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A standout player for the Revolution, Heaps spent nine seasons playing for New England from 2001 to 2009, developing the ties to the organization that eventually led to him being hired as the team's coach despite having no head coaching experience. |
There is no word yet on who will replace Heaps, though Revs assistant Tom Soehn appears to be a leading candidate to finish out the season as interim coach. Soehn has served as an MLS head coach before, with and the . |
Heaps is the fifth MLS head coach to be let go this season, following Jeff Cassar ( ), Dominic Kinnear ( ), Curt Onalfo (LA Galaxy) and Pablo Mastroeni ( ). |
The Revolution return to action on Saturday to take on MLS leader . |
Even if you’re not quite sure where you land on the Occupy Wall Street debate (perhaps you are Warren Buffett-type, who believes in capitalism and the markets and even personally bailed out banks, but also believe in the people’s right to assemble; or perhaps you just couldn’t be bothered to pay attention yet), you still might be interested in OccupytheBoardroom.org, which provides the straightest line from your laptop to the desk of a Citigroup executive. |
Launched on Saturday, Occupy the Board Room is a new site that provides those with a valid email account an opportunity to choose a “pen pal” in the top 1%, to whom they can voice their frustrations about America’s economic issues. Created approximately 3 weeks ago, the site originally intended to release the email addresses of almost 200 bank executives to the public. But according to one of the site’s co-founders, Olivia Leirer, research revealed that if the group released that information, they could be |
prosecuted if their call to action unwittingly crashed the email servers of the nation’s biggest banks. |
“It’s part of a new interpretation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act,” Ms. Leirer told The Observer by phone today. “And of course, it’s not our intention to cause any harm.” |
Instead, OTBR has figured out a way around the process by having people write in their letters to a group blog, which then digests and tags the appropriate representative, who will receive the emails. At least ostensibly that is how the program should work: Ms. Leirer told us that the site’s lead developer dropped out a week ago, leading the members of Occupy the Board Room to reach out the OccupyWallSt.org, where the Internet working group donated some of their “most creative volunteers” to the cause. |
Over 4,000 submissions have been received thus far, and Ms. Leirer—the communication director for New York Communities for Change—says that the aim of the site is to provide people an open-ended forum. Taking their cue from the Occupy Wall Street movement, Occupy the Board Room asks that no website that posts about the new program uses any sample messages as a guideline, to avoid a non-organic structural system that OWS has so studiously avoided. |
Of course, Occupy the Boardroom does provide another option besides being part of a mass email/blog: Users are encouraged to go make “BFFs” with the bank executives listed on the site, which can include anything from “paying them a visit” to “pursuing them to the ends of the Earth.” To avoid a lawsuit, the site won’t provide contact information for anyone listed, but does encourage you to use Google to find the person of your choosing. |
Perhaps one of the most interesting things about Occupy the Board Room is its coalition: founded by formal labor groups and organizers, the 80+ legitimate organizations involved with the project represent the next stage in true movement building with their direct call to action. |
Now, go find Vikram Pandit‘s work address and have fun! |
We've had eyes on both of these for a while, but Nokia today has dropped a couple new N-Series phones into the official UK chute, and they are expected to follow stateside soon. The N85 slider (left) appears to be replacing the N81, and the N79 candybar does the same for the N78 (even though it only dropped in the US a few months ago). Gaming and music seems to be the focus of the N85, which adds N-Gage support and ditches the built-in storage in favor of an 8GB micro SD card. An AMOLED screen reduces power |
consumption for up to 28 hours of music playback. The N79 bumps the N78's camera up to 5MP and adds an LED flash and swappable faceplates. All feature Wi-Fi, GPS and 3G across the board, but the rumored US 3G support we're still waiting to hear for sure on. [Pocket Lint via Electronista] |
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WITH the late Hugo Chavez set to be embalmed and put on display in Venezuela , we look back at the leaders preserved for fans and tourists. |
JOSEF STALIN: Soviet dictator's embalmed body was put on display next to Lenin on March 9, 1953. Soviet authorities ordered it removed from the tomb October 31, 1961, and had it buried during a period of "de-Stalinisation'' |
HO CHI MINH: The corpse of the Vietnamese revolutionary leader was put on display on August 29, 1975. It rests in a glass sarcophagus in the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi and is a popular destination for tourists. |
MAO ZEDONG: Embalmed body of the founding father of the People's Republic of China was unveiled on September 9, 1977. It rests in the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall in the centre of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Long lines of people form daily to view Chairman Mao. |
KIM IL SUNG: Preserved body of the man considered to be the founding father of North Korea was unveiled on July 8, 1995. It lies under glass for viewing purposes in the Kumsusan mausoleum, a cavernous former presidential palace. |
KIM JONG IL: The leader's body, still in his trademark khaki jumpsuit, was unveiled on December 17, 2012, the anniversary of his death. It rests a few floors below the body of his father, Kim Il Sung, in the Kumsusan mausoleum. |
VLADIMIR LENIN: Body of Soviet Union's founder has been displayed since January 1924 in a mausoleum at Red Square. His tomb is one of Moscow's most famous symbols and Communists consider it almost a shrine. The embalment for display is considered the model for subsequent Communist world leaders put on exhibit. |
For those who dread being bombarded by early holiday marketing, there's hope this year. |
Retail stores are likely to hold back their usual TV ad blitz. That's because the flood of political ads leading up to the Nov. 6 presidential election has increased the price of ad rates, pushing aside pitches for early "door buster" deals. Which means, stores will have a short two-week window after the election, to lure shoppers with holiday ads for Thanksgiving sales. |
"Politicians consume a lot of air space and time, leaving less for retailers," said Bill Martin, founder and executive vice president of ShopperTrak, which has tracked shopping traffic for 15 years. |
The median cost of a prime time 30-second TV ad in August was 9% higher this year than in 2011 in 12 cities in swing states where political ads were most prevalent, according to media cost forecasting firm SQAD Inc. |
The cost of placing ads has ramped up even more since then: an additional 10% in September from the previous month, and another 10% in October. With various campaigns already reserving spots for the two weeks leading up to Nov. 6, ad rates will likely skyrocket. |
"The data show that as politics heat up, traditional advertisers are paying more if they want to get into the market," said Neil Klar, SQAD's chief executive officer. |
Having weathered a tough recession that cut deep into sales, followed by a slow economic recovery, it's unlikely that retailers will be willing to shell out the additional dollars. |
Related: Holiday sales projected to increase |
This is a change for retailers, who have been rolling out their holiday shopping ads earlier into fall each year. Many of them even put out decorations and holiday deals as soon as back-to-school ads stop airing in September. |
Some analysts say it might not be a bad thing that retailers are being forced to hit pause on holiday ads until November this year. |
Promoting holiday shopping early last year didn't give retailers much of a boost, points out Robert Passikoff, founder and president of brand research consultancy Brand Keys. In a survey of 10,000 households this back-to-school season, Passikoff found that consumers are putting off purchases until they believed there were no better deals out there. |
Three-quarters of shoppers waited until the last minute for their back-to-school shopping, according to the survey. He expects to see the same during the holidays. |
"Advertising earlier and earlier was a desperation move trying to get people to buy things early before they went to another retailer to buy it," he said. "But [shoppers are] waiting longer and longer for better sales and more coupons." |
There's also evidence that shoppers tend to be distracted before a presidential race, which slows down sales. |
In 2008, traffic fell 3.7% in the week leading up to the presidential election and 6.3% during the week, according to ShopperTrak data. Sales also declined in the weeks leading up to the 2004 elections. |
ShopperTrak's Martin said people tend to be more focused on political issues than on purchases. They're also likely to have a tighter grip on their wallets when the election outcome is up in the air, because of uncertainty over how the policies in the new White House will affect household finances. |
Related: Hot toys for the holidays |
The slowdown likely won't hang around once the elections are over. Retail ads are expected to make a fast and furious return, because of the mere two weeks available for stores to advertise their Black Friday door buster sales. |
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, marks the start of the holiday shopping season each year. Stores consider it the most important time of the year, because they can make up to 40 percent of their annual sales in the November-December period. |
This year, retailers are jittery, since expectations are that sales may not be that robust. The National Retail Federation has predicted that holiday sales this year will rise by 4.1% this year, a slower pace compared to the 5.6% increase last year. |
Kitty Wells, first female country superstar, dies |
Kitty Wells' 1952 hit recording "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts. Kitty Wells' 1952 hit recording "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts. Photo: Houston Chronicle File Photo: Houston Chronicle File Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Kitty Wells, first female country superstar, dies 1 / 7 Back to Gallery |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Kitty Wells, whose achievements as a solo artist broke barriers to country-music stardom for women, has died. She was 92. |
The singer's family said she died peacefully at home after complications from a stroke. |
Wells was the first female artist to have a No. 1 country single, reaching the milestone in 1952 with "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," a song that blamed unfaithful men for causing "many a good girl to go wrong." Billboard magazine had been charting country singles for about eight years at that time, and its success dashed the notion that women couldn't be headliners. |
"Kitty Wells is the prototype," said Kyle Young, director of Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which inducted her in 1976. "Her success in selling records and concert tickets led record companies to open their doors to women artists." |
Before her rise to prominence, women were typically confined to country duos or groups. She blazed a trail for singers such as Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette to become household names on their own. |
Her solo recording career lasted from 1952 to the late 1970s, although she toured from the late 1930s until 2000. Wells recorded about 50 albums, had 25 Top 10 country hits and went around the world several times. From 1953 to 1968, various polls listed Wells as the No. 1 female country singer and she was known as the "queen of country music." |
Wells received the Pioneer Award from the Academy of Country Music in 1986 and five years later received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences - the group that presents the Grammy Awards. |
"I never really thought about being a pioneer," she said in 2008. "I loved doing what I was doing." |
Among her other hits were "Making Believe" - a 1955 release that was on the soundtrack of "Mississippi Burning" 33 years later - and "The Things I Might Have Been," "Release Me," "Amigo's Guitar," "Heartbreak USA," "Left to Right" and a version of "I Can't Stop Loving You." |
In 1989, Wells collaborated with Brenda Lee, Loretta Lynn and k.d. lang on the record "The Honky Tonk Angels Medley." |
Her songs tended to treasure devotion and home life, with titles like "Searching (For Someone Like You)" and "Three Ways (To Love You)." But her "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" gave the woman's point of view about the wild side of life. |
The song was written by J.D. Miller as a retort to Hank Thompson's 1952 hit, "The Wild Side of Life." It opened the way for women to present their view of life and love in country music. It also encouraged Nashville songwriters to begin writing from a woman's perspective. |
The song was controversial enough that the Grand Ole Opry asked Wells not to perform it, and some radio stations were reluctant to play it. |
"They get away with a lot more today," Wells told the Associated Press in 1986. "They're more (sexually) suggestive today." |
In 2008, the Library of Congress announced that Wells' record had been added to its National Recording Registry of works of unusual historic merit. |
Wells was known as a gracious, elegant and family-oriented person. |
"What I've done has been satisfying," she told the AP in 1986. "I wouldn't change a thing." |
About her many years of touring, she said, "I like going to different places and seeing the scenery and meeting the people. I've always enjoyed traveling. It's as good a way as any to spend your time." |
Wells was born Ellen Muriel Deason on Aug. 30, 1919. Her parents, Charles and Myrtle Deason, were both musicians. |
After living on the outskirts of Nashville, the family moved to the city before she entered high school. She learned to play guitar, sang in the church choir and went to country shows at the Grand Ole Opry with her mother. |
Wells dropped out of high school in 1934, during the Great Depression, to work at a shirt factory. The following year, she joined two of her sisters, Mae and Jewel, and a cousin, Bessie Choate, to start the Deason Sisters. The group had a show on a local radio station. |
Wells married Johnnie Wright, half of a duo called Johnnie and Jack, in 1938 when she was not yet 20, and soon began touring with the duo. She took her stage name from an old folk song, "Sweet Kitty Wells." |
Wells starred in a syndicated television show in 1968, and Wright joined her the following year. The program ran into the 1970s and featured their three children, who each went on to a musical career. |
Bloomberg News contributed to this report. |
I've done a number of talks on Productivity in the past. Lots of folks ask me what my tips are for being productive. I've taken all those tips as well as tips from Kathy Sierra, Stephen Covey, David Allen, The Pomodoro Technique and many more and aggregated them into a system that works well for me. I talk about how to effectively handle large amounts email, sorting your personal data stream, how to conserve your keystrokes, the "one email rule" that you need to be effective |
I'm giving this talk in a few places in the coming months like StirTrek in Ohio, DevCon in Russia, and possibly "That Conference" in Wisconsin. If you will be attending one of these events, you might want to wait and see it in person. ;) |
There's a few jokes in the beginning of the talk that refer back to some discussion about Gamification and a funny back and forth that Kathy Sierra and I had. If they don't make sense, that's the context. |
I hope you enjoy it. It's about 42 minutes long. There's lots of other great talks from WebStock '12 up at their event site. Do check them out. http://talks.webstock.org.nz/events/webstock-12/. I particularly like Lauren Beuke's talk on Kinking Reality, Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal) and his talk on getting people to read what you write, Adam Lisagor (the world's quietest pitchman) and Rob Malda on the Rise and Fall of Slashdot. |
Of course, feel free to share this post with your friends. I hope it helps them. |
Image caption Manna Dey had largely withdrawn from public life in his later years |
Indian singer Manna Dey has died in a Bangalore hospital at the age of 94. |
He had been ill for the past few months and was in hospital for a respiratory infection. His funeral is due to take place later on Thursday. |
Born Prabodh Chandra Dey in 1919, Dey was popularly known as Manna, and chalked up a number of hit Bollywood songs in a career spanning six decades. |
Tributes have been pouring in for the legendary singer from the government, the film industry and his fans. |
President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the country in paying tributes to Dey. |
India "has lost a veteran playback singer, a versatile artist of extraordinary ability and a creative genius who mesmerised listeners with his enchanting voice," the president said. |
The prime minister described Dey as the "king of melody" and said with his death, the music world had lost one of its most talented artistes. |
"I am deeply saddened to hear of the demise of the King of Melody, Manna Dey. An accomplished singer with a unique voice, he was multi-talented and excelled in Rabindra Sangeet and various other forms of popular music," he said in his condolence message. |
"In his death, the music world has lost one of its most talented artistes. Dey's legacy will, however, live on through the many songs he sang," Mr Singh added. |
Dey sang in several languages including Hindi, Bengali, Assamese, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi and Bhojpuri. |
His long career saw him win several awards for his contribution to music, including state honours like the Padma Shri in 1971 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2005. He was also given the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2007. |
Dey sang more than 3,500 songs, including romantic ballads, intricate raga-based songs, Qawwalis and fast-paced modern numbers in his career. |
Along with Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, and Kishore Kumar, he made up what was known as the "famous quartet of singers" who dominated the Hindi film music industry from 1950s to 1970s. |
Many of Dey's tracks for Bollywood films became huge hits and he sang for some of the biggest Bollywood names like Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra. |
His most popular numbers included Zindagi kaisi hai paheli (Life, what a riddle it is) from the film Anand; Poocho na kaise maine raen bitayee (Don't ask how I spent my night) from Meri Surat Teri Aankhen; Ek chatur naar (A clever woman) from Padosan; and Eey bhai zara dekh ke chalo (Oh brother, look where you're going) from Meraa Naam Joker. |
He also sang for Bollywood super-hits Sholay and Amar Akbar Anthony. |
'Pleasant, easy personality' |
In the last few years, he had largely withdrawn from public life. |
Dey's peers from Bollywood and fans took to Twitter to pay tribute to the singer. |
"Today, great classical singer Manna Dey sahab, who we fondly called Manna da, is not among us anymore. He had a very pleasant and easy personality. He was very dedicated to his work. I salute him and pray that his soul rests in peace," singer Lata Mangeshkar, who collaborated on innumerable hits with him, wrote on Twitter. |
Image caption Manna Dey sang more than 3,500 songs, including romantic ballads, intricate raga-based songs, Qawwalis and fast-paced modern numbers, in a career spanning more than six decades. |
Image caption Many of Dey's tracks for Bollywood films became huge hits and he sang for some of the biggest Bollywood names like Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra. |
Image caption Along with Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, and Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey made up what was known as the "famous quartet of singers" who dominated the Hindi film music industry from the 1950s to 1970s. |
Image caption Manna Dey won several awards for his contribution to music, including the state honour Padma Vibhushan in 2005. |
Mangeshkar's duet Pyar hua ikraar hua (I admit I'm in love), played as background to film of actors Raj Kapoor and Nargis on a rainy night under an umbrella in Shri 420, is among the most popular romantic songs of Bollywood. |