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Explore the newest resources, content, and tools to enhance your experience using the Oxford Research Encyclopedias. Check back on this page as we continue to showcase the latest features, noteworthy news, and multimedia related to the Oxford Research Encyclopedia program, as well as its content and authors.
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Oxford University Press is re-imagining research with the new Oxford Research Encyclopedia project. We are embarking on our most ambitious reference project in decades: building dynamic, continuously updated digital encyclopedias—by scholars, for scholars—in over twenty disciplines. Learn more in the below video.
Democratizing Mexico's Politics
Mexican political leaders in growing numbers worked to establish democratic politics during the years from 1980 to the present. These efforts resulted in a major presidential contest in 1988, the creation of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), the free election of the mayor of Mexico City, and the defeat of the ruling regime (the Party of the Institutional Revolution—PRI) in 2000 by the candidate of the National Political Action (PAN). Voters elected President Vicente Fox in 2000 and, as his successor in 2006, they elected Felipe Calderón, also from PAN. In 2012, the PRI managed a return to the presidential office, but national politics and government had both irrevocably changed.
President Felipe Calderón, in the following interview, stresses his commitment through his administration to the goal of government based on the rule of law that led to, among other things, the so-called War on Drugs and escalating violence.
Learn more on the ORE of Latin American History
Blog Posts
What is social justice?
Image credit: Kate Ter Haar. CC BY 2.0 via Flickr.
The civil rights movement, religion, and resistance
Image credit: US Marines. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Hofstede's cultural dimensions and differences across cultures
Featured image credit: "Mexico, Puebla, Cuetzalan" by CrismarPerez. Public Domain via Pixabay.
Featured ORE Articles
Political Psychology of Foreign Policy
Image credit: Public Domain via PhotoPin.
Health and Risk Policymaking, the Precautionary Principle, and Policy Advocacy
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Latin America in World War I
Image credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.


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Housing Advocates Debate Work Requirements to Ease Affordable Housing Crisis
Obama calls for a program expansion for which critics say there is little data.
May 8, 2013 -- Affordable housing advocates are skeptical about the move in some areas of the country to impose work requirements and time limits for residents in public housing.
The affordable housing crisis for lower income households has grown so much that waiting lists for public housing assistance have thousands of names and it can take years to move to the front of the list.
"People think there's a safety net out there, but especially with the financial crisis and housing crash there is a safety net, but the truth is the safety net is full and there is a huge waiting list," said Tory Gunsolley, president and CEO of the Houston Housing Authority.
The number of households with incomes below half the median in their area grew to 8.5 million families in 2011, up 43.5 percent since 2007, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in February.
The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority hasn't opened its public assistance waiting lists since 2008. When Houston's Housing Authority opened its waiting list in 2006, there were 29,000 applicants. The next time the list was opened last summer, it attracted 83,000 applicants for housing vouchers.
"If you were in crisis five years, you might be on the top of my list," Gunsolley said about Houston's public housing waiting list. "But if there is a crisis today, there is no immediate way for us to help you."
The average amount of time residents receive public housing assistance varies wildly across the country. Unlike the five-year time limit for those receiving welfare assistance, there is no federal time limit for housing. In New York City, people stay in public housing for 20.7 years on average. In Minneapolis, the average amount of time a household spends in that city's high-rise public housing units is a little over six years, while there is one elderly participant who has lived in public housing for 41 years. Families who receive vouchers for rental assistance participate in that program for an average of about seven years; the average amount of time the disabled and elderly stay in that program is 8.5 years.
One of the ways to potentially allow more people to participate in public housing programs is to have stricter rules, such as work requirements or time limits for residents. A HUD program called "Moving to Work" has given 39 housing authorities, out of over 3,000 nationally, the flexibility to implement guidelines that work best for their communities. The housing authority for Milwaukee said they will likely implement work requirements for people receiving public assistance, the Wall Street Journal reported.
President Obama has called for an expansion of the "Moving to Work" program, which began in 1996, as part of his 2014 budget.
Linda Couch, the National Low Income Housing Coalition's senior vice president for policy and research, said there is little research to back up the idea that having a time limit on public housing assistance will help motivate residents to move into the private real estate market or increase their earned income.
"The housing authorities don't have enough money to do what they need to do. Their back is up against the wall. They see flexibility in deregulation to make their own decisions about who they serve and how they serve as a method for their survival," Couch said. "That might be true but it doesn't do anything to help the affordable housing crisis."
Because more than half of HUD-assisted households cycle out of rental assistance in about five years, Couch said she is doubtful tighter requirements will shorten waiting lists.
Couch also said imposing those rules will inordinately harm seniors and disabled receiving housing assistance.
Edward Washington, Jr. a disabled resident in one of Houston Housing Authority's property and a service coordinator and elderly case worker for the Housing Authority, said he is in favor of requiring some participants to work.
Houston Housing Authority is not a participant in HUD's "Moving to Work" program, so it does not have a work requirement or time limit, but it does have a community service requirement for able-bodied households of eight hours a week.
Washington, 54, was born with a birth defect called Osteo-genesis Imperfector, known as "brittle bones." He has been a resident in a public housing property for three years and has worked for Houston Housing Authority for two.
When asked for his opinion about a time limit of say, five to 10 years, for some properties, Washington said, "I don't think limiting their stay in public housing to five to 10 years should be set in stone, but it should be used to motivate or give the individual a guide to go by. As far as work goes, we need to have the opportunity to play our part in society just like everyone else."
Washington said any potential time limit "should not be set in stone, because for some of us, public housing is our home."
"But this limitation should be like the proverbial boot," he said. "Every once in a while, we need a swift kick in the behind to get us motivated or going in the right direction."
Gunsolley of the Houston Housing Authority said he is not for or against time limits or work requirements for public housing participants, but he applauds the greater flexibility that "Moving to Work" affords housing authorities across the country.
"In an era of decreasing federal funding, it's a critical tool to survive. Even before the financial crisis, we were in a financial crunch. By deregulating, it allows us to re-imagine ways for us to provide these services."
Cora McCorvey, executive director and CEO of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, said her organization has no plans to implement work requirements or time limits. But with the sequestration and budget cuts, "we can't say that we're not going to consider it."
"We're small in terms of housing options for families. Most of our residents are seniors or disabled so imposing limits on those vulnerable people it's not anything we would consider now," she said.
Instead of imposing stricter guidelines on those who can receive assistance, the National Low Income Housing Coalition and 1,000 housing organizations are campaigning for a National Housing Trust Fund to be funded by limiting the mortgage interest tax deduction.
The campaign, called United for Homes, proposes to reduce the size of a mortgage eligible for a tax break to $500,000 from $1 million and convert the deduction to a 15 percent non-refundable tax credit. The group says doing so would raise over $200 billion in revenue over 10 years to end homelessness.
In March, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., proposed the Common Sense Housing Investment Act of 2013 to implement these changes in over five years.
Couch said she said she is doubtful lawmakers will make changes to public housing work requirements, time limits or HUD's Moving to Work program.
"The idea that Congress will do something this year is far-fetched," she said. "Everyone is so focused on deficit reduction. It's extremely frustrating when we don't even know if time limits make sense."

subset: commoncrawl


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Nashville premiered on ABC television last Wednesday at 10pm. If you're anything like me, you had to be begged or bribed to watch it because of the title. It's not that I dislike Country music. In fact I love country folk and bluegrass and even some alt country. But I never "got" the Southern ambiance, and I wondered if this series would make any sense to me. I once spent at year attending school in Knoxville, Tennessee and let me just say that while the Blue Ridge mountains are beautiful, a football obsessed town is not a good cultural "fit" for this native New Yorker.
Therefore I'm happy to say that you can be southern, northern, western or even urban and still find something compelling about this series. It stars the always fascinating Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights, American Horror Story) as the fading Queen of country music, Rayna Jaymes. Britton does her own vocals and she sounds terrific. Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) stars as her baby faced nemesis Juliette Barnes. She's an oversexed, auto-tuned monster, as cute as a Pomeranian but with the bite of a Pit Bull. Juliette grew up in a troubled home; absent Dad, Meth addict mom. She was destined to be the terror of her local trailer park, but is instead a fast rising cross-over star ala' Taylor Swift. In her spare time she's starting a business empire by marketing her own perfume and her new hobby is making Rayna's life a living hell. When they are first introduced she tells gushes that the aging Rayna is "her Mom's favorite". There will be no further need to watch Internet cat videos when these two get their claws out. It's a more interesting rivalry than the one between the cast members Karen and Ivy on NBC's Smash, mainly because cattiness is a blood sport for some southern girls and they are very, very good at it. If you have any doubt, see Vivian Leigh's performance in the classic movie Gone With The Wind. She was all fiddle-dee-dee on the outside and "I'm gonna rip out your eyeballs and feed them to your little sister" on the inside.
There's more tension from Rayna's family members too, so she will be quite stressed out in this series. Her husband is a stay-at-home Dad who just happens to be running for Mayor. Her father Lamar Wyatt (Emmy winner Powers Boothe) is a wealthy industrialist and political king maker. He's a control freak and a snake but will make a convincing villain for the series if they let him become a bit less one-dimensional. Layered bad guys are all the rage these days (Dexter, Breaking Bad, Mad Men) so I hope they will allow Lamar to evolve.
If you're able to access the pilot that aired last week (you can stream it from the website), pay close attention to the last ten minutes. We're introduced to Gunnar Scott (Sam Palladio) an affable song writer with a fierce falsetto and a remarkable resemblance to a young Bruce Springsteen. He's paired with Scarlett O'Connor, a shy gorgeous poet who may herself be on the way to country music stardom. The alt country duet they sing is mesmerizing. I predict a lot of real life downloads for that song which (like all the music in Nashville) is available on iTunes.
More fireworks are anticipated in episode two. Juliette's making a video dressed in white Daisy Dukes and a bustier. Rayna's manager wants to pair her on stage with an old beau to spice up her lagging concert ticket sales. Save me a seat!


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The Surprise of the Wig
When the rabbis in Eretz Yisrael issued their ruling that wigs with hair from India were forbidden for use by married women because they were made from material offered as sacrifices for idol worship, the immediate reaction of countless women was to remove their wigs until the source of their hair could be verified and receive rabbinical sanction.
One such woman, a teacher in the fourth grade of a school in the State Religious (Mamlachti Dati) stream, appeared before her students one day wearing a snood in place of her customary wig. In response to the curious inquiries of her pupils she explained that the prohibition had been issued by the rabbis and proceeded to elaborate on the importance of obeying such rabbinical rulings.
Upon hearing this, one pupil suddenly removed the wig she was wearing, exposing the baldness of her head which had hitherto been unknown to her classmates.
All the praises heaped by the rabbis upon the married women who bravely obeyed their directive pale beside the courage of this youngster to whom we all have to tip our hats.


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|Who Needs High-Capacity Magazines? Even Police Only Hit 1 in 5 Shots
By Timothy H. Lee
Thursday, February 07 2013
Here's a statistic likely to surprise most Americans: Police officers' hit ratio, meaning the percentage of shots fired that meet the intended target, is approximately 20%.
In other words, even those whose very profession demands accuracy and constant preparation only hit 1 out of 5 shots when the situation requires it. Some 80% of shots thus miss their target.
A 2010 NYPD estimate is even lower, suggesting a hit ratio of just 11% to 17%.
This constitutes a critical fact in the ongoing debate over Americans' Second Amendment rights.
Specifically, prohibitionists reflexively seek magazine capacity limits as a first step in their incremental restrictionist agenda. Defenders of the Second Amendment correctly respond that limiting magazine capacity does nothing to actually reduce crime, as decades of crime data show. Unfortunately, we haven't always done an effective job of affirmatively explaining to the public why higher capacities are important, even life-saving.
Police repeatedly undergo training so that firing situations will be less disorienting and chaotic. Average members of the public, however, suddenly awakened by middle-of-the-night violent aggressors, do not. Accordingly, a higher-capacity magazine may prove the difference between life and death for themselves and their families. That is particularly true when multiple attackers are involved.
Defensive use of firearms by law-abiding citizens in America occurs far more often than highly-publicized mass murders by deranged gunmen, and such magazines naturally increase the effectiveness in such scenarios.
Meanwhile, south of our border, Mexican citizens are discovering the value of the right to keep and bear arms.
That nation continues its descent into lawlessness and violence, with police increasingly corrupt or incapable of stopping crime. Running out of options, as detailed in a front-page report this week by The Wall Street Journal, law-abiding citizens "have risen up in armed revolt against local drug traffickers that have terrorized the region and a government that residents say is incapable of protecting them from organized crime."
Through the actions of "ordinary farmers and businessmen," we witness how "life is getting back to normal here after years of insecurity":
"Crime is way down – for the moment, at least. Residents say kidnapping ceased when the militias took charge, as did the extortions that had become the scourge of businessmen and farmers alike. The leader of one militia group, who uses the code name G-1 but was identified by his compatriots as Gonzalo Torres, puts it this way: 'We brought order back to a place where there had been chaos. We were able to do in 15 days what the government was not able to do in years.'"
As cogently summarized by Bruno Placido, a leader of one militia, "We have shown the power armed people have over organized crime groups."
But what's happening in Mexico could never happen here in America, right?
In some ways, it already is happening.
In Chicago, where some of the nation's most infamous Second Amendment restrictions prevail, the murder rate is rising at an alarming rate. Last month became the deadliest January since 2002, and last year's 506 murders set a five-year high even as the nation's overall rate continues its decline.
Amid that increasing lawlessness, the Chicago Police Department announced this week that it has stopped physically responding to many 911 calls. Henceforth, crimes falling outside the vague definition of "imminent danger" will be routed to desk officers who will simply fill out reports via phone.
Disturbingly, what officials have labeled "simple assaults" fall outside that definition of imminent danger, even though such crimes often escalate to mortal events. Scott Waguespack, a city alderman, admitted that "it looks pretty bad," and worried that the police retreat signals "an open house for burglars."
As police become even less able to protect citizens, Second Amendment safeguards become even more critical.
America is not on the brink of Hobbesian lawlessness, but events in Chicago just this week demonstrate that the danger is never as distant as we might wish to believe. Even the safest societies are not immune, and there is no right more fundamental than the natural, inalienable right to self-defense.
And as Second Amendment restrictionists propose new knee-jerk legislation, we must repel measures that dangerously affect that right.
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Now that the ball has dropped and the confetti has settled, it's time to consider how you will stick to your resolution for the New Year and maintain your weight management plan, without sacrificing on variety or the taste of foods you love. Thanks to Progresso®, you can have your soup and eat it too!
With 40 delicious soups with 100 calories or less per serving, Progresso Soup has a variety of offerings that help you beat diet boredom and satisfy your taste cravings, while helping you stick to your weight management calorie goals. Progresso soups are packed with hearty ingredients like pasta, beans, rice, meat and vegetables that suit your taste buds and make you feel good about including it in your meal choices.
About the Contest
Progresso is asking fans to visit www.SouperYou.com and submit their photo with a brief essay about why they love Progresso soups and why they deserve a makeover, by no later than February 22nd
Fans can check back on March 12th for the announcement of the top ten finalists, and to vote for their favorite finalist until March 25th.
In addition, visit http://bit.ly/ProgressoCoup to download a printable coupon for $1.25 off the purchase of four (4) cans of Progresso Soup today, and feel free to share with your blog readers so they can take advantage of the savings as well
Also, tune into The Biggest Loser on NBC Tuesdays at 8/7c
Click here to watch this amazing video of the 2011 winner experience. To share with others, simply embed the code below within your post or include this link, http://bit.ly/ProgressoSY11 in your Tweets, Facebook updates and blog posts.
Enter to Win a Prize Pack!
Progresso is giving away a prize pack to a Take Time to Smell the Rose Reader! Prize Pack includes 2 VIP coupons for Progresso Soup and 1 copy of "The Biggest Loser Workout" DVD.
- Grab my Take Time to Smell the Rose button. Leave URL where it is posted.
- Follow Smell_the_Rose on Twitter AND tweet about this giveaway. After initial "tweet" you may gain an extra entry each day. Limit 1 tweet a day. Leave URL where you tweeted in your comment. Please use this copy & paste tweet:
- Comment on my link to this giveaway on the Take Time to Smell the Rose Facebook wall. 3 entries! Leave a comment for each entry
- 'Like' Progresso on Facebook but please do not write on their wall. 3 entries! Leave a comment for each entry (even if you are already a fan)


text: Welcome to my website. I have been studying art for about seven years now. It is my therapy for a chronic disease I have . I am retired after thirty years in the Medical profession and I live on a farm with my husband, two dogs and a very rambunctious cat named "My Missy Muse". Who thinks she owns the place.I continue to take art classes weekly and look forward to doing commissions if you desire one done of a special piece.Visit often as I am always adding new pieces.May God richly bless your day, and we'll see you again soon.


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Occasionally, you will encounter someone who says this:
Variation between human races is greater than variation within human races
If you do, you know you've encountered someone who has been indirectly exposed to the work of Richard Lewontin.
There are two forms of "Lewontin's fallacy." One is the original claim that Lewontin made. It is demonstrably untrue, which is obvious once examined with graduate-level statistical knowledge. A later, weaker version is simply nonsensical. I'll address these in order.
Lewontin's Original Fallacy
In 1972, Lewontin published an article called The apportionment of human diversity, using blood group proteins. The work is pretty typical for its time, except it extremely political correct connotations, and so eventually took on a life of its own. Rather than discuss the original article, which has been thoroughly debunked, bizarrely focuses on blood proteins anyway, here's an analogy. (I'm too tired to do matrix algebra now.)
Say someone comes to you, and says this:
"The racial groups that map to what we consider 'East Asian' or 'Caucasian' do not exist. There is no attribute of either race you can find, in which the majority of variation is between races, rather than within races. Hair, skin tone, skeletal shape, and so on all vary within both populations, so that means there is only one population.
In other words, the groups "East Asian" and "Caucasian" are entirely social groups. It is impossible to write a machine learning system to tell an East Asian apart from a European, if you don't include purely social constructs like name, clothing style, and so on.
The obvious refutation (which mathematically requires matrix algebra) is to ask why in the world you would use only one dimension of variation (like height, or skin tone) to classify individuals as part of multiple populations.
You can just use multiple indicators, together. That way if there has been a murder, say, and the corpse has been stripped of clothing and identification and has been dumped, you can use multiple indicators together to determine the race of the victim.
If there is DNA evidence, you can do the same.
Indeed, you can do the same with "races" such as "German" and "French"!
If for some reason you're transported back to the 1970s, and all you have is blood proteins, you can do the same.
The solution to Lewontin's fallacy is to use multiple indicators together, and not just one.
These days, it seems crazy to suggest it would be impossible to tell the race of an individual from DNA. There's even a popular PBS show about the concept! But in the 1970s, some people really were that ignorant.
The Remnant that Remains
There's no reason to take Lewontin's original fallacy seriously, but sometimes you'll hear a variation of it
Variation in intelligence between human races is greater than the mean difference of intelligence of the races
This is like saying moisture is taller than speed. It makes no sense.
In some areas of life, differences in variation between groups is the fact that matters most. For instance, on many measures (say IQ, or time orientation) males have greater variation than females, while both tend to have the same average. From this you would expect you would see many more male violent criminals than female violent criminals, and also more male CEOs of large companies than female CEOs of large companies. There is little if any difference in the average of these traits between the sexes. There is substantial difference in the variation of these traits between the sexes, though.
In other areas, averages matter. For instance, the average IQ of American whites from the south-eastern United States is lower than the average IQ of American whites from the northern states. From this you might wonder if large companies have a disproportionately small number of CEOs from the American South, while white southerners have responded to this "dixie ceiling" by organizing politically to obtain political goods that they cannot gain in the marketplace.
I have never seen anyone talk, in a popular setting, about a comparison between a variation on the one hand and an average on the other. Typically one or the other is relevant to the conversation, and bizarre second-order comparisons (what is the variability in height of Australians compared t the average height of South Americans) are simply uninterpretable. But if you've never worked with variation as a real thing (through calculating a standard deviation to solve a problem, say), the remnant of the fallacy is a good-guess by an ignorant laymen of what Lewontin may have been talking about.
The phrase "Variation between human races is greater than variation within human races" is meaningless. It either refers to an empirical incorrect claim from the 1970s, on the impossibility of using "blood proteins" to predict race, or an incoherent claim that compares averages against variation.


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Amy Coffin of We Tree is challenging us for 52 weeks! To begin the year, her first challenge is: "Go to your local public library branch. Make a note of the genealogy books in the collection that may help you gain research knowledge."
In the area where I live, there are many local libraries and all have a good deal of genealogy information. My mind wondered about selecting which library to write about. Should it be the Concord Free Library in historic Concord, Massachusetts, that I absolutely love, or one in Boston? I chose the closest and the one I go to 3-4 times a month...but not for genealogy. As a matter of fact, it has been several years since I've gone into the Family History Room of the Adams Library in Chelmsford. My visits there are to keep my goal of reading a book a week in check, so I am always picking up and dropping off books.
At one time, I was always at the library especially when I was giving genealogy classes, through the library, for 4 years. I taught Genealogy for Beginners (about 12 times), Google Research, and Using the Census. They kept me busy.
The Local History section has information and links for the history and genealogy buffs. The Genealogy web page lists the resources available, pertaining to genealogy. First listed are the online subscriptions to be used in the library only. In the past, there were more, as well as several for home usage, but times have changed, so we make do with less. I already subscribe to several databases, so there isn't a need to use their computers. When they first got the library edition of Ancestry.com it was quite an event because the reference personnel didn't know how to use it. It seems that many of these subscriptions were bought by the Friends of the Library, someone must have been into genealogy, but none in the library. I often showed them the ropes with Ancestry Library.
Other listings are about print materials in the History Room, Microfilm Periodicals (which I've never used), and information about some of their genealogy books. A quick look at the card catalog indicated there are 5997 titles that pertain to genealogy. One thing I was very happy to see on the Library's web page was this statement, "Interlibrary Loan - The Chelmsford Public Library can obtain items for you from other Merrimack Valley Library Consortium (MVLC) libraries as well as books from other United States libraries." I have used this service several times in the past, but not during the last two years. Naturally, I thought they dropped this service because of the cost, but I see they haven't. Hooray.
One link totally surprised me, and I wouldn't have thought it would be in the "Local History" area. It is about the "Simpson's TV Show", and here you will see photos of Chelmsford, and how they appear in the TV show. I wanted to post some of the artwork done for the show, but because it is copyrighted, it is best you use the above link.
I looked around but didn't see anything new, but still, it was nice checking out the little room. Some students were in there, so I didn't take photos. I left with a copy of Professional Genealogy: a manual for researchers, writers, editors, lecturers, and librarians/editor, Elizabeth Shown Mills; editorial board, Donn Devine, James L. Hansen, Helen F.M. Leary. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co., 2001. I have heard so much about the book but never checked it out. I ordered it on Monday, and picked it up today!
Another article was written about the Genealogy and Local History Room at this library, see HERE.
The new entrance is to the right of the original 1894 library.


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Founded in 1895 as the American School of Classical Studies in Rome (which merged into the Academy in 1913), the Academy's scholarly division offers fellowships in all phases of Italy's history and culture, from the ancient world to modern times. Each year, through its Rome Prize competition, the Academy awards twelve fellowships for research in ancient studies, medieval studies, Renaissance and early modern studies, and Italian studies.
The mission of the American Academy in Rome, founded in 1894, is to foster the pursuit of advanced research and independent study in the fine arts and humanities.
The School of Fine Arts provides support to the annual Rome Prize Fellows in architecture, design arts, historic preservation and conservation, landscape architecture, literature, musical composition, and visual arts. The School of Fine Arts also sponsors public programs to provide Fellows a cultural bridge between the United States, Italy, and Europe.
What is the American Academy in Rome?
The American Academy in Rome is the oldest American overseas center for independent study and advanced research in the arts and humanities. Each year, through a national juried competition, the Academy offers approximately 30 Rome Prize fellowships.
Where is the American Academy in Rome located?
The Academy is located on the Janiculum hill in Rome, Italy. For a map and directions from the airport, please click here.


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Home > News & Events > Speeches & Testimony
Speeches & Testimony
Thank you for that very kind introduction.
In my remarks today, I will comment briefly on the condition of the banking system and then discuss the FDIC's new responsibilities under the Dodd-Frank Act for the resolution of systemically important financial institutions.
Condition of the Banking Industry
2011 represented the second full year of improving performance by the banking system.
The latest data, released by the FDIC in its Quarterly banking Profile earlier this week, indicate that banks have continued to make gradual but steady progress in recovering from the financial market turmoil and severe recession that unfolded from 2007 through 2009.
During the past two years, the banking industry has undergone a difficult process of balance sheet strengthening. Capital has been increased, asset quality has improved, and banks have bolstered their liquidity. The industry is now in a much better position to support the economy through expanded lending. However, levels of troubled assets and problem banks are still high. And while the economy is showing signs of improvement, downside risks remain a concern.
The FDIC data does show a continuation in the fourth quarter of last year of a trend in overall improvement in the condition of insured financial institutions. Industry earnings have grown over the past eight quarters. The percent of noncurrent loans on the books of FDIC-insured institutions has declined for seven consecutive quarters, reflecting improved credit quality. The number of institutions on the FDIC's problem bank list declined for the third consecutive quarter. The Deposit Insurance Fund moved into positive territory as of June 30 of last year, and continued to increase in the third and fourth quarters. The FDIC is forecasting significantly fewer failing banks this year than last year.
However, most of the improvement in earnings over the last two years has been the result of lower loan-loss provisions reflecting improved credit quality. But future earnings gains will have to be based to a greater extent on increased lending, consistent with sound underwriting. Prudent loan growth is a necessary condition for a stronger economy.
That is why we view the fourth quarter growth in the industry's loan portfolio, the third consecutive quarter of growth, as a hopeful sign.
The loan growth that has occurred so far has been led by lending to commercial borrowers. Loans to medium and large commercial and industrial borrowers have increased in each of the last six quarters. In the fourth quarter, we saw growth in small C&I loans as well. The FDIC began collecting quarterly data on small loans to businesses with the March 2010 Call Report; since that time, this is the first quarterly increase in small C&I loans.
This is a trend the FDIC will be following closely going forward.
Putting the FDIC's New Systemic Resolution Responsibilities in Perspective
The FDIC has been given significant new responsibilities under the Dodd-Frank Act to resolve systemically important financial institutions. Specifically, these include an Orderly Liquidation Authority to resolve the largest and most complex bank holding companies and non-bank financial institutions, if necessary, and a requirement for resolution plans that will give regulators additional tools with which to manage the failure of large, complex enterprises.
Before discussing our efforts to carry out these new responsibilities, I wanted to try to place these responsibilities within the broader framework of the way the FDIC's resolution activities regularly work together with bank supervision in responding to the financial difficulties of FDIC-insured institutions.
It is important to recognize up front that resolution is always the option of last resort. The purpose of the supervisory process is to make sure that institutions manage their risks so that the risk of failure is minimized.
The goal is to have a supervisory process that can recognize problems early and encourage management to address problems in a proactive way. When an institution's supervisory rating or capital adequacy is downgraded, the institution is subject to a variety of supervisory responses intended to encourage management to take prompt action. These supervisory actions may include:
Under the current arrangement, should the condition of the institution deteriorate, the FDIC begins its resolution planning process in conjunction with the ongoing supervisory process and in close coordination with the primary supervisor of the institution. This would include undertaking a deposit download for deposit insurance purposes, and developing a detailed resolution plan for the institution.
The goal is to have an integrated process of supervision and resolution that will hopefully avoid closure of the institution, but that will enable the FDIC to prepare to carry out an orderly resolution if necessary.
In such a process – motivated by the credible threat of failure – the managers and investors of problem institutions have an incentive to:
Our goal in regard to the FDIC's new systemic resolution responsibilities is to adapt this framework to systemically important financial institutions, including their holding companies and affiliates, as well as designated non-bank financial companies. This will obviously pose significant new challenges that I will discuss in a moment.
But the basic goal is the same. Resolution is the option of last resort. What is needed is an integrated process of supervision and resolution planning for systemically important financial institutions that will provide for early supervisory intervention to avoid resolution, but that will be prepared to carry out an orderly resolution if needed.
The FDIC outlined in a paper how this process might have worked in the Lehman Brothers case. That paper is available on the FDIC website.
Orderly Liquidation Authority, Resolution Planning, and the Office of Complex Financial Institutions
The FDIC has taken a number of steps over the past year to carry out its new systemic resolution responsibilities.
First, the FDIC established a new Office of Complex Financial Institutions to carry out three core functions:
For the past year, this office has been developing its own resolution plans in order to be ready to resolve a failing systemic financial company. These internal FDIC resolution plans, developed pursuant to the Orderly Liquidation Authority, provided under Title II of Dodd-Frank, apply many of the same powers that the FDIC has long used to manage failed-bank receiverships to a failing systemically important financial institution (SIFI).
If the FDIC is appointed as receiver of such an institution, it will be required to carry out an orderly liquidation in a manner that maximizes the value of the company's assets and ensures that creditors and shareholders appropriately bear any losses. The goal is to close the institution without putting the financial system at risk.
This internal resolution planning work is the foundation of the FDIC's implementation of its new responsibilities under Dodd-Frank.
In addition, the FDIC has largely completed the basic rulemaking necessary to carry out its responsibilities under Dodd-Frank.
In July, the FDIC Board approved a final rule implementing the Orderly Liquidation Authority. This rulemaking addressed, among other things, the priority of claims, and the treatment of similarly situated creditors.
In September, the FDIC Board adopted two rules regarding resolution plans that systemically important financial institutions themselves will be required to prepare – the so-called "living wills."
The first resolution plan rule, jointly issued with the Federal Reserve, implements the requirements of Section 165(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act. This section requires bank holding companies with total consolidated assets of $50 billion or more, and certain nonbank financial companies that the Financial Stability Oversight Council designates as systemic, to develop, maintain and periodically submit resolution plans to regulators. The plans will detail how the top-tier legal entity in the enterprise – as well as any subsidiary that conducts core business lines or critical operations – would be resolved under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
Complementing this joint rulemaking, the FDIC also issued an Interim Final Rule requiring any FDIC-insured depository institution with assets over $50 billion to develop, maintain and periodically submit plans outlining how the FDIC would resolve it through the FDIC's traditional resolution powers under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
These two resolution plan rulemakings are designed to work in tandem and complement each other by covering the full range of business lines, legal entities and capital-structure combinations within a large financial firm. Both of these resolution plan requirements will improve efficiencies, risk management and contingency planning at the institutions themselves. They will supplement the FDIC's own resolution planning work with information that would help facilitate an orderly resolution in the event of failure.
We expect that the process of developing these plans – or "living wills" -- will be a dialogue between the regulators and the firm. It is not a simple "check-the-box" exercise, and it must take into account each firm's unique characteristics. The planning process must also be an interactive dialogue with the firms especially for the largest and most complicated firms.
Together, these efforts will ensure comprehensive and coordinated resolution planning for both the insured depository and its holding company and affiliates in the event that an orderly liquidation is required.
With the joint rule now final, the FDIC and the Federal Reserve have now started the process of engaging with individual companies on the preparation of their resolution plans. The first plans, for companies with assets over $250 million, will be due in July.
I should note that developing a credible capacity to place a systemically important financial institution into an orderly resolution process is essential to subjecting these companies to meaningful market discipline. Without this capability, these institutions -- which by definition pose a risk to the financial system -- create an expectation of public support to avert failure. That distorts the financial marketplace, giving these institutions a competitive advantage that allows them to take on even greater risk and creating an unlevel playing field for other financial institutions that are not perceived as benefiting from potential public support. There is a very strong public interest in the FDIC developing the capability to carry out its new systemic resolution responsibilities in a credible and effective way.
Thank you very much.
|Last Updated 3/05/2012


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Spider-Man: Friend or Foe Summary
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe Review
Spiderman: Friend or Foe is a children's title that will put adults to sleep, either through the tedious battles or juvenile dialogue.
Latest Updates
New Xbox Live Marketplace content includes Gears 3 DLC sale, Far Cry 3 full download
Major Nelson has announced the Xbox Live Marketplace content for the next two weeks, and it is highlighted by a Gears of War 3 downloadable content sale and the critically acclaimed shooter Far Cry 3 hitting digital distribution on Games on Demand.
Beenox: There's a lot of pressure in keeping Spider-Man "fresh"
Developer Beenox Games is on its fourth Spider-Man game, after having previously worked on such titles as Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, and Spider-Man: Edge of Time. Each of the previous games received increasingly higher review scores - so there's an assumption that the IP is becoming old hat for the developer.
This is not the case, as studio head Dee Brown related in an interview with Gamasutra. If anything, there's more pressure for their next game, The Amazing Spider-Man, to be a success.


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The Orlando Magic's Hedo Turkoglu was suspended 20 games for testing positive for methenolone, which is an anabolic steroid. He claims it was given to him by a trainer in Turkey helping him recover from a shoulder injury and that he failed to cross reference it with the NBA's banned substances list. He copped to the whole thing and started serving his suspension tonight.
"It's been really nightmare," Turkoglu said. "It wasn't a really good year for me. Now I'm facing this. As a player, you face a lot of injuries. It just comes and goes. But this kind of situation, you don't want to put yourself in. This is the worst one I'm dealing with now."
Turkoglu is the most recent in a string of fallen athletes—yet only the eighth in the NBA—disgraced by steroid use and Twitter is reacting exactly as you'd think. As a courtesy, we collected all the tweets of those righteous souls unable to fathom what this means for the sport, for the player. Gird yourselves:
Turkoglu averaged 2.9 points in 17.2 minutes per game this season.
Hedo Turkoglu suspended 20 games [AP, ESPN]


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Vinyl Oh My
<<How to Order>>
Succulent, Poppy, and Feather Wreath Decal - Alicia
Regular price $3.99
Tax included. Shipping calculated at checkout.
All of our vinyl stickers and decals are:
- Handmade
- Printed on water-proof industrial grade vinyl
- Include a sheer laminate to cover and protect your sticker from scratching the ink (adding to the longevity of your sticker/decal)
- For use indoor & outdoor
- Easy application from transfer paper to the desired surface (detailed directions included)
- NOT dishwasher safe - Heat from dishwasher will ruin sticker/decal. Please hand wash and towel dry with care.
<<How to Order>>
1. Choose the desired SIZE from the drop-down menu
>>>Size is determined by measuring from the outer ends of the wreath. In other words, the outer diameter, not the inner diameter.
2. In the comment box at checkout, leave a comment with the following information from option one OR option two:
- Name (or single initial)
- Vinyl Color for your name. (If you would like no name, please say 'No Name')
- Font Style
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- Vinyl Color for your name. (If you would like no name, please say 'No Name')
- Choice of Monogram Font
***Please leave monogram initials in First, Last, Middle format only. The letters will be arranged in the order you list in your comment.***
<<Included with your order>>
- Each decal comes with clear adhesive transfer tape in place for easy application
- Detailed application instructions
*If you have any questions about applying your decal or sticker, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com


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Live Astronomy Programs
Join us for a unique, live astronomy experience!
Current Night Sky - Space Lab
Our live full dome programs utilize Uniview, a visualization and simulation software aimed at presenting and teaching astronomy, astrophysics and earth sciences. Our full dome theater is a large-scale immersive environment, featuring realtime digital planetarium, and large-format cinema.
Current Night Sky
Long before television, GPS and street lights, there were the stars of the night sky. Visitors will travel through the seasonal night sky to learn about constellations, hear mythical stories and observe the magnificent Long Island sky.


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Police release names of 10 injured in Portland crash
9 taken to Maine Medical Center; 1 taken to Mercy Hospital
Portland police were investigating a head-on motor vehicle crash on Sunday on Marginal Way, according to a city spokesperson.
The incident sent 10 people to the hospital with significant injuries, the spokesperson indicated.
The spokesperson said a 2002 Ford Explorer with six passengers crossed the center line and struck a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with four passengers.
Nine of the injured were transported to Maine Medical Center while one was taken to Mercy Hospital, according to the spokesperson.
On Monday, police released the names of those involved in the crash:
2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Marcelina Dakiti, 35, driver
Jeissey Khamis, 6
Jayvan Khamis, 8
Marvin Dakiti, 5
2002 Ford Explorer
Sebastien Bukuru, 44, driver
Clarisse Uwimana, 39
Joshua Irasubiza, 12
Clemence Nyinawumuntu, 34
Pamela Ishimwe, 15
Penine Nduwayo, 41
The cause of the Crash is still under investigation.


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Find the best idea for season gifts. We carry thousands of unique gifts, from fun & cool accessories to creative home decor and kitchen items and all festive.
Choosing gifts that cater to a specific occasion can be a mind-boggling and time-consuming affair. One does not only need to take care of occasions like weddings and birthdays, and plenty of special days like Father's Day, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, and the all-important Christmas and New Year's, in a country like India, where, throughout the year, there is some festival or another like Rakhi, Diwali, etc., – the idea of gifting for any person becomes an indispensable part of life
Is it safe to use my Credit Card Online at Myseasonstore.com?
We accept VISA, MASTER and AMERICAN EXPRESS Credit Cards issues in India and we accept Debit cards of all banks issued in India. International credit/debit card. All your transactions online are protected & secured by SSL (secure socket layer) technology. It encrypts your credit card and relevant information during the entire transaction process. This encryption makes your shopping experience safe and secure.


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MyTeam Network Mole Valley - Working Lunch
Jeremy Webb, SatNav4Business
Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 12:30 PM (GMT)
Event Details
Join us for a Working Lunch to experience the power of the MyTeam Network!
What MyTeam is all about…
• MyTeam Network follows an innovative formula for a networking group based on observations of how networking works, and why people do it
• MyTeam is follows the principle of 'we are smarter than me!' (and 'stronger than me' too)
• MyTeam Network gives networkers 'colleagues'
• MyTeam works in the space between meetings - too many networkers do nothing apart from go to meetings (not because they don't want to, they just don't get around to it - our team system solves that for you!)
• MyTeam doesn't replace your existing networking – it enhances it
How it works...
We meet in a pub restaurant and everybody pays for their own lunch (not included in the £10 meeting fee). The venue offers an exclusive MyTeam Lunch menu (your choice from 5 dishes, plus a drink) for just £10.
This group is Hosted by Jeremy Webb of SatNav4Business, a popular and extremely well-connected local networker. The 90-minute meeting is a group discussion and exchange of ideas, and we explore a business-related 'RoundTable Topic' chosen by the Members at the previous meeting. It's 'knowledge networking', and it's fun too!
We each partner with a networking 'Buddy' selected at random using the MyTeam method. Team Buddies arrange to have a 1-2-1 at a convenient time and place (or even on Skype) during the next two weeks so they can get to know each other and their respective businesses, share contacts, and look for opportunities to help one another. This typically takes around an hour or so during the fortnight, and we have a formula for you to follow should you wish.
"Thank you for making me feel so welcome yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and look forward to getting to know more about you and your businesses" Karen McKeogh, Business Assistance
At the end of each MyTeam meeting, attendees have the opportunity of committing (to themselves, in front of the Team) to tackle a challenge they are facing in their business or complete an specific task in a given timescale. This is totally optional, and a brilliant way of helping you to get things done. There's no 'penalty' for failing to meet your self-imposed target - but it will motivate you by creating a sense of accountability to yourself!
Come and see for yourself how powerful (and how much fun!) a MyTeam Network working lunch can be.
How it all works - read the FAQs here or watch the video here...
FINDING THE VENUE: Although slightly off the beaten track,Headley is within easy reach of Epsom, Dorking, Leatherhead and Reigate, and the venue is delightful... your satnav will help the first time!
PLEASE NOTE: Meetings are almost always over-subscribed ...hooray! (waitlist when full). If you book and don't show, you may not then book into another meeting in advance - but you can go on the waiting list. First-time free Visitors who no-show have used up their free visit.
When & Where
The Cock Inn
Church Lane
KT18 6LE Headley
United Kingdom
Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 12:30 PM (GMT)
Add to my calendar
Jeremy Webb, SatNav4Business
Jeremy is a financial consultant with 20 years experience in assisting owner managed businesses in S E England with particular expertise in the funding of business growth and improving operational performance. He is an exceptionally well-connected networker and event organiser, and Director of Leatherhead and District Chamber of Commerce. Jeremy always gives generously of his time and energy to help others, and is a long-standing active member and officer of Kingston upon Thames Rotary Club.


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WASHINGTON — A State Department official "received several million dollars in bribes" from Vietnamese residents seeking visas, according to newly public court documents.
In a previously undisclosed criminal complaint, Foreign Service officer Michael T. Sestak faces charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud and bribery in an alleged scheme that investigators say spanned several countries. In some cases, investigators say, desperate Vietnamese paid up to $70,000 each for visas granting legal entry to the United States.
The "co-conspirators" advertised that the charge would be between $50,000 and $70,000 per visa but also that they'd sometimes charge less, State Department investigator Simon Dinits said in an affidavit. "They also encouraged recruiters to raise the price and keep the amount they charged over the established rate as their own commission," the affidavit said.
Investigators say the alleged conspiracy occurred while Sestak was handling non-immigrant visas in the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. Sestak served in the consulate until last September, when he left in preparation for active-duty service with the Navy. By then, investigators say, an informant had tipped them to the alleged visa scheme.
An attorney for Sestak didn't offer comment Thursday.
Sestak, who turns 42 this year, was quietly arrested in Southern California about a week ago. Citing a "serious risk defendant will flee," authorities secured a judge's order to hold him without bail until he can be transferred back to Washington, where the complaint was originally filed under seal May 6.
Though it's since been unsealed, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington declined Thursday to comment on the case until Sestak has been returned to the city. A State Department representative also declined to comment.
Dinits, a special agent with the department's Diplomatic Security Service, spelled out the allegations against Sestak and five unnamed co-conspirators in a 28-page affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint. The allegations include a close accounting of how the Foreign Service officer, according to investigators, shifted ill-gotten gains across international borders.
"He ultimately moved the money out of Vietnam by using money launderers through offshore banks, primarily based in China, to a bank account in Thailand that he opened in May 2012," Dinits said. "He then used the money to purchase real estate in Phuket and Bangkok, Thailand."
Sestak joined the consulate staff in Ho Chi Minh City in August 2010 and served as the chief of the non-immigrant visa staff. It was a busy office and Sestak came to have a remarkably lenient record for granting visa applications, Dinits said.
From May 1, 2012, to Sept. 6, investigators say, the consulate received 31,386 non-immigrant visa applications and rejected 35.1 percent of them. During the same period, Sestak handled 5,489 visa applications and rejected only 8.2 percent of them, according to investigators.
Sestak's reported visa rejection rate fell to 3.8 percent in August, shortly before he was to leave the office.
According to Dinits, one of Sestak's alleged co-conspirators was the "general director of the Vietnam office of a multi-national company located in Vietnam." The four others were friends or relatives of this individual. All live in Vietnam.
Dinits said one co-conspirator "reached out to people in Vietnam, and in the U.S.," and would advertise that visas could be guaranteed, including for those who wouldn't otherwise be likely candidates. Other co-conspirators would help prepare the applicant and Sestak would review the application, according to Dinits.
Last July, Dinits said, an informant advised consular officials that 50 to 70 people from one village in Vietnam had illegally paid for their visas. That prompted investigators to start tracing online visa applications using Internet Protocol addresses, the unique numbers used to find particular computers or servers on the Internet. The investigators reported tracing money transfers, including $150,000 allegedly sent to Sestak's sister in Florida. They also snooped on email accounts
"This opportunity will only last for a few more months, and after that it's over," one alleged co-conspirator wrote in a July 5 email quoted by Dinits.
Source: Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/05/23/2651422/foreign-serv


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How are stars made? — no, not pop stars and movie stars, the other kind, the ones that bring light to cosmic darkness. Like people, the brilliant light points in space have a birth-to-death cycle, and their birth is a tempestuous, uncertain process.
A star comes into being when a region of cold gas in a galaxy collapses — like a basketball contracting to the size of a dot — until the core gets so dense that the atoms begin to fuse. Astrophysicists mark the onset of nuclear fusion — when the thermonuclear furnace at a star's core starts to heat up — as the moment of star birth.
Not all galactic regions of collapsing gas, however, result in newborn stars. One scenario sees the birth process as a kind of competition between energies. Swirling, turbulent gas as it collapses builds up tremendous pressure, which — as it becomes dense enough — sends a sound wave outward. If this outward pressure wave travels fast enough, it can stop the collapse. On the other hand, if the collapse happens faster than the pressure wave's ability to slow it, known as Jeans instability, nuclear fusion starts and voilá — a new star.
Underlying this simplified scenario, however, is a complex stew of physical processes, with many factors involved, including temperature of the gas, its chemical composition, its magnetization, and the rate at which the collapsing gas cools. Depending on how galaxy behavior is understood, scientists have proposed numerous theories of star birth and have long sought a clear explanation.
Why do we care how stars form? Simple, says Mordecai-Mark Mac Low, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Without star birth, there wouldn't be life. "Ultimately our research tells us why we are here," he says. "In our models of star formation, we're basically trying to figure out how the galaxy we live in and all the galaxies we see around us behave. And how does that behavior contribute to our own presence?"
In recent work, Mac Low and colleagues Yuexing Li of Columbia University (now at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and Ralf S. Klessen of the Astrophysical Institute of Potsdam (now at the University of Heidelberg) used LeMieux, PSC's terascale system, to simulate billions of years of galactic evolution. Their results cut through the galactic fog and reduce a complex story to one key element.
"Gravitational instability," says Mac Low, "appears to be the dominant mechanism controlling the formation of stars."
Sink Particles
To get to this conclusion, Mac Low's team modeled the matter within galaxies as particles, using a method called "smoothed particle hydrodynamics." They implemented this approach with simulation software, called GADGET, developed by Volker Springel at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Germany. Instead of overlaying a fixed grid and monitoring changes within each cube of the grid — a common approach to modeling movement of objects in space — GADGET scatters particles across the galaxy, with each particle assigned an initial density, pressure, and velocity. The simulations track these particles — their changes in position, density, pressure and velocity — through billions of simulation years.
"Instead of a regular grid where the resolution is fixed everywhere," says Mac Low, "you have an unstructured grid, where the resolution follows the gas flow. This is good if you're looking at problems of collapse, because you put the most resolution in the densest regions."
Along with this advantage, however, the particle method imposes a challenging computational problem. When collapse starts, the particles crowd closer and closer, in tighter and tighter orbits about each other. Maintaining high resolution in such a region requires more and more computation to advance the same amount of physical time, which eventually leads to an impasse — to advance a year of galactic time can require a year of computation.
The solution is to let collapse proceed until it's certain the collapsing region will achieve critical stellar density, then replace the thousands of gas particles in this region with a single absorbing particle of the same mass and velocity — called a "sink" particle because it acts as a sink, as opposed to a source, of mass. In that region, LeMieux now has to track only one particle, instead of thousands. By measuring the mass of a sink particle, scientists can quantify how much gas has collapsed to form a star cluster. "Effectively it becomes," says Mac Low, "a star particle."
Mac Low first worked with sink particles on a cluster computer at the American Museum of Natural History before he approached PSC for time on LeMieux. "You don't want to get on a high-performance machine," he says, "until you know where you're going and what you want to accomplish. Once we started our million particle runs, to do it right we needed something like LeMieux."
Their model galaxies comprise a disk of stars and uniform temperature (isothermal) gas surrounded by a spherical "halo" of dark matter; picture a globe filled with dark matter and a swirling disk of gas and stars at the equator. Through a series of about 20 simulations of single galaxies, over nearly two years starting with the AMNH cluster and then with LeMieux, they varied the number of gas particles from one to six million, and they varied other parameters — the fraction of gas, the size and rotation rate of the galaxies, effectively varying the strength of gravitational instability — and observed the effect on star birth.
Gravity Rules
The results show that star particles form more readily in regions that are more gravitationally unstable. In disk galaxies, gravitational instability is known as Toomre (pronounced Toom-ray) instability, for Alar Toomre, who first described it in 1964.
The Toomre gravitational instability parameter quantifies how sensitive a region of gas is to changes in local conditions. If additional gas is added to the region, or the strength of rotational shear changes, how likely is it that this will initiate collapse? Regions with an instability parameter above 1.0 are relatively stable and vice-versa.
Two factors bear on Toomre instability: pressure support and shear support. Pressure support involves a sound wave traveling outward through a collapsing region, as described earlier. If the gas collapses faster than the sound wave can stabilize it, the region becomes pressure unstable, meeting the Jeans instability criterion.
The other factor is shear support, which takes into account the "differential rotation" of material orbiting in a disk. Particles close to the center of the disk revolve faster than particles at the outer edges, just as in our Solar System where planets distant from the Sun travel more slowly along their orbit than planets close to the Sun. Because of differential rotation, gas on one side of a collapsing region can shear away from gas on the other side before collapse occurs, preventing star formation. For Toomre instability, the gas region must collapse fast enough so that (1) sound waves can't provide pressure support, and (2) shear doesn't tear the region apart before it collapses.
Mac Low's simulations with LeMieux show that sink particles form more readily in regions where the Toomre gravitational instability parameter is smaller. This is true regardless of changes in other variables — galaxy size, quantity of gas particles, rotation rate and gas fraction of the galactic disk. The simulations identify an exponential relationship between the rate of star birth and the Toomre instability parameter. Therefore, Mac Low concludes, Toomre instability alone is sufficient to explain star formation.
This conclusion departs from a number of previous theories. Some theorists believe that cooling is key — if you cool the gas in a galactic disk to a low enough temperature, star formation will inevitably occur. Others argue that magnetic support is crucial, with star formation occurring only in regions sufficiently neutral to decouple from the magnetic field.
Mac Low's results, however, strongly suggest that these ideas are due for rethinking. "I'm arguing," he says, "that cooling is incidental. The first thing you do is start the collapse, and if you raise the densities high enough, the cooling will happen very quickly, more or less regardless of details. Similarly, if a massive enough region collapses, magnetic support can simply be overwhelmed."
To follow-up on these findings, Mac Low and his colleagues plan to simulate galaxies at finer and finer resolution until they reach the resolution of an individual star. Currently, he and M. K. Ryan Joung of Columbia University are using 1,000 LeMieux processors to simulate a small fraction of a galaxy — to test whether supernovas act as galactic "stirrers" that stir and heat gas, impeding collapse.
Better knowledge of how a star is born, he says, helps us to comprehend "the grand history that ends up producing a kind of average star two-thirds of the way out in a larger-than-ordinary galaxy, a star that happens to have planets around it — one of which we live on."
For more information, including graphics: http://www.psc.edu/science/2006/starmaker/starmaker.php


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Additional credits: Angela Sun, James Francis, Mark Aronson and Julian Cole
When people talk about brands being more human online, it somehow always concludes with something along the lines of "be honest, be transparent, be good, be nice". While all these traits are great, we are overlooking one pretty huge issue: humans are not nice online.
First, there's trolling. In academic terms, Lee Sproull (PhD Professor Emerita at NYU's Stern School of Business) said it best. He coined the term "flame wars" to describe how we act online: there is "an escalation of critical comments, and an increase in the frequency with which people would respond with short negative comments." There's no denying that people are mean online. Look at our own industry blogs like Agency Spy; we all know the comments there are just plain mean.
Sure, trolling is usually done in anonymity, but people are still mean when their identities are revealed. According to a recent article from the WSJ, "most of us present an enhanced image of ourselves on Facebook. This positive image – and the encouragement we get in the form of "likes" – boosts our self-esteem. And when we have an inflated sense of self, we tend to exhibit poor self-control." Is Facebook is turning us into The Plastics from Mean Girls?
Some of us don't partake in the mean behavior, but we are all entertained by it. A few of the biggest blogs rose to fame thanks to their snarky commentary. Think Perez Hilton, Suri's Burn Book and People of Walmart. The internet is vast enough to show the full range of the human experience — including all the gritty, unsavory bits. The internet has also helped normalize these gritty, unsavory bits. We can now air out our guilty pleasures in plain daylight.
So are brands really being more human online by employing CRM Twitter strategies (think Best Buy Twelpforce) and CSR Social Media Campaigns (think Pepsi Refresh)?
While we're not suggesting that brands should act as online bullies and ditch the nice work they do online, we do think there is space for brands to be more "human" online — brands should not homogenize online. We kicked around a few ideas on how to be mean online, and here are our thoughts. The list isn't exhaustive by any means, but it should get your creative juices flowing.
1. Brand v. Consumer
People are mean to brands. Why can't brands be mean to people?
There are some people who will never be your customer (i.e. health nut probably will never eat at Jack in the Box). So when one of these people says something mean about your brand, give them a taste of their own medicine. For example, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, a small chain of movie theaters that has a strict policy against people who talk and text during a movie, posted a voicemail from a disgruntled customer who was kicked out of a theater on YouTube. As a result, they received almost 3 million views and a bunch of love and support.
This is a pretty polarizing tactic. But for certain brands, the people who love your brand will love your brand even more when your brand doesn't back down. The tension between the fans and foes can also strengthen brand love and increase brand advocacy.
2. Brand v. Brand
Frenemies exist. Should brands instigate cross-category rivalries in social media?
A social media conversation between two obvious brands would be a bit predictable (see the Twitter exchange between Coke and Pepsi here). The intuitive rivalry for Old Spice would be one with Axe or even Dove for Men. However, Old Spice keeps us on our feet by creating dialogue with Taco Bell.
This is incredibly smart because the Taco Bell demographic aligns well with the Old Spice target — dudes/ bros. Taco Bell has 265K followers on Twitter and Old Spice has 221K. Though there might be overlap in their fan/follower-base, conversation between the brands helps each gain more relevant followers (biologists call this cross-pollination). For brands with little followings, creating rivalries with highly social brands can help beef up its number of followers, fans and likes.
3. Brand v. Organizations
Haters gon' hate. What can you do about it?
For brands with the mean gene, good organizations might tattletell. Gossip Girl's OMFG print ads offended parents everywhere. So much so, the Parents Television Council took enough action to get the OMFG campaign taken down. A season after the campaign was pulled, the CW chose to use quotes from the protesters to advertise the show.
Though this was not a digital example, social media can be a great mechanism for a rapid response, content strategy. If this was online content, the CW could have quickly replaced its banners and other online assets with the revised versions fuelling the fire. The ads would have created even more noise and buzz for the show.
The basic premise behind a mean brand strategy is to lean into existing online behaviors to build brand allegiance. It takes a lot to break through in the digital space. Perhaps, the benefits of implementing a mean online strategy is worth the risks. It's a little like life; "the only way to have everyone like you is to avoid taking a controversial stance on anything… You won't stand out to anyone and you won't offend anyone. In business, a dull existence means a weak brand" (source: Fast Company 2012).


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Our Story: 1860-2010
Augustana's history is written on the hearts of its alumni and friends. The memories held dear, the stories that have been retold time and time again amongst close friends, the photos, lettermen's sweaters, beanies, buttons and other pieces of Augustana memorabilia hidden in your closet all serve as happy reminders of the "good ol' days" at Augie.
During our Sesquicentennial, we offered you the chance to share your story with the entire community.
Many people proudly displayed their memories in the AC150 Facebook photo album. Posted on the page are photos of Collectibles, Rarities, Antiques, and Peculiarities for everyone to see! You can still make comments or share the behind-the-scenes story, embarrassing moment, or cherished memory that accompanies each treasure.
You (and your memories) are a critical part of the Augustana story. We hope you will help us continue to tell it for generations to come.
Notable Events in Augustana History
AC150 Celebration: June 5, 2010 — Also celebrating their sesquicentennial is our sister institution, Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. On June 5th, more than 100 representatives of Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and members of Jefferson Prairie Lutheran Church in Poplar Grove, Ill., gathered at the church to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the formation of the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod. The observation of the founding included a signing of the Sesquicentennial Compact by President Rob Oliver, Augustana College-SD, and President Steven Bahls, Augustana College-IL, and ELCA Director of Colleges and Universities the Rev. Mark Wilhelm. The compact was signed at the same table used to sign the original constitution creating the Augustana Synod in 1860.
Read the full text of President Rob Oliver's address from the June 5th event.
View the video gallery that includes a skit by two Augustana of Rock Island students highlighting the experiences of our first President, Lars Paul Esbjörn.
If you have more information you would like to share, please contact the Office of Marketing & Communications at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Today I am going to post Elle 18 Color Pops - Cinnamon Bun & Rusty Shades. My First Try from Elle 18 is Their Colour Eye Pencil in Green Shade....But, I had bad experience with that and totally avoided Elle 18 brand. Recently Aka from makeupfunda reviewed Elle 18 color pops lipsticks. The LOTD looks so beautiful and Review sounds good. So, I have bought the Color pop immediately to try out. Let's see About this cutie Pops....
About The Product:
|Elle18 Color Pops Cinnamon Bun 30 & Rusty 29 Review, Swatches & LOTDs
No Ingredients List Mentioned
Goodness of Cocoa Butter
My Experience With Elle 18 Color Pops - Cinaman Bun & Rusty Shades:
I loved this little Cutie Color pops very much... This pack looks so cute, and I loved the gal cartoon in it. There were a lot of shades in the store and I was in dilemma to select. Finally selected Cinnamon Bun and Rusty. I was thinking that cinnamon Bun will give a good pink colour....But it dis appointed me. But, Rusty works over than my expectations.....
The Shades :
I loved the both shades....still. The Cinnamon Bun works very well and looks very good....at the same time The cinnamon Bun shade I can say it is less than a lipstick and more than a Lip Balm. The lipsticks Smells like a sweet Bubble gum. :)
The Lipsticks Moisturising very well and easy to apply....But I need to swipe more to get a good colour on lips....
The Hand swatches:
My Likes with Elle 18 Color Pops - Cinaman Bun & Rusty :
- Rusty is a good Nude shade.
- Affordable price compared to the quality.
- Goodness of Cocoa butter (You can feel that while applying)
- Rusty is the perfect daily wearable shade..
- Awesome fun smell.
- Travel friendly very cute lipsticks.
- Lot of shades available.
- Cinnamon Bun is not for pigmented lips and low pigmentation.
- You have to swipe so many time to get the desired coverage.
- No Ingredients listed
- Poor Pigmentation for Cinnamon
- Poor staying Power.
Elle18 Color Pops - Cinnamon Bun 30 & Rusty 29 are wonderful lipsticks where as the Rusty is a fantastic shade for daily wear and the cinnamon bun shade is not better than a lip balm(poor pigmentation) These Lipsticks for those who wants to play fun with colours in affordable price also for Students.....
Hope My Review will be helpful for you everyone......
Share your comments and Take care.........


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DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. – Although Muath Abudaher does not speak English, during a quick game of one-on-one basketball it became clear he doesn't back down from a challenge.
The 11-year-old boy from Gaza has had to live his life that way beginning at an even younger age. Muath lost his mother to cancer at age 4. He lost a leg to bone cancer at age 6.
Now, he's in Dearborn Heights living with a host family, the Hameds. He will return home in a few months as a very different young man.
"We're going to be hopefully sending him home with a new prosthetic leg," said Yasmeen Hamed, his host mother.
It is thanks to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, a non profit organization dedicated to helping children in the Middle East.
"They bring children to different countries, wherever they can find care for that child," she said.
Hamed has hosted children like Muath in her home before. Muath has only been at her home for a couple of weeks but he is already a part of the family.
"It's just been something I have always believed in. I mean, it's children, you can't say no to them. Look at his face. Look at his smile. It attracts anybody," Hamed said.
Muath has a nice jump shot but he dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. He says he is grateful to be one step close to living that dream.
"He can't wait to do a lot of things while he's on his two feet," said Hamed.


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by Kelly McCullough on Mar 5, 2013 in Nonfiction | 12 comments
by Kelly McCullough
Just for giggles, let's start with bona fides. I'm going to be talking about fake geeks and casual fandom, after all, and I wouldn't want anyone to take me too seriously on that front.
I am a professional science fiction and fantasy author, most notably of the WebMage and Fallen Blade series. I have twelve novels published or forthcoming in the field, all from big New York houses, as well as a heap of short stories and poems. This is my day job. I am also a Third Generation fan. I have a thank you note and picture from the cast of Star Trek: TOS for my mother and grandmother's help in the letter writing campaign that kept them on the air. My wife is a physics professor, a Second Generation fan, and a hardcore console RPG gamer among other geek-girl pursuits. She recently wrote an essay for the Doctor Who book Chicks Unravel Time. Seriously, we bleed geek.
We also cosplay. We even do it in fandoms we're not seriously involved in. For example, neither of us have read the Narnia books in ages, and we've only seen one of the new movies—bad fan, no cookie. There is no question that while we are serious fans of some things, we are only casual Narnia fans. And yet, we have had the audacity to put on White Witch and Mr. Tumnus costumes and even to go out in the snow for a photo shoot of same. If you follow Neil Gaiman at all, you might have seen some of the pics. We borrowed his lamppost for the shoot: http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2011/02/once-youve-got-lamppost.html
Even worse, we did it for the sheer joy of it without a thought in the world of whether or not cosplaying outside our core fandoms might get us disbarred from the title of true geek. Also, and don't tell anyone this, we did it in part because we know we both look good in costume, and that people like to see other people in costumes. According to the geek-girl fallacy that's only about a half-step away from putting on a costume to lull other geeks into a false sense that we're of their tribe or that we believe it's possible to be both geek and hot. I'm not sure which is the bigger sin with those who are upset about fake geek girls since I find their arguments somewhere between incoherent and deranged.
Oh, in case you hadn't guessed, this whole fake geek girl thing pisses me right the fuck off. So does the idea that only those who are hardcore fans of something can be considered to be TRUE GEEKS. Seriously people, cut that out. Not only is it okay for women to dress in whatever costumes they want for whatever reason without having to take a purity test on their fidelity to the fandom in question—men, too, for that matter, though no one ever seems to challenge that…huh—but it is also just fine to put on a costume for no other reason than because it's a cool costume. It's even fine to be a casual fan, period, full stop.
Confession time. I didn't watch Firefly until about a year ago, and, while I liked it a lot, I haven't watched it since. I'm not a Browncoat, nor am I likely to become one or watch the show again anytime soon. But, and I know this is heresy to some, I still think of myself as a fan of the show, because, hey, it's cool and fun and I enjoyed watching it. Also, despite my familial role in the Star Trek production saga, I haven't seen any new Star Trek television since the first half-season of Deep Space 9 aired. That was about the time my wife hit physics grad school—more with that fake geek girl credential burnishing—at which point she had to pick two of three: sleep, studying, TV. It wasn't all that hard a choice and I pretty much stopped watching TV when she did. That doesn't mean I don't think of myself as a Star Trek fan, it just means I'm super-casual about it and that's fine. Which brings me back to the casual cosplay question. Friends recently sent us a pair of shirts from the Star Trek reboot and there are already pictures of us wearing them on the Internet, and there may be more later because cosplaying is fun.
We've also dressed up as Codex and Fawkes from the Guild at CONvergence, though there I have to admit we are more serious fans. We've watched the hell out of the first five seasons, and are looking forward to season six coming out on DVD. Which, I suppose, means to some that we're not real fans of The Guild either…after all, we aren't watching it as it's coming out. That means we miss out on the speculative discussions of what might be coming next, but it's much more convenient for our lifestyle and we prefer to arrange my fandoms around my life rather than my life around my fandoms.
What about Doctor Who? We haven't cosplayed that, though there is some talk of doing a group costume with friends during the summer con season. That would be me as Roman Rory, my wife as the ever lovely Amy Pond in the bobby dress—my wife is also a natural redhead—and our friends Matt and Mandy in the roles of the Doctor and River Song. You could call us hardcore fans there, maybe. It depends on who is doing the judging.
On the one hand, we aren't currently caught up on the show, since this year's DVD isn't out yet. On the other hand, there's that whole published fan essay thing, and we did watch a rough cut of The Doctor's Wife with its author sometime before it actually hit the screen. On the other hand, neither one of us has seen a full episode of Doctors 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, or 8. At this point, I'm not sure whether that means that cosplaying from the series will be seen as an expression of real geeking or a fake geek sellout of epic proportions. Perhaps more to the point, I don't give a damn.
While I love my geek community to little tiny pieces and love that both my wife and I earn our bread in geek approved fashion, I am somewhat less enamored of the purity tests that some in our communities seems dead set on imposing. I absolutely understand the deep love we all have for our own geekish passions and the joy we have in finding people who share those passions to the same degree. At the same time, I really think that this need we sometimes have to exclude from our various tribes anyone whose love of something is one jot less than our own is very nearly as silly as the hating of other people's "lesser" fandoms—on which, more later.
First off, it's deeply counter-productive. Do you know what lots and lots of casual fans means? More money flowing to whatever they are casual-fanning about. If Firefly had had a ton of people who watched it but didn't burn for it with the love of a thousand tiny suns, the show might still be going because great ratings lead to show renewals. And, if those casual fans had wanted to casually cosplay Firefly characters, there might even be a strong secondary market for things like Firefly props and costumes which would mean more cool geek toys. What's not to love?
Secondly, there are about a gazillion things to be a fan of, and there's simply no way to be a hardcore fan of all of them. There isn't enough time in the day. That's not only fine, it's fantastic. It means that there are a ton of cool fandoms, and more springing up all the time. If you start out as a casual fan of one of them, it might help that thing draw more resources and get bigger and cooler, and some day it might develop into something that you find is worthy of True Fandom. Yes, casual fans sometimes become true fans.
Casual fandom might also inspire a person to go out and create something wonderful. Here, I risk the charge of egotism, but, hey, I'm an author and that's always a risk. Take a look at those Narnia pics. Neither Laura nor I nor our photographer, Matt Kuchta, is a Narnia true fan, but I think we did something pretty cool. A lot of people have called them beautiful or awesome and taken joy in them. If we'd let ourselves be limited by the idea that only real Narnia geek girls—no casual fans allowed—get to dress up in Narnia costumes, then the photos never would have happened, and I think that would have been sad.
For that matter, as an author, I have taken inspiration for my own work in many places, among them, works of which I am only a casual fan. You may or may not like my work. Hell, there's a good chance you haven't even heard of it, but I have casual and true fans of my own, and I am grateful for all of them. Some of them have done amazing fan art that took its inspiration from my books, including a full sized mural of the Furies from my WebMage books : http://kellymccullough.com/other-stuff/cool-book-stuff-album/ (second picture down). There have also been WebMage cosplayers and I think that's freaking awesome.
Which brings me back to my point about not hating on other people's fandoms. As an author, I know that there are people who aren't going to like my work. Some will even hate it. No big deal, it comes with the territory and there's stuff that I hate, too, some of which is among treasured fan favorites. I don't get terribly wound up about people not liking my stuff any more than I get terribly wound up about bad reviews. It's part of the game.
But I do go out of my way not to say nasty things about the stuff I hate to the fans of that stuff, because all it does is harsh their squee—a phrase borrowed from Apex's own editor, Lynne M. Thomas. Harshing people's squee is seriously not cool. It's also closely related to the whole fake geek girl thing in that it's a way of othering those who aren't just like us. I realize that exclusion from the social group is a pretty typical part of being human. It's one of the main ways in which we as social primates establish the boundaries of our various tribes, but it's also something that many people in the geek world have experienced in a deeply scarring way, particularly in their school years. Being unpopular in school is a huge sub-thread in geek art for a reason. I would hope that experience would teach us the harm that othering does and help us to avoid doing it in our communities, but the entire fake geek girl mess suggests we have some distance to go on that front.
So, I think it's worth reminding the community that othering people because they don't share your fandom to the same degree that you do is not only not-cool, it's exactly what happened to many of our fellows before they found a home in fandom. It sucks just as much and is just as wrong when we're the ones doing it. Especially when we're doing it to each other.
So, to bring this back to where I started, let me note for the record that I married a fake geek girl. There's no two ways around that. Not only does she cosplay characters from a fandom that she is no more than casually interested in, she does it in part because she looks fabulous doing it. Hello, White Witch, will you marry me? In fact, when I met her at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival twenty-three years ago, she was also wearing a casual costume that looked fabulous on her. She was a customer, you know, a casual Renn Faire fan. I was a long time multi-fair performer, i.e. hardcore—true geek.
Yes, she ensnared me with her fake geek girl wiles. We fell in love. We've been together ever since. Isn't that the worst fear of the anti-fake geek girl crowd? That somehow they will draw us into their whiles? Forget that I, too, have done more than my share of casual cosplay. No one's ever accused me of being anything, but a serious geek. That might be because I play life on the lowest difficulty setting: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/ But let's leave that alone for the moment and look at the core argument here. My life is the nightmare scenario for fake geek girls. Trapped forever in a deeply-loving and wonderful marriage by casual cosplay.
Drat, shoot and darn.
I married a fake geek girl and I am grateful for it every day of my life.
More from Kelly McCullough:
Kelly McCullough writes fantasy, science fiction and young adult fiction. He lives in Wisconsin with his physics professor wife and a small herd of cats. He has eight novels in print and four more forthcoming either from Penguin/Ace or Macmillan's Feiwel and Friends. His short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. He also dabbles in science fiction as science education, having written short fiction for NSF and co-created a science comic for NASA and the Hubble Space Telescope. More information can be found at his website http://www.kellymccullough.com
Author photo credits: Matthew A Kuchta
Well said, sir.
Another crazy aspect of that level of judgment when it comes to costume choices is this: what the hell is wrong with making/wearing a costume just because you think it's fun or looks cool? At Halloween no one asks if you're really a doctor or nurse if you go to a party wearing scrubs, or if you're enough of a pirate aficionado to wear that eye patch, stripey shirt, and hook over your hand. And perhaps more to the point… if you've never read a single comic book but decide to do a costume of Wolverine or Silk Spectre or Two Face or Wonder Woman because you think it looks cool and would be well suited to you so you could pull it off well, maybe that actually means your specific brand of "hardcore fandom" is costuming/cosplay.
Paul, thank you. @PedanticEric, yes, exactly. The whole idea of policing what other people can or can't wear and what it means about their relative geek or other commitment/seriousness/etc drives me more than a little crazy.
Making costumes after movie or book characters is something beautiful and deeply fullfilling. It also means great dedication. Not necessarily to the particular fandom, not to that particular character, but to costume making and creating. And there's the great fun of wearing the stuff, of slipping into another character and role, even if just for a foto or so.
So, three cheers to whoever finds joy and creativity.
As an inveterate costume maker and wearer, I say "thank you" for the casual fan, who likes to dress in something other than street clothes. My preference is for period clothing-I'm slowly working my way up from the medieval times-and then finding a place to wear them. Does that make me a fake geek-girl? (Or in my case, older woman.) Okay,fine with me. I've had lots of titles in my life, another one won't break my back. Besides, I'm having too much fun in my costumes.
Went ahead and posted this on a blog! (Gave citation/linked it back here). This was a really positive, refreshing read after having to argue with tons of people about "fake geeks girls". It gets exhausting having to defend yourself/your friends. I'm really happy that someone who's a name in the Geek World is speaking out about this! We need more of you! Yeah!
You definitely won my support over and I'm going to skedaddle my Fake Geek Girl Ass on over to the bookstore and pick up some of your stuff. 😉
I'm tempted to make a costume that's completely invented. Then when anyone asks me what it's from, I can say, "What? You don't know? May I see your fan license, sir?"
giliell, I agree, it's fun and you get to add a little wonder to the world, what's not to like?
Lee, 😀
Alexa, glad you liked it enough to share. I hope you enjoy the books!
Tyler, I love that. Fabulous idea.
There does seem to be a notion among some geek men that wearing costumes is something done for their benefit. This piece does a great job of noting that wearing costumes is something done for the costume-wearer's benefit.
Something that didn't really come up in this piece, but that I probably see more of than your wife because I have no husband and so don't go to cons with one: There also is an element of the whole "fake geek girl" thing that equates genuine fandom with social (and often sexual) availability.
I can tell you there is an odd sense that if you show up in costume without obvious male "supervision" you are obligated to talk to whatever random stranger comes up to you.
Paradoxically, exercising the freedom to be left alone is the trigger for "just wearing the costume for attention,"especially if you later do feel like talking to someone else.
ERose, that's definitely a big problem. One of the things I love about my big local con, CONvergence, is the signs everywhere that say "Costumes Are Not Consent!" and the change that is slowly happening in at least some convention cultures.
People who hate so called "fake geeks" obviously have issues with their own validity as geeks.
Thank you for this article — very interesting perspective you bring to this issue. I would like to add, with absolutely no malice (seriously, this is just an observation), that there does some to be a certain amount of invitation inherent in cosplay, and by that I mean a visual invitation to conversation (not touching, not harassment, not uninvited picture-taking — NOTHING like that). If you make something you're proud of, then it would only be natural to share that with others. You'll certainly draw attention from people who dig the fandom you're representing, and they'll want to interact with you — if, nothing else, to say, "Hey, rad costume!" But they may also assume you know things about the fandom, and want to engage you further.
That's not a crazy assumption; it's not like you're going up to total, random stranger, wearing a Static-X t-shirt, wanting to talk to them about Babylon 5. You're going up to someone dressed up as Delenn. But you have to know, putting on that costume, that people are going to want to fan with you. And how terrible would you feel if you put a shit-ton of time in a costume, then no one said jack about it?
I don't think it's unreasonable to assume a person cosplaying as Delenn would know something about Babylon 5 (not like, have memorized every line from every episode, but SOMETHING). And getting indignant when people ask you things like, "Hey, what's you're favorite story arc?" or "Do you think character X and character Y should have gotten together?" — and then accusing the asker of being a nerd-dom gate-keeper…I mean, for real?
Anyway, I kind of debated posting this, but I want to assure everyone who gets pissed about my post, that I really feel like all the rights are with the cosplayer, and having the ability to make a costume is something to be proud of. What I'm critical of is this backlash against people who want to engage cosplayers — because I'm sure not every "questioner" is trying to be a "gate-keeper". Sometimes people get excited about seeing a great cosplay, and then let down when the cosplayer is largely ignorant of the fandom. That's not crazy.


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Happy June! It's birthday month at our house! Four out of six of us have birthdays in June. Frankly it's exhausting to have that many birthdays crammed so close together. At least we aren't moving this year on top of all that…
Anyway, I really like to make birthdays fun. This year I thought it would be fun to make a birthday wreath to hang on the door when someone is celebrating a birthday at our house. Simple but my kids are totally digging the idea. They love it.
Birthday Wreath Supplies Needed:
1 styrofoam wreath form (get it at any craft store)
Curling ribbon in various colors (I used about 200 ft. total)
Pins (small ones to push into the styrofoam and hold the ribbon in place)
All you need to do is cut your ribbon into pieces about 12 inches long or so, curl it:
and pin it in place.
I overlapped a lot to give it a nice full look.
At the end just attach a piece of ribbon to the back to form a loop so that you can hang your wreath.
That's it! Hang it on your door to announce that someone's got a birthday!
Linking up here