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Mr. Bean é uma sitcom de comédia e humor britânico, estrelada pelo personagem de mesmo nome, criado e interpretado pelo ator e comediante Rowan Atkinson. A série, criada por Atkinson e Richard Curtis, teve originalmente 15 episódios, exibidos pela ITV, produzidos pela Tiger Aspect Productions e escritos por Atkinson, Curtis, Robin Driscoll e Ben Elton. O sucesso da série e do personagem deram origem a dois filmes e a uma série de desenho animado.

Origem e influências

O personagem Mr. Bean foi criado e desenvolvido enquanto Rowan Atkinson estava a estudar o seu mestrado na Universidade de Oxford. Um sketch encarnando o personagem foi realizado no Edinburgh Fringe no início dos anos 80. Um personagem similar chamado Robert Box, encarnado por Atkinson, apareceu na ITV sitcom de 1979 Canned Laughter, onde também utilizava várias cenas do filme de 1979, Bean. Em 1987, uma das primeiras aparições de Mr. Bean ocorreu no festival de comédia "Just For Laughs" em Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Quando os diretores da programação do festival a agendar a estreia de Atkinson no programa do festival, Atkinson insistiu que ele atuaria no programa francófono em vez de no anglófono. Não tendo qualquer diálogo em francês na sua atuação, os diretores de programação do festival não conseguiam compreender porque é que Atkinson queria atuar no programa francófono. Como se constatou, a atuação de Atkinson no festival foi uma plataforma de teste para o personagem de Mr. Bean e Atkinson queria constatar como a comédia física de personagem mudo se iria safar num palco internacional com uma audiência não anglófona.

O nome do personagem não estava decidido até ao fim da produção e gravação do primeiro programa, com um grande número de outros nomes sendo explorados, com base em legumes e vegetais, como por exemplo "Mr. Cauliflower"(Sr. Couve-flor). Atkinson citou o personagem precursor da comédia Monsieur Hulot, criado pelo comediante  e director francês Jacques Tati, como influência para o personagem. Estatisticamente, Mr. Bean é também muito semelhante aos precursores dos filmes de comédia, fiando-se puramente da comédia física, com Mr. Bean falando um diálogo muito curto e pequeno (apesar de como em outras séries de comédia da TV da época, se ter uma faixa de riso). Isto permitiu à série ter sido vendido em todo o mundo praticamente sem significativas mudanças no diálogo original.

A série e o personagem
Mr. Bean é uma série humorística da televisão inglesa protagonizada por Rowan Atkinson no papel de Mr. Bean. O primeiro episódio foi transmitido em 1º de janeiro de 1990 pela ITV (Independent Television) e a série seguiu no ar até 15 de dezembro de 1995.

Durante os cinco anos, foi aumentando sua audiência, até alcançar 18,74 milhões de espectadores durante o episódio "The Trouble With Mr Bean", em 1992. Além disso, recebeu um número relevante de prêmios internacionais, entre eles "A Rosa de Ouro" (Rose d'Or). O programa também deu origem a dois filmes e uma série de desenhos animados.

A personalidade de Mr. Bean é agradável, divertida e inclusive ingênua e, algumas vezes, malvada. Rowan Atkinson (protagonista) sempre enxergou o personagem como sendo um garoto de 6 anos no corpo de um adulto. Vive em seu pequeno apartamento em Highbury, no  norte de Londres (Inglaterra), com seu ursinho de pelúcia e melhor amigo, Teddy. Mr. Bean fala poucas vezes e quando o faz é sempre com poucas palavras ou com um resmungo. Seu nome e sua profissão nunca foram mencionadas nem por ele nem por seus criadores. O humor da comédia vem em grande parte das originais e excêntricas soluções que Mr. Bean encontra para resolver seus problemas e sua indiferença total por solucionar outros, além de sua habilidade em gerar confusão com as pessoas e entre elas. Mr. Bean usa sempre um paletó de lã e uma gravata vermelha fina, mas no episódio Mr. Bean rides again ele tem duas gravatas diferentes e nenhuma delas é a mesma que ele costuma usar.

Teddy

Teddy é o ursinho de pelúcia de Mr. Bean e, aparentemente, seu melhor amigo. Este pequeno urso pardo é feito de malha, com olhos de botão e membros (pernas e braços) em forma de salsicha. Embora Teddy seja inanimado, Mr. Bean costuma fingir que ele está vivo, comprando-lhe um presente de Natal ou tentando não acordá-lo pela manhã. Por exemplo, quando Mr. Bean hipnotiza Teddy (querendo que ele durma), ele estala os dedos e a cabeça do urso cai para trás como se ele tivesse adormecido instantaneamente (Bean usa o dedo para sustentar a cabeça de Teddy). Aparece em vários  episódios. Em "Mr. Bean in Room 426", foi decapitado. Já em "Tee Off, Mr. Bean", foi encolhido na máquina de lavar roupa.

Ao longo dos anos, Teddy passou por várias mudanças. Quando estreou em "The Trouble with Mr. Bean", tinha uma cabeça menor. Dois episódios depois, sua cabeça era do tamanho de seu corpo, mas seus "olhos" não estavam presentes até que Bean colocou tachinhas de ouro em seu rosto. Os "olhos" foram substituídos por dois pequenos botões brancos costurados no rosto de Teddy, dando-lhe uma imagem distinta.

Depois que a série terminou, Teddy foi doado por Rowan Atkinson para o museu Teddy Bear, de Gyles Brandreth, em Stratford-upon-Avon. Em 2008, após o fechamento do museu, Teddy foi vendido em leilão por £ 180.

Irmã Gobb
 Interpretada por Matilda Ziegler
Mr. Bean também tem uma namorada chamada Irmã Gobb e ela aparece em três episódios da série original. Ela é tratada sem muita consideração por Mr. Bean, que parece levar uma relação mais de amigo do que de uma companheira amorosa, entretanto ele ficou enciumado quando viu ela dançando com outro homem no episódio Mr. Bean Goes to Town. Apesar de ter um nome próprio, era creditada somente como "A namorada" nos créditos finais. Ela reapareceu no desenho, onde é revelado que Mr. Bean a conheceu numa biblioteca local.

O Mini

Outro fator que deixou o seriado mais engraçado foram as proezas que Mr. Bean fazia com seu carro, um Mini verde e preto. Seu volante removível, junto com a tranca de cadeado na porta, eram as soluções originais de Bean para evitar que o carro fosse furtado.

Haviam reservados cinco carros do mesmo modelo, e com as mesmas cores. No episódio "Back to School Mr. Bean", o carro do personagem é esmagado por um tanque, e substituído nos outros episódios por um modelo idêntico ACW 497V (só que com a mesma placa do outro).
O carro mais utilizado na série foi um Mini geração 3 de 1976 placa SLW 287R.

A série começou com Mr. Bean usando um Morris Mini MKII de 1969, cor laranja, com a placa RNT 996H, mas ele acabou sendo destruído no final do primeiro episódio.

Depois que as filmagens terminaram, um dos Minis originais foi vendido a Kariker Kars para participar de vários eventos, sendo temporariamente exibido como uma grande atração no museu do Grupo Rover. Em 1997, foi comprado pelos Museu de Carros das Estrelas Motor e exibido por vários anos, depois sendo vendido para um museu nos Estados Unidos. O principal Mini é de propriedade privada e está próximo do fim de uma restauração no sul da Inglaterra.

Para promover o Mr. Bean: The Animated Series, uma réplica do Mini, com o número de registro DRW 221T, foi usada. Este Mini está atualmente em exposição no National Motor Museum, em Beaulieu.

O Reliant
Outro carro que costuma aparecer em alguns episódios
Desde o episódio piloto, Mr. Bean tem uma longa rivalidade com o condutor (nunca visto) de um Reliant Regal Supervan III de 1972 (número de registro 'GRA 26K'), da cor azul-claro e de três rodas, que aparece em alguns episódios.
O Reliant também apareceu no desenho, sob o n. de registro 'DUW 742', onde finalmente é revelado o rosto de seu condutor.

Episódios originais
Mr. Bean Goes to Town A série teve 15 episódios, sendo o último um especial de 1 hora. No entanto, o último episódio não foi exibido em algumas emissoras lusófonas.

Além dos catorze episódios oficiais, produzidos de 1989 a 1995, Rowan Atkinson chegou a filmar mais de quinze outros esquetes como Mr. Bean entre 1993 e 2007 (sem contar com uma participação especial na Olimpíada de Londres, em 2012). Alguns nunca foram lançados em vídeo, sendo apresentados somente na televisão britânica, ao vivo ou gravados. Outros, como o "O Ponto de Ônibus" (The Bus Stop) e "A Biblioteca" (The Library), podem ser encontrados em relançamentos da série original em DVD, inclusos como material extra.

No país de produção
A série estreou no Reino Unido em 1 de janeiro de 1990 e foi exibida até 15 de dezembro de 1995 pela ITV (sem censura). Também foi exibida (com censuras) nos canais infantis da Nickelodeon e Disney Channel UK.

Desde janeiro de 2006, foi lançado um canal oficial do personagem no YouTube, com os episódios da série e do desenho.

Em outros países

Estados Unidos
Nos Estados Unidos, a série foi exibida pela HBO a partir de 2 de abril de 1992. Mr. Bean também foi exibido em alguns canais da PBS e pela Fox Family no final da década de 1990.

Brasil
A primeira vez em que Mr. Bean foi exibido no Brasil foi no ano de 1995, como um quadro do Fantástico, na Rede Globo. O sucesso foi muito grande, tendo sido encontrado na época até um sósia brasileiro de Rowan Atkinson.

Em 1999, a Rede Bandeirantes adquiriu os direitos de exibição da série no Brasil. Com o passar dos anos, a Band passou a exibi-la como tapa-buraco na programação em diversos horários, em versão legendada. Em 2012, a Globosat também comprou os direitos da série e passou a exibi-la na TV por assinatura através do Canal Viva, em versão dublada pelo estúdio carioca Gramophone. No fim de 2018, após quase 20 anos, a Band parou de transmitir a série.

Portugal
Em Portugal, a série estreou no horário nobre da RTP1 nos anos 90, legendada, e foi presença constante no mesmo canal na década seguinte, e em vários horários, em especial às 12h30. O episódio Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean e Do it yourself, Mr. Bean só foram exibidos nas alturas do Natal. Depois de mais de dez anos a entreter miúdos e graúdos, a última transmissão na RTP1 ocorreu no dia 1 de janeiro de 2010 com o especial de Ano Novo Do-It-Yourself, Mr. Bean, exibido entre as 18h36 e as 19h09 da tarde. O mesmo aconteceu com o "Contra Informação" que terminou nesse mesmo ano.

Quando Mr Bean foi ainda a ser transmitida na RTP1, a SIC (canal privada) decediu a adquirir a série em 2001. 3 anos depois, em 2004, Mr. Bean foi transmitida na SIC, até 2005, na versão original, com sem legendas. 1 ano depois em 2006, foi retransmitida, com legendas. Depois, em 2007 e 2008, foi reexibido no canal mas desta vez com uma dobragem portuguesa. Em 2 de março de 2009, foi exibida de madrugada, as 2h46.

Em 2011 e 2012, Mr. Bean voltou a exibir na SIC, com a mesma dobragem portuguesa antiga, até ao episódio 6. Do episódio 7, foi emitida na SIC K, em 2013 a 2016, desta vez com uma dobragem portuguesa diferente e com legendas em português, depois em Julho de 2016, até 2017, foi exibida na SIC, com a mesma dobragem da SIC K e com as mesmas legendas.

Duas semanas depois, a série mudou para a RTP Memória, já no dia 13 de janeiro de 2010, com exibição de segunda à sexta às 21h30 e ainda voltou a ser exibida mais tarde ao fim de semana antes das 13h (tal como foi na RTP1), mas os especiais de Natal nunca foram repetidos por esse canal.

Em 2017, o canal infantil SIC K decidiu adquirir os direitos de autor da série live-action para o Natal de 2017, sendo exibida em Widescreen (16:9) na versão original e sem legendas. Foi reexibida em Setembro e Outubro de 2018, desta vez com legendas. Em novembro de 2019, foi reexibido durante a madrugada, à 1:35 da manhã.

Trilha sonora
A trilha sonora de Mr. Bean (exceto o primeiro episódio) é de uma música em coral, na tonalidade de C maior, escrita por Howard Goodall e cantada pelo coral da Catedral de Southwark. As músicas cantadas durante as sequências do episódio são em latim:

 "Ecce homo qui est faba" - "Eis o homem que é feijão" (cantada na abertura). A música faz uma referência ao nome do personagem ser "Bean", que em inglês é feijão.
 "Finis partis primae" - "Fim da parte um" (cantada antes do intervalo comercial)
 "Pars secunda" - "Parte dois" (cantada depois do intervalo comercial em alguns episódios)
 "Vale homo qui est faba" - "Adeus, homem que é feijão" (cantada no encerramento)

Abertura
A partir do segundo episódio, a abertura da série mostrava Mr. Bean caindo do céu através de um feixe de luz. Em dois episódios, essa sequência de abertura era em preto e branco. No entanto, os episódios posteriores, mostravam Bean caindo do céu, durante a noite, em uma rua deserta de Londres, com fundo para a Catedral de São Paulo. No final dos episódios três e seis, também é mostrado ele sendo sugado de volta para o céu (cena em preto e branco no episódio 3, e cena da rua no episódio 6). Em relação aos créditos de abertura, Rowan Atkinson disse que Bean "tem um aspecto ligeiramente alienígena para ele".

No desenho, episódio "Double Trouble", a cena de abertura da série original é parodiada quando Bean é sugado por uma nave alienígena repleta de Beans iguais a ele e até com seus próprios bichos de pelúcia. Ao final do episódio, os alienígenas mandam Mr. Bean de volta a Terra em um feixe de luz e uma música semelhante à abertura da série original é tocada. Se o personagem é de fato um alienígena, não está claro.

Longa-metragens e o desenho

Mr. Bean: O Filme

Em 1997, um filme baseado na série de televisão foi produzido. No filme, uma galeria de arte americana decide comprar um famoso quadro chamado A Mãe de Whistler. Para a sua primeira exposição ao público, a galeria pede à Royal National Gallery que lhes seja enviado o seu mais ilustre conhecedor de arte, para discursar na abertura. É quando os conselheiros decidem mandar Mr. Bean, o mais atrapalhado funcionário da galeria, como tentativa de se livrar dele.

O filme, dirigido por Mel Smith, teve um orçamento de US$ 22 milhões, com o filme arrecadando cerca de US$ 232 milhões nas bilheterias de todo o planeta.

As Férias de Mr. Bean

Em 2007, estreou nos cinemas uma segunda adaptação cinematográfica chamada As férias de Mr. Bean, um filme dirigido por Steve Bendelack. No filme, Mr. Bean ganha o 1º prêmio em uma rifa local: uma máquina de filmar nova, 200 euros e uma semana de férias no sul da França.

Rowan Atkinson declarou que As férias de Mr. Bean provavelmente seria o último filme sobre o personagem Mr. Bean. Mas que a série poderia voltar em 2014, fato que não ocorreu.

Mr. Bean: A Série Animada

Sete anos após o final da série original, Mr. Bean reapareceu em uma série de desenho animado, com o próprio Rowan Atkinson dublando o personagem-título e fornecendo  referências para todas as ações animadas de Bean. Muito parecido com a série original, o spin-off animado contém pouco diálogo, apesar de algumas palavras serem faladas, a maioria são  pequenos efeitos de som ou resmungos. A série introduziu novos personagens junto com os regulares da série original (Teddy e Irma Gobb), incluindo a desagradável senhoria de Mr. Bean chamada Sra. Wicket e seu gato de um olho só chamado Scrapper. As vozes de outros personagens são fornecidas por Jon Glover, Rupert Degas, Gary Martin, Lorelei King.

De 2002 a 2004, 52 episódios foram  transmitidos pela ITV1, cada um consistindo em dois segmentos de 11 minutos. Em 2015, o CITV encomendou uma nova série de episódios. A nova série alterou o formato em que apresentava episódios que tinham muito mais diálogos do que o normal. 78 novos episódios começaram a ser transmitidos a partir de 6 de fevereiro de 2015.

Olimpíadas
Mr. Bean se tornou um ícone tão famoso da cultura pop inglesa que até fez parte da cerimônia de abertura dos Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2012, sediados em Londres. No evento, Bean atrapalhou a orquestra enquanto utilizava seu smartphone, e realizou outros atos cômicos. Em certa hora, ele adormeceu e o público começou a acompanhar seu sonho em um telão, onde o personagem aparecia correndo na maratona, em uma paródia da clássica cena do filme Carruagens de Fogo.

Na cultura popular
O sucesso de Mr. Bean em todo o mundo permitiu que o personagem ocupasse  um lugar na cultura popular de diversos países. Notavelmente, várias figuras públicas foram comparadas ao personagem, geralmente como uma forma de zombação.
 Em Os Simpsons, no episódio "Os Monólogos da Rainha", da 15ª temporada, a família desembarca na Inglaterra e encontra o primeiro ministro do Reino Unido, Tony Blair. Quando este vai embora, Homer diz "Não acredito que acabamos de conhecer o Mr. Bean", supostamente demonstrando a visão estereotipada que os americanos tem dos  britânicos.
 O árbitro da NRL Sean Hampstead foi apelidado de "Mr. Bean" pelo locutor esportivo Ray Warren. O ex-primeiro ministro espanhol José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero também é muitas vezes ridicularizado em seu país devido a sua semelhança com o personagem.
 Em 2007, Vincent Cable,  líder dos liberais democratas da época, descreveu o recente declínio da fortuna do primeiro-ministro Gordon Brown como uma "notável transformação, nas últimas semanas, de Stalin a Mr. Bean".
 Uma imagem de Bean sorrindo maliciosamente tem sido usada como meme da internet para destacar duplos sentidos sexuais, geralmente acompanhados da frase "Se você sabe o que eu quero dizer". Outras imagens dos personagem também se tornaram populares na internet.
 Várias das piadas visuais da série foram usadas como experiências na série MythBusters, do Discovery Channel.
 Embora Rowan Atkinson não costume usar o estilo de Bean em outros personagens, ele interpretou personagens com características semelhantes nos filmes Rat Race e Johnny English.

Remasterização da série
No final da década de 2000, os episódios da década de 1990 foram remasterizados. Os episódios Mr. Bean, The Return of Mr. Bean e The Curse of Mr. Bean tiveram as abertura editadas. Mais tarde, em 2018, ganhou uma versão em widescreen (16:9).

Prêmios e indicações
O primeiro episódio da série ganhou o Rosa de Ouro, bem como outros dois grandes prêmios no Rose d' Or Light Entertainment Festival, de 1991, em Montreux. No Reino Unido, o episódio "The Curse of Mr. Bean" foi indicado para vários prêmios BAFTA. Rowan Atkinson foi indicado três vezes para "Melhor Performance de Entretenimento Leve", em 1991 e 1994.

Reedições
Merry Christmas Mr. Bean - O episódio Merry Christmas Mr. Bean teve a abertura completa e o encerramento com as letras a subir na remasterização, mas por alguma razão desconhecida, as cenas onde Mr. Bean faz batota para conseguir o peru e coloca-o dentro do carro foram cortadas.

Do it Yourself Mr. Bean - A seguinte cena foi originalmente cortada do episódio no meio do Ato 2, embora tenha sido incluída nos lançamentos anteriores da VHS dos Estados Unidos. O Mr. Bean quer comprar um sofá numa loja de departamentos. Ao aproximar-se da cadeira reclinada, ele descobre que um assistente de vendas já está demonstrando suas características para um casal idoso. Na tentativa de enganá-los em pensar que está quebrado, ele o desconecta, o que é quase imediatamente percebido pelo assistente.

Enquanto a mulher idosa sentada com prazer em uma cadeira, Bean então mexe num painel de controlo no braço da cadeira e adulterando os fios dentro, desconhecido para a mulher idosa. À medida que a mulher idosa experimenta a característica reclinada desta vez, ela se dobra, empurrando-a no meio, ela grita para o marido com deficiência auditiva, mas não é ouvida, apesar de estar a apenas alguns metros de distância. Além disso, Bean mostra a música tocando no interfone da loja, para dificultar a sua audição. Em última análise, ela cai para trás.

As razões desta censura são desconhecidas. Na televisão, nunca chegou a ir ao ar em todos os países. Em Portugal, nunca foi mostrada em DVD. Em 24 de maio de 2017, um YouTuber publicou na internet, a cena cortada. O vídeo chama-se "Mr. Bean (deleted scence) Chair scence (RARE)".

Ver também
Mr. Bean: A Série Animada

Ligações externas

Mr. Bean
Programas de humor
Programas da ITV
Sitcoms do Reino Unido
Séries de televisão de comédia do Reino Unido
Séries de televisão de comédia da década de 1990
Programas de televisão do Reino Unido que estrearam em 1990
Programas de televisão do Reino Unido encerrados em 1995
Programas de televisão em língua inglesa
Séries de comédia premiadas com o Emmy Internacional


Did you know? Emotions are influencing every thought and action you take. They are crazy powerful! So, for those of you leveling up your EQ, welcome to Week #2 in our study of the book, Intelligently Emotional! We'll discover a little more about how this works. We began last week with a focus on the life-changing power of emotions. I don't know about you, but I can see how much I've under-appreciated the ways emotions have shaped my life. And as you'll soon see, there are some must-have emotions that the Real You absolutely depends upon.
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you soon discover you are either a "T" or an "F." To summarize what this means, Ts prefer to line up the facts and limit their emotions' influence on their decisions. By comparison, Fs prefer to line up the facts and actively review their emotions before making these decisions. Regardless of which direction you lean when making your decisions, emotions are influencing these decisions. Clearly, they must be intelligent, positive emotions if your decisions are going to support the Real You. "The Real You" is the forward-focused, very best version of you. The Real You has an amazing purpose-filled life to live!
Emotions can last a lifetime. Better "level up" when necessary.
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Our book study reveals that emotions can live long lives. Love, grief, hate, and anger are well-known examples. When destructive emotions remain, we lose our freedom to be who we really are and to live rewarding lives. By contrast, when uplifting emotions, like love, remain for a long time, we become more loving and kind.
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We've just begun a 6-week book study designed to dramatically level up your emotional intelligence ("your EQ"). We hope to see you inside the pages of this essential read.
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text:
Board Meeting for September 20th 2010
Author webmasterPublished on January 30, 2017 January 30, 2017
ATTENDING: (Board members) Arthur Aldridge, Beverly Block, Aaron Curtis (OSFCI President), Rick Lindsley (OSFCI Treasurer), John Lorentz (OSFCI Secretary), Andrew Nisbet III, Mike Pinnick, and Debra Stansbury.
Tammy Lindsley (death in the family) and Marc Wells (illness) were both missing. Their absences were excused.
Also attending were James Fiscus (Clayton and Endeavour ex-officio member), Sam Justice (OSFCI attorney), Ruth Sachter, D. Stephen Raymond, Joyce Zimmerschied and David Lohkamp.
The meeting started at approximately 7:30PM.
I. Minutes of Previous Meeting
Aaron Curtis asked the Board members if they had read the minutes when they were distributed (nearly everyone had).
The minutes from the previous meeting were then accepted by general acclamation.
II. Treasurer's Report (Rick Lindsley)
There was discussion at the last meeting from Rick's report, but no actions were taken (as far as he knows) because he wasn't able to attend the meeting. Updates since the last meeting include
The OryCon 32 treasurer now has been added to the account and has the checkbook for that event. There are still a few extra people still on the account as signers–that will be taken care of.
The GameStorm 11 and 12 materials have been received, although he hasn't had a chance to process them yet. Effectively, the books are closed for those events.
OryCon 31 still needs to be closed. There is a surplus from that event–it's just a matter of know how much.
He has filed for a second extension of filing the tax forms. This is the last extension we can get, so getting the books closed is a priority.
GameStorm 12 bought a large number of memberships in Gamestorm 13, thereby becoming an expense for GS 12 and income for GS 13. This seemed odd. Stephe: This has happened for the last couple of years–it's for guest game masters. Rick: This method of moving money forward from convention to convention should probably be discussed, to make sure we're OK with that. There is still a problem (in general) with getting books closed in a timely manner. Rick still needs copies of the signed management agreements.
The one major change was $680 for new radios (this was previously authorized by the Board). Rick realized that the copies of the spreadsheet he brought didn't include the income page–he'll send that out.
Right now, we're earning less than 1/10th of 1% in interest on our savings. He'd like some guidance of how much flexibility he has in exploring options. This will be discussed by the officers at a later meeting.
The Treasurer's report was accepted.
The annual insurance policy need to be renewed in the next few months. (After this year's OryCon.)
IV. Reports on Sponsored Activities
A. Conventions and Bids
1. OryCon 31 (Debra Stansbury)
Still waiting for the books to be closed. She has met with her treasurer, and they have found the previously-lost notes. Rick and Aaron and John will meet to finalize the numbers (as well as Stephe and Paul Brinker, as training for future OryCons). The leftover artifacts (the tote bags) will be given away to other conventions, and to her committee. Eight were donated to Kumoricon.
2. GameStorm 12 (Aaron Curtis)
Aaron: The books are closed, the checks have been written (and cashed). Rick has the final financial report, and he will pass on a copy to the Secretary to include with the minutes. GS 12 is no longer an open item.
GameStorm has a collection of dice, with the GameStorm logo. They're generic and can be used at future GameStorms.
There was some side discussion on artifacts in general. (Nothing seems to be selling in recent years.)
3. OryCon 32 (Rick Lindsley)
Seeing very good things in terms of the content, but discouraging things in terms of getting items done. Programming is running behind, but has received some good ideas. OryCon has just changed treasurers, and there have been some challenges with registration (both in terms of the people running it, and in the number of memberships coming in) that are being addressed. Some people who wrote checks many months ago which hadn't been deposited and they don't know if they are members yet. OryCon will try to make good to these folks. Rick is working with the reg people to get the system working right again.
The latest count from Reg puts OryCon at about 400 paid members, but that's a very fuzzy number because of the registration system problems.
The next meeting will be October 16th.
4. GameStorm 13
The chair of GS 13 (David Schaber) was not present, so there was no formal report. Stephe: Currently there are about 170 people registered for GS 13. There is a committee meeting this Saturday.
Aaron: GameStorm ran the board game room at Kumoricon, and OSFCI loaned them kitchen supplies. The supplies are still in their storage area. Michael Pinnick is working with them to get the supplies back.
Debra: There is a mini-game day on October 30th, in combination with Kumoricon.
5. OryCon 33
Not much to say at this point. John: We need to get the management agreement signed. John will send a draft copy to Devlin. Stephe: Who will sign the contract? The OSFCI President, the OryCon 33 Chair and Treasurer.
B. Funds and Awards
1. Campbell Pin Fund
Waiting for Jay to get better before checking on the status of this.
2. Clayton Memorial Medical Fund
Copies of the report were distributed at the meeting (see below). Still have $7500 in the bank. One person has asked about the fund and Jim responded, but we didn't hear anything more from that person. This actually is in line with the original idea of the fund: to have the money readily available when someone suddenly finds themselves in need.
3. Endeavour Award (James Fiscus)
Copies of the report were distributed at the meeting (see below). There is about $3,850 in the bank, which means they're OK for this year, but will need about $500 for next year. Ursula K. Le Guin has donated so autographed books to the fund, some of them quite rare. They are working out the best way to sell them, maybe in conjunction with some other items. They are trying to make a bigger production out of the presentation this year. Steve Perry is coming in to do something for them. The award is always looking for money, if any of the events has a surplus. Debra: It's my intent that some of the OryCon 31 money will be given to the award if we can get our books closed. Jim: What a wonderful thing to hear.
The Award is still looking for an administrator–may pay that person in nominated books. Ruth: Are any of the nominees coming to OryCon this year? Rick: Some of them are.
4. Susan Petrey Fund
Copies of the report were distributed at the meeting (Paul and Debbie are arriving back from Europe tonight and could not be at the meeting.) Their report was accepted.
Andrew: It's still their intent to pull away from administering the scholarship and there still is no one else in place. John: They've said there are four options (in order of preference) : (1) they find someone to take over everything; (2) they find someone to take over just the fund-raising; (3) leave the fund as it is; with no new fund-raising, giving out the scholarships until the fund's balance is down to zero; and (4) donating the funds to the two Clarion organizations. Debra: Have they thought about putting an ad on Craig's List? John: They want to be careful about who takes over–they want someone who knows what Clarion is.
John: This is all planning towards turning it over to someone a year from now, so there is still time to get someone in place. They have been talking to people both here and in the cities where Clarion is held.
Have we ever settled on what is the status on the money that was turned over to OCF? Sam has tried to contact OCF about this, but hasn't been able to talk to anyone yet.
IV. Other Continuing Business
A. Hotel Committee
John: There have been some changes in the room block for Orycon 33 (2011), to help the hotel accommodate a large event at the convention center that runs through that Friday. We're moving a small number of our rooms that year to the Red Lion Convention Center and the La Quinta. In return for moving one-seventh of our block, they're giving us a credit of $4,000. This was something they'd asked us if we might be willing to do–they, in no way, demanded it of us. $4000 is basically half of our hotel costs. Aaron: This is good business when we can make them happy without affecting us very much.
B. Storage Committee
Michael Pinnick has the key to the storage unit.
V. New Business
A. Game Library Fund (Aaron)
In times past, Aaron has purchased games for the games library, hoping that the Board will then approve him being reimbursed for the purchase. He'd like to be more efficient and get prior approval from the Board. Andrew: The game library in the past has been considered a capital budget item, with support coming from the corporate funds. Stephe: There is money in the GameStorm 13 budget for games. Andrew: And that should probably be spent first but OSFCI should also pay for purchases (for items used on a continuing basis).
Andrew: How much money to you want to spend? I have spent up to $500 on the Sunday of an OryCon or GameStorm, but I don't want to wait until the last day of the convention to buy the games. I was thinking of $200. Andrew moved that the president (Aaron corrected that to be "Aaron", since he wasn't doing this in his role as OSFCI President) be authorized to spend up to $200 between now and the next Board meeting; Debra seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Rick: This is another item that falls under Miscellaneous Expenses, for which we've allocated nothing. We're modifying the budget as we go along? John: The answer might be that we need to make sure to budget for capital and miscellaneous expenses from the start. Rick: If we keep changing things, then at the end of the year we can't tell how much we were off. We'll know how much we spent, but not what we'd budgeted for. John: In the past, we've allocated $500 or $1000 for capital expense, because we knew we've be spending something. Aaron: We will continue to use the budget that we've previous approved, and we will track the exceptions.
B. Event Committee Comping Policy
Rick: GameStorm has comped people working on the convention; OryCon has not. There is no OSFCI policy on this–should there be? Or do we continue to leave it up to the event chair? There is the question: Does it affect our non-profit status if the recipient (of the comped membership) is a Board member or officer? Or even if the recipient is not a board member or officer.
Sam: The practical consideration is that the actual value involved is so very small that the IRS wouldn't really care. Andrew: Back when Cecilia was OSFCI Treasurer, we needed to track any payment given to an OSFCI board member/officer, for any amount, for reimbursement of an expense. Sam: As far as the IRS is concerned, there's a big difference between someone taking a stamp, and someone being reimbursed for a stamp used for OSFCI business. Reimbursements don't bother me at all–reimbursements are not income. And it would seem reasonable to say that anyone working at the event could be allowed free entry (e.g. receive a comped membership). Rick: There's a real difference between that, and paying the chair $200 for his/her work.
Jim: I serve on the SFWA Board. As part of that, SFWA paid my way down to the SFWA meeting. I checked with my accountant, and he said that was not income. He did suggest, though, that the per diem should be declared as income, and charged against actual expenses. John: I did the taxes this year for the Reno Worldcon, and there isn't any requirement to list payments made to Board members. (There used to be, when he did the OSFCI taxes years ago.) Also, while OSFCI probably won't be audited, a lot of Worldcons have. And almost all of those was made reimbursements to committee and program participants, and that's been fine.
Andrew: The problem you have with any blanket rule is two-fold: you have people who are going to push the envelope–if you give out X for Y, people are going to try to make the Y as small as possible and the X as large as possible. (He gave several examples.) Aaron: I thnk you are trying to say that a blanket permission can be abused. Andrew: No, a blanket permission will be abused. Rick: The Board could allow a chair to comp committee members, but they should let the Board know how many people received the comps. Ruth: Since I joined the group, it's certainly not been the policy to comp OryCon committee members, but other events we've sponsored have comped staff membership. It should the convention's call, but it should be stated in the proposals and in the budgets.
It was felt it would be good to include it on the financial statements that the events are supposed to provide to the Board. Beverly: It seems like it would be better to reimburse the staff memberships after the convention rather than comp them ahead of time. That way, the people who actually do the work are the ones who get the benefit, and would exclude the people who volunteer ahead of time and then never do the work. Rick: That was what Tammy was proposing for OryCon 32–issuing refunds to the people who she felt deserved them, rather than just comping everyone. Beverly: There are some people for GameStorm for which $25 is a lot of money. John: Has there been any problem with GameStorm with people abusing the comps, in a way that affects the convention? Not really. Rick: There have been a few people abusing the program participant comps for OryCon.
Aaron: Do we have a summary? Debra: We will leave it up to the chair, but we'd like to see that event's policy in the initial proposal, and any comps listed on the financial statements. Andrew: There is no reason to change the program participant policy–we're only talking about a staff comp or reimbursement here.
Stephe: We have included the number of paid members and the comped members in the report given to the OSFCI treasurer. John: It would be good to get these reports for distribution to the Board, as have received in times past (and as is required in the management agreements). We used to get reports from all of our events at every meeting, which would include what the current budget is, what the current number of memberships is–and this doesn't really happen any more. It gives us something to refer back to for planning for the future.
Andrew: This seems to be a time to address the problem we discussed earlier. Right now, we have a job without a function, the Board's representatives to the event committees. If we attached the responsibility to this function making sure at each meeting that there is a financial report, a registration report (or an explanation on how they were going to hunt down and hang the treasurer). Then you would have a job that required someone to do something.
Aaron: We have appointed representatives to all these events…or have we? Two of the three upcoming events have chairs who are on the Board. The chairs who aren't present, didn't realize they should at least give reports by proxy. If the Board representative from that com con would make sure that reports were given at these meetings, it would make these meetings a lot more effective.
Arthur: It's already in the management agreements that the events need to make reports to the Board. The question is, does it matter if we don't have any teeth to enforce it. Are we going to take over the convention and run it for them?
Aaron: I believe what Andy is saying is that we make explicit the duty of the Board representative to cajole or otherwise encourage the chair or other management to make the reports, so that we don't come to this meeting and find out there is no report. Jim pointed out that the Board does have some legal obligations that appropriate reports are made.
There didn't seem to be any currently appointed Board representatives to the events. The following people were appointed:
OryCon 31 – Rick Lindsley
(GameStorm 12 – closed)
OryCon 32 – Michael Pinnick
GameStorm 13 – Andrew Nisbet
OryCon 33 – Beverly Block
Andrew requested that the Secretary inform the event chairs and treasurers of the new Board reps.
Back to the committee comping policy:
It was decided any committee comping will be left up to the discretion of the event chair. And the Board requests reporting of how many staff members are comped (and this will be included in any new management agreements). Will this policy include OryCon 32? Yes.
Has the requirement for events to make reports at Board meetings been mentioned before? John: Yes (and he read a paragraph from the minutes of the July meeting, where Paul Wrigley said that the events have been failing in this duty).
C. John Andrews
Ruth: Since OSFCI has some reasonable assets at the moment, I propose that, in John Andrews' memory, OSFCI purchase (on an ongoing basis) two Worldcon memberships each year, which we will disperse to people in a manner which we'll determine late. John: John Andrews attended the Worldcon nearly every year, even when he was confined to a wheelchair. The Worldcons were a big part of his life. Ruth will work on a proposal on how we will disperse them, and present that at the next meeting. Or maybe one membership each year, and combine that some money, such as $200, to help the person go to the convention and pay expenses there. Aaron pointed out that if we purchased the memberships now, and decided in the end not to award them, we could easily resell them, since the current rates will be higher then. Andrew moved that in anticipation of creating a more formalized process, that OSFCI purchase a membership each in Renovation and Chicon V. Aaron amended that to say that Ruth will be administering this project. This passed without dissent.
D. Treasury Follow-up
Rick: We've clarified tonight what we want people to do, but we have not specified what sanctions can we use if they chose to ignore us. And having seen the management agreements that have gone out over the last few years, I'm wondering we want to standardize (or at least create templates for) these agreements for the conventions we sponsor. Debra: A template sounds like a good idea. (There was some discussion about this, and the history of management agreements, as many sirens went by outside.)
John: Are we saying we want the management agreements to specify the charities that would receive surplus funds? (No.) The form of OryCon agreements hasn't changed much since about OryCon V–the first $500 is controlled by the chair, the next $500 goes to OSFCI, and everything after that is split 50/50. Aaron: GameStorm starting out by rolling much of the suprlus each year to the following year's convention. It was small back then, and needed a cushion. Later, the folks in charge of GS didn't want money going to OSFCI and they sort of made the surplus disappear (by continuing to roll it forward to the next year's convention). Stephe: The cushion is now sufficient enough that it's time to change that tradition.
Rick: Has GameStorm always been an OSFCI event? Aaron: Yes, GameStorm is not its own entity; it's an offshoot of OSFCI. Rick: OSFCI now has enough money to weather an OryCon or a GameStorm tanking. GameStorms seems to be still operating like it's famine time, but OSFCI now has enough to provide the security. Jim: Maybe the standard OryCon language should be put into the GameStorm agreements. David: Has GameStorm ever been a draw on OryCon? Aaron: GameStorm has made money every year. Jim: OSFCI being a 501(c)(3) organization provides a major benefit to OSFCI. Beverly: 90% of the people who work on GameStorm don't know about what OSFCI is and don't care about how much money is kept or how much goes to OSFCI. Andrew: Maybe one-third to OSFCI, one-third distributed to charities and one-third kept by GameStorm. Rick: If money is kept by the convention, it makes a mockery of the budget process. If they just keep moving $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000 forward, what does that say about how accurate their budget is now? And if we do have this large surplus, we could do better than just keeping it in a checking account. Ric: What I would like to see is that every convention starts out with the seed money ($500, $1,000, whatever is need to avoid fees on the account) and then at the end, everything is distributed and the balance is back down to that $500 or $1,000 level. Right now, with large amounts carried forward, it muddies the water as far as how much we actually have.
Rick proposed that, since we don't have a signed agreement yet for GameStorm 13, the agreement that gets signed has the standard OryCon language. Aaron: And it's the responsibility of the OSFCI rep to GameStorm (Andrew) to get it signed. (This also applies to OryCon 33.) This motion passed.
The meeting was then adjourned.
Susan Petrey Clarion Report
OSFCI BOD Meeting - September 20, 2010
We cannot attend in person as we don't return from Europe until the day of the meeting. This written report therefore is our report to the BOD Meeting.
There is no update on the Financial Situation since we report on a quarterly basis and the third quarter has not yet ended.
As you know, last year we tried some different things for fund raising at OryCon. We are hoping to make some changes at OryCon 32 based on what we learned last year. At present, it is still unclear exactly what form our fund raising will take as we have not yet received a reply from either the Chair or the Programming Department Heads in response to our wish list that we submitted it some weeks ago. We have, however, received a confirmation from the Dealers' room coordinator that we will have Dealer space for the popular egg sales.
Debbie Cross
Paul M. Wrigley
The Clayton Memorial Medical Fund Award
Report to the OSFCI Board
There have been no changes in the Fund since our last report. The individual asking for information has not replied after being sent the eligibility criteria.
Requests for Aid:
The Fund received one request for information about the fund.
Funds Available:
The Fund has approximately $7,500 in the bank.
First Appointed
James Fiscus, Chairman October 1996 November 2010
Page Fuller, Treasurer October 1996 November 2010
Arthur Aldridge, OSFCI Rep. July 2005 While serving on OSFCI Board.
Geri Jeter November 2002 November 2011
Ruth Sachter November 2002 November 2011
Marc Wells November 2003 November 2011
Submitted,
James W. Fiscus
Chairman, Clayton Board of Trustees
Administrator Needed:
We are still looking for an administrator to run the Award on a daily basis. The Administrator's main jobs are to manage circulation of books to readers and aid in obtaining books from publishers.
Financial Report:
We have received no donations since our last report. The Award has approximately $3,850 in the bank, which means that we have enough to cover this year's expenses and about $500 short of money for the 2011 Award.
Books Submitted and Judging:
We had 44 books published in 2009 entered for the 2010 Award, up 18 from last year. Our finalists for 2010 are:
City Without End by Kay Kenyon, Pyr Books
Eyes Like Sky and Coal and Moonlight by Cat Rambo, Paper Golem Press
Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs, Ace Books
Mind Over Ship by David Marusek, Tor Books
Push of the Sky by Camille Alexa, Hadley Rille Books
Our judges are:
Robin Wayne Bailey
Madeleine Robins
Endeavour Committee
Sarah Bryant October 2006 November 2012
Page Fuller October 1996 November 2011
Marilyn J. Holt September 2000 November 2011
Sara Mueller October 2003 November 2010
Alan Rosenthal January 2006 November 2012
Sheila Simonson October 1996 November 2010
Shawn Wall, Treasurer November 2005 November 2010
Chairman, Endeavour Award
Published on January 30, 2017 January 30, 2017 Author webmasterCategories Board of Directors Meeting Minutes, meetings
Previous article:Board Meeting Minutes for July 17th 2010
Next article:Board Meeting for December 14th 2010

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


West Lincolnshire Domestic Abuse Service (WLDAS) are looking to recruit more Mentors to support a dedicated team of Project Workers who provide specialist support to individuals and families who are still living in, or have recently left an abusive relationship that require advice and support with regards to options available to them. Typically users of the mentoring scheme are no longer in the abusive relationship and have already accessed WLDAS mainstream specialist support around the domestic abuse, but could still benefit from extended support from a Volunteer Mentor.
Volunteer Mentors are recruited and given full training to support survivors who are further along in their journey to plan positive changes in their lives, developing a positive and supportive relationship with their mentee – listening, encouraging and supporting. Mentoring is an excellent tool to increase confidence and self-esteem, aspiration and achievement. It's mutually beneficial for both parties as it leads to new experiences, greater awareness and a community of people who understand that domestic abuse is a social problem that we can all help to change. The aim of the Mentoring Scheme is not only to improve outcomes for individuals and families affected by domestic abuse but to also provide an enriching, fulfilling and rewarding experience through volunteer mentoring. The next training sessions will be in June.
This role is open to anyone aged 21 and over and is subject to an enhanced DBS check. References will be required. It'd be useful to have some knowledge and understanding of domestic abuse. Good communication skills are key, with the ability to demonstrate empathy, listening and interpersonal skills and to work independently at times. Good organisational skills are handy too, with a reasonable level of computer literacy – Microsoft Word.
For more information please contact your local Volunteer Centre.


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Michael Porter Jr., Missouri's star freshman forward and sure fire top three pick, will likely never take another shot for the program. One and done. More like two and done, actually. Two minutes that is. The 6-10 forward played for solely that duration against Iowa State in the Tigers' season opener before getting pulled with an injury. He never returned. And despite Porter Jr.'s optimism he probably won't return this season(nor should he). According to Missouri hoops' Twitter account, Porter Jr. "underwent surgery on Tuesday, Nov. 21, in Dallas, Texas. The procedure, a microdiscectomy of the L3-L4 spinal discs, has a projected recovery time of three-four months and will likely cause him to miss the remainder of the season." So long Michael. So long Final Four hopes. So long one of college basketball's biggest stars. So long my peaking interest in the college basketball season.
Little did I know it, but I was relying on the Michael Porter Jr.'s of the world to generate interest in the upcoming season. And it's becoming increasingly clear that similar mindsets are problematic because although college hoops has always had stars, it feels only recently that the sport, which has always advertised a "team basketball first" motto, has somehow found itself wrapped around a "how's that guy doing" culture instead of a "how's that team doing" culture. This change in culture can no doubt be tied directly back to the NBA's Article X, better known as the One and Done Rule, but it ultimately goes deeper than than that, rooting itself in the sport's struggle for amateurism. Essentially, college basketball is having an identity crisis.
Normally I would say the law of basketball works as followed: the better the players, or the talent level, the better the basketball. And I would say usually that applies to every level. We can obviously debate exactly what better basketball means. One person might believe it means better competition, but I would argue no one watches basketball or any sport for that matter solely for good competition. We don't seek out pee-wee basketball because it's competitive. Sports need grace. They need expertise and masterful-ness. Basketball fans can get as pissy and stand offish as they want about the Golden State Warriors but they can't call it bad basketball. Golden State's demolition of the NBA last season was remarkable, even if it was frustrating. And the numbers show it, as a lackluster NBA Playoffs, one that many were calling "terrible," saw its ratings improve from the year before.
Conversely, that law seems to have proven merely hypothetical for college basketball. Better players have not made college basketball better. We know this because the hot topic surrounding the league over the last few years, despite Article X, has been the long and drawn out colloquy that is "how do we fix college hoops?" And despite changes to the shot clock and contact fouls that have increased the fluidity and watchability of the game, killing the tortoise pace of the early 2000's, the conversation still continues. Don't believe me? Then why do things like this keep surfacing.
To create and maintain fan bases, college sports rely heavily upon branding. They have always needed fans to form allegiances with institutions instead of athletes because the athletes are only temporary fixtures. Essentially, college basketball needs you to care more about its teams than its players, and to do that its teams need to be bigger subjects than its players. One way college basketball has accomplished this in the past is to rely on the amateurism of the sport. College hoops used to be a place where young players went to mold and grow their game, spending three or four years(maybe getting an education?), before making the jump to the pros or graduating. In this sense, younger basketball players needed college basketball to be successful. In return this meant being recruited by a big time program was a bigger deal than it is today.
The One and Done Rule hasn't destroyed this philosophy, but it certainly hasn't played well alongside of it. Tons of players still stay three or four years. Unfortunately though, the good ones don't, and the ripple effect is not heartwarming. Besides die hards, do we even care about how Duke does this year? Do we care about Grayson Allen? Or do we just want to watch Marvin Bagley III put up big numbers and monitor how he does under pressure so we can further evaluate his NBA prospectus? Forcing the best players in the nation to play one year of college hasn't given college basketball a boost, it's given us a different reason to watch the sport entirely. It's given us an aversion; a reason to watch other than just for the sake of college hoops.
Calipari's point is that college hoops is caught in the cross hairs, or that right now the sport is inbetween two identities. It's trying to capitalize on NBA talent, but also preach amateurism, and it's becoming quite obvious it can't do both effectively. Like any sport, college basketball needs stars to be effective. The problem right now is that college basketball stars don't really exist, or rather, they are completely overshadowed. Marvin Bagley III is not a college basketball star, he's an NBA prospect. The same for Michael Porter Jr. And it was the same for Jayson Tatum, Andrew Wiggins, Ben Simmons, etc. J.J Reddick was a college basketball star. So was Sean May, Deron Williams, Grant Hill, Chris Webber, etc. Those guys were a part of the college basketball spectacle, the former used it as a liftoff pad solely because they were forced to, and that difference is paramount.
Killing the One and Done Rule removes this entire problem. It removes the issue of Kentucky, Duke, and Kansas solely being pro factories and returns them to their former statures: collegiate powerhouses. It removes the emphasis of the "how's that guy doing" culture and reverts the focus back to a "how's that team doing" culture. I think we'd care more about Duke basketball this year if we had no idea whether or not Marvin Bagley III was going to go pro, or if we didn't know that when he's gone in 2018, Duke will just replace him with another otherworldly one and done talent. It's that kind of perfunctory repetition and predictability that hurts actual interest in college basketball. Without article X we might go back to saying things like "hey, this team might be good in a year or two if these young guys progress," a conversation we save only for non traditional powerhouses now.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said it best when he said, "We are not running this the way a billion-dollar industry should be run. We try to put a circle into a square. That's what men's college basketball is. It's not a bad circle. But it can't be done like the square." And he's right, college basketball is not itself right now. And while the ratings are up, and the talent pool is maybe better than it's ever been from year to year, the spectacle of college hoops has almost never felt any less important. Maybe killing the One and Done rule will help or maybe it won't. The only thing we really know is that college basketball somehow needs to regain its amateurism, and put the focus of the sport back on its own product. People need to care about college basketball because it's college basketball again, or else it's going to be truly difficult for it to regain its magic.


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text:
This is UVA
This is Virginia Women's Basketball
2020-21 Fact Book (PDF)
Cavaliers in the Pros
December 27, 2019 . Women's Basketball
Virginia Opens ACC Play on Sunday at Georgia Tech
ACCNX | Live Stats | Listen Live | Game Notes
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia women's basketball team (5-6, 0-0 ACC) begins Atlantic Coast Conference play by taking on Georgia Tech (9-2, 0-0 ACC) on Sunday, Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, Ga.
The game will stream as an ACCNX contest on the ESPN app and WatchESPN ACCNX streams are available through participating TV providers that carry ACCN
All of the 2019-20 Virginia women's basketball games – home and away – are available locally on the radio on NewsRadio 1070 AM and 98.9 FM WINA
Live stats will also be available for the game
NOTING THE CAVALIERS
This will be the conference opener for both Virginia and Georgia Tech. Four teams (BC, Clemson, Duke and FSU) opened conference play with games the first week of December
After limiting UNLV to 23.5 percent shooting from three-point range, the Cavaliers rank third in the conference in three-point shooting defense. UVA has held four of its last six opponents to less than 30.0 shooting from long range
Senior guard Jocelyn Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) enters the week leading the ACC in scoring at 19.4 points per game, which ranks 24th in the nation. She is just ahead of Dana Evans of Louisville who is averaging 19.3 points per game. Willoughby has scored 20 or more points in four of the last five games
Willoughby has led the team in scoring in nine of 11 games this season
Willoughby also ranks ninth in the ACC in rebounding, averaging 8.7 points per game
Willoughby is second in the conference in free throw shooting percentage at 90.3, which ranks 14th in the nation. Willoughby has also gotten to the line more often than any other player in the ACC this season, with a conference-best 72 attempts
Virginia as a team is second in the conference in free throw shooting, making 73.4 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe
Freshman guard Kylie Kornegay-Lucas (Camden, Del.) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds against Mississippi State, the third time this season she has paced the team in rebounding. She ranks second on the team in rebounding, averaging 6.4 per game
Freshman guard Shemera Williams (Milwaukee, Wisc.) ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.7 points per game since make her delayed debut
DUEL IN THE DESERT TOURNAMENT
The Cavaliers returned from a 14-day break for finals to play in the Duel in the Desert tournament in Las Vegas. The Cavaliers advanced to the championship game with a 63-55 victory over UNLV before falling 72-59 to No. 15 Mississippi State on Saturday (Dec. 21)
Jocelyn Willoughby was named to the All-Tournament team after scoring 38 points with 16 rebounds in the two games
Virginia got off to slow starts in both games. Against UNLV, UVA shot 22.2 percent in the first quarter (2-of-9) but went 18-of-36 from the field (50.0 percent) the remainder of the game. UVA held a 41-35 advantage in rebounding
Mississippi State built up a double-digit lead in the first quarter, but the Cavaliers came back to tie the game, 26-26, in the second quarter. Mississippi State answered with a 14-2 run to take a 40-30 advantage into halftime. The Bulldogs outscored the Cavaliers 19-10 in the fourth quarter to build up a 23-point lead. Virginia rallied in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 10 points with 2:39 remaining, but could not get any closer
The tournament closed out UVA's non-conference slate, finishing with a 5-6 record, with four of those losses coming against ranked teams and a fifth, Rutgers, is receiving votes in both polls
SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH
Georgia Tech is second in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 45.1 points per game. The Ramblin' Wreck are second in the ACC in field goal percentage defense, with opponents shooting just 33.6 percent
The Yellow Jackets have made two trips to the Caribbean this season, playing in the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving and the Coqui Classic in Puerto Rico right before Christmas. All of their other games this season have been played in the state of Georgia
The Yellow Jackets suffered their first loss of the season at the Junkanoo Jam, being edged 46-43 by Rutgers. They also suffered a 60-48 loss to Texas A&M at the Coqui Classic before topping Rice, 54-52, on a last minute shot in the tournament finals
The Yellow Jackets have four players averaging double-digit points this year, led by senior Francesca Pan at 14.7 points per game. Lorela Cubaj leads the defensive effort with 8.7 rebounds per game while also contributing 10.2 points per game
Georgia Tech begins a new era of women's basketball under head coach Nell Fortner who was hired as the sixth head coach in program history on April 9. Fortner has led teams to Big Ten and Southeastern Conference championships and won three gold medals on the international stage, including the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia (Tina Thompson won gold with Team USA the next two Olympic cycles: 2004 and 2008). At the collegiate level, Fortner enters her 10th season as a head coach having led the helm at Purdue (one season) and Auburn (eight seasons)
Fortner was the head coach and general manager of the WNBA Indiana Fever from 1999-03
Virginia holds a 58-16 advantage in the all-time series and has won the last five meetings, including a 53-45 victory last year in Charlottesville
Virginia returns home to host North Carolina on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. on Star Wars Night. Fans attending the game will receive a free orange glow stick (while supplies last) and are encouraged to wear Star Wars costumes. Star Wars trivia and other contests will happen throughout the game
Reserved single-game tickets are $8 if purchased in advance or online and $10 if purchased at the JPJ Box Office. General admission tickets are $5 if purchased in advance or online and $8 if purchased at the JPJ Box Office. Single-game courtside tickets may be purchased for $15
For more information or to purchase tickets, fans should contact the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821). Fans can also purchase tickets online at VirginiaSports.com or in-person at the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium
Virginia Women's Basketball Cancels Remainder of 2020-21 Season
Virginia/Wake Forest Women's Basketball Game Postponed
Virginia Women's Basketball Game at Syracuse Postponed


text:
Arcipelago Italia – Italian pavilion | 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale
By FEDERICA LUSIARDI - 2018-11-05
To unveil the less known parts of Italy, and reveal the richness and potentiality of territories which, overall, constitute 60% of the country's area, comprise about 4,000 medium to small municipalities, and are home to the 25% of the Italian population.
This is the main theme developed by Mario Cucinella, curator of "ARCIPELAGO ITALIA. Projects for the future of the country's interior territories", the Italian Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale (running from May 26 through November 25, 2018). From the Alps down to the Mediterranean coastline, smaller urban areas distributed along the Apennine Mountains, the backbone of the Italian Peninsula, are in danger of marginalization, also because the country's biggest development projects are predominantly for large metropolitan areas.
Cover image: Arcipelago Italia exhibition, Italian Pavilion, 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, Arcipelago Room; installation view; photo © Inexhibit
Sketch and an axonometric view of the Padiglione Italia; Mario Cucinella Studio
"The Italian Pavilion curated by architect Mario Cucinella for the 16th Venice International Architecture Exhibition offers an interesting opportunity. Italy is a composite reality, not characterized by large metropolises, but by archipelagos of places of varying sizes and densities, historical centers, big cities, peripheries, agricultural regions, minor cities, villages, a fabric of distinct entities but a continuous one, which asks loudly to be considered as a varied terrain, on which our ability to enliven is manifest without hierarchies. It fits well in the context of the International Exhibition, which has the title "Freespace", as it does not simply represent a new reason for complacency over the legacy of the past, but because it helps to better frame the characteristics of our inhabited space, on which we see architecture at work for necessary and
continuous regeneration, a real concrete ground for our present civilization, an unavoidable theme of our immediate future" comments Paolo Baratta, President of the Venice Biennale.
Architectural itinerary, and "Arcipelago" rooms
The exhibition begins with an introductory docufilm produced by RAI cinema.
The second part of the exhibition conceived by Mario Cucinella features an itinerary made of recently-built small architectural and urban redevelopment designs, he selected from over 500 projects submitted after a public call; a journey which explores the future by investigating current issues, such as environmental protection, suburbs, post-earthquake rehabilitation, brownfield sites, disused train stations, and sustainable mobility. Entitled Itinerary Room, this part presents eight installations shaped as a giant book, each focused on a different mountainous area of Italy: Western Alps, Eastern Alps, Northern Apennines, Central Apennines, Campania's Apennines, Puglia's Apennines, Sicilian-Calabrian Apennines, and Sardinia.
The video room at the beginning of the exhibition; photo © Inexhibit
Itinerary Room, the installations focused on Sardinia (left) and on Sicilian-Calabrian Apennines (right); photo © Inexhibit
Itinerary Room, the installations focused on Central Italy's (left) and Northern Italy's Apennines (right); photo © Inexhibit
The Central Italian Apennines section, the picture clearly shows the metaphor of book upon which each installation in the Itinerary Room section is based; © Inexhibit
Arcipelago Italia also features five experimental projects for five areas, developed by a multidisciplinary collective composed of architects, urban planners, scholars, experts in participatory planning, and photographers. The five areas are: the Barbagia with the Ottana plain, an area in the central part of Sardinia flanked by the Gennargentu massif; the Valle del Belice and the town of Gibellina in the province of Trapani, western Sicily; Matera in its relationship with the Valle del Basento; the so-called "crater" and Camerino with the area of Central Italy hit by the 2016 earthquake; and the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines with a focus on the Casentinesi Forest Park. For these areas, the team is working on five hybrid-buildings that can in some way solve the problems of depopulation and the reduction of services in those territories, Cucinella explains.
The collective is composed by:
Architects: AM3 Architettura, BDR Bureau, Diverserighe Studio, Gravalos Di Monte Arquitectos, Modus Architects, Solinas Serra Architetti.
Scholars: University of Basilicata – Prof. Chiara Rizzi, University of Bologna – Prof. Andrea Boeri e Prof. Ernesto Antonini, University of Cagliari – Prof. Giorgio Peghin, University of Camerino – Prof. Maria Federica Ottone, University of Palermo – Prof. Maurizio Carta.
Scientific committee: Massimo Alvisi, Antonella Agnoli, Michele Bondanelli, Andreas Kipar, Matteo Pedaso e Roberta Filippini (LAND), Matteo Marsilio (Domus Gaia), Federico Parolotto, and Francesca Arcuri (MIC), Enzo Rizzato.
Other experts: Giuseppe Zummo (artist), Vincenzo Messina (architect), Emmanuele Curti (archaeologist), Sardarch (architectural research collective).
Participation process support team: Ascolto Attivo, with Marianella Sclavi, Agnese Bertello, and Stefania Lattuille.
Photographers: Urban Reports.
Mario Cucinella and his staff.
The projects are presented by the means of drawings and models placed on five "island-like" tables made in laminated wood, as well as through videos and large description panels hanging on the side walls and from the ceiling.
During the 2018 Biennale, the Italian pavilion will also feature a program of four theme-based events with debates, conferences, and workshops, involving part of the curatorial team with students from schools and universities.
Arcipelago Italia, Arcipelago room, general views; photos © Inexhibit
The projects on view in the Arcipelago Room are also presented with drawings, documents, and models placed on top of large laminated wood tables; Arcipelago Italia, Arcipelago room, general views; photo © Inexhibit
The "table" presenting the project for the Belice Valley in Sicily; photo © Inexhibit
More in Venice


text:
Q: MYSQL GroupBy with Join: incompatible with sql_mode=only_full_group_by I have two tables. Invoices table:
CREATE TABLE `invoices` (
  `id` int(11) NOT NULL,
  `user_id` int(11) NOT NULL,
  `invoice_number` int(11) NOT NULL,
  `created_date` date NOT NULL,
  `expiry_date` date NOT NULL,
  `client_id` int(11) NOT NULL
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;

And invoice services:
CREATE TABLE `invoice_services` (
  `id` int(11) NOT NULL,
  `invoice_id` varchar(11) NOT NULL,
  `description` varchar(255) NOT NULL,
  `qty` int(11) NOT NULL,
  `value` int(11) NOT NULL
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;

I want to see profits by each month for each year:
SELECT DATE_FORMAT(i.created_date,'%Y-%m') as month, sum(profit) as profit
FROM invoices as i
JOIN (SELECT invoice_id, SUM(value) as profit FROM invoice_services isrv) isrv
ON i.id = isrv.invoice_id
GROUP BY month

But I get the error:
#1140 - In aggregated query without GROUP BY, expression #1 of SELECT list contains nonaggregated column 'isrv.invoice_id'; this is incompatible with sql_mode=only_full_group_by

I want to keep this sql mode and I just cannot wrap my head around it. Any help is appreciated.

A: You don't need the invoice IDs in the result, so take them out of the SELECT list.
You need to add GROUP BY to the subquery.
SELECT DATE_FORMAT(i.created_date,'%Y-%m') as month, sum(profit) as profit
FROM invoices as i
JOIN (
    SELECT invoice_id, SUM(value) as profit
    FROM invoice_services
    GROUP BY invoice_id) isrv
ON i.id = isrv.invoice_id
GROUP BY month

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain
Maria Rosa Menocal
Little, Brown, Nov 29, 2009 - History - 300 pages
A brilliant and fascinating portrait of medieval Spain explores the golden age when Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance. of photos. 3 maps.
User Review - revliz - LibraryThing
It's a pretty good. As this is something I know about, I got impatient with the fuzziness of the overview, and returned it to the library. But it's a nice intro for someone curious about Al-Andalus Read full review
User Review - LibStre - LibraryThing
Maria Rosa Menocal's "The Ornament of the New World" dealt with a time-frame in which people became pioneers either due to personal desire or because they were forcefully moved to another place ... Read full review
All 25 reviews »
The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a ...
Maria Rosa Menocal is R. Selden Rose Professor of Spanish and Portuguese and head of the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale University. She lives in New Haven, CT.
Title The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain
Author Maria Rosa Menocal
Publisher Little, Brown, 2009
History / Europe / Medieval
History / Europe / Spain & Portugal
History / Jewish
History / World


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Q: Oracle, Relativization, and P vs NP, [Philosophical] I can understand why $P^A = NP^A$ does not imply $P=NP$, $A$ can "contain" the powers of NP.
However, why does $P^B \neq NP^B$ not imply $P \neq NP$? It seems like if $P$ and $NP$ denote the same classes; then we should be able to arbitrarily substitute one for the other (as long as the only thing of interest is the computational model), and everything should stay the same.
More generally, why is $A^X \neq B^X$ not a poof for $A \neq B$ ?
I feel like there's a very fundamental piece of logic / reasoning I'm missing here.
Thanks!
EDIT: I understand the construction of the oracles A & B. However, I still don't understand why the existence of $B$ not prove that $P \neq NP$.

A: In the case you are interested, adding an oracle for a language $B$ to a machine means that such machine is able to do some non-trivial computation at cost of one atomic operation (ignoring the resources needed to prepare the query to the oracle).  This make such machine more powerful (maybe not strictly ...).
It is quite possible that a polynomial time non-deterministic machine $N$ can harness such power in ways that a mere deterministic machine $D$ cannot.  That would mean that in presence of such oracle for $B$, the computational speed-up for $N$ is larger than the one for $D$.

A: $P^A$ and $NP^A$ are shorthand notation to be used with care. What we mean by $\mathcal C^A$ depends heavily on the syntactical definition of the class $\mathcal C$ and is not well-defined if it's not clear which syntactical definition of $\mathcal C$ we are referring to. $\mathcal C^A$ is more an invariant of $\mathcal C$-machines than of the set of languages decided by $\mathcal C$-machines.
While $P=NP$ means that $P$-machines can decide exactly the same languages as $NP$-machines, $P^B\neq NP^B$ for some oracle $B$ as proven by Baker, Gill, and Solovay (1975) means that $P$-machines with additional access to the oracle $B$ can decide strictly fewer languages than $NP$-machines with access to $B$. Baker, Gill, and Solovay also give an oracle $A$ with respect to which these two types of machines can decide exactly the same languages.

A: I have wondered this before and the best answer I have heard is this:  It is possible that while $P=NP$, $NP$ can get far more use out of an oracle than $P$ can.  In essence, this is what happens in the construction of $B$ in your original question.  We make use of the fact that an $NP$ algorithm can query exponentially many values of the oracle in only polynomial time, something that a $P$ algorithm could never do, even if $P=NP$.

A: The notation is deceptive. $P^A$ is not something constructed from objects $P$ and $A$, but rather something analogous to $P$. In fact, $P$ is a special case of $P^A$, namely $P=P^\varnothing$. The same holds, mutatis mutandis, for $NP$. Removing the contrapositive for extra clarity, the proper way of stating your question is thus:
Why $P^\varnothing=NP^\varnothing$ does not imply $P^A=NP^A$ for every $A$?
Then it should be clear that there is no reason for this to hold, just like, say, $x^0=y^0$ does not imply $x^a=y^a$ for real $x,y,a$.
EDIT: I'm not sure I should mention this, as it will probably just add to the confusion. However, under a proper notion of relativization, the implication $C_1^A\ne C_2^A\Rightarrow C_1\ne C_2$ does actually hold for "small classes" $C_1,C_2$, such as $AC^0[m]$, $TC^0$, $NC^1$, $L$, $NL$. See this paper by Aehlig, Cook, and Nguyen. The main reason which makes it work is that for all these classes, the depth of dependence of the oracle queries on each other is constant, hence any relativized function can be written as a finite composition of unrelativized functions and parallel oracle calls.

A: P = NP does not imply P^A = NP^A for every set A because for some A, NP^A allows more schemes of solutions than P^A does (via non-determinism). In particular, it is known for some A and B that P^A = NP^A and P^B not = NP^B.
The reason for confusion here may result from the fact that the notation NP^A is misleading (or outright illogical); it would be less confusing if N(P^A) were used, instead.
Then it would be more clear why P = NP does not necessarily imply P^A = N(P^A).
Or, if one would like to really dot the "i", P(TM) should be used in lieu of P, P(NTM) in lieu of NP, P(TM^A) in lieu of P^A, and P(NTM^A) in lieu of NP^A, with PM meaning Turing machines and NTM - non-deterministic Turing machines, in obvious sense.
Then it would become clear that any of the two axioms P(TM) = P(NTM) or P(TM) not = P(NTM) does not logically entail P(TM^A) = P(NTM^A) or P(TM^A) not = P(NTM^A) simply because the classes TM and NTM are not equal (despite the fact that they have the same "computational power") and, trivially, P(X) = P(Y) for some X, Y not equal to each other.
The above is true under assertion that P, NP and similar (derivative) sets are fairly arbitrary (except, perhaps, P \subseteq NP, etc.). Otherwise, if P = NP is true then P non = NP (vacuously) proves everything, and so does P = NP if P non = NP is true.
Marek Suchenek
http://csc.csudh.edu/suchenek/


text:
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Cell and Gene Therapy Lesson 2: Remarkable Therapies Call For Complex Clinical Trials
Peter Wunderli, Ph.D., research fellow, PPD Laboratories, GMP lab, and Heather Myler, Ph.D., director, PPD Laboratories, bioanalytical lab, explain cell and gene therapy trials' complexities.
Cell and gene therapy (CGT) testing in humans was initiated at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1989. The study involved the genetic tagging and reinfusion of harvested tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) to patients to study their ability to migrate to the tumors. Since that study concluded that it was possible to safely reintroduce genetically modified human cells—and despite some significant safety issues observed in early trials—interest in these products and clinical trials including them have been dramatically increasing. As of November 2017, almost 2,600 clinical trials for what are classified as Advance Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) have been completed, are ongoing or have resulted in approved products in 38 countries worldwide,1 and there are an almost equal number of products in research and pre-clinical phases.2
While the vast majority of cell and gene therapy clinical trials are in phase I and I/II (early phase), the proportion of trials now in late phase (phase III/IV) has been growing. By demonstrating that gene modifications introduced are stable within the targeted cells, early phase trials are demonstrating proof‐of‐concept for gene therapy, even in cases when they have failed to achieve a clear therapeutic benefit. This includes early cell and gene therapy trials of products targeting primary immunodeficiency disorders, hemophilia A and B, X‐linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X‐ALD) and a growing list of other targets, many of which are showing clinical benefit and on a path to approval. An early trial of a therapy for X‐ALD was particularly important in that it showed that lentivirus vectors could demonstrate efficacy in treating an otherwise fatal disease of the central nervous system.1
"This is important. And in hemophilia, for instance, key stakeholders such as patients and physicians will need to be convinced of durability of constitutive [protein] expression, as well as long-term safety," says Panteli Theocharous, global biopharma medical lead at PPD.
The first gene therapy product was approved in Europe in 2012, but that adeno associated viral (AAV) vectored product targeting lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD) was taken off the market in 2017 because of regulatory and commercial limitations. However, two AAV vectored products for monogenic diseases have recently been approved.
Clinical success has also been demonstrated for immunotherapies, using adoptively transferred autologous T cells with lentivirus and gamma‐retroviral vectors to modify tumor recognition by introducing chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to target tumor-associated cell surface antigens. Two current CAR T cell products target the CD19 antigen on B cells, and have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), respectively. As of December 2018, there were 29 cell and gene therapy products authorized worldwide.3
Panteli Theocharous
Global Biopharma Medical Lead at PPD
"This is important. And in hemophilia, for instance, key stakeholders such as patients and physicians will need to be convinced of durability of constitutive [protein] expression, as well as long-term safety."
There are multiple guidance documents issued by regulatory agencies regarding the current recommendations and expectations for pre-clinical studies, potency testing, chemistry manufacturing and control (CMC) and other issues relating to these products. The FDA issued a guidance specifically for early-phase clinical trial design in 2015, providing rationale for how and why clinical trial designs for CGT products often differ from those for other types of pharmaceutical products.4 These include the unique characteristics of these products and previous clinical trials, significant morbidity and mortality risks identified with early CGT product trials (including organ failure, leukemia and other tumors). Other risks result from the invasive nature of some administration routes, introduction of prolonged biological activity and enhanced potential for immunogenicity.4
"Being able to monitor and abrogate cytokine release syndrome will be crucial, as well as other related toxicities, including neurotoxicities. Development of biomarkers here would be worthwhile, as well as being able to predict and stratify patients based upon risk"
Manufacturing process requirements, logistics for treatment applications and limitations in preclinical assessments of CGT products drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) can also impact clinical trial designs unique to these product types.4
As identified in the guidance, these factors impact the design expectations of early-phase clinical trials of CGT products, and sponsors of such therapies should engage in early and extensive dialogue with regulatory agencies to discuss the following (and more): preclinical studies and proposed clinical study design; overall bioanalytical strategy including the number and applications of biomarkers and proposed endpoints; disease-specific clinical response assessments needs and plans for long-term patient follow-up; assessment of potential for expedited development (orphan drug, breakthrough therapy). These discussions regarding planning and compliance can significantly impact the development plan.5
Other information, such as engagement in patient communities, will provide input on the disease and help in the selection of appropriate endpoints. Early engagement with potential early-phase patients can also accelerate patient recruitment for trials that target demonstration of safety that may not result in individual clinical improvement.5 The high cost of these ATMPs and approaches to reimbursement should also be considered early, as generation of meaningful data will support a determination of value and can also impact the clinical plan.5
PPD has more than 21,000 employees with 97 offices in 46 countries, supporting all aspects of drug development including laboratory services, market access and value assessment, product development and regulatory strategy and early phase to post-approval clinical execution. PPD has also supported more than 60 cell and gene therapies in the last five years alone. To learn more about our laboratories experience, visit our labs page.
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