Comedy news: Comedy Central to boost UK comedy output

Posted on 16 March 2011 by admin

Budding script-writers pick up your ears as the UK arm of the cable comedy channel, Comedy Central is set to expand the range of programming from the UK in the near future.

In a wide-ranging interview with TV industry paper Broadcast now Comedy Central’s commissioning editor Pete Thornton has revealed plans by the channel to increase the amount of homegrown content on the channel. 

“We’re hoping that the percentage of homegrown content we order will grow from about 8 per cent to around a third by 2015,” Thornton said. “It’s a big opportunity for us to work with the UK production market.”

Thornton was brought over from the BBC to the cable channel to help Comedy Central focus on new scripted content, having read through a plethora of material, Thornton is now close to commissioning a host of new shows for the channel. 

“our audience told us that the brand is well loved but we’re known as a channel that shows US comedy, and what they’d love to see is great, topflight UK commissions,” Thornton told Broadcast now magazine.

Yet though Thornton is adept at realising the need for high-quality programming, the long lead in times for new TV shows means that the clock is ticking, and fast.

“if we don’t commission scripts and get into series development on another project within the next two months, we won’t have anything to show come February next year,” he added. “so there is a very focused and determined push happening right now.”

“I’m looking for writers with strong voices and interesting situations that leap out with a fresh take on an area or cover something I’ve never heard of before.”

According to Thornton, Olivia Lee’s Dirty, Sexy funny is the perfect example for aspiring comedy show writers to look at when thinking up their ideas. 

“Olivia Lee is a strength. she personifies a lot of the characteristics we’d like to be associated with: irreverent, glamorous, opinionated and a bit naughty.”

If you think that your writing is a little dirty, sexy or funny it might be worth penning a pitch and sending it Comedy Central’s way.

Read the full interview with Pete Thornton on Broadcast now magazine. (subscription needed)

<a href="http://www.suchsmallportions.com/pg/news/suchsmallportions/read/31146/comedy-central-to-boost-uk-comedy-outputtag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.suchsmallportions.com/pg/news/suchsmallportions/read/31146/comedy-central-to-boost-uk-comedy-outputMon, 14 Mar 2011 15:52:10 GMT 00:00″>Comedy news: Comedy Central to boost UK comedy output

Posted in comedy central | Tagged cable, Central, Comedy, comedy central, comedy channel, comedy news, news, pete thornton, rdquo, uk comedy | Leave a comment

Wife: Freed CIA contractor ‘is not a killer’

Posted on 16 March 2011 by admin

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo.—The wife of the CIA contractor released from jail in Pakistan on Wednesday said she is confident her husband acted in self-defense when he shot and killed two Pakistani men, and she knew he would be released eventually.

“If he says self-defense, I believe self-defense,” Rebecca Davis said outside her home in the south Denver suburbs.

“My husband is not a killer. He’s not Rambo,” she said.

Raymond Allen Davis was freed and left Pakistan after more than $2 million in “blood money” was paid to the families of the men who were killed on Jan. 27. The U.S. government described the men as robbers.

Rebecca Davis said she did not know how much money had been paid or who came up with it.

“I trust my husband, I trust the government, I trust the training. and I believed in my gut from day one that he was OK and it was just going to take time,” she said.

Rebecca Davis described her husband as “very cool-headed, even-tempered, highly trained.”

Davis said she got letters from him but wasn’t able to speak to him while he was incarcerated.

“He was healthy, exercising, reading, playing cribbage, (practicing) origami,” she said. for their anniversary, he sent her what she described as a perfect origami crane. “So I think he had lots of time to work on it. It was beautiful.”

His letters described feeling like a caged tiger. “It wasn’t a pleasant thing,” she said, “but it could have been so much worse.”

Rebecca Davis appeared upbeat, even buoyant. She joked that when she first heard he was released after a payment, she thought, “That’s it? That’s all he’s worth?” But she reiterated that she didn’t know any details of the transaction.

Davis said she got the news in two phone calls at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and a visitor to her home. She declined to identify the callers or the visitor.

She fought back tears when describing the support and steady updates she got from the U.S. government, again declining to identify who had contacted her.

She said she kept up her routine while her husband was detained, even attending a music class and getting her 2 1/2-year-old son to a school Wednesday morning after getting the news of her husband’s release.

Rebecca Davis said she and her husband are both former soldiers who met while they were in the Army. She said she knew something of his current work but not everything.

“It’s always in the back of your mind that something like this could happen,” she said.

Asked if she thought he would continue his line of work, she said she didn’t know. But she said he is “all about his country” and described him as a soldier, even though he is apparently no longer in the Army.

“One thing my husband is, he’s a soldier,” Rebecca Davis said. “Country first. well, God first, and then country.”

She said she doesn’t expect to see him before this weekend, because he’ll need to be de-briefed first. She doesn’t know where they’ll reunite.

<a href="http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_17625808tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_17625808Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:19:00 GMT 00:00″>Wife: Freed CIA contractor ‘is not a killer’

Posted in raymond davis | Tagged blood money, CIA, cia contractor, contractor, denver suburbs, home, news, rebecca davis, south denver, work | Leave a comment

Dexter Fowler, Ty Wigginton lead Rockies over Indians

Posted on 16 March 2011 by admin

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Lonnie Chisenhall got the Indians on the scoreboard early, when he launched a Jason Hammel fastall down the right-field line and onto the burm for a solo homer. but the Indians left the scoreboard unscathed for the next eight innings, as the Rockies came back to win, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon.

The Rockies answered Cleveland’s opening parry in the bottom of the first inning, when Dexter Fowler drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a wild pickoff throw, went to third on Jonathan Herrera’s sacrifice bunt to the pitcher, and came home on catcher Carlos Santana’s passed ball. the Rockies took the lead in the second frame, when third baseman Ty Wigginton drove a solo homer over the left-center-field fence.

Hammel settled down after the homer, earning five of his nine outs from groundballs and scattering four more hits over his three innings. Hammel has yet to walk a batter in two Cactus League starts.

“I did a good job with runners on base, but I was getting behind hitters,” Hammel said. “The timing just wasn’t quite there with the command. I could still make a pitch on my 2-0 pitch, and they were sitting dead red.”

Indians starter Justin Masterson pitched a solid three innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits, a walk, and a hit batter. It was an improvement over his first start, when he walked three and hit one while allowing two earned runs in two innings.

“Masterson started behind in the count in the first inning, but after that he got into a better rhythm and finished up strong,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “Then, the guys kept coming in and throwing strikes, pounding the zone. [Drew] Pomeranz threw the ball very well, and we swung the bats well. [Travis] Buck and Chisenhall continue to hit the ball right on the nose.”

Fowler added two doubles in his next two trips to the plate for the Rockies, and Wigginton doubled in the fourth to join the multi-hit club and set up the Rockies’ third run. Chisenhall notched a second hit in the third inning, but was thrown out at second after sliding past the bag while trying to turn his base hit into a double. Fowler had been tagged out at third by Chisenhall the inning before, as he tried to leg his double into a triple.

Up next for the Rockies: Ubaldo Jimenez returns to the mound for his second start on Monday against the Dodgers at 1:10 p.m. MT in Scottsdale, Ariz., and all eyes will be on his right thumb. the Rockies’ ace pitched two scoreless innings in his Cactus League debut, but missed his second start with an infected left cuticle on his pitching thumb.

Up next for the Indians: Right-hander Mitch Talbot, who appears to be in line for the Indians’ no. 3 starter job this season, is scheduled to make his second outing of the spring when the Tribe takes on the rival White Sox at 3:05 p.m. ET on Monday in Glendale, Ariz. In Talbot’s Cactus League debut, he allowed two runs on four hits in two innings.

<a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110306&content_id=16841184&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlbtag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110306″>Dexter Fowler, Ty Wigginton lead Rockies over Indians

Posted in talbots | Tagged ball, cactus league, innings, jason hammel, League, lonnie chisenhall, sacrifice bunt, scoreboard, SCOTTSDALE, solo homer | Leave a comment

Family Events in Berkshire and Bennington Counties

Posted on 16 March 2011 by admin

Wednesday March 9, 2011

Thursday, March 10

Bisque, Beads & beyond, "Paint & Read" art class for preschoolers, featuring story hour followed by a special project, 11 a.m.-noon and 4-5 p.m. 141 North St., Pittsfield. 413-442-9300. Friday, March 11

Berkshire Country Day School, "BCD Music & Me" weekly playgroup for children ages 2-4, featuring circle time, music period and story time on theme "where the Wild Things Are with ‘Wild Things’ Puppets," 9-9:45 a.m. Free; registration recommended. Route 183, Stockbridge. 413-637-0755, ext. 16, or afreeman@berkshirecountryday.org.

Bisque, Beads & beyond, family fundraiser for Gathered Resources of Women, featuring information on GROW, healthy snacks and more, 6-8 p.m. 141 North St., Pittsfield. gatheredwomen.org.

Saturday, March 12

Matrushka Toy Store, “Mornings at Matrushka,” featuring puppet show and story, hosted by experienced early childhood educator teacher from the Steiner School, 10-11 a.m. 309 Main St., Great Barrington. 413-528-6911.

Clark Art Institute, Start with Art preschool art session features age-appropriate “painting talks” that introduce children 3 to 6 and their caregivers to eye-opening details in some of the museum’s best-loved works of art, followed by hands-on craft activities, 10 a.m. Free. South Street, Williamstown. 413-458-2303 or clarkart.edu.

First Congregational Church, annual children’s fair, with the theme "It’s Easy Being Green," featuring games designed for young children by the late James Skinner, fortune teller, face-painting and other activities, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Free, 25 cents/game. 906 Main St., Williamstown. 413-458-4273 or firstchurchwilliamstown.org.

Lenox Library, reading and signing of the newly released, highly praised picture book "I Must have Bobo!" by Eileen and Marc Rosenthal, featuring monkey drawing lessons by Rosenthal, monkey treats and more, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Free. Main Street, Lenox. lenoxlib.org or 413-637-0197, ext. 105.

Berkshire Athenaeum, "a Berkshire Beach Event," featuring a craft activity, stories, movie and snack, 10:30 a.m.-noon. Wendell Avenue, Pittsfield. 413-499-9480, ext. 5.

Family Resource Center, four short marionette tales by Rosalita’s Puppets based on Aesop’s Fables: "the Fox and the Crow," "the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse," "the Donkey and the Lap Dog" and "the Fisherman and his Catch," 11 a.m. Free. St. Patrick’s Parish Center, Southworth Street, Williamstown. 413-664-4821.

Community Health Programs, fourth annual Baby Fair, featuring workshops on making baby food, child development, calming colicky infants and more, 1-4 p.m. Free. 442 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington. 413-528-0457 or communityhealthprograms.org.

Hopkins Forest, annual MapleFest celebration, where visitors can visit a working sugar house, observe the finishing and bottling of the final product, assist in tree tapping and sap gathering taste the homemade syrup on pancakes and “sugar on snow” and more, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Free. Bulkley Street and Northwest Hill Road, Williamstown. williams.edu.

Dewey Hall, author, consultant, trainer and counselor Kim John Payne will offer a workshop about raising children in the current fast and electronically-oriented atmosphere with reference to his book, “Simplicity Parenting: using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, happier, and More Secure Kids,” 9 a.m.-1 p.m. $30/advance, $35/at the door. Rudolf Steiner School, Great Barrington. 413-528-4015, ext. 104.

Mass MoCA, Gallery question in conjunction with the new Katharina Grosse exhibit "one Floor Up More Highly," in which kids will explore the exhibit and do projects related to the show, noon. $10; includes gallery admission. Marshall Street, North Adams. massmoca.org or 413-662-2111.

Sunday, March 13

Eagles Hall, Cub Scout Pack 35 will hold a "Not Just Pancakes Breakfast," featuring pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, juice, coffee and tea, 8-11 a.m. $6/adults, $5/seniors and children under 13. Route 8, North Adams.

Readsboro Inn, Kool-Kats 4H Club of Readsboro will hold a pizza fundraiser, where members will prepare the pizzas, wait the tables and wash dishes to help raise money for the "community benches" project that the Kool-Kats will resume work on once the snow melts, 4-7 p.m. 7077 Main St., Readsboro, Vt. koolkats4h@gmail.com.

Sinai Academy of the Berkshires, Purim Party, a family program featuring stories about the Jewish holiday of Purim, 3-4:30 p.m. 199 South St., Pittsfield. 413-499-4167.

Tuesday, March 15

Bisque, Beads & beyond, "Clay Creation Club" for kids to work with clay and create one-of-a-kind handbuilt projects, 4-5:30 p.m. 141 North St., Pittsfield. 413-442-9300.

Wednesday, March 16

Darrow School, Maple Fest, featuring outdoor activities and tastings of maple syrup, which has been produced on the Darrow School campus for decades, including pancake breakfast, games for children, tours and more, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Darrow Road, new Lebanon, N.Y. darrowschool.org or 877-432-7769.

Thursday, March 17

Bennington Museum, Museum ABCs, a program designed for preschoolers and their parents or caregivers, on the theme “Colors and Shapes,” which explores the many colors that can be seen in the glass pieces located in the Vermont Decorative Arts Gallery, as well as the colors and shapes found in the other 10 galleries of the museum, 1:30 p.m. Free; registration recommended. 802-447-1571 or benningtonmuseum.org.

Ramsdell Public Library, magician and storyteller Debbie O’Carroll will lead a family progran, 3 p.m. Free. Main Street, Housatonic. 413-274-3738.

Bisque, Beads & beyond, "Paint & Read" art class for preschoolers, featuring story hour followed by a special project, 11 a.m.-noon and 4-5 p.m. 141 North St., Pittsfield. 413-442-9300.

Mount Everett Regional High School, student production of the musical "You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown," featuring junior Gabriella Makuc as rehearsal and performance pianist as well as more than 30 students in the cast and crew, 7:30 p.m. $8, $6/students and seniors. Berkshire School Road, Sheffield. 413-229-8754, ext. 127.

Friday, March 18

New Lebanon Library, Family Movie Night, featuring screening of "Megamind," 6:30 p.m. Free. Route 20, new Lebanon, N.Y. 518-794-8844.

Mount Everett Regional High School, student production of the musical "You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown," featuring junior Gabriella Makuc as rehearsal and performance pianist as well as more than 30 students in the cast and crew, 7:30 p.m. $8, $6/students and seniors. Berkshire School Road, Sheffield. 413-229-8754, ext. 127.

Saturday, March 19

Berkshire South Regional Community Center, girls in grades K through 12 can explore the sport of archery, an active, no-impact exercise that promotes healthy competition, 1:30-3 and 3-4:30 p.m. Free; registration requested. Crissey Road, Great Barrington. 413-727-7129 or ccoursey@gscwm.org.

Mount Everett Regional High School, student production of the musical "You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown," featuring junior Gabriella Makuc as rehearsal and performance pianist as well as more than 30 students in the cast and crew, 2 and 7:30 p.m. $8, $6/students and seniors. Berkshire School Road, Sheffield. 413-229-8754, ext. 127.

Berkshire Botanical Garden, Youth Education Office presents "Seed Bombs and Other Guerilla Gardening," a workshop for children 8 and up in which children will create seed bombs designed to enable seeds to be sown in hard-to-reach places and locations, 1-2:30 p.m. $25; registration required. Routes 102 and 183, Stockbridge. 413-298-3926 or berkshirebotanical.org.

Images Cinema, International Family Film Series continues with a collection of shorts focusing on tween issues such as body image and friendships, from the new York International Children’s Film Festival, 10 a.m. $5. Spring Street, Williamstown. imagescinema.org.

Mason Library, "Love of a Lady" program, featuring screening of film about a lovely dog and kindness that happened in a foreign land, 11 a.m. Free; donations of gently used books to benefit Head Start will be accepted. Main Street, Great Barrington. 413-528-2403.

Sunday, March 20

Mount Everett Regional High School, student production of the musical "You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown," featuring junior Gabriella Makuc as rehearsal and performance pianist as well as more than 30 students in the cast and crew, 2 p.m. $8, $6/students and seniors. Berkshire School Road, Sheffield. 413-229-8754, ext. 127.

Tuesday, March 22

Bisque, Beads & beyond, "Clay Creation Club" for kids to work with clay and create one-of-a-kind handbuilt projects, 4-5:30 p.m. 141 North St., Pittsfield. 413-442-9300.

Wednesday, March 23

Family Resource Center, Ooey Gooey Night for kids to experiment with messy fun, 6-7 p.m. Free. first Baptist Church, Eagle and Main streets, North Adams. 413-664-4821.

Thursday, March 24

New Lebanon Library, Family Crafts Night for the whole family to make a clay pot wind chime, 6 p.m. Free. Route 20, new Lebanon, N.Y. 518-794-8844.

Bisque, Beads & beyond, "Paint & Read" art class for preschoolers, featuring story hour followed by a special project, 11 a.m.-noon and 4-5 p.m. 141 North St., Pittsfield. 413-442-9300.

Friday, March 25

Bisque, Beads & beyond, Family Fun Night, featuring munchies, chance meet artists who make all the pottery and do crafts, 6-8 p.m. 141 North St., Pittsfield. 413-442-9300.

Saturday, March 26

Stockbridge Library, "Haiku for Kids," featuring local poet Mike Miller sitting down with local kids to teach the haiku, with kids encouraged to write and illustrate their work, 11 a.m. Main Street, Stockbridge. 413-298-5501.

Tuesday, March 29

Bisque, Beads & beyond, "Clay Creation Club" for kids to work with clay and create one-of-a-kind handbuilt projects, 4-5:30 p.m. 141 North St., Pittsfield. 413-442-9300.

Wednesday, March 30

Norman Rockwell Museum, Kids Create! preschool art program, featuring interactive hands-on gallery experiences created just for young art lovers ages 2 to 5 and their caregivers, 10:30-11:30 a.m. $2/child, free/adults. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org.

Thursday, March 31

Bisque, Beads & beyond, "Paint & Read" art class for preschoolers, featuring story hour followed by a special project, 11 a.m.-noon and 4-5 p.m. 141 North St., Pittsfield. 413-442-9300.

Friday, April 1

Kid Stuff

Williams College Museum of Arts, Storytime in the Galleries for preschoolers and toddlers with a caregiver will explore a connection between fall exhibits and picture books, followed by art-making activities, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Free. Main Street, Williamstown. wcma.org.

Berkshire Country Day School, "BCD Music & Me" weekly playgroup for children ages 2-4, featuring circle time, music period and story time on theme "Night Rabbit and Our Bunny Friends," 9-9:45 a.m. Free; registration recommended. Route 183, Stockbridge. 413-637-0755, ext. 16, or afreeman@berkshirecountryday.org.

Friday, April 8

Berkshire Country Day School, "BCD Music & Me" weekly playgroup for children ages 2-4, featuring circle time, music period and story time on theme "Little Bunny’s Picnic, Making Your Own Lunch," 9-9:45 a.m. Free; registration recommended. Route 183, Stockbridge. 413-637-0755, ext. 16, or afreeman@berkshirecountryday.org.

Wednesday, April 27

Norman Rockwell Museum, Kids Create! preschool art program, featuring interactive hands-on gallery experiences created just for young art lovers ages 2 to 5 and their caregivers, 10:30-11:30 a.m. $2/child, free/adults. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org.

Wednesday, may 25

Norman Rockwell Museum, Kids Create! preschool art program, featuring interactive hands-on gallery experiences created just for young art lovers ages 2 to 5 and their caregivers, 10:30-11:30 a.m. $2/child, free/adults. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org.

Friday, may 6

Williams College Museum of Arts, Storytime in the Galleries for preschoolers and toddlers with a caregiver will explore a connection between fall exhibits and picture books, followed by art-making activities, 10:30-11:15 a.m. Free. Main Street, Williamstown. wcma.org.

Wednesday, June 29

Norman Rockwell Museum, Kids Create! preschool art program, featuring interactive hands-on gallery experiences created just for young art lovers ages 2 to 5 and their caregivers, 10:30-11:30 a.m. $2/child, free/adults. Route 183, Stockbridge. nrm.org.

<a href="http://www.advocateweekly.com/familybeat/ci_17573520tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.advocateweekly.com/familybeat/ci_17573520Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:47:11 GMT 00:00″>Family Events in Berkshire and Bennington Counties

Posted in haiku | Tagged berkshire country day school, clark art institute, early childhood educator, first congregational church, Man, musical, org, production, Regional, steiner school | Leave a comment

Beware the Ides

Posted on 15 March 2011 by admin

We approach the 2055th anniversary of the death of Gaius Julius Caesar at the hands of his friend Brutus. what has changed in the meantime?

Today, mr. Caesar would be surrounded by a coterie of armed guards in dark glasses. he would probably not be walking around the forum unprotected and in a bed-sheet all by himself. he might not even talk to Messrs. Brutus, Casca, and Tillius directly, but rather have his people set up discussions (especially as the pretext was a petition which Tillius Cimber wanted to conference about on his exiled brother).

He was 56 years old.

Two thousand years and many hundreds and thousands of political assassinations later, it would seem that we are not objectively safer today than we were back in the day. Today we carry automated weapons under our coats. We crash large aircraft into tall buildings. We drive explosives-laden trucks into embassies. the knives of the Ides seem rather primitive. maybe this is the lesson we have learned in the meantime: how to kill each other better.

We like to shoot celebrities best. the media loves us when we do it. It does not stop us from shooting and blowing up regular people as well – it is not always easy to get next to a celebrity. Sometimes you just take who you can get. Shooting celebrities takes the focus off you and flips around the headlines. We read:  FAMOUS GUY SHOT instead of LOCAL WACKO SHOOTS SOMEBODY.

The anniversary of the Ides of March reminds me about this human failing, about our all-too-easy recourse to violence in thought, word, and deed as a means to an end. but it also tells us something about our own Coliseum-mentality. We may not actually shoot anyone in our lifetimes (and let’s hope that we do not get around to it either), but it seems we enjoy the gore a little bit too much. We take just a little too much pleasure from gruesome photos and shocking headlines. It is not the media’s fault – they go with what sells. and if it is selling, it means we are buying.

Maybe it means that we humans are not endemically violent, but rather just hungry for the attention. Brutus was only famous, after all, because he killed Caesar. he was probably otherwise just a regular boring guy in the Senate. “The evil that men do,” quoth Mark Anthony (via Shakespeare), “lives after them.”

But only if it gets posted on Facebook.

<a href="http://blog.b92.net/text/17394/Beware%20the%20Ides/tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://blog.b92.net/text/17394/Beware the Ides/Sat, 05 Mar 2011 09:55:20 GMT 00:00″>Beware the Ides

Posted in julius caesar | Tagged anniversary, armed guards, casca, coterie, Death, forum, gaius julius caesar, political assassinations | Leave a comment

Fitch Withdraws Wachovia Corp’s ‘AA-emr’ Market-Linked Securities Rating Following Criteria Revision

Posted on 15 March 2011 by admin

March 11, 2011 05:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time 

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Fitch Ratings has withdrawn Wachovia Corporation’s market linked securities rating of ‘AA-emr’. The $6.4 million 90% principal protected notes mature April 15, 2011. The securities lack 100% principal-protection. Accordingly, per Fitch rating criteria, the rating has been withdrawn. Fitch will continue to rate market-linked notes that in its view have full principal protection going forward.

Additional information is available at ‘www’fitchratings.com’.

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:–’Global Financial Institutions Rating Criteria’ (Aug. 16, 2010).

Applicable Criteria and Related Research:Global Financial Institutions Rating Criteriahttp://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=547685

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY’S PUBLIC WEBSITE ‘WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM‘. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH’S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE ‘CODE OF CONDUCT’ SECTION OF THIS SITE.

<a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110311006000/en/Fitch-Withdraws-Wachovia-Corps-AA-emr-Market-Linked-Securitiestag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110311006000/en/Fitch-Withdraws-Wachovia-Corps-AA-emr-Market-Linked-SecuritiesFri, 11 Mar 2011 22:02:48 GMT 00:00″>Fitch Withdraws Wachovia Corp’s ‘AA-emr’ Market-Linked Securities Rating
Following Criteria Revision

Posted in wachovia | Tagged com, Criteria, eastern daylight time, global financial institutions, principal protected notes, Revision, wachovia corp, wachovia corporation, Withdraws, www | Leave a comment

Professor Toni Clark Will Retire after 28 Years at Pomona

Posted on 14 March 2011 by admin

Pomona College Associate Professor of English Toni Clark has announced she will retire at the end of the Spring 2011 semester. Clark first came to Pomona in 1983 as the Dean of Women and later served as Chair of the English Department.

Clark said she was initially attracted to the Dean of Women position because it allowed her to “focus on a number of women’s issues while developing the Women’s Union and continuing to teach.”

Clark noted that when she was applying to colleges her mother pushed her to attend Pomona, but she ended up at UC Berkeley instead, and so the notion of finally coming to Pomona as a Dean rather than a student “amused” her.

during her stay at Pomona, Clark taught courses covering a broad range of subjects, from modern, post-modern, and environmental literature to specialized classes on Chaucer, T.S. Eliot, and Virginia Woolf.

As a dean, Clark had a variety of responsibilities. She served as an advisor for students on academic, medical, and personal issues and also worked at the Women’s Union.

“Each day was quite different and often brought surprises,” Clark said.

Reflecting on her 28 years at Pomona, Clark said she loved “working with students on a wide range of issues—except judicial.” While almost all of her memories here are positive, Clark said that organizing memorials for students who died during her time here was “by far the most painful aspect of [her] job.”

“It did not occur to me when I accepted the position that students would die,” Clark said.

Still, Clark said what will really stay with her are the times when students had “emotional and intellectual awakenings” in her office and in the classroom.

“There are many [former students] who constitute a kind of extended family in my memory,” Clark said. “I will never forget them.”

As for life after Pomona, Clark said she welcomes more time to spend “digging in the dirt.” A training program for volunteers at Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden has also struck her fancy, and she said she has “stacks of books” that she is “eager to read and discuss with friends.”

Current Chair of the English Department Kevin Dettmar said he met Clark in 2008 when, as chair, she conducted a long-distance interview with him as a candidate to take over her post. Dettmar said that Clark helped him through the transition.

“She handed over the keys and showed me the ropes,” Dettmar said. “It’s like if I bought a house from her and the garden was just a jungle, it’s like no, no—she got it all really pruned and neat, and then I moved in.”

Dettmar explained that Clark’s talents go far beyond the administrative capacities of a department chair or dean.

“She’s very caring,” he said. “When the faculty needed someone to care for them… Toni was there. I think she’s set a pretty high bar.”

Dettmar said that he was struck very early in his time at Pomona by the special kind of relationship Clark forged with her students.

“She formed an intense pedagogical [relationship] with her students,” he said. “Toni’s often flying off to the weddings of former students that she advised, things like that.”

According to Dettmar, the English Department will not need to search for a replacement for Clark since she was not initially hired into the English Department. the school is looking to make a new hire in the English Department, however, which will bring in a professor to teach Diaspora Asian American Literature.

Dettmar described the English Department as the “most grateful home” that Clark has had and added that the impact of her departure will be felt by many. Dettmar also said he will wait a few years before trying to teach a class on Virginia Woolf after Clark leaves.

“They’re big shoes to fill,” he said. “I feel lucky to have come into the job after she’d been here. I hope she won’t go too far away.”

When asked why she decided to leave after all this time, Clark responded, “I’ll never really leave Pomona.”

<a href="http://tsl.pomona.edu/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1810:professor-toni-clark-will-retire-after-28-years-at-pomona&catid=42:pomona&Itemid=88tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://tsl.pomona.edu/new/index.php?option=com_content”>Professor Toni Clark Will Retire after 28 Years at Pomona

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Police Arrest Three for Larceny – Police Arrest Three for Larceny Wednesday, 23 February 2011 06:55 caribarena news Antigua News – police Three young m…

Posted on 14 March 2011 by admin

Three young men have been charged with stealing a variety of items following three separate incidents. In the first, a 22 year old from Villa is accused of breaking into a home on Central Street and stealing a 19″ Daewoo flat screen TV valued at $520, an Olympus digital camera valued at $520, a silver chain with two silver pendants, valued at $200, and a bottle of 212 Sexy cologne.

The break-in happened on February 1.In Gray’s Farm, three pairs of shoes were stolen at Christian Street on February 19, and a 22 year old from Buckleys Street has been charged. he is accused of taking $300, along with a pair of white Reeboks valued at $350, black-and-white Air Jordans valued at $400, and brown high-cut Timberlands valued at $400.

A Nut Grove resident is accused of breaking into a home in the village and stealing a DSI touch screen game valued at $1,200.95, a bicycle valued at $700, a pair of Clarks shoes valued at $325, two pairs of shell toe sneakers valued at $450, five cargo pants valued at $750, and a Nokia cell phone valued at $695.

the 24 year old is also charged with breaking into a shop owned by the same victim and stealing two cases of Wadadli beer valued at $100, one case of soda valued at at $42, three bottles of Napoleon brandy valued at $33, a bottle of English Harbour Rum valued at $32, a bottle of Night Train valued at $14, a bottle of Stone Ginger Wine valued at $32, a case of noodles valued at $32, a game cartridge valued at $100, and two amplifiers valued at $3,200. this happened sometime between January 9 and 11, also in Nut Grove.

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<a href="http://www.caribarena.com/antigua/news/police/police-arrest-three-for-larceny-2011022396758.htmltag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.caribarena.com/antigua/news/police/police-arrest-three-for-larceny-2011022396758.htmlWed, 23 Feb 2011 11:01:08 GMT 00:00″>Police Arrest Three for Larceny – Police Arrest Three for Larceny Wednesday, 23 February 2011 06:55 caribarena news Antigua News – police Three young m…

Posted in clarks shoes | Tagged daewoo flat screen tv, flat screen tv, home, Larceny, news, nokia cell phone, olympus digital camera, pair, screen, touch screen game | Leave a comment

Forged in adversity: Haiti’s teen tennis hope aims for the top

Posted on 11 March 2011 by admin

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Haiti native Vickie Duval is tipped to reach the top in women’s tennis
  • The 15-year-old is training at the famous Nick Bollettieri academy in Florida
  • Her father Jean-Maurice was seriously injured in earthquake-hit Haiti in January 2010
  • He came close to death before being rescued thanks to help from an Atlanta family

(CNN) — Vickie Duval has been tipped to be the next Venus Williams, but tennis was the last thing on the teenager’s mind when the devastating earthquake struck her native Haiti in 2010.

Duval’s father, Jean-Maurice, had stayed home to run a medical practice while his daughter chased her dream of grand slam glory by living and training in the United States.

In the trail of devastation left by earthquake on January 12 last year, Jean-Maurice was trapped under the rubble of his home and business and feared that without urgent medical attention he would die.

"one morning we got a call from him and he was (trapped) under the house," his 15-year-old daughter recalled in an interview with CNN’s Open Court.

"He was sort of giving us his last words and said to my mum, ‘Tell the kids I love them.’ Mum just collapsed on the floor, but she said, ‘No, no, no, you are going to make it.’ "

within 10 years hopefully I will win a couple of grand slams — 10 or so would be nice!–Vickie Duval

Duval’s father managed to escape from the ruins of his property, but was left with a shattered left arm, fractured vertebrae, five broken ribs and a punctured lung.

In the post-earthquake chaos, the medical attention he needed so urgently was just not available, and he knew his chances of survival were slim.

But some good Samaritans came to the rescue.

Vickie had moved from the famous Nick Bollettieri academy in Florida to train in Atlanta for a spell.

Practicing in Georgia’s capital, she had made friends with Ashley and Natalie Kitchen, whose family rallied around to mount a miracle rescue along with the help of their Norcross tennis club’s officials.

Harry Kitchen, a real estate developer, paid $18,000 to charter a private plane to fly to Haiti and bring back Jean-Maurice.

While he has made a good recovery from his horrific injuries, he will be unable to work as a doctor again.

But acknowledging the family’s financial plight, friends and colleagues of tennis guru Bollettieri have stepped forward to provide the funding necessary for Vickie to continue training at his academy.

Bollettieri, who helped greats such as Andre Agassi reach the top, has every confidence Duval can fulfil her vast potential.

"it looks like she will grow to between 6ft and 6ft 1in, built the same as Venus Williams. We are teaching her the total game," he told CNN.

Duval has always been one of the leading players in her respective age groups in the United States, but recently took her first tentative steps into senior ranks.

Playing at a WTA Challenger event in Michigan, she beat former top-50 player Mashona Washington in straight sets in the first round.

It earned her a few ranking points, but Duval is aiming much bigger and higher than that.

"Nick tells me a lot that I play like Venus, but I really idolize Kim Clijsters," she said of the three-time U.S. Open champion. "within 10 years hopefully I will win a couple of grand slams — 10 or so would be nice!"

No player from Haiti has ever reached that level, but former men’s top-20 star Ronald Agenor put the poor Caribbean country on the tennis map with his exploits until he retired from the ATP Tour in 2002.

Bollettieri believes Duval has the inner steel required to compete against the best, despite her gentle personality.

"She’s unusual because she’s very humble out there, but underneath she’s getting meaner," he said.

<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/tennis/03/10/tennis.haiti.duval.earthquake/?hpt=C2tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://edition.cnn.com/2011/SPORT/tennis/03/10/tennis.haiti.duval.earthquake/?hpt=C2Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:00:13 GMT 00:00″>Forged in adversity: Haiti’s teen tennis hope aims for the top

Posted in haiti earthquake | Tagged cnn, daughter, devastating earthquake, earthquake, home, native haiti, nick bollettieri academy, rescue, urgent medical attention | Leave a comment

Fairhaven cafe owner hopes cupcakes make the cut

Posted on 10 March 2011 by admin

By Joanna McQuillan Weeks March 02, 2011 12:00 AM

Creativity seems to flow as freely as the coffee at Narragansett Star Cafe in Fairhaven.

Owner Lori Shubert is an artist who has deployed her talents in various ways through the years: designing baby goods, operating a cafe in a Pullman car and caboose in Somerset, designing and building homes, creating a Fairhaven coffee stop with lots of reclaimed building parts.

Now she’s seeking to add “Food Network competitor” to her resume. Shubert is eagerly awaiting a response to her audition tape for Season 3 of “Cupcake Wars.”

The cafe has been serving customers for about 18 months, but Shubert latched onto the cupcake craze last fall. she sent an e-mail to Food Network last October, hoping to spark interest in her eatery, perhaps for a visit by Guy Fieri (“Diners, Drive-ins and Dives”), but heard nothing.

Then, shortly before Valentine’s Day, Shubert got a call from the “Cupcake Wars” casting company in Los Angeles, inviting her to submit an audition tape and giving her a tight deadline. Pleading the Valentine rush, she earned a couple extra days to submit the video (which you can view by searching “Narragansett Star” on Youtube or by visiting the cafe’s Facebook page).

Her hands stained dark with food coloring, Shubert took a break Friday morning from decorating a specialty cake — the front end of a classic black Corvette — to talk about her bid for culinary celebrity.

She’s an avid fan of “Cupcake Wars,” in which four bakers and their assistants vie for a $10,000 prize in a themed challenge. (The one episode I’ve seen revolved around the Rose Parade festivities.) Two bakers get cut in the early rounds and the final two (with additional helpers) have to create a 1,000-cupcake display for a specific event.

Shubert says she was given lengthy guidelines on how to make the audition video, packing it with detail and “personality, personality, personality … you have to make it all about you.”

As the video opens, she rides up on her maroon Harley, wearing a flouncy blue apron. from the get-go, you know you’re not dealing with some “baker to the stars” type.

In fact, if you watch the video, you’ll see that Shubert’s saucy spirit comes through, right down to a rather salty reference to the movie, “Snakes on a Plane.”

Two hours after submitting the audition, she got a call from another casting company staffer, who “said she loved the video, and she told me the taping dates,” which run from about March 11 to early April.

The bubbly Shubert, who described herself as “a 46-year-old single mom” in the video, is encouraged by the follow-up call. she knows that “some people have tried multiple times and never even got a call.”

One thing she has no doubts about, though, and that’s the quality of her product. “We only use butter,” Shubert says proudly. “You can taste the difference.”

She makes about 20 varieties of cupcake, with about eight available on any given day. many are based on chocolate or yellow cake and, “We change up a lot of the frostings,” says Shubert, reeling off pistachio, maple, mocha and peanut butter-chocolate among the flavors.

“We put a lot of frosting on our cupcakes,” the cafe proprietor says, observing that the plates come back without a speck left behind.

Now it’s a waiting game, hoping for the phone to ring again with the news that she and her assistant, Chris Boucher, have to hop on the plane for L.A. Shubert knows they’d have to be ready to go at a moment’s notice to be available for one day of taping the show.

So she’ll keep running the cafe, with the help of her 19-year-old daughter Madison Machado and her mom, Sylvia Oliveira, making three or four specialty cakes a week, and assembling cupcake bouquets for customers.

“I have no free time, but I love it so much,” she says.

Narragansett Star Cafe is at 230 Huttleston Ave. (Route 6) in Fairhaven. call (508) 990-1900 or visit www.narragansettstarcafe.com

Joanna McQuillan Weeks is food editor of The Standard-Times. Contact her at foodedit@s-t.com

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<a href="http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110302/LIFE/103020310/-1/NEWSMAPtag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110302/LIFE/103020310/-1/NEWSMAPWed, 02 Mar 2011 05:15:29 GMT 00:00″>Fairhaven cafe owner hopes cupcakes make the cut

Posted in guy fieri | Tagged audition tape, casting company, guy fieri, pullman car, valentine s day | Leave a comment