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How to Stay Christian in College
- J. Budziszewski Author
- 2009 20 Aug
Eeditor's Note: The following is an excerpt from How to Stay Christian in College by J. Budziszewski (NavPress).
Chapter One
Why Is This Book Necessary?
One day a student approached me after class. She seemed to be close to tears. "In lecture today, you mentioned that you're a Christian," she said. "I've never heard that from any other professor, and every day I spend at this university, I feel my faith is under attack."
I knew just how she felt. Modern institutions of higher learning have changed dramatically in the last half-century, and from the moment students set foot on the contemporary campus, their Christian convictions and discipline are assaulted. "Faith is just a crutch," they hear from friends and teachers. "The Bible is just mythology." "Christianity is judgmental and intolerant." "Morality is different everywhere." "Everyone must find his own truth." "I can be good without God." "Jesus was just a man who died." No wonder so many lose their faith! Soon after my own entrance into college I lost my faith myself, and I didn't find my way back to Jesus Christ until a dozen years later. This experience, along with more than twenty years of teaching, has given me a heart for the struggles of all Christian students on the modern campus. But here's the good news: Higher education doesn't have to be a wasteland. With a little help, Christian students can find college a means of God's blessing instead of a spiritual snare.
Thousands do. In fact, during their college years, thousands of students rediscover Christ or find Him for the first time.
That's my wish for you.
My Own Story
Twenty-four years ago, I stood before the government department at the University of Texas to give my "here's-why-you-should-hire-me" lecture. Fresh out of grad school, I wanted to teach about ethics and politics, so I was showing the faculty my stuff. What did I tell them? First, that we human beings just make up our own definitions of what's good and what's evil; second, that we aren't responsible for what we do anyway. For that, I was hired to teach.
I hadn't always believed these things. At the age of ten I had committed my life to Jesus Christ and was baptized. As a teenager I had not been a mature believer, but I had certainly been an enthusiastic one. Why had I fallen away from faith? For many reasons. One was that I had been caught up in the radical politics popular among many students in the late sixties and early seventies. I had my own ideas about redeeming the world, and my politics became a kind of substitute religion. During my student years I had also committed certain sins that I didn't want to repent. Because the presence of God made me more and more uncomfortable, I began looking for reasons to believe He didn't exist. Then again, once I lost hold of God, things started going wrong in my life, and disbelieving in Him seemed a good way to get back at Him. Now of course if God didn't exist, then I couldn't get back at Him, so this may seem a strange sort of disbelief. But most disbelief is like that.
Another reason I lost my faith was that I'd heard all through school that human beings had created God in their image and that even the most basic ideas about good and evil are arbitrary. During graduate school I had fallen under the spell of the nineteenth-century German writer Friedrich Nietzsche, the originator of the slogan "God is dead." If anything, I was more Nietzschean than Nietzsche. Whereas he thought that given the meaninglessness of things, nothing was left but to laugh or be silent, I recognized that not even laughter or silence was left. One had no reason to do or not do anything at all. This is a terrible thing to believe, but like Nietzsche, I imagined myself one of the few who could believe such things—who could walk the rocky heights where the air is thin and cold.
All of this gives you a clue to the main reason I lost faith in God: sheer, mulish pride. I didn't want God to be God; I wanted J. Budziszewski to be God. I see that now. But I didn't see that then.
I now believe that without God, everything goes wrong. This is true even of the good things He's given us, such as our minds. One of the good things I've been given is a stronger than average mind. I don't make the observation to boast; human beings are given diverse gifts to serve Him in diverse ways. The problem is that a strong mind refusing the call to serve God has its own way of going wrong. When some people flee from God, they might rob and kill. When others flee from God, they may do a lot of drugs and have a lot of sex. When I fled from God I didn't do any of those things; my way of fleeing was to get stupid. Though it always comes as a surprise to intellectuals, there are some forms of stupidity that you must be highly intelligent and educated to commit. God keeps them in His arsenal to pull down mulish pride, and I discovered them all.
It was agony. You can't imagine what a person has to do to himself—well, if you're like I was, perhaps you can—to go on believing the sort of nonsense I believed to shut out belief in the gospel. Paul said that the knowledge of God's existence is plain from what He has made (see Romans 1:19-20) and that the knowledge of His laws is "written on [our] hearts, [our] consciences also bearing witness" (Romans 2:15). That means that so long as we have minds, we can't not know these things. Well, I was unusually determined not to know them; therefore I had to destroy my mind. For example, I loved my wife and children, but I was determined to regard this love as merely a subjective preference with no real and objective value. Visualize a man opening up the access panels of his mind and pulling out all the components that have God's image stamped on them. The problem is that they all have God's image stamped on them, so the man can never stop. No matter how much he pulls out, there's still more to pull. I was that man.
How then did God bring me back? I came, over time, to feel a greater and greater horror about myself—an overpowering sense that my condition was terribly wrong. Finally it occurred to me to wonder why I should feel horror if the difference between the wonderful and the horrible was just something we humans make up. I had to admit that there was a difference between the wonderful and the horrible after all, and that meant that there had to exist a wonderful, of which the horrible was the absence. So my walls of self-deception collapsed all at once.
That was when I became aware again of the Savior I had deserted during college. Astonishingly, though I had abandoned Him, He had never abandoned me. I now believe He drew me back to Himself just in time. There is a point of no return, and I was almost there. I had been pulling out one component after another, and I had nearly gotten to the motherboard.
The next few years after my conversion were like being in a dark attic—one I had been in for a long time but in which shutter after shutter was being thrown back so that great shafts of light began to stream in and illuminate the dusty corners. I recovered whole memories, whole feelings, whole ways of understanding that I had blocked out. As I look back, I am in awe that God has permitted me to make any contribution to His kingdom at all. But He promises that if only the rebel turns to Jesus Christ in repentant faith--giving up claims of self-ownership and allowing this Jesus, this Christ, the run of the house--He will redeem everything there is in it. And He did.
Many of my students tell me they struggle with the same dark influences that I once felt in college. I hope that by writing this book I may encourage you to seek the light—better yet, to avoid the darkness altogether.
Who This Book Is For
I've written this book for three groups of people. The first group is Christian students who plan to go to college. The second is Christian students who are there already. My goal is to prepare, equip, and encourage you to meet the spiritual challenges of college life. Few new college students are ready for them.
The third group is the parents of students in the other two groups. My goal is to help them understand what their children are going through in college so they can offer more effective spiritual support. Maybe they never went to college. Maybe they went but can't remember what it was like. Maybe they remember, but they've heard that college today is different than it was when they were there.
This chapter gives a quick overview of what to expect in college. We'll go into some of these matters more closely later on.
All Alone
College means leaving many people behind and going into a world of strangers. Here's what two college students say about the experience:
When I entered college I did not know what to expect. I was alone, I discovered, more alone than I thought [I would be]. At first my roommate and I got along, but that lasted about two weeks. Then I began to get more and more frustrated. I had left a boyfriend in California, and that complicated things.
My first two years at college were probably some of the most stressful of my life, and I thought high school was stressful! But I also know that I have done the most growing emotionally, physically (dorm food = fattening), mentally, and most important spiritually, through the trials, the missing people, and the loneliness.
If you know some of the people at your college already, you might think it won't be that way. For example, maybe some of your high school friends graduated a year ahead of you and went to the same college you're planning to attend. They were glad to hang around with you when they came home for summer break, so you're thinking they'll be glad to hang around with you when you show up on campus.
Things might work out that way, but they might not. Chances are your old friends will seem different on campus than they do in your hometown. For one thing, they'll probably be busier. For another, during their year at college they will have formed new interests that you don't share and joined new social circles to which you're a stranger. They may be less interested in spending time with you than they were at home. Or they may be just as interested but act differently than they did at home. You weren't expecting their new ways because during summer break they fell back into their old ones. Changes like these may make it hard to get your old footing back with them. You know them—sure you know them!—but somehow they're strangers too.
Another reason you might think "aloneness" won't be an issue is that some of your friends are going to college with you: They've graduated from high school at the same time and chosen the same college. But you may be surprised how this works out too. High school is a smaller world than college. At college there are more people, more groups, and more activities. There are also more things to learn and more opportunities to make mistakes. Sometimes old friends grow closer at college, but sometimes they grow apart. There's no way to predict what will happen in advance.
So one way or another, to one degree or another, aloneness will be an issue for you at college. Not everyone reacts to aloneness in the same way. For example, some feel lonely, while others don't (or say they don't). Whether lonely or not, everyone is affected somehow by aloneness because we were designed to be with others. God said it wasn't good for Adam to be alone, and it isn't good for us either.
The important thing is to seek and build new interests and attachments in a careful, discerning way. You don't need to panic. College is full of social opportunities, and most students are more ready to form friendships than at any other time in their lives. This book devotes a whole chapter, and parts of several others, to campus social life.
Suddenly Adult
If you were a typical teenager, you probably grumbled for years about the rules and limits your parents made you obey. Well, no one makes you obey them in college. Once upon a time, colleges and universities regarded themselves as standing in loco parentis, "in the place of the parents." Except at a few Christian colleges, that notion hasn't been taken seriously for years. Unless you cheat, commit a crime, or disrupt the campus, your school is unlikely to know—or even care—how you live. No one will tell you not to stay up so late. No one will wake you in the morning if you oversleep. No one will tell you when to come home from a date. No one will make you go to church. No one will remind you to do your homework, wash your underwear, or stay away from sex and drugs. In these ways, you are forced to take responsibility for your own behavior.
Being thrust all at once into the responsibilities of adulthood can come as a shock. Some of my students visit me to seek advice about life after college graduation. Many have made poor grades right up until their senior year. I ask them why. "When I got to the university I went wild," says one. "For my first three years here I just partied," says another. "Do you think that will hurt my chances of getting into law school?" You can guess how I have to answer.
People invent all sorts of ways to adapt to the sudden pressure of adult responsibility. Some ways help; others don't. When I started college, one of the guys in the dorm told me that he'd found the perfect way to motivate himself to study. He kept an enormous jug of a cheap fruit-flavored wine on his desk, and for each page of homework he read, he rewarded himself with a swallow. As you might guess, he was always a little drunk. He got his reading done, but whether he remembered what he'd read was another question. I don't remember seeing him take notes either. Maybe he couldn't hold the pencil!
College sends students mixed messages. Although in some ways it treats them as grown-ups, in other ways it treats them as babies. You don't have to prepare your own meals, because you can eat in the cafeteria. You don't have to find your own doctor, because you can go to the student health clinic. You don't have to come up with your own entertainment, because music, movies, and other amusements are provided on most campuses. At some colleges, the dorms even provide clean sheets (though you still have to put them on the bed yourself). All sorts of things are done for you at college that you're perfectly capable of doing for yourself. The arrangement has some advantages, but it hardly encourages you to remember that you're grown-up.
Of course you really are grown-up in one sense (you have full adult responsibilities) even though you really aren't grown-up in another (you haven't finished developing). What kind of person are you going to become? I'm not talking about the courses you want to take or the kind of job you want to get someday; I'm talking about the qualities you want to have. Do you desire to be wise, fair, and honest—or foolish, unfair, and crooked? Kind, loyal, and reliable—or mean, backstabbing, and unreliable? Brave, faithful, and pure—or cowardly, weak, and stained? Maybe you've thought about the kind of person you want to become but not about how to become that person. Every act, every decision, every thought will move you either a little closer to being that kind of person—or push you a little further away.
What are the small temptations in your life? To become reliable in the big things, you have to practice reliability in the small ones. To become pure in the big things, you have to practice purity in the small ones. If you haven't started practicing yet, now is the time. Pray for strength and begin.
On Another Planet
Going to college can be like moving to Mars. The first change you'll notice will be in your physical surroundings. If you're used to seeing cornfields stretching all the way to the horizon and your college is in the city where you can't see the horizon at all, the landscape may come as a shock. If you're used to getting everywhere by subway and bus and your college is in a spread-out place where there's no public transportation and you have to drive, the change may be hard to get used to—especially if you don't have a car!
Compared to the cultural difference, though, the difference in your physical surroundings will seem tiny. People at college may talk differently, socialize differently, and even eat differently. One reason for cultural differences, of course, is change in region, and the farther from home you go to school, the greater such differences are likely to be. They may be hard to take. Southerners, unused to the hurry and crowding of northeastern cities, tend to consider northeasterners rude and unfriendly. Northeasterners, unused to the relaxed speech and elaborate courtesy of the South, sometimes think southerners are slow and stupid. It isn't always easy for such different groups to understand each other.
An even bigger reason college may seem like Mars is the culture of the campus itself. Each school tends to develop a personality of its own. Some have good personalities; others don't. The personality of the school one friend attended for his first two years was neurotically intense and competitive. He'll never forget one of the talks given during Freshman Orientation. The speaker, a dean, dwelled upon the large number of freshmen at the school who committed suicide or received psychological counseling. He wasn't warning them—he was bragging, because he thought suicidal tendencies were a proof of intellectual brilliance! By contrast, the college another friend attended turned out to be a "party school." In her dorm, the floors used to organize Progressive Drinking Nights. Students who participated went from room to room getting drunker and drunker. A number of women in the dorm announced that on certain evenings, they would have sex with any men who showed up at their doors. So many men showed up that they had to form lines. By the way, don't assume that your college will have a Christian personality just because it's linked with a Christian denomination, says Christian things in its mission statement, or has the word "Christian" in its name. There's more Christianity at some nonChristian schools than at some so-called Christian schools.
A final reason for feeling that you've landed on another planet is that colleges and universities are magnets for extreme beliefs, ideologies, and cults. At one school recently, campus feminists protested sex discrimination by marching into town topless. (Take that, you sexists!) At another, homosexuals sponsored an outdoor gay "kiss-in" to win acceptance for their cause. I know of an art professor who lists on her résumé that she tied herself to another artist with a rope for a year. (She says they never touched.) Another professor, this one in the social sciences, offers a course every year on creating your own reality. (He says it's very practical.) I'm not making this stuff up.
The sheer weirdness of the new environment puts some students into what sociologists call "culture shock"—taking the weirdness too hard and becoming deeply homesick and depressed. At the other extreme, some students adapt by "going native"—losing their sense of who they are and plunging into the ways of the people around them.
Four simple tips will help you keep your feet on the ground:
1. Research the school's personality ahead of time to make sure you're choosing a good one.
2. Remember that it's normal to feel somewhat odd and homesick in any new place and that such feelings normally pass.
3. Remember that a little worldly homesickness can be spiritually good for you. It's a reminder that Christians are always strangers in this world, for we are citizens of heaven.
4. Keep up your spiritual disciplines. What I mean is daily prayer, frequent Bible study and worship, evangelism, service to others, and constantly reminding yourself of the presence of God. If you stay focused on Christ, He'll make even the desert bloom.
Under Pressure
Think back to the student I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter who told me that every day she spent at the university she felt that her faith was under attack.
The early Christians risked death and torture for their faith. Some were crucified, others beheaded. Still others were roasted, shot with arrows, or thrown to wild beasts. A Roman emperor, Caligula, burned them to light up his garden parties. In various countries, Christians still suffer torture for Christ. In fact, according to Richard John Neuhaus, "more Christians have been martyred in this century than in all previous centuries put together. Around the world, some 300,000 are put to death annually for their faith."1 Thousands are also sold into slavery or sent to "reeducation" camps. Yet the cause of Christ continues to spread.
Was my student under that kind of attack? No. She was merely in an atmosphere that made Christian faith look ridiculous. Was that all? Yes. And is that kind of thing enough to explain why the modern university has reverted to paganism? Apparently so!
How can this be?
The answer isn't hard to understand. Violent persecution focuses the mind on the fact that the kingdom of this world is an enemy to the kingdom of God. When there hasn't been any persecution for a long time—as in our part of the world—many Christians start expecting the world to be a friend. They slip into seeking the world's approval instead of God's. When the world denies its approval—when the teacher smirks or some of the other students roll their eyes—they go hollow inside.
How can you stand firm? I'm sure you aren't surprised when I tell you again to keep up the Christian disciplines. Spend time with God in prayer, study His Word, tell others about Him, and show mercy to those in need. But it's hard to do that all by yourself, isn't it? I have good news for you. God has not left you all by yourself. He provided the church. You need to seek out your partners in the faith and have frequent fellowship with them. Pray and study and show mercy, yes, but don't do it just by yourself; do it with your brothers and sisters in Christ. You see, God made us social beings; that's why we respond so readily to peer pressure. Peer pressure is good if it's the right kind of pressure from the right kind of peers. Your true peer group is the fellowship of the saints, the household of God.
This is a great secret. I don't mean that God hides it; I mean not many Christian students know it. They try to live their faith alone and find themselves losing heart. No wonder! That's not the way God planned it.
Everyone has had conversations he wishes he could have over again. I now realize that the student who spoke to me about being under attack hadn't yet discovered the secret I've just told you. I wish I could speak with her again so I could tell her about it. There's no such thing as a solitary Christian. If you go into the world alone, you'll be swallowed.
How This Book Can Help
You can use this book in three ways. First, you can read it straight through. If you haven't reached college yet, don't worry if not everything you read "clicks" right away, because some parts will make better sense after you get to college and see for yourself what I'm talking about.
Second, you can take this book along to college and use it as a handbook. As you run into the kinds of problems and situations I write about, you can turn to the chapters that cover them.
Third, you can share the book with friends. Didn't I just say that there's no such thing as a solitary Christian? You need them, but they need you too.
God urges us in Scripture to renew our minds, to see all things as He sees them, which means to see them truly (see Romans 12:2). To help you to see them truly, the next three chapters are about competing "world views."
How to Stay Christian in College
Copyright J. Budziszewski, Published by NavPress


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As he drove around Valencia's soccer stadium Monday, CF Valencia forward Éver Banega spotted flames when he looked in the rearview mirror of his Ferrari 360. Banega escaped the conflagration, but the car, worth more than $100,000, was completely destroyed.
Ferraris are by now well known for catching fire, but Valencia's fire department is investigating the cause of this particular blaze. It is believed to have been caused by an electrical problem.
The Italian carmaker, which had to recall more than 1,200 cars in 2010 due to spontaneous combustion problems, found that a faulty adhesive in the rear wheel wells had been catching fire due to extreme engine heat.
For his part, Benega has had a bad year vis-à-vis cars, having had his foot run over by his Audi several months ago. Luckily, he wasn't injured in this latest vehicular mishap. (Hat tip to Jesus Diaz!)
Photo credit: El Mundo

subset: commoncrawl


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If Wikipedia were a dress, would you wear it? How about Google? I don't actually wear dresses, for I am not a lady. But I would wear the heck out of these garments from Victor Farentina.
Each one is a design sketch that takes the sensibilities and colour schemes of popular sites like Yahoo, Twitter and Google and turn them into very nice-looking dresses.
Official lady Kate Cox says that she would probably only wear the YouTube one. I have to agree, the YouTube one is pretty great.
This should be a challenge on Project Runway! "Make these websites into dresses. You have 24 hours."
Some hapless contestent would get assigned Kotaku, and they'd make a super gaudy pink and gold dress and come with a power glove as an accessory. It would rule, and Heidi would say all kinds of nice things about it. And the designer would then make it all the way to the finals before getting auf'd.
(Wait, is Project Runway still on?)
Victor Faretina [Deviant Art via Geekology]


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The Emotional Life of Your Brain as summarized in the words of his author, Dr. Richard J. Davidson:
"This is my first book written for the general public (It was written with the wonderful help of Sharon Begley, an award-winning science journalist and author.) It was not without some trepidation that I undertook this project, but I'm really excited about its impending release. I also hope it will illuminate aspects of our experience that often remain unexamined." The whole article is available on Dr. Richard J. Davidson's blog: http://richardjdavidson.com/events/greetings-welcome-to-blog-2/
Richard J. Davidson will also participate to the United Nations High-Level Meeting "Happiness and Wellbeing: Defining A New Economic Paradigm". (http://richardjdavidson.com/Events/united-nations-high-level-meeting-%E2%80%9Chappiness-and-wellbeing-defining-a-new-economic-paradigm%E2%80%9D-4/)
Richard J. Davidson is the William James and Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, Director of the Waisman Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior and the Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience, and Founder and Chair of the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds, at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison. More information about him are available on: http://richardjdavidson.com/biography/


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New York's Most Iconic Photograph Explained
The new documentary "Men at Lunch" explores the iconic photograph of eleven construction workers having lunch while sitting atop a girder on what would become 30 Rockefeller Center. Director Seán Ó Cualáín joins the News Hub to discuss his film. Photo: "Men at Lunch"/First Run Features.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
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Italian coffee company illy looks to expand with luxury
Posted by TheShot on 25 Dec 2006 | Tagged as: Café Society, Consumer Trends, Foreign Brew, Quality Issues, Starbucks
Today's International Herald Tribune published an article on Illy's growth strategy of luxury cafés: Italian coffee company illy looks to expand with luxury – Business – International Herald Tribune. (Ignore the article's initial, erroneous paragraph for a moment: Francesco Illy clearly did not "invent the espresso.") Illy's café chain is called Espressamente. We reviewed a Lisbon Espressamente here last month.
With Starbucks planning to soon infiltrate Italy, Illy executives describe how they plan for growth by appealing to a more distinguishing espresso clientele. More power to them. Given my limited experiences at the Lisbon Espressamente, it makes Starbucks seem a bit like slumming it (and that's not just the coffee quality).
While Illy won't ever reach the ubiquity of Starbucks (nor should they ever try, IMO), Illy also runs circles around Starbucks in the area of quality controls. Illy has scientifically perfected the art of consistency, whereas the Starbucks in just S.F. vary wildly in espresso ratings from 2.6 to 6.2. Illy's strategy may not poise them for world domination. But they seem positioned for a high-quality niche that could be very successful for them.
Illy's greatest hurdle will likely be replicating the quality level of their coffee — or at least its freshness — in the Americas. Despite all their quality controls, weeks-old coffee shipped from Trieste is still weeks-old coffee.
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One Response to "Italian coffee company illy looks to expand with luxury"
[…] According to today's Washington Post, Illy launched their first U.S. café last week: A Coffee Chain's Stand-Up Effort on M St. – washingtonpost.com. Rather than taking the form of the Espressamente chain across Europe, Illy opted instead for a stand-up-service-only café inside a Washington, D.C. Marriott. Their quick-witted name for the place?: Caffe. […]


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The Anatomy of the French Income Tax Return. Part ONE
I know, I know, thinking about taxes gives you heartburn. In fact, you're probably having palpitations just thinking about filing them. In a foreign country. In another language. Still, it must be done, and now that you're here and you've delved into the fun stuff in Paris, it's time to learn how to pay your taxes.
Please note: This French Income Tax guide is published for informational purposes only. Contact a consultant or visit your nearest agency in your arrondissement for detailed help with filing your taxes.
Brief history
It is said in Article 13 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of August 26th, 1789: "For the maintenance of the public force, and for administrative expenses, a general tax is indispensable," and "it must be equally distributed among all citizens, in proportion to their ability to pay." Article 14 of that same Declaration states that "All citizens have the right to ascertain, by themselves or through their representatives, the need for a public tax, to consent to it freely, to watch over its use, and to determine its proportion, basis, collection and duration."
Until 1789, taxes were collected by the state, the church and nobility in France. An example of some of the old taxes: aides (for beverages), banalités (for the use of mills, ovens and wine presses), casuel and dîme (collected by the church), cens (for the use of lord's land), champart (an amount of the crops of grains), gabelle (for the consumption of salt), minage (for the sales of grains at fairs and markets). After the French revolution, wealth and income were taxed. There were debates for the creation of an income tax in the 1800s which was finally instituted in the 1900s. The current tax system was refined during the twentieth century. All taxes created under the French Revolution were abolished, and now the goal of taxation is having efficient public services and a fair distribution of wealth and income.
Types of taxes in France
● income tax
● local taxes (property tax, occupant tax)
● value-added tax
● registration tax including inheritance and donations
● wealth tax
We will focus on the French income tax, which is imposed on the total income of an individual during a given year.
These categories of income are subject to tax:
● profits from business
● professional earnings
● agricultural revenue
● real property income
● wages, salaries, pensions and annuities
● transferable securities income
● capital gains
You are subject to French income tax if you live in France and are a resident of the country. You are considered a resident if:
● your home or main abode is in France
● you work in France
● your economic (financial) interest lies in France (investments, etc)
● you have French assets, whether or not you live in France
What to declare?
Whether or not you're French, if you're a resident in any shape or form, you must declare all income, whether or not it's from France. That includes items like pension lump sums, tax exempt investments, dividends from foreign shares, premium bonds and offshore bank interest.
Tax forms
There are many, but the most frequently used are:
- Form 2042: this is the main tax form, which should include all income, everywhere.
- Form 2042 C (complementary): this is an additional form, needed in certain cases, especially if you earn income from a furnished rental (amount of tax charged differs between furnished and unfurnished), for example or paid taxes in another country that need to be offset against French tax.
- Form 2047: If you receive income from abroad as a resident in France, you must fill out this form as well.
- Form 3916: use to declare foreign bank accounts, even though you've already done so on From 2042.
You can find these forms here (in French).
How does the French tax system work?
Regarding the household, tax is assessed on every member of said household, whether married or in a civil partnership, with children, and/or other dependents. If any of these children/dependents work and they live with you, that's part of your household income as well.
There are five tax rates and bands on net taxable income.
Income Share Tax Rate
Up to €9,700 0%
Between €9,701 - €26,791 14%
Between €26,792 - €71,826 30%
Between €71,827 - €152,108 41%
Above €151,108 45%
The rates are applied on a 'sliced' basis so that each household 'part' of the income is charged on a progressive basis. So, if a couple have net income of €30,000 in the year, there are two 'parts' of €15,000, with each part taxed using the scale rates.
Example: A household with two adults on a joint net taxable income of €40,000. Their income is first sliced into two parts of €20,000. Each part is then taxed on a fractional basis using the tax bands. The first €9,700 of each part is zero-rated, and the remainder for each part then charged at 14%. The tax payable by each is then multiplied by two to give the total tax payable.
If you are a single person household, you are charged as one 'part' on your income. So, a single person with taxable income of €30,000 would be charged at the rate of 14% on €20,300 (€30,000 - €9,700).
There is a cap on the tax benefit granted for dependants because of the 'parts.' As a general rule it's €1,510 (2016 for 2015 income) for each half part. So for two children the maximum reduction is €3,020. The ceiling level is much higher for single-parent households.
The following table shows the maximum net taxable income below which a couple living on their own and with a varying number of dependents in the household would not be taxed. The figures are for 2016, for 2015 income.
As can be seen, a couple living with no dependents would not pay any income tax in 2016 if their net taxable income was no greater than €27,483.
Number of Parts Nil Imposition
2 Parts €27,483
2.5 Parts €32,333
3 Parts €37,183
3.5 Parts €42,033
4 Parts €46,883
The following table shows the same analysis for a single person, who would pay no income tax living on their own with an income no greater than €14,704.
Number of Parts Nil Imposition
1 Part €14,704
1.5 Parts €19,554
2 Parts €24,404
2.5 Parts €29,254
3 Parts €34,104
3.5 Parts €38,954
4 Parts €43,804
Figures from the French Tax Authority.
How and when to submit it.
French income tax is assessed in arrears. Your tax filing in 2016, for example, will cover your earnings for all of 2015. The closing date each year by which the time declaration needs to be submitted to the French tax authority varies by department. Submission of the return is normally required by the end of May or early June. If you file online, you have a little bit more time, depending on where you live in France.
For 2016 (income earned in 2015) the dates for online returns are as follows:
● Departments 1 to 19 (zone 1) Tuesday May 24th
● Departments 20 to 49 (zone 2) Tuesday May 31st
● Departments 50 onwards (zone 3) Tuesday June 7th
● Non-Residents Tuesday June 7th
Remember to file on time, or there could be a 10% penalty. You must file online in 2016 if your net taxable income in the previous year was greater than €40,000. Tax returns submitted over the Internet receive confirmation of submission.
If this is your first time filing a return, it must be done on paper since an online account won't be created for you until after your first filing. This return should be sent to your local tax office whose address will be on your tax documents.
Hand-deliver your return or send it via the postal service in a manner guaranteed for it to get there on time. You do not send payment in when you file. You will be advised of the outcome of your tax declaration within five months, though if you filed online, you could see a tax notice beginning in April or May. This tax notice is called l'avis des impots sur le revenu.
If you owe taxes, the notice is called un avis d'imposition; if you owe nothing, you will receive un avis de non imposition.
It was a significant challenge to find this information and summarize it in a manner that would be helpful to a reader. Much of the data in this article was found on these extremely helpful and well-researched websites: French Property, Expatica, French Tax Online.
Watch this space in a few days for the Second part of this French Income Tax Return.
As you have seen, the French Income tax system can be very complex. Take your time, seek the help of a professional or expat friends experienced with filing in France, and all will be well.
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Gran Turismo 5 was just seriously updated, v1.10 of the racing game bringing not just tweaks and fixes, but some new content as well.
Alongside AI improvements and campaign saving changes, GT5 v1.10 introduces online prizes for multiplayer racing, new campaign avatar wardrobe options and, best of all, a streamlined way to buy parts, so you're not stuck going through three menus and waiting 17 minutes just to buy a new trinket for your car.
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With the summer blockbuster season in full swing, it's safe to say we'll be getting our fill of superhero movies this year.
No matter what the year, the summer movie season will always mean at least one or two superheroes fighting evil on the big screen.
Whether it's Superman, Spider-Man or Batman -- not to mention X-Men, Fantastic 4, Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America and more -- fans have flocked to their local theater year after year.
Sure, we've all got our favorite superheroes, but if you ask any comic book aficionado, they'll tell you that not all heroes are all that, well, super.
So we couldn't help but wonder: who are the five lamest superheroes of all time?
We start with a look at the man of steel. No, not that one, the other one ...
No. 5: Steel as played by Shaquille O'Neal
OK, we admit it. We actually saw this stinker.
Hey, we remembered the character from our younger days when we would read DC Comics, and in the late '90s Shaquille O'Neal was big.
"Steel" is a 1997 movie based on the DC Comics character John Henry Irons, and starred O'Neal and Judd Nelson, which should tell you everything you need to know right there.
Steel is basically a guy, in this case a 7-foot-1-inch, 325 pound guy, in a suit of armor with fancy ray guns. Think the knights from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" meet the guns from the original "Battlestar Galactica."
That's right! Steel is a modern-day laser wielding knight out to take revenge on Nelson's character who stole weapons designed by Steel and used them to arm his crime gang. Had enough yet? So did everyone else who stayed away from this bomb.
But at least Steel was big and strong, unlike our next "hero" ...
No. 4: Ant-Man
The name says it all.
This Marvel Comic hero had the power to reduce to the size of an ant. And that was pretty much it, other than the fact that he also could control ants, which we suppose is really helpful if his plan is to ruin Doctor Doom's picnic.
Perhaps what is most shocking about Ant-Man is that he survived not one, not two, but three incarnations. The original Ant-Man, Hank Pym who invented the shrinking methods and ant control, later handed off his powers a reformed thief.
The third and final Ant-Man was anything but "super" -- using his status to seduce women, and humiliate and torment others.
Want more? Check out the movie in theaters to see if Ant-Man really belongs on this list.
No. 3: Blankman
While "Blankman" did not come from the pages of any comic book, and was clearly a superhero parody film; we just had to include the Damon Wayans character on our list.
A nerdy appliance repairman by day, Darryl Walker takes on the persona of Blankman by night to rid the streets of crime and fight political corruption. Armed with his bulletproof pajamas and an array of Batman-like gadgets, he saves the day, fights crime, and somehow gets the girl.
Frankly, we were rooting for the bad guys in this one.
Perhaps the best part about Blankman is he has a sidekick, Other Guy, who has no super powers or any discernable crime fighting skills at all. Had he had either of the two, we would have gladly added him to our list -- because let's be honest, it doesn't take much to be considered a superhero.
Kind of like our next entry ...
No. 2: Cypher
Ever wish you could read Japanese? Maybe dabble in Spanish and Sanskrit? Then Cypher is your superhero!
Armed with the ability to read any language, Cypher is the hero you call when you lose the instructions to your TV and all you have left is the Korean version.
Cypher could understand and translate any form of communication, be it written, spoken or non-verbal. This was regardless of whether the origin of the language was human, computer or even completely alien -- making him and the previously mentioned Ant-Men kindred spirits. One could control ants, and the other could tell the ants were getting annoyed.
Although the ability to understand computer can be helpful in this tech-savvy era, wouldn't you prefer any number of powers before you got to this one?
Suddenly Steel is looking good again, especially compared to our choice for lamest "superhero" ...
No. 1: Zan of The Wonder Twins
"Wonder Twins powers, activate. Form of tap-water!"
And that's about it ...
Zan and his twin sister Jayna had maybe the worst powers ever. In order to use them, the Twins would have to touch hands and then say what they wanted to turn into. While Jayna got the better end of the stick, and could transform into any animal she wanted, Zan's choices were limited to forms of water.
Yeah, water.
It could be any solid, liquid or gas versions of water, so he had some options at least. So if he wanted to be a wave, or a patch of ice, or maybe some mist, he was set.
To be fair, he could also turn into an ice cage or something similar, but let's be honest here; unless his plan is to give Sabertooth a bath, he's not much help, and is not our first choice for who we would bet on to save the world.


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text: On the Horizon: Streamsong Resort and Conference Center Architect Alberto Alfonso set to deliver on a truly one-of-a-kind resort in fall 2013. 10/08/2012 By Elianne Halbersberg With two world-class golf courses, a spa, three restaurants and a clubhouse, the Streamsong Resort and Conference Center is an opulent work in progress — a 300,000-square-foot resort housed in Polk County, Florida. The project is set to feature 216 rooms in the main lodge, 12 rooms in the 50,000-square-foot clubhouse, the finest amenities, 18,000 square feet of conference space, a swimming pool, two retail outlets, guided bass fishing, a sporting clay range, and two 18-hole golf courses designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw of Coore & Crenshaw and Tom Doak of Renaissance Golf Design. Alfonso Architects design firm is overseeing every inch of the clubhouse and six-story resort, from floors to ceilings. The clubhouse will open in December 2012, with the resort scheduled to open in fall 2013. Streamsong has been a lengthy and challenging project for Alberto Alfonso, but also a very enjoyable one filled with creative latitude. Allowed input on all phases of the design by the developer, he's been producing custom furniture, tableware and flatware in his company's steel shop and woodshop. He is also creating paintings for the public and guest rooms, which will be displayed with poetry from his longtime collaborator, Edward Mayes. Along with the golf course designers, Alfonso Architects are bringing modernism to golf while practicing a "Zen philosophy" in terms of minimalism. "The idea is to take what the land gives and then try to be reductive in the way we think about things," says Alberto Alfonso. "For a site like this, it's perfect. The concept of duality runs through the coupled golf courses, named Streamsong Red and Streamsong Blue. Alfonso took that theme and used it in the interior of the clubhouse with light and dark woods. "It's a conceptual piece of architecture," he says, "but it does not distract from the natural setting." The clubhouse exterior also complements the duality theme, with a stone base made of dark pietra, stained cedar grounding elements and floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the water. The entire property encompasses 16,000 acres, of which the resort and golf courses are situated on 2,300 acres. Most of the land was mined in the 1960s, and later reclaimed, with the exception of the golf courses. Through the stock piling of sand and the course of nature, the property now features giant, vegetation-covered dunes, sand dunes, large bodies of water and natural habitat including alligators, deer, otters, and abundant varieties of birds. "You go out there and think, 'This can't be Florida,'" says Alfonso. "There's elevation and corridors, no buildings, and the clubhouse sits in the middle of these 100-foot-high dunes and looks down into a canyon of water. It's pretty spectacular." In designing the main lodge, Alfonso continued the concept of land, reclamation and nature, with trees as his main theme. The building is oriented east/west, accentuating the curves of the natural landscape and horizon to capture magnificent Florida sunrises and sunsets. The stretch of space, which equals the length of three football fields, features seven different types of guest rooms. Alfonso is creating customized paintings, wood and bronze artwork for each room. "We wanted every room to feel very personal, like you're going into someone's house, and remove the repetitive sterilization that you get in hotel buildings," he says. Alfonso designed the couches, chairs, desks and beds, using teak for the frames and surrounding wood. "I wanted to use the metaphor of a fallen tree, the idea of reclamation and taking something and turning it into something new and better, in designing the lodge," he says. "I kept thinking of the idea of a tree that gets recycled. Florida used to be under water. The fossils were compressed over time and that's why we have such large deposits of phosphate. I thought about this interesting idea about our waterline. The hotel lifts up on treelike concrete root structures underneath, and that's where the spa and the Italian restaurant are located. As the building moves vertically, it goes from concrete to stone to wood." In a unique twist, Alfonso opted for 3-foot-wide, floor-to-ceiling walnut louvers in place of curtains in the rooms and along the glass facades. The louvers operate on joints that allow natural lighting control. When closed, they create the illusion of a solid wood building, again keeping with the motif of the tree. Reclaimed wood is also the basis for the lobby. "I call it the leaf on the pond or the boat on the bank," says Alfonzo. "It's a leaf-shaped structure with wood floor, ceiling and walls. The idea is that it's nestled up to the tree. It hovers over the water body. It's a completely different feel. There are four steps leading down into the lobby, and as you step down, it's like a dock. We wanted something rustic with a lot of character, so we have exposed ceiling beams and a real fireplace wrapped in Venetian plaster." Streamsong features three restaurants, a steakhouse in the clubhouse, a three-meal informal restaurant on the resort's lobby level, and a fine-dining Italian restaurant, on the basement level. There, the tree motif takes over with 13-foot-high, 4-foot diameter, poured concrete trunks that "grow" from the center of the floor upward through the ceiling, then flair outward to become the structural columns that move through the building. Streamsong will feature a cylindrical rooftop bar. Using blue Venetian plaster and wood, the bar brings the metaphoric tree to the sky. "It's one of the most incredible spaces," says Alfonso. "There's an oculus inside, the idea of a cube inside a cylinder. Because we aren't near any cities, there's no luminescence blocking out the stars, and you can get a complete view of the horizon. That was something we wanted to take advantage of." "We wanted to create something very special and different," Alfonso says. "This is not a flagged resort, like a Hilton or a Hyatt, where there is a guide book that says, 'This is the standard.' There was no one who had already done 30 of these .The Streamsong project is a major departure from the mining and manufacturing of its owner and developer, The Mosaic Company. So in that sense, we were challenging each other, and in the end it's going to be incredible. Coming up with a project that is an attractor in the middle of 16,000 acres has been quite an experience, but when you're there, you really feel the history of the land and the place." Related Articles Thinking Global? Cultural Competency a Top Priority for the Future of Interior Design What's Next in Design? Look Around Before Looking Forward Graduate Hotels Bring Nostalgic Vibes to Boutique Settings


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N° 40–2006: New Hubble Servicing Mission to upgrade instruments
31 October 2006
After more than a decade of fascinating discoveries, the Hubble Space Telescope will soon be given the new beginning it deserves. Today, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin has given the green light for a Shuttle mission to repair and upgrade the permanent space-based observatory.
The history of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is dominated by the familiar sharp images and amazing discoveries that have had an unprecedented scientific impact on our view of the world and our understanding of the universe. Nevertheless, such important contributions to science and humankind have only been possible as result of regular upgrades and enhancements to Hubble's instrumentation.
Using the Space Shuttle for this fifth Servicing Mission underlines the important role that astronauts have played and continue to play in increasing the Space Telescope's lifespan and scientific power. Since the loss of Columbia in 2003, the Shuttle has been successfully launched on three missions, confirming that improvements made to it have established the required high level of safety for the spacecraft and its crew.
"There is never going to be an end to the science that we can do with a machine like Hubble", says David Southwood, ESA's Director of Science. "Hubble is our way of exploring our origins. Everyone should be proud that there is a European element to it and that we all are part of its success at some level."
This Servicing Mission will not just ensure that Hubble can function for perhaps as much as another ten years; it will also increase its capabilities significantly in key areas. This highly visible mission is expected to take place in 2008 and will feature several space walks.
As part of the upgrade, two new scientific instruments will be installed: the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and Wide Field Camera 3. Each has advanced technology sensors that will dramatically improve Hubble's potential for discovery and enable it to observe faint light from the youngest stars and galaxies in the universe. With such an astounding increase in its science capabilities, this orbital observatory will continue to penetrate the most distant regions of outer space and reveal breathtaking phenomena.
"Today, Hubble is producing more science than ever before in its history. Astronomers are requesting five times more observing time than that available to them" says Bob Fosbury, Head of the HST European Coordinating Facility. "The new instruments will open completely new windows on the universe. Extraordinary observations are planned over the coming years, including some of the most fascinating physical phenomena ever seen: investigation of planets around other stars, digging deeper into the ancestry of our Milky Way and above all gaining a much deeper insight into the evolution of the universe."
Around the same time that the Shuttle lifts off for the Servicing Mission, ESA will launch Herschel, the orbiting telescope with the largest mirror ever deployed in space. Herschel will complement Hubble in the infrared part of the spectrum and is an ESA mission with NASA participation.
Instead of being left at the mercy of its aging instruments, the Hubble Space Telescope will now be given the new lease of life it deserves. In the hope that more discoveries from Hubble will help explain more of the mysteries of the universe, astronauts will make this fifth trip to the world's most powerful visual light observatory and increase its lifespan and scientific power.
Hubble's direct successor, the James Webb Space Telescope - a collaborative project being undertaken by NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency - is scheduled for launch in 2013. The Servicing Mission just decided on will reduce the gap between the end of the HST mission and the start of the JWST mission.
Notes for editors
The Hubble Space Telescope project is being carried out by ESA and NASA on the basis of international cooperation.
For more information, please contact:
Sergio Volonte, ESA Head of the Science Planning and Community Coordination Office
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Lars Lindberg Christensen, Hubble/ESA, Garching, Germany
Mobile: +49 173 3872 621
E-mail: email@example.com
For further information:
ESA Media Relations Office
Tel: +33(0)18.104.22.16855
Fax: +33(0)22.214.171.12490


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Bucks rally for 91-88 victory over Celtics
Larry Sanders had 18 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots, and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied for a 91-88 victory after the Boston Celtics scored the first 17 points of Saturday night's game.
Monta Ellis had 17 points and seven assists for the Bucks, while Ersan Ilyasova added 15 points and five rebounds. Brandon Jennings had a big 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
Paul Pierce paced the Celtics with 19 points, and Kevin Garnett added 17 points and seven rebounds.
Boston played without point guard Rajon Rondo, who served the second of his two-game suspension for his role in a scuffle during a game against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. Courtney Lee, who started in Rondo's place, had 13 points, and Jason Terry finished with 15 points and 11 assists.
Jeff Green and Pierce hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Celtics an 88-85 lead with 1:44 left. Sanders then had a dunk and Jennings drained a 3 to get the lead back for Milwaukee.
Another missed shot and a foul by Boston put Sanders at the line. He hit one of two free throws to make it 91-88 lead with 11 seconds remaining. Pierce and Terry missed 3-point attempts in the waning seconds as the Bucks held on for the win.
Boston was 6 for 19 from beyond the arc for the game, including a 2-for-9 performance by Terry.
The Celtics opened the game with a 17-0 run. Milwaukee missed its first six shots from the field. The drought ended when Ilyasova sank a jump shot with about 6:30 remaining in the quarter. The Bucks' problems in the opening minutes included an air ball at the line by rookie forward John Henson.
Boston led 27-11 after one, but the Bucks rallied in the second quarter and trailed 48-47 at halftime. The teams were tied at 69 after three.
Bucks coach Scott Skiles juggled his starting lineup, inserting Marquis Daniels and Ekpe Udoh. The Bucks also played without key reserves Beno Udrih and Mike Dunleavy, both of whom sustained injuries in Friday night's loss to Minnesota. Udrih is expected to miss one to two weeks with an ankle injury, and Dunleavy attempted to play against the Celtics but couldn't due to lingering knee soreness, according to Skiles.
NOTES: Skiles wanted to insert Sanders into the starting lineup but the forward said he prefers a reserve role. ... Bucks forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute appeared in his first game of the season after rehabilitating from offseason knee surgery. He finished with eight points and six rebounds in 14 minutes.


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|Twitter, Inc.
|H.B. Fuller Company
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Ruby Tuesday, Inc.
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|Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.
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|BGC Partners, Inc.
|Tire Factory, Inc.
|Lindsay Corporation
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Fidelity Investments [BOSTON] announced Gerard McGraw, currently president of Fidelity Institutional (FI), has been named chief financial officer of FMR LLC and will lead the new Finance and Brokerage Operations team. McGraw has led Fidelity Institutional since mid-2009. He previously ran the Operations and Service Group from 2003 to 2009. He joined Fidelity in 1996.
Sungard® Availability Services™ [WAYNE, Pa.] named Susan Lynch as its new executive vice president and chief financial officer. Most recently, she was executive vice president and chief financial officer, Global Information Solutions at Hitachi Ltd. Before joining Hitachi Data Systems in 2007, Lynch served as vice president and chief financial officer at Raytheon Technical Services Company. Before Raytheon, Lynch held a broad range of senior management roles at Honeywell International, including assistant corporate controller, Global Business Services, director of business, analysis and planning and chief financial officer for the Latin American region.
Twitter, Inc. [SAN FRANCISCO] appointed Hugh Johnston to serve as member of the Board. Mr. Johnston, age 54, has been Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of PepsiCo, Inc, since July 2015 and March 2010, respectively. Mr. Johnston served as Executive Vice President at PepsiCo from March 2010 to July 2015. He joined PepsiCo in 1987 and has held a number of increasing leadership roles, including Executive Vice President, Global Operations from 2009 to 2010 and President, Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages from 2007 to 2009. Mr. Johnston left PepsiCo, Inc. from August 1999 through March 2002 to pursue a general management role as Vice President, Retail at Merck Medco. Mr. Johnston served on the board of directors of AOL Inc, from October 2012 to June 2015.
Navigant [CHICAGO] announced that it has named Stephen R. Lieberman as its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Lieberman will succeed interim CFO Thomas (Tom) A. Nardi. Lieberman most recently served as the Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Latin America for Laureate Education, Inc. Prior to joining Laureate, Lieberman served as Senior Vice President, Finance for Dana Holding Corporation. Stephen was also Vice President and Treasurer at United Airlines. Lieberman also spent nearly 15 years at General Motors in various capacities, including Treasurer and Controller General for the auto manufacturer's Mexico operations and Treasurer of the Asia Pacific Regional Treasury Center, Greater China.
H.B. Fuller Company [ST. PAUL, Minnesota] (NYSE: FUL) announced that John Corkrean will join the company as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Corkrean will take over for Jim Giertz, who will transition into a new role as executive vice president. Corkrean joins H.B. Fuller from Ecolab Inc. Most recently, he was the senior vice president of Finance for their Global Energy Services sector.
The Howard Hughes Corporation [DALLAS] (NYSE: HHC) announced that Andrew C. Richardson, Chief Financial Officer, will be leaving the company.
Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC [HARTFORD, Conn.] announced that Scott Flaherty, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of has resigned his positions with the company. Richard Harris has been named Interim Chief Financial Officer.
Ruby Tuesday, Inc. [MARYVILLE, TN] (NYSE: RT) announced the resignation of Jill Golder. Ms. Golder had joined the Company in April 2013 as Senior Vice President of Finance and was promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer, and Assistant Secretary in June 2014.
Alteryx, Inc. [IRVINE, Calif.] announced that Kevin Rubin has joined its executive team as chief financial officer. Prior to joining Alteryx, Kevin was CFO of MSC Software. Prior to joining MSC, Kevin served as CFO for Pictage, DataDirect Networks and MRV Communications.
IAC [NEW YORK] (NASDAQ: IAC) announced the appointment of Glenn H. Schiffman as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Schiffman succeeds Jeff Kip, whose departure as CFO was announced last summer. Prior to his most recent role as Senior Managing Director at Guggenheim Securities, Mr. Schiffman was a Partner at The Raine Group. Previous leadership roles include Co-Head of Global Media at Lehman Brothers, Head of Investment Banking Asia-Pacific at Lehman Brothers, and subsequently Nomura, as well as Head of Investment Banking, Americas.
IDEX CORPORATION [LAKE FOREST, Ill.] (NYSE:IEX) announced the appointment of Mark A. Buthman to the company's Board of Directors. Mr. Buthman retired from Kimberly–Clark Corporation in 2015, where he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from January 2003 to April 2015. Mr. Buthman has served since 2011 as a director of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.
Chassix [SOUTHFIELD, Mich.] has named Michael Beyer chief financial officer. Beyer most recently served as chief financial officer of Wolverine Advanced Materials. Previously, he served as corporate controller for Affinia Group, and held increasingly responsible finance and accounting roles over a 14-year period with Dana Corporation.
Dealogic [NEW YORK] announced Krish Venkataraman is succeeding Rick McHattie as Chief Financial Officer. Venkataraman joins Dealogic from Syncsort, where he was CFO and COO. He previously held senior roles at several firms, including NYSE Euronext and Lehman Brothers.
News America Marketing (NAM), [NEW YORK] announced that Ajay Singh, a News Corp finance veteran, has been named as the company's Chief Financial Officer. Previously SVP Finance at News Corp. Prior to joining News Corp, Ajay was CFO of HookLogic, Inc. Beforehand, Ajay was CFO, Lifestyle Communities at Reader's Digest Association. Ajay also spent eight years at Gemstar-TV Guide. Ajay began his business career with PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1993.
Universal Truckload Services, Inc. [WARREN, Mich.] (NASDAQ: UACL) announced that David A. Crittenden, Universal's Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, has resigned from the company. The Company appointed Jude Beres as its Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Beres previously served as the Company's Chief Administrative Officer since April 2015. Prior to joining Universal, Mr. Beres served as Vice President of Finance and Accounting for Central Transport.
Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. [SAN DIEGO] (NASDAQ: SRNE) announced that Kevin M. Herde has been appointed to the position of Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer. Most recently he was the Vice President of Global Blood Screening and Alliance Management for Hologic, Inc. He joined Hologic in 2012. Mr. Herde joined Gen-Probe in 2002 and served in numerous finance roles, ultimately as the Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller. Prior to his 14 years at Gen-Probe and Hologic, Mr. Herde also served in multiple management roles in finance for Gateway, the global computer and technology company, and was an Audit Manager for KPMG LLP.
CloudHealth Technologies [BOSTON] announced the appointment Larry Begley as its chief financial officer. Begley comes to CloudHealth from .406 Ventures, which he co-founded. Prior to co-founding .406 Ventures, he served as chief financial officer at CCBN.com, i-Cube and Razorfish. Begley also served as partner, CFO and treasurer of The Boston Consulting Group and held financial roles at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, The Foxboro Company, Data Resources Inc. and Softbridge Microsystems.
BGC Partners, Inc. [NEW YORK and LONDON] (NASDAQ: BGCP) announced that it has named Steve McMurray as Chief Financial Officer. He replaces Graham Sadler. Steve was most recently Director of Finance at an independent insurance provider Amlin plc., which he joined in 2007. Prior to that, he was Chief Financial Accountant at the Bank of England.
Payscout [LOS ANGELES] announced the appointment of Dan Gardner as Chief Financial Officer. Dan spent the last 5 years as CFO of TRANSFAST. Earlier in his career, he also served in a series of increasingly responsible financial management positions at international firms such as Global Capacity and D.B. Zwirn.
Tire Factory, Inc. [PORTLAND, Ore.] announced that Walter Lybeck, its former Chief Financial Officer, and most recently its Interim CEO since August 2015, has been named its Chief Executive Officer. Lybeck, joined the company in 2010, serving as its CFO, and more recently its Interim CEO. Prior to joining Tire Factory, he was Director of Finance and Accounting at Rejuvenation. He also worked in financial positions for Nautilus, Oregon Steel Mills, Intel and Deloitte.
Lindsay Corporation [OMAHA, Neb.] (NYSE: LNN) announced that Brian Ketcham will join Lindsay Corporation as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Ketcham will succeed Jim Raabe. For the past 15 years, Mr. Ketcham has served in various finance roles at Valmont Industries, Inc., most recently as Vice President and Group Controller of the Engineered Support Structures segment. Prior to joining Valmont, Mr. Ketcham held various positions with Consolidated Container Company LLC and KPMG LLP.
Triumph Group, Inc. [BERWYN, Pa.] (NYSE: TGI) announced that Jeffrey L. McRae, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will step down from that position.
Fred's Inc. [MEMPHIS, Tenn.] (NASDAQ: FRED) announced that it has named Rick Hans Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company. He replaces Jerry A. Shore, who was promoted to Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Fred's, Hans was with Walgreen Co. for 27 years. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Investor Relations and Finance. Hans previously held the position of Director of Finance and Assistant Treasurer. Hans also held roles as Real Estate Manager and Senior Real Estate Manager. He joined Walgreens in 1987 as a financial analyst.
NN, Inc. [JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.] (NASDAQ: NNBR) announced that James H. Dorton, the company's Chief Financial Officer, is retiring after an 11-year career with the company. Thomas C. Burwell, Jr., NN's Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, will assume the responsibilities of the principal financial officer in the interim.
Innophos Holdings, Inc. [CRANBURY, N.J.] (NASDAQ: IPHS) announced that it has appointed Han Kieftenbeld as Chief Financial Officer. Most recently, he served as Global Chief Financial Officer at AB Mauri in the U.K. Prior to AB Mauri, Mr. Kieftenbeld held the position of Global Chief Procurement Officer at Ingredion Incorporated. Prior to that, Mr. Kieftenbeld gained experience as a Chief Financial Officer at Akzonobel N.V. from 2007-2010 and, before that, at ICI PLC from 1997-2007. Currently, Mr. Kieftenbeld serves as a non-executive advisor and board member at Themis Analytics.
Dakota Plains Holdings, Inc. [WAYZATA, Minn.] (NYSE MKT: DAKP) announced the resignation of Timothy Brady, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Dakota Plains. Jim Thornton, Dakota Plains' Executive Vice President – Strategy, General Counsel and Secretary, will assume the responsibilities as principal financial officer of Dakota Plains and as its interim chief financial officer. Mr. Thornton has served as General Counsel and Secretary of Dakota Plains Holdings, Inc. since joining in March 2013 and as Executive Vice President, Strategy since December 2015. Mr. Thornton previously served as the senior legal counsel of Toreador Resources Corporation in Paris, France. From 2007 to 2011, Mr. Thornton was an attorney in the Atlanta office of Dentons US LLP. Before joining Dentons US LLP, Mr. Thornton practiced in the corporate departments of Balch & Bingham LLP and Locke Lord LLP.
symplr® [HOUSTON, TX] announced the appointment of Tres Thompson as Chief Financial Officer. Most recently, Thompson held several senior executive positions at Cardtronics, including: Executive Vice President of Global Accounts, Managing Director of UK Operations, Executive Vice President of ATM Services and Chief Accounting Officer. He also previously served as Chief Financial Officer at Sternhill Partners.
Global Blood Therapeutics, Inc. [SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.] (NASDAQ: GBT) announced the appointment of Jeffrey Farrow as chief financial officer (CFO). Mr. Farrow previously served as CFO of ZS Pharma, Inc. Prior to ZS Pharma, he was CFO at Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. He previously served as vice president of finance at Evotec AG. Prior to Evotec, Mr. Farrow served as vice president of finance and chief accounting officer at Renovis. Earlier in his career, Mr. Farrow spent seven years working in the audit practice of KPMG LLP.
DJO Global, Inc. [SAN DIEGO] announced that Susan Crawford, executive vice president and chief financial officer has decided to retire.
Clinical Ink [WINSTON-SALEM, NC and PHILADELPHIA, PA.] announced that Scott Miltenberger has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Clinical Ink, Mr. Miltenberger was Chief Financial Officer for Evolve IP through GPX Enterprises. Prior to Evolve IP, Scott served as CFO for Elemica. Scott began his career at Deloitte & Touche LLP.
Provista Diagnostics Inc. [NEW YORK] has promoted Uriel Kusiatin to Chief Financial Officer. Kusiatin began consulting with the company in 2013 and formally joined in 2015 as Senior Vice President of Finance. Mr. Kusiatin began his career at Deloitte.


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Finney's Lay-Up Pushes Old Dominion Past James Madison, 74-72
By ODU Athletics
Jan. 6, 2010
Box Score | Post-Game Press Conference Video (Subscription Required)
NORFOLK, Va. - Junior Ben Finney converted a fast-break lay-up with 13 seconds remaining and the Old Dominion defense held the lead as the Monarchs knocked off James Madison, 74-72, in front of 7,078 fans Wednesday evening at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
Trailing 72-70 with less than a minute to play, sophomore Kent Bazemore hit junior Frank Hassell cutting to the basket for a jam that tied the game with 46 seconds remaining.
On JMU's ensuing possession Virginia Beach native Denzel Bowles had his first shot blocked by Hassell and then missed a lay-up in which Hassell came down with the rebounded.
Hassell then found Bazemore with an outlet pass and rather than calling a timeout, ODU pushed the basketball. Bazemore hit Finney, who made a tough lay-up to put the Monarchs ahead with 13 seconds remaining.
After a Dukes timeout, Julius Wells, who hit seven three's in the game, fired his 12th attempt of the contest, but it didn't fall and Finney grabbed the board as time expired.
The Monarchs improve to 11-5 on the year and 3-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association, while the Dukes drop to 7-7 overall and 1-3 in league play.
Bazemore tallied a career-high 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting. It's the second consecutive game the sophomore has set a new career-high in scoring. Senior Gerald Lee and Hassell each posted 14 points, while junior Keyon Carter scored 13 and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.
The Monarchs raced out to a 6-0 lead in the opening minutes, getting a pair of buckets from Bazemore and a jumper from Hassell.
Bazemore and Carter started a combined 8-of-8 from the floor and ODU led by as many as eight (20-12).
The Dukes responded though, going on a 10-2 run to tie the game at the 5:54 mark. After the Monarchs stopped the run on a three-point play from Lee, Wells drilled a three-pointer to knot the score at 25. Wells had a game-high 29 points, including 16 in the opening half.
James Madison would take its first lead of the game as Bowles made consecutive shots to put the Dukes up 29-25 with under three minutes remaining in the half. ODU would go into the intermission trailing by only one (31-30) though as Carter banked in a triple as time expired.
The Monarchs started the second half as hot as they did the first, coming out of the locker room on a 7-0 run. The spurt was sparked by two Hassell free throws and a pair of fast-break buckets from junior guard Darius James.
James Madison once again stopped the ODU run with Wells and Bowles. A three-point field goal by Wells from the left corner and a pair of free-throws from Bowles cut the Monarch lead down to one, 37-36.
The Dukes would hold their biggest edge of the night, 67-63, with just over four minutes left in the contest, but a pair of free throws from Lee and a Hassell dunk would tie the game at 67 and set up the dramatic final two minutes.
The Monarchs will remain at home on Saturday, Jan. 9, completing their fourth game in eight days against CAA rival Hofstra. The game will tip-off at 4 p.m. at the Ted Constant Convocation Center and will be televised on Comcast Mid-Atlantic (Ch 35 - Hampton Roads), Comcast New England, Comcast Philadelphia and the Madison Square Garden Network.


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Out of 5,840 waking hours, a full-time employee spends approximately 2,080 hours at work each year. Yet many of those workers live entirely for the weekend, wanting nothing more than Friday evening to come. Is this an acceptable way to live? Above and beyond the paycheck, does the act of working even matter?
Let's take a long-term approach. Work matters because, pooled together, it can serve people and enhance their lives and wellbeing. Work is service. This is well in line with God's mandate to care for those made in God's image-to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the creation (see Gen 1).
Dr. Hans Rosling works for BBC 4 and loves to interact with statistics on population and health. In the video below, he traces the economic effect of work on global life and opportunity since the early 1900's. It is fascinating to watch. There are other issues this overview does not address, but it is an interesting look at the power and impact over time of work (people serving one another) on various populations.
Th monumental significance of work, which Dr. Rosling's video demonstrates, is why we are tackling this topic at our second annual Table Conference, Your Work: More Than A Paycheck at Irving Bible Church, April 4-5. Come join us to discover how you can develop a Christian way of thinking about how you work and why it matters.


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How did this happen? In Norway, there is a bizarre rock formation known as Kjeragbolten, which is a huge block of stone that has become lodged in a 984-meter-deep crevice over a gorgeous lake. It's so sturdy that sheep like to stand on it — and so do humans.
Photo by Deeds
Photo by 7ty9
According to Atlas Obscura:
The boulder itself is a 5-cubic-meter large block of stone suspended above 984-meter deep abyss. Despite its impressive appearance, it is easily accessible on foot without any special equipment. The whole of Kjerag mountain is a popular hiking area, and Kjeragbolten is a favorite photo spot.
Apparently, for some the thrill of standing on a boulder suspended between two cliffs isn't quite enough, as Kjeragbolten has become a very popular spot for base jumpers to use when launching themselves into the air.
Read more, and see more pictures, at Atlas Obscura


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Food and Wine Tour
Itinerary of flavours on the Roads of Wine and Oil
The territory of Puglia Imperiale bears the indelible signs of the presence of Frederick II, a precious and emblematic impression visible in the monuments, alive in the traditions and in popular folklore. Wine and oil have ancestral ties with this land and seal intimate relations with the Emperor, who was fascinated by the boundless spaces and smells of these areas of luxuriant nature. Visitors to this land discover flavours and knowledge: a world of authenticity and passion for good food with roots in enogastronomic traditions passed down over the ages.
Alongside the Tratturo regio which crosses the Alta Murgia, fields and olive groves alternate with rows of vines on slopes and terraced land. Above, steppes, pasture and sowable land vie for space with swamps, dolinas and sink-holes, signs of Karstification, typical of the Parco Nazionale dell'Alta Murgia, Italy's first ever rural park. On longitudinal routes that run beside paths used for transhumance, it is easy to encounter farms, rural settlements with old wineries, oil mills and enclosed fields, where rows of vines alternate with secular olive groves, almond groves and herbaceous cultivation. The landscape is steeped in history, vines and olive trees are living monuments and the sun-kissed ground is vibrant with intense colours.
The "murgia" is some distance from the sea and the traveller remains enchanted by an alternation of landscapes so diverse and yet so intimately tied to history. Our journey starts at Andria, the "town of oil", pride of the land for its commercial supremacy with the production of extra-virgin olive oil. Situated among green expanses of olive groves and vineyards, by the Strada dell'Olio DOP Castel del Monte, it is a must to visit the oil mill to taste our "green gold" that enhances the flavour of a classic bruschetta.
Andria, a town termed "fidelis" on the epigraph of Porta di S.Andrea and noteworthy for its cultural-historical heritage, can also boast an age-old confectionery tradition attested by the presence of a Confectionery Museum (Museo del Confetto), one of a kind in all of Southern Italy. Travelling next to Montegrosso, an old rural town, one can discover the pleasure of tranquillity and appreciate the natural pace of an agricultural centre and typical local cuisine. Diving to the heart of the Alta Murgia National Park, we reach Minervino Murge. Called the "Balcony of the Puglie" for its dominating position, it is a small centre rich in history and charm. The oldest quarter of the town, known as Scesciola, is a fascinating labyrinth of tortuous alleyways, small arches and stone stairways leading to the ancient Norman-Swabian Castle. Inside the Castle is the archaeological exhibition "Quando l'Ofanto era color dell'ambra" (When Ofanto was the color of amber), taking place in the rooms that probably once belonged to Knight Bayard, and to whom the confectionery tradition has dedicated the well-known panetto di Minervino, a typical sweet bread made with dried figs, raisins, almonds, orange flavouring and cooked wine.
Enogastronomic tradition reveals an enviable heritage of flavours and knowledge and relives, like in a story, the sublime art of feasting in local restaurants.
In the autumn reigns the well-known cardoncello mushroom, the principal product of the Alta murgia between Minervino and Spinazzola, a delicious food known and savoured since Roman times, considered by some the expression of supernatural forces and called the "food of the Gods", appreciated and studied during the Middle Ages and Renaissance and now part of local anthropological heritage.
After Minervino, taking the wine route Strada dei Vini DOC Castel del Monte to Corato, your gaze is attracted by the unmistakable "stone octagon" Castel del Monte, the better known of Frederick's mansions for its magic and evocative suggestiven
3 Days
What to visit on this excursion:
Castel del Monte
Church and Grotto of San Michele
Minervino Murge
Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
The Archaeological Museum
Minervino Murge
Ancient Village "Scesciola"
Minervino Murge
Ancient village
Museo del Confetto (Confectionary Museum)
Local products:
The DOP Extra-virgin olive oil
DOC Moscato di Trani
The DOC Castel del Monte
Agenzia per l'Occupazione e lo Sviluppo dell'area Nord Barese Ofantina - s.c.a r.l.
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Puglia Imperiale – Sede: Corso Cavour, 23 - Corato (BA) Italy
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NH $700M case against 2 oil companies begins
Day one of what is expected to be a marathon pollution trial over the gasoline additive MTBE ended Monday with lawyers for the state of New Hampshire and two big oil companies heatedly accusing each other of misleading jurors.
The judge denied demands for a mistrial made by Citgo's lawyer, Nathan Eimer, but may give jurors a special instruction when the trial resumes Tuesday with more opening statements from the lawyers.
The state is seeking more than $700 million from Citgo and ExxonMobil to cover the cost of monitoring and treating MTBE-contaminated wells. Lawyers for the state argue that the MTBE gasoline is a defective product and that oil companies failed to warn the state of its potential for widespread groundwater contamination.
After jurors were dismissed for the day, Eimer accused the state's lawyer, Jessica Grant, of using what he described as a fabricated document in arguing that Citgo knew the groundwater contamination potential of MTBE. He also said that in Grant's opening statement, she disparaged an expert witness who's not even on the witness list.
Grant said it was "nonsense" to think the state had done anything nefarious and countered that the opening statement by ExxonMobil attorney James Quinn was rife with falsehoods.
Merrimack Superior Court Judge Peter Fauver stressed to the lawyers that they were at the start of what is expected to be a four-month trial. He advised them to come up with something "that's not too inflammatory or accusative" when preparing their written suggestions of what he should tell jurors.
Lawyers for ExxonMobil and Citgo were midway through their opening remarks when court ended.
Grant told jurors the state will base its case largely on the oil companies' own documents detailing how MTBE contamination is more widespread and costly to clean up than gasoline without MTBE.
ExxonMobil's Quinn said in his opening remarks that MTBE came into use in the 1970s, when the federal government ordered oil companies to remove the lead from gasoline to cut down on smog
"MTBE acted to dramatically reduce the problem of air pollution," Quinn said, noting that by some estimates it saved 2 million lives by replacing toxic pollutants. "MTBE makes gas less dangerous."
Grant told jurors the state's experts estimate more than 40,000 wells in New Hampshire are probably contaminated by MTBE. She said MTBE is highly soluble and resistant to biodegradation. Ten gallons of gasoline treated with MTBE could contaminate 62 million gallons of water - the amount estimated to make up Echo Lake in Conway, Grant said.
"MTBE is a toxic chemical that does not belong in the state's drinking water," Grant said.
Quinn described Grant's account as "courtroom fiction - not what was happening out there in the real world."
He said New Hampshire environmental workers were researching and documenting the effects of MTBE gas spills as early as the 1980s.
"The notion there was some industry-wide cover-up is preposterous," Quinn said.
The trial is being held in U.S. District Court in Concord to avoid tying up a courtroom in Merrimack Superior Court for months.
New Hampshire banned the use of MTBE - methyl tertiary butyl ether - in 2007.
The lawsuit, filed in 2003, is the only one brought by a state to reach trial on the issue of MTBE groundwater contamination. Elsewhere in the country, most other MTBE cases brought by municipalities, water districts or individual well owners have all been settled or dismissed, except one.