text:
Jump Main Menu. Go directly to the main content (Acces key S)
The Princess of Asturias Foundation
Start of Main Menu
Founding act
Economic / Financial situation
Transparency and good governance
HM The King
Official biography
Videos: speeches by HM The King
HRH The Princess of Asturias
Words by Her Royal Highness
Video: words by Her Royal Highness at the Ceremony
2022 Special
Princess of Asturias Awards
2023 Regulations
Presentation of nominations
The Awards in facts and figures
Exemplary Town of Asturias Award
Area of Communication and Media
Multimedia channel
Exemplary Town
Important: COVID-19
End of Main Menu
#PrincessofAsturiasAwards
Start of Secondary Menu
End of Secondary Menu
Area of Communication and Media |
Music Department 12/21/2009
Concert "Europe hails Christmas: The Messiah"
©FPA
The Prince of Asturias Foundation Choir performed its traditional Haendel´s "Messiah" alongside the Principality of Asturias Symphony Orchestra.
The Choir was praised by the European Parliament for "their outstanding contribution to bolster European integration".
The Prince of Asturias Foundation Choir, under the baton of maestro Paul Mann and alongside the Principality of Asturias Symphony Orchestra (OSPA), performed Handel's Messiah in the traditional Christmas concert for the twenty-third consecutive year. The concerts were held at 8 p.m. at the Cathedral of Oviedo and at the Theatre of the Laboral in Gijón on 18th and 20th December respectively.
Voices from different countries of the European Union and New Zealand performed in the concert title "Europe hails Christmas: The Messiah". The performance featured soprano Julia Sophie Wagner, mezzo Madeleine Shaw, tenor Nathan Vale and bass Martin Shell.
The Messiah, masterpiece of symphonic-choral music, has become the most renowned piece of Georg Friedrich Haendel´s (1685-1759) oratorios. This oratorio for soprano, alto, tenor and bass soloists, choir of four voices and orchestra was written between the 22nd August and 14th September in 1741, with libretto by Charles Jennes following the biblical text. The first public concert of The Messiah was held on the 10th April 1742, four days before its opening at Dublin´s William Neal Music Hall. The piece is divided into three parts that form the liturgical year, through the different stages in the life and death of Christ.
Paul Mann (England) is the conductor of the Odense Symphony Orchestra (Denmark), where he has been acclaimed both by the audience and the music critics. He carried out his musical studies at Chetam's School of Music and the University of York and began his musical career performing as a pianist and chamber musician.
After obtaining first prize at the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, he went on to become assistant conductor for the London Symphony Orchestra and later of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, conducting more than eighty concerts and covering the Orchestra's wide repertoire. Paul Mann made his debut with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1999. Some of his projects with this Orchestra include The Duke Ellington Centenary Concert at the Barbican and working alongside the legendary rock band Deep Purple at the Royal Albert Hall.
Mann is considered one of the best conductors of his generation, partially for his wide repertoire and versatility. He has worked with Orchestras from Australia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States and has conducted the Philharmonic Orchestras of Bergen, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Saint Petersburg, Verona, Copenhagen and Birmingham, among others. He frequently travels to the United States, where he is usually invited to conduct the New York City Ballet. He has also been guest conductor for the Orchestras of Colorado, New Mexico and Oregon Symphony Orchestra. After his first visit to Australia in 2002, he was invited in several occasions to collaborate with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonic.
Principality of Asturias Symphony Orchestra (OSPA). The Orchestra made its official debut under the baton of Amalio López in January 1940. It has performed in more than a hundred concerts since then and participated in the Oviedo Opera Season. Its first recordings targeted Asturian music with a recording alongside Maestro Valdés entirely dedicated to the music by Julián Orbón and The Celtic night. The orchestra has also made a CD called Vivir para cantarlo (a play on words, "to live to tell the tale" transforms into "to live to sing about it" with a single letter change in Spanish) which was recorded live with Victor Manuel. It has recorded Beethoven´s and Mendelssohn´s violin concerts with Elmar Oliveira for Artek as well.
Prince of Asturias Foundation Choir. Founded in 1983 and conducted by José Esteban G. Miranda, the Choir has become one of Europe´s major amateur ensembles and has reached considerable international prestige. Jesús López Cobos, 1981 Prince of Asturias Award Laureate for the Arts, is the Choir's honorary conductor alongside Krzysztof Penderecki, who was also presented with this Award in 2001. In December 2007, the Choir was praised by the European Parliament for "their extraordinary service on behalf of the European Union".
The Choir has successfully toured Europe, offering outstanding concerts in Russia alongside the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and the Virtuosos de Moscú. Its performance at London´s Queen Elizabeth Hall in 1993 with the English Chamber Orchestra, figures prominently amongst its successes. In 2001, the Choir visited the USA for the first time, being described as "magnificent" by the Washington Post´s music critic. In December 2002, the Foundation represented Spain at the Vatican for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and the choir gave three performances in Rome. In October 2003, it gave two historic performances at Saint Patrick´s Cathedral and at New York´s Lincoln Centre for Columbus Day. It was also invited to perform at the wedding ceremony of T.R.H. the Prince and Princess of Asturias, singing in the Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha, where the Princess of Asturias offered her wedding garland to the Virgin Mary.
In October 2005 it performed Verdi´s Requiem alongside the Orfeón Donostiarra, 1984 Prince of Asturias Award Laureate for the Arts, and the Principality of Asturias Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Jesús López Cobos. In March 2006, the Choir opened the Sao Paolo State Symphony Orchestra´s season in Brazil at the Estación Júlio Prestes, one of South America´s principal concert halls, under the conductorship of John Neschling, with the Sao Paolo State Symphony Orchestra and Choir. In April 2007, at a concert titled "Penderecki conducts Penderecki", the Foundation´s Choir placed itself in the hands of this conductor to perform his most recent work, Symphony No. 8 Lieder der Vergänglichkeit. In June 2007, the Choir traveled to Greece to take part, as guest ensemble, in the 16th International Music Festival of Nafplion. In October 2008, the Choir performed the Symphony Nº 2 in C minor "Resurrection", by G. Mahler alongside the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, best exponent of the National Network of Youth and Children Orchestras of Venezuela, (2008 Prince of Asturias Award Laureates for the Arts) under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. Last 25th November, the Choir traveled to Belgium to offer a performance at the European Parliament during Jean Monnet's opening speech and at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels.
Tweets por @fpa
PDF Accesible
Legal document Legal document (Access key 8)
| Privacy policy Privacy policy (Access key )
| Social networks ???en.portal.pie.menu107.title???
| Cookies ???en.portal.pie.menu110.title???
| Site map Site Map (Access key 3)
| Contact Contact (Access key )


Titles! They're important too, remember?
Haven't we explored how useful it can be to give a title to your work guys? I remember an exercise I did in my first year of my teaching course where we had a hypothetical child in a hot air balloon and ten things they carried with them. We had to choose what to drop out of the balloon to let it rise high enough to avoid a hypothetical mountain. I don't remember the whole list but it included food, love, water, shelter, a name etc. As first year students, the name was one of the first things we allocated to drop, but afterwards our tutor explained that experienced teachers always left the name in as long as they can, because a name is so important to a child's sense of self.
Our projects may not be sentient (or, as Adrian would suggest, they may be) but that doesn't mean that naming them isn't important to their sense of identity.
Again, I tried to keep this one in the same style as the other two so they could be viewed as a series. What I really like about this video is the darkness, I think it highlights only the most important visual elements needed to make the context and make the message understandable.
This video has less clips and each one goes for longer compared to the first two. this is partly because I didn't want to hand around outside work for too long filming bits and pieces in the darkness (safety first!) and partly because I didn't want it to feel as rushed. I can rush to work, and I can rush through my break to get everything done, but I rarely rush home. I take my time even though I love being home and coming home, there's never such a sense of urgency to get here as there is when I'm travelling to work.
My aim with this video was to make it in the same style as the "travelling towards" video, so that it would look like part of a series. To do this, I used lots of short cuts of close-up clips. I had to be careful of what I filmed at work, as my workplace kind of frowns on employees talking about work online. But I figure this is okay. This is a peek into how I spend my breaks at work in the staff room.
I wish I could have filmed more bits of my day at work, I think it'd make for an interesting series. But I highly doubt I'll get permission for that any time soon, and fair enough too.
My lunch is a nut loaf by the way, it's just a bit crumbly because it's leftovers!
I had all these creative, artsy, left-of-centre ideas for the travelling to, place, and travelling from videos. But then I got called in to work over the weekend (my usual shooting day is Friday, and I worked all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday!) and I didn't have the time to make any of my awesome ideas into sketch videos.
This then, is a short clip of me travelling to work. Sort of. It's also a short clip of me getting ready for work, because that's part of my travelling. I wanted to experiment with lots and lots of really short clips to show all the different aspects of how I get ready and go.
Editing on my phone was difficult as some of the clips I couldn't get as short as I wanted, and so I had to cut entire clips just to keep within the time limit. My first draft of this video was about 16 seconds, and although I hated the time restriction when I realised I'd have to cut more, I found that the 10 second version still tells the same story.
I feel like I should have ended it with a blackout and the noise of car tyres screeching and metal on metal crunching as I nearly got hit by a car riding to work on this day. But that would have required more than 10 seconds!


text:
Sonny Vaccaro Selling Coveted Michael Jordan Shoes From 1991 NBA Finals
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images. Pictured: Michael Jordan during the 1991 NBA Finals.
Nov 24, 2020, 04:43 PM EST
There have been many reasons over time why people who hold memorabilia ultimately sell it, but longtime shoe executive Sonny Vaccaro has a unique one.
He wants to expose the whitewashing of his history with Michael Jordan and Nike.
"'The Last Dance' was my last dance," the 81-year-old Vaccaro said on a call Tuesday with reporters to discuss his auctioning of dual-signed shoes that Michael Jordan used in Game 4 in the 1991 NBA Finals. Vaccaro was not featured in the final cut of ESPN's acclaimed series.
"This a lie," Vaccaro said. "They are too big to lie. They are too powerful to lie. Not until you prove the lie to be the lie. The shoes hurt because it was the last real testament of Sonny, Michael and Nike."
Jordan, when reached through an intermediary, said he doesn't remember giving away those specific shoes because he has "given away so many through the years."
Pictured: Shoes gifted to Sonny Vaccaro by Michael Jordan from the 1991 NBA Finals.
The shoes are up for sale at Goldin Auctions and carry an estimate of $500,000 to $750,000. The shoes are the first Air Jordan shoes ever brought to auction that were used in an NBA Finals game that Jordan played in.
"This didn't have to happen," Vaccaro said, talking more about the cathartic act of ridding himself of the shoes that had been wrapped up in his closet for all of these years.
Vaccaro said he couldn't make Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Los Angeles, having already booked a trip with his wife to Palm Springs. Vaccaro said Jordan left the pair of shoes for him to show his appreciation for their relationship. Over the years, Vaccaro said he had received private offers to sell the shoes but never considered it.
"I never thought I'd see the day," said Vaccaro, reminiscing a time in 1996 when he went into his house to rescue the shoes while being evacuated for fires that had been raging in the area. "But that show was the straw that broke the camel's back."
Vaccaro said he wants Nike and Jordan to say the shoe isn't real because if it is, it shows the truth.
Goldin Auctions have photomatched the pair to Game 4 of the 1991 NBA Finals against the Lakers, perhaps made more easier because Jordan cut a hole in the toe box to relieve pressure. Sideline reporter and one of MJ's closest confidants, Ahmad Rashad mentioned this in his sideline report on the NBC broadcast.
Vaccaro has long insisted that it was he who convinced Nike co-founder Phil Knight to spend money to score Michael Jordan, but as he has told that story, other insiders have gone out of their way to deny that. Knight said Sonny was hardly the MVP of the signing. In 2016, Jordan said that George Raveling, the assistant coach of the 1984 USA Basketball Team, deserved more credit than Sonny in getting him to sign with Nike.
Jordan used and signed shoes have sold for a pretty penny since "The Last Dance." Two pairs of game-used shoes sold for more than $500,000, while a signed and used pair in a recent Goldin Auction sold for $365,000.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Part of HuffPost Women. ©2021 Verizon Media. All rights reserved.
Sexism At The Olympics: Guilty As Charged
Teresa Carlton, Contributor
wife, mom, writer and general mess at www.mamatriesblog.com
08/14/2016 10:07 am ET Updated Aug 17, 2016
Wow, she must workout.
There has been a lot of hype lately about the sexism in the reporting of the Olympics. Obviously these people have never sat in a room with my mother while watching the Games.
While at her house watching the women's team all-around gymnastics competition, I couldn't help but find a certain theme to my mother's commentary. Allow me to share with you some of her direct quotes: "She has a very Russian face; what a beautiful girl." "Why does she have to wear all of that glitter around her eyes?" "My God, doesn't she have the most flawless skin?" "Did you see the bodies on those female swimmers the other night? Their shoulders are just enormous." Comparatively, she makes Dan Hicks sound like Gloria Steinem. When I brought my mom's comments to her attention, she argued, "They're all amazing athletes. I mean, can you critique their athletic prowess at all? It all looks incredible; this is all I have the ability to comment on." She had a point.
A Spectator Sport
Sure, when a gymnast makes a critical mistake, I can see it. However, when an athlete has completed a superhuman feat on a four-inch beam and a judge has found ways to knock three tenths of a point from her, I'm thinking, "Damn, what did she do wrong? I wonder how she gets her smoky eye makeup to stay put through all of that sweat when my eyeliner smudges after I so much as sneeze." I can't help it that my thoughts immediately go to such a superficial place, but do they make me an anti-feminist sexist?
I did a little soul searching and made it a point to be mindful of my thoughts while watching male events. Was I solely focused on their athletic abilities and determined minds? Was I in awe of their training schedule and dedication to their sport? In other words, did I root for them for the very reasons that they are competing in the Games? In a word: no.
I found that I watch the men with the same exact critical eye. I am simultaneously intrigued and disturbed with the length of Michael Phelps' arms, and I know for a fact that I am not the only one who has serious opinions about Ryan Lochte's hair (not a fan). Furthermore, do you think I wanted Nathan Adrian to win because I have a deep respect for this training ethic? Hell no! I cheered for him because his goddamn smile makes me weak in the knees. I immediately felt better knowing that I am not sexist. I'm an equal opportunity, superficial, social commentator.
The Human Touch
NBC's chief marketing officer John Miller was criticized for commenting that women watch the Olympics because of the reality television aspect of it, and Lord help me, the Olympics have shown me that this woman certainly does. I love the Olympics because it's all one big human interest story. I root for the athletes whose stories are told, ones who've overcome extraordinary obstacles or demonstrate the character of a person I want as a role model for my daughters. Does the fact that I watch the Games just as Miller described mean I am not a feminist? I'd argue it means I am.
Athletes like Kathleen Baker, who has overcome Crohn's disease, amaze me. I cried along with Simone Manuel as she made history as the first African-American woman to win an individual medal in Olympic swimming. I root for Aly Raisman, not just because she is so skilled on the beam, but because she is the embodiment of sportsmanship, always cheering on her teammates. Not to mention, I could spend everyday of the rest of my life watching her parents watching her perform.
I demand the same from the male athletes. I thought Michael Phelps' angry pre-swim face was funny, but I prefer Michael hugging his family in the stands. I fell in love with Ryan Held when he cried on the medal platform and I was rooting for Conor Dwyer because his family just seemed so sweet and supportive. You see, whether male or female, I want to connect with the athletes I am cheering for. I demand they are all-around good people. I want my children to see that, regardless of gender, talent or accomplishment, what matters most is what kind of people we are and how we treat those around us.
Like a Mother
The role models aren't just limited to my children. There has been criticism of how competitor moms are being portrayed by the media, but I can't help but feel more in awe of these women because they are mothers. One article wrote about the coverage of Olympic medalist Dana Vollmer, arguing that the constant mention of her new motherhood "implies that women who have children are then incapable of all the things they did before giving birth." Maybe because we kind of are…to an extent.
After my first baby I was basically incapable of bathing on the regular let alone training for the Olympic Games. The fact that this woman was able to keep her body in peak physical shape throughout nine months of pregnancy, recover from childbirth, postpartum, everything, and train hard enough to participate and excel in the Olympic Games sure as hell seems newsworthy to me. No one questioned Michael Phelps' ability to perform when he had a three-month old because Michael Phelps didn't carry or deliver his son. (I'm actually super impressed that his wife was able to travel to Brazil with her three-month old, as I'm fairly certain I was still up all night crying with my first baby at that point.)
Bringing up Vollmer's baby is not sexist, it goes to show the world that she is a freaking superwoman. I could hardly write a coherent sentence or walk a mile after I had a baby, and this woman has the passion, drive, and dedication to be an Olympian? If that doesn't make you want to start belting out, "I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar" I don't know what will.
The Olympics are a time for nations to unite in the spirit of competition and friendship, a time for us to celebrate the human spirit and watch in awe as athletes perform seemingly impossible tasks. In the midst of it all, our commentators are faced with the not-quite as difficult task of instantly finding the right words to say, during some of television's most dramatic moments. Plus, maybe they're just trying to give superficial, reality-loving moms like me and my mother exactly what they want. So, let's just cut them a little slack.
Teresa Carlton is a wife and mother of two mischievous little girls who, with a little help from sauvignon blanc and sarcasm, has nearly mastered the art of appearing to have her life together. Her blog www.mamatriesblog.com chronicles her life of doing it all with mediocrity. Her writing has been featured on HuffPost Comedy and Blunt Moms. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, if only to feel better about yourself in comparison.
The 20 Funniest Tweets From Women This Week (Jan. 9-15) Joanne Rogers, Pianist And Widow Of TV's Mister Rogers, Dead At 92 Twitter Users Say 'Good Riddance' To Melania Trump's Farewell Video Rebekah Jones Turns Herself In To Florida Authorities After Warrant Issued For Her Arrest
Feminism Sexism Olympics Humor Sports


Entering the gallery, a 12' x 3' photo on the rear wall could be an extension of the room or it could cause a viewer to check behind themselves; double taking as they consider whether they are looking at a reflection. Metering out the space are playful yet faithfully reconstructed replicas of lengths of wood, a track light and a house plant. One cardboard 2x4, mimicking the weight and strength of wood, balances precariously against its pictured reflection while the other stretches from the center of the room to the right to lean against a large window that leads to the outside world. The view from this window is a player as well, as it has been photographed and framed within a sculpted miniature of the gallery space and hangs as a photo on the left hand wall. The components of this universe begin to take on a reflexive quality as the viewer struggles to discern what is handcrafted and what is a natural occurrence. To varying degrees these details may go unnoticed. In fact, if these illusions are successful, the room will appear to have three mirrors, two abandoned pieces of wood and a disregarded track light on the floor. However, the visual dissonance of the disrupted geometry in the reflections and the handmade impostors eventually become unsettling.
It is the pursuit of the uncanny that drives me to create mundane objects and spaces. I use readily available, non precious materials, such as cardboard, tape and hot glue because of my ability to mold them into something precious, convincing and drab. Simple materials, turned into elaborate objects aide in my drive for realness through the unreal.
I use the subject of the home or room because it is familiar and safe. It is a space you can easily take in. It's underwhelming and routine , like an old lover. Surprises come in tiny increments, until suddenly the familiar becomes utterly unfamiliar. The 'wood', 2x4's, that occupy the photos are considered for their presents to carry little weight in a space. They are essentially placeholders for the idea of reflections. My recent installation is about reflection and illusion, not about what is being reflected.
The plant appears, repeated, in my work in an interested in its function within a home to reflect futility. We bring the outside inside to make the inside look more like the outside while making the outside look more like the inside. Soon there will be no difference. Each tree in its box inside the room and each tree in its box in the sidewalk. Each carefully pruned and contained so it wont escape and become wild again. An illusion that we care. An illusion that we have control over the world, that we can control everything.
I am striving for a very particular kind of illusion. Not the big flashy kind where an elephant disappears right before your eyes, inducing gasps and creams from the audience. But the subtlety of the card counter. He can fool his opponents, who won't even know they have been duped until they awake the next morning. It's the slight of hand, the unnoticeable graceful dance of the pickpocketer. I am not a wizard, there is no real magic here. The best tricks are the ones we don't even see.


Sweden and Malta are going to collaborate in order to introduce a better control over the iGaming industry, the countries' national regulators have said.
The Spelinspektionen and the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining the terms of a new cooperation.
The partnership will see the national watchdog focuses on exchanging key information across vital areas, allowing them to better enforce regulatory policies as well as uphold industry standards.
The move makes perfect sense since many companies offering iGaming products on the newly-regulated Swedish market also hold Maltese gaming licenses or have their technical hubs operating from the country.
This is the beginning of a broad and long-term cooperation, and our plan is to initiate corresponding collaborations with more gambling authorities in Europe.
MGA Chief Executive Heathcliff Farrugia was no less enthusiastic about the new opportunity. According to him, the MGA was in a constant process of adding new and trustworthy process to help it carry out its regulatory mandate in full.
Mr. Farrugia also noted that the nature of iGaming is increasingly cross-border, which means that regulators will have to find new ways to collaborate and exchange data quickly in order to effectively and efficiently provide guidance and apply penalties where necessary.
"This MoU, signed with the Swedish Gambling Authority, is an important step towards achieving both our respective regulatory goals in vital areas of mutual interest," Mr. Farrugia explained.
With the Swedish national dog looking to expand its efficiency, the Spelinspektionen has been cautioning companies over the use of bonuses. Sweden is taking a very sparing approach about promotional offers available at casinos.
As far as current law goes, iGaming operators may only offer a bonus to their customers the first time they sign-up, with no subsequent offers being permitted. However, the Spelinspektionen has established breach of that provision, prompting it to issue a warning against operators.
There has been also a pushback that the law concerning bonuses was ambiguous, giving some websites teeth to try and color around the lines.
What Will Closer Cooperation Between Malta and Sweden Mean?
Having the MGA and the Spelinspektionen work closely together is an important deterrent against future violation of existing iGaming provisions. If the two regulators work as one, their effectiveness increases while letting operators know that they are under more scrutiny.
Collaboration between regulators is important and it can bring online casino companies in line. In Australia, the country's watchdog threatened companies operating without a proper Australian license that they would be reported to their respective regulators.
It worked and most of the big brands left along with what was over 30 illegal operators. More regulation is not always a bad thing, especially if done right.
MGA and Spelinspektionen will work together to enforce iGaming regulation and keep operators in check.


The winners of our photo essay competition for school-age students, Loving Our Maunga, are Antonio Montero and Stella Fish. Both are students at Auckland Normal Intermediate.
Entries were judged anonymously by photographer Judith Holtebrinck, who is the manager of the Mt Eden Village Centre and the coordinator of the Mount Eden Village People.
"A great variation of entries showing the maunga and activities around it from different perspectives. All contestants deserve a prize for their wonderful work and effort."
First-prize winner Antonio will have his photo essay formatted and printed as an A0-size poster on Ilford Galerie Prestige 310gsm paper by The Digital Darkroom.
Stella has won the Delsey Mini Photo Pack from the Auckland Camera Centre.
Both winners' photo essays will soon be on our website.
Thanks to Judith's generosity, all contestants will receive a signed copy of New Zealand - Spirit of the Land, written by David Sullivan with 120 photos by Judith.
All the contestants' photo essays be on display in the Visitor Centre on Love Your Mountain Day, Sunday 8 December.
Thank you everyone, and congratulations!
How many cones formed Maungawhau-Mt Eden?


(b) Cost of flights: £562,491.
The number of individual domestic air flights undertaken within mainland Britain by representatives of Companies House in the financial year 2007-08 was 224, at a total cost of £23,157.
The Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has asked me to reply to you directly in respect of your question asking how many individual domestic air flights were undertaken within mainland Britain by representatives in the most recent year for which figures are available; and at what cost.
We are only able to collect flight data booked via Corporate Credit Cards which is the most likely way that flights are booked. Although we noted 479 flights were booked in 2007-08 it is likely that some bookings were for more than one person. It is not possible to get individual details by person.
No central Government construction clients have been penalised since 1 January 2008. OGC continues to work constructively both with clients and construction industry trade bodies to assist the implementation of the Fair Payment initiative by all members of project delivery teams.
The principles of the Fair Payment Charter are required to be applied to all central Government construction projects over £1 million since January 2008.
The precise number of projects affected will depend on the number of projects initiated by individual departments in line with their business priorities for the year. As an indication departmental data on time/cost performance during 2006-07 indicated approximately 180 projects.
The Fair Payment Charter commits both clients and supply chains working for Government to end the practice of unjustifiably withholding payments.
Retentions may continue to be used by Government clients where they are considered appropriate but such arrangements can only be replicated throughout the supply chain on the same contract terms. Any withholding of payment due to defects or non-delivery must be proportionate and justified in line with arrangements made at the time of the contract.
Mr. Thomas: I have approached the chief executives of the Insolvency Service and Companies house and they will respond to you directly.
Information requested for non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and to obtain such information would lead to disproportionate costs.
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 1 July 2008]: Central records indicate that the Department has spent the following on consultancy in each of the last five years.
Mr. Thomas: Arrangements to work at home on a permanent or ad hoc basis are agreed locally between staff members and line managers. An exact number can therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Department supports flexible working and has a home working policy setting out guidance for staff and line managers on agreeing and maintaining home working arrangements. A range of flexible computing options are available to facilitate home working across the Department. At present approximately 1,800 staff in the Department have access to flexible computing technology.
Mr. Thomas: The information requested is as follows.
(1 )Source: Departmental Staff Survey November 2007. Source: Departmental HR Record system April 2008.
1. Special bonuses to recognise performance in particularly demanding tasks or situations. Staff in receipt of a special bonus may also receive an annual performance award.
2. Annual performance awards paid to highly successful performers as part of the annual pay award.
Based on the information available the number of staff receiving these awards, as a proportion of the total work force they represent, total amount of bonuses and the size of the single largest payment for which this information can be provided is in the following table.
(1) Financial year running from 1 April to 31 March.
(2) Includes staff who were transferred from DTI to DIUS as part of the June 2007 Machinery of Government Changes as these staff received a DTI/BERR pay award in 2007. Does not include those staff transferred into BERR from Cabinet Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government as part of the June 2007 Machinery of Government Changes as these staff received Cabinet Office and DCLG pay awards respectively in 2007.
1. In 2007-08 the total value of bonuses paid was approximately 1.5 per cent. of the total Department's paybill.
2. The special bonuses and performance awards for non-SCS staff are paid on a non-consolidated, non-pensionable basis and do not increase the Department's paybill costs each year. For the SCS the Senior Salaries Review Body determines the level of expenditure to cover bonuses.
Mr. Thomas: Within the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform the costs of all publication-related expenditure is captured against one account code. The cost of identifying subscriptions for magazines, newspapers and other publications would therefore be above the disproportionate cost threshold (£700). I can confirm that all such expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on regularity and propriety.
Mr. Thomas: BERR encourages secondment as an effective method of developing individuals and sharing knowledge and experience with other organisations. A secondee to the Department is a person who works in BERR for an agreed temporary period with the intention of returning to their employer at the end. A secondment in the Department does not affect the employment status of a secondee.
Selection of a secondee into the Department is based on merit. In all cases a secondee will be the person most capable of effectively undertaking the duties of the position they have been recruited for. When there is competition for a role, the most capable person is selected in line with good practice in recruitment and selection.
BERR is an equal opportunity employer and all secondees are subject to the Department's Equal Opportunities Policies. Secondees will have access to an e-learning diversity awareness training which becomes available to all BERR staff summer this year. This follows the diversity awareness training for key leaders which was delivered the end of 2007 to senior civil servants and some middle managers in the Department.


With regards to renting portable toilets in Lake Alfred, Florida for your work site or the location of your special event, no one makes the process easier than WR Contractor. Our decades' worth of experience in the Lake Alfred, FL porta potty industry has permitted us to figure out exactly what clients want. Consequently, it does not take us long at all to figure out which port a potty choice is right for your requirements in Lake Alfred, and we also offer prices that fit into all kinds of budgets. Contact our porta potty company at 888-240-1169 today if you would like to learn how we can work with your specialized needs or if you are interested in scheduling an appointment in Lake Alfred.
We know that there is a great deal of pressure on your shoulders to have your project completed by the deadline or to put on the show of a decade for your crowd. Therefore, the last thing we want you to experience is a significant hassle with arranging for the rental of restroom trailers for your site or event. The initial step we will take is to find out more about why you are thinking about the rental of port a potty facilities within Lake Alfred, FL. Ensuring the comfort of attendees and employees along with ensuring we are leasing the optimum portable toilets to meet your needs come as a result of the initial step.
We are able to guarantee that you will always be a very happy customer when you work with our porta potty company in Lake Alfred, FL. Ensuring that you are going to be another satisfied customer starts with us supplying such a huge selection of porta johns. Our standard model features a toilet as well as paper towels and soap, but you can upgrade to our deluxe unit if you want to have a urinal along with a sink in the facilities. You will also discover that we are very transparent with all of our pricing, and we will go out of our way to ensure that you are receiving the best possible price. Cleaning the restroom trailers unit's and emptying the tank while on your site are a couple of additional services we provide upon your request.
All of you probably want to receive affordable pricing and fast service no matter what you are reserving port a johns in Lake Alfred, FL for. Fortunately, when you choose to use our porta potty firm, you will always receive the most competitive pricing, and you better believe we will offer prompt delivery as we want to continue to earn your business. Give our porta john staff at WR Contractor a call at 888-240-1169 today to learn how we can assist you with your restroom facility needs.
Even though we primarily rent our portable toilets to construction and event marketing companies within the Lake Alfred, Florida area, we will rent to anyone. Let WR Contractor assist with your portable toilets requirements by giving us a call at 888-240-1169 .
How Can I Rent a Porta Potty in Lake Alfred, FL?
Renting a porta potty from our company is simple as all you have to do is give us a call, so we can make certain you are going to have the ideal number of toilets for your Lake Alfred, FL site or event. Following that, we will determine when the ideal time to deliver your toilets is, you send us a payment and we will have the portable toilets sent to your site. Although we might be able to have your port-a-potty units at your site in a day, two or three days is the best bet.
Given that we recognize you need to keep within a certain price range, we provide very competitive pricing on all of our port a potty models. Contact WR Contractor to receive a free quote based around your needs.
What Happens if I Do Not Know Which Porta Potty is Ideal for Me in Lake Alfred?
Being unsure of which porta potty design in Lake Alfred to select is a common concern many of our customers have. We use our free consultation to find out as much as possible about your demands to help you get over this short-term block. Portable toilets Davis, OK is yet another location that we service therefore don't forget to browse the other top cities.
We sanitize and do a deep cleaning on each porta john after we bring it back to our facilities and before it gets leased out again. We also put sanitization fluid inside the tanks of each of our porta potty units, which enhances their level of cleanliness and sanitization. We in addition provide service to portable toilets Choctaw, OK amongst other regions and states around the country.
Will I Have to Deal with the Portable Toilets in Lake Alfred?
Absolutely not, we will unload the portable toilets from our trucks and place them wherever you want them on your Lake Alfred premises. Needless to say, we can also use traffic estimations in different areas to give you suggestions about where to place them. Once you have finished building the house or business, or the event has ended, we also do not expect you to help us load the toilets back up.


Stuck for a gift idea to give to someone this Christmas?
Why not buy them one of the gifts listed below?
You will receive a certificate of your gift with an envelope for you to fill in and send on with the knowledge you are helping wildlife this Christmas!
Send an email to cuanwildlife@gmail.com and we will send you details of how to purchase.


text:
Contemporary Romance, Historical Fiction, & More
Slippery Creatures
RECOMMENDED: Slippery Creatures by K.J. Charles is FREE! AJ reviewed this one and gave it a B+:
Long story short, if you're looking for a fun thriller and you don't mind buckling up for the long-ish haul on the romance (or if you just miss used bookstores as much as I do), give it a try!
Will Darling came back from the Great War with a few scars, a lot of medals, and no idea what to do next. Inheriting his uncle's chaotic second-hand bookshop is a blessing…until strange visitors start making threats. First a criminal gang, then the War Office, both telling Will to give them the information they want, or else.
Will has no idea what that information is, and nobody to turn to, until Kim Secretan—charming, cultured, oddly attractive—steps in to offer help. As Kim and Will try to find answers and outrun trouble, mutual desire grows along with the danger.
And then Will discovers the truth about Kim. His identity, his past, his real intentions. Enraged and betrayed, Will never wants to see him again.
But Will possesses knowledge that could cost thousands of lives. Enemies are closing in on him from all sides—and Kim is the only man who can help.
A 1920s m/m romance trilogy in the spirit of Golden Age pulp fiction.
Add to Goodreads To-Read List →
You can find ordering info for this book here.
RECOMMENDED: Sleepover by Serena Bell is $2.99! Elyse recently read this one and loved it. She gave it an A:
I really, really love a contemporary romance that features an emotionally fluent hero and real conflict that's handled with respect and intelligence. Sleepover by Serena Bell hit both these nails on the head, making it one of the best, most emotionally satisfying contemporary romances I've read this year. It's also got some crazy-hot sex scenes which is a nice bonus.
A brand-new contemporary romance from the USA Today bestselling author of Head Over Heels.
The girl next door is the one that got away. He just doesn't know it yet. . . .
Sawyer: After my wife died, I promised myself I'd never go through the pain of losing someone again. Now I keep my flings neat, tidy, and one-time-only. Besides, my son needs me more than ever. He's miserable in our new town, so I'm pumped when he makes friends with the kid next door—until I recognize his mom from a one-night stand. Perky and upbeat, Elle Dunning is not my type for anything other than tearing up the sheets. So why do I keep letting myself get roped into game nights and get-togethers?
Elle: It so hasn't been my year. That's my first thought when I see my new next-door neighbor. I never would have hooked up with Sawyer Paulson if my husband hadn't left me for his high-school sweetheart, but because our eight-year-old boys have become best friends, I've got to make nice with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent. Yet the more time we spend together, the more Sawyer opens up. We've both been hurt—badly. So it's one thing to send the kids off to sleepaway camp together. It's quite another to promise each other a lifetime of sleepovers. . . .
Would Like to Meet
RECOMMENDED: Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters is $2.99! Lara read this one and gave it a B:
I was raised on classic rom-coms like One Fine Day and While You Were Sleeping (which I will never rewatch as I fear they've not aged well) and for each new outing of a tried and true trope, I continue to be there, first in line. So my appreciation for the trope is as much nature as it is nurture. As a result, I am delighted to report that this book has SO MANY OF THE TROPES, but its specialty is my personal favourite: the meet-cute.
In this charming, feel-good debut novel, a cynical assistant at a screenwriting agency must reenact the meet-cute scenes from classic romantic comedy movies in order to help her #1 client get his scriptwriting mojo back–but can a real-life meet-cute be in store for someone who doesn't believe in happily ever after?
After seven years as an assistant, 29-year-old Evie Summers is ready to finally get the promotion she deserves. But now the TV and film agency she's been running behind the scenes is in trouble, and Evie will lose her job unless she can convince the agency's biggest and most arrogant client, Ezra Chester, to finish writing the script for a Hollywood romantic comedy.
The catch? Ezra is suffering from writer's block–and he'll only put pen to paper if singleton Evie can prove to him that you can fall in love like they do in the movies. With the future of the agency in jeopardy, Evie embarks on a mission to meet a man the way Sally met Harry or Hugh Grant met Julia Roberts.
But in the course of testing out the meet-cute scenes from classic romantic comedies IRL, not only will Evie encounter one humiliating situation after another, but she'll have to confront the romantic past that soured her on love. In a novel as hilarious as it is heartwarming, debut author Rachel Winters proves that sometimes real life is better than the movies–and that the best kind of meet-cutes happen when you least expect them.
The Mermaid from Jeju
The Mermaid from Jeju by Sumi Hahn is $1.99 and is a KDD! I mentioned this one on an edition of Get Rec'd. If you like historical fiction, especially time periods near WWI and WWII, but want something a bit different than a UK setting, this is worth a try.
In the tradition of Yangsze Choo's Night Tiger and Min Jin Lee's Pachinko comes a magical saga that explores what it really means to love.
In the aftermath of World War II, Goh Junja is a girl just coming into her own. She is the latest successful deep sea diver in a family of strong haenyeo. Confident she is a woman now, Junja urges her mother to allow her to make the Goh family's annual trip to Mt. Halla, where they trade abalone and other sea delicacies for pork. Junja, a sea village girl, has never been to the mountains, where it smells like mushrooms and earth, and it is there she falls in love with a mountain boy Yang Suwol, who rescues her after a particularly harrowing journey. But when Junja returns one day later, it is just in time to see her mother take her last breath, beaten by the waves during a dive she was taking in Junja's place.
Spiraling in grief, Junja sees her younger siblings sent to live with their estranged father, Suwol is gone, the ghost of her mother haunts their home–from the meticulously tended herb garden that has now begun to sprout weeds, to the field where their bed sheets are beaten. She has only her grandmother and herself. But the world moves on without Junja.
The political climate is perilous. Still reeling from Japan's forced withdrawal from the peninsula, Korea is forced to accommodate the rapid establishment of US troops, and her grandmother, who lived through the Japanese invasion that led to Korea's occupation understands the signs of danger all too well. When Suwol is arrested for working with and harboring communists, and the perils of post-WWII overtake her homelands, Junja must learn to navigate a tumultuous world unlike anything she's ever known.


2018 Parade is on Friday, June 15th!
Only two (2) vehicles per group. Only one (1) fire truck per department. ALL ENTRIES MUST BE REGISTERED AND PAID AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION. NO ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER JUNE 11, 2018.
The entry fee is $35.00 and all entries MUST BE DECORATED. THOSE NOT DECORATED WILL BE ESCORTED OUT.
The regular parade route through Hancock AND Houghton resumes this year!
Line up begins at 5:30 p.m. Parade begins at 7:05 p.m.
State Law prohibits throwing candy directly from a MOVING vehicle.
During the week of the parade your business/organization/contact will be sent a line-up number and instructions to be followed during the line-up and parade. The instructions will include a map of the line-up area with the best route into the area indicated on the map. Please watch for these instructions in your mail and ensure that your driver and any other members of your group have them available on parade day.
Bridgefest reserves the right to reject any entry without explanation.
Please complete an online registration form (below) through www.bridgefestfun.com - click on Event Registration Forms (http://www.bridgefestfun.com/registration.shtml) - by June 11, 2018.
You may also send a completed paper form along with your check or money order (payable to "Bridgefest") to the address listed above by June 4, 2017. Online registration with credit card payment over the phone is also acceptable.
Thank you for your continued interest in helping make the Bridgefest one of the area's favorite summer festivals!


text:
This Week in Philosophy 2018–06–10
By Scott Douglas Jacobsen
"Rain and a looming thunder- storm threaten to put the kibosh on our Weekend photoshoot with Chanelle, Lady McCoy, at Soho Farmhouse — and the Loughrea firebrand is having none of it. The vivid pink Libélula dress boasts an elegant boho vibe that perfectly matches our location today.
Raining or not, the 41-year-old mother- of-two is up for doing the photographs outside. A dedication to getting the job done right courses through her veins, but then that's what I would expect of the newest investor on RTÉ'S Dragons' Den, whose entrepreneurial questioning style is forensic. Recipient of an All- Ireland Business Champion Award 2018 for outstanding achievements in business leadership — and recently ranked 23 on the Lovin.ie list of '50 Incredible People Shaping Modern Ireland' — Chanelle is with me at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire: a rural 'resort' an hour away from the Berkshire home she shares with her kids and husband of 12 years.
Known as Tony McCoy to the legions of racing fans who cheered him on to an astounding 4,358 winners, he was always listed on race cards under his initials, A.P. — but he is 'Anthony' to Chanelle and his family. Two years ago this month, the couple set off for Buckingham Palace with their daughter, Eve (10), and Archie (four). There, the 20-time champion jockey became Sir Anthony, receiving a knighthood for services to horse racing; only the second jockey awarded a knighthood, after Sir Gordon Richards in 1953. The sporting legend from Moneyglass in Co Antrim joked that it was only his close friends that he was going to make call him Sir Anthony."
Source: https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/its-about-feeling-good-about-yourself-chanelle-mccoy-on-her-fashion-philosophy-and-love-of-a-bargain-36983047.html.
"As last year's Hypatia debate revealed, writing philosophy about being transgender is tricky. There are outstanding debates about which questions actually matter and who is best situated to philosophize about transgender identity, along with pitfalls to avoid — arguably facile comparisons among them. (As you may recall, Hypatia's editors and associate editorial board split over an essay comparing being transgender to being transracial).
In a new, talked-about series of essays, Kathleen Stock, a professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex, in Britain, brings another set of tricky question to the fore: If there are inherent differences in interests between cisgender women and trans women, why aren't academics debating them?
"Something is afoot in academic philosophy," Stock wrote in one essay she published on Medium. "Beyond the academy, there's a huge and impassioned discussion going on, around the apparent conflict between women-who-are-not-transwomen's rights and interests, and transwomen's rights and interests. And yet nearly all academic philosophers — including, surprisingly, feminist philosophers — are ignoring it.""
Source: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/06/06/philosophy-really-ignoring-important-questions-about-transgender-identity.
"For thousands of years, philosophers pondered deep questions, such as whether the mind goes beyond the makeup of our body and allows free will, and whether moral values reflect universal truth similar to the laws of physics. Could we put their proposed answers to the test of modern science? Could we use experimental data to advance our knowledge on these questions?
Historically, psychological or anthropological studies of people addressed the possible illusion of free will (for example, by Dan Wegner in his book The Illusion of Conscious Will) or cultural variations in moral values. But observing a complex system like a human without having its blueprint or without the ability to dissect its constituents and reconstruct them from scratch, is far more challenging than figuring out how the hardware of an iPhone works by just interacting with it.
There are at least three new experimental frontiers that offer prospects for advances:
Artificial intelligence and machine learning. The latest developments in self-learning computer algorithms allow us to envision a future computer system that learns from experience and educates itself about the world like a human. Such a system could interact with the physical world around it through sensors of vision, sound, taste, smell and touch, like a human. It might even reproduce itself using a 3-D printer, in analogy to child birth."
Source: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/testing-philosophy-through-experiments/.
"Eco-Philosophy is, on the face of it, a curious thing. It's an idea, or, rather, a way of thinking about things. I was entirely ignorant of the existence of such a subject, until I went to the last of this season's Café Scientifique meetings in Shanklin, about Eco-Philosophy, given by Tanja Rebel. The only thoughts I had before the meeting went like this: Here's a word made up of two parts, the first of which is 'Eco', which refers to environments, and the second is 'Philosophy', which means thinking about things.
But I also had the thought that both of these can be interpreted or understood or used in a least two ways. 'Eco' could be used simply to represent the actual study of environments, how they work, how they evolved, and how they would be expected to behave in certain circumstances. But it can also be used in a very different way, as a symbol of resistance to changes in the environment, usually bad changes, and thus it becomes a rallying cry or a term of insult, as in 'Eco-warrior', or 'Eco-protester', and used in probably untrue or unverified ways in advertising, as in 'Eco-friendly'.
It has never been a popular subject
Philosophy is also one of those slippery words. It really involves thinking about anything or everything, and its origins come from Greek, meaning 'love of wisdom'. But it's also used in other ways, as in 'My Personal Philosophy', and that can be used to add spurious weight to frankly dodgy beliefs and attempts towards social engineering, or worse. Nowadays, Philosophy usually has a reputation as one of those things that put you to sleep, and is seen as boring, hard to understand, and completely irrelevant. People generally think this lack of interest is all because of 'dumbing down', but it has never been a popular subject, and most people have never had any exposure to philosophy itself, so they haven't had the opportunity to think about it."
Source: https://onthewight.com/jonathan-dodd-whats-eco-philosophy-ever-done-for-us/.
"Washington D.C., Jun 10, 2018 / 05:00 am (CNA).- A Thomistic philosopher, an evolutionary biologist, and a Harvard astronomy professor walk into a bar. Well, not a bar.
But they did walk into a Washington, D.C. symposium this week, at which graduate students, professors, religious sisters, and other curious Catholics discussed highly technical scientific questions over bourbon and pecan pie, late into the night.
The three-day conference, co-sponsored by the Thomistic Institute and the Society of Catholic Scientists, brought together nearly 70 professors and graduate students from Princeton, Harvard, Yale, MIT, the University of Chicago, and other universities across the country to examine the intersection of faith and science.
"The typical contemporary view assumes that there is going to be some deep tension between faith and science. From our perspective that's an illusion. There is not really a conflict there, but it does require you to work carefully through some of these issues," said Fr. Dominic Legge, OP, the Thomistic Institute's director."
Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/priests-and-scientists-talk-neuroscience-cosmology-and-philosophy---with-pie-43959.
(Updated September 28, 2016)
Scott Douglas Jacobsen founded In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal and In-Sight Publishing. He authored/co-authored some e-books, free or low-cost. If you want to contact Scott: Scott.D.Jacobsen@Gmail.com, Scott.Jacobsen@TrustedClothes.Com, Scott@ConatusNews.Com, scott.jacobsen@probc.ca, Scott@Karmik.Ca.
He is a Moral Courage Webmaster and Outreach Specialist (Fall, 2016) at the UCI Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality (Ethics Center), Interview Columnist for Conatus News, Writer and Executive Administrator for Trusted Clothes, Interview Columnist for Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), Councillor for the Athabasca University Student Union, Member of the Learning Analytics Research Group, writer for The Voice Magazine, Your Political Party of BC, ProBC, Marijuana Party of Canada, Fresh Start Recovery Centre, Harvest House Ministries, and Little Footprints Big Steps International Development Organization, Editor and Proofreader for Alfred Yi Zhang Photography, Community Journalist/Blogger for Gordon Neighbourhood House, Member-at-Large, Member of the Outreach Committee, the Finance & Fundraising Committee, and the Special Projects & Political Advocacy Committee, and Writer for Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Member of the Lifespan Cognition Psychology Lab and IMAGe Psychology Lab, Collaborator with Dr. Farhad Dastur in creation of the CriticalThinkingWiki, Board Member, and Foundation Volunteer Committee Member for the Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation, and Independent Landscaper.
He was a Francisco Ayala Scholar at the UCI Ethics Center, Member of the Psychometric Society Graduate Student Committee, Special Advisor and Writer for ECOSOC at NWMUN, Writer for TransplantFirstAcademy and ProActive Path, Member of AT-CURA Psychology Lab, Contributor for a student policy review, Vice President of Outreach for the Almas Jiwani Foundation, worked with Manahel Thabet on numerous initiatives, Student Member of the Ad–Hoc Executive Compensation Review Committee for the Athabasca University Student Union, Volunteer and Writer for British Columbia Psychological Association, Community Member of the KPU Choir (even performed with them alongside the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra), Delegate at Harvard World MUN, NWMUN, UBC MUN, and Long Beach Intercollegiate MUN, and Writer and Member of the Communications Committee for The PIPE UP Network.
He published in American Enterprise Institute, Annaborgia, Conatus News, Earth Skin & Eden, Fresh Start Recovery Centre, Gordon Neighbourhood House, Huffington Post, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, Jolly Dragons, Kwantlen Polytechnic University Psychology Department, La Petite Mort, Learning Analytics Research Group, Lifespan Cognition Psychology Lab, Lost in Samara, Marijuana Party of Canada, MomMandy, Noesis: The Journal of the Mega Society, Piece of Mind, Production Mode, Synapse, TeenFinancial, The Peak, The Ubyssey, The Voice Magazine, Transformative Dialogues, Treasure Box Kids, Trusted Clothes.
More from Scott Douglas Jacobsen


text:
Smith: Rockets know they can be better than they've been
Opinion // Brian T. Smith
Brian T. Smith , Houston Chronicle Dec. 18, 2019 Updated: Dec. 18, 2019 7:27 p.m.
The Rockets find themselves in fifth place in the NBA's Western Conference, but just two games behind the Clippers before Thursday's game in Los Angeles.
Photo: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer
The West is still wide open.
Which means, for Mike D'Antoni's Rockets, there are two ways to look at the current state of their 2019-20 season.
They are underperforming.
Or they are a classic work in progress, led by the greatest scorer in the NBA and in perfect striking distance just 27 games into an 82-game campaign.
In the spirit of holiday optimism and annual renewal, I am opting for the latter.
I'll immediately change my mind if the Rockets are still fifth-best in the Western Conference and just 11th overall in The Association by mid-April.
"We're still actually just finding out about (this team). … We still have some holes that we've got to fill," D'Antoni said Wednesday inside Toyota Center, before his squad began a four-game road trip that finishes Christmas Day at the new home of the NBA-worst Warriors.
"I don't think we'll know about this group until we get Eric (Gordon) back," he said. "Then we'll see what we've got totally. They're resilient and they're professional and they want to win, so it's good."
They should not be down 25 points at home to a 10-16 San Antonio team. They also rallied from 25 down to pull off a historic comeback Monday and are just two games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 2 seed in the West.
LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers are tied with Milwaukee for the league's best mark at 24-4. But Giannis Antetokounmpo's Bucks have holes, new Laker Anthony Davis' team lacks depth and the Rockets have remained within sight of the peak in the West, despite only having Gordon for nine games and the team ranking just 24th in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (34.5).
The Rockets can't keep losing to Detroit and Sacramento if they're actually going to reach the NBA Finals for the first time with Harden.
The Rockets are 5-2 in their past seven contests, Russell Westbrook is still finding his rhythm in red (23.9 average points, 9 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 44.4 percent from the field in his last nine games) and Ben McLemore has initially been this season's version of last year's Austin Rivers.
"It's still super early in the season," veteran forward P.J. Tucker said. "The goal is to be where we want to be in April and working towards getting there is the ultimate goal — the actual work that goes into it. … It's going to take time to get there."
Chemistry appears to be copacetic in their post-Chris Paul world. Nightly intensity, full-court dedication and late-game execution have been unpredictable variables.
This could be D'Antoni's final season leading Houston's NBA team — or the season that finally leads to a contract extension.
This is a team carried by Harden and Westbrook, which means that anything less than a championship will be a letdown.
For D'Antoni.
For owner Tilman Fertitta.
For longtime general manager Daryl Morey, who again has serious in-season work to do if the 2019-20 Rockets are eventually going to find a way to the top.
The Rockets, of course, lead the NBA in average 3s fired per game (45.7). Ranking 24th in efficiency means only six teams are worse. It also means that the roster, like the nightly on-court product, is very likely a work in progress.
"We started off so bad and Eric was hurting," D'Antoni said. "We had guys (shooting) below 20 percent, which is incredible. It's getting better. That would worry me at the end of the year if we're like that. See if we can improve it some. We need to get it up."
This, more than ever, is normal for Harden on the hardwood: 60 points, 50, 55, 54.
That's also a surreal form of old news if you've been cheering for, studying and critiquing the Rockets the last four seasons.
Can a reunited Westbrook and Harden win it all together?
Can D'Antoni guide his team back to the conference finals, then win it all for the first time?
In this post-Warriors world, the West is still there for the taking.
With Christmas and the unofficial start of the NBA season just days away, maybe these Rockets are just getting started.
brian.smith@chron.com
twitter.com/chronbriansmith
Brian T. Smith
Follow Brian T. on:
http://www.facebook.com/ChronBrianSmithChronBrianSmith
Brian T. Smith is a sports columnist for the Houston Chronicle. He has won multiple Associated Press Sports Editors awards and been honored by numerous journalism organizations. Smith was a Houston Texans beat writer for the Chronicle from 2013-15 and an Astros beat writer from 2012-13. The New Orleans-area native previously covered the NBA's Utah Jazz (The Salt Lake Tribune) and Portland Trail Blazers (The Columbian), among other beats. He is the author of the book Liftoff, which documented the Astros' rebuild and 2017 World Series championship.
Smith: In Deshaun Watson vs. Patrick Mahomes, both teams tell the story
Smith: Silence at top speaks volumes for Texans
Smith: Rockets need to get right, give Houston a lift
Smith: Astros players yet to show signs of talking
Smith: Cheating Astros* pay painful price for golden era
Smith: It's time for the Texans to overthrow King O'Brien
Smith: Texans can change their franchise with one huge win
Smith: Don't underestimate the toughness of Deshaun Watson, Patrick Mahomes
Texans can't beat Chiefs at Kansas City? They've done it before


Contractors_03_final_booklet.pdf is a portable multi-platform document format that may contain an ebook, report, manual or general purpose data. The download size as indicated by the server is 256.41KB (262566 bytes). The host server on csbo.info.yorku.ca has returned application/pdf as the content type of the download which was updated on 11/23/2015 and was last checked by Webeaver.com crawlers on 02/21/2019. You may use one or more of the following keywords [contractors final booklet pdf] to search for other files related to the one you are about to download.
Webeaver.com does not host any files on its servers and Contractors_03_final_booklet.pdf remains the property of its respective owner. We have no controle over the nature, content and the availability of the file listed here for free download and hosted on csbo.info.yorku.ca.


If you have a double chin, it may make you look overweight, unattractive, and older than you are. KYBELLA® is an innovative new treatment that can reduce submental fullness and effectively eliminate a double chin. KYBELLA® is the first and only non-surgical treatment specially designed to target submental fat. Dr. Schlechter uses non-surgical KYBELLA® injections to reduce a double chin and create a slender and more defined neckline.
If you have excess fat beneath your chin and wish to eliminate it without undergoing surgery, you may be a candidate for KYBELLA®. KYBELLA® treatments are approved for patients ages 18 and older who eat well and exercise regularly but are bothered by persistent submental fullness. Interested patients should inform Dr. Schlechter of any factors that may affect whether they qualify for KYBELLA®, such as a history of facial or neck surgery, medical conditions in the neck area, difficulty swallowing, bleeding problems, or if they are pregnant or nursing.
KYBELLA® treatments are performed in Dr. Schlechter's office and last fewer than 20 minutes. For this procedure, Dr. Schlechter will inject KYBELLA® directly into the submental area. The deoxycholic acid in KYBELLA® will subsequently break down the submental fat cells over the next four to six weeks. The body will then flush the damaged fat cells from the body. If multiple treatments are needed, the treatments will be spaced at least four weeks apart. Many patients are satisfied with their results after two to four treatments, though up to six treatments may be necessary. After KYBELLA® has produced the desired results, no more treatments will be needed. The deoxycholic acid will remain in the treated area and will prevent fat accumulation in the future.
There is no downtime or recovery associated with KYBELLA® treatments. Patients may experience temporary side effects, including swelling, redness, bruising, numbness, or discomfort, for a period of time after the procedure. Over the following four to six weeks, you will observe a gradual reduction in submental fullness that culminates in the elimination of your double chin. Once your treatment plan with KYBELLA® has reached its end, you will be able to look forward to having a permanently slimmer neckline with no submental fullness and no double chin. KYBELLA® treatments can help you look thinner, more youthful, and more attractive.
If you are interested in eliminating your double chin and submental fullness, contact Dr. Benjamin Schlechter to learn more about how KYBELLA® treatments could help you. Please call (610) 624-2740 or contact us online to schedule your personal consultation today.


text:
Nederlands	Dutch	nl
Polski	Polish	pl
Svenska	Swedish	sv
Čeština	Czech	cs
TX-DASHBOARDS helps Belgian carrier Greg Transports S.A. increase productivity and profitability
Fleet management expert Transics notes how a growing number of logistics firms are choosing TX-DASHBOARDS to optimise their existing Transics solution. The assessment platform helps them define their strategic goals and benchmark these against the fleet performance, to then identify improvement opportunities. Walloon carrier Greg Transports, a Transics customer since 2005, has discovered the advantages of TX-DASHBOARDS. The assessment platform, launched by Transics last year, provides Greg Transports with a 360° view on its performance, which boosts both its productivity and profitability.
Greg Transports is a major player in Belgium's logistics landscape. An ambitious player, too, which invests heavily to drive its growth. Proof of that ambition are the offices and the 5,000 m² warehouse, including a rail link, that are arising on a 14 ha site alongside the river Maas in Flémalle. A second 5,000 m2 warehouse will be built at a later stage. All the Greg Transports buildings feature the most advanced technology. As does the fleet: since 2005, Greg Transports has been using Transics' fleet management solutions to support both its drivers and the personnel working in the back office.
The power of data
The on-board computers help the staff in the offices and in the operational centre smoothly communicate with the drivers, monitor their positions and keep track of driving and resting times. TX-CONNECT, Transics' back office platform, takes care of data collection and consolidation and provides a real-time overview of the fleet data, from the moment the trucks leave the premises through to their arrival. As TX-CONNECT is seamlessly integrated into other logistics solutions, freight planning, billing and wage calculations go smoothly and quickly. At the end of 2013, Greg Transports decided to lift its collaboration with Transics to a higher level. "We strongly believe in the principle of "measuring is knowing"," says managing director, Gavrilo Radanovic. "Transics helps us monitor data like, for example, fuel consumption. Yet, we wanted to take it a stage further and convert other fleet data into strategic information, by comparing the figures on different periods and visualising the results rapidly and clearly, etc. In short, we needed a kind of Business Intelligence functionality."
Drive the ROI
Fully integrated into Transics' TX-CONNECT back office platform, the TX-DASHBOARDS assessment platform allows Greg Transports to measure its performance, immediately visualise it in dashboards and trend reports and benchmark these against the corporate objectives. Performance criteria include the vehicle and driver performance, fuel consumption and customer services. Greg Transport can, for example, chart the drive/stop ratio, the distance travelled and the number of empty kilometres driven per day, for each vehicle. On top of that, the carrier knows, for each driver, the average service times per day and the number of driving and resting time infringements. Equally interesting are the details on fuel consumption and the duration of each driver's stops, among many other data.
"We have been convinced for a long time that there is room for improvement, in all aspects. TX-DASHBOARDS – which is, by the way, a very user-friendly tool – helps us pinpoint weaknesses, extrapolate patterns and trends, compare vehicle and driver groups and identify improvement opportunities. In this way, we can significantly raise our Return on Investment (ROI), which is crucial for further growth."
Established in 1976, Greg Transports specialises in national and international transport, airline trucking from Liège airport and combined rail / road transport. The company mainly focuses on intra-site transport for the industry in the region of Liège, as well as other regional transport.
Transics International NV, a WABCO company, was established in 1991 and develops and commercialises fleet management solutions for the transport and logistics sector. Transics is a global full solution provider of truck, driver, trailer, cargo and subcontractor management. Our solutions are the result of many years of experience, thorough R&D efforts and an intensive focus on the customer experience. Transics, headquartered in Ypres (Belgium), has become a European leader in its sector and is active worldwide.
https://www.transics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Press_2014-Greg-01.jpg 1001 1500 DavidD https://www.transics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Transics_logo.png DavidD2014-06-06 10:17:492014-07-10 14:40:44TX-DASHBOARDS helps Belgian carrier Greg Transports S.A. increase productivity and profitability
WABCO Introduces New Fleet Solutions Business to Support Transport Ecosystems Worldwide in their Drive towards Zero Accidents, Contributing to a Greener World and Leaner Operations08/07/2019 - 12:30
WABCO's Advanced Fleet Management Solutions to Equip 1,200 Vos Logistics Trucks01/07/2019 - 12:30
WABCO and RIO Launch Joint Fleet Management Solution RIO 4TX-TRAILERPULSE to Support European Transport Logistics04/06/2019 - 15:00
© Copyright Transics - Privacy & Cookies Policy - Glossary - Responsible Disclosure Policy
FINSA chooses Transics, which strengthens its leading position in Spain as the... WABCO Concludes 100 Percent Acquisition of Transics International, an Industry...


Illuminate any pathway, flower bed, or planter! Pick up a 100-Pack Glow in the Dark Garden Pebbles for $9.99 (Reg. $19.99)! Use coupon code 3OFF to get your discount. Shipping is Free. This one is from GearXS and is good for a limited time.


Know Provine High Class of 2014 graduates that are NOT on this List? Help us Update the 2014 Class List by adding missing names.
More 2014 alumni from Provine HS have posted profiles on Classmates.com®. Click here to register for free at Classmates.com® and view other 2014 alumni.
If you are trying to find people that graduated in '14 at PHS in Jackson, MS, check the alumni list below that shows the class of 2014.


text:
Tag Archives: Digital First Media
BALKING AT CONTRACT terms they call outrageous, some 175 Journal Register Company employees in Michigan voted to lead a boycott of the papers [Detroit Free Press].
Since early March, the Detroit Newspaper Guild has been in negotiations with 21st CMH Acquisition Co., the Alden Global Capital unit that received approval last week to buy Journal Register Co.'s assets out of bankruptcy.
Poynter printed a Guild bulletin outlining the company's demands, which include a 15 percent pay cut and more than doubling employees' health insurance premiums, according to the Detroit Free Press.
From the Detroit Free Press story:
Louis Mleczko, president of the Newspaper Guild of Detroit, which represents employees at the Macomb Daily and the Daily Tribune, said the employment terms are outrageous. He said Macomb Daily employees took a pension freeze and a 12.5% pay cut four years ago and have gotten just 2.5% back.
"They took tremendous sacrifice to help keep this entity afloat, but now (the company) decided to take on the unions and get rid of them and gut their contracts," Mleczko said.
The contracts expires March 31. Workers have authorized a possible strike or other labor action once the contracts end.
Tags: Alden Global Capital, Digital First Media, Journal Register Company
Categories The Grapevine
Author Kevin Hamm
The Post's iPad Ski Guide Gets Some Props
IN CASE YOU missed it, The Denver Post released a really nice iPad edition of the Ski Guide that got a good review from Talking New Media, which calls it "by far the best thing I've seen out of MediaNews Group or the Journal Register Company."
And for those who don't have in iPad, the post has a video of the app in action — did I already say it's really nice?
The site also published an update with more "insider" information later Nov. 27:
I think their effort is far more interesting and exciting now that I know more what they are doing in Denver.
And a tip of the hat to Post editor Greg Moore for posting the link to the review on The Water Cooler.
Here's a link to the free Ski Guide app on iTunes LINK
Tags: Digital First Media, The Denver Post
Journal Register Likely to Reduce Print at Some Papers
Rick Edmonds on Poynter: "Journal Register likely to reduce print to three days a week at some papers," Sept. 20, 2012.
The new slimmed-down Journal Register company, being pieced together in a bankruptcy proceeding, is likely to reduce print frequency at several of its 20 dailies.
"I would consider and am considering a reduction in print frequency in some markets — (which ones) to be determined," CEO John Paton wrote me in an e-mail interview earlier this week. "I think it makes sense to think about the frequency of print as print revenues decline and digital revenues increase."
>snip<
Paton declined to discuss what miscalculations in a bankruptcy plan three years ago, under different management, left the company with too much debt to carry again so soon. He also said it would be wrong to assume the same issues are creating an equal financial problem at MediaNews Group, the much larger chain controlled by Alden and managed by Paton's Digital First company for just over a year.
Tags: Alden Global Capital, Digital First Media, John Paton, Journal Register Company, MediaNews Group
Los Links: More on Journal Register's Bankruptcy
For your reading pleasure, more stories in the wake of Journal Register Company's bankruptcy announcement.
In Denver Post & MediaNews Group: Fallout from partner Journal Register Company bankruptcy? Westword's Michael Roberts reports that, according to "an insider," there was some dissension in the ranks once the bloom was off the Digital First rose:
By summertime, however, our source reported grumbling over what was perceived as top-heaviness at Digital First Media, with new senior executive hires during a time of layoffs at MediaNews Group papers around the country. The fear: MediaNews Group was being used as a cash cow to build up DFM. Our source also noted tension between MediaNews Group types and folks imported by Paton, many of them with Journal Register Company roots.
GigaOM's Mathew Ingram writes in Newspaper restructuring — think steel, cars and airlines, the newspaper industry's transformation will need to be measured in decades:
If there is a poster child for the "digital first" newspaper movement, it is probably Journal Register Co., which manages a chain of dailies and weeklies in the eastern U.S. John Paton took the helm as CEO after it emerged from bankruptcy in 2009, and implemented a wide range of digital-first moves — and yet parent company Digital First Media just announced that Journal Register Co. is filing for bankruptcy for a second time. The not-so-hidden message in all this is that despite all the pain of the last few years, the restructuring of newspapers isn't even close to being over: as we've seen with the large structural changes in the steel industry, car makers and the airline market, transforming an industry with massive legacy costs is a long and bloody process. What emerges at the end remains to be seen.
In Journal Register, future-of-news star, is bankrupt again, Ryan Chittum writes for the Columbia Journalism Review that the numbers John Paton mentioned in his announcement are meaningless without some context:
The reason we don't know more about the numbers is that JRC, as a closely held company, releases financial information only selectively—in sharp contrast to its "open journalism" philosophy.
Paton, for instance, has repeatedly said digital revenues at JRC were up some large percentage since he took over. He does so again in his bankruptcy note. Yes, but from what to what? Those are big numbers all right, but 235 percent of not much is still not that much, and its worth noting that JRC's digital revenues were far below industry average when Paton took over. It's much easier to grow fast off a low base, and Paton has used the company's privately held status to cherry pick positive numbers without having to paint a full picture—one that definitely didn't include an imminent bankruptcy.
A former Journal Register employee wrote a letter about the bankruptcy announcement that is posted on Romenesko:
From RACHEL JACKSON, former Journal Register employee: The [Journal Register] Chapter 11/sale announcement does not surprise me in the least – and the employee you quoted as calling this "horseshit" is exactly right.
Lastly, in the wake of the bankruptcy announcement there has been some grumbling (perhaps it's contagious) about the fact that Project Thunderdome is located in Manhattan rather than, say, Willoughby, Ohio, where real estate costs are presumably less. Jim Brady explains the reasoning in a piece by Adrienne LaFrance for Nieman Journalism Lab, Why does Project Thunderdome have to be in New York City?
"You want to be in a position to get the best possible people you can," Brady said. "I'd love to get in an argument with anybody who says there isn't a lot of journalistic talent in New York City."
Tags: Digital First Media, Jim Brady, John Paton, Journal Register Company, Los Links, MediaNews Group, The Denver Post
Categories Industry News, The Grapevine
Is Alden Global Capital Souring on Newspapers?
From a piece by Martin Langeveld at Nieman Journalism Lab: Journal Register's bankruptcy is strategic, all right — but for whom?
In an in-depth analysis of the possible implications of Journal Register Company's bankruptcy filing, Langeveld writes that while Alden Global Capital's initial strategy seemed to be one of consolidation, the hedge fund might have changed its mind — it has shed around half of its newspaper holdings in the past year.
Last year in July, I estimated Alden's total media investments to be about $750 million. Today, after the various sales and counting JRC's value as zero, those holdings are probably down to about $300 million, and it seems clear that Alden would just as soon get out completely — at least from newspapers.
Journal Register Co. Files for Bankruptcy
UPDATES AT BOTTOM OF POST:
John Paton's letter to employees and FAQ
Steve Buttry's take
Running commentary on Romenesko
Journal Register Co.'s reboot on Nieman Journalism Lab
Story by The Denver Post's Andy Vuong
Analysis of the news on Poynter.org
FROM JOHN PATON'S blog: "Another Tough Step"
Today Digital First Media announced Journal Register Company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will seek to implement a prompt sale.
We expect the auction and sale process to take about 90 days, and I am pleased to tell you the Company has a signed stalking horse bid for Journal Register Company from 21st CMH Acquisition Co., an affiliate of funds managed by Alden Global Capital LLC.
So why file Chapter 11?
The Company exited the 2009 restructuring with approximately $225 million in debt and with a legacy cost structure, which includes leases, defined benefit pensions and other liabilities that are now unsustainable and threaten the Company's efforts for a successful digital transformation.
From 2009 through 2011, digital revenue grew 235% and digital audience more than doubled at Journal Register Company. So far this year, digital revenue is up 32.5%. Expenses by year's end will be down more than 9.7% compared to 2009.
At the same time, as total expenses were down overall, the Company has invested heavily in digital with digital expenses up 151% since 2009. Journal Register Company has and will continue to invest in the future.
But also from 2009 to 2011 Journal Register Company's print advertising revenue declined 19% and print advertising represents more than half of the of the Company's revenues. Print advertising for the newspaper industry declined approximately 17% over the same time period, according to the Newspaper Association of America. As well, both print circulation and circulation revenue have also declined over the same time period.
Since 2009, printing facilities have been reduced from 14 to 6; 9 of the 50 owned facilities have been sold and 8 distribution centers have been outsourced.
During the same time period, debt was reduced by 28% with the Company currently servicing in excess of $160 million of debt.
All of the digital initiatives and expense efforts are consistent with the Company's Digital First strategy and while the Journal Register Company cannot afford to halt its investments in its digital future it can now no longer afford the legacy obligations incurred in the past.
Many of those obligations, such as leases, were entered into in the past when revenues, at their peak, were nearly twice as big as they are today and are no longer sustainable.
Revenues in 2005 were about two times bigger than projected 2012 revenues. Defined Benefit Pension underfunding liabilities have grown 52% since 2009.
After a lot of thought, the Board of Directors concluded a Chapter 11 filing was the best course of action.
Journal Register Company's filing will have no impact on the day-to-day operation of Journal Register Company, Digital First Media or MediaNews Group during the sale process. They will continue to operate their business and roll out new initiatives.
If you have questions just ask – you know how to reach me.
John Paton
Digital First Media
John Paton's e-mail address is jpaton@digitalfirstmedia.com and he can be found on Twitter at @jxpaton.
Steve Buttry's take on the matter
Joshua Benton writes about Journal Register Company's reboot on Nieman Journalism Lab
JRC is just first in line at the pension-killing bankruptcy table. Your newspaper chain might be next. http://t.co/AwSw8exW
— Joshua Benton (@jbenton) September 5, 2012
Denver Post reporter Andy Vuong's story about the bankruptcy
Rick Edmonds analyzes the situation at Poynter.org
Tags: Alden Global Capital, Digital First Media, Journal Register Company, MediaNews Group
Categories Industry News
Los Links: Break The Chains, But Don't Wait Too Long
Want to save local newspapers? Then break the chains that hold them back
In this piece for OJR: The Online Journalism Review, Robert Niles writes that economies of scale don't work in the newspaper business anymore and it's time to break up the chains.
Locally-focused news publications must become truly local, with local information, produced by local reporters with local ties, sold to local advertisers by a local sales staff who work for a local owner.
News Corp Split, Buffett's Bet Top Year of Big Media Ownership Changes
The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism has a nice wrap-up of media transactions over the last couple of years.
According to the investment banking firm of Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, which monitors newspaper transactions, a total of 71 daily newspapers were sold as part of 11 different transactions during 2011, the busiest year for sales since 2007.
There's a mention of Alden Global Capital's acquisition of the Journal Register Company, and "Alden Global has also invested in several other newspaper organizations," including MediaNews Group (two of the seven MediaNews Group directors are from Alden Global Capital).
And be sure to check out the list of Who Owns the News Media that covers newspapers, TV and radio.
The Fissures Are Growing for Papers
The New York Times' David Carr writes about "cracks in publishing operations," one of the bigger ones being underfunded pensions that threaten companies' financial health. "There are smart people trying to innovate, and tons of great journalism is published daily, but the financial distress is more visible by the week."
Those of us who work inside the racket like to think of our business as unique, but with underfunded pension plans, unserviceable debt and legacy manufacturing processes and union agreements, the newspaper industry looks a lot like, well, steel, autos and textiles.
Report: How to Build Trust In the Digital Age
Mediabistro's 10,000 Words column has a piece by Mona Zhang about a report that examines the quality of journalism in the digital age, which "investigates the notions of objectivity and impartiality in the digital world, and whether or not we can trust the new forms of journalism that are emerging as a result of new technologies."
He (Richard Sambrook) writes that as the traditional business models erode, there has been an increase in "journalism of assertion" and "journalism of affirmation"—models that rely on immediacy and volume, and affirming the beliefs of its audience.
Newspapers Chronicle Lives of Returning Veterans
Nu Yang wrote a piece for Editor & Publisher about the American Homecomings project by The Denver Post and Digital First Media.
The site is really a public service project," (Lee Ann) Colacioppo said. "We're doing it for the veterans who are returning and to serve that community … the feedback we've received so far is from readers thanking us for sharing these stories and veterans who appreciate the attention to the subject.
And a link to the American Homecomings project since there doesn't seem to be one in the story.
Lastly, here's a fun little infographic about the consolidation of media in America.
Tags: Alden Global Capital, Digital First Media, Journal Register Company, Los Links, MediaNews Group, The Denver Post
Denver Post, Contra Costa Times Revamp Story Editing With Fewer Copy Editors
From Poynter.org, May 23, 2012:
In some ways, the Denver Post and Contra Costa Times' cutbacks in copyediting, announced last month and now final, is a common story these days. Less common are the other changes they're making in how they handle print stories.
The Denver Post is eliminating its copy desk and moving away from an assembly-line editing process. Instead, reporters and editors on each desk will take stories from reporting to publishing, online and in print.
Tags: Digital First Media, Jim Brady, Layoffs, The Denver Post
Project Thunderdome: Coming To A Theater Near You
A LONE NEWS-GATHERING ORGANIZATION SEARCHING FOR A NEW BUSINESS MODEL ... A TRIBE OF LOST PUBLISHERS WAITING FOR A HERO ... IN AN INDUSTRY BATTLING TO SURVIVE, THEY FACE ADVERTISERS DETERMINED TO STRAY.
HOLD OUT FOR JOHN PATON. THIS IS HIS GREATEST ADVENTURE.
AS PROJECT THUNDERDOME moves closer to becoming a reality, let's take a look at it. Always a good place to start:
In a nutshell, it's centralizing production of non-local content. In a post titled News Media's New Role As Both Medium And Messenger In A World Of Partnerships on his blog in December, Digital First CEO John Paton wrote:
By centralizing all non-local content creation and production we are able to reduce costs while putting more resources back into local coverage increasing what is already an important competitive advantage.
Digital First Editor in Chief Jim Brady, who is heading up the project, put it this way to Street Fight in October:
We can't have people at 18 different papers finding, editing and paginating a story about the war in Afghanistan, or a movie review or a Wimbledon roundup. We have to find a way to provide that information centrally to our papers so that they can focus on local issues and coverage.
That centrally produced content is for both print and online. As Brady told the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers:
… We're creating a centralized team to produce that content for all of the local papers and their websites; that will free up a lot of the resources in the building to go back out on the streets and report, as opposed to doing production work.
WHEN WILL IT START OPERATING?
Now, for parts of it. As Brady said in a Q&A with Street Fight on March 13:
What is the status of Thunderdome?
We're starting to roll out some verticals like transportation. We're going to launch a health section in the next couple of days. We're going to roll out one a month for the next six months or so. We're starting to hire staff who are helping get it up and running, but it's not in its full form yet.
How far along are you in the transformation? Can you give a percentage?
Thunderdome is going to be a huge part of what we do in the next few months even if it's not fully rolled out. A lot of the products that we're going to build out of Thunderdome are already in play and in the process of being built. We're bringing in a new content management system that's already in half the JRC papers and it will be in the MediaNews papers before long. What we have is a significant amount of large, game-changing projects in the pipeline right now. In terms of percentage, I don't know, I think we still have 75% of the way to go before all of those things are out the door, but we've made a lot of progress in the last six months and in the last three especially.
And Project Thunderdome apparently is located in New York City.
HOW WILL IT AFFECT JOBS?
According to Paton, not much, as those people formerly in production roles would be reassigned to local work. That's just counting bodies — it sounds like job duties could change for some people. As he told the American Journalism Review:
We have hundreds and hundreds of people in production. If you were producing 18 dailies centrally, you'd be doing it with less people and could then repurpose them back into the community and create more local content.
HASN'T THIS BEEN DONE BEFORE?
Yes. As Jon Cooper, a vice president with Digital First, told Nieman Journalism Lab:
Folks have done production hubs; folks have done content bureaus or content sharing, but what we're really looking to do is to empower local journalism. And part of that is to remove the roadblocks to small operations.
How The Denver Post fits into the puzzle isn't wholly clear. I'm sure details will be forthcoming.
And of course, some are less optimistic, such as this comment on Street Fight:
Thunderdome sounds like an attempt to make generic content to reward their masters at Alden Global Capital. Lay off as many people as you can, create canned content and then, well, we never got around to local coverage because its, well, been a tough economy. That's been the Media News playbook for years. John Paton just wants to do it without all that expensive newspaper (and people).
In the meantime, sit back, relax and cue up a little Tina Turner.
Tags: Digital First Media, Jim Brady, John Paton, Jon Cooper
Old Dogs, New Tricks And Crappy Newspaper Executives
DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA CEO John Paton addressed the Canadian Journalism Foundation in Toronto on Feb. 16.
From Digital First, Feb. 18, 2012:
And now, like many of you, I am struggling hard to teach this old dog new tricks.
Struggling to accept that much of what we know is no longer valid.
And trying to come to grips with the fact that crappy newspaper executives are a bigger threat to journalism's future than any changes wrought by the Internet.
The Journal Register Company – the Company I took over two years ago – and, more recently, MediaNews Group –which we now both run under Digital First Media – could be the poster kids for what ails the US newspaper industry.
We count our products in the hundreds.
Our employees in the thousands – ten thousand actually.
Our audience in the millions – 57 million actually.
And our revenues are counted in the "Bs" as in billions.
And, it is profitable. With better margins than an average Dow Jones listed company.
We have titles pre-dating the American Revolution and can stretch our lineage back to at least one predecessor title co-founded by Benjamin Franklin. Well, just about stretch if we stand on a high stool.
Another title was around to publish George Washington's obit.
And our core mission is enshrined in the nation's Constitution.
And none of the above will save it or other companies like it – unless we and our industry profoundly change how we do business.
Because change we must.
And if we are going to change we are also going to have to admit that the Print model is broken. Don't believe me – then read any of the newspaper company Chapter 11 filings in the United States or Clay Shirky.
If you haven't read Shirky's essay Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable and you are in the newspaper business then brother let me tell you – you are not paying enough attention.
His message is simple:
"If the old model is broken, what will work in its place? The answer is nothing. Nothing will work. There is no general model for newspapers to replace the one the Internet just broke."
And his message is clear:
You don't tinker or tweak a broken model. You start again anew. And I would add build upon our foundations.
To do this you have to let go of those things we once held true. Like:
– We are the gatekeepers of information.
– That we are the agenda setters and that we decide what news is and what is not.
– And that we keep the Outside world outside and only let in the chosen few – people like us.
So, if we can admit the Print model is broken what else must we recognize isn't working anymore.
I think it is this:
As career journalists we have entered a new era where what we know and what we traditionally do has finally found its value in the marketplace and that value is about zero.
Our traditional journalism models and our journalistic efforts are inefficient and up against the Crowd – armed with mobile devices and internet connections – incomplete.
Our response to date as an industry has been as equally inefficient and in many cases emotional.
"You're gonna miss us when we're gone" is not much of a business model.
Tags: Digital First Media, John Paton, Journal Register Company, MediaNews Group
Perspective | The Sanders-Warren 'feud' and Ukraine revelations are nowhere near equal in… nie.mn/2NFcCMN via @Sulliview 1 hour ago


text:
Allognosta brevicornis är en tvåvingeart som beskrevs av Johnson 1923. Allognosta brevicornis ingår i släktet Allognosta och familjen vapenflugor. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Vapenflugor
brevicornis

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia