The enigmatic Buckethead graced the stage at Fort Collins, CO’s Aggie Theatre last night, for a demonstration of some serious guitar shredding skills. The prolific guitarist, born Brian Patrick Carroll, donned a plain white bucket atop his head for the performance, which stayed more to the metal side of the spectrum for the greater part of the show. With only a few amps and backing tracks joining him on stage, Buckethead displayed the virtuosic skills that have hailed him as one of GuitarOne magazine’s “Top 10 Fastest Guitar Shredders of All Time”, and deservedly so.With some straight-forward metal being displayed for a good portion of the show, Buckethead also let things in the room breathe with some very melodic solos that were about as graceful as a guitar solo can get. Halfway through the performance, he took a break from the guitar to show off his robotic dance moves and some pretty impressive nunchaku skills, before handing out some goodies to fans in the front row. As the show continued, Buckethead played a tease of “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, as well as a “Star Wars Medley” that brought many of us over to the Dark Side. Check out video from the show below. read more

<a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQJYYe9ilhY” rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank”> <img src=”https://img.youtube.com/vi/pQJYYe9ilhY/0.jpg” alt=”0″ title=”How To Choose The Correct Channel Type For Your Video Content ” /> </a> There’s a lot to recommend the world these days, journalist Fareed Zakaria told members of Harvard’s Class of 2012 on Thursday. The world has greater economic opportunity and more peace, and can respond better to global challenges than at any time in the past. Trust yourselves as you venture into it, he said, and you’ll do fine.Zakaria, who delivered the 2012 Commencement speech during the Afternoon Exercises, cited recent research showing that violence is at a historic low and economic growth is high. The economies of 80 countries are growing 4 percent annually, even after the financial crisis. Poverty has fallen more in the past 50 years than in the previous 500, and life expectancy continues to rise, with a third of all babies born in the developed world expected to live to 100. There’s also a boom in college graduates, whose numbers, among men, have increased fourfold over the past 40 years. For women, their ranks have increased sevenfold.Despite this progress, Zakaria warned against complacency. The many problems facing the world — including climate change, disease, and terrorism — are real and must be addressed. But he said the world today is better at meeting these challenges than ever before.“When we look at the problems we face … keep in mind that these are real problems, but also that the human reaction and response to them will also be real,” Zakaria said. “I’m betting on the graduates of this great university…. Your efforts will make a difference.”As an example of an international problem dealt with head-on, he mentioned the H1N1 virus, which broke out in Mexico in 2009. With modern technology, communications, and sophisticated public health responses, a threat that in the past might have taken millions of lives was contained so successfully that some people wondered whether there had been an overreaction.“As we reimagine ourselves for the 21st century, we recognize that history teaches us not just about continuity — what is important because it is enduring. History also teaches us about change,” said President Drew Faust.Even the financial crisis, Zakaria said, could have been much worse. A global financial meltdown was avoided largely through the coordinated actions of the world’s governments. Similarly, after the 9/11 terror attacks, most countries cooperated to fight the threat, sapping the terrorists’ strength.Zakaria delivered his speech before graduates, alumni, parents, family, and friends, who gathered for the annual meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association, which traditionally constitutes Commencement Day’s Afternoon Exercises in Tercentenary Theatre.Zakaria, who was born in India, earned a B.A. from Yale College before receiving his Ph.D. in government from Harvard in 1993. He is the host of  “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” the CNN network’s international affairs program, and is an editor-at-large of Time magazine, a Washington Post columnist, and an author.Zakaria was the last of several speakers, including outgoing Alumni Association President Ellen Gordon Reeves and Harvard President Drew Faust, who spoke about the importance of history as the University marked its 375th anniversary. Harvard’s history dates to the nation’s earliest colonists, and helps to define its present and its future, Faust said. But among the University’s honored traditions and practices is its own ability to change, she said.Faust said Harvard has transformed as necessary to meet the times, morphing from the small local college of its founding to a research university in the late 19th century, to its transformation into a national institution and its development into an engine of scientific discovery and economic growth after World War II. In recent decades, Harvard has continued to change, opening its doors wide to women and minorities, students from around the world, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.Tercentenary Theatre remained filled through most of the day — from Morning Exercises into Afternoon Exercises. Photo by Amanda Swinhart/Harvard Staff PhotographerHarvard continues to adapt, she said, with globalization and technology-driving initiatives, such as that seen at the i-lab, which opened this year, and the upcoming online education portal edX, a partnership with MIT.“As we reimagine ourselves for the 21st century, we recognize that history teaches us not just about continuity — what is important because it is enduring. History also teaches us about change,” Faust said. “Harvard has survived and thrived by considering over and over again how its timeless and unwavering dedication to knowledge and truth must be adapted to the demands of a new age.”Though change and innovation are an integral part of modern Harvard, tradition was front and center on Commencement Day, from the call of the high sheriff of Middlesex County that opened the Morning Exercises to the final singing of “Fair Harvard” that ended the afternoon ones.In between, there were processions of graduates new and old, along with poetry and song, fellowship and food, and the honoring of both the accomplishments of the past and the promise of the future.Ben Smith, a history of science concentrator who had just graduated, sat during the afternoon’s speeches with his mother, May Pian-Smith of Lexington, a 1981 Harvard graduate. While Smith was enjoying the pomp and tradition for the first time, for his mom, the afternoon mingled pride in her son and nostalgia for her own past.“I had no idea what to expect,” Smith said. “It was great, a lot of tradition, a very cool experience.” read more

Saint Mary’s senior Maria Teresa Valencia spoke Friday about the struggles low-income families face while navigating the high costs of living and the inaccessibility of benefits and healthcare in today’s society as part of the weekly Justice Friday series. Valencia interns at REAL Services, a north-central Indiana organization serving the elderly and low-income households, and through this she said has worked with low-income families.“43.1 million adults and children are in poverty, and 59 percent of American households with incomes less than $20,000 a year spend nearly half their income on rent alone,” she said. “Communities of color tend to be more affected by poverty than white communities.”Valencia said poverty encompasses all aspects of a low-income family’s life, including healthcare and childcare. “We tend to think poverty equals income, but it’s so much more than that,” she said. “Poverty is not just the lack of making money. It’s a lifestyle.”Valencia said access to stable housing is the key to job stability.“In the Milwaukee area, a study found that workers leaving their housing involuntarily were 20 percent more likely to lose their jobs than workers with stable housing conditions,” she said. “This just goes to show how necessary having a stable home is to having stable employment.”Valencia said that poverty is a vicious cycle, in which low-income families are often so desperate for basic necessities that they are forced to pay higher premiums for rent and food because of the immediacy of the need.“They happen to have higher food costs because they are located in areas where affordable food is not located, so they often choose this food because of how accessible it is, not because they prefer it,” she said.Due to this urgency for basic necessities, Valencia said low-income families often find themselves trapped in loan scams in which they pay double or even triple the typical interest rates. “Something I’ve realized while working through my internship is many low-income individuals get payday loans, which are one of the worst destroyers of credit,” she said. “The reason why payday loans are so horrible is because they specifically target low-income families. Loan companies know that low-income families are going to be the ones desperate enough to want to pay 300 to 400 percent interest rates. Nobody wants to pay that, but some of these families are just so desperate they go for the payday loan because it is quick money.“Payday loans don’t take into consideration if the family is capable of paying it back or not. They hand them money, knowing they will receive way more in interest.”Valencia said that government assistance programs can combat the need for payday loans, but even government benefits are not 100 percent accessible. “I can’t emphasize how important it is to have programs that help individuals get out of the cycle of poverty,” she said. “Section 8 is the most popular housing program. Basically, Section 8 offers government funding to people in low-income areas so they can help pay their rent. However, only one-in-four low-income individuals are able to receive housing assistance due to the limited nature of government funding.”Valencia said government assistance does not just help low-income families.“They don’t just lift lower-income individuals out of poverty; they help everybody else,” she said. “Once we help those in poverty, our government can use those funds to promote and sustain other programs.”Valencia said that helping to decrease poverty levels can benefit future generations. “Children are at such a critical age, and their brain is still developing, so when they cannot get necessities like healthcare, quality food, education or the environment they need, this affects their physical and mental health, and educational and employment outcomes in the future,” she said.Valencia said another problem faced by low-income families is the misunderstandings that surround the use of government benefits and assistance. She said many feel that some low-income individuals may abuse the benefits given to them, and the government should cut the money allotted to assistance programs. “A small percentage will abuse government assistance, but when you think about the bulk of people that government funding helps, it makes all the difference,” she said. “It’s easy to dismiss something when everything is just numbers and percentages, but when you have someone come and share their story and how much their life is affected, it means something. “They’re not numbers, they’re people.”Valencia said educating oneself about aid programs that help low-income families is a great way for students to help and support those struggling under the poverty line. Valencia said students can inform and guide low-income individuals to places where professionals can help them to sign up for government assistance and benefits. “Volunteering in places of low-income provides students the opportunity to become aware of the struggles faced by low-income individuals and empathize better with those individuals,” she said. Tags: Justice Friday, low income, poverty, welfare read more

New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) The National Green Tribunal has issued notice to South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to show cause why coercive steps be not taken against it for failing to stop construction on the Saket storm water drain allegedly by authorities at a gurudwara.”Issue notice to as to why coercive action under Order XXI Rule 32 of Civil Procedure Code be not taken against them for not taking any action for stopping construction on the Saket storm water drain,” a bench headed by Justice U D Salvi said.The matter is now listed for hearing on May 23.The order came while hearing a plea filed by environmental activist Manoj Mishra, also associated with Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, seeking execution of the green panels January 13, 2015 direction which said “there shall be no construction and/or coverage of any of the drains in Delhi by any authority or Municipal Corporation.””All the drains shall be kept obstruction free by the concerned corporation. Where substantial work (more than 85 per cent) has been completed, such work is permitted to be completed by the corporation after obtaining specific orders from the Tribunal in that regard.”Rest of the work, where construction has just begun, the construction, including iron material, shall be removed. While completing such remnant work, Corporation shall ensure that the cross section of the drains to carry the requisite storm water for the flood of once in 25 years and other effluents are not compromised,” the tribunal had said.Mishra has claimed that authorities at Gurudwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha were carrying out illegal construction on the drain and sought directions to SDMC and Public Works Department to restrain the construction over and above the drain.advertisement”In case the Gurudwara is not stopped from illegally covering the storm water drain it would not only lead to violation of the judgment passed by this Tribunal but would also be a loss to the ecology and environment of the area and the community at large,” the plea, filed through advocate Rahul Choudhary said.It also alleged that the Gurudwara authorities were dumping sewage into the drain from its building through a pipeline. PTI PKS DV read more