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Monday, December 31, 2012
Would You Want To Use Your NFC-Enabled Phone As Car Keys?
The Theology of Les Miserables
I cannot think of any work of fiction that conveys the contrast between Law and Grace as vividly and profoundly as?Les Miserables.? As a long-time fan of the novel and the musicals, I went to see the movie recently and enjoyed it immensely. ?With minor variations, it?s a rendering of the musical, and the musical does an extraordinary job of capturing the major moral and theological themes of the novel. ?With a harrowing performance from Anne Hathaway and fantastic range and power from Hugh Jackman (I felt a bit bad for Russell Crowe, who is a fine Javert in pure acting terms but hardly a singer), and strong performances also from those playing Cosette (young and old), Eponine, Marius and the Thenardiers, this is a movie worth your time.
Leah Libresco gets to the theology of the work when she writes about Inspector Javert:
?Javert loves God, in his own way, because Divine Law is the source of order in the world. ?For Javert, the absense of mercy is the greatest mercy of all, because it allows Javert to perfectly understand the world around him. ?Grace is a miracle, a dirty word, a motion to suspend the rules.
?Mercy unmoors the moral stars Javert navigates by, and, as an agent of the Law, he?needs some kind of unfailing light to steer by. ?The more?precisely?he understands the world, the less margin for error he needs to leave. ?But, if God can break the rule that, if Lucifer falls, he will be in flame, how can Javert trust that the promise to the righteous will be kept? ?Perhaps he lacks faith in God?s goodness, but I think he?s also afraid he?d have to give up a little faith in Javert.
After all, if the moral universe is as mechanical as Javert dreams, he can save himself through his own efforts. ?If the rules are fixed and known, then all he has to do is follow them. ?If there are no miracles and no mercy, then everything is within Javert?s understanding, and his mastery is only limited by his self-control. ?God sets the rules, and Javert gets to play a fair game.?
You can read the rest here.
I think she has the Javert part right. ?What I love is the contrast between Javert and Valjean. ?Both are creatures of the gutter (Javert was born in a prison), but their paths from a common origin are strikingly different. ?With a serious SPOILER WARNING for those who have neither read the novel nor seen the musical, here are some of the key contrasts:
- JAVERT has risen to the heights of his current position through unyielding will and meticulous discipline, by virtue of his own efforts. ?VALJEAN rises even farther, but through the decisive intervention of a Bishop who shows him a thoroughly unmerited grace that changes Valjean forever. ?Valjean is, almost literally, born again, as he lets go of his former identity and begins a new identity and a new life.
- JAVERT insists that every person without exception should be judged and punished according to his or her deeds. ?He?s genuinely irritated with Valjean when Valjean refuses to punish him for what Javert perceives to be a misdeed. ?He would agree with Socrates in Plato?s Gorgias?that it is better for a perpetrator to be caught and punished. ?VALJEAN extends to others the same grace that was given him. ?He shows an extravagant grace to Fantine, the woman who worked in his factory and fell into prostitution after she lost her job, and an even more remarkable grace to Javert himself, when he lets the inspector go free from the student rebels? camp.
- For JAVERT, God is essentially Deistic and explicable, even mathematical. ?As Leah illustrates, the celestial mechanics of divine judgment are, in Javert?s philosophy, as brilliantly clear and timelessly predictable as the paths of the stars. ?For VALJEAN, God is personal. ?When he prays to God, God is not merely the source of moral order and truth but a source of passionate love and intimate solace.
- JAVERT is incapable of compassion. ?He is unmoved by Fantine?s protestations regarding her daughter?s need, unmoved by Valjean?s plea to let him care for Cosette before he apprehends him. ?He watches, not hateful but simply unmoved, when a man is pinned underneath a cart, before Valjean lifts the cart to save him. ?Legalism ultimately devolves into something like the Law of Karma: everyone always, in the end, gets what he deserves. ?VALJEAN understands that people are more than their actions. ?Divine grace and mercy is inexplicable apart from ? indeed confers ? the sacred value of each individual.
- Finally, JAVERT does not believe that people can change. ?Once a thief, always a thief. ?Even when all the evidence shows that Valjean is a transformed man, Javert cannot even contemplate it. ?In a world without grace and rebirth, everything must proceed organically from that which precedes it. ?There is nothing new, nothing truly transformative, no dying-to that leads to a new being. ?VALJEAN knows that there is re-creation, a Second Adam, because he has experienced it personally. ?Hugo?s portrait of Valjean?s conversion and reformation is one of the greatest in western literature. ?It?s the difference between ?there is nothing new under the sun? and ?all things are made new,? the difference between the Law of Sin and Death and the Grace of God in Christ.
Have you seen the flick? ?What did you think? ?Let me know in the comments.
Source: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/philosophicalfragments/2012/12/29/the-theology-of-les-miserables/
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My 2013 goals
Before 2010, I had wanted to write a book for years. In November of 2010, I did just that. In 2011, I published it. In 2012, I published two more. In 2013, I plan on publishing at least four. Since I?ve written two already, that shouldn?t be too hard, but I?m going to try to take it up a notch and do six.
Here are some of the ideas I have. I?ll publish Church Video Summer School, Creating Church, Church 2063, Basic Video Production (working title), Twitter for Beginners (working title), and one more.
I?d love to finish the first volume of my video loops (in 1080p). I?d love to finish my Twitter compilation book, too.
Last year I spoke in Maryland at the Blueridge Baptist Association Training Day, sponsored my church?s conference with a vendor table, was scheduled to speak at Infocomm for Technologies for Worship Magazine (which didn?t work out), taught a class on self-publishing, and spoke at the Business of Writing Today International Summit. In 2013, I?d love to do six to eight events. Right now, I?ve only got a couple scheduled, so that will be quite a task.
When this year started, I had about 3 people on my mailing list. Now, I have just shy of 400. In January, I had about 5,000 twitter followers. As I?m writing I have 9,490 and I expect to cross 10,000 this week.
I need to figure out Facebook engagement, get more active on Google+, and become more reliable with my blogging, podcasting, and creating tutorial videos.
I?ve blogged a lot more this year than in previous years, writing up to two posts a day. That needs to be normal in 2013.
I need to podcast once a week, every week. I need to put a new video on YouTube every week, as well.
I really think the future for what my church calls my ?grace path? (the unique call God has given and created me for) is training, writing, and speaking.
Things are tough in the Clifford household right now, but the future can only get better.
I hope to end 2013 making the money I made in 2010 and helping more churches and ministries every week. Let me know how I can help you.
Paul
What are your goals for 2013?
Source: http://trinitydigitalmedia.com/2012/12/my-2013-goals/
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Human Senses in Computers!!! - The Next Big Thing by IBM
IBM unveiled the seventh annual ?IBM 5 in 5? #ibm5in5 on December 17th, 2012. A list of innovations that have the potential to change the way people work, live and interact during the next five years. This year, IBM?s 5 in 5 focuses on the five basic human senses. Yes you heard right, computers will emulate 5 senses viz Touch, Sight, Hearing, Taste and Smell. Human senses in computers surely is ?The Next Big Thing? in computing world. IBM?thinks cognitive computers that can adapt to their surroundings and will be a large part of our future.
- Touch:?You will be able to reach out and touch through your phone
- Sight: A pixel will be worth a thousand words
- Hearing: Computers will hear what matters
- Taste: Digital taste buds will help you to eat healthier
- Smell: Computers will have a sense of smell
Five Senses
In the era of cognitive computing, systems learn instead of passively relying on programming. As a result, emerging technologies will continue to push the boundaries of human limitations to enhance and augment our senses with machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), advanced speech recognition and more. No need to call for Superman when we have real super senses at hand.
Touch:-
Within the next five years, your mobile device will let you touch what you?re shopping for online. It will distinguish fabrics, textures, and weaves so that you can feel a sweater, jacket, or upholstery ? right through the screen. So when a shopper touches what the webpage says is a silk shirt, the screen will emit vibrations that match what our skin mentally translates to the feel of silk.
Touch - IBM 5 in 5
IBM says the development of a ?Product Information Management? (PIM) database system that acts as a dictionary to match the vibration patterns to relevant physical objects will allow texture information to be easily matched with specific items. Useful to retailers and farmers ? who will be able to determine the health of their crops by comparing it to the texture of a healthy plant ? and doctors ? who can literally get a feel for an injury to help with a diagnosis.
Sight
IBM Research thinks that computers will not only be able to look at images, but help us understand the 500 billion photos we?re taking every year (that?s about 78 photos for each person on the planet). The cognitive computing technology will allow computers to examine thousands of images and try to understand and recognize patterns and distinct features to determine the content.
Sight- IBM 5 in 5
Consider example of the sunset scenes, the computer might recognize certain color distributions that are common to such images, while for a downtown cityscape it might learn that certain distributions of edges are what sets them apart.
In medical field, doctors see diseases before they occur. Take dermatology. Patients often have visible symptoms of skin cancer by the time they see a doctor. By having many images of patients from scans over time, a computer then could look for patterns and identify situations where there may be something pre-cancerous, well before melanomas become visible.
Hearing:-
Imagine knowing the meaning behind your child?s cry, or maybe even your pet dog?s bark, through an app on your smartphone. In the next five years, you will be able to do just that thanks to algorithms embedded in cognitive systems that will understand any sound.
Hearing - IBM 5 in 5
IBM research is also aiming to give us superhuman hearing by translating ultrasonic frequencies into audio that we can hear. This could potentially give humans the ability to ?talk? to the animals, such as dolphins and dogs.
They will be able to interpret sounds in the environment too. What does a tree under stress during a storm sound like? Will it collapse into the road? Sensors feeding the information to a city datacenter would know, and be able to alert ground crews before the collapse.
Forget to hit ?mute? while on that conference call at work? Your phone will know how to cancel out background noise ? even if that ?noise? is you carrying on a separate conversation with another colleague!
Taste:-
Imagine a system that analyzes food down to its atomic structure and combines this information with psychophysical data and models on which chemicals produce ?perceptions of pleasantness, familiarity and enjoyment.?
Hearing - IBM 5 in 5
IBM says such technology won?t just create meals that tickle our taste buds, but also ones that are healthy and meet nutritional requirements. Such a system could create nutritional school cafeteria lunches that students actually want to eat or allow those with limited ingredients, such as those in the developing world, to create meals that optimize flavor.
Many communities in sub-Saharan Africa only have access to a few base ingredients for any given meal. But limited resources should not eliminate the enjoyment of food. A creative computer can optimize flavor profiles within these constraints, creating a variety of never thought of meals that please the palate, encourages consumption, and helps prevent malnutrition.
Smell:-
Within the next five years, your mobile device will likely be able to tell you you?re getting a cold before your very first sneeze. Tiny sensors that ?smell? can be integrated into cell phones and other mobile devices, feeding information contained on the biomarkers to a computer system that can analyze the data.
Smell - IBM 5 in 5
Similar to how a breathalyzer can detect alcohol from a breath sample, sensors can be designed to collect other specific data from the biomarkers. Potential applications could include identifying liver and kidney disorders, diabetes and tuberculosis, among others.
Where in the past, physicians relied on visual clues and patient descriptions to form a diagnosis, just imagine how helpful it will be to have the patient?s own body chemistry provide the clues needed to form a more complete picture.
What?s your take on cognitive computing? Is IBM on to something with PCs that can taste, smell, touch, hear and see? How would you use the technology? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Source: IBM, Gizmag
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Source: http://www.androidnova.org/dont-post-human-senses-in-computers-the-next-big-thing-by-ibm/
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
California Coast Wrestling Classic: Three Harbor wrestlers come away with medals
APTOS -- The California Coast Wrestling Classic in Aptos came to an end Friday evening and three of Harbor High's strongest grapplers came away with medals to hang on their bedroom wall.
Harbor's Dakotah Francis advanced to the finals but came up short in a 5-3 loss to No. 1 Gress Lawson of El Dorado in the 220-pound championship.
"We were both kind of equally matched," Francis said. "But the illegal point, I didn't think it would happen but it happened. That kind of screwed up me a little bit."
The illegal point came in the third period with less than a minute to go. Francis was penalized for taking down Lawson after the referee had blown the whistle. It gave Lawson the momentum and scored the match's winning two points on a near-fall with seconds left on the clock.
"He did all the things he needed to do and it just came down to the last takedown," Harbor coach Brendan Guinn said. "The guy scrambled out of it. It was kind of like a freak thing."
Still, it was a standout performance for the senior to get so far in a pool with other elite wrestlers -- even after he missed a week of practice with an injured shoulder. Guinn couldn't be any prouder for Francis.
"His first tournament coming out and taking second place, I'm stoked for him," Guinn said.
The other two members of the Pirates wrestling squad to win medals was junior Willy Lamacchia, who placed third in the 138-pound division, and junior Bryan Battisto,
who took seventh in the 160-pound division."I'm a little disappointed I wasn't able to be in the finals and win the tournament," Lamacchia said. "I felt like I wrestled average in the beginning of the day but I had a good third-place match and I got it done."
"I was missing a little bit of my upper and lower attack in my semifinal. I was just shooting and I didn't have any snaps or fake-shots, so he knew it was coming and he was able to stop it," Lamacchia added.
Other wrestlers from Santa Cruz County that received medals were Ramon Zacarias of Aptos (eighth at 120) and Michael Kraft of San Lorenzo Valley (8th at 145). Nico Guerrero, who lives in Santa Cruz but competes for Bellarmine Prep, finished in fifth place at 126 pounds.
Ponderosa was the top team by racking up 242 points, taking the tournament title from Elk Grove Senior by three points. Not far behind were Porterville (224), Madera (216.5), and Jesuit (140.5) to make up the rest of the top five. Harbor was the top finisher in the county with a 23rd-place finish and 66.5 points.
Despite the hectic holiday schedule, co-coordinator of the CCWC Ken Pollastrini was still pleased with the crowd and the amount of teams that showed up to the event.
"I think it was great, there was 65 schools that turned out," Pollastrini said. "So being two days after Christmas that's pretty good. The local schools did fairly well, it's a big tournament and we had several people place which was good. Some of these schools are top notch in California but overall they did fairly well being it's an early tournament in the season, we were all pretty happy with the way they did."
High school wrestling
California Coast Classic
At Aptos High
Team Results
1, Ponderosa, 242; 2, Elk Grove, 241; 3, Porterville, 224; 4, Madera, 216.5; 5, Jesuit, 140.5; 6, El Dorado, 132.5; 7, Saint Francis (Mountain View), 115.5; 8, Gilroy, 114; 9, Woodland, 103; 10, Alisal, 101.
Notables
23, Harbor, 66.5; 36, Aptos, 49; 41, Scotts Valley, 43; 51, SLV, 25; 55, Watsonville, 12; 60, Soquel, 6.?
106
First place match ? Alejandro Teran (Porterville) 11-2, def. Aaron Rugnao (Bear Creek) 22-1, (Dec 6-1).
Third place match ? Chris Ennis (Elk Grove) 7-1, def. Jimmy Costa (Madera) 14-4, (Pin 3:41).
Results
1, Alejandro Teran of Porterville; 2, Aaron Rugnao of Bear Creek; 3, Chris Ennis of Elk Grove; 4, Jimmy Costa of Madera; 5, Tj Holloway of Ponderosa; 6, Adrain Alonzo of Alisal; 7, William Peterson of Foothill; 8, Erik Silva of Foothill.
113
First place match ? Javi Jimenez (Porterville) 14-1, def. Tristan Scott (Elk Grove) 15-2, (Dec 10-4).
Third place match ? Anthony Wesley (Jesuit) 13-1, def. Kalen Ippolito (South Lake Tahoe) 5-2, (TF 19-4).
Results
1, Javi Jimenez of Porterville; 2, Tristan Scott of Elk Grove; 3, Anthony Wesley of Jesuit; 4, Kalen Ippolito of South Lake Tahoe; 5, Marlon Diokno of El Camino; 6, Hayden Mattox of Pitman; 7, Kalani Tonge of Elk Grove B; 8, Edgar Rubio of Alisal.
120
First place match ? Anthony Hernandez (Vacaville) 16-2, def. Jesse Vasquez (Gilroy) 5-1, (Pin 1:31).
Third place match ? Sean Summers (St. Francis) 17-1, def. Brian Geurrero (Rancho Cotate) 9-2, (Dec 3-2).
Results
1, Anthony Hernandez of Vacaville; 2, Jesse Vasquez of Gilroy; 3, Sean Summers of St. Francis; 4, Brian Geurrero of Rancho Cotate; 5, Ethan Larrabee of Elk Grove; 6, Gilbert Martinez of Jesuit; 7, Spencer Boling of Half Moon Bay; 8, Ramon Zacarias of Aptos.
126
First place match ? Mason Pengilly (Porterville) 15-0, def. Daniel Ruiz (Madera) 14-2, (TF 17-0).
Third place match ? Carlos Anaya (North Monterey County) 15-2, def. Mark Brown (El Dorado) 14-5, (Maj 12-2).
Results
1, Mason Pengilly of Porterville; 2, Daniel Ruiz of Madera; 3, Carlos Anaya of North Monterey County; 4, Mark Brown of El Dorado; 5, Nico Guerrero of Bellarmine; 6, Sam Barker of Vacaville; 7, Jacob Jagelski of Los Gatos; 8, Daniel Williams of Hughson.
132
First place match ? Jimmy Scarr (Ponderosa) 16-1, def. Jason Garcia (Elk Grove) 14-4, (Dec 8-3).
Third place match ? Alex Elko (Jesuit) 15-3, def. Cameron Meszaros (St. Francis) 15-6, (Pin 5:43).
Results
1, Jimmy Scarr of Ponderosa; 2, Jason Garcia of Elk Grove; 3, Alex Elko of Jesuit; 4, Cameron Meszaros of St. Francis; 5, Terrell Turner of Elk Grove B; 6, Storm Peterson of Foothill; 7, Chase Herrin of Hughson; 8, Gilbert Valadez of Pitman.
138
First place match ? Mccoy Kent (Enochs) 23-1, def. Davis Hallberg (Elk Grove) 15-4, (Dec 8-3).
Third place match ? Willy Lamacchia (Harbor ) 6-1, def. Julian Macias (Bellarmine) 14-4, (Maj 14-2).
Results
1, Mccoy Kent of Enochs; 2, Davis Hallberg of Elk Grove; 3, Willy Lamacchia of Harbor; 4, Julian Macias of Bellarmine; 5, Colin Hustrulid of Ponderosa; 6, Nick Valadez of Pitman; 7, Will Amos of Redwood; 8, Robb Rodriguez of San Benito.
145
First place match ? Martin Sandoval (Porterville) 10-0, def. Angel Beltran (Granada) 9-1, (Pin 4:20).
Third place match ? Andrew Patrick (Hughson) 19-1, def. Isaac Garcia (Madera) 16-4, (Maj 10-2).
Results
Martin Sandoval of Porterville; 2, Angel Beltran of Granada; 3, Andrew Patrick of Hughson; 4, Isaac Garcia of Madera; 5, Gino Roman of El Dorado; 6, Modan Goldman of Fremont; 7, Kenneth Moore of Hoover; 8, Michael Kraft of San Lorezo Valley.
152
First place match ? Joseph Clay (Rancho Cotate) 10-0, def. Braden Henderson (Elk Grove) 14-3, (Dec 5-1).
Third place match ? Cole Severns (Enochs) 24-2, def. Lupe Jiminez (Gilroy) 7-2, (TF 22-7).
Results
1, Joseph Clay of Rancho Cotate; 2, Braden Henderson of Elk Grove; 3, Cole Severns of Enochs; 4, Lupe Jiminez of Gilroy; 5, Cameron Petersen of St. Francis; 6, Tj Shamblin of Ponderosa; 7, Trent Marshall of Palo Alto; 8, Austin Tibbs of Ponderosa.
160
First place match ? Trae Providence (Ponderosa) 17-3, def. Miguel Ruiz (Madera) 12-3, (Dec 6-4).
Third place match ? Matthew Penyacsek (Gilroy) 7-1, def. Kyle Campiotti (Granada) 12-3, (Dec 10-6).
Results
1, Trae Providence of Ponderosa; 2, Miguel Ruiz of Madera; 3, Matthew Penyacsek of Gilroy; 4, Kyle Campiotti of Granada; 5, Joey Lopez of Elk Grove; 6, Gerhard Hohbach of Palo Alto; 7, Bryan Battisto of Harbor; 8, Joseph Dias of Hughson.
170
First place match ? Jovan Villalobos (Alisal) 14-3, def. Nathan Morris (Redwood) 10-1, (Dec 9-2).
Third place match ? Kyle Thorpe (Atwater) 19-1, def. Ryan Holmes (Stockdale) 18-5, (Dec 3-0).
Results
1, Jovan Villalobos of Alisal; 2, Nathan Morris of Redwood; 3, Kyle Thorpe of Atwater; 4, Ryan Holmes of Stockdale; 5, Mark Penyacsek of Gilroy; 6, Emilio Flores of Woodland; 7, Jorge Bocanegra of Monterey; 8, Bobby Posadas of Grace Davis.
182
First place match ? Nick Troquato (Ponderosa) 16-0, def. Cameron Tate (Center) 17-3, (Maj 17-9).
Third place match ? Alec Gamboa (Madera) 14-2, def. Logan Paxton (Pleasant Grove) 11-4, (Dec 6-3).
Results
1, Nick Troquato of Ponderosa; 2, Cameron Tate of Center; 3, Alec Gamboa of Madera; 4, Logan Paxton of Pleasant Grove; 5, Garret Rose of Center; 6, Arthur Georgiyen of South San Francisco; 7, Jacob Golden of Monterey; 8, Danny Sandoval of Woodland.
195
First place match ? Jojo Ochoa (Atwater) 20-0, def. Cole Wilbourn (Jesuit) 16-3, (Maj 15-7).
Third place match ? Jaime Galvan (Mt. Whitney) 6-1, def. Matt Elford (Porterville) 9-2, (Dec 7-1).
Results
1, Jojo Ochoa of Atwater; 2, Cole Wilbourn of Jesuit; 3, Jaime Galvan of Mt. Whitney; 4, Matt Elford of Porterville; 5, Josh Philips of Chavez; 6, Blake Flores of Monterey; 7, Jack Loumena of Leland; 8, Aarron Montejano of Madera.
220
First place match ? Gress Lawson (El Dorado) 13-0, def. Dakotah Francis (Harbor ) 5-1, (Dec 5-3).
Third place match ? Briar Litz (Foothill) 15-1, def. Henry Sharoyan (Ponderosa) 16-5, (2-OT 2-1).
Results
1, Gress Lawson of El Dorado; 2, Dakotah Francis of Harbor; 3, Briar Litz of Foothill; 4, Henry Sharoyan of Ponderosa; 5, Kyle Mask of Madera; 6, Thomas Taylor of John F. Kennedy; 7, Eduardo Madrigal of Porterville; 8, Chris Sanchez of Bellarmine.
285
First place match ? Jaharre Taylor (Elk Grove) 16-0, def. Anthony Kosinski (Marin Catholic) 8-1, (Pin 2:58).
Third place match ? Gary Miltenberger (Fremont) 13-1, def. Sione Kanongata`a (Fremont) 6-2, (Dec 10-9).
Results
1, Jaharre Taylor of Elk Grove; 2, Anthony Kosinski of Marin Catholic; 3, Gary Miltenberger of Fremont; 4, Sione Kanongata`a of Fremont; 5, Dante Duke of El Dorado; 6, Patricio Munoz of James Lick; 7, Tarik Zeid of Prospect; 8, Roy Powell of Mader.
Source: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/rss/ci_22278629?source=rss
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White House meeting a last stab at a fiscal deal
President Barack Obama waves to reporters as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returns early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Barack Obama waves to reporters as he steps off the Marine One helicopter and walks on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, as he returns early from his Hawaii vacation for meetings on the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer of Md., pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012, where he urged House Republicans to end the pro forma session and call the House back into legislative session to negotiate a solution to the fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. walks to the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Amid partisan bluster, top members of Congress and President Barack Obama were holding out slim hopes for a limited fiscal deal before the new year. But even as congressional leaders prepared to convene at the White House, there were no signs that legislation palatable to both sides was taking shape.
The Friday afternoon meeting among congressional leaders and the president ? their first since Nov. 16 ? stood as a make-or-break moment for negotiations to avoid across-the-board first of the year tax increases and deep spending cuts.
Obama called for the meeting as top lawmakers alternately cast blame on each other while portraying themselves as open to a reasonable last-minute bargain.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid all but conceded that any effort at this late date was a long shot. "I don't know timewise how it can happen now," he said.
For Obama, the 11th-hour scramble represented a test of how he would balance the strength derived from his re-election with his avowed commitment to compromise. Despite early talk of a grand bargain between Obama and House Speaker John Boehner that would reduce deficits by more than $2 trillion, the expectations were now far less ambitious.
Although there were no guarantees of a deal, Republicans and Democrats said privately that any agreement would likely include an extension of middle-class tax cuts with increased rates at upper incomes, an Obama priority that was central to his re-election campaign. The deal would also likely put off the scheduled spending cuts. Such a year-end bill could also include an extension of expiring unemployment benefits, a reprieve for doctors who face a cut in Medicare payments and possibly a short-term measure to prevent dairy prices from soaring, officials said.
To get there, Obama and Reid would have to propose a package that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell would agree not to block with procedural steps that require 60 votes to overcome.
Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said he still thinks a deal could be struck.
The Democrat told NBC's "Today" show Friday that he believes the "odds are better than people think."
Schumer said he based his optimism on indications that McConnell has gotten "actively engaged" in the talks.
Appearing on the same show, Republican Sen. John Thune noted the meeting scheduled later Friday at the White House, saying "it's encouraging that people are talking."
But Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., predicted that "the worst-case scenario" could emerge from Friday's talks.
"We will kick the can down the road," he said on "CBS This Morning."
"We'll do some small deal and we'll create another fiscal cliff to deal with the fiscal cliff," he said. Corker complained that there has been "a total lack of courage, lack of leadership," in Washington.
Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, McConnell cautioned: "Republicans aren't about to write a blank check for anything the Democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff."
Nevertheless, he said he told Obama in a phone call late Wednesday that "we're all happy to look at whatever he proposes."
If a deal were to pass the Senate, Boehner would have to agree to take it to the floor in the Republican-controlled House.
Boehner discussed the fiscal cliff with Republican members in a conference call Thursday and advised them that the House would convene Sunday evening. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., an ally of the speaker, said Boehner told the lawmakers that "he didn't really intend to put on the floor something that would pass with all the Democratic votes and few of the Republican votes."
But Cole did not rule out Republican support for some increase in tax rates, noting that Boehner had amassed about 200 Republican votes for a plan last week to raise rates on Americans earning $1 million or more. Boehner ultimately did not put the plan to a House floor vote in the face of opposition from Republican conservatives and a unified Democratic caucus.
"The ultimate question is whether the Republican leaders in the House and Senate are going to push us over the cliff by blocking plans to extend tax cuts for the middle class," White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said. "Ironically, in order to protect tax breaks for millionaires, they will be responsible for the largest tax increase in history."
Boehner, McConnell, Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi are all scheduled to attend Friday's White House meeting with Obama. Vice President Joe Biden will also participate in the meeting, the White House said.
Despite the urgency to act, the rhetoric Thursday was quarrelsome and personal.
The House of Representatives is "being operated with a dictatorship of the speaker," Reid said on the Senate floor. He attributed Boehner's reluctance to put a version of Senate bill that raised tax rates on incomes above $250,000 for couples to fears he could lose his re-election as speaker next week.
"Harry Reid should talk less and legislate more if he wants to avert the fiscal cliff," countered Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Boehner.
If a deal is not possible, it should become evident at Friday's White House meeting. If that occurs, Obama and the leaders would leave the resolution to the next Congress to address in January.
Such a delay could unnerve the stock market, which performed erratically Thursday amid the developments in Washington. Economists say that if the tax increases are allowed to hit most Americans and if the spending cuts aren't scaled back, the recovering but fragile economy could sustain a traumatizing shock.
But a sentiment is taking hold that despite a black eye to its image, Congress could weather the fiscal cliff without significant economic consequences if it acts decisively next month.
"Going over is likely because at this point both sides probably see a better deal on the other side of the cliff," Jared Bernstein, Biden's former economic adviser, wrote in a blog post Thursday.
By letting current tax cuts expire and rise, Bernstein and others say, Republicans would be voting to lower taxes next month, even if not for all taxpayers. Democrats ? and Obama ? would be in a stronger position to demand that taxpayers above the $250,000 threshold pay higher taxes, instead of the $400,000 threshold that Obama proposed in his latest offer to Boehner.
And the debate over spending cuts, including changes to politically sensitive entitlement programs such as Medicare, would have to start anew.
___
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Charles Babington and David Espo contributed to this report.
___
Follow Jim Kuhnhenn on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jkuhnhenn
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Race To The Finish at Sheldon Hills With Three Homes Remaining ...
?This is the last chance you have to become a part of this special setting,? explains Garrett Melahn, Community Sales Manager for The Ranch at Sheldon Hills. ?So many of today?s buyers refuse to feel bound by tiny lot sizes that have become the ?norm?. With our 2+ acre parcels, you now, literally, have 10-12 times the space of traditional neighborhood layouts. Here, your neighbor is never too close for comfort, and the chance to have that is dwindling. The last remaining luxury estate homes are under construction now and there are only three left!?
The most popular design has been the Tucson, and with only three left in the entire neighborhood, now is the time to take a look at why. Located on home sites 21, 31, and 32 they are newly released single story four bedroom, plus a den, two and a half bath, and three car side-loaded garages. The Tuscons offers an open, split floor plan with dual master bedrooms, an inviting entry that flows into an oversized family room that is geared towards entertainment, with a wall of picture windows. The final release of Tuscons offer the highly sought after ?Platinum Package? upgrades. The Platinum Option packages includes tens of thousands of dollars worth of the industry?s top of the line upgrades; Upgraded tile flooring in all wet areas, granite slab countertops with backsplash, stainless steel appliances, and dual ovens prepare you for entertaining friends and family. Situated on 2+ acres there is no other value that compares these Tuscons. You truly ?live the dream? in this home. The Scottsdale is available starting at $584,900 when using JTS?s preferred lender.
Useable Acreage
With 2 + acre parcels, you can have your home work for you. Create your own farmers market and enjoy fresh, healthy choices year round. Nowhere else in the area can you choose from so many produce and even livestock options. Your ?homestead? will save you money by becoming your personal supermarket.
?Compare the value difference in our new homes on acreage,? explains Melahn Community Sales Manager for The Ranch at Sheldon Hills, ?At Sheldon Hills our amenities extend beyond the walls of our homes. The acreage allows the privacy and usability that is so coveted in today?s market. You can create a personal retreat that will last you the rest of your life.?
*To get more information on The Ranch at Sheldon Hills, from Sacramento take Highway 50 to the Sunrise exit and go south. Turn left on Jackson Highway to Sloughhouse Rd., turn right and go two miles then turn right at the Sheldon Hills entrance to the model. The sales office is open Friday through Tuesday from 10 am to 6 pm. For more information, contact the sales office at (916) 484-5226. Broker coops are welcome and well received at 3%.
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Rainbow Academy's Signature "Circle of Care" Philosophy Comes ...
New Jersey-Based Early Learning & Childcare Company Buoyed by Response from Parents and Franchisees Following the Destruction Left by Hurricane Sandy
December 28, 2012 // Franchising.com // Piscataway ? As residents of New Jersey struggle to settle back into the business of daily life following the destruction of Hurricane Sandy ? a locally based childcare franchise company sings the praises of both its franchisees and the parents they serve. A Family of Early Learning Centers that boasts nearly 1800 children in its care through thirteen centers across New Jersey?s Bergen, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Monmouth and Union counties, Rainbow Academy? was established on a simple ?Circle of Care? philosophy. This founding belief holds that the happiness of its franchisees and teachers, the needs and wishes of its working parents, and the care and education of its children are interconnected and equally important components.
As a result of this core principle, Rainbow Academy founder Guy Falzarano established a non-profit arm of the company in 2001. The 501(c)3 organization is devoted to contributing to the health, education and overall well-being of children. This year alone, The Rainbow Academy Foundation has distributed more than $65,000 toward families in need. Foundation donations have helped parents cover expenses for their children diagnosed with melanoma cancer and lymphoblastic leukemia, provided a service dog to a child with type 1 juvenile diabetes, and supported non-profit organizations such as Hometown Heroes, the Fighting Children?s Cancer Foundation, and local food pantries serving local New Jersey communities.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, The Rainbow Academy Foundation would be called upon in an entirely new way. Falzarano and the rest of the Rainbow Academy family felt extremely fortunate that not one of the company?s centers suffered severe damage, and ? most importantly ? none of its franchisees, staff members, parents or children were among those lost to the historic storm. Sadly, the company did learn that two Rainbow Academy staff members and thirteen of its families had either lost their homes or were otherwise devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Falzarano, his corporate staff and franchisees jumped into action, and The Rainbow Academy Foundation immediately began accepting and distributing donations to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. Within two weeks, the Foundation managed to raise more than $25,000.
?What the Rainbow Academy Foundation did for me after Hurricane Sandy touched my heart in so many ways,? stated Rainbow Academy teacher, Tammy Evans in a recent letter of thanks. ?I was devastated after the storm when I found out that my home had filled with over three and a half feet of water, and I was unable to get back in for four days! Digging through the mud and muck was completely heart wrenching, as I tried to salvage what I could of my memories. When I got the check from the foundation, I cried. The money afforded me a chance to start over. I was able to buy much needed items, including a dresser, dryer, dishes, and other items. I am forever thankful to Rainbow for being such a caring company to work for, they truly were my ?Rainbow? in the midst of the storm.?
In addition to the $5,000 provided to Ms. Evans by the Foundation, the parents at the Manasquan Rainbow Academy where she works raised another $1,000 to help her get back on her feet. Her story is reflected in many others, and serves as a shining example of the Circle of Care at work.
In the days following the storm, Rainbow Academy franchisees who had heat and electricity at their centers opened their centers to families without power offering them free back-up care and even a warm place to sleep. Even though they were not obligated to do so, all Rainbow Academy locations that were closed due to flooding, minor damage or loss of power offered reimbursements to their parents and pay to their staff members for the days they were closed. What Falzarano and his franchisees found so amazing ? particularly in light of the current economy and destruction from Sandy ? was that some parents asked that their reimbursements be applied instead to help the Foundation in its efforts to help others. To this day, Rainbow Academy centers continue to collect food for pantries and host coat drives to help those who lost so much in the wake of Sandy. The children have also donated toys and their families are fulfilling ?wish-lists? for local families in need.
?The ?Circle of Care? isn?t merely a catchy tagline, it?s a belief that we all hold dear,? explains Falzarano. ?This philosophy attracts like-minded staff, vendors and families that value caring relationships. If everyone is happy and feels cared for, they will ? in turn - care and watch out for one another. An offshoot of the Golden Rule, it?s mutual respect but on a much higher plane. What happened in the days and weeks following the storm has shown us that our ?Circle of Care? is not only alive and well, but that it resonates on every level. At the corporate offices, we tend not to think of ourselves as part of that circle ? but we have been definitely made to feel an important part of it in recent weeks. Rainbow Academy cares in good times and bad. I am truly humbled to bear witness to such a clear, real-world demonstration of our founding philosophy. After 15 years of providing excellent childcare and early education in New Jersey, the ?Circle of Care? has truly come full circle.?
About Rainbow Academy?
Established in 1997 by Gaetano and Julia Falzarano, Rainbow Academy ? A Family of Early Learning Centers has grown steadily, right along with the children it nurtures, from one center to thirteen locations by the end of 2012. With locations throughout New Jersey ? including Cranford, Fair Lawn, Flemington, Iselin, Mahwah, Manasquan, North Brunswick, Piscataway, Rutherford, Westwood, Whippany and Woodbridge ? Rainbow Academy has never outgrown its unique approach to childcare and early education offered to over 1800 children and their families. The company is dedicated to providing the very best in early education to both the children and the parents it serves through a careful balance of care and education offered by well-trained educators and caregivers. Rainbow Academy is redefining early childhood education and putting the ?care? back in childcare with its signature ?Circle of Care? philosophy encompassing children, parents, educators, vendors and franchisees. With ParentView? Internet Monitoring, Interactive Whiteboards and the recent launch of Tadpoles parent e-communication tool to all of their centers, Rainbow Academy has integrated cutting edge technology into this higher level of service. The Falzarano family remains deeply involved in the company ? from Guy Falzarano at the helm as CEO to their youngest grandchild enrolled at one of the facilities. Rainbow Academy franchised their business in 2011 in an effort to expand their distinctive early education concept throughout the Northeast. Rainbow Academy provides early education and childcare to children ages 6 weeks through Kindergarten, as well as special programming for children up to 10 years old during school holidays and breaks ? including Rainbow Academy Summer Camp.
To learn more about Rainbow Academy, visit them online at www.RainbowAcademy.com. For more information about the Rainbow Academy Franchise Company, visit www.RainbowAcademyFranchise.com or call Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Brenda Febbo at 732-980-1900 ext. 7.
Contact:
Brenda Febbo
Vice President of Sales & Marketing?
Rainbow Academy
Brenda@rainbowacademy.com
917.807.3657
Kasie Bolling
Director of PR & Marketing?
Out of Her Mind ? Fresh Ideas & Freelance Copywriting?
70-965-3219
Kasie@outofhermindfreelance.com
###
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Source: http://www.franchising.com/news/20121228_rainbow_academyrsquos_signature_circle_of_care_phi.html
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South Africa president prefers people over pets
JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? South Africa's president says a dog should not be man's best friend.
President Jacob Zuma made critical remarks about pet care that touch on sensitive race relations in South Africa, which was dominated by whites until apartheid was dismantled almost two decades ago, The Star newspaper reported Thursday.
The newspaper cited Zuma as saying in a speech Wednesday that the idea of having a pet is part of "white culture" and that people should focus on family welfare.
The president's office sought to clarify his remarks, saying he was encouraging "the previously oppressed African majority" to uphold its own culture. It also suggested the way in which the comments were reported, rather than the comments themselves, was divisive.
The president's remarks triggered a flurry of retorts from animal lovers on Twitter and other social media.
"Will I become 'more African' if I kick my dog, President Zuma," one person commented tartly.
Another lamented: "He keeps on dividing this country."
And another humorist wrote: "Well, that pretty much rules out that photo opportunity with Zuma, the Obamas, & their pet dog, Bo, in the White House."
The backdrop to the dog debate is the legacy of Western colonialism in Africa, as well as the bitter struggle against apartheid in South Africa that culminated in the first democratic elections in 1994. Poverty and economic imbalances remain a source of deep strain in the nation of 50 million.
During his speech to an appreciative crowd in KwaZulu-Natal, Zuma's home province, the president said people who love dogs more than people have a "lack of humanity" and that some people are trying in vain to "emulate whiteness," The Star reported.
"Even if you apply any kind of lotion and straighten your hair, you will never be white," he reportedly said.
In a statement, the South African presidency said Zuma was trying to "decolonize the African mind post-liberation" and enable people to take pride in their heritage and not feel pressure to adopt customs of minority cultures. Animals can be cared for, was the message, but not at the expense of people.
It said he gave examples of people loving animals more than other human beings ? letting a dog sit in the cab of a truck while a worker has to sit in the back in the rain, or rushing an animal to the veterinarian while ignoring sick relatives or workers.
Zuma has often said he seeks to protect South Africa's diversity and unify its disparate groups, but he has occasionally stirred controversy. In 2006, as deputy president, he said same-sex marriages, which are today protected under South African law, were "a disgrace to the nation and to God."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-president-prefers-people-over-pets-150157216.html
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Friday, December 28, 2012
Climate Model Coverage: Far from Model Journalism
November 2012 temperatures relative to average across the globe
With a less-than-stellar end to the Qatar climate talks, and with all eyes on the US for more ambitious commitments ahead of the next round, it is more important than ever for the American public to be better educated on the dire implications of a rapidly warming world.
Despite a recent shift toward greater belief in anthropogenic climate change, perception of its risks remains low among the US public.
A study published in the September issue of Nature Climate Change may help explain why. After analyzing climate coverage in major newspapers, and radio and television shows, the authors find a disproportionately large focus on op-ed and editorial topics in favor of actual explanations of science. The article concludes that the media not only provides insufficient scientific coverage, but also significantly undermines the reliability of climate models (in all news sources analyzed, almost two times the coverage of climate models was negative vs. positive).
Rather than merely focus on their imprecise nature, the media should take some time to elaborate on the complexity of computer models and shed light on why they are imprecise, describing what we know along with what we don?t know.
Reporting should emphasize that simulating the forces that drive climate, such as, ocean circulation and heat exchanges between land, air and sea, and their interactions with living ecosystems requires very sophisticated mathematical analysis. Systems of differential equations based on the laws of physics, fluid movement, and atmospheric chemistry take data from satellite observations, ocean buoys and other environmental monitoring equipment, which are then solved on supercomputers.
More importantly, these models entail dividing the Earth?s atmosphere into hundreds of thousands of grid points and predicting values for various physical factors, such as temperature, heat transfer, moisture content, and radiation at each grid point. The temperature at a given grid point is predicted five to 20 minutes at a time, until a projection far in the future, say the year 2100, is reached. Because of the short time-step of just a few minutes (which enables greater accuracy), even a one-year simulation would need to process this calculation tens of thousands of times; according to the World Meteorological Organization, for just one year, this would require processing 27,000 times for each of the 2.5 million grid points on Earth.
Climate models are by no means precise. Given their complexity, assumptions and simplifications have to be made to allow even supercomputers to generate projections in a reasonable amount of time. Nonetheless, they are rigorously mathematically tested, and data from past years have reliably been able to recreate the Ice Age and volcanic eruptions from past decades.
If the general public is given an intricate look at the processes that drive climate and the methods used to predict it, anyone with the ability to recall even a basic problem from middle school physics should begin to comprehend the sheer complexity of these projections. This will, perhaps, dispel the notion of climate scientists sitting in their labs and spewing conspiracy theories about a rapidly warming world.
In the aftermath of a political campaign where Republican candidates made a mockery of science, outrightly denying evolution, stem cell research, and human-induced climate change, it is even more important for the media to step up and defend science instead continuing to insist that there are two sides to this issue.
The fact that the Nature study found that The Rush Limbaugh Show provided the most ?explanation? of climate models among major news publications and programs should be disconcerting enough. More than a third of articles and shows explaining models were also seen to be in political commentary outlets.
Previous studies have called for greater transparency on the part of computer modelers in order to increase public trust in modeling. A paper that argues this in the Communications of the ACM aptly quotes the ?reasonable person doctrine?: ?information givers should provide enough information to takers for reasonable people to make decisions.?
Any less information is unacceptable, the authors state, since it does not give users the ability to make informed decisions, and instead forces them to place blind faith in the ?black box? that is computer modeling. The general public are users of information with regard to global warming, no doubt, because they make decisions everyday on energy consumption and carbon footprints: reusable vs. paper vs. plastic bags, energy-efficient vs. regular bulbs, cars vs. public transportation, and so on and so forth.
While all scientific issues suffer from perfunctory reporting due to lack of time, resources and expertise of journalists, climate change particularly lends itself well to the ?two sides to every issue? narrative, since so much of the research is still preliminary. And when the media encounters an event whose conclusion is unknown, it plays a guessing game, trying to predict a possible conclusion and argue for or against it, often based on little factual evidence (think presidential elections).
While this kind of coverage is corrosive anywhere, it?s even more so in the case of scientific stories, where it is important to report on the uncertainty itself rather than using it as a launching pad for pet theories.
Another reason the media gets it wrong is its endless thirst for the sensational, the controversial and the dramatic. Which is why controversies like Climate Gate or Rick Perry?s belief that global warming is a hoax make it to the front pages time and again.
Want dramatic?
Consider this reporting from Bloomberg Businessweek, accompanied by this very explicit cover page in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, which took nearly 200 lives and left millions without power on the East Coast:
?Sandy featured a scary extra twist implicating climate change. An Atlantic hurricane moving up the East Coast crashed into cold air dipping south from Canada. The collision supercharged the storm?s energy level and extended its geographical reach. Pushing that cold air south was an atmospheric pattern, known as a blocking high, above the Arctic Ocean. Climate scientists Charles Greene and Bruce Monger of Cornell University, writing earlier this year in Oceanography, provided evidence that Arctic icemelts linked to global warming contribute to the very atmospheric pattern that sent the frigid burst down across Canada and the eastern U.S.?
Since long-form journalism with context and background is now pass? in mainstream media, the media should at least take advantage of high-priority events like Sandy to shed light on the big picture. Unfortunately, these types of stories are exceedingly rare, but this is one way to educate audiences on the fact that computer models draw on the same logic that lies behind weather models, which most people rely on for their daily activities, and which are?unreliable-weatherman jokes aside?very close to accurate on a day-to-day basis.
Reporters could also make use of immersive multimedia technology to explain how models work, says Larry Pryor. Video games that allow people to ?play? with real simulations can give them firsthand experience in working with computer models.
Games could be specifically designed to allow users to see causes and effects, and to analyze the impact of various factors that affect global warming. The video game, SimCity, has a new version with an additional climate change component to be released next year.
Citizen science and crowdsourcing projects to model and predict climate change can also be great ways to enable the public to not only acquire information, but to also take part in the research. Old Weather, for example, is a crowdsourced effort aimed at gathering meteorological data from naval logs of?US ships from as far back as the mid-19th century, which can be used in climate models.
Initiatives like the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication are also great approaches to get citizens interested and involved in the climate debate. By tracking public awareness of climate change, including American attitudes, risk perceptions, and views on policies, the project tests new and effective ways to involve the public in climate science research.
Recent efforts to push for the teaching of climate science in schools, where children could learn the nuances, complexities and multidisciplinary aspects of climate research would make the job of the media easier, even while preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers who will likely address these challenges head on.
Meanwhile, the media should do its job. It?s the people?s right to know. If there were an impending terrorist attack or dangerous epidemic that could affect millions of people, surely the media would use every channel to communicate that to the public? What about global warming?a phenomenon that may cause entire coastlines to go under water and whole countries to disappear?doesn?t warrant communication?
Image: NOAA
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=99a8757a53f5533622f0c61e73846641
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Blast in Ukrainian university kills one, wounds two
Randi Zuckerberg, the former marketing director of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg?s sister, was not happy at the end of her Christmas day. A photo she posted to her Facebook account of her family, including the Facebook CEO, playing around with Facebook?s new Poke app, ended...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blast-ukrainian-university-kills-one-wounds-two-131614248.html
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
Rewind 2012: The year in music
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South Korean novelty star Psy?s Gangnam Style has racked up more than one billion views on YouTube.
Photograph by: GREG WOOD , AFP/Getty Images
Was there clearer evidence of our spiralling cultural decline this year than the fact that South Korean pop star Psy?s goofy novelty hit Gangnam Style became YouTube?s most-watched video ever, with more than a billion views?
Now trailing behind the pudgy international superstar and future one-hit wonder? Our own Justin Bieber, whose insipid 2010 song Baby had been watched and heard by nearly 815 million as of Tuesday.
Tween idol Bieber provided one of the most indelibly groan-inducing entertainment-related images of the year when he accepted a Diamond Jubilee medal from Prime Minister Stephen Harper in November, dressed in half-buttoned overalls, a white T-shirt and a backward-facing cap. This summit meeting of the Deeply Uncool seemed so wrong on so many levels that it was hard to know where to start commenting. Let?s just say ?Biebs, even John Lennon wore a suit and tie to meet Pierre Trudeau? and leave it at that.
Psy and Bieber illustrated once again how Internet-based much of our listening experience has become. To reflect that new reality, the industry bible Billboard made a controversial decision in October to count digital sales and online streams, along with radio airplay, in the charts for their major formats.
Critics said this change favours superstars and artists who cross over into pop. They worry that country artists and R&B singers who favour a more purist approach will be pressured to come up with the pop goods.
Country fan Kyle Coroneos, who writes a blog for the Saving Country Music website, suggested to the New York Times that ?country? acts who are more pop-oriented, like Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum, will crowd the Top 10, while more old-school country artists will struggle. The same could go for R&B and hip hop, the article suggests.
Swift?s hit We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together would be a fine example. The country constituency that embraced Swift from the beginning would be hard-pressed to find even a trace of country in the song ? or even in the album that spawned it, Red. But online excitement helped the song get to No. 1.
?I have a theory all the genres of music are coagulating into one big monogenre, and this (change) emphasizes that,? Coroneos told the Times.
The physical album continued its gradual decline: 28,772,200 units were sold in Canada, in physical and digital formats combined. That?s down two per cent from last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
But digital tracks were up 23 per cent, with 107,441,400 sold, the sales tracking system reported. When you factor in track equivalent sales ? with 10 track downloads considered as an album ? album sales are actually up four per cent from last year, Nielsen Canadian operations director Paul Tuch said.
The solid figures were helped by the woman who was last year?s big story: Adele?s unstoppable 21, released at the beginning of 2011, was Canada?s bestselling album this year, followed by review-proof product like One Direction?s Up All Night and Swift?s Red. C?line Dion?s Sans attendre came in at No. 4.
Critics? Who needs ?em?
Like the Psy phenomenon, the Lana Del Rey fiasco nicely illustrated our apparent need to celebrate celebrity. Before you could say ?Lana Del Who?,? the semi-competent singer?s album Born to Die, released in January, was being hyped, in the words of one absurd puff piece, as ?one of the most eagerly awaited events in the industry this year.? The tiresome trifle that landed in stores was, unsurprisingly, an anticlimax ? but that didn?t stop a deluxe edition from being issued later in the year.
How much perspective have we actually lost on art? Consider Madonna, the queen of self-promotion, who brandished a gun onstage as part of her MDNA tour act, which stopped in Montreal in August. At one point during the performance, she ?fired? the stage weapon straight into the audience while blood images spattered on a video screen. Predictably, the piece of theatre didn?t play so well in Colorado, where James Holmes had opened fire on an audience at the premi?re of The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 and injuring 58. To remove the segment, said Madonna?s publicist, Liz Rosenberg, would have been ?like taking out the third act of Hamlet.?
Meanwhile, Madge progeny Rihanna and Ke$ha released patience-testing albums ? self-importantly titled Unapologetic and Warrior, respectively ? that had little to celebrate but the singers? own fame, notoriety and screw-you-I-do-what-I-want philosophy.
Both discs showed the continuing influence of electronic dance music, which impressively raised its profile in 2012. DJs and laptop wizards courted celebrity status, with Deadmau5 making the cover of Rolling Stone while Skrillex, Ti?sto, David Guetta and Swedish House Mafia filled arenas.
Labels had a rough year ? again ? with Universal?s takeover of EMI receiving the regulatory go-ahead. That leaves only three major labels. Artists financing their own releases through fan sponsorship via Kickstarter and similar business-initiative programs ? a trend to watch ? also helped weaken the music industry?s hold on what you hear.
Impervious to the fickle whims of technology, veteran rockers held their own. Leonard Cohen?s Old Ideas, released in January, went to No. 3 on the Billboard chart (No. 1 in Canada), and the beloved songwriter and poet performed two deliriously received shows at the Bell Centre, Nov. 28 and 29.
Bob Dylan?s masterful Tempest, released in September, also reached No. 3. His Bobness, however, drew mixed reviews from fans and critics for his Nov. 16 concert at the Bell Centre.
Not so with James Taylor, who held court for two nights at Salle Wilfrid Pelletier of Place des Arts during the Montreal International Jazz Festival. Taylor?s generous set of classics, played faithfully and affectionately, drew negative reaction only because of the room?s typically unreliable sound.
Autobiographies by older rockers were flying off the shelves, with Pete Townshend, Neil Young and Rod Stewart all reminiscing their way to the upper reaches of the New York Times non-fiction bestseller lists.
The Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys celebrated 50 years in the business, with the surviving Beach Boys embarking on an anniversary reunion tour that fizzled out in discord ? but not before they performed a goosebump-inducing June concert at the Bell Centre.
Closer to home, an A-list gathering of anglophone and francophone artists provided another of the year?s emotional highlights with a concert held Oct. 1 to benefit the family of Denis Blanchette. Blanchette was the technician killed during the Parti Qu?b?cois victory party at Metropolis after the Sept. 4 election. C?line Dion, Arcade Fire, Coeur de pirate and Patrick Watson were among the performers who came together at the venue to try to provide a healing moment.
Watson and band were also among the Montreal artists who released stellar albums this year. The group?s Adventures in Your Own Backyard was punctuated by a memorable live performance in April at the Corona Theatre, which was later rebranded as the Virgin Mobile Corona Theatre.
In a robust year for musical releases in general, happily raved-about discs from Montreal were also delivered by Plants and Animals (The End of That), Grimes (Visions), Krief (Hundred Thousand Pieces), Niyaz (Sumud), Stars (The North), Danny Rebel and the KGB (Blastoff), Elisapie (Travelling Love) and Jorane (L?instant aim?), among others.
And we said goodbye to Etta James, Whitney Houston, Levon Helm, Donna Summer, Robin Gibb, Dick Clark, Marvin Hamlisch, Dave Brubeck, Ravi Shankar, Davy Jones and too many others who left the music world just a little sadder, colder and emptier.
Luckily, however, the music business is a cyclical and self-renewing beast. The way we listen will continue to change, formats will die and mega-hyped celebrities will mercifully disappear.
But we can safely predict, for next year and beyond, that music?s magical moments will continue to find a way to our hearts ? charts and YouTube hits be damned.
bperusse@montrealgazette.com
Twitter: @bernieperusse
? Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
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Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/music/Rewind+2012+year+music/7742955/story.html
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Tourists Visiting Tikal During Maya Celebrations Damage Ruins
Tikal, Guatemala
A mayan shaman takes part in a ceremony on December 21, 2012, celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City.
Tikal, Guatemala
View of an offering made of cacao, candles, cigars, and ocote wood during a ceremony on December 21, 2012, celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City.
Tikal, Guatemala
Guatemalan natives and tourists take part in a ceremony on December 21, 2012, celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City.
Tikal, Guatemala
Guatemalan natives and visitors take part in a ceremony on December 21, 2012, celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City.
Tikal, Guatemala
Guatemalan indigenous women take part in a ceremony on December 21, 2012, celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City.
Tikal, Guatemala
Mayan shamans take part in a ceremony on December 21, 2012, celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City.
Tikal, Guatemala
Mayan shamans take part in a ceremony on December 21, 2012, celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City.
Tikal, Guatemala
Mayan shamans and indigenous people take part in a ceremony on December 21, 2012, celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City.
Tikal, Guatemala
Mayan shamans take part in a ceremony on December 21, 2012, celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City.
Tikal, Guatemala
A mayan shaman takes part in a ceremony on December 21, 2012, celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age at Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 km north of Guatemala City.
Tikal, Guatemala
An indigenous man kisses a bunch of candles for an offering during in a ceremony on December 21, 2012, celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City.
Bogot?, Colombia
A woman takes part in a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, at Bogota's main square, Colombia.
Bogot?, Colombia
People take part in a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, at Bogota's main square, Colombia.
Bogot?, Colombia
A woman takes part in a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, at Bogota's main square, Colombia.
Cop?n, Honduras
Indigenous people take part in a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, in Las Sepulturas --a Mayan residential site--, in the surroundings of the Copan archaeological site, 400km northwest of Tegucigalpa.
Tikal, Guatemala
Mayan shamans take part in a ceremony on December 21, 2012, celebrating the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City.
Cop?n, Honduras
Indigenous people take part in a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, in Las Sepulturas --a Mayan residential site--, in the surroundings of the Copan archaeological site, 400km northwest of Tegucigalpa.
Cop?n, Honduras
Indigenous people take part in a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, in Las Sepulturas --a Mayan residential site--, in the surroundings of the Copan archaeological site, 400km northwest of Tegucigalpa.
Bogot?, Colombia
A man takes part in a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, at Bogota's main square, Colombia.
Cop?n, Honduras
Visitors meditate during celebrations for the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, in the Copan archaeological park, 400km northwest of Tegucigalpa.
Bogot?, Colombia
A woman takes part in a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, at Bogota's main square, Colombia.
Bogot?, Colombia
People take part in a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, at Bogota's main square, Colombia.
Bogot?, Colombia
People take part in a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, at Bogota's main square, Colombia.
Cop?n, Honduras
Indigenous people take part in a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, in Las Sepulturas --a Mayan residential site--, in the surroundings of the Copan archaeological site, 400km northwest of Tegucigalpa.
Cop?n, Honduras
Indigenous people take part in a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, in Las Sepulturas --a Mayan residential site--, in the surroundings of the Copan archaeological site, 400km northwest of Tegucigalpa.
Cop?n, Honduras
An indigenous woman holds candles during a ceremony to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the Maya new age, on December 21, 2012, in Las Sepulturas --a Mayan residential site--, in the surroundings of the Copan archaeological site, 400km northwest of Tegucigalpa.
Tikal, Guatemaa
Members of a folkloric group perform during celebrations marking the end of the Mayan age, December 20, 2012 at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City. Ceremonies are being held to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the new Maya Era on December 21.
Tikal, Guatemala
Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina waves during celebrations marking the end of the Mayan age at the Tikal archaeological site, Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City, on December 20, 2012. Ceremonies will be held here to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the new Maya Era on December 21.
Cop?n, Honduras
Guatemalan chaman Christian Nottbohn (C) holds a Mayan ceremony in Rastrajon, once a settlement of warriors destined to protect the ancient city of Copan, in Copan archeological park, some 400 kms northwest of Tegucigalpa, on December 20, 2012. Ceremonies will be held to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the new Maya Era on December 21.
Cop?n, Honduras
Guatemalan chaman Christian Nottbohn (C) holds a Mayan ceremony in Rastrajon, once a settlement of warriors destined to protect the ancient city of Copan, in Copan archeological park, some 400 kms northwest of Tegucigalpa, on December 20, 2012. Ceremonies will be held to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the new Maya Era on December 21. AFP PHOTO / Orlando SIERRA (Photo credit should read ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/Getty Images)
Tikal, Guatemala
View 'Gran Jaguar' Mayan temple at the Tikal archaeological site in Peten departament, 560 kms north of Guatemala City, on December 20, 2012. Ceremonies will be held here to celebrate the end of the Mayan cycle known as Bak'tun 13 and the start of the new Maya Era on December 21.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/27/tourists-visiting-tikal-d_n_2369674.html
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Home prices rose in ninth straight month: S&P
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Single-family home prices rose in October for nine months in a row, reinforcing the view the domestic real estate market is improving and should bolster the economy in 2013, a closely watched survey showed on Wednesday.
The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 0.7 percent in October on a seasonally adjusted basis, stronger than the 0.5 percent rise forecast by economists polled by Reuters.
"Looking over this report, and considering other data on housing starts and sales, it is clear that the housing recovery is gathering strength," David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor's, said in a statement.
While record low mortgage rates and modest job growth should keep the housing recovery on track, analysts cautioned home prices face downward pressure from a likely pickup in the sales of foreclosed and distressed properties and reduced buying investors and speculators.
Prices in the 20 cities rose 4.3 percent year over year, beating expectations for a rise of 4.0 percent.
Las Vegas posted the biggest monthly rise on a seasonally adjusted basis at 2.4 percent, followed by a 1.7 percent increase in San Diego, the latest Case-Shiller data showed.
"Higher year-over-year price gains plus strong performances in the Southwest and California, regions that suffered during the housing bust, confirm that housing is now contributing to the economy," Blitzer said.
Housing contributed 10 percent to the overall U.S. economic growth in the third quarter, while the sector represented less than 3 percent of gross domestic product, he said.
Last week, the government said U.S. GDP expanded at a stronger-than-expected 3.1 percent annualized pace in the third quarter.
Excluding seasonal factors, however, home prices in 12 of the 20 cities fell in October from September as home values tend to decline in fall and winter, Blitzer said.
Chicago experienced the largest non-seasonally adjusted decline at 1.5 percent, followed by a 1.4 percent fall in Boston.
(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/home-prices-rose-october-p-140523488--business.html
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