This is the archive for March 2011
By Abraham Rangel,
Courier Staff Writer
Shirock, an up-and-coming band out of Nashville, is blazing the scene with a very well-rounded album,
Everything Burns.
Their single and lead track of the album, “New Solution”, is a strong message of finding out one's true self. Great guitar riffs just make the song have an empowering flow.
Posted by courier at 12:04 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Alonyia Godfrey,
Courier Features Editor
The tempers of parents and students flared as many were not admitted into the Sadie Hawkins Dance last Friday night. Although it was established that the dance would start at 7 p.m. sharp, many were not aware of the fact that the doors would close an hour later. As a result, many expectant ticket holders found themselves staring not at a welcoming dance floor, but being told that they could not enter into a dance for which they had paid because of the fact that they had arrived at 8 p.m. instead of 7 p.m..
In my case, had I arrived a mere twenty minutes later, I would have been among the unfortunate few to be denied access to this dance, left outside in the cold in my “Friday best”, too angry to utter intelligible sentences. I don’t understand why the doors closed at such an early time, without any forewarning.
Posted by courier at 12:02 PM. Filed under: Opinion
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Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Early life and writings
Octavio Paz was born in Mexico City, Mexico during tumultuous times, as his country was undergoing a revolution. Born to Josefina Lozano, a religious woman, and Octavio Paz senior, who was a journalist and lawyer for Emiliano Zapata involved in agrarian reform following the revolution, activities which caused him to be largely absent from home. Paz was raised in the village of Mixcoac (now a part of Mexico City) by his mother, his aunt and by his paternal grandfather, a liberal intellectual, novelist and former soldier supporter of President Porfirio Díaz.
Read Octavio Paz' 1990 Nobel Lecture, given when he received the Nobel Prize for Literature, free from nobelprize.org.
Posted by courier at 12:34 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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"Dreadfully Ever After" by
Steve Hockensmith
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Quirk Books
(March 22, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1594745021
ISBN-13: 978-1594745027
,
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
The further they get from Jane Austen, the better the zombie mash-up books become.
Enter "Dreadfully Ever After" by Steve Hockensmith, book three in a zombie trilogy that started with "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," which was a combination of Jane Austen's classic novel of manners set in the early 1800s and contemporary zombie movie mania.
The first in the series was "Dawn of the Dreadfuls" by Hockensmith. Here the five Bennet sisters became trained in the ninja arts to protect England from brain-chomping zombie hordes known as "dreadful."
"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" follows and is more directly based on the Jane Austen novel. Here, not only do the sisters do battle but they try to find husbands. Elizabeth Bennet meets Lord Darcy - a scion of a notable zombie-battling clan - they fall in love and marry.
Posted by courier at 12:14 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Rick LaPlante,
New Haven Director of Parent & Community Relations
Stanford University football coach David Shaw will be a special guest Friday, April 22, at the New Haven Schools Foundation’s annual scholarship luncheon, honoring recipients of the Foundation’s scholarship program for graduating seniors in the New Haven Unified School District.
Coach Shaw, who as an assistant last year helped Stanford to a 12-1 record and a No. 4 national ranking, took over the head coaching job when Jim Harbaugh was hired by the San Francisco 49ers. He is a product of New Haven schools, having graduated from James Logan High in 1991. He played wide receiver at Stanford before embarking on a coaching career that included 10 seasons as an assistant coach in the National Football League and the past four seasons at Stanford.
Posted by courier at 12:10 PM. Filed under: News
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MISCELLANEOUS
Need Driver’s Ed? Your place is at the Adult School. Cost is $125. Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday; April 4, 5 & 6, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Applications are now available in your house office or see Mr. Caruso in Room 77 for both an application and details.
Seniors, Juniors and Sophomores: If you are interested in pursuing a business/accounting degree in college, there is a free summer week-long program for low income minority students at U.C. Berkeley. For more information see Mr. Huertas in House 1. Deadline for applications is 4/14, or come to a meeting after school today in Room 407.
Posted by courier at 12:03 PM. Filed under: Daily Bulletin
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From wikipedia:
Naomi Ruth Sims (March 30, 1948 - August 1, 2009) was an African American model, businesswoman and author, who is widely credited as being the first African American supermodel.
Sims was born in Oxford, Mississippi, the youngest of three daughters born to John and Elizabeth Sims. Her father (whom she never knew) reportedly worked as a porter, but Sims' mother later described him "an absolute bum" and her parents divorced shortly after she was born.She was teased for her height of 5’10 at age 13. Mrs Sims later moved with her three daughters to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where Naomi was subsequently raised by a foster family. She attended Westinghouse High School. There due to her height, she was ostracized by many of her classmates. Sims credited her upbringing as a Catholic for helping to get her through adolescence.
See photos of Naomi Sims, free from Essence magazine.
Posted by courier at 09:12 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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By Nataniel Lazaga,
Courier Staff Writer
"Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood" starts at the end of "Assassin’s II". It returns to the 16th century, and players play as the character Ezio, although the location has been changed to Rome because the city is three times the size of the old cities in the past game. A new location means a new enemy, and his name is Cesare Borgia, Rodrigo Borgia's son. Like the past title, this game still shifts into two different time periods. There’s a lot to do in this game, by playing either the main story line or contracts/missions.
The city is divided into 12 districts. Each has a Borgia tower, representing the control of Cesare. As long as the tower stands, the soldiers are out in force, and the shops will remain closed. Assassinate the tower's Captain and burn it to the ground and the area will open up for business, and players also get an open slot to hire an assassin. Ezio is then able to renovate blacksmiths, banks, stables and more, and these all add to his income, in much the same way that renovating Monteriggioni did in the last game. The more shops that one opens, the more items become available for Ezio to use.
Posted by courier at 12:26 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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MISCELLANEOUS
Need Driver’s Ed? Your place is at the Adult School. Cost is $125. Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday; April 4, 5 & 6, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Applications are now available in your house office or see Mr. Caruso in Room 77 for both an application and details.
Seniors, Juniors and Sophomores: If you are interested in pursuing a business/accounting degree in college, there is a free summer week-long program for low income minority students at U.C. Berkeley. For more information see Mr. Huertas in House 1. Deadline for applications is 4/14, or come to a meeting after school today in Room 407.
Posted by courier at 11:53 AM. Filed under: Daily Bulletin
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Top Spin 4
Reviewed for: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
Also available for: Wii
From: 2K Czech/2K Sports
ESRB Rating: Everyone
There may be no harder needle to thread than the one that forces you to take a great but steeply difficult tennis simulation ("Top Spin 3") and scale back in a way that makes it more accessible without leaving the devoted feeling alienated.
Fortunately in this case, "Top Spin 4" could teach a class on how to do it right.
In essence, all "TS4" does is level out the mountain without making it a shorter climb to the top. Anyone who wants to simply press the face buttons to return standard-issue shots may do so — and if you're quick on your feet and smart about your shot selection, you can win this way as well.
Posted by courier at 10:43 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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From wikipedia:
Enea Bossi, Sr. (29 March 1888–1963) was an Italian-American aerospace engineer and aviation pioneer. He is best-known for designing the Budd BB-1 Pioneer, the first stainless steel aircraft; and also the Pedaliante airplane, disputably credited with the first fully human-powered flight.
Read more about Enea Bossi, free from usariseup.com.
Posted by courier at 08:05 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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From wikipedia:
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa (born March 28, 1936) is a Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation. Some critics consider him to have had a larger international impact and worldwide audience than any other writer of the Latin American Boom. He was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat".
Watch Mario Vargas Llosa give his Nobel Prize banquet speech, free from Nobelprize.org.
Posted by courier at 09:59 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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It's a School Life by Satpreet Kaur, Courier Comic Artist
Posted by courier at 09:03 PM. Filed under: Comics
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From wikipedia:
Eisaku Satō (March 27, 1901 – June 3, 1975) was a Japanese politician and the 61st, 62nd and 63rd Prime Minister of Japan, elected on November 9, 1964, and re-elected on February 17, 1967, and January 14, 1970, serving until July 7, 1972. He was the longest continual serving prime minister in the history of Japan.
Satō was born in Tabuse, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and studied German law at Tokyo Imperial University. In 1923, he passed the senior civil service examinations, and in the following year, upon graduation, became a civil servant in the Ministry of Railways. He served as Director of the Osaka Railways Bureau from 1944 to 1946 and Vice-Minister for Transportation from 1947 to 1948.
Satō entered the Diet in 1949 as a member of the Liberal Party.
Read Eisaku Satō's Dec. 11, 1974 Nobel Lecture, "The Pursuit of Peace and Japan in the Nuclear Age," free from Nobelprize.org.
Posted by courier at 07:53 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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wikipedia photo
Geraldine A. Ferraro, the savvy New York Democrat who was embraced as a symbol of women's equality in 1984 when she became the first woman nominated for vice president by a major party, died Saturday at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She was 75.
The cause was complications from multiple myeloma, her family said.
Calling his former running mate "a pioneer in our country for justice and a more open society," former Vice President Walter Mondale told the Associated Press that Ferraro "broke a lot of molds, and it's a better country for what she did."
Sarah Palin, who in 2008 became the second woman to run for vice president on a major-party ticket, also praised Ferraro, writing in a Facebook message that the Democrat "broke one huge barrier and then went on to break many more."
Posted by courier at 07:44 PM. Filed under: News
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From wikipedia:
Syngman Rhee or Yi Seungman (March 26, 1875 – July 19, 1965) was the first president of South Korea. His presidency, from August 1948 to April 1960, remains controversial, affected by Cold War tensions on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere. Rhee was regarded as an anti-Communist and a strongman, and led South Korea through the Korean War. His presidency ended in resignation following popular protests against a disputed election. He died in exile in Hawaii.
Syngman Rhee was born in Hwanghae Province to Yi Gyeong-seon, a royal aristocrat. By birth, Rhee was a member of a royal cadet branch of the House of Yi, the House of Grand Prince Royal Yangnyeong. He attended Pai Chai Hak Dang, but he soon became active in Korea's struggle against Japanese hegemony. He was arrested in 1897 for demonstrating against the Japanese monarchy, being subsequently released in 1904 and going to the United States. He obtained several degrees (including a B.A. from George Washington University, Harvard University, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University) and became so Westernized that he began writing his name in the Western manner, with the personal name preceding the family name.
Read more about Syngman Rhee, free from time.com.
Posted by courier at 07:22 PM. Filed under: In Quotes
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By Rick La Plante,
New Haven Schools Director of Parent and Community Relations
A mother and a son who followed her into teaching are among the recipients of “Project Enrichment” grants awarded today by the New Haven Schools Foundation, in support of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities in the New Haven Unified School District.
Patricia Puckett, who teaches at Alvarado Middle School, was granted her request for $261.85 for the school’s Filipino folkdance group, Anak ng Bayan. The funds -- donated specifically to fulfill her request by Foundation member Art Kuhlmann and his wife, Cheryl -- will be used to purchase bamboo poles used in two particular dances performed by the group, which includes about 45 students from various academic, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
Posted by courier at 12:10 PM. Filed under: News
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From wikipedia:
Jaime Sabines Gutiérrez (March 25, 1926 - March 19, 1999) was a Mexican contemporary poet. Known as “the sniper of Literature”[citation needed] as he formed part of a group that transformed literature into reality, he wrote ten volumes of poetry, and his work has been translated into more than twelve languages. His writings chronicle the experience of everyday people in places such as the street, hospital, and playground. Sabines was also a politician.
Sabines was born on March 25, 1926 in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas.
Read Jaime Sabines' poem, "The Moon."
Posted by courier at 08:09 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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By Glenn Gamboa
Newsday (MCT)
When Alicia Keys declared herself a "Superwoman" on her last album — with an "S" on her chest, oh, yes! — she certainly had good reason. She had competed by herself, more or less, against one prefab pop singer after another with teams of handlers and armies of producers and songwriters for the better part of a decade and come out on top. From "Fallin'" to "No One," Keys had proved she was the real deal.
Maybe that's why "The Element of Freedom" (J) sounds a bit disappointing and shockingly incomplete. Though Keys is in fine voice, as usual, and has constructed even more of her trademark soaring soul anthems, the bulk of them sound a little short.
Posted by courier at 12:27 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Roy Wenzl
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Scientists along Buttermilk Creek north of Austin, Texas, have found flint knife blades, chisels and other human artifacts lying in a soil layer nearly 16,000 years old — a discovery they say will rewrite a major chapter of ancient human history.
For one thing, it is now the oldest and arguably most credible site of human occupation in North or South America; but there's more.
The discovery, by Texas A&M archaeologist Michael Waters and others, pushes back by 2,500 years the time when traditional science thought humans entered the New World from Siberia and founded the native peoples of North and South America.
Posted by courier at 12:19 PM. Filed under: News
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From wikipedia:
Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín (March 24,1829 – September 8, 1862) was a general in the Mexican Army, best known for defeating invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 (the Cinco de Mayo).
Zaragoza was born in la Bahía del Espíritu Santo, in what was then the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas, now the city of Goliad, Texas, in the United States. The Zaragoza family moved to Matamoros in 1834 and then to Monterrey in 1844, where young Ignacio entered the seminary.
Read more about Ignacio Zaragoza, free from the Texas State Historical Association.
Posted by courier at 10:06 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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From wikipedia:
Encarnacion A. Alzona (March 23, 1895 – March 13, 2001) was a pioneering Filipino historian, educator and suffragette. The first Filipino woman to obtain a Ph.D., she was conferred in 1985 the rank and title of National Scientist of the Philippines.
Alzona was born in Biñan, Laguna and grew up in Tayabas. Her father was a trial court judge and a distant relative of Jose Rizal. Both her parents were voracious readers, a circumstance that fostered her academic inclinations. She obtained a degree in history from the University of the Philippines in 1917, and a master's degree the following year from the same university. Her thesis was a historical survey on the school education of women in the Philippines, a theme that proved apt in light of her later activism as a suffragette.
Read
Some French contemporary opinions of the Russian revolution of 1905By Encarnación Alzona, free googlebooks.com.
Posted by courier at 08:11 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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MISCELLANEOUS
The Logan Health Center offers free and confidential services to all students. Come in and sign up today, it’s fast and easy.
Have you noticed that the hallway doors to the 60s and 80s hallways have been left open during both lunches this year? It was done to help students get to their lockers, see teachers, and be able to get to the other side without having to walk all the way around the building. But lately, many students have been disturbing classes that are in session; banging on doors, yelling in the halls, etc. If this continues, the hallways will be closed and no students will be allowed to go through. So, please make sure that you exit the hallways as quickly as possible during lunch, and are as quiet as possible. We want to make sure that those doors remain open!
Posted by courier at 11:57 AM. Filed under: Daily Bulletin
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Courier Graphic — Sprint Nextel Corp. shares on Monday were headed for their worst day in two years as Wall Street targeted the company as one of the most to lose from AT&T Inc.'s planned $39 billion acquisition of Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA business.
Sprint, the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier and previously reported in talks to buy T-Mobile, finds itself in an even more tenuous position, analysts said.
Posted by courier at 09:38 AM. Filed under: News
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Fight Night Champion
For: Playstation 3 and Xbox 360
From: EA Sports
ESRB Rating: Mature (blood, suggestive
themes, strong language, violence)
Sports games have gone down the storyline route before, but typically it's in the form of a branching career mode that tells its story through boilerplate text. "Fight Night" has done that for years, and with the Legacy mode, "Fight Night Champion" does it again.
This time, though, the Legacy mode plays second fiddle to a new Champion mode that, while short and linear, goes all-in in terms of storytelling.
Instead of text, "Champion" offers up full-blown cutscenes, complete with plot twists, crooked refs, villainous promoters and, waiting at the end, the scariest bad-guy boxer since Ivan Drago.
Posted by courier at 09:24 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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Juan Gris portrait
by Man Ray(March 23, 1887 – May 11, 1927), better known as
Juan Gris, was a Spanish painter and sculptor who lived and worked in France most of his life. His works are closely connected to the emergence of an innovative artistic genre—Cubism, creating several of the movement's most distinctive works.
Born in Madrid, he studied mechanical drawing at the Escuela de Artes y Manufacturas in Madrid from 1902 to 1904, during which time he contributed drawings to local periodicals. From 1904 to 1905 he studied painting with the academic artist José Maria Carbonero. It was probably in 1905 that José González adopted the more distinctive pseudonym Juan Gris.
Learn more about Juan Gris, and see examples of his work, free from artchive.com.
Posted by courier at 09:10 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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MISCELLANEOUS
Have you noticed that the hallway doors to the 60s and 80s hallways have been left open during both lunches this year? It was done to help students get to their lockers, see teachers, and be able to get to the other side without having to walk all the way around the building. But lately, many students have been disturbing classes that are in session; banging on doors, yelling in the halls, etc. If this continues, the hallways will be closed and no students will be allowed to go through. So, please make sure that you exit the hallways as quickly as possible during lunch, and are as quiet as possible. We want to make sure that those doors remain open!
Posted by courier at 11:15 PM. Filed under: Daily Bulletin
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From wikipedia:
Eddie James "Son" House, Jr. (March 21, 1902 – October 19, 1988) was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music.
House was an important influence on Muddy Waters and also on Robert Johnson. A seminal Delta blues figure, he remains influential today, with his music being covered by blues-rock groups such as The White Stripes.
Listen to Son House perform "My Black Mama, Part 1," recorded in 1930 and presented free by the Internet Archive.
Posted by courier at 12:44 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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It's a School Life by Satpreet Kaur, Courier Comic Artist
Posted by courier at 08:04 PM. Filed under: Comics
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From wikipedia:
Alfonso García Robles (20 March 1911 – 2 September 1991) was a Mexican diplomat and politician who, in conjunction with Sweden's Alva Myrdal, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982.
García Robles was born in Zamora, Michoacán, and trained in law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) before joining his country's foreign service in 1939. He served as a delegate to the 1945 San Francisco Conference that established the United Nations. He was ambassador to Brazil from 1962 to 1964, and was state secretary to the ministry of foreign affairs from 1964 to 1970. In 1971-75 he served as his country's representative to the United Nations before an appointment as foreign minister in 1975-76. He was then appointed as Mexico's permanent representative to the Committee on Disarmament.
Read Alfonso Garcia Robles' Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, free from nobelprize.org.
Posted by courier at 12:38 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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Posted by courier at 08:11 AM. Filed under: Opinion
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From wikipedia:
Edith Nourse Rogers (March 19, 1881 – September 10, 1960) was an American social welfare volunteer and politician who was one of the first women to serve in the United States Congress. She was the first woman elected to congress from Massachusetts. To date she is the longest serving Congresswoman, and in her 35 years in the House of Representatives she was a powerful voice for veterans and sponsored seminal legislation, including the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (commonly known as the G.I. Bill), which provided educational and financial benefits for soldiers returning home from World War II, the 1942 bill that created the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), and the 1943 bill that created the Women's Army Corps (WAC). She was also instrumental in bringing federal appropriations to her constituency, Massachusetts's 5th congressional district.
Learn more about Edith Nourse Rogers, free from womenincongress.house.gov.
Posted by courier at 08:09 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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By Arthel Cargill, Courier Staff Writer
A sweet, modern day twist on the tale of Beauty and the Beast, Beastly tells the story of Kyle Kingson, an egotistical teenage boy living in the upper East side of New York. Kyle has money, style, connections, girls, and, most importantly, good looks, but he runs out of luck when he stands up his misfit, goth girl classmate Kendra.
After giving Kyle one final chance to repent of his prideful ways, Kendra casts a wrathful spell on him that transforms him into a hideous creature. The spell can only be broken if Kyle can make someone love him for who he is.
Posted by courier at 01:31 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Julia Ortiz, Courier Staff Writer
In the new animated film
Rango, the once-home pet and aspiring thespian, Rango, must now play sheriff to save the lives and homes of hopeless cowpokes.
The heroic Rango, voiced by Johnny Depp, a small reptile who dreams of a great beyon becomes entangled in a mess far greater than he can handle. He must makes friends to lead the way to the true spirit of the west, but along the way also makes enemies in the desert.
Posted by courier at 01:27 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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Courier Staff Report
A James Logan student was approached by a possible sexual predator Thursday after school, prompting Principal Amy McNamara to issue a warning to students.
According to an email sent by McNamara to Logan staff members, "Yesterday at about 5.p.m., one our our students was leaving campus after an after-school activity. As she was exiting through the Meyers gate, she was grabbed from behind by a stranger, an adult male."
The student escaped the man's clutches "and the incident was reported immediately to the police department, which is conducting an investigation," according to the email.
Posted by courier at 01:16 PM. Filed under: News
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Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was a British poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War. His shocking, realistic war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was heavily influenced by his friend Siegfried Sassoon and sat in stark contrast to both the public perception of war at the time, and to the confidently patriotic verse written earlier by war poets such as Rupert Brooke. Some of his best-known works—most of which were published posthumously—include "Dulce et Decorum Est", "Insensibility", "Anthem for Doomed Youth", "Futility" and "Strange Meeting". His preface intended for a book of poems to be published in 1919 contains numerous well-known phrases, especially "War, and the pity of War", and "the Poetry is in the pity".
Learn more about Wilfred Owen and his poetry, free from warpoetry.co.uk.
Posted by courier at 09:56 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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From wikipedia:
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (March 17, 1920 – August 15, 1975) was a Bengali politician and the founding leader of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, generally considered in the country as the father of the Bangladeshi nation. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He is popularly referred to as Sheikh Mujib, and with the honorary title of Bangabandhu. His eldest daughter Sheikh Hasina Wajed is the present leader of the Awami League and the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Read more about Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, free from storyofpakistan.com.
Posted by courier at 11:32 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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By Rick La Plante
New Haven Schools Director of Parent & Community Relations
The Board of Education on Tuesday night received a report showing District-wide improvement in reading as well as progress in ongoing efforts to close the achievement gap between the highest- and lowest-performing student sub-groups. The information was part of a report from the Division of Teaching & Learning on progress made toward the outcomes identified in the District’s Strategic Plan, based on New Haven’s Seven Essentials for Growth and Improvement.
District-wide, a higher percentage of students already have met or are predicted to meet their growth targets in reading this year than by the end of last year, Chief Academic Officer Wendy Gudalewicz told the Board. And compared to District students as a whole, a higher percentage of African-American students have met or are predicted to meet reading growth targets this year in fourth, fifth, eighth and ninth grades, while a higher percentage of Latino students have met or are predicted to meet reading growth targets in second and eighth grades.
Posted by courier at 11:42 AM. Filed under: News
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By Shari Roan
Los Angeles Times (MCT)
The musical instruments kids play in school bands and orchestras are traveling denizens of bacteria and fungi, say the authors of a new study. Music education is great for kids, they note, but please, please wash the instruments!
Researchers at Oklahoma State University bravely examined 13 instruments that belonged to a high school band. Six of the instruments had been played the previous week and seven hadn't been played in a month. Swabs were taken of 117 different sites on the instruments, including the mouthpieces, internal chambers and even the carrying cases.
Posted by courier at 10:35 AM. Filed under: Features
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From wikipedia:
Tsutomu Yamaguchi (March 16, 1916 – January 4, 2010), was a Japanese national who survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings during World War II. Although at least 160 people are known to have been affected by both bombings, he is the only person to have been officially recognized by the government of Japan as surviving both explosions.
A resident of Nagasaki, Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on business for his employer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries when the city was bombed at 8:15am on August 6, 1945. The following day he returned to Nagasaki and, despite his wounds, returned to work on August 9, the day of the second atomic bombing. In 1957 he was recognized as a hibakusha (explosion-affected person) of the Nagasaki bombing, but it was not until March 24, 2009 that the government of Japan officially recognised his presence in Hiroshima three days earlier. He died of stomach cancer on January 4, 2010.
Read more about Tsutomu Yamaguchi, free from The Economist.
Posted by courier at 10:00 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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image by Shreyans Bhansali
LOS ANGELES — More people said they got their news from the Web than a physical newspaper last year — the first time in history this has happened, according to an annual report on the news media.
The Internet now trails only television among American adults as a destination for news, and the trend line shows the gap closing, the study released Monday by the Pew Research Center said.
The report predicted that 2010 might also be the year when online ad revenue surpassed print newspaper ad revenue for the first time. The final tally is expected this spring. One of the challenges facing newspapers is that the largest share of online ad revenue is going to non-news sources, particularly to aggregators, the Washington think tank said.
Overall, nearly every sector of the U.S. news industry saw revenue growth in 2010, except for newspapers.
Posted by courier at 12:40 PM. Filed under: News
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The Yomiuri Shimbun (MCT)
TOKYO — High levels of radiation were detected at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant Tuesday morning after a fire broke out near a pool in the No. 4 reactor where spent nuclear fuel is temporarily kept, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
TEPCO said radiation measuring 400 millisieverts (400,000 microsieverts) per hour was detected at 10:22 a.m. following the fire, which broke out at 9:38 a.m.
"There is no doubt (these radiation levels) may pose health risks to humans," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference.
Posted by courier at 12:09 PM. Filed under: News
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Stacking
For: Playstation 3 (via Playstation Network)
and Xbox 360 (via Xbox Live Arcade)
From: Double Fine Productions/THQ
ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+ (crude humor,
mild cartoon violence, mild suggestive themes,
use of tobacco)
Price: $15
This is what happens when a developer with big-budget talent and an independent spirit flourishes on a platform that allows it to flex both characteristics at once: You get a game in which you play as a Russian nesting doll.
(In case the term isn't ringing a bell, Russian nesting dolls are those little wooden dolls that fit inside each other. You open one, and a smaller one is inside. Open that one, and an even smaller one is inside.)
"Stacking" brings those dolls to life, starring you as a tiny stacking doll named Charlie and tasking you with rescuing your family from an evil baron who has kidnapped and sentenced them to involuntary servitude.
Posted by courier at 11:31 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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From wikipedia:
Mariano Álvarez (March 15, 1818 – August 25, 1924) was a Filipino revolutionary and politician.
Álvarez was born in Noveleta, Cavite. He received formal schooling at the San José College in Manila, and obtained a teacher's diploma. He returned to Cavite and worked as a schoolteacher in Naic and Maragondon. He was married to Nicolasa Virata in 1863. Their son Santiago was born in 1872.
Read more about Mariano Alvarez in The katipunan and the revolution: memoirs of a general by Santiago V. Alvarez, free from googlebooks.com.
Posted by courier at 08:39 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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A National Park Service ranger presents
a distance learning video conference.
National Park Service photo
WASHINGTON — A few years ago, when he was governor of West Virginia, Bob Wise attended a graduation ceremony at Pickens High School in Randolph County, a tiny school on top of a mountain where the graduating class consisted of only two students. As he was leaving, he asked the principal how the school was able to attract foreign language teachers.
"He laughed and said, 'We have one of the best Spanish instructors in the country.' And I said, 'How could that be possible here on this mountain?' And he pointed to a satellite dish and he said, 'She comes in every day at 10 o'clock from San Antonio, Texas.'
"That's when I learned the power of distance learning," says Wise, now the president of the Alliance for Excellent Education.
Posted by courier at 08:23 AM. Filed under: News
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From wikipedia:
Charles Ammi Cutter (14 March 1837 – 6 September 1903) is an important figure in the history of American library science.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Cutter was appointed assistant librarian of Harvard Divinity School while still a student there. After graduation, Cutter worked as a librarian at Harvard College, where he developed a new form of index catalog, using cards instead of published volumes, containing both an author index and a "classed catalog" or a rudimentary form of subject index.
Read "The Buffalo Public Library in 1983 by , free from wikisource.org.
Posted by courier at 08:14 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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It's a School Life by Satpreet Kaur, Courier Staff Artist
Posted by courier at 04:05 PM. Filed under: Comics
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From wikipedia:
Donella H. "Dana" Meadows (March 13, 1941 Elgin, Illinois, USA - February 20, 2001, Hanover, New Hampshire) was a pioneering American environmental scientist, teacher and writer. She is best known as lead author of the influential book
The Limits to Growth, which made headlines around the world.
Born in Elgin, Illinois, Meadows was educated in science, receiving a B.A. in chemistry from Carleton College in 1963, and a Ph.D. in biophysics from Harvard in 1968. After a year-long trip with her husband, Dennis Meadows, from England to Sri Lanka and back, she became along with him, a research fellow at MIT as a member of a team in the department created by Jay Forrester, the inventor of system dynamics as well as the principle of magnetic data storage for computers. She taught at Dartmouth College for 29 years, beginning in 1972.
Read The Donella Meadows Archive: Voice of a Global Citizen, free from sustainer.org.
Posted by courier at 04:03 PM. Filed under: In Quotes
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By William Weir
The Hartford Courant (MCT)
HARTFORD, Conn. — After tonight, we'll have an extra hour of sunlight in the evening. This sounds great, but researchers say that shifting our internal clocks twice a year might affect us adversely — from more traffic accidents to lower SAT scores.
One worry about daylight saving time, which happens Sunday morning at 2 a.m., is sleep deprivation. When we spring forward, we lose one hour of sleep. That may not seem like much of a jolt, but studies suggest most of us don't get enough sleep as it is, so losing even an hour can take its toll.
Posted by courier at 12:09 PM. Filed under: News
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From wikipedia:
Johnnie Mae Young (born March 12, 1923) is an American professional wrestler and currently a WWE Ambassador.
Young was an influential pioneer in women's wrestling, helping to increase its popularity during World War II and training many generations of wrestlers. She wrestled throughout the United States and Canada, and won multiple titles in the National Wrestling Alliance.
Beginning in 1999, Young had a high-profile "second career" in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Young was part of a recurring comedic duo with best friend The Fabulous Moolah in appearances on WWE televised events. She is a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and the WWE Hall of Fame.
Learn more about Mae Young, free from wwe.com.
Posted by courier at 12:31 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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By Amy Kaufman
Los Angeles Times (MCT)
LOS ANGELES — "Battle: Los Angeles" is expected to wipe out the competition at the box office this weekend, leaving "Mars Needs Moms" searching for any signs of life.
Sony Pictures' "Battle: L.A.," an alien invasion story starring Aaron Eckhart, could open with ticket sales of $30 million to $35 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to people who have seen pre-release audience surveys.
But the biggest news at the box office this weekend is projected to be a disastrous debut of "Mars Needs Moms," a big-budget animated movie from Walt Disney Studios that is on track to open at just $10 million.
Posted by courier at 12:23 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Barbara Demick, David Pierson and Kenji Hall
Los Angeles Times (MCT)
TOKYO — After years of preparation for the killer earthquake that would clearly one day strike, Japan found itself crippled Friday by floods, power failures, fires, shuttered airports and paralyzed transit systems from a 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck off the Pacific coast, killing hundreds of people and setting off a massive tsunami.
In magnitude, the quake was the largest ever in Japan and the fifth-strongest on record, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Posted by courier at 12:07 PM. Filed under: News
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From wikipedia:
Ralph David Abernathy, Sr. (March 11, 1926 – April 17, 1990) was a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, a minister, and a close associate of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Following King's assassination, Dr. Abernathy took up the leadership of the SCLC Poor People's Campaign and led the March on Washington, D.C. that had been planned for May 1968.
He was born March 11, 1926 to W. L. Abernathy on the family 500-acre (2.0 km2) farm in Marengo County, Alabama. After serving in the United States Army during World War II, he enrolled at Alabama State University. In 1951 he earned a Masters of Science degree in sociology from Atlanta University (later Clark Atlanta University). As an officer of the Montgomery, Alabama NAACP, he organized the first mass meeting of the Montgomery Bus Boycott to protest Rosa Park's arrest on December 1,1955. He co-founded the Civil Rights Movement with Martin Luther King, Jr. As the Vice President of the Montgomery Improvement Association, he completed his Master’s Thesis in Sociology for Atlanta University, The Natural History of A Social Movement: The Montgomery Improvement Association, which was first referenced in 1984, then published as a chapter in 1989.
See photos of Ralph Abernathy, free from Life magazine.
Posted by courier at 11:25 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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By John M. Glionna
Los Angeles Times (MCT)
TOKYO — Looking back, says the pop singer called Jero, the songs were a soundtrack to his childhood, the strange and sorrowful melodies enjoyed by his Japanese-born grandmother — traditional folk ballads he came to know as enka music.
In the early 1990s, Jerome White Jr. was a skinny mixed-race kid — three-quarters African American, one-quarter Japanese — who found respite from the tough streets of Pittsburgh's North Side in the mysterious music that emanated from his grandmother's living room. "It was in the background ever since I can remember," he says.
Posted by courier at 11:07 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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MISCELLANEOUS
Students, do you need to repeat a class over the summer? Applications for summer school are now available in your House Office. They are pink in color. Space is limited, so apply early. Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. All applications turned in by the April 30 deadline will be given priority. Please submit completed applications to your counselor for review. Seniors, make sure to complete a Senior Contract as well.
HURRY! LAST DAY TO SIGN UP IS MARCH 18! Students, please see Ms. Muse at the windows in the main office to sign up for AP Exams. Only one more week to sign up!!!
Attention TAs: TA passes are ready for periods 0 through 7. Please pick yours up from Mrs. Whitaker during your TA period only.
Posted by courier at 10:52 AM. Filed under: Daily Bulletin
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Board of Education member Sarabjit Cheema will be a special guest tonight (Thursday) at School Site Council meetings at both Cesar Chavez and Alvarado middle schools. Both meetings start at 6 p.m. Ms. Cheema plans to be at Cesar Chavez from 6 to 6:30 and at Alvarado from 7 to 7:30. The public is invited.
Board members also plan to be in attendance for SSC meetings at all elementary schools next Wednesday (March 16). The schedule: Hillview Crest, 4 p.m.; Kitayama and Searles, 5:30 p.m.; Alvarado and Pioneer, 6 p.m.; Eastin and Emanuele, 6:30 p.m.
Posted by courier at 10:23 AM. Filed under: News
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From wikipedia:
Alfred H. Peet (March 10, 1920 – August 29, 2007) was a Dutch-American entrepreneur and the founder of Peet's Coffee & Tea in Berkeley, California, in 1966. He is most famous for introducing custom coffee roasting to the United States.
Peet was born in Alkmaar, Netherlands, where his father ran a small coffee roastery before World War II. After the war, Peet left London, where he had apprenticed with a coffee and tea company, and worked as a tea taster in the Dutch East Indies and New Zealand before immigrating to San Francisco, California in 1955, where he worked in the coffee importing industry.
Learn more about Alfred Peet and Peet's Coffee, free from peets.com.
Posted by courier at 10:11 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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MISCELLANEOUS
Students, do you need to repeat a class over the summer? Applications for summer school are now available in your House Office. They are pink in color. Space is limited, so apply early. Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. All applications turned in by the April 30 deadline will be given priority. Please submit completed applications to your counselor for review. Seniors, make sure to complete a Senior Contract as well.
Attention AP students: Time to sign up for AP testing. Come to the main office windows in Colt Court between February 28 and March 18. See Sarah Muse to pay for your exams at lunch or after school until 3:50 p.m. Your AP teacher has detailed information.
Attention TAs: TA passes are ready for periods 0 through 7. Please pick yours up from Mrs. Whitaker during your TA period only.
Posted by courier at 11:13 PM. Filed under: Daily Bulletin
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Couture in the 21st Century
edited by Deborah Bee,
photographs by Rankin;
A&C Black/Bloomsbury Academic
& Professional (London)
160 pages, $59.95
There is a lot to like in "Couture in the 21st Century," a collection of essays by prominent fashion designers edited by Deborah Bee, and produced in conjunction with the British department store, Harrods.
It's an excellent way to get a feel for the history of the century-and-a-half-year-old fashion industry started by Charles Worth in the mid-1800s.
However, it also provides some stark contrasts between the past and the present that might have been inadvertent.
Posted by courier at 11:00 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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From wikipedia:
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968), Hero of the Soviet Union, was a Soviet cosmonaut who on 12 April 1961 became the first human to journey into outer space.
Yuri Gagarin was born in the village of Klushino near Gzhatsk (now in Smolensk Oblast, Russia), on 9 March 1934. The adjacent town of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin in 1968 in his honour. His parents, Alexey Ivanovich Gagarin and Anna Timofeyevna Gagarina, worked on a collective farm. While manual labourers are described in official reports as "peasants", this may be an oversimplification if applied to his parents — his mother was reportedly a voracious reader, and his father a skilled carpenter. Yuri was the third of four children, and his elder sister helped raise him while his parents worked. Like millions of people in the Soviet Union, the Gagarin family suffered during Nazi occupation in World War II. His two older siblings were deported to Nazi Germany for slave labour in 1943, and did not return until after the war. While a youth, Yuri became interested in space and planets, and began to dream about his space tour which would one day become a reality.
Learn more about Yuri Gagarin, free from ispyspace.com.
Posted by courier at 10:17 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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Killzone 3
For: Playstation 3
From: Guerrilla Games/Sony
ESRB Rating: Mature (blood and gore,
intense violence, strong language)
(MCT)
"Killzone 3" cannot possibly surprise people like its 2009 predecessor did, so there's no honest way to write about it that achieves the level of awe those lavishly complimentary "Killzone 2" reviews achieved.
But that isn't to imply "KZ3" underwhelms at all. It tops "KZ2" in almost every respect, and while the story continues to fall short of its potential, the game's handling of moment-to-moment action — seeking cover without changing perspective, a noticeable weight and impact to every action taken, a vicious depiction of warfare — still sets it apart from any other first-person shooter.
Posted by courier at 11:26 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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From wikipedia:
Juana de Ibarbourou, also known as Juana de América, (1892–1979) was a Uruguayan poet of Galician origin. She was one of the most popular poets of Spanish America. Her poetry, the earliest of which is often highly erotic, is notable for her identification of her feelings with nature around her.
She was born Juana Fernández Morales on March 8, 1895, in Melo, Cerro Largo, Uruguay. The date of Juana's birth is often given as March 8, 1895, but according to a local state civil registry signed by two witnesses, the year was actually 1892. Juana began studies at the José Pedro Varela school in 1899 and moved to a religious school the following year, and two public schools afterwards. In 1909, at 17 years old, she published a prose piece, "Derechos femeninos" (female rights), beginning a lifelong career as a prominent feminist.
Read English translations of Juana de Ibarbourou's writing, free from ibarbourou.blogspot.com.
Posted by courier at 12:37 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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By Paul West
Tribune Washington Bureau (MCT)
BARTLETT, N.H. &$8212; A rare sight materialized in New Hampshire over the weekend: "Mitt Romney for President" campaign signs stuck into snowbanks along the road to a remote White Mountain resort hotel.
"I don't know where they came from," Romney, an undeclared candidate, coyly told 250 activists at a Republican Party fundraising dinner Saturday night at a hotel ballroom in Bartlett.
The leadoff presidential primary state, where politics never go out of season, would normally be cluttered with campaign posters by now. Not this year.
Posted by courier at 12:24 PM. Filed under: News
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By Amanpreet Tatlah,
Courier Staff Writer
Senior and Courier staff writer Julia Ortiz has made a profit from making objects out of duct tape. Ortiz can make things like flowers, bags and wallets. Her most popular item is her bags.
"I made a duct tape bag for myself and I would carry it to school," said Ortiz. "I guess people noticed and asked me where i got it from and when I told them I made it myself, they ask me to make one for them as well."
Posted by courier at 12:03 PM. Filed under: News
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MISCELLANEOUS
Students, do you need to repeat a class over the summer? Applications for summer school are now available in your House Office. They are pink in color. Space is limited, so apply early. Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. All applications turned in by the April 30 deadline will be given priority. Please submit completed applications to your counselor for review. Seniors, make sure to complete a Senior Contract as well.
Attention AP students: Time to sign up for AP testing. Come to the main office windows in Colt Court between February 28 and March 18. See Sarah Muse to pay for your exams at lunch or after school until 3:50 p.m. Your AP teacher has detailed information.
Attention TAs: TA passes are ready for periods 0 through 7. Please pick yours up from Mrs. Whitaker during your TA period only.
Posted by courier at 12:03 PM. Filed under: Daily Bulletin
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From wikipedia:
Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1912
Mondrian (March 7, 1872 – February 1, 1944), was a Dutch painter.
He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism. This consisted of white ground, upon which was painted a grid of vertical and horizontal black lines and the three primary colors.
Between his 1905 painting,
The River Amstel, and his 1907
Amaryllis, Mondrian changed the spelling of his signature from Mondriaan to Mondrian.
Learn more about Piet Mondrian and see examples of his work, free from Artcyclopedia.com.
Posted by courier at 11:31 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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It's a Lulu, by Lulu Zhong, Courier Comics Editor
It's a School Life, by Satpreet Kaur, Courier Staff Artist
Posted by courier at 06:26 AM. Filed under: Comics
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From wikipedia:
Hercule-Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French dramatist and duelist. He is now best remembered for the works of fiction which have been woven, often very loosely, around his life story, most notably the 1897 play by Edmond Rostand. In these fictional works he is featured with an overly large nose; portraits suggest that he did have a big nose, though not nearly as large as described in Rostand's play and the subsequent works about him.
Research indicates that around 1640 he became the lover of Charles Coypeau d'Assoucy, a writer and musician, until around 1653, when they became engaged in a bitter rivalry. This led to Bergerac sending d'Assoucy death threats that compelled him to leave Paris. The quarrel extended to a series of satirical texts by both men. Bergerac wrote
Contre Soucidas (an anagram of his enemy's name) and
Contre un ingrat ("Against an Ingrate"), while D’Assoucy counterattacked with
Le Combat de Cyrano de Bergerac avec le singe de Brioché, au bout du Pont-Neuf
Read Cyrano de Bergerac's The Other World, free from bewilderingtories.com.
Posted by courier at 12:13 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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From wikipedia:
Adriana Barraza (born March 5, 1956) is a Mexican film and television actress and director. She has also been nominated for a Golden Globe, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Broadcast Film Critics Association and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is also a veteran actress of Televisa telenovelas. Barraza is the third Mexican actress to be nominated for an Academy Award, in a year when ten Mexicans were nominated at the 79th Academy Awards.
Barraza was born in Toluca in Central Mexico, and has lived since 1974 with her Argentine husband in Chihuahua. While her spouse taught on the philosophy faculty of the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, she studied acting at the fine arts school, worked and raised her daughter.
Watch an interview with Adriana Barraza, free from Movieweb.com.
Posted by courier at 09:58 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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Matt Damon
wikipedia photo
DETROIT — If you look at the body of Matt Damon's movie work ...
"Well, that's your first mistake," interrupts the 40-year-old actor, one of the most versatile, respected stars on Hollywood's A-list.
Damon is amiably fielding a question about the theme of fate versus free will in his new movie, "The Adjustment Bureau," which opens Friday.
If you consider the roles he's played in films like the "The Bourne Identity" and its sequels, "The Talented Mr. Ripley," and even that underrated comic gem about conjoined twins, "Stuck on You," it seems that he is drawn to characters who have issues with destiny. Will PhD candidates be writing about this at some point?
"I hope not," he says with a laugh.
Posted by courier at 12:27 PM. Filed under: News
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By Barbara Demick
Los Angeles Times (MCT)
XIAN, China — At 30, Liu Xiaoping is more boy than man, with soft doe eyes that affix visitors with the unabashed stare of the very young and glisten with reluctant tears when his bandages are changed.
It takes effort not to show the pain of the wounds that read up and down his body as a testament to the 10 months he was held captive at brick factories in the Chinese countryside.
His hands are as red as freshly boiled lobster from handling hot bricks from a kiln without proper protective gloves. On the back of his legs, third-degree burns trace the rectangular shape of bricks _ a factory foreman's punishment for not working fast enough. Around his wrists, ligature marks tell of the chains used to keep him from running away at night.
Posted by courier at 12:18 PM. Filed under: News
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From wikipedia:
Rebecca Gratz (b. March 4, 1781, Lancaster, Pennsylvania; d. August 27, 1869, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a preeminent Jewish American educator and philanthropist.
Gratz was the seventh of twelve children born to Miriam Simon and Michael. Her mother was the daughter of Joseph Simon (1712-1804), a preeminent Jewish merchant of Lancaster, while her father was descended from a long line of respected rabbis. Miriam and Michael were observant Jews and active members of Philadelphia’s first synagogue, Mikveh Israel.
Learn more about Rebecca Gratz at the Jewish Women's Archive.
Posted by courier at 12:58 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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MISCELLANEOUS
Attention AP students: Time to sign up for AP testing. Come to the main office windows in Colt Court between February 28 and March 18. See Sarah Muse to pay for your exams at lunch or after school until 3:50 p.m. Your AP teacher has detailed information.
Attention TAs: TA passes are ready for periods 0 through 7. Please pick yours up from Mrs. Whitaker during your TA period only.
Need Driver’s Ed? Your place is at the Adult School. Cost is $125. Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday; April 4, 5 & 6, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Applications are now available in your house office or see Mr. Caruso in Room 77 for both an application and details.
Posted by courier at 11:30 PM. Filed under: Daily Bulletin
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By Brian McCollum
Detroit Free Press (MCT)
DETROIT — Spider Stacy knows it's been a while.
"Sorry about that, Detroit," the Pogues cofounder says immediately after picking up the phone at his London home, sounding almost sheepish. "It's been way too long."
For Michigan fans of the Pogues, the iconic group that singlehandedly launched the Celtic-punk genre in the 1980s, it's been an eon indeed: The band's definitive lineup hasn't played here since a 1989 show in Ann Arbor, when vocalist Shane MacGowan — one of rock's all-time debauched front men — was too drunk to make it through the night's first song. He was booted from the band two years later.
Posted by courier at 10:34 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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From wikipedia:
Charles Ponzi (March 3, 1882 – January 18, 1949) was born in Italy and became known as a swindler for his money scheme. His aliases include Charles Ponei, Charles P. Bianchi, Carl and Carlo. The term "Ponzi scheme" was coined because of Charles Ponzi's scam and today it is the description of any scam that pays early investors returns from the investments of later investors. Charles Ponzi promised clients a 50% profit within 45 days, or 100% profit within 90 days, by buying discounted postal reply coupons in other countries and redeeming them at face value in the United States as a form of arbitrage. Ponzi was probably inspired by the scheme of William F. Miller, a Brooklyn bookkeeper who in 1899 used the same scheme to take in $1 million.
Read more about "Ponzi schemes," free from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Posted by courier at 08:12 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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By Michael Doyle
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the right of small-but-loud Westboro Baptist Church to demonstrate provocatively near military funerals.
In a free-speech ruling that challenges popular opinion, the court ruled that the First Amendment protects even deliberately obnoxious funeral protests. The justices stressed that the court's 8-1 ruling was no endorsement of the church's infamous "God hates fags" message.
"Given that Westboro's speech was at a public place on a matter of public concern, that speech is entitled to special protection under the First Amendment," Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority.
Posted by courier at 12:10 PM. Filed under: News
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"Willful Blindness: Why
We Ignore the Obvious at
Our Peril"
by Margaret Heffernan
Walker & Co., NY
304 pages, $26
In "Willful Blindness" journalist and businesswoman Margaret Heffernan asks, "Why, as individuals, companies and countries, do we so regularly look at the mirror and ask how, 'How could we have been so blind?' "
When she asked people about the concept of 'willful blindness,' they gave examples on their own — abuse, divorce, Ponzi schemes, subprime mortgages. "Almost everyone mentioned the Iraq war and global warming: big public blunders caused or exacerbated by a reluctance to confront uncomfortable facts."
Posted by courier at 11:59 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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From wikipedia:
Morris "Moe" Berg (March 2, 1902, New York, New York – May 29, 1972, Belleville, New Jersey) was an American professional baseball player who later served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Although he spent 15 seasons in Major League Baseball, Berg was never more than an average player, and was better known for being "the brainiest guy in baseball' than for anything he accomplished in the game. The Bergs were never religiously observant, although being Jewish did contribute to Moe's sense of being an outsider in mid-twentieth century America. Casey Stengel once described Berg as "the strangest man ever to play baseball."
Learn more about Moe Berg at the Jewish-American Museum.
Posted by courier at 12:55 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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MISCELLANEOUS
Attention AP students: Time to sign up for AP testing. Come to the main office windows in Colt Court between February 28 and March 18. See Sarah Muse to pay for your exams at lunch or after school until 3:50 p.m. Your AP teacher has detailed information.
Attention TAs: TA passes are ready for periods 0 through 4. Please pick yours up from Mrs. Whitaker during your TA period only.
Need Driver’s Ed? Your place is at the Adult School. Cost is $125. Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday; April 4, 5 & 6, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Applications are now available in your house office or see Mr. Caruso in Room 77 for both an application and details.
Posted by courier at 12:00 PM. Filed under: Daily Bulletin
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A poster made by grieving Logan students
James McDonald/Courier Photo
Funeral services for Logan freshman Julian Gutierrez, who died Saturday, will be held Thursday at the Corpus Christi Church at 37891 Second St., in the Niles district of Fremont.
A viewing and vigil will be held from 5-8 p.m. with a Rosary at 6:30 p.m.
Eulogies will be given during the viewing and vigil period.
On Friday at 11:30 a.m., a mass will be held at the church, followed by a memorial gathering in the church hall.
Posted by courier at 11:03 AM. Filed under: News
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By Jim Puzzanghera
Los Angeles Times (MCT)
WASHINGTON — Facebook said it was "actively considering" whether to again allow third-party applications to request mobile phone numbers and home addresses from users younger than 18.
The ability of applications to request that information from users of the social networking site has been controversial since Facebook first allowed it briefly in January. Facebook disabled the feature for all users a few days later, after criticism from some users and privacy experts.
Facebook has said some users might want to share their cell phone number with an application to get text message alerts on special deals, or allow an Internet shopping site to have access to their home addresses to make the checkout process faster.
Posted by courier at 10:38 AM. Filed under: News
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"Test Drive Unlimited 2"
Reviewed for: Playstation 3 and Xbox
360
From: Eden Games/Atari
ESRB Rating: Teen (lyrics, simulated
gambling, mild suggestive themes)
In 2006, "Test Drive Unlimited" gave console racing game fans something — an open world swimming with other players driving and racing freely — they'd never had before.
Then four-plus years passed with no one else even trying it again.
So to call "Test Drive Unlimited 2's" arrival welcome is to understate a bit, especially when the sequel produces two freely-explorable islands (Ibiza and Hawaii) instead of one, adds storytelling and structural enhancements to the single-player side, increases event diversity, and fixes just about everything — from vehicle handling to interface design — that had room for improvement.
Posted by courier at 10:19 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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From wikipedia:
Phạm Văn Đồng (March 1, 1906 – April 29, 2000) was an associate of Hồ Chí Minh. He served as Prime Minister of North Vietnam from 1955 through 1976, and was Prime Minister of reunified Vietnam from 1976 until he retired in 1987.
According to an official report, Phạm Văn Đồng was born into a family of civil servants in Đức Tân village, Mộ Đức district, in Quảng Ngãi province on the central coast on March 1, 1906.
Watch a video of Phạm Văn Đồng, free from youtube.com.
Posted by courier at 08:11 AM. Filed under: In Quotes
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