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Home » News » Cherie Gil shares thoughts on first Filipino production
Cherie Gil shares thoughts on first Filipino production
by Filipino.art.org on Feb 10, 2015 News | Comments Off on Cherie Gil shares thoughts on first Filipino production
by Mia Lopez
QUEZON CITY, Philippines – Critically acclaimed veteran film and television actress Cherie Gil has built for herself a sparkling repertoire, playing women of opulence and strong character since she began her career in the 80's.
Who can forget her portrayal of wicked stepsister proportions in the 1985 Sineserye Bituing Walang Ningning as the driven Lavinia Arguelles famous for the 'you're-nothing-but-a-second-rate-trying-hard-copy-cat' bitchy one-liner, or her more recent appearance in Temptation of Wife as the ruthless mother-in-law, Stella Salcedo. But apart from her villainous reputation on Filipino soap operas, is a likewise— if not more— illustrious career on the theater stage.
Her theater career
Gil was recently lauded as the show-stopping Liliane Lefleur in the five-time Tony Award winning musical, Nine; restaged by Atlantis Productions. In 2013 she was the seductive Mrs. Robinson in Repertory Philippines' The Graduate and in the same year captured the essence of fashion doyenne Diana Vreeland in a solo show for Actors Actors Inc., and My Own Mann Productions entitled Full Gallop. She was equally stellar in Terrence McNally's Master Class as Greek-American soprano Maria Callas.
But it was in her memorable first portrayal in Terrence McNally's Master Class as Greek-American soprano Maria Callas, that she was eyed by New York-based director and designer Loy Arcenas for the lead in what would become Arbol de Fuego.
Arcenas shares, "I first saw Cherie Gil magnificent on stage as Maria Callas in Terrence McNally's Master Class… [meanwhile] Cherry Orchard was slowly becoming an interesting dream and whenever I would bump into Cherie, I would tell her that she [would] make a great Ranevskaya, the matriarch in The Cherry Orchard and we would laugh about it. So when the PETA offer came about, Cherie had to be Madame Enriquietta Jardeleza-Sofronio."
Many firsts
Arbol de Fuego is Gil's major role with PETA and first Filipino stage production. She shares that she is equally excited and anxious in this albeit fulfilling undertaking; also noting that her mother Rosemarie Gil has also acted for PETA in the past. "To be a part of a PETA production," she says, "is possibly the most important project I have been involved with in my 36-year career". She adds, "To be able to work with such a formidable company, and in Filipino at that, would have been an opportunity too hard to pass up as an actor; a challenge such as this would truly help me develop my body of work."
Gil took to the character immediately, saying she is especially fond of playing strong women with their own vulnerabilities.
She says, "No other material has affected me as deeply. As grueling a ride it may have been, it certainly gave me fresh insight into this third chapter of my life." When asked about similarities between her and her character, jokingly quips "we are both bipolar." Jokes aside, "she lives in her own illusion," Gil added.
Arbol de Fuego
Arbol de Fuego is a reimagining of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. The comedy-drama, adapted by multi-awarded playwright Rody Vera, is set in 1970's Negros Occidental, during the Marcos era sugar monopoly when many Negrense sugar barons and aristocrats stood helpless in their decline. Matriarch Enriquietta Jardeleza-Sofronio— sophisticated, well read, and highly emotional— comes back from a lengthy stay in Madrid, grieving the death of her only son. After having squandered the family's money abroad, she finds out of the plans to sell her ancestral estate, and chop down the rows of arbol de fuegos that frame it. She refuses out of pride and instead throws party after lavish party to reminisce about her opulent past in an effort to forget her depleting wealth.
Stellar Cast
Arbol de Fuego boasts of a stellar cast. Alongside Cherie is Urian best actress awardee Angeli Bayani plays Charito, Enriquetta's adopted daughter who takes care of the estate while they are away. Self-made businessman former servant Nonoy Tiking is played by PETA senior artist-teacher Raffy Tejada. British Independent Film Award nominee Jake Macapagal plays Enriquetta's ostentatious brother Adjie, while 2013 Cinema One Best Actress Anna Luna plays her naïve and optimistic daughter. Joining them is money-grubbing former nobleman Chitong played by esteemed actor, director and set designer Leo Rialp; young intellectual Dante played by Riki Benedicto; and old but faithful mayordomo Manong Ikong played by Bembol Roco. A host of talented actors round off the cast as the family's hired servants played by Anthony Falcon, Lao Rodriguez, Gie Onida, Kiki Baento, and Divine Aucina.
Catch Cherie Gil in Arbol de Fuego; a truly Filipino production that is not to be missed! The play opens on February 20, 2015 with shows from Fridays to Sundays, 3:00pm and 8:00pm at the PETA Theater Center, No. 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, Quezon City. For tickets information, contact PETA at 725-6244 or 0917 5765400 or contact Ticket World at ticketworld.com.ph 891-9999.

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Daphne Blake, played by Sarah Jeffery in the 75-minute film produced by Ashley Tisdale's Blondie Girl Productions, starts her first day at Ridge Valley High by asking her smart home to turn up her pump-up playlist. She walks over to her ClotheMe Closet™ and tells it that she's looking for "the perfect first-day of school outfit", dresses in the robotic wardrobe's selection, and descends the stairs while musing aloud that she hopes that it's French toast she smells.
Sitting down to her accurately guessed breakfast, she makes small talk with her family before noticing a book on the table. After she asks what it is, her father tells her that "those are the moons of Saturn." After flipping through it she addresses her parents' concerns about the big day ahead by telling them that "School's going to be awesome. Things always have a way of working out."The optimistic teen's luck continues throughout the day, with her avoiding a face-first collision with a thrown ball, having Saturn's moons pop up in a science class, and somehow scoring sushi from the cafeteria while her friends are stuck with sloppy joes. It's not until later when she gets home, after the outset of a mystery that I cannot get into right now, that the truth is revealed. (OBVIOUS SPOILERS TO FOLLOW)
"I so wanted your life to be perfect," Daphne's father confesses to her. Every single thing that has fortuitously worked out in her life has been because of him. Mr. Blake not only masqueraded as a lunch lady to serve her California rolls, he was also the musician behind the bop that scored her morning. He even did four years at the Parsons School of Design in order to effectively be the mind behind her automated outfit selection.
It's not difficult to connect the dots between the childhood of one fifth of Mystery Incorporated and the college-admissions scandal that continues to plague our 24-hour new cycle. Like many parents Daphne's father merely wants what's best for his daughter, and for her to find success and happiness in her life. Yet that goal is ultimately achieved by the children in question being coddled, which in turn creates adults who, in all likelihood, are wholly unprepared for the realities that life has to throw at them.
Criticism has rightly rained down on those involved, in particular the parents as well as the organizations that allowed exorbitant amounts of money to pave the way to academic achievement. In some cases the children themselves have been targeted, and rightly so, with actor Lori Laughlin's daughter, Olivia Jade, receiving flak for relatively banal tweets about post-secondary education that now drip with both irony and ingratitude.
Source: Twitter (for as long as it stays up)
Joining the myriad of thinkpieces as this scandal continues to unfold is one written by Will Stancil for The Atlantic, which highlights the fact that many of the students who benefited were kept entirely in the dark. In a line that feels like it could apply to young Ms. Blake herself, the author points out that:
"…it's also worth considering how events would have appeared from their perspective. A high ACT score would have seemed like just another stroke of good fortune in a life full of it. [. . .] They mistook the secret forces working on their behalf for their own natural talent. If you can't see the hidden hand behind your success, what other explanations are there besides luck and ability?"
Daphne begins her day at yet another new school knowing that she has flourished at every educational institute she has attended. Her attitude is one of complete confidence. There's no fear of failure because it's not something that she has ever tasted. Having a figure in the shadows who puts their body on the line to protect you from even the most minor accidents takes things to the extreme, but the events of Daphne & Velma are seemingly not far off from reality.
Unlike the dozens of students who have been caught up in the midst of their parents' actions, Daphne uncovers the strings her father has been pulling before it's too late. To start with, Nedley Blake apologizes to his daughter, seemingly remorseless that he was caught, and instead aware that his having lied to her about her abilities was a mistake. On her part, Daphne gets to the heart of the matter, shouting:
"Dad, how could you? You've literally sheltered me my whole life!"
When her mother comes to her father's aid by pointing out that he was only trying to protect her Daphne reasserts:
"I don't need protection, okay? I can handle myself."
It's not to say every college-hopeful whose parents had the wealth needed to access the so-called "side doors" into these schools would have reacted similarly. In fact, we know that at least one student, Isabelle Henriquez, knowingly went along with a scheme to raise her SAT score. Many have pointed out that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and that in all likelihood those who blindly accepted their fortune-filled lives would probably have willingly gone ahead with these illicit boosts to their academic careers. That said, how can we ever be certain?
The issue of privilege, whether attached to one's race or otherwise, is hotly contested by those who are said to be receiving the benefits. When advantages are pointed out they're perceived as being attacks on their character instead of simple insights on how the world as we know it operates. What then might happen if those privileges, in this case financial, are actually exposed? While not always possible, might this be a case in which the privileged actually refuse the leg-up and attempt to succeed on their own merits and abilities? When starkly informed that their achievements are not their own how many students might have rebelled, possibly even steering their lives in an entirely different direction?
As hyperbolic as this title is, and given that Daphne & Velma is feature-length children's entertainment that wasn't even able to make it to the silver screen, there remains the genuine possibility that this plot line dedicated to the acknowledgement of invisible forces that equate to "good luck" might be recognized as being reflected in the lives of students, and understood by wealthy parents as being harmful to their children. In the case for Scooby-Doo being educating and teaching us life lessons, there are far worse contenders than this one.
This entry was posted in education, family, film, money and tagged advantage, college-admissions scandal, Daphne, Daphne & Velma, Education, film, fortune, Isabelle Henriquez, luck, money, Olivia Jade, parenting, parents, privilege, Sarah Jeffery, scandal, Scooby-Doo, wealth. Bookmark the permalink.
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Semester in Dialogue
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Semester in Dialogue / News & Events / Archives / 2015 / Video: What is CityStudio?
Video: What is CityStudio?
CityStudio and Semester in Dialogue presents a new video showcasing CityStudio, a groundbreaking collaboration directly involving students in their community. Watch the above video to learn more!
CityStudio Vancouver is an innovation hub inside City Hall where staff, university students and community members co-create, design and launch projects on the ground. The central mission of CityStudio is to innovate and experiment with the ways cities are co-created, while teaching students the skills needed to collaborate on real projects in Vancouver with City staff and community stakeholders. These projects improve our city and enrich our neighbourhoods, making the city more livable, joyful and sustainable.
CityStudio was co-founded by Semester in Dialogue Director Janet Moore and Emily Carr faculty member Duane Elverum as an initiative of the City of Vancouver and six post-secondary institutions.
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After years of familiarity with the program, I finally took the opportunity to become an active volunteer at the end of last July. Along with my daughter Carrie, I headed out on a Saturday afternoon for the six hour drive to Wyoming County, WV. Other than the few summer storms we encountered along the way, the drive was quite routine. Until we reached Pineville, where I announced my presence by colliding with a vehicle being driven by a local woman quite unprepared for the appearance of my car in the intersection she was driving through.
Even before any of us had unbuckled our seat belts to survey the damage, the great wail of a Civil Service siren sprang the small town into action. Within less than three minutes, a swarm of First Responders was on the scene. The volunteer Fire Department, which had fortuitously been holding a picnic on grounds adjacent to the accident scene, was quick to make sure we were all okay. They were unbelievably friendly; they even invited us to their picnic! While no one was injured, my car had to be towed away and I had no idea when I was going to get it back. Jenny – who along with Jill was waiting at the Pineville house for our arrival – arrived on the scene and took us to the house where what would turn out to be among the most memorable weeks of my life began in earnest.
From the time fellow volunteers got there and we joined those already there, a spirit of kindness and generosity took hold and did not let up for the entire week we were there. And that spirit was not confined by any means to the volunteers. Whether it was a homeowner in the County we were assisting, a VISTA volunteer we encountered or the mechanic who was so helpful in getting my car back on the road.
That is not to say that everything in that area is rosy; quite the contrary. Nearly every advantage most of us take for granted is absent there. One of the things that makes the experience of volunteering in Wyoming County so amazing is the grace and dignity with which those who endure so much misfortune carry themselves. There is a stoicism and strength of character about them which simply must be experienced to be appreciated.
Among the many memories I carry from that week were the nightly "Reflections". Anyone who has had the privilege of sharing these with Dan knows of his fondness for a nightly theme. The theme of this reflection is :"You Can take it with you". I chose that theme because for a long time after I got back to the daily grind, I found myself spiritually buoyed by the memory of my week in West Virginia, and by those I was blessed to spend that time with. Even now, and hopefully continuing to when I repeat the experience, I can adjust my sometimes negative worldview by reflecting on how, for all of its hatreds and cruelties, there is much beauty and kindness in the world, You just have to know where to find it. And I have found a bounty of it in the PV Program.
Pat and Carrie are among the 19 members of the Wiley family who have volunteered with the PVs throughout the years, including three generations.


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Q: How to estimate how important each word is for classifying a label in Naive Bayesian? I am training a Naive Bayesian model to predict the movie review type. The model has been created and works well, but I am stuck with the question that how I can estimate how important each word is for classifying a label by ranking the words by their conditional probabilities within the likelihoods.
The task is to train a naive bayesian model to predict the type of a movie review, positive or negative. After training the model, I wrote the "nbclassifier$table" to show a list of each feature's conditional probability. Then I don't know how to select the top 5 most distinguishable feature for positive reviews and other top 5 for negative reviews.
rm(list = ls(all.names = TRUE))

library(knitr)
knitr::opts_chunk$set(echo = TRUE)

library(quanteda)
library(readtext)

library(pacman)
pacman::p_load(ElemStatLearn,foreign,class,caret,e1071)

url = "http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~janastas/data/movie-pang02.csv"
dataframe <- readtext(url, text_field = "text")

## change the column names for own use
colnames(dataframe) <- c("doc_id", "text","posneg_type")

## creating corpus
doc.corpus <- corpus(dataframe)
summary(doc.corpus,5)

#remove punctuation, remove numbers, remove all the spaces, stem the words,
remove all of the stop words, and convert everything into lowercase.
doc.corpus.dfm <- tokens(doc.corpus,
                     remove_numbers = TRUE,
                     remove_symbols = TRUE,
                     remove_url = TRUE,
                     remove_punct = TRUE,
                     remove_twitter = TRUE,
                     remove_separators = TRUE) %>%
tokens_remove("\\p{P}", valuetype = "regex", padding = TRUE) %>%
tokens_remove(stopwords("english"), padding  = TRUE) %>%
tokens_remove( "s", padding = TRUE)  %>%
tokens_remove( "t", padding = TRUE)  %>%
tokens_ngrams(n=1) %>%
tokens_tolower() %>%
tokens_wordstem() %>%
dfm()

doc.corpus.dfm <- dfm(doc.corpus.dfm)

doc.corpus.dfm.sparse <- dfm_trim(doc.corpus.dfm, sparsity = 0.9)

reviewsDTM_F <- data.matrix(dfm_weight(doc.corpus.dfm.sparse, scheme =
"count"))

## Train a naive Bayes classifier called "nbclassifier" with a 70\%/30\%
training/testing split
# convert to a dataframe
reviewsDTM_F <- as.data.frame(reviewsDTM_F, stringsAsFactors =  FALSE)
# set NA values to 0
reviewsDTM_F[is.na(reviewsDTM_F)] <- 0

sum(is.na(reviewsDTM_F))

## Creating training dataset
reviewtrunc <- data.frame(yvar =
factor(doc.corpus.dfm@docvars$posneg_type), reviewsDTM_F)

# Resample the data
train <- sample(1:dim(reviewtrunc)[1]) #Random Indices shuffling helpful
reviewtrunc.train <- reviewtrunc[train[1:1400],]
reviewtrunc.test <- reviewtrunc[train[1401:2000],]

set.seed(20191013)

## Train the "nbclassifier"
nbclassifier <- naiveBayes(yvar ~ ., data = reviewtrunc.train)

## Now predict the test data
test_pred <- predict(nbclassifier, reviewtrunc.test[ ,
names(reviewtrunc.test) != "yvar"])

## Retrieve the probabilities of each term from nbclassifier
nbclassifier$tables

So, how can I use the "tables" data from the "naiveBayes" function which provides these conditional probabilities, provide a list of the top 5 terms which predict positive review and a list of the top 5 terms which predict negative reviews.

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Cédric De Smedt, 22, Belgian, recently graduated in illustration at Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels, I also use the pseudonym "Chute De Strings" (or CDS). Drawing as well as writing, I'm evolving into a very dark and bitter universe, where emptiness is almost oppressive and where time seems to have stopped. Each of my pieces tells a story, certainly disconcerting but always including a certain form of truth. I like playing with the onlooker in the meanings of my work. Death, Love, God or even madness are the main themes of my illustrations. Even if those themes are quite frequent, I will always try to surprise the one looking at my works while offering new perceptions on these.


Everyone has a role to play – what's yours?
Inclusive Design 24 celebrates efforts worldwide to ensure people with disabilities have full and equal access to the web. We invite you to join the celebration and connect with the accessibility community, and learn your role in moving accessibility forward. Together we can take great strides toward making a web for everyone.
To celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day, The Paciello Group will be holding 24 completely free one-hour webinars on all things accessibility. The sessions range from beginner-to-advanced and are aimed at everyone from executives to web developers.
In this talk, Molly will address challenges of managing what has been termed "hidden disability." Typically, a hidden disability describes an individual who lives with significant accessibility, assistive device and human resource support requirements, but otherwise appears to be "normal." Despite legal protection afforded in most global communities, people with hidden disabilities face a set of unique challenges. Most are based on a simple truth: There is no real measure of human normality. We are diverse by design! Through the human stories Molly will share will be revealed core ways in which individuals who are striving for personal excellence adapt, and not only survive but thrive when afforded the opportunity. What's really behind the masks we've all learned to wear? It's wholly human: The quest to live full, active and productive lives. And, doing so without the constant discrimination and confusion born of human misunderstanding can open up opportunities for technological and social advancement. This talk aims to reveal the realities of what make us "whole"; to authentically and responsibly reveal the truth behind the masks we wear; to facilitate a more egalitarian and safe environment across our world - all this regardless of the way we appear to be!
Molly E. Holzschlag is a colorful and recognized character working the Web since there was a Web to be worked! A multi-award winning leader in Web Platform and Accessibility, she has written or co-written 35 books on Web technologies, software and standards. A writer, educator and public speaker, the focus is always on OPEN. Be it humans, societies or software, Molly is intent on bringing a clear, humanistic viewpoint to our increasingly complex social and technical world.
Visual style is often described in contrast to the document semantics defined by HTML tags and ARIA roles. But in a well-designed website or document, style provides the semantic information to visual users. It conveys structure, function, and relationships. Visual designers understand these semantics implicitly, but that knowledge is often not translated into the markup. As a result, those semantics are not available to non-visual or modified-visual users. I will demonstrate how the common motifs of visual web design can be translated into accessible markup, by working through some standard web designs, parsing the visual styles into landmarks and headings.
Amelia Bellamy-Royds is a Renaissance girl, whose education and career have moved sideways from bioinformatics to government science policy to journalism to data visualization to web graphics. In web development circles, she is mostly known for her work with SVG. She is an Invited Expert on the W3C's SVG and ARIA working groups, and has co-authored multiple books on SVG from O'Reilly Media. One day, she hopes to put her web graphics skills to work making journalistic data visualizations to promote science-based decisions in government policy. For now, she's focused on improving graphical communication on the web for everyone.
I've spent the past 16 months designing how Microsoft assistive technologies would arrive on the Xbox One console. I'll show you the latest Xbox releases of Magnifier, controller remapping, Narrator, and high contrast themes while going through the considerations involving the console's input and output modalities. Sorry I won't be giving you any spoilers of what is coming up for Xbox, but I will give you my thoughts on how gaming can be inclusive by giving people personalized challenges and game mechanic options that align with their abilities.
Bryce is a designer at Xbox. Back in his homeland, he designed the first digital library for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Now he has the greatest job in the world applying the Microsoft inclusive design practice to gaming. He is locked in a mutually-assured destruction scenario with the secrets he can tell you about Billy Gregory's youth, but for now he's keeping his mouth shut.
This session will share lessons we've learnt when helping organisations build complex web apps using different web frameworks such as Angular JS and Polymer. These lessons include what to ask before choosing a framework, architectural decisions that can impact accessibility, the importance and interesting findings from usability testing and ARIA support across different assistive technologies.
Sarah is cofounder and Director of Accessibility Services at Intopia. Sarah has extensive capabilities in helping organisations at both a strategic and a technical level. These capabilities include providing expert technical advice, stakeholder engagement and implementation of strategic work plans and product development that enable organisations to meet their accessibility requirements. She is the founder of A11y Bytes and A11y Camp, Australia's largest community events focused on increasing awareness of inclusive design and digital accessibility.
A common mistake made by those new to accessibility testing is over applying WCAG. Even though some Success Criteria mention explicit exceptions, they're easy to ignore or forget they even exist. Knowing when not to apply the accessibility checks is just as important as knowing when to apply them. This talk will give an overview of the exceptions in WCAG and provide some examples of when they don't apply.
An accessibility-focused Project Manager with nearly 20 years in the web design industry, Robert has managed projects for clients including Zappos, Georgetown University, Nintendo, Time Inc., American Airlines, JetBlue, and many others. When not online, Robert may be found with his family, riding his bike, or at a nearby Waffle House.
(6:00 UTC) Michiel Bijl What is this thing, and what does it do?
With these two questions in mind, we will look at some common design elements and how to mark them up.
Michiel Bijl recently joined The Paciello Group (TPG) as an Accessibility Engineer. He is a member of several groups at the W3C, including the HTML WG, APA WG, and ARIA WG where he acts as co-editor of the Authoring Practices Guide. Michiel has an extensive background as a front-end developer.
Everyone has a role in accessibility, regardless if you are technical or not. Also regardless if you are in management or not. This talk will present a variety of different resources to get you started right away with accessibility. And if you already started, these resources could help you get others to get started with accessibility.
Shadi Abou-Zahra is the Activity Lead of the International Program Office at the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). He is the lead editor and maintainer of several educational and awareness-raising W3C/WAI resources on web accessibility. He also coordinates the conformance evaluation and testing efforts at W3C/WAI.
Marco Zehe gives an overview of several basic techniques every web author should use to make their sites more inclusive. This is not very technical and covers basic HTML markup that has been in the standards for years, but whose correct use will have a profoundly positive impact on your content.
Marco is a senior accessibility quality assurance engineer and evangelist at Mozilla Corporation. His responsibilities include testing new accessibility features as well as provide guidance in implementing those features. Prior to his work at Mozilla, Marco worked at a big assistive technology vendor for blind and low vision product. He is a screen reader user and knows many aspects of the accessibility stack from user to assistive tech to browser.
Despite many web accessibility initiatives over the last fifteen years, web developers still struggle to create websites that are accessible to people with disabilities. For the last six years, David has worked closely with web developers to understand the difficulties they encounter and to determine how best to support them. This presentation provides an overview of his research and describes the development and evaluation of a new accessibility information resource for supporting web developers in the creation of accessible websites.
David Swallow is a researcher in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of York, UK, where he specialises in the design, development and evaluation of interactive technologies for older people and people with disabilities. Before this he was a web developer, creating usable and accessible websites for clients in the property business. His current research draws on this experience to identify how best to integrate accessible web development practices into the existing workflows of web developers.
This talk will look at a range of common application components and how they can be made accessible - quickly and easily - for all users. We'll look at how to notify users when changing the DOM after page load. We will also look in-depth at accessible form validation, modal windows and adding additional information for screen reader users.
Russ Weakley is a author, speaker and CSS expert, with a detailed knowledge of web design and development. Russ runs the Web Standards Group and has produced a series of widely acclaimed online tutorials on CSS, Responsive Web Design and web development.
If you're familiar with accessibility, you may know some of the basics already. We'll review some newer or more obscure techniques that can help prime you to look at the new hotness features with a more critical eye.
Adrian is a member of the W3C HTML Working Group as well as the W3C Accessibility Task Force. He has written articles for trade journals and web sites, and participated as an author and editor on five web-related books. In 1998 he founded and successfully ran a software development company until he decided to leave and go solo at the start of 2016. Adrian has been developing for the Web since 1993.
A real life overview of the lessons learned and steps utilized to bring inclusive design techniques into a project and company.
Julie has studied design and human behaviour for over a decade with a growing enthusiasm and research in AUX and IDX. Currently holding the position of UX / UI Designer in Toronto, Canada. Julie also co-runs a community based skateboard shop in the heart of Toronto.
Learn some of the best practices for mobile accessibility from the Mobile Accessibility Task Force of the W3C WCAG Working Group.
Jeanne Spellman recently joined TPG from W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. She still works on the W3C Mobile Accessibility Task Force and Low Vision Accessibility Task Force.
Kathy Wahlbin is an accessibility expert in ADA, Section 508 and W3C WCAG 2.0 compliance and CEO and founder of Interactive Accessibility. She is an experienced digital media designer with extensive knowledge of accessibility and usability issues and solutions. She is passionate about creating a world where online communications and technology are simple and universally accessible to all people regardless of ability. Kathy leads the Boston Accessibility group, is chair of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) Individual Professional Development Committee, co-chair of the W3C Mobile Accessibility Taskforce and is an invited expert on the W3C WCAG 2.0 Working Group.
(14:00 UTC) Makoto Ueki WCAG "Next"
There have been an ongoing discussion on "WCAG Next Possible Models". And W3C/WAI has "Low Vision Accessibility Task Force", "Cognitive and Learning Disabilities Accessibility Task Force" and "Mobile Accessibility Task Force". WCAG 2.0 was launched as a W3C recommendation in December 2008. Almost 7 years and a half passed. Makoto will explore the existing success criteria and make some proposals on the "NEXT" version of WCAG.
Makoto Ueki (Infoaxia, Inc.) is an Independent consultant in Tokyo, Japan. He Has consultancy work experiences including evaluation of websites, development of in-house guidelines, QA, training, user testing and localization of evaluation tools. He is the Chairman of Web Accessibility Infrastructure Committee in Japan and participates in the WCAG working group as an Invited Expert.Japan has the national standard(JIS) for web accessibility which was updated to be identical with ISO/IEC 40500:2012(= WCAG 2.0) in March 2016. Makoto was the chair of the JIS update working group.
Studies indicate that people with disabilities tend to be in poorer health than other patients. In addition, households containing family members with disabilities experience increased economic and logistical barriers when trying to obtain healthy, affordable food. Solving these problems means recognizing the social model of exclusion that prevents fundamental services from reaching low-income and low-access populations. It's a challenge that has inspired new forms of ³design thinking² in the hopes of bridging these accessibility gaps. This session will examine real-world case studies taking place in today's interconnected marketplace from mobile shopping apps to frugal digital innovation that support long-term sustainable benefit for people of all abilities and backgrounds.
Kel Smith is a longtime author, speaker and practitioner in all things related to technology and behavior. His articles have appeared in numerous publications, and his presentation credits span over 100 cities in seven countries. In 2013 he launched Aisle Won, a nutrition support and mobile food distribution product that currently serves 14,000 families in 30 pickup locations. His work has been profiled by CBC Radio's "The Current," Yahoo News, Globe & Mail Canada, WBAL Radio and the BBC. Kel is the author of the book Digital Outcasts: Moving Technology Forward Without Leaving People Behind, published by Morgan Kaufmann in 2013. He lives and works in Philadelphia and New York City.
The law gets a bad rap. "Too many lawsuits!" "Lawyers are mean!" "Lawyers lack creativity that true accessibility mandates!" This talk will (try to) change your mind. You'll learn about what the law has done to increase digital accessibility at the bank, the polling place and the university. At the diner and at the drug store. Oh – and at the ballpark. We'll learn how to speak the language of the law in a positive way. And how to begin thinking about civil rights law as an accessibility tool. Yes, like any tool, it can be misused. [We'll talk a little about that too.] It has its limitations and can't do everything. But in the right hands (including yours) the law can – and does -- play a role in building an inclusive web.
Lainey Feingold is a disability rights lawyer who has worked with the blind community on digital accessibility since 1995. Practicing the alternative dispute resolution process known as Structured Negotiation, and without filing any lawsuits, she has negotiated accessible web, mobile, and technology agreements with Bank of America, Major League Baseball, Anthem, CVS and twenty other organizations. Lainey believes the law can be a positive force in the quest for inclusion in the digital age. Her book about Structured Negotiation will be published by the American Bar Association in the Fall of 2016.
Tune in for an insightful conversation with Naughty Dog game designers Emilia Schatz and Alex Neonakis about inclusion, innovation and implementation of accessibility features in "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End," the newest game from Sony PlayStation's exclusive Uncharted video game franchise. Moderated by Kevin Chung (Director of Compliance, Sony Interactive Entertainment).
Discover AUX design with Jon Gibbins, aka dotjay, who will summarise how the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines relates to UX design, then go beyond the guidelines to where the standards are not enough. How do your content decisions affect people who are deaf, dyslexic, blind…? Come along and find out!
Jon is Technical Director and Accessibility Consultant at Dig Inclusion, where he helps organisations to understand accessibility and deliver accessible products and services through training, accessibility testing and technical solution finding. A passionate advocate for accessible design since 2003, Jon is widely recognised for his work in the accessibility community.
Join Karl Groves and Billy Gregory as they celebrate ID24 as only V&L could. Accessibility news from around the world, cool "stuff", and they'll be joined by special guests Judy Brewer and Mike Paciello!
Karl "The Viking" Groves and Billy "The Lumberjack" Gregory use humour to take accessibility to the next level.
2015 was a landmark year for accessibility in gaming, with progress on many fronts. This session explores some the year's key innovations, including the unprecedented advances brought about by the CVAA.
Following background in accessibility across both gaming and web products at the BBC, Ian now works in the wider games industry as an advocate and consultant, working with developers, publishers, platforms, academia and industry bodies to raise the profile and understanding of accessibility issues in the games industry. Examples include co-authoring a White House policy briefing, organizing global accessibility hack events, leading work on industry best practice guidelines, and advising on government funding processes.
Writing reports and documentation is nothing new for many of us. But at the end of the day, no matter how technically correct a document may be, our words won't do much good if those who are reading them can't understand what we're trying to say. I'll be talking about straightforward techniques that we can use to make our writing more understandable when we're writing for those who might not work with accessibility.
Ashley Bischoff is an Accessibility Consultant and Copy Editor with The Paciello Group. With her expertise across assistive technologies, she has helped scores of online businesses as well as federal and state agencies upgrade their accessibility. And with her copy editor's pen in hand, Ashley keeps her eyes peeled for buried verbs and dangling modifiers while she wrangles stray homophones. Ashley lives in Dallas, and she likes listening to metal and drinking tea.
In this case study, we'll review the path to success we've forged at Kronos. Where accessibility is the new norm because there are multiple benefits. Most importantly, building for accessibility means building for all users. Everyone benefits, because fundamentally we are building an experience that is measurably better in terms of ease of use.
Marc is a user experience professional with 20+ years experience designing and building interactive applications for mobile, web and desktop users. He draws for a diverse background as a product manager and technical evangelist at startups, mid-size and large companies. Marc is the champion of accessibility within his company, acting as evangelist, partner developer, product manager, project manager and lead UX designer for all things A11y. Marc has taught a variety of graduate courses at University of Massachusetts Lowell, Bentley University and Harvard Extension School. He holds a B.S. in Computer Graphics from UMass Amherst and a MBA from Bentley.
PDF/UA takes the guesswork out of making sure your PDFs are accessible by focusing on standards instead of obscure checklists. Unfortunately, making sure your PDFs meet the standard involves more than simply slapping a label on it to say that it's PDF/UA. In this session, I'll show you some free tools to help you check that your PDFs are good to go and as accessible as possible.
Jon Metz is an information architect at The Paciello Group. He specializes in helping organizations integrate accessibility into their processes. Jon is also an expert in PDF accessibility, and he participates in PDF standards with the International Standards Organization and Association for Information and Image Management's North American Committee for PDF/UA. Previously, he was an invited expert on the W3C's Education & Outreach Working Group.


A partnership with the Library of Congress yields our first Digital Book.
Today marks the official release of Michigan-I-O: Alan Lomax and the 1938 Library of Congress Folk-Song Expedition by Todd Harvey. In 1938 the Library of Congress dispatched Alan Lomax—already a seasoned field worker at age 23—to complete a folklife survey of the Great Lakes region. He set off in a 1935 Plymouth Deluxe 4-door sedan, toting a Presto instantaneous disc recorder, a still camera, and a moving image camera. He returned almost three months later, having driven thousands of miles on barely paved roads, with a cache of 250 discs and 8 reels of film. These materials documented the diversity of ethnicity—Irish, Finnish, Serbian, Polish, German, Croatian, Canadian French, Hungarian, and more—in Michigan, as well as cultural expression among loggers and lake sailors.
A joint production between Dust-to-Digital and the Library of Congress, this innovative e-publication celebrates the 1938 field trip with a compelling narrative written by the Library's Lomax curator, Todd Harvey, and illustrated with original items from the trip, including audio and video clips, field notes, and telegrams. Together, these materials provide fascinating insights into both the region that Lomax called "the most fertile source" of American folklore, and the man who would become the most famous 20th century folklorist in America.
The digital book, regularly priced at $9.99, will be offered at a special 50% off introductory price for the month of November. For upcoming events marking the 75th anniversary of these field recordings, visit the Museum of Michigan State University site, and for the first of four podcasts visit Alan Lomax and the Soundscapes of the Upper Midwest.


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ArtSEA: Flower power beats winter blues at Seattle galleries
Brangien Davis
Municipal courts: How independent are some judges?
First of two articles: In many cities around Puget Sound and across the state, municipals judges are appointed by city officials. There's cause to worry about the judges' independence and cities' desire to sway the amount of revenue from the courts.
Harris Meyer
/ December 12, 2010
Chief Justice Barbara Madsen worries about the independence of some municipal judges.
A bedrock constitutional principle of American government is that the judicial branch is separate from and independent of the executive and legislative branches. But that wasn't Douglas Haake's experience as the appointed municipal court judge in the town of Bonney Lake, population 17,000, just south of Federal Way.
Haake believes city officials decided not to rehire him this year because they thought he was too frequently appointing city-paid counsel for low-income defendants, and charging defendants too little for administrative costs. "I believe the cash register was one of the major issues," says Haake, who now serves as an administrative law judge with the state Office of Administrative Hearings in Olympia.
The city denies that was the reason for passing him over.
But Washington state judicial officials, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, say there is a consistent pattern of smaller cities and towns pressuring their appointed municipal court judges to cut costs and increase revenues, and meddling in court administration. In recent years, several judges, including in Union Gap and Chelan, weren't re-appointed or were terminated following policy disagreements with city officials.
Judicial leaders argue city government control over judges violates the constitutional separation of powers and jeopardizes the public perception that the courts administer justice fairly and impartially.
Their solution? The state Board for Judicial Administration wants to turn nearly all municipal court judgeships into elected positions to insulate judges from such pressure and make them accountable only to voters. Currently, the law only requires the election of full-time municipal judges, who mostly serve in bigger cities. That's the situation in Seattle, for instance.
But nearly 100 cities and towns, many in the Puget Sound area, have part-time judges appointed by city officials. Among the cities with appointed rather than elected judges are five with populations of more than 25,000 people: Bothell, Lakewood, Issaquah and SeaTac in the Puget Sound area, and Pasco in Eastern Washington.
"The concern is that judges are answerable to the mayor or city council rather than to their judicial office," says Madsen, who is asking the state legislature to pass a bill requiring elections. "If a judge hasn't toed the line, that judge may not be given the contract next time. But if the courts aren't independent, they won't be trusted by the public."
Municipalities with appointed judges, represented by the powerful Association of Washington Cities, adamantly oppose such legislation and are fighting to keep the power to select judges. With Republican support, they successfully blocked Democratic-sponsored legislation in the last several sessions.
"If you're looking for judicial excellence, appointing judges, not electing them, is the way to go," says Don Morrison, city administrator of Bonney Lake. "You get a far better pool of qualified candidates, and appointed judges make decisions based on the law, not political considerations."
Critics say that argument glosses over the money issues: Some small and medium-size cities, facing growing budget woes, want to maintain control over their municipal courts to influence judges' decisions affecting costs and revenues.
Dirk Marler, a former Yakima County judge who now heads the judicial services division of the state Administrative Office of the Courts, says his office frequently gets calls from municipal judges seeking help in fending off various forms of interference from city officials, including telling judges who to hire for staff positions. The Supreme Court's General Rule 29 says a court's presiding judge is responsible for supervising court operations and personnel, and that can't be delegated to the legislative or executive branches.
Some cities, Marler said, even try to tell judges how to resolve cases and make sentencing decisions. A municipal judge recently sent him a note the judge received from city officials urging him to discount the testimony of certain types of people appearing before the court.
"There is a perception in some quarters that the court is merely an extension of the city council and the mayor," Marler says. "It can be a very slippery slope."
A former municipal judge in Buckley testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2006 that a city council member urged her to impose fines rather than jail time, because fines brought the city revenue while jailing people cost money.
"What the hell is a council member doing telling a judge how to mete out justice?" says judiciary committee chairman Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, who is pushing for electing judges. "There is separation of powers, even in Buckley."
Municipal court judges in Washington handle cases of significant consequence, including many of the same kinds of criminal cases handled by county district courts. They hear misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases brought under city ordinances — such as DUI, domestic violence, assault, and shoplifting. They also handle violations of civil ordinances, including traffic laws and zoning and building codes.
Appointed part-time judges work anywhere from a few hours to 35 hours a week. They may cover more than one city. Their pay is whatever the cities and the judges agree on, ranging from meager to decent.
Cities have wide leeway in whom they appoint. Almost 20 have hired elected county district judges to serve as part-time municipal judges, according to the Association of Washington Cities.
Some have appointed public prosecutors or private defense attorneys. For example, Susan Arb, a Yakima County deputy prosecuting attorney, is serving as part-time municipal judge in Moxee. Yakima defense attorney Kip Kendrick, who defends DUI cases, until recently served as judge in Union Gap. Some observers say this raises possible conflict of interest issues. "It lends itself to professionalism if what they do for a living is being a judge, not splitting time between being a prosecutor or defense attorney," Chief Justice Madsen says diplomatically.
Rather than operating a municipal court, cities have the authority to let the local county district court handle cases brought under municipal ordinances. Some have done so.
But more than 130 cities have continued running municipal courts, Marler says, because they claim these courts can better accommodate the schedules of police and city officials who appear before the court.
Keeping their municipal court also allows cities to generate more revenue, Kline contends. "Cities on major highways see the courts as a profit center," he says. City officials can pressure municipal judges to push for more guilty pleas on traffic tickets. "Having a municipal court lets them keep more of that [ticket] money."
Next: More on why Judge Haake thinks he wasn't rehired by Bonney Lake, battles between municipal judges and other cities, and how one lawmaker proposes to solve the problem. The story is here.
(This story has been updated to remove a reference to Edmonds, which was incorrectly included on from a list of municipalities that appoint judges rather than elect them.)
A proposed WA law requires clergy to report child abuse, neglect
Washington is one of a handful of states that exempt clergy from reporting suspected abuse. Some lawmakers are trying to change that.
Wilson Criscione
/ January 23
Washington remains a hub for reproductive health care post-Roe
As other states moved to ban abortion in 2022, elected officials, abortion providers and advocates worked to strengthen protections in Washington state.
Megan Burbank
/ December 30


Purpose: DESCRIPTION: Shea trees provide vital food and income for 80m people throughout the Sudano-Sahel. However, unsustainable shea parkland management has reduced tree, pollinator and bird diversity, threatening long-term livelihoods. The project will research and pilot best management practices for optimum pollination, and inform sustainable shea production in Burkina Faso and beyond. PURPOSE: Understanding of the relationship between tree diversity, pollination, shea yields and migratory birds in Burkina Faso, informs management of 500 parkland farms, and sector-wide guidance, promoting livelihood resilience and biodiversity.


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Group Gives 2 Georgia Universities Low Grades for Campus Free Speech
Picture credit - CBS New York - Free Speech newspaper headline on a copy of the United States Constitution
One national group has rated two Georgia universities poorly when it comes to free speech.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) announced its annual rankings last week and both Georgia Southern University and Middle Georgia State University were among the two worst scoring universities. Both ranked poorly for their sexual harassment policies.
FIRE surveyed publicly available policies at 362 four-year public institutions and 104 of the nation's most prestigious private institutions. Our research focuses in particular on public universities because, as explained in detail below, public universities are legally bound to protect students' right to free speech and can be successfully sued in court when they do not.
FIRE rates colleges and universities as "red light," "yellow light," or "green light" institutions based on how much, if any, protected expression their written policies restrict.
FIRE gave GSU and MGSU 'red light ratings,' which means "one that has at least one policy both clearly and substantially restricting freedom of speech, or that bars public access to its speech-related policies by requiring a university login and password for access."
"Georgia Southern and Middle Georgia State's policies provide definitions and examples that are far broader than (a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on campus sexual harassment guidelines)," said Laura Beltz, FIRE's senior program officer for policy reform.
"Georgia Southern says sexual harassment is any and all 'unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,' and that '[s]tudents should and employees must report any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature regardless of severity or the number of occurrences so that Georgia Southern can take steps to address harassment before it creates a hostile environment.' Middle Georgia State says examples of harassing conduct include 'negative stereotyping' and 'graphic material that denigrates,' and that 'sexually suggestive' materials and 'off-color jokes or language' 'is specifically prohibited,' " Beltz said. "Those examples certainly might be a part of a pattern of conduct that constitutes harassment, but they're constitutionally protected when standing alone."
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Georgia Southern officials say the policy "mirrors that of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights." Similarly, Middle Georgia officials told the AJC that "the policies FIRE used to base its rating on are no longer in effect and has asked the organization to update that information on its website."
Emory received a top-ranking 'green light' while the University of Georgia, Georgia State, Kennesaw State and Georgia Tech all received a yellow light rating, which means the school's policies "prohibit or have an impermissible chilling effect on constitutionally protected speech."
You can see the full report here.
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GUARDS ON TRAINS BRINGS RELIEF!
METRORAIL has decided to have armed security on some trains. They would start on Cape Town's notorious central line from Cape Town station to Khayelitsha, and to the eastern parts of the city.
The United National Transport Union, through the courts, has forced Prasa to use armed guards on the line to protect train drivers.
Last year, 27-year-old Darryn August was thrown out of a moving train in Somerset West while trying to defend a pregnant woman from being robbed by armed thugs. Train driver Piet Botha was also killed at Netreg train station while waiting for a train.
Though the protection is mostly for drivers, commuters said they feel a little safer because someone with a gun is around.
Metrorail's Riana Scott said the decision was taken after they realised there was a specific threat on their trains. The armed security will cost Metrorail about R800 000 a month.


The PhilaMOCA-curated ode to alternative, odd and nontraditional filmmaking makes its return for a multi-week run, shedding light on aspects of the medium that typically don't get much love — like VHS tapes or a fan adaptation of "Raiders of the Lost Ark." The third annual Cinedelphia Film Festival runs from Thursday, April 9 through Saturday, April 25 with all events taking place at PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St.). Here's a taste of what to expect.
Screen a not-yet-completed locally filmed and produced documentary, "Vietnam Appreciation Day," at the festival's kickoff on Thursday, April 9. Centered on 23-year-old Bubba, who finds himself in the midst of participating Vietnam War reenactments after his own goals of military involvement could not be fulfilled, the film screens at 7:30 p.m.
Rock 'n' roll never dies. Ten years ago, the Paul Green School of Rock Music documented young musicians in the doc "Rock School." See the film, find out what those kids are up to now, and hear them perform at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 11.
It's a double dose of horror on Wednesday, April 15, when two 1970s Creature Features, starring Spanish actor Paul Naschy, screen starting at 7:30 p.m. They're going all out, too: See both "The Mummy's Revenge" and "The Fury of the Wolfman" as they would've aired on TV — with vintage commercial breaks.
You know those awful sci-fi flicks that are just too ridiculous to be true? The Academy of Natural Sciences does, too. Experts from the museum come to PhilaMOCA on Thursday, April 16 to dispel some of the "science" in "Giant Octopus," starting at 8 p.m. Come an hour prior for snacks and live animals and hang around after for a killer animal movie-themed trivia game, starting at 9:30 p.m.
This is dedication. Over the course of seven summers, two adolescent boys re-created "Raiders of the Lost Ark" line-for-line — save for one scene — starting when they were just 11 and 12 in 1982. They finally finished the fan film and you can see it on Friday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Put the brakes on the films for an evening of director-based burlesque starting at 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 18. Inspired by the directorial work of Terry Gilliam, Miss Rose's Sexploitation Follies features acts paying homage to "Brazil," "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," "Fear and Loating in Las Vegas," and "Time Bandits."
A fascinating beast, the young-adult, coming-of-age story is one that deserves a detailed look. Come Thursday, April 23, you'll be forced to relive your awkward years through clips of over 200 teen movies in "Beyond Clueless," at 7:30 p.m.
A predecessor to the hilarious Vines and Instagram videos of current day, Len Cella's "Moron Movies," 60-second or less comedic short films that became a regular occurrence on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," are highlighted on Friday, April 24. Grab a good seat, the show starts at 7:30 p.m. — and will be attended by creator Len Cella.
So bad, its good. This marathon on Saturday, April 25, requires no training except a high tolerance for terrible movies … which you'll be watching for 12 hours. With highlights like "Troll 2" and "The Skid Kid," you'll need enough stamina to take you from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.
Don't miss out on the rest of the festival's one-of-a-kind events. Cinedelphia's full schedule is here.