Village Gamer

Those wanting to head back to school to train for a new career are invited to visit the nearest Vancouver Career College campus on Wednesday, July 27th, when the college hosts a province-wide open house at each of its six campuses.

Each open house will showcase the types of career training available at Vancouver Career College. Attendees will learn how the college develops its market-driven curriculum, which is based on input from industry professionals to ensure that graduates meet the demands of the business, healthcare, education, hospitality, legal administration and skilled trades sectors. They’ll also have a chance to tour the campus and meet with instructors and staff.

Whether they’re hoping to change careers or just looking to get started, attendees will learn how Vancouver Career College programs combine classroom learning with practical training from industry-experienced instructors to help students master the tools and techniques they’ll use on the job. The programs include practicum placements that allow students to put their training into practice in a job setting and gain hands-on experience in the field.

Vancouver Career College will host open house events at its campuses in Abbotsford, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Surrey, Kelowna and Vancouver on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 from 4:00 – 7:00 PM. Guests are asked to check in at 3:45 PM.

The World Youth & Student Travel Conference and its 2011 marketing partner Internet Advantage are organizing the first annual App Yap Contest to find the best travel app in the youth travel industry.

They are looking for apps that help young travellers in their journeys, from inspiration to planning to saving memories. The winning app will enhance the traveller’s experience and stand out from other travel apps with its original, youthful design, easy to use navigation, user-centric focus and hopefully,a bit of fun.

The contest is open to developers around the globe, however only one app submission is permitted per company.The winning app must be suitable to use before, during or after travelling. The app should be aimed at young individuals (under 35 years old), a group of young travellers, or those who organize or provide travel services for young travellers.

Conference Director Michael Palmer enthused, “We are all very energised by the launch of the App Yap Contest. The benefits for the winning company are tenfold. Not only will they receive valuable exposure and increased usage of their app, they will also be able to interact with other youth travel mobile app creators. And of course, the winner will gain recognition as a technology savvy company by earning the title ‘The provider of the best in youth travel mobile applications,’ which they can use to further market their app.”

In line with young traveller’s heavy use of social media, the App Yap Contest is being promoted on social media channels such as the new WYSTC Facebook page, the WYSTC Twitter account and WYSE Travel Confederation’s Linkedin Group.

The Top 10 Finalists will have the chance to present their app at the World Youth & Student Travel Conference being held in Barcelona September 20th through 23rd 2011, in front of 800 delegates looking to find new features for their travel companies. WYSTC attendees are decision makers, holding senior-level positions in youth travel companies from over 80 countries around the world: CEOs, owners, partners, presidents and directors.

The winner of the App Yap Contest will receive a prize worth over 5000 EUR:

•     Two free registrations to WYSTC 2012 (worth 3200 EUR)
•     Online marketing services provided by Internet Advantage (to a value of 2000 EUR)
•     The winner will present the app in a live webinar for the WYSE Travel Confederation community
•     Plenty of free publicity and recognition for being the best app in the youth travel industry

Voting will begin online in mid-July and run until midnight CET 22 September 2011. Entries must be received by midnight CET 31 August 2011. The winner will be announced at the Industry Awards Luncheon on Friday 23 September, the closing day of WYSTC.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research has launched the beta version of Fox Trial Finder, a web-based solution designed to connect willing volunteers with the Parkinson’s clinical trials that urgently need them. By the looks of the site, it’s currently only set up for US residents, but there is an email link for anyone outside of the US, and I feel that this program is too important to not post about it. Hopefully it will soon be available to teams worldwide.

“Today, as many as 80 percent of clinical trials face recruitment challenges — significantly increasing costs and delaying progress toward breakthroughs,” said Todd Sherer, Ph.D., CEO of The Michael J. Fox Foundation. “Fox Trial Finder harnesses state-of-the-art technology to meet these challenges head-on by making it easier for volunteers and research coordinators to find each other. By streamlining the flow of participants into trials, Fox Trial Finder will play a role in reducing the length and cost of Parkinson’s clinical trials, helping bring new treatments to patients faster.”

Using state-of-the-art technology, Fox Trial Finder compares volunteer information such as location and medical history with trial eligibility requirements to find the best potential matches at study sites nearby. The service matches both people with Parkinson’s and control volunteers with the trials that need them. In addition to personalized matching, Fox Trial Finder streamlines communication between volunteers and trial teams: Read the rest of this entry »

Saskatoon-based innovative enterprise solution provider cfactor Works Inc. is pleased to announce a live online event scheduled for Thursday, July 28, at 10 am PT / 1pm ET, entitled “Empowering Strategic HR: DeVry’s Agile Approach to the Next Generation Enterprise.”

In addition to sharing examples of how agile HR is driving transformation at DeVry, presenters Deb Maher, Sr. Director, HRIS and Benefits at DeVry, Inc. and Cary Schuler, Co-Founder & CEO of cfactor will answer any questions you may have during (or even after) the event.

Join the event and learn how DeVry is leveraging an agile SaaS platform to:

•     Create and sustain Enterprise-wide engagement
•     Identify and recognize top performers
•     Quickly & effectively adapt to new compliance requirements
•     Extend existing systems and develop new efficiencies
•     Provide secure on-demand access to key workforce insights
•     Support rapid global growth needs

Electronic Arts Inc. has announced the pricing of $550 million aggregate principal amount of 0.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 (the “notes”) in a private placement. EA has also granted the initial purchasers in the offering an option to purchase up to an additional $82.5 million aggregate principal amount of notes solely to cover overallotments. The notes are being offered only to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The offering is scheduled to close on or about Wednesday, July 20, 2011. EA anticipates posting supplemental information regarding the offering following the closing of the offering on Wednesday, July 20, 2011 on its Investor Relations website.

The notes will be convertible into cash and shares of EA’s common stock, if any, based on a conversion rate of 31.5075 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount of the notes, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $31.74 per share of common stock, subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events. Prior to April 15, 2016, the notes will be convertible only upon the occurrence of certain events and during certain periods, and thereafter, at any time until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date of the notes. Interest on the notes will be payable semiannually in arrears at a rate of 0.75% per annum on January 15 and July 15 of each year, beginning on January 15, 2012. The notes will mature on July 15, 2016, unless previously repurchased or converted in accordance with their terms prior to such date.

EA estimates that the net proceeds from the offering of the notes will be approximately $536.6 million (approximately $617.3 million if the initial purchasers exercise their overallotment option in full), after deducting the initial purchasers’ discount and estimated offering expenses (excluding the cost of the convertible note hedge transactions described below). Read the rest of this entry »

Rounding out the Canadian 2011 PrimeTime Emmy Award nominations are (and I hope I found them all) are the following nominees:

Canadian icon Christoper Plummer was nominated For Outstanding Voice-Over Performance as The Narrator in Moguls & Movie Stars.

Canadian actors Michael J. Fox and Will Arnett received recognition for their Guest Appearances. Fox was nominated for his appearances on The Good Wife in the Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series. Will Arnett was nominated for his performance as Devon Banks on 30 Rock as an Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series.

Toronto director Jeremy Podeswa was nominated as an Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series as the director of Boardwalk Empire’s episode titled Anastasia.

The Nikita episode titled Pandora was nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing For A Series.

AMC’s The Killing, which has Vancouver once again pretending to be Seattle, picked up the following nominations:

• Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series – Junie Lowry Johnson, Casting Director; Libby Goldstein, Casting Director; Stuart Aikins, Casting Director – Canada; Corrine Clark, Casting Director – Canada; Jennifer Page, Casting Director – Canada
• Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series
• Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series
• Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
• Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

Another AMC title, Rubicon, was nominated for Outstanding Main Title Design, competing against non-Canadian production Game of Thrones, which has an outstanding opening title series.

Animal Planet’s documentary – reality series Whale Wars picked up two nominations:

• Outstanding Cinematography For Nonfiction Programming
• Outstanding Sound Editing For Nonfiction Programming (Single Or Multi-Camera)

Stargate Universe received its third nomination for Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series.

Degrassi‘s episode My Body Is A Cage, Part 2 is nominated for Best Children’s Program

In addition to The Borgias, Take 5 Production Camelot was also nominated for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music. The show’s theme was composed by Canadian sibling composers Jeff and Mychael Danna

Staying with music, David Foster and Friends: Hitman Returns (Great Performances) has been nominated in the Outstanding Music Direction category along with fellow Canadian Paul Shaffer, who is nominated for his music direction on the 2011 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony.

Muse Entertainment was given the nod 17 times today, as the production company received a total of 17 PrimeTime Emmy Nominations for two miniseries, The Kennedys and Pillars of the Earth.

The 8-hour historical drama, The Kennedys, produced by Muse in association with American production company Asylum Entertainment, has been nominated for 10 Emmy Awards including:

Campbell River BC Actor Barry Pepper

• Outstanding Miniseries
• Outstanding Lead Actor (Greg Kinnear and Barry Pepper)
• Outstanding Supporting Actor (Tom Wilkinson)
• Outstanding Art Direction
• Outstanding Cinematography
• Outstanding Hairstyling
• Outstanding Make-Up (Non-Prosthetic)
• Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
• Outstanding Sound Mixing

The Pillars of the Earth, co-produced with Germany’s Tandem Communications brought in 7 Emmy nominations:

• Outstanding Music Composition For A Miniseries, Movie Or Special (Original Dramatic Score)
• Outstanding Cinematography For A Miniseries Or Movie
• Outstanding Hairstyling For A Miniseries Or Movie
• Outstanding Makeup For A Miniseries Or Movie (Non-Prosthetic)
• Outstanding Miniseries or Movie
• Outstanding Sound Editing For A Miniseries, Movie Or Special
• Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Miniseries, Movie Or  Special

“We are overwhelmingly proud to be honoured with multiple nominations for the The Kennedys which we produced, and for The Pillars of the Earth, which we co-produced, in the past year.  These nominations establish that our peers look at these productions as among the best in the world,” says Executive Producer & Muse Entertainment President Michael Prupas.

UNIT4 Business Software the North American subsidiary of UNIT4, provider of business software for Businesses Living IN Change (BLINC™), is meeting increased demand among non-profit organizations that are focused on achieving transparency and accountability to meet the new global demands of a competitive non-profit economy. As non-profits expand and evolve they are operating their organizations as tightly-run, often international businesses in a sector that is becoming more competitive.

UNIT4 Business Software has enjoyed increasing momentum in this sector in the last six months, particularly in North America, signing large non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as ACDI/VOCA, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM), as well as research facilities such as TRIUMF in an agreement worth more than $1 million. UNIT4 has also seen success with European non-profits and NGOs including ZonMw and the Innovation Institute of the Ministry of Health in the Benelux, as well as a leading national charity in the UK.

“All these organizations have one thing in common and that’s the desire to deliver the accountability and transparency of a public company and to be more competitive,” says Ton Dobbe, VP of Product Management at UNIT4. “Warren Buffet has alluded to this in how he chooses which organizations to donate to – those who operate as businesses earn his money because they’re operating on a business level. That’s what our software allows non-profits and NGOs to do.”

Agresso Business World is particularly appealing to Businesses Living IN Change (BLINC™) because it is designed for complex organizational structures that change frequently while still delivering total accountability and transparency. It is known among non-profits for its post-implementation agility that allows end users to respond swiftly and cost-effectively to changing funding levels and new funding structures, regulatory reporting requirements, and reorganization and restructuring without customers having to rely on costly external consultants. Read the rest of this entry »

CTV and Bravo! congratulate Toronto’s Take 5 Productions on its six 2011 Primetime Emmy Award nominations for the international co-production The Borgias. Canadians picked up four of the six nominations. The breakout original series, produced by Take 5 Productions and Ireland’s Octagon Films in association with Bravo!, CTV, and Showtime Networks in the U.S. is nominated in the following categories:

• Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-Camera Series
• Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series
• Outstanding Costumes For A Series
• Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series
• Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
• Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series

Canadians Francois Seguin was nominated in the Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-Camera Series category, Paul Sarossy for Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series and Trevor Morris for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music. A team of Canadians were nominated in the Outstanding Special Visual Effects For A Series category led by Toronto-based supplier SPIN VFX.

“We congratulate our partners at Take 5 Productions for their phenomenal work on The Borgias and receiving this tremendous honour,” said Corrie Coe, Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media. “We’re thrilled to have such an outstanding and successful series within the Bravo! and CTV roster and applaud its producers and creative team on this resounding recognition.”

John Weber and Sheila Hockin, Executive Producers, Take 5 Productions said:

“It’s a great achievement to have six Emmy nominations for Season One.  Enormous credit goes to Neil Jordan for creating such a compelling series and to the entire production team.  We’re particularly thrilled about the amazing showing of our fellow Canadians: first-time Emmy nominees Paul Sarossy (DOP) and Francois Seguin (Production Design), long-time colleague Emmy award- winning composer Trevor Morris, and the entire VFX team.

As an official Irish/Hungarian/Canadian co-production, our congratulations go also to our co-producers and colleagues at Octagon Films, particularly producer James Flynn and our Hungarian Co-Producer Mid-Atlantic Films.”

THE 63^RD Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on Sunday, September 18th exclusively in Canada on CTV

Vancouver indie Games developer Hothead Games has released some exciting character details and screenshots from the anticipated summer title that fans have been salivating over. The Baconing, where the endearingly egotistical DeathSpank faces an assortment of terrifying new enemies will be released on PC, Mac, and other platforms this summer.

Fortunately for our naively intrepid hero, he finds help in the Forest of Tomorrow from an unlikely group of adventuring scientists. The Nuclear Family is a group of rather socially dysfunctional mad geniuses who push the boundaries of science within their laboratory-esque arboretum. Truly – what other type of scientists could one expect to find in DeathSpank’s wonderful world of whackiness?

Motherly Betty Nuclear stays home and has perfected the science of cooking and cleaning while her husband, Dick Nuclear, spends his time at the “Pleasuretorium” creating robots to help cure the ills of society through full body sensual massage.  Meanwhile, their brilliant son Elroy keeps busy with his attempts to clone a two-headed dog to call his own, and his sister Chastity entertains herself by constructing a boyfriend out of ‘spare parts’ dug up from a graveyard.

In order to gain access to the Fire of Bacon, DeathSpank must reunite this frenetic family.  Of course, it’s never as simple as that: each family member has a tendency to explode when agitated, and that tendency grows when in the vicinity of their fellow Nuclears.  But if he ever wishes to get one step closer to facing off against the villainous AntiSpank, whose very presence threatens everything he stands for, DeathSpank must find a way.