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Fluther: Resistance is Futile
Question-and-answer services are all over the Web, and most charge you to pose your question to supposed experts in a subject area. More often than not, those experts are people with some experience in the field they're answering questions in, but they may also be everyday folks with a penchant for Internet research. At Fluther, the experience is a bit different.
First, you're not guaranteed some kind of "expert," which makes the service a bit more honest than others. Second, it's completely free. Third, once you receive a personal answer to your individual question, the entire community descends on your issue to discuss, make suggestions, or correct the answer. Fluther depends on the power of the collective to help people find answers.
Did you know that a fluther is a group of jellyfish? The name is a good choice, since Fluther depends on the power of the community to be helpful, accurate, and self-correcting. Sound familiar? This is the same model that many professionals hate in open-source initiatives like Wikipedia. Fluther claims that "ordinary experts" will answer your questions; people like the "computer guy" that everyone knows or your favorite uncle who knows all about cars. Looking around the site, I can't say that's entirely true, but more on that later.
Fluther works both ways too: When you sign up, you indicate interest or knowledge areas that you feel you can contribute in. When others pose questions that have to do with those interest areas, you'll have the opportunity to respond. When someone submits a question, it goes to the pool of "ordinary experts" first, and those people have an opportunity to suggest answers. After the answers are posted, the rest of the Fluther community can propose additional answers, frame up the question, and comment on the discussion.
Those "ordinary experts" Fluther depends on for accurate and knowledgable answers? Well, Fluther has some difficulty there. The community is genuinely helpful and interested in participating, and you're certain to get answers to your questions. Unfortunately, I already see some community members answering interesting but difficult questions with "just search Google," which invalidates the entire purpose of the community. Also, while a lot of people have a lot of knowledge on the site, I didn't spot any true experts. There's a difference between giving a good answer and giving an authoritative answer, and while there are lots of good answers to questions at Fluther, not many of them dive below the surface and provide useful information.
For example, one user asks what kind of laptop they should buy, and everyone weighs in with opinions. Their opinions are valid and based on real information, but you don't see the type of comparison and contrast you would expect from someone with experience helping someone make a technology decision. Even so, the person asking that question got good advice.
Fluther's design is attractive and easy to use, and it's incredibly simple to sign up and start asking and answering questions. At the same time, some of Fluther's features seem only partially functional. Attempting to browse questions by topic generated an error page half of the time, and trying to search questions by keyword also didn't seem to work when I tried it. To its benefit, the service is actively taking questions and suggestions from the user community. And there doesn't seem to be much moderation in the community.
I really like Fluther; I think what draws people into the community is a willingness to help, and the ability to network with other people with similar interests and a desire to help answer other people's questions. The questions are interesting, and the answers can be intelligent and even outright funny. The community is pretty rich, even if it is small. While authoritative answers are rare at Fluther, its strength is in its helpful, smart, and supportive community. Even if you don't get a great answer to your question, you'll definitely get help.


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Even though the trip was short, we tried to cram in as much as possible... while stilling focusing on it being a weekend to relax and rejuvenate ourselves.
Three (short) years ago, we got engaged in Aspen. We try to do a ski trip every year, last year we went to Vermont when we were living in New England. From Kansas City, Colorado is definitely the spot to go for skiing. We love Colorado - the air is fresh and mood is sooo laid back. We tried to plan this trip to be just as special as our weekend in Aspen.
Here I am in Vail Village - so quaint and charming.
The hotel was very grand, but so warm. I always take notes about light fixtures and...
Artwork. I love him! They had several similar paintings from this collection throughout.
Welcome to our room! Yes, another cozy fireplace.
A soaking tub.
Prosecco and nespresso! I'm adding a pixi nespresso to my christmas list... We had them in our hotel rooms in Italy on our honeymoon, and Mike's parents have one, too - I'm hooked! And yes, prosecco is always a must.
Pre-skiing breakfast of champions : Dutch Baby. I'm anxious to attempt to recreate it.
First ride up...
Mountain side! Ahhh - I can still smell the fresh snow air...
Here is our mountaintop lunch at The 10th, a new restaurant at MidVail - look at that view!
The sky was so bright that I couldn't get a good photo that showed us and the view... bad photog skills : )
After skiing we headed down the hot tub. Yep, another roaring fire.
We headed in to town for dinner - the entire village is decked for the holidays. The covered bridge reminds me of Vermont...
See the giant moon!
We had dinner at Sweet Basil, per the recommendation of our neighbor. Such a good spot! I had a pecorino and pear tortellini with kale and a lemon foam. Very delicious.
Mike had fabulous 24 hour braised veal cheeks. Oh my was this good!
For dessert we had a sticky toffee pudding. The Barefoot Contessa has shown this on her website - I can't wait to try it again.
A relaxing and food inspiring weekend - great vacation!

subset: commoncrawl


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Subscribe To Neighborhood Watch Teaser Trailer Boasts Child Harassment But No Aliens Updates
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At first glance, Neighborhood Watch looks like your average dudes-being-dudes comedy, with Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Ben Stiller and Richard Ayoade starring a guys who deem themselves the local neighborhood watch. And if you watch the new teaser trailer, which premiered today at IMDB, you'd probably get that sense as well-- it's a teaser, so we really just see the guys cruising the neighborhood and terrorizing a local kid, all in the name of "duty." But there's a sci-fi twist to the movie, in which the guys accidentally discover an alien plot to destroy the world. So keep that in mind as you watch the trailer, in case you find yourself underwhelmed. The trailer, stupidly, isn't embeddable, so you'll have to click the player image below to see it for yourself.
With his Oscar nomination, 21 Jump Street coming in a few weeks and this movie opening July 27, Jonah Hill is having a hell of a year. And he's in good company too-- as sick as you may be of some of the nonsense Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn has made, they're more than balanced out by the likes of British import Ayoade (of The IT Crowd and director of Submarine) and the talent behind the screen. With a script from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and directing from Akiva Schaffer, who cut his teeth with the Lonely Island shorts on SNL, there's a lot of funny people coming into this movie from a lot of different directions. You've got to like at least one person working on this, and with a premise so promising as well, there's a lot to pin hopes on here.
Fox has also debuted the film's first poster which you can see below. I'm aware that no one really knows who Richard Ayoade is in the U.S., but it's still a crime his name has been left off entirely. Aside from that, it's a pretty nice teaser-- and unlike the trailer, actually does hint at the alien action that's to come later on.


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News Release 09-224
Report Says Musicians Hear Better Than Non-Musicians
Music appreciation could help children with language-based learning disabilities
November 13, 2009
This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.
The Journal of Neuroscience reports this week that musicians are better than non-musicians at recognizing speech in noisy environments. The finding from a study conducted by neurobiologists at Northwestern University in Chicago is the first biological evidence that musicians' have a perceptual advantage for "speech-in-noise."
When tested against non-musicians, musicians demonstrated faster neural timing, enhanced representation of speech harmonics, and less degraded response morphology in noise. That is to say, they were more effective communicating in noisy environments.
"Converting key elements that comprise speech sounds--consonants, syllables, timing and harmonics--was maintained with greater fidelity in musicians despite the disruptive influence of background noise," said lead researcher Nina Kraus, Hugh Knowles Professor at and director of Northwestern's Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory.
This likely occurs because cognitive processes that involve auditory attention and memory strengthen musicians' nervous systems enabling them to sense and discern relevant sounds. Understanding the biological basis for this advantage is the goal of the research, which may also prove beneficial for children and adults, who have difficulty hearing in noise.
Speech perception in noise is a complex task people are faced with every day. Cognitive demands of a musical performance are equally complex in that they require musicians to parse concurrently presented instruments or voices.
The researchers hypothesized that a musician's lifelong experience with "musical stream segregation," that is separating competing voices and musical instruments during a performance, would also give musicians an advantage in "speech-in-noise" environments.
Working with doctoral student Alexandra Parbery-Clark and project manager Erika Skoe, both at Northwestern, the researchers gathered 16 highly-trained musicians and 15 non-musicians. Each participant wore a headset and was fed carefully selected target audio and background noise. Target audio consisted of specific speech sounds, consonants, syllables and so on, while background noise consisted of multi-talker babble spoken by six different speakers.
Kraus and her team compared nerve center responses in each of the participants. They found that in both quiet and noisy environments, the highly trained musicians could more readily discern the target acoustic stimulus.
Kraus says the finding could be important for anyone who has difficulty understanding language in a complex soundscape. "Hearing in noise is hard for everyone but can be particularly difficult for some children with learning problems, that have developmental dyslexia for example, and older adults," said Kraus.
"The implication is that musical experience strengthens biological processes that are useful for extracting meaningful signals from any noisy environment, a classroom, a boardroom, etc."
Studies conducted across a length of time, perhaps years, would provide stronger developmental biological evidence of the educational benefits musical experience may have.
The study was supported by the Science of Learning Centers Program at the National Science Foundation.
Media Contacts
Bobbie Mixon, NSF, (703) 292-8070, email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Program Contacts
Soo-Siang Lim, NSF, (703) 292-7878, email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Principal Investigators
Nina Kraus, Northwestern University, (847) 491-3181, email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Related Websites
Northwestern University's Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory: http://www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2019, its budget is $8.1 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 50,000 competitive proposals for funding and makes about 12,000 new funding awards.
Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: https://www.nsf.gov
NSF News: https://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media: https://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics: https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/


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Five new Pentax DA lenses announced
Working in tandem with its new DSLR releases, Pentax has announced the addition of five new DA-series lenses to its lineup. New glass includes two additions to the DA* line of high-end lenses, a new limited macro lens, and an improved version of the company's 18-55mm kit lens.
SMC Pentax DA* 200mm f/2.8 ED(IF) SDM
Pentax's DA* 200mm is one of two new DA* models expanding the firm's premium prime telephoto options. The new lens features a super-sonic SDM focusing motor for rapid, near-silent focusing, a maximum aperture of f/2.8, and CA-compensating ED glass elements. As with previous models in this series, the DA* 200mm is weather and dust resistant.
SMC Pentax DA* 300mm f/4 ED(IF) SDM
If 200mm simply isn't enough range, Pentax is also rolling out a new 300mm, f/4 variant in the DA* series. As with the 200mm version, the lens features SDM drive, Quick Shift Focus System for rapidly changing between manual and auto focus, ED lens elements, and Pentax's protective SD coating.
The nearly mandatory (we dare you to hand-hold this lens) tripod mount is included.
SMC Pentax DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited
The latest offering in Pentax's Limited series of lenses, this 35mm macro unit provides range roughly equivalent to a 50mm version in the familiar 35mm format. Key features include high-grade aluminum construction, SP coating, and Quick Shift Focus System flexibility.
SMC Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II
The new kit lens, designed for Pentax's K20D, looks nearly identical to the original version, but has been optically redesigned to provide the kind of performance mandated by the K20D's 14.6 megapixel sensor
As with its predecessor, the 18-55mm provides an ideal zoom range for everyday shooting situations, and the updated model includes spherical lens elements for distortion correction and SP coating for glass protection.
SMC Pentax DA 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED
Providing a moderate to extreme telephoto complement to Pentax's kit lenses, this lens covers a range equivalent to roughly 80-450mm in traditional 35mm format. Pentax's SD coating protects the front and rear lens elements, and the lens supports instant-switch Quick Shift Focus technology.
No official word from Pentax at press time on pricing or anticipated sales release dates for any of these models.


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Recent News
June 26, 2014
Iowa Firm Recalls Sausage Products Containing Soy and Wheat Due to Misbranding and Undeclared Allergens
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services received information regarding a recall for K & W Sausage, an Evansdale, Iowa, establishment. Approximately 1,761 pounds of sausage products are being recalled due to misbranding and undeclared allergens. The products contain soy and wheat, known allergens, which are not declared on the product labels. The products subject to recall include:
- 16-oz. vacuum packed "Hot Franks" with a packaging code in the format "###14"
- Various size packages of "Polish Sausage Hot" with packaging codes 15314, 15514, 16114, 16214, 16814, 16514, or 16914
- Various size packages of "Beef Polish Sausage Hot" with packaging codes 15314, 15514, 16114, 16214, 16814, 16514, or 16914
The products subject to recall bear "EST. 15708" inside the USDA mark of inspection on the labels. The Hot Franks were produced on various dates from Jan. 16, through June 20, 2014. The other products were produced on various dates from June 3, through June 18, 2014. All products were distributed to retailers in Iowa. The problem was discovered by FSIS inspection personnel during a food safety assessment. After investigation, it was determined that the "natural hot flavor" used in the products contained wheat and soy as sub-ingredients of soy sauce. The mislabeling in the Polish sausage products occurred due to a change to using this ingredient.
FSIS and the company have received no reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about a reaction should contact a healthcare provider. FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. Consumers with questions about the recall should contact Mark Knief, owner, at 319-233-4714.
The full recall including a list of products can be found at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/FSIS-Content/internet/main/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2014/recall-039-2014-release.


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Here's a clever and environmentally-sound business move. Travel Website, BizClassTravelMarket.com (a mouthful, I know), is offering users the ability to offset their future carbon emissions, when they book a flight through the site. When users book a flight, they're given the chance to "balance their carbon emissions before they click through to the supplier's site."
Thus far, 19-percent of the site's users are using the new green feature. Maybe some day soon offsetting will become a regular part of travel preparation, squeezed in between buying a travel-size toothbrush and backing a few backup pairs of underwear. More information is available on the site's Environment page.


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69 Camaro
Transforms factory seats into G-Force absorbing sport seats while maintaining the factory look. They have more bolster in them than factory style seat foams for a better feel and support for your Classic Car's Factory Seat.
These seat foams and covers are made by TMI Products just like the originals to ensure an excellent fit and they look exaclty the same as the original with more support like modern seats!
Utilizes the factory seat frames for easy installation.
Retains the original factory look and adds MUCH needed comfort and support!
These Seat Foams must use TMI's new Seat Covers (please see our other items).
Note: Only Front Buckets are Sport-Bolstered, Rear is regular style.
These Parts are all custom order and Ships directly from TMI.


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Gov. Snyder giving Mich.'s expanded open carry bill 'extra consideration' after Newtown tragedy
Michigan governor giving close scrutiny to gun legislation allowing concealed weapons in churches, schools
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says he's giving close scrutiny to gun legislation that would allow concealed weapons in churches and schools.
Watch: Snyder holding off on signing concealed-carry bill.
Snyder tells The Associated Press during an interview Monday that his public safety concerns have been heightened and "deserve extra consideration" following a mass shooting that left 26 people -- including 20 children -- dead at a Connecticut elementary school.
~Parents of Sandy Hook Elementary School students arrive at the school after shooting.~
Read: Texas congressman: Principal should have been armed.
The bill sent to the Republican governor by the GOP-controlled Legislature would allow someone who gets extra training to have a concealed weapon in a gun-free zone.
It also would put county sheriffs in charge of concealed-weapons applications instead of local boards.
President Barack Obama on Sunday pledged to seek change in memory of those ruthlessly slain by the gunman packing a high-powered rifle in Friday's mass shooting.
Copyright 2012 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Game #39: Orioles at Blue Jays pregame
If Troy Glaus can shrug off a bone spur in his heel and return to belt a game-changing home run, then I guess I can work through a little back pain. After being immobilized for most of yesterday, I'm feeling a lot better. Thanks to those of you who sent me get well messages. My back's still really tight and I may have a trip to the chiropractor in the near future, but it's not so bad that I can't head back to "the office." Here's today's pregame blog:
Baltimore (18-21) at Toronto (16-22)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre
Today's lineup:
Brian Roberts, 2B
Nick Markakis, RF
Miguel Tejada, SS
Ramon Hernandez, C
Aubrey Huff, 1B
Melvin Mora, 3B
Jay Gibbons, DH
Jay Payton, LF
Corey Patterson, CF
PITCHING: RHP Daniel Cabrera
Alex Rios, RF
Adam Lind, LF
Vernon Wells, CF
Troy Glaus, 3B
Frank Thomas, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Aaron Hill, 2B
Jason Phillips, C
John McDonald, SS
PITCHING: RHP Jesse Litsch — Major League debut
NOTES: Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said Tuesday that INF Jason Smith was not designated for assignment — he was placed on waivers. Teams have until 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday to claim Smith. If he isn't claimed, the Jays will need to offer him back to the Cubs for $25,000 (Smith was selected from the Cubs in December's Rule 5 Draft). If the Cubs decline, then Smith is Toronto's to keep and place into its Minor Leagues.
18 Comments
Isn't that a stupid move?
Why not just send Ryan Roberts back down to AAA?
Maybe they realize that smith's spring training was an abberation.
I'm not concerned really, nothing against Smith but players like him are a dime a dozen….only thing is he's a left handed option which the jays lack.
Hey Jordan, welcome "back"! Get us another win today!
Yeah, I agree on the dime a dozen part. Just being left handed and probobly the fastest bench player they've got , I think he's a better option than Roberts.
yeah i agree with lee. considering roberts doesn't even have a hit this year for heaven's sakes! i mean seriously what are we thinking. this is ridiculous smith was doing just fine. i would have just designated roberts for assignment and been on my way.
Doesn't Roberts have exactly one major league hit total, that one being a homer late last year?
Oh, and let me add that Litsch is looking pretty nice through six.
yeah litsch seems to be a big league ballplayer. 8.2 ip, 4 h, 1 er is a pretty impressive line for a rookie making his debut; especially for one who has never pitched in triple-a.
roberts did hit an insignificant homer in a tv game against the yankees last year, but still, i would rather have smith on my bench anyday.
…and he continued to look good right up until that walk with 2 outs in the 9th. Considering the pitch count (and that AA pitchers probably don't throw as many pitches per start, so 99 was already a stretch), it's hard to blame Gibbons for going to Accardo for a 1 out save. Now the question is, considering how good Litsch looked this game with his 21-odd ground ball outs, do the Jays find another spot for him to start?
Regarding Smith, I think the idea is that in the NL, where there's more pinch hitting and double switches, you want your top two people at each position with the big league club. With AL teams, since you pinch hit more rarely, your bench infielder is only going to get into the game in case of mid-game injury to a starter, and thus you want your 1st and 3rd best players at each position with the club, while your second-best player gets regular at-bats in the minors to stay sharp. Smith's performance isn't good enough for him to get claimed, but it's good enough that they want him getting frequent plate appearances so he can improve. Thus, they send him to the minors so that if someone goes on the DL, they have a player to bring up who has seen live pitching every day and is in better shape to fill in.
Despite of this impressive start, it may not necessarily mean that he is going to keep such a pace in the major league level. While obviously the guy has good stuff, other teams also don't have much scouting on him so they don't know what to expect.
I must say I was very surprised to see him pitch so well and perhaps the fact that he has good stuff, confidence and seems well composed completely negates what I just said above 🙂 (I hope this is the case, the only guy to give a performance like Litsch is out with the annual freak injury out of ****)
Terrific perfomance by Litsch!
I hate to bring negatives in but Wells and Thomas need to pick it up soon.
I don't doubt that wells will but i am beginning to wonder about Frank. Hope he proves me wrong though.
On a final note does anyone know/heard about Mike Marshall? I'm just wondering why this guy doesn't have a pitching coach job in the majors.
Wells has been doing OK so far… his BA is also a bit deflated by the fact that he was sick with the flu and was dragging on him on the field…
I doubt there is need to be worried… if he doesn't finish in the neighbourhood of 30HR, 100 RBI and .290 I will be very surprised.
Thomas usually is off to a slow start… his numbers are probably not lower than what they were last season at this point in the season. Plus he will have an opportunity to rest a little next week with the jays playing the phillies.
i agree i dont think we should christen litsch as the savior just quite yet; casey jannssen last year also turned in 2 or 3 stellar performances much like this one but once scouting became available he suddenly became hittable.
Jesse's style sure makes him hittable (pitching for contact), so he will give up his share of hits, but will also give the guys behind him the chance to make DP's behind him…
If he can keep the ball low he will avoid hanging balls in there for home runs he will probably fare up pretty well…
Again, one start is not much to go by, though I hope it's a sign of things to come 🙂
I already saw some com,pare his style to Wang, but with less velocity and sink on the fastball, but better change and breaking balls…
All rather surprising, since untill a couple of weeks a go no one heard much about him… A long with McGowan I can name about 4 or 5 other starters that I would have expected to be called up from the minors before Litsch, just until this week
I think Janssen became hittable when he developed a sore back that he didn't tell the club about. That's why they didn't bring him back up in September.
Anyone claim Jason Smith ?
Smith was solid at 3rd base but when you cant hit and you drown your average below .200 then changes will be made…sometimes it looks like he is out of his element when hes at the plate. I think its a great time to see what Roberts can do, just like Lind last year. The rest of the line up needs to get cracking especially Thomas…slow off the start is normal but were getting to the end of the start era if not passed it. Wells is not producing like he normally does and Glaus and Rios seem to be pulling this team right now combined with good recent pitching. There close I can feel it. Better be anyways.


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press release
Contact Information:
Deborah Medenbach, Press Director, Woodstock Film Festival,
(845) 679-4265, firstname.lastname@example.com, woodstockfilmfestival.com
FEATURING MORE THAN 130 FILMS, PANELS & EVENTS Thursday, October 13 – Sunday, October 16
OPENING NIGHT FILM: The World Premiere of BLIND, directed by Michael Mailer, starring Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore
CENTERPIECE FILM: LOVING, directed by Jeff Nichols, starring Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton
TRAILBLAZER AWARD, to be presented by a four-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker and close colleague to honoree David Linde, CEO of Participant Media
FIERCELY INDEPENDENT AWARD, to be presented by actor Ben Foster to honoree Oren Moverman
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, to be presented by Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple to honoree Leon Gast
Select attendees include Alec Baldwin, Karen Allen, Amber Tamblyn, Mary Stuart Masterson, Alia Shawkat, Lori Singer, Chris Noth, Josh Charles, Melissa Leo, Catherine Hardwicke, Bette Gordon, Roger Ross Williams, Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg, Todd and Jedd Wider, Sam Pollard, John Sloss, William Horberg, Richard Abramowitz, Boston Marathon bombing survivors Celeste and Sydney Corcoran, Combatants for Peace activists Mohammed Owedah and Assaf Yacobovitz, and many others.
WORLD CINEMA with Special Focus on Dutch Cinema, featuring 32 international films, including NERUDA, directed by Pablo Larraín, starring Gael García Bernal and Luis Gnecco.
SPOTLIGHT ON WOMEN will feature 44 female directors who will present their work (a third of the festival's offerings!) including the North American Premiere of Bette Gordon's THE DROWNING, starring Josh Charles, Julia Stiles and Avan Jogia.
The Tangerine Juice Award will be presented for best first, or second-time female director.
FOCUS ON MUSIC will spotlight films featuring music of diverse genres, including the New York Premiere of AMERICAN EPIC, executive produced by Robert Redford, T Bone Burnett, Jack White, and featuring Nas, Elton John, Alabama Shakes, Steve Martin, Taj Mahal, Ana Gabriel, Ashley Monroe, Willie Nelson, and Merle Haggard.
Woodstock, NY (September 12, 2016) - The fiercely independent 17th Annual Woodstock Film Festival presents an outstanding lineup of films to be shown in Woodstock, NY, as well as Rhinebeck, Rosendale, Saugerties, and Kingston.
The festival opens on Oct. 13 with the World Premiere of BLIND, a romantic narrative feature written by John Buffalo Mailer and starring Alec Baldwin (who will attend the screening with director Michael Mailer) and Demi Moore. The Opening Night Film screens at 6 p.m. Oct.13 at the Woodstock Playhouse.
Since its inception in 2000, the Woodstock Film Festival firmly established itself as one of the foremost regional independent film festivals, breaking new ground for the influx of festivals, offering a unique platform for talented emerging and established filmmakers and quickly being named among the top 50 film festivals worldwide.
"It's a great festival," said past participant, actor Paul Rudd. "It's what a film festival should be, which is really independent films showcasing the work of filmmakers you might not know about... I can't think of another place that seems better suited to have an independent film festival than Woodstock."
"I couldn't be more pleased with this year's lineup. There are defining moments in American and international life that have been captured by the filmmakers, some of whom have risked their lives to bring these images and ideas to audiences," said Woodstock Film Festival's co-founder and executive director Meira Blaustein. "Fierce independence is found in every category, but with it there is also tender insight into the human heart."
This year the festival presents a curated offering of the best films selected from more than 2,000 entries from around the globe.
Countries represented in this year's films are Chile, China, The Faroe Islands, France, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Palestine, South Africa, Spain, Sweden,Trinidad, Tobago, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the USA. Over 90% of the films in the lineup will be screened with the filmmakers and cast/subjects in attendance.
ONLINE SALES AND PHONE SALES GO LIVE on September 21
The WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL BOX OFFICE (13 Rock City Road, Woodstock, NY) will be open:
Sept. 21 through Oct. 9 • Wednesday through Sunday, from Noon-6PM (Closed Mondays and Tuesdays)
Oct. 10-15• Daily from 9AM to 7PM
Tickets for the Maverick Awards Ceremony, and program updates are available online at woodstockfilmfestival.com.
2016 Narrative Features hail from all corners of the world. This year the festival offers romance, mystery, comedy and horror narratives to stretch our emotions and world view. With a pallet of returning soldiers, blind lovers, halfway house residents, poets and mad inventors, the full range of human experience is found in this year's offerings.
Click here to view and download PRE-FESTIVAL PROGRAM
11:55, directed by Ari Issler and Ben Snyder
Bad Vegan and The Teleportation Machine, directed by Anton Goenechea
Blind, directed by Michael Mailer
Burn Country, directed by Ian Olds
Chronically Metropolitan, directed by Xavier Manrique,
Clean Hands (Schone Handen), directed by Tjebbo Penning
The Drowning, directed by Bette Gordon
The Fury (De Helleveeg), directed by Andre van Duren
Girl Flu., directed by Dorie Barton
Green /is/ Gold, directed by Ryon Baxter
Halfway, directed by Ben Caird
Halfway to Zen, directed by John Adams and Toby Poser
Junction 48, directed by Udi Aloni
Liner Notes, directed by Gregg Bray
Little Boxes, directed by Rob Meyer
Loving, directed by Jeff Nichols
My Feral Heart, directed by Jane Gull
My First Kiss And The People Involved, directed by Luigi Campi
Neruda, directed by Pablo Larrain
Operator, directed by Logan Kibens
Paint It Black, directed by Amber Tamblyn
Play the Devil, directed by Maria Govan
Sensitivity Training, directed by Melissa Finell
Shepherds and Butchers, directed by Oliver Schmitz
Stray Bullets, directed by Jack Fessenden
The Surprise (De Surprise), directed by Mike van Diem
Thirsty, directed by Margo Pelletier
The Ticket, directed by Ido Fluk
To Keep The Light, directed by Erica Fae
Year by the Sea, directed by Alexander Janko
2016 DOCUMENTARY FEATURES represent diverse voices of culture and span a wide range of topics and issues, from the history of recorded American music to civil rights, whaling, mental health and black market adoption. Prepare to have your world view challenged and expanded through these thought-provoking documentaries.
Click here to view and download PRE-FESTIVAL PROGRAM
American Epic: The Big Bang, directed by Bernard MacMahon
American Epic: Out Of The Many, The One, directed by Bernard MacMahon
The American Epic Sessions, directed by Bernard MacMahon
Circus Kid, directed by Lorenzo Pisoni
The Confession, directed by Ashish Ghadiali
Disturbing the Peace, directed by Stephen Apkon and Andrew Young
Freedom Runners, directed by David Wachsmann
Get in the Way: The Journey of John Lewis, directed by Kathleen Dowdey
Gimme Danger, directed by Jim Jarmusch
God Knows Where I Am, directed by Todd Wider and Jedd Wider
The Islands and the Whales, directed by Mike Day
Kivalina, directed by Gina Abatemarco
The Last Dalai Lama?, directed by Mickey Lemle
Magnificent Burden, directed by Rob Nelson
MARATHON: The Patriots Day Bombing, directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg
Monster in the Mind, directed by Jean Carper
The Promised Band, directed by Jen Heck
Real Boy, directed by Shaleece Haas
Rebel Citizen, directed by Pamela Yates
Stronger than Bullets, directed by Matthew Millan
They Played for Their Lives, directed by Nurit Jugend and Aaron I. Butler
Two Trains Runnin', directed by Sam Pollard
Women of Maidan, directed by Olha Onyshko
Woodstock Film Festival screens some of the most exciting films of the shorts genre, packing big messages in small spaces. This year's shorts are bundled into topic categories that include Animation with Joy + Noelle; Carbon; Instinct; Jests; Outsiders; Passion; Short Docs; Whispers and Youth Films.
Click here to view and download PRE-FESTIVAL PROGRAM
A Nearly Perfect Blue Sky, directed by Quarxx; The ABC of Travel, directed by Signe Baumane; Adam directed by Evelyn Jane Ross; Afuera, directed by Steven Liang; Baby Teeth directed by Stephanie Ellis; Behind the Schoolbag, directed by Nic Ho Chun Yu; Black Canaries, directed by Jesse Kreitzer ; Bone Guitar, directed by Payton Curtis; Borrowed Time, directed by Lou Hamou-Lhadj and Andrew Coats; Cacophony, directed by Melody Aihsuan Shih; The Chop, directed by Lewis Rose; Club Policy, directed by New Media Ltd; Cookies, directed by Leah Shore; Cop Dog, directed by Bill Plympton; Cracked, directed by Benny Rendell; Cuddle Party, directed by Matthew Irving Epstein; Day By Day, directed by Nihal Dantluri; Domar: To Tame, directed by Benjamin Ades; Ed, directed by Taha Neyestani; Filthy but Fine, directed by Arthur Metcalf; For Your Own Safety, directed by Florian Heinzen-Ziob; Graffiti, directed by Lluis Quilez; He, She, directed by Maia Liebeskind ; How You Look at It, directed by Wendy Seyb; La Laguna, directed by Aaron Schock; The Last Night of the World, directed by Harrison O'Clair; Leonarda, directed by Luca Brinciotti; Listen, directed by Benny Rendell; Look-See, directed by Daniel Savage; Madhab, directed by Samay Bhattacharya; Makeshift Satellite, directed by Cody Walzel; Marquis, directed by Maya Suchak; Nasty, directed by Prano Bailey-Bond; New York Nocturne, directed by Richard Edson; Nuts, directed by Theo Sena; One Day on Carver St., directed by Azure Allen; Opus 40, directed by Glenn Schuster and Jason Schuler; Patti Smith Blank on Blank, directed by Patrick Smith; Perched, directed by Liam Harris; Perfect Houseguest, directed by Ru Kuwahata and Max Porter; Pickle, directed by Amy Nicholson; Porgies & Bass, directed by Thomas Barnes; Potatoes For Pado, directed by Joy Buran and Noelle Melody; The Quantified Self, directed by Gleb Osatinski; The Rain Collector, directed by Isabella Wing-Davey; Rated, directed by John Fortson; The Sea is Blue, directed by Vincent Peone; Serendipity: The Genius Behind Electric Lady, directed by Alyssa DeRosa, Catherine Kaczor, Alec Cafaro, and Meagan Sullivan; Shame, directed by Paul Hunter; Sisters, directed by David Chontos; Slow Wave, directed by Andy Kennedy; Spiral, directed by Tatum Lenberg; The Dynamic Double Standard, directed by Luke Patton; The Story, directed by Carolyn Pender and Cameron Dingwall; Striking a Chord: Instruments of Healing, directed by Susan Rockefeller; Suffering is the Easy Part, directed by Jaime Ekkens; There's Too Many of These Crows, directed by Morgan Miller; Wake O Wake, directed by Hilary Brougher; Water!, directed by Yi Zhong.
The Woodstock Film Festival proudly offers its audiences a first look at some of the finest emerging films in the world. Here are the films making their premieres at Woodstock:
5 World Premieres include the feature films Blind; Halfway to Zen; Magnificent Burden; They Played for Their Lives; Women of Maidan
6 North American Premieres, include the feature films Clean Hands; The Drowning; Freedom Runners; The Fury; Stray Bullets; Monster in the Mind
3 US Premieres include the feature films The Confession, Stronger than Bullets; Shepherds and Butchers
11 East Coast Premieres include the feature films Circus Kid; Girl Flu.; Green /is/ Gold; Kivalina; The Last Dalai Lama?; My Feral Heart; My First Kiss and the People Involved; Operator; Paint It Black; Sensitivity Training; The Surprise
14 New York Premieres include the feature films 11:55; American Epic: The Big Bang; American Epic: Out of the Many, The One; The American Epic Sessions; Chronically Metropolitan; Halfway; Get in the Way: The Journey of John Lewis; The Islands and the Whales; Play the Devil; The Promised Band; Real Boy; To Keep the Light; Two Trains Runnin'; Year by the Sea
Producers on Producing • Moderated by Richard Abramowitz with William Horberg, John Sloss, Lucy Barzun Donnelly, Lawrence Inglee, and Wendy Ettinger
Master Class with Catherine Hardwicke: Fix it in Prep
Music For Film • Moderated by BMI's Charlie Feldman with Jedd Wider, Todd Wider, Lori Singer, and Paul Cantelon
Women in Film and Media • Moderated by Thelma Adams with Bette Gordon, Mary Stuart Masterson, Catherine Hardwicke, and Amber Tamblyn
Chat with Trailblazer David Linde • A conversation between Logan Hill and Trailblazer Honoree David Linde
Actors Dialogue • Moderated by Martha Frankel with Karen Allen and Alia Shawkat
Telling Their Stories • Moderated by Nancy Abraham with Roger Ross Williams, Sam Pollard, Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg, and Olha Onyshko
Insiders and Outsiders: Feminism in the Middle East • Moderated by Dr. Holly Shaw with Martina Radwan, Olga M. Davidson, Lina Qadri, Viki Ausender, and Jen Heck
7-11 p.m. Oct. 15
Backstage Studio Productions, 323 Wall St., Kingston, NY
The annual Maverick Awards Ceremony has become one of the most talked-about events attracting more than 500 filmmakers, industry professionals and community leaders and guests. The event is open to the public. Individual and full-table tickets are available at the Woodstock Film Festival Box Office or online.
The 2016 Maverick Awards Ceremony will present several honors including:
TRAILBLAZER AWARD, to be presented by a four-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker and close colleague to honoree David Linde, CEO of Participant Media
FIERCELY INDEPENDENT AWARD, to be presented by actor Ben Foster to honoree Oren Moverman
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, to be presented by Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple to honoree Leon Gast
Best Feature Narrative, Best Feature Documentary, Best Short Narrative, Best Short Documentary, Best Animated Short, the James Lyons Editing Award (Documentary and Narrative), the Haskell Wexler Award for Best Cinematography, the Tangerine Entertainment Award for Best Female Director, the Ultra Indie Award, the Carpe Diem Andretta Award and the World Cinema Award.
Audience awards are announced to the media on Sunday.
We would like to also extend a thank you to advertisers who support our monthly Newsletters including:
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Mid-Hudson Limousine, Sunflower Cafe, Woodstock Yoga


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Concho Valley PAWS
Concho Valley PAWS is San Angelo's largest non profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to pets. Our mission is to end the euthanasia of all adoptable animals. We feature pet adoption services, a low-cost spay and neuter program, training classes, activities for kids and teens, and opportunities for fosters and volunteers. We rely on the generous support of the community to continue and enhance our efforts to make life better for pets and their people.


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Brighten Your Day
Enjoy valuable perks like free breakfast and free WiFi
Vibrant Exploration
Explore Flagstaff's history and enjoy outdoor adventures
Visit the museums and unique shops in historic downtown Flagstaff, just seven minutes away. The Arboretum and Lowell Observatory are fun and educational. Take the easy 40-mile drive to the Sedona area for an outdoor adventure at Red Rock State Park. Northern Arizona State University is less than five miles away. On your travels, you must see the mesmerizing views of the Grand Canyon, known as one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
Bright Places to Meet
With 1900 square feet of event space, our hotel features 2 meeting rooms, which can be arranged to accommodate 68 conference guests or 50 banquet guests. Plan your next meeting or special event with us. We also arrange great rates for groups — large or small.


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Little Australians benefit as teachers move into childcare
Every Australian child should be learning from birth, and long daycare and preschool services are gearing up to meet that challenge.
PET Boles always wanted to teach, but remembers being told that she was ''way too brainy to just be a teacher''. These days she's more amused than indignant about this pernicious stereotype. It took her 20 years to realise her original ambition, but at 41, Boles now has the happy confidence of a mid-life career-changer who's landed in a professional sweet spot.
Where once she spent her days juggling international schedules and managing a vast property portfolio for a London travel group, Boles now starts each day in the Octopus Room, on the floor, singing and playing the triangle and drums with a lively kinder group.
She is in the first few weeks of her new job as the early childhood teacher at the Minifie Park Early Learning Centre in Balwyn.
She talks excitedly about the importance of ''grasping the teachable moment''. This starts by gaining intimate knowledge of each child, determining what they know and what their interests are.
Even with this small group of four and five-year-olds, you can spot the differences in development. Some children are clingy and struggle to tell you their name. Others are highly vocal and so assertive that they are already organising everyone else in the room. Yet another, one of the tiniest of the boys, has an exceptional vocabulary for his age and a sophisticated grasp of a range of concepts.
Boles says all this gives her goose bumps - seeing the way children learn from each other, and watching the sheer joy of a child who grasps something new for the first time.
''My job is not to get them to 'do' things so they begrudge it,'' she says, ''but to give them the best chance to develop a love of learning.''
With national anxiety about a decline in children's educational performance, our best hope is likely to be with committed professionals such as Boles.
As world-renowned researcher John Hattie argues in his ground-breaking book Visible Learning, teachers are the most powerful influence on a child's capacity to learn.
Boles is aware of such research and it explains, in part, her intense desire to teach.
''I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason,'' she said. ''I had some great experiences overseas, but something was pulling me in this direction. This is what I feel comfortable doing. I feel myself. And I don't know that I would have felt this way had I gone into teaching straight out of school.''
With a Master of Teaching qualification from Melbourne University's graduate school of education, and with dual qualifications in both early childhood and primary teaching, Boles is a highly credentialled recruit for a long-daycare centre such as Minifie Park, but also for the childcare sector generally, which is gearing up to meet the mandated requirements of the National Quality Framework.
By January 2014, all long-daycare services and preschool services across the country must employ an early childhood-trained teacher and have them in attendance for at least six hours on any given day.
The policy stipulates that in the critical early years when children are primed to learn, and when they are in formal state-subsidised care outside the home, they must have the support of qualified educators.
The role of other carers will also be enhanced, with requirements for extra training. By 2014, at least 50 per cent of staff at centre-based services must be working towards a diploma qualification, with others required to have a certificate III.
The approach has the full backing of the national body Early Childhood Australia, which sees the provision of quality early learning both as a social justice and equity issue.
With all states having agreed to lift the bar, we are about to say goodbye to an era that in many cases delivered little more than an expensive baby-sitting service.
Nonetheless, recruitment remains the big challenge. Historically, childcare services have been woefully deficient when it comes to investing in qualified staff. Training has been patchy, the pay low, and standards variable.
There's still resistance from some in the sector, mainly private operators who complain about costs and the timetable for change. They say the changes are ''too much, too soon'' and that the cost of complying with the new standards has pushed up childcare fees.
Yet failing to provide qualified teachers would be unthinkable at any other level of schooling. When young children start school, parents know their child will be taught by university-trained teachers who are required to continually update their skills through ongoing professional development.
Until the national framework's introduction at the beginning of last year, there was no such requirement for our youngest children. Yet, as years of brain research have shown, children's ability to perform in the first years of primary school depends on the experiences and learning acquired from birth.
Minifie Park's director Rachel Davies has worked in the sector for 10 years. She was keen to recruit someone like Boles - as she says, ''with the maturity and depth to help alter the perceptions of parents about what we do. Many are stuck with the nostalgia of what kinder was like for them.''
Traditionally, kinder or preschool programs have been offered in stand-alone facilities and across limited hours. In many places that will continue. But with more than a million young children in care across a longer day, the trend now is towards integration. Care and education are merging. Which is why directors such as Davies emphasise Minifie Park's pedagogical approach. ''Change is hard but we are striving for something here. The new standards mean that we are setting higher expectations for ourselves and for our children,'' she said.
''We've been stagnant for too long and that shows when you look at things like the OECD ranking for Australia. We are close to the bottom in terms of what we offer children.''
Out of 38 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Australia trails at No. 34 on the provision and quality of children's services. Our expenditure is high - more than $4 billion a year on combined childcare subsidies - but our pre-primary education is offered less systematically than in comparable countries.
Participation rates, particularly with the under-4s, is also comparatively low. Experts say that is because we have financed a structure that has put the emphasis on ''care'' rather than early learning.
There's something else that is ringing alarm bells. Australian students, across a range of international data, are falling behind, and the drop is across the board. Even our best students are not performing to their potential. Figures published in late 2012 show that 25 per cent of the nation's year-4 primary-school children are not meeting minimum reading standards for their age.
In terms of international rankings, Australian primary children are ranked at an abysmally low 27 on reading scores, and at 18 on maths scores.
It's why Ken Boston, a panel member of the Gonski review of school funding, has said starkly: ''We are in trouble''.
The huge gulf between our stated national goal of wanting to sit with the global top five, and the reality of falling standards, is something that is exercising the minds of many of our educational experts.
Professor Field Rickards, the dean of Melbourne University's graduate school of education, says ''the magnitude of what we're facing calls for specific strategies. A game-changer.''
Rickards says that we need to put a premium on training teachers to be ''evaluators''. In effect, highly trained professionals who are able ''to monitor their impact on learning and then adapt the lesson to meet the needs of each student - rather than expecting the student to keep up regardless of their circumstances''.
Further to that, he argues ''every child can, and should be, learning from birth, and we should have nothing but the highest of expectations about what they can achieve. That's why we need highly trained teachers in all settings, including early learning.''
Centres like Minifie Park are off to a flying start, but what about the rest? According to a 2012 report by Australian Community Children's Services and based on a national survey, the early childhood sector is making solid progress towards meeting the workforce requirements of the National Quality Framework.
More than 25 per cent of all staff are currently engaged in study in order to upgrade their qualifications, with most working towards either a certificate III or a diploma. The biggest shortfall remains the recruitment of degree-qualified teachers, with the ACCS reporting that only 15 per cent of staff in the centres surveyed have attained this level of expertise.
Filling the gap could require lateral thinking. Both Victoria and NSW have long waiting lists of trained primary teachers who can't get jobs. Yet it's likely that the idea of working with very young children, for less pay, in anything other than a school setting is an unattractive career option.
Sorting out industrial issues and funding pay parity across the board could trigger some significant redesigning and integration of early learning with the school system. Many of the country's top private schools are already doing this, offering a seamless education from age 0 to year 12.
Having worked in both settings, Boles is in no doubt this is achievable.
During her practice training at a Melbourne primary school last year, she engineered a successful intervention with a first-year primary child who was seen as the ''class problem''. Observing how distracted he was, Boles realised the problem - the ''skill and drill'' that worked for everyone else was lost on this child as he was writing his numbers backwards.
Boles decided the way to get his attention was to play a kinder-style game. With shaving cream and a reversible perspex board, she got the boy to write out the numbers from 1 to 9. The wrong way. Then the right way. They made a dreadful mess but in the end something clicked. The ''teachable moment'' was grasped, and a young boy who was close to being put into the ''too-hard basket'' ended up looking very pleased with himself.
Boles' former teachers at the graduate school of education would call this a ''successful clinical intervention''. Boles will settle for calling it another ''goose-bump moment''.
As she says, ''you can teach children so much through play. With the training I got through my degree I now know what I'm looking for and can help push children that much further.''
■ Maxine McKew is vice-chancellor's fellow at the University of Melbourne. As parliamentary secretary for early childhood education under the former Rudd government, she helped create the National Quality Framework.


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On Friday, March 11, CCSD's Office of Teacher Effectiveness and current District Teacher of the Year Emilie Woody (Wando High School) surprised the five finalists for District Teacher of the Year. Each finalist had the opportunity to check out a MINI Cooper from MINI of Charleston that the District Teacher of the Year will receive at CCSD Educator Night with the Charleston RiverDogs. Congratulations to each of the Teacher of the Year Finalists!
Special thanks to MINI of Charleston, the Charleston RiverDogs, and News 2 for their partnerships with CCSD in recognizing and rewarding our teacher leaders through the Teacher of the Year process!
"Every student should feel safe and valued despite their differences. We need to create a culture where we not only accept, but we also celebrate our differences. It is our differences that allow us to look at things in a new way, to understand new dimensions, to share a new perspective."
A graduate of the University of Georgia with a Masters degree from the College of Charleston, Corday Borders credits her developing relationships "at the heart of learning" in her classroom. Each day, Ms. Borders welcomes her students by name, engaging them in dialogue about their families, their sports, and their lives. Her students recognize the safety of her classroom where they are encouraged to "explain, discuss, argue and analyze…problems and thinking." Ms. Borders encourages the community to support teachers. She believes that teachers may have a greater impact on the success of their students when supported by policymakers, community leaders, and parents. Ms. Border's students excel in meeting the high expectations she establishes for them. She not only promotes discussion and analysis in the study of literature and complex mathematics, but she also works collaboratively with colleagues at her school to develop student skills in research, communication, and technology, as well as the importance of self-direction and work ethic.
"The profession of teaching is not easy. It requires passion, commitment, and a lot of grit."
As a graduate of Winthrop University with a Masters degree from The Citadel, Angie Greene has had the opportunity to serve as a classroom teacher, reading teacher, and school counselor. Ms. Greene believes that her diverse educational experiences have provided her with unique perspectives that she uses to "assist teachers, students, and parents with a plethora of complex issues." Ms. Greene collaborates with various organizations in the community to provide learning opportunities for her students. She welcomed a group of Citadel cadets to lead students in writing activities, she coordinates projects with the Rotary Club of Charleston, and she facilitates field trip opportunities for the students with the Circular Church. She believes these partnerships "provide the students a window into the great richness of our community, outside of the classroom."
"Children are an amazing collection of contradictions, full of challenges and rewards, continual works-in-progress. Teachers are amazing, too, because they understand and embrace all the contradictions, relish the challenges, savor the rewards, and never tire of the constant developmental process."
With a degree from Drake University and a Masters from the University of South Carolina, Christine James nurtures student learning by connecting the students at her school with information and texts that are relevant to their individual lives—"what they like, what they struggle with, and what gets them excited about school." Ms. James is committed to creating a learning environment where students feel safe and welcomed, where they know they are can trust her to provide them with engaging learning opportunities. She challenges herself to always provide a student-centered approach to instruction. Ms. James also provides support and learning opportunities for her colleagues. Whether helping them find additional resources for classroom instruction or assisting with ideas to incorporate technology into their lessons, she is dedicated to the development of all learners in the community. Ms. James is an advocate for the profession. She not only models best practices during instruction, but she also shares her joy for her job with others by demonstrating a positive attitude, enthusiasm, and a love for students.
"Every day is an event. Every day is different. I'm conveying the past to create a better future. I have a job where I experience deep belly laughs regularly. The rewards of teaching are inherent."
A graduate of Louisiana State University with a Masters degree from the University of Georgia, Megan Orchard believes that her role as a social studies teacher gives her the opportunity to "facilitate powerful discussions about societal woes, to mold people into citizens, and to build real world problem-solvers." Through her commitment to service in the community, Ms. Orchard conveys a spirit of giving by modeling volunteer action for her students. She has recently worked with student volunteers to hold a donation drive for homeless veterans. Ms. Orchard also makes history engaging and relevant to the lives of her students. She commits to providing opportunities for her students to seek answers to questions and to explore their own understanding of the learning freely. On any day in her classroom, Ms. Orchard's students may be engaged in an imperialism role-play, arguing in defense of King Louis XVI during a mock trial, or creating an iMovie about Revolutionary battles. Ms. Orchard reminds us that "teachers are warriors," committed each day to student achievement, growth, and fun.
"I try to make my students independent thinkers who persist even when faced with adversity. I strive to help my students build self-confidence by creating a learning environment where they are free to make mistakes without being ridiculed and where they are encouraged to keep trying until they uncover appropriate answers."
As a graduate of Winthrop University with a Masters degree from The Citadel, Karen Pickering was inspired by her parents', both former educators, and her teachers' dedication and commitment to creating learning opportunities for students. Declaring teaching as her "passion," Ms. Pickering collaborates with colleagues and administrators at her school to provide the best learning opportunities for her students. Whether preparing students to examine a novel by making the plot relevant through contemporary articles or by encouraging students to explore the global community through oral communication, Ms. Pickering creates learning opportunities that enable her students to thrive both inside and outside the classroom.


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Well, the Dell deal is finally official.
With the help of private-equity firm Silver Lake and a boatload of new debt, Dell has announced a deal to take itself private for $24 billion.
Dell's public shareholders will get $13.65 a share, which is a considerable premium over the $10 that the stock was trading for last summer.
But it's a disappointment for long-term Dell shareholders who have seen their investment go nowhere but down over the past 13 years.
And, at some level, it's also probably galling for those shareholders — knowing that Michael Dell and Silver Lake would never do this deal if they didn't think they could coin money by doing it.
Which they undoubtedly will.
To be clear and fair: Dell is explicitly allowing other potential buyers to make alternative bids in case someone wants to cut a better deal for Dell shareholders. And that's a smart and fair thing to do.
But whether or not someone else offers to pay a dollar or two more a share to Dell's current shareholders, Michael Dell and Silver Lake obviously think they can wring a lot more value out of the company than that.
And, as a result, this deal is yet another indictment of the way our public markets work.
Why should Dell have to go private to allow Michael Dell to do the things necessary to create a lot more value for shareholders? Why can't Michael Dell just do these things now, for Dell's public shareholders?
The answer, presumably, is that Michael Dell doesn't feel like he can do these things under the scrutiny of the public markets.
Given that Dell going private is pretty much a fait accompli at this point, we might as well speculate about what Michael Dell and his private-equity partners will do when the deal closes:
- Take the $15 billion of cash on Dell's books and use it to pay themselves a massive dividend. This technique instantly returns cash to the private-equity firm, thus leaving them with less cash at risk. This dividend will likely cover more than the amount of cash they put up to buy the company, thus leaving them playing with house money.
- Use some of the rest of the $15 billion to pay down some of the debt they used to buy the company. (They don't want to completely overload Dell with debt, or they won't be able to sell it at a huge premium later.)
- Fire thousands of employees and drastically cut costs.
- Sell off some crappy or un-strategic businesses.
- Maybe buy or otherwise enter the smartphone and tablet businesses.
- Sell the company back to the public-market shareholders at a much higher price than they bought it for.
- Smile all the way to the bank.
That's standard private-equity operating procedure.
When these techniques are done well, they actually improve companies, in addition to coining money for private-equity investors.
When they're done badly, of course, they gut companies and overload them with debt, so that they collapse within a year or two of being sold back to the public markets.
There's nothing wrong with the good part of that.
But if that's what Michael Dell and his private-equity backers plan to do with Dell when they buy it — if that's the way to generate an awesome return for shareholders — it's too bad that they couldn't just do it now, for Dell's current shareholders.
Now, to be clear, Michael Dell is not selling his stock, so he is assuming a lot of risk here. If he wanted to cash out, he could do that now, and just leave Silver Lake to take all the risk and get all the upside. But given that Dell has $15 billion in cash, the conclusion of both parties is probably that the risk isn't all that great.
SEE ALSO: Dell Going Private For $13.65 A Share


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New Yorker artist's work on view in Bethel
The work of celebrated artist Joseph Farris is on display and for sale at Byrd's Books in Bethel.
Farris, a Bethel resident, has been a contract cartoonist for The New Yorker since 1971. Besides The New Yorker, he's done covers for Barron's and Harvard magazine, among others.
Not only an illustrator, Farris is author of "A Soldier's Sketchbook," an illustrated memoir of his time as a soldier in World War II. Signed copies are available in the store.
Original drawings, paper cuts, paintings, cartoons and multimedia works are included in this new exhibit. The works are on display through Friday, Jan. 11.
For almost 20 years, Farris' cartoons were featured in Stern magazine in Germany. His cartoons and paintings are or were in the private collections of former President Jimmy Carter, as well as Paul Newman, Colleen Dewhurst, William Safire, Paul Mellon and others.
A large selection of Farris' cartoons from The New Yorker is in the permanent collection of the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City. In 2009, he was included in a group show, "On the Money: Cartoons for The New Yorker," at the Morgan Library & Museum.
Farris' cartoons are also in the permanent collections of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich and the U.S. Army Women's Museum in Ft. Lee, Va.
The exhibit is sponsored by the Cultural Alliance of Western Connecticut.
Byrd's Books, 213 Greenwood Ave., Bethel. Through Friday, Jan. 11. Hours: Sunday 6:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Monday, Tuesday 6:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Wednesday-Saturday 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Free. 203-730-2973, www.byrdsbooks.com.


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The mission of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases is to support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases; the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research; and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases.
Consumer and professional education materials are available about arthritis, epidermolysis bullosa, scoliosis, Paget's disease, psoriasis, vitiligo, osteoporosis, autoimmune disease and many other diseases of bones, muscles, joints, and skin. All of the publications are listed at www.niams.nih.gov/hi/index.htm, and can be downloaded from there or ordered via the shopping cart on the NIAMS Web site.
Wednesday, Jul 20, 2011
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Untreated domestic waste and industrial wastewater containing hazardous chemicals discharged by factories into the Citarum River have contaminated the water supply and have impacted the rice paddies belonging to local farmers. The farmers say that, as a result of contaminated water, their rice is a much lower quality and many have to sell them for half the normal price. Ciwalengke Village.
© Andri Tambunan / Greenpeace
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1) Script Title: Ultimate Fade-in slideshow (v1.51)
2) Script URL (on DD): http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamici...nslideshow.htm
3) Describe problem: Hi there, I tried installing the script for Ultimate Fade-in Slideshow and had to insert two separate JavaScript's into the one page. Reason is that we want one rotating image at the top of the page and the other at the bottom of the page.
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When we load the page, the 1st slideshow works but the 2nd one dosent and is just grey..
Can anyone help?


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image from morrisonhotelgallery.com
Release date: 17 January 1975
Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.) Tangled Up in Blue / Simple Twist of Fate / You're a Big Girl Now / Idiot Wind / You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go / Meet Me in the Morning / Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts / If You See Her, Say Hello / Shelter from the Storm / Buckets of Rain
Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, -- UK, 10.0 world (includes US and UK)
Peak: 12 US, 4 UK
Review: "Following on the heels of an album where he repudiated his past with his greatest backing band, Blood on the Tracks finds Bob Dylan, in a way, retreating to the past, recording a largely quiet, acoustic-based album." AMG Inspired by "the collapse of his marriage to Sara Lowndes" RS500 and "recorded after a tour with the Band had apparently re-ignited his creativity, Blood is among Dylan's masterpieces." AZ
"This is the sound of an artist returning to his strengths, what feels most familiar, as he accepts a traumatic situation, namely the breakdown of his marriage. This is an album alternately bitter, sorrowful, regretful, and peaceful, easily the closest he ever came to wearing his emotions on his sleeve. That's not to say that it's an explicitly confessional record, since many songs are riddles or allegories, yet the warmth of the music makes it feel that way." AMG
The album's best-known song is Tangled Up in Blue, which he once introduced onstage "as taking him ten years to live and two years to write." RS500 "In fact, he wrote all of these lyrically piercing, gingerly majestic folk-pop songs in two months, in mid-1974. He was so proud of them that he privately auditioned almost all of the album, from start to finish, for pals and peers including Mike Bloomfield, David Crosby and Graham Nash before cutting them in September – in just a week with members of the bluegrass band Deliverance." RS500 "But in December, Dylan played the record for his brother David in Minneapolis, who suggested recutting some songs with local musicians. The final Blood was a mix of New York and Minneapolis tapes; Dylanologists still debate the merits of the two sessions." RS500
"No one disputes the album's luxuriant tangle of guitars, the gritty directness in Dylan's voice and the magnificent confessional force of his writing: in the existentialist jewel Simple Twist of Fate, the wrung-dry goodbye of If You See Her, Say Hello and the sharp-tongued opprobrium of Idiot Wind, his greatest put-down song since 'Like a Rolling Stone'. RS500
Resources and Related Links:
- the DMDB page for Blood on the Tracks
- the DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry for Bob Dylan
- AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
- AZ Amazon.com review by David Cantwell
- RS500 RollingStone.com "500 Greatest Albums of All Time"


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*Note:Given the sheer volume of these lectures, I suggest watching them at 1.5 or 2.0 speed [click on cogwheel icon to adjust settings]。
Lecture 1 - Introduction and Pre-Han Pictorial Art
I begin by introducing my three major teachers, and go on to outline the background of the series: early attempts at histories of Chinese painting, photographing and cataloguing projects carried out in the 1960s-70s, changing ideas about how art history should be constructed and written. I introduce Ernst Gombrich as a model for the kind of art-historical narrative I will attempt, but also emphasize the strong tradition of critical and historical writing in China that underlies my account. This first lecture ends with a brief introduction to early pictorial art in China: Neolithic painted pots, hunting-style bronzes, the earliest paintings on silk from Changsha. (Cahill)
Lecture 2 - Han Painting and Pictorial Designs
This lecture considers the growth of pictorial art during the Han dynasty (208 BCE to AD 220), beginning with paintings on silk (including the famous 'flying garment") from the tombs at Changsha, continuing with pictures on tomb objects (mingqi) and lacquer designs, and ending with the remarkable relief pictures on tomb tiles found in Sichuan. Early renderings of space and the beginnings of expressive rushwork are revealed in visual analyses of all these. (Cahill)
Lecture 3 - Six Dynasties Painting and Pictorial Designs
This third lecture, more than two hours long, treats the pictorial art of the variously-named period between the Han and Tang dynasties, a period of political division and warfare during which relative peace in the Yangzi Delta region around Nanjing permitted the emergence there of major artists and a flourishing tradition of picturemaking. Detailed looking at scroll paintings ascribed to one artist, Gu Kaizhi, 顧愷之 (or Changkang 長康) introduces issues of dating and the faithfulness of copies after a lost original; brief discussions of two early essays open a continuing consideration of the rich Chinese critical and theoretical literature on painting. (Cahill)
Lecture 4A - Tang Dynasty Figure Painting
This lecture is about figure painting of the Tang dynasty (AD 610-907). Tomb paintings of the early Tang, works associated with the legendary figure master Wu Daozi 吳道子, reliable copies after palace-lady pictures by Zhou Fang 周昉 and others together with one original, make up a detailed exploration of this greatest age of figure painting in China. (Cahill)
Lecture 4B - Tang Dynasty Landscape Painting
Landscape painting in the Tang dynasty takes two directions: a detailed and colorful style, and the beginnings of an ink-monochrome style. Examples of both in surviving copies and fragments, along with a tomb wall painting. a rubbing from a stone engraving, and the background landscape from a Buddhist image are shown and discussed in this lecture. (Cahill)
Lecture 5 - Five Dynasties Painting: Reliable Works
Another period of political disunity bridging the brief gap (AD 907-960) between two long-lasting dynasties, the Tang and the Song, the Five Dynasties was nonetheless an age of great innovation in landscape and other painting. This lecture uses reliable works of the period and close copies for visual exploration of striking pictorial images that draw the viewer's eye into their intricate spatial systems. (Cahill)
Lecture 6 - Five Dynasties Painting: The Great Landscape Masters
In this same period, five great masters of landscape--Jing Hao and Guan Tong, Dong Yuan and Juran, Li Cheng--brought to this art a new profundity of conception and diversity of styles. Although no surviving work can be firmly accepted as by any one of them, major paintings of high quality and importance are attributed to them, and are given close visual analysis in this lecture, which also introduces new theories and concepts of how landscape imagery can carry profound human meaning. (Cahill)
Lecture 7A: Early Northern Song Landscape
A time of greatest achievement in the development of landscape painting in China, the early Northern Song period saw the emergence of a fully formed, monumental landscape art as achieved by three towering masters, Yan Wengui, Fan Kuan, and Xu Daoning, all represented by extant genuine works. These are explored in detail, along with paintings by some of their followers and imitators. (Cahill)
Lecture 7B: Late Northern Song Landscape and Guo Xi.
This lecture is devoted to the late Northern Song master Guo Xi, the last of the great masters of monumental landscape, beginning with his essay on painting landscape, continuing with a prolonged exploration of his masterwork Early Spring, and ending with a consideration of other paintings ascribed to him. (Cahill)
Lecture 8A: Noblemen Painters of Late Northern Song
After discussions of some large theoretical and methodological issues, this lecture presents paintings by two artists who were members of the Song imperial family, Zhao Lingrang by birth and Wang Shen through marriage. The strengths and limitations of their works are brought out in a discussion of the implications of amateurism in painting. (Cahill)
Lecture 8B: Literati Painters of Northern Song
The beginnings and early stages of the scholar-amateur movement in painting, known first as shidafu hua and later as wenren hua, are presented through works by or attributed to the early literati masters, notably Su Shi 蘇軾 or Su Dongpo 蘇東坡, Mi Fu 米黻, and Li Gonglin 李公麟. An especially fine painting from the next generation, the Red Cliff handscroll by Qiao Zhongchang, 喬仲常 is given a longer, detailed treatment. (Cahill)
Lecture 9A: Li Tang and His Followers
After looking at three late Northern Song handscrolls, one by Wang Ximeng 王希孟 and two others attributed to the brothers Zhao Boju 趙伯駒 and Zhao Bosu 趙伯驌, this lecture is devoted to the major landscapist of that period, Li Tang 李唐, and his followers active in the Imperial Academy later in the Southern Song period. The lecture concludes with two more handscrolls by Li Tang followers. (Cahill)
Lecture 9B: Political and Poetic Themes in Southern Song Painting
A consideration of political themes in Southern Song Academy painting, especially in works by Li Tang and his followers, ends with long sections on two subjects of this kind: buffalo and herd boy paintings and paintings of swimming fish. The part that follows, on poetic themes in Southern Song, is largely devoted to works ascribed to Ma Hezhi 馬和之. A great anonymous handscroll of this period, the "Dream Journey in the Xiao-Xiang Region," is shown at length, and followed by shorter treatments of other handscrolls, including those illustrating "Wenji's Return to China." (Cahill)
Lecture 9C: Masters of Representation: The Southern Song Academy
After an opening discussion of the unwarranted neglect of Southern Song Academy masters in studies of our subject, this lecture treats a succession of these masters and their works: paintings of children, of animals and birds, of flowers, of narrative and genre scenes. A handscroll depicting "The West Lake at Hangzhou," paintings of arhats by Liu Songnian 刘松年, and some evocative paintings of figures in various settings conclude the lecture. (Cahill)
Lecture 10A: Bird-and-Flower Painting: The Early Centuries
This lecture is devoted to the first attempt at constructing a style-history of this important subject category in Chinese painting, from its beginnings in the Tang dynasty into the Southern Song. Bird-and-flower paintings that are loosely datable are looked at in close detail, so that the new modes of depiction in successive periods can be traced. The lecture ends with a close look at a handscroll by the late Northern Song master Liang Shimin. (Cahill)
Lecture 10B: Bird-and-Flower Painting: Emperor Huizong and After
Beginning with a long consideration of Cui Bai's 崔白 "Hare and Magpies" of 1061, this lecture continues by looking at the bird paintings ascribed to Emperor Huizong 徽宗 and offering a new proposal for how these were made. It goes on to show and discuss bird-and-flower works by Southern Song Academy masters, especially Ma Yuan and his son Ma Lin 馬麟. Continuing with a handscroll of ink-monochrome images by a late Song literatus-artist, it ends with a miscellany of album-leaf paintings in the Academy styles. (Cahill)
11A - Great Masters of Southern Song: Ma Yuan
This, the first of four lectures on artists who might be called the Four Great Masters of Southern Song Academy painting, introduces and discusses many works by Ma Yuan 馬遠 and his close followers and imitators, mostly landscapes with figures but also small scenes of birds-in-landscape and other subjects. Questions of authorship and authenticity, identifying the artist's hand, are raised and considered in relation to the many works ascribed insecurely to Ma Yuan. (Cahill)
11B - Great Masters of Southern Song: Xia Gui
This long lecture is devoted to Xia Gui 夏圭, the artist who is, in the speaker's opinion, the greatest of the Four Great Masters. It includes an especially long treatment of his masterwork, the Pure and Remote View of Streams and Mountains handscroll. A myth or program of this and many other Southern Song Academy paintings, the "lyric journey," is introduced as underlying this scroll and determining its basic structure. Questions of authenticity and problems of constructing a body of reliable works for this master occupy much of the discussion. (Cahill)
11C - Ma Lin and Others: The Lyric Journey
Ma Yuan's son (Ma Lin 馬麟), and the last in a family lineage within the Southern Song Academy, here receives more attention than he is usually given in writings on Chinese painting. His works are seen as carrying almost to excess the practice of choosing and portraying pictorial materials so as to intensify their emotional impact. A selection of paintings exemplifying the "lyric journey" theme, done by artists inside and outside the Academy, is followed by a group of album leaves demonstrating their mastery of multispace compositions with implicit narratives. (Cahill)
11D - From Academy to Chan: Liang Kai
This last of the four Southern Song Academy masters is shown as providing a bridge between that tradition and the new kind of painting associated with Chan (Zen) Buddhism, which will make up the topic of most of the lecture 12 group. The gap between the way Liang Kai 梁楷 is regarded, and his works collected, in China and in Japan also introduces a large problem that complicates the whole concept of Chan painting: why it was preserved almost entirely in Japan and scarcely at all in China.
12A - Paintings of the North: The Jin Dynasty
While the Southern Song Dynasty ruled in the south of China, the Jin dynasty of the Jurchens, a nomadic people, ruled in the north. Chinese artists working under the Jin mostly continued Northern Song traditions, out of touch with new developments in the south. This first part of lecture 12 is devoted to some of their paintings. (Cahill)
12B - The Beginnings of Chan (Zen) Painting and Muqi
This is the first part of a long attempt to deal with the highly problematic subject of Chan painting—that is, painting associated in various ways with the Chan (Zen) sect of Buddhism. Shown and discussed at length are works by and ascribed to the most famous Chan painter, the monk-artist Muqi 牧溪法常 (Cahill)
12C - Six Persimmons
This central section of lecture 12 concentrates on a single work probably by Muqi: his famous small picture of "Six Persimmons." Viewers are made to gaze at this simple but mysterious work for a long time, while our lecturer attempts answers to the central, ultimately unanswerable question: what is Chan painting, and how does it differ from literati painting? (Cahill)
12D - Sōgenga and Chan Landscapes
Our final lecture, which winds up the series (except for a postlude and two addenda), deals with the many Chan-associated paintings preserved in Japan that are grouped here, loosely, under the term Sōgenga. It concludes with the surviving works from two series of "Eight Views of the Xiao-Xiang Region," one attributed to Muqi 牧溪法常, the other by Yujian—paintings that can be taken as representing the last stage in the long development of landscape painting in China that has been the central subject of this series. (Cahill)
Arguing the Aftermath: Postlude to A Pure and Remote View
A long discussion of how we can understand the direction that Chinese painting took after the end of the Song dynasty, and why the great Song tradition of ink-monochrome landscape was not really continued in China. Some additional thoughts on the quality of representational truthfulness, "likeness" or "mimesis," which we are admonished by Orthodoxy advocates not to look for in Chinese painting, ends this lecture.
Addendum 1A. Freer Medal Acceptance Address
On November 18, 2010, James Cahill was awarded the Charles Lang Freer Medal. This is the acceptance address he delivered then, outlining his long career, offering tributes to his predecessors, and suggesting how Freer's experiences in Japan in the summer of 1907 sharpened his connoisseurial eye for Chinese paintings
Addendum 1B. Riverbank: The Controversy
In December of 1999 a symposium titled "Issues of Authenticity" was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with papers mostly arguing for and against the age and authenticity of a painting titled Riverbank that the museum had recently acquired and believed to be an early masterwork, while others, spearheaded by Cahill, believe it to be a forgery by the late Zhang Daqian. Revelations about the background of this symposium, and additional opinions by others about this controversy, are offered here.
Addendum 2A. Notes on Judging Authenticity and Dating
A general discussion of the fundamental problem of authenticity and dating in Chinese painting studies, using some examples from the lectures but also others that exemplify the methods and criteria by which good judgments can be made. My arguments of course emphasize the visual approach over the verbal--the reading of inscriptions and seals, etc.--important as those also are.
Addendum 2B. Riverbank: A Closer Look
Our lecturer returns, finally, after avoiding it throughout his series, to the controversial painting titled Riverbank, on which widely variant opinions are held by different authorities. He offers what he hopes is a convincing argument about why Riverbank cannot be old and must be a Zhang Daqian forgery. An insert near the end, added at the last moment, delivers what he believes to be decisive visual evidence to support his contention.


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Who doesn't love Diane Lane? I know I can't get enough of her.
The versatile actress made the frothy and fun "Under the Tuscan Sun" glow and seem more substantial than it really was, and she more than scorched up the screen with hunky Olivier Martinez in "Unfaithful."
Lane takes a cue from "The Blind Side" this Friday, with Disney's family-friendly "Secretariat." After junk like "Cats and Dogs 2," families should be eager to embrace a quality production — especially another one featuring a standout part for an actress.
See what I thought of the film, costarring a fashion-backward John Malkovich, below.
Are you looking forward to seeing it? And do you like horse movies in general? I'm more of a cat and dog guy. My emotional wounds still haven't healed after seeing "Old Yeller."
Review: Diane Lane is the champion in 'Secretariat'
Who doesn't love Diane Lane? I know I can't get enough of her.


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make a break for (someone or something)
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make a break for (someone or something)
1. To start running toward a place or person. As soon as I opened the door, my cat made a break for it and ran out into the yard. When they let us in the store, let's make a break for the sale rack before everyone else gets there.
2. To suddenly decide to pursue an opportunity. Tired of working for his boss, Jake made a break for it and started his own business.
make a break for someone or something
Fig. to run suddenly toward someone or something; to seize an opportunity to run toward someone or something. The crook made a break for the cop in order to get his gun. Max made a break for the door.
make a break for
Also, make a run for. Run toward something. For example, As soon as it ended, they made a break for the door, or I'll have to make a run for the plane. The noun break here means "escape," and both terms may be put as make a break or run for it , meaning "to escape or get away quickly." For example, With the guards asleep, he decided to make a break for it, or The rain's stopped; let's make a run for it. [c. 1840]


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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) launched Windows 8 last October with radical ambitions in mind. The Start menu was gone, and in its place was a tile-based interface that was a dramatic departure from what Windows users had grown accustomed to over the past 17 years, dating to the introduction of Windows 95.
Anytime you overhaul the user interface of something as long-lived and pervasive as Windows, there will be loud user complaints. Some level of users will always be resistant to change.
However, the steep learning curve on Windows 8 has made it a difficult transition, especially for larger companies whose users are accustomed to older versions of Windows. With the company looking to release a major update named Windows 8.1 that should be released later this year, let's take a look back at Windows 8 to date and what should be expected from Microsoft's major overhaul of the operating system.
Why go tile?
Microsoft's reasoning for the dramatic changes to Windows was simple: Past versions of Windows didn't translate well to the touch-based devices such as tablets that are exploding in popularity. By creating a tile-based interface, the company could make Windows relevant for both PCs and tablets, rather than create a separate version for tablets.
To date, results have been middling. At the start of May, Microsoft announced that it had sold more than 100 million Windows 8 licenses, but little traction has been gained in tablets. More painfully, the slide in consumer interest around PCs continues. In the first quarter, PC shipments declined more than 11% according to industry tracker Gartner.
Microsoft admits mistakes, but sticks to its guns
While Microsoft isn't ready to throw in the towel on its vision for the future of Windows, it is admitting to some bumpiness in Windows 8's launch. On a blog post from earlier this month, Tami Reller, who serves as both CFO and CMO for the Windows division, acknowledged that Windows 8 is a "big, ambitious change." She further noted that "change takes time."
Further admission that Windows 8 might have pushed users too far out of their boundaries comes from its upcoming Windows 8.1 update, due out later this year. Up until recent weeks, Microsoft had dribbled out hints on the update but now appears ready to talk. Most of the talk centers on the return of a familiar Microsoft icon: the Start button.
Bring back the Start button! Kind of.
As CNET notes, Microsoft's Windows 8.1 update will come with a "Start Tip," which sits in the lower left corner and allows users to return to a Start screen. This won't return you to the Start menu you're familiar with, but the Start screen will be customizable in a way that allows users to create a listing of applications that's similar to the Start menus of past Windows versions.
For the most ardent critics of change in Windows 8, the 8.1 update is delivering something long-clamored for: an option to boot directly to the desktop. The fact that current versions of Windows 8 forced users to boot up in the tile-based interface has been the subject of much of the Windows 8 controversy.
More Microsoft products
Beyond the design compromises that allow users to go back to a more "traditional" experience, the other big change in Windows 8.1 appears to be more integration with Microsoft products. We've come a long way since Microsoft was almost split up for bundling Internet Explorer in Windows. The changes come not only in Microsoft's dominance of computing, but also in the acceptance of bundling software with an operating system.
Back in the late '90s Microsoft controlled upward of 90% of computing devices, which at the time were largely just PCs. However, across the past five years, the explosion of smartphones and tablets means Microsoft controls less than 25% of "connected devices" today, thanks to Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google's (NASDAQ:GOOGL) dominance of that mobile growth.
Also, in the highly competitive mobile world, bundling services is no longer perceived as the anti-competitive threat it once was, but more something that enhances the user experience. Today, on iOS and Android, most default services such as Maps and media services such as iTunes or Google Play come bundled with the operating system. Microsoft is using this changing landscape to integrate more of its existing services into Windows.
On Windows 8.1, Microsoft is more closely bundling SkyDrive as a Web storage service. Also, a new version of Internet Explorer will come as a default with Windows 8.1. Whether or not PC users like it, Microsoft is responding to the changing landscape around it. When Microsoft shelled out $8.5 billion for Skype, it was evidence of how serious the company was about building up services it could bundle across all its products: Windows, mobile, Xbox. The future of Windows isn't just Microsoft's owning the operating system, but also the key software and services on top it.
Happy Windows users?
Will Windows 8.1's changes be enough to satisfy most dissatisfied users? Probably not. The tile user interface remains at the center of the experience, even if booting to the desktop is now an option. Moreover, many of the changes to make Windows 8.1 feel more similar to Windows versions rely on customization. With many users complaining about a "steep learning curve," making users customize the experience doesn't exactly scream of simplification. However, the changes could go a way in getting more adoption of Windows 8 in a key market: corporate users. While consumer interest in PCs has been cratering, corporate PC buying has been a far more steady force. Enabling options like booting to the desktop could lessen headaches for IT departments and persuade them to begin using Windows 8.
Like it or not, Microsoft is committed to an operating system that's touch-friendly and features heavy integration with its other services. How much more will Microsoft compromise and return to the look of the Windows feel of old? That will depend on whether the company can stomach declining Windows sales across the next year, or whether Windows manages to rebound.


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Latest Event News
17 Oct, 2012 : Round 09 Brands Hatch GP
7 Oct, 2012 : The Latchicos in rehearsals
Punk band The Latchicos at Borough studios, London UK.
25 Jul, 2012 : TTC Round 05 Brands Hatch GP
28 May, 2012 : TTC Snetterton Sunday Racing photos
28 May, 2012 : TTC 2012 - Snetterton - Saturday Racing
11 May, 2012 : Races - TTC Round 03
Race photos from TTC round 03 at Thruxton British superbikes
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Fire near Fort Collins now 1,348 acres
The Denver Post
The Galena Fire has burned about 1,348 acres in the foothills west of Fort Collins according to new mapping information released Monday morning.
The fire, which started Friday, remains about 75 percent contained and firefighters expect to increase containment by the end of the day, according to the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.
Two firefighters are recovering from minor injuries suffered during containment efforts, Larimer County officials confirmed. Both were hospitalized and released.
Authorities said the fire appears to be human-caused, but they have not disclosed how it began.
About 130 firefighters remain on the fire, and two helicopters will go to work Monday if weather conditions permit.
Winds in the area could gust up to 31 mph Monday, according to the National Weather Service, and strong winds could hamper firefighters' efforts. Winds will likely increase smoke in the interior of the fire.
No structures have been lost or damaged by the fire.
Crews plan to work on fire lines Monday, along with mop-up in some areas. So far, firefighters have dug about five miles of fire line.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, but officials said Monday that it was human-caused. Further details on the cause will be released as soon as possible, the sheriff's office said.
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