Last week a friend of mine gave a party for her neck. Through the years it had grown worn and thick with the burdens of rubbernecking, bottlenecking and holding her head high. Recently it had developed a crepey wattle, which my friend took as a conspicuous sign that she would either be served up for Thanksgiving dinner or that the A.A.R.P. would soon be leaving its calling card. In the latter case, arthritis, Social Security and early-bird specials would surely follow.
Now, four weeks later, her neck was ready to make its debut. I chose a turtleneck for the occasion. Two other women swathed themselves in Isadora-length scarves. Together we neckless wonders rang her bell.
''Is your mother home?'' one of them joked as our rejuvenated friend came to the door. ''My God, you've lost so much weight,'' exclaimed another, her voice pure puce.
The truth was that a swan would have killed for that neck. It had been lifted, lipo'd, pulled and made girlishly taut: in fact, it seemed, so had her whole face. Between bites of gravlax, my friend shuttled us into the kitchen one by one to show us the inch-long incision under her chin (for the lipo) and the longer ones around her ears (for redraping the jowls). Proudly revealing her stitches, she let us feel the bumps of still-swollen tissue and basked in our dutiful ooohs and aaaahs.
Well, of course, he does, remarked one guest as we left. Did you see his eyes? When she went in for the tuck, he had his lids done. Today, if she turns her neck quickly and he squints, they find themselves in the throes of puppy love.


A Rochester company is proposing a trash-burning incinerator in Seneca County, in an area already rife with public objections to solid waste landfills.
A "entrepreneurial" Rochester startup company has proposed a massive trash-burning incinerator in Seneca County.
The $365 million incinerator, which would burn up to 175 truckloads of solid waste each day, would be built on a 48-acre parcel that once was part of the storied Seneca Army Depot.
The facility, which would loom 180 feet high over the landscape with a smokestack that reaches even higher, would generate electricity and create ash that the developers say could be reused. The plant would be able to receive trash via rail as well as truck.
The parcel is not far from other depot property that is now known as Deer Haven Park, a preserve for the depot's famous white deer and a military history tourism destination.
The parcel where the new facility would go is owned by a company controlled by Rochester developer David Flaum, though the project is being undertaken by an unrelated company, Circular enerG LLC.
"We just think it’s a great project and it’s a really neat feature for handling solid waste," said Circular enerG' s counsel, Alan Knauf, a well-known environmental lawyer in Rochester.
Knauf said the facility, which would be opened in 2021 at the earliest, is preferable to landfills because it controls odors and captures the energy potential in trash.
Many landfills do collect methane from rotting waste and burn it to generate electricity, but do not do so as efficiently as the waste-to-energy plant would, Knauf said.
Circular enerG, incorporated just 11 months ago, is affiliated with Top Capital of New York, with which it shares a downtown Rochester office. That firm is best known locally for a controversial proposal to turn the historic Rochester seminary near Highland Park into a luxury hotel.
The company or its affiliates also are involved in senior-housing projects in Brockport and Saratoga Springs, and an undertaking to manufacture LED lights or fixtures in Rochester.
Top Capital's promotional material cites its use of funding obtained through the EB-5 program, which offers legal residency in the United States to citizens of foreign countries who invest at least $500,000 in a development project.
Knauf said the fact that Circular enerG has no track record, let alone experience in solid-waste management, can be considered a plus.
"Getting somebody new in the industry that is entrepreneurial — that wants to do something positive and in line with global climate-change policy — that’s a good thing," he said.
Circular enerG submitted its proposal to the planning board in the Seneca County town of Romulus about 10 days ago, said William Karlsen, the board's vice chair. He said he knew nothing about the company except that it was from the Rochester area.
"This is so new to us. It’s an incinerator design that’s been used overseas. This is almost like the first one in the United States. It’s a new technology." Karlsen said. "It sounds too good to be true, but my ears are open. I don’t know everything. I want to hear about it. Let’s hear them out."
Karlsen noted, though, that "there’s already opposition mounting now that this is public."
Several online news outlets have publicized the proposal in recent days, including a blog about environmental affairs in the Finger Lakes, Water Front. The blogger, Peter Mantius, published a document from the Circular enerG proposal late last week.
News that a company wants to bring an additional 2,600 tons of trash each day to the Finger Lakes for disposal is likely to be unpopular with some quarters.
The region already is home to four of the state's 10 largest landfills, and there have been repeated protests and litigation over expansion proposals at three of them. At present, residents are voicing complaints over odor issues at the landfills in Seneca County and the Monroe County town of Perinton.
Waste-burning incinerators also bring concerns about toxic constituents in smokestack emissions and ash. There were lengthy debates about incinerator proposals in Ontario and other Finger Lakes counties in the 1980s, but the proposals were never carried out.
Knauf said solid waste would be unloaded inside the hulking structure and odors would not escape outside. He also said the plant would be able to meet modern standards for conventional and toxic air pollutants.
Dennis Money, president of the group that runs Deer Haven Park, said he learned about the incinerator proposal Monday morning.
"My initial concern was, first of all, why do we need one there between two of the most beautiful Finger Lakes," he said, referring to the lakes that bound the county on east and west, Cayuga and Seneca.
"We need to find out more about it, but on the surface of it, I would be against it personally," Money said.
The Seneca County location was chosen, Knauf said, because the former depot property offers land appropriate for industrial development, utilities, and rail and road connections.
Trash would be imported to the site from distant locations such as New York City, as it already is to several of the large local landfills. Eventually, it might replace those landfills when their permits expire, Knauf said.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation, which would have to issue one or more permits to the company, said it had met with Circular enerG officials "to discuss New York's rigorous permitting process, should the project proceed."
But no permit applications had been filed as of Monday, DEC spokesman Kevin Frazier said.
There are nine permitted solid-waste incinerators in New York according to 2016 annual reports filed with the DEC. The nearest are in suburban Syracuse and Niagara Falls.


The Japanese get the best of everything.
Disney must think BB-8 will be a hit with international markets. A Japanese subtitled trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit YouTube early this morning, and along with lots of shots starring the lovable rolling droid (who may be the film's main hero), we get some intense scenes between Daisy Ridley's Rey and Adam Driver's Kylo Ren. One shot shows Ren holding his badass three bladed lightsaber up against Rey's throat. Also, C-3P0. Did you see him? There he is! And Leia. Cool! All this new footage comes as a surprise, as the trailer that debuted last month was supposed to be the last before the film opens on December 18. This is a way better surprise than those lame posters released this week.


U.S. equities are struggling again on Tuesday as the hits just keep coming for the tech sector. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is down another 4%, capping a near-7% loss on Monday, following reports of inappropriate data mining by outside political groups and a government investigation into the company’s practices. Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) is getting hit by criticism from the Israeli government on security concerns.
This is all in the context of overcrowded investor positioning in the sector, with hedge funds and retail traders equally guilty, resulting in massive inflows into the group in recent weeks.
FB shares have moved below their 200-day moving average, a level that hasn’t been violated since January 2017. Shares are not yet back to the levels they first reached last summer as the stock has faced down a number of negative headlines including charges of political weaponization, the departure of its chief security officer and now reports that the Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into the company’s use of personal data.
TWTR shares dropped more than 10% after Bloomberg reported that Israel is considering sanctions against the company for online incitement. Not only is the company dealing with these specific headline, but it also sees looming fears that tighter regulations are coming. FB officials are expected to brief various Congressional committees on Wednesday.
The company will next report results on April 25. Analysts are looking for earnings of 11 cents per share on revenues of $606.3 million. When the company last reported on Feb. 8, earnings of 19 cents per share beat estimates by five cents on a 2% rise in revenues.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares are on the verge of breaking down out of a multimonth consolidation range amid ongoing Model 3 production woes, executive departures and fresh worries about the future of autonomous vehicles after an Uber self-driving car killed a pedestrian.
Goldman Sachs analysts, in a recent note, reiterated a sell rating on worries about output and Q1 deliveries.
The company will next report results on May 2 after the close. Analysts are looking for a loss of $3.22 per share on revenues of $3.6 billion. When the company last reported on Feb. 7, a loss of $3.04 per share beat estimates by 11 cents on a 43.9% rise in revenues.
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) shares are down nearly 9% after reporting good quarterly results dragged down by weak forward guidance. Quarterly earnings rose 20% from last year to 83 cents per share on a 5.4% growth in revenue. Cloud revenue increased 32% to $1.6 billion.
So why is the stock down? Because the revenue beat was driven by a lower tax rate. Moreover, during the earnings call, analysts seemed disappointed with cloud revenue and guidance.
Also, there is a nagging worry that the company waited too long to embrace the cloud, giving companies like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) an early lead and discouraging customers to change platforms.
Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2018/03/4-big-cap-tech-stocks-getting-slammed/.


An Evanston native, K.C. Johnson joined the Tribune in 1990 after playing Division III basketball at Beloit (Wis.) College and covering high school sports and minor league baseball for the Beloit Daily News. He covered the Bulls' second three-peat from 1996-98 for the Tribune’s website. After two seasons covering the Blackhawks and NHL, Johnson has been back on the Bulls full-time since 2000, save for a one-season assignment on the Bears in 2005. In between arenas, Johnson enjoys attending live music.


Accomplished veteran American boxing trainer Floyd Mayweather senior and SA's global star Zolani Tete prepare for a fight against highly dangerous foe Nonito Donaire on April 27.
Local fight fans will see a rejuvenated boxer in Zolani "Last Born" Tete when he puts his WBO bantamweight belt on the line against highly dangerous foe Nonito "Filipino Flash" Donaire later this month.
Tete will battle the WBA Super and WBC diamond champion in the US on April 27. The buzz across the Atlantic came from Tete's manager Mlandeli Tengimfene after watching Tete's training sessions with accomplished American trainer Floyd Mayweather Snr at the latter's son's state-of-the-art gym in Las Vegas.
Tete and Tengimfene have been there since Wednesday last week.
"This is where Zolani needed to be before a fight of this magnitude," said Tengimfene yesterday.
"He is amazing. People will see a hungrier boy with high output in combinations and volumes.
"Floyd took Zolani to the mountain in a high-altitude test and Zolani passed the test with flying colours.
"Zolani's weight is around 57 kilograms and there will be a seven-day weigh-in this Friday and Zolani should be 56 kilograms."
The official weight limit for the bantamweight class is 53.52kg, but by fight time Tete should make the weight.
The deal for Mayweather Snr to train Tete was struck in October in Russia where Tete won the quarterfinal of the WBSS by defeating Mikhail Aloyan.
Mayweather's boxer Andre Tabiti beat Ruslan Fayfer in the same tournament.
Dual crowns would put star in elite company.
Donaire dethroned Ryan Burnett as the WBA Super champion on November 3 in the second quarterfinal in Glasgow, Scotland.
The winner in their upcoming unification will take all three titles and proceed to the final where he will meet the victor of the second semifinal between WBA champion Inoue Naoya of Japan and IBF titlist Emmanuel Rodriguez of Puerto Rico, which will take place in Scotland on May 18.
The overall winner will be crowned the undisputed bantamweight champion and will walk away with the Muhammad Ali trophy.
Tete has 21 knockouts in 28 wins against three losses while Donaire boasts 25 knockouts in 39 wins against five losses.


Syrian refugee Odai Ahmed peddles to charge smart phones and batteries inside a tent at the migrants camp near Calais, northern France, Nov. 4, 2015.
Odai Ahmed cycles hard every day and dreams of reaching England. But as weeks turn to months, the 24-year-old Syrian feels like he's on a road to nowhere.
Like most of the thousands camped near Calais hoping to cross the English Channel, he's tried more than a dozen times to breach security at the nearby ferry port and more distant terminal for cross-Channel trains. Each time, networks of newly constructed 15-foot-high (5-meter-high) razor-topped fences and boosted police patrols have defeated him. He's already been arrested and held for five days in Calais after nearly boarding one train.
Disillusioned, Ahmed spends his afternoons recharging his smartphone on a stationary bike with a manual generator. It takes 2 ½ hours' pedaling to fill the battery.
It gives him time to think. That maybe, he and his Syrian tent-mates might have to turn back and claim asylum somewhere on the continent. He finds this idea particularly frustrating because he's studied English for half his life and knows barely a word of French or German.
"If we knew the situation was like this, maybe we would have tried to settle in Germany instead," he said. "We can't live here. Syria is better than here."
Near Ahmed's cycling station, a public notice board lists more than 200 camp residents by name, nationality, age and cell phone number. They all seek refugee protection in France and await allocation of state-funded housing. That can take many months in France's overwhelmed asylum system, particularly for single men, who receive lower priority for shelter.
A 50-year-old Pakistani man, Zerdullah Khan, looks for his name but it's not on the board yet. "Maybe next week," he said, describing his own doomed attempts to scale fences or sneak aboard trains.
"Younger ones may feel free to risk their life, but I'm too old for this," he said. "I will try to learn French."


Bombers, field jackets, topcoats, and more to keep you looking sharp as the temperatures dip.
There are plenty of reasons to be thankful for fall. Namely that summer, with all of its attendant heat and humidity, finally relinquishes its hold on our weather—and our style. Which means that it's time again to invest in a great coat. Sure, it might feel too hot to be thinking about layering up, but now is actually the best time to ensure your size is in stock, to make sure you get the color you want, and to capitalize on summertime sales. Here are the 10 key outerwear styles to look for this fall.
Denim is a pretty-much-perfect go-to for transitional jackets. And no one does it better than Levi's.
Fall means dealing with changes in weather. Get a jacket that can handle all of those unexpected shifts.
A field jacket is also a staple fall piece. Break it out the same day you bust out your fall boots.
An easygoing cotton bomber works for every type of style.
Baracuta's Harrington jackets are made to take on all styles and every element. This one comes in an extra-versatile olive green, too.
Selected Homme calls this a trench coat—but thanks to the covered placket and single-breasted silhouette, it's really more of a mackintosh. All good. The two are sartorial cousins, anyways, and the mac is a little more modern and easier for most guys to wear.
An overshirt—for days where you don't quite need a full jacket.
A simple leather jacket. Of course.
Overcoats are a great investment for this fall, and every fall to come. Double-breasted ones are great for wearing over a suit.
A little less fabric and oomph than the double-breasted version, but just as sharp and perfect for daily trips to and from the office.


Rescue workers tend to the injured at the site of a train derailment in Yilan county, northeastern Taiwan on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018.
Officials in Taiwan have launched an investigation into what caused a train derailment Sunday that killed at least 18 people and injured around 175 others.
President Tsai Ing-wen visited the accident site in the northeastern Yilan county on Monday where she met with family members of the victims.
The train carrying more than 360 passengers derailed on a popular coastal route on its way from a suburb of Taipei to the southeastern city of Taitung.
Some passengers interviewed by news agencies said they felt the Puyuma Express train was going too fast.
In this photo released by Taiwan Railways Administration, train carriages are scattered at the site of a train derailment in Yilan county northeastern Taiwan on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018.
All of the train's eight carriages derailed, and five of them were flipped over, according to a statement from the Taiwan Railways Administration.
Photos of the scene showed the train cars lying zig-zagged across the track.
Rescue efforts went into the night Sunday with workers using flashlights and cranes to move around and lift up the derailed cars.
The area was cleared enough Monday to allow rail service to resume.


Shashi Kapoor did try his hand at a few macho rules, but he for the most part remained the slightly dreamy Prince Charming rather than a swashbuckling pirate figure.
Remembering Shashi Kapoor as Handsome is akin to remembering the Taj Mahal as a fancy tomb.
“Handsome” was perhaps the most repeated adjective when obituaries to Shashi Kapoor rolled out in media, social and otherwise. And this was to an extent understandable, for the man, during his acting career in India, was mainly known for playing the charming, often vulnerable romantic hero. Shashi did try his hand at a few macho rules, but he for the most part remained the slightly dreamy Prince Charming rather than a swashbuckling pirate figure.
What not too many people however realise is that Shashi Kapoor was much more than that. Balbir Prithivraj Kapoor (yes, that was his real name) was perhaps the only mainstream Bollywood film star to seriously work on the “art” side of cinema even when he was doing well commercially – he worked in films like Junoon, Kalyug, New Delhi Times and Utsav. And while most of the Hindi film world remembers him as Deewar’s Ravi Varma who memorably told his brother Vijay, “Mere paas Ma hai,” not too many know that he won the National Award for being the producer of the best film in 1978 (Junoon) and also a Filmfare Award for best film in 1980, Kalyug. He was also the first Indian actor to make his presence felt on the international scene with films like Siddharth, Shakespeare Wallah, the Householder and Heart and Dust.
Yes, Shashi Kapoor was a romantic hero (and occasionally an action-oriented one), but he also did not shy away from playing other roles – he played the villain in Utsav and a middle-aged father in Vijeeta, at a time when he was still playing the dashing hero in other films. He played a middle-aged editor in New Delhi Times and won a National Award for acting. And even towards the end of his career, he was still capable to producing stunning performances, perhaps most noticeably in Muhafiz/ In Custody (1993), where he plays an ageing poet. He was also the producer of films like Kalyug, Vijeta, Utsav, Junoon and 36 Chowringhee Lane, each of which can hold its own as a masterpiece. He was one of those rare personalities who dabbled in both commercial and art cinema, Indian and international cinema, and acting and cinema production with equal ease.
And at the end of it all, most people seemed to just remember him as “Handsome.” Yes, he was very good looking, but remembering Shashi Kapoor as Handsome is akin to remembering the Taj Mahal as a fancy tomb. The surface was handsome indeed, but what lay behind it and the foundations on which it was built were about more than just skin-deep beauty.
Mind you, he was partly to blame for the other side of his remaining unknown. For whatever he was, Shashi Kapoor was not tainted by conceit or arrogance. Whatever he did beyond his ‘normal’ Bollywood commercial roles, he did so without creating an undue fuss. This was, after all, the man who had once said that if his family had not gone into theatre, he would have probably working at a clothes shop as a ‘Darbaan’ (door keeper).
So, it is perhaps apt that my abiding memory of Shashi Kapoor is not that of a Bollywood hero, but of the man who came to attend a party at a Defence Officers’ Mess and then disappeared from the middle of it. A frantic search for him was launched but he did not seem to be on the premises. Even while some people wondered if he had run off with some young lady (“these Bollywood types are all womanisers, you know”), he was ultimately discovered, sitting happily in the kitchen, chatting with the cooks and waiters.
Shashi Kapoor was indeed handsome.
But not because he was just good looking.
He was handsome as in handsome does.


LAS VEGAS – Kristaps Porzingis has been consistent about his preference to play power forward over center, stating it plays to his strengths in that he can shoot over smaller opponents and doesn’t have to deal with banging against large bodies on defense.
David Fizdale arrived with a different philosophy. It’s not necessarily contrasting Porzingis’ preference, just more open to expansion. And apparently the Latvian has approved.
Fizdale plans to fly to Latvia within a week following Summer League and meet Porzingis for the first time. It’s a family trip (Fizdale is bringing his wife and wants to spend time with the Porzingis family) but also an opportunity to teach. The coach already conceived of the film he’d like to pore over with Porzingis.
It’s no secret Fizdale wants to spread the floor, freeing the paint for drives and kick-outs. He was part of the coaching staff in Miami that transformed Chris Bosh from a power forward in the post to a center on the perimeter. In Memphis, he encouraged Marc Gasol to launch more 3-pointers in one season than his previous eight combined.
Porzingis, if not for the concerns about his durability, would be the perfect mold for that style.
From his opening press conference, Fizdale made clear his priority was building a relationship with Porzingis and, in the process, dispelling the notion that he doesn’t mesh with European players. According to sources, Fizdale talked about those concerns – and about his fallout with Gasol while with the Grizzlies – during a conversation in May with Porzingis’ brother, Janis.
Fizdale since helped recruit another European player to the Knicks – Mario Hezonja of Croatia. The idea that Porzingis will miss most of next season, if not all of it because of the ACL surgery, hasn’t sapped Fizdale’s enthusiasm about his best player.
“I can’t lock him into nothing. I just see a lot of places I can use him to be dynamic for us,” he said.


For the second quarter, PACCAR (NASDAQ:PCAR) saw a rise in net income.
Earnings and Revenue The company experienced stronger-than-expected EPS and revenues. The company reported EPS of 83 cents a share versus the 82 cents a share estimate and revenues of $4.46 billion versus the $4.22 billion estimate. The estimates of 14 analysts ranged from profit of 72 cents to profit of 88 cents.
The company's net income for the quarter was $297.2 million. According to the reported number, this is up 24% from last year's levels. Revenue climbed 12.5% from $3.96 billion in the same period last year.
Company Fundamental Trends Last quarter marked the third in a row of rising net income. The company has averaged revenue growth of 49% over the past five quarters.
History Against Expectations The company has now topped analyst estimates for at least the last four quarters. It beat by 11 cents in the first quarter, 12 cents in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year and 7 cents in the third quarter of the last fiscal year.
Official Comment: "PACCAR reported increased revenues and net income for the second quarter of 2012," said Mark Pigott, chairman and chief executive officer. "PACCAR's second quarter results reflect the benefits of higher truck sales in North and South America and good financial services results worldwide as compared to the second quarter of 2011. The weak economic growth in the United States, coupled with the ongoing uncertainty in the Eurozone, could dampen truck orders for the remainder of 2012. I am very proud of our 23,000 employees who have delivered excellent results to our shareholders and customers."


Odle family branching out to Bowling Green, Ky.
The family that has made a name for itself developing the "Brookside" brand of student housing in downtown Columbia is looking to Bowling Green, Ky., and Western Kentucky University for its latest projects.
The Odle family, which has built more than 1,000 student housing beds in its Brookside Downtown and Brookside on College projects, is working on three projects in Bowling Green. One, a 474-bed student housing development on the edge of the WKU campus, will be similar to the Brookside development at College Avenue and Walnut Street, Jon Odle said in an email. That project is in a Tax Increment Financing district, the Bowling Green Daily News reported.
Like here, the Odles also are looking beyond the student housing market. Their company, Trittenbach Development, is working on a 14,000-square-foot "urban retail" building as well as 40 to 50 market-rate apartments built into a commercial wrap on a new public parking garage in downtown Bowling Green, Odle wrote.
Locally, Trittenbach has shifted from student housing. While it's finishing the last phase of development at College and Walnut, which will add another 230 beds to the roughly 500 at the complex, it also has started work on a regional retail, office and residential development at Discovery Parkway and Highway 63. It scrapped plans for a large student housing component on the site, citing worries that the market was being overbuilt.
Odle said they're looking to Bowling Green for the same reason: The company reckons the student housing market in Columbia is oversupplied by about 3,000 beds.


More than 13,000 University of Wyoming students, faculty and staff members received a text message on their cell phones within minutes after it was sent last Thursday in a system-wide test of the university's text notification system, UW Alert.
An email message also was sent to all exchange users. In the event of a real emergency, those signed up for the UW Alert system would have received specific instructions. Also, a message was linked to digital signs on campus, which can display the same messages delivered via text to students and employees in the event of an emergency.
The text alert system (www.uwyo.edu/uwalert), one of many safety initiatives in place at UW, provides a means to quickly reach as many members of the university community as possible.
For more information, call the Information Technology Helpdesk at (307) 766-4357 option 1, or e-mail userhelp@uwyo.edu.


S&P’s Rio Downgrade: Brazil State May Default?
Will Brazil Impeachment Stall Investments?
Nuts For Brazil: Rate Hike Tempered On IMF GDP Forecast?
Rising Brazil Inflation Means Rate Cuts … In 2016?
São Paulo, Brazil Water Utility Sabesp -7%, Credit Risk?
Sabesp, Brazilian Water Utility, Close To Debt Breach?
SABESP's (SBS) fourth-quarter earnings and revenues surpass expectations, courtesy of improvement in total water and sewage billed volumes.


International Theatre Institute (ITI) Bangladesh Centre completed its thirty-six years in March 2018. Throughout the long 36 years, it has proved to the world of performing arts that sans so-called professionalism, theater workers of this country have been able to create an ambiance of professional skill in theatre. In fact, to be an affiliate with a world organization like ITI, professional theatre practice is one of the basic conditions. But Bangladesh group theatre practice, even being amateurish, possesses so much of rectitude and missionary zeal that ITI Worldwide has been positively convinced to recognize its professionalism and subsequently grab the membership.
So, that's Bangladesh where language and culture are deeply rooted and where people's cultural amateurism is inherently their professionalism. Same attributes mirror in the ITI Bangladesh Centre. The Centre has been holding different theatrical events, festivals and workshops liaising with the ITI Worldwide and other centers globally.
Bangladesh regularly attends ITI World Congress, and in the last 35th Congress held in Segovia, Spain in 2017, Bangladesh had the highest participation so far. For easy and smooth functioning of ITI Worldwide, five main bodies have been formed, and they are: Artistic, Educational, Humanitarian, Research, Documentation & Promotion, and Collaboration Project. There are a total of fifteen sub-committees under those divisions and Bangladesh has always represented significantly as Board Members of those committees. Presently the following persons are members of the committees mentioned against their names: Irine Parvin Lopa, International Monodrama Forum; Abdus Selim and Sadhana Ahmed: International Playwrights' Forum; Sayik Siddiquee: Network of Emerging Arts Professional; Abdus Selim: International Stage Directors Network: Shafi Ahmed & Israfil Shaheen: Forum Theatre Training & Education; Abdus Selim: Action Committee for Artist Rights; Nasiruddin Yousuff Bachchu: Network for Heritage, Indigenous Culture & Migration; and, Babul Biswas (Committee Secretary) & Mofidul Hoque (Member), ITI Publications Committee. Ramendu Majumdar's election to ITI Worldwide Presidency for two consecutive terms is an added success story.
As stated by Nasiruddin Yousuff Bachchu, present President, ITI Bangladesh, from the 1st Dhaka International Theatre Fest 2012 the Centre has been trying to go by the event-calendar. One other routine event of the Centre happens to be the Monodrama Festival. So far two Monodrama Festivals were held with tremendous success – one in 2011 and the other in 2016. But it is really strenuous enough for an organization run by mere voluntary efforts to stick to the calendar.
The person who has been responsible for executing the Centre's all functions pragmatically for last five years is Debaprasad Debnath, General Secretary, ITI Bangladesh. His expertise and in-built skill for running an organization has put the Centre at an admirable height. A few days back he briefed me about the two-day celebration of 70 years of ITI by the Centre in October 2018. Among a wide range of events it contains songs of Bangla plays, folk drama festival, seminar, documentation of 70 years of ITI Worldwide and 36 years of ITI Bangladesh, documentaries, and many more. Another important member of the Centre is Prof. Shafi Ahmed who almost singlehandedly and tirelessly has taken the challenges of all publication works of the Centre. On the other hand, Ramendu Majumdar and Mofidul Hoque have been co-editing the prestigious journal of the ITI Worldwide The World of Theatre for over twenty years now. The journal is published from Bangladesh.
One great thing has happened because of ITI's activities in Bangladesh. Babul Biswas, a veteran theatre activist, has been enthused to develop an archive by the name Bangladesh Theatre Archive by means of his individual effort. The present write up is deeply indebted to the archive for some relevant information provided. No doubt ITI Bangladesh Centre has been playing a crucial role in the realms of theatre both at home and abroad for long 36 years. Vive ITI Bangladesh Centre!


Barbara Pierce Bush, the fiercely loyal, yet independently strong wife of one U.S. president and mother of another, died Tuesday surrounded by her family at her west Houston home. She was 92.
The funeral details for former first lady Barbara Bush have been released on her website after her death Tuesday evening.
The public will be able to pay respects on Friday from noon to midnight at St. Martin's Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston. People are asked to first go the Second Baptist Church campus to park and go through security. Shuttle services will be provided to and from St. Martin's Church.
Barbara Bush reads to first-graders April 17, 1998, at Paradise Elementary School in Las Vegas.
The parking lot at Second Baptist Church will be open at 10 a.m. and shuttles will start running at 11:30 a.m.
Bush's funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 21. It will be by invitation only and guests are asked to go to the Second Baptist Church for security screening. They will then be shuttled to St. Martin's Church.
On both days, no one will be allowed to drive to St. Martin's Church.


WITH Spring in full swing and the sun out more and more, some of us may start to find our scalps- one of the areas hardest hit by UV rays and the elements- in need of extra attention.
Scalp condition can have a large impact on the overall health of our locks, with an unhealthy scalp potentially leading to problems with hair growth.
Everything from sunburn to product build-up and imbalanced oil levels can result in itching, flakiness, and dull hair appearance. Luckily, these problems can often be rectified using the right tools.
For those suffering from scalp discomfort, dryness, or oiliness, try a targeted treatment such as Briogeo’s Scalp Revival Charcoal + Tea Tree Scalp Treatment (£27/€31.48 for 30ml, www.cultbeauty.co.uk). This liquid contains Binchotan charcoal to remove impurities, spearmint and peppermint oils to soothe, and witch hazel to balance oil levels. Vitamin biotin also provides nutrients to support healthy hair growth.
Briogeo’s Scalp Revival Stimulating Therapy Massager (£13.50/€15.74, www.cultbeauty.co.uk). Created with rubber tips, this brush can be used on all scalps, helping to build up and distribute shampoo better, stimulate blood flow, and exfoliate. These tools also offer the added bonus of a relaxing massage experience, helping to lower stress levels; another factor thought to affect hair health.
Finally, for those with long hair, make sure to use a snag-free band when tying it up, such as Popbands (from £6/€6.99 for five, www.thepopband.com). These ‘dent-free’ ties glide over hair, rather than pinching it, resulting in less strain on the scalp and helping prevent hair breakage.


An inquiry into why we give, what we give, how we give, and what it says about us.Originally published in Esquire Weekly.
And it takes skill. And talent. And even if you don't have those, there is still a way you can improve, according to Stephen Marche. Here's how.
Because that's what surprises and gifts and happiness really boil down to, too: a reaction in a person's head. We put a social cognition researcher and a best-selling behavioral economist on the case here.
Which some of us learned when we were ex-cowboy drama queens. Here, Scott Raab details the moment he realized the danger of gifts.
Which is what happened to Tom Junod.
Like this little train did, for Chris Jones.
These slippers, he says, civilized a young, barbaric Joe Keohane.
Mike Sager makes the case against giving gifts at all. None. Because, as he explains, there's actually something much, much better — and easier — than presents.
We’re all for nice ties, but what Toys for Tots really needs is new toys for children of all ages, especially for preteens and early teens—iPods, sports equipment, wrist watches, radios, battery-powered games, remote-control cars, books, and of course cash. So save the cellulite cream for your Uncle Louis.
You really need to just spend more than forty-three seconds of thought on what you get.


Dade's remarkable success at getting students to register results from close cooperation between district administrators, social studies teachers at each of the county's 25 high schools, and officials at the county elections department, according to Paul Hansen, the school system's former director of general education and social sciences. Hansen coordinated the voter program until this fall when he became a school principal.
At the beginning of the school year, the chairmen of the social studies departments of all of Dade's high schools prepare lists of their social studies teachers who have not yet been trained as voter registrars. Each chairman then works with the Dade County Elections Department to set up one-hour training workshops for the not-yet-qualified teachers. Upon completing the workshop, the teachers become deputy registrars with the legal authority to sign up voters.
Each March, the school system runs a computer search to find the names and class schedules of all the students in the county who will be eligible to register to vote in the coming year. (In Florida, citizens can register six months before their 18th birthday but cannot vote until they are 18.) The central office then sends voter registration forms, along with a list of the students in each social studies class eligible to register, to each school's social studies chairman. In May, the list is distributed to each social studies teacher.
Almost every senior in the Dade system will be included on this list because all are required to take two semesters of social studies.
Teachers distribute and discuss the voter registration forms during lessons on the importance of voting. The completed voter registration cards are checked and tallied by the department chairman, who then forwards the registration cards to the elections department.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, headed by Leonard Britton, is beginning a major voter registration program this year. Britton was the superintendent of the Dade County schools when they established their program.
Louise Altman, New York director of Human SERVE, a national organization that promotes voter participation, says her group is making a major push to get urban school systems to adopt voter registration programs similar to Dade's. Thanks in part to Human SERVE's efforts, this year the New York City school system will begin sending letters to all high school students who turns 18, urging them to register. Human SERVE's next target is the Chicago schools.


When we hear words like “lift” and “sculpt,” we tend to assume they apply to the middle-aged and older crowd. Not so! No matter what your age, you can use tips and tricks like contouring to sculpt your face. With spring coming, who doesn’t want that? Read on below for some amazing tricks!
“First, we figure out your face shape. Is it oval, long, round or square? Next we imagine an oval placed over your face (this is the perfect face shape because it’s proportioned equally from forehead to eyebrows, eyebrows to tip of nose, and the tip of the nose to the chin). Then, we figure out from there what we need to focus on to get the face looking slimmer,” says celebrity makeup artist Amanda Shackleton.
Step 1: “I like to contour with a deeper powder about 2 shades darker than your skin color,” says Shackleton. Powder blends better and looks more natural, but if it’s for evening, you can use a foundation or concealer. “Dip a brush no wider than 1/2 inch in the powder and shake the excess off, then hit the areas outside the oval of your face with the brush, creating a softening effect,” says Shackleton. You can repeat a few times if needed to get the effect you want, but be careful to blend well so it doesn’t look streaky.
MORE: Ask an Expert: How Can I Contour My Face Like a Kardashian?
Step 2: Now you can chisel out your cheeks. “With a pencil, place it on the upper tip of the ear where it meets your temple and slope it on an angle till it reaches the outer corners of your lip. Repeat step one with the powder exactly where the pencil would be and bring it about 2/3 the way down the line,” Shackleton says. Do not bring it all the way to the lips, we are just contouring the cheeks. Blend into your skin and repeat if needed.
Step 3: Continue with any other areas you may need that lay outside the oval. Now we highlight. “We need to create a 3D effect on the face, so we need to play lighter colors against darker for the right look. I use a shimmery light powder just above the contour on the cheeks,” says Shackleton. For lighter to medium skin tones, try a silvery shimmer and for medium to darker tones, use a warmer gold shimmer.
Step 4: Hit the areas inside the oval with shimmer. Remember, just as we are trying to diminish areas of the face outside the oval with contour, we need to pop out the areas inside to make them appear bigger!
Step 5: Finish off the apples of your cheeks with your favorite blush and blend everything together. You’ll see a significant improvement, and if you don’t get it the first time, just keep blending and practicing. Take a selfie before and after to see the difference!


Israeli soldiers lying on the side of the road in southern Israel as they take cover when a siren warns of incoming rockets fired from Gaza into Israel, on Nov. 12, 2018. Photo: Hadas Parush/Flash90.
JNS.org – Israelis across the political spectrum expressed their sorrow and condolences to the family of a Druze special-forces soldier killed in a firefight with Hamas operatives in Gaza on Sunday night, which broke out when intelligence forces were discovered and attacked, according to the IDF.
Lt. Col. M, whose name and details of death were withheld by military censors, was on an intelligence-gathering mission in a mosque deep inside Gaza with his team when the group’s cover was blown and the soldiers were attacked.
The 41-year-old father of two was killed in the fighting, and another soldier was moderately wounded.
The team called in Israeli Air Force reinforcements, which provided cover in the form of aerial bombardment while the team escaped back to Israel. Palestinian media shared photos of the car the troops allegedly used to drive 3 kilometers into Gaza, which had been bombed—most likely by Israel in order to destroy classified documents and equipment.
The soldier is expected to be buried in his hometown on Monday afternoon, with Communications Minister Ayoub Kara arriving to represent the government at his funeral.
Military officials have said that the operation the officer was involved with was of utmost importance to Israeli security, and Israeli officials heralded him as a hero who laid down his life for the whole country.
In the wake of the loss, he cut short an official state trip to Paris and flew immediately home to Israel.
In the incident, Qassam Brigades commander Nour Baraka was killed, along with six other Hamas members by Israeli special forces. An additional seven Palestinians were injured. Their identities and the circumstances surrounding their presence on the scene were not revealed.
Baraka allegedly held leadership in Hamas’s terror tunnel program and served as the commander of a Khan Younis terror battalion. Though Baraka was a high-value target, the IDF insisted that the operation was not an assassination attempt, and that soldiers were only on a fact-finding mission, but that complications during the mission led to the killing of Baraka.
Soon after the fight, Gaza terror groups launched at least 17 rockets into Israel. No injuries were reported and only one agricultural greenhouse was lightly damaged.
The flareup came just two days after Israel allowed Qatar to send $15 million in cash to Hamas as part of a reported ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.


CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) — A county official in Maryland says he will defend the presence of a Ten Commandments monument in front of the local courthouse as a historic artifact originating from a 1950s campaign to promote the famous Charlton Heston film about Moses.
The Cumberland Times-News (http://bit.ly/1T9u0EM) reports that Jeffrey Davis recently filed a federal lawsuit, arguing that the monument's placement in the court's front lawn violates the U.S. Constitution.
Allegany County Commissioner William R. Valentine says the monument doesn't favor one religion over another. He says he considers the monument to be a historic monument, rather than a religious one, because it was intended to promote the 1956 film "The Ten Commandments."
Although Davis lives in Garrett County, the lawsuit says Davis owns property in Allegany County and is a municipal taxpayer.


Transitioning from the structured environment of military service to college life can be a frustrating experience for incoming student veterans.
A new peer mentorship program at Central Michigan University hopes to make this transition easier by offering counseling from the kinds of people they recently left behind: Other veterans.
The new veteran advising program Peer Advisors for Veteran Education, or PAVE, is a peer mentorship program that connects incoming student veterans with other student veterans who have been living the college life for a while and can help new veterans adjust.
PAVE is a pilot program formed by the University of Michigan’s Depression Center with only three other participating schools: Auburn University, the University of Maryland and George Washington University.
The CMU program has four lead advisers and seven applicants to be regular advisors, all of whom are veterans. Being a veteran is a requirement to be an adviser in the program.
“I had a friend who got out of the military and didn’t know what to do,” said lead adviser and Indian River senior Will Rigling. "He didn’t have the kind of direction he had back in the military, so he was just lost."
Simply being a veteran adds credibility to the program when a veteran is looking for help, as many veterans might be reluctant to talk to non-veterans about problems and concerns.
Professor or instructors might have a hard time dealing with veterans because they might not fully understand what is or isn’t a problem for a veteran. The PAVE advisers can act as a liaison to fix problems and ease tensions between the student veteran and the university.
The PAVE program is not a registered student organization and does not have to follow RSO bylaws or reporting policies, making the group completely independent.
Prior to the creation of the PAVE program, student vets seeking help went to and still can go to the Counseling Center located on the first floor of Foust Hall.
Rapaport recently went to a special training session at Michigan State University that covered deployment terminology, special conditions veterans may have and how to be mindful of what veterans have been through.
The Counseling Center is a free service provided to CMU students to help them with any problems they may be having outside of academic counseling which is handled within the academic departments.
CMU was chosen to participate in the program because of Veteran Resource Center Director Steve Relinger’s dedication and determination to make CMU as veteran friendly as possible.


Lovely, well maintained Bi-Level located in a family friendly neighborhood features 16' cathedral vaulted ceilings with open concept kitchen, dining and living room. Kitchen offers plenty of storage with 42" extra large maple cabinets and separate pantry. Spacious master bedroom, ensuite master bath (with skylight,) his and her closets, (2) additional generous size bedrooms and guest bathroom completes the first floor living area. Lower level features Den with cozy wood burning fireplace making it the perfect space for family and friends to gather. An additional room for home office, home gym or possible 4th bedroom, with ensuite bathroom completes this well cared for home. Central Air, (2) car attached garage, gutter guards, municipal water and sewers, all this and conveniently located to public transportation, minutes to major highways, schools, shopping, parks and recreation.