Ex-police captain released in ex-wife's killing

Doug Prade, a former Ohio police captain who has spent nearly 15 years in prison for his ex-wife's killing, waves as he is driven from the Madison Correctional Institution after being released Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, in London, Ohio. Prade was exonerated by DNA testing. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Doug Prade, a former Ohio police captain who has spent nearly 15 years in prison for his ex-wife's killing, waves as he is driven from the Madison Correctional Institution after being released Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, in London, Ohio. Prade was exonerated by DNA testing. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Doug Prade, a former Ohio police captain who has spent nearly 15 years in prison for his ex-wife's killing, answers questions from the media after being released from the Madison Correctional Institution Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, in London, Ohio. Prade was exonerated by DNA testing. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Doug Prade, right, a former Ohio police captain who has spent nearly 15 years in prison for his ex-wife's killing, is greeted by his attorney Mark Godsey after being released from the Madison Correctional Institution Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, in London, Ohio. Prade was exonerated by DNA testing. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 21, 1998 file photo, former Akron, Ohio police Capt. Douglas Prade testifies during his aggravated murder trial in Akron, Ohio. Court of Common Pleas Judge Judy Hunter on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, ordered the 66-year-old Prade be set free based on new DNA test results that prove his innocence. Prade spent nearly 15 years in prison for his ex-wife's murder. (AP Photo/Akron Beacon Journal, Lew Stamp, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 23, 1998 file photo, former Akron, Ohio, police Capt. Douglas Prade shows no emotion as he is found guilty on all counts during his trial at the Summit County Common Pleas Court in Akron, Ohio. Court of Common Pleas Judge Judy Hunter on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, ordered the 66-year-old Prade be set free based on new DNA test results that prove his innocence. Prade spent nearly 15 years in prison for his ex-wife's murder. (AP Photo/Ed Suba Jr., Pool, File)

LONDON, Ohio (AP) ? A former Ohio police captain who spent nearly 15 years in prison in his ex-wife's killing was released Tuesday hours after a judge ruled that DNA test results prove he's innocent and no reasonable jury would find otherwise.

Doug Prade was released from the Madison Correctional Institution outside of Columbus just hours after an Akron judge found that the new test results were "clear and convincing."

"This is what should have happened in 1998," Prade told reporters near the prison shortly after his release. "I'm innocent. I should have been found innocent back then."

The now 66-year-old Prade was convicted in 1998 of shooting his ex-wife to death outside the Akron office where she worked as a doctor on Nov. 26, 1997. There were no witnesses, no fingerprints, and no gun ever was found.

Prade's conviction largely was based on a bite mark found on his ex-wife's body. The new test results show that Prade couldn't have left the mark.

"I'm just a jumble of emotions right now," said Prade, who appeared both elated and in disbelief.

He said that he planned to eat anything that hadn't been cooked in prison and spend time with his family, including six grandchildren he has never met. He's still deciding where he'll live and what he'll do now that he's free, but Prade said that he wants to work with the Ohio Innocence Project ? the group that helped free him ? on other cases of wrongfully convicted inmates.

"There are thousands of innocent men and women in prison and a lot of them don't have the advantage of DNA to rely on," Prade said. "Hopefully those ones that do have DNA now ? something will happen."

Prosecutors appealed Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge Judy Hunter's ruling and unsuccessfully fought Prade's release from prison.

Summit County Prosecuting Attorney Sherri Bevan Walsh said in a statement that Hunter's findings were "a gross misapplication of the law."

"We have not seen any credible evidence that suggests innocence, and we are taking all available actions to keep a dangerous killer off the streets," she said.

If a higher court agrees with prosecutors and overturns Hunter's ruling, Prade would get a new trial.

The new DNA test was conducted on Margo Prade's lab coat where her killer is believed to have bitten her.

A forensic dentist testified for the prosecution in 1998 that he was sure Prade was responsible for the mark, while a defense expert said that the defendant's teeth couldn't have left it. Another prosecution expert said there was no way to be certain that Prade made the mark but that it was consistent with his teeth.

Jurors found Prade guilty of aggravated murder after deliberating for six hours, and the 30-year veteran of the Akron police department was sentenced to life in prison.

The Ohio Innocence Project and other attorneys later intervened and successfully fought to get male DNA from around the bite mark tested. The test ? conducted for free by a private lab ? found conclusively that the DNA was not Doug Prade's.

Prosecutors argued that the male DNA could have gotten on Margo Prade's lab coat before or after she was killed. Further testing on other parts of the coat didn't turn up any male DNA.

Hunter ruled Tuesday that the remaining evidence in the case would not be enough to convict Prade of murder, saying that much of it was "tenuous at best," that the accuracy of two witnesses' testimony was questionable and testimony about the Prades' contentious divorce "is entirely circumstantial and insufficient by itself."

In an interview with The Associated Press in August, Prade said that he hoped the results would be enough to free him.

"For them to find what I had known all that time was no surprise to me," he said in a phone interview from prison. "I guess it was an epiphany to everyone else ? 'Hey, this guy was telling the truth.'"

In the years following Prade's trial, bite-mark comparisons have come under fire as sham science. At least 11 prisoners convicted of rape or murder based largely on bite mark comparisons were exonerated ? eight of them with DNA evidence. At least five other men were proved innocent as they sat in prison awaiting trials.

Prosecutors had argued last year that the DNA evidence wasn't clear and convincing. Walsh said at an October hearing that "Prade is where the jury felt he belongs."

Walsh had also emphasized circumstantial evidence in the case, saying that Prade had tapped his ex-wife's phone hundreds of times in the year before the killing and never signed a divorce decree, which would have stopped him from collecting a $75,000 life insurance policy.

Prade's attorneys said their client used more than half the policy to pay off Margo Prade's own debts and still had more than a fourth of it when he was arrested. They also say a contentious divorce and the phone tapping don't prove anything.

Prade told the AP in August that spending more than 14 years in prison, mostly amid the general population, was "hell on Earth."

"I mean, it's one thing if someone is guilty of something to be here, but to be not guilty and here is even worse," he said.

___

Follow Amanda Lee Myers on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmandaLeeAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-29-Murder%20Exoneration/id-592e57a69f1341989dd96676cc022322

soul train don cornelius rod parsley barry sanders jr nick carter sister recruiting rankings san onofre paula deen

Sixty-five found executed in Syria's Aleppo: activists

BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 65 people, apparently shot in the head, were found dead with their hands bound in a district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday, activists said.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which says it provides objective information about casualties on both sides of Syria's war from a network of monitors, said the death toll could rise as high as 80. It was not clear who had carried out the killings.

Opposition activists posted a video of a man filming at least 51 muddied male bodies alongside what they said was the Queiq River in the rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood of Aleppo.

The bodies had gunshot wounds to their heads, and their hands were bound. Blood was seeping from their heads and some of them appeared to be young, possibly teenagers, and dressed in jeans, shirts and sneakers.

The Queiq River rises in Turkey and travels through government-held districts of Aleppo before it reaches Bustan al-Qasr.

"They were killed only because they are Muslims," said a bearded man in another video said to have been filmed in central Bustan al-Qasr after the bodies were removed from the river. A pickup truck with a pile of corpses was parked behind him.

It is hard for Reuters to verify such reports from inside Syria because of restrictions on independent media.

Government forces and rebels in Syria have both been accused by human rights groups of carrying out summary executions in the 22-month-old conflict, which has claimed more than 60,000 lives.

Rebels pushed into Aleppo, Syria's most populous city, over the summer, but are stuck in a stalemate with government forces. The city is divided roughly in half between the two sides.

The revolt started as a peaceful protest movement against more than four decades of rule by President Bashar al-Assad and his family, but turned into an armed rebellion after a government crackdown.

More than 700,000 people have fled, the United Nations says.

REBELS FIGHT KURDS

In the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, insurgents including al Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters captured a security agency after days of heavy fighting, according to an activist video issued on Tuesday.

The fighters freed prisoners from the building, it added.

The video, posted online, showed men armed with assault rifles cheering as they stood outside a building that they said was a local branch of Syria's intelligence agency.

Some of the fighters carried a black flag with the Islamic declaration of faith and the name of the al-Nusra Front, which has ties to al Qaeda in neighboring Iraq. The video also showed tanks, which appeared to be damaged, and a room containing weapons.

The war has become heavily sectarian, with rebels who mostly come from the Sunni Muslim majority fighting an army whose top generals are mostly from Assad's Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam. Assad has framed the revolt as a foreign-backed conspiracy and blames the West and Sunni Gulf states.

Fighting also took place in the northern town of Ras al-Ain, on the border with Turkey, between rebels and Kurdish militants, the Observatory said.

The insurgents have been battling fighters of the Kurdish People's Defence Units for about two weeks in the area, and scores of people have died in the violence.

(Reporting by Alexander Dziadosz and Oliver Holmes; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/least-65-bodies-found-hands-bound-syrias-aleppo-123403196.html

the hartford illinois primary 2012 michael bay zsa zsa gabor illinois primary trayvon martin 911 call kiribati

Toward 2-D devices: Single-atom-thick patterns combine conductor and insulator

Jan. 27, 2013 ? Rice University scientists have taken an important step toward the creation of two-dimensional electronics with a process to make patterns in atom-thick layers that combine a conductor and an insulator.

The materials at play -- graphene and hexagonal boron nitride -- have been merged into sheets and built into a variety of patterns at nanoscale dimensions.

Rice introduced a technique to stitch the identically structured materials together nearly three years ago. Since then, the idea has received a lot of attention from researchers interested in the prospect of building 2-D, atomic-layer circuits, said Rice materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan. He is one of the authors of the new work that appears this week in Nature Nanotechnology. In particular, Ajayan noted that Cornell University scientists reported an advance late last year on the art of making atomic-layer heterostructures through sequential growth schemes.

This week's contribution by Rice offers manufacturers the possibility of shrinking electronic devices into even smaller packages. While Rice's technical capabilities limited features to a resolution of about 100 nanometers, the only real limits are those defined by modern lithographic techniques, according to the researchers. (A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter.)

"It should be possible to make fully functional devices with circuits 30, even 20 nanometers wide, all in two dimensions," said Rice researcher Jun Lou, a co-author of the new paper. That would make circuits on about the same scale as in current semiconductor fabrication, he said.

Graphene has been touted as a wonder material since its discovery in the last decade. Even at one atom thick, the hexagonal array of carbon atoms has proven its potential as a fascinating electronic material. But to build a working device, conductors alone will not do. Graphene-based electronics require similar, compatible 2-D materials for other components, and researchers have found hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) works nicely as an insulator.

H-BN looks like graphene, with the same chicken-wire atomic array. The earlier work at Rice showed that merging graphene and h-BN via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) created sheets with pools of the two that afforded some control of the material's electronic properties. Ajayan said at the time that the creation offered "a great playground for materials scientists."

He has since concluded that the area of two-dimensional materials beyond graphene "has grown significantly and will play out as one of the key exciting materials in the near future."

His prediction bears fruit in the new work, in which finely detailed patterns of graphene are laced into gaps created in sheets of h-BN. Combs, bars, concentric rings and even microscopic Rice Owls were laid down through a lithographic process. The interface between elements, seen clearly in scanning transmission electron microscope images taken at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, shows a razor-sharp transition from graphene to h-BN along a subnanometer line.

"This is not a simple quilt," Lou said. "It's very precisely engineered. We can control the domain sizes and the domain shapes, both of which are necessary to make electronic devices."

The new technique also began with CVD. Lead author Zheng Liu, a Rice research scientist, and his colleagues first laid down a sheet of h-BN. Laser-cut photoresistant masks were placed over the h-BN, and exposed material was etched away with argon gas. (A focused ion beam system was later used to create even finer patterns, down to 100-nanometer resolution, without masks.) After the masks were washed away, graphene was grown via CVD in the open spaces, where it bonded edge-to-edge with the h-BN. The hybrid layer could then be picked up and placed on any substrate.

While there's much work ahead to characterize the atomic bonds where graphene and h-BN domains meet and to analyze potential defects along the boundaries, Liu's electrical measurements proved the components' qualities remain intact.

"One important thing Zheng showed is that even by doing all kinds of growth, then etching, then regrowth, the intrinsic properties of these two materials are not affected," Lou said. "Insulators stay insulators; they're not doped by the carbon. And the graphene still looks very good. That's important, because we want to be sure what we're growing is exactly what we want."

Liu said the next step is to place a third element, a semiconductor, into the 2-D fabric. "We're trying very hard to integrate this into the platform," he said. "If we can do that, we can build truly integrated in-plane devices." That would give new options to manufacturers toying with the idea of flexible electronics, he said.

"The contribution of this paper is to demonstrate the general process," Lou added. "It's robust, it's repeatable and it creates materials with very nice properties and with dimensions that are at the limit of what is possible."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rice University.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. C. Drexler, S. A. Tarasenko, P. Olbrich, J. Karch, M. Hirmer, F. M?ller, M. Gmitra, J. Fabian, R. Yakimova, S. Lara-Avila, S. Kubatkin, M. Wang, R. Vajtai, P. M. Ajayan, J. Kono, S. D. Ganichev. Magnetic quantum ratchet effect in graphene. Nature Nanotechnology, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2012.231

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/strange_science/~3/Z5aTSo83LOQ/130127134208.htm

george st pierre aldon smith friday night lights nick santino bruce arians the misfits hook

Illinois Gov. signs bill into law allowing driver's licenses for ...

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a bill into law today that grants hundreds of thousands of?undocumented?immigrants the right to drive. The new law makes Illinois the fourth state to allow driver?s licenses or permits for undocumented immigrants and comes ahead of President Obama?s ?expected announcement on a plan for?comprehensive immigration reform expected on Tuesday.

Quinn and the?bipartisan supporters of the legislation say the measure will improve traffic safety in the state. ?This common sense law will help everybody, regardless of their background, learn the rules of the road, pass a driving test and get insurance,??Governor Quinn said. Despite the stalemate on immigration reform in Washington D.C., Illinois is moving forward. As a result, our roads will be safer, we will create more access to job opportunities and our economic growth will be strengthened.?

For Illinois residents such as Eugenia Flores, a 41-year-old undocumented immigrant from Mexico, the new law could provide protection from criminal prosecution.?Currently, if undocumented immigrants decide to get behind the wheel, a routine traffic stop could lead to fingerprinting and possible?deportation.

?I?m a good driver,? says Flores. ?But my kids get scared when the police stop me. They don?t want me to drive anymore. But I tell them I have to because who will take them to school??

Proponents of the controversial?law, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, count about 250,000 undocumented immigrants in the state who drive without licenses. These untrained and untested drivers lead to crashes and higher insurance costs for other motorists, with unlicensed immigrant drivers accounting for around $64 million in damage claims every year, according to the Illinois Highway Safety Coalition.

Unlicensed drivers will continue to drive with or without a license says Lawrence Benito, president of one of the chief?lobbying groups for the bill, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. ?They have to continue to bring their kids to school or go to church or drive to work,? he says.

The issue has divided lawmakers in Washington, Utah and New Mexico, the only three states that provide identification for undocumented immigrants who wish to drive. The debate has picked up momentum ahead?of federal legislation?that will soon require state driver?s licenses to double as national identification.?Opponents of the measure, including?Governor Susana Martinez of New Mexico,?cite concerns that these types of licenses?will lead to fraud.

In November 2011, two road test instructors?for the Ilinois Secretary of State were indicted for accepting money in exchange for fake driver?s licenses as part of a crime ring.

Meanwhile, Illinois Representative Dwight Kay argues that the law will lead to an influx of undocumented immigrants to the state.

?Granting individuals who came to our country illegally and giving them a benefit sends the wrong message,? Kay said in a statement after the Illinois House passed the legislation. ?A driver?s license is a privilege ? not a right, giving illegals the privilege to drive in our state legally when they broke our laws to come here is bad public policy. We must follow our Constitution and not pass laws based on whichever way the wind blows.?

Applicants for the license must provide a form of identification such as a passport, as well as proof of Illinois residency. ?License holders won?t be able to purchase firearms, fly on commercial planes or vote -?the card can only be used for driving. But, for Eugenia Flores, that privilege is more than enough.

?I don?t want to spend my life just inside my house,??says Flores. ?When the police stop you, you feel like a criminal. Now, I can feel free.?

Source: http://nbclatino.com/2013/01/27/illinois-gov-to-sign-bill-into-law-allowing-drivers-licenses-for-undocumented-immigrants/

willis mcgahee ship aground off italy nfl playoff schedule 2012 nfl live saints vs 49ers vanessa marcil 49 ers

Israeli Official Hints Pentagon Plans May Make Lone Strike On Iran Unnecessary

New York Times:

JERUSALEM ? Israel?s departing defense minister, Ehud Barak, said that the Pentagon had prepared sophisticated blueprints for a surgical operation to set back Iran?s nuclear program should the United States decide to attack ? a statement that was a possible indication that Israel might have shelved any plans for a unilateral strike, at least for now.

Read the whole story at New York Times

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/27/israeli-official-hints-pentagon_n_2560430.html

keratosis pilaris rock and roll hall of fame 2012 brandon rios oklahoma news nascar news doppler radar colorado rockies

Japan to start 4K TV broadcast in July 2014 - Channels Television ...

The Japanese government is set to launch the world?s first 4K TV broadcast in July 2014, roughly two years ahead of schedule, to help stir demand for ultra high-definition televisions, the Asahi newspaper reported on Sunday without citing sources.

The service will begin from communications satellites, followed by satellite broadcasting and ground digital broadcasting, the report said.

The 4K TVs, which boast four times the resolution of current high-definition TVs, are now on sale by Japanese makers including Sony Corp (6758.T), Panasonic (6752.T) and Sharp Corp (6753.T). Other manufacturers include South Korea?s LG Electronics (066570.KS).

Japan?s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications had aimed to kick-start the 4K TV service in 2016. That has been brought forward to July 2014, when the final match of the 2014 football World Cup is set to take place in Brazil, the Asahi report said.

In Japan, the development of super high-definition 8K TVs is in progress, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications plans to launch the test 8K TV broadcast in 2016, two years ahead of schedule, it said.

Source: http://www.channelstv.com/home/2013/01/27/japan-to-start-4k-tv-broadcast-in-july-2014/

the shins atomic clock daylight savings time john mccain game changer selection sunday corned beef recipe

Personal Bank Loans vs. Family Loans - My Personal Finance Journey

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the "About" or "First-Time Visitor" pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can?subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Click here?to enter my free $51.95 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is January 31st, 2013.

The following is a guest post. Enjoy!

No one likes to be in debt, but?taking out personal loans from time to time?is often necessary, especially if the loan is for an investment ? e.g. to buy a first house, finance your education, or get a start-up business off the ground.??? There are well-documented problems that borrowers can encounter with high-interest loans, whether that is caused by poor financial management, or taking out a reasonable loan but not understanding the terms. Even if we are unable to pay a loan back as quickly as we had initially agreed, there is help available for borrowers to consolidate their debt and get out from underneath it. In certain states and counties, debtors who get behind on their payments can actually wind up in private prisons run by contractors, even though debtors? prisons have been mostly illegal in the USA since the Civil War. However, if you find yourself blessed with friends or family who have disposable cash to hand (and like you), there is a great temptation to take a loan from a personal acquaintance instead of a bank or lending institution. And, it makes sense: it's often quicker and easier, with less red tape and better terms (perhaps your friend or family member has even offered to let you pay back the loan interest-fee), and on a whole, it somehow feels less scary; no paper-work or intimidating payment reminders from the bank. But as they say, buyer beware. The danger with borrowing money from someone you know is that money can become a divisive issue; indeed, it is an issue that has been known to destroy relationships and ruin friendships. In fact, an overwhelming number of marital problems and divorces are down to money-related conflicts, which should serve as a strong caution to even the most amiable friend or relative who might offer you financial help. One major stumbling block with family loans is that people may not be honest with you ? i.e., the money may be more important to them than they initially indicate. The importance of recouping that money, and the lender?s expectations as to how quickly you'll pay them back, often goes unstated. Furthermore, you may take their generosity for granted and assume they'll 'let it slide' or that they'll understand if you can't make your repayments every month. It is easy to allow one month of non-payment turn into two months or four; sometimes, it turns into a year, with the hope or assumption that the loan has been forgiven. It is easy to imagine how this might fracture the relationship. An interesting?study was conducted by Carnegie Mellon University?? we have a tendency, especially in situations where we are borrowing money from a friend or family member, to confuse fairness with self-interest. So at the end of the day, which is more important to you: money or your relationships? How about you all? Would you be willing to give a loan to a family member or have you ever taken out one of these? If so, how did it work? Did it create any family stress? Did you have a written agreement?

Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of?http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronnie44052/1486794482/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Source: http://www.mypersonalfinancejourney.com/2013/01/personal-bank-loans-vs-family-loans.html

Election results 2012 exit polls Presidential Polls California Propositions Electoral College chuck pagano A Gay Lesbian

Economic Change Means Communication Transformation | Lovell ...

The buzz on Capitol Hill is economic reform, but what impact does the economy have on the public relations sector?

As social media continues to gain legitimacy as a key platform to interact with customers and constituents, companies are experiencing the need for solid communications planning and those with the skills to implement the tactics.??Public relations budgets are increasing?at a rate outpacing the GDP growth.? Despite the negative economic media coverage, many businesses are expanding at a fast pace, so building a brand that can sustain such rapid growth is of utmost importance.?

The focus on economy and?legislation?aimed at producing company transparency means many C-level executives are leading their companies from the front lines. The need for solid communications management is critical externally but also internally. ?Most business leaders aren?t aware of the full scope of the PR/communications function and the breadth of skills their team should have? stated our very own Paula Lovell in a recent?Q &A with Nashville Post. ?It?s not just about media relations. PR is a strategic business function that should coordinate with marketing and sales, and it can have significant impact on the bottom line.?

As a result of this changing landscape, today?s communications professionals ?need to know how to do more than write a press release and post on Facebook. Understanding business, the key components of a company and how it all fits together is crucial to producing solid communications strategies. Communications teams are growing as platforms for messaging increase, so working collaboratively as a team is critical for success as well.? How do PR pros stay in the game during the economic adjustments and thereafter?

• Watch, listen and read. ?It?s important to stay current on trends. You also have to know the tools available and be able to manage messages/data using them.

• Be on your guard. ?In a world that speaks 24/7 through social media, you can?t let your guard down.? This means communications professionals are on call 24 hours a day. Be proactive with messaging when appropriate, but also be ready at all times to react.

• Don?t discard the old skills. It might come as a great shock to some, but there is a world outside of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.? Traditional communication skills are still important.

• Don?t be afraid. ?The face of communications is changing worldwide as technology advances and cultures evolve.? Embrace the change and allow your imagination to go a little crazy to keep fresh ideas coming!

Source: http://lovell.com/economy/economic-change-means-communication-transformation/

Rob Ryan Silver Linings Playbook david bowie elvis presley elvis presley alex jones the bachelor

The Rest of the Galaxy

Order 66 has been issued, and most of the Jedi Order destroyed. However, there are those who still linger on the edge of the galaxy, holding onto dear life as they witness the rise of the Empire..

Owner:

Game Masters:

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

While the characters partake in their daily situations, you can find out what the rest of the galaxy is up to here.

Tyeson

Member for 0 years

---

---

Post a reply

RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.

If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.

Who is online

Registered users: 0neTailedf0x, 7achary*, AdellRazh*, AdmireAtStuff*, Ageha, Alise120*, Aniihya*, Arceius*, Arik223, Armageddon, Armourning, Ashy Iggybrows*, AsuraDeWinters*, AugustArria, AuroraDawn*, AvengerSpirit*, bandgeek*, BikerAngel, Blackbird26*, blackwolt*, blueluckster, BottleFish, Bromander Shepard, Byte*, Canibelle*, ChaoticMarin*, Chari*, Child of the Winged*, ChristianVulpine, chrono*, cirrus_sd*, Cloasse*, CNAGamer*, Comrade*, CookieRaiderEng*, CptxMorgan, CriminalMinds*, cucumbersome, DA_SHADOW_PHOENIX, DarkCookie97*, DarkOne, Deallo*, deathrisesagain*, DetectiveLushy*, Diarmuid O'Dyna*, Digital_Muse*, DuBois_Scarlett*, Eddy V. Sovorov, EKRonnie*, emjajoas, emotionless, Essence, Exabot [Bot], Ezarael*, fate0013, Flexar, Floorgan*, Forget~Me~Not*, FreeRunner*, Game Master Zero, Gamer_Templar*, Gasmask*, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Google Feedfetcher, GotDraggedIntoThis*, Half-Dragon*, Hallowed777*, HansenetteHeart*, Horseygirl*, Howlkin Stranger*, Hydrall, Iandak, Iezobel*, Igari, jackrules158, Jadebud98*, Jaffersin*, James Seth Lynch, JayZeroSnake*, KameJLa*, Karu*, kexia*, KiraArsenic, Kohananinja*, Kugorie*, Kuroe, Kuukakulily*, Lady Inali*, LadyNightshade*, Larrykitty*, laxnchill20, legacy14*, Leon21, Leonn*, LethalTrinity, LilyRosen*, LittleMissGeorgia, Lufia*, Mahmoud Schahed*, Marionette*, Mat_z6*, Mela, MelodyAce*, Midnightclub*, Miss_Dreamer*, Moe, Monochrome*, MoonlightWraith*, MSNbot Media, Nannyhap*, NasiaWords*, NateStei*, Negative Bowser*, Nemmy826, Nevan, NorthernSoul, NotAFlyingToy*, Oborosen*, Once-Ler_Fangirl, OurStars*, Patcharoo, phoenix_lynx, pieluver, Princess Awinita*, punkwithflute*, Purpl3_Flam3s*, R1LEY, RacoonMoon()*, RainyDay2000, Rem?us*, RenderedHarmless*, RichterGotz*, roleplay-wizard, Romaneck*, Rougeshadow*, RPGRosa*, Rulke*, Ryuu Takeshi*, S1mon, Saarai*, Sage Akia*, Script*, Seerow, Shpleem*, Sicariius*, silver0lilly, SirLancelot*, Skata, SleepyShadow*, Sonata*, Sorella, Specialist443, SRincarnate*, Stark Contrast*, Starlight77*, Stella11*, Stilts, SuperQ19, Sylwyn*, Synvius, Tainted Twinkee, Tank Emperor*, Tearen Wover*, teffi90*, Tejas*, TemplarWarden*, Tessla*, The Great Thundorz*, The*Lucky*Teacup, thebagel264*, TheFinalOne, TheFIREYloaf, TheFlag*, ThrillerNight, Thundergod1020*, Tiko*, TnevdaNai, TommyGirl, Travis_black*, True Grave, TrueNarnian*, TurtleSoup, ViceVersus, vilevixen, Vinn*, VitaminHeart*, ViviOrunitiaFF9, WaltJRimmer, WhatsUpWazza*, wolfoftheage*, Xistinna, XxEvil1xX*, xXRawrDarkWolfXx, xXTimberwolfXx*, Yolo, YoungJae, ZaziWolf, Zentose*, zolzol1*

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/e-Kb2bCVlDU/viewtopic.php

hologram pulitzer prize winners nfl 2012 schedule gmail down tim lincecum ryan oneal file taxes online

Louis C.K. named funniest U.S. showbiz person: Rolling Stone

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Stand-up comedian-turned U.S. cable television star Louis C.K. was named the funniest person currently working in show business, according to a list released by Rolling Stone magazine on Thursday.

The Emmy-winning comedian, whose given name is Louis Szekely, is the star, writer and executive producer of the comedy-drama "Louie" on cable network FX.

C.K, 45, cut his comedic teeth writing for late-night talk shows on U.S. television.

C.K. bested Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert, who plays a conservative political pundit on his satirical show "The Colbert Report" for the top spot on the list ranking the 50 funniest comedians working in the United States.

Tina Fey, the creator and co-star of NBC series "30 Rock" placed third and Jon Stewart, the host of Comedy Central's news show "The Daily Show," took fourth.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone - the duo behind "South Park," Comedy Central's animated series of foul-mouthed school kids, and the Tony-winning Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon" - were fifth.

Rolling Stone said the rankings, compiled by its editors, considered recent work and activity and excluded beloved-but-idle comedians.

Amy Poehler, star of the NBC series "Parks and Recreation" ranked sixth, comedian-actor Chris Rock seventh and Lena Dunham, creator and star of HBO series "Girls," was eighth.

"Saturday Night Live" sketch comedy funnyman Bill Hader was ninth on the list while Kristen Wiig, star and writer of the 2011 film "Bridesmaids," rounded out the top 10.

A notable omission from the top 50 list was Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Fox animated series "Family Guy" and the 2012 film "Ted," about a man's childhood teddy bear coming to life.

MacFarlane will host the Oscars, the movie industry's biggest night, on February 24.

The full list can be read here: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/lists/the-50-funniest-people-now-20130124

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/louis-c-k-named-funniest-u-showbiz-person-011341678.html

David Rakoff Bourne Legacy Chad Johnson London 2012 Soccer dwight howard Olympics closing ceremony PGA Championship 2012

Many apples a day keep the blues at bay

Jan. 23, 2013 ? Eating more fruit and vegetables may make young people calmer, happier and more energetic in their daily life, new research from the University of Otago suggests.

Department of Psychology researcher Dr Tamlin Conner, and Dr Caroline Horwath and Bonnie White from Otago's Department of Human Nutrition, investigated the relationship between day-to-day emotions and food consumption.

The study is published in the British Journal of Health Psychology on January 24.

A total of 281 young adults (with a mean age of 20 years) completed an internet-based daily food diary for 21 consecutive days. Prior to this, participants completed a questionnaire giving details of their age, gender, ethnicity, weight and height. Those with a history of an eating disorder were excluded.

On each of the 21 days participants logged into their diary each evening and rated how they felt using nine positive and nine negative adjectives. They were also asked five questions about what they had eaten that day. Specifically, participants were asked to report the number of servings eaten of fruit (excluding fruit juice and dried fruit), vegetables (excluding juices), and several categories of unhealthy foods like biscuits/cookies, potato crisps, and cakes/muffins.

The results showed a strong day-to-day relationship between more positive mood and higher fruit and vegetable consumption, but not other foods.

"On days when people ate more fruits and vegetables, they reported feeling calmer, happier and more energetic than they normally did," says Dr Conner.

To understand which comes first -- feeling positive or eating healthier foods -- Dr Conner and her team ran additional analyses and found that eating fruits and vegetables predicted improvements in positive mood the next day, suggesting that healthy foods may improve mood. These findings held regardless of the BMI of individuals.

"After further analysis we demonstrated that young people would need to consume approximately seven to eight total servings of fruits and vegetables per day to notice a meaningful positive change. One serving of fruit or vegetables is approximately the size that could fit in your palm, or half a cup. My co-author Bonnie White suggests that this can be done by making half your plate at each meal vegetables and snacking on whole fruit like apples," says Dr Conner.

She adds that while this research shows a promising connection between healthy foods and healthy moods, further research is necessary and the authors recommend the development of randomised control trials evaluating the influence of high fruit and vegetable intake on mood and wellbeing.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Otago.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/health_medicine/nutrition/~3/cycTFiDYjvw/130123195351.htm

Olympic Medal Count 2012 Olympics 2012 Olympic Schedule 2012 NBC Olympics NBC Olympics schedule 2012 Olympics Chad Everett

Netflix enjoys marquee day as stock soars 42 pct

In this Oct. 10, 2011, file photo, the exterior of Netflix headquarters is seen in Los Gatos, Calif. Netflix stock, on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, is on its way to its biggest one-day gain since the video subscription service went public more than a decade ago. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)

In this Oct. 10, 2011, file photo, the exterior of Netflix headquarters is seen in Los Gatos, Calif. Netflix stock, on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, is on its way to its biggest one-day gain since the video subscription service went public more than a decade ago. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Netflix's rollercoaster ride on Wall Street surged to new heights Thursday.

The company's stock climbed $43.60 to close at $146.86 as investors celebrated a fourth-quarter earnings report highlighted by accelerated growth in Netflix's Internet video service.

The 42 percent increase in Netflix's market value marked the stock's biggest single-day gain since Netflix went public more than a decade ago when investors were still shunning Internet businesses in the wake of the dot-com bust.

Most investors were spurning Netflix again less than five months ago when billionaire Carl Icahn decided to go against the grain and buy 5.54 million shares to secure a nearly 10 percent stake in the company. Icahn's original $324 million investment in Netflix has already more than doubled to $814 million.

The last time that Netflix's stock came close to soaring like this came in October 2002 when the shares rose nearly 36 percent in a single session. That gain, though, wasn't quite as impressive because Netflix's stock closed at a split-adjusted $3.55 that day. The meager valuation reflected widespread doubts about a quirky company trying to make money renting DVDs with a monthly subscription service that delivered the discs through the mail.

Although it still operates its shrinking DVD-by-mail rental service, Netflix Inc. is now leading the way into a new era in home and mobile entertainment. The company's main subscription service now streams movies and TV shows to any device with a high-speed connection, freeing consumers from the shackles of conventional television viewing.

Netflix's early success in Internet video enthralled Wall Street until its CEO, Reed Hastings, irked subscribers 18 months ago by announcing the company was ending its practice of allowing them to get DVD rental and streaming services in a single package. Customers who wanted to keep both options were hit with price increases of as much as 60 percent, triggering a customer backlash that started Netflix stock's jarring plunge from its peak of nearly $305 in July 2011.

Even after Netflix began to slowly regain disaffected subscribers last year, the company continued to lose its luster on Wall Street. The reason: Hastings had decided to forge ahead with costly expansion outside the U.S. and escalate spending to license more compelling material for Netflix's Internet video library, shriveling the company's profits. Even Hastings acknowledged the strategy might saddle the company with its first annual loss in a decade.

Against this unsettling backdrop, Netflix also has been facing stiffer competition from familiar foe in Hulu.com and new video-streaming services from Amazon.com Inc. and Coinstar Inc.'s Redbox.

So many investors soured on Netflix that its stock sunk to a 52-week low of $52.81 just five months ago. The slide attracted opportunists like Icahn, who began accumulating his stake in Netflix during early September when the stock was still trading below $55 because he thought the shares were grossly undervalued. That is looking like a savvy decision. At one point in Thursday's trading, Netflix stock hit a new 52-week high of $149.17.

The market's sentiment about Netflix began to shift in early December when Netflix announced it had struck a licensing deal to begin showing the latest movies from The Walt Disney Co. beginning in 2016. Investors interpreted the agreement with one of the world's biggest entertainment companies as an endorsement of Netflix's staying power.

But it took Netflix's fourth-quarter report, released late Wednesday, to re-establish the company as stock market darling.

The results included an unexpected profit for the final three months of last year, as well as influx of 2 million U.S. subscribers to Netflix's video-streaming service, which costs $8 per month. The company added another 1.8 million streaming subscribers outside the U.S.

All told, Netflix now has more than 33 million streaming customers worldwide, including 27.1 million in the U.S. Hastings believes Netflix eventually will have 60 million to 90 million U.S. subscribers, although he hasn't said how long it might take to reach that goal.

Netflix expects to build on the momentum by adding as many as 2.1 million more subscribers in the current quarter, which will include the release of a highly anticipated TV series called "House of Cards" made exclusively for the company, which is based in Los Gatos, Calif. In the upcoming months, Netflix will debut several more pieces of original programming, including the fourth season of the critically acclaimed "Arrested Development," which ended its run on network TV in 2006.

"People love Netflix, but the original programming is something magic," Hastings said in a Wednesday interview. "It is definitely going to take our relationship with (subscribers) to an even better and more intense place."

Some analysts remain wary of Netflix because of the video-licensing bills that have been piling up. Through December, Netflix owed $5.6 billion during the next five years, up from $5 billion at the end of December. Although the company didn't break down how much it paid this year, Wedbush Securities estimates the amount at $2.5 billion.

"I think the company is genuinely mistaken in how it thinks it is going to manage content costs," Pachter said. "This is truly a house of cards and it's going to come crashing down this year."

Even Pachter was impressed with Netflix's fourth-quarter performance. It caused him to raise his 12-month price target on Netflix's stock from $45 to $55.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-24-Netflix-Stock/id-336f02067a4f4d2f9d96ee204b73c9ee

Justin Bieber cancer lil wayne Mockingbird Lane peyton manning sf giants gold rush gold rush

How dogs adapted to humans' starchy diet

Lauren Solomon / Nicholas Moore / iStockphoto

Researchers say that dogs' ability to digest starch was enhanced due to genetic changes that probably occurred in parallel with domestication thousands of years ago.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

Like humans, dogs underwent genetic changes thousands of years ago to adapt to a diet with more starch, researchers report. They say the change suggests that the rise of agriculture and the domestication of dogs might have gone hand in hand ? but it'll take further analysis to confirm the connection.

"All dogs studied have this change, which I'd say puts it at least a couple of thousand years back in time," lead author Erik Axelsson of Sweden's Uppsala University said in an email. "But we cannot prove that it coincided with the onset of agriculture. This is something we are continuing to work on now."

---

The genetic shift, reported in this week's issue of the journal Nature, emerged from a detailed, genome-wide search for differences between a group of 60 dogs and ?a group of 12 wolves from around the world. Axelsson and his colleagues say this is the first such search ever done for dogs.

"Only some years ago, a study like this would have been impossible due to sequencing costs," Axelsson explained. "Now it is relatively cheap. We started this study late in 2009?? that is, these projects take time."

Co-evolution with humans
Dogs are thought to have diverged from their wolvish ancestors tens of thousands of years ago, helped along by their proximity to ancient humans. Some experts would even say that humans co-evolved with domesticated animals. Past research has shown that wild breeds such as silver foxes can be turned into docile doglike creatures over the course of just a few generations.

But what genetic changes accompanied domestication? That's what the dog-vs.-wolf comparison was all about: The international research team found 36 regions of the dog genome that showed signs of selective pressure, either because they were so different from the wolf genome, or because the genetic signature became so common among different breeds of dogs.

Nineteen of the regions had to do with nervous system function?? for example, the ability to create new connections in the brain. "These findings support the hypothesis that selection for altered behavior was important during dog domestication," the researchers wrote. Other regions had to do with the binding between sperm and eggs, or anatomical structure.

Then there were 10 genes that related to starch digestion and fat metabolism. "We propose that genetic variants within these genes may have been selected to aid adaptation from a mainly carnivorous diet to a more starch-rich diet during dog domestication," Axelsson and his colleagues said.

The genetic changes enhanced a dog's ability to break down starch by secreting an enzyme known as amylase in the pancreas. Wolves don't secrete nearly as much amylase, and thus they don't tend to eat starchy foods.

Why dogs went for starch
Why would starch digestion play such a significant role in dog evolution? Researchers have previously suggested that dog domestication began when wolves were attracted to waste dumps near agricultural settlements in ancient times.

"A process of natural selection started in this new niche that favored wolves that were efficient at this process," Axelsson said. "Being an efficient scavenger included being less shy, so as not to waste energy on running away when humans approached. This idea is supported by our evidence of selection in nervous system development genes, as they are likely to have effects on behavior.

"A completely new piece to the puzzle is our finding of a more efficient starch digestion in dogs," he continued. "This could mean that efficient scavenging also included having an efficient system for processing starch. That is, only wolves that could make good use of the scarce and mixed leftovers survived to become the ancestors of dogs."

Axelsson noted that other researchers have seen signs of similar genetic changes in human populations, which?apparently made it easier for ancient farmers to handle a starchier diet. "The change in humans is less obvious, which makes sense, considering we were omnivores rather than carnivores prior to the agricultural revolution," he said.

Thanks to the rapid advance of gene sequencing, similar studies can now be conducted not only for dogs, but for other domesticated animals as well. Axelsson and his colleagues conducted such a study relating to chicken domestication several years ago, and now that dogs have had their genomes done, cats can't be that far behind.?"I would be surprised if people aren't working on that now," Axelsson said.

Axelsson said that he used to have a dog. ("Now, we have kids instead," he joked.)

"It definitely preferred meat, but would happily feast on, for instance, potatoes," Axelsson said. "This, by the way, is probably important to note?? dogs still prefer meat, but during their evolutionary history it was crucial for their survival to adapt to a diet that included a lot of starch as well."

More about dog evolution:

---

In addition to Axelsson, the authors of "The Genomic Signature of Dog Domestication Reveals Adaptation to a Starch-Rich Diet" include Abhirami Ratnakumar, Maja-Louise Arendt, Khurram Maqbool, Matthew T. Webster, Michele Perloski, Olof Liberg, Jon M. Arnemo, Ake Hedhammar and Kerstin Lindblad-Toh.

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/23/16662504-how-dogs-adapted-to-our-starchy-diet?lite

nicki minaj beez in the trap video food network good friday f/a 18 f 18 crash virginia tenebrae the lake house

West Coast gets swing at San Francisco jazz center

The San Francisco Bourbon Kings perform on the red carpet before the opening night concert of the SFJAZZ Center Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 in San Francisco. The 700-seat, specially designed concert hall nestled in the heart of the city's arts district attracted a crowd of hundreds with a high-energy, inaugural celebration emceed by Bill Cosby. Billed as the first freestanding building in the West built for jazz performance and education, the center opened Wednesday after raising more than $60 million over more than a decade to build a home for SFJAZZ, the nonprofit that puts on the city's jazz festival. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

The San Francisco Bourbon Kings perform on the red carpet before the opening night concert of the SFJAZZ Center Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 in San Francisco. The 700-seat, specially designed concert hall nestled in the heart of the city's arts district attracted a crowd of hundreds with a high-energy, inaugural celebration emceed by Bill Cosby. Billed as the first freestanding building in the West built for jazz performance and education, the center opened Wednesday after raising more than $60 million over more than a decade to build a home for SFJAZZ, the nonprofit that puts on the city's jazz festival. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Bill Cosby, right, jokes with Regina Carter about her violin during the opening night concert of the SFJAZZ Center Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 in San Francisco. The 700-seat, specially designed concert hall nestled in the heart of the city's arts district attracted a crowd of hundreds with a high-energy, inaugural celebration emceed by Bill Cosby. Billed as the first freestanding building in the West built for jazz performance and education, the center opened Wednesday after raising more than $60 million over more than a decade to build a home for SFJAZZ, the nonprofit that puts on the city's jazz festival. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Mary Stallings sings "I Love Being Here With You," during the opening night concert of the SFJAZZ Center Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 in San Francisco. The 700-seat, specially designed concert hall nestled in the heart of the city's arts district attracted a crowd of hundreds with a high-energy, inaugural celebration emceed by Bill Cosby. Billed as the first freestanding building in the West built for jazz performance and education, the center opened Wednesday after raising more than $60 million over more than a decade to build a home for SFJAZZ, the nonprofit that puts on the city's jazz festival. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Chick Corea, left, greets guitarist Bill Frisell before they performed together during the opening night concert of the SFJAZZ Center Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 in San Francisco. The 700-seat, specially designed concert hall nestled in the heart of the city's arts district attracted a crowd of hundreds with a high-energy, inaugural celebration emceed by Bill Cosby. Billed as the first freestanding building in the West built for jazz performance and education, the center opened Wednesday after raising more than $60 million over more than a decade to build a home for SFJAZZ, the nonprofit that puts on the city's jazz festival. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Saxophonists Joshua Redman, left, and Joe Lovano, right, perform during the opening night concert of the SFJAZZ Center Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 in San Francisco. The 700-seat, specially designed concert hall nestled in the heart of the city's arts district attracted a crowd of hundreds with a high-energy, inaugural celebration emceed by Bill Cosby. Billed as the first freestanding building in the West built for jazz performance and education, the center opened Wednesday after raising more than $60 million over more than a decade to build a home for SFJAZZ, the nonprofit that puts on the city's jazz festival. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Full of shimmer and swing, San Francisco's sleek new jazz concert hall opened Wednesday with an opening night gala featuring McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea and Esperanza Spalding aimed at cementing respect for and expanding the reach of the jazz idiom on the West Coast.

Called SFJAZZ Center, the 700-seat specially designed concert hall nestled in the heart of the city's arts district was brightly lit amid a light rain and attracted a crowd of hundreds with a high-energy, inaugural celebration emceed by Bill Cosby.

Cosby played percussion during the night's first number, along with several others including Oakland percussionist John Santos.

"This is just fabulous, it's a tremendous opportunity for everyone here," Santos said.

Billed as the first freestanding building in the West built for jazz performance and education, the center opened Wednesday after raising more than $60 million over more than a decade to build a home for SFJAZZ, the nonprofit that puts on the city's jazz festival.

A building that stood opposite the hall was decked out with giant black-and-white photographs of jazz greats.

"This is the revival of the jazz scene in San Francisco," said attorney and attendee Kirk Boyd.

After three decades of renting trucks to drop off pianos and drums for gigs at outside venues, spokesman Marshall Lamm said the organization was delighted to open a permanent home, which soon will boast a New Orleans-style cafe and cocktail lounge led by The Slanted Door's chef Charles Phan.

"It's just not like someone inherited some money and they built a building," said San Francisco bassist, jazz composer and bandleader Marcus Shelby. "This a concept and idea and practice that has been developed for decades and this building is the result of all of that hard work to give the West Coast a venue that has to be respected."

Wednesday, the show drew celebrities including Tom Waits, Danny Glover, Amy Tan, former Secretary of State George Shultz and hundreds of other jazz aficionados.

The venue will need to play multiple, distinct roles: attract exclusive, high-level performers, support local musicians and school groups such as the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars and celebrate the legacy of the city's Fillmore District.

A half-century ago, hundreds of black-owned businesses including jazz and blues nightclubs thrived in the Fillmore, then nicknamed "Harlem of the West." After the government decreed the area blighted, wrecking balls erased many such hotspots and forced thousands of people from the neighborhood through eminent domain. After a decades-long urban renewal project by the federal and local governments, the Fillmore was reshaped ? and gradually jazz clubs have started coming back.

None, organizers say, will have the weight and promise of SFJAZZ Center, whose acoustics are custom designed to showcase the sound coming off the stage and enhance the listener's experience.

"For the musicians to flow, it requires a stage where you can hear very clearly, " said Sam Berkow, who designed the acoustics and sound system for SFJAZZ Center as well as Jazz at Lincoln Center. "For the audience watching the band, with seating around the stage you'll get that collective sense of the listening experience, which is important when musicians are not just playing a chart but offering a solo in response to the crowd's energy."

___

Associated Press photographer Eric Risberg contributed to this report.

___

Follow Garance Burke at http://www.twitter.com/garanceburke

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-24-SF%20Jazz%20Center/id-586c0699c0fb4a5182954729bcdb10d9

hostess brands nh primary david crowder band annalynne mccord van halen numerology the game

Balls of Steel review

I will admit, when I saw Janet’s news item a few weeks ago for Balls of Steel, I probably giggled.? Then when I visited the official website, ripe with double entendres, it was clear that that was the point.? Balls of Steel‘s main objective is to create a community providing support, hope, and maybe even [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/01/24/balls-of-steel-review/

gbc hedy lamarr jack white kowloon walled city ronda rousey vs miesha tate lindsay lohan snl lindsay lohan on snl