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|240 posts found
Apprentice Member
Joined: 12/29/10
Originally posted by Xondar123
This way the game is available to all possible customers. The other way around, the market would be limited by countries...
And the gay/lesbian etc community is more than likely to buy this game even without their preferred sexual content in it. I don't think Bioware has stated any where that the romantic relationship are mandatory to play through. So gays are not forced to watch even the hetero sexual pixels doing it... I don't think you end up in the sack by accident or by surprise even in this game. These points have been quite clear in former Bioware titles and I am sure they are quite clear here too.
As I said before, you can have any sort of PVP interaction, don't recall them saying they have not limited this any more than in your run-off-the-mill MMO...
Imagination, remember when people used to have it? Your brain is a powerful tool, use it...
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Novice Member
Joined: 9/18/08
when i played Dragon Age, i made the mistake of talking a little too much to Zevran.
as alot of people found out, he's a bit of a loose tart! all you gotta do is look at him and his innuendo's start pouring out.
It didnt offend me in the least, after all, each to their own. i beleive that each person has a right to the way they feel towards another human being IRL - or alien in the case of ME....
Star Wars The Old Republic is an MMORPG. (with an emphasis on mmo) - what will the repacutions be?
I mean, there was all this uproar on the wow forums many months back about identities and abuse, beleive it or not the "21st century people" are sadly a minority when it comes to ananimity, and there will be mean, hatefull abuse towards people, with adding 'phobes in the mix how would you police it, how would you prepare for the press explosion that would incuur when a kid comits suicide cause players hassel'd him/her so much... gods forbid!
I'm just trying to say the world is slowly coming round to the rights of GL etc etc and putting lighter fluid on a hot topic causes more harm than good, imo.
I think Bioware decided that there would be too much damage, beit emotional or real world politics. its a game and its not worth it.
I'm straight, but Captain Jack rules! /cheer
Who honestly cares, Its a game, as its been stated many times BW didnt put any same sex in any other Star wars game, why would they add it hear? Just because ME1-2 and Dragon Age, had it, dont mean every game out there is gonna start having it made by BW. If the Gay and Lesbian community is worried that there avatar in a game cant have a same sex relationship and the only real options are to have relationships with opisit sex, im sure they just wont go down the romance lines. You dont have to presue realtionships in BW games. You can all just be friends, no where in the game does it say you have to have sex with any of your team mates, or randome bar fly chick/guy. im sure the game wouldent force you into a relationship.
Novice Member
Joined: 11/07/08
You can get more with a kind word & a 2x4 than you can with just a kind word
It could be EA/BioWare and the drama it caused in DA. IIRC, the Story lead had to defend his choice to include it in DA and he did so admirably.
It could also be LA. Though same-sex relationships have been included in the EU, they've never been a part of G canon (Lucas has never included them in anything he has written. The books are, in fact, canon, but a lower level of canon than G canon, which is the granddaddy of all Star Wars canon, as it was written by Lucas himself. Source: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Canon). Same sex relationships have been hinted at in games (Juhani) and directly included in books (Karen Traviss specifically stated that two of her Mandalorians were, in fact, in a long-term, loving, homosexual relationship), but Lucas himself has never directly included same-sex relationships in G canon level materials.
Lucas tends to avoid controversy. Evangelicals would certainly crucify him and the Star Wars brand if he directly included same sex relationships in his brand. Is it right? No. But bigotry has never been about what is right or just, nor has predjudice ever been sensible.
Punishing Lucas, BioWare, or EA in this instance is illogical. It is just as illogical as it would be for evangelicals to punish them if they included same sex relationships.
Several solutions have been offered. One is to create a female character with attributes that are as masculine as you can possibly make them (or a male character with attributes as female as you can possibly make them). Alternately, if you are a roleplayer or if the tools exist in game, write your own story. Your character's development and relationship need not be solely within the environment the game gives you. If it did, there wouldn't be bookstores with shelves full of gaming related novels.
"You are obviously confusing a mature rating with actual maturity." -Asherman
Maybe MMO is not your genre, go play Modern Warfare...or something you can be all twitchy...and rank up all night. This is seriously getting tired. -Ranyr
Apprentice Member
Joined: 6/11/04
I don't see the point in getting all up in arms about this. For one, it is thier game. They made it, they are selling it, and if it has something you do not like either in it or not in it, we in USA live in a free capitalist society that allows us to either buy or not buy something. After it comes out if enough people think this is a problem the game won't sell very well or last very long. Again, Bioware decided they wouldn't add it, end of story. Stop being all affended for nothing and grow a backbone.
Novice Member
Joined: 4/24/08
We can go around in a game murdering, maiming & killing but any kind of sex is taboo...give me a break.
Yeah, cause starwars is filled with sex sceens, or blood and gore for that matter. Sure you might talk about blood and gore but you don't see it, you do see killing but I'm sure the devs are shooting for a teen rating.
Novice Member
Joined: 3/11/06
The game is their idea. Why would anyone try and force them to change their idea? Make your own game or find another.
I have no clue what hes talking about but it creeps me out.
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In my mind, consenting adults should be able to do whatever they want to with each other (behind closed doors anyway). The message behind that is not only one of minding your own business, but one of tolerance. It's 2011. Aren't we all supposed to be equal and free from persecution and prejudice due to race, sex, creed, disability, sexual orientation or whatever?
If a game doesn't want to include any sexual activity because they don't want to expose it to children, then to me that's one thing. Notice the phrase "consenting adults" in the first line of my post. Some themes are more mature than others and that's why we have ratings systems and hopefully parents who monitor what entertainment their kids consume.
However, if you're including heterosexual sexual activity in your game and deliberately not allowing homosexuality, then either the developer/producer is saying that homosexuality is not ok or they're afraid of offending the bigoted. Don't give me any of that "they wanted to save money" crap, this is EA we're talking about. Whatever the reason, whether it's cowardice, eyeing the bottom line, or just plain bigotry, it's wrong.
People who believe in equality should really think about whether they want to support companies that don't.
Novice Member
Joined: 11/07/08
You can get more with a kind word & a 2x4 than you can with just a kind word
Originally posted by cali59
You hit this right on the head, Cali. "Consenting adults" and "behind closed doors."
We've all been around the proverbial MMORPG block a time or two. First, how many MMORPGs are played by, or marketed to, "consenting adults" anymore? The average age requirement to belong to any game forum - including this one, I believe, is thirteen years old. Generally speaking, that is also the age required to own an account provided the player has parental permission (or some means of paying for that account such as their own checking account).
Now, do not misunderstand me and think that I am saying that 13 is too young to learn that a lot of people in the world (myself included) are perfectly okay with the idea that people should be able to love whomever they love, regardless of what gender they are. But a lot of people still think 13 may be too young for that, and that should be okay too, in my opinion - to each his/her own.
Second, because we have all been around the proverbial MMO block, I think we can safely say that we know that, unless moderation in TOR is far and above moderation in any other MMO ever since the dawn of MMOs, no relationship will ever be fully "behind closed doors." Whether by accident or deliberately, there will be cybering. Most of us will choose to ignore it, but it will exist. It may slip via mistell into group chat (seen that happen a time or twenty - it's amusing until you actually do have a thirteen year old kid in the group whose parents happen to walk in and see that and, as guild leader, you are explaining to the mother and father exactly what the situation was that caused that to happen), or it may turn out that a region on Nar Shaddaa turns out to be the equivalent of Moonguard's Goldshire.
If the gripe is indeed about equality, again, I recommend folks take it up with LucasArts. BioWare and EA have proven time and time again that they are very supportive of equal rights and same-sex relationships. David Gaider, of Bioware, on same-sex relationships in Dragon Age 2 (developed, published, and distributed under EA):
Source: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/304/index/6661775&lf=8
"You are obviously confusing a mature rating with actual maturity." -Asherman
Maybe MMO is not your genre, go play Modern Warfare...or something you can be all twitchy...and rank up all night. This is seriously getting tired. -Ranyr
Novice Member
Joined: 11/08/10
I guess I'm a bit confused by the hoopla... People want to have same sex romances, with "Companions" in SWTOR? Why? Just because they had that in Dragon age? This is an MMORPG for crying out loud. If they want to have a same sex relationship why not have one with another player? Are they such loosers that they have to get their "love" from a "companion"? Or, a better way to put it, are they just so socially inept that they have insist BioWare provide a "simulated relationship" just for them?
Seems like a really self centered concern to me... I'd rather they work on "other content" personally. Like incorporating more character customization options. Or custominzing your ship in various ways. Or expanding the Space game... The list gets really long really fast. And Everybody is more likely to appreciate the value of those things. Instead of spending valuable time developing content which will most likely not have universal appeal.
I mean I could see what they did in Dragon age. But there your primary interactions were with your companions. SWTOR should be different if for no other reason that it is designed to be a multiplayer experience. That's the part that makes this topic so bizzare.
Originally posted by Cannyone
It's about equality. Let's look at your first paragraph. Heterosexual options for companions exist but you have no problem with them. However, you think any homosexual should seek out other players for their romance because it's an MMORPG and that they're losers if they want to have a game supported story romance option from a companion. If you want to argue that nobody should want this option because anybody who does is a loser, that's fine, but there is a real double standard here if you're ok with it for heterosexuals but not homosexuals.
As far as your second paragraph, you're not putting yourself in someone else's shoes. Presuming you're a heterosexual, options for you are already in the game, so you're not interested in homosexual options, they aren't for you. You want to see them work on the part of the game you are interested in and you justify those by saying they have universal appeal. However, you have to realize that they already spent valuable time on something that doesn't have universal appeal, namely heterosexual relationships.
Again, it's one thing if they would have spent no time whatsoever on companion romance, because after all, it is an MMORPG and maybe players should be focusing on other players instead of companions. But once they spend time including heterosexual stuff, it's discriminatory to homosexual players to not include the same options for them.
Joined: 3/05/10
The middle road is the place to be!
Lol! I just realised why the title of this thread had this oddly familiar ring, it's a variant of 'Sex & Drugs & Rock 'n Roll'
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
Novice Member
Joined: 3/28/11
Leave the SEX out of it......It is a game about fighting....not sex
It should not matter if you are gay,lesbian,straight....we should all
be playing on the same level and SEX or relationships should have nothing
to do with it. When they started including things like marriages in games
they made a HUGE mistake.
Novice Member
Joined: 9/05/09
Am I the only one who thinks the question (the original one from the youtube video) is a bit odd? Of course you can't stop players having same-sex or any other kind of relationship in game (real or RP). So I believe the issue is misunderstood. Therefore, Cory Butler's answer can only mean that there will be no same sex relationships in the story-line of SWTOR.
Apprentice Member
Joined: 10/08/10
Originally posted by kevorkianj
Yes that is exactly what it means. People can still role play with same sex players, nothing is stopping them.
Advanced Member
Joined: 3/11/11
Originally posted by cali59
{mod edit}
While it may be 2011, the place is an mmo, for kids. How is heterosexual content any different? Well, the idea of hetersexuality wont be a new thing if that is a concern since that theme would exist in other media, cartoons, etc, that a little kissing might arouse those little buggers but it wont be something new, or different that arouses them. Yes, some people will get aroused to the game romances.
{mod edit} I don;'t care if it has homosexual stuff in the game, but don't expect me to put myself in that situation and say it is equal and should be in. Since this is a game, equality in this regard is a bit more complex than shared opportunities/laws in the real world. Firstly the fair representation of homosexuality in SW, if every companion could be gay, then that makes the SW story for us 50% gay and 50% hetero. Which is not the case in the SW lore.
Also if you are going to talk about equality, which is about laws, then how does that apply to a game? Those laws apply to all humans. If you are human then eqaulity applies. Humans also naturally/mostly are hetero, so why go out of the way to represent something unequally, other than a wanting demographic? Well, the case could be that BW did it before.
They did it before with other games. This is more of a kids game, and SW canon.
Again, I think the most important point, is the kind of atmosphere it would create with gay companions.
I swear, I am not sure if people are trolling that they want gay companions or they are serioius for an online kids game.
Anyways, I can see BW adding some companions which could be gay later on, and that would be more true to the EU representation which is not George Lucas's version of SW anyways. Yet, that exists in KOTOR as something more subtle with female leopard species.
Whatever, food for thought. Keep on trucking.
I don't see the point of this. People will say why they want it. They want equality. Those who do not want it, are either bigoted, homophobic, or religoius. It can't be other reasons.
So whats the point in arguing? It is going to be interesting to see why BW decided to do what they did.
"Write bad things that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble"


text:
Technical report Frank / Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität, Fachbereich Informatik und Mathematik, Institut für Informatik
- 48
- An abstract machine for concurrent Haskell with futures (2012)
- We show how Sestoft's abstract machine for lazy evaluation of purely functional programs can be extended to evaluate expressions of the calculus CHF – a process calculus that models Concurrent Haskell extended by imperative and implicit futures. The abstract machine is modularly constructed by first adding monadic IO-actions to the machine and then in a second step we add concurrency. Our main result is that the abstract machine coincides with the original operational semantics of CHF, w.r.t. may- and should-convergence.
- 47 [v.2]
- On conservativity of concurrent Haskell (2012)
- The calculus CHF models Concurrent Haskell extended by concurrent, implicit futures. It is a process calculus with concurrent threads, monadic concurrent evaluation, and includes a pure functional lambda-calculus which comprises data constructors, case-expressions, letrec-expressions, and Haskell's seq. Futures can be implemented in Concurrent Haskell using the primitive unsafeInterleaveIO, which is available in most implementations of Haskell. Our main result is conservativity of CHF, that is, all equivalences of pure functional expressions are also valid in CHF. This implies that compiler optimizations and transformations from pure Haskell remain valid in Concurrent Haskell even if it is extended by futures. We also show that this is no longer valid if Concurrent Haskell is extended by the arbitrary use of unsafeInterleaveIO.

subset: commoncrawl


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Is JC Penney's Makeover the Future of Retailing?
The stuffy department store chain has become emboldened under new CEO Ron Johnson, with plans for an innovative store upgrade, simplified prices, and a brand polish. Professor Rajiv Lal discusses whether Johnson can repeat his previous magic at Apple and Target.
Ron Johnson's latest undertaking has the makings of a perfect business school case study. As the new CEO of J.C. Penney he's charged with transforming an aging department store chain with lagging market share.
The sweeping plan begun February 1 to put cool back in Penney includes new designer brands, simplified pricing that replaces the retailer's constant sales and coupons, and an updated store design that promises to make one think more of Apple's high-touch emporiums than a typical department store layout.
"J.C. Penney is in a very tough spot."
In fact, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Johnson (HBS MBA'84) comes to Penney after more than a decade of leading Apple's retail effort, where his innovations included the Genius Bar. Johnson is also credited with making Target chic. This makes his launching of the new Penney one of the most intensely watched experiments in the future of retailing, as the industry grapples with how to entice shoppers away from their keyboards and back to the sales floor.
Johnson could make his plan work, but it won't be easy, says Rajiv Lal, the Stanley Roth, Sr. Professor of Retailing at Harvard Business School.
"J.C. Penney is in a very tough spot," Lal says. "If you ask people today what J.C. Penney stands for, you don't get a particularly compelling answer."
Once a staple for everything from bed sheets to children's clothing, many shoppers now associate the 110-year-old brand with a bygone era of paper catalog shopping. Penney's sales have lagged in an increasingly fierce retail environment, with stores such as Walmart vying for customer dollars on the lower end, Kohl's and Target jockeying for the middle market, and Macy's and Nordstrom reaching for the upper-middle end. JCP reported a December-quarter loss of $87 million, with revenue falling year over year by 4.9%, to $5.42 billion.
Johnson, who took over in November, is revamping Penney's 1,000-plus stores to target "all Americans." Standing out in the crowd, making the pricing scheme work, and reinvesting in the company despite razor-small margins are all part of his challenge, Lal says.
Pricing it right
Retail pricing is a high art, and Johnson is starting from scratch at Penney, replacing frequent sales—the company had 590 of them in 2011—with "Fair and Square everyday pricing."
When outlining the plan in January he called the company's former strategy of offering items at a high initial price and then marking them down weeks later "insulting." He also eliminated coupons, something Macy's did in 2007, only to reverse the decision after unhappy customers snubbed the store.
Nearly three-quarters of everything at Penney is usually sold at 50 percent discount from list price. The new model is based on three prices: the everyday (at least 40 percent off), which kicked off February 1; month-long values, based on themes like back-to-school and Valentine's Day; and "best prices," which are clearance sales. In addition, Johnson decided to end all prices in "00," instead of 99 cents, and exclude the suggested retail price of a product on the tag in favor of just one marked-down price.
"I think that on the consumer side this has simplified pricing, which makes a lot of sense," Lal says.
"All department stores either rise or fall on their ability to execute a strategy."
Penney will be able to move more merchandise off the floor faster, Lal adds, quickly making room for fresh items. This strategy could bring customers into the store more frequently and buying when they find a compelling piece of merchandise, rather than waiting until the next sale.
Still, Penney's pricing plan is risky. "Every day prices will not be as low as the biggest discounts that [the company] once offered," pricing consultant Rafi Mohammed wrote in a recent Harvard Business Review blog. "Instead, its pitch to consumers is why play the 'wait for the rock-bottom price' game when Penney offers 'pretty good' prices every day?"
Aside from pricing changes, all retail stores are under intense pressure to create item assortments that cannot be found elsewhere. "We complain that every department store is the same," Lal says.
Some retailers are already fighting this perception, observed Lal and coauthor Jose B. Alvarez in Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink. TJX Companies—parent company of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods—is well positioned because it "fostered a differentiated treasure hunt that is highly productive. Macy's [has strengthened] its already wide-ranging assortment of unique items. Nordstrom's private label has always been a respected part of its offer."
Town Square
Johnson's vision is to make the shopping experience as easy and enjoyable as buying a smartphone at an Apple store or sipping a latte at Starbucks.
J.C. Penney stores will be overhauled and streamlined, adding 80 to 100 so-called brand shops, or stores-within-stores, to be located along a new "Main Street" that replaces the confusing, endless racks common in department stores.
Brands will include the ubiquitous Martha Stewart and Nanette Lepore's "l'amour nanette lepore" line, a budget-friendly teen boutique. Existing brands including IZOD, Liz Claiborne, and The Original Arizona Jean Company will receive refreshed displays. Add to the mix an American themed red, white, and blue logo, an as-yet-undefined "Town Square" space in all stores, and the naming of talk show host Ellen DeGeneres as a company spokeswoman, and the ingredients are moving into in place to create a buzz around the brand.
The store-within-a-store concept promises to provide Penney with the unique merchandise it needs to stand out and attract new customers. But it can also be tricky to execute. For example, if Penney allows too much leeway to the individual store-in-store brands on how they display and manage their merchandise, it could subtract from the overall shopping experience that Johnson is trying to create, says Lal. Overall brand control includes everything from how the merchandise is sold to the way employees interact with customers.
"If [Johnson] is able to control the shopping experience it's a much more viable strategy," Lal says.
Will it work?
Johnson has "painted a picture that is very reasonable," Lal continues, but it will take about three years to gauge whether he's succeeding.
This August, the company will begin updating all stores with new merchandise. Two to three in-store shops will be installed monthly over the four-year plan. The Town Squares, which will likely be used to provide shoppers with complimentary services (free ice cream? haircuts?), are scheduled to debut in 2013. Johnson expects the transformation to be complete by 2015.
"All department stores either rise or fall on their ability to execute a strategy," Lal says. "These are great ideas, but the ability to execute day in and day out, and keep employees motivated in such a large organization where stores are spread over such a huge territory" will make or break the plan.
- Anonymous
The penny will never catch up with Macys.
- Anonymous
Another case study too look at: Talbots vs Ann Taylor/Loft, Chicos/White House | Black Market
- Gary Pifer
- Founder, Historix Branding Group
I get the Red, White and Blue American theme and the town square in their logo. But I hope they did not spend much on it. Well I guess if Macy's can make the North Korean Red star work anything can happen.
- Judy SChierling
I am a former associate with JCP, worked for the company for 9 years and loved doing my job, the people that I worked with were like family and totally were on the same page. This included the management. I like the new JCP logo, the ads on TV and the stores are looking great. Keep up the good work.
- Anonymous
Stopped in JCP this weekend - I liked the revitalized look -starting at the front door with the monthly logo theme. Sales associates are buying in, indicating the customer will get the better deal all the time, versus some of the time. There seemed to be quite a few shoppers, though I think it will take some time for people to really get the hang of shopping with no discounts/sales. I have to say, I'm more inclined to shop there, versus chase the sale for my home goods/kids clothing...we'll see how other departments develop. When one considers the savings of sale management (printing/signage/postage/personnel) 540 time a year, there could be significant savings!
- lou solomon
- manager, Manufactor
I belive JC Penny will loose money with the new Makeover the Future of Retailing?
I my self and friends will no longer shop at JC Pennies due to the new structure. People like to see deals / good advertisement.
- L. Smith
- Owner, LSA Research
I visited a Penny store yesterday with a friend to see the new look. I liked the simplified pricing and noticed some of the merchandise was upgraded. Not enough yet to attract me as a shopper but the Main Street concept is great and I think it has the potential to change the shopping experience greatly. If the new strategy is implemented as planned, I am likely to shop at Penny again.
- Anonymous
I actually hit rewind on my recorder last night to see the new JCP commercials with Ellen. With the advertisements, and this article, I'll check out JCP. The changes sound like a good move.
- Mike McDonald
- CEO, The McDonald Group
NK department store in Stockholm is a major emporium attracting 12 million annual visitors to its vast colection of top brand stores within a super store, beautiful ediface. JCP is a weak attempt to mimic NK on a micro scale but without the solid drraw of top brand shops like Ralph Lauren, Nike, etc. JCP is homespun stuff with second tier face cards. The four Ps of the Marketing Mix are out of whack at the new JCP. And the department store business model is passe. Product is not unique but a grab bag of designer shops that do not build a core brand because it's a hodge podge of others' names. Price will fail because it won't be predictable as the author states above. Apple, with its closed loop vertical integration and tech/design has superior brand differentiation to support a premium price. JCP won't be able to clearly stand out as low priced with so-called EDLP; someone will always have a better deal. Consequently, there will be in no man's price land at JCP. Place. A unique shopping experience may be in the offing but will be hugely expensive to execute and maintain. Will require substantial real estate investment in top locations. Promotion. Ellen DeGeneres as spokesperson creates buzz but is it broad enough to appeal to a significant market size? An attractive logo is not a strong enough platform to support a weak business model. In today's over-stored, competitive retail landscape what is JCPs USP and compelling, differentiating strategy?
- David Gravelle
- Subaltern, Gravelle Branding/Marketing
His Target experience is the most analogous to Jacques. Target was a wallpaper brand that got a lightning strike brand makeover and differentiated itself from WM without leaving the category. If he can do that with a cumbersome battleship like JCP, poems will be written in his honor. The trick is a distinctive brand platform carried out in merchandise and the shopping experience.
- Anonymous
I am really excited about JCP's new strategy and approach to advertising. I think this will be beneficial to them as customers begin to change their perception of the company and start buying more from it.
- Anonymous
I think JCP is forgetting the old adage, " You can't be everything to everyone". I think targeting "All Americans" is risky business. What happened to niche marketing?
- Daniel AJ
- Consumer
""We complain that every department store is the same," Lal says."
Yes and no. It depends on the item. As a consumer, I don't care that XYZ Pasta Sauce is only available in XYZ stores. But for higher priced items, like when I go mattress shopping, and the same products are labelled differently at different stores, I get irate. This is done to prevent me from comparing prices., it is done to stop competition on price.
Similarly, "exclusive" partnerships between, say mobile phone networks and mobile phone brands, stink. If I can buy the mobile phone "abc 5000" only from one network, my appetite for said model shrinks a lot.
- Anonymous
Couple thoughts: Logo appears to have been done by the Gap logo folks, and that was a bust. Lame attempt to tap the digital logo zeitgeist. And I remember seeing a Business Week cover in my home in 1966 with a story about the "new" JCPenney; and it seems I see the same story every few years. After 30 years in specialty retailing, it's amazing how often outsiders come in to announce a whole new approach to pricing; they love the theory and it never works UNLESS it's the by-product of excellent product selection and merchandising. That's my final thought--no one seems to be talking about "the goods." Imagine Mickey Drexler at this task and that's ALL he would be talking about. So, I'm not impressed....
- Denise
The fresh marketing and advertising campaign is a real head-turner. The brochures and television spots make me want to visit a JCP again (after maybe being in one store in the past 15 years). I look forward to it!
- Anonymous
Some good points raised here. However, theres an innumerable number of challenges to make this work. And upgraded marketing and advertising is a two way sword: if you advertise it, you better be ready to back it up once a consumer hits the store. Product is #1 in retailing, and JCP lacks here. No coordinated look across the store. Johnson's spending hundreds of millions hiring a small group of people particularly in marketing and related functions. But just to name a few challenges that remain unaddressed are: 1. How will he change the culture of a stale company with 5000 HQ employees, 1100 stores with their employees? 2. 100 substantive brands is a nice sound bite, but has anyone even potentially ID'd contenders? Martha Stewart is hardly ground breaking (to say nonething about litigation with Macy's). There are some interesting labels that could be accretive to JCP business and sales, but the majority will be "new" lines from existing players. Eventually, this becomes akin to shopping for a mattress; each retailer wants "unique" products to differentiate and avoid price competition, but reality is that it's the same product with a different label and stitching. 3. Imagine 100 boutiques circling the town square. Johnson wants common fixtures (to his credit), but each boutique will press for something different to stand out. This becomes a visual merchandising nightmare for both store employees and customers. Sometimes a customer wants to shop by label/brand, but sometimes she wants to shop by classification. If I am looking for better denim do I have to cross-shop 10 or 20 different boutiques? Will the boutique (shop within shop) sales people be motivated to help me cross-shop, or will they be "trained" as brand experts with an incentive -- direct or indirect -- to have me buy from their boutique? How do you manage so many boutiques, with different product classifications, price points, sales associates, etc but keep the JCP shopping experience coherent and satisfying? Neiman Marcus and Saks face the issue of balancing "brand" specialists versus category specialists (eg, dresses) with far fewer distinctive bou tiques and with sales associates who have far more training and far higher earnings potential versus JCP.
4. Johnson wants to keep all 1100 stores open b/c all are profitable at store-level (four wall basis). But thats a HUGE number of stores to re-design with dozens and dozens of different formats -- in mall/off mall, store sizes, layouts. Terry Lundgren spent years integrating the May Dept Store nameplates into Macy's, and he was converting about 325 stores, most all of which were in much better shape to begin with relative to Penney's.
I could go on for hours, but this is an immense task. No matter the advertising, new logo, new pricing, 8-figure apiece new executives, it starts with the product, continues with the in-store experience and can only have a chance at being executed correctly by having complete buy-in at HQ and across the hundreds of thousands of store employees. Those type of true, customer focused, product knowledgeable sales associates don't come at minimum wage or anything close to it. The "plan" is catchy, but that means zilch is JCP can't fill in all the pieces and execute this strategy.
Johnson apparently did wonders for Apple, but he did have the luxury of having a limited number (30-40 key items) of distinctive, high-preference products, complete control over supply chain and distribution, the margins to pay for superior store personnel and store layout. Contrast that with at least tens of thousands of items (no core drivers ala iPad, iPhone, Mac Book laptops, iPods), 1100 stores with 1101 layouts, a long heritage of operating in a much different environment, and much lower margins to pay for all that needs changing.
Not convinced that the 100 boutique strategy is right, but kudos for fresh ideas. Just haven't heard yet any realization of the challenges -- especially cultural -- to actually make this work. Customers will give you a chance but if you continue to invite them to a "party" you better be able to deliver. Otherwise you end up with really annoyed (former) customers.
- Anonymous
Johnson's talented, but starting out with the Apple product line versus Penney's is a huge difference. Apple was already a popular brand with significant mystique before Johnson got there. Penney's is to retail what Oldsmobile was to automobiles, and despite numerous makeovers that brand eventually died because it couldn't overcome it's dated reputation and image. What Penney's is now proposing to do is change the buying psyche of the public after decades of behavioral reinforcement - a minor task indeed! And are we all so frustrated with "sales," or have we just been trained to know what time of year to buy what we need.
- Anonymous
i love jcp
- Anonymous
Ron Johnson is a visionary. Wall Street said Apple would close it's doors when the Apple Stores opened. Wrong. I put my money on the man that steps up to plate an takes the challenge. Good luck Ron Johnson. I bet you are going to WIN...again.
- Anonymous
I started out skeptical--as a sales hound, I grew to depend on those JCP coupons that saved me more than I typically spent during a shopping trip. I have to say that I am impressed with their marketing strategy (Ellen is brilliant in the commercials) and their simplified approach to pricing. Before the change, I wasn't really sure what the final price would be until I examined the receipt later. I find the new prices to be competitive. From a consumer's point of view, this is positive change.
- Frank Burke
- Consultant, Burke & Towner
The advertising is more centered on entertaining than on sales. It lacks the positioning strategy so necessary to establishing the brand identity. Penney's needs to evolve outward from where they are than to compete in places where they are not.
- Anonymous
One area that needs addressed is at the store management level. Store management needs to be able to manage and input local consumer shopping demographics into the overall operations mix. How much authority is granted is another matter. Who's closet to the customer anyways?
- E Susan Kellogg
- Professor of Business, Southern Virginia University
This makeover can work, if the internal culture of Penney's is also changed. I am reminded that GM keeps trying to remake itself, and almost succeeds each time, and then is drawn back into its morass because the culture at GM hasn't changed. Are these changes being "done to" Penney's or are these changes being "done by" Penney's?
- Kapil Kumar Sopory
- Company Secretary, SMEC(India) Private Limited
The competition faced by JCP is fierce and to an extent cut-throat. The strategies being planned would not give profitable results in the short run. When you give too much discount some doubts as to quality,etc. arise. "All Americans' won't succumbonly to low costs and this can also not be sustained notwithstanding the likely high velocity of sales due to lower cost. After all, JCP must become a viable proposition and net profits cannot be lost sight of. Johnson can also not directly apply his Apple experience in JCP as these are not the same type of business entities.
- Anonymous
I'm sad to see the New JC Penney's. Sat. was my Day, For me. I always told My Family if they couldn't find me, Just go to Penney's, That's where I would be. I love shopping there. But Now. I feel Lost, Unhappy. Now when I go to Penney's, It's dead inside, Not like before. I now go in walk around an leave. I have NEVER done that. I'm a 4 bag or more shopper. The price's are Not That great anymore. After about 25 years of shopping at Penney's, I feel like it is coming to an end for me. It's sad. My whole House is done up with JC Penney's. It hurts me, Because Penney's was The Store over All Other's. Thanks Ron Johnson You took a Great Store an made it into a Sear's.
- Anonymous
Today was the end of and Era. JC Penny's changed its dress code to jeans, t-shirt,and clean tennis shoes. R.I.P. the tie and dress shirt, good-bye to dresses and panty hose , and farewell to high heels and dress pants. You will all be missed dearly imagine having a lady in a t-shirt and jeans no makeup or perfume fit you in a bra. Now someone like this giving advice on how to wear a prom dress ad what shoes to wear with it. Mr. Ron Johnson slow down. Think before you jump out there you seem to be losing a sense of reality. JC Penney's is a department store . We used to give customer service. What are you trying to create a mini Wal mart or a mini Target. Your ideals are strange for a middle class department store. May be you ought consult with the people who work for min wage at your store . We need our jobs and we take our jobs serious. you seem to have surrounded your self with a bunch of yes people who are afraid to tell you that you are moving in the wrong direction. I would love for you to come and work with me and you would see what 7.25 per hour will get you. I am one of your employees . I get 7.25 per hour and give 100 percent after 20 years.
- Luciano Paskevicius
So far the only image we have seen about this new look is the logo , that not only isn't appealing, (a square with letters?) but also tell us that the name of the store now is JCP, no more penney's? To me the new look begins wit a strikingly beautifully design logo that makes you want to see more, click on it, share it.
- Anonymous
I am actually a JCPenney employee who is extremely unhappy with the new JCP store. As far as I can see, the new business model of the store appears to be "MAKE THE CUSTOMER HAPPY, NO MATTER HOW UNREASONABLE IT IS TO COM PLY WITH THEIR SENSELESS EXPECTATIONS, AND AT ANY AND ALL POSSIBLE COST, BOTH PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL, TO THE EMPLOYEES." I, for one, do not apreciate the EXTREME disrespect with which we associates are treated by the demanding, insensitive and mean customers who refuse to leave the store after we have closed, and then hurl insulting remarks at us because we look sad not to be able to leave at anything close to our scheduled time. We are also extremely disrespected by our managers, who refuse to schedule enough employees, resulting in frantic, angry, over-worked associates who are being asked to do triple the work for, oh, $7.50/hour. We are expected to get customers to sign up for credit cards, and do online ordering, PLUS now folding, cleaning out and cleaning up fitting rooms trashed mercilessly by rude customers who are allowed to take as many items of clothing in to try on as they like, with no associates to police the area, resulting in vandalism, theft, enormous piles of clothing jumbled up inside out, ripped, and dragged on the floor with no regard for how long it will take for us to clean up after them before we are allowed to go home. I HAVE HAD IT. JCPenney, go to hell if this is how it's going to be from now on.
- Junior Consultant, Senegal
Why does JC Penney start with a general concept and image when many consumers don't know what it stands for? I think it's wiser to start with a precise concept and image in order to set up the core meaning (mission and delivered value) of JC Penney in consumer minds and target a specific segment of Americans, before extending to something more and more general and targeting "All Americans". Then at the same time, gathering in-store partners around that core meaning of JC Penney.
- Anonymous
Unfortunately we see what the quick fixes have done to our economy. JCP was attached to world wide quality in years gone by and that is what sold their products. I have had products purchased from them for years and was a very loyal customer. Today, with everything made in China, we do not care about quality and the quantity is trash...All the products of Target, Walmart and the like are trash because there is no standard by which things are made in the manufacturing industry. We the consumer have to re-purchase the same items every year. Sure it is less expensive, but we have to buy the same thing the following year...how much are we really saving? JCP may not have been updated, but its quality used to be Excellent...The abolition of the Catalog was a HUGE MISTAKE...If is not broke don't fix it!! Everyday these new business with their trash goes out of business...because they sell trash.
- Daniel
- Consultant
I wish to add to my prior comments published anonymously in reader comment #16. In that bit of commentary, I spoke of a multitude of factors that Johnson faces as he tries to radically transform JCP and make it a top destination for many American shoppers. Here I want to focus on just a few points: Johnson's call to streamline management, reduce layers and act like a 'start-up", plus the urgent need to get his rank-and-file employees (both HQ and store) on board and bought in to his grand strategy. Looking in from the outside suggests that he may be a bit oblivious to the need for employee buy-in while simultanously building up one of the most expensive executive management teams in retail, to say nothing of his peer group. I will address the dichotomy between words and actions in regards to streamlining management layers first.
Johnson and his ever-larger team of highly compensated C-level executives are making a bit of a mockery out of his charge to "de-layer" the company, make it more nimble and act like a 'start-up.' Retailing is a complex business, but one is hard pressed to find another retailer (with no significant international store prescence) with as broad an executive management team as does the new JCP; this "act like a start-up" company has a senior executive group that includes a CEO, a President AND a COO (three separate positions) plus a seemingly ever-growing number of functional C-level officers including finance, merchandising, marketing, technology, HR, and EVP's of real estate, private label, strategy, store operations -- excluding 'The Square', which has its own dedicated EVP reporting directly to Johnson -- plus two or three more that I have missed and the result is an incredibly large, fat and expensive executive management team, all of whom received ext remely generous sign-on packages including upfront multi-million dollar cash signing bonuses (unusual for retail) and multi-million dollar restircted stock grants with short three-year vesting schedules. In addition, few if any of the new gang are going to relocate to Dallas. Why? As JCP puts it, there is so much work to do across the company's 1100 stores in addition to traveling to meet with domestic and international suppliers, that there is no need for anyone to relocate to the Company's Home Office. The JCP BOD seems blind to optics: when you announce to your employees and the world that you are bringing in a new management team committed to a radical remake of the company -- one that will benefit all stakeholders -- it is a bit disengenious to then state that none of these critical people need to actually live near the company. How do you convince your remaining employees that this new group is really so committed to the casue when you don't require anyone to move ? Coupled with the rather outlandish pay packages, the end result may serve to signal that the new team has a rather short-term commitment to the company, its future and its people. No relocations, way above-industry average cash signing bonuses, and stock grants with a short three-year vesting schedule, no serious "claw-back" procedure to recapture these enormous payouts should management fail in its efforts -- these combine to call into question what the real long-term commitment is to wage an unrelenting campaign to radically transform the way this company does business. The underlying commitment of senior management, especially one that's comprised mostly of new talent, should be beyond the realm of any possible question. But the optics don't support that. Both the Board and Johnson (who isn't relocating either) know better. Why allow even the slightest doubt to exisit?
When the CEO is shooting for lofty goals, proclaiming the need to make dramatic changes and cost cutting to survive, spending $135MM+ on new management, while simultaneously laying off close to 15% of HQ staff, slashing store personnel and revamping store employee payroll hours largely to cut out employee benefits, a picture begins to emerge of a leader and a Board who are not at all in touch with the remaining HQ employees, or the store sales associates, many of whom receive minimum wage.
In my original post, a listed but a few of the challenges that lay ahead for JCP under Johnson. At the top was the question of how he will change the culture of this company both at HQ and across the 1100 stores. The strategy so far seems to be two-fold: lead rallying crys for the surviving troops, while simultaneously instilling a sense of fear amongst those who remain. Unless Ron & Co think they can manage the new "turn JCP into a mini-mall of shops & transform into a landlord" strategy by themselves, this matter is in need of serious and immediate attention.
I also questioned the need to keep all 1100 stores open (regardless of 4-wall profitability) since this makes implemetantion of the new strategy that more difficult (Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy's, regarded as amongst the best in the industry, spent about three years transforming around 300 May Department Store nameplates into his national Macy's vision). As in most industries, some variant of the 80/20 rule applies, where a disproportionate amount of your sales and profits come from a core group of stores (typically labeled in retail as "A" and "B" stores). While Johnson is betting the entirety of the company on his new strategy, why in the world would he want to put the effort into transforming the "C, D and worse" stores? While I don't know the particulars of individual store locations including owned versus leased real-estate and physical store plant, I would guess that this 100-year old company would have its share of owned real estate. Al so don't know the relative performance of owned versus leased stores, but you get the point: relative chance for success would be both higher and less costly if Ron & Co focused their efforts on the 500-600 stores that are highest in productiviity and profitability. Plus with board members including Ackman and Roth, JCP has its own team of real estate gurus who could maximize stakeholder value by having operating management focus on the potential winners while they focus on liquidating unproductive assets.
While JCP is not reporting monthly comp store results anymore, all indications point to sales sliding much more substantially than expected. Many shoppers still are ignorant of the new pricing policy. It's dangerous enough to make a complete and utterly ubrupt change in pricing policy across all stores on one day (February 1st), but the 'cutesy' TV commercials and monthly brochures do a poor job trying to convince customers that the new strategy is meaningful. Coupled with an unconvincing and limited merchandise assortment and ever more disgruntled store employees (who are your real "touch point" with most of your customers), and what you have left is likely poor business results for at least the next 2-3 quarters (and perhaps much longer), a disillusioned employee base, lack of new customers and the loss of lots of former customers who won't give you a 3rd and 4th try.
My 2 cents: pay more than lip-service to your employees, for you will certainly fail -- independent of the brilliance of the strategy -- without them on board, re-think the breadth of the plan (focus on top 500-600 stores), and recognize when you have to make a tactical retreat in order to win the war. After all, we are all human. Sometimes strategies don't work. Great managers learn from mistakes and adjust tactics and strategy accordingly. And finally to the JCP BOD: your responsibility actually includes 'corporate governance' -- force your (very) high-priced talent to put some skin in the game, and make them relocate (even if they rent)!!
- Anonymous
I am a former Visual/Merchandise Supervisor who was let go after 9 years of service. New management came in to slash and burn and 3 supervisors were let go because their positions were eliminated.
I was replaced with the Training Supervisor, who must have known my job better than I did. I made the store money with my marketing and display experience and was excited to be a part of the new program. Bitter, maybe... but I can tell you that the customers were excited with the sale events and merchandising practices.
I don't think the new strategy will work at all, because customers came to expect a certain shopping experience with Penney's and it is gone.
Nothing in my opinion will match the "It's All Inside" campaign. It's been replaced with "It's All Inside If You Can Find It". Good luck with that.
- Anonymous
Jcp is screwing themselves! Yes to prices on the floor are good. But they have no right to say they are "fair & square". They may be fair on prices. But the changes have come on strong with how well they treat the people who work for them. An older lady has worked 40 hours a week for almost 20 years & was laid off right before she was eligible for retirement. No one is working off commission anymore. They are expecting everyone to work for minimum wage with no chance of a raise for a year. People in the salon are taking pay cuts up to 500 or 600 a week. not a good move in my opinion. It's not fair to their associates.
- Alice Whitehead
- Anaylyst, Local government
Mass merchandising isn't the same arena as buying an Apple or Starbucks latte. Johnson has violated the supreme rule of retailing-- know your customer. Longtime loyal JCP customers are leaving in droves (myself among them). Johnson has changed their suppliers and gutted the quality of their merchandise with the new pricing strategy, so consumers are actually getting cheaper goods for only slightly less. Johnson's response is that the consumer needs more education (i.e.-- the consumers are ignorant and they are the problem, not the CEO). All this while slashing staff for profitability. Hopefully JC Penney executives won't be as ignorant as Johnson believes his customers to be.
- Nathan
- M.E. lead associate, Jcpenny
Most of this is true you do have a lot of very valid points in hear it is well written and completely acurate a lot of the way these new shops are going to be built is in the hands of individual stores and teams in stores. Most jcpenny store are being given creative control as far as the way the shops are being designed. Whether it be in some of the smaller stores or some of the bigger stores; most of the jcpennys are gonna have thier own different ways of changing thier stores around to fit the new layouts and design strategies.
- Anonymous
I like the changes even though my position was eliminated. My issue now is customer service has dramaticly dropped. Never seem to see a leader and lots of associated standing around talking not assisting. Now that the survey only enters you in a drawing you may only get the negative comments. And my last few experiences have been just that...terrible!!
- Dennis Bookshester
- Retired CEO
Excellent ideas as long as Revenue and earnings plan for 2012,13, and 14 R realistic and will B met. Can't imagine making LY sales while attempting to smooth out
- Anonymous
Interesting, "Sell the brand product, but to leave the customer with the brand JC Penny's shopping experience as the key factor that sticks!!" Ah truly this is brand marketing strategy of "creating a brand within the brands".....
- Rochellailee
I have been a customer sense I was born, and I am 48 years old. I love coupons and the culture diverse clothing line set up. My son is 26 and the other is 18 we all are Jc Penny's babies.. Rochellailee Williams from Austin,Texas
- Anonymous
When I think of JC P I think of my Grandmother and polyester ...that's Penny's . Ladies that smell of Chanel no.5 and wear polyester pants suits...makes me miss her :(
- Anonymous
As a current employee, I can say that the majority of us, including myself, are HIGHLY UNDERPAID, considering all the work we do (Sales Support Associates).
We did all the dirty work. Cleaning up after everyone, including our co-workers, and our super lazy sales associates.
I like the new merchandise and brands, and the low prices. (The majority of the Clearance items are extremely low, and they are always going down each day/week).
Customers don't realize that they don't really need the so called sales or coupons since there are considerably low prices everywhere.
I don't like the fact that customers can return merchandise anytime, anywhere, for whichever reason....you would be shocked to see the things the customers return and use excuses like "it didn't fit,"we don't like it," "it's the wrong color" and so on....and it is OBVIOUS that the item is all stained, ripped, damaged and SMelly!!! and some purchased over 10 years ago!!
and i must say that customer service has gone down because not enough people are being scheduled...employees are not quite happy
Dear Ron, I recommend to personally talk with the people that work in the stores. I'm sure that you will get LOTS of valuable feedback from all of us, both good and bad.
- Anonymous
Penny's in Butler,Pa looks awful with no Christmas decorations. I will not shop there as it has no Christmas spirt
- Anonymous
I have been a long time JCP shopper , I used to go there at least 12 times in one month, needless to say that since the new changes I've shopped in there all of about 4 times in a year and that was just to get my teenage kids clothes for school. They don't say to me shop, it says duck and run. The layout is the worst and the clothes they sell out here I wouldn't dress my grand mother in . They wanted to upgrade the store, wonderful, just don't charge your customers for the upgrade we didn't ask for. I've canceled my account with them j ust this month. By the way, I saw the interview he gave when he first started making changes and I didn't appreciate him saying he's going to teach people how to shop! I do that just fine on my own. He should learn what the people really want before he can teach anything.
- Anonymous
I agree with the comment on the employees in jeans. The store is unable to brand or qualify itself as an affordable trendy store when the employees are wearing old jeans and oversized t-shirts. This was in a Chicago-land store that had many of the new layout features. The dress of the sales people diminishes any improvements to the store layout.
In addition, I imagine that when you allow employees to dress so causally they do not buy new clothes as often - I know I wouldn't. Thus reducing employee sales purchases, which I am sure used to count as a high percentage of sales. In addition, I imagine that when you allow employees to dress so causally they do not buy new clothes as often - I know I wouldn't. Thus reducing sales purchases at the store through the employee discount program.
- Anonymous
Why are ALL the clothing racks "packed like sardines"? And the clothes sizes [X-Sm - EX-Lg?] never in order? Looks like the they are taken from the warehouse rack and grabbed by the armsfulls and then stuffed onto the in-house selling racks. Sorry you did alway with the JCP St. John's line. Always looked like a million bucks and didn't have to pay $345.00 for a pair of blooming jeans! There are still of number of us who dress conservatively & elegantly and not hoochie-moma! The only thing I purchase now with my JCP cc is the costume jewelry when its on Sale!


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Swearing-In Ceremony
December 5, 2012 6:30pm - 8:00pm
December 5, 2012 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Stanford Law School
Crown QuadrangleStanford, CA 94305-8610
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We hope you and your family will join the law school faculty, associate deans, and your fellow classmates at the Swearing-In Ceremony for the Class of 2012. A reception will follow the brief ceremony.
Please note that in order to be sworn in, you must bring the packet that you received from the State Bar (State Bar policy is absolutely rigid about this). This ceremony will admit you into both the California State Bar and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. We encourage you to arrive fifteen minutes early to complete the required paperwork in advance.
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Appears that 2004 is shaping up to be an Alien and Predator sort of year. Though these film franchises are dated (the original Alien film was released in 1979), they still have strong fan support, not to mention the big-budget Alien vs. Predator coming from 20th Century Fox this year.
McFarlane Toys thought we'd get in on the action. We're releasing a refreshed Alien and Predator line of four figures, based roughly on Movie Maniacs 6 from 2003, but thoroughly updated.ALIEN from the movie Alien features a new facehugger base.WARRIOR ALIEN from the movie Aliens features new paint and new body parts (head, hands, arms and tail).PREDATOR from Predator featuring a new head with helmet/mask. Now includes new skull/spine accessory. Specialty versions will be bloody.PREDATOR THE HUNTER from Predator 2 now includes medical kit, flintlock pistol and skull from the ship's trophy case at the end of the film.Look for this Alien and Predator refresh line in stores in June. And keep your eyes peeled to spawn.com for more upcoming Alien and Predator news in the very near future.


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Stanley Griffin's mother denied ever verbally or physically abusing her son during the punishment phase of his capital murder trial. She said it was Griffin's father who was abusive, and that she was always a supportive, loving mother.
Dorothy Hicks' testimony Tuesday largely contradicted aunts of Griffin's and his ex-girlfriend, who testified they saw Griffin regularly beaten and berated by his mother during childhood and into adulthood.
The defense is hoping to show the jury Griffin's troubled upbringing is a mitigating circumstance that should keep the ten women and two men from sentencing him to death for the September 2010 murder of Jennifer Hailey in College Station. Griffin also attacked her nine-year-old son, but he survived.
In answering defense questions, Hicks denied striking her children or husband, "Tootsie" Griffin, with her hands, sticks and boards, and said she didn't Stanley "crazy" or "stupid" among other names. Instead, she said her late-ex-husband regularly shook and threw down Stanley when he was crying as a baby. "Tootsie" was abusive towards them as they got older, according to Hicks, who said she eventually left him.
Beyond the "she-said, they said" family drama, Griffin's last girlfriend retook the stand at the start of Tuesday. Andrea Copelyn continued to affirm that despite Griffin's threats of violence -- including death -- towards her, she still loved Griffin. Prosecutors even revealed the two spoke on the phone after her testimony Monday.
Copelyn reaffirmed she always wanted to eventually be with Griffin once her kids got through school. The relationship between Copelyn's children and Griffin was strained.
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Also testifying Tuesday morning was a psychologist who administered an IQ test to Griffin in April. He scored a 73. The confidence scale ranged from 69 to 78.
The defense is trying to convince the jury that Griffin is mentally retarded, making him ineligible for the death penalty under the U.S. Constitution's 8th Amendment. Florida educators have testified he scored a 65 while in school, below the generally accepted high end score of 70 for retardation.
IQ is one aspect of the condition. Another is the ability to function, learn things and retain information day-to-day. Both sides have tried to present information pertaining to how Griffin lived his life and any struggles he may or may not have had.
At the end of testimony Tuesday, a couple that attends Covenant Family Church told jurors about the morning of September 19, 2010. The said Griffin came to the front of the church after services and asked the couple to pray for him, that he was homeless, had done wrong and wanted to get on the right track. They described him as looking hopeless and like a sad child.
The next time the couple saw Griffin was a picture of him on the news the next day. He had killed Hailey the night of September 19.
As a convicted capital murderer, there are only two punishment options for Griffin: life in prison without possibility of parole or the death penalty. A death sentence must be unanimous.
Defense witnesses are expected to take the stand through Wednesday, with prosecutors set to call a handful of rebuttal witnesses before closing arguments, which could come as early as Thursday afternoon.
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Get help from fellow students with our Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS).
What is PASS?
The program involves one hour weekly review sessions for you to compare notes, discuss difficult concepts and review weekly material with other students. These sessions are run by a student PASS Leader who previously achieved excellent results in your course.
Currently there are over 30 courses offering PASS sessions across all campuses. The sessions run throughout the semester and usually start in the second week. Sessions run several times a week and you can just turn up to attend as many as you like.
How does PASS help you?
Research has shown that PASS sessions can improve your grades, regardless of whether you are trying to get a high distinction or just pass your course by:
- improving analytical skills
- increasing motivation
- improving time management skills
- helping exam preparation.
PASS sessions are great. They make me study and bring my attention to what I need to know. They are also a place where I'm not ashamed to firstly admit I don't know something, and secondly, to get help - previous PASS student.


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Tag: premature baby
Jada Robbins: A 9-Year-Old Miracle
For one little girl in Caribou, every day brings challenges. Jada Robbins was born 9 years ago, severely premature. Jada has an extensive medical history and most recently had the first of two eyes removed. She's a trooper that the community has volunteered to rally around. News Source 8's Katie Zarrilli has her story.


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John Obi Mikel is the first Chelsea player to publicly admit they have been affected by the toxic atmosphere created by supporters this season.
Hugo Lloris has urged Tottenham to maintain the belief required to qualify for the Champions League after suffering their first League defeat this year.
Mohamed Diame today claimed West Ham's win at Stoke last week has given the squad the belief they can get a result at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Bobby Zamora is playing through the pain barrier to help keep QPR in the top-flight.
Harry Redknapp hopes to have Julio Cesar, Armand Traore and Adel Taarabt fit for Saturday's relegation six-pointer at Aston Villa.
Stewart Downing believes Liverpool's 3-2 win over Tottenham shows how far they have come under Brendan Rodgers this season.
David Moyes admitted he must accept a share of the blame for Everton's woeful FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Wigan.
Alan Pardew today roared: "Bring on Anzhi Makhachkala in the Europa League."
Sylvain Marveaux has expressed his relief after admitting Newcastle United are "nearly there" when it comes to securing their Premier League status.
Alan Pardew has revealed he had "no qualms" about handing Geordie boy Adam Campbell his Premier League debut against Stoke City yesterday.
Martin O'Neill has predicted a tough hard end to a difficult Sunderland season.
Connor Wickham will wait on talks over his loan spell this week, despite admitting his contentment at Sheffield Wednesday after breaking his duck for the Owls.
Ashley Williams refused to blame the officials for Swansea City's defeat at West Brom.
West Brom midfielder James Morrison today insisted the club can make Europe - but admitted it would stretch the Baggies' squad.
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert today declared that any of the bottom eight teams in the Premier League can consider themselves in the battle to beat the drop.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan today insisted Premier League survival should not be the only thing his team-mates strive for as he eyed a mid-table finish.
Wolves manager Dean Saunders today targeted doing relegation rivals Bristol City some "damage" in Saturday's six-pointer Molineux showdown.
Artur Boruc insists he is leaving discussions over an extension to his Saints contract in the hands of his agent and the club.
The Football Association could consider asking for the Premier League match between Saints and Chelsea later this month to be postponed in order to help resolve the FA Cup's fixture mess.
Noel Hunt laid into the officials following Reading's 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
Dougie Freedman is delighted with his loan boys Jay Spearing and Craig Dawson but wants to build his squad for keeps. The central pair were right at the heart of Saturday's gritty 1-0 win over Brighton but the Whites boss remains firm in his view that both will be returning to their parent clubs at the end of the campaign.
Michael Appleton believes Scott Dann will prove to be an excellent captain of Blackburn Rovers after confirming that the armband has now been officially taken away from Danny Murphy.
Celtic are just one defeat away from posting the lowest ever winning tally in the history of the SPL championship.
Lee McCulloch last night laid into Rangers flop stars after the embarrassing defeat to Annan.
Celtic and Rangers have their sights set on summer signings, with Neil Lennon targeting Bolton midfielder Marcos Alonso while Nicky Law considers overtures from Rangers.
Motherwell midfielder Nicky Law has refused to rule out a move to Rangers, admitting he was "flattered" by the Ibrox outfit's interest.
Hibernian manager Pat Fenlon has called on match officials to explain their decisions publicly after referee Euan Norris failed to award a legitimate Leigh Griffiths goal yesterday.


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Quick Links
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A great spin on the traditional, this sterling silver cz bar mesh ring adds sparkle to a classic design. Two 3mm stones are featured, set in solid sterling atop our classic mesh ring for a contemporary look thats a little more edgy. This piece combines two great looks - sparkling cz and easy to wear mesh - for a style you'll adore. Pair this piece with other mesh pieces, or with some cubic zirconia for a number of unique looks! NOTE: This mesh ring runs small and we strongly suggest buying a size larger than you would normally wear.
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Saturday, January 11, 2014
Stratford High School's wrestling team finished the match like it hopes to end the season, very strong. The Knights scored the final 33 points of a Region 7-AAAA encounter with Cane Bay earlier this week at SHS, winning 46-18 in the region opener for both teams. "Our goal this year is to work hard at practice every day and see what kind of a team we can be in February, one day at a time, one match at a time," Knights coach Willie Nearhood said. "… We're a team looking for some respect too. We had lineup issues at the beginning of the year but we're slowly getting back." The win upped the Knights' dual record to 13-3 on the season. Cane Bay's Matt Rudy recorded a pin at 215 pounds to give the Cobras an 18-13 lead after seven bouts but Stratford won the final seven matches to pull away. Daniel Dees started the streak with a decision in the heavyweight match and was followed by pins in three of the next four bouts. Ross Johnson's pin at 126 pounds gave the Knights an insurmountable 37-18 lead with two matches remaining. "If you practice hard every day, these nights will take care of themselves," Nearhood said. 145 – Billy Ackerman (S) d. Eddie Brookshire 1-0; 152 – Tyler Farr (CB) d. Brock Corsey 2-1; 160 – J.D. Harrelson (S) md. Jonathan Wright 9-1; 171 – Matt Davies (CB) d. Avery Legatte 6-1; 182 – T.J. Deveaux (S) p. Trevor Ridgeway; 195 – Eddie Felkel (CB) forfeit; 220 – Matt Rudy (CB) p. Nick White; HW – Daniel Dees (S) d. Nick Harper 4-3; 106 – Ryan Westbury (S) p. Mark Clark; 113 – Aaron Watkins (S) p. Dorian Baker; 120 – Nick Qualls (S) d. Deshawn Lynch 9-5; 126 – Ross Johnson (S) p. Jacob Hudson; 132 – Ryan Adams (S) d. Paul McKeever 4-2; 138 – Kemp Shider (S) forfeit.
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Go beyond the automatic editing features in Photoshop Elements and find out how to make sophisticated edits using the Expert Edit mode and Camera Raw.
Get a friendly, approachable introduction to the organizing, editing, and sharing features in Photoshop Elements 11.
Master the program's interface and learn about organizing and sharing your images, cropping and straightening photos, retouching images, and more.
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Step 1: Equipment and materials
- pliers
-paper clip(forgot in image
- knife
- hack saw or scissors
- Bic pen
- Filer
- Sand paper
- Springs
Step 2: Step 1
1. Remove the yellow tip from the blue connector thing.(the yellow tip is connected to the Ink tube.)
2. Remove the blue connector
3. Remove end cap( i used a screwed driver)
Step 3: Step 2
2. sand and file the surfaces that has been cut
3. Cut the bottom part of the blue connector just below the bic logo. Afterwards file and sand it. You will only need the part without the bic logo.
4. hot glue the blue connector bit that can fit inside the pen tube.( push it in so the whole thing is inside the tube. just at one end. The picture next will display what i mean.)
Step 4: Step 3
2. Start sinking the knife into the pen tube and sliding it forwards to create a long slot.
3. start carving the edges and filing it so it becomes wider. 3 mm wide and length varies on how many springs the pen gun contains.
4. sand edges so it is smooth and remove unneccessary pieces of plastic hanging on the edges.
That also happened to me while I was cutting popcicle sticks for making the micro x-bow. ouch!
same thing happened to me when i mad my own pen gun.
(the X-acto stabbed my leg).
That also happened to me while I was cutting popcicle sticks for making the micro x-bow. ouch!
What i did was first i created a slit, then fit a small filer in there just file away the plastic, once the slot is just big enough, id use the knife again to shave the edges.
Great ible!
Win Guy
so you pull down the lever all the way and lock it, fill it up with bb's, attach the top part to a compatible gun's feeder, unlock it, and that way it can auto reload a gun. ofc. such gun would require quite some work to make, but it is possible and it would be quite epic (i guess a type of bolt action could be modified to work with this. all you'd have to do is make sure that where the BB's enter from there is a small "trap" kinda thingi which would stop the BB from sliding right out, and the spring would have to have a cover so that as you pull on the bolt a BB doesn't get stuck in the spring, thats about all, and it should work)


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ALTERNATIVE MEDIA CONFERENCEBroadcaster slams media mainstream media corruption'By Gayle Hanson
Staff Writer | May 19,2013Stefan Hard / Staff Photo
Syndicated radio talk show host Thom Hartmann addresses the crowd Saturday during the Alternative Media Conference at Goddard College in Plainfield.PLAINFIELD Goddard College summoned up a bit of its past while keeping an eye on the future during its Alternative Media Conference on Saturday.
If 1,700 people attended the first such conference in 1970, fewer than one-tenth of that number came for this years event, with a majority of those in attendance clearly of the age to have been on the scene the first time around.
After welcoming remarks by President Barbara Vaccar, who called on the audience to bring the same sense of spirit to the day that the original participants brought to their event, Goddard alumnus Larry Yurdin launched into a brief history of the initial conference.
Yurdin, a longtime radio disc jockey, brought the idea for an alternative media course to the college. It was agreed that he would teach it and that students would base the course around a project. They would either establish a radio station or hold a media conference. The 15 students voted for the conference.
Goddard agreed to hold the conference in late June after the semester ended.
We promised Goddard that we would take precautions to make sure it wasnt an out of control pop festival. We would send out specific invitations to people, he said.
It being the 1970s, invitations went far and wide with Goddard even chartering a plane to bring participants from the West Coast. The deal was that those traveling on the plane were supposed to reimburse one student for their fares. However, that student had told everyone they could fly for free so the college ended up footing the bill. By the time the event began almost 2,000 folks had gathered at the college with Wavy Gravys Hog Farm commune running a campground and providing free meals to the hungry.
The list of participants ranged from alternative cartoonists Art Spiegelman and Gilbert Shelton to Marvel Comics Stan Lee and rock n roll producer Danny Goldberg. Robert Altman of Rolling Stone magazine photographed the event, and Yippee Jerry Rubin, the social activist and anti-war leader, complained that someone stole $500 from his girlfriend.
Musical performers included Dr. John and the J. Geils Band, who went on to national stardom, as well as the lesser-known and shorter-lived hard rock band Cactus.
And to judge by the images shown at the conference, many people as was often the custom of the time among those in the counterculture eschewed clothing. While Ram Dass held forth, careers were launched and a good time was had by all.
Perhaps the single most lasting thing to come out of the initial conference, at least for the college itself, was the impetus for the formation of what would eventually become WGDR 91.1 FM, Goddards still-lively community radio station which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. (Several years ago, a second transmitter was established in the Hardwick area to extend the stations reach further north with WGDH at 91.7 FM.)
But if Yurdin called up the ghosts of alternative media past, it was Pacifica radio host and former Montpelier resident Thom Hartmann who took the whole notion of what constitutes alternative media by the horns. In an impassioned address at Goddards Haybarn Theatre on Saturday, Hartmann, who hosts an eponymous radio program, ripped into the whole idea of mainstream media and alternative media.
What is alternative media, and perhaps more importantly...how is it different today and what can we do about the corruption of the mainstream media? he asked.
According to Hartmann, what we used to think of as the mainstream media the television networks and big city newspapers should now be referred to as corporate media.
Ill never forget when I was driving in my car and the news came on that the CBS news division was being moved into the entertainment division. I knew right then it was all over, he said.
These days, he said, many news media wont go near the issues that are confronting the culture. And issues that in the past would have caused a tidal way of press now come and go without even a ripple.
Hartmann took direct aim at the recent coverage of the hearings on the incident at the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya, during which Congressman Darrell Issa has on numerous occasions accused the Obama administration of incompetence.
Last week Attorney General Eric Holder said to Issa, Sir, what you are doing is shameful and not the behavior worthy of a member of Congress.
Hartmann then recalled the McCarthy hearings of 1954 when, representing the U.S. Army, Boston attorney Joseph Welch famously asked Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Have you, sir, at last no shame?, it became front-page news. As for Holders remarks about Issa?
Nobody touched it, he said. You have to know that before something like that happens. That they have discussed it. They said, Were going to take this guy down. And it didnt work.
For Hartmann the twin nails in the coffin of quality news coverage were a dismantling of the fairness doctrine, which deemed that the media was a public trust and must provide fair and accurate news reporting as part of its mandate, and the erosion of the Sherman Act, which is intended to protect the country against monopolies.
There isnt a mainstream media, he said. There is a giant corporate media and its destroying democracy, he said.
Hartmann went on to rally those in attendance, saying he hoped that an amendment to the Constitution might negate the effects of the Supreme Courts Citizens United decision, which has caused unprecedented amounts of money to flow into politics.
Calling upon another relic from the 1960s, Hartmann remembered the power of the Barry McGuire song Eve of Destruction, that said, in part, Youre old enough to kill but not for voting, as being instrumental in the passing of the 26th amendment that rolled back the voting age to 18.
It took about a year for that to happen, he said.
Could the same thing happen in the 21st century media landscape?
As Sonny and Cher sang back in the day: The beat goes on.MORE IN Vermont NewsMONTPELIER The state Public Service Board on Friday announced it would fine Vermont Gas Systems... Full StoryMONTPELIER Less than a month after Vermonts out-of-state inmates were moved from a private... Full StoryA confidential memo obtained by Vermont Public Radio shows that the Agency of Education is still... Full Story
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Wind: 0 mph
To The Editor:
Eight summers ago I recall putting together three garage sales at my parents' home in Henrietta, NY. My mother had passed away and my father, Floyd, was getting ready to move to Warren and live with us. I recall it was therapeutic in some ways to clear out my mother's belongings finding the gems amongst all the items. I also recall that some of those items would generate wonderful stories with my father and those who were shopping.
My father passed away this past July and I have been preparing for my first Vermont garage sale. In honor of Floyd D. Swink, I will be donating 25 percent of the proceeds to the American Veterans Association. My father served in WWII from 1940 to 1945. He spent his time in northern Africa and Italy. He was honored with a Purple Heart and several other awards for his distinguished service. His garage sale will take place this Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Prickly Mountain Road in Warren.
Follow the Plunkton Road detour signs to the garage sale signs. We hope to see you there.
Sue Russell