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Let's remember that one of the most important trait that our future president must possess is the ability to decide under pressure. As most Presidents would tell you, that seat in Malacanang is described as a pressure cooker. The very minute you assume that seat, all eyes are on you--both those of your enemies and your allies. In all likelihood, expect your allies to become your enemies in the nick of time, and the period for that is six years.
The Office of the President, according to several close friends whom I asked (those who worked for a particular president as either an adviser or cabinet member) swear that Malacanang is a snake pit filled with snakes in all sizes. The only rule there is simply pursue your own agenda. There is no such thing as collective-ism--only permanent personal interests.
This debate tells much about the stuff these candidates are made of--surely, they are not "presidential material," no. No one made an effort to excel or position himself above everyone else. Every single candidate wanted to please everybody, the very same way Republican candidate Rubio did and which caused his defeat.
Binay was so engrossed with cleaning his name that he actually played along with the tactics of his opponents. Duterte was in his usual element--dishing motherhoods while trying to downgrade his enemies. Mar Roxas was like Binay--he was really trying very hard to defend his lackluster record as a public official to justify his desire for the presidency. While Poe succeeded in really convincing us that she is not made of sterner stuff---just a wide-eyed Leftist freshman who is still engrossed with what she has read and has learned for the past few weeks.
No one really stood out. These candidates were so overly advised that they became players of the game instead of game changers. What we expect to see is a game changer.
When Duterte made potshots at Mar, the Liberal party candidate reacted like a high school student who wants to "be in" but lacks the qualities of being one.
Poe was full of data but does not know how to process them. Binay was so concerned with cleaning his name that he forgot that he needs to project himself above everybody else to justify voter support, and so was Mar who was really pikon---and not presidential-like.
What was very nice last night was when Duterte asked Poe that question about the Spratlys. That question really exposed Poe as what she really is---a neophyte who does not possess any CEO qualities. Poe was like a young activist who knows only those her handlers had told her but does not have the mindset of a CEO. We need a CEO, not a management trainee.
And so we go to the next question---who won this debate? Answer--it is us, Filipino voters.
TV5 and the COMELEC gave us the opportunity to really know what is "out there"---meaning, we now know that we really have a very shallow bench this time around. Our choices are super cheap that a Roco or a Salonga would have a field day cutting each and every one out. Had Roco or Salonga elected to run for the presidency this year, they would have fared a lot better than any of the five presidential candidates.
If we are to go to the most important question--who then deserves the presidency? If we are to be asked and we sincerely tell the truth we would surely say, " none of them" or "pass".
But of course, we still need a president, and failing to do so means we are allowing Aquino and his cohorts to extend their "terms", which obviously, would prove more disastrous than a failure of elections.
If we are to use the term " choose the lesser evil" which means choose the least risk, I'll go with Binay.
It is best for us to choose him inspite of his alleged kleptomania. It is better to choose a repentant magnanakaw, instead of someone who reportedly knows everything when in truth and in fact, she does not know about it.
I would rather choose a moderately corrupt President than seeing this country expo head make a name for herself by showing and convincing his subordinates that "he is a cut above the rest"---while really doing a very nasty and very lousy job.
I would rather die or go to the mountains should GRca Poe wins. What is scary is the possibility of us getting the most flak from our Asian neighbors for electing a weakling as President.
Poe tried very hard to convince us that she is not a puppet by Danding Cojuangco but the more she opens her mouth, the more we are convinced ofher unfitness for the presidency.

subset: commoncrawl


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Monthly Archives: July 2011
Detroit in the Crosshairs
by Haden Mckay, Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Click here to see the article on the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians Website
On April 9, 2011 the musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra returned to the stage of Orchestra Hall for the first of two triumphant concerts. Just one day earlier, a vote to ratify the DSO's new four-year contract had brought an official end to one of the longest strikes in North American orchestra history. Readers of Senza Sordino and visitors to the website detroitsymphonymusicians.org are already well aware of the past year's events in the Motor City. The six-month work stoppage took a painful toll on the members of the orchestra and their families as well as Detroit's music lovers, and the future of the venerable institution is far from assured. At the same time, the members of the DSO hope that their struggle will have done more than just help one orchestra survive a crisis. Ideally, symphony boards and managements everywhere seeking to tame deficits will draw valuable lessons from Detroit about what not to do.
While blessed with an outstanding concert hall and proud musical traditions, the Detroit Symphony had historically faced financial challenges as it maintained top-ten status in the United States. When the world financial crisis hit in 2008, the DSO was already weakened by a narrowing of its donor base, declining ticket revenue and the burden of real estate debt from its 2003 hall expansion. Management asked to reopen the orchestra's contract during 2009, but discussions broke down when management refused to consider an agreement with any extension in term or even partial recovery of givebacks. The stage was set for a confrontation upon contract expiration in August 2010.
Given the magnitude of the economic downturn in Detroit, musicians knew that they would need to sacrifice to keep the DSO viable. The fundamental problem in what played out—and what turned a concessionary contract negotiation into a conflagration—was the decision of the DSO board and management to use the crisis to try to impose sweeping changes on the institution and working life of the musicians. At various times in the negotiations the musicians were confronted with proposals to eliminate tenure, remove the librarians from the bargaining unit, hire and retain new musicians at sharply lower wages, remove orchestra representatives from board committees, freeze the orchestra's pension plan while withdrawing from theAFM-DPF plan, perform unlimited free media services, and institute an extreme version of service conversion (developed without any musician input although a comprehensive strategic plan had just been jointly written and adopted) up to and including assignment to non-musical duties for weekly scale.
Predictably, DSO members were unified in their opposition to such tactics. They saw a threat not only to their own institution and working lives, but to professional musicians everywhere. Once the strike began on October 4, 2010, the musicians attracted public attention and support from Detroit and far beyond. Most observers seemed to realize that too-drastic cuts, especially combined with harmful changes which didn't even address the money problems, would make it impossible to retain and attract the top musicians who would ensure the DSO's continued high quality. With the help of generous guest conductors and soloists, the musicians organized and performed more than twenty successful concerts in and around Detroit. Local music lovers made contributions and formed a powerful audience advocacy group, Save Our Symphony, which is still very active post-settlement. Overwhelming financial contributions from fellow professional musicians, largely ICSOM, OCSM and ROPA members, made a huge difference in enabling DSO members to continue their struggle. President Gordon Stump and Secretary-Treasurer Sue Barna-Ayoub of Local 5 provided unhesitating and seamless support.
Meanwhile, the bargaining process itself was at a near standstill. Despite the expertise of Counsel Leonard Leibowitz and attempts to assist from community leaders and politicians such as Governor Jennifer Granholm and Senator Carl Levin, months passed without any progress. In the end, the involvement of business leaders Dan Gilbert and Matt Cullen seemed to break the deadlock, and a tentative agreement was reached on April 3. Of course, by then most of the season had been lost and millions of dollars in ticket revenue refunded to patrons. Several orchestra members had taken other positions. Trust within the institution had been badly damaged.
The new DSO contract is detailed in an ICSOM settlement bulletin. While it is deeply concessionary, the agreement does not contain any of the proposals from management's grab bag listed above. It is frustrating to realize that without those unreasonable demands, the entire strike and its fallout could probably have been avoided. Essentially, the bargaining team spent the better part of a year fighting off changes that should never have been put on the table. The DSO musicians were glad to ratify the agreement and to bring their utmost professionalism back to the stage. The future will bring continued challenges. One major goal will be to bring about greater board understanding of how to preserve and enhance a great symphony orchestra.
The musicians of the DSO owe a great debt of thanks to their fellow ICSOM members and leaders, as well as the national AFM officers who provided support at key moments. We are honored to be the host orchestra of the 2011 ICSOM Conference this August and look forward to meeting many friends and colleagues.
Detroit-Brooklyn discussion expands on NPR
Click here for the story on Model D – Detroit's online news magazine
Is Detroit poised to become the next, gulp, Brooklyn (by that, we guess they mean a welcoming environment for creatives and cutting-edge entrepreneurs)? NPR"s Tell Me More interviewed Detroit native and 71 Pop founder Margarita Barry and new Midtown resident Scott Harrison, the director of patron engagement at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Their message to Michel Martin listeners? While Detroit's problems are oft-covered and obvious, the quality of living in neighborhoods like Midtown is comparable, at least, to that found in any other cosmopolitan American city — at a fraction of the cost.
So, I mean, I think within a 15 to 20 minute walk of where I live, I can find just anything, whether it's food, whether it's culture, whether it's entertainment, whether it's shopping. You know, we don't have the big box stores. If I need a Target, sure, I've got to get in the car and drive, but, I mean for day to day, six out of seven days of the week I'm sufficient and content just in my area.
Listen to the story here.
Not breaking news (from Detroit)
non divisi
by Frank Almond
July 6, 2011
Click here to see the original article on insidethearts.com
Yesterday, the Detroit News published a piece by Lawrence Johnson that examines some of the continuing problems at the Detroit Symphony, especially the ongoing trend of departing musicians. I was especially intrigued by the quotes from Tony Woodcock and DSO Executive Director Anne Parsons, who's management style reminds me more and more of Dick Cheney. Or maybe Brownie.
For example, Ms. Parsons proclaims that the departures and resignations "are individual decisions of people who chose not to make a commitment to Detroit and to the DSO. People who don't want to stay with it shouldn't stay with it." Perhaps it would be helpful for Ms. Parsons to tally up the collective years of service of the musicians that have already left, and then define the word "commitment". Ms. Boisvert performed as concertmaster for 23 years, then made an "individual decision" to bail out before the race to the bottom was complete. It seems to me that these musicians aren't leaving for insignificant reasons, they're leaving because they believe the current top management is populated with incompetent jerks who don't care if they stay or go, who publicly stated as much during the strike, and who's behavior (and public statements) continue to reflect that attitude. Further, the musicians were presumably as astonished as everyone else when the DSO board decided to extend Ms. Parsons' contract, thus validating the pervasive culture of non-accountability that is the hallmark of so many failed businesses.
Tony Woodcock seems to inadvertently point the finger at DSO management as well when he points out the "need to address the long-term financial health of the organization, which was not resolved at the end of the strike. In particular, the management of substantial debt, the need to grow a much depleted endowment and to build sustainable sources of income at the box office and with their major donors." He goes on to emphasize the importance of "rebuilding relationships within the organization — musicians, board, staff — which have been severely affected, so that some sort of alignment comes into place. This will give them the foundation for the next major strategy: their relationship with their community."
All very true. And each issue he cites is a direct result of catastrophic management decisions over many years, culminating with the labor dispute. Those problems don't snowball because the musicians show up every day and play really well.
During the strike the DSO management and board chair often emphasized how easy it would be to replace any departing musicians, since (to them anyway) the pool of great talent is so large. Aside from the stunning ignorance of that idea, I wonder how much of that "great talent" will be attracted to an institution that many feel has become the shining example of a "new model" to avoid.
Posted in Blog, Chatter 2 Comments
Lawrence B. Johnson/ Special to The Detroit News
From The Detroit News: Click here to see the article on detnews.com
When Detroit Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Emmanuelle Boisvert suddenly announced her resignation in May, principal second violinist Geoffrey Applegate saw 25 years of artistic commitment go up in smoke.
"After Emmanuelle's last performance, I went home and burst into tears," said Applegate, a 31-year DSO veteran who became the latest in a spurt of departures from the orchestra when he announced his retirement June 21.
"It was like getting divorced or death. Emmanuelle and I played together for 25 years," he said. "You become psychic. You could be blindfolded and know what each other was going to do. I'm not sure I want to go through all that again. We had one of the strongest string sections in the world."
During the six-month strike and its aftermath, what had been a standard trickle of turnover for reasons other than retirement — one musician or none leaving each year between 1990 and 2007 — has become a surge.
In the first six months of this year, six musicians have resigned, and two more have retired. Musicians who left, as well as others who remain, cite a pervasive lack of trust in management, uneasiness about the debt-ridden orchestra's future and anger at music director Leonard Slatkin for what is perceived as his sympathy with management during the strike.
Among the disaffected is violinist Lilit Danielyan, who recently resigned after 11 years with the DSO. She cited a lack of mutual trust and respect between the musicians and DSO President Anne Parsons as a primary reason for her departure.
"The atmosphere at the DSO is not optimistic or enthusiastic," she said. "(The orchestra) is poorly managed, and I am afraid that very soon the DSO will become a community or regional orchestra. But management is acting like nothing has happened. It is heartbreaking."
As for signs of bad management, Danielyan said: "The evidence is right in front of our eyes. The musicians are leaving. Show me any top 10 orchestra in U.S. where musicians are leaving and retiring so rapidly."
Parsons acknowledged the tension between management and musicians and said a certain amount of upset goes with any transition. The departures, she said, "are individual decisions of people who chose not to make a commitment to Detroit and to the DSO. People who don't want to stay with it shouldn't stay with it."
In recent meetings with the musicians, Parsons said, she and Slatkin "both told the orchestra how much we cared and how we wanted to move ahead together. Everyone has been through a very difficult time. Are there wounds? I know there are.
"So you work together," she said. "You try to open communication."
DSO board member Mel Lester, a retired Franklin physician, endorses Parsons, whose contracted recently was extended.
"She's a devoted and competent executive who knows the business and cares about the musicians," he said. "When you go through these rough times, someone is going to take the brunt. I'd say 20 percent of the musicians are unhappy. The unhappiest speak the loudest."
Tony Woodcock, president of the New England Conservatory and former president of the Minnesota Orchestra, sees the spurt in departures from the DSO as an indication that "financial reality and organizational challenges facing the (DSO) undermine optimism for the future.
"Their immediate strategy needs to address the long-term financial health of the organization, which was not resolved at the end of the strike," he said. "In particular, the management of substantial debt, the need to grow a much depleted endowment and to build sustainable sources of income at the box office and with their major donors."
The DSO is in negotiations with a consortium of banks over a $54 million real estate bond that's in default, while the unrestricted portion of the orchestra's endowment has fallen to $16.6 million from $19 million in February. Endowment principal has been used to make up more than $9 million in revenue shortfalls since 2008.
Ratified in early April, the DSO's new three-year contract saw the musicians' base salary drop to $79,000 from $104,650 per year, the number of work weeks fall to 36 from 52 and the number of contracted musicians decrease to 81 from 96.
Woodcock underscores the importance of "rebuilding relationships within the organization — musicians, board, staff — which have been severely affected, so that some sort of alignment comes into place.
"This will give them the foundation for the next major strategy: their relationship with their community."
Bassist Marshall Hutchinson, who remains with the DSO but expects more of his colleagues to leave, said many musicians are not convinced of the board's commitment to preserving a top-notch orchestra. Still, he said, "There are a lot of dedicated people who care about the orchestra on the board and in the community.
"Hopefully, when the new season begins (in October), we'll see all this stuff in the rearview mirror. This could be a very exciting time."
Indeed, Slatkin, who recently was conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic on tour in South America, said in an email: "The best of times are ahead of us."
He said the two key issues now are keeping the musicians who have stayed and attracting new talent. "As far as replacing those who have left, we have a schedule of auditions set," Slatkin says.
"We will also be involved in more active recruiting of musicians from around the world. To show the commitment, I have been authorized to actually hire more musicians than specified in the contract should an audition provide us with more than one winner."
During the strike, some musicians felt Slatkin did not speak up for them and even sided with management, and the music director has yet to regain the orchestra's confidence, said oboist Shelley Heron, who will continue with the DSO and serves as a musicians' representative on the DSO board.
"I think many musicians don't really have a clear picture of where Leonard wants to take the orchestra, so we are cautious and questioning," Heron said.
Slatkin said he recently spoke to the orchestra about his role during the strike. "It may not have satisfied everyone, but it did go a long way in clearing the air," he said. "They know that I am not going to let the artistic quality slip away."
Lawrence B. Johnson is a cultural writer and critic. firstname.lastname@example.com
Symphonies learn the score
- Michaela Boland
- From: The Australian
- June 04, 2011 12:00AM
WHEN the Philadelphia Orchestra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April it sent a shiver through classical music groups worldwide.
The Pennsylvania-based orchestra is considered one of the five best in the US but faced with what its chairman described as a "fantastic imbalance" of costs versus income, the board sought drastic action.
Orchestra management projected a $US14.5 million structural deficit through declining earnings from ticket sales, a drop in donations and an increase in both operational costs and pension obligations.
A fortnight earlier, in Britain, public funding for the arts was slashed by 15 per cent as part of new austerity measures, leading orchestras there to scramble for their lives.
Back in the US, the Louisville Symphony is bankrupt and the Syracuse Symphony and New Mexico Symphony have shut down.
Orchestras worldwide are having a white-knuckle ride due to shifts in the global economy and their Australian counterparts are looking on with trepidation.
A spokesman for the orchestra's union, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, Howard Manley, says: "The circumstances of the Australian economy are substantially [better] than most other Western economies."
Yet he says there's no question "things are incredibly tight".
Last year Adelaide Symphony Orchestra members campaigned loudly against the erosion of their playing entitlements, Orchestra Victoria is in serious financial difficulty and NSW's Opera and Ballet Orchestra annually contributes a $1m loss to Opera Australia.
Australia's funding system is aligned historically with that of Britain. For the state-based symphony orchestras, box-office and commercial earnings account for a significant proportion of income, but underpinning this is a mix of federal and state funds. However, in the face of those public funds remaining largely static the boards of Australian orchestras increasingly have sought to mimic the US philanthropic model to accommodate increased costs.
In common with American orchestras, audiences in Australia are declining too as they age. Increased pops programming is viewed as one way to expose new audiences to orchestral music, but the jury is out on whether pops audiences necessarily go on to take an interest in the core classical repertoire.
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Symphony in particular have embraced the pop business, with recent concerts of computer-game scores, concerts by Burt Bacharach and the Beach Boys, Disney movie scores, and the tunes of ABBA. Musical comic Tim Minchin undertook a national tour supported by the bigger orchestras.
The MSO last month posted a slight surplus of $31,420 for the past calendar year, while Sydney Symphony recorded its third successive deficit, albeit a smaller one than the year before, of $236,769. For the MSO, box-office revenue is considerably down, but so is expenditure.
The MSO's managing director, Matthew VanBesien, says it's difficult to draw too many conclusions about his orchestra's future from its present programming and the 2010 financial results, given the closure of its home auditorium, Hamer Hall, for renovations that began halfway through last year. He says classical programming has not been eroded in favour of pops programming: "The commercial things we do don't replace core activities."
But The Australian's music critic Eamonn Kelly has called on the orchestra to speed up the process of appointing a new chief conductor, a role left vacant since the acrimonious departure 18 months ago of Oleg Caetani.
"Urgently locating an outstanding new leader is the most important artistic and administrative issue the MSO board and management face," Kelly says.
Sydney Symphony managing director Rory Jeffes declined to discuss the challenges facing his group, which has not managed to parlay the popularity of its chief conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy into either a surplus or increased audiences, which have shown no growth for five years.
Greg Sandow, an American lecturer and author of Rebirth: The Future of Classical Music, says the crisis affecting classical music in the northern hemisphere could spread to Australia.
He says careful examination of financial reports is necessary to see if occasional small surpluses are in fact concealing actual structural decline, which is what he suspects is under way.
The last great shudder of nervousness about the decline of classical music audiences was in the 1960s, after which the industry made a strong recovery.
Sandow says since the 90s, audiences have been declining in the US for both cyclical and non-cyclical reasons. "Now that orchestras in America are starting to haemorrhage and die, they are starting to come out with numbers," he says.
Philadelphia has had a 40 per cent decline in 20 years that has accelerated in the past five years, he says. The number of subscribers, the ticket buyers who underpin orchestra programming and funding, is declining.
"The core of the audience is people who got into it when they were young and they're not being replaced," Sandow says.
And he says the same people who go to the concerts are those who donate money, "so the donor pool is drying up the way the audience is drying up".
Sandow has also observed donor fatigue, where philanthropists grow cranky about mismanagement or an orchestra's poor performance and remove their support.
Among the orchestras that have shut their doors and dismissed players there are some groups that have survived due to radical restructuring, which is where Sandow sees the future of the industry. Columbus Orchestra, by way of example, staved off closure in 2008 and retained 53 full-time players by reducing salaries by 27 per cent. Detroit Symphony Orchestra is engaged in similar talks with players.
Sandow argues that players in America's top orchestras have traditionally been well paid, with salaries above $100,000, and the cuts are having an invigorating effect. "It's interesting to talk to young musicians about this; they don't see it as a problem, they'd consider themselves lucky to get any of these positions," he says.
Historically, however, because of the status and the good pay, few of them could secure such jobs.
Sandow says that if the Philadelphia Orchestra were to suddenly discharge all its musicians and replace them with young players on contract, what might be lost in polish could easily be made up for in pizazz.
"I wonder if that wouldn't be more exciting to hear," he says. "It might really surprise people."
Unions, Classical Music, and All o' That
Lisa Hirsch's Classical Music Blog.
Click here to see the article on Lisa Hirsch's excellent Blog
A couple of weeks ago, Greg Sandow was quoted in The Australian as follows:
Sandow says that if the Philadelphia Orchestra were to suddenly discharge all its musicians and replace them with young players on contract, what might be lost in polish could easily be made up for in pizazz.
"I wonder if that wouldn't be more exciting to hear," he says. "It might really surprise people."
Sigh. I wish people would stop and think before they say things like that. He'd just throw out an enormous body of accumulated knowledge and playing experience to reduce costs and possibly gain "pizzazz."
Is there any evidence that the Philadelphia Orchestra lacks, um, pizzazz or excitement? Has Greg heard the orchestra play in the last few years? Does he understand what goes into orchestra building?
But getting back to the idea that a reasonable way to reduce costs is to break unions (as, perhaps, NYCO is about to try) or to talk the musicians into taking enormous cuts or to generally blame union and musician wages for the financial difficulties faced by some arts organizations today (see Detroit, see Philadelphia, see NYCO, see the quiet threats emanating from David Gockley's office at San Francisco Opera).
First, let's remember the division of labor at opera companies and symphonies:
- The musicians and singers are paid to put on concerts and operas.
- The nonmusician union members are paid to make costumes and sets and wigs and move stuff around the stage.
- The administrators are paid to raise enough money to pay for putting on concerts and operas, and to perform myriad administrative tasks with some degree of smarts.
If an opera company or symphony orchestra finds itself in financial trouble, it's rarely because the musicians can't play and the costumers have forgotten how to sew. (If you know of such a case, please provide details in the comments.) It's invariably because the administration has failed in some way or there has been a major economic downturn. They haven't raised enough money, there's been some kind of major leadership failure, they have incurred new costs for some reason – and so on. And it's important to keep in mind that the administrators were involved in union negotiations, and signed the contracts with their eyes open.
We are currently in a serious economic downturn, and coming out of it very slowly – read Paul Krugman's column and blog at the NY Times, if you need more information about that. Or keep an eye on the unemployment numbers. This has affected every arts organization in the country.
NYCO and the Philadelphia Orchestra are poster children for weak or incompetent administration. At NYCO, the board made at least two terrible mistakes: the appointment of Gerard Mortier, evidently without due diligence about what kind of budget he would want, and the renovation of the NY State Theater at Mortier's request, which left the company with their usual bills to pay, no place to perform, and no income. Mortier skedaddled without ever coming to NY or staging a production, leaving the board scrambling to find a new director. They wound up with George Steel, who had about as much experience running an opera company as do: several months at Dallas, which was preceded by great success as the concert presenter at the Miller Theater. Maybe Steel is the third big mistake; hard to say at this point. He's in a terrible position, where he'll get blamed for mistakes other people made. Honestly, you'd have to be a miracle worker to pull them out of the current skid.
Oh, I forgot about the way NYCO has run through its endowment. Once valued at $55 million, presumably at the height of the boom, the endowment is down to $9 million. That's the fourth terrible mistake. They've also got an inexperienced board president, appointed just a few months ago, who says things about not disclosing their finances. As a non-profit, hello, you are legally required to release financial information to the public. Don't talk about keeping things under your hat. It only makes you look bad. So, let's call this the fifth mistake.
The Philadelphia Orchestra has been having various problems since the 1990s, when they stopped contributing to the musicians' pension plan. I'd call that a long-term governance issue. They've had music director issues, with Christoph Eschenbach coming and going rather quickly; a successor has been found, but he is not in place yet. So there's been weak, or no, musical leadership. I understand there have been problems with the administrative leadership as well, with Alison Vulgamore appointed after a chaotic period with no general director. (Oh…and it is not good that she is taking a big pay raise when the orchestra has just declared bankruptcy.)
Guess what? The Philadelphia Orchestra could try to lower its costs by firing all its musicians, and it would still have the higher costs of the Kimmel Center over the Academy of Music, the low ticket sales, the problems in their administrative leadership. And they would have a gigantic public relations failure on their hands too. I bet most of their audience would flip out if the orchestra replaced 100% of its musicians with recent conservatory graduates. The loss of good will would be immense. I myself would never set foot in their hall or give a penny to an organization that had done such a thing, and I know that I am not alone in that.
Failure Begins a the Top – Adaptistration
by Drew McManus, Adaptistration.com
Click here to see the article on Adaptistration.com
Today's headline is an excerpt from a piece by San Francisco Chronicle music critic, Joshua Kosman, in an article that was published on 6/19/2011. Kosman's article is the latest in a growing chorus of voices within the extended field that are taking a much harder look at the root of problems among performing arts organizations since the economic downturn…
Kosman's piece begins by examining one of the more dire situations at New York City Opera and then touches on everyone's favorite anti-crisis, the Philadelphia Orchestra. But mid way through his piece Kosman acknowledges the real elephant in the room by looking inward.
How did these venerable, well-established institutions come to such a sorry pass? The same way Lehman Bros. and Bear Stearns did: through poor – and specifically shortsighted – leadership. And just like on Wall Street, the people making these decisions aren't really the ones whose livelihoods are on the line.
In the article's penultimate section, Kosman drills down into some specific examples of failed leadership.
No, the truth is that just like in the corporate and financial world, these failures began at the top, and go back a long way.
The history of weak management in Philadelphia is decades old, and includes mishandled decisions about recording contracts, embarrassing struggles to settle on a music director and the construction of a concert hall, Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, that is widely regarded as overpriced and acoustically poor.
And just to make sure he's covering all of the bases, Kosman also acknowledges the very real cash flow and audience development problems faced by most groups. But he goes the extra mile by acknowledging the mutually exclusive nature of this reality as compared to a history of bad management.
And it's just as easy to make vague protestations about prevailing financial conditions and the shifting patterns of culture consumption. Those observations are accurate as far as they go – money really is tight nowadays, and the role of orchestras and opera companies in American life really is changing – but they don't account for all the arts organizations that are doing OK.
If you're looking for more examples of Kosman's perspective, stop by The Iron Tongue Of Midnight where author Lisa Hirsch points out a few more scantily clad Emperor's. If that's not enough, she includes a handy list of related opinions from around the culture blogging community and traditional media outlets.
PR Backlash
Does this mean we should drag all executive boards and CEOs out and put them up against the wall? Of course not.
But the reality is that business practices and poor leadership are just as much to blame as the economic downturn for some of the larger powder kegs that have blown up since the economic downturn.
But that's not how League of American Orchestras president Jesse Rosen sees it. Rosen took issue with one of the more poignant articles in recent weeks written by John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts president Michael Kaiser.
On 6/6/2011 Kaiser posted an article at his Huffington Post column that takes issue with the blame game when it comes to artist stakeholders and instead, encourages organizations to look inward before laying down a beat on the drums of labor war.
It is impossible to blame unions for the lack of revenue for arts organizations when so many are doing such a poor job of managing themselves.
Rosen to Kaiser: How Dare You!
Rosen's video response (0:22 – 1:00) was to deny the value of accountability and openly scold Kaiser for even mentioning the notion.
Ultimately, any group experiencing extreme difficulties will have an enormously difficult time improving their situation if they fail to investigate whether or not the problems are the result of bad business decisions and a lack of accountability. Unfortunately, the League has yet to adopt measures to help members do exactly that and as any good doctor, engineer, investigator, or IT professional will tell you, willful shortcuts in the diagnostic process is an invitation to misery and disaster.
To that end, what's missing in this business are processes those other professions have relied on to implement meaningful oversight. In the medical field, they call them autopsies and given the uptick in institutional corpses right now, it would make sense to examine those cases with an eye toward identifying items suitable for inclusion in institutional oversight processes throughout the field.
Anything less is an invitation to make things worse before they can get better.


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Sign It Quick
- Main Contact: Frank
- Address: 5101 Dorchester Rd Charleston South Carolina USA 29418
- Primary Contact: Contact Member Now!
- Phone: 843-552-2626,
- Hours: M-F 8:30am - 5pm
- Website: www.signitquick.com/
- Email: Click Here to send us an Email
- SG Message: Send System Instant Message
- Structure: Sole Proprietor
- Employees: 20
About Company
Looking for Charleston, SC Signs and Banners? Sign it Quick is a Charleston Sign Shop offering signs, banners, vehicle wraps, car wraps, exterior signs, store signs, yard signs, vehicle lettering, truck lettering and many more of your sign and decal needs needs. If you are in Charleston, SC and are looking for Signs and Banners, please call 843-552-2626.Report a Problem


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Rough Seas Ahead for Shipyards
According to a report from China Daily, Chinese shipbuilders have taken a bigger hit than their foreign competitors from the global economic downturn, and the outlook is even gloomier for the next two years. In the first 11 months of 2008, Chinese shipyards reported a 44 percent drop in new orders, compared to the world average of a 37 percent decline, according to Clarkson Research Studies.
(Source: China Daily)


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The Market for Motion Pictures: Rank, Revenue, and Survival
Every motion picture is an innovation that competes for theater screens and audiences during its brief life against a changing array of imperfect substitutes. The authors analyze a large sample of motion pictures as an evolving rank tournament of survival and death. The results indicate that the failure rate of motion pictures is time-dependent and survival time is strongly related to the number of initial bookings. Weekly box office revenue is highly convex in rank, which is consistent with S. Rosen's (1981) superstar phenomenon. The authors' results have implications for motion picture licensing arrangements, which have been severely restricted by U.S. court decisions. Copyright 1997 by Oxford University Press.
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Volume (Year): 35 (1997)
Issue (Month): 4 (October)
Pages: 783-797
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Your Sign Ideas at Work
I picked my favorite three sign ideas from your suggestions, applied some sunscreen and went out panhandling this weekend. I was in a clean t-shirt and pin striped pants, clean shaven and smiling. I made $5.00 an hour. Not so impressive. Without the banana suit many folks didn't bother to read the signs. I liked this. It meant a special treat for folks who pay attention to the world around them.
The "Last Cardboard sign guy for 2 miles" sign was Rob Cockerham of Cockeyed.com 's idea. It got the most laughs and made most of the money, but it also caused me the most problems. One guy, about 10 minutes after giving me some change, walked up onto the offramp with me! He read the sign again, carefully and then he asked for his 35 cents back becuase he found another sign guy less than 2 miles away. I gave him the 35 cents and assured him I'd switch signs. He read the new sign, nodded and dropped the money back in my bucket. I could've hugged him. There were also two ladies rocking back and forth, laughing hysterically. I'm so glad that Rob drove by and saw me out there with his sign.
The other signs got many smiles as well. Thanks to Deron for "Exact change only" and anonymous for my personal favorite, "The End is Here-->." And many thanks to Scott, Laurie and their lovely daughter Trillian (yep, they're geeks) for coming out and taking photos. I repaid the favor by teaching Trillian how to eat whole packets of sugar. You should've seen her jones when mama Laurie cut her off. They then got me back by making me hang out with the hyper sugar spun kid for the next three hours!!!
I think I'll do my "Need money for birth control. Please give!" sign next.
I didn't make much dough, and I was running low on ink so the signs weren't all they could've been (no time to go get crayons from the coffee shop, didn't want to be late for my panhandling job.) I will do more of your suggested signs soon. I will also try dressing a bit more raggedy, and working without a smile to see how that affects the pitty/generosity of strangers.
For now though, I could really use a vegan brownie from the natural foods co-op. Could ya spare a couple bucks? If not, at least click on my google ads, but really, a couple of bucks would make my day. Them vegan brownies aint cheap. God bless.


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Singam 3 is the third sequence of Singam film series from the action hero charming star Surya. We have updated the Singam 3 movies wallpapers for download free.These are few from the Singam 3 wallpaper collection. More singam 3 wallpapers will be updated after they officially publish the Singam 3 movie posters and wallpapers.
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Steve McQueen's 12 YEARS A SLAVE (2013) is exactly what it set out to be, a story about Solomon Burke (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who experienced slavery although he was born a free man. There is nothing entertaining about slavery itself, no uplift in the condition of slavery, no escape from the encumbrance of slavery, so the challenge for an ambitious filmmaker like McQueen is to show us the before and the after of slavery in order to illuminate the tragedy of slavery. As provocative as 12 YEARS A SLAVE is, it fails to meet this standard: Solomon's life before slavery is dull, Solomon's life after slavery is muted. This is the result of a conscious choice by McQueen and his screenwriter John Ridgley.
Solomon was shuffled to eight different plantations during those 12 years, but the movie only shows us three, so we in the audience have plenty of time to wonder why he never figured out how to escape on his own back to his family. This simplification of Solomon's circumstances undercuts what could have been the message of this picture: that Solomon was treated like cheap goods and was never able to get his bearings or distinguish himself from the hundreds of slaves which he was packed together with.
There are moments in 12 YEARS A SLAVE that work wonderfully. When slave trader Paul Giamatti barely notices Solomon even though he is playing violin while Giamatti briskly sells him to slave owner Benedict Cumberland. When Cumberland sells Solomon because he doesn't care that Solomon was tricked into slavery and cannot protect Solomon from one of his foremen. When Solomon considers running away but comes across a lynching from another plantation while he was trying to escape. Solomon is always sympathetic, yes, but he is rarely heroic. If slavery is indeed the damning failure of a civilized society, then perhaps Solomon cannot be blamed for going along to get along. But there are multiple scenes that don't ring as true, that either require the actors to say things that sound prepared, to do things that feel forced, or to do nothing when any normal human being would have done something/anything. Slavery is not the seventh circle of hell, or the culmination of man's inhumanity of man. Slavery is the business of doing business based on the color of someone's skin, the codification of racism, the legalization of sexism, the justification of paedophilia. By eliminating the majority of the eight plantations, the film severely limits its options. This numerical elimination weakens its argument and works against its entertainment value.
We get tired of Solomon's predicament, which is the last thing that the film intends. Then, just when the film has almost made us lose all sympathy for Solomon's situation, it delivers someone whom Solomon himself can unselfishly feel sympathy for. Patsey (Lupita Nyong'O) is the best picker of cotton on wild-eyed Michael Fassbender's plantation and a thorn in his side to his marriage to strait-laced Sarah Paulson. Nyong'O is a bolt of lightning and clap of thunder to this movie. Patsey does not experience anything that Solomon himself has not gone through on screen, mostly, but where for Solomon it had been mostly academic, for Patsey each degradation is soul-crushing. Nyong'O has the alert eyes of a young Sidney Poitier, the catlike grace of a young Audrey Hepburn, the physical assurance of a young Katherine Hepburn.
Because Patsey is unschooled, unassuming and completely vulnerable: she is the victim of the circumstances of her slavery and she has no way of escaping it. When Solomon leaves her to her own devices at the Fassbender plantation, the film effectively has nowhere to go, we no longer care about Solomon because he does not care enough about Patsey. Patsey has taken over the film, not by the blood whipped out of her back, but by the beads of sweat produced by her so-called life on Fassbender's plantation: she is going to die a horrible death in an unmarked grave, simply because she is a slave.
Nyong'O is exactly what the film needs just when the film is becoming a chore, but she is more than that: hers is the performance that resonates and elevates the movie into the indictment against slavery that it had aspired to be. Born in 1983 and raised in Kenya, this is the first major performance by Lupita Nyong'O, and she will never have a better role than Patsey. This is comparable to Nick Nolte in RICH MAN, POOR MAN, Audrey Hepburn in ROMAN HOLIDAY, Renee Zelwegger in JERRY MAGUIRE, Sean Penn in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, John Belushi in ANIMAL HOUSE, Jack Nicholson in EASY RIDER and Bill Murray in MEATBALLS: the supporting part that should have been forgettable but instead becomes a classic.


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BAGHDAD Islamic State is talking to al Qaeda about a possible alliance as Iraqi troops close in on IS fighters in Mosul, Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi said in an interview on Monday.
Allawi said he got the information on Monday from Iraqi and regional contacts knowledgeable about Iraq.
"The discussion has started now," Allawi said. "There are discussions and dialogue between messengers representing Baghdadi and representing Zawahiri," referring to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and Ayman al Zawahiri, the head of al Qaeda.
Islamic State split from al Qaeda in 2014 and the two groups have since waged an acrimonious battle for recruits, funding and the mantle of global jihad. Zawahiri has publicly criticized Islamic State for its brutal methods, which have included beheadings, drownings and immolation.
It is unclear how exactly the two group may work together, Allawi said.
Islamic State blazed across large swathes of northern Iraq in 2014, leaving the Iraqi central government reeling. Baghdadi declared a caliphate over the territory the group controlled from the al-Nuri mosque in Mosul the same year, which also became a point of contention with al Qaeda.
Last October, Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite volunteer fighters, commonly referred to as the Popular Mobilization Units teamed up with an international coalition, including the United States, to drive Islamic State from of Mosul and the areas surrounding the city.
The group has been pushed out of the half of Mosul that lies east of the Tigris River, but Iraqi soldiers and their allies are now bogged down in tough fighting in the narrow streets of the Old City of Mosul, west of the river, according to Iraqi security officials .
Islamic State has used suicide bombers, snipers and armed drones to defend the territory under their control. The group has also repeatedly targeted civilians or used them as…


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953 Third St #201, Blaine, Washington
$155,0002 BedsPending Inspection
$155,0002 BedsPending Inspection
953 Third St #201, Blaine, Washington 98230 - Investor alert, Hard To Find water view condo, 2 min. walk to Blaine Ctr. Awesome floor plan, granite countertops, SS appliances, crown molding really makes this condo sparkle. Only 4 units, 2 parking spaces per unit, great neighbors, close to I -5 easy commute to Bellingham, short walk to Cdn border. This is a must see as a rental or full time living. Buyer to verify all information.
Listing Courtesy of Windermere Real Estate


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Programmatic Perspectives publishes articles related to programmatic issues related to technical communication. ISSN 2326-1412
Current Issue
Volume 8 Issue 2 (Fall 2016)
Front Matter
Front matter is included with the complete issue version, which also includes the journal's cover, information about the editorial offices' locations, copyright information, list of reviewers, table of contents, and articles.
Issue Preview
Lee-Ann Kastman Breuch, University of Minnesota
Victoria Sadler, Metropolitan State University
This issue preview welcomes the community to Programmatic Perspectives, and it considers the theme of programmatic research.
Programmatic Research in Technical Communication: An Interpretive Framework for Writing Program Assessment
Nancy W. Coppola, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Norbert Elliot, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Faye Newsham, Scope Infotech, Inc.
Postscript by Andrew Klobucar, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Abstract. Important advances have been demonstrated in the assessment of writing programs. In this paper, we identify an application of programmatic research based on an accountability framework for writing program assessment. A form of relational modeling that allows a postsecondary institution to identify and fashion the variables that impact the writing program, the application is termed Design for Assessment (DFA). To demonstrate its benefits, we review contemporary views of program assessment, explicate the interpretative features of the framework, and describe a case study application. We close with heuristic questions for program assessment attentive to stakeholder contributions. A postscript from the current program director at our institution provides a reflective statement on the need for evidence-based responsiveness in writing program design.
Keywords. pDesign for Assessment (DFA); empirical methods; program assessment; technical, scientific, and professional communication; variable modeling
Connecting Programmatic Research with Social Media: Using Data from Twitter to Inform Programmatic Decisions
Chris Lam, University of North Texas
Mark Hannah, University of Arizona
Erin Friess, University of North Texas
Abstract. Traditional data sources provide technical communication programs with a variety of useful decision-making metrics. However, many of these data sources are constrained by a variety of factors such as misalignment of institutional and programmatic goals and the summative nature of programmatic data and its subsequent application. Therefore, we argue for the use of data from Twitter to inform decisions about curriculum, assessment, and long-term programmatic vision. In this article, we outline relevant research questions related to programmatic decision making and then describe how to collect, analyze, and apply Twitter data to answer those questions.
Keywords. social media, Twitter, curriculum, assessment, data analysis
Disempowered Minority Students: The Struggle for Power and Position in a Graduate Professional Writing Program
Susan Popham, Indiana University Southeast
Abstract. To meet the complex realities of our contemporary society, academic programs in technical writing should examine diligently the current lack of African-American participation and explore possible ways in which programs may be marketed, revised, and shaped to meet the expectations and needs of potential African-American students. This study used individual interviews with five African-American women while they were pursuing graduate degrees (MA and PhD) in a professional writing program. With a theoretical framework of positionality and agency theory, this article describes with detail how these women faced complex challenges: choosing such a degree program, learning needed academic and career skills, negotiating invisible racial difficulties, and creating support systems for themselves. The article concludes with suggestions for creating programs that may be more amenable to the challenges faced by minority graduate students, like the women in this study.
Keywords. African-American women, minority graduate students, position, agency, power, powerlessness.
Strategic Assessment and Usability Studies: Tracing the Evolution of Identity and Community Engagement in an Undergraduate Professional and Technical Writing Program
Scott J. Kowalewski, Saginaw Valley State University
Bill Williamson, Saginaw Valley State University
Abstract. In this article, we reflect on ongoing, annual assessments at our institution: Saginaw Valley State University, a regional, teaching-focused institution in Michigan's Great Lakes Bay Region. Our programmatic development includes a recent external review conducted by the Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, and follows the cycle of assessment-to-implementation through several revolutions, tracing the evolution of usability studies as a defining local theme in our undergraduate program in Professional and Technical Writing (PTW). Annual cycles of reflection and assessment resulted in the development of a programmatic commitment to usability studies, including the development of a space to enact these practices. Further consideration of that commitment during ensuing years revealed a deepening student connection to concepts and strategies from usability studies. Although this article traces our own journey, we conclude by offering a five-part heuristic for programmatic development that readers may find useful for thinking about their own administrative priorities and practices.
Keywords. usability studies, participatory design, program administration, professional and technical writing, assessment, writing research centers
Social Justice Across The Curriculum: Research-Based Course Design
Rebecca Walton, Utah State University
Jared S. Colton, Utah State University
Rikki Wheatley-Boxx,AmeriCorps VISTA Public School Partnership
Krista Gurko, AmeriCorps VISTA Public School Partnership
Abstract. This Programmatic Showcase describes why and how Utah State University redesigned our Technical Communication and Rhetoric program to incorporate considerations of social justice across the curriculum. After describing our programmatic vision, we describe in detail the design of a pedagogical study informing our curricular redesign and then share strategies for course design and university-community partnerships. The course-design strategies include 1) explicitly framing courses around broad issues of social justice, 2) incorporating hands-on practice to connect conceptions of social justice to professional practices, and 3) facilitating opportunities for both students and clients to reflect upon these connections. The strategies for facilitating university-community relationships include 1) collaboratively designing assignments, 2) holding a kickoff meeting, and 3) creating a table summarizing assignments and timelines. We hope this article appeals to all technical communication scholars interested in social justice, though it may be most useful for program administrators interested in incorporating social justice initiatives into their respective programs.
Keywords. Social justice, program redesign, pedagogical research, service learning
Researching a New Professional Writing Major: Miami University
Heidi McKee, Miami University
Abstract. In 2011 Miami University combined an undergraduate major in Scientific and Technical Communication and an undergraduate minor in Rhetoric and Writing to create a new Professional Writing major that now enrolls approximately 200 students. This profile details how research into institutional enrollment data, student perceptions, and direct assessment of student writing contributed to the development and ongoing growth of the major. Program curriculum is shared in Appendix A.
Keywords. enrollment data, new major, professional writing, program research, survey research
Towards a Participatory Action Research Model for Extending Programmatic Assessment with Industry Advisory Boards
John M. Spartz, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Julie Watts, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Abstract. As a commentary on how professional, technical, and scientific communication programs might extend traditional approaches to programmatic assessment, this article details a conceptual model for participatory action research (PAR) that draws on a combination of data sources: an industry advisory board and reflective portfolios. We also offer "proof of concept" reflections on that framework and our own intentional advisory board engagement by describing both the process and our results from PAR at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. We further describe ways that the iterative process of PAR can and has proved instrumental in informing program development and revision that leads to student industry employment.
Keywords. advisory boards, program assessment, participatory action research, external stakeholders, industry, curriculum
Student-Centered Assessment Design in a Professional Writing Minor
Denise Tillery, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Ed Nagelhout, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Abstract. This article describes an approach to student-centered assessment design for a new minor in Professional Writing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This approach creates seamless connections among courses, breaking down course barriers to promote broader community engagement in learning networks and correlating competencies, student activities, digital assets, and program assessments. To enhance both short-term and long-term course and program assessment strategies, we take a more ethnographic approach by identifying what types of texts to analyze, what features to consider within those texts, and how those features typically evolve as students acquire, use, and eventually master the variety of skills involved. Moreover, the student-centered assessment encourages a more open and processoriented approach among students and teachers that increases learner control, learner choice, and learner independence.
Keywords. program assessment, personal learning, project development, strategies
Exploding Technical Communication: Workplace Literacy Hierarchies and Their Implications for Literacy Sponsorship. Author: Dirk Remley Baywood Publishing Company, Inc 2014, 194 pp.
Reviewed by Geoffrey Clegg, The Pennsylvania State University
Science and the Internet: Communicating Knowledge in a Digital Age, Editors: Alan G. Gross and Jonathan Buehl Afterword by Charles Bazerman Baywood Publishing Company Amityville, New York 2016. 323 pp.
Reviewed by Ryan Eichberger, University of Minnesota


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When I woke up this morning my stomach was hard, really hard, like I was carrying a stone instead of a human in my womb. Not being a midwife or ob/gyn, I can only assume that Kat was turned in such a way that her back was very firmly pressed up against me, or less great, a knee. Poking and feeling about (something I never used to do before being pregnant!), I realized that the only part of my stomach NOT hard and stretched out was a bit way down by my c-section scar. It's still fairly soft, and I can almost feel Kat's head. Amazing. Placing my fingertips down there I could still feel the scar when I realized that this new body of mine, at least for now, doesn't have the overhang, the flub, that it's had since Gabe was born.
Having a c-section cuts through the muscles of your lower abdomen and generally without a lot of work they never recover. For nearly 6 years I've had this strange, half-way numb overhang of ruined flesh just above my bikini line. At first it really bothered me but eventually I learned to ignore it. Then I got into fat acceptance and learned to accept it as a part of me, a visible reminder of the struggle to bring Gabe into the world, and the patience and compassion of Ryan and my doula Katie. Well, right now, it's gone. I just look like a pregnant lady. You'd never know I'd had a c-section and again I'm wondering what kind of body I'll be left with this time, what changes will occur, after Kat is born. Bigger boobs are almost a guarantee, though at a DDD (which my sister teases stands for dun Dun DUN!) I don't really want them to get bigger! More/deeper stretchmarks? Sure, but I'm a tiger who's earned her stripes. I'll just have to wait and see, but it wont be long now. Only four and a half weeks to go as of this week, if that, and 3 of those are at work still.
I hope everyone is having a restful weekend; I'll have an update on the Obesity! Crisis! in the Pagan community on Tuesday.


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- The Concept NYC is actually a mobile company.
- They rent studio space within the Tristate area to conduct classes.
- Currently located inside Tribeca Health & Fitness at 107 Chambers Street, New York, NY. Chambers Street near the A, C, 1, 2, 3 subways or the N and R to City Hall.
- The Concept NYC offers high-energy indoor cycling classes, set to heart pumping music.
- Introductory class is $20
- Single Ride, 5 & 10 Class Pack packages are available
- Bikes are compatible with Delta Look, SPD clips and sneakers
- Bottled water is complimentary
- Located inside Tribeca Health & Fitness Gym – access to showers, toiletries and towels; must bring your own lock for belongings
- Free Nutritional Workshops for riders who attend the cycling class prior to the workshop
- Riders that arrive more than 10 minutes after class begins will not be admitted into the studio. The Studio reserves the right to release bikes to walk-ins 4 minutes before class begins
Looking to sweat it out around NYC? The Concept is the perfect fit. The Concept is a traveling spinning studio that pairs with boutique studios to hold spinning classes at a variety of locations to get a feel for different parts of NYC. We attended a Charity ride for the victims of South Carolina at Tribeca Health and Fitness to give back while we worked out. We clipped in during July 4th holiday weekend and even though NYC had cleared out, the instructor made us feel like we were a pack riding together with high energy. With a top notch playlist of summertime upbeat mash-ups and sprints, hard hills, and endurance jogs, we had clogged the mirrors of Tribeca's spinning studio. After 30 minutes we took a pause for an arm series using small resistance bands while our legs were still in motion. Our triceps and biceps burned but we kept our heart rates up. If you're looking for a change of scene from your typical gym spinning class and want to try a new spot – The Concept has what you need. And free water is always a plus!
BurnThis Ambassador, Julie Zuckerman
TRIBECA Tribeca Health & Fitness at 107 Chambers Street
New York, NY 10007


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Ugly People Don't Sell Beer
Well, they may sell it, but they don't advertise it.
Have you ever noticed in those television ads that there is no one in the crowd who is just "average." Not that I'm a great judge of such things, but I think it's obvious enough, even dense people like me can tell.
The marketing machines behind their advertisements know what they're doing.
I doubt this is an exhaustive list, but I thought of a few reasons why they use beautiful people.
- They don't want you to change the channel right away.
- They want you to associate beautiful people with their brand.
- They want you to believe you look that good (or that others will at least think you look that good) when you consume their beverage.
- They are selling the experience, not anything specifically about the product.
While you probably don't have the marketing budget of Budweiser or Heineken, you can apply a few tips to your own website.
- Make sure that your website looks good enough to keep someone there for longer than the average yawn. Studies show that it takes less than 4 seconds for a user to decide whether to stick around or not. That doesn't mean your website has to be the coolest thing in the world, but it should look good enough that you're proud of it. If you aren't, get a website design that you love.
- Use professional photography, and don't over use stock photography (even if they're beautiful people. In the case of the web, it can make you feel "less real."). A professional photographer can make you and your company look really awesome and memorable. I recommend Island Road Images for fantastic photography if your company is around Boston.
- The copywriting on your site should communicate to your potential customer what they can experience when they use your company. There's an old saying that says, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak." Sell both, but remember your customer only cares about how it will work for them.
What other lessons have you learned by watching the marketing "big boys"?


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RIVERSIDE -- With a little less than a month to go before the Nov. 2 general election, Riverside County residents already are making their choices for president, weighing in on 16 statewide propositions and casting votes for an array of local races.
Absentee balloting by mail opened across the county Monday, as did early voting on touch-screen electronic machines set up inside the Registrar of Voters office in Riverside, county officials said.
In addition to the daily voting opportunity at the registrar's office through Election Day, voters will get the chance to cast ballots on electronic machines Oct. 21-30 while they shop at one of four regional shopping malls, including The Promenade in Temecula. Voting machines also will be set up at malls in Hemet, Riverside and Palm Desert.
On Election Day, voters who drive or walk to one of 574 polling places around the sprawling, Massachusetts-sized county will have the choice of two voting methods. They still will be able to vote on electronic touch-screens, as they have for 29 elections running, going back to the presidential election in November 2000 when Riverside became the first large county in the nation to go to computer voting. Alternatively, voters will be able to make selections on paper ballots, similar to ones used here before November 2000.
County officials say they are stockpiling 125,000 paper ballots in response to an order by California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley. Amid growing concern about the potential for electronic ballots to be compromised by computer error or outright fraud, the secretary ordered Riverside and nine other counties with electronic voting to offer a paper alternative.
The secretary asked Riverside County to print enough ballots so that if one-quarter of the expected voters choose paper over plastic touch-screens, there will be enough ballots to go around. The county expects roughly a half million people, about 70 percent of registered voters, to turn out.
For the first time in county history, total voter registration has surged past the 700,000 mark. As of Wednesday, the total had reached 715,000, up 10 percent from the 653,000 who were eligible to vote in the March primary, said Barbara Dunmore, the county registrar of voters.
There is still time to register for the Nov. 2 election. The last day to register is Oct. 18.
Those who are registered and desire to vote with absentee ballots have a little more time to get those absentee ballot requests in. The forms must be received by Oct. 26 at the registrar's headquarters at 2724 Gateway Drive in Riverside, off Interstate 215 at the Eucalyptus Avenue exit.
At the registrar's office Wednesday morning, election workers conducted a trial run for counting paper-ballot cards. A group of 15 people -- several of them critics of electronic-voting security safeguards -- watched a computer tabulate results from behind a window, about 12 feet away.
An hour later, officials reported success, saying the mock election results matched a pre-determined tally. The critics were not so sure about that, saying there was no way for an independent observer to tell.
Jeremiah Akin, a Riverside computer programmer, said, "The observers were not allowed to see the actual input to the system -- the actual cards. The screen on the computer that was running the programs was too far away to read."
The paper-ballot counting exercise came one week after an all-day test of the county's procedure for counting electronic ballots, which also was hailed a success. But Douglas Dye, a Murrieta resident, said he discovered an error while comparing the computer results with a spreadsheet listing the government offices up for election and a predetermined tally. The spreadsheet mistakenly listed one candidate as running for Hemet city clerk when it should have read treasurer.
Dunmore acknowledged the mistake, but she said it was limited to the separately prepared spreadsheet and had nothing to do with the computer counting system. Elections officials say sample and real ballots list the office correctly.
"It was human error, my error," said Brian Foss, information systems analyst.
The bottom line, Dunmore said, is that all vote totals were correct.
Foss said that, in addition to the exercises this week and last, the county will conduct individual tests on all 3,690 touch-screens scheduled for use in November. He said testing began on Tuesday with 240 voting machines.
Voting information
Voter Registration
- Last day to register for Nov. 2 election: Oct. 18.
- Registration forms available at the registrar's office, 2724 Gateway Drive, Riverside; post offices; libraries; Department of Motor Vehicles; and city and county offices. Call to confirm availability.
Early Electronic Voting:
- Daily at the registrar's office.
- Oct. 21 to 30 at regional shopping centers, including The Promenade in Temecula.
Absentee ballots
- Deadline for requesting absentee ballots: Oct. 26.
- Deadline for absentee voting: 8 p.m. Election Day at the registrar's office.
- Request absentee ballots in person at the registrar's office.
- Fax absentee ballot requests on paper by listing an address, signature and the material wanted and send to (951) 486-7272.
- Applications available in mailed sample ballot booklets or from the California secretary of state's Web site: www.ss.ca.gov. Riverside County elections information is available online at www.voteinfo.net.
For more information, contact the registrar at (951) 486-7200.
Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616,or email@example.com .


text:
London and Madrid launch pilot project on road user safety
The project's 20 partners around Europe, including city councils, public transport operators, logistic and construction companies, have united with one goal: to contribute to the safety of vulnerable road users.
The project offers an opportunity to approach the problem from two sides at once.
First of all, the intelligent detection system Cycle Safety Shield helps to prevent collisions with cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists in the blind zones, where drivers are simply not able to see them. The solution is already being successfully used on a number of UK fleets, among which are Amey Group and Sainsbury's Supermarket. It has already been recognised by different awards as a life saving technology and has proven to be efficient in improving driver behaviour, increasing energy efficiency and considerably reducing insurance premium.
Secondly, the telematic system My Alert extracts big data on the avoided collisions, such as location, time, type of the road user and video. It is expected to be of particular interest to city traffic planners and public transport authorities that will get the possibility to recognise potentially dangerous places, as well as carry out a preliminary analysis on what may cause these near-collision situations. Additionally, My Alert software brings up an instant Google Image view, so that if there is a simple pothole, for example, the problem could be rectified before it causes an incident.
The project partners hope to achieve safer streets for cyclists and pedestrians by facilitating informed decision-making on the corresponding infrastructure and traffic planning improvements based on the extracted near-collision statistics.
The partners involved in the pilot project are Transport for London, RATP, City of Belfast, EMT Madrid, First Group, L'Hospitalet City Council, Baixbus, City of Helmond, Van den Broek Logistics, Translink, Break Charity, Go-Ahead, Amey Group, Sainsbury's Supermarket, Ealing Council, Richmond Council, TransportNI, Murrills Construction and Hope Construction Materials.
Cllr Peter Buckwell, cabinet member for highways and streetscene of Richmond Council, said: 'Through this trial we will be able to see if we can help to reduce the risks to pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. If the trial is successful and cost effective, we can look to roll out the system, or similar systems, further.'
In December 2016 at the end of the project, an independent organisation will publish its findings based on the collected data in respect to the number of the collisions avoided thanks to the Cycle Safety Shield, the improvement in driver behavior, the main causes of the observed near-collision situations and the possible infrastructure solutions in the participating cities.


text: Hello Everyone! We are finalizing all the sponsorship for the Miss India Worldwide pageant. Thank you to everyone who has supported to date. Once again, a big thank you to: Kamp Photography, Angie Zachary, Murray Chevrolet Hummer, Lakewood Dental Centre, Entegra Credit Union, Sharma Auto, Mrs. Ashwani Kumar, Hilary Druxman and Kamta Singh with Tim Hortons and Guyanese Association of Manitoba. Please make sure to support these sponsors. They provided so much support to me. It's so nice to feel the support of these businesses and to have their faith in me. We are finalizing a few more sponsorships, so check back soon to see the full sponsorship list. If you would like to be apart of this year's sponsorship, please email [email protected] to request a sponsorship package. What's really great is that we are now able to provide charity tax receipts for monetary sponsorships. So it's win/win! Cheers! -Amin xox


text:
Narine: I don't have a particular mentor
The 23-year-old Trinidadian has bamboozled some of the best batsmen in the world in Indian Premier League-V, but none better than Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who had no clue how Narine's vicious off-spin went through his defence, to knock back his middle stump last week. No wonder, he has taken 24 wickets in the league stage of IPL-5, justifying an eyebrow raising $700,000 amount that Shah Rukh Khan paid to get the offie in his KKR side at the IPL 2012 auction.
For many, the major problem has been picking Narine off the hand, which effectively gives the batsman very less time for their shot selection.
His own man
They say, the way Sehwag bats, can't be taught. Probably, the same can be said about the way Narine bowls, a point that the West Indian seconds. "I have learnt this art from my own practice, I don't have any particular mentor," Narine told MiD DAY. "I have worked really hard on my bowling to develop this style," he added.
And that includes working with bio-mechanics after his original action was questioned by authorities in 2011. Narine went back to the drawing board, and came back with a more high-arm action now, which has made him even more effective.
Another Mendis?
Till now, almost every batsman has struggled to solve the mystery called Sunil Narine. But it's just a matter of time before it is solved, believes Pune Warriors India skipper Sourav Ganguly. "People will sort him out, eventually. Look at what happened to Ajantha Mendis," the Bengal batsman opined.
However, that is not something that Narine is particularly worried about, at this stage of his career. "I just want to focus on bowling well, bowling as accurately as I can. It does not worry me, whether batsman start reading me or not," Narine, who has played eight ODIs for the West Indies, explained.
It's difficult to say when, and if the Narine mystery would be solved, but one thing is for sure. Narine's next assignment, which is the ODI series against England in England, is definitely not the place where the mystery can be solved. Period!


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Results 1 to 11 of 11
11-02-09, 14:51 #1Registered User
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Design of Databases for storing the details of the recurrent occurrence of an event
Hi, I need to implement a feature similar to the one provided by Microsoft Outlook to make your meeting appointment recurrent. I am trying to figure out the optimised Database design that i will be requiring for implementing this feature. The requirement is something like that each run or task entered by the user will also be applicable for scheduling like a recurrent event - weekly,monthly or yearly. Could you please suggest me the Database model - table structure (with constraints) for storing these details in the DB which can be afterwards accessed by the program to do the appropriate task. Screenshots for some of the possible scheduler details can be found at the following link - ImageShack - . Please let me know if you require any other details.
11-02-09, 15:38 #2World Class Flame Warrior
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Extremely difficult task.
I implemented a fairly generic calendering system on a project not too long ago, but the coding and structure are very advanced, and it would take someone with considerable skills to implement it.
I suggest you define your requirements as narrowly as absolutely possible (only allow weekly occurrences, etc) before you begin, and code specifically to those requirements.If it's not practically useful, then it's practically useless.
www.chess.com: "sqlblindman"
11-02-09, 15:55 #3vaguely human
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Looking at the images it looks like your program is offering exactly the same functionality as MS Office - so why don't you just use MS Office?
11-02-09, 16:12 #4Registered User
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I understand that it is a very difficult task, but i just need a db model for storing th details for the recurrence request so that the same can be accessed and parsed to schedule the user intended task.
We have a mysql DB running at the backend for storing these details. As soon as the user submits a request, a request id with the details of the request is stored in the table and then a action corresponding to it is taken by the program. More clarification would be like that the users intent is to run a sql script,getting the values and then performing statistical analysis to it. But as the oracle reference DB is dynamically updated by many users, he wants to run it in a recurrent manner and get the analysis done. Note that the mysql db and the ref DB are different.
11-02-09, 16:15 #5Registered User
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the images were shot from the Outlook itself .
The UI for my project i have not yet designed. They were just to clarify the kind of granularity that we might be needing for this feature.
11-02-09, 16:23 #6Registered User
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The data structure to record the recurrance isn't that difficult. The scripting to make it work will be much harder.
I can't see your pictures, my work blocks access to imageshack. But the structure that would match outlook 2007 would be:
EventID (FK - the key to your meeting)
LastEventDate datetime (The last time the meeting was held)
StartDate datetime (The first time the scheduler runs)
EndDate datetime (The last time the scheduler runs)
StartTime datetime (The time the meeting starts)
EndTime datetime (The time the meeting ends
Daily bit (True if meeting is run daily)
DailyEveryXDays int (Meeting is done every X days)
DailyEveryWeekday bit (Meeting is done every weekday)
Weekly bit
WeeklyEveryXDays int
WeeklySunday bit
WeeklyMonday bit
WeeklyTuesday bit
WeeklyWednesday bit
WeeklyThursday bit
WeeklyFriday bit
WeeklySaturday bit
Yearly bit
YearlyEveryXYears int
YearlyOnMonth int (representing month)
YearlyOnDay int (representing day of month)
YearlyOnGivenX int (representing 1st, 2nd)
YearlyOnGivenDayofWeek int (representing monday, tuesday, etc)
YearlyOnGivenMonth int
Note that most of the options are mutually exclusive so much of each row will be null.
11-02-09, 20:08 #7vaguely human
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11-03-09, 06:41 #8Registered User
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I've been doing a little project parsing calendar and task manager files here and I can tell you, that stuff's no joke. Handling the recurrence rules is a good 400 lines of Python. (And, no, that's not even a release candidate yet.)
I'd strongly recommend looking at the ical standard, RFC 2445 to start with. That's actually a fairly lightweight standard compared to what something like MS Exchange handles.
Why don't I store that stuff in a database? Simply because my app a. runs as a batch process (literally, it runs off cron) and doesn't have to be particularly fast and b. I have to fetch it from user's application anyway. And, as someone hinted at, it's a lot of work to reinvent all that interface that the user is already comfortable with. Most of that app is designed to leverage those existing programs.
11-07-09, 10:46 #9Registered User
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There are two parts to the problem/solution.
1 Model
Get the data model absolutely correct, the reason will become clear later on. No incomplete Normalisation, No "denormalised for performance" nonsense; that severely impedes the production of clean and stable code. For recurrence, in addition to the Event (whatever) table you are recurring, you will need discrete child tables tables as follows. Each table will require different columns to support the full capability in the applicable [Outlook tab]. Keep the actual [past] Event occurrence and details out of them (keep that in the Event table):
A single denormalised table with mostly null columns will make the code very ugly, and you will be debugging it for years (no exaggeration, my customer was doing that until they got me to replace it). A single denormalised table is also far more prone to errors (from the app that sets the recurrence)
2 Code
You need to fully understand that SQL allows projections. In theoretical terms, a simple or complex join is a projection [of all possibilities] first, then limited by predicates or qualifiers (the WHERE clause). You need SQL code that:
- projects the Event (whatever) rows
- through the applicable Recur% table rows
Get that working without any issues first, then
- limit the projection to the timeframe (eg. Nov 2011) that the app actually needs to paint or whatever
- that result set needs to be a single generic type (not one of the four types above).
As long as you have a clean data model, you can produce the recurrence/projection with a single clean SELECT statement (one for each recurrence type above). Four simple SELECTs replaced over 600 lines of complex SQL that never quite worked. I did not use UNION because it demands a worktable. Of course, put it in a sproc, so that the four SELECTs are in one place, and the caller does not need to determine the Recur% type to project; and for performance.
You can allow just one Event or all Events that occur in the recurrence timeframe, the difference is only one clause in the SELECT.
Ask further specific questions.Regards
Derek Asirvadem (Formerly DerekA)
Information Architect / Senior Sybase DBA
Copyright © 2009 Software Gems Pty Ltd
I answer questions from the Original Poster only. If you have a genuine question, as the moderators have requested, start a new thread.
11-07-09, 14:20 #10vaguely human
Originally Posted by Derek AsirvademCould you give all the fields and tables required so we can make comments. Obviously, without a concrete example, your suggestion is nothing more than loose conjecture.
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Last edited by mike_bike_kite; 11-08-09 at 08:02.
11-09-09, 05:50 #11vaguely human
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Obviously you haven't produced any fields yet so I'm guessing how things might work but I can't see how your design has any fewer null fields than a single table design. Does your database design need to be modified if we require a new type of re-occurrence of an event - let's say we now want to have hourly events? The SQL involved when writing schedulers always tends to be quite complex but does splitting the data across (at least) 5 tables serve to make things any simpler? It would definitely help in our understanding if you provided some fields for your tables.
Last edited by mike_bike_kite; 11-09-09 at 07:01.


text:
The America's Most Endangered Rivers® report is one of the best-known and longest-lived annual reports in the environmental movement. Each year since 1984, grassroots river conservationists have teamed up with American Rivers to use the report to save their local rivers, consistently scoring policy successes that benefit these rivers and the communities through which they flow.
American Rivers reviews nominations for the America's Most Endangered Rivers® report from river groups and concerned citizens across the country. Rivers are selected based upon the following criteria:
- A major decision (that the public can help influence) in the coming year on the proposed action
- The significance of the river to human and natural communities
- The magnitude of the threat to the river and associated communities, especially in light of a changing climate
The report highlights ten rivers whose fate will be decided in the coming year, and encourages decision-makers to do the right thing for the rivers and the communities they support.
The report is not a list of the nation's "worst" or most polluted rivers, but rather it highlights rivers confronted by critical decisions that will determine their future.
The report presents alternatives to proposals that would damage rivers, identifies those who make the crucial decisions, and points out opportunities for the public to take action on behalf of each listed river.
#1: Lower Colorado River
Threat: Water scarcity and demand
At Risk: Reliable water supplies; economy and river health
The Lower Colorado River provides drinking water for one in ten Americans, nourishes cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Phoenix, and grows approximately 90 percent of the nation's winter vegetables. However, water demands are outstripping supply, and climate change makes the situation even more urgent. The river is at a breaking point, with looming shortages in supply that could threaten the security of water and food supplies and a significant portion of the national economy. The Trump Administration, state water leaders and the congressional delegations of Arizona, Nevada and California must prioritize innovative water management solutions to ensure the Lower Colorado can continue to sustain the Southwest and the nation as a whole.
The River
The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the Southwest. The Lower Colorado begins at Lee's Ferry and winds through Nevada, Arizona and California, with so much water withdrawn along the way for agricultural, industrial and municipal uses that it dries up before reaching the Gulf of California. The Lower Colorado provides drinking water to 30 million people in some of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the U.S., including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Los Angeles and San Diego.
The river is critical to the future of agriculture in the region, providing water for over five million acres of farmland growing crops worth roughly $600 million annually. The Lower Colorado supports thriving recreation and tourism, carving the Grand Canyon and supplying water to the fountains along the Vegas Strip. All told, the Lower Colorado has an annual economic impact of $900 billion. The river also provides essential habitat for six threatened and endangered species and is a treasured recreational and spiritual resource in the region.
Over the past several years, federal agencies and state water leaders have made considerable progress toward water conservation and programs that reduce overuse of the river. This success is threatened by the Trump Administration's Fiscal Year 2018 Budget proposal, the implementation of which would cut funding to critical federal programs like the Bureau of Reclamations' System Conservation Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Regional Conservation Partnership Program, and the Department of Interior's WaterSMART program and Title XVI grants for municipal conservation and efficiency efforts. These cuts could potentially reverse progress made by states, cities and farmers to reduce water consumption in the Lower Colorado River Basin.
Each year, the Lower Basin uses an average of 1.2 million more acre-feet of water than it receives in flows from the Upper Colorado River Basin, equivalent to the water use of two and a half million households in the Southwest. To date, Lower Colorado Basin water users have overcome this supply imbalance by drawing from storage that accumulated over decades when water demand was lower. This is not a sustainable solution in the face of climate change, drought and rapid population growth, which are already straining dwindling water supplies.
Failing to address the overdraft in the immediate future will result in severe economic and ecological impacts to the Lower Colorado River. Water levels will continue to drop, triggering an official "shortage declaration" by the Bureau of Reclamation and forcing mandatory water delivery curtailments. While heavy snowpack in the Rocky Mountains may temporarily reduce the risk of shortage, as recently as August 2016, the Bureau projected a greater than 50 percent chance of shortage in 2018. Cities and farms would almost certainly face new water use restrictions. Arizona water users would be the hardest hit— even though California farms and cities are further downstream, federal law gives Arizona lower priority access to Colorado River water.
Declining water levels also present serious threats to the river's fish and wildlife. Less water means reduced hydropower revenues to fund federal programs designed to restore endangered species and enhance water quality.
What Must Be Done
It is vital that Congress and the Trump Administration provide leadership and financial resources for innovative water savings projects to conserve and share the region's water assets. The federal government and the states of Arizona, California and Nevada have been negotiating a Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) to help stabilize water supplies in the Lower Colorado River Basin. In the DCP proposal, states are considering additional voluntary curtailments of Colorado River water deliveries in order to stabilize the system and avoid deepening water shortages. These water savings will come from all sectors of the water community, including agriculture, industry and municipalities.
The success of the DCP requires that Arizona immediately develop a plan for implementing the voluntary curtailments. Arizona is referring to this effort as "DCP Plus," which involves a series of additional water savings measures designed to stave off a Shortage Declaration, at least temporarily. Governor Ducey and the Arizona Department of Water Resources have been instrumental leaders in creating partnerships to develop and support DCP Plus, which will reduce demand on the river and create a more flexible water supply system. Supporting the Department's efforts with adequate federal funding for the DCP Plus is a critical step toward water supply security for the state and the overall health of the river. If the DCP Plus is not funded, a water shortage will likely trigger curtailments that will destabilize the water supply in the Lower Colorado River Basin.
By supporting the funding for both of these efforts, Congress and the Trump Administration will protect the livelihoods of millions and help ensure the Lower Colorado will continue to sustain the region and our nation for generations to come.
Download full version (PDF): America's Most Endangered Rivers 2017
About American Rivers
American Rivers protects wild rivers, restores damaged rivers, and conserves clean water for people and nature. Since 1973, American Rivers has protected and restored more than 150,000 miles of rivers through advocacy efforts, on-the-ground projects, and an annual America's Most Endangered Rivers® campaign. Headquartered in Washington, DC, American Rivers has offices across the country and more than 250,000 members, supporters, and volunteers.
Tags: American Rivers, Endangered Rivers, Lower Colorado River, Rivers


text:
Vintage NESTING Set, 3 McCOY Mixing BOWLS,Feather Pattern
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ENLARGED PICTURES!!! Please scroll ALL the way down to view LARGER images.
ant1263. All three are marked McCoy on bottoms. All sides have nice overlapping feather pattern. Green bowl has small indention on bottom edge (in the making), and faint spider lines, like wide crackalure inside bowl (see photos).......not to be considered hairlines. Capacities: 5 cups, 7 cups, 10 cups, with 1/2" to spare. Very Good, non-chipped condition.
Please do not hesitate to e-mail with any questions. As Always, Satisfaction Guaranteed!
PAYMENT: PayPal, because eBay requires sellers to list electronic payments exclusively. I expect to receive payment within 10 days, unless we have made other arrangements.
Most items will be sent First Class or Parcel Post, according to weight.....whatever is the most frugel! If you prefer Priority Mail, I will glad to make the adjustment.
I'm glad to combine multiple purchases in order to minimize shipping costs.
I WILL SHIP INTERNATIONALLY, and I try to be as economical as possible with the shipping costs.
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