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Jerry Garcia's musical history outside of the Grateful Dead is remarkable for its breadth and longevity. Notwithstanding the Grateful Dead's extensive touring schedule throughout its 30-year history, Garcia played a remarkable number of shows with his own aggregations for 25 of those years. Garcia's principal right hand man for his own endeavors from 1970-1995 was bassist John Kahn, who besides playing exceptional electric and acoustic bass also took care of the musical business of the Jerry Garcia Band. Kahn hired and fired musicians, organized rehearsals and often helped choose material. Although Jerry approved every move, of course, without Kahn's oversight Garcia could not have participated in the Jerry Garcia Band. In many respects, the Jerry Garcia Band (under various names) was to some extent the Jerry Garcia and John Kahn Band; if Garcia had not met Kahn he would have had to be invented.
Most Deadheads are at least generally aware of Kahn's importance to Garcia's non-Dead music. However, Kahn is usually viewed through the filter of Jerry Garcia and his music. For this series of posts, I am looking at Jerry Garcia through the filter of John Kahn. In particular, I am looking at John Kahn's performance history without Garcia. Kahn's extensive studio career has been largely documented on the Deaddisc's site, so I don't need to recap it beyond some specific references. The posts so far have been:
- John Kahn I: Performance History 1967-68: A review of John Kahn's migration to San Francisco, his transformation from an acoustic jazz bassist to an electric R&B bass player and some history of his early live work.
- John Kahn II: Performance History 1967-68-T&A R&B Band and Memory Pain: A closer look at the history of Kahn's two original bands during this period
John Kahn and Mike Bloomfield
Drummer Bob Jones, an integral part of T&A and Memory Pain with Kahn, recalls when he met Bloomfield, which was probably when Kahn met him as well. Many bands rehearsed at the Sausalito Heliport, including the Dead, Country Joe and The Fish, Electric Flag and many others. As a result, it was a good place for unaffiliated musicians to hang out and jam. As a result, all sorts of musical connections were made. Jones recalls
Some time after or during Memory Pain, Chuck Steaks invited Kahn and I to an [Anonymous Artists of America band] jam at their ranch in Novato. Mike Bloomfield came to this jam as well. It was at this jam that the event occured that I described to you when Mike stuck his head in [and complimented my singing and drumming, and joined in the jam].
This was my first meeting with Mike. I cannot speak for John but I think it may have been his first meeting too but I cannot swear to it. Mike hired me at this meeting to play on the Fillmore records so he was pretty impressed (as evidenced by the first thing he said to me).
Mike Bloomfield was a great musician and America's first great guitar hero. By late 1968, he had already left the powerful and influential Butterfield Blues Band for the Electric Flag, and he had left the interesting but unsatisfying Flag in mid-1968. He had also been a major part of Al Kooper's Super Session album, released to great fanfare in July of '68. Bloomfield was a restless soul, striving to make great music but uncomfortable with his own success, and yet everything he touched seemed to turn to gold. As discussed in a prior post, Bloomfield and Kooper agreed to play a weekend at the Fillmore West, and Bloomfield asked Kahn to play bass. Kahn had jammed with Bloomfield a few times since they met, probably at the Heliport (I now don't think Kahn played at the Palace Of Fine Arts in August '68, but that is a side issue), but being part of the headlining band at the Fillmore was a big deal for an aspiring musician.
The Fillmore West shows were a great musical success, with the highlights released on the February 1969 Columbia album The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield And Al Kooper. This album was John Kahn's first appearance on an album, and it was a fairly high profile record. For reasons that appear to have been due to Bloomfield's abrupt departure from Electric Flag, he seems to have owed Columbia some albums. The exact genesis of Bloomfield's plans remain murky, but the essence of it was that in early 1969 Mike Bloomfield formed a band and John Kahn joined the group as bassist.
The Mike Bloomfield Band, 1969
Members of the Mike Bloomfield Band casually refer to it by that name, but they were almost never booked under that name. It does appear, however, that Bloomfield's participation and Columbia Records contract defined the group, but Bloomfield preferred to share the credit. The group was usually known as Mike Bloomfield, Nick Gravenites and Friends, or Bloomfield/Gravenites/Naftalin, or variations thereof. The basic band was
- Nick Gravenites-vocals
- Mike Bloomfield-lead guitar, vocals
- Ira Kamin-organ
- Mark Nafatalin-piano
- John Kahn-bass
- Bob Jones-drums
January 30-February 2, 1969: Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA: Chuck Berry/Bloomfield-Gravenites-Naftalin/Initial Shock
Chuck Berry was headlining a weekend (Thursday-Sunday) at the Fillmore West, and the Bloomfield-Gravenites-Naftalin aggregation supported them (Initial Shock may have backed Berry, but I'm not sure of that). Columbia recorded the shows, so some good tapes circulate of these performances. A horn section was added for the shows, along with a conga player. The additional musicians were
- Noel Jewkes-tenor sax
- Snooky Flowers-baritone sax
- Gerald Oshita-alto and baritone sax
- John Wilmeth-trumpet
- Dino Andino-congas
February 6-February 9, 1969: Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA: Bloomfield-Gravenites-Naftalin/The Byrds/P,G&E (no Byrds on Feb 9)
The Bloomfield band returned to Fillmore West to headline the second weekend over The Byrds. Columbia was there to record the proceedings. Bloomfield had a famous self-destructive streak, and he did not show up on Friday, February 7. Ironically, the Columbia engineers would roll tape on the Byrds for a few numbers each night to set their levels, and on the 7th The Byrds had to play an extra long set to cover for Bloomfield's absence, as they waited for him to show up. When the Byrds tape was discovered many decades later in the Columbia vaults, it was a true find for Byrds fans, as the extended set forced the Byrds to play some rarely performed numbers (released in 2000 on Columbia as The Byrds At Fillmore West February 1969). However, it was not a good night for Bloomfield fans.
By general accounts, Bloomfield was not in great shape throughout the second weekend, and the promise of the first weekend was not met with a more relaxed and confident band. Tracks from the first weekend were used on a few albums, but the second weekend was not apparently very productive. The Mike Bloomfield album Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore West and side 1 of the Nick Gravenites album My Labors were recorded at the first Fillmore weekend, so Kahn appeared on both albums. Some tracks, heavily modified, may have been used on the Bloomfield album Its Not Killing Me as well.
February 17 (?), 1969: Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA: Mike Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites/Sons Of Champlin/Ace Of Cups
This show was a benefit. It was scheduled for "Chinese New Years"and could have been any time between February 17 and 20.
March 15, 1969: Boston Arena, Boston, MA: Super Session with Mike Bloomfield & Al Kooper/Lighthouse
Kahn specifically recalled playing this show in Boston with Kooper and Bloomfield. Skip Prokop of Lighthouse probably played drums. The ensemble was scheduled the previous night (Mar 14) at The Rockpile in Toronto, but did not play.
Boston Arena, built in 1910, was on 238 St. Botolph Street. It holds about 6,000. It is currently known as the Matthews Arena.
March 27-30, 1969: Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA: Butterfield, Bloomfield & Friends/Birth
I'm not certain of the exact configuration of performers at this show. I believe that the Bloomfield band played with special guest Paul Butterfield, but I don't know this for a fact. I have to assume that John Kahn played bass for these shows, but I have no confirmation yet.
Around this time, Bloomfield was in the studio with Nick Gravenites working on the album that would be released as Its Not Killing Me. Bloomfield was not very interested in his obligations to Columbia Records. Nick Gravenites, an experienced producer, seems to have been the principal driver of the project. Kahn participated in the album, although exactly on which tracks isn't clear. Gravenites was a great producer, but he was a true bluesman, not formally trained, and I would suspect that Kahn helped write horn arrangements and other more formal musical contributions. Kahn would have been a particularly useful part of the team in this respect.
At this juncture, it's worth pointing out a certain parallel between Nick Gravenites and John Kahn with respect to their professional relationships to Mike Bloomfield and Jerry Garcia. Bloomfield let Gravenites organize his various projects in a way that was comparable to how Kahn would organize the Jerry Garcia Band in the next decade. Bloomfield was only interested in touring on the West Coast, and mostly just in the Bay Area, and he was more interested in playing live than rehearsing. When there was a scheduling conflict with a backing musician, a substitute was found, and the results were part of the improvisational flavor of the music.
The Bloomfield-Garcia comparison can only be taken so far; Garcia's limitations for his performing had more to do with Grateful Dead obligations than anything else, whereas Bloomfield willfully tried to keep his enterprises on a casual scale, sometimes to the detriment of the people he worked with. For the purposes of my posts, however, it is interesting to see that the peculiar part-time role Kahn played for Garcia for 25 years had a precursor in the Gravenites/Bloomfield arrangement.
May 31, 1969: Exhibition Gardens, Vancouver, BC: Mike Bloomfield & Friends/The Youngbloods
Bloomfield was still a big star, and he seems to have consented to do a show in Vancouver. It would have been a relatively quick in-and-out trip, and it doesn't seem to have been part of a "tour." There's a chance that this show was on March 31, 1969, not May 31, and I have never been able to confirm either date.
The Bloomfield band doesn't seem to have played many shows during this period. I think Kahn was working in the studio on various Bloomfield related projects, but I haven't quite figured out how he was making a living. Kahn had moved to Forest Knolls in Marin by this time (near Lagunitas), so he seems to have been getting by. Kahn, Bloomfield and others seem to have worked on a film soundtrack in Los Angeles during this time (Medium Cool), and this would seem to have been Kahn's first taste of doing sessions in his native Los Angeles.
June 15, 1969: Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, CA: Mike Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites/Southern Comfort/Womb/Marvin Gardens/Joy of Cooking/Last Mile/Lazarus/Cookin' Mama Benefit for The Alameda Youth Council
By May 1969, Bob Jones had formed a band called Southern Comfort. Besides Jones on drums and lead vocals, the other members of Southern Comfort were guitarist Fred Burton (who had played with Kahn in Memory Pain), tenor saxophonist and vocalist Ron Stallings (a member of T&A with Kahn, and later in Reconstruction), trumpeter John Wilmeth, organist Steve Funk and bassist Bob Huberman. Kahn was still close to Bob Jones, and continued to hang out and write songs with him, some of which turned up on the 1970 Southern Comfort album co-produced by Kahn and Nick Gravenites. However, while Kahn was friends with most of Southern Comfort, his primary focus remained the Bloomfield band.
As Southern Comfort's gig schedule increased, however, the needs for a substitute drummer to fill in when Jones had a Southern Comfort show increased as well. Jones's dual obligations to the Bloomfield band and Southern Comfort would play an important role in John Kahn's future.
The Family Dog on The Great Highway was Chet Helm's new venture out at Ocean Beach.
Some posters suggest that Bloomfield & Gravenites were backed by Southern Comfort, but Bob Jones has assured me that did not occur, to his memory. Since Southern Comfort and the Bloomfield band appeared to share a booking agency, some promoters may have thought the groups crossed over, but despite Bob Jones presence in both they were separate aggregations.
In the case of the August Family Dog show, Southern Comfort was sharing the bill with the Bloomfield band, so Jones could play both sets. However, Jones does recall that on one night the party got out of hand and he left early, so he can't say who sat in on drums that night in his stead.
September 19-21, 1969: Keystone Korner, San Francisco, CA: Mike Bloomfield/Nick Gravenites
The Keystone Korner was a little San Francisco club on 750 Vallejo Street, a few blocks off Broadway. According to Joel Selvin, Nick Gravenites stumbled onto it one night when owner Freddie Herrera was trying to make it pay as a topless club, but it was too far from the action. Gravenites had another idea, and the club soon became a sort of clubhouse for the expatriate Chicago blues players like Gravenites.
The Bloomfield band played the Keystone Korner just about every other weekend from late Summer 1969 until the early Spring of 1970. Their shows were dutifully announced in Ralph Gleason's Chronicle column, but there was relatively little publicity otherwise. Bloomfield was still a big name at this time, and the idea of a genuine guitar hero making regular appearances at a tiny little club in San Francisco was yet another thing that set San Francisco apart from other rock markets. Once again, part of the peculiar Garcia Band mojo seems to have been pre-figured by Bloomfield, and I have to think that Kahn was paying attention to what did and did not work.
September 26-27, 1969: Keystone Korner, San Francisco, CA: Mike Bloomfield
Our knowledge of these Keystone Korner shows comes from Ralph Gleason's column. I don't find any significance in the fact that Gleason listed the bookings under slightly different names each time (Mike Bloomfield, Bloomfield & Gravenites, Mike Bloomfield & Friends). Nonetheless, it does point up the casual nature of these bookings. While there's every reason to think that Kahn played every booked show, there's no guarantee that he did, nor is there any likelihood that the band didn't have various substitutions at different chairs on occasion. This doesn't exclude Bloomfield, who was notorious for not showing up, presumably leaving Gravenites to front the band (which he was very capable of).
Southern Comfort had another show on September 26, at the New Orleans House in Berkeley, so another drummer must have filled in for Bob Jones. Jones, not surprisingly, doesn't recall who took his place, and may not have known anyway, but it's revealing with respect to Kahn's education as Jerry Garcia's straw boss. The Bloomfield band didn't rehearse much, mainly because Bloomfield wasn't that interested in rehearsing per se, but as a practical matter it allowed for much more fluid booking policies. The basic trade off of the Bloomfield band seems to have been that it was better to have superior musicians with minimal rehearsal than to have lesser players with lots of times to practice. For part-time players like Bloomfield or Garcia, it would have been hard to keep quality musicians occupied, so a built in system to allow substitutes showed an inherent preference. Kahn can not have missed the lesson, as it seems to have driven the hiring for the drum chair for Garcia/Saunders throughout the early 1970s.
However, by all accounts the Keystone Korner was kind of like the Mike Bloomfield clubhouse, and he enjoyed playing there. Ironically, Bloomfield's regular appearance at clubs like Keystone Korner lowered his status in the Bay Area, and by the mid-70s he was just another guy playing rock clubs. This was probably fine with Bloomfield, but it made playing in his band less lucrative for his sidemen.
October 3-4, 1969: Keystone Korner, San Francisco, CA: Mike Bloomfield
The clip above is from the "Opening Today" section of the October 17, 1969 Chronicle.
October 24-25, 1969: Keystone Korner, San Francisco, CA: Mike Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites
Southern Comfort were at the New Orleans House this weekend, so another drummer must have sat in for Bob Jones.
November 6, 1969: Gym, College Park High School, Pleasant Hill, CA: Mike Bloomfield & Friends/Country Weather/Bronze Hog/Sanpaku/Orion/Daybreak
November 7-8, 1969: Keystone Korner, San Francisco, CA: Mike Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites
November 14-15, 1969: Keystone Korner, San Francisco, CA: Mike Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites
November 21, 1969: Centennial Coliseum, Reno, NV: Mike Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites
November 29, 1969: Lanai Theater, Crockett, CA: Mike Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites
Crockett, CA was a peculiar little sugar town on a distant part of the Bay, 10 miles North of Richmond. The venue is a fascinating mystery, but it does seem like Quicksilver manager Ron Polte tried to make an old movie theater in Crockett into a rock venue. I have been to Crockett, although not recently, but it is a small out of the way place even now, and it must have been quite remote in 1969. The town is on the Northeast corner of the San Pablo Bay, on the Carquinez Straight. Crockett, despite being unincorporated Contra Costa County, has always been the corporate headquarters of C&H Sugar, so the area around Crockett was always an important commercial area. Perhaps the Lanai Theater served to entertain the local workers, maybe during WW2 or earlier, but I know nothing about the venue.
I doubt this show was well attended, but it was probably a weird ghost town scene nonetheless. The Bloomfield site reports that Gregg Thomas (of Mint Tattoo) played drums instead of Jones.
December 5-6, 1969: Keystone Korner, San Francisco, CA: Mike Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites
December 13, 1969: Loma Prieta Ballroom, San Jose State College, San Jose, CA: Mike Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites
The Loma Prieta Ballroom was a newly opened room in the San Jose State student union. The capacity was a little less than 1,000, although who knows how many students really fit in there.
December 26-27, 1969: Keystone Korner, San Francisco, CA: Mike Bloomfield & Nick Gravenites


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Varsovie. Because I can.
...and because E40 asked for it ... Lao Che, Barykada & Stare Miasto.
5 hours ago
Proactively "From the Sea"; an agent of change leveraging the littoral best practices for a paradigm breaking six-sigma best business case to synergize a consistent design in the global commons, rightsizing the core values supporting our mission statement via the 5-vector model through cultural diversity.

subset: commoncrawl


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Scientist Explores 'Dark Matter' in TAMIU Lecture April 16
A special lecture at Texas A&M International University will look at the basic forces and building blocks of all matter and energy on Monday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lamar Bruni Vergara Science Center, room 102.
Guest lecturer will be Dr. Roy F. Schwitters, who will present "Dark Matter and the Higgs Particle." Dr. Schwitters will look at the historic quest to understand these basic forces and how new tools will take the quest forward.
The lecture, sponsored by Guillermo Benavides Z., is free of charge and open to the public. A question and answer period will follow the lecture at 8:30 p.m.
Extraordinary progress has been made over the past decade in understanding masses of "elementary" particles, the building blocks that make up all matter in the known universe. That progress has been hallmarked by unexpected surprises: supposedly mass-less neutrinos have been shown to have mass and most of the universe's mass seems to be in the form of "dark matter," particles not yet detected in the laboratory.
In addition to exploring progress in the understanding of matter, Schwitters will also examine the "Standard Model" of particle physics: that mass derives from interactions of quarks and leptons - the constituents of all known matter - with a new kind of particle or field, the so-called "Higgs Particle."
Of particular interest to Schwitters is the approach of new scientific tools, including the Large Hadron Collider, schedule to come online next year, which may be able to shed light on the nature of dark matter and the Higgs Particle.
Schwitters is Chair of the University of Texas' Department of Physics and S.W. Richardson Regents Professor of Physics. He is the former director of the Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory. He holds his S.B. and Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Since 1996, he has been a member of JASON, a group of academic scientists and engineers who advise agencies of the US Government on technical matters related to issues of national security.
For additional information, contact the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at 326.2460.
University office hours are from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday-Friday.
Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at email@example.com


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The Chicago Department of Transportation is seeking input from South Side residents on how to improve public transit in the South Lakefront Corridor--the area spanning from 22nd Street to 95th Street east of the Dan Ryan Expressway.
CDOT is holding a public meeting about the South Lakefront Corridor Transit Study on April 13 from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Atrium of University Technology Park at the Illinois Institute of Technology, 3440 South Dearborn Street.
The City of Chicago Department of Transportation and Department of Housing and Economic Development initiated the study recently to identify and evaluate alternatives for improving public transportation within Douglas, Grand Boulevard, Oakland, Kenwood, Hyde Park, Woodlawn, South Shore, South Chicago, Washington Park, Avalon Park, Calumet Heights, Greater Grand Crossing, and Burnside.
This public meeting is the first of several meetings planned over the course of the study. At this meeting, the project team will review early findings on the travel market and existing conditions and seek comments from the public on potential improvement options.
Funding for this study is provided by a subregional grant from the Regional Transportation Authority.


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Heavy vehicle drivers, owners and operators, here is everything you need to know to fulfil your obligations and ensure your safety and that of other road users.
In Québec, the transportation of passengers is subject to specific requirements that concern vehicles as well as drivers, owners and operators.
Road safety is everyone's business and a priority for the SAAQ. Road safety starts with obeying the Highway Safety Code and adopting safe behaviours.
Find a service outlet that fits your needs.
All fields are mandatory
Every year, we send you a driver's licence renewal notice that provides various information, including the payment due date.
To obtain a Class 6D moped or motorized scooter licence, you have to take a 6-hour driving course and pass the SAAQ's knowledge and vision tests.
If an error appears on your driver's licence or if you wish to change some information, you must notify the SAAQ.
Conditions added to a driver's licence are mainly related to the state of health of drivers and may impose restrictions on their driving.
You must hold an international driving permit if you are from another country and are staying in Québec for more than 6 months.
A restricted licence issued after a conviction for alcohol-impaired driving authorizes its holder to only operate a vehicle equipped with an alcohol ignition interlock device.
If your licence has been revoked as a result of an accumulation of demerit points, a court could grant you a restricted licence so you can continue working.
In Québec, all individuals who drive a vehicle are subject to a system of demerit points that accumulate when they are found guilty of an offence.
When peace officers detect a serious Highway Safety Code offence, they can seize a vehicle for 7, 30 or 90 days. The owner may recover the vehicle no later than 10 days after the end of the impoundment period.
Car, motorcycle, truck, snowmobile, farm tractor, trailer… Whatever the vehicle, it must be registered.
Every year, we send you a registration renewal notice. This notice contains various information, including the payment due date.
You can obtain a personalized licence plate and set yourself apart from other drivers by choosing a unique and original combination of letters and...
Vehicles bought or sold by a business must be registered at an SAAQ service outlet.
A temporary registration certificate, or "transit", can be issued by the SAAQ or a dealer to allow a vehicle to operate on public roads in Québec for...
The SAAQ has implemented various means to ensure that vehicles on Québec roads are in good mechanical condition.
The La sécurité routière, j'embarque (when it comes to road safety, we can all drive change) campaign is part of the Québec government's 2023-2028.


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Acta Orthopaedica (previously Acta Orthopaedica Scandinavica 1930-2004), owned by the Nordic Orthopaedic Federation, is a non-profit electronic, immediate Open Access journal, meaning your work is free for every-one to access online as soon as it's published (Gold OA).
Abstracts are presented in PubMed with full text available through PubMed Central. Furthermore, all Acta Orthopaedica content dating back to 1930 is freely available.
Current Volume
Vol. 94 (2023): Acta Orthopaedica
Published: 2023-01-26


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What plant genes tell us about crop domestication
Washington University in St Louis
Diana Lutz
Anyone who has seen teosinte, the wild grass from which maize (corn) evolved, might be forgiven for assuming many genetic changes underlie the transformation of one plant to the other. The famous botanist George Beadle created a facsimile of an ear of an early domesticated corn by crossing the wild grass teosinte with Argentine popcorn.
However, a method for exploring the genetics of domestication called Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) mapping has revealed that only modest modifications are needed to convert a wild plant to a crop plant. Some major transitions in phenotype can even be achieved by a single genetic change.
The few artificial experiments in domestication that have been conducted have also shown that it is possible to achieve domesticate-like plants in fewer than 20 generations.
None of this pleases archaeobotanists, who try to piece together the history of plant domestication from scraps of ancient plant remains.
Their data are sparse and unimpressive — a 10,000-year-old squash seed found in a cave in Oaxaca, Mexico, or four 12,000-year-old grains of rice recovered from a rock shelter in Hunan Province in China — but they have their own irrefutable reality.
"There's been an argument in the recent archeological literature that genetics gives a false picture of domestication as a rapid, geographically localized process," comments Kenneth M. Olsen, PhD, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. "They argue instead that domestication likely involved much trial and error in many different geographic regions over a long period of time."
In a review of the genetics of plant domestication published in the advance online edition of Trends in Plant Science, Olsen, who uses genetic approaches to study the domestication of rice, cassava and coconut, and Briana L. Gross, PhD, a postdoctoral research scholar in his lab, review the recent genetic data and argue that genetic evidence doesn't conflict with the archeological evidence that domestication was gradual, dispersed and tentative.
The Domestication Syndrome
Plant domestication can be thought of as a two-step process. In the first step, plants acquire traits in what is called the "domestication syndrome" that make the plant worth the labor of cultivation. These include traits that allow a crop to be reliably sown, cultivated and harvested, such as uniform seed germination and fruit ripening.
In the second step, the now domesticated plant is selected for improved qualities. It is in this stage, for example, that farmers might breed many different varieties of a crop that differ in grain taste, fruit color or fruit shape.
In the case of grains two of the most important traits in the domestication syndrome are the loss of shattering, and the loss of seed dormancy.
Shattering, or the tendency of seeds to break off the central grain stalk once mature, is an advantage for wild grains, because it helps to ensure the seeds disperse. But a crop plant must retain its seeds long enough that the seed heads can be gathered at harvest.
The shattering trait provides a good example of the apparent conflict between the genetic and archeological data. Artificial domestication experiments show that it is possible to breed nonshattering cereals quite quickly. But Old World archeological data indicates that nonshattering cereals appeared only gradually, and typically only after the emergence of another domestic trait: larger grain size.
A crop reversion or an invasion? Red rice is a red-seeded weed that infests cultivated rice fields in the United States. Earlier genetic studies had suggested the weed might be a reversion of a modern domesticated rice to a feral form, in part because the red grain was known to spontaneously appear in crop fields. Gross, Olsen and their colleagues have just published results in the online edition of Molecular Ecology that show red rice is not a reversion but instead an invasive rice that was never cultivated in the United States.
The increase in grain size suggests the plant was already under cultivation, and that the seeds were being sown, or buried, rather than blown about on the surface. Why would the nonshattering trait emerge later than larger grain size?
"The answer, at least in some cases," Olsen suggests, "is that a mutation that led to a complete loss of shattering might make harvesting easier but it would also make threshing much harder." So the nonshattering trait might have lagged behind other domestic traits because it required an optimal combination of mutations that balanced seed retention for both harvesting and threshing.
"This is why rice is still somewhat shattering, unlike maize," says Olsen. "If you have complete loss of shattering it makes threshing very difficult; so it's a compromise."
A second trait in the domestication syndrome is loss of seed dormancy. A wild plant all of whose seeds sprouted at the first shower or warm spell would risk disaster, so most wild species hedge their bets and stagger the germination of seeds. But in the more controlled agricultural environment, where the seeds are sown all at once and reaped all at once, there is strong selection against seeds with this trait.
However, in this case too, it is possible to overshoot the mark. "In rice, if you completely select against dormancy you can get a phenomenon called pre-harvest sprouting, where grains germinate while they're still on the stalk, Olsen says. "That's another case where selection has gone too far, and you're losing crop productivity."
More than one way to make a domestic plant
Any plant breeder can tell the difference between a weed and a crop plant, but figuring out the genetic differences between them is much harder. Searching for the relevant changes among all the genetic variation in a species is like groping in a fog, because most of the variation is neutral and not linked to significant variation in the plant's phenotype.
Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) mapping is a statistical method that looks for strong associations between particular phenotypic traits and short DNA sequences that identify, or mark, particular locations in the genome. It is particularly useful for studying the inheritance of complex traits that are influenced by many genes and their interactions with the environment.
The main goal of QTL mapping is to understand whether a trait is controlled by a few genes of large effect or many genes of small effect. The assumption is that phenotypes under simple genetic control could be domesticated more easily than those whose traits had a complex genetic basis.
The genetic data indicate that important domestication traits are under simple genetic control, but also, as Gross and Olsen write, that there are "many ways to make a domesticated plant." For example, genetic analysis shows that barley, common beans and Asian rice were domesticated more than once, a remarkable finding because the archeological evidence on this question is inconclusive.
QTL maps have also revealed that the same traits are sometimes controlled by different constellations of genes. For example, different genes prevent shattering in the two domesticated lineages of barley.
Although QTL mapping has led to many insights about the domestication of plants, Gross and Olsen emphasize that genes cannot tell us everything. Trying to read the history of domestication out of the genomes of existing crop plant is like trying to read a book missing many pages.
There's a simple reason for this. Living crops cannot provide information about any plant lineage that did not ultimately contribute to a modern crop. So the genetic record is silent about domestication experiments that ultimately failed or were abandoned. If these experiments left a record, they left it only in archaeobotanical remains — which makes it difficult to reconcile that record with the genetic data.
We think of domestication as a process of careful selection, but chance also plays a role in which plants end up as crops. Most of the genetic diversity of wild plants is discarded as people bring a random sampling of plants into cultivation, as illustrated here by wild potatoes mainly from Central and South America.
Sticky rice, fragrant rice and other fun stuff
The second step in plant domestication is the fun one. Once a plant has become amenable to sowing and reaping, farmers set to work to improve it or diversify it.
One such improvement is sticky rice, a type of short-grained, famously glutinous Asian rice. Olsen, who has studied the origins of sticky rice, says that usually "about 20 percent of the starch in the rice is amylose and the rest is another starch called amylopectin. Amylose is an unbranched molecule and amylopectin is branchy; because it is branchy, the rice starch sticks to itself when it is cooked."
"In certain areas of the world, particularly Southeast Asia, people favored varieties of rice that were sticky," Olsen says. "By selecting sticky rice, they were actually selecting rice that had a mutation in a gene called Waxy. The gene mutation prevented the plant from making a protein responsible for a key step in producing amylose. When amylose was absent, the grains were filled with the stickier starch amylopectin."
One of the more interesting things to do with sticky rice is to make mochi, Japanese rice cakes made by pounding sticky rice into paste and molding the paste into shapes.
The fragrance of cooking basmati or jasmine rice is another example of an improvement. What you smell when the steam wafts above the rice cooker is an aromatic compound called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (or 2AP), which is also an important note in the aroma cooked popcorn, bread crust, crabmeat — and screwpine leaves. Screwpine leaves are aromatic leaves used to flavor rice dishes and sweets in India and southeast Asia.
The rice BADH2 gene underlies variation in the production of 2AP and a survey of this gene in aromatic rices around the world has shown that although one gene variant (or allele) is by far the most common, the aroma can be generated by a variety of mutations of the BADH2 gene.


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The Essentials of Living Aboard a Boat
The uber dream: to live aboard a boat. This book's job is to wise you up about the reality of ...
The uber dream: to live aboard a boat. This book's job is to wise you up about the reality of that fantasy. It will equip you with essential facts for this grand adventure, or else it will graciously eliminate the notion from your head forever. In either case it deserves a medal. This kind of clarity and sound advice is in short supply. Marina bookstores overflow with practical memoirs by salty authors, few of them with a view wider than their own hulls. This one is based on the experience of many liveaboard practicioners in many styles, and is the most useful way to answer the persistent question: "What is really involved living full time on a boat?" To clarify: The Essentials of Living Aboard is concerned with life on a boat that spends the bulk of its time docked, and only cruises occasionally. Your neighborhood will be other boats instead of open water. It is not too much of an exaggeration to say this lifestyle is less about living on a boat and more about living in a marina.10/20/08
from The Essentials of Living Aboard a Boat
Speaking of investments, in general, boats are not good ones. Not only do boats depreciate in value, but the difference in value between a boat that is 19 years old and 20 years old may be significant, because many financing companies will not lend money for a boat that is 20 or more years old. You may find that you own a boat you cannot one day sell, which makes your boat virtually worthless.
Even adding electronics and fancy gear to your boat won't help much in maintaining value. Once installed, the electronics will immediately depreciate. This isn't like a house (on real land) in which a $15,000 kitchen renovation might bring about $35,000 in increased market value. On a boat, a $2,000 radar system might bring an increased market value to the boat of $500-$1,000. That's an immediate net loss of 50-75 percent. Then, after just a couple of years, the electronics, valuable if separated from the boat, will bring no market value increase at all to the boat.
A better deal will always come along, even if that deal does not exist today. When you think that a great deal is passing you by, don't be nervous, because there is another one coming. ... So be patient, my liveaboard brothers and sisters. Relax and enjoy the ride. Don't panic. A better boat is right around the corner. If you remember that, and learn to believe it, this process will be less stressful and more fun; you will be a much better negotiator knowing that you can walk away and still have terrific options. And you will be more emotionally willing to take the time necessary to choose for yourself the best possible boat.
We already talked about how accessories are not worth their original prices once installed. Good accessories do not make for a good boat. A good boat is a good boat whether or not it has a good radar system. Unfortunately, a bad boat does not become anything other than a bad boat just because it has a $2,000 chartplotter.
The Essentials of Living Aboard a Boat Mark Nicholas 2005, 284 pages $13


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Caterpillar uncovered "deliberate, multi-year, coordinated accounting misconduct" at a subsidiary of a Chinese company it acquired last summer, leading it to write off most of the value of the deal and wipe out half a quarter's profits.
Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of tractors and excavators, said on Friday it would take a noncash goodwill impairment charge of $580 million, or 87 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Analysts had expected the company to earn $1.70 per share in the fourth quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Caterpillar closed the purchase of ERA Mining Machinery Ltd and its subsidiary Siwei last June, paying HK$5.06 billion, or $653.4 million at current exchange rates.
A member of the Caterpillar board during the course of the Siwei deal told Reuters the board was distracted at the time by a larger transaction and paid relatively little attention to the Siwei acquisition.
"It came as a complete surprise to us," the former board member said of the fraud, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. "It was presented to us as a pretty straightforward transaction. It's a shame. It should have been investigated further."
In a statement, Caterpillar said an ongoing investigation launched after the deal closed "determined several Siwei senior managers engaged in deliberate misconduct beginning several years prior to Caterpillar's acquisition of Siwei."
The company said it had replaced several senior managers at Siwei, adding that their conduct was "offensive and completely unacceptable."
Caterpillar was not immediately available for further comment.
Representatives for Siwei were not immediately available for comment before business hours on Saturday morning in China.
Representatives for Citigroup and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, which served as financial and legal advisers to Caterpillar on the transaction, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Blackstone and DLA Piper, which acted as ERA's financial and legal advisers, were not immediately available for comment.


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U.S. officials decided not to inform Pakistan of its plans to take out Osama bin Laden last Sunday because of concerns that Pakistani officials would tip off the al-Qaeda leader, CIA Director Leon Panetta said today.
"It was decided that any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardize the mission," Panetta told Time magazine. "They might alert the targets."
Bin Laden's hiding place - a mansion in an affluent suburban community 80 miles outside of Islamabad - has raised questions about how much Pakistan knew and whether Pakistani officials were providing support to America's number one public enemy.
In addition to killing bin Laden, U.S. special operators collected an "impressive amount" of intelligence material from the compound, including computers and electronics, Panetta said. The CIA has established a task force to handle the fresh intel.
In the interview - the CIA director's first public statement since the raid - Panetta said that although his aides were only 60-80% confident that bin Laden was inside the compound, he concluded the evidence was strong enough to justify the risk of going in.
"If I thought delaying this could in fact produce better intelligence, that would be one thing," he said. "But because of the nature of the security at the compound, we're probably at a point where we've got the best intelligence we can get."
Bin Laden's death was an important victory for Panetta, who was recently named to take the helm at the Pentagon. In the wake of Sunday's success, he is expected to breeze through his Senate confirmation later this year.


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December 18, 2012, - 8:52 am
FREE Advil Migraine CVS Coupon – Get YOURS Fast! ($5.49 Value)
**** UPDATE, 10:59 a.m. ET: I'm sorry, dear readers, but it looks like the deal has ended (I think the supply of coupons ran out). My apologies. It was good while it lasted. Wish I could give each of you my coupon. ****
In this tough Obamaconomy, I love telling you–my readers and friends–about free stuff. Every little bit of savings helps. And if you are like me and get migraines or just plain bad headaches, go to this link at CVS' website and quickly print out your coupon for a FREE package of Advil Migraine with 20 liquid-filled capsules. It's a value of $5.49. HURRY, though. As I write this, you only have another 15 hours and eight minutes to print out the coupon, as the deal to print it out ends at Midnight Eastern Time, tonight. Plus the site says that there are only a "limited" number of coupons, so go to the site now. The coupon is only valid today and tomorrow (as it expires on December 19th) at CVS stores. Also, in the small print, it states that you must have a CVS ExtraCare card (which is free and you can sign up at the store if you don't have one to instantly get the savings on the coupon) in order to redeem the coupon savings.
I recommend going to the store to redeem it pronto because with a free deal like this, they'll quickly run out. The coupon does not say "no rainchecks," so if your local CVS has run out, be sure to ask for a raincheck.
I typically use Aleve liquigels for my migraines, but I've printed out my coupon and will try this product.
Tags: Advil, Advil Migraine, Aleve, Aleve liguigels, coupon, coupon for free Advil, coupon for free Advil Migraine, CVS, free, Free Advil Migraine, free stuff, liquigels, swag


text:
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Get power and organisation. These scalable servers support multiple processors and large amounts of RAM.Shop rack servers
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Friday, May 20, 2011
The Good Samaritan
Send a link to a friend
[May 20, 2011]
--"Jesus replied, 'A
man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the
hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving
him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and
when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a
Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the
other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when
he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his
wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his
own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him."-Luke 10:
The parable of the good Samaritan is familiar to many of us who have
spent even a small amount of time in the church. The point of the
parable is basically this; we are called to love our neighbor and
everyone is our neighbor. It is the last bit that makes things the
most challenging. It is easy to love people we like; to love people
who treat us well; to love people who need help we can easily
provide. It is another thing entirely to love people who don't meet
those categories, like most of the people in the world. This means
that being a Christian is, as we now know, hard work.
But consider this for a moment. There are over 2 billion Christians
in the world. More people are Christian than any other religion. If
all of us, and certainly all of us in the United States, applied
this teaching of Jesus', if we saw all people as our neighbor, what
might the world look like. Most of the problems in this world are
rooted in an absence of love, an absence of empathy, an absence of
compassion. Most of the problems exist because there are too many
levites, too many priests. With this in mind, we would be wise to
consider how we might live, how we might act, to turn the tide. None
of us alone can chance the world, or alleviate the suffering of our
fellow humans, but each of us has the opportunity to be a good
neighbor in our own daily lives.
Each of us can be more aware to the issues and needs of others, and
in so doing, we can begin to sow the seeds of peace, love and hope.
Prayer: Holy God, help me to serve you better, and to be a
good neighbor. Help me to recognize those who are in need, and give
me the wisdom and strength to serve them. I pray in Jesus' name.
[text from file received from Phil Blackburn,
First Presbyterian Church]
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Philippians: A Greek Student's Intermediate Reader
This helpful little volume should receive a warm welcome from intermediate Greek students and those who desire to keep up on Greek after their seminary studies. It is intended for those with the equivalent of one year of Greek and those who have not yet mastered the finer points of Greek grammar. It goes beyond a simple translation guide and helps students think grammatically about the passages.
After a short section on how to use the book Sumney provides a brief introduction to the epistle. This is not a full-blown introduction one may find in a commentary. Rather it covers the basics in a way that will orient the student to the book. Fortunately Philippians is one of the more "settled" books in the New Testament. There are no serious questions about the letter's authenticity or authorship. There are only two minor debates needing clarification: provenance and integrity. First, some debate where Paul was when he wrote the letter. Sumney suggests that both Rome and Ephesus are possible options (p. xxi). However, he does not suggest implications for dating the book based on its provenance. Second, Sumney concludes that Philippians is a single letter (p. xxii). The introduction also includes a discussion of the purpose, themes, and text of Philippians.
Sumney divides Philippians into eight sections based on basic units in the text. These are each given titles that reflect the contents. Each section is further divided into manageable units and includes the Greek text from the fourth edition of the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament (UBS4), an interpretive translation, and notes on the Greek often with references to standard grammars. Many of the words are parsed and occasionally important Greek words are discussed. More difficult constructions are covered in more depth. The first occurrence of a grammatical construction is in bold type and points the reader to a shaded text box that provides a brief definition and examples. Each section concludes with a short list of works for further study.
Essentially the reader is guided through translating the Book of Philippians. The details of the lexical and syntactical discussions are not like those found in a good commentary. Sumney's purpose is not to provide exegesis. For example in 2:6–7 he provides two options for the participle uJpavrcwn, causal and concession. However, he suggests it may be best to translate it as a simple participle ("being," p. 45). The participle labwvn is classified as means, parallel to uJpavrcwn, and provides the way in which Christ humbled (kenovw) Himself (p. 46). Brief discussions are included for morfhv and aJrpagmov~, but nothing beyond a simple gloss is provided for kenovw (pp. 45–46). This information gives readers just enough to translate the passage and get a basic understanding of the text. Further information can be gleaned from lexicons, grammars, and commentaries. These sources will often include very detailed discussions and demand a lot of time to process. This book gives students a quick guide to help build their translation and syntax skills.
The book also includes three sections at the end that will enhance its usefulness. First, a brief twenty-page syntax summary serves as a handy reference and a refresher on syntactical usages. This is not exhaustive, and it suggests students consult other works as necessary. Second, a glossary of other terms and constructions is included. This primarily includes grammatical terms with which students may need to be familiar. Third, a section of resources for further study is included. This includes a brief annotated bibliography of grammars, lexicons, dictionaries, concordances, and critical commentaries on Philippians. Listing a few more works here would have been helpful, but in general students are well served with these selections.
Sumney has achieved his goal of providing a useful volume for those intending to continue their Greek studies beyond an introductory level. It is well organized and simple to use. There are a number of advantages to his approach. It brings the student through an entire book. In this way the student intuitively begins to see the importance of context in the translation and interpretive processes. Philippians is good choice for this type of volume. It is of manageable length and its Greek is of intermediate difficulty within the New Testament. Further the book uses good intermediate and reference grammars. For those who studied Greek long ago, this will introduce more recent resources.
A few minor drawbacks may be noted. First, its narrow focus on Philippians results in an uneven treatment of syntax. Second, some may find the terminology slightly different from what they are accustomed to. Third, a student may wrongly get the impression that Greek is the only (or best) interpretive tool necessary for understanding the New Testament. This is not promoted by the author; it is simply a possible misunderstanding of the book based on its contents. Fourth, one of the benefits of learning Greek is to be able to make syntactical decisions for oneself. This will not be developed if the student uncritically accepts Sumney's conclusions. However, these four drawbacks are minimal in light of the value of this work and can be overcome by reading the book's conclusion (pp. 125–26) and keeping in mind the following. This is not a commentary, and one should not assume Greek will provide all interpretive answers. Rather, working through this volume will increase attentive readers' ability in the Greek text and so help prepare them to do further work. It is a step in the process of exegetical development.
In conclusion, this is a helpful volume for those with some Greek who would like to build on their skills and/or for those who learned Greek in the past and would like a review.
About the Contributors
Joseph D. Fantin
Dr. Fantin believes an accurate understanding of God's Word will enable the believer to grow in his or her relationship with Christ, to love God and others, to bring Christ's love to a lost world, to build up the church, and most importantly, to glorify God. He is committed to teaching exegetical method in order to help students understand, apply, and teach the Bible in order to achieve these goals. Dr. Fantin's research interests include the first-century world, Greek language and linguistics, exegetical method, and exegesis of the prison epistles. He and his wife, Robin, have two children: Jillian and David.


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Auftraggeber Kundenaussagen
The Caisse d'Epargne returns to in-house scanning
To improve the Caisses d'Epargne scanning system, the National ECM IT-CE (information technology of Caisses d'Epargne) programme has set up a bespoke solution allowing each branch in the network to scan its own documents. It targeted time-saving, improved efficiency and quality of scanned documents.
In 2009, IT-CE set up a centralised outsourced scanning platform for the Caisses d'Epargne. The aim? To scan statutory documents required to open accounts: identity cards, justifying documents and even certain contracts. I.e. over three million documents per month for the whole network and almost three hundred thousand in Caisse d'Epargne Nord France Europe alone.
This process required several automated or manual interventions which could be brought to a halt by the slightest error. In a concern to lessen breaks in production caused by these interruptions, to improve scanning quality (limited to black and white) and speed up image integration time, the national ECM programme started to study the possibility of a new solution in 2010.


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You have no items in your cart. Want to get some nice things?
If there's one question I get asked more than any other, it's "how do I get published?" A few years ago, I wrote a piece about how it happened for me. I doubt most of you saw it when it ran — so I thought I'd share it here.
Just Keep Writing
I waited years for The Call. Ten years, in fact.
Like my first novel, The Tea Rose, the story of how I finally got The Call is a rags-to-riches tale. Got a few minutes? Good. Pull up a chair.
I was in my mid-twenties when I started to write The Tea Rose. I'd gotten the idea for the book a few years earlier, while I was a student in London. My then-landlord, Clark, took me to the Brick Lane market in Whitechapel. Clark loved antiques. He had a Model A Ford. We drove east from Notting Hill early one Sunday morning. This was the mid-80s and East London was totally off the map. There were no wine bars or posh hotels, then. No multi-million dollar flats or art galleries. There were lots of crumbling houses, though. And dark, cobbled alleys. There were smoky pubs, boarded-up warehouses, and silent, brooding wharves.
I'd read about this area; it was notorious. It was Jack the Ripper's London. Ben Tillet's London. The Kray brothers' London. It was a worker's London, where dockers, factory hands, builders, seamen, and costers lived. The smallness and plainness of the houses spoke of hard lives and meager resources.
Clark pulled up just before a rusted railway overpass. As he cut the engine, I heard music. When we emerged on the other side of the bridge, I discovered its source. Burly costermongers were singing the praises of their fruits and vegetables. They smiled and winked as they did, their voices rising in competition. Watching them, I felt as if I'd left modern-day London and stumbled into the same city that Johnson, Hogarth and Dickens knew. We bought some clementines and walked on, passing in and out of musty warehouses, stalls, sheds and old stables. Picking up trinkets. Tripping on cobbles. Sampling apple fritters, jellied eels, pickled whelks. I found a rhinestone necklace for a pound. A tweed jacket for two. Clark found a toilet.
I found something else that day, too — inspiration. East London was a shadow city to the western metropolis, a place to soothe a darker heart. It was honest and raw and in its own hard way, breathtakingly lovely. I fell in love with it then and there and knew that I wanted to write about the place and its people.
And so, a few years later, I started. I started the way you just start things when you're young and optimistic and energetic and a little stupid. I jumped in with both feet.
I loved words. I loved books. I knew I could write. I'd been a reporter, a copywriter. I had a story idea. What else did I need?
A lot, as it turned out. I needed a skin as thick as a rhino's. The endurance of a mountain climber. Persistance, courage, and faith. (A bottle of Prozac would have helped, too.)
There was so much I didn't know. I didn't know how to structure a very long novel. I didn't know what point of view was, pacing, narrative drive – and a thousand other literary terms. I didn't know my way around the world of agents and publishers.
All I knew was that I wanted to write. That I needed to write.
So I started writing.
I wrote mornings from 4:30 am until 7:00 am, and then I went to work. I wrote on weekends. Instead of taking vacations. I wrote pages upon pages upon pages. Draft upon draft.
But it didn't matter. The story didn't work. It didn't flow. It bogged down in description. It meandered. So I ripped up what I had and started again. And again. A year passed. Two. Five. Eight. I watched my friends got ahead in their chosen fields while I cobbled together a living from part time jobs, temp jobs, freelance jobs. I watched others get agents, get editors, get contracts, get published.
And I kept writing.
Frustration set in. A sense of futility. Depression. Despair. I took hope, no matter how slim, from wherever I could find it: horoscopes, songs, fortune cookies. I picked up lucky pennies and wished on stars.
And I kept writing.
I knew that nothing and no one could guarantee I'd ever get published, but I myself would guarantee that I didn't if I stopped.
And then one day, I had it – a finished manuscript. I knew it wasn't perfect. But some people – my family, my friends – liked it.
It was time to get an agent. Once again, not knowing what I was doing, I got out a big fat guide to literary agencies and sent a letter to every single one that sounded nice. Luckily I got a response from an agent at a very good one – Writers House – inviting me to submit my work. His name was Simon Lipskar. He read my work, told me the good news: "You can write," then told me the bad news: "You need to do a lot of work on the structure. On plot. On pacing."
I started again. Rewriting. Reworking. Trimming down a 1,000 page manuscript to a workable size.
I kept writing.
It took me another year to get the manuscript right. Another year of frustration. Of going back and forth with Simon, page by page. Of tears and doubt and worry.
But I kept writing.
And finally, it was done. Again. It was polished and perfect and I thought we'd sell it immediately. I was so wrong.
The manuscript was rejected from every publishing house in New York, and a few outside of it. Simon tried hard to sell it for over a year. And then I got a call. Not The Call, not by a long shot. It was Simon, and he was calling to tell me we he'd tried everything and everywhere and he couldn't sell it. At least, not yet. We had to take a break. Put it on a shelf.
I was so down, I can't even describe it. Ten years of my life. All that work. All that sacrifice. Such a labor of love. And no one wanted it.
My wonderful husband took me for a weekend away. If he hadn't, I think I would have jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge. My mom and dad and sister told me to keep the faith. I thought they were all nuts.
I went back to work. I tried to forget I'd ever written a book. Weeks passed. Then months. It was winter.
I kept writing.
And then one dreary, cold, gray afteroon, as I was sitting at my desk at Saks Fifth Avenue, writing ad copy, the phone rang. It was Simon.
There was excitement in his voice, I could hear it. My heart started thumping. My hands went cold. And sure enough, he said the words I'd been waiting to hear for a decade: "I have an offer for The Tea Rose." There was an editor a St. Martin's – a new hire – and she liked it.
It wasn't riches, not even close. But it didn't need to be. It was priceless. I said "Yes." And then I called my huband and my parents, who'd been there for me every step of the way, then I told my copywriting pals, who cheered, and then I went for a walk on Manhattan's streets – feeling like I finally had a right to walk them, to stand tall upon them.
I bought a bottle of champagne, went home and drank it with my husband, and danced on our dining room table. After ten long years, I'd made it. I was a writer. Soon I'd be an author.
So when it gets hard and cold and lonely, and you think it's all useless and you're never going to get anywhere, know that there's only one thing you should do, only one thing you must do, only one thing you can do: Keep writing.


text:
Yeah, there are six. What can I say? We are an anxious bunch.
Top Ten by Katie Cotugno (Bf)
Ten Things I Can See From here by Carrie Mac (L)
Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin (GF)
Let's Call it a Doomsday by Katie Henry (Bf)
History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera (G)
Ziggy, Stardust & Me by James Brandon (G)
Bonus: Coming up in 2020, Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan features a bi male protag with GAD!


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Film: Saansein-The last breath
Producer: Goutam Kumar Jain
Director: Rajiv S Ruia
Rating: * * *
Horror with a difference…
It seems that once again the craze of horror movie is back in Bollywood. Rajniesh Duggal starrer Saansein: The last breath is one of the finest example of the same. Prior to this, Bollywood has witnessed some more horror flicks this year only. This is a compelling horror film and creating a buzz about the new trend and techniques used by the film maker. Apart from Rajniesh other stars in the movie are- Hiten Tejwani, Sonarika Bhadoria and Neetha Shetty. The film is produced by Goutam Kumar Jain and is directed by Rajiv S Ruia.
This is the fine blend of mystery, suspense and horror. The story is about a singer Shirin who performs at one of the best clubs in Mauritius. Her beauty invariably gets a lot of visitors interested in her. However Shirin never meets anyone and rather mysteriously disappears every night as soon as her performance is over. Even being close to her is horrifying. That's when Abhay enters the story. Having come to Mauritius for business, he happens to land up at the same club and falls for Shirin right away. Shirin ignores Abhay, but he refuses to give up. He makes up his mind to find what is actually keeping her away. And that's when he stumbles upon a secret that Shirin has. Abhay is not deterred. He swears to find a way for them to be together come what may. What follows is a harrowing tale that nightmares are made of. What is the secret that Shirin is hiding? And does Abhay manage to bring in peace? Or does he succumb to the fears that knows no boundaries?
Here director Rajiv S Ruia has beautifully managed every scene of the movie. The mind-blowing direction holds the attentions of the audience till end. For any of the horror movie, music and background music plays vital role in its success. Here the melodious music of Vivek Kar impresses the audience. Apart from that, the sound systems used are very impressive and powerful. Like a Hollywood horror movie, this film is able to create the real sensation inside the cinema hall.
Verdict: This film offers much more than a regular horror movie. Storyline, dialogues & Sound systems are the real focused area of the film that actually fetched the attention of the audience. We recommend the audience to visit their nearest theatre because horror movies can be best enjoyed in cinema hall only. It's a must watch movie.


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Cat C13 High Mount Low Pressure Replacement Turbocharger 743279-9001
Replaces OEM# 10R2027, 239-5581, 231-4140
Price Includes a $250.00 Core Charge. Core Charge will be refunded after we receive your Old Turbocharger.
1. A core credit will be issued when a core is presented and turned in; provided the core meets
Turbodaves's or manufacture's core acceptance/return policy standards.
2. We reserve the right to refuse to exchange at the flat price any core unit received for the
following conditions:
a. Core is not in an "as removed from engine condition".
b. Damage from improper removal methods.
c. Damage from fire, wreck or water.
d. Damage from improper packing and shipping.
e. Cannibalization of units. (Cannibalizing the rebuildable parts and substituting
scrap parts for exchange purposes.)
f. Disassembled cores or reassembled cores.
g. A conversion charge may be applicable, if the core returned is not like for like.
3. In the event no core is presented at the time of purchase, a core charge will be invoiced (if
the item being purchased is sold as an exchange unit).
4. All core charges must be paid (or an acceptable core returned) upon Purchase.
5. Core credit will be equal to the amount charged on the original invoice for an acceptable
6. Acceptable cores are to be returned 30 Days from date of original sales invoice for full
7. In order for core credit to be issued in a timely manner, customers should supply a copy of
the Turbodave's invoice/packing slip with the returned core.


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Brynn writes:
Here's an affordable chardonnay for all you oak haters out there. This chard is crisp, clean, has hints of citrus fruits and best of all — it's cheap!
I saw this wine recently at Costco and the label caught my eye. It looked like a Hedges Family Estate wine, but as I inspected the label all I could find was "Independent Producers" as the maker. The label also told me the grapes came from the famed Dionysus Vineyard and that the producers were against the 100-point wine-rating system (hence the 100 in the middle of a red circle with a line through it).
A quick search on the Internet though confirms my original suspicions — Hedges Family Estates is behind this wine. I have come to love some of their affordable wines like their CMS red and white, so I was happy to try this one too.
It's a good chardonnay, and as I said, a great one for those who truly despise the over-oaked chardonnays that have plagued the industry. Mineral notes take the stage with this wine, lending it a brightness that would pair well with a lemon chicken or white fish in a light citrus sauce. It reminds me somewhat of a white Burgundy from France.
Through my search to learn more about this "La Bourgeoisie" label and its anti-100-point system motto, I came across its website, www.scorevolution.com. Here's the producers' opinions about rating wine, as posted to the website:
"The 100 point rating system is a clumsy and useless tool for examining wine. If wine is, as we believe, a subjective, subtle, and experiential thing, then by nature it is unquantifiable. Wine scores are merely a static symbol, an absolute definition based on a singular contact with a wine, and thus completely ineffective when applied to a dynamic, evolving, and multifaceted produce."
For someone who often describes a wine she likes because, well it "just tastes good", I can appreciate this rebellion against the 100-point system. Bottom line, if you like a wine it shouldn't matter what rating it got, you're the one buying and drinking it afterall.
The 2010 La Bourgeoisie Chardonnay is available for under $15.


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For many people, cancer is a confronting experience, whether you have it yourself or someone close to you does. It's like the elephant in the room - do you talk about it, or do you pretend it's not happening and put on a cheery face? I could say this is a confronting book, simply because it's about Geoff's cancer (throat) and his road through operations, chemo and radiation therapy, but there's something about it - probably Geoff's gritty, straight take on things - that makes it engaging and enlightening. And not at all sentimental.
As well as the terrific poems (it's a verse novel), there is a strong, moving piece by his daughter, Grace, in the last section. This is Geoff's cancer and treatment from the point of view of close family, and it's equally honest. Randy Larcombe's photos add an often startling visual aspect to the story. Geoff was kind enough to answer some questions for me via email.
Did you start writing the poems for this book when you were diagnosed? Or are they more about remembering and reflecting?
I didn't start writing the poems when I was first diagnosed, I was too shell-shocked. When I appeared in an operating theatre for a biopsy several weeks later, my surgeon told me he was aware that I was a poet. He recommended that I should be writing about my experience, particularly in respect to the mis-diagnosis and poor treatment that I had encountered to that point. That set me thinking, but it was some weeks later, lying in bed at home recovering from the major neck dissection, that I began to write.
How hard was it to write without being melodramatic or distancing yourself? (I know this is not your style anyway, but this could have been different!)
I like to give a lot of thought to the topic I'm intending to write about before I put a sheet of paper in front of me. I don't want to be melodramatic – rather, I want to be honest, create some imagery and tell a good story.
The book feels like a verse novel - it tells a story. Were you conscious of that?
Initially I thought I was going to write a novel about my experiences. I lay in bed for some weeks thinking about how I was going to record my story and I was convinced that I should write it as a prose memoir. However, on 3rd May 2008 when I felt ready to write, the words came out as poetry and I knew that I had to follow that path. My first poem was 'The Seventh Doctor' and that set the pattern for another book of poetry. I was conscious of the fact that I wanted to structure the book as a verse novel and tell my story in a chronological form. The poems weren't written in the order of the book but were written randomly and were arranged by my editor.
I love 'The Seventh Doctor' - it feels like an expose of the public health system! Although it's clear how you felt when it was happening, the poem doesn't feel raw and spitting - it's a very crafted piece. Can you describe the writing of this one?
The first draft of 'The Seventh Doctor' was written over a five hour block; from 6pm through to 1am, as I lay in bed. I'd given my daughter strict instructions that I wasn't going to be taking any phone calls or accepting visitors that night. I'd been structuring the poem in my head all day and had the rhythm of the poem ready to go onto the page. The poem then went through a couple of typed drafts before I met with my editor, Graham Rowlands. (We have worked together for my twenty-five year career and I trust his judgement.) We sat around on his back lawn in the winter sun one afternoon and discussed the poem and I went away and re-worked some parts of the poem. They were small but significant changes. I kept playing with the poem too, for another year, making subtle changes, and after six drafts I knew I'd exhausted possibilities for myself.
Who is the book for? (apart from yourself and Grace) What do you think readers will get from it? Have you had any reactions from those who read the manuscript?
I conceived the book as an aid for anyone wanting to understand what it might be like to receive a diagnosis of cancer. But it's also for their family members and their friends. People are terrified of cancer, and rightly so. Most cancer patients are socially isolated because people avoid them because they don't know what to say to them - or they are worried that they will be too confronted by what they see. A lot of people are unfortunately going to get cancer and this book can provide them with a preview of what might be expected. And knowledge is power.What do you think the photos add?
The photos provide a great visual insight into the treatment and portray me in a vulnerable state in a way in which words might not quite have succeeded. They are revealing photos to accompany revealing poems and prose.
Whose idea was it to include Grace's story? What do you think it adds to the book?
Grace's story 'The C Word' was given to me on Christmas morning 2010 as my present. After opening the story I sat at the kitchen table and wept as I read her account. I had to read her story in bits and pieces throughout the day…and by the time I'd finished reading it I felt convinced it should accompany my poems and be part of the collection. Once Michael Bollen had read the story, he too believed it should book-end the poetry. Grace's story adds a great cross-generational emphasis and as my books often appear in classrooms as class sets for senior students, it provides a model for young and aspiring writers to trade off their own experiences and to lay words on the page using innovative formats.
How is your voice now? Performance is such a big part of your poetry - have you changed the way you read?
I've had a prosthesis installed, a synthetic voice box, which has been tuned to suit my original voice tone. If I speak in a 'normal conversational tone' most people wouldn't notice my voice to be appreciably different. However, if I try to raise my voice from say a 'Three' to an 'Eight' my voice will be quite crackly and full of static! My new work is quieter…I've structured it that way. But the poems are perhaps even more powerful than the voice of the Geoff Goodfellow from the mid-80s…it's just that the power is like the new Geoff… it's more controlled.Back to me: Waltzing with Jack Dancer is available, of course, at all good bookshops. But there are 200 limited edition hardback copies available through the Wakefield Press site - the site also has an extract of the book and footage from the book launch.


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University of California employees held a demonstration today on Bancroft Way at Telegraph on the fringe of the Cal campus to protest what they see as unfair pay, medical and retirement benefits.
The protest was organized by members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299.
The union's shop steward, Arnold Muza, said the union had met today with UC Berkeley and that the employees' contract had recently expired.
Some of the protesters held placards denouncing what they referred to as "UC greed" and they expressed their frustration with what they perceived to be an excessive retirement plan for UC President Mark Yudof, who is stepping down from his position this summer after five years in the job.
Local 3299 represents 20,000 University of California workers at the ten campuses and five medical centers. Workers represented include custodians, food service workers, cooks, bus drivers, licensed vocational nurses, nursing assistants, medical assistants and techs.
Would you like a digest of the day's Berkeley news in your inbox at the end of your working day? Click here to subscribe to Berkeleyside's free Daily Briefing.


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NFL owners cry poverty all the time, usually when they want a new stadium or new CBA. And because their books are private, there's little (save common sense) to dispute their claims. But the Green Bay Packers are publicly owned, and last week, the Packers released their financials.
If there's one number that tells us the most about the financial health of the league, it's the $187.7 million that the Packers and every other franchise received from the NFL in the 2013-14 fiscal year, the equally disbursed cut of national revenue that adds up to more than $6 billion, mostly from television contracts.
The Packers' numbers for last year, via the Press-Gazette:
National revenue: $187.7 million, 4.3 percent increase
Local revenue: $136.4 million, 6.4 percent increase
Total revenue: $324.1 million, 5.2 percent increase
Total expenses: $298.5 million, 17.6 percent increase
Profit from operations: $25.6 million, 52.9 percent decrease
Net income: $25.3 million, 41.3 percent decrease
It's hard to use Packer-specific numbers to say anything about local revenues for other teams, since Green Bay is definitely not your typical market. Their expenses for 2013 were also abnormally high—they are renovating Lambeau Field, and the timing on various contracts meant the Packers spent $171 million on player costs in a season where their actual payroll was about $118 million.
So you can't project that just because the Packers only cleared a $25.6 million profit last year, many owners must be losing money. They're not. Instead, your takeaway from this ought to be that all those owners received a $187.7 million check just for being NFL owners.


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Andrew Sullivan Loves the Release of a Good Document
Newsweek/Daily Beast celebupundit Andrew Sullivan really, really wants to see Trig Palin's birth certificate, thinks Obama should have released his earlier, and has lots of righteous things to say about how real reporters demand to see documents. Funny thing—we're trying to get documents about you, Andrew! Care to help?
Sullivan has seen the release of Obama's long-form birth certificate largely as an excuse to flog his favorite bugaboo—the notion that Trig Palin is not really Sarah Palin's child. The thorough demolition of that conspiracy by Salon's Justin Elliott last week seems to have merely reinforced Sullivan's obsession, and his response boils down to: Reporters should demand to see Trig's birth certificate, simply because they can, and Palin is obligated to release, simply because they asked.
By the same token, there was nothing wrong with Trump demanding Obama's birth records—indeed, he was doing the media's job—and Obama should have released them sooner. Transparency!
I think this should have been done long ago. Because a president has to put his public responsibilities before his pride and his privacy. That's the price of the job — to defuse or debunk conspiracy theorists or just skeptics with all the relevant information you have.
It's also the job of the media always to press for more information, not less.... Get over yourselves, MSM. And do your job — not defending the right of people in power to protect themselves, but scrutinizing them relentlessly, with every fact and document you can get. You don't defuse conspiracy theories or end legitimate doubts by telling public officials they need not provide clear and available evidence to rebut them. Yes, some will still suspect. But many will walk away. That's worth doing.
Elsewhere, Sullivan wrote of Trump: "I don't have a problem with wealthy individuals using their money to get more information on public figures. That used to be called journalism; and if journalists are busy preening about their restraint, rather than proving their anti-establishment tenacity, more power to the outsiders."
It's a rousing call to arms for journalists following the paper trails of the powerful! We were truly inspired. And as it happens, we've been on Sullivan's trail for more than a year, seeking documents about his 2009 citation for possession of marijuana on federal land and the suspicious circumstances under which it was dismissed by the U.S. Attorney. We're heartened to know Sullivan's feelings on how relentlessly reporters ought to pursue public figures, and pleased to know he will help us get documents about the pot bust by providing us with a privacy waiver allowing the federal government to release records about him. Right, Andrew?
Background: On July 13, 2009, Sullivan was issued a notice of violation—basically a federal ticket—for carrying marijuana in the Cape Cod National Seashore, near Provincetown, Mass., where he keeps a summer home. According to the notice—a copy of which is at left—a plainclothes National Park Police officer saw Sullivan smoking a joint near Herring Cove Beach, a popular nude swimming hole. Sullivan was under the impression that smoking small amounts of pot was legal in Massachusetts—which it is—but neglected to consider that he was on federal land, where it's a Class B misdemeanor. Sullivan handed over the joint and another one in his pocket, and the cop issued a $125 ticket.
None of which is even remotely noteworthy. What's weird is that a month later, the office of the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts asked a federal magistrate judge to dismiss the notice of violation "in the interests of justice." The judge, Robert Colling, demanded an explanation, and prosecutors replied that, at the time, Sullivan—who is a British citizen—was "applying for a certain immigration status in the United States" and that "if Mr. Sullivan were to [pay the $125 fine], it would have an adverse effect on his application." Colling reluctantly granted the prosecutors' request, but not before writing an 11-page opinion accusing them of "flout[ing] the bedrock principle of our legal system that all persons stand equal before the law":
[W]hy should the United States Attorney make a judgment that, despite the immigration law, the charge should be dismissed because it would "adversely affect" his application? If other applicants for a certain immigration status have had their applications "adversely affected" by a conviction or a forfeiture of collateral for possession of marijuana, then why should Mr. Sullivan, who is in the same position, not have to deal with the same consequences?
The implicit answer, of course, is, "Because Andrew Sullivan is famous and goes on Bill Maher and Barack Obama reads his blog." Colling concluded the opinion by writing that "fidelity to the law requires that the Court grant leave to the United States Attorney to dismiss the Violation Notice against Mr. Sullivan, and the Court hereby grants such leave. That the Court must so act does not require the Court to believe that the end result is a just one."
Sullivan didn't have much to say at the time about the special treatment. It's worth noting that his effort to gain permanent residency in the U.S. was complicated by two profound injustices: That his HIV status was taken into account, and that his marriage to a U.S. citizen wasn't. So it's not hard to see how his application could be complicated even by an insignificant little misdemeanor, nor is it hard to see why he would use all the leverage in his power to make that misdemeanor go away. Earlier this month, after an 18-year struggle, he finally got his green card. So he is presumably free now to acknowledge what strings he pulled, if any, to make that happen. According to records we got from the National Park Service, there were 71 notices of violation issued in Cape Cod National Seashore for possession of a controlled substance in the summer of 2009. Sullivan's was the only one dismissed at the request of prosecutors.
We filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts and the National Park Service last year seeking all records they had concerning the notice of violation and subsequent decision to drop the matter. Both were originally denied on the grounds that releasing the records would violate Sullivan's personal privacy. We appealed; the U.S. Attorney responded, dubiously, that it had nothing beyond what's in the court file, and the Park Service hasn't replied yet.
But both requests could be dispatched rather quickly if Sullivan would furnish a privacy waiver instructing the Park Service and U.S. Attorney to release documents about him.
So what do you say, Andrew? Do your admonitions about lazy reporters and documents and public figures obtain when the figure is you? Will you help us scrutinize you relentlessly, with every fact and document we can get, and help us get to the bottom of an episode that a U.S. magistrate judge described as a "derogation of the principle that all persons stand equal before the law"? Shoot me an e-mail and I'll get you the waiver form.


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Rachael Ray Dinnerware Round and Square 4-Piece Salad Plate Set, Green Apple 8.5in
Product Details
Get round and square shapes all in one collection! With Rachael Ray's dinnerware collection, Round & Square, get a grip on table setting with these easy to hold and fun shapes. Each Salad Plate Set includes four 8-1/2-inch salad plates. The unique shape of these plates combine round traditional design with a modern and contemporary squared shape at the base - the best of both worlds! Deliciously hued, these vibrantly colored pieces add energy and flair to any kitchen. Stoneware dinnerware is non-reactive to foods, beautiful and functional with excellent ability in maintaining heat to keep foods warm. Pieces are microwave safe and dishwasher safe as an additional bonus.
Check out the whole collection! With Round & Square, you can entertain friends in the complete collection for a pulled together look and table setting for style and function. Rachael Ray dinnerware collections are great for both casual meals and entertaining for special occasions. Mix and match for a uniquely you style combination or collect a single, vibrant color collection - either way you'll look good doing it and delight your friends while you're at it!


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Kennedy Branch announces change in hours, additional program
The North Bergen Free Public Library & Learning Center Kennedy Branch, 2123 Kennedy Blvd., will now be open on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., effective Nov. 4.
The Kennedy Branch will be offering an additional 10-week English for Beginners course beginning on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 3 p.m. The workload will consist of studying vocabulary and completing homework.
Registration is currently under way. If interested, visit the reception desk. There is a $20 registration fee, which includes a dictionary, workbook, and flash cards.
For more information on the new hours or course, call (20) 869-4715, ext. 6.
Park Players 'Wizard of Oz' production weekends of Nov. 8-10 & 15-17
"Go off to see the Wizard, the wonderful 'Wizard of Oz.' " At The Church of the Good Shepherd, 1576 Palisade Ave., Fort Lee, that is.
That's where The Park Players, formerly of The Park Theatre in Union City and Weehawken,
are staging their newest production, "The Wizard of Oz," on Nov. 8, 9, 15, and 16 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 10 and 17 at 5 p.m.
The performance includes many residents and former residents of Hudson County, including North Bergen, Guttenberg, and Union City.
Ticket prices are $16, $14 (students/seniors), and $12 (groups of 10 or more).
For reservations, call (201) 941-6030. Tickets can also be purchased by visiting www.brownpapertickets.com or the Players' website, www.parkplayers.com.
Fish and chips benefit at Grove Reformed Church
Grove Reformed Church will hold its annual Fish and Chips Dinner on Nov. 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the church, 46th Street and Kennedy Blvd.
Tickets are $14 for adults and $7 for children under 9 years old. All proceeds go to the college scholarship fund.
The dinner will be held in the church house, behind the church. Enter for parking off of 46th Street.
For more information, call (201) 863-7030 or visit www.grovereformedchurch.org.
Child advocate group holds informational session on Nov. 12
Are you interested in helping children in the foster care system? If so, Hudson County CASA (court appointed special advocate) is recruiting volunteers to advance the best interests of abused and neglected children.
An informational session, addressing the program and the role of its volunteers, will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 12, from 6 to 7 p.m. in Room 400 of the Hudson County Administration Building, 595 Newark Ave., Jersey City.
CASA works through trained community volunteers to ensure that needed services and assistance are made available to children while helping to move them toward safe and permanent homes. Its volunteers speak for children in court, serve as fact finders for judges, and safeguard children's interests while they are in the foster care system.
Hudson County has nearly 700 children in foster care; most have been removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect.
For more information, call (201) 795-9855, e-mail email@example.com or visit www.hudsoncountycasa.org.
Hudson Learning Center seeking votes
The Hudson Learning Center, a local education and tutoring center, has applied for a $250,000 grant from Chase as part of a newly launched program, Mission Main Street Grants, and is seeking your helping in getting it.
The center must submit a questionnaire outlining a business plan that will result in growth of the business and receive at least 250 votes to be eligible for the monies.
Customers, supporters, and community members can show support for the center by voting at www.missionmainstreetgrants.com using Facebook Connect. The deadline is Nov. 15, 2013.
The Hudson Learning Center's mission is to provide affordable learning solutions to the urban community.
Garden State Episcopal Community Development Center and PERC announce merger
In a major move between two Hudson County nonprofits, Garden State Episcopal Community Development Corporation (GSECDC) of Jersey City and Palisades Emergency Residence Corp. (PERC) of Union City announced their alignment on Oct. 24. Under the terms of agreement, PERC is now a subsidiary of GSECDC.
"GSECDC and PERC are a great fit, and we are committed to growing our common mission," said Carol Mori, now executive director of both agencies. "Our merger will improve services to all of the people we serve, creating a stronger continuum of caring, which leads from emergency relief to housing stability."
Since 1986, GSECDC continues to be a regional leader in affordable housing development, social services, and supportive housing. Founded in 1981, PERC is Hudson County's first homeless shelter. PERC provides emergency shelter, a soup kitchen, food pantry, and other social services, including PERC Kids Homework Club.
The Rev. Birgit Solano, past president of the PERC Board of Trustees, said the idea for the merger began more than two years ago when the agency was struggling financially with reduced federal and foundational support at a time of dramatically increasing need.
"The board met to explore options and concluded that its primary duty was to ensure the long term continuation of its mission," Rev. Solano said.
"In the past four years, PERC nearly doubled the number of shelter nights provided, the number of meals served, and we have tripled the number of families receiving groceries through our food pantry," Rev. Solano continued. "This merger will provide stability to PERC, and more importantly, improved services to the community."
Mori said that the agencies worked closely for the last couple of years, leading to better client outcomes. "We are very excited about our future together. GSECDC continues to expand our housing and program services. North Hudson County is an important part of this strategy, and we will continue to provide the same or better levels of supportive services to this area."
Palisades Medical Center holding community health screening
Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen partners with the North Hudson Community Action Corporation, Christ Hospital School of Nursing, and Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey to provide free health screenings and education programs.
The next of these events is Sunday, Nov. 3, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at St. Anthony's Church, 615 8th Street, Union City.
There will be free screenings and information on: blood pressure, heart rate, percentage of oxygen in the blood, peak flow/respiratory, body mass index, sugar, and cholesterol.
Palisades Medical Center's community outreach and education programs are funded in part by the TD Charitable Foundation, Abbott Nutrition, the Aetna Foundation, The Provident Bank Foundation, and Schering-Plough Corporation.
For more information, call Joanne Riggs at (201) 854-5793.


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A divided New York federal appeals court has given the go-ahead to an Internet company offering inexpensive live television online.
The 2-to-1 ruling Monday cleared the way for Aereo's expansion of a service that had been limited to New York City until this year. The company has announced plans to expand to Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington and 18 other U.S. markets.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan agreed with a lower-court judge. They say the service does not appear to violate copyright law because subscribers are assigned to their own tiny antennas at Aereo's Brooklyn data center.
Broadcasters had appealed the lower court ruling. In a dissent, Judge Denny Chin says Aereo violates the Copyright Act and calls the company's individual tiny antennas a "sham."


text: Sunday January 29th 07.00pm CET – The Lost Garden Radio Show STROM:KRAFT presents The Lost Garden Radio Show by Garden Garden on Electronica Channel. 07.00pm (CET) – Misha Poker & El Mariachi – Slow Cosmos Player Informations! web player Media player *** NEW listen.pls *** iPhone & iPad App *** NEW *** Android player radio.de rad.io


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Scientific American reports on research conducted by Krista L. McGuire, Barnard assistant professor of biology, in an article titled "Why Manhattan's Green Roofs Don't Work--and How to Fix Them." An excerpt:
"Her study, published in PLoS ONE last April, found that green roofs have distinct fungal communities that help plants to thrive in harsh, polluted environments and filter heavy metals. On average, 109 different types of fungi were present on each roof including Pseudallescheria fimeti, a fungus that grows in polluted soils and human-dominated environments. Rooftop soil also contained fungi from the genus Peyronellaea, which live in the tissues of plants to help them take in nutrients.
McGuire hopes her research will be able to help inform green roof companies on planting the best species for each rooftop. Three of the rooftops, which received more intensive sampling, showed that fungal communities are different from one roof to another. Roofs are microclimates, McGuire says. Fungal growth depends on the position of the roof, pollution levels in the area, temperature and how much rainfall it receives. 'Plant species are adapting to new environments," she says. "Without the fungi, the plants would not be able to grow and survive.'
'In the long term, this information may help individuals decide which types of soil microbes to amend on their green roofs, so that they can maximize plant survival and minimize management,' she says."
Prof. McGuire's primary research interests include determining the factors that structure microbial communities, how mycorrhizal fungi influence plant community structure, the impacts of global change on microbes, and tropical ecology.
Together with their students, Prof. McGuire and Hilary Callahan, Barnard associate professor of biological sciences, are using The Diana Center's green roof and similar spaces throughout the city to investigate the ecological and biological benefits of these sky-high gardens. Watch a video about the project.