West: Rail operator First Great Western has apologised topassengers for disruptions between Bath and London yesterday.
Network Rail has been carrying out overnight engineering work inthe Pangbourne area, just west of Reading, and it overran …
четверг, 15 марта 2012 г.
The Legality of Conditional Preferences to Developing Countries under the GATT Enabling Clause
An issue that has plagued the GATT/WTO system since its inception has been the question of how to handle the needs of both developed and developing countries in one coherent system. As developing countries make up approximately 75 percent of WTO membership,1 this is a very real concern for the future of the WTO. Accepting that developed countries have an obligation to support developing countries as they seek to develop, WTO members, in 1979, enacted the Decision on Differential and More Favourable Treatment, Reciprocity and Fuller Participation of Developing Countries (the "Enabling Clause").2 The Enabling Clause suspends the GATT's general most favored nation ("MFN") rule and allows …
Cardinals 5, Reds 4
| 49Cardinals 5, Reds 4 |
| ST. LOUIS @ CINCINNATI @ |
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| Schmkr cf 2 1 0 0 Hairstn 2b 3 1 1 1 |
| Miles lf 3 1 0 0 Kppngr ss 5 0 1 1 |
| Barden lf 0 0 0 0 Votto 1b 4 1 2 0 |
| Pujols 1b 3 1 1 3 Bruce rf 4 0 0 0 |
| FLopez 2b 4 0 1 1 JCbrra lf 4 1 1 1 |
| Glaus 3b 4 1 1 0 CPttson cf 3 1 0 0 |
среда, 14 марта 2012 г.
Open your eyes to area history
WHEN the outside temperature is minus seven degrees and you aregiven the choice of walking six kilometres around Llangadog orstaying in a warm office with a steady supply of hot tea, what wouldyou do? It was a tough choice but donning my thermals and my dustywalking boots was a decision that I did not regret.
The reason for my wintry expedition was to try out a themed walkthat has been written by Landscape Archaeologist, Stuart Fry. '2000years of history -- a walk through Lanes and Lines in the TywiValley' is one of six walks that have been developed by the TywiAfon yr Oesoedd Project.
The walk, or cycle route begins on Llangadog Common.
I met …
Christmas concert caps big year for Rogers
Kenny Rogers: `Christmas from the Heart' 8 tonight and SaturdayPheasant Run Resort Mega Center, 4051 E. Main, St. Charles Singleseats sold out; hotel/show packages still available Call (630) 584-6300 Kenny Rogers may have immortalized the phrase, "know when tohold 'em/know when to fold 'em" in the song lyrics of his classic hit"The Gambler" some 20 years ago, but truth be told, Rogers is oneentertainer who's never considered folding his cards and walkingaway.
In fact, the 60-year-old Rogers is back on the charts and enjoyinga tidal wave of success these days, sparked by last summer'snostalgic baseball song hit "The Greatest," which he performed in pre-game mini-concerts …
American who joined Libyan rebels returning to US
LINTHICUM, Maryland (AP) — An American writer is returning home after spending more than five months in solitary confinement in Libyan prisons, then joining the rebel forces who opposed dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Matthew VanDyke's family says he's flying from Cairo to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Saturday.
Earlier this year, the 32-year-old VanDyke was working on a book and film about …
PPG Industries says 2Q profit almost doubles
PPG Industries Inc., which makes paint and industrial coatings, reported Thursday its profit almost doubled in the second quarter as volume rose 10 percent and the company benefited from stronger demand as industrial activity picked up around the world.
The results easily beat analyst expectations and the company said although its business hasn't yet returned to pre-recession levels, it is steadily improving.
The company earned $272 million, or $1.63 per share, in the three-month period ending June 30, up from $146 million, or 89 cents a share, a year ago.
The quarter's results include a charge of a penny per share after taxes to reflect the …
The Hip-Hop Church: Connecting With the Movement Shaping Our Culture
The Hip-Hop Church: Connecting With the Movement Shaping Our Culture by Efrem Smith and Phil Jackson InterVarsity Press, December 2005 $14, ISBN 0-830-83329-3
These authors analyze the power of hip-hop and encourage churches not to denounce it but to embrace it as a tool for reaching today's youth. The writers explain in great detail the components of hip-hop, its origins and its potential for bringing young people closer to God. Because they are both pastors, Jackson and Smith offer credible firsthand information on the growing relationship between hip-hop and the church. They can directly relate to their targeted audience.
To strengthen their argument, the authors connect …
Opposition scores big win in Taiwan legislative elections
Taiwan's opposition Nationalist Party won a landslide victory in legislative elections Saturday, giving a big boost to its policy of closer engagement with China two months before a presidential poll it now seems poised to win.
President Chen Shui-bian, who has been criticized for aggravating relations with China by promoting policies to formalize Taiwan's de facto independence from the mainland, resigned as chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, immediately after the extent of the defeat became clear.
"I should shoulder all responsibilities," Chen said. "I feel really apologetic and shamed."
His …
U.S. shouldn’t be in Libya
Events in Libya are horrible, but the U.S should not be involved. We need to stop trying to be the "world police."
We have so …
ALEX BAG
ALEX BAG EDITED BY RAPHAEL GYGAX AND HEIKE MUNDER ZURICH: JRP RINGIER (DISTRIBUTED IN THE US BY ARTBOOK DAP). 230 PAGES. $55.
IN 1995, AS MATTHEW BARNEY became famous for his opulent, surrealist film epic, video artist Alex Bag rose to stardom as a kind of anti-Cremaster, creating no-budget video art with little more than cheap wigs, bedsheet backdrops, appropriated television clips, and stuffed animals. In Unfitted Fall '95, Bag played a student at SVA, reporting on each semester in a satirical video diary, which she punctuated with sketches that featured warring toys, a fake phone-sex commercial, and Bj�rk explaining how a TV works. Now, Bag's first monograph has finally been …
QB Hill helping Detroit progress without Stafford
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Matthew Stafford, sure. Ndamukong Suh, you bet.
But there's no way the Lions looked ahead to the 2010 season and figured on veteran quarterback Shaun Hill playing a major role.
The Lions acquired Hill in the offseason as a backup to Stafford, a former No. 1 pick. But it was Hill who was the offensive star of Detroit's first win of the season, a 44-6 thumping of St. Louis over the weekend. In his fourth start since Stafford's injury in the season opener, Hill threw for 227 yards and three touchdownsin the much-needed victory.
"I wish so badly that it didn't take so long to get this feeling, but it does feel great to get a win in the way that we …
Obama looks for Iraqi political gains
Despite continuing violence in Iraq, President Barack Obama says he thinks the bigger challenge there is finding a political agreement among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds.
Obama says the security situation in Iraq is actually showing improvement, and that the level of violence is not what it once was. A series of attacks this week has claimed more than 200 lives, just days before a deadline for U.S. combat troops to leave Iraqi cities.
Obama says the violence will probably continue for "some time."
He told reporters Friday that he has not seen the kind of "political progress" that he'd like to see among Iraq's various factions. Obama says if their disputes are resolved, there will be a further improvement in bringing down the level of violence.
вторник, 13 марта 2012 г.
Voting Rights Anniversary Marked
If it hadn't been for a feisty woman named Susan B. Anthony, whoinsisted on registering to vote and then doing exactly that in 1872,despite the risk of incarceration, the vote would have been a longertime coming. After all, as history shows, those holding power havebeen reluctant to share it.
So Saturday seems the appropriate day for Sherr's hourlongspecial, "Susan B. Anthony Slept Here" (the show airs at 9 p.m. onChannel 7).
Part history lesson, part travelogue, the program visitsmemorials to Anthony and other American women who made their marks inhistory.
Its genesis is a 1994 book by Sherr and Washington-based writerJurate Kazickas, Susan B. Anthony Slept Here, a tome of nearly 600pages.
Sherr acknowledged that "Yes, I'm slightly obsessed with SusanB. Anthony. She's wonderful. She's our hero. She's the mother ofus all, to quote Gertrude Stein - the absolutely brightest star inthe 19th century firmament. Imagine going on trial for the act ofcasting a ballot."
In addition to visiting landmarks, Sherr's special is itself alandmark of sorts: She said it is the first time anyone has made atelevision program about American women who paved the way.
The idea for the television special took hold, Sherr said, aftera conversation she had with Robert Iger, then president of ABCEntertainment.
ABC supplied Sherr with a red convertible that she drives tovisit the sites where heroines lived or were honored.
Those places include Anthony's home in Rochester, N.Y., and thecourtroom in Canandaigua, N.Y., where she was tried in June, 1873; amuseum in Beaumont, Texas, honoring athlete Babe Didriksen Zaharias,and the Irvington, N.Y., home and Indianapolis offices of Madame C.J. Walker, who developed a line of cosmetics for black women andbecame a millionaire.
There's also a visit to the stark landscape of New Mexico,adopted home of painter Georgia O'Keeffe; the statue in Greenville,Ohio, of 5-foot-tall sharpshooter Annie Oakley, who thought womenshould receive equal pay for equal work; the Philadelphia grave ofsinger Bessie Smith, finally marked in 1970 when two fans - one wassinger Janis Joplin - raised the money for it, and a planetariumhonoring teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe.
James scores 20 in debut, leads US over Turkey
Any team with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in the lineup is going to score.
Sure enough, the United States had no problem doing so in the first quarter Thursday _ but neither did Turkey. The Americans didn't pull away until their offensive superstars decided to be defensive stoppers.
James scored 20 points and was a defensive force in his exhibition debut, helping the U.S. Olympic team overcome some early sloppy play to beat Turkey 114-82 in its first game in China.
James and Bryant both finished with five steals, leading a defensive effort that had 16 of them.
"We love defense as a team because we have a lot of guys who can get at it defensively, cause some havoc and make a lot of plays," guard Dwyane Wade said.
James made them on both ends of the floor.
The NBA's leading scorer was 8-of-9 from the field and finished with six rebounds, five steals and four assists in 23 minutes, sitting out the fourth quarter.
"I think he played excellently," center Dwight Howard said. "He passed the ball well, played great defense, ran the lanes. He played like LeBron James."
Bryant was only 1-of-5 for seven points but had seven assists with his five steals. Often considered the NBA's greatest player, he wasn't the dominant player on the floor this time.
"The best was LeBron James, who made a big difference," Turkey coach Bogdan Tanjevic said.
Carmelo Anthony added 17 points and Howard had some powerful dunks while finishing with 14 for the Americans, who shot 69.5 percent (41-of-59) from the field.
They allowed 10 field goals in the first quarter, then only 10 combined over the next two periods. They improved to 2-0 in Olympic tuneup play and face Lithuania here Friday before moving on to Shanghai for their remaining two games.
"I think the first quarter was an adjustment period for us, we were getting used to what they were running, what their sets were," Bryant said. "The second quarter we did a much better job of locking in and taking those away."
James sprained his right ankle when he stepped on another player's foot during a scrimmage early last week. The injury was considered mild and James likely could have played Friday against Canada, but the U.S. staff opted to rest him to avoid further swelling before the long flight to Asia.
"Obviously he's healthy," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He got player of the game. I voted for him twice."
James said before practice Wednesday he was ready and needed just seconds to prove it. Turkey won the opening tip and took a quick shot. James pulled it off the rim _ illegal in the NBA but allowed defensively in FIBA _ and took off for the opening score.
"I just used my reaction time," James said. "Even some of the guys on Turkey were calling for goaltending. But it's legal."
The next 15 minutes were a struggle, even against an opponent without NBA players Hedo Turkoglu and Mehmet Okur.
The Americans yielded an alarming number of open shots and offensive rebounds for most of the first half and committed 10 turnovers. Even beating the quicker U.S. team downcourt on a couple of occasions, Turkey used a 10-2 spurt to grab a 27-24 lead on Ender Arslan's 3-pointer with 1:42 remaining in the first quarter. The Americans were ahead just 31-30 after the period.
Turkey was still close late into the second before James seized control on both ends. He rebounded his own miss for a 10-point lead, came up with a steal and made a free throw, then leaped high for a one-handed dunk off an alley-oop pass from Bryant for a 50-37 lead. Another steal by James led to Howard's dunk and a 15-point cushion.
"We allowed them to get into a little comfort zone because we're trying to blow them out too fast," James said. "Once we realized we just need to win the game and our pressure will automatically put pressure on the other team, we did a great job in the second quarter of bumping the lead up."
James had 12 points in the half and added eight more and some of the game's highlight plays in the third. Following a basket by Turkey, he took the ball out and whipped a pass to the other end of the court to a streaking Wade for a dunk. A minute later, James had another steal and passed ahead to Bryant, who bounced it in front of the basket to Anthony for a dunk.
Wade and Chris Bosh each scored 13 points and Chris Paul added 12 points and six assists.
Cenk Akyol had 22 points for Turkey. Turkoglu, the Orlando forward voted the most improved player in the NBA last season, shot around before the game and was introduced with the rest of the team, but Tanjevic held him out because of a lingering hamstring injury.
Turkey didn't qualify for the Olympics but has an automatic berth into the 2010 world championships as the host country.
No. 18 Iowa trounces Ball State 45-0
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Ricky Stanzi threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns and No. 18 Iowa bounced back from last week's loss at Arizona by trouncing Ball State 45-0 on Saturday.
Adam Robinson added 115 yards rushing and a pair of TDs for the Hawkeyes (3-1), who quickly overwhelmed the Cardinals on a soggy afternoon at Kinnick Stadium. Stanzi threw touchdown passes of 8 and 22 yards in the second quarter to put Iowa ahead 21-0 at halftime.
Robinson scored from 1 yard out early in the second half, and Stanzi's 45-yard TD pass to Derrell Johnson-Koulianos gave the Hawkeyes a 35-0 lead late in the third quarter.
Johnson-Koulianos had two touchdown receptions for Iowa.
The Hawkeyes had 562 yards of offense to just 112 for Ball State (1-3), which was shut out for the first time since 2005.
Running back had become a concern for Iowa after Jewel Hampton went down for the year with a knee injury in last week's 34-27 loss to the Wildcats.
As long as Robinson stays healthy, the Hawkeyes shouldn't have much to worry about.
Iowa went to Robinson early and often, and he responded by passing the 100-yard mark in the second quarter. Robinson also took a short pass 48 yards early in the third quarter, and his second 1-yard touchdown run put Iowa ahead 28-0.
Robinson added 75 yards receiving in just over two quarters of action, getting some much-needed rest with Penn State visiting Iowa City next Saturday night.
Iowa, which has outscored opponents 77-7 in the first half at home this season, opened the scoring on its second possession.
Thanks largely to their defense, the Hawkeyes never looked back.
Robinson took the last of seven straight carries in from 1 yard out to make it 7-0 midway through the first quarter. Stanzi pushed Iowa's lead to 14-0 with 5:40 left in the second quarter, rolling out to find Keenan Davis for an 8-yard touchdown pass.
Iowa's offense looked a tad sluggish early on, but its defense held the Cardinals to 54 yards in the first half. Cornerback Micah Hyde picked up an interception and forced a fumble, adding to Ball State's woes.
Stanzi capitalized on that fumble recovery, finding Johnson-Koulianos on a 22-yard touchdown pass through a driving rain to make it 21-0 just before halftime. Stanzi found Johnson-Koulianos over the top again late in the third quarter for the pair's third TD in two weeks.
Ball State hung relatively close in a 24-13 loss at Purdue last week, but the Hawkeyes gave the Cardinals little space to work with. Ball State didn't cross the 50-yard line until the third quarter, had nine punts and just eight first downs.
Eric Williams had 21 yards rushing for the Cardinals, who've lost three straight.
About the only issue the Hawkeyes faced — besides the weather — was their ongoing problems at kicker. It wasn't certain who'd kick field goals for Iowa because the Hawkeyes hadn't attempted one until the second quarter on Saturday. Freshman Michael Meyer got the nod, and promptly sent a 37-yarder wide left.
Meyer closed the scoring with a 25-yarder with 5:09 left.
The Hawkeyes donned throwback uniforms reminiscent of those worn under former coach Forest Evashevski, who died last fall. The uniforms, which featured gold helmets and pants, honored the 1958 Iowa squad that won the Big Ten and the Rose Bowl.
Slain 7-Year-Old Interred After 2 Years
LANSING, Mich. - The body of a 7-year-boy slain nearly two years ago by his adoptive parents has been interred and the child mourned in private services.
The remains of Ricky Holland were placed in an aboveground vault on Friday. They had been kept in a laboratory while a legal dispute went on between his family and authorities.
"For us, it is one further step toward closure," Rod Weston, a family member, told the Lansing State Journal in a statement.
At Lisa Holland's trial, Tim Holland testified that she struck Ricky's head with a hammer and had abused the boy for years by restraining him with ropes and not feeding him. The boy died in July 2005. Tim Holland dumped the body a game area in rural Ingham County and led authorities to the location in January 2006.
Lisa Holland, 35, is serving life without parole for a first-degree murder conviction. Tim Holland, 38, is serving between 30 and 60 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
An agreement in April gave Medical Examiner Dean Sienko the power to make funeral arrangements and preserve Ricky's remains until Lisa and Tim Holland exhaust their criminal appeals.
"The family had their services," Sienko said. "I'm hoping this will help the community come to closure."
Because Ricky's remains were placed in a vault, Sienko said they can been accessed if needed for further investigation.
The Hollands became Ricky's foster parents in 2000 and adopted him in 2003, the year after his biological parents' rights were terminated because of neglect.
Teacher tenure for breathing? NYC says no longer
NEW YORK (AP) — Do public school teachers get tenure just by breathing?
It's a claim made by a charter school leader in the education documentary "Waiting for 'Superman,'" which places much of the blame for bad schools nationwide on union rules that protect incompetent teachers.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on national television last week that he would overhaul the way city teachers are granted tenure, linking their advancement to improving student test scores.
"Just as we are raising the bar for our students through higher standards, we must also raise the bar for our teachers and principals — and we are," Bloomberg said.
But city teachers say that if bad teachers have won tenure protection it's the fault of the administrators who gave it to them.
"We don't make that decision. Whoever the principal is makes that decision," said LezAnne Edmond, a Manhattan high school teacher with 15 years of experience.
Teacher tenure has its roots in academic tenure, which was intended to protect academic freedom; once granted, professors are rarely fired. Tenure rules for K-12 teachers vary from state to state, with some operating more like universities and others that offer no stronger protection than job security laws that prevent people from being fired without cause.
States including California, Florida and Colorado have passed or proposed legislation to change tenure laws in hopes of securing education funding under President Barack Obama's "Race to the Top" program.
New York City teachers can win tenure after three years. Once they are granted tenure they cannot be fired without an administrative hearing. What the teachers union calls due process, Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein call a system that has protected incompetence.
The issue gained prominence with the Sept. 24 release of "Waiting for 'Superman,'" opening to wider release on Friday. The documentary from "An Inconvenient Truth" director Davis Guggenheim suggests that kids receive a superior education in charter schools without unions.
NBC's Sept. 27-28 education summit covered much of the same ground. Bloomberg used a 15-minute MSNBC segment to announce a tenure crackdown.
"We'll do more to support teachers and reward great teaching, and that includes ending tenure as we know it," he said. Bloomberg said principals must start denying tenure unless their students have made two years of progress on state tests.
Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, responded that principals can already deny tenure "for any reason" and that teachers "would welcome an objective tenure-granting process based on agreed-upon standards."
But the union has opposed using state test scores — the city's preferred benchmark — to measure teacher performance.
City Department of Education spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz said the union is being disingenuous.
"On one hand, they seem to be blaming principals for too many teachers getting tenure," she said in an e-mail. "On the other hand, they don't want principals to take into account student performance when making tenure decisions."
This year, 3.7 percent of teachers who reached the end of their three-year probationary period were denied tenure, up from 2.3 percent the year before. Another 7.2 percent saw their probation extended by a year.
Ernest Logan, president of the union representing New York City principals, said his members take student achievement into account.
"I don't think people are just granting people tenure because they've been there three years," Logan said.
Veteran city teachers say they need tenure for job security and to protect the First Amendment rights it was designed to safeguard.
"I need tenure to speak out," said Arthur Goldstein, a union chapter leader at Francis Lewis High School in Queens.
Goldstein said he has complained publicly about overcrowding and other issues.
"I'm standing up for the kids of Francis Lewis High School and I absolutely need tenure," he said.
Katharine Dawson, who retired last summer after 12 years as a city schoolteacher, said tenure "protects you from favoritism, it protects you from all kinds of things."
Asked about tenure protecting bad teachers, she said, "Maybe there's two bad teachers per school. Is it worth throwing the baby out with the bathwater?"
One teacher whom Bloomberg would like to throw out is Melissa Petro, whose essay about using Craigslist to sell herself as a prostitute was published in the Huffington Post on Sept. 7, the same day she was awarded tenure by the principal of her Bronx elementary school.
Bloomberg demanded that Petro be pulled from the classroom, but she has tenure and cannot be fired without due process. She has been assigned to an office job pending an investigation. A phone number for Petro could not be found.
Stylish start pleases winter
New Glastonbury Town manager Roy Winter was delighted to get offto a winning start in the Somerset County League Premier Division,after his side beat Taunton Blackbrook 2-0 on Saturday, writes MervColenutt.
Former assistant boss Winter swapped roles with Paul Dowden atthe Abbey Moor Stadium over the summer and has brought in a wealthof new players.
However, despite his obvious joy at recording a maiden victory,Winter was determined not to get ahead of himself.
"We must not get carried away and we have 30 odd games still toplay. We expect to have a hard season ahead," said Winter.
"We have lost almost all of last season's team and it meant wehad to virtually start all over again. The performance andcommitment, however, was very encouraging.
"I will not knock any of the players who have left the club -they have all been good servants but we now have a togethernesswhich was not always there before.
"We have brought in several new players as I think we probablyneeded to freshen things up. Hopefully all the new faces can help usstay positive.
"We will have our off days with such a young side but for Pauland I it is refreshing to have a bunch of lads who are prepared towork their socks off for each other."
Debutant striker Joynul Ali notched the opening goal on Saturday,with several other new faces performing well.
And it was the performances of the club's younger players thatmost impressed Winter.
"We must not get carried away as we are only talking about onevictory but we want these lads to enjoy their football," he said.
"I am sure they will benefit from the experience of Rob Cox andTom Leighton, while Joynul Ali was like a breath of fresh air upfront.
"We now have a squad of players who want to improve at seniorlevel but it will be a big test for them."
Glastonbury lost 4-1 at Berrow on Tuesday night and entertaindefending champions Shirehampton on Saturday (3pm).
Surging 16th-ranked USF wary of Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH (AP) — South Florida coach Skip Holtz isn't a big believer in history.
Good thing, because there aren't a lot of good memories for the 16th-ranked Bulls (4-0) when they play Pittsburgh.
USF will look to break a three-game losing streak to the Panthers (2-2) on Thursday, including a 41-14 whipping the last time it visited Heinz Field two years ago.
Holtz was still at East Carolina then and is quick to point out the USF team that got steamrolled in 2009 is not the one that will take the field under the lights.
The Bulls are surging under their second-year coach while Pitt is coming off tough losses to Iowa and Notre Dame. Coach Todd Graham says the growing pains will be worth it if the Panthers find their footing in Big East play.
Donairs, Donairs, Donair
Chapbook, Colin Smith, 200 Coverdale BJ., Riverview NB, E�B 3H9, colr.smith@gmail.com, $6
"Unedited!" announces a slightly skewed starburst disclaimer on the cover of this collection of short fiction, and indeed the writing is rough around the edges. Intermittent spelling errors aside, in many instances the prose is slack and the ideas unpolished; these vignettes occasionally read more like sketches and notes toward narratives than finished stories. Enthusiastic but careless, with seemingly little concern for potential readers, they leave the distinct impression of someone typing in an echo chamber. Though it can be lively, the writing is also often too plain, too abrupt or too offhand to establish a rapport.
These drawbacks notwithstanding, there are some memorable moments. The most striking stories are often the shortest, among them the brief fable/parable "The Smoke that said No to Smoking" and the even briefer cubical scene "Doug." In this latter sketch - a charged and idiosyncratic workplace dialogue - the humour does not have time to dissipate, as it tends to do in lengthier pieces. Still, even the best of Smith's vignettes would benefit from some editing. (Daniel Marrone)
понедельник, 12 марта 2012 г.
Jumping for joy
Jumping for joy
Long-awaited 'Noah's Arc' film will make fans of the series gay
Ever since Logo unceremoniously dropped "Noah's Arc" from its lineup - allegedly despite solid ratings - fans of the queer dramedy about a gay, black clique have yearned for the feature film. The two-year wait ends tomorrow when "Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom" opens exclusively at the Maple Art Theatre in Bloomfield Hills.
Picking up the plot line a year after the end of the series, at which time Wade (Jensen Atwood) was lying on the side of the road just inches from death, we find that Noah (Darryl Stephens) has nursed his man (Wade has somehow extricated himself from his relationship with Dre, who is not once mentioned in the film) back to health and the two are now getting married in Martha's Vineyard. And even though there is more than enough material to be mined from that storyline alone, equal screen time is given to the issues and escapades of Noah's friends.
"Noah's Arc," the series, has always suffered from the fact that Logo was only willing to shell out enough dough to produce a scant few episodes each season (12 the first, eight the second - each only 30 minutes). The movie suffers the same fate and at times it feels as if Logo and series creator PatrikIan Polk, who co-wrote the screenplay, tried to fit an entire season's worth of drama into a single film. The movie features plot twists aplenty and, at times, it's hard to keep up.
But it also features all the elements of the series that fans have come to love, from Noah's far over-the-top fashion sense to a sizzling soundtrack. (The soundtrack was produced by Polk and even features two songs by the legendary Phoebe Snow, who makes an appearance at the end of the film.)
The boys are all as fun and in many cases flam- boyant - as ever, and a welcome ad- dition to the Arc is the absolutely adorable Gary LeRoi Gray. Play- ing Brandon, a student of Chance's (Douglas Spearman) who is also the latest boy-toy of Ricky (Christian Vincent), Gray is more than just a tasty helping of eye candy, he also pulls at our heartstrings as we follow his struggle to come out to his parents.
Polk's screenwriting (he co-wrote the script with novelist John R. Gordon) lacks finesse as he fleshes out this storyline - and a few others - though, and borders at times on maudlin. As a result, interspersed between the love story and the laughs are mini-episodes that read part public-service announcement and part after-school special aimed at troubled gay teens.
Despite its flaws, "Noah's Arc" the movie holds the same distinction as "Noah's Arc" the series, and that distinction cannot be overlooked or understated. In short, both are utterly groundbreaking, and never before has such a story been told, at least not with characters who are both black and gay - and equally proud of both. Polk is to be commended for his vision and persis- tence (he was marketing the series di- rect to video before sign- ing the deal with Logo). He has created rich and colorful characters that keep us smiling and wanting more.
And that may be the real problem. The film really does tie up all the loose ends in these characters lives - and it reads as the perfect series finale.
[Sidebar]
`Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom'
Opens Nov. 7
Maple ArtTheatre, Bloomfield Hills
[Sidebar]
Never before has such a story been told, at least not with characters who are both black and gay - and equally proud of both.
[Author Affiliation]
Jason A. Michael is a freelance writer for Between The Lines. To comment on this story, send an e-mail to chris@pridesource.
81 percent of Univ. of Texas admission offers go to "top 10 percent" grads
AUSTIN - the University of Texas at Austin reserved a record 81 percent of its fall admission offers this year to students guaranteed a spot on campus under the state's "top 10 percenf law.
School president William Powers is using those 2008 figures - which mark a 10 percent jump from last year - to renew his criticism of the decade-old law that he believes is as an obstacle to student diversity.
Powers said last Wednesday that admission offers at UT-Austin will be soon be exclusive to high-ranking graduates unless lawmakers give admission officers more flexibility in choosing students.
"Only about one in four students admitted under the top 10 percent law is African American or Hispanic, so there's a natural limit if we don't have discretion in who we can go after," he said. "If s a capacity problem."
Currently, Texas students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class are guaranteed admission to the state university of their choice. UT-Austin has complained for years that the law limits its ability to recruit a well-rounded student body.
But changing the law has been a tough sell for Powers. The university's minority enrollment is higher now than any time in the decade since lawmakers enacted it.
UT-Austin had just over 37,000 undergraduate students last fall. Of those, 6,700 were Hispanic and 1,700 black.
The top 10 percent law was adopted after a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision made affirmative action illegal in Texas college admissions. In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed that decision, allowing universities to use race as one of many decision-making factors.
Democratic Rep. Helen Giddings, who co-authored the top 10 percent law, credits the measure with drawing more students from urban and rural schools.
"We cannot back away from making sure that these universities reflect the population of the state," she said.
The current law primarily affects UT-Austin and, to a lesser degree, Texas A&M University in College Station.
Fletcher: Redskins leaky defense is 'ridiculous'
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The argument sounded good for a while. It was OK that the Washington Redskins were giving up tons of yards because they were also creating turnovers, keeping the score down and giving their own offense a chance to win.
On Monday, linebacker London Fletcher declared otherwise.
The captain of the defense stripped away the positive spin from a unit giving up a league-worst 420 yards per game the day after a 27-24 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
"It bothers me a lot. I'm not used to being on defenses that rank last in the league. That doesn't sit well to me," Fletcher said. "I'm not going to be naive and think that we're going to hold Peyton Manning and that offense to 200 yards. That's not realistic. But should they have 469 yards on us? No. That's not something we're going to accept, either.
"We can't week-in and week-out give teams 400-plus yards, 500 yards. That's just ridiculous."
It was small consolation that the Redskins again won the turnover battle by recovering three Colts fumbles in the second half, or that they allowed Manning only three third-down conversions, or that the point total wasn't too bad because Indianapolis had four promising drives end in field goal attempts instead of touchdowns.
That's just fancy dressing on a game in which the Redskins missed so many tackles that the Colts — who aren't exactly renowned for their running game — ended up rushing for 170 yards, Indianapolis' highest total in more than three years. Cornerback Carlos Rogers displayed again his hands of stone, dropping one would-be interception after cradling the ball with both hands and failing to hang onto another one in traffic. Safety Kareem Moore also had one bounce off both hands and let another one hit the ground after he appeared to misjudge it.
So, even though the Redskins created three turnovers, Fletcher figures the tally should have been closer to seven because of Manning's wayward throws.
"He's a great quarterback," Fletcher said. "But he made four mistakes out there yesterday. Those were obvious mistakes that he made. We didn't capitalize on those, and that was the difference in the game."
It would be easy to point to mitigating circumstances. The Colts' unique no-huddle offense left the Redskins vulnerable far too often, and Manning's too clever not to realize that it's easy to run the ball when the defense has six defensive backs and only one lineman on the field. Fletcher also noted that the missed tackles were more disappointing than the dropped interceptions, saying "that's not characteristic of how we've played in the past around here."
One excuse Fletcher wasn't ready to tolerate was the notion that the defense is still a work in progress, the result of the switch to a 3-4 scheme under new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett.
"I don't care what scheme you're playing," Fletcher said. "That's fundamental football across the board from little league to the professional level — everybody has a run gap responsibility, everybody has a pass responsibility from a coverage standpoint. And make tackles."
Even with the miscues, the Redskins only lost by a field goal, and their 3-3 record is only one game out of first place in the NFC East. Unlike Fletcher, coach Mike Shanahan was still in spin mode. If just two of those near-miss interceptions are made, according to the coach, the 469-yard day from the Colts wouldn't feel so bad.
"If we did intercept those two passes that were right in our hands, it's a pretty good game plan," Shanahan said. "Now all of a sudden everybody's talking about probably the win."
Disciplined bowling is the key
CANVEY ISLAND . . 114 all out SOUTH WEALD ... 205 all out (SouthWeald won by 91 runs) (T Rippon Mid Essex League Division Two) SOUTHWeald left Canvey Island with the spoils on Saturday after adisciplined bowling performance blew away their opponents.
Weald won the toss and elected to bat first on a flat wicket andfast outfield.
The visitors made a less than ideal start though, losing twoearly wickets. Joe Courts and Matt Hemmings rebuilt the innings,racing to 92-2 from 19 overs but just as Weald were starting todominate, a needless run out saw Hemmings on his way for 42. Courtsfollowed soon after for 41 after being trapped lbw and Weald thenlost regular wickets for the rest of the innings.
Vital John Warne hit a vital 31 but Weald didn't use their fullallocation of overs as they were bowled out for 205, as Lee andCasson grabbed four wickets each for Canvey. The Weald score looked50 runs short of par but the Canvey response was in disarray fromthe off as two early wickets left them reeling at 0-2 and they neverrecovered. Some excellent Weald bowling ensured a steady stream ofwickets as Canvey struggled to build partnerships. Casson topscoring for Canvey with just 24.
Skipper Adam Chambers snared 3-31 while Varun Sharma bowled avery economical eight over spell, taking 2-12. Imran Umarjee alsobagged two wickets as Weald ran out comfortable winners with Canveyfolding to 114 all out.
Lasers coax large molecules to change shape
Chemists at Purdue Univ. (West Lafayette, IN) have found that laser light can prompt individual molecules to alter their structure. This may someday enable scientists to direct molecules to perform specific functions, reports professor Timothy Zwier.
Chemists have long been interested in using laser light to drive chemical reactions. The difficulty with this approach is that, although the laser initially excites a single bond or group of atoms, that energy generally dissipates throughout the molecule, and the laser "heats up" the molecule in much the same way a traditional heating source would.
Because of their size and complexity, large molecules present an opportunity for a different kind of chemistry that does not involve breaking chemical bonds. "Large molecules can reconfigure into many different shapes, or conformations," Zwier explains. "Such changes are reactions in their own right, but they also can serve to change a molecule's reactivity with other molecules."
He says that making conformational changes in a molecule involves less energy than that required to break a chemical bond, and can be done through multiple pathways. His group found that by choosing different infrared wavelengths, the laser could be used to selectively choose the molecule's new shape.
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