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Christian Perry, founder of SF Beta, is one of the most dynamic people we know. In a very short time, Christian has transformed SF Beta into a hub of founder activity. It is now San Francisco's largest monthly startup mixer. Since launching in September, 2006, SF Beta has brought together thousands of people from hundreds of startups, creating innumerable connections along the way.
The irrepressible Christain Perry is someone every founder should meet. He has become a central figure in the Bay Area startup world, and now he's expanding to Boston… so watch out East Coasters!
I highly recommend you go to these events. They're a ton of fun, and provide great insight into up-and-coming startups.


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Main Page
Welcome to the World History Wiki
This Wiki was created as a class project for a high school world history honors class. You are welcome to use the information found in this website for academic purposes. Please note, however, that this is not a primary or secondary source, and you may want to verify the information contained within.
Due to spam attacks, user creation and editing have been disabled. Due to the amount of traffic the site receives, a decision was made to keep it as an artifact of learning rather than something others can add to. Anyone that attempts to abuse or vandalize the wiki will be blocked via IP address.
When we created this wiki in 2008, one student, Joe V., went above and beyond and provided assistance to other students in order to make sure the format was identical on every page. Needed to learn how to insert an image? See Joe. Joe was a very gifted student with technology, and as he moved through the world he had great opportunities; from working at Electronic Arts to starting his own consulting firm to help business harness cloud and internet services most efficiently. Sadly, Joe was taken from his friends and family way too soon in February, 2016. This awesome wiki will be furthermore dedicated to his memory.
World History Wiki
Welcome to the class' wiki where we will record what we learn about world history. You will each be responsible for a page for your current project, plus a group page. Over time this will expand as will our subjects and themes we explore.
The purpose of this wiki is to not only collaborate and reference each other's research, but to build a knowledge base of our lessons from history.
This is your site. This is your space. I do request as this is a part of your learning, please respect the guidelines set forth by Broward Schools Technology Policy.
Have fun!
For Updates and Announcements, be sure to check out the Announcement page!
To start this project, click on Community portal to your left. This is where you'll find all instructions on how to set up your wiki page and all requirements for the wiki. Be sure to check it often as information is updated and further instructions are provided.
The link to Ancient Civilizations on your left will connect you to the sources I am providing, plus links to create and edit your group pages.
Cultural Literacy is well, terms you should be familiar with as high school sophomores.
Project Requirements
1. A wiki page will show the evidence of your research. You must have at least 15 sources of information, 6 of which should come from books, and I will provide another 5 sources for you to use. Images, maps and other media when appropriate should enhance your wiki page. This is 30% of your grade.
2. Successful completion of advanced searching and copyright mini-lessons. This will be worth 5% of your grade.
3. A script or a project plan and how it fits/answers your essential question and your group's essential question. This is worth 10% of your grade and will be submitted via google docs.
4. Group Participation (15%)
5. Your successful project (40%)

subset: commoncrawl


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Eric started his escrow career as a sales representative for an independent escrow company in 1993, joining Glen Oaks Escrow in 1996 as an assistant escrow officer, working with Scott Akerley, owner/manager and top producing escrow officer at the time. Eric was quickly promoted to Escrow Officer and soon became the top producing escrow officer for Glen Oaks Escrow with his unsurpassed level of client service and experience.
Eric is one of the elite members of the California Escrow Association (CEA), having been granted in recognition of his through knowledge, the professional designation title of Certified Escrow Officer. The designation is awarded only after meeting the required experience and education requirements and successfully completing the appropriate examination. Professional Designation holders are required to demonstrate their knowledge by maintaining continuing education credits and maintain membership in the CEA.
Eric is well versed in all technical aspects of any real estate transaction. He is a trusted resource for information and you have direct access to him for fast answers and expert service. From commercial and industrial real estate to residential, refinance and tax deferred exchanges, Eric has the expertise to deliver the highest quality escrow service in the industry, personalized for both first time buyer and seasoned investors.
Jaclyn Fong originally started her career as an Escrow Assistant intern during her last year of college. Unlike many internships that simply end and become a part of the past, Jaclyn's did not.
She immediately knew that Escrow was a field she was passionate about and wanted to continue being a part of so that she could continue to help people reach their dreams in buying or selling a home.
For the past seven years, she's served as an Escrow Officer and has been building new relationships and successfully serving clients ever since. One of Jacyln's greatest assets is her ability to communicate with clients. She understands that escrow can often be a daunting process for clients.
In turn, she has perfected a way of making clients feel at ease with the process, documents and overall experience, and ultimately transforming it into one that isn't scary, but rather easy to understand and enjoyable.
When Jaclyn isn't occupied creating awesome experiences for Escrow clients, you can find her traveling, snowboarding or enjoying some down time over a movie at home.
The complexities and intensive procedures of the escrow process can be confusing and hard to understand, requiring a skilled professional to provide sound advice and guide the way. John Salmon, Certified Escrow Officer and Notary Public, has the innate ability to effectively communicate and instill understanding in his clients every step of the way. His previous experience in the escrow industry coupled with a bachelor's degree in Business Finance from the University of Arizona, provides the perfect combination for excellent service that meets and exceeds all client expectations.
John has immersed himself entirely in the real estate industry through his career and personal investment activities and entrepreneurial ventures. His interests have led him to start a lucrative niche sports travel agency as well as being an active partner in a real estate investment firm specializing in obtaining cash flow positive, long-term rental properties. As an escrow officer he handles a wide array of residential and commercial escrow transactions. His umbrella of specialties includes regular sale and refinance escrows, bank-owned REOs, and short sales for the first-time home buyer or seller through the seasoned investor.
His dedication to his clients and his profession presents him with continuous opportunities to steam-line processes, integrate innovative strategies, and implement new technologies to make the client experience as easy and pleasurable as possible. John looks forward to being an integral piece and dependable partner for your next transaction at Glen Oaks Escrow.
Kristen Hartwick began her escrow career with Glen Oaks Escrow in 1996, quickly advancing to Escrow Officer and is now consistently one of the top producers of the company. Kristen is well versed in the technical aspects of any real estate transaction, whether it is a refinance, residential sale, commercial property or tax deferred exchange as well as reverse exchanges and escrows for condo conversions and brand new condo tracts.
Kristen participates in continuing education and received her certification from the California Escrow Association in 2004. She also mentors and trains new escrow officers and escrow assistants for Glen Oaks Escrow. Glen Oaks Escrow attributes its growing success to Kristen Hartwick's unsurpassed level of client service and dedication.
Mary Lotz has worked as a Certified Escrow Officer in the Glendale area for over 25 years and has been part of Glen Oaks Escrow since 1997. Residential and commercial sales, refinances, 1031 exchanges, subdivisions and tracts are some of her areas of expertise.
As a prominent member of the Glendale business community, Mary engages in many volunteer activities. The Real Estate industry, as well as local organizations including Descanso Gardens, Big Sisters and Soroptimist International, all benefit from her efforts.
Mary was honored to handle the largest transaction in the 20 year history of Glen Oaks Escrow. Her commitment to excellent customer service includes up to date knowledge about new regulations and industry standards. Willingness to offer her experience to clients as well as colleagues is Mary's commitment to the local Real Estate Industry.
– See more at: https://glenoaksescrow.com/about-us/our-people/mary-lotz/#sthash.Sj8TV86R.dpuf
For a person whose favorite pastime is visiting open houses on weekends, it's no surprise that Christopher Arce-Dale found his calling in real estate. He began his career in insurance as an underwriter, and although it suited his technical abilities, it lacked the warmth of communication with customers. He moved into escrow as a receptionist, and more than a decade later he not only has his own desk at Glen Oaks Escrow but is also the Branch Manager at the company's office location in Laguna Niguel.
"I have a Nordstrom mentality where service is everything," Christopher shared. "After I met with the management team at Glen Oaks Escrow, I knew it was the right place for me." The organization's progressive thinking, support system and state-of-the-art technology enables Christopher to focus his energies on providing the personal touch and technical acumen his clients appreciate. He handles residential resale, 1031 Tax Exchanges, large REO groups and some tract sales along with office managerial duties which entail recruiting topnotch escrow officers and building new relationships in South County.
When he's not in the office or scouting new Open Houses, Christopher loves spending time with his family, driving through Trabuco Canyon and tooling along the coast in search of a good classic car show.
Jo Rossley tried out a few professions before she found her true calling as an Escrow Officer. Formerly a pharmacy technician and the owner of a catering company, Jo realized over time that her strong suits were problem-solving and proactive communications. Little did she know that doing a favor would change her professional career forever.
"My friend was working at an escrow company and asked if I could do a short stint filling in for their receptionist. Almost immediately, I realized the escrow environment was for me," Jo said. "It's been 16 years since I started, and I'm still just as thrilled to go to the office every day."
A person who is very hands-on and manages each transaction from the heart, Jo recently decided a change of scenery was needed. "The real estate industry has gone through some amazing transformations in the past few years, but not every escrow firm is keeping up. I was seeking out a company with a progressive management style that supports its team with the latest in technology. Glen Oaks Escrow was the perfect fit. They not only have an impressive operational process, they provide an internal sales force and a homey environment, both of which are rare." Jo's focus on relationship-building and an appreciation of escrow's daily challenges have earned her a loyal client base. She specializes in residential escrow transactions including REOs, refinance and short sales as well as commercial. Jo is a Notary Public and a member of the National Notary Association and Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
Although she left the catering profession behind, Jo can still be found cooking up amazing dishes for friends and family in her free time.
Susan Opalk is the founder and co-owner of Glen Oaks Escrow Los Feliz. She has earned the title Certified Senior Escrow Officer and Certified Escrow Instructor from the California Escrow Association. Susan has a multitude of experience in all types of escrows from refinances to 1031 tax deferred exchanges, residential property to commercial property, and makes each closing a success for all parties, including first time home buyers and experiences investors.
Having been in the California Escrow Industry for over 30 years, Susan Opalk created and managed a successful Escrow Processing Center with a 99% accuracy rating for REOs, Short Sales, Refinances, and Sales. Susan's current passion is "paperless escrow" and she has converted our escrow software to accommodate the paperless process which has been used successfully in Los Feliz since 2008. This "State of the Art" escrow technology, combined with Susan's vast escrow experience, creates an environment of success for your transaction.
Tracey Okubo's earliest memories are shaped by her mother who was an escrow officer for more than 50 years. It was she who persuaded her daughter to give real estate a whirl over 40 years ago. Together, they owned and operated two independent escrow firms. Today, Tracey leverages that experience and business insight as the Branch Manager for Glen Oaks Escrow in San Marino.
"I started out working for big title companies, but once I switched to escrow there was no turning back," commented Tracey. "There are so many different paths and interesting situations in escrow. I love unraveling problems, and here at Glen Oaks Escrow, we have the support system, technology and professional staff in place to provide unrivaled customer service." With her extensive title and escrow background, including working with Chase on more than 200 REO deals per month, Tracey provides her team with a rare storehouse of knowledge to expedite escrow transactions in today's increasingly regulatory environment. One of her greatest joys is working with different cultures. She is fond of stating, "It's not just escrow. It's helping people." This sentiment has earned her a loyal clientele in the Chinese, Indian, Jewish and Hispanic communities among others.
From mother to daughter, escrow has passed down through the Okubo family. 16 years ago, Tracey's daughter joined her and the team at Glen Oaks Escrow, making it a three-generation family tradition.
Lynda began her escrow career in 1983 working for a small independent escrow company, owned by her grandmother. She moved to the Glendale area in 1986 and continued working in the Glendale area as well as La Canada and Pasadena until 2001 when she moved her career closer to home in the Santa Clarita Valley. Lynda has enormous pride and tremendous loyalty to her community. She has never been happier than working in the valley that she has lived in, loves and where she and her husband have raised their family for the last 18 years.
Lynda's expertise includes all aspects of Residential Resale, Refinance, 1031 Tax Deferred Exchange, Commercial and Investment transactions.
Lynda opened the first Branch Office of Glen Oaks Escrow in December 2004. Lynda's commitment and dedication to providing unparalleled customer service, her expert technical knowledge and her incredible support staff have earned her and Glen Oaks Escrow/Valencia, an excellent reputation in the Santa Clarita Valley.
For nearly a decade, Alenoush Hartenian has been providing Glendale and surrounding cities with her services as an Escrow Officer with Glen Oaks Escrow. Her dedication is well-known and rewarded by a steady stream of business from longtime clients and referrals.
"Growing up with family in real estate gave me a firsthand view of the demanding pace and daily problem-solving that defines real estate transactions," she commented. "Working with Glen Oaks Escrow has been a joy because they truly understand the nature of this business. The foundation of industry knowledge here is profound and the management support exceptional. As a result, I'm able to respond to the needs of my clients with the highest caliber of professionalism and efficiency. I've been at Glen Oaks Escrow from day one and have never given a thought to being anywhere else," she stated. Alenoush specializes in residential, commercial, short sales, REO, refinances and Co-ops.
Outside of the office, Alenoush enjoys spending time with friends and family and can often be found on long nature hikes.
A veritable fixture in the real estate community, Alina Chu bring nearly three decades of escrow experience to her position as Escrow Officer for Glen Oaks Escrow. Her dedication and love of the business led to the opening of her own escrow company in 1986 which she operated with her sister and two other partners until it was sold to Land America. She joined Glen Oaks Escrow's San Marino office in 2010.
"I love the escrow business because I'm helping people attain something important in their lives," Alina offered. "Glen Oaks Escrow supports my efforts by delivering the best possible customer service and professionalism." Her extensive knowledge not only ensures clients have access to valuable information, but it also enables her to anticipate challenges that often come with more complex transactions. Alina's commitment to excellence has gained a loyal following of sales agents, rokers and home buyers alike. She handles commercial, residential, tract homes, REOs and short sales within the local community and is fluent in Spanish and Cantonese.
When she's not in the office, Alina divides her time between traveling, playing golf and supporting the Lending Hope Foundation, an international organization that provides micro loans to poverty-level entrepreneurs.
A specialist in bulk sales, tract homes, residential and commercial escrows, Betty Fong brings 20 years of experience to her position as Escrow Officer at Glen Oaks Escrow in San Marino. Betty's background in real estate spans sales, construction as well as escrow. This broad spectrum of experience has earned her incomparable respect in the industry.
"I've been blessed to find my true calling in escrow," she commented. "It's a people business which I love. I'm always meeting new sales agents, buyer and sellers and Loan Brokers. Glen Oaks Escrow provides the management, technology and knowledge that enables me to deliver the highest standards of service. It's gratifying to be part of this friendly and professional family." Betty attributes her success to open communications with clients and has repeat customers that date back more than a decade. She is a member of the Escrow Association and speaks Chinese and English in addition to her native language of Spanish.
Carmen Alvarado was studying at Cal State Northridge for a career in psychology when she got the opportunity to work as a receptionist in an escrow company. It didn't take long for the real estate bug to bite. Twelve years and a Psychology Bachelor's later, Carmen is channeling her desire to help people, not as a psychologist, but as an Escrow Officer at Glen Oaks Escrow.
"I like to make people happy and love working in escrow," Carmen shared. "For families and newlyweds purchasing their first home, you want to make it the best possible experience." She joined Glen Oaks Escrow alongside Marcine Kline with whom she has worked her entire career. "We have a great relationship, and I love the management team here at Glen Oaks Escrow. The family-like atmosphere, the supportive team, the paperless environment — it's all very welcoming and professional." Carmen handles a variety of escrow transactions and is bilingual in Spanish and English.
Outside of the office, Carmen enjoys going to the theater, and as newlywed herself, spends as much quality time as possible with her husband and son and their Olde English Bulldogge.
Christine Koedel brings a wealth of experience, expertise and compassion to her Escrow Officer position at Glen Oaks Escrow.
Given that she has been in the industry for over three decades, she possesses intricate knowledge about varying market conditions and how to successfully navigate escrows for a variety of property types, including resales, commercial, relocations, vacant land, short sales, REO's and refinances.
Christine's clients have come to truly appreciate how genuinely dedicated and passionate she is about helping them reach their dreams of home-ownership and ensuring that they know her priority is giving them peace of mind and creating an exceptional escrow experience.
Her proactive nature, attention to detail and moving through the escrow process as efficiently as possible has contributed to her creating raving fans out of every client she's had the opportunity to work with.
When Christine isn't busy serving clients, she enjoys giving back to the community, spending time with family, desert trips and entertaining.
A native of Southern California, Doreen Tirres brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her role as Escrow Officer at Glen Oaks Escrow in Encinitas.
Her escrow career started immediately after graduating high school when she started working for the escrow company her parents owned at the time.
With over three decades of experience in escrow, she is highly skilled in a number of escrow types, including new home sales, resales, VA, FHA vacant land, seller carry backs, commercial, 1031 Exchanges, refinances.
In addition to her impressive skill set, she is equally skilled at providing her clients with top-notch service.
Her innate love for working with people is evident in her day-to-day interactions, as she has a natural talent for helping clients ultimately feel at ease, even in the most complicated circumstances.
When Doreen isn't occupied helping clients feel as comfortable as possible or successfully managing escrows, she enjoys listening to music and spending time with her grand kids, family and friends.
An Escrow Officer with over a decade of industry experience, James Isham joined Glen Oaks Escrow in 2007. He grew up in Southern California surrounded by a vibrant real estate market and a family well-versed in the business.
"My mother has had a long and gratifying career as a Title Representative which spurred me to consider real estate as well," James commented. "I chose escrow because I love the opportunity of helping people. " James worked with several independent escrow companies before coming to Glen Oaks Escrow. "The experience here is truly different," he said. "Our technology is state-of-the-art and management encourages personal growth all of which benefits our clients in greater responsiveness, faster turn times and exceptional customer service. It's just worlds apart from any other escrow company." James is a member of the Santa Clarita Escrow Association and provides escrow services for residential resale, refinance, short sales, REOs, and FSBOs.
A proud father who enjoys spending his free time with family, James also enjoys the occasional game of basketball with friends and colleagues.
A member of the Glen Oaks Escrow team since 2003, Janette Lomeli brings a wealth of experience to her position as an Escrow Officer. For more than a decade, she has worked in both title and escrow, providing her clients with a wellspring of knowledge that is well-served managing complex transactions and all manner of escrow dealings.
Janette's professionalism and sunny personality has led to significant repeat business from selling agents who appreciate the hands-on service she delivers. "Helping people is at the core of why I am an Escrow Officer," she offered. "I came to Glen Oaks Escrow because the company is extremely professional without being institutional. The positive atmosphere and hands-on management enables me to provide superior service to my clients." She is a member of the California Escrow Association and is also a Notary Public.
Janette's also at the top of her game when she's not at the office. She and her husband can be found most weekends at baseball diamonds or soccer fields holding up the cheering section for their three children.
In her early years, Karen Wisdom wanted to be a water meter reader. When she was turned down because she was a woman and not "strong" enough to handle fieldwork, she left for a field that would give her a fighting chance – real estate.
"As an asset manager, I worked on REOs and bank-owned properties, which was often quite emotional," Karen recalls. "When you give people cash for their keys, it's a very distressing situation." She eventually moved over to escrow and caught the bug. When the time came to find work closer to home, she did her research and came across Yelp reviews for Glen Oaks Escrow that had her actively pursuing a position with the company. "After meeting with the management team, I knew I wanted to work here and it's even better than I expected. Everything is awesome – the marketing support, the computer systems and the people!" Karen's compassionate streak is highly appreciated by those who've experienced distressed home sale situations as well as first-time homebuyers. Her escrow skills and knowledge cover a wide array of transactions including: REOs, short sales, refinance, residential, and commercial.
On the weekends, Karen swings into action on the golf course. Giving her husband a run for his money, she works her way around bunkers and sand traps for those sweet long drives down the fairway. Fore!
Kilita Smith brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion to her role as an Escrow Officer for nearly two decades.
The breadth and depth of her experience span into a variety of roles (commercial asset management and property management), which have contributed to her understanding and successfully manage a variety of escrow transaction types.
In addition, she holds MBA focused in real estate finance and has completed all of the coursework to apply for a California Real Estate Broker's license, so she has a deep understanding of the industry from a variety of viewpoints, including the lender, broker, investor, buyer and sellers. This has ultimately allowed her to offer distinct solutions to any unique escrow challenges that might arise during a transaction.
Kilita is also highly skilled in interpersonal communication and attributes a great deal of her success as an Escrow Officer to providing great customer service to clients and always being available to them for questions, which explains how she was able to grow her escrow desk from refinances only to a highly profitable resale and refi desk within the first three years of her career as an escrow officer.
She and her team now serve clients in resale and refinance transactions: both residential and commercial, REOs, Short Sales and For Sale By Owner transactions.
When Kilita isn't creating happy clients, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, cooking and dancing. And, she has is extremely talented at making handmade, natural body butters and oils!
It was nearly 38 years ago, when fate intervened, placing Marcine Kline into the profession where she would establish herself as one of the escrow industry's leading professionals. Attending college and wanting to work full-time, she applied for a position at an escrow company only to lose out to another applicant. When that person proved to be a no-show, Marcine got the call, and so it began…
"The work just seemed so relatable to me," Marcine says. She got her feet wet with independent escrow companies, and in 1986, the age of Reaganomics and new tax codes, opened her own firm It didn't take long for Marcine to champion the demands of the day and by setting her drive and strong work ethic in place, she was able to pay off her business' debt within that same year. "I've always had a strong work ethic, which is one of the things that drew me to Glen Oaks Escrow. It's a big team with an infrastructure that leads with heart, this is important to me."
As Branch Manager of the Sherman Oaks office, Marcine is responsible for the teaching, training and education of the staff in addition to recruiting escrow professionals. She has served the San Fernando Valley for more than 30 years and is a full-service escrow officer specializing in Probate, Trust Sales, Conservatorship and both court and independent administration of Estate Act transactions.
Outside of the office, Marcine is an avid traveler, voracious reader and social butterfly. There's nothing she likes more than heading out with her husband to entertain friends, many of whom started out as her clients.
An escrow professional for more than a decade, Nazeli likes the challenge of perfecting a file and working under the pressure of timelines. Nazeli joined the dynamic team at Glen Oaks Escrow because of their commitment to excellence and their endeavor to create a pleasant experience for their clients. She always commits herself to a high standard of "Result-Oriented" leadership. She adheres to a work ethic that respects hard work and expects exceptional quality.
To Nazeli, success depends on a STRONG commitment to customer satisfaction and a constant focus on the closing date. Nazeli provides escrow service to all of California and works on all types of residential escrows including resale, refinance, short sales, REOs and conventional plus some commercial. She is a notary public and is bilingual in Armenian and English.
Escrow Officer, Rita Butt, has worked for several independent escrow companies for the past 26-years she has been in escrow. Despite the family-style atmosphere she was accustomed to, it did not prepare her for the tight-knit and supportive culture so unique to Glen Oaks Escrow.
"My first day of orientation was very enlightening," Rita said. "The management team's philosophy is 'what can we do for you?' instead of 'what can you do for us?' They're just good people and it has created a very stimulating and positive workplace." Rita spent her early years working for the city of Huntington Beach and handling escrow transactions for tract home sales. Over the years, she became a master at refinance escrows and continues to specialize in them today.
Although escrow was a career that happened through a natural progression of opportunities, it has become Rita's passion, fueled by her ability to help people. "It's so gratifying to be able to improve the situation of a borrower." Rita has a loyal base of clients, no doubt due to her responsiveness, attention to detail and warm personality. Outside of the office, this wife and mother of two grown sons enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, family and friends.
Scott Parisen has been an Escrow Officer for six years and offers a comprehensive base of experience, most notably in REOs, regular sales, short sales and refinance. He came to Glen Oaks Escrow in 2008 based on the company's unparalleled reputation for superior customer service and its progressive corporate philosophy.
"I was impressed by Glen Oaks Escrow's use of the latest resources and technology," Scott commented. "Their priority above all else is the client experience which aligns with my own belief. Nothing is overlooked in their efforts to ensure the highest standards." Scott's personable nature, responsiveness and keen ability to handle any challenge have earned him a loyal following. He is committed to providing his clients with a smooth and proficient closing experience.
In his free time, Scott enjoys adventurous pursuits that keep his mind sharp and his adrenaline running including sky-diving, snowboarding in the local mountains and ocean kayaking.
Shannon R. Gutierrez grew up in the Santa Clarita Valley and started building her escrow career as a receptionist with an in-house escrow company. While she was there, she gained valuable experience in each and every department, prior to being promoted to Escrow Officer and then Escrow Manager.
Currently, Shannon serves as Senior Escrow Officer at our Glen Oaks Escrow Valencia office where she brings immense value to our clients, team and organization.
On a daily basis, she provides a listening ear and guidance to clients and has a special knack for making them feel at ease, even in the most challenging circumstances.
When she isn't meeting with clients, Shannon works meticulously to manage every piece of the escrow process to ensure that it all comes together perfectly, creating an exceptional experience for the client.
Coupling decades of experience in residential, refinances, REOs and short sales with her detail-oriented nature and impeccable level of client service, Shannon helps clients obtain their dreams of being homeowners each and every day. In her free time, Shannon enjoys spending time with her family.
Meet Shannon. She's an Escrow Officer at our Glen Oaks Escrow office in Santa Clarita and brings a great deal of experience, charisma and knowledge to her role.
Shannon started her career as a receptionist. And, while she loved taking calls and answering questions, she yearned to play a bigger role in the escrow process so that she could help buyers, sellers, real estate agents and escrow partners. So, she did just that!
Today, Shannon runs her own successful escrow desk and has an endless number of clients that she's helped create an exceptional escrow experience for.
Not only is her skill set extensive – she specializes in residential sales, short sales, refinances and is also a Notary – but she also possesses immense compassion when it comes to understanding each client's unique situation, needs and fears. Shannon is then able to create solutions and offer guidance based on those unique needs and ultimately creates an enjoyable and stress-free experience for her clients.
When Shannon isn't busy creating happy clients, she enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering at church and non-profit organizations.
Shawn Hudson's career in Escrow dates back to starting out as a receptionist at a small Escrow firm. While he didn't know it at the time, he was working with one of the most successful Escrow teams in the Valley. This team quickly realized Shawn's potential and encouraged him to flourish in running his own desk.
And, the rest is history…
Today, Shawn Hudson, a native Southern California, is an Escrow Officer at Glen Oaks Escrow in Sherman Oaks. His rich breadth of knowledge, unique experiences and a passion for helping clients navigate through the escrow process are all traits that have aided him in helping clients over the past 15 years.
As an active real estate investor himself, Shawn has a firm grasp on all of the intricacies involved in a real estate transaction, including the urgency to close on time and ensuring that all parties are educated about the process. In addition to managing traditional escrows, he also has extensive experience in managing REO accounts for FNMA and RELS, Relocation Escrow, Probate and Co-Op Transactions and has a pristine track record of solving title issues and helping first-time homebuyers overcome their fears of escrow.
When Shawn isn't busy helping clients achieve their real estate goals, you can find him playing ice hockey, enjoying the outdoors, investing in real estate and spending time with his wife and two boys.
As an Escrow Officer for over 30 years, Susan Brash has handled a vast variety of escrow transactions including residential, commercial, refinances, bulk sales, short sales, and all-inclusive transactions.
"I have seen it all and have loved every minute of it, Susan says. I remember interviewing for my first escrow position when I was 19 years old and asking, 'What's an escrow? Is that something you go into and never come out of?' Well they laughed and decided I would make a good addition to their company. I was right, escrow is something that I went into and never came out of." Susan has always loved the challenges escrow brings and never tires of learning something new. She especially loves helping buyers and sellers getting through one of the most stressful experiences of their lives by remaining cool and calm under any circumstances. Her clients have told her she has a good bedside manner.
Susan joined the Los Feliz office of Glen Oaks Escrow in 2008. "From day one I was impressed with the management and ethics of this company, and knew I would fit in perfectly. I have found a home at Glen Oaks Escrow and they have made me part of their extended family."
Her biggest joy in life is spending time with her amazing Grandson and re-discovering the world through his eyes.
A graduate of UCLA with a degree in psychology, Veto Ruiz applies his learning every day in the people-oriented business of escrow. His experience in the industry exceeds 20 years, and over half of that time has been with Glen Oaks Escrow's sister company, American Trust Escrow.
"I've loved this business from the first day I started as a receptionist back in 1993," Ruiz said. "You meet new people every day, it's constantly changing and it's very demanding. Glen Oaks Escrow ensures we deliver the highest service standards by providing the latest in technology, industry reports and trend updates. Their care for clients and employees is exemplary." Veto's own work ethic does not go unnoticed by his clients who come back again and again for his attentive service, superb organization and troubleshooting skills. His escrow focus is primarily in residential including short sales and refinancing.
For rest and relaxation, you'll find Veto on thin ice – the kind that requires a hockey stick and puck. He competes in an adult hockey league, and also enjoys spending time with his family.
Cynthia Moller is a Senior Escrow Officer who likes to give back. With nearly three decades of escrow experience, she has an exceptional depth of industry knowledge that she readily offers up in her blog, "Ask Cynthia," and to her loyal clients at Glen Oaks Escrow in Valencia.
"I like to be out front – talking, writing and presenting ideas about this great industry we're a part of," she said. "With today's advanced technologies, we can easily do this, yet it's rare to find escrow companies taking advantage of the opportunities. That's what drew me to Glen Oaks Escrow. They're a forward-thinking company with amazing communications and state-of-the-art processes that enable me to serve my clients better." Cynthia started in banking, moved over to escrow and immediately began working on complex transactions like assumptions, notes and deeds of trust. Today, clients appreciate her technical expertise in a wide range of escrow transactions including residential, commercial, bulk sales, liquor license transfers and mobile homes. She is a notary public, member of the Santa Clarita Escrow Association and possesses a broad understanding of real estate law by taking advantage of continued education courses through industry classes and seminars.
Cynthia is also a "front person" in her personal life. As a "drop in" singer with several local southland bands, she often performs at events to support charities like the Food Pantry. When she's not onstage or working with non-profit organizations like Habitat for Humanity, this hardworking Mom brings her vibrant personality home to share with the three biggest joys in her life – her children.
Shelley Valencia brings a rich and varied background to her position as Senior Business Development for Glen Oaks Escrow and serves the Glendale, Burbank and foothills region. More than two decades in title, home warranty and disclosure provide her with keen insights into the needs and business objectives of today's banks, Realtors, brokers, sales agents and the expectations of their clients.
Shelley joined Glen Oaks Escrow in 2005 as its first Sales Representative. "I've known Scott Akerley, CEO of Glen Oaks Escrow, since our school days and was thrilled at the opportunity to join his team, she said. Building enduring client relationships is important to me, and that's been possible with the support, professionalism and consistent integrity of this organization. I absolutely love what I do and consider Glen Oaks Escrow my second family." Shelley's own high standards and dedication have earned her accolades as well, most notably from the Burbank Board of Realtors for Affiliate of the Year in 2009. Her expertise, friendly demeanor and can-do attitude have opened doors and won many referrals from pleased clients.
A native of Canada, Shelley is happiest when she's in the sun, boating, water skiing or just spending quality time with her husband, Robert, and their two daughters.
With a law degree to her name and experience practicing real property and family law, Alison Fass enjoyed her work yet yearned to explore something that had always been of interest – real estate. When a friend working at Pango Group mentioned a job opening in business development, she jumped.
"It was definitely a departure for me," Alison acknowledged. "However, it was an opportunity to get into the real estate industry and join a forward-thinking, innovative and well-respected company— getting out there and meeting a diversity of people, which I love."
Although she had her real estate license, Alison was attracted to the escrow side, which enables her to draw on her law background. Giving her the confidence to make the career shift was the management team at Glen Oaks Escrow and Escrow Trust Advisors. "They are supportive and provide all of the tools and resources needed to be successful in the field. It has been a wonderful transition thanks to all of the friendly and helpful staff." Alison is looking forward to building relationships with residential agents, commercial brokers, and real estate attorneys with the objective of adding value to their business.
"The Westside is my backyard, and I'm thrilled at the chance to introduce more real estate professionals to the wonderful escrow services we provide."
Outside of the office, this California native enjoys spending time with friends and family and never misses the chance to be in the great outdoors. She is also an avid sushi fan.
There's nothing Deborah Milks likes better than leaving her desk, going into the community and connecting Realtors and homebuyers with a great escrow experience. She joined Glen Oaks Escrow in San Diego for the opportunity of nurturing existing relationships and cultivating new ones with a company known for its high standards.
"Glen Oaks Escrow is progressive, supportive and very friendly," Deborah commented. "I'm thrilled to work with professionals whose primary focus is the customer's satisfaction. It's a great environment." Deborah's role in business development enables her to leverage her 17 years of escrow experience, both behind the desk and out in the field. She has worked for escrow as well as title companies and is known for her positive attitude, exceptional customer service and ready smile. "I enjoy paperwork, but I love working with people. Helping them find the right escrow officer. Meeting all of the different entities in the transaction. It's very rewarding."
Deborah is a notary public as well as a fine cook—a skill she brings to the table and generously shares with friends and family.
When it comes to high performance, Hallie Packard is a natural. She was driving a car by the age of nine, got her real estate license at age 19 and owned and operated a driving/racing school with her brother until turning her attention to real estate full time. Today, she is a business development representative at Glen Oaks Escrow in Laguna Niguel.
"My passion is people. I like to get out into the community and see where we can make a difference for Realtors, brokers and mortgage institutions," said Hallie. "Laguna Niguel is such a special city with amazing topography and close proximity to much of what makes Southern California famous – beaches, sunshine, recreation and of course, wonderful communities. At Glen Oaks Escrow, we're here to listen, learn what folks need and provide our world-class escrow services."
During her time selling real estate, Hallie assisted in the closing of more than 20 million dollars in sales. She also became an expert in short sales, a Notary Public and earned a Series 7 certification in financial advising. Exceeding client expectations is her main priority, something for which Glen Oaks Escrow is also well known. "It's a great fit," she confirmed. "Our management provides the tools and support that enable everyone in the office to work at their peak potential. We have a highly experienced and motivated team."
When she's not out meeting new people throughout South Orange County, Hallie enjoys spending time with her husband mountain biking, paddle boarding and reconnecting with their respective families.
When it comes to business development, Jessica Kalkin knows how to keep a ball in play. She has more than 17 years experience in the high-powered, high profile golf industry where she was integrally involved in sales, marketing and sales management for a host of private golf clubs. Today, she applies that professional expertise in her position as Business Development Representative at Glen Oaks Escrow.
"I had reached a plateau in the golf industry and was ready for a change," Jessica said. "Glen Oaks Escrow presented an opportunity that enabled me to make a lateral career move and utilize my skills in a very dynamic industry." Her strength in promoting brand awareness and facilitating strategic relationships are key aspects of her daily responsibilities at Glen Oaks Escrow. "I love getting out into the real estate community and sharing the exceptional capabilities and quality of service found at Glen Oaks Escrow," she shared. Working closely with management, she provides strategic oversight and tactical execution in all aspects of the sales and marketing process.
Jessica's boundless energy carries over into her personal life, which includes a devotion to physical fitness. When she's not training at the gym, she enjoys volunteering at Cedar Sinai Hospital, spending time with friends and family and catching as many Los Angeles Lakers games as possible.
Jessica is a member of the South Bay Association of Realtors and the Women's Council of Realtors.
Lauren Greer is the business development representative for Glen Oaks Escrow in the San Fernando Valley and Conejo Valley. Her job is to be out in the field building relationships with residential agents, commercial brokers, mortgage brokers and investors to see how Glen Oaks Escrow can help provide value to their business and the clients they represent. As the liaison between the escrow officer and the client, Lauren makes sure that each file runs smoothly and that all parties are updated. She is also a traveling notary which brings extra convenience to her clients when they are ready to fill out paperwork.
Lauren is a member of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors in the valley and serves on the Young Real Estate Professionals Board as well as the Commercial Investment Committee. She is also the Director of Membership for the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, and a member of Women's Council of Realtors and the Asian Real Estate Association. She is very involved with her community and makes sure to bring awareness to the public about the services Glen Oaks Escrow provides.
"This organization is a rare find in the escrow community because of the leadership's dedication to innovation and delivering the highest levels of customer service. Connecting with real estate professionals and providing them with this valuable information is immensely gratifying."
Prior to her work at Glen Oaks Escrow, Sara Lehmann's professional life was an eclectic mix of physical therapy for dogs, marketing research for a major metropolitan newspaper and selling data for one of the nation's leading providers of Real Estate zoning information. When a position in Escrow sales arose, she quickly seized the opportunity and has since had the privilege of learning from some of the best Escrow Officers in the industry.
"I grew up in a household that revolved around Real Estate and I picked up those communication skills," she said. Her innate understanding of the industry and love of people are the perfect fit for her position at Glen Oaks Escrow's Sherman Oaks office where she manages business development for the South San Fernando Valley and the Los Feliz/Silverlake area. "I like connecting people and finding solutions for their wants and needs, and I have the necessary support to do that here."
Besides Real Estate, Sara's other passions are traveling, comedy and her love of dogs. She rescued her partner in crime, an overly expressive Pharaoh Hound mix named Cairo nearly a decade ago, and today he is happily ensconced as a key member of her family.
Sally Barerra has more than two decades of experience in real estate with a significant portion serving the title business in customer service and sales. Sally's vast experience and background make her an easy problem solver for many transactions. That career path took a turn when she had a chance meeting with longtime colleague and CEO of Glen Oaks Escrow (GOE), Scott Akerley. Today, Sally is in charge of business development at GOE where her exuberant and caring personality have found the perfect home.
"There is no similarity between title and escrow," Sally explains. "Title is selling paper. Escrow is all about people and relationships. It's very rewarding." Like a casting director, she sees her role as matching the right client with the right escrow officer. The culture at GOE is supportive of her efforts, providing state-of-the-art technology, continued education and an open door policy. "I really like the fact that the company is big, but the people treat each other like a small boutique company. It's a family environment." Sally is bilingual in English and Spanish and involved in the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), Montebello District Board of Realtors, Downey Association of Realtors® Inc., Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) and Real Estate Owner's Management Association of California (REOMAC).
Sally enjoys sharing her knowledge and frequently holds educational seminars at the office for lenders, realtors, homebuyers and anyone interested in learning more about the trends and regulations that continue to shape real estate and escrow transactions. "I introduce everyone I meet to GOE because I know they will ultimately become raving fans."


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The place has a lovely feel about it. It actually is quite spacious inside and out. Clean and tidy.
|A few of the girls!
We arrived at about 5pm on a Tuesday evening and although there were only a few customers in the place we were ignored on 3 occasions by staff at the bar. The most annoying was 2 of the staff stopped and shared a funny moment. I do however know that had the manager been present this behaviour would not have been acceptable as service here would normally be spot on.
Food excellent, drinks excellent selection, prices........ a bit expensive.
|My Mate Chris!
Early evening is the best time to go as later on the music (for me) becomes too loud.
I would recommend The Garrison Public House as a place to wine and dine but for us poor people use the place as a treat yourself once in a while experience.
Whitesnakes do it better .............. when you eat drink and be merry!


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Night Owls
Reid knocked Rossi's sleeping habits with research on night owls by scientists at the University of Barcelona. Researchers in Spain found that night owls experienced social jet lag caused by a reduction in neurological fatty tissue, compared to their early bird counterparts. Fear not, night owls, you were also found to be more productive, achieve greater financial success, and display greater reasoning.


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04 Nov Beetlejuice Halloween Party
Hey party people!
Hope you had a safe and wonderful Halloween. I think Halloween parties are some of my favorite. It is so entertaining seeing the creative and sometimes very interesting costumes. I've documented several Halloween parties on this blog over the years, like this 80s themed one. This year, my husband and I threw a Beetlejuice Halloween party. It was such a fun time. Here are some of the details…
I must confess, I had to go back and watch the movie again as I prepared for this party. Details truly make a party and I was in middle school when I last watched Beetlejuice. I definitely got more of the humor as an adult than a middle schooler.
Because there were so many invites, we just created a FB invite. It worked well and we didn't have to worry about collecting everyone's mailing or email address.
Modern Day Beetlejuice Party – that's the vibe I was going for. Black and white stripes were definitely a main element throughout.
Black and white striped pumpkins were placed all around in the entrance to our house and the back yard. Since I'm such a great gardner, some of mums didn't last past a few weeks so I used those pots to hold a few pumpkins. I added some moss underneath and an occasional gold painted bug for finishing touches.
To greet the guests, I hung this black feather boa wreath from last Halloween on the front door. I just added a few gold painted beetles and bugs to go with the theme.
My friend Leslee sent me a link to this printable from Etsy. "Where's the bathroom?" is always a question at parties, so this was the perfect sign.
The decor continued to the backyard. I set up a mini graveyard with a "Betelgeuse" sign I created. I had some battery-powered lights that I attached around the sign to give it the authentic look.
One of my favorite DIY decor projects was a coffin wine holder, but by the time I was able to take pictures of it before the party it was pretty dark. They didn't turn out that great. I made it out of black foamboard. I used black tape along the seams and decorated it with gold washi tape.
To decorate the dessert table and savory table, I used a lot of that black gauze which is a great inexpensive decoration. The Beetlejuice sign I had printed at my local FedEx office store. They're not the cheapest but they've always done a great job, so I really trust them. After I had FedEx print it, I glued it to foamboard for reinforcement.
Some other decor touches were these black and white candlesticks. I wrapped black washi tape around the candlesticks to create the stripes. I knew I wouldn't be burning them, so it was an easier option for me than painting them.
These gold painted beetles and bugs were perfect to add to various things here and there, like the black gauze, the utensil holder, and the moss under the cupcakes. I just bought a variety pack and spray painted them gold.
This tree platter holder was one of my favorite projects for the savory table. I bought those black chargers to use for food at the party, but when I was thinking about the food display I wanted something with a little more height. I had branches left from my sister's wedding. I just painted them black and had my husband help screw the chargers into the branch. The base is just a glass vase filled with rocks, wrapped with black and white striped paper and topped with moss.
Currently, I'm obsessed with sprucing up party napkins. I love adding fun touches and stamping unique touches on the napkins just happens to be my obsession at the moment. It's such a budget-friendly way to add a special touch. I bought this beetle stamp (my husband said it was a roach, but the listing said beetle…so whatever…a bug is a bug) and used my gold stamp pad on plain black napkins.
For this party, I decided I wasn't going to make any of the food. Generally, I'll always make at least a few things. I love baking and cooking and, personally, feel homemade is always better. BUT…I knew that there'd be a lot of set-up for this party, I wasn't 100% sure how the weather would be (in case of bad weather, I'd be scrambling to come up with another solution), and the party fell on a Friday so I knew I'd have unexpected work pop up that week. I'm glad I did that, but I do wish I had made at least one homemade dessert.
The majority of what we served came from Costco.
Savory: Shrimp Cocktail (from the movie), Chick-fil-A nuggets (always a party hit), deli meat slices, cheese, veggies & dip, rolls to make sandwiches, crackers, and some grapes.
The big hits were the shrimp, chick-fil-a nuggets, and cheese and crackers.
I also put a bunch of popcorn into a plastic cauldron for a little snack for guests. Popcorn is great because it's inexpensive and works with most food allergies – no gluten, vegan, and no dairy.
Sweet: Cookies, Mini Brownies, Peppermint Bark, Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seed bark, Gluten Free Georgetown Cupcakes (my fave), Grocery Store Cupcakes, and an assortment of mini desserts.
I generally like to have one main dessert and a couple other smaller options, but I went a little overboard with this one. The mini desserts and the cookies were the biggest hits. Those mini desserts were from Costco and I think were around $9.99. A great price for a beautiful display.
Technically, I did make something food-wise for this party. I made black and white striped jello shots. Surprisingly, after years of parties, I had never made jello shots until now. They were a huge hit. Here's a link to the recipe I used. Thankfully, my friends Jyn and Whitney took this shot of me and the jello shots. I'm sorry I didn't get a closer shot.
I also made a mixed drink to serve at the party, which I called BEETLEJUICE (creative, eh?). I saw a recipe online, then I couldn't find it anywhere so I made up the measurements. Here's the concoction I created, if you'd like to make it…
I set up what I called "Cauldron-Hole." Get it? Like Corn-hole? I bought two cheap cauldrons, put a brick at the bottom to secure and then bought 4 mini cornhole bean bags. I planned on making my own but my sewing machine pooped out on me 3 days before the party. I think everyone was having too much fun with everything else. It didn't get a ton of play, but I always love having something for people to do if they're tired of small talk.
Since it was a Halloween party, we had to have a costume contest. We had a BEST COUPLE, MOST CREATIVE, BEST LOL, and BEST LOOK-A-LIKE or CELEBRITY. All the guests voted using ballots I printed up. Here are the certificates I created too…
We gave the winners prizes like AMC movie tickets, Main Event (Bowling, Pool, etc), and Restaurant gift certificates. We got these at Costco because you can buy several certificates for a much cheaper price.
One of the highlights of the night was the Lip Sync contest. I put together a mash-up video of the contest for you to get a taste of the incredible talent. Watch it and see who you think the winner was. My husband and I did a song, but the video camera didn't record it (ok…user error). We did Macklemore – Downtown. I did the rap part and Mike sang the girl part.
The winner was our friend Matt Cornwell. I mean…how can you do a Lip Sync with a sock puppet and NOT win??! The runner up was Kelly and Adam with the Star Wars, Dirty Dancing routine.
If you plan on doing a Lip Sync contest, here's what I would recommend –
1| Set a limit of 2 to 2 1/2 minutes for each song. That keeps things flowing and keeps the audience wanting more.
2| Get people to give you their song choice ahead of time so you can have them cued up and can arrange the order. This helped me mix up the styles to keep the guests/audience intrigued. I thought it may work better to have people just give me their phone, but we did that with one song and it just ended up taking a little longer. Having the songs in order and ready to go on your end helps the flow. I just created a "Lip Sync Playlist" on my phone so it was all organized.
3| Make sure the prize is really good for the Lip Sync contest. We combined a $50 restaurant gift certificate with a $25 Main event gift certificate because we wanted guests to really put effort into it. The runner up got a grill. We did re-gift this, but it was brand new and really nice. ;p
There were two favors – 1| Zagnut candy bars and 2| Black mini frames for the "photo booth."
The Zagnut candy bars were from the movie. Beetlejuice lifts his hand up from the "grass" and entices a bug with that candy bar. I found these on Amazon and set up the favor area so everyone would, hopefully, remember that part.
I created the photo backdrop using my DIY PHOTO BACKDROP. You can see the tutorial to make your own for under $20, here. I ordered some black and white striped material from Online Fabric and hung the Beetlejuice poster I had printed at FedEx Office.
I knew people would be using their cell phones to take pictures but I also wanted something special, so I got a Polaroid or Instant camera. Since Lydia used the polaroid in the movie, I thought it'd be very appropriate. Scroll to the bottom of this post for a link to the best price for the camera.
Here are some more snapshots from the party…
Products I used for my party…
Do you remember watching Beetlejuice? Would you ever do a Lip Sync contest at your party? Hope you had a great holiday…now on to the next…Party On!


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Volume: 23 Issue: 6 (June 2000)
Animated Anchors
Issue: Volume: 23 Issue: 6 (June 2000)
Animated Anchors
Designed to Please: Ananova
By Jenny Donelan
Not one of the current crop of digital newscasters is a stand-in for the likes of Katie Couric, and-with one partial exception-they don't try to be. Their creators are hoping these cyberanchors will prove so appealing and convenient in their own right that viewers will adopt them into their everyday lives, much as they do live newscasters.
Ananova, the most human of the three virtual news efforts we look at here, is a cybercelebrity who delivers continuously updated news on the Web. The cast of virtual characters from 1KTV-some humanoid, some not-offers Web-based news on demand; and Klik Animation's CG characters produce snappy commentary within the framework of a daily TV news show. The technology behind each of these projects is as different as the end result: Ananova is a 3D model that incorporates morph blending. The 1KTV characters start out as 3D models and become sprite stacks. And the characters of "Le JourNul de Francois Perusse" come to life mostly through motion capture .
Is there a digital Dan Rather in your future? Read on and see.
She was designed from the start to deliver news over the Web, but digital anchorperson Ananova has found herself, at least briefly, in the more traditional role of television newscaster. In the flurry of publicity surrounding her launch last spring, television appearances by the attractive cybercaster were so much in demand that for a while her developers were spending more time preparing her for TV than they were fine-tuning her Web broadcasts. Shortly after Ananova's launch, Jonathan Jowitt, technical project manager for Ananova Ltd., remarked, "Many of the engineering requests I've made in the past few days have been to deal with the sheer amount of product we're committing to tape and shipping out to TV companies."
Whether Ananova will retain her star status on TV, or even on the Web (
), where she delivers the news 24 hours a day, seven days a week, only time will tell, but her credentials are impressive. A little more than a year ago, Ananova Ltd. (formerly PA New Media, the new media arm of the UK news agency, the Press Association), was searching for a digital character to deliver the news provided by the company's recently developed real-time news and information computer system. Digital Animations Group, a studio based in Bellshill, Scotland, was chosen to model and animate the character because it had already been testing techniques for semi-automated facial animation.
Together, the teams at Ananova Ltd. and Digital Animations formulated the character and appearance of the 28-year-old, green-haired Ananova. Much re search went into making her an appealing and, in some ways, believable character. Her face is a composite of features borrowed from photographs of hundreds of real people. "We also spent a lot of time putting together a full character profile on her, because we thought that would help us understand how to animate her," says Laurie McCulloch, development director for Digital Animations Group. "This is all ongoing. There is an extensive bible that dictates who Ana nova is, what she looks like, how she reacts."
At her core, Ananova is a LightWave (NewTek; San Antonio, TX) model created with a relatively low-resolution subdivision-surfaces mesh. "She's easy to animate-there aren't millions of vertices flying about," says McCulloch. "The structure of the mesh is carefully controlled to follow the curvature of the face so that we can control the different muscle groups."
Besides her base model, Ananova has a set of morph positions, also built in LightWave. For each muscle in the face, the animators produce a morph at opposite extremes of movement. One example might be the left eyebrow muscle at full contraction vs. the same muscle at full expansion. "We have an unlimited range of facial movement," says McCulloch, "because we have all the facial muscles in their minimum and maximum positions, and infinite blending capacity between them." Proprietary morph-blending software takes care of moving the muscles in Ananova's face from one expression to the next. The animators then put together different expression sets and save them into a library that's passed to the system's real-time renderer. Texturing is done in LightWave as well.
Digital Animations also developed the real-time side of Ananova, during which the news stories-which consist of text marked up with XML tags to denote her emotions, as well as elements such as lighting and camera angles-are fed through a server to produce the speaking, blinking, smiling, or serious Ananova. A speech synthesis module from Lernout & Hauspie (Ieper, Belgium) generates the speech from the text, and that speech is analyzed by a proprietary software engine that generates lip syncing and facial animation. "Basically what we have at the end of the day," says McCulloch, "is a piece of software that's running on the servers at Ananova Ltd., which are getting fed text every time a news story breaks. These stories are wired straight to Web servers, which are able to serve video of Ananova 24 hours a day."
At Ananova Ltd., a group of very busy editors marks up articles taken from sources including the newswires. They validate and shorten the stories, but also rewrite them so they can be spoken aloud. "What's written on the newswire is a strange journalistic Eng lish," explains Ananova Ltd.'s Jowitt. At the same time, the editor tags the general emotion of the story, and also particular areas that require more facial emotion. "The engine has a notion of some words to stress," explains Jowitt. "Proper names, strong negatives. If she says, 'The Dow Jones has fallen,' she will say 'fallen' a little stronger than the other words." The software engine also ensures that Ananova takes a breath every second or third sentence and blinks at random, as a human would.
The editor can then immediately send the story live. Previewing Ananova's delivery, in the case of tragic news or other sensitive material, is always an option, says Jowitt, as her script can be rendered for preview locally in about 15 seconds. Editors work on scripts located in a server repository that notes when a bulletin is ready for rendering and sends it to whichever Pentium III-based rendering machine happens to be free. "It's kind of like a soup kitchen, where each machine becomes an autonomous device, and its task is to render the whole bulletin and do its utmost to get it out to the 'net." The downside of such efficiency is that in a busy news time, some bulletins live on the Web for such brief intervals that they may not even be seen.
A full-body model and a simplified head model for creating the correct facial animation were parts of Ana nova's development phase.
Viewers on the Web run Ananova's scripts using the downloadable RealAudio player from RealNetworks.com (Seattle, WA). What they see is a small window framing her face as she delivers the news in an accent that's mostly American, but slightly British. "We did some tests where she had what we would call a BBC accent, and she just seemed a little aloof somehow," says Jowitt. This being the Web, Ananova's delivery can be somewhat stilted and hesitant. Watching her on television, or in local mode-which is how she ran during a recent keynote appearance with Bill Gates at winHec-"is a much more 'watchable' multimedia experience than we can currently stream out to people over the real network," says Jowitt.
But Ananova's creators hope that end users will grow increasingly comfortable with the newscaster, and with her ability to offer news whenever they feel like listening to it. "What we're finding," says Jowitt, "is that a lot of people are going to the site and popping her up when they've got the odd spare couple of minutes or when they're going through their mail or boiling the kettle." It remains to be seen how much people will warm to Ananova-how, for example, they will receive her as a deliverer of tragic news. But having tested her in this capacity, her creators are confident that she will be accepted.
The Ananova we see now represents the first stage for her and projects relating to her, say her creators. Ananova may be joined by additional digital personnel. And her character, appearance, and delivery will continue to evolve as well. Ananova Ltd. also hopes to see her deliver customized news such as sports or regional entertainment. And while in light of all her recent appearances, Ananova might seem poised to move from the computer to the television screen, Digital Ani mations and Ananova Ltd. are envisioning both larger and smaller venues for her.
A subdivision-surfaces mesh created in LightWave provides the underpinnings for Ananova's complex facial movements.
Portable personal communications devices are one area in which she's already been tested. And requests from airports and railway stations may have Ananova or a similar character appearing on some extremely large screens-making announcements, for example. "Ananova was never envisioned to take off in this direction," says Jowitt. "She's morphing into something completely different."
Jenny Donelan is managing editor of Computer Graphics World.
News on Demand:1KTV
By Barbara Robertson
OK, here's the scenario: You were caught in rush hour traffic, got home late, and missed the 6:00 evening news. You're tired. The chances you'll still be awake for the 11:00 news range from slim to none. What you want to do is order a pizza, collapse on the couch, and watch the evening news now, at 7:40. First, you want to watch sports highlights, then world news, and then a business wrap-up. As for tomorrow? To morrow's another day. Tomorrow, maybe you'll want to catch business news at 3:15 and then check world news when you get home at 6:49.
At least that's what the folks at 1KTV hope you want to do, because on their "stations," animated CG newscasters can broadcast headline news, weather, and sports via the Web, when you want, with a click of your mouse button. "We're giving people the passive experience of watching television in an interactive form," says Kenn Raaf, manager of IKTV and marketing manager for V-Star (Los Angeles), the technology company that launched 1KTV.
Raaf envisions 1KTV taking shape as a group of local and regional "stations," each with its own Web site. The company's first site, serving the Los Angeles area, went live in February. If you point your browser to www .1KTVLA.com, you can get business news from Doug Bonds, sports from Mark Fields, weather from Corkie McCloud, and headline news from Paula deAngeles, all humanoid animated characters with real-time lip sync. In addition, six "lifestyle characters" such as Daffy Giraffy for kids, and Sir Charles for adults offer lighter stories and suggestions for things to do in LA. And a few "silly" characters, as Raaf calls them, liven up the site with late-night TV-style comedy shows that feature material drawn from current events.
Powering these lip-syncing digital news, weather, and sportscasters is technology from V-Star that uses scripts to specify vocal code, character animation, and sets with animated props.
Behind the scenes, journalists write the stories using news sources such as UPI, AP, City News Service, and the local magazine LA Weekly; comedy writers create scripts for the "silly" characters; and a staff of artists put the production together. Pro duction time is about one hour per minute of "on-air" time. "We're producing 30 to 40 new stories a day and be tween 60 and 80 shows a week right now," says Raaf. The content changes at least once a day, with sports and financial news changing twice a day. Breaking news, which can take as little as 15 minutes to produce, is updated throughout the day. Rather than trying to provide complete stories, 1KTV serves as a filter that uses the animated characters to bring people headline news plus a few paragraphs, and then provides links to news sources and other coverage on the Web for those who want to learn more.
Here's how it works. The animated characters are created with Discreet's (Montreal) 3D Studio Max and then converted, using proprietary software, into 2D sprite stacks. The sprite stacks, props, sets, and other images-more than 100mb of data in all-are sent to "viewers" on a CD that also contains the 1KTV player. During a broadcast, these images are accessed from the CD in real time to create the animated newscasters and their settings. To create the computer-generated, real-time voices, 1KTV uses an enhanced version of Compaq's (Houston) DECtalk software.
When someone clicks on a character, a script is downloaded. The script, a text file containing all the commands to run a show, activates the player and specifies vocal code, character animation, sets with animated props, and presentation graphics, if any. The selected character pops into a full-screen, 512 x 384-pixel, television-style virtual set. Even so, because the script is a text file, it requires a baud rate of only 1K per second to download (thus the 1KTV name). Since the images used for character animation, props, and so forth are on the viewer's CD, and don't have to be downloaded, there is almost no delay between click and news-even with standard dial-up services, according to the company.
To create a broadcast script, computer-generated voice is specified using a phoneme-based system, and then emotions that control gestures and expressions are added.
"Because we're using television as a model, we wanted to give people full-screen images, not the postage stamps you usually get with video on the Internet," says Raaf, explaining their decision to use animated characters and computer-generated voices rather than video and real voices. He adds, though, that they can use video in a newscast, if they choose. For example: "We can have [the animated character] Paula doing a story, and while she's talking, a video can be loading that will play on [an image of] a television set on her [virtual] desk," he says.
To create the characters and the show, the production team starts with 3D characters created in Studio Max. To create the animation, the company hires actors to perform the characters. The actors' facial expressions are captured with a Vicon (Oxford, UK) optical system; body movement is captured with a Motion Analysis (Santa Rosa, CA) optical system. The motion-capture data then is applied to the 3D character. While the animated character moves on-screen, a custom plug-in for Max takes "snapshots" of individual animation frames and saves those poses as 2D images.
Ultimately, each V-Star character will have hundreds of poses-facial expressions to match particular phonemes or convey emotions, individual elements in a walk cycle, all the positions necessary for a character to point at something or turn its head, and so forth. These poses become organized as hierarchical sprite stacks and are stored in character libraries on the CD along with the sets, props, and the 1KTV player. Currently the 1KTV disc has 25 characters and more than 100 sets.
To create a newscaster's scripted facial expressions, sliders in a 3D Studio Max plug-in manipulate mocap data.
A 1KTV production starts with a script. The script goes to a vocal coder who, using proprietary software, converts the text into phonemes and creates a phoneme script. The phoneme script controls an Active X plug-in to Internet Explorer that generates the voices on the fly. (The voice technology is based on a superset of the Klatt Syn thesizer, which was developed at MIT in the 1980s, licensed to the DEC division of Compaq, and updated at V-Star during the past five years.)
This phoneme script is sent to production artists, who link it to a character using a custom production software program that accesses the sprite stacks and provides automatic lip sync based on the phonemes. Once that's done, the artists drag and drop emotions into the script and specify actions such as where the characters look, sit, or point. This can be done on a frame-by-frame or second-by-second basis using simple icons and commands such as "serious" or "angry" or "turn head left" that call up particular sprite stacks. Finally, the production software creates the text-based command file that's posted to the Web site.
Even though the cartoon characters have so far proved more popular than the newscasters, people do respond to the animated humanoids, according to Raaf. "People are sending e-mail to these virtual characters," he says. "It's hilarious."
But then, why not? Ezra Shapiro, a professor of journalism at Cal State North ridge (Los Angeles) notes wryly: "The people who deliver television news are already close to cartoon figures. This software is taking us one small step forward, but why stop there? I'd rather see the evening news delivered by cartoon characters than humanoids. I'd love to see Daffy Duck covering Congress.
"I think that once you know it's an animation, it doesn't matter if it's a humanoid or not," he adds. I'd rather have an animated paperclip read ing the news than a stiff cartoon human."
During 1KTVLA's first two months, V-Star shipped 3500 CDs, and Shapiro has begun seeing the discs on campus. "We're working now to get more traffic," says Raaf. "When we get 10,000, we'll start advertising and launch our second site in San Fran cisco." Raaf hopes to have 10 regional sites in the next 18 months, and is looking for approximately 100,000 viewers for each site. This, of course, would allow advertisers to target specific audiences. "We can drop a 15-second spot into a show, and it would be unavoidable," Raaf says. "The user wouldn't have to click to see it." As with television, the only way the viewer could avoid the ad would be to leave the room-or the Web site.
V-Star is also licensing its tools to other Web sites interested in creating animated characters. And the company is creating animated versions of broadcast newscasters for a television station's Web site. For these virtual characters, V-Star has developed a system that sends full voice rather than computer-generated voice with an 8K data stream. "We still get automatic lip sync," Raaf says, "unless the download time dips below 8K." If the download time drops below 8K, the animated character begins speaking with a computer-generated voice to maintain the real-time lip syncing.
It could be the start of a very strange future in which the familiar noon news is replaced by 'toon news delivered by animated characters. It's one thing to joke about cartoon characters covering politicians, but it's hard to imagine an animated character with a computer-generated voice reporting on the war in Bosnia.
"You might as well use a cartoon to deliver news that's choreographed to begin with, but I don't know anyone who would want to hear about tragedies from animated characters," Shapiro says. "If an airplane crashes, you don't want to hear about it from a cartoon. The human touch is necessary, and no amount of animation could bridge that gap. Of course, as we get used to animated characters that may change, but now, when we turn to something for comfort, we want a warm-blooded animal."
Barbara Robertson is West Coast senior editor for Computer Graphics World.
Satiric CG Commentary: Le JourNul de Francois Perusse
By Karen Moltenbrey
A computer-generated segment shown on Canada's TVA evening news program is making headlines itself as the first animated series of its kind to be produced and aired on TV the same day, every day. Called "Le JourNul de Francois Perusse," the 60-second 3D spot, rendered with a 2D cel look, features a quirky digital anchorman and three virtual report ers who deliver satiric commentary about current affairs. Sometimes the characters appear in a 3D animated set, while at other times they are composited over a still image or a video clip.
"These reporters are where the action is, whether it's the sportscaster reporting from Canada's Molson Center or a reporter in Washington at the White House," says Christophe Goldberger, general manager of Montreal's Klik Animation studio, which produces the series.
"Le JourNul" features reporter Tristan Direct, a 3D character rendered with a traditional cel look and animated with motion-capture tools.
This innovative concept is television's equivalent of a daily newspaper comic strip such as "Doonesbury" that focuses on topical issues. The one-minute TV segment, though, requires about 1800 frames of animation, which must be written, scripted, and produced each weekday. When Klik Ani mation was approached by Zero Productions in Montreal, "we knew that no one at the time had ever produced a daily animated series on this scale, but we wanted to be the first," Gold ber ger says. In fact, 2D and 3D animation facilities alike had deemed the concept impractical.
Because of the project's scope and re quired turnaround time, Klik had ruled out using all traditional 2D cel or 3D keyframe animation. "We had been using motion capture for our other 3D character-animation projects, so we knew this technology would work for this series," says Goldberger.
"Le JourNul" is a dialog-driven segment, which requires the spot's creator, French radio personality Francois Perusse, to produce a sound track of the spot's audio the evening prior to the broadcast, which is then delivered overnight to the studio. Early the following morning, the Klik animators capture the body movements of an actor, using the StarTrak wireless motion-capture system by Polhemus (Colchester, VT), as he acts out the performances for each character involved in that day's piece. The information is processed in Kaydara's (Montreal) Filmbox software, and the files are transferred into Discreet's (Montreal) 3D Studio Max, which the artists use to create and animate the character models and model the digital sets.
For each character's hands and face, the artists use standard keyframing because, in Goldberger's opinion, this method works better and offers more control for achieving facial and hand movement in a short turnaround time. Keyframing is also used to correct motion-captured body movement that lacks the desired precision.
In the daily TV news segment "Le JourNul," anchorman Sébastien Tobin and arts reporter Paula Rideau are digital characters placed in CG or live-action backgrounds.
One of the biggest challenges to using motion capture for this project, says Goldberger, is that the movement is so smooth that it doesn't always resemble the motion of traditional cel animation, which the group is trying to imitate. As a result, the actor whose motions are captured has had to master certain physical comedic characteristics of cel animation, such as exaggerated body movements.
The colorful 2D cartoon quality of the 3D characters and background imagery is accomplished during the rendering process, using David Gould's Illustrate program, distributed by Digimation (St. Rose, LA). Editing of the spots is done with Adobe Systems' (San Jose, CA) Premiere.
"We conducted a tremendous amount of research in developing the cartoon-shading process that enables us to use powerful 3D character animation, but at the same time, apply that to characters who, in this case, have a more simplified cel appearance," says Goldberger.
Not long ago, producing a daily topical show of this scope using a traditional animation style was unthinkable. Now it is part of a daily routine.
Karen Moltenbrey is an associate editor for Computer Graphics World.
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Bought these many moons ago and they are still in perfect shape. I bought 6 replacement stylus's back in the day but am finally down to the last set that is wearing thin. Need to know what the replacement options are on them as they are discontinued. Are there other options that work with this set of cartridges? It would be nice to hold the 'gold' look but at this point I just want something that works.
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Stanton Groovemaster II Pro stylus replacment options Need some new needles
Posted 17 December 2016 - 11:24 PM
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text: On 6/16/10, Marcus Moeller <mail at marcus-moeller.de> wrote: > Hi Alain, > > Great to have you back. Hope everything is fine so far. This connection ends tomorrow. I'm glad to to communicate myself with you all at this time. Don't know what will happen tomorrow so I'll try to upload as much as possible for you all to check. >>> Besides that Alain's plan was to create one design for all releases. I >>> am not going to follow this track as imho every release should be >>> visually unique (which is also good for promotion) >> >> good for promotion ? what about corporate visual identity ? what is >> your idea exactly ? > > My idea is to make every major release visually unique. There should > be something like motto which should be kept on minor releases. Maybe > even NO artwork change on minor releases could be an option. I'm just worried about maintainance issues of one visually unique schema per major release. The CentOS projects maintain near to 4 major releases at the same time. Let's see what happen after uploading the centos-artwork-repo-0.0.1.tar.bz2 file. Keep monitoring http://wiki.centos.org/ArtWork page. I will upload an 8MB file to it, and if connection is still active I will try to start uploading things up to https://projects.centos.org/svn/artwork structure. > For RHEL 6 we have to create some additional stuff as rhgb has been > replaced with plymouth. Yes, plymouth is something we need to introduce inside artwork repository rendering structure. Best Regards, al