In uptown Manhattan, storm leaves a hanging crane and minor damage

The damaged crane, part of construction on the One57 building, on West 57th Street (Allison Joyce/Getty Images??

Monday's giant storm inflicted the greatest damage on the lower half of New York City, but uptown, on West 57th Street, a massive, dangling crane is drawing crowds.

At a thousand feet above the ground, the 80-ton swing arm dangles next to the tallest condominium under construction in the city, located between 6th and 7th avenues. Bovis Lend Lease, the company managing the building's construction, is waiting for the last winds to die down before it scoops up the hanging hulk of metal.

"All I'm doing today is watching that crane," said a company employee, who asked not to be named. Wearing a muddied yellow raincoat, he leaned against a nearby shop on the corner of 56th Street, on standby.

"The only reason they haven't taken it down is because of the winds," he said. "Once they die down, they'll rig it up from the air. Right now it's no danger."

His remarks echoed the statement of the tower's developer, Gary Barnett, who told Crain's New York Business, "Everything that can be done is being done." In the meantime, metal gates and police tape block off access to the surrounding areas, as crowds of people stand along 57th Street and 5th Avenue taking photos and chattering as the crane's arm sways in the wind.

The crane is the most conspicuous damage up here resulting from the storm, but nearby, more destruction can be seen: On a building at the corner of Park Avenue and 59th Street, the facade of one floor about 20 stories up tumbled down during the storm, leaving a mass of debris on the now closed-off section below.

But for most who live around here, the most common word to describe the storm has been "boring." There have been few power outages, and the worst symptoms of the storm have been the gusts of wind. In nearby pubs like the Carriage House on 59th Street, people are hanging out, glancing at the images on TV of? more serious disorientation in lower Manhattan.

"It's honestly been a little boring," said Alana, who lives a few blocks away by the U.N. headquarters. She said she's chiefly been preoccupied with taking in her friend from Brooklyn, where winds were felt as early as Sunday night. "No power out, I've still got Internet. It hasn't been very exciting."

Others living uptown have also concentrated chiefly on coming to the aid of their friends, and checking on their work spaces downtown.

"I'm at a small tech company in Union Square, so I swung by to check on any leaking or flooding," says Brian, playing darts with a friend at the Carriage House. "Otherwise, it's mainly been working from home and helping out the people I know."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/uptown-york-sandy-leaves-hanging-crane-minor-damage-200615953.html

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Ghost stories part of the White House?s legacy

The White House is the best-known residence in the nation, and a few of its famous residents are rumored to be long-term tenants.

Ghost stories have been part of the executive mansion?s heritage for over a century, and as we approach Halloween, let?s take a look at the top stories passed down from people who claimed to have bumped into some departed presidents and others.

1. Lincoln?s ghost

There may have been more sightings of Abraham Lincoln?s spirit than presidents who inhabited the White House, and some reports seem to be in jest.

But there are a lot of reports from workers at the White House and even Winston Churchill that they bumped into Lincoln wandering the building years after his death.

Lincoln was shot at Ford?s Theater in 1865 and died at a nearby boarding house. But it is his spirit that is reportedly stuck at the White House, where he planned the Civil War and had started planning reconciliation when he was killed just days after Robert E. Lee?s surrender.

The most famous Lincoln story is from Churchill, who was staying at the residence after World War II, the British leader had just emerged from a bath, wearing nothing and smoking a cigar. He reportedly met the late president.

?Good evening, Mr. President. You seem to have me at a disadvantage,? Churchill allegedly said. He also refused to stay in the room after the encounter.

2. Jackson?s ghost

Another famous president who still could be seeking a longer term in the White House is Andrew Jackson.

The reported encounters with Old Hickory are not sightings but hearings. And what people reportedly hear from Jackson is a lot cursing from the 19th-century president.

One person who believed Jackson?s spirit remained in the White House was Mary Todd Lincoln, who held regular s?ances there after her son, Willie, died.

There was also a reported Jackson encounter during the administration of President Dwight Eisenhower.

3. Abigail Adams

John Adams? wife only stayed at the White House for a few months as its first occupant, along with her husband. Thomas Jefferson was the first president to spend a full term at the residence.

But some people believe Abigail Adams returns for an occasional visit to supervise the laundry.

Mrs. Adams used the East Room to hang out her laundry in 1800. A sighting of her was reported there during the Taft administration about 112 years later, when an apparition was seen carrying clothes in its arms.
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4. Dolley Madison

The irrepressible Dolley Madison is best known today for rescuing the Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington from the White House before the British burned it down during the War of 1812.

But in ghost lore, she?s best known for reportedly encountering two gardeners during the Wilson administration a century later.

First Lady Edith Wilson asked the two to move the fabled Rose Garden, which Madison had created and nurtured.

The gardeners were reportedly met by an angry Dolley.

Today, the Rose Garden remains where Dolley Madison wanted it.

5. The British fire starter

The most traumatic incident in White House history was its destruction by British troops in 1814. A royal soldier apparently died in the attack after he helped set fire to the White House, and there are reports he occasionally returns to finish the job.

One incident was reported a few years after the Truman-era restoration, where the spirit was seen trying to set a bed on fire.

Also, there was a major fire in the West Wing during the Hoover administration on Christmas Eve in 1929.

Officially, it was a clogged fireplace flue that stared the blaze.

Even today, recent White House staffers reported hearing strange noises late at night in the White House. But there?s one president who probably hasn?t come back for a guest appearance.

James Buchanan openly tired of being president as the Civil War grew near.

?If you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to Wheatland, you are a happy man indeed,? Buchanan said just before leaving office in 1861.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ghost-stories-part-white-house-legacy-100431620.html

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Source: No deal yet on US-Iran nuclear talks

Digital Globe / AP file

A 2004 satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe and the Institute for Science and International Security shows the military complex at Parchin, Iran, about 19 miles southeast of Tehran.

By Andrea Mitchell, NBC News

A senior administration official told NBC on Saturday that there have been backchannel talks between the U.S. and Iran about meeting bilaterally on the Iranians? nuclear program ? but that no meeting has been agreed to.

Expanding on a statement issued by the White House after The New York Times reported that there was an agreement, the official says that the backchannel talks have been done in full consultation with the allies ? the P5 + 1 and Israel.

The official pointed out that there have been bilateral talks in the past ? but that Iran refused to even meet with the P5 +1 during the recent United Nations meetings. He said the Iranians know there will be no agreement unless they give up their nuclear program.

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Asked about the impact on Monday's foreign policy debate between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney, the official said the administration is not happy that the story came out before the debate, but said the American people might be happy to know the administration is willing to explore all possibilities to get Iran to give up its nuclear program.

The Times, citing a senior administration official, said Iranian officials had insisted that the talks wait until after the presidential election so that they would know which president would be negotiating with them. The Times said: "Reports of the agreement have circulated among a small group of diplomats involved with Iran."

But in a statement Saturday evening, National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said the U.S. and Iran had no such agreement:?

It's not true that the United States and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any meeting after the American elections. We continue to work with the P-5+1 on a diplomatic solution and have said from the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally. The President has made clear that he will prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and we will do what we must to achieve that. It has always been our goal for sanctions to pressure Iran to come in line with its obligations. The onus is on the Iranians to do so, otherwise they will continue to face crippling sanctions and increased pressure.

World powers accuse Iran of covertly using its uranium enrichment program to produce nuclear weapons. The Iranians insists the research and development is for projects to generate electricity and produce medical isotopes.

EU agrees on wider Iran sanctions

A six-country alliance of Western powers, including the United States, has been attempting to negotiate with the Iranians, with?occasional concessions by Iran and assertions that it?s willing to engage with the alliance. Despite the protracted dialogue,?diplomats hope that a negotiated settlement can be reached, with international sanctions providing an incentive.

In October 2009, the U.S and the Iranians agreed in Geneva that Iran would send its enriched uranium to Russia for safekeeping, in exchange for an agreement for enough nuclear fuel for its Tehran medical research reactor. However, the deal fell apart when Iran's negotiators returned home. Iranian officials told NBC News that their supreme leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini, told them they had gone beyond their instructions. That experience has made the White House wary of any agreement that is not blessed by the supreme leader, the sole authority over nuclear decisions in Iran.?

The sanctions began to bite this summer. Hyperinflation in Iran is pushing up prices daily and the dramatic slide in the value of the rial against the U.S. dollar led to unrest in Tehran earlier this month, when angry currency traders clashed with security forces.

The?European Union on Monday ratcheted up its sanctions,?prohibiting transactions between Iranian and European banks and banning imports of Iranian natural gas, among other measures.?

Netanyahu: Draw 'clear red line' to stop Iran

Israel, believed to have the Middle East's only atomic arsenal, sees a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to its existence and has expressed frustration over the failure of diplomacy and sanctions to rein in Tehran. Western nations fear that a possible strike against Iran's facilities by Israel would lead to wider conflict.

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/20/14584786-source-backchannel-talks-but-no-us-iran-deal-on-one-to-one-nuclear-meeting?lite

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Donated human stool safely and effectively treats c. difficile infections, study suggests

ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2012) ? A novel therapy that uses donated human stool to treat the deadly and contagious C.difficile infection is safe and highly effective, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

Researchers found that 43 of 49 patients recovered swiftly after treatment and had no adverse complications from C.diff three months later. Treatment is performed either through a nasogastric tube or colonscopy on an outpatient or inpatient basis.

Mayur Ramesh, M.D., a Henry Ford Infectious Diseases physician and senior author of the study, says the treatment, while appearing unconventional, has striking results.

"More than 90 percent of the patients in our study were cured of their C.diff infection," says Dr. Ramesh. "This treatment is a viable option for patients who are not responding to conventional treatment and who want to avoid surgery."

The study was presented October 19 at the annual Infectious Diseases Society of America meeting in San Diego.

In their study, researchers evaluated 49 patients who contracted Clostridium difficile, or C.diff, a germ that causes diarrhea and other intestinal problems and is linked to 14,000 deaths annually. Symptoms include water diarrhea, fever, loss of appetite, nausea and abdominal pain and tenderness. C.diff occurs in patients taking antibiotics, and can spread from person-to-person contact or from touching contaminated equipment and objects like door knobs.

Patients with a C.diff infection are typically treated with the antibiotics metronidazole or vancomycin. However, surgery could be required to remove the infected part of the intestines. In its study, Henry Ford treated patients between May 2010 and June 2012 with a therapy called intestinal microbiota transplantation (IMT), using donated stool from a healthy family member.

Dr. Ramesh says the healthy stool, when mixed with warm tap water and administered, helps to re-establish the normal intestinal flora in the patient's gastrointestinal tract. Intestinal flora is healthy bacteria that stimulates the immune system and aids the digestion and absorption of food.

"Patients who receive treatment through a nasogastric tube don't taste or smell the stool mixture as it's administered," Dr. Ramesh says. "Patients often resume their diet within a couple hours and are feeling better within 24 hours."

Of the 49 patients, 43 fully recovered, four died of causes unrelated to C.diff, one had intestinal surgery and one had no improvement.

The study was funded by Henry Ford Hospital.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Henry Ford Health System.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/Ep-d7HPIgx8/121020162445.htm

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British protesters demand end to "failing" austerity

LONDON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of British protesters marched through London on Saturday calling for an end to public spending cuts and tax rises launched by a government they accuse of elitism and ignorance about the plight of recession-hit voters.

Blowing horns and whistles, demonstrators streamed past the Houses of Parliament behind a banner declaring "Austerity is Failing", and called on Prime Minister David Cameron to do more to revive Britain's struggling economy.

The Conservative-led coalition is reeling from the resignation on Friday of a senior minister accused of calling police "plebs", a class-laden insult for working people, and the perception that they are out of touch.

"The wealthy don't realize the impact of the cuts and this government is only interested in what you can give them," said local government worker Eric Batty, 60, dressed in a black grim reaper cloak costume symbolizing death.

The government says it must stick to its plan to eliminate a budget deficit that stood at 8 percent of gross domestic product last year, the biggest of any major European country. It says the euro zone crisis has also cast a shadow over the British economy.

Cameron's party faced a barrage of negative headlines over the departure of Andrew Mitchell - the "Chief Whip" or party enforcer - four weeks after he swore at police guarding the gates to the prime minister's Downing Street office.

A separate row involving finance minister George Osborne, who sat in a first class train carriage with a standard class ticket before paying for an upgrade, added ammunition to critics who say the Conservatives are privileged and aloof.

Addressing protesters, opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband was quick to seize on the latest Conservative missteps to condemn Cameron's policies.

"He is a weak and clueless prime minister," Miliband told a cheering crowd. "Andrew Mitchell may have resigned but the culture of two nations runs right across this government. They cut taxes for millionaires and they raise taxes for ordinary families."

However, Miliband was booed when he told demonstrators that Labour would have had to make cuts too if it had won the last election, albeit at a slower pace.

Under grey autumnal skies, demonstrators waved banners saying "No Cuts", "Tax the Rich, Teach the Poor" and "Plebs of the World Unite", poking fun at Mitchell's resignation.

Nurses, cleaners, librarians and ambulance drivers were among those who joined the march and a rally in London's central Hyde Park, in one of the biggest anti-austerity protests this year. Organizers estimated that 150,000 people took part.

Marches also took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Glasgow, Scotland.

"I've got friends who are in desperate straits, living in fear of losing their job and their house," said Nick Chaffey, 48, a Socialist Party campaigner married to a teacher who has taken a pay cut.

Police said the London march had passed peacefully and they expected to report a low number of arrests in a bulletin later.

COALITION UNDER PRESSURE

Trade union leaders are trying to use the rally to pile more pressure on Cameron, telling protesters the government's economic plan has failed and only prolonged Britain's recession.

"Austerity isn't working. It is hammering the poorest and the most vulnerable," said Brendan Barber, head of the Trades Union Congress, an umbrella group which represents 54 unions.

The coalition government had responded to calls from unions and the opposition Labour Party to do more to increase growth by relaxing planning laws and boosting lending to businesses.

Cameron's party staked its 2010 election campaign on the austerity program, calling for deeper cuts to welfare spending while dismissing the idea of a tax on the wealthy.

In an emergency budget announced after winning power, his coalition government said it would cut most departmental budgets by an average of around 20 percent over four years.

It announced a public sector pay freeze, set a new ceiling on the total state benefits any family can receive and cut tax relief on pensions. The VAT sales tax went up to 20 percent.

Conservative Party Chairman Grant Shapps said opposition Labour and the unions had "turned a blind eye" to the need to rein in spending.

He said: "By marching with them, Ed Miliband proved he still stands for more spending, more borrowing and more debt."

(Writing by Peter Griffiths; Additional reporting by Maria Golovnina and Michael Holden; Editing by Maria Golovnina and Rosalind Russell)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/british-protesters-demand-end-failing-austerity-165712433.html

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#4: Skinomi TechSkin - Apple iPhone 5 Screen Protector Ultra Clear ...

• Written by admin
• Posted October 18, 2012 at 6:06 pm

Skinomi TechSkin - Apple iPhone 5 Screen Protector Ultra Clear Shield, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless by Skinomi (418) Buy new: $5.79 6 used & new from $0.73 (Visit the Hot New Releases in Accessories & Supplies list for authoritative information on this product?s current rank.)

Fine: #4: Skinomi TechSkin - Apple iPhone 5 Screen Protector Ultra Clear Shield, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless

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Russia to launch five communication satellites next year - NZweek

MOSCOW, Oct. 19 ? Russia is set to launch five communication satellites in 2013, their producer?s chief designer said Friday.

?The first in line is Express-AM5. We will be ready to launch it in the second quarter of 2013,? Nikolai Testoyedov, head of the Informational Satellite Systems company, told the Interfax news agency.0 Express-AM5 will carry a Canadian-made telecommunications device, said Testoyedov, whose company is based in Krasnoyarsk region in Siberia.

The Express-AM6 satellites will also be ready at that time, he said, adding that financing for the launches has been arriving as scheduled.

Express-AM5 and Express-AM6 are designed for providing Russian territory with digital radio and TV broadcasting as well as for the government?s communications needs.

Three more satellites of that type, two of which will be launched in a bundle, have been scheduled for launch during 2013.

Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos has planned to upgrade Proton rocket carrier and Breeze booster for the upcoming launches of the Express-AM5 and Express-AM6 satellites.

Last Friday, Roscosmos announced a tender for the upgrades and said it would select a contract winner on Nov. 22.

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Source: http://www.nzweek.com/world/russia-to-launch-five-communication-satellites-next-year-15864/

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Making Sense Of Presidential Polls

In less than a month, the 2012 presidential election turned from an almost certain victory for President Obama to a neck-and-neck race. New York Times blogger and statistician Nate Silver and Princeton neuroscientist Sam Wang talk about making sense of the polls?and why not all votes are created equal.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/10/19/163245520/making-sense-of-presidential-polls?ft=1&f=1007

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American Horror Story, Season 2

Jessica Lange in American Horror Story

Photograph by Frank Ockenfels/FX.

The TV Club comments and recaps around the Web suggest that the premiere of American Horror Story: Asylum kept viewers up all night, if not with bad dreams, then definitely with nagging questions.

Both commenters and professional recappers agreed that the aliens?or at least what we think are aliens?that attacked Kit clash a bit with the tone of the rest of the show. Commenter ACslaterX called the alien thing ?strange? and offered this alternative theory: ?I thought for sure when we saw the flashing lights of the aliens as they probed Kit, it was going to flash back to the asylum while Kit was getting electroshock therapy ... but I guess it's just aliens; for now anyways.? I had a similar thought, though as Jenna Mullins pointed out over at E!, there?s still that pesky, Matrix-like neck implant to deal with.

A number of commenters reacted to our discussion of the muted (twisted?) streak of feminism running through the show via Sister Jude. Commenter TheDude disagreed with my reading of the ?don?t call yourself stupid? comment as a moment of sisterhood, pointing out rightly that Lange had ?just finished calling her stupid in the same scene, so I doubt she was linking arms in some kind of solidarity.? Wrote TheDude: ?She is the very definition of a sadist. Referring to her as a heroine is like referring to the lunatic doctor as a hero. She is a great character (so far), but has not been shown in any way to be a hero.?

Fair enough, Dude; I?ll admit that my unadulterated love of Jessica Lange may have clouded my judgment, but I still maintain that she?s a little more morally complicated that her collection of spanking implements would suggest.

The Internet also seems to agree with our dislike of the 2012 story starring Adam Levine and Jenna Dewan Tatum. Katy and I both found it unnecessary and boring, and Jen Chaney of the Washington Post echoed our feelings by rhetorically asking whether that whole scenario wasn?t just the worst. For those of you who agree with our wish to eliminate The Voice host, I?ve got some good news and some bad news. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, show creator Ryan Murphy noted that, while we?ll be spared the Leo and Teresa storyline in some episodes, the show will continue to explore 2012 Briarcliff via Levine?s smoldering eyes and remaining limbs for the rest of the season.

Speaking of actors, the EW interview contains a whole list of people, including Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, and Eric Stonestreet, who will be making appearances in future episodes, mimicking the trend of the first season in which ?Murder House? grew increasingly crowded as time went on. And! If you?re missing the dearly-departed Harmon family in the far less cozy confines of Briarcliff, news just broke yesterday that Dylan McDermott will be returning to the show with his ?blank virility? at some undisclosed point in the future. Something tells me Chlo? Sevigny?s nymphomaniac character will be all over that. ?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=0f3a8f4d0542fa9a239c40387f600136

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Average debt up again for new college grads

It's the latest snapshot of the growing burden of student debt and it's another discouraging one: Two-thirds of the national college class of 2011 finished school with loan debt, and those who borrowed walked off the graduation stage owing on average $26,600 ? up about 5 percent from the class before.

The latest figures are calculated in a report out Thursday by the California-based Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) and likely underestimate the problem in some ways because they don't include most graduates of for-profit colleges, who typically borrow more than their counterparts elsewhere.

Still, while 2011 college graduates faced an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent in 2011, even those with debt remained generally better off than those without a degree. The report emphasized research showing that the economic returns on college degrees remain, in general, strong. It noted the unemployment rate for those with only a high school credential last year was 19.1 percent.

"In these tough times, a college degree is still your best bet for getting a job and decent pay," said TICAS President Lauren Asher. "But, as debt levels rise, fear of loans can prevent students from getting the education they need to succeed. Students and parents need to know that, even at similar looking schools, debt levels can be wildly different. And, if they do need to borrow to get through school, federal student loans, with options like income-based repayment, are the safest way to go."

The latest figures come at a time of increasing alarm about the sheer scope of student debt nationally, which by some measures has surpassed $1 trillion. Recent government figures show nearly 10 percent of borrowers of federal student loans in the most recently measured cohort had already defaulted within two years of starting repayment.

The issue has come up on the presidential campaign trail, though the candidates' specific plans haven't become a major issue. President Barack Obama has touted his record of ending $60 billion in subsidies to private lenders, directing the savings to student aid and implementing an income-based repayment plan that caps federal student loan payments at 15 percent of income and forgives repayment after 25 years.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, his Republican challenger, argues the flood of federal student aid spending unleashed in recent years has led colleges to raise tuition prices. He wants to return to a system in which the government supports private lenders, arguing it's more cost-effective, and his campaign has called the income-based repayment program flawed.

In Tuesday night's second presidential debate, Romney repeated an assertion he'd made previously that "50 percent of kids coming out of college (are) not able to get work." That is not accurate, though twice earlier in the debate he made an important qualification, indicating he was referring to graduates who couldn't get "college-level jobs." Figures analyzed by Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market studies last spring did find 53.6 percent of bachelor's degree holders under age 25 were either unemployed or working in positions that don't fully use their skills or knowledge.

The latest TICAS report also cites studies that found more than one-third of recent graduates were in positions that did not require a degree, depressing wages, though other government figures cited by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce put the so-called "underemployment" rate for young college grads much lower ? at around 10 percent.

As for those who have no job at all, according to Georgetown the latest monthly unemployment figure for college graduates under age 24 is 10.5 percent (the figure typically jumps each spring as a new class graduates and declines over the course of the year; last March it was 5.4 percent).

"Increasing student debt in a weak economy can be a knock-out blow to many considering college," said Rich Williams, higher education advocate with U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which advocates for students. "As our economy is recovering, lawmakers must send every signal that college is a good investment. "

Among other finding in the TICAS report:

?Private (non-federal) student loans, which generally have weaker borrower protections but have been diminishing as a source of student borrowing, accounted for about one-fifth of the debt owed by the Class of 2011.

?Debt levels vary widely by state, ranging from $17,250 in Utah to $32,450 in New Hampshire.

?Debt at individual schools ranged from $3,000 to $55,250 though not all schools report that data.

?Among colleges, the percentage of graduates with debt ranged from 12 percent to 100 percent. At 64 schools, more than 90 percent of student graduated with debt.

___

Online: Companion interactive map with details for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 1,000 public and private nonprofit four-year colleges is available at www.projectonstudentdebt.org/state_by_state-data2012.php

___

Follow Justin Pope at http://www.twitter.com/JustinPopeAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/average-debt-again-college-grads-040244925--finance.html

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Slaying Genre: A Monthly Column on Horror, Noir, Fantasy & the ...

Some folks are petrified of admitting that they love writing about monsters. Especially literary writers (and yes, literary is a genre like any other, be it thriller or romance). As a teacher of creative writing, I find that some of my students (even in horror and dark fiction courses!) hide their love for the creepy, murderous, and undead from spouses, friends, and more ?literarily minded? writers like it?s a dirty little secret. ?Of course, I have spent valuable class time underscoring the importance of the monster in Western society, quoted Freud?s essays on the uncanny and Jung?s concept of the shadow self until I was blue in the face, but it?s all only theory (though fascinating theory) until one can understand the transformations that monsters can bring, the doors they can open, the power they can bestow.

Everyone needs a ?monster epiphany?: a realization of the physical and psychological spaces that monsters enable you to access, creepy corridors in your brain that can?t quite be reached any other way. ?And so, instead of quoting the fathers of modern psychology or cultural theorists, I turn, close to the eve of Halloween, to my own story of monsters to show just how crucial they can be to writers of all genres (whether you traffic in trolls or dabble in hell-hounds, or even?gasp!?grapple with the next great American novel) who are trying to own who they are and what they do.

~

When I was home sick from school, my grandmother would tuck me in front of the television, hand me a cup of steaming tea with some whiskey thrown in (Nana was Irish and according to her, alcohol cured nearly everything), and turn on the monsters. With feverish eyes, I devoured classics like Dracula and Frankenstein (or classics-by-then Hammer films starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing), ?and half-dreamt through Psycho, Pet Semetery, and The Night of the Living Dead. When the credits rolled and the evil (mostly) vaniquished, I always, always felt better.

To a little girl who had lived rough, been caught in the cycles of poverty, abuse, and abandonment and was forever afraid of being taken away, of being left behind, knowing and understanding the monsters in these movies became a manageable way for me to deal with the scary things in the world. They were the danger I could see, the danger I could easily banish with holy water, sunlight, a blow to the head, a crafty incantation. ?Knowing that they could be tamed, killed, and sometimes even appeased, helped me feel empowered, less scared of what lurked in the shadows of my own life.

By the time I was a teenager, monsters became like kin to me: they were the evil, strange, and just plain wrong, figures that could fight the conformist demons in the super-religious immigrant culture that I was trying to break away from. Monsters became my mirror, the metaphor of my dark desires, the true self that I feared giving voice to. They started whispering at the corners of notebooks until soon they screamed on the page in a voice that was never quite human but was always part me, part what I feared, and part what I yearned for. Submitting to these voices, these monsters, letting them speak through me became a way to explore the sinister parts of the human condition and the most powerful parts of myself. When I write monsters, I am truly owning all of my weird, dank, and strange passions, compulsions, desires, and fears.When I write monsters, I am no longer afraid.

What was your monster epiphany and how did it help you own what you write? Let me know in the comments!

About klpereira

KL Pereira likes to traipse around dark, woody crevices where most would rather not wander. Her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction has been published in Bitch Magazine, Clamor Magazine, Jabberwocky, The Medulla Review and other fine magazines, anthologies, chapbooks, and journals. She?s a member of two fabulous writing groups: the Ministry of Scrawl and the Cajun Sushi Hamsers From Hell. Currently, she is completing a collection of paranormal erotica (published under her fabulous and cheeky pen name) and a series of flash fiction fairy tales. Her website is: darknesslovescompany.com and you can chat with her about monsters anytime on Twitter (@kl_pereira).

Source: http://grubdaily.org/?p=8483

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Religion News Service | Politics | Election | Nuns on the Bus meet ...

(RNS) The "Nuns on the Bus" have been a consistently popular and effective faith-based tool for religious progressives this campaign season, but on Monday a group of demonstrators apparently organized by a local Tea Party affiliate met the nuns at a stop in Marietta, Ohio, and provided a far different welcome than the sisters usually receive.

Holding placards with slogans like "Bums on the Bus" and "Romney-Ryan Yes, Fake Nuns No," the protesters focused their fire on the abortion issue, accusing the sisters of not being sufficiently anti-abortion.

Someone claiming to be a member of the local "We the People" chapter -- that is the name used by some Tea Party affiliates in the region -- posted a YouTube video of the counter-demonstrators taken before the half dozen nuns and some 100 supporters arrived. It says there were more than 175 marchers opposing the nuns and it shows the demonstrators praying the rosary and singing hymns before challenging the sisters.

"What could be more innocuous, unless of course the nuns happen to be a group of radical, feminist ideologues whose previous political actions have been so out of step with the teaching of the Catholic Church that they have been condemned by the Vatican," the YouTube poster wrote in text accompanying the footage.

Sister Simone Campbell, who leads the Washington-based NETWORK, a left-leaning Catholic social justice group, has spearheaded the Nuns on the Bus tours and spoke against the budget drafted by GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

The Nuns on the Bus have stressed social justice causes in their tours of areas hard-hit by the recession, and many conservative critics and political activists say their message shortchanges the abortion issue.

The sisters reject that criticism, and one of the nuns on the bus, Sister Monica McGloin (in photo), on Monday told the protesters in Marietta that "we are 100 percent pro-life."

"As many of your signs are showing, we believe life begins at conception and ends with natural death," McGloin said in remarks that were transcribed by Faith in Public Life, a liberal advocacy group that has provided media support for the sisters.

"And that we do not see focusing on one issue, one point of life, as a way that we should proceed. And that pro-life for us means that we do concern ourselves with living wage, just wage, access to healthcare, education, food, housing, care for our seniors, Medicare and other kinds of healthcare programs that are supportive. Providing daycare for children so their parents can work?"

"So we know from talking with people that what the people want is to continue to support the services that are helping us remain healthy, wholesome communities. So that?s what pro-life is."

"So what we?re hearing people say is that giving tax cuts to the very wealthy is not the way to go. Trickledown will not provide jobs. What we?re seeing is the real job creators are the sisters, the nuns, the people who operate in these not for profits, the people who operate in our local governments. They?re the ones that are doing the job creation. Not the wealthy -- who seem to be saving their money -- so they become wealthier."

McGloin directed the protesters to their only proposal, at FaithfulBudget.org, for "principles that should really undergird any budget we have. Because no matter who gets elected in November, we are going to need a budget."

Monday's confrontation came on the final day of a week-long tour by the Nuns on the Bus, at a morning stop near the local office of Republican congressman Bill Johnson.

The sisters had to be escorted through the protesters to reach Johnson's office, where they met with the congressman.

"Basically we wanted to talk to him about our trip ... and express the concerns that we've heard," McGloin told the Marietta Times. "People are really concerned about the notion that would give tax breaks to the wealthy while we're cutting funds that support programs that help people and communities."

?

Source: http://www.religionnews.com/politics/election/nuns-on-the-bus-meet-tea-party-protests-in-ohio

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USDA scientists collaborate with global researchers to advance the mapping of the barley genome

Public release date: 17-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Mary Conley
mary.conley@osec.usda.gov
202-720-1375
United States Department of Agriculture - Research, Education and Economics

WASHINGTON, October 17, 2012--In a major advance that will unlock the benefits of the mapping of the barley genome--one of the world's most important cereal crops--work conducted and supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in collaboration with researchers around the world has resulted in the most advanced sequencing of the barley genome to date, as reported today in the journal Nature. The advance will give researchers the tools to produce higher yields, improve pest and disease resistance, and enhance nutritional value of barley. Past genomic research supported by USDA has provided similar benefits to crops such as tomato and corn, and helped improve cattle breeding and enhance the productivity of dairy cows.

"USDA supports innovative genomics research that is really moving us forward to meeting the many challenges we face in food, fuel and agriculture production," said Catherine Woteki, USDA's Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics. "This important step toward full barley genome sequencing offers enormous potential for global food security. Using the tools of genetics and genomics, we are keeping farmers profitable and our food supply safe and abundant."

Along with project investigators Timothy Close and Stefano Lonardi at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and Gary Muehlbauer at the University of Minnesota, supported by grants from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists Roger Wise and Jesse Poland, together with scientists from 19 other organizations around the world, make up the International Barley Sequencing Consortium (IBSC).

Nearly twice as large as the human or maize genomes, the barley genome was a challenge to sequence, due to its complexity and its large proportion of repetitive regions, which are difficult to piece together into a true linear order. By developing and applying a series of innovative strategies that allowed them to circumvent these difficulties, the IBSC created a high-resolution assembly that places the majority of barley genes in order. This new resource provides the sequences of nearly all genes and associated regulatory regions, which will offer new direction to researchers seeking to improve barley yield and quality through functional genomics (determining the functions of important barley genes) and genomics-assisted breeding.

The work of IBSC highlighted in Nature provides a detailed overview of the functional portions of the barley genome, revealing the order and structure of most of its 32,000 genes and a detailed analysis of where and when genes are switched on in different tissues and at different stages of development. They describe the location of dynamic regions of the genome that carry genes conferring resistance to devastating diseases, such as powdery mildew, Fusarium head blight and rusts. This will provide a far better understanding of the crop's immune system. The achievement will also highlight with unprecedented detail the genetic differences among barley cultivars.

The success of the barley genome sequencing, and other grass family crops including wheat and rye, will allow breeders and scientists to effectively address the challenge of feeding the world's growing population living in an environment that increasingly challenges farmers and ranchers with extreme weather events.

###

The Nature paper can be found at: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11543.html.

For more information on the IBSC, please visit: www.barleygenome.org.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 17-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Mary Conley
mary.conley@osec.usda.gov
202-720-1375
United States Department of Agriculture - Research, Education and Economics

WASHINGTON, October 17, 2012--In a major advance that will unlock the benefits of the mapping of the barley genome--one of the world's most important cereal crops--work conducted and supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in collaboration with researchers around the world has resulted in the most advanced sequencing of the barley genome to date, as reported today in the journal Nature. The advance will give researchers the tools to produce higher yields, improve pest and disease resistance, and enhance nutritional value of barley. Past genomic research supported by USDA has provided similar benefits to crops such as tomato and corn, and helped improve cattle breeding and enhance the productivity of dairy cows.

"USDA supports innovative genomics research that is really moving us forward to meeting the many challenges we face in food, fuel and agriculture production," said Catherine Woteki, USDA's Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics. "This important step toward full barley genome sequencing offers enormous potential for global food security. Using the tools of genetics and genomics, we are keeping farmers profitable and our food supply safe and abundant."

Along with project investigators Timothy Close and Stefano Lonardi at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and Gary Muehlbauer at the University of Minnesota, supported by grants from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists Roger Wise and Jesse Poland, together with scientists from 19 other organizations around the world, make up the International Barley Sequencing Consortium (IBSC).

Nearly twice as large as the human or maize genomes, the barley genome was a challenge to sequence, due to its complexity and its large proportion of repetitive regions, which are difficult to piece together into a true linear order. By developing and applying a series of innovative strategies that allowed them to circumvent these difficulties, the IBSC created a high-resolution assembly that places the majority of barley genes in order. This new resource provides the sequences of nearly all genes and associated regulatory regions, which will offer new direction to researchers seeking to improve barley yield and quality through functional genomics (determining the functions of important barley genes) and genomics-assisted breeding.

The work of IBSC highlighted in Nature provides a detailed overview of the functional portions of the barley genome, revealing the order and structure of most of its 32,000 genes and a detailed analysis of where and when genes are switched on in different tissues and at different stages of development. They describe the location of dynamic regions of the genome that carry genes conferring resistance to devastating diseases, such as powdery mildew, Fusarium head blight and rusts. This will provide a far better understanding of the crop's immune system. The achievement will also highlight with unprecedented detail the genetic differences among barley cultivars.

The success of the barley genome sequencing, and other grass family crops including wheat and rye, will allow breeders and scientists to effectively address the challenge of feeding the world's growing population living in an environment that increasingly challenges farmers and ranchers with extreme weather events.

###

The Nature paper can be found at: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11543.html.

For more information on the IBSC, please visit: www.barleygenome.org.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-10/usdo-usc101712.php

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French women will soon be able to pick up ?beatifying? drinks from ...

(Reuters) - U.S. soft drink company Coca-Cola Co is teaming up with French drugmaker Sanofi to launch a line of drinks in France that will claim to aid health and beauty.

The partnership calls for the co-development and distribution of drinks under the Oenobiol "Beautific" brand, a Coca-Cola spokesman said.

"This is a small-scale pilot which is currently limited to a number of pharmacies in France," the spokesman, Kent Landers, said. He declined to say whether the drinks could later be sold more widely.

A Sanofi spokesman was not immediately available to comment.

Oenobiol, which Sanofi agreed to buy in 2009, already makes nutritional, health and beauty supplements, including capsules to fight hair loss and aging.

News of the line of drinks was first reported in the Wall Street Journal, which said the range of four drinks will be made of mineral water, fruit juice and nutrition additives with claims that they help strengthen hair and nails, embellish skin, aid weight loss and improve vitality.

{Image from flickr user Latina Power 2009] Copyright 2012 MedCity News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://medcitynews.com/2012/10/french-women-will-soon-be-able-to-pick-up-beatifying-drinks-from-coca-cola-and-sanofi-at-pharmacies/

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Even your fat cells need sleep, according to new research

ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2012) ? In a study that challenges the long-held notion that the primary function of sleep is to give rest to the brain, researchers have found that not getting enough shut-eye has a harmful impact on fat cells, reducing by 30 percent their ability to respond to insulin, a hormone that regulates energy.

Sleep deprivation has long been associated with impaired brain function, causing decreased alertness and reduced cognitive ability. The latest finding -- published by University of Chicago Medicine researchers in the Oct. 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine -- is the first description of a molecular mechanism directly connecting sleep loss to the disruption of energy regulation in humans, a process that can lead over time to weight gain, diabetes and other health problems. The study suggests that sleep's role in energy metabolism is at least as important as it is in brain function.

"We found that fat cells need sleep to function properly," said study author Matthew Brady, PhD, associate professor of medicine and vice-chair of the Committee on Molecular Metabolism and Nutrition at the University of Chicago.

Brady said body fat plays an important role in humans.

"Many people think of fat as a problem, but it serves a vital function," he said. "Body fat, also known as adipose tissue, stores and releases energy. In storage mode, fat cells remove fatty acids and lipids from the circulation where they can damage other tissues. When fat cells cannot respond effectively to insulin, these lipids leach out into the circulation, leading to serious complications."

Esra Tasali, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and co-senior author, led the recruitment of six men and one woman, all young, lean and healthy. Each volunteer went through two study conditions, at least four weeks apart. In one, they spent 8.5 hours a night in bed for four consecutive nights. In the other, they spent 4.5 hours in bed for four nights. Food intake, strictly controlled, was identical under both study conditions.

On the morning after the fourth night following both the long and short sleep conditions, each volunteer took an intravenous glucose tolerance test, which measures total-body insulin sensitivity. The researchers performed a biopsy, removing abdominal fat cells from the area near each volunteer's navel. Then they measured how these fat cells responded to insulin.

The researchers assessed insulin sensitivity at the molecular level by measuring the phosphorylation of a protein called Akt within fat cells. Akt phosphorylation is a crucial early chemical step in the cell's response to insulin.

After four nights of short sleep, total-body insulin response decreased by an average of 16 percent. The insulin sensitivity of fat cells decreased by 30 percent. This reduction is comparable to the difference between cells from obese vs. lean participants or from people with diabetes versus non-diabetic controls.

They found that the sleep-deprived study participants had a decreased response to a range of doses of insulin. It took nearly three times as much insulin to provoke half of the maximum Akt response in volunteers who had been deprived of sleep.

"Sleeping four to five hours a night, at least on work days, is now a common behavior" said study author and sleep specialist Esra Tasali.

"Some people claim they can tolerate the cognitive effects of routine sleep deprivation," said co-author Eve Van Cauter, PhD, the Frederick H. Rawson Professor of Medicine and director of the sleep, metabolism and health center at the University of Chicago. "In this small but thorough study, however, we found that seven out of seven subjects had a significant change in insulin sensitivity. They are not tolerating the metabolic consequences."

The study was one of the first to bring together sleep research experts and biologists focused on energy regulation and metabolism in adipose tissue. The impetus came from a sleep-research graduate student, Josiane Broussard, PhD '10, lead author of the study and now a Society in Science-Branco Weiss fellow at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She wanted to combine her interest in sleep and metabolism with research at the molecular level.

So she pulled together a team for this project that included the two sleep researchers, Tasali and Van Cauter, plus two specialists from the University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center, David Ehrmann, MD, and Brady, who studies how insulin regulates energy storage in fat and liver cells.

They focused on fat cells because of their direct links to metabolic disruption and weight gain. These cells store energy for the body, are exquisitely sensitive to insulin and help regulate appetite.

Witnessing the direct effect of sleep deprivation on a peripheral tissue such as fat at the cellular level "was an eye-opener," Broussard said. It helps cement the link between sleep and diabetes and "suggests that we could use sleep like diet and exercise to prevent or treat this common disease."

Brady said the study opens up many new questions.

"What signals from sleep loss affect the fat cell? What effect does dysfunctional fat have at the whole-body level?" Brady wondered. "And if we can deprive healthy people of sleep and make them worse, can we take sick people, such as those with the common combination of sleep apnea, obesity and diabetes, improve their sleep and make them better? That's the missing link in the sleep-obesity-diabetes connection."

This study is "a valuable contribution to the understanding of the causal pathways by which reduced sleep duration may directly contribute to diabetes and obesity," according to an editorial in the journal by Francesco Cappuccio, MD, DSc, and Michelle Miller, PhD, of the University of Warwick, in Coventry, United Kingdom. "These results point to a much wider influence of sleep on bodily functions, including metabolism, adipose tissue, cardiovascular function, and possibly more."

The paper, "Impaired Insulin Signaling in Human Adipocyes," appears in the Oct. 16, 2012, issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. Funding for this work was provided by the National Institutes of Health and Society in Science -- The Branco Weiss Fellowship.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Chicago Medical Center, via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Josiane L. Broussard, David A. Ehrmann, Eve Van Cauter, Esra Tasali, Matthew J. Brady. Impaired Insulin Signaling in Human Adipocytes After Experimental Sleep Restriction: A Randomized, Crossover Study. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2012; 157 (8): 549-557 [link]

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/egCO3-cPIt0/121015170822.htm

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Compounds that could thwart post-traumatic stress disorder identified

ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2012) ? A brain pathway that is stimulated by traumatic or fearful experiences can be disrupted by two compounds that show promise for preventing post-traumatic stress disorder, Indiana University researchers reported.

In a presentation prepared for the Neuroscience 2012 scientific conference in New Orleans Oct. 13 to 17, Anantha Shekhar and colleagues from IU reported the results of experiments with rats using a standard methodology called a conditioned fear test.

The neural signaling activated by fearful experiences -- a process that also is involved in learning and in memory formation -- begins when the neurotransmitter glutamate activates a receptor called NMDA, resulting in a later protein reaction involving production of nitrous oxide, another chemical messenger in the brain.

The two small molecules tested, known as IC87201 and ZL006, are known to disrupt such nitrous oxide production.

In the experiment, rats treated with either of the two compounds showed significantly less fear response than the untreated rats, the researchers reported.

The results, the researchers said, supported their hypothesis that the NMDA-mediated nitrous oxide production is important in successful formation of fear memories, and disrupting that interaction could potentially offer a means of preventing long-term post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms

Repeated intense activation of the brain network for fear makes it vulnerable to developing hypersensitivity, said Shekhar, Raymond E. Houk Professor of Psychiatry and director of the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute.

"The majority of people who have a traumatic event, perhaps about 80 percent, will have some post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms for a few days. Only about 20 percent will have long-term problems, but currently there is no way to predict who those people will be," Shekhar said.

With that uncertainty, it would be appropriate to administer the treatment to all traumatized patients within a few hours of the incident, such as when a person arrives at an emergency room after an accident or a field hospital after a military incident, he said.

The next steps would be to optimize compounds and begin drug development efforts, Shekhar said.

Shekhar will discuss "Post-trauma disruption of nNOS-PSD95 protein-protein interaction is an effective means to ameliorate conditioned fear," on October 15.

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Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/X6lsTk0-tY0/121015162413.htm

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Endeavour's next job: Get ready for visitors

LOS ANGELES?? Space shuttle Endeavour has come to its final stop ? finally.

The iconic black and white orbiter, which flew 25 times to space over the past two decades, arrived at the California Science Center (CSC) Sunday afternoon to begin its new mission as a museum exhibit.

Endeavour had been scheduled to pull up at the CSC on Saturday night, but natural and utility obstacles, as well as the need for maintenance of its transporters, slowed the pace of the shuttle's parade and delayed its arrival by a day.

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Not that many of the spectators who came out to see the shuttle roll by seemed to mind.

"I walked most of the route, and I can tell you that over a million people were so positive, so encouraging," said science center president Jeffrey Rudolph. "All we heard was 'Wow! Thank you!' and young people saying, 'I want to be an astronaut.'" [ Photos: Shuttle Endeavour's Street Parade ]

"What a phenomenal three days," he added. "I may need some sleep, but it was a great three days."

Arriving at Exposition Park at 11:30 a.m. PDT, Endeavour crossed the finish line of its extended three-day, 12-mile road trip from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) by cutting across the grass on a plank-lined path to enter the CSC's Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Display Pavilion.

Endeavour reached the threshold of the hangar at about 2 p.m. PDT, where it was set to enter through the building's temporarily removed rear wall. Inside the display pavilion, Endeavour will remain atop the modified NASA overland transporter that served as the shuttle's chariot during its traverse of Los Angeles and Inglewood streets.

"Nothing like this has ever been attempted before, and nothing like this will ever be attempted again," L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a press conference Sunday. "This was not just a once-in-a-lifetime event, this was a once event, and I'm heartened and we're all heartened at the reception that all Angelenos have given it."

"Getting the space shuttle from LAX to the science center was no small feat. But you made the Endeavour's final mission a success," the mayor added. "Mission 26, mission accomplished."

The science center plans to open Endeavour's display to the public beginning Oct. 30.

Mission complete
Endeavour's transition to the science center got underway last year when NASA awarded the orbiter to the institution and subsequently signed over its ownership. [ Shuttle Endeavour: 6 Surprising Facts ]

Shuttle technicians, who previously readied Endeavour to launch again, instead worked to transform the shuttle from a space-worthy vehicle to a museum-ready display. They removed hazardous materials and also saved some of the orbiter's propulsion system hardware to be possibly reused on future launch vehicles.

Last month, Endeavour crossed the country, flying piggyback from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Los Angeles atop a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet. The orbiter was then loaded onto the transporter and underwent a few final display preparations while temporarily sheltered in a United Airlines hangar at LAX.

Early Friday morning, Endeavour left the hangar at the airport and began its slow journey to the CSC. The road trip proceeded mostly on schedule until Saturday, when the narrow clearances around street corners, signs, buildings and trees on Crenshaw Boulevard resulted in a series of very slow precision moves.

Dropping well below the 2 mph top speed of Endeavour's four computer-driven, self-propelled vehicles for the vast majority of the trip, the trek was also extended by needing to reconfigure the vehicles to straddle the medians on the wider roads along the shuttle's route.

The four multi-wheeled vehicles were used for the vast majority of the journey. The exception was a brief spell on Friday evening, when the shuttle was towed by a Toyota Tundra pickup truck to rebalance the weight before crossing over the 405 freeway.

In addition to the crowd that gathered to see its arrival at Exposition Park, Endeavour was welcomed by two public celebrations on Saturday: A formal ceremony held at The Forum sports arena in Inglewood, and a dance tribute at the intersection of Crenshaw and Martin Luther King, Jr. boulevards that was choreographed by Debbie Allen.

Due to the delay, the performance proceeded well before Endeavour entered the intersection.

Going back up
Although Endeavour will never fly into space again, it will return to a launch pad of sorts.

The California Science Center plans to build the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which by 2017 will replace the display pavilion as Endeavour's permanent home. In the new facility, Endeavour will be hoisted vertical and exhibited with a pair of solid rocket boosters and a replica external fuel tank to re-create how the space shuttle looked before liftoff.

The temporary hangar and future center were named after the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Samuel Oschin, whose family foundation donated a "transformational gift" toward the $200 million the science center says it needs to complete Endeavour's exhibit.

Toyota, through an existing partnership with the science center, has pledged to donate up to $500,000 through a "tweet-drive" on its Tundra Endeavour Project website.

The CSC is also inviting its members and supporters to become a part of "Team Endeavour" by sponsoring one or several of the thousands of heat shield tiles that line the shuttle's underbelly. Those who donate $1,000 or more will receive a patch that was packed aboard Endeavour during its ferry flight to California, among other benefits.

The science center is not charging an admission fee to see Endeavour when the pavilion opens. However, due to the volume of visitors anticipated for its debut, the CSC is requiring a timed entry ticket that carries a service charge of $2. The tickets can be reserved through the science center's website.

Editor's Note: If you snapped any photos of Endeavour during its trip through L.A.'s streets and want to share them with SPACE.com, send the pictures, comments and location info to managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

See shuttles.collectspace.com for continuing coverage of the delivery and display of NASA's retired space shuttles.

Follow collectSPACE on Facebook and Twitter @ collectSPACE and editor Robert Pearlman @ robertpearlman. Copyright 2012 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.

? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49422073/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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UPDATE 1-Golf-Swede Blixt claims first PGA Tour title

Mon Oct 15, 2012 5:57am IST

* Blixt becomes third rookie to win on 2012 PGA Tour

* Seals one-shot victory after closing with a 68 (Adds quotes, detail)

Oct 14 (Reuters) - Sweden's Jonas Blixt overhauled a stumbling John Mallinger to win his first PGA Tour title by one shot at the Frys.com Open in San Martin, California on Sunday.

Two strokes behind the pacesetting Mallinger overnight, rookie Blixt fired a three-under-par 68 to break clear of a tightly bunched leaderboard on a sun-splashed afternoon at CordeValle Golf Club.

The red-shirted Swede snatched the outright lead when he sank a seven-foot birdie putt at the driveable par-four 17th after overhitting the green off the tee, then safely parred the last to finish at 16-under 268.

Blixt pumped his right fist in delight after sinking a four-footer to claim his first victory on the U.S. circuit, before being soaked in champagne as he was embraced by friends and family on the 18th green.

"It's unbelievable," the 28-year-old Swede, who finished third at last week's Las Vegas Open, told Golf Channel after becoming the third rookie to triumph on the 2012 PGA Tour. "I have no words right now.

"This is the biggest dream I ever had. It's been the greatest two weeks I have ever had on tour."

STAYING RELAXED

Blixt, who was sidelined for two months earlier this season because of a rib injury, said having friends and family with him over the past fortnight had helped him stay ultra relaxed.

"I haven't thought about golf after rounds," he added with a grin. "I always practise after rounds and I haven't done that in these two weeks either. It's crazy, just crazy."

American Mallinger, like Blixt bidding for a maiden title on the tour, bogeyed five of the first nine holes on the way to a 72 and a tie for fourth at 14 under with compatriot Jimmy Walker (62), Fiji's Vijay Singh (68) and Brazil's Alexandre Rocha (68).

Veteran Tim Petrovic closed with a sparkling 64 to share second place with fellow American Jason Kokrak (68) in the second of four events in the PGA Tour's Fall Series.

For much of the afternoon at CordeValle, a playoff seemed to be on the cards and four players - Petrovic, Rocha, Blixt and Walker - were tied for the lead late in the final round.

Petrovic, whose only PGA Tour victory came at the 2005 New Orleans Classic, edged one stroke clear when he chipped in to birdie the par-five 15th before faltering with a bogey at the par-three 16th after being bunkered off the tee.

However, he regained a one-shot cushion with a birdie at the par-four 17th where he drove the green and two-putted, and narrowly missed sinking a 25-footer at the last.

"My hands were shaking coming off the last hole I was so pumped up," the 46-year-old Petrovic smiled. "The putter felt really good this week and I drove the ball really good today."

Blixt joined Petrovic at the top with a birdie at the par-five 15th, where he was just short of the green in two and chipped up to nine feet, and Kokrak made it a three-way tie by draining a 15-foot eagle putt at the 17th.

However, the tournament was effectively decided when Blixt birdied the 17th after his chip from greenside rough hit the flagstick for his ball to settle seven feet past the cup.

After coolly sinking that putt, the Swede parred the last to secure victory and earn a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour. (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/INgolf/~3/q4oDBiNGcJQ/golf-pga-idINL3E8LF00820121015

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Anthony Cassar is going to Doing Business in China: Selling into the Chinese Market | October 17 | New York City

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Source: http://www.businesswithoutborders.com/activity/p/14648/

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