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Open Access

The σ70family of sigma factors

Genome Biology20034:203

DOI: 10.1186/gb-2003-4-1-203

Published: 3 January 2003

Members of the σ70 family of sigma factors are components of the RNA polymerase holoenzyme that direct bacterial or plastid core RNA polymerase to specific promoter elements that are situated 10 and 35 base-pairs upstream of transcription-initiation points. Members of the σ70 family also function as contact points for some activator proteins, such as PhoB and λcl, and play a role in the initiation process itself. The primary σ factor, which is essential for general transcription in exponentially growing cells, is reversibly associated with RNA polymerase and can be replaced by alternative σ factors that co-ordinately express genes involved in diverse functions, such as stress responses, morphological development and iron uptake. On the basis of gene structure and function, members of the σ70 family can broadly be divided into four main groups. Sequence alignments of the σ70 family members reveal that they have four conserved regions, although the highest conservation is found in regions 2 and 4, which are involved in binding to RNA polymerase, recognizing promoters and separating DNA strands (so-called 'DNA melting'). The division of the linear sequence of σ70 factors into four regions is largely supported by recent structural data indicating that primary σ factors have three stable domains that incorporate regions 2, 3 and 4. Furthermore, structures of the RNA polymerase holoenzyme have revealed that these domains of σ70 are spread out across one face of RNA polymerase. These structural data are starting to illuminate the mechanistic role of σ factors in transcription initiation.

Gene organization and evolutionary history

The bacterial core RNA polymerase complex, which consists of five subunits (ββ'α2ω), is sufficient for transcription elongation and termination but is unable to initiate transcription. Transcription initiation from promoter elements requires a sixth, dissociable subunit called a σ factor, which reversibly associates with the core RNA polymerase complex to form a holoenzyme. The vast majority of σ factors belong to the so-called σ70 family, reflecting their relationship to the principal σ factor of Escherichia coli, σ70. a second family of σ factors, the σ54 family, comprises proteins that are functionally similar to, but structurally distinct from, σ70 of E. coli. Here, we limit ourselves to the σ70 family.

Members of the σ70 family direct RNA polymerase to specific promoter elements that are usually 5-6 base-pairs (bp) in length and are centred 10 and 35 bp upstream (positions -10 and -35) of the transcription initiation site. They also function in the melting of promoter DNA and the early stages of elongation of transcripts. The discovery of the σ factor as a dissociable RNA polymerase subunit [1] heralded the subsequent finding that RNA polymerase recruits alternative σ factors as a means of switching on specific regulons [2]. Multiple members of the σ70 family have since been discovered in most bacteria, with up to 63 encoded by a single genome, in the case of the antibiotic-producing bacterium Streptomyces coelicolor [3]. Furthermore, σ70-related factors have been discovered in higher plants, in which they act together with a bacterial-type RNA polymerase to direct transcription in the plastid [4].

The σ70 family has been divided broadly into four phylogenetic groups on the basis of gene structure and function [5,6]. Group 1 consists of the essential primary σ factors, each of which is closely related to σ70 of E. coli. Group 2 proteins are closely related to the primary σ factors but are dispensable for bacterial cell growth. Group 3 σ factors are more distantly related to σ70 and usually activate regulons in response to a specific signal, such as a developmental checkpoint or heat shock. The group 3 σ factors can be further divided into several clusters of functionally related proteins with roles in sporulation, flagella biosynthesis, or the heat-shock response, for example, (Figure 1). Finally, group 4 accommodates the numerically largest, but highly diverged extracytoplasmic function (ECF) subfamily, most members of which respond to signals from the extracytoplasmic environment, such as the presence of misfolded proteins in the periplasmic space. Whereas most bacteria have a single group 1 primary σ factor, the number of other group members varies widely, reflecting in part the different physiological and developmental characteristics of the various organisms. For example, whereas E. coli has two members in each of group 3 and group 4, the physiologically and developmentally complex S. coelicolor has 10 group 3 members and 49 group 4 members [3]. A phylogenetic tree that illustrates the relationships between σ70-family members from four different bacteria is shown in Figure 1. (For in-depth phylogenetic analyses of the σ70 family see, for example, [7,8].)
Figure 1

Phylogenetic relationships between members of the σ70 family of sigma factors from four diverse bacteria: E. coli (E); Caulobacter cresentus (CC or C); B. subtilis (B); and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M). For C. cresentus, gene numbers from the annotated genome sequence are given. Note that the primary and related factors comprise groups 1 and 2, the group 3 σ factors are divided into functionally related groups (sporulation, flagellar biosynthesis, general stress and heat shock), and the divergent ECF factors comprise group 4. Particularly striking is the distance between the ECF subfamily and other members of the σ70 family, as well as divergence within the ECF subfamily itself. The unrooted tree was constructed using the Phylip programs PROTDIST and NEIGHBOUR from a multiple amino-acid sequence alignment made by the program ClustalW. Only conserved regions 2 and 4 were included in the alignments.

For historical reasons the nomenclature of the σ superfamily is complex. In E. coli and several other Gram-negative bacteria, σ factor genes are designated rpo (for RNA polymerase subunit), whereas in most Gram-positive bacteria the genes are designated sig. The proteins may be designated σ with a superscript reflecting the molecular weight or gene name, or may have an arbitrary single-letter designation. In the post-genomic era, the situation has naturally become further complicated with the realization that some organisms have more σ factors than there are letters in the alphabet.

Characteristic structural features

Sequence alignments of the σ70 family members reveal four conserved regions that can be further divided into subregions (Figure 2) [5]. Only regions 2 and 4 are well conserved in all members of the σ70 family, and include subregions involved in binding to the core RNA polymerase complex, recognition of the -10 and -35 promoter (regions 2.4 and 4.2, respectively), and promoter melting (region 2.3). Much of region 1 is conserved only between the primary and closely related σ factors (groups 1 and 2), and region 1 appears to function in antagonizing the DNA-binding activity of the σ factor. Region 3, which is virtually absent from ECF σ factors, includes a subregion 3.0 (previously named 2.5) that interacts with DNA upstream of the -10 element in certain 'extended-10' promoters that lack the -35 element [9,10]. The linear division of σ70 factors into functionally distinct regions is largely confirmed by recent structural data, which revealed that primary σ factors have three flexibly linked compact domains, σ2, σ3 and σ4, which incorporate regions 2, 3 and 4, respectively [10].
Figure 2

Structural characteristics of E. coli σ70. (a) The protein sequence has been divided into four regions on the basis of sequence conservation with other members of the σ70 family. Residues in the carboxy-terminal part of region 4 (subregion 4.2) form a helix-turn-helix motif that contacts the -35 element of the promoter. Residues from conserved regions 2 and 3 cooperate to mediate recognition of the -10 region and melting of the DNA. A residue in the amino-terminal part of region 3 (3.0) contacts the conserved TG motif in the extended -10 element of certain promoters that do not require a -35 region. Residues from an α helix in region 2 that corresponds to the conserved subregions 2.3 and 2.4 interact intimately with the -10 element. Subregion 2.3 is thought to interact primarily with single-stranded DNA in the open complex (dashed arrow). The three domains of the σ factor observed by X-ray crystallography (σ2, σ3 and σ4) are indicated underneath the linear structure. Note that the protein domains correspond closely (although not precisely) with the regions assigned by sequence comparisons. (b) A model for the interaction of RNA polymerase holoenzyme (containing, β,β ', two α, and ω one subunit in addition to the σ factor) with promoter DNA. The model is based on crystallographic analyses of σ domains, holoenzyme, and holoenzyme-model DNA complexes [10,14,15,25]. The major functional domains of the σ factor are shown in dark grey. The bold arrow indicates the direction of transcription. Although the template strand in the transcription bubble passes underneath the β unit and the σ2 domain, the path of the DNA is shown throughout its length. Adapted from [21].

The crystal structure of the σ2 domain has been solved for two primary σ factors (σ70 of E. coli and σA of Thermus aquaticus) [10,11], and one ECF σ factor (σR of S. coelicolor) [12]. Discounting a non-conserved region that occurs between subregions 1.2 and 2.4 in some primary σ factors, each σ2 domain is composed of a bundle of three α helices that is virtually identical in all three structures analyzed. The second helix of this bundle is a major point for contact with a coiled-coil domain in the β' subunit of the core RNA polymerase complex [13]. The third helix of the bundle includes conserved residues along one face that are involved in DNA melting and in recognition of the -10 promoter element (Figure 2b).

The σ3 domain, which is less conserved between members of the σ70 family, and is absent from ECF σ factors, is also a three-helix domain, the first helix of which contains the residues implicated in contacting DNA upstream of extended -10 promoters [10]. The σ4, domain has two pairs of α helices; the carboxy-terminal pair forms a helix-turn-helix motif that contacts the promoter DNA in the region from -30 to -38 [10,14]. The spectacular crystallographic views obtained recently of the σ70 factor in the holoenzyme complex [14,15] revealed that the σ2, σ3 and σ4, domains extend across a wide area of the RNA polymerase, with an interface between the core complex and σ70 of more than 8000 Å2. Also revealed was a gap of approximately 45 Å between the σ3 and σ4 domains, taken up by a 33-residue linker (the 'σ34 linker') that, strikingly, travels close to the active site of RNA polymerase and through the channel from which the growing transcript exits the RNA polymerase complex before connecting with the σ4 domain.

Localization and function

Whereas the function of the essential group 1 σ70 factors is to direct general transcription, the accessory σ factors of groups 2-4 usually function to turn on specific gene sets in response to an appropriate signal. Their functions can be divided into three very broad categories: stress responses, development and ancillary metabolism. The wide variety of stress responses controlled by members of the σ70 family includes the stationary phase and general stress responses (mediated by, for example, σS in E. coli and σB in Bacillus subtilis), intracellular and extracytoplasmic protein misfolding (regulated in E. coli by σ32 and σE, respectively), oxidative stress (e.g. σR in S. coelicolor), osmotic stress (σM in B. subtilis) and cell-wall stress (controlled by, for example, σE in S. coelicolor and σW in B. subtilis). Developmental programs under the control of σ70 family members include flagella biosynthesis (involving σD in B. subtilis and σF in Salmonella typhimurium), endospore formation (mediated by, for example, σE, σK, σF and σG in B. subtilis), and exospore formation (σWhiG in S. coelicolor). Ancillary metabolic functions that are controlled by σ factors include iron uptake (σFecI in E. coli and σPvds in pseudomonads). There are clearly many more functions to be discovered, especially amongst members of the ECF subfamily; for example, in S. coelicolor the function of only three of its 49 ECF σ factors is understood.

The activity of σ factors, and the consequent activity of the promoters they recognize, can be controlled at many different levels: de novo synthesis (at the transcriptional or translational level), by post-translational processing, by proteolytic degradation, and by post-translational inhibition. Indeed, some σ factors, such as σS factor of E. coli, are regulated at most of these levels [16]. Of widespread importance is post-translational inhibition by so-called anti-σ factors, proteins that reversibly bind to the σ factor thereby preventing its interaction with the core RNA polymerase [17,18]. In these cases, the signal that leads to the activation of the σ factor and the induction of the σ regulon somehow modify the σ-binding activity of the anti-σ factor.

Recent structural studies together with an extensive catalog of biochemical data are starting to shed light on the function of σ70 family members in transcription initiation. Once they become part of the holoenzyme, the promoter-recognition determinants of subregions 2.4 and 4.2 of the σ factor are solvent-exposed and appropriately separated. This conformation allows subregions 2.4 and 4.2 to interact with the -10 and -35 elements, respectively, to form a so-called 'closed' complex in which the promoter DNA remains base-paired. At promoters that lack -35 regions or have -35 elements that deviate significantly from the consensus sequence, the σ4, domain can stimulate formation of the closed complex by contacting activator proteins, such as λcI, which is bound upstream, or PhoB, which is bound downstream of the complex on the DNA [19].

In the following stage, the DNA in the region from position -11 to +4, which partially overlaps with the -10 element, melts in a process called isomerization, the mechanistic details of which are unresolved but probably include several kinetically distinct intermediate states. Once separated, the two DNA strands take different paths, with the template strand approaching the active site of the RNA polymerase and the non-template strand being held by conserved aromatic residues in region 2.3 of the σ factor that had previously been implicated in DNA melting [20]. The σ factor may also play a role in the next stage, that of de novo RNA synthesis, by donating a disordered loop from the σ34 linker into the active site of the RNA polymerase; this might perhaps stabilize the initiating nucleotide [15]. Alternatively, the disordered loop may stabilize the open complex by preventing reannealing close to the transcription start site [21]. Finally, after a nascent RNA of 8-10 nucleotides has been synthesized, the σ factor is released or moves out of the way to allow elongation to proceed further and RNA polymerase to escape the promoter. The discovery that the σ34 linker is located in the RNA exit channel of the RNA polymerase suggests a mechanism of promoter clearance that involves the nascent RNA displacing the linker, in turn weakening the interaction between the core RNA polymerase and the σ4 domain and ultimately the rest of the σ factor [14,15]. Interestingly, σ70 of E. coli can in some instances interact with the exposed non-template strand early in the elongation process, and these interactions can lead to transient pausing of the elongation complex [22]. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that σ70 may remain associated with the core RNA polymerase complex during the elongation process [23,24].

The recent structural information on primary σ factors has had a major impact on our understanding of the mechanistic role of the σ70 family of σ factors in transcription initiation. Numerous puzzles remain, however. It is not clear how transcription-activator proteins can modulate the complex conformational changes that accompany promoter recognition and melting. The timing and extent of release of the σ factor during the transition to the transcript-elongation phase is a topic of continuing controversy. Finally, the extent to which σ factors might be retained in early, or perhaps later, elongation complexes and might mediate a sequence-responsive pause in transcription is not resolved. Although a reasonably detailed picture of the action of σ70 can now be envisaged, the sequence divergence noted within the σ70 family raises questions about how other family members mediate promoter recognition and melting and how they interact with their regulators. Finally, the many bacterial genome sequencing projects have revealed a huge gap in our understanding of the biological function of the many newly discovered σ factors. Even in some of the best characterized model systems, such as B. subtilis, there is a frustrating lack of knowledge regarding the regulation, roles, and possible redundancies among the various σ factors.

Work on σ factors in the laboratory of JDH is supported by the National Institutes of Health and by the BBSRC and the Wellcome Trust in the laboratory of MSBP.

Authors’ Affiliations

School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex
Department of Microbiology, Cornell University

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© BioMed Central Ltd 2003


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NGS Grants to Individuals

January 12, 2017

NGS Grants to Individuals (grant application)

The grants are to individuals, so a university professor, or K-12 educators are clearly eligible to apply. As of mid-December, NG estimated four deadlines for the year with up to $30K in funding per grant (for one year).  Keywords in the grant overview are bold people and transformative ideas

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Education grants will support projects that aim to teach people about the world and how it works, empowering them to make it a better place. We want to identify effective strategies in teaching and learning - what works in education? - in our three focus lenses. Projects can be new or existing initiatives that have potential for replication or adaptation to other areas and audiences.

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Monday, July 12, 2010

Summer Vacation

Recent photos from a Fourth of July trip to Tuftonboro, New Hampshire.

Rattlesnake Island, Lake Winnipesaukee ("smile of the Great Spirit") in New Hampshire's Lakes Region, near Wolfeboro, "America's Oldest Resort" community, celebrating its 250th anniversary. From scenic overlook on Route 28, south of Wolfeboro looking northwest towards Abenaki Tower.
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STARRING HEROES FROM CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS! Helena Wayne and Dick Grayson attempt to keep Bruce Wayne’s memory alive as they come to blows with the powerful Superman Red Son characters!

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The People of Gibraltar
1930s - Gustavo Bacarisas y Podestá - A Kind of Identity

According to Julian Barnes' fictitious French philosopher:
History is that uncertainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation.
Which is certainly true of what little I have read about Gustavo Bacarisas where a tendency towards hagiography is almost universal. Perhaps unavoidably, and certainly unashamedly,  this article will continue this trend.

View of Gibraltar from the Cecil Hotel ( 1946 - Patrick Sacarello )

Gustavo Bacarisas was, in my opinion, Gibraltar's greatest and best known artist. He died in Seville in 1971. He was 98 years old. In his memory, the City of Seville gave a newly built street  his name - Calle Gustavo Bacarisas. Appropriately the street was in that most typical district of Seville - El Barrio de Triana.

Decades later an exhibition featuring Government owned pictures and several paintings from private collections took place in Gibraltar. Peter Caruana - then Chief Minister of the Rock - spoke on the opening day. Gustavo Bacarisas, he said,  was without doubt, one of the most important figures in the history of Gibraltarian art and culture.

But he was more than that - he was something that the Chief Minister of Gibraltar chose to ignore. Bacarisas was a Gibraltarian who felt very much at home in Spain. He was an example of a different kind of Gibraltarian identity, a  man who found it easy to embrace Spain and its culture without finding it in anyway incompatible with being a native born Gibraltarian.

His was the kind of identity that opens intellectual horizons, widens our spirit, acknowledges neighbours, excludes nothing - and begins the journey away from a claustrophobic and unidimensional  past, in so far as Gibraltarians as a people are concerned, to one that accepts us as we were and therefore as we are.

Bacarisas embraced the world - not as a Spaniard, nor as a Briton but as somebody with a unique identity. It is not something that for one reason or another sits well with a majority of Gibraltarians who often prefer to identify themselves to a history that is not really theirs.

Paisaje de Segovia  ( Undated - Museo de Salamanca )

Gustavo Bacarisas was born in Gibraltar in 1872. His father, Gabriel, quickly recognised and encouraged his exceptional artistic gifts and managed to obtain a scholarship for him from a group of local businessmen. At the age of nineteen he left Gibraltar for Rome to study in the Academia  Española de Bellas Artes  in San Pietro, Montorio.

Piazza del Popolo  ( c1900  - Gibraltar Ministry of Culture )

Santa María di Loreto e la Colona Traiana ( c1900 )

Campidoglio, Roma ( c 1900 )

Tapestry  ( c1900 - Casino Calpe Gibraltar )

Plaza de San Pedro, Roma ( c1900 )

Unknown Title  ( 1901 )

While  in Italy he also found time to enter one of his pictures for an exhibition held in Barcelona in 1898

Catalogue for the Exposición de Bellas Artes de Barcelona of 1898 and a black and white copy of  Gustavo Bacarisas' painting of Rome's main thoroughfare - 'El Corso'.

In 1905 he took part in the Venice Biennale where he may have been pleased to have his work admired by the King and Queen of Italy - however dubious their art critic credentials . It was the success of this exhibition that probably enticed him to move to Paris. It was a good decision. His pictures were beginning to show signs of French impressionist influences. He stayed in the old study of James McNeil Whistler - a man whose work he must have admired.

He didn't stay long but was obviously on his way up. The following year he found himself in London where he studied the works of classical English artists while finding time to exhibit at the Royal Academy. It was perhaps here that he managed to sell to a private American collector the picture of El Corso which he had exhibited previously in Barcelona. He got a thousand pounds for it - a considerable amount of money in those days.

El Tamesis  ( 1907 - Gibraltar Ministry of Culture )

Hyde Park ( 1907 - Ministry of Culture -Gibraltar )

In 1909 he returned to Gibraltar for a prolonged family visit and made various side trips including several to Morocco.

El Harem ( 1909 - Ministry of Culture - Gibraltar )

Apparently a keen mountain climber he also found time to make it to the top of the highest point of Monte Cridola of the Bellunesi Dolomites - the first ever ascent from the south of this massive 2581m peak.

Monte Cridola

He definitely seems to have caught the travel bug early in his life. In 1910 he visited Argentina at the invitation of Galerias Philipon. Before the year was out he was named professor of the Academia de Bellas Artes de Buenos Aires. Meanwhile he extended himself internationally by exhibiting in both New York and Philadelphia before returned to Gibraltar in 1914.

He didn't stay too long as he had decided it would be best both economically and artistically to move out of the rather limiting confines of his home town. He chose Seville where he continued to live for many years.

Things went well and by 1915 some of his pictures had been selected and included in the Certamen Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid. According to the art critic Fernando Periquet:
the painting, 'Sevilla en Fiesta' was perhaps the most commented on by the public in that exhibition'.
Yet another critic, Aurora León described it as;
 . . un lienzo de poderosa fuerza expresiva conseguida fundamentalmente con un color desbordante, color que el pintor imprime con arrojo y atrevimiento en esos malvas, amarillos, rojo, verdes y violáceos.
Bacarisas would later be able to say that yet another royal party had gone out of their way to view his work. The rather English Queen Victoria of Spain and her daughter the Infanta Beatriz visited his studio in Seville.

Preliminary sketch for Sevilla en Fiesta   ( c1915 )

Sevilla en Fiesta   ( c1915 - Museo de Bellas Artes - Seville )

Unknown title

That same year back home in Seville he got to know the Laffite family, owners of an important ceramics factory known as 'Los Remedios'. He produced several impressive tile designs for them.

Finca Los Remedios

The following tile panels are all found on the Cava de los Civiles building on the corner of Calle Antillano Campos and Palles del Coro in Seville. It is perhaps symptomatic of the artists generosity in that he was in the habit of signing his tiles, not just with his own name but that of the master oven-worker who had helped create them.

Carmen Gutiérrez

Jovita Arenas

Encarnación Arena

Maria Teresa Arenas

Entrance to Joaquin Arena's Grocery Store

Entrance from Calle Antellano Campos

In 1917 the Gibraltar Chronicle carried the following item of news;
We are glad to learn from the Seville paper of the 17th inst, that at an important exhibition of Fine Arts held in Seville under the patronage of the Seville Municipal Authorities , one of the most successful exhibitors was Mr, Gustavo Bacarisas. The excellent organisation of the exhibition was also mainly due to his energy and ability.
The exhibition was part of the famous Semana Santa festivities for which he also designed the publicity poster.

Torre de los Picos, Granada ( 1918 )

1919 was a particularly rewarding year. He proposed a design for the Seville Fair. It consisted of alternating red and white and green and white striped awnings and a unified design for the 'pañoletas' - the top triangular section of the Casetas, the booths and pavilions that are such an important part of the fair's unique atmosphere . It was not only accepted but is still used almost unaltered to this day. In acknowledgment the city made him Hijo Predilecto de Sevilla.

Modern day Seville Fair Casetas using the same red and white and green and white striped awnings as proposed by Bacarisas. The pañoletas also follow the same principles as the original ones he created for the Royal Pavilion.

El Estanque del Mercurio del Alcázar de Sevilla (1920 )

In 1921 he returned to Madrid and exhibited no less than 50 pictures in the Museo De Arte Moderno which included portraits of Andalucian stereotypes as well as some of his most recognisable pictures - the Sevilla en Fiesta series.  Spain's well-known philosopher José Ortega y Gasset had this to say in the prologue of the exhibition catalogue:
Es curioso advertir en la obra de Bacarisas, bajo este esplendor atmosférico, una emoción lírica, intima, de rara calidad que pulsa latente como un corazón dolorido.'
According to another critic, Pedro de Ginés - who covered the exhibition for the magazine Bética:
. . la obra de Bacarisas es uno de los grandes atractivos de la exposición.

Noche Sevillana

Muchacha con Abanico

Imperio Argentina

Unknown title

Parque Maria Luisa, Sevilla

Unknown title

Unknown Title

A few years later in 1922 he was on the move again, this time to Stockholm where he had been commissioned by the Swedish Government to design the scenery and costumes for a production of Bizet's Carmen in the Royal Dramatic Theatre - or Dramaten as it was known after its relocation in 1908.  It would be his first of many artistic interventions in the world of the theatre and ballet. There was also an added bonus - it was here that he met his future wife Elsa Jernas who was herself a well know artist in Sweden.

Elsa Jernas

Costume design for the opera Carmen ( Lady Hassan )

In 1925. he was also commissioned to design the scenery and decorations by the Trocadero Theatre in London for a production of Léo Delibes' comic ballet, Coppélia.

Not content with all this he returned yet again to Paris that same year and was commissioned to design the scenery, decorations and costumes both for the opening of Manuel de Falla's El Amor Brujo in the Opéra Comique in Paris and in the Teatro Español in Madrid - both of them featuring the famous classic dancer La Argentina. In 1936, the ballet played again in the Palais Garnier of Paris using the same decor and costumes designed by Bacarisas.

The Spanish composer, Manuel de Falla who became an intimate friend of Bacarisas and the influential Spanish dancer, Antonia Mercé  - known as La Argentina who played the leading role in El Amor Brujo.

Manuel de Falla's final balletic version of El Amor Brujo - scenery and the costumes by Gustavo Bacarisas ( 1925 )

His professional relationship with La Argentina continued apace and he is known to have designed several of her costumes on many other occasions. According to Idoia Murga Castro in her Escenografía de la Danza en la Edad de Plata ( 1916-1936 ) the correspondence between them suggests that Antonia Mercé was not the easiest person to please.
La correspondencia entre el artista y la bailarina es abundante y gracia a ella es posible formarse una imagen de Bacarisas como trabajador meticuloso y perfeccionista  . . .  Gustavo . .  le diseño muchos figurines, pero siempre bajo sus indicaciones. Así lo confirma en una carta . . .  " Tu sabes lo que te conviene para tu libertad de movimiento al bailar."
And yet:
D. Gustavo . . . reúne un poder de creación solo comparable a su imaginación portentosa y a su profundo conocimiento de España . .

Field Workers Gathering Hay ( 1926 - Gibraltar Museum )

Two years later he created the panels which were used in the Pabellón de la Plaza de America for the Argentina Pavilion as well as the posters for the Exposición Ibero-Americana of Seville of that same year. At the beginning of 1930 he visited the Pavilion together with its main architect Don Martin Noel, as an honoured guest. Later he presided over and judged a special exhibition of Sevillian art held in the Pavilion of Brazil which also formed part of the Exposición Ibero-Americana.

Exhibition poster

Designs for the Argentinian Pavilion - 1929 - Exposición Iberoamericana de Sevilla
( c1927 - Gibraltar Museum )

In the 1950s the Argentinean pavilion building was taken over by the Instituto Murillo and converted into a chapel. Bacarisas was asked to supervise the restoration of his own  paintings. The Spanish journalist José Andrés Vásquez visited him while he was hard at work in Seville:
Al vernos suspende su trabajo - que comparte con modestos auxiliares inteligentes - y nos abre su sonrisa, generosa y ancha de gran artista y de cabal hombre de bien. Y de Sevillano adoptivo, fiel a Sevilla madre.
In 1929 he was commissioned to design the costumes for a production called Evergreen which was possibly either a play or a ballet - I have not been able to find any mention of it in the available literature.

Costume designs for the production Evergreen - The two last are for Miss Masters and Miss Rhone, presumably characters in the play ( 1929 - Gibraltar Museum )

That same year he also designed several possible themes for large-headed dwarf Cabezudos. These outsided 'heads' made of papier maché, are worn by people dressed in the appropriate matching costumes. They are used in fairs and festivals all over Spain. I have been unable to discover who commissioned these.

Cabezudos ( Gibraltar Museum )

Bacarisas rising fame inevitably threw him into an ever widening group of fellow artists which included household names such as the Guitarist Andres Segovia, Federico Garcia Lorca and Manuel de Falla. Many of these and more he would met frequently at that cultural institution - the Ateneo de Seville - well-known locally for having instigated the Festival de Reyes Magos. In the 1930s, perhaps giving us an insight into Gustavo Bacarisas generosity of spirit he was the person who gave the second highest donation out of a long list of local worthies when the Ateneo asked for help to cover its expenses.

Group photo taken in the Ateneo de Sevilla in the 1930s with Federico Garcia Lorca second and Gustavo Bacarisas fourth from left. Bacarisas knew Lorca quite well having met him in the Polinario Tavern of Granada, a place he visited frequently with Manuel de Falla

The Exposición de Sevilla of 1930 included - perhaps unusually - a large number of portraits. One of them was his painting of the contemporary rector of the University of Seville, Dr Estanislao del Campo. It was considered exceptional.

Portrait of Dr. Estanislao del Campo - Rector  (1930s )

Appropriately, when Del Campo took over from Dr Ramon Carande Thovar at the University, he presented him with a portrait which had also been painted by Bacarisas.

Copy of a portrait of Dr Ramon Carande Thovar held by the University of Seville

In 1932 he took part in an international exhibition of modern art in the Baltimore Museum of Art which had been organised by the Carnegie Institute. The exhibition was visited by 30000 people. This was followed by another successful exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts of St Louis. The Spanish newspaper ABC was glowing in its reports  - although perhaps understandably forgetting his Gibraltarian origins.
Concurrieron después de selección, pintores de Inglaterra, Polonia, Italia, Francia, Holanda, Alemania, Suiza, Rusia, Austria, Hungría, Checoeslovaquia,  Suecia y Bélgica. De España concurrieron Gustavo Bacarisas,  . . . . . .
In 1933 he travelled throughout Castile painting its countryside and towns. Yet it was during this period that he produced one of his most turbulent and atmospheric  painting - 'Viva la Republica'. It may have been  a statement  of his left-wing political leanings although some have argued that it was not. One telling incident in his life - his return to Seville at the end of the second world war - has been used to suggest that he was not as loath as other contemporary artists - Picasso for example - to live under the Franco regime.

It is an unfair criticism. Gibraltarians of all hues were always quite prepared to enter Spain regularly for a variety of reasons during the dictatorship while at the same time strongly disapproving of the regime. He even painted 'Noche Federico Garcia Lorca' a picture making reference to the well known poet who was later killed by the Nationalist, almost certainly because of his support for the National Front.

In any case, 'Viva la Republica' is not his only attempt at depicting the political mood of the day. As shown below, his numerous other Spanish Civil War paintings - which were done in 1936 - are all dealt with in a thoroughly sympathetic manner.

Viva la Republica ( 1931 )

Desfile de Sta Barbara - Spanish Civil War ( 1936 - Ministry of Culture - Gibraltar )

El Convoy - Spanish Civil War ( 1936 - Ministry of Culture - Gibraltar )

Interior de Taberna - Spanish Civil War ( 1936 - Ministry of Culture - Gibraltar )

El Interrogatorio - Spanish Civil War ( 1936 - Ministry of Culture - Gibraltar )

Milicianos en la Gran Via - Spanish Civil War ( 1936 - Ministry of Culture - Gibraltar )

Paqueo en la Calle - Spanish Civil War ( 1936 - Ministry of Culture - Gibraltar )

Niños Jugando - Spanish Civil War ( 1936 - Ministry of Culture - Gibraltar )

During this period he also designed the sets and costumes for a production of Léo Delibes' 'Coppelia' which was stgaged in London's Trocadero.

The start of the Spanish Civil War found him in Madrid. He returned  to Gibraltar. Here he painted some local scenes and took the opportunity to cross the straits to Tangier - yet again - and beyond.

In 1937 - and in sharp contrast to his rather sombre Civil War paintings - he produced a set of five large and lively paintings for the Cecil Hotel in Gibraltar which belonged to his brother Alberto. Generally the Bacarisas family were quite well placed on the Rock. His other brother Horacio would become the British Consul in Madeira during World War II.

Aracena ( 1937 - Ministry of Culture Gibraltar )

Castellar  ( 1937 - Ministry of Culture Gibraltar )

Jimena  ( 1937 - Ministry of Culture Gibraltar )

Tangier, Morocco (  1937 - Ministry of Culture )

Casemates Gibraltar ( 1937 - Ministry of Culture )

Hotel Cecil

Self Portrait ( 1939 Gibraltar Museum )

In 1940, and at the start of World War II he and his family - together with most of the local population - were forced to leave the Rock. The Bacarisas were among the luckier ones who were evacuated to Madeira. He stayed at the Savoy Hotel

View of Coastline Funchal Madeira ( c1942 - Mrs Russo )

Boats in Gibraltar ( 1940s )

When the war finally came to an end in 1945, he returned to Seville and launched into a series of paintings of what has often been described romantically - but appropriately - as Los Pueblos Blancos Andaluces. After so many years away from some sort of recognisable home, this must have been an exercise in nostalgia.

Jose Riquelme Sanchez, writing for the 'Almoraima' magazine, quotes Jose de las Cuevas who was particularly impressed by his paitings of Arcos de la Frontera:
Consigue captar el pueblo reflejado en el rio, sin escaparse ni una sola luz, ni un solo tono o matiz por leve que sea. Elsa, su mujer, dibujaba burillos deliciosos.
The author Enrique Valdivieso was equally admiring :
Aquí en Andalucía valoramos al máximo toda la pintura suya . . '

Pueblo Andaluz

Feria - Barrio de Granada

Puesto de Flores

La Feria

Unknown Title

Calle Nocturna del Pueblo

Galanteo en el Patio de Juderías

Unknown Title

Aracena   ( 1947 - Lady Hassan )

Unknown title

In 1947 he took part in his first major Spanish exhibition since the end of the Civil War. It was sponsored by the Subsecretaria de Educación Popular and la Comisaria de Bellas Artes, both of them well under the thumb of the dictatorship. Perhaps conscious of the political implications Bacarisas seems to have ensured that one of the guests of honour was Hugo Border, the British Consul in Seville at the time.

Feria de Sevilla poster designed by Bacarisas ( 1947 )

In 1952 he visited Gibraltar in order to advise the local architect Natalio Langdon on a proposal to remodel St Joseph's - the main church in the southern area of Gibraltar. It was a project that was unfortunately never carried out.

St Joseph's Church ( Tito Vallejo )

In 1954, the City Council of Gibraltar commissioned a picture of the Rock from Bacarisas. It would be presented to Queen Elizabeth when she visited Gibraltar during her Commonwealth tour. It remained in Buckingham Palace until it was returned to Gibraltar at the request of Sir Joshua Hassan, the Chief Minister of the day. In 1988 permission was obtained for the painting to remain on permanent loan to the Gibraltar Museum.

Gibraltar  ( 1954 - Gibraltar Museum )

Rosia (  1954 - Langdon Family )

                  Corpus Christi Procession, Main Street Gibraltar  ( 1954 - Langdon Family )

Coronation Parade, Main Street Gibraltar  ( 1954 - Langdon Family )

In 1961 he was made correspondent to the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid. The following year his home town finally acknowledged his achievements. They granted him the freedom of the city by making him the first ever Honorary Freeman of Gibraltar.

In 1968 the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Santa Isabel de Hungría dedicated the main section of their Autumn exhibition to Bacarisas and awarded him with its prestigious Gold Medal. As one art critic commented in a newspaper eulogy it was well deserved not just because he was such a good painter but because of the influence his work would have on other Sevillian artists.
El Ilustre artista inyectó una savia nueva a nuestra pintura, cuyos conceptos, demasiados tradicionales, experimentaron una saludable renovación por el influjo de las creaciones de este poeta del color  . . .

Paisaje de Avila  ( 1968 - Ministry of Culture Gibraltar )

Fleet in the Bay of Gibraltar ( c 1968 - Gibraltar Museum)

None of which made him stop painting and indeed in 1970 he was still producing some of his best work. Since his death in 1971 his name has continued to be honoured both in Gibraltar and in Spain. with innumerable conferences, retrospective exhibitions, biographical articles, the naming of streets and building after him, and the issue of a series of Gibraltar postage stamps bearing his portrait.

Baile ( 1970 )

Mujeres con Frutos y Fondo Arquitectónico ( 1970  )

But it was not until 2011 that the very first Bacarisas exhibition was held in the Government's Exhibition Gallery. Gibraltar was honouring him posthumously and perhaps belatedly, possibly due to a serious lack of available pictures to exhibit. It is something that has since been partially remedied by the Gibraltar Museum and the Ministry of Culture who at present own more than forty of his pictures between them.

Finally, perhaps I should mention that I had an added incentive for writing  this short article. Just like the Bacarisa family the Chipulinas were also evacuated to Madeira via Morocco. It was in Casablanca that my father, Pepe Chipulina met, took lessons from, and became a good friend of the great man. The fact that Pepe was an inveterate dabbler in watercolour painting could have had something to do with this friendship - but I would like to think that it was much more a question of a meeting of minds.

Patio del Rey Don Pedro


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Sparks (RAH)

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The name Sparks refers to several versions of the same character.
For a list of the other versions, see Sparks.

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Sparks is a G.I. Joe character from the A Real American Hero series.
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Animated continuity - Sunbow

Sparks was a character created for the cartoon. He appeared in three episodes of the G.I.Joe cartoon. At first, he's a member of G.I.Joe. In the Season 2 episode "Gray Hairs and Time," Sparks is apparently retired from G.I.Joe and works for a television station, yet still offers his services to his Joe comrades. He is voiced by Gregg Berger.

A Real American Hero comics continuity - Devil's Due

Sparks was introduced to the comic book universe by Devil's Due, during their publication era of G.I. Joe. He was established as an early liaison of the team - a Pentagon translator who developed a working relationship with General Flagg and helped him bring together the original formation of the G.I. Joe team. After the team was established, he served as the Pentagon's official connection to G.I. Joe. He befriended Recondo; years later, when Recondo was reported killed in action by Major Bludd, the presumed-dead Joe reached out to Sparks and had his friend keep his status as deceased, so that he could still help the Joe team from deep undercover (literally, beyond death). Sparks kept the facade alive and was the only person to know that Recondo was still alive.

He took on a more active role in later years, when General Joe Colton was overseeing Joe operations, assisting Joes with special missions both overseas and domestically. He also maintained the classified Data Desk, and was injured during the Phoenix Guard's assault on "The Rock" (Joe HQ at the time) while trying to purge the Data Desk to prevent Cobra access to that vital information. He recuperated at the home of Colton and his wife Jane.

Sparks was released as part of the 2007 International G.I.Joe Convention exclusive "Tanks for the Memories" box set from the Official G.I. Joe Collectors' Club.

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Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Mumia's Date with Destiny

Abu Jamal denied retrial. So when's the execution set for?

I know I said back during the Billy Smithson murder trial that I would no longer root for death sentences to be imposed. So I am not rooting. I'm just asking.

Anonymous jake said...

You don't have to root for the death penalty. I will root for you. This long-overdue justice needs to be finally carried out.
Maureen Faulkner has been a saint for these 25 years, through all the liberal, celebrity trivialization of her family's pain.
It's time to end the racial politics and stand up for our court system and police.

April 7, 2009 at 7:29 PM
Blogger steve mcdonald said...

if he's given a soccer trophy by the far left, you know there's no hope...

April 10, 2009 at 9:02 AM

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Thursday, April 1, 2010

Spring Growth

Daffodils, chicks, bunnies, and puddles. They all grow bigger in April! The Earth is fresh and bright and the season turns to birth, renewal and growth. That's our theme in April - Growth and Renewal! We will also be focusing on using recycled materials and scraps in our creations to celebrate Earth and keep it green.

We would like to welcome our April Muse, Gerrie Johnnic, who will be sharing some great new art with us. We would also like to welcome a new April Visiting Artist, Cathy Peper, who will join us for our challenges this month. Jules Eickmeier will be continuing on as a Visiting Artist this month and we can't wait to see what she makes this time!

We just finished our Design Team call and the new members have been chosen. It was an extremely hard choice with a plethora of amazing candidates. In fact, there were so many wonderful candidates, we've had to grow the design team a little bit bigger. We feel that we have chosen a team which represents many different styles and we think that Term Two's Team will be extraordinary and provide immense inspiration and instruction all round.

In addition to our own growing numbers, lots of new things will be sprouting up and blossoming at Gingersnap Creations in April:

~ you'll get to meet our new Design Team members and see their first Gingersnap projects;
~ we'll have an interview with our April Muse, Gerrie Johnnic, where we find out about her favorite piece of art;
~ we've got 4 new challenges for you: Chestnut Theme, Spicy Supply, Random Redhead and the Color Challenge;
~ there'll be 4 new groups of Ginger Gems who will be revealed and 4 more randomly drawn Home Page Artists;
~ we'll have a few new tutorials to keep you inspired;
~ and, finally, we'll give you even more Reasons to Stamp, this time for May, at the end of the month.

We've also got lots of new things brewing at the Yahoo Group too! We have a new Art Exchange to tempt you and once again the members of the Yahoo Group will get a new challenge and a new project inspiration.

Our Party Postcard was a great success and the art was just fabulous. Here's a couple to inspire you:

Artwork by Laura

Artwork by Debby

Here's some art from last month's Yahoo Group Cupcake Challenge:

Artwork by Sue

If you would like to have some fun with the other Yahoo Gingersnappers, it's very easy to join the Yahoo group.
Don't forget that you can follow Gingersnap Creations on Facebook, and

We hope we grow some fun this month and renew our creativity! Come back later today to meet our newest design team members!

  1. Welcome to everyone, and love the Growth theme too.. off to find something to grow! lol

  2. Oh my all sounds very exciting! look forward to it all

    Oh and welcome to the newbies congratulations he he xx

    Love Dawn xx

  3. I used beautiful colours of spring for the second and third cards here:
    GREAT challenge...and exciting news about your new designers!

Thanks for your wonderful words!

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text: En Garde meat products! Armed with your BBQ sword you can finally take your rightful place at the grill as the Musketeer of meats. Plus, with the handy eye mask that is included, you can maintain your secret identity. Just remember, theatrics are the name of the game for any superhero—so make sure to "sign" your KC masterpieces with a Zorro-esque slash of your sword. Available soon for around $29. [Firebox via NOTCOT]


text:
The Tate Modern has housed some strange art—huge curving slides, a massive artificial sun, and a giant spider, to name a few. But its new installation is the strangest yet: a mind-boggling carpet of 100 million sunflower seeds.

The seeds, installed by Chinese conceptual artist Ai Weiwei, come as the eleventh commission in the Tate Modern's Unilever series, which fills the museum's central Turbine Hall with big, unusual and often interactive art. Weiwei's seeds—all 100 million of them—are not actual sunflower seeds but porcelain replicas, hand-crafted and individually painted over the course of two years by some 1600 Chinese artisans.

The Guardian sheds some light on how all those seeds were created:

"Historically, the town's [Jingdezhen's] only activity has been making porcelainware for over 1,000 years. The super-high-quality skill for generations has been making imperial porcelainware," Ai said. "In modern days, however, it has become very commercialised."

Harnessing traditional craft skills, each seed was moulded, fired, and painted with three or four individual brush strokes, often by women taking the objects home to work on them. One thousand six hundred people were involved in the process. "Even taxi drivers were talking about it," he said.

"I tried to explain to [the artisans] what we wanted them for, but they found it very difficult to understand," said Ai.

The installation opens today and runs through May 2011. [Designboom and Guardian]


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April 2015 Free Kiln Carving Pattern

fused bottle glass starfish

Like most people who live in snowy climates, spring always makes me think of the beach with longing.  Since I actually live in a landlocked state, it’s not like I can just run down to the beach for the afternoon.  I can, however, make a fancy starfish dish with a nifty free kiln carving pattern.

Step 1.

Download the pattern from the online store.  No credit card is necessary, simply add to cart, proceed to checkout and you’ll get a download link after check out.  There are a few other free patterns there that you may want to check out if you haven’t already.

Step 2.

Print the pattern, preferably on card-stock, then cut out and remove the gray areas of the pattern and make a re-useable stencil.

Step 3.

Pin the pattern onto a piece of fiber paper, make sure you use a cut proof surface.  I’m using a sheet of cardboard and 1/32″ fiber paper from Delphi Glass.  Thicker paper will result in a more pronounced pattern.

Kiln carving pattern for bottle glass
Pinned fiber paper

Step 4.

Carefully cut out the fiber paper through the stencil.  I prefer a snap off razor blade cutter because the fiber paper makes your razor dull very quickly and it’s nice to have a new one always available.

stencil for kiln carving with bottle glass
Cut fiber paper through stencil
kiln carving pattern for bottle glass
Completely cut out kiln carving pattern

Step 5.

Once you have the fiber paper all cut, put it on a prepared kiln shelf and put a piece of glass over it.  I’m using half of a champagne bottle that I flattened (mostly) into a sheet.  Champagne bottles are quite thick so I only need one layer.

fusing champagne bottle glass
kiln carving pattern with champagne glass

Step 6.

Fire to a full fuse using the full fuse for 1/4″ recycled glass schedule.

fused champagne bottle starfish
fused champagne bottle starfish

Step 7.

Slump into a dish mold (we’ll do this in a later post) or drill and hang as a suncatcher.  This would also be a terrific pattern for tile in a bathroom or backsplash.

fused bottle glass starfish
fused bottle glass starfish


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Q & A Monday – July 8, 2013

Jodi McRaney RushoHere we are again with Q & A Monday!  These are all reader questions submitted via e-mail.  Personal details have been omitted for privacy.  If one of these questions is your and you’d like attribution and a back link, let me know.  If you have a question of your own, send it on over via the contact form.

  • Q:  I would like to make dinner plates and salad bowl out of green wine bottles. Most of the projects I see on your blog are only using one bottle in them. Can I use multiple bottles to make a bigger plate 10″-13″? Continue reading Q & A Monday – July 8, 2013
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North Rose Wolcott High School, Student Work

Last January I had the pleasure of talking with Howard Skinner, the art teacher at North Rose Wolcott High School about the possibility of his students working with recycled glass. What a fabulous surprise to get photo’s of the projects. These students are doing some seriously cool glasswork.

From an artist’s point of view, this is really about the best thing that can happen. If my work and knowledge can inspire kids to branch out and explore, then I’m doing my job right! (of course, having an expert like Howard as your teacher helps too…)

Continue reading North Rose Wolcott High School, Student Work

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Windbreak and Best Actress award(s)

Windbreak started coming to Farmer’s Market with me during the summer of 2007. One of my favorite people (we’ll call him Don) came to visit it every week for quite a few weeks straight.

Towards the middle of the summer, Don’s wife (let’s call her Annette)decided to give Windbreak to Don for Christmas. At that point Windbreak didn’t have a base, so casually, during one of the weekly visits, I asked Don for advice on building the perfect base.

Turns out Don had definite opinions about that. Which I followed.

Well, this went on for the rest of the summer. Annette and I managed to keep a straight face until the very end.

The best/worst part was having to tell Don that Windbreak had been sold. Ouch!

Needless to say, Don was surprised on Christmas, and Annette and I should have gotten some kind of award for acting!

Windbreak measures 15″ wide and approximately 10″ tall. Hand-carved and slumped recycled glass 3/8″ thick. Mounted in a solid walnut base with LED lights.

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February 10, 2016 2:44 pm

15th suspect in alleged pedophile ring surrenders to police in Montreal

WATCH ABOVE: Police officers uncovered a pedophile ring across Quebec.

MONTREAL – The 15th suspect in an alleged juvenile-pornography ring has surrendered to police in Montreal.

Jessy Giroux is set to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon on various child-pornography charges.

READ MORE: Bail hearing postponed for suspects in Quebec pedophile ring

The charge sheet against Giroux, 32, indicates he has a Toronto address.

A bail hearing for seven of his co-accused is continuing in Montreal.

READ MORE: Quebec provincial police uncover province-wide pedophile ring

Of the seven other men, two waived their right to a bail hearing and five were freed last week under various conditions.

The 15 are aged between 27 and 74 and face various charges, including possession and distribution of child pornography between 2003 and last month.

© 2016 The Canadian Press

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Global News


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Magazine Ads
FAQ B&W Photos Color Photos Stories & Reports Stories & Reports 2 Stories & Reports 3 Modeling Timetables Magazine Ads Recipes Employes Report Official Guide GN Goat Winold Reiss Empire Builder Brochures Route Guides What's New

The Great Northern advertised heavily in magazines and other media to promote its passenger and freight trains.  In this section are ten color and b&w ads from the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's.

WARNING:  These are BIG .jpg files (350k to 400k) and may take a while to download (especially if you're on a dial-up connection).  Click on the thumbnailed picture to view the ad of your choice.  Below each ad is a brief description and date.

ad_1.jpg (382574 bytes)

Empire Builder ad - National Geographic - December 1946

ad_2.jpg (392022 bytes)

Western Star ad - National Geographic - February 1955

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Empire Builder ad - National Geographic - February 1965

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Great Domes ad - National Geographic - September 1955

ad_5.jpg (479179 bytes)

Empire Builder ad - National Geographic - February 1947

ad_6.jpg (321999 bytes)

Glacier Park ad - National Geographic - February 1953

ad_7.jpg (287952 bytes)

"Modern China" (pre-Mao) - National Geographic - March 1946

ad_11.jpg (129394 bytes)

Glacier Park closed for World War 2 (Rocky crying) - unknown magazine - from Ebay.

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Glacier Park reopening ad - National Geographic - May 1946

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GN Employees ad - National Geographic - February 1944

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GN Right-Of-Way improvements - National Geographic - February 1945

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4 New Great Domes ad - Modern Railroads - May 1956

oriental_ltd_ad.jpg (156810 bytes)

Oriental Limited ad from back page of GN Semaphore magazine, March 1928.


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GNSS-SDR v0.0.8 accepted into Debian testing

less than 1 minute read

GNSS-SDR v0.0.8 has been accepted as a software package in Debian testing and Ubuntu 16.10.

This package fixes building when using the new releases of gnuradio 3.7.10 and libvolk1.3, thus closing bug #828034.

The package also closes bug #828040, resulting in a expanded list of processor architectures in which GNSS-SDR can be built, now including:

  • i386: Intel x86 instruction set (32-bit microprocessors).
  • amd64: also known as x86-64, the 64-bit version of the x86 instruction set, originally created by AMD and implemented by AMD, Intel, VIA and others.
  • armel: ARM embedded ABI, supported on ARM v4t and higher.
  • armhf: ARM hard float, ARMv7 + VFP3-D16 floating-point hardware extension + Thumb-2 instruction set and above.
  • arm64: ARM 64 bits or ARMv8.
  • mips: MIPS architecture (big-endian, such as those manufactured by SGI).
  • mipsel: MIPS architecture (little-endian, such as Loongson 3).
  • mips64el: 64-bit version of MIPS architecture.
  • powerpc: the RISC 32-bit microprocessor architecture developed by IBM, Motorola (now Freescale) and Apple.
  • ppc64: 64-bit big-endian PowerPC architecture.
  • ppc64el: 64-bit little-endian PowerPC architecture.
  • s390x: IBM System z architecture for mainframe computers.

This is an improvement in Portability.

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Friday, December 31, 2010

First of all I want to wish you all a safe end of 2010 and a sparkling beginning of 2011. May this year for you be filled with love, peace and happyness.

And my last blog of this year I am starting with MyUglyDorothy. They have 2 lucky boards and I got the first skin a few days ago, now I was so lucky to get the second skin too. Here goes:

Next I got some more skins...2 from the lucky boards at Dimbula Rose. The hair I am wearing is a Christmas present from ChiChikie (blogged before).

The next skin I got was from PinkINNik (former Ice Coco) and they have 4 lucky boards.

And I got some skins from JE Republic. They are having a hunt in the store, well it is not really a HUNt as the gifts are easy to spot in the shop. 10 Gifts are put there, some are free, some cost 1 L$. I didn't get all, what I got is shown below. The skins were in 2-packs or single.The shoes are by Baby Monkey (not free)

Talking about skins: you need HAIR to go with the skins. And I got some lovely hair at Dark Mouse for free (comes in all colors, fatpack).

But the hair from EXILE (under the tree) is AWESOME ! Ohhh I am so going to wear that tonight :)

Graffitti wear has a MM board and a lucky board but I was not lucky on either one. They also have a lucky dip and I got the outfit from the dip :) The hair item is a gift in store.

GizzA has this lovely dark blue wool dress as a gift in their store and the Baby Monkey shoes go so great with it :)

Aidoru gives all guys and gals a lovely necklace under the tree for free.

And Elegant Epiffany has new make-up on their MM board so jump over and go click ladies and while you are in the stores I blogged: take your time to look around ....the designers are all so kind to give us free stuff but they also need to pay the rent...

While jumping around looking for freebies I found this great dress AND an outfit for your man to go with it. Lovely spanish gown with shoes and hairpiece. By Antiquity.

Last one to blog is Nizhi. They have quite a few freebies in store, you have to find them though. Use the pics as a guide ;) I am wearing the Curio gift skin here with the Winterflush make up (also a gift, both blogged before) Looks like I am getting a cold *smiles*.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

The most gorgious dresses and shoes...and much more..

It is almost the end of the month and Saschas design gives away their monthly dress or gown. This time it is a very Lady Di dress with a short jacket in a lovely emerald. WOW...joining the group will set you back 50 L but you get ALL previous monthly outfits (about 30) so not too bad...
Look at the LOVELY details on this dress...(shoes Leila by Babymonkey, not free)

I couldn't skip this lovelt gown from Wetherby on my blog. It is the freebie of thursday so maybe you are too late. But Wetherby gives their group members (joining is free) EACH day a new lovely outfit. The shoes are by BabyMonkey (not free).

Pixieplum Flanagan from BabyMonkey gave me a sneak preview of her new shoes for January (I am not showing you ALL...more on the upcoming blogs). The shoes I am wearing with most outfits are by Babymonkey. The shoes are not free but group members (joining is free) get loads of presents from Pixieplum. Like the very cute socks....aren't they great?

Bitch Tails has a questionmark board where I got the following lovely outfits. There are also 4 lucky chairs in the shop.

Mimis Choice has a variety of presents in their shop and they are shown below. They go from cute hair with a summer hat to shoes and lovely dresses. Most are free, some will cost you 1 L$.

            Group gift (male and female)

I have quite a bit to blog today so here goes: The Plastik gives you these great outfits....WOW !

And Fallen Gods has these cute presents under the tree. I KNOW ...I KNOW....I only blog freebies, shoes, skins, hair, clothes and jewelry...but this time I am making an exception.

The hair comes in all colors (it is color change with a hud, the crown is also colorchange with the hud). The hair moves like octopus arms.

Ragdolls has this lovely gift in store (MM board)

And finally I can only wish you HAPPY SHOPPING LADIES.


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National Partnership for Women & Families

In the News

Del. Agencies Propose Greater Oversight of Abortion Clinics; Wyo. House Approves Ultrasound Bill

Del. Agencies Propose Greater Oversight of Abortion Clinics; Wyo. House Approves Ultrasound Bill

February 8, 2011 — Delaware officials on Friday sent a letter to state lawmakers calling for legislation that would permit their agencies' officials to define the parameters for unsafe or unsanitary conditions in medical offices where invasive procedures are performed and allow them to conduct unscheduled inspections of clinics, the Wilmington News Journal reports. If problems are discovered within a practice, the professional regulations division would develop a course for corrective action or discipline.

In the letter, Division of Public Health Director Karyl Rattay and Delaware Division of Professional Regulations Director James Collins cautioned lawmakers to be wary of unintended consequences, such as the singling out of medical offices where abortion procedures are performed or the creation of a "large bureaucracy." Several state officials and lawmakers -- including Gov. Jack Markell (D), Sen. Bethany Hall-Long (D) and Sen. Colin Bonini (R), who opposes abortion -- welcomed the letter's suggestions. Bonini praised the effort as "proactive" (Parra, Wilmington News Journal, 2/5).

Wyoming House Approves Revised Ultrasound Bill

The Wyoming House on Monday gave preliminary approval to a bill (HB 251) that would require health care providers in the state to inform a woman seeking an abortion that she could view an ultrasound image of her fetus before undergoing an abortion, the AP/Washington Examiner reports (AP/Washington Examiner, 2/7).

The measure is a revised version of a bill (HB 118) that the state House defeated on Jan. 25. Rep. Bob Brechtel (R), the sponsor of both bills, said the modified measure omits the requirement that providers inform women that fetuses past a certain age can feel pain.

Opponents of the revised bill "bristled at Brechtel's reintroduction" of the issue, according to the AP/Billings Gazette. Rene Hinkle, an obstetrician who testified against the new bill on behalf of the Wyoming Medical Society, said providers routinely perform ultrasound procedures on pregnant women and are required to ensure informed consent of patients in advance of all medical procedures. She added that those medical standards are "dictated by some other body, not this Legislature." The bill now proceeds to the full House for further consideration (AP/Billings Gazette, 2/4).


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Solving the Mystery of Reading Greens

One of the greatest feelings in golf is to know that you are having a great day on the putting green. It seems like the full swing shots and short game shots are not quite as important because your putter is doing such a great job of saving your score. The logical question, however, is how can I have a great putting day every day? Every golfer should strive to be the best putter they can be. In this article, I will describe to you the three key areas to refine in order to become that solid putter.

Craig photo2-1

Green reading is the most important element. Making sure you know which way is up-and-down and if the balls breaking left or right is the absolute most important factor. You’re dealing with gravity.  Don’t get distracted by mythical pieces of information such as ALL putts break toward the ocean or ALL putts break away from that mountain. Each putting green has its own micro-environment with it’s own mountain ranges and valleys. As the golfer, it is your responsibility to identify these key areas on the putting green, so when you approach the green complex take note of the mounds and valleys. When you approach the green your number one task is to find the lowest point of the green and drainage for the water. Look around for actual drain caps that are beside the greens then visualize rain pouring down across the green and watch the rain move down hill as it flows off of hills and into valleys.  Once you have a very good feel for how the slopes have been created across the entire green, take a look at your putt. The reason why this is an effective way to read greens is that you are less likely to see what you want to see and actually read the terrain correctly. You can also feel these slopes with your feet as you walk the terrain.

Take a look at the color of the putting green as well.  if you see that the grass is a darker green,  then you are seeing the shaded underside of the blades of grass and therefore you are looking at a section of the green that the water would drain toward. If you see the lighter colored grass, you are seeing the reflective side of the top of the blades of grass and this area of grass is draining away from you. If you can identify where these two areas meet, which can, in some cases, be a distinct line, you are observing either a ridge top or a valley bottom.

I have included a picture of a green with a stream of water on it so you can see how water moves off of the putting surface towards the drains.

Reading Golf Greens

It is my goal to help you play FUNdamentally GREAT GOLF! Enjoy looking at each putting green you play with this topographical perspective and begin recognizing the signs that will lead you to lower scores.

By: Craig Hocknull

PGA Professional Craig HocknullBIO: Craig Hocknull, PGA Southwest Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2014
Owner of Learn.Play.Laugh – Visit our website to read about our valley locations, classes, and coaches: – Call our office with questions: 602-561-4653

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