Where are the Happy Homosexuals?

Hong Kong?s attitude towards homosexuality hasn?t developed as fast as its infrastructure. Photo by bernard_in_va via Flickr.

In the nineteen years I have lived in Hong Kong, every gay character I have seen on local television has been at least one of the following: (a) evil (b) a corpse (and not the fun, reanimated kind) (c)rebuffed by their object of affection, who turns out to be straight d)?the stereotypically gay male, more caricature than character, whose effeminate mannerisms are exaggerated for comic effect.

The lack of positive visibility on local television is hardly surprising in this socially conservative city, where laws against discrimination on grounds of sexuality do not exist in the private sector and have been missing from the legislative agenda since the early 1990s. As the Hong Kong public tends to be rather vocal about what it wants, public opinion does have an effect on the activities of the Legislative Council. The lack of anti-discrimination legislation, then, is telling of the general attitude towards homosexuality in Hong Kong.

The sexuality of gay characters is almost invariably introduced as a plot-twist.? In crime procedurals, the twist may be that the victim-of-the-week, the macho gangster, was killed by his jilted, male lover (see: Armed Reaction).? In the prime-time dramas that revolve around some banal premise or other, the producers might flirt with controversy by having a character declare his or her love for another character of ? gasp! ? the same sex; before the audience can come to terms with the prospect of a same-sex relationship appearing on their screens, however, the recipient of the declaration quickly rebuffs the homosexual?s advances.? To further preserve the status quo, the rejector enters into a heterosexual relationship if he or she is not already in one (see: Let it be Love); the rejected may fly off to a different country, never to be seen again (see: Pages of Treasures).? (A quick caveat: when the characters involved are both female, expect the rejecting and fleeing to happen only after they have kissed.)

The way the local media treats openly gay celebrities is hardly more reassuring.? Anthony Wong, a local singer, raised eyebrows earlier this year when he came out onstage at the end of a concert.? Any hopes of Wong?s coming-out story sending a message about the normalcy of homosexuality were dashed when a local magazine, Ming Pao Weekly, published an interview with him.? Their cover featured a photo of Wong staring listlessly into the distance, accompanied by the caption: ?The Complications of Coming Out: Anthony Wong Fears Dragging Others Down with Him?.

That said, our local gossip rags have shown on occasion that they do possess the capacity not to run headlines solely at the expense of celebrities rumoured to be gay.? This seemed to be the case last month when an actor, Wilfred Lau, announced to the press that he was dating actress/singer Joey Yung, and a series of dramatic events unfolded: another celebrity, Denise Ho (who, at various points in time, had been rumoured to have been dating one or the other) unfollowed Lau on Weibo (a Chinese internet service similar to Twitter), wrote a post about betrayal, and flew off to Taiwan, allegedly to deal with the heartbreak.? The media has been surprisingly blas? about the homosexual aspect of all this, and has treated the Ho/Yung corner of this alleged love triangle like they would a heterosexual relationship: many news outlets have assumed that such a relationship in fact existed despite the lack of express confirmation from either party, and have bestowed upon them the traditional portmanteau relationship moniker.? Even more interestingly, the sense of schadenfreude that inevitably laces celebrity news items has been at the expense of Lau, not Ho: Lau has been accused of capitalising on Yung?s greater fame and success, and media reports of furious fans flooding his Weibo page with angry comments abound.

It is undeniable that Western culture has affected the way Hongkongers think about homosexuality: for example, the expressions ?coming out of the closet? and ?Brokeback? (from Brokeback Mountain) have been incorporated into the everyday lexicon.? However, returning to the topic of television, it would perhaps be too optimistic to expect broadcasts of programmes from more socially liberal countries to ameliorate the damage local television has wreaked on gay visibility.? To start with, the average American (or British) television show is hardly teeming with gay characters, let alone well-developed ones; as it happens, not one of the shows in this season?s local free-to-view line-ups features a recurring gay character.? Glee, widely (if sometimes undeservedly) hailed as a trailblazer in improving visibility for minorities, is not currently available on free-to-view channels; instead, it airs on Star World, a pay-to-view channel.

Even those who pay extra to watch Glee on their televisions here do not watch the same version of the show that airs in the US; instead every scene involving overt homosexual affection has been cut.? The most Blaine and Kurt, and Brittany and Santana, ever do is hold hands in the background, hug, and have deep, meaningful, semi-truncated conversations.? Two decisions not to edit scenes stand in stark, worrying contrast to this.? In one, Star World has left intact kisses between ? to name but three of the heterosexual relationships that have appeared on this show ? Finn and Rachel, Will and Emma, and Mike and Tina, clearly suggesting that it is the sexuality of the characters involved, and not the physical display of affection, that motivates the decision to censor.? For another, the scene where a gay teen attempts to commit suicide was also left unedited.

Some might argue that the systematic removal of the handful of scenes where teenagers are shown kissing other teenagers of the same sex is unproblematic; after all, Hong Kong viewers still get to know Hiram and Leroy, the delightful gay dads of Rachel Berry; we still hear Santana refer to Brittany as her girlfriend; we still see Quinn firmly defending homosexuality to the God Squad.? However, that would be completely missing the point: the very fact that the scenes depicting the simplest, clearest act of affection between homosexual couples are removed suggests that there?s something wrong with them.? Add to this the idea that it is somehow fine for viewers to see homosexual teens be bullied and outed, but not to see them kiss the ones they love, and these editing choices become indefensible.

Source: http://toglobalist.org/2012/07/where-are-the-happy-homosexuals/

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Does Starring in a Comic Book Movie Help an Actor's Career?

With a cape and greenscreen, and the tailwind of 20 years of anticipation, Brandon Routh was flying toward fame as Superman. Until he hit box-office kryptonite, that is.

Routh starred in Superman Returns, 2006's highly touted hybrid continuation/reboot of the Man of Steel series, and earned strong reviews for his performance. But Bryan Singer's darker adaptation of the source material -- as opposed to the sunny Christopher Reeve-led films directed by Richard Donner -- ran into trouble at the ticket booth, earning just $200 million domestically and $300 worldwide, curtailing any thought of a sequel and grounding the Kryptonian until next summer's pure reboot, Man of Steel.

PHOTOS: Batman Through the Years: Stars that Have Played the Caped Crusader

Since then, Routh has worked and featured in plenty of movies but has not become the star that a successful superhero franchise promises to make its leading do-gooder. He stars in the upcoming CBS comedy Partners, about which he joked at this weekend's TCAs, "The step from superhero to gay man isn't a big step, is it?"

He can take heart, at least, in that he's not the only one whose career didn't exactly soar after putting on tights and fighting crime.

Reeve would be known for his role as Clark Kent -- and very little else. Before he was paralyzed in a 1995 horse-riding accident, his career was largely made up of small films and TV movies. There was a lead role in Somewhere in Time, his first film after 1978's Superman; the Sidney Lumet adaptation of Broadway's Death Trap, which received solid reviews; the well-received Street Smart with Morgan Freeman; and a supporting role in the period piece The Remains of the Day. Nothing came close to his caped days.

Batman, DC's other huge property, has proved to be a mixed bag for its masked men. Michael Keaton, who played the Caped Crusader in the first two modern big-screen adaptations from Tim Burton, no doubt earned major plaudits and big box-office cash for his take on Bruce Wayne. And when he stepped away from the role, he had a few hits, including a supporting turn in Much Ado About Nothing and the lead in Ron Howard's The Paper. But a few bombs put him on the backburner, and it's largely been voice acting for him of late, including roles in Pixar's Cars and Toy Story 3.

Val Kilmer next got the keys to the Batmobile. Up to that point, in 1995, he was on his way to superstardom; he was Iceman in Top Gun, earned praise for his take on Jim Morrison in The Doors, played Doc Holliday in Tombstone and featured in True Romance. In 1995, he had a hit in Heat, but after that year, he never made a huge film again; among the many lemons, such as The Saint and The Island of Dr. Moreau, he had a few cult hits including Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Bad Lieutenant, but his star has dimmed considerably.

PHOTOS: Avengers Premiere Red Carpet Arrivals

George Clooney, his Batman successor, has had a bit of a different career trajectory, of course -- even though his turn as the Caped Crusader crashed the franchise for years (though most blame director Joel Schumacher).

A new class of heroes has emerged in the 21st century, though many of their fates are yet to be decided. Tobey Maguire used his Spider-Man franchise to earn himself plenty of prestige roles (he leads in this winter's The Great Gatsby and earned praise for Seabiscuit and Brothers), but another Marvel hero was not so lucky: Eric Bana was the first of what is now three Incredible Hulks, with his 2003 Ang Lee-directed flick bombing all around. Still, he's had success in its wake, including Munich, Star Trek and Hanna.

Fox has put together a long run of X-Men films, which has provided a nice springboard for some of its actors: James Marsden, who played Cyclops, is always working (he's a scene stealer in 30 Rock, charmed in Enchanted and earned strong reviews for Robot & Frank); Hugh Jackman is a Tony-winning superstar; and Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen have done OK, too.

The studio's Fantastic Four did strong box office but was a critical doormat. It did little for the career of Ioan Gruffud, who played Mr. Fantastic, but hasn't hindered Jessica Alba, at least in terms of celebrity. Chris Evans, who played The Human Torch, got another shot at superhero stardom in Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers.

How he moves forward from the Marvel Universe will be an interesting test case, as will the future career of Thor star Chris Hemsworth. They have their own sequels in the works, plus planned returns to The Avengers, but both are also working on a few other projects. Evans will feature in the indie Michael Shannon starrer, The Iceman, as well as the action film Snowpiercer. Neither has that Marvel cachet -- or marketing team. Hemsworth starred in Snow White and the Huntsman, which was a solid (if now controversy-entangled) hit, though that can be marked up to Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart (especially the controversy).

As for the other Avengers, playing Iron Man has revitalized Robert Downey Jr.'s career; he is making a third film as Tony Stark and once again is one of the world's biggest stars. Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson needed no help and seem to be continuing their run as big Hollywood business.

Mark Ruffalo, the third Hulk, might or might not get his own superhero film, but he earned perhaps the strongest credits of all for his take on the sensitive, troubled Bruce Banner, and the Oscar nominee will feature in a string of big upcoming films: Can a Song Save Your Life? (with Johansson); the caper Now You See Me; the true, tragic Foxcatcher; and the big-screen adaptation of The Normal Heart.

Jeremy Renner, who played Hawkeye, takes over for Matt Damon in this week's sequel The Bourne Legacy and has a spot in the next Mission: Impossible. He'll also earn indie cred in James Gray's Lowlife.

With his part playing Batman in Christopher Nolan's three-part opus now complete, Christian Bale is on top of the world. He's set to star in two Terrence Malick films and already has an Oscar win for The Fighter. He should only go up from here. Meanwhile, Anne Hathaway, who played Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises, should continue her ascent in Les Miserables; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whether he ends up with his own spinoff or not, will take the lead in Looper and co-star in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, among other things.

Email: Jordan.Zakarin@THR.com; Twitter: @JordanZakarin

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1925623/news/1925623/

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Real-life Harry Potter location-clock works via mobile app

7 hrs.

Devin Coldewey

A team of students at the University of Munich has put together a working "Magic Clock" that shows the locations of certain people, much like the Weasley household's clock in "Harry Potter." It isn't actually enchanted, of course,?and works by more prosaic Internet-age methods ? but in practice it actually looks quite magical.

The clock is a repurposed grandfather clock they found on eBay, modified with gearing that allows four hands to rotate 360 degrees. They made their own face to replace its handsome brass one, with locations instead of times. Then they connected the clock to a microcontroller that would watch for updates on a server and turn the hands appropriately.

Unlike the Weasleys' clock, this one does not magically detect the location of its users, but must be updated via a special mobile app. You can update manually with one of the twelve locations provided, or let it track your position with GPS?and choose a location based on that.

The students (Frederik Brudy, Fabius Steinberger, Felix Praschak and Claudius B?ttcher) built it for a course in "Building Interactive Objects," and also?made a very strange video to go along with it. They've documented the entire project on this webpage, where you can get all the information you need to replicate the clock, from circuit diagrams to server software.

via Hack A Day

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

Source: http://www.gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/technology/gadgetbox/real-life-harry-potter-location-clock-works-mobile-app-916759

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Protesters target NE Ga. animal shelter over deaths

CLAYTON - Protesters want the board of directors to resign from a northeast Georgia animal shelter that promised not to kill pets but is accused of euthanizing several of them.

The protesters collected signatures on a petition in Clayton Saturday calling for the resignation of the board of directors overseeing the Boggs Mountain Humane Shelter in Tiger. The shelter's former director has been fired and its board chairwoman has resigned.

Fox 5 Atlanta recently reported that the shelter ran a so-called "Luck Dog and Cat" program. By paying at least $100, animal lovers or people giving up pets could sponsor animals at the no-kill shelter. The money was supposed to cover veterinary treatments, making it easier for others to adopt those pets.

But documents show some of the pets were put down.

? Copyright 2012 AccessNorthGa.com

All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.

Source: http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=251206

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Source: http://twitter.com/guardianeco/statuses/229691186112262144

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Initial Evaluations for Special Education and Related Services for ...

ICAAP constantly receives calls from families and/or their medical homes indicating that requests for special education evaluations are rejected or delayed, with the school district explaining that all screenings are done at a particular time of year and that the child will need to wait to be evaluated. ICAAP has for several years expressed concern about the ambiguity and lack of consistency experienced by families when they make a request (often recommended by the pediatric primary care provider) for an evaluation for special education for their children between the ages of three and five.

After wide-ranging dialogue and very assertive engagement, the Special Populations Committee of the Illinois Early Learning Council?asked for and received a commitment from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to write an illuminating memorandum?clarifying the role and responsibilities of local education agencies (LEAs) when receiving requests for initial special education evaluations for children ages three through five.

This memo and an attached technical assistance document (entitled Requests for Initial Special Education Evaluations for Children Ages Three-Five) was recently sent to all ISBE Directors of Special Education and Early Childhood Special Education Coordinators by David Andel, Division Administrator, Special Education Services for ISBE and Cynthia Zumwalt, Division Administrator, Early Childhood Education for ISBE.? These documents make the expectations of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) incontrovertibly clear.

For additional information about this effort, please contact?Juanona Brewster, MDiv, MTS, MJ,?Director of Early Childhood Development at ?jbrewster@illinoisaap.com.

Source: http://illinoisaap.org/2012/07/initial-evaluations-for-special-education-and-related-services-for-children-ages-three-through-five/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=initial-evaluations-for-special-education-and-related-services-for-children-ages-three-through-five

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Tims New Construction ? Blog Archive ? Kitchen Remodeling Tips ...

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There are many important factors that need considering before beginning to transform a Kitchen, including proper planning, budgeting, and execution with the whole process. Sherman Oaks Kitchen remodeling is often as simple as painting walls and replacing a faucet, or it may involve tougher tasks including taking out the walls and installing new and improved facilities for instance a heated floor.

We make selecting a qualified, expert Kitchen remodeling specialists easy! Allow us to assist you with assembling your kitchen. Our experts in Sherman Oaks can design, renovate, and make a Kitchen for your household! CA Kitchen Remodeling makes remodeling projects a breeze! Simply request a no cost estimate and build your kitchen you?ve always dreamt of!

Remodeling your kitchen area is really a great answer to update the interior look of your home to make your kitchen area a much better match to your lifestyle and needs. Since there are numerous actions to some kitchen area remodeling undertaking that could become difficult, it is vital for you to make detailed decisions before beginning. When it comes to kitchen?s remodeling, cautious and detailed preparing should be a necessity.

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{We?ll let you sort through the endless possibilities of layouts, styles, lighting, fixtures, accessories and much more ? transforming your home kitchen right into a masterpiece which you along with your household will appreciate forever. A kitchen renovation is actually a complex job that is hinged on many distinct variables, involving anything from workspace preparing and color scheme choice to time and finances considerations.

Remodeling your kitchen area in Sherman Oaks doesn?t need to expensive. Whether you want to assemble & install your kitchen cabinets yourself, or have us do all the work, CA Kitchen Remodeling Sherman Oaks enables you to change your kitchen with beautiful all-wood cabinets at a lower price. That?s under the home improvement stores. We provide a large variety of kitchen cabinet sizes, styles, colors and accessories. We want to help you develop a kitchen of beauty and efficiency.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 29th, 2012 at 3:40 PM and is filed under General Contractors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Source: http://timsnewconstruction.com/Blog/2012/07/29/kitchen-remodeling-tips-sherman-oaks-91403-5/

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Syrian regime claims gains in Aleppo, rebels deny

BEIRUT (AP) ? Syrian government forces mounted new ground attacks against rebel-controlled neighborhoods in Syria's commercial hub of Aleppo, the state media said Monday, but failed to dislodge the opposition from their strongholds, according to activists.

The Syrian army has massed its forces around Aleppo, where rebels hold several neighborhoods after a 10-day offensive, and has been pounding it with tanks and helicopter gunships. There have also been periodic incursions of government tanks but the rebels have held on to their gains.

This use of heavy weapons, particularly helicopters, is just another nail in President Bashar Assad's coffin, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said late Sunday during a stopover in Tunisia as he kicked off a Mideast tour expected to focus heavily on the unfolding crisis in Syria.

Already an estimated 200,000 civilians ? almost 10 percent of the population ? have fled the fighting in Aleppo, according to the U.N. official for humanitarian affairs, Valerie Amos, citing the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Red Crescent. Aleppo is Syria's largest city with around 3 million inhabitants.

Syrian state media reported late Sunday that the army had "purged" Aleppo's southwestern neighborhood of Salaheddine and inflicted "great losses" upon the rebels in one of the first districts they took control of in their bid to seize the city.

There was also a successful operation in Sukhour neighborhood, in the northeast of the city and another rebel stronghold, the state media said.

Activists, however, disputed these claims and just described another day of fierce shelling of certain areas, backed up by the occasional foray on the ground.

"They have tanks in nearby Hamdaniya and there is fighting, and there have been random bombardments of Salaheddine," said Mohammed Saeed, who is based in the embattled city.

While giving no indication that the Obama administration is contemplating military intervention, Panetta said it is increasingly clear that the Syrian crisis is deepening and that Assad is hastening his own demise.

"If they continue this kind of tragic attack on their own people ... I think it ultimately will be a nail in Assad's coffin," Panetta told reporters traveling with him from Washington. "His regime is coming to an end."

Assad's regime has been plagued by a string of defections, including three high ranking diplomats and several military commanders. On Monday, a Turkish official announced that a Syrian brigadier general who was deputy chief of police in Syria's Latakia region, had defected.

The general was among a group of 12 Syrian officers who crossed into Turkey late Sunday, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of Turkish government rules. His defection raises the number of generals to have left for Turkey since the start of the 17-month-old uprising to 28.

But Syria's army remains mostly intact and still vastly outguns the rag-tag rebel army, which is armed for the most part with assault rifles, machine guns and doesn't have the heavy weapons necessary to effectively oppose tanks and helicopter gunships.

The government boosted its forces outside Aleppo and began an assault over the weekend to retake the commercial hub, bombarding rebel neighborhoods and leaving streets littered with rubble and empty apartment blocks with gaping smashed windows, according to videos of the city posted online in recent days.

Fleeing residents described to The Associated Press incessant shelling, shortages of food and gasoline and soaring black market prices for everyday staples.

"I am extremely concerned by the impact of shelling and use of tanks and other heavy weapons on people in Aleppo," Amos said in a statement from New York late Sunday. "Many people have sought temporary shelter in schools and other public buildings in safer areas. They urgently need food, mattresses and blankets, hygiene supplies and drinking water."

She added that while the fighting made getting to the needy very difficult, the U.N. agencies and the Red Crescent were continuing their efforts to deliver food, blankets and hygiene kits.

________

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser contributed to this report from Ankara, Turkey.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-regime-claims-gains-aleppo-rebels-deny-070256326.html

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Day two of Splendour more subdued | Bundaberg Music | Music ...

American band Friends performs at the second day of Splendour.

Justin Ma

IT APPEARED many were struck down with a case of Splendour in the Grass fatigue with a noticeable shortage of midday revellers on day two of the three day festival.

Another glorious day was promised for Saturday but this time it delivered, with nothing but blue skies and hip tunes to keep the sold out crowd in good spirits.

The Supertop was overflowing with punters keen to stay up late for British rockers Bloc Party.

Front man Kele Okereke greeted the crowd with a "g'day" before launching into hits Mercury and Hunting for Witches.

American "sadcore" singer Lana Del Rey was nearly drowned out by her throngs of adoring fans in the G

Backed by a string quartet and piano, she opened her show with Blue Jeans and wasted no time walking down to the front of the stage to serenade her dedicated fans.

"I had to come down and see my people," she said.

"I'm really grateful and I adore you."

Dressed in a white dress and short veil, Del Rey was pitch perfect but her show suffered from a few sound problems including a scratchy mic.

She worked her way through most of the tracks on her album Born to Die and sang a cover of Nirvana's Heart Shaped Box before closing her set with National Anthem.

Meanwhile at the Mix-Up Tent, Gossling joined 360 during his high energy set to sing their collaboration Boys Like You.

Gold Coast bad boys Bleeding Knees Club opened the day on the Supertop.

Their surf pop antics enticed three young girls on stage to sing the chorus of "Girls Can Do Anything".

Indie boy bands continued to be a running theme.

Dublin charmers The Cast of Cheers and energetic Brisbanian four-piece Last Dinosaurs played to swelling crowds at the Supertop.

The latter commenting it was their biggest audience to date.

The GW McLennan kicked off with local lads Lifeline followed by a quiet set of thoughtful indie pop from Mosman Alder.

Here We Go Magic were a tad gloomy, looking every inch the uber cool New York outfit.

Their trippy melodies were a soothing fix for any early afternoon tiredness with many cosying up on the ground.

The Mix Up tent was again party central with Tijuana Cartel carving it up with their global dance beats.

New-to-the-scene hipsters Friends injected a bit of an R&B vibe to their set of sexy tunes and the sultry lead singer flaunted a Smashing Pumpkins T-shirt given to her by a fan.

Away from the music, festivallers were getting hitched in random, debauched ceremonies inside the Tent of Miracles.

Proceedings were overseen by a celebrant dressed in white leather and a very questionable Priest.

Triple j presenters John Safran, Tom Ballard, Kram of Spiderbait and Kav Tamperley of Eskimo Joe discussed music and religion in the Forum tent.

Drumming troupe the Samba Blissta's leant their instruments to enthusiastic crowd members and North Coast talent continued to shine on the Busker Stage with Mick McHugh and Mojo Bluesman among the four acts of the day.

Given the torrential rain and hail late Friday afternoon Belongil Fields was one big mud pit.

It was reported gum boots were sold out on site and some even braved the trip into Byron Bay where they were being sold in the street.

Police seemed to up the ante with several manning Gate 2 from midday and first aid tents didn't appear to be overflowing with people; a good sign attendees are staying safe and enjoying themselves.

Today?punters can look forward to sets by Metric, Triple j darlings The Rubens, Husky, Ball Park Music, Angus Stone, Wolfmother, Missy Higgins, Gossip and a festival-closing show by The Smashing Pumpkins.

Source: http://www.news-mail.com.au/story/2012/07/29/day-two-splendour-more-subdued/

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Retail Analytics software helps you understand every aspect of your ...

To make the right changes to reach new levels of success in your business, you?ll need to first have a way of thoroughly understanding each aspect of it. If you make uninformed decisions, you may end up hurting your business more than helping it. That?s why analytic tools are so important in the retail business world. ChainDrive offers customers a comprehensive software package with a Retail Analytics tool that uses built-in business intelligence and other strong features to provide you with the clearest possible view of your entire business. Use it to gain insight into everything from sales and competition to product performance and more.

ChainDrive?s entire software system was built from the bottom up on an infrastructure of business intelligence. The Retail Analytics tool features the technology, applications, and presentation tools needed for the collection, analysis, integration, and presentation of key data and information related to your business. The software can leverage the centralized database to give you access to historical, current, and comparative views of any and all business information. Doing so on a regular basis will contribute in a major way to your understanding of your business and its needs.

Retail Analytics gives you access to all data in real-time so that you and your employees can have the most up-to-date information regarding your business. It includes flexible views that allow you to query, list, pivot, and/or graph any set of data in a variety of fashions. Coming up with the reports that present data in the most meaningful way to you is valuable in helping you understand things the best way possible.

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Source: http://chaindrive.com/blog/retail-management-software/retail-analytics/retailanalyticssoftwarebusiness/07/21/2012

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Parks and rec announces activities for the coming week | The ...

Week of 22-28 July:
July 22- 24 Fincastle Football Camp at Greenfield Recreation Park. 6-8pm.
July 23-25 Summer Archery Camp at Central Academy Middle School. 9am-NOON.
July 23-27 Day Camps at Camp Eagle. 8:30am-5pm.
July 24-26 Virginia Pride Softball Camp at Botetourt Sports Complex. 9am-4pm.
July 23-26 Academy Soccer Camp at Cloverdale. 9am-NOON.
July 27-28 Children?s Overnighter at Camp Eagle. 4pm Friday ? 4pm Saturday.
COMING UP:
Junior Golf Camp at Ashley Plantation
July 30 ? August 3. 9am-NOON. Ages 6 to 18. $135 ($25 deposit, $110 payable at camp)

Botetourt County and The Golf Academy at Ashley have joined forces to offer this unique Junior Golf Camp! Each Junior Golfer will receive: 12 hours of professional group instruction by Jeff Sprinkle, Ashley Plantation logo shirt, use of range balls, entry fee and green fee for tournament, daily prizes and tournament prizes, free camp group picture, video instruction, PGA Junior Golf Foundation Membership Card, Rules of Golf Booklet, PGA Junior Golf Foundation Certificate, reduced green fees outside camp sessions, free awards cookout and a full agenda of golfing activities! This camp is limited, so call now to reserve a spot.
High Adventure Overnight Camp at Camp Eagle
July 30 ? August 3. Ages 13-19. ($350, $45 of which is required deposit)
Contact: Sherri at (540) 366-2432

Shenandoah Baptist Church and Botetourt County Parks and Recreation have teamed up to provide this one-of-a-kind extreme camp week! Experienced team leaders and staff are excited about challenging you with a fun and intense week. Activities include white water rafting, high ropes courses, tent camping, outdoor cooking, climbing walls, hiking, swimming in Lake Eagle and much more! Space is limited, so don?t delay!
Outdoor Adventure Day Camp at Camp Eagle
July 31 ? August 2. Ages 8-15. ($65)

Join the partnership of Botetourt County and Camp Eagle for a fun filled 3 day camp. All campers will have fun learning the safety of BB guns, archery, and tomahawk throwing and enjoy the fun of swimming, jumping on the BLOB and much more. Lunch will be provided. Participants need to bring a towel, bathing suit (1 piece), sunscreen and water bottle.
Trips Worth Noting:
August 4th and 5th Washington DC Train Trip with Roanoke Tours. ($259 Double)
August 9, 2012 ?The Motown Sound? Wohlfahrt Haus Dinner Theater ($79)
August 25, 2012 ?David: The New Musical? at the Barter Theater, Abingdon, VA ($75.00)

Please call Botetourt Parks & Recreation at (540) 473-8326 for information on the above activities.
Have a nice weekend.

Submitted by Botetourt County Parks and Rec

Source: http://blogs.roanoke.com/botetourtview/2012/07/parks-and-rec-announces-activities-for-the-coming-week/

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Binding spells love marriage relationships +27784271274(Dr Kim)

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He is specialist in lost love spells that work, love spells that really work in days, magic love spells to return your lost lover, easy love spells, binding for love and revenge, divorce spells ,marriage spell business spells Have you lost a lover and you want your ex back? Are you looking for true love, but you do not know where to start? Do you want to stop a divorce from happening? Is your partner cheating on you and you want to put an end to it? Life is too short to be unhappy. We offer a variety of spells that can help you in every aspect of your love life. Attract a Lover Spell The perfect spell to attract a new love in your life. Lost Love Spell Cast to bring back a lost lover; Get your Ex Back. Marriage Spell Cast to convince you partner to ask the Big Question. Banish a Past Lover Spell Cast against those who does not want to accept the relationship is over. Banish Grief Spell A spell to help you come to terms with the feelings of loss. Get your life back. Find True Love Spell Helps you find your True Love. Breaking Up Spell Helps you to end a relationship in the right way at the right time. Stop a Divorce Spell Does just that. This spell will put and end to your fears of losing your partner. The Spells listed here are the ones we cast regularly. Should you require a Spell that is not listed here or you
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Source: http://pitchups.com/2012/07/20/binding-spells-love-marriage-relationships-27784271274dr-kim-7/

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Looking For a New Diving Challenge? ? FishMonster Magazine

With any sport, hobby, or job for that matter,? you do it long enough and the particular activity becomes, ehhh?a little less than exciting.? Scuba diving can fall into this category.? Thankfully, our? scuba? certifying agencies offer plenty of specialty courses to keep most diver?s passion strong.? But recently the more adventurous? divers have been wanting new challenges and experiences.? Enter technical diving.

Spearfishing and technical diving are the hottest trends in scuba right now.? These two specialties show the demand for more adventurous dive activities and both are now very accessible to recreational divers.? Until recently the words ?Technical Diving? would conjure up thoughts of commercial divers, military divers or public safety divers.? Like recreational diving, technical diving is? ?sport? diving; it is diving done for fun.

So what exactly is Technical diving?? PADI defines technical diving as ?diving other than conventional commercial or recreational diving that takes divers beyond recreational diving limits. It is further defined as an activity that includes one or more of the following: diving beyond 40 meters/130 feet, required stage decompression, diving in an overhead environment beyond 130 linear feet from the surface, accelerated stage decompression and/or the use of multiple gas mixtures in a single dive.?

Within the past few years, the largest certifying agency, PADI has jumped on the tec diving train.? It now offers numerous classes involving some level of tec diving.? Starting with an ?intro to tec? which allows divers to get familiar with what tec diving entails, including the equipment needed in tec diving.? The student than can enroll in the next tec level, and so on and so on.? The multiple levels of training allows students to control how far they take their tec training.

You may ask yourself why would I want to tec dive?? To discuss this is the same as discussing why people climb mountains, why people go white-water rafting and why there is an insatiable desire by some people to go into space.? Plus there is a lot of cool stuff in deep waters, and diving on a rebreather can extend your bottom time by HOURS, since side mount tanks allow you to go where back mount won?t and because it?s a new cool diving challenge.? It is also safer, easier and more affordable than its ever been.

The fact remains, there is a large segment of the diving population that now craves deeper diving.? There are wrecks down there!!!?.It should be sufficient reason to dive deeper simply ?because it?s there.?

Hey, it was a good enough reason for George Leigh Mallory and Sir Edmund Hillary!

Source: http://fishmonster.com/reports/dive-reports/looking-for-a-new-diving-challenge/

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Video: Tomorrow in 30: All Eyes on Economic Data

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/48249580/

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postheadericon Texas Personal Injury Laws - Legal & Law Blog

Texas Personal Injury Laws

Tort regulation

Injury laws and regulations revolve close to tort regulation. The fundamental idea associated with tort regulation presumes that the individual who experiences accidental injuries because of the measures associated with an additional warrants payment for that accidental injuries. Tx regulation identifies 3 kinds of torts:

Negligent torts: The majority of damage instances come under this particular class. Inside a carelessness situation, the actual plaintiff documents case saying that she or he experiences a personal injury due to carelessness for the actual accused. A typical instance associated with carelessness consists of careless generating which leads to any sort of accident along with an additional vehicle.
Deliberate torts: This particular class consists of the actual wrongful measures how the accused commits deliberately. Electric battery as well as attack tend to be types of deliberate torts. To be able to effectively earn this kind of situation, the actual plaintiff should show the actual accused dedicated the actual tort as well as meant to trigger damage.
Torts depending on rigid legal responsibility: Rigid legal responsibility is actually much less typical as well as contends how the accused is likely for that damage no matter problem. A good example of this kind of suit is really a situation by which producers tend to be responsible for accidental injuries brought on by their own items.
Law associated with restrictions

The actual law associated with restrictions with regard to damage instances within Tx is actually 2 yrs. Which means that you?ve 2 yrs in the day from the problems for document the declare. Following this period elapses, you?re no more permitted document an injury declare.

Solving injury statements

Injury statements tend to be solved within 1 of 2 methods:

Damage negotiations: Nearly all instances tend to be solved within negotiations where the plaintiff allows payment in the accused as well as concurs to not consider the situation in order to courtroom.
Lawsuit: If your negotiation can?t be arrived at, the situation might go to courtroom. Within courtroom, the assess can make the ultimate choice concerning the quantity of payment.

No related posts.

Source: http://www.romerovigil-law.com/texas-personal-injury-laws.html

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Understanding the Initiative of Green Pest Control

Green pest control is an initiative to reduce the presence of pests in homes and offices by employing methods that are less harmful to the environment, residents, animals and plant life. Studies have been carried out to understand the life cycle of these pests and their nesting behavior and locations, to come up with measures that would prevent their infestation in your home.

In green pest control the chemicals used are not harmful to the environment and rather than simply spraying the chemical all over the affected place, they recommend some changes in the home too like installation of door sweeps and door screens or something similar. Solar powered repellent are another favored method used in green pest control. The advantages of opting for greener ways to eradicate pests are numerous as the chemicals used are prepared from organic and natural materials, which are environment friendly. The best part is they get rid of the pests without harming the plant in any way.

Another advantage is that instead of spraying a randomly picked up anti-pest chemical, the chemical sprayed is specifically chosen after analyzing the pest that has infested the area. This way the treatment is specific and the chance of the pest coming back is reduced greatly. To get rid of pests effectively and naturally you must hire a professional pest control company, who is an expert at green pest control, Atlanta wildlife control and Alpharetta pest control.

Atlanta has an abundant wildlife that sometimes finds it way right to your home or office and can become a nuisance. Rats, bats, squirrels and raccoons are some of the common rodents that may pose to be a threat to the safety and security of your home and belongings. Atlanta wildlife control would help you get rid of them without resorting to any extreme measures. Do not do the mistake of trying to remove them yourself as you may get hurt in the process. This is the job of an expert pest control company dealing with Atlanta wildlife control, as they firstly identify the intruder and how they gained access to your home. Secondly they would give you appropriate measures to block that access point and customize the solution as per you. Remember just setting up a trap would not help as it would help in only removing the pest once and it would be back before you know it. If you want a permanent solution, hiring a professional is the only solution.

If you are looking for some reputed companies offering Alpharetta pest control services, you should surf the internet and check out their previous reviews. Apart from wildlife animals causing trouble at your home, you may also face problems due to termites. Alpharetta pest control companies can help you get rid of termites effectively without exposing your kids and family to unnecessary danger that you may face if you use conventional pest control methods.

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Kemp's 2-run HR lifts LA

Associated Press Sports

updated 8:12 p.m. ET July 18, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The game began with an intense pitcher's duel between Cy Young Award-winning left-handers Clayton Kershaw and Cliff Lee. That lasted for eight innings. It ended four innings later with slugger Matt Kemp doing what he does best.

Kemp hit a two-run homer in the 12th, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.

Rookie left-hander Jake Diekman (2-0) walked Mark Ellis with one out and Kemp drove a 1-0 pitch the other way into the pavilion seats in right-center for his 13th home run and sixth career walkoff homer, capping the 4-hour, 25-minute marathon.

"I was struggling all day, I had to do something, man," Kemp said. "I think we were all getting a little frustrated and a little tired, but we fought until the end. We got the `W' and that's all that matters. It feels good to hit that home run. That's the hardest ball I've hit since I've been back (from the disabled list). I feel really good. My legs are getting under me."

Jamey Wright (4-2), the sixth Dodgers pitcher, worked one inning for the victory as the Dodgers ended a four-game losing streak.

Hunter Pence hit a two-run single in the 10th with the bases loaded to give Philadelphia a 3-1 lead. But the Dodgers responded with two runs in the bottom half against closer Jonathan Papelbon, whose blown save was his third in 24 opportunities.

Pinch-hitter and former Phillie Bobby Abreu had an RBI single and scored the tying run when Kemp beat out an infield single to deep shortstop with two outs and runners at the corners. The rally also included a dribbler to the left of the mound by Tony Gwynn Jr. that Papelbon couldn't make a play on.

"It's tough. It's one of those outings where you really can't do very much about it," Papelbon said. "I feel like I made the pitches I wanted to make. But there were swinging bunts and bloop hits and stuff like that. It's just part of the game. But we've got to stay positive and, look at the bigger picture, and realize that we came out of the All-Star break taking two series on the road. This was the kind of start that we needed."

Dodgers reliever Javy Guerra walked three in the 10th, including an intentional pass to Chase Utley. Pence hit the right-hander's 1-0 pitch to left field to drive in two.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel used four relievers in the ninth, including Michael Schwimer, who escaped a bases-loaded jam by striking out pinch-hitter James Loney on a pitch in the dirt.

"Our pitching is the reason why we've been doing so well lately," Pence said. "We won the first two games despite scoring only three runs in each game, and we almost won this game with three runs. That's a credit to our pitchers. You've even got to tip your cap to Papelbon. He's thrown a lot of pitches going three days in a row, so he's a warrior. But they found a way to battle, and you've got to give them some credit."

Less than 24 hours after the Phillies won 3-2 on a bases-loaded two-run single by Pence in the eighth inning against Kenley Jansen, they loaded the bases again against the Dodgers' closer in the ninth. But he escaped this time when Jason Pridie flied out as a pinch-hitter for Lee.

It was the ninth no-decision for Lee, and the seventh to go extra innings. The three-time All-Star allowed a run and two hits - the eighth time in 16 starts that he yielded fewer than three earned runs.

"Not once this year have I said anything about being frustrated," Lee said. "I can only control what I can control, and that's to make pitches, get as deep into the game as I can and try to give the team a chance to win. I would have loved to win this game, but it's over now and there's nothing you can do about it. I thought I pitched a good game. I made a mistake to Rivera in the second and he hit a home run, but otherwise, things went really well."

Lee's only victory was on July 4, when he beat the Mets 9-2 at New York. In his other start this season against the Dodgers, he retired 21 of his first 24 batters and took a shutout into the eighth before giving up a two-run double to Elian Herrera in a 2-1 loss at Philadelphia.

The 2008 AL Cy Young winner retired 15 of his first 16 batters in the rematch and threw 56 of his 89 pitches over the first five innings. His biggest out came in the sixth, when he struck out Kemp with two men on.

Kershaw allowed a run and five hits, struck out seven and walked none. It was the 13th time in 20 starts this season that he allowed fewer than three earned runs, and he is 6-3 in those games.

"For the most part, I was able to throw strikes and just kind of make them beat me," Kershaw said. "We needed a win, so we'll take them any way we can get them right now. We battled all the way through and Matty came up huge again. But the big inning was getting to Papelbon and getting back in the game. That's the sign of a good team."

Juan Rivera, starting at first base for the Dodgers instead of Loney with a lefty starting, opened the scoring in the second inning with his fourth homer.

NOTES: Guerra was reinstated from the bereavement list after visiting his ailing father, who had a heart attack last Friday night. RHP Stephen Fife, who allowed a run over six innings Tuesday night and got a no-decision in his major league debut, was optioned back to Triple-A Albuquerque. ... Rivera is 7-for-30 against Lee with four homers. ... The crowd of 39,955 pushed the Dodgers' home attendance total past the 2-million mark in 49 home dates - six fewer than last season.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Kemp's 2-run HR lifts LA

Matt Kemp hit a two-run homer in the 12th inning, giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.

Ross homers twice as Red Sox blast White Sox

BOSTON (AP) - Cody Ross hit three-run homers in consecutive innings and Felix Doubront pitched six solid innings, carrying the Boston Red Sox to a 10-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/48234207/ns/sports-baseball/

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BN Trailblazers & Tastemakers: iROK, iROKO, iROKING! - Bella Naija

Over the years, BellaNaija has interviewed and profiled a select group of African entrepreneurs, scientists, academics, activists and advocates. The positive reaction to these features has been amazing. We have decided to brand these profiles and interviews as?BN Trailblazers & Tastemakers.?These young Africans are literally ?changing the world?! Read and be inspired?

?Five years ago, Jason Njoku, was just a graduate of Chemistry with entrepreneurial tendencies. He had failed at some attempts at business and would still stumble severally in the following couple of years. Life was really hard, but he was determined to turn his failures into stepping stones. He had the light bulb moment when he moved back with his mum at a point and observed her viewing pattern. Then, he got a flight back to Lagos, paid people to watch and select the best movies, and started buying rights to local movies for online streaming to the Diaspora. NolywoodLove, as it was called, soon became YouTube?s biggest African partner and recorded a whooping 152 million views in its first year. Then, they decided to build their own platform for streaming Nollywood films, hence the launching of iROKOtv in January 2012 which now has a library of over 5,000 films. ?We have 570,000 registered users in only seven months and this figure is growing every day?, he says. The company, which was entirely financed with cash flow from operations and founder?s funds in the initial stage, has now attracted big investors (8 million US Dollars from an American Venture Capitalist and, most recently, 2 million US Dollars from a Swedish firm). Just yesterday, he was announced as one of the 2012 Future Awards nominees for Young Person of the Year. In this interview with Gbenga Awomodu, Jason talks about his humble beginnings, his meteoric rise in the video streaming business, tackling piracy, how iROKOtv is changing the face of Nollywood, and lots more.

Could you tell us a bit about yourself ? where you grew up, your education, and what you currently do (for a living)?
I grew up in Deptford, South East London with my mum, and brothers and sisters. There?s quite a large Nigerian population in the area, so I was always surrounded by Nigerian culture. After school, I went to Manchester University to study Chemistry and got a 2:1. I?m the first person in my family to have gone to University. And now, today, I am the CEO of iROKO Partners, an awesome African tech start-up that?s taking Nigerian entertainment ? music & Nollywood ? to an online global audience.

Last year, iROKO Partners successfully launched three exciting platforms in the Nigerian Internet entertainment space, namely, iROKOtv.com, iROKtv and iROKING.com. Could you briefly tell us about these platforms?
iROKOtv is essentially the African equivalent of ?Netflix?. Our concept is brutally simple: It?s an awesome, easy to use, high quality platform for people to watch Nollywood movies. When I started out, I knew that people loved Nollywood, but very quickly, when I started seeing the amount of traffic coming to our site, I realised that they really, seriously love Nollywood. There?s an unquenchable thirst out there for movies. Luckily, we have enough to satisfy our viewers? watching habits ? we have a catalogue of about 5,000 movies available for free in HD and anyone who subscribes to iROKOtv+ can exclusively get the newest releases every week. This subscription comes in at $5 a month, which is roughly the same price as one DVD. If iROKOtv is the African Netflix, then iROKING is the Spotify. iROKING has over 35,000 songs from 200 or so of Nigeria?s top artistes. iROKING is the future of Nigeria?s digital music scene ? people can access the tunes anytime, anywhere ? so we?re spreading the love and helping our artistes go global. iROKtv is a Nollywood behind-the-scenes channel ? a bit like the E! Channel in the USA.

Before those three platforms, there was NollywoodLove and later YorubaLove. What were they about and how were you able to make a huge success out of them in a rather short time?
When I first started buying the online licenses to Nollywood films we caught the attention of YouTube and partnered with them. We are still YouTube?s biggest partner in Africa. However, in order to grow the business, we decided to build our own platform for streaming Nollywood films and launched iROKOtv in January 2012. We have 570,000 registered users in only seven months and this figure is growing every day.

What challenges did you battle with and how have you been able to apply lessons learnt in creating and running your three new brands?
Initially, I started the company from my bedroom in London. But this was impossible. Very quickly I realized I had to be in Lagos, pacing the streets of Alaba Market, doing business with the movie producers face-to-face. So I got on a plane to Lagos and never looked back. One of the biggest challenges was, and still is, piracy. I don?t think it?s a surprise that piracy is one of the major challenges facing the Nollywood industry at the moment but we?re working on that. As a company, we continue to invest in shutting down illegal sites that profit from others? creative output and hard work. It?s long, hard work but necessary if we?re going to win the battle against the pirates.

Could you shed more light on your business model; how do you stream the latest Nigerian movies ? does your company partner up with these movie producers or do they charge you licensing fee to host their movies on your site?
We pay the producers for the exclusive rights to the online license to their films. This is a mutually beneficial relationship as we are able to give our viewers the films they want, and the producers now have a new means of earning additional money for their movie. Before, their work was illegally uploaded onto pirate sites and the producers lost out big time ? this is no longer the case. Also, our site is safe ? viewers are not exposed to bugs or viruses when they come to iROKOtv.

What is the size of your team and how do you plan to expand over the next few years?
At the moment we have almost 100 staff spread across our New York, London and Lagos offices and we will be building it out from there. Our biggest team is in Lagos ? we have about 80 people here.

How many movies are available on the site for viewers across the globe and how have you fared in terms of viewership and number of unique visitors, since inception?
We have over 570,000 registered users and a library of over 5,000 films but we?re constantly adding to it. We upload films from our catalogue onto the site every day. Under our new subscription model, viewers still have free access to 95 per cent of the films on the site, but for $5 a month they have access to iROKOtv+ and can get the brand new and exclusive releases. We?ve broadcast over 11 million hours worth of film on iROKOtv so far. We found a super-user recently: in 89 days, one iROKOtv viewer watched 1126hrs, 59m and 30s. Now THAT?S a Nollywood fan. Awesome! Our biggest markets are the US, UK, Canada, Italy and Germany; we actually have more viewers in London than in Lagos. The key reason for that is broadband penetration ? there aren?t as many fixed broadband lines in Lagos, but they are growing in number, and fast.

Entrepreneurs are primarily profit-driven and can go to the extreme in reducing cost of obtaining raw materials. How do you ensure that local movie producers from whom you buy rights enjoy a fair deal and do not feel cheated?
Quite simply, it?s not in our interests to be paying the producers less. By paying them more, we hope they will have the incentive, and money, to re-invest in their next film and the overall quality of Nollywood movies improves. The producers win, the viewers win. We?ve got really good relationships with the producers and the stars, many of whom have joined iROKO as our brand ambassadors. We have the likes of Tonto Dikeh and Funke Akindele shouting about iROKOtv ? the industry is behind us. Don?t forget, before we came along, producers received no money for their films being streamed online, so we are not reducing costs, we are providing them with a new means of generating income.

A guest on iROKtv, Nollywood behind-the-scenes channel

With increasing market share and turnover, you are bound to become more financially powerful. Does your company plan to drill down to the bottom of the distribution chain with your own movie production outfit in the near future?
That?s something for us to consider, absolutely. One thing I?ve learned in this business is that the possibilities are endless. There are plenty of opportunities out there for us. Right now we?re focusing on building a bigger library and the best possible service for our users. We?ve got a killer team in place ? all hungry to build the business and spread the word of Nollywood.

In what ways do you hope to intervene and provide solutions to some of the problems confronting Nollywood, most notably terrible acting, poor video production infrastructure and plagiarism ? especially, the indiscriminate use of unauthorized sound tracks which are often unpaid for?
The idea of ?terrible acting? is a question of personal taste. If it?s so terrible, why do millions upon millions of people keep tuning in to Nollywood films? As with all film industries, there are great actors and there are some not-so-great actors. Nollywood is no different. Hopefully, with the new money being ploughed into the industry, there will be more investment in production equipment ? this stuff is expensive and producers have to invest their own money most of the time. Piracy continues to be an issue across the industry ? we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in combating the pirates who have no regard for the producers? livelihoods and profit from stealing other peoples? creative content.

Hollywood is terrific in size and reach. Bollywood is great too. What do you think are Nigeria?s chances at competing with these two industries sometime in the future, if any?
First of all, Bollywood and Hollywood are totally different. Hollywood is much more reliant on those ?blockbuster hits? and it?s a very different model. Bollywood is the only industry bigger than Nollywood, by volume and even that has a very different culture. Bollywood is all about the cinema experience whereas Nollywood is all very much straight to DVD ? over 95% of revenue is made from the sale of DVDs in Nollywood. Obviously, I hope that Nollywood will be as big and famous as Bollywood one day, but it?s still a relatively young industry. Don?t forget ? there are one billion Africans in the Diaspora. As Africa comes online, Nollywood?s reach will grow significantly, especially as iROKO is taking it global.

In your opinion, what makes Nollywood unique and what have we gotten right so far?I think it?s the passion that people have for it. The love and creativity that goes into each film is amazing. The films encapsulate very specific cultural traits and characteristics of Nigerian life that should be celebrated. We?ve captured this celebration in film ? and yes, the quality isn?t always 100% ? but that?s something for the industry to progress with ? and it?s already happening.

Nollywood produces several hundreds of low-budget movies a year under difficult conditions and the quality is mostly poor. Do you think the audience will eventually get tired of poor quality and force producers to follow the Hollywood path of quality above quantity; what?s your take?
Well, part of the reason that the quality has been poor is because the producers haven?t been able to make money from their films properly. We have started to change that and you can already see that in some of the films that are being made. But I don?t think that people will tire of it ? people love Nollywood because it speaks to them in a way that Hollywood doesn?t. People engage with Nollywood themes, characters, humour, locations?. They engage with their culture, so I don?t think there will be significant move to Hollywood films.

One online writer says your ?model is simple and takes advantage of inexpensive digital technologies.? How inexpensive could it be and what?s your current budget like?
Obviously, like any start-up tech firm, we try to use the best we can while keeping prices down but we?ve got some great tech guys on board who know what they?re doing. We?ve invested in technology ? hardware and software ? and continue to do so in order to consistently provide an awesome service for our viewers. We recently completely redesigned the website to coincide with the launch of iROKOtv+ ? this obviously took up considerable resource, but the end product is a beautiful, clean, visually stimulating website that our viewers love ? so it?s a long-term investment which will ultimately benefit us for a number of years.

As a video-streaming outfit, your internet bills must be flying right through the roof. How do you handle this and tackle challenges with the cost of broadband internet services?
It?s a cost we absorb ? all businesses have overheads ? Internet is one of them for us.

What do you think is the future of video streaming in Africa vis-a-vis the high cost, low speed, weak accessibility and slow growth of broadband internet access in Africa?I think the African tech and telecoms sector is possibly the most exciting in the world. It?s opening up a whole range of opportunities, not only for businesses but for young people across the continent. It will get better, faster and reach further ? probably at a much quicker rate than in Western markets! Broadband penetration at the moment is relatively low ? in five years? time, it will be a totally different landscape and this will be reflected in our business; in lots of businesses.

Recently, Iroko Partners raised $8 million in cash from two rounds led by Tiger Global, a New York-based privately-owned investment firm with investments in emerging markets. What aspects of the company are you investing that money in?
Well, I?m not spending it all on champagne and parties. We?re still a start-up and we need to make sure we spend that cash wisely. We?re using the money to invest in developing our library, buying more and more awesome content for iROKOtv and iROKING and to build our teams in the New York, London and Lagos offices.

Jason at the Mobile Web West Africa Conference 2012 in Lagos, Nigeria

How would you advise the typical Nigerian/African tech startup entrepreneur on building their business from scratch and raising funds from venture capitalists?
You?ve got to have the drive and the will to succeed. If you?re not going to go all in, then there?s no point doing it at all. Fact. When we built iROKO, we worked really hard at getting the platform to its best functionality as quickly as possible which meant that when people started to take notice of us they took us seriously. We didn?t actually go to any investors ourselves; they came to us, but we were careful to collaborate with the right investors. We had a unique product, a strong vision and momentum behind us. Add to that a lot of hard work and a dedicated team, and it is an extremely powerful proposition.

In your opinion, what are the three most important attributes required by the Nigerian/African tech entrepreneur to succeed on the global business front?
With a business like ours, you?ve got to have a product with global appeal but underpinned by local knowledge. iROKO?s biggest markets are the US, UK, Canada, Germany and Italy. We?re aggregating the African Diaspora in a way that no one has been able to before.
You have to have an incredible team around you; a team that loves the end product (no matter what it is) as much as you do ? they need to be engaged, on the ball, skilled and excited by what they are doing ? I believe we?ve found this balance at iROKO Partners.
Thirdly ? you have to have to put the hard work in. Africa is without a doubt an exciting place to be doing business at the moment, but there are still challenges regarding bureaucracy, infrastructure, communications, etc., that need to be addressed. If you are willing to put in the hard work, you can overcome these challenges and succeed.

Where do you see the iROKO company in the next decade?
iROKOtv clocked up half a million registered users in its first six months and hopefully we?ll continue to expand that quickly. We never wrote a business plan, but we are always looking at new ideas for how we can make the site better and give more to our customers. We have just launched the new website for iROKOtv which looks awesome, but we are always looking to improve. African telecoms is expanding at such a rate that in ten years we might have viewers watching from the most remote areas of Africa, which would be awesome.

What would you like to say to our loyal BellaNaija readers?
Get involved in the Nollywood revolution. irokotv.com
Peace.

www.irokotv.com | www.iroking.com

Photo Credit:?Iroko Partners | Emmanuel Oyeleke

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Gbenga Awomodu is an Editorial Assistant at Bainstone Ltd./BellaNaija.com. When he is not reading or writing, Gbenga is listening to good music or playing the piano. Follow him on Twitter: @gbengaawomodu | Gbenga?s Notebook: www.gbengaawomodu.com | Facebook Page: Gbenga Awomodu

Tags: BN Trailblazers & Tastemakers, Gbenga Awomodu, iROKING, IrokoTV, iROKtv, Jason Njoku, nollywood

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Jo Kadlecek: Danger: A Different Kind of Summer Mission Trip

Tegucigalpa, Honduras -- On any given Saturday in June or July, it's easy to spot the short-term missions teams in the Atlanta airport waiting for their flights to Tegucigalpa, Honduras; just read the T-shirts. There's First Baptist in purple "Fulfilling His Mission," Emmanuel Church in lime green, Good Samaritan in orange, and half dozen other variations of blue, pink and gray covering teens, children, grandfathers, youth leaders and mothers. Some say they go every summer for a week; others admit this is their first trip. But all feel compelled to go and do, to build houses, visit orphanages or run Vacation Bible Schools.

That they go at all is no small thing considering the United Nations' 2011 report on crime and drugs ranked Honduras with the highest per capita homicide rate in the world. In January 2012, the Peace Corps pulled out its volunteers as it reviewed security and safety issues here. More than 20 journalists and 36 lawyers have been murdered in the past three years. Yet more than 1 million individuals from across the U.S. travel here each summer on some sort of short-term mission trip. With so much good will happening, why haven't crime rates decreased?

Never far from security teams and bodyguards, participants from around the world recently addressed that question during a two-week seminar, co-sponsored by the Association for a More Just Society (AJS) and its local partner affiliate, Asociaci?n para una Sociedad m?s Justa (ASJ). More than 25 Christian practitioners, scholars and pastors from Ecuador, Romania, Cambodia, Canada, Peru, Guatemala, Nigeria, the Philippines and the U.S. gathered June 18-29 in Tegucigalpa to examine the issues behind the symptomatic problems most short-term missions teams come to address. They explored long-term strategies for confronting corrupt governments in their respective countries while also learning from each other and from lectures by Yale scholar and writer Nicholas Wolterstorff, 80, who traveled here with his wife and 15-year old granddaughter.

The seminar, "Justice: Theory Meets Practice" was the brain child, in part, of Kurt Ver Beek, a U.S. sociologist affiliated with Calvin College in Michigan. Co-director of AJS, Ver Beek has lived with his family in Tegucigalpa for the past 25 years and writes often about short-term missions. He and ASJ co-director Carlos Hernandez, along with their mostly Honduran staff and partner agencies, hosted the twelve-day seminar, often in offices surrounded by barbed wire fences with security guards nearby. Because the ASJ investigates, exposes and sometimes prosecutes corrupt officials around labor, education and land rights, Ver Beek, Hernandez and their team view daily precautions as routine.

Nonetheless, the hundreds of young people and adults who travel for short-term missions here, Ver Beek said, don't always understand what they're walking into. He believes they genuinely want to be "agents of change," but too often overlook the reasons behind a country's systemic problems in the first place. "Justice: Theory Meets Practice," a seminar he'd dreamt of for several years, was designed specifically to address the larger questions behind such troubles, those that triggered unjust and dangerous situations.

"This group (seminar) is different," Ver Beek said. "We're wanting to make lasting change for Honduras and as a result help these international participants do the same."

Despite the potential risks, Abram Huyser Honig, AJS's director of operations, called the two-week gathering, "probably the best opportunity we've had to spark and contribute to justice efforts beyond Honduras. At the same time, we've learned a lot that is applicable in Honduras from Dr. Wolterstorff and our participants."

Seminar participants themselves were no strangers to equally dangerous scenarios. Whether assisting children escaping sexual slavery or abuse in Peru, sheltering women from violent husbands in Guatemala and Ecuador, or devising youth programs to curb corruption in Romania, several of the seminar's practitioners said security issues often accompany their work for justice.

The challenges aren't easily avoided, especially in Honduras where the discrepancy is extreme, Wolterstorff said. "There are good laws (here) but they don't make a difference because they don't kick in," he said. "AJS does its best to remind the government and police of those good laws, which must be implemented. But that's risky."

Wolterstorff, whose most recent book is "Justice in Love," provided his own challenge for the practitioners, most of who had not heard the scholar before and who called his talks "essential" in reframing their own work. Over the course of six lectures, Wolterstorff explored such inherent themes as human rights and dignity, the distinctions between forgiveness/punishment and benevolence/charity, the role of the imagination in building social movements that confront injustice, and the biblical arguments behind each.

"To speak against social injustice is to observe as the (Old Testament) prophets did and assume that things can be different," he said. "Movements combined with the prophetic in a civil society awaken people to injustice. And part of waking them up is enabling them to imagine a better alternative."

In addition to hearing from Wolterstorff, as well as local lawyers, journalists, social workers, government officials and counselors about their work, the group exchanged academic papers while practitioners relayed success stories, ministry models and training tools. They also heard how local workers in Honduran agencies are providing information and online access to mobilize grass roots efforts. The group even witnessed the historic signing of a formal agreement to work together between the ASJ and the National Evangelical Association, an alliance of more than 300 Protestant churches and member organizations in Honduras, including Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals and other denominations.

"With so much building to do in my country because of so much trauma, I sometimes don't know where to start," said Navy Chann, who attended the seminar because of her work as director of Genesis Community of Transformation (GCT) in Cambodia. Chann, who escaped the Khmer Rouge, directed Christian Reformed World Relief Committee in Cambodia for 10 years before founding GCT. "But hearing Dr. Nick and the others reminding us of what it means to seek justice, I have a renewed hope."

That was the point, Ver Beek said. "Too often short term missions have become the equivalent of reading the newspaper and feeling overwhelmed by too many voices and too much information," he said. "They often have no framework for processing the experience. This (seminar) provides that."

As Wolterstorff observed, "Charity is not enough," he said. "We have to ask the why behind the injustice; if we don't, we do another injustice."

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jo-kadlecek/danger-a-different-kind-of-summer-mission-trip_b_1672023.html

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