
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss
On the Verge of a Breakdown?
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last/Slouches towards Atwater???
Thursday, December 27, 2007
How the Grinch Stole San Joaquin, part 3
St. Nicholas Church, Atwater received a letter on Christmas Day. Father Risard's "deployment at St. Nicholas is now over." Please note, this is not the same as being fired, because the Bishop said he would not do that, and the Bishop is an honorable man.
The locks at the church have been changed. Please note, this does not mean that St. Nicholas is closed down, because the Bishop said he would not do this, and the Bishop is an honorable man.
The Bishop said that nothing would change after the Diocesan Convention except who we pray for as presiding Bishop. Please note, this does not mean that the faithful at St. Nicholas in Exile will now have to meet at at the Castle Vista Rec Center because the Bishop.... oh, wait, never mind.
Here are the directions to the Rec Center.
Father Jake has all the details.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Merry Christmas Eve!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
How the Grinch Stole San Joaquin, part 2
"Bp. Schofield did come to Atwater today, preached and celebrated (with Fr. Fred concelebrating and distributing the eucharist). At the end of the service, Schofield stood up and said that there had been much speculation about the reason for his visit, and he wanted to reassure everyone that (1) Fr. Fred had not been fired and (2) St. Nicholas was not being closed. Then, just as everyone was starting to take a tentative breath of relief, he said the other reason he wanted to come was to tell them that Atwater was no longer bringing in enough money to pay a full time priest, and that instead the diocese would be sending them supply priests occasionally. In other words--Fr. Fred wasn't being fired, he just wasn't going to be paid any longer, and the diocese wasn't even going to keep a steady part time priest, just send supply priests periodically.
Then, in his concluding remarks, Fr. Fred told the full and emotional story of the ways the diocesan leadership--most specifically, he named Bp. Schofield and Canon Gandenberger--had deliberately and maliciously undermined the health of the mission, fostering division and schism instead of love and compassion. Tears, prayers and applause from those who witnessed this!
Among those of us who came to be there in support of Fr. Fred and St. Nicholas were myself, members of Holy Family (Fresno), St. Francis in exile (former members of St. Francis Turlock), St. Michael's in exile (former members of St. Michaels in Sonora), St. Paul's Oakland, St. Aidan's San Francisco, Canon Bob Moore (Diocese of Olympia - also both husband of Bp. Nedi Rivera and Presiding Bp. Katherine's appointee to provide interim pastoral care to the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin), Fr. Michael Backlund (representing Bp. of Northern California Barry Beisner), and Remain Episcopal attorney Mike Glass. At least four of us present are on the Remain Episcopal Board.
They were surrounded by our love, and by the prayers of thousands of people from around the world.
Fr. Fred has no plans to leave, and I understand that funds from outside the diocese are being made available to make sure he is paid.
After the service and a wonderful extended coffee hour, a number of us helped them distribute bags of food and turkey certificates to a low income Housing Authority project in the area, where we were greeted with enthusiasm and warm Christmas thanks.
The morning ended with several of us joining Fr. Fred and his extended family (parents, two brothers, nieces and nephews) for lunch.
Emotional, difficult, heartwarming--and Christ was very present."
Lord, have mercy!
Friday, December 21, 2007
How the Grinch Stole San Joaquin, part 1
The vicar of St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Atwater, California, in the Diocese of San Joaquin has written to Bishop John-David Schofield questioning his plan to visit the congregation December 23 and asking for clarification about his status as a bishop in the Episcopal Church.
The Rev. Fred Risard noted in his December 20 letter to Schofield that St. Nicholas had "already had the pleasure of your annual visitation for 2007."
"Without notice of the upcoming visit we have not had the opportunity to prepare candidates for confirmation, nor is the Bishop's Committee prepared to meet with you," Risard continued.
The vicar told Schofield that he has the permission of the mission's Bishop's Committee (which is the mission equivalent of a vestry) to request the clarifications. Risard also noted that he has consulted with legal counsel.
"We would like you to state to us your pastoral and canonical relationship with St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, and myself," Risard wrote in his letter. "You publicly stated at our diocesan convention that you no longer are the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, and instead you are a Bishop within the Province of the Southern Cone. As such, we understand your visit is simply to worship with us; there will be no liturgical role for you, neither celebrating nor preaching. The Episcopal Church welcomes all, and you are most welcome to worship, with the purpose of seeking transformation and reconciliation."....
Risard told ENS that Schofield spoke to a deacon at St. Nicholas by phone on December 20 and questioned the intent of Risard's letter. The vicar said that he emailed Schofield later in the day to assure him that he has no intention of banning him from worshipping with the mission congregation.
"I would never ban anybody from worship -- not even my worst enemy -- because I would hope that they would be transformed by the Eucharist and the grace of God," he said.
Risard said he is worried that Schofield is coming to St. Nicholas to either announce the closing of the mission or his removal as vicar, actions that Schofield has taken elsewhere in the diocese during his episcopate.
"Is it his intention to support the mission congregations in their call to worship and to serve the poor or does he want to close it?" Risard said. "He needs to go on record about what he's doing."
Noting that following their Eucharist, the mission congregation plans to "go out into the community to deliver groceries and coats to a dozen needy families as we seek to do the work of Mission which comes out of our worship of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior," Risard asked in his letter, "Will you be coming as our Episcopal Bishop, having repented of your actions at Diocesan Convention, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation? Or will you be coming to worship as a visiting foreign Bishop seeking to reconcile with your former congregation and Vicar, and, following the Mass, to join us as we take groceries and coats to the poor?"_______________________________________
Aghaveagh says, "what a courageous priest!"
Read the entire article.
Guaranteed to be more boring than Padre Mickey!
The line in front of the US Airways counter was not that long, and so we took our place. However, for the next 15 minutes, it did not move. After an hour, we realized that (as Grendel would say) Something was Very Wrong. Two hours later (really!), we got up to the desk. Our flight to Vegas had been delayed by over an hour, and so virtually everyone who was in front of us had missed their connecting flights and had to be re-routed, as did we. And because it's the Christmas travel season, there were major problems finding flights that were not full. After another half hour (I am totally accurate here, I want you to know; it's part of the excruciating boredom I promised) we had our new flight plans: we would return for a 6:30 am flight on American Airlines to Dallas/FW, and from Dallas to Philly, arriving there only 9 hours later than our expected arrival time.
They gave us a hotel voucher so that we could get our 3.5 hours of sleep before we had to be back at 4:30 am. I suppose we could have tried to go home, but we were dropped off so we didn't have a car, and we didn't even have a house key. So we trudged with our two Rick Steves Back Door bags, one red overnight bag stuffed with socks, presents, and two giant Bubble Makers for the nephews, two briefcases and one purple coat (Liam's) to the Holiday Inn a half-block away. We caught the bar ten minutes before closing and managed to order two beers and two chicken quesadillas before they threw us out. We then hauled the two Rick Steves Back Door bags, one red overnight bag stuffed with socks, presents, and two giant Bubble Makers for the nephews, two briefcases and one purple coat (Liam's) up the stairs (what, Fresno hotels have not heard of elevators?) to our room, only to find that the key did not work.
An employee came up to let us in. By the time we had finished eating and were drifting off to sleep, it was about 12 midnight. The nice man on the telephone wake-up call that rang at 3:30 said that today's weather would be sunny and warm. I think it was an old message.
So we schlepped our two Rick Steves Back Door bags, one red overnight bag stuffed with socks, presents, and two giant Bubble Makers for the nephews, two briefcases and one purple coat (Liam's) back to the airport and over to the line at the American Airlines counter. We waited in line. Luckily the line was moving pretty quickly, and in only about half an hour we were at the counter. We presented the paperwork that the nice man (Andre)* had given us last night to the equally nice lady (Claudia)* and found out that our confirmed reservation Did Not Exist. After about a half hour of waiting, and several phone conversations with Bob* at the US Airlines counter Claudia was able to get the Magic Numbers that, upon entry into her computer, would allow her to put us on standby for the flight.
* Please note: all names changed to protect the innocent and the incompetent.
Oh, dear...when Claudia tried to punch in the Magic Numbers it appears that they contained too many digits and hence lacked the requisite Magick. Another attempt to get Bob back on the phone. He was having none of it. We stood to the side while Claudia helped the people who actually were going to get on the plane for Dallas FW and tried to straighten things out with Bob over the phone, pleading several times in a plaintive tone for him not to hang up on her.
A total of two hours after we showed up at the AA counter, it became clear to all concerned: Claudia, Liam, me, and the six white German Shepard puppies from (evidently) a puppy mill that were being sent off as Christmas presents to various destinations (and who howled inconsolably in solidarity with us for an hour, nearly driving one of the agents to canicide) that we were going nowhere, except back to US Airways. Claudia apologized profusely, we thanked her profusely, and we trudged back to the US Airways with the two Rick Steves Back Door bags, one red overnight bag stuffed with socks, presents, and two giant Bubble Makers for the nephews, two briefcases and one purple coat (Liam's).
This time there were only three people in front of us, so after only an hour we found ourselves talking to none other than Bob himself. He was of the opinion that there was nothing wrong with the reservations that Andre had made the night before, that somehow the American Airlines people had screwed up, and he also broadly hinted that somehow it must be our fault for waiting at the AA counter for 2.5 hours. All very well and good, but it doesn't get us and our two Rick Steves Back Door bags, one red overnight bag stuffed with socks, presents, and two giant Bubble Makers for the nephews, two briefcases and one purple coat (Liam's) to Philly.
He typed arcane data into the computer for what seemed like hours (I could feel the stony stares of those waiting in line boring into my back, so I didn't turn around) but was in reality only about 20 minutes, and finally he had our answer:
We could board a flight to Phoenix at 7:15 pm, arrive in Phoenix at 9:52, then board a flight to Chicago at 11 pm, stay there for two-and-a-half hours, then board a flight to Philly, arriving there Saturday at 8:47 am…only 36 hours after we left our house with the two Rick Steves Back Door bags, one red overnight bag stuffed with socks, presents, and two giant Bubble Makers for the nephews, two briefcases and one purple coat (Liam's). And that was it. As compensation for our time, we got meal vouchers and an upgrade to first class on the Phoenix to Chicago leg (that was all that was available in First Class.
So now we sit in the magnificent Fresno-Yosemite International Airport, and since we couldn't check our bags yet, we're stuck in the Ante-Inferno and have to lug around with us the two Rick Steves Back Door bags, one red overnight bag stuffed with socks, presents, and two giant Bubble Makers for the nephews, two briefcases and one purple coat (Liam's). So we sprung for a luggage cart. We also sprung for a day of wireless Internet access (unlike real airports, Fresno-Yosemite International Airport charges for wireless) so that I can relate to you the story of our Christmas Advent Odyssey, and as a real treat I have taken pictures of some of the exciting objects that will occupy our time for the next eight hours.
My Christmas present from Liam--I might as well wear 'em in the airport--we'll be here a while!
What I should be reading instead of blogging.
One of the Bubblemakers for the Nephews
A cool set of children's books for reading aloud to the Nephews.
Bored yet? So are we! Here Liam uses the Purple Coat to take a short nap.
So, Padre Mickey, are you still there? Padre?? [ZZZzzzzzzzzzz...]
Friday, December 14, 2007
The Belfries of all Christendom
It always gives me goosebumps.
I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet the words repeat,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
I thought how as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had roll'd along th' unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And in despair I bow'd my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."
Next Sunday at a church very near you...
(saw it at Lindy's place)
All over but the grading...
There is not much to be done but put nose to the grindstone, play Christmas... er...Advent music to keep one's spirits bright, take a break when one gets too disgruntled (Oh, just for once I'd like to be gruntled!), and keep the kettle warm.
Tonight is fall graduation with its pomp and ceremony. Much better to wear full academicals when it is 40 degrees out than when it is 100!
I hope you are warm and safe out there!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
As the Dust Settles
Sunday morning we had what must have been a record attendance for a non-holiday Sunday for our two services. We almost ran out of wafers! Luckily some prudent Altar Guild member put out a reserve :-). I can't honestly say if it will last, but it was wonderful. The mood was optimistic and the fellowship grand. Father Keith gave a great homily about "How can we find peace--in the world, in the church, in our hearts" filled with his usual humor and thoughtfulness.
Well, towards the end of the service several press crews started showing up, including one from Univision. Ojalá que usted esté aquí, Padre Mickey, for we had no fluent Spanish speaker at the early service. (As a bit of humor, we delegates at the HF table at convention began to speak in Spanish after the vote, but my Spanish is very rusty.) All the more reason seriously to discern your calling, Padre; we need you here in the continuing Diocese of San Joaquin!
There was a piece in the L.A. Times that had some good things to say, including the last bit about Father Keith:
"Meanwhile, Axberg, Holy Family's rector since 2003, urged his congregation Sunday not to worry about the future. He told them about the convention votes and answered a few questions about steps likely to be taken by the national church. Finally, he asked them to pray for all involved in the diocese's continuing struggle, including for Schofield. First one, then all, rose to applaud their priest."
Now things are starting to settle down from the buzz over convention, but as the word spreads, some folks in other parishes (not delegates, but the people in the pews) are beginning to realize what this vote means, and they are asking questions and writing letters.
One last thing: you cannot know how much your support has meant to us. Father Jake has opened up his blog as a place for comfort and news, and reading your comments has done much to lift our spirits. Kristin, Paul, Diane, Padre Mickey, and others, thanks for dropping by and adding your words of support!
Personally, I feel most for the missions, who have no choice in this process, and whose clergy are appointed by the Bishop. They can be closed at his desire, and their buildings sold. I hope that this does not happen, but as parishes begin to place their assessments into accounts earmarked for the Episcopal Church, not the Province of the Southern Cone, the diocesan budget will feel the pinch.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
We are still here
We, however, are not going anywhere. We ARE the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, and although we are currently without a bishop, we have godly clergy to lead us and courageous laity eager to carry on the Great Commission.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Diocesan Convention, Day one
I attended the Eucharist that opened convention this morning at St. James Cathedral. It has been a year since I attended mass here. I felt a certain sadness because we used to attend here regularly until we felt we could no longer do so in good conscience.
It was certainly awesome in its ceremony! Three pointy hats, dozens of priests and deacons, pomp and pageantry, glorious music and wonderful sung liturgy. There was nothing liturgically here that I did not agree with--why am I not orthodox in their eyes?
The Bishop of Bolivia, the Right Reverend Frank Lyons, gave the sermon. In essence, he said that we are on a journey, and that it may not always be comfortable. In fact, although we may wish for a comfortable Jesus who shows up in the morning to give us tea, this is not the case. It's scary stuff.
In the afternoon, we heard the Bishop's address. Rather than giving you my paraphrase, here is a link to the text of the speech.
I will blog more tomorow. I am exhausted in body and soul.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Thoughts for this weekend...from our friend Billy.
|THE World is too much with us; late and soon,
|Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
|Little we see in Nature that is ours;
|We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
|This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon,
|The winds that will be howling at all hours
|And are up-gather'd now like sleeping flowers,
|For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
|It moves us not.—Great God! I'd rather be
|A pagan suckled in a creed outworn,—
|So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
|Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
|Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
|Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.


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Unfortunately, my music report from day two of Bluegrass First Class is quite abbreviated. We had to leave early because "The husband", after over 3 long months, is still recuperating from cervical surgery. We were both terribly disappointed but he was simply in too much pain to stay.We did get to see Town Mountain, another new local Asheville, NC group (new to us that is). Their style didn't appeal to me.....despite having the 5 main elements of any bluegrass band; a fiddle, mandolin, upright base, guitar, banjo, it was too booey wooey pretending to be bluegrass for my taste. Their harmony was nicely done but sadly, the main vocalists when singing solo impossible to understand. Like the day before, this venue is a great opportunity for less established groups to perfect their performances.
We've been fans of Darin & Brooke Aldrige since we first saw them at Bluegrsss First Class a number of years ago. They've now teamed up with John Cowan. John's fame came from playing with the New Grass Revival, from the mid 70's when he was only 22 years old until the group disbanded in 1990. He went on to play in many genres, from country, jazz, rock-n-roll, to soul. Their performance was quite a departure with the inclusion of John than when Darin & Brooke were on their own.
This is one of the three groups I personally came to see. Flatt Lonesome....love, love, love their music.....based very much in traditional bluegrass but with their own twist. 3 members are siblings.....thus their absolutely and unforgettable harmony. They've already won tons of awards and not one of them has yet to reach the age of 30!
The Seldom Scene is my all time favorite Bluegrass group. The name (selected way back in 1971 when they formed) can be explained by this Wikipedia notation: Each of the band members had a job during the week; Duffey repaired musical instruments, Eldridge was a mathematician, Starling a physician,[1] Auldridge a graphic artist, and Gray a cartographer with National Geographic.[2] They agreed to play one night a week at local clubs, perform occasionally at concerts and festivals on weekends, and make records. The band's first home scene was the Red Fox Inn in Bethesda, Maryland, where they spent six years before starting weekly performances at The Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria, Virginia.
Sitting here writing this post.....I've been listening to another one of their famous hits, "Old Train"....written by Herb Pederson who I blogged about yesterday. I NEVER tire of this group.
So until next year, we will have to be satisfied with recorded songs from many of these artists.....but will jump at any chance to attend live shows when possible.


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After this place has open for so long, momo and I finally tried it.
There was no queue when we had lunch on Sunday. We decided to just try the mini sets (i.e. only a burger and a drink without sides etc). The set we had was $5.50 each.
Nice cute packaging. Paper that keeps the burger warm. The drink we had was Buckwheat Tea and Lemongrass Tea.
Soft fluffy burger with a burnt R mark on top.
It's rather unique. A beef patty, pickled daikon and Shiso leaves. Soft fluffy steamed bun.
The top of the bun as you see here is Miso sauce.
The taste is nice as it is something different.
But we had a grouse though. As we have no teflon coated teeth, we got irritated by the soft bun sticking into our teeth with every bite. :-(
I am thinking the next time I have kong-bak bao, maybe I should add in a piece of pickle and mint or basil leaves. Hmm....
R Burger
ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn, B4-56/57
Singapore 238801
Monday, October 19, 2009
R Burger @ ION Orchard
After this place has open for so long, momo and I finally tried it.
5 comments:
looks like it only fills up a corner of the tummy. sibeh giam with the greens too.
- October 20, 2009
- Keropok Man said...
the :-(
- you get hungry after a while
the ;-)
- you get to eat something else again after a while! ;-)
- October 20, 2009
- fatboybakes said...
singapore food so interesting hor. even that what burger ah? with the rice covering one? couldnt survive in KL. cis!
- October 23, 2009
- Jyoan said...
R Burger must eat the Salmon one... The rest I heard are not so delightful.
- April 25, 2010
- Keropok Man said...
You mean MOS Burger?
R burger is a bit too small for me. ;-) Only tried it once and had to go eat something else. LOL
- April 27, 2010