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Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50283338/
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Monday, December 24, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Christmas is magical at a national park lodge
21 hrs.
Built smack in the middle of some of the most gorgeous, pristine scenery in America; warmed by crackling fireplaces and full of rustic charm, there?s something special about spending Christmas at a grand National Park lodge.
Besieged by tourists in the summer, they?re calmer, quieter and decked out for the season in the wintertime.
The weather outside may be frightful, but these historic lodges ? with log-beamed ceilings, grand lobbies and scrumptious holiday feasts ? promise warm Christmas memories.
Old Faithful Snow Lodge, Yellowstone National Park
Carolers may sing about walking in?a winter wonderland, but visitors who come to Yellowstone when it is covered in snow get to experience the real thing.
?It?s gorgeous,? said park spokeswoman Amy Bartlett. ?It?s a whole different world here in the wintertime versus the summertime.?
The Old Faithful Snow Lodge is one of two inns catering to guests who want to stay inside Yellowstone when the weather gets cold, and its 100 rooms and 30 cabins usually fill to capacity during the week between Christmas and New Year?s, said Rick Hoeninghausen, a spokesman for Xanterra, which runs the park?s accommodations.
The lodge is in a festive mood for the holidays, with a big Christmas tree and live music in the evening for guests who want to sing Christmas standards. A special dinner will be served to mark the big day.
But the main attraction, as always, are the park?s geysers, steam vents and hot springs, made more dramatic by the freezing temperatures.
?In a geyser basin, it just becomes otherworldly because of the play of the steam and the cold,? Hoeninghausen said.
Many guests also enjoy the scenery at night, fascinated by the starry sky that can only be visible away from city lights.
?People think we have more stars here because you see them more. If you let your eyes adjust, you can actually see star shadows ? the shadow on the white snow just from star light,? Hoeninghausen said.
Wondering how to ring in Jan. 1 in Yellowstone? Visitors mark the occasion by watching the first eruption of Old Faithful in the New Year.
The Ahwahnee, Yosemite National Park
With spectacular views of Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and Glacier Point at Yosemite National Park, this grand lodge fills up quickly during the summer, but also lures visitors with its cozy atmosphere in the winter.
??It?s a really popular time of year at The Ahwanee,? said Lisa Cesaro, a spokeswoman for DNC Parks & Resorts, which manages lodging at Yosemite. ?It?s just really festive and wonderful.?
The heart of the hotel is the Great Lounge with its 24-foot-high ceilings and a massive stone fireplace. This is where guests tend to congregate, drinking hot cocoa, playing games and feeling as though they were in their own living room, Cesaro said.
But perhaps the best-known Ahwahnee Christmas tradition is the Bracebridge Dinner, which the hotel describes as ?a four-hour pageant of classic carols, Renaissance rituals and entertainment of the Middle Ages.?
First held in 1927 when the hotel opened, the event was meant to encourage people to come visit Yosemite in the winter, Cesaro said. Today, it?s so popular that there are eight Bracebridge Dinner performances. Guests are served a seven-course meal in the elegant Ahwahnee Dining Room during the production.
Don?t want to splurge on the dinner, which starts at $299 for adults? The Ahwahnee hosts concerts in the Great Lounge throughout the season, which are complimentary and open to the public.
For New Year?s, guests can dress up for the ?Black and White Ball? dinner dance celebration.
El Tovar, Grand Canyon National Park
A Grand Canyon vacation usually guarantees two things: hordes of tourists and sweltering heat. Visit the park during the holidays, however, and it?s a whole different experience.
?It?s a quiet getaway ? the park is not crowded. Often it has snow and that adds to the romance,? said Bruce Brossman, a spokesman for Xanterra, which runs the park?s accommodations.
With a prime location on the Canyon rim, the El Tovar Hotel is even more stunning for the holidays, with a 15-foot Christmas tree in the main lobby and poinsettias adding a bright touch to the wood d?cor.
It?s been snowing steadily at the Grand Canyon, so visitors will experience a white Christmas, a time of year that?s so popular at the lodge that the hotel usually sells out, Brossman said, adding that shouldn't stop people from dropping by.
?You don?t have to sleep at El Tovar to enjoy El Tovar. We can?t accommodate all the people who actually want to stay there, but the lobby and the lounge and the dining room and the porches are all public spaces,? he said.
The hotel hosts special dinners on Christmas and New Year?s, though there are no official parties scheduled.
"It?s just a very peaceful, quiet place to spend the holidays,"?Brossman said.?"And, of course, when it does snow, walking along the rim is just spectacular."
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/itineraries/christmas-magical-national-park-lodge-1C7661428
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David Chase On The Significance Of 'Not Fade Away'
"Sopranos" creator David Chase is transporting movie-goers back to the swinging '60s with his coming-of-age tale "Not Fade Away." The film charts the highs and lows of a fledgling rock band formed by a group of friends in suburban New Jersey, and in keeping with the period, Chase and musical supervisor Steve Van Zandt (also [...]
Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/12/21/david-chase-not-fade-away-2/
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Friday, December 21, 2012
Texas leaders announce GOP school reform goals
kvue.com
Posted on December 19, 2012 at 5:42 PM
Updated yesterday at 6:21 PM
AUSTIN -- Some unusual guests paid a visit to elementary students Wednesday morning at the Cathedral School of Saint Mary in downtown Austin.
Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and State Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston), chair of the Senate Committee on Education, chose the private Catholic school as the backdrop to roll out their goals for education reform in 2013. Their chief proposal is legislation which would create a private school scholarship fund by offering businesses franchise tax credits for pitching in.
"This does not take money from public education," Patrick told a room full of media and representatives from a score of education advocacy groups. "School districts will still get the same amount of money they would receive today based on whatever the formulas are that given year."
Acknowledging that donations to the private school scholarship fund would allow businesses to reduce their franchise tax contributions, Patrick suggests that districts would retain the property tax-based funding regardless of whether students living within a district's border attend school there or elsewhere. Any such initiative would likely begin as a small pilot program, which Dewhurst believes would be prove the initiative's viability.
Also on the agenda:
- Raising the cap on charter schools
- Allowing students to enroll in their choice of public schools regardless of district lines
- Assigning letter grades to schools based on performance
- Closing down under-performing schools after two years
- Reducing the amount of end-of-course (EOC) exams required for graduation
- Increasing the number of Career and Technology Education (CTE) programs
"Public schools and school choice is the key to unlocking the door of opportunity for all children," said Dewhurst. Neither Dewhurst nor Patrick specifically mentioned "school vouchers," a topic many suspect is likely to become a hot issue once the 83rd Texas Legislature convenes January 8.
Outside the event, not all were supportive.
"The citizens of Texas are guaranteed a free and efficient public education -- not vouchers, not charters, not private anything," said Austin resident Monica Guzman. Public education advocates held a separate news conference Wednesday afternoon at the State Capitol to voice opposition to the tax credit proposal.
"It is just a backdoor voucher," said Charles Johnson, a Fort Worth pastor and president of the Coalition for Public Schools, an advocacy group opposed to private school vouchers. "We see this as a voucher because this is money and revenue that would otherwise be going to the state coffers."
Johnson argues that such a program would decrease funds available to Texas schools by diverting revenue in the form of franchise tax receipts that could be used to fund public education. President Tom Archer of public funding advocacy group Our Values, Our Texas argues Dewhurst and Patricks' proposals miss the larger point that significantly improved revenue estimates provide an opportunity to reverse deep cuts made to education.
"If you restore those cuts for $5.4 billion, and you restore Medicaid for $5 billion, that's $10.4 billion," Archer told KVUE. "You would be able to accomplish both of those objectives, still have money left over and not touch the Rainy Day Fund. That is an indicator of the money we have to address the critical state problems that we face in our state."
Dewhurst told KVUE he expects future funding to at least match enrollment growth, and that much hangs on the Texas Supreme Court's final decision regarding the state lawsuit over school finance.
"Right now we're waiting to hear what the Texas Supreme Court says," said Dewhurst. "Whatever they say, we're going to salute, and we're going to continue to put the resources into public education and have the accountability, because we want a great education for every child."
The battle over precisely how to accomplish that will soon begin.
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Thursday, December 20, 2012
UBS Wins Queensland Motorway Debt Advisory Role
QIC, which manages assets on behalf of Australia's Queensland state, has appointed UBS as its debt adviser for toll road operator Queensland Motorways, an asset it bought 18 months ago for 3.1 billion Australian dollars (US$3.2 billion), a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/node/950074
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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Instagram to share data with Facebook
SAN FRANCISCO - Smartphone photo sharing service Instagram on Monday refined its privacy policy to clear the way for sharing data with Facebook, which bought the company earlier this year.
"Nothing has changed about your photos' ownership or who can see them," Instagram said in a blog post.
"Our updated privacy policy helps Instagram function more easily as part of Facebook by being able to share info between the two groups."
The changes were slated to take effect January 16.
Instagram maintained that the coming updates to its privacy policy and terms of service will help it improve the reliability of the service and fight spam.
Policy tweaks include allowing sharing of user information with "affiliates" in a move that could open the door to targeted advertising.
A social media feud between Twitter and Instagram escalated this month as the popular smartphone photo-sharing service made it impossible for Internet users to view its images in "tweeted" messages.
Instagram, which has some 100 million users, is seeking to route photo viewers to its own website, where it has the potential to make money from ads or other mechanisms, instead of letting Twitter get the benefits.
Previously, Instagram pictures shared in messages tweeted from smartphones could be viewed unaltered at Twitter.
Twitter responded by adding Instagram-style photo sharing features of its own.
Instagram rose to stardom with the help of Twitter, but has distanced itself from the messaging service since Facebook completed its acquisition of Instagram in September.
The original price was pegged at $1 billion but the final value was less because of a decline in the social network's share price.
Instagram last month was given a Facebook spin with the roll-out of online profiles that let people showcase themselves and photos they have taken with the smartphone application.
People can share their profiles with whomever they wish, as well as "follow" other Instagram users, commenting on or expressing "likes" for pictures.
Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/gadgets-and-tech/12/18/12/instagram-share-data-facebook
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MVP names new president
SCHENECTADY ? MVP Health Care's Board of Directors on Monday named Denise V. Gonick as its new president and CEO.
Gonick, who has been with MVP for 17 years, has been leading the day-to-day operations of the company since David W. Oliker, president and CEO, announced his retirement during the summer. Gonick, who lives in Guilderland, joined MVP's legal department in 1995. Prior to being named president of operations earlier this year, she served as executive vice president, administrative services and chief legal officer.
The board conducted a nationwide search.
"Denise Gonick fits the profile of the experienced, strategic health care leader we have been seeking to take MVP into the future," said Karen B. Johnson, who led the search committee.
? Cathleen F. Crowley
Source: http://www.timesunion.com/business/article/MVP-names-new-president-4124681.php
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