Traditional ‘Europeans’ are worried. It’s not only fear of strangers: it’s the  redefinition of ‘our’ space and  uncertainty about ‘our’ future. Future developments, largely unexpected, let us stress that once again, will force us to redefine choices and policies that previously had been (differently in different countries) seen as ‘ours’ by definition. But now it seems that ‘immigration policies’ will have to be designed and ‘immigrants’ dealt with in a very different context. 

Attention at present is primarily  focused on France and Italy and the policy responses and  ‘messages sent out’ by governments under the pressure of people flow, prompted by the violent confrontations with dramatic  human costs in North Africa and the Middle East. What we are facing now is a process of change that ought to bring us, traditional ‘Europeans’, to reconsider how the Mediterranean space is defined, and how we are related to and confront political contexts and peoples that we had seen as far apart, different, actually as others. 

How these events (ongoing conflict in Libya in particular) have been handled by the Italian Government is a widely discussed theme in our political sphere, public  discourse and in the media. It all began with growing numbers from the other side of the sea reaching the island of Lampedusa. Within a very few days, the anticipation of further arrivals, difficulties in facing that, graphic images in the media had come to be regarded as a highly visibile challenge. A core concern for those in power was how to handle this in terms of domestic politics (elections were close, the Lega Nord was extremely vocal in its opposition to all forms of asylum). The EU was regarded as a major source of support, and the Italian Government had recourse to the EU at the very beginning. It immediately announced that money would be made available. 

However, lack of adequate planning at the European level triggered a round of international debate.  Back in Italy, the main problem was how to tackle the immediate challenge while anticipating further developments. Various arrangements were put in place, trying to face the immediate needs of those, in extremely distressed circumstances, who continued to arrive. 

But accommodating these people raised a further issue - of increasing numbers of newcomers, not only from the Mediterranean area, but from other African regions. Immigrants from all over the world had reached Egypt in particular. A much more profound process of global mobility was thus for once made visible. This was immediately seen as having a ‘European relevance’,  and dangerous implications. 

Of course there were voices in some sectors of public opinion and in some political groupings, who made it clear that giving support to these people in their political struggle and solidarity in their present (and future) difficulties were crucial choices, reflecting fundamental values. 

But political leaders  and the media insisted that there were far too many of them and that they had to be sent back to their countries, or moved out of Italy (most of them towards France: Tunisians in particular were making it clear that this was their preferred destination). So the obvious next step involved granting  ‘temporary acceptance’ documents which would allow all to move freely within the Schengen area. Hence, out of Italy: this was the goal. 

The French Government immediately opposed this solution. 

Increasing numbers of ‘immigrants’ have tried to reach the Italian/French border nevertheless. The first reaction was to refuse all those travelling from Italy entry into France. International television channels showed how many people had to pass through days (and nights) without being given any adequate  assistance or any information. In the days that followed, controls were established at the border by French authorities. Those who did not have what was considered a sufficient amount of money were not allowed to move on into France. 

At the end of April, Sarkozy and Berlusconi met in Rome: their agreements and ‘solutions’ were announced. 

It is very clear that both feel the pressure from their ‘populist’ right-wing political rivals, Marine Le Pen in Front National  in France and the Lega Nord in Italy, together with large sectors of public opinion in both countries. But beyond that. Economic and social problems are to be expected in the  coming months (and years). Resistance to processes of change is to be expected. The sharpening of conflicting interests, and of course, forms of discrimination and growing xenophobia are one response. 

A scenario-in progress is what we have to face that had somehow not been anticipated in a ‘traditional’ European perspective, despite Europe’s intimate knowledge of how this dynamic can develop. 

So, we must work at redefining our near-term and longer-term future. 

Hopefully, also, we might finally learn how to live in diversity, while taking into account ongoing social and political pressures (and considering how unprepared Europe appears to be to face them). Two aspects in particular demand our urgent fresh attention, the rising populism in many EU countries, and the relevance for Europe of  present events  in North Africa and the Middle East. 

Just a brief comment looking at the past. In the post-war period, the project of adequate migration policies and institutions was seen as an important and feasible social and political objective in the Nordic countries, and in different ways and with different procedures in France, the UK, and Germany as well. ‘Newcomers’ were needed. Conditions of discrimination and inequality were present, but a variety of approaches and models to deal with this were developed in contexts which all had in common assumptions that a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, mutli-religious future settlement could be reached. 

Putting it briefly: those circumstances made living in diversity a possible European framework, a common goal which would, of course, require a shared project and continuous engagement. But suddenly, we find ourselves in very different circumstances. Now we face, all over Europe, growing ‘institutional xenophobia’ and a pervasive ‘politics of fear’. 

In many EU countries populist parties and a supportive public opinion have become a central political and social dimension (with somewhat different aspects and perspectives as to their future roles and positions). But common traits, which have been analyzed in a number of studies, are there for all to see: not only growing problems in the economy and in the labour market in particular; but increasing disaffection with the institutional machinery, national as well as European; and then there is the role of the media in stoking this fear. In all these different cases, the question of migration, and all the policies related to living in diversity have taken centre-ground, not lessening the fear and its attendant xenophobia, but adding to its thralldom.  

A highly visible new generation of political leaders, markedly different as to their backgrounds and their policy proposals, as well as their highly personal ways of presenting themselves (in Italy, Berlusconi and Bossi must both be seen as interesting examples) have built strong support from large sectors of the population who have felt that they have no voice.  

What is the alternative to their fear and xenophobia? Does ‘traditional’ Europe have an answer? 

I would like to wish you well next week for Europe Day and your investigation of the ‘Uses of Xenophobia’, and also congratulation on the tenth birthday of openDemocracy. This is indeed a timely discussion.

In case many of us have not noticed, the number 9 is actually the biggest digit in the numerical system in use today.

Just in case many of us have also yet to notice, 9 always appears in the somewhat strategic and somehow oddest of places.

Firstly, 9 is the recorded strength on the Richter scale of the recent Japanese Earthquake that hit northeast Japan.

9 also appears in phone numbers which are essential all over the world, e.g. 911 in USA. In Singapore 999 for the police and 995 for the ambulance services.

Closer to home, where there has been an election fever for the longest time, this campaign has also been characterised also by the number 9, we have always had the customary 9 day campaign period for eons and until recently 9 single member constituencies used to house the braver of the PAP candidates.

The recent boundary changes have added 3 brave men [when i say brave i mean brave enough to be fielded in an SMC] into the PAP fold and seemingly the magical number 9 had disappeared. But interestingly as if by coincidence the number 9 reappeared in the form of 9 seats for NMPs and 9 seats for NCMPs. :)

On the subject of bravery, this election also saw the opposition display its fair share of brave men. SPP’s Sec-Gen Chiam See Tong joined his Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC team to try to take down that GRC. WP’s Sec-Gen Low Thia Khiang joined his Aljunied team to try to capture Aljunied GRC. This has been described by some as going into the mountain to get the tiger cubs. To go and get the tiger is of course a good thing but we should all remember that a cat has 9 lives. And a tiger is a big cat.

Besides extending the life of a cat, the number 9 also had some powers of coalescence and division. And this time  it was within Socialist Front backyard that the number 9 wrecked havoc.

I had again 9 aging men (myself included) in the council of the Socialist Front. There was a king cat in the mountain of Tanjong Pagar. Prior to the elections, no firm decision was made on going after the kingcat. It was only after our withdrawal that an attempt was made by some renegade members to go for Tanjong Pagar GRC. This last minute attempt naturally ran into problems. Now that the elections would be over, it remains to be seen whether the experience of sitting out this 9 days of election hustings would be a unifying or disunifying event.

Amongst the parties participating in this election, the 9 day hustings also exerted pressure to bring the parties in solidarity with each other.

In the past we had the fallen PAP candidates and walkover PAP ministers who cried. Then its those PAP ministers who were stepping down [Lim Boon Heng], then the last thing i heard was even Khaw Boon Wan was close to tears. We also had a Workers’ Party candidate who cried on his… erm… introduction as candidate. SJP’s Sec-Gen Desmond Lim Bak Chuan also shed some tears due to the stress of the campaign. The sensational Nicole Seah also fell prey to her emotions. As to how many more candidates will be left crying upon the revelation of the polling day’s results is for everyone to imagine.

The pressure of these 9 days also honestly did some good for the country, we have a humbled George Yeo, we have Vivian Balakrishnan finally apologising for his unkind remarks made in parliament, Lee Hsien Loong apologised as well.

If this is anything to go by, I must say that there must be more of such 9 day elections so that certain people can be brought down closer to mother earth.

This to me signals the maturing of politics. This is good for the country. This is how a ruling party should behave. Be willing to admit that you are wrong. Be willing to change and further our nationhood.

As usual, it will be unlikely that a single post on this blog is to come out of my fingers without making reference to SNSD. As explained previously before, SNSD is the acronym for So Nyuh Shi Dae – Girls’ Generation. They are to me the best girl group to have ever walked the face of this earth. SNSD is also made up of 9 members: TaeYeon, Jessica, Tiffany, Sunny, SeoHyun, HyoYeon, SooYoung, Yuri and Yoona.

The trouble with SNSD is that more often than not, Sones like us just cannot seem to get enough of them. SNSD videos are a mix of group shots, panned shots and close up shots of the group. This was the same for live broadcasts of their performances as well as their music videos. The beauty of SNSD is in their sychronised dancing. Given the way their videos are mixed, being able to see the entire action of a song is itself a miracle on its own.

Complete and unedited dance versions of their performances are very rare such that even leaked out practice videos have gained a following.

Samples of the practice videos are at the following links:

Genie (Tell Me Your Wish / I Just Wanna Wish) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKPxeS6uXt8

Oh! [This is the cheerleading song] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7SYWFeaSqc&feature=related

My Best Friend [watch for TaeYeon's mistake] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmaa81tt9Wo

Now practice videos being practice videos, no one should expect them to be dressed to the 9s. These are not performances but leaked videos of their practices. The appreciation is not in the dressing but their dance moves, the choreography, their timing, their poise and gracefulness.

Some Sones were obviously dissatisfied when they started delving into making the videos more interesting and having organised fancam recordings so that they would not miss out on every move of each of their favourite SNSD member.

Some Sones having decided that one screen playing SNSD was not enough, pioneered the use of 9 screens (they wanted to look at all 9 fancams together so they split the screen into ninths – each playing one fancam). Later on some brought the game further, some wanted 9 different SNSD performances of the same song to be put on the same screen, then it was cast, someone mixed 9 videos into a super SNSD HD video sending some Sones to cloud 9 and giving some others sleepless nights.

Maybe I am reading too much,  if SNSD has nine members it would be apt to divide the screen into nine miniscreens for the screensaver. But i could have sworn that it was the Soshi fans did it first, it was only thereafter did the SNSD Daum Screensaver come along, then came the SNSD Woongjin Coway advertisement.

The 9th of March is also Kim TaeYeon’s birthday. And if you take a closer note of Kim TaeYeon and her cheerleader’s garb and oversized jersey in some of SNSD’s music videos, her jersey is always numbered ’9′. Someone said that my adulation for SNSD bordered on insanity and obsession….

Notwithstanding the above, it is clear that the power of 9 works its magic once again. As stated earlier, the number 9 appears not only just in the 9 days of campaigning, there is now the promise of 9 NCMP seats, the 9 parties contesting: PAP, WP, SDP, NSP, RP, SPP, SDA (SJP/PKMS)

but interestingly none of the 9 parties actually fielded 9 members…. the minimum number of candidates each participating party fielded is 7 which was obviously an attempt to qualify for the Party Political Broadcast on TV which required each party to field a minimun of 6 candidates. Now this sets me thinking… and incidentally, the polling day has also been fixed as 7th May 2011. What does that mean of the things that are to come?

On this polling day, it pays for each of us to sit down and think about the things happening around us and draw commonalities from the coincidences and the unexplained.

In any event, since Socialist Front had already decided to take a back seat for this round of elections, this 9 days to me have been a time of firefighting, deep thought, self-reflection and re-orientation. This blogpost is the product of these 9 days of detachment.

It would be heinously wrong for me to assert that I had come up with this post entirely on my own intellect and reflection. It would be apt for me to pay tribute to the original creators of the phrase that lent inspiration to this post.

“The Power of 9″ is actually the phrase used by the Soshified community in tribute to the South Korean Girl Group named So Nyuh Shi Dae – Girls’ Generation a.k.a. SNSD.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — President Obama on Friday privately thanked the U.S. Special Forces who killed Osama bin Laden. “Job well done,” he said of their daring raid.In a series of closed-door meetings, Mr. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden met with some of the Special Operations forces who went on the raid in Pakistan and with members of the assault force who supported the mission.The President later addressed more than 2,000 soldiers in a hangar at Fort Campbell. “I came here for a simple reason: to say thank you on behalf of all America. This has been a historic week in the life of our nation,” he said. “Thanks to the incredible skill and courage of countless individuals, intelligence, military, over many years, the terrorist leader who struck our nation on 9/11 will never threaten America again.” The President said he had visited New York the day before to pay homage to the victims of bin Laden’s 2001 terrorist attacks and to the firefighters and police who responded to the catastrophe.“I promised that our nation will never forget those we lost that dark September day,” he said.“And today, here at Fort Campbell, I had the privilege of meeting the extraordinary Special Ops folks who honored that promise,” he said. “It was a chance for me to say, ‘On behalf of all Americans and people around the world, job well done. Job well done.’”During the meeting with the SEAL team, Mr. Obama awarded it and other units involved in the operation a Presidential Unit Citation, the White House said. The President also received a PowerPoint presentation on the raid, with maps, photos, and a scale model of the compound, from members of the assault force. Even the trained dog used in the raid attended.Speaking later to the troops of the 101st Airborne Division, he drew another connection, between the soldiers there and the commandos he called “America’s quiet professionals.”“Like all of us, they could have chosen a life of ease,” the President said. “But like you, they volunteered.”Describing the SEAL commandos as “battle hardened” and tirelessly trained, Mr. Obama said: “When I gave the order, they were ready. And in recent days, the world has learned just how ready they were.”While the SEAL team is not based at Fort Campbell, it is home of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the Night Stalkers. The unit, which pilots aircraft for Special Operations troops, flew the helicopters that carried the commandos to bin Laden’s compound.Mr. Obama linked the killing of bin Laden to the broader war, saying it showed the progress the United States had made in disrupting and dismantling al-Qaeda. The soldiers of the 101st Airborne, he said, were pushing back insurgents and allowing Afghans to reclaim their towns. “The bottom line is this,” he said in a statement that drew the loudest cheers of the day, “our strategy is working, and there is no greater evidence of that than justice finally being delivered to Osama bin Laden.” Among the soldiers, there was satisfaction at the killing of bin Laden. Several said they were relieved, though most said they did not believe it would bring the Afghan war to an end any sooner.“It helps to know that we finally got him,” said Sgt. Marion Githens, who coordinated Army helicopters at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan before returning to the United States two days ago. But she said she was still ambivalent about the war. “Some days, you feel like it’s not going anywhere,” she said. “Other days, you think, OK, maybe we really can help these people.”Soldiers expressed gratitude Mr. Obama had come. “It’s tough coming home,” said Capt. Jimos Reese, a company commander. “It does mean a lot that the President cares about you.”The Pentagon recommended Mr. Obama come to Fort Campbell, a senior official said, because the 101st Airborne had taken significant casualties, having served in a Taliban stronghold south and west of Kandahar that is some of the most lethal terrain in Afghanistan.Mr. Obama acknowledged that, noting 125 soldiers from the base had died in Afghanistan. Some soldiers in the 101st Airborne, he said, had been deployed to Afghanistan three or four times.Among those who greeted the President at Fort Campbell was Vice Adm. William McRaven, a former commando in the SEALs who oversaw the raid as the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command. After Mr. Obama’s arrival, the President’s motorcade left immediately for low buildings on the far side of the airfield, where the meeting with the SEAL team and other units lasted more than an hour.The meetings were kept private to protect the identities of those involved and to shield them from becoming targets of terrorist reprisals. In his speech to the troops, Mr. Obama said the American military had “broken the Taliban’s momentum” to promote terrorism in Afghanistan.“We are ultimately going to defeat al-Qaeda,” the President said to loud cheers. But he said he didn’t want to fool anyone. “This continues to be a tough fight.”Soldiers were careful not to celebrate bin Laden’s death, voicing instead a sense of professional pride for the work of the commandos.“We’re not done,” said Major Luis Ortiz.

I'll cut to the chase, and tell you what I think happened in the end of the superb Fringe Season Three finale:

Walter, 15 years in the future, indeed knows how to send Peter's mentality back to 2011.   Once back in our time, Peter tears holes in both of the universes, creating a bridge so that our main players from each universe - Walternate and Fauxlivia from over there, Walter and Olivia and Broyles from here - are able to meet, converse, and possibly begin to come to terms with each other.  To enhance the possibility of this succeeding, the Eternal Bald Observers remove Peter from this bridge, and presumably both universes.  Why?   Because Peter is the source of the war between the universes - or, more precisely, Walter's taking Peter as a boy from over there to over here.  (Possible alternate interpretation: the EBOs are explaining what happened, not what they caused to happen.  But my guess is they caused it.)

That's the long and the short of it, I'd say.  Next question: how did we get there in tonight's finale?

Well, Peter's mentality seemed in effect to travel from 2011 to 15 years in the future last week.  This week, it at first seemed that we were just getting a glimpse of that future, with all of the characters appropriately aged.   But, in fact, Walter in that future figures out a way, via Peter in the machine and the wormholes that accompany/cause/are caused by the tears in the universe, to send Peter's future mind back to 2011.   And that happened just as Peter connected into the machine in 2011, which resulted in Peter waking up in 2026.   So there was time travel going on after all, just more from the future to the past than the present to the future, although they slosh back and forth both ways.

The reason Peter in the future wants to go back to the past is not only to save our deteriorating universe, but do something to make sure Walternate doesn't kill Olivia in the future.   Walter, who understands time travel better than any one else on television, explains to Peter that Walter can't go back in time, because he already did what he did (set Peter on the course of activating the machine in 2011), and Walter would not be able to surmount the paradox of going back in time to undo what he did, when what he did is what got him to go back in time ... That's why I love time travel.

But Peter is not so restricted, since he was not the one who set all this in motion, so he - or his mentality - can indeed go back in time.

But now he's apparently no longer in the joint universe that his going back in time created.  Because the Eternal Balds removed him.

But where time travel is involved, anything that's done can be undone, as we just saw tonight.  And it looks as if Fringe has shifted from a story of alternate realities to one of good old-fashioned, delicious time travel.

And coming this August ... my essay The Return of 1950s Science Fiction in Fringe in this new anthology ...




See also Fringe 3.1: The Other Olivia ... Fringe 3.2: Bad Olivia and Peter ... Fringe 3.3: Our/Their Olivia on the Other Side ... Fringe 3.5: Back from Hiatus, Back from the Amber ... Fringe 3.7: Two Universes Still Nearing Collision ... Fringe 3.8: Long Voyages Home ... Fringe 3.10: The Return of the Eternal Bald Observers ... Flowers for Fringenon in Fringe 3.11 ... Fringe 3.12: The Wrong Coffee  ... Fringe 3.13: Alternate Fringe ... Fringe 3.14: Amber Here ... Fringe 3.15: Young Peter and Olivia ... Fringe 3.16: Walter and Yoko ... Fringe 3.17: Bell, Olivia, Lee, and the Cow ... Fringe 3.18: Clever Walternate ... Fringe 3.19 meets Inception, The Walking Dead, Tron ... Fringe 3.20: Countdown to Season 3 Finale 1 of 3 ... Fringe 3.21:  Ben Frankin, Rimbaldi, and the Future
 
See also reviews of Season 2: Top Notch Return of Fringe Second Season ... Fringe 2.2 and The Mole People ... Fringe 2.3 and the Human Body as Bomb ... Fringe 2.4 Unfolds and Takes Wing ... Fringe 2.5: Peter in Alternate Reality and Wi-Fi for the Mind ... A Different Stripe of Fringe in 2.6 ... The Kid Who Changed Minds in Fringe 2.7 ... Fringe 2.8: The Eternal Bald Observers ... Fringe 2.9: Walter's Journey ... Fringe 2.10: Walter's Brain, Harry Potter, and Flowers for Algernon ...  New Fringe on Monday Night: In Alternate Universe? ... Fringe 2.12: Classic Science Fiction Chiante ... Fringe 2.13: "I Can't Let Peter Die Again" ... Fringe 2.14: Walter's Health, Books, and Father ... Fringe 2.15: I'll Take 'Manhatan' ... Fringe 2.16: Peter's Story ... Fringe 2.17: Will Olivia Tell Peter? ... Fringe 2.18: Strangeness on a Train ... Fringe 2.19: Two Plus Infinity ... Fringe the Noir Musical ... Fringe 2.21: Bring on the Alternates ... Fringe 2.22:  Tin Soldiers and Nixon Coming ... Fringe Season 2 Finale: The Switch

See also reviews of Season One Fringe Begins ... Fringe 2 and 3: The Anthology Tightrope ... 4: The Eternal Bald Observer ... 7: A Bullet Can Scramble a Dead Brain's Transmission ... 8. Heroic Walter and Apple Through Steel ... 9. Razor-Tipped Butterflies of the Mind ... 10. Shattered Pieces Come Together Through Space and Times ... 11. A Traitor, a Crimimal, and a Lunatic ... 12, 13, 14: Fringe and Teleportation ... 15: Fringe is Back with Feral Child, Pheromones, and Bald Men ... 17. Fringe in New York, with Oliva as Her Suspect ... 18. Heroes and Villains across Fringe ... Stephen King, Arthur C. Clarke, and Star Trek in Penultimate Fringe ... Fringe Alternate Reality Finale: Science Fiction At Its Best

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                 Special Discount Coupons for Angie's List, Avis, Budget Car, Garden.com, eMusic

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The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

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After his team swept the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night, Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins was asked if it was a relief to finally have questions about their seven-game collapse to the Flyers in 2010 rendered irrelevant.

"It's nice that we're not going to have to answer any more of those questions. I think we learned a lot from that experience last year," said Lucic, who finally revealed himself as a playoff participant with two goals in their Game 4 series-clincher.

"In this series, we went right after them."

That they did. And the Flyers did little to battle them back.

It makes you wonder what the Flyers learned last postseason in their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Finals, because it wasn't evident in this four-game humbling. They couldn't match Boston's level of competition, physicality or consistency. They looked tired, taxed, passive where the Bruins were aggressive.

They didn't look like the Flyers.

Bobby Holik, a former Stanley Cup champion and an analyst for NHL Network, joined us on Puck Daddy Radio earlier this week and said something changed in the Flyers around February in the regular season:

"They were not playing with the same edge, the same drive and hunger they had last year. That's where the difference is. The team's not much worse or not better. But only here and there are they playing with the same edge.

"Every since around February, they started playing a skill game. That's all good, but the strength of their game is playing with an edge. And what is going to get them out of the playoffs is not playing with that edge. … They are one of the best built teams in the League. What separated them from the rest was they could take all that talent and skill and play hard-driving hockey. It's there, but it could be too late for them to bring it out."

There were three main factors in the Flyers' demise in the playoffs. The first is that the Bruins flat outplayed them in the four games, in nearly every facet, to the point where the worst power play in the postseason potted goals in Games 3 and 4.

The second was the goaltending and defense, as the Flyers used two different goaltenders in each of the first three games and hung them out to dry frequently. The Flyers pulled their goalie six times in 11 playoff games. Padded by some empty netters, the Bruins outscored the Flyers 20-7 in this series. That's inexcusable.

And the third, and perhaps most significant, was the absence of  Chris Pronger.

The Flyers lacked leadership; Pronger provides it. The Flyers lacked snarl; Pronger provides it. The Flyers lacked defensive cohesion; Pronger provides it.

"You notice the impact a guy like Chara has on the other side. They have the same style, play the same way. You certainly miss him," said Coach Peter Laviolette after Game 4.

The Flyers played 11 games in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They had Pronger for 41:45 of them. Compare that to their run last season, when he was their backbone and averaged an absurd 29:03 per game. His loss to injuries proved insurmountable.

The Flyers enter the summer with a projected cap space of $430,845 according to Cap Geek. That isn't a misprint.

But they also enter the summer with undeniable talent, depth and potential to contend in 2011-12. It's a tricky offseason for GM Paul Holmgren, mostly because, like everyone else, it's hard to understand how this Flyers team could be so dominated by the Bruins in the semifinals.

Catching up on my sleep didn't work out last night so I will try again tonight. At least I don't have to be anywhere until 11am. I am attempting to bring 4 dogs to the adoption event plus 4 crates. If I had a bigger car I would take all 6 that are available. I sure hope I don't come back with more than I brought like last week. Last week I went with 3 and came home with 4. It isn't supposed to work that way.I have been checking my bank account to see if any rent money had appeared yet. The answer is no. I did get an email from my property management company though. Seems they send out a newsletter every month. In it there was a list of disbursement dates for rent. For May it is the 12th so I will have to wait 6 more days before I can hopefully check my bank account and see the balance jump. I am excited. Once the rent goes in I can call my bank and find out the mortgage payoff amount. It is getting really close now. ...

First off, I just want to say Thank You to those who joined us both in person and virtually last week at our Impact 2011: Building the Borderless Workplace conference. Personally, I always get energized by these events, especially when I have the opportunity to participate in real-time conversations with the amazing people who make up the leaders, practitioners, solution providers, media market, and researchers of the HR industry. What a passionate and vocal industry we work in!

I wanted to wrap up this week by sharing some insights on what I saw, heard, and personally felt at the conference last week for those who were unable to attend in person: 

What I Saw:

Although we were in the middle of beautiful St. Petersburg, with a view of the water just outside our windows and at a venue that often feels like you've stepped into a 1940’s vintage Hollywood movie set, the conference rooms were packed with passionate HR professionals taking copious notes on topics that ranged from Leadership development, HR Strategy, to What Learning will look like in 2021 (free streamed sessions). The questions and conversations following the sessions, made it into hallway discussions, and often ended up bleeding into lunch conversations. Participants were focused on learning as much as they could from everyone at the conference, especially from each other.

The networking events were lively and provided an opportunity for informal connections that hopefully everyone found positive. For example Laura Ann Preston from Kelly Services was in demand for introductions at every event based on her discussions on talent segmentation and changing the performance management dialogue in her Talent Initiatives panel. I think her exact words were “I was being chased”, but it was said with a smile. HR analytics and workforce planning was another hot topic. I’m sure I personally introduced Akil Walton, from Eaton Corporation to over 30 different people looking to learn more about Eaton’s great experience in building an HR Analytics function.  Everyone was looking to either increase their own knowledge or bring back information that their colleagues could use. 

What I Heard:

Theses discussions started during the pre-conference executive roundtables on Tuesday, which included companies that ranged from the University of Michigan to Darden Restaurants, and continued till Friday afternoon when I had the pleasure of finally sitting down to grab lunch with Starwood’s head of Talent Management and we finished our conversations over a fantastic Turkey Club.

How to implement successful HR Shared Service functions and COE’s; and differentiate this model from centralized HR functions

Restructuring and rethinking HR was a theme echoed throughout the conference. Those attending the HR sessions were interested in learning more about talent integrator roles, optimal HR structures, and the changing makeup of talent acquisition functions.

One of our international solution providers commented that this was the first conference they had heard the term Chief HR Officer used so often. He specifically asked if this role was on the increase and where was the CLO role heading? Well, that was a tough question that I’ll leave for a later blog, but I did share that in our research we are seeing an increase in the use of the titles Chief HR Officer or Chief People Officer.

Practical development of HR, particularly increasing the skills and capabilities of HR Business Partners and Center of Excellence leads

I saw and heard this theme throughout the conference. Comments centered on the fact that the current certification and higher-education programs offered important initial HR development – but they weren’t getting at the heart of what was missing in the HR community, real life experience and on the ground support.

When Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) presented their case study on Developing an Integrated People Services Organization for Strategic Talent Management; they had several audience questions about how they selected key HR roles and expectations for growth and development of their HR department. Their new HR structure has a heavy focus on the value of each area of HR, which promotes job mobility and breaks down traditional unspoken stigmas that often rise up between shared services functions, COE’s, and field HR roles. Sarah St. Clair, VP of HR for BAH even mentioned that her 80 + direct reports are expected to move and change roles on average every 2 years, emphasized by our speaker Kathy Nichols, an HR Director in her organization. 

In our Practitioner Panel: HR Challenges for the Coming Decade: Building Flexibility for the Future all four of our HR panelist's discussed the need to develop business acumen, solid planning, and advisory skills throughout HR.   Ellen Austin, a Senior Business Partner for Human Resources, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDBC) shared that her organization required all HR leadership roles to participate in 6 to 9 month job rotations in business roles throughout the organization. Once they had the experience of being on the front lines and working directly with clients or in other support roles, they became much more aware of the value of their work and its impact on their clients.  

We also found a lot of excitement in the Solution Provider discussions on this topic.  During the small group break outs in Benchmarking HR: Do You Dare to Compare? session we asked about where HR was seeing their budgets increase or decrease. The 15 or so vendors in my group had a great discussion about the increase in hiring and development needs, even for their own internal HR functions. As companies that sell sophisticated learning and HR offerings, they needed to find HR professionals who understand their business and can help them grow. Companies like Allen Communications said that their internal HR capabilities were critical to continuing their current growth rate. Additionally, almost everyone mentioned that they were spending a lot of time educating clients as part of the sales process or the support process in their particular offering areas. Those who had developed this capability felt it was increasing their sales dramatically.

We also saw announcements at the conference from MindLeaders/ThirdForce who launched their new TalentGuides, performance support modules based off of Bersin & Associates research content for HR professionals. (I’ll admit that this is a shameless plug in the middle of the blog, but I had the pleasure of working with the MindLeader’s team in supporting the development of these modules for the last year, and have a soft spot for their efforts). Conference participants who saw demos of the TalentGuides were excited about the simple idea of providing HR professionals performance support on critical talent areas when it was needed most, in front of clients and at decision making points, rather than in a separate classroom.

Our research found that 92% of High Impact HR organizations had formal internal development programs for their HR functions, and that the most effective HR development tools were coaching and mentoring programs and regular job rotations. These are all examples, of how organizations are accomplishing these best practices. 

The role of HR in managing or supporting organizational cultural changes 

Andy Mackay, from SunTrust Banks said it best, “My business is focused on changing our culture, so I need to be focused on our culture”. In Wednesday’s session on Developing a Comprehensive HR and Talent Strategy, I asked how many organizations were working on cultural change initiatives – over half the room raised their hand. As leaders we just know that Organizational Culture trumps HR initiatives – so changing the culture becomes a real focus when it is counter-productive to the company’s success. Several people came up to me after the session and asked, can HR actually change an organizations culture – and I’d have to honestly say “No, not alone”. They can support leadership efforts to change culture, they can ensure that they are nurturing and supporting a culture that has been set by their leadership, and they can coach leaders on the difference between talking about a culture and actually creating a culture. These are all important roles for an HR function – but they can’t set or change culture without leadership. Feel free to let me know if you disagree.

HR measurement and metrics

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the focus on HR measurement, metrics, and analytics throughout the conference. Almost every solution provider we spoke with shared the fact that HR analytic capabilities was a major part of their upcoming product road-map; even service providers were discussing how they were going to integrate analytics with their offerings. We saw unique, and potentially game changing tools like Zapoint's which has taken data collection methods from social sites and brought analysis of that data  to the next level, and Reward Platforms like  I Love Rewards and  Globoforce, talking about analyzing their data to not only connect it to annual engagement scores and turn-over rates, but start to connect it to the flow of recognition in a company, real time engagement notifications, and tracking organizational culture changes.  Everyone is talking about it, but few organizations and solution providers are doing it well.

We offered a small post session workshop on Building HR Analytics Capabilities which originally had 21 people signed up for the session, by the end of the conference we had an additional 12 people extend their stays to participate in the workshop, when they could have been sitting by the pool. This audience was a mix of solution providers and practitioners, and everyone was there to learn. We spent a considerable amount of time in the workshop, talking about how to prepare and develop HR professionals who could appropriately use the data coming out of these efforts. My co-presenter Akil Walton from Eaton Corporation summed it up by saying “None of the technology, or analytics skills, or even dashboard tools matter if your HR department and line managers don’t understand how to use the data to help the business make good decisions”. 

What I Felt:

Proud to be part of an industry that has so much passion and openness. Frustrated that as an industry we were still struggling with some of the basics. Exhilarated at seeing all the opportunities we, as an industry, have to help not only our companies but every person who interacts with our companies at some level.

Finally, I felt like I personally heard a battle cry – it is easy to overlook when learning about new technology implementations or yet another awe inspiring story about HR restructuring and transformation. Without development of the HR function, these initiatives simply don’t succeed. Today’s HR leaders are serious about developing their HR departments. Development that goes beyond a few business acumen courses and focuses on providing “on the job” programs that include experiences, special projects, job rotations, and extensive business knowledge and data interpretation skills.  Without these efforts, can HR actually fulfill on their goals and strategies?

In closing I’ll quote Ellen Austin, from BBDC when she was asked on her panel how she ensured her HR Strategy and Business Plan were solid, she stated  “I simply ask myself, when looking at my plan; if this was a business… would I lend them the money for this plan?”  Can you look at your own HR organization, strategy, and plan and feel confident that you would lend yourself the money?

If you attended Impact this year we’d love to hear about your own experiences, and we look forward to the next chance we can all get together and learn from each other.

Stacey Harris

Principal Analyst

What a shocking day for progress outside of Scotland. The minor improvement of AV spurned, hopes of PR dashed, and the Tories escaping not just unscathed, but positively emboldened. Today was not ‘a good day for the left’; it was a victory for tribalism and mendacity. Today we, the people, opted for a return to a solid two-party state in Westminster. If the Tories pull off their boundary fix, and the Scots vote for independence, even a two-party state may be a distant dream. What a shocking day.

The one bright flame that flickered in the darkness of the UK was in Scotland, where even under a proportional system the Scottish National Party have secured an historic victory. The grip of the major Westminster parties on British politics has taken a serious blow, as has the notion that PR can only deliver coalitions. Cameron has acknowledged the enormity of the result by pledging to “campaign to keep our United Kingdom with every fibre I have” (Gerry Hassan covers the result in full here). But South of the border, things are looking exceptionally bleak.

Looking back at May 2010, the decisions taken by Clegg and senior Lib Dems have proved to be disastrous. Not only have they weakened their party immeasurably, they have empowered the Conservatives without gaining a single concession of any substance.  Electoral reform, the reason I and many others voted for them, has now been kicked into touch for who knows how long. Neither Clegg nor the Coalition is likely to survive until 2015. For all this carnage, what has been gained?

It has now emerged that Brown offered a referendum on full proportional representation – the choice of reformers, the choice of the Lib Dems and the choice of all honest democrats. Clegg turned it down. He accepted instead a referendum on AV, another lopsided majoritarian system which no one had asked for, coupled with a gerrymandering of constituency lines in favour of the Conservatives. True, it’s unlikely Brown could have delivered a PR referendum, but STV should have been the primary ‘red line’ – take it or leave it. If neither party were able or willing to offer it, the Lib Dems still had options, and they still had public support.  

With purple protesters in the street and wide support for electoral reform, Clegg could have declined coalition, leaving a Tory minority government. The old LabCon duopoly, unwilling to grant the public a say on how they elect their government, would have shouldered much of the blame. Public support for PR would have grown, not shrunk. The Lib Dems would have been strengthened, and a Tory minority government would never have lasted the distance. But they wanted to play the statesmen, the guardians of the “national interest” – they wanted to be in government, whatever the cost. And how dear that cost has been.

In accepting the vote on AV, they opted to fight on the weakest ground possible. Had they battled for an honourable coalition, gaining concrete and substantial concessions, even AV would have been winnable. They needed to show coalitions could work for the public – they failed. Had they secured a vote on STV, even their dismal servility in this coalition would not have stemmed the tide. Instead – they got the worst of both worlds, and today they have been blown apart.

As for Labour’s role, the sight of Margarett Beckett and David Blunkett campaigning alongside the Noes was a good reminder of just how reactionary Labour can be. Blunkett even acknowledged the No campaign’s dishonesty:

 “We are in the middle of an election campaign. People in elections use made-up figures”

When the duopoly is threatened, they have few qualms about hugging the Conservatives close. One of the most astonishing things about this Coalition is how quickly it has erased the memory of New Labour in power, turning pink-Thatcherites into heroes of the common people. “A little less, and a little slower” will hardly ring through the ages as a revolutionary cry.

Dreams of proportional representation, some have said, will be strengthened by this result, not weakened. I would only ask that this view is backed up with a credible plan of how this is going to happen. I had an interesting exchange with David Rickard on this issue, and he makes some persuasive arguments, but on this point it’s hard to be optimistic:

 “If AV loses, on the other hand, the left-of-centre parties can start pressing for PR and other reforms right away, and pressure could be brought to bear on Miliband's Labour to back PR. We could then have a pro-PR electoral alliance and coalition in waiting at the 2015 election”

The Lib Dems perished today, they are no more, they have ceased to be; they are the yellow parrot of British politics. Labour have shown themselves divided over AV, let alone PR – something that would all but guarantee the end of Labour majority governments. Asked by John Humphrys what a No vote would mean for reform, Miliband replied: “we won't be coming back to this very quickly.”

The Conservatives could hardly have asked for a better day. FPTP has been retained, and they will be encouraged by the results of the local elections. How tempted will they be to call an early election? They failed to win last year, in the most benign circumstances they could have dreamt of. Since then, the public has had a sharp reminder of just how noxious and untrustworthy they can be: the forest sell off, the NHS “reforms”, the desire to privatise everything except “the judiciary and the military”, corporate tax cuts and a complete failure to bring the banks to heel. Labour remain rudderless and ill-prepared, but a snap election would still be a brave move.  If they can hold out until the boundary changes are passed, assuming they get them through, England will be a Tory fortress.

The Coalition may well crumble before then; tensions will reach new highs on the back of today’s events. The Lib Dems would be annihilated in an election tomorrow, but the longer they remain propping up this destructive Conservative government, the more contaminated they will become. They are now in a lose-lose situation, facing either a swift beheading or a slow and painful poisoning.  

What next. The gloves must come off. Labour desperately needs to find some bite and some ideas. On elected Lords, touted as a sweetener to the Lib Dems, expect lots of committees, consultations, reviews, reviews of consultations…. Forget it. The Lib Dems failed to secure anything concrete on the issue. Either the Lib Dems secure solid and fundamental concessions or this Coalition needs to end.

 

Whether you are a manager or an engineer, everyone needs to have some competency in presenting their ideas.  Presentation skills are critical in influencing others, articulating complex ideas, and addressing large groups of people.  Even if you spend your days confined to your office writing code or finding bugs, at some point, you will need to present your ideas, maybe even to the VP when he stops by your office to see your new software features.  So what makes for a good presentation?  Recently, I had to give a formal presentation and had to think through my years of training to make sure I communicated key points and started meaningful conversations with the audience.  So let me spend this time giving you my top 10 tips on giving a good presentation.

1. YOU: Spend the first few minutes of your presentation introducing yourself.  This is more than just your name and “rank”.  You are in front of this group of people for a reason.  Take advantage of it to let them know a little more about you and your career highlights.  For many people, the first few minutes of your presentation will allow them to judge if they like you are not, or if they are interested in your topic or not.  Ever heard of first impressions?  This is first impressions to the extreme, especially if the audience is large.  Don’t blow it!
2. YOUR AUDIENCE:  Know your audience.  If you are going to influence your audience you need to know who they are.  Not personally, but you need to know how much they already know about your topic, what points may be the most interesting to them, and what takeaways they are looking for within your presentation.  Don't give details to high-level managers and don't give high-level business facts to a technical audience.
3. YOUR TOPIC: Review your overall message with key members of the audience beforehand if this is a proposal or new idea.  If this is a presentation to your team, upper management, or some other group within your company, you should be able to sample a few people before the day of the presentation, give them the highlights, and see if they are in agreement with your assertions.  This is especially critical if the topic is controversial.  You want allies in the audience that will speak up if the discussion heads in the wrong direction.  If you are presenting to a bigger, more anonymous group (either a training class or conference) you may not be able to poll a sample of the audience beforehand, but you still should run your presentation by a few people to gather inputs.
4. YOUR VISUALS: Your topic needs to be clear and concise – your slides will make or break your presentation.  If you have verbose slides and then read them word-for-word then you are wasting the audience’s time.  Couldn't you just make your point in email?  The text in your slides should be bullet points.  You should form what you are going to say for each bullet item and it should add more information and value than what the slide by itself says.  If your slide deck will get passed around and doesn’t contain enough info with just your bullet points, you can add notes (Microsoft PowerPoint has a notes section for each slide).  Just remember, your presentation is more about what you say and how you say it than what each slide says.  Also, if you can add fancy visuals and animations make sure they are appropriate and don’t overwhelm your point.  I don’t have that problem.  As a Test Manager, the most fancy “visual” you’ll see from me is a table of data, but that hasn’t stopped me from having good, productive presentations.  Also, being a Test Manager, I never like seeing presentations with spelling errors in the text or other inconsistencies so have your slides reviewed by someone before presenting them.
5. YOUR VOICE:  Show passion and excitement when you talk.  Add some inflection to your voice.  Being monotone can put the audience to sleep no matter how interesting the topic.  Also, speak up loudly.  Always loudly.  A microphone helps, but you shouldn’t need one.  Speaking loudly shows confidence and will keep your audience engaged.  If you are soft spoken and don’t have a microphone, you are not setting yourself up for success.  Inflection and volume in your voice is a great way to keep the audience engaged.  There was a time at Microsoft where presenters tried different methods to keep the audience's attention.  I've seen presentations from people in crazy costumes where you didn't actually know who the presenter was, and even one presenter who decided he would get his head shaved during his whole presentation.  It was amazing to see how this shaving progressed and that he didn't flinch or get distracted from his presentation topics, but I honestly don't remember what the presentation was about, only that I just saw a guy get his head shaved.
6. YOUR FLOW:  Show your idea or topic in a progressive way that ends with a clear message on how it will add value.  Start by giving some background so the audience is all on the same page.  Explain the issues, give your proposals or examples from your experience, and suggest ways it can add value to the individuals in the audience.  If you have challenges or risks, state them.  If you have asks from the audience, state them.  If your presentation is about the audience making a final decision (like if presenting to managers) state your expectation on the last slide that you are looking for a decision from them.  Clarity makes for a productive presentation.
7. YOUR BRAIN:  Show that you have expertise in the topic and additional insight that others in the audience may not have.  Don’t just present facts or issues, but draw conclusions so that you can lead your audience in the right direction.  Given that, it’s also not fair to the audience to present a one-sided argument.  Give counter-arguments yourself so that others in the audience don’t have to.  Lay it all out from background info through technology, proposals to risks, and final conclusions.  Pretend you are giving your audience breakfast in bed.  You don’t expect them to get out of bed when they don’t have all that they need.  Think through all that is needed and have it all on hand for them just in case.  If you aren't sure, put it in an appendix.  That way, you can go to it if the presentation changes direction, but if not, it is there for a reference.
8. YOUR BODY:  Show confidence in your body language.  Don’t dance and don’t cross your arms.  I can give you more advice here, but then I’d follow that up with don’t be self-conscious about your body language, and that will make you really confused.  What works for me is pretend you are opening up to the audience, maybe even hugging them.  Your arms are inviting by being beside you, behind you, or in some other position that sends the message that you are inviting people in.  Crossing them says ‘stay away’ and that’s not the message your audience wants to hear if you are giving them good information in your presentation.  Dance, pacing, or any other walking around can be distracting unless it’s up and down the aisles in which case you are again opening yourself up with your body language to help draw people in, so getting into the crowd is good.  Movement while in front of the crowd can be distracting.  If you are concerned about any of this, sit down in a chair at a conference table.  That is by far the easiest environment to present from.  If you want to go bigger than that, try video-taping yourself first during a practice run.  You’ll find watching yourself will be priceless in improving your presentation skills.
9. YOUR TIME:  Actually, it’s the audience’s time.  Watch the clock.  Don’t go over the time you are allotted.  If you allow questions within your presentation, make sure that you get back on topic and don’t go off on a tangential discussion.  I typically count my slides and my time and make sure I have a good ratio.  For example, I recent had to present 15 slides in 30 minutes.  2 minutes a slide was reasonable but even at the end I stopped before the final slide (which was less important to the conversation) and skipped any appendix items.  If you have 30 minutes to present 45 slides, you aren’t going to complete it in time.  Be reasonable about your pace.
10. YOUR STAGE: The logistics are the most important part, really.  Yes, microphones, projectors, laser pens, and more can make or break a presentation because your comfort level with these items will affect your focus on the topic at hand.  Know what surroundings you are going to be presenting in.  Sometimes I will show up a bit early or check out the facilities the day before to understand the configuration of the audience (seating arrangements) and of the speaker.  If you think you will be sitting at a large conference room table with your own laptop, but instead find out you will be hooked to a microphone, video-taped, and talking from a pedestal, this can make a big difference in how you prepare, what you wear (yes, that is important to some degree), and when you arrive.  Should you bring print-outs or send out the slide deck to the audience ahead of time?  What about remote viewers through video conferencing?  If you plan on doing any audience participation-like activity, you should think twice about this if part of your audience in remote.  And questions from the audience can be really tough to hear for remote viewers so always repeat the questions before giving answers. 

And a bonus tip if you've read this far:  ADVANCED SKILL:  Adding humor is great in keeping the audience engaged, but it’s a double-edged sword.  Although it can be very powerful when done right, many times it is done wrong and the phrase or topic you thought would be funny and get a laugh, gets silence, long, uncomfortable silence, and that throws off the whole presentation.  So my advice, don’t go for the jokes.  As you get more confortable presenting, they actually somewhat form on their own as you make your way through your topic points.

 

Overall, the most important tip is to just go do presentations.  You need to get out there, in front of people, and practice this skill.  Some will be good and some will honestly suck.  But how else are you going to get better?  If you don't practice, you may have some awesome ideas and no mechanism to get momentum behind them.  Good luck!

Nice!:righton: Blabbermouth.net reports that EMI has announced the release of "From Fear To Eternity: The Best Of 1990-2010" (cover artwork pictured above). A double-CD set spanning twenty years this follows the huge success of 2010's studio album "The Final Frontier" which hit the number one spot in 28 countries around the world. It also became the band's highest-charting album in the USA where Iron Maiden have just been awarded their first Grammy for "Best Metal Performance", for the song 'El Dorado', taken from "The Final Frontier" album, and which is included in this selection. Iron Maiden's current phenomenal global success has seen the band not only scale new-found heights aided by their unique method of touring, using a customized Boeing 757 — named Ed Force One by their fans — to transport band, crew and all their equipment round the world to many new places, but has meant their ever-expanding fanbase now encompasses a brand new generation of metal lovers. "From Fear To Eternity" is a chance for these new fans of the band to explore Iron Maiden's rich history, with the highlights of their last eight studio albums distilled into this handy collection, which follows 2009's compilation of their earlier work, the 1980-1990 "Somewhere Back In Time" album. Perennial favorites to be found on this album include songs also featured in MAIDEN's current "The Final Frontier World Tour" set list; tracks such as 'Fear Of The Dark', 'The Wicker Man', 'Blood Brothers' and 'Dance Of Death' sit alongside recent classics 'El Dorado' and the hauntingly evocative 'When The Wild Wind Blows'. It also include singles like 'Holy Smoke' and 'Be Quick Or Be Dead' together with more progressive thought-provoking album tracks like 'Afraid To Shoot Strangers' and 'For The Greater Good Of God'. This new collection charts the musical development of Britain's most successful metal band as they have evolved their sound, producing longer, more complex songs, gaining huge critical acclaim in the process. Featuring many of the epics for which the band has become renowned, it is accordingly released as a double CD, but will retail for the price of a single album. The full track listing for the CD is as follows: ::: Disc 1 ::: 1. 'The Wicker Man' 2. 'Holy Smoke' 3. 'El Dorado' 4. 'Paschendale' 5. 'Different World' 6. 'Man On The Edge' (live) 7. 'The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg' 8. 'Blood Brothers' 9. 'Rainmaker' 10. 'Sign Of The Cross' (live) 11. 'Brave New World' 12. 'Fear Of The Dark' (live) ::: Disc 2 ::: 1. 'Be Quick Or Be Dead' 2. 'Tailgunner' 3. 'No More Lies' 4. 'Coming Home' 5. 'The Clansman' (live) 6. 'For The Greater Good Of God 7. 'These Colours Don't Run' 8. 'Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter' 9. 'Afraid To Shoot Strangers' 10. 'Dance Of Death' 11. 'When The Wild Wind Blows'

Reporting by Sarah Phelan and Linda Man. Photographs by Sarah Phelan
Thirty-six candidates have filed papers in the 2011 mayor’s race, but only former Sup. Michela Alioto-Pier, Sup. John Avalos, Board President David Chiu, former Sup. Bevan Dufty, former Sup. Tony Hall, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, venture capitalist Joanna Rees, City Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, and Sen. Leland Yee got to publicly race out of the starting gate May 5 during the first official mayoral forum. And while the decision to exclude the other 25 candidates was understandable from a logistical perspective, it raised the perennial question as to how the concerns of marginal communities and marginal candidates will be addressed during the campaign. (N. B. Write-in candidate and taxi driver Harold Miller used the forum to circulate his campaign literature, a strategy he also employed during this week’s cab driver protest around MTA credit card fees)<!--break-->

The May 5 mayoral forum, which the University of San Francisco’s Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good and buildOn, a national non-profit organization, hosted, was apparently modeled on the 2008 Presidential Candidate Forum on Service. And it was intended to enable candidates to ‘address substantive questions about the future of service and engaged citizenship in San Francisco,” according to a USF press release.

But while the forum gave the audience a chance to meet nine mayoral candidates up front and personal, and though the candidates sought to differentiate themselves as best they could, the open-ended nature of the questions that students got to pose, resulted in more talking around the issues, and less answering of the questions. By forum’s end, the one message that the mostly student audience seemed to have gotten was that the city is out of money, thanks to a $350 million dollar deficit, and that folks need to volunteer, and, come to think about it, why not volunteer for someone’s mayoral campaign.

“It was more like mayors promoting themselves. Are they supposed to be like that?! The main thing I learned was that the city is in huge debt,” one student observed, after listening to the candidates talk about their experience giving back to the community and what they hope to change if elected.

 USF student Christina Lopez, in her junior year and majoring in Politics, told the Guardian that if she had to vote at last night’s candidate forum, she would have chosen Yee. She said that out of all candidates, Yee offered more insight on how he would change things and what he would do if he was mayor. “The forum was helpful because I didn’t really know all the candidates,” Lopez said. “ I will follow the campaign and see how they actually fall through with what they said about rebuilding SF.”

Audience member Jack Frohlich said he still has no idea who to vote for. “I want to hear where we are going to get the money to do what we are going to do,” Frohlich said. “I want to hear somebody proposing a surcharge on the richest people in the state to close the budget gap.”

USF student Andriana Duckworth, a sophomore majoring in Politics, said she would vote for Avalos. “I liked how he said that we don’t need to take money from other local budgets to fix our public school system,” Duckworth said. She also noted that she liked how Alioto-Pier talked about disabilities and would like to hear it addressed more.  “When people hear diversity, they think of race and class but not disability,” Duckworth said.

So how did the candidates seek to frame and differentiate their candidacies?

Hall characterized himself as “an independent,” but then waffled his way through a long and confusing explanation of his 34 years in public service that included the claim that he was “very successful” as a supervisor.

Alioto-Pier talked about the defining moment in her life: the day she broke her back when she was only 13 years old, thanks to a ski lift accident, and how she subsequently began, “fighting for equality and the rights that I knew were mine.”

Herrera, like the bright lawyer he is, won Brownie points for noting that the location for the mayoral forum on public service was very apt, given Leo McCarthy’s service-oriented political career. Herrera then highlighted the positive changes that his office has made in recent years, including its efforts to promote marriage equality and universal healthcare. “These are real changes that started in San Francisco and had a positive impact,” he said.

Board President David Chiu cast himself as a champion of immigrants, civil and tenants’ rights, and took credit for helping usher in a new era of civility at City Hall. “For the last ten years, City Hall has not been as functional as we would have liked,” Chiu said. “I’m very proud that the tone at City Hall has changed.” He said that balancing the budget, reforming pensions, bringing in the America’s Cup and nurturing and retaining tech companies like Twitter, and creating a world-class public transit system were top priorities. ‘We’re losing families, tenants and homeowners,” Chiu warned.

Venture capitalist Joanna Rees made the biggest visual impression of the night, thanks to a bright orange jacket that made this reporter speculate that Rees was trying to raise her name recognition by making a subliminal connection with the famously bright orange wrapped Reese's Pieces. Either way, Rees cast herself as a political outsider who would breathe fresh air into an otherwise, allegedly, uninspired room. “We’ve lost the spirit of innovation at City Hall,” Rees claimed, as she committed to creating an online clearinghouse that would allow people to share their talents and meet the needs of various services, and thereby “foster more public and private partnerships.”

Sup. John Avalos stressed his roots as a social worker and a community and labor organizer. “I’m running because I want to fight for immigrants and support families and diversity,” he said. “We need to figure out how we can bring neighborhood leaders together, and how communities can come together.”

Former Sup. Bevan Dufty was the only candidate to use the linguistically persuasive technique of talking about himself as if he were already mayor. “I’m excited to be mayor, I love San Francisco, it’s a city where you can achieve your dreams,” Dufty gushed, as he pledged to fight to “uphold diversity and buck the trend that’s anti-immigrant." Dufty also did the good job of relating to the audience, largely through his ability to tell funny stories to make his points. And he wins credit from this reporter for crediting Sup. John Avalos for authoring the local hire legislation that Dufty helped pass in December by becoming the eighth vote when then Mayor Gavin Newsom wanted to veto the legislation, and that interim Mayor Ed Lee recently enacted citywide.

Sen. Leland Yee highlighted his long track record of public service, including the times he used to tutor immigrant youth in San Francisco’s Chinatown, when he was a UC Berkeley student. And he stressed his seniority as an elected official, as he ruminated on his experiences on the school board and the Board of Supervisors, and then in the state Assembly and now in the Senate.

“These are extraordinary times,” Yee said. “We don’t have enough money to do all the things we want, but through civic engagement and leadership we can provide.” He stressed that his priority is not to cut education, social services, and services that are in need. “The government is about taking care of people that are in need of help," he said.

Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting talked about his decision, five years ago, to start resetting how things worked in his office, by training his staff, investing in their future and holding them accountable for the work they do. “We were able to bring in $260 million over our budget,” Ting said, stressing that the effort proved that government works better if you have more say and more power. He also noted that his office introduced the city’s first solar incentive program.

"Now we have four times the solar roofs, we’ve doubled the city’s megawatt production, and we’ve created green collar jobs,” Ting said, lamenting that the city now wants to get out of the program. “You are missing from the dialogue,” he told the audience, as he promoted his Reset San Francisco theme.

And then, after a two-hour round of questions, it was back to the campaign trail, where raising money will be one key to getting out the message in this otherwise crowded race. The other key? Having the stamina and staying power to keep on message while pounding the pavement for the next six months.

In the meantime, you can listen to the candidates' closing statements here:

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iDevice Apps

New iPhone, iPod touch and iPad product announcements for May 6, 2011:

New iPhone, iPad and iPod touch apps

• With its most recent update on May 4, Animal Phone - the iPhone App For Kids, is winning over kids with realistic interaction, and parents with an ability to positively engage their children. Before they even learn to walk, children are now swiping and tapping their way across the entire catalogue of kids apps. From virtual tea parties to simulated phone calls with animals, the latest apps are shifting imaginative play from the toy box to the App Store.
• Barchick.com has announced its all new, revolutionary iphone app. Following the phenomenal success of the website, it was only matter of time before they developed the app. Like the website, it’s simple to use and contains only the best bars in London Drinking dens on the go, 24/7. Plus it’s free, what’s not to love?
• MultiSnooze today released MultiSnooze 2.0 for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users. MultiSnooze is a patented application, offering the perfect waking solution for serial snoozers. Users can tap or shake to have uninterrupted snoozing (no hitting the snooze button), or use the SoftWake feature to hear a chime sound at each snooze session. A user can also awaken to his or her own iTunes playlist or the app’s stock songs. Thousands of alarm settings can be created, named and saved.
• Ken Tidwell has announced D200 DSLR v2.0 for iOS, another in his series of Min-U Guides to Nikon DSLRs. The app provides quick, easy access to information by allowing the user to “drill down” through a topic, just like using the camera menus, until they find exactly what they need. A convenient alternative to carrying bulky, printed reference material, the app also includes a handy list of D200 Quick Specs, a troubleshooting checklist, error messages, and much more.
• Imre Fazekas has announced Sixth Seal 1.1, a huge update to his popular top-view fantasy action-game for iPhone and iPad devices. Featuring an unmatched gesture-based magic control system, Sixth Seal provides non-stop action and fascinating gameplay with eye-catching graphics. Action, strategy, role-playing, and humor have been seamlessly combined to ensure an unforgettable gaming experience. Version 1.1 incorporates long-waited and requested improvements. The game is Free for 2 days and discounted for another few days.
• AircutDev has announced HydroToss 1.0.6 for iOS. In HydroToss, the goal is to put all the balls in appropriate containers using accurate tilt controls integrated in your iOS device. The balls give you immersive gameplay and a different outcome every time. HydroToss is a constantly updated game; updates include new levels, new type of devices, new worlds, new obstacles and new level design and of course, seasonal updates with themed levels as well as Game Center support.
• The newly launched Addicted to Ibiza Island Guide brings users all the top news, venues and music from the famous sun destination of Ibiza. This app includes hundreds of club nights, bars, beaches and club listings, making it an essential resource for unlocking the secrets of the White Isle. Addicted to Ibiza Island Guide 2011 offers Full length DJ mixes from some of the planet’s most popular DJs, as well as a Shout Outs section where users can leave advice or drop a line to new friends & more.
• Visiting certain countries by car might also mean stocking up on extra equipment, such as visibility vests, spare light bulbs, or as in Turkey, Poland and Greece, a fire extinguisher. The smart navigation software iGO primo app provides you with all this information, both before you start your trip and when you cross the country border. The new TTS Pro feature even reads the country summary out to you when entering a new country.
• SplitApple is a fun archery game, the perfect mix of arcade and simulation. Use your skills and accuracy to hit the bull’s eye. Aim right, adjust your shot power and pay attention to the wind and gravity. Reach the highest score in the tournament and time trial modes. Take risks and aim for apples up in the trees to perform a “SplitApple.” You might lose a shot, but you can win a big reward if you get it right!
• Team Sollmo has announced the release of a major update for its popular free-to-play, single-player RPG Buddy Rush. Today’s Third Wave update includes several new characters, plenty of additional items, a fresh chapter full of missions, and a new Raid mode. Raid is a new mode in which players will be able to bring along all of their created characters to attempt to conquer groups of increasingly difficult monsters. The new characters and over 43 new costumes for existing characters are now available to play throughout the game, in addition to the new chapter, Kanbucay, a beach-themed map that features high-level content appropriate for the new level cap of 72.
• Teyon has announced that for a limited time only, their iOS app Arctic Escape 1.0 will be available for free. Arctic Escape is a hybrid of a simple strategy and puzzle with the mechanics resembling popular Lemmings. Take control of a bunch of penguins getting into all sorts of trouble all the time. They were abducted from Antarctica by a cunning scientist and now need your help to come back home. Teyon will promote the game in association with DailyAppDream.
• Flying Mac has announced that FarFinder, the remote file access application for Mac, iPhone and iPad, has been renamed Presence and has received a major upgrade. Presence 2.0 provides secure access to a Mac’s files, by web browser from any Mac or PC, and by iPhone and iPad using the iOS client. New features include a native iPad client, sharing files with others right from the Mac, bridging between other iOS apps and a remote Mac, round-trip editing for iWork, better connectivity and more.
• Hockey Fight Pro is now available for iPhone, iPod and iPad. Hockey Fight Pro is a 3D Unity based hockey fighting game made in collaboration with hockeyfights.com, the world’s largest hockey fight collection and community.
• Getting Jiggy is a new innovative puzzle game for your iPhone,iPod touch and iPad. There is nothing quite like it, all you need is an eye for detail and the push of a button. How much do you think you know about the animal world? Are you ready to take on the challenge and beat the Puzzle game.
• Adobe Connect Mobile has been significantly updated and is available for free download at the App Store. This is the second major version of the app, which was first introduced in February 2010. The app lets users participate in Adobe Connect web conference meetings using an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch—users can collaborate anytime, anywhere and participate in chat conversations, view slides and presentations, and watch and broadcast video.
• Autodesk has announced some updates to SketchBook Pro for iPad. The design app is taking advantage of the new technologies on the iPad 2 to allow artists to create the highest resolution artwork to date and enable them to produce print-quality images directly on their iPad. The updates to iOS also allow SketchBook users to start a sketch on one device and finish it on another, including their desktop, using Dropbox.

New apps for iPad only

• d-Studio today released a Mother’s Day Edition of Join the Hearts - Jigsaw Puzzle for iPad. Join the Hearts 1.2 adds a nice collection of pictures which were especially chosen for this holiday. Now Join the Hearts Picture Library includes both: Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day collections which makes a pack of 48 beautiful pictures in total. While working on the picture user can zoom and move round the big game table. The interface design of this jigsaw puzzle game has been also updated.
• Dreamix Studio has introduced Album App LITE 1.0, their brand new digital photo album solution for iPad. Easily create extensive photo albums on your iPad. Scale, rotate and move photos with a single touch. Add pages to your album and get creative with the layout, or use one of the 30 predefined layouts. Album App comes with 5 themes that contain a lot of backgrounds, borders and objects to fill your album. Album App Lite is available with a 2 album, 2 pages each, limitation.
• Following the release in January of the iPhone & iPod touch version of Interval Trainer Go Matrix, Appnoose has announced the release of the HD version for iPad and iPad 2 called ITGO Matrix HD. The ITGO series of interval trainers as featured in several major UK publications, offers users the most advanced interval training experience for iOS and are the first to offer user programmable dual fast and slow music playlists, voice, vibration and visual alerts for interval changes in one package. In addition ITGO Matrix offers users the ability to program their specific fast and slow intervals to the exact second with the option to store the customized programs.
• Portegno Apps has introduced KidsMag for iPad, their monthly interactive magazine for kids 3 and older. Issue One features more than 30 pages of interactive content, including: Listen & Learn, Play & Enjoy, Draw & Color, Counting & Writing, and Reading & Listening. Two realistically drawn young children, Teo and Bianca, guide the reader through more than 50 different activities. The writing, illustrations, and activities are comparable to those of the highest quality print books for children.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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 WATER FOR ELEPHANTS

Water for Elephants enjoyed its Sydney premier tonight, with the 300m red carpet running down Pitt St Mall.

Reese Witherspoon and her co-star Robert Pattinson (Twilight) were mobbed by thousands of fans and hundreds of media types.

Earlier in the day they did Sydney's famous Luna Park, running with the circus theme.

"I think all I can do is stand back and sort of watch it happen because I'm not used to seeing somebody have so many fans," Witherspoon told the press.

"But he's so gracious about it and he's really understanding that people really take the time to stand and wait for him, so he signs every picture and talks to everybody."

Water for Elephants is based on the bestselling novel by Sara Gruen and directed by Francis Lawrence.

The beautiful love story centres around veterinary student Jacob Jankowski (Pattinson), who joins a circus after his parents are killed in a car accident.

He's soon enough in charge of an elephant named Rosie, which helps bring him closer to the circus's star performer Marlena (Witherspoon).

The film's stars got up close with another elephant at a presser today in Sydney. Siam especially was brought in from Terri Irwin's Australia Zoo for the happening.

Websites

Water For Elephants

20th Century Fox - Fox Movies

Eva Rinaldi Photography

Eva Rinaldi Photographer Flickr

Witherspoon said she was delighted to have been given the opportunity to visit Australia again.

"I've been here before but I haven't been for some time," she said.

"It's meant a lot to me that Australian fans have come out and seen my movie so I'm excited to actually come out and meet them and be there."

She said Sydney's famous Bondi Beach was at the top of her list of places to visit.

"Last time I was here I got to go to a koala sanctuary and I got to go to the Gold Coast and Melbourne - it was really fun," she said.

"I've never been to Bondi Beach, so I think that'd be fun to check that out.

"I just heard it's fun. I want to go have a beer at the beach."

Insiders tip the movie will likely net over $50 million and is in line to pick up a number of awards.

A special thank you to the good people at 20th Century Fox for helping make tonight possible for my life and media skills students and our team. Also a big thanks for security who helped us get some great photos with the films posters at the conclusion of the evening. My students had a great experience with all the excitement, and they are not likely to forget tonight in a hurry. The popcorn that some of the circus performers handed out to media and the fans was appreciated also.

Legendary showman and circus promoter, Phineas Taylor Barnum, would have been proud of the show that Fox put on in Sydney tonight.

This film sufficiently demonstrates that life is the most spectacular show on earth, as they say in the film's tag line.

Stay tuned for our great Francis Lawrence video interview and range of great photos with Witherspoon, Pattinson and dozens more celebrities.

Main Cast

Reese: Witherspoon Marlena

Robert Pattinson: Jacob

Christoph Waltz: August

Paul Schneider: Charlie

They've been trying to fire the guy for several years, and now at the 11th hour he resigns? I like Kool-Aid, but I'm not drinking this batch.  I've lived in the Washington D.C. area long enough to know that the last place Maryland Basketball Coach Gary Williams wants to be is off the sidelines.  Dude is part of the fabric of college basketball. 

Who else is gonna upset Duke and North Carolina in the ACC?

Williams has won way too many games to simply walk away.  He says his health is fine.  He says he still loves the game.  He says it was his decision.  But I have one question: Why now? If you were truly secure in the position and had a good recruiting class why would you abandon all of that?  Williams had some great young players on the team last season.  Were they the best in the ACC? Nope.  Did they have potential? Absolutely.  He had too much going for himself to roll out the way he did.

Is there more to the story? 

Are local media types in the Washington D.C. area drinking the Kool-Aid? Perhaps.  I know a lot of these reporters play golf with Williams.  A lot of journalists  in D.C. are good friends with Williams.  There's nothing wrong with that.  He's a great guy from what I'm told.  Very friendly. Smart. Reflective. Kind.  He's the kind of guy who you'd want to be your best friend—very loyal.  But are the right questions being asked about William's so called retirement?

I doubt it.

I'm not throwing my fellow journalism brothers and sisters under the bus, but you've got to admit:  It doesn't sound right.  It doesn't look right. Why?  Because the entire ordeal isn't right.  Something is missing here folks.  There's an underlying issue somewhere, some place. A guy with this much talent, experience, and skill simply doesn't turn in his coaches playbook while Coach K is gearing up for another national championship run.

It's well documented that former Maryland Athletic Director Debbie Yow wanted Williams out a couple of years ago.  It was a nasty experience that was never fully explained or resolved.  Yow wanted more from Williams.  She wanted another national championship.  She wanted CBS Sports crews roaming the campus in College Park reporting news about the Terps being back in the Final Four or the championship game.  But it wasn't to be.  Williams and his Terps had hit mediocrity.  They were no longer a factor in the chase for March Madness. They were no longer a a serious contender in the ACC. 

To put it bluntly, Williams' program was slipping.

Fortunately for Williams, Yow took another AD job in the Carolinas.  But the feud was well documented.  It got so bad that an assistant Athletic director under Yow also criticized Williams before Yow split. Williams defiantly asked Yow's deputy:  How many national championships have you won?  Good one Williams.  Score one for Gary.  Was she Yow's mouthpiece?  Perhaps. Good Cop, Bad Cop routine? Maybe. Yow never publicly trashed Williams.  She was smarter than that.

Heck, Williams is a basketball icon in the D.C. region.  He won a national championship in 2002 with current Lakers guard Steve Blake running the offense.  He resurrected the Terps Basketball program.  It was left in shambles following the death of Len Bias, the legendary Maryland basketball superstar who died of cocaine use shortly after being drafted number one by the Boston Celtics.

The line in the sand had been drawn, and even though Yow was history, the critics were already circling Comcast Center.  The doubters were present.  The vultures had set up shop in College Park, and they weren't leaving without some fresh or dead meat.  Williams didn't help his cause by not making the NCAA tournament field this past season.  He didn't help himself by refusing the recruit the talented "one and dones" who play one year of college basketball and then bolt for the NBA. 

He didn't play the game and that may have been another nail in his coffin.

More nails were soon to follow.  Namely, the announcement of Kevin Anderson as the new Athletic Director at Maryland.  Anyone with a little sense could see the handwriting on the wall in College Park.  Shortly arriving on campus, changes began happening quickly under Anderson.  Long time football coach Ralph Friedgen was replaced.  It didn't sound like he wanted to go, but he was out.  Questions began swirling about whether Anderson approved of the Fridges' coaching staff.  Should he hire this guy or that guy to bolster the staff? 

Next, Maryland took the unusual step of announcing Freidgen's replacement before he left.  You've heard it before: The coach in waiting.  I've always thought "the coach in waiting" must produce a lot of sleepless nights for the current coach.  But what's done was done. Unfortunately for the Terps the "coach in waiting" took another job, and Maryland was left hanging.  Lucky for Anderson, he found former Connecticut Football Coach Bobby Edsall waiting in the wings to accept the job.

Anderson never gave Williams a vote of confidence.  Call him Yow-light if you will.  Did he push Williams out?  Williams says no.  He says it was time to go. Too many years in one coaching job.  His tear-filled resignation speech carried "live" nationally was hard to watch.  Something didn't seem right.  Something seemed off.  I just didn't get the sense Williams was happy or in my humble opinion, happy about the way it ended on the Maryland Campus.  From where I sat, those joining him on the stage were simply going through the motions. 

Look, I don't know much about Anderson. But I respect the fact that he has to bring some national championships back to the basketball program.  I respect the fact that he has to make the Terps football team a national contender.  The Washington D.C area is too large not have a collegiate national contender in basketball and football. His plate is full.  The pressure is on.  He's made the changes. Now let's see if they were the right changes.

Despite what everyone is saying, including Williams, it feels like the Terps now former basketball coach was pushed.  Shown the door. Nudged out. 22 years at Maryland. 668 career victories at Maryland, American, Boston College, and Ohio State.  I'll tell you folks, 668 wins is a lot of wins.  If you're Maryland do you not lean on Williams for basketball advice after 33 years of roaming the sidelines?  Do you "find a place" for him?  Just askin'.  Or, do you simply hold the plastic news conference, read a few citations, trot out some former players, and say thank you?

Gary Williams had fallen on hard times in College Park.  The landscape of college basketball was changing.  It's a slippery landscape.  Loaded with influential AAU coaches directing high school superstars to a handul of college powerhouses around the country.  But did Williams deserve better treatment at the end? I beleive so.  Was he ready to retire? I doubt it.  At 66 years old, it's not like he uses a walker to enter the arena.  Physically he looks good. He sounds good.

I have two words for you: Bobby Cremins.  Cremins shocked the basketball world when he abruptly resigned from Georgia Tech in 2000 after 22 years and more than 450 wins.  Six years later he resurfaced at the College of Charleston.  Still gettin' it done.  Still one of the best.

Have we truly seen the last of  Gary Williams?

Even though Brett Favre has once again crawled into retirement, the media will continue to provide every last ounce of coverage on the legendary quarterback.

The gray-haired gunslinger is not even safe in his quiet hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi from those seeking to keep his name relevant in NFL news. I'm sure he doesn't mind the attention, and that's why he's considering a comeback.

No, No. 4 won't step on the football field ever again unless he wants to spend the entirety of his retirement in a hospital. However, nobody ever thought a man who had such love for the game would ever completely walk away, especially after all those tears.

According to ESPN.com, Favre claimed that he may be interested in a coaching job or he might take the path of many professional sports stars and bring his football smarts to television as an analyst.

Either way, I'm sure one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time will find his way back into the national spotlight because anything he does is always big news.

In my opinion, he's more qualified to be a pee-wee football instructor than a NFL head coach, but if he wants back into the league he certainly has the credentials to be a tutor to young quarterbacks.

It would be interesting to see how Packers fans would react if he returned to Green Bay to work as an assistant.

If the coaching doesn't work out, television is always an option. If ESPN is full, I'm sure he'd find a spot a home with TNT because he definitely "knows drama."

Favre has plenty of experience performing on TV and, before too long, he'll be talking football in primetime with Troy Aikman and John Gruden.

He's a Wrangler guy. Always has been. Always will be. Brett Favre's also a football guy. Always has been. Always will be.

That's why you shouldn't be surprised that if he returns to the workforce; his occupation will have something to do with the game he's devoted his life to.

In your response last week to "Classy Lady", you told her that "a woman who is pregnant and has decided to have an abortion should tell the guy who knocked her up about the pregnancy and her decision to abort...unless she sincerely believes...that the guy is gonna bully, badger, and/or be violent toward her in an attempt to prevent her from choosing abortion."

I'm a 21-y.o. female dating a 26-y.o. guy who has 6 kids by 5 different women (one of whom passed away a month after giving birth), and in explaining to me how these kids came about, he mentioned that none of the pregnancies were planned (at least three of them happened only after one sexual encounter) but that he is adamantly against abortion and would refuse to allow a woman to abort his children. He has mentioned to me several times throughout the course of our (four-month) relationship his desire for me to stop taking my birth control pills, insisting that being with me makes him feel ready to start a family and that our child(ren) would be the only ones that he wanted to have. Are these red flags? I mean, he is a great father, has been through a lot in his life to the point where I would understand how he has made destructive &/or inadvisable choices in his past (his youngest is 3), and as time goes on he seems more comfortable confiding in me and opening up to me about his life.

I wish that was the only contentious issue; a couple of days ago, he brought me to his apartment (which I had never been to before and where his most-recent baby-mother and their child are staying since she just moved back to town). A couple of times before he brought me over he asked me if I would be willing to have a threesome, which is something I am not entirely opposed to if the conditions were right. But then he told me it would be with this baby-mother because she is bisexual and he trusts her and wouldn't want to bring just anyone into our relationship. I was entirely opposed to this and feel as though I made it clear to him. However, later that evening and into the next morning, she basically cock-blocked us and then they both passively propositioned me the next morning, as he grabbed both of us to him and she asked me whether I was down or not. I missed many opportunities to speak up or ask her to leave us alone, and also shut down a couple of times when he asked me what was on my mind because I wanted to speak to him at length in private. I wonder if they have been fooling around in the week or so that they have been staying together and whether this was orchestrated behind my back the whole time, or whether I can even trust him in spite of all that we have been through and our normally great relationship/communication. I also haven't heard from him since.

I know this whole thing might sound ridiculous but I really need a dose of reality and perspective that I hope you are willing to provide to me, even if you don't print this.

Too Heartbroken and Confused to Think of a Clever Acronym

My response after the jump...

Run.

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Summary:

In 1995, after both the Rams and Raiders exited L.A., former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley was the first to come forward with a viable idea to build a football stadium in Chavez Ravine. O’Malley wanted to build it next to the baseball facility, but then-Mayor Richard Riordan asked O’Malley to back off the plan because the city wanted to focus on bringing a team to the Coliseum.

Riordan’s decision was costly on two fronts because the Coliseum idea was too difficult to get off the ground and because O’Malley, whose family had owned the team for 45 years, put the Dodgers up for sale shortly thereafter. That sent one of the most important teams in baseball into a vortex that saw it end up in the McCourt morass.

In the years since, McCourt tried to keep the football stadium idea alive, but the NFL wasn’t buying it, particularly when McCourt told the league he wanted to own any team the league moved there.

Now, someone else such as Burkle, Gilbert, Anschutz, Ed Roski or Eli Broad could change not only the future of the Dodgers, but make it possible for the return of the NFL.

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: I celebrate all levels of trailers and hopefully this column will satisfactorily give you a baseline of what beta wave I’m operating on, because what better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? Some of the best authors will tell you that writing a short story is a lot harder than writing a long one, that you have to weigh every sentence. What better medium to see how this theory plays itself out beyond that than with movie trailers? The Legend Of The Mighty Soap Trailer When I was a kid I watched HBO relentlessly. Whenever there wasn't reairings of Fraggle Rock, Braingames, Heartbeeps, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome there were lots of short films that played between movies. The actual "program" was called Short Take (anyone remember Recorded Live [1]? Still creeps me out.) and even though I only have a vague recollection of them there was one really odd film about a talking, shrunken head. It was strange even by my 10 year-old standards as the thing somehow was hanging out with a couple of kids, for whatever effed up reason, stuffed it into a soccer ball and was kicked around a field to the sounds of something equating to macabre whimpering. This trailer reminds me of that moment. To that end, there is no other, correct, response to have after watching this trailer other than realizing you need to see this film. It's probably the strangest thing you'll see today but it's worth it. While I couldn’t tell you what the hell is happening I can say with some certainty that the style is a little Tim and Eric with a dash of bizarro, netherworld action. Director Andrew Bond has made something that even those at a Freudian institute would be hard pressed to explain without breaking out into fits of frustration. There is a narrative here, though. From what I can deduce by watching,  I can't understand the vocal track because they're not speaking American, the visuals really are reminiscent of those brainiacs behind the Old Spice commercials (Again, Tim and Eric for those who didn't know) but it's a perfectly apropos comparison. Those ads worked for P&G in the number of units that were moved because of how well the public received them; they were irreverent, funny, creative, but had a purpose. This trailer has a purpose because it's not just content with being strange. It wants to express itself as a story that is pitting the unwashed masses who want to be clean against a bile shooting monster. Sometimes an explanation is too much. It's best to leave the oddness be. [Twitch [2]] The National Parks Project Trailer Moving out beyond the usual nature photographers who simply stick a camera out into a field and expect to capture nature in all its splendor, this project seems like it's something a little more unique. The opening of this trailer is representative of why it's such an evocative piece of marketing material simply because of its plain, white, snow swept mountain ranges. It's not just  a canvas that is waiting for you to give it some kind of meaning. There are no words, no guide about what we're seeing as you focus on the hills that look like ribs jutting up from the ground. This something more than what it appears to be and you can sense it. All the unwashed hippies in the audience ought to be crying at this point at the beauty of it all. Smash cut, we're now on the shore of some lush wilderness. We get close to a tree as the jangling of a guitar slips in and envelopes you in some nature photography that is certainly unlike anything I've ever seen on the Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. I can't exactly put my finger on it but this is a different kind of nature documentary. It seems hipper in a way, with a modern sensibility. And that seems to be the case when the narrator drops in. Literally, a voice of God simply lays it out simply and effectively about why we're here, what we're looking at. That's it about Canadian parks is one thing but when the information scrolls by and tells us that it and it is going to utilize 13 filmmakers and 39 musicians to essentially guide us through this walk through nature my curiosity is even more piqued. What strikes me as I watch this is that it's like something we would expect to come from authors if this was the 19th centuries; writers who looked at nature not as a utilitarian source of power but of an entity endowed with an inherent beauty, as something to be celebrated. This is the 21st answer to Henry David Thoreau or Emerson and it simply looks like it's a movie where you hunker down and let it wash over you. The Elephant In The Living Room Trailer This obviously goes beyond people who own some ferrets. Director Michael Webber has done something genuinely novel here while also creating a trailer that is both ambitious and tense. What grabs you immediately is that even before we know this is a story about people who keep really dangerous pets we get the 911 call and the police officer who fields them. We're not really sure what this is all about, it sounds a little goofy honestly and it does appear to be humorous, but that smile is turned upside down once we hear from this cop who looks deadly serious about his role in playing the part of exotic pet wrangler. He's not so much afraid as he is worried about the possibilities of what could happen. We get quotes from /Film's own David Chen and Michael Moore (always good company to be in) and it's about as an explosive, riveting opening as you're going to get for a documentary all this year. I, honestly, loved how well it pulls you in with not only the kudos, its editing, its pacing, and the ability to emotionally tug at you that all the rest is gravy. Gravy being the one thing that sustains the goodness of this thing because it is flat out enthralling. We get crazies of all kinds and that's just glorious. There's some guy who looks like the wizened, slouchy brother of Captain Lou Albano who is *really* into his lion, some dude who wants to talk about the dangers of legislating controls on the ownership of these beasts, and opinions that straddle the grey lines in-between. I love that we get a shot of some jamoke who is casually and nonchalantly hanging out with his mountain lion in his living room as the scene we get directly following this is of a police officer pumping his shotgun as he slowly walks into some tall scrub. This film shot up to the top of my most wanted list of documentaries based on the strength of the trailer as not only does it make clear what the story is about it smartly stays out of the way for the thoughts that come out of it. The people are allowed to get their opinions out without judgement and without guidance from the filmmakers about how we should think about this. It's refreshing and exciting. Tracker Trailer I honestly wish Australia could have been a good film. To that point, I would have loved to have had a compelling story to go along with the lush landscapes and places we were taken in that movie. Alas, what we got was painfully unwatchable pap that went nowhere quite fast and labored like a sick dog all the way to the end. It's interesting, then, that director Ian Sharp, who hasn't directed anything of note since 2002's blockbuster Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War, might be able to bring some of what Australia could have been to the screen. And, yes, I realize that New Zealand is a wholly independent continent but it's a pretty close facsimile. The trailer is quite precise as it establishes what is happening in the film and that it seems to focus on the relationship between Ray Winstone and Temuera Morrison. It's that focus on the duality of these men that really appeals to me. The first half of the trailer sets up things solidly with not only establishing the persona non grata status of Winstone but explains why Morrison is on the run from Johnny Law. Instead of a good guy/bad guy demarcation there is a whole lot of gray to for both parties as the manhunt is on. As the trailer goes into its back nine, the physical landscape provides a great postcard for anyone looking to be ensconced in a world that seems to be punctuated with sound stage set-ups. The "out in the open" quality of key moments in this story are not only well presented here but have really been appealing to me as of late after seeing how the Coen's used physical landscape in True Grit. There could be some meat on this script if it can be more than just a movie about inequality and Winstone's journey to be accepted in a culture that seems to not want him around. From the looks of it there are some exciting set pieces and interesting directorial choices. It's been a while since I've caught Winstone in something reaching the epic proportions of The Departed and while I didn't get it with 44 Inch Chest there is the distinct possibility this could be something close. Bloodrape Trailer The last time I checked in [3] with this film, I was pretty much blown away by its ferocity. Well, Tucker Bennett, Taeer Maymon, and Zach Shipko are back to melt whatever was left of your face off in a trailer I simply love for reasons that I cannot justify in any coherent, factual way. By all accounts I should be annoyed by the construction of it. The sound is just pounding through the speakers, the visuals are more methed up than a junkie who just found a c-note in the street, there is no direction to it whatsoever, or any clear vision of what they're trying to "sell", but it's the rawness of it all that's so alluring. There isn't any way to talk about this trailer in a manner that breaks down the core components of what makes this a trailer worth mentioning only because you can't watch this and not feel this is either one of the most fascinating things you'll see all week (make note: I'm not saying great, I'm just stating "fascinating") or something that you are completely repulsed by. I happen to fall in the former camp as this isn't just a slapdash trailer that's put together with some snot and invisible tape, you genuinely have a focused piece of performance art that not only is giving you bits of this film's content but it's got an independent style that eschews most everything you would consider necessary to get you interested in a film you've never heard of. I have no doubt some of you will think this is the most obnoxious, attention whore-ing piece of trash you've come across but I would counter that the minds behind this have a clear voice and don't care about anyone else thinks. That indifference isn't punk so much as it is having a vision of what you want and just shoving it out there for everyone to see. From the vampire orgy, the feasting that's being done on humans with blood that seems more pink than red, the music that is damn near bleeding through your speakers, the editing that seems unable to focus on anything for more than mere milliseconds, and the last fifteen seconds that is out to melt what's left of your cerebral cortex with its distorted volume and disjointed narrative that offers no help in deciphering what in the hell is going here, it's all wonderful. I embrace the work for what it is and respect the insane vibe of it all. Elephant White Trailer Um. Ok. While everyone is in white hot anticipation for Kevin Bacon in X-Men: First Class maybe seeing Bacon plying his trade at trying out a British accent would be of interest. I'm not sure what's worse, his attempt or the premise of this film. Chocolate, Ong-bak, The Protector, all films that director Prachya Pinkaew ought to be really proud of but this is just amazing in its average-ness. It's not enough to say we've seen this before in films like Taken or Man on Fire because that would be generous to those films. This is a wholesale, played out, construction that starts off so modestly that you wonder whether this was conceived with the idea of this movie never making it to a large screen; instead, this direct-to-DVD film would probably best be deployed as freebies to those buying a Previously Viewed film at a closing Blockbuster. That, or Antonio Sabato Jr.'s latest. The trailer just doesn't inspire to be anything, really. Of course it possesses the rudimentary elements to be classified as a story, some guy is on the hunt for a girl who may have been kidnapped and is in the sex trade, but as the story is unraveled all we get is gold and red lit scenes where people are acting like this is an action blockbuster that's much too hot to be contained but it's clunkier than an AMC Pacer. There's some pretty bad choreographed fighting, uninspiring heaps of strained dialogue from both Bacon and Djimon, and pathetic running-through-crowded-streets moments that don't even manage to top the gold standard set by Bloodsport. Oh, and there's elephants. A few times. For whatever that's worth to you. For me, it just means disappointment. Operation Belvis Bash Trailer Never before has a trailer felt like having to watch Shoah without ever getting up to pee than this did. I think this will make a lot more sense if I simply let the press release I received on Monday morning set things up: George Bush’s backyard was the backdrop for what turned out to be an unexpected ending to an exciting evening for actor/singer Corey Feldman.  Feldman’s latest film, Operation Belvis Bash premiered on May 1, in Houston,TX, and is the story of a special military operation whose goal is to assassinate Osama Bin Laden.  Just a few minutes after seeing what audiences thought was a purely fictional assassination of the world’s most hated terrorist, they exited the theater to learn that it had happened in real life. “It’s absolutely unbelievable,” commented Feldman.  “I was in New York on September 11, 2001, with Michael Jackson, and then, nearly ten years later, I walk out of the premiere of my latest film, which I had postponed to be able to attend Corey Haim’s Decisions premiere and memorial, to learn that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by a special operation, just like in the film we’d just screened. The timing is simply unbelievable, and whether life imitates art, or art imitates life, now is a time for all Americans to express their gratitude to the brave men and women who serve our country and helped make this happen.” What's here, though, is awful. I watched this with the kind of fascination that a baby gives to someone speaking to them: I don't know what's going on, I don't believe what I'm seeing, and I can't understand why anyone pumped dollar one into a story that seems to be thinner than a stick of gum. Apart from the Soup Nazi, the Iron Sheik, Daniel Baldwin, that guy from the Twisted Sister video, and Corey Feldman in a role that is too bizarre for even me to describe, I am unsure of who anyone is or what it is I'm supposed to be buying into as this film's premise. It's uneven, choppy, and doesn't sell me at all on what a lot of people sunk their time and money into in order to make this. I was amazed by the press release and I'm even more amazed by this trailer. Note bene: If you have any suggestions of trailers to possibly be included in this column, even have a trailer of your own to pitch, please let me know by sending me a note at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com In case you missed them, here are the other trailers we covered at /Film this week: Intruders Trailer [4] - Bravo. In fifty seconds this teaser is able to actually tease a story, not give anything away, while managing to give a sense of the time and place we're in. Page One: Inside The New York Times Trailer [5] - I am such a fan of movies like this and this trailer infuses just enough drama and excitement to get any layperson charged up about wanting to see a documentary about a newspaper. The Ledge Trailer [6] - This plays a little weak. The premise isn't novel so much as it is overwhelmingly silly. I just couldn't shake the feeling this isn't a very entertaining film as it is overacted. Buck Trailer [7] - Living in the southwest I am bombarded by horses and horse related issues on a daily basis but I've never really cared about these beasts until I saw this trailer. I found myself riveted by the premise and who we'll be following on this journey. Hell On Wheels Trailer [8] - I'm unmoved one way or the other by this trailer. The show seems interesting but the attempts at giving me some money shots or reasons to tune in just aren't there. Green Lantern Trailer #2 [9] - This trailer seems to take the best parts of the teaser and the first trailer and, bravo, this actually works for me. Martha Marcy May Marlene Trailer [10] - This trailer got under my psyche and did not relent. It's such a great mix of mysteriousness and evil that I can't help but wonder how soon I can see it. Colombiana Trailer [11] - I would apologize for liking this but I'm in a sweet tooth mood right now and this looks like just what I need: by the numbers, fun, hollow, escapism. The Trip Trailer [12] - We've all heard this musical cue before but it works for me. The tempo is great and so is the trailer. I'm enthralled with the idea of seeing Coogan just be himself again. For my money, it doesn't get much better. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Qeee8D2Ro [2] http://twitchfilm.com/news/2011/04/if-you-are-dirty-the-legend-of-the-mighty-soap-will-clean-you.php [3] http://www.slashfilm.com/this-week-in-trailers-trigger-night-of-the-demons-bloodrape-idiots-and-angels-picture-me/ [4] http://www.slashfilm.com/intruders-teaser-trailer-clive-owen-has-a-demon-problem/ [5] http://www.slashfilm.com/page-one-inside-the-new-york-times-trailer/ [6] http://www.slashfilm.com/ledge-trailer-charlie-hunnam-problems/ [7] http://www.slashfilm.com/buck-trailer-life-reallife-horse-human-whisperer/ [8] http://www.slashfilm.com/hell-wheels-trailer-amc-western/ [9] http://www.slashfilm.com/green-lantern-trailer-2/ [10] http://www.slashfilm.com/martha-marcy-may-marlene-trailer/ [11] http://www.slashfilm.com/columbiana-trailer/ [12] http://www.slashfilm.com/the-trip-trailer/

Modesto Bee

Lawsuit seeks to stop salmon fishing, just as normal season gets underway for ... Inside Bay Area Less than a week after California's commercial salmon fleet went to sea for the first time in four years, an association of water users that includes San Joaquin Valley farmers and the city of San Francisco this week sued to bring it back. ... Group sues to halt Calif. salmon fishing seasonSan Jose Mercury News Farmers and fishermen unite to restore Delta, stop peripheral canalBay Area Indymedia Yes, it's salmon season, but sturgeon fishing remains hot in Suisun Bay, tooFolsom Telegraph Modesto Bee all 67 news articles »

It's 4:44 on a Friday afternoon, and I am sitting at the computer, in my pajama's.

I am in my pajama's, because I haven't showered yet today.

I haven't showered yet today because I haven't finished the laundry.

I haven't finished the laundry because "high-efficiency washers" are only energy efficient, not time-efficient.

The reason that matters is because when someone has an accident at night, as someone's are wont to do, that particular laundry load can take more than two hours.

For one load.

It's really, really stupid.

Which makes me think about who these washer and dryers are really targeted to, because let me tell you this: not a family with more than 2 kids.

- - - - -

We've been home for about a week (? or more. my days run together) and people keep asking me A) if I miss Arizona and B) if I would ever move back.

Answer: A) I miss certain things and a few people, and B) not on purpose.

- - - - -

I always tell people that I am working on projects, and they always want to know what the projects are. And sometimes I can tell people specifics, and sometimes I can't. It's not that I'm trying to be secretive, it's just that  the details are not up for discussion at that point in time.

I will tell you I am finishing up a project that has been in beta for a few months, and we are in pre-launch mode. I will also tell you that this is going to be awesome and amazing and if you have ever dreamed about taking your blog or small business to the next level, and earning money and all that jazz, then you should leave me a comment and I will get in touch with you.

- - - - -

Danny turned FIVE yesterday and he received about a hundred phone calls from different family members singing happy birthday to him.

 Danny requested a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for his birthday. I obliged. When I went to frost the cake that had been cooling on the counter, there was a knife on the counter and huge chunks missing from the cake. When I asked him why he did it, he said, "It MY birthday cake." and then looked at me like I had just asked the stupidest question in the history of questions.

Meanwhile, he got a green scooter for his birthday, and has pronounced it the most bestest present ever.

- - - - -

I need a new sewing machine. Do you have one? Do you like it? I need suggestions. Also: they should really let you try those things out before you buy them and bring them home.

- - - - -

 Remember when I broke up with Facebook? I un-broke up with him, so if you want to be my friend, that would be awesome.

- - - - -

My washer dinged. I'm going to switch the laundry and have a shower. IN THAT ORDER. 

Listen to the Audio

JIM LEHRER: The jobs numbers for April were released on the same day, today, as a new report that finds executive pay is soaring once again.

Jeffrey Brown picks up that part of the story.

JEFFREY BROWN: The Associated Press, which released the study on CEO compensation, put it this way: In the boardroom, it's as if the great recession never happened.

CEO pay, including salaries, bonuses, and stock options, was up 24 percent last year, to a level higher than 2007, just before the recession hit. The 10 highest-paid executives made a combined $440 million. Six of them came from the world of media and entertainment, including the heads of Viacom and CBS.

The study came a day after the Fortune 500 list was released, showing corporate profits increased by 81 percent last year, or more than $300 billion.

And we look more at pay, profits, and jobs now with Deborah Wince- Smith, president and CEO of the Council on Competitiveness, a nonpartisan group that works with business, universities and labor to enhance American competitiveness. And Vineeta Anand, she studies corporate governance and other issues as chief research analyst in the AFL-CIO Office of Investment.

Welcome to both of you.

VINEETA ANAND, AFL-CIO Office of Investment: Thank you.

RAY SUAREZ: Deborah Wince-Smith, I will start with you.

Start with the CEO pay issue. What explains the fast rise and quick return to pre-recession levels?

DEBORAH WINCE-SMITH, Council on Competitiveness: Well, I think one of the main issues is that we're seeing tremendous success of U.S. corporations, in terms of their profits, their revenue and their share value.

So, that is a good sign that shows that we are continuing to rebound from the recession and that we are really going to see increased productivity and standard of living that ultimately comes from this wealth generation.

JEFFREY BROWN: Vineeta Anand, a good sign to see these hikes in CEO pay?

VINEETA ANAND: Well, actually, as shareholders -- and we are shareholders representing workers through the pension plans -- we are very worried, because CEOs and the rich have gotten richer in the United States, whereas everybody else has been left behind.

The disparity has grown so that, in 1980, CEOs made about 42 times the pay of an average worker. And in 2010 it was 324 times. So, that's a huge jump. And it is as if the recession never happened.

You quoted the AP numbers. And our own database we launched earlier last month, Executive Pay Watch, showed that 299 of the S&P 500 CEOs made a collective $3.4 billion. And that could support 103,000 workers making average wages.

JEFFREY BROWN: Well, Deborah Wince-Smith, what -- that reflects what a lot of people wonder. And we just heard a segment where we talked about slower growth and a lot of people feeling pain for a long period of time. So, what's the other side of the -- the positive sign that you are seeing in CEO pay growth?

DEBORAH WINCE-SMITH: Well, putting aside CEO pay growth, I think what we really need to look about -- look at is the fact that what is going on in the global economy is a fundamental restructuring.

We have really left a 20th century non-high-skilled economy. The jobs of the future are requiring entirely different skill sets. So the disparity we're seeing in income is often directly linked to educational levels and skills levels.

You know, we can't in the United States compete on low wages or standardized products or services. We have to compete on this higher-value work. Now, the fact is the American worker is 10 times more productive than a worker in China. In the long run, that is fantastic.

But, of course, it means that automation, the use of all these new technological capabilities that drive this productivity does displace workers who don't have those skills and where we don't need those types of performance anymore in the workplace.

JEFFREY BROWN: And does -- and...

DEBORAH WINCE-SMITH: So, really, what we need to be focused on is, how do we transition to this new economy? How do we have the education, the skills and the training so we can really capitalize on our entrepreneurship, our innovation, our great research and development?

Because we can't really be looking back. We have to look forward.

JEFFREY BROWN: Vineeta Anand, a new economy?

VINEETA ANAND: Well, you know, Jeff, we have been talking about a new economy since the 1980s. We have been talking about how the United States left behind manufacturing and moved into service, and now into the information age in the 21st century.

But the fact of the matter remains that what you are seeing is almost 14 million people are still unemployed, as Judy said a little while ago, and, as David Leonhardt said a little earlier in the show, that if the jobs continue to grow at the rate they're growing, we're in a really troublesome spot.

So, it is not education. It's not that we lack the technical skills. It's the fact that companies are not hiring. In 2010, they had a record $1.89 trillion of cash on their balance sheets. They are not using it to create jobs.

JEFFREY BROWN: Well, that goes -- Deborah Wince-Smith, that also goes to this other study we cited, the Fortune 500, and the huge growth in corporate profits.

And, yet, there's still -- we have -- we heard it again just now. We have been hearing it for months. There's a -- it's better on jobs, but there's still a reluctance to hire.

DEBORAH WINCE-SMITH: Well, first of all, I want to say that we are really a great manufacturing nation. And there is a big recognition at the Council on Competitiveness -- we're working on this -- that we have to not only maintain our manufacturing prowess; we have to lead this whole new change in how things are designed, built, logistics, supply chain. This is a tremendous opportunity for our country.

But, you know, the issue of corporate profits, companies sitting on, you know, over $1.5 trillion, where are they investing it? Are they investing it in the United States? There is a global race for the best investment, the best high-value activity.

And, so, what is the environment for that capital? You know, we had some very powerful data at the council about three years ago that the value of profits U.S. companies make outside the United States is three times the value of all our exports.

But are they bringing that money back? Well, they are facing double taxation. We're facing the highest corporate tax rate in the world, a very tough regulatory environment. So are the jobs going to be here, or are these jobs going to be around the world, where there is tremendous demand and also where there's a growing middle class?

You know, 80 percent of all middle-class consumers will be outside the United States by 2020. So, we have to make sure that we are not hobbling our companies' determination of their investment by things that put us uncompetitive against the rest of the world.

Let's not compete on the cost of capital and on wage structure. Let's compete on invasion and high skills.

And one thing I want to add, we have a tremendous shortage of middle skills. Do you know a skilled welder in this country, without a college degree, but high technical skills, makes $100,000 a year, and we're begging for them.

JEFFREY BROWN: Well, I mean, it's interesting, Vineeta, and there's a lot of things you would agree on about the kinds of things that need to be done. But you're -- you're saying you're worried, in the meantime, that this is all -- this is all exacerbating income inequality.

VINEETA ANAND: Yes.

Actually, in 2009, income inequality rose to levels that we saw before the Depression. The top 20 percent of Americans controlled 90 percent of all wealth. In the meanwhile, the median household wealth fell to about $62,000.

So, what we're seeing is, the divide is continuing to grow. And the reason for that is, very largely, that the rich are getting richer. CEOs are continuing to make more money. Last year, as AP said, 24 -- a 24 percent increase -- we said 23 percent increase -- but the fact remains is, the average worker who had a job got a 3.3 percent raise, and many people didn't even get a raise.

So, while I agree with Deborah -- I think she's right in one sense. We need to bring jobs back to the United States. But we also need to have the government help. The government has to help create jobs. We have to invest in the infrastructure. We won't get up to the levels we saw in the Clinton administration otherwise. We had a 3.5 percent unemployment rate. Does anybody remember that?

JEFFREY BROWN: All right.

I don't know the answer to that, but we will continue this discussion.

Vineeta Anand, Deborah Wince-Smith, thank you both very much.

VINEETA ANAND: Thank you.

Listen to the Audio

JIM LEHRER: And finally tonight, the analysis of Shields and Brooks, syndicated columnist Mark Shields, New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Mark, did you know about SEAL Team Six until this -- until a few days ago?

MARK SHIELDS: No.

JIM LEHRER: Did you, David?

DAVID BROOKS: No, I did not.

JIM LEHRER: Yes. It's fascinating.

MARK SHIELDS: Truly fascinating. And, I mean, talk about a great segment, fascinating spokespersons. I mean, they were compelling.

JIM LEHRER: Yes, the two -- you mean the two men themselves.

MARK SHIELDS: The two of them, yes.

JIM LEHRER: You could tell that they were ready to go.

MARK SHIELDS: They were.

(LAUGHTER)

JIM LEHRER: If called upon, they could go now.

DAVID BROOKS: Yes.

I often think why the military really is the one institution that is -- that has high regard -- and we have had loss of faith in all these institution. And why is that? And one theory, I think, is that they really tear people down.

It's not about ego in the military. They tear down the ego, before you build up towards service to something else. And we actually have very few institutions that do that anymore. And there are pros and cons to tearing people down. But it does lead to this sort of understated sense of service and commitment to something other than themselves, and an aversion to publicity, which is admirable.

JIM LEHRER: And the idea, as both of them said, that they function as teams.

DAVID BROOKS: Right.

JIM LEHRER: And that's where the breaking down goes, and then you come back together. You go down there as individuals; you come out as a team.

DAVID BROOKS: And we have done well in general, most institutions, in celebrating the individual, not so much the team you're on.

MARK SHIELDS: Yes. No, I just think it -- I agree with you. They do break down.

But what they put in the place is a sense of your dependence upon each other. And they submerge rampant individualism, which our society too often celebrates.

DAVID BROOKS: Right. Exactly.

JIM LEHRER: What about Ray's question, though, about scrutiny, about oversight? Are these -- is there a danger that these guys are so good, and so at the command of the president, that other people may not know what's going on until it's too late?

MARK SHIELDS: Well, I think, in this particular instance, they did inform the leadership.

JIM LEHRER: Congress.

MARK SHIELDS: Congress. But I thought the point of scrutiny that the senator made about watching this did bring to it a level of civilian control and oversight that was unimaginable in an earlier era.

JIM LEHRER: All right, to the killing of Osama bin Laden.

David, do you agree with the conventional wisdom that that forever has changed -- not forever, but has changed the way Americans view President Obama?

DAVID BROOKS: Yes. No, I really don't think so. I think he will -- his reputation is certainly enhanced. He made a brave decision. He stood by it. And I think the reputation of -- America feels better because it has been a long time since we have had something function really well.

JIM LEHRER: Because of guys like this.

DAVID BROOKS: Guys like that.

JIM LEHRER: Yes.

DAVID BROOKS: So -- and even for President Obama, it has been a long time since he has done something popular. Whether you agree or not with stimulus or health care or GM, they were not popular.

And now he's done something really popular. And he did a difficult thing and enhanced his authority. But will it transform his view? I'm doubtful, because this is not central to his presidency. The economy and other things are central to his presidency. And when you look at his standing, it's gone up significantly in the last week, and it's gone up in his handling of terror.

But overall views about the economy, despite these numbers, have not gone up. And his handling of the economy in some polls was flat, and, in some polls, it went down a little. And I think the economy will still be the central way he will be judged.

JIM LEHRER: Do how do you feel, Mark?

MARK SHIELDS: I think it has changed. And I think it's changed -- there was a growing narrative, Jim, that was getting traction that the president was the professor in chief, that he was too nuanced, that he was leading from the rear, that -- perhaps too cerebral, and a question of maybe not ready to pull the trigger, to make the bold statement.

This was a -- this was decisive. It was cool. It was bold. And I agree, I mean, that it was a success. And we have been yearning for success. We have been dying for success. But I also think it's important -- if one thinks just historically, since World War II, with the possible exception of the Cuban Missile Crisis, there has not been an unambiguous military intelligence success under a Democratic administration in that long time.

I mean, you have had Vietnam. You had Korea. You had Mogadishu. You had the Iranian hostages. I mean, there really hasn't. And this was. And...

JIM LEHRER: Just in pure political...

MARK SHIELDS: In pure political -- but, you know, in an act of -- a decisive act.

And there's a recognition in the political world that the president really did roll the dice. I mean, this was a high-risk -- high-reward, but very high-risk, not only to the brave men involved, but to his own political future.

JIM LEHRER: What do you think about the decision he has made not to release the photographs of Osama -- of the dead Osama bin Laden?

DAVID BROOKS: Yes, I agree with it. And I think they did it in the right way. It's really not up to us. It's up to how people in the Arab world are going to receive it.

And according to the reporting, what they did was, Sec. Clinton and Sec. Gates called around and said, what do you guys think of this? And there was nobody in that region who thought it would help. And so you're dealing -- it's a rare moment of American cultural sensitivity. And so, I think he made the right call.

JIM LEHRER: Mark?

MARK SHIELDS: I agree.

I think it's -- the commander in chief aspect of the president's job was on display in the mission itself. This was, I think, the most presidential thing he did this week, was to say no. I mean, there was a growing demand, a lot of people on the Hill saying, they have got to do it, and you have got to them out and show them.

And I thought he showed that there was -- it was a gloat-free zone. There was -- he said, we're not going to do the self-congratulatory celebration dance in the end zone of spiking the ball, I think as he put it. And this -- it serves no positive purpose at all, other than to satisfy maybe the prurient interest of some people for graphic...

DAVID BROOKS: ... a little celebration. I mean, he did go to New York and to the...

MARK SHIELDS: Yes. No, no, but, I mean, it wasn't -- it wasn't -- there wasn't a "Mission Accomplished" aspect to it. It wasn't strutting on an aircraft carrier.

DAVID BROOKS: Right.

JIM LEHRER: Do you disagree with that?

DAVID BROOKS: Well, you know, I don't blame him. I mean, he had a big victory. He went to New York. He went to the base. He took a little stroll. But I think that's fine. The president, he's running a campaign.

I do think that there is something a little ambivalent. The debate has really begun stirring about how the information was gathered. And I do think that General -- Attorney Gen. Mukasey had a piece in The Journal today saying it was gathered through water-boarding.

And I frankly, don't know the answer, because the experts are testifying 100 percent on both sides of this issue.

JIM LEHRER: Yes.

DAVID BROOKS: And, so, I don't know. But it will be -- that's the debate that will be interesting to see how it affects this.

JIM LEHRER: Now, I'm now going to use a tortured segue to say, speaking of debates, there was a -- the first Republican presidential debate last night in South Carolina.

And bin Laden, the killing of bin Laden, was a big subject in that debate. The debate was on the FOX News Channel.

Our Kwame Holman has some excerpts.

KWAME HOLMAN: This week's blockbuster foreign policy development consumed the early part of the first Republican presidential debate of the 2012 cycle, held last night in Greenville, S.C.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty credited the president for acting against Osama bin Laden, but stopped his praise there.

TIM PAWLENTY, (R) former Minnesota governor: I do congratulate President Obama for the fine job that he did in taking some tough decisions and being decisive as it related to finding and killing Osama bin Laden. He did a good job. And I tip my cap to him in that moment.

But that moment is not the sum total of America's foreign policy.

KWAME HOLMAN: And former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was less taken by the president's actions.

RICK SANTORUM, (R) former U.S. senator: If you look at what President Obama has done right in foreign policy, it has always been a continuation of the Bush policies. He's done right by keeping Gitmo open. He's done right by finishing the job in Iraq. He has done right by trying to win in Afghanistan. Those were existing policies that were in place.

KWAME HOLMAN: But the views of libertarian Texas Congressman Ron Paul highlighted the divide within the GOP over the U.S. role in Afghanistan.

REP. RON PAUL, (R) Texas: Now that he's killed, boy, it is a wonderful time for this country now to reassess it and get the troops out of Afghanistan and end that war that hasn't helped us and hasn't helped anybody in the Middle East.

KWAME HOLMAN: At least half-a-dozen Republicans still weighing a run passed on the debate broadcast by FOX News. The no-shows included those who have moved toward bids, such as Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

Those absences left a void that was filled by long-shot candidates, such as former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who favors the legalization of marijuana.

GARY JOHNSON, (R) former New Mexico governor: I advocate legalizing marijuana, control it, regulate it, tax it. It'll never be legal for kids to smoke pot or buy pot. It'll never be legal to smoke pot or do harm to others.

KWAME HOLMAN: And former Godfather's Pizza chief executive Herman Cain sought to play up his lack of political experience.

HERMAN CAIN, businessman: I'm proud of the fact, quite frankly, that I haven't held public office before, because I ask people -- most of the people that are in elective office in Washington, D.C., they have held public office before. How is that working for you?

(LAUGHTER)

KWAME HOLMAN: The next GOP presidential debate is scheduled for next month in New Hampshire.

JIM LEHRER: And the winner was?

MARK SHIELDS: The winner was, you know, I mean, Ron Paul, just on sort of a consistent world view.

But Herman Cain gets the award for turning the sow's ear into the silk purse. He said, you know -- disparaging people who held office. He sought office and the Republican nomination for the Senate in Georgia. He got 23 or 24 percent of the vote against Johnny Isakson. So, it isn't like -- you know, he's sort of turning his non-office holding into credentials.

I think any time you get on the stage, it's good, and you are answering serious questions. And, you know, I think, in that sense, it's helpful to the candidates who are up there.

It was a tough week, because, as I said, their narrative about President Obama was kind of pulled out from under them. Rick Santorum, of course, consistent, and persisted in his indictment of him.

But one test, Jim, that is a great test is how candidates handle something like this. And what I did was go through and look at how each of the Republican candidates, which one of them praised President Obama, while praising the SEALs and praising the action and the result.

Tim Pawlenty did, as you heard in Kwame's piece. Mitt Romney did. And Mitch Daniels did. And Newt Gingrich didn't, and Mrs. Palin didn't. Gov. Palin didn't. And, obviously, Rick Santorum didn't. And the others didn't.

But it's just -- it's a rational thing to do. I mean, I know it's difficult. And you are upset. And your base is going to be angry with you if you acknowledge that the person on the other side you are running against has done anything good. But I thought that was revealing.

JIM LEHRER: Yes.

What do you make of that?

DAVID BROOKS: Yes. That's actually a very good test, because of the people you mentioned who did, those are the serious candidates.

And I might throw in another. Jon Huntsman seems to be running. And I suspect he's a serious candidate. I'm not sure what his odds are. But it's going to be a -- the good thing about this debate was, there were only five people up on the stage.

JIM LEHRER: Yes.

DAVID BROOKS: When the serious candidates come in, there's going to be a lot. And they will be very inconclusive. And it will just be hard to have a good debate with so many of the people who are not going to get the nomination up there.

And, so, you know what? I -- but I think we will known in 10 days. I have been talking...

JIM LEHRER: Ten days?

DAVID BROOKS: ... to some of the candidates. And I think they have a feeling that, within 10 days, the people who are half-in, half-out have to say, yes, I'm in; yes, I'm out.

So, I think we will know very soon, and by the next president -- the next debate next month, it will be a real debate.

JIM LEHRER: Do you think, as a result of last night, that -- take Pawlenty and Santorum, just to pick two. Were they helped in a way that helps move them into the major candidate category with -- if these others do -- that you just mentioned do come along?

DAVID BROOKS: Yes. Pawlenty -- if you want to judge by buzz, Pawlenty is a major candidate. He is one of the top two. And there are a lot of people who think he's the most likely.

And I sympathize with that, that all the other candidates have severe weaknesses. And, as a lot of other Republicans would say, he is the Dukakis of the race. When they're all knocked out, he is the guy left standing. So, Pawlenty is clearly a serious candidate.

Santorum is clearly not. He has a social conservative base, but the guy got killed in Pennsylvania when he tried to run for re-election. And him expanding beyond that base is hard to see.

JIM LEHRER: Do you see anything happening as a result of last night that helps any of these folks sort of move up the...

MARK SHIELDS: I think -- I think the exposure is good. And the question is what effect it had among people who did watch it.

I think -- you know, the one, I think, drawback for Tim Pawlenty -- and I agree with David's assessment of him -- is that, in that field last night, he should have been more dominant, I think, than he was, than he came across. I mean, he didn't make any mistakes. He didn't stumble, but you would have thought that he filled up the room a little bit more.

But, you know, Michael Dukakis didn't fill up the room, and he won the nomination and...

DAVID BROOKS: There was one good moment I thought he had, where he was asked about cap and trade. He previously supported something like the...

MARK SHIELDS: Yes.

DAVID BROOKS: And he said: "I'm not going to mess around. I was wrong."

JIM LEHRER: When he was governor of Minnesota.

DAVID BROOKS: Right.

JIM LEHRER: Yes.

DAVID BROOKS: "I was wrong."

And that is an indictment of Mitt Romney, who is sort of dancing around his support for a health care that looks like what Obama did. And so that was his best moment, I would say.

JIM LEHRER: To admit mistakes is -- is considered an act of courage in American politics; is it not?

MARK SHIELDS: Well, I mean, when John Kennedy admitted responsibility -- took responsibility for the Bay of Pigs, he went to 82 percent. And he said, two more foul-ups like this, and I will be at 95.

(LAUGHTER)

MARK SHIELDS: But, I mean, people do respect somebody who will accept responsibility. And that is a lesson very rarely learned by office-seekers.

JIM LEHRER: Because most of the people watching probably made a mistake or two of their own, so they understand that.

MARK SHIELDS: Sure -- maybe that day.

JIM LEHRER: Yes.

DAVID BROOKS: But consultants -- remember -- if you remember, when President Bush had a debate, he was asked in one of these town hall debates, have you made a mistake? And he said, in public, no. And then the debate ended. Well, he didn't say it quite that way, but more or less.

MARK SHIELDS: Yes.

DAVID BROOKS: And then, when the debate ended, he rushed over to the woman. And he said to her privately: "I want you to know of course I have made a lot of mistakes. I just -- I'm not allowed to say that."

JIM LEHRER: Not allowed to...

DAVID BROOKS: And so the rule is -- the rule is, you are not allowed to. But I hope they all know they have made mistakes.

JIM LEHRER: OK.

Well, David, Mark, thank you both.

MARK SHIELDS: Having made mistakes.

JIM LEHRER: Having made mistakes.

(LAUGHTER)

JIM LEHRER: I don't -- did I? I didn't say a thing.

(LAUGHTER)

The final speaker at last Saturday night's Celebration of American Values Freedom Event during the NRA Annual Meeting was longtime NRA member and active Second Amendment supporter Governor Mike Huckabee.

Huckabee began the evening with telling the crowd about how his love of firearms began. Having a father and grandfather who were both "gun clingers" meant his family raised him from an early age to understand that a gun was not a toy — the same way most people starts out.

Learning to shoot with an old 16-gauge shotgun that he said was probably worth less than its instruction booklet, Huckabee collected pop bottles as a young boy until he had saved up enough for a single-shot .22 caliber rifle that "did a lot of squirrel hunting in South Arkansas," Huckabee boasted. As he grew older, he graduated from squirrel hunting and is not an avid duck and turkey hunter.

But as much as Huckabee and the members of the audience love hunting, "I want you to realize that the Second Amendment was not given to us to provide for and protect a hobby or a sport," he told them. "The Second Amendment is about preserving our freedom and without the freedom to make our own decisions as to what is right and what is wrong and what we do with our own families, it's not just hunting that we lose."

Huckabee then thanked Wayne LaPierre, Chris Cox and the many people of the NRA who work every day to make sure our basic and fundamental rights as Americans are not taken from us. "Your membership is worth it's weight in gold," Huckabee said, explaining that it pays for the NRA to spend their time protecting Second Amendment rights so that you don't have to.

Another story Huckabee recalled was later in life, during his undergraduate studies at Ouachita Baptist University. For reasons he still does not understand, students were forbidden to bring any cooking appliances into the dorms except for popcorn poppers. Naturally everyone brought the one thing they were allowed to cook with, but Huckabee had other plans for his device. While he never did make popcorn with it, Huckabee admitted to the audience that it became very effective at frying squirrels.

At the end of his speech, Huckabee reiterated his love for America and appreciation for all the NRA does to a standing ovation from the crowd.

With night's event concluded, attendees began to make their way back from the Consol Energy Center to their hotels in preparation for the final day of the 2011 NRA Annual Meeting.

A robot spy dog Argonaut will have a British accent. Comedican Ricky Gervais will lend his voice to Argonaut in the upcoming family action adventure film “Spy Kids: All the Time in the World.” “Not only am I lending my voice to ‘Spy Kids,’ but they can keep it. I’m sick of it,” joked Gervais in a statement. He will join the cast which includes Jessica Alba (“Machete”), Jeremy Piven (“Entourage”), Joel McHale (TV’s “Community” and “The Soup”) and young stars Rowan Blanchard (TV’s “Dancelot Robot“) and Mason Cook (“Treasure Buddies“).  Also reprising their roles from the previous films are Antonio Banderas (“The Mask of Zorro”), Danny Trejo (“Machete”), Alexa Vega (“From Prada To Nada”) and Daryl Sabara (“Machete”). Here is the official synopsis: On the surface, Marissa Cortez Wilson (Jessica Alba) has it all...married to a famous spy hunting television reporter, a new baby and intelligent twin step kids.  But in reality, trying to mother Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook), who clearly don’t want her around, is her toughest challenge yet.  Also, her husband, Wilbur (Joel McHale), wouldn’t know a spy if he lived with one which is exactly the case - Marissa’s a retired secret agent. Marissa’s world is turned upside down when the maniacal Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) threatens to take over the planet and she’s called back into action by the head of OSS, home of the greatest spies and where the now-defunct Spy Kids division was created.  With Armageddon quickly approaching, Rebecca and Cecil are thrust into action when they learn their boring stepmom was once a top agent and now the world’s most competitive ten year olds are forced to put their bickering aside and rely on their wits.  With a little help from a couple of very familiar Spy Kids, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara), and some mind-blowing gadgets, they just may be able to save the world and possibly bring their family together while they’re at it. The fourth installment of the “Spy Kids” series is directed and written by Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City,” “Spy Kids”). The first three “Spy Kids” films grossed over $450 million worldwide. Dimension Films will distribute the films in theaters in 3D on August 19 this year.Source: The Weinstein Co. press release

It's a long offseason. The Digital Viking: The EDSBS Guide To Spicy Living is our antidote to long weekends without sweet, sweet football. The five categories are Drink, Comestibles (snack), Combustible (shit what blows up), Transit (gettin' by) and Canon (essential cultural inputs), watched over by a patron saint invoked for inspiration. On duty today: Douglas and Orson.

PATRON SAINT: Sergeant Stubby

In a week full of exciting WAR DOG related news, let us remember the greatest WAR DOG of our past, the legendary Sergeant Stubby. Stubby adopted U.S. Army trainee Private J. Robert Conroy as he trained at Yale University, trapping him first with cuteness, and then with his ability to follow drill commands, bugle calls, and even do a one-pawed salute. This all sounds very adorable, but Stubby's plan was but a cunning prelude leading up to Stubby's true goal: ripping the debauched, effete, and thoroughly evil throat out the Kaiser himself. 

Stubby then talked Conroy into smuggling him onto the boat over to France, where he was discovered by a commanding officer who--combat tactics, Mr. Ryan!--allowed Stubby to remain with the unit after Stubby saluted him. He then followed the unit into battle and quickly became the greatest canine soldier of his generation, surviving gas attacks, alerting soldiers to incoming artillery long before their weak human ears could hear them, and even capturing a German spy by biting the living shit out of him until his backup arrived.  

Stubby even dared the Germans to play fetch with grenades, and suffered injuries when he miscalculated the timing on one particularly unfortunate throw, but whatever: Stubby wanted blood, sweet blood, and a little bit of spare German change left in his carcass was going to quench this thirst for a little Hun-punch straight from the tap.

Stubby finished the Great War with 17 battles to his name, a wound stripe for his bad fetch call, and the rank of Sergeant. He later became the model for the Georgetown mascot, boosted morale by visiting veterans in the hospital, and died at the age of something like ten or eleven in the arms of Conroy, muttering his final words "I only regret not ripping the sweet flesh of the Kaiser's voicebox out of his throat myself." 

Raise a glass to Sgt. Subby, and then proceed to the Digital Viking.

Doug: Holly and I busted out the Bulleit Rye for not one but two momentous occasions this past week: First, the news that Osama bin Laden had gotten himself wet up by a crew of Navy SEALs in Pakistan, and a few days later, the kickass finale to another kickass season of "Justified." Bulleit. Bullets. Huh -- we didn't plan it that way, but it worked out kind of perfectly, didn't it?

Orson:  The Stapleton Sex of beers, Ghostface Killah Malt Beverage. 

The beer made from hot peppers indeed sounds like that leaving a hearse, it will indeed do worse to your palate, throat, stomach, and even the very lines you use to funnel your beer into glasses.

Twisted Pine will begin pouring the beer in five-ounce glasses at its tap room on Cinco de Mayo -- and serving it with a queso dip made from the beer -- but won't be putting it on tap. "It's so hot, you can't even put it on tap. It will destroy your tap line," Valenta says, adding that the brewery had to replace its tap line after serving the beer on tap last year.

And for no reason, let us quote our favorite Ghostface triplet ever:

Who want to battle the Don?
I'm James Bond in the Octagon with two razors
Bet cha'all didn't know I had a fake arm

If there is another rapper who will boast about having a prosthetic arm AND agree to use his name on a beer that destroys plumbing, we have not met him.

 

COMESTIBLE

Orson: You could tell your friends you've given up, or you can simply greet them at the door in your sweatsuit, put on a nice episode of Big Bang Theory, pour you and your friends a glass of Smirnoff Ice, and then roll out the white flag of life surrender: DiGiorno's Pizza and Cookies.

We don't know if this is a warning shot across the bow of our civilization from impending doom, or a bold new exercise in liberated shamelessness, or a subtle form of federally subsidized suicide, but know this: it is SOMETHING.

Doug: My anaconda don't want none unless you got Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Buns, hon.

I'd found this wondrous flavor while I was living in Birmingham and had been hunting in vain for it ever since, and then Orson and I stopped off at one of his favorite community markets in east Atlanta one weekend, and . . . there it was, sitting in the freezer, positively glowing like the thing in the briefcase in "Pulp Fiction." I clawed through that freezer case like a honey badger and came up with two more pints, and it's been cinnamon bun heaven ever since. It's also part of a nutritious breakfast!

COMBUSTIBLE

Doug: Here's your "free science lecture" of the day: There's no such thing as a routine rocket launch. One minute you're counting down on the launch of a Delta II rocket carrying nothing more than a regular ol' GPS satellite, the next you're calling your insurance company to come total out your pickup truck.

"Sorry about that, man. Um . . . I'm sure a lot of that will buff right out."

Orson: Two forms of tree trimming for you, both insanely dangerous and therefore on our list of things we want to watch other people do. First, trim your trees the American way: with a shotgun.

Or if you want the really ballsy way to do it, why not attach a rotating deathblade apparatus to a helicopter and achieve lethal decapitating force in not one, not two, but three planes.

 

 

 

TRANSIT

Orson: Bring back the El Camino! No, seriously, we could make this happen.

Doug: Citroën retired the C4 from World Rally Championship racing in 2010 after winning the drivers' and manufacturers' titles three straight years. Starting this spring, you -- and by "you" I mean "that small portion of EDSBS's readership that lives in Europe" -- will be able to buy the street-legal version of its replacement: the Citroén DS3R, latest addition to my Teensy European Cars With Ridiculous Engines in Them Hall of Fame. Two hundred (and two) horsepower in a hatchback that's smaller than a Chevrolet Aveo? I will take one in black, please. Watch for me making the Wile E. Coyote face as I go flying sideways across my neighbors' front lawns.

CANON

Doug: Bringing this thing full circle on the "bullets" theme, there's only one question to be answered when it comes to Michael Mann's 1995 masterpiece "Heat": Great shootout scene, or greatest shootout scene? (Video clip sort of NSFW for language and, you know, loud automatic firearms.)

It has De Niro and Pacino in it (even if they only share about 15 minutes' worth of screen time). It has William Fichtner dying in sweatpants. It has Henry Rollins AND Tone-Loc. It has one-time DV Patron Saint Danny Trejo playing a character named, ironically enough, "Trejo." (When you're Danny Trejo you get to keep your name, even in a movie as awesome as this one.) It even has acting and character depth, which you are free to appreciate or not appreciate as you watch the BULLETS BULLETS BULLETS. Possibly the greatest crime drana ever committed to celluloid, and one of the rare three-hour movies that's ever made me cross my fingers for a four-hour director's cut.

Orson: Can I just remind you, very quickly since it's way late on a Friday and we have to place Derby bets, that you are wasting your ears if you like any form of hip-hop and are not listening to Return of 4eva by Big K.R.I.T? And that you can download it for free legitimately and without guilt? It's theft, and you just got away it.

We're getting ready to head to Baltimore May 16-19, 2011 for RailsConf B'more: Round Two. We have some fun events planned. We hope you'll join us if you'll be there too.

Ignite RailsConf

Date: Monday, May 16, 2011 Time: 6:00pm Location: Sheraton Inner Harbor, 300 South Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21201 Expect: awesome 5 minute talks from 15 great speakers Ignite RailsConf is back again. Snag an Ignite RailsConf ticket to partake in the fun. Dr. Nic will be doing "Ignite Karaoke" a guaranteed 5 minutes of humor as Nic presents slides he's never seen before. Oh, and don't forget to stick around and join us for the after-party at Max's Taphouse. We'll have appetizers and beer for all. Should be a blast.

JRuby Hackfest at BohConf

Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 Time: 1:50pm-5:15pm Location: BohConf at the Baltimore Convention Center Bring: questions, code, desire, your laptop Expect: answers, fun, hacking, beer, and snacks At RailsConf 2008, in Portland, we had our first JRuby hackfest. Over 100 people showed up and we had a great time. It was cool to see applications leveraging Java technologies. We met new users who wanted to try debug some issues running their applications on JRuby. We also had some folks who wanted to help contribute patches to JRuby. Mix in some some snacks, beer, and great people....OMGZ...the event totally rocked. It is time for history to repeat.

Rubinius Office Hours

Brian Ford will be on-deck at RailsConf holding Rubinius help desk hours. If you have Rubinius questions, or want to share feedback about your experience with Rubinius, holler at @brixen in Baltimore or swing by the Engine Yard RailsConf booth to find out more Rubinius help desk details.

EventMachine RubyConf

Last but not least, there's also some planning in the works for EventMachine RubyConf, a half day event that will take place during RailsConf. Time, date and location are being worked out and will be announced shortly. Watch @emrubyconf for details. See you at RailsConf, or another event soon!

Daniel Massey - In recent months, proponents of a bill to mandate so-called living wages at city-subsidized projects have attended rallies, delivered sermons and sent postcards to elected officials in support of the measure. Meanwhile, little has been heard from opponents of the measure. But that is about to change.

With a City Council hearing on the bill set for Thursday, and officials from the city's Economic Development Corp. preparing to brief stakeholders next week on the results of its $1 million study on the feasibility of wage mandates, opposition to the measure is mounting.

More than a dozen groups—ranging from small business owners and supermarket operators to major real estate developers and builders of affordable housing—have formed a coalition to press for the bill's defeat.

They plan to use Putting New Yorkers to Work, a nonprofit registered late last year by the Real Estate Board of New York, to educate the public about the bill's potential impact via advertisements, mailers and other methods. And they have hired the public relations firm The Marino Organization to get their message out.

Groups that have joined the coalition against the bill—which would require employers at projects that receive $100,000 or more in subsidies to pay $10 an hour plus benefits, or $11.50 without benefits—include REBNY, the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Five Boro Chamber Alliance and the Food Industry Alliance of New York State.

City Councilman Oliver Koppell, the bill's prime sponsor, said that recent amendments to the bill were designed to ensure affordable housing, nonprofits, and small businesses are not adversely affected. “These amendments are the direct result of conversations with top stakeholders who represent those interests,” he said.

Affordable housing developers are worried, despite an amendment to the bill that would exempt most projects in which 75% of the residential units are affordable for families earning less than 125% of the area median income. Coalition insiders say that the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development will come out against the bill, but a spokesman for the agency declined to comment.

Affordable housing developers are concerned because most large affordable residential developments include ground floor retail that helps reduce the subsidy needed to finance the affordable units. Increased wage requirements would reduce the value of the retail space, which would then necessitate adding more government subsidy and/or a reduction in the number of affordable units that could be built.

“We're trying to bring retail into underserved neighborhoods like [Brooklyn's] East New York and Brownsville,” said one affordable housing developer in the city. “We have a hard enough time getting retail to locate in these areas and getting rents low enough to attract people, but with this bill any project we're working on, we'd have to get rid of non-residential space.”

Opposition also extends to officials representing other types of housing. The Council of Cooperatives and Condominiums is against the bill, according to Arthur Weinstein, a vice president and member of the board of the association. He said it would “wreak havoc” on buildings that received J-51 tax abatements to make improvements.

“It would place an unbearable burden on co-ops and condos that use a myriad of contractors to check on the wages of every worker,” he said. “To be faced with tracking down wages paid by contractors to every single employee is absolutely outrageous.”

Supermarket owners are also up in arms, said Pat Brodhagen, vice president of the Food Industry Alliance of New York State, who contends the bill would mean the end of the FRESH program, which the City Council, industry and labor designed to bring grocery stores to underserved neighborhoods. She plans to testify against the bill at the Council hearing next week.

“Supermarket careers are good careers long term, but the entry wage is not going to hit this level,” she said. “What will happen, as a store does its pro forma and looks at the numbers, it will no longer be a project they're willing to enter into. It will undo the whole purpose of the benefits under FRESH.”

Tenants at the Brooklyn Navy Yard have also joined the coalition, arguing the bill would hurt the competitiveness of their businesses. Joal Savino, executive vice president at Mercedes Distribution Center, which fulfills orders for e-commerce sites, said the bill would force him to relocate to Pennsylvania.

“It puts me out of business here,” he said. “And that's not just affecting workers making minimum wage. It's affecting everybody. I have IT guys making $120,000 a year, warehouse managers earning $65,000 with full family medical coverage.”

Small businesses, via the Five Boro Chamber Alliance, have also expressed opposition. Firms with less than $1 million in revenue are exempted, but Nancy Ploeger, president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, said that doesn't go far enough. And even though nonprofits are exempted, coalition members said some of them remain opposed because the bill would impact their subcontractors or tenants.

The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union has led the charge for the bill, which has 29 sponsors, five shy of the supermajority needed to override a likely veto from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose administration has consistently opposed wage mandates. Mr. Koppell said he would continue to listen to and address opponents' concerns.

“We should all be able to agree that taxpayers deserve the highest possible return on their investment in economic development and job creation,” he said. “This pragmatic bill stands up for the interests of all taxpayers and will actually help many businesses by strengthening the work force in fast-growing sectors like retail.”

<p>Summer has been making itself known here in Southern California which means all I can think about is what my closet is lacking.&nbsp;</p> <p>Here's a few things that are on my wishlist for this summer :)</p> <p><br /><br /><strong>Tribal Print</strong>: I love tribal print, I've been trying to find a more authentic looking version though. The ones in the picture below are kind of ehhhh.</p> <p><img src="http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/imgx/1/4/2/1/4/8/0/1/orig-14214801.jpg" /></p> <p><br /><br /><strong>Brightly Colored Nails</strong>: Weeeee! bright nails! I need to stalk up on my hot pinks and pastels. I've been so used to wearing dark colors like black and navy blue.<br /><br /><img src="http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/imgx/1/4/2/1/4/7/4/1/orig-14214741.jpg" /><img src="http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/imgx/1/4/2/1/4/7/3/1/orig-14214731.jpg" /><img src="http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/imgx/1/4/2/1/4/7/6/1/orig-14214761.jpg" /><br /><br /></p> <p><br /><strong>Velvet Leggings (Navy Blue or Emerald Green preferred): </strong>Self-explanatory. Am I going to hot as hell wearing these in the summer heat? Why yes, yes&nbsp;I am. But I honestly could care less.</p> <p><img src="http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/imgx/1/4/2/1/3/9/7/1/orig-14213971.jpg" /></p> <p><strong>90's Sunflower Mini&nbsp;Dress:</strong> My favorite thing on this list! I've been looking for a dress like this forever. Still no luck :( I've been dying to wear one with a light jean vest/jacket and boots with thick white socks. So SO 90s.</p> <p><img src="http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/imgx/1/4/2/1/4/8/5/1/orig-14214851.jpg" width="440" height="424" /></p> <p><br /><strong>Black &amp; Yellow Dr. Martens:</strong> Um hello, these are amazing and I need them.</p> <p><img src="http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/imgx/1/4/2/1/3/9/5/1/orig-14213951.jpg" /></p> <p><br /><strong>H&amp;M " The Empire Strikes Back" Sweater:</strong> I'm not really a Star Wars fan but I kind of love this, which means I should kind of own this. I know this is a "summer" wishlist, but I'm a winter lover at heart. Bring on the sweaters!</p> <p><img src="http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/imgx/1/4/2/1/3/9/4/1/orig-14213941.jpg" /></p> <p><strong>Lady GaGa- Born This Way:</strong> It's not clothing I know, but it's on my to do list. Gaga will dominate this summer, guaranteed.</p> <p><img src="http://cdn.buzznet.com/assets/imgx/1/4/2/1/4/7/8/1/orig-14214781.jpg" /></p> <p>So there you have it. Those are a few things I'm gonna try and snatch up this summer.</p> <p><strong>What on your wish list this summer?</strong></p>

We are just mere moments away from yet another milestone in the history of Singapore. Today marks the day The Red Dot Awakens. By the time, you are reading this, I am on my way to the Singapore consulate in Hong Kong to cast my vote.

The humble will be honoured and the arrogant shall be banished. Justice shall prevail.

Or that's what I hope.

Come 07 May 2011, we will find out if we are true blue Singaporeans with the courage to really vote who we want to represent us.

Looking at the massive turnout at the opposition rallies versus that of the PAP, will the ballot results turn out as such?

Or are we just a bunch of cowards who braved the rain, jostle and mud at the opposition rallies only to meekly submit our ballot slips with a mark on the PAP box?

I look forward to finding out with baited breath.

• Sassyjan (02 May 2011) - I am proud to be a Singaporean, Are you?

I would like to take a moment here to respond to Sassy "Owes Me A Jug Of Beer" Jan on her blog entry above.

She rained accolades on projects and initiatives that the PAP has done like Park Connector Network, HDB upgrading, medisave, workforce development agency, caring RC members and really really nice police. I am not sure about the last one, it may just be a case of her being a "flower idiot". Again.

I am guessing that the Woodlands NPC CO is quite yan dao.

Here's my take.

I concede that there has been many good initiatives implemented over the years. However, I ask you this. Are this solely exclusive to the PAP? i.e. had it been another party running the government, all these will not happen?

If hypothetically speaking that if the Worker's Party were the ruling party today, all our HDB flats will never be upgraded?

I do not think so.

Caring RC members? I am sure the "welcome to Potong Pasir" letter (click on image on the left to enlarge), circulated all over the internet in recent days, signed by Chiam See Tong himself trumps all of them.

Very very friendly police? Click on the reference link and you find our dear Sassyjan throwing brickbats about the investigating officer during that incident going missing-in-action.

Speaking of good initiatives, I have to say that the PAP has a knack for mucking things up and making what originally was a very good thing into a sour taste in everybody's mouth.

While we are on the topic of HDB upgrading, let's start with that.

Yes, upgrading is good.

Lift landings on every floor is fabulous and especially useful for the young, aged and mobility challenged.

Sheltered walkways are a blessing too.

However, to withhold upgrading just because you did not vote for the PAP is just plain wrong. People in Hougang and Potong Pasir do pay taxes as well and yet the government is withholding the money meant for them. That I say is robbery in every sense of the word. I will fall short of calling the governemnt crooks but I am not far away.

What about public transport? Our MRT network is something that I am proud to show off to my foreign friends. With the ever expanding network, I look forward to the day where cars are redundant and every corner of the island is within easy reach.

Now look at how terrible it is now? While the hardware is in tip top condition, the crowding situation during peak hours is horrendous. Couple with their horribly handled immigration policy resulting in the sudden influx of foreigner to be called our own, the rate of expansion of the public transport system lags behind the population explosion by a mile.

I understand the need to bring people in from outside when our birth ratio has dropped to an alarming 1.2 (gee, I wonder who screwed this up with the Two Is Enough campaign back in the 70s?). But why at such a furious rate where the housing supply and public transport is unable to keep up?

They keep saying that they need to raise the public transport prices to keep the company up citing all sorts of reasons. Yet they always announce healthy profits quarter after quarter, thus shooting themselves in the foot the justification of raising prices. Liars?

Housing prices at where we are is a result of demand, as a resulting of foreigner influx, out stripping supply.

So to sum up, whatever the PAP has done good, I am sure the opposition, if given the same opportunity and resources, will be able to accomplish the same.

On the same token, whatever the PAP has screwed up, I am sure the opposition, if given the same opportunity and resources, won't do the same.

Let me cite a few examples.

If the opposition were in power, they will NOT pay themselves exorbitant salaries. We have what? 30 ministers? Why do we need so many ministers? Some more quite a number of them have no portfolio i.e. they are Ministers of Chor Bor Lan and we are paying them millions of dollars per year. Let's not even go into their pensions where we continue to paying obscene amounts of money until they die.

If the opposition were in power, they will NOT withhold upgrading of HDB flats in constituencies that did not vote for them. Sure, there will be a queue where every ward gets their turn but certainly not a wait of MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS and still waiting.

If the opposition were in power, they will NOT implement the system of the GRC where the strong incumbents can smuggle in untested candidates into parliament to represent the people. If there are 87 seats, then there will be 87 SMCs where every candidate is required to earn their own way into parliament.

If the opposition were in power, they will NOT use strong-arm, high-handed mafia tactics to suppress their political opponents into submission. Need a reminder? --> Click Here.

I am not saying that if you vote for the PAP, you are wrong. You just happen to vote differently from me, that is IF I am voting for the opposition. You are free to make your own informed choice.

The important thing is that you make that vote and make it count.

Vote carefully, marked clearly. Don't spoil the vote.

Your country needs to hear from you.

Clearly.

The latest rebranding of the paisley look is more Su Pollard than Syd Barrett

I was recently in front of Su Pollard in the queue at Victoria station. I know, I know, but that's the life of a journalist: one endless round of head-spinning celebrity encounters. I knew it was Su Pollard because she was dressed as Su Pollard – ie, in a manner that made your eyes involuntarily cross. Her tights were cerise, her ra-ra skirt berserk, but not everything she was wearing was as understated as that.

I mention this because Pollard's sense of aesthetics seems to hang over the current vogue for "psychedelic" men's clothing. I love the brief period of British menswear between the smartness of mod and the luridness of flower-power: paisley shirts and vintage militaria. In an America scarred by Vietnam, people took acid and began fomenting plans for revolution. Here, lysergic mind expansion's main effect seems to have been to instil an insatiable desire to dress like a Victorian.

It's a look you can't bring back without looking parodic, which is why what's now touted as the psychedelic look seems to have more to do with Su Pollard than with Syd Barrett: clashing colours and patterns, op-art prints, dip-dye and tie-dye and sweaters described as "blotchy intarsia" – which sounds like something you'd make a discreet appointment at a clinic about, but turns out to be a knitting technique – all thrown on at once. A lot of the stuff is lovely in isolation: one style mag had a photo of a James Long shirt with a beautiful, mind-blowing print and a price to match. But all at once? In the parlance of the era: it's too much, man.

• Alexis wears: Shirt from a selection, by Etro. Jeans £120, from Urban Outfitters. Shoes £125, by Russell & Bromley.

Photograph: David Newby for the Guardian. Grooming: Jen Fechter at Era Artist Management.

Judd Trump caused a sensation this week when, aged just 21, he rocketed into snooker's World Championship final. So who is this new boy wonder?

Judd Trump can measure, precisely, when and how fast he got properly famous. Just over three weeks ago, on 14 April, he opened a Twitter account with the cheery "Hello twitter!!", swiftly followed by "In nandos tucking into half a chicken!!" (he is fond of exclamation marks. And food.) Initially @judd147t, "part time snooker player, full time international playboi!!" [sic] had some 200 followers – respectable, for a normal citizen. Then he went to Sheffield and played his first game in his second World Championship, which, after a wobbly – and duly tweeted – beginning ("Nervy start but gotta take 5-4 powwow!!"), he won, dispatching the title holder, Neil Robertson. The follower count jumped to 3,000. "I was shocked. And then I started publicising it a little bit, and said I'd love to get up to 10,000, or 20,000, and then one day, after, I think, my semi-final" – a game which, by fearlessly going for shots others might avoid ("If in doubt hit it as hard as you can?!!"), he both thrilled his audience and won – "it jumped from like 10,000 to 25,000, and I was really shocked. I overtook all of the rest of the snooker players." By the end of last week, over 51,000 followers were being informed that it was "time to put a dent in the bank balance in london today!!"

For said bank balance has swelled a lot in that time, too. On 3 April, the 21-year-old won the China Open, pocketing £60,000 and gaining his first ranking title; he didn't win the World Championships, but came a close second to three-time world champion John Higgins, pocketing £125,000. In some ways more important than the money, however, was the sense of a blistering new arrival in snooker, warmly welcomed. "Judd's greatest asset is his game terrifies people. Never seen anyone pot so well. Scary," tweeted Ronnie O'Sullivan, the game's last such arrival (who, incidentally, joined the Twitter-sphere on the same day as Trump). "Judd was by far the better player," said Higgins after the game. "He was playing a brand of snooker I've never seen in my life. We've got a new sensation, which is great for the game. It's just a fantastic feeling." Viewing figures peaked in the UK at 6.6 million, the best for the last five years, in no small part due to Trump's bravura showmanship (and boyband haircut); a total of 27.1 million watched the tournament overall. In China, 30 million people watched the semi-final, in which Trump beat Chinese star Ding Junhui. "The Juddernaut is the future," hyperventilated the Daily Mail, "and that future is now."

Although, right now, the future is late. When it finally pulls into the business centre car park on the edges of Romford, Essex, in a white BMW with a flamboyant spoiler, Trump, his childhood friend Ryan, and his manager Django Fung, a Hong Kong-born businessman in natty narrow trousers and velvet-lapelled jacket, are discussing the afternoon's prospective shopping trip. Fung suggests he might not come along; Trump's face falls. "Come with us?" The openness of his face, looking at his manager, the obvious, implicit trust in an elder, make him look very young. All ignore the journalist in the room.

So what was he up to this morning? He is watchful now, the vulnerabilty contained. "Sleepin'." Absently, he strokes the large, fake diamond-studded watch on his wrist. His tight white Gucci T-shirt is pristine, his belt and the obligatory band of striped underwear just so. He is fit, but incredibly skinny, a broomstick topped by an elaborately teased mop of hair. It's all very self-aware; when I mention that the swell in viewing figures seems largely to have been because of him, he says, "Yeah – I had a lot of people tell me that. A lot of younger kids and that – obviously because I'm more at their age and a little bit different to the rest of the snooker players, with my image and stuff." Image? "My whole hairstyle, the way I dress. Older people like to dress older. I dress in more flamboyant, stylish … " Has he always made this degree of effort? "More so now. I used to be quite laid back and that. But obviously the more you're in the public eye, the more you've got to … dress to impress." (There is also the fact that he simply loves to shop. "Love it. Absolutely love it." He can't wait, when the interview is over, to hit Gucci first, then Harrods.)

It's of a piece with the deliberate showmanship of his play – the supposedly impossible shots, the calculated recklessness of his pocketing, which, as he tells it, are a kind of evangelism. "I think I wanted – not to show off, but try and make [snooker] more popular, whereas other players maybe just want to play the game and don't really care about the fans as much. But I always want to go for certain shots that please the crowd, and stuff like that." Partly this is because it's just "a lot easier with them supporting you than with them against you. You enjoy it more." But also "I've just got the mindset of really wanting to open the game up to new people. I kind of want to create a massive attention around snooker."

He doesn't seem particularly arrogant, nor is there any false modesty. Snooker is almost a lone sport, played in many ways against yourself and in your head; an internal negotiation of skill and confidence practised, for hours, largely alone. Trump is obviously gregarious, as up for a laugh and night out with friends as any 21-year-old, but a lifetime of self-reliance and discipline (in the sport, at least) definitely shows. He hasn't ever had a coach, apart from the worried attentions of his father when he was much younger, and simply doesn't see the need for one. "I've just kind of learnt on my own. I literally know just by playing a shot, by the feel of it – I can tell, straight away. I don't really need anyone to tell me. Other people try and tweak their techniques and that, but I've just been exactly the same all my life, and I'd never change anything."

Trump was born in Bristol; his parents and most of his family come from either Bristol or Cornwall. His father is a lorry driver, and his mother a cook. It was all very "normal, really. Both doing quite normal jobs, nothing extravagant – just do their work, come home, eat, go to bed." He inherited his mother Georgina's shyness. "I've always been pretty shy. Unless I know someone really well" – or increasingly, if he is being interviewed – "I can't keep a conversation going more than 10 seconds, really."

He doesn't remember this himself, but his father has said that he bought him a mini snooker table when he was three, and could instantly tell that his toddler had talent and application; he played his first competitive game at six, standing on a cardboard box, and had his first sponsorship deal at eight. By nine he had been sufficiently noticed for World Snooker to arrange for him to meet his hero, Ronnie O'Sullivan, at the Welsh Open. "It was a bit weird, meeting your hero for the first time." (They have since become quite friendly, and share a manager in Fung). Trump won the national under-15s when he was 10 – "That was when I thought that I might have a future in the game" – and at 13 he beat Mike Hallett, a former world No 6, who, minutes later, saw the boy playing on some swings. "That made me feel a lot better," Hallett has said, wryly. Later in his teens Trump was playing, and winning, 40-50 tournaments a year.

He isn't oblivious to what this has cost his parents. "It was hard work for them. Obviously my dad never really had time out to go and do normal things. He was working all week, and then driving me on weekends. They've never really been on holiday. They spent all their money on me, growing up. So it would obviously be nice to repay that. I don't want to just throw money at them, I want it to be thoughtful. I'll have a think, and ask them, and see what we come up with."

It was a shock, when he turned pro, and moved to Romford (a hotbed of world-class snooker players, it turns out), to start losing games. There were far fewer tournaments at first, six or seven a year, so lots of time to brood on what went wrong. The sports press began to notch him up as a disappointment, an underachiever. Alone, and fending for himself for the first time – "I can just about use the oven. And it is hard, learning to use a washing machine and stuff" – he was, also for the first time, properly lonely. "I would come here" – to Grove Academy, where he practises; in competition season he is here for about five hours a day – "then go home, and just sit at home until the next day." Travelling, especially abroad, he sometimes now pays for a friend to come along, otherwise it is as it was in China last month: "Getting up, getting ready, playing my game, and just going back to my hotel, eating on my own, going to sleep, and that's it."

In China – where snooker is huge, even among the quite young, and he has been a pin-up, frequently mobbed by female autograph-seekers, since he was 17 – he broke up with his girlfriend of a year, a drama student. The way he describes it is somehow simultaneously honestly insightful and oblivious, both to the hurt he might cause, and to the fact that he's effectively diagnosing something fame might do to him if he's not careful. "We were never really seeing each other, because this is her last year at uni and obviously I've been travelling, nearly every two or three weeks, and so it just got to the point where it was like, 'There really is no point.'" It hasn't been too hard, though. "I won China straight away, and then I had the World Championships to concentrate on, and there's been so much attention from other people and that, it was kind of easy to put it to the back of my mind, and that was it, really. It was like a year of being with her was just gone. It was quite strange, because when I split up with my previous girlfriend [whom he had been with for a year and half] it was really hard to get over, for like, a month, but this time there was no emotion, nothing. I just kind of shut it off. I don't know – I could wake up one day and it might sink in, but obviously a year's a lot of time to just shut off, like that." In the meantime, he announced to a newspaper, with little hint of tongue-in-cheek, that "if there are groupies, bring 'em on, the more the merrier. I'm young, free and single."

And for the moment he's enjoying it. He gets recognised nearly everywhere he goes, asked for autographs and pictures; he basks in the attention. Is that what he really wants? He laughs. "Only from girls. No – obviously – when you're growing up, you kind of dream about being famous and that – but when you … I think … I won't mind it for maybe a couple of weeks, but I dunno how I'll take it after that. I think it could get quite annoying, But I'm enjoying it for the time being."

A couple of the elder statesmen of the sport have warned that he has a choice – dedication, sacrifice and world domination – or fun and fame and the occasional good tournament. What does he want? "Both. I think I dedicate myself to snooker – while I'm in season, it's just snooker, snooker, snooker – but when I'm away from it I'm completely the opposite – just go out and have fun." And what's your idea of fun? The answer is immediate. "Driving around in a supercar making as much noise as possible – getting as much attention and as much people looking at me as possible." He's definitely on his way to that particular goal.

Viv Groskop meets Kasey Edwards, who found out at the age of 32 that she only had one year left to conceive

Kasey Edwards had only gone for a routine smear test, but her gynaecologist offered to check her ovaries while she was there. One turned out to be polycystic – it was producing eggs that were faulty. The other was riddled with endometriosis. On top of that, her fallopian tubes were blocked. In terms of fertility, this was bad news: the doctor told Edwards she had only 12 months to conceive.

It was a huge shock. Edwards was 32. She liked her life as it was. "I've never been maternal. I didn't grow up wanting to be a mummy. The whole idea of motherhood seemed like a bad deal. Why would anyone do it?" A management consultant, she had seen what having a baby did to the careers of her colleagues. "And you don't have to Google very long to find out what it does to marriage and mental health."

She had been with her boyfriend, Chris, for less than a year. Only two weeks before seeing the doctor they had agreed not to discuss babies unless they were still together a year later.

But it was now or never. When her boyfriend arrived home from work that evening, she asked, "Can you love a barren woman?" He listened to her "talk in circles for a couple of hours" trying to come to a decision and then announced that he knew what to do: he wanted a baby. "What, just like that?" Yes, he replied. But because of his Catholic upbringing, he had a condition: it must be a natural conception – no IVF.

After trying naturally, Edwards found herself thinking: "Six months of trying and six months of failing. Perhaps I'm already infertile." At her next appointment, the doctor was blunt: "Six months ago you had one and a half ovaries. Now you've only got one. How much longer are you going to wait before you start IVF?" Chris broke and consented to IVF. They had at most a few months left, with poor-quality eggs. Edwards was at her lowest: "I really felt a failure. I cried every time I went to the IVF clinic because it felt like it wasn't the way it was supposed to be. I looked around when I was having the embryo implanted, and I thought, there are five people present for the conception of my child and three of them are wearing surgical masks. It's not the stuff of fairytales."

Violet was born 18 months ago. Chris, 38, is now her husband. They live in Melbourne, Australia but I meet Edwards for coffee in London, where she is promoting a book about her experiences. The book – 30-Something and the Clock is Ticking – has been written to help other women decide whether they want a baby at all and how soon they need to do something about it. But is Edwards really in a position to teach anybody? She only changed her mind about motherhood because her body gave her a sudden, early ultimatum; others, more fortunate with their health, may not feel that her experience holds a lesson for them.

In fact, her story is not unusual. There is a lot of noise around at the moment about giving women a "wake-up call". Earlier this year a study by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) warned couples against waiting. It emphasised that for women aged 35, fertility problems are six times more common than at 25. By the age of 40 a woman is "more likely to have a miscarriage than give birth". Up to 30% of 35-year-olds take a year to get pregnant, compared with 5% of 25-year-olds.

This is brutal news if you're in your 30s – or older – and haven't found a long-term partner. Or if you've just broken up with someone with whom you hoped to have children. But obstetricians and fertility experts can now increasingly be drawn on the optimum age to have a baby. Dr Tony Falconer, president of the RCOG, now says "between 20 and 35." (Dr Miriam Stoppard has said, hilariously, or perhaps not so hilariously, "Physiologically, the best age is 15".)

Of course, there is no such thing as the right age. But the point is, all the statistics point to a conundrum for young women. Despite all the advances in technology and the workplace, that ticking clock is still there and if you don't have its existence at the back of your mind, you may miss the chance to have a family.

The IVF expert Dr Gedis Grudzinskas says it's more difficult after the age of 27: "When women have got used to having a lot of freedom to run their lives as they wish, they do not want to hear that they may not be able to conceive. They perhaps need to compromise, find Mr Good Enough and have a family earlier."

With the benefit of hindsight – and having had the good fortune to have a man in tow at the time – Edwards agrees. "I think it's partly our own fault. We don't start our search soon enough. We get to 35 and think, better start looking around for a father. That will take six months at least. Then maybe 18 months to two years before you can bring up the baby subject. And before you know it you're 40 and have a 5% chance of having a baby."

While accepting that her own condition was unusual, she still feels there's a message for Everywoman. "It was a big hit to how I saw my relationship with the world. A lot of women don't understand how fragile their fertility is because they don't want to hear it. People always say to me, 'I know someone who had a baby at 39.' But I sat in IVF clinics with women who had been trying for years, and many of them were not going to get babies at the end of it."

Unwelcome though it may be, her analysis of the medical picture is broadly accurate. A 30-year-old woman stands a 22% chance of getting pregnant in any given month. By 35, that drops to 18%. By 40, it's 5%. By 45 you're down to 1%. By 25, women have lost 80% of the eggs they were born with. By 35 that has dropped to a 95% loss. (Maybe Miriam Stoppard was right after all.)

One reason women are willing to gamble over their fertility is that many are not even sure they want a baby at all. This is a bigger issue in Edwards's native Australia, where parental leave has only just been introduced. Edwards lost her job when she was pregnant, as did half of her mothers' group.

A lot of mothers she interviewed admitted regretting having children. "They said they preferred their lives before. It is such a huge sacrifice and it changes your life so much. There is a difference between loving your kids and loving the lifestyle that motherhood imposes. How could you possibly love cleaning up poo and vomit 24 hours a day? Can you love just being a mother? Not being promoted at work? Earning less money? I really struggle with the idea of being on duty all the time. I didn't realise that about motherhood."

Edwards has two more embryos in the freezer but is not sure she wants another child. "I noticed that all the women I spoke to who said they wished they didn't have kids had more than one. Is that the tipping point? Is that when it all becomes too hard and it's not worth it?"

Maybe this is a shift, Edwards implies, towards more women choosing to be child-free, or choosing younger motherhood. We often forget that having a first child over the age of 35 is a relatively recent social trend.

The number of mothers giving birth after their 40th birthday has trebled in the last 20 years: 27,000 babies born to mothers over 40 last year compared with 9,336 in 1989. We now think of "older motherhood" as mid- to late-40s, maybe even later.

The "ticking clock" dominated the cultural conversation for a while a decade ago when Sylvia Ann Hewlett's Baby Hunger: The New Battle for Motherhood came out. Baby Hunger carried many of the same messages as Edwards: "Don't delay, you'll regret it." It created a media firestorm in the US, but the book didn't sell. Women didn't want to read about the babies they wouldn't have. In this country, Kate Figes wrote in May 2002 that it was "another polemic, telling what we already know". Figes quoted a local bookshop manager, who said: "If women want to get pregnant in their 30s it's much too scary and depressing to read something that says they might not achieve it. It's a mission for them to get pregnant, so they buy technical, practical books on infertility."

Then the mood moved on. There was a backlash and Hewlett's warnings were seen as scaremongering. Stories about advances in egg freezing and "Bridget Jones babies" became popular, peddling the idea that if you froze your eggs in your 20s you could wait as long as you like. (That technology, if it will ever exist, is still light years away.)

Positive-thinking books such as Elizabeth Gregory's Ready: Why Women Are Embracing the New Later Motherhood became popular, with chapter titles such as Fifty is the New Thirty.

Now with Edwards's "now or never" mantra we've come full circle. There is even an alarm clock on a woman's stomach on the front cover. The book is cleverly marketed, and it's a fun read. But I can't help wondering if Edwards is asking the impossible: for other women to make themselves face a decision that she only faced because her gynaecologist forced her to. "When I found out, I felt really angry. A bit like a spoilt brat. It was the first time in my life that I couldn't do what I wanted. We grow up thinking our life is full of endless opportunities and possibilities."

Her message is that life isn't. But don't we all have to discover that for ourselves?

Thirtysomething and the Clock is Ticking: What Happens When You Can No Longer Ignore the Baby Issue (Mainstream, £7.99). To order a copy for £6.39 with free UK p&p;, go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop or call 0330 333 6846

Tracey Emin's raw unpretentiousness – and the use she's made of her life in her work – has captured the nation's attention for 20 years. But its brilliance lies in its use of words

A cunt is a rose is a cunt. This is the title of a Tracey Emin monoprint from 2000. It's a reclining female nude, legs and torso neatly nicked off above the chest and at ankle and shin level, a body sloping backwards from the raised legs downwards, so that, held vibrant and prominent right at the centre of the drawing, there's not just the vibrating smudge and scribble of female genitalia but also a sense of something solid emerging from it, a shape cut in air, made by the crook of the upper knee and the line of the lower thigh.

"A cunt is a rose is a cunt" is Emin's reworking of the famous/notorious line from Gertrude Stein's 1913 poem "Sacred Emily": "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose". This was probably inspired in turn by Juliet's comment on Romeo's name, 300 years before Stein: "What's in a name? – That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet" (and Shakespeare was a writer not averse to the odd pun on the word "cunt" himself). What would Stein, the great literary experimenter, have made of Emin's emendation? Here's what she said in 1935 when some students in Chicago questioned her about it:

Now listen. Can't you see that when the language was new – as it was with Chaucer and Homer – the poet could use the name of a thing and the thing was really there. He could say "O moon", "O sea", "O love", and the moon and the sea and love were really there? And can't you see that after hundreds of years had gone by and thousands of poems had been written, he could call on those words and find that they were just worn out literary words? The excitingness of pure being had withdrawn from them; they were just rather stale literary words. Now the poet has to work in the excitingness of pure being; he has to get back that intensity into the language. We all know that it's hard to write poetry in a late age; and we know that you have to put some strangeness, as something unexpected, into the structure of the sentence in order to bring back vitality . . . Now you all have seen hundreds of poems about roses and you know in your bones that the rose is not there. All those songs that sopranos sing as encores about "I have a garden! oh, what a garden!" . . . Now listen! I'm no fool. I know that in daily life we don't go around saying ". . . is a . . . is a . . . is a . . ." Yes, I'm no fool; but I think that in that line the rose is red for the first time in English poetry for a hundred years.

The "can't-you-see?" of this. The insistence on "listen". The repeating immediacy – now, now, now. The emphasis on the importance and excitement of aliveness; the intensity. The focus on strangeness; the understanding that something strange introduced into the structure of things renews things: Stein's isn't a bad lens through which to see Emin's own practice. For Emin a word like "cunt" is excitingly multiple. In her work it ranges across the whole spectrum of resonance, from affirmation, celebration, punchy frankness to unpleasantness, insult and mundanity, via the still-thrilling buzz of the just-not-said, and all simultaneously, all in the swivel of a repetition, the shape a word cuts in time. There's also, here, the cheek, the wit of her retake on Stein's rose, since for sure Stein knows that a rose means more than just a rose. "And then later," Stein says of her ring of words, "what did I do? I caressed completely caressed and addressed a noun." Emin, too, is a caresser and addresser when it comes to verbal and conceptual certainties and ambiguities. Inherent ambiguity is something she's well aware of if you look at the photograph, from the same year as A cunt is a rose is a cunt, called I've got it all, in which she sits with her legs splayed open, clutching notes and coins to her cunt as if either the cash is exploding out of her in fairground fecundity, spilling out as though she's a giant fruit machine, or she's in the act of cramming it into herself.

The thing about Emin is that she's really good with words. Maybe no one, until now, has so energised, understood, made visible, the possibilities of this particular, powerful word: cunt. Partly such energising is art's responsibility, one that works, by means of what WG Sebald calls "keeping faith with unsocial, banned language", to question, understand and, with any luck, transcend the proscriptions and the inarticulacies of whatever time we happen to live in. There's a parallel in Emin's punk insertion of the word "fucking" into the construct "red, white and blue" in her neon of 2002, Red, White, and Fucking Blue, where the word "red" is red neon, the word "white" and the "&" are white neon, and the words "Fucking" and "Blue" are blue neon, and suggest everything that could make you feel blue (in all senses of the word) in the cliché of the concept of being British. Plus, there's her general democratising, the total unpretentiousness – for instance, in one of her Princess Diana monoprints of 1999, on which she writes "Regardless of class or status no woman deserves what thoes cunts put you through – LOVE WAS ON YOUR SIDE." With Emin, art is about articulation: its questions, impossibilities and, above all, the fluidity and changeability of register. At the same time it's really very British, reminiscent of something a bit Lawrentian. Mellors, the close-to-nature gamekeeper in Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928) – a novel that's all about chatter, and the upper, the lower, the chattering classes – can switch rhetorical registers with ease, talking to his penis one minute ("Ay, th' cheek on thee! Cunt, that's what tha're after. Tell lady Jane tha wants cunt"), the next minute laughingly aphoristic to Constance Chatterley ("Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in kindred love"). Something in this resembles the versatile split-second shift from cloy to edge, from acrid to sentiment and back again, in Emin's work; the neon Be Faithful to your dreams (1998) next to Good Smile Great Come (2000) next to MY CUNT IS WET WITH FEAR (1998) next to Love is What You Want (2011). (Elsewhere in her work Emin has played this last one as Love Is What You Wont.)

Something in it is prefigured, too, in work by groundbreaking writers like Angela Carter, a genius of verbal and narrative reclamation and emendation, and the American post-beat writer Kathy Acker, whose seminal, anarchic 1978 novel Blood and Guts in High School is also a work of words and pictures with its graphic genital line drawings, including one of the labia labelled underneath in typewriter typeface "My cunt red ugh". (Acker was influenced, in turn, by the 1960s and 70s feminist performance artists, for instance Carolee Schneemann, one of whose practices was to pull a rolled scroll out of her vagina then read out what was written on it.) Somehow Emin goes beyond; with her, it's as if Warhol and Valerie Solanas were rolled into the same person, but minus his posture of obliquity and spaciness, minus the violent fixity of her political focus. Something else, something unexpected and difficult to articulate happens. As Jennifer Doyle says, about looking at Emin's repeated graphic versions of what Courbet calls "the origin of the world", "I couldn't help but think: 'Isn't this how Judy Chicago and Georgia O'Keeffe are supposed to make me feel (but don't)?'".

Emin's ear for the right word in the right place, and for the resonances of "rightness" and "wrongness" in word and place, are at the basis of her art. Take her play on meaning in the pair of neons, Is Anal Sex Legal and Is Legal Sex Anal (both 1998), so simple and so complex at once, so centrally about how (and where) words mean, and so witty about proscription, with shades too of Lewis Carroll's Alice lazily falling down the rabbit hole in a swoon pondering do cats eat bats, do bats eat cats? "And what is the use of a book", thought Alice, "without pictures or conversation?" Emin – while she brings straight to the surface all the things, including survival, Freudian strangeness, child/adult sexualities and innocences, which go unsaid or remain subconscious in the work of a writer like Carroll – is drawn to the place where meaning and consumption come together, fascinated by the conversation that happens when words and pictures meet, a dialogue most of us come across as soon as we first look at books. "I love writing," she says. "I think every artist has a backbone to what they do. For some it could be photography, painting, the ability to make a formal sculpture stand, but for me it's writing." For her, art is language and, as she put it in the press release for her very first show, "art has always been, a lot of the time, a mysterious coded language. And I'm just not a coded person . . . What you see is what I am."

This unpretentiousness has made Emin a national symbol. Her uncodedness, her frankness, her direct use of her own life in her work, have made her a repository, in the media and to some extent in the general public's eye, for all that's contentious in contemporary art. It's easy to dismiss, simplistically, her complex and redolent use of self-portraiture as ego-posturing. But the thing is, there's no pinning her down. There's no reducing Emin. No matter how – or how much – the media strings her up (one minute lunatic, the next the new William Blake), her work engages the nation, and has engaged it now for more than 20 years, in a dialogue about art and life and the crossovers between both. It does this at what might be called a language-sensitive place. She is multitalented, multifaceted; aesthetically endlessly versatile; there's no form she won't try. Somehow nothing circumscribes her.

From Blake's illuminated books to Stevie Smith's strange, pithy little illustrated verses, from Fra Angelico to Magritte's not-pipe; from the terrible increasing tension in Charlotte Salomon's Leben? oder Theater? to Gilbert & George's Dirty Words Pictures: artists and writers have worked for centuries with what happens when text and visual art come together. For Emin, it's another of her many modes of dialogue. In one of her monoprints, a girl wearing high-heeled shoes, with a smudge for a face, stands next to the words "dog" and "brains". Is she saying it about herself? Is she hearing it said about herself? The instability makes something momentary into something piercing and shaming.

In her book those who suffer love (2009), 11 monoprints by Emin of a woman masturbating accompany the text like a restless flickerbook; but the repeated shifts of the body up against the text make the text come alive, while the text itself, sometimes banal, sometimes funny, sometimes anguished, rubs up against the body to make the whole thing both pathetic and satisfying. Its title, a statement in its own right and an adjectival phrase, is a typical Emin reflexive. Considered carefully, it becomes more than itself, in the same way that the title of her celebrated tent-work, Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 (1995) played on the phrase's colloquial sexual meaning and was mischievously, seriously, quite literally, a list of everybody she had ever gone to sleep next to.

I wonder if, along with My Bed and the now lost Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 (which was destroyed in the Momart fire of 2004, and which Emin refuses to remake), one of Emin's most enduring images will prove to be the photograph Monument Valley (Grand Scale) (1995–97). In it, the artist is off centre, sitting in the desert on an old bright-green chair whose sides are lined with orange piping, so much in the foreground that the great slabs of Monument rock are miniaturised behind her, with the wide blue sky above her only slightly scuffed with clouds, the word "THANKS" appearing from behind her right leg and a book called Exploration of the Soul in her hands, open as if she's about to give a reading. She's looking straight at us. Her gaze is direct but distanced – shrewd, serious. There's both silence and the promise of voice in it. There's a waiting, a discrete openness.

The book is one she wrote in 10 days, an autobiographical work written with the considered rawness for which Emin has now become known. In the early 90s she toured America, giving readings to anyone who came to hear, sitting on her travelling storyteller chair, which was a gift to her from her grandmother (it originally belonged to her great-grandmother), which she patched with the names of the places she visited, like a suitcase. The chair is now an exhibit in its own right (There's a lot of money in chairs, 1994). It's a dialogue itself in the form of a chair, one that holds its own narrative shape between Emin and her grandmothers, between past and present histories. The work is about a girl who comes of age via the legends of her English mother and her Turkish-Cypriot father, their material ups and downs, then the girl's own horrific early sexualisation, first by abuse, then by rape, at the age of 13, at the hands of a local man, someone well known for having "broken in girls". "When I got in, my mum said, 'Tracey, what's wrong with you?' I showed her my coat, the dirt and the stains, and told her 'I'm not a virgin any more.' She didn't call the police or make any fuss. She just washed my coat and everything carried on as normal, as though nothing had happened." Exploration of the Soul ends with the story of Emin at the age of seven going to a children's party, from which she is sent home because "you don't have an invitation". The next morning the child Emin asks her mother, "What's an invitation?" It is a model fable of exclusion, of how language itself is used to exclude.

Emin is a great recycler. Much of Exploration of the Soul appears again in her book of "memoirs and confessions" Strangeland (2005), a work of echo and resonance and rewrite, in which – as in her video-poem Why I never became a dancer (1995) – she works with a repeating structure, one that shifts from abjection to empowerment and transformation. In it she declares "You don't have to be born with balls to have balls."

By her own authority, Emin writes with a gift of fused subjectivity and objectivity reminiscent of a writer like Nell Dunn (the titles of whose 1960s novels Up the Junction and Poor Cow read now almost like the titles of Emin works). Dunn, an upper-class girl who decamped to south London and wrote with what proved to be a transformative lack of judgmentalism about the working classes, has a talent for fusing roughness and beauty into something at once fragmentary and whole, seen from both outside and inside simultaneously.

"Instead of feeling on the outside, I realised that there was an outside and it was called 'being an artist'." Strangeland's first image, of her birth, is an infant vision between death and life, somehow wrong, voiceless: "When I was born they thought I was dead. Paul arrived first, ten minutes before me . . . I just rolled out, small and yellow . . . I somehow felt a mistake had been made. I couldn't scream or cry or argue my case . . . They put me into a little glass box and slowly I came round." Its final image, of the adult Emin in Egypt longing to smash through the glass case in a tomb and take into her arms a "tiny mummified foetus" is one of sheer empathy. "Dead for thousands of years, not completely formed, but he had soul. He still had soul," writes the artist who knows what spirit is, who can go from the word "drunk" to the word "soul", from inebriation to metaphysic, in the space of a single strip of material, and hold them both in equal measure (Drunk to the bottom of my soul, 2002).

It's all about connection. It's one word after another, with Emin. Give her a blanket and she'll make it speak. Give her the fabric of things and she'll find voice in it. Give her a cliché and she'll take it apart to give it back its full original whack of power again. Give her words, she'll write them backwards and forwards; she'll send them off in all directions; she'll work them into everything; she'll put them where you least expect. She'll make you wonder what they mean; she'll show you they're right and they're wrong. She'll take them to pieces then sew them back together again. She'll light them up.

Tracey Emin: Love Is What You Want is at the Hayward Galley, Southbank Centre, London SE1 (0844 875 0073), from 18 May to 29 August 2011. www.southbankcentre.co.uk

Do you trust a resume more than your IT staffing partner? If you do, you're most likely losing out on top IT talent.

So often, hiring managers get too focused on the resume - what information is included, the style and tone it is written, the number of keywords (per the job description), etc.  They want the resume to tell them everything they're looking for; they want the resume to "wow" them even when they're not exactly sure what that "wow" means.

Yes, a candidate's resume should be as meticulous as possible. It should provide relevant skills and details pertaining to a particular job description. It should be written professionally, and its purpose is to attract the attention of the hiring manager (and technical recruiter) so that he will want to learn more about the candidate.  But there are some problems with relying solely on the resume to determine whether a candidate is a good fit or not:

• Focusing on one or two skills, and not looking at the candidate's overall abilities, experience and accomplishments can severely limit your pool of potential candidates.
• Instead of thinking outside the box and looking at the total package a candidate brings to the table, hiring manages fixated on a particular skill set may be turning away a candidate that would bring new ideas and innovation to the organization.
• Companies want candidates who are able perform dual roles (if not more).  It can be difficult for a candidate to write a resume that encompasses ALL the skills a hiring manager believes is necessary.
• Not only is it difficult to write a resume for a job that requires so many skills, consider the fact that most candidates are applying to and interviewing for multiple jobs - each containing their own unique skills and requirements.  Try writing five different resumes for five different jobs that each requires a set of different skills.
• Many of the best IT talent are employed, and are therefore, passive candidates -they're not looking for a new career. And so when you are fortunate to find a passive candidate who has expressed interest in your opportunity, be aware that she may not be as motivated to ensure her resume is written to your exact requirements. She may feel that updating the resume to include her most recent role is sufficient since you're the one pursuing her.

This is where a disconnect can occur between the hiring manager and IT staffing partner. For example,  the hiring manager may review a resume that doesn't "wow" him, and decide he's not interested with the candidate. When asked why the manager isn't interested by the staffing partner, he replies "I can't give you specifics, but her resume just doesn't wow me. And she seems to be too technical."

However, the staffing partner has worked with this candidate before and knows she is a great fit culturally, and has the necessary skills and ability to be a top performer at the client company.  The staffing partner presses the manger to interview the candidate, but he refuses.  His opinion of the resume outweighs the partner's knowledge of and experience with the candidate.  As the old saying goes, " he let a good one get away."

As new IT jobs and positions continue to grow in Atlanta, Jacksonville and across the nation, top IT talent will be difficult to find.  That's why hiring managers need to consider three things when reviewing resumes:

1. Don't count on the resume including 100 percent of the skills listed in your job description. Companies have high expectations today - and there's nothing wrong with that --  but  it's difficult for candidate's to write a resume that encompasses all the skills outlined in the job description. One skill included on the job description may be extremely important to the hiring manager, but the candidate may think that skill isn't a big deal. She may even possess that skill, but decides to focus on other skills listed in the job description that she feels are more important.
2. Resumes usually focus on the IT professional's hard skills because most IT job descriptions include so many technology requirements.  Realize that hard skills are important when reviewing a resume, but keep in mind that soft skills can be just as important when gauging whether someone will be successful in a particular role.  Soft skills compliment hard skills, and if a person is unable to communicate effectively or isn't a team player, he may not be right for the job even though his hard skills are solid.
3. Make sure you partner with an IT staffing firm that consistently brings you results.  Look at that partner who delivesr top talent time after time; who knows your business objectives; who understands your culture; and who you trust is looking out for your best interest.  That's the partner you need to listen to. If a candidate's resume isn't wowing you, but your staffing partner insists that this person is the right one for the job - take a leap of faith and know that she hasn't let you down before. Most likely, you'll be pleasantly surprised when you interview the candidate.

When considering candidates, don't put all of your trust in the resume.  Very few resumes will  meet 100% of your technical criteria, and most of them aren't going to tell you anything about the person's soft skills. Talk to your trusted IT staffing partner, listen to what she has to say, and believe that she has your back. Remember, your success is her success.

 

The Couple: Joya and Emre

The Wedding: 3.26.11 - Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

What three adjectives that best describe your wedding? Unique, fun and heartfelt.

The feelings expressed on our wedding day, not only between Emre and myself but also from our friends and family, were all so incredibly warm and sincere. We really tried to personalize each aspect of our day and to think out of the box when it came to entertaining our guests. We wanted to create a vibrant but inviting atmosphere for everyone and in return we felt surrounded by a lifetime of love and friendship that we will cherish always!

What inspired your personal wedding style, and how did you incorporate your style and personalities into your big day? We are big architecture and design aficionados, and have a particular fondness for the Art Nouveau and Craftsman movements. I also have a love for vintage styles, especially when it comes to clothing, music and dance. When we first got engaged, we knew that Terranea was the place for us as it not only had a gorgeous location on the ocean but it conveyed a true old - and grand - California feel.

I started incorporating our style by designing our Save-the-Date postcard, in which I chose my favorite Arts and Crafts font and used a scan from a real 1920s postcard back. Emre and I both work at NBC, and I wanted to incorporate a peacock into our invitation suite, but also wanted to use the same font and style of our save-the-date postcards. I found the exact design I was looking for on Etsy, and hired Mali Chi from Hello & Co. on the spot. I worked closely with Mali on all the stationery designs, to stay faithful to our motifs and color palette. As both of our families live far away (mine in Canada, and Emre’s from the East Coast and Turkey), and we ourselves have lived in various cities around the world, we decided to continue the postcard theme with our escort cards. We bought almost 50 different vintage postcards on eBay and named all of our reception tables after cities we lived in, or that held a special meaning for us (such as Vancouver, where we got engaged during the 2010 Winter Olympics). We wrote personal stories for each of the cities and addressed them to each guest, and made sure each table had an assortment of different postcards so they could compare and share. We set them out in old wooden card catalogs set amongst a vignette of vintage decor that included an Art Deco velvet green fainting couch, old lamps and used books.

We also added smaller rustic touches to the day, like weathered signs and antique frames, our initials handcarved in wood and a custom ringbearer book stack. This love of vintage style was also reflected in our music choices: we had a swing quintet play 1920s and 30s music for our cocktail hour and part of our reception, I surprised Emre by singing a special song, “You’re A Heavenly Thing,”  just for him, and then a DJ capped off the night with modern fare.

Tell us all about your wedding music video! Initially we wanted to do a concept video that we planned to show at our reception but our ideas required a lot of resources and time, neither of which we had in the final months leading up to our wedding. So we brainstormed with our videographer David Robin and the idea of a music video shot on our wedding day came up.

The bar for participation would be low since we just needed people to lip-synch a few lyrics and/or dance to to the song. We knew our friends and family would love the idea, and it would a great gift to give back to them as a unique memory of our day. We had very specific criteria for choosing the music: 1. Big song with lots of energy, and a fun and easy chorus, 2. Singing parts for girls and guys, 3. Relevant lyrics fitting with a wedding, and not R-rated, and, 4. Timeless song that won't be dated when we watch this 10 years from now. The Time (Dirty Bit) by The Black Eyed Peas met all these conditions, in addition to being a newly released song and one we didn’t tire of listening to again and again.

We divided up the lyrics amongst our bridal party, family and friends so they were manageable, we hired a choreographer to teach us some simple moves that our bridal party could perform at our reception, and we informed all our guests beforehand about the plan to film on the day. We shot all day leading up to the wedding, immediately after the ceremony (in fact, we recreated our recessional so we could lip-synch to the song!), and all throughout the reception. We assigned all the spoken word “dirty bits” to those individuals who would be the unlikeliest of stars: JP Reynolds (our officiant), John Reynolds (our hot jazz guitarist and friend), Emre’s father Ziya, and finally my father Gordon (who filmed his part at a urinal!).

We couldn’t have been more thrilled with the outcome thanks to David Robin and his team, and the 100% support we got from our wedding coordinator Amber Gustafson and the staff at Terranea Resort.

Looking back, what are the moments, decisions or memories that you love the most about your wedding? Finding our wedding coordinator (Amber Gustafson of Amber Events) was the first best decision we could have made! We are both extremely busy with our careers, and having someone to guide us -- especially someone whose taste so beautifully mirrored our own -- made the entire year of planning a joy and devoid of stress (well, 95% of it hehe).

Choosing to have our wedding at Terranea really set the tone for day, in terms of look and feel. We had great memories of staying there before our engagement, and always thought it would be our perfect venue.

Taking the time to choose a photographer who gets us, and whose style compliments our own. We began working with Callaway Gable Photography last summer on our engagement session and that really put us at ease come our wedding day. They are so detail-oriented and were so much in-tune with our vision for the day. Looking at our photos now we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect portrayal of who we are and what the day meant for us, our family, and our friends.

Doing a “first look” before our ceremony took so much stress out of the day for us, and really let us relax that much more and spend time with our guests.

Deciding to shoot the music video was one of the best decisions we could have made. We knew how ambitious the project was (and how much our coordinator would have to go the extra mile to accommodate it) but we were determined to make it work, and have fun doing it - and we did! Once our friends and family saw the completed video, it truly became the most talked-about highlight of our day!

 

What was your wedding color palette? Apple Green and Pumpkin Orange. Green is my favorite color (and the color of my eyes) and orange is Emre’s favorite color. They also worked perfectly with our design ideas and the spring season!

A behind the scenes view from event planner Amber Gustafson of Amber Events: "After planning all of the details of their wedding day together for almost a year, Joya and Emre told me about this music video idea just a few weeks before their wedding. While they storyboarded who would lip-sync which portions of the song, I worked with the videographers and photographers to lay-out a timeline that would not only allow everyone to get what they needed for the wedding day itself, but also this music video. We were producing a wedding and a music video all in the same day. No pressure, right?!

Joya and Emre had sent an email out to their guests ahead of time giving them the heads up, and also wrote a note in the program asking them to get up and sing to the camera after the ceremony. They did their recessional three times, actually: the first one was their official "we're married!" walk down the aisle, and the second two were directed by David Robin, the videographer.

Potential inclement weather on the wedding day put yet another stress factor on the 7 cameramen, 4 photographers, and 4 wedding coordinators orchestrating this, but with team work we all made it happen. We think it was worth it!"

 

The Wedding Team:

Photographer: Callaway Gable Photography
Event Planner: Amber Events 
Film Maker: David Robin Films
Ceremony and Reception Venue: Terranea Resort
Officiant: JP Reynolds 
Invitation Designer: Invitation Suite, Menus, Program - Hello & Co., Save-the-Date Postcard - Bride
Catering: Terranea Resort
Florist: Holly Flora 
Cake: Vanilla Bake Shop 
Wedding dress: R-Mine 
Bridal accessories: Shoes - Nina, Organza Hairpiece - Jennifer Behr 
Bridesmaid’s apparel: J.Crew
Groom and groomsmen apparel and accessories: Suits - Jos. A. Bank, Lego Cufflinks - Retro Classy Cufflinks on Etsy 
Hair and make-up: Bridal make-up - Jeannie Jones, Bridal Hair, Bridesmaid Hair and Make-up - Design Visage
DJ: DJ Nahchey 
Live music: Ceremony - Pat Maki Players, Reception - John Reynolds & Friends
Dance instruction: Christina Haggerty
Favors: Party Booths 
Rings: Tiffany, Pinnacle Gems
Rustic Wedding Sign: GoJumpInTheLake on Etsy 
Vintage Wood Letters: sERINasCustomShop on Etsy 
Ringbearer Book Stack: thedaintywoods on Etsy 
Wedding Card Holder Birdbox: CleggFarmCreations on Etsy

Thank you so mcuh for sharing your day and your hilarious music video with us Joya and Emre! And kudos to the whole wedding team who worked hard to bring this day to life!

To find more inspiration for your our personal wedding style, don't miss our all new and gorgeous wedding image gallery! To plan your own Southern California or Seattle area wedding, browse our Plan Your Wedding Hotlists! And to find a dream wedding photographer for your wedding anywhere in the world, be sure to check out Junebug's World's Best Wedding Photographers Hotlist!

It is a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Vermont.  I ran my long run today.  Brilliant sunshine, cool breeze, and rolling hills.  Truly idyllic.  Past the cows that I actually talk to as I go by, as they walk along the fence as though escorting me down the yard.  Their expression is one of incredulity – it is as though they are asking me:  “Why are you doing this?”  I think I am projecting…. I really don’t like to run….just putting it out there.  I run.  And I run often.  I run at least three times during the week.  And I have even gotten to the point of running a long run (for me) on the weekends of at least six miles or so.  But, I don’t like running.  I like the idea of running.  I like thinking of myself as a runner.  I like the way I feel after a run.  I like the cool clothes I have to run in.  I like that I can rationalize that I ran off enough calories to drink my one Saturday night beer guilt-free. But I don’t like to run.  But I run.  Running was always an ancillary activity for me.  I ran to get in shape for whatever else it was that I was doing.   But, now running is an end in and of itself; a validation.  After my run today I sat down in the grass, turned my music up really loud, and cried.  It was a moment, and I don’t allow myself many.  It goes back to one of the reasons I don’t like to run.  It gives me time to think! Saturday afternoon a year ago, I was just out of surgery, in ICU, intubated, with a multitude of tubes, and an external pacemaker literally coming out of my chest.  I had a new aortic valve, one to replace the one that had ruptured on just such an uneventful run days before.  I was living in Moscow, Russia (that is a story for another day!) and was at the gym running on the treadmill.  Running outdoors in Moscow is a little sketchy.  I always run with a heart rate monitor and that day was no different.  I felt great and ran hard. I didn’t pay much attention to the ever so slight cramping in my chest.  I ran through it, more annoyed with my heart rate monitor that didn’t seem to be working properly, as I couldn’t get a consistent reading.  I changed out the belt – twice - finally gave up, and kept running.  The cramping didn’t go away, and was shortly joined by a wicked headache and being physically ill. I went to the Emergency Room of the European Medical Center in Moscow, the first of two visits over the next couple of days, where I was given an EKG, and put on intravenous medication to bring down my blood pressure, which had skyrocketed, and to relieve the accompanying headache.  After a couple of hours, I was pronounced fine, assured that it wasn’t my heart, but encouraged to see the cardiologist to “address my heart murmur.”   What heart murmur?  I made another visit to the ER on the intervening days because of that nagging cramp, was again given a clean EKG and sent home, this time with an antacid.  I almost didn’t go to the cardiologist.  I was feeling fine, but for the cramping.  I had convinced myself that the doctor was right, that the cramping was nothing more than indigestion or some such, and that I would get my ‘heart murmur’ checked out when I was back in the States at the end of June.  But that plan didn’t sit well with my husband, so off I went. At the cardiologist I was given a third EKG which, again, was normal.  It wasn’t until I was given an echocardiagram, and the cardiologist switched from speaking slowly to me in English to speaking very rapidly in Russian to the swell of doctors who had appeared, that I started to worry.  She told me that I had a problem with my valve.  I was prepped for a trans-[esophegal ] echocardiagram.  It didn’t go well.  The building tension in the room was contagious and I began to panic.  I started choking and vomiting.  The words went from the somewhat vague, “you have problem with your valve,”  to “you have to have surgery right away.”   My response was not vague at all – I said ‘No.”  The cardiologist was the kindest person.  She laughed a nervous laugh, addressed me by name, took my hand in hers and explained that my aortic value had ruptured, and that I wouldn’t survive if I did not have surgery.  She was very plain and matter of fact, describing massive aortic insufficiency and how my heart could not keep up.   It was the single most surreal moment of my life.  It was as if she were talking to me, but not about me.  The next few hours are a blur.  They couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do the surgery in Moscow; the survival rate was below 20%.   So arrangements were made to transport me to Berlin.  My insurance company declined the authorization to transport me – I was too unstable and might not survive the flight. Again, enter my husband.   There wasn’t much of a choice or a discussion.  I wouldn’t be staying in Moscow.  He contacted American Express, who agreed to cover the cost of my transport and we were on our way to Berlin.  (There is a ton of drama in between, like having to talk to each of my children thinking that it could be the last time, but that you can imagine.) I arrived in Berlin, was met by a trauma team at the airport and transported to the Berlin Heart Institute.  There were brief discussions and decisions to be made on the nature of the valve (biological or mechanical) and what I should expect from the surgery.  I then I was out.  I was in surgery for over six hours and at the Heart Institute for 23 days.  I was given a bye. From that moment forward (I started walking laps around the hospital ward the day I was released from ICU), and for the last year, I have walked, run, lifted, biked, and swam, working desperately to get my confidence back.  I had a fabulous team of doctors, and they quite literally saved my life.  They fixed me, physically, and I am good to go.  But, as we all know, it is what goes on in our heads that matters.  And my head has been a scary place this last year. Being athletic has defined me to a certain extent – I was a tomboy when I was a child and a jock in high school and college.  I thought of myself as one of the guys when I started my career on Wall Street – I could talk the talk and had a better jump shot than most.  And, as I had my children, I reveled in teaching them to throw and shoot and catch. But here I was, being told that a part of my body had failed me, and not because of anything I did, or could have done.  It just did.   I had an undiagnosed congenital heart defect – a bicuspid aortic valve – and it chose that moment to fail. At that point, my head and my body parted company, so to speak. Because I was in decent shape and had generally treated my body well over the years, I weathered the surgery and the immediate recovery pretty well.  My body was traumatized, but it was recovering. As well as I was doing physically, I was insecure and frightened, and not a little insane.  I wouldn’t swim unless someone watched me and I wouldn’t run alone.  I was angry.  I felt a tremendous sense of ‘unfairness’.  I ordered a new “Road Id” so that all of the vital info about my valve and other details would be immediately available should I have an issue when I was alone.  I wore my heart rate monitor 24/7 and took my blood pressure a thousand times a day.  I was convinced that chocolate milk and my friend Anne’s home-made granola were the key to my recovery, and I drank and ate them every day. But I didn’t stop running, or swimming, or lifting, or biking.  I met with an exercise physiologist who assured me that I wouldn’t implode if I ran.  I worked with a personal trainer, something I had never done before, who helped me gradually build my strength.  A message therapist and a stretching specialist helped my body heal and allowed me to dispel the feeling that my chest was going to cave in on me.  I am not, and probably never will be, the person I was a year and a day ago.  It may sound canned, or hokey, but my life’s path has been altered.  And for that I am grateful.  I have come to know myself and my body.  I am more aware of my limitations, and more realistic about my abilities.  I have learned to include and rely on others for my physical and emotional well being.  I am still insecure and frightened and a little angry – but I am no longer irrational.  I have regained control and confidence.  I survived because I was physically fit, and I need to stay fit so that, when the time comes to replace the valve (15-17 years), I will be ready.  But one thing hasn’t changed – I was and I am, a triathlete.   I am going to do the Danskin at Disney for Mother’s Day…my gift to myself and to all who have helped me on this incredible life journey.  I won’t be ‘racing’ or ‘competing’ – I will be validating!  I am viewing it as my one-year check up!  I will let you know how it goes.  http://www.womentalksports.com/images/image15262.jpg Margie

Post by Lindsay Ferrier

You've gotta love this hilarious flowchart created by Amy Sly at BuzzFeed ... and perhaps you might even want to send it anonymously to a friend or co-worker.

After all, with all the pants-like options out there for women these days, sometimes it's hard to be sure ....

This from BuzzFeed:

Every day girls around the world unwittingly leave the house without pants on. Confused at the difference between jeggings and jeans, seduced by the comfort of stretchy leggings—we've all seen victims of GLHP (Girls Leaving the House Pantsless) Syndrome. Am I Wearing Pants? is a self-check guide for girls to help end the see through clothing, visible panty line, camel toe nightmare.

I love it!

And yet I'm feeling a little bit curmudgeonly about the fact that we as a society have gotten to the point that women are going out in public sans pants ... and thinking it's totally okay.

Maybe this flowchart will bring them back down to earth.

Are you tempted to send it to someone you know?

 

Image via BuzzFeed

h/t: Racked

Indianapolis, Indiana

12:10 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, everybody.  Good to see you.  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Thank you, everybody.  Please have a seat.  Thank you.  It is good to be back in Indianapolis. (Applause.)  Hello, Hoosiers!  Sorry about the Pacers.  (Laughter.)  I'm sorry, Mr. Mayor.  (Laughter.)  Give the Mayor a big round of applause.  He’s doing a great job.  (Applause.)

Along with the Mayor, we've got Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood in the house.  Ray -- (applause.)  We've got your own member of Congress, André Carson, here.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank Larry Dewey and everybody here at Allison for their extraordinary hospitality.

It is wonderful to be here.  I just had a chance to see the hybrid systems that you’re working on at the plant.  I love to see high-tech machinery like this.  I stand there and people explain it to me and I pretend like I know what they’re talking about.  (Laughter.)  But it looked outstanding.  (Laughter.)     
What you’re doing here at Allison Transmission is really important.  Today there are more than 3,800 buses using hybrid technology all over the world -– buses that have already saved 15 million gallons of fuel.  And pretty soon, you’ll be expanding this technology to trucks as well.  And that means we’ll have even more vehicles who are using even less oil.  That means more jobs here at Allison.  Last month, you added 50 jobs at this company and I hear that you plan to add another 200 over the next two years.  So we are very proud of that.  We are very happy about that.  (Applause.)  

This is where the American economy is rebuilding, where we are regaining our footing.  We just went through one of the worst recessions in our history, worst in our lifetimes, the worst since the Great Depression.  But this economic momentum that's taking place here at Allison is taking place all across the country.  Today we found out that we added another 268,000 private sector jobs in April.  (Applause.)  So that means over the past 14 months, just in a little bit over a year, we’ve added more than 2 million jobs in the private sector.

Now, we’ve made this progress at a time when our economy has been facing some serious headwinds -- and I don't need to tell you about that.  We've got high gas prices that have been eating away at your paychecks.  And that is a headwind that we've got to confront.  You’ve got the earthquake in Japan that has had an effect on manufacturing here.  So there are always going to be some ups and downs like these as we come out of a recession.  And there will undoubtedly be some more challenges ahead.

But the fact is that we are still making progress, and that proves how resilient the American economy is, and how resilient the American worker is, and that we can take a hit and we can keep on going forward.  That’s exactly what we're doing.  (Applause.)  

Now, despite the good work that's being done in Allison, obviously here in Indiana and all across the country there’s still some folks who are struggling.  And a lot of people are thinking, where are those new jobs going to come from, that pay well, have good benefits, can support a family?  And how do we finally reduce our dependence on oil so that we’re not hostage to high gas prices all the time?

The reason I’m here today is because the answers to these questions are right here at Allison, right here in these vehicles, right here in these transmissions.  This is where the jobs of the future are at.  We’re going to have a lot of jobs in the service sector because we’re a mature economy, but America’s economy is always going to rely on outstanding manufacturing, where we make stuff -- where we’re not just buying stuff overseas, but we’re making stuff here, and we’re selling it to somebody else.  And that's what Allison is all about.  (Applause.)

This is also where a clean energy economy is being built.  This is the kind of company that will make sure that America remains the most prosperous nation in the world.  See, other countries understand this.  We’re in a competition all around the world, and other countries -- Germany, China, South Korea -- they know that clean energy technology is what is going to help spur job creation and economic growth for years to come.

And that's why we’ve got to make sure that we win that competition.  I don't want the new breakthrough technologies and the new manufacturing taking place in China and India.  I want all those new jobs right here in Indiana, right here in the United States of America, with American workers, American know-how, American ingenuity.  (Applause.)

And that's also how we’re going to get gas prices under control.  Now, I confess, it’s been a while since I filled up.  (Laughter.)  Secret Service doesn't let me fill up my motorcade. (Laughter.)  But it hasn’t been that long ago since I watched those numbers scroll up and I know how tough it is.  If you’ve got to drive to work, and you may not be able to afford buying a new car, so you’ve got that old beater that gets you eight miles a gallon, it’s tough.  It is a huge strain on a lot of people.

But if we can transition to new technologies, that's what’s going to make a difference over the long term.  That's how we’re going to meet the goal that I’ve set of reducing the amount of oil that we import by one-third by the middle of the next decade.
We can hit that target.  We can hit that target.

Now, in the short term, we still need to do everything we can to encourage safe and responsible oil production here at home.  In fact, last year, American oil production reached its highest level since 2003.  So I want everybody to remember that if people ask -- because sometimes I get letters from constituencies saying, why aren’t we just drilling more here?  We’re actually producing more oil here than ever.  But the challenge is we’ve only got about 2 to 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves and we use 25 percent of the world’s oil.  So we can’t just drill our way out of the problem.

If we’re serious about meeting our energy challenge we’re going to have to do more than drill.  And that’s why the real solution is clean, homegrown energy.  The real solution is advanced biofuels -- and there’s a lot of good biofuel work being done here in Indiana.  It means that we’ve got to have natural gas vehicles.  We’ve got a lot of natural gas that can be produced here in the United States of America.  It means making our cars and trucks more energy-efficient, because if we use less oil, that reduces demand; that brings the price down; and you will see the impact at the pump.  That’s what’s going to make a difference and that’s why what you’re doing here is so important.

Now, it turns out even though they don’t let me go to the gas pump, I do have a lot of cars under my jurisdiction, as President.  The federal fleet is enormous, and we’ve already doubled the number of hybrids in the federal fleet.  And I’m directing every agency to make sure that 100 percent of our cars and trucks are fuel-efficient or clean-energy vehicles by 2015.  So you’re going to have a customer, hopefully in the United States government, because we want to make sure -- (applause) -- that we are making clean fuel-efficient cars and trucks.  (Applause.)   

We’ve also launched private sector partnerships with companies like FedEx, UPS, utility companies.  A lot of these companies that have trucks and delivery trucks that are used in urban areas with a lot of stops and starts are perfect for the technology that you’re building.  So we’re forming partnerships to make sure that you’ve got more customers.

And to spur the production of fuel-efficient cars and trucks across the country, we’ve reached an historic agreement with every major auto company.  Thanks to the leadership of Ray LaHood, they’re ramping up the fuel economy of their cars and trucks.  And that will not only save 1.8 billion barrels of oil, it’s going to save you, the average driver, about $3,000 at the pump as cars increasingly get better gas mileage.

And this July, we’re finalizing new fuel-efficiency standards for heavy-duty trucks for the first time in our history.  And that could actually end up saving us -- we were talking about this the other day -- it could end up saving us something like 500 billion barrels of oil, huge amounts of oil, because heavy trucks use so much.

We’re also promoting clean energy technologies in other ways, from investing in hybrid systems like the one Allison is developing for commercial trucks, to championing vehicles that run on clean-burning natural gas, to spurring the creation of next-generation batteries for electric vehicles.

You know, a few years ago, America only produced 2 percent of the world’s advanced batteries.  Those are the batteries that are going into these new electric cars.  Because of the investments that we made in the first two years that I was in office, we’re on track to produce 40 percent of the advanced batteries.  That is going to be a huge boon to American manufacturing.  (Applause.)  That’s an example of a big new industry that we can create right here in the United States of America.   

And to make sure we’re not only investing in clean energy technologies but encouraging people to use these new technologies, I’ve proposed a $7,500 tax rebate for electric vehicles.  So if you do have that old beater that you need to get rid of, and you decide that you’re going to buy a new car, choosing an electric car you can actually get a huge rebate that will save you money at the gas pump, but is also going to save money on your tax returns.  And that will make a big difference.
We should reward also communities that are making it easier for folks to use electric vehicles and leading the way when it comes to clean energy.  And that’s the kind of leadership that Indianapolis is showing.  You’re installing natural gas pumps around town and you’re taking other steps to promote clean energy.  And I hope cities and towns across this country follow in your example.

Of course, these investments in clean energy do cost some money, and we’re going to need to find a way to pay for them.  Part of the cost can be made up by putting an end to the unwarranted subsidies that we are giving oil companies right now through the tax code.  (Applause.)  I want everybody to listen here.  Oil companies over the last five years, through a recession, through ups and downs, the top five oil companies, their profits have ranged between $75 billion and $125 billion.  That's with a B -- not million; billion.  And yet, they still have a tax loophole that is costing taxpayers $4 billion every year.  Now, if you're already paying them at the pump, we don't need to pay them through the tax code.  We do not need to do it. (Applause.)  Especially at a time when we’re scouring every part of the budget to try to figure out how we bring down our deficit and our debt.

Now, if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that even if we end these taxpayer subsidies, we’re still going to have more work to do in getting control of our deficit and debt.  And I know that in this difficult fiscal climate, it may be tempting for some people to say let’s stop investing in hybrid technology; let’s stop investing in basic research; let’s stop investing in the infrastructure that's needed to make sure that we can transition to new forms of transportation.  That's the temptation.  But I profoundly disagree with that approach.

If we’re going to win the future, we’ve got to cut out the things we don't need, but still make investments in the things that we do.  That's what you do at home.  If somebody in your family loses a job, if your hours get cut, what do you do?  You may stop going out to a restaurant to eat.  You may decide we’re going to put off buying that new furniture or taking that vacation.  But you’re not going to stop fixing the boiler or the hole in the roof.  You’re not going to stop making sure that you got enough money to help your kids go to school.  Those are the things -- that's like your seed corn.  You don't eat that.

The same is true for the federal government.  We can’t cut investments in clean energy that are going to help us out-innovate and out-compete and help America win the future.  We’re not going to stop making investments that allow plants like this one to find the new ways of doing business in the future.

I want to make sure the federal government is right here with you as a partner with you as you move forward, and we can do it and still get control of our debt and our deficit if we do it smart.

For nearly 100 years this company has made its way forward through ups and through downs, making advances that have transformed everything from buses to planes to tanks.  Jim Allison actually helped start the Indy 500 back in 1909 -- not just to race cars, but to test new racecar components.  And that same spirit of innovation and ingenuity is what I’ve seen in the workers that I talked to today.

And that's why I’m so confident in this country.  That's why I’m so optimistic about our economic future -- because I believe in all of you.  I believe in the American worker, and I believe in American business.  For all the challenges we face, this country is still home to the most entrepreneurial, most industrious, most determined people on the planet.  There is nothing we cannot do so long as we put our mind to it, so long as we keep our eyes on the prize.  (Applause.)

And I’m going to keep on working with you to make sure we do that so long as I have the privilege of being President of the United States.

Thank you, everybody.  God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

END
12:28 P.M. EDT

Just like a jigsaw puzzle, if our furniture also split and got back together, out lives would probably never be the same. The Cubic table is just that. 3 D furniture is proving to be the new fad these days.

Equipped with a cool wooden tray to accommodate the various chairs and tables, the cubic table can seat a huge number of people. Believe it or not, the piece of artistic furniture just got all the more better.

Use it to seat multiple people at the same time, or simply place the various cubes in different rooms, as per your convenience. The cubes have been made out of MDF while the Ottomans have been carved out of wood core and polyurethane. Velvet, cotton and cotton have been used as the fabrics for giving the furniture a trendy and comfortable feel.

The advantage you get with the fabric is that it’s removable and you can wash them whenever you desire. The shape and the size vary according to your choice.

Choose between the cubes (110×110x40 cms) or between the rectangular furniture( 75×110x40 cms). The furniture is very much décor friendly and is available in multiple colors. You can choose between peacock blue, gray or if required, some sparkling, warm colors like red, orange, purple, plum and burgundy. With a variety at your feet, select the one which pleases your eyes and bring home the fabulous furniture today.

Via: Crop

It's true that whenever a new pop song falls on the world I always place a bet with myself on whether or not it will somehow come out of Lea Michele's (or whoever's) mouth on Glee. So when Rebecca Black chewed a giant hole into all of our eardrums, I asked myself the same question. I didn't think they would. But would they? They wouldn't? They would! Well, they did and here's Puck, Artie and Sam doing their version for next week's episode.

Yeah. So I'm just going to leave this here for you to marinate on while I write a letter to Fox pleading with them to bring back Cop Rock just so they can cover The Backinup Song.

The International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) has just launched rNews, a consistent, machine-readable way of expressing news metadata in RDFa (a linked data language). This post explains some of the differences between rNews and hNews and why, if you publish news on the web, you ought to be using one or the other.

In a now infamous incident at Cambridge University back in October 1946, mid-way through a seminar, the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein is said to have threatened the philosopher Karl Popper with a red-hot poker (the exact circumstances and use of the poker are still disputed, 65 years on). The argument? Over whether there are, or are not, such things as philosophical problems. Popper said there were, Wittgenstein said there were only puzzles.

Step into the similarly rarefied world of online publishing languages and, though you might not be threatened with a red-hot poker, someone will almost certainly wave its online equivalent at you -- as we found when we were developing hNews -- a news microformat -- with the Associated Press.

We started, back in 2008, with a problem: Very few online news stories had consistent, machine-readable information about their provenance (i.e. basic stuff like who wrote it, who published it, when it was first published, etc.). This was a problem because without this information -- or metadata -- it was incredibly difficult to differentiate news from other content on the web, or to figure out where news had come from.

Two Solutions to the Problem

We searched about for a solution to the problem, thanks to grants from the Knight and MacArthur Foundations, and found not one but two. The first was microformats -- which are straightforward, open mark-up formats built on existing standards. The second was RDFa, a method of embedding full RDF, the linked data language of the semantic web.

We made a decision to use microformats. We did this for highly pragmatic reasons. We figured that most news organizations (and journalists and bloggers) were not yet ready to make the big leap to linked data. The easier we made it to integrate consistent metadata, we thought, the more likely news organizations were to do it. Our chief concern was less about exactly how people made the provenance of online news more transparent, just that they did it.

The Associated Press came to a similar conclusion, and together we developed hNews. Our pragmatism has so far borne fruit. The hNews microformat has since been integrated in about 1,200 news sites in the U.S. This means that there must now be a hundred-plus million news stories on the web with hNews. And, the AP has based its new news registry business and its forthcoming rights clearinghouse around hNews.

This did not stop some semantic web evangelists from waving their metaphorical red-hot pokers, or from suggesting we were not born of parents in wedlock or other less warm and fuzzy responses.

So, when we learned that the IPTC were launching an equivalent of hNews in RDFa we were over the moon. Hooray! Now people have a choice to mark up their news in microformats or in linked data.

The Ambitious rNews

"Equivalent" is not quite right. rNews is more ambitious than hNews. If hNews is like a ham sandwich then rNews is like a baked Alaska. rNews covers lots of aspects of provenance and content. You can, if you want to mark up additional aspects of news stories, mix-and-match rNews with other RDF ontologies (i.e. different linked data vocabularies). It's also more "correct" than hNews, but as a result more verbose and intrusive. It's a much bigger change to existing HTML pages than hNews. That said, it is, by RDF standards, pretty straightforward. All this makes it a very good alternative way of creating consistent, machine-readable mark-up for news.

The big difference between two is in their complexity. Making a ham sandwich is much simpler and requires less expertise than cooking a baked Alaska. The same goes for hNews and rNews. As a result, my prediction is that rNews will be the format of choice for big news organizations who want to do things fully and properly and are willing to commit the time and resources (like the New York Times -- which was central to the development of rNews). In the same way it will probably suit high end proprietary content management systems. For smaller news organizations, journalists and bloggers, hNews goes a good part of the way there and is much easier to integrate and lighter to use.

In other words, the two complement each other rather well, and ought to provide the foundations for consistent, machine-readable metadata for news.

Pros and Cons of Each Approach

The AP's Stuart Myles was one of the creators of hNews and worked with the IPTC on rNews.

"The fact that hNews and rNews have similar names is no coincidence," Myles told me via email. "To me, microformats and RDFa are two different technical approaches to the same challenge. Each approach has pros and cons and many tools that support one also work with the other."

Evan Sandhaus of the New York Times, one of the original authors of rNews, also emphasizes the compatibility of the two standards: "rNews was designed from the start to provide publishers with many of the same features offered by hNews.  And future versions of the rNews will likely bring the standards into even closer alignment," he told me via email.

Should you care about hNews and rNews? If you publish news on the web then you most certainly should. The arrival of rNews and the continuing take-up of hNews show that metadata is central to the future of digital news. Consistent, machine-readable metadata makes your news easier to find, more distinguishable, more straightforward to check, more programmable, more targetable, and less hard to track. If you are not yet publishing your news with metadata then don't be surprised if someone soon comes at you flailing a red-hot poker.

"Not only am I lending my voice to Spy Kids, but they can keep it. I'm sick of it." That's what Ricky Gervais had to say when it was announced he'd be voicing an "outrageous robot spy dog" named Argonaut in Robert Rodriguez's fourth installment in the [1]Spy Kids [2] series, Spy Kids: All The Time In the World. The popular actor and comedian is best known for co-creating and starring in the original version of The Office and has since done an incredible amount of work both in front of the camera, behind the camera, on stage and in animation. He joins a cast that already includes [3] Jeremy Piven, Joel McCale, Jessica Alba, Danny Trejo, Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara. Read more after the jump. The Weinstein Company released a press release announcing Gervais' casting and gave the following plot description for the upcoming 3D film, set for release August 19, 2011: On the surface, Marissa Cortez Wilson (Jessica Alba) has it all...married to a famous spy hunting television reporter, a new baby and intelligent twin step kids. But in reality, trying to mother Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook), who clearly don’t want her around, is her toughest challenge yet. Also, her husband, Wilbur (Joel McHale), wouldn’t know a spy if he lived with one which is exactly the case - Marissa’s a retired secret agent. Marissa’s world is turned upside down when the maniacal Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) threatens to take over the planet and she’s called back into action by the head of OSS, home of the greatest spies and where the now-defunct Spy Kids division was created. With Armageddon quickly approaching, Rebecca and Cecil are thrust into action when they learn their boring stepmom was once a top agent and now the world’s most competitive ten year olds are forced to put their bickering aside and rely on their wits. With a little help from a couple of very familiar Spy Kids, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara), and some mind-blowing gadgets, they just may be able to save the world and possibly bring their family together while they’re at it. Spy Kids: All The Time In the World sounds very much like it's a passing of the torch film from the old Spy Kids to a new generation and it's no surprise that Rodriguez has been able to get such an amazing supporting cast, Gervais included. He's cast everyone from Sylvester Stallone to Alan Cumming, Steve Buscemi and Ricardo Montalban for the previous installments. Are you excited to hear Gervais play a dog? [1] http://www.slashfilm.com/set-photos-spy-kids-4-time-world/ [2] http://www.slashfilm.com/set-photos-spy-kids-4-time-world/ [3] http://www.slashfilm.com/spy-kids-4-time-world-shooting-jeremy-piven-playing-villain/

I rarely go into the weeds when some clown who clearly doesn't watch this team feels obliged to pretend he does, but I'm not letting Roy MacGregor walk away unscathed. 

First off, the picture should tell you everything about the guy. No where in that profile do I see "hockey", "NHL" or "sports" as an accolade; I do see one his articles that fawns over Luongo in the first round which is a bit strange considering his latest contribution to the halls of journalistic excellence.

Let's set the record straight.

Given that there is a country song for every occasion, perhaps the Vancouver Canucks should consider a little Garth Brooks before each game – and take to heart that chorus that tells them to "Stand straight, walk proud, have a little faith. …"

What a delightful little colloquialism. By that same token there is a thrash polka christian song for every occasion. But since the opponent is Nashville and they're nothing more than a city full of country music slaves, let's open with that.

The Canucks spent so much of this week denying that there is any issue over confidence when it came to holding leads that, unfortunately, the talk only served to confirm that there must be.

Permit me to rephrase: "We kept asking you guys about your confidence since that's the shitty narrative we created, so because I saw a third period lead evaporate, that is proof positive you're all a bunch of fragile spider monkeys with sticks. [STICKS FINGERS IN EARS, SINGS LOUDLY TO SELF, WRITES ANOTHER CHILDREN'S BOOK]

They get a lead; they can’t hold it.

In eleven playoff games they've "held the lead" and won in regulation five times. That's 45%, so let's crucify them for needing OT twice? Chicago needed the OT three times last year and, as we know, they sure sucked. But don't let any of this stop your asinine theme.

They might win the game, but every time they play they lose a little more faith in their position as not only the best team in the National Hockey League, but the most effective third-period team the regular season produced.

You may be the only one around still thinking the regular season means something in May. The Canucks personnel, our plucky coach and every other team still playing are on record saying the exact opposite. I don't see them hauling the Presidents' Trophy around with them do you? In fact if the regular season was 100% applicable to now, why are the Capitals golfing? (Helpful hint Roy: The Caps play in red and are usually found in Washington D.C.).

They had a .927 winning percentage in games in which they led in the third period. They scored 100 third-period goals – tops in the NHL.

But that was then and this is now. And this is the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Ah ha, look at you correcting yourself one paragraph later. That, sir, deserves a snackpack of applesauce.

Twice this week against the Nashville Predators the Canucks let third-period leads slip away – both tying goals absolute groaners – and had to settle matters in overtime, losing once and winning once.

It happened again Thursday night when, up 2-1 heading into the third, yet another groaner – even if somewhat less egregious than the previous two – found its way between Roberto Luongo’s pads to tie a game in the final frame.

Saturday's goal was a gift from God, a shot from behind the net which found the right bounces. On Tuesday the game tying goal was a result of Ward causing havoc in front and the puck bouncing off Alberts' skate. Fransen's shot last night was a laser no one in the arena realized went in, the refs included. So of the three equalizers in the past week, one was a "groaner" and two were legit hockey plays that any goalie would have had trouble with. Follow up question: would Edler's goal last night qualify as "groaner" for Rinne? What goal doesn't qualify as a groaner?

The victory was gratifying, as Vancouver has been by far the better team, but the late goal simply raised, once again, that old bugaboo concerning Luongo – can he win the games that truly matter?

He's won two game sevens in his career, backstopped the only sweep this team has had in its history and is playing just as well - if not better - than that Vezina-nominated chap at the other end of the ice, sitting one win away from a conference final. If the Cup is the only thing that matters, there are precious few goalies in that club to say they've won "the games that truly matter." It's a team sport Roy: your goalie can't win the whole damn thing anymore (see, for example, the NY Rangers). Perhaps a better question for another mind numbing piece of yours would be examining how the team failed in front of him during the last two years against Chicago and again in two games during the first round, but that's already been examined by authors and bloggers who watch this team. So if you want to whip out the mallet and beat the shit out of this horse, please do it away from the keyboard. Won't you please think of the children, your normal audience?

It is the albatross around his neck, the gorilla on his back, the animal inside his head. It is a cruel knock that he has never been allowed to shed – not even with a gold-medal victory in last year’s Olympics, when Sidney Crosby’s goal allowed the thousands of Luongo doubters to take their first breath since the puck dropped in overtime.

"A cruel knock" from the guy writing the drive-by hit piece? What's your encore: lighting a house on fire just to bemoan condemning the building?

Such is the reality of ridiculous expectations. Such is the hidden price of a 12-year contract that makes you, at $10- million (U.S.) a year, the game’s highest-paid player. Such is what happens when you are 32, considered one of the game’s premier goaltenders – a finalist for the Vézina Trophy during the regular season – and you have been unable to deliver a championship.

I can only assume you have the same compelling material ripping Ovechkin (the previous most expensive player in hockey) a new one, yes? Wait, you don't? That's right, I just had to explain to you where the Capitals play.

Perhaps it is because Luongo is so good, as well as so big, that his errors also seem larger than life. When a weak goal goes in, it looks … awful.

...opps, fell to the floor and was spasming under my desk. Now he's "so big"? Have you been hanging out with Pierre McGuire?

Luongo’s teammates are acutely aware that he is both extremely talented and at times inexplicably vulnerable. When Kesler was on the United States team that met Canada in the Olympic final, he spoke openly of knowing that Luongo "has a couple of areas that I think we can exploit – and I’m sure not going to keep any secrets."

Dusting off another classic? If you'd like to point to any quote where anyone claimed Luongo was impenetrable, feel free to share the insight. Otherwise every goalie has their weaknesses. Kesler would have been an idiot not to share those secrets and with teammates like Backes and Kane, believe me they didn't need insider tips to beat Luongo.

Luongo struggled in the Olympics against Slovakia – allowing a harmless backhander from an impossible angle to begin a comeback that almost succeeded – but did win the game that counted. It has not, however, counted for enough, as the questions remain and his teammates are forced, day after day, to say any problem lies with the team, not the goaltender.

That's quite the segue: against Slovakia on an Olympic team to the second round of the playoffs a year later. Completely identical situations. Also is it even remotely possible that when the teammates suggest problems lie with the team that they're - put the applesauce down for a second Roy, I don't want you spilling - telling the truth? I know it doesn't fit with your story, but I guess neither does being objective or thorough.

Of the late goals that slipped into the Vancouver net and sent games into overtime, Vigneault argued that "both were tipped in our net.

"Those are hockey plays, lucky breaks."

Or unlucky, if you happen to be the one wearing the largest pads on the team.

Gotcha. Luongo isn't allowed to let in another goal the rest of his life because, should he dare to look human, it confirms he is also unlucky which Roy has now plainly redefined as being Roberto Luongo.

It just seems, Daniel Sedin said before Thursday’s Game 4 against the Predators, "you’re up one goal, there’s one shot, one rebound, and they tie the game."

It doesn’t matter how they go in – off skates, off bodies, off rebounds – the goalie wears it.

And will wear it until he proves, once and for all, that he can win the Big One.

Besides exposing he doesn't watch Canucks games, Roy is also proving he doesn't watch the Preds either. I'm far from a Nashville expert, but most people who follow the sport know their resiliency is one of their assets. They grind you down and force mistakes. But in Roy's world it's more important to assess blame down to the individual while ignoring the basic team chemistry of playoff hockey. I'm sorry Nashville, all those goals you scored on Vancouver? It's not the result of hard work or opportunistic play, it's allllll because our goalie is "unlucky."

What's a shame is Roy could have taken the title of his piece - "Spurts of vulnerability" - and shown how every team is guilty of this, from Vancouver & Washington to Phoenix, Los Angeles or Pittsburgh. That no matter how you made the dance, hockey is a game of ebbs and flows; a dramatic comedy that surges high and plummets low, from one shift to the next, fueled by the madness of the line-juggling coaches, the skill of the players and, yes, good old luck. Instead he ran off with a tired narrative that was barely relevant a few years ago. Anyone who can read a stat sheet or simply watch a game could have told him that.

Perhaps Roy should stick to children's stories where his audience won't haul his ass to task when he careens off the road into the absurd.

 

CONTEXTWEB Speaking and Sponsored Event

What: Southwest Media Group Digital Summit: Find Your Digital Soul

Where: Dallas, TX

When: May 3-4, 2011

CONTEXTWEB was welcomed to attend the Southwest Media Group’s Digital Summit called Find Your Digital Soul. First, we thought: How fun is this! Then, we saw how much our message really related to this and came up with the title, "Find Your Digital Soul by Humanizing the Target." Southwest Media loved it! They asked us to speak at the event. Before we knew it, we were going to be on the stage during an ignite session and Mia Sossei, our VP of sales in Chicago, was going to be presenting! We were thrilled!

We wanted to bring some fun along to Find Your Digital Soul – so we decided to do a green screen(seen in the above picture)! We understand that people have multiple dimensions. The purpose was to choose a photo you enjoyed, just how you choose content online.  Whether people’s interests are rodeos, baseball games or singing in a gospel choir, the choice of the content they choose needs to be an enjoyable experience.

I know you are all wondering how it went! Well, May 3^rd rolled around and the green screen was a hit!

Then, May 4^th came around and the true moment we were all waiting for—the speech.

_____

So, let’s take you back a step and talk about what Find Your Digital Soul by Humanizing the Target really means. Think about all the sites you go to online and all the content you read or view on a daily basis—your digital soul. Now, think about how that content relates to you and probably people just like you. You and those similar people that visit that site were served an ad from CONTEXTWEB because you were made into a Smart Target that consists of extensive data points. This Smart Target was so like you and that same audience that it knew the top content categories you would visit online. From this knowledge, we created a Hotspot for this Smart Target which was able to know that you not only enjoy Sports & Recreation, but you also enjoy Rodeo content. This ad we just served you, we bet it is also the type of advertisement you find enjoyable because it relates to you and because it is the type of advertisement (rich, standard, or video) you like.

CONTEXTWEB was able to find your digital soul by humanizing the target.

_____

Needless to say, Mia Sossei gave an amazing speech and the Digital Summit was a huge success! Thank you to everyone at Southwest Media Group who gave us this opportunity and helped us along the way!

I work for a university, which is a large charitable corporation that does a lot of work for the government as well as private industry. I mention its structure because a lot of people think that it is a government institution, which will bear on their emotional response towards what follows. I mention this before the following meditation because I want the reader to be prepared to park their ideological assumptions at the door and read what I write instead of following the narrative that many folks follow when they think about government.

In the first post in this series (http://blogs.technet.com/b/speschka/archive/2011/05/05/federated-saml-authentication-with-sharepoint-2010-and-azure-access-control-service-part-1.aspx) I described how to configure SharePoint to establish a trust directly with the Azure Access Control (ACS) service and use it to federate authentication between ADFS, Yahoo, Google and Windows Live for you and then use that to get into SharePoint.  In part 2 I’m going to take a similar scenario, but one which is really implemented almost backwards to part 1 – we’re going to set up a typical trust between SharePoint and ADFS, but we’re going to configure ACS as an identity provider in ADFS and then use that to get redirected to login, and then come back in again to SharePoint.  This type of trust, at least between SharePoint and ADFS, is one that I think more SharePoint folks are familiar with and I think for today plugs nicely into a more common scenario that many companies are using.

As I did in part 1, I’m not going to describe the nuts and bolts of setting up and configuring ACS – I’ll leave that to the teams that are responsible for it.   So, for part 2, here are the steps to get connected:

1.       Set up your SharePoint web application and site collection, configured with ADFS.

1.  
   1. First and foremost you should create your SPTrustedIdentityTokenIssuer, a relying party in ADFS, and a SharePoint web application and site collection.  Make sure you can log into the site using your ADFS credentials.  Extreme details on how this can be done is described in one of my previous postings at http://blogs.technet.com/b/speschka/archive/2010/07/30/configuring-sharepoint-2010-and-adfs-v2-end-to-end.aspx.

2.       Open the Access Control Management Page

1.  
   1. Log into your Windows Azure management portal.  Click on the Service Bus, Access Control and Caching menu in the left pane.  Click on Access Control at the top of the left pane (under AppFabric), click on your namespace in the right pane, and click on the Access Control Service button in the Manage portion of the ribbon.  That will bring up the Access Control Management page.

3.       Create a Trust Between ADFS and ACS

1.  
   1. This step is where we will configure ACS as an identity provider in ADFS.  To begin, go to your ADFS server and open up the AD FS 2.0 Management console
   2. Go into the AD FS 2.0…Trust Relationships…Claims Provider Trusts node and click on the Add Claims Provider Trust… link in the right pane
   3. Click the Start button to begin the wizard
   4. Use the default option to import data about the relying party published online.  The Url you need to use is in the ACS management portal.  Go back to your browser that has the portal open, and click on the Application Integration link under the Trust relationships menu in the left pane
   5. Copy the Url it shows for the WS-Federation Metadata, and paste that into the Federation metadata address (host name or URL):  edit box in the ADFS wizard, then click the Next button
   6. Type in a Display name and optionally some Notes then click the Next button
   7. Leave the default option of permitting all users to access the identity provider and click the Next button.
   8. Click the Next button so it creates the identity provider, and leave the box checked to open up the rules editor dialog.  The rest of this section is going to be very similar to what I described in this post http://blogs.technet.com/b/speschka/archive/2010/11/24/configuring-adfs-trusts-for-multiple-identity-providers-with-sharepoint-2010.aspx about setting up a trust between two ADFS servers:

You need to create rules to pass through all of the claims that you get from the IP ADFS server.  So in the rules dialog, for each claim you want to send to SharePoint you're going to do the following:

1. Click on Add Rule.
2. Select the Pass Through or Filter an Incoming Claim in the Claim Rule Template drop down and click the Next button.
3. Give it a Claim Name - probably including the name of the claim being passed through would be useful.  For the Incoming Claim Type drop down, select the claim type you want to pass through, for example E-Mail Address. I usually leave the default option for Pass through all claim values selected, but if you have different business rules then select whatever's appropriate and click the Finish button.  Note that if you choose to pass through all claim values ADFS will give you a warning dialog.

Once you've added pass through claims for each claim you need in SharePoint you can close the rules dialog.  Now, for the last part of the ADFS configuration, you need to find the SharePoint relying party.  Click on the Edit Claim Rules dialog, and for each Pass Through claim rule you made in the previous step, you ALSO need to add a Pass Through claim rule for the SharePoint relying party.  That will allow the claims to flow from ACS, to ADFS through the trusted claim provider, and out to SharePoint through the trusted relying party.

Your ADFS configuration is now complete.

4.       Add ADFS as a Relying Party in ACS

1.  
   1. Go back to your browser that has the portal open, and click on the Relying party applications link under the Trust relationships menu in the left pane
   2. Click on the Add link
   3. Fill out the Relying Party Application Settings section
      1.  Enter a display name, like “ADFS to ACS”
      2. Use the default Mode of Enter settings manually
      3. In the Realm edit box you need to enter the realm that ADFS will be sending with the request.  As it turns out, ADFS has a specific list of realms that it sends when redirecting to another identity provider, so you DO NOT use the realm that was used when creating the SPTrustedIdentityTokenIssuer in SharePoint.  Instead, I recommend you use http://yourFullyQualifiedAdfsServerName/adfs/services/trust.
      4. For the return Url use https:// yourFullyQualifiedAdfsServerName /adfs/ls/.
      5. The Token format drop down can be SAML 2.0 or 1.1.  Since the token is getting sent to ADFS and not SharePoint, and ADFS supports SAML 2.0 tokens, you don’t need to drop down to SAML 1.1 like you would if connecting directly to SharePoint
      6. You can set the Token lifetime (secs) to whatever you want.  It’s 10 minutes by default; I set mine to 3600 which means 1 hour.
   4. Fill out the Authentication Settings section
      1. For the identity providers you can select them all, except and unless you have added your same ADFS server previously as an identity provider (as you would have if you followed the steps in the first posting in this series).  If you did do that, then you can check everything except for the identity provider that points back to your same ADFS server that you are now setting up as the relying party.
      2. Under Rule groups, in the interest of time, I’m going to suggest you either follow the guidance for rule groups that I explained in part 1, or if you completed part 1 then just select that rule group from the list.
   5. In the Token Signing Settings you can leave the default option selected, which is Use service namespace certificate (standard).

Click the Save button to save your changes and create the relying party. 

You should be able to login into your SharePoint site now using ADFS or ACS.  One thing to remember though is that ADFS will write a cookie to remember what identity provider you last used.  From that point forward it won’t prompt you for the identity provider unless you use something like an InPrivate browsing window in IE (I highlight this in extra big font because it is so commonly forgotten and a source of confusion).  For example, here’s what it looks like the first time you are redirected to the ADFS server or if you are using an InPrivate browser session:

The rest of it works just as described in part 1 of this series (including the caveat about using an email address for Windows Live ID), so I won’t both posting screenshots again since they look almost identical.  With this series complete now you should be able to successfully integrate ADFS, ACS, and all of the identity providers ACS supports into your SharePoint 2010 environment. 

Once upon a time I introduced you the five types of RTs, cfive types of COPD patients, and the 11 types of asthmatics, and the six types of doctors. Now it's time for the 13 types of nurses.

No group of individuals is more vital to good patient care than our beloved nurses. Nurses are great, and I've had the honor of working with nurses on both the receiving end and as fellow professionals.

So, without further adieu, I present to you the nursing types:

1. Consensus: About 80% of RNs fit into this category. These RNs respect, seek out, and listen to the opinions of other members of the staff. They tend to work well together as members of the team to come up with a "consensus" as to what might be wrong with the patient and what to do about it. They are aware that they lack the experience in all areas, that they don't have all the answers, and are willing call upon their coworkers, including doctors and respiratory therapists, to help them to best care for their patients. These are similar to your gallant doctors.

2. Contents: These nurses are set in their ways, and prefer not to sway from their routine. They believe they know what needs to be done, and they do it. They tend to not seek out other opinions, and usually don't consider the opinions of others. They consist of about 10% of all nurses. They will often perform procedures (such as increasing oxygen) without seeking expert consultation. These are similar to your goofus doctors.

3. Prospects: These are your newby RNs or, perhaps, soon to be RNs. Most are eager to learn and are more than willing to go out of their way to help out. Some are mature, independent and trustworthy enough to work on their own, while others have less confidence and need quality assistance. Look at these folks carefully, because in a year or two they will morph to a different type of RN. Some will grow dogmatic and become contents, while others will grow and smile and become consensus. These consist of about 10% of all nurses.

4. Cordial: We all hope that Beginner RNs turn out to be of this type. They know they do not hold all the answers, have a friendly disposition, and are more than willing to take thee extra step, even when they're burned out, to smile and lend a helping hand to patients and coworkers. Their ears are always open. They are most often social, may often bring in treats to work to keep the peace, and are likely to remain in one department for several years, if not their entire nursing career. You'll find them mainly on medical/surgical floors, although they generally don't fit in fast pace departments such as critical care and emergency. Some people refer to this type of RN as Happy or even Friendly RN. Most staff and most patients love cordial RNs. They almost seem to be flawless. These usually consist of most LPNs and about 20% of Consensus RNs. Most of them work on the med-surg floors, but a small percentage wander down to the ER and critical care.

5. Receptive: These are your nurses who are constantly looking to become better nurses, read medical journals, magazines, blogs, read online sources such as blogs and articles, and are more than willing to listen and retain the wisdom of their fellow workers. They like to learn not just to better themselves, but the institution as well. They tend to be more observant than your receptive RN when it comes to being proactive responding quickly to emergency situations. They can be friendly, but tend to be more serious and bossy and bossy under pressure, and may even appear to be condescending at times. They may start their careers on medical/ surgical floors, but generally branch out to more challenging areas such as emergency and critical care. Many are likely to further their careers by earning their bachelor's or even mater's degree, and it is from this group you get your future supervisors, administrators, nurse practitioners, and occasionally doctors. They consist of about 20% of Consensus RNs.

6. Dogmatic: This type of RN has a definitive way of doing things. They are relatively laid back in their personality (type b personality) however they have created a set way of doing things to protect themselves from making mistakes. Patients love them because dogmatics tend to be overbearing and attentive to their patent's needs. If a doctor orders for teeth to be brushed every two hours, they will do it every two hours whether it's needed or not, and whether they have to wake the patient or not (patients don't like this part). They are also very particular about specific doctor orders, and call to report even slight variances. For example, if the doctor writes an order to maintain a sat of 92%, they will call the doctor and RT even if the sat is 91%. They will often guilt you into staring at the monitor hoping the vitals improve by your looks alone.

Thus, they are known to make a bill deal of trivial things. In this way, they tend to irritate doctors and RNs. Although they are so nice it's hard to stay mad at them. However, patients can be guaranteed to get a good wash per shift, to be rotated regularly, have fresh blankets and sheets and towels and a good assessment frequently. Any slight change in lung sounds will be noted. But, the bottom line is, they do this because they legitimately want the best for their patients. Bosses love them too, because, like type a anal RNs, they are perfectionists with their charting. They make good friends, and are relatively happy except under pressure. Oh, and one more thing, their rooms are spiffy clean. If you leave something laying around they will not say anything, but they will clean it up. They consist of about 10% of Consensus RNs.

7. Compulsive: Like Dogmatic RNs, they are guaranteed to do full assessments, and will do everything the doctor orders to a tee whether they think it's needed or not. They will never question a doctors order. Actually, they are under the belief that if the doctor ordered it, it's needed. If you say something is not needed, they will defend the doctor as a "god." They too will have you staring at monitor values that are "barely" below the accepted range. But if an RT refuses to continue staring at the monitor saying something like "that sats fine," he will get mad at you and tell you that you are not caring for your patient. If you don't follow the rules, or directly follow a doctor's order, he will approach you. He's also prone to writing variances for even the silliest of detail. They are type A personalities, although are generally very precise and attentive to their patients. Yet they too can be overbearing, and tend to be hard to work with. Unlike Macho RNs, they often seek the help of others, but tend to get upset when others disagree with them, or don't provide the answers they want. Therefore, it's easier to pretend to agree with them than to show them how they are incorrect. They expect equal perfection from their coworkers, and are known to look over your back. Sometimes they are referred to as snoops, or sometimes worse. So, when you are working with these RNs, you need to careful. Oh, and one more thing, if you leave your ABG kit lying on the patients bed, they will make you well aware that you messed up their room. These consist about 5% of consensus RNs.

8. Macho: These tend to take things in stride, and not make big deals over trifles. They would be content to live with a sat in the mid 80s, will use common sense, and will not call RTs and doctors over trivial things. They tend to use the word "common sense" a lot. They tend to be cool. They tend to have a dry sense of humor. Many tend to be men, but not all. Nothing seems to bother them, and they do a good job with their patients with the advice of others or without. They tend to have a high degree of intelligence, yet are often seen reading science fiction or mystery novels in their free time as opposed to medical stuff. They tend to hold their own. They tend to work in CCUs, and are very confident. They consist of about 5% of Consensus RNs.

9. Complainers: Nurses do not have as much time to complain as RTs do because they are busier. When RTs complain, they complain about stupid doctor orders or how doctors refuse to give them autonomy. RNs complain not about their job per se, but about the hospital in general -- too many patients, not enough pay, too many rules, change is not needed, paper charting was better, insurance isn't fair, so and so gets treated better by the boss, etc. They tend to be busy bodies while taking care of their duties. When you pass them as you are entering work, they are known to say things like: "You definitely don't want to be here tonight," or, "Welcome to hell," or, "This schedule sucks," or "I hate Michelle, she's always picking her nose." For the most part, complainers tend to be stuck working on med-surge floors, and consist of about 20% of all Consensus RNs.

10. Busybodies: These RNs consist of the RNs you never really get to know because they are busy, busy, busy. They are fast moving, going from room to room, chart to chart, and phone to phone. They never run, but walk at a vary fast pace. They tend to be thin. Some of them work on the med-surge floors, but the majority work in the emergency room. The tend to be very business-like, but when you get a chance to sit down with them they are very fun to talk with. Yet they are known to take off mid sentence. Getting a complete conversation in can be a challenge. Likewise, they are not good listeners. Actually, they are awesome nurses and are very knowledgeable. Because they are so busy, some of them tend to skip corners. The RT bosses may complain to them occasionally, but considering they are such great workers, they don't make a big deal about it. These consist of about 10% of Consensus RNs.

The Arrogants: They always have that smirk on the corner of their lips, and walk with their heads high. They are usually friendly and easy to get along with, but they tend to believe that they know everything and don't need to hear from you. Since they know so much, they tend to compete for supervisor jobs, and seek to become RN Bosses. When they do become RN Bosses, they tend to not keep many of their friends. These consist of 15% of Content RNs.

Old School: These are very wise and sagacious RNs. They can pick up on even the most simple thing wrong with the patient. Their patients are usually well taken care of, and they have little need for other members of the team. They are not arrogant by any means, and are usually great teachers. The problem with this type of RN is they are set in their ways, and are not quick to adapt to changes. They tend to believe in old theories such as the hypoxic drive theory, prefer paper charting to computers, and may tend to wine when they are told to break from their routine. If you are not intimidated by them, they can be fun, or at least educational, to work with. About 50% of Contents are Old School.


Content Contents: They are happy-go-lucky and when we RTs tell them a treatment is not needed they will look at you with crazy eyes. They do this not because they don't like you, but because they don't understand why you just didn't do what you were told. They say things like, "The patient is wheezing. He needs a treatment." They tend to refer to RTs as ancillary staff, and have little use for them other than for them to do what they are told. They are usually opposed to protocols and rapid response teams (RTT) because those elevate RTs to the same level as RNs, and they know that shouldn't be. And, even if a hospital has an RRT, they will never call for one. Attempts to educate them are futile. They are wonderful people and make great friends otherwise, and are great nurses, but they are incapable of learning new things. They consist of 25% of Content RNs.


Besetting: I'm sorry, but these guys tend to not be happy ever. Nobody gets along with them, probably not even the patient. But when all is said and done, they are very good with their patient when it comes to picking up on things early. However, when it comes to little things like brushing their patients teeth or giving baths, they think those tasks belong to lesser people like Nurses Aids. Unfortunately, these RNs tend to work in Critical Care Units where AIDS are far and few. They have few friends. They hate you and more than likely you can't stand to work with them. If you do something wrong, they will not be nice and give you a warning, they will simply crab to you and make you feel miserable, or they will simply go over your head and write you up. They consist of 5% of Content RNs, so thankfully they're a rare breed.


Boor: They tend to be very similar to Macho RNs as listed above, except that they have no use for "ancillary staff" other than to provide their duties. They consider anyone besides doctors and nurses as ancillary, so RTs are ancillary. If they ask you to do something, you do it and do it now. If you don't do exactly as you are told, you will have to deal with the consequences. They are usually very quiet, and are very opinionated at the same time if you get them going. They can also be hot heads if you say something they disagree with. They will put you on the spot. If you ask a question, they will ask a question back. They hold grudges, and may go days without talking to you if you said something to irritate him. For example, if you are discussing politics with him, and everybody in the room disagrees with him, he may give you all the cold shoulder. He's modest, smart, quick witted, and can be hard to work with. He has no problems making enemies. But if you are intelligent or important, you may be his best friend. They are rare and far between, or less than 5% of Content RNs.


Chief: Here we lump all levels of RNs from supervisors on up. Usually, but not always, RN bosses come from the ranks of the Receptive (85%) or Arrogant (15%). Arrogant RNs don't necessarily care what people think about them, but Learners do. Learners go out of their way to please. The farther away from the duties of RN work the RN Bosses become, the greater the chance that The Institution moves ahead of The Person. That doesn't mean they won't try to be friendly, but the bottom line is not necessarily keeping the patient load low, but making money for the institution and keeping their own bosses happy and keeping their jobs and the higher wages that come with it. The RN bosses closer to the working staff (the supervisors, the lead RNs), tend to fit in nicely with the other workers. They do not complain. They are very helpful. They tend to be good workers. Yet they are often political, defend policy regardless of usefulness, and generally will tell you what you want to hear and then either ignore you (Arrogant) or make an attempt to help through the general chain of command -- a process that's really slow. As a general rule, they don't like to make waves, and the longer they have their jobs, the smaller the waves become.

Like many folks out there, I enjoy clever steampunk designs when I find them. Lucky for me, Weta's line of Dr. Gordbort-branded laser guns bring that awesome aesthetic every time with excellent production values. This time around, Dr. Gordbot brings us the Saboteur 66 - Ultra Wave Equaliser. As usual, it brings designer Greg Broadmore's excellent design into the third dimentions with a ton of tiny details that reward observant eyes. That detail will cost you USD $89.99 and it comes out in June/July 2011. They're also selling a poster with all of their designs, including old and possibly future designs, which will set you back USD $13.99.

What do you guys think? I always love seeing what Weta puts out and the Dr. Gordbort line is no exception. 

For veteran readers of the site, you're surely aware of the hefty undertaking I've started at about this time the past two years -- beginning the early legwork towards putting together a comprehensive preseason annual about the Pittsburgh Steelers for an independent sports publisher in New England called Maple Street Press. 

Part of me cringes at agreeing to take on the voluminous workload again this year. But I truly do enjoy their broad editorial values. It's very much in line with the overarching philosophy of this site and the SB Nation network. That's to say they believe in high quality, in depth analysis about one topic, rather than a mediocre B- overview of multiple topics. MSP's publications are 128 advertisement free pages devoted to your favorite team, in this case the Steelers. And the annuals are divided up basically into three sections -- (1) the essentials -- a review of last year, a comprehensive roster analysis, and an early look at the upcoming year's schedule of opponents...(2) feature articles on players/coaches/trends relating to the year before or the year that lies ahead...(3) a history section that highlights noteworthy stories from yesteryear.

And just like here, it's not just a one-man show. As the editor of the publication, I'm given a pool of money to dole out to fans, seasoned journalists, and history buffs to write contributing articles. To get a better sense of how I've approached putting together a diverse and rich read for fans the past two years, you can check out the table of contents from both the 2010 and the 2009 editions.

The specifics of this year's contents are still a work in progress, but despite the ongoing labor impasse in the NFL, we're back at it again this year. After having a few of my fundamental concerns addressed, I've been busy laying the foundation for much of the 2011 edition's editorial content.

A quick overview of what's in store and some of the contributors involved besides yours truly.

• We haven't heard much from maryrose aka Tim Gleason, the author of From Black To Gold: The Pittsburgh Steelers. Gleason most likely will be sharing his much anticipated thoughts on the lockout. Like everything he writes, it will undoubtedly leave us nodding our heads in agreement wondering why the relevant parties in the NFL weren't so reasonable and level-headed. 
• Dale Lolley, veteran beat reporter with a solid side-project blog, and recent Twitter convert will be writing for the second  year in a row. Stoked about that, and even more so about what he agreed to write about -- defensive line coach John Mitchell. It will be a highlight, for sure.
  
• Sticking with the big name Pittsburgh media personalities. I'm thrilled that Craig Wolfey will likely be a contributor provided I don't screw anything up in our initial communications. I was thrilled to hear from his agent that he was all ears in terms of writing something for this year's edition. Very excited about working with him.
  
• His real name may not resonate with you, but you know him from around here. And believe me, the man's name rings out in all sorts of circles in Pittsburgh and our nation's capital, Washington D.C.. He's Mike Silverstein, better known to us 'round these parts as Homer J. Mr. Silverstein has hit two grand slams with both his '09 and '10 offerings -- his personal story about the Immaculate Reception -- an incredible piece that touched on Silverstein's early years hustling for opportunities in the PGH media landscape, his relationship with Franco Harris throughout that monumental season, and his encounter with The Chief moments after the most legendary catch in NFL history took place. Read it if you haven't. I didn't think he could possibly ever match that one, but he arguably did this last year with his tribute to the late Myron Cope. I'll likely be making available the Cope article to you all sometime this summer.
• There's a very unique history piece brewing as well about...well, I'd be a fool to mention the name behind the story because you likely would head off to wikipedia or Google to learn more, and part of the allure of the read would be lost this coming summer.
• I'm also ecstatic about luring back Freddy Nager, which some of you may know as TURFGeek here on BTSC. He's almost always going to be the smartest guy in the room, but for a Harvard MBA, he sure as hell ain't stuffy or full of himself. We'll see what he has in store for us this year. His 2009 article -- Now That's Steelers Football -- A Marketing Professor's Guide to How A Small Market Team Created A Nation' -- is a must read, and it definitely sheds light on why Nager has found success in the advertising world, as a marketing/business/media professor at UCLA, and as the founder of his own full service agency Atomic Tango.
• You know I'd lean on my longtime supporters --  Ivan (RickVa) Cole,  Andrew (5020) Friedman, Neal Coolong, and Larry (WolfpackSteelersFan) Acker. And she may be a more recent mainstay, but you didn't think I'd publish this year's edition without inviting Mrs. Rollett? Of course you didn't. I'll refrain from sharing too much, and to be honestly, there's s some big editorial decisions still to be made in a few instances. But I can say with confidence that there will cumulatively be a nice blend of 'past and 'present' narratives, as well as some mix of quantitative analysis and qualitative story-telling. If I'm missing a stats piece, don't be surprised to see resident stats guru John Stephens make an appearance. All a work in progress. 
• Finally, I'm pleased to bring aboard JJ Cooper and Adam Gretz from Steelers Lounge and Pete Wilmoth of SB Nation Pittsburgh.
  
• And the process is not over. Hopefully there will be good news about how things are shaping up in a few month's time!
  

 

Before I sign off, I want to share a few thoughts that maybe even clears up a question or two you might have had about me. These projects -- from BTSC to the MSP annual -- they're just a part of what i occupy my time with. I was asked just yesterday in fact if this was my job. Nope. Just one of many part-time gigs that I juggle.

Obviously operations have become substantially more formalized around here since 2006, and yes, all those Prilosec Polls and Comcast posts help incentivize me with increasingly solid financial compensation. But I do other things for SB Nation to help pay the bills that divert attention away from my baby here at BSC. And just as importantly, if not more so,  I am busier than ever pursuing new passions here in Seattle. I'd love to share what those are some time, but I'll refrain from now.And by all means, if you're interested in hearing off site, you now where to find me.

I mention all that just to remind you that I'm a fan like you -- a working dude who has to find solid paying work to pay the bills. while finding time to devote love and attention to a significant other and squeezing in fun. I don't need a pat on the back. I'm a lucku ass son of a gun. Not many fools get paid even a dollar to write about and stimulate conversations about the Steelers. And that's just a tiny example of how I'm way more blessed than I deserve to be.

Still, just wanted to throw that out there for those of you who weren't quite clear about who I am or what I do. No gold stars for me, seriously. I just want you all to know that I have stuck with this because of the people, not because I'm so rabidly obsessed with football I can't fathom doing anything else. And I take pride in doing this stuff seriously, but there have been and always will be slip ups as I just do my best to do a professional job with what's really just a hobby.

Again, I can't thank y'all enough for your support of not just me, but each other, the site, and what we all enjoy from it as a diversion from 'real' life and our love of the six-time champion Steelers.

Enjoy your weekends suckas.

-Michael