text:
Google's Project Zero team has dropped a Microsoft Edge bug for the world to see.
Google originally shared details of the flaw with Microsoft on 17 November 2017, but Microsoft wasn't able to come up with a patch within Google's non-negotiable "you have 90 days to do this" period.
Ironically, Google may give you a 14 day grace period to extend the deadline to 104 days, but if you admit you aren't going to make it within 104 days, you don't get any of the extra 14 days of non-disclosure.
Last week, right at the 90-day deadline, Google quoted Microsoft as saying:
The fix is more complex than initially anticipated, and it is very likely that we will not be able to meet the February release deadline due to these memory management issues. The team IS positive that this will be ready to ship on March 13th [2018-03-13], however this is beyond the 90-day SLA [service level agreement] and 14-day grace period to align with Update Tuesdays.
As a result, Google published details of the bug immediately, so Microsoft Edge users are now adrift without a patch for nearly a month.
How bad is it?
Fortunately, this bug isn't a remote code execution exploit all on its own.
It's a security bypass that could allow an attacker who has already wrested control from your browser to vault over Mirosoft's second layer of defence, known as ACG, short for Arbitrary Code Guard.
ACG is supposed to head off remote code execution attacks before they can make any headway.
Even if a booby-trapped web page, image or script manages to wrest the CPU away from Edge in an effort to grab control, ACG means that the attack can't easily transfer control to malware of its own choice.
That's a bit like having a backup security system at home that throws a net over crooks who manage to pick your front door lock and get into your house: they're already in, which is bad, but their hands are pinned to their sides, so they can't pick anything up or open any more doors, which is good.
Very simply put, ACG works by locking down the memory that Edge uses to run its own software code.
In theory, an attacker who gets control via a web page that Edge just loaded:
- Can't modify executable code that's already in memory.
- Can't allocate new memory blocks in which to store rogue code.
This conversion happens on demand while you're browsing, so the JIT-generated code is created and executed after the browser itself has loaded.
In other words, the browser needs to be able to allocate new memory blocks for executable code, and to modify those blocks at runtime…
…but it also needs to stop attackers who have already compromised the browser from creating their own blocks of executable code.
Microsoft therefore elected to separate Edge's own "shove new code into memory and run it" JIT feature from the rest of the browser by running the JIT compiler in a separate process.
But Google researchers nevertheless found a way to guess roughly where Edge's JIT compiler was going to allocate new memory, and to exploit it that way.
Just to be clear, though: you need to find a remote code execution vulnerability (RCE) in Edge first.
This ACG bypass doesn't give you remote code execution on its own.
Should Google have waited?
Google's approach is that 90 days ought to be enough for anyone to fix any security bug, so after 90 days it's OK to reveal publicly how the bug works.
The theory is that by 'dumping' bugs according to an inflexible algorithm, you can never be accused of favouritism by giving some companies more time than others.
This means that the pressure of unwanted disclosure – the stick that you're wielding in the hope of forcing software vendors not to sweep bugs under the carpet – is unswervingly objective.
But there's a somewhat inhuman aspect to bug-dumping-by-numbers.
What you might call Google's soulless approach doesn't differentiate between a company that's not trying and has missed the deadline because it simply doesn't care about security, and one that has been trying hard but hasn't quite made it in time.
Of course, rules are rules, so you can argue that Google is right to apply this one without fear or favour.
On the other hand, you can argue that Google is being high-handed by applying its own opinion in the first place as if it were an objective industry-wide standard.
Should you stop using Edge?
As explained above, this hole doesn't give crooks a direct way to take over your browser immediately.
Simply put, you can regard it as a vulnerability that could make a bad thing worse, rather than a bad thing in the first place.
Nevertheless, keep your eyes open for Microsoft's forthcoming patch.
For all you know, Microsoft might yet get a fix out before next Patch Tuesday, so watch this space, and grab the patch as soon as it's available.
PS. We were wondering if turning off Edge's Just-In Time compiler would prevent this bug from being exploitable – because the sequence of operations on which it depends would then never arise. We can't find out how to turn off the JITter, or even if it's possible, let alone whether it would work if it were. If you have any hints for a workaround, please let us know in the comments.


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Friday, January 23, 2009
Hex Maps
Anyone have any idea what I might have found all those months ago?
23 comments:
Would it be Hexmapper?ReplyDelete
That might be it, but it's hard to tell without downloading the program beforehand.ReplyDelete
James, I've been lurking around your blog for about a month now (coinciding with a return to old-school D&D after a 20-year absence) and hope I can return a favor for all your dead-on writing. I found something like what you are talking about here when working on my own campaign:ReplyDelete
The tiles remind me aesthetically of the Mystara maps of long ago.
There's also one called "Wilderness Mapper" that's free and about 10 years old, but it gets the job done. I've been playing with it off and on for the last couple of weeks.ReplyDelete
Maybe, but just maybe, you are referring to this one:
PS: you have a wonderful blog, compliments!!
If you can't get until the Yahoo! group, I could probably upload the file for you.ReplyDelete
I'm 99.9% sure Thorfinn's maps were created using it.
On the OD&D Trid site there are quite a few tools including links to HexMapper and additional HexMapper Hexes to really beef up your maps.ReplyDelete
Just for clarification, the HexMapper program on the Yahoo! group is the Arr-Kelaan one. But their site is down.ReplyDelete
Nifty! Thanks.
There's also one called "Wilderness Mapper"ReplyDelete
That's rather nice too.
Never saw that one before, but thanks for pointing it out.
If you can't get until the Yahoo! group, I could probably upload the file for you.ReplyDelete
This looks like the one I was after. A pity the website is down.
The Arr-Kelaan Hexmapper can be found here:ReplyDelete
Wow, that (AKS HexMapper) is the shiznat. Finding the perfect elegant tool for the job is always a real joy/relief.ReplyDelete
The old AKS Hexmapper link is dead, but if you join the Yahoo! group, you can get the program. It's a closed group to avoid spambots but I joined and was let in very quickly.ReplyDelete
This Grognardia 'blog is great, by the way!
This site has some additional hexes for AKS HexMapper: http://www.tridrpg.org/admin/dmtools.phpReplyDelete
Thanks to Robert Saint John for finding it. My previous search for this was fruitless.
I can't get it to run for me. I'm wondering if it's too old to work with Vista.
I think you need the VB 6 runtime libraries to run Hexmapper.ReplyDelete
I still can't get the darned thing to work for me, even after I downloaded the runtime library. My computer skills are poor.ReplyDelete
Just a stab in the dark, but Vista is weird about letting applications run unless they are installed and/or being run by the user as Administrator. Unfortunately, it may be something that needs to be fixed within the executable of the application itself. I'm still running XP Pro, so I don't know for sure. Perhaps someone else knows how you can run an old VB-based application with Admin permissions in Vista? Is there a simple "right click, Run as administrator" solution?ReplyDelete
If anybody here is a member of that Yahoo group, I applied about a week ago and haven't received a reply yet. Could you maybe prod the admin there, so I can get in? Much obliged.ReplyDelete
Baron Greystone
Hey James! Clark from Necromancer Games here. We have some hex pages on our Judges Guild page that are like the old guild style overland hexes.ReplyDelete
Here is our Judges Guild downloads page: http://www.necromancergames.com/judgesguild/downloads.html
And here is the specific overland hex pdf: http://www.necromancergames.com/judgesguild/pdf/campaignhexes.pdf
What about Hexographer?ReplyDelete

subset: commoncrawl


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Why women can't ski jump in the Winter Olympics
Women ski jumpers sue for the right to compete in the Vancouver Olympics and stop men from jumping if women can't.
| Lake Placid, N.Y.; and Boston
Unless a Canadian court decides otherwise, the ski jumper with the longest flight on record at Vancouver's Olympic facility will not attend the winter Games in February.
She is not allowed to compete.
Olympic ski jumping is a men's-only domain. Since the first winter Games in 1924, men have been swooping down snowy ramps at 55 m.p.h. and springing into flight – human rockets hurtling chin-first, hands thrown behind, and skis angled forward. With nothing but speed and their skis to aid them, they fly the length of a football field or farther – a feat of technical genius disguised in balletic grace.
But women can do it, too – the best often flying as far as men.
With women now included in such formerly all-male Olympic events as boxing, wrestling, bobsleigh, and luge, the last Olympic door closed to women is ski jumping.
But American ski jumper Lindsey Van – who set the record on the 90-meter jump when the Olympic venue opened in Vancouver, British Columbia, last year and is the reigning world champion – hasn't given up on prying that door open. It's a logical step for the 24-year-old, who, since age 7, has been soaring over Earth's mundane limits on what is possible.
She and more than a dozen other women jumpers from Slovenia to Norway hope to legally force the addition of women's jumping before the Games open Feb. 12. Their lawsuit against the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) contends that not allowing women to jump for gold is a form of discrimination under Canadian laws that prohibit gender discrimination in government activities.
A Canadian judge, last summer, agreed: It is discrimination.
But her ruling concluded that while VANOC is subject to those antidiscrimination laws, it can't control the events – that's the domain of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC voted in 2006 against including women's ski jumping in 2010 because it deemed there weren't enough high-level women to create competition worthy of the Olympics. Because the IOC isn't bound by Canadian law, the judge ruled, Canada is powerless to change the program.
So the jumpers' appeal asks Canada to refuse to hold the men's event unless both genders can compete.
When the appeal is heard Nov. 12 and 13, it will highlight not just women's battle to wipe out the last vestige of an old-boys-club Olympic culture, but also competing demands on the Olympic ideal:
•Allowing athletes to pursue success on the most visible world stage.
•Broadening the appeal of the Games among Gen-Xers interested in more extreme sports while keeping costs manageable.
•Satisfying TV, a key sponsor.
"IT'S A TEXTBOOK CASE OF DISCRIMINATION," says Anita DeFrantz, chair of the IOC's Women and Sports Commission. "This group of athletes is being told that they're not good enough, that there aren't enough women in the top level.... That's never been an issue before."
The IOC defends its position as preservation of the Olympic standard, saying the top women jumpers don't deserve the same gold that is awarded to figure skaters and alpine skiers who have risen to the top of far larger fields.
But the IOC's recent record of admitting both women's events (see chart) and disciplines with weak fields – such as bobsleigh and ski cross – suggests the issue is not as clear-cut as either side asserts.
More than 80 years after men's ski jumping debuted as one of six original Olympic sports, the International Ski Federation (FIS) – which stages ski events at the Olympics – voted in 2006 to recommend women's jumping for inclusion in the 2010 Games. The federation endorsed women's ski cross over ski jumping. Neither sport fully met the IOC criteria for inclusion. The IOC only approved ski cross, which had the required two world championships but less than half as many elite women as ski jumping. Men's ski jumping doesn't meet the criteria either, but was grandfathered in. Compounding suspicions of gender discrimination was the fact that FIS president Gian Franco Kasper told National Public Radio in 2005 that jumping was too dangerous for women, that it "seems to be not appropriate for the ladies from a medical point of view."
But Walter Sieber, a Canadian member of the IOC division that recommended not to include women's ski jumping in the 2010 Games, denies that the decision had anything to do with gender – pointing to the IOC's decision this year to include women's boxing as evidence of the IOC's true colors.
While he admits that the top women jumpers are very competitive, he maintains that there aren't enough competitors at that level to warrant an Olympic sport.
The 2009 World Championships results support that view: The women's field of 36 had a 20-point gap between top competitors and weaker ones, while the men's field of 50 competitors finished closer together.
THE BOTTOM LINE, claim both those alleging and denying sex discrimination, is the hard fact that the multibillion-dollar Olympic machine is subject to the rising pressure of commercialism.
"What matters to the IOC is: Will the event sell tickets, will it sell TV time, is it popular?" asserts Jacqueline Hansen, a runner who was a member of the lobby that won a place for the women's marathon in the 1984 Olympics.
Since then, the sway of TV has become so great that Michael Phelps swam at 6 a.m. in Beijing – prime time in the US. TV may well have played into the IOC's decision to approve women's ski cross events for the 2010 games. A sort of motocross on snow, the sport is a variation on snowboard cross – an event introduced in the 2006 Torino Games that was a hit with NBC, which paid $1.5 billion for TV rights there and in Beijing.
Olympic officials do consider TV appeal in deciding on sports, confirms Mr. Sieber. In the era of IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, in the 1990s, he says, the emphasis was "to have many sports involved," but the expanding Games became unwieldy for organizers. In the current era, the bar for new events is higher – they must be "good for TV" and "an addition that enhances the program."
AMERICAN SKI JUMPER JESSICA JEROME, fresh from winning the US Nationals in Lake Placid, N.Y., last month, says she understands the commercial pressures on the IOC: "The Olympics for so long has been what Mom and Dad sit down to watch while the kids are out skateboarding or snowboarding – doing these things that are radical and rebellious."
But while she acknowledges that X-Games sports will increase viewership and revenue – benefiting all Olympic sports, ski jumping is no less daring. "I think it's one of the most ex-treme sports ... it's got that dangerous element, but it's also got that beautiful, elegant thing to it," she says.
BUT WHILE THE WOMEN jumpers recognize the need to grow the sport, they say they face discrimination at every level – a point supported by a 2009 book by Western European sports scholars, "Sport and Gender Matters in Western Countries."
"Barred from serious competition for decades because jumping was not deemed appropriate for females, women ski jumpers have not been able to establish the appropriate experience in international level training and competition and to gain the type of 'technical merit' required...." concluded a chapter on ski jumping that also notes women were jumping as early as the 1920s.
"Jumping is a very traditional European old-men type of sport. They think that women will take away the extremeness of it," says Ms. Jerome,
Women jumpers got their first international circuit in 2004, and were allowed to compete at world championships for the first time last year. But in a sport in which the best European men are treated like rock stars and pocket roughly $10,000 per win, the women are only allowed to compete on a secondary circuit that awards winners $500. And, says Ms. Jerome, women are treated very differently. She and her teammates have eaten meals with barn cats jumping on the table and slept above livestock stalls in lodging arranged by competition organizers.
Even after Ms. Van won world championships last year, the US Ski Team – facing an 18 percent budget cut – dropped all funding for women's jumping, and men's, too.
THE BRITISH COLUMBIA Court of Appeal must now decide whether VANOC should refuse to hold men's ski jumping unless women are allowed to compete.
VANOC attorney George McIntosh argued before Judge Lauri Ann Fenlon that as host, VANOC implements, but can't control, the Olympic program. And while she ultimately found in VANOC's favor, she put his argument into stark relief when she asked Mr. McIntosh if VANOC would plead the same point if blacks weren't allowed to compete in the Vancouver Olympics. His answer, after an awkward silence, was yes.
VANOC has encouraged the IOC to include women's ski jumping, and if that happened, officials say, the Vancouver machine would be able to accommodate the women.
Without that action at the IOC level, however, no one is sure what to expect if the court upholds the women's appeal.
"It's unprecedented," says McIntosh, who half jokes that to enforce such a ruling, "[The VANOC chief] would have to be standing at the top of the jump with a bayonet." •


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Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright recently led a panel of experts in coming up with a report, NATO 2020, which will be used to draft a replacement for NATOs current strategic concept, adopted in 1999. The report [.pdf] essentially advocates a continuation and expansion of NATOs quest to be all things to all people. Unfortunately, this effort resembles the expand or die mantra that was applied to NATO as its primary missioncountering the Soviet Unionwas tossed into the dustbin of history. Instead of expanding in territory and mission after the Cold War ended, NATO probably should have died back then and may dieor be severely crippledby its likely loss in Afghanistan.
Although the Cold War is long over, the report advocates recommitting the alliance to its original collective security missionso that member countries will feel more confident committing to do missions in far-flung areas outside the NATO area to counter the new threats of terrorism, piracy, cyberattacks, and nuclear and missile proliferation. Even though NATO has never been an organization designed or suited to counter these types of threats, the report is essentially saying that the U.S. should recommit to defending NATO nationsespecially nations close to Russia, such as Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, and the Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Such an American effort would then allow the allies to feel comfortable diverting resources from defending themselves to buying rudimentary power-projection forces to help provide a NATO fig leaf for U.S. interventions in remote lands outside NATO territorysuch as Afghanistan. Such interventions would ostensibly be done to fix failed states, respond to humanitarian disasters, and stop genocide and violations of human rights but would often further underlying U.S. perceived geo-strategic goals. This Ill scratch your back, if you scratch mine is good for the American empire because it makes the allies dependent on the United States for their defensethus increasing American influence in Europeand allows the U.S. to get a stamp of NATO respectability on some of its meddling around the globe.
These are advantages for the interventionist U.S. foreign policy elite, but actually defending all of these added NATO countries hardly benefits the already strapped American taxpayer or enhances his or her security. The alliance has not done much planning about how it would defend such far-forward nations against any Russian attack. Thats because defending them is costly and because the United States is also pursuing the contradictory goal of improving relations with Russia. In fact, Albrights report encourages cooperation with Moscow on counterterrorism, maritime security, the drug war, and missile defense against Iran. But more generally, improvement in relations with Russia will always be limited as long as the potentially hostile NATO alliance is near and right on its borders.
Getting into a war with a nuclear-armed Russia over countries that were not regarded as vital to U.S. interests after World War IIwhen the United States wisely let the Soviet Union, which had just been devastated by a Nazi invasion, have a sphere of influence in Eastern Europe as a bufferdoes not make the U.S. taxpayer more secure, especially when Russia is a mere shadow of the Soviet Union.
But proximity does matter, as U.S. impotence during the recent Russo-Georgian War in 2008 showed. Similarly, an effective American conventional defense of allied countries like the Baltics against locally superior Russian forces would be difficult. Defense of the Baltics, non-strategic for U.S. security, could quickly escalate to a nuclear exchange, which might very well threaten the U.S. homeland. How all of this makes the American taxpayer more secure is doubtful.
Albrights report again illustrates how irresponsible it has been to induct into NATO so many new countries so close to Russia. She and her panel seem to be backhandedly opening a vast sinkhole of new spending on actually defending these nationsat a time when budget deficits are out of control in many NATO countries (including the U.S.) and could bankrupt some of them (Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy).
Yet, even in the unlikely event that more American and allied money is spent to defend all of these added countries, Frederick the Greats maxim still holds: To defend everything is to defend nothing.


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Brins Mesa Trail, Jordan Trailhead, Sedona: Red Rock - Secret Mountain Wilderness, Arizona
Brins Mesa Trail - 7.3 miles
Jordan Trailhead
|Round-Trip Length:
|7.3 miles
|Start-End Elevation:
|4,527' - 4,642' (5,073' max elevation)
|Elevation Change:
|+112' net elevation gain (+1,117' total roundtrip elevation gain)
|Skill Level:
|Dogs Allowed:
|Bikes Allowed:
|Horses Allowed:
|Related Trails:
Brins Mesa Trail - 7.3 Miles Round-Trip
The Brins Mesa Trail runs 3.65 miles from the Jordan Trailhead in uptown Sedona to the Brins Mesa Trailhead on FR 152 in the Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness.
The Brins Mesa Trail rises through stunning red rock formations to the eponymous mesa top, where it levels across a broad plateau and drops through heavy forest to its northern terminus.
Visitors will enjoy varied terrain and vegetation with rangy views across Capitol Butte, Mormon Canyon, and Brins Mesa on this popular trail. A connection with the Soldiers Pass Trail offers additional routing options through an archetypal Sedona desert landscape:
The Brins Mesa Trail heads northwest through intervals of cypress, pinyon, juniper, yucca, manzanita, agave, prickly pear, and cats claw. Cryptobiotic soil crusts between these plots absorb moisture and fix nitrogen, a critical process for this delicate ecosystem.
At 1.0 mile (4,722') the grade steepens on a stone-stepping climb to the mesa top (1.4 miles : 5,073'), where it levels and drops gently down a sloping plateau.
On June 18, 2006 a fire broke out on Brins Mesa that affected nearly 4,500 acres. While many trees were charred grasses, brush, and wildflowers have filled open spaces, and the area is recovering naturally.
The trail glides down the mesa with good views across the adjacent canyon, and north to Lost Wilson Mountain (6,762') and Maroon Mountain (6,666'). Look for deer, rabbit, and snakes in this wide open space.
The trail dips to the Soldiers Pass Trail split (2.05 miles : 4,935'), past which grades steepen down the heavily forested backside of Brins Mesa.
It gradually levels on the backside of the mesa along a wash, which it loosely follows and crosses several times en route to the Brins Mesa Trailhead on FR 152 (3.65 miles : 4,642'). While unspectacular these final 1.6 miles are shady, lightly traveled, and offer a better chance to see wildlife- particularly javelina.
Interactive GPS Topo MapKey GPS Coordinates - DATUM WGS84
- N34 53.279 W111 46.107 — 0.0 miles : Brins Mesa Trailhead
- N34 53.469 W111 46.426 — .5 miles : Moderate travel in mid-desert
- N34 53.848 W111 46.501 — 1.0 miles : Begin steep climb
- N34 54.023 W111 46.765 — 1.4 miles : Crest and level on Mesa top
- N34 54.305 W111 47.297 — 2.05 miles : Soldiers Pass Trail split
- N34 54.536 W111 47.498 — 2.4 miles : Begin drop down backside of Mesa
- N34 54.801 W111 47.988 — 3.0 miles : Mild descent through forest
- N34 54.940 W111 48.095 — 3.2 miles : Cross slickrock wash
- N34 55.014 W111 48.362 — 3.45 miles : Pass through wilderness gate
- N34 55.009 W111 48.514 — 3.65 miles : End of trail on road 152
Worth Noting
- Consider returning via the Soldiers Pass, Jordan, and Cibola trails, which form a gorgeous loop back to the trailhead. Doing so adds 3.15 miles to the hike.
- The Brins Mesa Trailhead sees heavy traffic all year long, especially on weekend mornings. Arrive early to secure parking and avoid crowds.
- Much of the Brins Mesa Trail is exposed to heat, wind, and storms. Avoid this trail in midday sun, and if storms threaten.
Camping and Backpacking Information
- There are no designated backcountry campsites in the Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness. Dispersed camping is permitted in specific areas past trailheads and roads (see map page to view the PDF). It's advisable to contact visitor services at 928.203.2900 to review your itinerary in advance.
- Backpackers must be at least one mile from the trailhead, or as indicated by the map or signs at trailheads (guidelines may vary slightly by trail).
- Backpackers are encouraged to occupy sites used by others, and practice leave no trace ethics.
- Water is scarce. Plan on carrying all of your own into the backcountry.
- Campfires are permitted on a seasonal and forest condition basis. Fire restrictions are strictly enforced.
- Bears and others animals capable of reaching your food inhabit Red Rock Country. Store supplies safely by hanging or using bear canisters.
- There are 7 developed campgrounds in the Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness vicinity: Pine Flat, Cave Springs, Manzanita, Chavez Crossing, Clear Creek, and Clear Creek Group Camp. There are at least 186 combined individual sites and 4 group sites.
- Individual sites range $16-18 per night, and group sites $65-200. Coconino Forest Campgrounds do not accept Credit Cards on site (except Cave Springs). Cash and in-state checks only. Reservations and credit card payments may be made in advance through Recreation.gov or by calling 877.444.6777.
Rules and Regulations
Red Rock Pass - a fee is required to recreate in the Red Rock - Secret Mountain Wilderness:
- Daily Pass: $5
- Weekly Pass: $15
- Annual Pass: $20
The Red Rock Pass is valid for use as a parking permit to recreate in Red Rock Country, including access to Red Rock Country Heritage Sites.
It's not valid for other fee areas such as developed campgrounds, Grasshopper Point Picnic and Swimming Area, Crescent Moon Day Use Area, and Call O' the Canyon (West Fork Trailhead).
Passes may be obtained at all Ranger Stations, Visitor Centers, Online, and at a number of local kiosks and commercial vendors (e.g. grocery stores).
Directions to Trailhead
The Jordan Trailhead is located 1.7 miles from the Highway 179 - 89A split in Sedona, AZ. The trailhead is located above a residential community on the north side of town.
From the 179 - 89A split, drive .2 miles north on 89A to Jordan Road. Turn left on Jordan Road and drive .8 miles to Park Ridge Road. Turn left on Park Ridge and follow signs into the parking lot cul-de-sac. There are signs for the trailhead along this short drive. Note the last few hundred yards are packed dirt-gravel.
Contact Information
Red Rock - Secret Mountain Wilderness
Red Rock Ranger District
8375 State Route 179 (just south of the village of Oak Creek)
Sedona, Arizona 86341
8:00 - 4:30 Monday - Friday
Visitor Information: 928.203.2900
Administration Office: 928.203.7500 or 928.282.4119
Coconino National Forest
1824 S. Thompson St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Visitor Information: 928.526.0866
Supervisor's Office: 928.527.3600


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Author: Ryan Smith
Publish Date: 24/11/2022 10:56
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Today's Enlightening Entertainment will be presented in Aulacese (Vietnamese), with subtitles in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Thai.
In Aulacese (Vietnamese) culture, cải lương (modern folk opera) is a popular theater art that dates back about three centuries, when the flourishing South was a new land. Among those who settled in the South at that time were musicians from the royal palace in the ancient capital Huế. Since then, the kind of ceremonial music often heard in the palace became more widely known among the populace.
Eventually, new songs were composed. Many amateur musical groups were formed, adopting music and song as a form of elegant entertainment. From about 1912 to 1915, the artists of these musical groups began to combine gestures to their songs. Since then, a new genre called ca ra bộ was born. Performers conversed; sometimes a song would be used as dialogue. Ca ra bộ continued to develop to create the theatrical art that is now called modern folk opera.
The orchestra for Aulacese modern folk opera usually consists of the six-string guitar, the moon lute, the pear-shaped lute, two-string fiddle, sixteen-string zither, and monochord zither. The themes of Aulacese modern folk opera highlight humanitarian and moral values. The dialogues are profound, the song lyrics and tunes are rhythmic and rich in melody. These are some of the reasons cải lương (modern folk opera) has an enduring place in the hearts of the Aulacese people.
In the Lunar New Year 2007, during an outdoor gathering with our Association members in Formosa (Taiwan), Supreme Master Ching Hai was moved to spontaneously sing a folk opera song "Spiritual Practice is a Source of Blessing" written by Mr. Viễn Châu, which she knew by heart since her youth. We now invite you to listen to an excerpt of this folk opera song through the voice of Supreme Master Ching Hai.
Kneeling down, she sobs in the main hall of worship As the temple bell sounds the hour of prayer
O young devotee, why do you wish to be a nun?
Finding comfort in the scriptures, and acquainting yourself with spiritual practice?
But how can you achieve enlightenment when earthly traces are still evident on your seasoned countenance?
Are you rid of worldly debt or are still entangled?
Did you renounce the world because glory and fame have lost their appeal and life seems like an abyss?
Or was it because of a fleeting moment of jealousy and distress that you intend to hide yourself behind the temple's gate to bury your grief and forget your sorrow?
On Enlightening Entertainment, Supreme Master Television is pleased to introduce different forms of arts from Âu Lạc (Vietnam), as well as from other countries in the world, in order to share the beauty and cultures of the peoples on our planet.
The modern folk opera "Lý Chơn Tâm and the Wish-fulfilling Gem" is about a kind-hearted woodman. Touched by Lý Chơn Tâm's compassion, the Water Princess offered to help him. The story illustrates that even though a person doesn't crave for worldly gain, if he/she deserves it, he/she would still be favored by Heaven and Earth.
We now invite you to enjoy part 1 of the Aulacese modern folk opera "Lý Chơn Tâm and the Wish-fulfilling Gem," by playwrightViễn Châu. This opera will be presented in 3 episodes, with performances by Vũ Linh as Lý Chơn Tâm, Thanh Ngân as Princess Thùy Dung, Trinh Trinh as Water Princess, Hữu Châu as Trần Nhứt, Tô Châu as District Chief Trần Thừa, Ngọc Đáng as Chơn Tâm's mother, Trần Kim Lợi as the King, Hương Chung Thủy as Village Chief's Wife, Hồng Yến as Miss Lành, Hữu Quốc as Trần Nhì, Mỹ Linh as Xuân Lan, and other artists.
Thank you for joining us on today's Enlightening Entertainment. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television. Words of Wisdom is coming up. Take care, and we'll see you next week.
Remote, high mountains run along the winding stream. Azure clouds hang above the mountain pass Morning is dawning now. Forest birds' cheerful twitter enchants my heart. With carefree footsteps, I tread a long distance. My life is spent in the forest and mountain. I'd better gather firewood so that Mom can exchange it for rice in the market.
O Lý Chơn Tâm! What are you doing?
Uncle Mười! Why are you out so early today?
It's a calm morning, so I went out early. What about you? How are you doing lately?
I'm doing fine, I just can't eat well.
How many bowls you eat per meal that you say you can't eat well?
Just six bowls.
What? Six bowls and you said you can't eat.
Before, I could eat 8 bowls every meal.
Why do you eat less lately?
I don't know why. Every morning, before going to collect firewood, my mother packs four sticky rice cakes so when I get home, I can't eat anymore.
Heaven and Earth! You swallowed four sticky rice cakes, where is there room in your stomach for anything else?
Oh, I thought I was sick.
O Tâm! Give yourself some brains, Tâm. If you keep being silly like this, when will you have a wife like others do?
Without a wife, I still can earn a living. I know how to gather firewood, I know how to cook rice, I know...
Enough, enough... Stop that... No wonder the villagers call you "wooden-head."
"Wooden-head" sounds rather cute, doesn't it, Uncle Mười?
Cute? What is cute about it? You know what, wooden-head means a dull-witted man, because you're both dense and naive.
I'm dense and naive, but I harm no one. I respect the elder, and I'm dutiful to my aged mother.
I know that, but in life, one must be smart too. If dense and naive like you, how will you amount to anything in this world? How can you ever get rich?
You talk very wisely but how come you're still dirt poor?
It's just my nature, I don't like to get rich.
That's why you're poor. Yet you still scold me.
Not scolding. I just advise and remind you. It's getting late already. Remember what I said, okay? Being kind and righteous is good, but you must be smart, and above all, you must have compassion. Remember, son.
Yes. Uncle Mười advised me to be kind and righteous. But I've never been mean to anyone. As for being compassionate, I love my mother, I love my neighbors. Even chickens and dogs, I love them all. As for being smart, who knows how to be smart? Well, smart or not, that's up to us. Let other people be smart. I'm dull-witted, so be it. Being a lowly person, I gather firewood in the forest to take care of my aged mother.
O Tâm! Come down here!
What a pretty carp!
It can be sold at high-price! I'm leaving to get to the market in time.
Wait, Uncle Mười!
Can you let me have that fish?
Do you have money?
What? Heaven and Earth! No money, and you want to buy the fish.
Sell it to me on credit, will you?
Are you joking?
Please! Sell it to me on credit. Tomorrow I will go to your house to fix your boat's cracks for three days to make up for it. Is that okay?
All right. I have no heart to refuse you. Here, take it.
When you have money, remember to return right away. I don't need you to fix my boat.
Please go home first then. I'll carry the firewood home later.
All right, I'm going home.
Thank you, Uncle Mười. Poor you! The sea is vast for you to swim freely, why did you creep into Uncle Mười's fishing net? Without me, your life would be over already. Let me return you to the wide sea to swim freely. From now on, if you see the fishing net, stay far away, all right?
Who are you?
Don't be afraid! I'm the one who owes you a favor, so I come to requite your kindness.
What help did I render you that you talked about repaying it?
You just saved my life. I saved your life? So you are...
I'm the carp that you've just released into the sea.
So you are...
I'm the Water Princess.
Water Princess?
Yes. During my leisure travel out at the high sea, I unfortunately strayed away into a fisherman's net. I thought my life was in danger. Luckily, I'm fated to live longer, thus you came to my rescue.
Since I was young, my mother told me that there are royal courts and palaces under the deep sea, with exceptionally beautiful fairies. I still didn't believe my mother, until today, standing in front of you, I know I have met one such fairy.
Kind benefactor, allow me to ask you. Seeing you in ragged clothes, I guess you live in poverty. Are your parents still alive or are you all alone?
O fairy, as you can see. The dried wood under that ancient tree is what I use to trade for rice to get by. As a humble woodman, I wouldn't dare let you be concerned about me.
I pity you, a poor yet very kind-hearted man. To repay your deep favor, I'd like to offer you a precious gem. Here, this is the Wish-fulfilling Gem. Possessing it, whatever you wish will come true. But never reveal it to anyone. When your life changes, I'll take it back. Here, the Wish-fulfilling Gem. Farewell!
I'd never expect that the fish I just released into the sea is the Water Princess. Her life was almost finished. A young woman who wanders can lose her life any minute. But it was just a very small thing, and she offered a gem, a Wish-fulfilling Gem even. What shall I wish? All right. The way back is far, the bundle of firewood is heavy. Let me climb onto it and try to make a wish. I wish this firewood bundle can fly, taking me home so that I don't tire my legs.
The wind has calmed down, I'm probably back home already.
It's not the ground, how come? How strange! Let me open my eyes to check out. Heaven and Earth! Why am I sitting on the roof? I remember now. When I finished making the wish, the firewood bundle flew up. But when arriving at home, it didn't land on the ground, but on the roof. How troublesome! How can I get down now? O Mom!
Are you back, son?
Where are you?
I'm on the roof.
O good Heaven! Why did you climb up there, Tâm?
I didn't. I just ended up here.
Enough, Tâm. Don't be so crazy! How could you end up on the roof all of a sudden? Come down, quickly!
How? Just jump down?
Yeah, just jump and see if your neck will be intact or not. What an unruly child! Coming back after gathering firewood, you don't want to go inside to rest. Instead, you climb up the roof to sit there – are you crazy or what?
I already said I didn't climb up here, you keep saying I did.
Then the wind blew you up there, probably? The roof will collapse for sure if you remain there long, and you and I will live in the yard. Come down quickly, O son!
I dare not go down.
O God! Please come down, O Tâm! O, thank God! O brothers! Please come and help us.
What is it, Auntie Hai?
Please give me a hand to help bring Lý Chơn Tâm down.
Where is he to bring down?
He's up there on the roof.
My God! What are you doing up there?
I was bored, so I climbed up the roof for fun.
Really? Then continue to sit up there for fun; we're leaving.
Wait, brothers. Please help get me down. The sun is scorching! Please.
Why can't you come down if you could go up?
Let's help him down as a good deed. He'll probably be dried to death, staying up there too long.
How to help? I cannot climb trees.
Neither can I. But I have this blanket. We spread out its four corners, tell him to jump down, and we'll catch him.
Impossible! You tell him to jump, if he shatters his neck, we'll be accused of murder.
Oh nonsense! If he dies, bury him. Hey you! Just jump down. We'll be catching you.
Jump down, right?
I'm so scared!
Scared of what? Just jump!
Just jump!
The legs go down first, or the head goes first?
O God!
The head. Oh, I forgot! The legs. If the head comes first, you'll crush your skull.
You two hold it real tight, okay? I'm jumping now.
Jump now!
Jump now, man!
O God! O God! Woe to me!
O God! Woe to me!
Heaven and Earth! Your heads bang into each other and you faint. Brother! Brother!
I'll put the gem into this pocket and wear it. That's the safest way!
O brother Lý Chơn Tâm!
Lý Chơn Tâm!
Brother Nhứt.
Lý Chơn Tâm. What are you doing there?
Watching the butterflies dancing around.
Geesh! You want to be a poet? Did you see that?
See what?
The village chief s orchard is laden with ripe fruits. Let's sneak in and pick some to eat.
No, no. I cannot. My mother told me not to steal.
Goodness! She was right, of course. But we're not stealing anyone's silver, gold or jewels. Just pick a few fruits to ease our craving. What's the big deal!
Stealing a few fruits, you're still a thief.
How ungrateful! The day before, my head got a bump as I tried to catch you jumping down from the roof. Today I crave for fruits, I ask for your help and you refuse.
But what if they catch us?
No problem. Listen! We go to the far end of the orchard. Their house is all the way in there. They wouldn't know. Go! Let's go, brother. Go!
You see? (See that? ) There are so many ripe fruits. Climb up, brother Tâm. You pick and throw down. We'll catch from down here.
If you see the owner's coming out, let me know right away, okay?
No worries. Climb up!
Wonderful! More. More. Pick more! Yeah. Thank you. More. More. Yeah. Yeah More. More.
Enough, brother.
More, please. Just pick a lot, a lot, and throw them down here. I'll catch them and bring them outside. We're so lucky today. Once in a blue moon, let us eat to our satisfaction.
The owner is coming!
Hey, where are you running to? And there's one on the tree. Come down, quickly! Woe to you!
Don't prod me, ma'am! Let me come down slowly.
Come down quickly! Are you coming down?
This is for stealing! You thief! You're going to give this up, you hear?
Ouch! Ouch! Beat gently, ma'am. Ouch!
What do you mean gentle! I know you too well. Has poverty turned you into a thief? Why don't you gather firewood to earn money instead of coming here to steal fruits? Your life is over now. You're caught by me today, you're dead. Have you learned your lesson now, son?
Ouch! I was incited by that brother, I didn't plan to steal.
You didn't steal, but you came here to pick all my fruits?
Woe to you!
Woe to you!
Ouch! It's a one-time mistake, please forgive me, ma'am.
No begging. Stand there. Don't you run away! I'll take you to the mandarin so you'll rot in jail and know what's what!
Where do you think we should go today? Where to go?
Where should we go?
Oh, I know. Now, you and I go to an eatery. I have a few silver bars here, enough for us today. There's a place, serving good food on the cheap.
What a great idea!
Let's go right away to the restaurant.
Indulge in eating.
Nhì, Nhì, Nhì!
There's a customer.
What customer?
There, the girl who comes from afar, carrying two loads.
Miss Lành, the daughter of Mrs. Village Chief.
Let's stop her, we...
No, impossible. That girl is very sharp-tongued.
She dares to insult a nobleman? You must be joking.
Go ahead then. I'll support you .
Greetings, Miss Lành.
Greetings, noblemen.
Just call us "brothers," it feels closer. Calling "noblemen" sounds so far away.
You're back from trading in the market?
Very good! You're number one in this district.
Being poor, I get by with vegetables and porridge, working non-stop all day. I'm not like those rich people who mess about in the street.
This girl has a mocking manner of talking.
She's talking about us, who else!
Miss, we're surely very rich.
That has nothing to do with me. Let me pass to go home.
Wait! Why hurry, Miss Lành? We haven't seen you for a long time, let me confide my feeling... I mean, let me ask a few things.
Don't behave indecently. I have no time for nonsense talk.
How can you get away?
You block that side, I'll block this side.
Come on in!
What are you two doing? Let me go. (No.) Let me go. (No.) I'm going to scream now.
Are you going let me go?
Help me! Let me go! O brother Lý Chơn Tâm! Help me, O brother Tâm! Let me go!
What are you two doing?
This guy stops all my inspiration.
You'll be beaten if you disturb us. Go away.
If you want me to go, you must let Miss Lành go.
Letting her go or not is our business. What do you know to interfere?
I surely know. I know you two are the District Chief's son and nephew, but prove to be uneducated. Why do you act improperly with a decent girl?
You're a woodman, just take care to gather firewood to exchange for rice. Why stand in our way? This is our private business.
I'm just reasoning with you. You're children from a mandarin family. Don't let people sneer at you.
But we don't want to listen to you, and you should keep quiet. If you're sensible, get out of our sight quickly. Don't you remember? When you were stuck on the roof, without our help, how could you get down?
Ungrateful, aren't you?
But later on, you incited me to pick fruits in Mrs. Lý's orchard. She gave me a dozen of whippings. It's still swollen until now.
That's your problem. Now, you'd better leave.
O brother Tâm, don't leave me. Please defend me, brother Tâm. I beg you. Don't leave me.
Don't worry. You just go home first, Miss.
You see that, brother Nhì? This guy is really daring today.
Let me handle it.
We know each other too well. If you want to put a spoke in our wheel, your days are up.
Why are you home so late today, Lành?
O Mom! I was stopped on the way by noblemen Trần Nhứt and Trần Nhì.
What? Heaven and Earth! They stopped you on your way? Then... what?
They said many indecent things, (Goodness!) and were about to behave rudely to me. I was frightened, I tried to run away, but I couldn't.
O God! And... and what happened?
I was lucky, thanks to brother Lý Chơn Tâm. He was on his way back from firewood gathering. He heard my cry and came to stop the other two men, so I could escape to return home.
Heaven and Earth! How very lucky! You came home, but Tâm stayed there. I wonder if he got into trouble with Nhứt and Nhì.
I don't know. I was so scared, I ran home non-stop and dared not look back, Mom.
Let me go see Lý Chơn Tâm to thank him. The other day, when he stole our fruits, Nhứt and Nhì were there too. I think he was incited by those two troublemakers because Tâm has never stolen things from anyone.
O my! Mom! We just talked about him, and here he comes.
Where? Oh, yeah. You go to the back to take care of our meal. Tâm! Come in here, let me ask you something.
Auntie, I'm sorry about the other day...
Never mind, forget the past. I've just heard from Lành that thanks to you, she could escape the two spoiled noblemen. I'm very grateful to you. And about what happened before, don't mention it.
Thank God! I saw Miss Lành being harassed by them. She's weak and fragile, how could she escape two strong, drunk men?
What's the matter with your legs? You seem to strain yourself walking? Were you beaten by them? And your clothes are all soiled.
I took the risk, trying to save Miss Lành from those guys. I was alone and defenseless, they beat me for a while until I fainted.
How pitiable! Let me go get the medicated oil to massage your bruises, all right?
It's okay. Don't trouble yourself, Auntie. Let me find some poultice. Goodbye now, Auntie.
Wait, Tâm. Please offer me a little help. Teach me that magic so that I can give those guys a lesson.
I don't know any magic to teach you.
Don't hide it from me. That day, you made me carry you, remember? Show me, please. I won't gossip with anyone about it. I'll just give those guys a good lesson so they dare not behave indecently to other people's daughters.
Yes, wait a moment, Auntie.
Water Princess, please help me.
Here, put this broom away. When you want to beat anyone, just say, "Beat hard, beat hard!" You'll find that it works miraculously.
"Beat hard, beat hard"? (Yes.) My God! Wonderful! Where did you learn this magic power?
I learned it with the Broom Genie. But it'll work only two times.
Two times, right? Fine, two times would be enough. Once for each guy. Thank you.
Oh, they're coming. I must hide away.
Come in for tea to quench your thirst.
Brother Nhì, this old woman seems to like us today.
She probably called us in to marry off her daughter.
Then come in right away. Greetings, Mrs. Lý.
Greetings, young noblemen. You're the son and nephew of the District Chief, right?
Right, my father is the District Chief.
The District Chief is my uncle.
You two are probably highly educated people?
No question about that. My books are piling up from the ground to the roof.
As for me, I've studied with 20, 30 teachers, all of whom dared not teach me. They called me "Master."
You two are good learners. How come you look like uneducated people to me?
Yeah! What? You're talking rude to me?
Hey woman, how dare you censure us?
Because you are from a mandarin's family, but uneducated. Behaving indecently to a girl, pulling her on the road, and you still call yourself a mandarin's son.
O Mrs. Lý, we were just being playful and friendly, what did she ever lose? Why say heavy words to us?
There are times to be playful. One must be proper and polite, not behave indecently in broad daylight.
This woman is really disrespectful today!
We may have to take action.
I defy you two. Come on if you're good.
She's challenging us!
Come on! And you'll know my power.
You go ahead first, brother Nhì!
Go ahead!
Come on.
You first.
You first. When you give up, it's my turn.
O God! How dumb!
All right.
Watch my kung fu.
This will serve you right. Watch me!
Goodness! (See?) Kung fu? (See?)
I thought you kick someone, but you kicked yourself down. How funny!
Ah, the broom! I remember, the broom. I'll give you a lesson.
What did she say, brother Nhứt? The broom? Goodness! Using your broom at this time? Fine, I'll let you use the broom
Broom! Let me give you. "Beat hard!"
Beat hard!
Ouch! O God!
Give up, son? Come on!
O God, it hurts so much! Where's that broom from?
Woe to you! Giving up your bad habit, all right?
Run! Run quickly, brother Nhứt!
Run, run!
Run, run, run!
You're running? If you're good, stay back here! Wow, what a wonderful broom!
Stop! Maid, give 2 silver bars to the carriers, and tell them to go where they wish, Just return at noon to bring me back home.
Yes. O brothers!
We're here.
What's the matter, Big Sister?
The Princess gifted you each a silver bar to drink tea,
Thank you.
and said that you may go wherever you wish. Just return at noon to bring the Princess back to the palace. Goodbye.
Wait, Miss!
She's gone already. What's the use to call out! Listen here.
Let's go bathe in the stream to cool ourselves. Listen!
This girl here.
What? Why are you laughing?
She's not bad, right, Nhì?
Yeah. Just having retruding teeth.
It's all right. But if she stands next to me, it's weird.
Very well-matched!
Very clashing! I'll tell you something. (What?) Do you know why I called for you to carry the Princess to this forest?
Of course, I do.
You know?
You want to be "the coolie who carries the wedding palanquin," right?
Right, right! Correct!
Of course.
My father plans to ask the Princess for her hand in marriage for me.
O God! Your father is just a low-ranking mandarin, how can he becomes the king's in-law?
That's why I had to work extra. I bribed the palanquin carriers, so that I could replace them to carry her around.
So you have a motive, and you made me bend my back to carry her with you. Don't use me like that!


text:
The transformation of the Historic Third Ward from a burned out warehouse district into a thriving mixed-use urban neighborhood of residences, office space, stores and restaurants is one of Milwaukee's greatest redevelopment stories.
But now the Italian Community Center is contemplating plans to do a mixed-use redevelopment of its 15.7-acre Third Ward property, which could take the neighborhood to the next level.
The site, located southeast of East Chicago Street and North Jackson Street and just west of the Summerfest grounds, includes the 60,000-square-foot ICC building and approximately 12 acres of surface parking lot and vacant land. It is a large underutilized site at a key location. The development project for the site has the potential to enhance one of Milwaukee's greatest neighborhoods and one of its top visitor destinations.
"This could be a signature development for the city of Milwaukee," said Dave Spano, president of the ICC and president of Brookfield-based Annex Wealth Management.
The ICC site, still known by some as the Coachyards, was once a rail yard for trains bringing produce to the Third Ward markets. The rail yard was abandoned in the 1960s, at the same time that urban renewal plans destroyed the Third Ward's Italian neighborhood.
"It was a sad time," said Bill Jennaro, an attorney who grew up in the Third Ward and is a former president of the ICC. "I'm still sad about it to this day."
The ICC bought the property from Milwaukee County in the 1980s and built the ICC building, located at 631 E. Chicago St., where numerous conferences and events are held.
The ICC has unsuccessfully tried a few times in the past to redevelop the rest of the site, but the plans have never moved forward.
"The timing hasn't been right before," Spano said. "If we moved ahead with our plans in the '80s we would have been the only thing down there. We decided we should wait for the future development of the Third Ward."
The Third Ward has attracted a surge of development since 2000, transforming it into one of the city's trendiest neighborhoods. Now that the Great Recession is over, ICC members believe the Third Ward is ready for a major development of their property, Spano said. Last year, the ICC issued a request for information (RFI) to dozens of possible development partners to gauge their interest.
"We got some phone calls (from eager developers asking), 'Are you serious this time?'" Spano said.
The ICC recently selected Coachyards Development LLC, a division of Marcus Investments LLC, to do a feasibility study for the project. Marcus Investments is an investment arm of the Marcus family in Milwaukee.
Coachyards Development is working with Rainier Properties II LLC, led by developer Bruce Westling, to conduct the study. Westling, also president of brokerage and a principal for NAI MLG Commercial, is also leading the leasing efforts for Marcus Corp.'s The Corners development in the Town of Brookfield.
"Westling will see if the potential tenants he is talking to for The Corners might be interested in our project," Spano said.
The study team for the ICC project also includes the Engberg Anderson architectural firm, Greenfire Management Services, AECOM and Gilbane Construction Company. However, their expertise cannot be used until after the initial feasibility period.
The feasibility study is expected to take six months and will examine development possibilities for the ICC's property.
"At this point, we envision a mixed-use development that is an extension of the very unique and special Third Ward neighborhood," said Spano. "The project could potentially include parking, retail, restaurants, residential and hospitality. It would fill the gap between the neighborhood and Summerfest, add to the tax base and provide an exciting new addition to Milwaukee's downtown, Third Ward living and dining experience."
"It's such a big site," said Robert Joseph, a developer who has done numerous projects in the Third Ward. "Of course it will be a mixed-use development."
The size of the ICC property and its key location in the Third Ward near downtown Milwaukee, the Summerfest grounds and the lakefront have real estate professionals imagining the possibilities for its development potential.
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Although there are some vacant spaces, the Third Ward has become a thriving retail district with numerous stores and restaurants. Suburban malls filled with national chain stores dominate the metro Milwaukee retail marketplace. The city of Milwaukee has few thriving retail areas, but the Third Ward is a notable exception, with an offering of mostly unique, independent retailers that attracts shoppers from outside of the city.
"It's a regional district," said Cory Sovine, vice president of Siegel-Gallagher's retail group. "People come from the suburbs to (shop and/or dine in) the Third Ward all the time."
With a few notable exceptions, including the Anthropologie store, national chains have avoided the Third Ward. But the ICC project could change that.
National retailers are starting to take note of the Third Ward, Westling said.
"They'll say, 'What's that kind of cool area near downtown (Milwaukee)?" Westling said. "It's on their radar."
A large scale new development on the ICC site could attract national retailers to the Third Ward, Sovine said.
"I think there is an opportunity that there could be a lot of retail down there," he said. "There's not a lot of ready-to-go vacant retail space in the Third Ward right now. The Third Ward to this point has a very limited national retail presence. But the ones that are down there are doing well. These are the kinds of things you sell when you are courting national retailers."
A new development could help attract national retailers because they prefer new buildings instead of the historic Third Ward buildings that are appreciated by independent retailers, Sovine said.
"A lot of national retailers aren't flexible (to fit into an old building)," he said. "They have their prototype."
Westling said the Marcus-led group hopes to attract one or more retail anchors to the project that will complement the Third Ward's existing retail offerings and will help attract more traffic for existing Third Ward retailers. That does not mean any anchor stores in the project will be large stores, Westling said. But they would be destination stores that help drive traffic to the development and the neighborhood, he said.
The Third Ward's warehouse district atmosphere provides a pedestrian-friendly and historic built environment that is unique in Milwaukee and seems to appeal to shoppers. By comparison, downtown Milwaukee has struggled to attract retailers. Office towers seem sterile and cold and are, "not conducive to shopping," Sovine said.
Separated from the rest of the city by the Milwaukee River and I-794, the Third Ward also has a feeling of isolation that sets itself apart and may be perceived by some shoppers as safer.
"From a neighborhood perspective (the Third Ward) is a completely different world than downtown Milwaukee," Sovine said.
Those attributes have led to the strength of the Third Ward's retail environment and could help attract retail development of the ICC site.
Nancy O'Keefe, executive director of the Historic Third Ward Association, cited the growing success of the Milwaukee Public Market.
"The Public Market is doing phenomenal. They have counters on the doors now. They have more than 1 million people (a year going to) the Public Market," O'Keefe said.
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The ICC's request for information required developers to include plans for a hotel, which could complement the ICC's meeting facilities. However, there are already three hotels under construction downtown and a huge hotel planned at Potawatomi Bingo Casino.
"We're really starting to get overbuilt, to an extent," said Greg Hanis, president of New Berlin-based Hospitality Marketers International Inc. A new hotel in the Third Ward should not open for another four to five years to allow the market to absorb the additional supply that is under construction or soon to be under construction in the downtown area, he said.
However, Sovine said the Third Ward is its own unique market that attracts people to shop, dine and hang out. The neighborhood could support a small, trendy hotel, he predicts.
"I'm shocked it hasn't happened yet," Sovine said. "It stands to reason that if there are people who want to hang out there, then there should be a place for them to stay. It's very much a niche customer who would go to a Third Ward hotel."
A Third Ward hotel also could be appealing to people attending Summerfest or the ethnic festivals.
"It feels like a good site for a hotel," Joseph said.
Marcus Investments will provide great expertise in determining if a hotel will work in the Third Ward, Spano said.
"We're engaging with the premier hotel development company in the state," he said. "They're going to tell us what they think."
The Third Ward has attracted numerous office tenants, especially creative firms that find the historic buildings attractive. Pat LeSage, the owner of Pettibone Group, which owns Warehouse #1, the closest office building to the ICC site, said he is in negotiations with a pair of potential tenants that would essentially fill the building for the first time since 2001.
However, the Third Ward/Walker's Point submarket has a 21.2 percent office space vacancy rate, according to the Xceligent first quarter market report. The ICC project could include office space, but the development will be driven by market demand, Westling said.
Although the condo market collapsed in downtown Milwaukee and adjacent neighborhoods such as the Third Ward since the Great Recession, the apartment market in those areas is showing significant strength. Mandel Group, one of the largest housing developers in the downtown and Third Ward areas, says its apartment portfolio is currently 97 to 98 percent occupied. The 85-unit Jackson Square apartment building, located across the street from the ICC, only has one unit remaining, said Joseph. Jackson Square is the latest of several developments that Joseph has built in the Third Ward.
Urban neighborhoods need residential development to attract retail development, and the retailers help attract more residential development, Joseph said. The Third Ward is strong in both areas, he said, because it is an appealing, pedestrian-friendly urban neighborhood.
"That's what living in the city is all about," Joseph said. "It's about walking."
Any development of the ICC property will need to include enough parking spaces to support the uses that are developed there and will need to account for the parking demands from people attending Summerfest and other festivals. The ICC property currently has 1,800 parking spaces.
"Parking is very difficult for those 11 days (of Summerfest)," Joseph said.
Whatever occurs on the ICC site, real estate observers expect the evolution of the Third Ward to continue the progress made since the dreary urban renewal days. And the city's Italian community will once again play a major role in shaping the neighborhood's makeup.
"I appreciate what it's become," Jennaro said. "I admire what's been done to reestablish the neighborhood. It's now a neighborhood again."


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NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball appears unlikely to interfere if Melky Cabrera wins the NL batting title while serving his 50-game suspension for a positive drug test.
The San Francisco Giants outfielder began Wednesday with a league-leading .346 average, seven points ahead of Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen.
Cabrera has 501 plate appearances, one fewer than the required amount if the Giants play 162 games. Under section 10.22(a) of the Official Baseball Rules, he would win the batting title if an extra hitless at-bat is added to his average and it remains higher than that of any other qualifying player.
"We'll see how it all plays out," baseball commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday after taping an episode of "CenterStage" for the YES Network. "We generally don't interfere in that process. We'll take a look at it at the end of the year."
Cabrera, the All-Star game MVP, was suspended Aug. 15 for a positive test for testosterone and is missing the final 45 games of the regular season.
During the YES interview, scheduled to air for the first time Sept. 27, Selig was asked whether records set during the Steroids Era should be revisited.
"You can't change records because once you get into that it would never stop," Selig said. "It would create more problems than it would solve."
Selig did say he was pleased an agreement was reached Tuesday to suspend Toronto shortstop Yunel Escobar for three games for wearing eye-black displaying an anti-gay slur written in Spanish during a game last weekend against Boston.
"When something like that happens, it's disappointing," Selig said.
Selig would not indicate whether he was closer to making a decision on the dispute between the Giants and Oakland Athletics. Oakland wants to build a ballpark in San Jose, which is part of the Giants' territory, and Selig appointed a committee in March 2009 to evaluate the issue.
"The committee has been working very hard," he said.


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Product Overview
This is the acclaimed Academy Award winning drama about the conflict between St.Thomas More and King Henry VIII which is filled with intrigue and courage. Robert Shaw stars as Henry, who wants to divorce his wife in order to marry Anne Boleyn. Only Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) has the courage and conviction to oppose the King's will. Though all alone in his brave decison to stand firm with the Church, More's valiant refusal to abandon his principles leads to his martyrdom. A stunning performance by Scofield who won Best Actor for his role as More.
This DVD contains the following language tracks: English with optional English or Portuguese subtitles. This movie is rated G
This is a Region 1 DVD (playable ONLY in Bermuda, Canada, the Cayman Islands, United States and U.S. territories).


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Samsung on Tuesday halted worldwide sales and exchanges of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone and told customers to stop using the device, following reports that replacements for combustible models were also catching fire.
The latest effort to contain a snowballing safety crisis that threatens to derail the powerhouse global brand came as the federal US consumer regulator issued an alarming warning of the possible dangers the Note 7 posed to its owners, their families and homes.
The news slammed Samsung's share price, which closed down 8.0 percent at 1.54 million won, following a 1.5 percent drop the day before.
Tuesday's announcement came a little over a month after the world's largest smartphone maker announced a recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in 10 markets following complaints that its lithium-ion battery exploded while charging.
The unprecedented move has turned into a PR disaster for the company, which prides itself on innovation and quality, and the situation only worsened when reports emerged a week ago of replacement phones also catching fire.
"If it's once, it could be taken as a mistake. But for Samsung, the same thing happened twice with the same model so there's going to be a considerable loss of consumer faith," said Greg Roh at HMC Investment Securities.
'Brand damage'
"The reason consumers prefer brands like Samsung and Apple is because of product reliability ... so in this case brand damage is inevitable and it will be costly for Samsung to turn that around again," Roh said.
Samsung's statement on Tuesday was the first formal acknowledgement of continued safety concerns with the replacement Note 7s and came a day after it acknowledged it was easing production of the flagship smartphone.
"Because consumers' safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7 while an investigation is taking place," the statement said.
A number of major distributors - US telecom firm AT&T and German rival T-Mobile - had unilaterally suspended sales and exchanges of the model on Sunday.
Samsung also advised all customers with an original or replacement Galaxy Note 7 to "power down and stop using the device" immediately - a warning echoed by the head of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Elliot Kaye.
"No one should have to be concerned their phone will endanger them, their family or their property," Kaye said in a press release.
Samsung's decision to halt sales and exchanges was "the right move", Kaye said, adding that his commission was actively investigating reports of phones overheating and burning in multiple US states.
The US Federal Aviation Administration issued a guidance update, urging all passengers to power off, and not use, charge, or stow in checked baggage, all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices - originals or replacements.
Management woes
Analysts have suggested that Samsung, battling ever-fiercer competition in the saturated smartphone market, may have rushed production of the Note 7 because of the recent release of the iPhone 7 from bitter rival Apple.
The top-of-the-line Note 7 was crucial to Samsung's growth plans this year. The company is struggling to boost sales, squeezed by Apple in the high-end sector and by Chinese rivals in the low-end market, as profit has stagnated.
Linda Sui, wireless smartphone strategies director at Strategy Analytics, estimated that Samsung could lose "$10 billion or more" over the recall.
"And the impact on brand image and consumer confidence will be even worse," Sui said, adding that Samsung might be forced to consider junking the Note 7 completely.
The crisis has shone a spotlight on Samsung's management at a time when it is navigating a tricky generational power transfer within its founding Lee family.
Samsung is also under pressure from one of its shareholders, the activist US hedge fund Elliott Management run by billionaire Paul Singer.
In a detailed proposal unveiled last week, Elliott laid out a strategy for streamlining Samsung, splitting the company in two, dual-listing the resulting operating company on a US exchange and paying shareholders a special dividend of 30 trillion won ($27 billion).
Elliott argued that Samsung, currently a maze of listed and unlisted companies with a notoriously opaque ownership and management structure, had suffered from a long-term undervaluation in the equity market.