Excerpted from a March 3, 1998 New Orleans Times-Picayune article by Mark Schliefstein as reprinted on the website of the annual D'Orlando Lecture on Social Justice.
... The Rev. (Albert) D'Orlando fought racism and segregation for many years and later opposed the Vietnam War. His house and church were firebombed in 1965. "He was a tremendous role model who believed that faith means nothing if you don't put your beliefs into action," said Martha Kegel, former executive director of the Louisiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "He was a New Englander who came South and fought racism, and eventually, he became the conscience of the New Orleans community."
A native of Boston, the Rev. D'Orlando graduated from Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a master's degree in theology. After his ordination in 1945, he was named the minister of two small churches in New Hampshire. He came to New Orleans in 1950 and almost immediately moved to integrate his Jefferson Avenue church. Although a number of church members resigned, Kegel said, "He made the Unitarian Church into virtually the only place in white New Orleans where whites and blacks could meet together."
In 1956, he helped found the Louisiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. In 1958, he was ordered to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee after being identified as a member of the Communist Party by a New Hampshire homemaker. After the closed hearing, the Rev. D'Orlando said he had never been a member of the party. "His getting dragged before the committee clearly related to his civil rights stance," Kegel said. "At that time, any person who stood up for civil rights was a communist in (the committee's) eyes."
In 1960, as New Orleans prepared to deal with court-ordered school desegregation, the Rev. D'Orlando had his congregation set up a Freedom Fund to provide legal and other assistance to those fighting for desegregation. Within a few weeks, the fund had collected 25,000 dollars, largely from other Unitarian churches throughout the nation.
Also at his urging, the church's youth group participated in sit-ins at lunch counters on Canal Street, said his daughter, Lissa Dellinger. Two youngsters were arrested and charged with criminal anarchy; they were found guilty of criminal mischief and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Through the Rev. D'Orlando's leadership, the church raised money to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the convictions were thrown out, Dellinger said.
When the first black children integrated white public schools, the church provided financial assistance to white families who continued to send their children to school with the black children. In 1962, the church paid some of the legal expenses of two black students who filed a federal suit to integrate Tulane University. When Tulane officials agreed to admit the students, the church paid their registration fees and for their books. The church later paid the expenses of a New Orleans lawyer who represented civil rights workers in Mississippi.
The Rev. D'Orlando's civil rights activities resulted in many threats to himself and his family, he said in a speech several years ago. "It was not at all unusual for us to receive phone calls at 3 in the morning warning us that if we did not leave the house within 15 minutes, a bomb would destroy our home," he said. At midnight one Saturday in March 1965, his house was fire-bombed while he was working on a sermon he planned to deliver the next morning condemning similar bombings in Alabama. Two months later, the front of his church was destroyed by dynamite. The bombings were two of more than a dozen that occurred in New Orleans that spring. Authorities tied the bombing of his house to members of the United Klans of America, a wing of the Ku Klux Klan. Three men were convicted in the incident and sentenced to five years in prison.


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What Happens at the Convergence of Machine Intelligence & Online Lending
Credit scoring and approval rates changed substantially with the arrival of alternative lenders, mainly due to the adoption of new practices in collecting and analyzing potential borrower data. Alternative data[1] has played its role in expanding horizons for financial institutions and for creating an opportunity to enter the financial sector fir technology startups and data-rich international companies.
While social media, for example, as a source of data for creditworthiness assessment is still at a nascent stage, certain startups are already claiming to have incorporated information from social networks into their frameworks[2]. In the quest to reinvent the way to assess consumer-related risk (as well as extend credit to unscored and questionable[3]), startups were found more imaginative than traditional institutions[4].
Alternative data requires alternative approach to data analytics, which wide adoption of machine learning and artificial intelligence brought.
"The use of alternative data sources, big data and machine learning technology, and other new artificial intelligence models could reduce the cost of making credit decisions and/or credit monitoring and lower operating costs for lenders. FinTech lenders could pass on the benefits of lower lending costs to their borrowers." – Fintech Lending: Financial Inclusion, Risk Pricing, and Alternative Information[5]
Lenddo, for example, the company that enables financial institutions to do predictive analytics to service new client segments, in addition to collecting applicant data from traditional sources (credit bureau data and financial transactions, if available), also collects non-traditional data from such sources as psychometric tests, telecoms, browser history, mobile data (i.e., geolocation), social networks, and e-commerce transactions. HBS[6] shares that using advanced machine learning techniques, Lenddo's predictive algorithms look at
Read more from our friends at Let's Talk Payments:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I am a self taught decorator who is inspired by all the great talent I view on the web and facebook. My passion has always been cake decorating and I am currently working on a goal to open my own store front bakery... It would be a dream come true, God willing.
I am also a full time dental assistant, so working with my hands was always in my cards.
I am Happily married to a very supportive man. Who loves eating and trying all my experiments.
I have 4 wonderful grown children and 4 beautiful grandchildren.


Suddenly you are shaken awake by the dreaded bump in the night. He would have been informed of my arrival if these documents were real. The iron-eating stone is in Myanmar. It became clear to me that the people there have a real stoic perseverance. Let your friends believe that you have a real ghost in your picture!
ANGKOK - Almost four month after the cyclone, the Irrawaddy Delta in Myanmar is a shallow, murky ruined area inhabited by dizzy remnants, buried solids and vision of migrating, wailing spirits. It seems that the area has prevented widespread famine and epidemics, and the population is reconstructing their fragile life in this huge and often submerged swamp, where the line between life and die has always been thin.
Inside this thin edge, new attendees say, many of the survivors seem to have shed their sparks of live, and some of the corpses do not seem to have already vanished as they frequent the mind of those they leave behind. "There' s tiredness in people's eyes," said a journalist who recorded the consequences of Cyclone Nargis, which hit on May 3.
"Humans are tired in body, mind and soul. "Following an uproar on the part of the world over the government's reluctance to accept immigrants, a strictly monitored system has been put in place and assistance reaches much of the area where the United Nations says 2. Four million were affected. According to the UN, the hurricane caused 138,000 deaths or disappearances and 800,000 homelessness after violent wind and a tidal wave similar to a tidal wave.
This year' s growing seasons are now over for the surviving crops, and pundits say it may take more than a year for many to see their next proper year. Despite some rebuilding of buildings and some cultivation of land, the deltas remain a view of ruins and rubble, where man and animals' bone and the last decaying objects still accumulate at the edge of the canals.
Fantastic histories are circulating among the victims, the filmmaker said, and woven a wall hanging of tapestries from this and the next time. There' s the history of the kid who lived by clutching on the back of a alligator and the history of the boat load of men who were running aground at low water and waited for the mud to come up, encircled by beached cadavers.
There' s the tale of the mom who was reunified with her infant after it was wiped away in a washing tub, and the tale of the lady who dragged her infant out of the clonen. There are tales of migrating spirits whose calls for help can be heared in cursed places at nights, which no villagers dare to step into.
Under these ghosts and trauma, however, humanitarian helpers have become the life blood of the victims, providing assistance to the remotest parts of the world. Over 1,800 visa applications have been made to these workmen, say auxiliaries, although entry to the hard-hit river valley is being hampered by an increasingly complex procedure of permits and red tape.
Meanwhile, most of the victims have been helped, said Andrew Kirkwood, regional manager of Save the Children. "However, very few have been given enough help to get them through the next three month, and almost no one has been given enough help to help them reconstruct their own life.
" It said that the rebuilding of fully operational colleges, hospitals and other infrastructures was still delayed due to a delay in the delivery of essential relief. In the first three decisive months after the hurricane, the hostile Myanmar bombing militia stopped extensive supplies of relief supplies and then only slowly and partly relaxed its checks.
However, despite early calls from around the globe for the United Nations to allow open delivery of relief, almost half of the pledges made by overseas donor agencies have not yet been made. She recently said she had $339 million in global contributions, a $300 million deficit.
However, the Irrawaddy Delta has always been a difficult place to live because 8 out of 10 homes lived in extreme poverty even before the hurricane, according to Sava the Children. The hardship of today's lives may not differ so much for many individuals from the hardship of all time.


Our Hike It! Tours provide a fun and educational guided introduction to monument, sculptures and sites of historical importance along the banks of the Singapore River. The Singapore River is an important waterway synonymous with the growth and development of Singapore.
Through our stimulating and informative approach, the tour covers the Singapore River area, where students will learn about Singapore's history, Sir Stamford Raffles, bumboats, famous bridges and other historical landmarks and sculptures.
Each student will receive a Learning Journey Booklet to help them make their journey an enriching, memorable and enjoyable one.
The Hike It! tour will cover the Asian Civilizations Museum, Boat Quay, Cavenagh Bridge, Raffles Landing Site, Victoria Theatre, The Arts House and many more.
Alternatively, we also customize our Hike It! tours to suit our customers.


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Bunk on Battleship New Jersey during pope's Philadelphia visit
Battleship New Jersey (Shutterstock)
CAMDEN, N.J. (WPVI) -- Visitors looking for a place to stay during Pope Francis' trip to Philadelphia have an unusual option.
The Battleship New Jersey is offering 400 bunks for $75 per person for a night between Sept. 22 and Sept. 26. Those are the same bunks where sailors slept.
The price includes breakfast and dinner. Guests also will get a tour of the museum and a ride in a flight simulator.
But there are no showers available.
LINK: BattleshipNewJersey.com
The ship is docked in Camden, across the river from Philadelphia and less than a mile from the Ben Franklin Bridge. The bridge will be closed to traffic, but open to pedestrians and bicyclists during the pope's visit.
The battleship was launched on the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.
For more about the preparations for Pope Francis' arrival, visit to 6abc.com/Pope
religion & spiritualitycamden (new jersey)world meeting of families 2015pope francisnew jersey newsphiladelphia


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WEATHER: (January 14, 2022) FRIDAY – High yesterday was 68° at 3:00; this morning's low was 40° at 1:00. KPANcast: Very windy. North gusts possible to 65 mph this afternoon. BURN BAN IN EFFECT.
LOCAL: The Lady Whitefaces will tipoff in Borger at 6:00 against the Lady Bulldogs in 4-4A basketball tonight. The Lady Whitefaces are coming off a district win over Dumas Tuesday, while the Lady Bulldogs fell to Pampa Tuesday…….The Whitefaces will begin their district campaign after the girl's game. The Herd is coming off a loss to Amarillo High last Friday, and Borger a loss to New Home on Wednesday. KPAN AM-FM will have live coverage of both games……The Whiteface and Lady Whiteface Wrestling Teams are in action at the South Plains Invitational tomorrow. The action begins at 9:00 at Lubbock Monterey High School……Funeral services for Elvie Campbell, age 95, will be Wednesday at 2:00 at the Central Church of Christ. Elvie was a longtime Hereford resident and homemaker. A viewing will be held on Tuesday from 3:00-8:00 at Mendez and Mullins Family Funeral Home. Elvie died on Tuesday in Hereford……Funeral services are pending for Michael Page, age 75. Mr. Page was a former Hereford resident and educator. He died yesterday……Funeral services for Jaki Tyler, age 68, are tomorrow at 2:00 at The Loft Church in Amarillo……OSHA issued 21 notices of unsafe working conditions to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Cliffside Helium Enrichment Unit in Amarillo. This is the first time OSHA has cited unsafe conditions at a federal facility……KPAN salutes Cindy Wheeler as the Good Neighbor of the Day……Irrigation and electrical services form the pros at Ag Electric – "Doing More since '94."
KPAN PUN: How about the man who ran through a screen door? He strained himself.


Improvisation 3 Picture with Yellow Wall is a painting by the Modern Russian Abstract-Expressionist Wassily Kandinsky. It is a work of oil on canvas and was painted in the year 1913. Improvisation 3 Picture with Yellow Wall was created with the intention of placing the focus not just on the color, but on the large geometric shapes dominating the interior of the canvas. Kandinsky uses a complimentary pallet here, balancing pink, yellow and blue. Lines are not as prevalent in this piece, but still exist. Similar to the stained glass effect used in other pieces to separate color, Kandinsky creates individual regions of color in hopes of creating an organized sense of chaos that still manages to flow while not interrupting or bleeding into any other colors. Color blends through layering, as can be seen in the magenta occurring on the left side of the canvas. Improvisation 3 Picture with Yellow Wall is guaranteed to strike a viewer on a positive level due to the choice of bright pigment selected by Kandinsky. The viewer is given a display that they are free to interpret but the hope is that it will effect them on a level close to their personal core. Color, for that matter has the ability to truly effect one's psyche if it is looked at in a certain way. This is the lasting hope of Wassily Kandinsky.


The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that duplicate bridge is not a 'sport' for the purposes of the VAT Directive and cannot therefore be exempt as such.
The judgment is a request for a preliminary ruling from Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) in United Kingdom (Case C-90/16 The English Bridge Union).
The case was brought up by the English Bridge Union (EBU), a national body responsible for regulating 'duplicate bridge' in England and organising tournaments. The Union asked for tax exemptions on the entry fees to its competitions under the VAT Directive which gives tax breaks to services closely linked to sport and physical education.
According to the Court, in the context of the VAT directive to be given the status of a sport, an activity must involve "a not negligible physical element". However, the Court does not preclude Member States from regarding duplicate bridge as coming under the concept of 'cultural services' within the meaning of the directive.
Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 26 October 2017. The English Bridge Union Limited v Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (Case C-90/16).


This is the second part of an interview series I did with Erik Ledin. Originally it was never meant to be a two part interview, but Erik has so much to say that we just kept going…(I'm sure we could talk for 100 hours on this topic). So this is the second part of our lengthy conversation.
Today we talk about supplements, and what might be useful.
Expecting perfection will only set you up for disappointment. Setting realistic goals with realistic expectations is important to being in a positive mindset.
You also have to realize that the leaner and sharper you get the harder and harder the path becomes. The process might be the same, however you will discover that going from 25% bodyfat to 15% bodyfat feels much easier than going from 15% bodyfat to 8% bodyfat.The actual number of pounds lost might actually be less, but the effort increases exponentially.
We'll also discuss metabolic efficiency and the law of diminishing returns from doing more and more cardiovascular training. It might seem that more cardio simply equals more fat loss, but this isn't always the case.
You also must be wary of the so called perfect time to train or eat. If you've heard that cardio on the morning on an empty stomach is the best time to train, but you simply cannot get to the gym in the morning, or just flat out hate working out in the morning, then you simply won't do it. This can lead to feelings of self doubt and failure, and a mindset that it's just too hard to get in shape or that "it's just not for you".
The reality is that compliance and consistency is what will win the race. That means the workout and diet must fit into your life and not the other way around.
These are all factors you must consider when you decide to change your body.
The process is actually rather simple but not necessarily easy. It requires effort and consistency, but if you stick to it you can take your body as far as you want.


Data from City Light hydroelectric projects.
City Light provides electricity and electrical and conservation services to its public and private customers. It is the largest public utility in the Pacific Northwest. Public responsibility for electrical energy dates to 1890 with creation of the Department of Lighting and Water Works. In 1902, Seattle voters passed a bond issue to develop hydroelectric power on the Cedar River under the administration of the Water Department. Electricity from this development began to serve Seattle in 1905. A City Charter amendment in 1910 created the Lighting Department. Under the leadership of Superintendent James D. Ross, the department developed the Skagit River hydroelectric project which began supplying power in 1924. Both public and private power was supplied to Seattle until 1951 when the City purchased the private electrical power supply operations, making the Lighting Department the sole supplier. The Boundary Project in northeastern Washington began operations in 1967 and supplied over half of City Light's power generation. By the early 21st century, approximately ten percent of City Light's income came from the sale of surplus energy to customers in the Northwest and Southwest with the remainder of City Light's financial support coming from customer revenue. The current name of the agency was adopted in 1978 when the Department was reorganized.
Records of the Power Management Branch, consisting of data on stream discharge and flows, lake and reservoir elevations, energy generation, load estimates and forecasts, and power studies on system capability. Data pertains to the Skagit Basin, Cedar River, Boundary Dam and other sources.
Flow data for Boundary Dam may also be found in Boundary Dam Project Records, series 1206-07.
[Item and date], [Seattle City Light Load and Flow Data , Record Series 1206-11. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.


Our Mission: "Success for all students; no exceptions, no excuses."
To create a positive, supportive environment that is accountable for learning where there is evidence of collaboration and relationship building among teachers, students, and community.
Respect, Equality, Tolerance, Responsibility, Flexibility and Continuous Improvement.


I've picked exactly 2 zucchinis from my garden this year. Yes, that's them in the photo above.
Given the cooler weather we've had this summer, it's not surprising, but it is disappointing.
Instead of getting too down about it, I decided zucchini muffins were in order – vegan ones at that.
2. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners – I usually just spray my tins, but I happened to have 12 paper liners that have been sitting in my cupboard forever…so I figured it was time to use them up.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl and the wet ingredients in a small bowl, then stir the wet and dry ingredients together until the batter is smooth.
**Now, here is where I added a teeny bonus to my recipe. Just for kicks, and as my friend Kristiann had mentioned to me that she had recently added these to her muffins, I mixed 1 cup of vegan chocolate chips into the batter. Not a necessary step, but a fun addition.
4. Gently fold the shredded zucchini into the batter making sure it is mixed in evenly throughout.
5. Pour 1/3 cup batter into each muffin tin.
6. Bake on the center rack of your oven for 18 minutes, then rotate the tray 180 degrees and continue baking for 10 additional minutes. The muffins are finished when a toothpick (or cake tester) inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
7. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes in the tin and then transfer them to a wire rack for complete cooling.
Enjoy – and try not to eat them all in one afternoon!
I'm gonna have to try these, they look tasty!
Thanks!!! they were so yummy..maybe the chocolate chips???? though I think they would've been yummy anyways. Next up…pumpkin muffins for Fall!!
Wish I could dive into my screen to have a piece of those muffins.
Thanks…I could tell they turned out super yummy because my hubby ate 4 of them in one sitting :) I think I now have to make some more!


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Arlene Goldbard
Submitted by Arlene Goldbard on October 15, 2010
Any enterprise can form a perfect setting for the human comedy. Generations of writers have drawn existential parables from offices, ocean liners, classrooms, farms, and operating theaters. But the philanthropic field seems especially rich—indeed, downright operatic. I think that's because the noblest of human impulses, empathy and altruism, contend there so passionately with some of the basest, the desire to dominate, the wish to clothe one's image in glory. When we have the capacity and privilege to grant others' wishes, a bright light is cast on both the moral grandeur of which human beings are capable and our potential for brokenness and distortion.
Philanthropy presents individuals with an unusually large and intense set of challenges, so I have the greatest admiration for those who are able to stay in touch with a strong inner voice and a clear vision of their own roles in actualizing beauty, meaning, and justice tempered by love.
That's why I'm really looking forward to the Grantmakers in the Arts 2010 Conference, "Navigating the Art of Change 2.0," beginning this weekend in Chicago, where I have been given the opportunity to observe, consider, and comment on the proceedings.
As I prepare to depart for the conference, the image arises in my mind of rows of contestants playing tug-of-war. The important questions shaping the present-day philanthropic field all seem to turn on the tension of opposing forces. Here are some of the contending themes:
Peer pressure versus autonomy. It makes sense to maintain a collegial relationship with peers, conferring about common issues and challenges on the sensible grounds that more heads and hearts will yield better responses. The philanthropic field is huge on both self-examination and collective reflection, spending vigorously on retreats, research, and convening. But when does peer consultation elide into herd behavior? In a well-networked, collegial field, it's a challenge to avoid falling into safety in numbers, following the many fads to which the field is prey rather than crafting one's own response to circumstances. Evaluation models, grantmaking models, rubrics (such as "best practices") seize attention for a time before being replaced by something new, and applicants need to keep up if they are to compete successfully.
All of these pressures are exacerbated in arts philanthropy, which is perpetually under attack from beyond the field. Although art's public purpose is far larger and more central than generally acknowledged (a topic on which I've written and spoken often), when you are subject to continual demands to quantify and justify your work—if the justifications never satisfy your critics—it's hard not to surrender to a sinking despair. As Lily Tomlin expressed it so beautifully, "No matter how cynical you get, you can't keep up."
I'll be looking for independence of thought, those funders who—if they jump on a bandwagon—have sound, well-considered reasons for doing so; and especially, those who think more than twice before they jump, pursuing depth rather than following the crowd.
Risk versus vulnerability. Hippocrates was talking about the art of medicine when he composed the following aphorism, but I think it applies: "Life is short, [the] art long, opportunity fleeting, experiment fallible, judgment difficult." None of us can truly know the effects of our actions, especially when it comes to art, which acts on us in mysterious ways over time. All action entails risk: it sometimes seems the only law that applies to all of human endeavor is the law of unintended consequences. But the spirit of our own times is particularly suffused with the superstition that it is possible to insulate ourselves from risk, predicting or even guaranteeing outcomes, thus maximizing the likelihood of success. One reason we love that idea so much is that if it were true, it would reduce our vulnerability to looking foolish, to being held responsible for a bad bet, even to becoming the object of ridicule.
Although not everyone has capitulated, much of the philanthropic field is in the grip of this superstition, with funders seizing on tools and frameworks that are supposed to increase the likelihood that each grant will return measurable, demonstrable success. Half a year ago, I wrote about a couple of recent philanthropic fads along these lines ("logic models" and "theories of change"), which have had more impact in winnowing down the pool of applicants than in ensuring the results of their work.
From what I have seen, it takes tremendous courage and wisdom to accept the true level of risk involved in making arts grants, which are more accurately seen as investing in people and process than as purchasing an outcome. I was talking about this with a knowledgeable friend earlier this week. He pointed out that many grantmakers justify their attachment to quantification by citing the need to be accountable to board members drawn from the business sector and other supposedly results-oriented fields. Of course, both of us had heard many stories of such intraorganizational negotiations on the frontiers of risk. But after a few seconds, we both laughed: the business landscape is just as subject as philanthropy to the desire for guarantees, but that's a desire that can never be satisfied in any sector, as our economy shows us every day. So as I visit the many GIA sessions designed to take a fresh look at risks and results, I will be hoping to see the courage and wisdom to accept risk and invest in process.
Purpose versus self-perpetuation. By law, foundations are required to distribute only a small percentage of their endowments each year, and most of them don't exceed that. When the return on investments drops, the value of endowments drop too. Even if grantmaking remains stable as a percentage of funds, the total number of dollars declines, with more consequences for grantees' longevity than for that of funders. The rationale behind this approach is sustainability, preserving a foundation's giving power for the long haul. The Quixote Foundation is an interesting exception, spending it all by 2017; their Website lists other foundations that have done the same, and links to reports and other resources supporting this approach.
There's a middle ground between prioritizing the perpetuation of one's power and influence and spending down, of course; and good arguments for every position on that continuum, depending on one's values and goals. I will be interested to learn what position different GIA participants occupy on that spectrum, and why.
Dominance versus empowerment. In Maimonides' eight levels of charity, the highest is to help someone without taking credit, even without making the help visible. Every profession that carries power and authority is susceptible to the type of abuse that entails the opposite approach, making someone feel less than, beholden to, or at the mercy of oneself. A friend who is ill with an imperfectly diagnosed ailment regaled me the other night with stories of the doctor who dismissed her condescendingly merely for suggesting a second opinion, versus the doctor who welcomed her questions and demonstrated an appropriate humility about the answers.
Philanthropy is a challenging profession in this way, because people who want something from you naturally tend to flatter and cosset you, inflating the human tendency to believe our own propaganda. One type of susceptibility preys on the donor, who may have a lifetime of experience that suggests caution about being loved for oneself, rather than one's money. Another type preys on the staff member, who may find that being the donor's surrogate suggests new and tempting worlds of personal power over others. This is a very hard thing to handle, demanding vigilance, self-awareness, the willingness to regularly question one's own assumptions. Despite the difficulties, some funders hold themselves to this high standard, collaborating with grantees as equals. I admire their integrity and fortitude, and hope to meet more of them at GIA.
Meetings like this cost time and money (and often, sleep: every artist asks why everything seems to start at 8 a.m.). There's a networking aspect to attendance, but no doubt, most of the people who participate truly want to learn something, as do I. When I look at the agenda, I see a consistent thread of acknowledgment that the old certainties are not serving, and a consistent pursuit of creativity, the only capacity that will enable people to perceive, improvise, and respond freshly to an incredibly fluid environment. I admire GIA's leadership for offering participants so many opportunities to face the future. Whatever I discover, I'm looking forward to sharing it with you over the next few days.
While you ponder all this, listen to this hit from when I lived in Washington, DC, during the regime change from the Carters to the Reagans, multiplying the presence of luxury cars and fur coats. "Money Changes Everything," the original version by The Brains.


Get aggressive representation for your DUI of drugs case from Michael L. Fell.
With a DUI of alcohol there is a clear, legal standard of what constitutes "impaired," namely a BAC of 0.08. With a DUI of drugs, there is no such standard. This is actually an advantage for individuals accused of DUI of drugs, because it makes it much harder for the prosecution to prove the charge.
You know what else makes prosecuting a DUI of drugs harder?
When the defendant hires Michael L. Fell as their defense attorney.
Michael L. Fell has extensive experience in criminal law. For over 18 years, he prosecuted cases as a Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney. He is now a California State Certified Criminal Law Specialist, defending those accused of DUI of drugs. All of this experience has prepared him to quickly identify and undermine the weakest points of the prosecution's case.
Often, with Attorney Fell on your side an extremely beneficial outcome to your DUI of drugs case can be achieved, such as a dismissal of the charge or a reduced penalty.
If you are stopped on suspicion of DUI of drugs, you will be examined by a specially trained law enforcement officer known as a Drug Recognition Expert. He or she will most likely ask you to perform various field sobriety tests designed to assess your mental and physical impairment.
All too often, individuals accused of DUI of drugs assume that if they fail these tests, they should just go ahead and plead guilty.
Field sobriety tests are notoriously unreliable, and there is a good chance that Attorney Fell can argue that your poor performance on the test was due to fatigue, anxiety, or even a medical condition, not drug impairment. If enough doubt is cast on the field sobriety tests—and other aspects of the DRE's testimony—you may be able to beat the charge.
Don't Wait and See What the Prosecution Will Do. Call Attorney Fell Now.
The best way to respond to allegations of DUI of drugs is to contact Michael L. Fell for expert help right away. This will enable him to act quickly to preserve evidence and protect your rights. Call (949) 585-9055 now to learn more.


Spring is the perfect time to start fresh with a new look. And while trends might come and go, balayage is still one of the most requested looks in salons today. In case you've been living under a rock, balayage, taken from the French word meaning "to sweep", is the technique in which colour is applied by hand to create natural-looking highlights. It's low-maintenance, creates depth and leaves you with a gorgeous sun-kissed finish.
To get the perfect balayage we always trust the ultra talented team at one of Sydney's best hairdressers, People Hairdressing. These stylists and colourists have a long-standing rep on Australia's Next Top Model, The Voice, MTV Australia Awards, and Australian Idol and are revered amongst Sydney's fashion set. Here, People's Ciaran Capuano shares his top tips for achieving the perfect balayage.
Your hair should be in fairly good condition and not over-processed through previous chemical treatments. Remember, you are going to have your mid-lengths and ends, usually the driest part of your hair, chemically treated so you want to make sure it's strong and hydrated for the best effect. This will ensure a polished result and retain the tone between visits.
You should always have your hair cut first. There's nothing worse than spending time and money creating a great piece of art only for it all to be cut off. Also, learn how to wear the colour in different ways, whether it is wavy, curly, textured or natural. After all balayage is a versatile look.
To the already full head coloured or tinted ladies, colour on colour is hard to remove from hair. It needs pre-lightening and can dry and damage the hair if left in the wrong hands. Listen to your technician and be realistic with your colour choice, as it is important that the colour selection can be worn against your complexion, and is achievable given the colour history already in your hair.
If you are low maintenance with long hair and grown out layering around the front, then you can have balayage twice a year and still look fabulous! It is designed for easy management after all, so you can say goodbye to the days of bad regrowth. If you are trending a shoulder length tousled look, you should have it done after every two to three haircuts. For natural looks that aren't too heavy, balayage will blend with your natural hair colour. For those more daring who want to play around with a few fashion shades at the same pace as the traffic, then you're going to need a blank canvas to work on.
Remember ladies, balayage should always look seamless no matter how subtle or strong. If the graduation of colour is utterly flawless, you will end up looking and feeling flawless too!
TUL Note: Today's List Love post is proudly sponsored by People Hairdressing and endorsed by The Urban List. Our sponsored posts will never be a secret — the List Love seal will be stamped on any sponsored material you see on the site. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who make The Urban List possible.


Hi friends – I hope your week is off to a great start!
You can even transition this out of summer by adding on a long open cardigan.
Whichever way you style it, this is a great classic look for summer that can be worn a thousand different ways!
What are your summer go-to staples? Let me know down below!


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Green | SolarCity Raises $100 Million for 2009
SolarCity Raises $100 Million for 2009
September 29, 2009 10:11 am September 29, 2009 10:11 am
The credit crunch has walloped the residential solar industry, making it hard for installers like SolarCity to tap investor funds to finance rooftop arrays for their customers.
But in a sign that the recessionary clouds are parting a bit, SolarCity on Tuesday said that U.S. Bancorp has agreed to finance $100 million worth of solar installations in 2009.
That's double the money the bank committed to provide SolarCity in June when the original deal – but not the financial details – was announced.
SolarCity, based in the Silicon Valley suburb of Foster City, offers customers the option of leasing their rooftop panels and thus avoiding the five-figure cost of buying a solar system.
The company retains ownership of the solar array and thus qualifies for a 30 percent federal tax credit against its cost. Since most startups have no use for such tax credits, they give them to investors in exchange for financing installations.
Still, most such tax equity partnerships have collapsed along with the Wall Street banks that often funded them. In fact, U.S. Bancorp stepped in after Morgan Stanley pulled the plug on a financing arrangement with SolarCity earlier this year.
"For all of this year, tax equity has been the No. 1 constraint in financing for the entire solar industry," said Lyndon Rive, SolarCity's chief executive. "In the third quarter of last year, there were about 20 active banks and insurance companies making tax equity investments. They all fell off a cliff and now there's three or four."
Despite the $100 million infusion, Mr. Rive said raising money for tax equity partnerships remains difficult. "The investors have been more selective and strict and they're doing a tremendous amount of due diligence," he said.
Mr. Rive noted, however, that the federal stimulus package has helped lure back some investors by giving them the option of receiving a government cash grant in lieu of the tax credit.
Mr. Rive said the the influx of financing has helped the company to hire 112 people — mainly solar panel installers — over the past four months, and the company now has a workforce of about 450 employees.
Other solar installers have found investors in recent months as well. San Francisco's SunRun raised $18 million in a round of funding in July, and last week, Sungevity, based in Berkeley, Calif., announced that it had secured $6 million in its latest round of financing.
With solar panel prices plummeting this year due to over-production and more attractive federal incentives available to homeowners, financing remains the key hurdle for many customers, said Danny Kennedy, Sungevity's president.
Mr. Kennedy has recently hired SolarCity's former chief financial officer to develop a financing program for his company.
rumpole September 29, 2009 · 10:27 am
I think we need to start phasing out tax equity partnerships, and replace them with a national feed-in tariff, akin to that of Gainsville, Florida, Vermont and Germany. Guiding policy with tax breaks is ok for emerging technology still under development, but solar is not an infant anymore: it's all grown up now and ready to have specific federal policies crafted for it, the way fossil energy does. Numerous studies have found that a feed-in tariff is the most effective way to develop an infrastructure. That's means getting guys up on your roof drilling holes and putting in panels. The longer we stay mired in fiddling with tax policy to accomplish solar deployment, the farther behind we will get.
Chris Dudley September 29, 2009 · 11:46 am
It is worth having a couple of numbers on the price of panels. The lowest retail price for silicon was $2.50/Watt and for thin film $1.76/Watt in September. //www.solarbuzz.com/Moduleprices.htm
This suggests that in new residential construction a system could cost less than $4/Watt installed. Assuming a 5% 15 year mortgage and a 30 year system life, the cost of electricity comes to less than $0.10/kWh in a typical US location. This beats the retail price of electricity in may areas and will beat it almost everywhere if inflation occurs in electric rates, all without subsidies. It does not make sense to buy a newly built home without solar PV except perhaps in parts of the Pacific Northwest. With subsidies, we're looking at $0.05/kWh, cheap even for wholesale power.
Solar Fred September 29, 2009 · 2:18 pm
Ditto Chris Dudley.
And by the way, New Yorkers, if you're thinking about going solar, now's the time.
If not renewed, the vary generous NY State rebate that can cut your cost by more than half are due to expire at the end of the year. As far as I know, funding is still there, but the rebates will be cut off either when funds run out or at the end of 2009, which ever comes first.
You can read a simplified explanation about the program and an example of the cost of an average 5kW system here:
//www.solarpowerrocks.com/new-york/
It really is a terrific rebate that will benefit the environment as well as save homeowners and businesses a great deal on their energy costs over the next 25 to 30 years of the system's lifetime. I'd rather the funds run out than expire unused, so please consider going solar now rather than later.
(You can find a local installer through the above site or stick your finger in the yellow pages. I really don't care. I just want more people to use these available funds if they can swing it.)
jerryd September 30, 2009 · 9:36 am
Such deals much depends on the details like lease payments, for how long and who gets the panels after the end of the lease.
Far better, I'd like to see plug and play panel, inverter and mounting kits at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. If in 1kw or so sizes you could just plug it into a 120vac outlet. Though far better one at the breaker box.
I'd like to see more set on lawns or as the roof of a shed, carport, etc instead of on roofs for more value. Or better built in when the building is built replacing the roof, siding, etc.
Solar since in most areas happens when peak power is needed, solar should get higher feed in prices though not too high, just an average of what the utility pays for peak power. Too high subsidies is why panel prices stayed so high for so long, not dropping other than inflation for 30 yrs!!.
Douglas Arrison September 30, 2009 · 11:43 am
Rumpole makes a good point about feed-in tariffs. They are particularly effective in spurring demand for rooftop solar, which is the preferred method of distributing power generation.
This recent blog post and video explain how Germany (with far less sunshine than the US) became the #1 solar country in the world through feed-in tariffs:
//www.dasolar.com/solar-blog/index.php/2009/09/feed-in-tariffs-why-do-we-need-them/
Steve Davey November 6, 2009 · 10:26 am
No offence to Chris Dudley and Solar Fred, but at this point in time there is no way that a system can be installed for $4/Watt. Panel prices are running at the $2.50/W range and thin film at $1.76/W like you said, but you have to include a good UL1741 compliant grid-tie inverter or micro inverters, balance of system equipment (cables, breakers etc.), mounting structure, design and permitting fees, and in some cases a grid connection fee. In my experience, you will be hard pressed to find a company that can install a system for less than $5.50-$6.50/W while making minimal profit.
There is an innovative company called "Andalay" in CA who has packaged all the necessary equipment (panels, micro inverter, unique mounting structure, and balance of system) into a bundle at a much lower cost of about $4.50/W, but you still need to pay an installer, and also pull the necessary permits to complete the installation.
Don't get me wrong… it still makes financial sense even at $6.50/W. Especially if you include a conservative 6% annual inflation on the cost of electricity by utilities. Equipment is continually becoming less expensive, and with that the install costs are decreasing also, but for now, an install is definately a lot more expensive than $4/W.
I am very optimistic about the alternative energy future. With companies like SolarCity leading the way by offering innovative financing programs, and overcoming the solar industries biggest growth obstacle (the upfront cost to customer), the industry is slowly forging ahead and creating a new mindset throughout the general population. In 20 years time we will look back and think, "Why did we not do this sooner?"
Congestion Tax Boosts Alt-Fuel Vehicle Use
Ireland Expands Transmission Capacity


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Mirror [#1] Vector.pdf 42,929 KB/Sec
New York City cab driver Yuri Davydov is a disgruntled Russian emigre poised to lash out at the adoptive nation he believes has denied him the American Dream. A former technician in the Soviet biological weapons system, Biopreparat, Yuri possesses the knowledge to wreak havoc in his new home. But before he executes his planned piece de resistance of vengeance, he experiments first on his suspicious live-in girlfriend, then on a few poor-tipping fares.... Dr. Jack Stapleton and Dr. Laurie Montgomery (both last seen in Chromosome 6) begin to witness some unusual cases in their capacity as forensic pathologists in the city's medical examiner's office: a young, healthy black woman dies of respiratory failure, a Greek immigrant succumbs to a sudden, overwhelming pneumonia. At the same time, the pair are pressured from above to focus on a high-profile string of suspicious deaths of prisoners in police custody. When an unexpected breakthrough persuades Jack that these seemingly unrelated deaths are really connected murders, his colleagues and superiors are skeptical. Only Laurie is somewhat convinced. But the question soon becomes whether the pair will solve the puzzle before Yuri unleashes into the streets of New York the ultimate terror: a modern bioweapon. With signature skill, Robin Cook has crafted a page-turning thriller rooted in up-to-the-minute biotechnology. Vector is all-too-plausible fiction at its terrifying best.


Are the kids demanding the latest murder-and-mayhem video game? Do your loved ones have all the neckties/bottles of perfume/sweaters that can be used in a lifetime? Tired of celebrating spiritual holidays with crass commercialism?
If so, then perhaps it's time to try a different kind of gift. After all, nothing says "happy holidays" like donating in Aunt Tilda's name to build a composting toilet in Haiti or to deworm kids in Kenya. And a deworming pill will never be regifted!
This time of year I'm always barraged with inquiries about well-run charitable groups doing effective work. So let me tell you about some of the organizations that I've encountered that tackle global poverty in innovative ways.
In this column, I'm putting aside the larger, well-known aid organizations like CARE, Save the Children, Mercy Corps and Heifer International. They all do fabulous work, but today I want to bring to show-and-tell some organizations laboring in obscurity. These groups are also a reminder that the gap in savvy, creativity and effectiveness between the business world and the nonprofit sector is narrowing — in some cases vanishing.
• Acumen Fund, www.acumenfund.org, brings a venture capital sensibility to aid work. It invests money in for-profit businesses — like WaterHealth International, whose business model is to provide clean drinking water where none is available. Acumen also invests in LifeSpring Hospitals, which runs low-cost maternity centers where impoverished women can safely deliver babies.
Acumen argues that these businesses, because they earn profits and treat the poor as customers, are more sustainable than giveaways. This reflects a growing trend of using business mechanisms to fight poverty.
• Afghan Institute of Learning, www.creatinghope.org, is an aid group run by Afghan women. It is led by Sakena Yacoobi, a force of nature who was educated in the United States, and it now serves 350,000 Afghan women and children annually.
Yacoobi runs education programs, training centers and clinics, emphasizing local buy-in and self-reliance. Western aid programs in Afghanistan have not always been successful, and my hunch is that if more aid had been routed through Afghan-managed programs like this, more would have been accomplished.
• BRAC, www.brac.net, is a Bangladeshi antipoverty organization that has had huge success serving tens of millions of people there and is now branching out to Afghanistan and Africa. It emphasizes organizing village women and promoting education, health and microfinance.
One of BRAC's strengths is its ability to turn impoverished women into agents of change for the entire community.
• Developments in Literacy, www.dil.org, builds terrific modern schools in Pakistan, particularly for girls. It frustrates me that rural Pakistan abounds with hard-line madrassas financed by fundamentalist Muslims who channel the students toward extremism. Extremists recognize the transformative power of education, and so should we. This is a security issue, for D.I.L. schools can help protect us from terrorism.
• Deworm the World, www.dewormtheworld.org, tackles a problem most Americans don't even think about: intestinal worms. Most kids in poor countries have worms, and the result is anemia, malnutrition and sicknesses that cause absences from school. One of the most cost-effective ways of getting more children into school appears to be deworming them with one pill a year, for about 50 cents per person reached.
• SOIL, www.oursoil.org, is bringing dry, composting toilets to Haiti. Run by two remarkable American women, SOIL operates on a shoestring budget in impoverished communities.
One aim is to improve sanitation and public health. Another is to compost waste so that it can be safely used as fertilizer to boost agricultural production.
• Sustainable Health Enterprises, www.sheinnovates.com, is a new effort to help women and girls in poor countries to manage menstruation, so that they miss less school and work. S.H.E. is trying to help African women start their own businesses based on making and distributing low-cost sanitary pads.
Although one Nepal study found contrary evidence, education experts increasingly believe that a cost-effective way to keep high school girls from dropping out in poor countries is to help provide them with sanitary products and perhaps ibuprofen for cramps.
• The Worldwide Fistula Fund, www.wfmic.org, and the Fistula Foundation, www.fistulafoundation.org, are dedicated to correcting a childbirth injury that is one of the worst things that can happen to a person: an obstetric fistula. This is an internal injury that leaves a girl or young woman incontinent, leaking wastes, scorned and ostracized.
A $450 surgical repair can usually solve the problem and give these young women their lives back. For fistula sufferers, it's truly the gift of a lifetime.
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Justa Grata Honoria, commonly referred to during her lifetime as Honoria, (born c. 418 – died c. 455) was the older sister of the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III. She is famous for her plea of love and help to Attila the Hun, which led to his proclamation of his claim to rule the Western Roman Empire.

Coins attest that she was granted the title of Augusta not long after the accession of her brother in 426.

Family
Honoria was the only daughter of later Emperor Constantius III and Galla Placidia. Her first two names were after her maternal aunts, Justa and Grata, the daughters of Valentinian I and Justina, and the third for the emperor who reigned at the time of her birth, her half-uncle Honorius. Her maternal half-brother Theodosius, born in 414 from the first marriage of Placidia to king Ataulf of the Visigoths, died in infancy, before Honoria was born. Her younger brother, Valentinian III, was her full brother.

Biography
The historical record of most of her life is little more than brief mentions of or allusions to her presence. Oost notes that she accompanied her mother and younger brother as they set sail for Constantinople in spring of 423, and that Honoria was with them when they joined the expeditionary force at Thessalonica in the summer of 424 that would restore Galla Placidia and Valentinian to power in the West. She was included in mosaics of the Imperial family, now lost, at Santa Croce in Gerusalemme and in a church dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist in Ravenna. Last is Carmen I of Merobaudes written circa 443, although a fragmentary poem it clearly includes her in a description of the family of Valentinian III. These details have led Stewart Oost to observe that Honoria came to feel "that life had condemned her to a dull and impotent backwater."

Honoria gained a reputation with older historians of being ambitious and promiscuous, using her sexuality to advance her interests. She regarded her brother as weak and indolent, based on the events of a brief period in her life. According to John of Antioch (writing in the 7th century), she seduced her chamberlain, Eugenius, but their affair was discovered. According to the Chronicle of Marcellinus Comes, Honoria was sent to a convent in Constantinople; J. B. Bury has  argued that her relegation to Constantinople never happened, pointing out that Marcellinus matched the indiction of the event to the wrong pair of consuls, putting this event 15 years too early.

Whether one agrees with Bury or not, it is certain that her brother decided to marry Honoria to a Roman senator named Bassus Herculanus who was considered "safe" and unlikely to use this connection to seize the throne. Faced with this unwanted marriage, Honoria sought the aid of Attila the Hun. She sent the Hunnish king a plea for help – and her ring – in the spring of 450. Though Honoria may not have intended a proposal of marriage, Bury points out Attila chose to interpret her message as such. He accepted, asking for half of the western Empire as dowry. When Valentinian discovered the plan, again only the influence of his mother Galla Placidia convinced him to exile, rather than kill, Honoria. He also wrote to Attila strenuously denying the legitimacy of the supposed marriage proposal.

For years Attila had been planning to invade Rome and Honoria's letter gave him the excuse to make his move. Attila sent an emissary to Ravenna in 451 to proclaim that Honoria was innocent, that the proposal had been legitimate, and that he would come to claim what was rightfully his. Attila made a similar demand in 452, which was followed by his failed invasion of northern Italy.

Nothing of her life after her intrigue with Attila is recorded. One assumes that she was married to Herculanus, but in concluding his account of this incident, John of Antioch writes, "And so Honoria was freed from her danger at this time." Pointing at the last three words of this sentence, Bury asks, "Does this imply that she incurred some punishment afterwards, worse even than a dull marriage?" Lastly, because her name does not appear in the list of important persons carried off to Carthage by the Vandals following their sack of the city, the capture of her sister-in-law and her nieces and the murder of her brother in 455, Oost suggests she was dead by then; whether of natural causes or by order of her brother the Emperor, Oost admits "we do not have evidence adequate" to decide.

Portrayals

 She was portrayed by Sophia Loren in the 1954 film Attila.
 She was portrayed by Kirsty Mitchell in the 2001 miniseries Attila.
 She was portrayed by Ivelina Ivanova in the 2016 docudrama Barbarians Rising.

References

External links

Justa Grata Honoria - Article by J. B. Bury
 Scheming princess behind Empire's fall - Article from CNN by Mark S. Longo.

5th-century births
5th-century deaths
Theodosian dynasty
5th-century Romans
5th-century Roman women
Augustae
Daughters of Roman emperors

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


You are here: Home Home RPI Kickstarters Card Games Kickstarters The KickStarter Is LIVE!!!!
What can I say, IK expected the approval to take longer than 30 seconds. The submit for review came back in 30 seconds and then there was this button.
We are Live tell the world and lets get funded.


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Life and Laughter at the Opera
By Carren Jao
October 24, 2009 - 8:55 am
The Syracuse Opera gave patrons something to smile about tonight with its first show of the season, La Boheme.
For non-opera lovers, La Boheme rings no bells until you say the magic words, "It's Rent set in the late 1800s." The Broadway version stays faithful to its inspiration, making La Boheme infinitely more accessible to younger audiences even with Italian operatic singing and English subtitles flashing above the stage.
La Boheme is one of Giacomo Puccini's most popular operas alongside Madame Butterfly. With a libretto by Guiseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, it was first performed in Turin, Italy on February 1896.
The story revolves around two couples: poet Rodolfo (Brian Jagde) and seamstress Mimi (Sara Jakubiak), and painter Marcello (Timothy Kuhn) and mistress Musetta (Kate Mangiameli). Like their modern day incarnations, these couples at first exhibit the lightheartedness of the young and restless. Joined by friends philosopher Colline (Christopher Temporelli) and musician Schaunard (Matthew Hayward), these creative, free spirits dance and sing wandering the streets of Paris' Latin Quarter in search of merriment and, for the couples, basking in the glow of love.
Like all good things, this exuberance comes to an end as the couples find themselves in dire financial and physical straits. Mimi is dying of consumption, while Musetta gives in to her flirtatious nature by entertaining another man. In the end, death brings the cast together as Mimi lies dying, proving that at the end of life, love is really what all humans are searching for.
Though this opera comes in four acts, one would hardly feel it. Each act provided a natural progression of the story with an accompanying change of sets to boot. The first act introduced us to the couples and their cohorts in a mischievous manner. Boyish antics (similar to that of frat house follies?) were on display to the delight of the audience. A few snickers and a smattering of laughter could be heard throughout the whole act. Barring a few moments when characters bumped into their sets, the first act set an upbeat note for the first half of the show.
Kuhn's voice was delightfully robust, which made Temporelli's voice seem weaker in comparison. While Kuhn could be heard consistently throughout the theater, Temporelli's dropped out every so often.
John Davies, playing Benoit the landlord, also makes a delightful appearance, providing the signature grumpy old man character that elicits laughter by his age and apparent marital indiscretions. He manages the same feat in the second act as Musetta's sugar daddy, Alcindro.
The next act continued the rising action. The audience becomes privy to Musetta's coquettish and comical attempts at regaining Marcello's attention, highlighted to great effect by the playful music of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. Mangiameli first comes off as an overdramatic Musetta, but we quickly realize that it's simply Musetta being Musetta. Like Rent's Maureen, she is kind but more than a little loopy.
The farce of Musetta's attempts and Marcello's fake indifference are set off perfectly by gaiety of men, women and children marching the streets of the Latin Quarter. The Syracuse Opera Chorus and Children's Chorus's full force presence on stage made the street scene come to life.
Then comes tragedy in the third and fourth acts. The first blush of love soon fades and our characters are faced with the harsh reality of the world. While the main characters performed admirably, it was difficult for me to get into the action owing to the confusing subtitles flashing above. The meat of the characters' heated conversation was lost on me as I tried to decode the misplaced, or sometimes out of synch, subtitles flashing above.
The story comes to a head as Rodolfo and Mimi once again meet after parting and pining for each other. Frighteningly pale and at death's doorstep, Mimi was touching instead of trite in her final moments.
Stage direction by Joseph Bascetta was inspired. He asks Jakubiak not just to waste away on her deathbed, but directs her to struggle out of it reaching for her lover. Crumpled onto the floor, lovers echo their first magic moments together, hands and knees on the floor looking for Mimi's lost keys in Rodolfo's apartment. Sadly, this time, no happy ending was in sight. There was only loss and sorrow.
The Syracuse Opera begins their season strong with La Boheme, even prompting an avid opera-goer to say matter-of-factly, "I think that's their best performance in a long time." Indeed, even an opera novice like me could tell that there was energy in the air as the opera progressed confidently from one act to another. All aspects of production seemed to fall in place, and what wasn't perfect became forgivable.
GO SEE IT: Syracuse Opera performs Puccini's La Boheme one last time on 2 p.m. on October 25 at the John Mulroy Civic Center.
Which avid opera goer was
Submitted by Rebecca (not verified) on October 24, 2009 - 11:24am.
Which avid opera goer was this?
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News > Medscape Medical News > Neurology News
Intensive Patient Education Fails to Ease Low Back Pain
Damian McNamara
Providing intensive education for patients with acute low back pain is no better than placebo for easing discomfort, results of a randomized controlled trial show.
Investigators at the University of Sydney in Australia found two 1-hour sessions of patient education were no more effective than placebo sessions for improving pain at 3 months.
"Even though we found formalized, intensive patient education was not effective for recent-onset low back pain, simple advice and reassurance still play a role," principal investigator Adrian Traeger, PhD, told Medscape Medical News.
"There is high-quality evidence that brief primary care–based advice can allay fears about low back pain and prevent unnecessary healthcare use. We just don't need to overdo it," he added.
The study was published online November 5 in JAMA Neurology.
Intensity Tested
Recommendations promoting education for low back pain include a series published earlier the year in the Lancet that suggested researchers and policy makers "develop and implement strategies to ensure early identification and adequate education of patients with low back pain at risk for persistence of pain and disability."
In addition, international guidelines state that primary care physicians should provide advice, education, reassurance, and simple analgesics, if necessary, to address uncomplicated acute low back pain of fewer than 6 weeks' duration.
Furthermore, a Cochrane Review that assessed acute low back pain supported the effectiveness of intensive education.
However, the investigators note, most guidelines and studies do not include recommendations regarding the intensity of patient education.
In what they describe as the first placebo-controlled study to assess intensive education in this population, the investigators recruited adults who were within 6 weeks of the onset of acute low back pain.
General practitioners and physiotherapists referred study participants. The investigators trained referring clinicians to provide all recruited participants with guideline-based care, which included advice to stay active and to avoid bed rest; they also provided information on treatment options, including spinal manipulation and/or simple analgesics.
After exclusions, the investigators randomly assigned 202 people in a 1:1 ratio to receive two 1-hour sessions of either intensive education or placebo education.
They enrolled participants between September 2013 and December 2015. Just more than half (103) were women, and the mean age was 45 years. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the groups were similar.
To standardize the interventions, a coauthor of the study who has expertise in pain education trained two of the trial clinicians to deliver the patient education component. For the placebo patient education, a different coauthor — a clinical psychologist with expertise in pain management — trained the same clinicians.
Intensive education included a detailed explanation about the biopsychosocial nature of pain that incorporated the use of diagrams, metaphors, and stories. Clinicians also helped this group reframe any unhelpful beliefs about low back pain. They explained the biologic basis and protective nature of acute and chronic low back pain, helped participants evaluate new concepts, and discussed techniques to promote recovery.
Placebo sessions lasted the same amount of time but did not include any advice or education regarding acute low back pain. In these sessions, investigators encouraged participants to talk about any topic.
Notable Findings
The 0.3-point decrease in pain intensity at 3 months between intensive and placebo education was not statistically significant (95% confidence interval, P = .31).
In the intensive education group, the mean intensity of pain decreased from 6.3 points at baseline to 2.1 points at 3 months. A similar decrease occurred in the placebo group, from 6.1 to 2.4.
The investigators also found a small improvement in disability at 3 months. Disability scores rated on a 24-point scale decreased a mean 1.6 points in the intensive education group (95% confidence interval [CI], -3.1 to -0.1; P = .03) compared to baseline. At the same time, the placebo group experienced a mean decrease of 1.7 points (95% CI, -3.2 to -0.2; P = .03).
However, the differences were not clinically meaningful, the researchers note. "The short-term effects on disability, although consistent with those from similar trials, were below published guidance on clinically meaningful effects," they write. In addition, they found no differences in disability ratings between groups at 6 or 12 months' follow-up.
"Our results suggest that offering more intensive patient education to patients with acute low back pain than that provided as part of standard practice does not reduce pain intensity or lead to meaningful reductions in disability," the researchers note.
Traeger and colleagues did find some differences in secondary outcomes, however. Risk for recurrence of low back pain at 12 months, for example, was lower in the intensive education group than in the placebo cohort (odds ratio, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.24 - 0.82).
Similarly, the intensive education participants were less likely to experience pain interference at 3 months (mean difference, -0.8; 95% CI, -1.5 to -0.1; P = .02) or seek healthcare (OR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.19 - 0.93). Once again, the investigators did not observe differences at 6 or 12 months.
Pain attitude scores were higher at 1 week in the patient education group, with a mean difference of -0.9 (95% CI, -1.2 to -0.5; P < .001).
The investigators also measured reassurance by asking participants: "How reassured do you feel that there is no serious condition causing your back pain?" The mean difference was 1.2 (95% CI, 0.4 - 2.0; P = .003).
In contrast, intensive education did not emerge as more effective than placebo patient education for reducing depressive symptoms, the incidence of chronic low back pain, or global perceived change.
There was no evidence that out-of-trial therapy confounded treatment effects.
Interestingly, a causal mediation analysis confirmed that patient education reduced catastrophizing and unhelpful beliefs, but these psychologic mechanisms did not reduce pain intensity, the researchers report.
"We felt there was a strong biologic argument for improving beliefs and reducing catastrophizing about pain — that this might be the answer to developing a persistent pain problem," Traeger said. "We were very surprised to discover that it was not."
Surprising Outcome
A lack of significant difference in pain outcomes at 3 months was unexpected, Traeger said.
"Of all interventions available for low back pain, patient education was probably the most promising option to provide in an intensive format early in the condition.
"We knew there was evidence that this approach had pain-relieving effects for patients with chronic pain and that it was a reassuring intervention for patients with acute low back pain," he said.
The findings also underline the importance of conducting placebo-controlled trials, he said. "Even approaches with a strong biologic rationale and recommended by international guidelines may turn out to be ineffective," he noted.
"Adding complex, time consuming treatments to primary-care based advice and reassurance is likely to be unnecessary for most patients with acute low back pain," the researchers state.
They plan to continue looking into ways primary care practitioners can best manage acute low back pain. "We are also very interested in novel nervous system–targeted approaches to prevent the development of chronic pain," Traeger said.
"In the meantime, we plan to spread the message that more is not necessarily better for people with acute low back pain, even when it comes to treatments thought to be universally beneficial," he added.
"My main comment or reaction is that this study suggests that the intensive education intervention that they studied doesn't seem to be effective compared to a placebo intervention.
"However, all patients received brief advice and education, including persons in the placebo arm," Roger Chou, MD, a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology at Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine in Portland, told Medscape Medical News when asked to comment on the findings.
"So the study doesn't tell us whether standard or brief advice and education is effective or not," he said.
"No guideline that I am aware of recommends the kind of intensive education that this study suggests, so I don't think that the results contradict current guidelines," added Chou, who was an investigator in the series on low back pain published in the Lancet. He also helped formulate Oregon Health and Science University's recently adopted guideline on diagnosing and treating low back pain.
"The study does suggest that intensive education may not add much benefit beyond simple advice, at least the educational intervention they looked at in this study — but there may be other educational interventions or approaches that are more effective, or certain patients who might benefit from more intensive education," Chou said. "We need more research to address these questions."
Chou added that acute low back pain is similar to many health conditions for which most clinicians provide some education, despite the fact that the evidence for the practice "isn't great." High cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension, and depression are examples.
"A patient-centered approach includes helping patients understand their condition and treatment options and is warranted even when evidence showing clear benefits may be suboptimal," he said.
The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council funded the study. Dr Traeger and Dr Chou have disclosed no relevant relationships.
JAMA Neurology. Published online November 5, 2018. Full text
Follow Damian McNamara on Twitter: @MedReporter. For more Medscape Neurology news, join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Medscape Medical News © 2018
Cite this: Intensive Patient Education Fails to Ease Low Back Pain - Medscape - Nov 07, 2018.
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The City Hotel Pilvax is an elegant and yet homely hotel situated in the very heart of Budapest city centre. The hotel is located on a quiet side street just a few minutes' walk from the bustling pedestrian shopping street Váci utca and the Danube Promenade. Thanks to its central location the hotel is within easy reach of the majority of the city's most popular attractions (the Parliament, National Museum, Central Market and Buda Castle), can be accessed without any difficulty by walk or with the excellent public transport links. Ferenciek tere (Ferenciek Square) underground station (metro line 3) and bus stop is just 3 minutes walk from the hotel. Due to the hotel's location the rooms are calm, they offer a perfect place for recreation. It really is a perfect base for both business and leisure stays in Budapest.
The hotel's building was erected in 1925 but the City Hotel Pilvax was opened only after a renovation in 1997. It was named after the famous Pilvax Coffeehouse which had been a popular meeting place of the 19th century young intellectuals and the starting point of the Hungarian revolution in 1848. The two-storey hotel, which is pervaded by historic atmosphere, offers 14 twin, 12 double, 4 triple and 2 single rooms.Please note that all rooms are Non-Smoking rooms.
• Full board is available at 24 EUR per person.
The tastefully furnished, bright non-smoking and spacious rooms are welcoming and friendly, featuring facilities like en-suite bathrooms, large, luminous spaces, colour TV set with satellite programmes, radio, telephone, refrigerator, work-desk and air-conditioning. Hair dryer is available on request in each room.
The two-storey cosy hotel offers 12 non-smoking double rooms.
The tastefully furnished, bright and spacious rooms are welcoming and friendly, featuring facilities like en-suite bathrooms, large, luminous spaces, colour TV set with satellite programmes, radio, telephone, refrigerator, work-desk and air-conditioning. Hair dryer is available on request in each room.


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Machine Gun Kelly Honors Eminem In Detroit
April 25th, 2013 James Shotwell
Cleveland bred rapper, Machine Gun Kelly, has a long legacy of incorporating the artists who inspired him into his live set. On Warped Tour 2012 he could be found adding the likes of Blink-182, Limp Bizkit, and more into his routine, and fans ATE IT UP. Seriously, covers have always been cool, but I'm not sure anyone could have guess how successful hip hop covers would be (especially in a live setting).
Recently, Machine Gun Kelly took his current US tour through St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit, MI. Prior to the show, MGK met with fans on the stoop of St. Andrews and performed an acoustic rendition of Eminem's Oscar-winning song from 8 Mile, "Lose Yourself." Later in the evening MGK again paid homage to Eminem by dipping once more into 8 Mile and performing B. Rabbit's final battle rap mid-set. Fans in attendance lost their minds both times, and we think a lot of you will too. You can view the video below.
As MGK says in the beginning of the video, these performances are "only fitting." Eminem made his name at St. Andrew's Hall, though often he performed in the lower portion known as The Shelter, and the venue does play a significant role in the film as well.
Machine Gun Kelly's label debut, Lace Up, is available now wherever music is sold. I'm not sure if 8 Mile is on Netflix or anything, but if you haven't seen that (or if it's been awhile) seek it out as well. A bit rough around the edges, but a solid film overall with a killer soundtrack.
James Shotwell
James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.
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Posted in News Tags: 8 mile, cover, detroit, eminem, homage, Lace Up, ltfu, Machine Gun Kelly, MGK, slim shady, st. andrews hall, the shelter, Tribute
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Home/News/Texas/Texas Supreme Court Allows State Education Agency to Take Over Houston ISD
Texas Supreme Court Allows State Education Agency to Take Over Houston ISD
Subscribe to the briefThe Texas Tribune, a daily newsletter that keeps readers up to date with the most important Texas news.
On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court allowed the state to potentially take control of the Houston Independent School District, which state education officials say is suffering from mismanagement and underachievement at one of its high schools.
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath first moved to the District School Board in 2019 in response to accusations of misconduct by trustees and years of poor performance at Phyllis Wheatley High School.
HISD sued and in 2020, the Travis County District Judge stopped Morath's plan, temporary injunction. The injunction was upheld by the appellate court, but TEA took the case to the state's highest court, where Agency lawyers argued Last year, a 2021 law that went into effect after the case first went to trial allows for a takeover by the state.
On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court sided with TEA and overturned the injunction, saying it did not comply with the new law. This decision may allow TEA to appoint new school board members, who can then vote to end the lawsuit.
TEA told The Texas Tribune that it is currently reviewing the court's decision. The agency did not immediately respond to questions about whether it has immediate plans to install a new blackboard.
The Texas Supreme Court also returned the decades-old case back to the trial court.
Lawyers for HISD have already said they would welcome a return to the trial court so that a temporary injunction can be considered under the updated law, adding that HISD is ready to file for a permanent injunction from 2020.
HISD Superintendent Millard House II said in a press release Friday that the county's legal team is reviewing the court's decision. He also touted recent improvements in the school district, including Phyllis Whitley High School.
"There is still a lot of work to be done, but we are pleased with the progress we have made as a county and look forward to the work ahead," House said in a press release.
The TEA argued that state law gives the commissioner the power to temporarily appoint board members in school districts that have experienced five consecutive years of underachievement, as well as in districts in which a state-appointed conservative has been monitoring and evaluating their performance for more than two years. At HISD, conservative Doris Delaney has overseen Kashmir High School since 2016. In 2019, its powers were expanded to the district level.
When the case went to appeals court in late 2020, HISD argued that Delaney did not meet the two-year requirement as a district-level conservative because her role in the district began as a campus-level conservative. During oral arguments in the State Supreme Court, TEA lawyers argued that the distinction between the two levels of guardianship was removed by the 2021 updates to the Education Code.
Alejandro Serrano contributed to this story.
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There's No Such Thing as Impropriety in West Hollywood
Concerned about whether or not it was okay for me to use profanity in a public place like A Different Light Bookstore in West Hollywood, I asked novelist Noel Alumit for his opinion prior to the launch of last night's Promising Reading Series, which also featured Giovanni Ortega, who wielded spoken word/poetry, and Serena Lin, who shared some fiction on the eve of leaving her job at the public defender's office to pursue a life in the arts. Noel told me that, yes, it was perfectly fine to swear, and, when I saw that I was going to be reading in front of a rack that prominently displayed Butt magazine, I realized that I could probably say fucking anything.
I must give a heartfelt thanks to everybody who was there, and I welcome all you new BAMBOO NATION readers who are now reading simply because I told you to and who are now unwittingly a part of my secret cabal. And guess who else was there? Literary and sociopolitical all-stars Felice Picano, Trebor Healy, and Angela Oh. And remember, every time you don't show up to a Prince Gomolvilas event, god kills a kitten.
Among the pieces I presented was a classic hilarious blog entry titled "I'm Not Going" that you can listen to right now. It deconstructs my unbecoming obsession with Jennifer Hudson and the movie version of Dreamgirls. Don't you love it already?
—Reporting From Glendale, California
BAMBOO NATION: There's No Such Thing as Impropriety in West Hollywood
http://bp0.blogger.com/_06Z3v4vczeI/Rpeu1J3fqOI/AAAAAAAAAXM/sh67kjnBV9k/s320/kitten.jpg
http://bp0.blogger.com/_06Z3v4vczeI/Rpeu1J3fqOI/AAAAAAAAAXM/sh67kjnBV9k/s72-c/kitten.jpg
http://www.bamboo-nation.com/2007/07/theres-no-such-thing-as-impropriety-in.html


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We have a winner! The winner of this contest was notified on January 24th and her prize is in the mail.
From the Rialto Bridge in Venice directly to your door anywhere in the world! Eredi Jovon Venice and OG Venice Travel Guide are so excited to offer our readers a chance at winning this gorgeous cameo. The winner of this contest will receive this cameo of the Three Graces by Eredi Jovon Venice, a substantial 30mm, 1.2 inches, hand-carved piece set in sterling silver. It can be worn as a pendent, brooch or used as a very elegant clasp on a pearl necklace.
Cameos are timeless and very nearly priceless jewels. Nevertheless, if one were to purchase this one - handmade in the Veneto - it would cost more than 165 euros. Though that doesn't sound at all unreasonable, it is still exceedingly generous of Eredi Jovon to offer one piece to our readers for free! Follow the instructions at the end of this post to enter the contest.
Who is Eredi Jovon Venice?
Eredi Jovon Venice is a Venetian jewelry store currently operated by the third generation of the Jovon family, all experts in the art of hand-carving stone and shell cameos and corals. Since 1934, the Jovon family has occupied their shop on the Rialto bridge in Venice and, from there, provided their handmade and custom jewels to collectors from around the world. Their shop is a well-known destination for high quality hand-made cameos in Venice and is the only shop in Venice that sells locally produced cameos. Yet, even in the bustle of Venice today, and with the renown their work has received, you will still meet the Jovon family - Marco, Alessio and Gabriella - in person at their shop at Rialto. There, you'll be invited to view some of their most famous pieces and to learn about the art of carving cameos and how it was passed down through this family of gifted artisans. The Jovons have a deep love and passion for their art and this is conveyed through their beautiful work.
The Eredi Jovon definition of a Cameo is: "A cameo is a piece of art, a part of Italian history, something for life, something that you can use, but also something that shows your taste for elegance and grace". Most readers will agree that cameos are timeless jewels that never go out of style. We cherish the pieces we inherit and admire those newly created. They make moving and sentimental gifts of delicate and intricate craftsmanship that tell stories of families, histories and societies. So many details in such a tiny space! But what are cameos made of and where do they come from?
A cameo is a relief image, often quite small but highly detailed, carved into multi-layered stone, sea shells, gems, coral, or even glass. The difference in color between the background and the foreground of a cameo is the result of carving these multi-layered materials to both create the image and also reveal the different colored layer of material underneath. This creates a natural contrast and enhances the image itself.
Italy has been the epicenter of this art since time immemorial. The Portland Vase in the British Museum is among the oldest surviving ancient Roman glass cameo pieces. The "State Cameos" of the Roman Emperor Augustus and his family and court are among the most ancient and famous cameos in the world. Meanwhile, it is rumored that renaissance Pope Paul II, an avid cameo collector, caught his death of cold due to bedecking his fingers with too many cameos and stones. Cameos came into vogue throughout Europe during the Elizabethan period of the late 1500's when visitors began bringing them north after visits to Italy. But, they lost none of their luxury standing. Napoleon wore a cameo to his wedding and presented Empress Josephine with a cameo and pearl tiara which is currently in the possession of the royal family of Sweden and was worn by Crown Princess Victoria to her wedding in 2010.
Cameo jewels are among the longest-enduring styles of precious jewelry, along with bands of silver and gold. They were originally reserved for royalty, and the exceedingly wealthy, and displayed primarily images of mythological, religious or political figures. It wasn't until the 19th century that cameo's carved according to an individual's likeness became popular. They remained quite expensive for some time, and are still coveted and difficult to get even today.
Many contemporary cameos are machine cut rather than hand-carved. This is even true for authentic cameos of stone and shell. However, personalized cameos, such as portraits, are almost always hand-carved. The costs of retooling a carving machine for only one piece are prohibitively expensive for most producers and customers.
The artists at Eredi Jovon are among very few in the world who make custom hand-carved cameo portraits. And, they do so at quite reasonable prices. Working from photographs or paintings you provide, the Jovons first create a sketch from the image and then hand-carve the image into shell or stone. Your cameo is then set in either silver or gold, to your specifications, and shipped to your home. Or, if you are in town, you can pick it up in the shop! The entire process takes about 6 weeks and in the end you have a precious jewel for yourself and heirloom for your family. You can learn more about this service on their website: www.eredijovon.com.
Win the Three Graces Cameo from Eredi Jovon Venice!
The three graces are the daughters of the Zeus, the king of the Gods, and Eurynome, a water nymph. They are the goddesses of beauty, charm and grace whose purpose in the Greek pantheon is to inspire wisdom, love and creativity in the world. They have indeed inspired artists throughout the ages including Raphael, Botticelli and the Jovon family of jewelers. What better subject for a cameo? And what better charm, or grace, to wear oneself?! Would you like to own this treasure?
"Like" the OG Venice Facebook Page HERE.
"Like" the Eredi Jovon Facebook Page HERE.
Provide your email address. The easiest way to do this is to use the contact form below and type "Cameo Contest" in the text box. The winner will be contacted via email.
Contest Rules: This contest is open from Friday January 16th through Friday January 23rd. (One week only to enter!) Only one entry per person please! Multiple entries will be disqualified. The winner will be chosen at random, using a list randomizer, from among those entrants who have completed all of the steps necessary to enter, and contacted via the email address provided. We will validate that the steps have been followed and contact the winner by Monday, January 26th. NO PURCHASE is necessary from either Eredi Jovon or OG Venice to enter this contest and making a purchase will not improve your chances of winning. The email addresses of entrants will be added to the mailing lists of both OG Venice Travel Guide and Eredi Jovon Venice. We will never share, sell or disclose your contact information and you are free to unsubscribe from these mailing lists at any time. This contest is open to everyone, everywhere in the world. The prize will be mailed to your valid shipping address, shipping & handling included. If the winner does not respond to our email within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen at random.


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Peattie
BA (Hons) Fashion Knitwear Design and Knitted Textiles
Everything NTU offers from campus facilities, societies and student support is exactly what someone moving away from home really needs.
More about Rebecca
What made you choose to study at NTU?
"I started off studying Fashion Design at a university in Scotland, but realised I wanted to specialise in Fashion Knitwear. After some research and viewing NTU graduate work at Graduate Fashion Week, I decided to change course and apply for knitwear at NTU."
Did you come to an open day?
"Yes I did. I knew it was a big step to change courses and move from Scotland to Nottingham, so I wanted to be sure the course was right for me and what I was looking for. The open day was fantastic, getting to speak to students and lecturers from the course was really valuable."
What do you enjoy most about the course?
"I think the course is fantastic, and it's hard to pin point what I most enjoy. Learning how to create and knit your fabrics as well as construct it into a fashion garment really gives students a special niche.
"The course is really well structured, giving students a chance to be creative but also understand how to be commercial and prepare us for industry. The mix of lectures and practical sessions really provides you with a varied skillset.
"The Year Two trip to yarn trade fair Pitti Filatti in Florence was definitely a highlight and the placement year we can undertake during Year Three is such as valuable experience to learn and prepare for working in industry."
What do you think about the course staff?
"I really appreciate the support I have received from the staff on the course. The lecturers, tutors and technical staff have all worked in industry and have varied expertise.
"We have weekly tutorials with our tutors and peers, so you are always receiving feedback on your work and know which direction to go in."
What do you think of the course facilities?
"The studios and workshops are excellent and we have domestic, industrial and power knit machines and the use of yarn from the yarn store. We also have a great CAD lab with friendly and helpful IT staff.
What do you like about studying and living in Nottingham?
"I love the fact that the campus is located in the city centre and everything is relatively close to each other. Nottingham is a great city to study in and the student night life is fantastic with so many different venues and club nights."
Why would you recommend your course?
"I have experienced studying in another university and I have never enjoyed myself more than at NTU.
"The course is so varied and you are always motivated and have projects that stimulate your creativity. Everything NTU offers from campus facilities, societies and student support is exactly what someone moving away from home for the first time really needs."