text:
DEA raid ends with ER doctor in trouble over crack cocaine
When U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided a Niagara County home this week, they said, they found a disheveled residence littered with needles, crack pipes and other signs of drug abuse.
According to the feds, they also found a local physician, Dr. Daniel Gillick, 62, of Youngstown, getting ready to torch up a crack cocaine pipe with a young, drug-addicted female companion.
Gillick was arrested late Tuesday night, and he appeared in court Wednesday afternoon to face a misdemeanor charge of crack cocaine possession. Other allegations against him are under investigation.
Gillick's status as an emergency room doctor caused concern to U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. and Dale M. Kasprzyk, agent in charge of the regional DEA office.
They said they put the case on a fast track after learning earlier this month that Gillick was allegedly involved in illegal, heavy drug use while also treating patients in the emergency rooms of hospitals in Central and Western New York.
"We are aware that he was working in emergency rooms. That caused great concern for us," Hochul said Wednesday.
"We wanted to move this case along as quickly as we possibly could," Kasprzyk said. "This is a public safety concern. We wanted to cut off any possible access to hospitals, prescriptions and prescription drugs as soon as possible. … We want to make sure this doctor was using good judgment and was using proper medical procedures in treating his patients."
In court, Gillick told U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott that he makes "good money … $90 to $100 an hour" working in emergency rooms for a Rochester-based company called Delphi Emergency Physician Services. The company provides doctors for duty at a number of hospital emergency rooms in Central and Western New York.
According to court papers, police believe Gillick has recently worked at Medina Memorial Hospital in Medina and at Schuyler Hospital near Watkins Glen. An administrator at Medina Memorial told The Buffalo News he is unaware of Gillick ever working there. Officials of Schuyler Hospital did not return a reporter's call.
A spokeswoman at the Lockport division of Eastern Niagara Hospital said Gillick has worked there in the past, but she said he has not worked there in four years.
"This investigation is continuing, and we are looking into some other concerns, including [Gillick's] issuing of prescriptions. We'll be talking to some of his patients, the state Health Department and his employers, including Delphi Emergency," Kasprzyk said.
Anyone who wants to provide information about the doctor is asked to call the DEA office at 846-6000.
In a brief telephone interview, Tammy Elie, an official of Delphi Emergency, said Gillick does work for the company and, to her knowledge, does a "wonderful" job.
She declined to comment when asked about the hospitals where he has worked, but she said she is unaware of any complaints about Gillick's conduct.
Elie said she had not heard about Gillick's arrest until The News contacted her. She said the company probably would not have more to say until it got information from federal prosecutors.
Looking haggard and exhausted, Gillick, of Main Street in Youngstown, appeared in court before Scott for about 20 minutes. His co-defendant, Christine Guilfoyle, 27, who has been living with Gillick, also appeared in court to face charges filed by prosecutor Timothy C. Lynch.
According to Lynch, Gillick has admitted to federal agents that he is a drug abuser, and Guilfoyle has admitted that she is severely addicted to drugs. Both were represented in court by Daniel P. Greene, a federal public defender, but Gillick said he will get his own attorney before he appears in court again Friday afternoon.
While he makes "good money" as an emergency doctor, Gillick said, he filed for bankruptcy about 18 months ago, and he said the home where he lives is owned by a bank, which foreclosed on him.
Scott said he will allow Gillick to be released after he posts a $5,000 bond.
He also said he will have Gillick examined for drug addiction and that Gillick may have to pay part of the expense of the drug evaluation.
"I think that you think I have money that's growing on trees," Gillick told the judge. "I've got about $5,000 to $6,000 to my name."
In court papers, Lynch said DEA agents and other police agencies received information earlier this month that Gillick has been providing his housemate, Guilfoyle, with money to "purchase cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin from multiple sources."
Tuesday afternoon, agents conducting surveillance spotted Guilfoyle traveling to Niagara Falls in a Jeep Grand Cherokee owned by Gillick. The woman was driving erratically, speeding, running numerous red lights and making illegal U-turns. Agents watched as she made what appeared to be a drug transaction.
Agents said they then stopped Guilfoyle, found cocaine in the vehicle and questioned her.
The cocaine was taken from her, and she agreed to deliver "sham crack cocaine" to Gillick's home, where both she and Gillick were arrested at about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Speaking in court Wednesday, a tearful Guilfoyle told Scott that she is severely addicted to drugs and is facing criminal charges in several different jurisdictions. She begged the judge to help her get into an inpatient drug treatment program as soon as possible.
"I ask that this process be sped up as much as possible, because I am suffering now from withdrawal symptoms," Guilfoyle said.
Both the defendants left the courtroom with federal marshals.
Kasprzyk called the case a "sad illustration" of the effects that addictive drugs have had on the local community. "Even doctors are susceptible," he said.
"But can you imagine having a young kid or someone in your family treated by a doctor on crack cocaine?" another investigator said.
Gillick is the third local doctor to be criminally prosecuted in the past two years in an ongoing crackdown on illegal involvement in drugs by medical professionals.
Hochul's office is also prosecuting a former Niagara Falls doctor and a former North Tonawanda doctor for allegedly providing painkiller prescriptions to addicts.
The Buffalo FBI office and the Niagara County Drug Task Force assisted in the Gillick probe.
email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
|System: X360, PS3, PC, Wii
|Review Rating Legend
|Dev: Ubisoft Romania
|1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
|4.0 - 4.4 = Great
|Pub: Ubisoft
|2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
|4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
|Release: March 3, 2009
|2.5 - 2.9 = Average
|5.0 = The Best
|Players: 1-16
|3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
|ESRB Rating: Teen
|3.5 - 3.9 = Good
If the interesting story isn't enough to keep you playing, then the leveling mechanic and unlockable planes and weapons load-outs might do the trick. I found post-mission ranking up of my pilot to be compelling, and getting in-mission XP bonuses for accomplishing certain feats to be very satisfying, indeed. What's more, rising in rank will not only help you in the single-player campaign, but it will improve your selection of fighter jets and armament whilst duking it out in the 8-person multiplayer competitive mode. Going head to head against other humans while piloting a jet is a neat spin on the standard competitive gameplay found in first-person shooters.
While sound effects in H.A.W.X. are what you would expect from an air combat title, the voice over work is painfully repetitive, especially when going over an objective multiple times because of previously failed attempts. This is to be expected, after all, if I passed the objective the first time, I wouldn't be hearing the same mission details over again. However, where it becomes painful is in the monotony of your wingmen's chatter and XO's comments. Yes - we get paid a lot better than we did in the USAF I know - the fast-movers are my priority target. It goes on and on throughout the game and will force you to shut off the chatter. Thankfully, the devs foresaw this being a problem and went so far as to allow you to mute the noise at your leisure in-game without having to hop out to a main menu. Needless to say, sounds can't compare to the shiny, polished visuals.
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. is a very fun game - one I would suggest to any air combat buff. However, enemy A.I. feels a little stupid even on the highest settings of difficulty, which really only limits the amount of armament your jet can carry and makes damage-taken more realistic. Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. isn't the perfect jet fighter game we were hoping for, but it is a great start. Look for the H.A.W.X. series to mature and improve over the years, ultimately challenging the dominance of Ace Combat.
Jonathan Marx
CCC Editor / News Director
Game Features:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
There are two forms on this page (FAS Alumni Form and FAS Contact Form).
We love hearing from our alumni and maintaining contact. Always know that you are never that far from home and can come visit, email or contact us at any time. Please provide the information requested in the Google form and Go Bulldogs!
If you wish to contact us regarding collaborations, potential studies or any question or concern you may have please fill out the information requested on our Google form.
Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you.


text:
Sales Have Ended
Sales Have Ended
Discover the range of free eBooks and eAudiobooks available and learn how to download them. BYO device, tablet or smartphone.
This class is offered on the following dates:
- Tuesday, 19 September, 2.00pm - 3.00pm
- Tuesday, 10 October, 2.00pm - 3.00pm
- Tuesday, 17 October, 2.00pm - 3.00pm
- Tuesday, 14 November, 2.00pm - 3.00pm
- Tuesday, 21 November, 2.00pm - 3.00pm
- Tuesday, 12 December, 2.00pm - 3.00pm
- Tuesday, 13 February, 2.00pm - 3.00pm
Along with your device, please remember to bring the following to your session:
- Your library card
- Device USB cable (if applicable)
- A valid email account and password
- Device account information (Your Apple ID and password or GooglePlay Store ID and password)
Want to practice your computer skills before attending sessions? Check out the library's Learn Online resources.
Access to free events is only one of the benefits of library membership. If you are not already a library member, please join!
- Use the Eventbrite app to store your ticket and add a reminder to your calendar. Having your ticket handy, printed out or on your mobile device helps manage check-in processes efficiently at busy events.
- Arrive promptly to each event that you have registered for. If you have not arrived by the start of the session your ticket may be transferred to another participant.
- Allow plenty of time for travel and parking. You can find information about our library locations, parking, and access at www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/librarylocations
If you have special needs or require specific support in order to participate in this workshop or attend this event, please contact us to discuss your requirements.


text:
brmecham needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 32 designs submitted by 9 freelance designers.
Utah Divorce Hotline
Utah Divorce Hotline provides consultations and has helped countless individuals throughout the state of Utah find success in their divorce or other family law matter.
Couples going through divorce, considering divorce, or want divorce consultation. Also those who have gone through a divorce and want to dispute or change something from the divorce decree.
We want the feel to be very web 2.0 without losing the professionalism of a law firm. In other words, a logo that is not too complex, more minimalistic / simple, yet awesome.
A logo that will look good whether on the header of our website, or on paper, small or large. Make it look good on a white background.
We don't have a specific color scheme in mind. Be creative and give us something we can be proud of.
The name is "Utah Divorce Hotline" a Utah divorce Law Firm but the logo doesn't necessarily have to have any imagery that represents Utah... mainly we want the logo to represent what we do. (but it could also have a imagery that represents Utah)
Final delivery should be in Photoshop or Illustrator format, and high resolution / high quality.
If a non-standard font is used, include font file with the design.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
NC House panel OKs new proposal to help with Panthers stadium
NC House panel OKs new proposal to help with Panthers stadium
A state legislative proposal that could pay for most - but not all - renovations to the Carolina Panthers' stadium has cleared its first hurdle in the North Carolina General Assembly.
A House committee approved Thursday a bill that would give more latitude to the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in how it can spend existing hotel and food and beverage taxes toward renovations the team wants at Bank of America Stadium.
The Panthers want to perform up to $297 million in upgrades and begin them after next season.
City leaders asked the Legislature to let them raise the food tax. Thursday's bill won't pay for all of the renovations but sponsor Rep. Ruth Samuelson of Charlotte says this is the best state lawmakers can do.


text:
RECORD: Darwin, C. R. et al. [1848]. [Memorial to Lord John Russell on university reform]. np: np.
REVISION HISTORY: Scanned, transcribed and edited by John van Wyhe 7.2010. RN1
To the RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD JOHN RUSSELL, M.P., First Lord of the Treasury, &c. &c.1
The MEMORIAL OF THE UNDERSIGNED GRADUATES AND FORMER MEMBERS of the universities of OXFORD and CAMBRIDGE with some of the FELLOWS of the ROYAL SOCIETY.
That the present system of the ancient English Universities has not advanced, and is not calculated to advance the interests of religious and useful learning to an extent commensurate with the great resources and high position of those bodies.
That the constitution of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and of the Colleges (now inseparably connected with their academical system) is such as in a great measure to preclude them from introducing those changes which are necessary for increasing their usefulness and efficacy.
That under these circumstances, believing that the aid of the Crown is the only available remedy for the above-mentioned defects, your Memorialists pray that your Lordship will advise Her Majesty to issue Her Royal Commission of Inquiry into the best methods of securing the improvement of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
CHARLES DARWIN, M.A., Christ's College, Cambridge.
1 Cambridge Pamphlets, Folio Series, vol. 4: Cambridge University Library, Cam.a.500.5/124. The date is written in ink on the document. This item is reprinted in Correspondence vol. 18, pp. 348-9. The editors of the Correspondence note: "Concern over the state of education in the natural sciences at Oxford and Cambridge led to reforms in both universities; in 1848 Cambridge instituted a tripos examination in the natural sciences, and in 1850 Oxford created a School of Natural Science".
The other 223 signatories are omitted from this transcription but can be seen in the image view.
Return to homepage
Citation: John van Wyhe, editor. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)
File last updated 2 July, 2012


text:
Shelf system MILO, 6 compartments, wheels, white, grey
Art. No. PN11390
Sold in sets of 1
Door colour:
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N.B. Minimum/maximum length is 0,0 /0,0 M.
This item is non-returnable. Please see our Terms & Conditions.
Shelving with compartments. Delivered complete with doors and swivel wheels with brakes. The shelving unit carries the Nordic Ecolabel.
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The Milo shelf system is a compact storage solution for preschool and school. It is excellent as a bookshelf and for storing toys, craft materials, personal belongings, etc. the wheels provide high flexibility and the doors allows for hidden storage. Thanks to its modern style, the shelving is suitable for most environments and covers most storage needs. It is also great to place the Milo shelf system in the middle of the room as a flexible room divider. The Milo shelf system is part of our Nordic Ecolabelled furniture range. The Nordic Ecolabel is an official Nordic ecolabel with high quality standards. This means that the product is free from chemicals and toxic substances and have been rated for their environmental performance along the entire production chain, from forest to furniture. The recyclability is also carefully controlled. This makes the Milo shelf system a green choice to benefit both children and the environment!
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Product specifications
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|800 mm
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|Frame colour:
|White pigmented
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|Blue , Green , Grey , Red , White pigmented
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|47 kg , 65 kg
|Nordic Swan Ecolabel 3031 0075
|3 years
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text:
Linda Sandler, Brian Womack and Douglas MacMillan
Wednesday, 10 October 2012 12:53 PM
Barbara Jacobs, an assistant director for corporation finance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, was skeptical, as she and her staff vetted the filing to ensure Facebook had disclosed all material information to investors. The claim appeared to be drawn from marketing materials, not a Nielsen study, she wrote to Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman, 42.
She gave him an ultimatum: Produce the study and provide Nielsen's consent for use of the data — or don't use it, she wrote to Ebersman on Feb. 28. Facebook dropped the reference after initial resistance.
The incident was part of a two-and-a-half-month volley of messages among SEC officials, Ebersman and Facebook's law firm Fenwick & West LLP. A dozen letters, published a month after the May 17 IPO on the SEC's website, depict a management team hesitant to disclose information and still guessing at even rudimentary aspects of its business just weeks before the company held the largest-ever technology initial public offering. Many of the issues raised by the SEC and now unnerving investors were foreshadowed in the then-private correspondence between the SEC and Facebook.
"They were given the benefit of the doubt when they went public that they were ready for prime time," said Michael Pachter, a managing director at Wedbush Securities Inc. "They still haven't proved that they are."
The shares dropped as much as 3.6 percent today.
Mobile Users
On the most critical issue facing Facebook's future as a public company — whether it could make money from the soaring number of mobile users, who see fewer ads than other customers — the letters show executives holding back crucial details until the SEC pushed for further disclosure.
Noting that Facebook was counting some mobile users twice, Jacobs wrote on March 22: "Please explain to us how you determined that your metrics are not overstated."
Only eight days before the IPO, on May 9, did Facebook make clear in a filing that that daily mobile customers were increasing faster than advertising growth, potentially hurting revenue and profits. It was the strongest public signal that the IPO could fall short of its high expectations.
The issue of mobile users is even more relevant today as Facebook, based in Menlo Park, California, announced on Oct. 4 it now counted one billion users worldwide, up from 845 million at the year's start. More than half of them, or 600 million, access Facebook through a mobile device, a number that grew 41 percent this year.
'Increasingly Skeptical'
"We've been growing increasingly skeptical of some of their monetization methods," Richard Greenfield, an analyst at BTIG Research, told Bloomberg Television on Oct. 8, referring to Facebook's struggles to get revenue from mobile users. He cut his rating on the shares to sell.
Facebook went forward pricing the IPO at $38 a share. That was 107 times trailing 12-month earnings, making it more expensive than 99 percent of all companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index at the time. The SEC has no say in setting IPO prices.
Once called the IPO of the century, Facebook has dropped 45 percent through Oct. 5. That's the worst offer-to-date performance of any U.S. IPO raising at least $1.5 billion since 2007, when MF Global Holdings Ltd. went public, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The shares dropped 3 percent to $19.63 at 9:48 a.m. New York time, the lowest intraday level since Sept. 11.
Ashley Zandy, a spokeswoman for Facebook, declined to comment for this story.
Retail Investors
The losses were acute for retail investors. They were allocated an unusually high proportion of shares after institutional investors balked. And they didn't get the same flurry of warning calls from Facebook officials who, days before the IPO, privately advised securities firm analysts to lower earnings and profit estimates — largely on the dearth of revenue from mobile users.
"It has been clear from the beginning that the insiders were bailing given that they sold $10 billion of shares and continued to sell as the lock-up period expired," said Francis Gaskins, president of IPOdesktop.com, an independent IPO research firm in Marina del Rey, California. "They clearly knew that the company's best growth rate was behind them and the stock was overvalued."
By the time the final amended prospectus was filed May 16, a day before the company went public, Facebook had over the weeks included the mobile data and many of the material facts the SEC had demanded.
SEC Correspondence
What investors didn't see until a month after the IPO were the letters that pushed Facebook to disclose in detail such key financial challenges as decelerating revenue growth, user count and its dependence on gaming company Zynga Inc. — all issues that arose in prominence after it became a public company.
Publishing the SEC letters beforehand would be "a better way to get the information to the market than an amended filing," said Peter Henning, a former SEC lawyer who teaches at Wayne State University in Detroit. "The SEC is a better soap box than the filings."
Even a summary of points would be helpful for investors, Henning said, should the SEC decide that disclosing the letters would exert undue influence over market sentiment.
"As an investor you want all the information you can get, and that would certainly be one of the pieces," money manager Michael Holland, chairman of Holland & Co., said of the correspondence. He chose not to buy Facebook at the IPO because it was more expensive than Apple Inc. and Google Inc., he said.
'Complete Picture'
Current SEC policy is to release correspondence no earlier than 20 business days after the IPO. The SEC doesn't post correspondence "real time," said John Nester, a spokesman, because "people could misinterpret our questions to companies about their disclosure before companies have had opportunities to provide a complete picture." By law, "a company is responsible for its own disclosures," he said.
Luigi Zingales, a finance professor at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, said Facebook should have delayed the IPO after it cut its forecasts. Analysts said the late revisions were surprising and almost unprecedented.
"When you have a significant change in your forecasts it's good business practice to postpone the IPO so that the market has more time to understand what's going on," Zingales said.
By the time the letters were published, the stock was cratering, on the way to losing half its $38 IPO price and erasing as much as $49 billion in market capitalization. The stock that sold for $16 billion in the IPO was worth $8.6 billion as of Oct. 8, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Month's Salary
Ryan Cefalu, a 34-year-old data-systems manager and father of two in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said he bought about $4,000, or about a month's salary, in Facebook stock and has lost about $2,050 on paper.
"The IPO went terribly," he said. "I expected it to go up for a couple days at least before it went it down. That never happened. It never had a chance to."
The SEC continues to investigate Facebook's IPO to determine whether any material information was omitted or misrepresented. The SEC is conducting an "in-depth review of all the participants" in the IPO, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said in an interview that aired Sept. 28 on Bloomberg Television. She declined to elaborate.
The Senate Banking Committee is also looking into the matter, and has held meetings "with a range of involved parties including Facebook, Nasdaq, Morgan Stanley, and the SEC," said Sam Gilford, press secretary for the Senate committee, in an e- mailed statement.
Legendary Transformation
Facebook's eight-year transformation into the largest social-networking service is the stuff of legend. Born of marathon late-night coding sessions by Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard University schoolmates, Facebook swiftly expanded beyond being a site for college kids into a network linking people from across the country, and eventually, the globe.
An IPO loomed as the investor base widened, reflecting insiders' desire to sell. It was also spurred by SEC financial disclosure requirements for companies that have more than 500 shareholders. All the while, the public caught glimpses of Facebook's potential valuation from high-profile private investments — like Microsoft Corp.'s purchase of a 1.6 percent stake, which gave Facebook a $15 billion valuation, or a $1.5 billion private placement managed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. valuing Facebook at $50 billion.
Stock 'Hysteria'
Facebook trading on secondary market-maker SecondMarket Inc. suggested a market cap of $85 billion in July 2011, seven months before Facebook disclosed on Feb. 1 that it planned a share sale.
"Before the underwriters were even selected, hysteria about this stock was already out of control," Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, said in a phone interview.
It's not unusual for a company going public to tussle with the SEC over what should be included in its prospectus. Yet Jacobs's inquiries underscored growing concern within the SEC over the way newer consumer Web companies account for increasingly large user bases, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The regulator is spending more time scouring user-growth metrics and requiring more details, said this person, who asked not to be named because the SEC's review process is confidential.
Jacobs's Team
Last year the agency pressed Groupon Inc. to abandon an accounting method that made the then-unprofitable daily coupon business look profitable by hiding certain marketing costs, a person familiar with the matter said at the time. Julie Mossler, a spokeswoman for Chicago-based Groupon, declined to comment.
The official whose name became most closely associated with the prodding of Facebook is the SEC's Jacobs, whose eight-person information technologies and services team at the SEC's Disclosure Operations Office was tasked with reviewing the Facebook filings that began Feb. 1.
Jacobs, who is 51 in public records, has held various roles at the SEC since 1989, once proposing rules to let small companies price securities on a delayed basis, according to her profile on the Practising Law Institute's website. She holds law degrees from the University of San Francisco and Georgetown Law Center.
Her letters were addressed to Ebersman, who joined Facebook as chief financial officer in 2009 after holding the same title at drugmaker Genentech Inc. from 2005 until early 2009. A graduate of Brown University with a degree in economics and international relations, Ebersman replaced Gideon Yu, who left after Facebook said it wanted a successor with experience in running a public company.
Zynga Questions
Facebook's responses were signed by Jeffrey Vetter, 46, of the Mountain View, California, law firm Fenwick & West. He declined to comment. Vetter, who joined Fenwick in 1995, has also helped prepare public offerings for companies including Fusion-io Inc. and Jive Software Inc.
By the end of February, the SEC had amassed a list of 92 matters on which it sought further information.
An area of concern: Facebook's reliance on Zynga, which makes the five most popular games played on Facebook including "Texas HoldEm Poker." When Zynga missed earnings estimates in July, Facebook's stock tumbled 8.5 percent, underscoring their interdependence.
At first Facebook's filing said Zynga accounted for 12 percent of 2011 revenue. After further prodding, Vetter said that Facebook last year got 19 percent of revenue from Zynga — 12 percent from processing fees of virtual goods and 7 percent from ads on pages generated by Zynga apps.
Rival Services
The SEC also got Facebook to include a warning that Zynga, which had recently begun offering games on its own and other websites, could lure Facebook users away, hurting Facebook financially.
"Zynga may choose to try to migrate users from existing Facebook-integrated games to other websites or platforms," Facebook disclosed. As a result, "Our financial results may be adversely affected," it said.
Concerns related to Zynga drove JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley to cut their price targets for Facebook last week. They cited lower expectations for revenue from Facebook's payments business after Zynga reduced forecasts.
Dani Dudeck, a spokeswoman for Zynga, declined to comment.
Revenue Details
Jacobs also asked Facebook why it hadn't included data on revenue generated by each user, a "key" indicator of performance. Vetter dismissed the request on March 7, saying that the company prefers to look at "overall growth in users" and "overall revenue in evaluating the business."
Unswayed, the SEC carried out revenue-per-user calculations itself, which Facebook only then included in a revised filing on April 23.
The figures showed revenue worldwide from each monthly active user declining, to $1.21 in the first quarter from $1.38 in the fourth, a seasonal drop, according to Facebook. They also revealed that per-user revenue was lower in Asia, at just 53 cents down from 56 cents in the fourth quarter.
One of the most contentious issues was Facebook's halting disclosure of the number and growth of mobile users of Facebook, where they were located, and how it would derive revenue from them.
In its initial filing, known as an S-1, the company said mobile usage of Facebook increased around the world and numbered 425 million "monthly active users" in December 2011. It acknowledged that it hadn't proven it could "monetize" people using only mobile devices, where the absence of ads may "negatively affect our revenue and financial results."
'Excessive Expenses'
Jacobs responded on Feb. 28 by asking for a "more detailed" discussion of these key challenges. If the company's attempts to monetize those mobile users fail, she wrote, then "ensure" that your disclosure addresses the potential consequences to revenue, "rather than just stating that they 'may be negatively affected."'
Vetter filed a revised prospectus on March 7, disclosing that Facebook's monetization strategy could run up "excessive expenses."
Still, in a letter the same day he resisted Jacobs's effort to reveal the number of users who "primarily access" Facebook through mobile devices, saying they didn't have a "reliable" count.
Facebook would disclose the number of daily active mobile users only "for the staff's reference," not in its registration statement, Vetter wrote. That number showed a big jump, to an estimated 58 million mobile-only Facebook users on Dec. 31, 2011, from 23 million on March 31, 2010.
Jacobs asked for the impact on revenue of greater mobile use, only to be told by Vetter that Facebook couldn't "specifically assess the impact" as those users may also be using personal computers to get onto Facebook. When asked how many new users were mobile only, he estimated that 69 million, or 44 percent, of the 156 million new users might be mobile- only.
Asked about the geographical breakdown of mobile users, Vetter said it didn't have a reliable count. For instance, he said, the company counted as Canadian many BlackBerry users around the world because the servers are based in Canada.
This prompted Jacobs to question whether Facebook's then- overall user count of 845 million might be wrong as a result of the fuzzy number of mobile users.
Facebook said it believed its data were "reasonably accurate" as overall data eliminated the multiple counting of mobile users.
Ad Disclosure
On May 9, Facebook released a disclosure to investors cautioning about the growth in mobile users exceeding growth of ads. It was a pivotal admission — and one of the first warnings that drew widespread attention from analysts and investors.
On that same day, Zuckerberg, Ebersman and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg were in the midst of the road show to pitch the stock to investors.
Investor relations staff at Facebook began placing a battery of calls to equity analysts with a dour warning: sales for the second quarter and full year wouldn't likely match its earlier guidance, according to people familiar with the situation.
Analysts adjusted their forecasts down and shared them verbally with their firms' institutional clients, whose demand for the stock sagged as a result, people with knowledge of the matter said on May 10. Sharing that information only with institutions isn't unusual, and it's legal as long as they don't do it in writing.
Market 'Mistrust'
Still, said finance professor Zingales, "The fact that some institutional investors got access to a company's information that was not available to ordinary investors creates the perception that there are two sets of rules and increases the mistrust in the market."
Despite the cautionary signs, on May 15 Facebook and Morgan Stanley executives raised the asking price to a range of $34 to $38 from $28 to $35. A day later they also increased the number of shares being sold by 25 percent to 421.2 million. That was an effort to create a stronger buffer against a price decline in August when insiders and early investors were allowed to sell their stock, said one person familiar with the matter. The lock- up period was for only three months, unusually short compared to the average six months.
Pricing Decision
The final pricing decision was worked out in a May 17 conference call joined by the highest ranks of Facebook and lead underwriter Morgan Stanley. On the call were Ebersman, Michael Grimes, Morgan Stanley's global co-head of its technology investment banking group, and Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, an unusual appearance by an investment bank's chief that reflected the importance it ascribed to the IPO, people familiar with the matter said May 23. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs executives joined in too.
They reached consensus on pricing the IPO at the top of the $34 to $38 range, as a lower level would have signaled weakness in demand, said one of the people close to the situation.
Contention also arose over the volume of shares that should be set aside for retail customers. Facebook went into the road show with the intention of shifting more shares than usual to retail investors, according to the same person. Goldman Sachs, one of the banks in the IPO, pushed back against the idea, arguing that it was hard to gauge retail demand and that those investors tend to sell quickly at the first sign of a stock's volatility, the person said.
Including Users
Yet Facebook wanted the larger retail allocation to let its users take part in the IPO, the person said. In the end, 25 percent of the shares sold at the IPO were allocated to retail investors, other people have said. That exceeds the average amount of 15 percent.
On the first day the lock-ups expired, Aug. 16, Facebook declined 6.3 percent to $19.87. Those shares freed up made up only 14 percent of the total 1.91 billion that will eventually be unlocked.
"Perhaps management should have seen that the party was getting out of hand, and should have understood that the hangover would be wicked," said Lise Buyer, principal at Class V Group in Portola Valley, California.
There were no headaches for investors who bought equity while Facebook was still private and were able to sell at the $38 IPO price. Goldman Sachs sold 24.3 million shares, which raised $924 million at the IPO price, doubling its original investment. Greylock Partners made 18 times its initial investment, selling 7.6 million shares for $289 million. Microsoft sold 6.6 million shares, which raised $249 million, more than quintupling its initial stake.
Few Appearances
Spokesmen for Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan declined to comment.
Company executives did little to help their cause among shareholders during Facebook's first months as a newly public company.
After Zuckerberg's presentations for investors during the pre-IPO road show, the CEO went four months with few public appearances, doing a July 13 interview with Bloomberg News and defending the company's projections on a July 26 call with analysts. Apart from contributions to that call, which covered second-quarter results, Ebersman and Sandberg also shied away from the limelight.
Silence over the plunging share price and growth prospects did little to allay investors' anxiety, said Paul Argenti, a professor at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business in Hanover, New Hampshire.
'Amateurish' Approach
"There should be more public appearances by the CEO, there should be ongoing media relations activities that help give confidence to investors," Argenti said. "I don't see any of that going on. I see the exact opposite. It's amateurish."
Zuckerberg returned to the public eye in a Sept. 11 on- stage interview at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco. He acknowledged that the company had made missteps in executing a mobile strategy. Based on the amount of time users spend on mobile, he said, the company should eventually make "a lot more money" via wireless devices than through desktops.
Since May, the company has rolled out new advertising services for its mobile versions. That includes an offering that lets game makers on its service target users to download their applications on smartphones.
Lockup Expirations
Facebook stock has reversed part of the losses suffered since the IPO, climbing 14 percent to $20.23 yesterday since hitting a record low of $17.73 on Sept. 4.
Yet the shares will probably come under more pressure starting in mid-October, when holders of more than a billion shares, many of them employees, will be permitted to sell.
At $20 a share, Facebook trades at 42 times estimated 2012 profit, still more than twice Google's price of less than 18 times profit.
Among more than 40 lawsuits related to Facebook's offering, some investors blame their losses on trading errors by Nasdaq, where Facebook is listed. Others claim company managers didn't disclose revised revenue forecasts in the days before the stock started to trade publicly on May 18, or they didn't warn that a surge in mobile users would slash revenue.
Facebook has said the suits, which have been consolidated under one judge in federal court in New York, lack merit. If Facebook can prove it disclosed all the risks adequately pre- IPO, the suits may be an uphill battle for investors.
'Huge Risk'
The IPO proved a harsh lesson to first-time investors like Linda Lantz, an online marketer in Granite Bay, California, who bought 100 shares in the offering with hopes of Internet riches.
After losing close to $1,500 in the four months since, Lantz has an appreciation for the difficulty in valuing social media companies with many users and relatively small profits, she said in an interview.
"The problem with Facebook is that it's not a tangible good, and because it's not a tangible good, people can't feel and touch it, and it definitely has a huge risk of doing what it did," Lantz said, "and that's to go down."
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must have better things to do than this.
If not, there's plenty to do in New York City. They should move most of the staff up I-95 a ways.
The decision making of the United States Justice Department is perplexing sometimes. I'd like to think it's just incompetence and incredibly bad judgment and decision making by those in authority.
But the reality could be a lot worse.


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Wearing combat fatigues and a yellow sweat towel slung over his shoulder, Pedro Marin, aka Sureshot, told me in 1999 that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Colombian guerrilla organization he created in 1964, was far more efficient than the state because it seriously punished those who were corrupt. "We execute them," he noted.
That ruthless efficiency might have helped turn FARC from a peasant movement looking for land reform into one of the world's largest rebel forces. Today, it's a top supplier of cocaine and a big reason why Colombia became one of the world's most violent countries. Washington calls it a terrorist group and has spent billions in recent years in part to help the Colombian government stamp it out.
FARC has faced huge setbacks in recent months. This spring, it lost three of its top seven commanders – including founding father Sureshot. In March, Colombian authorities seized a FARC laptop with damaging information – including evidence of ties to Venezuela.
Suddenly, there's talk that FARC could be approaching collapse. Will its remaining forces keep up the armed struggle and kidnappings? Or, as other militant groups have done, will they give up violence and join the political process?
What happens to FARC now is important. That's because Colombia is a crucial American ally in South America and a bulwark against the leftist populism promoted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his so-called Bolivarian Revolution. Colombia receives hundreds of millions of dollars each year from the United States as part of the counternarcotics initiative called Plan Colombia, which represents Washington's largest sum of foreign aid outside the Middle East and Afghanistan. Many of those funds go to counterinsurgency activities. If FARC folds, it would be a big victory for US aid.
More broadly, what happens to FARC matters because it's emblematic of the global struggle to stop guerrilla forces, either by defeating them militarily or persuading them to join the political process.
In 1999, I interviewed FARC leaders who were participating in a peace process. The group's top military commander, Jorge Briceño, aka Mono Jojoy, explained FARC's devotion to Sureshot, a man responsible for countless acts of violence: "He is our symbol, a legend … our political and military master … the reason why many of us became revolutionaries."
With Sureshot gone, some of that loyalty may be gone, too. Some observers hope that FARC, in desperate straits, would opt to negotiate with the government, which it has in the past. Some are also hoping for defections.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has set aside $100 million for rebels who leave FARC, and he's indicated they'd receive some sort of amnesty. FARC currently holds about 700 hostages, including three US military contractors, and Ingrid Betancourt, a Franco-Colombian kidnapped while campaigning for president.
A big question is what FARC's new leader, Guillermo Sáenz, aka Alfonso Cano, will decide to do next. Intelligence officials noted that the group was deciding between Mr. Cano, whom some see as an ideologue, and Mono Jojoy, who is considered a tough military strategist.
Cano's background is quite different from that of Sureshot, who was from poor, rural origins. The son of an engineer and a teacher, Cano studied anthropology, was a student activist, and started as a leader of the Communist Party. Considered a hard-liner, he was not very actively involved in the most recent negotiations that took place between 1998 and 2002. FARC has been accused of using those talks as a smokescreen to strengthen its forces.
But FARC is now in a weaker position: It has about 9,000 troops today, down from about 16,000 in 2002. Many have surrendered. In a carrot-and-stick strategy, the government has expressed interest in peace talks, but has threatened more military action, too. On Monday, President Uribe restated his belief that FARC is a terrorist group that's too reliant on drug money to negotiate in good faith.
As its strength wanes, FARC leaders might desperately try to organize attacks in order to show that they are still capable of doing so. For now, FARC remains a threat in rural areas, but it is far from assuming power through the use of arms. Disarming and becoming a political movement might be the most effective route for FARC to take. Some FARC leaders, though, are skeptical that they would even be allowed to participate politically. They remember all too well the extermination 20 years ago of 3,000 members of the Patriotic Union, a FARC-related political group. A government guarantee to protect future FARC politicians would help facilitate a peaceful transition.
In the meantime, Colombia should more effectively address one of the causes behind FARC's rise all these years: social and economic inequality. UNICEF calculates that 39 percent of Latin America's young people live in poverty. Colombia remains one of the most socially unequal countries on a continent where inequalities rank among the world's worst. FARC has recruited thousands of young people who live in regions marked by poverty.
That's a good reason for Colombia and other Latin American countries to significantly strengthen their social policies. Providing Latin American youths broader opportunities to succeed could weaken FARC propaganda that's based on class warfare and hatred toward the "privileged elites." More progressive social policies could not only control the social discontent, but fuel the stability that development policies need to succeed.
• Maria Cristina Caballero, a former fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership, was the director of investigations at Semana, a Colombian news magazine. She's now a freelance writer.


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Artist: Valeria Fulop
- Size: 30 x 30 x 1.8 inches (76.2 x 76.2 x 4.6 cm)
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Original unique painting, unframed, painted edges ready to hang.
Related CategoriesPaintingsAbstractsShapesMedium (16 - 30")AcrylicMulti-ColouredAbstractContemporary
Valeria Fulop
'My paintings are inspired by tranquillity and spiritual freedom. My work is strongly influenced by Balkan and Central/Eastern-European culture, exploring the myths and primordial female archetypes. I'm concerned with the alienated and isolated individual of today's life, who lost connection from 'oneness' separated from one's original roots. When I work, I'm using solely intuition and spiritual awareness. The female figure is the representation of the fragile but determined soul, and to visualise the complexity of emotions I create multiple layers which helps me to restructure the 'hidden inner beauty' within the painting.' Valeria was born and studied fine art in Hungary, influenced by its rich artistic culture, and history.... (see more)
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No rigid rules, labels or dogmas.... just REAL food, for your body, mind & soul!
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"As soon as you truly commit to making something happen, the "how" will reveal itself." – Tony Robbins
The only things you can control are:
how you think and speak,what you do: what you eat, what you drink, when you move your body, when you sleep, how you will respond to any situation.
Master these simple things positively and you will be amazed at the changes that will come into your life! Let this be your year to SHINE!!
~ Susan Bradbury
Don't miss my very important announcement in the Vault regarding our FINAL 11 Week Initiative! Click here for more details.
You are never stuck. Things can and do and always will change. It is hard to remember this in the darkest hours. But do not believe that you are stuck. Change is inevitable. Breakthroughs happen every day. Know that every little hope, every positive idea and every struggling step forward is a sure step on the path to a breakthrough. And don't forget that happy thoughts will help you fly! ~Jinjee
Take some time to journal your thoughts...your ideas, your goals...Keep track of your progress....Focus on taking care of YOU! : )
Let YOUR Super Hero out NOW! : )
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Monday, 16 April 2012
SOG Featured Digi - Guitar Kody
There's a gorgeous digital stamp, Guitar Kody, being featured on the Some Odd Girl blog today. Three ODDies including myself, prepared some cards for you, but before that happens, I need to share that it's my last post as a Some Odd Girl Design Team Member.
It's been a double hard decision to step down, not only because I ADORE my SOGgies, but it's only been a couple of months since I joined.
This is my last step for the time being, in a "Spring cleaning" that I treated my hobby to, in order to concentrate on the new assignments and make more time for the family.
However, I'm not saying no to my cherished SOG stamps by any means, and you'll be seeing plenty of them in the future!
Here's what I whipped up, with the handsome Kody...
I've been trying to be a good girl lately, but this time I didn't write down the codes for the Copics I used, there were too many... sowwy!
The papers come from the Graphic 45 paper pad, Olde Curiosity Shoppe.
The stars were die cut with S4-092 Stars Five Nestabilities®.
I also took a pretty liberal approach to the ISSC11 sketch, with this card :)
Visit the Some Odd Girl blog, for more inspiration from the DT!
10 comments:
Your colouring is superb, Chupa, and your creativity and designs always amazing. You can go from one extreme to the other in styles and always make them look like they're your style! Have a great week :)ReplyDelete
Deeelicious card, as always girlie!! Love the colour combo - I'm always in need of boy inspiration, and this is perfect!!ReplyDelete
Absolutely gutted to hear you're stepping down from SOG but I have my fingers tightly crossed that we'll still see your gorgeous creations featuring the adorable images! You work them SO well.
Lots of love. xo
I am seriously going to miss you Chupa.. your coloring is spot on and soooo gorgeous. LOVE your card with the stars.. you rocked it with Kody for sure!!ReplyDelete
big hugs,
I just adore your coloring! So multi talented you are! Thanks for joining in at I Spy!ReplyDelete
Fab card, love that image and what you have done with it.....ReplyDelete
This is awesome!!! I love the way you colored him, he looks fantastic! Those papers are really great, I have just about everything but Graphic 45, I'll have to check it out!!!ReplyDelete
He is a cutie. I've not seen those papers before, but they are great. Your card is adorable.ReplyDelete
Really cute card and take on the sketch! Love the image and great coloring. TFS and have a wonderful day.ReplyDelete
Kody looks awesome! I love the intense color and contrast you've put into the image and the card.ReplyDelete
Holy Dinah, girl! Your cards never fail to amaze me! Remember when you were talking about how sometimes you come across another blog and feel that your own work never measures up? Never fear my dear because your cards top the charts and whenever I visit your blog I'm left wondering about my own cardmaking abilities!!!! Thanks so much for playing along with us over at iSpy Sketches!ReplyDelete


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|View Poll Results: Guilty Crown - Episode 22 Rating
|Perfect 10
|9 out of 10 : Excellent
|8 out of 10 : Very Good
|7 out of 10 : Good
|6 out of 10 : Average
|5 out of 10 : Below Average
|4 out of 10 : Poor
|3 out of 10 : Bad
|2 out of 10 : Very Bad
|1 out of 10 : Painful
|Voters: 190. You may not vote on this poll
|Thread Tools
|2012-03-22, 22:39
|Link #84
Combating Spoiler Scum
Join Date: Nov 2003
Age: 35
Ugh....not that I expected much better. But it's depressing to think that some of the same folks behind Geass made this. It reminds me of directors like john carpenter and m. night shyamalan...who have been capable of terrific movies and complete trainwrecks. How does that happen?
|2012-03-22, 23:04
|Link #86
Love Yourself
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Northeast USA
Age: 33
I didn't realize that Shu was blinded - I initially thought that his cane was just because he had been crippled. Briefly re-watched that scene and it seems that it is indeed a cane for the blind (or visually-impaired). It was also a bit ambiguous to me as to whether Inori survived or not. I'll go with the comments here and assume that she didn't. Both of those ideas makes me appreciate the ending quite a bit more, actually.
I presume there will be an overall series rating thread, so I'll save my general thoughts for there. I liked this ending, but it didn't move me in the way that a number of other series have. I suspect that part of this is because we as the audience were never really given the opportunity to get attached to Inori. For being a main character, her character development was surprisingly limited, and I feel as if she had less screen time than Ayase and maybe even Tsugumi. It seems to me that the shock factor, the part that is supposed to bring tears to your eyes and that heart-wrenching sensation, is Inori's disappearance. Without that sense of attachment, the emotional impact is minimal.
|2012-03-22, 23:13
|Link #88
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Shu: I'll get back Inori for sure..
3 mins later, after Gai's defeat
Gai: Go Shu, bring back Inori..
Me: OMG.. this will lead to a happy Ending!!
4 mins later..
Shu: Let's go together Inori..
Me: Wait.. will they die together??! Nooo...
2 mins later..
Shu: Inori noo!! (Shu is alive)
Me: You're a failure.. Shu.. always.. You even can't save one girl that you loved.. even u don't learn from Hare's case..*facepalm*
Shu is blind.. Forever alone.. and a daydreamer.. EVEN HE CAN'T SEE THE WORLD HE HAS ALREADY SAVED!!!
Me: FIND A GIRL SHU! AYASE HAS AFFECTION ON YOU.. GRAWR!!
*flipping table*
f*ck the scriptwriter and the director..
I guess.. Sawano Hiroyuki put too much effort in composing and arranging the soundtracks...
|2012-03-22, 23:14
|Link #89
Catholic = Cat addiction?
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: MURICA!!
Personally, I felt the ending (as the way it had been constructed) was unnecessary. Of all the cries of saving Inori, Shu failed, utterly!! Unless one can look at it in a way where Inori's soul was saved and thus liberated, although I consider that concept as a cop-out.
It doesn't help by the fact that the upbeat EDs of previous episodes was totally misleading. So at the end, what do we get? A blind and crippled Shu. Nice!
Honestly, if I was Shu, I would have made the pledge to just go with Inori, because from my own personal observation, Shu had nothing to lose.
This is on the level of TTGL's ending, which I did not appreciate very much.
- Tak
|2012-03-22, 23:24
|Link #90
Caperucita Roja
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Over the rainbow
|2012-03-22, 23:38
|Link #93
Catholic = Cat addiction?
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: MURICA!!
Shu on the other hand... despite his hatred for power, deliberately became what Paul Atreides loathed.
- Tak
|2012-03-22, 23:47
|Link #94
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Maximum mixed feelings towards this episode. For one side, Shu x Inori end is achieved but I would have prefered her to be in a more tangible form rather than inside Shu's mind. At least the writer didn't have the bright idea to pull an Ayase end out of nowhere. Terrible character.
Great music, action, final showdown between Gai and Shu complete with sword slashing together with Inori's soul like in the first OP, Shibungi killing Kido, Daryl going all out. All ok.
Sooooooooo: great series, not so great ending. Would rewatch and replace my TV version files with the blu rays.
|2012-03-22, 23:54
|Link #95
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Shu should have either die with inori together, or come out of crystals together. That ending was ...
As for ep the only thing that took my notice was authors trying as hard as they can to fit as many fanservice as possible.
Ayase boobs rolling around on the crash.
Tsugumi ass stick outs on firewall fights O_o.
Heck probably the only nice thing was Kazuma or whatshisname taking a bullet to his head.
And Arisa surviving ... hope she will work her ass out as dutch wife, since she no longer has family $$.
|2012-03-23, 00:01
|Link #96
Tsushima Masaki
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Well, trainwreck of its season that's for sure. I started out just enjoying the ride because I was like "omg it's Production I.G.!!" and not looking too closely at the flaws of this show until it they became impossible to ignore. This show was basically a dog's breakfast in terms of pretty much everything. Maybe had it been a 30-50 episode show they would've been able to actually tell a coherent story... but then again... maybe not, probably just a longer trainwreck reminiscent of Gundam SEED Destiny.
Were they too ambitious? Were they too unoriginal? Were they pressed for time? Did the executives tamper with a promising formula? I'll never know, but what I do know is that this series is just asking for fixfics and alternate interpretations.
I'm not even pissed off that I spent 11 hours on this show... I'm just laughing right now.
|2012-03-23, 00:32
|Link #97
Caperucita Roja
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Over the rainbow
Spoiler for Dune - GC comparison:
But I must say I read Dune books like 8-9 years ago, so maybe I'm confusing events and characters
Ok, Japan. If you're thinking on doing something inspired in a work of Asimov, PLEASE, DON'T. Thanks . Back in the past, I wished for I.G. adapting the Foundation series. But now... I think I'm going to pass .
Last edited by Zaresh; 2012-03-23 at 00:42.
|2012-03-23, 00:56
|Link #98
Knight of Zero
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: World of C
Age: 29
I'm finally dropping this series..
The epilogue seemed abit off (not referring to Ayase's bust reduction, or the successful copulation of Funnell) but the ending shot of Shu connecting with Inori via her song coupled with the line from the ED was excellent.
I thought the Shu x Gai battle would be something epic along the lines of F/SN: UBW. It did venture into that path, with Shu and Gai wielding a similar weapon but it was ridiculously short.. The way the scriptwriters revealed Gai's motivations seemed like a plaster pasted over a cement crack - and the plastering was prevalent throughout the second half of the series. Bit disappointed in that
Just one question mark though,
After Shu took over the string from Inori, I realised he wasn't in his original pose (during the crystalization) anymore.. So probably his arm disappeared along with the crystals he was absorbing which begs the next question, how did he ninja himself out of the collapsing wreck? Last I recall his segway was already out of service. And he has no more voids/or did he ninja'ed Ayase's?
8/10 for me though, coz the heartstrings were pulled, no less to the use of the soundtracks.
|Thread Tools


text:
December 20, 1996
The Oriental Institute's Ancient Near East (ANE) discussion list has started up again, in new and improved formats, and the digest archives of all discussions are available via your WWW browser. We encourage you to subscribe to one of the lists and join in the conversations regarding the ancient Near East.
November 21, 1996
As we approach the Holiday season, please do not forget to include the Oriental Institute on your gift-giving list. We have prepared a document, 1996 Gift/Pledge Information, to assist you. Happy holidays, and thank you for your support of the Oriental Institute.
November 1, 1996
An Adult Education course, being taught entirely on the Internet, entitled "Introduction to Ancient Egypt", starts on November 4, 1996. This publicly available homepage outlines the course description, and individuals can express their interest in future course offerings.
October 21, 1996
Separate listings of Scholars and Institutions involved in Demotic studies are now available on the Oriental Institute's Demotic Dictionary Project homepage. Information on how to be included in these two listings is also available.
October 9, 1996
The Oriental Institute Suq (Museum Store) is sponsoring an Oriental Rug Symposium on October 26-27, 1996 and Sale on October 23-30, 1996, at the Oriental Institute. Come one, come all, and catch the Oriental "Rug Bug".
August 26, 1996
The Persian Gallery and the Temporary Exhibits Gallery are now available from the Oriental Institute Virtual Museum, as well as Apple QTVR panoramic movies of the Oriental Institute Research Archives and Breasted Hall. This completes the first phase of development for the Oriental Institute Virtual Museum.
August 23, 1996
The third installment of the photographic exhibit by the Epigraphic Survey's staff photographer, Tom Van Eynde, is now available. Photographs in the exhibition, entitled Tom Van Eynde: Thebes Photographic Project, are updated bi-monthly.
August 8, 1996
Research updates for three Oriental Institute research projects are now available from their HomePages, as follows:
- The Afroasiatic Index Project: ETYMOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS: THE AFROASIATIC INDEX
- The Aqaba Project: AQABA WORK DEFIES MOTHER NATURE
- The Luxor-Farshût Desert Road Project: EXCITEMENT ON THE LUXOR-FARSHÛT DESERT ROAD SURVEY
August 6, 1996
A progress report on the Oriental Institute Museum renovation project, RENOVATION MOVES FORWARD, written by Assistant Curator Emily Teeter, is now available.
July 26, 1996
A new Archaeology Project is now posting recent results on the Oriental Institute WWW server. Oriental Institute Assistant Professor David Schloen reports on the Ashkelon Excavations, of which he is the Associate Director. The excavations are sponsored by Harvard University and The Semitic Museum.
July 25, 1996
The Mesopotamian Gallery of the Oriental Institute Virtual Museum is now open, with 12 more QTVR panoramic movie files and exhibition descriptions as well as detailed listings of the more than 1,300 Mesopotamian artifacts on display.
July 23, 1996
A special exhibit of the Oriental Institute Museum, FACES OF ANCIENT EGYPT, will be displayed at the University of Chicago's David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, from September 10, 1996 through March 9, 1997.
June 14, 1996
Information about a new Oriental Institute archaeological project, the Amuq Valley Regional Projects, is now available, starting with a report of its 1995 season.
June 13, 1996
New Gallery Image-based Menus are now available to help visitors find their way around the Oriental Institute Virtual Museum.
June 11, 1996
A new Subject-based Menu is now available to help visitors find their way around the Oriental Institute Virtual Museum.
June 5, 1996
The Oriental Institute is pleased to announce the availability of the ORIENTAL INSTITUTE VIRTUAL MUSEUM on the World Wide Web.
The Oriental Institute Virtual Museum makes use of a series of Apple QuickTime VR panoramic movies to take you on an detailed tour of each of the Museum's galleries, accompanied by descriptions of each alcove and its artifacts. Where appropriate, links to related materials on our server, such as the Museum's Highlights From The Collections, the Photographic Archives, and relevant Oriental Institute Archaeology and Philology projects will elaborate on the most significant objects in greater detail.
Special, FREE, software is required to view the panoramic movie part of the Virtual Museum. Instructions for obtaining and installing this software are included in the Virtual Museum pages.
May 28, 1996
A new object, The Mummy and Coffin of Meresamun, has been added to the Highlights From The Collection section of the Museum Home Page. It contains information obtained from digital radiograph and CT scans of the mummy performed by the University of Chicago Hospital.
May 26,
A new article, A BALIKH PROSPECT, is now available in the Landscape Studies in Upper Mesopotamia Project from the Archaeology Home Page.
May 23, 1996
All of the 1994-95 Oriental Institute Annual Report entries are now available. They can be accessed in Table of Contents form, or they can be reached through the HomePages of the various Archaeological and Philological projects, OI Department HomePages, and the Individual Scholarship HomePages. Additionally, they are listed in the May 5 and 23 updates to the Abzu What's New HomePage.
May 17, 1996
The Oriental Institute Membership Office announces a new Travel Program, Ancient Anatolia: A Journey To Turkey. This travel program will take you to the centers of the many ancient civilizations of Turkey---to the cities of the Hittites at Hattusa and Karatepe, the remains of Constantinople, the painted rock churches of Cappadocia, the Phrygian capital at Gordion, and many others from September 28 - October 13, 1996.
May 6, 1996
About one half of the Oriental Institute 1994-1995 Annual Report entries for the various research projects and individual scholarship by Institute faculty, staff, and research associates are now available from each project homepage. The remaining entries will be finished and available next week.
April 30, 1996
The second installment of the photographic exhibit by the Epigraphic Survey's staff photographer, Tom Van Eynde, is now available. Photographs in the exhibition, entitled Tom Van Eynde: Thebes Photographic Project, will be updated bi-monthly over the next year.
April 16, 1996
The Oriental Institute Web Site has received several awards during the past six months, so we have instituted an Awards Page.
March 19, 1996
A revised description of the Afroasiatic Index Project (formerly the Cushitic Lexicon Project) is now available.
March 6, 1996
The Oriental Institute Museum Education Office has updated its program listings for 1995-96, as well as changing the "look" of its WWW pages. New courses, events, and other opportunities for the public are included. Take a look!!!
February 29, 1996
An on-line version of a photographic exhibit by the Epigraphic Survey's staff photographer, Tom Van Eynde, is now available. Photographs in the exhibition, entitled Tom Van Eynde: Thebes Photographic Project, will be updated bi-monthly over the next year.
February 13, 1996
The latest edition of the Chicago House Bulletin, December 15, 1995, a communication of the Epigraphic Survey detailing the progress of work at Luxor, Egypt, and other events at Chicago House, is now available.
February 8, 1996
The Oriental Institute announces a major grant for the conservation of the Temple of Amun at Medinet Habu in Luxor, Egypt.


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Therapy dog training 101
By Patch O' Pits
Everything your dog does revolves around a foundation in basic obedience and socialization, which I know you all know and probably have mastered. Now you must take it a step farther!
Practice sits,downs stays and comes not only at your home but in a variety of places and always on lead. Teach them a leave it and watch me command too.
It is good to have lots of distractions around you. This way you know they really are reliable and understand what is expected. Don't train for more then 10- 15 minutes at a time without a break with dogs that are around the 1 year mark. They are still pups and you'll both end up frustrated, LOL
A 15, 30 or 50 foot lead is really helpful when training in areas such as parks or parking lots. Off lead pits are just asking for trouble. Even if our dogs aren't at fault remember they will most likely be blamed for whatever goes wrong thanks to the media!
After a couple of weeks of that add in equipment and loud noise distractions to your obedience training. Walkers, wheelchairs, crutches, whistles, clanging pans, vacuum cleaners.
They need to be able to walk past these things and up to them and not want to pounce on them LOL that is the harder part of the obedience work.
Now you are on your way to becoming a Working Therapy Dog handler and owner of a Breed Ambassador!
Breaking the ice with a bully therapy dog:
It helps to teach the dog a goofy trick which can often break the ice with people especially since many people fear this breed.
*Doesn't matter what type of trick.*
Get your dog used to wearing a t-shirt. Some facilities require they have something covering them to cut down on possible allergic reactions by their clients plus this also makes the dogs look more approachable.
*Costumes are fun, but not always comfortable for the dog and you want the dog as relaxed as possible.*
If the dog can make them laugh it tends to override their anxiety!
If you have a cute ice breaker technique or idea ... Post it to help others out. Making someone smile is sometimes the best medicine! Razz
In the meantime check out the "army crawl" and "talk to the paw" posts for some fun ideas
Army Crawl
OK here is something you may want to add to your list of things to teach Wink
Since many of you seem to be interested in working with children, a good thing to teach especially with our sometimes extremely exuberant dogs is what I call the "army crawl." Since many people can be overwhelmed by an APBT or Amstaff is a much less intimidating way for the dog to approach a hesitant or fragile client. Plus it is just another cute easy trick to break the ice.
How to teach it/step by step:
Army crawl is sooooooo easy especially if they have any kind of food or toy drive.
-get the dog in a down stay first
-get on the floor in front of your dog
-next put food in your hand let the dog smell it but not take it, while he remains in the down, or use his favorite toy
**** I find it easier with food
-say, crawl, scoot, look out, enemy coming, or whatever you would like to call it but name it it's own command so once the dog gets it, it won't be confused with any other command you give, and now coax him/her to crawl forward by holding food in a closed hand on the floor and slowly tapping your hand forward.
-now most likely the dog will try to get up that is why to start you need to be down low with the dog
-- if the dog gets up, say no, put them back into the down and start again
It should take only a couple of tries at most before the dog will realize what you are asking. Smile)
As soon as they get it, treat , click, praise throw their toy whatever reward system works for your dog!
once they have that you can change to just a verbal or hand signal for it and don't have to be down on the floor w/ them either Wink
Talk to the Paw
Patcheeno and Apache both wave hello and good-bye on command.
I don't like the give me paw thing because everyone always does that... So, instead I taught them to wave.
Ok, so it isn't the most exciting trick, but it gets a laugh from people now and then. It also makes an APBT seem more approachable to someone who is tentative about the breed
Good Luck and enjoy!


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The Plowboy Mud Bogs Return to Roscoe Texas Saturday, July 6th
Roscoe Mud Bog organizers are getting down and dirty to raise money for Roscoe's Little League Association and the Roscoe High School Cheerleaders. Saturday July 6th, the Roscoe little league baseball field will be the location for the annual "Roscoe Plowboy Mud Bog." Mud Bog organizer Felix Pantoja said "last year with the radio stations help we had just under 2,000 attendees and participants in what has become the funnest event that Roscoe Texas has ever seen."
Felix Pantoja also credited the appearance of mud-bog favorites like Bug Nasty, Head Hunter, Predator, White Trash, Happy Camper, Mojo (an F-350) and Mini Mojo (a Ford Ranger) all of which are returning this year to compete. Anyone can come watch or compete (all you need is a 4X4). Kids can compete too, during intermission kids can make a mad 'Dash for the Cash' and run through the mud pit for a chance at some prize money. Here are the rest of the details.
Plowboy Mud Bog
Date and Time
Saturday July 6th 2013, Registration starts at 9:30 AM, Gates ope at 11:00 AM and Mud-Bogs begin at 12:00 PM.
George Parks Baseball Fields at Second and Sycamore, Roscoe Texas.
Felix Pantoja 325-514-8384
Drivers registration fee $30
General admission adults age 15 and up $5.00
Kids ages 8 to 14 $2.00 and Kids 7 and under get in free
More Info:
Food and drink concessions are available and will benefit the Roscoe High school Cheerleaders. The gate proceeds benefit the Roscoe Little League Association. Bring your lawn chairs and come watch or come race your 4X4. Divisions are described as 4X4 Street Stock, Super Street (with some modifications), Modified, Super Modified, Open Class anything goes (note: No blowers and no Nitro)
Roscoe Plowboy Mud Bog for July 7th, 2012


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After the death of her 104-year-old mother, Maria Garcia's family became regularly involved with her therapy and awakened something hidden deep inside.
The awakening of a mind cast adrift by dementia occurred during a race for ice cream down a nursing home hallway.
Giuliana Garcia, an adorable 1-year-old with a red plastic flower in her dark black hair, giggled as she vibrantly pushed a walker and then looked back to her great-grandmother, who was struggling behind.
Maria Garcia, an 87-year-old porcelain doll of a lady, also pushed a walker, her fingers severely arthritic and her steps painfully slow, but the joy on her face, the sparkle in her eyes, made her therapists clap until they started to cry.
"I'm going to get you," Maria said to Giuliana. "I'm going to get you."
Only weeks before, Maria needed a mechanical lift to get out of bed. She was surly, slapping and screaming at nurses. She spoke only in Spanish. She wouldn't eat. She spit out her pills.
She plunged deeper into her impenetrable world of Alzheimer's-related dementia, and no one thought she would ever emerge.
In April came the most heartbreaking day of all: She attended the funeral of her 104-year-old mother, the person she had spent more than eight decades with, and she didn't know where she was or why she was there.
Then, two months ago, the therapists at the Springs at Lake Pointe Woods in Sarasota had an idea.
If Maria's immediate family became regularly involved with her therapy, and if they continually praised and supported her, it might awaken something hidden deep inside.
And that's just what happened: Something stirred.
Now she sings songs by Julio Iglesias, laughs heartily at jokes, applies her own red Revlon lipstick, eats strawberry ice cream in the parlor with Giuliana, and takes very special care of her baby, a stuffed brown bear named Georgie.
Susan Penar says she has never seen a turnaround so profound in 42 years as an occupational therapist.
"To me Alzheimer's is a cloud, and through love we can penetrate that cloud," says Albert Garcia, Maria's son.
"We may not make it go away, but we'll take a lot of that dark gray out of it and make it into the beautiful light we have now."
Still had fun
She never said a word at her mother's funeral, never blinked back a tear or dabbed her eyes, never mentioned her name.
Nothing, not even when Father Fausto Stampiglia said, "We are now going to pray for the repose of the soul of Rosario Schielzeth."
Rosario Schielzeth was Maria's mother, and their touching relationship, detailed in a Herald-Tribune story last June, generated thousands of comments from around the world.
Maria and Rosario lived either with each other in the same house, or across the street from one another, for roughly 85 years.
For the last 12 they lived together in a house in Sarasota, and even though she was 104, Rosario still took care of Maria, whose dementia has been severe for the past six years.
Yes, they were 104 and 86, respectively, but those are just numbers, and the two still had plenty of fun. They played bingo every night, watched "American Idol," and even wore funny glasses at a 3-D movie about penguins. One time they trekked to the beach.
Maria was born in Costa Rica in 1925 — she was Miss Costa Rica at 17 and painted a stunning version of da Vinci's Last Supper at the same age. She moved to San Francisco with her mother in 1943.
Even when Maria had been married for five years, and had sons Albert and James, she still lived across the street from her mom.
Maria's husband was a musician with a pencil-thin mustache, and after he ran off with an airline stewardess sometime in the 1950s she moved back in with Rosario. And that's how it remained for the decades that followed: Maria and Rosario, together.
In late January, Rosario was opening the patio door to let Frankie the family dog inside when she fell down and broke her hip. She was taken to the Springs for rehab.
Maria remained at home with the caregivers, but she soon began feeling sick and was also brought to the Springs.
And once she got there, well, where else was she going to stay?
Mother and daughter shared the same room, of course, but it was no longer cute and charming. When Rosario stopped eating, Maria did, too. When Rosario spit out her pills, Maria did, too. They seemed to take delight in one another's defiant behavior.
'She knew'
On April 1, Rosario whispered to Janet Underwood, the assistant director of nursing at the Springs, that she was not going to make it to June 13 — her 105th birthday.
She wanted to go home now — today.
She wanted to die.
"She knew," Underwood says.
The next day her breathing became shallow and then it started to make a rattling sound. She gently squeezed the hand of Christian, her great-grandson, and closed her eyes.
She died in her bed.
In the living room, sitting in a chair watching television, was Maria.
Maria never knew, and when the funeral home came to claim Rosario's body she was sound asleep in her bed.
The family debated whether to tell Maria, and then realized maybe they didn't have to.
"You could feel in the atmosphere that she knew something had happened," says Christine Garcia, Albert's wife. "There were no words to explain it. You could feel it sitting with her."
Maria wore a floral dress to her mother's funeral at St. Martha Catholic Church in Sarasota on April 6.
She sat next to Albert and held his hand as he cried.
Singing, clapping
Maria is now sitting in the spacious therapy room at the Springs. Georgie the Bear is safe and sound in her lap.
She has just finished brushing her thick gray hair and is wearing the 425 soft silver red lipstick by Revlon that she applied herself from the makeup kit on the table.
When someone tries to take her photo, she playfully sticks out her tongue.
Albert says to her, "Mom, it's not how old you are but . . ."
". . . it's how old you feel," Maria responds.
"How old do you feel?" asks Penar, the therapist.
"I don't know," Maria says. "I don't look at that. I just do whatever I want. I don't have to tell anybody and if you don't like it too bad."
Everyone in the room laughs.
"When you laugh it's because you feel very good," Maria says matter-of-factly.
Albert Garcia, son Christian and wife Christine attend all of Maria's therapy sessions. They are there Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 2:30, and the difference it has made has been astonishing, the therapists say.
"We all have choices in life, and that's the choice we made," Albert Garcia says. " 'No, we're not going to let her go down.' It's just the opposite, she's going to thrive."
When Maria lived with her mother and two caregivers, she had some family support but no consistent physical or mental stimulation. For the last year, the family says, she was in front of a television most of the day.
Now she is getting stimulation and support.
"It just seems to be awakening all of her senses," Penar says.
Sometimes Kjirsten Erickson, Maria's physical therapist, will walk by her room at night and hear her laughing and singing.
"Now she's one person," Erickson says.
Now, she walks down the hallway and reads the signs on the walls.
Now, she counts the plants and birds outside in the courtyard and loves to look at the animals in National Geographic, all except the ugly monkeys.
Now, she sings "Here Comes the Bride" and "Amapola" and can belt out three quick verses of "La Cucaracha."
Now, she's clapping at the Father's Day performance by the Australian dry cleaner from downtown Sarasota who does an uncanny Sinatra.
But what really makes her smile is Georgie the Bear, the stuffed animal the family purchased at IKEA for $20.
Maybe it's not as childish as it looks. Maybe, in her world, Georgie represents someone she can care for, someone who needs her, someone she can make feel happy. All of the things her mother was to her, all of the things her family is to her right now.
"Do you like my baby?" she constantly asks.
There are also real reminders of how hard it is for her.
As she tries to grab her wheelchair for a short therapy walk across the room, she says to Erickson, "I can't make it up."
"We'll help you," Erickson says.
"My feet hurt," Maria says.
"I know," Erickson says. "I'm sorry."
"It's too much," Maria says. "I can't. You don't know how much it hurts. Oh my knees. Oh my back."
Only once in the last six years has she given any indication she remembers anything from her past.
Only once it came out: She remembered Albert crying as he chased after his father while he was walking out on his mother.
In some ways, the family figures, her dementia is a blessing. She doesn't remember the disappointments of her life, can't comprehend hurt and sorrow and death, even Rosario's, especially Rosario's.
Life to her now is singing Julio Iglesias songs and counting birds in the courtyard and racing her great-granddaughter to the ice cream parlor for a scoop of strawberry.
And maybe that's all right.
Around 5 p.m. on a recent rainy afternoon she is sitting alone at her table in the dining room. Albert walks over to say goodbye and gently kisses the top of her head.
She looks up at her son and smiles, Georgie the Bear safe and sound in her care.


text:
Erin's a Fatty
the Week!
Wanna talk to a Fatty? Email email@example.com.
Or just sign her guestbook.
View Fatty's Guestbook
Sign Fatty's Guestbook
Updated March 23, 2003
Just because your picture is on this site doesn't mean you're fat.
And just because I call you a Fatty doesn't mean you're fat.
I mean, sure, maybe you're fat, but that's not really for me to say.
Updated March 23, 2003


text:
Endowed Professorships
An endowed professorship is among the highest honors a member of the university faculty can receive. The appointment reflects the institution's appreciation of a scholar's achievements and provides essential support to advance additional intellectual work. Among other activities, professors use the associated funds to:
- support initial information gathering required to secure outside funding,
- provide financial assistance to student researchers, and
- fund travel to present findings at major academic conferences.
Endowed professorships are essential not only for the tangible benefits they provide, but also their symbolic significance to the individuals designated to receive them. These honors help attract and keep top faculty, and provide meaningful recognition to some of the academic community's most outstanding members.
Support Our Faculty


text:
This blog contains Digital Photography, designs and fabric art created using graphics programs, Corel Draw, Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop Elements 11. I shall share my thoughts and ideas about creativity in the hope that this will spur me on to greater things. I am quite technically minded and like to know how things work.
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Friday 05 October
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Mar del Plata
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text:
by Janet Gilmore
Late in the day, the last rays of sunlight shone through the windows and across the floor almost to the free weight section in the back of the L.A. Fitness building in the Andorra Shopping Center. I approached the leg press machine with my usual confidence, bypassing the 5- 10- and 25-pound weights. The 45-pound weight clunked softly when I lifted it with both hands and slipped it over the weight bar. I went back and picked up another heavy weight to balance the other side.
There: 90 pounds. That should be enough for any gray-haired lady. After all, the young man on the next leg press machine, with his tattoos and his shiny new Nikes, was lifting 180 pounds. In the meantime, I added three more heavy plates to each side. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that the tattooed young man stopped lifting for a minute and was looking in my direction. Good. I had stacked 360 pounds onto the machine. Enough for my new modified workout.
But not what I'd like to be doing. Not what I'm capable of doing. I sighed. No one could know I'd only set a fraction of the weight I usually lift. I wasn't feeling good about this new change my doctor and my husband want me to make. I'm not happy about traveling light like this.
In the seat, I pushed for the first set. It felt good but too easy. It's difficult for a weight lifter to lower the amount of weight she's used to. It felt like cheating. I like to challenge my muscles. I work hard for strength and flexibility. I can't control getting older, but I can control my strength training for now, and I'm determined to.
Last December I had a "big" birthday. Not big enough to end with a zero, but big enough to ride the train for a dollar without being asked for I.D. That very day my doctor gave my knee a cortisone shot and started me on blood pressure medication. An injection and blood pressure medication are not good birthday gifts and never will be. And my doctor told me to decrease the leg weights in my workouts.
While I rested before a second set of 15 repetitions, I thought about an April, 2006, New York Times Magazine interview with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She claimed she could press 400 pounds on the leg machine at her gym. Huh? Madeleine Albright? Not exactly a bodybuilding magazine cover girl.
Back in the leg press chair, I began my second set.
After I'd read that article, I'd decided to see if I could lift at least as much weight as Madeleine Albright. I worked hard and got stronger week-by-week, and after two years of training I was lifting 450 pounds with my legs.
Why? Because this is something — maybe the last thing — I can do that is physically extraordinary. I think I can press more leg weight than any other little old lady in the gym and more than some of the big fierce-looking guys who strut chest-first around the gym as though they own the world. I get a secret delight from lifting more weight than those guys. I love being strong.
But now, here I was, reduced from an Albright-beating 450 pounds to a mere 360 — just for the sake of common sense. Could I really go through with this new sensible workout?
As I worked halfway through my new, cautious routine I remembered all the advice I'd been given lately. "Janet, as the body ages…" "If you can injure one knee, don't you think you can injure the other one also?" "You will reach a point when cortisone shots don't help you any more, and then we'll talk about knee replacement surgery." "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." "Listen, Queenie, who's going to push me in my wheelchair if you can't walk?"
Back in the leg machine seat, I started my third set. I did two repetitions, then stopped. I couldn't take it anymore. Enough common sense for one day. I rose from my seat. I added another 45-pound plate to each side of the machine, sat down and continued the third set with 450 pounds. Not easy but do-able. How's that, Madeleine?
I felt much better. Felt like myself. Strong. Striving. On a mission. I hope to add a tiny bit more weight by the end of the year. I decided to let pain be my guide, not common sense. I hope my knees hold out.
I hate to make concessions, especially to myself.
(Ed. Note: When I received this column from Janet last Saturday, I could not believe that Janet, who weighs a mere 125 pounds, could really lift 450 pounds with her legs, so I insisted on verifying it the next day at L.A. Fitness and taking her picture while lifting the weight. On Sunday I did take the accompanying photo while Janet lifted 10 plates of 45 pounds each. Unbelievable! Janet insisted that I try to do it also, so I did try. I could not budge the weight one inch, and I almost got a hernia trying.)


text: Air-Operated Double Diaphragm (AODD) rental pumps from Rain for Rent bring versatility to your liquid management tasks. Their ability to handle a wide variety of liquids—including corrosive and abrasive fluids—delivers real advantages over other pumps and their simple design provides safe, energy-efficient operation. With a broad range of flow that's ideal for low-flow and small filtration jobs, AODD pumps provide superior performance and fuel efficiency.


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Cassidy Throw Shots at Lil Wayne & Young Money!? + Partnership With Carmelo Anthony
"Cassidy Takes Shots at Lil Wayne, Young Money, Cash Money? Talks Carmelo Anthony Partnership. Exclusive with FUTURE iMag in NYC."
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text:
Feel Like Fakin' Love
It's common knowledge—or at least a tired Sex and the City cliché—that women sometimes fake orgasms. But here's the thing: men bluff their way to the finish line, too. Jim Behrle explains why it's A-OK for guys to indulge in some between-the-sheets theatrics
Hi, I' m a man, and I've faked orgasms. I've put my scrunched-up, communing-with-the-universe, pleasure-stoked little O-face on when in fact I was feeling nothing. I have closed my eyes and groaned like a wildebeest. I've even thrown in a few twitchy little shakes at the end like there's a loose live wire opping around inside me. I'm not much of an actor, but it's not a tough thing to pull off. How, exactly? you may be wondering. Is there not, well, proof? Let me put it this way: Orgasms aren't hard to fake; ejaculations are. Just use a condom, which I and nine out of ten dentists recommend, and you can easily obscure the lack of evidence. ("Excuse me, miss, let me just run to the bathroom and get rid of this unsightly rubber that may or may not contain my semen.")
The real question here is: Why would any man do this? Don't we spend most of our busy hours—and all of our bored ones—plotting to get women into bed with us, just to have the opportunity to orgasm? How could I be so ungrateful? So careless with my good fortune?
Point taken. But the problem with that attitude is that it doesn't account for system malfunctions. Totally natural system malfunctions. Picture this: Woman beneath me. We've had sex a handful of times before. The thrill of new sex has maybe given way to the part where I've found a comfortable, familiar rhythm and started to scan the spines on her bookshelf. It's very late. I'm very drunk. Numb. Psyching myself out here now. Plus, I need sleep. In fact, I must sleep. As I rapidly approach 40, if you offered me the choice between the hottest sex of my life or the greatest nap of all time, well, I would have a lot of trouble making that choice. So I decide: This must end.
Perfect sex is pretty much a myth. And men shouldn't be ashamed of that. When a pitcher has a bad night, it doesn't mean he's a bad pitcher. Shit happens. How often does a pitcher even throw a complete game? The manager just comes out, takes the ball, pats you on the ass, and gets some- one else to nish the job. "Now completing the sex act with your girlfriend, number 42, Mariano Rivera!"
And just to affirm: I conducted a scientic poll to back up my theory. Nate Silver would no doubt be proud of me. Bars are historically the best environment to get truthful answers, so I asked my pals one Friday night after two beers downed. My friends all had stories; we're just terrible. Reasons faked were all generally in the same vein, evoking the old sexually frustrated lines of the great Robert Frost poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening": The woods may be lovely, dark and deep / But get the hell off me because I want to sleep. Though one of my friends—let's call him Tim—offered up the following reason: "Well, she looked at me and said, 'Are you gonna come?' because she wanted us to climax together. And I said, 'Yeah,' even though I wasn't close. It's not as if I acted it out like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally or anything. I just…you know…didn't." Ah, the simultaneous orgasm, one of the most despicable lies of Contemporary Love and Sex, rears its ugly head. Can't we just accept that if a train leaves Boston at 8 p.m. and another train leaves Philadelphia at 8:15, they might not pass each other at the exact same second every night? Well, we should. Sometimes there's a cow on the tracks at Trenton.
I have this theory that it's a language problem. We simply don't have an unloaded way (excuse the pun) of ceasing our Sisyphean thrusting and saying, "It ain't going to happen." Or maybe I'm just cowardly. But I don't want to plant seeds of concern and self-doubt in some lady awesome enough to take her clothes off with me. Which is why there should be a word that means "Okay, please get off—I think this is over now" but contains no malice. Perhaps "Ziffer!" Ziffer, vb: I'm polite and tired, and I have to stop now, but you're great, okay?
After all, people fake all sorts of things: interest in your baby and vacation photos; that they're listening to your problems; an emotion called "love." If you've ever seen the cover of a women's magazine, you probably know that up to 80 percent of the fairer sex have faked an orgasm. And they accept that. They talk about it openly! At least in the pages of lady mags.
But here's the problem: Men aren't supposed to be the fakers. The idea, widely disseminated and accepted, is that men are the ones generally trying to prolong the time it takes to ejaculate, not shorten it. Which brings us to the most basic problem with sex—the entire act is built around the dude's orgasm. If a woman doesn't come, the man's no good in bed. If a man doesn't come, it hardly seems like sex was had at all, which, when you think about it, is pretty unfair to both genders. Women, bless them, feel like they have to bring men to the nish line. And men are expected to come at the drop of a hat. Literally any hat. Put boobs on a hat. Bam. Whoo!
And not only do you have to come every time, you have to stage a little one-act play. The big catch-deucey-deuce here, though, is that if we banished all the B-grade act- ing and could actually concentrate on coming instead of on the reworks show we're supposed to put on, we'd probably have an easier time coming in the rst place.
_When Harry met an inability to climax _
So now that it's out in the open that faking is not just a one-gender street, why don't we together, brothers and sisters, agree to end the deception altogether? Take the following oath with me, everyone. Out loud. At the top of your lungs, especially if you are on the subway or in a waiting room. "I [your name here, or mine, surrounded by trumpet sounds] agree to be real with all current and future lovers. Only through absolute and complete soul-rending honesty will we usher in a new age of transcendent Orgasmhood. And I promise to be in the vanguard of this change. All of my orgasms shall henceforth be really, really Real!" Now we shake our genitals on it. Doesn't that feel good?
Jim Behrle is a poet living in Brooklyn. This is his first article for GQ.