Jean Dubofsky knows supreme courts. She became the first female justice on the Colorado Supreme Court in 1979, and, as an appellate lawyer, was lead counsel for the plaintiffs in overturning the Amendment 2 case (Romer v. Evans) before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1996. In the latest issue of Colorado Super Lawyers& Rising Stars magazine, in a Q&A entitled "Lone Ranger," we talk with Ms. Dubofsky about her extensive career, the difficulty of being a judge, and how much longer she'll practice law.
What follows is the first of two blog-exclusive excerpts from that interview. The first can be read here.
Any advice for young lawyers? If they are interested in doing public law, as opposed to private law, and they finish law school and they're so much in debt that they have to do commercial work to pay their bills, well, just go for the public jobs. Find them. Keep working through them. Working for local governments or state governments really provides interesting work; and it provides enough money that you can live a nice life.
It's also a good way to develop powerful contacts. Oh yes. And you find that you're not just stuck in one office for the rest of your life. If you start working on water projects, well, in the west, water is really important, and there are a whole lot of things you can be involved in that have water policy issues.
The latest issue of New Jersey Super Lawyers & Rising Stars magazine is now available online, as a digital magazine, and, of course, in print.
Cover subject Domenick Carmagnola, an employment lawyer at Carmagnola & Ritardi, found the recipe for success young in life, while working at his family's Italian restaurant.
"It taught me how to engage with people," Carmagnola says in the cover story. "It was very helpful for me when I was finally trying cases." The once-shy New Jersey native is now known for his people skills, especially when defending companies before juries.
We also hear from feature subject Raymond Gill Jr., who practices personal injury law at Gill & Chamas.
"This is not rocket science," he insists. "It's just preparation. Preparation and imagination and the drive to succeed." Gill is renowned for his use of high technology -- and old-fashioned passion. He once fell to his knees, begging jurors to help his client. (They did.)
Real estate attorney Lloyd Tubman with Archer & Greiner talks in her feature about her efforts to help religious groups break down barriers. She went back to school at age 32 to get her bachelor's degree, and the someone late start launched a meteoric career.
"Real estate law keeps you on your feet, always reading people, always figuring out different personalities," she says. "It stays complicated, which means it stays interesting."
Feature subject Michael A. Gill, a family law attorney at?Goldenberg Mackler Sayegh Mintz Pfeffer Bonchi & Gill, has blue-collar roots. A former boxer and bricklayer, he has combined book smarts and street smarts into a highly successful practice. But he is not one to incite hostilities in an already highly charged area of the law.
"I don't want a father making custody an issue if he doesn't really want custody and is just trying to hurt his ex-wife," Gill says. "I tell people, 'My job is to minimize your exposure and get a fair amount.' "
We also check in with business litigator Keith Biebelberg, with Biebelberg & Martin, who fought for his clients after the developer of their condo put up another building that blocked their panoramic views of Manhattan.
Litigator Christine Vassiliou Harvey, with?Lomurro Davison Eastman & Mu?oz, tells how she learned the tactical art of negotiation while working for the Navy.
Jean Dubofsky knows supreme courts. She became the first female justice on the Colorado Supreme Court in 1979, and, as an appellate lawyer, was lead counsel for the plaintiffs in overturning the Amendment 2 case (Romer v. Evans) before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1996. In the latest issue of Colorado Super Lawyers& Rising Stars magazine, in a Q&A entitled "Lone Ranger," we talk with Ms. Dubofsky about her extensive career, the difficulty of being a judge, and how much longer she'll practice law.
What follows is the first of two blog-exclusive excerpts from that interview.
You're a member of a lot of bar associations and legal organizations. Is there one that's been particularly helpful or useful to you? I've really been unhappy with myself sometimes. I've never been very involved in bar association activities. I belong. But I've never really been involved. Mostly because of time. I've been on boards of other organizations, and some of them I've been more involved in than others.
Such as? There are a couple of public policy groups in Denver--one called the Bell Policy Center, of which I was one of the founding members. It was designed to develop policies that were more progressive for state legislators and local government in the state. They're still doing it.
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Report offers roadmap for action by global leaders to create a sustainable food system
This press release is available in French, Portuguese and Spanish.
LONDON (28 March 2012) Nearly one billion people in the world are undernourished, while millions suffer from chronic disease due to excess food consumption. Global demand is growing for agricultural products and food prices are rising, yet roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. Climate change threatens more frequent drought, flooding and pest outbreaks, and the world loses 12 million hectares of agricultural land each year to land degradation. Land clearing and inefficient practices make agriculture the largest source of greenhouse gas pollution on the planet.
To address these alarming patterns, an independent commission of scientific leaders from 13 countries released today a detailed set of recommendations to policy makers on how to achieve food security in the face of climate change. In their report, the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change proposes specific policy responses to the global challenge of feeding a world confronted by climate change, population growth, poverty, food price spikes and degraded ecosystems. The report highlights specific opportunities under the mandates of the Rio+20 Earth Summit, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Group of 20 (G20) nations.
"Food insecurity and climate change are already inhibiting human well-being and economic growth throughout the world and these problems are poised to accelerate," said Sir John Beddington, chair of the Commission. "Decisive policy action is required if we are to preserve the planet's capacity to produce adequate food in the future." The report was released at the Planet Under Pressure conference where scientists from around the world are honing solutions for global sustainability challenges targeted to the Rio Summit, which will be held on 20-22 June in Brazil.
Make global food security and climate stabilization a reality
The Commission has outlined seven recommendations designed to be implemented concurrently by a constellation of governments, international institutions, investors, agricultural producers, consumers, food companies and researchers. They call for changes in policy, finance, agriculture, development aid, diet choices and food waste as well as revitalized investment in the knowledge systems to support these changes.
Professor Judi Wakhungu, executive director of the African Center for Technology Studies (ACTS), said, "As a Commission, we were charged with harvesting the wealth of scientific knowledge and practical solutions that have been accumulated by recent assessment reports on food security and climate change. Together, we carefully distilled the seven most important ways for policy makers to make global food security and climate stabilization a reality."
The Commission's recommendations encourage significantly raising the level of global investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems in the next decade; sustainably intensifying agricultural production on the existing land base while reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and reducing losses and waste in the food system. "It's past time to realize that farms of every size all over the world are fundamental to human nutrition and economic well-being, but they are also facing critical choices with significant implications for the way we manage the planet for long term sufficiency," according to U.S. Commissioner Professor Molly Jahn of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Mobilize science and policy for sustainable agricultural practices
Alternative agricultural practices have the potential to deliver benefits for both adaptation and mitigation of climate change and the Commission has urged the UNFCCC to establish a work program that addresses these issues together under the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). "Without an integrated SBSTA work program for agriculture, we risk crafting fragmented global climate policy," says Commission Vice-Chair Dr. Mohammed Asaduzzaman, Research Director at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies. "Countries like Bangladesh clearly need support for climate-resilient agriculture, but we also need a serious global commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including in the agriculture sector." Sea level rise threatens major areas of Bangladesh, which already experiences significant environmental migration.
The Commission's report cites recent evidence that closing the gap between potential and actual yields for 16 major crops could increase productivity by more than 50 percent. "To produce enough food for our rapidly growing population, much greater investment is needed to dramatically increase agricultural yields now and in the long-term," Commissioner Dr. Nguyen Van Bo, president of the Viet Nam Academy of Agricultural Science. "In Viet Nam, we have established model programs to boost rice productivity and quality, mitigate greenhouse gases and increase income for farmers."
Sustainably intensifying agricultural production on existing land, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, is one of the seven Commission recommendations. "There have been some impressive successes in sustainably boosting agricultural production, but there is a lot more to be done," says Commissioner Dr. Carlos Nobre of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. "Brazil has made strides in reducing poverty while protecting rainforests in the last seven years, but if we do not advance the science and practice of sustainable intensification, our forests and our farming economies will be at risk."
In China, nearly 400 kilograms of chemical fertilizer are used on every hectare of farmland. "We have an opportunity and a plan to stop unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions from inefficient farming practices," said Commissioner Professor Lin Erda, director of the Research Centre of Agriculture and Climate Change at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. "We are mobilizing public policies and budgets towards low-emission crop breeds and conservation of land, water and energy."
In Mexico, agriculture accounts for 77 percent of domestic water use, in part due to substantial subsidies applied to the price of water and electricity for irrigation. "We must redirect public subsidies to promote economically and environmentally sound farming practices that conserve finite natural resources," says Commissioner Dr. Adrian Fernndez of the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico.
A comprehensive approach to reshaping food systems
In addition to tackling agriculture, the Commission's recommendations explicitly recognize the "demand side" of food insecurity. "If we don't start to make use of the tools at our disposal to encourage eating choices that are good for people and the planet, we must resign ourselves to a growing diet-related disease burden," cautions Commissioner Dr. Marion Guillou, president of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA).
The Commission also calls for policies and programs explicitly designed to empower vulnerable populations. "Enabling smallholder farmers to invest in the productive capacity of their land has been shown to create economic and environmental resilience," reports Commissioner Professor Tekalign Mamo, state minister and advisor to the Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture. "We must build on what we've learned by expanding such programs, otherwise communities will remain vulnerable to a downward spiral of lost productivity, poverty and food insecurity."
"Recent legislation in India has shown that poverty alleviation programs can also address environmental sustainability objectives," says Indian Commissioner Dr. Rita Sharma, secretary of the National Advisory Council in India. "The 2006 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act helps rural farmers and households to manage risk while delivering climate change resilience and mitigation through projects that recharge groundwater, enhance soil fertility and increase biomass."
The need for improved data and decision support for land managers and policy makers is underscored by the Commission. "Smart, sustainable food production requires that we upgrade our knowledge of water, soils, energy, meteorology, emissions, agricultural production and forests, and that we understand how these elements work together as a system," says Australian Commissioner Dr. Megan Clark, chief executive of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). "In Australia, researchers, farmers and data managers are working together to build an integrated capacity to deal with the inevitable trade-offs embedded in our decisions."
Decisive action to ensure a safe operating space for current and future generations
The Commission's report presents a stark picture of the challenges ahead and calls for significantly raising the level of global investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems in the next decade. For example, it urges stronger follow-through on the 2009 G8 L'Aquila commitments to provide USD 20 billion for agricultural development in poor countries and incorporating food security and sustainable agriculture programs into UNFCCC "Fast Start" funding. But it also provides examples of important progress, pointing to major investments such as the Adaptation Fund of the Kyoto Protocol and the 5.3 million climate-smart agriculture project in Malawi, Viet Nam and Zambia funded by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the European Commission.
The report points to opportunities across the whole food supply chain to protect the environment and the bottom line. "Many public and private sector leaders are already taking steps to overcome technical, social, financial and political barriers to a sustainable food system," says Dr. Bruce Campbell, director of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, which convened the Commission in February 2011. "The Commission's work spells out who needs to do what to take these early efforts to the next level."
The report encourages continued progress under the G20 on 2011 agreements, including design of rapid response and insurance strategies to protect very poor populations from rising food prices or meager harvests, as well as improved market transparency through a new agriculture and energy database. At the Rio+20 Earth Summit, Commissioners urge governments to make financial commitments for regionally-based research, implementation, capacity building and monitoring to improve agriculture and food systems. The report also points to global agreements, such as World Trade Organization trade treaties, and initiatives, such as the United Nation's High-Level Taskforce on the Global Food Security Crisis, and also emphasizes the critical role of farmers and agribusinesses.
###
The Commission has created an animated video to illustrate why and how humanity must transform the way food is produced, distributed and consumed in response to changes in climate, global population, eating patterns and the environment. "To operate within a 'safe space' for people and the planet, we need to balance how much food we produce, how much we consume and waste and how much agriculture contributes to further climate change," explains South African Commission Professor Bob Scholes of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The Commission is launching the video describing the intersection of these limits at the Planet Under Press Conference: http://bit.ly/SafeSpaceClimateFood
The full list of commissioners, the final report document, and additional background, facts, images, and other materials can be found at http://ccafs.cgiar.org/commission
The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change is an initiative of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (www.ccafs.cgiar.org), with additional support from the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development. The Commission brings together senior natural and social scientists working in agriculture, climate, food and nutrition, economics, and natural resources from Australia, Brazil, Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, France, Kenya, India, Mexico, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Viet Nam to identify the policy changes and actions needed now to help the world achieve sustainable agriculture that contributes to food security and poverty reduction, and helps respond to climate change adaptation and mitigation goals.
The Commission's Action points (full details elaborated in Final Report document)
Integrate food security and sustainable agriculture into global and national policies
Significantly raise the level of global investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems in the next decade
Sustainably intensify agricultural production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other negative environmental impacts of agriculture
Target populations and sectors that are most vulnerable to climate change and food insecurity
Reshape food access and consumption patterns to ensure basic nutritional needs are met and to foster healthy and sustainable eating habits worldwide
Reduce loss and waste in food systems, particularly from infrastructure, farming practices, processing, distribution and household habits
Create comprehensive, shared, integrated information systems that encompass human and ecological dimensions
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
World scientists define united approach to tackling food insecurity Public release date: 28-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Neil Sorensen
neil_sorensen@yahoo.com
33-641-668-648
Report offers roadmap for action by global leaders to create a sustainable food system
This press release is available in French, Portuguese and Spanish.
LONDON (28 March 2012) Nearly one billion people in the world are undernourished, while millions suffer from chronic disease due to excess food consumption. Global demand is growing for agricultural products and food prices are rising, yet roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. Climate change threatens more frequent drought, flooding and pest outbreaks, and the world loses 12 million hectares of agricultural land each year to land degradation. Land clearing and inefficient practices make agriculture the largest source of greenhouse gas pollution on the planet.
To address these alarming patterns, an independent commission of scientific leaders from 13 countries released today a detailed set of recommendations to policy makers on how to achieve food security in the face of climate change. In their report, the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change proposes specific policy responses to the global challenge of feeding a world confronted by climate change, population growth, poverty, food price spikes and degraded ecosystems. The report highlights specific opportunities under the mandates of the Rio+20 Earth Summit, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Group of 20 (G20) nations.
"Food insecurity and climate change are already inhibiting human well-being and economic growth throughout the world and these problems are poised to accelerate," said Sir John Beddington, chair of the Commission. "Decisive policy action is required if we are to preserve the planet's capacity to produce adequate food in the future." The report was released at the Planet Under Pressure conference where scientists from around the world are honing solutions for global sustainability challenges targeted to the Rio Summit, which will be held on 20-22 June in Brazil.
Make global food security and climate stabilization a reality
The Commission has outlined seven recommendations designed to be implemented concurrently by a constellation of governments, international institutions, investors, agricultural producers, consumers, food companies and researchers. They call for changes in policy, finance, agriculture, development aid, diet choices and food waste as well as revitalized investment in the knowledge systems to support these changes.
Professor Judi Wakhungu, executive director of the African Center for Technology Studies (ACTS), said, "As a Commission, we were charged with harvesting the wealth of scientific knowledge and practical solutions that have been accumulated by recent assessment reports on food security and climate change. Together, we carefully distilled the seven most important ways for policy makers to make global food security and climate stabilization a reality."
The Commission's recommendations encourage significantly raising the level of global investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems in the next decade; sustainably intensifying agricultural production on the existing land base while reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and reducing losses and waste in the food system. "It's past time to realize that farms of every size all over the world are fundamental to human nutrition and economic well-being, but they are also facing critical choices with significant implications for the way we manage the planet for long term sufficiency," according to U.S. Commissioner Professor Molly Jahn of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Mobilize science and policy for sustainable agricultural practices
Alternative agricultural practices have the potential to deliver benefits for both adaptation and mitigation of climate change and the Commission has urged the UNFCCC to establish a work program that addresses these issues together under the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). "Without an integrated SBSTA work program for agriculture, we risk crafting fragmented global climate policy," says Commission Vice-Chair Dr. Mohammed Asaduzzaman, Research Director at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies. "Countries like Bangladesh clearly need support for climate-resilient agriculture, but we also need a serious global commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including in the agriculture sector." Sea level rise threatens major areas of Bangladesh, which already experiences significant environmental migration.
The Commission's report cites recent evidence that closing the gap between potential and actual yields for 16 major crops could increase productivity by more than 50 percent. "To produce enough food for our rapidly growing population, much greater investment is needed to dramatically increase agricultural yields now and in the long-term," Commissioner Dr. Nguyen Van Bo, president of the Viet Nam Academy of Agricultural Science. "In Viet Nam, we have established model programs to boost rice productivity and quality, mitigate greenhouse gases and increase income for farmers."
Sustainably intensifying agricultural production on existing land, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, is one of the seven Commission recommendations. "There have been some impressive successes in sustainably boosting agricultural production, but there is a lot more to be done," says Commissioner Dr. Carlos Nobre of the Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. "Brazil has made strides in reducing poverty while protecting rainforests in the last seven years, but if we do not advance the science and practice of sustainable intensification, our forests and our farming economies will be at risk."
In China, nearly 400 kilograms of chemical fertilizer are used on every hectare of farmland. "We have an opportunity and a plan to stop unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions from inefficient farming practices," said Commissioner Professor Lin Erda, director of the Research Centre of Agriculture and Climate Change at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. "We are mobilizing public policies and budgets towards low-emission crop breeds and conservation of land, water and energy."
In Mexico, agriculture accounts for 77 percent of domestic water use, in part due to substantial subsidies applied to the price of water and electricity for irrigation. "We must redirect public subsidies to promote economically and environmentally sound farming practices that conserve finite natural resources," says Commissioner Dr. Adrian Fernndez of the Metropolitan Autonomous University in Mexico.
A comprehensive approach to reshaping food systems
In addition to tackling agriculture, the Commission's recommendations explicitly recognize the "demand side" of food insecurity. "If we don't start to make use of the tools at our disposal to encourage eating choices that are good for people and the planet, we must resign ourselves to a growing diet-related disease burden," cautions Commissioner Dr. Marion Guillou, president of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA).
The Commission also calls for policies and programs explicitly designed to empower vulnerable populations. "Enabling smallholder farmers to invest in the productive capacity of their land has been shown to create economic and environmental resilience," reports Commissioner Professor Tekalign Mamo, state minister and advisor to the Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture. "We must build on what we've learned by expanding such programs, otherwise communities will remain vulnerable to a downward spiral of lost productivity, poverty and food insecurity."
"Recent legislation in India has shown that poverty alleviation programs can also address environmental sustainability objectives," says Indian Commissioner Dr. Rita Sharma, secretary of the National Advisory Council in India. "The 2006 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act helps rural farmers and households to manage risk while delivering climate change resilience and mitigation through projects that recharge groundwater, enhance soil fertility and increase biomass."
The need for improved data and decision support for land managers and policy makers is underscored by the Commission. "Smart, sustainable food production requires that we upgrade our knowledge of water, soils, energy, meteorology, emissions, agricultural production and forests, and that we understand how these elements work together as a system," says Australian Commissioner Dr. Megan Clark, chief executive of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). "In Australia, researchers, farmers and data managers are working together to build an integrated capacity to deal with the inevitable trade-offs embedded in our decisions."
Decisive action to ensure a safe operating space for current and future generations
The Commission's report presents a stark picture of the challenges ahead and calls for significantly raising the level of global investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems in the next decade. For example, it urges stronger follow-through on the 2009 G8 L'Aquila commitments to provide USD 20 billion for agricultural development in poor countries and incorporating food security and sustainable agriculture programs into UNFCCC "Fast Start" funding. But it also provides examples of important progress, pointing to major investments such as the Adaptation Fund of the Kyoto Protocol and the 5.3 million climate-smart agriculture project in Malawi, Viet Nam and Zambia funded by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the European Commission.
The report points to opportunities across the whole food supply chain to protect the environment and the bottom line. "Many public and private sector leaders are already taking steps to overcome technical, social, financial and political barriers to a sustainable food system," says Dr. Bruce Campbell, director of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, which convened the Commission in February 2011. "The Commission's work spells out who needs to do what to take these early efforts to the next level."
The report encourages continued progress under the G20 on 2011 agreements, including design of rapid response and insurance strategies to protect very poor populations from rising food prices or meager harvests, as well as improved market transparency through a new agriculture and energy database. At the Rio+20 Earth Summit, Commissioners urge governments to make financial commitments for regionally-based research, implementation, capacity building and monitoring to improve agriculture and food systems. The report also points to global agreements, such as World Trade Organization trade treaties, and initiatives, such as the United Nation's High-Level Taskforce on the Global Food Security Crisis, and also emphasizes the critical role of farmers and agribusinesses.
###
The Commission has created an animated video to illustrate why and how humanity must transform the way food is produced, distributed and consumed in response to changes in climate, global population, eating patterns and the environment. "To operate within a 'safe space' for people and the planet, we need to balance how much food we produce, how much we consume and waste and how much agriculture contributes to further climate change," explains South African Commission Professor Bob Scholes of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The Commission is launching the video describing the intersection of these limits at the Planet Under Press Conference: http://bit.ly/SafeSpaceClimateFood
The full list of commissioners, the final report document, and additional background, facts, images, and other materials can be found at http://ccafs.cgiar.org/commission
The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change is an initiative of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (www.ccafs.cgiar.org), with additional support from the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development. The Commission brings together senior natural and social scientists working in agriculture, climate, food and nutrition, economics, and natural resources from Australia, Brazil, Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, France, Kenya, India, Mexico, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Viet Nam to identify the policy changes and actions needed now to help the world achieve sustainable agriculture that contributes to food security and poverty reduction, and helps respond to climate change adaptation and mitigation goals.
The Commission's Action points (full details elaborated in Final Report document)
Integrate food security and sustainable agriculture into global and national policies
Significantly raise the level of global investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems in the next decade
Sustainably intensify agricultural production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other negative environmental impacts of agriculture
Target populations and sectors that are most vulnerable to climate change and food insecurity
Reshape food access and consumption patterns to ensure basic nutritional needs are met and to foster healthy and sustainable eating habits worldwide
Reduce loss and waste in food systems, particularly from infrastructure, farming practices, processing, distribution and household habits
Create comprehensive, shared, integrated information systems that encompass human and ecological dimensions
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
As Education 2.0 looms, we're seeing a rise remote learning, self-education, smart software, all of which is allowing people to learn and to teach at their own pace -- inside the classroom or out. As this becomes more and more true, coupled with the noise that one finds online today in job forums, employers and businesses are looking for more effective ways to identify the right candidate with the right set of skills. There are a million different approaches. LinkedIn knows it has to change, and is considering a skills section, Identified, BranchOut, and Bullhorn are combining your social graph with (at least in the case of Identified) a reputation score. While a more tried and true measure, employed by sites like Odesk and Elance, ply freelancers with tests that allow them to prove their skills. You may not have heard of it yet, but there is a similar motive at work behind Smarterer.
Is your new iPad as hot as a tabletop grill? Why not put it to use as a warming pad? Yeah, just navigate Safari to this little web app and the script takes care of the rest! The new iPad is truly a magical device. What will Apple think of next? A Siri-controlled RC car that can open a can of beer? Oh...yeah.
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) ? North Carolina is preparing to play without injured point guard Kendall Marshall.
The Tar Heels just haven't figured out how yet.
Coach Roy Williams said Tuesday that his team's "preparation is 100 percent" to go without Marshall after the pass-first guard had surgery to repair his broken right wrist.
Marshall's status remains unclear for the Midwest Regional semifinal Friday night in St. Louis, the coach said.
"You've got me between a rock and a hard place," Williams said. "I cannot give you any answers. I've given everybody all the answers I can give because I've said honestly, I do not know."
The left-handed sophomore broke his wrist on a drive in the second half of a win against Creighton on Sunday night in the Tar Heels' second NCAA tournament game.
Call it the latest bad break for a team that lost its No. 2 ballhandler, Dexter Strickland, to a season-ending knee injury, then played three postseason games without two-time ACC defensive player of the year John Henson after he sprained his left wrist in the conference tournament.
"We didn't come all this way just to lay down," Henson said.
If Marshall can't play against Ohio ? and that seems likely the case ? one option for top-seeded UNC (31-5) could be Stilman White.
The lightly tested freshman has gone from being one of the last players to receive a scholarship to being Marshall's primary backup ? to possibly starting in the regional semifinals.
"Stilman's grown a lot. When he first got out there, we were a little scared that he might have an anxiety attack or pass out," teammate Harrison Barnes said with a laugh. "He looks more fluid out there and he can kind of push the ball and get up and down."
White ? who is stepping away from the program after this semester to begin a two-year church mission ? says he turned down scholarship offers from BYU, Utah State and UNC Wilmington and picked North Carolina last year after point guard Larry Drew II abruptly transferred to UCLA.
The injury to Strickland, the team's No. 2 ballhandler, pushed him up the depth chart. Now the injury to Marshall could elevate him into an even bigger role.
"I'm ready to do whatever the coaching staff asks me to do," White said. "I have all the confidence in the world that I can do whatever they ask me to do, and hopefully, Kendall will be ready this weekend. If he's not, the coaches will figure something out."
Another option could be Justin Watts, a versatile 6-foot-5 senior from nearby Durham who averages roughly 7 minutes and has made three starts in four years.
"Stilman has basically had everything thrown at him all year," Williams said. Watts, he added, "has had limited portions thrown at him.
"So we'll throw a few more portions at him and try to get him a tremendous number of repetitions Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday in practice, and see if we can get them up to speed, because our preparation is 100 percent preparation to play without Kendall."
Marshall has been the Tar Heels' most irreplaceable player, leading the fast-paced offense with his see-everything court vision and perfect pitch-ahead passes in transition.
He was hurt when he drove to the paint and was knocked to the floor by Creighton's Ethan Wragge with 10:56 left. He hit one of two free throws, then left the game briefly before returning and playing about 7 more minutes before leaving for good with 1:54 left.
Bluejays coach Greg McDermott later called Williams to say there was no intent to injure Marshall.
Marshall had surgery Monday to insert a screw into his wrist, and the next day his father Dennis told The Associated Press in a text message that his son is "doing much better" and experiencing less pain. He added that his son was improving and had "slept through the night."
The Dumfries, Va., native is a second-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference pick who has 351 assists in 36 games, the best season total in league history and fourth most in NCAA history.
The pass-first point guard is averaging about eight points and 10 assists, though he has stepped up his offense recently and scored in double figures the past six games. He had 18 points and 11 assists in the 87-73 win against the Bluejays, his fifth double-double in that span.
"I've got to try to come up with a way to replace somebody that is darn hard to replace," Williams said.
___
AP Basketball Writer Aaron Beard in Raleigh, N.C., and AP Sports Writer Eric Olson in Omaha, Neb., contributed to this report.
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GARDEN GROVE, California (Reuters) - After taking a breakaway congregation out of Crystal Cathedral, a daughter of the retired televangelist who built the faltering California mega-church led services on Sunday at a movie theater and urged followers to drop the mudslinging.
Sheila Schuller Coleman is the daughter of Crystal Cathedral founder Robert Schuller, the retired pastor famous for his "Hour of Power" broadcasts who earlier this month severed ties with the church in a bitter dispute over millions of dollars he and close relatives claim to be owed.
Coleman, who a week ago led worship at the cathedral, led her first Sunday service since starting a new church in recent days, by inviting followers to an Orange County cineplex. About 100 worshippers attended the simple, no-frills service.
"We will refrain from speaking ill of any other church," Coleman said from the front of a movie theater, as she led her congregation called Hope Center of Christ.
"I don't like the mudslinging on my Facebook wall," she added. "We are a church that will proceed no matter what."
The split between the Schuller family and Crystal Cathedral ends a relationship that saw the cathedral, distinguished by its 10,000 panes of glass, become a Protestant icon. Millions of TV viewers over the decades tuned in to see services bathed in a sunlight as Schuller preached the principles of "possibility thinking."
But following Schuller's retirement as senior pastor in 2006, the church suffered declining attendance and donations and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010. As a result, the cathedral itself was sold for $57.5 million to a local Roman Catholic diocese.
The sale calls for those worshipers who stayed at the cathedral, rather than follow Coleman to her new church, to find a new place of worship within three years.
ATTENDANCE REBOUND
On Sunday, about 1,400 worshippers attended English-language morning services at the cathedral, compared to about 600 when Coleman led the services, said Crystal Cathedral Executive Pastor Bill Bennett.
With a guest pastor at the pulpit, services returned to what the church described as more traditional footing than worshippers had been used to with Coleman. A choir in white robes sang hymns, and a soloist performed "Amazing Grace."
There remained elements of Schuller's grand vision for the church, as two giant screens displayed the services, which were taped for a future broadcast of "Hour of Power."
"The congregation really took the church back as opposed to having a family running the church," said Fred Gillette, who was in the pews and also works as a minister.
Crystal Cathedral is located in the suburban community of Garden Grove, about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles. At its height under Schuller, the church had 10,000 people attend Sunday services, and counted among its visitors everyone from former President Gerald Ford to the late comedian Milton Berle.
Earlier this month, Crystal Cathedral announced that "Hour of Power," which is available to most U.S. cable subscribers and can be seen overseas, was going into reruns amid a management shakeup that included the ouster of Coleman's husband.
BACK TO THE MOVIES
Before Crystal Cathedral opened in 1980, the congregation had more humble beginnings, starting in an Orange County drive-in theater in 1955.
On Sunday, as Coleman stood before her congregation in a movie theater, the comedy "21 Jump Street" played in a next-door theater.
Dressed in casual clothes, the movie-theater congregation sat with neither popcorn nor drinks in their hands as they listened to Coleman, whose Hope Center of Christ is still looking for a permanent home.
"I'm not planning on taking a paycheck anytime in the near future," Coleman told her followers.
The topic of pay for the Schullers has become a contentious one at Crystal Cathedral.
Schuller, 85, and his wife Arvella, who did not attend church at Crystal Cathedral or at their daughter's services on Sunday -- although they say they support her -- announced in March that they had resigned from the board of Crystal Cathedral over a financial dispute.
Robert and Arvella Schuller and their daughter, Carol Schuller Milner, have said in bankruptcy court papers that the church owes them for copyright infringement and other claims.
An intellectual property claim by the Schullers covers such matters as their past appearances in "Hour of Power" and the format that Arvella developed for the broadcasts, said their attorney, Carl Grumer.
Crystal Cathedral chairman of the board John Charles has said in a statement that the Schullers want $3.5 million to settle the dispute and that would leave the church with "virtually no funds to continue its ministries."
When Robert Schuller quit leading services in 2006, he was succeeded by his son Robert A. Schuller, who then left in 2008. The son's separation agreement with the church called for him to receive a Mercedes-Benz and provided that he and his wife would continue to receive their salary for a year, bankruptcy court papers show.
Coleman took over after her brother, but attendance dropped sharply under her, observers said.
Robert Schuller continued to receive compensation from the church after his 2006 retirement, and in 2009 he collected a total of $257,000, court papers indicate.
The Schullers collected "huge salaries" while at the helm of Crystal Cathedral, said Ben Hubbard, a professor emeritus of comparative religion at California State University, Fullerton.
"They had a quite comfortable lifestyle and they just didn't manage the books and use good accounting practices and good budget management, and it just went boom," said Hubbard, who has watched developments at the church.
But Robert Schuller raised tens of millions of dollars for the church after he left as senior pastor, said attorney Carl Grumer, who represents both Robert and Arvella Schuller.
"They regret where things have come to," Grumer said. "They certainly would have liked the ministry to continue as it was, it's unfortunate circumstances required some tough choices."
(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Paul Thomasch)
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KIEV, Ukraine (AP) ? Jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has not been allowed to receive treatment in a specialized clinic outside of her prison, as recommended by German doctors, prison officials and supporters said Thursday.
Tymoshenko, 51, the country's top opposition leader, is serving a seven-year jail sentence on charges of abuse of office after a verdict condemned by the West as politically motivated.
Tymoshenko has a spinal hernia and suffers from constant and intense pain, according to her daughter Eugenia Tymoshenko. German doctors have concluded after examining her that she urgently needs complex treatment, which should be conducted in a specialized facility, not in prison, in observance of international standards.
Penitentiary Service spokesman Ihor Andrushko told The Associated Press that Tymoshenko has been offered medication, massages and other procedures for her condition to be administered inside the prison. He said Tymoshenko had refused the offer.
Tymoshenko, who also faces as a slew of other charges and investigations, denies all the accusations and claims that the criminal cases against her have been orchestrated by her archenemy President Viktor Yanukovych to remove a powerful political opponent and bar her from parliament elections this fall. Tymoshenko narrowly lost the 2010 presidential race to Yanukovych.
Tymoshenko's daughter has accused the authorities of mistreating her mother in prison and "slowly trying to kill her."
Tymoshenko's party called the prison authorities' decision to treat her in prison and not in a specialized clinic "cynical and draconian." Her lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko said the treatment offered to Tymoshenko by prison doctors, like drawing spinal fluid on the premises of the prison, is dangerous.
"It's as if your leg is broken and they tell you to go play football to get better," Vlasenko told the AP. "If you have been given an order to kill by Yanukovych, this is the order that you will be following."
Tymoshenko was found guilty last year of overstepping her authority during a tense natural gas pricing dispute with Moscow in January 2009. The court ruled that she wasn't formally authorized to order the signing of a new gas contract, which significantly increased the price Ukraine pays for Russian gas imports.
Tymoshenko says she was within her right to lead the negotiations as the country's prime minister and says sealing the deal with Russia was the only way to restore supplies to Ukraine and other European countries during a winter freeze, which were caused by the dispute.
The Christian community is rife with warnings about people having sexual relationships outside of the marriage commitment, a practice typically referred to as premarital sex. Abstinence is considered to be worth whatever hardship it incurs as it serves to enhance the lifelong sexual fulfillment provided by a spouse. That the Bible explicitly prohibits premarital sex is accepted and taught as fact. It is also assumed that marriage is the logical conclusion of a relationship, such that delaying sex is only a temporary inconvenience on the road to lasting happiness.?
Contrary to these beliefs, premarital sex is useful to determine sexual compatibility before entering into what is expected to be a lifelong relationship commitment; contrary to what is commonly believed, it is not condemned by the Bible; and the term ?premarital sex? is itself a misnomer, as marriage is not, in fact, a logical conclusion to a relationship.
In the discussion of premarital sex, the sexual compatibility of the couple is often overlooked. Despite the diversity of personality types and sexual preferences, it is taken for granted by the Christian community that both partners will be able to find a common ground that will give both of them happiness.1 Along these lines, the argument is often made that sexual na?vet? will promote satisfaction, because each person will be ignorant of what they may be missing.2,3 This perspective falls down under critical examination, as proponents of this view pay little to no attention to the very real concern of sexual fulfillment in a relationship that is ostensibly a lifelong commitment. ?
The traditional marriage ?contract? requires sexual exclusivity with one?s partner, making each person wholly responsible for sexually satisfying the other. Implicit in this agreement is the expectation that the partners are indeed capable of sexually fulfilling each other in areas such as frequency and in preference. Of course, as with any other personality trait, these factors are highly variable between individuals, but it is assumed that willingness to compromise and a commitment to the relationship will yield a satisfactory outcome. While this may be true in many cases, love of the other person and desire to achieve compatibility is sometimes insufficient to overcome this divide.4
An imperfect analogy might be that of a person selecting a flavor of ice cream to exclusively eat for the remainder of their life ? without ever tasting any of it. The person sits in the store, examines each of the flavors by sight and small, finally deciding on chocolate. They might enjoy chocolate, they may not initially like it but acquire a taste over time, or, in the worst case, they may be allergic to chocolate. Regardless of the outcome, they are now bound to that flavor.?
In his book The Poetics of Intimacy and the Problem of Sexual Abstinence, Michael Hartwig makes the keen observation that merely performing sexual intercourse is not enough to create a genuine sexual relationship. Achieving sexual intimacy requires communication and compatibility, and commitments made without knowledge of these critical aspects are not well founded.5 As with any life-altering decision, the marriage vow must be made with the consideration of all relevant information if the two individuals wish to forge an uplifting and intimate partnership.
Perhaps ironically, it is difficult to obtain reliable data on sexual compatibility among married couples that abstained or were sexually active prior to taking their vows, as nearly everyone in the United States engages in premarital sex. A study of the National Survey of Family Growth by Public Health Reports found that 95% of Americans have had premarital sex by the age of 44, and 75% have had premarital sex by age 20.6-8 This fact remains even among Christians as compared to the general population.9,10
Even so, if the Bible specifically condemns premarital sex, one might expect that God would bless those who follow his instructions with a healthy and fulfilling relationship, eliminating compatibility as an issue. It turns out, however, that the Christian community is consistently misinterpreting the Bible while ignoring the historical implications of premarital sex.
Although premarital sex is never explicitly referenced in the Bible, Christians derive its sinful status from a few specific verses.11 In the New Testament, the key verse comes from I Corinthians 7:2, where Paul says ?But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.12? This is interpreted to mean that sex outside of marriage is immoral; thus, the remaining New Testament passages concerning sexual immorality can be said to apply to premarital sex as well.2,3,11 Additionally, injunction against premarital sex is taken from Old Testament passages such as Exodus 22:16, ?If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife.12?
The problem with the interpretation of the New Testament text is the translation of the Greek word porneia, a word that ambiguously refers to illicit sexual activity. Never in the Bible is premarital sex defined as illicit; indeed, the text is far more likely to refer to such acts as cultic prostitution and pederasty than the rigid interpretation commonly accepted by Christian churches.13-16 The Old Testament passages must also be understood in context. Women were considered to be the property of men, either their father or their husband. While men were allowed to take multiple wives and concubines, women were forbidden from sexual activity because to do so would violate the man?s property rights. Thus, in the Exodus example, the man must reimburse the father for the devaluation of his property ? note that there is no condemnation of the sexual act itself.15,16
It is clear that the typical Christian interpretation of Biblical prohibition of premarital sex is on far less stable ground than one could be led to believe ? at the very least, it is a subject open to debate rather than an axiomatic instruction.
Given that premarital sex is desirable for establishing a satisfying, sexually intimate long-term relationship, and the lack of Biblical instruction against it, the very term ?premarital sex? appears to be somewhat of a misnomer. It clearly implies a linkage between sex and marriage, something that is far from reflexive in the world we inhabit.
Increases in women?s rights an education has significantly altered the sexual landscape, as emerging adults become more focused on developing their individuality and furthering career goals. At the same time, entering a marriage in no way guarantees sex. These two considerations effectively divorce the concepts of sex and marriage so that the term ?premarital sex? is inaccurate. ?
The current median age of marriage in the United States is around 26 when both men and women are pooled, a sharp contrast to the pre-pubescent marriages commonplace in Biblical times.7 As society has shifted from a patriarchal focus to one that is more egalitarian, women are far freer to pursue careers and further their education, significantly contributed to this relatively high age.17 At the same time, perhaps because of increasing focus on higher education, both men and women express a desire to spend more time developing themselves as individuals before focusing on a long-term relationship .17,18 At the same time, the decision to get married does not automatically include sex. A number of married couples have very little sex, something that may stem from lack of communication and intimacy about sexual interactions prior to making the commitment.19
Just as it is not a given that people will get married when they are ready to have sex, it is not assured that getting married will lead to an active sex life. By referring to premarital sex as such, an inaccurate picture is assumed that affects both the education and the expectations of emerging adults.
Clearly, the topic of premarital sex deserves even more in-depth consideration, but critically evaluating what is reflexively assumed to be true in the Christian community reveals a number of significant flaws. Hoping that love, commitment, and a relationship with God will lead to sexual compatibility is insufficient, such that sexual intimacy is an important part of the decision to forge a long-term commitment. Biblically, the link between marriage and sex, and the establishment of sex outside this bond as a sin, is nonexistent (or, at the very least, open to substantial interpretation). Finally, an egalitarian, educated society does not form an axiomatic link between sex and marriage, indicating that sexual intimacy and the challenges of sustaining a long-term relationship should be addressed separately as well as together. Thus, the typical Christian crusade against ?premarital sex,? or, as it is better termed, ?sex,? is misplaced and unnecessary. Instead of crusading against it, Christians should spend their time encouraging young couples to forge healthy, lasting relationships with each other, regardless of their level of sexual intimacy.
Works Cited
1.Wright, R. Dynamic Sex: Unlocking the Secret to Love. Power to Change (1996).at <http://powertochange.com/discover/sex-love/dynamicsex/>
2.Schutte, S. Three Lies About Premarital Sex. Focus on the Family (2008).at <http://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/christian_singles/being_single_and_faithful/three_lies_about_sex_before_marriage.aspx>
3.Kidson, J. & Martin, R. Sex Before Marriage??:: Abstinence Works! Life Aloud (2007).at <http://lifealoud.wordpress.com/2007/11/03/sex-before-marriage-abstinence-works/>
4.OneMoreOption The Importance And Benefits Of Having Premarital Sex. Sexuality & Love in the Arts (2009).at <http://sexualityinart.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/the-importance-and-benefits-of-having-premarital-sex/>
5.Hartwig, M. J. The poetics of intimacy and the problem of sexual abstinence. (P. Lang: New York, 2000).
6.Finer, L. B. Trends in premarital sex in the United States, 1954-2003. Public Health Rep 122, 73?78 (2007).
7.Jayson, S. Most Americans have had premarital sex, study finds. USA Today (2006).at <http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-12-19-premarital-sex_x.htm>
8.Warner, J. Premarital Sex the Norm in America. WebMD Health & Sex (2006).at <http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/news/20061220/premarital-sex-the-norm-in-america>
9.Connolly, C. Teen Pledges Barely Cut STD Rates, Study Says. The Washington Post A03 (2005).
10.Somanader, T. Study: Majority Of Young Evangelicals Have Pre-Marital Sex, Exposing Flaws With Right-Wing Attacks On Sex Ed. Think Progress (2011).at <http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/09/29/331692/study-finds-huge-majority-of-young-evangelicals-have-pre-marital-sex-exposing-flaws-with-right-wing-attacks-on-sex-ed/>
11.Got Questions Ministries What does the Bible say about sex before marriage? Got Questions? (2002).at <http://www.gotquestions.org/sex-before-marriage.html>
12.International Bible Society The Holy Bible. (International Bible Society: 1984).
13.Lawrence, R. J., Jr. The Poisoning of Eros: Sexual Values in Conflict. (Augustine Moore Pr: 1989).
14.Coogan, M. God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says. (Twelve: 2010).
15.Thelos, P. Divine Sex: Liberating Sex from Religious Tradition. (Trafford Publishing: 2003).
16.Liberated Christians Premarital Sex ? Not a Biblical Conflict. Liberated Christians (2003).at <http://www.libchrist.com/bible/premaritalsex.html>
17.Regnerus, M. & Uecker, J. Premarital sex in America?: how young Americans meet, mate, and think about marrying. (Oxford University Press: Oxford; New York, 2011).
18.Thompson, T. Marriage, Take a Backseat?Sex Drives. Newd Magazine (2011).at <http://www.newdmagazine.com/apps/articles/web/articleid/73713/columnid/5466/default.asp>
19.Parker-Pope, T. When Sex Leaves the Marriage. New York Times ? Well Blog (2009).at <http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/when-sex-leaves-the-marriage/>
I am currently in school for Criminal Justice to become a Paralegal, but I am not liking that path and I want to switch degrees. Can anyone tell me if a business degree is acceptable in personal management or human resource management? Business is the only thing close enough to human resource that they offer.
Jay-Z performs at the AMEX Sync Showat during SXSW in Austin, Texas on Monday, March 12, 2012. Jay-Z played a hits-filled set for a standing room-only crowd after flying in late Monday afternoon. (AP Photo/Jack Plunkett)
Jay-Z performs at the AMEX Sync Showat during SXSW in Austin, Texas on Monday, March 12, 2012. Jay-Z played a hits-filled set for a standing room-only crowd after flying in late Monday afternoon. (AP Photo/Jack Plunkett)
In this undated photo released by ATO Records, members of Alabama Shakes, from left, Zac Cockrell, Brittany Howard, Steve Johnson and Heath Fogg are shown. Alabama Shakes began playing in packed houses for enthusiastic fans after putting out a hastily released EP just six months ago. And this week the Athens, Ala., foursome will have a jam-packed schedule over five days at the South By Southwest Music Conference and Festival. (AP Photo/ATO Records, Don VanCleave)
FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2012 file photo, Bruce Springsteen performs during the 54th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Springsteen will perform at the annual South by Southwest Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, file)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ? Members of the ascendant rock band Alabama Shakes can tell you all about buzz in the 21st century.
They first read about themselves on the Internet about nine months ago. They began playing in packed houses for enthusiastic fans after putting out a hastily released EP just six months ago. And this week the Athens, Ala., foursome will reach the pinnacle of their exposure ? so far ? with a jam-packed schedule over five days at the South By Southwest Music Conference and Festival.
With thousands of reporters, bloggers, fans and members of the music industry jostling to see them and with the immediate "thumbs up, thumbs down" nature of the Internet culture, they'll be judged and judged often, and they haven't even released their first official album yet (that comes next month).
Still, drummer Steve Johnson thinks the band is ready for their moment in the spotlight.
"I think we play well under pressure," Johnson said. "Sometimes, if we feel a little pressure, the heat is on, and sometimes it pushes us to play in ways we haven't before, maybe a little bit tighter or something. So I don't mind that pressure."
Justin Gage, a blogger for the music website Aquarium Drunkard, which is hosting a showcase this year featuring the band, says the Shakes are the sort of band the conference has touted since its start.
"South By Southwest is kind of the ultimate public showcase/coming-out party for a band, especially a band like Alabama Shakes, which has had so much attention over the last six months," said Gage, a 15-year attendee. "Anyone that has anything to do with the music industry as it is, they're pretty much going to be at South By Southwest. It's a prime opportunity for a band like them that are already superbuzzed about. This is a great time for all these people who have been hearing about the buzz for the past year to see it in the flesh."
They're not the only act tagged with the "one to watch" label. Austin bluesman Gary Clark Jr., British soul singer Michael Kiwanuka, Brooklyn punk rockers The Men and Philadelphia psych rockers The War on Drugs are all generating attention.
But even buzzworthy acts are having a harder time standing out with more and more chart-toppers and musical icons descending on what used to be primarily a venue for emerging acts.
This year, SXSW may have landed their biggest name yet with Bruce Springsteen serving as the conference's keynote speaker and performing to promote his latest album, "Wrecking Ball," released earlier this month. Jay-Z kicked off the week with a hit-filled, 80-minute performance Monday night (though the music portion of the SXSW Festival, which also includes film and interactive, actually starts Tuesday).
The Boss and Hova represent just the tip of the VIP list. Lil Wayne, 50 Cent, Nas, T.I., B.o.B. and several other hip-hop acts are coming and there are persistent rumors that Eminem will appear. Multiplatinum Grammy winner Norah Jones is also performing, as are Jack White, Fiona Apple and critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Santigold, who will debut new songs.
That means these days new bands need buzz even before they arrive.
"I think anything is possible, I'll say that," Gage said. "But I do agree that in 2012 unless you have kind of all the different pieces in place for initial buzz, I do think it's much more difficult to be that breakout band unless you've had those kind of collective rumbling before arriving in town."
Clark, another rising performer, is in Stage 2 of that process. He grew up in Austin and played sporadically at the festival over the years. But he stepped it up last year, playing nine times before heading to Bonnaroo and releasing an EP. He parlayed those successes into an opening spot for Eric Clapton in front of 70,000 fans in Brazil and playing for President Barack Obama, a run he says is "dreamlike, actually, and kind of surreal."
This year he's even more visible at South By Southwest with eight shows, including a performance slot on MTV's Woodie Awards, as he prepares to release his major label debut in September. The ride has been interesting and the buzz palpable.
"I've definitely felt it over the years," Clark said. "It's pretty cool."
It's that cool stars and advertisers seek when they come to Austin, and their presence has changed things for both good and ill, longtime visitors say. Charles Aaron, SPIN's editorial director, believes the new acts are getting lost in the busy shuffle that SXSW has become in recent years: "I think when the Internet happened it just went completely kaplooie, and then after that it was like you couldn't move anywhere. It was just like a giant mob scene."
He also thinks the conference is simply more interesting these days because of the diversity that evolution has brought with it.
R&B hitmaker The-Dream will appear at a showcase with pop legend Lionel Richie, whose upcoming album explores his country music roots. Juanes will speak and leads a contingent of Latin performers, while showcases will be held for African, Asian, Australian and British performers.
Even electronic dance music artists like Flux Pavilion are testing what have previously been tepid waters for the laptop crowd, showing just how much variety there is after a quarter century.
"I think the main thing about South By Southwest now is there's so much variety," said Aaron, who's attended the conference off and on for 20 years. "It's not like an indie rock festival or even a major label rock festival. It's got every genre represented in large part, and that's kind of more the experience now for me."
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Public release date: 28-Mar-2012
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