Texas Techs Department of Dance and Theatre will showcase student and faculty dancers this weekend Thursday through Sunday. Guest artist Sara Tourek, an adjunct Assistant Professor of dance at Elon University, will also perform.

DanceTech: Artistry in Motion features original choreography directed by faculty member Genevieve Durham DeCesaro and Ali Duffy. The show will include performances from all types of dance genres from jazz, classical and hip hop. Admissions is $18 for non-students and $5 for students with a current student ID.

Friday and Saturdays performance will begin at 8 pm and Sundays performance is at 2 pm in the Maedgen Mainstage Theatre.

Copyright 2012 KCBD NewsChannel 11

Tags : Artistry

Are you interested in speeding up your work? Do you want to make your presentations really professional with the help of PowerPoint? Then read this article in order to know all the aspects of using presentation templates.

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If the Wildcats make one or two more passes than is required to create a good shot, they’ll be darned near impossible to defend. Calipari says his players eventually will come to understand this.

“When they really want to win, and that’s all that matters, they’ll do it,” Calipari told Sporting News. “Right now, they’re still trying to establish who they are, who we are.

“It’s all stuff you work through. But at the end of the day, if this group really wants to win, they’re going to talk more on defense, they’re going to be more physical and they’re going to make an extra pass.”

After Saturdays win at LSU, the Wildcats are generating assists on 48.2 percent of their baskets. Compare that to Syracuse, which gets assists on 57.6 percent of scores, or Missouri, which has assists on 57.2 percent of its field goals.

Calipari said the search for an understanding of how the Wildcats fit together leads point guard Marquis Teague (4.4 assists per game) and shooting guard Doron Lamb (1.9) to hold the basketball a beat too long, or forward Terrence Jones to attempt a tough shot because he’s trying to get his game in gear.

“We’re making the shots we need to make,” Calipari said. “I’m still trying to figure out the team. I haven’t figured out them totally, either.”

Calipari said he expects teams to play slower-paced games and employ a lot of zone defense to frustrate the Wildcats.

He is more interested in winning games than putting on an offensive show; he will not be averse to playing patient style late in games if the Wildcats are protecting a lead.

“Hold the ball, play a zone, be really physical and they’re going to hope they make shots and we don’t, Calipari said. That’s how you try to beat us.

“We have to pressure them out of holding. We have to, late clock, really lock down, and then when it’s time for you to grind it when they’re down 10 or 12, you grind them into the dust and make them guard.”

Tags : Sporting

Switching the Texans to a 3-4 alignment, Phillips helped turn them into a physical, versatile unit that showed opposing offenses more looks than Lady Gaga. Phillips’ extensive experience in the NFL brought a calming influence to a young defense, and the Texans won the AFC South and made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

“He’s got everything under control all the time, and when the game gets crazy and it’s a big play in the game, somebody’s got to make a call–that’s what players are looking for,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak says. “They’re looking for somebody that has confidence, that’s going to put them in the right position to be successful, and Wade’s done that for many, many years.”

Houston finished second in the league in total defense, trailing only the Steelers. In 2010, they finished 30th. General manager Rick Smith upgraded the defensive talent, plucking cornerback Johnathan Joseph and safety Danieal Manning in free agency, and drafting outside linebacker Brooks Reed and defensive end JJ Watt. However, Phillips was the cook who blended the ingredients.

The Texans were happy when Phillips declined to be interviewed for the Buccaneers’ head coaching position. Thanks largely to his presence, defense is no longer a problem for Houston.

Previous winner

Sporting News voters selected the Falcons Mike Mularkey as the 2010 Coordinator of the Year. Mularkey was recently named head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

About the awards

Sporting News polled 632 NFL players, coaches and executives for our awards. Everyone voted for offensive and defensive player of the year, rookie of the year and comeback player of the year. Only the 32 coaches and executives from that group voted for coach of the year, coordinator of the year and executive of the year. Thirty coaches and executives voted on the All-Pro team.

The schedule

Monday: Rookie of the Year: Cam Newton, Panthers

Tuesday: Comeback Player of the Year: Plaxico Burress, Jets

Wednesday: Defensive Player of the Year: Jared Allen, Vikings

Thursday: Offensive Player of the Year: Aaron Rodgers, Packers

Friday: Coach of the Year: Jim Harbaugh, 49ers; Coordinator of the Year: Wade Phillips, Texans

Jan. 30: Executive of the Year; All-Pro team

Tags : Sporting

Two Toronto teens who launched a Lego man into space were rewarded with some awe-inspiring video, but experts say anyone trying to replicate the feat should be aware of air safety.

The Grade 12 students say they used a helium-filled weather balloon and a makeshift Styrofoam box to send the tiny plastic figure about 24 kilometres into the air.

More related to this story

• Minecraft gets physical via new Lego sets
• Mega Brands drops Lego suit
• Feeling the Lego love on Coxwell Avenue

Tags : Voyage

  Thierry Mugler’s menswear collection included this colourful cloak.Photograph by: FRANCOIS GUILLOT AFP, GETTY IMAGES, AFP

Paris once more turns fashion capital of the world for a week starting Wednesday, playing host to menswear shows before haute couture’s heady mix of craft and luxury casts its spell over the city.

Models, buyers and fashion writers are to converge on Paris for a week of trend-spotting – and hobnobbing – as Italy’s Versace fêtes its return to the couture club, in a glamorous buzz at odds with the ambient economic gloom.

But first, on the heels of the past week’s Milan shows, 51 designers will send out their menswear looks for autumn/winter, with newcomers including the first clothing line by the LVMH-owned luxury boot maker Berluti.

The fashion pack is keenly awaiting the first men’s line by Kenzo’s young new designers Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, the New York duo who took over at the LVMH brand last summer.

Also from New York the Cambodian-American designer Phillip Lim – whose “3.1″ brand is pitched as elegant streetwear – makes his debut in Paris, as will the laid-back Japanese label Kolor.

And the Londoner Kim Jones will be showing his second collection for Louis Vuitton, after a well-received debut last June.

On Monday, men’s fashion makes way for haute couture, with two dozen houses sending out one-off creations- whose dizzying artistry is matched only by their astronomical price tags – over three days of exclusive shows.

After an eight-year hiatus, the Italian brand Versace and its line “Versace Atelier” make a much awaited return to the couture calendar on Monday.

Also from Italy, the 45-year-old Giambattista Valli who showed a first couture collection as a guest label last season, graduates to the status of full member of the family.

Monday evening also promises a visual treat with the show by the young Dutch creator Iris Van Herpen, who stunned Paris last season with bold, otherworldly creations fusing computer-drawn futurism with painstaking workshop craft.

But day one of the couture shows will otherwise be dominated by Dior, which remains in the spotlight since John Galliano’s chaotic departure last March in the wake of a drunken, racist outburst.

All eyes will be watching to see if the house, steered for the past 10 months by Galliano’s right-hand man Bill Gaytten, chooses this week to name a successor, with the Belgian Raf Simons currently tipped for the job.

Tuesday comes the turn of two great French houses – Chanel and Givenchy – sharing the spotlight with small Frenchw designers Alexandre Vauthier (a favourite of R’n'B star Rihanna) or Julien Fournie.

Jean Paul Gaultier grabs the limelight on Wednesday, alongside the French-Chinese designer Yiqing Yin, known for her sophisticated drapes, who was invited to show a guest collection this season.

Haute couture is a protected appellation in France, awarded based on strict criteria like the amount of work carried out by hand and in-house, and the share of pieces made-to-measure.

Chanel, Dior, Gaultier and Givenchy are the only major French houses that show couture, joined by a number of smaller French houses, as well as Italians Valentino and Armani, and now Valli and Versace, and the Lebanese designer Elie Saab.

Haute couture caters to a core client base of no more than 100 women worldwide. They are joined each year by another 100 who will treat themselves – or be treated – to a once-in-a-lifetime dress, for a ball or a wedding.

A unique creation from a young designer is never less than 15,000 euros (20,000 dollars); double that figure for something from a big-name house. Wedding dresses can go for 100,000 euros or more.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette   

Tags : Artistry

Torontos main market rose Monday afternoon as commodities gained, but BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (TSE:RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM) still saw shares drop despite a major management shake up.

RIMs co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie bowed to investor pressure over the weekend and resigned their top executive posts. The smartphone maker will now be led by current COO Thorsten Heins, a former Siemens AG executive who has risen steadily through RIMs upper management ranks since joining the company in late 2007, ending a two-decade long partnership of Lazaridis and Balsillie at the head of the company.

Still, the move did not seem to impress investors after Heins failed to make any major announcements on the companys future direction during a conference call this morning, with shares of the Waterloo-based company declining around seven percent.

The move can also be seen as too little, too late as RIMs share price has plummeted to eight-year lows in the wake of a loss of market share, flawed product launches, missed forecasts, service outages and security difficulties in emerging markets.

Numerous industry surveys put Apples (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone at the front of the pack in the smartphone market, closely followed by Googles (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system.

Speculation was rife that RIM was up for sale, but investors pointed to the presence of Lazaridis and Balsillie at the helm as a stumbling block to any potential sale.

Despite higher commodities, RIMs share performance weighed on Canadas main market, with the Samp;P/TSX Composite Index rising 82.11 points, or 0.66%, to 12,479.21 as of just after 12:00pm ET. The more junior Samp;P/TSX Venture Composite gained 14.20 points, or 0.90%, to 1,585.54.

Commodities were in the green, with gold futures up 0.89% to $1,678.80 an ounce, and silver for March rising over 2.5% to $32.48 an ounce.

Base metal copper gained more than 1.4% to $3.80 a pound, while crude oil futures rallied 59 cents to $98.92 a barrel, after the EU adopted an oil embargo Monday against Iran, as well as a freeze of Irans central bank assets – part of sanctions designed to pressure the country to resume talks on its nuclear program.

Two Iranian lawmakers have reportedly repeated threats to close the Strait of Hormuz following the European Unions embargo.

Meanwhile, in Europe, Greece restructuring debt talks seemed to stall, as private creditors are being asked to take longer maturities and lower interest rates on new loans swapped for exisiting ones.

Greece is looking for rates as low as three percent on the new bonds, with private creditors seeking at least 4.5 percent. Still, reports say a deal is close regardless, with this agreement being a key condition for the country to secure additional funds necessary for a March bond payment.

In Toronto, energy and financials were the biggest gainers, with info-tech seeing the largest decline on account of RIM, falling more than 2%.

On the energy front, Suncor Energy (TSE:SU) was ahead 0.44%, while Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) gained around 2%. Encana Corp (TSE:ECA) rose 5.3%.

Among materials, Kinross Gold (TSE:K) and Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX) moved higher by 2.6% and 1.3%, respectively. Copper heavyweight Teck Resources (TSE:TCK.B) advanced 0.72%, and Lundin Mining (TSE:LUN) shares increased 1.6%.

Financials were up over 1% as Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSE:CM) all gained around 1%.

In corporate news, Canada saw some mergers and acquisitions activity in the mining sector, with two notable deals being signed.

Pan American Silver (TSE:PAA)(NASDAQ:PAAS) made a move Monday to increase production in Mexico as it bought Minefinders (TSE:MLF)(AMEX:MFN) for $1.5 billion. Mondays deal will create one of the largest diversified silver mining companies with a combined market capitalization of approximately $4 billion.

The new entity will consist of eight operating mines and an extensive portfolio of development and exploration projects in jurisdictions throughout the Americas, where Pan American currently operates. Minefinders shares rallied more than 24% on the day.

New York-based private equity firm Luxor Capital Group said Monday it has raised its offer to acquire a majority stake in Crocodile Gold Corp (TSE:CRK) from 56 cents a share to 62 cents per share, with Crocodiles board accepting the revised bid. The new offer represents a premium of roughly 82 percent to the closing price of Crocodile on the TSX on December 13, 2011, the last trading day prior to Luxors announcement of its intention to make the bid.

Shares of Crocodile, which also said separately Monday that it has achieved the upper target of its 2011 production guidance by producing 68,019 ounces last year, advanced around 7.3%.

Meanwhile, Ottawa-based Wi-LAN (TSE:WIN) has launched a patent suit against RIM in a US district court in Florida, which claims the BlackBerry maker is infringing on two Wi-LAN patents.

Canadian Pacific Railway (TSE:CP) signed a 10-year agreement with Canpotex, a company jointly owned by three of North Americas largest potash producers to export Canadian potash. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ithaca Energy (TSE:IAE)(AIM:IAE) shares jumped over 14% as it confirmed early Monday that it has received a non-binding takover proposal from an undisclosed suitor, which is conditional on due diligence, definitive documentation, board approvals, and other conditions. The companys board is being advised by CIBC World Markets, and said that discussions are at a preliminary stage.

US/Europe

US markets were slightly down Monday afternoon, as investors anxiously awaited news from the Greece debt talks, with no domestic economic reports on tap today. The Dow was lately down 0.3%.

Oil and gas companies were gaining, after Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) announced Monday it would cut natural gas production to push up prices, sending its shares up around 4.6%.

Meanwhile, Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) reported fourth quarter earnings rose 50 percent to beat analysts estimates as North American sales drove growth.

For the three months that ended December 31, the provider of oilfield services posted earnings of $906 million, or $0.98 per share, up 50 percent compared to $605 million, or $0.66 per share, a year ago.

Adjusted for certain one-time items, including environmental-related charges, earnings rose to $921 million, or $1.00 per share. Total revenues rose to $7.06 billion, up 37 percent from $5.16 billion in the same period last year.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, analysts were expecting 99-cents per share for the quarter, on $6.8 billion in revenues.

Aside from Greeces debt talks, Eurozone finance ministers were also meeting today, with debt issues still dominating the agenda.

European markets finished higher today with shares in London leading the region. The FTSE 100 was up 0.94%, while Frances CAC 40 rose 0.51% and Germanys DAX ended up 0.50%.

Tags : Commodity

Wheat is down 30%, corn up 10%, gold up 21%, and natural gas down 32% – the progress of commodities in 2011 presents a patternless set of data.

>Commodities are notoriously heterogeneous, and each ones pricing depends on a host of quite different factors. Often events that impact one commodity positively will prove a negative drag on another.

Making sense of it all is a lot to ask of a private investor.

Overall, commodity prices have pulled back recently on fears that economic growth will be sluggish. But while growth in the developed world looks set to be disappointing, it should be more than offset by economic strength across Asia and in particular China, which is still expected to grow at a rate of 8% next year.

The protracted European sovereign debt crisis has also dented confidence, but many commentators think Europes leaders will avert financial crisis. Having said that, low returns on other investments can help to drive demand for commodities.

For many commodities, the fundamental attractions have not materially weakened from where they were pre-2008. Jim Rogers, the famous commodity bull, points out for example that although sugar has risen steeply, it is still 60% below its all-time high. What else do you know that is 60% below its all-time high? he asks.

There is a good chance broad commodity prices could firm up again in 2012, though we are probably looking beyond the first quarter of next year for sentiment to really improve.

While most investors focus on demand – because it is easier to grip and understand – the other side of the equation is the supply position and the state of inventories. These are also diverse and dependent on myriad geopolitical factors, weather conditions, the industrial climate and even fashion.

For instance, supply of copper has been interrupted by industrial action at mines in Zambia, Peru and Indonesia. Copper is therefore unusual in being in supply deficit, and will be furiously in demand by Chinas massive investment in social housing.

However, not everyone believes that China can save the market – BMO >Capital Markets, for example, argues that industrial metals will struggle to make any serious headway in 2012 despite Asian growth.

At the other extreme, energy is in oversupply. Currently there is enough oil for 93 days of use compared with an historical average of 88 days. Natural gas faces particular excess as huge growth in extracting US shale formations outpaces consumption, and underground gas storage in the US has hit record levels.

The diversity of experience in production of crops is also enormous and at times contradictory. Corn has suffered from poor weather conditions and is in low stock while this years wheat crop has been exceptional, prompting the International Grains Council to hike their production forecasts for the grain. The floods in Thailand have taken out many rice crops and put pressure on all substitute products.

Hog prices have risen by nearly 30% over the course of the year partly as a consequence of buoyant demand from China and South Korea. In contrast, the price of canola (edible rapeseed oil) has been slipping all year as supplies of the oilseeds increase.

Most investor focus on precious metals, and there is no shortage of bets on gold topping the performance charts next year. TD Economics, for example, says that gold is heading towards $2,100. Gold also has the backing of Rogers. Adjusted for inflation, gold should rise to $2,400; it is already at $1,800 and the commodity bull market has at least a year to go, he says.

Gold is a special case, however. Its price is highly volatile and could crash if the global economy recovers as it is very largely supported by investors looking for a safe haven.

There are strong arguments for investing instead in platinum, because, historically, platinum has traded at a premium to gold, but the position has reversed recently. Platinum is $150 cheaper than gold but there is no reason why this should be the case as both are scarce and platinum is also widely used in industrial processes, says Chris Eibl, managing partner at Tiberius Asset Management. It does not make sense to be long gold in this environment. Platinum is the safe bet.

The strongest underperforming precious metal will be silver, he adds, not only because it is in oversupply but because so much of the demand is from investors and there is no other industrial or medical application that could absorb demand to the same scale.

Looking for a guide to gaining exposure to platinum? Read: How to trade platinum and palladium.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.

Tags : Commodity

Twtter is the biggest all in one Twitter application directory. People here can subscribe to whole lots of apps and get benefits- of all the applications free of cost. Twitter is not just a place where you Tweet, it is more than that where people can share and help each other out. So, twtter has been making application that makes user ease their twitter.

Well for a marketer, a twitter multi account manager is a great application indeed. You can access to multiple accounts once you approve for a particular twitter account. You just need one time login and one time approval for an account. You can have lots of benefits such as Easy tweet, multi RSS subscription, mass following and more.