A Parity Gap for Women in Indian Art

NEW DELHI — At the India Art Fair, a mammoth annual event here that drew crowds of artists, curators, buyers and gawkers this year, it was clear where women belonged: on an equal platform with the men, often running the show. But their visibility also raised an old and tricky question: Why haven’t female artists caught up with the men when it comes to pricing?

The answer to that question isn’t obvious. At the Art Fair, as in the broader realm of Indian art, there seemed to be two levels at which women participated and were accorded respect. The works of women like the sculptor Hemi Bawa and the photographer Dayanita Singh drew as much attention as the works of men like Jitesh Kallat or Subodh Gupta. And the Indian art world is a hospitable environment for women in other roles — as gallery owners, art fund managers, curators and auction house managers.

Back in the 1940s, there was little room for female artists. Amrita Shergil was one of the few of that era to make her mark, but the advance of modernists in India was dominated by men for the next few decades. It was in the 1970s, the art historian and critic Gayatri Sinha recalls, that the floodgates opened for female artists. But while women have enjoyed equal gallery space and critical praise, their works haven’t commanded the same prices, and women don’t rank among India’s top five artists measured by the admittedly blunt instrument of sales figures.

“The difference in pricing is not a conscious gender divide,” said the art critic Deepanjana Pal, who is based in Mumbai. “Despite the fact that we have so many women gallerists and artists, the ones who are taken more seriously are the men. As a society, we take women less seriously. When you look at artist couples — Atul and Anju Dodiya, Bharti Kher and Subodh Gupta — both might be taken equally seriously by critics, but for a long time, the pricing was completely different. It’s an unconscious bias.”

In 2010, there were a few signs that things might change. “Wish Dream,” a multipaneled canvas by Arpita Singh, an artist based in Delhi, sold at the Saffronart auction for $2.24 million — the highest price ever achieved for a work by an Indian woman at auction. (The highest price fetched by any Indian artist in recent times was $3.4 million, for “Saurashtra,” a painting by S.H. Raza, which sold the same year at Christie’s in London.)

One of Ms. Kher’s signature sculptures, a life-size elephant slumped on the floor, its skin marked with hundreds of bindis — the forehead decoration of many Indian women — sold at Sotheby’s, also in London in 2010, for a record $1.5 million, placing the artist in ninth position on a list of India’s 10 top-selling artists compiled by an art gallery in Delhi.

Opinion in the art world is divided on the question of whether these women are outliers, or indicators that women in general might be catching up with men in terms of pricing parity.

Anjali Purohit, an artist based in Mumbai whose career spans three decades, suggests that pricing is only one way to look at differences between the sexes in the arts, here and elsewhere.

“The situation in India reflects the status of women artists everywhere in the world,” she said. “How many women artists have gained prominence in the wider world? In India, if you look at why the work women artists produce is not taken seriously, start with their early careers. Men are seen as professional from the moment they start working as artists. Women have to prove their credentials, because they’re seen to have other competing priorities — children, the family. A gallery thinks before investing in a woman artist: How seriously does this woman take her art? Will she last?”

The same questions, Ms. Purohit and many female artists say, don’t apply to men.

Some women do break through, says Ms. Pal, the art critic, cautioning that there is a difference between “appreciation and valuation.” Kishore Singh, a former art critic who heads the Delhi Art Gallery, would agree, and he has a nuanced perspective to offer.

“We mustn’t forget that the contemporary Indian art scene started with about four women artists to 70 male artists, roughly, and it’s improved since then,” he said. The discrepancy in pricing is not conscious or obvious, he added, given that the market is driven by female artists, gallery owners and buyers — to a much greater extent than several other art markets.

He said he had noticed a pattern at his gallery that may be of some significance. As with many other buying experiences in India, from cars to household goods, he noted, women tend to do the browsing and selecting, but men tend to make the final decision. Mr. Singh’s observation is corroborated by many other art dealers, who say that women tend to be more curious, but men tend to control the checkbooks.

“When you look at the distance we’ve come over the last few decades,” Mr. Singh said, “you might argue that the art world has been getting more equal, on all fronts. Even with pricing, perhaps it’s catching up. Eventually it has to happen, as art becomes more democratized and as people concentrate less on the signature and more on the artwork.”

And perhaps, he said, the international art market might inadvertently contribute to gender-blind pricing in the Indian art world.

“A buyer or a collector abroad can’t tell from the names whether an artist is a man or a woman,” Mr. Singh said. “With Indian art becoming more international, that might actually work better for women.”

ROVER’S DIARY: Pakistani media: a microcosm of society —Babar Ayaz

Some of the media persons are often found challenging the benefits of democracy, oblivious of the fact that the present freedom of the press they enjoy is directly related to the democratic system

The media considers itself as the ‘watchdog’ of a society, but the trouble is that this watchdog is free to bite anybody in self-interest without anybody to admonish it. At least in Pakistan where the media is going through a phase of newfound freedom in excitement, the internal and external checks and balances have not developed in the media. This is more true about the electronic media, which is just a decade old.

The Press Council of Pakistan (PCP) for the print media has been reluctantly created but is without the required infrastructure and capability to check some of the outrageous violations of media ethical codes. Just one example of the dangerous violation is that appeals to kill Salmaan Taseer or other alleged blasphemers by a cleric of Peshawar and some trader with offers of hefty head money have been published by many papers. More recently, Akbar Bugti’s son did the same and the newspapers obliged him with headlines. Now luring people to kill anybody — whether the victim is guilty or not — as well as publishing it is a criminal offence. But no court has taken notice of this glaring violation of law. It is like publishing an advertisement in the newspaper’s job and career section that an assassin is wanted against a hefty reward. What are we, a nation of lawless people where anybody can hire killers with the cooperation of the newspapers? Though there is a PEMRA and PBA laid down code of ethics, nobody cares about it.

The demand for the law to take its course against anybody who violates it is the right of every citizen. But offering head money by a private individual for killing an alleged accused, a la the Iranian offer for killing Salman Rushdie, is not even medieval.

Now just take the issue of Maya Khan’s morning programme on Samaa TV, which was rightly criticised by the influential civil society and other individuals mostly on the social media. In this case, Samaa’s CEO Zafar Siddiqi, who is an enlightened and enterprising man, took an immediate action and fired Maya and her team, reacting to the public pressure. Does that solve the issue? Perhaps not. At the same time, “It is important to remember that most newspapers and broadcast stations in the market economy are not in the business because of high and lofty ideals, they are there to make a profit for their owners and shareholder” (Media Ethics and Self-Regulation by Chris Frost).

Pakistan is new to free television communication. The medium of television, in the words of John Fiske, is “the loss of both ‘reality’ and ‘ideology’ as grounding bases for images in another facet of the loss of the ‘grand narrative’. A key consequence of this loss is the fragmentation of experience and its images. Postmodernism culture is fragmented culture, the fragments come together for the occasion and are not organised into stable coherent groupings by an external principle. Television is particularly suited to the culture of the fragment, for its continuous flow consists of discreet ‘segments’ following one another, sequence dictated by unstable mix of narrative or textual requirements, economic requirements and the requirements of varied popular taste” (‘Postmodernism and Television’ by John Fiske published in Mass Media and Society).

Maya Khan’s aberration, called her morning programme, fulfils the last two requirements. She had tried to follow the ‘economic requirements’ and the ‘requirements of varied popular taste’. Add to this another major issue: the prevailing contradiction of Pakistani society between the liberal Pakistan and post-80s conservative Islamist Pakistan. Maya is not the only confused young person in this debate. Some months back, ARY had also aired a programme in which the young presenter barged into a middle class café and questioned the couple why they were together. This overzealous moral force TV squad even questioned a married couple that why they visit such cafes. Amir Liaquat on Geo’s ‘Alim Online’ had provoked some so-called religious scholars to say that killing of a sect’s people was justified. Next we found that two Ahmediyya community gentlemen were killed in Sindh. No immediate action was taken against him either by the channel or by the courts, which are usually afraid of the religious militants. However, Geo eventually eased out Amir Liaquat and the MQM chucked him out of the party.

What these young presenters in the media do not realise is that their own freedom to do programmes and mix around with ‘na-mehrams’ during the course of their work can also be challenged by the same set of obsolete and unpractical moral values, which they think they are preaching by challenging the social freedoms of individual citizens.

Undoubtedly Pakistani society is up against protecting its liberal and tolerant values, while there are many in the media who subscribe to the conservative and medieval school of thought. We should have no issue if this debate is carried on on a rational and civilised basis rather than resorting to violence and suppressing the other side in the name of absolute divinity.

The other day a young man asked a question that what happened to the Pakistan where the Islam followed was tolerant and liberal. Yes, such a Pakistan existed till 1977, in spite of the capitulation of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to the religious bigots first in 1974 by declaring Ahmedis non-Muslims and then in 1977 by accepting the cultural demands of the religious parties, while resisting their political demands. This gave General Ziaul Haq an opportunity to push his agenda and Islamism inspired by the Saudi school of thought and money. However, during the 10 years of Ayub Khan and three tumultuous years of General Yahya, social freedom existed but political freedom was denied.

Some of the media persons are often found challenging the benefits of democracy, oblivious of the fact that the present freedom of the press they enjoy is directly related to the democratic system. “This year’s index,” of Reporters Without Borders, “finds the same group of countries at its head, countries such as Finland, Norway and Netherlands that respect basic freedoms. This serves as a reminder that media independence can only be maintained in strong democracies and that democracy needs media freedom. It is worth noting the entry of Cape Verde and Namibia into the top 20, two African countries where no attempts to obstruct the media were reported in 2011.

“Many countries are marked by a culture of violence towards the media that has taken a deep hold. It will be hard to reverse the trends in these countries without an effective fight against impunity. Mexico (149th) and Honduras (135th) are two cases in point. Pakistan (151st) was the world’s deadliest country for journalists for the second year running. Somalia (164th), which has been at war for 20 years, shows no sign of finding a way out of the chaos in which journalists are paying a heavy price.

“In Iran (175th), hounding and humiliating journalists has been part of officialdom’s political culture for years. The regime feeds on persecution of the media. Iraq (152nd) fell back 22 places and is now worryingly approaching its 2008 position (158th).”Our television is the microcosm of Pakistani society and so are the people working in it. Extremist social and religious ideology has crept into all the institutions — whether it is the media or the armed forces of Pakistan.

Islamic Screen Savers

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France and Iran share film spoils at London film awards

Acclaimed Iranian film A Separation is being tipped for an Oscar

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French film The Artist and Iranian film A Separation have triumphed at the London Critics Circle awards.

Silent movie, and Oscar front-runner, The Artist won film of the year; Michel Hazanavicius won best director and Jean Dujardin was named best actor.
A Separation, which follows a marital conflict in Tehran, won best foreign film, best screenwriter and best supporting actress for Sareh Beyat.
We Need To Talk About Kevin won British film of the year.
In a surprise move, Meryl Streep shared the best actress award with Anna Paquin, for her role in the little-seen film Margaret. Neither actress was present at the awards.
However, both The Artist's Dujardin and Hazanavicius were at the BFI Southbank event in London.
When asked for the reason why he thought the movie had been so successful, Hazanavicius said: "Maybe because it's a simple love story. It's universal. And there's a cute dog. People love cute dogs."
The black-and-white film, a tribute to Hollywood's silent era, won three Golden Globes earlier this week.
It is also nominated for 12 Baftas, and is expected to be among the Oscar front-runners when nominations are announced next week.

Michel Hazanavicius claimed The Artist's success was down to the 'cute dog'

Kenneth Branagh collected the supporting actor of the year award, for his role as Laurence Olivier in My Week With Marilyn.
He revealed that as a teenager he had sent Olivier a letter asking for acting advice.
"His advice was to have a bash and hope for the best , which was a simple and very effective way of saying you've just got to do it."
Branagh praised co-star Michelle Williams' portrayal of Marilyn Monroe.
"She was eerily and spookily like Marilyn," he said. "It really did feel as if I was playing opposite Marilyn Monroe, not Michelle Williams - that's how spooky.
"She seemed to be possessed by Marilyn, but did it while retaining a sense of humour."
Michael Fassbender picked up the British actor of the year award for his performances as a sex addict in Shame and Carl Jung in A Dangerous Method.
Fassbender praised Shame director Steve McQueen, with whom he made Hunger in 2008: "He's very brave and very open and very honest. Steve changed my life and I'm forever indebted."
Olivia Colman was named British actress of the year for her performances in The Iron Lady and Tyrannosaur.

Streep is hotly tipped for the best actress Oscar, but Paquin remains an outsider for the Hollywood gong

Picking up the British film award for We Need to Talk About Kevin, director Lynne Ramsay said: "It's quite a dark film, so I'm really proud of the fact that a film as challenging as Kevin is getting an audience."
Asif Kapadia won best documentary for Senna, while Andrew Haigh was named breakthrough British film-maker for Weekend.
"I used to work here in the cinema as an usher about 15 years ago, so it's quite good to be on the stage winning an award," he told the BBC.
Craig Roberts took home the best young British performer trophy for his lead role in Submarine and Maria Djurkovic won the technical achievement for her production design in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
It was Tinker Tailor's only award of the night, having shared six nominations apiece with stylish thriller Drive.
Don't Look Now director Nicolas Roeg collected The Dilys Powell Award for excellence in film, from actor Donald Sutherland.
Drive's Carey Mulligan and War Horse actor Jeremy Irvine also attended the event.

Titan May Support Earth-Like World, Say Scientists

A group of researchers has discovered through their latest study, how the atmosphere of the Saturn's largest moon, Titan is structured. Titan, which is the only moon of the Saturn that has a dense atmosphere, is believed to have an Earth-like world, according to the latest report.
Scientists studied the atmosphere of Titan and said that it might support a world that is very similar to the Earth, which possesses a layered atmosphere. They revealed that the lowest layer of any planet, which is also known as boundary layer, has huge impact on the surface with clouds and winds. Apart from it, it itself is affected by a planet or moon's surface.
The team told that Earth's boundary layer is controlled by solar heat that warms the planet's surface and is 500 meters and 3 kilometers in thickness. Whereas, boundary layer of the Titan may act differently as it is farther away from the Sun. It is thick and opaque, which is creating perplexity in the study.
Thus, to solve this mystery, a 3-D climate model has been developed by the team so as to know how the planet might respond to solar heat over time. This invention has revealed simulations like Titan’s lower atmosphere is probably divided into two parts and both differ from upper atmosphere’s temperature, said it.
Further analysis over the hazy and soupy atmosphere of the Titan could help in throwing light on the atmosphere of varied other similar planets that include alien planets and moons, said the scientists. "3-D models will be very useful in the future to explain the data we will get about the atmospheres of exoplanets", said Benjamin Charnay, a Planetary Scientist at France's National Center of Scientific Research.

Intel Launches Performance Tuning Protection Plan On Select Processors

Intel has formally announced a new program called the Performance Tuning Protection Plan (PTPP), which provides full warranty protection for select “K”, “X”, and LGA2011-socketed boxed processors processors no matter how you kill it. This is in addition to your standard 3 year warranty. In other words, if it fails under normal usage, Intel will replace it under the standard warranty; if it fails while running outside of Intel's specifications, Intel will replace it under the Performance Tuning Protection Plan. The plan pricing and supported processors include:

• Intel Core i5-2500K - $20.00
• Intel Core i7-2600K - $25.00
• Intel Core i7-2700K - $25.00
• Intel Core i7-3930K - $35.00
• Intel Core i7-3960X - $35.00

We think this program is a great addition and something that overclockers will jump on. The plan doesn't extend the processors 3 year warranty, but makes sure you have replacement coverage no matter how you blow up or break a processor. You can buy the plan from resellers like CyberPower, Canada Computers and Electronics, Scan Computers, and Altech Computers or directly from Intel (must use Paypal). You can even buy a plan after you've bought a processor, which sounds crazy, but the catch is you have to wait 30 days for the plan to go active. This program is currently in a trail phase that will last six months and then Intel will decide whether or not to proceed past the pilot phase. This means you'll want to get in on this now!

Intel is pleased to announce the introduction of a new pilot plan targeted at the enthusiast community. The enthusiast community is a critical market segment for Intel and, as such, when the opportunity arises to try out a service or otherwise address the community’s particular needs, we endeavor to do so where practicable. In this spirit, Intel is announcin a new pilot service plan for “K”, “X”, and LGA2011-socketed boxed processors called the Performance Tuning Protection Plan. This Plan wil provide certain out-of-warranty service offerings in the event of damage caused by over-clocking or over-voltaging by the user. By purchasing this Plan and meeting the Plan’s criteria, the user can receive a one-time replacement processor if the user’s over-voltaging or over-clocking causes the original processor to fail. This pilot Plan in no way expands, changes or extends the original three year standard warranty and is simply a Plan the user may want to purchase for over-clocking or over-voltaging. This pilot Plan will be launched on January 18, 2012, at 12:01AM PST and last for six months.

Microsoft kills System Center single-module licence

Licensing changes to Microsoft's System Center 2012 could force customers to buy modules they do not need.

Microsoft has slimmed down the number of licensing options for System Center 2012 from over one hundred to just two.

Microsoft has radically reduced the number of licensing options for its new management technology, System Center 2012, from over a hundred distinct options to two, the company announced on Tuesday. However, the new model forces customers to buy a licence for all eight modules of the management suite, taking away their ability to pick and choose.
"Over the last 10 years our licensing has become very rich [with over] 113 different price points," Gareth Fort, general manager of Microsoft's server and cloud division, said.
The two licence options that replace the previous choices are Standard and Datacenter. Standard costs $1,300 (£846) and is for all System Center 2012 components and the ability to run two virtual machines. Datacenter costs $3,600, and supports an unlimited number of virtual machines.
The new model means a requirement for just one of System Center's eight separate modules such as Virtual Machine Manager will cost $1,300. In the past, people have reported paying around $500 for a licence for Virtual Machine Manager Workgroup Edition and $900 for VMM Enterprise Edition.

You'd be hard pressed to see what difference it will make when you're signing on the dotted line and handing over a lot of money to Microsoft.

– Rene Millman

Existing customers will have around a year to move to the new licensing module, Fort said. System Center 2012 is expected to become commercially available in the second half of 2012, though a release candidate was made available on Tuesday.
Microsoft's prices are tailored around specific customers, Rene Millman, an IDC systems management analyst, told ZDNet UK, so the licensing revamp may not register on many customers' bottom lines.
"Microsoft's business model is very much to have an enterprise-wide licence agreement and everything's part and parcel [of that]," he said. "You'd be hard pressed to see what difference it will make when you're signing on the dotted line and handing over a lot of money to Microsoft.
"It is a moveable feast what you can get out of Microsoft on any given day and with any given salesmen."

More than 'window dressing'

ZDNet UK asked Microsoft how substantive it thought the licensing changes were.
"This is definitely more than 'window dressing'," a Microsoft representative said. "We think this change is great for both new and existing customers.
"The licensing reflects the design point around integration across all the capabilities required to run cloud-based architectures, and gives customers all of these capabilities they need in a simplified product line up."
The simplicity of the revamp was welcomed by some Microsoft watchers.
"Overall it's a positive move that will benefit customers, simplify purchase scenarios and make businesses more dynamic," Richard Gibbons, software manager at Bechtle Direct, told ZDNet UK. "Definitely, there will be a few cases where it causes problems, but that's always the case with shifts like this I feel."

Apple, Samsung Vie for Waterproofing Technolog

Apple and Samsung are looking to enhance their handsets with waterproofing technology, as durability and safety become increasing concerns with consumers and phone makers.
HzO’s “WaterBlock” technology, introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show last week, protects devices on a molecular level, without any bulky casing. Instead, it coats phones with an organic, invisible nano-scale film barrier, which keeps devices operational working after intense water exposure.
Water damage occurs regularly but is not covered under most Samsung and Apple warranties, so waterproofing likely will be a key selling point with consumers in the future.
In addition, the increasing role the ever-present devices play in ensuring safety could make waterproofing invaluable. For example, Apple phones have proven their durability in emergency situations in the past, lending assurance the devices can help in disasters. This feature is likely to appeal to consumers who rely on their devices as potential lifesavers in hurricanes, floods, and other dangerous situations.
Apple and Samsung recognize this opportunity to enhance their products with a unique feature that will grant users with a greater sense of security. The company at the forefront of waterproofing technology will have an advantage, as they will be able to tout the feature’s exclusivity.
Successfully implementing waterproofing technology into mobile devices is likely to appeal to app developers as well, since they will be able to feature apps specifically designed with enhanced durability in mind.
Although HzO’s waterproofing product is not recommended for sustained submersion, technological advances may also lead to a boom in water-sports related features.
For now, the technology means that the next generation of Apple and Samsung smartphones will likely survive an accidental dip in the toilet or rainy commute. If waterproofing advances, it could lead to a phone with an iPod app for swimming workouts, a scuba watch monitoring nitrogen levels for divers — or maybe even a shark alert.

Google Fiber work in KCK is delayed by dispute over how its wires are hung

By SCOTT CANON The Kansas City Star

Updated: 2012-01-18T14:20:44Z

Officials with the online giant and Wyandotte County negotiating how and where to hang fiber optic lines.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/17/3376648/dispute-over-how-wires-are-hung.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/17/3376648/dispute-over-how-wires-are-hung.html#storylink=cpy

When Google Inc. announced last spring that Kansas City, Kan., had landed the tech company’s much-pursued super-speed Internet project, the company gushed about the local utility poles.
They were flush with space nicely suited for hanging Google’s cables.
What’s more, the city and county governments are one, and that same Unified Government of Wyandotte County owns the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities and its utility poles. That figured to make negotiations over installing Google’s fiber easier.
Now it turns out that differences over where and how to hang wires on those poles, and what fees or installation costs may be required, have created a troublesome bump in plans to launch the project at “Google speed.”
The issue was dealt with in just 60 words in Google’s original agreement, but nine-plus months later engineers and lawyers are still trying to settle on common ground.
That hiccup in what figures to be a historic digital-age infrastructure upgrade in the city suggests that Google and Wyandotte County officials failed to mind the devilish details of their pact. The deal was hailed last spring as critical to landing Google. The California company said one reason it came to Kansas was because local officials could move quickly to make the project work.
Google has declined to comment on the dispute and delays that have set back the work in Kansas City, Kan., by months.
“We still don’t have an approval of the agreement,” said David Mehlhaff, a spokesman for the BPU. “Within the next week or two we ought to be able to hammer out the final details. We’re moving forward.”
Yet time has already been lost. Google has yet to publicly acknowledge any significant delay in the project. In an interview, Unified Government Mayor Joe Reardon insisted the project had not fallen behind schedule.
That stands at odds with public declarations made in the hoopla of Kansas City, Kan., being picked for the project in late March.
Google said then that it would begin signing up its first customers in the fourth quarter of 2011 and light up its service in the first quarter of this year. To date, while the company says it’s been putting intense effort into engineering the project, it hasn’t begun to sign up customers.
It still hasn’t, in fact, announced how much it will charge customers. It has not begun installing the fiber optic network needed for its service. And its prediction of beginning service has slipped to the first half of this year. Just how many months have been lost is difficult to sort out, especially with both the Unified Government and Google refusing to say.
That apparent delay stems from how, and precisely where, Google hopes to hang its data-shuttling glass wire.
Work near electric wires
Last spring’s agreement between the Unified Government and Google was remarkable because a mammoth company chose to bring a potentially game-changing project to town without asking for tax breaks or the other sorts of goodies so often used to lure attractive businesses.
Attachment A to the development agreement with the Unified Government says that Google can put its fiber optic lines in the same space typically used by cable TV and phone companies. It just needs to pay the going rate. Nothing special about that.
Still, the city did give up something, and the deal is noteworthy in that key respect.
The same single-paragraph clause says that “when Google is in the restricted BPU electrical supply space” — that highly regulated zone typically reserved for power lines — “fees shall not apply.” That freebie, the document states, would act as reimbursement for Google delivering its gigabit-per-second Internet connections for 130 locations such as schools, libraries and city buildings.
Although Google can avoid the attachment fees by hooking up close to power lines, it would swap that expense for a less-certain cost: the trickier job of installing cable far closer to electrical wires.
The dispute over the rules that will govern Google’s work on the poles also highlights what cable companies, to whom Google poses competition, see as favoritism.
Google and the BPU are trying to sort out ways that keep the cost of the project from ballooning while avoiding safety problems or service issues for electrical customers in Wyandotte County.
Utilities such as the BPU have the authority to override the safety codes and place communication wires among their power lines. But doing so requires more highly-trained technicians, usually journeyman linemen, who command hourly rates roughly 50 percent higher than workers who attach cables in the telecom space.
Google faces two choices: Pay the market rates for stretching its fiber optic lines much as AT&T and Time Warner Cable do in the space reserved for telecommunications; or shoulder the costs and complications of threading those same strands amid the electrical supply space.
In allowing Google next to its power lines, the BPU runs counter to the guidelines set by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in the National Electrical Safety Code for “practical safeguarding of persons during the installation, operation, or maintenance of electric supply and communication lines.”
That code states that any communication or nonelectrical supply lines should be at least 40 inches below the power supply.
Still, it’s not uncommon for utilities to sanction telecommunication lines in that electrical supply space on utility poles.
Westar Energy, for instance, has fiber optic cables used for its own communications installed next to power lines on many of its poles. That communication cable is wrapped in steel to ground it as protection from being close to high-voltage wires. When hung lower on the poles, fiber optic lines are usually sheathed just in plastic.
Over in Missouri
The apparent trouble and renegotiation between Google and Wyandotte County officials differs markedly from the project on the Missouri side of the line.
When Google announced it was coming to Kansas City, Kan., it bested 1,100 other U.S. communities who’d courted the company to bring its ambitious Internet plan to them.
That score for Wyandotte County was also seen as a failure of Kansas City, Mo. But a month and a half later in May, Google said it would expand its project to the Missouri city as well. There was a distinct difference, and it had to do with utility poles.
In addition to the 19-page agreement Google cut with Kansas City, Mo., including a promise of free warp-speed Internet to 300 locations of the city’s choosing, the company also hashed out an agreement dozens of pages long with Kansas City Power & Light.
The idea that Google might nestle its fiber optic lines in the electric supply space, said KCP&L spokesman Chuck Caisley, was a “nonstarter.”
In fact, discussions over precisely where Google would be allowed to place its wires on KCP&L poles drove the protracted talks that took so much longer than in Kansas City, Kan.
“We did everything we could to have a defined, streamlined process where it’s very specific about the rights and responsibilities of all the parties,” Caisley said. “Because Google stressed the need to build quickly, and we needed to stress that we wouldn’t jeopardize the service to our customers.
“The holdup for us,” he said, “was to make sure that we understood and Google understood exactly what kind of an agreement we were getting into.”
Consequently, Caisley said KCP&L had no indication that the project on the Missouri side had strayed from Google’s original schedule.
Local cable companies said they don’t get into similar discussions about access to the upper reaches of utility poles because they’re only offered the telecom space and are expected to pay attachment fees accordingly.
Cable provider SureWest Communications sells service across Johnson County and other parts of the Kansas City area, including a few business customers in Wyandotte County.
Ken Johnson, the company’s vice president and chief technology officer, said his company’s not much interested in hanging its wires up high with power lines.
“It’s just much more cumbersome,” he said.
Then again, SureWest hasn’t been offered free access to the space. In most places it operates, SureWest provides free service to public buildings as part of franchise agreements, much as Google is promising. But local utilities still charge attachment fees to get on their poles.
“We would expect to have equal treatment,” Johnson said.
Matt Derrick, a local spokesman for Time Warner Cable, described the Google deal in Wyandotte County as a subsidy.
“Google’s not paying for the network” of utility poles, he said. “Somebody else already has.”
Mehlhaff, the BPU spokesman, doesn’t know whether other companies might get the same attachment rights granted to Google.
“We’d have to look at what the other requests are,” he said. “We have to do what we think is best overall for the community.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/17/3376648/dispute-over-how-wires-are-hung.html#storylink=cpy

Toward an International Code of Conduct for Space

In June 2010, the Obama administration released its National Space Policy (PDF), which declared: “The United States will pursue bilateral and multilateral transparency and confidence-building measures to encourage responsible actions in, and the peaceful use of, space.”
This statement referred to the draft European Union (EU) Code of Conduct for outer space, originally published in 2008 and revised in 2010. The EU code called on member states to establish “policies and procedures to minimize the possibility of accidents…or any form of harmful interference with other States’ right to the peaceful exploration and use of outer space.” The code is not legally binding, but is rather a voluntary agreement with no formal enforcement mechanisms. It is based on three principles:

1. freedom of access to space for peaceful purposes;
2. preservation of the security and integrity of space objects in orbit;
3. due consideration for the legitimate defense interests of states

Beginning in October 2010, Frank Rose, deputy assistant secretary of state for space and defense policy, has repeatedly said: “Over the past 18 months, the United States has been actively consulting with the EU on the Code. It is our hope to make a decision as to whether the United States can sign on to the Code in the coming months.”
Fifteen months later, the Obama administration finally made its decision after an extensive interagency review, which centered on responding to Pentagon concerns that the EU code would have an operational impact on the U.S. military’s uses of space. According to Secretary of State Clinton’s statement in the official press release:
“The United States has decided to join with the European Union and other nations to develop an International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities. A Code of Conduct will help maintain the long-term sustainability, safety, stability, and security of space by establishing guidelines for the responsible use of space.”
In other words, the administration has said “no” to the EU code—for now—but “yes” to an international version that incorporates the views of emerging space powers.
I half agree with the administration’s decision. As I argued in a Policy Innovation Memo in November 2011, the administration should have endorsed the EU code for four reasons:
First, the United States and EU had already engaged in four rounds of consultations about the code, after which Brussels incorporated suggested language, including the right to self defense in space.
Second, we do not know precisely what objections the Pentagon had to the EU code. Space capabilities are highly classified, but several U.S. officials told me that they believed the code aligned with all existing Pentagon space plans and policies. However, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Ellen Tauscher told reporters last week, without any clarification, that the code was “too restrictive.”
Third, the majority of spacefaring countries, including Australia, Canada, and Japan, have already endorsed the EU code, making it the most widely acceptable coordinating mechanism to date.
Fourth, the dangers of orbital space debris resulting from human activities are a rapidly growing threat to civil, military, and commercial satellites. While an international code would be the preferred multilateral forum to deal with space issues, it will undoubtedly take many years to draft and reach an agreement. According to National Research Council study released in September 2011:
“The current orbital debris environment has already reached a ‘tipping point.’ That is, the amount of debris—in terms of the population of large debris objects, as well as overall mass of debris in orbit—currently in orbit has reached a threshold where it will continually collide with itself, further increasing the population of orbital debris.”
Despite the urgency to develop and agree upon an international code of conduct, it would have several advantages over the current version of the EU code:

• Other spacefaring nations—such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China—indicated that they might not sign the EU code because they were insufficiently consulted in its development and believe it could limit the future capacities of emerging powers in outer space.
• The United States is the predominant space power, with 75 percent of worldwide governmental space funding; roughly 40 percent of all the active spacecraft (both government and commercial) in orbit; and the free-of-charge services provided by the U.S. Strategic Command’s Joint Space Operations Center, which detects, tracks, and identifies space objects and warns other countries and commercial space operators when their satellites are at risk. As the primary user of space, the United States can ‘lead from the front’ in shaping an international code.
• Secretary Clinton’s statement represents a needed and marked departure from the Bush administration’s National Space Policy of 2006, which stated that “the United States will oppose the development of new legal regimes or restrictions that seek to prohibit or limit U.S. access to or use of space.” In 2007, Christina Rocca, U.S. ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament, said that the universalizing of existing space agreements (like the International Telecommunications Union) was a “much more practical and effective step towards guaranteeing the peaceful use of outer space,” while State Department official John Mohanco declared: “The cold war is over…and there is no arms race in outer space. Thus, there is no—repeat, no problem in outer space for arms control to solve.”

The Cold War is indeed over, but since 1957 there have been over 5,500 launches that have sent some 7,000 spacecraft  into space. Today, there are over sixty countries that own and operate approximately 1,100 active satellites in space. Consequently, humans have made a mess of space with reckless creation of debris, which could impact surveillance and communications satellites that play an invisible but essential role in almost all facets of our daily lives. The Obama administration must translate its word into action by overseeing the development and implementation of an international code of conduct for space, which cannot begin soon enough.

9 Indian kids in YouTube space contest winners

 "YouTube Space Lab received thousands of video submissions from more than 80 countries.

NEW DELHI: Indian students are among the 60 finalists in a global science competition, 'YouTube Space Lab', and if they win, experiments they have designed will be conducted in space with the help of NASA, ESA and JAXA.

"YouTube Space Lab received thousands of video submissions from more than 80 countries. The US led with 10 finalists, followed by India with nine," a joint statement by the organisers announcing the names of the 60 finalists said.

The contest was organised by YouTube, Lenovo and private civilian space flight firm Space Adventures in collaboration with the space agencies.

Experiments designed by the winner will be conducted in space with help of space agencies like National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Space Lab invited budding scientists in two age groups -- 14-16 years and 17-18 years -- to submit a YouTube video describing their experiment, either alone or in groups of up to three.

Approximately 40 per cent of the entries came from India, followed by the US with 15 per cent, the statement said.

Other countries in the Top 10 list of the number of entries are the UK, Russia, Israel, Canada, Spain, Italy, Poland and Japan, it added.

Seventy-eight per cent of the entries came from students between the age group of 14 to 16 years and the rest from 17 to 18-year-olds.

Six regional winners will be announced in February, who will gather in Washington, DC, in March to experience a ZERO-G (zero gravity) flight. They will also be given a Lenovo IdeaPad laptop, the statement said.

The global winners, two teams from each age group, will be announced in March.

Deere sculpture sets world record

A giant combine made out of 300,000 cans takes shape Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011, at John Deere Pavilion in Moline, Illinois.(Courtesy Photo)

MOLINE, Ill. --- In building a combine from more than 300,000 cans of food, John Deere's Project Can Do not only helped the River Bend Foodbank in Moline, but also shattered the Guinness World Record for a canned structure.
"It's one of the best campaigns I've seen over the years," said Barry Nelson, media relations manager for John Deere Ag and Turf Division in Olathe, Kan.
"Not only did it tie in to one of our products, it brought attention to what farmers do every day, and we picked out really good food items to give away to hungry people."
The canned-food combine, which was assembled and displayed at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, blew away the old record of a canned structure made with 115,527 cans of food. That sculpture was made by Disney VoluntEARS at Walt Disney World Resort on Feb. 11, 2010, according to the Guinness Book of World Records website.
The sculpture depicted Deere's new S-690 John Deere Combine harvesting corn. It was 60 feet wide, 80 feet long, and 16 feet tall. It weighed 170 tons and was made from 308,448 cans of food, as well as 11,268 bags of food that included popcorn, peas and beans. Items were purchased by Deere from Hy-Vee Foods.
A team of 450 volunteers, including Deere employees, retirees and their families and friends, spent 1,800 hours during Nov. 12-17 to create the sculpture, which contained 15 types of canned food.
"Guinness Book of World Records has a really good verification process," Nelson said.
"We had to tell them what the project was and we had to have photos and documentation from witnesses."
Only the 308,448 cans that were in the main structure of the combine counted. "It all has to support itself when the structure is built from cans," Nelson said.
The cans used for the trailing auger did not count, he added.
The sculpture was dismantled in mid-December and the food items taken to the food bank.
In addition to the 170 tons of food for the food bank, Mara Sovey, president of the John Deere Foundation, said the foundation board has contributed $175,000 to the BackPack program, which provides hungry children with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food for the weekends.
Tom Laughlin, executive director of River Bend Foodbank, has said that more than 7 million pounds of food was distributed in 2011, surpassing the record of 6.7 million pounds of food in 2010.
The food bank serves families in 22 counties in eastern Iowa and western Illinois.

Porn industry could leave LA if condoms required

Some of the most prominent purveyors of erotic films say they'll start packing up their sex toys and abandoning the U.S. porn capital if authorities carry through with an effort to police film sets and order that every actor be outfitted with a condom.That effort took a serious leap forward Tuesday when the Los Angeles city council voted 9-1 to grant final approval to an ordinance that would deny film permits to producers who do not comply with the condom requirement. The measure now goes to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for approval. Before the measure can take effect, the council has called for the creation of a committee to determine how it might be enforced.
"It's going to be interesting to see how in fact they do try to enforce it and who's going to fund it, and all of the time and effort they're going to spend," said Steven Hirsch, co-founder and co-chairman of Los Angeles-based Vivid, one of the largest makers of erotic movies.
"Ultimately I think what they will find is people will just stop shooting in the city of Los Angeles," added Hirsch. "That's a given."
His company would be among those that would consider leaving, he said.
Approximately 90 percent of U.S. porn films are made in Los Angeles, almost all of them in the city's San Fernando Valley, said Mark Kernes, senior editor of Adult Video News.
When films, Internet downloads, sex toys and admission to dance clubs are counted, Kernes said, it's an industry that produces about $8 billion a year in revenue. It has been battered in recent years, however, by the recession and the increased popularity of free Internet porn.
Kernes and others say requiring condoms would further erode business.
They say consumers, particularly those overseas, have made it clear they won't watch films when the actors use condoms, complaining that it is distracting and ruins the fantasy.
"The only thing that the city could potentially achieve is losing some film permit money and driving some productions away, but you can't actually compel an industry to create a product that the market doesn't want," said Christian Mann, general manager of Evil Angel, another of the industry's largest production companies.
Ged Kenslea, spokesman for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said the measure is needed because the industry has failed to properly police itself. For years, he said, filmmakers have ignored state health laws mandating the use of condoms when workers are exposed to blood-borne pathogens.
"Let's make one thing clear: Condom use on adult film sets is, and has been, the law in California under blood-borne pathogens regulations," he said. "It is just a law that has not been uniformly enforced or followed. This film permit ordinance that the city council approved today provides another enforcement mechanism to make sure that adult film producers are complying with existing California law."
The council's final vote to approve the law was taken without public discussion, on a day when most of the porn industry's major players were in Las Vegas preparing for Wednesday's opening of the Adult Entertainment Expo, their industry's largest trade event.
The industry already does its own policing, filmmakers say, requiring actors be tested for sexually transmitted diseases a minimum of every 30 days when they are working. They say no cases of HIV have been directly linked to porn films since 2004, adding they fear if the industry scatters to areas outside of Los Angeles, testing could fall by the wayside, exposing performers to more risk.
"If someone is going to catch an STD, it's usually out of the business because we are tested so often," said veteran porn actress and producer Tabitha Stevens.
In her 17 years in the business, Stevens said, she has worked both with and without condoms. Although she prefers to use condoms, acknowledging they do increase safety, she said the choice should be left up to the performers and not mandated by a government agency.
"If you want to wear them, wear them. If you don't, don't. That's up to the talent to decide. It shouldn't be up to the government to decide," she said.

Romancing history

Author Indu Sundaresan at the Hyderabad Literary Festival 2012  

Indu Sundaresan on how the past can come alive with a touch of imagination

She just finished submitting her book, The Curse of the diamond (The curse of the Kohinoor for Indian editions), based on the last 50 years of the Kohinoor diamond in India. Indu Sundaresan has carved a niche for herself as a historical fiction writer, weaving word after word using imagination, research and history. She brings alive princesses and palaces, kings and queens, the Mughals and the desert dwellers. She has written a trilogy titled Taj Trilogy including the The Twentieth Wife, The Feast of Roses and The Shadow Princess. The books contemplate the life of empress Nur Jahan.

History is made up of facts and Indu's forte lies in doing research; she approaches an idea for a book with her foot set steady in libraries, reading incessantly and taking notes as she goes. “I began with The Emperor's Memoirs for starters because I don't read Persian or Turkish, the original languages the memoirs were written in. The best source of information is also the numerous travellers' tales from India. They left a good snapshot of what Mughal India was actually like,” she says, speaking to us on the sidelines of the Hyderabad Literary Festival. Indu adds, “I write historical fiction but I borrow from my own experiences as well. In The Splendour of Silence, I have the characters visit a biradari in the desert. This stems from an incident when my sister and I went to visit such a place when we were younger and witnessed a cow collapse when a man hit it hard,” she says. The incident, she says, has no bearing on the storyline, but this is how she personalises her work.

Is there a scope for factual errors when fusing history and fiction? Indu says that she made an error in her trilogy, when she wrote of a Mughal recipe with tomatoes; in the time period that she was writing about, India hadn't even heard of tomatoes. “Mistakes are good; they keep you grounded and you'll be careful the next time” she says.

Moving away from the historical fiction genre, Indu has written a book of contemporary short stories, In the convent of little flowers. But she declares her love for research and reading with vigour, “I enjoy recreating this world of the past. To an extent it's a world that we don't know anything about apart from books and other people's narratives. It takes a little bit of more work to create it. I enjoy fusing it with the contemporary to feel the heat, dust and emotions.” 

Vintage year for Genie Awards

Rachel Weisz has been nominated for a Genie Award for best actress for her role in The Whistleblower.

 

The star-studded list of this year's Genie Award nominees includes Michelle Williams, Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen and Rachel Weisz.

"When we look at the nominees today and see so many of the great actors of the world working on Canadian films, that is a great success story," said Martin Katz, the Toronto-based producer of David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method.
The acclaimed film, which looks at the early years of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, received 11 nominations Tuesday morning. However, it faces stiff competition for the prize of best picture - Jean-Marc Vallée's Café de Flore garnered the most nominations, with 13 nods. The Quebec writer- director's romantic drama stars Vanessa Paradis as a single mother raising a boy with Down syndrome.
Rounding out the best picture contenders are Ken Scott's comedy about artificial insemination, Starbuck, Larysa Kondracki's tense thriller about sex trafficking, The Whistleblower; and Philippe Falardeau's touching school drama, Monsieur Lazhar. (The latter is Canada's Oscar entry for best-foreign language film; it netted seven Genie nominations.)
"There is huge respect for our Canadian creators, which attracts the talent," Helga Stephenson, interim CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, said Tuesday following the announcement in Toronto. "2011 was a vintage year for Canadian films."
Paradis (Café de Flore), Weisz (The Whistleblower) and Williams (Take This Waltz) are competing for the award for best leading actress, along with French-Canadian stars Catherine de Lean in Nuit #1 and Pascale Montpetit in The Girl in the White Coat.
Fassbender and frequent Cronenberg collaborator Mortensen are nominated for best actors in a leading and supporting role for playing Jung and Freud, respectively, in A Dangerous Method.
Six years ago, Katz was developing a script with a U.K. playwright about clinical patient Sabina Spielrein and her relationship with Jung. "David called me one day, and he said, 'I'm working on one, too,'" Katz said. "We wished each other luck."
The film that Katz was working on eventually fell through, but Cronenberg invited the producer to work on his movie. Cronenberg faces Vallée, Falardeau, Kondracki and Steven Silver (The Bang Bang Club) for the best director award.
Meanwhile, in the race for best leading man, Scott Speedman's turn as a war veteran-turned bank robber in Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster pits him against Fassbender and Mohamed Fellag, who plays the title character in Monsieur Lazhar. Patrick Huard, as Starbuck's extremely fertile protagonist, and Garret Dillahunt, as a former soldier in Oliver Sherman, are also vying for the prize.
Speedman's co-star Kevin Durand is up for best performance by an actor in a supporting role against Mortensen, Starbuck's Antoine Bertrand, Café de Flore's Marin Gerrier and The Bang Bang Club's Taylor Kitsch.
"Every single category that this film is nominated in is their victory. They're the alchemists who put everything together," Durand said about Edwin Boyd's producers and director, Nathan Morlando. The film was nominated for best art direction/production design.
"I was so excited by the palate they were choosing, the muted colours," said Charlotte Sullivan, nominated for her supporting role in Edwin Boyd.
Sullivan's competition includes 11-year-old Sophie Nelisse, who played Monsieur Lazhar's precocious student, and Roxana Condurache, who played a trafficked girl in The Whistleblower.
The Genies will be on CBC March 8.

Review: Coming of age films come of age with Pariah

Aasha Davis as Bina and Adepero Oduye as Alike in Pariah

There’s a scene in this startling little independent film where two teenage girls share a kiss, then make out, and then try to make sense of what just happened. “I’m not gay gay,” says one of them haughtily. From the look of hurt confusion on the other’s face, she’s clearly very much gay gay. Also clearly, coming-of-age films have themselves come of age since I did, way back in the 20th century.
Pariah is set in Brooklyn, where 17-year-old Alike (pronounced Ah-LEE-kay, or Lee for short) is trying to hide her lesbian leanings from her conservative parents, mostly by avoiding them. This is easiest to do with her father (Charles Parnell), a cop who works such late, lengthy hours that it’s obvious he’s hiding something, too.
Mom, played by Kim Wayans, is more problematic, a church-going woman who has her suspicions about her daughter but can’t bring herself to say them out loud. “God doesn’t make mistakes,” is the closest she comes to it; that and forcing her daughter into a friendship with another girl who will presumably scare her straight.
The film was written and directed by Dee Rees, building upon her 2007 short, also called Pariah and featuring many of the same actors, including Adepero Oduye as Alike and Pernell Walker as Laura, her best (and totally out of the closet) friend. Aasha Davis is new to the film as Bina, Alike’s parentally mandated new pal.
The expanded Pariah clocks in at just 86 minutes and could have benefited from a smidgeon more character development. But that shortcoming is also indicative of how quickly these characters impress themselves upon us; we want to know more about them.
Refreshingly for a film of this type, Alike is never conflicted about her sexuality. She’s naturally shy and awkward (show me the 17-year-old who isn’t when hormones are involved), but she knows what she wants. She just doesn’t want her parents to find out, though it’s clear that on some level they already know.
Pariah, which won the best cinematography prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011, features naturalistic performances and settings alike. Alike regularly visits gay clubs, both for the company and to avoid her mom, but the film neither glamorizes nor degrades her haunts; they are simply where she goes. (The music in them is great, by the way.)
Similarly, Pariah doesn’t play like a black- or gay-issues story, although Rees has said that perceived stigma made it hard to get the film made. (Spike Lee’s name pops up prominently in the credits as a producer, which must have helped.) This is simply the story of a young person trying to find herself. One way or another, we’ve all been there.

A Minute With: Sundance Film Festival director John Cooper

The Sundance Film Festival kicks off on Thursday, starting ten days of movie screenings and providing the launching pad for some of the world's top low-budget features and documentaries at the largest U.S. gathering for independent filmmakers.

The 117 movies to be screened at the festival held in the ski resort of Park City, Utah were selected from 4,042 features submitted, including 24 in competition.
Festival director John Cooper, Sundance's chief programmer, spoke to Reuters about the tone of the films selected and how first time filmmakers can be hopeful with new technology making films easier to turn around and offering a variety of platforms for films to reach audiences.
Q. What are you seeing that's different in the overall tone of the films selected this year?
A. "What I am seeing in general is that the independent film movement or community is maturing a little bit. The bar gets set higher each year. It doesn't seem to be leveling off. Each year the films are coming in with more depth of quality and over arching completeness and vision. This bar is set and other filmmakers coming up through the ranks know that is there."
Q. Some thought that with technology improving cameras and editing and sometimes making it cheaper to make indie films it might go the other way -- that quality might diminish with a more crowded field, why do you think quality is improving?
A. "There are a lot of factors. There is more of a community base now as to how they work. I am noticing much more a sharing of cinematographers, of actors and ideas.
"Also what is a happening is that independent filmmakers are looking at a different artistic life for themselves. They are not quite as fast or may never really want to jump to the big Hollywood film or situation for themselves. What a lot of people have learned and what is coming back in the younger filmmakers especially is they want to work in a way that makes them excited and fulfilled."
Q. What about documentaries that premiered last year such as "Senna" which went on to be popular with critics and audiences? What about this year's batch, what themes are you seeing?
A. "They came in a little different this year. They came in a little more overarching and more comprehensive of the issues that are facing the world. Last year they seemed very character-driven with more of a personal perspective. And this year we shift back and forth a little bit, but there are more about issues like hunger, the war on drugs, about global warming and the healthcare crisis. They are very topical issues on a much bigger more comprehensive scale."
Q. Is Sundance still the place for first-time and second-time directors? How has that changed?
A. "It has ramped up I think. It is not just an event for the filmmakers, it is talent too. There are actors that are going to pop out of this festival. For example, the woman from 'Filly Brown,' - it is multi-level discovery."
Q. Investors began to flee the market beginning around five years ago, but last year Sundance saw a more optimistic mood and numerous business deals. Any predictions for this year?
A. "We had a very successful year last year so people are coming to the festival with expectations, which is scary to me sometimes, because it doesn't really mean that much to me. There seems to have been a bit of a market correction both on the filmmakers side with the cost to make a film and what they sell for. It is a little more realistic. But it's very hard to tell.
"What I do know is when I watch the audiences respond in the theater, there is a market for them. Not even a market - there is an audience for them. Now how we connect the right audience to the films -- and I know that these films aren't for everyone but they are for a lot of people - that is where we are still in a big flux."
Q. Are older distribution methods -- theatrical and DVD -- still the key to making money? What stage are we at with web streaming?
A. "I still think theatrical is very real. But it's trickier. Now the talk is not so much about delivery systems but marketing systems. That is the first big shift. And then it's going to be about how you get the films themselves."
Q. Sundance recently announced a new deal for films selected
to be streamed online on sites including iTunes and YouTube should the filmmaker wish. How should filmmakers feel about this going into the festival?
A. "I hope they will step into the festival and breathe easier knowing that there is this great opportunity for them."
Q. Is the divide between Hollywood and indie film growing or getting less?
A. "I think the divide is growing. As Hollywood has its problems with financial things and needs to make films of a certain size, you are splitting, where maybe 10 years ago there was a blending a little bit."

Selena Gomez’s Fashion Line Earned $100 Million Last Year

In a recent report from Manila Standard Today(an international business news source), Selena Gomez‘s Dream Out Loud fashion line has earned(with the help of the brand’s creative director Tony Melilo) about $100 million last year. This is an impressive feat for singer/actress/fashion designer.

It’s awesome news that Selena’s fashion line for Kmart is doing great! I’m a fan of her fashion line and I think that most fashionable tweens and young women agree. Her clothes are easy to wear, super chic, and on-trend. Selena Gomez is one of those celebrity fashion designers who know what the customers want in terms of taste and style. She may not be considered an established name in the fashion industry yet, but I think that it won’t be much longer until she is.
Are you a fan of Selena’s Dream Out Loud fashion line? Have you purchased anything from her clothing line? I purchased a few lace-trimmed camisoles last spring and I still love wearing them. These camis look great with long skirts, denim, or underneath lightweight cardigans. And I think that’s another big contributing factor that makes her line successful: her clothes are wearable. We want clothes that are both fashionable and comfortable.

Naked models in Shoreditch hat show for London Fashion Week

Welsh designer Robyn Coles has found a whole nude way of attracting attention to her fashion creations – by sending models down the catwalk completely naked.

Welsh miliner Robyn Coles admits the stunt was dreamed up purely to raise publicity for her designs, and says there will be “no tricks or hidden underwear.”
Robyn, a former fashion buyer for Browns who began making hats a year ago when she was made redundant, hopes all eyes will be on her first collection.
The models are a mix of friends and life drawing models, many of whom have tattoos and piercings, including comedian Jeff Leach from the BBC documentary entitled Confessions of a Sex Addict and former Miss Wales Sophia Cahill – who will be seven months pregnant.
“I thought it’d be a nice light hearted end to fashion week,” said 31-year old Robyn.
“I’m not a conventional designer so I thought it’d be foolish of me to use conventional methods - plus I can’t afford proper models,” she said.
The “tongue-in-cheek” show will take place in the White Rabbit Studios in The Arches, Dereham Place, just off Shoreditch High Street on February 21.

Exclusive! Diana Vickers talks YOU through her Very sexy fashion collection, radishes and all

Diana Vickers has released a smoking hot new collection for Very.co.uk...

Diana Vickers’ latest fashion line for Very.co.uk is out, like NOW! To celebrate the launch, the singer slash designer has spilled all – talking addictions and inspirations behind the 16-piece collection - starting with, err, radishes…

“Vegetable prints were a highlight on the SS12 catwalks, which I thought was completely eccentric and so much fun.”
“I found this amazing old curtain in a radish print, and instantly thought that’s a really cool print, let’s include it in the collection!” Scroll down for video...

The campaign images for V’s v. nice Very collection are nothing short of stunning - loving the Rockabilly (pastry) quiff almost as the clothes

Dee V by Diana Vickers is the singer’s second collection for Very.co.uk and arguably her best selection yet (not that there was anything wrong with the last one mind).
With prices starting at £29 - and ending at just £59 - it’s an easy way to tackle those spring trends without having sell your flat / car / Nan.
Radish fan Diana continues: “I wanted to really play around with it [the radish print] - make the [radish] print bigger and better.
It [the radish print] has ended up becoming a gorgeous 1950s style full-skirted dress which I’m in love with.”
1950s-style full-skirted dresses are an even bigger trend that radishes this spring - so someone (Ms Vickers) clearly knows what they’re doing.
Radishes aside, is there anything else that Diana’s addicted to at the moment?

Coat junkie Diana has designed a cream number for her SS12 line and wants us to bare our midriffs too *gulp* (lollipop = model's own)

“I’m obsessed with coats and jackets at the moment!”
That’s that one cleared up then…hang on, there’s more…
“I can’t stop shopping for jackets and trying on other people’s jackets! I’ve invested in a good few recently, but I still really want a good long black jacket to wear in spring, so I’m still searching.”
Erm, maybe you should design one yourself Dee V? Then we can buy that too. Then you can try ours on and all.
Diana ignores us and continues: “My inspiration came from the 1950s and early 1960s retro style. I love all those old fashioned vintage shapes: lots of quirky prints and bright colours.”
Ms Vickers may be a relative newcomer to the world of fashion but she’s certainly making waves – thanks in part to her Rockabilly new look.

Vickers says she loves bright colours and quirky prints - here's the proof

Indeed the SS12 collection is brimming with bow-ties, thigh-high socks, midriff-baring crop tops and radish prints – all of which would look right at home on anyone from Rockabilly-luvvie Rihanna, to print-cess Carey Mulligan and even Park Avenue favourite Olivia Palermo.

We'd like to see Rockabilly fan Rihanna in Dee V's clothes

But who would Diana most like to see wearing her latest collection?...Dee V? Dee? V? Diana?!
Nevermind. First one to check out the Diana Vickers clothing range is a great big stylish radish.
Before you do that, why not watch Diana Vickers in moving pictures - this time talking us through her first ever Very collaboration. Fun.

Frugal Fashion: Golden Globes 2012 accessories

Watching the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards show last Sunday was a reminder of the power of a single accessory to transform a look.
Emma Stone, Charlize Theron and Michelle Williams expertly used accessories to add an extra touch of style and whimsy to their red-carpet gowns.
Stone accentuated her maroon and fuchsia pleated Lanvin gown by cinching the waist with a bold leather belt with jewel-encrusted buckle in the shape of an eagle. The belt, looking like something you might expect from a biker, was unexpected and a playful contrast to the ethereal quality of her gown.

Add a similar punch of style to your next red-carpet gown with the Eagle belt buckle from Hotbuckles.com for $17.95 or the Rhinestone eagle belt buckle, also from Hotbuckles.com, for $19.95.

Theron wore a small Cartier museum piece jewel fastened to her Dior couture gown, proving that brooches aren't just for the over 50 set. They can be timeless pieces that add a hint of sparkle and elegance to any outfit, regardless of the generation.

For a similar piece, get the Monet brooch, crystal flower pin from Macys.com for $25 or the Austrian Crystal brooch - dogwood from Silverandjewelry.com for $49.

Williams looked 1920s glam with her jeweled, vintage Fred Leighton headband and Jason Wu gown. The small detailing on the headband was a perfect addition of sparkle to her pixie-cut strawberry blond hair and petite earrings.

Headbands can be a fun way to dress up a T-shirt and jeans or, like Williams, to add a youthful touch to an evening gown. For a similar piece try the Full Tilt rhinestone infinity headband from Tillys.com for $7.99, Candie's rhinestone headband from Kohls.com for $8, or the Cara Accessories masterpiece headband from Nordstrom.com for $32.
Have an outfit you're dying to buy but need a frugal alternative? Email us a picture. We're up for the challenge.

Northern Ireland Fashion Spy: Beyonce is very stylish

Kerry McKittrick takes a look at the fashion on show in Belfast city centre.  
 
Laura Abraham (21), Student, Dungannon
My leather jacket was £125 at Topshop and my scarf was about £15 in Oasis. My shorts were £10 in H&M and my tights cost £6 from Next. I got my bag in House of Fraser for £160 and my pumps were £16 from Topshop. My style is best described as random because I don’t follow fashion. I don’t really wear trousers so most of the time I go for shorts or skirts. My style icon is Natalie Portman because I think she has her own individual style and doesn’t copy anyone else. I don’t like Katy Perry’s style as it’s too out there. My monthly spend is about £100.

Kirsty Croft (20), Student, Belfast
My T-shirt cost £6 and my head-band was £3, both from Primark. I got my cardigan in Exhibit for £20 and my leggings were £20 in Republic. My jacket cost £60 in Bank and my Ugg bag and Ugg boots were both presents. My style is normally trendy and I go for bright colours and patterns. I like to keep an eye on what’s in the shops. My style icons are people like Cher Lloyd and Beyonce because they’re both really stylish. I don’t like how Fearne Cotton dresses. I actually think her style is too old for her. My monthly spend is £200.

Valerie McCann (53), Social Worker, Belfast
My jacket came from a boutique that closed years ago for about £150. I got my cardigan in Oasis for £25 and my cords were £20 in Dunnes Stores. I got my boots in the Clarks sale for £60 and my Marks & Spencer bag came from a charity shop for £5. My scarf was £7 in the Accessorize sale. My style is normally quite co-ordinated and I tend to go for clothes that are a bit different instead of following trends. I would say my style is more vintage than anything else. My style icon is Helen Mirren. For an older woman she always manages to look glamorous and very elegant. I don’t like how Denise Welch dresses as I don’t think her style does her any favours. My monthly spend