For many, Holy Days are now 'family holidays' | The Salt Lake Tribune

Emily Hilliard will cook a festive brunch with friends on Easter Sunday. But none in her Washington, D.C., social circle of foodies, folklorists and fiddlers will go to church that day.

In Denver, Ambra Vibran will enjoy an Italian feast with cousins that Sunday. But, she says, "my spiritual life is in hiking, skiing, kayaking and enjoying God?s creation."

Eleanor Drey plans a Jewish traditional meal where family and friends will talk about freedom. But it wasn?t on Passover. Folks are tied up with their kids? spring vacations. They?ll gather at Drey?s San Francisco home in April instead.

This time of year, most Americans are celebrating essential stories of Christianity and Judaism: God freeing the enslaved is a key Passover theme. Easter?s core is Jesus? resurrection, offering a doorway to salvation.

But many celebrate with a twist.

While 73 percent of Americans call themselves Christian, just 41 percent say they plan to attend Easter worship services, according to a March 13 survey of 1,060 U.S. adults by LifeWay Research, a Nashville, Tenn.-based Christian research agency. Passover is a home-centered celebration, but it?s not known how many Jews plan to recite the prayers and serve symbolic foods at their Seder meal.

In the gap between faith and practice are millions of people who delight in Easter and Passover as "holidays," not "holy days."

They?re just as Christian, just as Jewish, in their own eyes as people who follow traditional scripts ?? church on Sunday before carving the ham or the Seder rituals before slurping the matzo ball soup. They?ve simply redefined their spirituality to center on the people at the table ? shared time, shared values with their nearest and dearest.

"Relationships have replaced religion for many Millennials," says Esther Fleece, who spent three years specializing in outreach to young adult Christians for the evangelical group Focus on the Family.

Fleece, now a literary agent in Orange, Calif., is a devoted churchgoer herself. This year, as always, she says, "I?ll invite my Creaster [Christmas and Easter] friends to come with me Easter Sunday."

story continues below

Still, Fleece says, many won?t come. They don?t think they need it.

"Religion gives people a basis for morality, for hope and a greater purpose," Fleece says. "Millennials form their friendship groups around similar interests. They reinforce and encourage each other."

Fleece?s friend Vibran, 30, takes the view that "religion has evolved over the years. I feel like it?s whatever you want it to be. I believe the Catholic moral values, but I don?t feel I have to go to church to consider myself a believer in that."

Hilliard, 29, might find herself singing old-time hymns on Easter. However, the singing is not about theology. Hymns offer "a connection to tradition and history and to feeling part of something larger than yourself," says Hilliard, who plays the fiddle.

The meal that Hilliard?s friends will cook together reflects their support for food from local growers and sustainable farm culture. At the table, "You are beholden to each other. You do talk about values and ways of living."

Unlike earlier generations, "Millennials prioritize relationships, especially family, over religion," explains Jess Rainer, who co-wrote a book drawn from the survey, The Millennials: Connecting to America?s Largest Generation.

This cultural religion view is not confined to the young. When Gallup tracked people?s happiness every day for a year in 2008, the peak of the first five months was Easter Sunday, when people logged the most hours with those who make them happy.

Since tension is not conducive to happiness, many cut one flash point ? God ? out of the holiday conversation. Easter becomes less about resurrection and salvation from sin, more about a universal longing for rebirth and the joy of spring. Passover shifts from liberation at God?s hand to human responsibility toward one another.

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Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/56079623-80/easter-says-passover-religion.html.csp

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Nelson Mandela in 'good spirits' in South Africa hospital

The former South African president is responding to treatment for a recurring lung infection, officials say. This marks the third time in four months the 94-year-old has been hospitalized. NBC's Keir Simmons reports.

By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

Former South Africa leader Nelson Mandela was in ?good spirits? Friday, officials said, as he spent a second day in hospital where he is being treated for a recurring lung infection.

?The doctors report that he is making steady progress,? said a statement from the country?s presidency, adding that the 94-year-old had ?enjoyed a full breakfast.?

Earlier, South Africa?s president, Jacob Zuma, sought to reassure his country over Mandela?s health,?saying in a BBC interview that people "must not panic."

However, he appeared to agree with the suggestion that South Africa should prepare for Mandela?s eventual death.

?Is this a time for us to be aware of what is inevitable?? asked the BBC's Lerato Mbele. ?Well, I would imagine so,? replied Zuma.

Mandela, 94, was taken to a hospital just before midnight local time (6 p.m. ET) on Wednesday ? his third hospital visit since December.

He has a history of lung problems dating back to his days as a political prisoner in the notorious Robben Island jail under the apartheid regime, where inmates worked in an open quarry. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1988 after being moved to Pollsmoor Prison.

Mandela spent 18 days in hospital in December, undergoing surgery for gallstones.

Earlier, President Barack Obama sent his best wishes to the former leader.

"He is as strong physically as he's been in character and in leadership over so many decades, and hopefully he will ... come out of this latest challenge," Obama told reporters at the White House Thursday.

"When you think of a single individual that embodies the kind of leadership qualities that I think we all aspire to, the first name that comes up is Nelson Mandela. And so we wish him all the very best," Obama said.

NBC News? Stacey Klein contributed to this report.

Related:

Secrecy over Mandela's health fuels concern for South Africa icon

'Who is my Mandela?' South Africans consider icon's place in a changing world

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This story was originally published on Fri Mar 29, 2013 5:03 AM EDT

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It Is What The Holy One Did For Me When We Came Out Of Egypt (Balloon Juice)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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LAPD hunts two men wanted in girl's mysterious abduction

By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

Los Angeles police are searching for two men wanted in the apparent abduction early Wednesday of a 10-year-old girl who was found 12 hours later after wandering to a Starbucks.

The girl disappeared in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday from her room at home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Northridge. Her mother told police that she saw the girl in bed at 1 a.m., then discovered her daughter missing around 3:40 a.m., according to a community alert issued by the Los Angeles Police Department.

A search was launched with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

---

Nearly half a day after disappearing, the girl apparently was dropped off by an unknown person at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center, before walking about a mile to the coffee shop, NBC Los Angeles reported. Police picked her up there around 3 p.m. ? six miles from her home.

Police said the girl was in shock but communicative when they found her. She was taken to a hospital for tests and reunited with her family around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

?She was there, she was walking, she was talking,? LAPD Capt. Chris Pitcher said Wednesday. ?She?s got some cuts, some bruises, some abrasions.?

What exactly happened between the girl?s abduction and her reappearance remained unclear Thursday. Her abductors were two men, the girl told police, according to NBC Los Angeles, and one of them may have been about 18 years old.

The men do not seem to have been armed and their motive is not known, police said.

?A 10-year-old young lady that?s been through a traumatic incident like this ? you can imagine that there are a lot of things that are going on,? said Capt. William Hayes, head of the LAPD's robbery and homicide division.

?We don?t want to traumatize her any further. So we?re taking our time and working with her to find out as much information as we can,? Hayes said.

Police said Thursday that they had confiscated a truck thought to be connected to the kidnapping.

Investigators do not think the red-haired little girl knew her abductors, Hayes said Wednesday evening at a press conference, according to NBC Los Angeles.

?That?s nothing any child should go through,? Hayes said Wednesday evening. ?Our goal is to ensure it doesn?t happen to anyone else. If these individuals were brazen enough to do that, I want to make sure they don?t do it again.?

Police said that there were no signs of forced entry at the girl?s Northridge home.

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GameStop posts higher fourth-quarter profit

By Martyn Herman LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Whether by design, necessity, self-interest or because of all three, nurturing youngsters has become fashionable for England's elite with no expense spared in the hunt for the new Wayne Rooney or Steven Gerrard. The length and breadth of the country, scouts from top clubs are hoovering up promising footballers barely old enough to tie their bootlaces in a bid to unearth the 30 million pounds ($45.40 million) treasures of the future. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gamestop-posts-higher-fourth-quarter-profit-124533295--sector.html

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Small question

I prefer 1 but it ultimately depends on the balance between play and story telling.

For example, as a player I like to have my freedom, I want my character to be mine and to alter the world through its interactions and background, thats why I like to play it is a collaborative storytelling.

Yet the options 3 and 4 have its advantages to the DM in storytelling purposes, you might need a key figure like an antagonists, or someone who has to be part of the tale since they are monumental to the development of the story, this can be things such as the chosen one, the prince, the last of their kind etc.

Ultimately it tends to vary to the freedom people are given, if I am going to play someone who has had his development and characterization written for him/her, then why am I playing this person at all instead of the GM rolling out with it?

Now say the GM calls for a character like a priest or a medic, then it is only required for the character to have this profession and the characterization is entirely up to me

If the GM ask that he has need of a supporting antagonist, say the depraved black knight of the decadent realm or the gleefully sadistic corporate killer then I am given someone who through its interactions might delve more into sides of the story that could be left untold but has relationships and positions in the opposing force.

So yea it always boils down to the players

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/iVjEq_L0liI/viewtopic.php

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Stumbles of S. Korean leader distract month into job

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? South Korean President Park Geun-hye's honeymoon was over before it even began.

Only a month on the job, Park has stumbled repeatedly in the face of bitter opposition to policy proposals and her choices for top government posts.

Half a dozen Cabinet appointees have quit under clouds. The latest is Han Man-soo, who withdrew his nomination for antitrust chief Monday amid allegations he stashed millions of dollars overseas to avoid taxes. Other claims that have brought down Park appointees include real estate speculation, a sex-for-influence scandal, bribery and links to an arms broker.

"A couple of flops would've been acceptable, but having a total of six failures in the first few months means that the problem lies with her style," said Lee Cheol-hee, head of the Dumon Political Strategy Institute think tank. "She seems to think she can just hand down a list of people she prefers, without thinking hard about whether those people's credentials and ethical records fit the jobs they will be handling."

Critics also complain that she's still short on specifics about how to deal with pressing issues including an increasingly belligerent North Korea and serious domestic anxiety about fewer stable jobs, heavy household debt and a wide income gap. Compounding her trouble was a long deadlock that ended just last week over her ambitious proposal to overhaul government structure.

"Because the launch of the new government has been delayed by one month, we should work harder to fulfill our vision," Park said Monday.

Presidential spokeswoman Lee Mi-yeon defended Park's candidates as fresh and different choices, highlighting nominee Jeong H. Kim, a Korean American who was the former head of Bell Labs in the United States, for head of a new science and technology ministry.

Kim resigned earlier this month, citing political wrangling over the responsibilities of the science and technology ministry. Opponents questioned Kim's links to the Central Intelligence Agency as an external advisory board member for four years until 2011.

"The president has chosen people based on their expertise and competence, and she has acquainted herself with them through various activities," Park's spokeswoman said. Lee said the failed appointments have to do with each nominee's credentials rather than with Park's style. Lee also said many key appointments have now been made and the government believes it has turned a corner.

The troubles of the country's first female president have a lot to do with the fiercely divided political and social landscape in this still relatively young and rambunctious democracy. She also carries the heavy historical baggage of being the daughter of a dictator whose legacy still divides South Koreans.

The 61-year-old president, who was elected in December and inaugurated Feb. 25, has long faced claims of being aloof and an "imperial" decision-maker. The genesis of this criticism comes from her upbringing.

She is the eldest child of late President Park Chung-hee, who led South Korea for 18 years in the 1960s and '70s and is both denounced for human rights abuses and praised as a strong leader. She grew up in the Blue House and served as her father's first lady for the last five years of his rule, after her mother was killed in 1974 by an assassin who said he was sent by North Korea.

"When her father ruled, no one questioned the president's picks," Lee, the analyst, said. "But things have changed since. ... It's like Park is driving a car with a navigator system that has only decades-old maps."

Even Park's own ruling Saenuri Party has been critical. A spokesman called for a better system of screening appointees, and said whoever vetted the failed candidates should be held responsible.

Park spent much of her first month in office negotiating with opposition lawmakers over an ambitious government reorganization plan that aims to focus on science and economic growth. An agreement was reached only last week, more than 50 days after Park's party floated the proposal.

Her economic team met for the first time since her inauguration only on Monday, and critics said there was little other than promises of major policy goals and specific plans in coming days and weeks. Her economic policies include buzzwords like "economic democratization" and "creative economy."

"These are slogans more rhetorical than real, and few seem to know exactly what they mean, let alone how to realize them," the Korea Times said in an editorial Wednesday.

Park has made some progress, including an announcement this week of the start of a $1.35 billion fund to provide debt relief for more than half a million people unable to repay loans. The fund, however, is less than one-tenth the size of the one she promised during her campaign.

Despite North Korean threats that have followed new U.N. sanctions over Pyongyang's recent nuclear test, Park has pressed forward with a vow to create trust and renew dialogue after five years of tension and animosity under her hard-line predecessor. She approved a shipment of anti-tuberculosis medicine to North Korea last week.

Things, however, may get worse if political gridlock and bickering continues.

Park faces an opposition with a strengthened veto power, and the possibility of organized resistance to her foreign policy initiatives by prominent liberal groups, Park Ihn-hwi, a professor at Ewha Womans University in South Korea, wrote on the Council on Foreign Relations' website.

Some also see growing cynicism with Park among young South Koreans, many of whom voted for her liberal opponent.

"If a political issue emerges to turn apathy into opposition, there is a real possibility that street demonstrations similar to those that occurred in the early days of the Lee Myung-bak administration could further hamper Park's ability to get things done," Scott Snyder, an analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations, said in a blog posting Wednesday.

Lee, Park's conservative predecessor, saw tens of thousands take to the streets in 2008 to protest what opponents called a hasty government decision to allow U.S. beef imports to resume.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stumbles-skorean-leader-distract-month-job-015503480.html

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Reader recommendation: A Dance to the Music of Time

What happens when ordinary people decide to pay it forward? Extraordinary change...

Teenager Sergei Abramov writes for and edits his own student website, a nonprofit partly funded by Microsoft.

Sergei Abramov's goal: an educational blog that doesn't bore his fellow Russian teens

Students from all over Russia visit the 16-year-old's site, The Blog of a School Wise Guy, to learn about math, physics, literature, new scientific breakthroughs, or just curious facts.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/4orGJYU4gM0/Reader-recommendation-A-Dance-to-the-Music-of-Time

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What the Hell, A Live Bomb Was Found Inside a Squid's Stomach

A Chinese fishmonger was going about his business when he randomly discovered a bomb... inside the stomach of a squid he was gutting. Apparently, a three-pound squid had swallowed an eight-inch bomb on accident. The bomb was live. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DkACe_r2OOM/what-the-hell-a-live-bomb-was-found-inside-a-squids-stomach

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Supreme Court poised for historic argument on marriage laws

Nicholas Kamm / AFP - Getty Images

A vigil organized by the School Without Walls GSA in front of the Supreme Court in Washington on Monday.

By Tom Curry, National Affairs Writer, NBC News

The Supreme Court prepared Tuesday for a historic one-hour oral argument on marriage which could lead to any one of a wide array of possible decisions -- from essentially leaving in place the traditional marriage laws now on the books in most states to proclaiming same-sex marriage a fundamental right under the United States Constitution.

Although the justices are deciding a constitutional question -- whether the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment includes a right for same-sex couples to marry -- the argument is taking place as polls indicate that public opinion is shifting toward acceptance of same-sex marriage. More elected officials, such as Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., on Sunday and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, last week, are personally endorsing same-sex marriage, but it remains to be seen whether the justices will be influenced by public opinion.

Supreme Court justices will consider whether to strike down two laws limiting the rights of same-sex couples. NBC News' Danielle Leigh reports.

At issue in Tuesday?s argument is California?s Proposition 8, the state constitutional amendment enacted by voters in 2008. The high court could decide to uphold Proposition 8, or conversely, it could decide to not only strike it down but to invalidate any state law that limits marriage to one man and one woman. Or it could issue a limited ruling that applies only to California and several other states which allow domestic partnerships that are almost identical to marriage in all but name.

In recent years, nine states, either through court rulings, legislation, or ballot measures, have redefined marriage to include same-sex couples. But 41 states have laws or constitutional provisions that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

A decision from the high court is likely by the end of its term sometime in late June.

On Wednesday the court will hear oral arguments in a challenge to one section of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which for purposes of federal regulations and benefits, defines marriage as ?a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.?

Many court observers believe the pivotal swing vote in the marriage cases will be that of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion in the court?s 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas which struck down state sodomy laws.

Proposition 8 was enacted with 52 percent of the vote less than six months after the California Supreme Court ruled that the state?s previous ban on same-sex marriages violated the state constitution. More than 18,000 marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples in California before Proposition 8 was adopted.?

Those supporting Proposition 8, four of the original five sponsors who put the measure on the California ballot, told the high court in their brief that ?no precedent or established constitutional precept justified federal judicial intervention into this sensitive democratic process.?

Jose Luis Magana / AP

Sandy Stier, left, and Kris Perry of Berkeley, Calif., arrive at the National Archives in Washington, Monday, March 25, 2013, to view the U.S. Constitution, a day before their same-sex marriage case is heard before the Supreme Court.

They said that the Constitution doesn?t mandate the traditional man-woman definition of marriage -- ?but neither does our Constitution condemn it.? The Equal Protection Clause does not include a right for same-sex couples to marry, they said. The justices ?should allow the public debate regarding marriage to continue through the democratic process, both in California and throughout the Nation.?

In their challenge to the California law, the plaintiffs said they agree with supporters of Proposition 8 ?that marriage is a unique, venerable and essential institution. They simply want to be a part of it ? to experience all the benefits the Court has described (in prior rulings) and the societal acceptance and approval that accompanies the status of being ?married.??

They say supporters of traditional marriage ?have never identified a single harm that they, or anyone else, would suffer as a result of allowing gay men and lesbians to marry? and compare states? traditional marriage laws to laws requiring racial segregation of schools, swimming pools and drinking fountains. Proposition 8, they argue, was enacted to stigmatize and harm gays and lesbians, not to serve any rational purpose.

Those challenging the California law -- who will be represented in court Tuesday by Theodore Olson, who served as solicitor general of the United States under President George W. Bush -- lean heavily in their brief on Kennedy?s decision in Lawrence v. Texas.

That case involved private conduct that police had to enter a private residence to discover. In contrast, Tuesday?s case addresses marriage, which is not only public but requires legal acknowledgement and acceptance by other citizens. But in his decision in Lawrence v. Texas, Kennedy used language that might help lay a foundation for a ruling in favor of same-sex couples. He said the liberty protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution ?gives substantial protection to adult persons in deciding how to conduct their private lives in matters pertaining to sex.?

Kennedy also referred to marriage and child-rearing, declaring, ?Persons in a homosexual relationship may seek autonomy for these purposes, just as heterosexual persons do.?

Dissenting Justice Antonin Scalia said in 2003 that the Lawrence decision ?leaves on pretty shaky grounds state laws limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples.?

Charles Cooper, who served in the Reagan administration as assistant attorney general in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel, will be arguing the case Tuesday for supporters of Proposition 8.

Solicitor General Donald Verrilli will be arguing for the Obama administration, as a friend of the court, in opposition to Proposition 8.

Related:

Supreme Court takes up historic gay-marriage battle

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Twitter Ad Agency: Gimmick or Genius?

The digital media world is all about real-time marketing these days. It would only stand to reason there?s now an agency for that.

World?s Fastest Agency?is?a new virtual agency that purports to be, as the name suggests, the world?s fastest agency. It was started by Floyd Hayes, a former creative director at Cunning. Hayes took his over decade of agency experience to create his own creative consulting business in New York, which led Hayes to the creation of WFA. Hayes noticed the shift towards immediacy and speed in marketing and wanted to create a agency that would better facilitate this new model.

?The nature of media and how people are interacting with it is changing constantly?everything is speeding up,? said Hayes.??Clients are asking questions about ?real time media,? and agencies have to be faster and leaner or risk losing?relevancy.?

Of course the obvious question is whether this is just a gimmick. Hayes insists it is not, Clients must first pay a fee of $999 via Paypal, then follow ?@FastestAgency in order to then DM their creative brief in 140 characters. Haye?s will respond within 24 hours with a creative pitch, which is of course 140 characters or less.

?Clients can say goodbye to 100-page PowerPoint decks, meetings, weeks of fee negotiation, countless emails, more meetings, lunch, meetings, scope of work to-ing and fro-ing, meetings, more emails, Q&A sessions, tissue meetings, inaudible conference call, pitch, feedback, feedback on the feedback, re-briefing, re-pitching, another meeting, more feedback, focus groups, another meeting, more emails.?

One thing is for sure: clients will pay attention to anyone who wants to do things quicker and cheaper. Doing everything over Twitter forces both parties to be direct, succinct, focused, and most of all, fast. And, as Hayes noted, it?s less expensive for everyone involved. Hayes has a network of people that he knows and trusts from his years in the industry who he taps if and when necessary, depending on the brief. According to Haye?s WFA got its first client within six hours of launching, which resulted in an experiential PR stunt.

The fly in the ointment: WFA doesn?t actually do the creative work, it just supplies the plan. It?s up to clients to use their own incumbent agents or send out a RFP. ?That?s going to take time ? and probably reworking of the idea. Hayes will happily, at no extra charge, refer clients a production partner if they don?t have their own resources. Hayes is enthusiastic about WFA?s new agency model, but he?s not delusional about it being the model of the future.

?We?re just another way to engage a service ? there is room for many models. Smart clients use many?different?methods to solve?their?marketing?communication challenges.?

?Image via Shutterstock

Source: http://www.digiday.com/agencies/twitter-ad-agency-gimmick-or-genius/

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Portman's Son Describes Personal Side of Senator's Shift on Same ...

4:58 p.m. | Updated When Senator Rob Portman, the Ohio Republican, announced his support for same-sex marriage, he said his son?s admission that he was gay prompted the change of heart. But the timeline left some puzzled: If the son, Will, came out two years ago, why did the senator?s announcement come 10 days ago?

The younger Mr. Portman answers that question in a deeply personal essay in the student paper at Yale, where he is a junior. As he describes sending a letter to his parents, Will Portman suggests that his own reticence to make his sexuality public explains much of the timeline.

?Part of the reason for that is that it took time for him to think through the issue more deeply after the impetus of my coming out,? Will Portman writes. ?But another factor was my reluctance to make my personal life public.?

He also describes how his father told the Romney campaign that his son was gay when he was being vetted as a potential running mate, and that the family would have been open about that on the campaign trail.

In yet another reminder of how simply knowing gay people seems to influence one?s position on marriage, Senator Claire McCaskill announced on her blog on Sunday that she, too, is getting behind same-sex marriage rights.

?My views on this subject have changed over time, but as many of my gay and lesbian friends, colleagues and staff embrace long-term committed relationships, I find myself unable to look them in the eye without honestly confronting this uncomfortable inequality,? writes Ms. McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat.

However, the center of the marriage debate is a few blocks from the Senate at the Supreme Court, where justices will hear arguments over bans on same-sex marriage on Tuesday and Wednesday. In the audience will be Jean Podrasky, a cousin of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and a lesbian from California who hopes to marry her girlfriend, according to the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

On the organization?s Web site, Ms. Podrasky writes that the Portmans? experience ?got me thinking a little more about family relationships and the impact that living your life proudly, and honestly, may have on those who have yet to become allies.?

She continues, ?I know that my cousin is a good man. I feel confident that John is wise enough to see that society is becoming more accepting of the humanity of same-sex couples and the simple truth that we deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and equality under the law.?

Update: Senator Mark R. Warner, Democrat of Virginia, announced his support for same-sex marriage rights on Monday afternoon.

?I support marriage equality because it is the fair and right thing to do,? he wrote on Facebook. ?Like many Virginians and Americans, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and this is the inevitable extension of my efforts to promote equality and opportunity for everyone.?

Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/portmans-son-describes-personal-side-of-senators-shift-on-same-sex-marriage/

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Police: No hazardous material at Berezovsky site

AAA??Mar. 24, 2013?7:15 AM ET
Police: No hazardous material at Berezovsky site
By CASSANDRA VINOGRADBy CASSANDRA VINOGRAD, Associated Press??

British police officers cordon off a road near a residence in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Boris Berezovsky, 67, a self-exiled and outspoken former Russian oligarch who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead Saturday in southeast England. Thames Valley police said his death was being treated as unexplained. They would not directly identify him, but when asked about him by name they read a statement saying they were investigating the death of a 67-year-old man at a property in Ascot. A mathematician turned Mercedes dealer, Berezovsky amassed his wealth during Russia's chaotic privatization of state assets in the early 1990's. The one-time Kremlin powerbroker fell out with Putin and sought political asylum in Britain in the early 2000's. He has lived in the U.K. ever since. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

British police officers cordon off a road near a residence in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Boris Berezovsky, 67, a self-exiled and outspoken former Russian oligarch who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead Saturday in southeast England. Thames Valley police said his death was being treated as unexplained. They would not directly identify him, but when asked about him by name they read a statement saying they were investigating the death of a 67-year-old man at a property in Ascot. A mathematician turned Mercedes dealer, Berezovsky amassed his wealth during Russia's chaotic privatization of state assets in the early 1990's. The one-time Kremlin powerbroker fell out with Putin and sought political asylum in Britain in the early 2000's. He has lived in the U.K. ever since. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2000 file photo Russian tycoons Boris Berezovsky, left, and Roman Abramovich, then both lawmakers, walk after the session of the State Duma, parliament's lower house, in Moscow, Russia. United Kingdom police have said that Berezovsky has been found dead Saturday March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)

British police officers cordon off a road near a residence in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London, Saturday, March 23, 2013. Boris Berezovsky, 67, a self-exiled and outspoken former Russian oligarch who had a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead Saturday in southeast England. Thames Valley police said his death was being treated as unexplained. They would not directly identify him, but when asked about him by name they read a statement saying they were investigating the death of a 67-year-old man at a property in Ascot. A mathematician turned Mercedes dealer, Berezovsky amassed his wealth during Russia's chaotic privatization of state assets in the early 1990's. The one-time Kremlin powerbroker fell out with Putin and sought political asylum in Britain in the early 2000's. He has lived in the U.K. ever since. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

FILE - A Wednesday, July 18, 2007 photo from files showing Russian exile Boris Berezovsky, a close friend of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko who was poisoned by Polonium 2-10, speaking to the media in a news conference in London. United Kingdom police have said that Berezovsky has been found dead Saturday March 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)

FILE - A Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 photo from files showing Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky talking to the media after losing his case against Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich as he leaves the High Court in London. United Kingdom police have said that Berezovsky has been found dead Saturday March 23, 2013.(AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)

LONDON (AP) ? British police say experts found no hazardous materials in their search of the property where self-exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky's body was found.

Berezovsky, a 67-year-old onetime Kremlin kingmaker who fled to Britain after a bitter falling out with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead Saturday at the property in Ascot, a town 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London.

Police are treating his death as "unexplained."

They said Sunday that officers specially trained in chemical, biological and nuclear materials have given the scene the "all clear."

They say the majority of the cordon around the property has now been lifted and crime scene officers are carrying out a full and thorough investigation to determine the circumstances around Berezovsky's death.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-24-Britain-Berezovsky/id-88b00d9cac4b41af9ed9168b58d18f27

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Faith Hope & Blessings: Thoughts on Engagements

As I was driving today, I started thinking about engagements.? The act of proposing and what you?re really saying.? I don?t like admitting it, but I?ve been proposed to 3 times.? And looking back, the proposal itself was kind of an interesting indication of how the relationship would go.? This was especially true the first time and the last time.?

I feel like engagements, just like many relationships, have become a joke.? It?s like ?just the next step?.? But really, it isn?t.? When you propose to someone, you are promising to marry them.? I feel that proposals should be taken as seriously as marriage (and I also believe that marriages today need a good overhaulin? too!)? If the girl?s dad would like it if you?d ask his permission first, do it.? Not that hard of a step, right?? (As many of you guys are shivering in your boots.? Sorry, it may be a harder step for some of you.)? But I do feel like if that?s a step that should be taken, then it helps you recognize the seriousness of the commitment that you are entering into.

Most girls dream of getting married someday.? We like looking at the ?shineys? and the ?prettys? and just dreaming.? That?s called being a girl!? That doesn?t mean that you should take that as a sign to get engaged.? Yeah, we may want it, but the real question is, is your relationship ready for that kind of commitment?? Before Forest and I considered getting engaged, we talked A LOT.? We both believed that just because we had a child, that wasn?t a valid reason to get married if we were not meant to be.? (Common mistake I feel that many make!? Just because you made one mistake, doesn?t meant that you need to make another mistake to try to make the first mistake right.)? Some of the talks that we had were kind of harshly honest.? We knew there were things that we disagreed on and there things that we both knew we needed work on in our own separate lives.? And eventually, over time, we began to feel that this was a step that our relationship was ready for and a promise that we were ready to make.? Is our relationship perfect?? No.? But we?re both willing to work on it.? Yes, we?ll fight here and there, but at the end of the day, we can talk things out and not be afraid to admit that we need to work on things.

I guess my main reason for writing up these thoughts is, I REALLY want to encourage you guys out there to remember engagement isn?t just another step.? It isn?t something that you should feel pressured into doing if you?re not ready.? It is something that you and significant other should sit down and really discuss.? If you have ANY doubts about spending the rest of your life with your significant other, then engagement is not what you need to be thinking about.? Girls, I know we all dream about our fairy tale day, but divorce is one UGLY nightmare.? Make sure the fairy tale you?re creating has a happy ending.?

Source: http://faithhopeblessings.blogspot.com/2013/03/thoughts-on-engagements.html

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Predicting comet brightness: Why some of them don't exactly pan out

Victor C. Rogus

Astrophotographer Victor C. Rogus sent in a photo of Comet Pan-STARRS taken March 20, 2013, in Jadwin, Mo. He writes: "As I look over my collection of images starting with March 11 until now, I see nightly changes in the comet. The direction of the tail comes to mind first, always away from the sun. Changes in color, at times, and also changes in the size of the coma."

By Joe Rao
Space.com

The newfound Comet ISON has the potential to be one of the brightest ever seen when it streaks through the inner solar system this November, but whether it will live up to the hype is anybody's guess.

Astronomers have a tough time forecasting the brightness of incoming comets. Ballyhooed "comet of the century" candidates sometimes fizzle out, as Kohoutek did in 1973, while some icy wanderers put on a surprisingly good show for skywatchers.

Why is it so difficult to predict?comet?behavior? For starters, comets are like snowflakes ? no two are alike.

---

Dirty snowballs
While comets have been called "dirty snowballs," recent observations by unmanned space probes suggest that they may not be too different from?asteroids?on the outside. Comets appear to have rocky surfaces that in most cases are probably not much more than several miles across. [Amazing Comet Photos of 2013]

What makes them much different from asteroids, however, is that frozen reservoirs icy material are hidden beneath the crust or contained in fissures and craters that pockmark the surface.?

Such comet "snow" is composed of ordinary water ice plus frozen ammonia and some other more exotic compounds, with dust grains of different sizes and compositions mixed in. These pools of volatile materials are called "active regions."?

Comets spend most of their time far out in space, billions of miles from?the sun. Out there, the nucleus is completely stable because it?s in a state of deep freeze where temperatures barely hover above absolute zero (minus 460 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 273 degrees Celsius). ?

But when a?comet nears the sun, its frozen gases react to the increasing heat by vaporizing and expanding into a huge tenuous cloud around the nucleus called the coma. The nucleus and the coma make up the head of the comet, which may swell to more than 100,000 miles across.

It is sunlight that causes the comet's head to shine, in much the same manner that luminous paint reacts to ultraviolet light. The comet?s tail is produced by the?solar wind?? a thin supersonic breeze of atomic particles blowing from the sun ? and the pressure of sunlight, which pushes the gas and dust out ahead of the coma.

Old versus new
One clue about how a comet will ultimately perform is whether it?s a "new" comet, making its very first approach to the sun, or whether it?s an "old" one that has zoomed close to our star before.?

New comets might be covered with a load of very light, volatile material such as frozen nitrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Such ices can vaporize far from the sun, giving a distant comet a short-lived surge in brightness that can raise unrealistic expectations. This happened with ultimately disappointing comets such as Cunningham in 1940, Kohoutek 1973 and Austin in 1990.

But some new comets live up to the hype. In January 2007, for instance, Comet McNaught became the brightest comet in more than 40 years, eventually becoming luminous enough to be visible in broad daylight.

Unpredictable!
Some small, faint comets have suddenly and unexpectedly become incredibly bright literally overnight. In October 2007, Comet Holmes brightened by a factor of 500,000 in less than two days, going from an object visible only with very large?telescopes?to becoming easily visible to the naked eye.?

Its sudden flare may have been caused by a buildup of gas inside the comet's nucleus that eventually broke through its surface, astronomers say. Incredibly, this all took place far out in space when the comet was nearly 230 million miles (370 million kilometers) from the sun. Who knew?

Even the most recent skywatching sight,?Comet Pan-STARRS,?had some surprises in store. When the comet was discovered in June 2011, forecasts indicated it might get as bright as first or even zero magnitude ? in other words, as bright as the brightest stars.?

Then, it was surmised that the comet was "new" and might possibly lag behind the original optimistic predictions. Until recently, that seemed to be the case; PanSTARRS was running about one-quarter as bright. Some suggested it might not get much brighter than third magnitude, which would be less than half as bright as Polaris, the North Star.?

Then without fanfare, in late February, it made a surprising comeback, reaching first magnitude as it rounded the sun on March 10.

Be careful!
While you might have gotten the idea by now that comets are notoriously bad actors and do not always follow their scripts, I should stress that many of them are well-behaved and do what is expected in a broad sense. Still, caution is advised when reading any predictions of their brightness.

That brings us back to?Comet ISON, which is expected to sweep less than three-quarters of a million miles above the sun?s surface on Thanksgiving Day, ?Nov. 28. Already there have been a plethora of articles promoting ISON as the ?Comet of the Century.?

For an interesting analogy, baseball scouts like to catalog the talents of players by looking at five general areas of performance in which one may define potential talent. Great ballplayers can hit for average, hit with power, field, run and throw. [Photos of Comet ISON in Night Sky]

Similarly, astronomers who catalog potential great comets look at four general areas of performance: comets that closely approach the sun, closely approach Earth, have a favorable projection angle for viewing the tail and high intrinsic brightness.?

From these criteria, Comet ISON certainly appears to be a "can't miss" prospect, though it is a new comet, which makes it more of a wild card.

But then again, like countless numbers of young ballplayers who had unlimited potential but failed to make the big leagues, ISON too could falter.?

It could unexpectedly exhaust all of its volatile material, leaving just a small, dark solid lump to ultimately swing around the sun ? meaning we may not see it all. Or perhaps upon passing through the sun?s outer atmosphere and being subjected to a temperature of around 1 million degrees Fahrenheit (555,000 degrees Celsius) or more, the comet nucleus might shatter or disintegrate.?

The saga of ISON is not yet fully written, and it could still go either way. We?ll keep track of its progress in the weeks and months to come.

In the meantime, it might be worth ending with an oft-quoted axiom by the legendary comet expert Fred Whipple: ?If you must bet, bet on a horse, not a comet!???

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The?New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York.?Follow us?@Spacedotcom,?Facebook?or?Google+.?Originally published on?SPACE.com.

Copyright 2013?SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Kerry arrives in Iraq on unannounced visit

BAGHDAD (AP) ? U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Iraq on an unannounced visit to urge Iraqi leaders to stop Iranian overflights of arms and fighters heading to Syria and to overcome sectarian differences that still threaten Iraqi stability 10 years after the American-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Kerry flew into Baghdad on Saturday from Amman after accompanying President Barack Obama to Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan.

Officials traveling with him said he would press Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other senior officials on democratic reforms and directly urge them to stop overflights of Iranian aircraft carrying military personnel and equipment to support the Syrian government as it battles rebels.

The overflights have long been a source of contention between the U.S. and Iraq and Kerry will tell the Iraqis that allowing them to continue will make the situation in Syria worse and threaten Iraq's stability.

A senior U.S. official said the sheer number of overflights, which occur "close to daily," as well as overland shipments to Syria through Iraq from Iran was inconsistent with Iranian claims that they are only carrying humanitarian supplies. The official said it was in Iraq's interest to prevent the situation in Syria from deteriorating further, particularly as there are fears that Iranian-backed extremists may gain a foothold in the country.

The official said there are clear links between al-Qaida linked extremists operating in Syria and militants who are carrying out terrorist attacks in Iraqi territory with increasing regularity.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton secured a pledge from Iraq to inspect the flights last year, but the official said that since then only two aircraft have been checked by Iraqi authorities.

Kerry will tell al-Maliki that Iraq cannot be part of the political discussion about Syria's future until it clamps down on the shipments.

As Iraq approaches provincial elections next month, Kerry will also stress the importance of ensuring that all elements of society feel enfranchised, the official said. A recent decision to delay the polls in Anbar and Nineveh provinces is a "serious setback" to Iraq's democratic institutions and should be revisited, the official said.

Kerry also plans to speak by phone with Massoud Barzani, the head of the Kurdish Regional Government based in Irbil to encourage the Kurds not go ahead with unilateral actions - especially involving oil, like a pipeline deal with Turkey. He will not meet with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari because he is in Doha for an Arab League meeting

He will stress the "importance of maintaining the unity of Iraq," say that "separate efforts undercut the unity of the country" and that "The Kurdish republic cannot survive financially without the support of Baghdad," the official said.

Kerry's visit if the first by a U.S. secretary of state since Clinton went in 2009. During Obama's first term, the Iraq portfolio was largely delegated to Vice President Joe Biden.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-24-Mideast-Kerry/id-5f6e7c319a4d40b5ba70cb4840d4ca59

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'Olympus Has Fallen' gritty despite generic script

By Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter

Phil Caruso / FilmDistrict

REVIEW -- In a week when North Korea posted a homemade video showing the U.S. Capitol building being destroyed by a missile, what more logical response could Hollywood offer than a macho thriller about a Secret Service agent who takes on North Korean terrorists who attack the White House? The first of two similarly themed action dramas set for this year ("White House Down" arrives in June), "Olympus Has Fallen" will put to the test the question of whether American audiences are ready, 12 years after 9/11, to watch, strictly as disposable popcorn entertainment, a film in which the United States and some of its most prominent landmarks are devastated by foreign terrorists.

More from THR: 'Olympus Has Fallen' Premiere Celebrates Antoine Fuqua's Action Thriller

The answer almost undoubtedly will be yes, as the tough-guy former agent played by Gerard Butler gets to kick a whole lot of badass butt while trying to rescue the president. Although this is the sort of film in which the fate of the world hinges, when all is said and done, on the outcome of a one-on-one martial arts contest, director Antoine Fuqua's notably bloody child of "Die Hard" still generates a fair amount of tension and produces the kind of nationalistic outrage that rock-ribbed Americans will feel in their guts. Foreign revenue should be hefty as well, especially in countries where many viewers will get a thrill watching Washington get the sort of treatment usually reserved for places like Baghdad and Kabul.

More from THR: Gerard Butler on Sacrificing His Life, Declining the '300' Sequel and His ... Bar Mitzvah

Either due to incredible clairvoyance on the parts of first-time screenwriters Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt or just through one of those twists of fate, the film arrives just as North Korea has anti-U.S. saber-rattling an almost daily exercise. So it seems uncannily timely that the brilliant bad guy here is a (supposedly) rogue North Korean who leads a bunch of skilled commandos on a raid of the White House that nets them the president and several key members of his staff as hostages. No doubt bootleg copies of the film will make their way to Kim Jong-un, who might be simultaneously offended and delighted at the opportunity to further rouse his subjects by showing them how much the enemy hates them.

At its core, however, "Olympus" is like an '80s or '90s genre item in which Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis or Mel Gibson outwitted and outmuscled shrewd, more formidably armed opponents. Like Eastwood in "In the Line of Fire," Butler (who also produced) plays a disgraced presidential agent sidelined and haunted by a fluky failure (detailed in a 10-minute prologue) who suddenly and inadvertently finds himself back in the thick of a crisis.

If seemingly far-fetched, the attack by the North Korean paramilitary team is nonetheless ingenious and pulled off with somewhat disturbing ease, given that the White House is described as the best-fortified location on Earth. It's also quite violently staged. While President Asher (Aaron Eckhart) receives the South Korean premier and his entourage, a C-130 comes roaring in very low over Virginia and D.C. Knocking out two Air Force fighter jets, the terrorist-piloted plane heads down the mall and over toward the White House, strafing civilians while a second wave of gunmen launch a ground attack on the presidential mansion.

More from THR: Antoine Fuqua on Dennis Rodman's North Korea Trip, Violence in Movies and His Eminem Film

Inside, the premier's alleged head of security shows his true colors as the plot's mastermind. Kang (Rick Yune) quickly displays the diabolical genius worthy of any Bond villain (which Yune once played, as another North Korean in "Die Another Day"). He rounds up the president, Secretary of Defense (Melissa Leo, in an enjoyably fierce performance) and a bunch of other top officials and takes them down to the White House's massively secured emergency underground bunker, where he tortures and kills some of his hostages and dictates terms, the keys being the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from near the Korean demilitarized zone and the removal of the Navy's 7th Fleet from the area.

Enter Mike Banning (Butler), who knows the White House inside and out due to his years serving not only the president but entertaining his young son Connor (Finley Jacobsen), who's somewhere in the building and whom Kang wants as the ultimate bargaining chip. The bulk of the film thus becomes an elaborate cat-and-mouse game between Banning, who, against great odds, taunts Kang and gradually reduces his minions' numbers in several ambushes and one-on-one struggles, and the North Korean megalomaniac, who begins extracting the secret codes that will allow him to control the American nuclear arsenal.

Meanwhile, stuck with sedentary roles as officials sweating it out at the Pentagon heavily linked by video, phones and computers are, among many others, Speaker of the House (and acting President) Trumbull (Morgan Freeman); Secret Service director Jacobs (Angela Bassett); and Gen. Clegg (Robert Forster) the gung-ho head of the Joint Chiefs.

More from THR: Melissa Leo: 'I'm Not the Prettiest Actor Around, but I Protect My Characters'

The ordeal is an all-night affair, and unfortunately much of the White House action plays out in a murky, muddy darkness that has a very washed-out look; cinematographer Conrad W. Hall could have taken a tip or two from the incredible nocturnal, low-light-level work his father Conrad L. Hall did two decades ago in "Jennifer Eight." Quite a bit of the action is obscured as a result.

To his credit, though, Fuqua sustains the suspense until near the end of two hours; only in the final confrontation between Banning and Kang does the face-off seem over-extended and borderline risible. Willing to go for an R rating when a more inclusive one might have increased box office, the filmmakers deliver some pretty tough and brutal scenes, not the least of which has Kang mercilessly kicking and beating Leo's defiant Secretary of Defense.

After a string of increasingly lame and embarrassing projects, Butler took charge on this one as a producer here in a role carefully crafted in a time-honored action-hero mold. He comes off pretty well, as a sort of junior-league Mel Gibson with a bit less of the fiery-eyed craziness and wacky humor but plenty of grit and no shortage of appeal. In one-dimensional generic roles, most of the other performers deliver as expected, though Yune's exceptional looks and air of piercing intelligence pretty much maxes out what anyone could do with this sort of laser-focused villain figure.

The extensive CGI work is variable -- pretty good where it counts most but sketchy around the edges. Trevor Morris wallpapers the action with a constantly churning score.

More in Entertainment:

Source: http://entertainment.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/22/17418664-olympus-has-fallen-brings-grit-and-suspense-despite-generic-script?lite

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Kate Upton: Spanked By Flo Rida!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/kate-upton-spanked-by-flo-rida/

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Time to help college professors be better teachers

Right after I gave my opening lecture on Oedipus the King to the 30 employees of Los Angeles?s criminal justice system, I handed out a few pages of notes I would have taken if I were sitting in their seats listening to the likes of me.

They were taking my course, Introduction to Humanities, as part a special program leading to a college degree, and I knew from a survey I gave them that many hadn?t been in a classroom in a long time ? and some didn?t get such great educations when they were. So we spent the last half hour of the class comparing my notes with the ones they had just taken, talking about the way I signaled that something was important, how they could separate out a big idea from specific facts, how to ask a question without looking like a dummy.

I taught that humanities course more than 30 years ago, but I was thinking about it as I read the new report from the National Commission on Higher Education Attainment, ?College Completion Must Be Our Priority.? The report is a call to leaders in higher education to increase graduation rates by scheduling courses and services to accommodate working adults, developing more on-line learning, easing the ability of students to transfer, and implementing a host of other sensible solutions to the many barriers that are contributing to America?s stagnating college graduation rates.

OPINION: Five vital tips to succeed in college

But if we want more students to succeed in college, then colleges have to turn full attention to teaching.

To their credit, the authors of the college completion report call for better professional development for college faculty; however, most reports of this type have little to say about teaching, focusing instead on structural and administrative reforms outside the classroom. It is a glaring omission.

Perhaps the authors of these reports believe that teaching is such an individual activity that not much can be done to affect it.

Another reason has to do with the way college teaching gets defined in practice. Faculty become experts in a field, and then they pass on their knowledge to others through college courses. Some teachers get very good at this delivery ? compelling lectures, creative demonstrations, engaging discussions, and useful assignments. But professors don?t always think beyond their subjects to the general intellectual development of the undergraduates before them, to enhancing the way they learn and make sense of the world.

Finally, I don?t see much evidence at the policy level of a deep understanding of college-level teaching or a respect for its craft.

The problem starts in the graduate programs where college instructors are minted. Students learn a great deal about, let?s say, astrophysics or political science, but not how to teach it. They might assist in courses and pay attention to how their professors teach, but none of this is systematic or a focus of study or mentoring.

And there is rarely a place in the curriculum to consider the difficulties students might have as they learn how to think like an astrophysicist or political scientist. And then there are the reading and writing difficulties that can emerge when encountering a discipline for the first time.

The majority of new college faculty wants to teach well ? and many do. But they won?t find on most college campuses an institutional culture that fosters teaching. To be sure, there are rewards for good teaching ? awards, the esteem of students ? and most institutions, even research universities, consider exemplary teaching as a factor in promotion. And some campuses have programs that provide resources for instruction, but they tend to be low-status and under-utilized operations.

Teaching has special meaning now, as the authors of the report on student success point out, because close to half of American undergraduates are a bit more like those students in my humanities class than our image of the traditional college student fresh out of high school.

Particularly in the community colleges and state colleges where the majority of Americans receive their higher education, students are older, they work, and many have children. A significant percentage are the first in their families to go to college; somewhere between 40 to 50 percent need to take one or more remedial courses in English or mathematics.

To do right by these students, we need to rethink how to teach them. This does not mean rushing to electronic technology ? a common move these days. On-line instruction of any variety will only be as good as the understanding of teaching and learning that underlies it.

We can begin by elevating the value of teaching and creating more opportunities to get better at it. For those students who need help with writing, mathematics, and study skills, there are tutoring centers and other campus resources. Faculty should forge connections with these resources but realize that they, too, can provide guidance and tricks of the trade ? like taking good notes ? as well as an orientation to their field.

In my experience, students at flagship universities and elite colleges could also benefit from this approach to instruction. Just ask them.

Doing such things does not mean abandoning our subject area but rather enhancing it and opening a door to it.

Working with those humanities students on their notes helped them develop better note-taking techniques. But as we studied technique, we also thought hard about how to determine what?s important ? and how to make someone else?s information your own. All this involved talking further about Greek tragedy, about literary interpretation, and about what the humanities can provide for us.

OPINION: Harvard cheating scandal? It could be bad teaching.

What?s at stake is not only increasing graduation rates but also providing a quality education for those who, a generation or two ago, might not have seen college as possible.

Mike Rose is a professor in the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies and author of ?Back to School: Why Everyone Deserves a Second Chance at Education.?

ALSO BY THIS WRITER: Character education is not enough to help poor kids

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/time-help-college-professors-better-teachers-155457859--politics.html

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Hands-On: Pandora?s All-You-Can-Listen, Ad-Free Windows Phone App

Microsoft's app ecosystem consistently gets dinged for its slim offerings, so the popular music-streaming app is a big win for the company.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/C59cNDtzKxc/

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A flowchart for not feeding the trolls | TechRepublic

Takeaway: This flowchart by the United States Air Force serves as a good baseline for social media interaction and for dealing with pesky and potentially harmful Internet trolls.

There are plenty of blogs out there that can and will explain why social media is no longer optional for your business. The genie is out of the bottle, so you may as well put him to work. The problem with embracing social media in the enterprise is summed up in one word: trolls.

For those unfamiliar with the netiquette, Wikipedia defines an Internet troll as follows:

A troll (pron.: /?tro?l/, /?tr?l/) is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion. The noun troll may also refer to the provocative message itself, as in: ?That was an excellent troll you posted.?

To ?feed the trolls? is to stoop to their level, engaging in their inflammatory arguments and thereby encouraging further trolling of your social media channels. The day you loosen the reins on your employees and allow them to use social media on behalf of your business, you invite the attention of trolls. If you don?t train your staff on how to deal with online provocateurs, you risk turning your company social media accounts into a wasteland of less-than-useless conversational noise that distracts from your business and harms your brand.

Luckily, none other than the United States Air Force (USAF) has equipped us with basic tools for combating trolls. Meet the US Air Force Blog Assessment Flowchart, created by the USAF?s Public Affairs Office more than four years ago. No matter how much the Internet has changed in the last four years, the flowchart remains relevant and useful, especially in dealing with trolls.

Chart courtesy of the USAF. (Click the image to enlarge.)

Find a post, measure its tone, decide whether to respond, conjure a quick response where necessary. Note that the longest amount of time you should take to respond to anything is one day. Beyond the 24-hour window, the Internet has likely moved on, and you?ve missed your chance to be a meaningful part of the conversation.

The advice works with virtually any social media channel, from online forums and blogs to Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter (though proper response may require multiple posts or abbreviations), and even old-fashioned email. Just substitute the words ?blog? with ?social media? and ?Air Force? with the name of your organization.

A few notes for modernization?s sake. There are lot more options for ?Concurrence? than when this chart was created. Today, writing a blog post to highlight the fact that you?ve been positively mentioned or reviewed elsewhere may seem a bit self-indulgent. Instead, a nice Facebook share, Twitter retweet, or Reddit upvote is often quite enough. The only exceptions are for really extraordinary accolades, such as the first time your company appears on the cover of Time magazine would certainly warrant a blog post. Someone saying ?nice job? on Twitter? Unless there?s a really great story behind the tweet, probably not.

The chart may seem a bit inflexible, but it?s a good baseline for social media interaction. Think of it as training wheels for your company?s first forays into social media. Follow the chart and you won?t crash and ? above all ? you?ll avoid feeding the trolls.

Source: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/social-media-in-the-enterprise/a-flowchart-for-not-feeding-the-trolls/105

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