Star Photographer Markus Klinko, Modern Rocks Gallery Announce Auction To Benefit Red Cross Hurricane Harvey Relief

Beyoncé by Markus Klinko, Modern Rocks Gallery

Award-winning, international fashion and celebrity photographer Markus Klinko and Texas-based Modern Rocks Gallery today announced the launch of "Dangerously in Love with Houston: Modern Rocks Gallery / Markus Klinko Auction," an online auction of signed, first worldwide edition Beyoncé photographs with proceeds benefiting the Red Cross and its Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. 

The online auction will feature three 16"X20" photographs of Houston-native Beyoncé from the 2003 cover shoot of her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, signed by Markus Klinko.

Fujifilm supports the auction with printing and mounting, while Broncolor will donate shipping of the photographs to auction winners. All money raised from the auctions will go to the Red Cross Houston and Gulf Coast relief efforts.

The auction is online at modernrocksgallery.com/hurricane-relief and begins at 2 pm CST, Wed., Aug. 30 and closes at 2 pm CST, Sat., Sept. 9, 2017.

"I met Beyonce first in 2000 as a member of Destiny's Child during a photo shoot for Vibe and later was hired to shoot the cover of Beyoncé's debut solo album, Dangerously in Love. The images in our Hurricane Harvey relief auction were shot at my Soho studio," said Klinko. "And, I remember this shoot as one of my favorite experiences. Beyoncé later shared that these photographs were her all-time favorites."

"It's a privilege to have the opportunity to support Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. The catastrophic impact on Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast will require months and years of recovery, relief and rebuilding. It's one way I can help raise funds and awareness for the people of Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast," added Klinko.

"We're grateful for Markus' tremendous generosity in this effort," Steven Walker, owner of Modern Rocks Gallery said. "Our heart aches for the people of Houston and the Gulf Coast, and we wanted to find a way to raise awareness and critical funds for the recovery and relief efforts there. Being able to feature these iconic images of Houston-born Beyoncé in this auction make the effort even more special."

SOURCE: Modern Rocks Gallery

"Planet of the Orb Trees": New Children's Dystopian Book Promotes Environmental Awareness

Planet of the Orb Trees

Heartlab Press Inc. is pleased to announce the upcoming publication of Barton Ludwig's dystopian young reader's title, "Planet of the Orb Trees".

Written for a generation growing up in an era of environmental climate change, "Planet of the Orb Trees" takes place on a planet where natural disasters have pushed the last of humanity to the confines of an old amusement park. With unlimited rubus orbs for energy, unlimited roller-coaster rides, and unlimited distractions, everyone is happy. Everyone except Kai, a young boy who dreams of travelling beyond the stars.

Determined to get to Planet Ketera, Kai takes his knapsack—which can only carry 5 orbs and sets out to reach the largest rubus tree in search of more powerful orbs to fuel his flight. Beyond the comfort and safety of home, Kai learns of the value of thinking beyond immediate gratification, of thinking of his surroundings, and, most importantly, of thinking of other living beings.

Ludwig wrote this book with hopes to promote ecological awareness, conservation of resources and environmental action.  

"Planet of the Orb Trees," is an adventure dystopian book that encourages children not to take nature for granted.

• The official release date of "Planet of the Orb Trees" is December 14, 2017. It will be available on Amazon as well as major retailers in print and digital formats.

SOURCE: Heartlab Press Inc.

American Geophysical Union Coalition Receives Grant to Advance Open and FAIR Data Standards in the Earth and Space Sciences

Image via: American Geophysical Union Facebook Page

Open, accessible, and high-quality data and related data products and software are critical to the integrity of published research. They ensure transparency and support reproducibility and are necessary for accelerating the advancement of science. In many cases, the data are one-time observations that cannot be repeated.  Unfortunately, not all key data are saved and even when they are, their curation is uneven and discovery is difficult, thus making it difficult for other researchers to understand and use the data sets.

To address this critical need, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation has awarded a grant to a coalition of groups representing the international Earth and space science community, convened by the American Geophysical Union (AGU), to develop standards that will connect researchers, publishers, and data repositories in the Earth and space sciences to enable FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) data – a concept first developed by Force11.org – on a large scale. This will accelerate scientific discovery and enhance the integrity, transparency, and reproducibility of this data. 

The resulting set of best practices will include: metadata and identifier standards; data services; common taxonomies; landing pages at repositories to expose the metadata and standard repository information; standard data citation; and standard integration into editorial peer review workflows.

"AGU's commitment to open data and data stewardship started in 1997 when we developed one of the first society position statements on open data. We developed that position statement because we recognized properly documented, credited, and preserved, data would help future scientists understand the Earth, planetary, and heliophysics systems, and that is an integral responsibility of scientists, data stewards, and sponsoring institutions to ensure the preservation of that data," said Chris McEntee, AGU's executive director/CEO. "Today, with the generous support of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, our community is working together to ensure that the Earth and space sciences, including more than 50,000 publications, will then be the first scientific field to have open and well-described data as a default, making that data discoverable and freely accessible across our sciences, as well as other scientific disciplines and the public."

The partnership currently includes AGU, the Earth Science Information Partners and Research Data Alliance, and has support from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature, Science, AuScope, the Australian National Data Service, and the Center for Open Science. This effort will build on the work of The Coalition on Publishing Data in the Earth and Space Sciences (COPDESS.org), ESIP, RDA, the scientific journals, and domain repositories to ensure that well documented data, preserved in a repository with community agreed-upon metadata, and supporting persistent identifiers becomes part of the expected research products submitted in support of each publication. It is expected that the broader community will play a key role in the recommended guidelines and approach. A key goal is to make a process that is efficient and standard for researchers and thus supports their work from grant application through to publishing.

Scientific results are increasingly dependent on large complex data sets and models that transform these data. This is particularly true in the Earth and space sciences, where critical data increasingly provide diverse and important societal benefits and are used in critical real-time decisions. The partners will work with major Earth and space science data repositories, publishers, editorial workflow vendors, researchers, and allied stakeholders to develop common standards and workflows for submission of data, connect repositories and publishers, develop and implement tools needed for search and discovery, and enhance quality peer review. 

This process will help: 
1) researchers understand and follow expectations regarding data curation; 
2) publishers adopt and implement standard and best practices around data citation; and 
3) make data discoverable and accessible, including to the public.

Read AGU's position statement on data.

AGU Executive Director and CEO Chris McEntee

About The American Geophysical Union:
The American Geophysical Union is dedicated to advancing the Earth and space sciences for the benefit of humanity through its scholarly publications, conferences, and outreach programs. AGU is a not-for-profit, professional, scientific organization representing nearly 60,000 members in 139 countries. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and AGU's other social media channels.

SOURCE: American Geophysical Union

Bonus Video:

San Antonio Praised for Welcoming Hurricane Harvey Evacuees, But Save the Children Finds Shelters Initially Fall Short in Meeting Children's Needs

Katrina places her 9-month-old son, Malachi, in a pack-and-play crib. Malachi fell off his cot when he was sleeping and bumped his nose. The family is staying in a hurricane shelter in San Antonio, Texas. (Save the Children photo.)

As hundreds of displaced families, including many with infants and toddlers, continue to arrive in San Antonio each day seeking refuge from Hurricane Harvey's catastrophic flooding, Save the Children has moved quickly to provide the city's shelters with the necessary equipment and services to keep children safe.

"Yesterday, in San Antonio's largest operating shelter, with nearly 1,000 people, more than 20 infants and toddlers spent the night sleeping in card board boxes, and many more toddlers slept on military cots from which they could easily slip off and hurt themselves. Parents also expressed concern they had no way to bathe their babies," said Jeanne-Aimee De Marrais, Save the Children's senior director of U.S. emergencies, who is leading the agency's response in Texas.

"In one case, a nine-month-old boy slipped off his cot and cut his nose," said De Marrais. "In another case, a grandmother told me she had not been able to bathe her two-month-old grandchild in nearly a week. We quickly brought in portable pack-and-play cribs, umbrella strollers and hygiene kits with plastic water basins to help parents keep their children safe and comfortable."

Added De Marrais: "San Antonio has become ground zero for evacuees, providing beds for up to 6,000 people. The city has done a great job mobilizing support so quickly in the early stages of a major response like this, but we are finding that the basic needs of mothers and small children in shelters are getting overlooked. Cardboard boxes for infants to sleep in are not enough. We can do much better, and we are here to make it happen."

De Marrais praised the strength and independence of many families she met in San Antonio's shelters.  One father, shortly after learning that his family's mobile home in Rockport had been totally destroyed by the hurricane, welled up with tears of thanks when the Save the Children team provided materials for the couple's two young children.  "Hurricane Harvey has been a humbling experience," he said.

Nine-month-old Malachi peeks over the side of his new pack-and-play crib donated by Save the Children. The family is staying in a hurricane shelter in San Antonio, Texas. (Save the Children photo.)

Save the Children plans to expand its efforts to address the needs of families in Texas shelters as it launches efforts to assist shelters outside the San Antonio area.  In addition, the agency will soon begin setting up Child Friendly Spaces in major shelters.  These spaces are safe, well-supervised areas within shelters where children can play, socialize and begin to recover from the disaster, while allowing their parents to concentrate on addressing the family's immediate and longer-term needs.

In the coming days, Save the Children also plans to provide support to child care and early education programs damaged or destroyed by the storm.

Jeanne-Aimee De Marrais, Save the Children’s senior director for U.S. emergencies, wheels a load of portable cribs for babies into a Salvation Army shelter for homeless families impacted by Hurricane Harvey in Texas. (Save the Children photo.)

To support Save the Children's response efforts around Hurricane Harvey, please go to SavetheChildren.org or text Hurricane to 20222 to donate $25 to the Hurricane Harvey Children's Relief Fund. (A $25 donation will be added to your mobile bill. Messaging & Data Rates May Apply.) 

About Save The Children:
Save the Children gives children in the United States and around the world a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We invest in childhood — every day, in times of crisis and for our future. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE: Save the Children

USA: Anti-Racism Demonstrators Offered Free Bail By Nexus Services' National Initiative

Mike Donovan, civil rights activist and president and CEO of Nexus Services, Inc.

Nexus Services, Inc. is offering bail assistance to anyone joining the anti-racism demonstrations against neo-Nazis, neo-Confederates, and racists that seek to divide Americans rather than unite the United States.

Nexus Services, Inc. will secure the bond and cover bail at no cost to anti-racism demonstrators.

"So long as white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and neo-Confederates continue to flock to our nation's cities in the name of hate and violence, Nexus Services will stand alongside those who exercise their rights to demonstrate against hate and racism," Mike Donovan, civil rights activist and president and CEO of Nexus Services, Inc. said Friday afternoon about the bail-assistance program offered by his company.

"At Nexus Services, we believe in free speech and understand the importance of fighting white supremacist ideology in our systems of government, in our communities, and across our great nation. Our commitment is to ensure that good people standing against hate have the right to be heard, not be jailed.  Above all these demonstrators should not languish in a jail cell because they cannot afford bail," concluded Donovan.

Nexus Services established bail-assistance numbers in all three cities: San Francisco, 628-333-4409; Berkeley, 510-987-8988 and Knoxville, 615-763-5105.  Collect calls will be accepted. A toll-free hotline was also established: 1-800-658-6743. Nexus Services, Inc. will provide bail at no cost to the demonstrator.                                                                                    

Nexus Services, Inc. will not secure bond for anyone wearing masks in public demonstrations that appear to be in violation the "Ku Klux Klan Act" of 1871.

About Nexus Services, Inc.:
Nexus Services, Inc. affirms the inherent worth and dignity of people by becoming a voice to those victimized by the legal system and providing hope to those who have lost it. Nexus Services aids immigrant communities in crisis through sponsoring bonding and pro bono legal services. Nexus guides pretrial and post-conviction offenders to a place of stability and accountability while striving to reduce jail populations. Additionally, Nexus' frontline approach to advocacy, charity, and goodwill in the community facilitates their mission to help clients achieve long-term success and become established members of society. Nexus is committed to standing with their clients and their clients' families in their quest to seek justice and for full integration into society. Nexus is united by the quest for justice and desire to spark change in the world.

SOURCE: Nexus Services, Inc.

Bonus Picture:

See no Nazis, Hear no Nazis, Tweet no condemnation (via Trumpton)