text:
Paclitaxel With or Without Pazopanib Hydrochloride in Treating Patients With Persistent or Recurrent Ovarian Epithelial, Fallopian Tube, or Peritoneal Cavity Cancer
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01468909
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : November 10, 2011
Results First Posted : April 16, 2019
Last Update Posted : July 23, 2019
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- Study Results
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Recurrent Fallopian Tube Carcinoma Recurrent Ovarian Carcinoma Recurrent Primary Peritoneal Carcinoma
|Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis Drug: Paclitaxel Drug: Pazopanib Hydrochloride Other: Placebo
|Phase 2
I. To estimate the progression-free survival hazard ratio of the combination of weekly paclitaxel and pazopanib (pazopanib hydrochloride) compared to weekly paclitaxel and placebo in patients with persistent or recurrent ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer.
I. To determine the frequency and severity of adverse events as assessed by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE).
II. To estimate and compare the proportion of patients responding to therapy by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST), cancer antigen 125 (CA125) response, the overall survival (OS), and the duration of response in each arm.
I. To explore the association between plasma cytokines and angiogenic markers and progression-free and overall survival.
II. To explore the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and progression-free and overall survival.
OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.
ARM I: Patients receive paclitaxel intravenously (IV) over 1 hour on days 1, 8, and 15 and placebo orally (PO) daily on days 1-28.
ARM II: Patients receive paclitaxel as in Arm I and pazopanib hydrochloride PO daily on days 1-28.
In both arms, courses repeat every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
After completion of study therapy, patients are followed up every 3 months for 2 years and then every 6 months for 3 years.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|106 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|Double (Participant, Investigator)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|A Randomized Phase IIB Evaluation of Weekly Paclitaxel (NSC #673089) Plus Pazopanib (NSC #737754) Versus Weekly Paclitaxel Plus Placebo in the Treatment of Persistent or Recurrent Epithelial Ovarian, Fallopian Tube or Primary Peritoneal Carcinoma
|Actual Study Start Date :
|December 12, 2011
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|January 27, 2018
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|January 27, 2018
Placebo Comparator: Arm I (paclitaxel and placebo)
Patients receive paclitaxel IV over 1 hour on days 1, 8, and 15 and placebo PO daily on days 1-28. Treatment repeats every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis
Correlative studies
Drug: Paclitaxel
Given IV
Other Names:
Other: Placebo
Given PO
Other Names:
Experimental: Arm II (paclitaxel and pazopanib hydrochloride)
Patients receive paclitaxel as in arm I and pazopanib hydrochloride PO daily on days 1-28. Treatment repeats every 28 days in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Other: Laboratory Biomarker Analysis
Correlative studies
Drug: Paclitaxel
Given IV
Other Names:
Drug: Pazopanib Hydrochloride
Given PO
Other Names:
- Progression Free Survival [ Time Frame: For those patients whose disease can be evaluated by physical examination, progression was assessed prior to each 21-day cycle. CT scan or MRI if used to follow lesion for measurable disease every other cycle, Up to 5 years ]The time from randomization until disease progression, death, or date of last contact. Endpoints are progression or death. Patients who are not observed with an endpoint are censored. Progression is defined using Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors Criteria (RECIST v1.0), as a 20% increase in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions, or a measurable increase in a non-target lesion, or the appearance of new lesions
- Adverse Events as Assessed by CTCAE v.4 [ Time Frame: From baseline to 30 days after last dose of drug. ]All grade 3 or greater Adverse Events (AEs) occurring during treatment and up to 30 days after stopping the study treatment are reported.
- Proportion of Participants With Tumor Response by RECIST [ Time Frame: Every other cycle for 6 months, then every 3 months until disease progression,Up to 5 years ]Patients with Complete and Partial Tumor Response by RECIST 1.1. Responses (CR and PR) require confirmation at greater than or equal to 4 weeks from initial documentation. Per Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors Criteria (RECIST v1.0) for target lesions and assessed by MRI: Complete Response (CR), Disappearance of all target lesions; Partial Response (PR), >=30% decrease in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions; Overall Response (OR) = CR + PR.
- Percentage of Participants With Tumor Response by CA-125 [ Time Frame: Prior to each cycle of treatment. Then follow-up every three months for 2 years and then every 6 months for 3 years, up to 5 years. ]Response as evaluated by CA-125 levels. Response is indicated if CA-125 reduced by 50% of the baseline measure.
- Overall Survival (OS) [ Time Frame: Every cycle while patient is receiving protocol therapy. Patients monitored for survival after off therapy every 3 months for 2 years, then every 6 months, up to 5 years ]Overall survival
- Single-nucleotide Polymorphisms, Assessed Using the iPLEX Assay on the Sequenome MassARRAY Platform [ Time Frame: Up to 5 years ]Analyzed using deoxyribonucleic acid isolated from whole blood specimens.
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Patients must have recurrent or persistent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal carcinoma; histologic documentation of the original primary tumor is required via the pathology report
Patients must have measurable disease or non-measurable (detectable) disease
- Measurable disease is defined as at least one lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension (longest diameter to be recorded); each lesion must be greater than or equal to 10 mm when measured by computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or caliper measurement by clinical exam; or greater than or equal to 20 mm when measured by chest x-ray; lymph nodes must be greater than or equal to 15 mm in short axis when measured by CT or MRI
Non-measurable (detectable) disease in a patient is defined in this protocol as one who does not have measurable disease but has at least one of the following conditions:
- Ascites and/or pleural effusion attributed to tumor
- Solid and/or cystic abnormalities on radiographic imaging that do not meet RECIST 1.1 definitions for target lesions
- Patients with measurable disease must have at least one "target lesion" to be used to assess response on this protocol as defined by RECIST 1.1; tumors within a previously irradiated field will be designated as "non-target" lesions unless progression is documented or a biopsy is obtained to confirm persistence at least 90 days following completion of radiation therapy
- Patients must not be eligible for a higher priority Gynecology Oncology Group (GOG) protocol, if one exists; in general, this would refer to any active GOG phase III or Rare Tumor protocol for the same patient population; in addition, patients must not be eligible for the currently active phase II cytotoxic protocol in platinum resistant disease
- Patients who have received one prior regimen must have a GOG performance status of 0, 1, or 2
- Patients who have received two or three prior regimens must have a GOG performance status of 0 or 1
- Recovery from effects of recent surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy
- Patients should be free of active infection requiring antibiotics (with the exception of uncomplicated urinary tract infection [UTI])
- Any hormonal therapy directed at the malignant tumor must be discontinued at least one week prior to registration
- Any other prior therapy directed at the malignant tumor, including chemotherapy, biological/targeted (non-cytotoxic) agents, and immunologic agents, must be discontinued at least three weeks prior to registration; chimeric or human or humanized monoclonal antibodies (including bevacizumab) or vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor fusion proteins (including VEGF TRAP/aflibercept) must be discontinued for at least 12 weeks prior to registration
- At least 4 weeks must have elapsed since the patient underwent any major surgery (e.g., major: laparotomy, laparoscopy, thoracotomy, video-assisted thorascopic surgery [VATS]); there is no restriction on minor procedures (e.g., minor: central venous access catheter placement, ureteral stent placement or exchange, paracentesis, thoracentesis)
- Patients must have had one prior platinum-based chemotherapeutic regimen for management of primary disease containing carboplatin, cisplatin, or another organoplatinum compound; this initial treatment may have included intraperitoneal therapy, consolidation, biologic/targeted (non-cytotoxic) agents (e.g., bevacizumab), or extended therapy administered after surgical or non-surgical assessment; if patients were treated with paclitaxel for their primary disease, this can have been given weekly or every 3 weeks
- Patients are allowed to receive, but are not required to receive, two additional cytotoxic regimens for management of recurrent or persistent disease, with no more than 1 non-platinum, non-taxane regimen; treatment with weekly paclitaxel for recurrent or persistent disease is NOT allowed
- Patients are allowed to receive, but are not required to receive, biologic/targeted (non-cytotoxic) therapy as part of their primary treatment regimen
- Patients must have NOT received any biologic/targeted (non-cytotoxic) therapy targeting the VEGF and/or platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) pathways for management of recurrent or persistent disease
- For the purposes of this study, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors will be considered "cytotoxic"; patients are allowed to receive, but are not required to receive, PARP inhibitors for management of primary or recurrent/persistent disease (either alone or in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy); PARP inhibitors will NOT count as a prior regimen when given alone
- Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) greater than or equal to 1,500/mcL
- Platelets greater than or equal to 100,000/mcL
- Hemoglobin greater than or equal to 9 g/dL
- Prothrombin time (PT) such that international normalized ratio (INR) is less than or equal to 1.5 x upper limit of normal (ULN) (or an in-range INR, usually between 2 and 3, if a patient is on a stable dose of therapeutic warfarin)
- Partial thromboplastin time (PTT) less than or equal to 1.5 x ULN
- Creatinine less than or equal to 1.5 x institutional ULN
- Urine protein should be screened by urinalysis; if urine protein is 2+ or higher, 24-hour urine protein should be obtained and the level must be < 1000 mg (< 1.0 g/24 hours [hrs]) for patient enrollment
- Bilirubin less than or equal to 1.5 x ULN
- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) less than or equal to 2.5 x ULN
- Subjects who have BOTH bilirubin greater than ULN and AST/ALT greater than ULN are not eligible
- Alkaline phosphatase less than or equal to 2.5 x ULN
- Patients must have normal baseline thyroid function tests (thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH], T3, T4); a history of hypothyroidism and/or hyperthyroidism is allowed, as long as the patient has stable well-controlled thyroid function for a minimum of 2 months
- Neuropathy (sensory and motor) less than or equal to grade 1
- Patients of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test prior to the study entry and be practicing an effective form of contraception; pregnant women are excluded from this study
- Patients must have signed an approved informed consent and authorization permitting the release of personal health information
Patients must be capable of taking and absorbing oral medications; a patient must be clear of the following:
- Any lesion, whether induced by tumor, radiation, or other conditions, which makes it difficult to swallow tablets
- Prior surgical procedures affecting absorption including, but not limited to major resection of stomach or small bowel
- Active peptic ulcer disease
- Malabsorption syndrome
- Any concomitant medications that are associated with a risk of corrected QT (QTc) prolongation and/or Torsades de Pointes should be discontinued or replaced with drugs that do not carry these risks, if possible; patients who must take medication with a risk of possible risk of Torsades de Pointes should be watched carefully for symptoms of QTc prolongation, such as syncope
- Patients with personal or family history of congenital long QTc syndrome are NOT eligible
- Strong inhibitors of cytochrome P-450 system (CYP)3A4 are prohibited
- Strong inducers of CYP3A4 are prohibited
- Concomitant use of agents with narrow therapeutic windows that are metabolized by CYP3A4, CYP2D6, or CYP2C8 is not recommended
Exclusion Criteria:
- Patients who have had previous treatment with pazopanib; patients who have had previous treatment with weekly paclitaxel for recurrent or persistent disease
- Patients with a history of other invasive malignancies, with the exception of non-melanoma skin cancer and other specific malignancies are excluded if there is any evidence of other malignancy being present within the last three years; patients are also excluded if their previous cancer treatment contraindicates this protocol therapy
- Patients who have received prior radiotherapy to any portion of the abdominal cavity or pelvis within the last three years are excluded; prior radiation for localized cancer of the breast, head and neck, or skin is permitted, provided that it was completed more than three years prior to registration, and the patient remains free of recurrent or metastatic disease
- Patients who have received prior chemotherapy for any abdominal or pelvic tumor OTHER THAN for the treatment of ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer within the last three years; patients may have received prior adjuvant chemotherapy for localized breast cancer, provided that it was completed more than three years prior to registration, and the patient remains free of recurrent or metastatic disease
Patients with clinically significant cardiovascular disease; this includes:
- Uncontrolled hypertension, defined as systolic greater than 140 mm Hg or diastolic greater than 90 mm Hg despite antihypertensive medications
- Congenital long QT syndrome or baseline QTc greater than 480 milliseconds
- Myocardial infarction or unstable angina within 6 months prior to registration
- New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II or greater congestive heart failure
History of serious ventricular arrhythmia (i.e., ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation) or serious cardiac arrhythmia requiring medication
- This does not include asymptomatic atrial fibrillation with controlled ventricular rate
- Patients who have received prior treatment with an anthracycline (including doxorubicin and/or liposomal doxorubicin) must have an echocardiogram assessment and are excluded if they have an ejection fraction less than 50%
- CTCAE grade 2 or greater peripheral vascular disease (at least brief [less than 24 hours] episodes of ischemia managed non-surgically and without permanent deficit)
- History of cardiac angioplasty or stenting within 6 months prior to registration
- History of coronary artery bypass graft surgery within 6 months prior to registration
- Arterial thrombosis within 6 months prior to registration
- Patients with serious non-healing wound, ulcer, or bone fracture; this includes history of abdominal fistula, gastrointestinal perforation or intra-abdominal abscess within 28 days prior to the first date of study treatment
- Patients with active bleeding or pathologic conditions that carry high risk of bleeding, such as known bleeding disorder, coagulopathy, or tumor involving major vessels
- Patients with history or evidence upon physical examination of central nervous system (CNS) disease, including primary brain tumor, seizures which are not controlled with non-enzyme inducing anticonvulsants, any brain metastases, or history of cerebrovascular accident (CVA, stroke), transient ischemic attack (TIA) or subarachnoid hemorrhage within six months prior to the first date of study treatment
- History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to pazopanib
- Known human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive subjects on combination antiretroviral therapy
Patients with any condition that may increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding or gastrointestinal perforation, including:
- Active peptic ulcer disease
- Known gastrointestinal intraluminal metastatic lesions (gastrointestinal serosa metastatic lesions are permitted)
- Inflammatory bowel disease (e.g., ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease)
- Patients with clinical symptoms or signs of gastrointestinal obstruction
- Patients who require parenteral hydration and/or nutrition
- Patients who are pregnant or nursing
- History of hemoptysis in excess of 2.5 mL (½ teaspoon) within 8 weeks prior to first dose of pazopanib
- Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01468909
|Principal Investigator:
|Debra Richardson
|NRG Oncology
Documents provided by National Cancer Institute (NCI):
|Responsible Party:
|National Cancer Institute (NCI)
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
NCI-2011-03635 ( Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program) )
GOG-0186J ( Other Identifier: NRG Oncology )
GOG-0186J ( Other Identifier: CTEP )
U10CA180868 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
U10CA027469 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
|First Posted:
|November 10, 2011 Key Record Dates
|Results First Posted:
|April 16, 2019
|Last Update Posted:
|July 23, 2019
|Last Verified:
|July 2019
Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial
Neoplasms by Histologic Type
Albumin-Bound Paclitaxel
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic
Antineoplastic Agents
Tubulin Modulators
Antimitotic Agents
Mitosis Modulators
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action


text:
NAACP adds plaintiffs to suit over NC voter law
The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP has added more plaintiffs to its federal lawsuit challenging a sweeping new elections law crafted by Republican lawmakers.
The lawsuit filed by the civil rights group in U.S. District Court seeks to overturn the new law approved earlier this year, which includes provisions requiring voters to present government-issued photo ID, cutting early voting by a week and increases access for partisan poll watchers.
The NAACP lawsuit was filed on behalf of Rosanell Eaton, a 92-year-old African-American voter who lacks a birth certificate required to get an ID. She is now joined by six churches and six individuals likely to be negatively affected by the new law.
Attorneys for the group say the new plaintiffs bolster their request for expedited hearings in federal court.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Walker Royce is Chief Software Delivery Economist at IBM Rational.
Most organizations that depend on software are struggling to transform their lifecycle model from a "development" focus to a "delivery" focus. This subtle distinction in wording represents a dramatic change in the principles that are driving the management philosophy and the governance models. Namely, a software development orientation focuses on the various activities required in the development process, while a software delivery orientation focuses on the results of that process. Organizations that have successfully made this transition -- perhaps 30-40% by our estimate -- have recognized that engineering discipline is trumped by economics discipline in most software-intensive endeavors.
IBM Rational has had a twofold mission since the 1980s:
- To bring software development best practices to our customers.
- To participate directly on their diverse projects to learn the patterns of success and failure so that we could differentiate which practices were best, and why.
As the world has become more dependent on software delivery efficiency, our observations indicate that, among the most successful businesses, software production involves more of an economics than an engineering discipline.
Here's one essential distinction between engineering governance and economics governance. An engineering approach typically relies on precise up-front planning, whereas an economics approach relies on continual course correction -- like steering a boat -- toward a target goal.
Let's put this in terms those outside the software industry can relate to: Software project managers are more likely to succeed if they use techniques similar to those used in movie production, compared to those used conventional engineering projects, like bridge construction. Consider this:
- Most software professionals have no laws of physics to constrain their problems or solutions. They are bound only by human imagination, economic constraints, and platform performance once they create something that will run.
- Quality is best measured through the eyes of the audience. Most aspects of quality are very subjective, such as responsiveness, maintainability, and usability.
- In a software project, you can seemingly change almost anything at any time: plans, people, funding, requirements, designs, and tests. "Requirements" rarely describe anything that is truly required. Nearly everything is negotiable.
These three observations are equally applicable to software project managers and movie producers. Both are professionals who regularly create a unique and complex web of intellectual property bounded only by vision and human creativity. Both industries experience a very low success rate, although we know that great movies are made every year, as well as great software.
The point is, most mature engineering disciplines learned the laws that governed their enterprises long ago. The construction industry learned to eliminate the risk of reinventing the laws of construction on every project. What emerged were enforceable standards in building codes, materials, and techniques, particularly for the architectural engineering aspects of structure, power, plumbing, and foundation. This resulted in much more straightforward (i.e., predictable) construction with innovation mostly confined to the design touches sensed by its human users. This led to guided economic governance for the design/style/usability aspects with standardization and engineering governance driving most of the architecture, materials, and labor. Therefore, building engineers understand that when design innovations occur during the course of aplanned construction project -- involving new materials, new technology, or architectural deviations -- they incur the same sorts of cost overruns and rework that we see frequently in software projects.
Agile software delivery approaches start projects with an ever increasing amount of the product coming from existing assets, architectures, and services. Agile delivery projects that have fully transitioned to a steering leadership style based on effective measurement can optimize scope, design, and plans to reduce this waste of unnecessary scrap and rework further, eliminate uncertainties earlier, and significantly improve the probability of win-win outcomes for all stakeholders. Note that we don't expect scrap and rework rates to be driven to zero, but rather to a level that corresponds to healthy discovery, experimentation, and production levels commensurate with resolving the uncertainty of the product being developed. Business needs innovation; success demands it. That's why we need economic discipline and governance to measure the risk and variance of the uncertain outcomes associated with innovation. After many years of observing and deploying software delivery principles and capturing a framework of best practices, we have concluded that reducing uncertainty is the recurring theme that ties together successful techniques.
Based on experience with hundreds of projects, we have adopted the more advanced economic disciplines of agile software delivery. Here are my proposed top ten principles for achieving agile software delivery success.
- Reduce uncertainties by addressing architecturally significant decisions first.
- Establish an adaptive life-cycle process that accelerates variance reduction.
- Reduce the amount of custom development through asset reuse and middleware.
- Instrument the process to measure cost of change, quality trends, and progress trends.
- Communicate honest progressions and digressions with all stakeholders.
- Collaborate regularly with stakeholders to renegotiate priorities, scope, resources, and plans.
- Continuously integrate releases and test usage scenarios with evolving breadth and depth.
- Establish a collaboration platform that enhances teamwork among potentially distributed teams.
- Enhance the freedom to change plans, scope, and code releases through automation.
- Establish a governance model that guarantees creative freedoms to practitioners.
Successfully delivering software products in a predictable and profitable manner requires an evolving mixture of discovery, production, assessment, and a steering leadership style. The word "steering" implies active management involvement and frequent course-correction to produce better results. All stakeholders must collaborate to converge on moving targets, and the principles above delineate the economic foundations necessary to achieve good steering mechanisms. The key outcome of these modern agile delivery principles is increased flexibility, which enables the continuous negotiation of scope, plans, and solutions for effective economic governance.


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Philly Improv Theater sketch house team The Flat Earth will be performing a brand new sketch comedy revue at PHIT beginning tonight with four dates between now and Friday, March 8. Their first sketch revue premiered at last year's Fringe Festival to much success, earning it encore performances at PHIT as well as a nominations from their peers for "Best Sketch Group" and "Best Short-Run or One-Time Show" at the 2013 WitOut Awards for Philadelphia Comedy. We asked the actors and writers of The Flat Earth to tease their favorite moments from their upcoming show to help whet potential audience members' appetites. As you'll see, they (and you) have a lot to be excited about.
Brent Knobloch
"The opening sketch of the show features Molly Silverman and Jacqueline Baker doing some of the most brilliantly subtle yet insanely funny acting I've seen in a long time. The ease with which they pull every possible laugh out of the script is incredible."
Jess Ross
"Really happy with the strong female roles in this show. A lot of sketch you see is all dudes, sometimes one chick. And if there is a chick she's a naggy girlfriend/mom/boss. Our girls have some of the funniest moments in the show and I'm really proud of them and to the writers for giving them such fun parts to play."
Jim Grammond
"My favorite part of the upcoming show is I get to eat during two sketches."
Rich Lee
"One of my favorite new additions for this show is the sketch Garrote. It's got a smart yet silly vibe, with some good old fashioned slap-stick moments. It will definitely get laughs with Brent Knobloch and Luke Field dancing around on stage. The next prop would have to be for Molly Silverman in our opening sketch. I don't want to say the title as it would give away some jokes, but she plays a mother consoling her daughter on her wedding day. Molly has some hilarious deliveries and we can all thank Sean Landis for writing one of the silliest yet hard to say lines in sketch… close parenthesis."
Luke Field
"The opening sketch of the show makes me laugh every time. Molly's delivery of the lines is perfect as a very specific retro mom. And I appreciate all references to the halcyon days of my tweenage years."
Vincent DiCostanzo
Jacqueline Baker
"Our latest sketch revue has a lot in common with the Pesto Shrimp & Avocado Crostini appetizer from Romano's Macaroni Grill: textured pesto bits, frou-frou shrimpy accents, a crunchy crostini restaurant battle, and a colorful and gooey avocado finish. The old Macaroni Grill slogan "Run By Chefs. That Explains Our Food" is our comedic ethos and a godawful slogan. Seriously, who coined that garbage? Not one of our writers, that's who. "
Sean Landis
"My favorite moment is the way Molly Silverman performs the final line in our password sketch. The line itself is already a well-written final joke to the sketch. But the first time I heard Molly perform the line, I was so surprised by her choice that I laughed for, like, a minute straight."
Adam Siry
"I love the costumes in our opening sketch, and Luke Field's drumming skills send my heart aflutter."
Molly Silverman
"Its tough to play favorites, but I will say there is one sketch in particular that has tested my ability to keep a straight-face on stage. Jacqueline Baker's kooky monologue cracks me up each time. I laugh every time, without fail."
Matthew Schmid
"My favorite part of the show is a sketch that Sean Landis wrote which stars Molly Silverman and Jacquie Baker. There's so many great lines in it and Jacquie and Molly really hit each one out of the park. I've seen the sketch about 40 times during rehearsal, it still cracks me up each time."
Steve Swan
"My favorite thing about the show is the variety of styles in it, and how receptive everyone is (writers, actors, and our director Paul Triggiani) to each other's inputs. That really takes the sketches to the next level."
The Flat Earth's Second Sketch Revue is February 28 – March 1, and March 7 – 8 at 8:30pm at Philly Improv Theater at The Shubin Theater (407 Bainbridge St.) Tickets can be purchased online.


text:
ISO-New England settles dispute with 4 states, agreeing to cost-cutting, budget details
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) � New England's electric grid operator has agreed to cut nearly $3 million in spending and end a pension plan for new employees in a settlement with officials in five states who said spending was excessive.
In the agreement filed Monday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, ISO-New England also promised to provide spending details to attorneys general and consumer advocates in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
ISO, based in Holyoke, Mass., agreed to explain budget details when necessary and highlight items about increases of more than 5 percent or $500,000, whichever is higher.
The grid operator also agreed to no longer fund golf tournaments or charitable contributions.
State officials said ISO spending grew too much in the weak economy. The agreement must be approved by a judge.


text:
"My purpose was simple: to catch the feel, the pulse of rock, as I had lived through it. What I was after was guts, and flash, and energy, and speed" - NIK COHN - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "When the music was new and had no rules" -LUNA C
Monday, September 6, 2010
instalment #5
Joe Muggs profile of Terror Danjah, in the Wire, August 2010
"The music you first have sex to stays with you for life. And for me that's Jungle. Wherever I go, I always heave that in the back of my head, some Roni Size or V Recordings-style tune, fast and furious"--Terror Danjah.... He is now in demand as a founder of Grime and inspiration for dubstep, but from his very first sexual explorations and DJ gigs to the "Mentasm" and "Amen" sounds in his new Planet Mu EP, Power Grid, that Junglist impulse has indeed always been with him. A bashment fan from primary school age, Terror Danjah was 12 when Jungle began to emerge in 1992. He became hooked, and started DJing the following year as the sound found its footing... he felt at home among the constantly shifting and overlapping crews, cliques and radio stations of the Jungle scene. "in 1995, me and D Double landed a show on Future FM through a mate of mine, Tempo, who at the time had an MC called Footsie, so you can see the connection [D Double and Footside would later form Newham Generals]. "
21 comments:
- Joe Muggs said...
I don't like internet cliches like "facepalm" but honestly Simon!
Later in the interview TD says how he never liked garage... What does that say for the continuum?
Also I have never said there is no such thing as a hardcore continuum, only that it should not be privileged and fetishised as separate and better than the jazz, house, b-boy, industrial and other continua that run through rave music. The extended Zed Bias interview I'll be putting up soon illustrates this quite well, I feel :)
- September 26, 2010 at 3:06 AM
- SIMON REYNOLDS said...
When I interviewed Terror he said that after making jungle but never putting any tracks out, just some dubplates:
"I did two garage tunes and they blew up so I decided to stick with that. In 2002 I did "Firecracker" b/w "Highly Inflammable" on Solid City." (That was Teebone's label and associated with the transitional sound of garage rap, Pay As U Go Cartel etc.)
Which makes Terror's trajectory even more archetypally nuum -- jungle > UKG > grime.
As for Zed Bias, I'm sure he has a fascinatingly variegated journey through music, but for the nuumologist the bit that really counts is where he converges with the continuum. And -- funnily enough -- the only things he's done that have any impact were the 2step era tunes like "Neighbourhood" on ur-nuum label Locked On.
>I have never said there is no >such thing as a hardcore continuum
Nah, you're backpedalling here, rewriting recent history. You have disputed, derided, and even, in one of your more histrionic moments, denounced the nuum (as somehow damaging to music!). But as the Terror Danjah feature illustrated, on other occasions you will go along with the narrative when it suits your purposes, e.g. giving some spine and substance to a journalistic piece.
Oh for sure, you've not been quite as blatantly two-faced and hypocritical as that other feller...
Nothing personal, just pointing out the (self-)contradictions!
- October 1, 2010 at 12:26 PM
- Joe Muggs said...
With respect, what a load of balls.
That IS insulting and personal, and completely fabricated. Your deliberate and misleading selective quoting is insulting and personal, and your accusation of backpedalling (i.e. lying) is insulting and personal.
Do I need to give you documentary proof AGAIN that from the very beginning of this discussion I have never cast doubt on the usefulness of the theory of a hardcore continuum that links rave, jungle, garage, grime, dubstep etc?
Let me spell it out again: of course there is a continuum that links those musics. It is a very, very important thread through UK and global music, and before it was devalued by dogma was once a great name for a musical tendency.
What I take issue with is:
a) "The Nuum©" as doctrinal, dogmatic, totemic, proprietary BRANDING - which is what it has become. (and don't get me started on "Ardkore©")
b) the Stalinist revisionist denial of house, broken beat, pop etc as being just as intrinsic to the musical continuua of London and beyond as the macho, blacker-than-thou, more-council-estate-than-thou Sacred Nuum Elements© - despite quotes like that from Wiley which you so proudly wave around as proof your purist Nuumism© yet contradicts it completely, and despite every piece of evidence that, say, the garage scene owed as much to house as it ever did to rave and jungle... I mean, the number of garage artists I have heard cite Phil Asher and even DiY as vital influences on creating the UK sound which fed into the "Sunday Scene" where UKG was born increases week-on-week, yet say this to a Nuum General© and they practically go into meltdown.
c) the demented ontology of the crypto-transcendentalist insistence that The Nuum© is "a thing", a spatio temporal OBJECT that is "as real as Australia". I mean come on, seriously - this is schizophrenic talk. It's like tripping kids at a party clinging onto a teapot that they've named "The Thwibble" and are convinced is "the answer". It IS real! It IS!
d) the patronising insistence that this Good Honest Working Class Music must exist within its own boundaries of influence, free of gentrifying influences of things like jazz or hippie music. It's OK for critics to sit there with their limited boxed facsimile editions of academic tape music from the 50s or Sun Ra rarities, but suggest that kids in Plaistow might have influence beyond The Ardkore© Nuum© and it's clutch-your-pearls-and-shriek time.
It's all just silly TBH and until you dug it all up yet again with this frenzy of misquoting over a year after everyone involved decided they had better things to do, it was clear that nobody really gives two hoots for The Nuum©.
Had I not stumbled on this while searching for something completely else I wouldn't be giving two hoots about it now either. It's done, it's over. The Nuum© is a once-interesting idea that got wanked raw and is no longer useful to anyone. Move on. Or if you can't, then at least leave me out of it.
- October 4, 2010 at 10:35 AM
- SIMON REYNOLDS said...
Don't have time to deal with all of the nonsense here, some of which immediately contradicts your professed acceptance of the hardcore continuum concept.
but this one in particular is way way off-base: the alleged house music "denial"
near the start of my 1999 piece on 2step, I have this:
"Truthfully, Jungle stemmed from House music. It has a reggae influence, but it's still House," MC Navigator from Jungle pirate Kool FM insisted back in 1994. Three years later, Jungle returned to the source, when its rude bwoy spirit and rhythmic science violently possessed the body of Garage (the most soulful and songful form of House), in the process creating a new London scene, 'Speed Garage'."
And then later:
"If Jungle really did stem from House, as Navigator claimed, the true continuity between the two genres is not rhythmic or textural: it's the use of vocals (almost always absent in Techno). At a rough guesstimate, maybe two thirds of Hardcore/Jungle anthems between 1991–94 relied on sampled diva vocals as primary hooks. Producers lifted them from old House or R&B classics, or from CDs packed with a capellas recorded specifically for sampling... When techstep achieved dominance in 1996, vocal samples began to disappear from drum 'n' bass. But the House/Hardcore/Jungle continuum of diva-worship didn't end, it just branched sideways into Speed Garage."
and then you have my later vocal support for bassline house, aka speed garage Mk 2...
and in the FACT talk and subsequent essays, I talk about the four cornerstones of the nuum as hip hop, reggae, house and techno, or refer to "the four-way collision of house/reggae/techno/hip hop" in the UK in the early 90s
so really, you are just making stuff up aren't you Joe?
To me the way to look at what is essential in the history of this music culture, which seems to be disintegrating now under various pressures, is to think about what elements you could remove and it would more or less be the same, and what are the fundamental building blocks. You couldn't remove house, or hip hop, or reggae, or techno, and have anything like the same evolution. But these other "continua" you claim are equally important -- jazz, industrial -- are much more tangential. They pop up as flavours at different stages, yet disappear for long stretches. And they do not function as primary rhythmic building blocks, or as motors of musical change, to anything like the extent that the house, techno, reggae, hip hop influences do.
your comment about Nuum as "brand" is revealing.
That's what it's about really isn't it?. Neither you nor Hancox really at heart dispute the existence of the thing. It's the name itself, and the fact that it's associated with a person, that bugs you. This series "And They Say there's No Such Thing as the Hardcore Continuum" is me having a little wry mischievous fun with the fact that the hardcore continuum makes all these public appearances in disguise. Certain people will enumerate all the core constituents of the concept, reel out the accumulated received wisdom, but they're at great pains not to use the term itself. Sometimes they'll use the colorless and virtually meaningless term "UK bass".
"Brand" is awfully revealing, because what you and Hancox wanna do is literally rebrand. You want to keep the product but change the name. You don't want to reject the tradition of all that great music, indeed you need to be able to invoke it when writing about some new IDM-ish act, to give it some glory by association. In terms of the music you make most of your living writing about, you remain absolutely wedded to that tradition in all kinds of ways. Yet neither of you have been able to come up with a new way of looking at the music. So the idea is, let's continue business as usual, but have a new sign at the front of the store.
- October 4, 2010 at 12:55 PM
- Joe Muggs said...
Who's rebranding? What "new sign" exactly?
Like I say, this whole thing is silly. It doesn't actually MATTER any more whether "The Nuum©" OR "the hardcore continuum" exist, spatio-temporally, platonically or otherwise. The music has not been RE-branded - it has just DE-branded itself. It escapes containment, that's what's great about it. Its multiple identities remain multiple, whichever "sign is above the door".
As I say, the discussion was over more than a year ago until this flurry of defensiveness against the perceived barbarians at the gate. You can cling to the magic totemic phrase or you can let it go. It doesn't matter. There are more important things in music than whether we all agree to use the magic words or not. Now if you'll excuse me I have to write 10,000 words on why Hauntology is better than Post Post Dubstep but not as good as Ill Wave.
- October 4, 2010 at 1:23 PM
- SIMON REYNOLDS said...
Outing yourself as a hippie there Joe --"It's all music maaaan", can't be contained, lay off the pigeonholes/categories/divisions, etc
That's what real criticism is about. Pattern recognition. And also value judgements, definitive assessments of worth. If it has any guts to it, criticism will make a case for some music being better than other music--more advanced, or adventurous, or challenging, or timely, or resonant, or thrilling, or spiritually uplifting, or... whatever axis of value you favor. Not just individual pieces of music, or individual musicians-- sometimes a case can and should be made for whole genres, or musical formations, as better objects of one's attention, energy, time, money, etc, than others.
Yeah, riiiiiight - you don't give "two hoots", it's silly, none of this matters, you've got much MUCH better things to do. That's why you're penning a series of carefully formatted, obsessively rewritten micro-essays in my comments box.
As for the "everybody's moved on", it seems to me that, rather ironically, the concept of the hardcore continuum has achieved much greater currency since you and the other guys attempted to knock it down. That backfired big time: way more people know about it than before. Christ, Geeneus knows the term and thinks that it accurately describes how things went down (http://energyflashbysimonreynolds.blogspot.com/2010/09/brand-new-instalment-of-series-and-say.html). And why wouldn't he? It's common sense.
I object to the word "defensive". I am aggressive. Aggressively calling people out on their bullshit.
- October 4, 2010 at 8:56 PM
- Joe Muggs said...
Uh uh.
Deliberate misreading again.
It's not "it's all music man" - quite the opposite: if I don't want to adhere to your doctrine, it's because I want to be able to differentiate between strands and NOT be stuck with this monolithic collapsing of so many different stories into one Critically Approved one. You're the one forcing far too much into one mystical category.
"Christ, Geeneus knows the term"??? Could that be any more patronising? Why would Geeneus NOT know what critics are writing? Can he not read or something? I think that little bit speaks for itself more clearly than anything else in this discussion.
But you're going in circles here. Again. Yes, the "hardcore continuum" - the fact that there is a lineage between certain genres - is discussed and uncontroversial, as I have said from day one. It's just a vague descriptive term, barely more specific than "rave music". But start breaking it down to anyone outside a certain critical micro-clusterfuck as The Nuum© and explaining why house, broken beat, etc etc are excluded for it (despite being played by same DJs for same crowds on same radio stations) and see how far you get with it then.
I don't know how many times I can say this: "hardcore continuum" = uncontroversial, not-particularly-complicated, reasonable bit of journalism from back in the day which has become a truism. "London pirate music keeps changing but is in certain respects the same". Great.
"The Nuum©" = pseudo-mystical, proprietary, exclusionist, heirarchical toss.
It's cultism, and arguing against it seems to get no more interactive response than taking issue with a Scientologist on Tottenham Court Road. I guess I should just leave you to twitch your internet curtains looking out for articles by heretics and be done with it.
But to return to the original point of your post one more time, your reading of my TD quote is STILL ludicrously wide of the mark. His friends told him to make garage tunes, he didn't; he made tunes that were in that tempo but to him "a mix of jungle and hip hop". As far as he was concerned they WEREN'T GARAGE. He bypassed garage. Garage was not a part of the continuum of his music.
You can nitpick each time someone provides a story or quote that doesn't adhere to your rule all you like, but how many exceptions to your rule do you need before your rule (and let's not pretend - your rule is what you want it to be) ceases to be a rule?
- October 4, 2010 at 11:28 PM
- Joe Muggs said...
p.s. Harrumphing "and they say..." on your owwn blog is aggression, alright: PASSIVE aggression. As I say, it was coincidence that I found it.
If you are really going to "aggressively" accuse someone of lying, perhaps you should do it somewhere where people other than your own circle will actually hear you.
- October 4, 2010 at 11:37 PM
- SIMON REYNOLDS said...
You're clutching at straws here Joe, and to be honest sounding a bit demented, from the imagined insult to Geeneus, to this pseudo-distinction between Hardcore Continuum and Nuum.
Re. house, as I said before in this comments box, and for well over a decade now, clearly it's a major strand of the continuum's sound-stream. But what always interests me most is the mutation that the continuum applies to the house source. So for instance, I'm much more excited by New Horizon's twisted only-in-London take on 4/4 house, than some of the other early 1996-98 garage that was much closer to USG than UKG. To put that another way: there is this track by Gant, "All Night Long", that is really really nice, but it's the flipside, the 187 Lockdown remix of "Sound Bwoy Burial" that actually sounds like a new genre of music birthing itself in front of your ears. Much the same applies to funky: the stuff that sounds like, well, funky house ain't so interesting to me, but when it gets more rhythmically jagged, etc, is when my ears prick up. It is almost like there is a natural point of equilibrium that is the hardcore continuum's center where the music is unpolished, jagged, tracky, where there's diva samples but not necessarily songs, and where MC-ing plays a prominent role. The music replenishes itself every several years by dipping back into the house source, but it always seems to "want" to go back to the ruffage/MC-oriented zone.
Broken beat---it's hard for me to see where's there been a campaign to vilify and exclude this music! After an attempt to explore it circa 2001, I've barely mentioned the genre. An objective view, I think, would deem it to be adjacent to the continuum, in the same way that nu skool breaks was (but whether anyone would even say that if 4 Hero weren't involved, who knows?).I've listened to hundreds of pirate radio tapes from '98 to the late Noughties -- UK garage, 2step, grime, dubstep--and I've never heard had any DJ drop anything remotely close to broken beat. The same applies to going to garage et al clubs.
I think broken beat is its own kettle of fish really. It's not my bag particularly, but that's OK, there's loads of things that aren't my bag going on in London dance culture, and UK dance generally. But here's two further crucial points: there are plenty of dance things that ARE my bag (big beat, gabba, psy-trance for a minute back there) that were not part of this particular continuum either. And there are things that came out of the hardcore continuum that I only partially dig. Dubstep I've always blown hot and cold on, and funky--well I've gradually warmed to it, but still not crazy for it. What people don't get is that the sociocultural analysis and the fan/taste opinions are not necessarily completely in synch. They don't have to be.
- October 5, 2010 at 9:46 AM
- SIMON REYNOLDS said...
You seem to oscillate between a nutty overestimation of the power of critical words (as if e.g. broken beat could somehow be "hurt" by being "excluded") and a flailing attempt to assert that none of this actually matters. These two polarised responses seem linked.
I've never thought these discussions have any effect on the actual music, its evolution etc-- as I say, I was surprised to see Geeneus knew the term, because until a few years ago it was an esoteric concept that only a few blogs and discussion boards bandied about. (As I said, the anti-HCC push has actually disseminated the concept much more widely -- so cheers for that). But equally, an attempt to understand history and assess what was at stake in a movement is totally worth doing and not trivial.
That said, this "And they Say" series is a bit of fun strictly for the hardcore. I doubt if a wider audience would really be interested. It would be great to get paid to show you guys up, but let's be real!
- October 5, 2010 at 9:55 AM
- Joe Muggs said...
Oh dude you're just pulling this stuff out of the air. You're putting things in quotes that I never said. You are either hallucinating or taking the piss.
No of course "the nuuuuuuuum debate" doesn't matter. And much as you may gloat about its "currency", the phrase itself remains all but meaningless, no more than a cute journalistic observation whose bones were picked dry a very, very long time ago. The only reason I've responded at all is because I'm pretty irate that you are still sniping away hyper-defensively so damn long after everyone else let it go. Can you not understand how that could be more than a little irritating?
Please, please, please: move on.
- October 5, 2010 at 12:04 PM
- SIMON REYNOLDS said...
Highly strung fellow, that Joe Muggs.
- October 6, 2010 at 9:02 AM
- Joe Muggs said...
.....and we're back full circle to the arch, snippy digs. Très elegant.
C'mon Simon, you're better than this.
Move on.
- October 6, 2010 at 10:47 AM
- SIMON REYNOLDS said...
>"Better than this"
That's kind of you to say. Actually I'm versatile: I'll take the piss, when it's called for, and other times, I'll construct a grand sociomusicological narrative, when that's called for.
Jeepers, for someone who's "moved on", you sure are sticking around trying to have the last word!
If I was your shrink, I would diagnose the repeated exhortations to "move on" as expressive of your own deep desire to "move on". After all, the kind of music you write about day in and day out must constantly bring to mind the hardcore continuum. I don't actually write about that music, professionally, hardly ever these days. I've been up to other stuff. At the same time, just for fun, or because I'll have a new thought, I will return now and then to this area. It's a work in progress.
- October 7, 2010 at 9:30 AM
- Joe Muggs said...
You're flailing.
I'm flattered you are willing to exert the mental energy to fantasise about psychoanalysing me, along with fantasising things I'm supposed to have said, but seriously - shush now and stop embarrassing yourself.
Get back to your Animal Collective albums and the rest of that neo-Melody Maker mimsiness, and leave the rest of us to enjoy the good stuff. Cheers.
- October 7, 2010 at 11:48 AM
- SIMON REYNOLDS said...
Talking of psychoanalysis, you really should read Harold Bloom's The Anxiety of Influence. It's a sort of Oedipal theory of how creativity works. To escape the oppressive influence of the dead precursor, the successor poet has to willfully misread the ancestor's work, to find or create "gaps" in it.
What's that thing you love to quote? "I must make my own system or be a slave to another man's"--something like that. Poking imaginary holes in another's construction is not the same as building your own. You're still at the stubborn misreading stage. And unfortunately in this case the precursor poet isn't dead, but still around to dissect your queerly motivated distortions and bizarre projections.
- October 7, 2010 at 12:47 PM
- Joe Muggs said...
Yechh, that's actually a bit icky as well as just wrong.
Let's look at this again:
YOU started this weird thing.
YOU brought up an old grudge, 18 months after everyone else involved had got deeply bored and lost interest.
YOU publicly took paragraphs of those people's work out of context, deliberately misinterpreted those, started actually making stuff up about those people, then got hoity-toity when one of those people took you up on it and started flinging insults and yet more completely fabricated quotes.
Yet somehow you have turned this into it meaning that person has some quasi-sexual obsession with you.
I guess I admire the brass neck it takes to do that, but um, it's a bit wrong.
- October 7, 2010 at 12:57 PM
- SIMON REYNOLDS said...
Not at all.
My "And They Say There's No Such Thing As The Hardcore Continuum!" series, the one that has got you so protractedly hot under the collar, is a bit of fun. I came across quotes that struck me as ironically undermining certain writers loudly professed stances, often appearing in those writer's own work. So I presented them without any comment whatsoever. Let the reader draw their own conclusions. I'm not going to reproduce the entirety of the article they come from, who would wade through that...
In response, you started depositing a series of bizarrely thin-skinned comments in my box, increasingly abusive in tone.
I tried reason.
I tried taking the piss, thinking maybe you'd piss off.
Things is, you're in my comments box. I'm not in yours. I hardly ever bother to reply to things written on blogs about me. It would be too time-consuming, frankly.
But if you're in my comments box being wildly off-base and insulting, yeah I will engage.
BTW, where are these made-up quotes? You mean the apostrophes around "hurt" in the comment about broken beat? That is obviously scare quotes not an actual quote.
- October 7, 2010 at 1:35 PM
- Joe Muggs said...
Oh give over.
At the very best, and by your own admission, you decided to rake over an old argument for you and your cronies to snigger at ("a bit of fun strictly for the hardcore"). You know damn well that by doing that and by your choice of targets you were making deliberate digs at individuals. And if someone's having a dig, I deserve the right to have a dig right back - "just a bit of fun" of my own, if you like.
The thing is, Simon, you may well get slagged off on blogs on a regular basis, but I'm not used to it, and especially not from "respected" writers who should know better - so apologies if I appear to be thin skinned but frankly you're just being a bit of a berk here. Dress that up all you like by calling me mental or whipping up melodramatic Freudian fantasies, but you're being a berk, trying to wind people up, and I'm calling you out on it. The rest is just gas.
Or maybe this is all some conceptual joke on your part? Maybe your deciding to dig up dead and buried arguments is a form of particularly crass Hauntology? Yes, I'll read it as that and we can all have "a bit of a laugh". Super.
- October 7, 2010 at 2:08 PM
- SIMON REYNOLDS said...
Well, I did grow up in Berkhamsted.
Ciao for now, Joe.
- October 7, 2010 at 2:26 PM
- Matt Moore said...
The fights in music journalism are so bitter because the stakes are so low: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayre's_law
- July 7, 2014 at 6:20 PM


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Joanna McGowan's son, Christopher, was diagnosed with autism when he was just two years old. Since that day more than two years ago, McGowan, campus registrar at Penn State Brandywine, her husband, Dave, and their two sons have embarked on a difficult journey of healing, acceptance and never-ending love.
On Dec. 4, 2011, McGowan published the children's book, "You Are My Star," inspired by Christopher and illustrated by children on the autism spectrum. All proceeds from the book benefit Talk About Curing Autism (TACA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families affected by autism.
"The book is for all children, but it's specifically geared toward children with special needs," McGowan said. "They work really hard. I think a lot of times the fact that they're kids, too, gets lost in all the work they're doing. The book is meant to be inspirational, to show love and acceptance while at the same time believing in hope and possibility for the future."
The McGowans are grateful for the support of TACA, and have benefitted from monthly meetings and the opportunity to connect with other parents and experts. They have also received financial support, including a grant to attend a conference and a scholarship for hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Christopher. Like most families affected by autism, the McGowans have excessive expenses that are often not covered by insurance, leaving little left over for charitable contributions; so the book provided a way for them to give back. "TACA is a really great organization," she said. "I wanted to do something to contribute that would be meaningful."
McGowan emphasized that the thing she loves most about TACA is that the organization is all about directly helping families. This is done through education, reference material, scholarships and, of course, a support system. It's this network of moms and dads that helped McGowan find the illustrators for her book: their own children with autism, ranging in age from 5 to 11. McGowan's son, Christopher, provided the drawing for the page that reads, "You are the star/Shining brightest for me/I love who you are/And whoever you'll be."
"Please don't give up/On all you can achieve/Anything is possible/As long as we believe," another page reads.
Christopher has made a lot of progress, McGowan said, but "he still has a long way to go. He works really hard." He participates in almost 40 hours per week of behavioral therapy, spends a half-day in an autistic support classroom, attends a social skills group and gymnastics classes and sees a variety of medical specialists regularly.
McGowan's message to other families who have children with special needs is, "Don't give up hope. Don't underestimate potential. Keep working hard. Keep loving your child."


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Four contracting teams picked to repair ruined highways in three major mountain corridors as well as flood-damaged roads east of Interstate 25 have broad experience in construction, locally and nationally.
But what's especially important is that each company can put a lot of person-power to bear on each project quickly, Colorado Department of Transportation officials said Monday.
"We wanted someone with experience and could dedicate a lot of resources," said CDOT spokeswoman Amy Ford.
Gov. John Hickenlooper has set a Dec. 1 deadline to make the fixes, which could be temporary or permanent, depending on the project's obstacles, including the availability of resources such as fill material for road bases.
The price tag for all the permanent fixes could exceed $500 million. "There is no doubt this is going to be a huge undertaking," Ford said.
Some work already is underway. For example, since Sept. 18, CDOT and the National Guard have been working on temporary fixes to the 40 percent of U.S. 36 between Lyons and Estes Park that is considered a total loss.
The agency sifted through 19 proposals to make its final picks for work on other highways.
Kiewit Infrastructure Co., a fixture on big Denver-area road projects, will do temporary repairs on U.S. 34 through the Big Thompson Canyon. Kiewit is involved in several local projects, including Denver Union Station, Denver International Airport, the I-225 rail line through Aurora and the troubled new Veterans Affairs hospital.
Skanska USA Civil West of Cortez and Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction of Draper, Utah, were selected to do temporary repairs on Colorado 7 between Lyons and Estes Park.
Lawrence Construction Co. and URS Corp. were selected to conduct temporary or permanent repairs to northern Colorado highways east of I-25.
Family-owned Lawrence
also was picked to do temporary repairs on Colorado 72 in Coal Creek Canyon. There were five bidders for that project.
The four teams will begin work with a full assessment of each area this week. They'll be helped by CDOT engineers and bridge inspectors.
The Colorado Contractors Association said the firms CDOT selected already have put in plenty of time and effort in the state and will do the needed repairs.
"We are proud that CDOT has chosen reputable firms to perform this work and who have made substantial investments in our state and provide jobs for hundreds of hard-working Coloradans," association president Tony Milo said.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907, firstname.lastname@example.com or twitter.com/montewhaley


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"This column is dedicated to the proposition that Canada (and indeed the world) is in a crisis situation and that fundamental social change is required to remedy this situation." - The First Column, Lambda November 2, 1971 This blog is inspired by my column of the same name in the Laurentian University Newspaper, Lambda, from 1971-1973. The title refers to the concept of subverting the system from within. To read key excerpts from those columns read the first few posts in this blog.
Posted by rww at 19:05
Labels: 2011 Ontario election, Vote Compass


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Tour Groups/School Groups/Youth Camps
The Jelly Belly Visitor Center welcomes tour groups, school groups, youth camps, and others traveling as a group. Our FREE Jelly Belly factory tours are first-come, first-serve; group members are invited to simply step into line upon arrival. Please note that all members of the group must wait in line. No place holding, please.
Step into our factory and smell the aroma of chocolate, peach, cinnamon, pineapple, or whatever is being cooked up that day. Visit our candy making factory in Fairfield, California, located about an hour's drive north of San Francisco, and 45 minutes west of Sacramento.
During the self-guided walking tour, you will see you a real working factory where we cook up over 150 different sweet treats. Learn the secrets of how we create the legendary Jelly Belly jelly bean and discover why it takes more than a week to make a single bean.
Weekday Tours
The Jelly Belly Visitor Center is open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM PT, and self-guided factory tours operate daily from 9:15 AM to 4 PM PT, except for New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. We have reduced hours on the 1st Saturday in December, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve; on these three days tours end at 2:00 PM, our Café closes at 2:00 PM and our retail store closes at 3:00 PM. Hours are subject to change. Bus and RV parking is available during business hours. Overnight parking is prohibited. An on-site dog walk area is available for guests traveling with pets.
Jelly Belly factory tours are especially popular and referred to by many as a "unique and sweet experience". Reservations are not required. Tours are FREE and depart approximately every ten minutes throughout the day. Tour waits can be as long as 1 hour or more during certain holidays, the Easter season, Spring Break, summer (mid-June to end of August), Veteran's Day, the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, the week before Christmas, and the week before New Year's.
Please plan to bring strollers or wheelchairs as all areas of the Visitor Center and factory tour are fully ADA accessible. Note that strollers and wheelchairs are not provided.
Jelly Belly has teamed up with Sharpshooter Imaging™ to offer souvenir photos. Pictures of your tour group are taken just before your tour and are available for purchase when you return from your tour!
NOTE: Jelly Belly is a working factory. While we strive to keep all manufacturing areas operating at full capacity Monday through Friday, there may be times some or all areas of the factory will not be operating or operating at full production. This includes annual end of March physical inventory and maintenance shut down periods, typically occurring in the month of July for a three-week period. Production schedules are subject to change without notice. Please refer to our Event Calendar for these notifications.
ALLERGEN NOTICE: Our Retail Store, Café, and Chocolate Shoppe confections and foods contain certain allergy triggers. Please check out our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) to learn more about allergens and to submit a question.
On weekends and certain holidays, we still conduct our self-guided factory tours, but since our candy makers are at home with their families, we give our candy making machines a rest. Video monitors show the different steps of our famous candy making process as you walk through the route.
For additional tour information, call 1-800-9-JELLYBEAN (1-800-953-5592).
Planning a visit? Please note that Bay Area traffic is heaviest in the mornings between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM, and evenings between 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM, most week days and some holidays. Travel time listed with map and directions are based upon non-commute hours; please anticipate longer travel times. In some instances actual travel time may be double (or longer) than the travel time shown on the map.


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Sessions of interest to InterRidge members:
Session 4a. "Melt generation and evolution at mid-ocean ridges"
Conveners Leonid Danyushevsky (University of Tasmania) and Nobumichi
Shimizu (WHOI)
Keynote Roger Buck (LDEO)
This session is aimed at discussing a wide range of issues related to generation and evolution of MORB magmas. We encourage contributions on all aspects of MORB magmatism and intend to highlight a number of topics that thus far have received less attention than they deserve: the effects of ridge migration on magma generation beneath mid-ocean ridges; the importance of mid- and lower-crustal processes in controlling compositions of erupted magmas; spatial scales and magnitude of melt/rock interactions during magma ascent; the significance of volatiles in MORB magmas and their effect on MORB fractionation paths; the extent and importance of high-pressure fractionation during MORB magma evolution. We especially welcome contributions which combine geochemistry, geophysics and/or tectonics.
Further details: http://www.vmgoldschmidt.org/2012/index.htm
Abstract deadline: 1 February 2012
Early-bird registration deadline: 20 April 2012


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Events for October 21, 2019
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7:00 pm
OM Chanting – Tamworth
OM Chanting is a group practice that uses the transformational power of OM to activate the self-healing potential of participants and purifies the local environment for 2 kilometers. Om Chanting circles are perfect for Beginners Meditation and are one of the many exercises of Atma Kriya Yoga. Also, OM is the universal sound of creation, the […]Find out more »


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One of my most powerful memories of childhood is of being held by my father, of blessed memory. When I close my eyes I can feel his strong arms holding me, and his scratchy unshaved jaw against my four year old face, a tactile memory that, 48 years later, still evokes a sense of safety. The inner knowledge of love, warmth, connection, closeness, and okay-ness. Daddy's holding me, everything's okay. And I'm okay too.
The Torah tells us that Moses carried the Jewish people as a nurse carries a nursing infant. And the Rabbis tell us that God held us in the desert for 40 years, and continues to hold us still, as a mother holding her child. We have only to reach out and open ourselves up to feel the embrace. We need to follow His lead.
We know that part of being a parent, perhaps the most important part, is the task of creating a "holding environment" in our home, a place where each child is held and feels held throughout his lifetime. First and foremost, a holding environment is a safe one. Each child must feel safe, safe in the sense that no one will intentionally harm him, and secure in the knowledge that he is loved, and is a part of something bigger than himself. He belongs and is accepted.
Each child must feel safe, secure in the knowledge that he is loved, and is a part of something bigger than himself.
We hold our children when we are careful with their feelings. We hold our children when we pay attention to them, when we give them time and really listen when they talk to us. We hold our children with our smiles, kind words, and words of encouragement. We hold our children when we are a rock they can depend on, a shoulder to cry on, an understanding heart, happy for them in their joy, and empathic in their pain.
We also hold our children when we hold them responsible for their actions, when we insist on accountability for the tasks that are theirs, when we assertively ask them to apologize when they have hurt us or others. And when we hold them responsible for their behavior, we can't lose sight of the fact that we are still holding them, and the message must be, "I love you and care about you and I expect more of you."
We continue to hold our children during their adulthood. I continue to feel held by my mother when I see her joy and the nachas she so eloquently communicates with her eyes. We hold our children when we walk them down the aisle to the Chuppah, and when we hold their children.


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This posting will probably come as a surprise
to many as I have been absent from the blogging
world since May.
My life took a career change last June, with
my accepting a position with an Australian
Company. At first it was to be approx.
12 hours a week, and quickly changed to
almost full time work.
It is a job which I am thoroughly enjoying
as the position takes in clothing and shoes
for every possible use for the outdoors.
Hence my days have been so busy and the
nights with Daisys Garden Online, not
to mention trying to finish off my new home
and garden.
My heart, mind and fingers have missed the
Silk Ribbon Embroidery time. which
hopefully this year I can remedy.
The thought to many of you maybe is why use
Hand Dyed Silk Ribbon in your embroidery
designs after all it is a more expensive
To myself it can make such an improvement
in your flower interpretation.
Variances in shade through the petals, can
add another dimension to your stitches, giving
it life and reality.
The term Hand Dyed Ribbons can relate to
many types but these are the main ones I use
and sell.
1: Bias Silk Ribbon - One shade with added
color on the edge.
As illustrated in the Carnation Tutorial and
just great for folded ribbon roses.
2: Hand Dyed with one or more solid color
with slight variances in shade through the ribbon..
|Pure Silk Ribbon by Dinky Dyes
This is the type used in the Foxglove Tutorial
3: Hand Dyed with 2 or more colors changing
through the length of the ribbon.
I have stitched this flower from the one ribbon,
separating the green and also allowing for
variances in the flower
Spiral Dyed 7 mm. Grace
A belated Happy New Year to you all
and am so looking forward to
getting back into posting again.
Carol Daisy


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BUTLER CREEK CORPORATION Rifle/Shotgun Slings
Butler Creek Adjustable Advantage Timber Rifle Sling
A solid backing of rubberized sharkskin keeps the Easy Rider Sling solidly in place through most of your active hunts. Its thick, shock absorbing neoprene body cushions the weight of your firearm. Adjustable to 48". Fully bound edges and a urethane cover give it a finished look and add durability.
SPECIFICATIONS:Mfg Item Num: 80078 Category: SLINGS & SWIVELS Type :SlingSwivel Size :N/ALength :AdjustableWidth :N/AColor :Advantage TimberMaterial :NeopreneCap Size :Gun Manufacturers :Gun Style :Design :


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Most archaeologist along with librarians, antiquarians and communicators in Sweden are in the union DIK (Link in Swedish), a part of SACO (Swedens Academics Central Organisation). DIK is short for Documentation, Information and Culture (Kultur).
Now I never been much of a union man, though I do recognize they do an important work. Lately I've been pulled into it, though, as I've been working in a work group with ethics & archeology. Also it seems they gotten a new image via the current president, Karin Linder, that does do a good job.
A few days ago I was asked to run as a board member for the national council of DIK. Its always an honor that someone, whoever it is, has proposed me for a position such as this. Currently I am considering it: partly cause I've become more and more interested in the union as such and I believe that they do a good job, partly due to the fact that I feel it is important that an archaeologist, and especially someone that does not have a permanent job (as most archaeologists), can have a voice within DIK.
I don't believe I'll become a tycoon but I do believe that I might be able to be an interesting voice within DIK and that why I considering saying yes.
Magnus Reuterdahl


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Welcome to UC Davis Body Donation Program
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis) established its Body Donation Program in 1968 to create a philanthropic opportunity for donors to assist the medical school with the appropriate quality and quantity of anatomical materials necessary for the medical school curriculum.
UC Davis receives donations from the Northern California community. Donations are unsolicited and donors hear of the program mainly through word of mouth. Many donors are Alumni of UC Davis, relatives or friends of students or Alumni, have University of California (UC) affiliated Physicians or are familiar with the research and academic reputations of the Medical Center and University. To date, the program has received approximately 3,000 donors. Currently there are approximately 8,000 living people in the community registered as donors.
In the first year of the program there were very few donations. As our community's population has grown, donations have increased over the years. Since 2005, the program has maintained an average of 150 donations per year. Yearly increases in donation has enabled the Body Donation Program to supply teaching materials not only to the medical and undergraduate classes of UC Davis but also to many of the areas colleges and universities, who rely on this program to fulfill the needs of their curriculum. The increase has also supported research at UC Davis, other UC campuses, non-UC researchers and occasionally to privately funded research institutions.
The mission of the Body Donation Program includes gratitude to the donors and their families, respect for all cultures and beliefs, and the program's duty to serve public education within our community.


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Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder last week unveiled a three-part plan to create a safer environment for the residents who stayed to rebuild, as well as hold mortgage holders and banks more accountable in the process.
"Abandoned homes are not just a health concern, but they invite crime, lower the neighborhood property values, and place an undue burden on local communities," Goldfeder said.
The Neighborhood Relief Act of 2014 would require banks to maintain vacant properties for no more than three months after they have been abandoned, pay for their upkeep and expand the state's authority to step in during particularly complex foreclosures.
Additionally, the assemblyman is advocating that the legislature pass the Remediation of Unsafe Flooded Homes Program to grant the city access to abandoned homes in order to secure the structure and remove toxic mold or other hazardous conditions.
He also sent a letter to NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton asking him to create a registry to serve as a resource for local precincts to monitor these homes.
"The last thing a homeowner should have to worry about while they're rebuilding is the property next door," Goldfeder said. "The proposed state laws would clarify ownership and responsibility."
Joyce Zoller, resident and neighbor to an abandoned home in Neponsit, joined Goldfeder as he met with dozens of community members last week to discuss the plan.
"This is something no one should have to go through after battling Superstorm Sandy," Zoller said.
For the betterment of the community, Danny Ruscillo, president of the 100th Precinct Community Council, applauded Goldfeder for his proposal and said he too hopes there is a brighter future for those who are living in the midst of Sandy's ruins.
"These vacant and abandoned Sandy-damaged properties can cause serious health issues in our communities," said Ruscillo. "Who knows what was left behind in them from Superstorm Sandy? This can cause serious health problems to our young and our elderly."


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Hiking New Zealand is the best way to see beautiful landscapes and explore vast wilderness areas. So grab a pack and put on your walking boots.
With thousands of kilometres of tracks, there are walking and hiking options to suit all levels of fitness and experience.
Ranging between 30 mins and 3 hours, short walks are everywhere and easily fit into travel itineraries. For something a little longer our day hikes of 4 hours to 8 hours offer an amazing array of landscapes. Or check out one of the country's stunning multi-day hikes, including New Zealand's nine iconic Great Walks, which feature some of the country's most spectacular scenery. For hikes in a particular region visit our North Island and South Island hiking pages.
New Zealand is a walker's paradise with nine Great Walks and hundreds of other trails. Click to download the New Zealand Walking Guide that showcases some of these spectacular walks.


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The session will allow SHARE catalogers to bring the materials that are difficulty to catalog to the Decatur office and we'll work together to find the best solution and allow for individual (or group) training. If you want to practice or learn Connexion better - this would be the perfect time to do so.
Categories: Cataloging
This event is sponsored by Illinois Heartland Library System.
Questions? Please contact Joan Bauer.
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Craig Raikes, 49, Laketon, died at 3 p.m. March 13, in Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne.
He was born Oct. 22, 1963 in Peru. He graduated from Southwood High School in 1982. On Feb. 26, 1994 he married Tyna Lynn Kindler.
Craig was a welder for 19 years at Abresist Kalenborn Corp., Urbana. He was a member of Congregational Christian Church, North Manchester, where he was a member of 4WB Praise Band. He was also a member of the Jimmy B & 4 On The Floor Band. He loved to fish, ride his Harley and play and write music.
He is survived by his wife, Tyna Lynn Raikes, Laketon; son, Corey Steven Raikes, Laketon; daughters, Autumn Claire (fiancé' Brett Taylor) Raikes, Roann, and Rhyan Shay Raikes, Fort Wayne; father, David William Raikes, Lafayette; mother, Carole Jean Kreighbaum, Plainfield; brother, Kris R. (Kelly) Raikes, Santa Cruz, Calif.; sisters, Debra J. (companion Karen Oliver) Raikes, Avon and JoAnna R. Kreighbaum, Denver, Co.; grandson, Wyatt Taylor, Roann; nephews, Declan and Gavin Oliver-Raikes, Avon; one aunt and three cousins. One brother and one aunt are deceased.
Family and friends may call Saturday, March 16 from 1-3 p.m. Celebration of Life service will be held March 16, at 3 p.m. at Congregational Christian Church 310 N. Walnut St. North Manchester, Pastor J. P. Freeman officiating. Additional calling at 5 p.m.
For those who wish to honor the memory of Craig Steven Raikes, memorial contributions may be made to Congregational Christian Church 310 N. Walnut Street, North Manchester, IN 46962 Arrangements entrusted to McKee Mortuary, 1401 State Road 114 West, North Manchester, IN.


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2011 Louis M. Martini Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon
Description: Our Louis M. Martini Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of the unique characteristics of each vineyard, creating a superbly balanced Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine has flavors of black plum jam and ripe loganberries. Hints of oak and a touch of Christmas spice support the fruit. The cooler vintage created a finish with a classical, Old World structure. Winemaking Notes: After harvesting, the grapes were destemmed and cold soaked for up to 48 hours to improve extraction. The wine was then immediately warmed to between 88°F and 92°F to enhance the jammy fruit characteristics. Once fermentation reached its halfway point, we slowly dropped the temperature to give the yeast a more hospitable environment. Finally, the grapes were pressed when the optimal balance of flavor and structure was reached. We added a touch of Merlot for its plush mouthfeel and a hint of Petite Sirah for its dark fruit characteristics and firm structure.
Price: $18.00


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We're barely into this year's Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Spain, and already the dueling press releases are flying. Fresh off the wire are two long-awaited and closely matched mobile graphics products from NVIDIA and AMD, both of which will bring some measure of desktop-caliber graphics to handheld devices.
First up is STMicro's announcement of the first fruits of its alliance with AMD (announced at last year's MWC): the 65nm Nomadik STn8820 mobile application processor. STMicro's new chip combines the same mobile graphics core used in AMD's Imageon line with an ARM11 CPU core, and it tacks on a ton of other functionality, some of which I'll mention in a moment.
Nomadik's graphics core is based on the same unified shader architecture (USA) that powers the Xbox 360, so Nomadik supports OpenGL ES 2.0, D3D, and the same tools and APIs that work with Imageon. This level of integration should make it easier for game developers to make handheld ports of games released on the 360 or the PC. STMicro claims that the core can push 33 million polygons/sec, which is a fair amount for the small LCD screens that the device will typically be paired with for output.
The Nomadik also features support for ARM's TrustZone technology. TrustZone, which I've described previously, is a sort of mobile version of Intel's LaGrande. Get used to seeing it in handhelds, because all of these chipmakers are touting their support for HD video and DRM isn't going away in the video realm anytime soon.
Speaking of video, the new chip can decode HD 720p video in a number of formats, including H.264 and VC-1, to an HDTV output. On the video input side, the Nomadik can capture Digital Still Camera-class images at up to 8 megapixels.
NVIDIA's APX 2500
Back when I wrote my October feature on NVIDIA's smartphone plans, the company told me that they had an OpenGL ES 2.0-compliant mobile part in the works that would challenge Imageon, but they wouldn't say when they planned to announce it. Well, the announcement was today, and the product is the APX 2500 application processor.
A mockup (prototype?) of a device based
on NVIDIA's APX 2500. Source: NVIDIA.
The mobile application processors that NVIDA has produced up until now under the GoForce brand have been holdovers from the company's acquisition of PortalPlayer and its portfolio of existing graphics products. The APX 2500, however, is a brand new design that boasts the same level of OpenGL ES 2.0 and D3D support that AMD has been offering since late last year. The new chip can also do 720p video output to an on-board HDMI interface, and it bests the Nomadik's on-board camera support with support for 12MP image capture.
Like STMicro, NVIDIA is also an ARM licensee and is using the ARM11 core in the APX 2500.
A 3D iPhone?
The 65nm device has a 200mw power envelope, which is impressive, but is still way too high to fit into a form factor like the iPhone. Or, if the mock-ups from NVIDIA's site (see the image above) are indeed from a real prototype, I would expect battery life to be on the short side.
Indeed, I can't imagine that the Nomadik's power draw is any better than the APX 2500, which is why these devices are going to have to go down a process node if they really want combine their 3D abilities with the battery life and form factor that phone users are coming to expect.
It's also the case that the point of putting so much 3D horsepower into a non-gaming handheld isn't quite clear to anyone yet, hence NVIDIA's attempts to develop 3D user interface demos that suggest ways that phone makers could exploit the hardware for everyday purposes. I'm not entirely sold on this, but I might be if I saw the right demo. In fact, this morning I was pondering the impending release of the iPhone SDK and wondering what it will be like to launch apps and generally use the device when I have 30 or 40 different programs and shortcuts on it.
My point is that a properly designed 3D interface may well give cramped phone screens extra "space," by letting users flip, roll, and otherwise navigate a larger desktop canvas on a smaller device. And given Apple's love of 3D effects in Mac OS X, I think a 3D phone interface is definitely in the cards for the iPhone. But not at 200mw. When you see the release of a 3D-enabled application processor that has about one-quarter of that power budget, then you can start dreaming of a 3D iPhone.
Further reading
- STMicro's press release
- NVIDIA's APX 2500 site
- Good coverage of the APX 2500 from Tom Krazit at CNet, especially on the Windows Mobile angle.
- Rick Merrit at the EET gives the NVIDIA announcement a brief mention, but puts it in the context of related announcements from the recent ISSCC.
- PCMag has details of the demo unit that NVIDIA was showing off at MCW.


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Jets try to get win streak started in matchup with Sabres
(SportsNetwork.com) - The Winnipeg Jets will try to win consecutive games for the first time in nearly three weeks when they visit the lowly Buffalo Sabres for Tuesday's clash at First Niagara Center.
The Jets, who are 5-6-3 over their last 14 games, halted a three-game slide with Monday's close regulation win at Columbus. Another victory tonight would give Winnipeg two straight wins for the first time since it beat New Jersey and the New York Islanders on Nov. 25 and 27, respectively.
Winnipeg notched a 3-2 victory Monday night in Ohio, where Evander Kane's goal midway through the third period proved to be the game-winner over the Blue Jackets. Kane, who also had an assist, returned to the lineup after missing six games with a lower-body injury.
"I put on my skates and I tried to help this team win -- that's just how I am," Kane said.
Mark Scheifele and Bryan Little also lit the lamp on Monday, while Al Montoya stopped 22-of-24 shots for the victory.
Monday's win pushed Winnipeg's road record this season to 8-7-1. The Jets, who are closing a two-game road trip tonight, will host Florida on Friday before heading back out on another two-game swing.
The Sabres, who occupy last place in the NHL with only 17 points on the season, have lost two straight, five of six and 10 of their last 12 games. Buffalo did manage to earn a rare point in its most recent outing after losing Saturday's home test against Calgary in overtime.
Buffalo scored the game's first goal at 5:40 of the third period on a tally by Matt Moulson, but Paul Byron tied the game for Calgary a little over 2 1/2 minutes later. Matt Stajan then scored 42 seconds into OT to lift the Flames to victory, Calgary's first win in Buffalo since March 15, 1996. The Flames had eight losses and one tie in their previous nine trips to Western New York.
Stajan beat Jhonas Enroth to the far side on a shot from the left circle for the winner. Enroth made 24 saves for the Sabres, who fell to 2-8-2 in their last 12 games.
"We gotta get some breaks. We hit four goal posts today," said Sabres interim coach Ted Nolan. "We just have to keep going until (the players) find themselves."
Sabres forward Cody McCormick suffered an upper-body injury while blocking a shot on Saturday and will miss the next four-to-six weeks. However, fellow forward Cody Hodgson is expected back in the lineup tonight after missing the last two games with a lower-body issue.
Buffalo defenseman Alexander Sulzer may also come off injured reserve to play in Tuesday' game.
The Jets have dominated Buffalo in recent seasons, taking six straight overall and three in a row in Western New York.
Buffalo is 4-12-2 on home ice this season.


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Since we started Ars about five years ago, computing performance has come to be bound more and more by bandwidth. This is especially true in the past two years, with Intel and AMD aggressivly increasing processor performance to the point where the rest of the average PC system lags behind in its ability to keep the CPU fed with code and data. With bandwidth being such an important consideration in discussions of everything from motherboards to graphics cards, I thought it would be useful to devote an entire article to exploring bandwidth and its relationship to another important factor affecting system performance: latency.
When people talk about bus bandwidth this way what they're really describing is only one type of bandwidth: the bus's theoretical peak bandwidth. The peak bandwidth of a bus is the most easily calculated, the largest (read: the most marketing friendly), and the least relevant bandwidth number that you can use to quantify the amount of data that two components (i.e. the CPU and RAM) can exchange over a given period of time. In most product literature this theoretical number, which is rarely (if ever) approached in actual practice, will be cited whenever the literature wants to talk about how much bandwidth is available to the system. Let's take a closer look at how this number is calculated and what it represents.
This article should provide you with a useful foundation for understanding bandwidth, latency and performance in a variety of systems and settings. I've tried to present the basic concepts as clearly as possible, so that you can easily refer back to this article when you read product reviews, forum discussions, and the like. So the next time you set out to ponder the P4's frontside bus or the XServe's memory subsystem, you'll hopefully have a better grasp of how these components do and do not contribute to overall system performance.


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|Country Files
An unconventional news source, enemy and leader
Posted March 31st, 2011
An unconventional news source
Using social media has been a harder way to collect original news. Before, news stations received updates from accredited reporters and news agencies who followed their guidelines, and these could be broadcast with minimal verification efforts – if any. Now, news arrives from multiple sources whose credibility has not been verified, and often with contradicting content.
The dilemma is how best to fact check this content and whether to risk broadcasting it. If broadcast and untrue, the stations' credibility will be shaken. If not broadcast although true, the station will lose out on a scoop, or perhaps even be accused of bias.
An unconventional enemy
Criticized regimes also struggled to read this new form of communication.
For those facing mass protests, suddenly their real enemy was not clear. Television stations could be closed, licenses withdrawn, and even satellite channels blocked, but what were they to do about social media?
At first, the regime attempted to spread its counter-narrative, exaggerating the numbers of dead and injured, or downplaying the number of protestors to discourage others from joining. But here again, social media proved more immune to misuse than traditional media. Equal access by all meant that it was hard to control the real news being spread by a majority.
Hence came step two, cutting out people's access to internet and thus to social media. In Egypt, Libya, Syria, and even earlier this week in Jordan, there were reports of blackouts in areas of unrest. In some areas (but not in Jordan), there weren't even working landlines.
Such measures were condemned worldwide, by official state spokespersons, media agencies, and human rights organizations. It was a new era for freedom of speech.
An unconventional leader
If the enemy was hard to define, pinpointing its leader was even harder.
The masses mobilized by new media appeared to have no one person leading them with whom to negotiate their demands. This had negative implications for the regimes and for the protesters.
The protesting masses also did not have a reference to consult on the developments of the moment, and at times their reactions were divergent. When the Egyptian President Mubarak gave his second speech, for example, some protestors sympathized and returned home. It was only later, when the calls saying that the Mubarak's concessions were not enough reached them, that they returned.
Today in Tunisia and Egypt, people are eager to engage in political activity to help rebuild their country, but many lack the necessary awareness and political skills. The lack of leadership makes guidance once again difficult to obtain.
But not the only actor
In the Arab uprisings this spring, social media has been a tool for people to be heard, but not always to tell the truth. It has been a tool for them to act, but not necessarily to plan. It has been a tool for revolt, and hopefully will be one for rebuilding.
It did not foment people's anger at their regimes, but it gave them a channel for expression and action. And it did not arm the masses against bullets and attacks, but it did give them stamina.
Social media has played an important role in the uprisings, but there were also other factors. For example, consider Libya, where social media played a minimal role. Could this be why the uprising is still ongoing? Look at Yemen, where pro-change youth have used social media but internet coverage nationwide remains low at 2 percent.
Perhaps it would be best to re-read these revolts the traditional way, through history, politics, demography, regime and army structure, geopolitics, and international interests. Perhaps then, we would see a clearer picture.
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