Beverly Macy: Here's How Social Media Is Changing Retail

Retail is changing. Some companies are getting it right (H&M, Tory Burch). Some are colossal failures (JCPenney). One thing is clear: today's digital consumer is expecting their favorite retailers and brands to know how to operate in the social and mobile environment. They're not just looking for the best shopper experience possible -- they are demanding it.

Typically, however, retailers are scrambling to overcome the lack of corporate understanding and commitment, and the deep inability to integrate and/or support shopper expectations in these new channels.

Corporate backing or not, these trends are shaping the future of social media for retailers -- faster than they think:

? The significance of mobile and smartphones, especially when it comes to 'in-store social'
? The integration of social media into e-commerce, including trends like Pinterest and group buying
? The accountability offered by end-to-end social analytics -- 'from tweet to repeat'

The traditional path to purchase has been disrupted by the convergence of websites, kiosks, tablets, smartphones and social media. Specifically, smartphones are having a significant impact on shopper behavior, decision making, and the shopping experience.

Today, a retailer offers a 50 percent discount on a popular brand name item, available only via a mobile app. The discount offer is blasted out on Twitter and ads are placed on Facebook.

? The digital shopper, armed with a smartphone and a geo-based 'check-in' app, opens the app upon arrival at the store. A list of nearby retailers and other locations pops up. The shopper taps on the retailer and is presented with a coupon for the popular brand name item.

? To redeem the coupon, the shopper shows it to the cashier who must key in the coupon code. Or the coupon is in the form of a barcode and the checkout lane is equipped with an optical scanner that can read bar codes off of smartphone screens.

? Redemption rate is at a level far above the industry average. The brand and the retailer are delighted.

? The happy shopper shares their experience on Yelp, Facebook, and Twitter.

Understanding this new path to purchase will enable retailers to improve communication strategies that target consumers at the right time, in the right place and with the right message. Retailers are realizing they have an opportunity to engage shoppers at every touchpoint -- at home, on the go, and in store -- and they'd better, or somebody else will.

Beverly Macy is the co-author of The Power of Real-Time Social Media Marketing. She also teaches Executive Global Marketing and Branding and Social Media Marketing for the UCLA Extension. Email at beverlymacy@gmail.com

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Follow Beverly Macy on Twitter: www.twitter.com/beverlymacy

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beverly-macy/heres-how-social-media-is_b_3175270.html

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Smoke signals: How burning plants tell seeds to rise from the ashes

Apr. 29, 2013 ? In the spring following a forest fire, trees that survived the blaze explode in new growth and plants sprout in abundance from the scorched earth. For centuries, it was a mystery how seeds, some long dormant in the soil, knew to push through the ashes to regenerate the burned forest.

In the April 23 early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists at the Salk Institute and the University of California, San Diego, report the results of a study that answers this fundamental "circle of life" question in plant ecology. In addition to explaining how fires lead to regeneration of forests and grasslands, their findings may aid in the development of plant varieties that help maintain and restore ecosystems that support all human societies.

"This is a very important and fundamental process of ecosystem renewal around the planet that we really didn't understand," says co-senior investigator Joseph P. Noel, professor and director of Salk's Jack H. Skirball Center for Chemical Biology and Proteomics. "Now we know the molecular triggers for how it occurs."

Noel's co-senior investigator on the project, Joanne Chory, professor and director of Salk's Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, says the team found the molecular "wake-up call" for burned forests. "What we discovered," she says, "is how a dying plant generates a chemical message for the next generation, telling dormant seeds it's time to sprout."

While controlled burns are common today, they weren't 50 years ago. The U.S. park service actively suppressed forest fires until they realized that the practice left the soil of mature forests lacking important minerals and chemicals. This created an intensely competitive environment that was ultimately detrimental to the entire forest ecosystem.

"When Yellowstone National Park was allowed to burn in 1988, many people felt that it would never be restored to its former beauty," says James J. La Clair, a researcher from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California who worked on the project. "But by the following spring, when the rains arrived, there was a burst of flowering plants amid the nutrient-rich ash and charred ground."

In previous studies, scientists had discovered that special chemicals known as karrikins are created as trees and shrubs burn during a forest fire and remain in the soil after the fire, ensuring the forest will regenerate.

The Salk scientists' new study sought to uncover exactly how karrikins stimulate new plant growth. First, the researchers determined the structure of a plant protein know as KAI2, which binds to karrikin in dormant seeds. Then, comparing the karrikin-bound KAI2 protein to the structure of an unbound KAI2 protein allowed the researchers to speculate how KAI2 allows a seed to perceive karrikin in its environment.

The chemical structures the team solved revealed all the molecular contacts between karrikin and KAI2, according to Salk research associate Yongxia Guo, a structural enzymologist and one of the study's lead investigators. "But, more than that," Gou says, "we also now know that when karrikin binds to the KAI2 protein it causes a change in its shape."

The studies' other lead investigator, Salk research associate and plant geneticist Zuyu Zheng, says this karrikin-induced shape change may send a new signal to other proteins in the seeds. "These other protein players," he says, "together with karrikin and KAI2, generate the signal causing seed germination at the right place and time after a wildfire."

Guo and Zheng, a married couple working as postdoctoral researchers in the Noel and Chory labs, respectively, came up with the idea for the study while talking over dinner. La Clair then joined the study, contributing his chemistry expertise. While the new findings were made in Arabidopsis, a model organism that many plant researchers study, the scientists say the same karrikin-KAI2 regeneration strategy is undoubtedly found in many plant species.

"In plants, one member of this family of enzymes has been recruited somehow through natural selection to bind to this molecule in smoke and ash and generate this signal," says Noel, holder of Salk's Arthur and Julie Woodrow Chair and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. "KAI2 likely evolved when plant ecosystems started to flourish on the terrestrial earth and fire became a very important part of ecosystems to free up nutrients locked up in dying and dead plants."

More research is needed to understand exactly how the change in shape of the KAI2 protein activates a genetic pathway that regulates germination, says Chory, the Howard H. and Maryam R. Newman Chair in Plant Biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. "But this finding is an absolutely critical step in understanding this genetic program and how plant ecosystems, forests and grasslands renew themselves."

The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health grants 5R01GM52413 and GM094428, National Science Foundation awards EEC-0813570 and MCB-0645794 and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

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Journal Reference:

1. Y. Guo, Z. Zheng, J. J. La Clair, J. Chory, J. P. Noel. Smoke-derived karrikin perception by the ?/?-hydrolase KAI2 from Arabidopsis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1306265110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/VRUclzscVAQ/130429175908.htm

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Patterned hearts: Bioengineers create rubber-like material bearing micropatterns for stronger, more elastic hearts

Apr. 29, 2013 ? A team of bioengineers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the first to report creating artificial heart tissue that closely mimics the functions of natural heart tissue through the use of human-based materials. Their work will advance how clinicians treat the damaging effects caused by heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

"Scientists and clinicians alike are eager for new approaches to creating artificial heart tissues that resemble the native tissues as much as possible, in terms of physical properties and function," said Nasim Annabi, PhD, BWH Renal Division, first study author. "Current biomaterials used to repair hearts after a heart attack and other cardiovascular events lack suitable functionality and strength. We are introducing an alternative that has the mechanical properties and functions of native heart tissue."

The study was published online on April 26, 2013 in Advanced Functional Materials.

The researchers created MeTro gel -- an advanced rubber-like material made from tropoelastin, the protein in human tissues that makes them elastic. The gel was then combined with microfabrication techniques to generate gels containing well-defined micropatterns for high elasticity.

The researchers then used these highly elastic micropatterned gels to create heart tissue that contained beating heart muscle cells.

"The micropatterned gel provides elastic mechanical support of natural heart muscle tissue as demonstrated by its ability to promote attachment, spreading, alignment, function and communication of heart muscle cells," said Annabi.

The researchers state that MeTro gel will provide a model for future studies on how heart cells behave. Moreover, the work lays the foundation for creating more elaborate 3D versions of heart tissue that will contain vascular networks.

"This can be achieved by assembling tandem layers of micropatterned MeTro gels seeded with heart muscles cells in different layers," said Ali Khademhosseini, PhD, BWH Division of Biomedical Engineering, co-senior study author. "As we continue to move forward with finding better ways to mend a broken heart, we hope the biomaterials we engineer will allow us to successfully address the limitations of current artificial tissues."

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Journal Reference:

1. Nasim Annabi, Kelly Tsang, Suzanne M. Mithieux, Mehdi Nikkhah, Afshin Ameri, Ali Khademhosseini, Anthony S. Weiss. Highly Elastic Micropatterned Hydrogel for Engineering Functional Cardiac Tissue. Advanced Functional Materials, 2013; DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201300570

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/OQiD_HD9WH0/130429133652.htm

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Court rejects Alabama appeal over immigration law (The Arizona Republic)

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One Third (?!) of PA High School Science Teachers Believe in Creationism - And Some Teach It (Little green footballs)

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The iTunes influence, part one: How Apple changed the face of the music marketplace

"iTunes is a stepping stone along the way."
-- Jim Griffin, OneHouse LLC

On April 28th, the iTunes Store basked in a milestone 10th birthday. Two years before its 2003 launch (as the iTunes Music Store), Apple introduced the iTunes client as a desktop music management program and implemented it as the device manager for the first iPod later in 2001. In those two years, Apple laid the groundwork for what can reasonably be called the iTunes era of music.

Apple did not invent digital music, even though for many iTunes embodies 21st century music buying. However, during the past 10 years, it has become the US' top music retailer, with customers currently downloading 15,000 songs per minute from the app's library of 26 million songs, according to an Apple spokesperson. Since its launch, it has evolved into the hub of a powerhouse media / tech ecosystem that turned Apple into the world's most valuable company in 2012.

As a symbolic milestone, the iTunes anniversary encourages reflection on the past, a survey of the present and predictions of the future. Digital music continues to evolve, for businesses, consumers and musicians.

Filed under: Software, Apple

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/29/the-itunes-influence-part-one/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Asia shares edge up; markets look for central bank largesse

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares inched ahead while the dollar lost ground as investors counted on easy money from central banks in the euro zone and United States to offset the risk of further disappointment from global economic data.

Activity was sporadic with Japanese markets closed for a holiday and China off until Thursday. The MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.26 percent, but off a six-week high touched on Friday.

Singapore's share market added 0.2 percent, while Australia's market added 0.5 percent thanks to ongoing strength in banking stocks. South Korean shares were a fraction softer as was the Hang Seng Index.

Spot gold firmed to $1,469.21 an ounce, consolidating last week's 4 percent bounce. U.S. crude oil was off 34 cents at $92.66 a barrel while Brent lost 44 cents to $102.72.

While recent disappointing growth data from the U.S., China and the euro zone has undermined commodity markets and pushed down bond yields, it has had limited impact on global equities.

"We think this reflects a faith by market participants in the 'monetary policy put', which associates market supportive policy reactions to disappointing economic developments," said analysts from Barclays in a client note.

"For now, it seems to us that this is justified, and partly on that basis, we continue to recommend overweight exposure to equities."

Indeed, speculation is rife that the European Central Bank (ECB) will have to cut interest rates at its policy meeting on Thursday given the dreary run of economic news from the region.

A Reuters poll of 76 economists showed a narrow majority of 43 expected a rate cut of 25 basis points, taking the ECB's main refinancing rate to a record low of 0.50 percent.

However, market rates, such as that for bank-to-bank lending, are already so low that such an easing might have no more than a symbolic impact.

"The ECB will probably cut the refi rate 25 basis points, but since eonia has been trading near zero for most of the past nine months, this move shouldn't weaken the euro unless the bank drops hints that some more dramatic policy -- like a negative deposit rate -- is back on the agenda," said Anna Hibinio, a global forex analyst at JPMorgan.

The single currency was a whisker higher at $1.3050 on Monday, but corralled by resistance at $1.3093 and support around $1.2950.

The dollar also lost altitude on the yen, dipping to a one-week low of 97.47 yen, having already ended on the defensive at 98.26 in New York on Friday after U.S. economic growth came in short of forecasts.

In contrast, sterling extended the gains made since data last week showed the country narrowly dodged a triple-dip recession, reaching a 10-week peak of $1.5525.

The U.S. Federal Reserve also meets this week and is widely expected to keep its current pace of bond buying at $85 billion a month. The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee will announce its decision at 1815 GMT on Wednesday.

Most analysts assume the recent string of underwhelming data will strengthen the hand of the doves at the Fed and temper any talk of tapering back the bond buying programme.

Investors will also have plenty of economic news to navigate this week. A splurge of data from the U.S. includes several readings on manufacturing and the always-influential payrolls survey.

In Asia, China has surveys on manufacturing and services while Japan releases a batch of reports on retail sales, industrial output and employment on Tuesday.

Companies reporting earnings include Pfizer, Facebook and General Motors.

Of the 271 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date, 69 percent have beaten analyst expectations - above the 63 percent average since 1994 and slightly over the 67 percent beat rate over the past four quarters.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asia-shares-edge-markets-look-central-bank-largesse-064213858.html

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OpenMobile ACL for webOS resurrected on Kickstarter, hopes to bring Android apps to HP Touchpad

The promise of OpenMobile's Application Compatibility Layer is inticing: seamlessly run Android apps on another operating system as if it was meant to be there. Unfortunately for fans of Palm's last hurrah, the project's webOS port died with the HP Touchpad. That won't stop dedicated fans, however -- Phoenix International Communications plans to resurrect webOS ACL. Taking the project to Kickstarter, the team is showing an early build on an HP Touchpad, seamlessly running Android apps in cards alongside native webOS applications. Phoenix hopes that a functional ACL will reduce Touchpad owner's reliance on dual-booting Android, giving them the freedom to enjoy webOS without sacrificing functionality. The team is promising a relatively short development time, thanks to OpenMobile's early work, and hopes to deliver a consumer ready build in July. But first the Kickstarter campaign will need to meet its $35,000 goal. Interested in pitching in? Check out the Kickstarter link at the source.

Filed under: Tablets, HP

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Source: Kickstarter

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/qcUvqY4TqGI/

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Netherlands' Queen Beatrix bids adieu

AMSTERDAM (AP) ? The Netherlands' Queen Beatrix thanked her people Monday and urged them to support her son, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, in a final address before she abdicates and he takes over as king.

Beatrix, 75, is to sign the papers enacting the once-in-a-generation change of royal titles Tuesday morning, the central moment in several days of festivities that are already underway.

"Now that my oldest son is to take over this fine and responsible job tomorrow, it is my deep wish that the new royal couple will feel themselves supported by your loving trust," the popular monarch said in a nationally televised address. Willem-Alexander's Argentine-born wife Princess Maxima will be queen.

"I am convinced that Willem-Alexander will apply himself with true devotion for everything a good king is obliged to do."

Beatrix is hosting nobility from around Europe and beyond Monday evening for a dinner at the newly renovated national museum, the Rijksmuseum. Guests will dine in front of Rembrandt van Rijn's masterpiece, the Night Watch.

Earlier in the day, the streets of Amsterdam began flooding with orange in honor of the ruling House of Oranje-Nassau, as government and noble guests prepared for the ceremonies, and the people of the country got ready for a huge party.

In the historic city center, vendors hawked orange t-shirts, hats and feather boas. Trams flew orange flags, and Dutch flags, as did many of the boats motoring through the city's ancient canals.

Shopkeepers hung orange streamers, set out orange flower displays and rolled in countless kegs of beer.

Meanwhile, city workers finished cleaning the streets, removing unwanted bicycles and setting up temporary urinals, many of them made of bright orange plastic.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte told foreign journalists from more than 60 countries Sunday evening that the week's events involve an "unprecedented logistical and security operation" that was organized in just three months. Beatrix announced her intention to abdicate in January.

More than a million people are expected in Amsterdam Tuesday, with 10,000 uniformed police, 3,000 plainclothes officers and an untold number of civil servants assisting in the logistics.

The airspace above Amsterdam was closed Monday for three days. Dutch police swept Dam square for bombs, with assistance from German agents with sniffer dogs.

Royal guests from 18 countries arrived in the course of the day, and city traffic was frequently interrupted by limousines with tinted windows and police escorts.

Among the many notables on hand are Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, and the Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako.

Charles was also in attendance when Beatrix was crowned in 1980.

Masako's father is a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. It is her first official overseas trip since the couple's 2002 visit to New Zealand and Australia.

A poll released Monday by national broadcaster NOS showed that Willem-Alexander's popularity has swelled in the run-up to his accession, mostly due to a relaxed and confident performance in an interview that was televised nationally earlier this month.

He said he's not a stickler for protocol, and he believes that "even the ultimate symbol of a ceremonial monarchy ? cutting ribbons ? can be very substantive." He explained that he will be able to indicate by his selection of which events and openings to attend the things he believes are important for the Netherlands.

He said he sees the function of the monarchy is to act as a living symbol of unity for the nation.

Beatrix succeeded her mother, Juliana, as head of state, and she won widespread acclaim and admiration from the Dutch people. Most feel she has proved a supremely competent, if occasionally aloof, head of state over her 33-year reign.

"My mother taught me that being queen is a position that you carry around with you day and night," she said once. "You can never forget about it, not for a moment."

Perhaps most tellingly, since she took office in 1980 the House of Orange has been almost scandal-free, a stark contrast to many other European royal families

Observers believe Beatrix remained on the throne for so long in part because of unrest in Dutch society as the country struggled to assimilate more and more immigrants, mainly Muslims from North Africa, and shifted away from its traditional reputation as one of the world's most tolerant nations.

In recent years, speculation about when she might abdicate had grown, as she endured personal losses that both softened her image and increased her popularity further as the public sympathized.

Her husband Prince Claus died in 2002; and last year she was devastated when her youngest son, Prince Friso, was hit by an avalanche while skiing in Austria and suffered severe brain damage. Friso remains in a near comatose state.

In the most emotional part of her farewell Monday, she praised Claus for teaching their children to be attuned to changes in society.

"Prince Claus brought our House closer to this time," she said. "Possibly history will show that the choice of this husband was my best decision."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/netherlands-queen-beatrix-gives-farewell-speech-193909341.html

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EPA methane report further divides fracking camps

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency has dramatically lowered its estimate of how much of a potent heat-trapping gas leaks during natural gas production, in a shift with major implications for a debate that has divided environmentalists: Does the recent boom in fracking help or hurt the fight against climate change?

Oil and gas drilling companies had pushed for the change, but there have been differing scientific estimates of the amount of methane that leaks from wells, pipelines and other facilities during production and delivery. Methane is the main component of natural gas.

The new EPA data is "kind of an earthquake" in the debate over drilling, said Michael Shellenberger, the president of the Breakthrough Institute, an environmental group based in Oakland, Calif. "This is great news for anybody concerned about the climate and strong proof that existing technologies can be deployed to reduce methane leaks."

The scope of the EPA's revision was vast. In a mid-April report on greenhouse emissions, the agency now says that tighter pollution controls instituted by the industry resulted in an average annual decrease of 41.6 million metric tons of methane emissions from 1990 through 2010, or more than 850 million metric tons overall. That's about a 20 percent reduction from previous estimates. The agency converts the methane emissions into their equivalent in carbon dioxide, following standard scientific practice.

The EPA revisions came even though natural gas production has grown by nearly 40 percent since 1990. The industry has boomed in recent years, thanks to a stunning expansion of drilling in previously untapped areas because of the use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which injects sand, water and chemicals to break apart rock and free the gas inside.

Experts on both sides of the debate say the leaks can be controlled by fixes such as better gaskets, maintenance and monitoring. Such fixes are also thought to be cost-effective, since the industry ends up with more product to sell.

"That is money going up into the air," said Roger Pielke Jr., a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado, adding he isn't surprised the EPA's new data show more widespread use of pollution control equipment. Pielke noted that the success of the pollution controls also means that the industry "probably can go further" in reducing leaks.

Representatives of the oil and gas industry said the EPA revisions show emissions from the fracking boom can be managed.

"The methane 'leak' claim just got a lot more difficult for opponents" of natural gas, noted Steve Everley, with Energy In Depth, an industry-funded group.

In a separate blog post, Everley predicted future reductions, too.

"As technologies continue to improve, it's hard to imagine those methane numbers going anywhere but down as we eagerly await the next installment of this EPA report," Everley wrote.

One leading environmentalist argued the EPA revisions don't change the bigger picture.

"We need a dramatic shift off carbon-based fuel: coal, oil and also gas," Bill McKibbern, the founder of 350.org, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. "Natural gas provides at best a kind of fad diet, where a dangerously overweight patient loses a few pounds and then their weight stabilizes; instead, we need at this point a crash diet, difficult to do" but needed to limit the damage from climate change.

The EPA said it made the changes based on expert reviews and new data from several sources, including a report funded by the oil and gas industry. But the estimates aren't based on independent field tests of actual emissions, and some scientists said that's a problem.

Robert Howarth, a Cornell University professor of ecology who led a 2011 methane leak study that is widely cited by critics of fracking, wrote in an email that "time will tell where the truth lies in all this, but I think EPA is wrong."

Howarth said other federal climate scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have published recent studies documenting massive methane leaks from natural gas operations in Colorado and other Western states.

Howarth wrote that the EPA seems "to be ignoring the published NOAA data in their latest efforts, and the bias on industry only pushing estimates downward ? never up ? is quite real. EPA badly needs a counter-acting force, such as outside independent review of their process."

The issue of methane leaks has caused a major split between environmental groups.

Since power plants that burn natural gas emit about half the amount of the greenhouse gases as coal-fired power, some say that the gas drilling boom has helped the U.S. become the only major industrialized country to significantly reduce greenhouse emissions. But others believe the methane leaks negate any benefits over coal, since methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas.

The new EPA figures still show natural gas operations as the leading source of methane emissions in the U.S., at about 145 million metric tons in 2011. The next biggest source was enteric fermentation, scientific jargon for belches from cows and other animals, at 137 million metric tons. Landfills were the third-biggest source, at 103 million metric tons.

But the EPA estimates that all the sources of methane combined still account for only 9 percent of greenhouse gases, even taking into account methane's more potent heat-trapping.

The EPA said it is still seeking more data and feedback on the issue of methane leaks, so the report may change again in the future.

The EPA revisions have international implications, too. The agency says the new report, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, was submitted to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change by an April 15 deadline.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/epa-methane-report-further-divides-161201451.html

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Monday in politics: Obama expected to nominate Charlotte mayor to run Transportation, and more

President Barack Obama will nominate Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx to run the Transportation Department, the Associated Press reports.

Foxx will be the first black nominee among Obama's picks for second-term Cabinet spots.

Also worth noting on Monday:

? Obama will speak at the National Academy of Sciences annual meeting.
? Republican former Gov. Mark Sanford and Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, sister of political satirist Stephen Colbert, face off in a debate leading up to a May 7 special election to fill South Carolina?s 1st Congressional District seat.
? U.S. Senate chaplain Barry Black speaks at the Heritage Foundation on ?Bridging the Religious and Secular Divide.?

And then there is this: Newt Gingrich will begin a three-day ?Thank You South Carolina Tour.? It is the first time Gingrich has returned to the Palmetto State since winning the Republican presidential primary last year.

Sources: Yahoo! News Politics, ABC News, Reuters and Associated Press.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/monday-politics-obama-expected-nominate-charlotte-mayor-run-095107327.html

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FILM CAMP for kids make movies! - Annapolis, MD Patch

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

4/26/13

FILMSTERS Academy, a summer film program for kids is set to begin it?s 12^th year this summer. Celebrating digital literacy and creativity through the art of filmmaking, this film camp allows kids 11-20 years of age to pitch, write, produce, shoot, edit, and act in their own short films. This year, everyone will gather once again for film camp on the campus of Key School in Annapolis, MD. from July 27^th through August 9^th. There are three levels of instruction Beginners (11-15), Intermediates (13-16) and Advanced (16-20) to explore. Limited enrollment.

Led by award-winning filmmakers Patti O. White and K. Lee Anderson (www.filmsters.com), along with several young professional staff and industry guest instructors, ?Film camp provides a collaborative, creative environment where kids can learn through hands-on experience the art of filmmaking,? says Co-founder K. Lee Anderson. ?The program has an 85% return rate,? stated White and Anderson, Co-Creative Directors of the Annapolis Film Festival.

Graduates of FILMSTERS Academy have gotten into top film schools such us; NYU Tisch, Emerson College, University of Texas at Austin, Savannah College of Art and Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Northwestern, Boston College, Ithaca, and Chapman University. ?Many of our FILMSTERS Academy alumnae are now actively working in the business in NY and LA,? says White.?

If you have a creative child who would like to explore the world of music, acting, screenwriting, cinematography, production design, film editing, producing and directing FILMSTERS Academy will be a wonderful experience to try out many aspects of visual storytelling.

Registration is available on our website along with over 80+ short films made by young people.?

For more information visit www.filmstersacademy.com email us at Filmsters@filmsters.com or call 410-263-3023.

Source: http://annapolis.patch.com/announcements/film-camp-for-kids-make-movies

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Key figures on Superstorm Sandy, 6 months later

Flags decorate a fence Thursday, April 25, 2013, in Brick, N.J., around the burned remains of more than 60 small bungalows at Camp Osborn which were destroyed last October during Superstorm Sandy. Six months after Sandy devastated the Jersey shore and New York City and pounded coastal areas of New England, the region is dealing with a slow and frustrating, yet often hopeful, recovery. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Flags decorate a fence Thursday, April 25, 2013, in Brick, N.J., around the burned remains of more than 60 small bungalows at Camp Osborn which were destroyed last October during Superstorm Sandy. Six months after Sandy devastated the Jersey shore and New York City and pounded coastal areas of New England, the region is dealing with a slow and frustrating, yet often hopeful, recovery. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

The Jet Star roller coaster rests in the ocean Thursday, April 25, 2013, in Seaside Heights, N.J., near the rebuilding of the boardwalk. Six months after Superstorm Sandy, the roller coaster that plunged off a pier in Seaside Heights is still in the ocean, although demolition plans are finally moving forward. The region is dealing with a slow and frustrating, yet often hopeful, recovery. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Yuri Pismennyi unloads 36 poles to be used as pilings to rebuild the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, N.J., Thursday, April 25, 2013. Six months after Superstorm Sandy devastated the Jersey shore and New York City and pounded coastal areas of New England, the region is dealing with a slow and frustrating, yet often hopeful, recovery. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2012 file photo, Ray Marten poses with the street number sign he recovered from the ashes of his fire-destroyed home in the Belle Harbor section of the Queens borough of New York. Six months after Superstorm Sandy passed through, Marten says, ?If you go up my block now, all the houses have been demolished and removed, they're pretty much just holes in the ground. Sand pits.? (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2012 file photo, Marge Gatti stands in front of her home, which was damaged by Superstorm Sandy, in the Midland Beach section of the Staten Island borough of New York. Six months after the storm, Gatti, the matriarch of her family, said ?The whole family's separated, and it's terrible, you know?? The flood-soaked place was demolished months ago, and they're waiting for a government buyout. Now the family is scattered across New Jersey, New York and Texas. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Superstorm Sandy, a hybrid of a hurricane and two cold-weather systems, struck six months ago on Oct. 29, concentrating most of its fury on New Jersey, New York and Connecticut and becoming one of the most expensive storms in history. Six months later, the region is still recovering and the scope of the storm has come into sharper focus. Figures are as of Friday.

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DEATHS

The National Hurricane Center attributes 72 deaths in the United States directly to Sandy and 87 more indirectly, from causes such as hypothermia due to power outages, carbon monoxide poisoning and accidents during cleanup efforts, for a total of 159.

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DAMAGE

The Hurricane Center estimated Sandy's damage at $50 billion, second only to the $108 billion caused by Hurricane Katrina in Gulf Coast states in 2005. Congress approved more than $60 billion in storm aid for Sandy victims and their communities.

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HOUSING AID: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has paid out $959 million for housing assistance and $848 million to communities and nonprofit groups in New York state, and $387.4 million in housing grants and $263 million to communities and nonprofit groups in New Jersey.

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DISASTER LOANS: The Small Business Administration has made $1.4 billion in disaster loans for homeowners, renters and businesses in New York, and $731 million in New Jersey.

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FLOOD INSURANCE: The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.4 billion in claims in New York and another $3.3 billion in New Jersey.

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UTILITIES: Jersey Central Power & Light says 1.3 million customers lost power in New Jersey. It cut 65,000 trees to help restore power, fixed 34,000 downed wires and put up 6,700 new utility poles. In New York, Consolidated Edison has strung 60 miles of new electrical cable after the storm and eventually restored power to more than 1 million customers.

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Sources: National Hurricane Center, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Jersey Central Power & Light, Con Ed

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-04-29-Superstorm-Glance/id-7b5a184c0c174d3faf5f2c070223afda

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Rolling Stones rock small LA club ahead of tour

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? For one night only, the Rolling Stones were an up-and-coming band again.

The legendary group rocked a small club in Los Angeles on Saturday night for a miniscule crowd compared to the thousands set to see them launch their "50 and Counting" anniversary tour a week later on May 3 at the Staples Center.

The band kicked off Saturday's hush-hush 90-minute concert at the Echoplex in the hip Echo Park neighborhood with "You Got Me Rocking" before catapulting into a mix of new and old material, as well as their blusey covers of classics from Otis Redding ("That's How Strong My Love Is"), Chuck Berry ("Little Queenie") and The Temptations ("Just My Imagination").

"Welcome to Echo Park, a neighborhood that's always coming up ? and I'm glad you're here to welcome an up-and-coming band," lead singer Mick Jagger joked after the second song of the evening, "Respectable."

Despite clocking in several decades as band, Jagger, drummer Charlie Watts and guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood showed no signs of slowing down Saturday.

Jagger, who promptly ditched a black-and-white track jacket emblazoned with the band's logo after the first few songs, worked the crowd into a sing-a-long frenzy with "Miss You," complete with a harmonica solo from the strutting frontman.

Tickets to the Echoplex concert were sold earlier in the day for $20 each ? a fraction of what tickets to the tour cost.

Hundreds of fans lined up outside the El Rey Theatre across town earlier Saturday for a chance to attend the spontaneous show. Buyers were limited to one ticket, and they were required to pay with cash, show a government-issued ID, wear a wristband with their name on it and be photographed. Their names were verified at the venue, which has a capacity of about 700.

Cameras and smartphones weren't allowed inside the Echoplex, which usually plays host to hipster bands and mash-up dance parties. The lack of personal recording devices made the Stones' performance feel even more exclusive and old school, freeing concertgoers' hands of the gizmos that have become commonplace at concerts nowadays, and further bonding the crowd, many of whom built up camaraderie during the confusing ticket lottery earlier in the day.

Toward the end of Saturday's show, the band was joined by former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor for their version of Robert Johnson's "Love in Vain," as well as "Midnight Rambler."

The band, which was backed by Darryll Jones on bass, Chuck Leavell on keys, Bobby Keys on sax and Bernard Fowler and Lisa Fischer as back-up singers, encored with the hits "Brown Sugar" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash."

"(This is) the first show of the tour, probably the best one," Jagger said at the end of the 90-minute set.

Bruce Willis, Gwen Stefani and Skrillex were among the famous faces in the sold-out crowd.

Rumors of the surprise show spread across social networks last week after the band teased the appearance on their Twitter accounts. The dance-pop band New Build, which was originally scheduled to play the Echoplex on Saturday, was first to leak details about the performance.

"Our gig got shifted b/c the Rolling Stones are playing Echoplex," the band posted Friday on Twitter. They joked that they were looking forward to "having it out" with the Stones.

The Rolling Stones performed a few dates together in London, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Newark, N.J., last winter, but didn't announce a tour until earlier this month. They will play 17 dates in the United States but said they may add more down the line. The lowest price for tickets to the show at the Staples Center, which has a capacity of about 20,000, is $250.

___

Online:

http://www.rollingstones.com

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rolling-stones-rock-small-la-club-ahead-tour-125211752.html

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US-INDUSTRY Summary

Iraq watchdog suspends 10 TV channels for inciting violence

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has suspended the licenses of satellite news network Al Jazeera and nine other channels, accusing them of inciting violence through their coverage of recent sectarian clashes. The Communication and Media Commission (CMC) regulator criticized their reporting of violence triggered by a security forces raid on a Sunni Muslim protest camp in Hawija on Tuesday.

Time Warner Cable shifts away from "triple play"

(Reuters) - Time Warner Cable Inc, the second-largest U.S. cable provider, will no longer aggressively push "triple play" packages of Internet, video and voice on its customers, moving away from the long-held industry practice of bundling the services together. Time Warner Cable is the first cable company in the U.S. to acknowledge that customers would prefer to only pay for television and Internet, as demand for landline service has been declining steadily with many people only using cellphones, even at home.

NY Times to roll out new products in search of revenue

(Reuters) - New York Times Co reported a decline in quarterly revenue on weak advertising sales but said it would try to grow out of the slump by expanding its suite of digital products. The 11.2 percent drop in advertising revenue in the first quarter underscores the pressure that the New York Times faces to increase its subscription revenue, especially for its digital products, and find new veins of income.

Hyundai Motor suicide ad draws ire for South Korean company

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co has been forced to apologize for an advertisement that sought to promote the zero carbon emissions of one of its cars by featuring a man failing to commit suicide using a hose attached to the exhaust. The ad debacle is the latest to hit the carmaker, the world's fifth largest by sales when combined with its Kia Motors affiliate, after it exaggerated fuel performance figures in the United States, and announced a large-scale vehicle recall this month.

Watchdogs to focus on new media in Nielsen/Arbitron deal: experts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. antitrust regulators are likely to scrutinize new forms of advertising as they mull the planned purchase by television rating giant Nielsen Holdings NV of Arbitron Inc, which dominates radio ratings, legal experts say. The Federal Trade Commission, in assessing the $1.26 billion merger to ensure it complies with antitrust law, will likely focus on the emerging frontier - cross-platform data designed to tell advertisers in a holistic way what customers watch on television, listen to on the radio, look at online and see on their mobile devices.

Analysis: Truth and consequences - a dilemma for Twitter and its users

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Does Twitter have a credibility problem? For many, a single fake tweet from the Associated Press account that briefly roiled financial markets on Tuesday, driving the Dow Jones industrial average down about 145 points, vividly reaffirmed the fearsome, near-instantaneous power of the 140-character message.

Netflix has good hand with "House of Cards", shares soar 24 percent

(Reuters) - Netflix Inc impressed investors with solid subscriber growth and better-than-expected profits in the first quarter, sending shares of the video subscription service soaring 24 percent higher in after-hours trade. A big push into original shows, a strategy aimed at hooking new customers with content they can't get anywhere else, seems to be working, with its February release of the series "House of Cards", a drama starring Kevin Spacey, generating plenty of buzz.

Nexstar, Mission Broadcasting to buy 19 TV stations for $270 million

(Reuters) - Nexstar Broadcasting Group and Mission Broadcasting Inc said they would buy privately held Communications Corporation of America and White Knight Broadcasting for $270 million. The deal involves 19 television stations in Louisiana and Texas, out of which Nexstar will acquire 11 stations that belong to Communications Corporation of America while Mission Broadcasting will acquire the rest.

USA Today founder Al Neuharth dies at 89

(Reuters) - Al Neuharth, who founded USA Today more than 30 years ago and saw the newspaper become one of the largest in the United States, died on Friday at age 89, the newspaper reported. Neuharth died after sustaining injuries in a fall at his home in Cocoa Beach, Florida, USA Today said.

Publicis to consider cash return by year end

LONDON (Reuters) - Advertising group Publicis could return cash to shareholders this year via a share buyback or special dividend by sticking to a plan of only making small acquisitions, its chief executive said. Speaking to Reuters during an investor event eight days after a trading update rattled the market, Maurice Levy said he was confident shareholders would keep faith in the French group's ability to improve as the year goes on.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-industry-summary-132452147.html

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Plants moderate climate warming

Apr. 28, 2013 ? As temperatures warm, plants release gases that help form clouds and cool the atmosphere, according to research from IIASA and the University of Helsinki.

The new study, published in Nature Geoscience, identified a negative feedback loop in which higher temperatures lead to an increase in concentrations of natural aerosols that have a cooling effect on the atmosphere.

"Plants, by reacting to changes in temperature, also moderate these changes," says IIASA and University of Helsinki researcher Pauli Paasonen, who led the study.

Scientists had known that some aerosols -- particles that float in the atmosphere -- cool the climate as they reflect sunlight and form cloud droplets, which reflect sunlight efficiently. Aerosol particles come from many sources, including human emissions. But the effect of so-called biogenic aerosol -- particulate matter that originates from plants -- had been less well understood. Plants release gases that, after atmospheric oxidation, tend to stick to aerosol particles, growing them into the larger-sized particles that reflect sunlight and also serve as the basis for cloud droplets. The new study showed that as temperatures warm and plants consequently release more of these gases, the concentrations of particles active in cloud formation increase.

"Everyone knows the scent of the forest," says Ari Asmi, University of Helsinki researcher who also worked on the study. "That scent is made up of these gases." While previous research had predicted the feedback effect, until now nobody had been able to prove its existence except for case studies limited to single sites and short time periods. The new study showed that the effect occurs over the long-term in continental size scales.

The effect of enhanced plant gas emissions on climate is small on a global scale -- only countering approximately 1 percent of climate warming, the study suggested. "This does not save us from climate warming," says Paasonen. However, he says, "Aerosol effects on climate are one of the main uncertainties in climate models. Understanding this mechanism could help us reduce those uncertainties and make the models better."

The study also showed that the effect was much larger on a regional scale, counteracting possibly up to 30% of warming in more rural, forested areas where anthropogenic emissions of aerosols were much lower in comparison to the natural aerosols. That means that especially in places like Finland, Siberia, and Canada this feedback loop may reduce warming substantially.

The researchers collected data at 11 different sites around the world, measuring the concentrations of aerosol particles in the atmosphere, along with the concentrations of plant gases, the temperature, and reanalysis estimates for the height of the boundary layer, which turned out to be a key variable. The boundary layer refers to the layer of air closest to the Earth, in which gases and particles mix effectively. The height of that layer changes with weather. Paasonen says, "One of the reasons that this phenomenon was not discovered earlier was because these estimates for boundary layer height are very difficult to do. Only recently have the reanalysis estimates been improved to where they can be taken as representative of reality."

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Pauli Paasonen, Ari Asmi, Tuukka Pet?j?, Maija K. Kajos, Mikko ?ij?l?, Heikki Junninen, Thomas Holst, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Almut Arneth, Wolfram Birmili, Hugo Denier van der Gon, Amar Hamed, Andr?s Hoffer, Lauri Laakso, Ari Laaksonen, W. Richard Leaitch, Christian Plass-D?lmer, Sara C. Pryor, Petri R?is?nen, Erik Swietlicki, Alfred Wiedensohler, Douglas R. Worsnop, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Markku Kulmala. Warming-induced increase in aerosol number concentration likely to moderate climate change. Nature Geoscience, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/NGEO1800

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/dddfaVbmvBk/130428144921.htm

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Nintendo's refurb shop is now selling refurbished DSi XL and 3DSs for $100 up.

Nintendo's refurb shop is now selling refurbished DSi XL and 3DSs for $100 up. Leaves some change for games!

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/A8swh_BxHVw/

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neilmarshalles: kikay trekkie: PRODUCT REVIEW: THE FACE SHOP ...

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PRODUCT REVIEW: THE FACE SHOP - NATURAL SUN SMART CUSHION SPF 50 PA+++

DISCLAIMER: This product was sent to me by The Face Shop Philippines?as a gift. ?This is now available in?The Face Shop Philippines?branches in major malls all over metro manila and retails for PhP1195. (you can question me on this as far as i can recall this product is NOT MORE THAN php1300, so di sya mamahal sa 1300 pero lampas ng 1100, better yet, tanong nyo mismo sa the face shop ^_^ )
The product description is below:
A liquid type of sunscreen that enables easy application with a cushion sponge.
Just like my beloved, this, too, comes in a compact type of container
has a mirror and a rubber sponge applicator
the mirror is covered with a plastic sheet
and these things, i love the application of these rubber sponges.
there is no grain so application is smooth and without streaks
the product has a lid and below it a safety seal
as shown here below once i've peeled off the seal
this is a little less sticky than my beloved. ?this has more of a foundation feel
but it blends out well and gives my skin a nice healthy looking sheen
the directions are below.
and below are the ingredients
product description from the box
a picture of me with no flash used. ?the smart bb on the right side of my face while no product on the left side of my face.
with the flash on, the smart bb on the right side of my face while no product on the left side of my face.
and with the powder to set and some blush. ?the thing i like about most bb products is that they really make me look healthy. ?they brighten up my skin yet unlike full on foundations, you can still see my skin underneath. ?so most bb creams are like tinted veils. ?
LIKES:

DISLIKES:

• none that i can think off except maybe the price, my my beloved costs php1950 for the compact and a refill while this is php1195 without refill.?

RECOMMENDATIONS: Apart from samples, which you know from my beloved, that it is possible for Korea to release samples for these, in the tiny little tubs and cute little 1 inch diameter sponges with 4 grams of product, this product from the face shop is a good investment for you to try if you think that shelling out 2k on my beloved is too high and for two that you may end up not liking. ?[MEANING - kahit wala pang ni-rerelease na samples ang face shop korea / ph for this smart cushion, kahit alam nating posibleng magka samples ng mga ganintong item, I RECOMMEND for you gals to try this anyway isa lang naman di gaya ng kabila 2 agad eh baka naman di nyo magustuhan, at least itong sa the face shop isa lang.]

?

Source: http://kikaytrekkie.blogspot.com/2013/04/product-review-face-shop-natural-sun.html

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Source: http://neilmarshalles.blogspot.com/2013/04/kikay-trekkie-product-review-face-shop.html

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F. Scott Fitzgerald's handwritten ledger online

In this Tuesday, March 26, 2013 photo, Elizabeth Sudduth, director of the Ernest F. Hollings Library and Rare Books Collection at the University of South Carolina, points at items in a ledger owned by author F. Scott Fitzgerald, in Columbia, S.C. The university has digitized the ledger and put it online for scholars. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

In this Tuesday, March 26, 2013 photo, Elizabeth Sudduth, director of the Ernest F. Hollings Library and Rare Books Collection at the University of South Carolina, points at items in a ledger owned by author F. Scott Fitzgerald, in Columbia, S.C. The university has digitized the ledger and put it online for scholars. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

In this Tuesday, March 26, 2013 photo, Elizabeth Sudduth, director of the Ernest F. Hollings Library and Rare Books Collection at the University of South Carolina, talks about a ledger owned by author F. Scott Fitzgerald, in Columbia, S.C. The university has digitized the ledger and put it online for scholars. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? An intriguing peek into the daily scribbles and life of author F. Scott Fitzgerald is now available online, just weeks before the opening of the movie "The Great Gatsby."

Researchers from the University of South Carolina's Thomas Cooper Library put a digital version of the famed author's handwritten financial ledger on their website last week, making it available for the first time for all readers, students and scholars.

"This is a record of everything Fitzgerald wrote, and what he did with it, in his own hand," said Elizabeth Sudduth, director of the Ernest F. Hollings Library and Rare Books Collection.

During a recent visit to the library's below-ground rare-book vault, Sudduth took the original 200-page book out of its clamshell protective cover. The ledger's yellowed pages ? with Fitzgerald's elegant, measured cursive strokes ? are a throwback to life before computer spreadsheets. The ledger shows Fitzgerald's tally of earnings from his works, the most famous of which is the novel "The Great Gatsby." The ledger lists his many short stories, books, and adaptations for stage and screen.

With the May 10 release of a new "Gatsby" movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sudduth says library officials expect an upswing in interest in its Fitzgerald collection. The ledger will be on display at the library for about a month starting May 6, Sudduth said.

The library's Fitzgerald collection is considered the world's most comprehensive, with more than 3,000 publications, manuscripts, letters, book editions, screenplays and memorabilia. It also includes Fitzgerald's walking stick, briefcase and an engraved silver flask his wife gave him in 1918.

Some parts of the collection already are online. With the ledger's move to the website and the timing of the movie, Sudduth said, officials hope to call more attention to the collection.

In the ledger, Fitzgerald lists in carefully laid out columns his various pieces of writing, the location they were printed, and the income they produced. Fitzgerald's comments are sprinkled throughout. One describes the year 1919 ? when his first novel was accepted for publication and Zelda Sayre agreed to marry him, as ? "The most important year of life. Every emotion and my life work decided. Miserable and ecstatic but a great success."

By the time Fitzgerald started the ledger, Sudduth said, "he probably knew what he was doing. He left a space for his remarks, and then the final disposition."

With a laugh, she noted: "We know he didn't spell very well. And his arithmetic wasn't much better,"

But the overall document, she said, "shows that he was far more on top of his affairs than people thought," given a reputation in later life as a heavy drinker.

"He was keeping a record of his work for the future," Suddeth said. "He kept it, he updated it."

For the past 30 years, researchers have had to rely on a limited print facsimile of the ledger, which didn't catch the varied inks and scripts in Fitzgerald's hand.

Park Bucker, a USC associate English professor, said he's excited to discuss the new ledger with his students.

"It may be a unique artifact among American authors," Bucker said. "This is going to be an amazing thing for students to pore over and dip into. He created his own database. We do it on computers now, but he did it for himself,"

Bucker also said students are fascinated by seeing something a well-known author penned in his own hand.

"Students always remark how much they love his handwriting," he said. "They think his handwriting is just beautiful, and handwriting isn't valued today."

Bucker pointed out that the ledger shows Fitzgerald made most of his income from short stories and that he was able to earn a living from his literary work. "It was the rarest of things, an author who made a living," Bucker said.

In 1925, the ledger shows Fitzgerald earned less than $2,000 for the "Gatsby" book ? the same amount he received for a single short story published in The Saturday Evening Post.

In later years, Fitzgerald added more earnings from "The Great Gatsby." He sold the foreign motion picture rights for $16,666, as noted in the ledger. In another section, he lists about $5,000 in earnings from "Gatsby" when it ran as a play in New York, Chicago and elsewhere.

USC Professor Matthew Bruccoli began to acquire items for the Fitzgerald collection in the 1950s. He received some, including the ledger, from the author's only child, daughter Frances Scott Fitzgerald, also known as Scottie. Bruccoli wanted the collection to be used as a teaching and research tool, and he gave it to the university in 1994.

Bruccoli has since died, but the collection has continued to grow. It is now is valued at more than $4 million, Sudduth said.

____

The ledger online:

http://library.sc.edu/digital/collections/fitzledger.html

___

Susanne M. Schafer can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/susannemarieap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-04-28-Fitzgerald%20Ledger/id-e818d33efeb24923bd4fbfe5da7cbb5c

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