Who's got footage? Announcing a Summer Field Work Video Project...

Calling all field biologists!

This post marks the start of the summer season, and to celebrate the many of you that are toiling away in vastly different outdoor settings I propose a group project. The project is in collaboration with the folks at We Video, who have generously thrown an ultra-subscription my way in order to test out its utility.

The We Video brand has recently collaborated with Google Drive to create a cloud-based editing platform for multiple users that is universally available. They?re not trying to re-invent the wheel and create a product that is comparable to Final Cut Pro or Adobe Creative Suite, they are instead targeting ?non-professional? users that are interested in completing videos within a simple framework and exporting them directly to youtube or other social media sites. Think google docs meets video production.

In my opinion it?s set up to become an extremely powerful tool for scientists, and biologists in particular, who are interested in getting images and video of their field work out to the public while they are still on location. Generally speaking, one does not travel to remote field sites with a full suite of computer equipment to enable video production on location. However, in a cloud-based system all you need is an internet cafe and you?re good to go. Even better ? what if you just upload some footage from wherever you are and someone else takes care of the post production?

Sound too good to be true? Let?s test it out.

If you?re interested in participating, send me an email or tweet and I?ll invite you to join my folder. Your invitation will enable you to upload your files for me to use as part of a larger video project. Break out your iphone, your Canon 4D or anything in between ? the platform can accept a wide range of qualities, although I?m hoping most of you have HD ability. I?m looking for a brief (BRIEF) description of you and what you?re doing, as well as some decent shots of your landscape and animals/plants. I?ll provide more detailed instructions once we?ve been in contact.

I?m very excited to work on this. We can make a biology version of ?Night on Earth?. Join me!

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High Court's Immigration Decision Gives States Little Clarity

Despite the Supreme Court?s definitive ruling on Monday that struck down most of Arizona?s tough immigration law, the measure?s defenders can still cheer that Arizona?s local police officers are now able to routinely check the immigration status of the people they stop for other reasons. The state?s Republican Gov. Jan Brewer said she is ?grateful for this legal victory.?

But with three of the four provisions of Arizona?s law struck down (ID requirements, warrantless arrests, and criminalizing work), other states weighing similar laws are left with little certainty on how to proceed. Even if states simply want to emulate Arizona?s surviving ?show me your papers? provision, they will be vulnerable to lawsuits charging racial profiling.

The high court didn?t touch the idea of racial profiling because the federal government made the decision not to raise the thorny civil-rights issue in this case. There are several court cases pending from civil-rights groups arguing the ?show me your papers? part of Arizona?s law improperly encourages racial profiling from police officers.

Immigration is bigger than the questions raised in the Arizona case, which turned on the relatively narrow legal question about whether federal law can preempt state law. Politically, immigration has emerged as one of the hottest motivators for get-out-the-vote campaigns among Hispanics, a key voting bloc for President Obama and other Democrats seeking congressional office.

Obama?s announcement earlier this month to create a temporary deferral program for so-called ?dreamers,? undocumented youth who were brought to the United States illegally when they were children, was a not-so-subtle statement about the federal government?s preeminence on immigration policy. The announcement has the added benefit of rallying Hispanics to go to the polls to ensure that Obama?and the new policy?stays put.

Democrats, who want broader immigration overhaul including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, crowed at the Supreme Court?s decision. ?Three linchpins of the Arizona law were struck down by a convincing majority of the Court as clearly violating federal law, and a fourth is on thin legal ice,? said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who chairs the immigration panel on the Senate Judiciary Committee and is charged with shepherding immigration legislation through the Senate.

The Court showed some understanding about the plight of border states that bear the brunt of illegal-immigration problems. Republican Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain, both of Arizona,?said in a joint statement that the justices validated ?a key component of Arizona?s immigration law [that] was born out of the state?s frustration with the burdens that illegal immigration and continued drug smuggling impose on its schools, hospitals, criminal justice system, and fragile desert environment.?

CIVIL RIGHTS UP NEXT

According to Arizona?s defenders, the racial-profiling charge is a red herring. They posit the U.S. government specifically avoided raising questions of racial discrimination in their arguments because such arguments would not fly.

But civil-rights groups have remained undaunted. There are several lawsuits pending in lower courts that pose completely different questions than the ones answered by the Supreme Court. The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups have challenged the Arizona law, saying it invites racial profiling and violates the First Amendment. That case is expected to go before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the same circuit that agreed with the federal government that Arizona overstepped its bounds in enacting the law.

Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, and Utah have enacted laws similar to Arizona?s requiring police officers to investigate the immigration status of all persons they stop if there is ?reasonable suspicion? that they are in the country illegally. They can only rest assured that those provisions will survive scrutiny on federal-preemption questions, not on questions about civil rights.

The Alabama law goes further than Arizona?s statute, requiring school officials to inquire about the immigration status of students. Civil-rights groups have a lawsuit pending against that state as well, saying its immigration law chills children?s access to public schools, invites racial profiling, and criminalizes state residents for everyday interactions with undocumented individuals.

WHERE STATES MAY NOT TREAD

Elected state officials have legitimately complained that more needs to be done to fix the byzantine immigration law, which hasn?t seen a serious overhaul in 18 years. Yet the Supreme Court was clear in its decision that the states are at most sidekicks in the enforcement of immigration law.

Immigration is the federal government?s show, and it will continue to be so despite Arizona?s efforts and complaints. Just look at what the high court said when it struck down the part of the Arizona law making it a crime for an undocumented immigrant to not have registration papers??States may not enter, in any respect, an area the Federal Government has reserved for itself,? said Justice Anthony Kennedy. It?s hard to get clearer than that.

And here?s what the Court had to say about Arizona?s idea to allow police officers to make warrantless arrests of people they believe are in the country illegally: ?Detaining individuals solely to verify their immigration status would raise constitutional concerns.? Yep. The Court read the Immigration and Nationality Act correctly. Deportation, detention, asylum?they are all actions that the federal government alone takes.

It isn?t all bad for the states. They can now claim that they are perfectly within their rights to assist the federal government in enforcement activities and can even pass laws to clarify their roles. Local police cooperate with federal officials now through the Homeland Security Department?s ?Secure Communities? program, in which local and federal officers share information about the legal status of people who have been detained for other reasons. Local police don?t need special training to do this, although the decision about what ultimately happens to these people lies with those who understand the nuances of the complex law.

?Consultation between federal and state officials is an important feature of the immigration system. Congress has made it clear that no formal agreement or special training needs to be in place for state officers to ?communicate with the [Federal Government] regarding the immigration status of any individual,? ? Kennedy wrote.

There is still the ?effectiveness? question, which the Supreme Court did not (and arguably cannot) answer. Is the federal government doing enough to secure the border and curb illegal immigration? Arizona?s defenders say the preponderance of state laws weighing in on immigration means that the answer is an unequivocal "no."

No matter how many ways you parse the Supreme Court?s ruling, that conversation will go on.

?

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Removing estrogen from drinking water

Public release date: 25-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Robert Braun
rbraun@igem-bielefeld.de
49-162-316-7424
University of Bielefeld

Bielefeld University students participating in MIT competition

This release is available in German.

A biological filter to remove estrogens from waste water and drinking water -- 15 Bielefeld students submitting this project to the 'international Genetically Engineered Machine competition' (iGEM) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, USA are setting their sights high. They are persuading internationally active companies and associations in the biotechnology and chemistry sector to contribute several ten thousands of Euros to cover the costs of entering this rapidly expanding global competition in synthetic biology. Since May, they have been spending their free time in the laboratory making new DNA building blocks, reproducing them, and producing enzymes. First results give reason for optimism.

The birth control pill is a widespread contraception method. However, large amounts of these modified estrogens leave the body again in urine. The conventional methods in sewage treatment plants are unable to treat this waste water sufficiently because the most frequently used estrogen ethinylestradiol is very difficult to break down. As a result, the hormone finds its way into rivers and lakes and also accumulates in drinking water with serious consequences for fish and other aquatic life. These range from reproductive and severe developmental disorders to the formation of female sexual characteristics in males. The long-term consequences of increasing estrogen pollution for human beings are still largely unknown. Nonetheless, declining sperm counts and thereby increasing infertility in men living in industrial nations may well relate to this hormonal pollution. In addition, testicular and prostate cancers as well as osteoporosis (a reduction in bone density) could be a consequence of overly high concentrations of estrogen in the human body.

Bio filters from tree fungi

The goal of the Bielefeld iGEM team is to develop a biological filter in which certain enzymes (so-called laccases) break down the estrogen. Laccases are to be found in many organisms, and one of their properties is an ability to break down aromatic compounds to which the estrogens belong. One source of particularly efficient laccases for this process is the turkey tail, a type of fungus that likes to grow on trees. The Bielefeld students are aiming to manufacture this enzyme economically and safely with the help of methods from synthetic biology. It should also be possible to extend the concept to other, in part poisonous and carcinogenic pollutants in drinking and waste water. The students already have one first success to announce: they have managed to isolate the genes of several laccases from various bacteria and have placed them in a standard, allowing further development. By the time of the European Jamboree in October, they want to have confirmed how the enzymes break down various substrates such as estrogens, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals and to be starting to immobilize them to filter materials.

Doing research in their own time

The Bielefeld team is composed of 15 students in the Genome-Based Systems Biology, Molecular Cell Biology, and Molecular Biotechnology degree programmes. Participating in the international competition means sacrificing many hours of their own free time, because the Bielefeld students have to carry out the research on top of their regular studies. Moritz Mller, a Master student of Molecular Biotechnology, explains why participating is nonetheless attractive: 'Taking part in the competition gives you a chance to build up your own laboratory work while you are still studying, to pursue your own ideas, and even carry out your own project. These are the sort of challenges you will be facing in your professional career'. The students are being supported by Professor Dr. Alfred Phler, Professor Dr. Erwin Flaschel, Dr. Jrn Kalinowski, and Dr. Christian Rckert from Bielefeld University's CeBiTec (Center for Biotechnology).

International competition

The iGEM competition has been held every year since 2003 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. Starting as an MIT study course, the number of competitors has grown rapidly from five teams in 2004 to more than 190 in the present year. All teams face the same task: taking their project from the idea across the laboratory work to gaining funding and communicating the findings. As Dr. Jrn Kalinowski stresses, 'on the student level, the iGEM competition is the world championship in synthetic biology and it shows what potential this still young field of research has in the near future. Over 2,000 brilliant young minds from the best universities throughout the world are competing with each other. As in the current Bielefeld project, they set themselves ecological and social challenges and often find unconventional solutions. At the same time, the iGEM competition draws the attention of international companies and associations to the students and their promising ideas. The competition has a worldwide impact'. Because of the large numbers of competitors, continental preliminaries called jamborees have been organized since 2011. The European Jamboree will be held from 5-7 October in Amsterdam, Holland. It will decide which European teams get to travel to Boston, USA for the finals in November. Bielefeld University is competing for the third year in a row, and already succeeded in qualifying for Boston in 2010 and 2011.

###

For further information in the Internet, go to: www.igem-bielefeld.de

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 25-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Robert Braun
rbraun@igem-bielefeld.de
49-162-316-7424
University of Bielefeld

Bielefeld University students participating in MIT competition

This release is available in German.

A biological filter to remove estrogens from waste water and drinking water -- 15 Bielefeld students submitting this project to the 'international Genetically Engineered Machine competition' (iGEM) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, USA are setting their sights high. They are persuading internationally active companies and associations in the biotechnology and chemistry sector to contribute several ten thousands of Euros to cover the costs of entering this rapidly expanding global competition in synthetic biology. Since May, they have been spending their free time in the laboratory making new DNA building blocks, reproducing them, and producing enzymes. First results give reason for optimism.

The birth control pill is a widespread contraception method. However, large amounts of these modified estrogens leave the body again in urine. The conventional methods in sewage treatment plants are unable to treat this waste water sufficiently because the most frequently used estrogen ethinylestradiol is very difficult to break down. As a result, the hormone finds its way into rivers and lakes and also accumulates in drinking water with serious consequences for fish and other aquatic life. These range from reproductive and severe developmental disorders to the formation of female sexual characteristics in males. The long-term consequences of increasing estrogen pollution for human beings are still largely unknown. Nonetheless, declining sperm counts and thereby increasing infertility in men living in industrial nations may well relate to this hormonal pollution. In addition, testicular and prostate cancers as well as osteoporosis (a reduction in bone density) could be a consequence of overly high concentrations of estrogen in the human body.

Bio filters from tree fungi

The goal of the Bielefeld iGEM team is to develop a biological filter in which certain enzymes (so-called laccases) break down the estrogen. Laccases are to be found in many organisms, and one of their properties is an ability to break down aromatic compounds to which the estrogens belong. One source of particularly efficient laccases for this process is the turkey tail, a type of fungus that likes to grow on trees. The Bielefeld students are aiming to manufacture this enzyme economically and safely with the help of methods from synthetic biology. It should also be possible to extend the concept to other, in part poisonous and carcinogenic pollutants in drinking and waste water. The students already have one first success to announce: they have managed to isolate the genes of several laccases from various bacteria and have placed them in a standard, allowing further development. By the time of the European Jamboree in October, they want to have confirmed how the enzymes break down various substrates such as estrogens, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals and to be starting to immobilize them to filter materials.

Doing research in their own time

The Bielefeld team is composed of 15 students in the Genome-Based Systems Biology, Molecular Cell Biology, and Molecular Biotechnology degree programmes. Participating in the international competition means sacrificing many hours of their own free time, because the Bielefeld students have to carry out the research on top of their regular studies. Moritz Mller, a Master student of Molecular Biotechnology, explains why participating is nonetheless attractive: 'Taking part in the competition gives you a chance to build up your own laboratory work while you are still studying, to pursue your own ideas, and even carry out your own project. These are the sort of challenges you will be facing in your professional career'. The students are being supported by Professor Dr. Alfred Phler, Professor Dr. Erwin Flaschel, Dr. Jrn Kalinowski, and Dr. Christian Rckert from Bielefeld University's CeBiTec (Center for Biotechnology).

International competition

The iGEM competition has been held every year since 2003 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. Starting as an MIT study course, the number of competitors has grown rapidly from five teams in 2004 to more than 190 in the present year. All teams face the same task: taking their project from the idea across the laboratory work to gaining funding and communicating the findings. As Dr. Jrn Kalinowski stresses, 'on the student level, the iGEM competition is the world championship in synthetic biology and it shows what potential this still young field of research has in the near future. Over 2,000 brilliant young minds from the best universities throughout the world are competing with each other. As in the current Bielefeld project, they set themselves ecological and social challenges and often find unconventional solutions. At the same time, the iGEM competition draws the attention of international companies and associations to the students and their promising ideas. The competition has a worldwide impact'. Because of the large numbers of competitors, continental preliminaries called jamborees have been organized since 2011. The European Jamboree will be held from 5-7 October in Amsterdam, Holland. It will decide which European teams get to travel to Boston, USA for the finals in November. Bielefeld University is competing for the third year in a row, and already succeeded in qualifying for Boston in 2010 and 2011.

###

For further information in the Internet, go to: www.igem-bielefeld.de

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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Chinese Spacecraft Docks Manually For The First Time

A Chinese spacecraft carrying three astronauts carried out a manual docking with an orbiting module on Sunday, a first for the country as it strives to match American and Russian exploits in space.

The Shenzhou 9 capsule completed the maneuver with the Tiangong 1 module shortly before 1 p.m. (0500 GMT). The docking was shown live on national television. It follows a docking last week that was carried out by remote control from a ground base in China.

The Chinese astronauts have been living and working in the module for the past week as part of preparations for manning a permanent space station. They returned to the Shenzhou 9 capsule early Sunday and disconnected in preparation for the manual re-connection.

The crew includes 33-year-old Liu Yang, an air force pilot and China's first female space traveler.

Liu is joined by mission commander and veteran astronaut Jing Haipeng, 45, and crew mate Liu Wang, 43.

Their mission, which is expected to last at least 10 days, is China's fourth manned mission. Shenzhou 9 launched June 16 from the Jiuquan center on the edge of the Gobi desert in northern China.

China is hoping to join the United States and Russia as the only countries to send independently maintained space stations into orbit. It is already one of just three nations to have launched manned spacecraft on their own.

Another manned mission to the module is planned later this year. Possible future missions could include sending a man to the moon.

The Tiangong 1, which was launched last year, is due to be replaced by a permanent space station around 2020. That station is to weigh about 60 tons, slightly smaller than NASA's Skylab of the 1970s and about one-sixth the size of the 16-nation International Space Station.

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Suu Kyi's fight against oppression had high cost

Aung San Suu Kyi donned a cap and gown to receive her Civil Law Doctorate from Oxford University. Author Peter Popham discusses.

By NBC News' Tazeen Ahmad

She was already an international symbol of the fight against oppression and a unique figurehead for democracy. But, Aung San Suu Kyi --?the woman who took on Myanmar's military rulers armed with little more than the strength of her convictions -- was this week elevated to even higher status.

The end of Suu Kyi?s European tour has officially marked her arrival as a truly global political icon.?But behind the smiles and oft-witnessed stoicism that define her public persona is a story of terrible personal loss, a heart-breaking tale of personal sacrifice: Two boys who grew up without their mother and a husband who died of cancer in her absence.

---

?

Andy Rain / EPA

Aung San Suu Kyi holds her honorary degree Tuesday at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, Britain.

It is part of the narrative that defines Suu Kyi, 67, and made her return to Europe after 24 years away even more poignant and moving.

She is the daughter of national hero Aung San, the man who secured Burma?s independence from British rule in 1947.

He was killed when Suu Kyi was just 2 years old. His death and legacy laid the foundations of her incredible future commitment to her country.

In her early 20s, she studied at Oxford University in England, where she met and fell in love with Michael Aris, the man who would become her husband. It was during this very happy marriage that Suu Kyi got what many have defined as ?her calling.?

Suu Kyi: Nobel Prize 'made me real once again'

In March 1988 her two boys, Alexander and Kim, were sleeping upstairs in their home in Oxford while she was reading quietly with Michael when a phone call came that would change their lives and Myanmar's political history forever.

Her mother was sick and needed her.

Suu Kyi packed her bags and flew back to her homeland. On arrival, she found not just a mother who was dying but a country in the midst of great political turmoil. Within months she had buried her mother and taken the lead in the non-violent struggle against a brutal military regime that was slaughtering protesters en masse.? By July 1989, she was placed under house arrest.

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi addressed the World Economic Forum in Bangkok saying, "we just want to improve the state of Burma" and urged the international community to not be overly optimistic about her country's reform process. NBC's Ian Williams reports.

In the time that followed, Suu Kyi believed she would soon return to Oxford, but the days turned into months, the months into years. In total, she spent 24 years away from her beloved England, either in detention or unable to leave for fear of not being allowed back. She saw her sons only occasionally when the regime allowed them to visit.

Author and Journalist, Peter Popham, who has met Aung San Suu Kyi twice, wrote a biography about her called ?The Lady and The Peacock.?

"Neither she nor her husband imagined that it would lead to the destruction of the family," he said. ?Michael is on the record as saying he expected the regime to collapse before Christmas."

But many Christmases came and went and the boys turned into men, without their mother?s presence.

Earlier: Large crowds welcome Suu Kyi as she travels Thailand during world tour

A very public reunion took place last November between her and her younger son Kim, by then 33 years old. At the airport in Rangoon she cast a delicate and lonely figure but also a mother like any other desperately awaiting the arrival of her son.

Watching the video footage of it now, it's a very moving moment. Kim turns up and they smile for the cameras; she looks up proudly at her tall, handsome son. It had been 10 years since she had last seen him and she had then never met her grandchildren.

There are many conflicting rumors about her older son, Alexander, who did not attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway, last weekend. Some say he has found it difficult to forgive his mother's absence.

In an ITN interview Tuesday, Suu Kyi had a pragmatic response: ?We have never spoken of forgiveness as such,? she said, ?but we also have to remember that although my sons may not have had me near them, their position was so much better than that of many young people in Burma.?

For the first time in nearly a quarter century, Myanmar's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has left her country for a journey overseas, first to Bangkok and later to Europe. NBC's Ian Williams reports.

But what about her? Was she a mother who made a painful sacrifice for her country?

'Stubborn streak'
Popham said that she did not view this as sacrifice but more as a choice with the agreement of her sons and husband.?

"Many people wonder why she has been unable to express her feelings for the loss of her family,? he said, ?and they think that maybe this is because she is rather a cold person to whom the family doesn?t mean much, but this is a serious misunderstanding.?

Her ?stubborn streak? -- a personal trait she referred to when in London this week -- may have had a big role to play, as may have a certain lightness of being. She keeps a poker face, notable during her trip this week, but it is also interjected with moments of mischief.

All her speeches have been peppered with irreverent references and she was often caught grinning broadly; a sense of humor never seems far away.

Bono, of the band U2, a long-time supporter, told me that she combines charisma with a unique determination.

?She is still inside herself,? he said, ?And steely; there is a toughness as well as a tenderness.?

Her Buddhist meditation practice is said to have helped her during her longest and darkest moments, as has her own childhood marked with control, resolve and poise. These were coping mechanisms that got her through the last two decades.

Popham said she was always careful not to reveal what she really thought.

?She was an extremely devoted mother and housewife and the separation for years was certainly something that was never envisaged.? He continued, ?She?s never spoken about it, spoken about the pain that she undoubtedly endured because to do so would be a way of telling the military regime your strategy is working. I am suffering.?

When asked this week about the family she left behind, she was as direct and confident in her answer as ever.

"I don't feel good about it,? she said, ?but on the other hand I think that in the end one decides what one's priorities are, and one lives with one's decisions."

She?s had a quarter of a century to make peace with those decisions. Her return to the U.K. must have been overwhelmingly bittersweet.

But, long accustomed to being a woman who keeps her feelings private, in Dublin she told me simply that her trip had been ?absolutely stupendous.?

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

?

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Kid friendly Travel at Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta | Four Seasons ...

On the island of Java, Jakarta is the bustling capital of Indonesia. And though it is set in one of Southeast Asia?s largest cities, in its central business district, Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta is known for its lovely tropical gardens and relaxing ambiance. Think spacious rooms with private balconies to unwind after a busy day in the city.

The family will love the courtyard pool surrounded by lush gardens and spacious kids? play area. While Mom or Dad is at a business conference, the hotel has on-hand kids? board games, cartoons, colouring books and pencils and tempting snacks, plus two special kids? programmes.

We spoke with Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta?s Seasons Caf? restaurant manager Ida Yanti, who organizes the hotel?s Sunday brunch kids? programme and a Junior Chef class.

FS Family: What can families expect at the hotel?s Sunday brunch?
IY: We have a special programme for the kids. While parents are enjoying their meal in Seasons Caf? overlooking the gardens and pool, the kids (three to 12 years old) can join us nearby.

We have a mini buffet set up with a long table and chairs for all the activities. We?ll do anything from pizza decorating or arts and crafts to sandwich making. What?s really popular is cookie decorating. Parents love that their children can have their own fun time during brunch.

FS Family: What?s on offer on the kids? buffet? What are some of the highlights?
IY: Nothing other than kids? favorites! Burgers and French fries, cupcakes and popcorn?all served small portions ideal for our little diners.

FS Family: How about the signature brunch dishes for parents? Any local favourites that are not-to-be-missed?
IY: Our Sunday Brunch includes a variety of International cuisine: a cold seafood bar, fresh Pacific oysters, cheese board, Swiss fondue, roast beef and lamb carved to order, pasta cooked to order and popular dishes from Southeast Asia. We also have a pretty incredible Chocolate Gallery, plus a great selection of pastries, eggs prepared to your taste and favourites such as Orange Brioche French toast (the best in town, we hear), pancakes and waffles.

FS Family: How does the Junior Chef programme work?
IY: It?s complimentary for hotel guests. Junior Chef is aimed at kids three to 12 and takes place once a month during our Sunday Brunch as part of our kids? activities The kids, usually in groups of 15 to 20, join our executive chef Sumanth Das to learn more about what it?s like to be a chef.

We equip the children with toques and aprons, and they learn how to prepare one dish from start to finish?usually a dessert. (One of our favourites is mini-cupcakes, moist cake with beautiful icing sugar, cream and decorations on top). Then they get to eat it (the best part). After the session, kids receive a certificate as a Four Seasons Junior Chef. I think the highlight for the children is putting on the chef?s attire and playing chef just like a real pro.

FS Family: What else can families expect?
IY: We have babysitting services at the hotel for parents and a special children?s menu, both at the Seasons Caf? restaurant and for in-service dining. Our most popular kids? dishes are Fish ?n Chips, burgers and our special Nasi Goreng Sosis (fried rice with sausage). We also serve our young guests complimentary milk and cookies before bedtime. Of course they love that!

FS Family: We?ve heard the puppets are really unique?
IY: Absolutely. If the parents request it (just ask at the concierge desk), we?ll take kids to a theatre to see a traditional folk performance (ondel-ondel) using large, colourful puppets. This is a wonderful experience, and along the way, they?ll get to see the Jakarta street markets and mosques.

While here, Mom and Dad might want to take the family to visit our Museum Wayang (the national puppet museum) and Southeast Asia?s largest performing arts centre, Taman Ismail Marzuki. The wayang golek (ornate puppets) that you?ll find in the city make exceptional souvenirs to take home. The family can browse for batik clothing and other traditional crafts.

Another fun to-do is to give the kids a mini geography, history and art lesson in Indonesia at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, a culture-based park with 26 traditional house replicas of the archipelago provinces. It?s just fascinating. You could spend a whole day there, really.

Read more about Jakarta in Four Seasons Magazine.?

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NCAA Football 13 Top 25 Team Rankings (Last post on 06/23/2012 at 2:08 PM PDT)

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Good Laughers

Cal fans seem to have the ability to collect and enjoy good jokes - jokes seem to circulate all over the Internet and to most of our email in-boxes. Use this board to post them here for the enjoyment of other Cal fans, but do stay away from excess vulgarity. Help keep this a family-friendly site!

79 111 07/04/11?7:11?PM
by: luvthemustard

Test Posts

Make your 'test' posts here. Questions can be posted here, too.

227 655 05/24/12?5:23?AM
by: Bola231

Cal Fan Clubs and Events

MARK READ Forums Topics Posts Last Post

Bears in the Woods

Supporting Cal from Northern Nevada and The Sierras

14 19 12/06/08?11:35?AM
by: CaneYouDigIt75

Sacramento Grid Club

at Sacramento, CA

3 4 01/12/08?4:32?PM
by: redcinder

SoCal Bear Grid Club

Announcements, events, and topics of interest to SoCal Bear Grid Club members. Want to join the club? Make a post on this board.

4 6 07/24/08?4:25?PM
by: bonsallbear

Where to Watch Cal Games

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10 12 11/09/11?5:34?AM
by: Xtatic

Alumni Clubs and Support Groups

Looking to hook up with Bears fans in your area? Here is a comprehensive INDEX by geographical region of Alumni Clubs and Cal sports support groups across the country.

4 10 08/08/08?10:43?AM
by: SanseiBear

lakers news rachel crow rachel crow steelers browns va tech dan gilbert david stern