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September 2008
Booker T. Washington High School for The Performing And Visual Arts
|Selected Characteristics of Magnet School and Host Districta
|Magnet School: Booker T. Washington High School
|Host District: Dallas Independent School District
|Year Established as Magnet
|Mid-size City
|Urban, Large
|Performing and visual arts
|384 square miles
|MSAPb Funded
|Received two or three cycles of funding in the late 1980s and early-mid 1990s
|696 students
|9,018 magnet enrolled students/159,752 total student enrollment
|Student Ethnicity
|26% Hispanic
42% White
3% Asian American
1% Native American
|Student Ethnicity
(grades K-12)
|64% Hispanic
29% African-American
5% White
<1% Asian American
|Special Education
|Special Educationc
|Free or Reduced-price Lunch
|Free or Reduced-price Lunchc
|English Language Learners
|English Language Learnersc
a Source: Texas Education Agency, 2006–07 Campus Performance, Academic Excellence Indicator System, http://www.tea.state.tx.us
b U.S. Department of Education's Magnet Schools Assistance program
c For grades 9–12
A girl perfecting her folklorico movements, a group of students rehearsing a mime performance, a boy practicing the cello—these are but a few snippets of daily life for young artists at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (BTWHSPVA). Students playing instruments, rehearsing, or displaying paintings are not unusual sights at most high schools. But what sets BTWHSPVA apart is the markedly high caliber of its students' accomplishments in both arts and academics.
Distinguished alumni—including Norah Jones, Erykah Badu, and Roy Hargrove—collectively have won 22 Grammy awards. High-quality, professional-caliber works of art—all created by students—line the hallways and fill displays throughout the school. A gallery showcases visual arts created by the school's seniors.
Serving 705 ninth- through 12th-grade students in the Dallas Independent School District (DISD), BTWHSPVA is the school of choice for students with special talents and the commitment to develop their potential. BTWHSPVA's mission is to provide intensive training in both arts and academics. The school's track record in both areas has earned it a reputation as one of the premier arts high schools in the country.
BTWHSPVA began in a facility built in 1922 to house the first African-American high school in Dallas. In 1955, that school had expanded and become a vocational and technical school. Then, in 1976, when the Texas Supreme Court ordered the district to desegregate its schools, DISD created a magnet program and established BTWHSPVA as an "arts magnet" to help attract a more diverse student population. In 2003, the court lifted the order, finding that DISD had successfully integrated its schools.
Mission and Curriculum
BTWHSPVA is a school for the arts—both performing and visual. The school's program is divided into four arts clusters, and each prospective student applies to one: Dance, Music, Theatre, or Visual Arts. Each cluster offers a set of classes that include training in the performance, technical, production, and theoretical aspects of the cluster's particular art form. In addition, students take academic courses to meet Texas graduation requirements. As one parent explains, "This is really two parallel high schools—a conservatory running parallel with an academic structure."
BTWHSPVA's rigorous academic offerings include 19 Advanced Placement (AP) courses—a large number for such a small student population. The College Board commended BTWHSPVA for its rigorous academic curriculum and recognized BTWHSPVA as having the strongest AP Music Theory course in the nation. The commitment to academics is also evident in BTWHSPVA's no-pass-no-play rule—students must be in good academic standing in their classes in order to be allowed to participate in any of the school's art performances.
Teachers spend a lot of effort and time ensuring that their academic curriculum covers required standards and content and that classes harness the creativity of BTWHSPVA's students. Master teachers, like Sidney Poitier, the late Gregory Hines, and Marvin Hamlisch, have come to talk to students about being a professional artist, earning an adequate living, auditioning for jobs, and finding a unique voice. Artists within the community often visit to help prepare students for interviews. Professional artists show students how to interact with adults, put together a portfolio, and converse through a mock interview. Students frequently attend professional arts performances and have opportunities to go backstage to see what happens behind the scenes.
Ensuring Student Success
Admission to the school is highly competitive. There are, on average, 500 applicants for 190 open spots for incoming freshmen. The district requires students to have a minimum level of academic achievement to be eligible for magnet schools, but BTWHSPVA considers another factor—all prospective students must audition or submit a portfolio of their artwork. If an applicant's audition or portfolio is strong enough, the BTWHSPVA selection committee can choose to waive the district's academic requirements.
Because of this admissions process, the school brings in many students who need help academically, so the school and community provide a variety of supports. The staff have created a remedial Reading Improvement class for incoming freshmen. Teachers offer tutoring before and after school each day. Some teachers offer tutorials on Sundays to accommodate students who have practices and rehearsals during the week. Each cluster also has a coordinator who personally follows up with any student whom teachers identify as being in danger of failing a class.
Throughout the school, there is an emphasis on college preparation. In a college preparatory course called "Portfolio," working artists talk about life as an artist, giving students a realistic view of art as a profession. All BTWHSPVA students create a portfolio for themselves, and every year the school participates in National Portfolio Day, when representatives of visual arts colleges and art institutes travel to high schools across the country and seniors show their portfolios.
The school also hosts a "Senior Showcase" for college representatives. During this multiday event, students from each cluster perform and present their best work. Prior to the showcase, students have to take headshots, create resumes, and sometimes film their work and create a DVD. Each cluster then creates a booklet, complete with resumes, headshots, and a brief background about that particular arts cluster, which is given to each college representative. The Julliard School and the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater program are just a few of the prestigious post-secondary institutions that attend.
With the commitment to arts and academics, the school day and week are much longer for students at BTWHSPVA compared to those at traditional public schools. The long hours and small student population foster close working relationships between adults and students. The extended school community also supports students. Adult mentors meet weekly with juniors and seniors who need extra guidance to prepare them for applying to colleges. The Advisory Board stages mock interviews for students at the junior grade level. Board members help them navigate their way through practice interviews and then give feedback to cluster coordinators, who use that information to better prepare students and to improve upon targeted areas.
Building School Capacity
BTWHSPVA's Advisory Board plays a large role in the school's success. Designated a 501-(c)(3) nonprofit, the board is comprised mainly of volunteers, including the school principal, plus two paid positions, including an executive director. Most of its 45 members are representatives of local arts organizations. It has raised and distributed funds for teachers to undertake collaborative projects. An endowment fund started in 1988 currently holds $1.3 million, earmarked solely for supporting students. It helps students participate in extracurricular and summer arts programs and provides graduation caps and gowns for seniors who cannot afford these items.
The Advisory Board was instrumental in a recent capital campaign to raise $55 million to build a new facility. A pivotal factor in the campaign's success turned out to be the 2003 Grammy show, when Norah Jones, a BTWHSPVA alumnus, won eight awards, drawing local attention to the school. Soon afterward, the board secured a $500,000 donation, which in turn garnered more trust from the local community. When asked what was the key to securing large donations, the assistant campaign director points out that "all of the big donors have visited the school." The school clearly sells itself.
DISD, a large urban district that oversees 28 magnet schools, supported BTWHSPVA's capital campaign. It passed a $1 billion bond that was dedicated to capital improvements throughout the district, and DISD has given $23 million to BTWHSPVA's campaign. The campaign is the district's first public-private partnership.
All of BTWHSPVA's teachers—whether focused on academics or arts—must have an arts background to join the staff. As a result, students are able to go to any teacher in the building to be mentored and to learn from professional artists. Parents also play a large role in BTWHSPVA's success through their membership in the Parent-Teacher-Student Association (PTSA). Each arts cluster has a parent guild, which one teacher describes as being "like an individual PTA." One of them, the Theatre Guild, has 100 members and has raised money for costumes, to cover the costs of students' headshots, and for students to attend performances outside of school.
Achievement and Outcomes
BTWHSPVA is "more of a community than just a school," says one parent, noting that the sense of community is due mainly to the long hours that both staff and students keep. The school's assistant principal says he felt he "died and went to heaven" when he joined the BTWHSPVA staff because students are so cooperative and their interactions with adults are so respectful and positive.
Over 90 percent of BTWHSPVA graduates attend postsecondary institutions, garnering scholarships in excess of $5 million, while the other graduates generally enter an arts profession immediately or join the military. The school's awards are numerous. The National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts named BTWHSPVA as one of the "Top 5 Arts High Schools" in the country. It was the first school in the district to receive a National Blue Ribbon Award for Exemplary Education from the U.S. Department of Education. BTWHSPVA also shares the honor, with one other school, of producing more Presidential Scholars in the arts (the Presidental Scholars Program is a national recognition program administered by the U.S. Department of Education for excellence in academics and the arts) than any other school in the southwestern United States.
Table 9 compares the percentages of 10th- and 11th-grade students scoring proficient and above on 2007 TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) English language arts and mathematics assessments with district and state achievement rates. The comparison indicates that BTWHSPVA percentages exceeded those of the district and state.
Table 9. Percentages of 10th- and 11th-Grade Students Who Scored Proficient And Above on 2007 State Assessments at Booker T. Washington High School For the Performing and Visual Arts as Compared to the District and the State
|Grade and Subject
|Dallas Independent
School District
|State of Texas
|Grade 10 English Language Arts
|Grade 10 Mathematics
|Grade 11 English Language Arts
|Grade 11 Mathematics
Source: Texas Education Agency, 2006–07 Campus Performance, Academic Excellence Indicator System, http://www.tea.state.tx.us


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US struggles to protect its superpower image
Washington: As America's chief diplomat, John Kerry is one of the world's most powerful men, though this week he has not looked it. Or perhaps it is just that America itself has not been looking quite so powerful of late. Friends, allies and foes seem to have been ignoring the "indispensable nation".
On Sunday, the Secretary of State travelled to Egypt to meet President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. He reassured Sisi of America's support and told him military aid that had been suspended would soon resume, including the delivery of attack helicopters the Egyptian military was desperate to get its hands on. He took care to remind Sisi how concerned the United States was by reports of human abuses. He specifically raised the prosecution of journalists, including the Australian Peter Greste.
"He gave me a very strong sense of his commitment to make certain that the process he has put in place, a re-evaluation of human rights legislation, a re-evaluation of the judicial process, and other choices that are available are very much on his mind," Kerry said after the meeting.
Kerry's aircraft had barely taken off when the journalists were handed their bizarre sentences.
The following day in Iraq, Kerry met Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Publically he was there to encourage Maliki to build a unity government in the face of an onslaught by ISIL militants. Privately the message he delivered was that Maliki had to go.
Maliki has ignored him on both counts so far, and had some stern words about Washington's failure to deliver.
"We bought 36 F-16 American jet fighters, as usual the American process was slow and very long-winded and so far we have not had any deliveries," he told BBC Arabic.
"Therefore . . . and frankly I don't mind if the world hears about it, we have bought second-hand jet fighters from Russia that should arrive in Iraq in two or three days."
On Tuesday, despite American calls for restraint, pro-Russian militants shot down a Ukrainian military helicopter in eastern Ukraine with a missile fired from a portable air-defence system.
Russian aggression in Ukraine has been causing particular concern in Poland, which has been leading the diplomatic effort to ensure Western support for its neighbour's sovereignty.
This week a weekly Polish news magazine published what appears to be a secret recording of the country's foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, telling Poland's former finance minister that "the Polish-US alliance isn't worth anything".
As the BBC primly put it, he likened Poland's stance in the alliance to providing oral sex and said such a subservient position could only lead to conflict with Germany and Russia.
"[We are] suckers, total suckers. The problem in Poland is that we have shallow pride and low self-esteem,'' Mr Sikorski was quoted as saying.
He has not denied using such language, though Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski told reporters on Monday that the US was a "very important ally and partner".
The reports of his comments fuelled vitriolic domestic criticism of Kerry and the broader Obama administration for what opponents claim is a foreign policy that has either caused or contributed to violence and instability in Europe and the Middle East and failed to check China's growing aspirations in the Pacific.
As ISIL forces surged over the Syrian border seizing towns and cities in northern Iraq, the suppurating wound the 2003 invasion left on the American polity tore open. The neo-conservatives who championed the war took to the ramparts to blame Obama for failing to maintain security in Iraq and demand that America return in force.
"Rarely has a US president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many," wrote former vice-president and Iraq war architect Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz in a joint Wall Street Journal opinion piece.
"Mr Obama had only to negotiate an agreement to leave behind some residual American forces, training and intelligence capabilities to help secure the peace. Instead, he abandoned Iraq and we are watching American defeat snatched from the jaws of victory."
Even reliable allies to conservatives, like Fox News' Megyn Kelly, were affronted. ''But time and time again, history has proven that you got it wrong as well in Iraq, sir," she said to Cheney when he appeared on her program. "You said there were no doubts Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. You said we would greeted as liberators. You said the Iraq insurgency was in the last throes back in 2005. And you said that after our intervention, extremists would have to, quote, 'rethink their strategy of jihad'. Now with almost a trillion dollars spent there, with 4500 American lives lost there, what do you say to those who say, you were so wrong about so much at the expense of so many?"
James Fallows called for the hawks to fall silent, writing in The Atlantic that Cheney and his ilk had been "wrong as a matter of analysis, wrong as a matter of planning, wrong as a matter of execution, wrong in conceiving American interests in the broadest sense. None of these people did that intentionally, and many of them have honestly reflected and learned. But we now live with (and many, many people have died because of) the consequences of their gross misjudgements a dozen years ago. In the circumstances, they might have the decency to shut the hell up on this particular topic for a while. They helped create the disaster Iraqis and others are now dealing with. They have earned the right not to be listened to."
This debate might be irrelevant except that it is against this backdrop that America's response is being considered, and its broader foreign policy being defined. Is the cool response of "No Drama Obama" to crisis careful moderation or dangerous fecklessness?
Barry Posen, director of MIT's Security Studies Program and author of the new book Restraint: A New Foundation For US Grand Strategy, believes Obama is still captive to the notion of "Liberal Hegemony" – that America has a responsibility to impose its liberal world view where it can around the world.
But he says the tone in what he calls the "deep state" of DC's foreign policy pundit class has started to change.
In an interview with Fairfax Media this week he said until recently anyone who championed restraint or moderation in foreign policy was immediately silenced with the charge of being isolationist. Now, he says, the debate is allowed to continue.
"If you keep telling people everyday, about every issue, that it is 1938, at some point people are going to stop and say 'is this really true?'" he says.
Posen believes that through his observation of foreign policy as a senator and his experience as president, Obama has now developed a "proper scepticism for the military as an implement" though he remains a little too "exuberant" in his use of limited strikes and special forces.
If Posen is right, this could be what we are seeing in the White House response to the ISIL attack in Iraq. Obama has ruled out deploying troops but is keeping open the option of air strikes.
Posen is one of a small but noticeable chorus of experts advocating Obama do nothing at all in Iraq. He argues that the US should only use force to protect its territorial integrity, sovereignty, safety or power position.Indeed Posen goes further, arguing that since the end of the Cold War the US made itself central to many nations' politics and that this has made it easier for those nations to blame America when things go wrong.
Obama's response to date appears to be in line with his recent West Point speech on foreign policy, in which he declared America would use unilateral force to defend its interests and that it would defend it allies, but in other circumstances that called for military action it would seek to foster and lead international coalitions.
His critics say this creates too much uncertainty among allies and potential adversaries. After all, a system of alliances underpinned by the world's most powerful military loses deterrent effect unless adversaries believe that that military would be engaged.
Congressman Randy Forbes, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told Fairfax Media this week he believes the Obama administration has fostered such uncertainty, particularly in the Pacific, the arena to which the Obama administration has been trying to "pivot".
He says it was "unfortunate" that the rhetoric of the pivot, announced by the previous secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was accompanied by military budget restraint and cuts to the size of the US Navy.
Forbes says he agrees with Tony Abbott, who told him at dinner earlier this month that US allies want more American leadership rather than less, and that they believe America can restore its confidence and deliver it.
What is less clear, Forbes remembers Abbott saying, is whether America itself still has that confidence.
Nick O'Malley is a senior writer and a former US correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Detroit Red Wings beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 in Florida Thursday.
Nyquist scores winner against Panthers
The Detroit Red Wings were finally able to dominate the Florida Panthers.
Gustav Nyquist scored the go-ahead goal in the second period, helping lift the Red Wings over the Panthers 3-1 on Thursday night.
The Panthers had beaten the Red Wings three of their last four games, including a 5-4 shootout victory on Jan. 26 in Detroit. Each of the previous games was decided by one goal.
"They've been tough for us so far this year," Nyquist said. "I think we've been up almost every game in the third and they've found a way to come back on us to get a point or two."
Brian Lashoff and Daniel Alfredsson also scored and Jimmy Howard made 23 saves as the Red Wings ended a four-game road losing streak.
"Good win for our team," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said.
Scottie Upshall scored and Tim Thomas stopped 30 shots for Florida, which has lost four of its last five.
Detroit took a 2-1 lead when Nyquist grabbed a rebound in the slot in the Red Wings' zone, brought it along the left boards and beat Thomas high on the stick side at 13:22. Nyquist has nine goals in his last nine games.
"I just tried to catch the goalie a little bit off guard, shoot it quick," Nyquist said.
Lashoff added an empty-net goal with 20 seconds left.
Howard withstood a late surge by the Panthers, with 16 shots in the third. He stopped Bergenheim on a breakaway with 3:40 left, and the Panthers had a power-play at 17:34 of the third, but only got off two shots.
"Down a goal, you knew they were going to throw everything at the net," Howard said. "I just tried to get to the top of the paint and make myself as big as possible."
Florida took a 1-0 lead in the first despite a slow start. Upshall came out of the penalty box just in time to take a pass from Tomas Kopecky behind the Red Wings' defence. His wrist shot from the slot went five-hole on Howard with 26 seconds left in the period — only the second shot of the game for Florida.
"It was great to have that 1-0 lead, but we never picked up any momentum off of it," Thomas said. "In the third period, we had a push, but too little too late."
The Red Wings tied it at 1 on Alfredsson's power-play goal at 6:30 of the second when he found a loose puck in front and swept it past Thomas' stick.
The Red Wings are hoping to finish strong before the Olympic break and have won three of their past four.
"We're gaining some confidence here and putting a good stretch together," Alfredsson said. "We need one good effort here before the break to put ourselves in a better situation."
The Panthers, coming off a season-high 48 shots Tuesday against Toronto, managed only two shots in the first, a season-low for a period. At the end of the second, they were outshot 23-8.
"They outworked us, simple as that," Panthers coach Peter Horachek said. "When we're going, we're working, when we're not, we have eight shots after two periods."
NOTES: Red Wings centre Pavel Datsyuk, who missed the past 14 games with a lower-body injury, returned to the lineup Thursday. … D Jakub Kindl missed the game with a lower-body injury. … Kopecky recorded his 100th NHL assist . . . The Wings will face Tampa Bay Saturday (7 p.m., FSN Plus).


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30 May 2001 New Market, VA to Gettysburg, PA via WV and MD
After a sleep that made me glad I was in a warm sleeping bag in New Market, VA, I got up at 6:30 am and made hot water using the electrical supply from the camp site. I remembered the first morning I was walking around in Harper's Ferry and I saw a big RV leaving his site to depart. Behind him was 25 ft of electrical cord. He had forgotten to disconnect his power cord from the box. I flagged him down and he was a bit embarrassed. I was thinking when I plugged in today, that I don't want to do that! I used the next two hours to replace batteries and look for the elusive tire air pressure gauge. Hmmmm it's here somewhere.
|Electrical cord through the window of my van
|Sheep at the New Market campground
Leaving the nearly empty campground I drove back through the interesting little town of New Market. I had meant to look in the "Old Books Store" but it wasn't open when I passed. I wanted to get to the New Market Historic Battlefield from the Civil War and Hall of Valor run by the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). It was just west of the town. A few of us early birds asked them to show the film at 9am as they opened, so they did. It was a stirring and poignant film about the VMI Cadets and their brave participation in the battle against the Union General Sheridan, and his men. They marched from their boarding school in Lexington VA to New Market VA and about 10 boys were killed.
|New Market Battlefield from Hall of Valor site
|Cannon at the New Market VA Battlefield
|View of Shenandoah River
I talked to the people at the PA Visitors' Center at the border and got a bunch more pamphlets and maps. Within the hour I was checking into the KOA at Gettysburg, PA. Again this campground was not full. I decided on a campground because all the motels seem to cost $75/night minimum. Anyway, I got to use my coupon for a free night. After 5 nights, at KOA, you get one free until 3 July, so I might as well take advantage of that. But I did get a site with electricity. Might as well, it doesn't cost that much more.
Then off to the National Park Service Visitor's Center at Gettysburg. Overwhelmed might be a good term to describe the feeling of all the people, and all the choices of what to do to see everything at this battlefield. I decided to see an orientation film, then see the "Electrical Map" that depicts the different battle lines from 1 to 3 July 1863. Lee thought he had a good chance of gaining ground in the North, after their big win in Chancellorsville, VA. But the three days of fighting and ending with the classic frontal assault "Pickett's Charge" left thousands dead and forced Lee to retreat back to the South. Four months later Abraham Lincoln came to dedicate the cemetery as a
|Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
|At Gettysburg Peace Monument
|View of the famous Gettysburg "Stone Wall"
Tomorrow I'll see more of the Gettysburg Battlefield.


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WASHINGTON — Show me your hands, or your dance moves.
A DC police officer helped defuse a fight between teenagers in a Washington park by challenging one of them to a dance-off.
Seventeen-year-old Aaliyah Taylor says the officer arrived Monday and when she saw Taylor dancing to the popular song, "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)," the officer laughed and said she had better dance moves.
What happened next was a dance-off between the officer and the girl. Onlookers recorded the dance battle on their cellphones.
The officer said if she won, the teens had to leave the area.
After several minutes of dancing, the two hugged and everyone left the area, according to The Washington Post.


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Multi-platinum recording artist Trace Adkins and Emmy and Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth return as hosts of the third annual AMERICAN COUNTRY AWARDS, airing from Las Vegas this December on FOX. The awards show will take place at Mandalay Bay. Nominations to be announced soon.
"The ACAs honor the best and brightest of country music, from the hotshot breakthrough artists to the icons," said Adkins. "I'm looking forward to cutting loose again with Kristin, who's quite the firecracker comedienne, while we also take viewers through an evening of great music and awards."
"I'm excited to return to the ACA stage with Trace and his big personality and even bigger boots," said Chenoweth. "We had a blast last year and I plan to pull out all the stops to make sure everyone has a good time!"
The AMERICAN COUNTRY AWARDS is the only country music awards show that gives fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite artists not only in traditional categories but also in previously unrecognized areas of the business such as touring, encompassing the entire spectrum of country music and bestowing honors that no other awards show has.
The second annual AMERICAN COUNTRY AWARDS featured performances by Alabama, Eli Young Band, Toby Keith, Pistol Annies, Blake Shelton, The Band Perry, Thompson Square and Chris Young, as well as by co-hosts Adkins and Chenoweth. The special also featured appearances by Lauren Alaina, Kyle Busch, Rodney Carrington, Bill Engvall, Hunter Hayes, the JaneDear Girls, Miranda Lambert, Jamie Little,Love & Theft,Larry Mahan, Scotty McCreery, Brad Paisley, Jordin Sparks, The Big Show, Josh Turner, Storme Warren and the men of "Pawn Stars" (Corey Harrison, Richard Harrison, Rick Harrison and Austin Russell).
With his trademark baritone and wry sense of humor, Trace Adkins is one of country music's most accomplished entertainers. With total sales surpassing 10 million albums, a long list of hit singles and platinum albums, he is also a television personality, actor and author. His hits include "Just Fishin'" "Every Light in the House," "(This Ain't) No Thinkin' Thing," "You're Gonna Miss This," "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" and "All I Ask For Anymore." A Grammy Award nominee and member of the Grand Ole Opry, Adkins is currently on the road with his Songs & Stories Tour in support of his tenth studio album, "Proud To Be Here." He also is the host of the cable television series, "Great American Heroes." This will be Adkins' third time hosting the AMERICAN COUNTRY AWARDS.
Emmy and Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth is an accomplished singer and actress of stage, television and film. She recently completed a North American concert tour featuring music from her latest album, "Some Lessons Learned," as well as an array of her most memorable songs and Broadway show tunes. She is known for her Tony Award-nominated turn as the original "Glinda," the good witch, in Broadway's "Wicked" and her show-stealing, Tony Award-winning performance in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." She has received two Emmy Award nominations for her role as "April Rhodes" on the hit series GLEE. She won an Emmy Award for her role as "Olive Snook" on "Pushing Daisies." She also starred in "GCB" and will next be seen on "The Good Wife."
AMERICAN COUNTRY AWARDS is executive-produced by Bob Bain (TEEN CHOICE 2012, "Kids' Choice Awards"). Paul Flattery, Tisha Fein and Fletcher Foster serve as producers; and Greg Sills is supervising producer. Michael Dempsey will direct the special.


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Early in my career, I was pitched a TV programme idea called "Can this man save the UK a billion pounds?" After pondering, I realised that showing a million people how to save a grand was easy – the difficult bit was getting them to do it.
Offer someone £100 for five minutes' work, and most would salivate. Tell them all they need do is help someone use a comparison site to switch energy provider and they'd jump for joy. Yet suggest they spend the same time changing their own energy provider, which can save more than double that over a year, and many can't be bothered.
So here's my day's diary, peppered with tweets, forum posts and emails I've received, to prove the scale of possible savings…
7.30: Save £100s with a water meter
While brushing your teeth, ask yourself this simple question – does my home have more bedrooms than people, or the same number? Yes? If you're in England or Wales, you could save hundreds by switching to a water meter. Water bills are based on your home's rateable value, roughly equivalent to how much it's worth – so the more bedrooms, the bigger the water bill. Yet low occupancy means you're likely to be overpaying. Use the calculator at ccwater.org.uk to see likely savings, then contact your water company to switch free of charge.
Tweeted proof from Helen Bevington: "Thanks, we've water-metered. Monthly DD down from £80 to £25."
8.15: Do you wear a uniform?
As you get dressed, ask yourself if you or any of your family wear a uniform to work – it could be simply a branded T-shirt. If you do, and you wash and repair it yourself, you may be able to reclaim hundreds of pounds' worth of tax, going back up to four years. Full step-by-step help at moneysavingexpert.com/uniforms.
Proof from Michael King: "Thanks. Just received £409 for cleaning my work uniform over the last few years."
8.35: Missing £1,000s of child care help?
The school run is a good time to think about the cost of looking after little ones. If you pay for child care, including after-school or summer clubs, you may be entitled to child care tax credits. To get a decent amount, you need a total family income of below £42,000, and each parent must work 16 hours or more. Average payouts are £3,000 a year.
Failing that, check to see if your employer offers child care vouchers. This government scheme can be worth over £1,000 a year as it lets you pay for child care from pre-tax income.
9.30: Analyse your finances
Easy question: how much do you earn in a year? Tough one: how much do you spend? Unless you can answer both, you can't accurately manage your finances. Don't just do it from a snapshot of a month's finances, either – that doesn't take into account things like Christmas, summer holidays or a new sofa. Sit down, gather your paperwork and examine everything.
If that sounds stressful, let my hardcore budgetbrain.com tool do it for you, then analyse the result.
11.15: Bite £100s off food bills
During elevenses, rummage through your fridge, cupboards or even larder, to check how many "Finest" or manufacturers' brands there are. If there are lots, try this Downshift Challenge.
On your next shop, swap Finest goods for branded, branded for own-brand, and own-brand for savers. Then, ignoring the packaging (taste with your tongue, not your eyes), see if you can notice the difference. If you can't, drop brand level permanently. For a £150 weekly family shop, dropping one brand saves £2,400 a year. In blind tests I've done, people can only tell the difference half the time, leaving £1,200 saved. The site mysupermarket.com has lots of handy tools to help you.
11.55: Spend a penny
I can't help you there.
12.00: Gas and electricity: save £200+ in 10 minutes
Easy one, this, as Leah proves: "You've just saved me £400 per year for my gas and electric, plus [as she was in credit] I now have an unexpected refund of £327."
To find the cheapest option, put your postcode and usage into a comparison site approved by consumerfocus.org.uk. Better still, go via my site's moneysavingexpert.com/energy, and the same sites will give you £30 cashback or a crate of wine if you switch. And while they may not be the cheapest, keep an eye out for EDF Blue and Scottish Power's long-term fixed deals, guaranteeing no price hikes or early exit fees.
12.10: Haggle £100s off Sky, broadband, the AA...
This Tweet last year from Stumpyian says it all: "Threatened to leave Sky, said I couldn't afford it and it halved bill." Don't be afraid to negotiate – especially on mobile contracts, breakdown, broadband and digital TV.
1.00: Owed £10,000s in PPI?
(Lunch is for wimps, by the way.) If you've had a loan or credit card in the past 10 years, spend your break checking if you were mis-sold PPI (payment protection insurance). Don't assume you don't have it; it might have been added by deceit.
Every day my Twitter feed is filled with proof: here's a tweet from Steverandall1965: "Inspired to claim. Put it off for ages, then downloaded the template, sent it off and got £12,225, no fuss or bother."
No need to throw 25pc at claims firms, either; do it yourself. If you don't have the paperwork, full help and templates are at moneysavingexpert.com/ppi or which.co.uk.
2.00: Slash credit card costs, or soup up savings
If you have high interest debts and savings, you're throwing cash away. Pay off costly debts with your paltry- interest-earning savings, and you'll be massively up. Then…
Boost your savings: yes, rates are pitifully low, but every penny counts. See postoffice.co.uk for the top easy-access deal at 2.1pc AER. If you've got £3,000-£20,000 to save, you can get 3pc in the santander.co.uk 123 bank account (there is a £2 per month fee, but this can be more than offset by the account's up to 3pc cashback when it's used to pay bills like council tax, energy, or home phones). Full best-buys, including cash Isas, at mse.me/savings.
Slash credit card costs: if you've got expensive debts and a decent credit score, do a balance transfer. That's where you get a new card that pays off the debts on your old cards, so you owe the money at a cheaper rate.
The three cards I'd pick out are barclaycard.co.uk, which offers the longest 0pc deal: 25 months, with a one-off 3.2pc fee of the amount transferred. If you can repay quicker, then try lloydstsb.co.uk at 21 months: 0pc but with a lower 1.5pc fee. If you need a lot longer, the mbna.co.uk's LIFE card lets you lock in at 5.9pc until all the debt shifted is repaid (1.5pc fee). Full help and best-buys for these at moneysavingexpert.com/bts.
2.45: Slash car insurance by £400 in 30 minutes
Don't just auto-renew. Many people find that even their current insurer gives a cheaper quote if you apply as a new customer. So as a bare minimum…
1. Combine comparison sites. They search different firms, so try a few. My current top picks are: moneysupermarket.com; tescocompare.com; and confused.com
2. Comparison sites miss out aviva.co.uk and directline.co.uk, so check them, too, and if you've two or more cars, add admiral.co.uk's multi-car insurance. If you've got the time, and really want to slice costs, see my full tips at mse.me/carinsurance.
As proof, RedMikeKite says: "Followed your steps after a slight mishap which put my renewal up to £594. Got it down to £193 – couldn't believe it, £401 saved."
3.30: Drive petrol costs down 20 per cent
Four rules:
1. De-junk your trunk (lighter cars save fuel) and ensure the tyre pressure is correct.
2. Bear in mind that better driving can boost efficiency by 20pc. Speed up gradually, change up a gear earlier, and watch road positioning so you can brake earlier.
3. Use petrolprices.com to find the cheapest forecourt near you.
4. Consider a petrol cashback credit card such as santander.co.uk's 123, which pays back 3pc every time you use it to buy petrol (more than offsetting its £2 per month fee). However, ensure you repay in full each month so that there's no interest.
4.00: Check and challenge your council tax
It takes five minutes to check whether you're in too high a council tax band. If you are, not only can you get what you pay reduced, you can get a backdated payout from when you moved in (often £1,000s). Don't just challenge willy-nilly, though, or you could find your band hiked. Full checking system and free tools at moneysavingexpert.com/council.
5.00: Cut all spending by up to 5 PER CENT
The capitalone.co.uk Aspire World Mastercard and americanexpress.co.uk Platinum Everyday cards are both fee-free cashback credit cards, which pay you when you use them. This isn't an excuse to spend more; just use them for all your credit card spending. Provided you always fully repay to avoid the 19.9pc APRs, you can make £100s. Both cards pay 5pc for three months (maximum £100 cashback), then up to 1.25pc thereafter.
Proof from Nursey22: "I love this. I got one in December, booked a holiday on it, got £60 back on my Jan statement & paid it off in full = no interest."
These examples are just the tip of the iceberg. Look at your own expenditure to see where your big outgoings are. Whatever you spend your money on, there's usually a way to save. Good luck.


text:
Volveremos volveremos, volveremos otra vez! Volveremos a ser campeones, como en el '86 ! #argentina #worldcup #football
Do you?? We shoot this set a couple years ago with @talena in Buenos Aires. We called it Inmoral. It's a shame that we coudn't work together again. She is such a sweetheart!
Anyway... today i have a new set in Member Review by @frani who needs just a little bit more love!
Daylight Drops Hope you like it!
xox D!
Do not forget my new set!
So, this week homework from @missy and @rambo is 10 random thing about me, so here we go!
1: I am an avid reader. I read 50 books in three years and counting!
2: I'm a Game og Thrones fan!
3: I live by myself and im very proud of that.
4: I repeated 8th grade three times!
5: My grandma knows im an SG!...
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So! Missy ask us about our fist tattoo, so...my first tatto was at the age of 18 (like a whole responsible girl) and it was a little letter "Z" in my wrist!
Can you see it!?