Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Rapist captured in Maine after 34 years returns to Massachusetts

By Daniel Lovering

BOSTON (Reuters) - A man who fled Massachusetts after being convicted of rape 34 years ago and was arrested in Maine last week, has been returned to the state for sentencing, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Gary Irving, 52, was convicted in 1979 in Norfolk Superior Court in Massachusetts for crimes committed the previous year, but fled to Maine after a judge released him so he could make arrangements before the sentencing proceeding.

At the time, Irving was facing a possible life sentence on three counts of rape and three counts of kidnapping, said David Traub, a spokesman for the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office.

Traub said Irving appeared in court in Maine on Monday before being handed over to Massachusetts police, who transported him to Norfolk Superior Court. He said Irving was ordered held without bail and his next court appearance was scheduled for April 12.

Irving became one of the most-wanted fugitives in Massachusetts, and a decades-long manhunt ended on Wednesday night when police arrested him at his home in Gorham, Maine.

He had been living quietly under the assumed name Gregg Irving.

Prosecutors expect Irving to be sentenced on the original rape and kidnapping charges in the coming weeks, the spokesman said.

Police and FBI agents said they discovered numerous guns at Irving's residence and that he will face illegal firearms possession charges and charges of being a fugitive.

(Editing by Scott Malone, Cynthia Johnston and Grant McCool)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rapist-captured-maine-34-years-returns-massachusetts-172601458.html

Chad Johnson

Nicola Formichetti Leaves Thierry Mugler After Tweeting About 'Big Announcements'

If you thought designer musical chairs had come to a halt, think again: Nicola Formichetti has left Thierry Mugler.

After two years on the job, Formichetti has decided to part ways with Mugler after reaching a "mutual agreement" with the brand, Women's Wear Daily reports. The designer has become known not only for his celebrity best friends like Lady Gaga (who's walked the Mugler runway) and Kim Kardashian, but also for the success he brought to the fashion house.

After Nicolas Ghesqui?re and Stefano Pilato's unceremonious departures from their respective design gigs, we're a little curious to know why Formichetti would leave Mugler. Does he have bigger and better things in the works? Will he become a full-time fashion editor now? Was he fired? The 35-year-old only offered us a cryptic hint on Twitter yesterday, tweeting, "Big announcements coming this week!!"

As for the folks at Mugler, they're currently working on a new strategy, but there doesn't seem to be any bitterness on their end. "[Nicola Formichetti] will be a historical part of the Mugler legacy and known as the force that catapulted us forward,? Joel Palix, director general of Mugler, told WWD.

Here's hoping Nicola Formichetti really does have something "big" up his sleeve!

Take a look at Nicola Formichetti's muse:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/nicola-formichetti-leaves-thierry-mugler_n_3001361.html

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Monday, April 1, 2013

Sony Mobile ramping penetration in entry-level to mid-range ...

Sunday, March 31st, 2013 at 3:39 pm ?

Sony Mobile Communications is enhancing its presence in the entry-level to mid-range Android smartphone segment, leveraging the spectacular sales gained from its flagship model, the Xperia Z, according to industry observers.

The Xperia Z has been the top-selling model in Japan for six consecutive weeks since it launched on February 9, and the model is currently in short supply in Europe as well as Taiwan, according to Jonathan Lin, president of Sony Mobile Communications Taiwan.

In addition to the high-end model, the Japan-based vendor has also begun marketing an entry-level to mid-range model, the Xperia E in some markets. The Xperia E, outsourced to Arima Communications, is powered by a Qualcomm MSM 7227A 1GHz processor and comes with a 3.5-inch display and a 3.2-megapixel camera.Read more
Courtesy : www.digitimes.com

Tagged with: industry ? markets ? mobile ? model ? Smartphone ? Sony Mobile ? Taiwan ? Xperia

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Somewhere Over The Brainbow: The Journey To Map the Human Brain

More than 100 years ago, Golgi staining on nerve cells opened the gates to modern neuroscience. Scientists recently developed the Technicolor version of Golgi staining, Brainbow, allowing more detailed reconstructions of brain circuits.

AFP/Getty Images

More than 100 years ago, Golgi staining on nerve cells opened the gates to modern neuroscience. Scientists recently developed the Technicolor version of Golgi staining, Brainbow, allowing more detailed reconstructions of brain circuits.

AFP/Getty Images

During the State of the Union, President Obama said the nation is about to embark on an ambitious project: to examine the human brain and create a road map to the trillions of connections that make it work.

"Every dollar we invested to map the human genome returned $140 to our economy ? every dollar," the president said. "Today, our scientists are mapping the human brain to unlock the answers to Alzheimer's."

Details of the project have slowly been leaking out: $3 billion, 10 years of research and hundreds of scientists. The National Institutes of Health is calling it the Brain Activity Map.

? People have been studying the brain for centuries and they've been mapping it, but the brain is just so complex that we barely understand it now.

Obama isn't the first to tout the benefits of a huge government science project. But can these projects really deliver? And what is mapping the human brain really going to get us?

Building A Brain Map

Much like the Human Genome Project a decade ago, scientists are hoping brain mapping will lead to new scientific advances and breakthroughs, and that perhaps it will even unlock the secrets of conditions such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease.

"With the brain, we're kind of at the same stage as we were in the early 1980s with the genome," says science writer Carl Zimmer.

Zimmer tells Laura Sullivan, host of weekends on All Things Considered, that there's no way to know what mapping the brain can do, but if mapping happens it's going to be both pricey and complicated.

"People have been studying the brain for centuries, and they've been mapping it, but the brain is just so complex that we barely understand it now," he says. "We have maybe 85 billion neurons in our heads, but we can only listen to maybe 1,000 at a time. [So] we're only getting a tiny picture of what the brain is doing."

There are several ways to map the brain, Zimmer says, one well-known example being an MRI. The resolution, however, is not nearly high enough for scientists to see all of the intricate wiring of the brain, where hundreds of thousands or even millions of neurons can fit in an area the size of a poppy seed.

"There are people who are trying to go down to that level," he says.

Some of this is already happening, albeit slowly, in labs around the world, Zimmer says. The problem is the efforts aren't coordinated.

"In the case of the Human Genome Project, the government said, 'We're going to coordinate all of this and we're going to get this genome sequenced,'" he says. "That's what the brain activity map people would like to do; coordinate all of this effort toward a common goal."

The next steps for the brain mapping project, Zimmer says, is simply to get a detailed plan going, and then get neuroscientists onboard. He says that debate should begin unfolding in the next few months.

With a combination of genetic tricks and fancy proteins, researchers have colorfully labelled hundreds of individual neurons with distinctive hues to create a "Brainbow."

AFP/Getty Images

With a combination of genetic tricks and fancy proteins, researchers have colorfully labelled hundreds of individual neurons with distinctive hues to create a "Brainbow."

AFP/Getty Images

Zimmer warns, however, that at first the project is likely to be underwhelming to the public, and Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases won't suddenly be cured. In all likelihood, scientists will study the brains of fruit flies and other creatures before moving on to the human brain.

"You have to walk before you can run," he says. "In order to develop the tools to map a human brain, you've got to start with much smaller brains made of the same basic kind of neurons. So look for big headlines about fruit flies the next couple of years."

The Human Genome Case Study

Completed a decade ago, the $3 billion human genome project, which mapped our DNA, was another massive science project undertaken by the government. In 2000, then-President Clinton said it would "revolutionize the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of most if not all human diseases."

That's a bit of a stretch even 10 years later, but for one man in particular it turned out not to be a stretch at all. When Clinton was giving that speech in 2000, oncologist Lukas Wartman had just entered medical school. During that time, he began having severe bone pain and high fevers.

"Finally, [I] dragged myself into the doctor," Wartman tells NPR's Sullivan. "So the next day, I had a bone marrow biopsy which showed the unthinkable, that I actually had leukemia."

Right away, Wartman began chemotherapy treatment. He responded well and went into remission. He finished medical school, but then the cancer came back.

"By this time, I was an oncologist myself, and kind of knew what was going on," he says.

Wartman took on intensive rounds of chemo and a stem cell replacement surgery. He was grateful when it worked and was ready to build a life. He focused on his research in the cancer lab and was thinking about the future.

Then one night, the fevers came back, as well as the exhaustion and he knew. He just couldn't face it.

"So this time, I did ignore it for a little while, and went to Spain, and went to my friend's wedding," he says. "The last thing I wanted to think about was the possibility of this coming back again, because I knew now that the odds of me surviving yet another relapse of this leukemia were just really poor."

Wartman joined a clinical trail, but it failed. There was nothing left, and it appeared to be a death sentence.

Then Wartman and his fellow researchers at the lab started thinking. The human genome project had figured out how to map healthy genes, so they decided they could use the same technology to map Wartman's healthy genes and compare them to Wartman's cancer genes.

When they compared them, they found a protein that the cancer relied on to survive. Wartman then scoured the database of every known drug on the market and found a drug made for something else entirely, that just so happens to kill the very protein his cancer needed to live.

Wartman started taking the drug on a Friday, and his blood counts were low. By Monday, his blood counts had perked up.

"The only word, and I don't necessarily mean this in a religious context, but this was almost like a miraculous response to this drug," he says.

Wartman and his colleagues had killed his cancer, and today he's completely healthy. Now, everyone else in the country with the form of leukemia that he had, and who is not responding to chemo, use the same drug.

"I probably wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for the human genome project," Wartman says. "Because I definitely benefited from the finances and the effort that the government put into a focused research question and it had very tangible benefits in my case."

Why Not Map The Brain?

Like the Human Genome Project, getting the science community onboard with a brain mapping project could be tough. Michael Eisen, a biologist at the University of California-Berkeley, has already started campaigning against it.

"The idea that science should be organized and funded in massive, centrally run projects that are organized by committees and bureaucrats in Washington rather than by individual scientists ... it just doesn't work," Eisen says.

Eisen says he agrees that government funding was necessary in collaborative science projects such as the moon landing or Human Genome Project. But, he says, this isn't one of those problems.

"If you listen to neuroscientists talk about this today, they don't even know what it means to understand the brain," he says. "This is not a moon shot."

Eisen says that in this instance, where creativity and innovation are needed, one of the worst things that the scientific community can do is put 500 biologists in a room to pursue a singular, consensus plan to get there.

Zimmer says there's another problem: How do you know when you're done mapping a brain?

"The problem is that while the genome was finite, the brain is really infinite," he says, "because not only does it have 86 billion neurons ... [and] 100 tillion connections, but those connections are changing all the time.

"It's very dynamic, and that's really what matters to us. ... So when do you know when you've finished mapping the brain?" he says. "You might never finish it."

But for Wartman, whose life was saved by gene mapping, it's far simpler. He says we have to take the leap, spend the money, cross our fingers and hope.

"I do understand that there's some resistance to it," Zimmerman says, "but at the same time, while it's not a sure bet, it's a bet that if it does pay off could really reap tremendous benefits for humanity.

"So I think as a society it would be great if we were willing to commit to supporting projects like that."

The details of the brain mapping project are expected to be released in the coming weeks in the president's budget proposal.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/03/31/175858397/somewhere-over-the-brainbow-the-journey-to-map-the-human-brain?ft=1&f=1007

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Drug maker Novartis loses India patent battle

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012 file photo, a pharmacist works in a lab where medicines are being produced at a Cipla manufacturing unit on the outskirts of Mumbai, India. A lawyer for healthcare activists says India's Supreme Court has rejected drug maker Novartis AG' right to patent a new version of a lifesaving cancer drug. The landmark ruling today is a victory for India's (Canadian) $26 billion generic drug industry that provides cheap medicines to millions around the world. Novartis has fought a legal battle in India since 2006 for a fresh patent for its cancer drug Glivec. Cipla makes a generic version of Glivec. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012 file photo, a pharmacist works in a lab where medicines are being produced at a Cipla manufacturing unit on the outskirts of Mumbai, India. A lawyer for healthcare activists says India's Supreme Court has rejected drug maker Novartis AG' right to patent a new version of a lifesaving cancer drug. The landmark ruling today is a victory for India's (Canadian) $26 billion generic drug industry that provides cheap medicines to millions around the world. Novartis has fought a legal battle in India since 2006 for a fresh patent for its cancer drug Glivec. Cipla makes a generic version of Glivec. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

A billboard for wholesale rate of cancer medicines is seen outside a chemist store, in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 1, 2013. India's Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to patent a new version of a cancer drug Glivec in a landmark decision that healthcare activists say ensures poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving medicines. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 29, 2007 file photo, Indian police officers block demonstrators protesting against drug manufacturer Novartis' case against Indian government on drug patents in New Delhi, India. A lawyer for healthcare activists says India's Supreme Court has rejected drug maker Novartis AG' right to patent a new version of a lifesaving cancer drug. The landmark ruling Monday, April 1, 2013 is a victory for India's $26 billion generic drug industry that provides cheap medicines to millions around the world. Novartis has fought a legal battle in India since 2006 for a fresh patent for its cancer drug Glivec. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012 file photo, a man walks past the Cipla manufacturing unit on the outskirts of Mumbai, India. India's Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to patent a new version of a cancer drug in a landmark decision that healthcare activists say ensures poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving medicines. Novartis had argued that it needed a new patent to protect its investment in the cancer drug Glivec, while activists said the company was trying to use loopholes to make more money out of a drug whose patent had expired. Cipla makes a generic version of Glivec. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

(AP) ? India's Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to patent an updated version of a cancer drug in a landmark decision that health activists say ensures poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving medicines.

Novartis had argued that it needed a patent to protect its investment in the cancer drug Glivec while activists said the drug did not merit intellectual property protection in India because it was not a new medicine.

The court's decision has global significance since India's $26 billion generic drug industry, which supplies much of the cheap medicine used in the developing world, could be stunted if Indian law allowed global drug companies to extend the lifespan of patents by making minor changes to medicines.

Once a drug's patent expires, generic manufacturers can legally produce it. They are able to make drugs at a fraction of the original manufacturer's cost because they don't carry out the expensive research and development.

Pratibha Singh, a lawyer for the Indian generic drug manufacturer Cipla, which makes a version of Glivec for less than a tenth of the original drug's selling price, said the court ruled that a patent could only be given to a new drug, and not to those which are only slightly different from the original.

"Patents will be given only for genuine inventions, and repetitive patents will not be given for minor tweaks to an existing drug," Singh told reporters outside the court.

Novartis called the ruling a "setback for patients," and said patent protection is crucial to fostering investment in research to develop new and better drugs.

"We brought this case because we strongly believe patents safeguard innovation and encourage medical progress," said Ranjit Shahani, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Novartis India.

The ruling "will hinder medical progress for diseases without effective treatment options," he said.

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant has fought a legal battle in India since 2006 to patent a new version of Glivec, which is mainly used to treat leukemia and is known as Gleevec outside India and Europe. The earlier version of Glivec did not have an Indian patent because it was introduced into the country before the government adopted its first patent law in 2005. Novartis said Glivec is patented in nearly 40 other countries.

India's patent office rejected the company's patent application, arguing the drug was not a new medicine but an amended version of its earlier product. The patent authority cited a provision in the 2005 patent law aimed at preventing companies from getting fresh patents for making only minor changes to existing medicines ? a practice known as "evergreening."

Novartis appealed, arguing the drug was a more easily absorbed version of Glivec and that it qualified for a patent.

Anand Grover, a lawyer for the Cancer Patients Aid Association, which led the legal fight against Novartis, said the ruling Monday prevented the watering down of India's patent laws.

"This is a very good day for cancer patients. It's the news we have been waiting for for seven long years," he said.

Aid groups, including Medicins Sans Frontieres, have opposed Novartis' case, fearing that a victory for the Swiss drugmaker would limit access to important medicines for millions of poor people around the world.

Glivec, used in treating chronic myeloid leukemia and some other cancers, costs about $2,600 a month. Its generic version was available in India for around $175 per month.

"The difference in price was huge. The generic version makes it affordable to so many more poor people, not just in India, but across the world," said Y.K. Sapru, of the Mumbai-based cancer patients association.

"For cancer sufferers, this ruling will mean the difference between life and death. Because the price at which it was available, and considering it's the only lifesaving drug for chronic myeloid cancer patients, this decision will make a huge difference," Sapru said.

Leena Menghaney of Medicins Sans Frontieres said India would continue to grant patents on new medicines.

"This doesn't mean that no patents will be granted. Patents will continue to be granted by India, but definitely the abusive practice of getting many patents on one drug will be stopped," Menghaney said.

The judgment would ensure that the prices of lifesaving drugs would come down as many more companies would produce generic versions.

"We've seen this happening with HIV medicines, where the cost of HIV treatment has come down from $10,000 to $150 per year. Cancer treatment costs have come down by 97 percent in the case of many cancer drugs," she said.

"This decision is incredibly important. The Supreme Court decision will save a lot of lives in the coming decades," Menghaney said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-01-India-Patent%20Battle/id-7922e77eff0744b9b5c7ebcd5abe46da

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Michigan rolls into Final Four, beats Fla. 79-59

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) ? Trey Burke and Michigan had the perfect response for everyone who said they were too young or not tough enough to make it all the way to Atlanta.

The championship trophy for the South Region is headed back to Ann Arbor, while another fabulous group of young Wolverines is going to the Final Four.

Led by Burke and sharp-shooting guard Nik Stauskas, one of three freshmen starters, Michigan controlled Florida from start to finish in a 79-59 win Sunday.

"It means the world ? 20 years has passed and we haven't been on that stage yet," said Tim Hardaway Jr., the junior elder statesman in the starting lineup.

The last time Michigan made it this far was the Fab Five era of the early 1990s, what until now had been considered the program's glory years.

Might be time to start rethinking that.

Once they got ahead Sunday, the Wolverines (30-7) maintained a double-digit lead against the experienced Gators (29-8), who won the regular-season title in the Southeastern Conference, but lost in a regional final for the third straight year.

"We've almost become numb to it now. Been here before," Gators junior center Patric Young said. "I just really wish we were out there cutting the nets down."

Stauskas scored 22 points while making all six of his 3-pointers. Burke, the South Region's most outstanding player, scored 15 points even while dealing with some spasms in his upper back, and 6-foot-10 freshman Mitch McGary had 11 points and nine rebounds.

When the game ended, Burke and several of his teammates went to the opposite side of the court toward Michigan fans behind press row with fingers raised. Fans were chanting, "It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine!"

And great to be young.

"Seeing it all come together, I don't what to say," sixth-year Wolverines coach John Beilein said. "I'm a little bit speechless."

Michigan hadn't reached the Final Four since consecutive finals appearances in 1992 and 1993, the freshman and sophomore seasons of the Fab Five ? Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King.

Webber was gone before that team's 1994 regional final loss to Arkansas played in the now-demolished Reunion Arena in Dallas, with Rose and Howard following him to the NBA after that.

With four wins in this NCAA tourney, the Wolverines already have more tournament victories than their total (three) from the end of the Fab Five era to this season. They won a game in 1998, and then didn't even make the field again until 2009.

Burke is from Columbus, Ohio, and grew up an Ohio State football fan while rooting for Duke basketball. The sophomore still knew of the Wolverines' history and isn't surprised to be back in the Final Four again so quickly after arriving in Ann Arbor.

"I said it in the summer and the coaches kind of got on me saying we can be national championship contenders. But that was coming from my heart," said Burke, surrounded by the sons of three former NBA players. "I knew once we put the talent with the toughness and execution, then I knew this team could be special. We're coming together at the right time."

The Wolverines overcame a 14-point deficit in the final 7 minutes against top seed Kansas two days earlier, getting to overtime after Burke's long 3-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation.

Despite being the only team to make regional finals each of the last three seasons, the Gators haven't been to the Final Four since winning consecutive national titles in 2006 and 2007 for coach Billy Donovan.

Kenny Boynton and Erik Murphy, the four-year seniors who came in not long after those titles, will leave without one of their own. They were part of the only Gators class to win consecutive outright SEC regular-season championships, but came up short in the biggest games.

Florida is the first team to make it to three consecutive regional finals without winning at least one of them, according to STATS LLC. Wyoming lost in the round of eight from 1947-49, but that stretch ended two years before the NCAA tournament expanded to more than eight teams.

"I feel more upset for Boynton, (Mike) Rosario and Murphy, who don't get a chance and have come so close," Donovan said. "This one, we didn't play well enough or deserve to win."

Boynton and Will Yeguete had 13 points apiece for the Gators.

The Gators were able to recover from an early deficit against Florida Gulf Coast for a 62-50 win Friday night on the raised stage at Cowboys Stadium.

It was another story facing Big Blue.

After McGary started the scoring with a layup, Stauskas made a behind-the-back pass to McGary for a slam before making his first 3-pointer less than a half-minute after that.

Burke passed to McGary for a layup before driving for one of his own. McGary's jumper made it 13-0 only 3:05 into the game.

Stauskas, who was 2 of 12 from 3-point range the first three games of this NCAA tourney, was on target against the Gators.

The 6-foot-6 guard from Canada put the Wolverines up by 24 points with 4:08 left in the first half after two consecutive 3s from the left corner in a span of 27 seconds.

Like he did on all of his makes, Stauskas came back down the court with a smile on his face, sharing the moment with the Wolverines fans who made the trip to North Texas.

"I can't even explain the feeling. I was having so much fun," Stauskas said. "I've been working and dreaming my whole life about something like this. To finally have it, I have a smile on my face and I'm enjoying the moment."

Florida missed its first seven shots before Yeguete made a layup more than 3? minutes into the game.

It was a rough finale for Murphy, who twice thought he had easy baskets in front of him only to have the shots blocked. Murphy had eight rebounds, but finished 0-of-11 shooting and was scoreless for the first time this season.

Murphy was clearly devastated, staring at the floor with slumped shoulder in the locker room after the game.

"Just missed shots," Murphy said, barely loud enough to be heard, and answering in short spurts. "Our defense was bad."

Even with an 11-2 run late in the first half punctuated by Boynton's 3-pointer, the Gators were still down by 15 with a minute to go in the first half.

But the Wolverines were able to score even after it appeared that the half had ended; Burke was already heading off the court pumping his right arm toward the Michigan fans.

Stauskas was fouled on a 3-point attempt with .4 seconds left and, after officials reviewed the play, hit two free throws to give the Wolverines a 47-30 lead.

It was that kind of day for Michigan, and for Florida, as well.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/michigan-rolls-final-four-beats-fla-79-59-202928337--spt.html

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Sunday, March 31, 2013

NYC Kids Show Review: Piggy Nation the Musical! | The Mama ...

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by Senior Reviewer Maytal Wichman

Having good manners is something I am constantly working on with my kids, especially when we?re in public. It?s an ongoing thing that I try to be aware of, while at the same time not noticing that I myself might be lacking in the manners department. I recently attended a performance of Piggy Nation and though I was happy to see a show that can insipre kids to be more mindful of their behavior, I was also relieved to see that sometimes being rude and obnoxious is just, well, a part of our natural behavior. (Read more after the jump)

Piggy Nation is about a little pig named Sammy who is on summer vacation and decides to accompany his father at his job as a cop on Piggy Patrol. Part of his job is to give tickets for piggy behavior. What?s piggy behavior? A rude attitude and thoughtless behavior. For example, cutting in line or talking loudly on your cell phone at a restaurant. Throughout the show Sammy and his dad meet various animals and give tickets to those who display piggy behavior. In the end (not to give away the ending, but there?s no real cliff-hanger here) they all admit they were piggies and apologize to one another.

Before the show, I had a chance to speak with Richard Rosser, who is the creative mind behind Piggy Nation ? he wrote the book and lyrics. The idea for Piggy Nation started after he was watching someone cut off his mother-in-law at a parking lot. He created the concept of a ?piggy ticket? and went on to write an award-winning children?s book called ?Piggy Nation, A Day at Work with Dad?. Together with composer Alec Wells, they adapted the book into a musical. ?We?re all piggies?, Rosser says. ?We?re all flawed. The fun thing is to be able to laugh about our behavior and know we?ll be doing it later in the day?.

He has a point. Admitting it is being able to at least be aware of our behavior. And while the characters in the show were not aware of their piggy behavior, it was very obvious and crystal-clear to the young children watching it. While the show?s concept is very ?educational?, the execution of it is hardly preachy; everything is tongue-in-cheek and amusing. The dialogue is clever and witty with some cute laugh-out-loud puns. The 8-person cast often runs up and down the isles which is fun and the music is an eclectic mix of rap, rock, blues, etc.

The theater is pretty small so you can get a good view of the show no matter where you sit. You can also bring snacks to eat while watching the show.

The show is suitable for kids ages 3 and up and is an hour and 15 minutes long.

Where: The Snapple Theater Center
210 West 50th Street (between Broadway & 8th Ave.)
New York, NY

When: Piggy Nation is performed Saturdays at 11am & 5pm; Sundays at noon.

How Much: $30-44 standard admission; $125 premium seating (plus fees)

To purchase tickets:
By phone: (212) 921-7862. You can order online here.
Box Office hours: M-Sat: 10am-6 or 8pm; Sun: 11am-7:30pm

All photos courtesy of Piggy Nation the Musical.

I was not compensated for this post. I received tickets to the show.

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Senior Reviewer Maytal Wichman is the owner of Mama?s Bites and has also written for The Huffington Post. She has been living in New York City for twelve years and holds a Bachelor?s Degree in English Literature as well as a Law Degree, but blogging is her true passion. Maytal is a stay-at-home mom to three kids (ages 6, 4 and a baby) and loves finding great products that make her family?s life easier.

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