Fla. man sues ex-Elmo puppeteer, claims sex abuse

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2011 file photo, Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash poses with the "Sesame Street" muppet in the Fender Music Lodge during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Another Florida man is suing Clash, the former Elmo puppeteer who resigned amid sex abuse allegations, claiming the voice actor befriended him in Miami and promised to be a father figure before flying him to New York to have sex with him. (AP Photo/Victoria Will, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2011 file photo, Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash poses with the "Sesame Street" muppet in the Fender Music Lodge during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Another Florida man is suing Clash, the former Elmo puppeteer who resigned amid sex abuse allegations, claiming the voice actor befriended him in Miami and promised to be a father figure before flying him to New York to have sex with him. (AP Photo/Victoria Will, File)

MIAMI (AP) ? Another man on Monday sued the former Elmo puppeteer who resigned amid sex abuse allegations, claiming the voice actor befriended him in Miami and promised to be a father figure before flying the teen to New York to have sex with him.

The alleged victim is now the fourth to accuse Kevin Clash, who resigned from "Sesame Street" last month after 28 years. The three legal actions filed so far have been civil cases seeking financial compensation.

But the incident with the latest victim, referred to only as S.M., could involve criminal charges because the lawsuit claims Clash transported him across state lines for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.

Attorney Jeff Herman said he encouraged his client to report the incident to authorities but it's unclear if the now-33-year-old alleged victim has done so.

Sexual abuse allegations against Clash triggered a media frenzy last month. He quickly denied the first claim, which was recanted the next day. But Clash then resigned after a 24-year-old college student, Cecil Singleton, sued him for $5 million, saying the actor engaged in sexual behavior with him when he was 15.

Singleton claims the voice actor met him in New York a dozen years ago after trolling gay telephone chat lines and seeking underage boys for sex.

In the latest case, the plaintiff said Clash approached him on Miami Beach, complimented his appearance and struck up a friendship. Clash returned home to New York, but stayed in touch with the teen, promising to be a dad to him. The youth, who was 16 or 17 at the time, had been molested by a teacher and was considering running away from home, according to the lawsuit.

"These are all vulnerable boys. None of them had father figures in their lives and they were looking for that father figure," said Herman, who represents three of the alleged victims.

The lawsuit says Clash paid for a plane ticket from Florida to New York in 1996 and arranged for a car service to pick up the teen and bring him to his upscale apartment, where he gave him cash and showered him with "attention and affection" and ultimately engaged in numerous sexual acts.

Herman said he is poring over receipts and other documents to see if the car service was paid for by Clash's employers at Sesame Street.

Clash's attorney Michael Berger said in a statement that "the lawsuit is without merit and we will vigorously defend the case and Mr. Clash's reputation."

Sesame Street publicist Ellen Lewis said "we're confident in the actions that we took," but declined further comment, saying it was an issue between litigants.

Herman said the alleged victims didn't come forward sooner because they were afraid, but have found courage as others have spoken up.

He said they are compliant victims who participated in the sexual acts, but didn't consent because it's illegal for a minor to do so.

"Because they participated in the sex they feel like they're doing something wrong ... they're ashamed, they're embarrassed, not something they really want to talk about," he said.

Herman said he's been contacted by several other possible victims and is vetting their cases.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-10-Elmo%20Actor-Accused/id-d80edde2e76e45c4a744b4289d3d2c9b

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Video: Bowles: I'd Almost Guarantee Tax Rates Go Up for Top 2%

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Fear of falling may cause social isolation in older adults with vision problems

Public release date: 11-Dec-2012
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Contact: Katrina Norfleet
knorfleet@arvo.org
240-221-2924
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

Rockville, Md. A new study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science found that between 40 to 50 percent of older adults with visually impairing eye disease limit their activities due to a fear of falling. Vision scientists warn that this protective strategy puts seniors at risk for social isolation and disability.

In the paper, "Activity Limitation Due to a Fear of Falling in Older Adults with Eye Disease," researchers report on their examination of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma and Fuchs corneal dystrophy, as compared to a control group of older adults with good vision. Of the three groups with visual limitations, the patients with Fuchs corneal dystrophy were the mostly like to report activity limitation due to fear of falling, followed by those with glaucoma and the AMD group.

"I expected all of the groups to limit their activities due to a fear of falling but I was a bit surprised that the group with Fuchs corneal dystrophy was the most likely to limit their activities," says Ellen E. Freeman, PhD, Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Montreal, Qubec, Canada. "I was also surprised at how frequently people with eye disease reported limiting their activities due to fear of falling. Clearly, this is something that is affecting many people with eye disease."

The research team conducted a cross-sectional study of 345 patients (93 with AMD, 57 with Fuchs, 98 with glaucoma and 97 controls) from the ophthalmology clinics of Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal. Questionnaires and vision tests were given to each patient. Only 16 percent of controls with normal vision reported activity limitation due to a fear of falling compared with the 40 to 50 percent of patients with eye disease.

Results also showed that people who reported activity limitation due to a fear of falling were older, were more likely to be females, had worse vision, were more likely to be depressed and had greater comorbidity.

Freeman points out that their findings are not only relevant to older patients with eye disease, but to their families, physicians and to those providing low vision rehabilitation services. "It is important to know more about which activities are being limited due to fear of falling. We can then develop and test interventions to help people feel more confident about their ability to safely do those activities," she says. " If we could develop a brief, effective intervention focused on select activities, I would like to see it offered in the clinical setting. Then, we could encourage people to see a low vision rehabilitation specialist if they want more training."

The research team concludes that older adults with eye disease should stay as mobile as safely possible to help prevent morbidity associated with a sedentary lifestyle, mobility disability and mortality.

###

The ARVO peer-reviewed journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS) publishes results from original hypothesis-based clinical and laboratory research studies, as well as Reviews, Perspectives, and Special Issues. IOVS 2009 Impact Factor ranks No. 4 out of 45 among ophthalmology journals. The journal is online-only and articles are published daily.

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. Members include more than 12,500 eye and vision researchers from over 80 countries. ARVO encourages and assists research, training, publication and knowledge-sharing in vision and ophthalmology.

Visit us at:
Website: www.arvo.org
Twitter: www.twitter.com/#!/ARVOinfo
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ARVOinfo
Flicker: www.flickr.com/photos/ARVOinfo
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/ARVOinfo

---

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?

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: 11-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Katrina Norfleet
knorfleet@arvo.org
240-221-2924
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

Rockville, Md. A new study published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science found that between 40 to 50 percent of older adults with visually impairing eye disease limit their activities due to a fear of falling. Vision scientists warn that this protective strategy puts seniors at risk for social isolation and disability.

In the paper, "Activity Limitation Due to a Fear of Falling in Older Adults with Eye Disease," researchers report on their examination of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma and Fuchs corneal dystrophy, as compared to a control group of older adults with good vision. Of the three groups with visual limitations, the patients with Fuchs corneal dystrophy were the mostly like to report activity limitation due to fear of falling, followed by those with glaucoma and the AMD group.

"I expected all of the groups to limit their activities due to a fear of falling but I was a bit surprised that the group with Fuchs corneal dystrophy was the most likely to limit their activities," says Ellen E. Freeman, PhD, Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Montreal, Qubec, Canada. "I was also surprised at how frequently people with eye disease reported limiting their activities due to fear of falling. Clearly, this is something that is affecting many people with eye disease."

The research team conducted a cross-sectional study of 345 patients (93 with AMD, 57 with Fuchs, 98 with glaucoma and 97 controls) from the ophthalmology clinics of Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital in Montreal. Questionnaires and vision tests were given to each patient. Only 16 percent of controls with normal vision reported activity limitation due to a fear of falling compared with the 40 to 50 percent of patients with eye disease.

Results also showed that people who reported activity limitation due to a fear of falling were older, were more likely to be females, had worse vision, were more likely to be depressed and had greater comorbidity.

Freeman points out that their findings are not only relevant to older patients with eye disease, but to their families, physicians and to those providing low vision rehabilitation services. "It is important to know more about which activities are being limited due to fear of falling. We can then develop and test interventions to help people feel more confident about their ability to safely do those activities," she says. " If we could develop a brief, effective intervention focused on select activities, I would like to see it offered in the clinical setting. Then, we could encourage people to see a low vision rehabilitation specialist if they want more training."

The research team concludes that older adults with eye disease should stay as mobile as safely possible to help prevent morbidity associated with a sedentary lifestyle, mobility disability and mortality.

###

The ARVO peer-reviewed journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS) publishes results from original hypothesis-based clinical and laboratory research studies, as well as Reviews, Perspectives, and Special Issues. IOVS 2009 Impact Factor ranks No. 4 out of 45 among ophthalmology journals. The journal is online-only and articles are published daily.

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. Members include more than 12,500 eye and vision researchers from over 80 countries. ARVO encourages and assists research, training, publication and knowledge-sharing in vision and ophthalmology.

Visit us at:
Website: www.arvo.org
Twitter: www.twitter.com/#!/ARVOinfo
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ARVOinfo
Flicker: www.flickr.com/photos/ARVOinfo
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/ARVOinfo

---

[ | 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.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/afri-fof121112.php

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Money in focus as UN climate talks enter last day

DOHA, Qatar (AP) ? Rich and poor countries are arguing over money at the last day of talks at the United Nations-led conference on climate change.

The funds are to help the developing world cover the rising costs of mitigating global warming and adapting to it.

Developing countries want firm commitments from rich nations to scale up climate aid to poor countries to $100 billion annually by 2020, a general pledge that was made three years ago.

After overnight negotiations, a draft agreement was presented Friday that does not include midterm targets, which developing countries had called for. The U.N. climate secretariat said "further consultations are necessary."

Rich nations are unwilling to commit to specific targets now, citing world financial turmoil and pressure on their budgets.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-12-07-Climate%20Talks/id-af2293c966bc4946abe3ddc95e0e474f

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The Pie Safe | My 3 Little Birds- Self-Improvement through Motherhood

Before moving into our new home, the previous owners? dear friends of ours? gave us the opportunity to purchase some of their furniture. They were preparing for retirement and moving to a resort community several states away, and much of what they?d collected over the years would not be going with them.

Happy for the chance, my husband and I walked through the house with new eyes. In the dining room, two cherub sconces flanked a mirror that was a perfect match for the fireplace below it. In the living room an old glass-front library cabinet caught my eye. There were other things, too: an antiqued shelf in the second-floor hallway. A rug, with the perfect amount of wear. Several paintings to remind us that this is a home intended for art (we?ll get there someday).

In the hallway between two bedrooms (which were to become my sons?) a red pie safe housed books and little treasures of lives well-lived. Family photos. Pottery. A delicate weathervane. I fell for it immediately.

Recently the previous homeowner stopped by her old house to collect a few things we were storing for them. She later told me how much it meant to see what I?d done with the red pie safe. I?d used it as an art center for my children, storing crayons, markers, and finger paints inside, and on the shelves I?d displayed their baby books, tiny shoes, and other mementos of their childhoods.

It wasn?t artistically arranged like it had been before. The day she was there, in fact, it was a cluttered mess of construction paper and tangled pipe cleaners from a craft activity gone wrong. But it touched her to see new life being breathed into her old home.

I can?t put my finger on it, exactly, but there?s something about being witness to change as it happens. Accepting it. Embracing it. There?s something about seeing ourselves as part of a larger story: how we drift in and out of spaces, present one moment and gone the next, feel the weight of those who?ve gone before us when we sit at their tables.

The old red pie safe is just an example. We come and go. Some things remain.

Photo Credit: Jason Pier in DC/Flickr

Source: http://my3littlebirdsblog.com/2012/12/the-pie-safe.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-pie-safe

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Rhapsody intros SongMatch for Android, helps you discover tunes with a simple tap

There's certainly no doubt that Rhapsody usually delivers the latest and greatest to the Android crowd first, before eventually taking its on-demand goods elsewhere. Now, not long since completely redesigning its official application on Mountain View's mobile OS, the music service announced its newest app creation dubbed SongMatch (powered by Gracenote). As the name would adequately tell us, Rhapsody's app will make it relatively simple to learn more about previously-unknown tunes, with SongMatch offering a one-click feature which can quickly identify music info such as the artist, song and, naturally, the name of the album -- you know, similar to what you might see on apps like Shazam and SoundHound. SongMatch is available as a gratis download on the Play and Amazon stores, and Rhapsody's quick to point out that the app will be great for current subscribers as well as newcomers who may not have an account -- that said, the company is hoping to lure some people in, adding that SongMatch is indeed "a great way to introduce new music fans to Rhapsody."

Continue reading Rhapsody intros SongMatch for Android, helps you discover tunes with a simple tap

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Source: Rhapsody

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Full Sail University Blog ? 3D Arts Character Animation Demo Reel ...

In the Character Rigging?and Character Animation courses, Computer Animation and Game Art students learn how to add skeletal structures to their character models and prepare them for motion. Check out some character rigging-focused demo reel work in the showcase below from recent graduates Joshua Burns, Jeffrey De La Nuez, Jim Joyce, Rachel Little, Yamil Narvaez, Ricardo Polanco, Brooke Porter, and Darren Teo.

Source: http://www.fullsailblog.com/3d-arts-character-animation-demo-reel-highlights-from-august-october-2012-video/

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