Developing Superior Time

In today's vast digital music marketplace, there are still plenty of opportunities to develop, record, and perform your music. The competition is still as fierce as ever, and it takes some creativity to get heard or noticed. But there is still one almost sureiire way to make an impression with your listening audience, and especially with those you work with or hope to work with...

Time feel, the ability to lock, whatever you call it, is still THE most important part of your improvising. It is the thing that makes voice-leading sound sweet and phrasing even sweeter. It clarifies your ideas, and makes the "less" in "less is more" actually happen. It is also really vital to have if …

Vietnam Catholics hold prayer vigil, call for government to return land to church

Thousands of Catholics blocked a busy street in Vietnam's capital Friday in a rare public demonstration, chanting and praying for the Communist government to return land once owned by the church.

A priest in a white robe carrying a large cross led a procession of parishioners, accompanied by a marching band, from St. Joseph's Cathedral in downtown Hanoi to the adjacent site of the former Vatican embassy, one of many church properties taken over by the Communist government after French colonialists were ousted in 1954.

The 1-hectare (2.5-acre) property is one of several sites the church is asking the government to return. Church officials say they have …

Syrian protesters call for President Assad’s head

BEIRUT — Tens of thousands of Syrian protesters shouted for President Bashar Assad's death Friday in a dramatic escalation of their rage and frustration, defying bullets and rooftop snipers after more than a week of intensified military assaults on rebellious cities, activists and witnesses said.

Security forces killed at least 14 protesters, according to human -rights groups.

The calls for Assad's execution were a stark sign of how much the protest movement has changed since it erupted in March seeking minor reforms but making no calls for regime change. The protests grew dramatically over the five months that followed, driven in part by anger over the government's bloody …

UN maintains sanctions on Iraq as Security Council split grows

HAVING RECEIVED conflicting progress reports from the two organizations monitoring Iraq's UN-imposed disarmament, the UN Security Council on April 28 voted to maintain sanctions on Baghdad for an additional six months because of its failure to fully comply with its obligations.

Authored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM), the reports paint contradictory pictures of Iraq's cooperation in eliminating its nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missile capabilities proscribed by the UN Security Council under the cease-fire resolution that ended the 1991 Gulf War.

Following the release of the biannual reports …

Summary Box: Union Pacific 3Q profit rises 16 pct

SUMMER GROWTH: Union Pacific Corp. said Thursday its third-quarter earnings rose 16 percent as the railroad charged higher prices to offset slower growth in shipments and higher fuel costs. Revenue rose 16 percent to $5.1 billion.

COUNTING CARLOADS: Shipping volume grew 1 percent in the …

Bangladeshis celebrate Bengali New Year with traditional functions

Tens of thousands of Bangladeshis gathered in parks and other open spaces Monday to herald in Bengali New Year with traditional concerts, fairs and foods.

Men, women and children _ most dressed in white and red _ also joined colorful parades to celebrate "Pahela Baishakh," the first day of the new Bengali year 1415.

Parts of downtown Dhaka, the national capital, were closed to traffic, while extra police were deployed at celebration venues.

Police used metal detectors to check revelers at the popular Ramna Park, where 11 people were killed in a bomb attack during celebrations in 2001. No one has been tried for that attack, but authorities have blamed it on Muslim extremists who oppose public entertainment.

On Monday, a gas cylinder used to inflate balloons exploded at a lakeside fair ground in a residential area. At least one person was hospitalized with serious injuries from the blast, police officer Alamgir Kabir said.

The Bengali calendar _ based on a harvest cycle _ was adopted in the 16th century by the region's Mogul rulers to facilitate tax collection.

The calendar is still widely used in villages and among merchants, who settle old accounts and open new ledgers on the first day of the Bengali year.

Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation, officially follows the Gregorian calendar.

Increases in trading, dues drive 9% profit rise for CBOT

The Chicago Board of Trade, the second-biggest U.S. futuresmarket, said first-quarter profit rose 9 percent, fueled by anincrease in trading and member dues.

Net income rose to $16.2 million from $14.8 million a yearearlier, President Bernard Dan wrote in a letter sent to members andfiled with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Revenue rose 24percent to $100.9 million.

Transactions rose after the exchange cut some fees in an effort toprevent traders from switching to Frankfurt, Germany-based Eurex,which opened an electronic U.S. unit in February offering futures onTreasury debt. The Board of Trade also collected $9.3 million inextra dues to fight Eurex.

"In spite of the fact that we lowered fees we still made money --that's a great sign," independent trader Harold Lavender said duringa break from buying and selling 10-year note futures at the CBOT.

Transactions at the Board of Trade rose 44 percent to 136.6million contracts in the first quarter. Trading in futures tied tograins, for which fees stayed at last year's levels, rose 63 percentto 14.3 million.

The exchange in January began clearing transactions through itsneighbor, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange -- a move it says has savedtraders $1.8 billion in the amount they must put up to back bets atthe two markets. The CBOT also started using a new electronic systemthat it says has boosted computer-based trading.

"The exchange and its customers have reaped tremendous benefitsfrom the successful implementation of the CME/CBOT Common ClearingLink and the migration to a premier electronic trading platform," Danand Chairman Charles Carey wrote in the letter. The new systems have"fostered significant growth."

The CBOT collected clearing fees for the first time, earning a net$4.4 million after paying the Mercantile Exchange.

Bloomberg News