text:
Global climate in context as the world approaches 1°C above pre-industrial for the first time
Research News article published in November 2015.
Global annual average surface temperature in 2015 is looking set to reach 1°C above the pre-industrial average (as represented by the 1850-1900 reference period) for the first time, according to the HadCRUT4 dataset produced by the Met Office and the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia (see figure 1).
This is based on the current January to September 2015 temperature anomaly, and is also expected to hold when the final full-year anomaly is calculated.
The warmth of 2015 represents an important marker because it means we are reaching halfway to 2°C for the first time. In 2010, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed warming should be limited to below 2°C to avoid dangerous climate change.
The Earth's global average surface temperature record gives a long-term perspective from which we can determine that temperatures have risen since pre-industrial times, consistent with a warming of the climate system as a whole and as observed in multiple climate indicators2. On top of this long-term warming trend, year-to-year climate variability, caused by phenomena such as El Niño and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, can act to either reduce or enhance the rate of increase of global temperatures; in some cases these patterns of variation can lead to fluctuations over years or decades.
Over recent years there has been a slowdown in warming at the Earth's surface. The rate of warming during the period from 1970-1998 was around 0.17°C per decade, while during 1998-2012, the rate slowed to around 0.04°C per decade3. This is due to a number of possible factors, including increased aerosols and an increase of heat taken up by the deep ocean and therefore not manifested as a warming at the surface.
This year, with a pronounced El Niño underway that acts to elevate global average surface temperature, it is looking probable that 2015 will be warmer than any other year in the observational record. Whilst year-to-year climate variability means that future years may not be as warm as 2015 and therefore below 1°C, the long-term warming trend is expected to continue.
One third of sea-level rise
Some aspects of the Earth system take longer than surface temperature to respond to greenhouse gas forcing. For example, global mean sea-level adjusts over a longer period and therefore lags behind changes in temperature. Over the period 1901-2010 global mean sea level rose by around 20cm and has been rising by about 3mm a year since the early 1990s4. If we consider emission pathways that aim to limit warming to 2°C, then we have seen only about one-third of the eventual sea level rise that could be realised by 2100.
It is also virtually certain, according to IPCC AR55, that 2100 will not be the peak of sea-level rise and that levels will continue to rise beyond this date given the amounts of greenhouse gases already emitted. This means that current levels could be as little as one-fifth of the eventual sea-level rise associated with a 2°C world. This has implications at regional levels and will lead to more frequent flooding from storm surges6, other impacts such as coastal erosion, and displacement of populations from low-lying regions.
Two thirds of emissions used
While temperatures are on track to reach the halfway mark, and there is still some way to go in sea-level rise, emissions are already two-thirds of the way through the established budget if warming is to be limited to less than 2°C with a probability of greater than 66%.
There is a close association between global surface temperature increases and the total carbon emitted into the atmosphere. It is well established that the climate system response lags behind the point at which greenhouse gases are emitted to when the temperature has fully responded. The long lifetime of carbon dioxide (CO2) within the atmosphere means that we are already committed to further climate change from what has been emitted so far. According to IPCC AR57, the total size of the global carbon budget associated with limiting warming to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels is up to 2900 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (GtCO2)8. The cumulative amount of CO2 emitted so far since the industrial revolution is about 2000 GtCO29, and the emissions to date have increased the concentration in the atmosphere from around 275 ppm to about 400 ppm today. Based on this, our best current estimate is that around two thirds of the total carbon budget has already been used.
In addition to CO2, other greenhouse gases are also important. Emissions of methane and nitrous oxide have led to concentrations of these gases in the atmosphere exceeding the range of concentrations recorded in ice cores during the past 800,000 years. If warming is to be kept below the UNFCCC recommendation of 2°C above pre-industrial levels, the emissions of these gases will also need to be restricted.
There are also a number of additional Earth system feedbacks that could affect the future budget, including nitrogen cycle constraints on the carbon cycle, and emissions of greenhouse gases from permafrost and methane hydrates. These are expected to place further limitations on the total global carbon budget.
Benefits of mitigation
Although mitigation can avoid a sizeable fraction of the potential impacts of 21st century climate change, the degree of benefit varies with location and sector, and not all impacts can be avoided. Alongside mitigation, there will still be a need for adaptation but this is likely to be more manageable for a 2°C world than for greater levels of global warming.
Using model simulations we can assess what future climates might look like by assessing those with temperature rises of 2°C or 4°C by 2100. Climate models simulating a high emissions scenario (RCP8.5) show a global average temperature rise of around 4 °C or more by 2100. Model simulations based on scenarios with sustained and significant emission reductions through to the end of the century (RCP2.6) show global temperature rise limited to around 2°C or less.
The UK is likely to see a move, on average, towards more warm, wet winters and hot, dry summers in a warming world, according to climate projections from UKCP09. Recent updates from Sexton & Harris10 have highlighted that within these mean changes cold, dry winters and wet summers like 2012 are still possible but with declining likelihood.
Research into the likelihood of extreme seasons under the two scenarios indicate that by the 2040s a summer as hot as the 2003 European heatwave will be very common under both, and scenarios with the highest emissions suggest the 2003 summer will be considered an extremely cold event by the end of the century. The risk of such record breaking heatwaves is increasing rapidly and has increased ten-fold in little over a decade, even through a period of little warming in global mean temperatures11.
IPCC AR512 shows how mitigation can make a difference to sea-level rise, estimating that by 2100 a rise of 0.43-0.76m under a low emissions scenario (consistent with a 2°C rise in temperature) is reasonable, whereas under a high emissions scenario (consistent with a 4°C rise) the range increases to 0.67-1.13m13. Unlike for temperature change, it is not just the cumulative carbon emissions that count for sea-level rise by 2100; the pathway is also important as earlier warming leads to increased amounts of heat entering the ocean. Therefore, in order to mitigate sea-level rise as much as possible, emissions need to be reduced as soon as possible because earlier emission of the same total carbon has a larger effect on sea level by 2100 than later emission.
Plausible pathways to stay under 2°C
Research that takes account of both climate and socio-economic changes suggests that with a large-scale transition to a low carbon economy it is possible to limit warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Simulations with integrated assessment models of the climate and energy system show robustly that the longer it takes to reduce emissions, the more expensive and difficult it becomes to stay within the 2°C limit. Early action would also reduce the reliance on unproven rates of technology deployment and even the use of new Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies such as BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage), which is required in many of the low-emissions scenarios assessed by the IPCC AR5 WGIII.
The warmth of 2015 represents an important marker where global annual average surface temperature is set to reach approximately 1°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time. However, although temperatures are now about halfway to 2°C, sea-level rise is only at about one-third of the total that could be seen by 2100 as a result of a changing climate, and emissions are well over halfway through the budget that is likely to limit eventual warming to below 2°C. Even if strong mitigation were put in place immediately, the climate system is still committed to some further warming as it stabilises and reaches equilibrium. Further changes in the climate can be expected over coming decades in line with this warming trend. Alongside this adjustment, natural year-to-year variability of the climate system will also continue to affect weather patterns in the shorter term.
The Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Science and Services works with the UK Government and partners across the world to monitor changes in the climate, to predict the likely scenarios of future climate change, and to further understanding of the impacts of these changes on both global and regional scales. It provides world-leading climate service tools and information that can inform decision making and help societies to manage the risks of a changing climate, in order to become more resilient and to benefit from opportunities for growth.
Pre-industrial:
While late 19th century temperatures are commonly taken to be indicative of pre-industrial, there is no fixed period that is used as standard and a variety of other periods have been used for observational and palaeo datasets. There are limitations in available data in the early instrumental record, making the average temperature in the reference period less certain. There is not a reliable indicator of global temperatures back to 1750, which is the era widely assumed to represent pre-industrial conditions. Therefore 1850-1900 is chosen here as the most reliable reference period, which also corresponds to the period chosen by IPCC to represent a suitable earlier reference period.
2 2013 Met Office notes on the pause in global mean warming: 'The recent pause in warming'. July 2013
3 Science Media Centre briefing notes: 'Briefing notes on recent slowdown in global temperature rise'. July 24, 2013
4 IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S. K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
5 Church, J.A., P.U. Clark, A. Cazenave, J.M. Gregory, S. Jevrejeva, A. Levermann, M.A. Merrifield, G.A. Milne, R.S. Nerem, P.D. Nunn, A.J. Payne, W.T. Pfeffer, D. Stammer and A.S. Unnikrishnan, 2013: Sea Level Change. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
6 Hunter, J., Church, J., White, N., Zhang, X. (2013): 'Towards a global regionally varying allowance for sea-level rise'. Ocean Engineering, Vol 71, pgs 17-27. DOI: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2012.12.041
7 IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A. Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pp.
8 To limit warming caused by CO2 alone to below 2 °C, with a probability of 66%, the IPCC assessed that a cumulative amount of up to 3670 GtCO2 (or 1000 GtC) could be emitted. When accounting for non-CO2 forcings such as other greenhouse gases then less CO2 can be emitted and the budget to limit warming below 2 °C is 2900 GtCO2.
9 Global carbon budget for 1870-2014. Le Quere et al., 2015
10 Sexton, D. and Harris, G. (2015): 'The important of including variability in climate change projections used for adaptation'. Nature Climate Change letters, 6th July, DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE2705
11 Christidis, N., Jones, G., Stott, P. (2015): 'Dramatically increasing chance of extremely hot summers since the 2003 European heatwave'. Nature Climate Change, 5, 46-50 DOI: 10.1038/nclimate2468
12 Church, J.A., P.U. Clark, A. Cazenave, J.M. Gregory, S. Jevrejeva, A. Levermann, M.A. Merrifield, G.A. Milne, R.S. Nerem, P.D. Nunn, A.J. Payne, W.T. Pfeffer, D. Stammer and A.S. Unnikrishnan, 2013: Sea Level Change Supplementary Material. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)].
13 Compared to pre-industrial
DePreSys: Met Office decadal prediction system
DePreSys is the decadal prediction system developed and run at the Met Office.
Climate monitoring of the oceans and sea-ice
Observations of ocean temperature, both at and below the surface; salinity, and sea-ice cover are used to …
Global ocean circulation
Investigating the role of ocean circulation in current and future climates, in particular that of the meri…


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Es geschah am 20. Juli is een West-Duitse oorlogsfilm uit 1955 onder regie van Georg Wilhelm Pabst. Destijds werd de film in Nederland uitgebracht onder de titel Dit gebeurde op 20 juli 1944.

Verhaal

Enkele Duitse officieren beramen een aanslag op Adolf Hitler op 20 juli 1944. Ze willen Hitler doden met een bom om op die manier de Tweede Wereldoorlog te beëindigen. Zo willen ze verhinderen dat Duitsland volledig wordt vernietigd door de Geallieerden.

Rolverdeling
 Bernhard Wicki: Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg
 Karl Ludwig Diehl: Ludwig Beck
 Carl Wery: Friedrich Fromm
 Erik Frey: Friedrich Olbricht
 Albert Hehn: Otto Ernst Remer
 Til Kiwe: Werner von Haeften
 Jochen Hauer: Wilhelm Keitel
 Jaspar von Oertzen: Kerst von Dürnstein
 Hans Cossy: Erich Fellgiebel
 Willy Krause: Joseph Goebbels
 Malte Petzel: Berthold Schenk von Stauffenberg (als Malte Jäger)
 Ernst Fritz Fürbringer: Generaal-Veldmaarschalk Erwin von Witzleben
 Annemarie Sauerwein: Vrouw van Olbricht
 Harry Hardt: Generaal Heusinger
 Heli Finkenzelle: Secretaresse
 Rolf Neuber: Adolf Hitler

Externe link

Film uit 1955
Duitse film
Film over de Tweede Wereldoorlog
Film van Georg Wilhelm Pabst

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Baobab trees are a dangerous menace in The Little Prince. They resemble rosebushes at first, but if they aren't carefully monitored, their roots may destroy a small planet like the little prince's. Symbolically, the trees may represent any sort of bad habit that isn't taken care of early—the tippler's drinking habit, for example, or the businessman's obsession with sums. They could also be interpreted as having some historical significance, with the menace of the trees representing a problem like anti-Semitism or a person like Hitler—whose danger didn't become obvious until it was too late, prompting the German invasion of France that caused Saint-Exupéry to flee to New York.
The timeline below shows where the symbol Baobab Trees appears in The Little Prince. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Cao, Diana. "The Little Prince Symbols: Baobab Trees." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 17 Nov 2013. Web. 20 Apr 2019.
Cao, Diana. "The Little Prince Symbols: Baobab Trees." LitCharts LLC, November 17, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2019. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-little-prince/symbols/baobab-trees.


Dark Fantasy was an American Radio supernatural thriller anthology series. It had a short run of 31 episodes, debuting on November 14, 1941 and ending on June 19, 1942. Its writer was Scott Bishop, also known for his work on The Mysterious Traveler. It originated from station WKY in Oklahoma City and was heard Friday nights on NBC stations. The stories found a nationwide audience almost immediately.
Today's story comes to us from one of the most unusual authors of our time. Arch Oboler's classic "The Revolt of the Worms".
Listen to the first episode of Box 13 and see how it all began.
Audio horror gained an added dimension with Arch Oboler's stereo LP recording, Drop Dead! An Exercise in Horror (1962). The cast featured some well-known radio actors: Edgar Barrier, Bea Benaderet, Lawrence Dobkin, Sam Edwards, Mick Ford, Virginia Gregg, Jerry Hausner, Jack Johnstone, Jack Kruschen, Forrest Lewis, Junius Matthews, Ralph Moody, Mercedes McCambridge, Harold Peary, Barney Phillips, Bill Phipps, Olan Soule and Chet Stratton.
Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen achieved stardom playing both straight man and comedian with his wooden alter ego Charlie McCarthy. The Charlie McCarthy Show was one of radio s top-rated shows for nearly two decades. Button down and bow-tied, the gentlemanly Bergen would never behave improperly with a lady. Charlie, on the other hand, is frisky, flirtatious, and brave enough to bring his game to guests Bette Davis and Hedy Lamarr, among others. His love of the ladies leads him to many an entertaining exchange.
The Maltese Falcon is one of my favorite OTR stories and movie.
This series was introduced by several hosts. The West coast (Hollywood) was hosted by the series star, Boris Karloff. The East coast (New York) was hosted by an anonymous voice known as "Dr. X" (Dunning, 183), which some attribute to multiple talents (Digital Deli). Other stars occasionally appeared, including Peter Lorre, Bela Lugosi, Raymond Massey, and Basil Rathbone. But it was Karloff who regular listeners expected to hear as host to the proceedings. It was about the only part of the show that was predictable. Episodes like "The Hunt" featured typical horror gimmicks like werewolves, but with a twist ending that provided a new dimension to an otherwise common theme. As Karloff himself said, "There is no greater mystery than the mystery of the mind." True to his word, many of the shows dealt with psychological, rather than literal, horror. In the werewolf story, we're never quite certain if the monster was real or just a blood-thirsty persona the killer assumed. (It's a classic example of the sort of story that was perfect for radio and couldn't be realized as effectively in film or TV.) In another story, "The Final Reckoning," a victim turns the tables on a thug and plans to kill him. He (Karloff) actually manages to take the place of a barber who is giving the thug a shave. The audience waits on the edge of their seats as Karloff carefully circumnavigates the long, straight-edge razor around his victim's relaxed and extended throat. Just thinking about it now gives me the creeps (even by day). But it was a short lived series, lasting just 16 episodes. Less than half of those (7) are known to have survived. It's an ending that is all-to-common in the history of OTR.
The print ads for this series certainly go all out on the hyperbole. One reads: "WARNING! Persons suffering from heart trouble and those whose blood has a tendency to curdle and hair to uncurl under the stress of great excitement are urged NOT to listen… The station disclaims all responsibility for the health of those who insist on hearing this thriller." Well, at least you can't say you weren't warned!
Creeps By Night promised all this and more. They told listeners to expect Karloff each week, along with other well-known Hollywood stars. They also promised new, original stories that were going to be written by the leading writers in the industry. However, according to Digital Deli, the new Blue Network didn't' advertise properly and started failing to deliver on its goals. Neither the upcoming stories nor the upcoming stars were advertised in advance. To make matters worse, the writers didn't receive any on-air credit, either. Karloff stopped hosting after the 12th episode, and the unknown "Dr. X" hosted the final four episodes (voiced by at least two different people). It all unraveled from there. Yet the surviving episodes are quite solid and make fans regret the loss of such a promising series. It's a sober reminder that success in the entertainment business takes more than good scripts and good actors– it also takes good promotion and a good deal of luck.
Strange As It Seems was an American radio program that featured stories of stunning but true events that were first publicized by newspaper cartoonist John Hix. Hix's format was similar to famous newspaper cartoonist named Robert L. Ripley of Ripley's Believe It or Not fame . Both articles appeared in major newspapers, and both had a disclaimer printed under the cartoon stating that one should contact the author for proof of any story that the reader thought was untrue, and the cartoonist would provide proof.
Strange As It Seems would go on from its humble cartoon roots to spawn a series of 10 minute movie shorts for Universal, before becoming a successful and long-running radio program.
A short tale of two medical students playing a prank on some sorority girls but it goes completely in a different direction than you would think.


Tonight I get the pleasure of listening to the stories and witnessing the musical talent of four individual musicians. These men have recognized and connected to a place within them that most of us can only dream of, they are singer songwriters. They have created a place in the universe where they can share their stories, shine their light and share their wisdom through song, much like I do through this blog and I'm sure you do in your day. Their journey into the world of music is no different than our journey into our lifes passions, professions, commitments, desires and intentions. Their presence on a stage helps us focus our attention, and shines a light on them as they invite us to join them on their melodic journey, and share their lifes experience with us.
Well, are you telling us which group you are going.to hear? In any case, have a wonderful evening!! Love from the Botanic Garden in Chicago! Are you in Italy?
Next Next post: Continue to Try!


text:
layout: page
title: About
permalink: /about/
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Welcome to my website. My name is Austin Godber. I have a bachelors in
[Physics](http://phy.asu.edu/) from [Arizona State
University](http://www.asu.edu/). I am a Software Engineer and Linux
Administrator. I have worked on DARPA sponsored computer security projects,
helped start a Municipal WiFi company, assisted NASA's [Mars Spaceflight
Facility](http://www.mars.asu.edu/) in surviving the Slashdot effect, wrangled
virtual penguins for [JumpBox](http://www.jumpbox.com/), operated cameras on
NASA's MER and MSL Mars rovers and now develop and manage petabyte scale
distributed systems for [Terascope](http://www.terascope.io).

Check me out elsewhere on the internet:

* [@godber on twitter](http://twitter.com/godber)
* [godber on github](http://github.com/godber)
* [LinkedIn profile](http://www.linkedin.com/in/godber)

I am also involved in running the [Phoenix area Python User Group:
DesertPy](http://desertpy.com).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Conveyancing is a term used to describe the whole of the process of putting a property on the market, concluding an agreement to sell and buy, and then transferring ownership of the property from the vendor to the purchaser. We provide personalised service together with professional up-to-date property advice for residential or commercial property. We understand that buying or selling property can be the biggest financial commitment most people will ever make and ensure all clients feel at ease and confident throughout their transaction.
We offer a Conveyancing Package for your convenience. Please contact Glenda Hutcheon at our office for further information.


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FRC v Sports Direct – the latest update of legal privilege
Following the recent Court of Appeal decision in SFO v ERNC (see article 'A real risk, but how likely is it?'), a further landmark decision as to the scope of privilege has been made by the High Court in The Financial Reporting Council Limited v Sports Direct.[1]
The Sports Direct case
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) issued notices under its statutory powers requiring Sports Direct to provide certain documents to assist with its investigation into the conduct of an accountancy firm in relation to its audit of the company's financial statements. Sports Direct refused to comply on the grounds that the documents withheld from FRC were subject to legal advice privilege. The FRC sought an order from the court to compel Sports Direct to disclose the withheld documents. There were three main issues for the court to consider:
Non-privileged documents attached to privileged emails
The court considered whether legal advice privilege applied to documents solely by virtue of them having been attached to emails passing between Sports Direct and its lawyers. Unsurprisingly, the court held an existing, non-privileged document does not become privileged because it is attached to an email passing between a client and his lawyer.
Implied waiver of privilege
Sports Direct accepted that there was a limited waiver of privilege when it sent certain documents to its auditors but contended that the waiver was limited to its auditors only. The FRC argued that disclosure of privileged material to an auditor necessarily required the regulator of the auditor to have access to the material that had been provided to the auditor when conducting an investigation. The court agreed with Sports Direct, finding that any regulatory investigation was entirely separate from the audit and therefore Sports Direct had not waived privilege in relation to the FRC.
The infringement issue
The court acknowledged that this was the most important and far-reaching issue for it to consider. The FRC argued that even if the documents were privileged and that privilege had not been waived by disclosing them to the auditor, disclosure to the FRC for the purposes of the investigation would not infringe said privilege. The court agreed and Sports Direct was ordered to hand the documents over to the FRC. However, the court found the "infringement issue" of sufficient import and complexity to grant Sports Direct permission to appeal on the point.
This is an important (and controversial) decision with far reaching implications. Corporate clients can now expect to face increased requests from regulators to produce privileged documents in connection with investigations into their outside advisers such as accountants and auditors.
[1] The Financial Reporting Council Limited v Sports Direct International Plc [2018] EWHC 2284 (Ch).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Police return with excavator to Farmington property as they 'follow up on old leads' in Jennifer Farber Dulos' disappearance
At an empty, armored state Capitol, Connecticut faith leaders preach peace to virtual audience
Mega-dosing vitamin D: Doctor-prescribed 50,000 IU vitamin D may be right for some patients
COVID-19 vaccinations for Connecticut residents who are 65 to 74 could begin in early February — but the timeline depends on vaccine supply
US report: Supply chain problems vex Electric Boat's next-generation Columbia submarine program
UConn women add marquee nonconference game against No. 15 Arkansas next week
Man Sentenced To Nine Years For Punch That Led To Death
Deadly Fentanyl Disguised As Prescription Pills
Committee recommends Connecticut's teachers, elderly, incarcerated people for next wave of coronavirus vaccinations
Forty years ago, hockey legends Gordie Howe, Dave Keon and Bobby Hull donned Whalers green, electrified the Civic Center and put Hartford on the map
By Dom Amore
The hometown team endured a harrowing flight from Montreal to play the game that would end its season.
"Just about everybody on that plane got sick," Mark Howe remembered. "It was a nasty flight."
The DC-3 prop plane, carrying hockey royalty, bobbed and weaved, but made it safely to Bradley on the night of April 10, 1980, and the team put forth a stirring effort the following night before a packed, and newly reopened, Civic Center, remembered as ridiculously loud. The game went to overtime.
"The coaches came in and said, 'Listen guys, Montreal's notorious for scoring on the first shift in overtime,'" Howe said. "'Make sure you're ready.' I don't think it was 30 seconds before the puck is in our net and the game is over. Damn, they sure knew what was coming, but we just couldn't stop it."
It was 29 seconds. Yvon Lambert's goal stunned the arena into silence, and then …
"The crowd stood up and gave the Whalers a long standing ovation," recalled Chuck Kaiton, in his first season as radio play-by-play man. "They were so appreciative of what that team did. It was a storybook season. Looking back on it now, it was almost like a fantasy world."
Dom Amore: UConn pitcher Jimmy Wang found his way from Beijing to Storrs, where he's balancing baseball and academics as he waits out a pandemic »
Forty years ago this month, the Whalers finished their first season in the NHL. Making the playoffs stands as their modest, if unexpected achievement, but since it was a storybook season — and can we ever use one right now? — let it start this way:
Once upon a time, three of the most revered players in the history of hockey suited up for a little-known team, in an unlikely place. "And Hartford was the perfect place," Kaiton said, "a big, small town, with a major league team for the first time."
Gordie Howe, "Mr. Hockey," was 52 when he scored his final goal, assisted by his son, Mark, in Game 2 of that playoff series. Kaiton can still see Bobby Hull, 41, "The Golden Jet," wind up for one of his last famous slap shots, once clocked at 118.3 mph, scoring a goal in Buffalo. And Dave Keon, nearing 40, who four years ago was named the greatest player in the 104-year history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, made it three titans in green, nine Stanley Cups among them.
"It was like a traveling circus," said Terry Price, who covered the Whalers for The Courant that season. "We were going to cities the Whalers had never gone to before, and they were drawing big crowds everywhere, and at home, there was a buzz. The crowds and the atmosphere were incredible, like a UConn-Georgetown basketball game."
'How the hell did Dad play at 52?'
The Whalers, of course, were born as the New England Whalers in the upstart World Hockey Association, which drew Gordie Howe, already in the Hall of Fame, out of retirement at 45 to play with his sons, Mark and Marty. "And he was the best player in the league," Mark said. The Howes moved from Houston to Hartford in 1977, and two years later, a merger agreement moved four viable WHA franchises, the Whalers, Oilers, Jets and Nordiques, to the NHL, which would then grow to 21 teams. Technically, the Red Wings, for whom Gordie played from 1946-71, owned his rights, but a deal was struck for him to stay in Hartford.
"Even when I got to the end of my career, and I was about 40," said Mark, who followed his father into the Hall of Fame, "I would ask, 'How the hell did Dad play at 52?' I still think it's the greatest thing I've ever seen in sports."
The Bruins insisted the Whalers rebrand from New England to Hartford. "The 17 NHL teams didn't do the WHA teams any favors," Kaiton said. "Twenty-seven of our first 40 games were on the road, and that helped everyone bond. There was a kind of 'us against them.'"
On Halloween Night, they played in Toronto for the first time, and fans and media came out in droves to see Keon, who put the Whalers ahead with his 366th career goal — his first 365 had been as a Maple Leaf. Gordie Howe scored the clincher in a 4-2 victory.
Dave Keon was named the greatest player in Toronto Maple Leafs history during the franchise's 100th season in January 2016. He played with the Whalers in 1979-80, getting 10 goals and 52 assists. (The Associated Press)
"As a kid, there were two players I idolized," said Mike Rogers, who played for the Whalers from 1975-81, "Dave Keon and Gordie Howe, and now I was sitting next to them in the locker room. It was absolutely amazing."
Hartford was on the map, and, on Jan. 21, 1980, on the cover of Sports Illustrated, too. Gordie Howe, in Whaler colors, was featured as "Hockey's Ageless Wonder."
Gordie Howe died in 2016 at age 88.
'Home at last'
The Civic Center, as it was then called, had been closed for repairs for two years, since the roof collapsed during a blizzard in 1978. After several delays, Hartford Mayor George Athanson showed up for the last game in Springfield, wearing a T-shirt reading, "Home At Last." The building opened its doors on Feb. 6, and the Whalers beat Los Angeles, 7-3. Gordie Howe scored once, Mark twice.
Early in the season, coach Don Blackburn changed up his lines, putting the speedy Rogers together with mustachioed Blaine Stoughton and bruising Pat Boutette. The line that became known as "Dash, Stash and Bash" became the most potent scoring line in the league, with 113 goals and 136 assists. "Magic," Roger said, in an interview with The Courant last summer. "You hear about chemistry and you wonder, is there really something to it? There was."
The Whalers were 10-20-10 on Jan. 12, but went 13-7-2 to edge into playoff contention by the beginning of March. "A lot of people thought we overachieved," Mark Howe said, "but I didn't think so. I thought we had a pretty good team."
On March 9, Marty Howe rejoined his brother and father with the Whalers, who tied the Bruins and the Red Wings in the next two games, both in Hartford. By then, the legend-laden Whalers had added another. GM Jack Kelley swung a deal with Winnipeg to get Hull, longtime NHL star with the Blackhawks.
"For the rest of the season," Price wrote in The Courant on March 1, 1980, "the Hartford Whalers can be called the Hockey Hall of Fame — East. With the signing of Bobby Hull, the Whalers have united the two most glamorous names in the history of professional hockey."
Gordie, Mark and Marty Howe, left to right, during a ceremony at the XL Center in 2011. They played together with the Whalers in 1980, in the NHL. (Tia Ann Chapman/Hartford Courant)
The only players to that point, before Wayne Gretzky, with more than 1,000 goals, NHL, WHA and playoffs, were now teammates. "I've always looked good in green," Hull told reporters when he arrived in Hartford. Both had long worn No. 9, but Hull deferred to Howe and took sweater No. 16.
"When I was a kid, I'd go watch the games at the old Olympia in Detroit," Mark Howe said, "and every once in a while, Dad and Bobby would line up against each other, faceoff, and they'd have a little chit-chat. Two guys who were great athletes, and they had a little bit of a bond, a friendship, and it came out of the respect they had for each other as players."
Kaiton was charged with handing out boarding passes for the Whalers' commercial flights, and would take care of the veterans first. Once, he dropped his armful and remembers Hull scrambling with him on the floor to regather them.
"Those three guys had no superstar egos," Kaiton said. "They never acted like they were any better than their teammates."
Hull, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983, had two goals and four assists in his first six games, then had to leave the team on March 16, after his partner, Claudia Allen, was badly injured in a car accident. He returned just before the end of the regular season.
'So easy to get in awe of them'
Opponents "had stars in their eyes," Price remembered. In city after city, the young players were coming to the Whalers' morning skates to ask Howe to pose for pictures with their children. One game, Kaiton recalled, the Kings' John Paul Kelly, 20 years old at the time, drove Mr. Hockey into the boards and apologized. "Don't worry, kid," Gordie told him. "It was a clean hit."
"We were a 21-team league and everybody picked us to finish 21st, and said we had no chance to make the playoffs."
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After a late-season game in Buffalo, the Sabres' Jim Schoenfeld told reporters, "It's tough playing against them, because it's so easy to get in awe of them."
Gordie Howe, who represented Hartford in the All-Star Game, played all 80 games, with 15 goals and 26 assists. Keon, a Hall of Famer since 1986, had 10 goals and 52 assists, Hull seven points in nine games. "They certainly didn't hurt the team," Mark Howe said. "They were still capable players who knew how to do their job. You think, you've got three guys that old on a team, how bad it's going to be, but they all contributed."
The Whalers missed two chances to clinch a playoff spot, but on April 3 they watched as the Flyers beat the Capitals to push them in. The next night, Rogers scored his 43rd and 44th goals, Stoughton No. 54 and Boutette No. 12 in a 9-2 win over the Nordiques at the Civic Center.
"We were a 21-team league and everybody picked us to finish 21st," said Rogers, 65, who retired as a Calgary Flames radio analyst in 2013, "and said we had no chance to make the playoffs, so we had a chip on our shoulder, personally and as a team. We had those stars, but they were aging stars, and then you had a bunch of 'us,' unknowns who never played in the National Hockey League. We end up making the playoffs, which was phenomenal."
Gordie's last goal
The Whalers (27-34-19) were the No. 14 seed and drew the No. 3 Canadiens, who had won the previous four Stanley Cups. However, two key players, Stoughton and Rick Ley, were injured just before the series. Montreal won the first game, 6-1. With five minutes left, Mark Howe slipped the puck to his father one last time, and Gordie flipped it past Denis Heron and into the net. The Montreal fans stood and cheered.
"He was so easy to play with," said Mark, 64, now the Red Wings' director of pro scouting, "because he was so far ahead of the game than what everyone else was thinking. And he just made plays. It was a soft goal. It wasn't an important goal. We scored. There wasn't much of a celebration. We just went back to the bench."
Dom Amore: Hartford has its place in his heart, but Ron Francis' new mission is building an NHL franchise from scratch in Seattle »
The Canadiens won the second game, 8-4, and Mark Howe remembered being in a bad mood and wondering why everyone was served food while the plane was still on the ground. Then the pilot explained they were expecting a rough flight. "I wish they told me that before I ate," Howe said. "I'd say 75 to 80 percent of the players got sick, but I specifically remember, Dad didn't get sick."
Evina Westbrook is 'anxious and excited' to return to Tennessee for first time since transferring to UConn
The 14,000-plus filled every seat in the Civic Center for Game 3, win or go home. "It was electric," said Kaiton, who broadcast from the concourse, rather than the rafters as in later years. "You could really feel the emotion in the building."
Tom Rowe scored his second goal with 8:04 left to tie the score at 3-3 and send it to OT, where it was over in 29 seconds. Stunned silence, then the love that flowed for the Whalers for 17 more years in Hartford and, for many, to this day, kicked in. A sign was flashed in the crowd, The Courant reported:
"Thanks for the great moments. We look forward with pride."
Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com.


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El USDA ayuda a los agricultores, ganaderos y comunidades afectadas por el huracán Fiona
By | September 29, 2022
WASHINGTON, 29 de septiembre de 2022 – El Secretario de Agricultura, Tom Vilsack, ha ordenado al Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA) que ayude en los esfuerzos de…
USDA Assists Farmers, Ranchers, and Communities Affected by Hurricane Fiona
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29, 2022 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to aid recovery efforts for farmers, ranchers and residents affected by Hurricane Fiona.…
Equities-Gold Trends Amid Inflation, Global Events
Equities have achieved huge gains over the past century when measured in U.S. dollars. But how have they performed relative to gold?
U.S. Department of Agriculture Announces Key Staff Appointments
WASHINGTON, September 27, 2022 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the names of individuals who will hold senior staff positions in Washington, D.C. Penny Brown Reynolds, Ph.D., has…
USDA Encourages Ag Producers, Residents to Prepare for Hurricane Ian
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds communities, farmers and ranchers, families and small businesses in the path of Hurricane Ian that USDA has programs…
Biden-Harris Administration Makes $500 Million Available to Increase Innovative American-Made Fertilizer Production
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2022 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the Biden-Harris Administration is making $500 million in grants available to increase American-made fertilizer…
Statement from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on the Biden-Harris National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health
WASHINGTON, September 27, 2022 – "The release of the Biden-Harris National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health (PDF, 776 KB) is a defining moment for our nation. It sets us…
Biden-Harris Administration Announces Major Actions to Spur Competition, Protect Producers and Reduce Costs
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2022 – Today, at a meeting of the White House Competition Council, President Biden will announce two new efforts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to…
Implications of High Energy Costs in Europe and Asia
Natural gas prices in Europe and Asia are about five and eight times higher, respectively, than in the U.S.
Biden-Harris Administration Invests More Than $37 Million to Improve Recreational Sites and Cabins on National Forests and Grasslands
WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2022 – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service announced more than $37 million in investments to improve vital recreation infrastructure located on national forests and…


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Mel Reynolds: The Mighty Have Fallen
In Editorial, Politics, Pop Culture, Reviews
There was a time when Mel Reynolds was one of the most promising young politicians in Illinois.
That was before he was sent to jail for having sex with a 16-year-old underage campaign worker. That was before he became a registered sex offender in 1995, forbidden to live within 500 feet of a school. That was before he was charged with failing to file income tax returns from 2009 through 2012. (Each count carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison or a $250,000 fine on conviction.) That was before he was found to have child pornography, tried to sabotage the case against him, and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
In 1997, Reynolds was convicted, while serving time in prison, of 15 counts of illegally raising campaign cash and defrauding banks out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. For that, he got 6 and 1/2 years in prison.
He served 2 and 1/2 years in state prison and was then transferred to a federal prison, but in 2001, Bill Clinton commuted his sentence hours before leaving office, at a time when Reynolds had 2 years left to serve.
In 2003, Reynolds made several attempts at a political comeback, running against another sterling example of rectitude, Jesse Jackson Jr. in the 2004 Democratic primary. That failed. Ten years later, Zimbabwe would deport him from that African country on charges that he had sexually explicit photos and videos on his mobile phone, in violation of a censorship law…in Africa! Although the charges were reduced to a misdemeanor visa violation, he was sent packing and came back to the U.S., where, on July 31st, while leaving the Dirksen US. Courthouse in Chicago, he was trying to find a place to spend the night.
Reynolds was able to secure a court-approved place to stay on an emergency basis and was ordered to appear in court at 2 p.m. on Friday with a more permanent address. Asked by reporters who he was talking to on his cell phone, Reynolds declined to answer fully, saying only, "This is a one-night deal," and, of the charges of failing to pay taxes for four years, "The narrative has been that somehow I didn't pay my taxes. I didn't file. By going to trial, this is going to set the record straight." Mel Reynolds is 63 years old, claims to have a "very sick" daughter in Africa, and is a convicted felon.
Maybe he and Jesse Jackson and Anthony Weiner can start a club aimed at "Redemption" (the sign in the background of the old campaign photo.).
Connie Corcoran WilsonConnie WilsonConnie Wilson AuthorMel Reynolds PoliticianMel Reynolds underage sex
Third Day at Sea: Rome
4th & 5th Days at Sea: Mediterranean Cruise


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Fotoromia
Fine Art & Nature Photography by Sebastian Worm
Art project "Seiðr"
In this project I was involved as a photographer and location scout. It was and still is a wonderful team work with lots of creative people taking part (see below) and – of course – lots of Northern Lights!
'Seiðr' is a new art project created by Aleksandra Karpowicz in collaboration with NorthernShots Tours.
The project presents the magical journey to the Arctic Circle where together with Isabella Steinsdotter she performed the ritual inspired by the female Vikings. The photographs and videos were taken in the most stunning secret locations discovered by NorthernShots.
In Old Norse "seiðr" was a type of sorcery practiced in Norse society during the late Scandinavian Iron Age. The practice of seiðr is a form of magic relating to both the telling and shaping of the future. This tradition was actively practiced by Steinsdotter's Viking ancestors. She was inspired to explore the rituals when she learnt of her lineage to a long dead, infamous Viking warrior witch (whose remains are currently preserved at the British Museum). For Karpowicz, this performance was not only a spiritual experience. It was also a great physical challenge, to overcome her life long struggle with the cold. She has been training for several months to build up her resistance to the most extreme weather conditions. This training of mind proved to her that we can control our bodies beyond our imagination, as long as we are truly connected within ourselves.
This performance of Seidr is an offering to the ancestors, a gift! It is the artists' way to honour them and their roots, to reconnect with the forces that created us and to combine the truth of our existence with theirs, as we acknowledge that we are their surviving seed of will.
In the tribal societies which practiced Seidr combined with rune craft, the giving of gifts had a special significance lost on us today. The giving of gifts placed a deep responsibility on both the giver and the receiver and was an act heavy with symbolism. The GYFU rune is one of many runes emphasised in the Seidr performance, also known as GIFT. GYFU is a rune of self sacrifice, which teaches the seeker that the spiritual querent always has a price to pay for advancement on the path of self awareness and the occult.
The performance utilised the magic language of the runes to shape the artists' bodies to receive understanding. To open their hearts as the portal for love, where the polarities of past and future, mental and physical, ice and fire, can be combined in respect and harmony.
As the artists grounded themselves in one of the five main elements: EARTH, humbled by the element of FIRE they wanted the ritual performance for them to be as prepared, intentional, pure and organic as it could be. Challenged and humbled by the Norwegian winter in its freezing glory they set out to send and receive energy through time, reaching out for protection and guidance on the path that lay ahead of us. Through the shape of the EOLH rune (also known as 'the protection rune' or the 'warding-off of negative influences') they continued their search for a deeper insight.
Director: Aleksandra Karpowicz
Models: @iamsteinsdotter @aleksandra_karpowicz
Photography: NorthernShots Tours, in collaboration with Sebastian Worm at Fotoromia
Video: NorthernShots Tours, in collaboration with Helder Neves
Visual effects: @jamie.reibl
Styling: @joeybevan
Cold resistant training: @studio_orlat
Copyright © 2022 Sebastian Worm. All Rights Reserved. Impressum und Datenschutzerklärung
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Case Study 3 | KamRock Telecom, Inc.
This client had older pricing plans with several different carriers across the country for years. Despite repeated attempts to sit down and discuss the latest technology and pricing changes with this client, they didn't want to discuss anything about their services. Eventually, we were able to have a meeting with them. Once we sat down it was evident that they were not on the best rate plans and they really should have added an MPLS solution to connect all of their locations together a few years earlier. We also found that they were paying a $600 phone bill every month that was cancelled many years ago.
KamRock immediately got to work on getting a refund for the years of overcharges that the client was paying. At the same time we were attempting to find a single source carrier solution that would add MPLS to their current setup.
After a few months of working with their old carrier that was overcharging them we were able to recover almost $20,000 for the client. In addition, we were able to cut the client's expenses while adding a complete MPLS network saving the client around 7% while greatly enhancing their voice and data network.


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Warriors' Steve Kerr on emulating Spurs'…
Girl rescued from kidnap
Analysis, NewsAnalysis, News Based on factual reporting, although it Incorporates the expertise of the author/producer and may offer interpretations and conclusions., Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Warriors' Steve Kerr on emulating Spurs' success: 'It may be a pipe dream'
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is studying Gregg Popovich as he prepares for life after Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr cheers on his players in the first quarter of Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, June 13, 2019. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
PUBLISHED: August 7, 2019 at 10:22 am | UPDATED: August 10, 2019 at 8:13 am
LAS VEGAS – Perhaps the many wine-tasting sessions with Gregg Popovich have brought Steve Kerr more clarity. So too, perhaps, did the meetings here last week with Popovich and his Team USA coaching staff.
Kerr hopes the Warriors can mirror the San Antonio Spurs' long-term success by emulating a team-oriented culture and continually building around three star players. Can the Warriors do it, though?
"It may be a pipe dream, honestly," Kerr said.
Reaching the NBA Finals five years in a row, as the Warriors have done under Kerr, is something only one other team in history — the Boston Celtics of Red Auerbach's time — has done, Still, Kerr finds it more daunting to what Popovich and the Spurs have done. They have not missed the NBA playoffs since 1997, winning five championships along the way.
The Warriors, after winning three, now are looking at life without Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston and Klay Thompson — the latter for at least half of next season. the other three for good. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green remain, but the Warriors have eight new players, including three rookies.
"This year will be our biggest challenge yet because we've lost so many key guys," Kerr said. "We have a lot of work ahead. It's a fun challenge."
It is a challenge the Spurs have managed spectacularly. It began with a selfless superstar (Tim Duncan) adjusting his game first around David Robinson and later with Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard. It continued with a coach (Popovich) that demanded fundamentals and team play while also remaining flexible with his system. It included a front office that perenially drafted or signed key role players.
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(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Popovich is coaching the team that will represent the U.S. at the World Cup in China next month and at the Olympics in Tokyo next summer. Kerr is one of his assistants, in prime position to learn how Popovich has created such an enduring success story with the Spurs.
Kerr isn't starting from scratch. He spent four seasons as a player under Popovich and, as coach of the Warriors, that has been reflected in the way Kerr has managed personalities, established team play, and adjusted his system to fit the personnel. Despite that foundation, Kerr has been taking notes here.
"I'm looking to grow as a coach," Kerr said.
He has managed the departures of Durant and the others as Popovich would — more openly, no doubt, but with the same mindset. The world is not ending.
"I've got one of the greatest jobs in the world no matter who is playing for us," Kerr said. "Coaching basketball in the NBA is so much fun. I'm excited for every season. It just happens that this is probably the biggest change we've had since I've been here."
Kerr's mindset has not gone unnoticed by Jay Wright, the Villanova who coach who also is serving as a member of the Team USA staff.
"When any of us talk about issues we've got going into the next season, he doesn't talk about any of it. He talks about how excited he is," Wright said. "He's not complaining and saying I lost my best player in free agency. But he also has a great confidence in his core guys."
And why wouldn't he? Curry and Thompson truly might be the greatest backcourt in NBA history (as Mark Jackson boldly stated six year ago). Green has become the modern NBA forward with his positional versatility, defensive intensity and playmaking. All three could spend their entire career with Warriors. Green is signed through 2025, Thompson 2024, and Curry 2022. The Warriors are building around those three the way the Spurs did with Duncan, Ginobili and Parker?
"You have to do that if you have special players that are not only great and talented players, but are foundational pieces and people who set a culture and establish a mindset," Kerr said. "This summer was painful in many ways losing the guys that we did. But it was reassuring in the sense that we brought back some key guys that will help us get to that next era."
The next era also will depend on Kerr and how he channels Popovich. How he manages personalities, how he establishes team play, how he adjusts his system to fit the personnel.
With the acquisitions of D'Angelo Russell and Willie Cauley-Stein, Kerr is open to adding more pick-and-roll plays and playing at a faster pace. He is pushing Kevon Looney to expand his game as an outside shooter. He is leaning on his staff to develop Alfonzo McKinnie, second-year guard Jacob Evans and rookies Jordan Poole, Eric Paschall and Alen Smailagic.
Kerr estimated he will spend the first two months of the season experimenting with different lineups. It is expected that McKinnie and two veteran newcomers — Alex Burks and Glenn Robinson III — will compete for the wing spot formerly held by Durant. Omari Spellman will also compete for minutes up front.
"The beauty of the sport is it's not the five best players who win," Kerr said. "It's the five who fit together that gives you the best chance to win. I'm looking forward to that challenge in finding the right combinations and young guys who will get a good opportunity."
Meanwhile, he studies Popovich. Being like the Spurs won't be easy. But then, neither was being like the Auerbach Celtics.


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50 Years of Boy Bands
No matter your age, you'll never forget your first boy band crush. Look back on the male vocal groups of yesterday and today.
Established: Formed in Liverpool in 1960. Band members went their separate ways in 1970.
Members: Originally a five-piece band, the Beatles were comprised of singer and guitarist John Lennon, guitarist Paul McCartney, guitarist George Harrison, bassist Stuart Sutcliffe and drummer Pete Best. Stuart left the band in 1961, and Pete was replaced with Ringo Starr in 1962.
Biggest hits: "Hey Jude," "The Long and Winding Road," "Yesterday," "Penny Lane," "Eleanor Rigby" and many more.
Awards: Seven Grammys.
Memorable moments: The Beatles took America by storm when they opened with "All My Loving" on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.
Trademark style: It's a toss-up between their early matching suits and mop tops and the bright military jackets that graced the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Best lyrics: "Though I know I'll never lose affection / For people and things that went before / I know I'll often stop and think about them / In my life I love you more" — "In My Life"
Where they are today: Fans gathered to remember John Lennon on the 20th anniversary of his death in October 2010. Harrison lost his battle with lung cancer in November 2001. Both remaining band members Ringo and Paul are currently touring. Paul will be honored at the Kennedy Center in December 2010.
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Established: 1961 in Southern California
Members: Brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson; their cousin Mike Love; and friend Al Jardine founded the original band. Bruce Johnston later became a full-fledged band member when Brian stopped touring.
Biggest hits: Anything having to do with cars, surfing or girls—"I Get Around," "Help Me Rhonda," "Good Vibrations," "California Girls" and more.
Awards: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988; Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001.
Trademark style: Until 1966, the band wore a uniform of blue-and-gray-striped button-down shirts and white pants.
Best lyric: "Let's go surfin' now / Everybody's learning how / Come on and safari with me" — "Surfin' Safari"
Where they are today: Mike and Bruce are still touring as the Beach Boys with other musicians—including drummer/actor John Stamos. After battling drug addiction and mental illness, Brian went solo in 1988 and most recently released an album of Gershwin covers in August 2010. Dennis passed away in 1983, and Carl died of lung cancer in 1998.
Photo: David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images
The Osmonds
Established: Brothers Alan, Wayne, Merrill and Jay Osmond began singing as a children's barbershop quartet in 1959. Younger brothers Donny and Jimmy joined the group in 1960s, and they scored their first hit record in 1971.
Biggest hits: "One Bad Apple," "Down by the Lazy River," "Crazy Horses," "Hold Her Tight."
Memorable moments: In November 2007, the entire Osmond family reunited on Oprah's stage just days after the death of patriarch George Osmond. See what happened.
Best lyric: "If you're all alone / You won't be long / Just bring your guitar and sing your song / Down by the lazy river / Everybody follow me" — "Down by the Lazy River"
Where they are today: Wayne, Merrill and Jay still tour as the Osmond Brothers. Alan retired from touring in 1996 due to multiple sclerosis, and his eight sons now tour as the Osmonds—Second Generation. Jimmy is an entrepreneur and has recently appeared in United Kingdom productions of Chicago and Grease. Donny currently performs in Las Vegas with sister Marie.
Established: This band of brothers formed in 1966 in Gary, Indiana. Their first four singles all hit number one on the Billboard charts in 1970.
Members: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael Jackson. Randy replaced Jermaine in 1976.
Biggest hits: "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There."
Awards: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Memorable moments: The last time all six brothers performed together was at Madison Square Garden in September 2001 during a concert celebrating 30 years of Michael Jackson's solo career.
Trademark style: Sequins, fringe and bell-bottoms.
Best lyric: "ABC / Easy as 123 / Or simple as do re mi / ABC / 123 / Baby, you and me girl" — "ABC"
Where they are today: After Michael's tragic death, the remaining Jacksons recorded background vocals for Michael's unreleased song "This Is It," featured in the film of the same name.
Oprah's dream date with Jackie Jackson
Established: This fab foursome came together in 1965 to film a television pilot about a band called The Monkees. Life imitated art, and the band became a pop phenomenon.
Members: Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork.
Biggest hits: "Last Train to Clarksville," "(Theme from) The Monkees," "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone," "I'm a Believer."
Awards: The Monkees television show was named Outstanding Comedy Series at the 1967 Emmys.
Fun fact: Neil Diamond wrote one of the band's biggest hits, "I'm a Believer."
Trademark style: Side-swept bangs and sideburns.
Best lyric: "Hey, hey, we're the Monkees / And people say we monkey around / But we're too busy singing / To put anybody down" — "(Theme from) The Monkees"
Where they are today: The band has toured in various combinations over the years, but the original foursome last toured together in 1997. Since then, Davy has appeared in and hosted many television shows and written an autobiography. Mike published his first novel in 1998 and released his most recent solo album, Rays, in 2006. Micky has released solo albums, worked as a morning radio show host and wrote two books in addition to his autobiography. Peter has also appeared on numerous television shows, released solo albums and is currently playing with his new group, Shoe Suede Blues.
Established: The Puerto Rican boy band released its first album in 1977.
Fun fact: Once a band member turned 16, or his voice changed, he was contractually obligated to leave the group. Band founder Edgardo Diaz wanted to constantly keep the group young.
Past members: More than 30 members came and went between 1977 and 2009. Notables include: Ricky Martin, Abel Talamentez, Robi Draco Rosa, Rene Farrait, Johnny Lozada, Xavier Serbia, Miguel Cancel, Ricky Melendez, Rawy Torres, Angelo Garcia, Charlie Masso, Ray Reyes and Chris Moy.
Biggest hits: "No te Reprimas," "A Volar," "Subete A Mi Moto," "Hold Me," "Claridad," "Like a Cannonball."
Best lyric: "I just want you to / Hold me, let me show you / How love can make our dreams come true / Let me hold you / And I'll give you all that you'll ever need / Please just believe me."
The end: Menudo called it quits in 1997, and a spin-off band, MDO, launched the same year. In 2007, MTV aired the reality series Making Menudo to start a new generation of the band. Five teens were chosen, but they disbanded in 2009.
Ricky Martin's journey to self-acceptance
Photo: GAB Archive/Redferns/Getty Images
Established: Formed in 1982 in Boston.
Members: Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant and Ronnie DeVoe were the original members of the group. Johnny Gill joined after Bobby went solo in 1986.
Biggest hits: "Candy Girl," "Cool It Now," "Every Little Step," "Mr. Telephone Man."
Fun Fact: New Edition was discovered after they came in second place at a talent show. Michael Bivins later discovered and helped develop Boyz II Men.
Best lyric: "My girl's like candy / a candy treat / She knocks me right off of my feet / She's so fine as can be / I know this girl is meant for me" — "Candy Girl"
Where they are today: The group took a hiatus in 1990. Ronnie, Michael and Ricky formed another successful group, Bell Biv Devoe. Ralph and Johnny went solo. In 1996, all six members got together to record the album Home Again. The group's latest release, 2004's One Love, featured all members except Bobby.
Photo: Michael Linssen/Redferns/Getty Images
Established: New Edition producer Maurice Starr discovered the boys during a 1985 talent search in Boston and formed the group.
Members: Donnie Wahlberg, Danny Wood, Joey McIntyre, Jordan Knight and Jonathan Knight.
Biggest hits: "Hangin' Tough," "I'll Be Loving You Forever," "Step by Step," "Cover Girl," "You Got It (The Right Stuff)."
Awards: The group took home Favorite Pop/Rock Band, Duo or Group and Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the 1990 American Music Awards.
Memorable Moment: Fans in their 30s and 40s screamed like teenagers when New Kids on the Block reunited and performed live on The Today Show in 2008.
Trademark style: Overalls, patterned sweaters.
Best lyric: "Listen up, everybody / If you wanna take a chance / Just get on the floor / And do the New Kids' dance" — "Hangin' Tough"
Where they are today: The New Kids went their separate ways in 1994. Jordan found solo success, and Danny started a record label. Donnie made his mark in movies like The Sixth Sense, while Joey became a regular on Fox's Boston Public and competed in Dancing with the Stars. Jonathan started a real estate career. In 2008, the band reunited and released a new album, The Block. They will tour with the Backstreet Boys in spring 2011.
Established: Formed in 1990 in Oklahoma City.
Members: Mark Calderon, Bryan Abrams, Kevin Thornton and Sam Watters.
Biggest hits: "I Wanna Sex You Up," "I Adore Mi Amor," "All 4 Love."
Awards: In 1992, the group took home Favorite Single R&B/Soul from the American Music Awards and Best R&B/Soul Single and Song of the Year from the Soul Train Music Awards.
Fun fact: The group's big break took place when "I Wanna Sex You Up" was featured on the New Jack City soundtrack. Their style of music has been described by some as "hip-hop-doo-wop."
Trademark style: Brightly colored suits with black T-shirts underneath.
Best lyric: "Come inside take off your coat / I'll make you feel at home / Now let's pour a glass of wine / Cause now we're all alone" — "I Wanna Sex You Up"
Where they are today: The group disbanded in 2000. Sam became a record producer who has worked with Jessica Simpson and Celine Dion. He married American Idol contestant Tamyra Gray in 2006. Kevin released a solo album. According to his MySpace page, Mark is currently writing new music for a forthcoming Christian album. Bryan has continued making music and appeared in the 2007 VH1 reality show Mission: Man Band along with N Sync's Chris Kirkpatrick, LFO's Rich Cronin and 98 Degrees' Jeff Timmons.
Established: Formed in 1988 at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts.
Members: The group found success as a quartet comprised of Shawn Stockman, Mike McCary and brothers Nathan Morris and Wanya Morris. They were originally a quintet, but member Marc Nelson left the group before the first studio recording.
Biggest hits: "I'll Make Love to You," "One Sweet Day(with Mariah Carey)," "End of the Road," "On Bended Knee" and "A Song for Mama."
Awards: Four-time Grammy-winners and nine-time American Music Award winners.
Fun Fact: To practice, the boys would sing New Editions' "You Can Stand the Rain" in the halls and bathrooms of their high school.
Trademark style : Preppy with the occasional baseball cap.
Best lyric: "I'll make love to you / Like you want me to / And I'll hold you tight / Baby all through the night" — "I'll Make Love to You"
Where they are today: These guys are still making sweet music. However, only three men remain. Bass singer Mike is no longer with the group. In February 2011, the remaining members are set to embark on a "love cruise" for their longtime fans in honor of their 20th anniversary and Valentine's Day.
Photo: Sam Levi/WireImage/Getty
Established: These three brothers started performing together in their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1992.
Members: Guitarist Issac Hanson, pianist Taylor Hanson and drummer Zac Hanson.
Biggest hits: "MMMBop!,""Where's the Love," "Weird" and"Penny and Me."
Fun fact: Out of the group trio, Zac is the only one who was not born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was born in Arlington, Virginia.
Trademark style: Hippy! Think of those long locks of hair.
Best lyric: Mmmbop, ba duba dop / Ba du bop, ba duba dop / Ba du bop, ba duba dop / Ba du / Yeah / Yeah" — "MMMBop!"
Where they are today: Their long locks may be gone, but this brotherly trio is still going strong! All three brothers are married and have kids. They released their fifth studio album in June 2010 and are currently on their Shout It Out tour.
Photo:Tim Roney/Hulton Archive/Getty
Established: Formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993.
Members: A.J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson.
Biggest hits: "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)," "I Want It That Way," "Larger Than Life" and "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)."
Memorable Moment: Kevin Richardson caught the attention of the fashion police for wearing a "man skirt" to VH1's Men Strike Back.
Best lyric: "Everybody yeah! / Rock your body yeah / Everybody / Rock your body right! / Backstreet's back alright!" — "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"
Where they are today: The Backstreet Boys are now a foursome—Kevin Richardson has been taking hiatus from the group since 2006, but is still in close contact with the guys. Read what Kevin Richardson has been up to.
The Backstreet Boys released their seventh album, This Is Us in 2009. Like Boyz II Men, the Backstreet Boys will set sail on an upcoming cruise in December. They are planning to go on tour with New Kids on the Block in 2011.
The Backstreet Boys reunite on Oprah's stage
Photo: SGranitz/WireImage/Getty
All-4-One
Established: Came together in Los Angeles in the mid 1990s.
Members: Jamie Jones, Delious Kennedy, Alfred Nevarez and Tony Borowiak.
Biggest hits: "I Swear," "I Can Love You Like That" and "So Much in Love."
Fun Fact: All-4-One recorded their debut album in 1994 in just five weeks.
Awards: Won a Grammy in 1994 for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Best lyric: "For or better or worse / Till death do us part / I'll love you with every beat of my heart / And I swear" — "I Swear"
Where they are today: This harmonious group released their seventh studio album, No Regrets, in September 2009.
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc/Getty
*N Sync
Members: Justin Timberlake, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass and JC Chasez.
Biggest hits: "Bye Bye Bye!," "It's Gonna Be Me," "I Drive Myself Crazy," "Pop" and "I Want You Back."
Memorable Moment: Performed at the 2001 Super Bowl half-time show with Aerosmith, Britney Spears, Nelly and Mary J. Blige. The group also performed the song "Pop" with Michael Jackson at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards.
Trademark style: Athletic: In the early days, the guys loved to rock the sports jerseys.
Best lyric: 'Your love is like a river / Peaceful and deep / Your soul is like a secret that I never could keep / When I look into your eyes /I know that it's true / God must have spent a little more time on you" — "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You"
Where they are today: The guys have not been so in sync since 2002. However, each member seems to be keeping busy. Lance released a book about coming out in 2007 called Out of Sync. He also appeared on Dancing with the Stars (Season 7), as did fellow *N SYNC member Joey (Season 4). Joey is now the host of the game show Family Feud. Chris pursued a solo career and sings in the group Nigels11. He has a foundation called the Chris Kirkpatrick Foundation, which offers help to disadvantaged children.
JC pursued a career in songwriting and producing. He also appeared as a judge on MTV's America's Best Dance Crew. Justin has had huge success in music, acting and fashion. You can seem him in the hit movie The Social Network. He also runs his own clothing line, William Rast. See what a day is like in Justin's world.
LFO (Lyte Funky Ones)
Established: Originated in Massachusetts in 1995.
Members: Rich Cronin, Devin Lima and Brad Fischetti. Brian Gillis was in the group until 1999, when Devin replaced him.
Biggest hits: "Summer Girls," "Girl on TV," "Every Other Time" and "Can't Have You."
Fun facts: Jennifer Love Hewitt appeared in LFO's music video for "Girl on TV." It is said that Rich wrote that song for her.
Best lyric: "New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits / Chinese food makes me sick / And I think it's fly when girls stop by for the summer for the summer / I like girls that wear Abercrombie & Fitch" — "Summer Girls"
Where they are today: The group has been on hiatus since 2003 to work on solo careers. Sadly, Rich died in September 2010 from leukemia. Before his death, he participated in the VH1 show Mission: Man Band.
Established: Formed in Los Angeles and released their first album in 1997.
Members: Brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, Justin Jeffre and Jeff Timmons.
Biggest hits: "Because of You," "The Hardest Thing," "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)" and "My Everything."
Memorable Moment: Jessica Simpson appeared in the music video for "My Everything."
Trademark style: Shirts off and fireman suits. These guys had no problem showing off their muscles and wore lots fireman gear to coincide with their 98° and Rising CD cover.
Best lyric: You're my sunshine after the rain / You're the cure against my fear and my pain / 'Cause I'm losing my mind / When you're not around / It's all... it's all... / It's all because of you" — "Because of You"
Where they are today: In 2002, the group separated to pursue solo endeavors. Drew won the second season of Dancing with the Stars. Nick released two solo albums and had a very public marriage and divorce with Jessica Simpson. Jeff also appeared on the 2007 VH1 reality show Mission: Man Band. Justin went the political route and ran for mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Photo: New York Daily News/Getty
O-Town
Established: Formed from the first season of the ABC reality TV series Making The Band in 2000.
Members: Jacob Underwood, Ashley Parker Angel, Erik-Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick. Ikaika Kahoano was an original member, but left the group and was replaced by Dan Miller.
Biggest hits: "Liquid Dreams," "All or Nothing," "We Fit Together" and "These Are the Days."
Fun fact: The group was originally managed by Lou Pearlman, who also takes credit for playing a role in the success of the Backstreet Boys and *N SYNC.
Trademark style: T-shirts and jeans.
Best lyric: Angelina Jolie's lips to kiss in the dark / Underneath Cindy C.'s beauty mark / When it comes to the test well Tyra's the best / And Salma Hayek brings the rest" — "Liquid Dreams"
Where they are today: Like many of their boy band predecessors, the group split up in 2003 to pursue solo careers. Ashley had a reality show on MTV called There and Back and a solo album. He also appeared on Broadway in Hairspray. Erik-Michael joined the Army.
Photo: Jason Merritt/FilmMagic/Getty
Established: Gained attention on the Disney Channel and released their first single in 2005.
Members: Brothers Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas.
Biggest hits: "Burnin' Up," "Hold On" and "S.O.S"
Fun facts: In 2005 the brothers were the opening act for the Backstreet Boys. According to their website, on the Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009 they sold nearly 1 million tickets in just one week.
Trademark style: Boy band chic.
Best lyric: "I'm hot / You're cold / You go around / Like you know / Who I am / But you don't / You've got me on my toes" — "Burnin' Up"
Where they are today: Continuing the boy band craze, the Jonas Brothers have a major presence in the social media world with millions of fans following them on Facebook and MySpace. They continue to tour around the world and take breaks for solo projects. Check out the Jonas Brothers' appearance on The Oprah Show.
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text:
Blue Sky Agency Expands with Three New Senior Hires
Director of Client Services, Creative Director, and Director of Social Media Join Amid Growing Momentum for Atlanta-based Agency
Written By Blue Sky Agency • 08.08.2018
From Left to Right: Alex Payne, Allie Clark and Marco Worsham
Blue Sky Agency, an integrated advertising agency based in Atlanta, today announced the appointment of three new senior hires: Allie Clark to the newly created position SVP, Director of Client Services; Marco Worsham to Creative Director; and Alex Payne to Director of Social Media. Their hires come at a time of growth and momentum for Blue Sky, which for 24 years has been the go-to agency for fast-growing brands in the Southeast, and for the city of Atlanta, which continues to attract world-class brands, businesses and creative talent amid a recent boom.
Clark, a 20-year veteran of the ad agency world, will oversee client relationships, the agency's evolving service offerings and business development opportunities. Worsham, who has held creative posts at a number of the country's most respected agencies, will bring his creative and technology chops to Blue Sky's creative team. Payne will lead social media strategy, paid social media activations and influencer marketing for Blue Sky's clients and brand.
"We are thrilled to welcome Allie, Marco and Alex at an exciting inflection point for Blue Sky," said Rob Farinella, President and CEO. "Blue Sky has been quietly helping the Southeast's biggest brands grow for more than two decades now, and this team will help us build the future as we continue to expand and diversify our client base and offerings. With Allie's strategic acumen, Marco's creative pedigree and Alex's social credentials, we are truly building a winning team."
As Clark joins Blue Sky, she brings experience in categories including CPG, automotive, QSR, technology and retail. Her background began in traditional media/creative shops and grew to include digital, social, agile development and CRM at agencies including Martin Agency, Arnold, 22squared and Huge. Most recently, Allie managed the DIRECTV and Internet business for AT&T at BBDO.
Worsham, who returns to Atlanta where he trained at the portfolio school Creative Circus, has led creative campaigns for clients including McDonald's, Adidas, Mike's Hard Lemonade and Walmart, with agencies including Arnold, TBWA, Modernista! and Martin Agency.
Payne comes to Blue Sky from Sunshine Sachs in New York, where he helped launch the firm's social media practice. Throughout his 10 years in the industry, he has led integrated campaigns for clients including McDonald's, Tic Tac USA, P&G, Jimmy Dean, Nikon and Facebook. Payne has also held posts at MSLGROUP and MWWPR.
Founded by Farinella in 1994, Blue Sky's mission is to fuel growth and success for clients while making the Southeast a better place to live and do business. Recently named one of the Atlanta Business Chronicle's Best Places to Work in 2018, Blue Sky's client roster includes Northside Hospital, Gas South, IHG Hotels, Georgia Tourism, Stone Mountain Park and extensive experience in the sports, entertainment, QSR, retail, CPG, tourism and health care categories.
Read more at MediaPost and Campaign.


text:
Queens BP endorses Juan Ardila for Queens Assembly seat
webadmin on April 27, 2022
State Assembly candidate Juan Ardila has earned the endorsement of Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.
The Borough President's endorsement is the latest for Ardila's campaign, which also holds the endorsements of State Senator Jessica Ramos, State Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, City Council members Tiffany Caban and Jennifer Gutiérrez, as well as former Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.
Ardila, a progressive running for the 37th Assembly District in Queens, is looking to replace Cathy Nolan, who announced her retirement after 36 years earlier this year.
"Juan Ardila has always been a passionate advocate for the community," said Borough President Donovan Richards. "He is a leader who understands the need for protecting tenants, expanding healthcare access, and fixing the climate crisis here in Queens. I'm excited to support Juan for Assembly because I know he will be a strong champion for progress in Albany."
The 37th State Assembly district includes the diverse neighborhoods of Long Island City, Maspeth, Ridgewood, Sunnyside and Woodside.
Ardila's campaign also has the support of the Working Families Party, DC37, New York Immigration Action, Make the Road Action, Open New York, Community Voices Heard (CVH), Churches United For Fair Housing Action (CUFFH) and local Democratic leaders including Emilia Decaudin, Jesse Laymon, and Derek Evers.
"I'm honored to have the support of a dedicated public servant like Borough President Richards. He works hard every day to help educate our kids, keep our community safe, and he has a plan for addressing climate change," Ardila said. "It is wonderful to have the backing of the people who understand the needs of our community and the challenges we face."
Ardila announced the launch of his campaign earlier this year, as the Maspeth native is looking to garner enough votes in a crowded field of candidates including Johanna Carmona, Jim Magee and Brent O'Leary. Last year, Ardila fell in a tight race against City Council member Robert Holden in the 30th Council District, garnering 45 percent of the vote.
The Democratic primary for the open seat will be held on Tuesday, June 28th.


text:
BahnComfort war ein zum 15. Dezember 2002 eingeführte Bonussystem der Deutschen Bahn. Dieses dient der Verstärkung der Kundenbindung durch das Einräumen zusätzlicher Serviceleistungen und Rabatte für Vielfahrer. Das System wird von der Firma Loyalty Partner zum Zwecke der Kundendatenauswertung und Kundenbindung betrieben. BahnComfort ist Bestandteil des BahnBonus-Programms. Bis zum 31. März 2011 wurde das Vielfahrerprogramm als bahn.comfort bezeichnet. Zwischen 2011 und vor 2020 wurde es als bahn.bonus comfort vermarktet. Danach wieder unter der ursprünglichen Bezeichnung BahnComfort.

Am 5. April 2022 gab die Deutsche Bahn bekannt, dass BahnComfort ab dem 13. Juni 2022 in BahnBonus aufgehen soll mit drei Status-Stufen 1.500, 2.500 und 6.000 Statuspunkten. Das Sammeln und Nutzen der Statuspunkte wird damit auch mit abgelaufenen BahnCard oder BahnBonus Card möglich sein.

Geschichte
Mitte Februar 2002 wurden Pläne der Deutschen Bahn zur Einführung eines Vielfahrerstatus bekannt.

Ab 15. April 2002 konnten Inhaber einer BahnCard bahn.comfort-Punkte sammeln. In der Anlaufphase bis 15. Dezember 2002 waren binnen sechs Monaten 1.000 Punkte notwendig, um sich für den Status zu qualifizieren, der zum Fahrplanwechsel am 15. Dezember 2002 eingeführt wurde. Inhaber einer Persönlichen NetzCard sowie eines persönlichen DPT-Stammkunden-Abonnements mit mindestens 2.000 Euro Fahrkartenwert waren automatisch für bahn.comfort qualifiziert. Die Einführung des bahn.comfort-Status war ein Teil des am 15. Dezember 2002 gestarteten neuen Preissystems.

Bis Ende 2002 hatten sich über 100.000 Kunden qualifiziert. Ende 2006 lag die Zahl der bahn.comfort-Kunden bei rund 160.000, Ende 2007 bei 200.000, Mitte 2013 bei 160.000.

Anfang 2011 gab Loyalty Partner bekannt, das Customer-Relationship-Management von bahn.comfort für weitere sechs Jahre zu betreiben. Zum 1. April 2011 fand eine Repositionierung von bahn.bonus statt, um den Programmaufbau (Punkte, Prämien, Status) zu verdeutlichen. In diesem Zusammenhang erfolgte eine Umbenennung von bahn.comfort in bahn.bonus comfort.

Mitte 2013 hatten nach Bahnangaben rund 160.000 Menschen Vielfahrerstatus.

Mitgliedschaft

Alle Inhaber einer BahnCard, BonusCard Business und Comfort-Karte (zum DB Job-Ticket) können an BahnBonus teilnehmen. Sie können beim Kauf von Fahrscheinen freiwillig Prämienpunkte (für die Einlösung in Prämien) und Statuspunkte (für den BahnComfort-Status) sammeln. Jeder angefangene Euro Umsatz (Mindestumsatz: fünf Euro) entspricht je einem Prämien- und Statuspunkt. Sitzplatzreservierungen und reine Nahverkehrsangebote innerhalb von Verkehrsverbünden sind hingegen nicht sammelfähig. Gruppenreisetickets (mehr als fünf Personen auf einer Fahrkarte) sind zwar für Prämienpunkte sammelfähig, jedoch nicht für Statuspunkte. Statuspunkte sind 365 Tage ab Gutschrift gültig.

Fahrkarten, mit deren Kauf Prämien- und Statuspunkte gesammelt wurden, tragen seit 2010 den Schriftzug bahn.bonus (zuvor bahn.comfort).

Mit der Einführung der kostenlosen BahnBonus Card wurde auch Kunden ohne gültige BahnCard das Sammeln von Punkten für BahnComfort ermöglicht. Um die Zusatzleistungen bei einem Punktestand von mindestens 2000 in Anspruch nehmen zu können, bedarf es dann jedoch einer gültigen BahnCard.

Sind innerhalb von 12 Monaten 2.000 Statuspunkte erreicht, wird eine neue BahnCard mit BahnComfort-Status ausgestellt. Diese ist silbergrau (BahnCard 100: schwarz) unterlegt und trägt den Zusatz BahnComfort. Sie ersetzt die bisherige BahnCard und berechtigt zur Nutzung der BahnComfort-Leistungen. Rabattstufe und Gültigkeitszeitraum entsprechen der vorherigen Karte.

Nach Ende der Gültigkeit dieser Karte wird die Folgekarte (soweit bestellt) nur dann mit BahnComfort-Status ausgestellt, wenn der Statuspunktestand zu Beginn der Laufzeit wenigstens 2.000 Punkte beträgt. (Bis zum 12. Dezember 2010 war die Folgekarte der ersten BahnComfort-Karte nach Erreichen des Status automatisch wieder eine BahnComfort-Karte.)

Inhaber einer BahnCard 100 sowie Inhaber einer persönlichen Jahreskarte oder eines DB Job-Tickets im Wert von mindestens 2.000 Euro haben automatisch den BahnComfort-Status.

Leistungen
Teilnehmer können folgende Leistungen nutzen:

 Lounges
 BahnComfort-Teilnehmer und je eine Begleitperson haben – auch ohne Fahrschein – kostenlosen Zugang zu den DB Lounge genannten Warteräumen der DB, die es in 15 großen Bahnhöfen gibt. Für den speziellen Erste-Klasse-Bereich ist eine tagesaktuelle Fahrkarte zum Flexpreis der ersten Klasse vorzuweisen; Begleitpersonen sind nicht zugelassen. Darüber hinaus haben BahnComfort-Teilnehmer mit internationalem Ticket freien Eintritt zu den Lounges der Railteam-Partner Belgien, Frankreich, Großbritannien, den Niederlanden, Österreich und der Schweiz.
 BahnComfort-Service
 Dieser von DB Dialog betriebene Kundendienst mit ca. 70 Mitarbeitern steht nur BahnComfort-Teilnehmern zur Verfügung (Stand: Juli 2005). Das so genannte "Servicetelefon für Comfort-Kunden" ist täglich von 6 bis 23 Uhr unter der auf der Rückseite der BahnCard mit Comfort-Status genannten Nummer erreichbar.
 Sitzplatzvorteile
Teilnehmer können spezielle Sitzplatz- und Reservierungskontingente in Fernzügen nutzen. Im Sitzplatzbereich für Comfort-Kunden sollen Fahrgäste, die selber nicht BahnComfort-Kunden sind, ihren Platz für Teilnehmer freigeben; einen Anspruch auf diese Plätze sehen die Beförderungsbedingungen zwar nicht vor, über das Hausrecht kann das Zugbegleitpersonal BahnComfort-Teilnehmern jedoch Sitzplätze zuweisen.

 Parkplätze für Comfort-Kunden
 An 14 Bahnhöfen stehen für Teilnehmer spezielle Parkplätze zur Verfügung. Diese müssen spätestens bis 20 Uhr des Vortags über das Servicetelefon für Comfort-Kunden gebucht werden. In einigen Bahnhofs-Parkhäusern gibt es Preisnachlässe für BahnComfort-Kunden.
 Comfort-Partner
 Teilnehmer erhalten besondere Services und Sonderkonditionen bei Partnern aus dem Hotel- und Mietwagenbereich oder beim Bahnshop.
 Comfort-Portal
 Teilnehmern steht auf den personalisierten Internetseiten der Bahn (Meine Bahn) ein geschlossener Bereich mit Informationen zu den Statusleistungen sowie zusätzlichen Angeboten zur Verfügung, dieses beschränkt sich mittlerweile auf lediglich eine einzelne Kooperation mit einem Hotelunternehmen.

Siehe auch
 Vielfliegerprogramm

Weblinks
BahnComfort: Der Status für Vielfahrer Website der Deutschen Bahn

Einzelnachweise

Deutsche Bahn AG
Kundenbindungsprogramm


Manages a Route within a Route Table.
name - (Required) The name of the route. Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
resource_group_name - (Required) The name of the resource group in which to create the route. Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
route_table_name - (Required) The name of the route table within which create the route. Changing this forces a new resource to be created.
id - The Route ID.
Routes can be imported using the resource id, e.g.