“Migraine” is a soulful but unsentimental 15-minute drama about a Seattle shoe designer (Michael O’Farrell) in New York on business. A recovering addict, he’s struck by a splitting headache and asks a hotel concierge he has insulted for the address of a 12-step group. the concierge sends him to a meeting of transgender drug abusers, and his eyes are opened.

“With short films, you want to hook the audience fast,” says Bonifacio. “I knew this story had hooks. we find out he’s a recovering drug addict so he can’t take pills. Then he makes a homophobic comment and winds up at a very specific meeting.

“That’s one reason I love short films. No matter where my feature career takes me, I’ll continue to do them. They challenge me.”

Bonifacio was a self-starter as a director. Growing up in Flatbush, he first saw himself as a third baseman, but by his late teens moved into acting. Inspired by the indie films of the ’90s, Bonifacio got behind the camera — but didn’t pursue film school.

“I got the reading lists from the NYU and Columbia film schools, so I read and watched hundreds of books and films,” he says.

He made his first feature, “Lbs.,” over 27 months, as the story involved a man who undergoes a dramatic weight loss. “ ‘Lbs.’ was my film school,” Bonifacio says.

all the while, he made short films and worked on “Amexicano,” an immigration drama.

He’s currently preparing several features, including a Brooklyn-set dramedy he’ll direct and act in this summer, as well as a feature to be shot in Seattle and star O’Farrell, a scrap-metal business owner who debuts in “Migraine.”

“Michael O’Farrell had been introduced to me by one of my producers, and he always wanted to act. So as we were prepping a feature, he said we should do a short,” says Bonifacio, who lives in Midwood.

“During filming, the crew would come up and ask what other movies Mick has done. And I’d say, ‘This is it, his only one!’ ”

“Migraine” screens Monday at 2:30 at Village 7, Saturday at 12:15 at Clearview Chelsea and Sunday at 7:30 at Tribeca Cinemas. Go to tribecafilm.com for more information.

Director Matthew Bonifacio back at Tribeca

BOWLING GREEN, KY (4/30/12) – The Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Western Kentucky University continues toward a June 2013 opening after recently receiving state approval. The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education approved WKU’s third practice-based doctorate in April, clearing the way for the next step in the certification process. Director Harvey Wallmann said he is expecting to hear soon from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, WKU’s main accrediting organization, keeping the program on track for review by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). That application will be submitted in December. Dr. Wallmann said WKU must have candidacy status from CAPTE before it can start accepting students in the first class. Once the report is submitted, he said CAPTE will conduct a site visit in February and issue its findings in April. That would clear the way for classes to begin in June 2013, he said. In the meantime, the faculty is keeping busy with research, developing and teaching undergraduate courses and looking for ways to strengthen the DPT program. “We’re going to hit the ground running,” he said. He is particularly excited by the addition of two faculty members, Dr. Don Hoover and Dr. Beth Norris. both have been tenured faculty members with records of research and public service, he said.

Dr. Hoover, who will start this fall, has a PhD in exercise science as well as physical therapy from the University of Kansas and is a certified specialist in strength and conditioning. He has 12 years of experience teaching in physical therapy programs and has experience in administrative oversight of curricular issues, assessment activities and faculty development within a program, as well as assisting in the oversight of operating budgets. Dr. Norris will join the faculty in fall 2013. she has a PhD in movement science from Seton Hall and her physical therapy degree from the University of Tennessee Center for Health Sciences. she has seven years of teaching experience in DPT programs in the fields of orthopedic physical therapy, therapeutic interventions, evidence-based practice, and anatomy lab and is actively involved in research. Dr. Wallmann said the program is also adding new sites for clinical rotations. WKU’s program requires 118 credits and 36 weeks of clinical education rotation. CAPTE requires a minimum of 38 sites initially based on the incoming class of 30 students and to date WKU has identified almost 70. interest in WKU’s program remains high, even with the delayed start, he said. There were more than 100 applicants for 30 slots for fall 2012, of which nearly 70 were interviewed. Of those, 56 have opted to stay in the pool for summer 2013 and will be added to those who apply by the Jan. 15 deadline. “We’re pretty excited. I want to get this program running,” Dr. Wallmann said. “That’s the fun part, bringing the students in and starting to educate.” SurfKY NewsInformation provided by WKU

Copyright © 2012 SurfKY News Group, Inc. all rights reserved.  SurfKY.com is an eNewspaper providing local news FREE to Kentucky 24/7.  Read Statewide Kentucky News, Sports, Obituaries and more for Kentucky covering:  Calloway, Christian, Daviess, Henderson, Hopkins, McCracken, Muhlenberg, Warren, and Webster Counties as well as the Kentucky Lakes Area. 

Physical Therapy Program Approved by CPE

As the weather warms women are especially conscious of the condition and appearance of their nails. The NJC Cosmetology School and Family Resource Center have joined once again to provide certificates for a spa pedicure or a spa pedicure/manicure. The certificates are not only a great way to recognize the work of an administrative professional, but they also make a wonderful Mother’s Day gift.

Spa pedicure certificates may be purchased for $16, or spa pedicure and manicure certificates may be purchased for $20 by calling Family Resource Center at 526-2439. Recipients may make an appointment with the Cosmetology School Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through May 15, or Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through June 26. A representative of Family Resource Center is available to deliver certificates to those who find it inconvenient to pick them up at the Center.

A purchase supports NJC Cosmetology School and Family Resource Center’s services, which encourage the development of healthy children through a variety of programs:

Hand in Hand: Hand in Hand strives to provide children access to both parents through supervised parenting time or safe exchanges.

Parenting classes: Caring Dads and Moms classes empower parents to be the best parents they can possibly be. The classes are offered 4 times per year. incredible Years classes are provided in collaboration with Head Start and Hagen Early Education Center. incredible Years is offered two times per year. All classes are supported by a meal and child care.

Circle of Parents or Grandparents: Circles are peer lead support groups for parents or grandparents

Game plan for Success: The mission of Game plan for Success is to empower youth to make life choices that have a positive impact on their future through community-based coaching and intensive training. we strive to keep our youth in school and to provide them with a sense of the future and their place in that future.

For questions about the Family Resource Center or to volunteer contact a board member, Peg Bell, Dave Tennant, Vickie Tennant, John Kaus, Lisa Young, Janice Schneider, Myra Westfall or Mary Budin or call Karen, Erica, Joe or Shana at 526-2439.

Mani/pedis raising funds for college, family programs

The governing board last week approved a plan by which the district will provide free advertising on its buses for radio or television stations in exchange for advertising Scottsdale schools on radio and TV.

Scottsdale district proposes raises, smaller classes

“This will allow us to grow our brand and potentially save us a significant amount of money, rather than paying for advertising out of pocket,” said Michelle Marshall, attorney for the district.

To maintain control, bartering will be limited to advertising and each transaction will include a contract, according to Marshall, who vetted the plan and talked to the district’s auditors. All the contracts will expire by the end of the fiscal year, on June 30, and any small differences in the value of the bartered advertising will be cashed out.

“We’ll seek to have as even a trade as possible so the cash-out is never large, and we’ll be tracking this monthly,” she said.

Board member Eric Meyer asked why the bartering would be limited to advertising.

“Let’s say our pizza vendor wants to advertise on our buses,” he said. “Why would we not want to advertise our pizza vendor on the sides of our buses for free pizza in our cafeterias?

“We have bus space and we want people to advertise, and if it meets our advertising policy, why would we restrict it if we could get free vehicles and advertise an auto dealer?”

Marshall recommended caution.

“From a legal perspective, I’d prefer to dip a toe in this and not open it up to everything,” she said. “My main concern is, how do we control that we’re trading pretty evenly and getting the same value for what we’re trading?”

Board member Jennifer Petersen was excited for the potential. “But I have to say I can see how it would spin out of control really quickly,” she said. “There might be some question marks about advertisements.”

Board member Pam Kirby agreed.

“I want to go go go too, but if there’s no model out there to follow and we are the model, we should be careful,” Kirby said.

The district accepts advertising only on its buses, but might eventually expand that, including having ads on its website, at athletic facilities and maybe even in the schools.

The district’s approximately 200 school buses travel a total of 2.2 million miles per year.

Scottsdale would market programs such as its Scottsdale Online school in the bartered ads, said Carla Partridge, the district’s marketing director.

“We think the best way to get the message out with that is television, which is quite expensive,” she said.

“We’ve met with some TV stations and they said they might be open to this,” Partridge added. “We could get our message out in the more expensive medium.”

The board also approved issuing a request for a proposal from various advertising outlets, including theaters and grocery store chains.

Marketing Scottsdale’s academic programs Valley-wide could potentially draw students from other districts, which would increase the amount of per-pupil funding the district receives from the state.

“Having the ability to advertise to potentially increase enrollment is the greatest thing out there,” board member Denny Brown said.

Scottsdale is likely one of the first school districts to try bartering advertising. the Los Angeles Unified School District recently decided to start bartering unneeded equipment and furniture, which it will exchange for credits that can be exchanged for equipment the district needs. the system will be operated by a third-party bartering company.

Scottsdale schools will try bartering advertising

Benefits of learning German

Like with any other foreign language, learning German has various benefits and can positively affect several areas of your life. If you or your employer do business with German-speaking countries, you can improve the chance of a career advance or make yourself ready to take advantage of new business opportunities by learning German. German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other countries and regions) are also very attractive travel destination and interesting cultures. of course, knowing at least the basics of German can make all the difference on your trip to Germany.

How long does it take to learn German?

German is not the most difficult foreign language to learn, though it definitely is not easy. Like any other foreign language, it requires serious effort and dedication to master to fluency. how long it will take for you to become fluent in German (or at least able to communicate with natives) will depend on various factors, for example how much time you can invest in learning German every week, how strong your motivation is (this can be a huge factor), or what your native language is. English speakers find German easier than natives of most other languages, because English and German belong to the same language group.

Learning German grammar

Compared to English German has some new grammar features, which could make your learning process a challenge at times. the first thing that comes to mind is the infamous der, die, das – unlike in English, you must learn the gender for every noon, in order to be able to use noun, articles, and adjectives correctly in sentences. good news is that verbs and tenses behave similarly in German and English, though German verbs use different endings (compared to the -s vs. no -s in English). overall, learning German grammar can be a challenge, but you will find many grammar features familiar from English.

Learning German vocabulary

With German vocabulary it is similar as with grammar. You will find many German words almost identical to equivalent English words – here again English speakers have big advantage. when learning German nouns, make sure you immediately learn the gender (der, die, das) with the noun.

German pronunciation

German pronunciation is not too difficult (definitely easier than French) and most words are pronounced quite logically according to how they are written. Learning where to put stress in German words and sentences is essential for using the language in real world communication.

Learning German, motivation, and self-management

Will you succeed in learning German? how fast will you become fluent? in the end, it only depends on you and on how much you want it (not how much you think you want it – that can be different). not least, it will depend on how much you are willing to invest in learning German – there can be a small financial investment when buying courses or books, but the major investment is your time. Consistency is the key here. You don’t need to spend 20 hours per week on learning German (though that could accelerate your learning big way), but you need to make sure your German learning is consistent. Try not to skip lessons (be it a course or your self-study sessions at home), unless you have a really valid reason to do so. in the end, your ability to manage yourself, your expectations, distractions, and motivation fluctuations, will be the main factor to determine how fast you will become fluent in German.

How to find suitable German learning courses and tools

All said about motivation and self-management is true, but choosing the right tools for learning German can simplify and accelerate your learning process considerably. Quality is more than quantity here. Don’t end up like those permanent beginners who buy every hot new German course out there, only to do lesson 1 and 2, drop it, and look for something better. There is no course that would teach you German without effort on your side. find a few potentially suitable courses online, look at reviews by other learners, take advantage of free trials (good language courses should offer a free trial or at least a money back guarantee), and as soon as you have decided and selected one or two courses, stick with it. That alone will take you ahead of the majority of German language beginners.

Learning German: Expectations, Challenges, and Tools

The majority of digital crime is co-ordinated and not the action of lone criminals, according to a study commissioned by Detica.

While 80 percent of electronic crime is being perpetrated by groups with varying degrees of organisation, only around five percent of online crime is being committed by traditional organised crime groups involved in mafia-like operations, report author Mike McGuire told ZDNet UK on Wednesday.

“Street crime groups or ‘mafiosi’ have started to use digital tools, and accounted for something like five percent [of online crime volume],” said McGuire. “There’s not a huge amount of evidence for the mafia taking over the internet.”

McGuire, a senior lecturer in criminology at London Metropolitan University, studied over 7,000 documents, including police reports, and found that a range of crime groups with varying degrees of competence and demographic make-up were operating. the report, Organised Crime in the Digital Age, looked at 500 criminal incidents, and found that just under half of online crimes were perpetrated by people over 35.

“We wanted to move away from the zero-sum [assumption that either] it’s two kids and a dog in a bedroom sending out malware around the world, or it’s the mafia,” said McGuire.

An online executive summary of the report split online crime groups into six different types, ranging from ‘Swarms’ to ‘Hierarchies’. ‘Swarms’ included groups with a structure similar to the Anonymous hacktivst collective: a decentralised structure with the group prone to spontaneous action. ‘Hierarchies’ included groups like the mafia, as well as governments engaged in legal variants of hacking.

Seventy percent of the criminal activity was perpetrated not by hacktivists, but by so-called ‘hybrid’ or ‘hub’ groups, said McGuire. this sector included black economy operations, such as small numbers of individuals clustered around specific activities such as making counterfeit credit cards from stolen data but with no central structure (hybrid groups), and more organised ‘hubs’ involving core criminal group members with a periphery of criminal associates, said McGuire.

In delineating crime groups, the report did not differentiate between the severity of the crimes involved, said McGuire. the term ‘crime’ included a wide range of activities, from the physical abduction of hackers and violent beatings to extract PIN codes, through to hacking and data theft to cause reputational damage.

In 2011, Detica brought out a public report that estimated the losses to the UK from cybercrime to be £27bn. Security experts criticised the report as being little more than a ‘sales exercise’ for Detica, pointing out that the UK authorities do not have concrete figures for online crime losses.

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Detica: 80 percent of internet crime is 'co-ordinated'

Free teacher resources available on worldwide web come in handy to make teaching much more fun and memorable experience. ‘Change is the only constant’ and therefore a teacher has to constantly and continuously evolve the way knowledge and learning is effectively handed over to the students. The advent of computers, worldwide web has revamped the teaching approach and models. However at times it can be extremely difficult to get hold of all the resources required for a rewarding job. Access to different type of free stuff for classroom activities, free curriculum materials or free teaching resources such as handouts and quizzes, lesson plans, teacher articles and last but not least a directory that provides details of most of the teaching reference resources available across the globe is the demand of the hour. to add to the list is access to the questions from different students and teaching forums, participation with other similar classrooms from various locations around the world, online interaction with other teachers working on a similar topic or curriculum.

Sharing and collaborating activities, findings and manifestation not only with fellow teachers but also with their students is the talk of the town as these free teacher resources are available and accessible round the clock.

Some of the commonly used free teacher resources are:

TEACHER’S FORUM – CHAT: The online interactive mode to discuss, deliberate and work out new and innovative teaching methods is a rage among teachers. Through these forums teachers get exposed to perspectives that are great departure from their set paradigm and in this way they are able to refresh and rejuvenate themselves.

Free Teacher Resources – Teaching Patterns

The best way to think about the CPA exam schedule is like this: there are 4 windows of opportunity in which you can take the test every year. So basically you can sit for the exam 4 times each year.

In each quarter, the first two months are the most flexible. You can basically take any section of the examination (or all of them if you wish). Moreover, you can do the testing in any order, whichever suits you the most. After the first two months, comes a month of pause, the third month of each quarter. No examination can be scheduled during this month. An important thing that you must remember is this: you should schedule each part of the CPA exam and know precisely when you want to take it, in order for you not to lose credit as you might go over the 18 month rolling window.

Also, remember that you will not be able to take a specific section of the exam twice during the same testing window. A short example: you may sit for FAR in the month of January, and you may sit for any other section. however, you will not be able to take FAR again until April. Scheduling the same section in side the same testing window is not possible.

The best recommendation is to take a section of the exam in each window. Plan a careful study schedule with your favorite CPA review course. It is easier if you do it this way. One year of waiting is not much if you want to become a respected certified public accountant. Study each part well, and this way you will surely take the exam.

CPA Exam Schedule

Math games are a cool way of helping a student learn math formulas and spelling of English words in language. Math games are good for enhancing brain strategy and memory of shapes and colors. They have proven to be a good way of improving logic and the functionality of the logic part of the brain. Math games give your brain workout to keep your brain functioning in the right speeds and functions. Math games are good when it comes to comparing fractions and rations due to the fact that they are all in form of patterns that can be easily memorized.

Those games are good in transformation of brain functions by practicing mathematical functions. Math games are cool and very attractive to kids and growing children. the games are designed with fun activities that enable kids to remember things well. the easiness in remembering patterns is directly channeled to remembering math formulas thus easing the working out of mathematic questions.

this entry was posted Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 at 10:36 am and is filed under College. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Math Games in Studying Mathematics

PITTSFIELD — a Pittsfield man who allegedly drove a stolen car to buy drugs in November again has been charged with driving a stolen vehicle.

This time, Sean P. Zawistowski was allegedly driving a stolen truck to steal scrap metal.

Zawistowski, 25, of North Street, was arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to seven charges. he had been out on personal recognizance from the November case.

Zawistowski was already facing two felonies and a misdemeanor and these earlier charges landed him behind bars for up to 60 days after Judge Fredric D. Rutberg revoked his bail at the request of the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office.

On Monday, Zawistowski was arrested by the Pittsfield Police after he was allegedly caught trying to steal scrap metal from the CSX Transportation yard on East Street.

The 2003 Chevrolet Silverado he was using had been reported stolen on Jan. 5, according to police.

Three stolen credit cards were also found, said police, as well as a camera.

In connection with this case, a second man, 26-year-old Sean Winston of Pittsfield, was arraigned Friday on a single count of receiving a stolen motor vehicle and has pleaded not guilty.

On Nov. 21, Zawistowski was arrested by the Pittsfield Police after a traffic stop for allegedly driving a stolen car. he admitted to police he was on his way to buy heroin, according to court documents.

Zawistowski pleaded not guilty to one count of receiving a stolen motor vehicle and was released on personal recognizance. a little more than a week later, he was again arrested after police allegedly caught him breaking into cars at the Summer Street and Depot Street parking decks. he pleaded not guilty to two charges and was again released on personal recognizance.

Zawistowski, represented by attorney Thomas J. Donohue Jr., is scheduled to be back in court next week.

Police said more charges will coming Zawistowski’s way soon.

City man charged with stealing truck