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Another cloud storage option - Copy.com - 54 views
shared by anonymous on 22 Nov 13 - No Cached
anonymous on 22 Nov 13My Dropbox is nearly full but I just came across this service, copy.com, that gives 15GB to start and 5GB additional for each referral. Very generous!
Tony Vlachakis on 02 Dec 13Hollington,
Thanks for the tip on Copy.com. I will join and add to my cloud storage options. I recently used https://mover.io/ to move files from my nearly full dropbox to my box account. Mover.io is a great service. They start you off with 10 GB of transfer throughput, then you need to pay. Mover.io supports 22 cloud storage services, including Copy.com.
Copy - 78 views
shared by Martin Burrett on 28 Sep 13 - No Cached
Martin Burrett on 28 Sep 13More and more people are throwing away their USB memory sticks (but probably just losing them down the back of the sofa) in favour of cloud storage. This is a wonderful storage site, download and multi-platform app which is very similar to Dropbox. A synced folder sits on you devices and can be updated and accessed from any device. You can generating a url to share folders or files with other people. It works just fine on a computer with Dropbox already installed and the free account gives you 15GB of storage. That's enough storage where 'tidy' filing schools might begin to migrate their school network storage to the cloud for free - and that's exciting. Additional storage is available for a price.
New flow battery could enable cheaper, more efficient energy storage - 28 views
shared by Jac Londe on 19 Aug 13 - No Cached
Datamation Carts and Cabinets for Google Chromebooks - 28 views
shared by Jeremy Brueck on 13 Jun 13 - No Cached
nomadedu - 3 views
shared by Dimitris Tzouris on 04 Oct 12 - No Cached
The History of Digital Storage [INFOGRAPHIC] - 96 views
shared by Mrs. Lail2 on 26 Sep 12 - No Cached
Box | Simple Online Collaboration: Online File Storage, FTP Replacement, Team Workspaces - 26 views
shared by Dimitris Tzouris on 15 Sep 12 - No Cached
Amazon Cloud Drive - 52 views
shared by Martin Burrett on 10 May 12 - No Cached
Martin Burrett on 10 May 12Store up to 5GB of any type of file online for free with Amazon.
Google Drive vs. Dropbox, SkyDrive, SugarSync, and others: a cloud sync storage face-of... - 9 views
shared by Andrew Smith on 07 May 12 - No Cached
Grab 50GB of Free Storage for Life on Box by Using the Android App - 89 views
shared by ExergameLab on 24 Feb 12 - No Cached
Droplr * Hello - 7 views
shared by Tonya Thomas on 23 Feb 12 - No Cached
Dropbox: A Review - 138 views
shared by Bochi 23 on 18 Feb 12 - No Cached
Bochi 23 on 18 Feb 12Still don't know about one of the greatest digital tools ever? Check out this review of Dropbox.
channel - education - BagTheWeb - 6 views
shared by Carol Mortensen on 06 Nov 11 - No Cached
Carol Mortensen on 06 Nov 11urate Web content to make your own topic bags. Publish and share your expertise. Bagging is teaching and learning.
DROPitTOme - Receive files from anyone to your Dropbox - 94 views
shared by Martin Burrett on 24 Sep 11 - No Cached
Martin Burrett on 24 Sep 11Drop It To Me creates a link to your DropBox account allowing anyone with your email and a protective password to add files. Great when sending files too large for email.
DivShare - Professional Media and Document Sharing - 28 views
shared by Glenda Baker on 01 Sep 11 - Cached
Martin Burrett on 01 Sep 11A file and media hosting site where you can upload upto 5GB of your videos, office documents, MP3s and more and view them on the go. Embed your media and documents on to your site.
Glenda Baker on 06 Oct 11Looking for hosting options for mp3 - need to share, play and download
Send To Dropbox - Email files to your Dropbox! - 55 views
shared by jeffery heil on 05 Aug 11 - Cached
Screencast.com - 4 views
shared by Martin Burrett on 26 Jul 11 - Cached
Martin Burrett on 26 Jul 11A great way to store and share files online. Use online or the desktop app. Store up to 2GB.
AirSet - Your Cloud Computer - 1 views
shared by Martin Burrett on 24 Jul 11 - Cached
Martin Burrett on 24 Jul 11This site is a cross of a virtual desktop and an online storage site. Store up to 100MB of files for free and access them across many different types of devices.
SugarSync - File Sync & Online Backup - 3 views
shared by Martin Burrett on 18 Jul 11 - Cached
Martin Burrett on 11 Aug 11A good, easy to use site which syncs and stores files from your computer or mobile devices to access anywhere and act as backup. Just setup it up and forget about it until you need it. Stores 5GB for free.


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Windows 8 with the Metro user interface.
Microsoft first used the Metro user interface in full with the Windows Phone platform, which first started with Windows Phone 7, which was a replacement for the aging Windows Mobile platform, that was far behind the competition; primarily being Apple, Google and Research In Motion (which has their BlackBerry mobile products and operating system platform). Metro is a very interesting user interface and fun to use. It has the simplest user interface elements possible, while being incredibly slick, in addition with the smooth and consistent animations when scrolling, opening and closing apps.
Metro is coming to Windows. And that means, the Windows for computers.
Windows 8 was first unveiled with the Metro user interface last year. It looked evidently strikingly similar to Windows Phone, and it looked great. And while it is definitely a massive paradigm shift for Windows, with the user interface primarily switching to Metro, which is a radical change, what is interesting is the fact that Microsoft is also allowing you to switch to the conventional desktop, primarily to run applications that aren't Metro apps. And Metro apps are also only going to be available via the Windows Store as well, which sparks a debate as to whether it is too Apple-like. While I like that my iPad is secure and there is a vibrant App Store with tens of thousands of great apps, I don't want to have to rely on Microsoft approving apps to be allowed to install them in the first place. Unless Microsoft has clear and concise requirements for Metro apps to be submitted and made available in the App Store, with at least some form of democratic process among developers, it begs to be concerned as to whether eventually, with future versions of Windows, you won't be able to run traditional Windows applications that aren't made using and with the Metro UI.
However, positively, Windows 8 is a massive shift for the entire product and it makes sense what Steve Ballmer referred last year as the "riskiest product bet yet". It is incredibly risky, and kudos to Microsoft for taking a bet to innovate with Windows 8 that hasn't been seen for many years. Of course, Windows 7 was and is a great version of Windows; but Windows 8 seems like the riskiest and most exciting upcoming release of Windows for a long time. And it has the innovative Metro user interface that primarily is interacted with using touch-enabled computers.
Going onto the Metro user interface with Windows 8.
As I had said before, it is interesting as to why Microsoft is allowing you the option of also going to the traditional desktop user interface, alongside Metro. It seems as if most apps that we will have installed will be traditional apps using the traditional Windows desktop environment, and when we upgrade computers, all of those apps will be installed. Switching between traditional apps and Metro apps seems cumbersome; but I am sure from the start Microsoft will make sure there are plenty of Metro apps available by allowing developers to submit Metro apps to the Windows Store before Windows 8 is released to the public.
However, that said, I hope there will be a wealth of free apps available in the Windows Store, and that open source software will also be allowed in the Windows Store, because there is plenty of open source Windows applications we may likely use every day that I hope those developers can make available with the Metro UI for submission and availability in the Windows Store.
So, what is the issue with Windows 8?
Microsoft has promised that they will make using a keyboard and mouse easier throughout Metro, because in the developer preview, if you have a lot of apps open, it is cumbersome switching between various open Metro and traditional-desktop apps, and it feels incredibly unnatural to use a keyboard and mouse to use Metro. However, with that said, I do think as Windows 8 is released, new form factors of notebooks and desktop computers (such as monitors and all-in-one computers) will come out from various manufacturers under partnership with Microsoft, alongside pure tablet computers as well, that can perhaps be docked to use with an external keyboard and mousefor those times where using the touchscreen is inadequate.
While the only input method for the iPad is the touchscreen, I think for proper computers, the primary input method will likely be touch, but for the times where touch technology is either inadequate or unprecise, then a mouse can probably be connected (or either if the mouse is used via Bluetooth technology, for example). I think people can have the best of both worlds, and this is what Microsoft is trying to push with Windows. Already have a computer with Windows 7, with a keyboard and mouse? No problem, use Windows 8 with solely your keyboard and mouse – it'll work just as perfect as would a touchscreen-enabled device.
I think Windows 8 could be a winner. And I think it'll come before Apple has anything similar, and I do think Apple has the same vision in mind – that touchscreen-enabled devices of sorts are the future of computers. People are concerned that mobile-based UIs will come in future versions of Windows and Mac OS X, and while this is the case with Metro, where it feels more like a mobile UI (because it is Metro), I think the iPad is locked-down and uncustomisable in part because it is purely a mobile device. Whereas Windows 8 is for proper computers, and I think Microsoft are keenly aware of this.

subset: commoncrawl


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[The purpose of the Digest is informative. Preference is given to papers not generally accessible to our readers. Quotation does not indicate approval.-Editor.]
The fallacies of racial inferiority theories, which have played a part in motivating the movement in favor of "Nordics" and against other immigrants, are brought out in the "Current History" magazine of February, by Prof. Franz Boas, noted anthropologist of Columbia University. Tracing the intermixtures of the various races in Europe and Asia through intermarriage, and analyzing the effects of heredity, environment and selection on the constitution of populations. Prof. Boas attacks the contentions of Prof. C. C. Brigham, who, by means of intelligence tests, arrived at the conclusion that Italian immigrants who came here twenty years ago were much superior to the immigrants who came here recently. Prof. Boas writes, in part:
"He (Prof. Brigham) concluded from his observation that the hereditary quality of the immigrant has been constantly going down during the last twenty years. The most superficial investigation of these individuals shows the baselessness of such an assertion. Many Italian families that have lived here for twenty years are thoroughly assimilated, certainly the younger individuals are assimilated in language and to a great extent also in habits. Recent immigrants, on the other hand, find themselves in a strange environment to which they are not accustomed, and, therefore, tests that are essentially based on the experiences of American city life must be strange to them. There is little doubt that the observations made by Dr. Brigham simply express the gradual process of assimilation of immigrants and have nothing whatever to do with what might be called hereditary intelligence.
"I believe all our best psychologists recognize clearly that there is no proof that the intelligence tests give us an actual insight into the biologically determined functioning of the mind. They indicate the ability of the individual to perform certain actions which are ordinarily recognized as making for success in our city life. How far the reaction of the individual may be modified by individual experience and how far it may be determined by his organic structure cannot be determined by tests of this type. There is no doubt that both elements enter into the result, and in extreme cases, among decidedly abnormal individuals, the organic basis is readily recognized, but among normal individuals a separation of the social and of the organic element cannot be made by the results of mental testing.
"The lack of clarity in regard to this whole ? is based essentially upon the failure to distinguish between genealogical or family lines and racial groups. Although in the former we do find material differences between various strains, anatomically as well as functionally, it is impossible to generalize and to claim the same kind of differences between nationalities; for in every single case the national groups contain a great many similar or even identical strains.
"On this ground we may dismiss as entirely unfounded the arguments based upon an assumption of inferior ability of various European and Asiatic groups. There is no reason to suppose that from the present migration from all parts of Europe and from many parts of Asia there will result an inferior mixed population. All historical, biological and sociological considerations point to the conclusion that we have at present merely a repetition on a large scale of the phenomena of mixture from which have sprung the present European nations."
The N. Y. "Times" of yesterday, discussing the opinion of Prof Brigham, Prof. Boas and Prof. Neifeld, who wrote on the subject in the "American Journal of Sociology," observes:
"Prof. Franz Boas takes exception to Brigham's conclusion that Italian immigrants in the last twenty years have shown a steady decline in native intelligence. Mr. Neifeld questions Brigham's broader conclusion that the inferior standing of the newer immigration as revealed in the army intelligence tests is probably due to a shift in the character of immigration from predominantly Nordic to predominantly Alpine and Mediterranean.
"What Boas and Neifeld both reject is the broad racial generalization for Nordics, Alpines and Mediterraneans in their native habitat. It is their contention that the swift are not always to any particular race."
Richard Starr Untermeyer, Yale University sophomore, son of Louis Untermeyer, noted poer and critic, and Mrs. Jean Starr Untermeyer took his life by hanging yesterday in his rooms in Welch Hall.
He left no explanation. It is believed that he was despondent over a letter of rebuke from his mother, who criticized him for overdrawing his bank account.
Marshal Pilsudski, Premier of Poland, has established a sub-ministry for minorities, an Associated Press despatch from Warsaw states. It will concentrate on settlement of all minority problems.
Colonel Slanek was appointed head of the ministry.


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Our friend Adam looks forward to visiting us in New England in late June because for a brief time the stars align to make The Triple Treasure a breakfast possibility. The homemade concoction mixes three cereals (whatever's on the shelf) with freshly picked strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Bland, cross-country shipped berries won't cut it either; fresh berries are the linchpin.
All this came to mind recently when we heard some CRM news from General Mills. The Minneapolis-based food giant has begun testing a new consumer program and website that lets people create their own cereal blends and mixes. MyCereal (www.mycereal.com) is now restricted to a group of testers who can mix General Mills favorites, such as Cheerios, Chex and Kix, with dried fruit and nuts, and order the custom blend online. With General Mills' vast array of cereals and add-ins, the possible combinations exceed 1 million, says Greg Zimprich, a senior PR manager at General Mills.
Consider the possibilities: Count Chocula, Cocoa Puffs and Nesquik cereals together. Or mix Frankenberry, Trix, Kaboom and Lucky Charms!
Once a tester picks her blend, General Mills assembles it using a secret process and ships one serving that arrives two to four days later. The price runs $1 per serving. "We hope to gain valuable consumer insight into trends in taste and health and nutrition patterns, [while] evaluating the effectiveness of a variety of different marketing levers," Zimprich says.
So far General Mills hasn't set a date for wider availability of the program, so it looks like we're still on our own for The Triple Treasure.
This story, "Taking Customers Cereally" was originally published by CIO.


text:
In this year when VALUES count again: Get More Out Of Travel!
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This is a new group for those interested in the DOING of
writing. Do you need an assigned topic? Do you need deadlines to
help get you motivated? This group is dedicated to writing family stories
for sharing with family members to ensure they don't get lost.
The September topic is a memorable
Christmas or other holiday. Set the scene: Who was there? When
and where was the holiday celebrated?
Then tell what happened that made
the day memorable. Include, where appropriate, sensory images: colors and shapes, sounds, odors, tastes (of holiday dishes), and perhaps touch
Be sure to tell why this day stands
out in your memory. It may be because of the event itself, or perhaps
something that happened later gave it extra meaning.
Print up 3 copies of your narrative for sharing with others. Your audience will have the opportunity to make suggestions for
improvement as well as to enjoy your story before you share it with your
Copyright © 2002-2015, Computer-Assisted Genealogy Group of Northern IllinoisAll rights reserved.
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text:
Amanda Seyfried Enjoys a Poolside Vacation in Florida (PHOTOS)
Amanda Seyfried!It's a weekend full of sun, bikinis, and icy cold drinks for
Sporting a grey bikini top and short-shorts, Amanda hits the pool in Miami, FL this Saturday. The Dear John actress laughed with friends as she munched on sno-cones in the sun. Amanda even had time to lounge by the pool with a book!
It looks like Seyfried is working hard and playing hard. She recently wrapped up a European promotional tour for her movie, In Time. Check her out and about with co-star Justin Timberlake below!


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Scarring + Scar Removal Q&A
Restylane Vs Fraxel Laser for Chicken Pox Scars?
I have two crater-like scars (3-4mm wide, 1mm deep) on my forehead from chicken pox. Would Restylane injection help lifting up the depressed surface... READ MORE
How to Remove Forehead Scar Tissue Under Skin Without Creating Additional Scars?
About 5 years ago, I fell & broke my nose. My glasses slid up into my forehead, creating two furrow marks vertically on the tops of my eyebrows.... READ MORE
Bad Bellybutton Piercing Scar/closed Up Overnight?
After less than a year, I left out the ring overnight and it closed mostly up. I thought I could repierce it in the shower, when skin was softer.... READ MORE
I'm 24 yrs old and recently had an intense flea infestation at home and now I can't see my legs without crying. Help? (photos)
I would like to know if there is any way my legs can ever look normal again, and if so, how? The bites have healed but horrible scarring is all over... READ MORE
Belly button scar ripped out/ rejecting. What's the best way to get rid of it preferably no laser? (photo)
I got my belly button pierced a few years ago in 2011. During my senior year of high school in 2012 it ripped out, I was the goalie on the soccer team... READ MORE
How Do I Best Treat a Bite Mark to Face (photo)?
I was bitten by a friends dog 4 weeks ago and my scar is still really raised, the area swollen and quite hard and sometimes sore. I've been told to... READ MORE
Is this PIH, PIE, or simply scarring? Photos included. Seeking treatment for legs. (photos)
Hi there! I have extremely sensitive skin. I would knick myself often.. These brown spots are left behind wherever my skin takes damage have it be a... READ MORE
I have chickenpox one week before. I got some scars on my face. Is there any treatment or medicine to remove scars?
How do I get rid of these "scars" and does neosporin help it? (photos)
I have oily sensitive skin and prone to acne Anyways I got acne in these spots and I thought they would go away by themselves (I normally pick at them... READ MORE
There is something wrong with my bellybutton piercing? (photo)
I got my bellybutton pierced last year and it rejected because the last pierced it the wrong way I later found out. And I just got it repierced this... READ MORE
How can I get rid of an old, black, eczema scars on my thighs? (photo)
Hello, I'm a 16 year old teenage girl. Many years ago, I had a severe chronic rash on both of my back thighs. Today, the rash has stopped but it's... READ MORE
How Do I Prevent from Getting a Scar?
Baby fell and cut his nose on the border of a drawer and cut a little open READ MORE
How often can subcision be done?
I had several subscisions done about 8 years ago. I would like to know if having more is effective of if there is a max amount you can have. I have... READ MORE
I Had Radiation on my Neck/face15 Years Ago- I Look Very Old... What Can I Do to Look my Age of 41? (photo)
When I was 23 I was diagnosed with oral cancer. 3 years later it came back& I received radiation to my neck& face. It was extremely aggressive... READ MORE
Pro bono surgery for facial trauma and scarring?
At 17 I was in a car accident where I hit the windshield. The result, significant scarring on my face. I've lived with these scars but hated everyday... READ MORE
How to get rid or fade away dog bite scarring on my upper lip from a decade ago? (photos)
When I was younger I was attacked by a dog which left me with permanent scarring on my upper lip (both left and right side) I've tried numerous... READ MORE
I Have Skin Infection in Last 2 Years Now It is Alright but How I Can Remove my Scar on Leg Cause Due to Fungal Infection?
Is keyline scarring genetic ? Also what exactly is keyline scaring? I know it has something to do with the scar tissue. (photo)
My sister has it and i was wondering that if I too had the surgery then would I also have it READ MORE
How Can I Get Rid of These Scars ? I Want to Remove These Scars Completely Please Recommend Me Some Treatment? (photo)
I first got black heads when i was in school ( 17) and after that these blakheads joind hand with acnes (big and filled with puss and blood at the age... READ MORE
Buttock folliculitis and thigh boils and scarring please help! (photos)
Fer from horrible folliculitis and boils on my inner thighs and the crack of my buttocks. I've noticed that most of my outbreaks occur before or after... READ MORE


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Site created 12/15/97.
page created: 1/14/04
Chat Transcript: 20th Century Fox's
Peter Staddon on HTF
The following is a complete transcript of the on-line chat with with Peter Staddon of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, held on Monday, January 12th on
The Home Theater Forum
. Thanks to Ron Epstein, Parker Clack and everyone at HTF for all their hard work, and for providing the transcript for all to read. Enjoy!
Home Theater Forum
Subject: Live Chat with Peter Staddon
Date: January 12, 2004
[RonEpstein] At this time I'd like to introduce Peter Staddon from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Peter, many people know your name but may not know exactly what you do at Fox Entertainment. Perhaps you can better explain your job title.
[peterstaddon] Sure, I'm a senior vice president of marketing. I also oversee the development of all dvd product. I have a great job and get paid for looking at movies!! Ready for the questions, always a pleasure to chat with the HTF.
[RonEpstein] Let's open the floor to questions.
[Jessica] Hello - thanks for taking time to talk with us. I was wondering if there are any plans to release Remingtont Steele to DVD, now that Pierce Brosnan is Bond.
[peterstaddon] One of the guys in the office has been pestering us for six months straight to release Remmington, and we will be releasing it probably later this year. I hope you'll like it when we are done. Richard didn't put you up to that question did he ;)
[PatrickMcCart] Are there any plans to release "Sunrise" as a normal release? Also, any plans for the 1943 Oscar nominated "Holy Matrimony" or the 1935 Charles Laughton/Frederic March "Les Miserables"? "Matrimony" has been overlooked for decades, but it's a hilarious film. Also, the 1933 Best Picture winner, Cavalcade? Thank you for your time.
[peterstaddon] hi Patrick, no plans to release Sunrise as a stand alone at this point, but we might do something with it and cavalcade together later int he year as part of the studio classics. Les Miserables is a great film but we would struggle making it work commercially so I wouldn't hold your breath on that one which is a shame.
[Jacob] I know that the Garfield has not been release until this summer.. but can give a little preivew and hopefuly DTS.. Fox is still my number one DVD studio.. beautiful job on the Alien boxset!
[peterstaddon] Hi Jacob, it will be a big year for Garfield. Not just the movies but the TV show and the specials will start to make it out on DVD this year. In fact some of my team are meeting with jim davis in Indy today. No specific details on anything yet as it's way too early.
[GarethFlynn] Hi Peter, any word on season sets of the TV series Millennium? Thanks!
[peterstaddon] Hi Gareth, Millenium and Harsh realm will be out on DVD this year. The first season of millennium is some of the finest TV ever produced - in my humble opinion - and I'm glad we can finally bring it out on DVD.
[DavidLambert] Thanks for coming! As always I'm asking about plans for TV-DVDs. Fox did a great job shaking loose Roswell & In Living Color! What's being done to shake loose other hold-ups? Ex's: Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Wonder Years, WKRP, Batman, Gr. Hornet, Lone Gunmen, Space A&B, MTMoore S2, & Malcolm S2?
[peterstaddon] Hi David, most of the shows you mention have huge music clearance costs. WKRP is obviously music driven, but think of the music in a full season of Ally Mcbeal. We are working on reducing the costs but it's difficult to do that and retain the integrity of the show. Space A&B might be out in the not too distant future. Batman is tied up in legal and licensing rights hell. MTM2 is a possibility but no certain at this stage.
[PeterMFitzgerald] Good evening, Peter. Fox controls a staggering large amount of better-than-average "Film Noir" titles from the 1940s & 1950s, easily enough for its own DVD line (like Fox's "War Classics"). Any near-future plans for this sort of thing, or some Noir in the 2004 "Studio Classics" line (beyond the delayed LAURA)? Thanks also for finally releasing ONE MILLION YEARS B.C.!
[peterstaddon] Hi Peter, I'd love to get more of our film noir titles out there, and I beleive you'll start to see them coming out later this year. Thanks for the compliment on 1MYBC - the whole Raquel Welch pack looks great especially Myra Breckenridge.
[AgeeBassett] Any hope of seeing The Innocents, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and the much-neglected gem Zoo in Budapest any time soon? Thanks.
[peterstaddon] Hi Agee, if you had to pick one of those to see on DVD Ihope it would be "a tree grows in Brooklyn" as that's the only on ewe are doing any work on at the moment. I'll have to check out the innocents as I'm not that familiar with it.
[Tony-B1] Hey Peter! I want to compliment you for the great work that you do for Fox. Your work has made Fox my favorite DVD studio. Anyways, here's my question. What is the status on that Office Space Special Edition DVD? I'm sure you haven't heard that one before. ;)
[peterstaddon] It's on hold. I think there is a strong chance you'l see the sequel before you see the Special Edition. Mike is a busy guy - I'd love to be able to give you a date that we are releasing it as it would sell like crazy and be a really fun project to work on.
[MichaelSliger] Just curious to get some more info about the Millennium DVD release. There were some rumors last year claiming that there was some music clearance issues surrounding these episodes (presumably more a problem in Season 2, when more popular music tracks were integrated into the show). Any reality behind these rumors (and if so, is this why the series has taken a while to get out the door)? Thanks as always for chatting with us.
[peterstaddon] There were a number of reasons delaying the release. Part of it was waiting for TV DVD to take off and have a bigger audience for the set to sell against and part of it was waiting until we had the X Files finished. The music clearances on this one are nothing compared to some of the other titles, so that wasn't really a factor. I hope it sells as I pushed this through some sceptical people in the office.
[JohnTwardos] Hi Peter, great work as always. I was wondering on the status of the 300 Spartans DVD. THX.
[peterstaddon] Hi John, did you know that one of the co chairmen of the studio happens to be Greek and he has taken a special interest in both this title and Zorba the Greek, both of which will be coming out later this year. 300 Spartans is really a guilty pleasure of mine and it has never looked better than it does on the DVD. I would think it might make sense to release that on DV around the same time "Troy" is in theatres -what do you think ;).
[TomWoodward] Hi Peter, good to see you! I was just wondering if you could divulge a few details on the upcoming Master and Commander disc, which I believe is being produced by David Prior. Also, is there a firm release date for it yet? Thanks.
[peterstaddon] The release date is still being negotiated. The DVD itself is also still far from finalised. There may well be a fairly basic single disc release and a special edition 2 disc release at the same time. Our principle concern is the audio and video of the feature itself which will not disappoint anyone. It might even give my SVS subs a work out!! The DVD's are produced by David Prior who continues to do some of the best work in the industry.
[Haden] Hi Peter! Easy question... Can you confirm if or when we might be getting the following Special Editions in 2004: The Fly:SE (1986), Predator:SE, True Lies:SE, and Romancing the Stone:SE?
[peterstaddon] Predator SE - yes just in time for Alien Vs Predator, The Fly should make it into 2004 but no promises. True Lies is dependent on getting a number of very busy people together to work on it. I don't know if a sitting Governor has done a commentary track before, and Jim Cameron has a truly crazy schedule. I'd love to bring it out in 2004 but I'm not too hopeful.
[Matt_Goddard] Thanks, Ron. In your last chat, Peter, you said work on the Mel Brooks "To Be or Not to Be" was done, but that it was being held up "pending resolution of some other issues." That was late 2002. Anything changed? Regardless, Fox is one of the most reliable studios with great product and I know you're an advocate for we enthusiasts. So, thanks for all your hard work - it is appreciated!
[peterstaddon] We have a number of Mel Brooks films that are still being held up by some discussions going on at the studio, which is a shame as it's preventing them from hitting the market. However, on a positive note if they don't make it out in 2004 I'd be suprised.
[BenjaminDorsey] Thanks for being here!! Are there any plans to re-release the non-anamorphic Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals?
[peterstaddon] Hi Benjamin, not at this point, but as the costs of remastering are coming down and the market for these titles increasing it might be worth taking another look at this one. If you see them on the release schedule in a couple of months you can take credit for that fact!!
[jamesluckard] HI, I've noticed that Shining Through with Melanie Griffith has been released most everywhere else in the world, is there a rights issue? Also, any possibility of Two for the Road or Julia with Jane Fonda. Thanks so much.
[peterstaddon] Two for the road is being considered, and I think you may be right about the rights issue on Shining Through but I would have to check.
[CalvinWattsIII] Peter,thanks for being here - I second what Tony-B said about you & Fox! Anyways - any possibility yet of The Abyss with an anamorphic transfer?.. So,does Fox still own the rights to the X-Men animated series - any chance of season sets? Thank you very much!
[peterstaddon] Hi Calvin, Bad news first, no we don't own the rights to the X Men animated series - I believe it's Universal but I may be wrong. As far as the Abyss is concerned, I'm actually looking to see what it would take to justify an anamorphic re release as that would make the double disc set perfect in my opinion. If it can be done we will do it in 2004.
[Mike_Kickham] Hi Peter , Thanks for being here tonight & Ron too. Rumor has it that depending upon the success on LOST IN SPACE DVD Season 1 sales #'s - Season 2 would follow on DVD. If this is true , then would the following apply for possible 3rd season LIS on DVD depending upon Season 2 sales success? I ask this out of concern that Season 2 is considered the weakest of the 3 seasons and fear that a Season 3 release possibiliy will not happen if Season 2 does not sell well.
[peterstaddon] Hi mike, we'll wait and see how Lost in Space sells at retail. So far it looks encouraging but I'll hold off on any decision on seasons 2 and 3 until we have some better data.
[joe] Any chance of my favorite films coming - Prince of Foxes, The Egyptian, Untamed, Prince Valiant, Garden of Evil.
[peterstaddon] Prince Valliant would be a great studio classic title as would Garden of Evil, the other two aren't being worked on at this stage. thanks.
[Esten] Hey,Peter.Any horror titles lined up for this year,particularly "Terror Train" with Jamie Lee Curtis? Thanks. :)
[peterstaddon] Hi Esten, That one might well be in our Haloween promotion later this year. There are always a number of requests for it and we should probably just put it out and see how it does.
[martinB] Good evening! Tomorrow is Lost in Space day and I been waiting for years to get that show on DVD. There's just one thing bugging us French Canadians: why isn't french audio available for Lost in Space Season One DVD? That tv show was last seen in french on tv in 1981â?¦A lot of potential customers here in Quebec are sooo disappointed about that.
[peterstaddon] The honest truth is that I don't know why, but I do know there must be a reason as we try to be very supportive of French Canadians on our releases. I apologise, but I just don't know the answer to that one.
[JackHarasta] Hello, thanks again for 20 Million Years BC. Any plans for Romancing The Stone (20th Anv) or Kagemusha this year?
[peterstaddon] Hi Jack, I'd love to bring out Kagemusha on the same day as The Last Samurai, but alas it won't happen. We have licensed the rights to Kagemusha to someone else - maybe you can ask about it at the next HTF Chat;). No plans for Romancing the Stone SE. To be quite honest I didn't think there was that much demand for one but yours is the second question about it tonight.
[BobBlack] Hi Peter. Thanks for coming tonight. Great news about the special edition of Cronenberg's "The Fly". Any plans on revisiting Fort Apache The Bronx, Home Alone, Commando, or History Of The World with new anamorphic transfers? And what about the status of High Anxiety and Eating Raoul? Thanks for your time.
[peterstaddon] Where to start? The Fly should be out in late 2004. History of the World and High Anxiety are ready to go pending the resolution of some issues at the studio, Fort Apache isn't being worked on. Home Alone could be an SE sometime down the road but we aren't working on it at this point. Commando and Eating Raoul are not being worked on either at this stage.
[matt_hankinson] Any chance for remasters of 9 to 5, Towering Inferno or Poseidon Adventure?
[peterstaddon] Hi Matt, Towering Inferno and Poseidon Adventure have some rights issues which will prevent us from working on them at this point. 9 to 5 is not being remastered, I wasn't aware of any problems with the existing master.
[NickGraham] I'm probably gonna get some groans for this, but despite already owning and loving the Alien Quadrilogy, I'd gladly pay for an uncut version of the documentaries, or at least knowing why they were cut. Also, any chance we'll finally get Tales From The Crypt this Halloween after last Halloween's straight to tape only line-up? Thanks for taking your off time to chat with us, and I'm looking forward to Daredevil 1.5 in the spring/summer.
[peterstaddon] The short answer is there is no chance of seeing the uncut docs.
[JeffUlmer] Hi Peter, thanks for coming. You had mentioned at a previous chat that Russ Meyer's Beyond the Valley of the Dolls was to have an announcement coming with the speculation on the net that this was going to be sublicenced to a certain Collection. Can you comment on the status of this and the other films mentioned at that time? How about a repromotion of Zardoz in giant head packaging ala Battlestar Galactica (just joking)! Looking forward to the Raquel Welch box. I'd be up for a Romancing the Stone SE. Keep those cool discs coming. Cheers!
[peterstaddon] Beyond the Valley may wel be getting the SE treatment either from us or Criterion in th enot too distant future. There is talk about remaking the original film which would give this DVD the impetus it needs. The Zardoz /Gallactica suggestion nearly made me lose my coffee!!
[Nils_Luehrmann] Peter, First of all thank you for your generosity in sharing your time with us this evening and your tremendous support of DVD. Kudos on the new Alien Box Set and your terrific Studio Classics Series. Considering the rapid development of HiDef DVD and the roll-out of both Blu-Ray Disc and HD-DVD players, what are Fox's plans regarding this highly anticipated new DVD format and how soon can we hope to see HiDef DVD releases from Fox?
[peterstaddon] Hi Def DVD is probably the biggest strategic issue facing all studios at the moment. The first thing we need to be clear about is that we will insist on copy protection standards before committing to support any new format. We are in regular discussions with the Blu Ray group as well as the blue laser AOD 264 group, and both of the products have their strengths and weaknesses but the bottom line is that we haven't been convinced of adequate CP standards on either format and so cannot commit to support any on at this stage. I would love to launch HD DVD as the picture quality is stunning, and imagine what you could do with 30 - 50GB of disk space. It will happen eventually, it is inevitable but we need to sort out some key issues in the next year. If we don't get this right the home entertainment market as we know it will be under serious pressure and if it was impacted in the same way the music industry has been by piracy, then the golden age of Hollywood that we are all currently enjoying will come to an end.
[JonRobertson] Hello Peter, I wondered if you could give us any news of Fox's relationship with Criterion? You mentioned in your last HTF chat THREE WOMEN, KAGEMUSHA, and BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Additionally, THE LEOPARD and UNFAITHFULLY YOURS seem to be coming from Criterion via Fox, and I wondered if you could spill any more titles? Many thanks, and please consider licensing out more so that more rarer stuff can come out! Thanks.
[peterstaddon] All in all I think we have licensed about a dozen titles to Criterion. To be honest I would prefer not to give out all the titles as I don't think that's fair to Criterion. We would gladly license out more of the rare material to them as they do a great job but they cannot accomodate a large number of titles from one studio in any given year.
[JoseMariaMendez] Hi there, Mr. Staddon, and thank you very much for being here. Well, I think all of us here are aware of the whole Fincher affair with the QUADRILOGY boxset, so maybe it would be useless and even impolite on my part to delve further into it, but what about the abridged ALIEN EVOLUTION docummentary and the incomplete Ridleygrams gallery on ALIEN (despite menu claiming otherwise)? Thank you for your time, I wish we could have you around more.
[peterstaddon] I wish I could be around to post more, but work has this habit of cutting in on my time:) I don't know about the incomplete Ridleygrams, to be quite honest when you have so much material to look at it's tough to be on top of all teh detail. I'd have to check that with Sven or Charlie. I'll try and do that and get back to you via Ron. Sorry for not having a better answer for you.
[ChrisCook] Hi! Any chance seeing "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place" on DVD in the near future? Thanks!
[peterstaddon] Two guys and a girl will be coming out in the first half of this year. I'm not familiar with Pizza Place and we're not working on it now. thanks.
[Jim_Beaver] Hi there Peter. What are the plans for MAD TV & Arrested Development on DVD? Also Doogie Howser M.D.?
[peterstaddon] Hi Jim, we are lookign at Doogie Howser I believe. Arrested Development is being looked at now and should be a lot of fun, I'm not sure we have the rights to MAD TV.
[EdGossett] Hi Peter. Any chance of seeing The Time Tunnel or Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea tv box sets in 2004? Thanks for stopping by the HTF.
[peterstaddon] Hi Ed, two great shows from my childhood!! A lot will depend on how Lost in Space works out. If we cannot bring them out there might be the possibility of licensing them to a 3rd party who will bring them out. It would be good to see them on DVD.
[AshAtchison] First of all, thanks for the Ford Fairlane disc. Second, is there a chance we'll ever see Cemetery Man (Dellamorte Dellamore)? You mentioned in the mid 2001 Fox chat possibly Halloween for that year, but I guess it fell through. This year, maybe? And if not, ever think about liscensing it out to dvd-producers such as Anchor Bay or Blue Underground, who specialize in these sorts of releases?
[peterstaddon] If we don't release it this year along with Terron Train I think we will look at licensing it out. Anchor Bay do a great job with these titles and seem to be able to focus on them in a way that the big studios are unable to.
[Brandon_Conway] Hey there, Peter! I'm curious about a few more contemporary titles: the Cocoon films, The Chase (1994), and a possible SE of Raising Arizona. Thanks.
[peterstaddon] Hi Brad, both Cocoon films will be out shortly, they look great and the packaging is fantastic, the Chase will also be out this year. No plans for a Raising Arizona SE.
[MatthewKiernan] Hello, Peter. I've always wondered exactly what is the criteria that Fox uses when you decide to release your catalog titles, other than the obvious tie-in reasons (remakes, sequels, anniversaries, holidays). For example, it seems like March is Raquel Welch month - how did that come about?
[peterstaddon] Sometimes it comes about because people involved in the film come to us and say "hey could we work on XYZ" and that gives a project the impetus it needs. Sometimes there are obvious tie ins such as 300 Spartans and Troy. And sometimes it's just that a certain titel would make a good Fathers Day title. We are always looking for reasons to promote catalog titles.
[DavidBelden] Hi Peter. I would like to know if you are planning to do anamorphic transfers for the "Planet of the Apes" sequels, and will "Battle for the Planet of the apes" feature the extended cut?
[peterstaddon] I would like to get all our non anamorphic releases re issued in anamorphic discs, but the business man in me needs to be able to justify the expense. So I guess we'll see how well the POTA re issue sells before determining if we weill re issue all the other films in the series. I'd have to check on the condition of any print of the extended cut, but it would be cool to include it.
[Adam_ME] Any word on a quick DVD release for The O.C. once the season wraps? Also, why do so many of your TV show releases remove the "Previously on" intros from episodes? Thanx.
[peterstaddon] I believe we don't have the rights to the OC which is a bummer!! Ther is no hard and fast rule on removing the "previously seen" bumpers from releases.
[Mike_Joyce_B9RBC] Hi Peter, How will the possible new "Lost in Space" series (pilot is currently being produced by John Woo for Warner Bros) affect the release of the original series DVD Seasons 2&3? Thanks for Season One! (release date tomorrow!!)
[peterstaddon] I'm not sure. I guess we'll have to wait and see how they work out. The core audience for the classic Lost in Space is likely to be very different to the "John Woo remix " so I'm not sure how it will affect season 2 &3. The bigger indicator is how well season 1 sells.
[jonathan] At the last couple of chats I asked you about rereleases of Home Alone and Big. Both could use new 16x9 transfers. You had mentioned that the next holiday there was a good chance for both. You did say that Home Alone would have been out sooner, but some things had come up. Nothing came out so I was wondering if you could give me an update on them. Thanks and keep up the great work!
[peterstaddon] Home Alone got delayed by a year because of the Home Alone 4 release, so look for it this Christmas. Big isn't being worked on at the moment.
[DaveGR] Hello,wondering if Paris Texas, Bigger than life, Forty Guns, and Heaven Can wait will be seeing the light of day along with LIFEBOAT. They all need a good DVD home.
[peterstaddon] Heaven Can Wait will be coming out as part of the Studio Classic Line, we are lookign at Paris Texas. Lifeboat would be a good studio classic title. The other two aren't being worked on.
[kris] Hey Peter, kudos for the Alien Quad box and especially Alien 3 assembly cut!!! I know that Star wars OT is Lucas film ltd, but can you say anything about the rumors that it is finally comming out next September? Also will the originals be included and not just the SE?
[RonEpstein] Almost two hours into the chat to ask that one! :)
[peterstaddon] You know I cannot talk about any Lucasflim properties, even to a few friends on the HTF!!!
[RonEpstein] Well, you tried, Kris. I was waiting all night for that question.
[Derek_Germano] Hi Peter, thanks for coming tonight. Got here late Sorry if any of this has been asked, but Any chance of THE LODGER, HANGOVER SQUARE, THE ANNIVERSARY, THE NANNY or HUSH HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE?
[peterstaddon] I have been trying to find ways of getting The Lodger and Hangover Square out on DVD for a while and this may be the year that our Film Noir titles break out onto DVD. I just hope they will sell! Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte would be another great DVD.
[Matt_L] Hi Peter, and thanks for taking the time to be here. I was wondering why Fox U.S. go to the effort of removing the the 'previously on' intros from tv shows (even if it means the tail-end of audio remains),particularly Buffy? I guess this is particularly important in regards to the episode 'The Gift' which hadan intro consisting of snippets from the 99 preceding episodes. Most fans of the show consider this morethan a standard intro.
[peterstaddon] I don't have a specific answer for you as there are no hard and fast rules for this, it's very much up tothe DVD producer and the development exec they are working with. It's certainly not a policy that Fox has.
[Doug_Graham] Thanks for the great bargain bin releases like Ford Fairlane! Is there any chance that we'll see The Crucible anytime soon? Seems like a natural choice considering it was part of the widescreen VHS line.
[peterstaddon] The Crucible will be out this year. It's amazing the value that DVD gives consumers. I was at Wal Mart last week and was in one of their stores looking at the movies you could buy for well under $10. IT really is remarkable how DVD has changed the way people view movies.
[James_Garner] Hi. I would like to inquire about the possibility of these titles...TV Shows: Dharma & Greg (In 16x9); The Pretender. Movies(16x9 A MUST): Silver Streak, Pirate Movie, WW & the Dixie Dancekings (as a Budget Wal-Mart title similar to "Pick-up Artist") Harry & Tonto.
[peterstaddon] Dharma and Greg is being considered for this year. Not sure about The Pretender. Silver Streak would be a great title to put out, and I've been getting a lot of requests for the Pirate Movie. Nothing happening with the Dixie Dancekings I'm afraid!
[Aaron_H] Hi Peter. Any chance of seeing JUMPIN' JACK FLASH (OAR of course) on DVD and getting an anamorphic MRS DOUBTFIRE or STRANGE DAYS?
[peterstaddon] Mrs Doubtfire should be out sometime this year, it's finished and we just have some obstacles to overcome at the studio. Jumpin Jack would be a good title to put out with the Silver Streak in a budget line comedy promotion.
[KenKoc] Hi Peter, Any chance for some Paul newman comedies WHAT A WAY TO GO or RALLY ROUND THE FLAG BOYS? Please consider THE EGYPTIAN. Also, What is the status of STAR on DVD?
[peterstaddon] Good news first - Star will be coming out in the next couple of months. None of the other films you mentioned are on the release schedule at this stage. I hear the second vote for the Egyptian.
[Bill_Geiger] First off, thank you for the The Song Of Bernadette. My girlfriend thanks you. The disc was absolutely fabulous. Now, just a quick question. Been waiting 2+ years to ask you this. What are the chances of License To Drive (Corey Haim & Corey Feldman commentary maybe) arriving on dvd sometime very soon (anamorphic of course)? Pretty please???? I'll wash your car!!! :)
[peterstaddon] You must really want this film!! I can't see it running as a double feature at your house with the Song of Bernadette! No plans yet but I'll have to look at it again.
[SteveO] I am asking about Charlie Chan and Mr. Moto. Also the Laurel and Hardy Fox films. Thanks.
[peterstaddon] It's really difficult to sell the Charlie Chan films, I'd love to get them out as they are really a peice of the studios history. But the commercial side of this business rears its ugly head and I would loose my shirt on these releases, so they are staying in the vault for the time being. Sorry to disappoint.
[peterstaddon] I can't believe I've made it this far without a Roswell or Firefly question
[Karen_Pence] Hi Peter, thanks for your time tonight! Is there any chance the tv show Strange Luck will be released on DVD?
[peterstaddon] Hi Karen, I'm not sure we have the rights to that show, and I know we are not working on it for release, so I'd have to say no!
[BrianPB] Kudos for Fox's excellent work on FW Murnau's SUNRISE (the overwhelming success of the mail-in offer must have been a pleasant surprise). Are there plans to release other silent films from the Fox library, such as Murnau's CITY GIRL/OUR DAILY BREAD, or the films of Frank Borzage (e.g., STREET ANGEL, 7TH HEAVEN, THE RIVER)? If not, would you consider licensing them elsewhere?
[peterstaddon] We might consider licensing them, but we might also look at putting them on some of the Studio Classic titles as double features. Sunrise is exceptional.
[VincentP] Any chance of an X-Files movie: SE, esp. with deleted scenes (Chris Carter talks about them in the commentary). And do you know about the problems with the X-Files season sets (episodes missing changed "truth is out there" taglines in seasons 2 & 5)? Finally, anamorphic Young Frankenstein and a rerelease of French Connection movies since they went out of print?
[peterstaddon] I don't think French Connection is OOP. There are no plans for an X Files Movie re issue - we probably have a milion or so VHS copies left over from the first promotion!!
[JayGregory] I'm hoping that Mr Kline might make some sort of announcement concerning '3 Women' in a couple of weeks --
[peterstaddon] hi Jay, you know he might just do that :)
[Kolchak] Hi I wanna know if there's any plans for these films... Spike Lee's "Girl 6",Brian Depalma's "Wise Guy's" and John Travolta's "Two of A Kind"
[peterstaddon] We are lookign at Girl 6 and Wise Guys, but have no plans for Two of a Kind. Thanks.
[JeffNewcomb] In the last chat, you mentioned that some titles (Kagemusha, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Three Women) would be coming, but not directly via Fox. What other titles will fall into this category? The Lodger? Pretty Poison? What else? Thanks.
[peterstaddon] I touched upon this earlier. We have licensed a number of films to Criterion, but I don't think its fair of me to announce what those films are before Criterion are ready to launch them and talk about them themselves, so I can't fill in the blanks as it were.
[Greg_P] Hi Peter, I just got here so I apologize in advance if this question has been asked before: Any plans to release the short lived sci fi tv shows Alien Nation or Space Above and Beyond? Two great scifi shows that never got their just due. Thanks.
[peterstaddon] Hi Greg, Space above and Beyond should be launched just for Rebbeca Gayheart! It might well be out in the later part of the year. Alien nation is one I would have to check to see if we still have the rights and if we do we ill be launching it. An easy question to end on.
[RonEpstein] Okay, I first want to thank all of you for coming here tonight. It's so cool to have our membership all together here. I want to thank Steve Simon for his help tonight and my partner, Parker Clack, for just being my partner.
[RonEpstein] Now.....Peter Staddon....You have meant so much to Home Theater Forum. We have known you forever, and appreciate all the support you have given and continue to give us. Studio support isn't always easy - but Fox has always been there. Thanks.
[peterstaddon] Listen Ron, its my pleasure to talk to you and all the HTF members. You represent the grassroots of this industry and I really believe that if we can produce DVD's that can satisfy your requirements we are doing a good job.
[ParkerClack] Well, we all know that DVD from Fox wouldn't be what it is without your efforts.
[ParkerClack] Peter. Thanks for coming tonight. Please say hello to your wife and daughter for me. Is she one year old this month?
[peterstaddon] She was one year old last week
[Steve_Simon] Peter... Thanks for your time, and ongoing friendship with HTF!!! You truely are a mench!!!
[peterstaddon] Thanks and good night to all.
Session Close: Mon Jan 12 23:29:21 2004
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Photos: Denver Food and Wine Grand Tasting and Art of the Cocktail
All photos by Lori Midson
The weather was hot but the drinks were cool at the Art of the Cocktail party at Denver Food and Wine Friday night. See our slide show of the event here, and keep reading for a look at Saturday's Grand Tasting. See also: A photo recap of the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen On Saturday over forty restaurants served samples -- ranging from octopus to meatballs to tomatoes -- and attendees could wash down the dishes with wine...or Jim Beam.
See the complete Grand Tasting slide show here.
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text:
Obesity & the Built Environment
Improving Public Health Through Community Design
This conference will provide a forum to discuss and illustrate how different elements of the built environment contribute to obesity via access to food and physical activity, and how environmental health research and interventions can address this public health problem.
The built environment encompasses all of the buildings, spaces, and products created or modified by people. For example: buildings (housing, schools, workplaces); land use (industrial or residential); public resources (parks, museums); zoning regulations; transportation systems.
- Develop research and practice agendas to examine the relationship between the built environment and obesity.
- Enhance interagency coordination.
- Inform elected officials
- Partner researchers, planners, health care providers, developers, policy makers, and community and business leaders.
- Highlight evidence-based strategies for intervention.
Cross-Cutting Themes
Consider built environment-obesity links at different levels and settings:
- Families and communities (urban/suburban/rural residences)
- Schools (children)
- Work sites
Organizing Questions
- Design: How do we develop, implement, and evaluate more walkable communities?
- Policy: How do we create and assess incentives to encourage needed community and/or individual changes?
- Communication/Education: How do we motivate more physical activity and determine its effectiveness?
Post Conference Information
- Conference Poster(168KB)
- Conference Summary Report(2MB)
|Monday, May 24
|Opening Session(549KB)
|Dr. Samuel Wilson, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Opening Remarks(932KB)
|12:05 – 12:15
|Dr. Elias Zerhouni, Director, National Institutes of Health
|12:15 – 12:35
|Secretary Tommy Thompson, Department of Health and Human Services
|Chair: Dr. Allen Dearry, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
|12:35 – 1:35
|Federal Activities Addressing Environment and Obesity
Geoffrey Anderson, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Ms. Cindy Burbank, Federal Highway Administration
Kate Coler, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Dr. Henry Falk, National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Mr. Peter Ashley, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Dr. Allen Spiegel, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
|Keynote Speaker
|1:35 – 2:05
|Addressing the Environment to Reduce Obesity
Dr. James Hill, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Presentation Slides(1MB)
Supplementary Information(25KB)
|2:05 – 2:40
|Afternoon Break
|2:40 – 3:10
|Epidemiology, Engineering, and Environments:
Designing Healthy Futures
Dr. J. Michael McGinnis, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Presentation Slides
|3:10 – 3:40
|Poverty and Obesity
Dr. Adam Drewnowski, University of Washington
Presentation Slides
Supplementary Information(39KB)
Supplementary Information(176KB)
|3:40 – 4:10
|A New Role For Social Marketing
Dr. Edward Maibach, National Cancer Institute
Presentation Slides(479KB)
Supplementary Information(128KB)
|4:10 – 4:30
|Fighters for Fitness-Fitness Fighters Video
Mr. Ian Ellis James
|4:30 – 5:30
|Physical Activity and Obesity Campaigns
Chair: Mr. Rich Killingsworth, Active Living by Design, UNC
Presentation Slides(138KB)
Life Step Programs
Get Kids in Action
|Tuesday, May 25
|Plenary Sessions Remarks(368KB)
|Plenary Session I: Schools and Children
Chair: Dr. Shobha Srinivasan, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Toxic Classrooms: Marketing to Children in Schools
The School as a Contributing Factor to Adolescent Obesity
Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities:
|Open Discussion with Panel Members
Mr. Tim Torma, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
|Morning Break
|Breakout Session I: State of the Science
|Keynote Speaker
Addressing the Overweight/Obesity Epidemic:
|Lunch (on your own)
|Plenary Session II: Communities and Families
Chair: Dr. Andrew Dannenberg, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Community Design and Physical Activity: What do we know?
Community Design and Individual Well Being: The Multiple Impacts of the Built Environment on Public Health
Rethinking Community Planning and School Siting to Address the Obesity Epidemic
|Open Discussion with Panel Members
Ms. Megan Susman, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
|Afternoon Break
|Breakout Session II: Setting the Research Agenda
|Keynote Speaker
| Addressing Health Disparities
Dr. Louis W. Sullivan
Morehouse School of Medicine
|Afternoon Exercise
|Afternoon Exercise Program
Ms. Jacqueline Jackson, Department of Health and Human Services
|Wednesday, May 26
|Morning Exercise Program
Ms. Jacqueline Jackson, Department of Health and Human Services
|Plenary Session III: Worksites, Employers and Employees
Chair: Mr. David Brown, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
The Financial Impact of Health Promotion and Risk Reduction Programs in the Workplace: Establishing a Business Case for Increased Investment in Employee Health and Well-Being
Creating Workplace Environments to Combat Obesity
Using Obesity-Specific Medical Claims Cost Analysis to Guide Obesity Prevention Strategies in the Worksite Environments
|Open Discussion with Panel Members
Dr. David McCarron, Academic Network
|Morning Break
|Breakout Session III: Developing Intervention Strategies
|Synthesis and Discussion(1MB)
Dr. Allen Dearry, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
|Closing Remarks
Dr. Kenneth Olden, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Angela W. Sanders
Team Lead, DERT
Tel (919) 541-7846
Fax (919) 541-2843


text:
Blogito, Ergo Sum
by Gregg Calkins
29 January 2009, a Thursday
I can hardly resist this one:
Pictures of a jacketless President Obama at the White House last week may signal a discreet culture shift.
But I'll try.
Maybe I can confine myself to remembering that when I first went to work for Standard Oil as a geophysicist working inside the office, not in the field, that the dress code was white long-sleeved shirts only, plus suit and tie. No colored or patterned shirts at all! Sports coats were...well...okay occasionally, if very subdued. Worker-bees like me, who actually had to dig through records and draw maps and actually create something new were allowed to take off our jackets and even roll up our shirt-sleeves to keep them out of the ink and pencil drawings we were working on, but the managers kept their jackets on at all times.
A dozen or so years later when I began working as a Realtor in the SF Bay Area, sports coats and ties were considered to be the look of success and professionalism, but colored shirts were okay.
I was delighted when I moved up to the California foothills, to Jackson, where the only people who wore ties any more were attorneys on their way to court, the undertaker, and the bank managers, all in similar lines of work in many ways. In fact, wearing a tie made it slightly difficult to "connect" with a lot of the local folks, many of whom were second and even third generation families in the area, but this was also back in 1980 and my, my, how the foothills have changed since those days! By the time I moved here, twenty years later, it had gotten positively citified.
Down here in Costa Rica, of course, we're back to the California foothills on 1980. Here in La Fortuna only the professionals wear ties, and not necessarily the attorneys except on court days, and the banks are among the few air-conditioned buildings, as well as state-owned, so they adopt a more formal dress code. I still have a few ties somewhere, and a sports coat, I think, and maybe even a suit that is decades out of style and no longer fits, but my dress 99% of the time consists of no more than a light cotton tee-shirt, underwear, and some variety of cargo shorts, plus plastic sandals. If I have to travel to San Jose for some reason I'll wear regular shoes and socks (well, the shoes are no longer made of the hides of dead animals, of course) and don't require polish, or laces, so it depends on what you mean by "regular", I guess. And since San Jose can get chillier, I often wear long pants and a "regular" shirt, as well...by which I mean something which buttons up the front.
I've always liked that line in the song (Jimmy Buffet?)..."going where the weather suits my clothes". That's exactly how I feel, living here in La Fortuna.
Up in your strange world, Nicholas Kristof illustrates perfectly what is wrong with Liberals as he lectures:
President Obama is resisting calls for an investigation into torture and other abuses during the Bush years, so the chance to learn from our mistakes is slipping away.
Mr. Obama understandably wants to focus on economic recovery rather than a dissection of the past. Why fritter political capital on an inquest that would antagonize Republicans and imperil our economy and his agenda?
But as George Santayana, the eminent Harvard philosopher wrote: "Those who forget history are destined to repeat it." Rather than lose forever the chance to grow from our missteps, here's a two-step proposal for confronting the past without distracting from the work on the economic crisis.
The first step is to appoint a high-level commission — perhaps a McCain-Scowcroft Commission? — to investigate torture, secret detention and wiretapping during the Bush years, as well as to look ahead and offer recommendations for balancing national security and individual rights in the future.
Did you know that at Harvard they teach us that history began when George Bush took office, and trying to remember anything that happened prior to that time, especially under the Clinton administration, should be disappeared down the deep, dark memory hole?
You see the "evil Bush/Cheney" morality play doesn't work very well if you actually have to include history in order to learn about our mistakes. Kristof doesn't really want to learn about our mistakes, he wants to PUNISH someone, very likely because, as he perhaps carelessly acknowledges, it is only Republicans who he expects would be antagonized.
If only the Clinton administration had been Republican we might have been able to include it, Professor Santayana, but as it is we have to figure that the Bush administration sprang full-blown from the forehead of Zeus...if you don't mind my including a little more, ah, history in this lesson. That's the way they used to do things back then.
Because if it didn't happen that way, then maybe we have to also study some more history in order to learn where the government institutions and policies the Bush administration inherited actually came from.
We'd have to study the fact that the Clinton justice department claimed that FISA was only for openers, Bubba said he had the authority to conduct warrantless physical searches of American citizens, let alone tapping in on international calls...which Liberals like Kristof always refer to as "spying on American citizens", you may have noticed.
We might have to consider what Bubba did when he fired off rockets and dropped bombs (from very high altitudes so the civilians down below couldn't actually be seen, you understand) on several different sovereign countries without so much as thinking of consulting the United Nations, much less the Congress of the United States. You want to talk about an imperial president, I'd say that the man was blazing a pretty good trail.
We might have to consider that the evil CIA Director who tortured, slashed and burned with gusto and abandon was actually inherited from the Clinton administration, and in fact HE was the one who assured the gullible and credulous President Bush (a man we have been assured is at best a moron, very possibly an idiot) that the presence of WMD in Iraq was a "slam dunk", carefully couching it in sports-code-language so Bush could comprehend the technical CIA spook jargon.
If history begins with super-CIA-spy Joe Plame Wilson returning from a not-so-secret mission to declare that Saddam thought yellowcake was a pastry he didn't even enjoy, you might have to wonder where he got all of the yellowcake that only last year--aha, during the Bush administration!--was finally finished being shipped to Canada from, my golly, Iraq.
Because if history begins any earlier than Joe's report, we're forced to realize that we knew for an absolute fact that Saddam had that yellowcake...the U.N. inspectors had already tied a yellow ribbon 'round that old nuke tree.
(What's that? Why was the CIA so short of trained spooks--this was before Valerie had been outed, too, even if the only covers she had been under recently were her own and Joe's--that Cheney desperately called for not her but former ambassador Wilson to be pressed into service because the mission, upon which the whole crucial decision to go to war rested perilously, was so vital? That's another history entirely, kiddos, still in the process of revision.)
If history does not begin with the Bush administration, we might even have to look at some of the Public Laws on the books at the time the moronic brute stole the office, thanks to a complicit Supreme Court, laws which Bubba and Al thought would be Al's to inherit. There wasn't a soul in the whole of the solar system who thought Bush would be the one to inherit Clinton's official U.S. policy statement about capturing bin Laden...
...no, hold on a second, there wasn't any public law on the books about Osama bin Laden, was there. No, but there was one which declared it to be official United States policy for supporting the overthrow of not only the duly-elected Saddam Hussein but also his entire regime, whatever that might be precisely determined to be, and, furthermore, it was Clinton's (and thus presumably Algore's) stated intention of (gasp) replacing it with a democratic government! The entire Congress, consulted this time, stood up and applauded the idea. Some perhaps even dimly recalled JFK's words about spreading freedom and democracy around the world in the name of making it a safer and happier place. But, no, surely history did not exist then.
If history begins with Bush, then we are taught that he took it into his head one day to go after Saddam perhaps in revenge for Saddam's attempt on his dad's life, or maybe it was to finish the job dad and Colin left unfinished years earlier, but absolutely certainly because if there was one thing Bush loved doing, (besides, presumably, watching baseball games) it was forcibly imposing democracy and freedom upon people who not only did not deserve it but were ill-suited to handle it if it happened to them.
I'm not an Obama man, but I do wish him well, and I suspect and hope that he is considerably smarter than Mr. Kristof and knows that another branch of 'history' teaches us that once you open Pandora's Box you can't just slam the lid back down at some arbitrary cut-off date which involved only the Bush administration and Republicans.
If you want to know all about the CIA and renditions and "black prisons" abroad during Bush's time, for instance, you probably will have to learn how they were operated during Clinton's administration in order to learn what Bush inherited, once again keeping in mind that the man who was actually expected to inherit them was a man who had spent the previous 8 years supervising them.
Clearly Mr Kristof, who envisions only antagonized Republicans, doesn't think that will be necessary in order to produce the scalps he wants to see dangling in the breeze.
That distant sound you hear might be Santayana weeping at the misuse to which his words have so often been put.
Obama frowns as George looks on with interest:
Funniest Op-ed question of the week...or longer:
E.J.'s Precinct: Does Obama Irk Limbaugh?
E. J., I think you got that one backwards.
Fun and games in Obamaland, from the Wall St Journal:
"White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code" reads a headline in today's New York Times. President Obama was photographed without a jacket in the Oval Office the other day, "only the first of many signs that a more informal culture is growing up in the White House under new management. Mr. Obama promised to bring change to Washington and he has--not just in substance, but in presidential style."
It turns out, though, that the interesting part of the story is not the contrast between the president and his stick-in-the-mud predecessor. Rather, it is why Obama doffed his jacket:
Mr. Obama, who hates the cold, had cranked up the thermostat.
"He's from Hawaii, O.K.?" said Mr. Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, who occupies the small but strategically located office next door to his boss. "He likes it warm. You could grow orchids in there."
This is hardly in keeping with candidate Obama's declaration last May: "We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times . . . and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said. It's good to be king.
To be sure, we'd much rather see the president of the United States in shirtsleeves than in a hair shirt. But if the Bush Oval Office had been hot enough to grow orchids in January, you can bet the Times's coverage would have been a lot chillier.
Further, when it comes to the cold, Obama talks tougher than he acts. The Associated Press reports that he scoffed at his daughters' school for calling a snow day yesterday:
"Can I make a comment that is unrelated to the economy very quickly?" the new president told reporters at a gathering with business leaders. "And it has to do with Washington. My children's school was canceled today. Because of, what? Some ice?"
The president said he wasn't the only one who was incredulous.
"As my children pointed out, in Chicago, school is never canceled," Obama said to laughter. "In fact, my 7-year-old pointed out that you'd go outside for recess. You wouldn't even stay indoors. So, I don't know. We're going to have to try to apply some flinty Chicago toughness."
Asked if he meant the people of the national's capital are wimps, Obama said: "I'm saying, when it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don't seem to be able to handle things."
So according to the spin of the moment, he's from Hawaii and a hothouse orchid or he's from Chicago and tougher than nails. He gets to keep his office so warm he doesn't need to wear a jacket, but the rest of the citizens cannot expect the world to put up with that for them. Ah, yes, it's good to be king.
Or a motley fool pretending to a throne. Why does ANYONE listen to this man?
"Senator, I'm not against nuclear power, but I've grown skeptical about the degree to which it can expand. Unfortunately, nuclear reactors only come in one size -- extra large. They've very expensive. The nuclear industry now has zero ability to predict how much these things will cost. Wall Street is showing no interest in investing. Therefore, I think it's only going to play a very small part."
... The reactor aboard the Cassini Space Probe generated less than one kilowatt. Research reactors usually produce 1-5 megawatt (1 MW = 1,000 kilowatts) and Navy reactors generate 20-50 MW. When Duquesne Light and Power "beached" one of Admiral Hyman Rickover's 70-MW submarine reactors at Shippingport, Pennsylvania, in 1957, it became the nation's first commercial plant. The reason we build the 1,500-MW behemoths of today is that that's the cheapest way to produce electricity. The bigger the reactor, the less heat is lost. Coal plants are built to the same dimensions.
... The Russians are putting 60 MW reactors on barges and floating them into the Arctic to power Siberian villages. Hyperion, Inc., a California company, just introduced an 80 MW reactor the size of a gazebo that can power a city of 50,000. ...
But the biggest shocker came when Gore explained that reprocessing of nuclear fuel -- the technology being employed by the French -- actually worsens the so-called problem of "nuclear waste." As reported here last May, reprocessing has been a huge success in France. The French now store all the their high-level waste from 30 years of producing 75 percent of their electricity beneath the floor of one large room at Le Havre. On this side of the Atlantic, however, the rumor has taken hold that the French are only increasing the problem. "Reprocessing of nuclear waste actually expands the amount of high-level waste," Gore told the committee yesterday. "I know this sounds counterintuitive. I only learned this recently."
Counterintuitive indeed. When challenged by Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Gore said he couldn't remember where he heard it...
Gore is either a lying fathead, a fatheaded liar, or...or...or an ex-senator? Note that not one of these 100 intelligent men, or their staffs, stood up to point out the humungous fallacy in Gore's statement about reactors coming in only one size.
Apparently no listening MSM journalist did, either, even though the statement is so obviously untrue that any child knows better...unless more really are being left behind than I think.
Here's the killer, though, folks:
...is it any wonder that all the new nuclear facilities in America are being built by Areva, the French giant, while the American industry is essentially moribund?
Have Americans become ignorant fools being led by even more ignorant fools, especially when it comes to science? Algore, remember, won a Nobel prize for peace because even the increasingly politically correct but increasingly inept Nobel Committee could not bring themselves to face the criticism that they feared would erupt if they have him any kind of prize for science. Yassir Arafat likewise got the prize for peace, which if nothing else clearly illustrates how meaningless that award has become. And Algore getting an Oscar that wasn't for science fiction was a direct slap in the face to the creators of some extremely fine special effects movies.
What's next? NASA's Dr Hansen gets the Pulitzer for poetry as a result of his lyrical explanation for why a month's worth of falsified Russian temperature data were included in his analysis because, he explained, he had no independent means of verifying "data" submitted by others? Send me whatever you've got, I'll use it? What's that? I'm wrong about mocking poetry when that's clearly more science fiction? Okay, you got me there.
Hansen is a cutie who made his bones by announcing in outraged tones that Bush was trying to silence him. This remarkable stroke of shocking genius has enabled him to not only survive at least two major scientific embarrassments but actually increase his influence. You might think his admission that he was including data that he had no ability to verify independently might have rendered his scientific technique the least bit suspect, but when knowledgeable amateurs pointed out flaws in his methodology which caused him to falsely characterize 1998 as the century's warmest year, surely that would have caused most people to hang their head in shame rather than merely quietly correct their official data as a result.
I have to shake my head in wonder. Where are the journalists to report this? Where are the scientists to point out to Algore that nuclear reactors come in sizes small enough to be fired into space on satellites, or medium-sized for nuclear subs, or bigger for aircraft carriers, or that he clearly and painfully obviously had no idea what he was talking about?
And you can trust me that I'm being charitable to Gore on this one, because I suspect he knows very well what he's talking about and he's counting heavily that nobody else does. So far the U.S. senate seems dead set on proving him right.
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There is one thing you must do if you wish to live your life to the fullest in 2009 (and beyond!).
What's that? You must get completely real and honest with yourself. You've got to drop the illusions and truthfully answer this question for yourself – are you fat?
It's Easy to Fool Yourself and Hide
It can be really easy to fool yourself, to tell yourself that you "only gained a couple pounds" during the holidays, or last summer, or that you're "just built that way". It's easy to avoid mirrors and keep your head down, to focus only on your job, on taking care of your family, and stay focused on anything other than yourself.
But you know what this gets you? You become out of touch with your body, your emotions, and your deepest desires – yep that's right, I'm going to bet that since you're a smart reader of Fearless Fat Loss that you do have the desire to live a healthy and fit lifestyle. If you didn't then why would you be here? 😉
The thing is though, that you've got to start somewhere and that somewhere is where you are at…but if you aren't being completely honest with yourself about where you are today, about how bad you feel in your body and about being overweight, and if you continue to paste a happy face on when inside you've got a part of you that wants to be heard, that part that is saying "hey, I'm dying in here!", then you aren't able to even move forward.
The Quickest Reality Check
So here's something you can do today if you've been hiding from yourself, telling yourself that you "feel great" while at the same time it's hard for you to get out of bed each morning and even harder for you to maintain energy and focus throughout your day – take pictures of yourself.
That's right – get out your remote operated camera or get a loved one to help you and get yourself on film wearing only your workout clothes. Not your baggy cover-ups but a t-shirt and workout leggings, so that you can really see what's going on. Even better would be to get in a bikini and snap those photos…you don't need to show these to anyone else, these are only for your own wake-up call.
And please, this is not an exercise in self-recrimination so if you even try to start criticizing yourself for how you look in your pics then just stop it. This is an exercise in self-honesty to get yourself to wake up from dreamland if that's where you've been living.
The fact is that the human body functions best when at it's ideal weight for your height and body frame – it is not meant to have 10's of 100's of pounds of fat weighing it down and clogging it up – that's just simple biology.
Then you have the human mind, which is a powerful, wonderful thing and when used for good it is miraculous what you can create in your life. However the mind can also be used to hide and tell yourself all sorts of stories about how you haven't changed, that you've only gained a couple of pounds, when all along you're hiding from yourself (and mirrors and cameras!).
Believe me, getting yourself on film will bring you out of hiding and get you on the road to self-honesty like nothing else will. You won't be able to keep telling yourself that those 50, 70, 100 pounds don't show and that they really aren't weighing you down at all.
Getting Real is Where It's At in Weight Loss
You've got to get real and get honest before you can truly change, lose weight, and keep it off so remember this is a good thing…and really, if you can't be honest with yourself, then how can you be honest with others? Getting real and getting honest with yourself is where all change begins…
Self-honesty Rocks. 😉


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I'm putting together an online shop with products displayed in their own divs, which can be different heights, depending on image sizes and descriptions etc. Each div width is 24%.
Each row of 4 products is held in an additional div and I would like to align the products so that the bottoms all line up with the tallest product div, like they are standing next to each other rather than hanging from a line (hope that makes sense!).
All rows are contained within an additional div.
Unfortunately struggling with this, although I suspect the answer is out there.
Any help much appreciated.
Hi, I'll put together a little thing..but first question, and most important. Do you know the height of the "additional" div?
Thanks RyanReese,
No - the div heights are all driven dynamically from the database tables plus the images so can vary as therefore can the additional holding divs. If absolutely necessary could probably make a call for the maximum height for each of the product categories but would prefer to have a flexible option.
Thanks in advance.


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Night after night, Jesse and Kelly Cone led their children through some of the most familiar verses in all of Christianity.The goal was to use the quiet pre-Christmas season of Advent -- or Nativity Lent in their Eastern Orthodox parish in Santa Maria, Calif. -- to help their young sons grasp the meaning of Feast of the Nativity, which begins Dec. 25th and continues for 12 days. This isn't easy in a culture in which the powers that be roll out the Christmas bandwagon with the Halloween … [Read more...]
Telling the Nativity story, with help of two foster boys
Occupy Advent 2012 (Let's ask Siri)
The first question was simple: "Siri, when is Christmas?"After the two-tone "BEED-EEP" chime, the voice of the Apple iPhone responded: "Christmas is on Tuesday, December 25, 2012. I hope I have the day off."Then matters got complicated: "When is Advent?"Siri searched her memory and said: "I didn't find any events about 'Ed Fant.' "Trying again: "When is the Advent season?"Siri cheerfully responded: "I am not aware of any events about 'advent season.' "After several more "BEED-EEP" … [Read more...]
When is Christmas, anyway?
For those who follow Christian traditions, Christmas begins when the darkness of Christmas Eve yields to bright midnight candles and the Mass of the Angels or the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.The Christmas season then lasts 12 days, ending with Epiphany on Jan. 6.But things aren't that simple in modern America, the land of the free and the home of the malls. For millions of us, today's Christmas begins when "Feliz Navidad" beer ads start interrupting National … [Read more...]
Baptists face Christmas, present and future
This is the time of year when many pastors sit in their offices muttering, "It happened again."The Rev. Rick Lance knows all about that. He has long been one of the true believers who battle the waves of "Happy Holidays" messages that define one of their faith's holiest seasons as the civic tsunami between Halloween and the inevitable wrapping-paper wreckage on Christmas morning.The problem is that whining doesn't work. Thus, Lance has grown tired of preaching his all-to-familiar annual … [Read more...]
Hallelujah, saith the masses
As millions of YouTube viewers know, the "Hallelujah Chorus" is even hotter than usual this year.The wave started with a flash-mob performance by the Opera Company of Philadelphia and hundreds of local choristers. Dressed as shoppers, they sang the best-known anthem from George F. Handel's "Messiah" oratorio at noon in the downtown Philadelphia Macy's, which was already decked out for the holidays on Oct. 30th.Then came the Nov. 13th performance that sent this viral-video trend into … [Read more...]
Celebrate Christmas — gasp! — in Christmas?
Father Dino Bottino didn't expect to spark a firestorm several years ago when he delivered his sermon about the true meaning of Christmas.Still, it didn't take long for outraged parents to leak one crucial statement -- that Father Christmas, also known as Santa Claus, isn't real -- to the Italian press. Headline writers around the world immediately felt a great disturbance in the Holiday Force, as if millions of tiny nonsectarian voices had cried out in terror.Clearly, this priest had … [Read more...]
Xmas is fake, so deal with it
As the Christmas pageant dress rehearsal rolled to its bold finale, reporter Hank Stuever found his mind drifting away to an unlikely artistic destination -- a masterpiece from the Cubist movement.The cast of "It's a Wonderful Life 2" reassembled on stage at Celebration Covenant Church, a suburban megachurch north of Dallas. There were characters from a Victorian tableau, along with Frosty the Snowman, young ballerinas and children dressed as penguins. Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus were … [Read more...]
Whatever happened to Advent?
The Rev. Timothy Paul Jones kept hearing one thing when -- four weeks before Christmas -- he brought a wreath and some purple and pink candles into his Southern Baptist church near Tulsa, Okla.And all the people said: "Advent? Don't Catholics do that?"This prickly response wasn't all that unusual, in light of the history of Christmas in America, said Jones, who now teaches leadership and church ministry at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky."In the dominant American, … [Read more...]


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A woman who says she could only dream of romance because she was so fat says she is now inundated with attention after shedding more than 12st.
Hazel Dyson, 27, weighed 22st 7lbs and as a 21-year-old virgin had given up hope of ever having a boyfriend.
Men insulted her size 26 figure, calling her 'massive' and 'disgusting' - leaving the ceramic artist convinced that she would be single forever.
But six years later, she is now size 10 and is inundated with attention from men who want to date her.
Hazel, from Huddersfield, said: "I'd struggled with my weight since I was a child, and by the time I was in secondary school, I was 15st.
"Over the years, my weight just ballooned and at 21, I was a size 26 and 22st 7lbs.
"All of my friends were really slim and pretty, and I was always the fat one in the corner.
"My family tried to set me up on blind dates, but I was too ashamed of the way I looked.
"Obviously this meant that I never met anyone. So I'd make up stories about men so no-one would know I'd never had a boyfriend."
To mask her embarrassment, 5ft 6in Hazel gorged on pizza, chocolate fudge cake and Chinese takeaways.
At 49.9, her BMI was more than double the recommended range of 18.5 to 25.
Too ashamed of her body, Hazel barely left the house and spent all day watching television or browsing Facebook.
She had given up all hope of finding love until a visit to her GP in 2008 gave her the motivation she needed to change her life.
Hazel said: "He told me that if I didn't start to lose weight, I would need a hip replacement by the time I was 30.
"I was absolutely mortified. Up until then, I'd blamed my size on my polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but I knew then that I had to stop making excuses.
"I was constantly tired and out of breath, and now my bones were struggling to cope under my weight.
"Every time I clicked onto my Facebook, I'd see pictures of my friends getting married or having fun.
"They were all out living their lives and I wanted to too."
Hazel joined Slimming World and set herself a goal to lose weight and find love.
She threw out all her junk food and filled her fridge with fruit and vegetables.
And as each birthday approached, she convinced herself that it would be the year she found a boyfriend.
Hazel said: "It was hard work and of course I had the odd slip-up along the way, but seeing all of my friends fall in love really kept me going.
"I didn't want to get to 30 without ever having experienced true romance. I think it's every girl's dream to find that special someone to share your life with.
"I dreaded the first Slimming World meeting and was devastated when I found out how much I actually weighed.
"But I knew that if I didn't face my fears, I'd be stuck at that size forever - and I didn't want that any more. I wanted my happily-ever-after."
After six years of diet and exercise, Hazel lost an incredible 12st 7lbs - just in time for her 26th birthday.
Hazel joined the dating website Plenty of Fish and was bombarded with complimentary messages from men.
Hazel said: "I was so worried that men would send me horrible messages about my looks, as they had been so awful to me in the past. But they were really kind and told me that I had a lovely smile.
"Every time I signed into my account, I had a new message from someone asking me out on a date. I couldn't believe it. For the first time in my life, men thought I looked good enough to have on their arm."
A few months later, Hazel met her first boyfriend.
She said: "He was so lovely, and made me feel really special.
"It was a bit embarrassing telling him that I'd never had a boyfriend before, but he was very understanding.
"It's always nerve-wracking getting to know someone new, but it's even worse when you're doing it all for the first time at 26."
Sadly the couple split after nine months, but Hazel doesn't regret the experience and is holding out for her Mr Right.
Now instead of hiding away, she is going on dates and gets chatted up on nights out too.
Hazel said: "Before I would swamp my body in baggy t-shirts and jumpers, but I'm not ashamed of myself anymore and I don't want to hide away.
"It's taken me six years to get where I am, and I finally have the confidence to chase life - and love - like I've always wanted to."
Hazel's changing diet
Before her weight loss:
Breakfast: Croissants, pain-au-chocolat
Lunch: Prawn mayonnaise baguette with crisps and a fizzy drink
Dinner: Pizza or Chinese takeaway
Snacks: Crisps, chocolate
New diet:
Breakfast: Muesli, with chopped-up banana and blueberries
Lunch: Chicken salad with hummus and carrot sticks
Dinner: Pork with sweet potato, broccoli and runner beans
Snacks: Apples, apricots and almonds
Have you got an incredible weight loss journey to share? Fill in the form below and your story may feature on www.mirror.co.uk


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I used to have pain in my wrist when I used it to get up off the floor, etc. Now when I extend my arm out straight & bend my wrist in a downward motion, I get electricity like shocks that shoot up through the top of my hand & it has left my skin on the top of my hand by the knuckles numb. I also can find the nerve in my wrist area & lightly rub it & can feel the nerve all the way up to my knuckles & get the electricity like shock feelings that way too.
I had a x-ray & it showed up ok. Now I have to have a nerve test. What could this be?READ MORE


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In anticipation of the CQMag online issue that is going to be available soon, I thought I'd give you another peek at my crazy quilt square embellished with goldwork…
I suppose I should be perfectly frank with you.
I didn't have anything else to write! Aaack. For the first time in a long time, I sat down at my computer this morning and …. nothing. Completely blank. I knew I should at least resort to a photo, since most people like pictures!
So here's combination of corners on the crazy quilt square:
Ever since I finished this square, I've started paying closer attention to pictures of seam treatments and so forth. And I have learned something! On the square I embellished, very few of the seams actually have the embroidery crossing the seams! My embellishment mostly floats on top of the seams. But it seems, in most of the pictures I've persued, that the majority of seam embellishments in crazy quilting actually cross over the seams.
Well, live and learn. And, of course, as a salve for my ignorance, I reminded myself of The Rule of crazy quilting: that there are no rules.
(Still, one does like to look as if one knows what one is doing….!)
If you want to see the rest of this project, you can read my article on CQMag Online, titled Goldwork and Crazy Quilting.
The P.O.M. – do you know what this stands for? It stands for "The Plan of the Month." When I was growing up, we would always hear in our household, "What's the P.O.D.?" (Plan of the Day) I suppose that must've come from my dad, who was a Navy pilot. We learned lots of stuff like that from him, but the two things I remember most clearly are "P.O.D." and the call letters Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, and so forth.
Anyway, that is irrelevant. Back to the P.O.M.
One of the reasons I don't have something ready at my fingertips to write about this morning is because I do not have one project underway. Shocking, isn't it!!???!!! You cannot be more shocked than I am! I am fairly aghast at the situation! So this afternoon, I shall remedy it.
Lately, I've been doing a lot of writing on goldwork. For those of you who are not goldwork fans, please bear with me! There is a little more goldwork in the near future, but you'll be happy to know that the Next Project I'm starting (this very afternoon) is whitework. The down-side is that whitework is so difficult to photograph well!
My plan for the rest of the month is to explore some whitework techniques. I had discusssed this idea with Yvette Stanton a few weeks ago: a whitework sampler – rather random – that incorporates different techniques of whitework in it. So, Schwalm, Hardanger, Mountmellick, drawn thread, pulled thread, cutwork, needle lace, blackwork, (did I just say blackwork? on whitework? I'm so confused – but yes, I have a plan regarding that)… all kinds of techniques. And regular surface embroidery in white. Just random and exploratory and fun.
At first, I thought it might be a silly idea; then, I visited Stitchin' Fingers (where I'm a member), and I noticed they had set up a group on Pulled Thread work, which I readily joined! Within the ongoing discussion right now, someone posted a link to a blog called Pins and Needles. And there I saw that someone else was already doing something akin to what I want to do, though slightly different. You have GOT to see the work on this whitework sampler by Jocelyn! It's AMAZING. It made me realize the idea isn't so silly, after all, and I solidified my determination to do it.
I've been a little hesitant about starting the whitework, though, for a couple reasons: whitework is hard to photograph, and of course, I'd like to blog the techniques, instructions, tips, etc.; "random" can sometimes be troublesome… and "too random" can be downright frustrating, once you get into it – it seems to me that working with some kind of plan is better; I was a bit stitched out, and really bogged under with real work (school work!) the last week or so. But today, I'm ACHING to start something again; and finally, I'm waiting for a fabric order from Nordic Needle (grrrr – it's taking ten forevers!), in which I have some natural-colored (oatmeal-ish) linen in a higher count – I thought the natural linen might solve the photography probs. But I'm not waiting anymore!
Therefore, the P.O.M. begins with setting up this project this afternoon.
Further ahead, in the details of the P.O.M., you will find exciting things like editing stitch videos, filming more videos, setting up a Very Big and Exciting Project that I'll tell you about as it progresses (it's one of those "this is going to take a long time – like, months" sort of projects), and the development of other little ideas that are brewing. You might wonder how all this is to come about, given the fact that January is half way over and I work full time! Well, the fact is, I have a five day weekend coming up, and I'm determined to plan it thoroughly, so I can make the most of it!
So that's what I'm up to. What are YOU up to? Anyone have a project going on that they're blogging about? Leave a link below! If you don't have a blog, drop me a line so you can send me some photos!