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Win Cash Spring 2013 [RULES]
Spring 2013
Contest Name: "WIN CASH" (the "Contest")
Contest Dates: On-air – May 1, 2013 to May 31, 2012 ("Contest Period")
Station(s): KMDL-FM, KTDY-FM, KHXT-FM, KPEL-FM, KPEL-AM (the "Station(s)")
Station Address: 1749 Bertrand Dr...
Check Out Photos From the Secretary's Banquet
The Secretary's Banquet last night was a huge success and tons of fun! Click the link to check out some photos taken by LOL Photeaux and our staff's camera. Great time had by all!
Stephanie Hayden and Kris Ford from Discovery Channel's "Sons of Guns" to Appear at LA Outdoor Expo
Stephanie Hayden and Kris Ford from Discovery Channel's "Sons of Guns" to Appear at LA Outdoor Expo on Saturday, July 27th in the Convention Center.
Jackie Bibby The Texas Snake Man to Perform at Louisiana Outdoor Expo 2013
Jackie Bibby The Texas Snake Man is slated to perform at the 2013 Louisiana Outdoor Expo at the Cajundome and Cajundome Convention Center July 26th-28th.
Bunny Bash at Outlaws Tonight with Geno Delafose and Nik-L-Beer
The annual tradition of the Bunny Bash is returning this year with local favorites Geno Delafose and Nik-L-Beer tonight, Thursday, March 28th, presented by Piggly Wiggly in Scott, Rayne, Church Point and St. Martinville!
KTDY Key to Cash Contest [RULES]
KTDY-FM Official Contest Rules
1. Eligibility: KTDY Key to Cash (the "Giveaway") is open only to individuals who are legal residents of Louisiana who are 18 years of age or older...
KTDY Secretaries Banquet [RULES]
KTDY-FM Official Contest Rules
1. Eligibility: KTDY Secretaries Appreciation Banquet (the "Giveaway") is open only to individuals who are legal residents of the 48 contiguous states who are 18 years of age or older...
Patty in the Parc [PHOTOS]
Patty in the Parc presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey was Saturday, March 16th at Parc International! Wayne Toups, The Steve Adams Network and The Molly Ringwalds performed to a packed house! Follow the jump for some pictures from the event.
Presale Patty in the Parc Tickets End at Noon Saturday, March 16th
Jameson Irish Whiskey presents Patty in the Parc TOMORROW, Saturday, March 16, 2013 at Parc International in Downtown Lafayette! If you haven't purchased your advance tickets yet, follow the jump to find out where and save $5 on admission.
5 Awesome St. Patrick's Day Costumes
With St. Patrick's Day and Patty in the Parc just around the corner, what better time to check out the best St. Patrick's Day costumes across the globe! Maybe one of these diddys will inspire your wardrobe for Saturday's festivities.
Win a Brand New 2013 Cadillac ATS at Patty in the Parc
With the 'Luck of the Irish,' you could be the winner of a brand new 2013 Cadillac ATS from Service Chevrolet Cadillac at the Third Annual Patty in the Parc!
Official Patty In The Parc After Party At Jefferson Street Pub
After Patty in the Parc ends next Saturday, March 16th join the Official After Party at Jefferson Street Pub!


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Ferguson, Missouri: One day after roiling tensions over the police shooting of a black teenager began to subside, emotions flared anew on Friday as the police identified the officer involved but also released evidence that the victim was a suspect in a convenience store robbery moments before being shot.
The manner in which the police released the information, which included a 19-page police report on the robbery but no new details about the shooting, led to the spectacle of duelling police news conferences, one led by a white officer who seemed ill-at-ease and defensive, and the other dominated by a charismatic black officer who expressed solidarity with the crowd even as he pleaded for peace.
The white officer, Thomas Jackson, the police chief in Ferguson, changed his account several times during the day, while the black officer, Captain Ronald Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol, expressed his displeasure with how the information had been released.
"I would have liked to have been consulted," Captain Johnson said pointedly about the pairing of the shooter's identity with the robbery accusation.
All week, community members had demanded the name of the officer who killed Michael Brown, 18, last Saturday, but when it finally came, it was accompanied by surveillance videotapes that appeared to show Mr Brown shoving a store clerk aside as he stole a box of cigarillos.
Mr Brown's family, their lawyer and others in the community expressed disgust, accusing the police of trying to divert attention from the central issue - the unexplained shooting of an unarmed young man.
"It is smoke and mirrors," said Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for the Brown family, of the robbery allegations. "Nothing, based on the facts before us, justifies the execution-style murder by this police officer in broad daylight."
The day began when Thomas Jackson said at a news conference that the officer who shot Mr Brown was Darren Wilson, who has served four years in Ferguson and two in another local department and had no disciplinary charges. Mr Wilson, who is white, has been placed on leave, and his location is unknown.
But the release of his name was overshadowed by the simultaneous announcement of the robbery allegations, leading to questions about timing and motives.
In a later news conference on Friday afternoon, Thomas Jackson said that Darren Wilson had not been aware that Mr Brown "was a suspect in the case" and instead had stopped him and a companion "because they were walking down the street blocking traffic."

subset: commoncrawl


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Wiedenmann joins board of national science councilJan. 15, 2014
Contact Information:
Dr. Robert Wiedenmann, Department Head, Entomology
479-575-2451, email@example.com
Fred Miller, Science Editor, Agricultural Communication Services
479-575-5647, email@example.com
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Rob Wiedenmann, entomology department head for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, has been elected to a two-year term as a member of the Executive Board of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents.
Wiedenmann completed a term as president of the Entomological Society of America last November. He has been the head of the department of entomology since 2005, when he moved from a similar position at the Illinois Natural History Survey and University of Illinois.
The Council of Scientific Society Presidents is an organization of presidents, presidents-elect, and recent past-presidents of about 60 scientific federations and societies whose combined membership numbers more than 1.5 million scientists and science educators.
For more than 40 years, the Council has served as a strong national voice in developing and promoting wise science policy in support of science and science education. Widely regarded as the premier national science leadership development center, it serves as a forum for open, substantive exchanges on emerging scientific issues.
The Council is recognized and sought after to provide counsel and analysis to The Office of Science and Technology Policy, Congress and a variety of federal agencies, in addition to policy development groups and the media.


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Is this appropriate? Dos and don'ts of summer work attire
Can you go sleeveless? Are sandals okay? Find the answers here!
Can you go sleeveless? Are sandals okay? Find the answers here!
Check out Maranda's complete Guide to Summer Fun for July 4-10.
Tips on negotiating parent time so everyone wins!
A new spin on sliders!
Great gluten free recipe ideas, shopping list included.
Maranda is bringing a Park Party to Upjohn Park on Thursday, July 7!
Divani had a ribbon-cutting and re-branding celebration on June 30 in Grand Rapids. Originally, the restaurant was called Bar Divani.
Check out photos from the Maranda Park Party at Smith-Ryerson Park in Muskegon!
Camping hacks made with you in mind.
More than 4,000 kids and families came out for the Maranda Park Party in Muskegon.
Pictures from Maranda Park Party in Muskegon.
AARP introduced the Care Act to empower families to care for loved ones after hospitalization.
Check out Maranda's top picks for this weekend in the Five Star Family Fun Update.
Maranda is bringing a Park Party to Muskegon on Thursday, June 30!
A Muskegon Heights 8-year-old who was born without a hand got a special surprise from his school.
Media personalities go to bat to support local kids.
E.S.C.A.P.E. Fire Safety gives tips to stay safe this holiday.
POPnology is an interactive exhibit that shows pop culture's influence on technology.
Air Zoo offers summer camps for preschoolers through high schoolers.
Characters from the classic children's story come to life at Circle Theatre.
Families can learn to make music together at Joyful Sounds Music Studio.
Besides fun in the sun, swimming has huge benefits for your body.
Cedar Point is breaking another record with its amazing new roller coaster, Valravn.
A WOTV intern shares her experiences at the Maranda Park Party at Lamar Park.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOTV) – Four chefs along with their hand picked Sous chef battled it out with unknown ingredients at Market Masters. Cl…


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Neurosurgeon and Bioengineer Aim for Paradigm Shift in Treatment of Hydrocephalus
"We threw out the current system design and started from scratch, we needed to look at Hydrocephalus as if it was a new problem we could solve with modern technology."Samuel Browd, Neurosurgeon at Seattle Children's Hospital and Harborview Medical Center
Advances in medical technology and surgical techniques have dramatically improved diagnosis and treatment of most disorders, saving and extending lives. Yet the technology revolution has bypassed a simple device used for 50 years to treat a relatively common but devastating condition in newborns — hydrocephalus, the excess accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. If this fluid is not continuously drained through a catheter and shunt system, the pressure buildup can damage brain tissue and expand the skull bones leading to fatal consequences.
Shunts are normally required for the entire life of the patient. The best shunt design still fails with high frequency: 30 percent fail within one year of the initial surgery, and virtually 100 percent fail within ten years, usually due to clogging and infection. Shunt failure is a life-threatening emergency requiring surgical replacement, and it accounts for half of all pediatric neurosurgery cases and $3 billion a year in health care expenditures.
"Those are heartbreaking numbers," said Samuel Browd, an attending neurosurgeon at Seattle Children's Hospital, and at UW and Harborview medical centers. "Hydrocephalus has been treated as a plumbing problem, but it's much more complex, and all pediatric neurosurgeons are frustrated with the lack of significant advances in shunt technology."
Redesigning from Scratch
Browd took his frustration to the UW Department of Bioengineering in late 2009, where he found an enthusiastic collaborator in Barry Lutz, a professor and researcher with expertise in microfluidic devices and point-of-care diagnostics.
"We threw out the current system design and started from scratch," Browd said. "We needed to look at hydrocephalus as if it was a new problem we could solve with modern technology."
"Sam invited me over to Children's Hospital to observe a surgery on a two-year-old girl," Lutz said. "She had had a dozen previous surgeries. The stress on parents is enormous, because they have no way to tell if a child's illness is just a minor problem or an issue with the shunt, and every surgery carries a five to ten percent risk of infection and potential for brain damage. I left Children's committed to working with Sam to improve the technology."
The device Browd and Lutz developed is simple in mechanics and fluidics. Its inventors envision two stages of development. The first is a "smart" external shunt that could be used for diagnostics and for short-term treatment of patients with infections, stroke, hemorrhage, brain tumors, and hydrocephalus caused by trauma. It automatically maintains the drainage rate of cerebrospinal fluid and eliminates the need for frequent adjustments by nurses. Patients will no longer have to remain completely still during treatment but can move about freely. The device will be safer for patients and improve monitoring efficiency. Browd and Lutz hope this initial product can reach the market within two years.
The next goal is the development of a more advanced electronic shunt for internal implantation that will allow physicians to diagnose buildup of intracranial pressure from excess fluid. It will be more readily adjustable to the patient's physiology to avoid clogging and infection. This approach will help reduce the need for CT scans to diagnose shunt failure, which can increase risk of cancer in patients who require repeated scans. These features should greatly improve the quality of life for children and adult patients, and reduce health care expenditures for hydrocephalus. Testing, refining, and clinical trials probably mean a new device will reach the market in five years.
Enlisting C4C Expertise
This is Browd and Lutz's first effort to develop a medical device. UW Center for Commercialization (C4C) technology manager Valerie Carricaburu, serving as C4C's main point of contact, stepped up to actively manage a new team and the commercialization process. She brought in C4C specialists including patent agent John Tolomei, grant writer Jeanette Ennis, and entrepreneur-in-residence Tom Clement. Clement is one of the region's top medical device entrepreneurs with more than 25 years of experience in product development engineering and senior management.
Clement and Carricaburu helped Browd and Lutz map a path to commercialization, beginning with establishing intellectual property. C4C filed two provisional patents and one international patent, and is planning licensing options. A $100,000 Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Grant awarded in early 2010 is funding initial shunt design. Additional project funding includes $150,000 from Washington State's Life Sciences Discovery Fund, a $50,000 research gift from the Washington Research Foundation, a $50,000 C4C Commercialization Gap Fund Award, and $10,000 from C4C for critical product development. C4C worked with the team to apply for $1.5 million from the federal Small Business Innovation Research program.
For the past year, Carricaburu has convened a weekly meeting with an expanded team, including UW experts and consultants from the community, to plan next steps in device development and commercialization strategy. Collaborators include experienced UW engineers, Peter Kaufmann and Joel Relethford; Chris Porter, a commercialization consultant with the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association; Dr. Ida Washington, a clinical associate professor of Comparative Medicine; and Brian Cleary, a regulatory consultant and experienced biomedical entrepreneur. Paula Kim, a UW Foster School MBA student funded by an ITHS Fellowship through C4C, joined the team to draft a business plan, and recruited fellow students Daniel Butts, Erik Feest, and Jennifer Davis to enter it into the 2011 UW Business Plan Competition.
Market Potential
In the US alone, newborns and children under age two undergo 15,000 initial shunt placements annually. Children and adults who suffer head trauma account for 24,000 new placements. Other causes of hydrocephalus, such as brain tumor surgery and stroke, or conditions affecting the elderly, total about 27,000 new placements for a total of 78,000 major, risky surgeries every year. Another 38,000 surgeries replace failed shunts. Approximately 440,000 procedures are performed annually in the US to externally drain CSF from the cerebral ventricles or lumbar subdural space. The overall domestic need for external devices is estimated to be $40 million per year and $200 million for internal devices.
Spin-off Company Launched
With C4C, Browd and Lutz proceeded to found a company, Aqueduct Neurosciences, to develop and market the device. The company's name was derived from a small passageway between the brain's third and fourth ventricle. Aqueduct is beginning to meet with investors to raise outside capital.
"The Aqueduct endeavor started with a well-defined market and an identified patient group with a real need. It attracted a team of people who immediately established a strong rapport that accelerated the commercialization process," Clement said. "Every element for a successful launch is present."
Browd and Lutz confer daily by exchanging emails, often in the early hours of the morning. C4C staff members joke that emails rarely hit their inboxes during normal hours.
"This is our passion. We're invested emotionally and have put enormous hours of work into this," Lutz said. "There needs to be a paradigm shift in the way hydrocephalus is treated."
"For me it's incredibly gratifying that the University finds this work valuable and provides such exceptional support, knowing that success will improve children's and family's lives." Browd said. "It's disruptive technology. Most physicians don't have the opportunity to take an idea like this and implement it."


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|From: Gregory Cooper (greg at cs.brown.edu)
Date: Sun Feb 17 15:37:05 EST 2008
Hi Robert, Yes. You'll probably need to define a tool with mixins that extend various DrScheme classes. You can use drscheme:get/extend:extend-unit-frame to apply a mixin to the unit frame (the class for the top-level DrScheme window). The mixin can override the execute-callback method, which gets invoked when the user clicks Run or Debug. To run your startup code: the unit frame provides a current-tab method, to which you can send get-ints to get the associated interactions-text object. Once you have the interactions-text, you can send it run-in-evaluation-thread with a thunk containing the code you want to run. As far as running shutdown code, you can similarly use drscheme:get/extend:extend-tab to override enable-evaluation in the tab. (I'm pretty sure enable-evaluation gets invoked once all the definitions have been run, which should give you a suitable hook. Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong about this.) For examples of these mechanisms in use, you can look in collects/mztake/debug-tool.ss. There may be simpler examples, but that's where my experience comes from. Cheers, Greg On Feb 17, 2008 2:02 PM, Robert Matovinovic <robert.matovinovic at web.de> wrote: > Hi, > is it possible to change the behavior of the run and debug buttons in > DrScheme via a tool? I implemented a module language to control an external > program via DDE (this ancient Windows dynamic data exchange). I would like > to implement an automated connection setup to the external program before > the program in the definitions window in executed or debugged and an > automated disconnection afterwards, if that language is chosen. Can anybody > point me to the right files to look at and what might be a good way to go? > Thanks a lot. > Robert > _________________________________________ > Robert Matovinovic > Wintererstr. 61 > 79104 Freiburg > Germany > > Tel: +49 (0)700 6286 0000 > Cell: +49 (0)171 56 32 330 > email: robert.matovinovic at web.de > > > ____________ > Virus checked by G DATA AntiVirusKit > Version: AVK 18.2756 from 13.02.2008 > Virus news: www.antiviruslab.com > > _________________________________________________ > For list-related administrative tasks: > http://list.cs.brown.edu/mailman/listinfo/plt-scheme >
|Posted on the users mailing list.


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Wednesday August 14th, at 6:00 pm
Sarah Edelsburg returns to the JMM to share the history and development of visual art in both Jewish and Israeli contexts. Sarah will challenge us to answer the question: what is Jewish art? She will use a variety of entertaining examples to illustrate the development of this genre. Bring your critical thinking caps!
This is a free event. Light snacks and refreshments will be available, including beer and wine.
Late Night on Lloyd Street is generously supported by the Grandchildren of Harvey M. and Lyn P. Meyerhoff Philanthropic Fund.


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Tombstone's truth revealed in 'The Last Gunfight'
Jeff Guinn took readers down the back roads of Louisiana in his book Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde.
He's back in The Last Gunfight, displaying the impeccable research that is his trademark, to tell us what really happened at the gunfight at the O.K. Corral on that cold October day in 1881. Doc Holliday. The Earps. They're all here.
Those who love a good old-fashioned shoot-em-up Western might not be entirely happy with Guinn's storytelling. In short, the romance is stripped away. Guinn's story is what really happened, not what some Hollywood producer dreamed up. His research counters the myth.
That said, this is still a terrific read, just as Guinn's account of the deaths of Bonnie and Clyde was a terrific read. Sometimes the truth is just as interesting as the fiction. Maybe more so.
"What has come to be called 'the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral' became a pivotal moment in American annals because misunderstandings, exaggerations, and outright lies about it provided impetus for future generations to form a skewed, one-dimensional view of frontier history," Guinn writes.
He calls the real story of Tombstone, which was then in the Arizona Territory, far more complex than a "cartoonish confrontation between good guys and bad guys."
About the book
The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral - And How it Changed the American West
* * * out of four
By Jeff Guinn
Simon & Schuster, 384 pp., $27
What readers will find is not only an interesting story of misdeeds and misbehavin' — and a very brief gunfight — but a story well told, a glimpse into daily life out West at the end of the 19th century.
Listen to Guinn's evocative description of the times: "Dogs ran wild through the Tombstone streets and relieved themselves indiscriminately. So did horses, and the mules pulling freight wagons…Tombstone employed a town scavenger, but there was always more rotting debris than one man could pick up. As a result, packs of rats joined the ubiquitous desert scorpions and spiders in swarming through town in alarming numbers. Even in fine new residences built of adobe and wood, people fell asleep trying to ignore the scrabbling of rodent paws nearby."
And then there's that little matter of a gunfight.
Posted | Updated


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Baier omitted mention of Republican senators' support of amnesty for Iraqi insurgents who attacked American soldiers
Research ››› ››› RAPHAEL SCHWEBER-KOREN
Fox News' Bret Baier misrepresented the reasons that Republican senators cited for opposing an amendment that would urge President Bush to communicate strong disapproval of an amnesty for insurgents in Iraq who attacked U.S. troops. Baier falsely suggested that the Republicans said only that they opposed the amendment because Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie had supposedly made the controversy moot when he disavowed such a proposal.
On the June 15 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume, Pentagon correspondent Bret Baier misrepresented Republicans' stated reasons for opposing a Democratic amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 condemning a possible amnesty for insurgents in Iraq who had attacked American soldiers. Baier suggested that Republicans cited only a statement by Iraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie disavowing such an amnesty proposal, when in fact some Republican senators made clear that they opposed the Democratic amendment because they actually supported the reported amnesty proposal.
The debate was sparked by a June 15 Washington Post report that a "limited amnesty" included in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's "national reconciliation" package was, according to a top Maliki adviser (paraphrased by the Post), "likely to include pardons for those who had attacked only U.S. troops," as opposed to those who had also attacked Iraqis. On that day's edition of CNN's Live Today, Rubaie denied this was the case: "What the prime minister is going to give amnesty to are those who have not committed the crimes, whether they're against Iraqis or coalition." Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) then quoted that statement at the beginning of debate on Sen. Bill Nelson's (D-FL) amendment opposing any Iraqi plan that would grant amnesty to insurgents who have attacked U.S. soldiers. Baier's report quoted a similar comment from his telephone interview with Rubaie.
Baier reported that "Republicans made the decision" to "effectively kill" Nelson's amendment, asserting that Rubaie's statement made the issue moot. In fact, during the Senate debate, some Republican senators stated that they opposed the amendment because they supported the Iraqi government's then-reported plan to grant amnesty to insurgents who had attacked American soldiers:
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK): I wonder seriously about what the senator from Florida is doing by telling this new fledgling democracy that they cannot go through the process of cleansing, go through the process of trying to get people who were misguided, who were part of coalitions that they now are willing to recant, if they are, to come forward and support this new democracy. What are we doing anyway on the floor of the Senate trying to tell the new democracy what they can and can't do? I didn't like that story when I read it in the paper this morning, but I was happy to see the new statement from the security people that clarified what they intend to do.
But the time will come, if that democracy is going to succeed, when they are going to have to fold into their population those who are willing now to give up terrorism, those who are willing to put aside the activities of the past which led them to attack Americans as well as any other -- there are 34 other nations over there. Are we saying just those who did kill Americans, they can't get amnesty, but the rest of them can?
What are we doing on the floor of the Senate trying to debate an issue as to how this country is going to come back together again? I am sort of appalled at it, really. I don't know if anyone else is. But it seems to me that we ought to do everything we can to encourage them to bring their people together, to forget the sins of the past, to forget the terrorists of the past, and to pledge themselves to a new future of democracy and have people come forward and say: I am willing to support this new democracy. And if they do, and demonstrate that they do after a period of time, shouldn't they be recognized as being loyal citizens of the new democracy?
This is a debate that disturbs me. It disturbs me to think we are willing to just seize the moment and make a political point -- seize the moment and make a point -- and not think.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ): But the larger issue here is, I believe, that our goal is to bring an end to the conflict as quickly as possible in Iraq. If that means, in return for laying down their arms, that some are allowed an amnesty or allowed to re-enter the society of Iraq, in a peaceful manner, in a productive manner, as has happened in South Africa, El Salvador -- and is happening in Colombia -- and many other insurgencies throughout history, then I think we should welcome it. And as we place our confidence in the new government of Iraq, perhaps we should give them some latitude.
I would also like to add, by the way, that that quote in the press may not have been exactly right as to who might be eligible for amnesty and who might not. At least that should be cleared up. But it doesn't obscure the fact that the freely elected government, that we support, of the country of Iraq is now reaching out to attempt to end the fighting and the conflict. I do not think we should be micro-managing that from the floor of the U.S. Senate.
I am sure that the enemies we faced in World War II -- who the distinguished chairman of the committee fought against in that great war -- that there was a time where we had reconciliation with our enemies on both sides of the Atlantic.
Now, were people who were guilty of specific war crimes brought to trial? Absolutely, and punished, in some cases, to the point of execution. But those who fought against us are clearly now our friends.
A follow-up article in the June 16 Washington Post stated that a former Maliki aide quoted in the original story, Adnan Ali al-Kadhimi, stood behind his version of the amnesty proposal. The Post also quoted another anonymous Maliki aide who "said Maliki had been 'clear, saying those whose hands weren't stained with Iraqi blood' may be eligible for any amnesty."
From the June 15 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:
BAIER: The Washington Post cited a top aide to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki saying that as part of a national reconciliation program, even people who killed or wounded U.S. troops would be granted amnesty, prompting a quick and forceful response on Capitol Hill.
[begin video clip]
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV): President Bush should immediately notify the government of Iraq that the United States government opposes granting amnesty in the strongest possible terms.
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI): It is totally unacceptable that amnesty or pardon be offered to people who killed Americans or who attacked American troops.
SEN. BILL NELSON (D-FL): You will not stand by and have amnesty offered by the Iraqi government to the people that have killed American boys and girls.
SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D), NEW JERSEY: I was outraged when I read this story.
BAIER: The problem is, according to Iraqi leaders, the story was wrong. Fox spoke with Iraq's national security adviser by phone from Baghdad.
RUBAIE: That was a misquotation and a misunderstanding on behalf of the media to what the prime minister had said. Iraq has no intention to grant amnesty to those who have killed Iraqis, Iraqi security forces, civilians, or coalition forces. We have absolutely no intention to do that.
BAIER: Rubaie said the prime minister and his cabinet have a detailed national reconciliation program to reach out to mostly Sunni communities. And part of that includes amnesty. But Rubaie insisted it will only be for people who have not committed crimes against Iraqis or coalition troops.
RUBAIE: If they lay down their arms and we look will into their records and they have not committed any crimes against Iraqi people or American people, American troops, then they are most welcome to come to join the process.
[end video clip]
BAIER: Senators spent much of the afternoon debating a resolution introduced by Florida Democrat Bill Nelson that would call on the president to make clear to the Iraqi government it should not grant amnesty to people who attacked, killed, or wounded U.S. troops.
Republicans made the decision not to vote on that resolution, and one senior Republican aide said that move should effectively kill it. Here at the White House, officials were comforted by Dr. Rubaie's comments, but they conceded it will take Iraqis some time to work through the details of this reconciliation program. Brit.
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- National Security & Foreign Policy, War in Iraq
- Person
- Bret Baier
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- Special Report with Brit Hume
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text:
George (Highmore) is a fatalistic teenager who can't muster the effort to apply himself to his studies because, well, what's the point? Sally (Roberts), though, might be the person to challenge his lax life as a going-nowhere high-schooler.
Little Freddie Highmore (Charlie And The Chocolate Factory) isn't so little anymore — he plays a gangly American teen in this semi-romantic drama. George is an aimless sort who doesn't see the point in homework: we're all going to die anyway. In comes Sally (Emma Roberts), new friend and potential object of desire. Are they meant to be together? You may be past caring as George's self-sabotage plumbs new depths while the script only scratches the surface of his character. Still, it's amusing and insightful in parts, with no faulting the two leads, ably supported by a likeable Michael Angarano as an artist. Best enjoyed by listless teens who can eke out comparisons with their own complex lives.
A likeable debut from director Gavin Wiesen that will appeal to teens. And, my, hasn't that Freddie Highmore grown up.


text: Primary colors are one of the first art concepts I like to introduce young kids to in art. First, because they are a basic building block for understanding how to make all kinds of things. And second, because mixing colors is kind of magical. Color mixing on coffee filters is a fun introduction to what happens when those primary colors mix together!


text:
So this has happened quite a lot lately. I've seen many books that I've read and not necessarily liked get movie deals.
While I'm super happy for the authors, I always end up with the question: Do I watch the movie?
See, I really love seeing fictional characters come to life. It's one of the most fantastic things that can happen to a reader, to see the people you imagined on the big screen. I love that, even if it's with characters that I didn't like or books that I didn't Granted this hypothetical movie adaptation I'm talking about isn't a problematic adaptation of an also non-problematic book, should I go watch it just for that effect alone? Or should I support movies and adaptations of books I know I'm much more inclined to enjoy instead?
That One Time It Worked Out
I actually have an example for you guys where doing just that lead to something wonderful. If you've been on my blog for a while you know that I've been trying to work my way through the The Mortal Instruments series and the entire Shadowhunters universe by Cassandra Clare quite reluctantly. Yes, before you mention it, I'm aware of all the drama and schebang surrounding her. If you aren't - google.
I did watch the first movie adaptation long before I read the books and found it quite intriguing, but when I actually read them? Yikes. I hated them. Like, really deeply found them problematic and unenjoyable. But then the TV adaptation came along. Shadowhunters, race-bending (if you can even call it that) major characters into people of color, giving more love and attention to the single gay couple in the series that the author ever did in their books. Also very attractive actors.
And boy, I grew obsessed with that series. It's mediocre at best but the diversity really hooked me because TV shows are just -so white- these days. It's also a plus that I've heard rumors that the author receives minimal profit from the series because of some rights issues.
If It's Diverse I'm In
In that case it worked out great. I found something super worth my time and great to support by giving books I really dislike another chance. I'm not sure if I would do this again, it really would probably depend on the book series and if there is anything in them that I deeply dislike or not. But what I'm trying to say is - it really depends on who's adapting it. There are so many failed book adaptations out there, and there are so many ridiculously white adaptations out there, and just as many that do their damn best to white-wash anything and everything in the books even if there was great representation in the first place.
If I see a diverse adaptation of a book I didn't like, I'm definitely more inclined to supporting it. See, I didn't care much for THE DARKEST MINDS by Alexandra Bracken but when I heard that they cast a black girl as the lead role for a character that's white in the books (or, not specified, which usually means white in our world), I made a mental note to go watch these books. Because representation matters.
Is this a one in a million thing? Has this happened to you before?
Let's talk YA.Should We Separate Authors from Their Problematic Work? On False Representation and Whether Authors Deserve Call-Outs
Do We Owe it to Authors to Call Out Problematic Books Nicely?
What is POC rep to you? "Olive Skin", On the Page, and Non-#Ownvoices Authors
Once You Go Diverse... Diverse Books are Better Than Non-Diverse Books


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The New Slate Is Released. Oh Wait, You Meant The Other Slate
No need to wait until January 26/27th to get a glimpse at slate computing. The Slate is here. Of course, there's a catch: it's the HP Slate. Well, if nothing else, they were able to copy the name. It's good to know the Apple lawyers won't be lacking for work next month.
This slate seems to be merely a buttonless PC, running Windows 7. It does make you think though: what will Apple do differently from this device? You can easily copy a name, it's not so easy to copy the tech. And to think there was a time when Apple partnered with HP for the HP iPod so it would be adopted by the business masses. Well guess what: the masses adopted the iPod, and hardly anyone bought the HP version.
We want to see true innovation and competition in this space, and from the early reports, it doesn't look like this is it. Send us one and prove us wrong, HP.
(And by the way, kudos to the folks at Engadget who are doing a fine job as always with CES coverage this year.)


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The actor will spoof Robert Pattinson, his 'Harry Potter' co-star, by giving a voice to a vampire in the annual 'Treehouse of Horror' series.
That Daniel Radcliffe would lend his voice on "The Simpsons" next year has been confirmed by FOX. The British actor who is famous for his portrayal of Harry Potter will woo Lisa and spoof "Twilight" for the annual Halloween episode, "Treehouse of Horror XXI".
Radcliffe's role is Edmund, a kid vampire whose dad is none other than Dracula. He and Lisa fall in love with each other but their fathers are against the relationship and will try to break them up. The episode will air in either late October or early November like in the previous years.
Producer Al Jean told EW, "Daniel was very excited to do The Simpsons, and we kept trying to ask him for secrets from the upcoming Harry Potter movie until we realized that they were all in the books."
"Treehouse of Horror" began in the second season and always contained horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting. Classic 1959 TV series "The Twilight Zone" has been lifted as the subject of several episodes.


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Original Abstract Expressionism Painting Brewing by Colorado Contemporary Artist Kimberly
painting by artist Kimberly Conrad
18 in X 18 in (45.7 cm X 45.7 cm)
This painting is available directly from the artist.
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text: I currently have an X2 but was thinking about upgrading to a fixed clamp machine. I saw this local Craigslist ad for a used Gamma Progression XT for $500. It's 5 years old; good condition. Is that a good price? If not what would be a fair price to offer? Thanks.


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3636 McKinney Ave., Ste. 170 Send to Phone
214-780-0373 | Make Restaurant Reservations | Menu
OpenLunch Fri.-Sat., Dinner nightly
- Parking lot
- Dress code: Casual
- Great Wine List
* Click here for rating key
Cork Restaurant Review: Part retail store, part wine bar, Cork boasts an inventory of more than 700 wines, and specializes in hard-to-find and rare wines, as well as a selection of value bottlings. Start the sipping process by purchasing a Cork Card, swiping it at themed tasting stations across the bar, and, using touch screens, selecting a wine and ordering cheese or other seasonal snacks. After you've picked your favorites, a server delivers your order, which you can enjoy on the sofa, in the decanting room, or out on the patio.
Find out which restaurants and chefs top the list of GAYOT's 2016 Annual Restaurant Awards.


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Flip back and forth between an episode of Maury when he's interviewing a woman who doesn't know who her baby daddy is and My Big Fat Greek Wedding while playing ABBA's greatest hits album in the background. Add a dose of Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnen and you get Mamma Mia!.
Actually, the movie is much better then that, in that it is able to take a "whose my daddy?" story line and make it fun and enjoyable to watch.
The story focuses on the wedding of Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried of Mean Girls fame), who was raised by her single mother Donna (Meryl Streep) a former member of the pop group "Donna and the Dynamos". Sophie wants the perfect white wedding and dreams of the father she never knew giving her away. In an attempt to hold some semblance of a Parent Trap like reunion, Sophie invites three men who were all with her mother around the same time, believing that when she meets the men she will be able to tell which one is her dad.
Amanda Seyfried was the star in my book, proving that she is more then just a dumb blond who played second banana to Lindsay Lohan. Not only does Seyfreid convey a respectable yet not over the top amount of angst of growing up without a father, she's got a stellar voice as well. Christine Baranski and Julie Waters, who play Donna's best friends and former band mates, bring the right amount of encouraging and supportive sidekicks while still maintaining a cougar like attitude.
The one true downfall of the movie is thinking that James Bond was a substantial prerequisite for a musical. From an acting standpoint Pierce Brosnan played Sam, on of Sophie's three potential fathers nicely, but his singing left much to be desired…like a vocal dubbing. He doesn't sing till late in the film, but the second he opened his mouth the entire theater burst into giggles, and nothing about his song was meant to be comedic. I do have to give Brosnan credit for trying, but he should really stick to being a total bad-ass.
Mamma Mia! will please fans of ABBA and of the Broadway show, as well as anyone searching for a die hard chick flick.
The Upside: An all around feel good film that will make you wish you grew up on a Greek Island.
The Downside: Pierce Brosnan's singing voice was cringe inducing and you will have Dancing Queen stuck in your head for days.
On the Side: In the background of one scene you can see a poster advertising a show for "Donna and the Dynamos" appearing at a bar called Fernando's (also a song by ABBA).


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"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is [Read More…]
Johnny Cash's Vision: The Majestic Son of God
March 20, 2010 by Leave a Comment


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Get Ahead
Hi Guest
May 31, 2012
Farah Khan: SRK always had the hots for me
Farah Khan and Boman Irani shared a few laughs when they launched the trailer of their new film, Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi.
Bollywood Dialogues That We Love!
Akshay Kumar's low-pitch growl 'Don't angry me' in Rowdy Rathore is making waves even before the film hits theatres.
The 25 BEST Double Roles in Bollywood
As Akshay Kumar promises to impress in Rowdy Rathore, we take a look at the best dual roles in Hindi cinema in the past.
May 30, 2012
First Look: Farah Khan-Boman Irani romance in next
Here's what your favourite Bollywood celebrities are tweeting.
'Focus in Indian Idol 6 is voice quality, not good looks'
Indian Idol 6 gets ready to roll on June 1.
PIX: Veena Malik's HOT Salsa Moves
The aspiring actress is brushing up her dance moves for a new ad.
Birthday Special: Paresh Rawal's Top Ten Roles
The veteran actor celebrates his 62nd birthday today.
PIX: Bollywood's Gals Wear the Sari, with a Difference!
Here's looking at how the glam ladies put a spin on the sari.
May 29, 2012
Sex And The City's Cynthia Nixon weds longtime girlfriend
The couple has been together for the last eight years.
'We were forced by directors to plagiarise songs'
Music composer Anand-Milind look back at their successful career.
Did Mehr Jesia ask RGV to leave their home?
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
Akshay: Couldn't have got a better comeback to action
Akshay Kumar and Prabhu Deva talk about their action-packed film, Rowdy Rathore.
Get Aishwarya's Sensational Cannes Look NOW!
Now, you can get the look at home!
PIX: Shah Rukh parties with Akshay Kumar, Prabhu Deva
Prabhu Deva invited the superstar home to celebrate with the Rowdy Rathore team.
VOTE! The Most Fashionable Indian at Cannes
Take this fun poll now!
PIX: Bollywood gals with the SEXIEST backs!
Plunging backs are making rather frequent rounds on the Bollywood social scene!
May 28, 2012
Don't Miss: The Cannes Finale
The top prize Palm d'Ore went to Austrian director Michael Haneke for his heart-wrenching Amour.
Arjun Rampal debuts at Cannes Film Festival
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
Guess which film Rajinikanth watched on Saturday?
The Superstar managed to grab the special screening of a Tamil film that received rave reviews when it released earlier this month.
Bollywood's Hottest Kamariyas This Summer
Rowdy Rathore seems quite taken by his beloved's desi waistline.
Photo: Poonam Pandey finally strips...for SRK!
Soon after Shah Rukh Khan's IPL team, the Kolkata Knight Riders, won IPL Season 5, Poonam, model and aspiring actress, gave her followers something to drool about when she posted a picture of herself, starkers, on Twitter.
Ajith: I am never afraid of failure
In this interview the actor looks back at his career and shares his experience of working in films.
VOTE! Like Sonam Kapoor's Cannes Appearances?
The L'Oreal brand ambassador made several fashionable appearances at the recently concluded Cannes festival.
PIX: Priyanka Chopra's bash for cousin Parineeti
Parineeti's newest film, Ishaqzaade, is doing quite well at the box office.
When Priyanka Did a Mumtaz, Deepika Did a Sridevi!
Priyanka Chopra's look in a rcently released song from her new film Teri Meri Kahaani is fashioned after Mumtaaz's iconic Brahmachari sari.
May 26, 2012
PIX: Aishwarya Rai makes waves on Day Two at Cannes
The actress strikes the right fashion cords in her second red carpet outing in Cannes.
May 25, 2012
PIX: Hollywood A-listers grace Cannes
Nicole Kidman, Kim Kardashian, Robert Pattinson and many more!
Bollywood gets ready for Karan Johar's birthday bash
Here's what your favourite Bollywood celebrities are tweeting.
Jayasurya, Anandi on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa
Take this fun poll now!
'I want to play a real hero on screen'
Ajay Rao talks about his experience of working on Breaking News
PIX: Shilpa Shetty brings her baby home
The actress and husband Raj Kundra were blessed with a baby boy on May 21.
PIX: Miss Lovely's day out in Cannes
Director Ashim Ahluwalia and his cast enjoy the film's photocall at the prestigious film festival.
WATCH: The Bol Bachchan Trailer
Rohit Shetty's back with another comedy.
PIX: Aishwarya dazzles in a sari in Cannes
The actress received a thumbs up for her latest Cannes appearance.
Birthday Special: The Best Karan Johar Film? VOTE!
As Karan Johar turns 40 today, we ask you, dear readers, to vote for his best work so far.
PIX: Mallika dons another nude gown at Cannes
The actress also took off to Versailles for lunch!
PIX: Aishwarya wows Cannes with a maxi dress!
Following criticism about her weight, Ash won fans and detractors with a winsome maxi dress.
Shekhar Kapur: Mr India was a product of fearlessness
As Mr India turns 25, director Shekhar Kapur reveals some interesting trivia on its making.
FIRST LOOK: Like Aishwarya's Cannes look? VOTE!
The actress arrived in an Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla sari.
May 24, 2012
Annu Kapoor: It was phenomenal to be a part of Mr India
It was 25 years ago when Shekhar Kapur's Mr India released. Annu Kapoor, who played Sridevi's boss in the film, looks back.
PIX: Nicole Kidman, Kim Kardashian at Cannes
It's Hollywood and reality show royalty that descends on the Cannes red carpet on day 8.
'I play a Bharatanatyam dancer in Daruvu'
Taapsee Pannu talks about her upcoming film Daruvu.
Bollywood reacts to petrol price hike
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
'I do action films to satisfy my fans'
Aditya is back after sabbatical. The action hero will be seen in his next Villian which releases tomorrow.
When Ash, Kareena, Lara Hammed To The Hilt
It's not only the actors, actresses go overboard too when it comes to acting.
May 23, 2012
PIX: Anurag Kashyap and team at Cannes!
The Indian filmmaker's new film Gangs Of Wasseypur premiered at the 65th Cannes Film Festival on May 22.
PIX: Kristen Stewart, Dunst glam up Cannes Day 7
Twilight actress Kristen Stewart joins Kirsten Dunst for a photocall while Brad Pitt, others grace the red carpet.
Now showing: When Jesus came to India
Playwright Lloyd Suh's new play Jesus In India gives an account of Jesus Christ's India sojourn between the ages of 18 and 30.
Deepika: I owe my standing in Bollywood to KJo
The actress talks about her new film Cocktail and her equation with filmmaker Karan Johar.
Siva: Daruvu is my best attempt so far
Cinematographer turned director Siva talks about his upcoming film.
Genelia D'Souza returns to the small screen!
Here's what your favourite Bollywood celebrities are tweeting.
Kalki: Kissing on screen is not a big deal
The actress talks about Shanghai and much more...
Emraan Hashmi: I don't want to get 'bracketed'
The actor, who's creating quite a buzz with his role in Dibaker Bannerjee's upcoming film Shanghai, talks about his newfound success and working with big banners.
The Ten Most Controversial Live Performances
Lady Gaga was recently barred from performing in Indonesia.
Like The Great Gatsby official trailer? VOTE!
The film opens in theatres this Christmas.
Exclusive: Mohanlal to play Sathya Sai Baba?
Get your lowdown on what's happening in Malayalam cinema.
25 years on, Mr India holds remarkably well
revisits Mr India as the much-loved film celebrates its 25th anniversary this Friday
VOTE! Which actor can REALLY sing well?
Take this fun poll!
May 22, 2012
PIX: Brad Pitt, Gerard Butler at Cannes
More Hollywood A-listers make their way to the film festival.
100 years of cinema: Sandip Ray lists his top five films
Here's continuing celebrating a century of Indian cinema.
The Dark Knight Rises gets a new poster
The film will introduce Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Marion Cottilard as Miranda Tate.
PIX: Incredible India arrives at Cannes 2012
Indian actors, food and artists assemble for a party in the French Riviera.
Pooja Bhatt: Aishwarya is a gorgeous woman
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
Sonakshi: I am not open to wearing a bikini
The young actress insists that intimate scenes and wearing bikini on screen is a complete no no.
Box Office: Department is a disaster
Trade analyst Vinod Mirani gives the box office verdict.
Bollywood's Fascination With The Pelvic Thrust!
In the Banta Hai song in Department, Sanjay Dutt is seen bringing the much loved jig back in the movies.
Srinagar Kitty: I cannot digest heroism in films
Srinagar Kitty talks about playing his first comical role in Kiladi Kitty.
FIRST LOOK: Big B, Leo in The Great Gatsby
The Big B plays Meyer Wolfsheim in the film that also stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire.
May 21, 2012
Weekend Roundup: Celeb spotting at Cannes 2012
Salma Hayek, Diane Kruger and many others make fashionable red carpet appearances.
Ram Gopal Varma: I didn't make Department for the critics
Despite the heavy criticism his film got, Ram Gopal Varma stands by it.
Madhur's BOLD Heroine: Kareena uncensored!
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
First Look: Balakrishna and Manoj Manchu team up
The film is being produced by Lakshmi Manchu.
The Ten Worst Films Of Ram Gopal Varma
The filmmaker's latest project Department opened to a very dismal response.
Is Brand Shah Rukh Khan losing its appeal?
While the jury is still out following a series of recent spats, brand experts and advertisers say it is likely.
PIX: Veena Malik gets ready with her first film
The Pakistani item girl is working on her first full-fledged acting role.
When Hrithik, SRK, Akshay Hammed To The Hilt
When misguided inspiration comes calling, even fine actors falter. Here's lookign at Bollywood instances when our top actors went slightly overboard with their performances.
Photo: Mallika Sherawat gets bold in Cannes
Take a look at this photograph.
Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb dies after long cancer battle
The singer was suffering from cancer of the colon and liver.
Like Homi Adajania's Cocktail trailer? Tell Us!
The film stars Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Diana Penty in lead roles and is written by Imtiaz Ali.
Shilpa Shetty gives birth to a baby boy
The actress was admitted to the Hinduja hospital in Khar at the break of dawn today.
May 20, 2012
Slap-stick: What may have caused the famous filmi brawls
Bollywood is no stranger to fisticuffs. Here are some theories for some that rocked the nation.
May 19, 2012
Jackie Shroff: I am the original serial kisser
Jackie Shroff looks back at his career and shares his experience of working for three decades.
May 18, 2012
FIRST LOOK: Mallika Sherawat at Cannes
The actress, who's shifted base back to India, was at the NFDC pavillion at Cannes.
'Everybody loved the backless Ajintha poster'
Marathi actress Sonalee Kulkarni talks about her latest film, directed by Nitin Desai.
'Shah Rukh Khan is one of the best fathers I know'
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
PIX: Freida Pinto dazzles at Cannes Day 2
The actress hobnobs with Hollywood stars Jane Fonda and Eva Longoria on the red carpet.
Disco diva Donna Summer dies at 63
Singer Donna Summer, popularly known as the "Queen of Disco", has died after a long battle with lung cancer. She was 63.

Summer, whose real name is LaDonna Adrian Gaines, died at her Naples, Florida home on May 17. A source close to the
family said the singer was suffering from lung cancer.

"Early this morning, surrounded by family, we lost Donna Summer Sudano, a woman of many gif height=50>
The iconic singer was suffering form lung cancer.
May 17, 2012
PIX: Hollywood stars arrive at Cannes
Diane Kruger, Jane Fonda and The Artist team take to the Cannes red carpet.
'I don't think IPL is as popular as Chhota Bheem'
Director Rajiv Chilaka shares the idea of creating Chhota Bheem
PIX: Malayalam actress Udayathara ties the knot
The actress got married to Dubai-based pilot Jubin Joseph.
'Ek Tha Tiger is not anti-Pakistan'
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
Jay Leno gets himself a Nano!
The chat show host has added to his famous car collection.
Photos: Paa child artist Taruni Sachdev cremated
The 14-year-old child star died in the Nepal plane crash.
PIX: Freida Pinto arrives at Cannes
The actress was one of the first arrivals for the premiere of West Anderson's film Moonrise Kingdom.
And they lived happily ever after? Not Quite!
We look at films where lovers meet a tragic end.
Parineeti Chopra: I'm ready to don a bikini
Basking in the success of her recently released film Ishaqzaade, the actress talks about her future plans.
May 16, 2012
PIX: Sacha Baron's Dictator shenanigans at Cannes
One of the early birds at Cannes this year, Sacha Baron Cohen is aggressively promoting his new film at the international film festival that commenced today.
Soumitra Chatterjee: I don't have much faith in awards
The Dadasaheb Phalke award-winning actor talks candidly about his illustrious journey in Bengali films and his cinematic sensibilites.
The reason why Balika Vadhu is a big hit
The lead actors try to explain why the television soap is a success.
After Ferrari Ki Sawari, it's Mere Dad Ki Maruti
Here's what your favourtie celebrities are tweeting.
'It is very difficult to do Shakespeare in Gujarati'
Actor Utkarsh Mazumdar shares his delight of presenting the Gujarati play Sau Saru Jenu Chevat at the Globe Theatre in London later this month.
Looking Back at Stars Who Died Young In The Last Decade
Paa child actor Taruni Sachdev met an untimely death on May 14. We look back at actors who died young.
'I have grown up watching Malayalam cinema'
Anjali Menon talks about her experience of directing her first film Manjadikuru.
Aamir's TV debut gets fewer eyeballs than most celeb shows
Satyamev Jayate is one of the most expensive Hindi shows on TV.
Is Tusshar Kapoor's beach body hot? VOTE
The actor will do a Dostana spoof in his latest film Kya Super Cool Hai Hum.
VOTE! Amitabh Bachchan's Best Gangster Role Ever
Take this fun poll now!
May 15, 2012
Just How Have Star Kids Fared At The Box Office?
While Arjun Kapoor's fate remains to be seen, we decided to look at the new batch of star kids and see how their career is shaping up.
'The response to Satyamev Jayate has been liberating'
Cindrella, a victim of child abuse, talks about her experience on Satyamev Jayate.
Shweta Kawatra, Manav Gohil have a baby girl
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
Akshay Kumar: My son is happy about having a sibling
The actor talks about becoming dad for the second time.
Sonakshi's cousin gets ready for Bollywood
Bhavna Ruparel will make her debut in Chal Pichchur Banate Hai later this year.
Madhuri Dixit: Had I really done all those films?
As Madhuri Dixit celebrates her birthday today, May 15, we understand the actress better through a revealing interview in the new book Mother Maiden Mistress: Women in Hindi Cinema 1950-2010.
'There is no heroism in any of my films'
Director Balaji Sakthivel talks about the success of his film Vazhakku Enn 18/9
Birthday Special: Madhuri Dixit's Top 25 Dance Numbers
On the occasion of the actress's 45th birthday, we look at her most famous Bollywood dance numbers.
May 14, 2012
Box Office: Ishaqzaade does well, Dangerous Ishhq flops
Trade analyst Vinod Mirani gives the box office verdict.
Karan Johar denies commenting against Katrina
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
PIX: Meet the Hot New Item Girl in Shanghai
The newest import in Bollywood, British model Scarlett Wilson fires up the screen in Dibakar Banerjee's upcoming film Shanghai.
PIX: Prasanna-Sneha's grand wedding reception
The Tamil actors tied the knot in a glitzy ceremony on May 11.
PIX: When Bollywood Gals Went Topless
Sunny Leone cooked up a storm with her topless cover photo for FHM recently.
PIX: Best Of Aishwarya's Cannes Looks
Here's looking at the best elements that Ash has incorporated in her Cannes look over the years.
May 12, 2012
Meet the charming Zohra Segal
Daughter Kiran Segal shows off an extraordinary woman in her book, Zohra Segal 'Fatty'.
May 11, 2012
PIX: The Different Shades of Bollywood Moms
With Mother's Day just around the corner, here's looking at the many shades of the Bollywood mother.
Like the Ek Tha Tiger trailer? VOTE!
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
Delhi Belly remake to be called Naughty in Tamil
The Tamil remake is set to release early next year.
'Aditya Chopra doesn't interfere with direction'
Director Habib Faizal talks about the making of Ishaqzaade
PIX: Tamil actor Prasanna weds Sneha
Here's looking at their wedding album.
Rana Daggubati to produce Hindi films
Get your lowdown on whats happening in Telugu cinema.
May 10, 2012
The incredible Pran's unforgettable get-ups!
In this edition of our special Nostalgia series on veteran actor Pran, we highlight the legendary actor's different looks.
PIX: Bollywood's Top 25 Wedding Songs
Its wedding season and we browse through some of Bollywood's popular wedding songs.
WATCH: Anurag Kashyap's tribute to Bihar
Jiya ho Bihar ke lala, Jiye tu hazaar Saal a song from Gangs Of Wasseypur.
PIX: Shveta Salve's grand Goa wedding
Take a look at cool pix!
PIX: Bollywood's torrid affair with 'Ishq'
Bollywood's soft spot for breezy love stories is no secret. Here's looking at Ishq-titled flicks in Bollywood.
Shruti Haasan: I am not a method actress
The actress talks about working in Gabbar Singh, the Telugu remake of the Hindi film Dabangg.
Bol Bachchan's egg act makes Amitabh nostalgic
Here's what your favourtie celebrities are tweeting.
Liv Ullman brings Ingmar Bergman film to India
A docu-feature on the life of Ingmar Bergman is going through its post production in Mumbai headed by Resul Pookutty.
VOTE! Like Malaika's hot Gabbar Singh item song?
The seductress dons her Munni badnaam hui garb for the Telugu remake of Dabangg.
SIZZLING PIX: 2012's hottest kisses yet!
As Ishaqzaade's Parineeti Chopra and Arjun Kapoor lock lips in their new film, we look at the year's hottest kissing scenes so far!
Yami Gautam to star alongside Prithviraj
While Prithviraj plays a stunt artiste in Heor, Yami will be playing a south Indian sensation star.
FIRST LOOK: Christina Ricci goes nude for new film
The film also stars Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson and Uma Thurman.
Karisma Kapoor: I did not miss films
The actress talks about her comeback film, Vikram Bhatt's Dangerous Ishhq.
Video: Ten SHOCKINGLY controversial TV commercials
In the wake of Ashton Kutcher's latest disaster, here's a look at some ads that were instantly -- and, in most cases, unsuprisingly -- deemed too controversial to be carried on television.
May 09, 2012
PIX: Irrfan Khan in The Amazing Spider-Man
Check out the cool pix!
'Feels great to be part of India's first capture motion film'
Actor Aadhi talks excitedly about his small but impactful role in Kochadaiyaan.
PIX: Lookalike fans greet Lady Gaga in Japan
The Fame Monster is ahuge hit with her Japan fans!
Photo: Karisma visits Kareena on the sets of Heroine
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
PIX: The Hottie Who Thinks She's A Nerd
The Forest costars Nandana Sen and Ankur Vikal recently caught up with their fans on Rediff Chat.
PIX: Jiah Khan, Geeta Basra walk the ramp
While Jiah walked the ramp, Urmila was spotted catching up with Sangeeta Bijlani in the front row.
The 10 MOST VIOLENT Films in Bollywood
It may be called an 'entertainment' industry but not all films are designed to amuse.
'Rekha will perform the part in Rajya Sabha'
Bharthi S Pradhan, editor of Film Street Journal, and a long time Rekha-watcher sheds, light on the enigmatic actress and how she will handle her new role, in this revealing interview.
Twinkle, Amrita pregnant: Congratulate them!
The two actresses get ready to welcome their second borns.
'Katari Veera Sura Sundaraangi is total fun'
Upendra talks about his experience of working in first 3D mythological film.
RGV: I am almost a gangster myself
Ram Gopal Varma talks about his new film Department and why item numbers are necessary in a film.
May 08, 2012
PIX: Beyonce, Gwyneth Glam Up The MET Gala
The ladies turned up in their designer best for the glamorous event on May 7.
100 years of cinema: Shyam Benegal lists his top five films
The filmmaker gives an insight of his favourtie films of all time.
The Famous Cousin Jodis in Bollywood
Here's a look at some of Bollywood's famous cousin jodis of the moment:
Anupam Kher's takes a break with Mr Bhatti
The actor plays lead role in the comedy thriller.
First Look: Sunny Leone's shoot for a condom ad
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
'It's unfair that RGV's only promoting Nathalia'
Anjana Sukhani tells
why she is upset with her Department director Ram Gopal Varma.
'I feel lucky to be a part of first 3D mythological film'
Ramya talks about her experience of working in first 3D mythological film.
A Biligual film on Godavari floods
The film is directed by debutant director Kumar Nagendraand will be made in Tamil and Telugu.
Sunny Leone appears TOPLESS on FHM cover
The Indo-Canadian porn star will soon be seen in Jism 2.
WATCH: This is how Bollywood partied in the old times
Here's looking at old mahurats, premieres and launches that took place in Bollywood.
'My brother reminded me of my roots by making Dabangg'
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap talks about how his new directorial venture Gangs Of Wasseypur came about and also reveals some interesting bits about the film.
May 07, 2012
Jannat 2 doing average business at the box office
Trade analyst Vinod Mirani gives the box office verdict.
The Ten Worst Films of Emraan Hashmi
The actor's new film Jannat 2 may be doing well in theatres but it wasn't received too kindly by the critics.
Anurag Kashyap: It's a great year for Indian cinema
Anurag Kashyap on his preparation of going to Cannes with three of his films Gangs of Wasseypur Part I and II and Peddlers
Special: The A to Z of Telugu Cinema
A look at the Telugu films which best symobolise the letters of the alphabet!
Bollywood's all praises for Aamir's TV show
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
Demystifying The Diva That is Rekha
On the eve of her entry into the Rajya Sabha,
sizes up the Congress's weapon of mass seduction.
Is UP-Bihar the New Punjab in Bollywood?
Anurag Kashyap, whose new film Gangs Of Wasseypur is set in the political badlands of Jharkhand, is set to release in June.
Aamir Khan: I am no one to bring change or solve anything
Aamir Khan talks about his new show Satyamev Jayate, and the feedback he received from the first episode.
May 05, 2012
Mahesh Bhatt: Emraan doesn't need me anymore
The filmmaker gets candid about Jannat 2 and much more.
May 04, 2012
Kareena's Heroine costumes cost Rs 1.5 crore!
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
PIX: Vidya Balan receives her National Award
The actress won her first National Award for her role in Milan Luthria's biopic The Dirty Picture.
Ranvir Shorey: I am a very cool daddy
Ranvir Shorie talks about fatherhood and his career so far.
PIX: Rajinikanth at K S Ravikumar's daughter's wedding
The wedding was a grand star-studded affair.
PIX: Bollywood stars attend Phalke awards
Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee and Bollywood actress Kajol were felicitated with the award at the ceremony.
PIX: Shilpa Shetty's star-studded baby shower
The actress, who's due to give birth next month, was thrown a shower by good friend Kiran Bawa.
May 03, 2012
PIX: Madhuri Dixit pays tribute to Meena Kumari
The actress pays a tribute to the late legend on the upcoming new season of Jhalak Dikhla Jaa.
Chitrangada: I didn't want to be an actress
Chitrangada Singh gives some valuable inputs about fashion and also talks about her future films.
PIX: The Top 25 Sari Moments in Bollywood
Here's looking at Bollywood's hottest sari-clad women.
Bipasha: When love happens, I won't hide it
Here's what your favourite celebrities are tweeting.
PIX: Universal Studios' Ten Most Memorable Film Scenes
Marking the studio's 1ooth anniversary, a poll to ascertain the most memorable film scene was commissioned.
The man who made Zanjeer happen
Prakash Mehra quotes 'Had it not been for Pran Saab, Zanjeer would never have been made; it would have remained a dream'
Gul Panag: Starting a family is very responsible decision
Gul Panag gets candid about marriage, kids, and her upcoming film Fatso.
Is Ashton Kutcher's new ad racist? TELL US!
The ad features Kutcher as an Indian man looking for love.
Walking the red carpet with Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel premieres in New York.
PIX: Aishwarya's Hottest Cannes Hairdos
In a run-up to the Cannes Film Festival in May, here's looking at Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's many experiments with hairstyles over the years.
Making waves with Leelai
Debutant director Andrew Louis talks about the success of his film Leelai.
Meet The Girl Who Made Vicky Donor Happen
Advertising girl Juhi Chaturvedi gives a fun-filled account of her journey from an illustrator to a Hindi film writer.
May 02, 2012
Jesscia Simpson gives birth to a baby girl
Get your lowdown on what's going on in the world of Hollywood, right here!
'Guru Duttji was miscast in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam
Waheeda Rehman reveals some lesser known facts about Guru Dutt's Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam in an interview excerpt from Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam: The Original Screenplay.
WATCH: Priyanka-Shahid romance in Mukhtasar!
Here's what your favourite celebrties are tweeting.
PIX: Starlet Nisha Yadav goes nude... AGAIN!
Check out the pictures.
PIX: Is This Hottie Shahid Kapoor's New Girl?
After a rumoured link up with Nargis Fakhri, the actor has apparently set eyes on this exotic-looking Russian belle.
Sanjay Dutt: My fans have made me a star
In a candid chat, Sanjay Dutt talks about working with Ram Gopal Varma, how he is enjoying fatherhood and why politics is not meant for celebrities.
Triple delight for Malayalam moviegoers
Grandmaster, Mallu Singh and Diamond Necklace will hit the screens this week.
PIX: Salman plays cricket with Aamir's son Junaid
The actor participated in a cricket match organised by Khan Jr.
Sreejith Vijay to play young Sathya Sai Baba
Directed by Kodi Ramakrishna, the film will be called Baba Sathya Sai.
May 01, 2012
Jayaram's next is Thiruvambady Thamban
The story is about a Christian family who is invited erstwhile ruler of Cochin to do business.
The colorful side of Bollywood men
The colou rful pants have been a big hit the Bollywood's leading men
Lord Of The Rings producer to watch Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam
The screening will happen later this week in Los Angeles in Kamal Hasaan's presence.
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The Obamas' First Dance
It has been building up for weeks now, and last night Barack Obama and his wife Michelle had their first dance as President and First Lady.
Following an amazing Inauguration Day, the new President of the United States donned a black tuxedo with a white bowtie and escorted his wife (in a one-shoulder frilly cream-colored dress) out to the dance floor.
And of course, Beyonce Knowles served as chanteuse for the magical moment, singing her own version of Etta James' classic "At Last."
Barack represented Hawaii and Michelle represented Illinois at the Home State Inaugural Ball, held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Gossip Girls
Enjoy the pictures of Barack Obama celebrating during inauguration day (January 20).


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Sleep Apnea + Lower Face Lift Q&A
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WHN to administer Medicaid plan
Arthur Carder, CEO of Western Highlands Network, has announced that the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services has given WHN final approval to proceed with the next expansion site for the 1915(b)(c) Medicaid waiver.
Beginning today, WHN assumes the management of the N.C. Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Health Plan for Medicaid enrollees in Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania and Yancey counties.
In addition to increasing local control over $130 million in behavioral health services, WHN has added 100 new jobs across the eight counties. The waiver will provide a local response for consumers who have complaints or grievances.
For more information, visit www.western highlands.org.
Child behavior specialist to speak
Board-certified pediatrician and child behavior specialist Charlotte Riddle, M.D., of Park Ridge Pediatrics will present a free seminar, "Touch Points: Addressing Challenging Behaviors in Children," at 6 p.m. Jan. 23 at Health Adventure's new location in Biltmore Square Mall, at Exit 33 off I-26.
A kid-friendly activity will take place during the adult presentation, supervised by Health Adventure staff, and kid-approved refreshments will be available.
Pre-registration is required by Jan. 18. To sign up and for more information, call 855-PRH-LIFE (774-5433).
Tai chi offered for senior citizens
A group of Hendersonville-area senior citizens are moving their way to better health through a free class at the Edneyville Community Center.
Jenny Mercer, a health and science educator at the Health Adventure, has been teaching "Tai Chi for Arthritis" since November.
"This group is so dedicated," Mercer said. "They practice on their own time, and they come every week. Their dedication is really evidenced by their improvement."
The gentle exercises involved in tai chi have been shown to reduce risk of falling in older adults, improve muscle strength, and help calm and focus the brain.
"Tai Chi for Arthritis" is at the Edneyville Community Center at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday and Friday.
Ongoing classes for seniors offered by Health Adventure include "Tai Chi Tuesdays," "Fit Fridays" and "Mmm Good Mondays." Call Mercer at 828-665-2217, Ext. 325.
Awards honor Park Ridge nurses
Lizz Craig, R.N., of the Park Ridge Health Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, and Christy Mandrell, R.N., of the Medical-Surgical Unit, have been awarded the Park Ridge Health Nursing Excellence award.
Craig and Mandrell were nominated for the award by their peers, patients and supervisors for their contributions to Park Ridge Health's excellence in nursing care, and for aspiring to provide the very best in compassionate, expert care. Each received a plaque to commemorate their service.
Johnson receives board certification
Lori Johnson, R.N., recently received board certification in psychiatric/mental health nursing through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Johnson has been employed with Pardee for eight years and works in the Psychiatric and Addictions Therapeutic Healing Services unit. She received her bachelor's degree in nursing from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. Johnson also received a master's in counseling from the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
Doctor volunteers for mentoring
Dr. Brian Barrow can often be found performing gynecological surgery or delivering babies at Transylvania Regional Hospital. But he enhances health care in another important way.
Barrow volunteers to lead regular evening study groups at Transylvania Regional Hospital for local nursing students from Blue Ridge Community College. Sharing his expertise helps the students better understand medical concepts and hone their study skills.
"I asked Dr. Barrow to be the guest speaker for these study groups, and he graciously agreed to help out. He is very popular with the students, and he has the gift of taking a complex medical disease or condition and breaking it down with drawings, definitions and examples to help clarify concepts taught in the classroom," said Terri Locke, RN-C.
Locke, a nurse in the TRH Birthing Center, conducts the group study sessions for Blue Ridge nursing students. She noted that Barrow also donates his time to review classroom materials to help ensure that the nursing students get the maximum benefit from these educational tools.
Wellness coalition gets a new name
"Polk Fit, Fresh and Friendly: A Coalition for Wellness Promotion" is the new message for the former Polk County Wellness Coalition, a consortium of volunteers dedicated to making a difference in the health and wellness of the county.
The new name reflects the mission of a broad-based group of community leaders, health professionals and concerned community members working together to plan and implement effective strategies to promote wellness, the group says.
Polk Fit, Fresh and Friendly recognizes that wellness is more than absence of disease and requires more than access to medical care. Wellness involves thriving and emphasizes physical activity, healthy eating, spiritual comfort and positive, supportive relationships.
"We felt compelled to better organize if we really want to implement effective strategies and make change happen," said Linda Greensfelder, the new chairwoman for Polk Fit, Fresh and Friendly.
Polk Wellness Center is at Columbus Professional Center, 801 W. Mills St., Columbus, and has an office using physicians, physician assistants, therapists and support staff to offer comprehensive health and wellness services to Polk County and surrounding areas.
PF3 reorganized with a board of volunteers who've agreed to serve one- to three-year terms and work with any of the four action teams that continue to meet to address concerns identified in the last Community Health Assessment: Access to Care; Wellness Promotion; Obesity; and Mental Health/Substance Abuse.
The board and action teams meet monthly, while the full group and sub-committees meet quarterly for networking and brainstorming.
The next meeting of the full coalition will be at noon Jan. 26 at the new DSS building. For more information, call 828-894-2408.
Compiled from staff reports
Health Briefs: WHN to administer Medicaid plan
WHN to administer Medicaid plan


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Facing my Fears: Afraid to Travel
We are strong believers that slow travel is the best way to see the world. We don't like rushing through every city and country gathering stamps in our passport.
That's why we choose to work abroad while on our adventures. It allows us to travel for longer. It is why we lived in Jasper National Park for a year before choosing our European base in Edinburgh.
Our original idea was to stay a few months in different places to experience a part of the globe before skipping off to the next destination.
That was two years ago.
Before I knew it our temporary destination has become our home away from home. The driver on my bus to work knows my name. I recognize people in my local supermarket.
And now that we are facing the possibility of leaving I find myself scared. I am too attached to leave, but don't really want to stay.
I am afraid to travel.
How did this happen to us? When did we forget our travel purpose of being temporary residents in a city?
In hindsight I made a few mistakes.
I found a really good group of friends. I am in a job I really enjoy and could easily see myself here in five years time. I have even scoped out a local coffee shop with a gorgeous chocolate cake on the menu.
In essence I have made myself a life here. And now I feel like I am going to be leaving home for the second time.
But as I sit here writing this post, I can see our motivation in the background. A giant map of the world. And I am reminded that Edinburgh is a very small part of that world. There are so many places I still want to see.
And moving isn't all that bad.
Moving to a new place is exciting. Exploring new neighborhoods, eating at new restaurants and finding secret views for the first time.
It can be so easy to lose sight of your travel goals. That is why travelling as a couple is so great. We can remind each other of our purpose.
Cole is great at cheering me up when I start to get sad about leaving. But all it takes is a small reference to a city on my
bucket list dream list and I am dreaming of the future in a new destination…
This might become our next temporary home.
So as I finish this article I am happier than when I started writing. I cannot call myself a traveller if I am not facing my fears and I am reminded that the world really is our oyster. We have so many great adventures ahead of us to experience.
While it will be hard, it will be worth it.
All we have to do is take the leap.
This is a post from a series called Facing my Fears. It helps us to step outside our comfort zone, in comfort. Check out the rest of the series here.


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Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Project
Indeed, the high school and college years are probably the last years when this is possible. Which brings me to my thesis for today, one that I hope the readers of Gifted Exchange will help me develop over the next few weeks.
I think it is extremely important for gifted children -- not just the profoundly gifted ones -- but perhaps kids who score in the top 5% or so on standardized tests, to have a Big Project during high school.
While there are a lot of reform efforts going on in US education, much of it remains, shall we say, pointless for people who function a reasonable distance from the mean. You spend years learning material you could learn in weeks if you tried, and you often see no point to it, aside from vague societal pronouncements that education is important, and you should stay in school (say this while patting child on the head).
Good high schools often have reasonable classes, such as the AP franchise, which has so far resisted watering down. But still, you can get mired in the day to day. Humans in general, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has postulated, are happiest when they are in the "flow." (Read one article about the new science of happiness here). They are working hard -- absolutely absorbed -- in something that is reasonably challenging, but enjoyable. They are stretched to the extent of their capacities, but not frustratingly beyond.
A big project can hit this sweet spot. For me, I am happiest when I have figured out the thesis of a longer piece and am cranking away writing it (or editing my novel -- I just finished one and am looking for test readers if anyone is interested in giving feedback...). The Davidson Fellows spoke yesterday of their hours in the lab, their hours at the piano bench, these hours which don't seem like hours when you love what you are doing. Rick Warren talks of the Purpose-Driven Life. A Big Project can give a young person a sense of purpose during what is often an alienating stage of life -- when you are old enough to think as an adult, but not old enough for society to treat you as one.
Some young people -- like some of the Davidson Fellows -- think to take on these projects on their own. But most people don't. Some high schools now have multi-year research programs that try to guide students into finding these kinds of projects, and finding the kinds of mentors who can offer effective advice and support. These don't always work well. The Indiana Academy in theory had a research program -- I started it trying to do humanities research and it really just got lost in the shuffle (and gave me the one C ever on my transcripts). But creative writing classes with an emphasis on longer works could also step into the void. As it is, these classes tend to assign short stories because they're easier to workshop, even though there is no real market for short stories in the real world.
The point is -- young people need time and guidance to create the kinds of Big Projects that can give their teen years a purpose. As a side benefit, these projects tend to look awesome on college applications and can often be entered in contests like Davidson and the Intel Science Talent Search. A cynic might say that the rise of Big Projects among high schoolers is solely a function this -- and of parents pushing their kids to do something that stands out on a college application and confers bragging rights. We should just relax in high school, this school of thought goes. There's plenty of time for work afterwards.
The parental pressure worry has merit. The best projects are student initiated. As Barbi Frank, head of the extremely successful John F. Kennedy High School research program told me the other day, she tells parents, "suggest different topics, but don't make it your passion. Children need to be passionate about it because they're the ones who are going to be putting all these hours into it for next 3 years."
But I don't think it matters that some kids do these projects to win awards or write better college applications. The real world is all about incentives. As readers of this blog know, I'm no fan of Alfie Kohn's punished-by-rewards philosophy. If incentives nudge a few more kids to try a big project (and indeed, about half of the Davidson Fellows said that the possibility of winning an award affected their decision to do their project) then that's great. Big Projects teach children how to set a goal, break it into small steps, and develop the self-discipline to execute on each step.
These are life skills. Our world will be better off if more children learn these skills at a young age.
6 comments:
Laura writes:
The real world is all about incentives. As readers of this blog know, I'm no fan of Alfie Kohn's punished-by-rewards philosophy.
Oh, no. I just posted a reference to Alfie's book last week. I am a fan. I read that book when my daughter was in 3rd grade and it changed my life. I was already headed in that direction, having read "How to Talk to your Kids so they will Listen and How to Listen so your Kids will Talk."
Kohn really inspired and guided me. I remember arguing with a friend of mine about this years ago. She thought I was crazy and bribed the kids for everything, from cleaning their rooms to doing their homework. Shall we say it didn't work and backfired.
I'm off topic but just thought I'd comment on "Punished by Rewards." The only difficulty it's caused me is that if you adhere to it, you are forever swimming upstream. But it's well worth it.
Just my :03 (inflation, you know). To each his own. I only wish the school system would stop with all the bribes and rewards, especially when it's food. Our local paper just did a piece on this, how some school districts are banning candy as bribe.
Correction. The book I referenced by Faber-Mazlish is "How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids will Talk." I knew that. It was my favorite parenting book, I read it when DD was two.
They have a sequel to that landmark book, "How to Talk So Teens Will Listen & Listen So Teens Will Talk."
- The Princess Mom said...
I'm afraid I'm an Alfie Kohn fan, too. Speaking from personal experience (as a gifted kid and mother of gifted kids), it's fairly easy to recognize that bribes are all about manipulating the student into doing something you expect them not to want to do. It might work with toddlers, but show me one gifted preteen who is willing to allow themselves to be manipulated, even toward an end they would work for on their own. Not going to happen. You immediately start to wonder why the bribe is necessary and then, why the briber won't let you make up your own mind about the idea...
Get a strong-willed preteen and if the parent even appears to endorse an activity the child already enjoys, it becomes tainted. BTH1 (Been there, have one). This is where the underachievement spiral starts--the perception that the student should work to please a disrespectful teacher (because the student isn't actually learning anything). Throw in a teacher who thinks rewards like grades and behavior modification techniques are better for changing student behavior than respect, and it's a recipe for academic disaster.
I think getting kids involved in a Big Project is a good idea, but that requires mentors and mentors, even in high school, are hard to come by. A history teacher can't be expected to mentor all 100 of his/her students. Even the Big Project is only available to the gifted kids (which it shouldn't be because most gifted programs are only for globally gifted kids, not kids who are mostly bright but gifted in a particular subject. BTH1, too), the burden of mentoring so many students would increase the teacher's workload ten times.
The problem with Kohn's writings, starting with No Contest (his first book in that vein, before Punished by Rewards), is that he broadly classifies educational tracking and special classes for gifted students, labeling children as "gifted", and even computing GPAs to determine class valedictorians, as unjust "rewards". In his view using terms such as "gifted" and treating children accordingly is just as bad as bribing children to do chores and the like. That's related to the crux of the problem many gifted students face in their public school systems: the notion that it is somehow "elitist" to give them anything, such as advanced work, that other students don't get. Why, that's unfair! Waaaahhhhh!
- Kevin said...
Actually, bribes work pretty well with my 12-year-old. We reward him with computer time when he finishes a section of homework, for example. There are other ways to spin it, of course, but we describe it as a bribe.
He often negotiates for bribes---what he would like in return for what we want him to do. The bribes he wants are most often time (15 minutes later bedtime, extra computer time, ...). In most cases the time he requests is substantially less than the time we would spend struggling to get him to do things if we didn't offer bribes.
I'm not a big fan of rewards for everything, but I'm also not a big fan of Alfie Kohn's never rewarding anything. We do try to make praise and bigger rewards (like a new book) be tied to things that are difficult (like getting up, getting dressed, and eating breakfast), not for things that are easy (like getting As).
Kevin, I hear you and I respect your views although they are different from mine. Regardless, I never could bring myself to bribe. And it's not as if I couldn't use a little help, make our lives easier. I admit, I was influenced early on by Alfie Kohn's "Punished by Rewards," but even more importantly, "How to Talk so Kids will Listen and How to Listen so Kids will Talk," by Faber-Mazlish.
Maybe it's my curse. I always take the harder way. I seem to veer to swimming upstream, by that I mean, swimming against the currrent zeitgeist. My sense has always been the long slow way is the enduring way. For us. Quick fixes are just that, I don't see it as a long term solution.
I respect your views. But I can't help believing, based on what I've seen, that all those bribes are lazy parenting. And taking the easy way out.
I agree with Princess Mom. Gifted kids are so smart, they see through the bribe right away. You bribe, you taint it. And I have vast evidence as I look around me to prove that point.
While I'm willing to at least listen to the other side, I never felt schools did. Especially public school. So heavy on rewards and punishments by introducing grades way too soon and even rewarding children for doing something altruistic. Even when I made my discomfort known, diplomatically, respectfully, it was never considered. Bribes are the easy way out for teachers.
I feel for a teacher, it's hard work. I've done it too. I also substituted at my daughter's private school. One boy was very disruptive so the teacher warned me in advance, threaten to take away recess when he gives you trouble. I came to hate that threat. The disruptive child might quiet down for a few minutes and then you are right back where you started from.
If you're a teacher and looking for alternatives to punishment,there are better ways and Faber-Mazlish have a companion book for teachers. It should be required reading for every teacher. And the threat of losing recess, the stick teachers dangle? Great. The disruptive child just missed recess. Now he's angrier and more pumped than ever. Oh, yea, he'll make a model student all afternoon! Remember, the kids who miss recess the most need it the most!
I'm also deeply against rewarding for what the child already is doing without a struggle. Behaviorists love rewards becusae they seem so easy. Of course your child wants the reward, conventional thinkign goes, so he'll do whatever you say in order to get it. But it doesn't exactly work that way. It can turn kids off to learning and hijack the very concept you are trying to instill.
Take reading. Gifted kids especially are such ravenous readers, for the most part. Mine certainly is. Therefore, there was no way I was going to encourage Accelerated Reader. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. At best it would do no harm so why take the risk? She didn't need the encouragement, she was already reading every spare second. I didn't tell her not to take AR tests, I just never reminded her and she blissfully forgot.
The only time I had a slight pang about AR was the last day of school, the awards ceremony. My daughter, unquestionably, was the the most prolific reader in that school. I know becuase she would do that instead of homework (yes, I know, bribes might have worked but we did other things. Besides which, I tried the bribes as an experiment, they worked once or twice and then we were back to nagging) and read in class. She read all the time. She never got the award becuase she barely took any AR tests, she'd be reading instead.
Momentary pang subsided. We'd live. I would tell her later, you're reading, and that's the reward!
I have friends who are convinced that if they don't slap that "Proud parent of an honor student at Anytown Middle School" bumper sticker on their car, their child will begin to falter. Our parents never paid us to get good grades. Let's think about that one for a moment. What values are we instilling here?


text: Show Hide image 26 January 2015 Sneaking Snooper's Charter in by the back door is the best argument yet for abolishing the Lords The House of Lords is meant to be a place where those with specialist knowledge and experience can offer suggestions or amendments of how to improve the bills the Commons puts through - not remove our fundamental freedoms on a whim. Print HTML Today sees a debate in the House of Lords over a government surveillance bill - but not just any debate, though. It's going to feature some "outrageous trickery", in the words of Green peer Jenny Jones, thanks to the machinations of four peers late last week. Amendments made by four peers - including former Met commissioner Ian Blair - to the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill would give the intelligence services the same powers that the long-quashed Snooper's Charter once included, but which were blocked by Nick Clegg in 2013. (Ironically, one of the peers introducing the new amendments today is Lord Carlile, a Lib Dem peer.) The last-minute addition of serious changes to the right to privacy of the average British citizen has outraged campaign groups and parliamentarians. The Open Rights Group has called it "an abuse of procedure", pointing out that the language used in the amendments has been lifted effectively unchanged from the earlier, rejected bill. Undoubtedly, part of the reason for this attempt to revive the zombie Draft Communications Bill (its proper name) is that there is a significant section of the political establishment which demands the powers it offers, and which has been stymied at doing things the conventional way. Those powers included: Compelling internet and communications companies to store all customer data for at least 12 months. That means every text, every call, every Snapchat and every webpage visited, kept in a database somewhere just in case it's needed for a police or security services investigation. Mandating "deep packet inspection" of internet traffic. Currently, your ISP only has access to the metadata relevant to your internet use, so the data about the data - the names of the sites you visit, how long you browse them, etc. Deep packet inspection would give GCHQ the right to examine every piece of data coming in and out of the UK, giving access to all but the most encrypted data. This technology is mainly used by other governments around the world, such as Iran's and China's, to suppress access to uncensored information and keep tabs on dissidents. The amendments introduced by the four peers for debate today deal with the first of these two changes, but already the speed and suddenness with which they were introduced has led to a split in the governing parties. Nick Clegg has again stated his and his party's opposition to the proposals, but the amendment has been given the best possible chance of avoiding proper parliamentary scrutiny - proposed on Thursday without warning, and submitted for a simple up/down vote, meaning that the debate on the floor of the Lords today is the only chance for any hurriedly-formed coalition to oppose it. It's a profoundly undemocratic move, especially considering the severe criticism these policies were given when assessed by a joint parliamentary select committee for a year when the original bill was proposed. Lord Blencathra has written to Lord King (one of the group of four who proposed the 18 pages of amendments) to make it clear that the committee he chaired "found fault with nearly every part of it", calling it "too sweeping" in its powers. The cost of forcing private companies to keep all of this data - and the cost if there was a leak - has been estimated into the billions. The justification given by this group of peers for their actions is that the security services have asked for these powers, which is not in itself good enough. In the wake of the terrorist attacks on Paris earlier this month, the Electronic Frontier Foundation was among those groups who warned that they may be used as justification by the security services for reducing personal liberties even more, with rushed legislative action like this. They were right to worry. By doing this, though, these peers demonstrate just what a rotten thing the House of Lords is. In a way, the Snooper's Charter is exactly the kind of legislation that befits such an institution - both hacked at over and over by opponents but never quite killed, staggering on purely because the will to survive is too strong to allow taking them behind the toolshed and put them out of their misery. Acting like the House of Lords in its current state is anything other than a bodge job put in place by Tony Blair's Labour government, and that finishing the job was never a high enough priority on the agenda for the next decade, is an absurdity. Whatever expertise peers bring to the legislative process doesn't outweigh the threat that unelected, unaccountable friends of other unelected, unaccountable parts of the political establishment can shape legislation like this. › "A decision for them": Ed Miliband's notably cautious reaction to Syriza's win Ian Steadman is a staff science and technology writer at the New Statesman. He is on Twitter as @iansteadman. Subscribe from just £1 per issue More Subscription offer 12 issues for £12 + FREE book LEARN MORE Close This week's magazine