Schools entering students in double GCSEs in same subject to help grades

One school which joined PiXL admitted there was an 'element of game
 playing' in putting pupils up for both exams. Photograph: Alamy

Hundreds of state schools are entering pupils into two different types of GCSE qualification in the same subject in an attempt to guarantee better grades and improve their overall position in league tables, according to schools and an educational organisation which has pioneered the tactic.

The notion, promoted by the Performance in Excellence or PiXL club, which charges schools £3,500 a year for tips on improving GCSE results, involves putting students forwards for a standard English GCSE and also the International GCSE, or IGCSE in English, the Times Educational Supplement reported. The latter has a more traditional, exam-based format and has previously been used by international schools and some independent schools.

About 400 secondary schools are members of PiXL. The group's chairman, Sir John Rowling, formerly headteacher at the highly-performing Nunthorpe comprehensive school in Middlesbrough, told the TES that 80% of member schools were entering some pupils for both exams simultaneously.

Schools were aware of the potential impact on league tables, he said. "Most heads thought the IGCSE was just for independent schools and that it didn't count towards league tables, but we have studied it very carefully and we've found it can be very appropriate for some state school students."

This was particularly the case given the chaos over the grading of this year's GCSE English exams, he said.

"It has assumed new importance because of the messing around with grade boundaries this summer. Teachers work like slaves all year then, at the end of it, get messed about. They invest all that effort, just to be scuppered at the last minute, so I say if there is another alternative then use it."

One school which joined PiXL told the TES there was an "element of game playing" in putting pupils up for both exams. Dan Morrow, head of the secondary school at Oasis Academy Shirley Park in Croydon, south of London, said pupils went for both qualifications this year for the first time to "ensure they didn't miss out on a qualification".

A Department for Education spokeswoman criticised the tactic. She told the TES: "This is clearly not in the best interests of pupils. Schools must only enter students for the qualifications that are right for them, not for the cynical reasons this suggests."

Russell Hobby, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, said he could understand why schools tried the ploy, adding: "It's just another example of the perverse incentives that are a result of league tables."

- Guardian.co.uk

Ireland: Child welfare cut in budget flagged

A €10 cut to child benefit is expected to be announced in the upcoming budget. Some 600,000 households receive the universal rate which will fall from €140 to €130 in a measure that is expected to save the State €138 million in a full year and is likely to be the biggest single cut in social protection.

The Cabinet has been meeting this week to discuss next Wednesday’s budget.

A report commissioned by the Department of Health suggests introducing a “payroll tax” to fund increased health spending.

“A new source of statutory revenue could be introduced, for example a payroll tax earmarked for health to supplement general revenues,” the report says.

It also recommends hikes on alcohol and the creation of “sin taxes” on certain foods. The report justifies these taxes on health grounds, adding that they would result in reduced consumption and increased tax revenue.

- irishtimes.com

Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid: Jose Mourinho feels relaxed

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has dismissed suggestions he is under pressure ahead of the La Liga derby against Atletico Madrid.
After just 13 games, the champions are already 11 points behind leaders Barcelona and eight points adrift of second-placed Atletico.
"My relationship with the players and the club is like it has always been," said Mourinho.
"I have perfect health and I am working as I have done for many years."

Having suffered just two defeats in the whole of last season, Mourinho's side have already lost three times in this campaign after last weekend's 1-0 loss to Real Betis.
Spanish media are speculating  whether the Portuguese boss will still be in charge at the Bernabeu at the end of the season, but the former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager is relaxed about the situation.
"This is not a courtroom but a press conference," he told journalists.
"I am just an employee of the club and it is they who decide if they are happy with what they have but I have a very, very, very good relationship with the president and the board."
Reports suggested last season  that Mourinho had fallen out with defender Sergio Ramos and goalkeeper Iker Casillas but the Real Madrid captain has given his full support to his manager.

"Only a few months ago the shouts were applause and praise that we had won the league but in football memories are very short," said Casillas.
"Mourinho led the team to the title with a record number of points and goals. We should remember the good moments and look to continue the project."
It is almost 14 years since Atletico went into the fixture with more La Liga points than Real.
Real will face in-form striker Radamel Falcao, who has scored 14 in 13 games in all competitions this season, and the Colombian felt confident ahead of the encounter.
"I don't feel as much pressure as motivation," said Falcao.
"We play a great side and it will be a high-tempo match but we will go out looking to win."

- BBC.co.uk

Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon

The international bestseller from the master of suspense.Jennifer Parker is brilliant, beautiful and bold. . She seems unbeatable – but is she really?
Jennifer Parker is brilliant, beautiful and bold. A lawyer, the most glamorous and successful in America, she dominates the court with her intelligence and charm.
When Jennifer falls in love, she can hardly believe her luck. Adam Warner is handsome, smart, destined to be the next President of the United States – and married...
Jennifer falls pregnant and yet is determined not to allow her broken heart to get in the way of her success. But she soon realises that being alone makes her more vulnerable to those who are determined to destroy her...
Sidney Sheldon gives us his greatest character yet in this bestselling tale of power, love and intrigue.

Huge sinkhole appears in German housing estate

A large sinkhole has opened up overnight in the middle of a housing estate in Schmalkalden, central Germany.

The hole, which is around 20m deep, swallowed a car and left a crater of about 40m wide.

Investigations have begun to find out what has caused the huge hole, which has forced 25 people to leave their homes over fears for their safety.

Bread that lasts for 60 days could cut food waste

An American company has developed a technique that it says can make bread stay mould-free for 60 days.


One of the biggest threats to bread is mould. As loaves are usually wrapped in plastic, any water in the bread that evaporates from within is trapped and makes the surface moist. This provides excellent growing conditions for Rhizopus stolonifer, the fungus that leads to mould.

In normal conditions, bread will go mouldy in around 10 days.


But in the new technique the bread is zapped in a sophisticated microwave array which kills the spores that cause the problem.

The company claims it could significantly reduce the amount of wasted bread - in the UK alone, almost a third of loaves purchased.

The technique can also be used with a wide range of foods including fresh turkey and many fruits and vegetables.


Food waste is a massive problem in most developed countries. In the US, figures released this year suggest that the average American family throws away 40% of the food they purchase - which adds up to $165bn (£102bn) annually.

Bread is a major culprit, with 32% of loaves purchased in the UK thrown out as waste when they could be eaten, according to figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Kelly Clarkson Blasts U.K. Paper for "Obnoxious" and "Arrogant" Misquotes, Claims of Anorexia

All Kelly Clarkson ever wanted was not to be taken out of context.

The ex-American Idol champ is bashing the U.K. Mirror's Sunday Celebs edition, claiming the paper misquoted her and portrayed her as "obnoxious" and "arrogant" in a cover story emblazoned with the headline "No one on the planet should be as famous as me."

Clarkson also accused the editors of twisting her words to make it sound as if she admitted to having anorexia, which she vehemently denied.

ou, Mean It: Finding Whitney’s Love

"Just to clear up the absolutely wrong so called quotes from me, I have never had anorexia nor did I ever say 'no one should be as famous as me,' read an angry tweet from the "Catch My Breath" singer on Monday.

Clarkson then laid out what she really said in the sit-down. "I said in the interview, when asked about fame, that I have no desire to be as famous as Britney or Madonna," the Texas native explained. "I said that kind of fame was too much for any person and that I have experienced a portion of what they deal with and that I didn't handle that well and I'm happy where I'm at in my career."

Clarkson concluded her scathing post by calling out all those at the paper who blatantly misrepresented her. "Side note, I love when people take what you say and twist it to make you sound obnoxious and arrogant ....nice job Mirror," she wrote.

Nicely put, Kelly.

Clarkson also got a show of solidarity from her friend and fellow Idol alum Jordin Sparks, who tweeted her, "tell 'em girl!"

To which the hitmaker replied back: "@JordinSparks I just can't stand when people do stuff like that. It drives me bananas. By the way, I just saw Sparkle. Great job!! Loved it!"

 Those Idol folks sure know how to stick together.

Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (2012)

A young woman frets upstairs in her family's country manor on her wedding day, fearful she's about to marry the wrong man. Downstairs, both her fiancé and her former lover grow increasingly anxious.

Director of the movie is Donald Rice and the writers are Donald Rice, Mary Henely-Magill (screenplay). Felicity Jones, Luke Treadaway and Elizabeth McGovern are starring in the movie with the genres Comedy and Drama.

SYNOPSIS: As the preparations for her lavish country wedding get underway, young bride-to-be Dolly Thatcham (Felicity Jones) reunites with her former lover Joseph (Luke Treadaway), and begins to have second thoughts about her impending nuptials. England, 1932: Dolly's family has assembled at a sprawling country manor to see her tie the knot when Joseph shows up unexpectedly. The previous summer, Joseph and Dolly experienced rapture in one another's arms, and as the hour of her wedding approaches, old passions are reignited. Meanwhile, Dolly's mother (Elizabeth McGovern) remains determined to ensure that the ceremony transpires without incident. As the temptation to run away with Joseph grows, Dolly must choose between a stable future with her devoted fiancé or a life less ordinary with the man who swept her off her feet.

Movie is mainly shot in UK and was released on 20^th of April 2012.

Eurozone unemployment rate hits new high in October

                     Unemployment is highest in Spain, partly due to the                             collapse in the property market

The eurozone's unemployment rate hit a new record high in October, while consumer price rises slowed sharply.

The jobless rate in the recessionary euro area rose to 11.7%. Inflation fell from 2.5% to 2.2% in November.

The data came as European Central Bank president Mario Draghi warned the euro would not emerge from its crisis until the second half of next year.

Government spending cuts would continue to hurt growth in the short-term, Mr Draghi said.

The unemployment rate continued its steady rise, reaching 11.7% in October, up from 11.6% the month before and 10.4% a year ago.

A further 173,000 were out of work across the single currency area, bringing the total to 18.7 million.


The respective fortunes of northern and southern Europe diverged further. In Spain, the jobless rate rose to 26.2% from 25.8% the previous month, and in Italy it rose to 11.1% from 10.8%.

In contrast, unemployment in Germany held steady at 5.4% of the labour force, while in Austria it fell from 4.4% to just 4.3%.

Kate Middleton Wears Alexander McQueen Tartan Dress To Visit St Andrew's School

It's been an exciting week in the world of Kate Middleton. First she caused a furore when she stepped out on Tuesday night sporting a brand new half-fringe (GASP!) and rewearing that gorgeous green dress by Mulberry. Then she wowed the world by taming her new Farrah Fawcett do for an outing the following day in Cambridge. And at the British Fashion Awards, she had everyone from Salma Hayek to Manolo Blanhik singing her praises. So how better to top off the week than with head-to-toe blue and green tartan? And no, it's not her school uniform despite the fact she's spending the day at her old preparatory school in Berkshire to celebrate St Andrew’s Day.

In fact, Kate has opted for a long-sleeved, high-neck top teamed with a flared knee-length skirt. How festive! Clarence House informs us the ensemble comes courtesy of Alexander McQueen (naturallment) and the tailored design is super-flattering on our K-Midd. It's very similiar to this McQ origami wool capped sleeve dress that was available on My Wardrobe for $1,006.50 but is now out of stock. Boo! The Duchess has kept cosy in a pair of heeled knee-high boots over black tights and added a simple black clutch. And would you look at those gorgeously tumbling curls? The brand new side-swept hair is really coming into its own.

'Dwarf': Undergoing Controversial Lengthening Surgeries

Tiffanie DiDonato said everything she has ever wished for has come true: a handsome husband, loving friends and a new baby. But most of her childhood dreams play out in simple, everyday victories, like taking out the trash or driving.

DiDonato, 32, was born with diastrophic dysplasia, a rare form of dwarfism. The condition left her with a "typical size" torso, but abnormally short arms and legs. By the time she was in middle school, she was only three-and-a-half feet tall.

Watch the full story on "Nightline" tonight at 11:35 p.m. ET

Growing up in Marlborough, Mass., DiDonato fantasized about being tall enough to grab something off the grocery store shelf, cook on the stove, take out the trash and drive a car, but almost everything was out of reach.

But that all changed when DiDonato endured an excruciating and controversial series of limb-lengthening surgeries, which breaks bones and forces them to re-grow longer. It was a decision she made when she was very young, knowing that it would have risks and rewards with a lifetime of consequences.

At age 8, DiDonato had her first surgery to lengthen her arms and gain four inches of height.

"When I woke up, when it hurt so much, you freeze it, almost like if you scream it is going to hurt worse," she said. "All you can do is kind of let the tears fall and deal with it and suck it up and let it ride."

When she was 15, DiDonato decided to have the surgery again. Ignoring the recommended maximum of four inches, she and her doctor decided not to put a cap on her growth. Her mother, who raised her to be a fierce fighter, said she supported her daughter's decision.

"It was all about independence," Robin DiDonato said. "It was doing things on her own, brushing her own hair. My biggest fear was her being dependent on others for her care because, let's face it, Gerry and I won't be around forever."

Her father, Gerry DiDonato, said he told her she didn't need to have the surgery, and it was torture to him to watch his daughter suffer.

"It was very nerve-racking," he said. "She would cry it out. It was tough … it's horrible."

But Robin never wavered. She said she didn't let herself cry in front of her daughter, even during the most gut-wrenching days.

"I was not going to because if I broke, maybe she would have too, maybe she would have stopped," Robin said. "Who knows what she would have done. I think she needed me to be strong for her."

After her second surgery, Tiffanie DiDonato gained an unprecedented 10 inches of additional height, putting her at 4-foot-10 -- right on the cusp of little-person status. She kept a journal, which she said helped her get through the painful process.

"I was honest with myself, if I wanted to die, if I felt like that's what I wanted to do, then I wrote it down," she said.

Her journal was turned into a memoir she defiantly titled "Dwarf." In it, DiDonato chronicles her "no pain, no gain" view of life and how surprisingly grateful she is for the experience.

"If you go through a struggle, if you know what sacrifice is, and you have felt a little pain, it makes you that much braver," she said. "It makes you a little bit more aware."

DiDonato is now married to Eric Gabrielse, a nearly-six-foot-tall Marine, and they recently welcomed a baby boy.

"She's so powerful and strong," Gabrielse said of his wife. "Being in the military, you need somebody that one, can be independent, but two, can be extremely supportive and because everything she's gone through, she's been through her own battles, so she knows exactly how to support me through mine."

Controversy Around Lengthening Surgeries

We first met DiDonato four years ago when she and Gabrielse were about to tie the knot. After her story aired, she caught flack for her lengthening surgeries from critics who said The Little People of America organization doesn't support the risky procedures.

Reza Garakani was also born with dwarfism and said he regrets that his father pushed him to have the lengthening surgery back in the '80s. He was 12.

"I did not want to undergo the painful procedure which, in my mind, I was worried that, what if this fails," he said. "For a few inches, I didn't want to damage my life. I was happy with who I am."

Unlike DiDonato, Garakani said the surgery left him paralyzed.

"Because of this procedure, I lost a major part of me," he said. "Before I was just an average dwarf. I could run around, I could play sports, I could swim and do things. Now, I can't do what I was able to do. I would have rather been three feet tall than be a few inches tall with all the complications."

Even DiDonato's father, who still has mixed feelings about the surgery, said it may have taken a physical toll on his daughter.

"Personally, I feel she lost a little mobility with the extreme lengthening," he said. "I'll always remember her with her little jeans on chasing a ball, but she feels good about herself and that's the most important thing."

But DiDonato said she was well aware of the risks from the start and has no regrets. It seems to have paid off. Being a new mom and the wife of a Marine, she seems to personify the Marine's fighting philosophy: Adapt and overcome.

"Having a baby, every day I'm adapting and overcoming, but I kind of feel like that's for every parent," she said. "Every mom, every dad, you have to take the punches as they come."

ECTAA discussed with the European Parliament issues relevant to TOs' businesses

European Parliament and representatives of the European Commission to discuss topical issues relevant to travel agents’ and tour operators’ businesses. The event, held at the European Parliament on 28 November, was sponsored by Mr. Said El Khadraoui, MEP.

A host of legislative measures are currently being discussed and decided upon in the European Parliament that have an impact on travel agents and tour operators. The event organised at the European Parliament was the opportunity for ECTAA to discuss with high-level representatives of the EU institutions two very important legislative initiatives that will be adopted shortly: the proposals for the revision of the Package Travel Directive and Air Passenger Rights legislation. Both will have a huge impact on the travel and tourism industry. ECTAA therefore called on the EU decision-makers to find an equitable balance between the rights and obligations of both consumers and enterprises. But more importantly is the need for a level-playing field among all market players, especially as regards the package travel Directive.

A level-playing field is unfortunately today not guaranteed. For example, while tour operators have to provide a financial guarantee to protect their customers against their own financial default, no such obligation exists for airlines. The European Parliament has recognised this lack of consumer protection in its recently adopted report on passenger rights in all modes of transport. This was also recalled by Mr. Georges Bach, MEP, in his speech to the ECTAA Members. Unfortunately, the European Commission is not planning any legislation in this respect.

Said President of ECTAA, Boris Zgomba: “The next year will be very important for travel agents and tour operators, as it will determine the conditions for selling traditional package holidays and the ability to compete with other market players that escape the scope of the revised legislation”.

Recognising the need for the upcoming revisions, the ECTAA President also cautioned about over-regulation, adding: “in all legislative measures a right balance needs to be struck between rights and obligations of consumers and businesses respectively.”

Topics in the European Parliament affecting travel agents and tour operators

Upcoming Revision of the Package Travel Directive
Directive 90/314 on package travel, package holidays and package tours is of major importance for package travel organisers in the EU. ECTAA is in favour of the revision of the Package Travel Directive (PTD) as it is essential to adapt it to new and upcoming market developments and:
Ensure that any consumer across the EU benefits from the same level of protection, when purchasing any combination of travel services, irrespective of the distribution channel.
Preserve and foster the competitiveness of the industry, through an equitable balance between the rights and obligations of both consumers and enterprises and ensuring an indispensable level playing field between all market stakeholders.
Upcoming Revision of Air Passenger Rights
A legislative proposal to revise Regulation 261/2004 is expected at the end of 2012. ECTAA supports capping costs for assistance in extraordinary circumstances and extending the time trigger compensation in case of delay from 3 to 5 hours. Existing rights regarding luggage are appropriate and should not be modified. In order to improve air passenger rights and ensure a level playing field with package travel organisers, we strongly support an obligation for airlines to protect passengers in case of airline insolvency. Passengers should not lose the benefit of their ticket if they do not use one segment only.

There is besides a need to better address transparency of air ticket distribution, through better enforcement of Regulation 1008/2008 and possibly revisions, to include non-optional operational costs in air fares, have optional ancillary services published and bookable in the same channel as the fare, prevent discrimination in access to fares based on the distribution channel and ensure the transparency of distribution channels that have developed outside the scope of Regulation 80/2009 on computerised reservation systems. The airline initiative IATA New Distribution Capability will also need to be carefully assessed.

Review of the Airport Slot Allocation Regulation Proposal
The changes proposed by the Commission to the current rules on length of slots series and slot utilisation threshold have a detrimental impact on leisure travel and typical tourist destinations, as they do not take account of the seasonality of leisure travel. Airlines would either have to stop flying at the beginning or end of peak tourist seasons or fly empty planes.

Revision of the Insurance Mediation Directive
Currently, professionals who intermediate travel insurances are not subject to Directive 2002/92. However, under the proposal to revise Directive 2002/92, travel agents and tour operators who mediate in travel insurance would be subject to a new declaration procedure and requirements of knowledge and ability, good repute, professional indemnity insurance... ECTAA is not in favour of that declaration procedure and calls for the maintenance of the exemption of intermediation in travel insurance.

Revision on the Professional Qualifications Directive
ECTAA is favourable to the proposal aiming at modifying Directive 2005/36 on professional qualifications, because it will contribute to the mobility of tourist guides, which is fundamental for package travel organisers. ECTAA strongly hopes this legislation will permit an easier recognition of their qualifications as it takes into account the seasonal and “cross-border” aspects of the tourism industry’s professions.

Directive Proposal on Use of Passenger Name Records by Member State Authorities
Considering costs and disruptions that could be caused to our industry, ECTAA would support the rejection of the proposal. In case an EU PNR system is introduced, ECTAA recommends limiting the scope to data captured electronically by air carriers in their normal course of business and to flights between the EU and third countries. Information should be provided to passengers once at the time of booking, without this obligation lying expressly on travel agencies and ticket sellers.

New EU Framework on Personal Data Protection
The practical impacts of obligations on undertakings must be carefully considered, notably information obligations and the requirement to have a data protection officer. In regard of PNR transfers to third countries, the travel industry should not be put in untenable positions, where third countries require passenger data in conflict with EU data protection legislation.

Implemantation of the Tourism Communication
ECTAA is supportive of all measures that enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of the European tourism, including combating seasonality, uptake of ICT in tourism, etc.

Upcoming regulation Proposal for a European Tourism Quality Label
A legislative proposal is foreseen before the end of the year. ECTAA has doubts whether the added value for businesses and consumers justify the expenditures required in creating a pan-European consumer label. In any case, the label should be voluntary and focus on quality only.

Upcoming Review of the EU Visa Code
European tourism will gain a lot from the Commission’s plan to streamline and shorten the visa application procedure, simplifying the application form, improving consular organisation and cooperation, etc, which aim at facilitating travel for legitimate travellers, such as tourists.

Corporate travel budgets to increase for 2013; Hotel industry to benefit

A survey of senior corporate travel buyers commissioned by the Business Travel Show has revealed that budgets are on the increase as we head into 2013 and the hotel sector will be among those benefiting from the cash injection despite buyers continuing to be challenged by the cost of accommodation.

178 industry buyers from across Europe took part in the research, 80 per cent of whom look after £1m+ budgets and 67 per cent of whom have responsibility for more than 500 travellers. The Business Travel Show is Europe’s main exhibition and conference for corporate travel buyers, managers and bookers to source, learn and network. It takes place in London on 5-6 February 2013.

Almost four in ten of the buyers surveyed –37 per cent- expect their corporate travel budgets to increase in 2013 and 38 per cent enjoyed bigger budgets in 2012 compared to 2011. In 2013, nearly half (47 per cent) are expecting to arrange more trips. This year, 45 per cent arranged more trips than in 2011.

When it comes to hotel bookings, just 17 per cent of those buyers will be booking more travellers into lower class hotel rooms in 2013, compared to one quarter in 2012. 12 per cent will be booking fewer travellers into lower class hotels and 63 per cent of buyers’ plans will remain static.

However, accommodation remains a problem category for many corporate travel managers thanks to increasing costs and rogue travellers. The solution is to ‘work strategically with the hotel chains that fit your needs best,’ claims Mette Christensen, Global Head of Travel, A.P. Moller – Morsk A/S.

“Do not jump between different chains just because someone offers you a small discount. Concentrate on your focus destinations where you have sufficient volumes, sign a BAR agreement for the rest and/or buy on your TMC’s corporate rates,” she added.

Jafles Pacheko, Head of Global Travel and Global Commodity Manager for HR and Professional Services, Oerlikon, stressed the importance of monitoring: “We monitor the availability of hotel rates frequently and challenge the hotels with our findings. We also audit the rates in order to check if our so called ‘hotel partners’ are offering us competitive prices. If our contracted rates in a certain property are continuously showing higher than those on Expedia, for example, we will go to the hotel and challenge the value of our business relationship.”

Over 200 corporate travel suppliers will be exhibiting at the Business Travel Show in 2013, including the following companies from the hotel and serviced apartment sector:

The survey responses in full:

Compared to 2011, were your budgets:
Greater 38%
Smaller 28%
The same 30%
Don’t know 3%
In 2013, will your budgets be:
Greater 37%
Smaller 19%
The same 37%
Don’t know 7%
Compared to 2011, how many business trips did you manage?
More 45%
Fewer 30%
The same 23%
Don’t know 2%
In 2013, how many trips will you manage?
More 47%
Fewer 23%
The same 22%
Don’t know 8%
The Business Travel Show takes place on 5-6 February 2013.

Headline December1,2012

''SEARING BEAUTY AND QUIET MENACE!''

''Ultimately,'' says this genius master, ''what scares me the most is Reality!''
As he goes about framing the world in his lens, he is totally fascinated by Light itself........twilight, lamplight, light from windows. His reality is sharpened by the idea not of the next frame, but rather that will all fade as light fades; it is all in the process of disintegration and decay.
American Photographer Gregory Crewdson's figures seem hypnotised and bewildered in the world he has made for them.

In the summer of 1996, he spent two months alone in a cabin in a remote part of Massachusetts. Crewedson, who often seems the most stagey and theatrical of artists, simply took black and white photographs of fireflies. The pictures are untypical of his work but they include his signature sense of disturbance and mystery, of a drama caught at one of its most deeply suggestive moments. The offer stillness as a sort of dream, a creepiness, and beauty as something fleeting and untrustworthy.

Although as typical, they offer an interesting key to Crewdson's visual imagination. First, despite what might seem like minimalism, they are laden with coiled imagination; they contain almost unbearable levels of feeling. They have a dark, poetic and hard-won beauty buried in them. Second, the fireflies themselves offer a focus, but once the eye move from them to the dark or darkening, unpeopled world around them, often featuring trees or an object such as jar, then something hits the nervous system and the images become deeply strange and compelling.

This is also what happens in his photograph's of disturbed suburban life:the beneath The Roses series, for which he is most known. His latest works, showing and exploring similar themes, are of the complacent world as dreams or nightmare, or as it might appear after an accident or a disaster. Patterns of repose and comfort -domestic settings such as living rooms, bedrooms,gardens are made to seem like astonishing creations, heavy with meaning too deep for us to decipher, with emotion shimmering over every inch of the frame.

Crewdson's images can be playful and almost funny; others are highly disturbing, especially when there is no obvious sign of disturbance. There is a mysterious precision in what he does.
His tense images may seem like movie stills but they have an iconic appearance, with no possibility of a before or after.
In this world -this theater of utter cruelty!!
Like God, he just did not find the world, he painstakingly makes it!

Students of advance Engineering and Software concepts would be well advised to seek inspiration from his work.

Good Night & God Bless!

Locations of ice at Mercury's north pole.

Mercury's north pole, as seen by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft. 

New data from the NASA space probe MESSENGER indicate that Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, almost certainly has water ice buried beneath the surface at its north pole!

I know, it sounds completely crazy, but hang tight. It all makes sense.


Mercury is a mere 58 million kilometers (36 million miles) from the Sun and has a surface temperature of 430 degrees Celsius (800 degrees Fahrenheit). But that’s a maximum temperature. In shadows that temperature can drop drastically.

At Mercury’s north pole there are some deep craters. For example, the large crater Prokofiev is the deepest crater measured on Mercury so far. It’s over 110 kilometers (68 miles) across. Because the crater is deep, and the Sun never gets very high off the horizon at the pole, there are parts of the crater floor that are permanently in shadow; they literally are never illuminated by the Sun. Those spots can be very cold; well below the freezing point of water. There are actually quite a few spots like that at Mercury’s north pole.

Over many years, astronomers have sent pulses of radar at Mercury to map its surface. They were surprised to find that there were spots near the north pole where the radar pulses were reflected back to Earth far more strongly than expected from mere rock. Ice, literally frozen water, is a good reflector of radar, so it was hypothesized that there might be ice there.

The MESSENGER space probe has been orbiting Mercury since March 2011. It has a piece of equipment called a neutron spectrometer, which measures neutrons—subatomic particles—blasted off Mercury by cosmic radiation. It’s complicated, but the speed of neutrons coming from Mercury can be changed if there’s hydrogen present, and that’s just what has now been seen at Mercury’s north pole. Combined with the radar data, that’s strong evidence that there’s water there—water is made of two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen.

Furthermore, the bright spots seen by Earth radar together with the neutron data from MESSENGER were superposed on a map of Mercury made using MESSENGER’s cameras, and all those spots correspond to deep craters. And the final bit of evidence that makes this so convincing: thermal maps made using infrared—“heat vision,” if you like—shows these very same spots are ones that stay permanently cold!

Locations of ice at Mercury's north pole. 

That’s what this picture shows: Red spots show permanently shadowed (and therefore cold) spots at Mercury’s north pole, and yellow shows where the radar from Earth indicates ice. Note how strongly they correlate to craters!

The ice appears to be buried a few dozen centimeters beneath the surface, and may be from half a meter to 20 meters (20 inches to more than 60 feet) thick. That adds up to an amazing 100 billion to one trillion tons of ice!

And we’re not done: Further observation indicates that some regions in these craters are intrinsically dark, and others bright. The best explanation of this is the presence of organic, that is carbon-based, molecules on the surface. This does not mean life! But carbon molecules are very interesting because we know comets (and some asteroids) have lots of organic compounds like that, as well as water ice. And this is starting to give us a complete picture of what’s going on.

Comets hit Mercury, and have been doing so for billions of years. Most of the water ice in a comet impact gets blown back into space or destroyed by solar radiation over time. But if some of that cometary material settles down in Mercury’s shaded north pole crater areas, it can survive, protected. Over the eons it’s built up, and now with our technology we can actually see it!

This is simply amazing. The irony of finding water ice on such a hot planet is obvious, but also an indication that water is everywhere in our solar system, from close in to the Sun to the farthest reaches we can see, billions of kilometers out past Neptune. We know our kind of life is based on carbon and needs water. I don’t think we’ll find life on Mercury, but what this says to me is that the basic ingredients of life can survive formidable circumstances. And that makes me wonder even more if life can get a toehold (pseudopodhold?) in places where we might have earlier thought it impossible.

Mercury is an unlikely place to teach us about life in the Universe. Still, perhaps it’s good to remember that life itself may seem unlikely at first, but the conditions for it to arise may be common in the cosmos.

- Slate.com