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5 Views
17:30:07 11/26/11
Updated: The Shocking Truth About Naomi Wolf's Factless Assertions
[LESS INFO] 5 VIEWS | ADDED 17:30:07 11/26/11
In an article for The Guardian , Naomi Wolf wrote this: >
In other words, for the DHS to be on a call with mayors , the logic of its chain of command and accountability implies that congressional overseers, with the blessing of the White House, told the DHS to authorise mayors to order their police forces – pumped up with millions of dollars of hardware and training from the DHS – to make war on peaceful citizens.
This follows the ongoing meme that DHS has coordinated the Occupy crackdowns on a national level; that they are orchestrating the violence behind the clearing of Zuccotti Park and others. Wolf carries this to her conclusion: >
So, when you connect the dots, properly understood, what happened this week is the first battle in a civil war; a civil war in which, for now, only one side is choosing violence. It is a battle in which members of Congress, with the collusion of the American president, sent violent, organised suppression against the people they are supposed to represent. Occupy has touched the third rail: personal congressional profits streams. Even though they are, as yet, unaware of what the implications of their movement are, those threatened by the stirrings of their dreams of reform are not.
It's a factless, incendiary assertion dripping in hyperbole, grounded in speculation that's been going on for a couple of weeks now. It began with a tweet. A tweet from Michael Moore speculating that the coordination seemed like something being coordinated by DHS and sanctioned, nay, possibly even requested, by the Obama administration.
Here are the two links Wolf provides as evidence: One to Wonkette ; the other to Washingtonsblog.com . Both articles point back to this absurd article on the Examiner.com site (a very, very right-wing Phil Anschutz, write-out-of-your-butt-with-no-evidence kind of site). Washingtons Blog goes one step further, updating with this: >
(And for those who are understandably doubtful about Examiner.com as a news source, here’s an AP story from a couple hours ago that verifies everything except the specific mention of DHS coordination. )
Got that? The headlines on both of these stories (Wonkette and Washingtons Blog) were splayed across the sites in very large heading fonts: “Homeland Security Coordinated….” and yet the AP confirms everything BUT DHS coordination. Still, that didn’t stop Wolf from ignoring the AP story entirely and writing a piece for the Guardian that included links to bolster her argument that are as factless as her hyperbole, and stem from right-wing sites with anonymous sources.
No one has a source, no one has any evidence, and the originating story which Michael Moore and now Naomi Wolf breathlessly spread quotes an anonymous source with the promise of still more to come in the future, from a "reporter" for Examiner.com who no one seems to know . Miraculously, this "reporter" got a tip from DHS that no national reporter received, and even though Mr. Ellis walks back his original accusation, he promises updates in the future. Well, it’s the future. It’s two weeks later and crickets from Mr. Ellis. Mission accomplished, though. Ask people who are paying attention to the OWS movement and they’ll swear up and down that yes, it was coordinated by DHS because MICHAEL MOORE and now NAOMI WOLF say so.
Truth: We don’t know. It isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility for mayors to consult with DHS. After all, that’s what they’re there for. To help local and state governments deal with threats, real, rumored or perceived. At best, one can conclude that maybe they did, and maybe they didn’t coordinate, and if they did coordinate, no one knows to what extent they did or whether there was any sort of "blessing" and/or mandate from DHS to what they ultimately chose to do.
The best anyone can say is "maybe". But if Wolf were not trying to stoke an international narrative she has chosen, she would have had a look at Portland, where there is some evidence that DHS was consulted because the occupiers were adjacent to federal land. >
There is another line of thinking out there that runs directly counter to the federal-coordination theory: Ruiz wouldn’t comment on this, but one well-placed city source said, in fact, that the feds were mostly inclined to leave Schrunk Plaza open. It was city officials who cajoled them into getting on board—lest they watch most of Occupy’s camp merely move several hundred feet south onto federal land. Which would have been awkward for the city. But also interesting.
Should you accept as fact the idea that the feds were reluctant and the city pushed them along? NO. Why? Because it’s attributed to an anonymous source with nothing to back it up, which makes this theory as worthy as the DHS coordination theory, or just speculation with no facts behind it.
Josh Holland at AlterNet also notes: >
Ironically, the occupation that arguably maintains the best relationship with local officials is Occupy DC, and the Washington, DC government is directly overseen by Congress.
Look, if DHS somehow instructed these cities to dress up their cops in riot gear, pepper spray kneeling protesters, use billy clubs to keep them from crossing imaginary borders, and ultimately throw the lot of them out, then yes, by all means shake your fist. But it's irresponsible for Wolf to publish such incendiary accusations -- accusations of real, physical civil war -- in an international publication, to cite magical articles with unsourced accusations and call it fact. Some might actually call it a lie.
Wolf's hyperbole does harm to the OWS movement and those honest people out there conducting themselves peacefully and with clear intent, because she intentionally tried to stir the fires of anger and discontent and anti-government sentiment on an international level. She should have to either retract or clarify her accusations.
Update Joshua Holland has written his own excellent response to Wolf's specific accusations. >
When you don’t “connect” wholly disparate “dots,” what you get is far less dramatic. Mayors in a handful of cities, responding to local political pressures, decided to break up their local occupations — decisions that were announced to the press well in advance — and were advised as to how best to do so.
One doesn’t have to like that fact to recognize that it’s hardly shocking, and anything but a sinister assault on local communities’ autonomy.
Also, regarding PERF's* involvement, an interview with the director in The Boston Phoenix : >
But what is PERF? And what role, if any, did it play in the police actions? According to PERF Executive Director Chuck Wexler, not the one he had hoped.
His organization is more concerned with improving police practices and policies, he said. He cited a report PERF published in June, which gives advice that runs exactly counter to how Occupy has been handled in most cities — emphasizing communication, respect for the First Amendment, and avoidance of violent methods at nearly all cost.
"Over the years, we've taken on racially biased policing, violent crime, the Gates-Crowley thing in Cambridge," he said. "It's not always pretty, and it's not easy, but I think we owe it to the public to identify best practices."
* PERF is the Police Executives' Research Forum, a group who views themselves as a progressive organization dedicated to reducing police brutality and establishing best practices for police officers in various situations. Until recently, they've been a big target of the right wing for their support of gun control laws.
2 Views
17:30:07 11/26/11
Updated: The Shocking Truth About Naomi Wolf's Factless Assertions
[LESS INFO] 2 VIEWS | ADDED 17:30:07 11/26/11
In an article for The Guardian , Naomi Wolf wrote this: >
In other words, for the DHS to be on a call with mayors , the logic of its chain of command and accountability implies that congressional overseers, with the blessing of the White House, told the DHS to authorise mayors to order their police forces – pumped up with millions of dollars of hardware and training from the DHS – to make war on peaceful citizens.
This follows the ongoing meme that DHS has coordinated the Occupy crackdowns on a national level; that they are orchestrating the violence behind the clearing of Zuccotti Park and others. Wolf carries this to her conclusion: >
So, when you connect the dots, properly understood, what happened this week is the first battle in a civil war; a civil war in which, for now, only one side is choosing violence. It is a battle in which members of Congress, with the collusion of the American president, sent violent, organised suppression against the people they are supposed to represent. Occupy has touched the third rail: personal congressional profits streams. Even though they are, as yet, unaware of what the implications of their movement are, those threatened by the stirrings of their dreams of reform are not.
It's a factless, incendiary assertion dripping in hyperbole, grounded in speculation that's been going on for a couple of weeks now. It began with a tweet. A tweet from Michael Moore speculating that the coordination seemed like something being coordinated by DHS and sanctioned, nay, possibly even requested, by the Obama administration.
Here are the two links Wolf provides as evidence: One to Wonkette ; the other to Washingtonsblog.com . Both articles point back to this absurd article on the Examiner.com site (a very, very right-wing Phil Anschutz, write-out-of-your-butt-with-no-evidence kind of site). Washingtons Blog goes one step further, updating with this: >
(And for those who are understandably doubtful about Examiner.com as a news source, here’s an AP story from a couple hours ago that verifies everything except the specific mention of DHS coordination. )
Got that? The headlines on both of these stories (Wonkette and Washingtons Blog) were splayed across the sites in very large heading fonts: “Homeland Security Coordinated….” and yet the AP confirms everything BUT DHS coordination. Still, that didn’t stop Wolf from ignoring the AP story entirely and writing a piece for the Guardian that included links to bolster her argument that are as factless as her hyperbole, and stem from right-wing sites with anonymous sources.
No one has a source, no one has any evidence, and the originating story which Michael Moore and now Naomi Wolf breathlessly spread quotes an anonymous source with the promise of still more to come in the future, from a "reporter" for Examiner.com who no one seems to know . Miraculously, this "reporter" got a tip from DHS that no national reporter received, and even though Mr. Ellis walks back his original accusation, he promises updates in the future. Well, it’s the future. It’s two weeks later and crickets from Mr. Ellis. Mission accomplished, though. Ask people who are paying attention to the OWS movement and they’ll swear up and down that yes, it was coordinated by DHS because MICHAEL MOORE and now NAOMI WOLF say so.
Truth: We don’t know. It isn’t completely out of the realm of possibility for mayors to consult with DHS. After all, that’s what they’re there for. To help local and state governments deal with threats, real, rumored or perceived. At best, one can conclude that maybe they did, and maybe they didn’t coordinate, and if they did coordinate, no one knows to what extent they did or whether there was any sort of "blessing" and/or mandate from DHS to what they ultimately chose to do.
The best anyone can say is "maybe". But if Wolf were not trying to stoke an international narrative she has chosen, she would have had a look at Portland, where there is some evidence that DHS was consulted because the occupiers were adjacent to federal land. >
There is another line of thinking out there that runs directly counter to the federal-coordination theory: Ruiz wouldn’t comment on this, but one well-placed city source said, in fact, that the feds were mostly inclined to leave Schrunk Plaza open. It was city officials who cajoled them into getting on board—lest they watch most of Occupy’s camp merely move several hundred feet south onto federal land. Which would have been awkward for the city. But also interesting.
Should you accept as fact the idea that the feds were reluctant and the city pushed them along? NO. Why? Because it’s attributed to an anonymous source with nothing to back it up, which makes this theory as worthy as the DHS coordination theory, or just speculation with no facts behind it.
Josh Holland at AlterNet also notes: >
Ironically, the occupation that arguably maintains the best relationship with local officials is Occupy DC, and the Washington, DC government is directly overseen by Congress.
Look, if DHS somehow instructed these cities to dress up their cops in riot gear, pepper spray kneeling protesters, use billy clubs to keep them from crossing imaginary borders, and ultimately throw the lot of them out, then yes, by all means shake your fist. But it's irresponsible for Wolf to publish such incendiary accusations -- accusations of real, physical civil war -- in an international publication, to cite magical articles with unsourced accusations and call it fact. Some might actually call it a lie.
Wolf's hyperbole does harm to the OWS movement and those honest people out there conducting themselves peacefully and with clear intent, because she intentionally tried to stir the fires of anger and discontent and anti-government sentiment on an international level. She should have to either retract or clarify her accusations.
Update Joshua Holland has written his own excellent response to Wolf's specific accusations. >
When you don’t “connect” wholly disparate “dots,” what you get is far less dramatic. Mayors in a handful of cities, responding to local political pressures, decided to break up their local occupations — decisions that were announced to the press well in advance — and were advised as to how best to do so.
One doesn’t have to like that fact to recognize that it’s hardly shocking, and anything but a sinister assault on local communities’ autonomy.
Also, regarding PERF's* involvement, an interview with the director in The Boston Phoenix : >
But what is PERF? And what role, if any, did it play in the police actions? According to PERF Executive Director Chuck Wexler, not the one he had hoped.
His organization is more concerned with improving police practices and policies, he said. He cited a report PERF published in June, which gives advice that runs exactly counter to how Occupy has been handled in most cities — emphasizing communication, respect for the First Amendment, and avoidance of violent methods at nearly all cost.
"Over the years, we've taken on racially biased policing, violent crime, the Gates-Crowley thing in Cambridge," he said. "It's not always pretty, and it's not easy, but I think we owe it to the public to identify best practices."
* PERF is the Police Executives' Research Forum, a group who views themselves as a progressive organization dedicated to reducing police brutality and establishing best practices for police officers in various situations. Until recently, they've been a big target of the right wing for their support of gun control laws.
7 Views
03:58:48 09/25/11
Meet the new Freddie Mercury...
[LESS INFO] 7 VIEWS | ADDED 03:58:48 09/25/11
Throughout the day yesterday, my Twitter and Facebook feed EXPLODED with links and posts about my buddy Marc Martel of the band Downhere who uploaded a video to YouTube a few days ago which went viral. And by viral, I mean more than 1.5 Million views in less than 3 days! The video he submitted is a recording of himself singing a cover of the Queen song Somebody to Love as part of the Queen Extravaganza competition. Queen drummer/songwriter/singer Roger Taylor launched the competition only a few days ago in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the band Queen and offers the opportunity for winners to tour in the Queen Extravaganza Live Tour in early 2012. Music fans worldwide have suddenly discovered what we downhere-fans have known for years: that Martel's Freddie Mercury impression and likeness are beyond stellar. However it's not just an impersonation - Marc's actual singing voice lends itself not only to Mercury, but in the early days of downhere, he was often compared to the likes of Bono of U2 and even former DC Talk member Kevin Max. (I really should dig up a copy of Downhere's cover for U2's Beautiful Day ; my husband and I preferred it over the U2 version, but I know that's a bit sacrilegious to say out loud.) Marc has even ventured into singing opera in the past few years, which may seem a little farfetched for a rocker, but as one commenter stated, "This guy is the Swiss Army knife of singing!"
Though it may seem like videos go viral all the time, Marc stated in an interview with WGBL that the reporter he talked to from the Wall Street Journal on Friday said it truly isn't that common. Nonetheless, views today (Saturday) have grown to more than 1.8 Million total views, and strangely enough many fans including myself have noticed the YouTube counter seems to get "stuck" on the play count for several hours before jumping up again.
I have known the members of Downhere, Marc, Jason, Jeremy and Glenn, for about 10 years now, ever since a friend at Word Records introduced me to them and asked me to edit a promotional music video for their first album release. From the moment I first heard clips of their to-be-released debut until now, they have been my absolute favorite band. I've always told them that someday I expected them to get a big break like Christian rockers Switchfoot did in 2003 when their fourth studio album suddenly sold 2.6 Million copies after being marketed to the mainstream music industry. While this is certainly not the same story, Marc's new-found fame will certainly prove to enhance the awareness of Downhere . Over the years I have heard SO many new fans discover Downhere's music and say things such as "WHY aren't you all better known? This band has so much talent!" However, I also believe that God has used their journey to keep them grounded as the most down-to-earth set of performers that I have ever encountered. Not a concert goes by where they don't spend at least 30-45 minutes after the show in the lobby greeting every single fan who wants to meet and talk with them. This deep connection to their concert goers has established a grassroots fan base for them that has grown and sustained them as a band over a decade when many Christian performers have come and gone.
FINALLY an opportunity has arisen that will shine the spotlight on these guys who spent 9 of the past 10 years touring North America in a 15 passenger van. Media coverage by outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Huffington Post , and the CBC to name a few, has just started. Whether Marc gets a chance to perform with Queen in early 2012 or not is yet to be seen, but many fans feel it would be a travesty otherwise.
Marc's Original Audition video: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dREKkAk628I)
Amazing "Mashup" video with Marc and Freddie Mercury singing simultaneously: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPhkfk8EBsI
CBC interview: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV1-9TeMS4w%feature=share)
GREAT Radio Interview out of Chicago: http://twt.fm/491745
Celebrity Values article: http://celebrityvalues.com/marcmartel.html
CNN clip: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2011/09/23/ctw-han-viral-videos.cnn?hpt=hp_c2
Marc Martel Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Marc-Martel/283556381655697
1 Views
05:02:22 03/12/11
Video: New Mexico scientists study Japan quake
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 05:02:22 03/12/11
mexico -- we talked to people today with loved ones in japan. michiko pierce is originally from japan-- and her family still lives there. after seeing the destruction when she woke up this morning --- pierce began trying to reach her brothers and sisters. after several tries was able to get through to her sister. "she said i'm ok but i never heard, never felt such a big earthquake. i cannot stand up i have to hold something." pierce's family is okay. they live in tokyo-- northeast of where the earthquake and tsunami hit. we also caught up with a man visiting family in farmington. his wife and kids are in japan. "the last email message i received... which would have been shortly after midnight japanese time was that yeah every 5 to 10 minutes there was an earthquake" potter says he's keeping in touch through email and text -- and everyone is okay. some of the top minds at new mexico universities are using data from japan's devastating earthquake to study how it happened and what it means for us here at home. eddie garcia joins us now with what they're saying. in many ways this tragic and terrible event is shining a spotlight on things scientists here already know and things they didn think were possible. this was a large earthquake even for japan so there's going to be a tremendous amount of work to repair the country. doctor richard aster - new mexico tech professor of geophysics- is using valuable data collected from japan's devastating earthquake to learn. he calls the event rare and says it has worlwide rippling effects. to a certain extent, earthquakes will trigger other earthquakes even at large distances. at about the same time the 8.9 earthquake was rocking japan, tiny tremors were recorded here in new mexico at the sierra ladrones monitoring station just north of socorro. very tiny earthquake - magnitude zero as a matter of fact but detectable with sensitive instruments. the aftermath of japan's mega- quake cause thousands of other problems - the largest being trouble at a nuclear plant. unm nuclear engineering professor mohammed el-genk says tsunami floodwaters cut power to the plants coolant system - even backup generators were knocked out. but rather than a chernobl style meltdown - he says modern nuclear plants have backups for backups. it is unfortunate that what happened happened but it's really, for us in the field it makes us feel comfortable that our design works. it worked this time - but aster believes it's an ominous reminder of what can happen here in the u.s. this may, in very many ways be a likely scenario that will occur someday in northern california up through the seattle area in the united states. doctor aster tells me the northwest is part of the pacific ring of fire which is connected directly to the epicenter of japans deadly quake - and what happens there gives them more and more clues about what can happen in the u-s. back to you. to give you another ideas just how powerful the earthquake was in japan--- nasa says the force sped up the earth rotations by one point 6 microseconds. and the u-s geological survey says japan's mainland-- the honshu island--- was pushed eight feet to the east. the quake was the fifth- strongest in the world since 1900--- and the most powerful on record to ever hit japan.
13 Views
18:55:34 11/19/10
Healers and Cataclysm
[LESS INFO] 13 VIEWS | ADDED 18:55:34 11/19/10
Those of you who think Blizzard hate healers... really should read this
You may have heard that healing in Cataclysm is going to feel different. The role will be more challenging, particularly in terms of resource management. This won’t be news to a lot of regular forum readers, but I see enough “why nerf healers?” concerns that I thought it was still a worthwhile topic for an inaugural developer blog.
As a blanket statement, healer mana wasn’t a big concern in Wrath of the Lich King. You could run out of mana sometimes, but it really didn’t affect your spell choice in the way it did prior to Lich King. We think resources should be important, though. A lot of gameplay in a wide variety of games comes down to managing a limited resource, whether it's Vespene Gas in an RTS, ammo in an FPS, or even time in a puzzle game. Managing your resources well makes you a better player. Not being limited by resources can feel empowering over a short period of time, but only because it feels like you’re breaking the rules. In fact you are breaking the rules, and once those short periods of time have ended, a game can quickly lose its luster. Godmode isn’t nearly as compelling in the long term as it might seem at first glance.
Now, it is true that resource management is an even bigger part of the game for healers than it is for other roles. “Not fair!” you might be ready to cry. I used this analogy once before, and it seemed to resonate with lots of people, so I’ll use it again. Dealing damage is like a sprint. You typically want to go as fast as you can. Healing isn’t a race though -- it’s more like darts. You want to be as precise as you can. A big part of the healing gameplay is using the right tool for the right job. The resource cost of those tools is one of the things that differentiates them. Remove the resource constraint and you lose one dimension that differentiates the tools. Good healers used to pride themselves on keeping everyone standing up without running out of mana.
For a number of reasons, all of which were completely our fault, healers had too much mana regeneration in Wrath of the Lich King. Let’s look at the consequences of infinite mana for a moment.
For starters, those expensive, fast heals were never a difficult choice. Expensive doesn’t really apply in the absence of a cost, so they were just fast heals. Why wouldn’t you want to cast a fast heal? Healer gameplay became smaller because they had fewer options. Rather than choosing the right tool, everyone picked a spell such as Power Word: Shield, Flash of Light or Rejuv, and just used that spell. Over and over. We think a cornerstone of good gameplay is making interesting decisions. When your toolbox is too small (because the expensive or slow spells are immediately discarded as tools) then you are making fewer interesting decisions.
Second, since healers weren’t really running out of mana, we had to find other ways to make those raid encounters that were designed to be challenging actually challenging. That often came down to very high tank or raid damage. So now not only did healers not have much of a choice about which spell to use, but they also had to use that spell every global cooldown or risk someone dying. This made healing stressful without the reward of having made good decisions. If you healed the wrong target, hesitated for a moment, or had a laggy connection, then someone was going to die.
Third, anything that played off of mana regeneration, such as a talent, a stat like Spirit, or even a proc from a trinket, became undesirable. Furthermore, since mana wasn’t a concern, overhealing was also not a concern, and players did it with abandon. When everything is an overheal already, then stats like critical strike chance also become devalued.
Fourth, PvP balance suffered. When healers could easily heal anyone to full without fear of overhealing or running out of mana, then battles became very binary. You either killed someone or you didn’t. Nobody sat in a wounded state very long. There was no sense of a changing tide or someone coming from behind. Imagine a tennis match where the outcome of the first serve won or lost the entire match. We could have improved this situation by increasing health pools, which is exactly what we did for Cataclysm, but larger health pools with infinite mana would just make bosses feel unthreatening.
To be clear, we don’t want healers to constantly run out of mana. We want them to run out of mana when they don’t play well. And we don’t want them to always fail. But we do want them to feel good when they are challenged, and overcome those challenges to succeed. When someone is wounded, we want healers to consider whether to use a slow, efficient heal (because they aren’t in immediate threat of dying) or a fast, expensive heal (because they are). That’s called triage, and it was notably missing from the Lich King healing environment. We think triage will make healing more fun. We’re making this change not to make healers sad by nerfing them, but to make healers happy by making the game more fun for them.
9 Views
03:41:05 06/16/10
Fathers Day Gift Guide - Picture Porter 35 - RnR Geek Video
[LESS INFO] 9 VIEWS | ADDED 03:41:05 06/16/10
Michael Butler gives some Fathers Day gift ideas.
Purchase the Picture Porter 35 and support the show too!
Picture Porter 35 - Store, view, share, and manage digital photos anywhere you go
* Click on the Support tab to download firmware update and view release notes.
Firmware v1.2.1 released March 15, 2010.
Your Ultimate Digital Camera Companion
With Picture Porter 35, you can instantly back up your precious pictures so you can keep snapping away. Simply insert the memory card from your digital camera into Picture Porter 35 and download images into its built-in hard drive. You can copy and archive photos directly from memory cards, without the need for lugging around a heavy laptop . With its large LCD display, you can clearly inspect the photos before deciding which are keepers and which to need to be re-shot. Picture Porter 35 works with all popular media card formats , including CF, MMC, SD/HC Card, MS, MS PRO, and xD-Picture Card . You can also easily make yourself copies of photos taken from friend's and family member's digital cameras for instant archival of special picture moments.
The USB-Host function lets you connect USB devices like USB Flash Drives, flash memory based camcorders, hard drive based camcorders, and external hard drives to Picture Porter 35. You can connect an external hard drive to make a secondary backup of critical photos, or connect to the internal flash memory of your digital camcorder and copy your recordings to free up the internal memory for more videos.
Portable Digital Photo Album & Entertainment Center
While viewing photos on Picture Porter 35's large 3.5" LCD screen , you can rotate, zoom, pan, view EXIF information and histogram, and play picture slideshows of your images (including RAW image content) . You can also connect Picture Porter 35 to a TV and share your photos and music with family and friends on a big screen in the comfort of your living room. Picture Porter 35 also supports various music and video formats so you can keep your collection of media content in one place for easy access and enjoy them anywhere you go.
File Management, PhotoMemo, and Playlist Features
Picture Porter 35 gives photographers file management features that eliminate the need altogether for a PC while on the road. You can make selections, copy, rename, delete files, sort files by name or date, and create new folders . This allows photographers to sort through and organize newly acquired photos while riding back in the car or plane or at any convenient opportunity.
The PhotoMemo feature lets you record specific notes or comments with your photos, and play the comments with each photo during photo playback. The Playlist feature lets you create unique photo slideshows that can be viewed on Picture Porter 35 or transferred to Digital Foci’s Image Moments digital photo frame for playback. Other features include audio and video playback, a built-in speaker, audio recorder with built-in mic, and audio and video output.
See the different ways you can use Picture Porter 35 »
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0 Views
12:36:32 05/07/10
Defending Municipal Court & Traffic Court Tickets
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 12:36:32 05/07/10
WINNING TRAFFIC TICKETS BY KENNETH A. VERCAMMEN Too often lawyers throw up their hands when a client presents a ticket involving Driving While Suspended, DWI or Reckless Driving. While defense of traffic ticket charges involving serious motor vehicle charges may become an involved process requiring commitment and persistence, there are a number of viable defenses and arguments that can achieve a successful result. www.njlaws.com KENNETH VERCAMMEN & ASSOCIATES, PC ATTORNEY AT LAW 2053 Woodbridge Ave. Edison, NJ 08817 (Phone) 732-572-0500 (Fax) 732-572-0030 website: www.njlaws.com 1. The In-Office Interview at the Law Office We advise potential clients to bring in a copy of the complaint, all their papers in connection with their case, accident report, and any documents they received from the Motor Vehicle Commissions. Often times I will instruct them to write a confidential narrative if it is a case that is fact- specific or involves a great deal of detail, such as an DWI case. When the client is first in the office, we have them fill out the Confidential New Municipal Court Interview Form. We obtain background information such as their name, address, the offenses charged, date of the persons arrest, other witnesses, statements given to them by the police, their occupation and information regarding prior motor vehicle convictions. Our interview sheet also asks if there is anything else important, such as a medical condition that affects their case. This form will also let us know whether or not the client will follow instructions and cooperate with us. After reviewing the summons and the interview sheet, I ask a series of questions of the client. We request the client wait until the end of the interview before explaining their side of the story. We also ask them if there is anything else of importance in connection with the case that we should know. 2. Retaining the Attorney Rule 1:11-2 of the Rules of Professional Conduct indicate a retainer letter or written statement of fees is required for new clients. I also provide all my clients with written information explaining how to appear in court, information on surcharges, information on points, and information regarding substance abuse treatment, if applicable. Once we receive our retainer (are paid), we begin work right away. Usually while the client is still in the office, we prepare a discovery letter on the computer to the prosecutor/district attorney and court and hand a copy to the client. We occasionally call the court to advise them that we will be handling the case and to inquire who handles discovery. We check the Lawyers Diary to determine who are the judges and prosecutor/district attorneys for the county or town. It is important to learn about the judge and the prosecutor. We require a great deal of cooperation from our clients in an effort to help keep their costs reasonable. We require our clients to take photographs of accident sites and prepare diagrams and provide us with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of witnesses. I recommend that my clients provide me with a list of between 10 to 15 reasons why they should not go to jail and why court should impose the minimum license suspension. We recommend they obtain a Motor Vehicle Abstract. This provides us with information for mitigation of penalties and also provides information to be considered by the judge in sentencing. 3. Post Interview Work We also make a Motion to Suppress where there is a question regarding the validity of a stop or search. Any other Motions to Dismiss should be made in writing such as statue of limitations or lack of jurisdiction. Oftentimes in cases that deal with just one disputed issue such as the admissibility of a blood test result in alcohol or drugs, we can make a Motion in Limine or suggest a pre-trial conference. It is often a good idea to try to know how the judge will decide in order to save us a three-hour trial on a complicated case. If the court rules against us in the Motion in Limine we can enter a guilty plea contingent upon reserving your right to appeal on that one issue. 4. Discovery Phase Oftentimes we do not receive all of the discovery that we request. We send a letter to the prosecutor requesting additional discovery and request that the discovery be provided within 10 days. If we do not receive the discovery with 10 days then we prepare a Motion to Compel Discovery. In the case involving essential witnesses, we occasionally write to the witnesses and ask them to call us so that we can find out what really happened. If possible I have a law clerk call up after we send the initial letter. The attorney cannot testify if the witness provides an inconsistent statement but our law clerks can testify. I sometimes speak to friendly witnesses myself later to make a decision to determine whether or not the witnesses are credible. Upon receiving discovery, we forward a photocopy of all discovery to our client. We then discuss with the client whether or not they have a reasonable prospect of winning. In drunk driving cases we review the videotape with the client prior to the trial date and sometimes make arrangements to retain an expert. 5. Preparing for Court If it is a DWI blood case, we should make an objection to the entry of the lab certificate as evidence at trial. We are also under a responsibility to provide any reciprocal discovery to the prosecutor. Occasionally, in a court where there is only one prosecutor you should call the criminal court prosecutor ahead of time to see if a matter can be worked out or plea bargained. Some prosecutors in lower courts work part time and are not compensated for the many telephone calls they get in their offices. If we discover a favorable case, we make a copy for the judge, prosecutor, and client. Never assume the part time prosecutor or judge is familiar with all the laws. We can prepare a Subpoena ad Testficandum for witnesses to testify and Subpoena Duces Tecum for witnesses to bring documents. We have our clients hand deliver the Subpoenas and write out their own check for the subpoena fees. It is better to be over-prepared than under-prepared. Over the years I have made it a practice to build up files on particular legal subjects with complete case law. I now have files for drunk driving, driving while suspended, drugs in motor vehicle, and careless driving. When we receive the hearing notice we send a follow up reminder to the client to be on time, bring all papers and call 24 hours ahead to confirm the case is still on the calendar. The client should be prepared and look neat. The Grateful Dead and Budweiser T-Shirts should be replaced with something that looks presentable. They should have their pregnant wives sitting next to them. Preparation is the key to winning cases or convincing the prosecutor of exceptional defenses. Upon arrival at court, we will attempt to ascertain if the police officer is available. Sometimes the police officer is on vacation, retired, or suspended. This may assist your ability to work out a satisfactory arrangement. There is no prohibition against speaking with States witnesses in a non-threatening way. Outside of the courtroom, I usually call out the name of the non-law enforcement States witnesses to determine what their version of the facts are. If we have an excellent trial issue but believe the judge is going to rule against us, we bring an appeal notice and file it with the Court on the Record. I keep in my car blank forms for Order to Compel Discovery, Order Mark Try or Dismiss, Order to be Relieved, and an Appeal Notice. 6. Plea to a Lesser Defense If the client is going to enter a guilty plea to an offense, it is important they understand what the offense is and put a factual basis on the record. The Judge will be angry if a person is pleading guilty to a drunk driving case and the judge asked them what he had to drink, the person insists he only had one beer. The judge will send us back to our seat and must refuse to take the guilty plea unless an adequate factual basis is put on the record. Having previously obtained for my clients their favorable background, I usually put on the record reasons why the judge should give them the minimum penalties. Letters of reference and character reference letters are helpful in cases where the judge has wide discretion in his sentencing. After the client pleads guilty, it is a good idea to also ask the client on the record if he has any questions of myself or of the court. 7. Conclusion Whether or not we have a trial or there is a plea to reduce the charge, I wish to walk out knowing I did the best you could for the client. Even if I lose, I want to have been such an articulate advocate that the client walks out saying my attorney is great but the judge is wrong. We try to be innovative and prepare new arguments. We handle a substantial amount of traffic court and personal injury cases and have put case law and certain legal defenses on our website: www.NJLaws.com. About the Author: Kenneth A. Vercammen is an Edison, Middlesex County trial attorney who has published 125 articles in national and New Jersey publications on criminal court and litigation topics. Kenneth A. Vercammen is an Edison, Middlesex County, NJ trial attorney who has published125 articles in national and New Jersey publications on business and litigation topics. He often lectures to trial lawyers of the American Bar Association, New Jersey State Bar Association and Middlesex County Bar Association. He is a highly regarded lecturer on litigation issues for the American Bar Association, ICLE, New Jersey State Bar Association and Middlesex County Bar Association. His articles have been published by New Jersey Law Journal, ABA Law Practice Management Magazine, and New Jersey Lawyer. He is the Editor in Chief of the New Jersey Municipal Court Law Review. Mr. Vercammen is a recipient of the NJSBA- YLD Service to the Bar Award. He has served as a Special Acting Prosecutor in nine different cities and towns in New Jersey and also successfully handled over One thousand Municipal Court and Superior Court matters in the past 12 years. In his private practice, he has devoted a substantial portion of his professional time to the preparation and trial of litigated matters. He has appeared in Courts throughout New Jersey several times each week on Criminal personal injury matters, Municipal Court trials, and contested Probate hearings. He serves as the Editor of the popular legal website
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03:03:50 01/16/10
Music Video Reform School VS Ke$ha and Duran Duran - MeVIO Music
[LESS INFO] 13 VIEWS | ADDED 03:03:50 01/16/10
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It's a regular dance party here at Music Video Reform School. In this episode, Jackie and Martina bring you a bit of modern flavor with a video from Ke$ha. Then they they go old school with a classic 80's video from Duran Duran.
Ke$ha:
BIO: (from allmusic.com )
Brash, driven pop singer and songwriter Kesha (Kesha Rose Sebert) was born in Los Angeles but moved at the age of four to Nashville, when her mother -- a longtime songwriter -- inked a publishing deal. (Over a decade prior to that, Pebe Sebert's biggest success came with "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You," originally recorded by Joe Sun and later by Dolly Parton.) Before finishing high school, Kesha returned to L.A. for the sake of jump-starting her own career in music; she did this despite being set up to study psychology at Columbia. She came into contact with Dr. Luke, a co-writer and co-producer of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" (among several other hits), who was impressed with some demo recordings. She penned the Veronicas' "This Love" and later contributed background vocals to Britney Spears' "Lace and Leather," both of which were released in 2008, but the biggest turning point came in 2009, when she was tapped to contribute vocals on Flo Rida's Dr. Luke-produced "Right Round," a number one Hot 100 hit. Subsequently signed to RCA, her debut album, featuring collaborations with Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Benny Blanco, was set for release in early 2010, led by the October 2009 single "Tik Tok."
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Duran Duran
BIO: (from lastfm.com )
Duran Duran (named after a character in Roger Vadim’s sci-fi classic, Barbarella) is an electronic pop-rock band that was part of the new wave music movement in the early 1980s. Created by Nick Rhodes (keyboards) and John Taylor (bass) in Birmingham, UK, 1978, with the later addition of Roger Taylor (drums), Andy Taylor (guitar), and Simon Le Bon (lead vocals), the band has sold more than 100 million records, making them one of the best-selling bands in history.
Their songs are vivid, hook-laden pop that have usually fared well on the radio, but what many remember best about Duran Duran is their iconic music videos. Though many of the videos were tongue-in-cheek, the band never quite escaped the glamorous and decadent jet set image their early videos projected.
Their first singer and original founding member was Stephen Duffy and the original bassist was Simon Colley. Several drummers and guitarists were subsequently tried, as well as a handful of vocalists after Duffy left Duran Duran early in 1979. Duran Duran performed the title sequence theme for the 1985 James Bond film “A View To A Kill”.
Like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran was among the earliest bands to work on their own remixes. From the very beginning, the band had a keen sense of style, and worked with stylist Perry Haines and fashion designers such as Kahn & Bell and Antony Price to build a sharp and elegant image, soon growing beyond the ruffles and sashes of the pirate-flavoured new romantic look.
Although the group never disbanded, it went through several line-up changes over the years - American guitarist Warren Cuccurullo (formerly of Missing Persons) was also a member of the band from 1989 to 2001, and drummer Sterling Campbell was a member from 1989 to 1991. John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor all returned in 2001 and created a stir among music media and the band’s fans. Duran Duran released the first album from the reunited line-up, Astronaut, in 2004, which was in turn followed up by many sold out shows in England, most notably Wembley Arena, where a live DVD of the tour was filmed in 2004/2005.
In October of 2006, it was announced on Duran Duran’s website that Andy Taylor had left the band. The band’s latest album, ‘Red Carpet Massacre’ was released in November 2007. They performed the album live in New York City on Broadway at the Barrymore Theater, for what was originally scheduled as an unprecedented 10-night run. A stage hand union strike shortened the run by a few nights, but Duran Duran were able to re-schedule the shows elsewhere. They went on to tour the world, ending their successful run in December of 2008.
They are also finishing 2008 by releasing a new DVD that documents the making of their now-classic “Rio” album (called “Classic Albums: Rio”), and a book called “Would Someone Please Explain?”- a compilation of questions from the “Ask Katy” area of their popular website.
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23:33:06 01/13/10
CES 2010 CESpool coverage - Loops on Your iPhone
[LESS INFO] 5 VIEWS | ADDED 23:33:06 01/13/10
Michael Butler and Sam Levin visit the guys who make Looptastic for the iPhone
About Looptastic: Mobile Mashups Made Easy
Looptastic is the performance remix tool for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Tear apart tracks with your fingertips. Crossfade and filter. Play live through headphones or speakers. It’s a party in your pocket.
Looptastic Producer was featured in the What's Hot section of the App Store.
"Looptastic Producer offers l33t music producers the most bang for their buck." wired.com
"You'll be mixing like a pro." Fox News "A cool and intuitive remixing environment" Electronic Musicia
"What an amazing app. The tempo / stretch control is completely seamless. This app has gone from strength to strength and I hope it keeps on going." Palm Sound
"Its so easy to perform different mixes in real time that saying it is smooth is a total understatement. A real winner! Good work guys!!" KeyWiz
"Deep [yet] easy to use." AppCraver.com
* Import your own loops in AIFF, WAV, or OGG format using an intuitive web interface. Importing requires a Wi-Fi connection to a PC, Mac, or Linux machine.
* Automatic beat synchronization makes loops of different tempos play in sync
* Manipulate the sound with any of 9 effects, including fliters, delay, repeater, bit crusher, and flanger.
* Apply effects to part or all of the mix
* Load up to four minutes of CD-quality loops per set.
* Comes with 260 loops packaged as 26 remixable tracks. This includes the complete set of Electro and Progressive loops. *** Requires that you download the Electro and Progressive sets from the Loop Store at no charge.
* Multitouch volume control with three zones and crossfader
* Record your mix for future playback on the device
* Export your mix to Mac or PC via Wi-Fi
* Tempo control using timeshifting algortihms. The pitch stays the same--only the BPM changes.
* Play up to 20 loops at the same time and mix and match between built in loops and your own loops.
* One Shot mode plays samples without time-stretching -- ideal for sound bites
* Manually trigger loops using a waveform display Tips & Tricks
Looptastic is easy to use, but surprisingly deep. Here are some insider tips for creating more exciting performances.
Quick Mix
You don’t need to wait for all the sounds to load before starting to mix. As soon as a loop icon lights up, you can drag it to the playing field and begin your performance. You can even drag unloaded sounds there; they’ll start to play as soon as they’ve loaded. (This technique works best with percussive loops.)
You don’t have to wait for loops to load before starting your performance.
Hello, I’ll Be Your Fader
Play the Extremes
The Looptastic crossfader is a lot more expressive than you’d think. Tap the extreme right and left edges of the fader on the beat to create DJ-style transform effects. (Try tapping the filter screen on offbeats, too.)
Cue & Evolve
Move the fader all the way to one side, cue up some loops in the silent zone, and then snap the fader over to the silent side on the next downbeat. That will transition to a new section in your song. Repeat this left-right, cue-and-snap movement to keep the mix evolving.
Instant Breakdown
Put all the loops except a vocal into one side zone, and then quickly crossfade to the other side to solo the vocal. (Keeping a subtle hi-hat pulse going in the center zone — which always plays — helps propel the mix along.) Now drag loops horizontally from the silent zone into the center zone, one by one, to start building up your track again.
Right now, only the vocal (right zone) and hi-hat (center zone) are playing. Dragging loops horizontally from the silent zone (left) adds them back to the mix, creating a build.
No-Stress Recording
Unlike most music apps, in which you click Record and then pray you perform something good, Looptastic is always listening. In Looptastic, you hit Record after you’ve played something great, knowing Looptastic has already captured it. This retro-recording design eliminates the “red light jitters” so many performers get.
Producer’s Cut
With the flagship Looptastic Producer app, you can really personalize your mix by importing your own sounds over Wi-Fi. (We call it Mashup to Go.) Looptastic automatically time-stretches your loops so they play in sync, but there’s also a hidden sound-bite feature: Before import, change the mode to One Shot on your computer. That disables the time-stretching so your sound bite plays normally. By setting the loop length, you can control how often it repeats.
Set sound bites to One Shot mode and Looptastic Producer will play them at the original speed. Control how often the phrase repeats by picking a bar length.
Export Control
One of our biggest customer requests was for a way to export recordings as high-res audio files. That’s now possible in all versions of Looptastic. (Except the free one, although even it captures your performance moves, so you can still record the iPhone’s analog output.) You can burn exported files directly to CD.
Got a hot tip? Send it in! We’ll feature the best ones here, along with a link to your site or YouTube demo. Support
How do I restore Loop Sets I purchased on another device or on the same device?
If you previously bought Loop Sets inside Looptastic Producer, you can download them again at no charge. Simply go through the steps of purchasing the loop set(s) again. You will not be charged a second time. You will also receive a confirmation message that you have previously purchased the item.
I’m having trouble uploading; what should I do?
It is important that your device have a valid Wi-Fi connection and be on the same Wi-Fi Network as your computer.
If your device is saying it is unable to establish a connection, try restarting it using the following steps:
* Hold the power button at the top for 5 seconds
* Swipe the "slide to power off" slider.
* Wait for the device to power down.
* Press the power button again.
You may want to try setting up an ad hoc Wi-Fi network between your computer and your device. On the Mac, the steps are as follows:
* Click on the Wi-Fi icon on the menu.
* Choose Create Network. Choose a name for your network and click OK.
* On your device, open the settings. Choose the network you created in step 2.
* Open Looptastic and press the Import/Export button.
* On your computer open a browser with the address shown on the device screen (for example, http://169.254.237.89:8080). At this point you should see the Looptastic web page.
I don’t hear the sound. What’s wrong?
* If you are running iPhone or iPod OS 3.0, make sure you update to the latest version of Looptastic. We have fixed the incompatibility in version 2.1.0 of Looptastic.
* Make sure your iPhone is not in silent (vibrate only) mode.
* Make sure the volume is turned up.
* Make sure that you have moved the loops (colored squares) to the top of the screen so that they play at full volume.
I’m having trouble with audio breakups or the application closes by itself. How do I fix this?
Try restarting your iPhone or iPod Touch to free up memory:
* Hold down the power button.
* Swipe the slide to power off.
* Wait for the unit to power down and then press the power button again.
What is the best way to create loops for Producer?
There are several good ways to create loops. Both Ableton Live and Sony Acid allow you to export tracks individually. This is very helpful for creating separate parts at the same length and tempo.
You can also use Apple GarageBand to prepare loops for Looptastic. The key is set up a 4- or 8-bar section and use the looped playback feature to set a range. Then, solo one track and export your mix to a AIFF file. Repeat for each track in your arrangement.
Here are some freeware loop editors that may help:
Mac:
Loop Editor
Audacity
PC:
Wavosaur ( Tutorial )
Audacity
The tempo is off; what do I do?
For best results, use loops that have a similar or identical tempo. Also, use loops that are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32 bars in length. Looptastic Producer will do its best to line everything up automatically. If all else fails, make each track the same length.
Where can I get some loops?
Here are three demo sets developed by Adam Smith Kipnis that you can download and use with Looptastic Producer.
Operator
Kickit
Electric
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20 Views
20:37:49 12/06/09
Music Video Reform School VS Powerman 5000 and Adam Lambert - MeVIO Music
[LESS INFO] 20 VIEWS | ADDED 20:37:49 12/06/09
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Jackie and Martina are back with some more video critiques. This week we have videos from Powerman 5000 and Adam Lambert.
Powerman 5000:
BIO: (from allmusic.com )
Helmed by vocalist Spider (aka Michael Cummings, also know as Spider One or MC Spider, the younger brother of Rob Zombie), the Boston-based underground electro-metal band Powerman 5000 earned a popular cult following along the East Coast with the release of their 1994 indie debut EP, True Force, and 1995's LP The Blood Splat Rating System, the latter of which appeared on Conscience Records. Two years later, the band moved to Dreamworks (and relocated to Los Angeles), where they released a revamped version of their debut as Mega!! Kung Fu Radio.
Touring with the likes of Marilyn Manson and Korn, as well as a stint on Ozzfest, expanded their fan base and led up to Powerman 5000's 1997 science fiction-esque follow-up, Tonight the Stars Revolt! During shows and promos for the album, the band was often found sporting spacesuits and other sci-fi paraphernalia. The record went platinum, helped in part by the success of singles "When Worlds Collide" and "Nobody's Real" on MTV. The halted release of a since aborted album entitled Anyone for Doomsday? signaled the departure of longtime bassist Dorian Heartsong (aka Dorian 27) and drummer Al Pahanish (aka Al 3) in early November of 2001. A year later, drummer Adrian Ost (aka Ad7) was added to the group; bassist Siggy Sjursen joined 40 auditions later before 2002 came to a close.
Powerman 5000, including Spider and longtime guitarists Adam Williams (aka Adam 12) and Mike Tempesta (aka M.33), was then back in full effect. Transform, their fourth album, marked the band's new more punk-inspired, less industrial sound and new lineup when it was released in spring 2003. It debuted at number 25 on the Billboard charts and produced a hit in the song "Free," though Dreamworks dissolved in the middle of the album's promotion. A rarities collection appeared in 2004 on Spider's own Megatronic label; more lineup changes would occur before the eventual release of the band's fifth full-length. Williams and Tempesta exited to be replaced on guitar by Johnny Heatley and ex-Alien Ant Farm's Terry Corso. Powerman 5000 inked a deal with DRT Entertainment in spring 2006, and Destroy What You Enjoy surfaced that August. Subsequent tour dates through fall were played.
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Adam Lambert
BIO: (from allmusic.com )
Before becoming a front-runner in the eighth season of American Idol, vocalist Adam Lambert made his name in the theater world, where he performed alongside Val Kilmer in the debut production of Ten Commandments: The Musical and landed an understudy role in a touring production of Wicked. The California native subsequently parlayed that theater background into a successful multi-month run on American Idol in 2009. Lambert's flair for neo-goth attire and eclectic arrangements made him a critical favorite, as did his dramatic tenor vocals. Following performances of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," Tears for Fears' "Mad World," and Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," Lambert found himself pitted against contender Kris Allen in the grand finale, which he ultimately lost by a slim margin. Lambert was unanimously praised by the American Idol judges, however, who all but guaranteed him a successful recording career following the show's conclusion.
Although Lambert didn't win the Idol competition, he received far more attention than his castmates during the subsequent months, appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone in June ("I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay," he stated in the accompanying article, thus putting an end to the public's speculation) and eliciting standing ovations during the summer-long American Idol tour. He also signed with RCA and began recording his debut album, working alongside producer Rob Cavallo while soliciting material from the likes of Lady Gaga, Linda Perry, Justin Hawkins, and RedOne. One month before For Your Entertainment's release, Lambert released his first single, a track from the 2012 soundtrack titled "Time for Miracles." His debut album followed in November, arriving one week after the release of Kris Allen's own debut.
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3 Views
02:47:05 05/28/09
Aero Tv Innovative Audio Panel Ps Engineering's Pma8000 B
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 02:47:05 05/28/09
An Evolutionary Upgrade Keeps This Audio Panel Series At The Top Of The Game While there is no end of news concerning the major companies that populate the GA world, sometimes its the quiet little companies that really deserve more of the attention. A case in point is PS Engineering... a little company that decided it could specialize in one aspect of avionics and try to be the best in the field... and to many, that's just what they've done. One of their latest efforts is the PMA8000B -- a new audio panel coming that should go a long way towards making those long cross-country flights speed by a little quicker. PS Engineering has added a new player to its product line, the PMA8000B-MP3. This Audio Control Panel incorporates all of the capability of the popular PMA8000B, but adds an internal MP3 player that stores up to one gigabyte of music... which means pilots can leave their iPods secure in their flight bags. Pilots may upload files to the panel using a portable USB Thumb drive. Once the Thumb Drive is connected to the audio panel by the supplied USB cable, pressing the Function and Transfer Keys automatically starts the transfer process. The PMA8000B-MP3 provides audio annunciations to keep the pilot advised of the status and the completion of the transfer. Front panel buttons accomplishes MP3 On/Off, Skip Forward, Pause, Random, Sequential, and Volume Up/Down. The music is distributed to the crew and passengers according the pilot controlled configurations, also easily changed 'on-the-fly.' The user interface is accomplished with secondary functions on the standard audio panel keys, with a female voice feedback that announces the modes. This is the same method introduced by the PMA8000-SR in 2005, which proved to be a very successful way to add functions, without making the everyday controls more complicated. The PMA8000B MP3 is a slide-in replacement for the existing PMA8000, PMA8000B, and Garmin GMA340 audio control panels. The PMA8000B with internal MP3 will add about $150 to the cost of a standard PMA8000B, with a Minimum Advertised Price of $1849. The Standard PMA8000B MAP is $1695, while the SIRIUS Satellite Radio-equipped PMA8000SR carries a MAP of $2190. Aero-TV Listens To What The PMA8000B Brings To The Audio Panel Biz FMI: www.ps-engineering.com, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews Copyright 2009, Aero-News Network, Inc., ALL Rights Reserved.
3 Views
16:42:14 05/13/09
Over 12 000 Trees Planted Across Northern Michigan In Early May 2009 By U P Earth Keepers
[LESS INFO] 3 VIEWS | ADDED 16:42:14 05/13/09
Over 12,000 trees planted by Northern Michigan interfaith EarthKeepers during early May across 400 miles of northern Michigan and Minocqua, WisconsinRaging forest fires underline importance of planting treesEarth Day 2009: First tree planted and blessed by northern Michigan bishops and faith leaders on Earth Day 2009 near shores of Lake Superior at Presque Isle in Marquette (Marquette, Michigan) - Northern Michigan residents planted more than 12,000 trees in early May across a 400-mile area of the Upper Peninsula and in northern Wisconsin during the 2009 interfaith EarthKeeper Tree Project.White Spruce and Red Pine seedlings measuring 12 to 16 inches tall were given to over 100 churches and temples in all 15 Upper Peninsula (U.P.) counties and Minocqua, WI, said Catholic EarthKeeper Kyra Fillmore of Marquette, the project distribution coordinator."We hope these trees grow strong and tall," Fillmore said.EarthKeeper volunteers planted the 12,000 trees by homes, camps, parks, American Indian reservations and many other places with help from hundreds of chilren ranging in age from two-years-old to twenty-two.In a tragic irony, within hours of the last trees being planted two raging forest fires erupted in Marquette and Alger counties. In Marquette County, 33 structures were destroyed including 12 homes. In Baraga County, an EarthKeeper tree planter was preparing to bury a cousin at the Pinery Cemetery when the wildfire ripped through the Native American cemetery destroying 45 spirit houses. Fortunately there were no deaths or serious injuries reported. Untold thousands and thousands of trees were burned in the forest fires. The fires underline the need for people to plant trees and remove dead underbrush from around your home."My kids and I had a great time packing trees and planting trees," said Carl Lindquist, who has a son Nels, 13, and a daughter Ingrid, 11, and is executive director of the nonprofit Superior Watershed Partnership in Marquette. "I think everyone likes to feel like they are part of something much bigger than they are."The EarthKeeper team includes ten faith traditions with over 150 participating churches/temples (Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, Zen Buddist, Quakers), plus the nonprofit Superior Watershed Partnership, the nonprofit Cedar Tree Institute, and the Northern Michigan University EarthKeeper (NMU EK) Student Team.Three Native American sisters and their mom volunteered at the Marquette tree distribution center. The girls planted trees behind their Gwinn, MI home hoping to attract more wildlife to what has turned into a nature preserve of sorts with a wide variety of wild animals and birds."We've decided to do a wildlife sanctuary in our backyard because we already have deer and many other animals come," said Pamella Vincent, 17, a senior at Gwinn High School. "It will be really cool to see different animals come because of the trees."In the eight-acre area, "we already have Sand Hill Cranes, and deer and coyotes there, so we are trying to get more animals to come," said Paige Vincent, 14, an eighth grader at Gwinn Middle School.The youngest sister, Gilbert Elementary School sixth grader Paula Vincent, 12, said she has spotted cranes and "had popcorn in my hand and a crow came to eat out of my hand.The Vincent family are members of St. James the Less Episcopal Church in Harvey, MI.The girl’s mom Theresa Vincent said her great-grandpa was a Cherokee chief in Maryland who was joined by other relatives in walking the "Trail of Tears" into the Appalachian foothills. Vincent said she has taught her daughters about the respect Native Americans have for the land and wildlife."We're here to help keep the earth green and the trees are important," Theresa Vincent said. The family believes it's important to "keep in touch with Mother Earth" in ways that include "recycling, reducing (energy consumption) and reusing" manmade products.The sisters said Americans Indians have always respected the environment."It's always been tradition for natives that if you take something away from the earth, you have to give it back - or give a blessing - so normally we would give tobacco or (in this case) plant trees," Paige Vincent said. "We're planting trees to give back to Mother Nature."The trees were purchased or donated by the U.P. EarthKeeper team, Superior Watershed Partnership, Holli Forest Products, the Forestland Group, Plum Creek Timber Company and Meister's Greenhouses.Some groups and individuals have donated money to help the tree project including Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Western U.P. Chapter 30918 in Ironwood, MI.The EarthKeepers is "focused on how the faith communities can work together" despite theological differences, said Northern Great Lakes Synod Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes."Religious differences are a huge factor in many parts of life and certainly there are big differences between different religious communities," said Bishop Skrenes, the head of 94 U.P. Lutheran congregations with 40,000 members.Skrenes asked "where is it that we can find ways to work together?""Nature is one of those places and EarthKeepers has provided us the opportunity to again renew our relationship with people who are very different in some ways and yet very similar," said Skrenes, an original signer of the EarthKeeper Covenant.Volunteer Johnny Bryant delivered 3,000 seedlings - one fourth of the entire planting effort - from a Marquette warehouse to Messiah Lutheran Church that served as the Marquette County distribution center for 25 churches and temples.In a parking lot of the Marquette distribution center, the trees were blessed by numerous other faith traditions as the seedlings were picked up including a Catholic and Jewish blessing.After speaking in Hebrew, Dr. Michael Grossman, a member an Ishpeming Synagogue, translated what he had said into English and explained some of the Jewish beliefs about protecting the environment."We have blessings for everything in Judaism, so I just blessed the trees," said Grossman, a member of Temple Beth Sholom in Ishpeming. "We are grateful to God for bringing trees from the earth - when we eat we bless the bread - when we drink wine we bless the fruit.""Trees are symbolic of life," Grossman said. "Trees are very important in Judaism as I am sure they are important to all faith traditions."Grossman then planted the trees at several locations in west Marquette County and in the city of Negaunee with help from two employees from his office."We jumped at the chance to help plant the trees," said Rachel Riley, 25, hile standing next to fellow volunteer Kim McCarthy, 35, both of Negaunee. After the long winter, "I've been meaning to get out and do some work."Gail Griffith of Marquette, the EarthKeeper Implementation Team co-chair, brought trees to her congregation at the Marquette Unitarian Universalist Church (MUUC).The MUUC planted seedlings in a Memorial Garden on their property near Harvey, MI and other trees as a future noise buffer to the heavy M-28 traffic that passes by their meeting house. The MUUC donated some of their trees to youth projects including 30 seedlings to a 4-H group.‘We had a blessing of the trees as part of our service," Griffith said.Powell Township students (above) in the first through fourth grades planted about 30 seeedlings donated by the UU congregation. In Big Bay, MI, the first through fourth graders at Powell Township Schools planted about 30 of the UU trees at several locations including in the schoolyard and at near-by Perkins Park.“The students really took on a great deal of empathy for the trees - they carefully placed them in the holes, tucked the dirt around, created moats, stood up the sticks,” said teacher Kathy Wright. “Most kids visit their trees faithfully, sometimes leaving little special rocks or giving the trees and extra drink.”The students and teachers “thank the Unitarian Universalist congregation for the opportunity to connect with our Mother Earth, and for the vehicle to teach our kids about the value of trees and earth stewardship,” Wright said.MUUC member Nancy Irish the planting was more fun than work."We were digging and watering," Irish said. "We talked about how big they would be 20 years from now, and how we might drive by and remember the day that 12,000 trees were planted all across the U.P."Northern Michigan Quakers planted approximately 50 trees during the EarthKeeper project.The Lake Superior Friends is one of two U.P. Quaker groups in northern Michigan (the other is Keweenaw Friends Meeting in Houghton).David McCowen of Lake Superior Friends said at one of their recent meetings a seven-year-old girl said planting trees is one way to respect the planet."I think it is important to help the earth by planting trees, because it is giving and good for the earth," the youngster said.In accordance with their religion, the Quakers quietly support the EarthKeepers and seldom publicly discuss their daily actions that show respect for the earth, wildlife and people, McCowen said.One of the basic testimonials of the Quakers is "Simplicity of Living," McCowen said. "A modern outgrowth of that testimonial is care for the environment.""Being planters of the trees helps us personally take part in continuing that creation," McCowen said. "Here in the UP it is easy to take trees for granted, but trees are a major part of the surroundings that we love.""The technical benefits of trees are well known: carbon sequestration, sound buffers, wind breaks, wildlife habitat, fuel source, cellulose fiber source," McCowen said. "But faith communities have the privilege and responsibility of unselfishly considering the natural environment as being inherently desirable."Lake Superior Friends Meeting member Jim Smit of Harvey said that "stewardship of the earth finds its roots in the biblical account of creation.""Adam's job was to cultivate a garden filled with beautiful trees that produced good fruit," Smit said."Six times in the creation story the writer pauses to say that God looked at what he had made, and behold, it was very good," Smit said, adding "the implication is that we are meant to celebrate the earth and protect it."Smit said an example of Quaker views on the environment was explained during the Faith and Practice book written based on the North Pacific Yearly Meeting that reads in part: "We are obliged to cherish the earth, and to protect all its resources in a spirit of humble stewardship, committed to the right sharing of these resources among people everywhere.""Friends use questions or queries to approach issues of faith, implying that each of us is a seeker after truth," Smit said.The Faith and Practice book from the Friends' (Quaker's) 1972 Philadelphia Yearly Meeting questioned human impact on the environment: "Are you concerned that our increasing power over nature should not be used irresponsibly but with reverence for life and with a sense of the splendor of God's continuing creation?"McCowen said passages in the Bible books of Genesis, Isaiah and Leviticus reflect the Quaker view on nature, land and the Earth:"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." - Genesis 1:31"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." - Isaiah 55:12"Your land must not be sold on a permanent basis, because you do not own it; it belongs to God, and you are like foreigners who are allowed to make use of it." - Leviticus 25:23In Chocolay Township, seven-year-old Isabelle Gostomski was dressed in her finest Sunday dress as she and her father planted a seedling in their front yard."I got it from church and it's a tree - today was my first communion and I got this for a present." said Gostomski, the daughter of Jennifer and Greg Gostomski. The family attends St. Louis the King parish in Harvey, MI.Several faith leaders gave examples how the tree is used in religion in both a literal way and in a figurative way as in the "tree of life."Whiling hosting a planting party on a Bah
1 Views
23:32:51 06/27/08
BitStories 2008-06-27: Intel and Vista, Firefox 3, Snow Leopard, SSDs, FriendFeed, and More
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 23:32:51 06/27/08
This week's show is about 47 minutes long and weighs about 42MB (it’s a 128kbps MP3). You can download the file directly, listen using the streaming player above, or (BEST OPTION!!1!) subscribe to the Bit Stories podcast feed in your favorite podcast aggregator (like iTunes). If you subscribe to the feed, you’ll get each show delivered automatically as it becomes available - probably once a week or so, with the occasional bonus video or audio segment thrown in for fun. Plus, we’ll love you forever if you subscribe! :-)Here are some free-form notes and links for the stuff we talked about this week:Intel's JF1 Workplace of the future. It isn't soundproof. Josh is not leaving Yahoo. Intel's Not Deploying Vista (NYTimes). It's more complex and subtle than "Vista Sucks". Really. Vista's not really that bad - we've both used it. Stability, tablet features, etc. are much better than XP. So why am I not using Vista today? Because I switched to Mac. It's not that I don't like Vista, it's that I don't like Windows. :-) Conspiracy Theory #1: Intel is creating a Linux distro for employees. All the big companies are doing it! Conspiracy Theory #2: Does Intel's processor technology come from aliens? Did they tell us NOT to use Vista? Firefox 3 was released! It set the Guinness record for software downloads in a day - 8+ million. Their servers were smoking craters for a while. Speed, stability, new UI, and memory footprint are much improved? Is Firefox 3 threaded for multicore processors? We don't know. Tell us! The use of the term "you can't swing a dead cat without hitting..." Swinging a dead cat is not endorsed by Bit Stories. Besdies, Josh is allergic to cats, except Serious Cat. Snow Leopard news - GrandCentral, OpenCL, LLVM, and smaller app footprints. Is Snow Leopard still going to have Rosetta emulation for PowerPC binaries? Hard drives are only getting bigger and cheaper (can you even BUY a Mac with a drive smaller than 250GB?). So why reduce footprint? SSD (solid state disks). Pay more for Windows on a netbook, or keep the price the same and make the SSD bigger? SSDs are The Future, but they're still WAY expensive (it's a $999 option on the MacBook Air). How few moving parts there really are in a laptop (HD and fan) Where do you draw the line for legacy hardware support? Apple pushes the envelope because they control the whole stack. Microsoft has it a LOT harder, because they have to support such a wide variety of hardware. Are Mac users more forgiving when Apple drops legacy support (smacks us around) than when Microsoft does it? Josh cops to being an Apple fanboy It's a miracle that Windows even works at all, given how many different hardware drivers (of varying quality) that it needs to support. Intel motherboards have finally dropped support for PS/2 ports. Josh is surprised in two directions - that they finally dropped them, and that they're still around. Josh's Father In Law as victim of legacy hardware confusion. (custom keypad thingy) Incompatibility doesn't happen as much on Apple, because they control the whole stack. But control comes at the expense of competition. It's amazing that Apple has let Psystar live for so long. Twitter and Friendfeed Twitter has problems. The term "Plurk-up" is just GROSS. Josh explains how FriendFeed sucks up and aggregates what your friends share, and let you have conversations around any of those things. Josh has been resisting FriendFeed, but two things pulled him in - the conversations that were happening, that he was missing out on, and social gravity. Josh goes where his friends, his network, are. Enough of them are on FriendFeed now to make it worth it. The joy you feel when you discover a new, efficient way to connect with people and read (RSS, Twitter, now FriendFeed) FFToGo.com - nice mobile version FriendFeed is the source of all joy in the universe? The addiction factor - isn't FriendFeed just one more time sink? It's a balancing act - you have to be judicious on what you follow - feeds, Twitter, or FriendFeed. But the social aspect (things bubble up) of FriendFeed make it more efficient/potent, so you don't have to search and dig for the interesting/important stuff. The other obstacle - the "real time factor". Interruptions - tweets pop up, distract. Josh and Brian both have major FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out. You have to train yourself to ignore, and to be compelled to read every. single. thing. Use tools like Summize to track your name, topics, so you don't miss the REALLY important stuff, and then be OK with the fact that most of the rest of it is a river. Stand in the middle, let it flow by, grab what's interesting when you have time/attention. FriendFeed helps with FOMO, because the interesting stuff bubbles up Brian and Josh argue about which of us is more ADD. Unread Item Syndrome - all these made up dysfunctions that we have... Use a client like Twhirl or Twitterrific. Be the boss of the tools, not the other way around Training for "social media tools for software engineers" that Josh is working on, Brian to be a Guinea Pig We can geek out over anything - never had a problem filling time. :-)Are you thrilled that the show is back? Mad that we changed something? Think we suck for being gone so long? Just want to say hi? Post a comment, and let us know! Seriously. We crave the validation that your feedback brings. You have no idea how fragile our self esteem really is… :-)
1 Views
22:47:28 07/07/07
Challenging Canada U S Symphony Protects Lake Superior; Encourages Canadian Musicians
[LESS INFO] 1 VIEWS | ADDED 22:47:28 07/07/07
Inspiring Canadians: Boreal Chamber Symphony formed in U.S. for annual Lake Superior Day concerts to raise protection funds.(Marquette, Michigan) - Canadian communities, musicians and environment groups are encouraged to start annual Lake Superior Day concerts by organizers of a symphony orchestra in northern Michigan created to protect North America's largest freshwater lake.The Boreal Chamber Symphony will make its debut July 15, 2007 on Lake Superior Day in Marquette, Michigan with a dramatic benefit concert.An American environment group is offering to "limited number of travel stipends" to qualified Canadian organizations who want to attend the U.S. concert to get ideas on starting a similar project on the north shore of Lake Superior."An organization in the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario has already expressed interest and may send representatives to the Marquette concert to learn more about hosting such an event," said Carl Lindquist, executive director of the Superior Watershed Partnership in Marquette.Earth Keeper volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson reports.For more information contact the concert co-sponsors: Carl Lindquist, 906-228-6095; Rev. Jon Magnuson, 906-228-5494Related websites:Superior Watershed Partnershiphttp://www.superiorwatersheds.orgThe Cedar Tree Institutehttp://www.cedartreeinstitute.comConductor Craig Randal Johnsonhttp://www.tonttu.comLake Superior Binational Forumhttp://www.superiorforum.infoStory continued:During a Monday (June 25, 2007) press conference, two percussionists demonstrated their skills using Lake Superior water and rocks to make chilling and rhythmic music that mixed with the sound of small waves rolling ashore.An interpretive dancer gracefully performed on the edge of Lake Superior with the wind rushing through her flowing costume and seed pods on her ankles adding to the soothing natural music.Haunting French horn calls, the soothing sounds of water, a thundering storm, and flowing interpretive dance using rocks, sand, and other items found along the Lake Superior shoreline are all part of the "Concert for Lake Superior: People, Place, Purpose."With a view of Lake Superior, the concert will have a water and environment theme. The audience will be surrounded by Lake Superior-related artwork.The Lake Superior watershed "is pretty much half of the watershed for the entire Upper Peninsula" and one of three watersheds in northern Michigan, said Natasha Koss, development coordinator for the Superior Watershed Partnership."We hope this concert can be a model for other communities in Canada to be able to celebrate this special day - we all share Lake Superior and we all use its waters," Koss said.The event is sponsored by the Superior Watershed Partnership and Cedar Tree Institute, Marquette non-profits that founded the Earth Keeper Initiative in 2004."Lake Superior is an international body of water, and we hope and encourage groups in Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie and other Canadian communities on Lake Superior to put on concerts or festivals which support initiatives promoting the health of the lake," said conductor Craig Randal Johnson of Minneapolis, Minnesota.The Marquette Community Foundation awarded a $1,500 grant for the concert."We wanted to help the numerous groups who are protecting Lake Superior and keeping it as beautiful as it is," Martha Conley, Marquette Community Foundation board member and chair of the foundation's grants committee. "We are a true believer in the community and Lake Superior."Lindquist said organizers "hope that the concert for Lake Superior will become an annual event that might be replicated in other communities around Lake Superior, including Canada."In 2004, the Lake Superior Binational Forum designated the third Sunday in July as Lake Superior Day in the U.S. and Canada.The binational forum is comprised of U.S. and Canadian volunteers including representatives from industry, civic organizations, environment groups and faith communities, and works with governments in both countries to protect Lake Superior.The concert will begin at 7 p.m. on July 15 at UpFront & Company, a Marquette restaurant with a large conference room that overlooks the Lake Superior lower harbor. A social hours begins at 6 p.m.The concert is free, but donations are encouraged with all proceeds used for environment projects involving the immense Lake Superior watershed."By offering this free concert we also hope that people will contribute to the Lake Superior Fund so we can continue and expand our successful Great Lakes protection programs," Lindquist said.All donations are tax deductible and go to the Lake Superior Defense Fund.Koss said the watershed partnership cares about "the big picture, what we can do as an organization and people can do as citizens to protect our beautiful lake.""We all live in it (the Lake Superior watershed), we all drink from its waters, we all swim in its water, we paddle along the shore, we fish in its rivers that drain into Lake Superior," Koss said "So it's all connected and everything we do on the land effects the water of Lake Superior."Master of ceremonies for the concert is Marquette television personality and meteorologist Karl Bohnak (WLUC-TV). The orchestra is comprised of 19 professional musicians from around the country with ties to the Lake Superior region."This concert will be a chance to lift up a vision of a good place and a clean lake - a symbol to the world of water and life," said Rev. Jon Magnuson, executive director of the Cedar Tree Institute and co-founder of the Earth Keeper Initiative."This evening will be about a beacon of hope - a shout of thanksgiving and invitation to continue a struggle to protect and defend one of the world's greatest natural resources," Rev. Magnuson said.Lake Superior is the deepest (1,333 feet) and coldest of the Great Lakes, its shoreline stretches 2,726 miles (including islands) and is fed by over 200 rivers.The orchestra was named Boreal because the word means "pertaining to, or located in, northern regions" as in "aurora borealis" - and Boreas is the Greek god of the north wind.The concept was inspired by the Baltic Sea Festival which partners classical musicians with environmental causes.Conductor Craig Randal Johnson of Minneapolis, Minnesota and members of the orchestra want to bring awareness to ecological issues.Johnson remembers the exact minute the Lake Superior concert idea was born: at 1:27 p.m. on September 14, 2006."It was one of those moments when you realize things are suddenly different, said Johnson, describing that instant as a "seed change" and a real "switch over in my thinking."At a Marquette caf
0 Views
00:00:37 07/04/07
Saving Lake Superior Free July 15 Benefit Concert By New Boreal Chamber Symphony
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 00:00:37 07/04/07
Protecting Lake Superior: Free Michigan concert with classical musicians, dancer will benefit Lake Superior Defense Fund on July 15, 2007(Marquette, Michigan) - The Boreal Chamber Symphony will make its debut on Lake Superior Day in northern Michigan in a dramatic benefit concert to protect America's largest freshwater lake, organizers said during a recent lakeshore press conference.Earth Keeper volunteer media advisor Greg Peterson has the story.For more information contact the concert co-sponsors: Carl Lindquist, 906-228-6095; Rev. Jon Magnuson, 906-228-5494Related websites:Superior Watershed Partnershiphttp://www.superiorwatersheds.orgThe Cedar Tree Institutehttp://www.cedartreeinstitute.comConductor Craig Randal Johnsonhttp://www.tonttu.comLake Superior Binational Forumhttp://www.superiorforum.infoHaunting French horn calls, the soothing sounds of water, a thundering storm, and flowing interpretive dance using rocks, sand, and other items found along the Lake Superior shoreline are all part of the "Concert for Lake Superior: People, Place, Purpose."During the press conference, two percussionists demonstrated their skills using Lake Superior water and rocks to make chilling and rhythmic music that mixed with the sound of small waves rolling ashore.An interpretive dancer gracefully performed on the edge of Lake Superior with the wind rushing through her flowing costume and seed pods on her ankles adding to the soothing natural music.With a view of Lake Superior, the Marquette, Michigan concert will have a water and environment theme. The audience will be surrounded by Lake Superior-related artworkThe event is sponsored by the Superior Watershed Partnership and Cedar Tree Institute, Marquette-based non-profits that founded the Earth Keeper Initiative in 2004.The Marquette Community Foundation awarded a $1,500 grant for the concert."We wanted to help the numerous groups who are protecting Lake Superior and keeping it as beautiful as it is," Martha Conley, Marquette Community Foundation board member and chair of the foundation's grants committee. "We are a true believer in the community and Lake Superior."Organizers hope the event will inspire future Lake Superior Day concerts in other cities encircling the lake like the Baltic Sea Festival.Musicians and environment groups in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada are being encouraged to create similar benefits around Lake Superior creating a ring of protection.Organizers are offering a "limited number of travel stipends" to qualified Canadian group that want to attend the Michigan concert to get ideas and inspiration. A group in Thunder Bay, Ontario has expressed interest in creating their own annual concert.The concert is free, but donations are encouraged with all proceeds used for environment projects involving the immense Lake Superior watershed."By offering this free concert we also hope that people will contribute to the Lake Superior Fund so we can continue and expand our successful Great Lakes protection programs," said Carl Lindquist, executive director of the Superior Watershed Partnership.All donations are tax deductible and go to the Lake Superior Defense Fund.The concert will begin at 7 p.m. on July 15, 2007 at UpFront & Company, a Marquette restaurant with a large banquet room that overlooks the city's lower harbor on Lake Superior. The event is preceded by a 6 p.m. social hour."The concert is also a way to show that we all have an important role in protecting Lake Superior," Lindquist said.In 2004, the Lake Superior Binational Forum designated the third Sunday in July as Lake Superior Day in the US and Canada.The binational forum is comprised of U.S. and Canadian volunteers including representatives from industry, civic organizations, environment groups and faith communities, and works with governments in both countries to protect Lake Superior.The Lake Superior watershed "is pretty much half of the watershed for the entire Upper Peninsula" and one of three watersheds in northern Michigan, said Natasha Koss, development coordinator for the Superior Watershed Partnership.Koss said the watershed partnership cares about "the big picture, what we can do as an organization and people can do as citizens to protect our beautiful lake.""We all live in it (the Lake Superior watershed), we all drink from its waters, we all swim in its water, we paddle along the shore, we fish in its rivers that drain into Lake Superior," Koss said "So it's all connected and everything we do on the land effects the water of Lake Superior."Master of ceremonies for the concert is Marquette television personality and meteorologist Karl Bohnak (WLUC-TV). The orchestra is comprised of 19 professional musicians from around the country with ties to the Lake Superior region, and one is from Washington D.C."This concert will be a chance to lift up a vision of a good place and a clean lake - a symbol to the world of water and life," said Rev. Jon Magnuson, executive director of the Cedar Tree Institute and co-founder of the Earth Keeper Initiative."This evening will be about a beacon of hope - a shout of thanksgiving and invitation to continue a struggle to protect and defend one of the world's greatest natural resources," Rev. Magnuson said.Lake Superior is the deepest (1,333 feet) and coldest of the Great Lakes, its shoreline stretches 2,726 miles (including islands) and is fed by over 200 rivers.The orchestra was named Boreal because the word means "pertaining to, or located in, northern regions" as in "aurora borealis" - and Boreas is the Greek god of the north wind.The concept was inspired by the Baltic Sea Festival which partners classical musicians with environmental causes.Conductor Craig Randal Johnson of Minneapolis, Minnesota and members of the orchestra want to bring awareness to ecological issues.Johnson remembers the exact minute the Lake Superior concert idea was born: at 1:27 p.m. on September 14, 2006."It was one of those moments when you realize things are suddenly different, said Johnson, who has onducted concerts in Italy, was staff conductor with the Florida Symphony and worked in three German opera houses.Johnson described that instant as a "seed change" and a real "switch over in my thinking."At a Marquette caf
0 Views
12:07:54 06/26/07
Protecting Lake Superior Classical Musicians Rally For Great Lake July 15 2007 During Free Benefit Concert
[LESS INFO] 0 VIEWS | ADDED 12:07:54 06/26/07
Lake Superior Day benefit concert in northern Michigan debuts Boreal Chamber Symphony; organizers hope similar concerts will be formed in U.S., Canadian cities that surround Lake SuperiorProtecting Lake Superior: Free Michigan concert with classical musicians, dancer will benefit Lake Superior Defense Fund on July 15(Marquette, Michigan) - The Boreal Chamber Symphony will make its debut on Lake Superior Day in northern Michigan in a dramatic benefit concert to protect America's largest freshwater lake, organizers announced today (Monday June 25, 2007) during a lakeshore press conference.Haunting French horn calls, the soothing sounds of water, a thundering storm, and flowing interpretive dance using rocks, sand, and other items found along the Lake Superior shoreline are all part of the "Concert for Lake Superior: People, Place, Purpose."During the press conference, two percussionists demonstrated their skills using Lake Superior water and rocks to make chilling and rhythmic music that mixed with the sound of small waves rolling ashore.An interpretive dancer gracefully performed on the edge of Lake Superior with the wind rushing through her flowing costume and seed pods on her ankles adding to the soothing natural music.With a view of Lake Superior, the Marquette, Michigan concert will have a water and environment theme. The audience will be surrounded by Lake Superior-related artworkThe event is sponsored by the Superior Watershed Partnership and Cedar Tree Institute, Marquette-based non-profits that founded the Earth Keeper Initiative in 2004.The Marquette Community Foundation awarded a $1,500 grant for the concert."We wanted to help the numerous groups who are protecting Lake Superior and keeping it as beautiful as it is," Martha Conley, Marquette Community Foundation board member and chair of the foundation's grants committee. "We are a true believer in the community and Lake Superior."Organizers hope the event will inspire future Lake Superior Day concerts in other cities encircling the lake like the Baltic Sea Festival.Musicians and environment groups in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada are being encouraged to create similar benefits around Lake Superior creating a ring of protection.Organizers are offering a "limited number of travel stipends" to qualified Canadian group that want to attend the Michigan concert to get ideas and inspiration. A group in Thunder Bay, Ontario has expressed interest in creating their own annual concert.The concert is free, but donations are encouraged with all proceeds used for environment projects involving the immense Lake Superior watershed."By offering this free concert we also hope that people will contribute to the Lake Superior Fund so we can continue and expand our successful Great Lakes protection programs," said Carl Lindquist, executive director of the Superior Watershed Partnership.All donations are tax deductible and go to the Lake Superior Defense Fund.The concert will begin at 7 p.m. on July 15, 2007 at UpFront & Company, a Marquette restaurant with a large banquet room that overlooks the city’s lower harbor on Lake Superior. The event is preceded by a 6 p.m. social hour."The concert is also a way to show that we all have an important role in protecting Lake Superior," Lindquist said.In 2004, the Lake Superior Binational Forum designated the third Sunday in July as Lake Superior Day in the US and Canada.The binational forum is comprised of U.S. and Canadian volunteers including representatives from industry, civic organizations, environment groups and faith communities, and works with governments in both countries to protect Lake Superior.The Lake Superior watershed "is pretty much half of the watershed for the entire Upper Peninsula" and one of three watersheds in northern Michigan, said Natasha Koss, development coordinator for the Superior Watershed Partnership.Koss said the watershed partnership cares about "the big picture, what we can do as an organization and people can do as citizens to protect our beautiful lake.""We all live in it (the Lake Superior watershed), we all drink from its waters, we all swim in its water, we paddle along the shore, we fish in its rivers that drain into Lake Superior," Koss said "So it's all connected and everything we do on the land effects the water of Lake Superior."Master of ceremonies for the concert is Marquette television personality and meteorologist Karl Bohnak (WLUC-TV). The orchestra is comprised of 19 professional musicians from around the country with ties to the Lake Superior region, and one is from Washington D.C."This concert will be a chance to lift up a vision of a good place and a clean lake - a symbol to the world of water and life," said Rev. Jon Magnuson, executive director of the Cedar Tree Institute and co-founder of the Earth Keeper Initiative."This evening will be about a beacon of hope - a shout of thanksgiving and invitation to continue a struggle to protect and defend one of the world's greatest natural resources," Rev. Magnuson said.Lake Superior is the deepest (1,333 feet) and coldest of the Great Lakes, its shoreline stretches 2,726 miles (including islands) and is fed by over 200 rivers.The orchestra was named Boreal because the word means "pertaining to, or located in, northern regions" as in "aurora borealis" - and Boreas is the Greek god of the north wind.The concept was inspired by the Baltic Sea Festival which partners classical musicians with environmental causes.Conductor Craig Randal Johnson of Minneapolis, Minnesota and members of the orchestra want to bring awareness to ecological issues.Johnson remembers the exact minute the Lake Superior concert idea was born: at 1:27 p.m. on September 14, 2006."It was one of those moments when you realize things are suddenly different, said Johnson, who has onducted concerts in Italy, was staff conductor with the Florida Symphony and worked in three German opera houses.Johnson described that instant as a "seed change" and a real "switch over in my thinking."At a Marquette caf
