text:
Open Sex Vedio Film rapidshare mediafire megaupload hotfile download, Open Sex Vedio Film torrent download, Open Sex Vedio Film emule download, Open Sex Vedio Film full free download, Open Sex Vedio Film rar zip password or anything related.
Repentance (2014) Cam Full Vedio-H3LL2P4Y
1.95 GiB | 1h 31mn | Cam @ 23.98 fps | 720 x 360 | PCM @ 48.0 KHz
Language: English
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Film Is Not Dead: A Digital Photographer's Guide to Shooting Film By Jonathan Canlas, Kristen Kalp
2012 | 288 Pages | ISBN: 0321812808 | EPUB + PDF | 41 MB + 23 MB
2012 | 288 Pages | ISBN: 0321812808 | EPUB + PDF | 41 MB + 23 MB
VSCO Film 01 + 02 for Aperture 3 (Mac OSX)| 444 MB
Total Film UK August 2012
Total Film UK - August 2012
English | 156 pages | HQ PDF | 129.00 Mb
Footages Scratches On Film 10 Pack
Category: Graphic
Footages Scratches On Film 10 Pack
MOV | 1920x1080 | 503 Mb
fxPHD AFX211 - After Effects Project - The Open
.mov | project files | 4.49Gb
I?m back in Chicago from NAB and hitting the ground running with course work for the new term. Sunday afternoon, designer Mark Ward visited the fxphd studios to film the first class for our new After Effects project-based course, afx211. He?s a long time friend and incredibly talented designer who came up with the concept boards for the project. The first class examines the design process on jobs such as this.
The goal for this course is to work through a broadcast design project and in our case, it?s the opening of a new mock reality show called ?The Next FX Master?. Basically, Top Chef for visual effects artists. We?re going on set later this week to film both the material for the course as well as behind the scenes tutorials on various aspects of being the vfx supervisor. Throughout the term, we?ll be distributing high quality 720P material so that members can make the open their own and have something great for their reel. It?s gonna be a blast!
Pixel Film Studios - PROTEASER Vol. 1-10 Plugin for FCPX (MacOSX) | 1.50 GB
Unheard Melodies - Narrative Film Music (PDF)
1987 | 190 Pages | ISBN: 0253204364 , 0253339871 | PDF | 162 MB
Fantasy Film - A Critical Introduction (Film Genres)
Publisher: Berg Publishers | ISBN: 1847883087 | 2011 | PDF | 192 pages | 3.4 MB
Pixel Film Studios Proteaser (Vol. 1-10) | 1.4 GB
Mac Platform: Intel
Blickpunkt Film No 51 2012
Blickpunkt Film No 51 2012
True PDF | 61 Pages | german | 6.8 MB
VSCO Film 01 + 02 for Aperture 3 (Mac OS X)
Size: 444 MB
VSCO FILM 01 for Aperture 3
Breathtakingly gorgeous presets built from the ground up to work directly within Aperture. VSCO Film brings real film grain scans into Aperture for the first time ever for amazing authenticity. Native Aperture controls and functionality means you never have to leave Aperture to get the look you want. (VSCO Film 01 for Aperture 3 is NOT a plugin!)
Pixel Film Studios: FCPX Effect & Plugin Bundle 2014 | 56.7 GB
Big collection of different, professional effects and plug-ins for Final Cut Pro X.
Just drag and drop the desired effect on your pictures and change the settings to your liking.
Film Quarterly Vol 1 64
Film Quarterly Vol 1-64
256 files | pdf | English | 2.66 GB
This pack contains volumes 1-64; 1945-2011, for a total of 256 journals. Enjoy
Film Quarterly has been publishing substantial, peer-reviewed writing on motion pictures since 1958, earning a reputation as the most authoritative academic film journal in the United States. Its wide array of topics, perspectives, and approaches appeals to film scholars and film buffs alike. If you love all types of movies and are eager to encounter new ways of thinking about them, then Film Quarterly is the journal for you!
Unheard Melodies Narrative Film Music
Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music
1987 | 190 Pages | ISBN: 0253204364 , 0253339871 | PDF | 162 MB
Film Comment - SeptemberOctober 2012 (USA)
English | 100 pages | PDF | 83.86 MB
FilmConvert Pro 2.12 plugin (After Effects-Premiere) [ChingLiu] | 83 MB
Ever since the introduction of Digital Cameras, digital evangelists have been saying how Film would eventually be superceeded and replaced. After several decades, this is finally happening. However, for many people, the look of the digital footage still leaves a lot to be desired and doesn't look as good straight out of the camera.
Pixel Film Studios ProRain
Pixel Film Studios - ProRain
English | Pixel Film Studios - ProRain | 219 MB
English | Pixel Film Studios - ProRain | 219 MB
Want to shoot a rainy day film?... In mid-June?... Without renting a Hollywood studio? With PRORAIN?from Pixel Film Studios?you can add real rain to your footage in Final Cut Pro X without having to get your equipment all wet. After all, you can plan a perfect picture, but you can't predict the weather :)
VSCO Film Pack 01-05 PS, LR (addition) [ Windown / Mac OSX] | 732 MB
Language: English
Description: The company updated its line VSCO emulators film presets for Lightroom.
GraphicRiver HQ Film Emulation Actions III 6704228
JPG Image, Photoshop ATN | 76 Mb


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A Columbus police officer shot at least one dog on the city's east side after a Columbus couple was allegedly attacked by the animal Friday evening.
According to police, an offer responded to the area of East Rich Street and Lilley Avenue on a report of a dog attack.
The responding officer fired at the attacking dog and stopped the attack.
Claude Holloway and his wife Deborah say they were walking down the street to the convenience store when they noticed a girl, approximately 11-years-old in a yard struggling with a group of dogs. According to the Holloways, there were a total of six dogs, two of whom were pit bulls.
Deborah Holloway said the pit bulls were attacking a puppy and that the child was trying to stop the attack while the other four dogs stood in the yard. Deborah said she picked up a stick and handed it to the child in an effort to help her. The couple says that is when somehow the fence door got loose and the dogs got out.
Claude Holloway says his first instinct was to protect his wife of 35 years.
"He was trying to bite me. And I swung at him. That's when I missed. That's when he bit me. The officer was just coming across the alley when he saw that. He come out of the car shooting. He didn't ask nothing. He just started shooting the dog," Claude Holloway said.
Claude Holloway suffered a bite on his hand and his wife suffered an injury to her leg. The couple was released from the hospital Friday night but both say they will have to return for a follow-up visit to the doctor for their injuries.
A deputy with the Franklin County Dog Warden's office said that a report was filed Friday night on the incident but that it was not yet available to the public. The office did not respond to a request for further information on the incident except to say that two dogs were involved.
NBC4 was unable to reach the owner of the dogs for comment.
Get the updated forecast from Storm Team 4's Harrison Hove.
3165 Olentangy River RoadColumbus, OH 43202
Telephone: 614.263.4444
Fax: 614.263.0166
Email: email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Farwell, Texas is located in Parmer County. Farwell has a population of 1,389 and has shown 2.3% growth since 2000. Of the 520 households in Farwell, 56.6% are owned, 32.3% are rented and 11% are not currently occupied. The median age of homes in Farwell is 38 years and 34.0% of the homes have been occupied by the same residents for more than 5 years. Learn more about Farwell, Texas real estate at coldwellbanker.com.
Colonial Real Estate
4201 N. Prince Street


text:
Was £49.00
Now £29.00
40% Off
Save a total of £20.00
Flutter Flower Necklace Top
Item No.54488_031433250
Our favourite jersey style top is updated for the new season in our gorgeous Flutter Flower print in beautiful tonal purples. With 3/4 sleeves and a round neckline. Comes with a pretty matching bead necklace.
- Fabric 95% Viscose 5% Elastane
- Machine Wash
Debenhams is happy to exchange or refund your purchase within 28 days providing the goods are in a fully resaleable condition (including tags) and not within the exclusion policy*. This policy does not affect your statutory rights. You can return unwanted items either by visiting your local store (the fastest way to get a refund), by arranging a courier collection or returning by post. Exclusions apply to selected products. For instructions on how to return products and information on Debenhams refund policy visit the returns and refunds section of the website.


text:
Was traveling from Michigan to Illinois Saturday the 24th and found some ammo to add to my meager stash.
A Walmart at Grand Haven had about 6 boxes of Federal 9mm (about $9.47 each) that went home with me. They also had a lot of 50 round and 100 round Winchester white box 9mm supplies (reasonable price but a little more than the Federal).
Then the best find of all was at the Cabela's store at Mile Marker 2 off I-80, in western Indiana.
They had all kinds of .380 defensive ammo from Buffalo Bore to 5 or 6 different brands of JHP. They also had about 70 to 100 boxes of FMJ ball .380 S & B ammo at about $18.00 a box. Needless to say, I limbered up the Visa card and left as one happy camper.
Checked on my way home today, and they still had about 30-40 boxes of S&B , but had about 100 or more boxes of Winchester white box (50 rds) FMJ/ball (not the flat point that is a little quirky in some .380s).
Strangely, a few miles down the road at the Bass Pro shop MM 19, they had no .380 ammo.
Guess Cabela's is doing something right.
Just for you info,
Trooper Joe


text:
The Voice judges 2014: are Kylie and Ricky Wilson good for the show?
Kylie Minogue helps The Voice launch bring in 2million viewers more than last year... as Splash! falls to 3.7m | Mail Online
Kylie Minogue and former Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson made their debut as judges on the new series of BBCs The Voice, but will they make good mentors and will they be good for the show? Kylies appearance certainly made for good ratings with the opening episode apparently drawing 2 million more viewers than last year but I think she also brought warmth and enthusiasm to the proceedings and made some really good comments. Ricky Wilson seemed a bit out of his depth at times but maybe hell get better over the series. What do you think?


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(via Triple D's - Chris Piascik)
This is what Fox News had to say about Paul Ryan's speech at the RNC. When Fox News calls you out for being deceptive you know things have gotten out of hand. To be fair, it was only posted by one of their bloggers (Sally Kohn) — I won't hold my breath waiting for this to be covered on Fox and Friends.
Fox News: Paul Ryan's speech in 3 words
Prints & more available at Society6! / Daily Drawing #1182.


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I like questions, because I like to think, so make them some good ones!
(( I love RP and I love art. So I do a bit of both here...))
Ask Bookmark
I'm girlier than most girls in my class
greetings friend I am a boy
(Source: gostpayter, via dcresistance)
Has no one already drawn Mario onto that log next to Kermit and Mickey?
Anonymous said: You are doing a good thing. Just remember that.
Thank you. I really appreciate it. That legitimately made me smile.
and I am sincerely trying to help my ex, who broke up with me by telling me she never loved me (even though she later said she lied while saying that), win over the boy of her dreams, an upperclassman who is starting in college. I still have very unrequited feelings for her, and yet, she says she needs me to be able to talk to about stuff, so I am a fool and stay. Sometimes it hurts when she yells at me or gets mad because my advice isn't what she wants to hear. Sometimes she cuts herself because of something the guy did, or because she doesn't like her body, or because of her parents, and then she comes to me to talk about it, to try to feel better.
I don't want to stop talking to her, but would ignorance be bliss here if I stopped and didn't have to worry so much about her self harming? I don't care that she's infatuated with that guy, he sounds pretty cool, but she's anchoring her whole life on this guy and it's almost painful to watch sometimes. I've stood up to her before, tried to stop talking, but If you read the title, you know that I couldn't go through with it. She seems to be just getting madder or more upset, and more distant from me, so I'm guessing she'll probably "dump" me soon, but until then, I still love hearing from her.
I am very sincerely hoping for her happiness and trying to help her win this guy's heart, but she doesn't have a lot of self-worth, and she always blames herself for everything and takes everything too seriously and overreacts, her emotions, and usually her body suffers as well, and she's already stated that she has suicidal thoughts and even a plan for how she would commit suicide, should she decide to. I really am hopeless and can't do anything about it most of the time, but she vents to me, asks me for advice, and says she wants to be friends (though last night, she did call me "just a stranger", which means she disregarded all of our talking, videochats, and everything else, including our relationship, because we initially met online.
I want her to be happy, and If she would really be that miserable with me, I'm not going to try to be her prince charming, but I just can't leave her alone because I get worried and It hurts me when she cuts and hates herself and cries over her peers, her parents, and the guy she
likes loves. I want her to be happy, and I'm trying to help her go after him, but once she's done with me and moves on, I'm worried what might happen if things don't work out for her. She is talented and funny and caring and I'm scared she'll be selfish and unfair to everyone she would meet and influence by cutting her own life short before her time. I'm trying.
I'm really trying, but I'm hopeless.
Anonymous said: You're short.
What? No I'm not.
((I wish I had a better tablet. .-.))


text:
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
Blog | About | Contact | Submit Mod | Join Mod DB | Site Map | Media Kit | RSS
© 2002 - 2014 DBolical Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 2853 modders.
This is a PSP adaptation of the turn-based figurine game HeroClix. This is a 1 man project by me (Dman49/4T9 Studios) coded in LUA.
I'm cleaning up my code, breaking them up into separate files and functions! Also some work is starting on the targeting system.


text:
At every Q-and-A session at the Sundance Film Festival, or at least every one where a famous actor is backing the movie he or she made, someone asks The Question.
The Question takes many forms and phrasings, but boils down to this: If you're such a big star, why are you slumming in an independent movie?
|Join the Discussion
|Post a Comment
It was a polite variant of The Question that an audience member tossed to Anne Hathaway after the first screening of "Song One," in which the Oscar winner plays an anthropologist who comes home when her musician brother winds up in a coma.
Hathaway, who is also one of the film's producers, answered as sweetly as anyone could.
"I like beautiful movies, and I think they come in all shapes and sizes," she said.
Sometimes, actors will defend their indie choice by finding a similarity between the independent work and his or her well-known role in a blockbuster.
That's what happened when Mark Ruffalo talked about his role as a manic-depressive father in Maya Forbes' semi-autobiographical drama "Infinitely Polar Bear."
Ruffalo, one of the stars of Marvel's "The Avengers," described his bipolar character as "the low-budget indie version of the Hulk."
The main reason actors flock to the sorts of indie films that play Sundance is because that's where the interesting roles can be found.
Blockbuster movies are, after all, exercises in minimizing risk — and there's nothing riskier to a producer or casting director than picking an actor who doesn't already fit the audience's preconceived notions. That's why Ray Liotta always plays a mobster or a dirty cop, or why Drew Barrymore always plays winsome romantic interests.
But indie films let actors break out of those cocoons and take chances, because they're not betting with the house money. In many cases (like Hathaway in "Song One" or Aaron Paul in "Hellion"), the actors are also producers, so they have skin in the game.
Every year at Sundance, particularly in the U.S. Dramatic competition, there are notable performances from actors who wanted to show Hollywood there's more to them than just the expected. Here are three great ones from this year's festival:
Bill Hader, "The Skeleton Twins" » We already knew, from "Bridesmaids," that Kristen Wiig could handle pathos alongside comedy. In director Craig Johnson's dramedy, Hader plays a struggling actor who attempts suicide, which leads to an uncomfortable reunion with his twin sister (played by Wiig). The old "Saturday Night Live" chemistry is intact in the comic segments, but Hader surprises with a tender performance in the serious passages.
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash" » Simmons' early prominent roles, such as a white supremacist inmate in "Oz," were loaded with menace, but lately he's become cuddly and comical (as in his upcoming sitcom "Growing Up Fisher" or his Farmers Insurance commercials). In "Whiplash," he plays a hard-ass jazz band conductor who drives an ambitious drummer (Miles Teller) to the breaking point. Simmons' fulminating tirades and quiet manipulations are spine-chilling.
Melanie Lynskey, "Happy Christmas" » The New Zealand-born actress gets to use her own accent for a change in Joe Swanberg's largely improvised comedy, playing a novelist feeling creatively stifled as a stay-at-home mom. Lynskey has done comedy (a recurring role on "Two and a Half Men") and drama (notably in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"), and "Happy Christmas" lets her show many facets as a woman both delighted and frustrated by motherhood.
Sean P. Means writes The Cricket in daily blog form at www.sltrib.com/blogs/moviecricket. Follow him on Twitter @moviecricket, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/seanpmeans. Email him at email@example.com.
Copyright 2014 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
Word: clo
Added on: 2012-10-10 Listened: 46 timesin: Add categories to clo
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by Google Translate English translation:
clo = duty
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text:
Get to know a MITX member! We're featuring FORGE Worldwide.
1. In a nutshell, what is your company all about?Ultimately, we're about connecting people to brands in a meaningful - and hopefully valuable - way. This video overview explains it in 1 minutes and 37 seconds.
Almost a decade ago two men were working together for some other guy's agency. They got to talking and said things like, "What if we worked together at our own agency?" "What if we ran things our way, let great ideas rule, and created an culture where individuals thrive as a team?" "What should we have for lunch?" The answers were "It would be fantastic" "That would be an awesome agency", and "Mexican". Meet Harry and Rob.
3. What makes your company different than other companies in your marketspace?
We just rolled out a new product for our clients called Forge Accelerator. Essentially it's an intensive, hyper-focused campaign development process built to deliver what we believe many clients are looking for in an agency partner today - high quality, results-oriented, end-to-end campaigns developed by senior strategists and creatives - quickly. Some clients just don't have time for exhausting agency timelines and committee-based decision-making. And they need an approach that helps them streamline the process on their end as well. Accelerator delivers that.
4. What has been your company's greatest accomplishment in 2014?
Normally we'd answer this kind of question with stats about sales growth or market share, but in April our clients Spaulding Rehabilitation Network had over 100 of their employees run the Boston Marathon, raising more than $700,000 for their hospitals and rehabilitation clinics. These good people trained and pushed and accomplished greatness in the name of helping others. We don't have a better story than that this year.
5. What the heck is a Bedrock Truth??
Every brand has a single, elemental truth about it that is the real reason any consumer will care about it. Why any consumer values it. It is also a truth in what the brand values in itself. We find that truth and craft messages around it. Those messages connect with people on a human level that traditional marketing-speak never could. It's also a registered trademark, so don't even think about it.
6. What is the biggest challenge you face in the marketplace today?
Attracting top talent to Forge as we continue to grow has been and will continue to be a challenge. Having a bar helps.
7. Why are you a MITX member?
To learn stuff and to meet people. Oh yeah, and John Michael Higgins. We ♥ that guy.


text:
Crime Scene
The San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate.com blog on crime in the Bay Area and beyond.
Monthly Archive for February, 2013
Ex-IT director stole from college district
The former information-technology director for the San Mateo County Community College District has pleaded no contest to stealing more than $100,000 in government funds to buy high-tech equipment that he then sold for his own profit. Bradley John Witham, 43, could face up to five years in state prison after entering his plea Wednesday, said […] [Read More]
Reward offered in South City slaying of raccoon
The Peninsula Humane Society is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who fatally shot a raccoon with a pellet gun over the weekend. A resident called animal control officers Sunday to report finding the dazed female raccoon resting its head on the curb near the 700 block of […] [Read More]
Thousands of stolen roses go to waste
A Watsonville man stole $7,000 worth of roses from a warehouse but ended up dumping them by the side of the road a few days later when they dried up, authorities said. Saul Rodriguez, 35, broke into the Monterey Bay Bouquet warehouse on the 400 block of San Andreas Road in Watsonville either late Jan. […] [Read More]
Sex-with-boys mom back in trouble: porn
A woman who was sent to prison for having sex with two underage boys in Livermore, including one who was dating her teenage daughter, was caught with pornography five days after her release and jailed for allegedly violating her parole, authorities said Tuesday. Christine Shreeve Hubbs, 44, who was released from prison Feb. 10, was […] [Read More]
Sassing a cop may be unwise, but it's constitutionally protected
Talking back to a police officer while you're under arrest is usually not the smartest move, a bit like tugging on Superman's cape, or spitting into the wind. But it's legal, according to a federal appeals court — and if the officer retaliates in some way, like hauling you off to jail instead of giving you a ticket and letting […] [Read More]
Oakland tree fire torches cars
For the second time this month, residents in Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood are picking up the pieces after a fire that may have been deliberately set damaged cars. Someone apparently set several Italian cypress trees on fire at 9 p.m. Monday in front of the Redwoods apartment complex at 2800 Nicol Ave. off Fruitvale Avenue. The […] [Read More]
60 cars' tires slashed in Concord
Vandals slashed the tires of 60 parked cars over the weekend in Concord, police said Monday. Car owners reported the tire-slashings about 7 a.m. Sunday on Bel Air, Glazier and Machado drives, residential streets near the corner of Treat Boulevard and Clayton Road. Some cars had one tire slashed, others all four. Saba Merchant said […] [Read More]
S.J. firefighters rescue man stuck in tree
A man spent several hours Monday morning stuck in a tree 30 feet over a creek in San Jose before fire crews could rescue him, authorities said. The man, whose name was not released, was apparently running away from other people when he decided to climb off a bridge that spans Los Gatos Creek, said […] [Read More]
Petition circulator allegedly faked officials' signatures
A Daly City woman has been charged with forging the signatures of 16 San Jose city officials and their spouses on petitions for a ballot measure that passed in November, Santa Clara County prosecutors said Thursday. Laura Frei, 55, allegedly faked the signatures of four City Council members, the city manager and the city attorney […] [Read More]
Arrestee escapes in police minivan
A San Jose police officer turned away from a suspect Wednesday and turned back to find — well, nothing. Anthony Sanchez, 32, of San Jose was arrested for a drug-related parole violation around 3:30 p.m. at an apartment complex on the 800 block of Hillsdale Road, said police spokesman Officer Albert Morales. Sanchez, who is […] [Read More]
Show More


text:
Maryland man accused of impersonating officer
Baltimore, MD, United States (4E) – A 48-year-old man from Baltimore, Maryland who claimed to be a police officer when he pounded on a cab driver's vehicle Wednesday afternoon has been charged.
Anne Arundel County police said Thursday, a Cab Connection staff in Linthicum informed officers that one of the company's drivers was trailed into the Motor Vehicle Administration's facility in Glen Burnie by a motorist because of a possible traffic violation disagreement around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
According to police, the man, wearing a jacket with the word "police" on the back, forced the driver to stop after boxing him in.
After claiming to be a police officer, he attacked the driver by pounding on the hood of the driver's vehicle before escaping.
Police located the suspect, Bryan Edward Benway, at his Baltimore home.
Benway was charged with first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and impersonating a police officer.
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|This Article
|Bibliographic References
|Add to:
ASCII Text
Jisheng Liang, Ihsin T. Phillips, Robert M. Haralick, "An Optimization Methodology for Document Structure Extraction on Latin Character Documents," IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, vol. 23, no. 7, pp. 719-734, July, 2001.
@article{ 10.1109/34.935846,
author = {Jisheng Liang and Ihsin T. Phillips and Robert M. Haralick},
title = {An Optimization Methodology for Document Structure Extraction on Latin Character Documents},
journal ={IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence},
volume = {23},
number = {7},
issn = {0162-8828},
year = {2001},
pages = {719-734},
doi = {http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/34.935846},
publisher = {IEEE Computer Society},
address = {Los Alamitos, CA, USA},
RefWorks Procite/RefMan/Endnote
JO - IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence
TI - An Optimization Methodology for Document Structure Extraction on Latin Character Documents
A1 - Jisheng Liang,
A1 - Ihsin T. Phillips,
A1 - Robert M. Haralick,
KW - Document image analysis
KW - statistical pattern analysis
KW - text line extraction
KW - performance evaluation.
JA - IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence
Abstract—In this paper, we give a formal definition of a document image structure representation and we formulate document image structure extraction as a partitioning problem: Finding an optimal solution partitioning the set of glyphs of an input document image into a hierarchical tree structure where entities within the hierarchy at each level have similar physical properties and compatable semantic labels. We present a unified methodology that is applicable to construction of document structures at different hierarchical levels. An iterative, relaxation-like method is used to find a partitioning solution that maximizes the probability of the extracted structure. All the probabilities used in the partioning process are estimated from an extensive training set of various kinds of measurements among the entities within the hierarchy. The offline probabilities estimated in the training then drive all decisions in the online document structure extraction. We have implemented a text line extraction algorithm using this framework. The algorithm was evaluated on the UW-III database of some 1,600 scanned document image pages. An area-overlap measure is used to find the correspondence between the detected entities and the ground-truth. For a total of 105,020 text lines, the text line extraction algorithm identifies and segments 104,773 correctly, an accuracy of 99.76 percent. The detail of the algorithm is presented in this paper.
[1] R.M. Haralick, "Document Image Understanding: Geometric and Logical Layout," Proc. IEEE Conf. Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, pp. 385-390, 1994.
[2] G. Nagy and S. Seth, "Hierarchical Representation of Optically Scanned Documents," Proc. Seventh Int'l Conf. Pattern Recongnition, pp 347-349, 1984.
[3] J. Ha, R.M. Haralick, and I.T. Phillips, "Document Page Decomposition Using Bounding Boxes of Connected Components of Black Pixels," Proc. Document Recognition II, L.M. Vincent and H.S. Baird, eds., pp. 140-151, 1995.
[4] J. Liang, J. Ha, R.M. Haralick, and I.T. Phillips, "Document Layout Structure Extraction Using Bounding Boxes of Different Entities," Proc. Third IEEE Workshop Applications of Computer Vision, pp 278-283, 1996.
[5] H. Baird and D. Ittner, "Language-Free Layout Analysis," Proc. Second Int'l Conf. Document Analysis and Recognition,Tsukuba, Japan, pp. 336-340, Oct. 1993.
[6] A. Dengel and F. Dubiel, "Clustering and Classification of Document Structure: A Machine Learning Approach," Proc. Int'l Conf. Document Analysis and Recognition, pp. 587-591, 1995.
[7] F. Esposito, D. Malerba, and G. Semeraro, "Automated Acquisition of Rules for Document Understanding," Proc. Second Int'l Conf. Document Analysis and Recognition, pp. 650-654,Tsukuba, Japan, 1993.
[8] K. Kise, A. Sato, and M. Iwata, "Segmentation of Page Images Using the Area Voronoi Diagram," Computer Vision and Image Understanding, vol. 70, pp. 370-382, 1998.
[9] S.Y. Wang and T. Yagasaki, "Block Selection: A Method for Segmenting Page Image of Various Editing Styles," Proc. Third Int'l Conf. Document Analysis and Recognition, pp. 128-135, 1995.
[10] A.K. Jain and B. Yu, "Document Representation and Its Application to Page Decomposition," IEEE Trans. Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 294-308, Mar. 1998.
[11] S. Chen, "Document Layout Analysis Using Recursive Morphological Transforms," PhD thesis, Univ. of Washington, 1995.
[12] P.W. Palumbo, S.N. Srihari, J. Soh, R. Sridhar, and V. Demjanenko, "Postal Address Block Location in Real Time," Computer, pp. 34-42, July 1992.
[13] K. Etemad, D. Doerman, and R. Chellappa, "Multiscale Segmentation of Unstructured Document Pages Using Soft Decision Integration," IEEE Trans. Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 92-96, Jan. 1997.
[14] F. Jensen, An Introduction to Bayesian Neworks. Springer Verlag, 1996.
[15] S-PLUS Guide to Statistics. MathSoft, 1997.
[16] J. Kanai, S.V. Rice, T.A. Nartker, and G. Nagy, "Automated Evaluation of OCR Zoning" IEEE Trans. Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 86-89, Jan. 1995.
[17] M.D. Garris, "Evaluating Spatial Correspondence of Zones in Document Recognition Systems," Proc. Int'l Conf. Image Processing, pp. 304-307, vol. 3, Oct. 1995.
[18] S. Randriamasy and L. Vincent, "Benchmarking Page Segmentation Algorithms," Proc. CVPR, pp. 441-416, 1994.
[19] I.T. Phillips, "User's Reference Manual for the UW English/Technical Document Image Database III, Image Database Manual," technical document, UW III, 1996.
[20] R.M. Haralick and L.G. Shapiro, Computer and Robot Vision. New York: Addison-Wesley, 1993.
[21] W.H. Press, S.A. Teukolsky, W.T. Vetterling, and B.P. Flannery, Numerical Recipes in C. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1992.
[22] S. Chen, R.M. Haralick, and I. Phillips, "Automatic Text Skew Estimation in Document Images," Proc. Third Int'l Conf. Document Analysis and Recognition (ICDAR'95), pp. 1153-1156, Aug. 1995.
[23] I. Phillips, S. Chen, and R. Haralick, "CD-ROM Document Database Standard," Proc. Second Int'l Conf. Document Analysis and Recognition, pp. 478-483, 1993.
[24] I.T. Phillips, J. Ha, R.M. Haralick, and D. Dori, "The Implementation Methodology for the CD-ROM English Document Database," Proc. Int'l Conf. Document Analysis and Retrieval, pp. 484-487, Oct. 1993.


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Boj S - Sent x - 13/Jul/14
Got the fingers warm after it dried out!joe.91 - Sent x - 08/Jan/14
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Felt I should do it since the bro had sent it, felt hard but I guess thats what happens when you try to climb grit in the summer ;)!Joe Lawson - Sent x - 2013 with Sam Lawson
Will Hunt - Sent x - 08/Dec/12 with Naomi Buys, Jordan Buys, Paul Clarke
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petegunn - Sent - 11/Nov/12 with Tom, Davina
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Hidden - Sent - Feb/05


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Miami Bass Means to Us
Grand Royal, Issue 05
Written "off the dome" on the plane to Florida, by DJ Shadow
In this case, "Us" refers to the West Coast Hip-Hop scene as a whole.
Bass music had always been big in the West. As hip-hop moved from the east to the westward states, like some kind of musical manifest destiny, the influences and cultural peculiarities of infected regions set the stage for a whole generation of what I like to call "hip-hop bastards." Most of us in Seattle, Bay Area, L.A., Phoenix, etc..., experienced all different types of hip-hop growing up. Records like "Planet Rock" (the genesis of modern bass music), "Clear" by Cybotron, and "Jam the Box" by Pretty Tony, occupied the same mix tapes that exposed New York's finest. KDAY played it, KSOL played it, KFOX was on it too. DJs that were breaking "Planet Rock" spin-offs eventually began to dabble in the studio. KFOX's Sir Mix-a-Lot Ray (as he was called then) busted out with "Squaredance Rap" and produced other Shannon-esque female uptempo records. DJ Unknown and, later, Battlecat, would form pseudonyms like the "X-men" and up the tempo even higher. Even Sway and Tech busted out with one of the dopest bass jams of the time (late 86's), "We Want To Rock You." But undoubtedly the chief ambassadors of Electro Bass-Funk was Uncle Jam's Army. Their freaky tales (and parties) inspired a whole generation of bass enthusiasts and spawned the man most directly responsible for the sensation to come: The Egyptian Lover. His Egyptian Empire introduced the world to Jamie Jupiter (the man himself is an alias) and of course, Rodney O. Meanwhile, The World Class Wreckin' Cru (of course, featuring Doctor Dre) and the Knights Of The Turntables were doing their thing too.
Sac Town busted out with "Scratch Motion", and Too Short was honing his craft on "99 Girls." Meanwhile, Just-Ice's Mantronik-produced and bass heavy Back to the Old School LP was selling more copies in San Francisco than in the rest of the West Coast combined. In other words, the bass-wave was spreading.
But what, you say, does this have to do with Miami? The South's obsession with bass can be traced, according to a hypothesis by my man Cut Chemist, to not only "Planet Rock" but also a Roxanne Shante party in '84 when Marley Marl busted out the 808 to an unsuspecting crowd. Whether or not this is indeed the case, by '85 the volume of independent records indicated a tremendously strong regional scene. For me, it all jumped off in a major way with "Throw the Dick" by 2 Live Crew, I remember buying all that 12" the same day I bought "South Bronx" by B.D.P. and I actually was feeling 2 Live more. Within the grooves on that mysterious gray label were the sounds that to this day epitomize the best of Miami Bass: top notch, outraged scratching; expert programming; and earthquake bass. (2 Live had, of course already represented from the West on "Revelation" and "What I Like", a true classic.) "Throw the Dick" set it off nationwide for 2 Live and their newest group member, one Luther Campbell. Concurrently, another label with a huge stable of talent emerged: 4 Sight Records. Early releases include "Bass Rock Express" by MC A.D.E., a dope reworking of Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express," like "Planet Rock." 4 Sight also signed Riverside's own Byron Davis and the Fresh Krew, who released two albums and a bonafide classic: "Now Dance." Not to be outdone, and aware of their strong grip on the west, Skyywalker picked up MC Twist out of San Jose. Skyywalker also released one of the classic Miami Bass albums of all time: MC Shy D's, I've Gotta Be Tough, featuring the Ghetto-Style techniques of DJ MANN later hooked up with Le Juan Love for a decent LP with above average beats.
Others began to enter the fray in a major way. Beatmaster Clay D busted out several indie singles, including the classic "Boot the Booty" before delivering his debut LP, You be You And I Be Me. Back in the West, Kool Rock Jay and DJ Slice busted out with "Slice it Up" and DJ Battery Brain hit us with "808 Volt Megamix." And in '89, Afro- Rican took Miami Bass to the national charts with "Just Let it Go," the undisputed summer party jam of the year until Young MC knocked 'em off with "Bust A Move." Afro-Rican really set it off for Miami Bass and a slew of imitators set in to claim bank. But by the early '90's, only one name reigned in the bass game: DJ Magic Mike and he made ALL the money. Then Tag Team, 69 Boyz, etc. etc...
I've got to wrap this up now 'cause my flight to Ft. Lauderdale is leaving. (I'm on a beat-mission). But we should appreciate Miami Bass as a very important and legitimate form of hip-hop that has always given a lot to us here in the West (and all over the world). Now here's 10 of my favorites to check out. Even if you weren't there at the time, you should still check these out and pay your respects to the genius of Miami Bass:
1. "Throw
the D" by 2 Live Crew
2. "Boot the Booty" by Mc Cool Rock and Chezy Chess
3. "Gotta Be Tough" by MC Shy D
4. "Just Give the DJ A Break" by Dynamix II
5. "Now Dance" by Byron Davis and the Fresh Krew
6. "What I Like" by 2 Live Crew
7. "Roll It Up" by Success In 'Effect
8. "Ghetto Bass" by 2 Live Crew
9. "Bass Rock Express" by MC A.D.E.
10. "He is DJ Crash" by Gigolo Tony


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Conference Sessions and Related Resources
The No Better Time learning exchanges are listed below, in alphabetical order, with relevant reading materials posted after many. You can also view these by keyword. If you would like to contribute links, reading materials, or other resources, please send them to Mica Stark. We welcome additional resources, and you do not need to have been at the No Better Time conference to contribute to this web page.
General Readings - For Everyone
TDI's Framing Paper
Book List for Conference
Where is Democracy Headed report.pdf
Readings for Learning Exchanges
(Sorted alphabetically by session name. To sort by keyword, click here.)
A deliberative framing of (and for) leadership and change in universities
Keywords: leadership, institutional change, shared governance
How can college and university leaders and change agents support the deliberative democracy agenda? How could such an agenda advance student learning, cultivate relationships with surrounding communities, and move toward more democratic practices of shared governance and collaborative decision making on campuses?
- Bruce Mallory, University of New Hampshire
- Sheila McNamee, University of New Hampshire
Summary Notes-A Deliberative framing for leadership univ.pdf
Authentic youth civic engagement: What are the essential elements?
Keywords: youth engagement, student engagement
A number of local governments have created dynamic, inclusive processes for engaging young people in local policymaking and problem-solving. However, much of this experience and knowledge has not been tapped, synthesized, or adapted for use by other leaders (including youth leaders) working in other communities or at other levels of government. How should we be defining authentic youth civic engagement?
- Leon Andrews, Institute for Youth, Education, and Families at the National League of Cities
- Cindy Carlson, City of Hampton, VA
And Justice for All: Straight talk about social and racial justice and deliberative democracy
Keywords: justice, inclusion, social justice
The essential meaning of democracy is free citizens with an equal opportunity to participate in the social, political, and economic systems that affect their lives. In this session, we'll take stock of some of the forces that are driving this work: efforts to engage individuals in public life, to promote deliberative politics, and to increase social, political, and economic equity and justice. Is this a happy alliance, or are there underlying tensions? Is a more open democracy inherently more just for all, or can deliberative democracies still exclude historically marginalized groups? Is the language of "inclusion" sufficient and which groups respond positively or negatively to it? We'll talk about these and related questions. And we'll brainstorm ways to work collectively toward a vision of a more just and deliberative democracy.
- David Schoem, University of Michigan
- Maggie Potapchuk, MP Associates
Beyond the Timid University
Keywords: institutional change, leadership, academic freedom, higher education's mission
40 years ago universities were integral to the growth and social impact of the democratic youth movement. By contrast, during the last eight years, and despite the intense political and ethical controversies facing the country, our campuses remained quiet. Why are universities no longer resources, platforms, spaces for democratic organization, for public work, and for wide-ranging critical political conversation? What is it about academic work today that diminishes the democratic potential of college campuses? What might be done to re-orient academic professionalism towards the civic activity flourishing outside the university? What motivates those academics who have broken free of mainstream professionalism to foster collaboration between their campuses and community organizations? More generally, what can the academy do to support democracy without raising the red flag of "indoctrination not education?"
- Elizabeth Coleman, Bennington College
- Al Dzur, Bowling Green State University
Building Capacity for All Through Citizen Action and Deliberative Democracy
Keywords: public capacity building, poverty
Across the country and around the world, low-income and marginalized communities have been experimenting with deliberative democracy to stimulate civic action and/or economic development. These efforts are sometimes done in partnership with colleges and universities, and they have been the subject of recent research. What are some of the key themes arising from this research? How can communities improve the effectiveness of democratic practices as a means to reducing poverty and revitalizing communities? How can highly disadvantaged people get involved? What role can colleges and universities play in this important and timely work?
- Jim Dubinsky, Virginia Tech
- Kari Fruechte, South Dakota State University
- Luz Santana, The Right Question Project
Campuses and communities: Better together
Keywords: community-university partnerships
Deliberative democracy presents many opportunities for collaboration between universities, civic groups, local governments, school systems, and other institutions. What are the ways in which campuses and communities are working together? What are the keys to success, pitfalls to avoid, and areas that seem particularly fruitful for innovation?
- Richard Guarasci, Wagner College
- Martha McCoy, Everyday Democracy
Centers and institutes: What they do and how to create and sustain one
Keywords: centers and institutes
Centers for civic engagement, public deliberation, collaborative governance, community mediation... These are only a few examples of the kinds of structures on campuses designed to serve as partners with local communities. What do they do, and more importantly, what do communities want them to do? What are some strategies for creating a center or institute as valuable partners in a community,? How can they address the challenges of limited resources, changing staff and students, the academic calendar, academic culture, unsupportive peers, and more?
- Martin Carcasson, Colorado State University
- Robert Jones, Florida State University
- Molly Meade, Amherst College
Choosing, Combining, and Adapting Deliberation Models and Methods
Keywords: dialogue and deliberation models
There are many different models and methods being used in this field, and it is not always clear which model is the best fit for a particular situation. Furthermore, most of these models end up being adapted to fit the needs and political context of the moment. How can we use what we know about deliberative projects on the ground to make better decisions about models and methods?
- Martin Carcasson, Colorado State University
- Jim Fishkin, Stanford University
- Sandy Heierbacher, National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation
- Joe Peters, Ascentum
The Public Health Agency of Canada's Draft Public Involvement Framework
Close the Gap! (achievement gap)
Keywords: achievement gap, social justice, poverty
Many forces contribute to the achievement gap, including escalating tuition, increasing reliance on financial aid on loans and merit-based grants, and inadequate academic preparation. What should school systems, colleges, and universities be doing to improve the transition to college for lower-income students and students of color? Once they enter college, what strategies, practices, and culture are needed most at educational institutions to ensure that students achieve their college goals? What are communities doing to address the achievement gap? And how can communities and universities work together? In this session, participants will get the facts and explore ways to address this growing problem.
- Windy Lawrence, University of Houston Downtown
- Georgia Brown, student, University of Houston Downtown
- Dan Butin, Cambridge College
Communication departments as hubs for teaching and learning deliberative democracy
Keywords: communication studies
Communication programs have always been dedicated to improving the quality of communication processes in all sorts of contexts. Augmenting courses in public speaking, argumentation and debate, small group communication, conflict resolution, intercultural communication, political communication, and rhetoric, some programs are adding courses such as "public deliberation," "communication & democracy," and "theories of deliberation and controversy." In this session, participants and practitioners will work to help further develop this relatively untapped resource. Martin Carcasson's catalyst paper on teaching deliberative democracy in communication studies will serve as a conversation starter.
- Martin Carcasson, Colorado State University
Community organizing and deliberative democracy: How do they relate?
Keywords: community organizing, advocacy
From the beginning, deliberation projects borrowed a number of tactics from the field of community organizing. Meanwhile, community organizing has evolved and diversified tremendously. The line between these two approaches to social change seems increasingly blurry. What are the similarities and differences? In what ways can they compliment each other and learn from one another?
- Mark Linder, City of Cupertino, California, and vice chair, Democratic Governance Panel of the National League of Cities
- Ian Bautista, United Neighborhood Centers of America
- Wendy Willis, Policy Consensus Initiative
- Alma Couverthie, Lawrence CommunityWorks
Deliberative democracy and climate change
Keywords: climate change, environmental issues
What is the status of local, state/provincial, federal, and global efforts to engage citizens in issues of climate change? What are the primary challenges, successes, and potential areas for innovation?
- Hans-Peter Meister, Meister Consultants Group
- Roopali Phadke, Macalester College
- Julia B. Dundorf, Clean Air - Cool Planet
Deliberative democracy in federal agencies
Keywords: federal agencies, public administration
In the early months of the Obama Administration, how are federal agencies advancing their work in public participation? What are the most pressing challenges and opportunities, and how can researchers and practitioners be supportive of these efforts?
- Roger Bernier, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Leanne Nurse, Environmental Protection Agency
Creative work, social justice, and deliberative democracy
Keywords: art and democracy, social justice
How might social justice theater or public art advance education for democracy? How do the tools of deliberative democracy work alongside or as part of the creative process? This brief learning exchange will highlight three successful programs combining art, social justice and community engagement and create a space for all to share experiences, ideas and contacts.
- Jah'Shams Abdul-Mumin, Success: A New Beginning
- Barbara Schaffer Bacon, Animating Democracy
- Michele Holt-Shannon, University of New Hampshire
- William Roper, Orton Foundation
Democracy and Participation in the Global South
Keywords: global democracy
The traditional (neo-colonial) view of democracy is that the countries of the North are the leaders, innovators, and 'exporters' of democracy to the Global South. However, it is increasingly evident that some of the most interesting and advanced democratic experiments are taking place in India, Brazil, Chile, the Philippines, and other Southern countries. This session will feature members of LogoLink, a network of civil society organizations based in the Global South, who will share their perspectives from research and practice. One of the overarching questions session participants will address is: How can we foster a higher degree of North-South collaboration and shared learning among democracy practitioners?
- Kaustuv Bandyopadhyay, PRIA, India
- Nina Best, Pólis, Brazi
Summary Notes-Democracy and participation in the Global South Feedback.pdf
Democracy matters: Faculty roles and rewards for engaged scholarship
Keywords: faculty roles and rewards, engaged scholarship
The growth in academic civic engagement has brought the question of faculty roles and rewards to the fore. If higher education is to contribute to nurturing a robust democratic culture, what are the implications for faculty careers? How should colleges and universities nurture, assess, and reward public engagement in teaching and scholarship? How should we understand the connections or tensions between the democratic or civic commitments of faculty and their professional or disciplinary commitments? How do we define the goals of engaged scholarship and teaching? How should institutions evaluate its quality? This session will explore these questions and connect them to current efforts to create academic policies for hiring, evaluating, and rewarding engaged faculty.
- Tim Eatman, Syracuse University
- Julie Ellison, University of Michigan
- David Scobey, Bates College and Imagining America
Democracy, values, and cultural worldviews
Keywords: values, intercultural dialogue, intergroup relations
How does deliberative democracy help participants manage fundamentally different cultural, ideological, or partisan values – and simultaneously face the question of whether our laws, policies, and public processes really emerge from the full range of cultural and ideological values expressed in our society? To what extent do distinctly Constitutional ideals – liberty, justice, the pursuit of happiness, the right to privacy – guide the work of a deliberative democracy, or do they? How do other values, such as community, generosity, and compassion, influence social change and public policy making? In an increasingly diverse and globally interdependent society, "values-based politics" can be both frustrating and motivating. How do practitioners and educators ensure that democracy is, indeed, a matter of principle?
- John Gastil, University of Washington
- Dave Joseph, Public Conversations Project
Economic growth and deliberative democracy: Making the connection
Keywords: economic growth
In the new Soul of the Community report, Gallup has shown a positive correlation between "community-citizen engagement" and economic growth in the 26 cities served by the Knight Foundation. Meanwhile, the new NLC Governing Our Economies report argues that democratic governance is a critical economic development asset. How can researchers continue to explore the links between democracy and economic vitality? How should practitioners and local leaders be using these findings to explain their work and craft new initiatives?
- Paula Ellis, Knight Foundation
- David Smith, National Conference on Citizenship
- Rodney Locks, Councilmember, City of Brevard (NC)
- Will Friedman, Public Agenda
Embedding deliberative practices in local democracy
Keywords: embedded democracy, local democracy
Part I: What does it mean to "embed" public deliberation in communities and why should we care about it?
Some practitioners and scholars use the term "embeddedness" to describe situations where deliberative democracy has become a routine practice in a community's social and political life. In this highly interactive session, participants will discuss various definitions of embeddedness and share concrete examples of what it looks like. We will also develop priorities for research and evaluation that will help the field build a better understanding of why embeddedness matters and of how to measure its contribution to local democratic governance.
- John Dedrick, Kettering Foundation
- Archon Fung, Harvard University
- Pat Scully, Everyday Democracy
Summary Notes-Embedding Deliberative Practice in Local Democracy Worksheet.pdf
Summary Notes-Embedding Deliberative Practices in Local DemocracyPartIFullNotes.pdf
Part II: Assisting communities and exploring new frontiers
How can we help public officials, veteran deliberation practitioners, and other leaders who are trying to embed deliberative practices in their communities? What elements are missing from current examples of embeddedness, and what kinds of work offer the greatest potential for innovation?
- Terry Amsler, Collaborative Governance Initiative, League of California Cities
- Will Friedman, Public Agenda
- BongHwan Kim, Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, City of Los Angeles
Embedding deliberative practices in national democracy
Keywords: national democracy, public administration
What would it look like to embed democratic principles and strategies in federal policymaking? How can the best practices being used in local democracy be scaled up to support public engagement in federal policymaking? What kinds of visions, roles, and assumptions are embodied in the new administration's Open Government Directive (scheduled to be released in May), and how should practitioners and educators react? This session will focus on answering these questions and reviewing the latest developments in Washington. This session will focus in part on the Strengthening Our Nation's Democracy report.
- Carolyn Lukensmeyer, AmericaSpeaks
- Pete Peterson, Pepperdine University and Common Sense California
Summary Notes-Embedding deliberative practices in national democracy.pdf
Embedding Deliberative Practices: Updating the Legal Frameworks
Keywords: legal frameworks for democracy
Most of the laws that govern citizen participation at the local, state, and federal levels are now over thirty years old; they may not uphold, and may even interfere with, the best principles and practices that have emerged in deliberative democracy. How should we work together to revisit and revise the legal framework for democratic governance?
- Lisa Bingham, Indiana University
- Cheryl Graeve, League of Women Voters of the USA
Bingham Collaborative gov'ce and incomplete legal frameworks.pdf
"Extending" cooperative extension: Promising developments in university-community collaboration
Keywords: cooperative extension, community-university partnerships
Cooperative extension programs were originally intended to provide education, research, and support to local people and communities, with a goal of increasing citizen capacity for self governance and local problem solving. How well do cooperative extension programs fulfill their original, democratic purposes? To what extent are they enabling collaboration between campuses and communities? In this session, we'll assess the latest developments and innovations and consider new possibilities for cooperative extension.
- Lynette Flage, North Dakota State University
- Monica Herrera, University of Minnesota
- Charlie French, University of New Hampshire
Funding and fostering democracy: What have foundations learned about the field, and what do they want to know?
Keywords: foundations
Some philanthropic organizations, from small community foundations to large national funders, have helped to seed and grow a more deliberative democracy. Most, however, are more reticent. Why are some funders committed to this work while others are not? What are some of their most common concerns? What questions do funders have about the way deliberative democracy has developed and where it seems to be heading? This session will build on the new Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) guide on "Funding and Fostering Local Democracy."
- Stuart Comstock-Gay, Vermont Community Foundation
- John Esterle, Whitman Institute
- Chris Gates, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
- Dick Ober, New Hampshire Foundation
Higher Education and the Future of Democratic Civic Engagement
Keywords: institutional change, higher education's mission
To what extent do traditional structures, policies, and cultures in academia limit civic engagement and make it less democratic? We invite you to participate in a session exploring the democratic framing and practice of civic engagement on campus, examining ways in which democratic engagement transforms higher education as an alternative to civic engagement that is accommodated to existing structures and practices. What do we need to do to be intentional about the democratic processes and outcomes of engagement? What can we do on our campuses to institutionalize democratic engagement? An exploration of this democratic framing is available at www.futureofengagement.wordpress.com as a starting point for the session.
- John Saltmarsh, University of Massachusetts Boston and the New England Resource Center for Higher Education
- Matt Hartley, University of Pennsylvania
High Impact Learning Structures
Keywords: diversity offices, civic engagement offices/centers, first-year experience
High impact learning structures such as those found in offices of student affairs, diversity and multiculturalism, the first-year experience, and community engagement facilitate student learning for democracy but such departments are often disconnected from each other and from traditional academic programs on campuses. By cultivating substantive and sustainable collaborations to educate students in democratic theory and deliberative practice (e.g., dialogue and deliberation models), there is potential to institutionalize such initiatives beyond a single department or office, engage more students in the democratic process, and encourage them to cultivate their skills in ways that promote a sense of social responsibility. Join us for a discussion focusing on what these learning structures can offer as partners and complements to academic disciplines and how can they work together to increase their effectiveness and their impact on the campus.
- Paul Alexander, Regis University
- Ande Diaz, Roger Williams University
- Joanna Dickert, Carnegie Mellon University
- Steve Gilchrist, Wells College
How Can Federal Agencies Support Local Democracy?
Keywords: federal agencies, public administration, local democracy
The pressures that have fostered deliberative democracy in communities are increasingly evident at the federal level – but there has been very little discussion about how federal agencies, local governments, and other institutions should work together, or complement one another, in their efforts to involve the public. A few federal agencies, such as the EPA, have learned a great deal about how to engage citizens in ways that strengthen local democracy as well as meeting the needs of federal policymakers. What are the most critical lessons, and how can we use them to promote local-federal collaboration in this work?
- Carmen Sirianni, Brandeis University
- Henry Topper, Environmental Protection Agency (retired)
Innovations in youth civic engagement
Keywords: youth engagement, student engagement
The role of young people in public life has become an increasingly popular topic - and a fast-moving target. What are the most promising strategies and approaches in youth civic engagement? How can governments, schools, universities, and other institutions assess and enhance their capacity to do this work?
- Robert Hackett, Bonner Foundation
- Leon Andrews, Institute for Youth, Education, and Families at the National League of Cities
- Cindy Carlson, City of Hampton, VA
- Shelly Kent, student, University of Houston Downtown
Institutionalizing deliberative democracy on campus
Keywords: institutional change
One critique of the academy is that innovative programs or activities are often marginalized or linked to the hard work of one champion, and when the funding dries up or the champion moves on, the good work fades away. How can the champions of deliberative democracy on campus ensure that it outlasts them? How do we recognize a sustainable project – one that has been institutionalized across administrative units and academic departments? In this session, we'll consider approaches to deliberative practices that create the conditions for sustainable change.
- Robert Cavalier, Carnegie Mellon University
- Joanna Dickert, Carnegie Mellon University
Intergroup and intercultural dialogue, an international learning exchange
Keywords: intergroup relations, intercultural dialogue
The Council of Europe's commitment to "intercultural dialogue" has been adopted by the Council's higher education division as a central goal of higher education collaboration and reform. In the US, programs in intergroup dialogue flourish. What models are commonly used in the US, what is the research showing about what students get out of intergroup dialogue experiences, and how does that compare to efforts abroad?
- Lars Nielsen, Observer at the Council of Europe and EURASHE President
- Robert Stains, Public Conversations Project
- Gwen Wright, Change Matters
Making the Case for This Work
Keywords: assessment and evaluation
Despite all the research that has been done on public deliberation and all the evaluations that have been conducted by local projects, most of us struggle to concisely explain what kinds of outcomes can be expected from this work. Part of the problem is that there are many different kinds and levels of both processes and potential outcomes. This session will deal with the complexity of the evaluation question, and explore ways to make the collection and reporting of evaluations, case studies, and other data more effective.
- Tina Nabatchi, Syracuse University
- Kristen Cambell, National Conference on Citizenship
Neighborhood Democracy
Keywords: local democracy, "embedded" democracy
Thirty years ago, a new democratic experiment began in a handful of American cities. In Portland, Oregon, Dayton, Ohio, St. Paul, Minnesota, and a number of other places, local governments created neighborhood council systems as a way of engaging citizens in public decision-making and problem-solving. What have we learned from this 'first wave' of neighborhood governance structures, and from the second wave that has followed in places like Los Angeles and Minneapolis? Do these systems hold promise as a way of embedding deliberative democracy in the social, cultural, and political life of communities? This session will build on the "Democratic Governance at the Neighborhood Level" meeting, held in November 2008, and the resulting report.
- Mark Linder, City of Cupertino, California, and vice chair, Democratic Governance Panel of the National League of Cities
- Bonnie Mann, National League of Cities
New Frontiers for Assessment and Measurement
Keywords: assessment and evaluation
Communities need to be able to build ongoing evaluation mechanisms into their deliberation and democratic governance work – to monitor engagement processes, track outcomes, strengthen accountability, and learn how to improve their efforts. What indicators should we be using, and what other kinds of tools exist – or might be developed – to meet these community needs?
- Carolyne Abdullah, Everyday Democracy
- Paul Leistner, City of Portland, Oregon
- Vera Schattan Coehlo, CEBRAP (Brazil)
DDC Memo - Impacts and Outcomes of Participatory Processes in Brazil and Canada June 2009.pdf
DDC Impacts and Outcomes of Participatory Processes - indicators and variables July 6.pdf
Participatory Budgeting in Local Government
Keywords: participatory budgeting, leadership, local democracy
As city and county budgets shrink, more and more local officials are turning to citizens to provide input on cutting deficits and how best to spend remaining precious resources. Participatory budgeting examples range from large-scale big-picture input sessions to small groups acting as "mini city councils" to recommend trade-offs in line-item detail. What are the best ways to approach involving the public in budgeting decisions? How should local governments determine what questions should be asked of the public? Which civic engagement processes best fit which situations? What responsibilities do pol! icy makers take on when they ask the public? And how can these processes be embedded to ensure planning beyond the lean years?
- Malka Kopell, Community Focus
- Harris Sokoloff, University of Pennsylvania
See lots of materials from the Philadelphia Tight Times, Tough Choices Additional blogs and reports here
See material from City of Menlo Park on budgeting
Political Theory or Practice
Keywords: political science
The analysis of political life – whether it is how governments are structured, how and whether individuals participate in those governments, or more normative considerations about the best kind of government and the best kind of citizen – is what political scientists do. If we view democratic education as simply the creation or transference of knowledge about democratic politics, then the discipline is on track. However, if we think about political science as being the builder not just of knowledge but of democratic skills and habits – that is, if our work has an avowedly democratic purpose of helping to create citizens committed to and prepared to be engaged in democratic life – then it is hard to see the discipline as anywhere close to the center of that work. In fact, for much of the 20th century it developed as a social science discipline increasingly distanced from, and perhaps even contemptuous of, this work. In this session, we'll consider the purpose of political science and whether and how to increase the discipline's public relevance.
- Katy Harriger, Wake Forest University
Race and democracy: Latest twists in a long and winding road
Keywords: racial equity, social justice
Over the last two decades, racial progress and the evolution of democracy are wrapped up in one another, pulling each other and pushing forward together. In the aftermath of an historic presidential election, how has the dynamic changed? What new challenges and opportunities have emerged?
- Sarah Buie, Clark University
- David Campt, The Race Doctor
- Martel Pipkins, student, University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Reframing and reclaiming democracy
Keywords: language
"Deliberative democracy" is just one of many different terms and labels ("public engagement," "civic participation," "citizen involvement," "democratic governance," and so on) being used to describe our work. The definitions of these terms are blurry and overlapping, and none of them seems very compelling. How can we develop and use language that explains, in a plain and powerful way, why this work is proliferating and why it matters?
- Paul Alexander, Regis University
- Steve Burkholder, former mayor, Lakewood, Colorado, and former chair, Democratic Governance Panel of the National League of Cities
- Ruth Wooden, Public Agenda
Renewing the research agenda
Keywords: research and scholarship
We have achieved some momentum in the field by regularly convening practitioners and academics to discuss our common research agenda: What do we know about this work? What do we need to find out next? This session will use the DDC report, Where is Democracy Headed? Research and Practice on Public Deliberation as a starting point for the discussion.
- Jim Fishkin, Stanford University
- Archon Fung, Harvard University
- Peter Levine, CIRCLE
Restorative, community justice: Democratic solutions to a justice system in crisis
Keywords: justice
Across the country, governments are experimenting with approaches to managing criminal offenses by engaging citizens in creating community standards and actively involving offenders and harmed parties to hold offenders accountable. Similarly campus judicial systems are experimenting with forms of restorative justice and community standards using democratic dialogue, broad student participation, conflict management techniques, and collaborative decision making. These processes ask, for example, who was harmed by the offense? What is the impact on the community? What can the offender do to repair the harm and rebuild trust? In this session, we'll consider how restorative justice and community standards are consistent with the principles and practices of just and deliberative democracy, both in a campus and community setting.
- Anne Lundquist, Wells College
- William Burton, Common Ground Resolution Services
Seeding democracy: Community colleges as community hubs for deliberative democracy
Keywords: community colleges
Rising tuition and fees are making university education out of reach for growing numbers of poor, middle, and working class students, so community colleges are viewed as the most accessible and equitable institutions in American higher education. At the same time, they face persistent challenges: decreasing public funding, transitory student populations, and pressure to educate for careers, usually to the exclusion of citizenship. How can our most democratic colleges – those where the faculty, students, and community are one-and-the-same –advance deliberative democracy in public life?
- Shelby J. Brown, Connecticut Community College System
- Doreen Larson, Holyoke Community College
Stakeholders, citizens, or both? The interplay between conflict resolution, collaborative governance, and deliberative democracy
Keywords: conflict resolution, collaborative governance
Some colleges and universities offer programs in conflict resolution that work with stakeholders – governments and private and civic interests – to mediate conflict, address problems, and achieve solutions to public challenges. Others offer programs in "collaborative governance," programs that provide support for governments seeking ways to improve inter-governmental collaboration. Enter deliberative democracy. How do citizen participation and deliberation affect these more established forms of decision and policy making? What can the field of deliberative democracy learn from the successes and failures of conflict resolution and collaborative governance educators and practitioners? And how are all of these fields evolving as they work to include ordinary citizens as stakeholders in addressing public problems?
- Heather Pincock, Syracuse University
- John Stephens, University of North Carolina
Student Democratic Leadership Education
Keywords: leadership education, student engagement
How do we prepare students, in both academic and co-curricular programs, for leadership work that promotes a deliberation democracy agenda? How do the terms "democratic" and "leadership" clash in the ways they are often presented in higher education? This exchange will illuminate both the complexities and the possibilities in student democratic leadership education in higher education today, learning from good program models, research, and shared stories of challenges and successes in this work.
- Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Miami University (Ohio)
- Marguerite S. Shaffer, Miami University (Ohio)
Students as Catalysts for Change
Keywords: youth engagement, student engagement
A Session for Students - Participants in Support of Students Welcome In the 2008 presidential election, students voted in record number and their vote had a significant impact on the outcome of the race. Across the country, students campaigned door-to-door, wrote blogs, and joined national movements to express their views. Excited by this renewed energy, academics, practitioners, and public officials are searching for ways to sustain it in and beyond the classroom. What was it about the last election that captured student attention? What do students suggest as programs and activities that would prepare them for continued political engagement? It's important to include students in conversations about the next generation of civic education.
- John Saltmarsh, University of Massachusetts Boston and the New England Resource Center for Higher Education
- Edward Zlotkowski, Bentley University
Teaching Democracy in Public Administration Schools
Keywords: public administration
Some of the traditional employers of PA school graduates are looking for employees with the skills and mindset to engage citizens in more deliberative, democratic ways. How are PA programs responding to these new challenges? What kinds of "democratic skills" do graduates need? How should PA professors and administrators address these challenges and opportunities as they consider the future of their field? Matt Leighninger's catalyst paper* on public administration will help to set up this session.
- Matt Leighninger, Deliberative Democracy Consortium
Teaching Democracy in Public Administration - No Better Time paper.pdf
Teaching Teachers: Deliberative Democracy in Education Programs
Keywords: teacher education
How can we engage with schools of education, which prepare future teachers and principals? Too often, educators are prepared to teach academic content and "manage" classrooms or school buildings, but are not prepared to understand schools as potential classrooms and laboratories of democratic life. Yet there are allies in education schools. How can we work with teacher education and educational leadership programs to prepare teachers and principals to advance civic education and deliberative democracy in engaging and effective ways? This session will draw from Sarah Stitzlein's catalyst paper on teaching deliberative democracy in education programs.
- Kim Carter, Five Freedoms Project
- Kathleen Knight Abowitz, Miami University (Ohio)
- Peter Levine, Tufts University and CIRCLE
- Sarah Stitzlein, University of New Hampshire
Tech ethics: The values questions raised in a digital democracy
Keywords: technology
Many attribute the dramatic increase in youth engagement to shifts in the way democracy worked in this past presidential election, particularly the Obama campaign's more technological orientation. What does that mean for face-to-face democracy-building? Where are the digital divides – age, economic disparity, language – and how do we overcome them? Who controls information exchange? Are the technology advocates in sync with the deliberative democracy advocates? This session will examine timeless questions – who controls information, who participates in policy making, how do we ensure equal voice and opportunity, what happens when we skip the relationship-building aspect of strengthening public life – in a new, techno-democracy.
- Taylor Willingham, Texas Forums
- John Stephens, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Tech-Savvy Citizenry
Keywords: technology
Facebook and other social networks. Online video. Twitter. Online neighborhood forums. Technology is already reshaping deliberative democracy. What are the most promising tools and resources now available, and where is the potential for future innovation? What technologies work best for local democracy, for national democracy, for community organizing, and so on? In this session, we'll examine what's hot, what's tried and true, and what's tried – and failed. We'll also consider the kinds of skills citizens need – and students should acquire – in order to be active participants in a tech-savvy democracy.
- Joe Peters, Ascentum
- Brad Rourke, blog.bradrourke.com
I tagged a number of articles at my blog that might be useful to take a look at -- Brad Rourke.
Summary Notes-Social Media In The Service of Civic Engagement.pdf
The "downside" of deliberative democracy
Can deliberative projects spread misinformation, encourage narrow-mindedness, and discourage political action? How often are citizens actually capable of making fair, informed choices about policy? Is it realistic to think that decision makers will set aside power and authority based on the will of everyday people? These kinds of questions have been raised about the theory of deliberative democracy; are they valid criticisms of the practice? This session should allow for a candid exchange of these, and other, concerns so that practitioners and educators can learn, adapt, and respond.
- Alice Siu, Stanford University
- Mary Jacksteit, Public Conversations Project
The Kind of Scholarship We Need
Keywords: research and scholarship, faculty roles and rewards, engaged scholarship
One of the most valuable contributions scholars can play in strengthening democracy is helping society understand pressing social, civic, and ethical problems so that citizens can work to address them. Academics use many terms to describe this work: engaged, outreach, or applied scholarship, and participatory, collaborative, community-based, or action research. The more participatory, action forms of scholarship are particularly aligned with the principles and practices of a deliberative democracy. In this session, participants will explore these research methods and discuss what works best for communities, practitioners, scholars, and students. This session will draw from the Cunningham-McKinney catalyst paper on engaged scholarship.
- Hannah McKinney, Kalamazoo College and Vice Mayor, Kalamazoo, Michigan
- Malka Kopell, Community Focus
This just in: The future of journalism in 21st Century democracy
Keywords: journalism
The shifts in local democracy, the development of online media, and the economic realities facing media outlets today all portend great changes in the way journalists are educated and employed. How can we assess these factors and envision new roles for journalists in 21st Century democracy? Do colleges and universities have an expanded role to play as providers of high-quality, up-to-date information? How can journalism support deliberative democracy, both on and off campus? David Ryfe's catalyst paper* on journalism will help to set up this session.
- David Ryfe, University of Nevada at Reno
- Cynthia Simmons, University of Washington
Here is a list of websites related to the topic of this session.
Using Democratic Strategies in the Classroom
Keywords: pedagogy
This session examines a range of democratic strategies that make classrooms more interactive, engaging, and relevant to the development of students as citizens in a democracy. How can democratic strategies, such as deliberative forums and dialogue, be part of basic course design? How do we overcome barriers than might limit their use? How do we handle dialogue that is culturally, politically, or ideologically charged? What are the implications of using democratic strategies in the classroom for justice in democracy? We'll also consider strategies for encouraging the use of democratic strategies across the curriculum and in co-curricular programs on campus.
- John Dedrick, Kettering Foundation
- Katy Harriger, Wake Forest University
- Nancy Thomas, University of New Hampshire
Classroom supplemental resource, see Choices Program
Start Talking (a handbook about managing difficult dialogues in the classroom)
READINGS FOR BREAKFAST ROUNDTABLES (sorted alpha by session name)


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Time to celebrate!
Consett's clock is back. OK it was one of my 2012 New Year's resolutions to get it back, but better late than never.
Actually it's taken much longer than a year since I first set out on the trail – about the time Derwentside was disappearing which is nearly four years ago – but today I'm not whingeing about all the time it's taken but celebrating. I'm grateful, too, to the county council's economic regeneration team who joined me enthusiastically in ensuring we got it back – and sourcing the cash to do it.
One Response to "Time to celebrate!"
Greg Coltman Says:
February 1st, 2013 at 7:01 am
Halleluja! It's been a long time coming and I'm chuffed it's back Well done to all concerned


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Welcome to the Newsroom for "How to Close A Deal Like Warren Buffett" by Tom Searcy and Henry DeVries. Here you will find interview excerpts, press-ready images, highlights from the book and press contact information. Please feel free to republish any materials found here, so long as proper attribution is given to the book "How to Close A Deal Like Warren Buffett" by Tom Searcy and Henry DeVries.
Attention journalists: For media information contact Henry DeVries at 858-534-9955 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Recent Warren Buffett Columns by Tom Searcy and Henry DeVries
"What Warren Buffett's CEOs Can Teach You"
"3 Ingredients to Making a Warren Buffett Deal"
Recent Amazon Best Sellers Rankings
- #1 in Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Negotiating
- #1 in Books > Business & Investing > Skills
- #1 in Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Entrepreneu
- #1 in Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Sales & Selling
Key Account Sales Expert, Tom Searcy: Five Ways to Win Multi-Million Deals
The big key account game is on, says author and key account sales expert, Tom Searcy.
"In this tough economy, sales people from small to medium sized companies are getting played every day by prospects from big name companies out to play an unfair game called Chase the Key Account,"
says Searcy. "Sales people gamble their time, energy and resources on making a deal, and instead of constantly gambling, they should take proven steps to put the odds in their favor."
Searcy, founder of the consulting firm Hunt Big Sales (www.HuntBigSales.com), is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and the foremost expert in multi-million dollar key account sales. By the age of 40, Searcy had led four corporations, transforming annual revenues of less than $15 million to as much as $200 million in each case.
"The problem is the sales game is usually rigged against most sales people from smaller organizations," says Searcy. "What most prospects call a fair deal is really a set of rules that favor the status quo of doing nothing or staying with the current provider."
Searcy has helped clients land more than $5 billion in new sales with over 190 of the Fortune 500 companies, including 3M, Disney, Chase Bank, International Paper, AT&T, Apple and hundreds more. Searcy is the author of "RFPs Suck! How to Master the RFP System Once and for All to Win Big Business" and the co-author of "Whale Hunting: How to Land Big Sales and Transform Your Company." His new book with co-author Henry DeVries, "How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett" is currently available.
Here are five ways from Searcy on how to win multi-million deals in this challenging economy:
- Don't Agree to Stacked Decks. In gaming parlance, a stacked deck is a set of playing cards arranged in a preset order, designed to give a specific outcome when the cards are dealt. In the Oscar-winning movie, "The Sting," Paul Newman's character goads Robert Shaw's fictional gangster boss into cheating, which he does with a cold deck ("Stack me a cooler Floyd!"). When you are going after a key account, sometimes the prospect just wants to hear your ideas and your research. Try this: Set expectations upfront about urgency and information access so you know you really have a fair shot at landing the business.
- Avoid the Big Con. In the world of selling, most stacked deck sales competitions are created by the incumbent player who is trying to preserve his or her position. This means that the alleged "fair opportunity" to win the business is inherently unfair to anyone who challenges it. You would have a better chance of winning a street corner game of three-card Monte with some big city con men than winning one of these sales deals. Try this: Don't enter the game unless you have an executive sponsor that is high up in the organization.
- Know the Rules. The smaller organization that seeks to unseat the incumbent always has the deck stacked against them. The current provider—whether it is an internal department, a competitor or another business initiative that competes for resources—is entrenched and holds all the cards. This means the current provider has access to unique information, people, and discreet decision-making processes, all favoring the status quo. Try this: Be direct and ask them how high of a priority it is to make a change.
- Don't Fall for the Level Playing Field Con. No buying process truly creates a level playing field. When the process (i.e., RFP) is created for considering new ideas and providers, the process is supposed to give a "fair and equal" opportunity for evaluation to all parties. However, fair is not a possibility given the entrenched competition. Try this: Know when to fold 'em. If there is no urgency and you cannot engage the prospect's team, the deal may not be winnable.
- Change the Game. Therefore, it is your responsibility to change the game. Let the other suckers chase after prospects when they face a clear disadvantage. You have the power to change the rules of the game. Try this: Get an executive sponsor agreement in writing early in the process. Does it have to be in writing? Yes it does. But just a one-page document. You are not writing your version of the official "Rules According to Hoyle."
"Eliminate the chance in chasing key accounts," says Searcy. "You should do everything you can to win as long as it is not illegal, immoral, unethical, or might compromise the future of the business."
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Media contact: Henry DeVries at email@example.com or 858-534-9955 or 619-540-3031
Key Account Selling Expert, Tom Searcy: Top Ten Ways Presentations Go Wrong
Bad things happen to good people pitching big deals, says author and key account selling expert, Tom Searcy.
Searcy, founder of the consulting firm Hunt Big Sales (www.HuntBigSales.com), is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and the foremost expert in multi-million dollar key account sales. By the age of 40, Searcy had led four corporations, transforming annual revenues of less than $15 million to as much as $200 million in each case.
"The show must go on even if people or technology let you down," says Searcy. "Be prepared to pitch even if your techno-demo turns into techno-drama. Whatever happens, be prepared to address it and move on."
Searcy has helped clients land more than $5 billion in new sales with over 190 of the Fortune 500 companies, including 3M, Disney, Chase Bank, International Paper, AT&T, Apple and hundreds more. Searcy is the author of "RFPs Suck! How to Master the RFP System Once and for All to Win Big Business" and the co-author of "Whale Hunting: How to Land Big Sales and Transform Your Company." His new book with co-author Henry DeVries, "How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett" will be published by McGraw-Hill in January 2013 (advance copies available November 2012).
Based on his experience, here is Searcy's list of the top ten ways presentations to land key accounts can and do go wrong:
- People. The wrong people from the prospect company come to the meeting. Some of your people can't attend the meeting at the last minute.
- Technology. The Internet connection, your technology demonstration, the projector, the phone for a conference call. Whatever it is you need—it doesn't work.
- Facility. Room holds eight people, and 12 are invited. Room holds 250 people, and twelve are invited. Room is too hot or too cold. Room location has changed, and half the attendees don't know the new location.
- Hostility. Someone has a personal agenda to damage this relationship—so that person asks distracting questions, points out tiny details, dominates the meeting—all to cast you in an unfavorable light.
- Time. Time of the meeting gets moved at the last minute. Hour meeting becomes half hour meeting without notice.
- Disruption. People arrive late or leave early. Someone interrupts to take a vote on the lunch menu. Two people whisper with each other throughout the meeting. Fire alarm means you have to exit the building for fifteen minutes. Sudden summer thunderstorm forces people to leave the meeting to roll up car windows.
- Distraction. Jackhammers break up the sidewalk outside the window. Next-door office has a raucous retirement party. Seminar-goers from down the hall stop outside your door to visit during restroom break.
- Tangent. Someone makes a comment, and the entire conversation shifts to a totally new topic and never returns to the subject at hand.
- Usurper. Someone feels the need to be important and peppers your presentation with asides—sometimes funny ones—that keep you off-track.
- Preparation. Attendees are not prepared, so you waste valuable time having to establish a background they should already know.
When any of these events threatens to disrupt your meeting purpose, Searcy recommends to declare it a broken play and move on. Never pretend the problem does not exist.
Searcy says to say something like the following: "I'm sorry, but we all agreed upon some outcomes for today's meeting and, based on the circumstances, I think it will be difficult to get them. Let's reset our outcomes so they reflect what we think we can achieve and meet again. We want to make our time spent together valuable."
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Media contact: Henry DeVries at email@example.com or 858-534-9955 or 619-540-3031
Quotations from Chairman Buffett
The Berkshire Hathaway (stock symbol BRK) Annual Shareholders' Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska in May is truly to capitalists what the Daytona 500 is to NASCAR fans. It's a spectacle, a tradition, and a happening. The event is over the top and reassuringly familiar to the faithful.
At this writing, a BRK-A share prices out over $120,000 for a single share, but a BRK-B is about $80. The good news is that either share will qualify you for a ticket to the annual meeting. It's so worth the expense of either type of share, the travel and time to attend this crash-course in business excellence.
As research for this book Tom Searcy and Henry DeVries and attended the 2012 annual session in Omaha and got the chance to meet all sorts of great people including the CEO of Dairy Queen, the founder of The Pampered Chef, the CEO of World Book, senior executives of Burlington Northern Santa Fe raillway and many other leaders of the various companies owned by Berkshire Hathaway.
"Here's what we learned from meeting and watching these company CEOs and executives that is true of many of the successful business leaders that we have met over time, regardless of the size of their companies. Surprisingly, it's love," said Searcy.
- Love their customers. Hollywood often portrays business leaders as stuffed suits, brusque and self-important. Not this group. They are on fire, accessible, warm and friendly. They seek and serve their customers and shareholders with genuine interest. Warren (we will be on a first name basis with him throughout the book) likes to tell shareholders that the managers who run the companies Berkshire owns are all rich enough to quit any day, but they stay for reasons other than money.
- Love what they sell. I got to talk to the founder of Pampered Chef for a moment. She pulled me over to three different products on sale for half-price, $5 each. I have the leader of a billion-dollar company demonstrating a no-drip wine-stopper as if we were in my home and she'd brought it as a host gift. A Dilly Bar from DQ? Served with a smile and a "Still love'em after all of these years, they are just the best!" from the CEO of Dairy Queen. The excitement hasn't left these people with the millions they have earned or the international notoriety. They still love their products and services and can't wait to tell people about them.
- Love what they do. Working the booth, talking to shareholders and customers, chatting with their staff, you would think you were attending an Up with People! rally. The working of the floor is not beneath them or a burden. They love what they do and they bring the energy to everything they are doing.
- Love their people. Elbow to elbow with their frontline people, these people were not followed by an entourage. If there wasn't a different color for their badges you would have some difficulty picking out the executives from any other member of the team. Joking while you are jostling in the crowd, setting the pace for reaching out to customers, pitching in- it was clear to me that these leaders love their people.
"Nobody believes that excellence like this just happens," says DeVries. "There of course is a person responsible for bringing these exemplary managers together, and that person is Warren Buffett."
Here are some choice quotes from Buffett that he delivered at the 2012 annual meeting:
On his health (recently diagnosed with prostrate cancer): "My diet is such that any fool can see that I am eating properly. I have four doctors. And yes, they're Berkshire shareholders." Later he joked that he might be killed by a jealous husband, but not prostrate cancer.
On political involvement and criticism he has received over supporting the "Buffett rule," President Barack Obama's proposal to raise tax rates for the ultra-rich: "I will not put my citizenship in a blind trust," said Buffett.
On giving advice to China: "We are not in the business of giving advice."
Buffett is enjoying his business too much to consider retiring. Ironically, the deal to acquire the then textile company Berkshire Hathaway back in the early 1960s is not one Buffett is proud that he made. In 1962 he began buying stock in the company. Eventually, he conceded that the textile business was a declining industry and the company's fortune would not improve. Buffett had a chance to sell his holding, but because of a dispute over price — $11.38 versus $11.50 a share – he rejected the offer and gained control of the company.
Becoming majority owner of a failing textile company because of a perceived slight over price, Buffett said later, was the biggest deal-making mistake he has ever made. Had the additional money poured into Berkshire instead been invested in the insurance business for 45 years, he calculates it would have produced several hundred times the results.
Buffett, as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, began writing his now-famous annual letters to shareholders in 1970, which have been packed with lessons about deal-making and investing.
Buffett told BusinessWeek in 1999 that "Berkshire is my painting, so it should look the way I want it to." He also said: "There is nothing remotely as fun as running Berkshire."
"We get the opportunity to paint our own painting every day," Buffett said of Munger and himself at the 2012 annual meeting. "And we love painting that painting. And that painting will never be finished."
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Media contact: Henry DeVries at email@example.com or 858-534-9955 or 619-540-3031


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Though the Spice Girls officially broke up after their 2008 reunion tour, it seems their songs will be returning to the live stage, this time in London's West End.
Posh, Ginger, Scary, Baby and Sporty will be played by actresses in the musical, tentatively called Viva Forever.
The show, which is set to debut on November 5, will tell the story of the girls' rise to fame through 14 of their biggest hits.
They are developing the show with Simon Fuller, who managed them in the 90s, and Judy Cramer, producer of stage hit Mamma Mia!.
Simon says the Spice Girls are "very excited" about the project.
"What they created with their powerful record-breaking mix of girl power and hit songs, has influenced pop culture more than anyone can imagine," he added.
Photo: � Rex
Friday January 22, 2010
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