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Electronic signature technology (e-signature) has been around for a number of years. In fact, during a recent panel discussion that I moderated at the FSI Conference, the panelists, including Tom Embrogno of Docupace Technologies, Marshall Levin of Beacon Strategies and Robert Powell of Laser App, agreed that e-signatures are not necessarily cutting edge anymore. Given that this technology has been with us for a while, it is interesting that the advisor community has been slow to adopt it. There are a number of good reasons why e-signatures have not become a standard practice, and we shouldn't expect e-signature technology to take over the advisor community yet. However, there are many opportunities for advisors to benefit from it and ultimately be more efficient.
There are several e-signature solutions available, like DocuSign, EchoSign and Right Signature. You can work with these providers directly or utilize the relationship they may have with your custodian or broker-dealer. First, you need to consider the process that will work best with your clients. Are they comfortable with technology? How much hand-holding do you do to help a client complete forms and applications? E-signatures can help improve this process and overall experience, but it can also make it worse. There may be a certain client type that is right for using this technology, and there are certain situations that are suited for utilizing e-signatures.
As you review e-signature solutions, consider your firm's current adoption of paperless systems. Do you currently scan and electronically store all of your documents? In order to embrace e-signatures, you need to be proficient in imaging and data capture technology. An electronically signed document will not yield the same efficiency gains if you ultimately print it out and store it.
If you plan to utilize e-signature capabilities, it is important that the client can sign all forms using an e-signature. Otherwise, it is a broken process where the client signs one form a certain way and another form a very different way. This doesn't make much sense and can often lead to confusion on behalf of the client. The new account process is generally the first "paperwork" experience as a prospect is converted to a new client, so advisors want to control all aspects of this experience to ensure it goes smoothly. This is why you should select an e-signature provider that has a presentation and capture process that will meld smoothly with your practices and the forms you use regularly.
The type of accounts that you normally open and work with can also impact how you utilize e-signatures. Generally speaking, the most common types of e-signature technology involve your clients selecting a ready-made signature (created by the system) or actually signing the document electronically using their mouse or their finger on a touchpad, tablet or mobile device. For certain types of accounts, it may be necessary to obtain a client's actual signature. For example, it may be important for your custodian or your client's bank to know what your client's signature looks like if he or she plans to use check-writing features or bank wires. It would be very challenging for your custodian to verify if a check was signed by your client and not forged if there is no signature on file. Most importantly, you don't want to go through the process of adopting e-signature technology, but then inadvertently limit the account solutions available because of the type of e-signature utilized.
One of the interesting challenges for advisors in utilizing e-signature technology is understanding when it is best to use it. Some client engagements are well-suited for e-signature technology and others might add complexity that compromises the expected benefits.


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As of November 1, 2017, WPX Hosting NO LONGER offers pro-rata refunds AFTER the first 30-day full money back guarantee period.
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WPX Hosting automatically sends email notifications of rebilling charges.

subset: commoncrawl


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That Texas would rank highest among states friendly to small business, and California among the least is hardly surprising. But did you know that small businesses owned by politically conservative entrepreneurs were 17% healthier than those owned by liberals?
A unique new survey by Thumbtack.com and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation ranks the states and cities on their business-friendly environment, producing mostly familiar results, but turning up many nuggets of small-business sentiment you don't find in other surveys.
Frequent surveys of business friendliness and hostility usually rejigger the same Hall of Shame members, but base their rankings on macroeconomic data such as taxation levels, like the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council's recent report, which found the District of Columbia, Minnesota and New Jersey among the worst places for small businesses and Texas and Nevada among the best. That report looked at the impact of each tax system on entrepreneurship and small business. best
But the survey conducted by Thumbtack, a site that helps consumers get bids from local handymen, yoga instructors and even financial advisors, provides data based on a survey of the entrepreneurs themselves. The survey, based on responses from 6,000 of the 275,000 small businesses and freelancers listing their services on Thumbtack, offered a more granular idea of why small businesses love Dallas and hate Los Angeles. Best of all, the interactive web survey provides not just the data but the (anonymous) voices of survey respondents themselves.
For all the emphasis placed on taxation, the Thumbtack survey found that small businesses care almost twice as much about licensing regulations as tax rates. A fitness instructor in Los Angeles laments that "worker's compensation, liability insurance, taxes, and permits for everything have made it extremely difficult for businesses to stay afloat in California!" A Los Angeles-based event caterer complains that "the state taxes LLCs in CA an $800 tax every year, no matter what."
More than one photographer in the City of Angels complains about the complexity of multiple location permitting fees, but a number of small-business owners praise the abundance of customers in the crowded Southern California metropolis.
But click on Dallas, which merited an A+ compared with L.A.'s F, and the comments are nearly universally positive.
An audio and video technician says that "because Texas is a right-to-work state and does not have strong unions, just about anyone can start a business even with very few funds." And a Dallas-based test instructor says "Texas is very supportive of business because the start-up cost is minimal (no business licenses required, etc.)." Overall, the survey seems to suggest that eliminating barriers to entry (licensing and start-up costs) may be more important than how much the state or city skims off the entrepreneur once he has earned revenue.
Another surprising finding of the Thumbtack survey concerns state and local government training programs for small businesses. The survey found that awareness of the existence of such programs correlated with a perception of business friendliness, boosting scores 10% over locales where awareness was lacking.
However, respondents actually attending the training rated their states less than one percent higher than those who knew of but did not participate in the training. The survey's authors speculate that the finding indicates there may be room for improvement in the training—a subject they say needs further study.
The survey found a surprising political cast to the economic health of small businesses. Political conservatives had a 17% edge over liberals in running businesses whose current conditions, past 12 months' revenue and future revenue forecasts were positive. Less surprising was that political conservatives in a liberal state like California were 30% less likely than liberals to view their state's policies as supportive of small business.
The Thumbtack survey gave top honors to Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Utah and Louisiana, and found Rhode Island, Vermont, California, New York and Michigan to be the five worst states for small businesses.
Texas dominated the five top-rated cities, in which Oklahoma City took top honors, followed by Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Atlanta. California meanwhile was home to the three cities most hostile to business—Sacramento, San Diego and Los Angeles, with Tucson, Ariz., and Detroit rounding out the bottom five. The South was the region most friendly to business; New England was the least friendly.
Check out:
10 Worst Tax States for Small Business and compare to:


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House passes controversial farm bill without food stamps
WASHINGTON -- The Republican-controlled House of Representatives defied a White House veto threat and passed a controversial farm bill on Thursday that expands the taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance system but omitted food stamps for the poor.
Lawmakers passed the 608-page bill, unveiled by Republican leaders late on Wednesday, on a 216-208, party-line vote after two hours of debate in which no amendments were allowed. Twelve Republicans opposed the bill; no Democrat voted for it.
Republican leaders said food stamps, traditionally part of the farm bill, would be handled later and that, for now, they needed a way to start negotiations with the Senate over a compromise bill.
Democrats said the real intent of the action was to isolate food stamps for large cuts in funding. There is no timetable, so far, for a separate food stamp bill.
The bill was drafted to attract the support of fiscally conservative Republicans who helped defeat an earlier version on June 20, putting the measure in limbo and embarrassing the leaders who had backed it. But most major farm organizations as well as food stamp advocates opposed the strategy.
After passage by the House, the next step would be House-Senate negotiations over a compromise bill - a possible stumbling block.
Analyst Vincent Smith of Montana State University said fundamental differences between the House and Senate could prevent agreement on a bill that both chambers would support.
"You don't have a majority for anything you can put together," Smith said.
Food stamps were the headline issue, but there are disagreements on crop supports too.
The Senate proposed $4 billion in food stamp reforms while House Republicans were asking for at least $20 billion in cuts, the largest in a generation.
Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat, said the House legislation "is not a real farm bill" but she would negotiate for a compromise. The Senate farm bill, which includes food stamps, saves $24 billion, compared with $13 billion in the House bill.
Frank Lucas, the House Agriculture Committee chairman, who pledged he would try to write a food stamp bill, said the vote on Thursday would put the farm bill back on track. "Give us a chance. Let the place work," said Lucas.
Senate Agriculture chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat, said the House bill "is not a real farm bill" but she would negotiate with the House for a compromise bill. The Senate farm bill, which includes food stamps, saves $24 billion.
House Speaker John Boehner declined to say if leaders would allow a vote on a farm bill with larger food stamp spending than his party liked. "We'll get to that later," he told reporters.
Food stamps would remain in operation even if left out of the farm bill because the program is permanently authorized. But Bob Greenstein of the think tank Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said the House action showed the program was in danger of more spending cuts.
Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern said he believed conservatives were promised a chance to strive for deeper cuts to food stamps in upcoming legislation. The defeated earlier version of the farm bill would have ended benefits for 2 million people, or about 4 percent of recipients.
"A vote for this bill is a vote to end nutrition programs in America," said Rose DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said: "You are taking food out of the mouths of your own poor constituents. What are you thinking?"
At latest count, 47.6 million people, or nearly one in seven Americans, received food stamps at an average of $132 a month, equal to $4.25 a day.
"Splitting the farm bill will hurt hungry and poor people," said David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, a charitable organization devoted to ending hunger.
Enrollment has doubled since 2004 and the cost of the program, $74 billion last year, has tripled. Fiscally conservative lawmakers say the price tag is unbearable when the federal deficit must be reduced. Defenders say high enrollment reflects continued high jobless rates and slow economic growth.
In a statement late on Wednesday, the White House threatened to veto the House bill because it "does not contain sufficient commodity and crop insurance reforms" and omitted food stamps, formally named the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
"The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is a cornerstone of our Nation's food assistance safety net, and should not be left behind as the rest of the Farm Bill advances," said the White House.
The House bill creates new programs to shield growers from downturns in crop revenue and expands the subsidized crop insurance program by 10 percent, or $9 billion over 10 years.
There was no expiration date on its crop supports so they could remain in effect for years to come.
The American Soybean Association said other important parts of the farm bill, such as soil conservation and farm export promotion, might be allowed to expire in five years because there would be no impetus to write a new comprehensive farm law.
The bill also includes a provision to delay implementation of a 2011 law that broadens food safety rules until the government carries out a study of the cost of compliance.


text: Brooks & Dunn are riding high with the release of their new album, Reboot, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. The album moved 31,000 equivalent units in its first week, according to Nielsen Music. Reboot is Brooks & Dunn's seventh No. 1 album—their first since 2009's #1s…And Then Some. Reboot…… MORE


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Gisele Bündchen is expecting and "ecstatic" PEOPLE reports. The Brazilian supermodel is expecting her first child early next year. Gisele is pictured above on Saturday (June 13) sporting a mini baby bump.
Rumors have been swirling for weeks that 28-year-old Bündchen and 31-year-old New England Patriots quarterback husband Tom brady are expecting their first child together. The couple were married twice this Spring – first in a ceremony in Los Angeles in February, then exchanging vows before friends in early April at Bündchen's Costa Rica home.
This will be the first biological child for Gisele. The Brazilian beauty caused quite the controversy earlier this year when she referred to Tom's son Jack, who turns 2 in August, as her own son. "I understand that he has a mom [Bridget Moynahan], and I respect that, but to me it's not like because somebody else delivered him, that's not my child. I feel it is, 100 percent. I want him to have a great relationship with his mom, because that's important, but I love him the same way as if he were mine. I already feel like he's my son, from the first day."
Congratulations to the Bündchen-Brady family!


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WASHINGTON - Doctors treating U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for a blood clot in her head said blood thinners were being used to dissolve the clot and they were confident she will make a full recovery.
Clinton didn't suffer a stroke or neurological damage from the clot that formed after she had a concussion during a fainting spell at her home in early December, doctors said in a statement Monday.
Clinton, 65, was admitted to a New York City hospital on Sunday when the clot was found on a follow-up exam on the concussion, Clinton spokesman Phillipe Reines said.
The popular secretary of state and former first lady had already planned to step down at the beginning of President Barack Obama's second term, which begins this month. Whether she will return to work before she resigns remained a question.
The clot is located in the vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear. She will be released once the medication dose for the blood thinners has been established, the doctors said.
In their statement, Dr. Lisa Bardack of the Mount Kisco Medical Group and Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi of George Washington University said Clinton was making excellent progress and was in good spirits.
Clinton's complication "certainly isn't the most common thing to happen after a concussion" and is one of the few types of blood clots in the skull or head that are treated with blood thinners, said Dr. Larry Goldstein, a neurologist who is director of Duke University's stroke centre. He is not involved in Clinton's care.
The area where Clinton's clot developed is "a drainage channel, the equivalent of a big vein inside the skull. It's how the blood gets back to the heart," Goldstein said.
Blood thinners usually are enough to treat the clot, and it should have no long-term consequences if her doctors are saying she has suffered no neurological damage from it, Goldstein said.
Clinton returned to the U.S. from a trip to Europe, then fell ill with a stomach virus in early December that left her severely dehydrated and forced her to cancel a trip to North Africa and the Middle East. Until then, she had cancelled only two scheduled overseas trips, one to Europe after breaking her elbow in June 2009 and one to Asia after the February 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Her condition worsened when she fainted, fell and suffered a concussion while at home alone in mid-December as she recovered from the virus. It was announced Dec. 13.
This isn't the first time Clinton has suffered a blood clot. In 1998, midway through her husband's second term as president, Clinton was in New York fundraising for the midterm elections when a swollen right foot led her doctor to diagnose a clot in her knee requiring immediate treatment.
Clinton's three-week absence from the State Department has raised eyebrows among some conservative commentators who questioned the seriousness of her ailment after she cancelled planned Dec. 20 testimony before Congress on the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Clinton had been due to discuss with lawmakers a scathing report she had commissioned on the attack. It found serious failures of leadership and management in two State Department bureaus were to blame for insufficient security at the facility. Clinton took responsibility for the incident before the report was released, but she was not blamed.
Looking to the future, Clinton supporters have been privately, if not publicly, speculating how her illness might affect a decision about running for president in 2016, when Obama's two terms are up.
Americans admire Clinton more than any other woman in the world, according to a Gallup poll released Monday — the 17th time in 20 years that Clinton has claimed that title. And a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 57 per cent of Americans would support Clinton as a candidate for president in 2016, with just 37 per cent opposed. Websites have already cropped up hawking "Clinton 2016" mugs and tote bags.
After decades in politics, Clinton has said she plans to spend the next year resting. She has long insisted she had no intention of mounting a second campaign for the White House after running in 2008. But the door is not entirely closed, and she would almost certainly emerge as the Democrat to beat if she decided to run again.
Her age — and her health — would probably be a factor under consideration, given that Clinton would be 69 when sworn in, if she were elected in 2016.
Publicly, Democrats reject the notion that a blood clot could hinder her political prospects.
"Some of those concerns could be borderline sexist," said Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist who worked for Clinton when she was a senator. "Dick Cheney had significant heart problems when he was vice-president, and people joked about it. He took the time he needed to get better, and it wasn't a problem."
It isn't uncommon for presidential candidates' health — and age — to be an issue. Both in 2000 and 2008, Republican Sen. John McCain had to rebut concerns he was too old to be commander in chief or that his skin cancer could resurface.
Two decades after Clinton became the first lady, signs of her popularity — and her political strength — are ubiquitous.
Even Republicans concede that Clinton would be a force to be reckoned with.
"The Republican Party today is incapable of competing at that level," Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker and 2012 GOP presidential candidate, said in December.
Associated Press writer Josh Lederman, Matthew Lee and Ken Thomas in Washington and AP Chief Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee contributed to this report.


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Menopause Mondays Live Event Mixes Up the Perfect "Cocktail": One Part Women's Health and Wellness and One Part "Girls Night Out!"
On Monday, June 3, the sisterhood headed to Burlap Del Mar for Menopause Mondays Live; brought to you by Ellen Dolgen, author of the informative and humorous, Shmirshky: the pursuit of hormone happiness and home of Menopause Mondays. Don't worry if you missed out on the fun cocktail party and the Blow Me Cool fans as well as a special gift from the sisters of skin-saving VENeffect, as there will be another event in August! Stay tuned here for the details.
Menopause Mondays Live is a complimentary event. RSVP is required. For more information about Menopause Mondays Live Events or Ellen Dolgen, visit www.ellendolgen.com.
Photography by: Mike Newton
Photography by:


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Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Lovable Labels (Black Friday - Cyber Monday)
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Special delivery! Mail carriers be warned, there may be a stampede for the mailbox when The Happy Trunk packages are delivered!
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Story highlights
- Bayern Munich return to action after winter break with 2-0 win over Greuther Furth
- Bayern announced former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola will take over in summer
- Second-place Leverkusen beat Frankfurt 3-1; Borussia Dortmund thrash Bremen 5-0
Bayern Munich resumed their quest for a 23rd league title on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Greuther Furth at the Allianz Arena as the Bundesliga returned to action after it's annual winter break.
Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic scored twice -- one in each half -- to earn Bayern all three points to keep Jupp Heynckes' side nine points clear at the top and Greuther Furth anchored at the foot of the table.
Heynckes, who gives way to Pep Guardiola at the end of the season, was satisfied with his team's performance.
"We're pleased we won and also kept a clean sheet," Heynckes said.
"Our game was tenacious and not so fluid as we are used to, but perhaps that is a positive, as we know what we have to work on," he added.
Bayer Leverkusen remain in second place after a 3-1 win at home to fourth-placed Frankfurt.
Two goals in two minutes from Polish defender Sebastian Boenisch and striker Stefan Kiessling saw the home side take control of the match on the half-hour mark.
Andre Schuerrle made it 3-0 in the 58th minute, before Frankfurt's Alexander Meier scored a consolation goal with 12 minutes remaining.
Defending champions Borussia Dortmund thumped Werder Bremen 5-0 to stay in third place while seventh-placed Mainz and sixth-placed Freiburg played out a goalless draw.
The game between Hoffenheim and Moenchengladbach also ended goalless -- a result which keeps Hoffenheim third from bottom and still seven points from safety. Moenchengladbach remain eighth.
Sunday's fixtures see Nuremberg take on Hamburg, while Duesseldorf host Augbsurg.


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Sure, selling $2.4 million in development kits through a successful Kickstarter campaign is a good way to get started, but Oculus needs more funding than that to get its revolutionary virtual reality headset into shape for consumers. Today the company announced that it has been able to secure $16 million in Series A venture funding led by Spark Capital and Matrix Partners.
In a note on the Matrix Partners blog, funding lead Antonio Rodriguez said it was "inspiring and motivating to see how well the gaming community is reacting to the first dev kit" and said his first experience with the headset led to a "sense of wonder about just how much of science fiction is possible today." Rodriguez added that Oculus' use of low-cost cell phone components and exploitation of PC GPU power could lead to "hardware that can be sourced (and sold) by the millions."
In a follow-up interview with PandoDaily, Rodriguez said the nausea many players experience when using the Rift would diminish as the hardware gets upgraded to higher resolution screens. Indeed, the hi-res prototype Rift we tried at E3 was one of the biggest surprises of the show and seems to remedy the biggest problem with the initial developer units.
Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey, for his part, sees the $16 million investment as another step toward making VR "as widely used as Facebook or Twitter, and the societal implications will be far greater!"
It's a pretty bold vision, and we can't wait to see the Oculus team try to pull it off.


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Ask a Physicist Answers
Assume two photons are moving in opposite directions from each other from a common light source. How fast would they be traveling relative to each other? Twice the speed of light? If the speed of light is the ultimate speed limit in the universe, how can something travel twice that speed?
A mosaic image of the M31 galaxy in ultraviolet light.
Image Credit: NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler (GSFC) and Erin Grand (UMCP)
Suppose two particles are moving away from each other in opposite directions, with the same speed, along some line. Let one of them have velocity v1=v, and the other velocity v2=-v.
Then the "usual" way to calculate their relative velocity is simply vrelative = v1 - v2 = 2v. This relative velocity will be greater than the speed of light, c, whenever v is greater than c/2.
But the theory of relativity does more than merely assert by fact that nothing goes faster than light. It sets up a framework in which that is a consistent requirement. One ingredient of that framework is a new formula for how to determine relative velocities. The "usual" formula is no longer the right one.
I'm not going to derive the right formula (you can find derivations elsewhere), but I'm going to tell you what it is. Replace the recipe above for v(relative) with:
vrelative = [v1 - v2]/[1 - (v1*v2/c2)] = 2v/[1 + v2/c2].
Here c2 means "c squared" — c multiplied by itself; it's the same thing that appears in Einstein's famous formula: E = mc2.
For everyday velocities (cars, baseballs, airplanes, bullets, etc.) both v1 and v2 are much less than c, so the additional expression in the denominator of this new equation is very close to 1. Consequently, the "usual" formula works as a very accurate approximation. But for velocities close to the speed of light, the formula given by relativity can vary significantly from the usual one.
Let's apply this formula to the case in your question, when v itself is equal to the speed of light c. In that case,
vrelative =2c/[1 + 1] = 2c/2 = c.
So the photons are not moving away from each other at twice the speed of light. Instead, their relative velocity is still just c.
Answered by:
Alan Chodos, PhD
Associate Executive Officer
American Physical Society
Submitted by:
Skip from New Mexico


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I've been doing SO WELL playing it cool. Until now. All of a sudden that restlessness I grew so familiar with while waiting for Jonas has overtaken me once again. The inescapable feeling of desperation to bring A* home has overwhelmed me today.
I think it has something to do with visiting with a friend of mine today and talking about A*s health issues. It's making me sick to be so far away, so helpless to help him.
If we pass May 27th I have pictures and video to show you. Seriously, I can't wait for you to see him!


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Buying a new camera is like deciding on a single chocolate when you have a bag full of one from every brand. Just like cocoa, sugar, taste, almonds spoil you for choice, so does ISO, shutter speed, aperture, lenses, megapixels and other camera jargon. Snapsort helps you sort your snapping equipment. It helps you compare different models and gives recommendations on what camera you should buy.
Snapsort is build in such a way, that it functions as a rating site as well as a guide. Every camera is given a score, depending on what camera you compare it with. You can browse cameras by type (say, point and shoots, DSLRs, ultra zooms etc.), features, brands and various other parameters. Based on scores, there are also lists of popular brands, top digicams, top super zooms, top entry-level DSLRs and so on. Another great feature provided by Snapsort is Just tell me!where you enter a price, say like $300 on a point and shoot, and it lists out cameras under that range, neatly categorized into different utilities, like Best compact for under $300and Best travel under $300
Snapsort is certainly a site you should keep in mind if you're on the hunt for a new camera, a new camera that you're gonna like.


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CORRECTS HOSSA FROM SLOVAKIA, NOT RUSSIA - Chicago Blackhawks' Marian Hossa (81) of Slovakia, falls down after taking a hit from Phoenix Coyotes' Raffi Torres (37) during the first period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Chicago, Tuesday, April 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
CHICAGO (AP) — The NHL suspended Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres indefinitely on Wednesday for knocking Chicago's Marian Hossa out of the game — and maybe the playoffs — with a shoulder blow to the head.
Hossa won't play in Game 4 on Thursday with the Coyotes leading the series 2-1. He was at home resting, exchanging texts with his Blackhawks teammates less than 24 hours after he was carried off the ice on a stretcher and taken to a hospital.
The hard knock by Torres was the latest in a first round that has been dominated by brawls and violent hits. The NHL scheduled a Friday hearing in New York for a player who has a reputation for big — and some say dirty — hits.
Depending on the locker room, the severity of the blow — one year after Torres did the same thing to Chicago's Brent Seabrook while playing for Vancouver — differed and took the spotlight from a competitive first-round matchup that has seen all three games go to overtime.
"I've seen a lot of other hits like it in the league. It's a fast game," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said Wednesday. "The thing about TV is you can slow it down and you can click and click and click it. When you're out there on the ice, it's not slowed down and click, click, click. It's a fast game.'
"I don't think there was any malicious intent on Raffi's part," he added. "He's a hard hitter. That's the way he plays the game. He turned, coming full speed, caught a guy right in the chest. Unfortunately, the player was injured."
Torres' skates were off the ice as he hit Hossa and sent Chicago's regular-season points leader crashing to the ice in the first period. Hossa had just passed the puck when he was hit.
"There's only been one dirty hit in our series and you saw the same thing from that guy last year in the same series," Chicago's Patrick Sharp said. "You know it's coming. You try to warn your linemates and be aware when he's on the ice. He's got a history of targeting guys' heads and having questionable hits. It makes it that much more frustrating to see it happen, but we got to rally behind Hoss."
Chicago coach Joel Quenneville reiterated that the hit on Hossa was "brutal." He said there was little change in Hossa's condition without being specific, but said he was definitely out for Thursday's game.
Asked if Hossa's injury was long-term, Quenneville said: "We'll see."
Hossa went to a hospital for tests Tuesday night before he was taken home. A team doctor said a full recovery is expected but there is no timetable.
Torres, who wasn't available Wednesday, spoke after the game and said: "I felt like it was a hockey play. I was just trying to finish my hit out there."
The Blackhawks weren't buying it.
"In the history of the game, hitting is used to dislodge a player from the puck, not the intent to injure when you don't have the puck because you aren't aware. To me, that wasn't a hockey play," Blackhawks forward Andrew Brunette said. "When you don't have the puck, there shouldn't be that kind of contact."
The Coyotes were unhappy when Chicago rookie Andrew Shaw collided with goalie Mike Smith behind the net in Game 2 and knocked him to the ice. Smith was able to stay in the game and Shaw got a game misconduct. On Tuesday, he was suspended for three games.
Torres was not penalized for his hit on Hossa right in front of the benches. Quenneville said after the game that the refereeing was "a disgrace."
Quenneville said the Blackhawks were still angry Wednesday and hoped to channel that into a better performance Thursday. They've taken the first lead in all three games and were up 1-0 midway through the final period Tuesday night before a 65-second span of 4-on-4 led to three goals — two by Phoenix.
Coyotes veteran Ray Whitney said he understood how the Blackhawks felt.
"We would probably be equally upset if our guy was knocked out of the game like that. That's unfortunate that he got injured. We certainly don't want to see that," Whitney said. "I can understand their frustration, as they can probably understand ours when our most valuable player (Smith) gets hit in the jaw. ...You don't want to see anybody in our league get injured. I can understand the frustration, and I can understand the league's going to handle it the way they have to handle it."
According to the league, the hearing was planned for Wednesday but moved to Friday at the request of Torres and the players' union.
"It's out of our hands," Tippett said. "Now it's in their hands. We'll deal with it as further stuff comes down from them."


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W.K. Kellogg Foundation diversity, equity, and inclusion implementation grant recipients awarded Summer and Fall 2014
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Implementation Grant request for proposal elicited ten submissions in July 2014. Five grants were awarded in the amount of $72,982. A second call for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Implementation Proposals were issued, yielding five additional submissions. Four grants were awarded for in the amount of $57,736. In total, nine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Implementation Grants were funded in the amount of $130,718.
View the video from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Racial Healing Grant Symposium at WMU on March 20, 2015.
Promoting Inclusion for International Graduate Students: Addressing Perceived Needs Related to Faculty Teaching and Advising: $14,936
The purpose of this project is to examine the perceived needs of current faculty within the Department of Educational Leadership, Research and Technology (ELRT) regarding the teaching and advising of international graduate students enrolled in department programs. Currently, ELRT enrolls the greatest number of international graduate students in the College, totaling 110 of these students as of Fall 2014. This project also seeks to design and implement a number of practical workshops highlighting best practices for working with this population based on feedback from assessment data collected. These workshops will be both face-to-face and online, developed in collaboration with WMU's Center for English Language and Culture for International Students (CELCIS) office, and will be available both to ELRT and the larger campus community.
Leadership team members: Eric Archer, Ila Baker, Jennifer Deranek, Thomas Marks
Advocacy for the Reinstitution of the Africana Studies Program: $15,000
The purpose of this grant application is to implement a systemic transformational change towards diversity, equity, and inclusion by advocating, mobilizing, and campaigning for the reinstitution of the former Africana Studies Program at WMU. This grant seeks to include the voices of students in the dialogue about diversity, inclusion, and equity at WMU, especially when it comes to the implementation of multicultural curricula that speak to diverse students' experiences. The rationale for this grant project comes from the realization that the voices of WMU students on the diversity or lack thereof of the curricula that they are being taught at this institution were not a focus of the Climate Survey and so is missing from it. Therefore, this grant project aims to give students a voice on the issue of the suspension[1] of the Africana Studies Program.
Leadership team members: Mimi Abdul, Mariam Konaté, and Fredah Mainah
[1] Since the Fall of 2011, the Africana Studies Program has been "under review." Students are no longer being enrolled in the program and only one introduction course is being currently taught.
Promoting Change in Attitudes: Inclusion, Access and Welcome for Students with Disabilities Project: $15,000
The purpose of the project is to develop and implement programs based on the outcomes of surveys directed to better understand research question 1 of the 2013 Campus Climate Survey: "To what extent and in what ways do faculty, staff and students perceive that diversity on campus is recognized, honored, and appreciated?" in the context of disability. Through this examination, Disability Services for Students will garner meaningful and detailed views of disability among the university community in terms of awareness, attitudes, availability, and access to services. Programs will include disability awareness, inclusion, and equity and may be presented as training, speaker forums, and/or interactive exhibits. The impact of programs on systemic transformational change will be assessed in part through the re-administration of a disability-focused climate survey.
Leadership team members: Dorothy H. Fancher, Jayne Fraley-Burgett, HESA practicum student
Sindecuse Health Center: $15,000
First, the committee would like to seek changes to the physical environment, as indicated by initial impressions and future assessment results. It has been found to be rather difficult to access parts of the building for those with physical disabilities. The second area of focus is with regard to leadership and professional development. All new and current employees must go through an orientation program with training repeated annually yet none of these training promotes diversity issues as a necessary component of being a competent professional. Areas to explore include training that have proven successful or the development of our own healthcare-related training program endorsing cultural competence as a required source of skill and knowledge for all employees. Thirdly, a focus can be given to the equity and access to care for campus community members. Our hypothesis is that improvements in the above areas will lead to improvements in equity and access regarding health care services provided.
Leadership team members: Will Arbogast, Geniene Gersh, Kris Hanson, Sue Kohlert, Lisa Marshall, Jim Middleton, Cari Robertson, Milke Shelden, Chris van Balen
Behavior Analysis in Urban Education: A project-based approach to minority student recruitment and retention: $ 12,800
The purpose of the project is to create a critical mass of talented undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in applications of behavior analysis to low-income students in minority communities. The project proposes to accomplish this by recruiting a diverse group of psychology majors who are interested in applying behavior analysis to children from low-income communities, and by using retention efforts to support psychology majors who are interested in working in urban communities. The specific objectives of this program are to 1) develop an engaging course in behavior analysis that teaches undergraduate students to apply behavior analysis in low-income, minority communities; 2) establish community partnerships with schools where students can conduct service-learning projects with students from low socioeconomic backgrounds; 3) recruit diverse students interested in working with underserved populations from external undergraduate programs in psychology and education; 4) increase student interest in working with low-income, minority populations through a communication campaign; 5) develop a Behavior Analysis in Urban Education (BAUE) student interest group to support student research; and 6) increase the academic outcomes of recruited students during their first year as psychology majors at WMU.
Leadership team members: Denise E. Ross, Stephanie Peterson, Bette Ludwig, and Tomesha Manora
School of Interdisciplinary Health Programs Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Implementation Grant: $13,900
The School of Interdisciplinary Health Programs (SIHP) as a committee of the whole plans to spend the next fiscal year 2014/2015 involved in the implementation of the school's diversity plan, which has five key components. This plan builds on the findings from the University Climate Study conducted in 2013. After obtaining results derived from the school's assessment phase, we will develop new initiatives designed specially to address the distinctive SIHP constituency with the intention to add to the previously developed and the successful programming offered out of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (e.g., Everyone Counts Series, Campus Climate Initiatives, MLK Celebration). The SIHP members are committed to aligning ourselves with common goals while fostering a climate that values diversity.
Leadership team members: Susan Caulfield, John Coons, Janet Hahn, Kathryn Lewis Ginebaugh, Doris Ravotas, Melissa Villarreal, Delores Walcott
Expansion of the Bronco Study Zone: $15,000
This project supports an expansion of the Bronco Study Zone (BSZ), which is a collaborative, grassroots effort started by the Haworth College of Business (HCoB) Advising Office, University Libraries (UL), and the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Student Success Services division as a way to help academically underprepared students negotiate the WMU academic success network. In order to succeed at WMU, these students need to take advantage of academic success assistance, but for reasons related to systemic cultural biases, many are currently floundering. Bronco Study Zone provides a location for academic assistance to a growing number of academically underprepared students. This project focuses on the improved coordination of the BSZ and expansion of content and writing tutoring, which are needed for us to validly assess the impact of the BSZ on student learning and retention of academically underprepared students.
Leadership team members: Carol Adams-Shearer, Kim Ballard, Rosie Capps, Katie Easley, Christine Robinson
Systemic Transformational Change Toward Increased Transgender-Inclusion: $14,082
This project will take a three-pronged approach to transformational change at WMU. First, the project will provide the capacity to the Student Preferred Name Initiative. Building on the work of the Student Preferred Name exploratory committee, convened under the leadership of Dr. Christopher Tremblay in March 2014, and with support from the Provost, a task force will be charged to recommend policy language and a multi-phase implementation process permitting students to use a preferred name at the university. Second, the project will support Gender Identity Academic Integration through professional development opportunities to instructors designed specifically to support transgender student classroom inclusion. A train-the-trainer module will also be developed to build future capacity and delivery of training following the close of the grant. Third, students enrolled in the Fall 2014 section of GWS 2010 – LGBT Studies (taught by Codie Stone) will have an opportunity to participate in Service-Learning projects including a transgender education campaign on campus. Service-learning projects will be identified and designed by students enrolled in the course with support from the Office of LBGT Student Services staff.
Leadership team members: Tracy Hall, Jen Hsu, Codie Stone, Shawn Tenney
English Department, Writing Center and Alpha Program Implementation Grant: $15,000
This project will include an assessment plan and related workshop-based education effort that will promote change in diversity, equity, and inclusion by broadening faculty and student awareness of post-structural, multi-media plagiarism theory and of writing pedagogy and assessment strategies that can help all students learn to understand the U.S. plagiarism construct, avoid unintentional and intentional plagiarism, and engage in their writing development. The initial step in our effort to bring about change in the WMU understanding of plagiarism and of why students plagiarize will consist of a multi-part assessment that will serve inclusion by providing data about (1) WMU student writers' plagiarism insights and practices, (2) WMU instructors' understanding of best practices in helping all students, but especially English language learners and academically underprepared students, engage with writing without plagiarizing, and (3) WMU instructors' varied practices for dealing with perceived incidents of student plagiarism, which are not currently consistent, although our university does have an established academic integrity policy and related procedure in place. This project will also bring two related educational workshops about plagiarism and writing instruction to our WMU setting. The educational efforts will be developed specifically for our campus and by a ranking scholar in the plagiarism studies field, Dr. Sandra Jamieson from Drew University, and a ranking scholar in the TESOL and writing field, Dr. Tony Silva, from Purdue University. The efforts of these scholars on our campus will include structured workshops and talks specifically designed for students and workshops and talk specifically designed for instructors/staff/administrators as well as informal discussions.
Leadership team members: Staci Perryman-Clark, Kim Ballard, and Walter Malone
W.K. Kellogg Foundation diversity, equity, and inclusion assessment grant recipients awarded June 27, 2014
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Assessment Grant request for proposal elicited nine submissions. Eight grants were awarded in the amount of $21,984. Below is a summary of the projects.
Assessing Minority and International Student Enrollment in the Lee Honors College: $1,950
The goal is to assess why the percentage of minority and international students enrolled in Lee Honors College is less than the percentages of minority and international students enrolled at WMU and what efforts can be made to increase enrollment diversity amongst Lee Honors College students.
Leadership team members: Jane Baas, Ashleigh Watson, and Kimberly Cho
College of Aviation: $2,234
This assessment project will revise a student climate survey that was conducted in the College of Aviation to appropriately target faculty, staff, and administrators. As a follow-up to the initial student survey conducted in the College of Aviation, student focus groups will be held. There will also be a review of the environment and marketing materials within the College to determine how welcoming it is for all students as well as current and potential faculty, staff, and administrators.
Leadership team members: Beth Beaudin-Seiler, Dave Powell, Raymond Thompson, and Gail Rouscher
College of Fine Arts: $2,800
This assessment project will focus on the Multicultural and Inclusive climate of the College of Fine Arts at Western Michigan University. The project will be a collaborative effort of all the units in the College of Fine Arts.
Leadership team members: Joan Herrington, Alexander Cannon, Kirsten Harvey, Dwandra Lampkin, and Yuanliang Sun
Disability Services for Students: Disability Climate Survey: $3,000
This project will pilot an assessment that is focused specifically on garnering more meaningful and detailed data from students, faculty, and staff with regard to their perceptions of equity and access on the WMU campus. An assessment will focus on all types of disability including mental illness. This project will also help to foster collaboration with Counseling Services improving knowledge and understanding of both student and faculty perceptions of mental health on campus.
Leadership team members: Jayne Fraley-Burgett, Kathleen Camire, and a HESA practicum student (TBD)
English 1050: $3,000
The purpose of this grant is to study how ethnic minority English language learner students experience ENGL 1050: Thought & Writing so the team may learn how this seminal undergraduate class 1) can become more accessible to these students and better prepare them to engage in a global economy; 2) can provide a more welcoming environment for all students to engage with their writing development and thrive in their WMU experience and beyond; and 3) can develop an innovative, more effective curriculum for ENGL 1050 students and class instructors.
Leadership team members: Staci Perryman-Clark, Kim Ballard, Iliana Rocha, and Tara Gonzales
Interior Design Undergraduate Program: $3,000
This project will assess issues related to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students and the inclusive climate of the Interior Design undergraduate program, specifically recruitment and retention of African-American and Hispanic/Latino students, particularly in the professional third and fourth years of the program, and creating a welcoming and safe environment for all students in the program.
Leadership team members: Gary Bischof, Kathy Cummings, Sarah Drabik, Mary Beth Janssen, Beth Jarl, and Carol Reid
School for Interdisciplinary Health Programs Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Assessment Grant: $3,000
The School for Interdisciplinary Health Programs team will administer a survey for current faculty, staff, administrators, and students on their perceptions, overall experiences, knowledge, and understanding of cultural differences among their peers and the associated impact on their lives. The assessment will occur at two different points in time. Faculty, staff, administrators, and students will be surveyed before and after individuals have participated in numerous activities and following a variety of program changes.
Leadership team members: Delores Walcott, Melissa Villarreal, Doris Ravotas, Janet Hahn, Kathryn Lewis Ginebaugh, Susan Caulfield, and John Coons
Sindecuse Health Center: $3,000
Sindecuse Health Center Diversity & Inclusion Committee will assess student and staff/faculty perceptions of the current multicultural and inclusive climate at SHC to gather data to drive system-wide change thereby ensuring that SHC is a welcoming and safe environment where all campus community members can fully participate, success and thrive.
Leadership team members: Lisa Marshall, Sarah Good, Geniene Gersh, Jim Middleton, Cari Robertson, Kris Hanson, Mike Shelden, Will Arbogast, Chris van Balen, and Sue Kohlert
About the campus climate study
In a recent Western Michigan University campus climate survey, nearly 92 percent of the 5,615 participants positively endorsed the statement that "overall, diversity and inclusion are respected and appreciated at WMU." More than 80 percent agreed that campus leadership supports diversity and inclusion.
The response rate to the survey invitation was nearly 20 percent, double the rate typical for such surveys. The respondents included 4,072 students, 493 faculty members, 924 staff members, and 126 administrators. In addition to the survey participants, 81 people took part in campus focus groups.
Despite the positive results in defining the general or overall climate on campus, the research uncovered areas that need attention to make the University a place that is not simply focused on compliance with nondiscrimination guidelines, but one that is truly multicultural. The most serious of the issues uncovered related to experiencing and reporting unfair and inequitable treatment. The study found a reluctance to report such treatment and dissatisfaction with the way incidents reported were handled.
Of the people who participated in the survey, 6.5 percent reported that sometime during their time at WMU, they had experienced unfair or inequitable treatment. Of those individuals, fewer than a third made an official report of that treatment, and only 20 percent of those who did report such problems said they thought their report was handled with fairness.
"As we look at those percentages and the individual feelings of disappointment they represent, we have a clear imperative to move forward and reach out to our campus community in ways that reaffirm our commitment to diversity and inclusion and our determination to hear and treat each person with fairness and respect," says WMU President John M. Dunn.


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Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (March 21, 1685 - July 28, 1750) was a German composer and organist active in the late Baroque era who has been recognized as one of greatest composers of the Western classical music tradition, often called the "master of masters."
By age 18, Bach was a church organist, and he stated his goal as composer and performer of music as follows:[1]
- "The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul. If heed is not paid to this, it is not true music but a diabolical bawling and twanging."
Bach came from an extremely musical family, which had been supported by local governments and churches throughout Germany for many years. After graduating from the St. Michael's School in Lüneburg, he became a court musician in Weimar, where his fame as a keyboardist began to spread. In this time, he also began a career as organ inspector, which he kept up in some form for the remainder of his life. Later in the year, Bach became the organist at St. Boniface's Church in Arnstadt with help from some family connections, where he often clashed with authorities over the quality of the choir and a long, unauthorized leave of absence where he visited the great composer Buxtehude, who became an important musical influence. After leaving the church and serving as the Kapellmeister and court organist in various cities, Bach ended up in Leipzig in 1723, where he spent the rest of his life.
As Cantor of the Thomasschule in Leipzig, Bach took on a greater variety of responsibilities, including teaching Latin and supervising the dormitories, and was never entirely respected by the authorities. Indeed, when he was hired, the council remarked "because the best men for the job could not be procured, we have been forced to accept a mediocre one instead."[2] Bach also simultaneously took the job of Director of Music in all of Leipzig's churches. In this capacity, he produced a stunning output of cantatas: between 1723 and 1729, he had produced close to three whole yearly cycles, or 300 cantatas.[3]
After 1729, Bach also wrote much of his chamber music, orchestral music, and keyboard works. He published many of the latter in his lifetime at his own expense,[4] though most of his compositional output remained unpublished after his death.
Although Bach was always famous as an organist and his music remained well-loved in Leipzig, his music was mostly forgotten in Europe until several of his works were revived by the composer Felix Mendelssohn, most importantly an 1829 performance of the St. Matthew Passion.
Bach had several children who became famous composers in their own right, such as Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and Johann Christian Bach.
Bach was a devout Lutheran, and much of his music was religious in nature. Bach attributed the beauty of his music to God, by writing the letters "S.D.G." or "Soli Deo Gloria" in many of his scores and has been quoted as saying, "The purpose of all music is to give glory to God and bring rest to the soul". He is well known for his complete mastery of counterpoint, as well as his use of styles from many different regions of Europe. His music is filled with melodic harmonies and overlaping melodies, giving the impression that every instrument has the melody. He also used the cruciform B-A-C-H motif in his work as a sign of devotion to Christ, although future composers used it to pay homage to their great predecessor.
Important works include:
- The Mass in B Minor
- The St. Matthew Passion
- The St. John Passion
- The Christmas Oratorio BMV 248 (6 related cantatas), Written in 1734
- The 6 Brandenburg Concerti
- The Musical Offering
- The Art of Fugue
- The Well-Tempered Clavier (2 collections, each containing 24 preludes and fugues in all the major and minor keys)
- The 6 English Suites for keyboard
- The 6 French Suites for keyboard
- The 6 Partitas for keyboard
- many choral preludes, toccatas, toccatas and fugues, fugues, and other works for organ, including the famous Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor and the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
- The 4 Orchestral Suites
- The Goldberg Variations for keyboard
- The 12 2-part Inventions and 12 3-part Sinfonias for keyboard
- several hundred sacred and secular cantatas
- The 6 suites for unaccompanied cello
Some of his most famous pieces are drawn from the cantatas, including:
- Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring
- Sheep may Safely Graze
Bach also had a great influence on composers who followed him. Composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, and Mendelssohn began using more contrapuntal elements in their works as a result of his influence. In addition, Chopin's Preludes Op. 28 and Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues Op. 87 are based explicitly on the Well-Tempered Clavier. Other works that play explicit homage to Bach include Beethoven's Diabelli Variations and Franz Liszt's Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H.
Important interpreters of Bach's works include:
- Glenn Gould, pianist
- Wanda Landowska, harpischordist
- Rosalyn Tureck, pianist
- Angela Hewitt, pianist
- Pablo Casals, cellist
- Mark Steinbach, organist
- Otto Klemperer, conductor
- Karl Richter, conductor, organist
- Phillippe Herreweghe, conductor
There have also been many "modernizations" of Bach's music by artists as varied as Wendy Carlos and Jethro Tull.
- Bach was an avid coffee-drinker, so much so that he wrote an ode to the drink in one of his secular cantatas (BMV 211), which was performed at Zimmerman's coffeehouse between 1732 and 1734.[5]
- Since Bach's music was virtually unknown outside of a small circle of Leipzig-based connoiseurs after his death, it was something of a miracle that composers Mozart and Beethoven learned of it.
- Beethoven's teacher as a boy, Christian-Gottlob Neefe (who came from Leipzig), made sure that Beethoven played Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier; the young genius had memorized all 48 by the age of 12!
- Mozart learned of Bach's music relatively late in life, in the 1780s, from Baron Gottfried van Swieten, an ambassador and connoisseur who brought Bach's music with him to Vienna (after he also had learned of it in Berlin). Swieten would hold all-night music sessions where only Bach and Handel was played; a few decades later, Beethoven would also be invited to Swieten's palace.
External links
- Biography
- Glory to God Alone: The Life of J.S. Bach
- Toccata and Fugue in D Minor - an animation that's a cross between riding a roller coaster and playing Lode Runner
- ↑ American Minute, Mar 21, 2004
- ↑ New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "J.S. Bach."
- ↑ ibid.
- ↑ ibid.
- ↑ http://afactor.net/kitchen/coffee/kaffeeKantate.html


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Man arrested after fatal Kellyville crash
David Ernst, 52, taken to Creek County Criminal Justice Center
An Oklahoma man has been arrested following a fatal crash in Kellyville in which four people were killed.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said 52-year-old David M. Ernst was taken into custody by the Kellyville Police Department following Friday night's crash. Ernst was arrested after he was released from a Tulsa-area hospital where he was treated for injuries sustained in the crash. He was booked into the Creek County Criminal Justice Center pending formal charges.
The patrol identified the victims as 74-year-old Vernon Bowles, 74-year-old Susie B. Frazier, 51-year-old Vivian R. Henry and a 9-year-old child whose name was withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The patrol said the collision occurred at 9:15 p.m. on Oklahoma Highway 66 northeast of 141st Street. The victims were pronounced dead at the scene.


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Silk Fleece Throw$149.00
Silk Charmeuse Pillowcases$125.00 - $145.00
Dearest YALA Friends,
In this time of uncertainty, we want to let you know that YALA is open for business and we are shipping on schedule.
We are so grateful for our fantastic team that is working diligently under these circumstances to serve you in a safe, efficient manner. Every purchase helps us remain in business, and we sincerely thank you for that.
At this time, most of our small staff is working from home and caretaking children out of school. The few still coming into the office are staggering hours and diligently practicing the extra hygiene recommended by the CDC. The health and safety of all is of utmost importance to us.
We love our people, and that includes YOU!
Please understand our office hours are reduced and may fluctuate, but someone is generally here processing and shipping orders between 8am and 2pm PST Mon - Fri.
If there is anything we can do, don't hesitate to ask. It is important to stay as connected as possible during times of separation. Working together is the best way to keep our spirits up and the flow of life.
Stay healthy, stay cozy.
Much gratitude,
Team YALA
Yala has recently been affected by wildfires in southern Oregon. We kindly ask for your patience and to expect delays in shipping. We will be working diligently to get your orders to you!


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Opinion: A Tribute to Ronald Coase
Americas columnist Mary Anastasia O'Grady on the passing of one the most influential economists of the 20th century. Photo: Bloomberg
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... welcome back to Opinion Journal I'm Mary Kissel you're looking at Ronald coast of British ... economists Nobel laureate who passed away this week at the ... tender age of a hundred and two ... we pay tribute to him on our editorial page this morning ... but his work was so important we also want talk about them on this show ... a very lucky to have America's columnist Mary Anastasia O'Grady here to do that ... on the ... ferry for those who don't know him ... who was one of its four Broncos and he mentioned he was British born in Britain but I'm ... he actually spent most of his professional life in the United States he came onto the U S on a scholarship ... on and I think not but basically he ... had a lot of the influence on how we think about economics the relational on the Street property rights and how that should influence regulation ... and got what I really love about Broncos is on how he got us to think about economics in terms of common sense ... logic ... and his great humility ... you know I in classical liberal thought there something called the liberal temperament which encourages us to ... be humble about her ideas to seek the truth but not to feel like we own the truth ... and not ... really a time when you know displayed that in his work all through its life even when he was much older ... someone once asked him if he was surprised that he had underestimated summit China ... and his answer was on no one thing wrong so often that doesn't surprise me you know you know or someone who is a Nobel Prize winner and sector from Anaconda set was incredible in in in in some ways an accidental economist easing the strain is the isthe lawyer ... on the in what is most important works was the Coast theorem ... on the team explain that to us and inland to say I can understand ... well when the United States of one of things he did was he when and look at it in the industrial heartland about how companies work ... and from there he started to look a lot of what he called transaction costs and he actually said that companies ... I exist because of transaction costs in other words they are trying to minimize those an IRA to maximize their profits ... and on the coast am came out of a paper called of the problem of the social costs which is basically about transaction costs ... neque is said that was something that's very obvious again his humility ... but how would he focused on there was that on ... basically if ... bought two parties in a transaction have property rights and can negotiate ... a day to negotiate using races I'm in a way that is more on ... opposition from both sides and ... then that government regulation can ... and that idea of ... I'm ... you know you let allowing two parties giving them the property right in allowing them to negotiate ... solutions rather than having for example the EPA in Washington imposing those costs for the SCC assigning spectrum when you can auction and ... was an odd a great breakthrough in economic read breakthrough a humble man ... emeritus calmness musician greedy thank you so much money on the ship


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An article this week in the New York Times has called attention to a recent study on upward mobility, which explored the ability of people across the country to climb the economic ladder–the quintessential American dream.
The study demonstrates that a variety of factors influence a person's ability to rise above whatever situation they were born into, though the most important elements may not be the ones you think would have the biggest effect. According to the Times' summary, increased tax credits for the poor and higher taxes on the rich only slightly improved income mobility. And, there was at most a modest correlation between mobility and the number of colleges and their tuition rates. Extreme wealth within a region also did not seem to suggest economic mobility.
The biggest factors? "All else being equal, upward mobility tended to be higher in metropolitan areas where poor families were more dispersed among mixed-income neighborhoods," David Leonhardt writes. "Income mobility was also higher in areas with more two-parent households, better elementary schools and high schools, and more civic engagement, including membership in religious and community groups."
In reviewing the same information, The Atlantic calls attention to another factor: the importance of geography and location, particularly the fact that upward mobility is more likely to occur in denser cities than in certain kinds of suburbs. "The suburbs didn't quite kill the American Dream, but a particular type did," writes Matthew O'Brien. O'Brien points to Atlanta as an example of a low-density and racially polarized suburb with one of the lowest rates of upward economic mobility. "Racial polarization might spur sprawl, which makes cities less likely to invest in their infrastructure–and underfunded infrastructure hurts low-income people of all races."
A lot of these issues closely match up with church values and social justice teaching: of human dignity, valuing family life, commitment to education, participation in community. We've got our work cut out for us to give people the chance to keep dreaming.
For more on these topics, be sure to check out our recent features on poverty in the suburbs and the Catholic response to urban sprawl.


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Restored Historic 1800's Hotel On the Wicomico River in Whitehaven, Maryland
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Visit our Stevensville, Maryland bed and breakfast directory of historic, romantic, and adventure B&B's. You can browse through our detailed listings of Stevensville, Maryland bed and breakfasts and inns with nearby city listings that include pictures, room rates, booking information and area activities. Every Stevensville, Maryland b&b inns has complete contact information and a direct link to the innkeepers.


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4 Massachusetts inmates charged in June prison disturbance
Nathan Beauvais was stabbed in the neck
Four state prison inmates have been indicted in connection with the June 25 stabbing of a correction officer and a following disturbance that injured six other officers.
The Telegram & Gazette of Worcester reports Thursday that a Worcester County grand jury indicted three prisoners on charges including armed assault with intent to murder and aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. A fourth was charged as an accessory after the fact.
Twenty-eight-year old Officer Nathan Beauvais was stabbed in the neck with a prison-made knife at the maximum security Souza-Baranowski prison. The officer's wife told the newspaper the blade came near her husband's spinal cord but the handle came off when his attacker tried to pull it out, and doctors were able to safely remove the blade.


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A few pictures from our December. ;)
5 years ago
Posted by K.M.L at 7:59 PM 0 comments Links to this post
This is super late...
I've decided to get back to blogging a little more regularly. :)
here is Nov. thankfulness each day
Posted by K.M.L at 12:50 PM 0 comments Links to this post


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I recently received an email from a sad baker. She was attempting to make buttercream in the midst of a rather hot day. Her kitchen was nearing 80* leaving the butter a melty mess. Oh how I've been there.
In my wedding cake making days I would constantly worry about dripping buttercream on hot days. I'd have the coordinator of the wedding assure me over and over again that the cake would not be set up in the sun, but still I'd worry.
If only I'd known about this marshmallow "frosting". I would have done a lot less worrying. Okay, you're probably right – what bride wants their wedding cake covered in smooshed marshmallows?
There's good news in the midst of this sad tale – I'm not in the wedding cake business any more and this girl dreams of chocolate cake covered with oozing marshmallow.
Want more good news? You only have to dirty one bowl while making these dark, moist and sweet cakes. I've said it before and I'll say it again – I'm a lazy baker who likes to spend her time baking and eating rather than cleaning. But I'd happily clean a sink full of dishes if the final destination is delicious cake – lucky for me I can have my cake and not have to do many dishes. I have found my new chocolate cake recipe!
So to the sad baker with a bowl full of melted buttercream I'd like to say – put it aside for now, wait for a day with a bit more chill in the air and reach for the marshmallows. If you don't care for the store-bought version try making your own!
Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting
adapted from Martha Stewart Kids Magazine
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk (or make your own – 3/4 cup milk to 2 1/2 teaspoons acid such as lemon juice, vinegar or cream of tartar)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pre-heat oven to 350*. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners for a total of 24 cupcakes. Set this aside.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together cocoa, flour, sugars, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
Fill cupcake pans about 1/3 full. Bake until the tops of the cupcake spring back when gently pressed. This should take about 20 minutes.
Top with either a store-bought or homemade marshmallow then pop back into the oven for 3-5 minutes until marshmallow is soft. Remove from the oven then press down gently creating a perfect snow-white cap.
Cool on a wire rack.
*Optional – broil the marshmallow cupcakes for a toasty and lovely golden caramelized sugar flavor. Watch them closely!


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main(713) 222-2273
Schedule an appointment online with ScheduleNow
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Sugar Land Hospital
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Children have different attitudes, perspectives and concerns. They have different healthcare needs than adults - and they experience hospitalization differently, too! Children's Memorial Hermann Sugar Land is the only dedicated pediatric Emergency Center in Fort Bend County. Call (281) 725-5000 or Schedule an ER appointment here.
At Memorial Hermann, we understand those differences and are taking children's healthcare to a new level. Backed by the expertise of Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital and pediatric physicians from The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, we are introducing the same high standards of quality for which our flagship children's hospital in the Texas Medical Center is known at our suburban hospitals throughout the greater Houston area.
That means newborns and children of all ages can receive skilled children's healthcare services close to home. And, if a higher level of care is required, our Children's Transport Team - comprised of specially trained nurses, and neonatal and pediatric intensive care physicians - stands ready to transport young patients to Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital or another appropriate Memorial Hermann facility via ground or Life Flight air ambulance.
Children's Memorial Hermann Sugar Land focuses on the unique needs of children. Through our skilled and compassionate staff, modern new facility and state-of-the-art technology, we'll make the hospital experience positive and reassuring for you and your child.
If you need a referral to an affiliated pediatrician or information on any of the services available at Children's Memorial Hermann Sugar Land, call (713) 222-CARE.
17500 West Grand Parkway South
Sugar Land, TX 77479
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Art Spiegelman, famed comics author renowned for his Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Maus, will present "What the%@$*! Happened to Comics" next week, hosted by the Ypsilanti District Library. The presentation will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 10th at Eastern Michigan University's Pease Auditorium.
The author will also be signing books after the presentation. Tickets for the event are $20 for adults and $10 for students.
A limited number of VIP tickets, which include a wine and cheese reception with Spiegelman himself, are also available for $50. Tickets will be available for purchase through emutix.com


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Royalty free music for video makers
tacoMusic has worked in the music industry for over 10 years in TV, film and advertising with high-profile agencies such as AMV BBDO, TBWA, RKCR/Y&R and Grey London. He's provided premium music for campaigns for the BBC, 7-Up, Whiskas, ADT Security and Virgin among others.
Videohive authours : help yourselves to the preview files to sync your videos with, or get in touch to collaborate on something that will sync perfectly with your visuals. You can see an example of how well it can work with Nemanja's Digital Distortion logo here.


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Taste Test: We Taste Every Instant Indian Bite from Tasty Bite
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.
I wish I knew about Tasty Bite in college. A microwavable, totally vegetarian, and actually tasty convenience food that doesn't even require a fridge? Yes, this would have made those long work nights far more pleasant. And with takes on Indian classics like dal and vegetable curries that don't shy away from genuine spicing, they're among the tastier pouched convenience foods out there.
At about $3.29 each, a single-serving Tasty Bite pouch is pricier than packaged ramen. But it's even easier to prepare, and tastes nourishing, not just like a cocktail of salt, flavor chemicals, and preservatives. Tasty Bite ingredient lists are easy to read—for the most part they're just vegetables, legumes, spices, and the occasional dose of dairy.
The Connecticut-based company currently offers about 30 pouched products, mostly heat-and-eat "entrées," but also microwavable grain dishes and "meal inspirations," mildly seasoned ingredients like chickpeas that are fully cooked and ready to add to a larger meal. So which ones are the best? We found out the only way we could—by trying them all.
You can see our tasting notes for every pouch in the slideshow above, but here are our general findings to keep in mind:
- Good grains: There are more cost-effective ways to buy grains like rice and millet in bulk, but we were impressed by the texture and earthy flavor of the grain-based pouches.
- Lentils, chickpeas, and peas win: Score one for legumes—all three are generally well flavored with creamy textures. We didn't love every pouch based on these ingredients (there are many), but it's a decent indicator of success.
- Paneer and spinach, less so: We're big paneer fans, and were saddened by the mostly bland and/or rubbery iterations we encountered here. The spinach dishes, for the most part, are overwhelmed by the vegetable's mineral flavor.
- Thick sauces are preferable to thin: Thin curries have their places, but not with Tasty Bite. Thicker sauces were more flavorful, and had a more pleasing texture than the thinner ones.
- Tastiness has no correlation to calories: Tasty Bites range from 200 to 500 calories per pouch.* I was half-expecting our favorite pouches to align with the fattiest of the lot: the ones with doses of oil, nut pastes, or cream. But that just wasn't so. Generous spicing and clean-tasting grains won us over more than anything else.
* The nutritional information lists a serving as half a pouch, but let's be real: a single pouch is a single serving.
Our favorites of the bunch? A gentle but assertively spiced Chana Masala, creamy Punjab Eggplant that balances its slow-burn heat with onion sweetness, mild and sweet Vegetable Korma, and nutty Jaipur Vegetables. Pair any of them with Ginger Lentil Rice, Barley Medley, or Zany Multigrain (we know) and you have what we're happy to call dinner.
See all the bites in the slideshow. They aren't ranked, but run generally from more to less recommended.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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History of drums covers entire history of modern mankind, from the first civilizations in the Asia, Africa and Middle East, to the expansion of Europe in Renaissance and current modern music genres like pop, rock and jazz. Here you can find out more about history of one of the oldest musical instruments of mankind.
Very early in our modern history, drums managed to prove themselves as one of the most efficient ways of transferring information in military. No matter if on battlefield, drills or public ceremonies, drums managed to become integral part of military for almost 3 thousand years.
Appearance of the rock music in the 1940s and 1950s signified the begging of the golden age of the modern drumming. With public spotlight being firmly placed on bands that integrated drum sets as the core of their music, Rock and Roll history became one of the most important movements in the drum history.
Timeline of drums covers entire modern history of mankind, starting with the Neolithic times until today when drummers from all around the world can craft their own personalized rhythm sections filled with dozens of types of drums.


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Jefferson prizes for public service awarded to 18
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, actress Marlo Thomas and sports team owner Jerry M. Reinsdorf are among the people and institutions being honored with a national prize for public service.
Recipients of the 2011 Jefferson Awards accepted their honors Tuesday evening at the National Building Museum in Washington. Others honorees will accept theirs today in New York City. The recipients of most of the 18 awards, dubbed a "Nobel Prize" for public service, are not celebrities. They include the founder of a nonprofit that works to end childhood hunger and a brother and sister who have distributed phone cards to U.S. troops overseas.
The awards, now in their 39th year, were co-founded by former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
The Jefferson Award for lifetime achievement is going to Thomas, known for her role in the TV series "That Girl" in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The wife of TV personality Phil Donahue, she has worked with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis for 20 years, raising money for pediatric cancer research.
Thomas' father, comedian Danny Thomas, founded St. Jude, and Thomas has done outreach for the charity since his death in 1991. She said her father told her there were two kinds of people: those who stop for a traffic accident, and those who just drive by.
"You can't drive by," Thomas said in a telephone interview. "You have to stop and help."
Thomas, who will be honored today in New York, said she believes her father would be proud that the charity has continued to grow after his death. It now raises $700 million a year, compared to $400 million a year when he died. Thomas, who spoke between taping a "Today Show" segment and being interviewed along with feminist icon Gloria Steinem, said her work with St. Jude has changed her.
"It completely stops you short," Thomas said. "It's almost irresistible. You have to stop doing what you're doing and help."
Among the 13 awards given Tuesday was one for Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls, who was recognized for the efforts of his sports teams' foundations. Ginsburg was honored for her long legal career. Before she became the second female justice on the nation's high court in 1993, she was a judge, a professor and a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, where her work focused on gender equality.
At the ceremony, Ginsburg said she was pleased the country has changed since the days of the awards' namesake, Thomas Jefferson, when the prevailing viewwas that women should not hold public office.
Former NFL running back Warrick Dunn received an award for outstanding athlete in service and philanthropy. Dunn, who played 12 seasons for the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was recognized for the work of his foundation, which has helped more than 100 single parents become first-time homeowners in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana.
Dunn, whose mom was a single mother until she was killed when he was 18, said he plans next to start a bereavement program for kids in Louisiana, where he was born. It will be called "Betty's Hope" in honor of his mother, a police officer.
Dunn said in a telephone interview before the ceremony that he hopes to continue to serve people and "stand up for things that are right and positive."
Non-celebrity honorees said the recognition would make their charitable efforts more visible. Bill Shore is founder of Washington-based Share Our Strength, which works to end childhood hunger. He said his organization, which for years has provided grants to local organizations, is also working directly to get children enrolled in public food assistance programs from states.
"I think the award shines a spotlight on the issue," Shore said.
Brittany Bergquist of Norwell, Mass., who with her brother Robbie Bergquist co-founded Cell Phones for Soldiers in 2004, said she hopes the publicity will help them offer more free phone calls to soldiers.
Other honorees include:
Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill., which won an award for its students' volunteer work;
Sister Pat Aseltyne of Houston, Tx., who won for her work caring for infants and young children;
Bill Austin of Eden Prairie, Minn., founder of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, which provides hearing aids for needy people worldwide;
Shashin Chokshi, Morgan Hartley and Greg Nance of Chicago, co-founders of a financial literacy and entrepreneurship program for inner-city high school students;
John Cronin of Cold Spring, N.Y., an environmental advocate;
Jenny and Andy Czerkas of Madison, Wis., founders of a community kitchen;
Cloteal Davis of San Francisco, a co-creator of a health center to serve low-income clients;
Alicia Ewen of Coconut Creek, Fla., a volunteer who spent more than 850 hours building homes for Habitat for Humanity;
Megan Johnson of Seattle who founded organizations providing necessities to homeless children and others;
Talia Leman of Waukee, Iowa, a teenager who co-founded a web site that encourages kids to help solve problems;
Rachel Muha of Columbus, Ohio, who founded a program for inner city youth;
Prudential Financial, which won an award for outstanding service by a corporation.


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Anaerobic Training
December 21, 2015 @ 7:15 pm - 8:15 pm
Anaerobic Training is held every Monday night at 6pm and 7.15pm; these are fun fast paced sessions that include a mixture of cardio and strength training to help you achieve ultimate fitness levels. In pairs, in teams, or alone this endurance based session will get you fitter and stronger in no time. This session is perfect for long distance training and improving fitness levels.