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Financing independent films is notoriously tough, so how can new producers attract backing? Geoffrey Macnab speaks to the seasoned professionals
In an industry where accessing finance can be tough even for veterans, rising producers can find that funding their projects — and even securing meetings with potential funders — is a struggle. "We were all young at one point and it's not that we're trying to be mean, but from a business [viewpoint] and being practical, it's not possible to meet with everyone," says Christopher Woodrow, CEO of New York-based production and investment outfit Worldview Entertainment.
New producers who manage to secure meetings can scupper their chances at the outset by not preparing or behaving properly. One common mistake, says Jean-Baptiste Babin of French outfit Backup Films — which has packaged the financing and distribution of more than 100 films since it was set up in 2002 — is for new producers to "talk all the way" and forget to listen. Babin talks of having producers "camped outside of our office in Cannes so they get a meeting". When he finally sees those producers, "They have no understanding whatsoever of how you could be helpful to them," says Babin, adding that often they do not follow up on the meetings.
UK producer Gareth Unwin of Bedlam Productions, whose credits include The King's Speech, laments a tendency among some newcomers to describe themselves as "creative producers" who do not really understand finance. "My response is almost always, 'In that case, you're not a film producer.'" The inference is clear — every self-respecting producer should know the nuts and bolts of co-production, accessing soft money, working with tax credits and so on.
At the same time, financiers are looking for strong material. If a project is well packaged and has commercial potential, they are unlikely to complain just because a producer doesn't have a track record. As one leading US agent puts it, "The way I was trained as an agent was that you're supposed to return everybody's calls. You never know who is going to become what. The call you don't return ends up becoming the biggest producer five years down the road."
While the agent advises newcomers to be bold, it doesn't pay to make promises that cannot be kept. "If [producers] say or promise something, make sure you deliver," warns Woodrow. "There's a lot of money on the line, and no-one likes to be disappointed."
Financiers will soon lose patience if a producer claims prematurely or falsely to have talent attached. Nor are they impressed by overly optimistic finance plans. "Producers overestimate what they can get from regional or federal funders. Also, what they can get as pre-sales out of the market," says Daniel Baur, partner and producer at German finance and sales outfit K5. "Maybe the biggest mistake we see from first-time producers is they come in with too-high budgets. You can see a $5m or $10m budget for a project that should cost $1m or lower."
"There is a lack of realism in what newcomers put forward," agrees Adrian Politowski, founder and CEO of Belgium-based producer/financier uMedia. "This translates to the finance plan, the talent wishlist and the understanding of the market value of the film." Politowski argues that "it resonates" far more with financiers when producers are honest.
"Imagine that cast all of a sudden goes to a studio film and is not available any more, a lot of producers might delay telling financiers because they're scared of losing the financing," Politowski adds. "I think that on the contrary, if you're a producer and you're upfront about the problems, it shows confidence and that you know what you're doing. It allows the financier potentially to help you."
Financiers agree that newcomers can help their progress by surrounding themselves with experience. As Baur puts it, they need "an angel" to guide them, such as a more experienced producer or an entertainment lawyer.
"I always advocate getting an early legal view. It doesn't have to cost a whole hill of beans to sit down with a lawyer and say this is how I am imagining putting my film together,"notes Unwin.
On the newcomers' side is their youth and enthusiasm. Bob Benton of UK financier Bob & Co points out new producers do not have "the inherent cynicism" of some of their older counterparts.
"They haven't yet been totally jaded by this business," agrees Nigel Thomas of UK financier and production outfit Matador Pictures. "They are keen and enthusiastic. Provided they approach everything with the right attitude, everything seems to go quite well."
Producers without a track record may struggle to establish a foothold but are an essential part of the chain. What they need to remember, financiers caution, is making the film is only a part of the story.
"We're most impressed by the ones who can see a project through from development to delivery," says Hilary Davis of UK sales company/financier Bankside. Her remarks are echoed by Paul Brett at Prescience. "It's not that difficult to finance a film, it's not that hard to make one," Brett declares. "The real trick is to get someone to see it."
"Find the hook or special sales pitch on your project. If you can't sell or pitch it in a fantastic way, nobody else will be able to."
Bob Benton Bob & Co
"For someone who is young, they're far better off co-producing or co-financing a project with a more experienced producer or financier and build from that — to show investors they know how to make money and then in time to branch off on their own."
Christopher Woodrow Worldview Entertainment
"Be realistic and upfront about your project. Financiers are seasoned enough to see through it."
Adrian Politowski uMedia
"There always needs to be an understanding of the different types of finance and the underlying principles of finance… equity, debt and the different derivatives of debt financing.
"It doesn't really require higher maths, just a ready acceptance that this is a required skill."
Gareth Unwin Bedlam Productions
Earning power
What can new producers do to keep hold of the upside in their projects? Geoffrey Macnab reports
Opinion among financiers is sharply split over how much 'upside' newcomers can hope for when they make a film.
One commonplace belief is that new producers need to prove themselves — and will often have to sacrifice their own financial position in a movie to do so. "When you're a new producer, you need to get your credits and your stamp before you can also be aggressive," says Faye Ward, a senior producer at Ruby Film and Television.
"They should stick to trying to get a decent fee and use their first films as calling cards," suggests Christine Corner, a partner in the media and entertainment group at accountants Grant Thornton.
Daniel Baur of K5 points out that many first-time producers do not "earn a single dime" on their first movie. "The movie is so important you would rather put the last $50,000 into the music or the colour grading, whatever is missing — and there is always something missing."
Others argue that investors and financiers want producers to have a stake in their own films because that is the best way to motivate them. "To take the upside away is to play into the hands of the people who have no great interest in the further success of the film but have just taken their fee for getting the film made," says Bob Benton of Bob & Co.
Whatever the case, new producers are warned they should draw up finance plans that protect their own position. "Our golden rule is that if you can afford not to use the expensive money — the equity, the gap financing — don't actually go and see them," states Backup Films' Jean-Baptiste Babin. "The best way to keep some of your upside is to optimise your soft money. Get as much cheap money in your financing plan as possible."


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LAKEVILLE — Lakeville residents braved a pounding rain Saturday and voted by a 10-to-1 ratio against a proposal by the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah to build a casino in their town.
The nonbinding referendum was the second of its kind in less than a week and leaves the Aquinnah without the support of the two towns where they had hoped a casino could be located. Freetown residents voted last Tuesday against the casino proposal by a 3-to-1 ratio.
Despite the setbacks, Aquinnah chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais said the tribe will continue to pursue its plan.
"We'll be staying the course," said Andrews-Maltais. "We're still very interested in pursuing our options to game, and we'll continue to explore all options."
The proposed $167 million casino would sit on about 40 acres along Route 140 in Lakeville and Freetown, and would include a 150-room hotel, a retail space, and a buffer zone that tribe officials say would keep it from encroaching on residents of either town. The casino would occupy about 145,000 square feet and would offer 36 table games, poker tables, and 2,700 slot machines.
In Lakeville, the vote was 1,735 opposed to the casino and 172 in favor, with 27 percent of Lakeville's registered voters casting ballots.
"The town has spoken . . .," said Board of Selectmen chairman Derek Maksy. "No casinos for Lakeville."
Andrews-Maltais said she was surprised by the lopsided margin, but not by the outcome. The next step for the tribe will be to focus on how to connect better with residents of both towns, who she said may not have fully understood the issue.
"If you asked two people what you're voting on, I'm not sure you'd get the same answer," she said. "It's time to take an assessment of what kind of message do we want to put out there."
The tribe will focus on talks with the state, she said, which has stalled over a question of whether the Aquinnah have the right to build a casino in Massachusetts at all.
State officials have said the tribe gave up its rights to pursue tribal gambling in a 1980s settlement of a land dispute on Martha's Vineyard. According to state officials, the settlement subjects Aquinnah land to state law, which includes restrictions to casino gambling.
Andrews-Maltais said the tribe does have the right to build the casino and is holding out hope that talks with the state will move forward.
"The ball is essentially in the governor's court," said Andrews-Maltais.
Asked if the tribe might try to challenge the state's position legally, she said leaders were keeping all of their options open.
In Saturday's rainy weather, foes of the casino proposal camped out in front of the polling place, holding anticasino signs and shouting and waving to cars driving past.
"I believe we are fighting for our lives," said Lakeville resident Sue Murray, who spent the day protesting the casino plans. The casino, she said, would fundamentally damage the town and is too close to the town schools.
Protesters from Lakeville and Freetown said the casino would overwhelm their small, rural communities.
"We are concerned about quality of life, we are concerned about infrastructure," said East Freetown resident Rhonda Silvia-Alves.
She said she was worried construction of the casino would require the blasting of a local quarry, which she said could harm the water supply. And neither Freetown nor Lakeville, she said, are equipped to handle the crush of traffic that would accompany a casino.
"These are country roads," she said. "They are the same roads that our school buses drive on, that our children wait on."
Others worried a casino would bring an undesirable element into the area.
"It attracts the sort of people you don't want around," said Lakeville resident Sylvester Zienkiewicz. "Once you start hanging around there, you're ruined.''
Opponents vowed to fight the casino every step of the way.
"This whole situation has united these two towns," said Lakeville resident Peggy Riendeau, who sported red dice earrings and a homemade shirt emblazoned with the phrase "no dice."
"I moved to the suburbs to have a different way of life, a different quality of life," she said in an interview before the results had come in. "I hope that the Aquinnah Indians after today's vote realize no means no."
Evan Allen can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Your Ancestors, Your Fate – "The notion of genetic transmission of 'social competence' — some mysterious mix of drive and ability — may unsettle us. But studies of adoption, in some ways the most dramatic of social interventions, support this view. A number of studies of adopted children in the United States and Nordic countries show convincingly that their life chances are more strongly predicted from their biological parents than their adoptive families. In America, for example, the I.Q. of adopted children correlates with their adoptive parents' when they are young, but the correlation is close to zero by adulthood. There is a low correlation between the incomes and educational attainment of adopted children and those of their adoptive parents. These studies, along with studies of correlations across various types of siblings (identical twins, fraternal twins, half siblings) suggest that genetics is the main carrier of social status." – from gregory clark. see also The Son Also Rises: Surnames and the History of Social Mobility.
Reductionism! Determinism! Straw-man-ism! – " The main problem, it seems to me, is a fundamental misunderstanding of what genetics as a science studies and how it relates to the function of complex systems. The following statements are not contradictory: 1. The function of a complex system emerges from the complex and dynamic interactions between all of the components of the system, in a context- and experience-dependent manner. 2. Variation in single components of the system (or in multiple components) can affect how it functions. Geneticists investigate the second question. Showing that variation in Gene X affects the behaviour or outcome of a system is not the same as saying that Gene X fully determines that behaviour or fully accounts for the entire system. Gene X is just a piece of DNA sitting in a cell somewhere – it doesn't do anything by itself. But a *difference* in Gene X can account for a *difference* in how the system works." – from kevin mitchell.
The Problem with HBD, the Dark Enlightenment, Neoreaction, Alt-Rightism, and All That Jazz – READ THIS! – from jayman (and misdreavus).
There's nothing wrong with looking for 'gay genes' – "The Left loves to tell the Right that it's anti-science, pointing (not without reason) to the correlation between conservative beliefs and a failure to come to terms with the scientific facts of evolution and human-caused climate change. But there's a subtler tendency on the Left; a fear of research into human nature, in case the findings are in some way politically uncomfortable."
Evolution equally efficient in removing deleterious variants in Europeans and West Africans – "…but apparently not in Denisovans who accumulated deleterious mutations at a higher rate than modern humans." – @dienekes'.
Scientists unlock a 'microbial Pompeii' – "An international team of researchers have discovered a 'microbial Pompeii' preserved on the teeth of skeletons around 1,000 years old. The key to the discovery is the dental calculus (plaque) which preserves bacteria and microscopic particles of food on the surfaces of teeth, effectively creating a mineral tomb for microbiomes."
The effect of paternal age on offspring intelligence and personality when controlling for paternal trait level [pdf] – "We examined the effect of father's age at birth on offspring intelligence, head circumference and personality traits. Using the Minnesota Twin Family Study sample we tested paternal age effects while controlling for parents' trait levels measured with the same precision as offspring's. From evolutionary genetic considerations we predicted a negative effect of paternal age on offspring intelligence, but not on other traits. Controlling for parental intelligence (IQ) had the effect of turning an initially positive association non-significantly negative. We found paternal age effects on offspring IQ and Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Absorption, but they were not robustly significant, nor replicable with additional covariates. No other noteworthy effects were found." – from lars penke.
Reversed hierarchy in the brain for general and specific cognitive abilities: A morphometric analysis – "Here, we analyze gray matter with three morphometric indices (volume, cortical surface area, and cortical thickness) at three levels of the intelligence hierarchy (tests, first-order factors, and a higher-order general factor, g)…. The key finding reveals substantial variability in gray matter correlates at the test level, which is substantially reduced for the first-order and the higher-order factors. This supports a reversed hierarchy in the brain with respect to cognitive abilities at different psychometric levels: the greater the generality, the smaller the number of relevant gray matter clusters accounting for individual differences in intelligent performance." – h/t ben southwood!
A nice bunch of flowers – "The general factor of intelligence is strongest at lower levels of intelligence. It may be a case of 'All neurones to the pump'. When abilities are low, most problems are difficult. In such cases, all resources have to be thrown at the problem. When abilities are higher there is more spare capacity for differentiation of abilities. Brighter persons have a lower proportion of their abilities accounted for by a common factor, even though the have higher absolute abilities." – from dr. james thompson.
GED scores by Ethnicity and Nation – from chuck @human varieties.
The Unfortunately Innate Nature of Intelligence – "You cannot blame people for being what they were born, and you cannot expect them to do what they cannot."
Psychologist on a mission to give every child a learning chip – "Prof Robert Plomin wants educators to take notice of genes, and has a new big idea – personalised learning."
Fruit-loving lemurs score higher on spatial memory tests – "Food-finding tests in five lemur species show that fruit-eaters may have better spatial memory than lemurs with a more varied diet. The results support the idea that relying on foods that are seasonally available and far-flung gives a competitive edge to individuals with certain cognitive abilities — such as remembering where the goodies are."
What Does Our DNA Say About How We Look? – "A biologist aims to profile suspects from genetic material left at crime scenes.' – h/t matthew wygant!
Four Lame Responses to Sam Harris' Moral Landscape Challenge – "Moral emotions, like every other evolved trait, exist because their presence increased the probability that the genes responsible for the existence of those traits would survive and reproduce. Moral emotions, and the associated illusions of the existence of Good and Evil as things in themselves, exist as subjective impressions in the minds of individuals." – from helian.
Free will beliefs and motivation to punish – "In a paper forthcoming in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Cory J. Clark and co-authors provide evidence that widespread belief in the existence of free will is bolstered by a fundamental desire to punish wrongdoers…. As Clark et al. put it, 'There seems little doubt that the subjective experience of choosing and acting supports people's belief in free will, but our findings suggest another powerful motivating factor: the human impulse to blame and punish. People believe in free will – at least in part – because they wish to affirm that people who do immoral things could have and should have acted differently'."
A small contribution to the free-will thingy – from elijah.
Is there a 'dark intelligence'? Emotional intelligence is used by dark personalities to emotionally manipulate others – "Narcissism and psychopathy increased link between emotional intelligence facets and emotional manipulation." – h/t claire lehmann!
Theory of mind: did evolution fool us? – "Although sophisticated ToM is believed to have high adaptive fitness, broad experimental evidence from behavioural economics, experimental psychology and linguistics point towards limited recursivity in representing other's beliefs." – h/t neuroskeptic!
Creativity and personality in classical, jazz and folk musicians – "[J]azz musicians are more frequently engaged in extracurricular musical activities, and also complete a higher number of creative musical achievements. Additionally, jazz musicians show higher ideational creativity as measured by divergent thinking tasks, and tend to be more open to new experiences than classical musicians. This study provides first empirical evidence that jazz musicians show particularly high creativity with respect to domain-specific musical accomplishments but also in terms of domain-general indicators of divergent thinking ability that may be relevant for musical improvisation." – h/t mary louise cowan!
Migration and interaction in a contact zone: mtDNA variation among Bantu-speakers in southern Africa – "In this study, we analyze complete mtDNA genome sequences from over 900 Bantu-speaking individuals from Angola, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana to investigate the demographic processes at play during the last stages of the Bantu expansion. Our results show that most of these Bantu-speaking populations are genetically very homogenous, with no genetic division between speakers of Eastern and Western Bantu languages. Most of the mtDNA diversity in our dataset is due to different degrees of admixture with autochthonous populations."
Silver Blaze – "[I]n most parts of Europe, it looks as if modern populations inherited the three EEF/WHG/ANE groups (Levantine farmers, West Hunters and Sibermen) via only two proximate ancestral populations. Europe at the time was almost entirely occupied by Sardinian-like farmers – then another population moved in, one that had about 3 times as much West Hunter as Sibermen." – from greg cochran.
Replacement or continuity? – "Ancient DNA seems to promise a clearer picture because the only source of uncertainty is the age of the skeletal material. Unfortunately, this new method is more sensitive to uncertainty from another source: natural selection. Late hunter-gatherers and early farmers had to adapt to different environments. There certainly was a genetic divide between the two, but did it result from differences in origin or from differences in natural selection?" – from peter frost.
Dystopian diversity – from the awesome epigone.
"I regret studying social anthropology" – me, too. *sigh* – see also the original post.
The parasite that escaped out of Africa: Tracing origins of malaria parasite – "An international team has traced the origin of the second-worst malaria parasite of humans to Africa. The closest genetic relatives of human *Plasmodium vivax* were found only in Asian macaques, leading researchers to believe that *P. vivax* originated in Asia. This study overturns that, finding that wild-living apes in central Africa are widely infected with parasites that, genetically, are nearly identical to human *P. vivax*." – h/t hbd bibliography!
Are Rich People Really That Selfish? – New Queendom.com Study Looks At Impact of Socio-Economic Status on Altruistic Tendencies – "'Our personality impacts every aspect of our life – the choices we make, the people we surround ourselves with, the career we pursue, the way we respond to life experiences, the way we manage our finances, and whether or not we share our good fortune,' explains Dr. Jerabek, president of the company…. [H]ow individuals conduct themselves when they have money has everything to do with who they are as a person. Money doesn't make a person more or less selfish. If you are a genuinely kind and giving person, you'll continue to be that way no matter how many zeros are on your paycheck.'"
Babies born in England and Wales to non-UK born mothers infographic – "Total Fertility Rate in England/Wales by where mother born: 4.3 Afghanistan, 3.8 Pakistan, 3.3 Nigeria, 2.4 India, 1.8 UK."
The Tale of a CRISPR Clone – from razib.
Graft Probe in Scientific Community Widens in Southern China – "A corruption probe has so far snared more than 50 scientists and research administrators in Guangdong, one of China's wealthiest provinces."
Quick Winter Olympics Digit Ratio Note – from sisyphean the mad contrarian.
Scientist proposes revolutionary naming system for all life on Earth – "…a naming convention based on genome sequencing to enhance the way organisms are classified." – h/t super mario!
Burials uncovered in Ireland reflect fusion of Paganism and Christianity – "Excavations at Caherconnell in County Clare, Ireland, have uncovered ancient burials that reflect a fusion of Pagan practices with Christianity. Although it was initially believed that Christianity was well established in Ireland by the 5th Century, the latest finding reveals that Celtic Paganism was not quick to die out." – h/t derek hopper!
The Society of Mutual Autopsy – "The Society of Mutual Autopsy was an organisation formed in the late 1800s to advance neuroscience by examining dead members' brains and to promote atheism by breaking sacred taboos."
Heavy metal bands per 100,000 people – global map.
A Campus More Colorful Than Reality: Beware That College Brochure – h/t conrad hackett! who tweeted: "The whiter the college, the more diversity depicted in the brochures."
bonus: Confirmed: Oldest Fragment of Early Earth is 4.4 Billion Years Old
bonus bonus: Hubble Finds Possible Oldest Object Ever Seen – "The Hubble Telescope's new set of Frontier Fields images includes a galaxy some 13-billion light-years away, which makes it a candidate for the most distant object ever seen."
bonus bonus bonus: Rust Cohle, Guidance Counselor – heh. (~_^)
(note: comments do not require an email. rust cohle for president!)


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Sixers Ride Hawes' Double-Double to Victory Over Bucks
Spencer Hawes had 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, Jrue Holiday and Damien Wilkins each scored 18 points, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 100-92 on Wednesday night.
Thaddeus Young and Dorell Wright both scored 14 points for a Sixers team that put six players in double figures. The Sixers returned from a 1-3 road trip to win their third straight game at home. On Fan Appreciation Night, the Sixers gave them something to feel good about.
Brandon Jennings was scoreless for Milwaukee and benched in the fourth quarter. Monta Ellis scored 29 points for the Bucks. Ersan Ilyasova had 13 points and 18 rebounds.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


text:
The SAG Awards are known for honoring the best actors and actresses on television and in the film industry, and this year the 2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards brought together some of film's finest--in both acting and style. MODERN has the how-to on how to achieve Claire Danes' hair style created by Peter Butler.
To compliment Claire's one-shoulder Givenchy dress and allow her neckline to show, stylist Peter Butler pulled her hair back into a chic, low ponytail with a soft side part. He said to her, "If we try and make this Hollywood, it just won't work," so he kept the look fresh and cool but still elegant with soft pieces falling around the face. "The dress is very sharp looking and I wanted to soften it by giving her a cool 'New York girl' style."
STEP 1: Starting with wet hair, volumizer was applied evenly throughout the hair to provide hold, texture and volume and a shine mist was sprayed on the ends.
STEP 2: Hair was blown out with a medium round brush.
STEP 3: Hair was brushed into a side part and Biolage Exquisite Oil Replenishment Treatment was smoothed over the hair to tame flyaways.
STEP 4: Matrix Design Pulse Mega Dust was applied to roots at the crown of her head and lightly teased to provide height to the ponytail.
STEP 5: Hair was gathered at the nape of the neck and secured with a bungee elastic, joining the two hooks underneath the ponytail.
STEP 6: Small pieces were pulled out around the ears to keep the look ethereal and not too done.
STEP 7: Hairspray was lightly misted to keep the look all together.
STEP 8: Finished off the look with a few sprays of Matrix's Total Results Blonde Care Flash Filler Sheer Mist as a shine spray to bring out and enhance her blonde hue.
For more information about the products mentioned above, visit www.mymatrixfamily.com.
For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.


text:
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The main takeaways from this COBIT 5 Assessor Certification course in Amsterdam are that you demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of performing process capability assessment using the Assessor Guide which can be used to improve processes, benchmarking, measure achievements of business goals, deliver exponential value to the business, create consistent reporting and achieve organizational compliance. Participants will receive course completion certificate.
We deliver COBIT 5 Assessor Training in Amsterdam through classroom and live online classroom modes. Enroll now and gain this COBIT 5 Assessor certification in Amsterdam today.
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text:
The Cat People ©
a short story
It was a marriage of convenience. But what the heck if the pairing of two androids brought a cat along nothing more could be said, as far as I could see. The cat was a ginger cat and it was the only natural object of desire about the singularity of our work world. Our ship in the constellation Alpha Venturi-CX was none the worse for it.
Androida X-103, she is my partner in the section of maintainance. Her specialty is biosphere and I, the exterminator. The name means many things. Let it not hold up my story for the moment. As I said the cat came out of nowhere.
My sidekick that day was in her pod, doing a fitness program along with algorithms that flashed across the screen each point designed to limber her body parts. In her world of such mathematical probabilities where algorithms determined every aspect of sequences she was merely being random. It was purely her feminine side that we were taught to accept as correct. I was the male side and I did just what I was designed to do. As android I didn't think she had much say in the matter. The cat chose her and randomness of her world did the rest. Only that I got connected into that sequence in a manner of speaking.
In the days to come the presence of a strange animal was a ballast one too many. It made the ship wobble with curiosity. Every android and androida perk up and they wanted to know how it all started. In the end my partner had to put it all down for the record. Three workdays later we were called up. And the cat as well.
The boss examined the cat as methodically as meteorite that came hurtling through. The all clear indication of the machine didn't make him ease though. In the end, he had to say in his dry indifferent tone,' no cat ever stalks the space unless it has a motive.'The cat was furry; and its furry tongue as clean as a whistle. We all watched in fascination as the machine automatically ticked off the appropriate boxes and in the end for an added precaution the cat was sprayed and the machine made it deloused.
But my boss safely took the beast. In midst of it he paused and swiveled in our direction. He flicked a button and there was a laser imprint beneath the skin and its eerie luminescence was clear: ∆ IE.
But what did it mean?
The boss answered himself 'He belongs to some one.'
Then he frowned. It was obvious. The animal could not be a stray. It must be on an errand. 'Or is it?' My musings were interrupted by my boss. He exclaimed, 'The cat some 25 pounds just defied the safety hatches as fit as my spacesuit?'
What was the mystery? None of us had an answer to it. We stood there silent.
The boss remembered what we were there for. So he turned his visor with its cold steel spot of light to my mate.
'X-103, the cat just dropped in while you worked out. Is that correct?' She nodded.
The boss voiced if she didn't think t strange the cat didn't seek out any but her.
'Of course not' was her answer. She added, 'Why I attend to the green section and the android exterminate is all merely a matter of convenience and internal matter. I see nothing queer about it.' I was there to make it stick so I said, 'Random is what you get the more you delve into specialty.' The boss merely entered the answer verbatim and looked at us strangely. 'We shall soon see about it.' We were dismissed by a curt wave of head.
There was something natural in the world of determined factors that made our space station function. Into which how a tabby cat got in was not Artificial Intelligence had to deal with. The boss didn't. Nor was it our worry.
That evening I asked my mate to clue me in. The boss had made it all seem strange. The androida explained off the record her emotional responses to a cat that approached her. She said it just made her feel pinpricks of excitement that didn't make sense to her. Its eyes were all afire with pupils changing colors, unearthly greens and violets. Having checked its new home and ambled around her ankles it yawned and said,'Meeow'.
In the end she said it had something of a mystery that didn't figure in her AI workbook. That cry, the sound or its emotional equivalent made the book less than adequate. It had spoken for truth loud and clear what AI barely stood for. 'The cat made claims on me, X-101. Period'. After a moment of silence she said, 'If you see it any different, I shall ask for a transfer'.
'No worry, girlie. The cat shall not change our work relationship'. She knew I was there for her.
The tabby cat had become part of her world and I was naturally an extension of its world. Only that I had no clue if the cat had a view of the matter.
Thereafter life and work in the ship went on as before.
The boss of our assembly line averred the androida was better for it. The cat cleaned up the act, was his wry comment at the end of the term. The androids and androidas worked more efficiently and the cat was a kind of mascot to keep life aboard turn with ease.
Till the cat one morning brought in a dead mouse.
The ginger cat brought it and laid it before my work mate.
The looks of workmates suddenly brought out the full horror. I thought the word 'plague' expressed nicely from the responses it drew on them.
We never had experienced anything that we could not name or put a finger on. The cat was natural as the thing it had in its mouth. A mouse was not what we allowed in our hold. A dead mouse blood oozing from the puncture marks where the claw had stalked its prey.
'We are contaminated!' the cry went up and the hubbub brought the boss to investigate. He dared not come anywhere near as he did at the first time. He called me to his cabin and said,' You are the exterminator. Check it out and report to me. Before the sundown I expect your findings on my desk. Understood?'
I nodded.
The word exterminator meant so many things. I regretted I coined the word. I was the wordsmith and had a feeling that goofed somewhere.
I fixed things around the spaceship. In one of the solar storms a couple of androids flipped their lids. The showed erratic readings. 'This won't do', my boss was certain I was asked to investigate and I concluded: androidrama, a case where artificial intelligence mimic the human conditions with unpleasant consequences. The word and my explanation were accepted as apt. We androids use words to fix non-verbal modes of our terms of use. In a way I am the exterminator. I keep the words to fix limits so each of us knows exactly what we mean or do.
Our world was exactly that till the cat made its entry.
Androidrama was a nightmare we didn't bargain for. I have a fellow who had made a specialty of flora fauna of the earth. By poring over the anatomy of several species we decided that the specimens fitted in all respects cat and the mouse
The Cat (Felis silvestris catus), also known as the Domestic Cat or House Cat
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Felis
Species: F. silvestris
Subspecies: F. s. catus
Trinomial name
Felis silvestris catus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
(to be continued)


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Wilson expects speedy recovery but won't rush
SAN DIEGO -- Dodgers reliever Brian Wilson said ulna nerve irritation in his right elbow is probably the result of rushing to prepare during a shortened Spring Training, but said he "doesn't imagine it will take very long" for him to return from the disabled list.
Wilson was placed on the 15-day DL on Wednesday, with Jose Dominguez recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to replace him. He'll be eligible to return on April 15.
"I'm not sure how long it will be," said manager Don Mattingly, "but I don't expect anything crazy."
Wilson admitted the twinge he felt in the bullpen before blowing a lead on Sunday was the same sensation he felt on March 10, when he threw a pitch that alarmed pitching coach Rick Honeycutt, resulting in a mound visit by Mattingly. Wilson stayed in that game, too.
"I probably should have said something before I went out there," he said of the Sunday game.
Mattingly agreed.
"We tell them all the time to tell us, and all the time they don't tell you," he said. "Don't let little things turn into big things. But guys still don't tell you."
The Spring Training twinge sidelined Wilson for five days. He pitched one inning in Arizona on March 15, the day before the club left for Australia, where on March 22 Wilson pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts against Arizona, but on Wednesday said he didn't feel right then, either.
"It wasn't a total surprise," Mattingly said of finally hearing something was wrong.
Wilson said his fastball doesn't have "zip," the cutter "doesn't have sharp break to it," and he "starts to suffer with location."
Mattingly said Wilson compensated for lack of strength by trying to throw harder, irritating the nerve.
"He fell behind and tried to catch up and changed things," Mattingly said.
Wilson compared the "dull pain" he feels to the dead-arm stage of Spring Training and said he intends to soon go out on a Minor League assignment to get the innings in he missed in Arizona.
"As much as the games are important in April, they're more important in August and September," he said. "I don't want to risk a big series win because I'm trying to get outs in April."
Wilson, who played catch on Wednesday, said he would try throw off a mound in the next day or two and in the Minor Leagues "until my arm feels good and I can do what I'm capable of doing."
Wilson said Dr. Neal ElAttrache told him the twice-repaired ligament in his elbow is sound.


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1st Summer School: Renewable Energy Systems. Role and Use of Parliamentary Technology Assessment
Zone Château de Colonster
University of Liège, 4000 Liege
PACITA organizes the first European summer school on Parliamentary Technology Assessment addressed at its users and potential users. The three and half days of lectures and combined workshops by professional TA experts from all over Europe will focus on the theme of renewable energy systems and the role PTA can play in such a highly relevant social, political, economic and environmental topic.
Enquiries and registration
There are no registration costs and the PACITA organizers cover catering costs for all participants. A limited number of scholarships will be available for some participants based on a motivation letter. The other participants will cover their own expenses for travel and accommodation. All participants will receive materials in advance, including a reference book and a CD-ROM with an introduction to the topic of the summer school and a portfolio with TA handbooks and previous projects. They will also get a formal certificate of attendance to the summer school.
If you are interested, you can send your CV and your motivation letter (stating your professional background and motivation to take part) to email@example.com before the 15th of May 2012. Notification of acceptance and attribution of scholarships will be communicated 24th of May 2012.
Complete information here: Summer School 2012


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New York City, September 29th, Wednesday
Crowd at the Taschen store in Soho, Photos: Scott Beale / Laughing Squid
Carlo McCormick & Tristan + Ethel Seno — signing books
Marc + Samantha & Sara Schiller, Photos: Martha Cooper
With photographer Franc Palaia + with artist Lee Quinones
Downstairs at the Taschen store, Photos: Scott Beale | Mike Brown
Spencer Tunick + Jack Napier of the BLF, who flew out from San Francisco
Gabriel Specter page + Alexandre Orion from Brazil, Photos: Martha Cooper
After party at MEET with guest artists who came from all over to be there
Ron English + Carlo McCormick & Joey Skaggs
These are just a selection from Scott Beale, Martha Cooper, and Mike Brown as the last thing I was thinking of that night was photos! It was really wonderful to see and meet so many Trespass contributors there, like a breath of air while trying to get from one side of the store to the other — Ken Hiratsuka, Alex Grey, Duke Riley, Krink, Aiko, Dan Witz, Becky Howland, Andy Bichlbaum, Steve Lambert, WK, Supakitch, Vomito Attack from Argentina, and Evereman from Atlanta; Henry Chalfant, Charlie Ahearn, Eric Haze … The Taschen report said 600 people came through during the evening and 203 books were sold. Thank you for the support, comments, and for all your good wishes. A special shout out to Lisa Kahane, Ann Messner, Anton van Dalen, Janette Beckman, Anthony Friedkin, Antonio Amendola, Alan Moore, Tony Serra, Hans Winkler and Mami Sato. Looking forward to another chance to celebrate, and now that the books are shipping, hope you've received your copies?
Filed under: Updates, Alex Grey, Alexandre Orion, Andy Bichlbaum, Billboard Liberation Front, Carlo McCormick, Elbow-Toe, Evereman, Franc Palaia, Gabriel Specter, Jack Napier, Joey Skaggs, Jonathan Levine, Judith Supine, Lee Quinones, Leon Reid IV, Marc Schiller, Ron English, Sara Schiller, Spencer Tunick, Supakitch, Thundercut, WK Interact


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Aline takes the lead
Tuesday August 25th 2009, Author: Justin Chisholm, Location: United KingdomOnce again the weather gods have smiled on the 2009 Melges 24 European Championship in Hyeres, delivering perfect sailing conditions for day two of the regatta and enabling three perfect races to be completed. The Race Committee made good use of their trusty Z and I Flag combination throughout the day, ensuring the minimum time was wasted on restarts and only once had to resort to the Black Flag to keep the competitors in line. Although the general expectation was for winds in the high teens, all three races today were sailed in just 12 to 15 knots which nevertheless kicked up a surprisingly large chop.
Maurizio Abba's Alina crew continued their impressively consistent performance from yesterday and with five races now completed they top the leader board with a 3,4,3,2,2 scoreline. Tactician Daniele Cassinari attributes their sparkling performance to great boatspeed and good starts. Although the perceived wisdom suggests that the left of the racecourse is favoured, Daniele says that they regularly started at the right hand end of the line: "The most important thing is to get away cleanly in the Melges 24 fleet. We started mostly on the right but our helmsman Nicolo Bianchi did a great job of finding clean lanes for us off the start line. This meant that we were always able to get to the windward mark in the front pack."
Although there was little change in wind direction during the entire day, Daniele believes that there were many passing opportunities downwind in all three races. Asked how it felt to be leading the European Championship at this point, he laughed and pointed out that for the Alina team this is a familiar situation. "We have been here before many times; leading a big event near the mid point. So far we have not managed to convert this into a major victory."
No doubt the Alina crew will be aware that yesterday's overnight leaders UKA UKA Racing, who now sit in second after an uncharacteristic 14th place this morning, are nevertheless still very much in the hunt. This afternoon they bounced straight back to more familiar form with a third place in race two and a comprehensive victory in the final heat, putting them just six points behind Alina.
Nico Celon aboard Lanfranco Cirillo's Fantastica is also keeping the pressure on the regatta leaders and his 2,5,5 today sees him sit in third place, tied on 20 points with UKA UKA Racing. Putting in less consistent performances today were fourth placed Saetta, owned by Carlo Fracassoli and steered by Pietro Sibello, as well as Franco Rossini's Blu Moon. Saetta recovered from a disappointing 10th and 11th showing in the first two races to keep their podium aspirations alive with a fourth in the final outing.
Already carrying a 12th from yesterday, Flavio Favini aboard Blu Moon could ill afford the final race 19th, which somewhat spoiled his fifth and first in the day's opening and middle races. While Blu Moon has clearly not quite been firing on all cylinders so far at this Championship, there is a still a lot of racing to do yet and only the foolish would think about writing off this world class crew at this stage.
Although the Norwegian syndicate-owned Storm Capital Sailing Team stamped their authority on the Corinthian Division here in Hyeres today with a 2,1,3 string of results, spinnaker-trimmer Sivert Denneche says that their true focus is actually on a top ten result in the main standings. They certainly appear to be right on track with that goal, as after five races they are currently sitting in tenth place overall.
Second in the Corinthian Division is John Christian Eriksson's Aqua Racing steered by Mikael Johansson, whose 1,15,2 combination leaves them some 13 points adrift of the Storm Capital crew. A disappointing day on the water for Sergio Cosano's Italian crew on Fish Dog, saw them struggle to turn in a 12,9,11 set of results and leaves them a further 15 points adrift.
As the Race Committee now find themselves one race ahead of schedule, tomorrow the racing has been put back to a more civilised midday start time, with just two races scheduled. Local experts are suggesting that winds will be a touch lighter than today with even the slight possibility of some rain during the afternoon.
The 2009 Melges 24 European Championship fleet are unlikely to let precipitation dampen their enjoyment of the racing however; and truth be told, after the sweltering heat of the last few days, most would probably regard a little rain as a welcome the change of pace. The series continues until Friday with a total of ten races scheduled, the single discard will come into play after the sixth race.


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Shaquille O'Neal's wife is splitting up with the Cleveland Cavaliers center.
Shaunie O'Neal filed for legal separation with intent to divorce Monday in Los Angeles. She cited irreconcilable differences.
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Shaquille O'Neal - Divorces - Athletes - TV One
Shaunie O'Neal is seeking spousal and child support and full legal custody of the couple's four children. No monetary amounts were listed in the court filing.
The O'Neals were married six years, 11 months.
Shaquille O'Neal is a 15-time All-Star center with four NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. He was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Cleveland Cavaliers in June
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