text:
Minneapolis, Minnesota HOA Management Company
Clark Simson Miller takes pride in our track record of providing homeowners' association management services in the Minneapolis area. Our management solution team is able to focus on all your accounting needs so that you can focus where you need to.
We offer all-sized associations solutions of multiple assistance. Your finances will be completely taken care of when working with us, including that of invoicing and collections services. Homeowner's associations of Minneapolis differ in their wants, desires, policies, and procedures and we know that each is so unique that we offer a specific and customized plan to specifically assist.
Minneapolis is rich in water sources, populous of Fortune 500 companies, and proficiently known for its artists. It is also home for many homeowners' associations that are in need of tailor-made solutions to their accounting needs.
Clark Simson Miller's committed team of experts provide stellar services to their clients. We manage all types of associations and encourage you to get a consultation to learn what we can do for you. With the experience and expertise we have to offer, we will not hold back with the extensive services we have to offer.
We desire an honest interaction and complete trust to be built in our partnerships. We truly believe our partnership with you will not disappoint.
Financial Management Services
HOA Accounting Services for Minneapolis, MN
Clark Simson Miller works in the Minneapolis, Minnesota and surrounding areas in order to assist you in your daily needs so that you can truly take advantage of the limited time you have to get what needs to be done accomplished. Homeowners' associations will no longer need to higher other employees for financial and accounting tasks as we will take that cumbersome burden from you.
We handle invoicing duties, newsletters, the issuance of 1099 forms, and vendor matters in order for your volunteers to be able to complete tasks and truly focus on the needs of the residents. Clark Simson Miller can assist with solutions of all capacities no matter the size or specific need.
As a homeowners' or condominium association, we understand that every need may vary and we are prepared to assist you through those diverse desires. Through our professional staff, we take precautions that protect the associations of which we deal so that vendors are handled in a responsible manner.
Utilizing our proprietary software, homeowners can pay their dues online, while Board members can see activity online at any time, day and night. Our expertise is able to assist our associations in numerous ways. For single family associations, condo associations, and common interest developments in the Minneapolis and surrounding areas, Clark Simson Miller will assure that all accounting needs are handled with the utmost service. Our hopes are to reduce your costs and work with utmost honesty and transparency.


text:
In major cities across Europe, considerable investment is being made in corporate health & wellbeing as an essential element of achieving competitive advantage and employee-productivity improvement.
As the financial and business capital of the Netherlands (and home to more than 2,700 international-enterprises) the need to support positive health and wellbeing among Amsterdam's highly-skilled and diverse workforce is of critical importance to the national economy.
The Citywork Amsterdam congress will examine the business case for increased workforce-investment and the productivity benefits this will bring to this multi-employer business community.
Through keynote presentations and themed workshops, Citywork Amsterdam will educate and inform leaders - from across the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area - drawn from HR, Personnel, Talent Management, Benefits, Renumeration, Health & Wellbeing.
Herbert Schilthuis - Director of Global Health and Safety: HEINEKEN International B.V. (confirmed)
Ester Klaeijsen - NL HR Country Lead: Cisco (confirmed)
Peter Smeets - Chairman: Stichting Tegenkracht (confirmed)
Paulien Bongers - Director: Prevention Work and Health: TNO (confirmed)
A, 10 reasons why your health & wellbeing strategy is failing (Room Location: TBC)
Presenting and examining the 10 reasons why Health & Wellbeing Strategies are failing. Dive into 13 years of experience in working closely with HR leaders and HR managers as well as company health & safety managers to ensure you learn from best practices to avoid having to do the work twice! These solutions are simple and goal-oriented and guarantee the successful and sustainable implementation of your Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Key Learning Objectives: Examining the most common mistakes made during the introduction of health strategies as well as sharing simple and practical solutions for the successful implementation of health initiatives, with a focus on sustainable, long term outcomes and results.
B, Corporate health & well-being: how to establish an effective provider network (Room Location: TBC)
There are numerous providers in the work-related healthcare market, but in practice, many organisations fail to put serious thought into choosing a provider. The choice is often made only when an employee actually falls ill. However, it's worth taking a more conscious approach to choosing a provider- often at an earlier stage- and activating a different kind of healthcare. This session will outline both at employer and employee level when certain choices are available, and explain which kind of healthcare is most effective at each stage. This will ensure you have the right healthcare provider at the right moment, ultimately getting the best care for your employees. And with a number of objective criteria, you can get started yourself!
C, How to influence your employee health by increasing intrinsic motivation (Room Location: TBC)
Company fitness, lifestyle workshops and healthy lunches are examples of currently used tools to increase employee well-being. All which works well on engaged employees, however these tools are insufficient to reach the group that need it the most, the unhealthy, unmotivated employee. Find out, in this session, which skills managers could apply to manage well-being in their teams. Practicing these skills will result in an increase of perceived autonomy, positive relationships and more use of your employees' strengths. As a result, the intrinsic motivation of employees for work will increase, which will help unhealthy employees start participating in well-being programmes.
D, Stress and Burn Out on the Work Floor (Room Location TBC)
Burnout on the shop floor is a very topical theme and it seems as if more and more people have to deal with this. Work stress is number 1 in work-related absence. Younger employees up to 35 years of age have relatively more burn-out compared to employees in other age groups.
Research shows that stress complaints are signalled too late and are not taken seriously. The consequences are overload, overstrain, stress and eventually long-term failure due to burn-out.
Do you recognize this?
Our workshop burn out prevention in the workplace answers questions such as:
A, Productivity, Efficiency, Vitality – The Impact of Sleep (Room Location: TBC)
We need high quality sleep in order to function at our full potential. However, as anyone in a high-pressure position will tell you, a good night's sleep is absolutely not a given! One in two employees arrive at work not properly rested, the impact upon your productivity and efficiency and their vitality is great. This session will outline the effects a lack of sleep has on the mind and body. We will also show the latest sleep enhancement and light treatment tools and techniques which will help your employees to sleep more efficiently. Enabling them to stay fit, happy and healthy and to perform to their full potential.
B, Financial insight, a key driver in employee wellbeing (Room Location: TBC)
Research shows the importance of financial wellbeing for employees. Increasing retirement age and more flexible work require employees to take more control over their career and finances. For employers to think about how to adjust to these changes. Furthermore, increasing regulation urges employers to provide employees with a clear understanding of employee benefits.
Giving personal finance insight has huge advantages for both employer and employees. During the workshop we will give you a clear insight in the effect of personal financial planning for employees and why recently it has become part of many collective labor agreements in the Netherlands.
FinBase is specialized in providing financial insight to employees with a scalable and effective solution MijnGeldzaken.nl. Our solution won several awards and is used by companies like Randstad and IBM, but also by employees of the Provinces and the Waterschappen.
C, Imagine a world where everyone is a leader! (Room Location: TBC)
This is the vision that along with the latest research on engagement and motivation is driving SelfLeaders, a culture & leadership agency. Bridging strategy & culture in interactive experiences, helping organizations around the world such as Spotify, PwC and Harvard. Bita Yazdani, Global Head of Culture Strategy at SelfLeaders (with previous experience working with Simon Sinek inspiring organizations to find and live their "why") will lead a session where we will experience an intense and interactive experience packed with the latest research, inspiration and exercises you can bring back to your team and practice immediately.
A, Energy Re-Boot (Room Location: TBC)
Get that 'double-espresso' effect without reaching for the coffee! Experience how to liven up your team, sharpen their focus and boost their mood with a combination of short, simple yet amazingly effective techniques. Perfect for important days in the office, a morning or post-lunch wake-up. A combination of simple stretches, breathing techniques, and mindfulness-based exercises will super-charge energy and focus. No sweat or effort required – and you don't even have to change out of your business clothes.
B, The role of HR and L&D in Digital Transformation (Room Location: TBC)
The world is rapidly changing with the advent of digital. Navigating your company through the digital revolution often means an influential transformation on many levels. As an HR professional, you should ask yourself: "What role should I play in this digital transformation?" In many organisations, HR and L&D are an important driver. They are not only responsible for attracting the right employees that can drive change, but also for teaching employees the right skills and knowledge.
During this track, you will study the examples of other national and international operating organisations (insurance, B2B and FMCG) on how HR and L&D took the lead in setting up strategies and projects to make sure the right knowledge and skills were developed.
C, Leadership in the digital age (Room Location: TBC)
The world is becoming increasingly digital. Ironically, this means that managers need to become more human. The office world no longer belongs to the sneaky office rat. I'll show you that helping others and being supportive is the most effective way to get to the top in a digital company. I'll even reverse it and show that the most effective way to become a digital company is to teach human values to your managers.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Rash of UFO sightings cause a stir
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at Tuesday, April 11, 2006 | Posted by Richman
Orange counties been having its share of UFO sightings lately...
1 Responses to Rash of UFO sightings cause a stir
Anonymous Says:Posted on 10:39 PM
For once something good happened in Orengo County. Too bad they where'nt real succers. They need them down there. Could someone please wake up that phoney place? A landing would do just nicely! Save them from themselves! HELP!!!
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
So while out on a tea run with my mother, we stopped in at a David's to pick up some matcha. And while browsing and picking out refills of teas I still like from David's, one of the workers recommended me some of this (apparently they're one of the only stores in the city that still has it in stock).
It smelled? Amazing. Absolutely so, so amazing. I had to get some. This might just be the solution to my conundrum between loving the scent of coffee shops but hating coffee.
Dry, it smells very strongly like vanilla; think a vanilla bean latte. When brewed it's not as strongly vanilla, but still sweet and aromatic and pleasing. I've never had a straight-up chicory tea before and Idefinitely noticed the bitter aftertaste drinking it straight. I used one teaspoon and 6 oz of water and set it to steep for 7 minutes, but I was a bit lax with watching my timer so I'm sure it steeped longer, which is why I've selected 8 minutes or more. I definitely see it as not being very forgiving, though, if the bitterness I'm getting is any indication.
With a little bit of milk and brown sugar it is delicious, and even with brown sugar on its own. I wish I had some almond milk to try it with, because I'm sure that would be even better. If it is being phased out of David's I'd be sad, but I might go back to the same location and stock up on this to have it over the winter. I think it's a new-found love.


text:
Every time I think, "There is no way I could possibly do another post on a denim jumper with a plaid skirt," Forever 21 designs something else, and I know it's my duty to bring it to all of you.
I should know better by now. It's like how, in cartoons, you never say "Well, at least it can't get any worse." That's like asking for it to spontaneously rain right over your head. Much in the same way, I really shouldn't tempt fate with my declarations about plaid and denim jumpers.
Do there really need to be three tiers of ruffles? Do two not provide the necessary volume to make this completely unflattering? Because I can't imagine that the skirt portion would be more unflattering with fewer tiers. If it were just a skirt, devoid of tiers (I know, crazy talk, but go with me on it), I think it would just look kind of homemade and innocuous.
Look at it on this poor model. It's giving her a bustle. Isn't the point of having a model that she should be bustle-less? That a dress should be flattering, rather than hideous?
Oh, and it comes in black, too. Because sometimes, your blue jean denim just isn't formal enough.
Forever 21 Plaid Denim Jumper Dress – $26.90
A casual jumper dress with a denim upper bodice featuring a sweetheart neckline, buttoned straps, and smocked panels on the back; 12 looped buttons grace the front. The lower portion is soft and flirty, made of 3 tiered ruffles.


text:
Fun snack recipe kids can make themselves.
2 cups Orange juice1 ripe Banana1 cup fresh or frozen Strawberries or other fruit, such as peaches1/2 cup plain or vanilla Yogurt6 Ice cubes
Measure ingredients and combine in blender. Blend until ice is finely chopped and mixture is smooth. Pour into cups and serve with straws.Child can help measure, slice (as appropriate), operate a blender and pour under parent/adult supervision.
Calculated using low-fat yogurt.
HealthyEating.org, brought to you by Dairy Council of California, is committed to elevating the health of children and families through the pursuit of lifelong healthy eating habits.
This site is best viewed in Firefox v.18, Chrome v.24, Safari v.5, Internet Explorer v.10 and mobile devices. Some features on this site require popups to be enabled.


text:
Daniel L. Almeida
Portfolio Management Associate Director
Daniel Almeida serves as a Portfolio Management Associate Director at Ropes Wealth, and is a member of the firm's Investment Team and Investment Policy Committee. In his role, he is responsible for the creation, execution, and oversight of client investment portfolios in conjunction with the Portfolio Managers, preparing and inputting trades with brokers and custodians. Daniel performs equity security analysis on behalf of clients especially as it relates to concentrated positions, and is a key contributor to the individual fixed income management process from portfolio construction to execution. Daniel also coordinates all reporting elements for Investment Policy Committee, and contributes to the asset allocation and manager search and selection process for the Investment Team. Finally, Daniel plays a key role in the development of internal and external market-related communications.
Prior to joining Ropes Wealth, Daniel was an equity trader for Boston Private Wealth and member of the firm's Best Execution Committee. In this role, he was responsible for trading all client accounts invested in the firm's proprietary equity strategies, while focusing on portfolio drift and specific client requirements. Daniel began his career at Boston Private Bank & Trust as a client service associate.
Daniel graduated magna cum laude from Johnson & Wales University with a BS in Business Management and Business Administration. Daniel earned CFA Level I, and is a CFA Level II Candidate. An avid hockey player and former college goalie, Daniel plays in a number of competitive men's hockey leagues. Daniel resides in Pembroke, and enjoys sports, travel, and spending time with his family and friends.


text:
Ellora Social is a passionate team of skilful, fun-loving gurus who drive your business to new heights.
We help our clients to define their goals, understand their users and build awesome digital experiences loved by everyone ☺
We are are a design team implementing the power of AI and rooted in digital.
Ellora Social as a Digital Agency was born to create enduring and impactful customer experiences. We create a combination of value and influence through the combination of good design and good marketing with meaningful brands, digital products and great service experiences.
From Startups To Industry Titans, We Offer Innovation As A Goal
Our Services Include:
Development, Research, Strategy, UX/UI Design
Reshaping New Technology and Marketing With The Supremacy of Artificial Intelligence
At the end of the day, our skills as a digital media agency are to solve problems everyday through consulting, designing and developing marvelous AI powered digital solutions
We're full service which means we've got you covered on design and content right through to digital.
Your brand is how your customers see your business. It's shaped by the way you represent yourself – professionally, socially and visually. It's what makes you unique. It's what makes you desirable. It's shorthand for everything that brings your business together.
Who we work with
We work with businesses we believe in. From startups to accounting firms to restaurateurs, we share a common goal with all our clients – to bring out the best in their brand.


text:
Hoppy Easter! I know, it's an old pun, but this time it's a different pun than you think!
Tag Archives: DIY
St. Patrick's Day Printable DIY Card
Now that Valentine's day is over and done with (I'm missing the pinks and reds and hearts all over the place already!), it's time to start planning my favorite non-dressing-up, non-gift-giving holiday, St. Pat's! I love having St. Patrick's Day … Continue reading
Valentine's Day Pinterest Roundup
From me to you to your Valentine, here's a roundup of romantic ideas for a sexy and fun holiday: Decorate: Be Heartless: Decorate for Valentine's Day without Hearts What to Wear:
Three Easy DIY Fabric Flowers
These are the flowers that I used in my Winter Wreath, so the instructions say to use hot glue, which is great for decorations and other crafts that won't be washed. If you would like to use any of these … Continue reading
The All Holiday Wreath
On the left is my Christmas wreath and on the right is my post-Christmas winter wreath. Want to know a secret? They're the same wreath! I love decorating for the holidays (as you know), and I think a wreath is … Continue reading


text:
My son loves to build all sorts of things. His imagination is amazing! He comes up with some of the coolest ideas. Any toy that can stimulate his imagination gets a huge thumbs up from this Mom!
When I was given the opportunity to review the TINKERTOY 65 Piece Essentials Building Set, I was really excited to check it out!
Here is a little about the TINKERTOY 65 Piece Essentials Building Set:
Build a whole bunch with your favorite TINKERTOY parts! The TINKERTOY 65 Piece Essential building set features fan-favorite TINKERTOY parts including spools, rods, flags, washers, end caps and more. Set is perfect for first-time builders and comes with a colorful instruction sheet that features building tips and ideas. Package doubles as a sturdy, storage box for easy clean-up and portability. Suggested retail price is $22.99. Ages 3+.
My son started off by building some of the ideas that were on the box. After that, his imagination went wild! He started building anything he could think of! At one point he had built a little neighborhood of houses and had some of his toy figurines displayed around the houses. He told me that he had made a super hero neighborhood and he played with that for over an hour!
My son plays with the TINKERTOY set nearly everyday when he gets home from kindergarten. He can hardly wait to get through dinner and homework so that he can play! I love seeing this kind of enthusiasm to play and create. It is so much better than just plopping down in front of the TV, which he sometimes does when he is bored.
I would highly recommend TINKERTOY building sets to anyone with children 3 and older. You can check them out on Facebook or on Pinterest. You can also follow them on Instagram!
I did not receive compensation for this post. I did receive product(s) mentioned above to facilitate the review. All opinions are 100% mine.


text:
Talk to our finance experts
You've put the time in to searching the inventory for the best vehicle possible and saved your money up for the down payment, now the only thing you have left to obtain is financing. When you need an auto loan for your next vehicle, come to the finance department at Windsor Chrysler. Our financial experts will work hard to get you the auto loan you need at the rates that work best for you and your budget. Start by filling out the finance application online, it's fast, easy, and completely secure. Once they have gone over your application, our financial specialists can come up with the options that are available to you and provide you with information to aid you in making your decision. We are confident that we can help you get the auto loan you need, regardless of your credit score. It doesn't matter if you have good, bad, or non-existent credit, we can help!
The biggest difference in obtaining an auto loan with good or bad credit is how you obtain it. People with good credit can get approved easily through a bank or dealership, but people with bad credit can find a lender that specializes in people with poor credit. There are programs set up to help you get your vehicle loan. There may be some restrictions on the auto loan such as how much you can spend or how old the vehicle can be, but a bad credit auto loan is still possible, so you won't be left without a vehicle. Once you've obtained your auto loan, you can start repairing your credit score by keeping up with the minimum monthly payments and paying them on time and in full. You'll be showing the banks and other lending institutions that you're responsible and capable of making a monthly payment, thereby improving your credit score and your standing for when you need a larger loan in the future. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're always available to answer any questions you have and you'll remain completely confidential.


text:
Thanks to Garl Garl Walbu, young people are working with young people in Derby to minimise the harms associated with alcohol and drugs.
Derby, Western Austraila: Garl Garl Walbu Alcohol Association Aboriginal Corporation was incorporated in 1988 to contribute to policy and research about alcohol and drug misuse and related problems among Aboriginal people in the Kimberley—and to care for people affected. The corporation is based in Derby, in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia—a long way from Perth and Darwin.
The effect of alcohol and drugs
One of the corporation's directors, Nola D'Antoine, describes how problematic alcohol and drugs are for this community:
Drugs and alcohol misuse is an issue in Derby, and the problems associated with it can have huge repercussions on the safety, health and wellbeing of our families—parents, children & elders. The Garl Garl Walbu Alcohol Association Aboriginal Corporation aims to improve community safety and health by reducing the harm and risks associated with alcohol and drug misuse.
The corporation manages three services for the safety and wellbeing of the community:
- Sobering-Up Shelter (SUS)—short-term accommodation for people under the influence of alcohol or drugs who need a safe place to stay. The service can reduce their risk of injury and harm associated with alcoholism and drug abuse.
- Derby Night Patrol (DNP)—local Aboriginal people are employed to transport people safely home for the night. The first run is from the youth centre after the evening games. Later runs pick up intoxicated people and take them somewhere safe: home, a relative's place or the SUS. It helps prevent the risk of self-harm or harm to others while intoxicated.
- Alcohol and Other Drugs Community Peer Education Workers (AOD-CPEW) project—a support and education service funded through the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet's Indigenous Advancement Strategy, connecting trained workers to other young people at risk of alcohol and drug-related problems.
Young people helping young people
The AOD-CPEW project (known locally as the peer education project, or PEP), is the most recent service the corporation offers, and aims to minimise the harm done by alcohol and other drugs. It came about because the corporation saw the benefits of local young people working on the ground with their peers in and around Derby who have substance misuse issues and are in need of extra support to keep them on track.
AOD-CPEW has been running for just over a year and works with Aboriginal people between 10 and 30 years old, mostly those in their early adolescence and mid-to-late 20s. They're either having difficulties with alcohol or other drugs like cannabis or tobacco, or they've given it up and need support to prevent relapse.
Minimising harm
Keryn Ross believes the CPEWs are making an impact. She sees young people in the program beginning to understand what harm minimisation means and, with her support, creating strategies to reduce their alcohol and tobacco use:
My participants tell me that because they see me regularly and can have a yarn about issues, they feel stronger and are beginning to find ways to reduce their drinking, like making sure they have a good feed at the same time they drink, and by including water between drinks. A few are trying to give up smoking but this is hard so they are starting by limiting how many smokes they have over the day.
Keryn works full-time along with two other casual staff. (Another full-time and casual staff-member will soon be employed.) Together they cover the areas of Derby, Mowanjum, Pandanus Park and Looma, and—as long as the roads are passable—other communities on the Gibb River road.
Companions in good health
Education about the effects of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis—and lately, 'ice'—on the body, mind and spirit is core to CPEW activities. These activities include culturally strong 'back to country' ventures like fishing and hunting as well as cook‑outs to demonstrate the importance of nourishing food in the management of alcohol intake. Many of these activities involve younger people who have become disengaged with school and need encouragement to return. They also include older youth who want to find work.
The CPEWs tap into a wide network of health and wellbeing agencies in the area, and partner with schools, Red Cross and community health services to build trust. The outcome is that CPEWs are recognised as approachable, well-informed companions on a person's journey to regain health, self-esteem and control over decisions about their life.
Looking ahead
Garl Garl Walbu Alcohol Association Aboriginal Corporation is doing difficult but important work. This community-controlled corporation faces many challenges, but nothing compared to those faced by its clients. Already seeing signs of positive change, its dedicated staff and directors are aiming for a significant, long-term reduction in addiction and substance misuse in the Kimberley, and looking forward to a resurgence of community health and wellbeing.


text:
Therapeutic Zinc in Infant Bacterial Illness
|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: NCT00347386
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : July 4, 2006
Last Update Posted : December 7, 2010
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Infections are the important cause of high mortality in young infants in developing countries. Zinc is a crucial micronutrient as it influences various immune mechanisms and modulates host resistance to several pathogens. It has shown benefits as an adjunct therapy in infections like diarrhea and pneumonia in older children Given the predisposition of young infants in developing countries to zinc deficiency and infections, addition of zinc to standard treatment of serious bacterial infections may lead to significant improvements in the outcomes.
Several hypotheses will be examined in this clinical trial. The primary objective is to measure, in a double blind randomized controlled trial, the efficacy of giving 2 RDA (Required Daily Allowance 10 mg) of zinc orally in addition to routine antibiotics, for treatment of possible serious bacterial infection in infants >= 7 days and up to 4 months of age in reducing the proportion of treatment failures and time to discharge from the hospital. This will evaluate the clinical consequences of the possible immunomodulation by zinc supplementation. This is critical to demonstrate because nearly 80% of infant mortality occurs in first months of life.
Young infants with possible serious bacterial infections fulfilling the inclusion criteria will be enrolled in the study and stratified into 4 groups on basis of weight for age 'z' scores < -2 z and >=- 2 z and whether he/she has diarrhea or not. Within each stratum the subjects will be randomized to receive zinc or placebo. Treatment failures will be defined by the need for a change of initial antibiotic therapy. The minimum duration of monitoring will be till clinical recovery (using predetermined criteria). Serum copper, serum ferritin and serum transferrin receptors will be determined at enrollment, 72 hours after enrollment and at discharge from the hospital. Concentrations of CRP and procalcitonin will be measured at baseline, 72 hours after enrolment and at clinical recovery.
Documentation of efficacy of addition of zinc to standard therapy may provide a simple and low-cost strategy to improve survival in serious infections in young infants. This is likely to have a significant impact on infant morbidity and mortality. It will be good example of using a simple immunomodulator beneficially in improving child health.
|Condition or disease
|Sepsis Bacterial Infections Pneumonia
|Drug: Drug: Zinc (zinc sulphate) Drug: Placebo
|Phase 2 Phase 3
Infant mortality rate continues to be high in most developing countries despite advances in child health care. Infections are the most important cause of deaths in infants. There is increasing recognition that nutritional deficiencies including micronutrients are important determinants of infection and their outcomes. Zinc is a crucial micronutrient as it influences various immune mechanisms and modulates host resistance to several pathogens. Supplementation with zinc has been documented to provide protection against common childhood infections. It has also shown benefits as an adjunct therapy in infections like diarrhea and pneumonia in older children. Given the predisposition of young infants in developing countries to zinc deficiency and infections, addition of zinc to standard treatment of serious bacterial infections may lead to significant improvements in the outcomes. This is critical to demonstrate because nearly 80% of infant mortality occurs in first 2 months of life.
The infant mortality rates in India continue to be in excess of 60 per 1000 live births. Neonatal mortality contributes to over 64% of the infant deaths particularly in those who are born low birth weight. Most of the other deaths occur in the second and third months. Serious systemic infections like sepsis and pneumonia constitute 30-40% of the causes of mortality. Any health programme that aims at reducing infant mortality rate needs to address mortality in the first two months of life.
Almost 90% of all low birth weight (LBW) babies are born in developing countries, particularly in the Indian subcontinent. Nearly 70% of these are small for gestational age unlike in the developed world where the bulk of low birth weight babies are preterms. Zinc deficiency during fetal development is documented to cause intra-uterine growth retardation and also impaired postnatal immune functions making these babies more susceptible to severe infections. Studies have shown good correlation between cord blood zinc, maternal zinc concentration and birth weights.
The zinc content of the breast milk decreases rapidly after birth. In addition, the requirements are likely to be high as young infants in developing countries live in high microbial load environment and are exposed to recurrent infections. Further, malnourished infants need more zinc for catch up growth. All these predispose them to develop zinc deficiency and infections. In a population based study by our group last year, nearly 40% of young infants had low plasma zinc despite being breast-fed, probably a reflection of inadequate tissue stores (unpublished data).
Zinc influences many aspects of the immune system starting with its effects on the barrier and various components of innate and acquired immunity. There is sufficient data from animal and human studies of increased host susceptibility to infections with zinc deficiency. A vicious cycle of infection and zinc deficiency exists. Infection reduces the plasma zinc concentration, which reflects the severity of the infection and inflammation. This may be observed early during the illness. Organs such as the skin, thymus, bones and the epithelium also become depleted during this process. Severe bacterial illnesses also lead to zinc redistribution. It is plausible that this redistribution increases the infection severity.
There is limited data on therapeutic effect of zinc supplementation on severe infections in young infants less than 4 months of age. A short inexpensive course of zinc for patients with serious bacterial infections can become a simple but potent intervention to reduce young infant mortality and morbidity. While the effects of zinc deficiency and of supplementation are reasonably well documented eventually the benefits on clinical outcome alone can result in its application.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|700 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Zinc as an Immunomodulator in the Treatment of Possible Serious Bacterial Infections in Infants 7 Days and up to 4 Months of Age
|Study Start Date :
|July 2005
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|December 2008
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|December 2008
Experimental: Zinc
Administration of zinc sulphate every day during illness
Drug: Drug: Zinc (zinc sulphate)
Dissolvable tablet 10 mg. Once daily during the illness
Other Names:
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Placebo tablet
Drug: Placebo
Placebo tablet, once daily
Other Names:
- proportion with treatment failures [ Time Frame: Within 3 weeks after enrollment ]
- the effect of zinc administration on plasma zinc and copper [ Time Frame: up to three weeks ]
- The efficacy of zinc on the duration of severe bacterial illness [ Time Frame: 3 weeks ]
- The efficacy of zinc given during severe bacterial illness on markers of inflammation [ Time Frame: 3 weeks ]
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:
|up to 4 Months (Child)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
Evidence of possible serious bacterial infection, defined as a CRP >= 12 mg/L and any one of the following clinical features:
Fever (axillary temperature >= 37.5 degrees C) or hypothermia (axillary temperature <35.5 degrees C).
Lethargic or unconscious. No attachment to the breast in breast fed infants. No suckling in breast fed infants. Convulsions in the present episode. Bulging fontanel.
- History of acute refusal of feed in the present episode.
- Acute history of excessive cry or irritability in the present episode.
- Fast breathing defined as >= 60 breaths/minute (on second count) for infants < 2 months and >= 50 breaths/min in infants 2 months up to 4 months.
- Grunting in the absence of any non infective cause.
- Cyanosis in the absence of any non infective cause.
- Severe chest in drawing.
- Unexplained shock.
- Diarrhea in present episode.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Congenital malformations e.g. hydrocephalus, structural CNS malformation.
Severe birth asphyxia defined as:
- One minute APGAR (if available) of < 4/10.
- CT scan or MRI or EEG abnormalities if available suggestive of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.
- Known structural defects, which interfere with feeding, e.g.cleft palate esophageal abnormalities, intestinal atresia and stenosis, malrotation of the gut,anorectal malformation.
- Subjects requiring ventilation or ionotropic support.
- History of diarrhea in the present episode.
- Known inborn error of metabolism.
- Chronic disorders of other organs e.g. neonatal cholestasis, chronic renal failure, pre-existing seizure disorder.
- Infants born of known HIV mothers.
- Clinical suspicion of necrotising enterocolitis.
- Congenital heart disease.
Any CVS malformation:
- Congenital heart disease.
- Cyanosis before present episode.
- Presence of murmur > grade 3/6.
- Ambiguous genitalia.
- Known chromosomal abnormality.
- Infants requiring exchange transfusion.
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): NCT00347386
|Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital,
|New Delhi, India, 110064
|All India Institute Of Medical Sciences
|New Delhi, India
|Kalawati Saran Children Hospital
|New Delhi, India
|Principal Investigator:
|Shinjini Bhatnagar, DNB, PhD
|All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):
|Responsible Party:
|Tor A Strand/ Researcher, University of Bergen
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|July 4, 2006 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|December 7, 2010
|Last Verified:
|December 2010
Bacterial illness
Bacterial Infections
Lung Diseases
Respiratory Tract Diseases
Respiratory Tract Infections
Zinc Sulfate
Trace Elements
Growth Substances
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Dermatologic Agents


text:
Major new report on bioenergy and sustainability published
A major new report posits that if done right, bioenergy can provide major benefits for people, the economy, and the environment.
On April 14 the "Bioenergy & Sustainability" report was released. Led by researchers associated with the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), the report offers a comprehensive global analysis of a range of issues related to the sustainability of bioenergy production and use and was developed under the aegis of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE). SCOPE is an interdisciplinary organization established in 1969 that provides scientific reviews and expertise on key global environmental issues.
The report – which is more than 700 pages long – was developed over two years and was the result of contributions from 137 experts from 24 countries and 82 institutions. It covers issues including energy systems, food production, environmental and climate security, and sustainable development. It also offers science-based recommendations for policy formulation and for the deployment of a range of bioenergy use options.
According to the report's executive summary, "There is broad consensus that modern bioenergy will be necessary to achieve a low-carbon future. The idea that the large-scale use of bioenergy compromises efforts to meet these challenges is unsupported by the current scientific evidence when bioenergy practices are implemented properly."
One of our senior sustainability researchers, Jesper Hedal Kløverpris, had this to say about the report:
This is the ultimate go-to source on bioenergy. It is a comprehensive and inter-disciplinary expert work, extensively reviewed, addressing basically all aspects of sustainability. It refutes common misconceptions and shows how bioenergy can provide major benefits for the environment and support food and energy security. Hopefully, this will help to ensure the political support and frameworks necessary to unleash the full potential of sustainable bioenergy.
Evan V.
Latest posts by Evan V. (see all)
- International biofuel investments up - March 1, 2016
- National Ethanol Conference highlights industry strengths and innovations - February 25, 2016
- Technology innovations reduce the cost of biofuel production - February 17, 2016


text:
Fresh Tracks on an Open Story Road: The Closing of the Wheat Pool
In an announcement that was both sad and unfortunate and yet elegantly fitting, Edmontonian roots-rock band the Wheat Pool announced via their website that they would play their farewell show at the Pawn Shop on Whyte Avenue on March 23, 7 years to the day after their first gig together. Although the band produced only two full-length records and an EP (as well as a solo record from singer and bassist Mike Angus which may suggest a way forward from here) and never quite broke out of the Canadian independent music ghetto that is CBC Radio 3 into larger-scale success, they will be deeply missed by this one blogger at least.
As I have previously hinted at in this space, I found the Wheat Pool to be the band that most indie fans felt (or wanted) the Rural Alberta Advantage to be. Although both bands craft prairie elegies that express a more personal form of Western alienation, the RAA do so in the fashionable poses of the big-city indie scene in which they have situated themselves (namely, Toronto) while the Wheat Pool grounded their restless musical wandering in the honest vernacular of country and rock. Even the vaunted local references diverged, with the RAA snatching at large-scale Albertan tragedies (the Frank Slide, the 1987 Edmonton tornado) while the Wheat Pool hold their sights on personal touchstones at home and elsewhere.
But the imminent end of the Wheat Pool is not a time for measuring art against other art or for the underdog's lamentation at the misguided tastes of the people. Although the band released more music and gained wider notice after I moved away from Edmonton at the end of 2008 than before, the band and especially their debut album Township will forever be associated in my mind with my last year in the wintry Albertan capital.
As strong as its wider-ranging follow-up Hauntario was, Township will remain, to my mind, their finest achievement. It's an album marked by the sort of nomadic youthful wanderlust that leaves broken hearts and barely-healed bruises in its wake, its lyrical imagery balanced exquisitely and vivified with tense passion by vocalist brothers Mike and Robb Angus while being pressed inexorably forward by Glen Erickson's gracefully detailed lead guitar lines. The melodic resonance of the Wheat Pool's songs accumulates gradually, like a January snowfall, until their weight and splendor is undeniable.
This effect was most prominent in Township's closer, "Phone Book", perhaps their greatest single composition. While the song is a bittersweet reminiscence of the end of a spent relationship and a tribute to the saving grace of a new one, its tone of resigned finality allowed it to easily imprint itself upon my departure from the city of my birth to wander on my own uneasy adventure, for good, ill, or the usual measures of both that tend to be dispensed to us mere mortals. As great as it is, though, there are many other great songs, too: irresistible rockers like "Geographic Centre of Canada" and "I'm Not Here", the ode to the poverty-stricken in "Emily Carr", the haunting and tremendous Louis Riel ballad "Peniel, SK", the aching, poetic "Italy". For a band that has left us with so few songs, the Wheat Pool crafted many memorable ones.
Although it can never occupy the place that "Phone Book" does for purely esoteric and associational reasons, Hauntario's emotional pinnacle "Lefty" is perhaps a more complete summation of the Wheat Pool's depth of affect. It's a song of invariable transitions: fathers going to war, families saying "so long, Ontario" and moving West, prairie storm-fronts growing and receding, and that ultimate transition, from life to death, from the corporeal to ashes and dust. And yet amongst the transitory, there is that which lingers, as impermanence is forever foiled by permanence: "Your brothers, they look the same / as your two boys". This is music that forgives but can't ever forget, and whose remembrance is its own species of joyful pain.
There's a line in "Lefty" that is a timeless synecdoche for the Wheat Pool's humble, underappreciated triumphs: "Two sets of fresh tracks on an open story road." It seems that the Brothers Angus, with Erickson and drummer Stephane Dagenais, followed that road as long as it remained open, and have left off making tracks lest they become ruts. For a band so focused on that which has been lost to vanish themselves is practically poetic in its justice, but the Wheat Pool leaves much more behind them than a simple tombstone.
PopMatters Television Review: Luck
Note: I write regular album, DVD, television, and film reviews and occasional features for PopMatters, an online magazine of cultural criticism. I'll post links to these here at Random Dangling Mystery whenever they are published. Click on the title below to go to the review.
Film Review: All the Presidents' Men
All the Presidents' Men (1976; Directed by Alan J. Pakula)
The pre-eminent cultural document of one of modern America's most notorious political scandals, All the President's Men treats the Washington Post's gradually-accumulating Watergate investigation as the detective story it was. Visually arranged with clear-eyed economy by noted conspiracy-thriller director Alan J. Pakula from a script by William Goldman (writer of The Princess Bride and Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid), it proceeds with irresistible inertia and charm and not really a whole lot of simmering liberal outrage.
Indeed, considering the characterization of the Watergate investigation in general by movement conservatives as being driven by a liberal ideological vendetta against the reviled Richard Nixon, there's nary a hint of partisan affiliation at all in Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's reporting efforts. Indeed, Robert Redford's Woodward even confesses to being a Republican to assuage such doubts raised by a potential source. Liberal Hollywood can be nothing if not careful when it comes to covering their collective political tracks in the effort to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, and this is evident here, despite the charged subject matter.
What the film does accomplish is the nearly-instant mythologizing of the reporting of "Woodstein" (a portmanteau for the two junior reporters amusingly coined by their irascible editor Ben Bradlee, a role which won Jason Robards a Best Supporting Actor Oscar). What ensues is a complex and intermittently tense narrative pitting plucky, smart good against smug, powerful, faceless evil, complete with plenty of earnest but reticent conservative functionaries agonizing over whether to reveal the extent of their own knowledge of official wrongdoing.
Its depiction of the moral agonies of the upper-middle-class aside, All the President's Men is iconic for more simple cinematic reasons. There's memorable visual touches, like the long crane shot pull-back of the reporters poring through documents in the Library of Congress, or Woodward's deeply atmospheric meetings with "Deep Throat" in a parking garage at night (both of which were parodied in a classic episode of The Simpsons). The dialogue is not as demonstrative in its cleverness as other Goldman scripts could be, but it skews towards sharp realism in its exchanges. So many of the key plot moments are marked by razor distinctions in language, and so much convoluted and clandestine detail from the book upon which it is based must be boiled down into more basic filmic terms, that Goldman's task was more to be precise and careful than to wheel free with unfettered wit.
We also have the stars, Redford as the presentable, stand-up Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as the hyperkinetic, suspicious Bernstein. Their portrayals have settled the respective public profiles of this most famous reporting team in American history for all time, although their subsequent career paths have helped that process. Woodward has become a venerable scion of Serious Journalism, regularly offering milquetoast conventional wisdom on current affairs talk shows and most recently penning sober stenographical non-exposés from inside of the Bush Administration, whose wasteful pre-emptive wars based on false premises and illegal detention and torture regime puts that infamous "second-rate burglary" in perspective a bit. Bernstein is not exactly a non-establishment figure, but has shown a more consistent distrust of institutions than Woodward has since Watergate, at least. One can mostly extrapolate their professional trajectories from the way the actors have approached them as characters.
If the film has a particular problem, it's with how it ends, with the clacking teletype exposition of the eventual unraveling of the Watergate cover-up that led to Nixon's historic resignation as President. The more specific focus that Goldman and Pakula have chosen makes for the tighter film, but also prefigures a story larger and more unwieldy than film narrative can quite accommodate (some of the more bizarre details of the larger story can only be hinted at; Kenneth Dahlberg's apparent evasive tactic of claiming to be traumatized by his neighbour's kidnapping drops like a joke, but he wasn't kidding, she really was kidnapped for a ransom). As with much of the political world, the truth is not only stranger than fiction but more labyrinthine and multifarious as well. Even as All the President's Men displays an understanding of this, the film pushes for simplification whenever it can. As such, strong as it is, it's more of an engaging synopsis of Watergate than a comprehensive document of it. Could a movie be anything more, or anything less?
Progressive Cynicism on the Yellow Brick Road: Gregory Maguire's Out of Oz
As popular as they are with readers, Gregory Maguire's The Wicked Years books occupy a curious position in several cultural realms. Among mass market fantasy fiction series, they are undoubtedly less prominent than contemporary series like Harry Potter and Twilight, their themes more subtle and nebulous, their writing less immediately intelligible, their finer features far more particular. In the context of Ozian pastiche, it is generally welcomed as a revisionist take on the fanciful but childish kid-lit oeuvre of Oz's creator, L. Frank Baum, but there is nothing gentle about this revision: it is an out-and-out inversion of Baum's initial implications.
Even in terms of The Wicked Years' own profile in popular culture, the stylish, nuanced, literary depiction of Oz provided in Maguire's books has been obliterated by the gaudy Broadway adaptation of the first book, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The musical subbed in soft-focus juvenile romance and lame inspirational platitudes for Maguire's sharper Oz of political atrocities and existential ambivalence, but audiences responded warmly to the music and to the knowing tweaks of a classic childhood narrative. Maguire himself didn't seem to mind the changes either, and even dedicated Wicked's sequel Son of a Witch to the original Broadway cast (surely the copious royalties from the show stilled any creative qualms that might have arisen).
As Maguire wraps up The Wicked Years quadrilogy with Out of Oz, it is worth considering what his unique vision of Oz ultimately constitutes. First and foremost among the series' qualities is Maguire's prose style. Despite his fantastical subject matter and the kid-lit lineage of his chosen world, Maguire's writing is extremely literary and highly written. His descriptions are full of peculiar vocabulary choices that are no less evocative for their peculiarity, giving his magical steampunk Oz a level of detail that is easily exploited on many occasions.
The dialogue, meanwhile, is aggressively clever, indeed often unrealistically so. Wit is evidently the birthright of every denizen of Oz, as even unschooled fugitives from civilization spit out a litany of bon mots like so many rakish drawing-room bon vivants. The dialogue exchanges are consistently entertaining as well as being key conduits for Maguire's often vicious sense of irony, but can get distractingly precious nonetheless (as in an apparent teenage boy using the term "studied ineffectuality", for instance, although perhaps that's meant to be a hint).
Leaving Maguire's notable style aside, though, what of his narrative, his characters, his themes? As the final act in a saga full to bursting of deferred closure, Out of Oz has an unenviable task of wrapping up literally dozens of individual character arcs and embedded subplots, as well as resolving the more general plot of the novels, namely the political and social fate of Oz itself.
At the conclusion of the last volume, A Lion Among Men, Munchkinland had seceded from Loyal Oz (the main state in the realm, centered on the Emerald City and the aristocratic northern province of Gillikin) and triggered a war that, by the time of Out of Oz, has become bitterly drawn-out. Lady Glinda (the erstwhile Good Witch of the North) is under house arrest by order of General Cherrystone of the Oz army, who is using her estate to prepare and launch a secretive assault on a lakefront Munchkinlander fortress. Sir Brrr (better known as the Cowardly Lion) is lingering nearby with the escorts of the enigmatic Clock of the Time Dragon, a puppet-show theatre contraption with intentions of its own and a taste for pointed sociopolitical satire. The Clock conceals the Grimmerie, an ancient and powerful magical book once possessed by Wicked's protagonist, Elphaba Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the West. Like the Clock, the Grimmerie seems to be vaguely sentient and reveals its trove of spells to only a select few of its choosing, but that doesn't prevent it from being sought by both sides in the war as the ultimate weapon with which to turn the tide.
Meanwhile, Liir, Elphaba's squib offspring and the focal point of Son of a Witch, has been in hiding with his hippie wife Candle since the end of that book. With them, or possibly not, is their daughter, revealed at the end of Son of a Witch with the splendid closing phrase "she cleaned up green." And as if all of that wasn't enough for one book, guess who's back in Oz? That all-earnest, all-singing, witch-killing Kansan schoolgirl Dorothy Gale, arriving not with the wind this time but on the figurative back of an earthquake (the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, to be exact) and destined for a propagandistic show trial in Munchkinland.
If this sounds like a massive cargo for one literary vessel to carry, it is. Out of Oz bursts at the seams with narrative detail and background exposition; Maguire even feels the need to awkwardly stop the story at one point and send a series of characters out on leisurely nature walks with Liir, to fill out the backstories that he left out until that moment. Still, he manages to balance the flood of information with the more delicate bildungsroman elements, as Rain, the aforementioned granddaughter of a witch, comes of age and grows into her inheritance as a being of magical ability and, of course, as a person.
Indeed, Out of Oz, like all of the Wicked books, is a patchwork quilt of genre pastiches of which the coming-of-age novel is only one fabric sample. Maguire uses these books as dioramas for his adaptive abilities, trying out the settings, moves, and poses of his influences, especially those from English canonical literature. The book begins with a parody of British novels of manners set in palatial country estates, as Lady Glinda and Cherrystone (Maguire's most effective representation of the rigid, rational cruelty of institutions) face off over polite dinners while the former's freedoms are increasingly curtailed and the latter's war machine is gradually built up.
There's a considerable amount of travel through the wilderness after this, as in the epic quest narratives of myth and fantasy fiction, and a destructive and deadly siege of the Emerald City by dragons that invokes not only the siege of Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings, but also the grim survivalism of literature about the Blitz. Maguire even finds time for a brief but charming boarding-school-novel interlude, Rain's enrollment at a private girl's academy in the college town of Shiz connecting her to Elphaba's formative attendance of the university in the same town in Wicked.
Ultimately, Maguire's Wicked Years books have another closer analogue, namely Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Although The Wicked Years is much livelier, funnier, less ponderous and more humane than Pullman's famous fictionalized argument for atheism, their questing travails and philosophical outlooks are both similar. More vital, however, is the evidently shared aspiration to employ a form so often yoked to stiff traditionalism to express modern progressive anxieties. Maguire and Pullman boast a comparable trenchant liberalism and an attendant distrust for religious demagogues and power-hungry political charlatans. He even quite purposefully dismantles the famous conservative epigram from the end of The Wizard of Oz film, insisting that upon reaching adulthood, "our adventures secure us in our isolation… Sooner or later, there's no place remotely like home."
This is all instructive of Maguire's perspective of knowing skepticism, as is the general structure of his main characters' arcs in each of the four Wicked books, Out of Oz included. Unmooring his fantasy narrative from the narcissistic demands of heroic convention with a laudable lack of sentimentality, Maguire constructs the journeys of Elphaba, Liir, Sir Brrr, and finally Rain not as a litany of achievements but as a succession of failures that only seem more substantial in rose-coloured hindsight. This view of life is not a positive one, but it reeks of profound, cynical truth: as human beings (or Animals), we can do no better than to keep half a step ahead of our myriad imminent disappointments at any given time. Out of Oz, like most of the Wicked books (I'll never be anything but underwhelmed by the whinging tone of Son of a Witch), stays a few steps ahead of its disappointments, and it's that consistent outpacing that makes them a notable and even impressive entry into the mass market (sort-of) fantasy market.
PopMatters Best Films of 2011 Entry – X-Men: First Class
Note: PopMatters has been running its year-end Best Film of 2011 feature over the past week or so. I have contributed an entry to these list features, a shortened take on my earlier blog review of X-Men: First Class. Click on the link to go to the page with my entry, but do check out the entirety of the various lists if you have time as well.
The Best 40 Films of 2011 – #10 – X-Men: First Class
Film Review: Touch of Evil
Touch of Evil (1958; Directed by Orson Welles)
One of the rare post-Citizen Kane films that Orson Welles directed that he actually managed to finished, Touch of Evil faced edits and compromises from its completion to well beyond its initial release (as a B-movie, whose sordid traditions the film embraces while simultaneously elevating). Despite the obstacles, the film remains a landmark noir in its restored DVD version at least, which was based on Welles' detailed notes to Universal concerning his editing preferences.
If Touch of Evil is not quite on the level of 1940s genre high-water-marks like The Maltese Falcon or The Third Man, the latter which Welles starred in (though did not write or direct), then the major factors in its falling short have to be the plot's reliance on sensationalist exploitation material and the thoughtless racial offensiveness inherent to studio-period Hollywood. Set along the Mexican border in brothels, remote motels, and looming oil fields, the narrative involves a car-bomb murder, drug hysteria, and rampant police corruption. Starring Charlton Heston as a Mexican drug enforcement official (his skin is darkened by makeup, but his Spanish is at least impeccable) on a honeymoon with his blond American wife (Janet Leigh) who becomes embroiled in a crooked murder investigation conducted by a crusty immensity of a police captain (Welles himself, in a role of minimal vanity), the film has far more visual interest on offer than it does compelling content.
Shadows dance on backlit brick walls, ceiling fans rattle, and even in black-and-white you can feel the sickly glow of the neon signs of moral indulgence. The famed single-shot opening sequence is a marvel, the camera swooping over roofs and across dusty boulevards, following Heston and Leigh and the soon-to-be-bombed convertible to their dramatic convergence. It is bookended by the closing pursuit beneath oil derricks and junk piles to a stone bridge, where Welles' Captain Quinlan clings to his robe of lies to the last breath. The villainous Quinlan's introduction is classic Welles: chomping a cigar while exiting a car, he's shot from below, his size and menace masterfully emphasized.
Even if Welles displays his usual artist's eye, as well as the maverick's button-pushing disdain for the studio Code's censorship (check Grandi's phallic cigar thrust in Leigh's face in their initial meeting), he forces the edgy material too hard. The "reefer madness" sequence in the motel seems fairly ludicrous to modern eyes, and holds little of the threat it is meant to. Beyond the queasiness of the Latin-washed Heston (intoning his lines with the varnish of wooden authority and even losing his shirt once or twice to expose his stone-slab abs), the other major Mexican character, the execrable Grandi, is played by a Russian-born Armenian (Akim Tamiroff). Leigh vamps in her undergarments and shows some moxie in the aforementioned face-off with Grandi, but is given little to do beyond the first act but be a damsel in distress. Marlene Dietrich is in the mix, too, though one can barely fathom why.
Despite its considerable stylistic quality and technical proficiency, maybe Touch of Evil loses points for its dirty, leering soul, a too-literal embodiment of its themes of official corruption and moral compromise. Or maybe it's just too much of its time, neutered by the Code, overwrought by its creator, and saddled by its poor studio-mandated choice of male lead. But the film's touch is hardly nimble enough to overcome such burdens, even if its director overcame many to get it made and (belatedly) released in a form he mostly could have approved of. A genre classic? Surely. A masterpiece? Let's not get carried away here.
TV Quickshots #7
TV Quickshots
Bomb Girls (Global; 2012)
Canadian television is in a tough spot. With neither the funding capital or the related industry base of our southern neighbours, who continue to siphon much of the creative energy and onscreen and behind-the-scenes talent away from homegrown productions, Canadian original programming works very hard to finish a distant second, if not third or fourth, to American shows airing in the same slots.
It can be frustrating as a viewer in this country, because we ought to able to tell our own stories with something approximating the creative verve and sheen that the United States tells its own. Unfortunately, often the core concept of a show is extremely strong and compelling, but the execution lags heartbreakingly behind. Witness Global's six-part mini-series Bomb Girls, airing since the start of the year. The kernel of inspiration is, well, inspired: following Canadian Rosie the Riveters working in a Toronto-area munitions factory during the Second World War, there is ample potential for a keen examination of wartime social norms as well as critiques of the gender roles which were being inverted by women's involvement in the war effort. Bundle these themes up in a sly revisionist period drama with the attendant nostalgic styles of speech and fashion, and you may well have a Canuck Mad Men in miniature.
But where Mad Men, like most successful television efforts, marries strength of concept and technical precision with intelligent writing and solid performances, Bomb Girls can't get past its central points of interest into specific strengths. Both in thematic terms and in nuts-and-bolts dialogue terms, the writing is laughable, full of high-flown hagiography about "our boys" bravely fighting Hitler and saddled with clumsy and occasionally confusing slang (one business grandee made a comment about canaries in pews whose meaning and significance I missed entirely). The gender relations stuff is constantly sidelined into questions of blatant physical sexuality, steadfastly refusing to engage with any depth in the thornier negotiation of roles that occurs outside the bedroom (or, in one case in the premiere episode, a brick wall).
There's a firm awareness of the class divide, too, but it reeks of lazy liberal moralizing, as the spoiled rich girl (Jodi Balfour) identifies with and yearns to be as "authentic" as the working-class factory floor girls. It's enough to make one nauseous, as is her similar triangle with an earnest soldier and her upper-crust fiancé. Her desire to the "real" approximates the similar modern trust-fund yupster dilemma, but without an ounce of self-awareness.
But Bomb Girls' failure is not on the level of content but in the translation of that content, as mentioned. The dialogue is awkward and declamatory, straining to be zippy but falling short, and the acting can't make up the gap. There is some interest in the relationship between factory supervisor Lorna (Meg Tilly) and her bitter war-wounded husband (Peter Outerbridge), but it's shunted aside for the frantic travails of the young, all of whom are portrayed by actors of considerably lesser calibre than the careworn married couple. The resulting complete picture is painfully insufficient and undeniably second-rate. I want to believe that Canadian television can do better than Bomb Girls, if only marginally. But this time at least, it just doesn't come together.


text:
At Fly Over Media's fourth and penultimate Extant show, we'll bring you photography by members of Women Photograph. Leading up to the reception this Friday we had a chat with Daniella Zalcman, the founder of the initiative that seeks to elevate female voices in visual journalism.
Read the conversation below, and attend the opening reception of the show Aug. 18 at The Outlook Project Gallery at Turbine Flats, 2124 Y Street, Lincoln, Nebraska, from 5 – 9 p.m.
Andrew Dickinson, Fly Over Media: Hi Daniella – thanks for taking the time to chat with me. Can you tell me what Women Photograph is, and why you started it?
Daniella Zalcman, Women Photograph: Women Photograph is an initiative to elevate the voices of female, female-identifying, and non-binary visual journalists. I started it because women are inexcusably underrepresented in the photojournalism community, and that desperately needs to change.
WP: I was just tired of hearing photo editors tell me that they didn't hire more women because they didn't know where to find them. Women Photograph is a database of nearly 600 independent photojournalists based in 87 countries. We exist. The World Press Photo state of the industry report has shown pretty consistently for about 3 years now that roughly 15 percent of working news photographers are women. We've been gathering some data of our own, and have found from monitoring the lead image on the front pages of about 8 international newspapers that somewhere between 9-25% of those photos were taken by women. All of these statistics? They should be 50 percent.
WP: Until there's some semblance of gender equality (and I should say many other kinds of equality that we're sorely lacking) in the industry, we need to make more intentional efforts to level the playing field. I think creating funding opportunities for women photographers to pursue personal projects is hugely important — that's the kind of work that allows you to show editors what you care about and what you excel at, and (hopefully) drives similar commissions your way. And the applications were just phenomenal. It was so difficult to narrow it down to just 4 grantees.
WP: I think we're — finally — ready to have this conversation. There have been scores of incredible female photojournalists around for decades — many of them deservedly highly acclaimed — but they still had to deal with an unimaginable amount of sexism just to be able to do their jobs. It's time to address that head on.
FOM: Whether a photographer or not, a journalist or not, how can an interested person support WP and women in photography in general?
WP: I'd love for everyone to spend more time questioning who our primary storytellers are, and who's in charge of the narratives that we share with the public and — maybe most importantly — our children. Our textbooks and newspapers need to be written (and photographed) by an accurate cross-section of our society. That's the only way we make sure that we're telling a complete version of our own history.
See more of Women Photograph this Friday at the opening reception of Extant: Women Photograph, 2124 Y Street, Lincoln, Nebraska, 5 – 9 p.m..


text:
I've had the opportunity to meet and work with some incredibly talented women in comedy. One of those women is Alyssa Limperis.
She is the first of several interviews that I will be sharing spotlighting stories, experiences, and overall views of comedy.
FB: You're originally from Seekonk, MA but live in New York City now. When did you make the move?
AL: "I graduated from a liberal arts college, then immediately went on what felt like a 300-day family vacation that included a cruise. I left for New York City right afterwords.
FB: What did you study in school?
AL: "I studied psychology and Spanish, but I never had any intentions of being a psychologist.
I knew I wanted to be a performer. Before college, I very seriously considered moving to LA right away, but my parents were like, 'No. Not happening.' I think you grow a lot in those years. If I had gone to LA at 18, it would have been a disaster."
FB: You work for the famous improv company Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) in NYC. What's that like?
AL: "It's very cool. That being said, I'm not in a creative position. It's great because I'm working with very funny people, I'm around very funny people…but I'm selling corporate workshops."
FB: I would imagine you have a lot of exposure working at UCB.
AL: "Yes, a lot of exposure. Even though I'm not doing the creative piece, I'm still in the same room with people doing what I want to be doing."
FB: Do you perform improv?
AL: "It's weird because I started in college with improv and came to NY like, 'Yup. I'm going to do the UCB thing and I want to be an improviser.' But, the minute I did stand-up for the first time, I felt like, 'This is home. This is where I want to be.' I love it so much. Something about being able to edit and hone in and write relieves a lot of anxiety for me. With improv, you never know what the show is going to be. So, I still do improv, but my focus is 100% stand-up."
FB: It's interesting that stand-up relieves anxiety for you. So many people say, "Oh my god, I could never do that."
AL: "I'm a very anxious person. Preparing for a set, going onstage and performing is the only time I'm totally anxiety free. With improv, I can get off the stage and say, 'I didn't like what I did and I'll never do that again.' With stand-up, I'll say, 'That's ok. Now I know I hate that; I'll just fix it for next time.' You have a lot of control.
Stand-up has a feeling like you can keep getting better, you're editing and making it better for the future. Stand-up also makes every bad experience have a positive side. You have a shitty day? That's material."
FB: That brings me to this next question. Jerry Seinfeld was in the news recently stating that he doesn't play colleges because it's too much of a politically correct culture. Have you ever felt like you can't say certain things?
AL: "Oh gosh no. No, I don't feel that way at all. I don't feel censored, and I think people who do feel censored don't get past a certain point."
FB: I agree. I don't believe there are off limits topics. I think if it's a smart, funny, well-structured joke, I'm going to laugh. If it's someone just going up and making derogatory comments because they're an asshole, I won't laugh.
AL: "That's a big improv thing, too. You have to ground it in some reality. That's what a set up is. You want the set up to show you're human. It's like Louis C.K.'s 'Of course……but maybe' line. He's making it very clear that things are very wrong. But…"
FB: I think it's fair to say the majority of comics are men. Is it similar in NYC?
AL: "There's so many really funny girls in NYC. You know, my whole life, I've loved hanging out with boys. I loved messing with boys. That's kind of been my thing. So, I don't worry. I want to be the funniest person in the room. I don't want to be the funniest girl; I just want to be the funniest person in the room. But I also feel lucky that I've never really been objectified, or made to feel uncomfortable.
I think in the beginning, in NYC, I had to make it clear that I wasn't going to date comics until I felt I had established myself on my own first."
FB: NYC seems to be the next step in a comic's career, at least on the East Coast. Is it hard to get traction in NYC?
AL: "I remember getting to NYC and thinking, 'Holy shit. You don't mean anything anymore.' With stand-up, the key is to just keep doing it. As long as you go up, you'll get noticed. That's the beauty of NYC. I go up every night. If you want to get booked, you have to go up. Get up, be funny, make friends with people; you'll get booked."
FB: What do you draw on for your material?
AL: "Ohhhhh. Well, I'm currently going through a breakup, my dad is really sick, I'm working 2 jobs, I've moved 3 times this year, and I've had bed bugs. It's like the more disgusting my life is, the better. I don't have insurance, so this is my therapy."
FB: Who are you influences?
AL: "My dad is so hilarious. From a ground, family level, my dad got me on stage really young. We would write sketches and prank my mom. He wanted to get me into the Ms. America pageant and do stand-up as the talent. So, he got me out there.
I grew up watching The Three Stooges, Jim Carrey. Right now, I'm loving Bill Burr. I could fucking watch him all day. Obviously, Amy Schumer is doing amazing things for women and reminding us it doesn't maaaaattterrrrr…"
FB: Being a female comic (I really hate saying 'female comic'), it's relevant. She's done a great job in saying women can be hilarious. At the same time, she's not shitting on men, either. It's a good balance.
AL: "It's great because she hasn't just sat back saying, 'But women are funny!" She's plowing ahead and proving it.
FB: If you were going to give advice to someone wanting to get into comedy, what would it be?
AL: "I would say, 'Run, run as fast as you can! Go make a baby! Find yourself a husband.'
Honestly, what I'm starting to realize is it's important to have really good friends. You can't go out there alone. It's competitive, but that doesn't mean you can't make friends.
Not hedging is important, too. Just say, 'I'm doing this.' To admin that you're going all in. My first year, I was in a sort of serious job and doing comedy on the side. It doesn't work. I had to trust that I'm going to be good enough."


text:
Silo'd data from individual locations are aggregated and analyzed from throughout the retail enterprise into a single, flexible, easy to use platform.
This data is then processed into the first truly predictive retail reporting platform, isolating measurable trends in hundreds of performance indicators, resulting in proactive & actionable reporting.
Trends are monitored to ensure action was taken we, trying compliance to measurable results. It's a 'closed loop' solution that continually incorporates valuable feedback into the execution process, using the outcome of today's actions to guide tomorrow's.
Improve your gross margin by maximizing your sales and optimizing your inventory.
Mass Merchants | Grocery | Brands | Convenience Stores | Specialty | Chain Drug StoresView Details »
Manage labor, food costs and cash to serve up a better bottom line.
QSR | Fast Casual | Casual Dining | Fine Dining | Corporate DiningView Details »


text:
Collaboration Accelerator
University of Dayton students are working this summer to find creative solutions to real-world challenges posed by a consortium of organizations that includes the Air Force Research Lab, Emerson's Helix Innovation Center, the University of Dayton Research Institute, Ascend Innovations Inc., Krush Technologies and other community partners.
The Collaboration Accelerator brings together students studying political science, engineering, art education, entrepreneurship and other areas for a 12-week paid professional internship experience.
"We want to equip the students with the imaginative and creative skills necessary to excel in the global workforce," said Brian LaDuca, director of Institute of Applied Creativity for Transformation at ArtStreet, which leads the program, "This Collaboration Accelerator allows them to take creative and innovative theory and put it into professional practice. The students build confidence to rethink traditional models for project delivery solutions, and they gain a deeper connection with the city's people and places."
Brooke Diviak, a psychology student from New Carlisle, said the internship has exposed her to new opportunities, such as touring the Air Force Research Lab, and new ways of thinking about challenges as she works with students from other majors.
"For my career, I want to focus on how you can take research and what you learn in the classroom and use it to shape our world, so this program is the perfect pathway to do that," she said.
Along with community partners University Libraries and Busy Being, each consortium organization posed questions to the students, which the group combined into "collisions" to address the most pertinent issues and common themes across organizations. The collisions selected by the consortium of organizations centered around growth — "how do you grow with your customers?" — and essentials — "what is essential for a company to keep?"
"Growth and essentials are exciting simply because the companies that have hired us are very excited by their potential outcomes," said Eli Redman, a philosophy major. "These were the best options for where the companies currently are, as well as their goals for the future."
Students will present two immersive experiences to partners and community members on Friday, July 28. The concept of "essentials" evolved into "Concourse D," a project development studio located in the University's Roesch Library for students, faculty and campus affiliates to connect with each other on collaborative ventures. "Growth" will be presented at ArtStreet through "Plena," a holistic growth re-store that utilizes wireless power and sensor technology to gauge individual health needs and create a personalized, adaptable shopping experience. The event is open to the public. No registration is required.
LaDuca said the consortium model of seven companies and 10 challenges is new for the third year of the Collaboration Accelerator. The model is unlike any other accelerator internships in the nation and was inspired by the National Science Foundation's work with unmanned aerial systems, he said.
Also new this year is a fellowship cohort, which allows eight faculty and staff to build curriculum for the upcoming school year based on this summer's results. The transdisciplinary nature of the program matches the vision set forth by President Eric F. Spina, LaDuca said.
This also marks the third year for collaboration with the Air Force Research Lab and two years of continued collaboration with the University of Dayton Research Institute and Emerson.
Event Details:
Friday, July 28
1:00 - 3:00 p.m.: Collaboration Accelerator Experiences
"Plena" at ArtStreet and "Concourse D" at Roesch Library, 2nd floor
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.: Open Dialogue with Collaboration Accelerator students
Roesch Library, 2nd floor
Please visit go.udayton.edu/iact for directions and parking information.


text:
Why Field Service Management Software is necessary for Tank Cleaning?
We are No. 1 in India who provides Best Service Management Software for Tank Cleaning. Either It is PVC Tank or Cement Tank our Service Management Software is good for your Tank Cleaning Business. Service CRM provides easy creation of AMC Contract for Tank Cleaning.
Call Now - +91-9105730500 for the Online Demo of Service Management for Tank Cleaning Business.
For more information visit : https://www.servicecrm.co.in/industries/tank-cleaning
How to Choose the Best Service Management Software for Water Purifier Business?
It is essential to choose software that lets you to manage the inventory purchases Read more ›
Go Agile- Build a Mobile Field Service Management software!!
Many companies small & big increasingly adopt Service Management Software to manage Read more ›
How Small Business Men Can Think Big with the help of Service CRM Software?
Every successful business man today, was once a small business man when it started. Read more ›
Why we need Field Service Management Software !!
Are you into service delivery business? If yes, then you must know that Field Read more ›
Designed for your industry
Select a category below to learn about Wintac's industry-specific features:
Your Solutions are Here!
Whether you're an electrician, plumber, builder, HVAC technician, locksmith, landscaper, or handyperson, gets best solution with FSM Software.
Smartly track your Team and Jobs while running HVAC service software
Water Purifier
Grow your service revenue with the abilities of water purifier services
Electrical Repair
Give a better Electrical Repair services without paperwork and headaches
Powerful plumbing software to update your plumbers in real time
Pest Control
Amaze Pest control software to schedule & dispatch jobs quickly & easily
Appliance Repair
Running appliance repair software helps to organize your business
Car Washing
Route Jobs, Take deposits and follow-up with Car washing Services
Tank Cleaning
Easy to manage tank service scheduling, AMC Management, Service Due Reminders
Home Cleaning
Maintain work-life balance with Home Cleaning Service Software
IT Computer Repair
Relax without any worries with IT Computer Repair Services
Industrial Maintenance
Enhance Industrial Maintenance Services by quote & invoice building
Handy Man Services
Manage efficiently handy Man Services without the paperwork
Medical Equipment
Medical Equipment Services ensure better healthcare facilities
Facility Property Management
Facility & Property Management Service software you have the benefit to assist your clients


text:
April 2014 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. One of the major conflicts of the 1990s, it forced the international community to face and define the degree of their support for such large scale, massacres in places like Africa, the Baltic, and South America.
This month is particularly meaningful to people my age, the millennial generation, because it occurred when we were too young to follow current events, therefore making it one of the most recent international conflicts we studied in college.
It's human nature to translate events covered by the mass media into your personal timeline, so when I learned about President Juvenal Habyarimana's plane crash and the ensuing slaughter of the Tutsis by the Hutus I did the math. Months shy of my sixth birthday I was understandably not tuned into CNN, but was lucky enough to be raised in a family that chose to inform their children.
My parents explained apartheid, later they gave us "Kaffir Boy," and told stories of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie charging airplanes wielding only swords and riding on horseback. Imagine the bedtime stories!
In addition to introducing a young history major to international conflict, refugee migration, and UN relief agencies, the reason I chose to reflect on the anniversary of this genocide is proximity.
Civil wars pit neighbor against neighbor and throw a country into a fatal fever. I wish, with deep sincerity, if it were reversed, and I had been an almost six-year-old Rwandan child who witnessed genocide, I would have the courage and the bravery and the hope to face my attackers the way these survivors have.
Pieter Hugo's "Portraits of Reconciliation" is a beautiful tribute to the ways in which Rwandans have overcome the atrocities of 1994 and the grim truth that, for some, those days will never be forgotten.
The accompanying text by Susan Dominus explains that each portrait contains a Hutu attacker and their Tutsi victim.
It reads: "The people who agreed to be photographed are part of a continuing national effort toward reconciliation and worked closely with AMI (Association Modeste et Innocent), a nonprofit organization. In AMI's program, small groups of Hutus and Tutsis are counseled over many months, culminating in the perpetrator's formal request for forgiveness. If forgiveness is granted by the survivor, the perpetrator and his family and friends typically bring a basket of offerings, usually food and sorghum or banana beer. The accord is sealed with song and dance."
The strength these survivors showed, standing side-by-side with those who were once their enemy, is remarkable. Forgiveness is something that comes differently to everyone, but as Cesarie Mukabutera, one of the survivors said, "It took time, but in the end we realized that we are all Rwandans."
It is paramount not to be paralyzed by fear. We call those whom we fear "terrorists" because this is their goal, to terrorize our past, present, and future. Knowledge of current events; even those that do not involve our race, creed, or religion; and coming face to face with those who have hurt us and whom we fear most is how we overcome.


text:
Truck Rentals at Cedartree Management Company
Moving Truck Features
Are you ready to move into one of our clean, secure storage units, but not sure how to get everything there? You can save money on moving costs when you rent a moving truck through your storage facility. Whether you want to rent a moving truck for a DIY move, or you need a moving company referral, we can help.
Cedartree Management Company storage facilities are authorized U-Haul moving truck partners and offer truck rentals at select locations. Our friendly managers have years of storage experience at the locations they serve and can provide you with great customer service and help with your moving truck rental.
Cedartree Management Company storage facility partnerships with U-Haul also provides our customers with what many consider to be the most reliable moving trucks in the industry.
- 24/7 roadside assistance
- Antilock brakes
- Automatic transmission
- Interior lights
- Power steering
- Rear roll up doors
- Small and large trucks for rent
- Variety of sizes up to 26 feet
- Vehicle towing equipment rental
- Low decks for easy loading and unloading
Moving is stressful, but there is a way to reduce the demands on your time when you rent a moving truck your local storage facility managed by Cedartree Management Company. We are dedicated to helping families and businesses just like you find reliable, clean, and economical storage solution in the Northwest.
Moving Truck Tips
Moving with Pets
Did you know that cargo areas of moving trucks are not designed to transport pets? The reason why is because there is not enough ventilation, light, or airflow. However, your favorite furry friend can ride shotgun with you in the cab. Some moving trucks are designed with bench seating that will accommodate a crate or kennel for cats and smaller dogs. Look for a seatbelt adapter at your local pet store or favorite online retailer if you have a large-breed dog.
Types of Moving Equipment
Dollies and Hand Trucks: Whether you are at a self-storage facility or loading a moving truck, dollies allow you to move heavy items easier and safer. Refrigerators, washing machines, and stoves will suddenly become much more manageable when you use a dolly. When moving boxes, having a hand truck or dolly will save you time. A set of wheels will allow you to stack and move several boxes at once—it goes a long way to help lighten the load.
Packing Supplies: Quality moving boxes will make your job easier and lessen the chances that items will get damaged or broken during a move. You can find a full range of moving supplies including boxes, bubble wrap, tape, and locks for sale at all Northwest storage facilities managed by Cedartree Management Company.


text:
Oct 24, 2017
In this month's episode, recorded October 2017, we dig into some of the big Microsoft Ignite announcements, including in-depth coverage of SQL Server 2017 investments with a special guest, Chris Mitchell. In addition, we discuss some of the key business opportunities for partners around the SQL business. Coverage also includes Office 2019, Windows Fall Creators Update, Surface Book 2 and CSP Enhancements for Annual Billing as well as Free Trials.


text:
Four Modules: The program includes 10 courses divided into four modules: frameworks, processes, implementation and the summative project. The courses in each module leverage the previous module to develop a deep understanding of the ways that strategic design operationalized in a business context delivers a clear advantage in problem framing and problem solving.
Strategic Design MBA Program Uses Design Thinking to Foster Innovation
Video: 4 Ways to Make the Most Out of Brainstorming Sessions


text:
Reach Out
Reach Out Summer School 2016
With the school holidays very quickly creeping up on us, sometimes it's difficult to know what to do with your children to fill the gaps of the big summer break. Here at Making Space, as well as our Summer School, we run a "Reach Out" Summer School specifically offering children with additional needs the opportunity […]
Posted in: Get Involved, Kate, Making Space, Summer School, What's On,
Sticky Post
Community Project: Reach Out
Reach Out is a successful ongoing collaboration with Face it Resources, a local autism support network. The Reach Out programme is an exciting and rewarding series of creative workshops and events, specifically designed for children and young people with additional needs (including autism, ADHD and asperger's etc) and a HCC Gateway Card. As with all […]
Posted in: Ami, Community Projects,
Tags: Inspiring You, Reach Out, Short Breaks,


text:
Moving to Los Angeles is exciting, thanks to the city's multitude of distinctions. The city is the center of the country's film and television industry, and has well over 100 museums. LA recently surpassed New York for having the biggest workforce in the fashion industry, which is impressive since the city has only been around since 1925. Los Angeles County was also the first to surpass more than 10 million residents. Here is your guide to moving to the "City of Angels."
• "City of Angels" – A translation of Los Angeles in Spanish means "The Angels."
• "City of Flowers" – This city has warm and sunny weather nearly year-round, which helps sustain the flowers.
• "L.A." – The shortened version of the city's name.
Los Angeles is home to approximately 10,137,915 residents, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The entire state of California has a population of almost 40 million, which means that Los Angeles accounts for over 20 percent of the state's population.
Some popular spots in the city include:
• OUE Skyspace LA
• Getty Center, Art Museum
• Universal Studios Hollywood
• Walt Disney Concert Hall
• Runyon Canyon
• Santa Monica Pier
• Dodger Stadium
• Rodeo Drive
L.A. has several well-known accredited colleges and universities. Here are a few to consider:
• University of Southern California
• Mount St. Mary's College
• California State University Los Angeles
• California State University Northridge
• Santa Monica College
• American Jewish University
• California Institute of the Arts
L.A. is well known for attracting some of the biggest stars in sports entertainment, from Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers to Clayton Kershaw on the Los Angeles Dodgers. It's also the only place that houses two basketball teams under the same roof (Lakers and Clippers).
• Los Angeles Lakers (Basketball)
• Los Angeles Clippers (Basketball)
• Los Angeles Dodgers (Baseball)
• Los Angeles Kings (Hockey)
• Los Angeles Galaxy (Soccer)
• Los Angeles Chargers (Football)
• Los Angeles Rams (Football)
Los Angeles offers a wide selection of places to live. The area has 16 regions you can choose from, including:
• Atwater Village
• Burbank
• Eagle Rock
• Echo Park
• Beverly Hills
• Highland Park
• Encino
• Hollywood
• Los Feliz
When it comes to food, L.A. is known for staying ahead of the food scene. It also has established eateries, such as Bay Cities Deli Italian Deli & Bakery, which has been open for over 80 years. If you like aged beef burgers or smoked salmon pizza, L.A. has it all for you and more. Check out some of the city's popular restaurants:
• Spago
• Apple Pan
• Father's Office
• Dan Tana's
• Guerrilla Tacos
• Petit Trois
• Luv2eat Thai Bistro
• Coni's Seafood
• Sapp Coffee Shop
Here's some lists from popular review websites of the most highly-rated restaurants:
• Yelp
• TripAdvisor
• Zagats
Los Angeles is known for one of the most famous comedy clubs, The Laugh Factory, which featured famous comedians, including Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld and Richard Pryor. As far as nightlife goes, L.A. is home to some of the hippest clubs and bars in the country. The live music scene is also second to none, and there's always a chance you'll be rubbing elbows with celebrities throughout the city when you venture out to have some fun.
If you are looking to for fun shopping options, head to the Fashion District. L.A.'s Fashion District has many small, privately owned shops with well-known brands for you to choose from. Here's a list of some of the city's hottest shopping spots.
Families can choose from private schools, charter schools and public schools in Los Angeles. You can find your local public school based on your address using the Los Angeles Unified School District school directory tool.
Not so far from Los Angeles, you can travel to major city hubs such as San Diego and Anaheim. You can also take several fun and interesting road trips within 500 miles from L.A. as well.
Esri. Discover stats on Los Angeles based on your ZIP code.
DMV/Licenses. Schedule an appointment with the DMV Office of Los Angeles to get your California driver's license or state ID.
Voting Locations. Find your poParagraphlling place by using the Los Angeles County polling place and sample ballot lookup tool.
Emergency Shelters. In the event of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, wildfire or mudslide, Los Angeles residents can utilize the NotifyLA mass notification system to stay current on the latest emergency shelters designated by the City of Los Angeles' Emergency Management Department.
Evacuation Maps for Natural Disasters. Los Angeles has evacuation maps based on the different areas of the city. Use the County of Los Angeles' Department of Public Works' Disaster Route Maps for your area to determine the best route to take in case of a natural disaster.
Utilities Companies. Los Angeles residents receive water and power services from The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the Southern California Gas Company, and Southern California Edison.
Trash and Recycling Services. The City of Los Angeles' Bureau of Sanitation offers weekly trash pickup for yard trimming, household garbage and recyclables; bulk item pick-up; and household appliance pickup services. You can also leverage the city's drop-off services and locations to discard used tires, hazardous household waste and electronic waste.
Cable and Internet Providers
• Charter Communications
• Charter Spectrum
• Frontier Communications
• Verizon
Median home prices. The median home price in Los Angeles is $465,000.
Average Income. The median household income in Los Angeles is $57,952.
Largest employers. Some of Los Angeles' largest employers include the County of Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles, the University of California, Los Angeles and Kaiser Permanente.
Metropolitan Map. Know where you're going in Los Angeles by using this L.A. area map.
National Parks. While Los Angeles does not house a national park within its city limits, the city is close to national recreation areas, including the Santa Monica Mountains.
Clubs. Take part in one of the many community clubs in Los Angeles, including the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Clubs and the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles.
If you're planning on moving to Los Angeles, learn more about the full suite of moving services that Suddath® offers and receive a free moving quote. You can also read reviews from our customers that we helped move in Los Angeles.
Get a free moving quote