With the new season here, many of us are dreading winter's long, dreary onset. It means shorter days, longer nights and spending time indoors reading, knitting or sitting fireside and catching up on movies. Dreaded nights be damned, as next week, the Crawleys of "Downton Abbey" are returning to our midst. With the Great War upon them, we're anxiously awaiting if Mr. Bates's past will be unearthed and if Anna will accept him; whether Thomas will be revealed as a scheming cad and war dodger; and, most important, will Matthew and Lady Mary finally get it together? ...

AFXCreates revealed a newly designed website and rebranding initiative as part of the overall company brand strategy. Formerly known as Artifex Business Identity Development, AFX unveiled this initiative to announce their evolution into a media production house specializing in VFX, UI/UX, and interactive product and training visualizations. Originally based in catalog and print design, AFX has expanded their repertoire to highlight the effectiveness of 3D VFX and interactive technology in marketing and training education. "We are shifting our focus to engage with ...

The Portrait Society of America proudly announces its 2012 Fall Portrait Academy to be held on November 2nd and 3rd at the Fairchild Gardens and Vizcaya Museum & Gardens in Miami, Florida. The two-day event features an artist demonstration by Hodges Soileau, a lecture by Professor David Chang and a Plein Air workshop with Hodges Soileau, David Chang and Kerry Vosler. The City of Miami Arts & Entertainment Council is the proud sponsor of this enriching and educational event. The Fall Portrait Academy kicks off at 12:30 p.m. on November 2nd at the Fairchild Gardens, ...

Michael Aram is world renowned for his handmade, hand crafted, functional art, with no two pieces ever exactly the same. Each piece is made using age-old, traditional techniques. The artisan nature of the work fills each piece with a soulful energy. Yvonne Roeske owner and operator of Yvonne Estelle's says, "Aram's hostess gift collection is a perfect display of appreciation, suitable for any occasion." This collection has a wide array of items fitting for any budget. There is botanical serving wear in pewter, vases in glass, trays in rosewood, or granite, ...

In 1942, a teenage Sarah Vaughan won the Apollo Theater's amateur singing competition in a performance that was a launching pad for a career that transformed one of America's original art forms and elevated the craft of jazz vocal music. Seventy years later, Vaughan's legacy continues to resonate and will be celebrated with the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, part of the TD James Moody Democracy of Jazz Festival at NJPAC and at venues around Vaughan's hometown of Newark, N.J. A distinguished panel of musicians, music industry executives, NJPAC leadership ...

A documentary film about a wilderness rite of passage challenge for adolescent boys has been selected for screening at the Tri-State Film Festival. The documentary called "Tending Fires" tells about 7 adolescent boys who were led to isolated spots in the Catskill Mountains and asked to tend fires by themselves for over 24 hours as part of a rite of passage in a Hudson Valley, NY community. Filmmaker Peter Ferland of New Paltz, NY shot footage during the event and conducted interviews with the parents and community members who were involved. "But it's ...

Global Communications Group, Inc. (GCG), a leading provider of business telecommunications and networking solutions for over 100 providers worldwide, today announced it has partnered with Ajubeo, a provider of high-performance, enterprise-class virtual private data centers (VPDC) and cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). The agreement adds Ajubeo's private, hybrid and public cloud services as well as business continuity, backup, and enterprise virtual desktop services to GCG's diverse portfolio of IT products and services. "We look forward to working with Ajubeo ...

Mindsharp, a SharePoint education company, has now made available a new discount pricing structure for public classes. Students who register and pay for classes in advance will benefit from discounted prices. There will be 3 different discount rates for early registrations, depending on how soon you sign up for the class. In order to qualify for the discounts, students must register and pay for the class within this structured time frame: • 10% off - 31-60 days in advance • 20% off - 61-90 days in advance • 30% off - 90+ days in advance In addition, Mindsharp will ...

Women across the Valley can "streak for a good cause" with a splash of pink hair when they make a $10 donation to support the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer at Brillare Hairdressing Academy now through October 31. Brillare Hairdressing Academy's Phoenix and Scottsdale locations are teaming up with the "Pink Hair For Hope" campaign to offer clients a lock of SHE by SO.CAP.USA's signature pink hair extension added to their own locks for a $10 donation. 100% of the net proceeds go to the American Cancer Society's Making ...

Batteries Plus, the nation's first, largest, and fastest-growing battery and light bulb franchise with more than 525 locations in 46 states, announced the appointment of Rich Reynolds to the new position of President, Batteries Plus Stores Group. In the position, Reynolds will spearhead a group of Batteries Plus executives charged with expanding and improving both company-owned and franchise-owned stores. Reynolds joins the flourishing franchise following a 30-year career at Target stores, where he ultimately managed multiple store regions spanning from Denver to New ...

AgreeYa Solutions announced today that they will participate in the ACAMS 11th Annual AML and Financial Crime Conference to be held October 1-3, 2012 in Las Vegas, NV. The event which focuses on anti-money laundering and financial crime detection and prevention features practical, hands-on training, as well as regulatory updates. "We are excited to be an exhibitor at the ACAMS annual event, one of the largest gatherings of AML professionals, and to showcase our AML and compliance staffing services. AgreeYa offers staffing services to support a wide range of projects ...

Window World of Hartford has created the Kids Walking for Kids Challenge to invite the Hartford community to join them at the St. Jude Give thanks. Walk. taking place on Saturday, November 17. All dollars raised by the Window World of Hartford team will be donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The walk will take place starting at 4 p.m. at the Hartford Holiday Light Fantasia. Registration for the event is free of charge. "We are thrilled to be able to support this walk for St. Jude," said Kieki Du Plessis, co-owner of Window World of Hartford. "This ...

Wine and Design Triad will be partnering with High Point Regional Health System to present a "Paint It Forward" fundraiser to benefit the LoveLine fund on Saturday, October 13th from 4:00-6:00pm. The two-hour event will be held at the Millis Health Education Building located at 600 North Elm Street in High Point. The event is $45 per person and attendees will be painting a cancer awareness ribbon in the color of their choosing. Wine and Design will be donating 100% of the night's proceeds to LoveLine. The LoveLine fund provides financial assistance to any patient ...

In his 4th CD release over the last eighteen months, Dr. Joe Vitale, the world's first self-help singer and songwriter, has increased the power to heal through the proven technique of using music to positively affect the body and mind. Recording alongside top industry professionals, Vitale has inspired millions with songs that promote healing through rhythm and harmony. The result has been an overwhelmingly positive response. The Canadian Medical Association states, "From proven evidence, musical stimulation has a definite influence on all systems of the human body, ...

AAIM Employers Association, the region's leading provider of employee-related business solutions, is pleased to announce that Philip Brandt was chosen to be the next Chief Executive Officer of the 114-year old organization. "I'm delighted and humbled to be joining this historical organization which has such a legacy of helping organizations perform at their highest level," said Philip Brandt, the new chief executive officer of AAIM Employers Association. "I'm excited to get started and believe employers are prepared for a hiring expansion once the Presidential ...

Senior medical alert systems are growing in popularity and usage, with many companies creating their own version of the important system. Rescue Alert of California understands that choosing the right medical alert can be a difficult and confusing task. With their improved comparison page, Rescue Alert of California is providing consumers the features of several medical alerts in the market. The mission of a senior alert is to give caregivers and families the peace of mind knowing their elderly loved one is protected in an emergency situation. A medical alert has several ...

London-based financial provider, Exchange Data International (EDI), today announced the launch of its new adjusted price feed service to complement its existing end-of-day pricing offering. EDI has been providing closing prices and adjustment factors for securities around the globe since 2007 and has recently developed a new feed of adjusted pricing data providing clients with ready to upload data. Stock closing prices are adjusted to reflect the impact any distributions or corporate actions that have occurred since the last trading day had on the security price. ...

Center for Chiropractic & Wellness (http://www.chiropractornc.com), a north Raleigh chiropractic center located at 8300 Health Park, has announced the release of a podcast featuring Dr. Jennifer Greenfield. In this podcast, Greenfield discusses the best foods for a growing child's diet, the proper types and amount of exercise, how much water should be consumed by children each day, and the affect of heavy backpacks on chiropractic health. The podcast is available for download at http://bit.ly/QebQUJ. QUOTES: "In order for children to be successful in school, ...

Ten attorneys from the law firm of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP have been designated The Best Lawyers in America 2013 Lawyers of the Year in Grand Rapids. Those recognized as Lawyers of the Year have received particularly high ratings in Best Lawyers' surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism and integrity. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community can be honored as the Lawyer of the Year. Attorneys receiving this designation are: • Dennis J. Donohue, who was selected for his work in water law • Timothy ...

Global Weather Corp. (GWC) announced completion of the first full-year operational deployment of its WindWXSM energy forecast service with Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL). This follows a multi-year R&D collaboration to develop the core technology, involving the nation's number one wind power provider, Xcel Energy, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the world's leading atmospheric research laboratory. The result is a new global standard for accuracy in wind power forecasting. With WindWXSM, Xcel Energy estimates that it has saved $17 million, including ...

Two Christie MicroTiles video walls and three Christie DHD800 1-chip DLP projectors are helping keep watch at FishNet Security in Overland Park, Kan. FishNet Security is the largest information security solutions provider in North America, with clients in energy, financial services, government, healthcare, retail and other industry sectors. FishNet Security, which serves most Fortune 500 companies, wanted its move into its new state-of-the-art headquarters earlier this year to include the best available technology, which is why Christie was chosen for many of the company's ...

Talk Fusion, a rapidly growing global video communication solution company, today announced that its Independent Associates worldwide are climbing the ranks with an extraordinary rush to the position of Diamond and above, including several new high-ranking Associates who have reached the heights of Grand Blue Diamond and Blue Diamond. "We continue to break records with the number of Talk Fusion Associates achieving the rank of Diamond and above," said Bob Reina, Founder & CEO, Talk Fusion. "Our World Tour event this past June in Moscow, the anticipation ...

William Peace University (http://www.peace.edu), a private four-year university located in downtown Raleigh, has announced that President Debra M. Townsley, Ph.D., has been named to serve on the NCAA Division III Recruiting Working Group. The 13-person panel will evaluate alternative recruiting models for participating Division III colleges in the context of work-life balance and competitive equity, with the primary areas of discussion for potential legislative changes involving recruiting calendars and limitations on recruiting at nonscholastic events. Members of the NCAA ...

CIMS, the world's largest independent tire registration group, today announced the first recipients of the Tire Registration Seal of Certification that acknowledges the nation's companies who are in compliance with tire registration regulations. "We are extremely pleased to officially recognize the first of those safety-focused companies that have tire buyers' interests in mind as they lead the tire registration process," said Susan Kruder, president of CIMS. "We intend to recognize more companies who meet the criteria on an annual basis." Criteria ...

The Daniel Group, a family-owned employment agency based in Houston, was officially announced as one of the country's Fastest-Growing Staffing Firms for 2012. The list, assembled by Staffing Industry Analysts, reports the nation's staffing firms that have seen the most rapid growth in revenue over a five-year period. The Daniel Group was ranked as the 54th fastest growing firm in the U.S. and this was the second year in a row the company appeared on the list. "The Daniel Group would like to thank its internal staff, outstanding clients and all of its associates ...