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{% trans '13 novembre 2014' %}

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              Tricentenaire en 2015, l'Opéra Comique est la troisième plus ancienne institution théâtrale de France après l'Opéra de Paris et la Comédie-Française. L'Opéra Comique a créé au Siècle des Lumières un genre original – l'opéra-comique – et produit le répertoire français qui s'est le mieux diffusé en région et à l'étranger, jusqu'au cœur du XXe siècle. Parmi les chefs-d'œuvre créés dans ses murs figurent La Fille du régiment, La Damnation de Faust, Carmen, Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Manon, Pelléas et Mélisande ou La Voix humaine.
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              Contrairement à ses deux aînés, l'Opéra Comique n'a jamais pu centraliser ni traiter ses fonds d'archives. Elles sont aujourd'hui dispersées entre différentes parties de fonds des Archives nationales, de la Bibliothèque nationale de France et de la Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris. Certaines archives des périodes les plus récentes sont restées in situ mais ne sont pas consultables par le public.
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            {% blocktrans %}
              Jérôme Deschamps dirige l'institution depuis 2007 avec la volonté de convier le public à se réapproprier l'Opéra Comique dans une perspective historique. Il a mis à l'honneur la programmation du répertoire maison, la restauration du bâtiment, le développement de la pédagogie autour des spectacles, le partenariat avec la recherche, la publication d'ouvrages collectifs et de programmes de salle ambitieux.
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            {% blocktrans %}
              Cette démarche, qui remporte un vif succès public, a incité l'Opéra Comique à concevoir, dans la perspective du tricentenaire de 2015, le rassemblement virtuel de ses archives.
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{% trans 'Contexte' %}

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            En 2012, l'Opéra Comique a présenté sa candidature à l'appel à projet de numérisation 2013 dans le cadre du plan national de numérisation du patrimoine et de la création, coordonné par le DREST, département de la recherche, de l'enseignement supérieur et de la technologie au sein du ministère de la Culture et de la Communication. Le projet, retenu par le ministère, portait sur la numérisation de deux ensembles d'archives :
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              des archives artistiques conservées aux Archives nationales : livrets manuscrits, dossiers de censure, affiches, dessins, gravures et photographies, documents couvrant la période de 1800 à 2007. Cet ensemble constitue environ un tiers des archives globales relatives à l'Opéra Comique, les autres portant sur l'administration et l'architecture ;
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            {% blocktrans %}
              des archives conservées à l'Opéra Comique : programmes de salle et brochures de saison de 1911 à 2007, affiches pour la période 1985-2007, photographies du début du XXe siècle. Au sein de cet ensemble figure un don conséquent réalisé en 2012 par Madame Jeannine Desplobins.
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            Les documents ont été numérisés par Archimaine. En 2013, l'Opéra Comique a décidé de travailler avec l'équipe Dezède, en accord avec les Archives nationales, afin de permettre la mise en ligne et l'accessibilité au plus grand nombre de sa chronologie et de ses archives numérisées, ceci en bénéficiant des garanties scientifiques et techniques qu'offre le portail Dezède.
          {% endblocktrans %}

{% trans 'Ont contribué à la réalisation de ce projet :' %}

{% trans 'À l'Opéra Comique' %}

          {% blocktrans %}
            Agnès Terrier, dramaturge et conseillère artistique

            Laure Mercatello puis Nathalie Lefèvre, directrice administrative et financière

            Albane de Chatellus, secrétaire générale

            Laure Salefranque, adjointe de la secrétaire générale en charge de la communication

            Juliette Tissot-Vidal, chargée de communication web

            Emmanuel Hervé, chargé de mission archives

            Nicola Ross, assistant dramaturge

            Jérôme Avenas, Yann Breton et Emmanuel Quinchez stagiaires à la dramaturgie
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{% trans 'Aux Archives nationales' %}

          {% blocktrans %}
            Catherine Mérot, conservateur général du Patrimoine, responsable du Département Éducation-Culture-Affaires sociales (DECAS)

            Yvette Isselin, chargée d'études documentaires, responsable des fonds Spectacles, DECAS

            Nicole Brondel, chargée d'études documentaires, responsable des fonds de la Censure, Département Justice-Intérieur

            Charlotte Renaud, chargée d'études documentaires, pôle Image, Département de la Conservation

            Marc Paturange, photographe, responsable du pôle Photographie, Département de la Conservation

            Pascal Tanésie, chargé d'études documentaires, chef de mission SIA, Département de la Maîtrise d'ouvrage et du service d'information

            Laurent Martin, responsable des ateliers de Restauration, Département de la Conservation
          {% endblocktrans %}

{% trans 'De l'université de Rouen ou l'équipe Dezède' %}

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            Joann Élart, Maître de conférences en musicologie à l'université de Rouen (GRHIS), chargé dans le cadre d'un accueil en délégation au CNRS (IRCL UMR 5186) en 2014-2015 du suivi de l'importation des données dans Dezède (relecture, préparation des fichiers, coordination du développement informatique)

            Nawal Bouin-El Boustani, Chargée de Valorisation à la Direction de la Recherche et de la Valorisation à l'université de Rouen (convention entre l'Opéra Comique et l'université de Rouen)

            Bertrand Bordage, développeur informatique
          {% endblocktrans %}

{% trans 'Sources' %}

{% trans 'Historique des archives de l'Opéra Comique' %}

          {% blocktrans %}
            Si l'Opéra de Paris, chargé dès son origine d'une fonction politique de centralisation de l'art musical, sauvegarda ses archives de manière quasi exhaustive, l'Opéra Comique conserva les siennes de façon irrégulière. De nos jours, l'institution conserve ses archives courantes et intermédiaires, tandis que le Code du patrimoine prévoit qu'en qualité d'établissement public, elle verse ses archives définitives aux Archives nationales. Mais il n'en a pas toujours été ainsi. Il en résulte aujourd'hui une dispersion et une fragmentation des fonds, dont l'exploration s'apparente souvent à une chasse au trésor.
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          {% blocktrans %}
            Archiviste de l'Opéra à partir de 1866, Charles Nuitter y apporta de la Salle Ventadour, qu'avait occupé l'Opéra Comique de 1829 à 1832, un ensemble de sources qui remontaient jusqu'au XVIIIe siècle. Cette collection fut ensuite enrichie par le don effectué par Émile Perrin, qui avait dirigé l'Opéra Comique de 1848 à 1857. En 1935, la Bibliothèque-musée de l'Opéra fut rattachée à la Bibliothèque nationale de France, puis intégrée au département de la Musique lors de sa création en 1942. Les archives administratives de l'Opéra Comique furent dès lors récupérées par les Archives nationales, tandis que la Bibliothèque-musée conservait ses archives artistiques. Ce fonds s'est enrichi entre 1939 et 1972 suite à la réunion de l'Opéra Comique et de l'Opéra, au sein de la Réunion des Théâtres Lyriques Nationaux (RTLN). Il comporte partitions, manuscrits, maquettes de décors et de costumes.
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          {% blocktrans %}
            Aux Archives nationales sont distinguées les sources produites par l'Opéra Comique (sous-série AJ/13) de celles produites par les administrations de tutelle de l'État (sous-séries F/18 et F/21). L'ensemble porte sur des aspects institutionnels, économiques, sociaux et artistiques, du XVIIIe siècle à nos jours. Notons l'importance des livrets manuscrits, ceux issus du fonds du théâtre (AJ/13) et ceux soumis à la censure (F/18) qui s'exerça jusqu'en 1906. Ces documents, que complètent les procès-verbaux de censure (F/21), témoignent des modifications apportées aux œuvres pendant les répétitions puis les représentations. Ils nous renseignent sur la vitalité du répertoire.
          {% endblocktrans %}

          {% blocktrans %}
            Deux autres institutions comptent dans la reconstitution des trois siècles d'histoire culturelle de l'Opéra Comique. Au Centre national du costume de scène, à Moulins, des costumes exceptionnels produits par le théâtre aux XIXe et XXe siècles ont été déposés avec les collections de l'Opéra et de la Bibliothèque nationale de France. En 2015, l'exposition « L'Opéra Comique et ses trésors » motivera le dépôt à Moulins de nouvelles pièces à haute valeur patrimoniale. À la Bibliothèque historique de la ville de Paris, une riche collection de livrets de mise en scène et de photographies des XIXe et XXe siècles achève de reconstituer la dimension visuelle des spectacles du passé.
          {% endblocktrans %}

          {% blocktrans %}
            Parce que la conservation et l'accès de tous aux archives sont des questions d'avenir, ces divers fonds sont aujourd'hui en cours d'inventaire et/ou de numérisation. Quant aux archives audiovisuelles de l'Opéra Comique, elles font l'objet, en accord avec le ministère de la Culture, d'une convention avec la Bibliothèque nationale de France pour la mise en place d'un fonds Opéra Comique au sein de son département de l'Audiovisuel.
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9 Tips for Building a Referral Network for Your Medical Practice
Adam Uzialko
Building a strong referral network is a critical aspect of ensuring your medical practice is a success. For most medical practices, the primary source of new patients is other health care providers. To grow and sustain your medical practice's revenue stream, it's imperative to continue attracting patients who require your services. Beyond advertising and networking with insurance companies, establishing a strong referral network is a great way to bring in new business.
"With few exceptions, physicians and other health care providers remain the most important sources of patient acquisition," said Daniel Weinbach, principal of health care marketing firm The Weinbach Group. "The only other source that comes close is a patient's insurance company," he told Business News Daily.
However, as health care organizations continue to merge and consolidate, it can be difficult for small practitioners to establish those much-needed referral relationships. And when a referral channel is set up, longevity becomes a priority. How can a provider strengthen and protect that relationship for the long term? Business News Daily reached out to several experts in the health care industry to find out their advice for establishing, maintaining and strengthening referral networks for a small medical practice. Here's what they had to say. [Related: How to Open a Private Medical Practice, Step by Step]
Establish a plan and stick to it
"Start by creating a plan or working with a health care marketing expert to create a plan; then execute," Weinbach said. "Perhaps most importantly, physicians and their practice managers must have patience, discipline and confidence in their plan.Many practices expect immediate results from their efforts; however, establishing a referral network is a process, not an event. An effective program requires continuity and frequency. Too often, practices change course or discontinue their referral-building programs before they demonstrate results."
Adopt technology and embrace interoperability
"In health care, [interoperability] means being able to share electronic information across the health care continuum to improve efficiencies and deliver better outcomes and patient care," said Jana Macon, vice president of Strategic Services at software company Brightree. "The ideal solution is cloud-based and will allow the provider to receive referrals electronically. This streamlines the referral process for both the referral source and the provider, reducing human error and eliminating paperwork." [Related: Choosing the Right Electronic Health Records System for Your Medical Practice]
Keep communication channels open
"Communicate with your referrers on a regular basis about mutual patients of interest," said Joseph Glaser, nuclear medicine physician at Radiologic Associates PC. "This will increase the quality of patient care and strengthen your relationship with the referrers. Let your mutual patients know that you have communicated with their other doctors, and they will feel like they are getting quality care (which they are). Projecting this to your patients and referrers will make it more likely that people will seek you out."
Know your practice and your target audience
"Of course, the best tactics for building patient volume will vary widely based on the practice's specialty," Weinbach said. "For example, growing a primary care practice requires a more consumer-friendly approach, while growing an oncology practice requires targeted outreach to physician referrers, like radiologists and site-disease specialists. Unfortunately, there are few 'quick fixes' in health care marketers' toolboxes. That said, we have found great success with online search advertising, especially when our clients have well-designed, highly functional websites."
Welcome new providers to the area
"Develop a plan to contact and welcome new physicians in town," advised Andrea Eliscu, president of Medical Marketing Inc."Call or write a personal letter of welcome or introduction. Share a little about your practice, and provide your personal cellphone number. Offer to serve as a resource, whether for medical contacts or family needs like schools and day cares. Go a step further and invite the new physician to be your guest at a professional meeting or community event."
Schedule face-to-face meetings with referrers
"When a specialist is looking to increase their referrals, a face-to-face meeting makes a big difference — enhancing the physician-to-physician relationship counts," said Wayne Lipton, managing partner at Concierge Choice Physicians. "Also, interacting with the referring physician's staff is a way to impact the number of referrals. Ultimately, it comes down to performance — timely appointments, appropriate communication and top-level services."
Get your name out there
"Make yourself known and available; advertise locally," Glaser said. "If there are local medical societies, professional societies, chambers of commerce, join and be known. Keep track of where your greatest return comes from, and ramp it up accordingly. Network with other health care providers, including nonphysicians [such as dentists]. They may be sources of referrals, and you may be able to reciprocate as you get to know and trust each other's expertise."
Keep the referrer informed after seeing the patient
"When the referral source doesn't have to constantly follow up on paperwork or a patient's treatment, they'll want to work with you on an ongoing basis," Macon said. "In addition, remaining steadfast in providing excellent patient care makes the referral source's life easier because they won't need to see the referred patient again for the same issue. In the world of outcomes-based reimbursements, it's more important than ever for referral sources to partner with the best providers."
Re-evaluate and update referral relationships as necessary
"One thing to do is to reassess regularly and to be aware of the changes that occur in practices," Lipton said. "For example, what may have been a good referral in radiology five years ago may not be one now as facilities and equipment age."
Looking for more information on owning and operating a medical practice? Our medical practice guide includes everything you need to know about how to open a practice, with advice from experts who've done it.
Image Credit: Tashatuvango/Shutterstock
See Adam Uzialko's Profile
Freelance editor at business.com. Responsible for managing freelance budget, editing freelance and contributor content, and drafting original articles. Also creates product and service reviews to assist business.com readers in buying decisions for their businesses. VP and co-founder of CannaContent, a digital marketing company dedicated to the cannabis, hemp, and CBD industries. Focused specifically on the content marketing arm of the company, creating blogs, press releases, and website copy for clients spanning the entire supply chain. Avid fan and indispensable ally of the feline species. Music lover, middling guitarist, and unprompted vocalist. Miniature painter who loves sci-fi and fantasy. Armchair political philosopher with a tendency to read old books written by men with unusually large beards. Ask me about all things writing!
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


After analyzing a variety of Google search engine results pages, we found that one of the most popular search phrases involving hard money is "hard money vs. soft money." I live and breathe hard money, but—I am the first to admit—it creates certain myopia when it comes to an understanding what people outside of our industry know about it. Ours is a highly specialized product, but many people, even those who are financially sophisticated, have little understanding of it. A couple of days ago I ran into my former boss, with whom I worked 20 years ago. He is a great, successful man who ran a multi-million insurance and financial services company for MetLife and retired as a multi-millionaire. We started catching up and discovered he has no idea what hard money is—and he is a former financial guru!
First, let's take a look at soft money. If you are a political consultant, soft money means contributions donated to political parties in a way that leaves them unregulated. In contrast, hard money donations are regulated by law through the Federal Election Commission. For a real estate investor, this might not be the most pertinent information, but it adds an interesting perspective to hard vs. soft money.
A few financial sites do their best to come up with a definition of soft money, some of which do not make any sense at all. You might also notice that any mentions of soft money are all on the hard money lenders' sites. Go ahead and experiment. Call your local bank and ask to apply for a soft money loan. It's very likely they will have no idea what you are talking about.
So why are people searching "hard vs. soft money"? The logic is simple. If there is prime lending, there must be a subprime lending. Correct? Yes, indeed. If there are secured loans, there must be unsecured loans, right? Absolutely. However, if there are VA loans, are there loans that are non-VA? No, there is one particular type of loan that is explicitly designed with veterans in mind, and there are all other loans that are open to anyone, regardless of whether they are veterans or not.
First and foremost, hard money is a loan offered exclusively to real estate investors. It's not designed to promote or encourage home ownership. You've probably heard about the many consumer mortgage regulations that came on the heels of the housing crisis. Those regulations capped lender compensation and imposed stricter underwriting guidelines on the whole mortgage industry. Today, 90% of the mortgage market are plain-vanilla mortgages that don't offer much variation from lender to lender.
Hard money loans are designed to enable investors to make money by investing in real estate. As such, it's not a consumer loan, but a business loan. Hard money lenders take more risk and charge a fair market price to compensate for it. Those loans must not be confused with subprime financing though. We get quite a few phone calls from folks who want to purchase a primary residence but have been declined for financing by their banks. "Can you help me?" they ask. We wish we could, but no hard money lender can. You are not an investor, and this would not be a business loan.
To be a hard money lender you have to work with real estate investors. However, many lending institutions do that, and they are not hard money lenders. What differentiates hard money lenders is the types of properties they accept as collateral and the amount of leverage they provide to their borrowers.
Non-hard money lenders (preferably called traditional lenders vs. "soft") do not lend on properties that require repair. This is why when such properties are shown in MLS, they often come with a note: "Investor Special. Cash Only." No matter what a good deal that property is and no matter what its after-repair value potential is, traditional lenders won't budge. Such loans simply exceed their risk appetite. They prefer to concentrate on their bread-and-butter strategy of lending on primary residences or turn-key investment properties.
A hard money lender sees beyond the property's current condition and lends on the after-repair value. For example, let's assume you are buying a distressed property in Washington, DC for $400,000. Even if it was your primary residence and was beautifully remodeled, your local bank will only lend you 90-95% of the purchase price. Your total loan amount with them would be $360K.
Let's assume the after-repair value of that DC property is $750K, and the total repair costs are $100K. The total amount a hard money lender can lend you is around $470K. This is what I call the power of leverage. You don't need hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase and rehab a home. A hard money lender will pay 100% of its purchase price and will contribute to its rehab budget.
In essence, hard money lenders allow their customers to borrower amounts of money that significantly exceed the current value of a dilapidated property they purchase. Whether you refer to other lenders as traditional or "soft," they cannot come close to providing such incredible leverage.
Essentially, hard money loans are based on future potential. However, no matter how great that potential is, that future value does not exist at the point of time a hard money lender issues its loan. Now, you can imagine that such loans are risky for the lender. This is why they cost more than traditional mortgage loan you have on your current residence. Hard money lenders need to be compensated for the risk they are taking.
To learn more about our hard money loan terms, or to get pre-approved for a hard money loan in Washington, DC, Maryland, or Virginia, contact New Funding Resources today.


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text:
Regina Mincey
Regina has owned two law practices since moving to the Atlanta area from Washington, DC over 25 years ago. She is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and the first in her family from Louisville, Kentucky to graduate from college. As a product of divorced parents at the age of five and handling her own divorce as a young lawyer, Regina understands first-hand the tremendous emotions that families experience when such a life-changing event shocks their world and sense of stability. Thus, Regina found her niche and has not deviated much from working in the family law and civil litigation arena in some capacity throughout her career.
"Helping families in times of crisis and need" is Regina's motto. It inspires her to proudly assist clients and their children to navigate through life and smile at the end of the day in spite of their problems and worries about the future. Her clients state that when she takes on a challenging divorce case, she is passionate, caring, dedicated, and very involved in all aspects of her clients' lives.
While serving as a chief assistant district attorney and the director of the Child Support Unit in the Fulton County District Attorney's Office, Regina was twice awarded the Child Support Lawyer of the Year plaque. She also worked on unindicted sex crimes and is a former juvenile court CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a program she avidly supports.
Regina handled the challenges of serving as a prosecutor with the same diligence. She always attempted to look at the big picture in crafting solutions to prevent her domestic violence victims from returning to the criminal justice system or becoming repeat victims without resources. During this time, Regina served on the Multi-Agency Child Advocacy Task Force Committee for Fulton County and helped develop plans of action with other community partners and law enforcement agencies to assist vulnerable children who were crime victims.
She enjoys working with students of all ages. Many years ago, her volunteer role as a mock trial coach at Fayette County High School developed into a special affection for the Fayetteville community. She also volunteered as a school mentor and mock trial coach for fifth graders who wanted to learn about the law. For more than 15 years, she has taught paralegal classes part-time, currently at the UGA - Griffin Campus and previously at Atlanta Technical College.
Regina is excited about joining the SM&P firm and sharing her expertise with the team in order to serve an even greater range of clients and community groups. "I am looking forward to working with a superior group of attorneys with an excellent reputation and support staff to help me change people's lives for the better."
She is happily married to Leon. They love to travel, as evidenced by the more than seven cruises they've enjoyed together. She has a son, Antonio, who just graduated from college and is embarking upon a dental career, and an overprotective black lab, Pearl.
U.S. Supreme Court, 2003
Georgia Court of Appeals, 1993
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, 1993
Georgia, 1992
Washington, D.C. 1988
Juris Doctorate
Nashville, TN 1985
Bachelor of Arts: Political Science and Economics
Summa Cum Laude


I did not own a console.
Consider my total surprise then, when I decided to buy an Xbox One, got Destiny as a free game, and fell hard for the game which had just begun its second year. I truly believed that Destiny would just be a game I messed around with until newer games and backwards compatibility arrived. Now it seems that I may favor Destiny over anything else that may be available in the near future. How did this happen?
Apparently when I started the game back in September, a lot had already changed and because of these changes, the game was better than it was in Year One. That worked for me as it is the only version of the game I knew. The Taken King had just come out, but I doubted that I would like the game enough to buy the expansion, let alone all of the DLC it required.
So there I was, leveling my Warlock (Blind class pick by the way. I had no idea.) I got him up to around level 14 when I discovered The Crucible. Up until that point, PVE questing was OK, but there was not much there to keep me engaged. As I began PVP, I discovered a whole new game. Destiny, it turns out, is a very fun and satisfying multiplayer FPS with quality map design and game modes. What really sealed the deal for me was when I realized I was gaining the same, if not more XP toward leveling than PVE and the loot rewards at the end of each match seemed much more valuable to me than PVE as well.
It was not long after that I plunked down the cash to buy all the DLC and The Taken King in one fell swoop. What was most important was that this opened up all of the multiplayer modes including Rift, Salvage, and my current favorite, Mayhem Clash.
It has been roughly 2 months and I am doing Crucible bounties almost everyday. I started a clan and almost have light level 290, which I hear is recommended for raiding. I am PVP focused but my friends and I will do a daily heroic story or even Nightfall on hard once in a while along with the occasional quest. I rely on PVE to break up any PVP frustrations or monotony. Right now, it is a good mix.
The game plays very well. The control feels very good for an FPS.
The game does a great job with loot. There is always an item to chase or a way to upgrade what you already have and this happens often.
Destiny has been spiced up during the time I have been in game. It has been kept fresh. One weekend was an Iron Banner event (Which I excitedly earned rank 5 in). We are currently in a Halloween event (Festival of the Lost). And I hear that an arena event is just around the corner.
Amazing things happen in multiplayer. This is important for any cornerstone game. I have so many clips of cool stuff happening in Destiny. Part of the reason I play is to be a part of that, whether it is a last minute miracle win or performing an amazing last second denial in Rift (See video).
Right now Destiny is my game of choice. I still find time to sprinkle in a little bit of Hearthstone though. Who would have thought that a year old game that I got for free would be one of my favorite games of this year?!
Warlords of Draenor launches tomorrow. More than any other World of Warcraft expansion, I feel a question mark as to how this expansion will be received because there seems to be a lot riding on it. On paper, it looks like it will be a top notch offering. Many of my friends never truly liked Pandaria as an idea, but we all played it because it was very high quality and very well made. Luckily, the core of the game was not lost among the cartoony pandas.
Looking back on the MoP expansion has me a bit torn. On one hand I initially loved it for the quality of design, music, and changes to game systems. On the other hand, it is safe to say that Pandaria is my least favorite WoW expansion (It is the only World of Warcraft product that I refused to buy the Collector's Edition for). I was always opposed to and turned off by the Pandarian concept. The whole idea of taking an April Fool's joke and turning it into a playable race and story within the game still seems a touch silly to me especially when there were so many other great races that could have been chosen. I know Blizzard had their reasons and you can see what they were going for, but ultimately, it is clear that fans want WoW back to its roots and that is exactly what it seems Blizzard is doing with WoD.
WoD will bring us back to a world which we know, to an extent. Also it is a world in which many players enjoyed their stay. Yes, bring us back to Outland even if it is a different version of it. It will bring back the war. Pandaria was a bit light-hearted and philosophical. WoD, at its core, is about hunkering down and preparing for war. Its main selling point, Garrisons, is exactly that.
So here we stand on the edge of the end of Pandaria and on the brink of Warlords of Draenor. WoD holds so much promise and hope for many players. Mix that with updated holiday events and the 10th Anniversary celebrations and this game is poised to keep me away from all other video games for the rest of the year. I'm not complaining about it either.
So clear your quest log and read that guide about Garrisons. Also fire up this Warlords of Draenor inspired playlist I created on Rdio as a companion to doing battle.
I have been around for several console launches. Based on my last console launch purchases, one might mistake me for an Xbox fanboy.
As I have grown older, I have become more discerning as a consumer. 'Shiny and new' is no longer good enough to guarantee that my wads of cash will flow through the system, at least on Day One.
We have come to learn that it is a near foregone conclusion that most things that require online services during a large scale launch will fail on some level for some customers on Day One. This was certainly the case last night for some new PS4 owners and I am sure some Xbox One customers will not be lucky enough to go completely unscathed in some fashion next week.
With these two new consoles, the PS4 and Xbox One, there really is no single system selling game, at least for my money. Everything is a mishmash of games available on PC, previous generation consoles (Call of Duty, Battlefield), or just standard launch title fare (Knack, Ryse). If Ryse ends up being a 10 out of 10 classic, I will have no problem eating my words. Take away shiny, new, and fanboyism and I do not see any compelling reason to slam down my hard earned cash for either system.
It is then not surprising, the move I made this week. I took the money I had set aside for the console launch (read: Xbox One pre-order) and diverted it to a much needed gaming PC upgrade.
This is the first time I ever changed direction so quickly, decisively, and so late in the game at a console launch, but I have to admit it was an easy decision considering the facts, or lack thereof.
Fact 1. Microsoft has been very mum, to a fault, about sharing information and specific details about its new console. So much so, that I could not tell you if I would be happy with it out of the box or not. I suspect I might, but too many questions were left unanswered. Some answers have been found, but most of them were not available on Microsoft's own website. I guess no one really cares about the IR Blaster's full capabilities? Microsoft could really benefit from writing up an Ultimate FAQ like Sony did. Instead, Microsoft has slowly trickled out tidbits here and there in videos. Why the holding back of such vital details?
Fact 2. What game is actually worth playing on either console? Resogun? And on the Xbox side, take into consideration the resolution limitations for the currently available titles. Is that really next gen? Sure, games still probably looks impressive, but there is something about knowing a game is running at 720p and wondering why I would not just play it on a 360 or PC. A few extra textures? At this point, I expect each generation to be magical somehow. It needs to wow me (Saying "Xbox on" is not enough), or what would be the point for the next 8-10 years? Regardless, it is tough finding the point on Day One this go around.
Fact 3. I have spent the most money on games this year via Steam. The biggest reason for this is that Steam has ridiculous sales that save gamers tons of cash. In addition, halfway through the year, I stopped buying things on the Xbox Live Marketplace knowing I would not be able to carry my library forward to the 'One'. You will notice an Xbox Marketplace launch game Powerstar Golf that is retailing for $20. I cannot tell you if this game will be worth $20. I also cannot tell you how much value that $20 will give me in a couple weeks during the Steam Sale, but I can venture to guess I will be able to buy at least 5 "known great" games that I actually want.
With these ideas in mind, I could not come up with a good reason to justify buying either console on Day One. The PS4 was a longshot from the beginning and looking at its unorganized UI (I am certain a 'sort by' feature will be added to the games list in a future update), I could not imagine myself using it as is. I am sure I will eventually get an Xbox One (unless Titanfall underwhelms, although playing Titanfall on PC is always a viable option).
So I wonder, what could have all but assured that myself and other people like me would have plunked down the cash for something shiny and new on Day One this year?
2. The proper and detailed divulging of details that would allow consumers to make an informed decision on an unknown and unproven piece of hardware. I had to scour the internet to find answers to my questions and some of them are still remain answered.
3. Better launch titles. Everything that seemed remotely interesting to me will not be available until at least next year. Watchdogs, Titanfall, Thief, The Division, etc., ad nauseam.
Both consoles appear to have a somewhat bright future, but for now, I am absolutely convinced that I am not missing out on anything... yet.
In my small group of friends, I am the only one playing World of Warcraft's latest expansion, Mists of Pandaria. Everyone else is either not interested or lacks the necessary time. These are people who have all played WoW in the past and conquered all previous expansions alongside me. The part of not having the time is based heavily around being older and being recovering MMO addicts in addition to an interest in trying to not get sucked into just one game. The part about not being interested revolves somewhat around the idea that pandas are corny and I imagine this is not uncommon.
I feel sentiments of both of those ideas to an extent. Time is a precious commodity for everyone and an MMO requires more time than most other types of games. Beyond that, I was never excited to see pandas in WoW. I was content seeing them on the WoW homepage during April Fool's Day as a joke, but it ended there. I purchased Mists of Pandaria differently than any other World of Warcraft game in the past: Alone, online, basic version, no fanfare, and almost in an obligatory fashion. I thought about ending WoW altogether or trying a different MMO instead, maybe Guild Wars 2. But I already knew the outcome of that choice. I would buy Guild Wars 2 and get bored of it then buy Mists of Pandaria. So I just purchased MoP and dove in on day one.
I did not have terribly high expectations. I actually presumed I would not like it. It is now a month after release and I have not stopped playing. Mists of Pandaria is truly a return to form and then some. It is so much more than anything Blizzard has ever done with WoW. Over the last several years Blizzard has changed, tweaked, added, and deleted so many features and systems that it almost seems precisely planned that MoP is some sort of grand culmination and maturing of all previous changes.
This expansion could not be what it is without the maturity of the Dungeon Finder and Raid Finder. Both were evolutions of the idea of solving the issues of getting people into dungeons quickly by grouping them automatically and allowing them to join these instances from wherever they were in the world and took away the need to be on the same server. These systems also place players nice and neatly back to what they were doing before the encounter. It did not always work that way. Now, it is another facet of the game that is expected and it just works.
There are several new dungeons to conquer. My preferred method is to queue up for 1 or 2 dungeons per day as I am leveling. This gives some quick XP boosts in addition to adding some blue gear to help leveling even more. It is not necessary to do this by any means as many quests offer hearty gear upgrades as well, blues included. These new dungeons are straight up, "to the point" with the least amount of trash mobs as ever before.
At level 90, with an average item level of at least 450, players can begin heroic dungeons which offer slightly greater challenges and slightly better loot. One of the best tests of a dungeon's staying power is whether or not you mind returning to its heroic version for numerous subsequent runs. In Cataclysm for instance, I was never thrilled about going into Grim Batol Heroic due to its longer duration than other dungeons. It sometimes felt tedious. None of the new dungeons feel this way to me in MoP. Completing your gear drops from heroics will lead you to getting your average item level to 460 for raids and so on (470 for further raiding). Just last night I was able to hop into a Raidfinder version of Mogu'shan Vaults for the final boss encounter. It is a similar experience to the Raid Finder content in Cataclysm except you win your own loot instead of rolling against the whole raid which is a welcome change.
This game feels like it was directly tuned from all of my previous positive and negative expansion experiences. Leveling feels just right. Leveling is made up of standard WoW questing fare: Collection quests, kill quests, and an occasional bombing run. Every once in a while a quest might stand out and make you smile like the one featuring Master Bruise Paw in Paoquan Hollow which plays like mix of Karate Kid and Kill Bill training. More care has been taken to make sure multiple quests happen closer together so it is easier to stay more organized and productive. Once an entire quest hub is completed, you are offered a ride to the next one. This helps to keep up with the natural questing progression if you so choose to follow it.
The star of this expansion though, is the game world. The zones are some of the best that have been crafted in any MMO I have ever played. The zones are vast, beautiful, detailed and made with care. Each area is memorable which means the designs were well thought out. Even though I do not care for pandas, their home world is fleshed out with ridiculous amounts of culture and story. It is difficult to not be pulled into it and care a little. Blizzard has created an entire continent that I actually want to spend a lot of time on. Whether it be a rainy afternoon by the Lake of Stars or a bright sunny morning near the Great Wall, the world is a true marvel to behold. As a testament to the vast beautiful continent, I never fly too far from the ground so I do not miss any of the character or charm.
This appreciation for the new zones could only facilitated by the inability to fly until you are level 90. At first I was frustrated to learn that the ability to fly had been taken away yet again as I began my journey, but as I experienced the game from ground mounts only, I understood why flying was taken away and I did not mind. I actually preferred it. I feel like I would have missed out on so much. It should be noted that I have been level 90 for about a week and I have been flying all over Pandaria and I still have not seen it all. Needless to say, the charm of exploration is more alive than ever in this expansion.
The character progression options are nearly endless. Cooking has become more desirable and fun. This is a product of the happenings in and around Halfhill. Halfhill is a cooking hub that offers a plethora of things to do in the cooking profession. It certainly does not hurt that the new player farm feature is just across the field which integrates directly with cooking by allowing you to grow crops that are required by the newest recipes. In my experience, this area is a very popular place and only one piece of the huge progression puzzle MoP offers players. On a personal note, going into MoP, my cooking skill was a mere 82. Halfhill offers a helpful first for WoW professions: True power leveling for cooking. There are all new recipes with ingredients that can be purchased and found easily. I was able to level cooking to over 500 within a half hour. This is something totally new. Blizzard is telling players "We want you to experience what we have done with cooking and we want to make it easy for you to catch up".
Every other profession has seen its level cap raised to 600 including the newest profession, Archaeology. Archaeology has seen some new lore groups added in Pandaria which means new artifacts to find and also a new system that allows players to trade in commonly found artifacts for goodies to help with the profession. With that, another profession that has seen great additions is fishing by way of The Anglers which is a group of fishermen, including Nat Pagle, in Pandaria who offer you more fishing dailies. Fishing is amazing in MoP. There are so many lakes and rivers to fish from and there are more fishing pools than ever. Not to mention, many of the new fish are used in man new cooking recipes. In the right MoP zone with the right background music playing (and possibly while it is raining in-game), fishing is peaceful and one of the most unique ways to immerse yourself in Pandaria.
There are several factions to gain rep with which spans every department and corner of Pandaria. The rewards, as always, speak for themselves and many dailies intertwine in terms of giving Lesser Charms of Good Fortune as rewards which eventually yield Elder Charms that give you bonus rolls in raids (another new mechanic). There is an entire quest line that enables you to eventually obtain a Cloud Serpent mount, which I just recently started. If it is not apparent, MoP offers more of everything. There are also all new entire sets of achievements. So much to do, so little time.
With all of this meaty content, there are a ton of things I have not even touched yet in my first month like: Battlegrounds, rated or otherwise. I only had time for one scenario so far. I did not touch Challenge Mode yet. I did not roll a monk or check out its starting zones. I only took a short amount of time to try out Pet Battles (level 5). On a personal note, I have always loved taking part in Brewfest and Hallow's End which happened back to back the last few weeks. And forget about making it out to the Darkmoon Faire anytime soon even though I need to hand some quests in. There is a lot to do and that is what players look for in an MMO.
Reviewing an MMO is always a tough task. It took me a whole month to experience enough content to feel confident enough to write something substantial. One thing that strikes me is that the game does not seem to be getting the attention I feel it deserves. The only way to describe how that makes me feel is this: I feel bad for anyone who decided not to pick this expansion up simply because anyone who was ever a WoW player at any time deserves an expansion this good. I know many will not come back to this 8 year old game for numerous reasons, but I think anyone who does not experience Pandaria is missing out on one fine MMO expansion (not just a Warcraft one) and none of that sentiment has anything to do with pandas except for the name.
Bottom line: Anyone that has any kind of fire left for WoW should pick up this expansion. MoP sets the bar very high for future WoW expansions or any expansion for that matter. It is chock full of content and is well worth $40. Patch 5.1 is already on the PTR which will add even more things to do.


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Click Here for More Articles on FALSETTOS
BWW TV: Watch Stephanie J. Block, Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells & More in Rehearsal for FALSETTOS!
by TV - Press Previews
The new Broadway production of William Finn and James Lapine's Tony Award-winning musical Falsettos, featuring Stephanie J. Block, Christian Borle, Andrew Rannells, Anthony Rosenthal, Tracie Thoms, Brandon Uranowitz, and Betsy Wolfe, begins previews Thursday, September 29 and opens Thursday, October 27.
This production of Falsettos marks a happy reunion for producer and Artistic Director ofLincoln Center Theater André Bishop, composer/lyricist William Finn, and playwright/directorJames Lapine. In 1981, while Artistic Director of Playwrights Horizons, Bishop produced Finn and Lapine's new one-act musical March of the Falsettos in the theater's second floor 75-seat space. The story of a gay man named Marvin, his lover Whizzer. Marvin's wife Trina, son Jason, and their psychiatrist Mendel, March of the Falsettos was a critical success, described by The New York Times as "a musical find." It eventually moved to Playwrights Horizons' larger downstairs theater for an extended engagement before enjoying a long run Off-Broadway at what was then known as the Westside Arts Theatre.
Fast forward to 1990, when a second new musical by Finn and Lapine, Falsettoland, opened at Playwrights Horizons. A continuation of the story of Marvin and his extended family in the early days of the AIDS crisis,Falsettoland repeated the success of its predecessor with rave reviews and a move to the Lucille Lortel Theatre.
In 1992, the two one-act musicals were combined into one and opened on Broadway asFalsettos. Falsettos ran for over a year at the John Golden Theatre and won Tony Awards for Finn's score and Finn and Lapine's book.
The cast gave a sneak peek to the press earlier today and you can check out some performance highlights below!
Click Here to Watch the Video!
Laura Bell Bundy
Nic Rouleau
From This Author TV - Press Previews
BWW TV: Meet the New Stars of FROZEN on Broadway- McKenzie Kurtz, Ciara Renee & Ryan McCartan!
BWW TV: Darren Criss, Laurence Fishburne and Sam Rockwell Talk AMERICAN BUFFALO on Broadway!
BWW TV: What is HANGMEN All About? The Broadway Company Explains!
BWW TV: Hangin' with the Cast of THE MINUTES on Broadway!


I was going to make my code somewhat prettier before releasing it, but as many people where asking for it I decided to release the version I used for the demo. It's called Cybaby (because my hardware was being a crybaby and I'm too lazy to think of a better name).
Too build the hardware get yourself an Arduino (I tested with the Duemillanove and Mega) and a LETO-M module. Just connect the LETO-M to the SPI interface on the Arduino, but make sure to cut down the voltage to 3.3V (I used a voltage divider which seems to work OK, but there are other ways as well). The LETO-M pins have a 2mm pitch. I soldered a cable to a 2mm connector, but you can also buy pre-made cables.
Sending packet 45 4B... success!
Sending packet 41 0... success!
As you can see it's not that user-friendly right now. The it command initialises the hardware, you can then use q to start scanning for devices. In this case it found my presenter (an R400 in this case) on SOP code 0x03 and channel 0x46. We have to set those to send packets to it using the a03 (setting the SOP code) and c46 (setting the channel) commands. Then we can send packets using the eXXXX command (in this case I sent a page-up to the dongle).
Three-byte packets can be sent using the fXXXXXX command. f451408 sends Win+R, which should open the Run menu.
Thanks heaps for documenting the results of your investigation and publishing your code.
I've just taken apart an R400 (one of two) and connected an Arduino Mega (running at 3.3v) directly to the test points on the R400 hand held circuit board.
Your code works without modification. I was expecting to need to cut the track for the power to controller half of the CYRF69103 but so far that has not been necessary.
For your reference, the two presenters I have are on SOP_CODE 0x03 and 0x09.
By chance, did you work out what to send for mouse events?
Code to take the mouse of a little walk and click back where it started.
Nice to hear you're experimenting with this stuff as well!


Which European holiday destinations are accident hotspots?
How calamitous are your holidays? If you're prone to losing items, becoming ill or being a victim of crime when abroad, you might want to stay clear of visiting Spain, according to data published recently.
The land of sun, sea and sand has taken a bit of a battering from the survey by ComparetheMarket.com. And as much as we love Spain, according to holidaymakers, 25 per cent of trips to the country end in some kind of difficulty or issue.
On the other end of the spectrum, Hungary is the place where you are least likely to have your camera lost or stolen.
If you want to avoid claiming on your car insurance, stay away from France, which has been dubbed the "car crash capital" of Europe.
Perhaps, not surprisingly for a country known for skiing and mountain climbing, Austria is the country where most activity-based accidents happen to British holidaymakers.
The results came from questioning over 8000 holidaymakers by the price comparison site.
They discovered that over one in ten holidays in Europe result in illness, injury or property theft for UK tourists.
The Canary Islands, Greece and Italy made up the top four alongside Spain for overall incidents – however, these are also among the most popular holiday destinations in Europe.
The theft hotspots include Spain, the Canary Islands and France. And Spain topped the charts again with the chances of falling ill on holiday, with the Canary Islands and Greece.
Despite this, 47 per cent of Brits go out of their way to avoid becoming ill by steering clear of certain foods.
But sometimes, things can be completely out of our control, with the common occurrence of flight delays or cancellations at airports.
When it came to flight-related issues, Russia came out top as the country most likely to be beset with airport problems. Russian flight operators are also likeliest to lose your luggage.
Posted on June 21st, 2017 in Travel.


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On Voice in Poetry
We all have a natural way of speaking and thus a natural way of writing. In her article, Adrian Blevins discusses 'voice' as a partner to sentences and sentence structure, as well as spoken words. Something that is unedited will look very different from something that's been gone through with a fishbone comb. If we remain true to ourselves, don't experiment, or change anything, or adjust…. Then it's very easy to grow a 'voice' then watch it die.
I'm nobody! Who are you? (260) is so painfully Emily Dickenson that even a novice like myself can see her in the short, punchy poem full of pep with repeating first constant sounds, hyphens, heavy full rhyme and an animal. In this case a frog. But in being all those things, quintessentially Emily Dickenson, I'm nobody! Who are you? (260) illustrates a point for this week about 'voice,' the syntax, content, and structure most used by a particular poet. Sometimes voice is strong, especially in well known, super productive, catchy, or much studied poets. Other times, a poet's voice can seem tentative. But is voice a 'reflection' of the poets inner soul? I think not.
I believe that a poet will write poems is such a way as feels best for them, when writing unrestrained, but that it's not necessarily a perfect reflection of some inner unforeseen and elusive light. Poems are expressions, yes, but not always on a personal level deep enough to show anything new or enlightening about the poet. The ways poet uses syntax, content, and all the other poetry goodies is the way they write. If the poet gets in the habit of writing a certain way, we reader come to recognize the way the poem is written as said poets 'voice.' The problem lies in letting the voice be the everything of the poet. It doesn't matter how many wonderful things you have in your brain, how many perfect images of whatnots and sunshine and puppies, if you can't describe them in a way that makes sense and/or is interesting, you'll have only an audience of one.
While that's cool and works for a lot of people, it's missing the point of crafting poems (in my opinion.) We need to allow our voice to be part of us, yes, but not worry too much about losing it, or changing it, or mimic another poet for a few lines or what influences this poet has on that poet. Because without those experiences there can be no growth. No growth leads to stagnation, disinterest, and poem death.
A poet's voice is not a bad thing, not at all. In some ways voice reflects the poet or speaker, but it isn't a identical image. 'Voice' allows the poet the comfortable of something familiar, as well as a marker for readers to know fairly quickly who a poet is, and what to expect from the poem they are about to read. Depending on the focus of the poem, the voice of the poet alters and fluctuate, but still usually remains within their regular domain. If we're lucky our voice will have lots of room to wander and plenty of facets to explore. This all sounds so analytical. We have to keep in mind that 'voice' on a bottom level is just the words put together in a certain way, a way that is recognizable as a poet (or a speaker within the poem, or a dialect, etc. etc. etc) but above everything else: a poem should contain music. The 'voice' has to express the images within the poets head and in order to be a poem, 'voice' must sing.
Sarah Ockershausen Delp
Blevins, Adrian. "In Praise of the Sentence." 10 Apr 2006. Poetry Foundation. Web. Nov 2016. <https://www.poetryfoundation.org/features/articles/detail/68520>.
Dickinson, Emily. "I'm Nobody! Who are you? (206)." 1951. Poets.org. Nov 2016. <https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/im-nobody-who-are-you-260>.
**Poetry used by permission of the publishers and the Trustees of Amherst College from The Poems of Emily Dickinson, Ralph W. Franklin ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Copyright © 1998 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Copyright © 1951, 1955, 1979 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Posted in Shorty Story
Prev O Prose Poetry
Next Word Choice and Cooked Wolves


Bumkins is dedicated to providing distinctively designed, quality, family-oriented merchandise. We believe that baby products can be both practical and attractive, and we strive to provide visually appealing, value-driven merchandise to our loyal customers.
When faced with the choice of either disposable diapers or old-school pinned cloth diapers with plastic covers, Jakki Liberman decided to create her own alternative. She developed her own style of cloth diapers that combined the soft, absorbent cloth inner layer with a colorful, waterproof outer layer, fastened with Velcro instead of pins. Little did she know that her creation would become popular with other mothers who loved this modern take on the traditional cloth diaper, nor that this signature waterproof fabric would grow into a successful line of bibs, bags and other products all designed to be fun and family-friendly.
Our signature waterproof fabric is unmatched in quality and design. Made from 100% polyester, the waterproof coating and colors are embedded into the fabric. This means even after loads of washes, our products will continue to protect clothing and be as bright and vibrant as the day you bought them.
Based in Phoenix, Arizona, our office is surrounded by the rugged beauty and dramatic desert sunsets for which the region is known, while simultaneously situated in the nation's sixth largest city. We may not wear cowboy boots, but our team embodies the independent spirit of the southwest.
We are serious about work and play and we want that to translate into our products. Our in-house designers strive to create playful prints and practical products that can be enjoyed by both parents and children. Licenses like Disney, Dr. Seuss and DC Comics allow us to bring some of everyone's favorite characters to the table and make our already useful products even more exciting for the whole family.
After 25 years, it was time for a makeover! Rolling out a fresh look with a new, playful logo and modern, updated colors, Bumkins is excited to show off our new style, and to introduce our award-winning products to the next generation of Bumkins babies.


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My husband always says that no one likes to be "should upon." You know–"you should do this," "we should do that." I hate to admit it, but he's right.
In general, people reject being told what to do, myself included. So how do you tell people to clean up their act in order to save our Earth's life support system, our ocean? Well, we decided to challenge people to "#stopsucking."
It wasn't a mandate and we didn't take anything away from anyone. We simply posed a challenge that encouraged individuals to embrace their own agency and to say no to the single-use plastic straws they were offered every day.
It sounds a bit silly–what could a plastic straw do for our ocean anyway? That question was, in part, the point. As it turns out, one single-use plastic straw can do a whole lot.
There are currently more than 10 million tons of plastic entering our ocean every year and it's estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic in our ocean than fish. This flood of plastic is a ticking time bomb in our shared waters and it's starting to go off. We're seeing plastics end up in fish and sea salt. Some reports have even found microplastics in tap water. We don't have time left, we have to act now and we have to act boldly.
However as someone who holds her Ph.D. in psychology, I know just how tricky the human psyche is to first convince, second compel to action and third sustain that action. Moreover, with the plastic pollution crisis so immense and overwhelming, it poses an even greater challenge of knowing just where to start.
As our team explored the myriad options of plastic pollution to find the perfect entry point to incent behavior change, we found plastic water bottles too endemic, plastic bags already somewhat politicized, and no viable alternative for the plastic cup in ALL markets.
That's why we chose the plastic straw. To us, it was the "gateway plastic" to the larger, more serious plastic pollution conversation. Plus, plastic straws are social tools and props, the perfect conversation starter. In starting the conversation by pairing something playful alongside our gross human over-consumption ("500 million consumed daily in the United States alone") we aimed to nudge people toward understanding the issue.
It seems to be working.
Our global social media campaign has been translated into more than nine languages, traversed 40 countries and has earned more than 50 million organic social media impressions.
(Photo by Afroz Shah)
Building on this success, we upped the ante and challenged an entire city to stop sucking for one month, offering, in return, to celebrate its leadership. The first campaign of its kind, Strawless In Seattle, was a success with more than 2.3 million single-use plastic straws permanently removed in just one month and championed by five leading venues, including the International Airport and landmark Space Needle. The campaign also ushered in a new citywide policy in Seattle banning plastic straws and cutlery come July 2018. This announcement was in large part due to our campaign.
This is progress.
So how did we get here? We nudged. We nudged sports fans to care a little bit more about their home turf, nudged foodies to think twice about the filet of fish on their plate, nudged leading chefs to rethink their restaurants' plastic footprint, and we even nudged an entire city to forever forego single-use plastic straws and cutlery.
We hope we can nudge you to #stopsucking too.
(Additional photos courtesy of the Lonely Whale Foundation)
Lonely Whale Foundation
ocean health
StopSucking
Dune Ives
Dune is the Executive Director of the Lonely Whale Foundation where she designs and leads change-making ocean conservation initiatives to address key drivers of environmental degradation and species decline. Her expertise in sustainability and environmental business issues across corporate, municipal, nonprofit, and philanthropic institutions, coupled with a Ph.D. in Psychology, allows for an innovative yet practical approach to resolving systemic challenges for our environment. Prior to joining the Lonely Whale Foundation, Dune was the head of Paul Allen's Vulcan Philanthropy and led the Great Elephant Census, Global Fin Print, Smart Catch, and the BLM Coal Leasing Program PEIS lawsuit. Additionally, Dune oversaw Paul Allen's $100M Global Ebola commitment and the Allen Distinguished Educators program. Dune is also the co-founder of The Green Sports Alliance and an inaugural member of Al Gore's The Climate Reality Project.
Guardians Partners Cultivating Conservation Leaders
Scientists documented hundreds of species in the Moskitia rainforest,
GWC's Dr. Robin Moore catches up with the 'Croc Whisperer' and is hope
Aussie Ark Reintroduces the Eastern Quoll To the Lands Where It Once T
Redefining our values for a biodiverse planet
El descubrimiento fortuito de una rana transparente resalta el tesoro
Leveraging social capital to prevent wildlife crime


2 New England Historical and Genealogical Register, (New England Historic and Genealogical Society), 1982, Vol. 136, pp. 322, 329.
3 Jones, Emma C. Brewster, The Brewster Genealogy, 1566-1907: A Record of the Descendants of William Brewster of the "Mayflower" . . ., Vol. 1, New York: The Grafton Press Genealogical Publishers (1908), 91-92, Internet Archive (Digital Library).


There are certain surprises that we stumble across each day, if we are so lucky. Today was one of those days. I had a rare lunch with a really sweet friend and she chose Oishii on Wycliff in Dallas that is located in the shopping center between the Tollway and Maple. I enjoy my trips to this restaurant, as the menu is vast enough to keep me excited.
Look for Oishii to re-open mid October of 2013.
This Friday and Saturday, April 12-13, 2013, the chef and proprietor of Oishii will be hosting a special eight course dinner on the premises of Zen Bistro and Dessert Bar in Deep Ellum. Thanh Nguyen will be offering some extreme and Zen dishes. The seventh course will be provided by the Zen girls who will offer up a special dessert.
The dinner is only $50 and reservations are very limited. If you need an Oishii fix email Chonnie directly at chonnie@zenbistrodallas.com.


The community of goods, which had so agreeably amused the imagination of Plato, 128 and which subsisted in some degree among the austere sect of the Essenians, 129 was adopted for a short time in the primitive church. The fervor of the first proselytes prompted them to sell those worldly possessions, which they despised, to lay the price of them at the feet of the apostles, and to content themselves with receiving an equal share out of the general distribution. 130 The progress of the Christian religion relaxed, and gradually abolished, this generous institution, which, in hands less pure than those of the apostles, would too soon have been corrupted and abused by the returning selfishness of human nature; and the converts who embraced the new religion were permitted to retain the possession of their patrimony, to receive legacies and inheritances, and to increase their separate property by all the lawful means of trade and industry. Instead of an absolute sacrifice, a moderate proportion was accepted by the ministers of the gospel; and in their weekly or monthly assemblies, every believer, according to the exigency of the occasion, and the measure of his wealth and piety, presented his voluntary offering for the use of the common fund. 131 Nothing, however inconsiderable, was refused; but it was diligently inculcated; that, in the article of Tithes, the Mosaic law was still of divine obligation; and that since the Jews, under a less perfect discipline, had been commanded to pay a tenth part of all that they possessed, it would become the disciples of Christ to distinguish themselves by a superior degree of liberality, 132 and to acquire some merit by resigning a superfluous treasure, which must so soon be annihilated with the world itself. 133 It is almost unnecessary to observe, that the revenue of each particular church, which was of so uncertain and fluctuating a nature, must have varied with the poverty or the opulence of the faithful, as they were dispersed in obscure villages, or collected in the great cities of the empire. In the time of the emperor Decius, it was the opinion of the magistrates, that the Christians of Rome were possessed of very considerable wealth; that vessels of gold and silver were used in their religious worship, and that many among their proselytes had sold their lands and houses to increase the public riches of the sect, at the expense, indeed, of their unfortunate children, who found themselves beggars, because their parents had been saints. 134 We should listen with distrust to the suspicions of strangers and enemies: on this occasion, however, they receive a very specious and probable color from the two following circumstances, the only ones that have reached our knowledge, which define any precise sums, or convey any distinct idea. Almost at the same period, the bishop of Carthage, from a society less opulent than that of Rome, collected a hundred thousand sesterces, (above eight hundred and fifty pounds sterling,) on a sudden call of charity to redeem the brethren of Numidia, who had been carried away captives by the barbarians of the desert. 135 About a hundred years before the reign of Decius, the Roman church had received, in a single donation, the sum of two hundred thousand sesterce from a stranger of Pontus, who proposed to fix his residence in the capital. 136 These oblations, for the most part, were made in money; nor was the society of Christians either desirous or capable of acquiring, to any considerable degree, the encumbrance of landed property. It had been provided by several laws, which were enacted with the same design as our statutes of mortmain, that no real estates should be given or bequeathed to any corporate body, without either a special privilege or a particular dispensation from the emperor or from the senate; 137 who were seldom disposed to grant them in favor of a sect, at first the object of their contempt, and at last of their fears and jealousy. A transaction, however, is related under the reign of Alexander Severus, which discovers that the restraint was sometimes eluded or suspended, and that the Christians were permitted to claim and to possess lands within the limits of Rome itself. 138 The progress of Christianity, and the civil confusion of the empire, contributed to relax the severity of the laws; and before the close of the third century many considerable estates were bestowed on the opulent churches of Rome, Milan, Carthage, Antioch, Alexandria, and the other great cities of Italy and the provinces.
Footnote 128: The community instituted by Plato is more perfect than that which Sir Thomas More had imagined for his Utopia. The community of women, and that of temporal goods, may be considered as inseparable parts of the same system.
Footnote 129: Joseph. Antiquitat. xviii. 2. Philo, de Vit. Contemplativ.
Footnote 130: See the Acts of the Apostles, c. 2, 4, 5, with Grotius's Commentary. Mosheim, in a particular dissertation, attacks the common opinion with very inconclusive arguments.
Footnote 131: Justin Martyr, Apolog. Major, c. 89. Tertullian, Apolog. c. 39.
Footnote 132: Irenaeus ad Haeres. l. iv. c. 27, 34. Origen in Num. Hom. ii Cyprian de Unitat. Eccles. Constitut. Apostol. l. ii. c. 34, 35, with the notes of Cotelerius. The Constitutions introduce this divine precept, by declaring that priests are as much above kings as the soul is above the body. Among the tithable articles, they enumerate corn, wine, oil, and wool. On this interesting subject, consult Prideaux's History of Tithes, and Fra Paolo delle Materie Beneficiarie; two writers of a very different character.
Footnote 133: The same opinion which prevailed about the year one thousand, was productive of the same effects. Most of the Donations express their motive, "appropinquante mundi fine." See Mosheim's General History of the Church, vol. i. p. 457.
Footnote 134: Tum summa cura est fratribus (Ut sermo testatur loquax.) Offerre, fundis venditis Sestertiorum millia. Addicta avorum praedia Foedis sub auctionibus, Successor exheres gemit Sanctis egens Parentibus. Haec occuluntur abditis Ecclesiarum in angulis. Et summa pietas creditur Nudare dulces liberos. Prudent. Hymn 2. The subsequent conduct of the deacon Laurence only proves how proper a use was made of the wealth of the Roman church; it was undoubtedly very considerable; but Fra Paolo (c. 3) appears to exaggerate, when he supposes that the successors of Commodus were urged to persecute the Christians by their own avarice, or that of their Praetorian praefects.
Footnote 135: Cyprian, Epistol. 62.
Footnote 136: Tertullian de Praescriptione, c. 30.
Footnote 137: Diocletian gave a rescript, which is only a declaration of the old law; "Collegium, si nullo speciali privilegio subnixum sit, haereditatem capere non posse, dubium non est." Fra Paolo (c. 4) thinks that these regulations had been much neglected since the reign of Valerian.
Footnote 138: Hist. August. p. 131. The ground had been public; and was row disputed between the society of Christians and that of butchers. Note *: Carponarii, rather victuallers. - M.
Footnote 139: Constitut. Apostol. ii. 35.
Footnote 140: Cyprian de Lapsis, p. 89. Epistol. 65. The charge is confirmed by the 19th and 20th canon of the council of Illiberis.
Footnote 141: See the apologies of Justin, Tertullian, &c.
Footnote 142: The wealth and liberality of the Romans to their most distant brethren is gratefully celebrated by Dionysius of Corinth, ap. Euseb. l. iv. c. 23.
Footnote 143: See Lucian iu Peregrin. Julian (Epist. 49) seems mortified that the Christian charity maintains not only their own, but likewise the heathen poor.
Footnote 144: Such, at least, has been the laudable conduct of more modern missionaries, under the same circumstances. Above three thousand new-born infants are annually exposed in the streets of Peking. See Le Comte, Memoires sur la Chine, and the Recherches sur les Chinois et les Egyptians, tom. i. p. 61.
It is the undoubted right of every society to exclude from its communion and benefits such among its members as reject or violate those regulations which have been established by general consent. In the exercise of this power, the censures of the Christian church were chiefly directed against scandalous sinners, and particularly those who were guilty of murder, of fraud, or of incontinence; against the authors or the followers of any heretical opinions which had been condemned by the judgment of the Episcopal order; and against those unhappy persons, who, whether from choice or compulsion, had polluted themselves after their baptism by any act of idolatrous worship. The consequences of excommunication were of a temporal as well as a spiritual nature. The Christian against whom it was pronounced, was deprived of any part in the oblations of the faithful. The ties both of religious and of private friendship were dissolved: he found himself a profane object of abhorrence to the persons whom he the most esteemed, or by whom he had been the most tenderly beloved; and as far as an expulsion from a respectable society could imprint on his character a mark of disgrace, he was shunned or suspected by the generality of mankind. The situation of these unfortunate exiles was in itself very painful and melancholy; but, as it usually happens, their apprehensions far exceeded their sufferings. The benefits of the Christian communion were those of eternal life; nor could they erase from their minds the awful opinion, that to those ecclesiastical governors by whom they were condemned, the Deity had committed the keys of Hell and of Paradise. The heretic, indeed, who might be supported by the consciousness of their intentions, and by the flattering hope that they alone had discovered the true path of salvation, endeavored to regain, in their separate assemblies, those comforts, temporal as well as spiritual, which they no longer derived from the great society of Christians. But almost all those who had reluctantly yielded to the power of vice or idolatry were sensible of their fallen condition, and anxiously desirous of being restored to the benefits of the Christian communion.
Footnote 145: The Montanists and the Novatians, who adhered to this opinion with the greatest rigor and obstinacy, found themselves at last in the number of excommunicated heretics. See the learned and copious Mosheim, Secul. ii. and iii.
Footnote 146: Dionysius ap. Euseb. iv. 23. Cyprian, de Lapsis.
Footnote 147: Cave's Primitive Christianity, part iii. c. 5. The admirers of antiquity regret the loss of this public penance.
Footnote 148: See in Dupin, Bibliotheque Ecclesiastique, tom. ii. p. 304 - 313, a short but rational exposition of the canons of those councils, which were assembled in the first moments of tranquillity, after the persecution of Diocletian. This persecution had been much less severely felt in Spain than in Galatia; a difference which may, in some measure account for the contrast of their regulations.
The well-tempered mixture of liberality and rigor, the judicious dispensation of rewards and punishments, according to the maxims of policy as well as justice, constituted the human strength of the church. The Bishops, whose paternal care extended itself to the government of both worlds, were sensible of the importance of these prerogatives; and covering their ambition with the fair pretence of the love of order, they were jealous of any rival in the exercise of a discipline so necessary to prevent the desertion of those troops which had enlisted themselves under the banner of the cross, and whose numbers every day became more considerable. From the imperious declamations of Cyprian, we should naturally conclude that the doctrines of excommunication and penance formed the most essential part of religion; and that it was much less dangerous for the disciples of Christ to neglect the observance of the moral duties, than to despise the censures and authority of their bishops. Sometimes we might imagine that we were listening to the voice of Moses, when he commanded the earth to open, and to swallow up, in consuming flames, the rebellious race which refused obedience to the priesthood of Aaron; and we should sometimes suppose that we hear a Roman consul asserting the majesty of the republic, and declaring his inflexible resolution to enforce the rigor of the laws. * "If such irregularities are suffered with impunity," (it is thus that the bishop of Carthage chides the lenity of his colleague,) "if such irregularities are suffered, there is an end of Episcopal Vigor; 149 an end of the sublime and divine power of governing the Church, an end of Christianity itself." Cyprian had renounced those temporal honors, which it is probable he would never have obtained; * but the acquisition of such absolute command over the consciences and understanding of a congregation, however obscure or despised by the world, is more truly grateful to the pride of the human heart, than the possession of the most despotic power, imposed by arms and conquest on a reluctant people.
Footnote *: Gibbon has been accused of injustice to the character of Cyprian, as exalting the "censures and authority of the church above the observance of the moral duties." Felicissimus had been condemned by a synod of bishops, (non tantum mea, sed plurimorum coepiscorum, sententia condemnatum,) on the charge not only of schism, but of embezzlement of public money, the debauching of virgins, and frequent acts of adultery. His violent menaces had extorted his readmission into the church, against which Cyprian protests with much vehemence.
Footnote 149: Cyprian Epist. 69.
Footnote *: This supposition appears unfounded: the birth and the talents of Cyprian might make us presume the contrary.
Gibbon, Edward, 1737-1794. The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. 1st ed. (London : Printed for W. Strahan ; and T. Cadell, 1776-1788.), pp. 495-502.


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Vaccination and Vaccine Technology Workshop in Marrakech
Internationally recognised experts presented the latest information on vaccine technology at a one-day workshop, organised by Merial, prior to the 2009 World Veterinary Poultry Association (WVPA) Congress in Morocco, writes Jackie Linden, editor of ThePoultrySite.
In his introduction, Dr Michel Bublot (R&D Merial) explained that the company was that day celebrating 25 years of vector vaccine development. He went on to describe how Trovac-AIV H5, a vectored vaccine against fowl pox and avian flu, has been used successfully to control low pathogenic avian flu in Mexico, and the development of Vaxxitek HVT+IBD.
Dr Thierry Van den Berg (Veterinary & Agrochemical Research Centre, Belgium) emphasised the importance of developing new types of vaccines to improve animal health. He outlined the advantages of in-ovo vaccination, saying that it takes advantages of a window of opportunity around day 18 of incubation, when the immune system is sufficiently developed, yet maternal antibodies are not fully absorbed.
From the University of Delaware in the US, Dr Robin Morgan described three different types of recombinant vaccines using the Marek's disease virus. She said that although selected rHVT using heterologous vaccines looked promising, they do not out-perform conventional Marek's disease vaccines. She added that various 'add-ins' may be used to improve the immune response, such as cytokines and microRNAs.
Speaking about the possibility to develop a vaccine against highly pathogenic avian influenza, Dr David Swayne (Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, Athens, USA) explained that the changing nature of the virus has so far presented a great challenge. He described the 'prime boost technique', which offers the advantages of a vectored vaccine – which can be administered in the hatchery and without interference from maternal antibodies – combined with the strong boost of an inactivated vaccine on the farm.
(left to right): Dr Michel Bublot and Dr Thierry Van den Berg
(left to right): Dr Robin Morgan and Dr David Swayne
- You can view other reports from events organised by Merial at the WVPA Congress 2009 by clicking here.
- Find out more information on infectious bursal disease (IBD) by clicking here.
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The European Council of Podiatrists (ECP) is a committee of the FIP-IFP and responsible for promoting the interests and general awareness of the podiatry profession to the European Commission, Parliament, and Council.
At the 2017 FIP-IFP Annual Meeting of the ECP, Dr. Carles Salas Verges from Spain received the trust from his peers to chair the ECP committee. Dr. Verges joint the ECP committee in 2016 and has made already a big move forward in the development of an active committee. The development of a Common Training Framework in Podiatry stays at top of the agenda for the ECP Board.
FLTR: Mieke Fransen, Carles Verges, Peter Boelens, Christain Jérôme, Matt Garoufalis and Serge Coimbra.


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Lose your spring and detent while installing your SW22 Victory trigger? Purchase replacement parts and upgrade your Smith & Wesson Victory pistol!
This listing is for a replacement Spring and Detent ONLY for the "Victory" Trigger for SW22® Victory™.
These items serve as replacements for the spring and detent that comes with the "Victory" Trigger upgrade. If you've lost your spring and detent during installation of your SW22® trigger, order these parts to complete your SW22® trigger upgrade.
If you watched the video and didn't listen to the part about installing this spring under a clear plastic bag and you heard the spring shoot across the room behind some furniture. Good news!! You can order some more. This time use the plastic bag trick, just in case.
Must have item. Hardest part of the trigger conversion. Had to put in replacement spring until these arrived. Trigger feels much improved now.
If you're putting a TK Victory trigger in your S&W Victory, order one of these! The trigger comes with one and it's not hard to install, but it's small and easy to loose if you're not careful. If that happens you out of commission till a new one is shipped out. Best advice I can give is when doing this step while putting the trigger in is to do it in a 1 gallon ziploc bag. That way if it goes flying it'll stay in the bag.
Outstanding product! I used along with the trigger upgrade for the S&W Victory LR.22. These products together made my gun so much better and fun to shoot. Easy installation and affordable price makes it a must improvement for your .22 pistols.