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Fast-tracking Alzheimer's Research: Global Alzheimer's Platform Design Workshop
Alla Katsnelson
New York Academy of Sciences
Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease
Meeting Report
Challenges and Goals for GAP
Design Teams: Registries and Trial Sites
Design Teams: Trial Innovation and Funding
Panel on Global Integration
The enormous socioeconomic cost of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a burden on the global economy that will grow increasingly unsustainable as the disease becomes more prevalent. Despite the urgent need to develop therapies to prevent and treat AD, drug development efforts are highly inefficient and have yielded multiple costly phase III failures. There is currently no cure, validated prevention strategy, or disease-modifying treatment for AD.
Through a series of meetings and workshops held over the past year, stakeholders in AD drug development have begun to outline strategies to surmount these challenges. The Global Alzheimer's Platform (GAP), conceived through this process, aims to establish a framework for testing prospective AD therapies that promotes cooperation and data sharing among existing and future drug development initiatives. At the Global Alzheimer's Platform Design Workshop on February 19–20, 2014, the Academy's Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Initiative and the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease convened design teams to plan how to move GAP from concept to active development. The workshop highlighted the platform's four components—registries to cohort, trial site activation, trial innovation, and funding—and aimed to define, in each area, the current needs, a vision for change, and how to measure impact.
Use the tabs above to find a meeting report and multimedia from this event.
Paul Aisen, MD (University of California, San Diego)
Russell L. Barton, MSc (Eli Lilly and Company)
Randall J. Bateman, MD (Washington University)
Howard Feldman, MD (University of British Columbia, Canada)
Richard J. Hodes, MD (National Institute on Aging, NIH)
Michael T. Ropacki, PhD (Janssen Research & Development)
Andrew Satlin, MD (Eisai Inc.)
Eric R. Siemers, MD (Eli Lilly and Company)
Reisa A. Sperling, MD, MMSc (Harvard Medical School)
Luc Truyen, MD, PhD (Johnson & Johnson)
Janet Woodcock, MD (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
Janet Woodcock (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
Keynote Presentation
Richard J. Hodes (National Institute on Aging, NIH)
Reports Out
+ Video Chapters
1. Registries to cohort
2. Trial site activation
3. Trial innovation
4. Funding
5. Concluding remark
Session I: Registries to Cohort
Co-leads: Randall J. Bateman (Washington University) and Michael T. Ropacki (Janssen R&D)
1. Introduction to Registries to Cohort
2. The current state; Problem statements
3. Benefits and opportunities; Examples
4. The charge
5. General discussio
Session II: Trial Site Activation
Co-leads: Paul Aisen (UC San Diego) and Russell L. Barton (Eli Lilly and Co.)
1. Introduction to Trial Site Activation; Problem statement
2. The charge; Goals; Scope; Key milestones
3. Going forward
Session III: Trial Innovation
Co-leads: Howard Feldman (University of British Columbia), Andrew Satlin (Eisai Inc.), Eric Siemers (Eli Lilly and Co.), and Reisa A. Sperling (Harvard University)
1. Introduction to Trial Innovation; Problem statement; The charge
2. Challenges/risks to implementation; Scope issues; Opportunities for innovation
3. Business case
Session IV: Funding
Co-lead: Luc Truyen (Johnson & Johnson)
1. Introduction to Funding; Core and extended groups; Problem statement
2. Sustainable funding of research and development; Objective of GAP
3. The problem of funding GAP; Vision for success; Cost drivers; Defining the workplan
Lauer MS, D'Agostino RB. The randomized registry trial — the next disruptive technology in clinical research? N Engl J Med. 2013;369:1579-81.
NIH Collaboratory. Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory.
Supported by the Common Fund at the National Institutes of Health, the Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory is intended to improve the way clinical trials are conducted by creating a new infrastructure for collaborative research.
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is authorized by the U.S. Congress to conduct research to provide information about the best available evidence to help patients and their health care providers make more informed decisions.
UK Biobank
UK Biobank recruited 500 000 people aged 40 to 69 in 2006 to 2010. It aims to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of a wide range of serious and life-threatening illnesses, including cancer, heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, eye disorders, depression, and forms of dementia.
Janet Woodcock: Insights from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
I-SPY 2 TRIAL
I-SPY 2 Trial for breast cancer rapidly tests emerging and promising new agents with the goal of significantly reducing the cost, time, and number of patients required to efficiently bring new drug therapies for breast cancer to market.
Friends of Cancer Research. Lung Cancer Master Protocol.
The Lung Cancer Master Protocol is an innovate clinical trial design protocol that was officially announced at the 2013 Conference on Clinical Cancer Research, hosted by Friends of Cancer Research and the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution.
Mini-Sentinel
Mini-Sentinel is a pilot project sponsored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to create an active surveillance system—the Sentinel System—to monitor the safety of FDA-regulated medical products.
TransCelerate Biopharma
TransCelerate BioPharma Inc. is a nonprofit organization focused on advancing innovation in research and development with the goal of delivering more high-quality medicines to patients.
Accelerate Cure/Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease
ACT-AD is a coalition of national organizations seeking to accelerate the development of potential cures and treatments to slow, halt, or reverse the progression of Alzheimer's disease through research.
Alzheimer's Association Research Roundtable
Research Roundtable members seek to facilitate the development and implementation of new treatments for Alzheimer's disease by collectively addressing obstacles to research and development, clinical care, and public health education.
Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study
ADCS was formed in 1991 as a cooperative agreement between the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the University of California, San Diego. It is part of the NIA Division of Neuroscience effort to facilitate the discovery, development, and testing of new drugs for the treatment of AD. It is also part of the Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Initiative.
Banner Alzheimer's Institute. Alzheimer's Prevention Initiative.
Led by Banner Alzheimer's Institute, the Alzheimer's Prevention Initiative is an international collaborative formed to launch a new era of Alzheimer's prevention research by evaluating the most promising therapies in cognitively normal people who, based on their age and genetic background, are at the highest imminent risk of developing Alzheimer's disease symptoms.
DIAN-TU Trial
The DIAN-TU trial is a global adaptive trial which enrolls dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease families in a multi-drug seamless phase II/III trial design. It is supported by the NIH, pharmaceutical partners, and the Alzheimer's Association and receives nominations from the DIAN Pharma Consortium.
DIAN Expanded Registry
The DIAN Expanded Registry is a registry for participants who have dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease, their families, and associated researchers and physicians. It provides regular updates, webinars, and referrals to research studies, genetic counseling, and testing.
Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Network (DIAN)
DIAN is an international research partnership of leading scientists determined to understand a rare form of Alzheimer's disease that is caused by a gene mutation.
Innovative Medicines Initiative: Alzheimer's Disease
The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is Europe's largest public–private partnership aiming to improve the drug development process by supporting more efficient discovery and development of better and safer medicines for patients.
Medical Research Council. UK Dementias Research Platform
The MRC UK Dementias Research Platform aims to bring together many of the UK's best-characterized cohorts to create a unique single research platform for the investigation of dementia.
National Institutes of Health. Accelerating Medicines Partnership: Alzheimer's.
A partnership between the NIH, 10 biopharmaceutical companies, and several nonprofit organizations to identify and validate the most promising biological targets of disease for new diagnostic and drug development efforts in Alzheimer's and other diseases.
At the Academy
Alzheimer's Disease Summit: The Path to 2025
Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease — What Will It Take?
Paul Aisen, MD
website | publications
Russell L. Barton, MSc
Randall J. Bateman, MD
Howard Feldman, MD
University of British Columbia, Canada
Phyllis Barkman Ferrell, MBA
Debra R. Lappin, JD
FaegreBD Consulting
The Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease
Erin O'Malley
Michael T. Ropacki, PhD
Janssen Research & Development
Andrew Satlin, MD
Eric R. Siemers, MD
Michael Simmons, DBA
Reisa A. Sperling, MD, MMSc
Luc Truyen, MD, PhD
Roy Twyman, MD
George Vradenburg
Cynthia Duggan, PhD
Diana L. van de Hoef, PhD
Ellis Rubinstein
Richard J. Hodes, MD
National Institute on Aging, NIH
Janet Woodcock, MD
Monique M. B. Breteler, MD, PhD
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
Maria Freire, PhD
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
Elisabetta Vaudano, DVM, PhD
Innovative Medicines Initiative
Alla Katsnelson is a freelance science writer and editor, specializing in health, biomedical research, and policy. She has a doctorate in developmental neuroscience from Oxford University and a certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and writes regularly for scientists and non-scientists alike.
The enormous socioeconomic cost of Alzheimer's disease (AD) places a strain on the global economy that will soon burgeon to an unprecedented and unsustainable burden on health care systems and national budgets as the global population ages. In the United States alone, the over $200 billion annual cost of AD is expected to reach $1.2 trillion by 2050. The economic and human costs imposed by this illness are directly experienced by patients and their families. There is currently no cure, validated prevention strategy, or disease-modifying treatment for AD. The most recent symptomatic treatment was approved 10 years ago and several drug candidates have since failed in phase III trials.
There is an urgent need to develop therapeutics and interventions for AD; yet pharmaceutical companies have traditionally worked in silos, often chasing the same targets and running trials that compete for the same patients, with wasteful redundancies of effort and costly phase III failures that have set back the field. In a transformation within the pharmaceutical industry, companies are beginning to share clinical trial data and safety information precompetitively in an effort to improve our understanding of study design, clinical efficacy, safety, biomarkers, and clinical endpoints.
The Global Alzheimer's Platform (GAP), conceived in a series of workshops held over the past year, aims to establish a drug discovery process that promotes cooperation and data sharing among existing and future AD drug development efforts. The overarching goal is to develop a network of trial sites across the world that are certified and standing ready to conduct AD trials. The initiative aims to accelerate trial recruitment; to significantly reduce trial redundancy, expense, and time; to deliver consistent, high-quality trial performance; to apply innovative trial designs; and to incorporate mechanisms for information and data sharing designed to advance science and translation, including the discovery and validation of a biomarker to measure neuronal loss in AD.
At the GAP Design Workshop on February 19–20, 2014, stakeholders fleshed out the details of the initiative and discussed the infrastructure needed for it to succeed, as well as the challenges it faces. The group came up with the following immediate next steps:
Establish an office of project management, and identify executive leadership and a governance structure that can drive the execution of GAP.
Define a business plan for GAP, including goals, strategies, milestones, and a budget.
Develop innovative trial design approaches that will effectively and efficiently test AD therapies and accelerate the identification and validation of novel theragnostic and surrogate biomarkers.
Identify sources of sustainable funding to build the project.
Align and coordinate GAP with ongoing global efforts, such as the Innovative Medicines Initiative and TransCelerate.
Maintain alignment with and the cooperation of global regulatory and funding authorities as the GAP business plan framework develops.
Richard J. Hodes, National Institute on Aging, NIH
George Vradenburg, Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease
Maria Freire, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
Janet Woodcock, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Clear goals, deliverables, and milestones will be needed to successfully launch GAP.
Stakeholders should look to existing clinical trial innovations to identify elements that could be incorporated into GAP.
Three key components for success will be scientific preeminence, policy framework, and administrative architecture.
GAP will set up a network of patient registries that can be used as the basis for trial-ready cohorts. It should allow researchers to perform proof-of-concept studies and may build in a capacity for larger confirmatory trials.
The Global Alzheimer's Platform emerged as the first priority for action at the Alzheimer's Disease Summit: The Path to 2025, convened in November 2013 to outline a research agenda to advance the goals of the U.S. National Alzheimer's Plan and aim toward effective prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease by 2025. The second priority established at the Summit is to build novel funding models to support a higher level of financing for AD research, and the third priority is to develop technology-driven tools and platforms to manage big data. George Vradenburg of CEOi noted that action plans are in development for all three goals. This workshop aimed to create a roadmap for GAP.
Vradenburg stressed that the goals of GAP—to improve AD clinical trials and bring AD drugs to market more quickly and efficiently—can be achieved by combining science policy with a strong execution team and by establishing clear milestones and deliverables. The purpose of GAP, he said, is not to debate or drive science but to advance discovery by serving science, supporting research without taking up scientific questions. The GAP team includes a diverse group of stakeholders from government, industry, academia, patient advocacy groups, and the finance sector, who must come together to tackle the global challenge of AD.
In his keynotes address, Richard J. Hodes of the National Institute on Aging, NIH, explained that GAP has the potential to fill a need for improved clinical trial infrastructure in AD. Recent initiatives point to the types of infrastructure and mechanisms that are needed, and thus can inform GAP strategy.
There is a need across all disease areas to run trials that are inexpensive, efficient, and relevant. The randomized registry trial is a recently proposed disruptive model for clinical research that could be incorporated into AD research. The GAP plan to create registries from which to draw trial-ready cohorts has a precedent in the TASTE trial, described in a recent editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine. By using disease-specific observational registries in Scandinavia, the 6000-patient cardiovascular disease study was able to report significant findings while costing just $300 000 above the cost of clinical care. It is important to examine the possibilities and challenges inherent in embracing such an approach for AD, Hodes argued.
Innovations in U.S.-based clinical trial infrastructure include an NIH-supported project called the Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory, in which HMOs and other health care providers form partnerships and harmonize patient databases to study clinical topics including suicide prevention and lumbar imaging. The more recent Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is working to establish procedures for sharing health records among provider networks. Another model, which aligns well with the goals of GAP, is the UK Biobank. It has recruited 500 000 volunteers to donate blood and undergo cognitive testing for an observational study, while a subset of participants are monitored through MR imaging. Individuals in the registry can be recruited to interventional trials, and follow-up is managed cost-efficiently through the established system.
The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and other efforts demonstrate that cognitive performance deficits occur well before dementia strikes. One recent trial funded through a collaboration between the Banner Institute at the University of Arizona, the NIH, and industry also hints at the potential benefits of tracking brain changes over time, beginning before symptoms appear. It examined members of the largest known family with a Mendelian inherited form of AD; individuals carrying a single point mutation in the gene presenilin develop the disease, and dementia appears by about age 49. The researchers found that carriers of the mutation showed a marked abnormality in amyloid PET imaging by ages 35 to 39—a decade or more before the onset of symptoms. Thus it is crucial to track individuals for years and even decades before symptoms become evident, and trial cohorts must span the spectrum of disease to monitor changes at the earliest possible stage. Until recently, most trials have focused on later stages of AD, when a cohort could be assembled through diagnosis and monitored using clinical or biomarker endpoints. But this recruitment approach can also work for participants at the earlier stage of mild clinical impairment.
Recruiting participants for preventative trials is challenging, but high-risk populations could be defined with genetics and then tracked to measure the impact of an intervention. The statistical power in preventative trials will depend on the magnitude of participants' AD risk as well as the trajectory of change in biomarker endpoints. Hodes pointed out that early preclinical signs of changes in amyloid cannot be detected by imaging on a timescale shorter than 18–24 months, which is fairly slow. Moreover, to achieve long-term success, tests must be cost-effective and applicable to large, diverse populations. More than half of dementia cases today occur in low- and middle-income countries; by 2030, the proportion will be 63%, and by 2080 it will climb to 71%. Thus, high-cost scans may be of limited use on a global scale. Despite challenges in patient recruitment, trial time, and cost, it is nonetheless important to pursue prevention trials to combat AD.
Observations on the requirements for success
In her opening remarks, Maria Freire, president of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, called the GAP initiative a "big hairy audacious goal." If successful, it will not only provide a tremendous impetus for AD research but also establish a roadmap for other disease areas, demonstrating how to shorten the time between the first discovery of a potential drug and the arrival of a new therapeutic on the market.
There are three essential components for success in such an ambitious initiative. The first is scientific preeminence, without which the program cannot stand. The second is policy influence, including the political will to galvanize stakeholders into action to build a framework around the scientific enterprise. The third—not sexy but nonetheless crucial—is an administrative architecture to mobilize resources, oversee goal setting, and mark milestones. All three components are in place for GAP, Freire asserted, and the FNIH looks forward to working with GAP to support its success.
Insights from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Successful treatment and prevention of AD is an inspiring goal, but achieving it will take monumental effort. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, explained that what's largely missing today is translational apparatus to screen biomarkers and interventions, and then efficiently perform confirmatory tests for promising candidates. Without this capacity, the field faces decades of uncoordinated one-off efforts.
GAP can provide this missing framework, most importantly through its concept of a standing network of patient registries. This network should include participants with a range of disease severity, including non-symptomatic at-risk individuals, and support exploratory work while being scalable to large confirmatory trials.
The first step in creating the network is to link existing investigators and registries by creating standardized data collection systems such that common data elements such as age, race, and cognitive status could be examined as trials proceed. The FDA's Mini-Sentinel effort is exploring similar strategies. The second step is to prepare for expanded trial capacity by establishing agreed-upon procedures, such as the use of central institutional review boards (IRBs) and standardized consent forms. TransCelerate Biopharma is investigating elements of trial standardization. The third step is to implement small-scale biomarker trials and natural history studies to begin to deeply characterize participants. The final step is to expand capacity to enable large-scale, multi-site, multinational confirmatory trials, in which even a few data elements—if standardized—could be highly informative. The transition between small-scale and confirmatory trials should be seamless and will require the existence of a standing cohort of subjects that can be quickly enrolled.
Woodcock noted that there are precedents for such networks, such as the Lung Cancer Master Protocol and the I-SPY 2 Trial in breast cancer. Still, the concept is unusual and does not conform to the traditional model for how academic researchers, pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies, and even patients operate, and thus funding and building the platform could be challenging. However, Woodcock encouraged researchers to focus on the project's goal to help the millions of people affected by AD.
Team Leaders:
Randall J. Bateman, Washington University
Michael T. Ropacki, Janssen Research & Development
Paul Aisen, University of California, San Diego
Russell L. Barton, Eli Lilly and Company
GAP will create a system of standardized and linked registries from which clinical trial participants can be recruited through a common data management system into well-characterized, trial-ready cohorts.
The registry network aims to shorten clinical trial time by at least one year.
GAP will establish a global network of clinical trial sites with standardized protocols, procedures, and datasets. The sites will be certified and ready to conduct both proof-of-concept and confirmatory AD trials.
The network should reduce trial site activation time by one year, and member sites should be able to recruit two patients per month.
Registries to cohort
Despite the enormous unmet clinical need for AD therapies, clinical trials are slow, expensive, and difficult, explained team leaders Randall J. Bateman of Washington University and Michael T. Ropacki of Janssen Research & Development. One hallmark of and major contributor to the high cost and low efficiency of clinical trials is the one-year or longer delay between the decision to conduct a trial and the enrollment of its first patient. A global infrastructure of registries, with a standing group of perhaps 50 000 or more potential participants who could be recruited quickly into a clinical trial, would go a long way toward mitigating that delay and increasing the efficiency of clinical trial recruitment.
The Registries to Cohort design team is charged with developing criteria for and establishing standardized and linked registries, as well as a common data management system through which to recruit participants into well-characterized, trial-ready cohorts. The goal is to shorten clinical trial time by at least one year. The network will seek to recruit participants through channels including major health system service providers, primary physician networks, Internet-based enterprises, new direct-to-consumer campaigns, public databases, and social media networks. Individuals will consent to be contacted for future studies, and basic patient data useful for screening candidates for specific trials will be aggregated to group participants from registries into trial-ready cohorts. A registry network of 50 000+ could also be used to mount a prospective longitudinal cohort study of perhaps 10 000+ individuals at various pre-symptomatic or symptomatic stages of AD, who could later be enrolled in interventional trials.
The first step in launching a registry network is to inventory the many existing registries and cohorts, including those in large-scale integrated national and private health care systems, to clarify which elements of the plan will be leveraged from existing projects or created from scratch. The team also needs to identify key data the registry network should collect and establish a global informed consent procedure and common data management system. Much thought will need to be given to overcoming practical, bureaucratic, and intellectual property barriers to sharing patient information. The team will also need to devise a public outreach plan to engage and enlist large numbers of participants.
The team plans to create a business plan and appoint members to manage the registries. The costs of establishing a network of registries will be determined in the business plan, which will be based in part on a comparison to existing projects such as the UK Biobank cohort. The aim is to enroll at least 50 000 participants in a global registry by the end of 2015.
Trial site activation
Time at the start of any AD clinical trial is lost to the inefficient process of identifying and activating individual clinical trial sites. Variability in performance, outcomes, and participant retention across different sites can decrease the quality of the data generated in a trial, explained team leaders Paul Aisen of the University of California, San Diego, and Russell L. Barton of Eli Lilly and Company. Delays in trial site activation result in unacceptably slow drug development, highly inefficient trials, unacceptable or unreliable trial results, and a high drug failure rate. The hope is that these barriers could be overcome by building a global network of clinical trial sites certified to meet a core set of minimum criteria that would be widely accepted by industry clinical trial sponsors and reflect trial site quality and efficiency.
The Trial Activation design team is charged with developing criteria for and establishing a global network of clinical trial sites with standardized protocols, procedures, and datasets, certified and standing ready to conduct both proof-of-concept and confirmatory AD trials. Ideally, this network should reduce trial site activation time by one year, and member sites should be able to recruit two patients per month.
The first step to creating a global network of high-performance AD trial sites will be to map academic, industry, and private clinical trial sites worldwide to identify those that could participate. Next, the team will need to define key elements of clinical trial site certification—such as biospecimen collection, personnel training, and site quality measures—as well as common systems of institutional review board (IRB) approval and participant consent. It may be possible to leverage existing efforts, such as the industry partnership TransCelerate Biopharma, to tackle some of these issues. This design team aims to establish a functioning trial network with at least the first 100 nodes in place by the end of 2015.
Building and maintaining a standing network of clinical trial sites and a common data management system will require upfront and ongoing funding, the source of which is still an open question. Because such a network is expected to reduce the time and cost for conducting AD clinical trials, industry may be willing to provide financial support. Alternatively, because participation in the network will carry benefits, the sites themselves may be required to cover some or all of the costs of meeting certification standards. A third option is a combined model, in one variant of which sites might pay for the expense of qualifying to join the network while companies pay for access to the data management needed to engage with the sites.
Howard Feldman, University of British Columbia, Canada
Andrew Satlin, Eisai Inc.
Eric R. Siemers, Eli Lilly and Company
Reisa A. Sperling, Harvard University
Luc Truyen, Johnson & Johnson
GAP will develop a platform for flexible and innovative adaptive and combination clinical trial designs that will enable speedier and more robust proof-of-concept trials.
Establishing and maintaining GAP will require a sustainable multi-stakeholder funding framework.
Trial innovation
This is a hopeful and exciting time in Alzheimer's drug development, according to the leaders of the Trial Innovation design team. Researchers are getting closer to identifying reliable biomarkers for target engagement and have a reasonable understanding of appropriate biological targets, as well as an emerging understanding of the genetic underpinnings of AD. Researchers are optimistic that at least one of the compounds in phase II and phase III trials will achieve approval. However, successful treatment of AD, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, will almost certainly require multiple interventions as well as therapies that are more cost-efficient and easier to administer than the first or even second- and third-generation treatments are likely to be. Therefore, developing AD drugs suitable for the global at-risk population will require innovative approaches to trial design, in which single or multiple drugs and interventions can be tested simultaneously using well-defined endpoints. A clinical trial platform that enables adaptive trials and has the flexibility to incorporate multiple studies on different populations will thus greatly improve the efficiency of AD drug development.
The Trial Innovation design team is charged with developing flexible and innovative adaptive and combination clinical trial designs that will enable speedier and more robust proof-of-concept trials and incorporate mechanisms for sharing information and data. One possibility is to launch a single, standing adaptive clinical trial that employs interim analyses to evaluate the success or failure of prospective therapies, allows researchers to randomize subject subgroups to therapies and doses based on emerging data, and enables the sharing of placebo groups. Such a continuously run trial would contain common outcome measures and assays. A standing trial platform in combination with the GAP network of clinical trial sites could be used to conduct large validation studies and develop more sensitive clinical measures.
Large, integrated trials will require agreement among industry participants on procedures for data sharing and intellectual property. The scope of trials has yet to be determined, but such trials would also need to be aligned and integrated with related efforts in the U.S. and abroad. The first step to building a clinical trial platform is to acquire seed funding to cover the costs of both designing a business case for successful implementation and identifying funding sources. The cost of running the trials can be estimated from other innovative trial efforts, such as the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN).
As governmental and international bodies become more aware of the growing socioeconomic burden of AD, momentum is gathering to commit funds to support research. However, the recent string of clinical trial failures has shown that funding AD clinical research is a risky proposition. Luc Truyen of Johnson & Johnson, who led the Funding design team, explained that creating a sustainable multi-stakeholder funding framework for GAP will require demonstrable paths to success, transparency and accountability, and mechanisms to allow stakeholders to share in projects' risks while also guaranteeing a fair financial or social return on investment.
The Funding design team is charged with exploring innovative funding mechanisms to support the establishment and maintenance of GAP. In addition to government or philanthropic funding models, several market-based frameworks are being considered to build sustainable incremental funding for the initiative. In the gym model, members of industry who would like to use the resources that GAP provides, including registries, a clinical trial site network, and adaptive clinical trial capability, would pay an initial membership fee and then continue to use the resources on a pay-as-you-go basis. In another approach, parties would invest in the platform, with early investors paying less and late investors paying a premium. In a third model, parties that commit funding would receive benefits, such as IP extension or a waiver adding six months of market exclusivity to AD-related products.
To build funding infrastructure for GAP, the team will need a business plan, which is slated for completion in the next several months. Many of the cost drivers will not be apparent until the other three teams have clearly defined goals, milestones, timelines, and funding needs.
Monique M. B. Breteler, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
Elisabetta Vaudano, Innovative Medicines Initiative
GAP should maintain close consultation with the IMI consortium, which is set to launch by the end of 2014.
Translational research should be in dialogue with basic science and population research.
GAP's success will require investment in a secretariat to align the components of the project and put metrics in place to track progress.
The success of GAP hinges on its ability to coordinate with global efforts in AD translational research. Moderator George Vradenburg began the panel session by asking Elisabetta Vaudano of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), a European public–private partnership, to explain how GAP can best align its goals with the IMI timeframe and aims. Vaudano explained that IMI hopes to select and launch its AD consortium by the end of the year, and welcomes discussion on alignment with GAP as soon as the winning consortium is selected. Although the IMI effort will incorporate specific mechanisms for cooperating with AD efforts around the world, the initiative can fund only European-based research. Vaudano proposed ensuring strategic alignment between the two initiatives by including GAP members in the IMI scientific advisory board. She also stressed the need for GAP to engage in close discussion with regulators from the beginning, as the IMI consortium will be required to do in Europe.
Vradenburg next asked Monique M. B. Breteler of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases for her thoughts on the strength of translational research in Germany. Breteler replied that translational research involves more than the trajectory from bench to bedside, and instead requires integration of clinical, basic, and population research. Her institute has embraced this dynamic approach. Basic research can be conducted in an animal model, and responses to prospective therapies that are seen in human studies can later inform how to improve the animal model. Similarly, population-based research should be mined for hypotheses that should be explored in the other arenas. One example from AD research is the observation that AD and dementia incidence have declined significantly in developed countries while increasing in the developing world. Breteler suggested that an integrated approach be more directly incorporated into GAP.
Finally, Vradenburg asked Freire to offer advice for bringing a project as geographically vast and sectorally diverse as GAP to fruition. Freire described her experience in the early 2000s as CEO of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, which faced many similar challenges—a need for funding, major scientific questions, a lack of drug candidates to bring forward, and a need to build a clinical trial structure. She stressed that coordinating the disparate pieces of a project such as GAP is itself a major task, and that doing so successfully will require investment in a secretariat to ensure project alignment and to track metrics and progress.
The GAP Design Workshop brought together key stakeholders on short notice to begin to define goals and metrics for success, Vradenburg told participants at the close of the meeting. The next stage of the project will involve developing a comprehensive business plan and funding strategy for the design phase of GAP and establishing a multi-stakeholder funding infrastructure to sustain GAP in the long term. Meanwhile, the Registries to Cohort, Trial Site Activation, and Trial Innovation design teams will continue to define their operational components based on established timelines and milestones.
Which existing registries offer models for GAP?
Which data would be most useful to collect for the GAP registries network?
How can registries effectively conduct public outreach and recruit participants?
What are the key elements for clinical trial site certification, and how should sites be standardized?
How should the performance of the clinical trial network be assessed?
What is the scope of the kinds of trials GAP should be prepared to conduct?
How can GAP develop more sensitive clinical trial measures and reduce data variability?


In celebration of Human Rights Day this December 10, 2017, the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce shares this video from UN Human Rights about the real economic cost of LGBT exclusion (as narrated by Zachary Quinto).
We, at the #LGBTchamber, believe in championing the LGBT contribution in Philippine Business.
#LOL: Leaders on Lending a Hand in partnership with the National Youth Commission—this session focused on how young entrepreneurs create social impact through building sustainable social enterprises. It started with acknowledging the power of collective dreams and community collaboration to empower local communities and ended with pushing for passion, purpose, and impact on profit and income. The moderator for this panel was the Philippine LGBT Chamber of Commerce Chair Mr. Brian Tenorio and the panel's speakers include Ms. Cherrie Atilano, Mr. Prim Paypon, Ms. Tal de Guzman, Mr. Henry Motte-Muñoz, Mr. Liza Diño, and Ms. Kim Lim.


Brio Creative Limited was set up on Thursday the 5th of April 2007. Their current partial address is Dublin 1, and the company status is Normal. The company's current directors have been the director of 1 other Irish company between them; 1 of which is now closed. Brio Creative Limited has 2 shareholders.


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DC League of Super-Pets The Adventures of Krypto and Ace
DC League of Super-Pets Unveiled at DC Kids Fandome
Outright Games have today revealed the first-ever look at the 'DC League of Super-Pets' video game as part of DC Kids FanDome. The game, which is inspired by the Warner Bros. film due in t...
GamingLyfe.com October 18, 2021

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


MY LITTLE PONY HAIR.COM- to buy!
MY LITTLE PONY HAIR! This is the REAL STUFF... Genuine My Little Pony hair from the same manufacturer who supplies Hasbro!
"Strawberry Fields Forever" reroot and boil perm with "venom" by artist Jamie Thomson.
NOTICE: The ponies, many of whom are 20+ years old, are known to have their hair colors fade and/or change over time. Some of the colors are more prone to this than others, and, whenever I've been aware of a certain color being prone to fading/changing, I have stated it below. Some colors do not change at all, others do. The nylon hair that I sell is purchased from the same supplier that Hasbro has always purchased it from, but there still may be variations with your ponies, since my hair is brand new and unchanged by time.
The color match photos are completely unphotoshopped and accurate in every way, and I have purchased many vintage ponies from ebay in order to photograph them with their matching colors. 95% of the ponies I have purchased arrived to me as I expected them to, fully matching my colors. The ones who do not match completely are still very close matches. But some customers have found that the colors don't match 100%, even if they match in my photos.
The best possible effort has been made to match these colors accurately, but even if the colors match my own ponies, I cannot guarantee that they will match yours. However, the likelihood of them matching is VERY high. If you are dissatisfied with the matching accuracy of any of the colors, you are always welcome to return the hanks for a full refund.
In the toy market, nylon synthetic is used for My Little Ponies by Hasbro. The manufacturer that I bought the nylon synthetic from has confirmed with me that Hasbro is their customer and that they are Hasbro's supplier!
Each hank (pictured above) is 38 inches in length. You can cut it as you see fit!
The best possible effort has been made to depict these colors accurately. Below is a small sample of primary and secondary true, basic colors. If you are able to view these colors correctly on your monitor, then your monitor is probably calibrated correctly and you will be able to view the colors accurately as well.
ORDERS TOTALING OVER $50 (BUT NOT MORE THAN $100) SHIP FREE!
NOT be charged a shipping fee!
TIP: to search for a specific pony and see if I have a matching color, all you have to do is, from your Internet Explorer browser, click on "edit", then go down to "Find (on this page)", and type in the pony's name and hit "find next". If the pony's name is on this page, it will be found.
Not quite as light or as yellow as "Butterscotch" the pony's hair, but fairly close.
The hank has more of a red tone, and the pony's hair is more brownish/golden. But it's not too far off.
Lighter than the "golden blonde" saran hair, but similar in hue.
Slightly darker and slightly yellower than "goldilocks".
An EXACT match for Minty.
The truest, whitest white you will ever come across. There are no hints of any other colors, it is pure white. And it still has a gorgeous iridescent sheen!
This white is an exact match for all of the whites on all of the ponies. "Night Glider", "Baby Blossom", "Cloud Dreamer" are examples.
A beautiful, very pale pinkish lavender.
Buy some real raspberry sorbet and then compare the color!
A vibrant light pink, more vibrant and slightly darker than my saran pinks.
Pussycat looks like a good match for "Posey's" pink (usually referred to as the fading pink becaue it fades easily). I have a sample of the "fading pink", and it almost matches it exactly, but still, it's just the tiniest bit too dark to be a match. Then again, my sample might be faded, so who knows? This could be the original color! Matches Posey, Lickety Split, Up Up and Away, Love Melody, Coco Berry, and others.
here is "pussycat" next to Lickety Split with VERY faded hair.
And HERE is a photo from a customer, which shows her almost unfaded pony's tail next to a hank of "pussycat"!: It looks like it's a match!
Watermelon Martini is very very close to "Moondancer's" color. This is also a VERY close match for "Skyflier". But it's too light to match 100%.
pretty close to Moondancer's color, but too light to be a match.
A wine color, slightly darker and much more vibrant than my "red red wine" saran hair.
Pretty darn close to Moondancer, but too dark to be a match.
Darker and more plum colored than "Glory's" purple.
A very dark plum... could almost pass for brown.
This color and the two below it are the same as far as value (lightness to darkness ratio) but their hues are different. This one has a purple hue.
A very dark scarlet red color. It could almost pass for brown. This color has a magenta hue. It is GORGEOUS!
A very dark auburn/garnet color. Warmer than "evil enchantress". This color has an auburn hue. It is similar to the "rosewood auburn" saran hair, but it's darker and richer.
A true blood red, redder than the "rosewood auburn" saran hair.
Lighter than "vampire kiss" and warmer with more of a brown/orange tone.
A very vibrant auburn. Similar to the "wildfire auburn" saran hair, but darker and more vibrant.
Similar to "pumpkin spice", but more muted and closer on the brown side.
Don't mistake this for orange! This is the color of a true light redhead. Think of orange mixed with a little brown and muted down a little. Pretty much like the color of a tigerlilly flower. This color is slightly darker than the "golden auburn" saran hair.
The color of cup of dark espresso.
Similar to the "espresso" color, but with more of a red tone.
A gorgeous light ash brown, none of the saran hair colors even come close!
This is a vibrant blue/green color, darker and bluer than the "seafoam green" saran hair.
an EXACT match for "Gusty", "Daddy Sweet Celebrations", "Wave Runner", "Braided Beauty", "Fizzy", and the Christmas Pony.
Customer photo: original "Gusty" (left) next to custom Gusty recreation (right) with "sea nymph" hair!
A gorgeous green, a little bit on the dark side.
The truest black you can find, even blacker than the "raven black" saran hair. This is a blue black.
This is a vibrant blue/green color, bluer than the "sea nymph" nylon hair, but of the same value.
This color is an EXACT match for "Firefly", "Bubbles", "Buttons", "Tux N Tails", "Sprinkles", G3 "Lavender Lake", and G1 rainbow ponies. NOTICE: this particular color has been known to fade/change on the ponies over time. It matches MY OWN ponies EXACTLY, but my ponies have been in a box for many years and have not been exposed to sunlight. If you're buying this color in order to restore a pony and fill in some missing plugs, it may not be a perfect match if your pony's hair has faded over time. Some of the ponies mentioned above may actually be closer to "water nixie", but I believe that atomic turquoise is their original color, and as it has aged, it has become more blue on a lot of the ponies. If you're really intent on matching one of the aforementioned ponies, you may want to order both "atomic turquoise" and "water nixie".
Atomic turquoise is not lighter than Bubbles' hair- it's just the way the light is hitting it in the photo.
A pretty basic blue, a little lighter than the "phthalo blue" saran hair.
A beautiful light icy blue, the same color as "daiquari ice" ice cream!
Another customer kindly informed me that daiquari ice is an exact match for the 2006 Easter pony, Gigglebean. Here is the photo from the customer. Gigglebean's mane hair is draped over her chest, and the hank of daiquari ice is wrapped around her waist. As you can see, it's a perfect match.
A gorgeous dusty rose color, a little bit on the warm side.
A fluorescent neon yellow with a very slight hint of green.
An EXACT match for "Surprise", "Woosie", "Morning Glory", "Mimic", "Ribbon", "Shady", "Yum Yum", "Crunch Berry", "Rockin Beat" ponies who have flourescent yellow hair, "Magic Message Windy's" streak, "Pinwheel's" streak, "Star Flower", "Shady", "Princess Pristina", "Tootie Tails", and others.
This is a gorgeous medium blue color. It's on the cool side, but not cool enough to be purple.
An EXACT match for "Applejack", "Baby Crumpet", and the G1 rainbow ponies' streak.
A stunning, slightly dusty medium pink. Gorgeous!
An EXACT match for "Heartthrob" and the following MLPs: All birth flower ponies, Sweet Scoops, Lil Tot, SS Truly, SS Taffy, Sweet Tooth, Princess Royal Blue, Tex, Pink Dreams, Princess Misty, Sherbert, Floater, Cranberry Muffins, Strawberry Surprise,Tassels, Sugar Apple, Twirler, Starry Wings, Dainty, Half Note (rock and beat), Rosey love, Pretty Puff, Princess Royal Purple, Birthday pony, Lovin Kisses, Starry Wings.
Customer photo: original adult "Cranberry Muffins" with matching custom baby with "heartthrob" hair!
A very pretty lemony yellow. It's less golden than the "golden delicious" nylon hair.
An EXACT match for "Merriweather", "Best Wishes", and "Tippy Toes"
A light green, lighter and less blue than "sea nymph". It's pretty much the same color as the "seafoam green" saran hair.
An EXACT match for "Seashell", "Medley", "Raindrop", "Ice Crystal", and the green stripe in the G1 rainbow ponies.
Very similar in hue to the "atomic turquoise" nylon hair, but significantly lighter.
An EXACT match for "Cupcake" and "Peach Blossom". Also matches exactly: Angel, Princess Sparkle, High flier, Cloud Puff, Banana Surprise, Sparkler, Sand Digger, Sugar Sweet, Sun Glider, Cha cha, Tossles, High Flier, Sparkler, Baby Half Note, and Frilly Flower. Matches the stripe in the G2 rainbow ponies too.
An EXACT match for "Glory", "Gingerbread", and G3 "Lavender Lake", among others. NOTICE: this particular color has been known to fade/change on the ponies over time. It matches MY OWN Glory EXACTLY, but my ponies have been in a box for many years and have not been exposed to sunlight. If you're buying this color in order to restore a pony and fill in some missing plugs, it may not be a perfect match if your pony's hair has faded over time.
It is not lighter or more purple than Glory's hair. It's just the camera's flash. Notice how the darkest part of the hank is the same color as the darkest part of Glory's hair. Same goes for the lightest parts.
A gorgeous lavender, a little bit on the warm side. Less pink than the "wild lavender" saran hair.
An EXACT match for "Blossom", "Lemon Drop", "Sparkler", and "Blue Belle", and the following: North Star, Lily, Princess Starburst, Princess Dawn, Salty, Peppermint Crunch, Magic Hat, Mint Dreams, Mommy Bright Bouquet, Spring Song, Napper, Daisy Dancer, Garden Glow, Secret Beauty, Love Petal, Ruby Lips, Baby Glory, and Baby Newborn Snookums.
A subtle, subdued, grayed-down light blue. Similar to "water nixie" (below), but not as vibrant.
NOTICE: It has been reported that this particular color is very difficult to curl.
A bright yellow, more vibrant than "lemon drop" and "golden delicious".
A true orange, the color of the satsuma orange fruit.
Information sent to me from a customer: "The color satsuma matches the pony Rosette almost exactly. Your color might be a hair darker than my Rosette's hair, but she may have faded a bit over time. Her hair is also pretty curly and fluffy, so it doesn't sit as nicely as a new hank of your hair does, so that might also be the difference. I would personally say it's an exact match, but I don't know if you could do a partial re-root with it and have it match seamlessly."
A warm, almost pinkish lavender. Kind of a cross between "wisteria" and "raspberry sorbet", but more on the "wisteria" side. It is very similar in color to my "wild lavender" saran hair.
Slightly darker than "buttercreme", and with a much creamier hint. It really is the color of white chocolate!
Similar to "roasted almond", but with orange undertones instead of red. More vibrant than "espresso".
A deep, rich, dark chocolate fudge brown. The darkest brown of all the nylon colors.
A buttery blonde. Creamier and with more of an orange hint than "golden sun".
Similar to "butterscotch", but leaning more in a red direction. It's a strawberry blonde.
More muted than "pumpkin spice", but it's still an auburn color. It's more red than "amaretto".
Similar to "amaretto", but more muted. It's a light reddish brown.
A silvery, pinkish beige blonde. Very unique! It looks like that weird beige blonde that some Cabbage Patch Kids had in the 80s.
Not a stark white like "virgin snow", but more of an ivory color. It's a warm white, and it doesn't have the silver tones that "white witch" has. It's the color of whipped cream. It's slightly darker than "virgin snow", and slightly lighter than "white witch".
Similar to "dusty rose", but not as warm. Think of a strawberry mousse dessert, or a strawberry milkshake.
An EXACT match for Mommy Apple Delight, Baby Sugarberry, and Magic Message Floater.
A warm, slightly flourescent medium pink. Darker than "pussycat", and lighter and more flourescent than "watermelon martini"
A beautiful light neon orange, the color of the sky at sunset.
This color is in short supply, so it's priced slightly higher, at $4.00 per hank.
A basic pink. Similar to "heartthrob", but lighter and less drab.
A match for UK ponies Surprise Newborn Baby Cuddles, TV star My Little Pony Tales Sweetheart and Patch, Hair-do bangles, Best Friends Baby Katie, Nurse Tenderheart, and the Surprise twins mom. Very similar to "heartthrob", but different.
THIS bubblegum differs slightly from the OLD BUBBLEGUM color below.Bubblegum (here) is slightly warmer, darker, and more less matte than OLD BUBBLEGUM.The OLD BUBBLEGUM color is a much better match for the ponies mentioned above.
MLP matching info: I was going to order the non-brilliant (I'll explain what "brilliant" means in a second) version of this color as an exact match for Barnacle's color. Color-wise, this is exactly the same color that Barnacle had when he was NEW, but this color, on the Barnacle ponies, has been known to lose its flourescence over time, so it may not be an exact match for your pony, if his hair has faded. Now, the fact that it's "brilliant" means that the strands of hair are VERY shiny... almost metallic. Barnacle's hair does not have this "brilliant" attribute, so if you want the non-brilliant version of this color, look at "firebird" below.
A vibrant light pink. This is the exact same color as "pussycat", except for the fact that it's "brilliant". To see what this means, please refer to the description of "brilliant firebird" above.
Pussycat looks like a good match for "Posey's" pink (usually referred to as the fading pink becaue it fades easily). I have a sample of the "fading pink", and it almost matches it exactly, but still, it's just the tiniest bit too dark to be a match. Then again, my sample might be faded, so who knows? This could be the original color! Matches Posey, Lickety Split, Up Up and Away, Love Melody, Coco Berry, and others. Keep in mind that it's "brilliant", which means that the strands are VERY shiny and almost metallic looking.
This is a blend of two different pinks. It was spun this way by the manufacturer, not by me! The darker pink is similar to "candytuft" (but slightly lighter), and the lighter pink is very similar to "pussycat", but more matte. This is a nice combination of shiny and matte pinks.
A gorgeous dark navy blue.
A fuchsia color, just like the bouganvillea flower. It is lighter, more purple, and more vibrant than "venom"
This color is an EXACT match for G3 Silver Song and the top stripe on G3 Star Flower.
A lavender color, different from "wisteria" in that it has more of a blueish tone and it's much colder.
Other than this one pony, I don't know of any others that match "hyacinth".
This color is an EXACT match for "Barnacle", "Paradise", and other ponies with the same color. NOTICE: this particular color has been known to fade/change on the ponies over time. If you're buying this color in order to restore a pony and fill in some missing plugs, it may not be a perfect match if your pony's hair has faded over time.
A vibrant flourescent dark pinkish red.
This color is an EXACT match for "Sugarberry", "Happy Tails Tabby", "Tic Tac Toe, "Galaxy", "Mimic","Sky Flier" (or Skyflier), "Sea Mist", "Cherry Treats", "Diamond Dreams", "Caramel Crunch", "Gusty's" streak, and other ponies with the same color. NOTICE: this particular color has been known to fade/change on the ponies over time. If you're buying this color in order to restore a pony and fill in some missing plugs, it may not be a perfect match if your pony's hair has faded over time.
This color is an EXACT match for "Mimic" , "Twisty Tail", and "Masquerade".
NOTICE: this particular color has been known to fade/change on the ponies over time. If you're buying this color in order to restore a pony and fill in some missing plugs, it may not be a perfect match if your pony's hair has faded over time.
Customer comment regarding "envy" vs. "key lime" (below): "Seems to me that, for some reason, Hasbro used a slightly different shade of green for ponies who just had a stripe, than for those who had a full head and tail of green. Weird, but it looks like that's what happened."
"Key lime" is an EXACT match for "Raspberry Jam", Scrumptious", "Magic Star", and "Wind Drifter".
Customer comment regarding "envy" (above) vs. "key lime": "Seems to me that, for some reason, Hasbro used a slightly different shade of green for ponies who just had a stripe, than for those who had a full head and tail of green. Weird, but it looks like that's what happened."
A matte red, the color of a candy apple!
This color is an EXACT match for the Rice Krispy baby and other ponies with the same color, including Mountain Boy Sunburst.
Imagine cutting into a freshly baked cherry pie and seeing the hot cherry filling ooze out! That's what this color looks like!
This color is an EXACT match for "Majesty" and other ponies with the same color.
A dark lavender. Similar to "hyacinth", but darker and less blue.
A pretty, muted light pink.
This color was ordered as an exact match for Cotton Candy, Bow Tie, Snuzzle, Peachy, Sundance, etc., etc. This is the elusive "cotton candy pink".
News update: now that this color has arrived, I've had the opportunity to match it with my ponies. It matches Sundance's hair EXACTLY, but it's a little bit too dark to match Cotton Candy. Hmmmm... could it be that my Cotton Candy's hair has faded? She's one of my oldest MLPs. I thought that Cotton Candy and Sundance had the same color. Here's the photo below, so you can see for yourself. But I do venture to say that this IS the original Cotton Candy pink color!! It's too close not to be, especially since I purchased it from the original manufacturer!
This is the same exact color that you see when you slice a mango open... a gorgeous orangey yellow.
A very unique color, it's a dark steel silver with a very small hint of plum. It's the same color as the hematite mineral, its namesake.
The truest, whitest white you will ever come across. There are no hints of any other colors, it is pure white. The difference between blizzard and virgin snow is that blizzard is a matte, opaque white, while virgin snow is a translucent white.
This is an exact match for the G3's that have matte white hair.
A VERY unique color. In sunlight, it looks like a very dark turquoise green. In indoor light, it could almost pass for black. Very interesting.
Similar to daiquari ice, but colder and leaning moreso in a lavender direction. It is still a blue, though, and it is very light and icy.
NOTICE: The manufacturer made a small mistake and added a bit too much oil additive. This has resulted in this color feeling slightly more oily than the other colors. You'll find that its texture will feel similar to saran. HOWEVER, this is nothing that a quick shampoo won't take care of.
Absolutely unreal! A breathtaking yellowy golden brown. It is almost like two colors built into one. You have to see it to believe it.
It glows in the dark SO BRIGHTLY and for SO LONG if it's exposed to sunlight. It's the same color white as "virgin snow". It can be boil permed or dyed with Rit dye and it will still glow just as brightly!
A beautiful light golden brown.
This color was purchased as a match for Baby Pineapple and others with the same color. However, it appears that the manufacturer made an error and the color came out a bit too dark. It's not that big of an error, and mulberry crush is still a good match, but it's not exact. I'll be following up with a matching photo very soon!
Similar to bougainvillea, but with more of a red tone.
A darker, more drab version of heartthrob.
This is the MATTE version of pussycat.
You'll notice this color on a lot of G3's.
A light yellowy orange. Very pretty.
A pale light yellow, the color of lemonade.
I've been told by a customer that "lemonade" is an exact match for TAF baby Dancing Butterflies.
Brighter and more flourescent than key lime.
The same exact color as virgin snow, except this is a BRILLIANT color, which means that it reflects light and sparkles.
The color of pure 925 sterling silver. This is a BRILLIANT color, which means that it reflects light and sparkles.
The color of pure, 24k, sparkling gold. This is a BRILLIANT color, which means that it reflects light and sparkles.
An EXACT match for Twisty Tail's yellow. Photo coming soon!
A lot of people have asked for a darker silver color, so here it is! It is a medium toned silver, and it is darker than the saran silver bullet color.
A dark champagne blonde. Very similar to golden sand, but slightly lighter and a bit more ash.
A dark champagne blonde. Very similar to golden wheat, but slightly darker and a bit more golden.
Lighter than chocolate pudding, and more coppery than nutmeg.
Lighter than chocolate pudding, and more golden than copper chocolate.
A very dark brown, just a tad lighter than chocolate fudge. More golden and less reddish than chocolate fudge.
Darker, and slightly more pinkish than peaches and cream, but very similar.
Originally purchased to re-stock lucky clover, but the manufacturer made a mistake with the color. This color is very similar to lucky clover, but it is lighter and less vibrant.
Very similar to lemon drop, but more vivid.
A deep, dark turquoise-y blue. Almost like our "deep sea" color, but slightly less green than deep sea.
Lighter than nickel, and with more of a cold tone instead of a warm tone. I would call it a bluish silver.
A cross between buttercreme and goldilocks.
Everyone thought that virgin snow was the whitest possible white... until we saw THIS color! Snowflake is SO WHITE that you may go blind when you see it in person! Snowflake is a COLD white, whereas virgin snow and blizzard are warm whites.
Similar to sour grapes, except ultraviolet has more of a reddish tone, so it is not as cold as sour grapes.
Twilight is basically a greyed-down, slightly darker version of wisteria.
This is the OLD bubblegum color that we used to carry! It was brought back because the NEW bubblegum color is not an exact match for some Hasbro toys. However, OLD BUBBLEGUM is a match! Very similar to heartthrob, but slightly warmer.
A match for UK ponies Surprise Newborn Baby Cuddles, TV star My Little Pony Tales Sweetheart and Patch, Hair-do bangles, Best Friends Baby Katie, Nurse Tenderheart, and the Surprise twins mom. Very similar to "heartthrob", but different. Photo coming soon!
Pink sugar is the lighter version of tea rose.
Some people have noticed that tea rose is too dark to match ponies like Cotton Candy, Bow Tie, Snuzzle, etc. I believe that the reason why is because tea rose, although it is the original manufacturer's color, has faded over time on some ponies. Therefore, if you're looking to match a pony with faded hair, then pink sugar should be your answer. Photo coming soon!
Similar to watermelon martini, but with more of a raspberry tone.
The EXACT match for Moondancer. Enough said ;) Photo coming soon!
A lighter, warmer version of cherry pie. A tomato red color.
Nectarine is the same color as our OLD satsuma! When I re-ordered satsuma a couple of years ago, the manufacturer produced it darker than it should have been. Nectarine is the way that satsuma USED to look. It's lighter than our current sattsuma color, and more of a true orange.
An unbelievably stunning orange. In indoor light, it looks like a light, yellowy orange. However, if you view it outdoors in full sunlight, it has a two-tone effect, and you can see a slight hint of a bronzy-green color intermingled with the orange. It is such a unique color.
Darker than napalm, and less matte. Similar to golden delicious, but with less orange.
This color is an EXACT match for "Dancing Butterflies". Photo coming soon!
You asked for them, so here they are! Of course, any two colors can be blended together, but these below are the best of all of my "experiments".
A blend of "after midnight" and "black magick"
A blend of "water nixie" and "hyacinth". One of my personal favorites.
A blend of "raspberry sorbet" and "tea rose"
A blend of "vampire kiss" and "venom"
A blend of "deadly nightshade" and "poison ivy"
A blend of "raspberry sorbet" and "sea nymph"
A blend of "watermelon martini" and "garnet jewel"
A blend of "kiss of death" and "bougainvillea". One of my personal favorites! It's STUNNING.
A blend of "tigerlilly" and "watermelon martini".
Choose your own blend of two colors!
To speak with collectors and customizers who can give you great advice and lots of new ideas for your customs, please visit and join the MLPArena. Just click on the banner below. It will open in a new window and this website will still be in the background!
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Steve Zappala, son of Allegheny County DA, is running for state House District 21
By Ryan Deto
Screengrab from Facebook
Stevie Zappala
Last year, state Rep. Sara Innamorato (D-Lawrenceville) joined a group of progressive young women who took U.S. Congress and state legislatures by storm.
Her win, along with others like U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), was seen as a catalyst for the progressive movement in the Democratic Party. Since then, she has garnered attention for her outspoken left stances, rattling a more moderate Democratic establishment in Western Pennsylvania.
Today, that more moderate wing announced intentions to try to take back Innamorato's seat.
Steve Zappala is the son of Allegheny District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr., announced his intention to run for Pennsylvania's state House District 21.
In a statement sent to Pittsburgh City Paper, Zappala says, "As a lifelong Democrat of Allegheny County, I have decided to run for the Democratic nomination in HD21. I look forward to continuing the conversation with the people of our community and working towards addressing their needs."
The younger Zappala recently ran his father's successful re-election campaign. According to a screenshot from a Facebook post, Zappala is kicking off his campaign at Fugh Hall in Etna on Jan. 3, 2020.
Zappala, while running as a Democrat, hasn't exactly been the example of progressivism within the Democratic Party. CP spotted him at the Shale Insight Conference, where he sat in the VIP section during President Donald Trump's speech. In the speech, Trump slammed Democrats with many false claims.
Stevie Zappala will likely have a difficult race ahead of him. Most of HD 21 is in one of the more progressive parts of the city of Pittsburgh. Innamorato won the district easily in 2018, defeating longtime moderate incumbent Dom Costa (D-Stanton Heights) by a margin of 64-36 in the Democratic Primary.
When reached for comment, Innamorato said she fully intends to be re-elected and "continue building a Pennsylvania for us all." She welcomes the challenge to celebrate a healthy democracy where there are "opportunities to those with alternate visions to run."
"This job brings me face to face with the realities of the challenges faced by out neighbors on a daily basis," says Innamorato. "Folks walk into our office because they lost their home, or the're rationing insulin, or they need to find work at 78 years old. Our focus has and always will be helping people in our office and fighting for change in Harrisburg."
While some of HD 21 does encompass Ross Township and other suburbs, which typically support more moderate candidates, progressive candidates have done well in these areas recently. Not only did Innamorato win the Ross Township sections of her district in 2018, incoming Allegheny County Councilor Bethany Hallam (D-Ross) also won the suburb against a longtime moderate incumbent in the 2019 primary election.
Zappala becomes the second Democrat to challenge a more progressive member of the party in Allegheny County. Chris Roland (D-Braddock Hills) announced his candidacy against state Rep. Summer Lee (D-Swissvale) on Dec. 2.
Pennsylvania's 2020 Primary Election is on April 28. HD 21 also has a Republican challenger named John Waugh, who announced his intention to run earlier this year.
More than 200 take to Pittsburgh streets for fourth annual Women's March
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The Three Rivers Arts Festival's Emerging Artist Program provides mentorship and assistance to new artists
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The many foreclosed homes of Detroit are currently without a plan for the future, and city officials decided it was time to step in. Fannie Mae has started a partnership with Detroit to either demolish or renovate many of the vacant or foreclosed homes in the city. This community outreach is in conjunction with Fannie Mae's dedication to help rehabilitate some neighborhoods in Detroit, especially those who have seen the worst in foreclosure history.
For the first order of business, Fannie Mae will be purchasing nearly 45 foreclosed homes in Detroit, and sell them to the Detroit Land Bank Authority. With a reduced selling price, Fannie Mae will then place the earned funds into some of the remaining homes, either to demolish or renovate. Luckily, Fannie Mae has seen the worth in many of these foreclosed home, and have plans to rehabilitate over 25 of the initial lot.
Fannie Mae's Vice President of Alternative Dispositions, P.J. McCarthy, has emphasized to city officials that these vacant homes are only doing harm to the existing neighborhoods and homeowners across the city. McCarthy has also explained that Detroit can expect full cooperation from Fannie Mae, in the assistance of 'transforming' these current homes into desirable properties once again. Additionally, Fannie Mae has encouraged that some of these properties be renovated for new purposes, such as community organizations and centers.
The Detroit Land Bank Authority has been tackling the issue of blight in Detroit with full force. Recently, the Land Bank gained over 6,000 foreclosed properties from a connection between the city of Detroit and Herb Strather, casino owner and real estate mogul. The Land Bank has made a promise to renovate these homes, as they were originally attempted to be sold for demolition, that ultimately fell through. As the costs for demolition continue to increase, the Land Bank has been looking for other alternatives and methods to keep these homes functional.
The Detroit Land Bank Authority has expressed great excitement while working with Fannie Mae and hopes that this partnership will flourish in the coming months. Likewise, with a common interest in revitalizing the neighbors of Detroit, the Land Bank believes that Fannie Mae's professionalism in the city will help take care of every vacant home in the city of Detroit. The Land Bank is ready to stabilize Detroit, and looks forward to rapid progress in the near future.


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May 11, 2019 Neil Vagg Comic Review
Daredevil #3 is available now where all good comics are sold!
CLASSIFIED! (genuine synopsis from Comixology!)
It's been clear from the outset that Daredevil has been building towards something. Up until the conclusion of the previous issue I wasn't quite sure what that was but now it's clear.
Daredevil needed a little injection of adrenaline to kick start the storytelling and what better way to do it than with an appearance by The Punisher! Of course he's saved for the final page but the next issue could be mind blowing given what happens here.
Issue #3 is an interesting mix of the first two issues. We dispense with some of the world building but don't entirely detract from the character development to continue with the action.
I'm impressed with how the series has dealt with a lack of a villain. Rather than setting up Wilson Fisk or perhaps bringing back Bullseye or any one of Daredevil's pantheon of villains to setup Detective North as the villain figure has given the series a new edge.
It's even arguable that Daredevil is the villain of his own book.
He's charging around New York with a working knowledge which is entirely outdated. He hasn't taken more than a moment to try and understand his new surroundings and now he's paying the price.
My only lingering question at the end of this issue, which is probably how it was written anyway, is what Frank Castle could be doing looking out for Daredevil. We'll have to wait for the next issue to find out!
With this issue Daredevil toys with its readers, taking the story in multiple directions before building to an exciting conclusion. As Daredevil cements itself as a compelling new series a certain cameo will definitely have fans clamouring for the next issue.
Daredevil #3 is written by Chip Zdarsky with art by Marco Checchetto and a cover by Julian Totino Tedesco.
Daredevil #2 cover by Julian Totino Tedesco
Daredevil (Comics)
MARVEL STUDIOS working on "something bigger" than Nick Fury series
October 25, 2018 Neil Vagg News, TV News
On Tuesday we brought you the rumour that Marvel was working on a Nick Fury series for Disney. The supposed series was set to premiere on the […]
'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' Super Bowl spot and new poster released
February 6, 2017 Neil Vagg Film News, News
Lots of new 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' footage for you this morning courtesy of another Super Bowl TV spot. Expanding on the first […]
DEADPOOL 2 review
May 19, 2018 Neil Vagg Film Review, Review
Ryan Reynolds will be joined in Deadpool 2 by T.J. Miller, Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni and Stefan Kapičić who all reprise roles from the […]


Are you an experienced Sales Manager looking for your next role in industry?
We are recruiting for a Sales Manager to join a company who supply formulated bespoke or off the shelf chemical blends for metal finishing processes.
This is a full- time, permanent role for a company based in Mid- Wales. The role will involve up to 60% travel visiting customer sites across the UK.
They are a leading manufacturer and contract blender serving the metal finishing market with a strong focus in the automotive sector.
A passion to lead by example, managing all levels of accounts, winning new customers, hiring, guiding, supervising and developing new team members.
The ability to build strong relationships both internally across teams, and with customers and prospects. Analytical. Charismatic.
Impeccable judgement. Experience of new product introduction is desirable. A science or maths qualification is essential.
The successful candidate will work in conjunction with the MD and supporting colleagues on both existing and new customers.
The pipeline will be crucial. There will be an emphasis on managing and growing the key channel influencers on both core and new products within the portfolio, and ensuring targeted growth commitments.
The team will expand commensurate with the sales growth.
To deliver sustainable & ongoing growth.
Ability, desire, knowledge & motivation to hire and train a new sales team.
Customer feedback including sample management (collecting samples for analysis from industrial tanks).
To control customer sales attrition, to grow trading customers and to convert new customers.
Salesforce (CRM sales tool) update and maintenance.
Passion to succeed. Fantastic communication skills. Leadership. A desire to develop a brand new team. Demonstrable desire to learn or proven experience of hiring, motivating and training.
Individiul Sales prowess. Essential IT literacy. Data driven. Clean driving licence + own vehicle maintained to a high standard.
The ability to work effectively within all levels of the organisation is essential. Having the flexibility and positive attitude towards team work is also a fundamental requirement.
You must be organised and able to prioritise with effective time management skills. The individual must also be proficient at handling multiple tasks with a high degree of accuracy & attention to detail.
28 days holiday including bank holidays.
Finish at 3.00pm on Fridays.
Commercial sédentaire / French Speaking Sales Executive.


The wall is having to be repaired here because of the huge seas that come crashing into the Bay of Skaill.
Foraminefera, also found in the water and help with climate change research. The rest of the picture is about core samples, where they are found and the top section is Mill Bay on Hoy where I did lots of drawing, and where Sue and Caroline hope to take more peat cores…..
Here, the idea is to look at the landscape as it is today , but also at the detail that geographers use when they are working out sea level change .
Brought back memories of my last trip to Skaill Bay a few years ago – one moment calm and peaceful and the next, crashing waves! Look forward to seeing your progress via the blog!


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Tower of London's Queen raven missing and feared dead
Rachael Burford
Merlina has been missing for several weeks
(Historic Royal Palaces )
The Tower of London's famous "Queen" raven is missing and feared dead, staff at the historic fortress said today.
"Much-loved" and "free-spirited" Merlina, who joined the flock at the Tower in 2007, has not been seen at her home in the 11th Century castle for several weeks.
Legend states that at least six ravens must be kept at the battlements or the kingdom of Britain will fall.
There are currently seven ravens in residence who are looked after by the Ravenmaster Christopher Skaife.
Ravenmaster Chris Skaife holding one of the first ravens to be born at the Tower in 30 years.PA
A spokesman for the Tower said: "Our much-loved raven Merlina has not been seen at the Tower for several weeks, and her continued absence indicates to us that she may have sadly passed away.
"Though it isn't unusual for our ravens to roam outside the walls, free-spirited Merlina has previously always returned to the ravenmaster and his team, with whom she shared a wonderfully close bond.
"Merlina was our undisputed ruler of the roost, Queen of the Tower Ravens. She will be greatly missed by her fellow ravens, the ravenmaster, and all of us in the Tower community."
Wild ravens live for 10 to 15 years. However, the Tower of London birds have been known to live until the age of 40.
Charles II is believed to have been the first monarch to officially decree that the birds must be kept at the stronghold at all times.
In the Second World War the ravens were used as spotters for bombs and planes during the Blitz.
When numbers fell to just a single raven guard, Winston Churchill ordered that the flock — known as an "unkindness" — be increased to at least six.
Staff became worried that some of the seven-strong flock started venturing outside castle walls to forage during lockdownShutterstock
In 2018 the Tower launched a raven breeding programme after Historic Royal Palaces warned it was becoming "increasingly difficult" to source the birds and there were "very few legal captive raven breeders in the UK".
Mr Skaife said he would be taking some time to mourn Merlina.
"I know so many of you lovely folk will be saddened by this news," Mr Skaife said in a statement on social media.
"None more than me. Please excuse my absence for a few days."
During the first lockdown the tourist attraction, which usually welcomed more than two million people each year, was shut and Tower staff became worried the birds were venturing outside the castle walls to forage.
Tower staff added that they had no immediate plans to replace Merlina.
"We now have seven ravens — one more than the required six, so we don't have any immediate plans to fill Merlina's vacancy.
"However in time we hope that a new chick from our breeding programme will be up to the formidable challenge of continuing her legacy."
Why are ravens kept at the Tower of London?
Early depiction of Tower of London to go on display in V&A exhibition
Tower of London's Beefeaters face layoffs for first time in 500 years
The Tower of London Ravenmaster is working from home... with ravens
Too early to say if England lockdown can be eased next month, says Johnson. PM expresses doubts over half-term target, with restrictions lasting into summer not ruled out


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Istanbul Conference: Lacking Substance
Zachary Enos	/ November 09, 2011
Vague platitudes, rather than meaningful solutions, dominated last week's international conference on Afghanistan held in Turkey's capital, Istanbul. Conference participants, including Pakistan, Iran, India, China, and Russia, broadly affirmed their support for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Afghanistan. But for countries like Pakistan that continue to support Afghan insurgents at the expense of stability in the country, the declarations seem empty. And in Iran's case, the real objective is to minimize Western involvement for the advancement of its own regional agenda. Despite the 2014 deadline for U.S. and NATO troop withdrawals—33,000 of which will be removed by next September—U.S. policymakers must understand the critical role American influence plays in protecting regional security.
Istanbul is the first of three conferences aiming to secure and stabilize Afghanistan. The United States' long-term security goal in Afghanistan is simple: Don't hand the country back to radical forces that will again safeguard al-Qaeda. America hoped to advance that goal in Istanbul by supporting regional players in their commitment to Afghan sovereignty and rallying support for an international security framework that encourages economic integration through a web of roads and rails across Asia called the New Silk Road. Unfortunately, conflicting regional interests are preventing meaningful cooperation.
Regional Tensions. Russia, Pakistan, and Iran object to the creation of a regional security apparatus that ensures the long-term presence of U.S. and NATO forces. China and Russia have vested resource interests in the region and see extensive U.S. security assistance as a threat to economic access. Pakistan is critical of regional solutions because it fears they will give India an opportunity to increase its involvement in the country. Pakistan's fears were exacerbated by last month's strategic partnership agreement made between Kabul and New Delhi, which expands India's role in the training of Afghan security forces. Monday's suicide bombing in Kabul, which left 12 Americans dead, again raises questions about Pakistan's role in the violence as the Pentagon investigates the possible role of the Haqqani network, which recently retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen referred to as a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's intelligence service. Islamabad is attempting to cool tensions with Kabul by consenting to a joint investigation into the assassination of former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani. Such confidence-building measures fail to address the core problem—Pakistan's ties to the Taliban and Haqqani network.
In the midst of these international dynamics, Afghanistan's weak government needs the continued support of the United States. By October 2012, the United States will have withdrawn approximately 33,000 troops from Afghanistan, and NATO will be on track to remove the remainder of its forces by 2014. Taliban and Haqqani insurgents are bent on overthrowing Afghan President Hamid Karzai's feeble security forces and, without U.S. support, they will succeed.
What now? The Heritage Foundation contends that the keys to success in Afghanistan are genuine political reconciliation, the elimination of terrorist strongholds in Pakistan, and the emergence of an Afghan National Security Force capable of confronting its enemies. To meet those objectives, Washington must resist the urge to set up arbitrary timelines for withdrawal and encourage Pakistan to squeeze the Taliban until they break with al-Qaeda, abandon violence, and submit to Afghanistan's constitution.
Two more Afghan-centered conferences are rapidly approaching. The first is the Bonn conference on December 5, which will bring together foreign ministers from 90 countries to discuss Afghanistan's next decade after the overthrow of the Taliban. This will be followed by a NATO summit in Chicago in May of next year. Instead of using these forums to legitimize the removal of troops, the Obama Administration should focus on responding to events as they evolve on the ground. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on the right track when she argues that America paid a heavy price for abandoning Afghanistan in 1989 after the Soviets were expelled from the country. That mistake must not be repeated.
Zachary Enos is currently a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. For more information on interning at Heritage, please visit: http://www.heritage.org/about/departments/ylp.cfm
Zachary Enos


Established on 9 May of 1991, The Bull Run Civil War Round Table was founded to bring together those who wish to expand and share their knowledge of the Civil War. We accomplish this goal in a number of ways: through lectures, research, field trips and in active participation in the preservation of Civil War sites. By regularly presenting knowledgeable, respected Civil War historians and scholars, writers and lecturers, it is the intent of the BRCWRT to honor the memory of those who gave "the last full measure".


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Amsterdam University College: VU Netherlands
Amsterdam University College Building, Watergraafsmeer Architecture, Dutch Further Edcuation Design
Amsterdam University College Building
AUC Higher Education Development in The Netherlands design by Mecanoo architecten, Holland
Amsterdam University College Building Award
Amsterdam University College wins the Amsterdam Architecture Prize 2013
Design: Mecanoo architecten
Delft, 22 April 2013 – The Amsterdam University College wins the Amsterdam Architecture Prize 2013 (Golden A.A.P.). The prestigious AUC accommodates the joint liberal arts and sciences programme of the University of Amsterdam and the VU University Amsterdam. The striking 6,000 m² educational building was designed by Mecanoo in Delft, the Netherlands.
photograph : Christian Richters
The jury saw the Amsterdam University College in the Science Park as a building with two faces, which on closer inspection were found to be complementary. "The exterior primarily aroused expectations, raised questions.
Inside, the jury members were struck by the harmonious way in which large and small spaces together formed a whole, while each component, right down to the details, had a clear (and valuable) identity of its own. Zoning, colour and acoustics contribute, both individually and together, to the reserved ambience, which would appear to be ideal for a student population with an above average promise for the future."
pictures : Christian Richters
The AUC combines an intensive programme of studies with the cultural and social life of a campus. Francine Houben explains: "AUC was designed as an inspiring home for the community of international students and their professors. It's a friendly but robust home with a spacious loft on top."
By positioning the tilting roofs diagonally, in a north-south direction, the sense of being in a loft is strengthened. Large voids form the heart of the building and create a visual relationship between the different floors. A staircase winds through the voids, symbolising a sense of community for its users.
With the annual Amsterdam Architecture Prize, ARCAM (Amsterdam Centre for Architecture) turns the spotlight on the best buildings built in Amsterdam each year. The prize is for the architect who designed and the client who commissioned the building built in Amsterdam in 2012 that has been deemed the most beautiful of all the buildings, or the most exemplary of the current situation, or the most daring and innovative, or ideally: all of these together.
AUC Building News
AUC nominated for Amsterdam Architecture Prize
Delft, 16 January 2013 – ARCAM architecture centre has nominated AUC for the 2013 Amsterdam Architecture Prize (Golden A.A.P.).
The Golden A.A.P. prize is awarded annually to the architect and client who produced the best architectural project in Amsterdam, given a completion date in the previous year. The winner will be announced in April 2013.
New home for students of AUC
picture : Christian Richters
Amsterdam University College Building : background information + more images
AUC Building images / information from Mecanoo architecten, The Netherlands
AUC design: Mecanoo architecten, a Dutch architectural office based in Delft, The Netherlands
Location: Science Park Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, western Europe
Amsterdam Architecture Walking Tours
College Buildings
Amsterdam Architecture Center
The Traveller
Interior design: Powerhouse Company
photograph © Sebastian van Damme
The Traveller Culinary Pavilion
Comments / photos for the Amsterdam University College Building – AUC Holland design by Mecanoo architecten page welcome
Website: www.auc.nl
College building designs, University building designs


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Cinema Releases - Sleep Furiously
Sleep Furiously
On release now
sleep furiously became a critical discovery at the 2008 Edinburgh Film Festival, and then became one of the most critically acclaimed new British films of the year. It was described in the Independent on Sunday by Jonathan Romney as "sublime" and one of the signs of a British art cinema resurgence (along with HUNGER, and other New Wave releases UNRELATED and HELEN).
The film is a meditative study of a small farming community in mid-Wales that observes the rhythms of country life, and the rhythms of the monthly visits of the mobile library. But it is a life that is changing – the village school is about to close, mechanisation is replacing many of the old ways, congregations are dwindling, but the village show and the sheepdog trials carry on. Koppel's interest in the eccentricities of life is simultan eously affectionate, moving and very funny.
Download High Res image Pip and Daisy 1
Download High Res image Main image
Week Commencing 20.11.10
Trinity Theatre Church Road TN1 1JP Tunbridge Wells 01892 678 678 25 November
Savoy Causewayhead Penzance TR18 2SN 01736 363330 29 November
Royal Cinema Royal Square St Ives TR26 2ND 01736 796843 30 November
Gideon Koppel Director
Gideon Koppel grew up in Liverpool, studied mathematics and was a postgraduate student at the Slade School of Fine Art in the Experimental Media Studio.
His work as is exhibited in a wide variety of forms: from the film installation for fashion label Comme des Garcons to the controversial and never broadcast BBC film 'Ooh la la and the art of dressing up' which explores the psychopathology of celebrity.
Gideon is an award-winning director of film commercials; a faculty member at the University of London and teaches with Theodore Zeldin at L'École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC), Paris.
Interview with Gideon Koppel in The Times
Photo by London & Cambridge photographer Tom Catchesides
Read online interview with Gideon Koppel in Aesthetica
Ooh la la and the art
of dressing up
Un-Dressed: Fashion In
The Twentieth Century
Fli rtations
Unseen Unsaid
Supervising sound editor
Re-recoding mixer
Gideon Koppel
Margaret Matheson, Gideon Koppel
Mario Battistel
Mike Figgis,Serge Lalou
John Evans,Tasha Back,Steven Gardner,Ula Pontikos
Kerri Trounce, Ross McKenzie, Sali Davies
why not associates
Joakim Sundström
Richard Davey
Made with the support of the Film Agency for Wales and with the support of the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Wales, Bard Entertainments Ltd and van film ltd
'This delicate, tonally complex film by Gideon Koppel is a documentary love-letter to Trefeurig, the Welsh farming community in Ceredigion where he grew up, and where his parents found refuge from Nazi Germany during the second world war. It is a rural society, outwardly placid and at one with a landscape of stunning beauty, but in fact in crisis. Koppel's film takes as its starting point the closure of the local school, a definitive, calamitous loss for a place where shops and bus services have already vanished. The movie pays tribute to the grit of a people who may yet revive their economy, but it acknowledges a darker possibility, for which the sentimental note of an "elegy" is not appropriate. Slowly, but surely, Trefeurig appears to be dying, and Koppel's camera captures the consequent ripples of loss and regret.'
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian - read the full review
'ENTRANCING'
'This wonderful film...'
David Jenkins Time Out - read the full review
'Here is a voice to be cherished....wonderful...'
'Images of wistful sadness are interlaced with humour and moments of skin-prickling beauty that leave the audience undone...profoundly and unexpectedly moving'
Wendy Ide, The Times
'Gideon Koppel's magnificent documentary...mixture of community portrait, pastoral fresco and musing on eternity...'
'Koppel somehow infuses the idyllic with the impassioned, the bleak with the lyrical, the inarticulate gaze with the evangelistic vision.'
'Koppel's film transcends the pedagogic to touch the celebratory, the holistic, the mystical – if we allow that last word to include the materiality of a world fashioned for our senses but seldom, in a medium made for seeing and hearing, so fully perceived or lovingly honoured.'
'The elegiac tenderness and pictorial beauty becomes...quite compelling.'
'A film forged from a real love of place'
Antony Quinn, The Independent - read the full review
'Riveting...extraordinary, ethereal...it looks, sounds and somehow even smells wholly new'
Sukhdev Sandhu, The Daily Telegraph - read the full review
'...exotic...miraculous...'
'timeless and warm...beautifully made, with a wealth of humour and humanity at its centre...'
'...the most beautifully elemental documentary film to have emerged in Britain in over a decade...I can't applaud it loud enough.'
'...Koppel reveals himself to be among the best listeners and watchers in the country...the beauty of his film lies in its ability to show us this truth...'
'A reminder of the magic of cinema'
Andrew O'Hagan, The Evening Standard - read the full review
'Koppel's interest is in catching the everyday...but he does so with an extraordinary eye...'
'Sleep furiously is a portrait of a place, of a communal state of mind, and of a film-maker's idiosyncratic sensibility . It's a thing of quiet, off-beat tender poetry, and I defy you not to warm to it'
Jonathan Romney, The Independent on Sunday - read the full review
'One of the best British films I've seen in the las t 12 months...'
Tom Charity, LoveFilm
'There's real poetry in these images...if you spent any considerable time in this island, I suspect it'll be impossible not to connect with it in some small yet life-improving way.'
Mike McCahill, The Sunday Telegraph
'...utterly charming....this is a compelling dissertation on human and physical geography...'
Radio Times
'...a poetic picture of what stands to be lost through thoughtless modernisation...'
'...astonishing, gorgeously crafted and surprisingly absorbing film – one of the stand-outs from last year's Edinburgh International Film Festival –first time film-maker Gideon Koppel delivers a dreamy and heartbreaking portrait of a Welsh farming community edging into decline.'
Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman
'...the stand-out movie of the summer so far.'
Kevin Maher, The Times
Beautiful...exquisite and moving Mark Ford, The Guardian - read the full review
'SUBLIME...Gideon Koppel's record of life in a small Welsh community'
Jonathan Romney, The Independent on Sunday
FILM OF THE MONTH
'a gorgeous, moving and deeply poetic work of art...Profound and utterly beguiling...SIMPLY, A MASTERPIECE'
'Profound and utterly beguiling...on the surface it seems no more than a series of carefully chosen moments from the a year in the life of a small rural community in Trefeurig in mid-Wales...it is simply – and it is simple in its sly way – a mutely gorgeous, moving and deeply poetic work of art...'
'Now more than ever we need films like this: grave, measured, subtly comic and beautifully wrought, free of polemic and yet offering a new way of seeing that is as old as Arcady. Sleep Furiously is, simply, a masterpiece.'
John Banville, Sight and Sound - read the full review
'a haunting beauty... poetic, profound'
'...the film exerts a powerful and palpable hypnotic hold...'
'...quite unlike anything else you'll see this year.'
Jason Wood, Little White Lies
'visually remarkable... infinitely beautiful ...marvellous... '
Alex Cox, Film Comment
'This film is pure cinema: visually alert, brilliantly musical, and moving'
Mark Cousins, author of Imagining Reality and The Story


text:
package org.scalaprops.ui.editors

import javax.swing.JLabel
import org.scalaprops.ui.util.NamedPanel
import org.scalaprops.ui.{EditorFactory, Editor}
import java.awt.Dimension

case class ReadonlyFactory[T]() extends EditorFactory[T] {
  protected def createEditorInstance = new ReadonlyEditor()
}

/**
 * Just shows toString version of the value.
 */
class ReadonlyEditor[T] extends NamedPanel() with Editor[T] {

  private val valueDisplay = new JLabel()

  valueDisplay.setMinimumSize(new Dimension(24, 24))
  add(valueDisplay, "align right")

  protected def onExternalValueChange(oldValue: T, newValue: T) {
    showValue(newValue)
  }

  protected def onInit(initialValue: T, name: String) {
    title = name
    showValue(initialValue)
  }

  private def showValue(v: T) {
    if (v == null) valueDisplay.setText("null")
    else valueDisplay.setText("" + v)
  }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub