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Results 76 to 90 of 586
August 4th, 2011, 04:00 PM #76
Seriously, I'm about half-way through and must say that the book is very good... character-driven would describe the writing style quite nicely. Like Contrarius, I'm waiting to see how insane Jorg stays!
Last edited by Whiskeyjack; August 4th, 2011 at 04:03 PM.
August 4th, 2011, 06:25 PM #77
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August 4th, 2011, 07:40 PM #78
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Here's the long response to Loerwyn's critique of the book. I hope it explains my reaction a bit more --
Loerwyn: Prince of Thorns is a tale about a kid named Jorg. When we first meet him, he's 14, six foot tall, toned and muscular, and an utter bastard.
Me: My own brother was 6 feet tall before he hit 14, so I don't see a big problem here. As for the "utter bastard" part, that's one of the major points of the story...
Loerwyn: He murders, lies, rapes, assaults, abuses, steals - He's pretty much the villain of most gritty fantasy books.
Me: Yup. He's not a nice guy. So? Do you think everyone in A Clockwork Orange went to Sunday school every week?
Loerwyn: Oh, he's also a prince who lives under a sort of self-exile after the murder of his mother and younger brother.
Me: Yup. So?
Loerwyn: Jorg is able to cut down experienced soldiers, fight in armour, survive being stabbed in the chest and all these other magical things.
Me: In case you missed it, this is a work of FANTASY. He survives being stabbed because he has taken in some of a necromancer's powers. He is able to cut down experienced soldiers and fight in armor in part because he was raised as a king's son, and in part because he has been controlled by a wizard. Fantasy, remember??
Loerwyn: The supporting characters are little different. We have a black man often called the Nuban, and we're frequently reminded that the black man is indeed black and that he has black skin and that Nubans are black. Because he's black, you see.
Me: Well, uh, yeah. So? This is writing that depends heavily on imagery of one sort or another, and Jorg depends heavily on the Nuban as one of the anchors tying him to whatever decency he has left. Thus, it is natural for Jorg to dwell on the Nuban's various physical and internal qualities. And remember, the Nuban isn't the only character or character-type whose color is repeatedly remarked upon. For instance, remember why it's called the Castle Red ?
Loerwyn: Jorg's Brothers (i.e. his band of merry men) are either food-obsessed, rape-obsessed, violence-obsessed or they're the fallen captain who joins in but still has a sense of honour.
Me: Yup. More not-nice guys. So?
Loerwyn: The women tend to act simply as sex machines, angry birds or... Oh, I think that's about it.
Me: Yup. And just how many positive female characters do you think there were in A Clockwork Orange? This is not a kumbaya love fest, nor is it intended to be.
Loerwyn: Aside from the almost Oedipal reverence Jorg has for mother dearest, there's not a single positive female character.
Me: Whereintheheck do you get this Oedipal nonsense? How do you think YOU would remember your mother, if you saw her gang-raped and sliced open in front of your eyes where you were nine or ten?
Loerwyn:Pretty much every woman bar Jorg's mother and his mother-in-law gets beaten, sexed (Either consensually or raped) or... Uh, I think that's the range of interactions.
Me: Once again -- yup. This is the story of an insane, or nearly insane, young guy with little or no positive experience of the world around him. It is the story of Prince Jorg, not Saint Jorg.
Loerwyn: Oh, and a weird vault computer thingy also magically survives.
Me: Why magically? It's a storage vault built deep into a mountain, specifically intended to survive just about anything. It does. That doesn't require magic, just very sophisticated technology and some luck.
Loerwyn: Now, the plot. I honestly do not know why most things happened.
Me: It appears to me that you'd have better understanding if you had paid more attention to the book.
Loerwyn: Jorg is trying to kill his uncle, which clearly involves razing villages, raping women, killing his own men and killing others.
Me: No, actually, he is NOT trying to kill his uncle for most of the book. This is the kind of comment that makes me think you weren't paying much attention when you were reading. During most of the book, Jorg is actually being manipulated by a wizard who specifically wants Jorg to NOT kill the uncle. The wizard wants Jorg to do exactly what he IS doing -- causing upheaval around the area, and gaining experience in murder and mayhem.
Loerwyn: He then decides to go home to his dad (The King!) for some reason, but not before killing one of his brothers for the fun of it
Me: See above. Wizard. Manipulation. Insanity.
Loerwyn: and he encounters ghosties
Me: Refer back to "fantasy". Sure enough, ghosts often appear in fantasy stories. Surprise surprise.
Loerwyn: and some old priest bloke who recovers from near-death rather quickly.
Me: Whoever said the priest was near death? He was left to die in a cage, sure -- but that's not at all the same thing as "near death".
Loerwyn: Daddy tells him to bring him a county, Jorgy-poo runs off to do it
Me: Why in the world would you ever think that idiotic words like "Daddy" and "Jorgy-poo" are appropriate here, in place of "King" and "Prince Jorg"?
Jorg is not entirely rational, not by a long shot. That's an important part of the story, not an excuse for you to ridicule the author.
Loerwyn: and so on and so forth. We go through tunnels with necromancers, a tourney outside a castle and a few other things here and there.
Me: Once again -- refer back to "fantasy". Oddly enough, these sorts of things happen in fantasy stories.
Loerwyn: The chapters of the plot are peppered by retrospective chapters that, without fail, take place four years ago, back when Jorg was about ten or eleven (I'll comment on that later). They almost invariably involve Jorg and the black Nuban of blackness, and how Jorg comes to respect him (I'll mention that later, too) and how we ended up where we are with this story. I thought they added some good information, but I feel like they could perhaps have been put at the start to give a chronologically smoother read.
Me: You've got something against flashbacks? It's important to the tension and confusion of the story that we NOT find out about the wizard Corion until near the end of the book. Thus, in part, the flashbacks.
Loerwyn: I honestly struggle to remember why Jorg went through the necromancer tunnels, up an elevator shaft (I think... Or was it a buried skyscraper?), why he killed the ladymancer, why he found the bombs, why he blew the mountain up, how he managed to escape in time and so forth.
Me: I'm not surprised that you have trouble remembering. I honestly think you just weren't paying much attention as you read. Don't blame your confusion on the author.
Loerwyn: I don't think many of these events were helped by Lawrence's often unclear writing, which caused me to reread things more often than I'd have liked.
Me: "Unclear"?? Do you want to read adult literature, or do you want to read the Cat in the Hat? IMHO Lawrence's writing is often almost hallucinatory in quality, but I wouldn't ever call it murky.
Loerwyn: How did this vault continue to function potentially thousands of years after the "apocalypse", and why did society revert itself to a society where women are only good for food and sex?
Me: See, this is the sort of thing that makes me believe you weren't paying attention. In fact, the specific number of years is set down explicitly right in the book. They find the computer precisely 1111 years after it was left alone in the vault.
As for reversion -- that's what can happen after any kind of apocalypse. Just take a look at Lord of the Flies, if you don't believe me.
Loerwyn: Surely if humanity survived, which it clearly did, then many things like social attitudes would survive to some degree?
Me: Hey, if that's the kind of society that YOU wish to imagine, then go write your own book based on that notion. Many other authors have disagreed with you, but if you like it that way more power to you.
Loerwyn: Christianity survived in this world, and somehow so did written texts, but some characters speak Latin. *How* did they learn Latin in the first place? How did magic come to exist? How could they almost word-for-word reconstruct a medieval setting? Too many questions were left unanswered for me.
Me: Hey -- this book is less than 400 pages long. Do you really expect Lawrence to cram in the entire detailed history of the world??
Loerwyn: There were also inconsistencies with Jorg's age. He's almost fifteen at the start, and reaches that age soon enough. That would mean the Four Years Ago bits span from ages ten to eleven, which is fair enough, except for the fact that Jorg is almost exactly the same four years ago. The way he speaks, the way he acts? He's an arrogant arse even at ten. However, when one of Jorg's best friends said "A little over three years ago, you were ten", it's clearly wrong. Jorg would have been eleven going on twelve. That's a big error there, Mr Protector of Jorgy.
Me: The guy's a soldier, not a scribe. Heck, I can't even remember exactly how many years ago I moved to this new place -- and that's only three or four years as well. You are setting your expectations waaaay too high here.
Loerwyn: The way women were treated made last year's Farlander look like the pinnacle of female equality, and that even mentioned breasts every two pages!
Me: Jeez Louise. This isn't I'm Okay You're Okay. This isn't Betty Friedan or Dr. Phil. This is a brutal story about a brutal world. (And before you start calling me a sexist pig, I'm a woman myself.) The author isn't saying it's "okay" to treat women badly -- he's just acknowledging that, in societies like this one, they DO get treated badly.
Loerwyn: Whilst Jorg was oddly compelling, he was as believable as Nicolas Cage's attempts to act.
Me: I actually found this one comment pretty funny. Nicolas Cage is a widely respected actor -- but NOT for any sense of realism. He isn't a realist. He creates drama and larger-than-life personae. And, in a way, that's what Jorg does as well. This is FANTASY -- and realism is not always the best friend of a fantasy tale.
Loerwyn: I find it impossible to believe that an arrogant, puffed-up fourteen year old would be able to lead a band of men twice his age, twice his strength etc, and so forth. It made no sense to me.
Me: Refer back to wizard, training as heir to a throne, insanity, and so on. I actually agree with you that it would be nice if he had at least one or two more years on him, but I don't think the lack of those one or two years ruins anything. Fantasy, remember?
August 4th, 2011, 08:03 PM #79
I have to agree with a lot of Contrarius's points there, though not the confrontational tone. While Loerwyn's certainly entitled to her opinion, I feel a great many of her criticisms could be levelled at almost every fantasy I've ever read; and that I could make events from some of the most beloved fantasy novels sound faintly ludicrous by employing a number of her reviews tactics. And I to am surprised anyone could have missed the clearly spelled out wizardly chess players plot, its not oblique in the slightest.
I will also point out that I was six foot three at 14, indeed I still am, and a great deal larger than the typical adult, as were most of the rest of my rugby team. It hardly seems surprising in a brutal world that bloodlines inclined to produce large powerful men might rise to rule.
Spoiler:As for Jorg's dominance over older and stronger men this is explained in large part by his miraculous killing of Price - the Brothers former leader and Rike's older tougher brother. If I saw someone kill the biggest badass I knew with three pebbles I would be pretty darn wary! He also has Makin and the Nuban as sort of built in body guards, and I think we can safely presume they are very influential amongst the Brothers. I did not find it troubling by the end.
I interpreted the Red keep as a nuclear storage facility being explained by someone who had no idea what it was. I believe there is at least one such facility actually built into a mountain as described - could swear I swa a documentary about it years ago.
Last edited by Ornery Wyvern; August 4th, 2011 at 08:12 PM.
August 4th, 2011, 08:04 PM #80
I haven't read the book, but it looks like it DID work for Contrarius, DIDN'T work for Loerwyn. I don't think either side needs to defend their position or prove anything beyond that.
August 4th, 2011, 08:29 PM #81
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Does anyone know if this novel will be release in an audio format? Having that as an option is worth the cost to me and really moves a book up my 'things to 'read'" list since I have been driving so much.
August 4th, 2011, 08:31 PM #82
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August 4th, 2011, 08:40 PM #83
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Thanks... I already listened to the First Law series as well as Best Served Cold and The Heroes. I spend more $ on Audio books than I do on print these days.
The reader makes or breaks them though. Roy Dotrice is who I want reading all my fantasy novels to me... but you are right Pacey was excellent.
Looking forward to it, but I never know what books will be released in audio... some are and some are not.
August 4th, 2011, 08:55 PM #84
A couple of 'teammates' of mine, from elsewhere, rated this book rather highly. I was content to merely let it go at that. Now after all of this, the burr is beneath the saddle. I had nearly convinced myself that it was a book that I didn't "have to have."
August 5th, 2011, 03:09 AM #85
August 5th, 2011, 04:00 AM #86
I like to read negative reviews of books. People seem to be better at times at explaining what they do not like than at explaining what they do like.
I can decide for myself if the points they bring to bear are important for me.
August 5th, 2011, 11:32 AM #87
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If you want to have a productive discussion of a book, then write a civil and thoughtful review of it -- either positive or negative. But if you just want to have some fun and do a hatchet job, IMHO this isn't the place for it.
August 5th, 2011, 11:42 AM #88
You make it sound as if I constructed and planned a highly negative review. I didn't orchestrate it. I wrote it as things came into my head and that was it.
It wasn't a "proper" review, it wasn't done for SFFWorld, it wasn't done as a staff member of SFFWorld. It was my 'review' that consisted of my thoughts at the time. Was I a bit harsh? Maybe. Did I enjoy it? Perhaps a little more than stated in my review. Did the good overshadow the bad for me? No, not in the slightest. I had multiple problems with the book, and my 'lack of attention' (As you put it) was due to me not particularly enjoying the book nor caring for half of what happened. I thought it wasn't brilliantly written (I mean no offence to Mark there; I sometimes struggle with certain writing styles) and that affected my ability to comprehend and enjoy the book.
Ok? I struggled with it, I didn't enjoy it that much, and I wrote my honest thoughts down in no real review structure. It was an organic, flowing steam of cognition.
August 5th, 2011, 11:58 AM #89
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"Rule 1: Remember the human
The golden rule your parents and your kindergarten teacher taught you was pretty simple: Do unto others as you'd have others do unto you. Imagine how you'd feel if you were in the other person's shoes. Stand up for yourself, but try not to hurt people's feelings. "
Core Rules of Netiquette
A quick review of those core rules might just possibly help to avoid problems in the future....
August 5th, 2011, 12:02 PM #90
Contrarious, Loerwyn, end it please. You've both stated your opinions and anything more has been finger pointing.


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Advanced Visualization Techniques in Postprocessing
Bethany Nine | March 22, 2013
Looking for ways to cut down on the time and computer memory required to run your simulation? Does your model exhibit some form of symmetry — axial symmetry, lines or planes of symmetry, or antisymmetry for example? Or perhaps your model exhibits periodicity? If you answered yes to those questions, you're in luck. You can model symmetry or periodicity in COMSOL Multiphysics easily by either using a 1D or 2D axisymmetric dimensional simulation or by incorporating boundary conditions that represent a symmetry or periodic condition.
Video Guide to Advanced Visualization Techniques in Postprocessing
Utilizing symmetry inevitably involves simulating only a portion of your geometry, but you will likely want to see what the solution looks like on your full geometry to get a more intuitive feel for "what's going on" in the model. To facilitate this, COMSOL offers many different visualization options in postprocessing that will allow you to plot your results on a "recreated" version of your full geometry. Below I have created three videos explaining how to take advantage of some of the most popular visualization options available to you in COMSOL Multiphysics.
How to Use the Revolution Data Set to Create a Full 3D Plot
The first video demonstrates how to use a Revolution data set to visualize results from an axisymmetric model. It shows you how plotting with this data set type is the same as plotting on a full 3D geometry:
Creating a Plot using Mirror, Extrusion, and Sector Data Sets
The second video demonstrates how to use a Mirror or Sector data set to view results from a model with reflection or rotational symmetry, respectively. This video also includes a demonstration of the Extrusion data set, showing how you can better visualize the evolution of your results over time in a transient model:
Viewing Simulation Results with Periodicity Beyond Original Geometry
In the final video I show you a neat trick for visualizing your results in a periodic model:
Further Reading on Symmetry and Periodicity
In one of our knowledge base entries, you can find some tips on utilizing your symmetries in COMSOL. Similarly, you can find guidance on implementing periodic conditions in your model by consulting one of our sample models in this area. One example models the propagation of an electromagnetic wave through a plasmonic wire grating and another simulates the propagation of an acoustic wave through an elastic panel.
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I looked in several areas. What I got here was a high end product at a mid-range price. very good value.
Great Product
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from Hershey, PA
Gives the room a whole new look. Has the finish/patina of a fine peice of furniture. Love the look of the tapes too. Measuring was easy, the fit is perfect, price was the best. Would definitely order from Steve's again.
Best price out there!!!! Perfect fit!!!
By Jason
from Houston,tx
I've purchased 3 sets of these blinds for my house so far and they fit exactly perfect! They are very high quality in my opinion and look like they will last a very long time. You have the best price out there that I can find also. Installation is pretty easy. I loved the free trim piece that you get also. It just is a very nice finishing touch to the blinds. Privacy is also great with these. I can't wait to get the other blinds I need for my house and I'll definately be buying them here! [...]
By James
from Santa Fe, NM
I purchased 6 of these blinds sight unseen and was not disappointed. The finish looks beautiful and the easy lift mechanism works extremely well and the lack of cords gives the blind a much cleaner appearance.
Very Nice Product but could be improved!
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from McKinney Texas
Overall it is a very nice product, I am happy with them.
I would buy this product again
By LoLo
from San Pedro, CA
Beautiful Look
By The Traveling Chef
from Chester, NJ
Blinds are used in office. Beautiful painted finish. Looks very expensive. The one negative I have is with the easy lift system. It raised up nice, but it does not have the smoothness when lowering. It's not a big issue for me in the room that I'm using, but I would not purchase this blind for a room where I would be raising and lowering blinds a lot. I have another brand of wood blinds with this option and there is no comparison.
Blinds are perfect !
By Maria
from Florida
perfect color - perfect size - easy to install
I would buy this product again and again
By Ava
from Queens, NY
Simply beautiful.
Great quality for the price..
By Bud
from St. Charles, MO
The real wood blinds are perfect. I checked a lot of stores and websites, and Steve's was by far the best in price. The blinds were easy to select, and customize on the website. Easy to install and they fit great. I wish I would have purchased them years ago. They do what they are supposed to do - Make the room look stylish, and warm, plus give us privacy during the evening.
By Macy
from Billings, Montana
These blinds cost about 50% less than any other 'on sale' blinds. They are the exact Levelor blinds that were available locally. [...]They fit exactly, though the sizes could have been displayed on the packages more visibly to know which went where. They were very close in size.I would totally recommend this store.
Special Order Blinds were Perfect!
By Larea
from Houston, Texas
I have a 108" window in my game room. I thought I would have to spend a lot on a blind this size - I knew it had to be custom made. I am very happy with my purchase and Steve's is the first place I will look if I am in the market again.
Completely satisfied
By Ruger
from Salt Lake City, UT
I am completely delighted and satisfied with the products I purchased[...]. I will recommend this company to everyone.
great wood blinds
By new home
from seattle, wa
great quality and lighter in weight than faux wood products
Extremely pleased.
By First time buyer
from Arkansas
We bought for our French doors and windows in our master bedroom. They look great and were extemely easy to install. Really like the ordering process and the ability to designate type of control (wand or cord), side for lift and tilt control, features desired, etc. [...]Steve's had great prices [...]Liked the blinds[...]so well, we have since ordered the same blinds for the dining room and a bathroom.
Excellent, quality product for the price
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from Lititz, PA
We got samples from other websites for what we thought was the same product. However, the premium wood Levolor samples from Steve's were far superior to the other samples in richness of color. When the product came, it didn't disappoint!
everything i wanted and expected...
By jeff the guitar guy
from houston texas
we use these levelor blinds for blocking the sun from our new upstairs bedroom at our lake house. i noticed an immediate difference in the room the minute i put them up. they were also the finishing touch to our decor in the room. the real wood is a definite improvement over the faux wood blinds (different brand)i hung in a different part of the house. so much lighter...excellent quality, which is what i expected from levelor. [...]
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text: I'm not crazy about this move. Far be it from me to think I know better than Ainge, KG, Paul and Ray who want him. I'm not sure where he fits in ... very slow and very lazy. Like I said ... what do I know? :confused2: Opinions people? You people ... what say you?


text:
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*Note: Glass privacy ratings are determined by the ½ lite size glass. As a result, the amount of privacy/glass transparency may be more or less than indicated by the privacy rating, based on glass design and the size of the glass that's inserted into the door, sidelite or transom. Glass design may differ from depiction due to size of glass. Please consult your Therma-Tru dealer for more details.


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With the adoption of the new Illinois Learning Standards incorporating the Common Core, the state has retired many of its old tests and replaced them with new, innovative assessments that will provide educators with reliable data to help guide instruction. Often aided by technological advances, these assessments will allow for students to better showcase their skills compared to the old, multiple-choice format. Please refer to our Top 10 things you need to know about the new Illinois assessments for facts about what's happening.
The Assessment Division of the Illinois State Board of Education is responsible for developing and administering tests that measure the performance of students and schools against the Illinois Learning Standards. The state assessment scores are used to measure adequate yearly progress (AYP) for all public schools. All students' scores are part of the AYP measure, including students with disabilities and limited English proficiency.
- Letter from State Superintendent Koch to Parents/Guardians regarding PARCC Assessment (March 2015)
- Reponse letter from the U.S. Department of Education regarding state assessments (March 2015)
- USED Assessment Clarification(December 2014)
- Illinois Assessments 2014-15
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- Illinois State Assessment Dates for the 2014-15 School Year
- Illinois State Assessment Dates Archive (2005-2014)
Important Links and Resources
- Illinois Report Card
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- Standards and Assessment Readiness Document for School Leaders (09/22/14)
- Determination of School and District Readiness for Online Assessment
- ISBE Assessment Transition Plan - SY2015-SY2019
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text:
President Obama speaks on death of Maj. Gen. Harold Greene
Radio host Casey Kasem dies at 82
Riverside doctor Ron Van Dewoestine MD dies unexpectedly
Cheo Feliciano is killed in Puerto Rico car crash
Anja Niedringhaus: AP photographer killed in Afghanistan
North High School graduate - Tim "Timothy" Andrew Hane dies at 44
Justice John G. Gabbert has died in his Riverside home at 104
Lawyer, judge was instrumental in bringing a UC campus to Riverside [More]
Gabriel Anthony Ferrer
Riverside businessman M.E. "Bud" Davy dies
Funeral set for slain Riverside Police Officer Mike Crain
Huell Howser, of "California's Gold" has died
Marcus Eugene Welton
Elizabeth "Betty" Marie Tino
Arlie Walton "Bud" Kibbie
Kathleen "Kay" Imburg
Stanley Fox
Keith Lee Thompson
Alyene O'Brien
John Gouin
Donald Cropper
Jess "Chey" Alcala
Herbert Phelps Smith
Grace Eunice Seibert
Marqueta "Markie" Kay Wall
Marion "Pete" Stokes
Jean Evelyn (Bradley) Rutherford
Michael James Ruff
Charlotte "Schotzy" Roberts
Bernadine "Bernie" Rhodes
Pime Tovar
Ralph Robles
Ventura Lopez, Jr.
Pedro "Peter" Angel Hache
Juan Guajardo
Josephine Yolanda Spagnuolo Carlson
Carol Mills
Rudolf "Rudy" Guerrero
Arlene Feller
Ralph Duane Burgan
Robert Boston
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Frank Hall
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Katrina Marie Ravellette
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Nema Griffith
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Gordon Dittemore
Irene Hill
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Murray Morris Axel
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Doris Russ
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Clovis Laveta Cook
Dorothy Stringer
Sadie Sanchez
Carlyle Rose
Jerauld Mattson
Donald Green
Charles "Chuck" Gafford
David Cardoza "Necke"
Legendary actress Ann Rutherford has died at 94
Roy "Punky" Batson
Jean Eileen Gross Thayer
William Roy Telford
Edward Madison Lincoln, Jr.
Dixie (Hummel) Kemp
Major Jones Jennings
Paul Coleman
Gilbert Stradt
Kenneth Morris
David Mains
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Michael "Mike" Cairns
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Freda Lvella Orr, 100
Denise Marruffo
Edward Lee Kelley
Del Freeman
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Robert Cantu
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Colleen Allen
Audeen "Birdie" Comfort
Fanny "Marion" (Adams) Brown
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Amanda Dorothy Bratton
John Almeida
Ilaria Salazar Alfaro "Lala"
Rosemary "Rose" Price
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Harold Pia
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Mike Adame Muñoz
Menetta Delores Mills
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Vernon "Vern" Formoe
Charles Cole
Lewis David Allen
Sean Joseph Edwards
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Robert Otto Tilander
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Leslie Lewis Brittenback
Allen Whitson
Jose Torres
Harry Norman Smith "The Legend"
Rosalee Ramos
Charles Virgil Ramsey
Charles "Solie" Martin
Dorsey Adrian Hoesman
Herbert "Max" Hackett
Gerald "Jerry" Kerr
Charlotte Pauline Larkin "Shirley"
Ralph Dale Ellis
Artist Thomas Kinkade dies at 54
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Jean Morris
Jean Morris at age 75, passed away peacefully in her home with family by her side 1/8/12.
She resided in Hemet for nearly 40 years and retired from the original Falaticos Restaurant on Harvard Street.
Jean is survived by her husband Allen; 3 sons, Perry and Roger Pryor, John Morris; 2 daughters Kim Pryor Artist and Cindy Pryor; 6 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren and 4 sisters.
Service will be held on Friday, 1-13-12 at 11am. at Inland Memorial Harford Chapel, 120 N. Buena Vista St., Hemet with a private interment at Riverside National Cemetery.
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are published as a public service.


text:
Karl Dillinger
This really says it all. Miami fans are almost all bandwagon. They don't have a real fan base. Their players make me sick. I respect Dwayne Wade but that is really it. I hope they win tonight so we can start beating them down as soon as possible. No Boston fan would ever do this besides maybe Norman.
Karl Dillinger
56 Responses so far.
wow....ummm....he is special. much like yourself i too only respect wade, at least he has a ring to show for himself. also while i am on the subject, that commercial with all the past winners of championships why is lebron in that commercial? he hasnt won crap, and he certainly wont this year and hopefully for his whole time down there.
JR says:
That was hilarious! i can't figure out if he was mocking Heat fans or not.
That can't be serious... just can't be. Eddie Casa, Lol! Miller Lite??? =\
Edu Ellery says:
Norman Dale would be a disgrace as a fan of the Celtics, but fortunately he roots for the Lakers.
Lol Celtic fans are ass holes! And if we're a bandwagon then so are Celtic fans. And um hello! D wade had a squad in 06 too help him! LeBron has two MVP AWARDS that's going to look great along side all the championships. And p.s. 2nd round is gonna be a breeze for the heat! WATCH!
Lol LeBron was also kicked out twice by the Celtics from the playoffs, heck it was almost 3 times. So go suck on that MVP awards hahaha! LBJ and Wade will be kicked out of the playoffs again by the Celtics!
Ummm but when you're getting forced to a game six every time by one person you should be terrified!!! Now he has a real squad that's gone make these old ass Celtics retire! Haaaaa!
its funny how people say lebron never had a team when 2yrs straight they had the best record in the league but to say the second round going b a breeze nigga u stupid boston swept the knicks why couldnt yall sweep the sixers what a joke
Anonymous. Put your name on your comments.
Learn something! That's why LeBron won mvp two years in a row cause he did that shit by himself! And wow y'all beat a broke down knick team while we fighting a team that's determined! Learn something bout the game dude please!
This is a parody demonstrating how retarded Heat fans are. Good job, whoever the guy is.
Jenda says:
I agree with anonymous, LeBJ did shit by himself. And he is about to do shit with Joel Anthony, Juwan Howard, cadaver of Mike Bibby and the rest of the wet dream company from Miami.
We're gonna take them down! We have a real team, a real brotherhood. We have 4 current all-stars and a great supporting cast. It could even end with a sweep, as the heat have no fans and no home court advantage. Who's afraid of Bibby, Chalmers, Anthony oder Big Z? Nobody. That's right.
Man, you celtics fans are dumb as hell. You beat a team without Billups, with a hurt Amare and think that the glorious days of 2008 are back. You didn't win a championship last year or the year before. It was 2008. Don't live in the past you poor creatures. The Heat will dominate you!
Is this a joke?????????????????
This fucking faggot. Its the Big 2 - Bosh aint shit. He is overhyped cause he is w/Wade and James.
I couldnt even watch the whole thing cause i got annoyed.
@Edu - dont take Norman seriously..
i dont think i should say more than that..
4 min of my life wasted
Haha! @chuckT. Chris bosh is a complete beast and he gone take kg ass for 30and10 every night! Watch! Celtics are history! Kissem good bye!
LOL - yea right! Stoudemire > Bosh.
Bosh plays NO DEFENSE and he is allergic to paint. All he does it shoot jumpers like he is a 2 guard.
fuck outta here w/that shit.
KG > Bosh
Pau Gasol > Bosh
Tim Duncan > Bosh
Dirk > Bosh
i can go on an on..the Boshtrich is SHIT..
celtics haters--if you hate the c's so much then why are you on this site???
yall need to be wondering why the Sixers didnt let yall sweep.
Lol its not the site its this video post that got the attention. Whoever this Celtic life person is obviously knows nothing so ya!
Anyone who names themselves the Heatles is probably a douchebag.
So these Heat fans are talking about LeBron's two MVPs and the time that Dwayne Wade teamed up with the refs to give Miami a championship but the Celtics fans are somehow the ones living in the past?
Also, Heat fans, stop talking like you're facing the Celtics next when you haven't actually advanced to the next round. Sure, it's unlikely, but then again, couldn't you see the Sixers taking the next three games followed by Coach Spo saying something like "There's a ton of crying going on in the locker room right now..."
shelbyl says:
Bearing in mind the regular season "support" that the Heat got from their fans, I don't know whether this video is sarcasm or not.
I also don't know whether to like it or not.
I'll just say that it was an interesting experience.
@KarlDillinger ha! Come again! Takes one too know one right!?
Beantown says:
Miami has more bandwagon fans that any team I can ever remember. Yes, I know that all teams tend to have more fans when they become more successful, but Miami couldn't even sell out 50% of their arena in the playoffs against Boston last year, it was pathetic.
Even this year, they didn't even sell out their season opener until the day of the game. Their fans think that everyone owes them something now that they have the 3 divas, yet Wade is the only person among the group to have ever won a single game in the finals and that was when he was piggybacking with Shaq.
Nicholas says:
@Anonymous-Did you just celebrate your 9th birthday? Come up with something better than that please. That's just pathetic.
what's the regular season W/L record for Celtics and Heat again? oh yeah, Celts won 3, Miami 1. If we base on historical data, then that's a pretty recent picture isn't it?
tb727 says:
Come on Heat fans, I expect this behavior from Flaker Trolls or delusional Knicks fans, but I feel you guys are generally ok.
There is no such thing as a Heat fan. They like individual players on the team but have no loyalty to the actual team.
Keith Askins says:
Hey whatchoo talkin bout Dillinger?!
i find it extremely funny when some weak ass heat fans come to a celtics site to talk shit. they don't have anything better to do? lmao. it just proves that some heat fans are a bunch of chickenhead hoes.
Lmaoooo! Go back to 07 bitches! You damn Celtic fans did the same thing y'all talkin about! So that's rich!
poor heat fans... they don't have a fan website. that's why they come here. lol. it's okay. one day you guys will actually turn into real fans. chin up!
This comment has been removed by the author.
Why do fans from other teams even come to this website and comment? I don't get it. Are Heat fan websites that bad that you don't have enough materials on them to keep you busy?
Boston won 3 games on the regular season what makes you think y'all going to win against a team like us when y'all can't even close a tied game... When it matters the most miami can't act right cause y'all to selfish and stupid wade is the only nice player on that team lebron left Cleveland cause he is a bomb he ain't JORDAN and would never be tell him to go to bed. And to tell his mom to stop tricking and focus on the game why!!!!!!!
JR says:
This guy is hilarious. Watching the video a second time. Anyone remember the Lakers fan from last Spring with the "Call me Kobe?"
Wow! LeBron is the youngest player to do everything right now so tell that to jordan. And this person follows me on twitter so that's how I even got on this boo boo ass site! Im going to laugh so hard when the Celtics lose. Haaaaa!
That's a crazy, yet funny Pat Riley impersonation. Don't know what the problem is?
Liam says:
its funny that Miami lost in February and Paul Pierce scored 1 point. Thats just laughable
Karl, I just realized that you write a lot of blog entries about douche bags. I think you have a douche bag fetish.
i couldn't watch it. way too embarassing. how can you be such an idiot??
I didn't watch the video, but based on the ensuing bitch-fest, I can't wait for "comments from the other side" during this series.
If you are a Heat fan why the hell are you on this site? This is a site for Celtics fans... not for Celtic haters. Maybe you are secretly a Celtics fan?
Celtics are gonna kill the Heat, they got the sweep, rest, and beat Heat 3-1 during the season! Plus, Heat don't have any history. Lebron has never been to the Finals or past Round 2, for that matter. Celtics always crush his dreams :D The Celtics, on the other hand, have been to the finals before. They know what to expect and when to turn the switch. Plus, they got RONDO, PIERCE, ALLEN, GARNETT, AND 2 O'NEALS!
@Liam That was hilarious!
@Darek I can't agree more.
@DH lol
I'm not a bandwagoner... have been a proud Celtics fan since 07. Well, that's when I first started to actually watch basketball and keep up with everything.
Every team has bandwagoners so that is a stupid topic to argue about.
@Karl Kevin Garnett called the big 3 the "Ceatles" one time.
I for one am excited to see the Celtics/Heat matchup. It will be the most exciting one, especially if the Celtics beat Lebron AGAIN in round 2!
Why are non-Celtics even on this site. It's called Celticslife for a reason.
Three Toe says:
hahahaha i love how he just devolves to noises around 1:15. its also a shame about his background. at least greenscreen something sweet up behind you.
also, i'd like to say everybody but the creators of the team are bandwagon fans. if you weren't there from the beginning you jumped on the wagon at some point. And if you're a fan who's worried about that, your missing the point of being a fan in the first place. The whole notion of "I was here first so I'm a better fan than you" is childish, but then again, so are lots of fans. As for this guy, he may be a big fan, but he's clearly got an addiction to amphetamines and his camera's edit button.
This guy made a pep rally video like this 6 years ago for his high school...He just made this as a joke, kind of like a sequel to the original one a couple years back. It's not meant to be serious at all...chill out celtics fans
This was actually really funny, I expected something different when I read the title. ''James JOOOONES'' lol
Wow, a lot of comments. That's why I posted it. Just wanted to get people riled up. I agree everyone is a bandwagon fan but the truth is if the Heat lose their fans will just go to the beach and forget about it.
I died a little @ Their fans will go to the beach and forget about it. Just to say, my little cousin is 13 and lives here in California (and unlike me, is not an East Coast transplant), and it's funny to watch him root for the Heat, when you can go back and see he made them his favorite team on Facebook about a week after "The Decision".
It's not so funny to see that I have a friend who resides here as well and has done the same thing, despite being roughly a decade older. Oh, bandwagons.
That said, I didn't get any enmity out of that video. It was just reeeeeally funny. You know if you had a guy from Southie doing the same thing for the Cs, you'd be dying of laughter right now.


text:
Canonical wants nVidia to add *additional* extensions in order for Mir to be able to have the features mentioned in the blog by Thomas (which Wayland already supports, using the existing EGL implementation).
There is another thread here in the forums (relating to Mir/Wayland) where an Xorg/Wayland developer (or two) mentioned that all Wayland needs is a proper EGL implementation, if i remember correctly, he also said the nvidia driver wouldn't need KMS either - just EGL/extensions (but not the extensions that Thomas/Mir-dev is talknig about - since they aren't (currently?) apart of the EGL specification.
Last edited by Akka; 03-07-2013 at 11:53 AM.
" just EGL/extensions (but not the extensions that Thomas/Mir-dev is talknig about)"
So there will be two types of extensions? Which is exactly my point in the first place.
"What Im really interested in is this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a free and open platform that is THE LEADER across both consumer and enterprise computing."
FLOSS needs THE FUHRER!
I don't see anything that Ubuntu brought that isn't just as good on Mageia, for instance. Except for marketing, of course. And really, "I simply have zero interest in the crowd who wants to be different."? How about the decision to put the window control buttons on the left side of the window in Unity, and all the other things they did just to be different? Hypocrisy abound.
EGL has extensions, Mir developers want to add a few for their purposes. end of story. ~ there is no 'two types of extensions', you're point makes NO sense and you haven't even done the most BASIC homework on the subject, yet seem to think you have something relevant to say on it.
Last edited by ninez; 03-07-2013 at 12:20 PM.
I will never understand ubuntu fanboys. Ok, I understand you are a fans, but despite all that is happening and that will happen you still somehow think that must be the good thing. Hilarious


text:
Magic Johnson
NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson is educating the world on HIV awareness and the importance of getting tested. He's like a teacher with a mean slam dunk.
NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson is educating the world on HIV awareness and the importance of getting tested. He's like a teacher with a mean slam dunk.
Thandie Newton stars in "Rogue" as an undercover cop who's fallen in love with a crime boss. The word "awkward" doesn't even begin to cover it.
Not only is Langhorne Slim a great alt-country musician, his name would make a great ladies' cigarette from the 60s. His album is The Way We Move.
In "Spring Breakers," Vanessa Hudgens plays a party girl who robs stores for kicks. So long, "High School Musical," hello "Jailhouse Rock!"
In "Wendell & Vinnie," Jerry Trainor stars as the owner of a pop culture memorabilia store. If you see a "He-Man & The Masters of the Universe" lunchbox in there, could you set it aside for us?
The very funny Emily Heller doesn't like to be called a "comedienne." Good point. If she was the host of this show, it's not like we'd call her a hostette.
Seth Green stars in "The Identical," the story of two identical twins separated at birth. Sadly, there's no evil one with a goatee to let you know he's the evil twin.
Charles Phoenix can transform any boring party into a mid-century Americana kitsch masterpiece. It's like watching a crazy kaleidoscope version of "Leave It to Beaver."
Folksters Milk Carton Kids have a new album called The Ash & Clay. Don't you think it'd be kind of ironic if one of the Milk Carton Kids was lactose intolerant?
Ricky Gervais stars in "Muppets Most Wanted." We're dying to know what Fozzie's like off-set. Is he always on or does he chill out off-camera?
Deepak Chopra new book is entitled The Future of God. We hope that the Future of God includes some hoverboards for Him.
Not only is Imagine Dragons a great indie-rock band, they're also a great tongue twister if you say their name enough times. Their new album is Night Visions.


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Check BNN and Bulbanews for up-to-date Pokémon news and discuss it on the forums or in our IRC channel #bulbagarden on irc.systemnet.info.
An Ability (Japanese: 特性 ability) is a game mechanic introduced in Generation III that provides a passive effect in battle or in the overworld. Individual Pokémon may have only one Ability at a time. Prior to Generation VI, an Ability could not be changed after a Pokémon is obtained except by evolution, where the Ability it changes into is determined by the former Ability and form change. Not every Ability is beneficial; some will hinder the user.
Some species of Pokémon may have multiple Abilities. Pokémon of these species caught in the wild will have one of two possible Abilities, and there is a 50% chance of encountering either. In terms of game data, these Abilities may be thought of as being stored in separate slots (i.e. Munna has Forewarn in the first slot and Synchronize in the second).
The only way a Pokémon can normally change its Ability is upon evolution. The "slot" storage system means that if an unevolved Pokémon has the "first" Ability for its species, it will have the "first" Ability of its evolved species upon reaching this stage, even if this Ability differs in the evolved species. In other words, a Poochyena with Run Away would evolve into a Mightyena with Intimidate, while a Poochyena with Quick Feet would evolve into a Mightyena with Quick Feet. If the unevolved Pokémon has only one Ability, but its evolution may have one of two Abilities, then it has a 50% chance of acquiring either Ability (dependent on its personality value). Generation VI introduced the Ability Capsule, which allows the user to change a Pokémon's Ability, under two conditions: the current Ability is not a Hidden Ability, and the species has two regular Abilities. It is consumed after use.
When Abilities were introduced in Generation III, some Pokémon only had one possible Ability. A number of these species were given a second Ability in Generation IV; if a Pokémon of a species which gained a new Ability in Generation IV is evolved in Generation IV or V, its Ability will be recalculated.
Some Abilities also have effects outside of battle.
Hidden Abilities
- Main article: List of Pokémon with released Hidden Abilities (Generation V)
- Main article: List of Pokémon with released Hidden Abilities (Generation VI)
Beginning in Generation V, most Pokémon were given access to another Ability, referred to in-game as a Hidden Ability, if obtained under certain circumstances:
- Where possible, all Pokémon obtained from the Pokémon Global Link, either via the Pokémon Dream World or a Global Link promotion, will always have their Hidden Ability.
- Certain event Pokémon may have their Hidden Ability.
- Pokémon obtained from the Pokémon Dream Radar will have their respective Hidden Abilities.
- Two instances of Pokémon found in-game in Black and White (the five Darmanitan in the Desert Resort and the Musharna found every Friday in the Dreamyard) have their Hidden Ability.
- Pokémon found in Pokémon Black and White 2's Hidden Grottos will always have their Hidden Ability, as do certain other interactable Pokémon in the game.
- Horde Encounters may have a Pokémon with a Hidden Ability.
- Pokémon found in a Friend Safari have a small chance of having a Hidden Ability. That chance increases if the registered friend associated with the Safari is online.
- Pokémon found with the DexNav in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire have a small chance of having its Hidden Ability. The chance increases as more of the same species are encountered.
If a female Pokémon has a Hidden Ability and is bred, it has a 60% chance of giving that Ability to each of its children. Each of the other Abilities has a 20% chance of being passed down. In Generation V, Hidden Abilities cannot be passed down from male or genderless Pokémon, or when breeding with Ditto. In Generation VI, this was changed so that male and genderless Pokémon have the chance to pass down their Hidden Ability, but only when bred with Ditto. A Ditto with its Hidden Ability cannot pass down a Hidden Ability to offspring.
Abilities and breeding
The mechanics of which Ability is acquired upon hatching a Pokémon Egg (in instances when a hatched Pokémon may have one of two Abilities) varies from game to game. In all games up to and including Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, a Pokémon hatched from an Egg has a 50% chance of acquiring either Ability.
However, starting from Pokémon Black and White, there is an 80% chance of the resulting offspring having the same "slotted" Ability as its mother and hence a 20% chance of the other Ability being passed down as long as the other parent is not Ditto. From Pokémon X and Y onwards, if one parent is Ditto, there is an 80% chance that the non-Ditto parent's Ability will be passed on.
List of Abilities
In Pokémon Conquest
- Main article: List of Abilities in Pokémon Conquest
While most Pokémon species in Pokémon Conquest have access to three Abilities (similar to the main series, Hidden Abilities included), many of these Abilities are different from the main series due to differences in the battle system. For example, Abilities like Cute Charm and Rivalry do not exist in Pokémon Conquest (due to the game's lack of a gender mechanic), while other Abilities utilize mechanics unique to Pokémon Conquest battles (like "Sprint", which increases the user's movement Range).
Like the main series, an individual Pokémon's Ability is dictated by its current species (i.e. evolutionary form) and may change during evolution.
In the anime
| This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Abilities have been shown in the anime, but are usually only used in battles; however, sometimes they have an effect on the plot, such as Ash's Infernape's Blaze. At one point in Gotta Catch A Roggenrola!, Iris pointed out that Roggenrola had the Ability Sturdy, implying that Roggenrola would receive less damage than a Pokémon normally would. In Showdown At Linoone, a Linoone has the Ability Pickup and takes items to its private stash, including May's Poké Balls.
Abilities were shown to work differently in the anime than they would in the games, such as Mold Breaker where it would cancel out any Ability instead of the ones that would prevent the user from using any moves as seen in Shapes of Things to Come! where Cranidos activated it to stop Elekid from activating Static. This was repeated again in O'er the Rampardos We Watched! but this time with Rampardos and Pikachu.
In the TCG
Abilities under the name of Abilities did not appear in the Trading Card Game until the Black & White expansion kicking off Generation V. However, this was merely a renaming of the longstanding Pokémon Powers. Pokémon Powers were very similar to Abilities, but were introduced much earlier, appearing in the very first Base Set during Generation I. In fact, some Abilities from the games originally appeared as Pokémon Powers.
With the introduction of the Expedition Base Set, Pokémon Powers were split into two groups: Poké-Powers and Poké-Bodies. Poké-Powers are special effects that the player must trigger or announce using. A Poké-Body's effect is a passive Ability that is always in effect. When Pokémon Powers became Abilities, these distinctions were done away with.
In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Roxanne's Nosepass was the first Pokémon shown to have an Ability in this manga. Abilities have been featured sometimes after this, mainly during battles.
| This section contains old or outdated information, or has not been updated in a while. Please check the content of this section and update it as required.
Specifically, it needs an update to the second trivia point to factor in Generation VI.
- The unused Ability Cacophony was included in the coding for third-generation games as Ability #076 (Air Lock was #077). From the fourth generation, Cacophony was removed and Air Lock was renumbered as #076, with the new Abilities positioned from #077 onward.
- As of Generation V, excluding Hidden Abilities, there are 106 Pokémon (just under one-sixth of the total) who have unique Ability combinations.
In other languages
See also
|This article is part of Project Moves and Abilities, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on two related aspects of the Pokémon games.


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The keynote speaker at this year's symposium was Dr. Harold E. Varmus, MD, director of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health and co-winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes.
In keeping with the goals of the symposium, Dr. Varmus shared inspiring stories about the people who influenced him and highlighted the critical experiences and driving forces that led to his successes. Dr. Varmus also discussed the development of his passion for discovery and how interpersonal relationships can influence the quality of a scientist's work. Science, when conducted in the most exciting ways, Dr. Varmus told the audience, involves partnerships, friendly rivalries, and a wide spectrum of human relationships.
While the 90-minute lecture shed light on Dr. Varmus's studies of the genetic basis of cancer, it also revealed the interdisciplinary path of his career, which began with a love for and dedication to literature, specifically to the work of Charles Dickens and to seventeenth-century English poets and essayists. Varmus received his master's degree in English from Harvard University in 1962.
"It's trite to say, but being familiar with literature influences how I live and how I relate to life around me," said Varmus.
Intellectual diversity and interdisciplinary interests match the vision of the Smithies Symposium.
"This event is not particular to the School of Medicine," said Dr. Smithies, whose genetics research earned him the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. "It is for the university as a whole. It's meant to inspire other lecturers to come to campus and speak to our students. I believe it has the potential to have an impact across disciplines and across the university."
Dr. Smithies believes that the symposium offers all UNC students an opportunity to learn from those who have made major contributions to their fields. He credits similar lectures he attended as a young man for inspiring his rigor as a scientist.
"The symposium is an attempt to expose students to people who have made remarkable discoveries and impacted science," said Smithies. "I had the same experience when I was a student and Linus Pauling came to Oxford University, and that was before he won either of his Nobel Prizes. But he was an inspiring lecturer and I hope that the same sort of inspiration I received will be given to other students."
Post-doctoral fellows from multidisciplinary backgrounds across the university participated in the selection of Dr. Varmus, who was honored to be chosen, in large part because of his respect for the UNC's Smithies.
"I admire Oliver greatly," said Varmus. "His dedication to rigorous science is the main reason I came for the lecture. Of course, I also came because North Carolina is a nice place to visit."
Date: April 25, 2013]]>
"real doctors, real people" is a video series produced by UNC Health Care that gives a fresh look into the lives of some of UNC's physicians. Read more about the series and Dr. Gold's feature video on the UNC Health Care website.]]>
A study pre-published on-line in the March 28, 2012 issue of the journal Blood, argues that these diseases can be effectively treated in a resource-limited setting and offers a clinical service and research agenda to address the growing impact of hematologic malignancies in sub-Saharan Africa.
UNC hematology/oncology and infectious disease fellow Satish Gopal, MD, MPH, is corresponding author on the study. He notes, "Aging, social and behavioral trends, HIV, and other endemic infections are all contributing to a rapidly increasing cancer burden in sub-Saharan Africa which has the potential to overwhelm fragmented and under-resourced health systems in this part of the world."
Sub-Saharan Africa has few resources to diagnose, treat and provide supportive and palliative care to patients with hematologic malignancies. What is more, available services are concentrated in major population centers in more economically advanced countries, while 63 percent of the population lives in rural areas. The research team notes critical shortages in the availability of pathologists with expertise in these diseases, an 82 percent deficit in radiotherapy facilities (with 21 countries in the region having no operational units), limited supportive care, and extremely limited facilities for bone marrow and stem cell transplantation. In addition, chemotherapy availability is highly restricted and cancer medicines can be difficult to administer due to the need for specialized facilities and trained personnel. Global shortages of many generic chemotherapy drugs are further challenging the region's ability to treat cancer effectively.
Other challenges in the care of these patients include a high endemic infectious burden, as many antibacterial and antifungal drugs commonly used in developed regions are simply unavailable to support patients who are immunosuppressed from cancer treatment, HIV, malnutrition, and other factors. The region also lacks a blood transfusion infrastructure including lack of centralized national systems for blood collection and banking. Finally, pain management drugs are often highly-regulated or unavailable.
The research team suggests that strategies can be developed for addressing these issues, including development of conventional and new diagnostics adapted to low-resource settings, making cancer medicines affordable and integrating newer treatments, using the care and research infrastructure established to deal with HIV and other infectious diseases to study and control cancer, increasing global funding for cancer while rigorously assessing cost-effectiveness of cancer control measures, and addressing critical health worker shortages by focusing on training efforts.
In addition to Dr. Gopal, other UNC authors include William Wood, MD, and Thomas Shea, MD. Other authors include Stephanie Lee, MD, MPH , and Corey Casper, MD MPH, from Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center; Kikkeri Naresh, MBBS, CCP, MD, FRCPath, from Imperial College, London; Peter Kazembe, MBChB, FRCP, from the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative in Lilongwe, Malawi; Peter Hesseling, MD, from Stellenbosch University (South Africa) and Ronald Mitsuyasu, MD, from UCLA.
Klauber-DeMore is a member of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Enci Therapeutics, Inc., a UNC spin-off biotech company.
Tacrolimus is used to prevent rejection (when a person's immune system attacks a transplanted organ by the immune system of a person receiving the organ) in people who have received kidney, liver, or heart transplants. Tacrolimus is in a class of medications called immunosuppressants. It works by decreasing the activity of the immune system to prevent it from attacking the transplanted organ. Tacrolimus does this by binding to and inactivating a protein called calcineurin in immune cells.
Although preventing organ transplant rejection and inhibiting cancer growth may seem unrelated, the team realized that activating calcineurin is a common pathway that stimulates both the immune system and the growth of new blood vessels to tumors. Blocking blood vessel growth to tumors is a therapeutic strategy to inhibit tumor growth.
Klauber-DeMore's group had previously discovered that a protein called SFRP2 stimulates blood vessel growth and is expressed in human breast cancers. While investigating the mechanism through which SFRP2 stimulates blood vessel growth, they found that SFRP2 activates calcineurin in blood vessel cells. Based on this mechanism, Klauber-DeMore thought that Tacrolimus might also bind to and inactivate calcineurin in blood vessel cells, thereby blocking new blood vessel growth to tumors. The team tested this theory in a pre-clinical breast tumor model and found that orally administered Tacrolimus inhibited breast tumor growth rate by over 70 percent.
Klauber-DeMore said, "This data is encouraging, but we don't know yet whether Tacrolimus will inhibit breast cancer growth in humans. However, this pre-clinical study provides a reasoning for the next step, which will be to perform a clinical trial using Tacrolimus in patients with breast cancer."
Side effects of Tacrolimus can be severe and include infection, cardiac damage, hypertension, blurred vision, liver, and kidney problems. Patients need to be monitored carefully and the dose is adjusted as needed.
Other authors are from the UNC School of Medicine department of surgery: Joseph Caster, PhD; Desh Bandhu Nepal, MD; and Andrew Courtwright, MD, PhD; the UNC McAllister Heart Institute: Eleanor Hilliard, BS, and Cam Patterson, MD (who is also a co-founder and President of Enci Therapeutics, Inc); and UNC Lineberger: Sharareh Siamakpour-Reihan, PhD; Jerry Usary, PhD; David Ketelsen, MA, MBA; David Darr, MS; and Xiang Jun Shen, PhD. Funding for the work was provided by University Cancer Research Fund and the National Cancer Institute.]]>
A lot of people will be able to give on June 7 at the 23rd annual Carolina Blood Drive, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Dean Smith Center at UNC, sponsored by UNC and the American Red Cross. Information and registration are available at www.unc.edu/blood. (Details are listed below).
The hardest part of what May calls his six-year cancer "adventure" was at the start, when he and his wife, Susie, learned he had Stage 4B (worst possible case) cancer, with at best a 50 percent chance of living. The reaction of his UNC oncologist, assistant professor of medicine Dr. Peter Voorhees, gave May something to cling to throughout his experience: "We'll go for the cure."
May underwent six months of one type of chemotherapy, then six months of another, then a week of massive doses in preparation for a bone marrow transplant. May continued to work until spring of 2006, when he went on medical disability and into semi-isolation because his immune system was so weakened by the chemo.
"They take you as close to death as they can without killing you," he said. "I looked at the treatments as a way to win, thinking positively that they would work, and refused to let them get me down."
In September 2006, May had bluegrass music played while the transplant was done. His own stem cells, harvested earlier, were infused back into his body.
Dr. Tom Shea, one of May's physicians, is a professor of medicine at UNC and directs the Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program at UNC Hospitals and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
"Blood transfusions are critical to the successful treatments of patients with diseases like cancer when they are undergoing chemotherapy, as well as patients in surgery where loss of blood during the operation can be a major problem," Shea said. "While we try to reduce transfusions, we can never avoid them altogether and would be unable to undertake life-saving treatments like organ or bone marrow transplants unless we had blood products such as red blood cells or platelets available for our patients."
In UNC Hospitals for about two weeks after the operation, May needed one blood transfusion and two units of platelets – cell fragments in blood that aid in clotting.
For four years, the lymphoma stayed in remission. "I was getting good check-ups, with no sign of the cancer coming back," May said. But last Dec. 24, Susie suffered abdominal pains. May took her to a health care facility, where he picked up a virus that attacked his immune system and spleen and began destroying his platelets.
Susie recovered after having her gall bladder out, while May was put on a cocktail of drugs. He was in and out of UNC Hospitals for months. "I would do well on the drugs, but when I got off of them I would crash again."
Finally doctors decided the best solution would be to take out May's spleen, which they did via a laparoscopy April 19. But while he was in recovery, a blood vessel that had been connected to the spleen, then sealed off in the laparoscopy, broke open.
"They rushed me back into the operating room, and the second operation was an open incision," May said. He needed four units of blood to replace what he had lost.
But by the end of April, May, 62, was back on the job as the alumni association's printing and mailing coordinator, a post he will have held for 25 years come June. If he maintains good health for another six months to a year, he'll be considered cured. He's back to what he loves: family, music, photography, plus sunshine, flowers.
"Everything is beautiful," he said. "The little problems that pop up in everyone's lives do not take on the same priority anymore. It makes you appreciate every day, every hour, every minute."
His sunny disposition still intact, May added: "I try to laugh about everything. It's good for your health."