Kevin McKidd of "Grey's Anatomy" fame was happy to return to his roots with Disney-Pixar's new animated film, "Brave," which is set in the Scottish kingdom of DunBroch.

In the movie, the 38-year-old actor and native of Scotland plays two characters - Lord MacGuffin and his son, Young MacGuffin. The lord and two others, Craig Ferguson's character, Lord Macintosh, and Robbie Coltrane's Lord Dingwall, present their boys to compete for the hand of Princess Merida, the film's heroine, played by Kelly MacDonald. Billy Connolly plays her father, King Fergus.

McKidd disguises his Scottish accent when he plays former US Army trauma surgeon Dr. Owen Hunt on "Grey's Anatomy," ABC's it medical drama series.

"In 'Grey's, I have to be American, I have to be quite controlled. Owen Hunt's a tortured guy and he's very serious a character," McKidd told OnTheRedCarpet.com, while talking about "Brave." "It's nice to be kind of wild and zany and Scottish for a while."

In the animated film, the male characters wear traditional kilts. In one scene, Lord Dingwall moons Lord MacGuffin and others by lifting his up in front of them, yelling: "Feast your eyes!"

"They just kind of said, 'Now he's gonna show his [butt] to you,'" McKidd said. "And I was like, 'What?' That was a lot of fun. The shame is none of us got to really hang out together, you know, Craig [Ferguson] and Billy Connolly. We're all doing separate sessions. I would have loved to have been doing all that together."

McKidd says he owns two kilts in real life and that he was taught to dance traditional Scottish dances when he was a child.

"We were taught that in PE, physical education, in Scottish school," he said. "Every boy and girl [is] taught those dances for kind of like a month and a half, at Christmas time, when it's so cold you can't go outside. You're in the gym hall and you get taught all those dances. So it's like riding a bicycle for me."

"It's so much fun, I can't tell you how much fun that dancing is for me," he added. "It's such a social thing. It breaks down so many barriers. I'm very proud of my heritage."

McKidd began his on-screen career in the 1990s. He and Macdonald both starred in the 1996 movie "Trainspotting," which deals with the drug scene in Edinburgh. The film helped launch the Hollywood career of main star and fellow Scotland native Ewan McGregor.

Read more:
Kevin McKidd talks 'Brave,' 'mooning' scene, Scotland & 'Grey's Anatomy' future (Video)

As tight spots go, the stretch of St. Clair West that ducks beneath the Georgetown rail corridor, between Old Weston Road and Keele Street, is as close to a traffic funnel as can be found anywhere in Toronto.

Densely populated neighbourhoods fan out to the east. To the west sit acres of car-friendly big box stores, with more on the way. Since construction this year closed a shortcut around the area, cars, buses and trucks crawl through the underpass, which offers one lane in either direction. Streetcars use a dedicated right-of-way.

You stand here for a little while and youll get a glimpse of what the people deal with everyday, Don Panos, chair of the St. Clair Gardens BIA, said recently as he stood at the corner of Old Weston, watching trucks trying to make tight right turns as cars backed up towards Caledonia. You just see how frustrating it is.

Council is considering how best to break the logjam, recently voting for an environmental assessment. One idea, favoured by the areas representative, Cesar Palacio, is to add two lanes to the underpass, but its a highly complex venture that would take years to complete and would cost more than $30-million.

Traffic engineers say the problem isnt just the width of the underpass; it also involves the constricted layout of busy intersections at either end, which regulate the volume of traffic passing beneath the 80-year-old bridge.

During the construction of the right-of-way, the intersections were not built according to approved designs because the city wanted to cut the cost of the land acquisitions needed to widen parts of the roadway, TTC experts said.

We have intersections that are not designed in accordance to what was agreed to, said TTC service planning manager Mitch Stambler. Decisions were made that were outside the planning and EA process by the construction managers.

Gord MacMillan, the citys director of design and construction, acknowledged that pressure to complete the project made it impossible to buy the additional strips of land for new turn lanes. As well, city project managers encountered technical problems that didnt surface during the planning process, he said.

Its impossible to know if the original design would have eased congestion. Yet the question is not moot. Traffic will swell in coming years with waves of new development. Metrolinxs Air Rail Link, slated to run on the Georgetown corridor starting in 2015, will make it much more complicated to rebuild the underpass once it is operating.

How to open the bottleneck:

The rest is here:
Anatomy of a bottleneck

Friend of Morbid Anatomy Jim Edmonson of Cleveland's Dittrick Medical Museum has just informed us that he will be leading a guided tour of London Museums this October 5th to 14th; stops along the way include such wonderful museums as The Wellcome Collection (who is celebrating its 5th birthday today! Happy birthday!), The Hunterian, and the Old Operating Theatre.

Blurb follows; full details can be found here:

Museums of London Tour
Art, History and Medicine, October 5-14, 2012 

We invite you to join Catherine Scallen, Chair of the Art History department and Jim Edmonson, Curator of the Dittrick Museum on the campus of Case Western Reserve University, for this custom designed tour of the key museums of London, England. Jim's contact with fellow curators and museum directors opens doors and provides the group with unique insights into their collections and aspects not normally open to the general public. Catherine's experience teaching and researching the masters of European Art from 1400 to 1900 will provide historical depth that makes the art museums' collections come alive.  

Please note that our deadline for reserving a place on the London tour is June 30,
so contact us today to secure your reservation.

Please note: the final sign up day has been extended to June 30 from June 15th. If interested, you can find out more here.

Photo: The Hunterian Museum, London, from the museum's website.

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For those of you who might not have already heard, on Good Friday of this year, The Morbid Anatomy Library suffered a mighty and devastating deluge. On Saturday, Saturday, June 30th, Observatory and Morbid Anatomy will host an epic and underground-star-studded rebuilding gala, and we would love to see you there.

The fête will be hosted by Evan Michelson of The Science Channel's "Oddities" and cult writer and luminary Mark Dery, and will feature mini-lectures by such luminaries as Mike Zohn and Ryan Mathews of "Oddities;" Melissa Milgrom, author of Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy; New York Magazine's Mark Jacobson; Carl Schoonover, author of Portraits of the Mind, and many more. The silent auction to follow will include works by such amazing artists and makers as Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood, Rosamond Purcell, Robert Marbury, Sophie Blackall, Jessica Joslin, Paul Koudounaris, Sue Jeiven, Daisy Tainton, Sigrid Sarda, Saul Chernick, Nicholas Kahn, Laura Splan, Alex Kanevsky, Erika Larsen, Shannon Taggart, and Justine Cooper.

Full details follow, and invitation can be found here. Hope very very much to see you there!

RESURRECTION! A Gala Benefit to Rebuild The Morbid Anatomy Library
Date: Saturday, June 30
Time: 8:00
Admission: $25
Presented by Morbid Anatomy

On Good Friday, 2012, The Morbid Anatomy Librarysuffered a deluge; a fire in an upstairs gallery set off the sprinkler system, dousing the library below and destroying many books and artifacts.

On Saturday, June 30th, join Observatory and The Morbid Anatomy Library for a star-studded resurrection spectacular MCed by Evan Michelson of TV's "Oddities" and cult writer and luminary Mark Dery. Presenters will include Mike Zohn and Ryan Mathews of TV's "Oddities;" Melissa Milgrom, author of Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy; New York Magazine's Mark Jacobson; Carl Schoonover, author of Portraits of the Mind; Barbara Mathé of AMNH; Lisa O’Sullivan, director of the Center for the History of Medicine and Public Health at the New York Academy of Medicine; Lord Whimsy of The Affected Provincial's Almanac Volume 1 and Amy Herzog of Queens College. There will be screenings of The Midnight Archive, complimentary cocktails, performances by Jonny Clockworks, and droll  giveaways from the design firm Kikkerland. Attendees are encouraged to dress "Obscurely."

Following the festivities, be sure to stick around for a scintillating silent auction of Morbid Anatomy-themed taxidermy, artworks, specimens and artifacts, which will include pieces by fine artists Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood, Rosamond Purcell, Minnesota Rogue Taxidermist Robert Marbury, MTA Artist-in-Residence Sophie Blackall, creative taxidermist Jessica Joslin, Ryan Mathews of "Oddities," Empire of Death author/photographer Paul Koudounaris, anthropomorphic taxidermist Sue Jeiven, anthropomorphic insect shadowbox maker Daisy Tainton, waxworker Sigrid Sarda, and museum-exhibit designer Christopher Muller, as well as unforgettable works by photographers Erika Larsen, Shannon Taggart, Julia Solis, and Justine Cooper,  artists Saul Chernick, Nicholas Kahn, Laura Splan, Alex Kanevsky, Suzanne Anker, Friese Undine, Demetrios Vital, Cindy Stelmackowich, GF Newland, and Andrea Meadows, to name just a few.

If you can not join us at the benefit and are interested in aiding in rebuilding efforts, here are a few things you can do:

• Make a monetary donation; to do so, simply click on the black "Donate Here" button on the top right hand side of this blog
• Sponsor a book; Click hereto
  see a list of damaged books; books purchased here will automatically ship directly to The Library and populate our sadly empty shelves.
• Help spread the word!
• Donate new books or artifacts for the collection: Mailing Address: Joanna Ebenstein, c/o The Morbid Anatomy Library, 543 Union Street #1E, Brooklyn, NY 1121

Thanks so much! And hope to see you soon at a bigger, better Morbid Anatomy Library very very soon!

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The grey: Erewhon (2) ridden by Rod Quinn (maroon, white star on cap). Picture: Damian Shaw. Source: The Sunday Telegraph

PUNTERS may have sacked him but Darley trainer Peter Snowden never lost faith in problematic galloper, Erewhon, who was back in the winner's stall at Warwick Farm yesterday after an absence stretching back to his Group 1 Spring Champion triumph in 2010.

The son of Commands opened up at $3.50 in the ring but couldn't find a friend and wound out to $5 by the time the field jumped.

Erewhon settled behind leader O'Crikey ($21) and the well-fancied San Zaim ($4) before peeling three wide around to mount his challenge. Jockey Josh Parr drove Erewhon to the lead at the 200m from which point the grey had to repel challengers to his inside and out before holding on for a hard-fought win.

"It's very satisfying because it's been a long time between drinks," Snowden said. "The horse has so many problems with his feet; he's had four quarter-cracks in the past 18 months which has given us hell but we've finally got them right now, so it's been a good job by all the staff.

"Erewhon is a Group 1 winner and Group 1 winners are hard to get, so you want to hang on to them as best you can. But it's just been one thing after another with him, to get him back to his best."

Erewhon was crunched from $9 into $5.50 equal favourite when he made his long-awaited return to racing at Rosehill last month but was soundly beaten. "I was disappointed with his first-up run because I thought he was more forward than that but these older horses once they get out of form or don't race for quite a while, it takes them a lot longer to get them back," Snowden said.

"He's needed the two runs before this."

Erewhon's return to form came at the expense of a conga line of unlucky horses, beginning with the John O'Shea-trained Glintz ($10) who had his chances ruined by a chequered passage in the straight. A noted front runner, connections opted for a change of tactics after two poor runs. This time the son of Pins parked back in the field in an awkward position.

Glintz looked likely to threaten inside the final 100m but was held up at crucial stages, going down by a half-head at the wire.

Read more:
Grey's anatomy: Victory for faith

By: Allen Breed | Associated Press Published: June 23, 2012 Updated: June 23, 2012 - 12:18 PM

With their elderly parents seated across the octagonal oak table, Donna and Jim Parker were back in the kitchen they knew so well - the hutch along one wall crammed with plates, bells and salt-and-pepper shakers picked up during family trips; at the table's corner, the spindly wooden high chair where a 7-year-old Jim had tearfully confessed to setting a neighbor's woods ablaze.

It was Christmastime, but this was no holiday gathering. Now, it was the parents who were in deep trouble, and this was an intervention.

For the past year, Charles and Miriam Parker, both 81, had been in the thrall of an international sweepstakes scam. The retired educators, with a half-dozen college degrees between them, had lost tens of thousands of dollars.

But money wasn't just leaving the Parker house. Strangely, large sums were now coming in, too.

Their four children were worried, but had been powerless to open their parents' eyes. Maybe, Donna thought, they'd listen to people with badges.

And so, joining them at the family table that late-December day in 2005 were Special Agent Joan Fleming of the FBI and David Evers, an investigator from the North Carolina attorney general's telemarketing fraud unit.

The home was littered with sweepstakes mailers and "claim" forms, the cupboards bare of just about everything but canned soup, bread and crackers. Charles Parker acknowledged that he'd lost a lot of money, but expressed confidence that he and his wife would eventually succeed if they just kept "investing."

Evers and Fleming showed the couple a video of other elderly scam victims, then played a taped interview of a former con man describing how he operated. Charles was alarmed by what he was seeing and hearing, but his wife seemed to be barely paying attention.

With the couple's permission, Evers installed a "mooch line" on the kitchen phone so they could capture incoming calls. The Parkers pledged their cooperation.

More here:
Anatomy of a scam

Chyler Leigh has opened up about the love story between her character and Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) on Grey's Anatomy.

Leigh made her debut as Lexie, the half-sibling of main character Meredith Grey, on the ABC series in 2007, where she had an on-off relationship with plastic surgeon Sloan until her death in a plane crash on last season's finale.

"The rollercoaster between them was always very dynamic and I think realistic," she shared to TV Guide. "When it comes to death we never know the date or the hour. There is absolute shock value to that.

"As far as their relationship, it was in some ways very young. So Rachel and Ross [from Friends]. It's so hard to put a pin in what went wrong or how it could have gone better.

"But will Mark go on? Absolutely. He'll move right along. That's just what Mark Sloane does. But initially I hope there will be a devastation."

When asked if Mark was the love of Lexie's life, Leigh answered: "I do. She learned so much from him about herself and about life in general. I do think there could have been a destiny for that."

Leight also revealed that she "didn't push" for a primetime Emmy consideration for her death scene on the season finale.

Watch a clip of Grey's Anatomy featuring Chyler Leigh and Eric Dane below:

Follow this link:
'Grey's Anatomy's Chyler Leigh: 'Mark, Alexis could have a destiny'

Chyler Leigh has opened up about the love story between her character and Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) on Grey's Anatomy.

Leigh made her debut as Lexie, the half-sibling of main character Meredith Grey, on the ABC series in 2007, where she had an on-off relationship with plastic surgeon Sloan until her death in a plane crash on last season's finale.

"The rollercoaster between them was always very dynamic and I think realistic," she shared to TV Guide. "When it comes to death we never know the date or the hour. There is absolute shock value to that.

"As far as their relationship, it was in some ways very young. So Rachel and Ross [from Friends]. It's so hard to put a pin in what went wrong or how it could have gone better.

"But will Mark go on? Absolutely. He'll move right along. That's just what Mark Sloane does. But initially I hope there will be a devastation."

When asked if Mark was the love of Lexie's life, Leigh answered: "I do. She learned so much from him about herself and about life in general. I do think there could have been a destiny for that."

Leight also revealed that she "didn't push" for a primetime Emmy consideration for her death scene on the season finale.

Watch a clip of Grey's Anatomy featuring Chyler Leigh and Eric Dane below:

See original here:
'Grey's Anatomy's Chyler Leigh: 'Mark, Lexie could have a destiny'

When Chyler Leigh decided to leave Grey's Anatomy in May after five-and-a-half years, the actress wrapped up Lexie's storyline on her own terms -- but that doesn't mean filming her death scene was a total dream.

"It was cold," Leigh, 30, recalled to TVGuide.com of filming her character's final scene, which took place in the aftermath of a plane crash. "We were up at Big Bear and at one point it had snowed. Then it would rain and be sunny and hot. I never died before [on camera]. That sounds funny saying that. I think everyone has an emotional wellspring and that happened to be a moment where I was sprung."

VIDEO: How the Grey's cast kills time on set

As all eyes were on Leigh's Lexie Grey during those last scenes, the actress quickly realized she could call the shots to keep herself comfortable. "Everybody was very accommodating -- the crew, cast. And I opted to stay underneath [the wreckage] for the most part over two days rather than trying to get in and out," she explained.

Leigh tells TVGuide.com that of all of her Seattle Grace scenes, Lexie's last moments were a highlight. "Ironically, I think [I'm most proud of] her death. It really was a chance for me to be able to go from the beginning of the character to the end," Leigh -- who worked closely with Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes to prepare a fitting end for Lexie -- explains.

PHOTOS: Grey's most memorable moments

"There's something that's very bittersweet about that. Something about being able to be there for the moment of her death that I appreciate. I don't know if that's morbid or not, but that's how I feel," she continues.

Taking a break from TV for the time being as she raises her three children with her actor husband, Nathan West, Leigh wouldn't be opposed to returning to the small screen. "I'm always down to do a sitcom. I did That 80's Show back in the day and that was a really great experience. I think comedy would be good for a while," she hints.

PHOTOS: TV bombshells

In the meantime, Leigh -- who is working on a children's book with her husband - is relishing in extra family time. "Right now I'm just taking a pause from everything," she tells TVGuide.com. "I am so grateful that I get to be home with my kids who are three beautiful, complicated, dynamic children. I have a lot of life to live."

Go here to see the original:
Chyler Leigh Opens Up About Filming Grey's Anatomy Death Scene

Its hard for a journalist to be objective on the subject of leaks, a bit like asking a lawyer if he thinks litigation is a good method for resolving disputes. People in the news business always have a bias toward more information, even on sensitive subjects involving intelligence policy.

So the reader should discount for my inherent bias in favor of informing the public, and of the process that leads to disclosure namely, leaks.

David Ignatius

Ignatius writes a twice-a-week foreign affairs column and contributes to the PostPartisan blog.

Archive

We are in a new debate about leaks, flowing mainly from David Sangers new book, Confront and Conceal, which is largely about the Obama administrations covert actions. (The reader should be aware of another personal bias: Sanger is a friend, even though he regularly beats the rest of us in breaking big stories.) What motivates critics is their belief that President Obamas advisers deliberately leaked secrets.

Actually, its more than a belief; Sanger pretty much says it outright. In a concluding note on sources, he explains: Almost every senior member of the presidents national security team was generous enough to sit down and talk through their experiences, some more than once. Sanger says that concerning his most sensitive revelations, about Olympic Games, the code name for a U.S.-Israeli cyberwarfare assault against Iran, both American and foreign sources demanded complete anonymity. Maybe so, but in reading the book we can guess who some of the key informants may have been.

Let me offer three cautionary comments not to minimize the issue of national-security leaks, but to note some realities understood by every journalist working in this area, which may not be clear to the public.

My first caution is that when it comes to national-security leaks, every administration does it. Reading Sangers book (and his coverage in the New York Times) it was obvious that he learned many important secrets about cyberattacks against Iran during the George W. Bush administration, as well as during the Obama administration.

Among the sensational Bush-era revelations: The cyberwar against Iran originated in 2006, when Bush complained to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Stephen Hadley that his choices about the Iranian nuclear program were to either bomb it or accept it. I need a third option, Bush told them repeatedly. Sanger says Bush was later convinced the cyberattack would work when, after elaborate testing of mock-ups, he saw the remnants of a destroyed centrifuge.

See the original post here:
Anatomy of a leak

Content provided by TVGuide Greys Anatomy star Jessica Capshaw welcomes baby No. 3 Greys Anatomy star Jessica Capshaw welcomes baby No. 3 Grey's Anatomy star Jessica Capshaw gave birth to her third child Thursday, People reports. Grey's Anatomy star Jessica Capshaw gave birth to her third child Thursday, People reports. Idol and Voice alum Frenchie Davis comes out Idol and Voice alum Frenchie Davis comes out Former American Idol and The Voice contestant Frenchie Davis has come out as a lesbian. Former American Idol and The Voice contestant Frenchie Davis has come out as a lesbian. James Marsden is going to be a dad again James Marsden is going to be a dad again James Marsden is going to be a dad for the third time, E! News reports. James Marsden is going to be a dad for the third time, E! News reports. Kris Humphries: Kim Kardashian's mom orchestrated her sex tape Kris Humphries: Kim Kardashian's mom orchestrated her sex tape Kris Humphries' ex-girlfriend Myla Sinanaj plans to release text messages from the NBA star that claim Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian's mom, directed her daughter's infamous sex tape. Kris Humphries' ex-girlfriend Myla Sinanaj plans to release text messages from the NBA star that claim Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian's mom, directed her daughter's infamous sex tape. Charlie Sheen blames meltdown on "psychotic break," admits to seeing ghosts Charlie Sheen blames meltdown on "psychotic break," admits to seeing ghosts It appears as though the tiger blood warlock has finally been tamed. It appears as though the tiger blood warlock has finally been tamed. Swamp People star Trapper Joe arrested after altercation with girlfriend Swamp People star Trapper Joe arrested after altercation with girlfriend Swamp People star "Trapper" Joe LaFont has been arrested on assault and battery charges in Orange County, Florida. Swamp People star "Trapper" Joe LaFont has been arrested on assault and battery charges in Orange County, Florida. Is NBC replacing Ann Curry on Today? Is NBC replacing Ann Curry on Today? Ann Curry may be leaving Today after only one year since she became the co-host. Ann Curry may be leaving Today after only one year since she became the co-host. Halloween actor Richard Lynch dies at 76 Halloween actor Richard Lynch dies at 76 Horror and sci-fi actor Richard Lynch has died at the age of 76. Horror and sci-fi actor Richard Lynch has died at the age of 76. Wynonna Judd marries bandmate Wynonna Judd marries bandmate Wynonna Judd has married Catcus Moser. Wynonna Judd has married Catcus Moser.

By Kate Stanhope,

Grey's Anatomy star Jessica Capshaw gave birth to her third child Thursday, People reports.

Daughter Poppy James Gavigan joins older siblings Luke Hudson, 4, and Eve Augusta, 20 months. "Our hearts are bursting with love and gratitude upon the arrival of our baby girl," Capshaw, 35, and husband Christopher Gavigan told the magazine.

Check out photos of Jessica Capshaw

Capshaw and her husband, who co-founded The Honesty Company, have been married in 2004.

Although her character, Arizona, was involved in a disastrous plane crash that took the life of fellow Seattle Grace doc Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) in last season's finale, Capshaw will be back for Grey's ninth season.

View original Grey's Anatomy Star Jessica Capshaw Welcomes Baby No. 3 at TVGuide.com

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Grey’s Anatomy star Jessica Capshaw welcomes baby No. 3

Internal Linking to Promote Keyword Cluster explained the math of how strength passes internally between pages of a website and how it can be influenced with a focused and planned internal linking structure. The limitation of this approach is that it assumes that all internal links are created equal. This isnt the case.

Several factors influence the weight and relative importance of an internal link. For example the format of that link, its position on the page, its position relative to other links, etc. While the specific way that the engines weigh individual links is not known (and would likely change even if it was), there are principles you can be apply to understand how the weight is being carried through your site past simple mathematics.

The simplest (and arguably most effective) first step is to think like a visitor. In the desire for search engines to provide as relevant a result as possible, they work hard to emulate as best they can a visitor experience.

While the fine folks at Google (and Bing of course) can't visit every site on the web, they can create automated systems that do an excellent job at understanding how the web works, how elements are positioned on a page, and what those elements look and behave like. From this they can gather an understanding of how important a link is.

Let's look at the following basic diagram of a simple website (the dotted line indicates where the fold line is, everything above it is visible to the average user on first visiting the site):

The rule of thumb you can follow is this: the more visible the link is, the higher the weight it will pass. Let's look at each of the main link elements and grade them on a scale of 1 to 10:

I list the sidebar links first as I tend to use them as my baseline. Sidebars are often the spot for links you want people to be able to find easily enough but not important enough to make it to your main navigation. They are positioned above the fold, however there are usually many of them in a list, thus reducing their visibility. When I'm thinking about my weighting of links, I usually use the sidebar links as the baseline at 5 and grade the rest up-or-down from there.

This is the single most visible link area on a page. The majority of websites use the logo as a link to the homepage. The weight of this link will be high as Google knows that this link is extremely visible and highly clickable. As far as a link zone is concerned, the header is the 10 as far as potential weight passing is concerned.

These links are highly visible and engines know that these links tend to point to the key pages on a website. This is where you as a visitor look to find product or contact information, and the engines know that. Pages linked to in this area will be given a high relative weight. This zone is given a 9 out of 10 for weighting.

Continue reading here:
Anatomy of an Internal Link

How human biology can explain the behavior that drives banks to the brink of disaster

Jeff Hutchens / Getty Images

As the world's economy struggles to pull out of a recession, traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the New York financial district on Wall Street on April 8, 2009 in New York City.

Coates' latest book is The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: Risk Taking, Gut Feelings and the Biology of Boom and Bust

Every so often we read of a star trader who has lost so much money that he has given back all the profits he made in the previous few years and shaken his bank to its foundations. How on earth does this happen? Were the risk managers at the bank mistaken all along about this traders skill?

Maybe. But recent research in physiology and neuroscience suggests an alternative explanation that the winning streak itself changed the trader. Human biology can today help explain the behavior that drives traders to acts of folly.At the heart of this research lies an important fact that is frequently overlooked: when we take risk, including financial risk, we do a lot more than think about it we prepare for it physically. Body and brain fuse as a single functioning unit.

(MORE:The $2 Billion Boo-Boo)

Consider what happens when an important piece of news flashes across the wire. At that very instant, across the trading floor, traders senses are placed on high alert, allowing them to hear the faintest noise, see the slightest movement. Breathing accelerates, and they feel the thump of a heart gearing up for action. Muscles tense, stomachs knot and an imperceptible sheen of sweat creeps across their skin, anticipatory cooling for the expected activity. We do not regard information as a computer does, dispassionately. We register it physically.

This fusion of body and brain normally endows us with the fast reactions and gut feelings we need to survive in a brutal world, and a brutal market. My colleagues at the University of Cambridge and Ihave conducted a series of experiments on a trading floor in London and found thatunder circumstances of extraordinary opportunity otherwise known as a winning streak our biology can overreact, and our risk taking become pathological. A model from animal behavior, called the winner effect, provides an intriguingly illustration of how this can happen. When males enter a fight or competition their testosterone surges which increases their hemoglobin and hence their bloods capacity to carry oxygen; and in the brain it increases confidence and appetite for risk. The winner emerges with even higher levels of testosterone and this heightens his chances of winning yet again, leading to a positive feedback loop. For athletes preparing to compete, traders buying risky assets, even politicians gearing up for an election, this is a moment of transformation,what the French in the Middle Ages called the hour between dog and wolf.

(MORE: Five Ways to Be Better at Risk-Taking)

The rest is here:
The Anatomy of a Huge Trading Loss

MIAMI (CBS4) The last time the Miami Heat won an NBA title was in 2006. It was their first.

So if the Heat win the Finals, people will party. To find out what a celebration might look like, we went back in time.

It was six years ago when the Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks and won the NBA Finals.

Five minutes later, Im not kidding you, people started coming out with pots, and pans, said CBS4s Marybel Rodriguez, who was reporting from Hialeah that night. I remember this one guy was on top of his car, with a huge pink flamingo just screaming Go Heat!

There must have been thousands of people in Hialeah. They had their own Heat parade the night the Heat won, she said.

That wasnt even the official parade we saw a few days later.

We turned to CBS4 Sports Anchor Jim Berry to find out what a Heat celebration this year could be like.

Celebration? What celebration? Theyve gotta win it first! You trying to jinx the Heat? asked Berry.

CBS4s Lisa Petrillo remembers the 2006 celebration well.

Crazy, hot, and crowded, she said.

Follow this link:
The Anatomy Of A Heat Celebration & Parade

(CBS News) NEW YORK -- This year's presidential race is expected to be the most expensive ever.

The campaigns and their supporters will spend billions of dollars on television ads before it's all over.

Longtime Republican strategist Frank Luntz, a pollster and communications specialist, has studied hundreds of political TV spots.

He says most don't work.

"You get about 20 percent that actually help the candidate that they're designed to support," Luntz observed on "CBS This Morning." "Twenty percent turn people off -- and that's what's amazing about this -- because they don't understand the ad, it's too complicated, it's too gimmicky. And so, the person watching it actually ends up supporting the other candidate."

To determine whether an ad will hit the spot, media companies bring people into rooms and measure their response.

"We use something called 'instant response,' Luntz explains."And (people sitting in a room) react on a second-by-second basis. The dial is about the size of a remote control. They turn it up to every word, every phrase, every visual. And so, we can figure out, second-by-second, the exact moment when something either works, impacts them, or turns them off."

Full coverage: Election 2012

Luntz showed examples of ads taking on both President Obama and his presumptive GOP rival, Mitt Romney. Both, he said, have their intended impact.

Both used their own word against them, showing actual statements they made that their foes would feel came back to haunt them.

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Anatomy of attack ads that work - or flop

SUGAR LAND, TX--(Marketwire -06/18/12)- Reported by Annette Kreuger for Industrial Information Resources Sugar Land, Texas) -- Once construction has wrapped up and the validation process for a new pharmaceutical or biotech (pharma-bio) plant is complete, it is time to begin production. Not only does an operational plant manufacture drug products that improve the public's physical health, but it also sets off a ripple effect that is beneficial to the financial well being of the host community, county and state.

In the past 12-month period (6/2011-6/2012), 83 new Pharmaceutical & Biotech Industry plants began operations in North America. Industrial Info is tracking 185 additional new-build (or lease and equip) projects in various stages of planning, engineering or construction.

For details, view the entire article by subscribing to Industrial Info's Premium Industry News at http://www.industrialinfo.com/showAbstract.jsp?newsitemID=224180&refer=mw, or browse other breaking industrial news stories at http://www.industrialinfo.com.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the http://www.industrialinfo.com "Contact Us" page.

Continued here:
Anatomy of a Drug Manufacturing Plant (Last in a Three-Part Series Examining the Financial Impact of New Plant ...

On through August 13th at MSB Gallery at the NYU Health Sciences Libraries:

X-ray Visions: Drawings and Prints from an Artist Residency at the NYU School of Medicine
MSB Gallery, June 11 - August 13, 2012

What if we could look into the body’s inner space with a kind of enhanced x-ray vision, without the need for dissection or medical imaging – perhaps lit by candlelight, with an eye to the beauty within? As an artist at NYU’s School of Medicine I’ve worked to create this kind of personal vision, making drawings in the Anatomy Lab and from 3D radiology images of my own body.

Art looks beneath the surface of life, and for me the place to look has always been the body. A curving spine – asymmetry at my core – means that for me, walking, moving and even breathing require conscious effort, an engagement with the workings of my bones and muscles, nerves, and senses. Drawing myself lets me work from the inside out, to visually convey the feeling of inhabiting this particular, individual body, and the many ways that personal identity and even consciousness are rooted in physical experience.

I see my work as following in the Renaissance tradition of Leonardo da Vinci and his great anatomy drawings, informed by the new ways of seeing made possible by contemporary medical imaging technologies. As a patient with a lifetime of x-rays, I was always fascinated by these mysterious, shadowy pictures – but felt disconnected from a part of me that seemed to belong more to my doctors than to me. As an artist I’ve been able to reclaim this hidden territory for myself, and hope my work can bring viewers to feel a deeper sense of connection with their own unique inner spaces.

Learn more about the floating colors process.

You can find out more by clicking here.

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We still have just a few more slots available for the upcoming class "Drawing from the Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures" with one of our favorite artists, Saul Chernick. This class will teach students--via illustrated lectures and in-class projects including paper puppets and the creation of bestiary pages--"to use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture the essential qualities of their subject" and "learn to draw animals (real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity."

You can see some of Chernick's wonderful artworks above; you can see more of them by clicking here. The class will take place on 4 consectutive Mondays, from June 25 to July 16th. The full class description follows. Also, please note that the class size is limited to 15, so if you are interested, please RSVP as soon as possible to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

Drawing from the Bestiary: Animal Anatomy of Real and Imagined Creatures with Saul Chernick
A 4-part class with Artist Saul Chernick, M.F.A., Rutgers University
Dates: Mondays June 25, July 2, July 9 and July 16th (4 consecutive Mondays)
Time: 6:30-9:00 PM
Class Fee: $120
***Class size limited to 15; Must RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com
This class is part of The Morbid Anatomy Art Academy

Contemporary artist and arts educator Saul Chernickis renowned for gorgeous artworks featuring convincingly corporeal depictions of imaginary or mythical creatures rendered in the style of Medieval and early Renaissance woodcuts from Northern Europe. Observatory is very pleased to announce a new workshop developed by Saul Chernick specially for the Morbid Anatomy Art Academy. In this class, Chernick will teach students--via illustrated lectures and in-class projects including paper puppets and bestiary pages--"to use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture the essential qualities of their subject" and "learn to draw animals (real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity."

Full class description follows; you can see more of Chernick's fantastic work by clicking here. Class size limited to 15; Please RSVP to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

Course Description
Open to artists of all levels, the goal of this workshop is help participants learn to draw animals (real, mythic, and otherwise) with greater skill and sensitivity. Through exercises in drawing and paper puppetry, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the skeletal/muscular structures of most mammals, reptiles, and birds. Participants will also learn to use observational and imaginative drawing skills in tandem to capture the essential qualities of their subject and create works of convincing visual fiction!
What to expect

• Participants will cull images from the web to create a dossier on the animal(s) that interest them
• Participants will fashion movable paper puppets to understand how their chosen animal moves
• Participants will draw studies of the skeletal and muscular structures of animals
• Participants will use the medium of their choice to create a Bestiary page entry that depicts an animal situated in an environment

Materials
What to bring to the first class:

• Choose 1-3 animals and gather pictures on the web. Be sure to get images of their skeletons in profile. Please print these as they may be hard to use on a phone screen.
• 3-5 sheets of Bristol Board Paper 9" x 12" or larger
• Pencils & erasers
• Scissors
• Xacto or utility knife
• Glue

What to bring for subsequent classes:

• White or tinted drawing paper 16" x 20" or 18" x 24"
• Tracing paper (same size as drawing paper)
• Mechanical and/or regular pencils (2h, hb, 2b, 4b)

Optional:

• Markers, watercolors, gouache, ink, brushes, chalk/oil pastels, colored pencils, Caran D’Ache, collage papers, etc (we’ll discuss further in detail!)

Saul Chernick, M.F.A., Rutgers University, is a visual artist and educator. Chernick has exhibited internationally in galleries and museums including the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, the Bronx Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum of Art, as well as Max Protetch and Meulensteen Galleries in New York City. He has taught art for the public school system, the 92nd Street Y, Cooper Union, Parson's School of Design, and the Museum of Modern Art. He is currently the Professional Development Coordinator for the Joan Mitchell Foundation where he coaches New York artists in teaching art to young people throughout city. His work can be seen at http://www.saulchernick.com.

All images are by Saul Chernick and include, top to bottom:

1. Field Urchin, 2011, from a series of studies in which he attempted to impose the proportions of cherubs onto horses.
2. Desktop 2013, 2010, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper
3. Heavenly Touch , 2009, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper
4. Guilty Pleasures, 2010, Ink, Watercolor, & Opaque White on Paper
5. Ars Gratia Artis, 2010, Ink on Paper

You can found out more here. As mentioned above, class size is limited to 15, so if you are interested, please RSVP as soon as you are able to morbidanatomy [at] gmail.com.

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If only I lived in Los Angeles....

This Saturday, at the fantastic Velaslavasay Panorama:

You can find out more by clicking here.

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Imagine How Creativity Works By Jonah Lehrer Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 252 pp. $26

Reviewed by Rickie Roberts

What do Bob Dylan, MIT, 3M, Tel Aviv, and the "I 0 New York" logo have in common?

In Imagine, author Jonah Lehrer weaves all of these people, places, and things into a brilliant narrative about well, simply put brilliance.

Lehrer is the author of two other equally engaging books, Proust Was a Neuroscientist (2007) and How We Decide (2009). Here, in only his third decade on this Earth, Lehrer has found a recipe for interpreting the insights, impulses, and creative possibilities of the most complex species on the planet. A graduate of Columbia University, he did a double major in neuroscience and English. In this unlikely pairing of disciplines, he has found a calling putting the highly intricate processes of the human mind into a language and a narrative that bring home his ideas to the more narrowly educated reader. In Proust Was a Neuroscientist, he explored the connection between the literary and scientific communities, and in How We Decide, he tackled the multifarious issue of decision-making by tying neuro-mechanics, context, culture, emotions, and history into a combination "how-do-we" and "how-to" book.

In Imagine, Lehrer has gone one step further. By exploring the common thread of imagination in the divergent worlds of song-writing, tape manufacturing, city building, play-writing, animation producing, mop inventing, and so much more, he is able to draw upon his unique combination of skills, knowledge, and experience to welcome the reader to a creative process that is becoming more and more critical in our society.

In chapter after chapter, he brings forward case studies of the contributions that creativity and imagination have made in success stories, ranging from bartending to pharmaceutical manufacturing. But he doesn't stop there. Through careful analysis of each case he helps us to understand the process that has taken place. From what is happening in neurotransmitters at the time of insight to the paint color on the walls, he guides us through these stories as if the lessons we learn here will make each one of us somehow capable of great things.

While he makes great use of his own scientific education and background in the narrative, Lehrer is able to do so in a way that makes even us common folk comfortable. He neither speaks over our heads in scientific matters nor does he seem to assume that the reader doesn't understand how the brain functions. He speaks of the right- and left-side brain functions without over-explanation, giving his readers credit for knowing enough about these topics to put the pieces together. Many a reader will appreciate this because once you accept that we are not all Ph.D,s you can relax and take this thrilling ride through the relationships between failure and accomplishment, brilliance and biochemistry.

Smartly, Lehrer begins the books with two studies that immediately put you at ease and suck you in with the curiosity that a well-crafted book can generate: the invention of the Swiffer Sweeper and the ubiquitous musings of Bob Dylan. Who wouldn't want to read on?

His tale of how Bob Dylan "hit the creative wall" in 1965 and retreated to isolation before producing some of his most brilliant work is antithetical to his account of how Pixar Studios uses collaboration and criticism to support the creative process that has driven so many of the most heralded animated classics of the last 30 years. Yet, Lehrer makes it work. He neither prescribes nor lectures, allowing that both isolation and collaboration have value in the creative process and must be examined in the context of the task.

Read this article:
"Imagine" examines the anatomy of brilliance