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Stroll along Redcliffe Wharf – past the headquarters of the Bristol Classic Boat Company – any time over the next fortnight and you will see what looks a typical enough sight in these surroundings: a team of men building a flat-bottomed wooden boat. what you might not have realised, however, is that this construction process forms one of the key events of Bristol’s first large-scale, citywide arts festival.

‘The Art Boat’, to give it its official title, is a two-week-long process during which sailor/engineer Petter Lofstrand and a team of collaborators will construct a vessel from scratch. Anyone is free to come and watch, and even chip in with suggestions for the design of the boat. The process begins today (Friday 1 June) and ends Saturday 16 June, when the finished boat is launched into the harbour, and so the build runs throughout the brilliant-looking Bristol Biennial arts fortnight.

1. ​

The inaugural Biennial features over 50 exhibitions and events at venues around the city. Some of its events and shows conform clearly to anyone’s notion of ‘art’, others, like the Art Boat – to which we’ll return in a minute – might stretch your definition of the A-word a little further.

But, as the Biennial’s technical director Darn Thorn explains, all events are linked by a common theme – storytelling – and a common mission to bring good quality, thought-provoking art to the masses.

“We have set out to provide something rather new and different,” explains Darn, a photographic artist born and raised in Ireland, educated in Australia and now happily settled among Bristol’s busy art community.

“We wanted to programme artwork of a high quality, but that also involves participation from the community.

“All too often there tends to be a split between fine art in institutional galleries, and community art that is often seen as being rather folky and not serious. across our programme the quality is high, without it being in any way exclusive or aimed at art-savvy audiences.”

The festival came about through discussions between artists (and co-directors) Catherine Bourne and Lina Lofstrand. Lina is a Stockholm-born artist studying at the University of the West of England, while UK-based Australian artist Catherine has exhibited in galleries and festivals around the world.

“Coming from elsewhere, both artists had a different perspective on things here,” Darn explains. “They saw the incredible amount of artistic talent that flourishes in this city, and how the council’s Empty Shops Initiative (freeing up vacant business units for use by artists and performers) was opening up so many opportunities. but, although there is an awful lot of talent and energy here, there didn’t seem to be a unifying festival that brought it all together.”

Enter, then, the Biennial – an umbrella for all manner of creative exploration, from video art and photography to performances and installations, in venues ranging from a bridge control room in Redcliffe to Bristol Cathedral. Eclecticism may be the watchword here, but that storytelling theme holds everything together. and the aforementioned Art Boat encapsulates this theme, as Darn explains.

“Like folk tales, there is a crafted element to the Art Boat project: something is made with traditional crafts and techniques. but the process itself – the two weeks during which the boat is built, and in which Bristolians can participate – will also develop like a story. The two-week process is itself part of the finished artwork. and I hope that visitors will also see, from this project, how artists work in a variety of different ways, how they interact with communities rather than sitting in some ivory tower.”

“We want to create real crossover between Bristol’s artists, arts institutions and artist-run spaces,” Darn concludes, “and to raise the profile of this city’s art scene, to get the word out that this is a place where things happen.”

Bristol Biennial runs at venues across the city from Fri 1-Sat 16 June. See listings for details or visit www.bristolbiennial.com.

COOK TIME CONVERSION CHART

Below is a conversion chart to illustrate comparative cook times for High and Low*

HIGH

LOW

*** it is not recommended to convert recipes with cook times less than 7-8 hours on Low or 3-4 hours on High.

Typical slow cooker food loads and their respective cook times

Meat Cut

Meat Weight

Low Cook Time

High Cook Time

Note: all cook times are approximate and vary according to specific meat characteristics for fat content and connective tissue as well as other ingredients added to dish including liquid, size of meat cubes, type of vegetable, size of vegetable dice, how high slow cooker is filled, etc.

PORK WITH CINNAMON-SUGAR APPLES

            1 pork loin roast (about 3 lbs)

            1 can condensed golden mushroom soup, undiluted

            1/2 cup water

            1/4 cup packed brown sugar

            3 tablespoons soy sauce

            1/4 cup granulated sugar

            3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

            2 Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced

               Hot cooked noodles

Place pork in slow cooker.

Combine soup, water, brown, sugar and soy sauce in medium bowl; stir to mix well.  Pour over pork.  Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours.      

About 1 hour before serving, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in medium plastic food storage bag.  Add apples; shake to coat.  Place apples on top of pork.  Cover and cook 1 hour longer.  Serve with noodles.

Serves 6

By Linda Massarella Fans have been treated to a peek of Giuliana and bill Rancic's adorable baby shower invitation. in a copy released to E! News, the excited couple played up the June 17 party guessing theme by headlining the invitation with a …
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Daily Mail

A Greensboro, N.C., jury has acquitted former presidential candidate John Edwards on one count of taking illegal campaign funds, but the judge declared a mistrial after the jury became deadlocked on five other counts.

“While I don’t believe I did anything illegal … I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong, and there is no one else responsible for my sins,” said Edwards, speaking after the trial and taking no questions from reporters. “if I want to find the person who should be held accountable for my sins, honestly I don’t have to go any farther than the mirror. It’s me. it is me and me alone.”

Edwards, 58, was charged with taking illegal campaign funds in a political tempest that embroiled him in a scandal that included his aides, campaign contributors and his mistress — now the mother of the couple’s 4-year-old daughter. But the jury was not convinced that taking the money amounted to a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

Jurors told Judge Catherine Eagles that they had reached a decision on each of the six counts, which she mistakenly took to mean that they had reached a verdict. it turned out that they had not come to a final decision on all the counts. She sent the jury back to its chamber to deliver a final decision, and the result was an acquittal on the charge of taking money from a wealthy donor. with no verdict on the other counts, Eagles declared a mistrial.

The jury deliberated for nine days in the trial, which was at times emotional and at other times bizarre, with testimony from staffers in his 2008 presidential campaign, including aide Andrew Young and his wife Cheri. The couple, having been granted immunity from prosecution, said they worked to conceal the fact that money coming from wealthy contributors intended for the campaign was actually being used to take care of Edwards’ then pregnant mistress, Rielle Hunter.

(MORE: Wife of Edwards’ Ex-Aide: ‘I Agreed to Go Along with the Lie’)

That money — $1 million in donations — was given by Edwards supporters Rachel “Bunny” Mellon and Texas lawyer Fred Baron. Cheri Young testified that she was assured that depositing the money in an account the two shared was legal. She said that in a conversation she listened to between her husband and Edwards, the candidate said his campaign-finance advisers told him there was nothing illegal about what he was doing.

Prosecutors said Edwards deliberately accepted the money and intended to use it to conceal Hunter and her pregnancy and that he “knowingly” violated campaign-finance laws to do so. The money, they said, was used to pay for Hunter’s medical and living expenses. Edwards was married to Elizabeth Edwards at the time. She died of cancer in 2010.

(MORE: Did the Obama Campaign know about John Edwards’ Affair?)

But his defense said Edwards did no such thing and was not trying to use the funds for Hunter. They countered that the Youngs kept the money and used it for their own gain, accusing them of attempting to cash in again by releasing a book about their experience with Edwards. neither Edwards nor Hunter testified in the trial.

In addition to his child with Hunter, Edwards is now raising two children, ages 13 and 11, and has a 30-year-old daughter, Cate. He admitted fathering Hunter’s child after newspapers publicized the affair between them and agreed to pay child support. The child now lives with her mother in Charlotte, N.C.

Edwards was also accused of falsifying documents and of conspiracy to receive the funds and conceal them. He was facing a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine.

MORE: John Edwards Trial: Tawdry Testimony, But was There a Crime?

No-call: Celtics guard Rajon Rondo is being lauded for one of the most spectacular individual performances in playoff history, but it was a non-foul call on his missed layup that drew the most attention in the aftermath of Game 2.

Replays showed Heat guard Dwyane Wade hit Rondo in the face while he was in the midst of a reverse layup attempt with 1:35 left. while Rondo writhed on the floor, the Heat’s ensuing fast break resulted in a dunk by Udonis Haslem for a 107-105 lead the Heat wouldn’t relinquish.

Although Rondo had to be held back from the officials after the play, he and Celtics coach Doc Rivers tried to hold their tongues later so as not to draw fines for questioning the officials.

“It was obvious,” Rondo said. “I can’t comment on that particular play. … It’s part of the game. Things don’t go your way. that was a big swing for us. I think we had the momentum. A lot of controversy out there.”

Bosh still out: Heat forward Chris Bosh will travel with the team to Boston but will not play against the Celtics in Games 3 and 4.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Bosh is traveling so he can continue working with team trainer Rey Jaffet and assistant coach Keith Askins. Bosh has missed seven playoff games with a strained abdominal muscle.

Spoelstra said he is unsure if Bosh will return this series.

“It’s too early to tell right now,” Spoelstra said. “I think we’re all encouraged that he’s actually able to do some work.”

Allen’s back: Talk of resting Celtics guard Ray Allen for subsequent games because of an ankle injury were rendered moot by his 13-point effort on 5-of-11 shooting, including a game-tying 3-pointer with 34.3 seconds left in regulation of Game 2.

“The whole game I felt good. I had really no issues moving around the floor,” said Allen, who played 43:21.

RIVERSIDE — Children exposed to open-fire cooking in developing countries experience difficulty with memory, problem-solving and social skills, according to researchers at the University of California, Riverside, and Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif.

Research in the past decade has identified numerous health risks to children who are exposed regularly to smoke from open fires used in cooking. but until now, no one has associated smoke from cooking fires with deficits in cognitive development, said Mary Gauvain, professor of psychology at UC Riverside. She and Robert L. Munroe from Pitzer College co-authored "Exposure to open-fire cooking and cognitive performance in children," which appears in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research.

Their research comes as international public and private agencies advocate, through the Global Alliance for clean Cookstoves, the use of clean and efficient cooking stoves in the developing world. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is among the alliance’s supporters because of the impacts of open-fire cooking on child health and global warming.

Gauvain said she and Munroe wondered about the effects of open-fire cooking on child cognitive development after reading a December 2009 article in the new Yorker about efforts to invent stoves that are inexpensive and could replace cooking methods that use wood, dung or straw.

Previous studies have shown that children’s exposure to carbon monoxide and toxins in smoke from open-fire cooking poses risks to immune systems and susceptibility to respiratory ailments, including pneumonia — the leading cause of death among young children worldwide — and changes to the lungs and other organs, including the brain, to children ages 3 and younger.

"We wondered if open-fire cooking could have anything to do with some of the differences in cognitive development we had seen in an earlier study," she recalled. "We decided to look at our cognitive data in relation to cooking methods."

Using previously collected data from the late 1970s, Gauvain and Munroe studied approximately 200 children ages 3 to 9 living in traditional communities in Belize, Kenya, Nepal and American Samoa. Two of the communities – Logoli in Kenya and Newars in Nepal – consistently used open-fire cooking with wood, dung or straw indoors. In American Samoa, cooking was done on kerosene stoves. Garifuna families in Belize, were split almost evenly among those who cooked only with wood on open fires, those who used both open-fire and kerosene-stove cooking, and those who cooked nearly exclusively with kerosene stoves.

the California researchers examined the results of cognitive assessments that tested the children’s block-building, memory and pattern-recognition skills, and observed structured play. the latter is play that involves a sequence of purposeful actions, such as making a toy or playing a game with rules. such play is a way of engaging with peers that is beneficial for cognitive development, Gauvain said.

She and Munroe found that exposure to open-fire cooking, as opposed to cooking on kerosene stoves, was associated with both lower cognitive performance and less frequent structured play, regardless of culture, child age and educational level, and socioeconomic status.

Because their study was not experimental they cannot determine that smoke from open-fire cooking causes lower cognitive performance, the researchers said. however, the researchers point out that their results echo the findings of a 2008 study that found direct connections among toxins in the air, brain development and cognitive impairment. that study compared MRI scans of 9- and 10-year-old middle-class children living in Mexico City, where there are high levels of air pollution, and Polotitlán, a city in Mexico with low air-pollution levels.

Gauvain and Munroe said the fact that the negative effects of open-fire cooking were strongest for the youngest children, who spent more time in the home where the cooking took place, "suggests that these deleterious effects may subside as the brain matures or as children spend less time in the presence of open-fire cooking."

the question, Gauvain said, is if there is a cognitive deficit and all children suffer some exposure, "What are the long-range implications for the community? … if there is damage, can switching to non-wood-burning stoves be beneficial? Developing safe cooking methods is important. Exposure to wood-burning stoves may be more damaging than people realize. It could have cognitive and behavioral effects. We’re trying to draw attention to the fact that the problem may be much broader in scope."

Saed Hindash/The Star-LedgerDevils Adam Larsson (left), Johan Hedberg (center) and Henrik Tallinder discuss the retirement of fellow Swede Nicklas Lidstrom.

There are many who think Devils’ rookie Adam Larsson wears No. 5 because he idolizes Swedish defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom. the story is only half true. Larsson wore No. 7 as a young player and wanted it when he played in the Swedish Elite League, but it was already taken. So he settled on No. 5. nevertheless, Larsson was saddened at the confirmation today that Lidstrom is retiring after a 20-year career with the Red Wings that will ultimately land him in the Hall of Fame. Lidstrom’s announcement dashed Larsson’s dream of playing against the Swedish icon. it is regrettable now that when the Devils played in Detroit on April 5, Larsson was a healthy scratch. “Yeah, but I got to see him in the warmups,” Larsson said, a smile lighting up his face. “I really wanted to play against him, so that was a disappointment. now I don’t have a chance.” the closest he got was watching the pregame warmup that night in Joe Louis Arena. “That was the first time I saw him in person,” Larsson said. “I remember the whole warmup. I just stood there and watched him skate. ‘Wow.’ That is what I was thinking. “He’s been so huge in Sweden and I hadn’t seen him close in person. That was a moment in life for me.” Fellow Swedes Henrik Tallinder and Johan Hedberg said it was sad to see Lidstrom retire. “You could say it’s a sad day for hockey,” Hedberg said, “but maybe it’s a little bit expected. One of the best, if not the best, Swedish player to ever play the game is retiring. He’s been a great role model for every Swede growing up, myself included. I had an honor to play with him a few times on the national team. “He’s a great person, very, very professional. I think he’s someone that probably doesn’t get the respect that he deserves in Sweden. He’s a low-key guy that gets overshadowed by some more marquee personalities. if there’s anyone that people should want to model themselves after, it would be him.” Tallinder called Lidstrom the greatest Swedish player ever. “He’s been an icon in Sweden for so long. I mean, two decades is a long time playing in the best league in the world,” Tallinder noted. “the things he has accomplished are remarkable. In my eyes, he’s the best Swedish player we’ve had over here. No offense to (Peter) Forsberg and (Mats) Sundin. four Stanley Cups, seven Norris Trophies, that says it all, I think. “For me growing up, he wasn’t my biggest idol because I was a little bit too young. But once he started to make it in this league, I mean, who doesn’t look up to him? He’s an icon. everybody wants to be like him, play like him. Offensively, defensively, you name it, he does it all.” For Larsson, April 5 was a dream not realized. “I think all the young players in Sweden look up to him and try to play similar,” he said. “Hopefully I can get close ion my career. That would be great.”

GREENSBORO, North Carolina (AFP) – the judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the John Edwards trial after jurors failed to reach a verdict on five out of six charges against the fallen US political star.

Edwards was found not guilty of one count of using campaign donations to hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. A mistrial was declared on the five remaining counts.

The disgraced politician saw his stellar career collapse after he fathered a child with videographer Rielle Hunter in 2007 and then lied about their affair to his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth, and the public.

Outside court in Greensboro, North Carolina, a relieved Edwards, who was John Kerry's vice presidential running mate in 2004, said he only had himself to blame for his spectacular fall from grace but insisted he had done nothing criminal.

“While I do not believe I did anything illegal or ever thought I was doing anything illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong and there is no one else responsible for my sins,” he said.

Choking up as he spoke, Edwards gave a very public acceptance of four-year-old Frances Quinn, the daughter whose paternity he once denied.

After thanking the rest of his family for their support, he said: “And then, finally, my precious Quinn who I love more than any of you could ever imagine, and I am so close to and so, so grateful for.”

Several seconds passed before he could continue.

“I don't think God's through with me,” he said. “I really believe he thinks there's still some good things I can do.”

The 58-year-old former North Carolina senator had faced up to 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if convicted of intentionally using nearly $1 million from two wealthy donors to hide his affair.

It was not immediately clear if prosecutors would pursue a retrial.

The mistrial ruling capped a confusing and dramatic day in Greensboro as jurors struggled to convince Judge Catherine Eagles that they were unable to reach a verdict on most of the charges.

The judge appeared surprised when the foreman originally announced that a verdict had only been reached on one count, concerning the alleged illegal use of a 2008 donation from banking heiress Rachel “Bunny” Mellon, now 101.

Edwards faced another count of misusing a donation from Mellon in 2007 as well as two similar counts of misusing money given by wealthy Texas lawyer Fred Baron, who died in 2008.

A fifth charge alleged conspiracy between Edwards and his one-time aide Andrew Young, who initially claimed to be the baby's father just before an American tabloid revealed the affair. A sixth count accused Edwards of illegally filing campaign finance reports.

After a short recess, Eagles ordered the jurors to return to their deliberations for the rest of the day to see if they could reach a unanimous decision on all counts.

“There is no reason to believe that any future trial could produce better or more decisive evidence,” Eagles said, as a hunched-up Edwards, accompanied by his daughter Cate, looked on, rubbing his temples nervously.

Jurors had been deliberating for nine days in the case that laid bare the extramarital affair that the Democratic presidential candidate embarked on during his second bid for the White House.

An hour after being asked to resume, the jury insisted it had exhausted all possible options and was still deadlocked. the judge called the jurors back to the courtroom and declared a mistrial on the five remaining counts.

Prosecutors had pinned their hopes on a key interview in which Edwards publicly admitted the affair for the first time but denied being the father of Hunter's baby girl, despite insisting he wanted to tell the truth.

The interview aired in August 2008, after his presidential bid ended. Just days earlier, Edwards was photographed cradling Frances Quinn at a Beverly Hills hotel. but he refused to publicly recognize that he had fathered the child until January 2010.

The defense introduced evidence during the trial showing that much of the funds — about $800,000 of it — ended up in the hands of Young, and much of that went towards the construction of the aide's $1.6 million North Carolina home.

Defense attorneys say Edwards did not ask for the money that was used to hide the affair, and that the contributions were unrelated to the campaign.

Legal experts saw the prosecution as risky due to the complicated nature of campaign finance law.

Nothing could be more embarrassing than ripping your wedding dress or unintentionally dropping trou in front of all of the guests at your nuptials. but sometimes, accidents happen — and when they do, those moments are commemorated online.
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – as the Supreme Court nears a historic decision on the fate of President Barack Obama’s health care law, Republicans are finding themselves painted into a corner by the far right wing of the party.

Over the weekend, the liberal web site think Progress caught up with Florida Congressman Allen West and asked him about repealing the health care law. Congressman West has never been a fan of the law, but some of the more popular features illustrate the problems Republicans face.

“Well, you’ve got to replace it,” Congressman West told think Progress. “You’ve got to replace it with something. if people want to keep their kid on their insurance at 26, fine. We’ve got to make sure no American gets turned back for pre-exisiting conditions, that’s fine. Keep the [Medicare] doughnut hole closed, that’s fine. But what I just talked to you about, maybe 20, 25 pages of legislation.”

But while West and other conservatives in Congress may be considering keeping in place some of the most popular parts of the law, conservative advocates like Freedom Works, which funded and organized the Tea Party, and the Club for Growth are not buying in to keeping any part of the law.

“The Club for Growth supports complete repeal of Obamacare. and complete doesn’t mean partial; it means complete,” Club for Growth spokesman Barney Keller told the website Talking Points Memo. “We urge the so-called ‘tea-party’ Republicans to keep their promises to voters and continue to fight for complete repeal as well.”

A spokesman for FreedomWorks went further expressing disdain for the elimination of the more popular provisions.

“It’s not the Republicans’ fault if 25-year-old slackers suddenly are dropped from mom and dad’s health insurance policy,” FreedomWorks health care advocacy leader Dean Clancy told Talking Points Memo. “It’s not the Republicans’ fault if various other provisions of Obamacare are no longer on the books. The American people need to have a chance to reflect on the fact that the Democrats basically rammed an unconstitutional bill down their throat.”

Groups like FreedomWorks and the Club for Growth wield great power over Republican policy. Along with Grover Norquist’s organization, Republicans don’t want to cross any of the groups for fear of being ousted by a more conservative opponent in a Republican primary or losing precious fundraising opportunities.

But, national polling has indicated that while overall opposition to the health care law is strong; the individual provisions like the one’s Congressman West discussed are still very popular. that conundrum is what’s facing Republicans in the 2012 election.

On one side, the most conservative groups are threatening to challenge any candidate that crosses them on the health care industry. On the other, Republicans don’t want to anger the electorate just months before the general election in November.

The Supreme Court could make the job of Republicans easier with their decision. if the law is upheld, specifically the individual mandate, then Republicans can still rail against the law while allowing it to be enacted.

The Supreme Court could also invalidate the individual mandate, but let the rest of the law stand. that would allow Republicans to keep the popular parts of the law while still attacking the law as being overreaching and a failure of President Obama.

But, if the Supreme Court invalidates the entire law, then Republicans in the House will face a real dilemma of keeping the popular health care reform law’s provisions or maintaining ideological rigidity and letting the whole law remain repealed.

Voters will be the ultimate decider for both the Republicans and Democrats as health care will once again be thrust into the presidential election spotlight once the high court makes a decision.