| New apple of Bart's eye | | Posted Friday, January 05, 2007 12:55:41 PM by Blog57 Team | | IT takes something paranormal to stir the blood of a man with 11 Melbourne Cups to his name, but raising of the name Mimi Lebrock sets Bart Cummings all a-twitter. Like a doting parent, Australia's grizzled grand master of the track has found extra motivation to rise from his slumber at his Elizabeth Bay apartment at 4am each weekday. In the most potent collaboration of experience and youth since Angelo Dundee tutored an emerging Cassius Clay, venerable Bart and two-year-old Mimi Lebrock are aiming to land a knockout blow in the Magic Millions on January 13. As a ruffled and rumpled Cummings watched his team of horses splash past him during trackwork at Royal Randwick this week, he puffed with pride at the prospect of the filly delivering his second Magic Millions scalp - and first since he quinellaed the race in 1989 with Malibu Magic and Tristanagh.... | |
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| | | In Stem-Cell Transplants, Timing Is Everything | | Posted Saturday, November 11, 2006 11:06:56 PM by Blog57 Team | | Stem cells are a promising part of advances in therapy, because they can turn into a variety of cell types. But stem cells may only be useful after they've begun to change into the cell type they're destined to become. A case in point: If you transplant stem cells into an eye with a damaged retina, nothing happens. But according to new research, if you wait until those cells start turning into specific cells in the retina, and then transplant them, you can restore some vision. The researchers, who have published their findings in Nature, waited to locate cells that were already destined to become a particular kind of retinal cell called a rod. When transplanted into a mouse, the new cells took up residence. And when the researchers shined a light into the mouse's eye, the animal's pupil constricted, meaning it was seeing the light.... | |
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| | | Pupil stabbed in desk fight | | Posted Saturday, November 04, 2006 7:06:10 PM by Blog57 Team | | A 13-year-old primary schoolboy in East London is recovering after being stabbed in the arm by a classmate in a squabble over a desk. The Grade 7 pupil at Inyathi Primary School, in East London’s Duncan Village, had to be rushed to Frere Hospital after being stabbed on Monday -- the same day a special task team on school violence visited the Eastern Cape. Health Department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo yesterday confirmed the boy had been given four stitches by doctors at Frere Hospital, "but was discharged the same day". The alleged perpetrator has fled. The injured child said the fight started because pupils "usually fight for desks in our class every morning because some desks are broken".... | |
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| | | MOVIES/SPECIALS | | Posted Saturday, October 28, 2006 6:59:14 PM by Blog57 Team | | I'm at a loss to say anything unique, funny, or interesting about this film. Instead, here's a fun snippet of information taken from a news item here on ANN when Media Blasters picked up the license to the movie four years ago! "Gundress is a feature length cyber-punk action film surrounding a five woman para-military unit and their landmate mecha armor suits trying to stop a terrorist threat to futuristic Japan. Masamune Shirow provided the character and mecha designs for the film. Gundress earned some notoriety for its rushed production schedule and release to Japanese theaters in an unfinished, rough form in 1999. In June 2000 a limited edition production of only 5000 DVDs was released to the Japanese market. This extremely rare Japanese DVD included both the original theatrical version and a five-minute longer 'completed' version of the film." Pokemon: Destiny Deoxys (Cartoon Network) Thursday November 2 11:30pm Another Pokemon movie! Most likely it resembles somewhat the Pokemon movies released before, and probably some of the ones released afterwards.... | |
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| | | King of the Roxy, the $8,000 colt who could strike it big | | Posted Saturday, October 21, 2006 6:54:22 PM by Blog57 Team | | The greatest satisfaction a teacher can experience is when an able pupil surpasses his or her own accomplishments. When two-year-old colt Scat Daddy tripped the finish-line camera at Belmont Park last Saturday in the Champagne Stakes, trainer D. Wayne Lukas had indeed passed the proverbial baton to one of his prized former students, Todd Pletcher. With his 93rd stakes win in 2006, Pletcher had broken Lukas' mark of 92 such victories, set in 1987. However, with the Breeders' Cup looming on Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs, Pletcher still has much catching up to do in that regard. Pletcher has only saddled two winners in BC races to date from 24 starters. Both wins came in 2004 with Ashado winning the Distaff and Speightstown the Sprint at Lone Star Park. By contrast, Lukas has cinched the girth on 18 winners so far in his storied BC career and he is not done yet, hoping to turn the tables on Scat Daddy in the Juvenile with Pegasus Wind following the colt's third-place finish in the Champagne.... | |
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| | | Uncaged Aussies itching for battle | | Posted Wednesday, October 18, 2006 12:52:47 PM by Blog57 Team | | MASTER AND PUPIL: West Indies skipper Brain Lara (right) entertaining Australia's Michael Clarke on the eve of their match in Mumbai on Tuesday. ? Photo: K.R. Deepak MUMBAI: Ricky Ponting's Australia is all primed up for a hard grind in a competition it has never won. The celebrated team has been busy making the most of the offerings on and off the field in its favourite Indian city. Descending at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) a week ago, the players loosened their limbs, honed their skills and soaked up the ruthless heat and humidity for nearly five hours. Apart from the long hours of training, they also locked horns with assorted teams full of first class players. Meanwhile, Ponting passed on valuable tips to youngsters at a clinic, Adam Gilchrist adopted a boy as a part of World Vision's charity programme and speedsters Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath had their bit of fun with the spectators at the Wankhede and MIG Club.... | |
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| | | In Pomona, loss of sign toasts cafe owner's 'bunz' | | Posted Sunday, October 15, 2006 2:55:22 AM by Blog57 Team | | A photo recently in this space depicted a sign at a shopping-center-turned-school, Pomona's Village at Indian Hill, identifying tenants at the Pomona Unified School District facility: Health Services, Food Services, Pupil Resources and (ahem) Nice Bunz. Which of these things is not like the other, I asked, while also chiding educators for the spelling. Nice Bunz owner Ray Briones got a kick out of the photo, but the restaurateur got a kick in the head when an official with Pomona Unified, his landlord, ordered the sign taken down. "It took us two years to get a sign up," Briones said with a sigh. "Maybe (the official) didn't like the idea of Nice Bunz' and Health Services' being next to each other." As a disinterested observer, of course, I'm delighted anyone would act on what I write about.... | |
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| | | Educators, officials keeping safety a priority, especially in wake of nationwide school violence | | Posted Sunday, October 08, 2006 10:54:54 AM by Blog57 Team | | Officials at Calloway County and Murray Independent school districts say they are well aware that the threat of violence from inside and outside the classroom is a specter of possibility and have taken steps to make sure the danger is minimized.At least three fatal attacks resulting in the death or injury of dozens of students and staff have taken place nationwide in just the past week and schools around the nation are looking at security issues once again, according to an Associated Press report. Since the 1999 Columbine massacre that left 15 dead, there has been a concerted effort among administrators, teachers and parents to improve school safety and law enforcement organizations have recruited specially-trained personnel to deal with school violence.David Dowdy, public affairs coordinator for Calloway County Board of Education, said administrators are well aware of the threat and have taken action that continues to build upon safety precautions already in place as more is learned about how to keep students safe.Sports bags are inspected upon entry to a school building and then placed in either a locker room or a coach's classroom for safekeeping until needed for practice or a game.... | |
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| | | Pupils learn to keep busy on the bus after school | | Posted Sunday, October 01, 2006 6:54:01 PM by Blog57 Team | | Dubai: Trapped in buses for extended hours as a result of traffic congestion, pupils have formed their own weekly lists of activities to keep themselves busy. Gulf News has learnt that the favourite topics in particular among girls range from movies and fashion to their latest ‘crushes’ and ‘looks’. Boys on the other hand had formed ‘groups’ named after their favourite cartoon character like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or The Hardy Boys. There are also those who prefer keeping a hawk’s eye on motorists and the number of accidents that they come across on the Dubai-Sharjah road. "Four other pupils and I in the bus keep a logbook of the number of accidents that we have come across on the road. Some days the number goes up to 14 accidents. Most of the accidents are caused by motorists trying to change lanes," said Vineet a grade 7 pupil.... | |
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| | | Duringa Presentation to the UK Liberal Democrat Conference | | Posted Sunday, September 24, 2006 10:55:47 PM by Blog57 Team | | Scottish Liberal Democrats have delivered the popular and clear benefits of home rule. It has been a mix of ministerial power and radical legislation. Crucially, we have done what we said we would. People can see the difference we have made in Scotland and the difference with Labour governing on their own in London. In the first four year term we implemented the Royal Commission on Long Term Care's main recommendation, and so free personal care for the elderly now in place in Scotland. And we saw the dramatic abolition of tuition fees for Scottish students. Introduced so shamefully by Labour after hiding it from their manifesto. Remember Tony Blair in April 1997 saying "we have no plans to introduce tuition fees"? Fees were scrapped by Nicol Stephen, as a Scottish Minister; turning Liberal Democrat policy into action.... | |
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