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Financial Assistance
Environmental Quality Incentives Program
/ Vermont EQIP Information Overview
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The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is a voluntary conservation program that provides assistance to landowners and agricultural producers in a manner that promotes agricultural production and environmental quality as compatible goals. Through EQIP, farmers and ranchers receive financial and technical assistance to implement structural and management conservation practices that optimize environmental benefits on working agricultural land. EQIP is re-authorized through the 2008 Farm Bill.
With EQIP, NRCS provides funding and expertise for measures to protect natural resources while ensuring sustainable production on farms, ranches and working forest lands.
For the person who has never applied for a federal agricultural program, the conservation application process may seem confusing. The information provided on this page and on other pages within this website are to provide a roadmap for those new to federal conservation programs. To get started, visit the Applying for Conservation Programs.
Important Information for the 2014 Energy Initiative:
Beginning in Fiscal Year 2014 the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will no longer fund applicants requesting to upgrade an existing maple syrup reverse osmosis unit (R/O) through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Instead, NRCS will focus solely on funding energy audits through Technical Service Providers and assisting producers to adopt the reverse osmosis technology in situations where it has never been installed before.
Fortunately, USDA Rural Development will offer reverse osmosis upgrades through their Rural Energy for America Program. While the rules and rates between the two programs are different, an NRCS compliant energy audit is sufficient to apply for the USDA Rural Development program. Please refer to the 2014 Reverse Osmosis Unit Fact Sheet for additional details on this program.
A special sign up for nutrient management and cover cropping may be available this year! Last Day to sign up for Nutrient Management Plans and Cover Cropping would be April 17. Just in case, sign up at your local office as soon as possible!
Application Cutoff Date
Additional Documents
Regular EQIP
EQIP applications may be submitted at any time with your local USDA Service Center. For more information, see 2014 Regular EQIP Funding Pool Descriptions below.
April 17, 2014
Practices Available;
Practices and Payment Amounts;
Farmstead Pool Ranking Questions;
Forest Management Plan Ranking Questions;
Forestry and Wildlife Pool Ranking Questions;
Cropland, Vegetable and Specialty Crop Pool Ranking Questions;
Pasture and Perennial Cropland Ranking Questions;
Historically Underserved Ranking Questions
National EQIP Initiatives
Ranking Application Deadline Dates
EQIP Energy Initiative
Assist producers to conserve energy on their farms through an Agriculture Energy Management Plan (AgEMP), also known as an on-farm energy audit and provide assistance to implement various recommended measures identified in an energy audit.
March 21, 2014
Energy Initiative Screening;
Energy Ranking Questions;
Energy Initiative Cost List;
Energy Initiative Conservation Activity Plans Cost List;
On-Farm Energy Plan Ranking Questions
EQIP Organic Initiative
Special EQIP funding is available to organic growers and those transitioning to organic production.
Organic Cost List;
Certified Organic Self Certification Wkst;
Certified Organic Ranking Questions;
Transition to Organic Ranking Questions;
National Water Quality Initiative
The purpose of the National Water Quality Initiative is to assist producers in addressing high-priority water resource concerns in small watersheds. The Rock River watershed in Franklin County, Vermont is selected for the National Water Quality Initiative in 2014.
Coming Soon:
Priority WS Map
NWQI Screening Process
NWQI Practices
NWQI Ranking Tool
NWQI Payment Schedule
State EQIP Initiatives
Edge-of-Field Water Quality Monitoring
Landowners in the Lake Champlain Basin are eligible to participate in this opportunity to evaluate conservation system performance, validate and calibrate models, and inform on-far adaptive management. Applicants are eligible to install edge-of-field monitoring systems that will be installed and monitored by NRCS partners, and to install field practices that benefit soil health and water quality for monitoring and measurement. See the Edge-of-Field Success Story to read about how this initiative benefits farmers in Vermont.
Coming Soon:
EOF Screening Process
EOF Focus Area
EOF Practices
EOF Ranking Tool
EOF Payment Schedules
EQIP offers financial and technical help to assist eligible participants install or implement structural and management practices on eligible agricultural land. EQIP is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.
All approved EQIP contracts will have a minimum term that ends one year after the implementation of the last scheduled practice and a maximum term of ten years. Contracts will provide set payments to implement eligible conservation practices, based on a per unit cost of installing a practice in a typical scenario.
Persons who are engaged in livestock or agricultural production on eligible land may participate in the EQIP program. Contracted EQIP activities are carried out according to an environmental quality incentives program plan of operations which is developed with the producer. The EQIP Plan of Operations identifies the appropriate conservation practice or practices to address resource concerns. The contracted practices must be implemented according to NRCS technical standards adapted for local conditions.
EQIP payment rates may cover up to 75 percent of the costs of installing certain conservation practices in a typical setting. However, limited resource producers, beginning farmers and ranchers, and socially disadvantaged farmers may be eligible for up to 90 percent. Payments for specified management practices may be provided for up to three years to encourage producers to carry out those practices which they may not otherwise implement. An individual or entity may not receive, directly or indirectly, payments that, in the aggregate, exceed $300,000 for all EQIP contracts entered during the term of the Farm Bill.
EQIP participants may elect to use certified Technical Service Providers for technical assistance.
Forms Needed to Signup:
The following document requires Acrobat Reader
2014 Farm Bill Application
2014 Application Checklist
PLEASE NOTE: Practices started or completed before NRCS signs the contract are not eligible for payments, in accordance with program regulation and the Conservation Program Contract (CPC) appendix. Starting a practice or engaging the services of a technical service provider (TSP) before the contract is approved by NRCS renders an applicant ineligible for payment unless a waiver has been granted by the State Conservationist. Requests for a waiver to this provision must be made in writing. Waivers may be considered in special cases for meritorious reasons for applications that meet all eligibility requirements, provided that the practice was not started when the waiver application is made.
EQIP program sign-ups are conducted at USDA Service Centers in Vermont.
All funding pools are subject to a $300,000 payment limitation, except for the organic initiative (see below). All payments, even EQIP payments scheduled for 2014 and beyond under prior year EQIP contracts, will be factored in to determine the $300,000 payment limit for new FY2014 contracts.
Certified organic producers and those transitioning to organic may elect to apply under the organic initiative, or any of the other funding pools available. The organic initiative supports producers who need to install practices in order to obtain organic certification and to maintain organic certification. Practices offered through this initiative include grazing practices, buffers, reduced tillage practices, cover cropping, water conveyance practices, and high tunnels, just to name a few. Organic Initiative applicants are limited to $20,000 per year and $80,000 in any six years. This is why organic producers and those transitioning to organic, who need a costly practice like waste storage, are encouraged to apply to the Structural Pool.
For all pools, a forest management plan must be in place prior to undertaking any practice implementation in a forested area.
Historically Underserved Funding Pool
This funding pool is for those applicants who have self-certified on their application (NCS-CPA-1200) that they are a Historically Underserved individual and group. All practices and conservation activity plans offered in Vermont's EQIP are offered in this funding pool. Historically Underserved individuals or groups include:
Farmstead Funding Pool
This funding pool was called the Headquarters Funding Pool in 2013 and has been renamed to reflect the updated national land uses. Practices offered in the Farmstead Funding Pool include waste storage facility and other practices to address water quality resource concerns that have been created as a result of agricultural waste issues at the farmstead. Applicants who also want to address soil erosion on their cropland or grazing management concerns need to also apply to the pools that address these resource concerns. Conservation activity plans applicable to the farmstead land use such as a CNMP and NMP will be offered in this pool in 2014. CAPs will be ranked the highest priority as required by national policy.
Cropland, Vegetable and Specialty Crop Funding Pool
The purpose of the Cropland, Vegetable and Specialty Crop Pool is for operators who need to address soil erosion or water quality concerns by installing agronomic practices or buffers on their cropland. Composting for vegetable operations will be offered in this pool in 2014. Seasonal High Tunnels will be offered in this pool in 2014. Conservation activity plans applicable to the cropland land use such as a NMP will be offered in this pool in 2014. CAPs will be ranked the highest priority as required by national policy.
Forestry and Wildlife Funding Pool
The EQIP Forestry and Wildlife Pool is a combination of the New England / New York Forestry Initiative and Forestry pool that were offered in 2013. The priority of the Forestry and Wildlife Pool for 2014 is to address habitat concerns and soil erosion on forest lands and open lands so long as forest practices are part of the project. Additionally, applicants who will be addressing priority wildlife species concerns through such practices as Early Successional Habitat, Forest Stand Improvement, etc. need to apply to this pool. Aquatic Organism Passage (aka: Fish Passage) is offered in this funding pool for 2014. Conservation activity plans applicable to the forestland and/or wildlife land uses, except forest management plan, will be offered in this pool in 2014. CAPs will be ranked the highest priority as required by national policy. Forest Management Plans will be offered in their own separate funding pool, Forest Management Plan CAPs.
Forest Management Plan CAPs
Applicants wanting a forest management plan must apply to this pool. Forest management plans will only be offered in this funding pool.
Pasture and Perennial Cropland Funding Pool
This funding pool was called the Grazing and Hayland Funding pool in 2013 and has been renamed to reflect the updated national land uses. The priority of this pool is to install grazing practices such as watering facilities, fence, animal trails and walkways and pipeline. This pool is also for Hayland (perennial cropland) operators who agree to manage their Hayland for grassland birds. Aquatic Organism Passage (aka: Fish Passage) is offered in this funding pool for 2014. Conservation activity plans applicable to the pasture and/or perennial cropland land uses such as a grazing management plan will be offered in this pool in 2014. CAPs will be ranked the highest priority as required by national policy.
NRCS funds Environmental Quality Incentives Program applications that do the most to improve the environment. Funding selections also consider the land use and the location of the applicants' property. A ranking system gives points to each application. NRCS assigns points by looking at how much the land treatments in the application will improve natural resources. A local work group made up of conservationists, agricultural producers, and others working with natural resources in the community choose which natural resource problems are most important at the local level. The local points make up 25% of the total points used for ranking. The NRCS State Conservationist must approve local work group ranking points, the conservation practices selected to improve the natural resource problems, and the payment rates for conservation practices. The national and State NRCS offices chose which natural resource problems are the most important for the other 75 points used for ranking.
NRCS accepts EQIP applications year-round. Periodically, usually once a year, NRCS announces an application deadline date to rank and select applications submitted for funding on or before the deadline date. NRCS defers applications received after this date until the next funding cycle.
Top of Page
Electronic application filing is available through the Electronic Government website.
For additional local information or to apply, contact your Local NRCS Office.
VT NRCS Office Locations and Contact Information
EQIP Information from the National NRCS Website
Obediah Racicot
Phone: 802-951-6796
NRCS Home | USDA.gov | Site Map | Civil Rights | FOIA | Plain Writing | Accessibility Statement
Policy and Links| Non-Discrimination Statement | Information Quality | USA.gov | WhiteHouse.gov


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LinkedIn just released the most overused words in its 135 million user profiles. They are:
1. Creative 2. Organizational 3. Effective 4. Extensive experience 5. Track record 6. Motivated 7. Innovative 8. Problem solving 9. Communication skills 10. Dynamic
The company says to completely eliminate these in your resumes or cover letters, and instead replace them with specific examples of how you're a problem solver, etc.
LinkedIn also says users are 12 times more likely to be viewed as a potential job candidate if they have more than one position listed on their profile.

subset: commoncrawl


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Peace Pays: Building a More Peaceful World Through Economic Development
September 21, 2011
Peace and prosperity are nearly inseparable. Learn why TechnoServe has joined the call for a Global Truce on Peace Day 2012.
Victor Rodriguez, vice president of the Jorge Salazar Cooperative in El Tuma-La Dalia, Nicaragua, holds a malanga seedling.
Peace and prosperity are nearly inseparable. When one is absent, the other is at risk. Violence and war rob people of the chance to better their lives through hard work. And when a society struggles with poverty and unemployment, it sets the stage for unrest.
At the same time, peace and prosperity can form a virtuous circle. A peaceful community is one in which people have choices about their future. Prosperity helps ensure that people have a stake in society, eliminating many of the underlying causes of conflict.
Today, on the International Day of Peace, TechnoServe is spreading a simple message: Peace pays. We are partnering with Peace One Day, a U.K.-based nonprofit that helped make each Sept. 21 a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, recognized by the United Nations. TechnoServe has joined the call for a Global Truce on Peace Day 2012, which Peace One Day hopes will be the largest reduction in global violence in recorded history.
TechnoServe is an organization that applies business solutions to the problem of poverty in the developing world. Nowhere does our mission explicitly mention peace. Yet the goal of a peaceful world is inherent in everything we do.
Our work takes place in countries that have suffered from violence and war. The threat still looms for many, as we saw in Côte D'Ivoire earlier this year, or Kenya in 2007. Others, such as Nicaragua and Mozambique, bear the scars of prolonged civil wars. El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have among the highest homicide rates in the world.
TechnoServe's work helps remedy many of the root causes of violence – hunger, inequality, a lack of opportunity – by encouraging economic sustainability. We help smallholder farmers to improve their production and access markets. We foster promising entrepreneurs in order to create a network of small and growing businesses. We promote conditions that lead to job creation and economic growth.
This work helps people take control of their own destiny. It gives them choices – to eat a better diet, or improve their home, or send a child to school. One by one, these opportunities help create a better and more peaceful future for families, communities and countries. For example:
Since the early 1990s, TechnoServe has worked with farmer groups composed of former guerillas in Nicaragua's civil war. The members of these groups have learned to diversify their crops, improve their business skills and connect to better markets. Onetime soldiers such as Victor Rodriguez, a farmer in the town of El Tuma-La Dalia, have been able to provide for their families after starting with nothing. More than 20 years removed from the war, Victor is sending a son to college, and two more plan to follow in his footsteps.
In Côte D'Ivoire, a TechnoServe business plan competition, supported by the World Bank's State and Peace-Building Fund, is helping to address some of the underlying north-south tensions that have led to conflicts in the past. After completing one cycle of the competition in Abidjan, we are rolling out the program to the central region of Bouaké and hope to expand more widely in central and northern Côte D'Ivoire. This work will create new opportunities in rural areas, helping to lessen the economic disparities and promote reconciliation between north and south.
Mozambique's 15-year civil war devastated the country's economy. TechnoServe has worked to rebuild the cashew industry by helping entrepreneurs establish processing plants and training farmers to produce more and better nuts. Today, rural communities in northern Mozambique are prospering thanks to jobs and market opportunities created by the cashew industry. Thousands of employees and tens of thousands of small-scale producers are benefiting from higher incomes.
This type of development fosters peaceful conditions, and peace makes success easier to achieve. That's why TechnoServe is celebrating Peace Day across the world. Visit Peace One Day's website to join us in the call for a Global Truce. In a world without violence, everyone can have a chance to escape poverty.
Related Blog Posts
On International Youth Day, Celebrating the Next Generation of Change
In celebration of International Youth Day, we are sharing stories from a few of the many young people who have graduated from TechnoServe's programs around the world.
Lasting Impact Spotlight: María Castillo
In this series, we check back with TechnoServe program participants who were previously featured on our blog, documenting how their lives have changed and progressed.
How Low-Cost Credit is Improving the Livelihoods of Smallholder Coffee Farmers
TechnoServe's projects yield a wealth of lessons that can help us – and others – improve our work. In this series, we reflect on the lessons we have learned from our programs in Africa, India, and Latin America, sharing insights from program staff.


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Published: 9th September 2019
Number Of Pages: 336
For Ages: 15+ years old
Earn 45 Qantas Points
on this Book
On Writing Well , which grew out of a course that William Zinsser taught at Yale, has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity, and for the warmth of its style. It is a book for anybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does.
Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts, or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you both fundamental principles as well as the insights of a distinguished practitioner. With over a million copies in print, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valued resource for writers and would-be writers.
About the Author
William Zinsser is a writer, editor and teacher. He began his career on the New York Herald Tribune and has since written regularly for leading magazines. During the 1970s he was master of Branford College at Yale. His 17 books, ranging from baseball to music to American travel, include the influential Writing to Learn and Writing About Your Life. He teaches at the New School in New York.
Series: ON WRITING WELL
Audience: General
For Ages: 15+ years old
For Grades: 10+
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 336
Published: 9th September 2019
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Country of Publication: US
Dimensions (cm): 20.5 x 13.5 x 2.0
Weight (kg): 0.25
Edition Number: 30
Earn 45 Qantas Points
on this Book


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Back by popular demand! The first-ever This American Life mug has been updated with the new This American life logo. 11 oz. glossy ceramic mug, cobalt blue with white lettering. (picture shows front and back of mug).
First offered in 1998, the mug quotes VisABILITY's founder as he explained to Ira and the This American Life staff how important collectible mugs are to the public radio audience stating, "In our culture, the public radio culture, these mugs are like amulets. .." After hearing the full quotation, Ira said, "That's it! That's what we will print on the mug!".
The quote reads: "In our culture, the public radio culture, these mugs are like amulets. They have metaphysical properties. People collect them. They keep them at the workbench, the office, the kitchen. They use them to define themselves. Other cultures have other totems, but for this group, it's mugs."--John Burke, founder of the company that supplies premiums used during public radio fund drives.
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The unexpected appearance and explosion of a small asteroid over Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday highlights the challenges astronomers face as they try to get a better handle on the risk Earth faces from objects whose orbits bring them uncomfortably close to Earth, or even cross Earth's orbit.
In their hunt to identify such near-Earth objects wider than half a mile across – potential civilization busters if one were to strike Earth – astronomers have cataloged about 95 percent of the objects in this size class during the past 15 years.
But they have found less than 1 percent of the objects 100 feet across or larger, a class that includes the asteroid 2012 DA14. This object flitted past Earth Friday afternoon Eastern Standard Time a scant 17,200 miles from Earth – a record for a known object of its size.
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At 150 feet across, 2012 DA14 is comparable in size to the object that exploded over the Tunguska River in Siberia in 1908. The shock wave flattened 820 square miles of forest – an area about the size of Greater Tampa-St. Petersburg.
The asteroid over Russia's Chelyabinsk region Friday was smaller still, estimated to span about 50 feet and weigh about 7,000 metric tons before it exploded into fragments high above the ground. The shock wave shattered windows in three major cities in the region, damaged a zinc factory, and inflicted mostly minor injuries on more than 950 people.
Nobody saw the object coming.
It's enough to make some lawmakers wince. On Friday, Lamar Alexander (R) of Tennessee and chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, issued a statement regarding the two events that noted that the committee will hold hearings in the near future to explore ways to improve efforts to detect asteroids as well as to deal with any deemed a potential threat to the planet.
Given the size of the Chelyabinsk asteroid, astronomers estimate that an event like this occurs on average every 100 years. Yet smaller objects also can arrive with little or no warning, and explode in a loud, spectacular fashion, even with no damage on the ground. And they hit more frequently.
These surprise visitors are among the near-Earth objects that keep Kalait Ramesh awake at night.
"Historically, we've had relatively low population density. These things tended to happen in areas where nobody sees them or nobody remembers them," says Dr. Ramesh, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Johns Hopkins University whose studies of stress on various materials has led him to include asteroids in the mix of materials.
"But as our population's gone up, it's gotten to the point where these things can have a big impact. My biggest worry is that this will happen in a place where there is significant political instability or two countries on the verge of a war," he says.
An event like Friday's Chelyabinsk asteroid explosion could be mistaken for an attack, he says.
The potential isn't lost on the international community at large. A subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space is meeting in Vienna through Feb. 22 to tackle several space-related issues, including hazards from comets or asteroids.
The Scientific and Technical Subcommittee is building a plan to better coordinate searches for near-Earth objects as well as a plan to mount coordinated warnings and responses to objects with Earth in their cross hairs.
The need for such coordination became apparent in 2008, with the sudden appearance of 2088 TC3, an 80-ton object 5-to-7-feet wide that blew apart with an energy equivalent of 2 kilotons of high explosives in a brilliant fireball. The explosion occurred above a spot roughly 60 miles south of the border between Sudan and Egypt.
The Catalina Sky Survey, a near-Earth-object surveillance effort run by the University of Arizona, spotted the object 20 hours before it entered the atmosphere. Scientists were able to get a good bead on its orbit and track.
NASA alerted the White House, the National Security Council, the Pentagon, the State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as issuing a press release. But no one from the United States alerted Sudan because the two countries did not have diplomatic relations, according to an account by Donald Yeomans, who heads NASA's Near Earth Objects Program office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
Over the past five years, the US has chalked up some 90 to 95 percent of all near-Earth-object discoveries, notes Tim Spahr, director of the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Mass.
Currently, three major observing efforts are under way, with a fourth slated to start using a new space-surveillance telescope the US Air Force has built to track satellites and orbital debris. But virtually all of the major survey projects use telescopes in the Northern Hemisphere.
Last November, Australia and the US inked an agreement to install the telescope, as well as a space-surveillance radar, in Australia. In addition, the US is building the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, a telescope that can gather panoramic images of the entire southern sky from its perch atop Cerro Pachon in Chile's Atacama Desert.
Yet despite the respectable amount of telescope glass aimed at the night sky, ground-based observations have their limits, notes Russell Schweickart, a former NASA astronaut who has spent much of his post-Apollo-9 career focusing on asteroid hazards and planetary defense.
Earthbound telescopes tend to take their observations at visible wavelengths. But the amount of light reaching a telescope – assuming good weather – depends on the size and distance of an asteroid, as well as its composition.
By some estimates most near-Earth objects reflect about as much light as dark, wet soil, while the darkest reflect about as much light as a charcoal briquette.
The toughest asteroids to spot until they are very close are the ones that are small and dark.
Moreover, if an asteroid's orbital period is close to that of Earth's, "you get less information than you want for tracking," Mr. Schweickart says.
The reason: The closer the orbital periods, the longer orbital mechanics keeps the asteroid out of view for Earthbound observers.
If an asteroid completes one circuit around the sun in 360 days, for instance, "for five or 10 years, it's relatively close to you every year. But for the next 30 or 40 you don't get any data, so you don't know what's going on," Schweickart says.
For Schweickart and other planetary-defense specialists, it's time to take detection into space using telescopes that scan the skies at infrared wavelengths – making them sensitive to the heat asteroids give off from sunlight the objects have intercepted. Such telescopes not only can pick out the harder-to-detect asteroids, they also can lead to better estimations of an asteroid's diameter compared with estimates derived from visible-light observations.
NASA's WISE satellite, an infrared telescope launched in December 2009 and designed for multiple research programs, has given researchers a taste of what's possible. It bagged 130 near-Earth asteroids, 21 potentially hazardous objects, and 17 comets before its detectors ran out of coolant in late 2011.
The B612 Foundation, a nonprofit, independent group of near-Earth asteroid specialists, is wrapping up design work on an infrared telescope to be placed on orbit around the sun the same distance away as Venus. The design is based on NASA's highly successful Kepler planet-hunting spacecraft. From that vantage point, it can look back at Earth and see clearly objects that cross or come near Earth's orbit – the heat signatures of the objects shining against the cold, black expanse of space in the background.
The mission, whose goal is to detect 90 percent of near-Earth objects about 460 feet across or larger, represents the first privately funded craft for asteroid detection. If all goes well, the group anticipates launching the craft in 2018, says Schweickart, a founder and former chairman of the group's board of directors. (Schweickart still sits on the board.)
In addition, the newly formed company Deep Space Industries, which aims to mine asteroids, has proposed a squadron of small "FirefFly" satellites in Earth orbit to hunt for prospecting asteroids to mine as well as search for potentially hazardous objects.
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Big O - SuperStar O/Blogger's Diss [User Submitted]
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text: vladdy16 2,154 Report post Posted April 29, 2013 This is our 3rd annual Money on the Board! For those who are new to this, we pledge X amount of money toward X achievement on the part of the Wings. My pledges have always been just per round the Wings make it through, but many others get a lot more creative than that. Some pledge per blocked shot, goal by a certain player, what they have for breakfast (jk), etc. Come up with your own pledge for any amount, and don't be shy. Once there are no more opportunities available to add to our total, you add up what your pledge is and send it to me. The amount doesn't matter - it all goes to Children's Hospital and they will be thrilled with whatever contribution we can give. Thanks so much to past, present and future participants, whether in donations or spirit and LET'S GO WINGS! 2 55fan and Vladifan reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
Measure the length of the notepad and desk in millimeters and centimeters and their mass in kilograms and grams. Notice how the precision and accuracy differ for each measuring device.
Area models offer a visual representation of mathematical operations. Here you will use area models to multiply and reduce fractions.
Use area models to find either the greatest common factor or the least common multiple of two numbers.
Measure your arm span and height. See how your measurements compare to others when your data is added to a data table and corresponding scatter plot.
Use your intuition about balance to keep a scale balanced.
Create a line plot [with dots] to represent stacks of coins. Then rearrange the dots to form different line plots and watch what happens to the mean.
Use blocks to build a design from a written description. Try various descriptions to achieve the correct design. View non-Flash version.
Classify the different types of numbers we use, and learn how numbers and operations relate to one another. Start with counting numbers and then add integers, rationals, algebraic, and, finally, real numbers to the line.
Find out how many different combinations of four-legged chairs and three-legged stools you can have after covering each leg with one of 30 tennis balls to silence the chairs whenever they're moved.
Statistical analysis allows us to organize data in different ways to draw out potential patterns in the variation. Review and compare data represented in a bar graph and accompanying tables depicting relative and cumulative frequency.
Control the slope of lines passing through the origin (0, 0). Keep track of what changes when the slope becomes positive or negative, and when slope is larger or smaller than 1.
Do figures with the same area have the same perimeter? Arrange and rearrange 12 square tiles on a grid, and then measure the perimeter of each shape you create.
Use a "linkage strip" to to build quadrilaterals with different sets of lengths. Once you build a quadrilateral, see if you can deform it into a different quadrilateral with the same side lengths.
Use a "linkage strip" to build triangles with different side lengths. When you build a triangle, see if you can deform it into a different triangle while keeping the side lengths the same.
Count the number of raisins in seventeen half-ounce boxes of raisins. Then come up with a solution to determine how many raisins are in Brand X's or Brand Y's box of raisins.
Build staircases out of square blocks. Look for patterns and come up with a rule or formula to predict the number of blocks in any staircase.
Watch as a physical stack of coins is added as a series of dots to a line plot.
Is there a relationship between the volume of a sphere and the volume of a cylinder of equal diameter and height? What about the volume of the sphere and the cone?
Using three sets of data from a second grade class, think of an aspect of the data you would like to focus on and then choose the type of graph (line plot, stem and leaf plot or histogram) that best represents that aspect.
Explore properties of rotation symmetry. Determine the angle of rotation for different images.
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"Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam" international airportWebsiteDistance from the city centre: 48km from Port Louis city centre, the capital of Mauritius.How to reach the city centre:
Rent-a-car servicesThere are several car rental agencies where passengers can rent-a-car on their arrival. These agencies are located in the tour operator roomInformation
Air Italy recommends Europcar to rent a car.
Book now!
Bus/Taxi servicesTaxi services at the airport are easy to find and they usually wait for flights arrivalsInformation on other public transports are available at the 'ALM' information desk.To Port Louis from the airport , buses run during the day every 30-60 minutes.
The Air Italy Group does not assume responsibilty for material or contents that may be present in third party web sites which are reachable through links present on this web page.


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Although a majority of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology community hails from the world of academia, the society also has a rich and diverse set of members in the industry sector. In this special Science Focus, we profile just a few of these "industrious" individuals to showcase the scope of research being carried out in this arena: Bruce Morimoto, John Purcell, Jay Slack and Patricia Weber. (Titled "ASBMB's Industrial Revolution" in print version.)
Not long ago, Bruce Morimoto was presenting research at a conference in which the speaker ahead of him described his 400-employee biotech firm as a "small company." When it was Morimoto's turn to speak, the V.P. for drug development at 20-member Allon wryly noted, "Well, if they're small, we must be micro."
Not that Morimoto would want it any other way. "Working at a really small company is much like running a lab in academia," he says. "There's a real sense of ownership, and everyone on the team is empowered to do whatever it takes to get the job done; that kind of environment fits my personality well."
At Allon, which specializes in combating neurodegenerative diseases, Morimoto's job entails moving drugs from discovery to market, which means he oversees a little bit of everything, from basic chemistry to manufacturing.
Morimoto never envisioned having such responsibilities when he was an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles; in fact, back then, he believed his only options for pursuing his fondness of science were to become a physician or engineer.
But, his chemistry lab teaching assistant introduced him to undergraduate research, and his eyes opened up to a whole new world of possibilities.
He continued on the academic path, first getting his doctorate at UCLA (finishing the undergraduate project he started), then moving on to a postdoctoral fellowship with Daniel Koshland at the University of California, Berkeley and finally a faculty position at Purdue University.
Life seemed settled, but a few years into his professorship, Morimoto headed to the San Francisco Bay Area for a two-day consulting trip with a biotech company. Once he was done, the company surprised him by offering him a position.
While moving closer to the ocean was appealing to the native Angeleno, the thought of switching to industry was nerve-wracking; however, when Morimoto was given the chance to bring along his whole research group so his students could finish out their projects, he was sold. "That gave me a nice transition period to wind down my basic research and avoid any potential culture shock."
Morimoto began industry life working in drug discovery research, but over the years, as he gained experience and moved around, he began shifting more to the applied research and product development side of things, leaving his lab coat behind.
Because of the size of the company, Allon does not handle the development process in-house; rather, it is one of many biotech companies that have embraced the "virtual drug development" model, outsourcing the various stages of development to contract labs across North America and Europe while managing the overall flow.
Currently, the major company effort involves their lead drug davunetide, which has demonstrated efficacy for some forms of cognitive impairment. Allon is beginning clinical trials for an orphan disease known as progressive supranuclear palsy, or PSP.
"A major neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer's is just too big for a small company like Allon," Morimoto explains, "but we can use PSP, which is much rarer, as a proxy, because it displays pathology of entangled Tau protein, which happens to be one of the two major pathologies of Alzheimer's."
"Therefore, once we get data and approval of our drug for PSP, it opens up the market for us to partner with a larger company and move the drug to more prevalent diseases."
Morimoto notes that in this regard, Allon serves as an excellent bridge between basic academic research and major industry. "We have the freedom to pursue scientific avenues that big pharma typically overlook," he says, "which we can then translate to a form that appeals to large companies."
As for any concerns that a large biotech firm may end up buying out Allon to remove the middle man? "Well, that possibility comes with any small company," says Morimoto, "but if you look at recent news, with Pfizer buying Wyeth for example, there's no stability guarantee in a big company either, so we're not going to get too worried about it."
Ask John Purcell what his favorite part of working for a major global company like Monsanto is, and you get a surprising answer. It's not the access to top-notch scientific resources like the company's discovery labs and sequencing capabilities, or the incredible pool of talented scientists at the company, though he notes those are great.
For Purcell, currently the vice president of global technology development in Monsanto's vegetable seeds division, his favorite moments are the ones literally in the field, walking with farmers to see how Monsanto's crops are performing.
"I've met with farmers and walked in plots ranging from small vegetable gardens to giant corn fields on every continent except Antarctica." says Purcell, who's loved the outdoors since his childhood days. "And I've learned that farmers everywhere share the same fundamental desires; they want to produce a high quality product and use their resources as efficiently as possible."
It's a desire Purcell has been trying to help materialize for more than 20 years at Monsanto, during which time he has been involved in almost every stage of the agricultural biotechnology process, from discovery and development to marketing and monitoring.
And, it's a desire shared by his employer; Purcell recalls his first visit to Monsanto's headquarters in St. Louis back in 1989 when he was looking for a position and toured the company's then-new life sciences research center.
"From a biologist's perspective, it certainly looked like nirvana," Purcell notes, "but, at the same time, it showed me that this company had made a major investment to change the way we think about agriculture, namely how we can use biological tools to solve problems typically managed by chemical means."
Purcell began his work to find such tools in Monsanto's insect control division, which built on his existing research strengths; as a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he had studied insect biochemistry in Jack Nordin's lab, and later he did a postdoc at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he studied nematode biology and potential control mechanisms.
Over the next decade, he helped in the development of many breakthroughs, perhaps most notably the engineering of Bt crops, which are fortified with Bacillus thuringiensis toxins, designed to kill specific insect pests while remaining safe for humans and other beneficial species. Purcell then proceeded with stints in both the corn and cotton divisions, before settling in last year to his position in the vegetable seeds division.
His current efforts follow the same overall mission statement of helping farmers achieve the most efficient yields, but advances in technology have enabled him to expand his scope. Monsanto's approaches to crop biotechnology are from an agronomics perspective, primarily focusing on helping farmers control problems like weeds, pests, nutrients and water (Purcell notes the latter will be an especially significant concern in the coming years), but now they have begun to explore quality in addition to yield.
"In the vegetable division, we've started to use advanced breeding techniques and our increased knowledge of molecular markers to try to improve the appealing characteristics of our products, such as taste," he says. He cites the recent advancement of developing a sweet onion with a milder flavor, for use in salads and sandwiches, which can be grown in season in the U.S. and stored and sold all winter long.
Purcell notes that it is important to broaden the research effort because global institutes like Monsanto face challenges that smaller companies don't. "One issue with being well known is that people expect a lot out of you, and you have to continually earn their trust."
Fortunately, in that regard, Monsanto has one more advantage: Although taste may be varied, food is a constant. "There always will be strong demand for our products, because people always will need to eat."
In 1999, groundbreaking research from Charles Zuker's lab group identified the first two genes encoding taste receptors— T1R and T2R. Although the discovery of these long-speculated taste receptors was notable for its intellectual advancements, it also opened up a whole new commercial research sector.
Jay Slack found himself in the right place at the right time to reap the benefits.
Slack was finishing up his postdoctoral work on the genetics of the immune system with John Monaco at the University of Cincinnati, and was considering a career move. "The department where I was working had just hired three new faculty members, so I witnessed firsthand the scientific pain associated with trying to get tenure in academia," he says. "So, I decided to maybe carve out my niche somewhere in industry."
Having done his graduate training in pharmacology (focusing on calcium signaling in the heart), Slack initially explored pharmaceutical options, but, a chance conversation with the head of the transgenic animal facility revealed that a local company called Givaudan Flavors was looking to build on Zuker's findings and establish an in-house taste receptor research group.
"I knew very little about the business of flavors, but working for Givaudan appealed to me because the science was interesting, and it was an emerging field," he notes. "But what really sold it for me was that my daughter was taking antibiotics and absolutely hated their taste, so I thought instead of working for 20 years and maybe getting a drug to market, I could try to make existing drugs taste better and help patients immediately."
And, although Slack and Givaudan have not quite reached that goal yet, they are making solid progress; just a few months ago, his group identified an inhibitor that blocks the bitter aftertaste associated with artificial sweeteners, which they can now use as a template to find future compounds that can make bitter pills a little easier to swallow.
But that work is just one aspect of Givaudan's goals, which makes Slack's work all the more enjoyable. "Our group is active in all the classical areas of taste, from sweet to savory, as well as in taste chemesthetics, which includes sensations such as pungency or cooling." As an example, he notes that his group recently has developed a high potency analog of menthol that produces a cooling sensation that lasts for more than two hours, so you can have that fresh breath feeling from breakfast to lunch.
In addition, he has the freedom to pursue basic research pursuits. One area he's particularly interested in involves the genetic variability of taste perception, at both the individual and population levels. He hopes to understand the mechanisms underlying the variation, whether it occurs in the receptor genes or in downstream pathways, and whether this variation influences behavior.
"Scientists have continued to identify more and more taste receptors," he says, "and they've even begun finding them in non-taste cells, places like the gut, nasal cavity and even the brain. It's possible that these internal taste receptors are linked to hormonal signals and mediate hunger or satiety."
One thing that won't be satiated any time soon, however, is the opportunities in the taste industry. Although this formerly orphan area of research has exploded over the past decade, it still remains a relatively new field with many unexplored avenues. "Taste research involves numerous fields of study, including organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, natural products, pharmacology and enzymology," Slack says, "so, it definitely provides numerous options for young scientists."
Re-entering the work force after taking an extended leave can be a challenging proposition. Such was the case with Patricia Weber, who took a break from a long and fruitful career in the industry sector in 2001 to spend more time with her family (though she remained active by doing scientific consulting and serving on the editorial boards of the Journal of Biological Chemistry and Faculty of 1000).
A few years later, with her younger son now ready for college, Weber felt an itch to resume her research pursuits. Considering her options, she decided to try something a little bold; teaming up with a former co-worker, Ray Salemme, she formed a new company called Imiplex, billed as offering nanosolutions for the 21st century.
"Nanotechnology is a relatively young field, especially protein-based nanotechnology, which is our focus," Weber notes. But, it's also a field that has tremendous growth potential in many disciplines (as noted in the June issue of ASBMB Today).
The idea behind Imiplex, which was started with the help of a pair of Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research grants, is to design modular molecular protein nanostructures that can self-assemble into a variety of architectures. Weber and her team use highly stable proteins taken from thermophiles as the starting point, making them easier to manipulate and derivatize while retaining their native structures.
Once complete, Imiplex will sell both the individual modules of the platform and the technology required to assemble the supramolecular structures. Customers can purchase prefunctionalized modules or functionalize the components themselves, offering flexibility in how the technology is used.
Of course, Weber has her own visions and interests, and plans on making some specially designed products as well. "My personal interest is to help improve quality of life in developing countries, and thermostable nano-assemblies can be used outside of biological settings, so I see potential in areas like water purification."
This type of endeavor brings together all of Weber's previous biological expertise, built up over 25 years in academia and industry. It all began with her doctorate at the University of Arizona in 1979, followed by a postdoc with Nobel-winning crystallographer Thomas Steitz at Yale University. Afterwards, she joined Genex Corp. where she worked on one of the first teams involved in engineering industrial enzymes, and then took positions at DuPont and Schering-Plough, where she carried out structure-based drug design.
"I often point out to students that during most of my career, I remained at the bench," Weber says, "because I think that's an advantage of industry if you like the hands-on aspect of doing experiments."
Weber certainly will need to do a lot of hands-on work at Imiplex, a true start-up employing a handful of staff and collaborators. The company is currently in the proof-of-concept stage, trying to demonstrate that these modular platforms can self-assemble under a variety of conditions.
"The work has been progressing well," Weber notes, "so I'm hopeful that within the next few months, we will be ready for the next stage, when we can bring in venture funding to help us grow the company and increase production."
Weber always has been a positive person, and it's important to keep a positive attitude while nurturing a start-up; even with the combined knowledge and expertise Weber and Salemme bring to the operation, biotechnology is a tricky business that requires someone with a sense of adventure and fearlessness.
The right frame of mind helps too, which Weber definitely has. "My goals are to keep the company moving forward, create high technology jobs and eventually bring the benefits of nanotechnology to many people."
More from the current issue


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After the death of a 53-year-old D.C. man, the News4 I-Team investigated ambulance delays and why it is taking so long for D.C. Fire & EMS to answer questions about long response times. Read More
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DCFEMS is one of the most troubled agencies in our region, with the union and the agency telling very different versions about why things go wrong inside the agency. The News4 I-Team spent a year and a half fighting a legal battle for documents to get to the truth and to find out if decisions being made behind closed doors could be the difference between life and death.
The News 4 I-Team fought a legal battle for more than a year and half for documents from the DCFEMS to shed light on what's really happening inside the city's fire department. We explain how staffing, downgrades, sick outs... Read More
A list of -- and description of -- documents the I-Team used for this report. Read More
The I-Team fact checks how long it really takes D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services to arrive. Read More
The News4 I-Team learned the District expects to hire dozens of new firefighters and EMTs by March 2014, but there's concern that all of those new men and women in uniform won't be enough to fill all the empty positions in... Read More


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Announcing Transmedia, Hollywood:S/Telling the Story/
Conference Overview:
Transmedia, Hollywood: S/Telling the Story is a one-day public symposium exploring the role of transmedia franchises in today's entertainment industries. The event brings together top creators, producers, and executives from the entertainment industry and places their critical perspectives in dialogue with scholars pursuing the most current academic research on transmedia studies.
Co-hosted by Denise Mann and Henry Jenkins, from UCLA and USC, two of the most prominent film schools and research centers in Los Angeles, Transmedia, Hollywood will take place on the eve of the annual Society of Cinema & Media Studies conference, the field's most distinguished gathering of film and media scholars and academics, which will be held this year in Los Angeles from March 17 to 21, 2010.
By coinciding with SCMS, Transmedia, Hollywood hopes to reach the widest possible scholarly audience and thus create a lasting impact in the field. It will give cinema and media scholars from around the world unprecedented access to top industry professionals and insight into their thinking and practices.
USC Cinematic Arts Complex, Los Angeles
Conference Summary:
Transmedia, Hollywood: S/Telling the Story
As audiences followed stories as diverse as Heroes, Lost, Harry Potter, and Matrix, from one format to another--from traditional television series or films into comics, the Web, alternate reality or video games, toys and other merchandise--Hollywood quickly adopted the academic term "transmedia" and began plastering it above office doors to describe this latest cultural phenomenon. This is not to say that convergent culture and transmedia storytelling are new concepts; instead, the emergence of convergence can be traced to the 19th century when a Barnum and Bailey-style mode of entertainment first took hold, maturing in the mid-1950s with Walt Disney's visionary multi-platform, cross-promotional, merchandising extravaganza known as Disneyland.
Since then, Hollywood has created countless new transmedia titles, everything from Batman to Star Wars - an evolution only accelerated by the advent of digital convergence. While transmedia, in one way, vindicates the logic of the integrated media conglomerate and activates the synergies long hoped for by the captains of industry in charge of Hollywood's six big media groups, it may also prove to be more than they bargained for. Engaged, "lean-forward" consumers--coveted by advertisers and entertainers alike--are not content simply to watch traditional media but rather, they produce their own videos, remix other people's work, seek out those who share their interests, forging concordances and wiki's, fan fiction, and various forms of interactivity that are still in their infancy and that corporate Hollywood is just beginning to explore. Copyright law, guild rules, and the conventions of audience quantification are frequently operating at cross-purposes with these new, expansive sets of cultural-industrial practices. As the demise of the music industry shows, active audiences and technological advances can create an explosive combination, powerful enough to bring down an entire industry. The entertainment industry wants to embrace this new, active consumer while ensuring its own survival by seeking to recreate familiar rules of what is considered "valuable" and "entertainment" within traditional business models.
Transmedia, Hollywood turns the spotlight on media creators, producers and executives and places them in critical dialogue with top researchers from across a wide spectrum of film, media and cultural studies to provide an interdisciplinary summit for the free interchange of insights about how transmedia works and what it means.
Conference Panels
Topic: Reconfiguring Entertainment
Henry Jenkins, USC, Moderator
The recent news that Disney is buying Marvel Comics has sent shock waves through the entertainment industries as two companies, which have built their fortunes on transmedia experiences but for very different groups of consumers, are being brought together under single ownership. What implications does this merger have for the kinds of entertainment experiences we will be consuming in the next decade? This panel brings together visionaries, people who think deeply about our experiences of play, fun, and entertainment, people whose expertise is rooted in a range of media (games, comics, film, television) to think about the future of entertainment as a concept. Transmedia designers often use the term, "mythologies," to describe the kinds of information rich environment they seek to build up around media franchise and deploy the term, "Bibles," to describe the accumulated plans for the unfolding of that serial narrative. Both of these terms link contemporary entertainment back to a much older tradition. So, are we simply talking about a largely timeless practice of storytelling as it gets relayed through new channels and platforms? Or are we seeing the emergence of new modes of expression, new kinds of experiences, which are only possible within a converged media landscape? What does it mean to have "fun" in the early 21st century and will this concept mean something different a decade from now? In what ways will the desire to produce and consume such experiences reconfigure the entertainment industry or conversely, how will the consolidation of media ownership generate or constrain new forms of popular culture? What models of media production, distribution, and consumption are implied by these future visions of entertainment?
Topic: ARG: This is Not a Game.... But is it Always a Promotion?
Denise Mann (UCLA) moderator
Using a collective intelligence model disguised as play, Alternate reality games, or ARGs, give any individual with a computer a means of problem-solving anything from global warming to the true meaning of the Dharma Institute conspiracy. ARGs also give instant "geek cred" to marketers from stuffy firms like Microsoft and McDonalds tasked with selling consumer goods to the Millennials. Are these elaborate scavenger hunts, which send players down an endless series of rabbit-holes in search of clues, teaching them how to think collectively or are they simply the latest in a long series of promotional tools designed to sell products to tech-savvy consumers? Unlike regular computer games, ARGS engage a multitude of players using a multitude of new technologies and social media formats--sending clues via Web sites, email, or just as likely, by means of an old-fashioned phone booth in some dusty, small town in Texas. For ARG creators, the new entertainment format represents rich, new storytelling opportunities, according to Joe DiNunzio, CEO of 42 Entertainment (AI, Halo 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest). However, for the big six media groups, the primary purpose of ARGs is promotional--a new-fangled way of selling Spielberg's AI (The Beast), WB's Dark Knight, Microsoft's Halo 2 (ilovebee's), or ABC's Lost (The Lost Experience). In other words, are ARGs simply a novel new way for the big six media groups to prompt several million avid fans to start beating the promotional drum on behalf of their favorite movie, TV series, or computer game or do they represent a new way of harnessing revolutionary thinking? In this panel, ARG creators, entertainment think-tank consultants, and media scholars will debate the social vs. commercial utilities associated with this latest form of social engagement.
Topic: Designing Transmedia Worlds
Henry Jenkins (USC) moderator
Transmedia entertainment relies as much on world-building as it does on traditional storytelling. Transmedia practices use the audience's fascination with exploring its richly detailed world (and its attendant mythology) to motivate their activities as they seek out and engage with content which has been dispersed across the media landscape. Recent projects, such as Cloverfield, True Blood, and District 9, have relied on transmedia strategies to generate audience interest in previously unknown fictional universes, often combining promotional and expositional functions. Derek Johnson has argued that these fictional worlds are "over-designed," involving much greater details in their conceptual phase than can be exploited through a single film or television series. This "overdesign" emergences through new kinds of collaborations between artists working both for the "mother ship," the primary franchise, and those working on media extensions, whether games, websites, "viral" videos, even park benches. In this new system, art directors and script writers end up working together in new ways as they build up credible worlds and manage complex continuities of information. What does it mean to talk about fictional worlds? How has this altered the processes behind conceptualizing, producing, and promoting media texts? What new skills are emerging as production people learn to introduce, refine, and expand these worlds through each installment of serial media texts? And how do they manage audience expectations that they will continue to learn something more about the world in each new text they consume? What does each media platform contribute to the exploration and elaboration of such worlds?
Topic: Who Let the Fans In?: "Next-Gen Digi-Marketing"
Moderator: Denise Mann (UCLA)
Most Hollywood marketing campaigns remain overly reliant on expensive broadcast television commercials to reach a large cross-section of the audience despite growing evidence that avid fans are capable of generating powerful word of mouth. In the decade since The Blair Witch Project's website became a model for engaging a core audience by creating awareness online, a new generation of marketing executives has emerged, challenging the effectiveness of top-down strategies and advocating "bottom-up," social media marketing. By fusing storytelling and marketing--ranging from ABC's low-tech, user-generated aesthetic in "Lost Untangled" to Crispin, Porter + Bogusky's polished, eye-candy approach to selling Sprite in its "sublymonal advertising" campaign--this next generation of web marketers has upended previous notions about where content ends and the ad begins. Having grown up reading Watchman comics, playing Sims, and surfing the Web for like-minded members of their consumer tribe, these new media professionals come armed with the knowledge of what it means to be a fan; as a result, they are refashioning the processes and structures that inform the relationship between audience members and the culture industry--forcing today's media conglomerates to adapt to the new realities of the cultural-industrial complex while also ensuring their own survival. Gen-Y consumers' sophisticated understanding of, but less contentious relationship with brand marketing, invites today's media marketers to embrace a revolutionary mode of selling that may impact copyright law, guild agreements, professional standards, and the global labor market. What is the future of entertainment? Will the Internet be run by top-down mid-media corporate owners or bottom-up Web-bloggers or some yet to be realized combination of both?
Speakers include:
Ivan Askwith, Director of Strategy, Big Spaceship (recent projects include work for NBC, A&E, HBO, EPIX, Second Life and Wrigley).
Danny Bilson, THQ (The Rocketeer, Medal of Honor, The Flash, The Sentinel)
Emmanuelle Borde, Senior Vice-President, Digital Marketing, Sony Imageworks Interactive (her award-winning team of marketers, designers, producers and technologists have developed thousands of websites and digital campaigns for Sony Worldwide products, including Spider-man, 2012, Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon, etc.)
David Bisbin, Art Director/Production Designer (Twilight, New Moon, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Drug Store Cowboy)
Will Brooker, Associate Professor, Kingston University, UK. (selected publications: Star Wars [2009]; Alice's Adventures: Lewis Carroll in Popular Culture [2005]; The Bladerunner Experience [2006];Using the Force [2003]; Batman Unmasked [2001]
John Caldwell, Professor, UCLA Department of Film, TV, Digital Media (selected publications: Production Studies: Cultural Studies of Film/Television Work Worlds [ 2009]; Production Culture: Industrial Reflexivity and Critical Practice in Film/Television [2008]; New Media: Theories and Practices of Digitextuality, [ 2003]; Televisuality: Style, Crisis, and Authority in American Television, (1995)
Alan Friel, Partner, Wildman Harrold & Associates
John Hegeman, Chief Marketing Office, New Regency Productions (spearheaded marketing campaigns for: Saw 1 & 2, Crash at Lionsgate; The Blair Witch Project at Artisan, etc.)
Mimi Ito, Associate Researcher, University of California Humanities Research Institute (Engineering Play: A Cultural History of Children's Software; Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning With New Media; Personal, Portable, Pedestrian: Mobile Phones in Japanese Life)
Derek Johnson, Assistant Professor, University of North Texas
Laeta Kalogridis, Screenwriter (Shutter Island, Night Watch, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Battle Angel; Executive Producer, Birds of Prey and Bionic Woman)
Richard Lemarchand, Lead Designer, Naughty Dog Software (Uncharted: Drake's Fortune; Uncharted 2: Among Thieves)
R. Eric Lieb, Partner in BlackLight Media; Former Editor-in-Chief, Atomic Comics; Former Director of Development, Fox Atomic (Jennifer's Body; I Love You Beth Cooper; 28 Weeks Later)
Marti Noxon, Producer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Prison Break; Gray's Anatomy; Mad Men)
Roberta Pearson, Professor, University of Nottingham (selected publications: Reading Lost [2009]; Cult Television [2004]; The Many Lives of Batman: Critical Approaches [1991], etc.)
Steve Peters and Maureen McHugh, Founding Partners, No Mimes Media (recent credits include: Watchmen, The Dark Knight, Nine Inch Nails, Pirates of the Caribbean II)
Nils Peyron, Executive Vice President and Managing Partner, Blind Winks Productions
Louisa Stein, Head of TV/Film Critical Studies Program, San Diego State University (Limits: New Media, Genre and Fan Texts; Watching Teen TV: Text and Culture)
Jonathan Taplin, Professor, Annenberg School For Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California; CEO, Intertainer.
John Underkoffler , Oblong, G-Speak (technical advisor for Iron Man, Aeon Flux, Hulk, "Taken", and Minority Report).
Steve Wax, Managing Partner, Campfire (Northern Lights, The Little Sister, Unmade Beds)
Jordan Weisman, Founder, Smith & Tinker (Credits include: The Beast, I Love Bees, Year Zero)
Admission is free to Students and Academics, $25 for general public.
Register now at: http://www2.tft.ucla.edu/RSVP/
Watch this space for more information.


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Bambi threat: How to avoid free venison
November is the cruelest month– for deer eager to mate, and for hapless drivers with whom these libido-driven beasts collide.
Auto damage is a given; injury and death are possible. Last year, 201 people died in car-deer collisions in the U.S.; 24 Virginians have died since 1992.
That's not counting, of course, the staggering casualties on the deer side.
In Albemarle County, 80 deer-related accidents have been reported since August 1, according to County Police Lieutenant John Teixeira, who believes that number is slightly higher than usual.
October and November are months when the animal and human worlds are most likely to collide. Not only is it mating season– dubbed "rutting season" in the deer world– but hunting season also begins, which sends deer scurrying.
And, it gets dark earlier. About half of all deer-in-the-headlights encounters occur between 5pm and midnight, according to Erie Insurance Group, which has tracked car-deer crashes for the past five years.
James Braxton sees the casualties firsthand. He's the VDOT supervisor responsible for road maintenance in the Boyd Tavern area, and he estimates his crew picks up around 300 deer carcasses a year, called "1080s" in VDOT parlance.
"I think it's more this year," says Braxton. "One day we picked up 13.
"With the hunting season and dogs running them, they're on the move. Some places you can go and find them everyday. We patrol, and we know where they're going to be."
VDOT puts up "deer crossing" signs in many high-risk areas, says assistant resident engineer Teresa Butler. "But of course the deer can't read," says Butler. "That's to alert drivers."
VDOT also tracks how many deer it picks up. In the past month, Boyd Tavern is the leader of the pack with 150, followed by Free Union (130), Yancey Mills (100), Keene (28), and Stanardsville (20).
And Free Union tracks the deer meat another way: by the number of pounds that go to the landfill. From October 17 to November 17, carcasses totaled a whopping 13,000 pounds.
VDOT crews aren't the only ones busy. Local auto body shops see a business boom during rutting season.
"We fix from three to five cars a week," says Grant Cosner at Cosner Brothers Body Shop, who estimates the average cost "in the neighborhood of $1,500." Erie Insurance's average deer claim is $2,040.
Do insurance rates go up when deer meet autos?
"I can't speak for other insurance companies," answers Erie spokesman Mark Dombrowski, "but with Erie, deer collisions are not subject to a surcharge."
Lt. Teixeira urges the deer-struck to report the incidents. "It's not their fault the deer jumped in front of them. It's very scary. Deer have gone into windshields, and there have been injuries."
More than 1.5 million crashes involve deer each year, at an estimated $1.1 billion in vehicle damages, according to a recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report.
But with between 850,000 and 1 million white-tail deer running around the state, according to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, how do motorists avoid an ill-timed rendezvous with Bambi?
For starters, forget about those deer bumper-mounted whistles. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says tests have proven them worthless.
However, Lt. Teixeira says Albemarle police have some contrary evidence, at least anecdotally. "Since we've put them on police cars," says Teixeira, "we've had fewer accidents."
Experts advise more mundane measures: slow down, stay sober, and wear seatbelts (60 percent of the drivers in fatal crashes don't). Oh, and don't swerve when you find a deer in your path.
Mention you've hit a deer, as this reporter has, and legions of those who've had a too-close encounter of the vehicular kind join in to share their crash stories, leaving one to wonder: Is there anyone out there who hasn't hit a deer?
VDOT's Braxton has been unluckier than most. He's hit deer three times with his personal cars, and totaled one. And Erie Insurance data show that customers who have a deer crash claim are three times more likely to have another claim the next year.
"Drive real slow, and be as careful as you can," Braxton advises.
The upside for venison lovers is that a deer carcass on the side of the road is fair game. "You're probably helping out," by hauling it away, says Teixeira.
One man's expensive auto repair is another man's free dinner.


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Alcoa Inc. slumped on Friday in the wake of sizeable quarterly losses while Twitter Inc. retreated for a fifth day on valuation concerns.
Alcoa AA, -1.09% shares slid 5.4% after the aluminum producer said late Thursday it swung to a fourth-quarter loss. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 4 cents a share, below expectations of 6 cents a share, according to FactSet estimates. The firm also said Thursday morning that it had settled charges of corruption in Bahrain with a $384 million payout to the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice. Shares slid 6.1%.
Shares of Twitter TWTR, +0.70% edged down 0.1% for a weekly loss of 17%. The stock was downgraded to sell from hold with a price target of $32 at Cantor Fitzgerald earlier this week. "While historically we've reserved our 'SELL' rating to business models with structural challenges, we find TWTR's valuation to be excessive and currently see materially more downside than upside," analyst Youssef Squali said in a report.
John Blackledge at Cowen and Co. also initiated coverage of Twitter at underweight this week with a price target of $32.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF, -1.69% rallied 12% after the firm raised its full-year adjusted per-share earnings forecast to a range of $1.55 to $1.65 from a previous estimate of $1.40 to $1.50. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect $1.47 a share.
Ventas Inc. VTR, -0.08% rose 4.6%. The stock was upgraded to buy from neutral with a price target of $63 at UBS.
Intuitive Surgical Inc. ISRG, +0.32% rallied 8.6% following a positive write-up on its da Vinci surgery system from analysts at Wedbush. "Outcomes and cost-effectiveness data are beginning to favor da Vinci surgery as surgeons and operating room personnel gain greater experience with the technology," said analyst Tao Levy in his report. Levy believes adoption of robotic surgery will increase over time.
Shares of Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc. ICPT, +0.91% soared another 62% following a surge of 281% on Thursday. The company announced on Thursday that halted the trial of its obeticholic acid drug to treat nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) ahead of schedule on positive results. The drug could be the first reliable treatment option for patients facing liver transparent and as a result, obeticholic acid could be a true blockbuster, according to Jim Molloy, an analyst at Janney Capital Markets.
Sears Holdings Corp. US:SHLD disappointed the market with plunging same-store sales, sending its shares tumbling 14%. The company said comparable sales declined 7.4% in the quarter-to-date holiday season. The firm, which investors have punished for its reluctance to invest in its stores, said it forecasts a full-year loss of $7.64 to 8.61 a share, compared to the average estimate of $6.80 a share loss, according to FactSet.
Five Below Inc. FIVE, -1.51% traded down 7.2% after it revised its guidance for the three months ended January 4. The retailer now expects adjusted per-share profit to be between 44 cents and 46 cents. In December, the firm said it expected adjusted profit of 49 cents to 51 cents.
Teradata Corp. TDC, -0.60% shares slid 2.4%. Analysts at Mizuho earlier this week lowered the stock's price target to $48 from $52 due to continued pressure from large deals and weaker cost competitiveness.
Trending tickers
MSFT: Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -1.16% shares climbed 1.4%. The stock was upgraded to overweight from equalweight at Barclays. "We believe investor focus will soon shift from the outcome of the CEO search to the improving fundamentals of Microsoft's business," Raimo Lenschow, an analyst at Barclays, said in a report.
LEN: Home builders were strong with Lennar Corp. LEN, +0.58% shares gaining 2% and D.R. Horton Inc. DHI, +1.40% shares up 1.8%. Treasury yields fell on Friday after data from the Labor Department showed the economy generated fewer jobs than expected. The U.S. added 74,000 jobs last month, the smallest increase since the beginning of 2011. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast an increase of 193,000 nonfarm jobs. Lower interest rates are beneficial to the real-estate market, making loans more affordable.
PulteGroup Inc. PHM, +0.62% shares added 1.9%, shaking off a downgrade at J.P. Morgan. "We are downgrading PHM to underweight from neutral based on the stock's expensive relative valuation, as well as our outlook for less meaningful gross margin expansion and below average order growth in 2014," said analyst Michael Rehaut in a note.
GPS: Gap Inc. GPS, -2.00% rose 1.1% after saying it expects full-year per-share earnings near the top of its projected range of $2.57 to $2.65. The firm also said same-store sales in December were flat, missing expectations of a 1.5% increase, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters.
OMC: An announcement by European Union regulators cleared the way for advertising powerhouses Omnicom Group Inc. OMC, -0.80% and rival Publicis Groupe SA PUBGY, -0.20% PGPEF, +2.86% PUB, +0.41% to merge. The combined firm is expected to be the world's largest advertising agency. Shares of Omnicom Group were up 1.4%.
More from MarketWatch:
Warren: Yellen will be more aggressive bank regulator.
HSBC: 10-year Treasury yield will fall to 2.1%.


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Today sees the long awaited (for us at least) release of the 18 track compilation "Folk Music For What Lies Ahead"!
We have blathered on about it numerous times, so just visit the compilation page HERE to stream some samples or purchase. With the amount of great artists included, you really can't go wrong!
You can also pick up the release on your favourite "e-tailer" as well be clicking below:
Enjoy release day!
~Sandy & Judy


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Oceanfront Modern Home in Bridgehampton, New York
Dune Road Residence is a three-story contemporary home designed by Stelle Architects and located in Bridgehampton, New York. This new project was built after the demolition of a former residence constructed here, as present standards require a much higher elevation, adapted to the coastal terrain. Here is more from the architects: "The goal was to keep the existing scale and dynamics of the site and design a residence that reflected the footprint and spirit of the original home. Materials for the new house include Alaskan cedar shingle panels interspersed with glass sections. The home has three levels: one for the owners, one for their guests, and one for living and dining. A simple glass and shingle pavilion overlooks a negative edge pool while a path from the garage leads through a natural seaside landscape along the pool and up to the house. Solar control is achieved though the use of overhangs in the southern exposures. Extra thick walls allow for superior insulation, and a geothermal system is employed for cooling". Find this project inspiring?


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Dollar General raises bid for Family Dollar to $9.1 billion
Dollar General on Tuesday dialed up the pressure on Family Dollar, sweetening its all-cash offer and adding safeguards aimed at soothing Family Dollar's antitrust concerns.
The fattened $9.1 billion offer could make it harder for Family Dollar's board to say no to a deal that analysts say could result in the dismantling of the Matthews headquarters, where the retailer employs some 1,400 corporate workers.
Dollar General said if Family Dollar's board doesn't enter into discussions, it will take its offer directly to Family Dollar's shareholders.
Family Dollar, founded in Charlotte in 1959, announced in July it had reached agreement on a $74.50 per-share cash-and-stock deal with Virginia-based Dollar Tree. But larger rival Dollar General last month offered to buy Family Dollar in a $78.50 per-share all-cash deal – $4 a share, or 5.4 percent, higher than the Dollar Tree offer.
Family Dollar rejected Tennessee-based Dollar General's offer four days after the unsolicited bid emerged. Family Dollar chief executive Howard Levine cited antitrust issues, noting that the combined company would have many overlapping locations and would be more than three times bigger than Dollar Tree, its next-largest rival.
In Tuesday's offer, Dollar General said it would pay $80 per share, noting that bid represents a 31.9 percent premium over Family Dollar's closing stock price on the day before the Dollar Tree deal was announced.
Family Dollar shares climbed less than 1 percent Tuesday, closing at $80.22.
Dollar General also said it would be willing to divest itself of as many as 1,500 stores rather than the 700 it initially said it would shed to avoid problems with federal antitrust regulators.
Dollar General said it was so confident in its deal that it offered to pay a $500 million reverse breakup fee to Family Dollar should antitrust regulators block it.
In a letter to Family Dollar's board Tuesday, Dollar General CEO Rick Dreiling said his company had been "extremely disappointed" that its first bid had been rejected without discussions between the two companies.
He urged the Family Dollar board to come to the negotiating table.
"Only by engaging with us can you ensure that you have fulfilled your duty to your shareholders to be well-informed and that you have acted in the best interests of your shareholders to maximize the value of their shares," he wrote.
Family Dollar said in a prepared statement that it had received the latest offer and would review it. The statement added: "The company's board of directors has not changed its recommendation in support of the merger with Dollar Tree."
Levine sent a memo to Family Dollar employees saying he had little information he could share with them at the moment. He pledged to keep them posted.
"While we understand that these developments can be distracting," he wrote, "our customers and teams continue to rely on us."
A spokesman for Dollar Tree said the company had no comment.
Analyst reactions
The latest Dollar General offer "more than adequately" addresses the antitrust concerns, BB&T Capital Markets analyst Anthony Chukumba and associate Dan Cannata wrote in a research note Tuesday.
"We think Family Dollar's board will be hard pressed to justify rejecting Dollar General's revised offer without risking backlash from its shareholders," they wrote. "We would not be surprised to see Dollar Tree simply walk away if Family Dollar agrees to the Dollar General offer."
They said they see Family Dollar as a "must have" for Dollar General because Dollar General's multiyear turnaround plan has "largely petered out" and a combined Dollar Tree-Family Dollar would provide stiff competition.
Dollar Tree and Family Dollar use different retail strategies – everything at Dollar Tree sells for $1, while Family Dollar has many price points. Dollar General, on the other hand, has a business model virtually identical to Family Dollar. Analysts have said that means more duplicate functions could be cut in a merger, likely at the Matthews headquarters.
The proposed Dollar Tree deal, announced July 28, envisions Dollar Tree and Family Dollar keeping many of the corporate jobs in Matthews. Levine would stay on at the combined company for at least two years, reporting to Dollar Tree CEO Bob Sasser. Dollar Tree also plans to keep the Family Dollar name on many of the combined company's stores.
Dollar General hasn't said what it might do with the Matthews headquarters jobs or the Family Dollar name, or what Levine's role would be.
Brian Yarbrough, an analyst with Edward Jones, said Family Dollar's board seems to have little choice but to accept Dollar General's offer. He said that could mean the end of the Family Dollar brand and substantial cuts at the Matthews headquarters by the end of next year.
"It will be unfortunate, but you'll probably see more job losses," he said. "I think that headquarters will be basically empty."
Dollar General's proposal would create the nation's largest discount variety retailer. Dollar General is No. 1 in the sector, trailed by Family Dollar. The combined company would have $28 billion in revenue, more than 160,000 employees and almost 20,000 stores.
Dollar General said it began studying the antitrust issues more than a year ago but also hired Richard Feinstein, former director of the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust enforcement bureau, to review the company's analysis.
Dollar General said Feinstein agreed with the company's belief that the original terms of its bid would have withstood scrutiny.
Dreiling suggested in his letter to Family Dollar that a federal antitrust analysis would focus not on his firm's competition with Family Dollar, but instead would center on Wal-Mart, the main driver of Dollar General's strategic and pricing decisions.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Wayne Hood said in a note to clients that Dollar General could further boost its offer as high as $90 per share, "potentially delivering a knock-out punch to a Dollar Tree bid."


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Meet Charles NoronaCharles Norona, lab technician for the Physics Department since June 2007, likes the variety of his job. "Most of the time it is like one big hobby period. I get to learn about and use new tools. It's a great way to participate in the education process without being a classroom instructor."
Norona's colleagues can't say enough about his commitment to serving the Physics Department and the college in general. "He has helped teachers and other staff members all throughout the division with the technical aspect of various activities," says David Newton, nominator and physics instructor.
"Charles last year became an integral part of the Engineering Club's victory in the robotics competition between De Anza and Foothill. He was instrumental in the construction and fabrication of the competition's playing area. He did this not only for De Anza but also for Foothill, the friendly competition."
Norona appreciates the freedom he has to follow his own ideas about organizing the lab equipment and scheduling his time to support both day and evening labs. "I'm proud of improving the storage of equipment, starting an online inventory and guide to physics equipment, and building demonstration equipment based on faculty needs and suggestions," he says.
Physics instructor Eduardo Luna praises Norona's work ethic. "He has persistently worked hard to maintain our lab equipment and have it ready for the students. Charles is always willing to help. Whenever I need to do a demo in a lecture or lab, Charles has always promptly had the equipment ready," says Luna. "There are so many other qualities that Charles possesses that make him an outstanding physics technician. We are so lucky to have him working with us."
"In all my years in this department, the equipment has never been this good," says Stephanie Dickson, part-time physics instructor. "His care and attention to detail has created an environment of respect. In addition, Charles is always there to help with whatever project is at hand. Charles should be the employee of the year!"
Norona graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory high school and from San Francisco State in 2006 with a B.S. in electrical engineering. He is currently taking classes in the Library and Information Science program at SJSU.


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When it comes to California vacations, we often think of nothing more than sunny Los Angeles. Yes, Los Angeles is a great place to visit, but how would you like to explore a well-kept secret? That well-kept secret is just off the coast of California and it is known as Santa Catalina Island. There is so much to do and see, including scuba diving Catalina.Here are the Top 3 things you can enjoy on Catalina Island:1 – Scuba Diving off Catalina IslandCatalina is often referred to as a scuba diver's paradise. Why is this? It is home to some great diving locations, including the Avalon Underwater Park. For many weekend warriors, it is just easier to head to a more accessible location than a far off destination. This means three important things to you: no damage has been done to natural resources, prices are affordable, and dives are less crowded. What you will find is beautiful beaches, pristine kelp forests, and pleura of marine life.2 – Glass Bottom Boat ToursI recommend scuba diving at Catalina, but I know not all of us have an adventurous side. If you are one of those individuals, your next best option is a glass bottom boat tour. With clean and clear waters, you might be surprised how far you can see down. While the excitement is not as a great as it is with scuba diving, it is more than satisfying.3 – The Catalina CasinoNow you might gather from the name that the Catalina casino is a gambling establishment. This is a common mistake. The establishment's name was derived from the Italian definition of casino, which means a social gathering place. The Casino alone is a great vacation destination and activity due to its beautiful architecture. Inside, you will find a number of must-visits including the theater and the Santa Catalina Museum.Visiting the Catalina Casino, taking a glass bottom boat tour, and scuba diving Catalina Island are just three of your endless choices. Honestly, it does not matter what time of the year you visit Santa Catalina Island or the reason for that visit; you will have plenty of things to do and see.
Travel Vacations – Want to Explore a Well-Kept Secret? Scuba Diving Catalina Island | Travel vacation
Marketing of Your Livestock – The Eight Ways to Effective Promotion | Livestock
The Washington Simmental Association held a field day in May, 2011. Mr. Carlos Guerra of La Muneca Cattle Co. in Texas was our featured speaker. The lesson I took home from his presentation was that if we want to sell our cattle, we must actively promote them and keep promoting them. My favorite quote from Mr. Guerra was:No See, No Tell, No Sell!This got me thinking about effective marketing practices. A rancher can produce the best livestock on the planet, but it does little good if no one knows they exist! Promotion means getting them seen. This can be accomplished several ways. For marketing of your livestock — the eight ways to effective promotion are listed below:1) Exhibit your livestock through the show circuit. Either show your own animals or sell to juniors who are active in the show ring. If you want to attract young showmen, actively support junior activities through prizes, support money, or event sponsorship.2) Hold a field day or other event on your place and have your livestock on display. This requires the host to clean things up, prep the cattle, and provide excellent hospitality. Don't make the event all about your operation. Provide an educational speaker and other activities to entice people to attend.3) Display your livestock at outside activities such as breed sales or other field events. Again, the cattle must be prepped – clipped, worked with, and in good condition.4) If you have some expertise, become a speaker or judge. Not only do the livestock have to be seen, but so do you!5) If you don't want to speak to the public, write for a newsletter, magazine, or blog. Be sure to include your contact information and/or a link to your website.6) Be active in your state breed association and other related groups. This will keep you up to date in the industry and promote your operation indirectly. It benefits the organization as well. An organization is only as good as its best members.7) Network and build relationships. People aren't just buying cattle. They are buying your program and you. I am much more likely to buy from someone I know, admire, and trust than from a stranger. I am also more likely to recommend them to others.8) Develop an internet presence. In this day and age, if someone wants to find you or check you out, they go to the internet. An eye-catching, user-friendly, and search engine optimized website will make a world of difference in your visibility and sales. If you don't feel comfortable doing this on your own, find some help.Marketing doesn't happen unless you actively engage in the process and keep doing it. It also doesn't happen overnight. It requires time, energy, resources, and commitment. Develop a marketing plan. Work with your family and employees to brainstorm ways to promote your cattle program. For marketing of your livestock — the eight ways to effective promotion can help you reap bountiful rewards.
Why a Job in Fashion? | Fashion
Why look at the fashion industry and the fashion world these days? Well there is a good reason to look at fashion especially if you plan on getting a job in the fashion industry. There are different types of jobs in the fashion industry. If you decide to be a designer you have to be up on the latest trends of celebrities and political people alike. You also have to know your clients and what they want and most of them want to be fashionable and be presentable when they go to a job or when they go to a photo shoot.You can get a job as a photographer in the fashion world and be happy in it but you still need to know what is fashionable in the time you are in and what is considered not to be fashionable. You can be an editor in a fashion magazine and be able to research fashion trends through out the United States and through out the world or you can be a fashion assistant where you go and do things for the photographer, editor or designer. The fashion world has all kinds of opportunities available for jobs if that is an area you are interested in.A retail store has to be up on the latest trends in order for them to sell clothes. If they were not then they would not be able to sell the line of clothing. Many places carry a line of clothing and fashion from a certain celebrity. For example some stores like Wall-mart and K-mart and other superstores carry brands like Martha Stewart, Miley Cyrus or Just My Size and those are just some of the brands they carry.Mom and pop shops in New York and other cities start trends as well because they have made a name for them selves with celebrities. Macy's is another place that carries a lot of fashionable and celebrity fashions as well. In fact Macy's is known not only for their Thanksgiving Day Parade, but they are known for making a bold statement in the fashion industry when it comes to showing off their clothing and other accessories.The fashion world is full of surprises and you can do all kinds of modelling for fashion. Modelling is definitely another job in the fashion industry and includes people like Tyra Banks who does Victoria Secret swim wear and lingerie. She has also went gone from just walking the run way to hosting her own reality show in modelling and fashion to allow girls the opportunity to see if they have what it takes to be a model in the fashion industry these days. She also has had her own day time talk show and talks with women about issues that face not only black women in the fashion industry but women in all different industries. She discusses the troubles women face in society today and talks about fashion and modelling as a way of getting out of those struggles. She also talks about it as a way of getting into acting and into theatre as well.Fashion is considered to be here one minute and gone the next. Trends tend to come and go from one century and follow another trend from another century down the road. Every time you look back at past fashion the designers put there own twist to it and make it there own. This is why the fashion industry changes so much and why the jobs available in it would be guaranteed to brighten your day.


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Summers's Withdrawal Points Up Party Fissures
Obama, Boehner Lose Wiggle Room in Center as Conservatives and Liberals Dig In
Raucous and emboldened liberal and conservative wings of Congress are reshaping the power structure in Washington, leaving neither President Barack Obama nor House Speaker John Boehner with a firm grasp on lawmakers ahead of crucial decisions about government spending and the debt ceiling.
The latest jolt came Sunday, when Lawrence Summers withdrew his name from consideration to be chairman of the Federal Reserve. The decision was a setback to Mr. Obama, whose own party had turned aside a request to give him the political space...