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Artistic Director ¢ Maestro Valery Gergiev
The Stars of the White Nights is one of the brightest stars of the
music and theatre universe and has emerged to be one of the most popular and
grandiose music forums in its context and scale. The Stars of the
White Nights Festival was created in 1993 by Valery Gergiev,ĀMariinsky TheatreĀArtistic and
General Director.Maestro Gergiev says that he conceived the first Festival as a
"musical gift" to the city from the Mariinsky and its star-artists. From the
very beginning the Festival has been focused on the masterpieces of the worldÆs
music discovering for its audience some rarely performed or undeservedly
forgotten pieces.
The Stars of the White Nights Festival has gained in strength,
popularity and international acclaim. The duration for the Festival it has
expanded from ten days to three months during the last sixteen year. Renowned
conductors and star-artists take as great honour the invitation to perform at
the Stars of the White Nights. Each year the Festival programme
includes the TheaterÆs finest opera and ballet productions, great symphonic
works, masterpieces of chamber music and new premieres. During the last
years the Festival programme has included the works created by the great
classical composers ¢ĀBeethoven symphonies,ĀProkofiev's and Tchaikovsky's operas, ballets and
symphony music. Major events at the Stars have included the
productionĀof Wagner's Der Ring des
Nibelungen, in addition to the Shostakovich and Mahler Symphonies
series.This festival is a must for ballet, opera and classical music
amateurs. The annualĀStars of the White Nights Festival takes an
inspiration for its name from the short summer season when the sun never sets,
and the beauty of St-Petersburg White Nights contributes to the festivalÆs
special atmosphere and its world-class programme of concerts, as audience comes
out of the historic theatre at midnight into daylight to stroll along the
streets of the theatrical setting of St Petersburg.
"The Stars of the White Nights 2009" International Music
21 May ¢ 19 July 2009
The Mariinsky Theatre presents the XVII International
Stars of the White Nights Festival.
Mariinsky Theatre and Mariinsky Theatre Opera and Concert
Ģ Opera stars in productions and
solo recitals: Maria Guleghina, Anna Netrebko, Rene Pape, Bryn Terfel, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Olga Borodina and Ildar Abdrazakov
Ģ Ballet stars: Diana Vishneva, Svetlana Zakharova (Bolshoi Theatre
of Russia), Ulyana Lopatkina, Alina Somova, Viktoria Tereshkina, Leonid Sarafanov and Vladimir Shklyarov
Ģ Internationally acclaimed musicians: violinist Leonidas Kavakos, pianists Maestro Rudolf Buchbinder, Yefim Bronfman, Lang Lang, Maestro Denis Matsuev and the
Mogilevsky dynasty
Ģ Events in the ballet calendar: the return of
Shurale, one of the most popular works by legendary
choreographer Leonid Yakobson, and the premiere of a work
by Christopher Wheeldon
Ģ Berlioz´ grandiose Les Troyens under
Maestro Valery Gergiev (23 and 24
Ģ Wagner´s "Der Ring des Nibelungen" tetralogy in a
revived stage version (4-7 July)
Ģ A Ludwig Van Beethoven series
including all the composer´s symphonies, all his piano concerti and one violin
concerto, performed by the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra
under Maestro Valery Gergiev, Gianandrea Noseda, Paavo Jarvi and Tugan Sokhiev
Ģ Munich Philharmonic Society´s Symphony
Orchestra under Christian Tileman (31 May and 1
Ģ Berlin Philharmonic Octet
at the Concert Hall (10 and 11 June)
Ģ Tour by the National Ballet of Spain under
its Director José Antonio, marking thirty years of the
company´s history and the end of the career of famed dancer and choreographer
José Antonio (14-18 July)
Ģ One of the most stunning premieres of Finnish National
Opera ¢ Aulis Sallinen´s The Red Line ("Punainen Viiva") (29 May)
Henri Dutilleux, a guest of last year´s Festival, will be
succeeded by one of the most significant German composers of the present day ¢
Hans Werner Henze. The Festival is thus
continuing to familiarise St Petersburg audiences with the music of major living
European and Russian composers. It should be remembered that programmes of the
Concert Halland the Theatre over the past two years
have included many works by young British composer Thomas AdÕs, Russia´s renowned Rodion Shchedrin and noted representatives of
the Leningrad school of composition Boris Tishchenko and Sergei Slonimsky as well as Vladimir
Tarnopolsky, Valentin Silvestrov and Olga Bochikhina among


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Packed within the four walls of a tiny 6 by 10 centimeter sardine can, the miniature characters created by sculptor Nathalie Alony for her project Home Sweet Home are both humorous and poignant. Arranged in a massive grid, the artist's sardine can dioramas serve as a metaphor for the confined apartments in which we nest. These intricate figurines—men, women, children, beloved pets—each exist within the limits of their aluminum enclosure, building complex family and personal universes that seem to operate independently of the outside world. Despite the isolation of each piece, together Alony's cans form a complex network that wakes and rests as a unified community, separated only by thin, delicate metal.
Like strange dollhouses, these precious sardine can apartments allow us to navigate and to find meaning in the rituals of domestic life. Much of the action portrayed here is banal: the routine laundering of children's clothes, the checking off of days on a calendar, the painting of walls. When seen in miniature, intricately rendered by the artist's masterful hands, mundane home improvement tasks become endlessly enthralling. Here, we can be voyeurs in the most innocent sense, entering the intimate confines of the homes of others with tender curiosity.
Alony's brilliant little worlds capture the lonesomeness of modern living; seeing the fourth aluminum wall pulled back to reveal precious, private lives, we yearn for a similar intimacy in real life. A home, carved out lovingly from a tiny industrial box, contains all the secrets and wonders of families that are not our own. What goes on in the cherished homes of others? (via Junk Culture and Lost at E Minor)

subset: commoncrawl


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I am now officially fed up with winter – its dark evenings, grey skies, snow and coldness can just do one as far as I'm concerned. I think it might've got the message as this weekend has been milder...and who knew the sky was actually blue?
Anyway, weather rant over. I was setting the scene for why I decided to look to warmer climes for my baking inspiration this week. It's been too long since I made a curd, and Mr CC suggested that lime curd would be a good idea. He was right. I used juice and zest and it gave the curd an elegant look that indicated the fruitiness within:
There is something about curd that is heavenly – I've been trying to think how to describe that unmistakable curd flavour. The best I can do is that the texture somehow is the flavour. Weird!
The zinginess of the lime worked really well with the light coconut sponge. To keep the whole thing fresh I avoided buttercream and decided on whipped cream for the filling. When is adding cream to anything ever a bad idea? Never, that's when! (Although I have to admit to adding a bit too much and it all squidge out when I cut the cake!)
To distribute the curd flavour throughout the sponge I planned on cutting each sponge in two so there were three layers of curd. That was the plan. But then the Australian Open tennis final started and I suspect that, like everyone else preparing Sunday lunch, I suddenly found that I had a lot less time than anticipated and abandoned the idea!
For the lime curd:
2 limes – zest and juice
75g caster sugar
2 eggs
50g unsalted butter
2 limes – zest and juice
75g caster sugar
2 eggs
50g unsalted butter
For the cake:
175g unsalted butter
175g golden caster sugar
3 eggs
175g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
55g desiccated coconut
2 teaspoons coconut extract (optional)
3 tablespoons milk
175g unsalted butter
175g golden caster sugar
3 eggs
175g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
55g desiccated coconut
2 teaspoons coconut extract (optional)
3 tablespoons milk
To finish: 200ml cream, whipped to a consistency just thick enough to hold its shape (I used 300ml and you will see from my photos that it was too much...and that's me saying that so you know it's true!)
Start by making the lime curd (you can do this 1-2 days ahead of making the cupcakes): Place the lime zest and sugar in a bowl.
Whisk together the lime juice and eggs and pour over the sugar.
Cut the butter into little pieces and scatter over the top.
Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water (or use a bain marie pan if you have one) and cook for approximately 15 minutes.
Stir occasionally but not obsessively until you have a thick curd.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Refrigerate until required.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.
Line two 20cm sandwich pans with baking paper.
Line two 20cm sandwich pans with baking paper.
Place the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat until soft and well combined. Due to the ratio of ingredients, the mix won't get light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a little of the flour if it looks like the mix might curdles.
Add the remaining flour, baking powder, coconut and extract and beat until thoroughly mixed.
Add the milk to loosen the batter.
Spoon the batter into the two prepared sandwich tins and bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Mine took exactly 25 minutes.
Leave to cool in the tins for at least 10 minutes before turning out and letting cool completely on a wire rack.
The sponges can be made in advance and stored in an airtight tin.
Cut each sponge through so you have four, roughly equal discs.
Place one of the sponges on the serving plate.
Spread 1/3 of the curd over it and place another disc of sponge on top.
Spread 1/3 of the curd over it, followed by the cream.
Place another disc on top and spread the remaining 1/3 of curd before topping with the final disc of sponge.
Refrigerate until you wish to serve, removing from the fridge approx 20 minutes in advance.
Serve in generous slices.
Bask in the glory of the wonderful thing you have created.


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Big Zee necesitaba un nuevo diseño de camiseta y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 121 diseños de 35 diseñadores freelance.
Chillisauce is tour company selling exiting activity based weekends, from white water rafting to cliff jumping to stock car racing to snowboarding.
The brand is a very "cool" brand, and gives people the opportuntity to do the things they have always wanted to do.
Our target audience is affluent, intelligent, cool 25-40 year olds (male and female), who like a taste for adventure and extreme sports.
The requirements are fairly simple - Use our Logo to create a very cool T Shirt. We want a T-Shirt that where people would be happy to wear out to a nightclub.
The front should include our logo and name in some form, and the back should have some form of design which can be anything you want ( but in keeping with the logo design theme ).
The design doesn't need to be complex, and you don't need to really alter the logo much for the front - it's all about subtle altering of with the logo, logo positioning and size, the use of colour blends, and how it forms around the T-Shirt.
We have had several T-Shirts that have already been designed - and these are good.... but good things can always be improved. Don't be afraid to use designs quite similar to the big bold logo, as we like it - again it is in the detail on any small tweaks you do such as logo position, extending the logo, details on the arm, colour variations, what is on the back, where the top edge of the logo hits the seams, extending the logo, reversing the colours, exploring different background colours and forground colours etc etc
The font is attached, along with various other files our designer generally use.
I have attached some images which show our staff wearing our original T-Shirts (we really liked them, but they were just not quite polished enough) - and also some designs we had a temp in the office do along the same lines with different color blends and slight logo alteration. So its all about whats in the detail.
Unfortunately I don't have an image of the back of the original shirt, but I can tell you it was 3 short lines from the logo colours just below the back of the neck.
Final designs should be in a format that can be just sent off to the printers, without further work.


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|Product Reviews
Average Rating: 5/5
Will return to aBaby.com for more!
I originally ordered the liner/skirt and sheet in two different sizes. aBaby.com immediately called to let me know and... Read more
?Tina B., MO
mom again
I ordered the yellow bassinet set to use with the bassinet that my grandfather made for my mom and consequently used fo... Read more
?Lilla J Howle, North Carolina
Thank you!
Thank you, I am pleased with the larger one ,it was a tad big, but I folded the inside liner over to look like pleats,a... Read more
?Faye, AR


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Charles Holt was a British comic artist and one of the original contributors to D.C. Thomson's Beano since 1938. His comic strip 'Little Dead-Eye Dick' ran in the magazine in 1938 and in 1949-1950. He was the original artist of 'Uncle Windbag' (1938, 1950) and 'Swanky Lanky Liz' (1948-49), the latter becoming a part of the 'Lord Snooty' strip in 1950. Holt was also the original artist for 'Our Ernie' in Knock-Out in 1939.
"Gros Jean le Marin" (Canadian version) by C. R. Holt (is this Charles Holt?)
Is it possible that Holt is also the author behind the pantomime comic strip about a sailor, which is signed C.R. Holt? It appeared in at least in the Flemish daily Nieuws van den Dag' as 'Simbad de Zeeman' in 1948-1949 and in the Québec City Sunday comic section of Le Soleil as 'Gros Jean le Marin' in March and April 1950.


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Territorial disputes are becoming a worrying factor in 21st century China's geopolitical life, as we saw recently when anti-Japanese sentiment over a string of islands in the East China Sea boiled over into widespread and violent protests in Chinese cities.
As such, many may be disheartened to hear the news that newly issued Chinese passports apparently contain a subtle, yet undeniable references to territorial disputes — and it hasn't gone unnoticed.
Three separate pages in the passport include China's so-called "nine-dash" map of the sea, first published in 1947, which shows Chinese territory extending hundreds of miles south from China's Hainan Island to the equatorial waters off the coast of Borneo. The image on the right, via Weibo user Roger Army, shows the map.
The problem is that this map includes the Spratly island chain, currently the subject overlapping territorial claims by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. The Philippines have announced they "strongly protest" China's decision to include the map, while Vietnam has lodged a formal complaint, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
That's not the only issue. Taiwan, also included in the map, has protested, while India, in a tit-for-tat move after their own disputed regions were included on the map, have began stamping their own versions of the map onto passports for Chinese citizens.
Passports are an especially difficult area for diplomatic disputes like this, as another nation's stamp could be taken as a seal of approval on the map. In the past, China itself has stapled passports rather than stamped them in a bid to get around this problem, the Washington Post reports.
There is one small glimmer of hope, however — the map does not include the islands in the East China Sea that are claimed by China and Japan.


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So, he's not the fastest...
Murphy did single dog racing on Friday night, which is where dogs run flyball head-to-head instead of in relay teams, and is usually for new dogs to get the feel of it before having to worry about passing other dogs. Murphy has been a major work in progress for over a year now, and he finally had his first run against another dog. He didn't cross over!!! Erin was nice enough to let him run against Ripley. I posted a video of it on youtube.
I'm so proud of the Murphster!


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Italian architect and illustrator Federico Babina has created 27 fantasy buildings that meld famous artists and the places where they might live. The series "Archist City" is a clever melding of cross-sectional drawings of buildings and the signature styles of artists including Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Pablo Picasso, Keith Haring, Joan Miró, Josef Albers, and Piet Mondrian. The result is a cohesive group of easily identifiable buildings—in fact, pairing the artist with the correct drawing is part of the fun.
"Art, architecture and sculpture are historically linked by an unbreakable thread, we find examples of paintings and sculptures having a direct influence on architectural design. … Painting sculpture and architecture have always been complementary disciplines that influence each other and feed to grow and develop along common paths."
Babina's skilled artwork makes this look easy, but in actuality first fitting the artists' iconic styles into an architectural framework, then keeping all of the buildings consistent in execution is the mark of a very skilled artist. Some of the artists play well together: Mondrian and Albers and Rothko for example. Others would seem to defy architecture, like Dali, Haring, and Miro, yet Babina has brought them into his imaginary cityscape. The identical background texture and color, font, and scale relative to the paper help tie the pieces together.
The silhouetted figures help sell these as buildings instead of artworks and the cross-cuts reveal wonderful details: Andy Warhol's building includes soup cans and his Marilyn Monroe paintings; the huge shark in Damien's Hirst's building references his 1991 work "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living."
"These images represent an imaginary and imagined world of shapes that uses the brush to paint architecture."
What fun it would be to inhabit this world of huge imaginations, awesome ability, and lasting artistic legacy.


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All I Want for Christmas is One of Will Cotton's Gingerbread Houses
Will Cotton may be most famous for art-directing Katy Perry's "California Gurls" video, but to me, he'll always be first and foremost the creator of some of the most charming gingerbread houses — and chalets and cottages — the world has ever seen. Did you know he actually builds the gingerbread houses and their alpine settings and then does his paintings of them? My kind of guy.
Aren't these dreamy? I want to stay in the first one on a romantic ski vacation, and I'd like to install my darling grandparents in the third one. I think they'd be very happy there. One of the things I love about these is that for all their cookies and candies, they really look like real homes: gingerbread houses in the wild.
His process definitely endears him to me as well, especially since my day job involves art and baking. I saw Will Cotton give a lecture (unfortunately, the link is down) in which he spoke about the importance of scent in his work. As he's painting these houses, his studio smells of warm, rich spices and sweet frosting. And when he works on his cotton candy paintings, there are members of his staff making fresh cotton candy round-the-clock. Can you imagine how overwhelmingly sweet the air must be? As you look at those paintings, you can almost smell them. He doesn't just paint the abstract idea of gingerbread or cotton candy, he paints actual cotton candy in all its cloying, collapsing, sugary wonder. Will Cotton, if you're reading this, I have a couple of years of cotton candy-making experience and would be thrilled to lend a hand. And if you happen to have an extra cupcake liner dress, I'd be equally thrilled to take it off your hands.
All of Will Cotton's paintings can be seen here (warning: many of his works are probably not safe for work, no big surprise for anything that involves pin-up girls, cotton candy, and Katy Perry). Here's a list of the paintings shown above:
1. Alpine Ruin, 2008
2. Fog, 2008
3. Nut House, 2007
4. Eutopia, 2008
5. The Consummation of Empire, 2008
6. Ghost, 2007
7. Monument, 2009
8. The Vast Structure of Recollection, 2007
9. Ruin, 2012
(All images by Will Cotton)


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If you're thinking that sounds too good to be true, don't just take our word for it. Test your workloads at the Accenture Innovation Center for OES (Oracle Engineering Systems) to see the potential benefits—before making any investment. We offer the largest concentration of experienced Oracle implementation talent in the world.
Experienced specialists from the Accenture Enkitec Group (AEG) are available to test your data and applications in our lab environment. Many organizations have already used the Accenture Innovation Center and AEG professionals to prove out their business goals.
Leverage the worldwide leader in OES (Oracle Engineering Systems) implementations
With more Oracle ACEs than all other top providers combined and several Oracle Certified Masters, Accenture offers the expertise you need to explore, design and configure Oracle-based solutions. AEG has completed more OES installations worldwide than any other partner, including more than 600 Exadata implementations, and currently manages more than 150 OESs. AEG specialists can provide services such as database health checks, security checks, proofs of concept and rescue services, working across all industries, including the public sector.
Accelerate implementation with field-tested tools
With several generations of OES available, the Innovation Center simplifies the simulation of your unique infrastructure, helping to identify necessary patches or configuration problems before they can cause production outages. The AEG team uses proprietary tools demonstrated to help speed implementation, optimize performance and maximize usage of engineered systems. These tools, combined with real-world experience, help implement test plans so you can quickly deploy with confidence.
Simplify Oracle deployments
The goal of the Accenture Innovation Center for OES is to help clients transform their data centers and more quickly realize the value from their Oracle investments. That goal means more than just configuring the optimal technology. Clients work closely with Accenture's OES professionals, gaining hands-on experience and quickly coming up to speed.
US insurance company consolidated systems with minimal effort and no application changes
A major, US-based insurance company wanted to consolidate its Oracle database systems to greatly increase performance, but not change any applications, with minimal effort. After running application workloads against Exadata, AEG found an average 17x improvement on the Database Backup Testing; 9x improvement on the Database Recovery Testing; extreme performance improvement for Data Warehouse workloads and High Ratio Data Compression; little or no effect on database performance with Transparent Data Encryption; and increased stability of Oracle RAC.
European Financial Services Group achieved more than 3x transaction processing gains
A European financial services group with 700+ branches was looking to partner with their software company to update their current software and increase capabilities with a goal to increase transactions processed per second (TPS), from 3,000 to 10,000. This was accomplished during a three week proof of concept performed on Oracle's Exadata and Private Cloud Appliance. The increased TPS volume positioned the client for future growth.
Healthcare organization to achieve a projected $45 million in savings by migrating to Exadata for Electronic Health Records (EHR)
The migration of a 40TB database from Teradata to Exadata produced staggering results in a head-to-head comparison. The client had high operating costs from running its EHR on Teradata and needed a more cost-effective solution. AEG conducted a proof of concept using the Epic Clarity Data Warehouse application. Working within HIPAA guidelines, AEG demonstrated that Exadata was, on average, 1065 times faster than Teradata while only using six percent of available CPU and eight percent of available IO. Migrating to Exadata is projected to drive savings of $45 million over five years to accommodate 35 percent growth rates.


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Hunter's Four Hits, O'Neill's Four RBIs Power Bulldogs' Offensive Outburst
WEST HAVEN, Conn. — The Yale University baseball team scored nine runs in the first two innings and cruised to a 15-5 win over in-state rival UConn Wednesday afternoon at Yale Field.
It is the third straight win and fourth in the last five games for Yale, which improved to 5-15 overall in the final game prior to a pair of key Ivy League showdowns this weekend against Columbia (Saturday) and Penn (Sunday) at Yale Field. UConn dropped to 16-11 overall after losing for the fourth time in its last six games.
Yale scored four runs in the first inning and five more in the second, sending nine batters up in the first and 10 in the second inning. Freshman shortstop Tom O'Neill keyed the two rallies with a two-run single in both innings. He finished 2-for-5 with four RBIs.
The nine-run outburst proved to be more than enough for the seven Yale pitchers who saw action in the game.
UConn picked up a run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Bobby Melley, but Yale came right back with five more runs in the bottom of the fifth after a bases-loaded walk by Brent Lawson, a two-run single by Green Campbell and an RBI triple by Joe Lubanski. The five-run fifth gave the Bulldogs a 14-1 lead, which was more than enough to secure their fourth win in five games.
Bryan Daniello belted a grand slam with two outs in the top of the sixth inning to pull the Huskies within 14-5, but that proved to be the Huskies' final scoring chance of the game.
Yale closed out the scoring in the eighth on an RBI double by Jacob Hunter, which gave the Bulldogs a 15-5 lead.
Yale outhit UConn 18-8. The two teams combined to use 15 pitchers.
Hunter went 4-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored to lead Yale. Senior Josh Scharff went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored and two walks. Campbell went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Sophomore Eric Hsieh went 2-for-5 with three runs scored, while senior captain Chris Piwinski went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.
Melley went 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Huskies. L.J. Mazzilli went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Yale will host Columbia on Saturday and Penn on Sunday. Both doubleheaders are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. at Yale Field.
Report filed by Jon Erickson Jr., Yale Sports Publicity


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Hey Farhan, Hlinka may not have garnered the attention and adulation in North America, but he was sometimes called the Czech Gretzky...! Although his playing style was probably closer to Esposito (big, get in the slot and unleash a shot).Farhan Lalji wrote:Fred wrote:Yeah Fred - Hlinka is definitely synonymous with 'best Canuck forward in franchise history.'
Whenever I think of the all-time Canuck greats, I automatically think of Hlinka and Bubla, lollll.


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Moroccan (8'1"x9'6")
Beni Ourain with an unusual, abstract pattern.
Quality: Hand-knotted
Content: 100% Natural Dye & Hand Carded Wool from the Atlas Mountains
Ref no. 5697
Color Family: Charcoal/Black with Blue Accents
Size. 8'1"x9'6"
Availability: In stock
Custom Color and Size Available. Lead time 12 weeks or longer.
Use: Area Brand: Nasiri Carpets Origin: Moroccan
Selectively curated out of thousands of pieces, our Moroccan Collection represents only the utmost unique styles from the Atlas mountain region. From one-of-a-kind vintage finds to hand-crafted contemporary pieces, our collection offers a broad, yet exclusively hand-selected, array of finest Moroccan rugs. Always a designer's favorite as these timeless pieces never go out of style. NASIRI offers custom recreations upon request.
Product Specifications
- Dimensions
- Width: 8.08 Length: 9.5
- Lead Time
- 0-3 Weeks (Quick Ship)
Nearby Showrooms
About NASIRI
Nasiri has an extensive collection of remarkably beautiful and luxurious decorative, modern, antique and flatweave rugs. They feature a stellar collection in their New York showroom. Nasiri is also known for creating unique custom carpets.
View Profile


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The neon letters of Anchor Trailer Port's sign haven't been lit in years.
Word is they don't work anymore. If lit again, though, they wouldn't fully spell out "Trailer Port." On the top line, only the A, I, L, and a smudge of the E, are left.
It's the kind of sign that's been naturally aged by the elements, a throwback to the easy-living California days of the post-war 1940s that, in some ways, still ring true for the folks living in their mobile homes, trailers or RVs at Anchor Trailer Port.
But residents of the Newport Boulevard nook are learning day by day that all good things about Anchor Trailer Port appear to be coming to an end. Plans are surfacing to convert the park to condominiums, and with a tentative final move-out date of Aug. 24, they can't stop the tide of changes.
But in the wake of the decisions and approvals making their way through various administrative channels are residents who say they feel confused, even cheated. The symbolic anchor in the name drags, they say, leaving them shipwrecked in the situation.
Others know the change was inevitable but just want their fair share of moving costs, per diems and such.
The developers say they hear their concerns and are being generous. City staff has chipped in more than 100 hours toward the monumental task as well.
But there are other residents who are more apprehensive, feeling even more uncertainty. Anchor Trailer Port has been their home for years, and after its closure, they don't know where they might next call home.
Hidden in plain sight
The Anchor Trailer Port is at 1527 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa, but to find the nearly 1.9-acre park just shy of the Newport Beach-Costa Mesa border, you'd basically have to be looking for it. Its tucked-away nature belies its position on a major thoroughfare that thousands use every day.
It's a home hidden in plain sight, but that just how the residents like it.
They call their 43-space slice of Costa Mesa a secret jewel in which they can afford to live — and to boot, the living is good. They know their neighbors, their neighbors know them, and sometimes they don't feel the urge to lock their doors.
It's safe and friendly, they say. Moreover, it's surprisingly quiet — especially considering it's next to a street called Industrial Way. When there is noise, it's usually from the adjacent storage facility or boat repair yard.
Most of the residences, whether mobile home, trailer or RV, have their own character. Several have tidy, fenced-in gardens. With a stroll down the park's two main byways, it's easy to spot a hammock, mini barbecue and other custom touches.
Anchor Trailer Port's history dates back to the late 1940s, when it opened as a park for recreational vehicles, according to a city report. Through the decades, it became a state-licensed mobile home park where people of all ages can live.
As of earlier this month, the city said 20 spaces have resident-owned homes, nine have park-owned homes and one is occupied by the on-site manager. Thirteen spaces are vacant.
Within its immediate vicinity, the park is the only area used for residential purposes, though officially it has two different zoning designations, general commercial and general business, and even two different labels on the city's general plan: general commercial and light industry.
IntraCorp, a privately held company, is the proposed buyer of the property. Of its six divisions, four are for real estate development, with offices in Seattle, San Francisco and Newport Beach.
The Newport office on MacArthur Boulevard, which handles developments in Southern California and Hawaii, is overseeing the transaction that, as of this week, is still in escrow. It's IntraCorp's first project in Costa Mesa. Some of its other projects, both ongoing and completed, have been in San Diego, Long Beach, Pasadena, Glendale, Los Angeles, West Hollywood and Honolulu.
With recent approvals from the City Council and Planning Commission, 40 live-work condominiums are poised to replace the mobile homes, RVs and trailers. Asking prices have not yet been released.
The two- and three-bedroom units are planned to have three floors and be as large as 2,000 square feet. The bottom floors will be open, lofty work spaces; the second floors will have the kitchen, dining and family rooms; the third will have the bedrooms. There will be decks on all the rooftops.
'There's just nothin' out there'
Mike Libby was born in a car on the Balboa Peninsula. With his U.S. Merchant Marine license and decades of experience on the water, he's a captain as well, but his neighbors usually call him "Mouse." He's had the nickname since kindergarten.
Mouse grew up in Santa Ana and Costa Mesa, where he graduated from Costa Mesa High School. For a time, his parents ran a bar on Balboa Boulevard. Some years later, the bar became the Shore House Cafe.
For the past 16 years, Mouse has lived in a single-wide mobile home at Anchor Trailer Port. He owns his house and leases the plot, which is close to his work down at the marina.
He likes having his own little carport and little yard. Neighbors claim he's got the best lemon tree around. But that's not all of what he likes about his home.
"I got all my crap in it," he said with a laugh. "These pictures, this stuff that I grew up with."
His tidy rooms are full of memories on paper, photographs of his life, family and friends through the years. He pointed to one of them showing his half-sister next to Elvis Presley.
Those same neighbors who compliment his lemon tree say he's got better interior decorating style than most bachelors.
But when he's forced to move out, he's not sure what's next for him. He said his 1960s-era home is too old and decrepit to be moved. City staff have acknowledged that spaces for mobile homes and similar dwellings are in short supply in Costa Mesa and its environs.
"Dude, I've been to a bunch of parks," he said. "There's just nothin' out there, ya know? I looked at a house for rent over here, called it. It was a little small, one-bedroom thing. Perfect. But they said it was rented out."
He's also having a conflict of definition. He says his home is a single-wide; developers say it's a travel trailer. Their definitions determine some of the relocation benefits he's eligible for.
But he feels better than his neighbor, who he said is "flipping out" over moving because he's got kids in school. Mouse said at least as a single guy, he can move easily.
Mouse described his feeling of the whole process thus far in a word: confused.
"It's in the dark. Christ, they say one thing and do another ... They smile one way and you're going, what does that mean? You don't get anything out of it."
Developer, city perspectives
After two-and-a-half hours of public testimony and discussion, the City Council on Jan. 8 certified that Anchor Trailer Port's closure impact report met the minimum state requirements. The report outlined impacts of the closure, the residents' relocation options and mitigations.
Residents spoke of various problems they had with it: among them, poor or late delivery of public notices, the notices not being written in Spanish for non-English speakers, not wanting to sign a waiver, insufficient relocation funds. Council and city staff listened, made amendments and expressed their own concerns, all while a group from IntraCorp and the Loftin Group, IntraCorp's Carlsbad-based advisory counsel, stood by.
Peter Lauener of IntraCorp's Newport office was there listening and speaking to the council. He's been with the company since 2002.
"We understand that closing a trailer park is a very sensitive process," he said in an interview. "So we've tried to be very sensitive to the residents who live there. The reality is that it's owned by a landowner whose goal is to convert it from what it is to something else, and he's retained us to do that."
He's personally met with Anchor residents, in meetings onsite and offsite, large and small. A survey was also distributed, though not all residents filled it out, Lauener said. The discussions with residents have been going on for about a year. The closure impact report has gone through several drafts as concerns were addressed, he said.
"At the end of every meeting, I get a number of residents coming up to me thanking me and saying we're being extremely fair in how we're treating everyone," Lauener said.
"We want to treat everybody fairly as it relates to their move from their current location to wherever they go," he added. "Whether it be to another mobile home park, to an apartment, to living with relatives, to going out of state. Whatever they're doing, we want to work with each individual and make sure that each individual's specific needs are taken care of in this move."
Lauener's latest meeting with residents took place on Friday. A group of Anchor residents, still upset with the process thus far, filed a petition this week with the city clerk for a review of the Jan. 14 Planning Commission hearing.
Some of them, after talking with Newport Beach city staff, have claimed IntraCorp, and the various names it has used on city documents, doesn't have a business license — an allegation Lauener said simply isn't true.
"I don't think it's an issue at all," he said. "IntraCorp is a family of companies, and we've got a number of business licenses in the city of Newport Beach, and any licenses required in the city of Costa Mesa that we need, we will get … we're not trying to circumvent the system in any way whatsoever."
He said the company has its own "rules to live by, and we've made sure that we've lived up to all the rules that are required. And we've exceeded them in a number of areas."
According to the latest closure impact report available, IntraCorp is offering a variety of relocation options for both renters and homeowners, which include moving, salvaging or buying the structures. Licensed business will do the moving.
Residents who meet certain requirements will also get an extra $5,500; the others will get $2,000.
There will also be a counselor to personally help everyone, though some residents have questioned her qualifications.
Peter Naghavi, Costa Mesa's deputy CEO and economic and development director, echoed Lauener's sentiment that the conversion process is always difficult.
"It's unfortunate that the nature of this kind of movement is always like this," he said.
"We are not going to do anything to hurt our residents," Naghavi added. "Our job is to make sure that we protect our residents by making sure that [the developers] do what they're supposed to do."
Naghavi referred to the 2004 closure of adjoining El Nido and Snug Harbor trailer parks on Newport Boulevard, which together housed more than 100 homes. The area has since been redeveloped with medical office buildings.
Closing those wasn't easy either. According to Daily Pilot archives, residents expressed similar concerns about receiving just compensation, and many didn't have nice words for Joe Brown, owner of the two parks.
There was an effort to have the City Council approve an ordinance granting the city more control over closure and conversion of mobile home parks. The ordinance made it through the Planning Commission stage after a drawn-out process, but failed to get final approval from the council.
As a result, Costa Mesa continues to rely on state law, which, by most accounts is vague.
"It is what it is, and that's our process," Naghavi said. "We can't really force the developer for more than what the state asks."
The City Council or Planning Commission could again try to formulate an ordinance for increased local control for mobile home park closures, but such an action, if it did happen, is very unlikely to affect Anchor Trailer Port.
The memories of the park and its history may remain, however.
Lauener said IntraCorp is planning to "relive the flavor" of the site's history into the condo project. They want to keep with the anchor theme and incorporate historic photographs of the park somehow throughout it.
Among the pictures of IntraCorp's projects in its Newport office, there's a rendering of Anchor Trailer Port's sign in its better days, with all the neon letters intact.
More residents speak
Jill Chase — "no relation to the bank" — has rented a trailer at the park since 2010. It comes with an add-on and fenced-in yard. The setup is perfect for Chase and her cat, Simone.
Chase, a Newport Harbor High School alumna, class of 1978, is living about a mile from where she was born: Hoag Hospital.
Mouse recruited her to live there. She too works in Newport Harbor, where she has her own interior detail service and is a first mate on a 65-foot wooden classic yacht.
Knowing the likely future of Anchor Trailer Port, she's been looking around for apartments, but thinks the low-income housing she needs will be in a less-than-desirable area, especially compared to what she's got now.
"There might be something, but I'm staying optimistic," Chase said. "I'm being realistic as well. I know the area. I was born and raised here."
The park's vicinity to Hoag is very important for Patricia Henderson, a 22-year resident of Anchor Trailer Port. Her doctor is at Hoag, where she's getting cancer treatments.
She said she doesn't want to move unless she has to. "It's my home. It's like anybody with a home," she said.
Susie Ellison, an Estancia High School alumna, has lived at Anchor for 10 years. She's another resident recruited by Mouse to join their community, which, back then, had space rental that was "the best-kept secret around." She paid $375 a month.
When she first moved in, she expressed an interest in making the park's sign glow again, but nothing came of it. Among her possessions is a postcard of the park; it's a black-and-white photo taken in the 1940s, when the Anchor Trailer Port was new.
Ellison just wants to be treated fairly in the move process. She bought her quaint trailer with a "California room" add-on for $12,000. Ellison calls it her "Barbie house." She makes the small spaces work for her.
"I feel you have a better connection with your neighbors here … everybody knows what's going on around here," she said. "If there's a stranger around here, people are alerted."
Not far from Ellison is Michael Quigley. He's a former surfer and retired custodian for Newport-Mesa Unified. He's unmistakable with his surfer style, long gray hair and goatee.
"I keep saying I'm gonna get a haircut, but I don't," he said with a laugh.
He owns his home, which he's upgraded since moving in in 1989. His patio used to have an ocean view until Hoag built its parking lot.
After Ellison called his house the "coolest pad around," Quigley laughed and replied, "It's the dustiest, for sure."
For years, though, he's felt the changes to Anchor Trailer Port were imminent, and nowadays, he's not sure at all where he'll live next.
"There's nowhere to move [my home] to," he said. He suspects he'll take the buyout option.
Jeanne McMahon has a double-wide with two bedrooms. One's for her and the other is for her great-grandchildren and cat, Kamper.
Like Quigley, she's a retired Newport-Mesa Unified employee. She was an instructional aide and taught special education. She still helps out from time to time at booster clubs and sporting events, selling tickets, running the snack bar and whatnot.
That's how Councilman Steve Mensinger and Estancia football booster Chuck Perry know her. Both have reached out to help her find new housing.
"She's just a delightful lady, sweet and kind … I'm doing what I'd be doing for anybody who is a friend," Mensinger said.
McMahon has lived at Anchor Trailer Port multiple times for a total of about 15 years, and until it closes, she's going to continue watering the park's front lawn "for fun." They say she's one of the park's green thumbs.
McMahon has Alzheimer's, but feels fortunate that her doctors at Hoag are close by. Shopping is within walking distance, as is her salon. She doesn't drive anymore.
When asked about her future home, she teared up.
"I don't know. I have no idea … I feel uneasy, scared, although I have many, many friends. God has taken care of me."
Twitter: @bradleyzint


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The Law Abiding Citizen trailer is now on Apple.com in HD. Check it out!
Hi-res screen caps have been added to the gallery. View more…
Lots of blogging going on about the trailer! Just a sample of what people are saying:
"Normally I do not like siding with bad guys but few movies paint a vigilante feel like Boondock Saints, that make you love the bad guys motives and destruction versus the everyday dudes caught in the middle. This movie is exactly that and Gerard Butler looks sensational and bad ass!" – FusedFilm
"…the movie explodes into a complex thriller akin to a Bourne movie. That's what really hooks me. Gerard Butler goes from wounded man desperate for justice to super-spy bringing down the walls upon the establishment. Sign my action-loving ass up." – Film School Rejects
"Both leads look on fine form, and there's also a terrific supporting cast to look forward to, in Bruce McGill, Colm Meaney and Michael Gambon." – Empire Online
"This is another one of those revenge stories, but you just wait, it starts to get a bit interesting part of the way through. I don't know why, but I wasn't expecting anything special – boy was I wrong! This looks awesome, I can't wait to see how it plays out and what the heck is even going on!" – FirstShowing
We are still taking comments and asking YOU, the fans, to rate the trailer on yesterdays update. Click to add your two cents!!!
The movie opens October 16, 2009 in the US.
A new clip, called "Brother" is now online. GAMER opens in theaters September 4.


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Letter to the full House on the Charter School Bill
September 07, 2011
Dear Representative:
On behalf of the 3.2 million members of the National Education Association (NEA), we would like to express our views on the Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act (H.R. 2218), scheduled for floor consideration this week. We support a number of the provisions in the bill and have concerns about others. While we cannot support this bill in its current form, we look forward to continuing this important dialogue with members of the Senate as they consider charter legislation.
NEA supports high-quality charter schools that: operate in a manner that is transparent and accountable to parents and taxpayers; do not increase segregation by family income, ethnicity, or race; and solicit and benefit from input from parents, school staff, and the communities they serve. Educators support innovation in our nation's schools, and public charter schools that operate in a transparent, accountable manner can contribute to that goal. We caution, however, that charter schools are not a panacea for solving all education challenges. There is considerable research that documents a mixed record of success among charter schools. For this reason we encourage Congress to enhance the focus on charter school and authorizer accountability.
We are pleased that H.R. 2218 increases protections for English Language Learners and students with disabilities. We support the language stating that charter schools should enroll and promote an inclusive educational environment for these traditionally underserved students, as well as comply with other requirements in IDEA and ESEA designed to protect student rights. We believe it is critical to ensure protections that help these students stay and succeed in charter schools and, therefore, we would encourage additional emphasis on encouraging student retention.
We also strongly support language requiring publicly reported annual audits of charter schools and the recognition of the need for state involvement in improving authorizer quality. Strengthened transparency and accountability is essential to ensure high-quality, successful charter schools. We believe this language could be further improved, as outlined below.
Our concerns with the bill include:
- Transparency: We believe there should be clearer requirements for charter school authorizers to work directly with charter schools to conduct annual financial audits. In addition, there should be quality control measures that require authorizers to meet or exceed the principles established by the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. States should require charter schools to disclose publicly all funding sources (including non-public), student attrition rates, and student demographic characteristics.
We are concerned that there appears to be little or no mention of parent or community input into the authorizing process. The experience of our members guides us in firmly believing that charter schools – as with any public school – are most successful when parents, educators, and whole communities support their existence and success.
Improving the quality of authorizing processes and decisions would increase the proportion of high-quality charter schools and reduce the number of schools that need to be closed due to poor quality. Strengthening audit requirements will help reduce fraud and other financial irregularities. Research shows that in comparison with other public schools, charter schools as a whole spend more on administrative overhead and less on student instruction.
We have concerns as to whether private non-profit entities classified by the Internal Revenue Code as 501(c)(3) entities would be permitted to evade reporting requirements under this bill due to the current "protection" those entities are afforded from having to disclose donors. At a minimum, we would recommend requiring private non-profits who seek to become charter school funders, authorizers, and/ or operators to disclose any and all funding sources directly or indirectly used for the charter school or its students.
- Accountability: It is unclear on the face of the bill whether charters would be required to meet the same accountability measures as traditional public schools and specifically whether federal accountability regulations under Title I would apply. It is our hope that this is the intent, so as to prohibit different standards of accountability within the public education system. In addition, there is no requirement that eligible entities report all sources of funding they receive.
Charter schools require oversight and accountability for quality and financial integrity and should have to answer to parents and taxpayers for all of their funding sources. As you consider reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), we hope that Congress will clarify that accountability provisions under Title I apply to all public schools, including charter schools.
H.R. 2218 also expands the types of applicants for the grant to include the school district, a state charter school board, or the Governor. Permitting Governors to receive direct grants from the federal government is problematic, as Governors' offices are not set up to monitor schools or hold authorizers accountable.
- Equity: Adequate education resources play a critical role in improving achievement for all students. While the bill requires states to ensure "equitable financing" between regular public schools and charter schools, there is no requirement for monitoring or reporting of all non-public sources of funds flowing into charter schools. This lack of transparency and accountability will exacerbate resource and opportunity gaps between schools. NEA's members have fought for equity in public education since the late 1800's. This is a sacred core value for our members.
Again, we look forward to continuing dialogue on these critical issues. We thank you for your attention to our comments.
Kim Anderson
Director of Government Relations
Mary Kusler
Manager of Federal Advocacy


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Jabari Parker's return to the court after recovering from a broken right foot may have been the big news Saturday night at the Chicago Elite Classic, but teammate Jaylon Tate supplied much of the early energy Simeon needed to start its season off with a victory.
Illinois coach John Groce had a front-row seat at UIC Pavilion to watch his recruit get Simeon rolling with seven first-half assists in the No. 1 Wolverines' 56-35 victory over Milton (1-4), a Georgia state champion last season.
Tate scored only two points but had four steals and nine assists, including a couple of flashy ones to future Illini teammate Kendrick Nunn, who finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
"(Tate) stepped up to the plate and did what people didn't think he could really do, which was lead the team," Simeon coach Robert Smith said. "He just wants to get people open, find them and get easy baskets, things of that nature. … With all the talent we have around him, he's exactly what we need."
Wearing special shoes to provide extra cushion for his feet, Parker played 10-plus minutes and finished with six points. He began with a spin move in the lane that resulted in a three-point play but also had a couple of mishaps, including a spill in the lane in the first quarter.
Tate's steal and pass to Russell Woods for an alley-oop appeared to awaken the Wolverines early in the first quarter. His fastbreak setup of Nunn gave Simeon its first double-digit lead, 27-17, late in the second quarter.
"We came out a little dead," Tate said. "We were a little nervous. We had to get our feet wet. I wanted to bring a spark to the team. Once we got the spark going, the intensity going, we took off from there."
Woods' three-point play and Parker's drive early in the third helped Simeon maintain its momentum, and the starters were moved to the bench midway through the third
They returned late in the fourth to send the crowd of 7,128 out with a couple more spectacular plays, including another alley-oop from Tate to Nunn.
"He knows where I'm going to be. I know where he's going to be, especially on fastbreaks," Tate said. "It's great playing with him.
Twitter @ChiTribKane
Player of the game: Kendrick Nunn, Simeon, 11 points, 6 rebounds.
Key performers: Simeon — Jaylon Tate, 9 assists, 4 steals, 4 rebounds; D.J. Williams, 12 points, 8 rebounds. Milton — Shawn O'Connell, 9 points; Mo Lewis, 5 points, 10 rebounds.


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Graduating seniors from Legacy and Frontier High School who attended Alice Ponder Elementary took one final stroll through the hallways of Ponder before graduation.
Teachers and students applauded these students for their outstanding accomplishments. It was a treat for everyone involved.
Congratulations, Seniors! Ponder wishes you the very best!
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A life-long interest in photography led Lisa Schreiber from learning about photography from her dad to 4-H photography projects, which in turn led to a photojournalism degree from Ball State University in Indiana and a career as a newspaper photographer.
As a way to encourage and advocate youth photography efforts, she takes time out from her hectic work schedule to be a 4-H photography judge.
An award-winning photojournalist currently with the Post-Tribune newspaper serving Northwest Indiana, Lisa enjoys the variety of assignments she covers. Highlights include the chance to photograph both U.S. presidents who have been in office during her professional career, President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush; it's a tradition she'd like to continue.
"Being a photojournalist is a really fun, exciting and rewarding job, where you get to meet new people and learn new things every day," she tells PhotographySchools.com. "That is what keeps it exciting and keeps it fresh."
Tell us about your career in photography. How did you break into the photography world, and how did you advance to where you are today?
My dad was an amateur photographer, so I learned a lot from him at an early age, 8 to 9 to 10 years old. My first taste of photography was through 4-H photography projects; now it's come full circle and I am a judge for the 4-H fair. In high school, I was on the yearbook staff.
I went to Ball State and majored in photojournalism. From there I had an internship with the Medinah County Gazette. I moved to LaPorte, Ind., and did stringer work for the Michigan City News Dispatch and the South Bend Tribune for a while. I worked full time at the News Dispatch for six years, then I went to the Post-Tribune, and I've been here for six years now.
How did you decide to get into journalism photography?
When I first got interested in photography, I wanted to be a nature photographer; but I realized after I got in college, there are very few full-time jobs for nature photographers, whereas if I went into photojournalism for newspapers, there's a steady paycheck, insurance and all of those benefits. I figured that I can still pursue art and nature photography on my own.
What do you enjoy most about your photojournalism career? What are the pitfalls?
I love being able to meet so many people from so many different careers, being able ask them personal questions and see into their lives and their work. That's really exciting. As far as pitfalls, the hours can really suck. I work nights, weekends and holidays, and I have to be available if something blows up, and sometimes my personal life suffers for that. Also, I do a lot of driving.
Who were the biggest inspirations for your career?
Margaret Bourke-White is my biggest influence. Her photographs were often used in Life magazine, she did a lot of really artistic shots of places you wouldn't consider beautiful, like of steel mills. I've always been fascinated by her style, by her being a woman in what is typically considered a man's profession. I was also influenced by Orson Welles and his work with cameras angles in films, the drama you can create by the way a shot is taken.
Have you won any awards or recognition for your photojournalism work? How important is this recognition to you, personally, and to your career?
I've won a few Hoosier State Press Association awards over the years. Really, the daily work is more important to me, my editor's opinion is more important than any award. When you are first starting out in your career, or even looking to switch jobs, awards do look good on the resume.
What are some of your favorite projects that you've completed and why?
Definitely the most memorable one was when President Clinton came to Michigan City to campaign in the summer of 1995. He did a speech in Washington Park, I got to be part of the national media pool, I was right there with him, with the big-name photographer guys from Time and Newsweek and so forth. It was really exciting to work with those professionals, in fact, I was almost was more excited about the photographers than President Clinton. I've gotten to photograph both presidents that have been in office since I started professionally, so it would be nice if I could continue that tradition.
One of my favorite places to go for photo assignments is the steel mills, there's just something about them that calls to me.
hat are some of your personal and/or professional goals for the future?
I'd like to find some more time to purse art photography on my own. I'd also like take some classes in other things that interest me, including I'd like learn Spanish. Knowing how to speak Spanish is becoming more and more important for journalists, especially in big markets, in order to do a good job and be able to talk to the people you are photographing. My college French isn't helping much.
Do you feel that is important for someone to be passionate about photography in order to be successful? Do you think that it's important to truly enjoy the field in order to be happy in life?
Yes and yes, definitely. The job can be very stressful, it's very competitive and its very time consuming. You really have to love what you are doing in order to make it work.
Tell us about your photography education.
I went to Ball State and majored in photojournalism; I minored in French and classical cultures, which I got interested in for some reason. My family pushed me to take Spanish instead, but I didn't want to be like everyone else; plus it seemed so exotic to learn French. If I could go back and change, I would have minored in business along with the photojournalism major.
As a student I worked on the Ball State Daily News, the student-run newspaper all the way through school. I served as the photo editor, and I was a member of student chapter of the National Press Photographers Association.
How did you decide to study photojournalism? And how did you find a school?
I looked specifically for a photojournalism school. In Indiana, Ball State seemed to be the best option. It's got a good program, plus, it was not to far from home and the in-state tuition was a good thing.
How has your education benefited your career?
It made it possible for me to get my first job. Because I majored in photojournalism, they were able to teach me to be a journalist. I took writing classes along with photography, and I have actually written a few stories, not just photo captions.
What did you like and dislike about your education?
It was very hands-on, and we did lots of lab work, which I liked. The photographers were a very close-knit group in college. We did a lot of things together in and out of class, helped each other out with things like editing our portfolios. One thing that the school could improve on is that they didn't do a very good job of helping us with finding internships or jobs after graduation.
In retrospect, what do you know now that you wish you knew before you pursued your photography education?
It may sound sexist, but it is different for women than it is for men. With the time responsibilities you have with the job, it's hard to have a personal life, especially for women, who tend to kind of lead the household. It's difficult to work those kinds of hours and maintain some sense of order at home. I didn't realize it when I was in school – they tried to warn us – but I didn't know what they are saying and was like, "Oh, I'll be fine." Keeping up at home is tough. If my husband and I ever were to have children, I'm not sure how we would juggle childcare and my schedule.
How can prospective photography students assess their skill and aptitude?
Read up on it, check on it on the internet, look into photographers work, find someone you are interested in and focus on learn about them; when I was in high school, I did a job shadowing day with a local newspaper photographer and was able to ask lots of questions about his school, his job. That really helped me decide to go to Ball State. Most local papers will have someone willing to help out students.
Based on what you hear in the industry, what do you think are the most respected and prestigious schools, departments or programs? How important is it to get a photojournalism degree to land a job?
Locally, Ball State is one. I do know people who have gotten hired who don't have photojournalism degrees or any degrees at all; it really boils down to talent. With talent, you can probably get hired without a degree. But it is good to have a college education, especially income-wise.
What factors should prospective students consider when choosing a school? Are there different considerations for those who know that they want to specialize in a certain type of photography?
Check and see if they offer photography as a major if that's what you're really interested in, look into job placement; the quality of the school paper where you'll get your feet wet. Check out the professors, as far as what type of life experience and job experience they have.
What can students applying to schools do to increase their chances of being accepted?
Work hard in all of your subjects and get good grades; grades are going to be the biggest deciding factor whether you get in or not. Even though you are going to be going into photography, you really do put math and English and geography to work in journalism. For writers and photographers, you need to be able to understand what the story is about. You need to know a lot about politics and history, and there is a lot of math in photography. Everything to do with the manual settings uses math.
What other advice can you give to prospective students thinking about an education and career in photography?
Passion for photography is very important. If it's really something you're passionate about, and something you very much enjoy, then you need to weigh the life balance, quality of life issues.
Describe a typical day of work for you. What exactly do you do as a professional photojournalist?
We work eight hours days, five days a week, our schedules are made about a month ahead of time. I check the log of assignments for the day, print them out and go do them.
We take pictures to go with stories in the newspapers. The shift I'm working depends on what I cover. If I'm working the day shift, I cover lots of school events, city meetings, political meetings, and general type news stories. If I'm on the evening shift, I cover lots of high school sports. And of course the breaking news stories like accidents, fires and murders can happen on any shift.
On a basic level, what skills does your job demand?
You need to be very even-keeled and adaptable. Your schedule could change at any moment, for instance, if there's a major car accident or a fire, then you have to be able to wrap up what you're doing. You have to be able to adapt. It's also a very competitive job, especially if you are in a market like the one I'm in, where there's another competing paper. You may show up to an assignment and there's another photographer there, so there's added pressure to get good shot, better than the competitor. You also need to have good writing skills; editors get a little upset if captions have misspellings or don't make sense.
What are the tools of the trade that you use the most? Favorite gadget?
I use a Nikon D2H camera; I have an Apple laptop, and of course the cell phone. My favorite gadget has to be the cell phone. It makes things really efficient, so that I don't have to go back to the office to submit pictures anymore, I can send them over the phone. For instance, I recently shot Friday night high school football in the town I live in, and I didn't have to drive an hour to go back to the office to turn in the pictures, then turn around to go home again. I just send the images over the phone.
What are some common myths about your profession as a photojournalist?
I got called paparazzi the other day, and that really hurt my feelings. I was standing outside the federal courthouse waiting for a gentleman to come out to get his picture. It's hard, but there are certain things we have to do as part of our job. Lots of times we get stereotyped as vultures. Another is that a lot of people stereotype a newspaper photographer as an overweight, middle-aged man in a bad suit, sort of a slob. I recently went on an assignment and the woman was like, "Oh, you're not at all what I expected."
What are the most challenging aspects of your job?
Those assignments that none of us wants to do, when you have to interview a family who's child was killed in a drunk driving accident or a situation like that, it can be very difficult. Lately we've had a lot of people from our area killed in the war in Iraq, and we've spent a lot of time dealing with families that are affected. Those are the times when things can get pretty stressful.
Best photography tips for a novice?
Get close. The biggest mistake is people tend to stand too far away. Don't use a flash unless you absolutely have to. Try some creative angles, instead of straight on, try to shoot from up high or down low. Try to take candid photos, where you capture realistic images, rather than poses.
Interesting anecdote about life as a photojournalist?
I have a most embarrassing moment. One of the things that is difficult about this job, if you call in sick, everyone else on the staff has to pick the slack and work overtime, so you don't call in if you can avoid it. I went to work with a terrible stomach, I was feeling was kind of O.K., so I went in. I was covering an athletic banquet at Lalumeire, a prestigious private school northern Indiana, and I was standing in the back, waiting for the banquet winners to get their awards so I could take a group picture. It was taking forever; and I was getting sicker by the minute. I literally had sweat dripping from my face, was feeling like I was going to pass out. I took the pictures, and than nearly ran from the building, got outside the doors, and proceeded to throw up right there. There are parents milling around, saying goodbye to their kids, and everyone turned around to see the puking photographer. They were all shuffling the children away. It was by far the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me on the job, but I got the picture.
Describe your ideal job or assignment. Nightmare job or assignment?
The ideal job in this career would be Monday through Friday, 9 to5; those jobs do exist. The ideal assignment is anything where you get the chance to meet someone new, find out about something new. That is what keeps it exciting and keeps it fresh.
I had one nightmare assignment, a house fire. I was photographing the fire and the homeowner came home drunk, and was very upset with me for being there. I wasn't on her property, within my rights, but she started pushing me around. A firefighter literally pulled her off me; that was a frightening experience.
What are the greatest stresses, what causes you the most anxiety?
Those difficult assignments where you are dealing with death and destruction; those are stories that need to be told, but it's difficult for me. I don't necessarily empathize on every assignment, but there have been times that I've cried, like when people are really upset about a tragic death. It can also be hard when you don't get upset; you sort of wonder, "What's wrong with me?"
What are your top pet peeves as a photographer?
Being called paparazzi really bothers me, and so does the way some police officers view news photographers as vultures.
What kinds of jobs are available for graduating photography students?
It's really limitless. Corporations hire photographers for advertising shots; you can combine photography with PR jobs; and of course newspapers and magazines, online sites.
What are the best ways to get a job in the field of photography?
I would say to make sure your portfolio is current, check with local professionals that you know, ask for help with your portfolio, for them to help you, weed out the pictures that don't belong there. Sometimes we have a personal attachment to an image. It may be a favorite picture with a great back story on how you got that picture, but if that back story doesn't show when you are looking at it, it doesn't belong in your portfolio. You need a concise, edited version, so seek out some help. Make sure the format is current and fresh and easily viewed; most portfolios are on CDs now, no more slides or images on blackboard.
How has the digital photography craze impacted your profession?
Technology has changed so much. My first internship out of school, I was hand developing black and white film, and I've gone from that to digital to doing everything on my laptop and cell phone. The technology changes seem to come in increments every year, where there is something brand new I've had to learn to do. Now everything is digital. You don't have to necessarily be technically minded, but it helps. Black and white, most of the photographers I know, including myself, still dabble in art photography on our own. I recently got a Holga, a cheap plastic mechanical camera that doesn't even require a battery. It takes interesting, sort of crude pictures… that type of experimenting helps keep you creative.
What are some other photography trends you see which could help photography students plan for the future?
I know before long we're going to be shooting assignments with video cameras and pulling stills off as the images. I'm not really looking forward to it, though it will increase the chances of getting your shots, because you'll be able to pick out just the right moment. The idea is to the lower end of costs, the same way digital photography lowered costs from traditional film.
How is the job market expected to develop over the next five years?
In the future, there may not be as many print photographers at the newspaper level. We've seen staff sizes on most newspapers shrinking. There will be jobs, though; the internet publications still use photographs.
Do photojournalists typically use specialized computer programs? How important is it for graduating students to be well-versed with these programs?
We use PhotoMechanic as a browser, import pictures into Adobe Photoshop to work on them. It's very important to be well versed, especially in Photoshop.
Has the popularity of the Internet affected your profession?
Yes, in fact now we upload almost all of our photos to a web site on line, people can view our outtakes and order copies. That's something new. Before, we were searching through files so people could get copies. We even get a commission on the web site photo sales.
What are some of the top challenges facing the photography profession?
I would say the smaller job market, for one, as well as just the challenge of the new technology, learning something new every year. It changes constantly, and it seems the moment you by a new camera it is obsolete. When I first started, photographers were expected to furnish their own equipment. These days the newspapers purchase the equipment; mostly since everything changed over to digital, it was so expensive.


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Student Films Recruitment Video For Freshmen
SOCORRO, N.M. August 27, 2012– Junior Tyler Robinson took his role as Peer Facilitator quite seriously.
Note: the last day to add classes is Tuesday, Aug. 28. Freshmen interested in signing up for the FYE class should do so immediately.
The Center for Student Success organizes the First Year Experience classes, which are classified as Education 101. Many of the academic departments offer the course solely for their students. Other sections combine students from several majors.
Robinson and his buddies made the video to encourage students to take Robinson's class – and to inform students about the opportunities available through the FYE program. He had help from Kris Kupchella, Sterling Reinhart, Nicolas Davis and Ky Brabson.
"I don't think all the freshmen know what FYE is about," Robinson said. "I wanted to recruit them and the only way to communicate with them is via email … but they don't read emails, so I sent them a link the video."
The two-minute video is mainly Robinson talking about the class and answering questions from his friends. They filmed in Fidel Center, including the Center for Student Success.
The Peer Facilitators talked to freshmen during Convocation on Monday, August 20.
"I know Tech pretty well, so I feel I could teach freshmen how to get to know Tech," he said.
Elaine DeBrine Howell, Associate Dean for Student Success, said she was very impressed with the video
"It was brilliant – way cool," she said. "That's why we hired Tyler. We get the best and the brightest and most creative to be Peer Facilitators. He hit all the high points on why the class is important. And it was funny."
She said the FYE classes have from 150 to 200 students each year. The class is one credit free-standing class in most departments. In two departments, the class is folded into an existing lab or recitation.
"The First-Year Experience helps freshmen transition smoothly and gets them connected," she said.
By Thomas Guengerich/New Mexico Tech


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Local racers win World Vintage Snowmobile Championship
Corey Prachar and Joel Burns of Willow River won the World Vintage Snowmobile Championship at the vintage snowmobile races in Eagle River, Wisconsin, on Saturday, January 17.
Both competed with their 1973 Yamaha SR 292 sleds that they had modified, and they were able to take home the trophies as world champions.
The two racers went to Eagle River last year for the first time, and did well.
"Last year I ended up getting first in the Pro Mod 300 and second in the Super Mod 300," said Corey in a telephone interview. "Joel actually won the Pro Mod 300 and had a second in the Super Mod 300 but he was disqualified."
Corey explained that one of the shims on the carbide runners on the skis on Joel's snowmobile had worked loose and was out too far. It hadn't been noticed or they would have fixed it.
"When I thought that I had won, it was great," said Joel, in a separate telephone interview. "But then I got disqualified. I almost expected to win it this year. I came back for redemption. I set out to beat one guy; that was my driving force."
This year Corey won the Super Mod 300, and Joel took second.
Joel won the Pro Mod 300 and Corey took second.
Both were in the class of snowmobiles, determined by the size of the engine, that the two owned.
They took home cash prizes, as well a trophies and jackets.
Corey and Joel have been friends for around 10 years, and they spend many hours each night working on their snowmobiles to win races.
"They are basically built from junk," said Joel. "We are up many nights until midnight, and that's an early night."
Joel is single, but Corey has a family.
Corey said that he comes in to spend time with his wife, Tara, and 2-year-old daughter, Paige, in the evenings.
"As soon as Paige goes to bed, I go back out to the shop and work on the snowmobiles," he said. "It was nice that our efforts paid off."
Corey's day job is as a cabinet maker, and Joel works in his irrigation business during the season.
"We make money in the summer and spend it in the winter," he said.
The two work as a team.
"It's a team effort," said Corey. "Each of us has different ideas. We drive each other to get better."
Although their sleds aren't the big ones, both Corey and Joel entered the 440 races at Eagle River this year, and they did well.
"That's the main event, that's the most prestigious race," said Corey. "Our machines are smaller. We knew that we wouldn't do real good. But we qualified during the time trails. I took 10th and Joel took 13th. We needed to be in the top 36 to get to the next level.
"We both made it to the next round but after that, my pipe broke. Joel made it to the next one and passed Brady Mlaskoch. But then Brady passed him and by four inches made it to the final."
Corey said that he used to race in the snow cross from 1997 to 2004. But then he got hurt.
"I dislocated my shoulder," he said. "And then I started to work with the vintage snowmobiles in 2005. We raced on Long Lake by Isanti in 2009 and had fun. We learned a lot.
"At the end of the 2012 season, Joel came to me and said, 'Let's build two sleds and take it seriously.' That's when we built the modified sleds and went to Eagle River last year."
The racers have fierce competition between the drivers in the big races.
"Everybody wants to win," said Corey. "People can take some of the big races too seriously. The races around here are more for fun.
"But the guy who won the world championship last year was real nice. He came and congratulated us."
Both Corey and Joel are out racing many weekends during the winter, although they don't race every weekend.
Corey won a 25-mile race in the Wild Bill Run at the Embassy by Sturgeon Lake on January 25 with his 1972 Arctic Cat Lynx 292.
"There were 12 sleds but only four of us finished," he said.
And the race on Long Lake by Isanti remains a favorite. Corey and Joel are looking forward to another race on the Wild Bill racing circuit coming up at Ray and Marge's on Sturgeon Lake.
Joel took his sled down to Waconia to a race on a lake on Sunday, January 26, and won the one race that he competed in. But the race was cancelled when high winds made visibility impossible.
Joel said that he wants to race one more year and then retire. Corey said that he is thinking about selling his sled after this season.
"I know that everyone will come back with sleds that are faster," he said. "We have to make ours faster too if we want to compete."
Safety is the number one concern of both racers.
"As long as nobody gets hurt by the end of the day, it's a good day," said Joel.


text: This all natural Selenium and Vitamin E Gel is actually labeled for goats! The Real-Gel base melts at body temperature so it won't roll off goat's tongue. Vitamin E level is 500 IU per 5 ml (cc) dose. Maximum level of Selenium is 3 ppm per animal. Each 5 ml (cc) does contains 2.5 ppm of Selenium. Easy-to-use Dial-a-Dose tube; palatable butterscotch flavor. Dosage is 5 ml (cc) per goat per day. 80 ml (cc) tube will dose 16 goats. Do not overdose because excessive amounts of Selenium may be toxic.


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text:
River Cruise from Amsterdam to Prague
18 Day Jewels of Europe with Prague - Amsterdam to Prague
- Tour code: CRPR
- Duration: 18 Days
- Departure City: Amsterdam
- Return City: Prague
Prices and Dates
- Start
- Finish
- Was From p.p. AUD
- NowFrom p.p. AUD
- Availability
|25 Sep 2017
|12 Oct 2017
|fully booked
Day By Day
Day 1 Welcome to Amsterdam
Your journey into wonder begins here. Relax and raise your glass to the days ahead at this evening's welcome reception.
Day 2 Amsterdam
Explore wonderful Amsterdam – with its wealth of canals, museums and bicycles.
Freechoice: Experience an iconic canal cruise or enjoy a slice of quintessential Holland at Zaanse Schans, with its windmills and open-air conservation area.
Alternatively, you can make the most of your free time by walking or cycling the city, and letting your Tailormade GPS device open your eyes to its many key attractions. And in the evening, please join your Scenic Space-Ship Captain for the official welcome dinner.
Day 3 Cologne > Marksburg
Freechoice: Explore the Neanderthal Museum or take a stroll through Cologne and get up close to the filigree twin towers of the famous cathedral. Alternatively enjoy a cooking demonstration on board your Scenic Space-Ship. Whatever you choose it's a great day to see and discover.
Delight in the medieval ambience of Marksburg Castle, which has remained virtually unchanged since the Middle Ages. You'll get the opportunity to partake in a magnificent medieval feast, with an abundance of fine fare and quantities of free flowing local red wine. You can also look forward to being entertained in the grand tradition of Europe's great royal houses, with minstrels and colourful court jesters, there for your exclusive pleasure.
Day 4 Rhine Gorge > Rüdesheim
Enjoy the unrivalled views and fresh air of the spectacular World Heritage-listed Rhine Gorge. Then alight in Rüdesheim and board the Winzerexpress mini train for a guided visit of Siegfried's Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum before enjoying a cable car ride to the Niederwald Monument, for a spectacular view of the river.
Day 5 Freudenberg >Tastes of 'Oktoberfest'
In Freudenberg you'll get the chance to celebrate the Scenic version of 'Oktoberfest', Germany's famously fun festival. Look forward to joyous oom-pah-pah music, bright festive blue flags, and an abundance of fine beer. It's also a great opportunity to meet the locals, see some regional arts and crafts, and indulge in a Bavarian lunch with large servings of good humour and revelry.
Day 6 Würzburg
Freechoice: Visit the Bishop's Residenz Palace and sample some exquisite local wine, or explore the famous Romantic Road – such an important trade route during the Middle Ages.
Then take in the beautiful walled town of Rothenburg, a medieval gem that overlooks the Tauber River.
Day 7 Bamberg
Immerse yourself in the Old Town of Bamberg, a World Heritage-listed Site alive with history. With your knowledgeable local guide, walk the same cobbled streets as medieval traders once did. During your leisure time you might like to savour the traditional smoked beer of the region.
Day 8 Nuremberg
Welcome to this fascinating and ancient Bavarian city, dating back to the 11th century.
Freechoice: Visit moving WWII sites or choose something a little lighter – the Tastes of Nuremberg – a tour of culinary delights that will let you indulge your passion for local bratwurst, beer and gingerbread. Alternatively learn new techniques at a cooking class. We won't tell anyone if you loosen your belt a little.
Day 9 Regensburg
From its medieval town, the bordering Bavarian Forest and the confluence of three rivers, Regensburg offers a rich tapestry of experiences.
Freechoice: Enjoy a walking tour of Regensburg or hop on board a local ferry and sail the Danube Gorge to Weltenburg Abbey, and sample beer from one of the oldest monastic breweries in the world.
You could also take a leisurely cycle on your own to the Walhalla monument with your Tailormade GPS device.
Day 10 Passau > Salzburg
Let the 'Best of The Sound of Music and Salzburg Show' transport you to another time and place. Based on the timeless movie of the same name, this exclusive production is performed in the rolling hills of Salzburg and will wow you with its stage sets. Enjoy an authentic Austrian lunch before an afternoon of humming along to some of the catchy classics.
Day 11 Melk > Dürnstein
Freechoice: Experience Melk's magnificent 18th century Benedictine Abbey on a guided tour. Alternatively, for the more active embark on an enjoyable guided bike ride along the river from Melk to one of the most enchanting villages in the region, Dürnstein – at your own pace, of course.
As the day ends, you'll get to enjoy a fine view at the breathtakingly beautiful Wachau Valley. You'll be in very fine company, and will experience a wonderful day. Of course, we can't take all the credit for this one. It's nature who'll provide the view, we're just bringing the drinks.
Day 12 Vienna
Acquaint yourself with this opulent city by taking a fascinating guided tour of its most famous sights, including the Ringstrasse.
Breathe in the opulence and luxury of Palais Liechtenstein while enjoying a glass of fine Austrian Sekt. Then be enthralled by an enchanting private Viennese evening concert featuring the timeless music of Strauss and Mozart. Even in elegant Vienna, Palais Liechtenstein is one of the grandest of all venues, and you'll have ample opportunity to explore it.
Day 13 Vienna
Freechoice: Take a guided tour of Bratislava or Schönbrunn Palace, and witness the sheer opulence of the Habsburg Empire. Alternatively, visit the world-renowned Spanish Riding School for either a tour of the stables or to see the famous Lipizzaner Stallions perfecting their skills during their morning exercise program. Or why not taste your way around the local market on our Shop with a Chef tour with your on board chef.
Day 14 Budapest
We find ourselves in Budapest, one of Europe's oldest and prettiest cities.
Freechoice: Make the most of a guided tour of this city including a piano concert, or relax and unwind at the Thermal Baths and Spa. Or you can choose to experience the labyrinths of the Hospital in the Rock.
Day 15 Budapest > Prague
Journey by coach to Prague, and spend three nights at one of our luxurious hotels.
Day 16 Prague
Today explore Prague in all its Gothic glory.
Freechoice: Enjoy a walking tour of Prague's communist-era history. Alternatively, discover the wonderful Lobkowicz Palace.
Tonight relish a typically delicious Czech dinner.
Day 17 Prague
Explore this magnificent city at your leisure.
Day 18 Prague
After breakfast, you'll be transferred to Prague International Airport for your onward flight, taking many wonderful memories with you.