Android 4.2 based AOKP 4.2 for Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Posted on November 28, 2012 in Hacks by Madhav

One of the prime advantages of having a Nexus device, other than the fact that official Google updates are released first for these devices, is the fact that awesome custom ROMs based on the latest OS version are also made available for these devices, thanks to an extremely active developer community.

Android 4.2 ? the latest flavor of Jelly Bean debuted with the LG Nexus 4 and the Nexus 10, and was also pushed out the the Nexus 7, and Galaxy Nexus on the same day ? November 13th. It is no surprise then, that the developer community has already swung into action and are experimenting with custom ROMs based on the Android 4.2 AOSP code for these devices.

We already know that an AOKP ROM is already out for the Nexus 4. Acclaimed developer Roman?is working on a yet unofficial AOKP build of Android 4.2 for the Galaxy nexus, and it has been ?uploaded to his Goo.im folder for whoever wants to download and try it out.

For those who are wondering what AOKP is, it is a custom ROM based on AOSP, and includes a ton of customization ?options which let you tweak almost every single corner of the UI, including the?lockscreen, notifications menu, and a lot more, while also letting you fine tune the performance of the device. It also includes inbuilt support for themes, and you can choose from a huge number of fan-submitted themes to change the look and feel of your device. This is an ?early build though, and has not found its way into the official AOKP build list as yet, so there are chances of a few odd bugs popping up. But it should work fine for the most part.

Without further ado, let?s move on to how we can install AOKP 4.2 on the Galaxy Nexus.

Compatibility

This ROM and the guide below are compatible only with the international GSM Galaxy Nexus, model number i9250. It?s not compatible with Verizon/Sprint variants or any other device. Check your device model in Settings ? About phone.

Warning!

The methods and procedures discussed here are considered risky, so try them out at your own risk, and make sure to read each step carefully before attempting anything. We will not be held responsible if anything goes wrong.

1. This procedure will wipe all your apps, data and settings. Backup your Apps and important data ? bookmarks, contacts, SMS, APNs (internet settings), etc. This?Android backup guide?would help you.
   NOTE:?While most APN settings are automaticaclly detected by the OS, it would be a good idea to make a note of your APN settings, so that you can manually configure the APN later if the data connection does not work after installing the ROM.
2. Installing a custom ROM requires an unlocked bootloader. Unlock the bootloader on your Galaxy Nexus by following the guide ??here.?This will erase all your data, including the data on the SD card, so back everything up first (see step 1).
3. You would also need to install a custom recovery like TWRP, for flashing this ROM. You can use this?handy guide to install the latest version of TWRP?on your Galaxy Nexus.?The guide is meant for the Nexus 4, but will work perfectly for the Galaxy Nexus as well.
4. Download the latest version of the AOKP 4.2 ROM from the Roman?s Goo.im folder.
   Filename : aokp_maguro_unofficial_Nov-27-12.zip?
5. Next download the Android 4.2 Gapps package. ?AOSP based ROMs come devoid of the default Google apps such as Gmail, YouTube, Search, Talk etc and would have to be installed separately ?| Download 4.2 Gapps
6. Copy both the AOKP 4.2 ROM and Google apps zip files to the SD card on the Galaxy Nexus (copy the files as they are, don?t extract them)
7. Turn off the phone and boot into recovery. To do so, press and hold the?Volume Up + Volume Down + Power?buttons together till you see a green android on its back and the letters?Start?at the top right. Press the?volume up??key twice to highlight the Recovery Mode option, and use the Power key to select it and boot into TWRP.
8. First thing to do in recovery, before flashing any ROM is to take a full Nandroid backup of your existing ROM. That way, you have a fallback option in case things get messy with the new ROM. To do this,?tap on?Backup, make sure the?System, Data and Boot?boxes are?checked, and slide the blue circle button at the bottom to the right to start backing up your current ROM. After backup is complete, go back to the main menu by clicking the home button at the bottom left of the screen.
9. Next from the Main menu, Tap?Wipe, then select?Factory Reset?and confirm wipe on the next screen. Now Tap?Cache?from the Wipe menu and confirm wipe on the next screen. Once done, Tap?Dalvik Cache?and again confirm wipe on the next screen. Once done, press the back button to go back to the main menu.
10. Now from the main menu, tap?Install, and on the next screen navigate to the?aokp_maguro_unofficial_Nov-27-12.zip?file you transferred to your phone in Step 6, and select it. Slide the blue circle on the next screen to start the installation of AOKP 4.2
11. After the ROM installation is complete, repeat Step 10, but this time select the Gapps package instead, and confirm installation.
12. After installation is complete, select the?Reboot system?button to reboot the phone and boot up into AOKP ROM based on Jelly Bean. First boot may take a while, which is normal, so please be patient.
    NOTE:?In case you want to go back to your previous ROM, boot into TWRP recovery, then select?Restore, and restore your previous ROM we backed up in Step 8 by selecting it from the list.

AOKP 4.2 based on Android 4.2 source is now installed on your Galaxy Nexus. Check out the various features and customization options that AOKP offers, and share your thoughts about the ROM with us in the comments section. To join in on the discussion at the official XDA thread for AOKP on Galaxy Nexus, click the Via link below.

Android 4.2, AOKP, AOKP 4.2, Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Source: http://www.theandroidsoul.com/android-4-2-based-aokp-4-2-for-samsung-galaxy-nexus/

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China?s New Leaders May Surprise Obama

Both China and the United States completed their respective political transitions this November. President Obama secured a second term in the White House and will remain the U.S. commander-in-chief. Xi Jinping ascended to the chairmanship of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and, in what was a surprise to some observers, took control of China?s Central Military Commission (CMC). Many expected retiring CCP chairman Hu Jintao to retain control of the body that governs the Chinese military.

Hu?s ?graceful? surrender of the CMC chair may be a sign Xi enjoys the Chinese Communist Party equivalent of a mandate. Unlike Hu, a ?closet reformer? hemmed in by a?deadlocked collective leadership, Xi commands what Cheng Li of the Brookings Institution describes as ?a majority? within the Standing Committee of the Politburo, China?s most powerful decision-making body. Chinese domestic politics is often characterized as a struggle between two dominant factions: the ?princeling? children of past communist party leaders and the Hu Jintao-led ?tuanpai? faction based in the Chinese Communist Youth League. Six of the seven members of the new Standing Committee, according to Li, are associated with Xi?s ?princeling? faction.

The Obama administration plans to follow through on its controversial strategic ?pivot? to Asia despite vociferous Chinese criticism of the strategy as a throwback to Cold War containment. The foreign policy coaches who called this Asian play,?National Security Advisor Tom Donilon and his former?senior director for East Asian affairs Jeffrey Bader,?heavily discount Chinese concerns.

Donilon believes the Obama administration enjoys ?extensive habits of cooperation and communication? with its Chinese counterparts and frequently reminds audiences how often he meets with senior Chinese leaders. Donilon insists?the Chinese ?recognize the importance? of the U.S. ?security platform? in Asia, and places more faith in supposedly supportive ?statements the Chinese have put out after our encounters? than the more frequent and sharply critical commentary coming from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Chinese military spokespersons, Chinese academics and the Chinese media. ?Bader claims?Chinese officials express a more sympathetic understanding of Obama?s new Asia policy in private. He interprets China?s official public statements of concern as nationalistic posturing for domestic consumption.

Discounting Chinese criticism of the ?pivot? could lead to some surprises as the Obama administration confronts China?s new leaders. According to many of my Chinese colleagues, Xi Jinping and his contemporaries are unlikely to be as deferential or as intentionally abstruse as their predecessors. Few share Donilon?s positive assessment of the bilateral dialog and some worry U.S. decision-makers will not be able to adjust to the generational shift that took place during the 18th Party Congress.

Robert Blohm?s suggestion that Xi?s initial remarks to journalists?embody what one Chinese dissident describes as a new?Chinese naziism?seem overblown, but Xi?s use of the term ?Great Chinese National Renaissance ?(????????)? deserves attention.

Having consumed nearly thirty years of Chinese Communist Party propaganda, I don?t believe Xi?s reiteration of a long-standing CCP talking point represents a dramatic departure from past practice. Those concerned about Xi?s choice of words should watch the 2007 CCTV 6-part series The Road to Renaissance?(????). It tells the familiar story of an ancient civilization, fractured by the dissolution of its traditional culture and exploited by foreign imperialism, that is now in the process of restoration under the leadership of what recent history ?proves? is the only political organization capable of unifying the country, developing the economy and realizing the long repressed potential of the Chinese people.

The aims of the Chinese Renaissance are fairly modest; to achieve the status of a ?basically modern? nation whose citizens enjoy a ?medium level? of economic development by the middle of this century. That?s not the kind of ambition U.S. observers seem to expect from a ?rising power.? There is no justifiable comparison, obviously, to the aims or the rhetoric of the Third Reich. The high tide of Maoist demagoguery crested during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), leaving in its wake a healthy distrust of grandiose plans and cultish political behaviors that could transform the People?s Republic into a twenty-first century version of late Meiji Japan.

The Chinese revolution is unique. Comparisons to other nations and other eras are more likely to mislead than to enlighten. The most insidious subplot in the CCP?s historically legitimating political narrative ?which Mr. Bader and Mr. Donilon should study more carefully and take more seriously?is the challenge expected from what is depicted as an inherently hostile capitalist elite. Chinese interpretations of the Obama administration?s ?pivot? as a policy designed to constrain Chinese economic development are a product of a deeply entrenched worldview that extends well beyond the eighty-million members of the CCP. The entire Chinese population is educationally pre-programmed to interpret the ?pivot? as a challenge to their relatively humble expectations for a better life.

Foreign observers who focus on the supposedly ethnic or nationalist characteristics of Chinese political propaganda tend to overlook the arguably more important socialist worldview that still defines the regime. Many of those observers assume, without careful investigation, that Chinese communism is a bankrupt ideology, either because of the growing hold of market forces in Chinese economic planning or widespread patterns of corruption. That is a questionable hypothesis. Xi and the other ?princelings? who inherited their parent?s revolution, whatever their personal vices, probably still believe in it. They most certainly understand their political legitimacy depends on whether their fellow citizens do, and especially whether the men and women of the People?s Liberation Army?the Party?s army?remain willing to sacrifice their lives to defend it.

It would be a mistake, therefore, for U.S. policy-makers to underestimate the power and the relevance of Chinese socialism in the formation and implementation of the foreign and security policies of China?s new leaders. They see the world and China?s place in it very differently than President Obama, whatever they may be telling his aides and emissaries behind closed doors.

?

Posted in: Tags: China, obama administration, Xi Jinping

About the author: Gregory has lived and worked in China for the better part of the last twenty-five years facilitating exchanges between academic, governmental, and professional organizations in both countries. Since joining the Union of Concerned Scientists in 2002, he has focused on promoting and conducting dialog between Chinese and American experts on nuclear arms control and space security. Areas of expertise: Chinese foreign and security policy, Chinese space program, international arms control, cross-cultural communication

Support from UCS members make work like this possible. Will you join us? Help UCS advance independent science for a healthy environment and a safer world.

Source: http://allthingsnuclear.org/chinas-new-leaders-may-surprise-obama/

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Rhino killings for horns rapidly rise in S. Africa

VAALKOP DAM NATURE RESERVE, South Africa (AP) ? By the time ranchers found the rhinoceros calf wandering alone in this idyllic setting of scrub brush and acacia, the nature reserve had become yet another blood-soaked crime scene in South Africa's losing battle against poachers.

Hunters killed eight rhinos at the private Finfoot Game Reserve inside the Vaalkop Dam Nature Reserve this month with single rifle shots that pierced their hearts and lungs. The poachers' objective: the rhinos' horns, cut away with knives and popped off the dead animals' snouts for buyers in Asia who pay the U.S. street value of cocaine for a material they believe cures diseases.

That insatiable demand for horns has sparked the worst recorded year of rhino poaching in South Africa in decades, with at least 588 rhinos killed so far, their carcasses rotting in private farms and national parks. Without drastic change, experts warn that soon the number of rhinos killed will outpace the number of the calves born ? putting the entire population at risk in a nation that is the last bastion for the prehistoric-looking animals.

"This is a full-on bush war we are fighting," said Marc Lappeman, who runs the Finfoot reserve with his father Miles and has begun armed vigilante patrols to protect the remaining rhinos there. "We here are willing to die for these animals."

Unchecked hunting nearly killed off all the rhinos in southern Africa at the beginning of the 1900s. Conservationists in the 1960s airlifted rhinos to different parts of South Africa to spread them out. That helped the population grow to the point that South Africa is now home to some 20,000 rhinos ? 90 percent of all rhinos in Africa.

From the 1990s to 2007, rhino poachings in South Africa averaged about 15 a year, according to a recent report by the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC. In 2008, however, poachers killed 83 rhinos and by 2009, the number hit 122, the report says.

The killings grew exponentially after that: 333 in 2010, 448 in 2011 and as of Tuesday, at least 588 rhino killed this year alone, according to South Africa's Department of Environmental Affairs.

"That the year-on-year rhino poaching losses have continued to grow in the face of heightened awareness, constant media attention and concerted law enforcement effort is testament to just how pervasive and gripping the rhino crisis in South Africa has become," TRAFFIC wrote in its August report. "If poaching continues to increase annually as it has done since 2007, then eventually deaths will exceed births and rhino numbers in South Africa will start to fall."

Most of the killings, according to government statistics, occur in South Africa's massive Kruger National Park, covering 19,400 square kilometers (7,500 square miles) in the country's northeast abutting its borders with Mozambique and Zimbabwe. There, the impoverished slip across the park's borders, largely from Mozambique, to kill and dehorn rhino, earning the equivalent of months' wages in a single night of hunting. South Africa has deployed soldiers in the park with dogs to sniff out poachers, but their small force can't sufficiently cover a park that's roughly the same size as New Jersey.

The horns are sold by criminal gangs and smuggled into Asia. While poachers have been shot dead and hundreds of suspects arrested this year, the rhino killings continue unstopped largely because the trade is transnational and worth millions of dollars, said Julian Rademeyer, a journalist in South Africa who wrote "Killing for Profit," a book on rhino poaching that came out this month.

"The problem with law enforcement strategies is they end where our border ends," Rademeyer said.

And law enforcement can't always be trusted in South Africa, where corruption eats away at the nation. There have been several cases of rangers assigned to guard parks being arrested for aiding poachers.

With both South Africa and Swaziland allowing rhino to be hunted legally, criminal gangs have obtained hunting licenses under false pretenses. Gangs have hired prostitutes and the poor from Asia and Eastern Europe to pose as big game hunters with licenses to kill a single rhino apiece, Rademeyer said. Their "trophies" end up shipped back to Asia, where the horns are removed and sold.

Rhino horn is made of keratin, a tough protein found in human fingernails. Doctors have repeatedly said the material has no medical value. In Asia, however, demand for rhino horn has jumped dramatically. Experts blame it partly on a widespread rumor in Vietnam that rhino horn cures cancer, though some elite Vietnamese grind up horn and take it as a hangover cure or as a fever reducer.

The ever-increasing demand saw Vietnamese poachers kill the last of Vietnam's rare Javan rhinoceros last year for its horn. The World Wildlife Fund ranked Vietnam as the worst country for wildlife crime in Asia and Africa in July. The country is seen as having lax laws on importing horns. Diplomats at the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa's capital Pretoria have also been linked to trafficking. Earlier this month, a South African court sentenced a Thai national to 40 years in prison for selling rhino horns.

With high-level officials involved and a strong demand, Rademeyer said poaching "will probably get a lot worse before it gets any better."

Rhino poachers have gone beyond Kruger and are targeting private farms and reserves. Poachers likely watched the Finfoot Game Reserve, which breeds rhino for game viewing, for days, Lappeman said. Workers caught a man in ragged clothes lurking around the park with more than 1,000 rand ($115) in crisp hundred rand bills and a new mobile phone in his pocket around the time of the killings, Lappeman said.

The poachers fired on the rhino far from the game lodge, probably moving methodically closer as no one came to investigate the shots, he said. Lappeman said he and his father only found the dead rhinos the day after seeing the lost calf.

One wounded mother rhino walked all the way to the property's edge, finally dying on a dirt road to be found first thing that morning.

"She had physically come to the road to die, to say, 'I'm dying, come fetch my calf,'" Lappeman said.

___

Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-11-28-South%20Africa-Rhino%20Killings/id-abccbea79c5e46b4a1a747f7a15f8568

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Orleans judges spent generously on supplemental insurance, audit ...

In a long-awaited and blistering report on the spending habits of New Orleans judges, the state's legislative auditor highlighted one year's worth of insurance premiums: in 2010, the 13 judges of Orleans Parish Criminal District Court collectively held 249 supplemental insurance policies fully funded by the court.

That averages 19 policies per judge, at a cost of $14,500 apiece.

In three years, Auditor Daryl Purpera found, the criminal court judges and their counterparts in New Orleans civil and city courts illegally used public money to buy more than $800,000 in such "excessive and unnecessary" supplemental coverage on top of their state-funded healthcare plans. The extra programs included whole life insurance plans with cash surrender values, and tens of thousands paid to a company called Exec-U-Care, which reimburses deductibles, co-pays and other out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Monday's reports, totaling 100 pages split between criminal and civil courts, were released more than a year after the Metropolitan Crime Commission questioned the judges' decades-long, multi-million-dollar use of their judicial expense fund - collected from fines and fees they impose on convicts.

"I knew there were problems, but I'm still stunned by the level of abuses," the commission's president, Rafael Goyeneche, said after reading Monday's report.

The auditor analyzed three years of the practice, and found that Orleans Parish Criminal District Court judges improperly spent $637,367 between 2009 and 2011 "to provide themselves with supplemental and additional insurance benefits." Civil and City Court judges did the same with $191,073.

The practice has been in place since at least 1994, and Goyeneche estimates millions have been spent on supplemental insurance.

State law forbids judges from receiving any compensation above the judicial salary set by statute at more than $130,000 a year, and specifies that insurance premiums can be paid only at the same rate as other state employees.

The auditor recommended that the court immediately halt the practice, seek reimbursement from the judges for all improper payouts, require that any interest on life insurance policies be returned to the court and report the additional income to tax collectors.

The judges canceled the policies in February, after they became publicly problematic, and reimbursed the court $71,983 in cash surrender values of the cancelled life insurance policies, according to the audit.

Both courts responded to Purpera's report with near-identical, 15-page rebuttal letters that called the audit "misleading and unsound."

Robert Kazik, judicial administrator for Criminal District Court, and Piper Griffin, chief judge of Civil District Court, questioned the office's authority to second-guess the court, suggesting that the state Supreme Court was the only entity with the power to condemn district judges.

Their rebuttals made two main points: the use of the judicial expense fund for supplemental insurance is a widespread and long-standing practice, known for decades to the Supreme Court, which ruled in its silence to tacitly approve of it.

Valerie Willard, spokeswomen for the Louisiana Supreme Court, said the court has never taken up the issue at all.

"It hasn't been tacitly approved," she said, "and it hasn't been tacitly denied."

In 1994, the Orleans Parish courts hired a lawyer and an accounting firm to analyze the practice, and both determined it permissible, the courts' response noted.

Many judges, individually, told the auditors they simply didn't know: they signed the insurance documents handed to them on their first day and assumed the judges before them had determined the practice was proper.

Tthe two courts also claimed that other courts in the state allow judges to buy supplemental insurance out of the judicial expense fund, though did not name specific jurisdictions.

Locally, Jefferson Parish Chief Judge John Molaison said that his bench has never used its judicial expense fund to pay for supplemental insurance policies.

Adrienne Stroble, Court Administrator for the 21st Judicial District Court, which covers St. Tammany and Washington parishes, said that court's 12 judges used to spend $20,000 from the fund to cover dental insurance, though no additional supplemental policies were offered. They discontinued the practice in July 2011, after Goyeneche's complaint of Orleans judges alerted them to the potential problems, Stroble said.

Goyeneche said St. Tammany's action is evidence of the deterrent effect Monday's report is likely to have on any court still paying premiums from the judicial expense fund.

"The value of this report is basically to fire a warning shot to every other court in the state: you better stop this or the auditors are going to come knocking on your door, too," he said.

Goyeneche pointed to the 249 policies held among 13 judges in 2010. Each judge had multiple life insurance and long-term care policies. Some had multiple policies for their spouses; all but one had several critical-illness policies, and one judge had more than one accident policy.

Between 2009 and 2011, the judges held between 197 and 249 policies between them, costing between $7,280 and $14,566 per year per judge, all on top of their state benefits.

"These are redundant policies, but because it wasn't their money, it didn't really matter how much it cost," Goyeneche said.

The judicial administrator described the redundancy as "clerical oversight" based on enrollment in a new policy before cancelling the old one.

And the judges insist that the judicial expense fund is not public money, it's "self-generated money." Because it comes from fines and fees collected, not taxpayer-funded state accounts, it's not subject to the same law as general public money, they argue.

State law limits the judicial expense fund to "any purpose connected with, incidental to, or related to the proper administration or function of the court or the office of the judges thereof..."

The court argues that supplemental policies fit that definition. One judge told the auditor that when he took the bench 11 years ago, "he was told being a judge is stressful and that maintaining good health was important."

Goyeneche believes otherwise: the court has in recent years bemoaned budget cuts and threatened to halt trials early without money to pay for security and clerks. The judicial expense fund is better suited for those expenses, he countered.

Purpera, the auditor, agreed: "It would appear to be a tremendous conflict of interest for judges to be able to assess fines and fees that they may then use for their own personal benefit," he wrote in his rebuttal to the judges' rebuttal. ?

The controversy has already spurred discord at the courthouse. District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro initially referred the case to the Attorney General, noting that the judges could have committed malfeasance and gross misconduct, and might be subject to removal from office. In the letter, he confessed that he might have also taken advantage of the supplemental benefits during his 17-year tenure on the bench.

The judges, meanwhile, began recusing themselves from cases tried by Cannizzaro, citing the accusations laid out in his letter.

Assistant Attorney General David Caldwell, who leads the office's public corruption unit, said Monday that his office is still reviewing the auditor's report to determine whether the spending constitutes a crime.

Monday's audit also looked at the judges' travel spending and employee record keeping.

Criminal court judges had not documented their travel expenses as required by law, and paid "excessive amounts" for lodging during training and meetings.

The court has no policy for travel record-keeping for reimbursements - one judge told the auditor he "uses the honor system" when dealing with travel expenses.

Those who did keep records often omitted key facts: the dates, for instance.

"Without complete travel records of detailed receipts, we could not determine the business purpose of all travel expenses," the report concluded.

Several judges on the civil bench, similarly, "incurred lodging expenses which appear excessive" while traveling for meetings and training.

The auditor also analyzed the judges' employees' times and attendance records, and found that in both criminal and civil courts employees under the direct supervision of judges were not required to document their time and attendance at work.

Source: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/11/orleans_judges_spent_generousl.html

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No appraisal VA IRRRL refinance in MD - Zillow Mortgage Advice

Hello,

I own a property in Howard County, Maryland and have a VA loan. The balance on the mortgage is $260k, and I was interested in doing a IRRRL refinance, but the current value of my home is somewhere between 220-230k, and my current mortgage servicer (GMAC) says they are not doing streamline refinances. USAA also said that any refinance would require an appraisal.

Is there any possiblity of doing a no appraisal?IRRRL refinance? I have a perfect payment history on the mortgage, and have excellent (720+) credit scores.

Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/No-appraisal-VA-IRRRL-refinance-in-MD/469536/

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The Triangle Gets a Make-Ogre - Triangle Arts and Entertainment

The current national tour of ?Shrek the Musical? stars Perry Sook as Shrek, Jeremy Gaston as Donkey, and Whitney Winfield as Princess Fiona (photo by LvR / paparazzibyappointment)

Broadway Series South and the North Carolina Theatre are hosting a deluxe encore presentation of the Tony Award?-winning 2008 fractured fairy tale, Shrek the Musical, based on the 2001 Academy Award?-winning animated movie Shrek and originally directed on Broadway by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford and choreographed by Josh Prince, on Nov. 27-Dec. 2 in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium in the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh, NC. (Shrek made its Triangle debut on April 5-10, 2011 at the Durham Performing Arts Center.)

This vivacious national tour of Shrek, produced by DreamWorks Theatricals of Glendale, CA, and NETworks Presentations, LLC of Columbia, MD, and directed by Stephen Sposito and choreographed by Chris Bailey, features music by 2007 Olivier Award for Best New Musical winner Jeanine Tesori (Caroline, or Change, with book by Tony Kushner) and book and lyrics by 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole).

The current touring version of Shrek the Musical stars Perry Sook as the big, green, smelly, antisocial, swamp-dwelling ogre Shrek; Jeremy Gaston as his smart-aleck sidekick and best friend Donkey; Whitney Winfield as Princess Fiona of Far, Far Away, the damsel-in-distress whom Shrek and Donkey rescue from a castle tower guarded by a ferocious fire-breathing Dragon; and Christian Marriner as the villainous Lord Farquaad, the nasty, brutish, and short ruler of Duloc who peremptorily banishes fairy-tale creatures from his city and forces them to take refuge in Shrek?s swamp, where they immediately impinge on the ogre?s much-cherished privacy.

The other misfit fairy tale characters who inhabit Duloc and Far, Far Away will be played by Matty Burns, Micah Cowher, Courtney Daniels, Megan Elyse Fulmer, Susan Leilani Gearou, Francesca Granell, Tony Johnson, Brody Karn, Jennifer Margulis, Alison McCartan, Michael McCrary, Schuyler Midgett, Tiffani Robbins, Robert Teasdale, Katie Tompkins, Maggie Tompkins, Kristopher Stanley Ward, Andy White, and Jeffrey Zicker.

In the 2012 edition of ?Shrek the Musical,? Christian Marriner plays Lord Farquaad, the nasty, brutish, and short ruler of Duloc (photo by LvR / paparazzibyappointment)

?We are thrilled to send Shrek the Musical to theaters across the country,? said Bill Damaschke, president of DreamWorks Theatricals, ?and for American families to experience their favorite ogre and fairy tale creatures live on stage.?

The 2001 DreamWorks Animation movie Shrek, directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson from a screenplay by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S.H. Schulman, was based on the 1990 picture book Shrek! written and illustrated by William Steig (1907-2003). The first film of what turned out to be DreamWorks Animation?s highly lucrative Shrek franchise featured the voices of Mike Myers as Shrek, Eddie Murphy as Donkey, Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona, and John Lithgow as Lord Farquaad. Shrek won the 2002 Academy Award? for Best Animated Feature, and was nominated for the Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published.

Initiated by British theater and film director Sam Mendes, Shrek the Musical is the inaugural effort of the theatrical arm of DreamWorks Animation. After the 2008 out-of-town tryouts in Seattle, the show made its Broadway debut, directed by Jason Moore and choreographed by Josh Prince, on Dec. 14, 2008 at the Broadway Theatre, where it played for 441 performances before closing on Jan. 3, 2010. The original Broadway production of Shrek starred Brian d?Arcy James as Shrek, Daniel Breaker as Donkey, Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona, and Christopher Sieber as Lord Farquaad.

Shrek the Musical won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical (Tim Hatley), and was nominated for seven other Tonys, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical (David Lindsay-Abaire), Best Original Score Written for the Theatre (music by Jeanine Tesori and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire), Best Actor in a Musical (Brian d?Arcy James as Shrek), Best Actress in a Musical (Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Christopher Sieber as Lord Farquaad), and Best Orchestrations (Danny Troob and John Clancy).

Jeremy Gaston plays Donkey in ?Shrek The Musical? (photo by LvR / paparazzibyappointment)

In addition to director Stephen Sposito and choreographer Chris Bailey, who recreate the musical staging of original directors Jason Moore and Rob Ashford and choreographer Josh Prince, the creative team for the current North American tour of Shrek the Musical includes NETworks Presentations executive director Kary M. Walker, tour scenic designer James Konzer and costume coordinator Austin Sanderson (reproducing the original set and costume designs of Tim Hatley), lighting designer Paul Miller, hair and wig designer David Brian-Brown, make-up designer Naomi Donne, illusions consultant Michael Magoon, sound designer Shannon Slaton, music supervisor Tim Weil, and stage manager Caroline Walker. The tour also features music coordination by Michael Keller, orchestrations by Danny Troob, incidental music arrangements by Tim Weil, and dance arrangements by Matthew Sklar.

Broadway Series South and the North Carolina Theatre present SHREK THE MUSICAL at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 27-30 and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1 and 2 in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium in the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St., Raleigh, North Carolina 27601.

TICKETS: $30.10-$89.35 (including fees).

BOX OFFICE:

Ticketmaster: 800-745-3000 or http://www.ticketmaster.com/venueartist/115203/1250914.

SHOW: http://www.progressenergycenter.com/event/shrek-835 and http://nctheatre.com/shows/shrek.

VIDEO PREVIEWS: http://www.shrekthemusicalontour.com/video-gallery.

PRESENTERS:

Broadway Series South: http://www.progressenergycenter.com/broadway-series-south (2012-13 season: http://www.progressenergycenter.com/event/2012-13-broadway-series-south-season-3171).

North Carolina Theatre: http://nctheatre.com/ (2013 season: http://www.nctheatre.com/2013-shows).

NCT BLOG: http://www.nctheatre.com/stage-notes.

VENUE: http://www.progressenergycenter.com/venue/memorial-auditorium.

DIRECTIONS: http://www.progressenergycenter.com/directions.

PARKING: http://www.progressenergycenter.com/parking.

OTHER LINKS:

The 1990 Illustrated Book (Shrek!): http://us.macmillan.com/shrek (Macmillan) and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek! (Wikipedia).

William Steig: http://us.macmillan.com/author/williamsteig (official website) and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Steig (Wikipedia).

The 2001 Animated Film: http://www.shrek.com/ (official web page) and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek_(film_series) (Wikipedia).

The Musical: http://www.shrekthemusical.com/ (official web page), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek_the_Musical (Wikipedia), and http://www.ibdb.com/show.php?ID=477421 (Internet Broadway Database).

The Tour: http://www.shrekthemusicalontour.com/ (official website) and https://www.facebook.com/shrekthemusicalonbroadway (Facebook).

DreamWorks Theatricals:?http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/theatricals/ (official website).

NETworks Presentations, LLC: http://www.networksontour.com/ (official website).

Perry Sook: http://www.perrysook.com/ (official website).

Jeremy Gaston: http://www.shrekthemusicalontour.com/cast/andre-jordan.html (tour bio).

Whitney Winfield: http://www.whitneywinfieldonline.com/ (official website).

Christian Marriner: http://christianmarriner.com/ (official website).

EDITOR?S NOTE:

Robert W. McDowell is editor and publisher of Triangle Theater Review, a FREE weekly e-mail theatrical newsletter that provides more comprehensive, in-depth coverage of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill theater than all of the other news media combined. This preview is reprinted with permission from Triangle Theater Review.

To start your FREE subscription to this newsletter, e-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type SUBSCRIBE TTR in the Subject: line.

To read all of Robert W. McDowell?s Triangle Theater Review previews and reviews online at Triangle Arts & Entertainment, click http://triangleartsandentertainment.org/author/robert-w-mcdowell/.

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Tagged as: Broadway Series South, Chris Bailey, David Lindsay-Abaire, DreamWorks Theatricals, Jason Moore, Jeanine Tesori, Josh Prince, NCT, NETworks Presentations LLC, North Carolina Theatre, Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, Rob Ashford, Shrek, Shrek the Musical, Stephen Sposito

Source: http://triangleartsandentertainment.org/2012/11/the-triangle-gets-a-make-ogre-shrek-the-musical-plays-raleigh-memorial-auditorium-nov-27-dec-2/

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Model sheds light on chemistry that sparked origin of life

ScienceDaily (Nov. 26, 2012) ? The question of how life began on a molecular level has been a longstanding problem in science. However, recent mathematical research sheds light on a possible mechanism by which life may have gotten a foothold in the chemical soup that existed on the early Earth.

Researchers have proposed several competing theories for how life on Earth could have gotten its start, even before the first genes or living cells came to be. Despite differences between various proposed scenarios, one theme they all have in common is a network of molecules that have the ability to work together to jumpstart and speed up their own replication -- two necessary ingredients for life. However, many researchers find it hard to imagine how such a molecular network could have formed spontaneously -- with no precursors -- from the chemical environment of early Earth.

"Some say it's equivalent to a tornado blowing through a junkyard and assembling the random pieces of metal and plastic into a Boeing 747," said co-author Wim Hordijk, a visiting scientist at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, North Carolina, and a participant in an astrobiology meeting held there last year.

In a previous study published in 2004, Hordijk and colleague Mike Steel of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand used a mathematical model of simple chemical reactions to show that such networks might form more easily than many researchers thought. Indeed, biochemists have recently created such networks in the lab.

In a new study published this year, Hordijk, Steel, and colleague Stuart Kauffman of the University of Vermont analyzed the structure of the networks in their mathematical models and found a plausible mechanism by which they could have evolved to produce the building blocks of life we know today, such as cell membranes or nucleic acids.

"It turns out that if you look at the structure of the networks of molecules [in our models], very often they're composed of smaller subsets of molecules with the same self-perpetuating capabilities," Hordijk explained.

By combining, splitting, and recombining to form new types of networks from their own subunits, the models indicate that these subsets of molecules could give rise to increasingly large and complex networks of chemical reactions, and, presumably, life.

"These results could have major consequences for how we think life may have originated from pure chemistry," Hordijk writes.

The study will appear in the December 2012 print issue of the journal Acta Biotheoretica.

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---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent), via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Wim Hordijk, Mike Steel, Stuart Kauffman. The Structure of Autocatalytic Sets: Evolvability, Enablement, and Emergence. Acta Biotheoretica, 2012; 60 (4): 379 DOI: 10.1007/s10441-012-9165-1

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/Hu22FG6sTKg/121126131307.htm

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Trip home smooth for many Thanksgiving travelers

SEATTLE (AP) ? Despite a predicted increase in the number of holiday travelers, Americans returning home after the long Thanksgiving weekend found generally good weather, few airport delays and at times manageable conditions on the nation's highways.

Travel appeared to run smoothly Sunday ? typically the busiest travel day of the year ? as millions journeyed home after feasting with family and friends, even though there was little elbow room on packed buses, trains and airplanes.

Many travelers strategically hit the road early in the day or waited until much later to avoid possible bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Craig Haft, 57, left Cincinnati with his wife and daughter around 6:15 a.m. to drive to their home in Fairfax, Va., after visiting family. At midday, he reported smooth driving.

"It went fine on Wednesday and has been good so far today," he said.

Some were upbeat despite long journeys ahead. Andy Harbison, 38, said he didn't mind the 8-hour drive back to Harrisburg, Pa. after visiting family in Michigan.

The roads were good, he said, and he simply enjoyed being with family after being away from them during previous deployments to Iraq and Kuwait while in the National Guard.

Experts had predicted a slight rise in the number of people traveling this Thanksgiving weekend compared to last year. Some 43.6 million Americans were expected to journey 50 miles or more between Wednesday and Sunday, and more of them were likely to be driving while fewer were flying, according to AAA's yearly analysis.

Mauro Scappa and his wife, Chris, and their two children were among those who chose not to take to the skies. They braced themselves for delays as they waited at New York's Penn Station for a train back to Washington, near their home in Falls Church, Va. But their train was expected on time Sunday morning.

"We definitely wanted to avoid the airport on Thanksgiving weekend, for sure," Scappa said.

Renee Kerns, her husband Mike and their two children left about 30 minutes earlier than usual to catch a flight to home to California. They anticipated longer lines at the Washington-area Dulles International Airport, but sailed through security in about 10 minutes and were at their gate for their 8:30 a.m. flight to Oakland, Calif., more than an hour before their flight.

"It was fine," Renee Kerns said of getting through security. Added her husband: "Easy, but we're early."

Helped by dry weather and mostly clear skies, both O'Hare and Midway international airports in Chicago reported normal operations Sunday with no delays.

Leonard Reddick, 29, waited near downtown Chicago for a bus back to Flint, Mich. He traveled on Thanksgiving day to see his sister in the Chicago area, explaining that it's his trick for avoiding the huge crowds on the day before the holiday. He also liked the $84 roundtrip fare.

Reddick, who works at General Motors, was rethinking one decision as he was gearing up for the five-hour trip back home to Michigan: He had declined the turkey and mac and cheese leftovers because he thought it might mess up his luggage.

The tens of millions of holiday travelers also included a few thousand users of Megabus, the ultra-cheap inter-city network popular among students and the creative class. Shane Dillon, 26, a librarian now living and seeking work in Chicago, joined the throng waiting to board at Detroit's Rosa Parks Transit Center for the return trip to the Windy City. He was in the area visiting relatives in Allen Park, Mich.

"It was great to see family and friends. The food was good," Dillon said. A few days, though, was enough. "I'm glad to be going home."

Dense fog greeted travelers at Union Station in Los Angeles early Sunday, but it didn't appear to cause problems.

Mike Lansing, 63, and his wife Kay, 60, opted to take Amtrak for the first time to their home in the San Francisco Bay area after weighing high gas prices. They spent a week in LA with their daughter, son-in-law and new grandson.

He said he's relieved not to have to get behind the wheel. "I don't know if we're really saving any money, but it's an adventure!" said Kay Lansing.

At the Boise Airport, Charles Beyer, 59, waited for luggage after having just arrived from Portland, Ore., where he visited his son and daughter. He said he found most of his fellow passengers complacent about the challenges of traveling during the holiday weekend through packed airports.

"The good old days of pulling up to the curb and getting onto the airplane in five minutes are long gone," he said.

___

AP reporters David N. Goodman in Detroit, Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho; Pam Ramsey in Charleston, W.Va.; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Jennifer Peltz in New York; Chris Weber in Los Angeles; Jessica Gresko in Sterling, Va.; Kristi Eaton in Sioux Falls, S.D; and Bob Christie in Phoenix contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/trip-home-smooth-many-thanksgiving-travelers-091729020.html

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Euro officials seek way to unlock Greek crisis

A European Union flag billows in the wind as the ruins of the 5th century BC Parthenon temple is seen in the background on the Acropolis in Athens, on Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. The ministers of the 17 countries that use the euro are meeting in Brussels later Monday to try to reach an agreement on disbursement of Greece's next rescue loan installment, after several delays. Athens faces bankruptcy without the cash. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A European Union flag billows in the wind as the ruins of the 5th century BC Parthenon temple is seen in the background on the Acropolis in Athens, on Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. The ministers of the 17 countries that use the euro are meeting in Brussels later Monday to try to reach an agreement on disbursement of Greece's next rescue loan installment, after several delays. Athens faces bankruptcy without the cash. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A worker cleans graffiti off the Bank of Greece logo, outside the central bank's headquarters in Athens, Monday, Nov. 26, 2012. The ministers of the 17 countries that use the euro are meeting in Brussels later Monday to try to reach an agreement on disbursement of Greece's next rescue loan installment, after several delays. Athens faces bankruptcy without the cash. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

BRUSSELS (AP) ? Finance ministers from the 17 European Union countries that use the euro are trying to hammer out a deal Monday in Brussels on the next installment of bailout money for struggling Greece.

The ministers have failed twice in the last two weeks to reach an agreement to release some ?44 billion ($56.8 billion) for the cash-strapped country.

Greece is living on borrowed time ? it still owes money it was supposed to repay last week.

On his way into the meeting, Olli Rehn, the EU's top financial official, said it was important for the ministers and the International Monetary Fund to agree on a deal. Distributing the next batch of loans was essential, he said, "in order to end the uncertainty that's still hanging over Greece. It's important for Greece, important for Europe."

"I want to encourage all the euro area member states and the IMF to go the last mile to find an agreement ? in fact to go the last centimeter, because we are so close," Rehn said. "Greece has delivered. Now it is the delivery time for the eurogroup and the IMF."

The so-called troika of the European Central Bank, IMF and the European Commission, which is the 27-country EU's executive arm, have twice agreed to bail out Greece, pledging a total of ?240 billion in rescue loans. In return for its bailout loans, Greece has had to impose several rounds of austerity measures and submit its economy to scrutiny.

Greece's fortunes are inextricably tied to the rest of the eurozone. Without the bailout funds that have been keeping it afloat since May 2010, the country would default and could end up having to leave the eurozone. This could have a domino effect on other financially troubled eurozone nations.

Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said action needed to be taken.

"Greece has fully delivered its part to the agreement, so we expect our partners to deliver their part, too, and I am sure we will find a mutually beneficial solution," he said.

But the prospect of yet another batch of bailout money left some ordinary Greeks unimpressed.

"Did we get anything from any of the previous loan installments?" asked Eleni Myronidou, a retiree in Athens. "Did the people get anything? The banks did. It's all about the banks. Nothing for the people. They should be ashamed of themselves. They should be ashamed."

Greece is unlikely to complete its program of budget cuts and reforms by 2014. For this reason, it is likely to be given an additional two years by the troika. But that extension will cost several billion more, and it is disagreements over how to fund this that have stopped Greece from getting its money.

Several proposals have been floated as ways to plug the financial hole. These include reducing the interest rate Greece pays on its loans from euro partners, lenders such as the ECB giving up interest or profit on their loans, a debt buyback that would reduce the country's burden in the long term, and debt forgiveness by some other countries in the eurozone.

But most of those solutions involved dipping once again into the pockets of taxpayers ? something that has become increasingly unpalatable politically.

"There have been disputes in recent weeks among the members of the troika," said Craig Erlam, an analyst at Alpari. "However these are expected to be resolved today, meaning Greece will finally receive the next bailout payment. If not, Greece could run out of money in the coming days, the consequences of which could be disastrous for the eurozone."

The troika partners disagree on whether Greece should be given an extra two years, to 2022, to bring its debt down to 120 percent of gross domestic product from the 176 percent forecast for this year. The IMF has resisted such an extension.

The ministers hope to reach a political agreement Monday. That agreement will have to be submitted to national parliaments in some countries. After that, the finance ministers plan to hold another meeting, either in person or by telephone, to give final approval to the disbursement.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble ruled out a public-sector debt write-off, and said other eurozone member countries had taken the same position.

But he said he was optimistic about the talks.

"We will find a solution, I am very confident of that," Schaeuble said.

___

Raf Casert in Brussels, Pan Pylas in London and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report. Don Melvin can be reached at http://twitter.com/Don_Melvin.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-11-26-Europe-Financial%20Crisis/id-a838cd0e2d4f46bab6e1f886d206eba0

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Wall Street ends higher in short session, led by techs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rose for a fifth day during a holiday-shortened, thinly traded session on Friday as investors picked up recently beaten-down shares of large technology companies.

Market participants were also encouraged by signs of progress in talks about releasing aid to debt-saddled Greece and piled into U.S. retail shares as Black Friday got the holiday shopping season under way.

U.S. stock market trading ended early and was closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Volume was the lightest of the year, though the session was abbreviated. Shares of big-cap technology companies climbed as investors took advantage of the day's upward momentum to add to positions, helping the S&P 500 rack up its second best week of 2012.

"Anyone that was on the sidelines waiting for a pullback like the one we just had in some of the tech names, they're looking for any glimpse of strong price action for 'permission' to enter into those (stocks)," said Todd Salamone, director of research at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio

Microsoft helped lift the Nasdaq, gaining 2.8 percent to $27.70, while Apple Inc rose 1.7 percent to $571.50.

From mid-September to mid-November, the S&P tech sector <.gspt> shed about 13 percent as the broader market also dropped.

Research in Motion surged on optimism about its soon-to-be-launched BlackBerry 10 devices that will vie against Apple's iPhone and Android-based smartphones. RIM was up 13.6 percent at $11.66.

Greece said the International Monetary Fund had relaxed its debt-cutting target for the country, suggesting lenders were closer to a deal for a vital aid tranche to be paid. But other sources involved in the talks cautioned the funding gap was far bigger than Greece has suggested.

Euro zone finance ministers, the IMF and European Central Bank (ECB) failed earlier this week to agree on how to shrivel the country's debt to a sustainable level and will have a third attempt at resolving the issue on Monday.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 172.79 points, or 1.35 percent, to 13,009.68. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> rose 18.12 points, or 1.30 percent, to 1,409.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> climbed 40.30 points, or 1.38 percent, to 2,966.85.

The S&P 500 broke a two-week losing streak to rise 3.6 percent. Stocks had tumbled earlier in the month on worries about the impact of tax and spending changes set to take effect from January, but hopes that politicians will reach a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff helped the market recoup some of those declines this week.

The Dow and S&P 500 both closed above key technical levels for the first time since Nov 6, which could provide additional support. The Dow ended above 13,000, while the S&P broke above 1,400.

The Dow rose 3.3 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq jumped 4 percent. The Nasdaq had ended lower for the previous six weeks in a row.

Volume was about 2.8 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, compared with the year-to-date average daily closing volume of over 6 billion.

Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,407 to 469 on the New York Stock Exchange. On the Nasdaq, advancers had the lead, with 1,775 stocks gaining and 548 shares declining.

The retail sector rose as investors looked for signs of how much consumers are spending as stores lured shoppers with Black Friday deals and discounts.

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, kicks off the U.S. Christmas shopping season for retailers and is often the busiest shopping day of the year. The National Retail Federation expects sales during the holiday season to grow 4.1 percent this year compared with last year's 5.6 percent increase.

If the traffic and sales numbers look strong early on, "it usually gives a sense that the season will be in line with expectations," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.

"The way that could work against a stronger retail season is if there's no follow-through, there could be discounting on the part of retailers."

Wal-Mart rose 1.9 percent to $70.20, while Target gained 1.2 percent to $64.48.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-index-futures-signal-flat-higher-open-093430195--finance.html

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Florida woman dies after 42 years in coma

Miami Herald file

Kaye O'Barra kisses her daughter Edwarda on her birthday March 20, 2005. Kaye O'Bara took care of Edwarda until her own death in 2008.

By Kari Huus, NBC News

A woman who lived in a coma for 42 years, meticulously cared for by her family, died Wednesday in her home in Miami Gardens, Fla., the Miami Herald reported.

Edwarda O?Bara was a 16-year-old high school student in 1970 when she became sick from her diabetes medication and slipped into a diabetic coma.

According to the Herald, just before she lost consciousness, Edwarda asked her mother, Kaye O?Bara, to never leave her side, and her family never did.

---

Edwarda?s father, Joe O?Bara, and Kaye took care of their daughter ? reading to her, playing her music, making sure she was turned every two hours, bathed, given insulin and given nourishment through a feeding tube ? until their deaths in 1976 and 2008, respectively. After that, Edwarda?s sister Colleen O?Bara took over.

Miami Herald File

Kaye O'Bara talks with her daughter, Edwarda, in March, 1998. At that point, Edwarda had been in a coma for 29 years. Edwarda died Wednesday, outliving her mother by four years.

The family?s story inspired the 2001 book, "A Promise Is A Promise: An Almost Unbelievable Story of a Mother?s Unconditional Love and What It Can Teach Us" and a song called "My Blessed Child," and it prompted people from around the world to travel to her Florida home.

"She taught me so much, and I?m talking about now, after she was in the coma," Colleen O?Bara told the Herald. "She taught me so much about unconditional love that I couldn?t say I had it before. She taught me about patience that I didn?t have before."

In an announcement of Edwarda's death posted Thursday on a website dedicated to her, Colleen O'Bara wrote: "Yesterday while taking care of Edwarda I noticed her looking directly at me and gave me the biggest smile I had ever seen. She then closed her eyes and joined my Mom in Heaven."

Edwarda O?Bara was 59. A memorial is scheduled for Tuesday.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/23/15393892-florida-woman-edwarda-obara-dies-after-42-years-in-coma?lite

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Oil eases as truce holds between Israel and Hamas

BANGKOK (AP) ? Oil prices fell Friday as a cease-fire agreement between Israel and the militant Hamas group that stopped weeklong fighting in the Gaza Strip continued to hold.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 18 cents to $87.20 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 63 cents to finish at $87.38 per barrel Wednesday. Markets were closed Thursday for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

Israel launched an offensive on Nov. 14 to halt rocket fire from Gaza, unleashing some 1,500 airstrikes on Hamas-linked targets, while Hamas and other Gaza militants showered Israel with just as many rockets. The eight days of fighting killed 161 Palestinians and six Israelis.

A truce reached Wednesday was still intact, easing fears of an escalating war that could spill beyond Gaza and eventually disrupt oil supplies.

"I think it's a bit of reaction to the cease-fire in the Middle East, said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. Oil prices are "more or less flat-lining, a little bit up and down within a range," he said.

Brent crude, used to price international varieties of oil, fell 39 cents to $110.47 a barrel in London.

In other energy futures trading in New York:

? Heating oil fell 1.7 cents to $3.064 a gallon.

? Wholesale gasoline fell 2.1 cents to $2.702 a gallon.

? Natural gas rose 0.4 cent to $3.907 per 1,000 cubic feet.

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-11-23-Oil-Prices/id-83a8b6d545e749df9e90cb88857a8ce7

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Wireless Mechanical Keyboard ? Mouse ? Remote RF-870 Review ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Laptop, notebooks, computers, cell phone, GPS & electronics daily news ... They are long range, working reliably at least 100? from your computer, extremely secure with AES encryption, reliable with two-way communications to prevent keystroke dropouts, foolproof with digital address chosen randomly ... Gadget Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory · Blog Directory · Technology Blogs · Technology · Page Rank Check · Mobile Tech Blogs - Blog Catalog Blog Directory ...

Source: http://www.unitedgadget.com/2012/11/23/wireless-mechanical-keyboard-mouse-remote-rf-870-review/

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Quakertown Family Practice | Quakertown Healthcare: Quakertown ...

The Quakertown inhabitants are the luckier ones due to the medical facilities that they have got through the services of Dr. Deborah Ramanathan who is a licensed medical practitioner to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia. She has spent her whole life in helping people in resolving their health issues. Quakertown Family Medical Center is available to help people in their hours of health trouble and acute pains.

As Dr. Ramanathan is a licensed personality, she would do her all out efforts to help the health related problems of versatile nature. People living in this town or from other parts of the state or country may visit this place to get cure for their health issues.

There are a number of medical fields for which people can get treatment and the fields include adult care, pediatric care, well baby care, well child care, episodic illness, minor disease care, blood pressure monitoring, work related injury care, chronic condition management, adolescent care, gynecologic exams, and weight monitoring. Quakertown Family Medical provision can provide a host of opportunities to people to make it sure that everything is done with great concern at this place. If you have been treated in a hospital, and want to get hospital follow-up care, Quakertown Family Medical Center is ready to help you in this regard. This place is specifically suitable for post hospitalization. Hospital treatment is always costly, but the treatment, here, is available at cost-effective rates. You can come here with the confidence that the doctor will treat you with full care.

Quakertown Family Medical treatment allows you to get everything according to the requirements of health department of the state. As the doctor is well-practiced in these fields, she examines patients by using her skill in this field. There are not many health centers other than this one. If you live here, you can avail the opportunity that is accessible here.

The medical center is especially suitable for people who want immunizations of some sort. It is a place for providing medical facilities at cost-effective rates to people who want help in this regard.
Moreover, the amenities, available here, are managed by the doctor herself. She is available daily to the clients? needs, and will attend them if they take an appointment one day prior to their visit. She may attend them even on the same day if the patient is having an emergency. The hospital is loaded with state-of-the-art medical gear to handle patients, and to examine them against different known diseases of the world. She will provide these facilities to her patients with full zeal. Of course, she earns from the center, but at the same time, she provides them with medical facilities of varying kinds.

Quakertown Family Medical Center allows you to get everything according to the need of the hour. It is a center for general treatment and care. So, people from all walks of life, and having different kinds of diseases, may come here to get treatment.

Source: http://quakertownfamilypractice.blogspot.com/2012/11/quakertown-family-medical-serves-you.html

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New drug overcomes resistance in patients with rare sarcoma

Thursday, November 22, 2012

A new targeted drug demonstrated its ability to control metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor, an uncommon and life-threatening form of sarcoma, after the disease had become resistant to all existing therapies, report investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who led the worldwide clinical trial.

The treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumor, or GIST, even in its advanced metastatic stage, has been dramatically improved with two oral targeted drugs ? imatinib (Gleevec) and sunitinib (Sutent). To date, these have represented the only two FDA-approved treatments with the proven ability to control GIST. However, in more than 85 percent of patients, GIST becomes resistant to these drugs after seven years and the disease worsens with fatal results.

The new study, whose results are being published in the Lancet, demonstrated that the oral drug regorafenib, which inhibits several cancer-promoting kinase enzymes, was able to control GIST for nearly four months longer than placebo in patients for whom Gleevec and Sutent were no longer effective, a result that was highly significant statistically.

"When added to best supportive care, regorafenib significantly improves disease control, as measured by progression-free survival time in patients with GIST after progression which represents failure of all other therapies," said George Demetri, MD, of Dana-Farber, principal investigator of this clinical trial.

Demonstrating the aggressive nature of this resistant disease, the study found that tumors objectively grew in less than a month, on average, in GIST patients who were initially randomized to receive a placebo. The study's "cross-over" design made it possible to treat those patients whose tumors grew, and 85 percent of the patients initially on placebo were able to receive regorafenib, which then controlled the disease in these patients as well.

Because of the study's cross-over design, Demetri said, it was not expected to prove that the patients initially randomized to receive regorafenib survived longer ? the researchers would have had to withhold the drug from the placebo patients to demonstrate that difference. "But there is no question that people are living longer" with regorafenib treatment, he said, based on the results of this trial.

An application to have regorafenib approved for use in resistant GIST is under an accelerated review by the Food and Drug Administration, Demetri said.

GIST is a rare form of sarcoma that develops in the gastrointestinal tract, mainly in the stomach and small intestine. GIST is estimated to affect more than 5,000 people per year in the United States and about 8,000 in Europe.

Regorafenib is a novel rationally designed drug manufactured by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals that was FDA-approved in September 2012 to treat metastatic colon cancer after failure of standard chemotherapy. It blocks several cancer-promoting enzymes called kinases, which spur runaway growth in GIST and other cancers.

The phase 3 international trial involved 199 treatment-resistant GIST patients at 57 hospitals in 176 countries. Of the 199 patients, 133 received a regorafenib pill daily for three weeks followed by a one-week break, while 66 received a matching placebo. The patients were monitored for at least one year after the trial began.

As for other targeted therapies, the drug did not often shrink tumors but controlled the disease for an average of 4.8 months before it progressed, while patients in the placebo group experienced less than one month (0.9 month) before the disease worsened. There was a high rate of adverse effects including high blood pressure, fatigue, diarrhea, and redness, swelling, numbness and peeling of skin on the hands and feet. These side effects were managed by reducing or interrupting the regorafenib treatment, the report said.

A companion report in The Lancet said that the drug had a "modest" benefit in patients with metastatic colon cancer. A commentary by David Cunningham, MD, of the Royal Marsden Hospital in England, said, "In the relatively rare GIST, the case for routine use of this drug in patients following failure of existing treatments is strong."

Demetri added "We know that regorafenib can inhibit many of the mutated proteins and abnormal signals that cause this cancer, and the next step will be to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which this new treatment can control GIST after resistance appears to other 'targeted therapy' drugs for this aggressive malignancy."

The clinical trial was supported, in part, by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, as well as the Ludwig Center at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.

###

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: http://www.dfci.harvard.edu

Thanks to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125439/New_drug_overcomes_resistance_in_patients_with_rare_sarcoma

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Texas A&M Fans Catch Manziel Mania

6 PM - Texas A&M Fans Catch Manziel Mania

10 PM - Texas A&M Fans Catch Manziel Mania

Manziel mania was alive when thousands of fans poured into Kyle Field today as the Aggies took on and beat Sam Houston 47-28. Texas A&M football fans we spoke with can't get enough of Johnny 'Football' Manziel. From the looks of the new trend in merchandise, the number 2 may be the new 12.

Aggie fans of all ages are already sporting number two shirts in honor of the Texas A&M freshman quarterback. Now fans can't wait to get their hands on "Johnny Football" shirts.

Cherie Snell and her daughter Hannah are both Aggie football fans. Cherie even scored a "Johnny Football" shirt for today's big game against the Bearkats and bought her daughter a matching one.

"Him being a freshman, it's amazing what he can do and he is a shining star right now," Cherie said.

Manziel is becoming a household name across the nation, and Texas A&M is trying to make it official. The University is currently working in conjunction with the Manziel family in the process of trademarking the nickname. That means any other "Johnny Football" shirt being made and sold has not been authorized by the University or the Manziel family.

Aggie fans of all ages want the freshman quarterback to be the next Heisman Trophy winner. That includes seven year old Brian Blonstein, who is fully equipped with his number two shirt and fully supports the freshman quarterback.

"I think he is very athletic," Blonstein said. "I think he has great capability and I think he is just a good football player."

Manizel is a contender for the 2012 Heisman Trophy and his fans could not be any more proud of how he has led A&M in their inaugural SEC season.

Source: http://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/Manziel-Mania--179837291.html

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Reading and Calculating With Your Unconscious

And in other news, researchers found that subjects could tap a foot in sync with music while doing another task and not consciously paying attention to the music... or, well, subjects could do pretty much anything "unconsciously" if it was something they have done thousands of times and does not require novel thought.

Seriously, is this really that surprising? For most literate people, word recognition seems "automatic." We don't consciously have to sound out the letters of each word, nor even consciously parse the syntax of a sentence. Same with really basic arithmetic (well, at least for people who still actually are drilled on basic arithmetic in schools).

If a person can tap a foot to a beat and even respond to changes in tempo etc. automatically without even thinking about the music (a much more complex task, I think), is it really a stretch that our brains just "know" that 2+2=4? That is, without us consciously having to go, "umm... let's see, if I visualize two fingers on one hand, and two fingers on the other, and put them together, well, then, it's 1, 2, 3... uh... 4! Yeah, 4!"

It feels almost like an automatic response, seemingly requiring no conscious intervention... just like people reading this post now just "know" what the words say, without actively consciously parsing the letters into words and sentences. It wouldn't surprise me if a mathematician could even integrate "unconsciously" or chemist could see the product of a basic chemical reaction "unconsciously," since these are trained repeated behaviors. Now, if someone could do a task that required novel thought involving a stimulus never seen before, that would actually be interesting and perhaps surprising.

If anything, this experiment is only novel for trying to isolate such responses in an abnormal way. We don't normally try to do arithmetic in "the background" of consciousness in the same way we might tap our feet to music or... I don't know... manage to get popcorn into our mouths while watching a movie without thinking about the trajectory of our hands (a task again that I think is arguably more complex than simply "knowing" or maybe just "remembering" that 2+2=4).

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/Nz1Q3ou7QdE/story01.htm

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