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Normally I do not do the kind of posts entitled "Breaking: This Just In," or similar attempts at being first to comment on the news. However, this post from Lionel Deimel in Pittsburgh just came to my attention, and he gives a link to the Supplemental Petition just filed by Calvary Church of Pittsburgh. The Petition, following up on a Stipulation entered into between Calvary Church and the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 2005, seeks the appointment of a court "monitor" to oversee the expenditure of funds and any transfer of assets by Bishop Robert Duncan preparatory to, or as a result of, the Diocesan Convention on October 4, 2008---at which there will be proposed, for second reading and final passage, amendments to the Constitution of that Diocese to withdraw its accession to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.
Without the prior Stipulation, the current Petition would on first impression appear to ask the court impermissibly to interfere in the internal affairs and operation of a religious body in violation of the First Amendment. Even with the Stipulation, however, the Court may still be drawn into "entanglements" with religious doctrines and proceedings if it attempts to determine, for example, whether or not the vote to be taken by the Convention on October 4 would result in a violation of its terms. For example, do the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church positively prevent any Diocese from so amending its own Constitution to remove the accession clause? (I have argued that they do not here, and that any attempt so to read them would itself violate the freedom of association clause under the First Amendment.)
The Petition asks that the Monitor be appointed to "assure . . . that such [diocesan] Property is not used for purposes of separation from the Episcopal Church in the United States of America." Can a court of the United States tell a group of people that they cannot decide by majority vote how to spend their funds? And if the group of people happens to be organized into a religious diocese, can a court appoint someone to step into their midst and tell them that they can spend their funds only in support of The Episcopal Church, and no other religious body? (Even worse: the Petitioners request that the court Monitor see to it that the Diocese of Pittsburgh cannot use diocesan funds to defend against the Petition! Now that is real legal muscle, if you can obtain it---sue your opponent and then have the court prohibit him from spending any of his money on his defense.) To me---at first blush, anyway---such orders as the Petitioners are asking for transgress every principle enshrined in the First Amendment. And if the prior Stipulation leads the court into such a forbidden thicket, then there is a problem with the prior Stipulation, as well.
We may nonetheless be grateful that a few within TEC have seen fit to force the issue at this point. The suspense of waiting until the September Showdown in Salt Lake City, or until the Convention in October, was beginning to get on the nerves. Now there are documents to pore over, arguments to weigh, and decisions to be made. It's just too bad that Christians are more and more resorting to the secular courts for such actions to be taken. For in asking the courts to limit the liberty of those who want to change their voluntary associations, and by seeing nothing improper in requesting such interference, the Pittsburgh Petitioners have not only demonstrated the utter inability of TEC's own polity to address such matters, but have diminished our own personal freedoms as well.
Posted by A. S. Haley at 12:33 PM
Matthew Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 3:54:00 PM PDT
Any chance of a link to the actual court order and stipulation?
A. S. Haley Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 5:02:00 PM PDT
The link has been posted.
Notably, the Stipulation applies to property "held or administered . . . for the beneficial use of the parishes and institutions of the Diocese," and says that such funds shall continue to be so held and so used regardless of how many individual parishes leave the diocese. Since the individual parishes were not represented in the litigation when the original stipulation was entered into, it is difficult for me to see how or why any of them should regard the stipulation as binding on them. It creates a sort of "last man standing" rule, where the money all goes for the benefit of the last parish to remain if the others all leave. That seems questionable, to say the least. I am going to research this subject further and will devote another post to it.
Anonymous Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 6:20:00 PM PDT
If I read the stipulation correctly it relates to parishes leaving the diocese. There is no mention of the diocese leaving ECUSA. Therefore, anything about the diocese leaving ECUSA is de nova and the stipulation does nothing to overcome the courts want to stay out.
Traditionalanglican, you are right as far as that point goes. What the Petitioners are alleging is that the Stipulation provides that the property was to be held by the Diocese of Pittsburgh of The Episcopal Church, so that it would technically be violated if the Diocese no longer was affiliated with TEC. The comments by the Judge in the transcripts attached as Exhibits to the Petition might bear out this interpretation, but they are only excerpts from arguments made several years ago, and so could be out of context. I still question whether the language "for the beneficial use of the . . . institutions of the Diocese" may be read so narrowly as the Petitioners want, i. e., to mean that the institutions of the Diocese---including its Bishop---may not expend diocesan funds on their own behalf, such as for defense against this one-sided attack.
State, Law and Sexual Orientation in Africa: A peep into the judgment of the Kenyan High Court
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Main » 2013 » September » 10 » Philip Morris International Addresses Misguided Attacks on Role in Tobacco Products Directive Debate
Philip Morris International Addresses Misguided Attacks on Role in Tobacco Products Directive Debate
ME NewsWire / Business Wire
LAUSANNE, Switzerland - Monday, September 9th 2013
Philip Morris International (PMI) (NYSE/Euronext Paris: PM) today addressed recent attacks on the
company’s efforts to express its views on the proposed EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD).
Speaking on behalf of the company, which employs 12,500 people in the EU, generates
approximately EUR 14.6 billion in tax revenue and has invested hundreds of millions in reduced risk
product innovation EU Region President Drago Azinovic said:
"Unfortunately, rather than a serious evaluation of the content and likely impact of the EU’s
proposed Tobacco Products Directive, the discussion tends to focus on our efforts to make known
our views about this proposal.
"The argument that we should remain silent in the face of a proposal that directly concerns us --
and on which we have facts and improvement ideas to share – is illogical. In fact, it would be
irresponsible for us not to inform EU decision-makers of the impact of a proposal on our business, the
hundreds of thousands of employees working in our industry, and the Member State governments
and taxpayers who will bear the consequences. We have and will continue to express our views
proactively and transparently. As the EU itself says this kind of interaction is ‘constant, legitimate
and necessary for the quality of democracy.’
"As part of this process, some PMI employees spend time meeting with EU officials to share the
company’s views and provide industry expertise not only on the TPD, but other complex policy
issues as well, and we voluntarily reported this activity on the EU’s Transparency Register. Using
the EU’s recommended methodology, we surveyed a total of 161 employees who potentially
spent a portion of their time, in addition to their other job responsibilities, with EU officials. We then
calculated -- again, using the EU's methodology -- the figure, which is a fraction of the number of
employees surveyed and that appears on the Transparency Register. This number includes those
employees in the Brussels office who interact with EU officials and are listed by name. In short, we
followed best practices in our reporting, which makes it particularly frustrating to read articles
that misinterpret -- or, perhaps, intentionally mischaracterize -- our practices -- especially when
the purported basis for this information appears to be stolen, internal PMI working documents. On
top of all that, creating confusion about the number of PMI employees who work on matters in
Brussels distracts from what matters, namely a rational approach to tobacco regulation in the EU.
"Contrary to the impression that our critics attempt to create, PMI does support sound, effective
regulation -- even when it restricts our business activities -- and we allocate resources to
advocating our views in that regard. For example, we believe that a regulatory framework that
enables and encourages reduced risk products makes sense; we believe government should pass
-- and vigorously enforce -- laws to fight the large and growing black market tobacco market; and
we agree that public should continue to receive information on the risks of smoking.
"At the same time, we are not alone in our view that many elements in the proposed TPD are
deeply flawed. For example, the Commission's proposal to ban menthol and slim cigarettes
violates the EU's basic standards of sound regulation. There isn't even an impact assessment of the
ban on slims and the proposal skips over the key fact that, as history has shown, prohibition does
not work. These bans will force sales out of legitimate corner shops onto unregulated street
corners and other places where the products are illegal and the sellers are criminals who don’t
follow basic laws such as verifying the age of a customer or collecting excise tax.
"These and the other negative consequences of this proposal would have received more careful
consideration if the Commission had taken more seriously its duty to conduct a thorough and
objective impact assessment of the draft Directive. Instead, Members of the European Parliament
now face the task of correcting a deeply flawed proposal. Otherwise, the Member States will
ultimately bear the burden of having to implement measures that unjustifiably disrupt an internal
market that has been working well for years.
"We look forward to continuing to invest time, effort and resources into providing accurate and
relevant information about the impact this Directive will have. It is our hope that members of the
European Parliament will look beyond the rhetoric, examine the facts, and stand up for the many
who will be unnecessarily, negatively impacted if this proposal is passed in its current form.”
Below are links to view reports commissioned by PMI and submissions to the Commission
describing the impact of the proposed TPD. These reports and submissions are a publicly available
and have been part of the company’s effort to educate decision makers and others about the
flaws in the Commission’s proposal.
Read the economic analysis of the impact of the TPD conducted by Roland Berger here.
Read Transcrime’s assessment of the risks to public safety posed by the TPD here.
Read PMI’s 2010 submission to the Commission’s Public Consultation on the Tobacco Products
Directive here.
Read PMI’s 2010 submission to the Commission regarding RAND’s Impact Assessment here.
About Philip Morris International Inc.
Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) is the leading international tobacco company, with seven of
the world’s top 15 international brands, including Marlboro, the number one cigarette brand
worldwide. PMI’s products are sold in more than 180 markets. In 2012, the company held an
estimated 16.3% share of the total international cigarette market outside of the U.S., or 28.8%
excluding the People’s Republic of China and the United States. For more information, see
www.pmi.com.
Philip Morris International media office
E: media@pmi.com
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Tag: consumption
Convention on Biological Diversity: what is it and why do we participate?
This is the first in a series of blogs about the participation of CAGJ/AGRA Watch in the 2016 United Nations Conference on Biodiversity in Cancun, Mexico.
Johanna Lundahl, Heather Day, Simone Adler, and Phil Bereano at the UN Conference on Biodiversity.
By Simone Adler, CAGJ Organizing Director
“Food sovereignty ensures that the right to use and manage lands, territories, waters, seeds, livestock and biodiversity are in the hands of those who produce the food”
Declaration of Nyéléni, 2007
Small farmers and peasants around the world have a reciprocal relationship with their environments – as stewards of biodiversity, they are also shaped by the natural biodiversity in which they grow food. This is why the global dialogue and decision-making processes around biodiversity necessitate participation from farmers, food sovereignty activists, and advocates for biodiversity protection.
Beginning on Sunday, the United Nations opened the 13th Conference of Parties (COP 13) meetings on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Cancun, Mexico. The CBD was signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. To date, there are 196 legally-bound parties (countries) to the CBD. The COP is the governing body of the CBD which meets to review progress, identify new priorities, and potentially make amendments.
The CBD recognizes through international law that conservation of biodiversity is a common concern across nations and for all peoples and ecosystems. In the context of sustainable development, the CBD includes measures for the sustainable use of biological resources and includes protection of all ecosystems, species, and genetic resources. Additionally, the CBD address traditional knowledge as important to conserving genetic resources. As a global instrument for national strategies around conservation and sustainability, the CBD has three main objectives:
The conservation of biological diversity
The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity
The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources
In 2003, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety went into effect as a supplemental protocol to the CBD. The Biosafety Protocol addresses the risks of trans-boundary movement of biotechnology and genetically modified organisms and the possible adverse effects to human health and conservation of biodiversity. Continue reading “Convention on Biological Diversity: what is it and why do we participate?”
Author johanna57Posted on December 5, 2016 December 5, 2016 Categories AGRA WatchTags biodiversity, biosafety, biotech, Cartagena Protocol, consumption, Nagoya ProtocolLeave a comment on Convention on Biological Diversity: what is it and why do we participate?
The Making of Farmer-Consumers
Farming is production at its most fundamental. Today it is often claimed that the agricultural revolution was humanity’s most transformative innovation. And whether you see the first seed sown as our original sin or as the beginning of civilization there is little debate over one fact: farming irreversibly influenced the fate of humanity. It was the prerequisite for the growth of cities, the division of labor, and for so much subsequent history.
Farming is also human agency at its most unadulterated. The knowledge acquired by the world’s agriculturalists—how to harness the powers of nature for our nourishment, how to select and save the best seed for the following year, how to foster fertile soil and channel life-giving water to crops—all this became vital and empowering. With the development of farming, humans became active agents on this earth in new, more powerful ways than ever before.
Historically, food production has been the source of most subsequent forms of production: without farming there would be no freedom from the incessant search for food; there would little art or architecture, no surplus to feed doctors, politicians, and teachers. Even today, with a diminishing portion of the world’s population involved in farming, most within the development community agree that a robust farming sector is almost always necessary for sustained economic growth.
And yet many of the same politicians and development economists who acknowledge the importance of a sustainable agricultural sector also treat farming merely as a means to industrial ends. Agriculture becomes the slave of industry, exploited to feed the voracious appetite of urban factories with raw materials, financial capital, and displaced farmers themselves. In this model, it is often forgotten that farming is the source of nourishment for each and every human body; it is the essence of production and not merely a tool for capital accumulation.
It is strange then that modern farmers—the archetypal producers—have been reduced by the economic and technological hegemony of agribusiness to the status of consumers. The past century has witnessed a steady penetration of farming by capital—formerly self-reliant farmers coaxed and pressured into purchasing expensive inputs such as fertilizer and seed held by an increasingly small number of transnational corporations. This capital-intensive agriculture leads to a vicious cycle of debt and dependency from which it is difficult to escape. Today, food producers at all points along the spectrum, from large poultry farmers in America to small potato farmers in the Andes, have been significantly disempowered by corporate heavyweights.
Agribusiness has long sought to consolidate corporate power over agriculture, gaining ground with hybrid seeds and chemical inputs manufactured during the mid 20th century. The most recent way in which these companies reduce food producers to consumers is through genetically engineered (GE) seed. As the promoters of this technology are eager to point out, humans have been manipulating seed for millennia, selecting desired characteristics and bringing these forward for the next generation. However, these corporations fail to acknowledge that there is a crucial difference with GE: this seed manipulation takes place not by farmers on the land but instead by scientists in the lab. These companies, moreover, appropriate seed developed by farmers over thousands of years and then ‘improve’, patent, and sell it back to the same farmers as an original product, claiming sole authorship. Labeled biopiracy by critics of GE, it is an action that clearly illustrates the dynamic between seed corporations and farmers.
Philanthropies and their private sector partners are also seizing on the growing hunger and climate crisis to push GE on small farmers in the developing world, particularly in Africa. This ostensibly well-meaning effort to foster development is based on several questionable practices and assumptions including a failure to acknowledge the deleterious history of farmer debt and dispossession, environmental degradation, and social stratification that has long accompanied this capital-intensive agricultural paradigm.
The word ‘farm’ comes from the Proto-Germanic word ferhwo meaning ‘life force’ or ‘being’ and is related to the Old English feorh meaning ‘spirit’ or ‘life.’ Etymologically this reflects the vital place of farming as a source of human productivity. Yet today, in a global economy geared towards limitless growth, consumption is king and even farmers, the original producers, are rendered sterile, manipulated into becoming consumers on their own fertile lands.
Author EditorPosted on August 4, 2011 Categories AGRA WatchTags biopiracy, capitalization, consumption, GE, Green Revolution, production1 Comment on The Making of Farmer-Consumers
AGRA Watch Blog at WordPress.com.
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iHeartRadio Podcasts
Ron Burgundy Talks All Things England & 'Harry Potter' on Podcast
posted by Taylor Fields - Apr 18, 2019
It seems that with each Royal wedding and Royal baby born, more and more people are interested in anything having to do with the Royal family. But, what about their native country? England is rich with history, and on the latest episode of "The Ron Burgundy Podcast," the San Diego news man learns everything there is to know about England and English Culture.
Joined by special guest Bea, who is a woman from Bradford, England, Burgundy and Carolina learn about all the different English dialects, traditional English food, Harry Potter, and more. Take a look at some of the highlights below.
On how many dialects of English there are:
Bea: "I think on last check on Google it was 160 [dialects]. I'm very interested in this kind of thing. 'Cause my dialect's quite unusual. You might think it just sounds a little bit confusing. That's because, you know, when you're from England, you could just live like a mile away from someone and sound completely different."
On traditional English food:
Ron: "Why is English food so bad?"
Bea: "I think English food is very practical. So, England is kind of just like this cold, rocky island in the middle of the sea, so the food ... it's really about it being kind of stodgy, keeping you warm, keeping you full, rather than like a culinary experience."
On Harry Potter:
Ron: "So, Harry Potter. It's a movie, but some of the magic has to be real. You know? It just has to be. I mean, what do you think? Do most people carry wands in England in case of an emergency?
Bea: "No, English people are very sensible. There's really no magic. I definitely don't think people carry wands. Although, our passports do have unicorns on them."
Learn more about England and English customs in the latest episode of "The Ron Burgundy Podcast" on iHeartRadio.
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YOU MUST LIST A LOCATION ! If USA, at minimum your general area and USA, but better is state and USA. (i.e. don't just put USA). If another country, state country at minimum, in addition, area or city if you like. YOU WILL BE REJECTED if you don't list a location as per above.
Forums AM Week
Automakers/OEM/Suppliers
+ Add content
The Most Popular Cars in American Cities
Submitted by members on Mon, 04/11/2016 - 13:54
by Maddy Martin
The American car market is defined by diversity underneath sameness.
In almost every part of this country, the most common cars are sedans from Honda, Toyota, Ford and Chevrolet. But this belies how different Americans truly are in their car tastes. The people of San Francisco, Denver, and Detroit have vastly different preferences in automobiles when they are not buying a standard sedan.
At YourMechanic, we have a huge dataset with the characteristics of cars we have serviced along with their location. This data allows us to analyze exactly how Americans differ in terms of their automobile preferences. And these preferences seriously contrast.
Perhaps the main way Americans deviate from each other in their car choices is whether they choose to go American. The following table displays the percentage of cars in 81 of the country’s largest markets that are American made.
When it comes to buying American, the Midwest reigns supreme. More than half of the top 20 cities are in that region.
At the very top of this list sits Detroit, the spiritual home of the American made car. Detroit is one of the few places where some people feel a serious stigma against driving foreign.
At the bottom of the list are large coastal cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston. The proportion of American cars is particularly low in the Bay Area. While over 75% of the cars we service in Detroit are American made, this is true of less than 30% of the cars in San Francisco and San Jose.
We explored the most unusually common car in each market, and found that the one for cities on the coasts is almost invariably Asian or European, but in the middle of the country, it is typically an American one. We must have served at least 25 cars of this make and model for it to make the list.
Examining this list, the particular car loving character of American cities shows itself. San Francisco residents love their energy efficient Priuses, Detrotians their powerful, American-made Pontiac and in nature-oriented Denver citizens, their Subarus.
It’s no surprise that the Prius is so unusually common in San Francisco, it follows the hippie stereotype of the city. This got us curious about where else hybrids are particularly popular. The following index of the most popular cities for hybrids goes beyond just the Prius to include all cars with a hybrid engine.
Turns out that an affinity for hybrids is not just a characteristic of San Francisco, but California in general. The top seven cities where we service the most hybrids are in California. In fact, for each of the top markets on the West Coast cities, at least one percent of the cars are hybrids. This is true of less than 20% of our non-West Coast cities.
While some people prefer energy efficient cars, other drivers are more concerned that their car have a powerful engine. Almost 14% of the cars we service have an eight-cylinder V engine, more commonly known as a V8. V8 engines are more powerful than the four and six cylinder engines found in more than two thirds of the cars we service.
The following list shows the cities where people are most likely to have a V8 engine. It has some similarities to the American list because 25% of the American cars we service are big engined V8s, while this is true of less than 5% of foreign cars.
This list shows that people who live Texas and the South are much more likely to opt for a powerful car. For example, people in Baton Rouge, Houston and San Antonio are more than double as likely as Bostonians to drive a car with a V8 engine.
Another feature many car owners are concerned with is the car’s performance as a vehicle to explore nature. Subarus have a reputation for being popular among lovers of the outdoors. We were curious of whether Subaru owners were typically found in the cities that are considered most “outdoorsy.”
Boulder, Portland and Denver topping this list certainly goes with the nature oriented images of those cities. These are the only three cities with Subaru ownership above three percent. These cities are consistently listed among the top cities for outdoor enthusiasts.
For some Americans the practicality of a Subaru might be great, but others are more concerned with style, prestige and high performance. If they can afford it, many Americans interested in a high end cars will go for a Porsche. They are a great favorite of car collectors. We examined the places in the United States where people have the means and desire to own a Porsche? The following table lists the top ten.
Porsches are rare everywhere, accounting for less than one in every five hundred cars we service, but they are most common in sunny California and Florida (Lakeland is a city not far from Tampa). Perhaps because these people can best enjoy the top down capacities of the Porsche convertible.
The car is at the very center of many Americans lives. It can be a necessity, passion and a way to establish identity. As the number of car choices has increased, the car makeup of American cities have become vastly different. People in the Midwest are more likely to choose powerful American cars, while people on the coast are more likely to go for foreign, energy efficiency ones. Increased choice has unveiled the distinct character of American automotive desires.
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Home > Projects > Lake Bonney Stages 2/3
Lake Bonney Stages 2/3
$405k Funded by ARENA
Vestas - Australian Wind Technology Pty Ltd
German Flat, South Australia
Infigen Energy Services Pty Limited, Utopus Insights, Inc.
This project introduces a short-term wind production forecasting product into the Australian market from Vestas, Australia’s largest wind energy solution provider, and its wholly owned subsidiary Utopus Insights, an energy analytics provider with 15 years of experience in energy software solutions.
The project will be completed in partnership with Infigen Energy, which has had a successful long-term working relationship with Vestas and substantial experience operating in the National Electricity Market (NEM).
The new short-term forecasting product will be deployed at Infigen Energy’s Lake Bonney 2 and 3 wind farms, (co-located semi-scheduled wind farms in South Australia), where it will demonstrate a self-forecasting solution that could improve on the forecasting accuracy currently achieved by the Australian Wind Energy Forecasting System (AWEFS) .
The project will also integrate new short-term forecasting models that could help reduce dispatch uncertainty for wind generation, and the associated financial costs for wind energy providers.
The project will utilise four separate forecasting model approaches (implemented at different stages) to assess the incremental improvements that meteorological masts and weather models have on the accuracy of wind production forecasts when combined with high-resolution wind turbine Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) data and deep learning algorithms.
High-resolution wind turbine SCADA data will be used to generate forecasts using deep learning modelling techniques (a subfield of machine learning that deals with algorithms based on self-classification and learning), in contrast to the task-specific algorithms currently used. Throughout the coming year, the deep learning model will seek to demonstrate its ability to adapt to seasonal variations in weather patterns.
In addition to high-resolution wind turbine SCADA information, data from two meteorological masts will be introduced with hyper-local weather forecasting, enabling the Utopus Insights software (which combines weather prediction, sensor data and big data analytics in a hybrid model) to deliver greater accuracy of energy forecasts.
This hybrid model utilises Utopus Insights’ proprietary short-term hyper-local weather forecast vs the traditional long-term weather forecasts. Secondly, the weather engine that provides hyper-local weather forecasts, with a spatial resolution of 1km x 1km (better suited for predicting wind and solar energy production), which is superior to the typical weather grid resolution of 16 km x 16 km (better suited for city-wide weather forecasting).
This is the first time this approach will be tested in Australia and is unique globally due to its highly short-term nature.
Primarily, the project will aim to demonstrate the integration and performance of a solution that can be easily scaled to wind farm sites throughout Australia. It could help to improve the dispatch certainty of wind generation and help reduce the associated financial costs. This objective will help deliver secure and reliable wind generation in Australia.
The activity aims to increase the value delivered by Lake Bonney wind farms through lowering the cost of ongoing forecast inaccuracies on dispatch outcomes. It is expected that improved short-term forecasting at Lake Bonney will achieve this by reducing:
wind farm operating costs by decreasing the variability between wind farm actual production and the forecasted production trajectory which is fed into the dispatch engine
spilled wind generation at Lake Bonney 2 & 3 wind farms during network constraints by providing a clearer view to AEMO of wind farm capability
operational costs of the NEM by reducing deviations from expected production, potentially reducing price volatility, and the amount of regulation Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) required.
Additional impacts
The project will share the pilot learnings with the energy industry and publish various reports focused on:
project challenges and learnings
forecast performance and self-forecast benefits for Infigen
the overall market.
The knowledge shared will be targeted at forecast providers, semi-scheduled generators, AEMO, ARENA, researchers, and to the broad electricity sector.
Wind (Primary)
Name: Hugh McKenzie
Email: hudmc@vestas.com
Wind and solar forecasting trial looks into the future
A trial of forecasting technology has been launched to help predict the future output from wind and solar farms, which varies depending on the weather and time of day.
Infigen to build new Tesla battery at Lake Bonney wind farm
South Australia’s wind and solar farms will be bolstered by more storage, following the announcement of a new big battery to be built at Lake Bonney in the state’s south-east.
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Reno Co.
Nickerson Real Estate
Nickerson, KS Real Estate
Search for Properties in Nickerson, KS
View All Nickerson Listings
Nickerson Schools
Nickerson-South Hutchinson Unified School District #309, located in Reno County Kansas, comprises 187.5 square miles of mostly rural areas. USD 309 is a district that celebrates diversity, quality instruction and successful student achievement.
The teachers there are highly committed educators who strive daily to inspire and challenge every child, every day. They are dedicated to delivering a standards-based curriculum that is robust and relevant to the real world, in order to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed for success in college and careers. USD 309 is currently made up of 2 elementary schools, 1 middle school and 1 high school. All four buildings are fully accredited through the Kansas State Department of Education Quality Performance Accreditation process.
(Source- USD 309-www.usd309ks.com)
Nickerson Lifestyle
Nickerson has a population of 1,049 (2013). Nickerson offers a great city park to spend a day out with the family. Located under 20 minutes from downtown Hutchinson, Nickerson enjoys many other attractions including the Kansas Cosmosphere Space Center and Strataca Salt Museum.
Nickerson Transportation
Nickerson sits just east of highway KS-96. Downtown Hutchinson is under 20 minutes from Nickerson. McPherson and Great Bend are less than an hour away.
Nickerson Local Attractions/Activities
Nickerson has several events that the citizens can get involved with throughout the year. They have a nice city park that offers a quiet area for family reunions, picnicking or a place to take your children to play. The park has barbeques, water, restrooms, electricity access, sheltered picnic area, playground, basketball court, a large field and is across the street from the baseball diamonds.
Nickerson has places for you to shop and dine in the city. They also have area churches for your convenience. As you can see, the city has almost everything that you could want and need.
(Source- City of Nickerson-www.nickersonks.org)
Nickerson – History
The original town site of Nickerson was platted in 1875 by the railroad company, one mile east of the present site. In 1872, a depot was built at that point, and the station was known as Nickerson, so named in honor of Thomas Nickerson, then President of the A., T. & S. F. Railway. The next building was erected by the railroad company in the fall of 1872, and used as a section house. In the fall of 1874, a schoolhouse was built. In August 1875 Dr. L. A. Reeves erected a two-story frame building, and opened a store of goods. In 1876 he sold his store to A. Sievart. For the next two years these buildings comprised "Old Nickerson." In October, 1878, the present town site of Nickerson was platted on ground which was then covered by an extensive corn field owned by Mr. Sears. A very few days after the town site was surveyed, James Devitt commenced the foundation for the hotel known as the Dominion House. About the same time A. L. Harlow began the foundations for a building, afterwards known as the Harlow House. Before these buildings were completed, Dr. L. A. Reeves moved the building now occupied as the post office from Old Nickerson. With the exception of a small frame structure, occupied by John Sears, it was the first building on the town site. By March, 1879, Dr. Reeves had the whole block built, now known as the Reeves Block. Probably the first building built on the town site was a drug store erected by M. McCormick, in October, 1878. This was followed by a building used as a general store, and occupied by Sievart & Smith. Within sixty days Nickerson had two hotels, one dozen stores, two livery stables, two lumber yards and a printing office.
(Source- Kansas Collection Books-www.kancoll.org)
Nickerson, KS Real Estate Property Information
306 S Nickerson St
Nickerson, KS 67561
MLS# 40109
Residential|Single Family
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Puerto Rico’s devastation takes a backseat to Roseanne coverage
From elsewhere, May 31, 2018
Pete Vernon writes:
For those who argue that the media has misplaced priorities when it comes to coverage choices, this week has provided a case study to support their position. While media outlets from cable news to digital publishers obsessed over the cancellation of ABC’s Roseanne, a report on the staggering death toll in Puerto Rico has, in comparison, been met with relative silence.
Researchers from Harvard University estimate that at least 4,645 deaths can be linked to Hurricane Maria and its immediate aftermath, more than 70 times the official count of 64. The Washington Post’s Arelis R. Hernández and Laurie McGinley write that “the island’s slow recovery has been marked by a persistent lack of water, a faltering power grid and a lack of essential services—all imperiling the lives of many residents, especially the infirm and those in remote areas hardest hit in September.”
The Harvard study has a wide margin of error, but even at the low end of its range, the death count from Maria would place the disaster on par with the devastation wrought by 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. The news received coverage from numerous outlets, but it was swamped by the firestorm surrounding the cancellation of a sitcom. [Continue reading…]
Filed Under: Journalism
FBI official wrote secret memo fearing Trump got a cover story for Comey firing
The New York Times reports:
The former acting F.B.I. director, Andrew G. McCabe, wrote a confidential memo last spring recounting a conversation that offered significant behind-the-scenes details on the firing of Mr. McCabe’s predecessor, James B. Comey, according to several people familiar with the discussion.
Mr. Comey’s firing is a central focus of the special counsel’s investigation into whether President Trump tried to obstruct the investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia. Mr. McCabe has turned over his memo to the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III.
In the document, whose contents have not been previously reported, Mr. McCabe described a conversation at the Justice Department with the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, in the chaotic days last May after Mr. Comey’s abrupt firing. Mr. Rosenstein played a key role in the dismissal, writing a memo that rebuked Mr. Comey over his handling of an investigation into Hillary Clinton.
But in the meeting at the Justice Department, Mr. Rosenstein added a new detail: He said the president had originally asked him to reference Russia in his memo, the people familiar with the conversation said. Mr. Rosenstein did not elaborate on what Mr. Trump had wanted him to say.
To Mr. McCabe, that seemed like possible evidence that Mr. Comey’s firing was actually related to the F.B.I.’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, and that Mr. Rosenstein helped provide a cover story by writing about the Clinton investigation. [Continue reading…]
Filed Under: Politics
Why Russia is celebrating a journalist’s fake death in Ukraine
Coda Story reports:
When the news broke that the prominent Russian journalist and Putin-foe Arkady Babchenko had been murdered in exile in Kiev, it looked like everything was following a sadly familiar script.
As tributes began pouring in, his fellow journalists across the world wrote up their obituaries about the third critic of the Russian leader to be killed in the Ukrainian capital in the last 18 months alone.
Reportedly shot in the back at home, Babchenko’s murder, as Ukraine’s Prime Minister was quick to point out, appeared to have had all the hallmarks of another Kremlin-ordered contract killing.
The Russian government and the many media outlets it controls looked like they were on script too — circling the wagons in a familiarly defensive ring against the accusations that Moscow was responsible.
But then, to the sound of ringing phones at a hastily organized news conference in Kiev, the script was ripped up. Babchenko walked into the room, very much alive. His death was fake news.
Standing next to Ukraine’s top security officials, Babchenko explained that he had just taken part in a sting operation aimed at catching real assassins who had been sent by Moscow to kill him and others.
As the Ukrainian officials revealed the very undead journalist turned special service agent, they looked pleased. But it was, arguably, the Russian government that could not believe its luck.
In the words of “Moskovsky Komsomolec,” one of Russia’s biggest tabloids, the fake death of Babchenko was “a gift for the Kremlin.” [Continue reading…]
How the resurgence of white supremacy in the U.S. sparked a war over free speech
Alex Blasdel writes:
Late last summer, the American Civil Liberties Union faced a mounting crisis over its most celebrated cause, which many consider the lifeblood of democracy: freedom of speech. For nearly a century, the ACLU has been the standard-bearer of civil liberties in the US, second only to the government in shaping Americans’ basic rights. Although the organisation has been at the vanguard of many of the country’s most hard-fought legal battles – desegregation, reproductive rights, gay marriage – the argument among its staff last summer, over whether to continue representing white supremacists in free-speech cases, was more intense than anything the organisation had seen before.
After Donald Trump was elected, the ACLU had positioned itself as a leader of what it calls “the resistance”, suing the administration over voting restrictions, illegal detentions, and the Muslim travel ban. It recruited celebrities such as Tom Hanks, Mahershala Ali and Tina Fey to raise money and reassure worried Americans. “The ACLU has had your back for almost a hundred years,” one ad declared. “We got this.” In the nine months after the election, the organisation’s paying membership quadrupled to more than 1.5 million people, and it received more than $80m in donations.
Then, on 10 August, the organisation’s Virginia chapter sued to prevent the city of Charlottesville from relocating a white-nationalist rally to a safer location outside the city centre. The ACLU claimed the move would violate the organiser’s constitutional rights to freedom of speech and public assembly. Two days later, when a white supremacist injured 19 people and killed the anti-racist protester Heather Heyer in a car attack during the rally, many people, including Virginia’s governor, blamed the ACLU. One response in particular became a symbol of the larger backlash: “I can’t facilitate Nazis murdering people,” an ACLU of Virginia board member declared, in a series of viral tweets announcing his resignation.
Since its founding in 1920, the ACLU has helped make the US home to arguably the most freewheeling, unregulated public discourse in the world. And it has done this partly by defending, in the courts of law and public opinion, the speech rights of racists and fascists. The ACLU asserts that laws guaranteeing freedom of speech must embrace everybody (think the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis) if they’re going to protect anybody (think organised labour, anti-war protesters and Black Lives Matter). “The same laws or regulations used to silence bigots can be used to silence you,” its website explains. [Continue reading…]
Filed Under: Politics, Society
Putin’s opponents are being assassinated one by one … minus one
In February, 2017, Arkady Babchenko wrote:
I can tell you what political harassment feels like in Putin’s Russia. Like many dissidents I am used to abuse, but a recent campaign against me was so personal, so scary, that I was forced to flee.
Two months ago, a Russian plane transporting the world-famous military choir Alexandrov Ensemble crashed into the Black Sea en route to Syria. They were travelling to perform for pilots involved in Russia’s air campaign on Aleppo.
I wrote a post about this on Facebook. I didn’t call for anything or insult anyone. I just reminded my readers that Russia was indiscriminately bombing Aleppo, without recognising that dozens of children were dying in those bombs, their photographs making their way around the world. I also called Russia an aggressor.
In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and occupied parts of eastern Ukraine, starting a war which has left at least 10,000 people dead. Prior to that, Russia occupied part of Georgia with its bombs and tanks.
After all these wars and deaths, I felt only one thing when I heard that the representatives of Russia’s military had died: indifference. But for some, expressing this on Facebook was not patriotic enough. And so it began.
The first to speak out was Vitaly Milonov, a State Duma deputy who is famous for his homophobia and obscurantism. Milonov called on the powers that be to deprive me and Bozhena Rynska, another journalist who wrote an insufficiently patriotic post on Facebook, of Russian citizenship, to deport us and confiscate our property.
Then Senator Frants Klintsevich spoke out, calling for us to be dealt with “according to the law” and assuring us there would be a “reaction”. And the campaign began to snowball. [Continue reading…]
BREAKING: Russian opposition journalist Arkadiy Babchenko has been shot dead in Kyiv, the police have just confirmed. pic.twitter.com/rPQ2LGoe7R
— Hromadske Int. (@Hromadske) May 29, 2018
BBC News reports:
Ukraine staged the murder of a Russian dissident journalist in Kiev on Tuesday in what it said was a sting operation to foil a Russian assassination plot.
Arkady Babchenko sent shock waves around the world when he arrived at a news conference on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after being reported dead.
Ukrainian security chief Vasyl Hrytsak said a sting had been set up to catch hitmen paid by Russian forces. [Continue reading…]
Shaun Walker writes:
Babchenko really did flee Russia in fear, and there may well have been a genuine assassination plot. The question is whether Ukrainian authorities, in preventing a killing (if that is indeed what they have done) did more harm than good, and whether there was any less provocative way to achieve the same ends.
The next time a Kremlin critic is shot to death, or poisoned, or falls curiously from their balcony to die on the concrete below, the first question is always going to be: are they really dead?
There’s no doubt that we can expect the “Babchenko defence” to be used as Moscow’s stock response to reports or even photographs of various Russia-linked atrocities for years to come.
“Next time you show me photos from Syria by ‘White Helmets’ I will show photo of ‘dead Arkady Babchenko killed by Putin’,” wrote one pro-Russian Twitter user, in a small taste of what is surely to come in large quantities. [Continue reading…]
BuzzFeed reports:
American-born British financier Bill Browder, an outspoken Kremlin critic, was briefly detained by police in Madrid acting on what he described as a “Russian Interpol arrest warrant” on Wednesday morning.
Browder, who has led an international campaign to crack down on financial corruption by Russian officials, was eventually released amid a surge of criticism from European politicians over his detention. Spanish police insisted he had only been detained while they checked the Russian warrant which was found to be invalid.
The two hours of drama and confusion began just after 8:30 a.m. Madrid time when the former boss of Hermitage Capital tweeted that he been “arrested”. [Continue reading…]
More evidence of Trump’s efforts to obstruct the Mueller investigation
By the time Attorney General Jeff Sessions arrived at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for dinner one Saturday evening in March 2017, he had been receiving the presidential silent treatment for two days. Mr. Sessions had flown to Florida because Mr. Trump was refusing to take his calls about a pressing decision on his travel ban.
When they met, Mr. Trump was ready to talk — but not about the travel ban. His grievance was with Mr. Sessions: The president objected to his decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. Mr. Trump, who had told aides that he needed a loyalist overseeing the inquiry, berated Mr. Sessions and told him he should reverse his decision, an unusual and potentially inappropriate request.
Mr. Sessions refused.
The confrontation, which has not been previously reported, is being investigated by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, as are the president’s public and private attacks on Mr. Sessions and efforts to get him to resign. Mr. Trump dwelled on the recusal for months, according to confidants and current and former administration officials who described his behavior toward the attorney general.
The special counsel’s interest demonstrates Mr. Sessions’s overlooked role as a key witness in the investigation into whether Mr. Trump tried to obstruct the inquiry itself. It also suggests that the obstruction investigation is broader than it is widely understood to be — encompassing not only the president’s interactions with and firing of the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, but also his relationship with Mr. Sessions. [Continue reading…]
‘We can’t see a future’: Group takes EU to court over climate change
The Guardian reports:
Lawyers acting for a group including a French lavender farmer and members of the indigenous Sami community in Sweden have launched legal action against the EU’s institutions for failing to adequately protect them against climate change.
A case is being pursued in the Luxembourg-based general court, Europe’s second highest, against the European parliament and the council of the European Union for allowing overly high greenhouse gas emissions to continue until 2030.
The families, including young children, claim their lives have been blighted by the policy decisions in Brussels, and that the EU’s inadequate emissions targets will cause more suffering.
The legal complaint asserts that the EU’s existing climate target to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030, compared with 1990 levels, does not protect their fundamental rights of life, health, occupation and property. [Continue reading…]
Filed Under: Climate Change, Law, Politics
The total information awareness we feared the government acquiring, we have freely given to the tech giants
Renee DiResta writes:
“Every purchase you make with a credit card, every magazine subscription you buy and medical prescription you fill, every Web site you visit and e-mail you send or receive, every academic grade you receive, every bank deposit you make, every trip you book and every event you attend—all these transactions and communications will go into … a virtual, centralized grand database,” the New York Times columnist warns.
On the heels of Mark Zuckerberg’s numerous government testimonies and sustained criticism over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the author of this Times column must be talking about Facebook—right? Or perhaps the web’s broader, ad-based business model?
Not so: The William Safire column, “You Are a Suspect,” was published in the Times in 2002—two years before Facebook was created. And Safire isn’t talking about social networks or digital advertising—he’s discussing Total Information Awareness, a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) program that proposed mining vast amounts of Americans’ data to identify potential national security threats. The virtual grand database was to belong to the Department of Defense, which would use it to identify behavior patterns that would help to predict emerging terrorist threats.
Today, we’re voluntarily participating in the dystopian scenario Safire envisioned 16 years ago, with each bit of data handed to companies like Facebook and Google. But in this system, private companies are our information repositories—leaving us to reckon with the consequences of a world that endows corporations with the kind of data once deemed too outrageous for the government. [Continue reading…]
Filed Under: Society, Technology
ABC only did the right thing when it could no longer get away with ignoring Roseanne’s racism
Roxane Gay writes:
On Twitter on Tuesday, Roseanne Barr wrote that if “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby =vj.” The message referred to President Barack Obama’s former senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, and in it Ms. Barr traded on age-old racist ideas about black people and primates. Then she shared some incorrect nonsense about Chelsea Clinton marrying into the Soros family.
It was the kind of thing Roseanne Barr has been doing online for years. This time, however, the backlash was immediate and vigorous. Ms. Barr apologized for her “joke” that wasn’t really a joke and said she was leaving Twitter as if Twitter were responsible for her racist behavior. That apology was not enough. ICM Partners, her agents, stopped representing her. The comedian Wanda Sykes, who was a consulting producer on the reboot of “Roseanne,” announced that she was quitting the show. Within a matter of hours, ABC canceled the new “Roseanne” and the original show’s reruns were pulled from TV Land, CMT and the Paramount Network.
For once, a major network did the right thing. But before it did the right thing, it did the wrong thing. It is not new information that Roseanne Barr makes racist, Islamophobic and misogynistic statements and is happy to peddle all manner of dangerous conspiracy theories. ABC knew this when it greenlighted the “Roseanne” reboot. ABC knew this when it quickly renewed the reboot for a second season, buoyed, no doubt, by the show’s strong ratings.
The cast, the writers and the producers knew what Ms. Barr stood for when they agreed to work on the show. Everyone involved made a decision to support the show despite its co-creator’s racism. They decided that their career ambitions, or desire to return to network television, or financial interests would best be served by looking the other way. It was only when Ms. Barr became an immediate liability that everyone involved finally looked at her racism and dealt with it directly. [Continue reading…]
Filed Under: Social media, Society
The Standard Model of particle physics: The absolutely amazing theory of almost everything
How does our world work on a subatomic level?
Varsha Y S, CC BY-SA
By Glenn Starkman, Case Western Reserve University
The Standard Model. What dull name for the most accurate scientific theory known to human beings.
More than a quarter of the Nobel Prizes in physics of the last century are direct inputs to or direct results of the Standard Model. Yet its name suggests that if you can afford a few extra dollars a month you should buy the upgrade. As a theoretical physicist, I’d prefer The Absolutely Amazing Theory of Almost Everything. That’s what the Standard Model really is.
Many recall the excitement among scientists and media over the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson. But that much-ballyhooed event didn’t come out of the blue – it capped a five-decade undefeated streak for the Standard Model. Every fundamental force but gravity is included in it. Every attempt to overturn it to demonstrate in the laboratory that it must be substantially reworked – and there have been many over the past 50 years – has failed.
In short, the Standard Model answers this question: What is everything made of, and how does it hold together?
Filed Under: Physics
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← Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller
Waterstones Book of the Year 2013 →
The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan
‘The Panopticon’ by Jenni Fagan tells the story of Anais Hendricks, a fifteen-year-old young offender from Scotland who has spent all of her life in care and is more or less constantly in trouble with the police. After being accused of assaulting a police officer who ends up in a coma, she spends time in the Panopticon, an institution for chronic young offenders which takes its name from Jeremy Bentham’s suggested “circular prison with cells so constructed that the prisoners can be observed at all times”.
Anais is clearly a very troubled young girl but she is also so much more than that. Her fiercely spirited character reminded me a little bit of Bessy from ‘The Observations‘ by Jane Harris aided by the heavy Scots dialect used throughout the story. She is likeable, smart and passionate but also highly vulnerable and emotionally fragile given her situation. Drawing on her own experiences of the care system, Fagan manages to capture the conflicting sides of Anais’s character sometimes in the space of just one sentence and paints a vivid picture of the emotions involved.
It is something of an understatement to say that the events of the story are bleak – drugs, prostitution and rape are all dealt with here – and yet it isn’t all completely depressing. Anais’s witty and endearing character foibles such as her obsessions with pillbox hats and living in Paris help make the story a little more uplifting at times. Fagan also has a particular talent for revealing more about Anais not just through what she says but also through what she doesn’t say. I have slightly mixed feelings about the ending but I guess it was never going to be neat and satisfying after such an intense story.
Overall, I was impressed by ‘The Panopticon’ which is definitely among the most original and memorable debut novels I have read this year. Jenni Fagan is one of the most naturally talented young writers out there at the moment and I am looking forward to seeing what else she produces in the future.
Tagged as Book, Book Review, Book Reviews, Fiction, Jenni Fagan, Novels, Prison, Reading, Reviews, Scotland, The Panopticon
5 responses to “The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan”
mindfulmagpie
Would you say this is a young adult novel? Or could it be read by an old person such as myself?
I would say that it isn’t a young adult book as it hasn’t been marketed as that (in the UK, at least)… although I could see that it would appeal to some young adults especially given the age of the main protagonist.
Thanks! I will check it out!
curlygeek04
I loved this book! You’ve really described Anais’ character well here. I didn’t even try – I just felt there was no way to come close. Nice review.
lauramorgannovels
Great review. I had similar reservations about the ending – but overall was impressed. I put it in my top 10 of the year.
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APPS Statement on Surprise Resignations and Replacements on SRC
March 29, 2018 March 31, 2018 APPS Philly Posts (Newest to Oldest), Press Releases
The Philadelphia School Reform Commission: Chris McKinley, Bill Green, Estelle Richman, Joyce Wilkerson; Superintendent William Hite
The day after the schools closed for spring break, district stakeholders woke up to find out that major changes have taken place in the governance of the city’s public schools.
In a surprise move, two members of the SRC have resigned, and they have already been replaced by two people chosen by the mayor. The governor has already named the new chair. No mention of these changes was made at last week’s SRC meeting.These changes, planned and implemented without consultation of district stakeholders, serves to highlight the disenfranchisement of the people of the city when it comes to choosing those who make decisions on the future of the city’s public schools. The mayor expects the public to pay the bills, including another increase in property taxes, but to have no say in how the money is spent. The stakeholders and taxpayers, apparently, are expected to play the role of passive observers watching as the pieces are moved around the chessboard.
The SRC will be approving a $3 billion budget in the coming months just before its dissolution. This lame-duck Commission will be voting on that budget.
The mayor will be appointing a new school board next week. In violation of the PA Sunshine Act, there have been no public meetings at which the people of the city could weigh in, pro or con, on the candidates, or to raise concerns about possible conflicts.
Also see APPS in the news:
Two SRC members resign, opening path to a new board | Philadelpia Tribune – 3/29/18
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Tag Archives: non-fiction
Backstory – France: The Cake Frosting Country by Joan Frank
backstory, Essay, Joan Frank, non-fiction, The Antioch Review
In the “The Astonishment Index,” contributor Joan Frank provides what she calls a piece that functions more as a “coda” to her original essay, “France: The Cake Frosting Country,” that ran in the Winter, 2010 issue of The Antioch Review. She says her essay describes realizations gained from a (very!) recent trip to France, and concludes that while the beautiful Cake Frosting Country is still a wonder, one can’t not see it differently with age and experience: certain scales have tumbled from one’s eyes.
The Astonishment Index
by Joan Frank
Someone close to me recently suggested, about the work of a famous living poet, that everything she writes is an expression of shock—arising from the thunderbolt comprehension of the fact that we will die.
That shock evokes—rather, tugs like an attached cart after itself—the ancillary question of how then to live, how to be, during our brief tenure of time on earth.
It strikes me increasingly that we never really recover from this first astonishment: that it extends vastly from and through our lives, like spokes of a wheel.
It strikes me too that everything we say and do, once that double-whammy realization cracks open, is driven by it. Perhaps more strangely, the fact of Place feels intimately bound up with the whole business—this acute, spreading recognition of a finite self, operating so briefly in time and space.
We wonder not just how to be, but why—and inevitably, where.
It’s arguable that my American generation, post-World War II, was saddled with a sanitized moral vision—a series of givens about fairness, or at least of eventual tit-for-tat. We were taught to do good, and expected that good would be offered back to us in return. We were encouraged to reason, never questioning the (hard-won) modicum of food and shelter enabling this luxury: food, shelter, and a resuming moral order, furnished by a shaken adult population doing its best to rebuild in the wake of unspeakable horror.
So when we grew up and began to travel to the classic world capitals, we viewed them through a rosier lens—possibly a Disney-fied lens, of princesses and castles and kindly old shoemakers. (Later we applied the Jamesian/Kerouacian lenses: “Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to.”) A piquant paradox: how my own great-grandparents, and those of countless others, likely fled Europe for Ellis Island, and how their progeny’s progeny eventually returned to Europe as self-styled rogues and daring artist-adventurers (never mind the exciting new venue’s dark history). This imposed romance, in effect appropriating a backdrop, persists to some degree in our own kids—though I think that it probably peaked in my own generation; that young adults now, chafed by the bizarre trials of making their own lives (paying off loans), look coolly at any notion of Dharma bumming (unless someone else is funding it).
I recently revisited France, starting in a small, sleepy southern town and moving north to Paris, the journey viewed this time through a pair of eyes seasoned by inevitabilities of age—windfalls and personal loss: books published, babies born, the death of an only, beloved sibling. And while L’Hexagone delivered everything described in my essay of 2010, those real joys felt limned this time by deepened tensions and frailties. All the jewels remain intact in the crown, but they seem to have shrunk a little. Life feels tougher there, more fraught. North African storekeepers look grimmer, more vigilant; teenagers act out more recklessly; clerks, streetpeople, business types, even nannies all seem tightened, more pinched by want and need as they move through the day’s obligations. A certain playfulness seems to have vanished. Everything’s bewilderingly expensive. True, restaurants and cafes still bustle with people who appear poised, accomplished, at ease with the world and with their meal’s bill. But waitstaff, as they hustle about, damp and breathless, exude a telling, desperate fatigue. The divide between haves and have-nots grows starker.
This, too, counts as astonishment. If we are honest with ourselves about it, we’re never ready for the next revelation, whether for good or (too often) for ill. It falls to an individual’s mettle—an inborn or willed resolve—to be able to witness the rise and fall of of empires and ideals, live with surging change and uncertainty, and knit meaning from them; carry on with what remains. Part of what is gained, with age, is a richer sense of how little these parsings (and the parser him- or herself) finally matter. France does not care who loves or hates it, just as a piece of timeless music or art does not care. Do I still champion the Cake-Frosting Country? Yes, but with an asterisk—an existential qualifier, an expressive shrug in the best Gallic tradition: “as it stands, as best one can.”
Joan Frank (http://www.joanfrank.org) is the author of five books of fiction and a book of collected essays. Her last novel, MAKE IT STAY, won the Dana Portfolio Award; her last story collection, IN ENVY COUNTRY, won the Richard Sullivan Prize in Short Fiction, the ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award, and was named a finalist for the California Book Award. Joan’s book of essays, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO: A WRITING LIFE, won the Silver ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Award. A MacDowell Colony Fellow and recipient of many grants and awards, Joan is also a book critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. She lives in Northern California.
© The Antioch Review 2015
Backstory—Driving, by Kenneth A. McClane
Alzheimers, Essay, Kenneth A. McClane, non-fiction, The Antioch Review
Kenneth McClane shares the backstory of his essay, “Driving,” that first appeared in The Antioch Review in the Fall of 2006. The piece was reprinted in the Seventieth Year Anniversary issue, published in the Fall of 2011.
I thought for a second about my father’s proposition. I could, of course, remind him that there was no automobile, that we were in a Massachusetts nursing home, and that he was near the end of his days—I could tell him that. But is was driving with my father, the car was slowly snaking from our Harlem brownstone, down Riverside Drive…
“Driving” was a difficult essay to write because I needed to keep many things in my mind, all equally compelling. First, Alzheimer’s is a horrific disease: it cannot be described in any other terms. And yet I had two parents both of whom died from Alzheimer’s, and both who, in their healthy life, and in their diseased life, loved me. Whatever their predicament, they remained generous, and, very often in spirit, the people they always were. So I wanted to write something that honored my parents, was not dishonest, and would permit the reader to see how wonderful my parents were to me, warts and all, even in the most difficult of situations. Secondly, I wanted to show how I developed a way to have my parents with me a little longer—how I learned, and it was truly a work-in-progress, that Alzheimer’s is simply another way of seeing the world. Yet let me be very specific here. I am not stating that Alzheimer’s creates some romantic new reality, or that my parents were involved in a reinvisioning of the world—I am just stating that I realized, particularly with my father, that if I entered into his way of seeing things when he told me something, however improbable the narrative, I could still encounter the sense of him, his joys, unhappiness, struggles. When I first began to contemplate this, I was on very shaky terrain: I had no idea of where I was or where my father might take me. But after a time, I learned to associate large swaths of his narrative with other in-the-world details. When, for example, my father didn’t recall that I had invited many family members to visit him in the nursing home, he quickly began a story about how he had gone to a “grand” party and there were “ heaping mounds of shrimp,” a detail that resonated with him, a child of the Depression. My father did not recall that Warren, his brother, or Farrell, his niece, had come to visit; he did know, however, that something clearly momentous had occurred. Again, this was not my father—the doctor—who had lived mightily in Harlem and in our home. But it was a clear shadow of my father—an inkling of his generosity and character.
By the same token, I did not want to write an essay that would further wound others who had loved ones with Alzheimer’s, for it is a ghastly disease, something that no narrative can adequately convey. Luckily, my parents remained largely the people they had always been. My mother remained gentle, full of love for dogs and the natural world: she had been a painter and many other things—a writer, a stockbroker, and a pharmacist. Although she no longer painted, when I asked her if she’d like me to buy her paint materials she told me she didn’t need to do it anymore, that the world “was full of trees with dogs laughing.” Here my mother, like my dad, was creating a counter-narrative: it wasn’t true, but it expressed two of her great loves—dogs and flora, and, just as powerfully, her indomitable conviviality.
My, father, too, of course, somehow found ways to show his true character whatever the disease demanded. He had been a doctor—a very good one—and I never remember him failing to honor any responsibility. If he said he’d be somewhere, he’d be there. But one day he told me that he’d “lost the children.” I, of course, was one of those, so I felt directly involved, and then he began to chart the ways in which he had lost us—loaning us to a woman somewhere, who had simply absconded with us. “Can you imagine losing my children?” he asked, laughing.
The mixture of the surreal and the real; the true moments of connection and disconnection—this is what the essay needed to convey. And the horrors, too, of the disease. My brother Paul had died of alcoholism many years before, a fact that started me to abandon poetry and turn to the essay. One day in the nursing home my father asked me about him. I reminded him that Paul had died and my father started to cry uncontrollably, his thin ribs moving like an addled accordion. “Paul’s dead, Paul’s dead,” he kept uttering, as if he had just learned of his son’s demise. At the time I worried that my father might confront this horrific predicament each new day, that to his compromised mind this might become, day in and day out, a new visitation, but my father never again asked about Paul. Indeed, this was always the reality with the disease: one was always confronting an ill-explored psychic landscape.
In many of my essays, I try to give voice to how well my parents handled the vexations of a very difficult time: they were both African American professionals, they were both New Englanders, and as most members of their generation, they didn’t complain much—they simply hoped that their children would have better lives. Both of my parents were born a generation too early. My father, though brilliant, never received his due, largely because of racial prejudice in the 1930s, although he did teach at Columbia Medical School for 40 years, and was honored as one of Boston University’s 100 Most Distinguished Alumni. My mother, the Salutatorian at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, could never practice her pharmaceutical profession because of her gender. To this day, this still angers me. Yet my parents never uttered a word. In fact, it was I who had to unearth much of this history—my parents never dwelled on it.
“Driving,” at its best, simply celebrates two human beings who met life with great courage, generosity, and grace. The essay, I’m certain, has moments of being Pollyannaish. And I certainly included instances of humor, because there were truly many such moments, and both the reader and I needed the reprieve. And I also included moments of poetic, near-Whitmanic rhapsody, because I felt the essay needed it, and because, at bottom, lyricism matters to me—it is, at times, its own great blessing.
My essay, sadly, fails to covey much of my parents’ true spirit; but it, in a very difficult time, allowed me to share some of their luminosity—and I had them, if only in language, a little longer.
Kenneth McClane is the W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of Literature at Cornell Emeritus. He has published seven poetry collections and two volumes of personal essays, Walls: Essays 1985-1990 (Wayne State University Press) and Color: Essays on Race, Family, and History (University of Notre Dame Press). In 2010 The University of Notre Dame Press reprinted his collection, Walls: Essays 1985-1990 in paperback.
McClane’s essays have appeared in many anthologies, including The Best African American Essays; The Art of the Essay; Bearing Witness: Selections from African-American Autobiography in the Twentieth Century; The Anatomy of Memory; You’ve Got to Read This; and Literature for Life. His essay “Walls” was selected for The Best American Essays 1988 and The Best American Essays (college edition) volumes. In 2002 he received the Distinguished Prose Award from The Antioch Review.
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IGF029 In Good Faith with singer-songwriter Noelle Garcia
Where is God Calling You? Types of Prayer Facing Challenges Jesus
Podcast Recorded: April 23, 2014
IGF029 In Good Faith podcast with Noelle Garcia, recorded live on April 23, 2014. Produced by aNunsLife.org Ministry. Topics include: music, vocation, youth ministry, trust in God, faith and more.
RSS Subscribe PlayerFM
About our Guest
Noelle Garcia is a Catholic recording artist and speaker with World Library Publications.
Her debut album Meet Me Where I Am was released in 2007, followed by Set the World on Fire in 2009. Noelle has performed across the United States and worldwide, including the National Catholic Youth Conference, the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, and World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia. For events that require a full band sound, Noelle performs with her band All In Ministry. Most recently Noelle and her husband, David McHugh, composed "Never Alone," the theme song for the 2014 Congress Youth Day.
In addition to her musical career, Noelle has a degree from Christian Brothers University in Human Development and is a trained youth minister. In 2009 she was featured on CNN's documentary Latino in America for her work with teens.
Noelle, David and their three children currently reside in Dodge City, Kansas.
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A Brief History of AOSA
by Michael Chandler
The American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) was founded in Muncie, Indiana on May 11, 1968. Its formation was the result of ten passionate and dedicated music teachers who recognized the value and potential of the Orff Schulwerk music and movement pedagogy developed by Carl Orff (1895-1982) and Gunild Keetman (1904-1990). The AOSA founders acted in hopes of organizing the excitement that was building for this approach, which was spreading across the country, and to promote its implementation in American music education. Known as the Orff Schulwerk Association (OSA) until 1970, AOSA grew from ten founding members to 332 in its first year. Seven chartered local chapters expanded through the years to more than 96 today, with current membership at approximately 3,300.
In 1976, the Gunild Keetman Assistance Fund was established to provide scholarships to members for professional development or special creative projects that are associated with Orff Schulwerk. The Harriet Evans Shields Scholarship, renamed the Shields-Gillespie Scholarship Fund in 1991, was established to provide financial assistance for teacher education, instruments, or other special creative projects associated with Orff Schulwerk that benefit the music education of children. AOSA published the first guidelines for Orff Schulwerk teacher education in the U.S. in 1976 and, beginning in 1982, began publishing an approved list of certification courses across the country that met these guidelines. Today, AOSA-approved teacher education courses can be found throughout the United States.
The Orff Echo, AOSA’s quarterly publication, first appeared in November 1968 as a four-page bulletin. Since that time, it has evolved to its current journal format, which includes scholarly research articles. The association’s quarterly newsletter, Reverberations, was first published in 1995, and initially, was included as an insert to The Orff Echo. In 2001, Reverberations became a separate publication that was mailed to members’ homes. As of spring, 2011 Reverberations became an online newsletter.
AOSA has maintained a Web site since 1995 (www.aosa.org), where members can now find information on Orff Schulwerk and music education advocacy, apply for scholarships and grants, register for the national conference, connect with a local chapter, look for approved teacher education courses, and make donations. The Isabel McNeill Carley Library, established in 1985 and located at the Eastman School of Music’s Sibley Library since 2002, holds research materials, letters, and the archives of AOSA.
The AOSA Professional Development Conference, known also as the “national conference,” occurs every November in a different U.S. city. The conference was first held in 1969 at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, with approximately 170 participants from 21 states and Canada. Today’s conferences bring together nearly 1,500 teachers from across the U.S. and from many other countries around the world. Since 1989, AOSA has been affiliated with MENC: the National Association for Music Education, and, in addition, has been an affiliate of the Orff-Schulwerk Forum in Salzburg, Austria since 1990.
For more information about AOSA:
Cole, Judith. “Milestones in the History of Orff Schulwerk in the United States.” The Orff Echo, Vol. XLI, No. 4 (Summer 2009), pp. 27-30.
American Orff-Schulwerk Association Founding Members
(in alphabetical order)
Arnold E. Burkart
Isabel McNeill Carley
Norman Goldberg
Ruth Pollock Hamm
Joachim Matthesius
Elizabeth Nichols
Jacobeth Postl
Wilma Salzman
Jacques Schneider
William Wakeland
Arnold Burkart
by Mark A. Francis*
In the spring of 1963 Arnold Burkart attended a regional MENC meeting where he first heard a recording of an Orff ensemble. What he heard inspired him to attend the second North American Orff workshop that summer in Toronto where his teachers were Doreen Hall and Hugh Orr. Burkart was captivated by the Orff approach. He once recalled that this was one of the most exciting times of his life. Arnold returned to California and began infusing the Orff approach in the music programs he supervised. History was in the making. It was only five years later, on May 11, 1968, that the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) was founded, and Arnold Burkart was elected the first President of the organization.
Burkart started his teaching career as an elementary and middle school music specialist in California. In 1967 Arnold moved to Indiana to teach music education courses at Ball State University. In December of that same year, Burkart sent a letter to several Midwest educators involved with the Orff Schulwerk movement. One of his purposes was to invite them to “a weekend convocation of all of us who are active in seriously promoting the use of Orff Schulwerk philosophy and methodology…” Response to the letter demonstrated the vitality and strength of the Orff Schulwerk movement, small as it was at the time.
An all-day planning session was arranged for May 11, 1968, at Burkart’s home in Muncie. Just five years after this historic meeting, the organization had grown from the original ten founding members to nearly 1,200 members representing 49 states and several Canadian provinces. Arnold Burkart served as AOSA president for two years. He became Executive Secretary in 1970, and went on to publish a magazine series called Keeping Up with Orff-Schulwerk in the Classroom. This publication continued for ten years and emphasized curriculum ideas according to the Schulwerk approach. Burkart continued to advance the growth of the Schulwerk by teaching workshops across the United States as well as in Canada, Austria, Germany, Hungary, France, England, South Africa and Taiwan. Additionally, Arnold taught at the Orff Institute in Salzburg for several summers.
The scope of his work, both in this country and abroad, is truly impressive. These days, Arnold Burkart is retired but leads an active life in Florida. In his words: “Where Orff-based music education is happening – there’s where exciting things occur.”
by Esther Gray*
For Isabel Carley, who edited the AOSA Orff Echo for 15 years and transformed it from a slick newsletter to a professional journal, and for whom our AOSA library is named, Orff Schulwerk began with a mysterious German book and a xylophone. As Isabel recounted the story, German friends who lived in the U.S. returned from European travels during the late 1950’s with an alto xylophone and a copy of Volume I of the German edition of Music for Children. At that time in Indianapolis Isabel maintained a private music studio where she taught three levels of music classes for children along with private recorder and piano lessons and adult recorder classes. She, her husband James, and their three children performed regularly as the Carley Consort. The Schulwerk was largely unknown in the U.S. Isabel McNeill Carley found her friends’ xylophone and book “both perplexing and tantalizing.” She ordered a copy of the book for close study. When she read an announcement for the 1962 Toronto Orff Schulwerk course, she enrolled. The two weeks of classes with an Orff conference sandwiched between them excited Isabel. Decades later she remembered sessions vividly. Carl Orff, Gunild Keetman, Wilhelm Keller, Barbara Haselbach and Lotte Flach had come from Europe to teach along with Arnold Walter, Director of the School of Music at the University of Toronto, and Doreen Hall of the Toronto faculty. Isabel met colleagues in Toronto who later became leaders of what she referred to as “the Orff movement.”
The Orff emphasis on ensemble attracted Isabel. She was fascinated by the rhythm instruments, the unfamiliar barred instruments, and rhythmic training with speech. In particular, supporting the valuable learning that can come from improvisation appealed to her. She returned to Indiana determined to teach music with Orff instruments instead of piano.
Drawing upon her college German, Isabel spent the year 1963-64 studying at the Salzburg, Austria, Mozarteum’s Orff Institute, the first year of its existence. She participated in 36 hours of classes weekly, three daily hours of movement, nothing in English. She recalled that among other faculty Orff and Keetman taught the group from time to time. Isabel was grateful to have private composition lessons from Carl Orff by his invitation. She completed the elements of the three-year teacher education program of the Orff Institute in one year and earned her certificate with honors.
Isabel has taught countless workshops, AOSA conference presentations, and summer Orff certification courses, including 12 summers at Denver University and five summers at the Florida State University Orff program, which she directed. She is especially known for recorder, for her work with Orff improvisation and arranging, and for her instruction using traditional American and British folk sources for modal music, rhythmic speech, and children’s music/movement games. She has published Orff instructional materials including a unique series of books for teaching recorder through improvisation, Recorder Improvisation and Technique (Brasstown Press), as well as recorder consort music, piano music for children, anthems for junior and youth choirs, solo suites for recorder and piano, and original suites for recorder ensembles. Her editorial essays about Orff Schulwerk that appeared in the Echo over the years raise timeless issues about the theory and pedagogy of the Orff approach. Many of them can be read in Volumes I and II of Orff ReEchos: Selections from the Orff Echo and the Supplements (1977 & 1985), which Isabel and the Echo editorial committee edited.
Osterby, Patricia. Orff Schulwerk in North America, 1955-1969.Ed.D. diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988.
*Esther Cappon Gray teaches Literacy Studies as an associate professor in the Special Education and Literacy Studies Department of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She was one of the founders of the Kansas Orff Chapter, and served eight years on the Editorial Board of The Orff Echo. She earned her Orff Schulwerk teaching certification at Denver University, and completed a doctorate in Language Education with a minor in Music Education at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. She currently serves on the AOSA History Committee and is writing a historical book about the development of Orff Schulwerk.
Norm Goldberg (center)
In her portrait series exposé on Norman Goldberg, Pam Hetrick states quite eloquently that “Norman Goldberg is many things to the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. He is one of its founding members, was named an Honorary Member in 1984, received the first AOSA Industry Award in 1998, was recognized in 2003 for his perfect attendance at all of AOSA’s annual national conferences, distributed Studio 49 instruments for more than three decades and has been a steadfast friend and supporter of Orff Schulwerk since its beginnings. The integrity of our association owes much to this energetic, hard-working, sincere and insightful man.”
Norman Goldberg began his teaching career in Missouri in 1942. He went on to teach orchestra for four years at University City High School in the St. Louis area. In 1948, Goldberg began his business, Baton Music, with the store in the back of his car. Sixteen years later, Baton Music had become MMB Music, and was the biggest dealer of Sonor instruments. Over time, MMB Music also became the U.S. agent for Studio 49 Orff instruments. Norman first heard of Orff Schulwerk in 1962 when he attended an MENC conference in Chicago. There he saw a presentation with Doreen Hall, Grace Nash and Children from the Music Center of the North Shore. Inspired by what Goldberg called an “important direction in music education,” he started organizing Orff Schulwerk workshops in the St. Louis area. Over the next several years, Norman would attend numerous North American music education conferences and symposia. He met and befriended many Orff Schulwerk pioneers, including Arnold Burkart at the first Bellflower Symposium in 1967. On May 11 1968, Goldberg was one of the ten AOSA founders present at Burkart’s home in Muncie, Indiana.
Norman had the opportunity to meet Carl Orff in 1970. “He was a warm, kind and gentle man,” Goldberg recalled. Around this time, MMB Music joined with Schott in a joint venture to distribute the English edition of Volume 3, The Schulwerk, of Carl Orff’s autobiography. MMB had also become one of the only distributors of music therapy materials. From 1997-1998, Norman was instrumental in facilitating collaboration between AOSA and the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). Today music for all ages as well as music therapy is an integral part of Orff Schulwerk conferences. Norman Goldberg continues to promote music, education and peace around the world through local and international projects. “We have to do anything we can to help promote peace in the world,” he said. “Music is life, and life is music.”
Burkart, Arnold E. “The American Orff-Schulwerk Association: The First Five Years,”
Supplement No. 2, American Orff-Schulwerk Association, (1973)
Hetrick, Pam. “Norman Goldberg and the Power of Music” The Orff Echo 37, no. 2 (Winter 2005).
Osterby, Patricia. “Orff Schulwerk in North America, 1955-1969.” Ed.D. diss., University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, 1988.
*Mark Francis teaches lower school music and choir at the Bush School in Seattle, Washington. Mark earned his Master of Arts degree with a concentration in Orff Schulwerk from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota and currently serves on the AOSA History Committee.
During the summer of 1960, the first two volumes of Orff-Schulwerk: Music for Children, (Margaret Murray editions) were purchased as a gift for Ruth Pollock Hamm who immediately became interested in the fascinating use of poetry, words, and sound gestures. Ruth’s exploration of the Schulwerk had begun. Soon after, Hamm had the good fortune of experiencing Doreen Hall’s instruction during the summer of 1961, and Gunild Keetman’s expertise the following summer at the 1962 Schulwerk Teachers’ Course at Photo: Ruth Pollock Hammthe Royal Conservatory of Music, University of Toronto. In addition to Keetman, the conservatory arranged to have Carl Orff and others from the Orff Institute as headline attractions for the summer course and mid-session conference. Between July 16 and July 24, 1965, Ruth attended the Orff Institute’s first English-speaking Schulwerk training course under the direction of Margaret Murray. Course instructors in addition to Murray included Dr. Hermann Regner, Wilhelm Keller, Barbara Haselbach, Walter Bergmann, and Polyxene Mathéy, from Greece. These many years of training greatly shaped Ruth as a music educator and leader in the Orff Schulwerk movement.
Ruth Hamm was employed as an elementary school music specialist in the Shaker Heights Ohio School District, from September, 1950 until the end of January, 1977, when she retired from public school teaching. Concurrently, Hamm taught Orff Schulwerk in a studio environment at the Cleveland Music School Settlement, from the fall of 1963 to the end of the 1968 school year. During this same time period, Ruth had begun teaching adult Schulwerk courses also. She had also demonstrated her strength as a writer, a skill that would help influence and inform educators to the present day through numerous articles, reviews, and other publications. Hamm later asserted in one of her articles that the participation, excitement, satisfaction, and enjoyment of the children were the most remarkable outcomes of the Schulwerk experience.
In December of 1967, Arnold E. Burkart, newly appointed music education professor at Ball State University, sent a letter to several Midwest educators involved with the Orff Schulwerk movement. His purpose was to invite them to an idea sharing meeting and to also gauge potential interest in organizing a national group dedicated to the Schulwerk approach. Response to the letter demonstrated the vitality and strength of the Orff Schulwerk movement, small as it was at the time. An all-day planning session was arranged for May 11, 1968, at Burkart’s home in Muncie. At the meeting the newly selected steering committee unanimously decided that a professional organization would add strength to the movement, and the Orff-Schulwerk Association (OSA) was officially founded that day. Ruth Pollock Hamm was invited to attend this historic meeting but a Schulwerk workshop she was presenting that same weekend prevented her from attending. Despite this absence, Hamm was elected to the OSA board of directors and eventually assigned to the membership and publicity committees. Ruth continued to serve national AOSA as vice-president and conference chairperson (1970-1972), president (1972-1974), and executive secretary [director] (1974-1980).
Burkart, Arnold E.”The American Orff-Schulwerk Association: The First Five Years,”
Hamm, Ruth Pollock. “The Challenge of the Orff Approach for Elementary Music Education,” PMEA News 32, no. 3 (March, 1968).
Hamm, Ruth Pollock. Interview by Cindi Wobig, “Founders Interview with Ruth Pollock Hamm: AOSA National Conference, Rochester, New York,” (AOSA, 2000), video 23RH.
Osterby, Patricia. “Orff Schulwerk in North America, 1955-1969” (Ed.D. diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988).
Riley, Martha. “An American Orff Pioneer: Ruth Pollock Hamm,” The Orff Echo 35, no. 1 (fall 2002).
Joachim “Joe” Matthesius
By Esther Cappon Gray*
Thousands of AOSA members fondly remember tall, slender Joe Matthesius drawing a resonant, ringing, ritual rendition of our beloved Praetorius canon, “Viva la Musica” from the participants at annual conferences in the 1970’s and 1980’s. At such times Joe, German-born but American through and through, seemed to be the embodiment of the heart and soul of our organization. Humble and dedicated, Joe was not a music educator, but, rather, the principal of an elementary school in Ferndale, Michigan, when he discovered Carl Orff’s approach to music education. He had always been interested in music as a lay person, having studied voice, piano, guitar and recorder. He had sung in choirs and had conducted a Detroit madrigal group.
Like several other AOSA founders, Joe saw an announcement of the 1962 summer Orff workshop at the University of Toronto that brought the Schulwerk from Germany to the U.S. He registered, and the experience of working with Carl Orff, Gunild Keetman, Barbara Haselbach and Wilhem Keller that summer transformed his thinking. Demonstrations with children made it possible to picture what the approach could mean to students’ learning and social development. As Joe said, “The thing that struck me the most was the spirit of the participants and staff – the power, the feeling of the group.” Through Barbara Haselbach he made the discovery that music and movement are part of the same thing, “that movement is another way to express music, that movement well done is visible music.”Joe Matthesius and Peg Van Haaren
When Joe left Toronto he began to work with Michigan fifth graders in his school, the Best School, named for Paul Best, during lunch hours. He used the kinds of activities that he had experienced in Canada, emphasizing, as he recalled over two decades later,”rhythm, speech, body percussion, movement, and singing.” In 1962, acquiring Orff instruments in the U.S. was challenging, and when Joe sent for a set of Studio 49 instruments from Germany the order was held in a U.S. customs warehouse, because the officials did not know what it was. Eventually somebody at the customs site got the idea of labeling the boxes (inaccurately) “organ parts,” and sending them on to Michigan. They arrived around Easter of 1963. Joe never looked back; his protégés were ready to perform for the public by February of 1964. Not mere concerts, the demonstrations they offered were for school principals and teachers in a Detroit metro-wide group called the “Elementary School Improvement Committee.” Modestly, Joe recalled that there were “favorable comments.” He was pleased that some schools began Orff Schulwerk programs after they had experienced his students. Peg Van Haaren, an AOSA member instrumental in the origins of both AOSA and the Detroit Orff Chapter, recalled that parents came to Joe to ask about his music activities, and that he responded to the interest by convincing his school district to allow him to offer an Orff Schulwerk night class for interested adults. Participants in that group included Carolyn Tower, Connie Heidt, and Claire Levine, who all became engaged in AOSA and Orff Schulwerk.
After facilitating Orff activities with children for a few years, in 1965 Joe took a summer course at the Orff Institute in Salzburg. He returned to Michigan determined to do more with movement and speech activities in his Orff groups. He enjoyed sharing his students’ accomplishments; the joy was not only in the beauty of the music and movement that the children developed, but also in the warm friendship among all the members of the group. Like Orff, Joe did not try to convert uninterested teachers, because he believed that Orff Schulwerk requires a teacher who is comfortable with children’s spontaneous contributions and with improvisation, a teacher who does not try to set up every aspect of a lesson in advance. Not all teachers wish to operate in this manner. Peg Van Haaren recalled that Joe and Joan Lumsden, an elementary music teacher from Highland Park, Michigan, who had been a student in Joe’s night class, both understood that many children in the Detroit area were challenged by poverty and easily discouraged about school and life. The two responded to this by establishing for these children what they called, “The Saturday Group.” The group met in Lumsden’s school every week, and then went to an established nearby camp setting for summer “Orff Camp.” The Saturday Group gained recognition when it performed at the 1975 AOSA Conference in Detroit.
In 1968 when Arnold Burkart invited him to attend the first organizational meeting that led to the founding of AOSA, Joe enthusiastically joined the initiative, and served as the second national AOSA president following Arnold Burkart. According to the hardworking Orff-enthusiasts who established our organization, Joe as a non-music-educator was able to contribute the perspective of an administrator, invaluable in those early days. Joe felt that children, especially kids who are not in elementary school band or orchestra, need Schulwerk, because, “it is the only logical and really successful introduction for children into the world of music.”
When Peg Van Haaren in 1969 participated in the summer course at the Salzburg Orff Institute, she found fellow Detroiter Joe Mathesius there. During a coffee break, Joe turned to her and said, “Peggy, we must try to gather people interested in Orff and share ideas.” The picture in this spotlight feature shows the two, coffee in hand, in front of the Orff Institute, just after they agreed that when they returned to Michigan they would do this. They did so with great success, beginning in the subsequent fall, 1970. Five years later Detroit hosted the 1975 AOSA annual conference with Peg as conference chair; in Detroit, DOSA celebrated its 40-year anniversary during the past year.
After Joe met Carl Orff in Toronto in 1962, where, fluent in German, he did some translating for Orff, the two corresponded regularly. Carl Orff took a great interest in the activities of AOSA and would send greetings to us in the organization through letters which Joe would read aloud at AOSA conferences. Joe had family in Germany, and with his wife, Charlotte, he visited there frequently in summers. When in Germany, he would visit with Carl Orff and his wife, Liselotte. Peg Van Haaren believes that this connection between Orff and an American, who knew German, loved to correspond, and had a good sense of the kinds of stories that would illustrate the Orff Schulwerk approach with children in the U.S., had a great deal to do with Orff’s enthusiasm about the work here and the development of AOSA.
Osterby, Patricia. Orff Schulwerk in North America, 1955-1969. Ed.D. diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988.
Van Haaren, Margaret. Personal communications July, 2009 and June, 2010.
Featured Founder Biography by Mark Francis*
Elizabeth Nichols” encounter with Orff Schulwerk offered her an avenue for personal and professional development at a crucial time in her life. Nichols stated in 1994 that “It continues to be an integral part of my life today and a source of lasting friendships.”. In 1962, Elizabeth was introduced to the Orff approach by her friend, Barbara Grenoble. Shortly after, Nichols attended summer workshops at Ball State Elizabeth NicholsUniversity in Muncie, Indiana. There, Elizabeth met co-founder Isabel McNeil Carley and studied under Lotte Flach from the Orff Institute in Salzburg. After Ball State, Nichols returned to her home state of Colorado where she established a complete Orff program at the Colorado Academy for Boys in Denver. In 1966, Elizabeth was off to study at the Orff Institute. En route, she visited the Studio 49 factory in Munich, Germany. Upon her return to the United States in 1967, Nichols took a position as education consultant with MMB Music which held the American franchise for selling Studio 49 Orff instruments. MMB was owned by AOSA co-founder Norman Goldberg and his business partner, Ted Mix.
Also during the summer of 1967, Elizabeth Nichols accepted a position at Ball State University (BSU) where co-founder Arnold Burkhart had also been hired. Nichols states, “This was a step into the college mainstream of music education and placed me, inadvertently, in the right place at the right time.” With the founding of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association, Elizabeth filled the initial term of secretary, and from 1969-1984 served on the editorial board of the Orff Echo with Isabel Carley as editor. Nichols went on to produce the two volume Orff Instrument Source Books for the Silver Burdett Co. as complements to their elementary music series. The Source Books made connections in English-speaking countries including Canada and South Africa, and resulted in Elizabeth being invited to both lecture and conduct workshops in those countries. During her 20-year tenure as associate professor at BSU, Elizabeth also presented Orff workshops in colleges and universities in 27 states as well as at AOSA conferences. Nichols retired from BSU in 1985 and returned to her Kansas roots by moving to Topeka.
Retirement from BSU and AOSA did not slow Elizabeth down. She remained active by creating a performing consort with four other musicians. Her flute and recorder playing led her to discover the Native American flute. Nichols quickly discovered that Carl Orff”s concepts based on primitive music transferred readily to the instrument. After a move to Colorado Springs, Elizabeth developed a Native American flute program, the CD Coyote Songs and Tales, and an accompanying Orff guide for activities in art, music, dance and drama. Nichols is now content to polish her writing and poetry, aware of Orff”s emphasis on the rhythm and musicality inherent in words. Elizabeth Nichols returned to Kansas once more in 2003, where she continues to focus on the years ahead.
*Mark Francis teaches lower school music and choir at the Bush School in Seattle, Washington. Mark earned his Master of Arts degree with a concentration in Orff Schulwerk from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota and has served on the AOSA History Committee.
Burkart, Arnold E. The American Orff-Schulwerk Association: The First Five Years. Supplement No. 2, American Orff-Schulwerk Association, 1973.
Champion, Michele. “Orff Schulwerk Influences,” The Orff Echo 40, no. 1 (fall 2007).
Nichols, Elizabeth. “AOSA Founders and Visionaries – Part Two,” The Orff Echo 26, no. 2 (winter 1994). Osterby, Patricia. Orff Schulwerk in North America, 1955-1969. Ed.D. diss., University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, 1988.
Jacobeth Postl’s dynamic smile and twinkling eyes have led countless students, both children and adults, through enticing movement, speech and musical Orff activities. She discovered Orff Schulwerk in 1961 at a one-week workshop held by Canadian Doreen Hall at the Music Center of the North Shore in Winnetka, Illinois. Jake recalled, “It was a basic course, not a level, but an introduction to the elements of speech, singing, and instrumental playing – basic, simple materials….I was just utterly taken and so excited about it that I went to my principal.” She had just been hired to teach in the Skokie District 68 before Doreen Hall”s course. Her exuberant description of the Orff approach won her principal over, and together they sent an order to Studio 49 in Germany for instruments, which took six months to arrive.
Decades of active involvement in Orff Schulwerk followed after Jake immediately used the 1961 Orff workshop activities along with her undergraduate Dalcroze training for teaching the children of her new teaching position. She followed the year”s teaching with studies at the renowned 1962 and 1963 Orff Schulwerk courses at the University of Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music. The Toronto courses were followed by Jake’s participation in the 1964 and 1965 summer courses at the Orff Institute in Salzburg, Austria.
Jacobeth PostlGunild Keetman, who accompanied Carl Orff on his 1962 visit to North America, was an especially influential teacher to Jake, who considered her the highlight of the 1962 Toronto course. Jake recalled, “in spite of the fact that she did not speak English, the quality, the dynamics, the personality of this woman were such that I was absolutely and totally mesmerized…. In 1962, when everything was cruising past us a mile a minute and everything still seemed so new to us (even though we had some experience with Doreen [Hall] previously), things were by no means what we would call sequenced. A great deal of the material that Keetman did was quite difficult….Most of us had very little experience with body percussion, or with memory retention through earwork! We have all developed over the years, so I’ve seen a tremendous change in what people can do! But that wasn’t true at that time. We had two left feet and four left thumbs. I think Keetman was probably taken aback with our lack of aural skills. We were so visually oriented.”
In 1963 Polyxene Mathay from Greece was the special guest educator in Toronto. Jake stated, “Mathay symbolizes all the best of what Schulwerk represents to me. In addition to her fine musicianship, she was a superb teacher and she was an absolutely wonderful, approachable, sympathetic human being.”
During the 1960’s, Jake Postl was involved in developing an Illinois State Gifted Program in connection with the gifted program in her school district. Jake and Lillian Yaross thrived on a flourishing teaching collaboration that led them to engage in a decades-long treasure hunt for engaging folk material which they collected using ditto and mimeograph masters and imparted to children and adults. By the late 1960’s Jake and Lillian were teaching teachers in response to the avid interest that the children’s demonstrations had evoked. Successful series’ of free Saturday morning classes were followed by implementation of a week-long Orff summer course in 1967 at Chicago’s DePaul University, followed by two-week Orff courses there for 28 years.
In 1968 Jake responded to Arnold Burkart’s invitation to the founding meeting of AOSA in Indiana, where plans were developed for a convocation, what later became known as an AOSA conference. In collaboration with Wilma Salzman, Jake drafted the AOSA constitution, and shortly thereafter she became the first treasurer of AOSA. The first AOSA conference followed in 1969. In the early days the AOSA vice president organized the year’s conference, but Jake had double duty in her 1974-75 term as AOSA’s vice president and conference chair. She recalled later, “They decided to have two conferences in the same year — one for the east coast members and a second for the west, because they [AOSA] had become too big. It didn”t work, because everyone came to both!” In 1976 Jake served as AOSA president, and besides teaching Certification Levels and workshops and regularly presenting at national conferences, she served for many years on the Orff Echo editorial committee.
From Jacobeth Postl’s perspective, the Orff Schulwerk took root, grew and blossomed during a time of committed state and national funding for gifted education and pedagogical innovation in the U.S. She commented, “I don”t think the movement would have developed in the way it did if it had come over [from Germany and Austria] in today”s period of conservative accountability in education. It flourished because of the time in which it was introduced. I”m grateful for the 1960s….If it survives, and I truly believe it will, it will probably take a different direction than what was originally envisioned. But that is OK. Change is as inevitable as life itself, and we must celebrate that.”
Osterby, Patricia (1988). Orff Schulwerk in North America, 1955-1969. Ed.D. diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Greater Chicago AOSA (2004) An Interview with Lillian Yaross and Jacobeth Postl. Accessed October 29, 2009, URL http://www.zoominfo.com/people/
Yaross_Lillian_681764643.aspx.
Yaross, Lillian, personal communication July, 2009, July 2010.
By Mark Francis
Doreen Hall (l) and Wilma Salzman
To have studied the Schulwerk under the direction of Carl Orff, Gunild Keetman, Margaret Murray or Doreen Hall is an experience few Orff Schulwerk educators can claim. Wilma Salzman, however, was fortunate enough to be in Doreen Hall’s Elementary Music Methods Class during her 1962-63 senior year at the University of Toronto. Wilma once stated that Hall so inspired her that she decided to enroll in the Orff Summer Session there and at the Orff Institute in Salzburg for 1963-64. At the Institute, she joined classmates Danai Gagne, Martha Wampler, and AOSA co-Founder, Isabel McNeill Carley. Salzman was again fortunate to be taught by Orff, Keetman, Wilhelm Keller, Hilde Tente, Traude Schrattenecker and Barbara Haselbach.
Upon her return to the United States, Wilma Salzman moved on to succeed Grace Nash at the Music Center of the North Shore in Chicago. In 1967, the Bellflower Conference in California came calling. Salzman, Nash, AOSA co-Founder Arnold Burkhart and Wilhelm Keller were invited to be panelists. Shortly thereafter, Burkhart sent his historic letter inviting Wilma and many other Orff Schulwerk pioneers to Muncie, Indiana where AOSA was founded on May 11,1968. Salzman and co-Founder Jacobeth Postl wrote the first draft of the constitution for the newly formed organization. Wilma, and her husband Michael, were then influential in the founding of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of AOSA, followed by the now defunct West Texas Chapter in El Paso.
During the years that followed Muncie, Wilma Salzman taught the Orff approach at schools in Tennessee and Texas respectively. In the summers of 1973 and 1976 she served on the faculty of the University of Toronto Orff-Schulwerk Teacher training course. Wilma continued to present workshops across the United States and Canada throughout this period of her career. In 1978, Salzman began an additional career as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher. This professional path led to her to create the very successful publications Big Books for Little Kids. The purpose of Big Books for Little Kids was to introduce music in the classroom under the guise of reading. Wilma and Michael continued this endeavor over the next twenty years. During this time, the Salzman’s also established the Table Top Press publishing company. Table Top Press is still operated by Salzman today. The Orff philosophy has been an integral part of Wilma Salzman’s life, and the resulting friendships she has formed over the years have been meaningful. In 1993, Wilma writes in the Orff Echo that, “It’s been a most rewarding 30 years with Orff friends old and new from across the country.”
Burkart, Arnold E. The American Orff-Schulwerk Association: The First Five Years. Supplement No. 2, American Orff-Schulwerk Association, 1973
Burkhart, Arnold. “AOSA Founders and Visionaries – Wilma Salzman,” The Orff Echo 26, no. 1 (fall 1993).
Tower, Carolyn. “Portrait Series: Wilma Salzman,” The Orff Echo 39, no. 1 (fall 2006).
No Bio
by Joani Somppi Brandon
On Saturday, May 11, 1968 eight people with a shared vision came together in the kitchen of Arnold Burkhart, a Ball State University professor, and formed what is now known as the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. In this group were many that have continued to hold office and be leaders in this movement. Present at this event were Arnold Burkart, Norman Goldberg, Joachim Matthesius, Elizabeth Nichols, Jacobeth Postl, Wilma Salzman, Jacques Schneider, and William Wakeland. Photo of William Wakeland
William Wakeland played a unique role in the early days of Orff Schulwerk in the United States. Unlike other founders who were involved in elementary music education or teacher preparation, Wakeland joined the Orff movement through a different avenue. Wakeland, a choral music educator, was hired by Ball State University in the spring of 1964 for the 1964-65 school year. Ball State University had pioneered a two-week workshop on Orff Schulwerk in the summer 1963, administered by Candace Ramsey, an elementary music teacher at the university sponsored Burris Laboratory School.*
The first Ball State University course found success and was taught by an instructor from the Salzburg Orff Institute, Lotte Flach. Following the first workshop, Ramsey left Muncie to be married leaving the fledgling program and newly purchased instruments. A Ball State faculty member, Ken Robinson, took over the course for one year before moving to another institution. Wakeland was then asked to take on the administration of the Orff workshop beginning in the summer of 1965. Knowing that this program would be his responsibility, Wakeland participated as an observer in the second Ball State course in 1964. Robert Hargreaves, Chair of the Ball State School of Music, asked Wakeland for ideas of how to make the program more successful. Although an outsider to Orff Schulwerk, Wakeland had a pragmatic sense of what would help the course move forward. In the fall of 1964 Wakeland suggested that Ball State offer multiple levels of training in order to strengthen both the financial feasibility and pedagogical sequence since they were bringing in international teachers from the newly formed Orff Institute. In the summer of 1965 Ball State offered three levels of training over a four-week period. Orff Workshop I was held for the first two weeks, followed by Orff Workshop II in weeks three and four. During all four weeks a more advanced seminar was also offered entitled, Applications of Orff-Schulwerk in American Schools.
Wakeland also suggested that a demonstration class with children be incorporated into the training. The advanced seminar students participated with the children while working on practical applications in the classroom. While Wakeland did not serve as a teacher in the course, under his administration the Ball State program grew to a total of 143 registrations in one summer at its peak.
Arnold Burkart joined the Ball State faculty in 1967 and became part of the summer Orff workshop, although Wakeland maintained the role of administrator of the program for several more years. This collaboration began a lifelong friendship between Wakeland and Burkart. Although Wakeland did not continue to be involved in Orff Schulwerk, his vision and stable leadership strengthened the Ball State summer workshop and contributed to the founding of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association in Muncie, Indiana in 1968 and first convention/convocation in 1969.
In addition to nine years with the Ball State Orff Schulwerk program, Wakeland maintained an active schedule as a choral musician throughout his 28-year tenure as a Ball State professor of music education. He taught high school choral music in the Burris Laboratory School for all but one of those years. Since his retirement in 1992, Wakeland has remained active as the choral and handbell director at Hazelwood Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), where his wife, Ruth, served as organist for forty years. He also served as the assistant director of both the Muncie Masterworks Chorale and the Anderson University Symphonic Choir.**
* Ball State was one of only two advertised summer courses in the United States in 1963. Analysis of Music Educator’s Journals, 1956-1981, by the author. This is supported by recollection and archival documents from Arnold Burkart, interview 2-22-2010.
** Interviews with William Wakeland, 8-10-08, 9 -29-08, and 1-25-10, notes held by the author.
Arnold E. Burkart, “The American Orff-Schulwerk Association: The First Five Years,” American Orff-Schulwerk Association Supplement No. 2 (1973).
Arnold E. Burkart, personal interviews (August 10, 2008, January 28, 2010, February 12, 2010 and February 22, 2010), transcripts and/or notes held by the author.
Music Educator’s Journal, (all issues 1962-1965).
Patricia Osterby, “Orff Schulwerk in North America, 1955-1969” (EdD diss., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988).
William Wakeland, personal interviews (August 10, 2008, September 29, 2008, and January 25, 2010), transcripts held by the author.
*Joani Somppi Brandon is an associate professor of music education at Anderson University where she serves as the Orff Schulwerk Certification course administrator. Joani earned her Master of Music Education degree from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana and is currently a doctoral candidate at Boston University.
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Reba will serve up something #StrongerThanTheTruth on Monday
ABC/Image Group LALast fall, Reba McEntire revealed she’d been back in the studio working on a new record, calling it “probably the most country album I’ve ever recorded.” Now, it likely won’t be long before we get to hear exactly what she’s been up to.
“What’s #StrongerThanTheTruth?” the Country Music Hall of Famer asked on her socials on Friday. “I’ll let you know on Monday,” she teased.
We do know Reba went into the studio with producer Buddy Cannon last year, who’s known for his recent work with Kenny Chesney, Willie Nelson, and Alison Krauss.
Reba’s next effort is the follow-up to her Grammy-winning 2017 gospel album, Sing It Now: Songs of Faith & Hope. It’ll be her first country record since 2015’s Love Somebody.
By ABC News|2019-02-09T11:50:15-05:00February 9th, 2019|Music News|Comments Off on Reba will serve up something #StrongerThanTheTruth on Monday
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Victories gone, but not Forgotten
Prior to the release of the eleventh installment in his Canadian Battle Series, Forgotten Victory: First Canadian Army and the Winter Campaigns of 1944-1945 (Douglas & McIntyre $37.95), Canada’s pre-eminent World War II historian Mark Zuehlke of Victoria is keenly aware of the centennial of World War I this year—and the flurry of new B.C. books to mark the occasion.
In an age when creative non-fiction is chic, Mark Zuehlke excels at old-fashioned research.
Here Mark Zuehlke connects the two wars, talks about his upcoming book Forgotten Victory, and reveals B.C. war historians he admires.
BCBL: You’re known as a World War II guy….
ZUEHLKE: True. I did one book on World War I but it’s usually overlooked. It’s called Brave Battalion: The Remarkable Saga of the 16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish) in the First World War. It was published by Wiley & Sons in 2008. They didn’t do much with it. They have since sold their Canadian book list to Harper Collins (Canada), so it was been re-released only as an e-book last year.
BCBL: So why not more on World War I?
ZUEHLKE: Well, I am interested in World War I and had discussed with Scott McIntyre and Trena White, before D&M went under, about doing a book on a very unrecognized Canadian achievement during World War I, which was the turning of the Drocourt-Queant Line in 1918. That kicked off the last 100 days of the war and led to the resultant victory.
It’s my contention that the performance by the Canadian Corps during this period broke the German defensive line and brought about the speedy collapse that ended in the German surrender and the armistice of November 11, 1918. I thought this a somewhat unique insight but I see now that Jack Granatstein is coming out with a book this fall that has pretty much the same thematic thread and conclusion.
BCBL: So how long can you continue to concentrate on World War II?
ZUEHLKE: I don’t see myself writing about World War I for another twenty years! I got into the Canadian Battle Series because I identified many campaigns and battles that our army fought in World War II that were overlooked or poorly remembered in the literature that existed. It all started with Ortona and that led to me to doing the trilogy on Canadians in Italy—the so-called D-Day Dodgers after June 6, 1944.
Then, to my surprise, I saw that D-Day itself hadn’t really been written about that much at the time. So I did JunoBeach. Then Holding Juno, because that was supposed to have been part of Juno Beach but there wasn’t enough space in one book for June 6 and the following six days. I’ve been chasing down forgotten campaigns and battles since.
There have been several books on JunoBeach, and, of course, Dieppe, including my own Tragedy at Dieppe, but largely the rest of Canada’s battles and campaigns keep getting relegated to overview books.
BCBL: So what’s the individual battle covered in Forgotten Victory?
ZUEHLKE: The First Canadian Army in the Rhineland Campaign of Feb-Mar 1945 destroyed the last elite and/or credible German divisions facing the western Allies and so paved the way for the rapid advance into Germany that followed and the end of the war in less than two months.
BCBL: What are some books by other B.C. war historians that you admire?
ZUEHLKE: Definitely Peter Stursberg and his The Sound of War. And Jack Hodgins’ The Broken Ground is arguably the best work of fiction about World War I produced by a British Columbia author. Dr. Reginald Roy of UVic is a veteran of World War II and he wrote three histories of BC regiments: The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, 1919-1965, Ready for the Fray: The History of the Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s), 1920 to 1955, and Sinews of Steel: The History of the British Columbia Regiment. In my estimation these are the finest Canadian regimental histories to be found because they were meticulously researched, especially involving correspondence and interviews with veterans, and then ably written in a fairly popular versus academic style. His 1944: Canadians in the Normandy Campaign was also quite good.
Maple Ridge illustrator Michael Wyatt did good work on the illustrations for Canada at War: A Graphic History of World War Two, although the book suffered from a stiff and somewhat disjointed text by Paul Keery. Finally The Book of War Letters: Two Centuries of Private Canadian Correspondence by Paul and Audrey Grescoe provides a different perspective and I was happy to contribute some letters from my files.
BCBL: Surely there are important connections to be made between one war and the other.
ZUEHLKE: There is no question that the peace agreement that ended World War I rendered World War II inevitable. But, of course, our politicians of the day failed to recognize this to be the case. So, in most of the democracies, including Canada, we stripped the military back to the bones and then were left scrambling to mobilize a viable military response in 1939. As Peter, Paul & Mary sang—but with an entirely different intention—“When will they ever learn?” Especially as the Conservative government today is merrily stripping back the military even as potential flashpoints, particularly the Ukraine, are occurring around the world.
Mark Zuehlke’s new book Forgotten Victory: First Canadian Army and the Cruel Winter of 1944-45 will be released in October 2014. The following is a summary of the book from publisher, Douglas & McIntyre:
“During the winter of 1944–45, the western Allies desperately sought a strategy that would lead to Germany’s quick defeat. From the Swiss border to the North Sea, hundreds of thousands of soldiers in trenches and dugouts suffered through the bitterest European winter in fifty years, while their generals debated and schemed in the war rooms. In this grim environment, the troops of First Canadian Army engaged in deadly patrols behind the German lines and fought short, sharp, often costly skirmishes to gain control of small patches of contested ground.
After much rancorous debate, the Allied high command decided that First Canadian Army would launch the pivotal offensive to win the war—an attack against the Rhineland, an area of Germany on the west bank of the Rhine. Winning this land would give them a launching point for crossing the river and driving into Germany’s heartland. This was considered the road to victory.
Before the Allies could strike, however, Hitler launched a massive December offensive towards Antwerp, which erupted into the Battle of the Bulge. By the time the Germans were driven back to their start lines, the first thaws had begun. Previously frozen ground, ideal for mobile warfare, had turned to quagmire. Anticipating the Allied attack, the Germans broke dams and dykes to inundate great swaths of the Rhine’s floodplain. Thousands of troops were deployed behind heavily fortified defensive lines and inside the cover of dense forests, such as the sprawling Reichswald.
On February 8, 1945, First Canadian Army launched Operation Veritable. Advancing on the heels of the greatest artillery bombardment yet fired by the western Allies, thousands of Canadian and British troops advanced into an inferno of battle. Under orders to surrender not an inch of German soil, elite paratroop divisions resisted fanatically. With tanks miring in the endless seas of mud, infantrymen were forced to fight relentlessly, alone and often at close quarters, for thirty-eight gruelling and costly days.
For the Canadians who fought there, the names of battlegrounds such as Moyland Wood and the Hochwald Gap would forever call up memories of uncommon heroism, endurance and tragic sacrifice. Their story is one largely lost to the common national history of World War II. Forgotten Victory gives this important legacy back to Canadians.”
[photo by Laura Sawchuk]
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A Discussion with Mark Ogland-Hand, Habitat for Humanity of Kent County, Michigan
With: Mark Ogland-Hand Berkley Center Profile
Background: This discussion took place on November 14, 2012 between Mark Ogland-Hand, Katherine Marshall, Michael Bodakowski, and Ariel Gleicher via conference call, as part of a joint effort between Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) and the World Faiths Development Dialogue. It forms part of a year-long evaluation of the HFHI Interfaith Toolkit Pilot Project—a guide for HFHI affiliates to implement interfaith approaches through organizational strategy and outreach. Tom Jones, ambassador-at-large and senior leadership team member of HFHI, spearheaded the initiative following a 2008 workshop on faith and shelter at Georgetown University. In this interview, Mark Ogland-Hand discusses his background and experience as the faith relations director at Habitat for Humanity of Kent County, Michigan. He emphasizes the relatively small size of his affiliate’s community compared to others in the pilot project; it is, however, representative of many U.S. Habitat affiliates. Ogland-Hand discusses the unique sociopolitical dynamics of his state, with lost manufacturing jobs and the foreclosure of many homes after the housing bubble collapsed in 2008. He highlights the faith dynamics of Kent County; though still largely Christian, it is increasingly diverse. He sees a real need for greater interfaith understanding. Grand Rapids mayor George Heartwell, he underlined, declared 2012 the “Year of Interfaith Dialogue,” and that has served as a motivation for his affiliate’s emphasis on interfaith engagement. Ogland-Hand cited as his goal for the pilot project to establish a sustainable interfaith engagement model to help low-income families and those in need, one that would outlive his leadership.
How did you become involved with this Habitat for Humanity chapter?
After graduating from Point Loma College in San Diego in 1983, I moved up to Los Angeles to do a master’s degree at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena. I started working in the church, but soon found I did not want to work in a church for my career. At about that time (the mid- to late 1980s), a representative of World Vision came to our church on behalf of Habitat for Humanity and recruited us to go work in the south. Our church took a team down into the Delta region of Mississippi, and we built a Habitat house as part of this effort.
I loved that experience, and when I returned to California I became a board member for a start-up Habitat affiliate called San Garbriel Valley Habitat for Humanity. At the time, I was working for Fuller Seminary as a fundraiser and traveled the West Coast raising money for the school. Then, about 15 years ago, I moved to the Midwest and returned to the family business, becoming a contractor. All along in that process I volunteered with and/or donated to Habitat. Then a friend of mine became the executive director at the local Habitat and asked me to apply for the job of faith relations director, which combined my faith background with my fundraising experience.
What is the size of your Habitat affiliate?
We have a full-time staff of 31 and almost as many part-time employees. This includes our resource development team, volunteer services, donations of building materials, finance and administration, family services, construction, YouthBuild, and ReStore.
What indicators would you use to measure your chapter’s capacity?
We are a relatively strong affiliate considering the size of our metropolitan area. Looking at our housing output, we are on track to build about 25 homes this year, as well as 35 "A Brush with Kindness" projects, and 10 critical repairs. We operate two ReStores, and over 8,000 volunteers gave their services to us last year. In 2013 it will be our thirtieth anniversary, and in that time we will have built approximately 335 homes. In 2007, the affiliate committed itself to building all LEED-certified houses (new or rehabilitated), and this year we will celebrate our one hundredth LEED house. And finally, by 2014 we should become the first Michigan affiliate to hit the $1 million mark in total tithe given to International.
What is the physical jurisdiction of your chapter?
We are located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and service the Kent County area, which is in the western part of the state. The county is the fourth largest population area of Michigan and covers 864 square miles. The bulk of our building though, takes place in Grand Rapids (Michigan’s second largest city) and specifically in the southeast and southwest quadrants of the city.
What are the main issues around housing in your city or county? What are the main obstacles that you as an institution are focusing on as the problem?
We have a lot of vacant homes that are bank- or government-owned. And while this presents opportunity on the one hand, it also exacerbates the lack of available affordable housing units. The more houses owned by the bank or government translates to a smaller housing stock available. Locally, this is the result of a perfect storm—the loss of manufacturing jobs (and income) and the foreclosure crises (which in the neighborhoods this affiliate works was caused by both income flight and predatory lending practices). It is a perfect storm in that it is both a supply and demand problem.
Our affiliate is a member of an area-wide coalition created by our mayor, which aims to end homelessness. The project included a study about where our homeless are coming from and why they become homeless. Out of this study came a report that I share with anyone who will talk with me or meet with me and which also goes into many of our brochures. It uncovered a distinct lack of affordable housing. Across the different low-income spectrums, we have several thousand families that are living doubled up just to get by. That means that they are living with other families in the same home. As a result, the coalition has made one of its goals the re-education of the public as to the true meaning of homelessness—including this silent class of families that are living in a relative’s basements or garages.
In your territory what is roughly the demographic breakdown of the faith groups?
The countywide population is about 650,000 people. The city of Grand Rapids is just over 200,000.
It is a politically conservative area that is also highly religious. Religious service attendance typically trends 15 to 25 percent higher than national averages depending on the study. It is a community in transition, especially from a cultural or ethnic perspective. For many years, 20 percent of our urban population was African American. Within the last 10 years that has quickly changed so that we now have a very strong Latino and immigrant population, and some white flight into the suburbs. Currently, in the city of Grand Rapids, the Latino/Hispanic population is estimated at about 20 percent, with African American at 19 percent, and Caucasian at 57 percent. Another element that really shocked everyone in the results of the last census is that the fastest growing religion in the area is Islam, which grew 18 percent in the past 10 years.
The result of this transition is a faith landscape that is still predominately Christian, with a stable Jewish population (three congregations represented locally), a growing Hindu population (one congregation locally), a new Sikh population (one congregation), and a fast-growing Muslim community (five congregations within the last 12 years). It is also a faith community that shows the results of different types of immigration—both highly educated and highly skilled researchers and engineers and low-income refugees. So our faith demographic contains a lot of the nuances of the countries and faiths from which the new residents originate—as has always been the case.
We recently transitioned economically as well. The area is big into manufacturing. We lost a lot of jobs about five to six years ago, but we have gained back a lot recently as our many of our businesses have shifted to more technical manufacturing in health and science fields. The economy is doing quite well for those who do have jobs. We also have three substantial publishers in the town of scholarly evangelical books. A lot of evangelical media is produced here, including video, music, and print material.
Do you know where each demographic group originates from outside of the United States?
Our foreign-born population is broken down as follows: 60 percent come from Latin America (mostly Mexico), 16 percent from Europe (think Serbia, not Belgium), 1 percent Asia (think central and south Asia), and 9 percent from Africa and the Mideast.
A Brookings Institute Study found that Grand Rapids’ Latino population tripled between 1990 and 2000. It is estimated that as in more than one-third of Midwestern U.S. counties, Kent County, Michigan would have a negative growth rate if it weren't for immigration.
Thus far have you witnessed any tensions between faith groups in the efforts to bring faith to action?
I have certainly encountered Christians who do not understand or see the need for interfaith efforts. I think many people still think of their community as being as it was 20 or 30 years ago. However, when it gets down to it—concerning interfaith work—I think that it goes back to their fear that interfaith is some sort of syncretistic effort to water down their faith. That seems to be the predominate tension or concern. And to be completely honest, the most tension on the job site was the tension I brought to it by being overly concerned in my desire for there not to be any tension! A wide variety of cultural, economic, and faith backgrounds came together on the job site, and I spent far too much time worrying about potential problems when in the end there was none.
What did you do to get started on integrating interfaith into Habitat’s work?
About a year and a half ago our mayor, who was a founding member of this Habitat [affiliate] 30 years ago, declared that 2012 would be our “Year of Interfaith Dialogue.” This was in response to an initiative put out by President [Barack] Obama at the national level. The mayor really did an outstanding job of challenging the local educational institutions, cultural centers, and social service organizations like Habitat to develop some way of participating in an interfaith endeavor.
We decided that to get involved, we would open up one of our job sites to have an interfaith build. We first wanted to allay the fears in more conservative circles that the word “interfaith” aims to be some kind of syncretism, or blending of faiths. I wanted everyone to know that our goal was to create an environment where people of different faiths can build and serve together.
The first plan of action was to create a symposium and invite the community. We called it the “Interfaith Lunch Forum.” At the forum we had a Hindu person, Muslim person, Jewish person, and Christian person explain what their faith requires of them in terms of issues of poverty. This was the first time community-wide that poverty had been discussed in an interfaith context. There have been many cultural events. For instance the symphony did a piece on the reconciliation after the Holocaust. Different theater groups have performed plays on faith issues; and musicians have come from all over the world to perform. However, none of these have ever focused on or discussed poverty, so we wanted to fill that gap. Our luncheon had four studious and scholarly people describe to the community what their faith required of them in serving the poor. It was very well attended.
We used that as a springboard and emphasized that all faiths require that their followers care for and help those who are less fortunate. With this in mind, we are opening up our job sites to people of different faiths to work on a house for a family in need. We had a full weekend—Friday, Saturday, Sunday. We wanted to be sure that the schedule was arranged so that people could work around their holy days. In the end Saturday was the most attended day and Sunday was the least attended. We had a good time and a well-attended work schedule.
Why did you decide to take part specifically in the Interfaith Toolkit Project, and what are you hoping for as a result?
There are several reasons. The toolkit builds upon some work we have already started.
When we heard about the pilot we thought it would be a fun way to do more and to be sure that we were doing it “right.”
Next, I have friends at Habitat International, and I heard about this project, and I said, “You need a place like Habitat Kent County," because we are more reflective of the 1,100 Habitat affiliates that are scattered across the country. If it can work in Kent County it should be able to be work in most midsize cities. And in a worst-case scenario, I was hoping that even if we were unsuccessful in getting an interfaith program off the ground we would at least learn enough to better conduct our work in a multifaith environment. I have noticed that more and more of the families we serve are foreign-born, and many of these are of non-Christian faiths. And I’ve never felt as if we have really thought through this aspect to our work. So I had a secondary goal for the project, and that was to become better equipped to serve our families from other faiths. And that is another aspect to the toolkit that needs to be looked at. Even if an affiliate is from a small area where there might not be enough representatives from other faiths to pull off a big joint building effort, I would imagine all affiliates will be encountering interfaith issues in one way or another.
To me one of the most appealing aspects of Habitat is that it gives us the ability to work with people who we might not otherwise be able to socialize or associate with in such a casual setting. This is sometimes due to socioeconomic disparity or educational differences or skill differences. Habitat is a place where we have had reconciliation builds where predominantly white and African American churches get together and build houses. It is a place that opens its doors to anyone who is willing to do something good for low-income folks. Habitat creates the foundation for an environment where a wide variety of people can be found on a job site.
The pilot program offers an avenue for people from a variety of backgrounds—in this case faith traditions—to get together and do something that is contrary to the popular idea that faiths cannot get along. It enables people actually to do something together in the name of helping low-income families. It’s very encouraging and enjoyable work. It is a new highlight of my time with Habitat.
What will the initiative look like in a practical sense?
It seems that affiliates with larger and more diverse populations have a goal of getting to a place where they can build a whole interfaith house together. My goal right now is in the educational element. I want to create an environment where, twice a year, we can devote a weekend to a Habitat interfaith build. The rest of the time, I want to create a revolving committee comprised of representatives from a variety of faiths whose responsibility is to advocate on issues of poverty and shelter in their home congregation. As our population grows and becomes more diverse, this will be the springboard for eventually having a typical joint sponsored build.
When you have your interfaith build, how do you mobilize the different constituencies that come together?
I relied heavily on the fact that there was already work done to fulfill the mayor’s proclamation of this being the year of interfaith understanding. There is a whole organizational structure in place for his initiative, so I tapped into that existing framework. Habitat is also a member of the mayor’s Interfaith Community Council, which includes other social service folks like the public library or the symphony. The council includes any non-religious and non-educational organizations in the community. I meet monthly in the council meetings with representatives of different faiths and congregations. Meeting with them allows me to develop a network of friends and people who I can really count on. They opened all of their doors to work with us on this project.
The other way that I identified people, (and this might be more appropriate for those working in communities where there is not already a strong interfaith dialogue) is to talk to the families that the affiliate already serves. My guess would be that in any metropolitan area, there will be an immigrant population served by that local Habitat affiliate. Encouraging Habitat home buyers to bring out their friends from their faith tradition (and creating a safe environment for them to do so) is a great way to engage their congregations and communities.
What is the focus of your chapter’s advocacy work?
Every state has a Habitat state support organization, which is centrally located, and their job is to support the different affiliates. They are in our state capital, and we rely on them to keep their ear to the political issues going on related to housing. Then, when necessary, we get our membership involved to take a stand.
Many of our advocacy issues have been related to property tax issues, or tax issues for non-profits, since we hold a lot of properties. We are not really as fully developed as a lot of the other affiliates in terms of advocacy. A lot of that is due to being in the state of Michigan and the fact that we are still dealing with the results of the foreclosure crisis and losing so many manufacturing jobs.
Wherever I go and whatever I produce with media, I try to present the problem, then present the program that we offer to remedy the situation, and then invite people to participate. All of our advocacy is centered around showing the need for affordable housing. We also use education as a primary form of advocacy. The mayor’s homelessness study looked at folks’ hourly wage and the accessibility of affordable housing. For instance, if you are making $15 per hour at an entry-level manufacturing, or if you are not spending more than 30 percent of your income on housing, how many units are out there in the city that this person can afford? The study was a very empirical approach. It goes all the way up and down, from minimum wage to the area’s median income. This is an example of how we take an empirical approach of what the facts are and what we need to do to improve the situation.
At this early stage of the pilot project implementation, what has been the role of the interfaith toolkit provided to you?
The toolkit has been a fabulous resource. Interestingly, the side bars of the document—the warnings, advice, and examples—are my favorite part. Another interesting thing about the toolkit is that it gave me confidence (or I should say just enough confidence) to make the effort to engage non-Christian (often foreign-born) congregations. It has helped me avoid mistakes, but the confidence is the key. I didn’t feel like I was on a cold call when I met with folks quite different from myself.
If you were asked now how someone could evaluate whether you’ve been successful come July, what would be a reasonable way to measure and make that judgment?
I think that the most important element would to have a revolving, functioning, motivated steering committee that is educating people on interfaith issues as well as poverty. I can open up a job site anytime, but if I can get to that place where there is a program in place for the steering committee to educate themselves on issues of faith and poverty then I think it would be a success.
I also think that success would be that we have a program in place that is going to be sustainable: a program that gets people into an interfaith context where they can work together and break down barriers, and at the same time do something for poor people. I do not know how you would quantify that other than by the number of people involved in building and developing relationships. Personally, I am not as interested in quantifying the results, as being sure that it is able to be replicated and has that built into its structure. My goal is for the program to be something that community members want to do and want to pass on to others who are also eager to get involved. It should not be reliant on my energy. I don’t know how to quantify that, but I know it when I see it.
Related Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue
Related North America
Habitat for Humanity Interfaith Pilot Project
Practitioners and Faith-Inspired Development Interview Series
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Posted on April 6, 2015 June 14, 2016
Sidney Lumet, purveyor of truth
(on actors): “I understand what they’re going through. The self-exposure, which is at the heart of all their work, is done using their own body. It’s their sexuality, their strength or weakness, their fear. And that’s extremely painful. And when they’re not doing it in their performance, they pull back.”
He made movies about people and the dilemmas they face on a daily basis. I’d argue whether there was anyone else who could, through his/her camera, get to the core of human behavior as could Sidney Lumet. An actor’s director with a unique sensitivity for finding the soul of a character.
“He manages to get inside the consciousness of each actor and to become a personal confidant.” – Ozzie Davis
Sidney Lumet began his directorial career on live television and the stage and that fact affected how he directed his feature films. His was a unique visual style that proved effective for getting to the heart of the matter. He was noted by Turner Classic Movies for his “strong direction of actors”, “vigorous storytelling” and the “social realism” in his best work. In other words, films that are right up my alley.
With over 50 films to his credit, The Encyclopedia of Hollywood states that Sidney Lumet was one of the most prolific directors of the modern era, making more than one movie per year on average since his directorial debut in 1957 with what turned out to be one of the best films ever made, 12 Angry Men. Lumet was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for that first film, then again for Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982). He never won an individual Academy Award, but he did receive an honorary Oscar for his life’s work in 1985. Lumet was a workaholic whose work is both intellectual and visceral. He remains one of my favorite filmmakers and must be listed among the greatest ever. He passed four years ago this week on April 9, 2011 and I post this in remembrance.
As I watch my favorite Sidney Lumet films, the ones I mention in this post, it occurs to me they always deal with justice in one way or another. I can’t say whether he chose to make films that have messages, but all of his films have messages. Serious messages that make one think. His films are films of integrity – in front and behind the camera. How he filmed his movies always enhance the drama, deepened the characters and sometimes created both. It never fails to amaze me how I often feel a part of Lumet films, a conspirator in his stories. I am never just an observer. His style just resonates with me, draws me in as if we have the same sensibilities. But it’s not me. His sensibilities are all of ours.
“While the goal of all movies is to entertain, the kind of film is which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing.”
My favorite Lumet films
12 Angry Men should not be as compelling as it is, given the entire story takes place in one room. Having been advised against making such a film, Lumet always attributed the fact that he made the film to the stupidity of youth, but always maintained he never thought of it as a problem. As long as he could make the camera work as part of the drama the story would unfold effectively. And does it ever. In truth. For in confinement, for all intents and purposes, in the course of ninety-six minutes we see into the soul of twelve men deciding the life of a man.
For his 1964 film, Fail Safe, Lumet recreates the cinematic style we saw in 12 Angry Men in many instances and again, creates high drama on a personal scale. Another great accomplishment given the story is both personal and grand – up close and broad. Fail Safe is a great thriller that’s still affecting today and features one of the most memorable endings in filmdom. It ends with the possibility of the scariest of truths. Then it lingers.
Featuring a dream cast, Murder on the Orient Express (1974) received six Academy Award nominations yet gets little attention or praise. This may be the film I include in this post that some may not feel is great. I do. I love it. It’s an extraordinary piece of filmmaking, given the complexity of the story, the number of characters in it and – again – the oppressive, closed-in sets Lumet excelled at. No one else could have made this film work. And Lumet said he immediately fell in love with the plot of the film, the best he’d ever read, “talk about a who done it…” I remember watching Murder on the Orient Express for the first time and being floored by that ending and Lumet said he was too when he first read the script.
Is it a coincidence Sidney Lumet was drawn to Murder on the Orient Express? You have twelve people. In essence (and fact) another jury. Another journey to truth by way of the truth. An executioner’s tale and a man who decides on another’s fate. We are, yet again, complicit in the end. Agree or disagree with Hercule Poirot, but you are left to ponder.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS cast photo
Sidney Lumet chose to direct the film that followed Orient Express because the story shocked him. Here we have a man who robs a bank in order to get a sex-change operation for his wife who happens to be a man. This was 1975 and the film, Dog day Afternoon. The director stated that he was surprised that Al Pacinostepped forward to play the main character because no other actor wanted anything to do with it. Lumet took on the controversial script, which became a highly acclaimed film, receiving six Academy Award nominations. With varying degrees of absurdity at times, Dog Day Afternoon is done with heart and truth. Love comes in all combinations and the fact that this message comes through loud and clear despite criminal mayhem and even farce, one could say, is a testament to the strength of Sidney Lumet as a storyteller.
Lumet followed Dog Day Afternoon by tackling Paddy Chayefsky‘s scathing indictment of the television industry. Another unforgettable film with wonderful performances by an extraordinary cast. It’s Network (1976) and I can’t say enough about it and again, its ending. Stunning. I’ve seen Network countless times and am affected by it in the same way time and time again. What is the order of the day? Truth. By farce. Again here we are forced to look within – a scary proposition. Am I complicit here too? Are my own morals and ethics questionable? Why am I enjoying staring at a human train wreck?
Network received ten Academy Award nominations.
Prince of the City, Lumet’s 1981 release was inspired by the true story of a New York cop who turns evidence against his partners in a New York Police corruption investigation. This one poses yet another judgment call on our part. Sitting on the fence is never an option in a Lumet film. The director was drawn to this story because of its complexity, stating in an interview he’d never read a story where no one told the truth. No one could be trusted. In this case, not the government, not the individual characters whether they be friend or foe. It’s a tangled web and Lumet made it compelling from beginning to end. The truth hurts.
Lumet’s next film is about justice. How strange. This one, a personal journey, one of redemption, which stars Paul Newman who delivers a tour de force as Frank Galvin, the attorney on the slide who takes on a big malpractice case. I dedicated another post to The Verdict and you can take a look at it here, if interested. That’s all I’ll say here – another truthful, Lumet gem.
Sidney Lumet made a few “lesser” films that are worthy of watching and I want to give two of them a mention. The first, a rare comedy by the director who usually made gritty stories, from 1984, Garbo Talks starring Anne Bancroft and Ron Silver. Here, Bancroft plays Estelle Rolfe, a dying woman whose son tries to fulfill her last wish, which is to meet Greta Garbo. The other is the 1988 drama, Running on Empty, which is about a family on the run whose eldest son comes of age and wants to live a normal life on his own. Running on Empty stars Christine Lahti, River Phoenix and Judd Hirsch. Not surprisingly, both of these films are moving and feature great acting.
For his last film, Sidney Lumet returned to top-notch form. Hailed as one of his best films since “Prince of the City,” Lumet was again the recipient of high praise from critics who had previous written off his career as a result of Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007). This is a complicated film in story and in its telling, its issues and its characters. Lumet never did easy. The story depicted here is a crime noir about two brothers who plan to rob their parent’s jewelry store, only to have the seemingly perfect crime go awry and forever damage their family. The film features a stellar cast who give superb performances.
Told in time-bending fashion, Before the Devil is a film made by a man in his eighties that has the eye and nuance of a much younger man and Lumet pulls no punches with this supremely disturbing movie. Sometimes in truth we lose our souls. For more of my views and specifics on this film, check out this post.
I love watching interviews of Sidney Lumet where his commentary on film and characterization is matter-of-fact, a common sense approach to life, which simply stated, is complicated. Life rarely offers a clear right or wrong and neither do Sidney Lumet films. No one else did that like him. He was a purveyor of truth.
“I haven’t the foggiest idea how I want to be remembered. People who even think about that get into trouble. If you live your life based on that it’s as though you’re already dead.”
This was originally published in 2011 on Citizen Screenings, but since that blog is undergoing a reinvention of sorts I didn’t want to lose this tribute to one of my favorite director – a classic worthy of admiration.
Posted in Classic Movies, Contemporary MoviesTagged Sidney Lumet
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alexraphael says:
A fantastic post. Some incredible films.
Sean Gallagher says:
Very nice post, and you cover most of my favorite Lumet films (though I have to admit, I’m not a big fan of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS; I would have substituted THE OFFENCE or SERPICO instead). One nit-pick; Lumet didn’t win his honorary Oscar until 2005.
Jim K. says:
A week or so ago, I had a sudden craving to watch “Prince of the City” for the hundredth time. It’s an endlessly fascinating, moving and disturbing film. In short, a classic! Regarding “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”: In the DVD bonus features, Ethan Hawke says, “Yes, it’s melodrama; but melodrama is just life turned up to 11.” An apt description of many of Lumet’s films.
Aurora says:
I have to re-watch Prince of the City soon. And you’re right, Hawke’s statement does fit quite of few of Lumet’s films. I am endlessly fascinated by them all. What an eye for people he had!
Thanks for stopping in!
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“Lux Girls are Daintier!” says #BarbaraStanwyck in this vintage ad
Mary Philbin #botd in 1902, pictured c. 1920
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Smithsonian To Open The National Museum Of African American History & Culture In Washington
3 Posted by storyteller - July 15, 2017 - LATEST POSTS
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Smithsonian Institution will open the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Sept. 24 in Washington.
Smithsonian chief spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas said Monday that President Barack Obama, the first black U.S. president, will lead the dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony.
St. Thomas says a weeklong celebration will follow, including an outdoor festival and a period in which the museum on the National Mall will be open for 24 consecutive hours.
The museum has built a collection of 11 exhibits to trace the history of slavery, segregation, civil rights and African-Americans’ achievements in the arts, entertainment, sports, the military and the wider culture.
Artifacts on loan from other institutions will also be on display, such as two documents signed by President Abraham Lincoln: the 13th Amendment and the Emancipation Proclamation.
article found @http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/dc/2016/02/01/smithsonian-opening-african-american-history-museum-sept-24/79671672/
Associated Press, AP
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Daniel, Henrik Sedin to Retire from NHL After 18 Seasons with Canucks
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTTwitter LogoFeatured ColumnistApril 2, 2018
Stacy Bengs/Associated Press
Vancouver Canucks stars Daniel and Henrik Sedin announced in a letter to Canucks fans on NHL.com on Monday that they would be retiring following the 2017-18 season.
Below is an excerpt from that letter:
"We started the year with the mindset that a decision would be made in the postseason. But it became clear, after discussions with our families throughout the year, that this will be our last season. This feels right for all of us.
"Being part of the Canucks family for 18 seasons has been the best period of our lives. But it's time to focus on our families and life after hockey. It's time to help with homework every night. It's time to be at every birthday party and to stand in the cold at every hockey rink, soccer game and riding lesson on weekends. It's time to be at home for dinner every night.
"We're saying it now because we want to share these final three games with you. We also want to share these games with our families, friends, teammates, coaches, trainers, staff and everyone at the Canucks who have supported us. You've all been with us every step of the way, and we want to thank you."
The Canucks' playoff hopes ended March 14 with a loss to the Anaheim Ducks. The team is sitting at just 69 points, second-worst in the Western Conference. It will be the organization's third straight season without a postseason berth after it reached the playoffs in 11 of the 14 prior campaigns.
That string of consistency was due in large part to the 37-year-old twins, who formed one of the NHL's most fearsome top lines in their primes. Daniel, the younger brother by six minutes, was the sniper, notching 20 or more goals 11 times in his career. Henrik was the playmaker, with at least 50 assists in a season eight times. He also won the 2009-10 Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP.
Henrik is sixth among active players with 1,068 points, while Daniel is seventh with 1,038 points.
The pair didn't win a Stanley Cup, as their lone Final appearance in 2011 ended with a loss to the Boston Bruins in seven games, but they did lead Sweden to an Olympic gold in the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy.
How should the Canucks utilize Thatcher Demko in 2019-20?
Brady Trettenero
via Canucksarmy
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Floating summer school sets sail for Cape Town
by DiveSSI 30th October 2015
Yesterday, 29 October 2015, the research ship Polarstern left its home port of Bremerhaven with 32 students from 19 countries. It will sail to Cape Town, South Africa, and is expected there on December 1st. During the journey, the students will learn about the current methods and devices available for oceanography.
Accompanying them are nine teachers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, the Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), the Free University of Berlin and Ireland’s Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.
This is the current batch of the floating Summer School. Four hundred and seventy applications from all over the world had been received for the 32 available openings in the North-South Atlantic Transect Training Programme (NoSoAT).
After an earlier training expedition to investigate cold-water coral communities in the Atlantic with the Irish research vessel Celtic Explorer in 2014, this is the second Floating Summer School offered by the AWI, together with POGO (Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans), Japan’s Nippon Foundation and Ireland’s SMART (Strategic Marine Alliance for Research and training).
This programme also receives support from the Stiftung Mercator Foundation.
"We have students of all marine disciplines on board, from geology to atmospheric research," said Prof Dr Karen Wiltshire, Chairperson of POGO and Vice Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute. She is also one of the expedition instructors, and will be in charge of one of the five projects which the young researchers would have to complete while working in small groups.
The main focus of the voyage is the analysis of plankton communities (small algae and animals living in the water column). The expedition members will investigate how changing environmental conditions (as the ship travels from the North Atlantic through the tropics to the South Atlantic) affect plankton diversity. To do this, students will measure the basic physical, chemical and biological parameters of the ocean. For instance, they will analyse the temperature and salinity of seawater and use plankton nets to identify living organisms under a microscope. They will also explore how satellite imaging can be used to find out about species diversity in the ocean and carry out their own experiments.
"I am looking forward to setting up a working hypothesis with the students, defining the study design, conducting experiments, and testing the hypothesis in the analysis,” said Prof Dr Karin Lochte. Her project will help to familiarise the students with scientific working methods.
"We also want to stimulate interdisciplinary discussions among the young researchers. Besides the daily presentations, the Polarstern herself offers the perfect setting. We’ll be spending several weeks together on board, which will give us plenty of opportunities to develop exciting ideas for new projects and collaborations,” said the AWI director Dr Lochte. From her past experience, she had observed how expeditions can bring about numerous lasting connections.
In addition to the training, the researchers also undertake atmospheric research as the ship makes its way from Bremerhaven to Cape Town. "We’ll also be testing and calibrating sounders, which out colleagues on the subsequent expeditions to the Antarctic will use to detect schools of fish in the water column,” said Dr Rainer Knust, Scientific Coordinator of the Polarstern at the AWI.
Source: http://www.awi.de/
AWI, Cape Town, oceanography, research, sealife, summer school,
Cape Town, Capo Occidentale, Sudafrica
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The Punishment Should Fit The Crime (Essay Sample)
The Punishment Should Fit the Crime
We live in a world that is not perfect and full of sorrows. Life has its own fair share of beauty and tranquility but there are times when the challenges and circumstances are too difficult to face. People are divided into two groups: the good versus the bad people. The good ones make the most out of life and work hard to earn a living. They are self-controlled, kind and men with morals or integrity. The good people always find positivity amidst change and chaos, they always find a way to make things right and to do what is just or fair. On the other hand, the bad ones also known to be wicked or evil are the individuals who has no regard for life nor do they have the ability to show mercy and restraint. Their self-interests and wrong intentions drive other people to destruction and the grave. These bad people steal, kill and destroy so that they could get what they want in life. They get what does not belong to them through threats, force and intimidation. This then becomes a criminal offense. The bad people are now called as criminal offenders, liars, criminals, robbers, kidnappers, murderers, recidivists and immoral men and women who break the law, commit crime and feel no repentance in doing so. Every country and state provides laws and statutes that are applied by law enforcers and the legal field to subdue criminality and offenses that cause damages to others. Some people have the criminal propensity to kill and these individuals are damaged to the very core having emotional and mental illnesses that brought them to commit crimes. In the absence of any form of law or statute, there will be total chaos. The justice system works out strategies and protocols to implement the law and to protect the innocent from harm. The police force, military and the legal department work hand in hand to put an end to crime and violence. Law and order work both ways. The law then provides different forms of punishments and penalties that are right for the crime committed. It is the legal courts, judges, juries and lawyers who are in-charge of the decision making process of exacting the proper penalties are tasked with the responsibility to be careful in their resolution to avoid the incarceration of an innocent man.
The Proper Punishment for Specific Crimes
You could watch movies and films of lawyers defending the rights of the accused because even if a man has committed a crime, the Courts of Justice must ensure that the penalties to be imposed must not go beyond the offense committed. In the same way, the penalty must not also be lower than the punishment necessary for the commission of the crime. Why is this so? Because lack or exaggerated penalty meted to the individual who broke the law could amount to injustice on his part or in the part of the victims. The law and Courts are vigilant of this case and have been trained to investigate deeper into the facts of the case. As said before, it is reiterated that the law and the police must collaborate and work together for a common goal to catch the criminal, have him undergo due process of law and lock him up behind bars to keep the community in order. The government has the duty to protect the innocent at all cost with regard to the principles of human rights and life. In the absence of strong men and women who will be brave and bold enough to take a stand, no peace shall prevail.
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Xavier Dolan (born 20 March 1989, Montreal, Quebec), sometimes credited as Xavier Dolan-Tadros, is a Québécois actor and filmmaker, the son of Geneviève Dolan, a teacher, and Manuel Tadros, a Québécois actor and singer of Egyptian descent. Formerly a child actor in films such as J'en suis!, Le Marchand de sable and La Forteresse suspendue and television series such as Omertà, la loi du silence, Dolan attracted international attention when his first film as a director and screenwriter, J'ai tué ma mère, won three awards from the Director's Fortnight program at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. J'ai tué ma mère has been sold to more than 20 countries. After J'ai tué ma mère he directed his second feature film Les Amours Imaginaires (Heartbeats), which was financed privately. It follows the infatuation of two friends with the same mysterious young man. Inevitably, their friendship suffers. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard category at the 63e Festival de Cannes in May 2010, to a standing ovation, and won the top prize of the Official Competition at the Sydney Film Festival in June.
I Killed My Mother
Focusing on the relationship between Hubert Minel (Xavier Dolan), a 16-year-old Quebecois living in suburban Montreal, and his single mother Chantale (Anne Dorval), I KILLED MY MOTHER beautifully captures the anxieties of a mother-son relationship. While he gauges her with...
(2009) 100 min
Canadian Drama
"What makes it extraordinary is its depth of feeling, which Dolan's age makes...
Laurence Anyways
In the 90's, Laurence tells his girlfriend Fred that he wants to become a woman. In spite of the odds, in spite of each other, they confront the prejudices of their friends, ignore the council of their families and brave the phobias of the society they offend. For ten years,...
Laurence tells his girlfriend Fred that he wants to become a woman. For ten...
Source: Xavier Dolan on Freebase, licensed under CC-BY
Other content from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
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The Toronto Raptors use a fourth quarter comeback to beat the Indiana Pacers 99-96
The Pacers led by 10 points going into the fourth quarter before the Raptors erased that deficit in a come-from-behind victory
By Scott Rafferty
Kawhi Leonard [NBA Getty Images] https://images.performgroup.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/e7/81/kawhi-leonard-pacers-ftrjpg_w3u4ctkva3a11s2hy5o8j4nbx.jpg?t=-916642713&w=500
The Toronto Raptors used a fourth quarter comeback in which they held the Indiana Pacers to 11 points in the final frame to come away with a 99-96 victory. Toronto advances to 24-9 on the season while the Pacers drop their second game in a row to fall to 20-12.
If you missed any of the game, we had you covered with all the updates from Wednesday's contest!
Toronto Raptors vs. Indiana Pacers
Box Score | Play-by-Play
Final: Raptors 99, Pacers 96
9:57 p.m. - The Pacers don't get a final shot off and the Raptors come away with the win! They hold the Pacers to just 11 points in the fourth quarter to come away with a 99-96 victory!
9:54 p.m. - Danny Green knocks down both free throws to give them a three-point lead with 2.6 seconds to go!
9:49 p.m. - Fred VanVleet again! After a rough start to the night he's knocked down three huge 3-pointers in the fourth for the Raptors as they lead by one 26.4 seconds remaining!
9:44 p.m. - The Raptors are right back in it! A Victor Oladipo step-back jumper gives the Pacers a two-point lead after Toronto had tied things up. The score is 96-94 Indiana with 1:36 on the clock.
9:39 p.m. - Kawhi Leonard just threw down a MONSTER dunk, followed by another Fred VanVleet three to make it a 13-2 run for the Raptors. They trail 90-88 with 5:21 left in the fourth.
OH MY KAWHI! pic.twitter.com/pB2ro2BfCt
- Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) December 20, 2018
9:30 p.m. - A 6-0 Raptors run cuts the Pacers' lead to seven, 88-81, with 8:24 to go. Fred VanVleet knocked down a 3-pointer to force Indiana to take a timeout.
9:26 p.m. - The Raptors trail 88-75 with 10:06 remaining in the game. They are 0-for-3 from the field with one turnover thus far in the fourth quarter.
End of 3rd quarter: Raptors 75, Pacers 85
9:17 p.m. - The Raptors trailed by single digits with seconds remaining in the third, but they turned the ball over and fouled Bojan Bogdanovic on a jump shot on the final possession.
Now down by 10, it's going to be an interesting fourth quarter here in Toronto.
9:12 p.m. - Here come the Raptors! A 7-0 run makes it a 10 point game.
9:04 p.m. - Bojan Bogdanovic hits a 3-pointer in transition to put the Pacers up 74-58, giving them their largest lead of the game.
9:00 p.m. - Yeah ... this isn't ideal:
Raptors starting backcourt of VanVleet and Green are a combined 2-for-16 from the floor and 1-for-9 from three
Shockingly, Toronto losing
- Doug Smith: Raptors (@SmithRaps) December 20, 2018
8:58 p.m. - Another shooting foul drawn by Kawhi Leonard, this time on a dunk attempt. He's in attack mode right now.
8:55 p.m. - Kawhi Leonard is off to an aggressive start this quarter. Following a missed hook shot and a turnover, he drew shooting fouls on back-to-back offensive possessions.
Leonard, however, missed two of those four free throw attempts.
End of 2nd quarter: Raptors 50, Pacers 58
8:35 p.m. - One key stat in the first half? The Raptors are shooting 3-for-18 from 3-point range.
That's been a trend in almost all of their losses so far this season.
8:33 p.m. - Kawhi Leonard, man.
After draining a floater over two defenders, he picks Victor Oladipo's pocket and gets a dunk in transition.
No stopping that pic.twitter.com/JsfUlnq0pI
He's up to 13 points on the game, 10 coming in the second quarter. He also came up with three steals in the frame.
8:29 p.m. - Kawhi Leonard ties his season-high of five assists with 1:47 still to play in the first half.
8:26 p.m. - The Raptors got back into the game with a 10-0 run, but six quick points from Victor Oladipo has the Pacers leading 49-42 with 3:14 to go in the half.
Do the Raptors have another run in them before the quarter ends?
8:16 p.m. - Timeout Raptors with 8:19 remaining in the second.
The Pacers jumped out to a 43-28 lead following a Domantas Sabonis dunk, but an and-one from Pascal Siakam and a 3-pointer from OG Anunoby has the Raptors trailing by single digits.
8:12 p.m. - You're seeing why Domantas Sabonis is one of the leading Sixth Man of the Year candidates this season. In seven minutes off the bench, he's already totaled nine points, five rebounds and two assists.
End of 1st quarter: Raptors 24, Pacers 34
8:06 p.m. - The Raptors trail 34-24 after one.
Greg Monroe leads the way for Toronto with 10 points and five rebounds. Chris Boucher replaced him off the bench to score five points and block one shot in three minutes of action.
MOOOOOOOSE
10p - 4r pic.twitter.com/b1VQ8WXQac
It's been a balanced scoring effort for the Pacers so far, with eight players on the scoreboard.
8:01 p.m. - Norman Powell has a split lip and will return to the game, per the broadcast.
7:58 p.m. - Kawhi Leonard is off to a slow start in the scoring department with three points on 1-5 FG, but he's already dished out four assists.
Leonard's season-high? Five assists. His career-high? Seven assists.
7:55 p.m. - It looks like Norman Powell took an elbow to the face chasing Victor Oladipo around a screen. He's heading to the locker room.
7:52 p.m. - The Raptors trail 17-11 heading into the first timeout of the game.
Greg Monroe is off to a hot start with eight of Toronto's 11 points. The only other player to have scored for the Raptors is Kawhi Leonard, who has three points on 1-4 FG.
7:45 p.m. - Bad news for the Raptors: Danny Green has picked up two fouls in the first three minutes of this game. He's going to the bench.
Green started the game as the primary defender on Victor Oladipo, who is averaging 20.4 points and 5.1 assists per game this season.
Norman Powell, who is playing in his first game since Nov. 5, is now matched up with the one-time All-Star.
7:41 p.m. - In his first start of the season, Greg Monroe gets the Raptors on the scoreboard with a layup set up by Kawhi Leonard.
7:18 p.m. - Starting for the Pacers: Darren Collison, Victor Oladipo, Bojan Bogdanovic, Thaddeus Young and Myles Turner.
6:18 p.m. - Fred VanVleet, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Greg Monroe will start for the Raptors.
Tonight's starting 5. #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/05MyZW4pOR
Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas will miss the game with injuries. Norman Powell will make his return from a shoulder injury that has sidelined him since Nov. 5.
With Ibaka and Valanciunas out, Chris Boucher is expected to get some minutes tonight .
Boucher is on a two-way contract with the Raptors this season and recently set the Raptors 905 scoring record with 47 points . He was called up from the G League after Valanciunas dislocated his thumb against the Golden State Warriors on their road trip.
To learn more about Boucher, check out our fast facts on the Canadian .
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August 9, 2015 Staff
By Pastor Bryce
For me, I interpret this chapter as “Good Cop Bad Cop.” I love this chapter because it is a clear contrast of the characteristics of a wise person, as opposed to someone who is foolish. The first obvious thing that jumps out at me is, seeing as 2/3 of this chapter is about wisdom, and 1/3 is about folly, it obviously takes a lot of work to walk in the way of wisdom.
The first thing we see is “wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars.” This is symbolically saying it takes a lot of work to lay a firm foundation. The wise person takes the time for preparation of what matters. “She slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she also has set her table.” A foolish person would rather save time and energy and take what is not theirs. “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” One thing that we often times see is the “somethin for nothin” mentality and this verse touches on that. One humorous example that comes to mind for me is the age of cell phones. When I was growing up, I was not allowed to have a cell phone unless I paid for it. This meant I had to, heaven forbid, get a job at 16! So, I worked as much as I could to pay for this cell phone, along with car insurance. Times are a lot different today! At 16, I had a flip-phone that I had to work for! Today, there are middle school students that EXPECT their parents to give them an iPhone! What?? I know I showed my age with this reference; however, it’s just a small example of how the American culture has shifted from working for necessities, to demanding ______.
There are many contrasts that could be talked about between wisdom and folly, but the last one that really stuck out to me is from verse 8. “Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” A wiseman suppresses pride at all costs for the goal of gaining wisdom. For instance, if someone came up to me and said “Bryce, knock this aspect of your life off, or you’re most likely going to lose your job.” The wise person would say, “Thank you for that. I hate hearing it, but I know you’re right.” The foolish person would say, “Whatever, man! You don’t know my life or anything about me. I’m just fine the way I am.” Sadly, the way of folly always leads to destruction. In verse 18, it says, “But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.” He that follows wisdom finds life. He that follows folly finds destruction.
Categories:Back to Basics
Tags:Back to Basics, Blog, Proverbs
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How clean is your diesel van?
How clean is
your diesel van?
It’s fairly alarming news coming from the Supreme Courts this April. On the 27th, the Department for the Environment was ordered by Britain’s highest court to submit plans by the end of the year detailing exactly how it intends to tackle air pollution in its cities. The UK is already staring down the barrel of a multi million pound fine from the European Commission for failing to cut Nitrogen Dioxide levels (NO2).
So, what is the solution?
What is the cause?
According to Environmental and Motoring groups, diesel vehicles could be to blame. The solution could potentially spell the end for the diesel car. Apparently diesel trucks, vans and people carriers will be hit hardest as the Government clambers to meet its strict EU Air Quality directive of 40 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic metre which, is already 5 years behind the 2010 deadline.
In 2001, an overhaul of the vehicle excise duty resulted in vehicles that emitted more carbon dioxide paying more excise duty. With diesel engines being around 20% more efficient that petrol engines, it was no surprise that there was a large shift towards diesel resulting in 11 million diesel cars on Britain’s roads today, compared with 1.6 million 10 years ago. The major detail that seemed to be overlooked was the 7,000 deaths each year linked to the fact that diesel vehicles emit 10 times the fine particles and up to twice the nitrogen dioxide. Carbon dioxide being the cause of climate change, and with climate change high on the agenda, penalising petrol vehicles seemed to be the answer.
This has now left diesel vehicle owners feeling they’ve been duped and it also begs the question as to why it has taken the legal system and not the Environmentalists to initiate the downfall of an exhaust emission that comprises a foul mixture of gases and soots containing more than 40 contaminants. In contrast, almost no poisons at all are emitted by modern petrol engines.
What is certain is that fleet owners will be considering their next purchase with slightly more concern than before and there’ll certainly be a few used diesel bargains on the market!
Follow the link to find out more or to get a quote about our Van Insurance Policies.
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Category: 911
US to send additional $150 million to Palestine
This is extremely disturbing and needs to be spread all over the net.
From palestinenote.com:
Washington – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the press on Wednesday that the US would be sending an additional $150 million in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority.
Yea, I know where I found this story, but sometimes it is better to get it from the “horses mouth”!
Technorati Tags: terrorism, muslim, Palestinian Authority, tax payer dollars, Hilliary Clinton, State Department, Jews, Isreal, news, politics
Posted on November 15, 2010 November 15, 2010 by susanbonnerPosted in 911, Congress, Democrats, Economy, Government Spending, History, Iran, Islam, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Legislation, Middle East Blogs, News, Palestine, Taxes, Terrorist Attacks, The Left, The Middle East, The War on Terror, U.S. News and Politics, World News & PoliticsLeave a comment
‘Everybody Draw Muhammad Day’ Advocate Rattled by Death Threats
The creator of a now-defunct “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” page on Facebook fears she may be targeted for death now that the cartoonist who launched the online campaign has been placed on an execution list by a radical Yemeni-American cleric.
The 27-year-old Facebook page creator — a Canadian woman who asked not to be identified due to fears of reprisal — told FoxNews.com that she was visited at her home last week by Royal Canadian Mounted Police officials who advised her to remove her page and not to talk to reporters.This was reported on July 12th and by July 16th a new terrorist was added to a terror watch list. Now, if that helps this woman or not, I have no idea because the world is so lax when it comes to war on terror.
“I’m scared,” she said. “I’m scared that somebody might kill me.”
The woman created her version of “Everybody Draw Muhammad” in late April, days after a Seattle cartoonist launched the online campaign to protest Comedy Central’s censoring of an episode of “South Park,” in which the Prophet Muhammad was depicted wearing a bear costume. The Canadian woman said she will no longer act as the administrator of such a page.
“I just want to be quiet now,” she continued. “I wish I didn’t do this.”As part of “Inspire,” a 67-page English-language Al Qaeda magazine, Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki — who has been linked to the botched Times Square bombing and cited as inspiration for the Fort Hood massacre and the plot of two New Jersey men to kill U.S. soldiers — targeted the Seattle cartoonist for “assassination,” along with others who have participated in her campaign.
Then this happened.
WASHINGTON — The United Nations has added U.S.-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki to its terrorist list, requiring member countries to freeze his assets and ban his travel.
The action follows a similar move by the U.S. Treasury Department last week, and underscores the growing threat officials believe al-Awlaki represents as a terror recruiter and planner.
Based in Yemen, al-Awlaki has taken on a greater role with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, leading to his placement earlier this year on a secret U.S. government list of terror targets to be captured or killed, according to U.S. officials.
Technorati Tags: cartoonist, South Park, terroism, Yeman, Muhammad, news, United Nations, politics
Posted on July 22, 2010 July 22, 2010 by susanbonnerPosted in 911, Afghanistan, Canada, Coalition Against Illegal Immigration, Coalition Supporting Members, Crime, History, Illegal Immigration, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Law Enforcement, Mexico, Middle East Blogs, Military, News, Terrorist Attacks, The Media, The Middle East, The War on Terror, U.S. History, U.S. News and Politics, World News & Politics, Yemen1 Comment
No Word From American Woman Freed in Alleged Terror Plot, Mom Says
This is just “nuts”. Under the Obamanus administration we are going backwards. Yes, it’s change, back to the way our country dealt with terrorists. Back to the way that the commies tried to take over our Republic. Back to the Jimmy Carter years. Yea, it’s change alright. Now, with that said, why in all that is holy is this “nut job” free?
LEADVILLE, Colo. — A Colorado woman who says she is the mother of an American held and later released in Ireland over an alleged plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist said Sunday she does not know where her daughter or grandson may be.
Christine Mott, of Leadville, said she learned from federal law-enforcement agencies that her 31-year-old daughter, Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, had been arrested. Irish police said Saturday that they had released an American woman and three others arrested over the alleged plot to kill Vilks, who depicted the Prophet Muhammad in a 2007 sketch with the body of a dog. Police wouldn’t confirm whether those released included Paulin-Ramirez.
I have tried to find more on this story, but it is evolving so we are just going to have to keep an eye on this one, folks, for now.
Technorati Tags: terrorism, women, feminists, Leadville Colorado, news, politics, Irish polilce, Swedish cartoonist, children
Posted on March 14, 2010 March 14, 2010 by susanbonnerPosted in 2008 Elections, 911, Crime, Democrats, Europe, Islam, Law Enforcement, Military, News, Terrorist Attacks, The Media, The War on Terror, U.S. History, U.S. News and Politics, World News & PoliticsLeave a comment
Yemen crucial to Obama’s vow to defeat Al Qaeda
Bye, Bye Yeman, Bye, Bye American Aide, Hello, killing nut jobs…wait, Obama isn’t going to do that, is he?? I’m not even sure we will be cutting off aide to Yemen. How do I know we send aide to Yemen? Because we send aide to ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE!!! Read on MacBeth.
From the Christian Science Monitor:
The US embassy in Yemen has closed one day after President Obama confirmed that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the failed Christmas Day bomber of Northwest Flight 253, was trained and equipped in Yemen. The move points to the threat posed by Al Qaeda in Yemen. Already, Al Qaeda has struck the US embassy in Yemen once.
In 2008, it laid siege to the embassy, attacking it with mortars rounds and two car bombs – one detonated outside the gates and the second rammed into the embassy’s ramparts. The embassy was not breached, though 13 Yemenis and six terrorists were killed.
For Mr. Obama, though, the question of Al Qaeda in Yemen goes much deeper than Sunday’s decision to shutter the embassy temporarily. More even than Afghanistan, perhaps, Yemen goes to the core of his antiterrorism philosophy.
I give blame where blame is do in this situation. I blame everybody in the government. We have opened ourselves up to global attack by: 1)trying to spread democracy across the world and 2)being part of the UN. Now we have to deal with this situation. So, yea, Obama and his crappy administration have to pick up the sword and fight. But he will not. Oh, and besides, ya never bring a knife to a gun fight.
Technorati Tags: Obama Administration, guns, news, politics, Yemen, terrorist, Al Qaeda, U.S. embassy, Afghanistan, Somalia, ABC, Pakistan, Guantanamo, Flight 253
Posted on January 3, 2010 January 3, 2010 by susanbonnerPosted in 2008 Elections, 911, Afghanistan, Constitution, Democrats, History, Islam, Middle East Blogs, News, Republicans, Terrorist Attacks, The Middle East, The War on Terror, U.S. News and Politics, White House, World News & Politics, YemenLeave a comment
Obama’s TSA pick plans to ‘join’ security with unions
Another one of President Obama’s unholy alliances.
From World Net Daily:
President Obama’s nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration previously boasted to a major union that he looked forward to “joining” with them to add value to TSA security, WND has learned.
In Senate hearings, nominee Erroll Southers has avoided giving a “yes” or “no” answer over whether he would unionize airport security workers. Unions across the U.S., however, have been lobbying hard for Southers’ confirmation.
Critics charge unionizing airport security would impose rules on union workers that could impede national security efforts in combating terrorist threats.
Southers is assistant chief in charge of security and intelligence at the Los Angeles airport’s police department.
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C, placed a “hold” on Southers confirmation over concerns he could undermine safety by unionizing airport security.
Technorati Tags: Erroll Southers, unions, airport security, news, politics, Transportaton Security Administration, White House, Congress
Posted on December 30, 2009 December 30, 2009 by susanbonnerPosted in 2008 Elections, 911, Afghanistan, Congress, Constitution, Corruption, Democrats, Economy, Europe, History, Iraq, Islam, Law Enforcement, Legislation, Legislative Filibusters, Military, News, Republicans, Taxes, Terrorist Attacks, The ACLU, The Left, The Middle East, The War on Terror, U.S. History, U.S. News and Politics, White House, World News & PoliticsLeave a comment
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de Beaumont Foundation
Date posted: 07-09-19
The de Beaumont Foundation advances policy, builds partnerships, and strengthens public health to create communities where people can achieve their best possible health. Our work centers around three main priority areas:
Policy: We advance policies that improve community health, so that current and future generations can benefit from changes enacted by today’s leaders.
Partnerships: We build partnerships, often among unlikely allies, so that leaders can make decisions that achieve their shared goal of creating healthier communities.
People: We create practical solutions that strengthen the public health system and workforce, so that professionals are equipped to make their communities healthier.
de Beaumont strongly believes that the spirit in which we do our work is as important as the work itself. We pride ourselves on excellence, innovation, fostering collaboration between groups that might not otherwise interact, and a willingness to have fun with our work.
The Program Officer works in conjunction with other members of the programs team to develop, shape, implement and manage Foundation programs. S/he helps to ensure that the Foundation’s activities and programs align with de Beaumont’s strategic priorities. The Program Officer is responsible for creating and managing budgets for project and program expenditures. S/he is also responsible for overseeing the Foundation’s grant management system, working with other team members to ensure applications, reports, and other data are current and accurate. S/he builds relationships with strategic partners. There are ample opportunities to participate in projects with grantees, to write original reports, and lead internal Foundation activities. Opportunities exist to champion new projects and lines of work that align with the Foundation’s strategic objectives. The Program Officer reports to the Program Team Lead and supports all Foundation strategic goals.
Work with Foundation staff and outside experts to develop policy-specific program strategies, explore new areas of potential interest, and to initiate and manage special projects
Analyze conditions and trends in program areas as they relate to the Foundation’s objectives and program goals and assist in positioning the Foundation as an innovative philanthropy and leader in public health
Working closely with the Program Team Lead to ensure that all of the programmatic work is meeting internal expectations and metrics
Analyze workflow and assist in the development of strategies to make sure the Foundation is efficient and effective with respect to our grants management system
Conduct site visits as well as perform financial and critical analysis associated with grant and program management
Assist organizations in preparing proposals, review proposals within the context of the Foundation’s mission and program guidelines, and make recommendations
Prepare written descriptions of potential programs
Review and analyze grantee/program reports and work with the evaluation team to assess the program impact
Provide technical assistance to grantees and program partners as needed
Represent the Foundation at forums and meetings
Maintain and develop one’s own professional and personal skills
Five to eight years of experience developing and managing programs, preferably in a health or public policy-related area
Graduate degree in a health or policy-related field, or equivalent experience
Familiarity with public health and/or public policy is strongly preferred
Excellent communication (oral and written) and computer skills
Good judgment, attention to detail, strong organizational skills, and the ability to manage several projects at once
Experience with and familiarity with grants management systems and software
Strong decision-making and problem-solving skills that result in efficient and effective grantmaking
Excellent project management and organizational skills. Attention to detail and the ability to follow-through, including management of paper flow and time
The ability to think and act strategically and tactically
Strong interpersonal skills; able to develop productive relationships with colleagues, grantees, and others who contribute to the Foundation’s philanthropic goals
Ability to travel for site visits and national meetings
The de Beaumont team is collaborative, passionate, and deeply committed to creating bold solutions for healthier communities. This position is full-time and based in downtown Bethesda, Md, just outside of Washington, D.C.
Candidates should send cover letter, resume, and salary expectations to Catherine Patterson at patterson@debeaumont.org.
The de Beaumont Foundation is an equal opportunity employer. Employment opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as established under law.
Date posted: Jul-Tue-2019 Date posted: Jul-Tue-2019
Last week, the Washington Post reported that County Executive Marc Elrich had narrowed his choices for the next Montgomery County police chief to former Portsmouth, Virginia chief Tonya Chapman and current Takoma Park chief Antonio DeVaul. Of the two, the Post designated Chapman as the front runner. Her tenure in Portsmouth produced numerous media reports that are useful to examine in deciding whether the county should hire her.
First, let’s examine the differences between Portsmouth (located in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region) and MoCo. Portsmouth has roughly one-tenth of MoCo’s population and about half our county’s median household income. It is a majority-black jurisdiction and its Asian and Hispanic populations are small compared to MoCo’s. It has significantly higher crime rates than MoCo and more sworn police officers per capita. Despite the differences between the two, Chapman has more than 20 years of experience as a police officer in Arlington, Virginia – a jurisdiction with many demographic similarities to MoCo’s down-county region.
After her tenure in Arlington, Chapman served short stints in Richmond’s Department of Social Services and as a deputy chief in Richmond’s police department. She was named deputy secretary of public safety and homeland security in the administration of Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. Chapman was named as chief of police in Portsmouth in February 2016, the first black woman in that position in the city’s history. She would last roughly three years.
Chapman’s tenure was marked by several events that were covered by Portsmouth’s news media. They include:
In May 2016, Portsmouth police officers were accused of deleting a cell phone video of them beating a suspect. A video that was not deleted shows an officer threatening to evict a bystander and another officer yelling, “Get the f*ck back to your apartment, go!” A woman who recorded the video said, “They just cursed us out like we were dogs.” Chapman said there would be an internal investigation. When asked by press about the names of the officers in the video, Chapman said, “We will not be releasing the names of the officers involved in this incident at this time. All disciplinary matters involving any employee with the City of Portsmouth is part of their personnel file and therefore will not be released… Both officers remain on full duty.”
In October 2017, Portsmouth police officer Jeremy Durocher shot fleeing burglary suspect Deontrace Ward in the back. According to the Virginian-Pilot: “In a video recorded by Durocher's department-issued body camera, the officer yells, ‘He has a gun!’ when he first sees Ward running from the home and later tells fellow officers the teen ‘waved’ the gun at him. Police found a gun, but it was inside the bottom of Ward's right pant leg.” Chapman gave the officer a medal of valor commendation, writing, “In recognition for your heroic response… You took necessary steps to stop the threat that this suspect posed to the public and to your fellow officers at great personal risk.” A grand jury indicted the officer on two felony counts of aggravated malicious wounding and a firearms charge in November 2018. In May 2019, it was reported that Chapman intended to testify on the officer’s behalf at his trial.
In May 2018, Chapman sent an email to her officers with the subject line “Morale.” The email said:
Are you ‘just a job’ employee or a ‘Team Player’? (See attachment)
Some of you complained that morale was low before I came and I am sure you will complain that it is low when I depart. Stop blaming others and look introspectively as to why you run through so many police chiefs and employees. Some of you allow a few toxic employees to contaminate the whole environment. Check yourself, especially if you consider yourself a formal or informal leader in this organization.
Anonymous officers went to a local TV station to complain. One officer said, “We are completely unconfident that our department will have our back… Why are we going to put our lives on the line for a city that doesn’t care?”
On March 18, 2019, local media reported that Chapman had resigned. The next day the Portsmouth NAACP alleged that the resignation was forced by the city and demanded an investigation, attributing it to “systemic racism.” Chapman then confirmed that she was forced to resign. In a four-page statement to the public, Chapman said of the police department, “I have never witnessed the degree of bias and acts of systemic racism, discriminatory practices and abuse of authority in all of my almost 30 year career in law enforcement and public safety.” She described resistance by some officers, saying, “Some quite frankly did not like taking direction from an African American female. Further, I would contend that there were some politically connected individuals that never had confidence in me in the first place.” She also described in detail how the city manager told her that she must sign a resignation letter or be fired. (Both the city manager and Chapman’s successor are black women.) Finally, she took credit for decreasing crime rates in the city. (Crime rates fell in 2018 but were on the rise as Chapman was leaving.)
That was not all. Chapman also told a local TV station that the police union had plotted to get rid of her and that she had turned over evidence of racism in the police department to the FBI, which is now investigating city police. It was later reported that the president of the local police union had called Chapman’s chief of staff (who was black) a “trunk monkey.”
The city manager described her departure as “an employment issue based solely on concerns with leadership of the department” with no further elaboration, leaving Chapman’s version of events largely unchallenged. It’s apparent that Portsmouth’s police department had problems like many other departments around the country. But did Chapman help the department overcome those problems? Were tactics like her May 2018 email effective in building morale? And how will police officers in a new department, like MCPD, react to a leader who has shared derogatory information on another department she has previously led with the FBI? Finally, can Chapman provide the stability that our county’s police desperately need in the wake of a stream of bad publicity?
These are the questions that our County Council needs to ask if Elrich nominates Chapman to lead MCPD.
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← Look Who’s Reading “Cliff Walk.” It’s dancer and choreographer Paloma McGregor!
Look who’s reading “Cliff Walk” now! It’s acclaimed crime novelist Thomas Perry! →
Mulligan, Hero of My Crime Novels, Get’s Interviewed By a Music Magazine
Posted on June 27, 2012 by Bruce DeSilva
Mark Gould of Sound Waves Magazine got in touch with me the other day and said he wanted to interview Liam Mulligan, the hero of my crime novels, about his taste in music. I can’t speak for Mulligan, I told him. Why don’t you ask him yourself?
He did, and here’s the result.
By Mark T. Gould
Writer’s note: Liam Mulligan, who seriously dislikes his given first name, is the hero of two spectacular novels by Bruce DeSilva, Rogue Island, which was released two years ago, and his new one, Cliff Walk. Set in Providence, Rhode Island, they reveal the twin obsessions of Mulligan’s career and life, exposing corruption as an investigative reporter for a dying newspaper (‘ain’t they all?’ as he might observe) and blues music. DeSilva gave me the opportunity to speak with Mulligan about the influence of music in his professional and personal life.
I was running late, a bit lost, and worried that I might lose the interview, for Liam Seamus Aloysius Mulligan did not seem like a man that I should keep waiting. He probably had a deadline or two to keep, a bet to place, or a source to probe for a story.
Mulligan, as he prefers to be called, is the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for the Providence Dispatch newspaper. He is also a huge fan of the blues, and, well, since I write for a blues-based magazine, and with Rhode Island being synonymous with the blues, I thought he might make an interesting subject.
But only if I could find the damn bar where he agreed to meet me.
Truth be told, I had selected it. Hope’s, a hangout that typifies all that is good, and then some, about Providence and those who cover her beauty and blemishes, is the default last call for those on Mulligan’s beat. I knew he was a regular (hey, I do my homework), but it had been so long since I’d been to Providence that I was confused, bordering on lost.
I mean, the last time I was here the Civic Center was still called the Civic Center, and back then there were no traffic signs telling motorists how to get back onto I-95.
I finally found what looked like a bar. That had to be it. I glanced around and saw an old Ford Bronco parked near the corner. “Could this be ‘Secretariat’?,” I thought to myself. That was Mulligan’s handle for his wheels.
I slowly crossed the street and peered inside it. On the passenger seat was a dog-eared copy of Buddy Guy’s new autobiography, When I Left Home. A Tommy Castro CD sat next to it. I knew then that I had found it. Now, I needed to find him.
“You Gould?”
I spun around, startled. I was face to face with a legend, albeit one draped with a Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel tee shirt that had clearly seen better days. He had a reporter’s notebook in his right hand and somehow had gotten out of the bar with a Killian’s in left. Cigar smoke trailed around him.
“That’s me,” I said, a bit of trepidation in my voice.
“Mulligan.”
I remembered, for all his exhaustive writes of Providence’s wrongs, that he was a man of few words. I had come to try to get him to say more than a few of them.
“Thanks for agreeing to see me,” I said, extending my hand. “You want another beer.”
I followed him up the sidewalk to Hope’s, all the while trying to figure out how to break the ice.
“I’m a big blues fan, too,” I offered. “I’ve always enjoyed Buddy. His book is great.”
We walked in and sat down. He ordered another Killian’s and I got a diet soda. Much as I’d like a glass wine, maybe a few the way this was starting out, I thought I should try to keep what’s left of my wits with me.
“I know you don’t have a lot of time, but I wanted to talk to you about your…..”
“Ah, crap.”
What had I said? Then, I heard it. The unmistakable tones of the Stones’ “Bitch,” a ring tone emanating from his cell phone on the bar. He took a look at it, sighed, and picked it up. I tried not to listen, but it was difficult.
“No, I’m not out with anyone. Some magazine guy’s talking to me. Yeah, imagine me being interviewed. I have to go, Dorcas. Goodbye.”
His ex.
Mulligan put the phone back down and stared at me. I took a sip from my soda.
“Anyway,” I continued try, “I wanted to talk to you about music.”
“Shoot.”
And, for a man of few words, he was off.
Mulligan said he fell in love with the blues thanks to his father, a milkman who supported his family’s three-story walk-up in his very working-class Mount Hope section of Providence.
“My earliest memory of anything is my dad returning home from his milk delivery route, collapsing in his platform rocker, and pulling out his old Comet harmonica,” he recalled. “Later, when I was in my teens, he’d slouch in that same chair, and, although the chemotherapy had drained him, he’d manage to play along with a scratchy Muddy Waters or Son Seals LP spinning on our second-hand phonograph.
“After the cancer took him, I’d sit for hours in that squeaking rocker and do the same damned thing. No one would ever mistake either of us for Little Walter.”
It was a memory that Mulligan said he always kept close to him, and blues music, mixed with newspaper ink, became imprinted on his soul. It was also, he said, a fundamental ingredient of his community.
“The only nature Rhode Island ever had going for it was Narragansett Bay, but the sludge from the sewage pipes and textiles mills poisoned it. Then there was nothing,” he said. “The mill jobs took off for the Carolinas on their way to Latin America and South Asia, and after that our little slice of New England was a dead zone.”
He drew on his cigar, blew the smoke high above our heads, and continued.
“The only contest it could win was the race for the bottom during the hard times. Times like now. Except for the garish Newport mansions, built by robber barons who never had much use for us locals, the area has always been filled with working class people set upon by organized crime and politicians who misplaced the morals God gave them.
“The place is flooded with blue. In America, it’s either the blues or country music that talks to people like us. Country never took hold here, thank God, but we never walk past a soulful guitar or a deep-throated growl.”
He certainly had Rhode Island fit to a tee, but what was it about blues music that so attracted him? He used someone else’s words to answer the question.
“You know,” he said, “my favorite poet, Patricia Smith, who’s somehow married to our mutual friend Bruce, has a poem about John Lee Hooker that includes some lines about getting the blues.”
Then, from memory, he pulled everything we all feel about the blues together from her words.
This is easy if you are a person of any gender,
and possess a pulse, a cheating lover,
a stalking ex-lover, a used Yugo, a pumping heart,
an empty wallet, a half-dead dog, an empty refrigerator,
one last cigarette butt, a good memory, a nosy mama,
a lonely room, a quick trigger, roving eyes,
an addiction to whiskey,
nothing but the clothes on your back,
a jones for your neighbor’s wife,
a jones for your wife’s neighbor,
a positive test result,
an itching to leave,
an itching to stay,
or any itching where there shouldn’t be any.
“At one time or another, I’ve had nearly all of those things,” he said. “Hell, I’ve got most of ’em now. Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, Muddy Waters, Son Seals, and, yes, John Lee Hooker provide the soundtrack for my life.
“When I was a kid, I picked up old 1940s and 1950s blues LPs at local flea markets. I nabbed about 50 of them before people realized they were worth something, but it’s been years since I could afford any more. A couple of years ago I got one of those iPods, went a little crazy, and downloaded 7,000 songs. I downloaded most of it illegally, but you won’t tell anybody, right?”
Uh, right. Mulligan’s secret was safe with me. I really didn’t want to meet up with one of his “sources.”
“I’m all for downloading music, as long as you don’t steal it like I did,” he continued. ”Musicians should be paid for their work.
“Of course, most of the money just gets gobbled up by record companies anyway, so I’m not feeling all that guilty about it. The one drawback about digital music is that it doesn’t sound as good as vinyl played on a decent turntable. But before long, some brain at Cal Tech or some geek working out of his garage will find a way to fix that.”
I asked Mulligan if he sees any parallels in the decline of the newspaper and music industries. He pulled on his beer again, and lit another cigar. I sensed a serious pronouncement on its way. He stared out the window and then looked back at me.
“Newspapers and record labels? Both dinosaurs. I doubt either will be around much longer,” he said.
“The fall of newspapers is a national tragedy because there’s nothing on the horizon to replace the public service reporting they once did. I can’t begin tell you how bad this is for the American democracy. Record companies, on the other hand, rarely served anyone but themselves. Some of them ripped off musicians for decades. In its death throes, the industry is worse than ever.
“Today, you can’t get a record contract unless you look steamy in a music video. Would a major label sign a young Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, or Koko Taylor today? Hell, no! They’d rather sign media concoctions like Nicki Minaj and Britney Spears. Today, a lot of young musicians are bypassing labels, recording their music themselves, and finding audiences online. Good for them.
He took a deep breath. He seemed like he wanted to say still more, but I thought I would change the subject a bit. I asked him about seeing live shows over the years.
“When I was a kid, my family never had money to spend on live music,” he said. “Dad pinched pennies just to bring home an LP once in a while. I was 20 years old before I saw a live show.
“It was at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel here in Providence,” he said, fingering his teeshirt, “where Steve Parisi, a moonlighting contractor with gravel in his voice, fronted a local band that did rock covers.
“I still like Lupo’s, especially when Roomful, Tommy Castro, or Jimmy Thackery are in the house,” he added. “It’s an intimate space, which is a lot better than sitting in the nosebleed seats at the Providence Civic Center. I refuse to call the civic center by its legal name. Dunkin’ Donuts bought the naming rights.”
Ah. A man after my own heart, I thought. He ordered us another round. He seemed to be settling in.
“When I was in my 20s, I had a drinking buddy, Phil Pemberton, who spent his days painting houses and his nights playing New England blues joints,” he remembered. “Phil’s soulful voice can ache with tenderness and then threaten to wreck the rafters. He spent decades struggling to get noticed, but it looks like he’s finally made it. He’s fronting Roomful of Blues now, and the band’s never sounded better.
“Aside from Roomful, Providence doesn’t have a music legacy worth bragging about–unless you happen to be a George M. Cohan fan,” Mulligan said. “Mary Chapin Carpenter and three members of The Talking Heads did graduate from Brown University, but it’s not like they’re from here. The most famous music group to come out of Rhode Island is the Cowsills. ‘Nuff said.”
And the best concert he’s ever seen? Actually, given Mulligan’s musical obsession, it was a dumb question.
“Buddy Guy. Anyplace, anytime. He appears anywhere within a hundred miles, and I’m there. I hope I’m that cool when I’m 75–but then again, I’m not that cool now.”
Then, he took another pull from his beer, then laughed.
“The worst had to be when I let a girlfriend talk me into taking her to a Blues Magoos concert. After that evening, she was no longer my girlfriend. Whenever that ‘music’ comes back to me in a nightmare, I scream in my sleep.”
And what makes him grab for yet another Killian’s and a good cigar? His answer was not surprising.
“John Hiatt’s haunting blues song, “Feels Like Rain,” makes me crack open a bottle every time. I’m hooked on Buddy Guy’s solo take on it, and the one Buddy recorded with Bonnie Raitt.”
That made me think about one last, very serious question I wanted to ask him. I knew it might be touchy, but decided to try it anyway.
“What song would Rosie and you dance to, if you could?”
Talking about the love of his life, his inspiration, though she was no longer with us, might be hard for him, but I thought that if she were brought up in a musical context, he might go for it.
“’Twist and Shout.’ The song is a sexy celebration of life, bodies gyrating and no holds barred. I prefer the raucous John Lennon version, but the Isley Brothers’ take on it always gets me off my bar stool for a twist or two.”
And, with that, Liam Seamus Aloysius Mulligan got off his bar stool and strode off into the night, to continue to defend the powerless, expose corruption, and give honor to his blues.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged blues music, Bruce DeSilva, buddy guy, Cliff Walk, Jimmy Thackery, John Lee Hooker, Koko Taylor, Little Walter, Lupo's, Muddy Waters, Mulligan, Patricia Smith, Providence, Rogue Island, Son Seals, Sound Waves Magazine, the blues, tommy castro. Bookmark the permalink.
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Common Ground High School is anything but common
October 23, 2015 / NEFF staff
A New Haven, CT high school is undergoing major renovations that will revitalize the 225 student school. Common Ground High School is a unique mix of a high school, an urban farm, and an environmental education center. A new center is currently underway which will include science labs, an art studio, and a multipurpose space for community gatherings, performance, and athletics.
(Rendering of the center’s exterior at Common Ground High School. Photo credit: Gray Organschi Architecture)
This project is extraordinary in many ways. The new center is one of the first buildings in the United States to use cross-laminated timber (CLT) as the primary structure. The project was designed by Gray Organschi Architecture who are known for their sustainable approaches to building design and maximizing the use of renewable materials in their buildings. On the project website, Gray Organschi Architecture highlight the building’s black spruce CLT and heavy timber trusses. By using timber in the structural components, the building’s structural system offsets an estimated annual emission equivalent of 77 cars.
(Rendering of the center’s interior. The center is focused on sustainability and uses cross-laminated timber throughout the building. Photo credit: Gray Organshi Architecture)
The center also boasts on-site energy production, storm water treatment, natural solar illumination, and passive ventilation. Construction on Common Ground began in October, 2013 and is expected to be completed May, 2016.
(Site key for Common Ground High School. The plans include new classrooms, a multipurpose building, reduces energy and water consumption, and has a working farm on campus. Photo credit: Gray Organschi Architecture)
See more photos and plans for Common Ground High School at the Gray Organschi project page and on the Common Ground High School’s campaign vision.
CLT, school, timber
← A first look at UMass Amherst’s Integrated Design Building
New residential building at UBC to be made with wood →
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The Dark Wind (Reseba)
Purity is hard to come by.
(2016) Drama (Mitosfilm) Rekish Shahbaz, Dimen Zandi, Maryam Boobani, Adil Abdulrahman, Abdullah Tarhan, Nalin Kobani, Imad Bakuri, Hassan Hussein Hassan, Helket Idris, Mesud Arif, Sherzad Abdullah, Shahin Kivork, Heider Bamerni, Berfin Emektar, Mame Cheto. Directed by Hussein Hassan Ali
Genocide is a condition that has often been imposed on the Yazidi, a tribe of people living in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Because they are not Muslims, they have become targets of ISIS who in 2014 invaded their region and began murdering them and selling their women in street side slave markets.
Reko (Shahbaz) and Pero (Zandi) are an attractive couple who have just become engaged when ISIS arrives. In the confusion, Pero hides with a group of village women only to become discovered by ISIS fighters; eventually she is sold off to the highest bidder. Reko, who works as a security guard at an American oilfield (early on in the film, one of Reko’s co-workers jokes “All of Kurdistan is an oilfield.” He arrives too late to save his fiancée but he does see some action with the Peshmerga resistance. In between fire fights, he searches for his intended, finally locating her in Syria and bringing her home.
Pero is almost a zombie by the time she returns home, staring straight ahead most times with a catatonic gaze, dissolving into screams when something reminds her of her horrific ordeal. When it is discovered that she is pregnant, life is turned upside down for both families – Ghazal (Boobani), the faithful and loving mother of Pero, knows that it will mean the end of her engagement. Reso (Abdulrahman) who is her father cannot bear to look at his shamed daughter. As for Reko’s father Hadi (Tarhan) it is his opinion that Pero is damaged goods who cannot marry his son, despite Reko’s obvious love for her.
The movie is shot simply but effectively and was given leave to shoot in the actual Yazidi refugee camp which houses nearly half a million of those who have fled their homeland. We get a sense of the desolation and despair that comes from being forced from one’s home, of being the target of a fanatical and powerful group that wants them wiped from the face of the Earth. However, as one elder shrugs, “this is the 73rd attempt at genocide” for this beleaguered people and they seem content to endure and continue. That they can trace their lineage back to ancient Mesopotamia is impressive especially considering how they have continually been the target for genocide over the millennia.
Zandi delivers a performance that is absolutely incredible. Possessed of an external beauty that is otherworldly – and a much better world than this one at that. She is the very picture of a dutiful and demure young woman who wants nothing more than to be with the man she loves. The horrors that are inflicted on her occur entirely off-screen; we only see the results of them, largely in Zandi’s eyes and her body language. We often think of the real carnage of war is limited to the battlefield but one viewing of this film will certainly set the viewer straight on that score – what the women endure in terms of rape, sexual slavery, abduction and forced breeding is absolutely unthinkable.
The film has generated some controversy – elements of the Yazidi were upset at how their culture was portrayed as backwards and intolerant. I didn’t especially agree with that but certainly there are individuals portrayed here that were certainly intolerant but there were also many who were not. As for being backwards, the Yazidi have a pretty desolate part of the world to live in and there isn’t a lot of room for luxuries to make things easier. Life for them isn’t easy and while I wouldn’t say they are backwards, they have a lifestyle that we Westerners would be hard-pressed to emulate but it is clear that they, like most of us, are tied to the place they live in ways that go beyond how easy it is to live there.
This is a powerful and moving film that reminds us that what ISIS is doing is not happening in a theoretical way; there is an actual human face to the victims of their brutality and consequences of their heinous acts. Ali should be applauded for shining a light on the deprivations of an ancient people and those who think that ISIS is just misunderstood should watch this one with an open mind. This film has no U.S. distribution yet which hopefully will change once it has been on the festival circuit for awhile; at film festivals in the Middle East it has already won some prestigious awards. This is a movie that deserves to be seen by a whole lot of people.
REASONS TO GO: The performance of Dimen Zandi is absolutely mesmerizing. The genocide of the Yazidi people in northern Iraq is not getting much coverage. Some of the scenes are powerful indeed.
REASONS TO STAY: Occasionally the cinematography looks like it was taken on a home video camera. At times the cast seems disconnected with what they are doing.
FAMILY VALUES: There is a good deal of profanity, racial slurs and some violence.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Ali intended to appear at the North American premiere at the Miami Film Festival but President Trump’s travel ban was, he felt, too much of a risk so he withdrew his application for a visa.
CRITICAL MASS: As of 3/5/17: Rotten Tomatoes: No score yet. Metacritic: No score yet.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: The Syrian Bride
NEXT: Toni Erdmann
Posted in New Releases | Tagged American oil field, cinema, Cinema365, Dimen Zandi, Drama, engagement, Films, genocide, ISIS, kidnapping, Kurdish cinema, Miami Film Festival, Miami Film Festival 2017, Mitosfilm, movies, non-Muslim, Peshmerga militia, PTSD, rape, Rekish Shahbaz, Reseba, reviews, security guard, The Dark Wind, thousand yard stare, Yazidi | Leave a reply
Wolves (2016)
(2016) Sports Drama (IFC) Michael Shannon, Taylor John Smith, Carla Gugino, Chris Bauer, Zazie Beetz, Wayne Duvall, Jake Choi, John Douglas Thompson, Danny Hoch, Christopher Meyer, John Michael Bolger, Matt Gorsky, Cindy Cheung, Noah Le Gros, Matthew Porretta, Seth Barrish, Ron Simons, Gibson Frazier, Jessica Rothe, Lynn Marocola. Directed by Bart Freundlich
We look at young people much the same as we look at the game of basketball. Mostly, we see the grace, the athleticism and the beauty but what we don’t see are the pounding, the punching and the ugliness that go along with the game – or in being young. Those of us who were once young may remember how rough a go we had it but we have trouble tolerating that same roughness in the young.
“Saint” Anthony Keller (Smith) is a star high school basketball player who has a good shot at getting a scholarship to Cornell. He’s a sharp shooter in the New York City high school athletic scene who is lights out from three point land. He is attending one of the toniest private academies in the City, has loving, supportive mother (Gugino) and a father who also once had high school athletic glory advising him. But Lee Keller (Shannon), while outwardly supportive, has a dark side. Most obvious is a gambling problem which has put him deeply in debt with the kind of people you don’t want to owe a nickel to, let alone fifty thousand dollars.
Anthony also has a sweet girlfriend named Victoria (Beetz) but there is definitely trouble in paradise between the two of them. She wants to go to college in California while his institute of higher learning of choice is Cornell in New York. The pressures begin to mount on Anthony, particularly since his father is getting more and more abusive and more and more out of control. During a street basketball game, he meets ex-New York Net Socrates (Thompson) who urges him to believe in himself. He needs to do that more than ever, particularly since the Cornell coach (Porretta) is questioning Anthony’s will to win, particularly because Anthony has a habit of passing to friends rather than taking the critical shot himself.
It all comes to a head as the basketball playoffs progress and the pressure mounts for Anthony to prove himself. With everything that Lee has built crumbling around him and Anthony feeling the pressure for the first time in his life can Lee shrug off his own demons and his own intense jealousy of Anthony’s success? More importantly, can Anthony take the next step from being a great scoring threat to being a potential college basketball star?
The word you’ll see used most commonly to describe this basketball film is ”cliché.” The story is extremely predictable, taking tropes from sports dramas both based on reality and fiction. What Anthony goes through here is nothing we haven’t seen celluloid athletes have to overcome before. I will say that the basketball sequences are actually believable and seem to have actors who can actually play ball and look comfortable doing it. That’s not always the case with sports dramas.
The cast is pretty good though. Shannon is an Oscar-nominated actor who always seems to turn in a performance that just can’t be ignored. He is as intense an onscreen presence as there is in Hollywood and it’s hard to take one’s eyes off him whenever he is onscreen. Shannon gives Lee an undercurrent of passive-aggressive rage that combined with his obvious character deficiencies makes him a compelling – not quite a villain but a flawed antagonist. While there is obviously plenty of father-son love here, there’s also an alpha male contest that flares up, sometimes with catastrophic results. One of the things that really caught my attention was that there is a point late in the film where Lee does something unconscionable – one wonders if it is an accident, male posturing gone out of control or worse still – a deliberate attempt for Lee to change the fortunes of Anthony’s team so that he could win by betting on his son’s team to lose. It is not clear which is the case, but it does make for fascinating consideration.
Most of the other roles are underdeveloped or underwritten. Smith is a fresh-faced talent who hints at having it in him to become a big star, but Anthony as written is either too good to be true or too polite to let his feelings out. He is generally polite and respectful of his elders but he isn’t above taking out an opposing player when his temper flares up. Gugino is a very talented actress who doesn’t get the respect she deserves, at least to my way of thinking. She rarely gets roles that really let her shine and basically she’s the cliché Long-Suffering Mom here. Chris Bauer as a family friend is a little too nice considering that Lee is such a jerk, but then that’s what the script calls for.
I would have liked to have seen this go a little bit more out of the box, but the writer chose to play it safe. Since Freundlich was the writer, he can’t blame the writing for the troubles with his film – well, I suppose he could. I would have liked to see more depth of character and less stereotypes and less of white people rapping (which just looks silly) and less dumb humor (such as an Asian player being chastised for using the “N” word the way the African-American players do). There are some wins in the movie, just enough to make it worth a view but not enough to make it worth spending a lot of time, effort or money in seeking it out.
REASONS TO GO: The brotherhood of athletes on the same team is nicely captured..
REASONS TO STAY: The plot is pretty rote and contains many ludicrous notes.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Wolves debuted at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Amazon, Vudu
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Hoosiers
NEXT: Dark Wind
Posted in New Releases | Tagged Carla Gugino, Chris Bauer, cinema, Cinema365, college writing professor, Cornell University, deliberate attempt to injure, father figure, Films, gambling addiction, girlfriend, high school basketball, IFC, Michael Shannon, movies, New York City, New York Nets, playoffs, racial slurs, reviews, Seth Barrish, sports drama, street basketball, Taylor John Smith, teen pregnancy, Wayne Duvall, wolves | Leave a reply
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Tag Archives: Mindy Kaling
New Releases for the Week of June 14, 2019
Posted on June 13, 2019 by carlosdev
(Columbia) Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Rebecca Ferguson, Rafe Spall, Kumail Nanjiani. Directed by F. Gary Gray
The Men in Black have long protected the Earth from extraterrestrial villains but now they face their biggest threat yet; one of their own, a mole in their own organization. Agents H and M will be challenged more than any other agent before them in this new installment in the franchise, the first without either Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones.
See the trailer, video featurettes and clips here
For more on the movie this is the website
Now Playing: Wide Release
Rating: PG-13 (for sci-fi action, some language and suggestive material)
(RYOT) Hank Plante, Cliff Morrison, Mary Magee, Lorraine Day. The first dedicated AIDS ward in the country was built at San Francisco General Hospital in 1983. This is the story of those who built it; the nurses and caregivers and the often heartbreaking stories of loss, courage and triumph.
See the trailer here
Now Playing: Regal Oviedo Marketplace, Regal Pointe Orlando, Regal Winter Park Village, Rialto Spanish Springs Square
Rating: PG-13 (for thematic content including unsettling images, and some strong language)
(Roadside Attractions/Vertical) Sienna Miller, Christina Hendricks, Aaron Paul, Amy Madigan. When a woman’s adult daughter disappears, she is left as caregiver for her infant granddaughter while trying to solve the mystery of her daughter’s disappearance, a journey that takes far longer than she anticipated.
See the trailer and clips here
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for language, sexual content and drug use)
(Focus) Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Carol Kane. A sleepy small town is beset by the living dead who are looking for a free meal in the latest by quirkmeister Jim Jarmusch.
See the trailer, a video featurette and a clip here
Genre: Horror Comedy
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, Barnstorm Theater, Cinemark Artegon Marketplace, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for zombie violence/gore, and for language)
(Amazon) Emma Thompson, Mindy Kaling, Hugh Dancy, John Lithgow. A veteran late night talk show host, in danger of becoming irrelevant, hires a woman of color to join her stable of writers. The two women, who couldn’t be more different, find themselves sharing more in common than they would have thought.
See the trailer, video featurettes and an interview here
Rating: R (for language throughout and some sexual references)
(Warner Brothers/New Line) Samuel L. Jackson, Jesse T. Usher, Richard Roundtree, Regina Hall. The son of the baddest private eye in New York City has a completely different methodology than his father. When a close friend of the son turns up dead, he will need a crash course in street tough from his dad, who was absent throughout his childhood but John Shaft has an agenda and no mutha is going to keep him from achieving it, family or not.
See the trailer and video featurettes here
Genre: Action Comedy
Rating: R (for pervasive language, violence, sexual content, some drug material and brief nudity)
ALSO OPENING IN ORLANDO/DAYTONA:
Blackbear
Rainbow’s Sunset</em
ALSO OPENING IN MIAMI/FT. LAUDERDALE:
Los Viejos – The Oldies
Nureyev
Premier Padmini
Remember Amnesia
ALSO OPENING IN TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG:
ALSO OPENING IN JACKSONVILLE/ST. AUGUSTINE:
SCHEDULED FOR REVIEW:
Posted in Weekly Preview | Tagged 2019, 5B, Aaron Paul, Adam Driver, American Woman, Amy Madigan, Bill Murray, Carol Kane, Chris Hemsworth, Christina Hendricks, cinema, Cinema365, Emma Thompson, Films, Hugh Dancy, Jesse T. Usher, John Lithgow, June 14, Kumail Nanjiani, Late Night, Liam Neeson, Men in Black International, Mindy Kaling, movies, Previews, Rafe Spall, Rebecca Ferguson, Regina Hall, Richard Roundtree, Samuel L. Jackson, Shaft, Sienna Miller, Tessa Thompson, The Dead Don't Die, Tilda Swinton | Leave a reply
Ocean’s 8
Back in black.
(2018) Action Comedy (Warner Brothers) Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Elliott Gould, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, Richard Armitrage, Awkwafina, Rihanna, Dakota Fanning, Sarah Paulson, James Corden, Dana Ivey, Elizabeth Ashley, Marlo Thomas, Charlotte Kirk, Whitney White, Charles Prendergast, Damian Young, Talia Cuomo. Directed by Gary Ross
Sure, we need more films with empowered women doing what men do. The Ocean’s trilogy had an A-list all-star cast including George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Bernie Mac and so on and so forth. Why should they have all the fun?
Indeed, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to prove that girls just wanna have fun too but the movie is sorely lacking in the presence of Steven Soderbergh, who wrote snappy dialogue, created a retro mood that recalled the Rat Pack that made the original Ocean’s 11 and let the men loose in Sin City – obviously the cast was having a great time with one another.
Sadly, this heist movie involving the theft of a fabulous Cartier diamond necklace from the equally fabulous Met Gala party annually hosted by Vogue’s Anna Wintour (who cameos as herself, one of a raft of cameos) fails to deliver the goods. As much as the Oceans trilogy felt like all involved were having a great time, this one feels like just another job. The bonding never feels authentic and the chemistry is sorely lacking. Like the distaff version of Ghostbusters back in 2016, the movie feels less of an ensemble and more of a collection of actresses. Don’t get me wrong – some of the sequences here are done with the kind of clever wit that the Oceans films are known for and the movie is entertaining in its own right and it makes some salient points about our celebrity-obsessed culture but it doesn’t hold up to any of its predecessors except maybe the least of the series, Oceans 13.
Part of the problem is that I think the expectations for a distaff version of an established and beloved franchise is that the movie will replicate the feel of the originals and that’s hard enough to do in the first place; throw in that the cast is going to be all-female in a fairly misogynistic society as we have and the movie has two strikes on it before it gets out of the gate. I think that thand their relationships I I think that the biggest mistake that was made here was that short shrift was given to the characters at the expense of a “sisters are doing it for themselves” empowerment narrative and sisters can do it for themselves as Wonder Woman and The Hunger Games have more than proven. It’s a pity that a cast this glittery left me so cold.
REASONS TO SEE: Some of the sequences are marvelous.
REASONS TO AVOID: Lacks the camaraderie of the first three films.
FAMILY VALUES: There is some profanity, drug use and sexually suggestive content.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Although Gould is the only actor from the first trilogy to appear in this film, scenes were filmed with Carl Reiner and Matt Damon but were both left on the cutting room floor.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Amazon, Fandango Now, Google Play, iTunes, Microsoft, Movies Anywhere, Vudu
CRITICAL MASS: As of 6/12/19: Rotten Tomatoes: 69% positive reviews: Metacritic: 61/100.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Bandits
NEXT: Bob Fosse: It’s Showtime!
Posted in VOD Review | Tagged 3D printer, action comedy, Anna Wintour, Anne Hathaway, Awkwafina, Cartier, Cate Blanchett, celebrity culture, Charlotte Kirk, cinema, Cinema365, con artists, Dakota Fanning, Dana Ivey, Elizabeth Ashley, Elliott Gould, Films, Helena Bonham Carter, James Corden, jewel heist, Marlo Thomas, Met Gala, Mindy Kaling, movies, New York City, Oceans 8, pickpocket, prison, Richard Armitrage, Rihanna, Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson, VOD Reviews, Vogue, Warner Brothers | Leave a reply
Oprah Winfrey and Storm Reid try to bring balance to the Force.
(2018) Science Fiction (Disney) Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Chris Pine, Levi Miller, Deric McCabe, Gugu Mbatha Raw, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Peña, André Holland, Rowan Blanchard, Bellamy Young, David Oyelowo (voice), Conrad Roberts, Yvette Cason, Will McCormack, David MacPherson, Akemi Look, Tim Kang, Jessica Rockwell. Directed by Ava DuVernay
As a boy I read – eagerly, I might add – Madeleine L’Engle’s classic children’s book A Wrinkle in Time. I was fascinated by the amazing worlds she created and thrilled to the adventures of the intrepid Murry children. It was a favorite of mine but I haven’t read it in almost since I was 11 or 12 and the details have become lost to me.
Ava DuVernay has created a nine figure-budgeted version – much has been made that she’s the first African-American female director to be at the helm for a movie with a budget more than $100 million – which is not all sizzle and no steak precisely; it’s more accurately that the steak has been overwhelmed by the sizzle.
Meg Murry (Reid) is depressed and acting out to a large degree. Her physicist father Alex (Pine) disappeared four years earlier and her principal (Holland) as well as her mother (Raw) are both beginning to gently push her into letting him go and come to the realization that he’s gone for good. Then into their lives – including her precocious adopted brother Charles Wallace (McCabe) who might be more brilliant than her and her father put together – comes Mrs. Whatsit (Witherspoon), a kind of kooky and eccentric woman who tells her that her father is alive in another part of the universe where he had traveled by the sheer force of his mind and he needs her help in returning home.
Through Mrs. Whatsit she meets Mrs. Who (Kaling) and Mrs. Which (Winfrey), equally eccentric and just as powerful. The two Murry kids along with Calvin (Miller) who’s kind of sweet on Meg, accompany the three Missus to rescue Alex. But he’s being held captive by an evil force of energy called The It (having nothing to do with Pennywise the Clown) and it is growing rapidly to the point that if her father can’t be rescued the Universe will be overrun by the It.
The movie is a massive misstep by one of the most talented directors working today. The story gets lost in a turgid script that emphasizes the visuals (which to be fair are incredibly imaginative and a literal joy to behold) over the story. Worse yet, the dialogue is wretched; people in this film don’t talk like real people. At least Mrs. Who has an excuse; she’s programmed (essentially) to talk in affirmations, but everyone else seems to mouth platitudes that after awhile grow wearisome.
Winfrey, Kaling, Raw, Pine and Witherspoon are all fine actors and they do very well here. Reid can sometimes be a bit smarmy but for the most part she is asked to carry the film on her young shoulders and she doesn’t disgrace herself. McCabe however is Hella annoying and he brings to mind poor Jake Lloyd from Star Wars Episode One as a candidate for worst juvenile performance of all time.
The movie failed to find an audience during its theatrical release in March. Some blame it on the fact that the Murry family was interracial, although the African-ness of Black Panther didn’t seem to hurt it any. I’m sure the success of the Marvel film had an impact on the audience for A Wrinkle in Time but I also think poor reviews and bad word-of-mouth doomed it. In all honesty, I don’t think A Wrinkle in Time is a bad film but it’s not a very good one either. It’s kind of bloated and the message of family, hope and tolerance gets completely lost. I have no doubt DuVernay is going to be making important films for decades to come; this one though likely won’t be on her highlight reel years from now.
REASONS TO GO: The visuals are insanely imaginative. Winfrey, Kaling and Witherspoon are perfectly cast.
REASONS TO STAY: The dialogue torpedoes the film. McCabe’s performance is overbearing most of the film.
FAMILY VALUES: Although suitable for most children, the film contains scenes of peril as well as some themes that may go over the heads of some of the less socially developed kids.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Two more Murry children (twins Sandy and Dennys) who appeared in the novel were cut from the film version.
BEYOND THE THEATERS: Amazon, Fandango Now, Google Play, iTunes, Movies Anywhere, Vudu, YouTube
COMPARISON SHOPPING: The Holy Mountain
NEXT: Bright
Posted in New Releases, Weekly Preview | Tagged A Wrinkle in Time, acting out, Andre Holland, based upon a children's book, bullying, Chris Pine, cinema, Cinema365, David Oyelowo, disappearance, Disney, family ties, Films, good vs. evil, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, magic, Michael Pena, Mindy Kaling, movies, Oprah Winfrey, physics, Reese Witherspoon, rescue mission, reviews, Science Fiction, space travel, Storm Reid, VOD Reviews, Will McCormack, Zach Galfianakis | Leave a reply
New Releases for the Week of June 8, 2018
Posted on June 7, 2018 by carlosdev
(Warner Brothers) Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Elliott Gould, Dakota Fanning, Awkwafina. Directed by Gary Ross
Danny Ocean’s sister is released from jail and looks to prove herself by taking on an Ocean-like heist – robbing the annual Met Gala in New York City. However, she can’t do it alone; she’ll need a team of larcenous ladies. Sound familiar?
See the trailer and video featurettes video here.
For more on the movie this is the website.
Release Formats: Standard, 3D, Dolby, IMAX, RPX, XD
Genre: Heist Action
Rating: PG-13 (for language, drug use, and some suggestive comments)
(A24) Amanda Seyfried, Ethan Hawke, Cedric the Entertainer, Victoria Hill. A priest in a small congregation in upstate New York discovers he’s been sent to close the parish down following a tragedy. Grappling with worldly concerns as well as a tormented past of his own, he struggles to keep his faith in a world where that is increasingly hard to find.
See the trailer and a video featurette here.
Release Formats: Standard
Now Playing: Regal Winter Park Village, Rialto Spanish Springs Square
Rating: R (for some disturbing violent images)
(A24) Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne, Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro. After the death of a family’s matriarch, they begin to suspect that there are mysteries in their ancestry that might have dire consequences in the here and now. The buzz on this horror film has been HUGE.
See the trailer and video featurettes here.
Rating: R (for horror violence, disturbing images, language, drug use and brief graphic nudity)
(Global Road) Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Jeff Goldblum. In a future Los Angeles that is being torn apart by riots, a Nurse runs a secret members-only emergency room for criminals.
See the trailer, video featurettes and a clip here.
Rating: R (for violence and language throughout, some sexual references and brief drug use)
(Bleecker Street) Saoirse Ronan, Emily Watson, Anne-Marie Duff, Billy Howle. A young newlywed couple in 1962 England find that their storybook romance is colliding with the reality of changing sexual mores, class pressure and evolving expectations leading to a fateful wedding night.
See the trailer and clips here.
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, Regal Winter Park Village, Rialto Spanish Springs Square
Rating: R (for some sexual content and nudity)
(Neon/Shudder) Matilda Lutz, Kevin Janssens, Vincent Colombe, Guillaume Bouchéde. The mistress of a French billionaire accompanies him to his remote hunting cabin in the desert prior to a hunting trip with the boys. When the other hunters arrive early, a party spirals out of control and leaves the woman in a fight for survival where there’s only life and death. This played this year’s Florida Film Festival.
Now Playing: Enzian Theater
Rating: R (for strong bloody gruesome violence, a rape, sexuality, graphic nudity, drug use and language)
(Sony Classics) Elisabeth Ross, Saoirse Ronan, Annette Bening, Corey Stoll. In the early 20th century, an aging actress and her lover visit the estate of her elderly and infirm brother. This is based on Anton Chekhov’s classic play.
Rating: PG-13 (for some mature thematic elements, a scene of violence, drug use, and partial nudity)
Sid and Aya
Bernard and Huey
Filmworker
Here Comes Miss Modern
Posted in Weekly Preview | Tagged 2018, Alex Wolff, Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, Anne-Marie Duff, Annette Bening, Awkwafina, Billy Howle, Cate Blanchett, Cedric the Entertainer, cinema, Cinema365, Corey Stoll, Dakota Fanning, Elisabeth Moss, Elliott Gould, Emily Watson, Ethan Hawke, Films, First Reformed, Gabriel Byrne, Helena Bonham Carter, Hereditary, Hotel Artemis, Jeff Goldblum, Jodie Foster, June 8, Matilda Lutz, Mindy Kaling, movies, Oceans 8, On Chesil Beach, Previews, revenge, Rihanna, Sandra Bullok, Saoirse Ronan, Sofia Boutella, Sterling K. Brown, The Seagull, Toni Collette | Leave a reply
New Releases for the Week of March 9, 2018
(Disney) Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Storm Reid, Chris Pine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Peña, David Oyelowo. Directed by Ava DuVernay
Meg Murry was devastated when her scientist father disappeared without a trace. Although others around her began to move on, Meg couldn’t. A brilliant girl herself, her studies began to suffer. Then, she is visited by three peculiar beings who inform her that her father is alive but in terrible danger – the whole universe is and only Meg can save the day. With her brother and a stalwart friend beside her, she goes on the adventure of a lifetime through space and time to find her father and save the universe. This is based on the beloved Madeline L’Engle young adult novel.
See the trailer, clips, interviews, video featurettes and promos here.
Release Formats: Standard, 3D, DBOX, DBOX 3D, Dolby Atmos, IMAX, RPX, RPX 3D, XD, XD-3D
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating: PG (for thematic elements and some peril)
Before We Vanish
(Neon/Super Ltd) Masami Nagasawa, Ryûhei Matsuda, Hiroki Hasegawa, Kazuya Kojima. Three alien beings, acting as reconnaissance for an upcoming mass invasion of Earth, take over the bodies of three Japanese young people. From them they take every bit of their humanity – their emotions, their passions, everything that makes them human, leaving only hollow shells that are virtually unrecognizable to family and friends. This is a rare sci-fi film that has all the action you can imagine but at the same time is extremely profound, examining what the human spirit means – and how it is in the end our most devastating weapon.
(STX/Amazon) Joel Edgerton, Charlize Theron, David Oyelowo, Thandie Newton. An American businessman heads into cartel-infested Mexico to pick up the formula for pill-form marijuana to bring back to his pharmaceutical company. However, double-crosses, betrayals and backstabbing turn his simple business trip into chaos. Can he survive the trip when there’s nobody he can trust?
See the trailer, video featurettes and clips here.
Genre: Crime Comedy
Rating: R (for language throughout, violence and sexual content)
(Entertainment Studios) Toby Kebbell, Maggie Grace, Ryan Kwanten, Ralph Ineson. A group of bank robbers sense opportunity when a hurricane closes in on a US Mint facility. Even when the storm turns into a Category 5 – the worst of the worst – they still make their play. $600 million can buy a whole lot of band-aids after all. However they discover the code they need to get into the vault is known by only one Treasury Agent who has acquired an unlikely ally; the meteorologist brother of one of their hostages. His knowledge of how hurricanes work sets apart this adrenaline-fueled thrill ride.
Rating: PG-13 (for sequences of gun violence, action, destruction, language and some suggestive material)
(Roadside Attractions) Timothy Spall, Kristin Scott Thomas, Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz. A woman hosts a celebration at her London home after her political ascension. As the guests arrive, some with news of their own, the dynamic slowly changes and when her husband drops a bombshell of his own, the party becomes less of a celebration and more of a psychological experiment.
See the trailer, clips and an interview here.
Rating: R (for language and drug use)
The Strangers: Prey at Night
(Aviron) Christina Hendricks, Bailee Madison, Martin Henderson, Emma Bellomy. A family on a road trip pulls into a mobile home park to visit relatives but find the park oddly deserted. Three masked psychopaths soon begin stalking them, terrorizing them and forcing them to go beyond their limits in order to survive.
See the trailer, interviews, a video featurette and B-roll video here.
Rating: R (for horror violence and terror throughout, and for language)
(Great Point) Stanley Tucci, Addison Timlin, Kyra Sedgwick, Janeane Garofalo. A former bestselling author now toils in a boring job as a creative writing professor at a small Vermont college. When he discovers a student with real talent, he takes notice. When her erotically-charged writing seems to be about her having a crush on him, he is aroused. But when she begins to manipulate him into foolish acts, he risks his career and family. This was reviewed last weekend by Cinema365; to read it, follow the link below under Scheduled For Review.
Rating: R (for language and some sexual references)
(Focus) Olivia Cooke, Anna Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin, Kaili Vernoff. Two high school graduates, reuniting after some time apart, are bonding over their differences and their mutual contempt for the overbearing stepfather of one of them. As the summer goes on, they goad each other onto a dark path that leads them to plan the removal of the stepfather. They contact a young hustler who claims he can help them with their problem, but if they are to straighten out their lives they will need to take matters into their own hands.
Genre: Dramedy
Now Playing: AMC Altamonte Mall, AMC Disney Springs, Cinemark Artegon Marketplace, Regal Waterford Lakes, Regal Winter Park Village
Rating: R (for disturbing behavior, bloody images, language, sexual references, and some drug content)
The Leisure Seeker
Oh Lucy!
Ye Mantram Vesave
FILM FESTIVALS TAKING PLACE IN FLORIDA:
Miami Film Festival
Posted in Weekly Preview | Tagged 2018, A Wrinkle in Time, Addison Timlin, Anton Yelchin, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ava DuVernay, Before We Vanish, Bruno Ganz, Charlize Theron, Chris Pine, Christina Hendricks, cinema, Cinema365, David Oyelowo, Films, Gringo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Janeane Garofalo, Joel Edgerton, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kyra Sedgwick, Maggie Grace, March 9, Martin Henderson, Michael Pena, Mindy Kaling, movies, Olivia Cooke, Oprah Winfrey, Patricia Clarkson, Previews, Ralph Ineson, Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Kwanten, Stanley Tucci, Storm Reid, Submission, The Hurricane Heist, The Party, The Strangers: Prey at Night, Thoroughbreds, Timothy Spall, Toby Kebbell, Zach Galifianakis | Leave a reply
Kickin’ it, old school.
(2015) Holiday Comedy (Columbia) Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie, Jillian Bell, Lizzy Caplan, Michael Shannon, Heléne Yorke, Ilana Glazer, Aaron Hill, Tracy Morgan, Darrie Lawrence, Nathan Fielder, James Franco, Miley Cyrus, Kamal Angelo Bolden, Baron Davis, Jason Jones, Jason Mantzoukas, Randall Park, Mindy Kaling, Lorraine Toussaint, Theodora Woolley. Directed by Jonathan Levine
Christmas traditions, established when we are young, can sometimes last a lifetime but some of those traditions, particularly of the sort that most wouldn’t consider Christmas-y have a tendency to die out as we mature. When we reach a time in our lives in which we’re making a turning point into adulthood, traditions of all sorts change.
That seems to be happening for a trio of friends who have gone out every Christmas Eve ever since the funeral of Ethan’s (Gordon-Levitt) parents in 2001 when they died in a tragic car accident. His good friends Isaac (Rogen) and Chris (Mackie) took Ethan out partying that night to get his mind off his grief, and it became a tradition of sorts; going to see the tree at Rockefeller Center, hanging out in their favorite karaoke bar (and doing a killer rendition of ”Christmas in Hollis”) and searching for the legendary Nutcracka Ball, the Holy Grail of Christmas parties in New York.
Being that this is a Seth Rogen movie, there are also copious amounts of drugs, supplied in this case by Isaac’s wife Betsy (Bell), a good Catholic girl who is days away from giving birth and wants to reward her husband for having been “her rock” throughout the pregnancy by allowing him to have a good time with his buddies, no questions asked.
All three of the boys are on the cusp of becoming men as they hit their thirties; Isaac about to be a dad, Chris – now a pro football player – having the best season of his career although it is suspiciously late in said career….well, that leaves Ethan who is still struggling with adulthood. His failure to commit has cost him his longtime girlfriend Diana (Caplan) whom he runs into at the karaoke bar, partying with her friend Sarah (Kaling). While serving canapés dressed as an elf at a hoity toity Manhattan party, he runs across tickets to the Ball – and knowing that this is their last hurrah, the three intend to send their traditions out with a big bang.
There are celebrity cameos galore, including Rogen’s bromance buddy James Franco, playing himself (and Sarah’s date) sending dick pics to Sarah which Isaac gets to see since the two accidentally switched phones; Michael Shannon plays Mr. Green, a mysterious drug dealer who might be a whole lot more than he seems; former Daily Show regular Jason Jones also shows up as a semi-inebriated Santa who appears at a particularly low point in the evening for Ethan.
The movie is surprisingly heartwarming, and while allusion to Christmas tales like A Christmas Carol and Die Hard abound, this is definitely a Rogen movie (his regular writing partner Evan Goldberg is one of the four writers on the project) although to be fair, Isaac is more of a supporting character to Ethan who is the focus here.
The chemistry between the three leads is solid and you can believe their friendship is strong. Levine wisely uses the comedy to serve the story rather than the other way around which most comedies these days seem to do; there are some genuinely funny moments as the night becomes more and more surreal (it’s also nice to hear Tracy Morgan narrating and make a late onscreen appearance). Of course, being a Seth Rogen movie (as we’ve mentioned) the drug humor tends to go a little bit over-the-top and those who think Cheech and Chong are vulgar are likely to find this one so as well.
The good news is that the performances here are solid and the likeability of Gordon-Levitt gives the movie a whole lot of cred since the characters on the surface aren’t terribly likable. Hanging out with the immature can make for a trying cinematic experience but fortunately the fact that all three of the actors here are so genuinely likable and charismatic saves the movie from being a drudge and actually elevates it into maybe not Christmas classic status, but certainly a movie that might generate some holiday traditions of its own.
REASONS TO GO: Really, really funny. Some nice performances by Gordon-Levitt, Rogen and Shannon.
REASONS TO STAY: Overdoes the drug humor.
FAMILY VALUES: A ton of drug humor, lots of profanity, some graphic nudity and a good deal of sexual content.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Gordon-Levitt, Rogen and director Levine all worked together in the film 50/50.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Knocked Up
NEXT: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Posted in New Releases | Tagged Anthony Mackie, Baron Davis, best friends, canapes, car accident, catering, Christmas eve, cinema, Cinema365, cocaine, Columbia Pictures, crucifixion, drugs, failure to commit, Films, high mass, high school, holiday comedy, Ilana Glazer, James Franco, Jason Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, karaoke bar, limo, Lizzy Caplan, Lorraine Toussaint, Michael Shannon, Miley Cyrus, Mindy Kaling, movies, mushrooms, Nathan Fielder, New York City, Orphan, partying, pregnant, pro football player, Randall Park, reviews, Run-DMC, Seth Rogen, The Holly and the Quill, The Holly and the Quill 2015, The Night Before, tickets, Tracy Morgan, weed | 1 Reply
Posted on July 6, 2015 by carlosdev
Antonin Scalia reacts to recent Supreme Court decisions.
(2015) Animated Feature (Disney*Pixar) Starring the voices of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Paula Poundstone, Bobby Moynihan, Paula Pell, Dave Goelz, Frank Oz, John Ratzenberger, Josh Cooley, Flea, Carlos Alazraqui, Laraine Newman, Rashida Jones. Directed by Pete Docter and Ronaldo del Carmen
Growing up can be a dangerous thing. There are no manuals on how to deal with our emotions; we just have to do the best we can, which is generally not good enough. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and realize that it is okay not to be happy and cheerful every minute of every day.
11-year-old Riley (Dias) and her Mom (Lane) and Dad (MacLachlan) have moved to San Francisco from Minnesota and the usually cheerful Riley is not happy about it. She misses her friends, she misses playing hockey – a sport she loves and excels at – and she misses the shall we say less urban environment of her old home.
Up in her head, Riley’s emotions are working double time. In charge (more or less) is Joy (Poehler), a sprite-like being who wants all of Riley’s memories to be happy. Working alongside her are Sadness (Smith), Anger (Black), Disgust (Kaling) and Fear (Hader). Sadness is a squishy blue teardrop, Anger a red brick who sometimes blows flames out of his head, while Disgust is broccoli-green and Fear is a twitchy pipe cleaner with a bow tie.
The emotions work in Headquarters, the part of her brain where the emotions exert control and memories are made and separated into storage – long term, short term and core. “Islands” are formed by her core memories, helping to establish Riley’s personality – love of hockey, honesty, love of family, imagination and so on. A variety of workers keep the memories stored and occasionally, dump them to disappear (Phone numbers? Doesn’t need them. She keeps them in her phone) and make room for new ones. The memories manifest as little globes like pearls, colored by whatever emotion is associated with that memory although Sadness has discovered that when she touches a memory, the emotional hue can change.
Not long after that, a series of accidents strands Joy and Sadness together in the long term memory area of Riley’s head. Worse yet, the core memories have accidentally been sent there, which will slowly lead to her personality islands crumbling away. Joy and Sadness will have to work together to get those core memories back to Headquarters. They’ll be aided by Bing Bong (Kind), Riley’s imaginary playmate whom she hasn’t thought of in years. But they’ll have to hurry; Anger, Disgust and Fear have been left in charge and their decision-making process is, to say the least, untrustworthy.
This is one of the most imaginative animated features in years. Say what you want about the execution of the movie (which is, by the way, pretty dang nifty) but the concepts here are much different than any animated movie – or movie of any other kind – you’re likely to encounter.
The vocal performances are solid, albeit unspectacular although the casting of Black as Anger was inspired if you ask me. He steals the show whenever his rage button is pushed, which is frequently. Poehler gets the bulk of the dialogue as Joy but Kaling, Smith and Hader also get their moments and all of them encapsulate their emotional counterparts nicely.
True to its subject matter, the movie moves from whimsical (as when Bing Bong, Joy and Sadness move through the subconscious and change forms to two-dimensional and into Depression era animated figures) to downright moving (Bing Bong’s plaintive expression of his desire to make Riley happy, despite the fact that she’s forgotten him). While the emotional resonance of Wall-E and Toy Story 3 aren’t quite there, it still packs quite a powerful emotional punch in places. Softies, beware and bring plenty of tissue.
The only real quibble I have with the movie is that from time to time the story is not as straightforward as it is with other Pixar films and it might be a tad difficult to follow for younger kids, who will nonetheless be quite happy with the colors and shapes of the new characters that are likely to dominate the toy merchandise this summer (at least, until the new Minions movie comes out). It also has a tendency to set us up with what appear to be rules to follow only to do something a bit different. I’m not a stickler for such things – this is an animated feature, not a documentary – but some people who are anal about it might have issues.
The lesson to be learned here for kids is that it’s okay to be sad, or angry, disgusted or even afraid. It isn’t a requirement to be happy all the time – nobody is. We all must, sooner or later, deal with all of our emotions, even the not so nice ones. All of them are there for a reason.
Despite the minor flaw and given all of the movie’s strengths I found this movie to be beautifully rendered with a wonderfully imaginative setting and characters I could get behind. The storyline isn’t earth-shattering – essentially it’s about a disgruntled 11-year-old girl who wants to go back to the home she’s used to and acts out because of it – but all of us can relate to dealing with emotions, either because we know an eleven year old or at least been an eleven year old. Pixar has been on a bit of a cold streak as of late but this movie reminds us of how great this studio is and how much they have contributed to the animated feature genre. This is a gem, destined to be another in a long line of Pixar classics.
REASONS TO GO: Imaginative and different. Moving in places. Teaches kids that it’s okay to have negative emotions as well.
REASONS TO STAY: Can be confusing.
FAMILY VALUES: Some of the thematic elements may be a bit much for the very small; there is also some animated action and a few images that might be frightening for the less mature child.
TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Mindy Kaling was reportedly so moved by the script that she burst into tears during the initial meetings with director Pete Docter.
COMPARISON SHOPPING: Up
FINAL RATING: 8,5/10
NEXT: Ted 2
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15 posts by author
Vikki Gilmer
2017's Best Festivals
by Vikki Gilmer on April 12, 2017
Nothing screams summer more than a music festival full of writhing, sweaty bodies, long lines at the Porta Potty and overpriced beers. It’s also a great reason to load up the car and hit the road to catch some of your favorite bands. With all the choices out there…
Leonard Cohen, Legendary Singer/Songwriter, Dead at 82
by Vikki Gilmer on November 10, 2016
Leonard Cohen, the inimitable singer/songwriter with a subterranean baritone, died November 10 at the age of 82. Leonard Cohen, the inimitable singer/songwriter with a subterranean baritone, died November 10 at the age of 82. A statement on Cohen’s Facebook page called him “one of music’s most…
Gary Clark Jr. Brings Electrifying Blues & Soul to the Stage
by Vikki Gilmer on May 13, 2016
The crowd at the Moore Theater in Seattle is eager. Warmed up. Ready. Music is piped through the PA and although the cheering has started, the stage remains dark. After a few minutes a sole, bright white spotlight drops on the stage. Eventually, out of the shadows emerges the-man-who-is-going-to-save-the-blues, the…
Anderson East Finds Beauty in the Wild, Wrong & Flawed
On a rainy afternoon, [Anderson East](http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/andersoneast?ocode=social_user&pcode=social_user&cpath=Link&rsrc=artist) leaves his tour bus, crosses the slippery cobblestone street, and slips into a vintage guitar shop in Seattle’s historical district. He doesn’t draw any attention to…
Prince dead at 57
The iconic recording artist Prince has died at the age of 57, the Star Tribune reported. Authorities were called to the musician’s Paisley Park recording studios Thursday morning in Chanhassen, Minnesota, which is located in a suburb west of Minneapolis. A cause of death has not been released. Minnesota’…
Phife Dawg, of A Tribe Called Quest, Dead at 45
by Vikki Gilmer on March 23, 2016
Phife Dawg, a founding member of groundbreaking hip-hop act A Tribe Called Quest has died at the age of 45. The MCs death was reported late Tuesday, March 22. The rapper’s real name was Malik Taylor, and Rolling Stone and Billboard confirmed his death. A cause of death has…
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20.4: Stage III of Catabolism
EMU: Chemistry for the Life Sciences (Cessna)
20: Energy Metabolism
Steps of the Citric Acid Cycle
Cellular Respiration
Concept Review Exercises
Skills to Develop
Describe the reactions of the citric acid cycle.
Describe the function of the citric acid cycle and identify the products produced.
Describe the role of the electron transport chain in energy metabolism.
Describe the role of oxidative phosphorylation in energy metabolism.
The acetyl group enters a cyclic sequence of reactions known collectively as thecitric acid cycle (or Krebs cycle or tricarboxylic acid [TCA] cycle). The cyclical design of this complex series of reactions, which bring about the oxidation of the acetyl group of acetyl-CoA to carbon dioxide and water, was first proposed by Hans Krebs in 1937. (He was awarded the 1953 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.) Acetyl-CoA’s entrance into the citric acid cycle is the beginning of stage III of catabolism. The citric acid cycle produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP), reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), reduced flavin adenine dinucleotide (FADH2), and metabolic intermediates for the synthesis of needed compounds.
At first glance, the citric acid cycle appears rather complex (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\)). All the reactions, however, are familiar types in organic chemistry: hydration, oxidation, decarboxylation, and hydrolysis. Each reaction of the citric acid cycle is numbered, and in Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\), the two acetyl carbon atoms are highlighted in red. Each intermediate in the cycle is a carboxylic acid, existing as an anion at physiological pH. All the reactions occur within the mitochondria, which are small organelles within the cells of plants and animals.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Reactions of the Citric Acid Cycle
In the first step, acetyl-CoA enters the citric acid cycle, and the acetyl group is transferred onto oxaloacetate, yielding citrate. Note that this step releases coenzyme A. The reaction is catalyzed by citrate synthase.
In the next step, aconitase catalyzes the isomerization of citrate to isocitrate. In this reaction, a tertiary alcohol, which cannot be oxidized, is converted to a secondary alcohol, which can be oxidized in the next step.
Isocitrate then undergoes a reaction known as oxidative decarboxylation because the alcohol is oxidized and the molecule is shortened by one carbon atom with the release of carbon dioxide (decarboxylation). The reaction is catalyzed by isocitrate dehydrogenase, and the product of the reaction is α-ketoglutarate. An important reaction linked to this is the reduction of the coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) to NADH. The NADH is ultimately reoxidized, and the energy released is used in the synthesis of ATP, as we shall see.
The fourth step is another oxidative decarboxylation. This time α-ketoglutarate is converted to succinyl-CoA, and another molecule of NAD+ is reduced to NADH. The α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex catalyzes this reaction. This is the only irreversible reaction in the citric acid cycle. As such, it prevents the cycle from operating in the reverse direction, in which acetyl-CoA would be synthesized from carbon dioxide.
So far, in the first four steps, two carbon atoms have entered the cycle as an acetyl group, and two carbon atoms have been released as molecules of carbon dioxide. The remaining reactions of the citric acid cycle use the four carbon atoms of the succinyl group to resynthesize a molecule of oxaloacetate, which is the compound needed to combine with an incoming acetyl group and begin another round of the cycle.
In the fifth reaction, the energy released by the hydrolysis of the high-energy thioester bond of succinyl-CoA is used to form guanosine triphosphate (GTP) from guanosine diphosphate (GDP) and inorganic phosphate in a reaction catalyzed by succinyl-CoA synthetase. This step is the only reaction in the citric acid cycle that directly forms a high-energy phosphate compound. GTP can readily transfer its terminal phosphate group to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to generate ATP in the presence of nucleoside diphosphokinase.
Succinate dehydrogenase then catalyzes the removal of two hydrogen atoms from succinate, forming fumarate. This oxidation-reduction reaction uses flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), rather than NAD+, as the oxidizing agent. Succinate dehydrogenase is the only enzyme of the citric acid cycle located within the inner mitochondrial membrane. We will see soon the importance of this.
In the following step, a molecule of water is added to the double bond of fumarate to form L-malate in a reaction catalyzed by fumarase.
One revolution of the cycle is completed with the oxidation of L-malate to oxaloacetate, brought about by malate dehydrogenase. This is the third oxidation-reduction reaction that uses NAD+ as the oxidizing agent. Oxaloacetate can accept an acetyl group from acetyl-CoA, allowing the cycle to begin again.
Video: "The Citric Acid Cycle: An Overview". In the matrix of the mitochondrion, the Citric Acid Cycle uses Acetyl CoA molecules to produce energy through eight chemical reactions. This animation provides an overview of the pathway and its products. NDSU VCell Production's animation; for more information please see http://vcell.ndsu.edu/animations.
Respiration can be defined as the process by which cells oxidize organic molecules in the presence of gaseous oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water, and energy in the form of ATP. We have seen that two carbon atoms enter the citric acid cycle from acetyl-CoA (step 1), and two different carbon atoms exit the cycle as carbon dioxide (steps 3 and 4). Yet nowhere in our discussion of the citric acid cycle have we indicated how oxygen is used. Recall, however, that in the four oxidation-reduction steps occurring in the citric acid cycle, the coenzyme NAD+ or FAD is reduced to NADH or FADH2, respectively. Oxygen is needed to reoxidize these coenzymes. Recall, too, that very little ATP is obtained directly from the citric acid cycle. Instead, oxygen participation and significant ATP production occur subsequent to the citric acid cycle, in two pathways that are closely linked: electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation.
All the enzymes and coenzymes for the citric acid cycle, the reoxidation of NADH and FADH2, and the production of ATP are located in the mitochondria, which are small, oval organelles with double membranes, often referred to as the “power plants” of the cell (Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)). A cell may contain 100–5,000 mitochondria, depending on its function, and the mitochondria can reproduce themselves if the energy requirements of the cell increase.
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Respiration
Cellular respiration occurs in the mitochondria
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\) shows the mitochondrion’s two membranes: outer and inner. The inner membrane is extensively folded into a series of internal ridges called cristae. Thus there are two compartments in mitochondria: the intermembrane space, which lies between the membranes, and the matrix, which lies inside the inner membrane. The outer membrane is permeable, whereas the inner membrane is impermeable to most molecules and ions, although water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide can freely penetrate both membranes. The matrix contains all the enzymes of the citric acid cycle with the exception of succinate dehydrogenase, which is embedded in the inner membrane. The enzymes that are needed for the reoxidation of NADH and FADH2 and ATP production are also located in the inner membrane. They are arranged in specific positions so that they function in a manner analogous to a bucket brigade. This highly organized sequence of oxidation-reduction enzymes is known as the electron transport chain (or respiratory chain).
Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\) illustrates the organization of the electron transport chain. The components of the chain are organized into four complexes designated I, II, III, and IV. Each complex contains several enzymes, other proteins, and metal ions. The metal ions can be reduced and then oxidized repeatedly as electrons are passed from one component to the next. Recall that a compound is reduced when it gains electrons or hydrogen atoms and is oxidized when it loses electrons or hydrogen atoms.
Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): The Mitochondrial Electron Transport Chain and ATP Synthase. The red line shows the path of electrons.
Electrons can enter the electron transport chain through either complex I or II. We will look first at electrons entering at complex I. These electrons come from NADH, which is formed in three reactions of the citric acid cycle. Let’s use step 8 as an example, the reaction in which L-malate is oxidized to oxaloacetate and NAD+ is reduced to NADH. This reaction can be divided into two half reactions:
Oxidation half-reaction:
Reduction half-reaction:
In the oxidation half-reaction, two hydrogen (H+) ions and two electrons are removed from the substrate. In the reduction half-reaction, the NAD+ molecule accepts both of those electrons and one of the H+ ions. The other H+ ion is transported from the matrix, across the inner mitochondrial membrane, and into the intermembrane space. The NADH diffuses through the matrix and is bound by complex I of the electron transport chain. In the complex, the coenzyme flavin mononucleotide (FMN) accepts both electrons from NADH. By passing the electrons along, NADH is oxidized back to NAD+ and FMN is reduced to FMNH2 (reduced form of flavin mononucleotide). Again, the reaction can be illustrated by dividing it into its respective half-reactions.
Complex I contains several proteins that have iron-sulfur (Fe·S) centers. The electrons that reduced FMN to FMNH2 are now transferred to these proteins. The iron ions in the Fe·S centers are in the Fe(III) form at first, but by accepting an electron, each ion is reduced to the Fe(II) form. Because each Fe·S center can transfer only one electron, two centers are needed to accept the two electrons that will regenerate FMN.
\[FMNH_2 → FMN + 2H^+ + 2e^−\]
\[2Fe(III) \cdot S + 2e^− → 2Fe(II) \cdot S\]
Electrons from FADH2, formed in step 6 of the citric acid cycle, enter the electron transport chain through complex II. Succinate dehydrogenase, the enzyme in the citric acid cycle that catalyzes the formation of FADH2 from FAD is part of complex II. The electrons from FADH2 are then transferred to an Fe·S protein.
\[FADH_2 → FAD + 2H^+ + 2e^−\]
Electrons from complexes I and II are then transferred from the \(Fe \cdot S\) protein to coenzyme Q (CoQ), a mobile electron carrier that acts as the electron shuttle between complexes I or II and complex III.
Coenzyme Q is also called ubiquinone because it is ubiquitous in living systems.
\[2Fe(II) \cdot S → 2Fe(III) \cdot S + 2e^−\]
Complexes III and IV include several iron-containing proteins known as cytochromes. The iron in these enzymes is located in substructures known as iron porphyrins (Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\)). Like the Fe·S centers, the characteristic feature of the cytochromes is the ability of their iron atoms to exist as either Fe(II) or Fe(III). Thus, each cytochrome in its oxidized form—Fe(III)—can accept one electron and be reduced to the Fe(II) form. This change in oxidation state is reversible, so the reduced form can donate its electron to the next cytochrome, and so on. Complex III contains cytochromes b and c, as well as Fe·S proteins, with cytochrome c acting as the electron shuttle between complex III and IV. Complex IV contains cytochromes a and a3 in an enzyme known as cytochrome oxidase. This enzyme has the ability to transfer electrons to molecular oxygen, the last electron acceptor in the chain of electron transport reactions. In this final step, water (H2O) is formed.
\[4Cyt\, a_3–Fe(II) → 4Cyt\, a_3–Fe(III) + 4e^−\]
O2 + 4H+ + 4e− → 2H2O
Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): An Iron Porphyrin. Iron porphyrins are present in cytochromes as well as in myoglobin and hemoglobin.
Video: Cellular Respiration (Electron Transport Chain). Cellular respiration occurs in the mitochondria and provides both animals and plants with the energy needed to power other cellular processes. This section covers the electron transport chain.NDSU Virtual Cell Animations Project animation; ror more information please see http://vcell.ndsu.edu/animations
Each intermediate compound in the electron transport chain is reduced by the addition of one or two electrons in one reaction and then subsequently restored to its original form by delivering the electron(s) to the next compound along the chain. The successive electron transfers result in energy production. But how is this energy used for the synthesis of ATP? The process that links ATP synthesis to the operation of the electron transport chain is referred to as oxidative phosphorylation.
Electron transport is tightly coupled to oxidative phosphorylation. The coenzymes NADH and FADH2 are oxidized by the respiratory chain only if ADP is simultaneously phosphorylated to ATP. The currently accepted model explaining how these two processes are linked is known as the chemiosmotic hypothesis, which was proposed by Peter Mitchell, resulting in Mitchell being awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Looking again at Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\), we see that as electrons are being transferred through the electron transport chain, hydrogen (H+) ions are being transported across the inner mitochondrial membrane from the matrix to the intermembrane space. The concentration of H+ is already higher in the intermembrane space than in the matrix, so energy is required to transport the additional H+ there. This energy comes from the electron transfer reactions in the electron transport chain. But how does the extreme difference in H+ concentration then lead to ATP synthesis? The buildup of H+ ions in the intermembrane space results in an H+ ion gradient that is a large energy source, like water behind a dam (because, given the opportunity, the protons will flow out of the intermembrane space and into the less concentrated matrix). Current research indicates that the flow of H+ down this concentration gradient through a fifth enzyme complex, known as ATP synthase, leads to a change in the structure of the synthase, causing the synthesis and release of ATP.
In cells that are using energy, the turnover of ATP is very high, so these cells contain high levels of ADP. They must therefore consume large quantities of oxygen continuously, so as to have the energy necessary to phosphorylate ADP to form ATP. Consider, for example, that resting skeletal muscles use about 30% of a resting adult’s oxygen consumption, but when the same muscles are working strenuously, they account for almost 90% of the total oxygen consumption of the organism.
Experiment has shown that 2.5–3 ATP molecules are formed for every molecule of NADH oxidized in the electron transport chain, and 1.5–2 ATP molecules are formed for every molecule of FADH2 oxidized. Table \(\PageIndex{1}\) summarizes the theoretical maximum yield of ATP produced by the complete oxidation of 1 mol of acetyl-CoA through the sequential action of the citric acid cycle, the electron transport chain, and oxidative phosphorylation.
Table \(\PageIndex{1}\): Maximum Yield of ATP from the Complete Oxidation of 1 Mol of Acetyl-CoA
Yield of ATP (moles)
Isocitrate → α-ketoglutarate + CO2 produces 1 mol NADH
α-ketoglutarate → succinyl-CoA + CO2 produces 1 mol NADH
Succinyl-CoA → succinate produces 1 mol GTP +1
Succinate → fumarate produces 1 mol FADH2
Malate → oxaloacetate produces 1 mol NADH
1 FADH2 from the citric acid cycle yields 2 mol ATP +2
3 NADH from the citric acid cycle yields 3 mol ATP/NADH +9
Net yield of ATP: +12
What is the main function of the citric acid cycle?
Two carbon atoms are fed into the citric acid cycle as acetyl-CoA. In what form are two carbon atoms removed from the cycle?
What are mitochondria and what is their function in the cell?
the complete oxidation of carbon atoms to carbon dioxide and the formation of a high-energy phosphate compound, energy rich reduced coenzymes (NADH and FADH2), and metabolic intermediates for the synthesis of other compounds
as carbon dioxide
Mitochondria are small organelles with a double membrane that contain the enzymes and other molecules needed for the production of most of the ATP needed by the body.
The acetyl group of acetyl-CoA enters the citric acid cycle. For each acetyl-CoA that enters the citric acid cycle, 2 molecules of carbon dioxide, 3 molecules of NADH, 1 molecule of ATP, and 1 molecule of FADH2 are produced.
The reduced coenzymes (NADH and FADH2) produced by the citric acid cycle are reoxidized by the reactions of the electron transport chain. This series of reactions also produces a pH gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane.
The pH gradient produced by the electron transport chain drives the synthesis of ATP from ADP. For each NADH reoxidized, 2.5–3 molecules of ATP are produced; for each FADH2 reoxidized, 1.5–2 molecules of ATP are produced.
Replace each question mark with the correct compound.
\(\mathrm{?\xrightarrow{aconitase}isocitrate}\)
\(\mathrm{?\, +\, ? \xrightarrow{citrate\: synthase} citrate + coenzyme\: A}\)
\(\mathrm{fumarate \xrightarrow{fumarase}\, ?}\)
\(\mathrm{isocitrate + NAD^+ \xrightarrow{?} \alpha\textrm{-ketoglurate} + NADH + CO_2}\)
\(\mathrm{malate + NAD^+ \xrightarrow{?} oxaloacetate + NADH}\)
\(\mathrm{?\, +\, ? \xrightarrow{nucleoside\: diphosphokinase} GDP + ATP}\)
\(\mathrm{\textrm{succinyl-CoA} \xrightarrow{\textrm{succinyl-CoA synthetase}} \,?\, +\, ?}\)
\(\mathrm{succinate + FAD \xrightarrow{succinate\: dehydrogenase}\, ? + FADH_2}\)
From the reactions in Exercises 1 and 2, select the equation(s) by number and letter in which each type of reaction occurs.
isomerization
decarboxylation
What similar role do coenzyme Q and cytochrome c serve in the electron transport chain?
What is the electron acceptor at the end of the electron transport chain? To what product is this compound reduced?
What is the function of the cytochromes in the electron transport chain?
What is meant by this statement? “Electron transport is tightly coupled to oxidative phosphorylation.”
How are electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation coupled or linked?
citrate
oxaloacetate + acetyl-CoA
α-ketoglutarate hydrogenase complex
reaction in 1a
reaction in 1c
reaction in 1b
Both molecules serve as electron shuttles between the complexes of the electron transport chain.
Cytochromes are proteins in the electron transport chain and serve as one-electron carriers.
20.3: Overview of Stage II of Catabolism
20.5: Stage II of Carbohydrate Catabolism
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Kyle Bunds
Asst Professor
Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management
Biltmore Hall (Robertson Wing) 3028E
ksbunds@ncsu.edu
Ph.D., Sport Management, Florida State University
Cognate Area: Equitable Development & Communication, 2014
Dissertation: Water For Sport: The (Re)Production of Global Crisis
M.Ed., Athletic Administration, University of Oklahoma, 2010
Supervisors: David Tan and Vicki A. Williams
B.A., University of Oklahoma, 2008
Specialty/Current Research Interests
Dr. Bunds’ research and teaching examines the connection between sport and the environment generally, and sport, water, and air pollution more specifically. The idea that researching, understanding, and communicating how decisions on infrastructure, development, and the environment are made can lead policy makers, organizational leaders, and citizens to make more informed decisions for improving social inclusion, environmental sustainability, and community development guides his research. Dr. Bunds’ primary research interests center on the need for long-term sustainable solutions to environmental crises, an interest in the political, economic, social, and communicative processes of capital development, and a desire to understand how sport can be a vehicle/impediment in responding to these concerns. He is currently working on a book under contract with Routledge focusing on sport, water, charity, and the body, entitled Sport, Politics and the Charity Industry: Running for Water. In addition to his scholarship, Kyle has also guest edited a special issue on political economics for the Journal of Amateur Sport, serves as the Associate Editor for the Journal of Amateur Sport, and he is currently guest editing a forthcoming special issue on sport, physical culture, and the environment in the Sociology of Sport Journal.
Selected Grant Funding
2016-2020 GAPS (Geospatial Applications for Problem Solving) for Hi-Tech Teens – Wellcome Burroughs Foundation $175,006. Role: Co-Principal Investigator (PI: Eric Money; Co-PI’s: Michael Evans, Helena Mitasova, David Chrest, Betsey McFarland).
2016-2017 Sport and Entertainment Venue Management Graduate Certificate Program – NC State Distance Education Learning Technology Applications $63,130. Role: Investigator (PI: Michael Kanters).
2016-2017 Sport Facility Virtual Reality Field Trips and Assessment – NC State Distance Education Learning Technology Applications $8,000. Role: Co-Principal Investigator (PI: Michael Kanters)
2016-2017 NC State Student Athletics Sustainability Coordinator – NC State Sustainability Fund $8,750. Role: Co-Principal Investigator (PI: Jonathan Casper; Co-PI’s: Lindsay Batchelor, Analis Fulgham).
2015-2016 Development and demonstration of methods for measurement of human exposure to air pollution using portable sensors applied to high potential dose scenarios in urban environments – Center for Human Health and Environment $ 34,972. Role: Co-Principal Investigator (PI: Chris Frey; Co-PI’s: Jonathan Casper & Andrew Grieshop).
2015-2016 Pollutant exposure in microenvironments: Examining air pollution at a Division I college football stadium – NC State Faculty Research and Professional Development $4,500. Role: Principle Investigator (Co-PI’s: Chris Frey & Jonathan Casper).
Selected Journal Publications
Kellison, T.B., Bunds, K.S., Casper, J.M, & Newman, J.I. (Accepted) Public parks usage near hydraulic fracturing operations. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism.
Jones, G.J., Edwards, M.B., Bocarro, J.N., Bunds, K.S. & Smith, J.S. (Accepted). A structural analysis of how youth sport non-profit organizations utilize multi-sector partnerships to build organizational capacity. European Sport Management Quarterly.
Jones, G.J., Edwards, M.B., Bocarro, J.N., Bunds, K.S., & Smith, J.S. (2017). Collaborative advantages: The role of inter-organizational partnerships for youth sport Non-profit organizations. Journal of Sport Management. DOI.
Kellison, T.B., Newman, J.I., & Bunds, K.S. (2017). Framing democracy: Stadium financing and civic paternalism in test market, USA. Sport in Society. DOI.
Bunds, K.S. Brandon-Lai, S., & Armstrong, C. (2016). An inductive investigation of participants’ attachment to charity sports events: The case of team water charity. European Sport Management Quarterly, 16(3), 364-381.
Bunds, K.S. (2016) On the messiness of activism from the inside: Global water charities, organizational ethnography, and the politics of change. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 38(3), 236-259.
Bunds, K.S., Newman, J.I., & Giardina, M.D. (2015). The spectacle of disposability: Bumfights, commodity abjection, and bodies of the neoliberal street. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 32(4), 272-286.
Selected Articles in Trade Journals
Bunds, K.S. (2016). Running for water: A brief history and reflection. Water Resources: Impact, 18(1), 25-28.
Casper, J., Kellison, T., Bunds, K.S., & Newman, J. (2016, April). Fracking on parkland in Appalachia: Study looks at the impact of hydraulic fracturing on public park usage. Parks & Recreation, 44-45.
Refereed Books & Monographs
Bunds, K.S. (Under Contract). Running for water: Sport, politics, and the global water charity industry. Simon Whitmore/Routledge
Bass, J.R., Schaeperkoetter, C.S., & Bunds, K.S. (2015) “The front porch”: Examining the increasing interconnection of university and athletic department funding. ASHE Higher Education Report Monograph Series, 41(5). San Francisco, CA: Wiley
Selected Book Chapters
Bunds, K.S. & Giardina, M.D. (Under Contract). Bodies of water: The intra-action between water, sport, and the body politic. In D. Andrews, H. Thorpe, and J. Newman (Eds.) Sport, Physical Culture, and the Moving Body: Materialism, Technologies, Ecologies.
Bunds, K.S. (Under Contract). Water and sport facilities: usage, issues, and solutions. In B. McCullough and T.B. Kellison (Eds.) Handbook on Sport, Sustainability, and the Environment.
Casper, J.M. & Bunds, K.S. (Under Contract). Tailgating and air quality. In B. McCullough and T.B. Kellison (Eds.) Handbook on Sport, Sustainability, and the Environment.
Bunds, K.S. & Casper, J. M. (2015). Evaluation and analysis of environmental actions. In J.M. Casper and M.E. Pfahl (Eds.) Sport Management and the Natural Environment (pp. 99-112). New York: Routledge.
Giardina, M.D., King-White, R., & Bunds, K.S. (2015). BostonStrong: Sport, terror/ism, and the cultural politics of citizenship. In W. Bridel, P. Markula, and J. Denison (Eds.) Endurance Running: A Socio-Cultural Examination (pp. 111-126). New York: Routledge.
Selected Presentations
Bunds, K.S. (2017, June). Leveraging sport for educating the populace about the environment. To be presented at the University of Toronto Sport and Sustainable Development Symposium.
Jones, G.J., Edwards, M.B., Bocarro, J. N., Bunds, K.S., & Smith, J.S. (2017, May). Challenges to facilitating distributed leadership (DL) in community sport organizations. To be presented at the annual conference of the North American Society for Sport Management, Denver, CO.
Casper, J., Kanters, M., Venditti, R., Bunds, K.S., Rajagopalan, N., & Carlton, T. (2017, May). Measuring transportation and the environmental impact of youth sport programs: A case study. To be presented at the annual conference of the North American Society for Sport Management, Denver, CO.
Barrett, M. & Bunds, K.S. (2016, November). Same game, greater capital: Club cricket for South Asian immigrants in North America. Presented at the annual conference of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, Tampa, FL.
Casper, J.M, Bunds, K.S., Kestenbaum, D., & Levine, S. (2016, June). Healthy air & healthy sport. Presented at the annual Green Sport Alliance Summit, Houston, Texas.
Bunds, K.S., Dennison, J., Markula, P., Horcajo, M.M., Gearity, B. (2016, May). Toward anti-foundationalist sport studies: Qualitative inquiry and the challenge of paradigmatic hysteresis. Presented at the annual conference of the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Champaign-Urbana, IL.
Ferreira, B., Bunds, K.S., Morais, D., & Pollack, J. (2016, May). A Mixed Methods Study to Develop and Validate the Tourism e-Microentrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Scale. Presented at the annual Southeastern Recreation Research Conference, Asheville, NC.
Bunds, K.S., Casper, J.M., Frey, H.C. (2016, March). Major event air pollution monitoring. Presented at the annual NC Breathe Conference, Charlotte, NC.
Bunds, K.S., Newman, J.I., Kellison, T.B., & Casper, J.M. (2015, November). Fractured environment(s): A critical examination of hydraulic fracturing and sport. Presented at the annual conference of the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, Sante Fe, NM.
View CV
Academic & Student Services: 919.515.6191
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6 Highest Paid Models Under 30–And They’re Worth Every Penny!
COED Staff | Jul 16, 2012 3:00 pm | Apr 19, 2017 5:09 pm
Forbes magazine has been busy calculating the worth of young celebrities, and just released a list of the Highest-Paid Stars Under 30. They’ve also occasionally tallied up the incomes of assorted supermodels. But we’ve had to do some digging to come up with this list of the youngest models to currently be cashing in like old tycoons. It’s not easy becoming a top-earning model under 30, either. Many ladies hit their high-earning years around the age of 32–and it’s pretty much impossible to run with the big girls until you’re at least 20 years old. That’s why Gisele Bündchen didn’t become the world’s highest-paid model until recently reaching the ripe old age of 31. Anyway, here are five gals who literally have a penny for every time some guy has stared at them–and they’re not nearly as old and haggard as Gisele! (Just kidding, Gisele. Call us.) Now check out these amazing galleries and start staring more at these babes with big bucks…
There’s a lot of money to be made in being a Victoria’s Secret Angel. This 27-year-old gets very close to making $7 million a year–as she’s also pulling in the big bucks posing for companies like L’Oreal. The only thing more amazing than her bod is that she’s kept racking up the big bucks after becoming a MILF in January of 2011.
This lovely Aussie is another Victoria’s Secret model whose money is the root of all awesome. The darling with the major-league dimples makes $4 million a year modeling for sexy brands like Reebok(!), and also has her own line of skin care products–which might come in handy when she turns 30 in April of 2013.
She’s making a little under $4 million a year, but 28-year-old Lara is probably feeling pretty good about herself. The built blonde with the cutest teeth in the biz is working for companies like Calvin Klein, Prada, Donna Karan–and only Doutzen Kroes keeps her from being the top-earning Dutch supermodel!
This 23-year-old newcomer hasn’t wasted any time busting into the top tier of modeling. Candice is now making just over $3 million dollars a year–mostly propelled by the success of her work with Victoria’s Secret, of course. Before it’s over, Candice might be as the most valuable object ever discovered in a flea market! (Seriously, that’s where a photographer first ran into her.)
She’s only 28, but Daria has already had some years where’s she’s pulled in over $4 million in billings. She still does a lot better than plenty of other models with bigger name recognition. If she’s towards the bottom of this list, it’s only because Daria frequently indulges her wanderlust by taking a break–like when she spent two months in 2011 touring Central America.
Technically, Brooklyn might be making a little less than our beloved Kate Upton in the modeling biz. The beautiful blonde has been earning just under $2 million a year–but we’re going to add in Brooklyn’s income as an actress from this year’s Battleship and What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Don’t get upset if you think that’s unfair–it doesn’t look like this 25-year-old will be getting many offers from Hollywood in the future.
Girlscelebrities,celebrities b,Brooklyn Decker,celebrities c,Candice Swanepoel,celebrities d,Daria Werbowy,Doutzen Kroes,celebrities m,Miranda Kerr,angels,Brooklyn,Hot,model,models,Photos,Sexy,stone,Supermodel
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Tag Archive: Michael Galinsky
TOUR JOURNAL: The Stunt – an E-True Hollywood Story – NYC (Day 11: 2010-11-20)
Filed under: crashtoons, Film Tour, Hell on Wheels, Rock Opera, screenings, Total Badass — Leave a comment
10:43AM – CHAD
So, we have a screening today at noon back at reRun, but Bob just got a text from Aaron Hillis, who booked the screenings, explaining that he wasn’t going to be able to make it down to the movie this afternoon. Now, that really shouldn’t be a big deal, but apparently I’m not allowed over at reRun anymore without Aaron there to take personal responsibility for me. We were specifically texted not to go down there without him, so I guess he’s my official “handler” for the week. This gives me the day off to watch college football.
11:11 AM – BOB
Regarding last night, my filmmaker friend Michael Galinsky wrote this:
Posted by Michael on November 19th, 2010 in Rumur
Total Badass http://www.rumur.com/news/totall-badass
About 8 months ago my good friend Bob Ray sent me a cut of his documentary “Total Badass”. The cut was a bit of a mess but it was clear that there was a pretty amazing tale unfolding. Tonight i saw the final cut at a screening in Brooklyn and I was shocked at how much he had been able to do without changing it significantly.
The film follows his friend Chad Holt, who is a total badass. I’ll leave the explaining and the reviews to the reviewers http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/11/19/movies/19haleroundup.html but i did want to relate a post show screening story from tonight. Early in the film we learn of Chad’s exploits in his band, Front Butt. In the band he would wear a butt in the front of his pants and he would leap from the stage into a trash can. It was clear from the footage that the performance transcended schtick. The danger and the pain were real and palpable, painful to watch. The band, like all other aspects of his life was designed to transcend expectation and push the envelope in all directions. It would be quite easy at first glance to kind of dismiss the front butt, and the stage diving, and the music as a gimmick. However, it was clear that while for some people the experience was like a freak show, for others there was something transformative about how Chad pushed way beyond the boundaries to an area of danger almost as a gift to the audience. In pushing himself so far he made room on the other side for those too scared to push themselves.
In order to drum up press and enthusiasm for the screening, the booker had promised live stunts. He bought a trash can and Chad was urged to use it. While in some ways the film is a chronicle of Chad’s exploits, it is also a tale of redemption. Over the course of the film, Chad pulls his life together and is able to start taking care of his son and daughter full time. At the screening Chad said, “I don’t want to do this because I’m at a different place in my life. I’ll do this, but it won’t be authentic and it will be kind of sad. But ya’ll take a vote and if you vote on it I’ll do it.” I voted no. It was a tie. I had a bad feeling about it for two reasons. Number 1, I just thought it would be a lame gesture. Number 2, Chad mentioned that he didn’t have health insurance and I just thought it would be awful if their film tour was messed up because of this silly gesture.
After some awkward back and forth Chad brushed past me and headed towards the front of the venue holding the trash can. The filmmaker had given me his flip camera to capture the q and a so I followed behind him. When we got to the front he started to take his wallet and phone and lighters out of his pocket and dumped them on the hostess platform. A few people had streamed out of the venue to witness, but he didn’t wait around. He dove into the trash can and headed down the stairs. I felt the same hot jet of adrenalin that I get when my kids fall. He flopped painfully down a couple of steps and I knew that something was wrong. He hit the middle platform with a thud and then rolled down the next section. He hit the bottom explosively and flopped to a halt. Staring at both him and the little flip camera screen had given the whole thing an edge of surrealism.
The filmmaker, Bob has his little photo camera trained on Chad. He filmed the stillness because Chad wasn’t moving. I headed down the steps and it was clear that he was breathing but my sense of dread began to turn towards real fear. With his feet splayed at an awkward angle it seemed that he might be hurt. I also thought that he might be faking it to let those who had voted for his degradation feel some guilt. There was a lot of confusion and the stress level started to ratchet up the longer he laid like that. I searched Bob’s expression for any sense of fear or doubt, but found none, which was comforting – at first. My jacket was locked in the theater so I got the promoter to let me in. He seemed a little nervous, but excited by the tension. We were all kind of joking about it, but after 20 minutes i was starting to get nervous. The danger of it started to get to me. Sure, there was a 90% chance he was fine, but if he was hurt, or had a spine injury he needed help immediately.
We went back to the front and I checked his feet. They hadn’t moved at all. I started to get freaked out, so freaked out in fact that I felt the need to leave. Bob moved forward and peered inside the trash can with a lighter to check his eyes. He was calm but appeared nervous. He couldn’t seem to get any kind of response from Chad. Finally a guy standing near by said, “This is ludicrous, i’m calling an ambulance”
I left. I still thought it might be a performance but I was cooked. i couldn’t take the pressure and i didn’t want to get caught up in the drama. I bid Bob goodnight and took off in a foul mood. I thought about Chad’s kids. I pictured him in a wheel chair. I felt like shit and my thoughts were flying around like bats in a small room.
About three blocks from the venue I heard the ambulance on its way and i was glad to be out of there. When I got home I saw that I had a voice mail. My friend Adam had called to tell me that moments after I left Chad popped up. It had been all performance. In total badass form he talked his way out of trouble with the ambulance.
That was high art.
2:02PM – CHAD
Ok, so there’s this bar in Manhattan called Stout, and it’s like Texas Longhorns headquarters if you are in New York City. During a good year, the entire club is packed with Longhorn fans during the football games. This year, 2010, has been so shitty for the Longhorns that the fair-weathered fan base has dried up and the bar only shows the games in a dingy back room, hidden away from public view. Bob and I went to said dingy back room and ate a pizza while Texas beat the shit out of Florida Atlantic to vent out some of their frustrations over the year’s other losses. You know how a guy will get his ass kicked in a bar fight, so he goes home and beats the shit out of his wife and kids? That’s kind of what Texas did to Florida Atlantic.
I’m sitting in a house in Long Island. I know it says that it’s Day 11, but I’m really writing this from the future. If you’ve been reading the tour journal, you already know that all my entries are time-traveling lies. So really, it’s Day 16 (Thanksgiving eve) and I’m acting like it’s Day 12. I know this is confusing, but time-travel always is. Anyway, my point is that I don’t remember what happened on Day 11. I know it was only five days ago, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what happened. In fact, five days ago seem like it was about 27 months ago… maybe it’ll come back to me. I’ll let you know, if so.
Perhaps the distraction of a possible NYC fire will liven things up:
11:45PM – CHAD
We went to visit our old friend, Patrick Holmes, at The Living Room where he tends bar. Patrick is a friend from way back when Bob and I lived next door to each other over on West Campus in the early 90’s. He’s been living in New York now for well over a decade and I look him up anytime I go up there. Shit, he came out and saw Rock Opera out there when we took it up for the New York Underground Film Festival way back in 2000. I guess that excuses him for not coming to any of the Total Badass screenings this time around. Plus, he did get us so fucked up at the bar that I really can’t tell you anything about the night, other than Patrick was there.
Chad and I walked back to the crash-pad near the World Trade Center. We found a hard-copy of the Village Voice. The page with the review has a huge pic of Chad. It’s the pic on the DVD cover (thanks, Jerry Milton!) where Chad is in a tumped-over trashcan, apparently naked but with shoes on and knees bleeding. A striking pic, to be sure. And the Voice knew this, giving it nearly half the page.
I found this cute write up:
http://www.theroadtorollergirl.com/2010/11/19/slackerstruck-a-wannabe-meets-hell-on-wheels-director-bob-ray/comment-page-1/#comment-116
Official Tour Page: www.badassfilmtour.com
Tags: Aaron Hillis, Adam, ambulance, Bob Ray, Brooklyn, chad holt, fire trucks, flip cam, Florida Atlantic, football games, Front Butt, Jerry Milton, Long Island, Manhattan, Michael Galinsky, New York, New York City, New York Underground Film Festival, Patrick Holmes, reRun Theater, Rumur, stairs, Stout, stunts, Texas Longhorns, Thanksgiving, The Living Room, trashcan, Village Voice, West Campus, World Trade Center
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The Diversity of Classic Rock: An Introduction
angiemoonthemod 18/03/2015 2 Comments
Aaaahhh classic rock… It’s not something that people think is very diverse. Look at any “classic rock” station in America – there are few female DJs, if any. Most of the DJs are white and male. As a 20-year-old mixed race woman, I’m from quite a different walk of life than most classic rock DJs. Classic rock is not a white man’s game! It’s music. It’s for all to enjoy. Anyways, the roots of rock and roll were invented by Black Americans – coming from blues and jazz, developing into R&B. This music travelled all over the world, naturally. People wanted to share it because that’s what you do when you like something and you want other people to be aware of it. Culture spreads that way. British Invasion music had a lot of American influences. Rock music from the 60s had lots of influences from around the world as well, and you’ll see what I’m talking about in the later blog posts. American and British rock music made its way all over the world – to Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. My mum, who was my age in 1979 and lived in Caracas at the time said that she liked listening to music like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. There were even classic rock musicians from Africa and Asia. I’ve met people from all over the world on Tumblr who love classic rock. No matter what part of the world you’re from, Classic Rock is a “Universal Love” (MFSB reference).
Take a look at this neat little chart from School of Rock: You’ll see what I’m talking about
These genres fuse together at times. What we know as classic rock has influences from country, jazz, disco, hip hop, funk, Latin, Reggae/Ska, Raga, folk, and various traditional music from different countries.
Classic rock musicians are diverse in many ways from what walks of life they come from to their musical influences. Men and women alike love playing this music! Some are from wealthy and well off backgrounds, while others were from working class backgrounds. In height, they range from 5′ Suzi Quatro to 6’6″ Joey Ramone. In one band alone, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks is 5’1″ and Mick Fleetwood is 6’5″. They’re diverse in religious beliefs – George Harrison was Hindu, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) is Muslim, Roger Waters is an Atheist, Freddie Mercury was Zoroastrian, Jim Morrison was spiritual, Simon and Garfunkel are Jewish. There are classic rock stars from many different ethnic backgrounds. There are classic rock stars born and raised on every continent (except for Antarctica, haven’t heard of any penguins making rock music). We’ll go into the specifics of the diversity of classic rock in the coming blog posts – complete with links to YouTube videos with music because that’s what this blog is about! Can’t have a music blog without some music!
What is Classic Rock exactly? When did it all start? They couldn’t have possibly have called it “Classic Rock” in the 60s because that music was new and there was no way of knowing at the time if it would be remembered in the decades to come or if the music would have an expiry date. According to Jon Pareles in an article he wrote in the New York Times in 1986 it spun off from a music format called AOR – Album Oriented Rock, and it was all about the essential hits from the 60s and 70s. What was in the top 40 at that time.
Beyond a radio format, classic rock includes subgenres like British Invasion (Beatles, Stones, Who), Psychedelic (Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane), Blues Rock (Yardbirds, early Fleetwood Mac) Prog Rock (Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer), Glam Rock (David Bowie, T Rex), Surf Rock (Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, Link Wray), Hard Rock (AC/DC, Aerosmith), Garage Rock (Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Standells), Punk Rock (Ramones, Clash), Instrumental (The Shadows, The Ventures), Art Rock (10cc, ELO).
Since then, the 60s and 70s music is being phased out on classic rock stations and is being replaced by 80s and even 90s music (what even? I thought the 90s was 10 years ago). Sometimes you’re hearing Nirvana or Pearl Jam on the same station you would hear Queen and The Rolling Stones on. I do like some 90s music however (I love Oasis).
Now for a little bit about me:
How did I fall in love with classic rock? Why do I want to be a classic rock DJ? What were my influences?
Let’s go through the questions one by one:
How did I fall in love with classic rock?
I fell in love with classic rock through my love of the 60s. Which all started when I was 14 and bored one day from coming back from secondary school. I decided to watch Austin Powers. Instantly I fell in love with the 60s aesthetic. I started reading all about the 60s and fell in love with the clothes, the youth subcultures and activist movements. When I was 15 I fell in love even more with The Beatles and I got a haircut that was Beatle like that I still have today – same fringe, just longer hair. Before that I had hair kind of like Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. The Beatles are one of those bands that are the gateway to loving classic rock. I branched out from there and fell in love with many other bands. That same year The Boat That Rocked came out. Later on I would rewatch School Of Rock which I absolutely adored when it came out and now I have a better understanding and appreciation of classic rock bands.
When I was 17 I started getting into buying vintage clothing and when I was 18 I started buying lots of records. I wanted a record collection of my own, like my dad has. My dad has a few hundred records, and I have maybe 60 something records. No idea because I move around all the time and my parents have most of my record collection. I went to my first classic rock concert when I saw Roger Daltrey do Tommy in 2011. Since then I’ve seen Roger Waters, The Who, Yes, Paul McCartney, Herman’s Hermits, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Heart, The Lambrettas, and Secret Affair in concert. I’ve even gone to a Pete Townshend book signing.
Why do I want to be a classic rock DJ?
I just really like music and it has gotten me through difficult times. I really love classic rock and many of these bands have great messages in their music. I love what rock and roll stands for. It’s about going against the grain, rebellion, revolution, standing up for what is right, social change and progress. I may not be able to get in a time machine and travel back to the 60s and go to festivals like Monterey, Woodstock, and Isle of Wight. I’d love to go shopping in Swinging London – go to shops like Biba and Granny Takes a Trip. I’d love to go to the 70s and go to Wigan, The Twisted Wheel, and The Golden Torch. I’d love to buy lots of records for a lot cheaper than I would get them today. I may not be able to do that but I want to have a show, a platform where I can bring back all the good memories of the 60s and 70s and keep the “Love Alive” (get it? It’s a Heart reference) for the decades and the music.
What were my influences?
Definitely listening to podcasts as a teenager. I thought being a DJ would be awesome! Definitely The Boat That Rocked was a big influence in my desire to work towards my goal. The School Of Rock was an influence for me as well. My dad was a DJ in the 70s in California and he was a huge inspiration for me and he encouraged me to go for a Communications degree.
I’m going to leave you with one last thing, a little (fun) homework:
Tagsclassic rock
Begin Here: Classic Rock/Oldies and Africa
mikeladano 09/05/2015 at 17:22
I love School of Rock. I recall from watching the movie with audio commentary track that the writers obsessed over that very chart. Just like real classic rock geeks. I love that they put so much passion into the movie. I take movies like that seriously, I like historical accuracy and geeky obsessiveness in my classic rock music and that one hit the spot on every level. Plus kids can watch it without parents having to “earmuff!” certain words!
2018 in Review – The Diversity of Classic Rock 29/12/2018 at 09:05
[…] it ain’t broke don’t fix it. At the top, used to be a still from The School of Rock (a huge inspiration for me to write this blog) that said “Your homework is to listen to real music, get […]
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US And Russia Reach Tentative Cease-Fire Agreement In Syria
This hopefully opens the doors to help those people in desperate need.
This is good news, indeed, if it can be carried out! The United States and Russia have come to an agreement for a cease-fire in Syria and plans to get humanitarian aid in to those people who are desperately in need.
Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, announced that they had agreed on the delivery over the next few days of desperately needed aid to besieged Syrian cities, to be followed by a “cessation of hostilities” within a week on the way to a more formal cease-fire.
“We have agreed to implement a nationwide cessation of hostilities in one week’s time,” Mr. Kerry said early Friday morning, after all-day meetings. “That is ambitious.”
“The real test is whether all the parties honor those commitments,” he said, sitting next to Mr. Lavrov, the two men doing their best to appear cooperative after weeks of trading accusations over the accelerated Russian air campaign that has given new support to the government of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad.
If executed, the agreement, forged by the International Syria Support Group, would mark the first sustained and formally declared halt to fighting in Syria since the civil war began in 2011, early in the Arab uprisings. But even a formal cease-fire would be partial — it excludes the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, and the Nusra Front, both designated as terrorist organizations by the United Nations — and highly fragile.
cease fire, humanitarian aid, Russia, Syria, United States
While We Were Watching The Paris Tragedy, This Happened
A quiet announcement of moves toward peace in Syria.
Just Like Trump, Fox Wants To Move On From Russia's Meddling In Our Election
Now that Donald Trump has signaled he wants to let bygones be bygones over Russia's interference in our election, so does Fox News.
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Mingun, Myanmar
Mingun is a town in Sagaing Division, northwest Myanmar (formerly Burma), located 11 km up the Ayeyarwady River on the west bank from Mandalay. Its main attraction is the ruined Mingun Pahtodawgyi, the remains of a massive unfinished Buddhist stupa begun by King Bodawpaya in 1790. The temple was not completed, due to an astrologer claiming that, once the temple was finished, the king would die.[citation needed] Had the stupa been completed, it would have been the largest in the world at 150 meters. Despite its ruined state, the remains are impressive, making it the largest pile of bricks in the world. There are huge cracks in the structure from the earthquake of 23 March 1839, but a small shrine with a Buddha image still serves its purpose as a place of worship and meditation. Pondaw paya or a working model of the stupa can be seen nearby.
King Bodawpaya also had a gigantic bell cast to go with his huge stupa. The Mingun Bell weighs 90 tons, and is today the largest ringing bell in the world.
Cruise Season – Jan - Dec
Currency - Kyat (MMK)
Language – Burmese
Electricity – 2 vertical Square pins and one perpendicular below British style
Time - GMT plus six and a half hours
International Country Telephone Code +95
Back to Destinations
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In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. ... Bible Scripture Verse Art
He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits. There were nets of network and twisted threads of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. The capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. There were capitals on the two pillars, even above and close to the rounded projection which was beside the network; and the pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around both capitals. Thus he set up the pillars at the porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz. On the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished. Now he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in circumference. Under its brim gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, completely surrounding the sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the rest. It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward. It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold two thousand baths. Then he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was four cubits and its width four cubits and its height three cubits. This was the design of the stands: they had borders, even borders between the frames, and on the borders which were between the frames were lions, oxen and cherubim; and on the frames there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the basin were cast supports with wreaths at each side. Its opening inside the crown at the top was a cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. The four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. On the top of the stand there was a circular form half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its stays and its borders were part of it. He engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around. He made the ten stands like this: all of them had one casting, one measure and one form. He made ten basins of bronze, one basin held forty baths; each basin was four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin. Then he set the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south. Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished doing all the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of the LORD: the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; and the ten stands with the ten basins on the stands; and the one sea and the twelve oxen under the sea; and the pails and the shovels and the bowls; even all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were of polished bronze. In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; the weight of the bronze could not be ascertained. Solomon made all the furniture which was in the house of the LORD: the golden altar and the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold. Thus all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the LORD was finished And Solomon brought in the things dedicated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD.
1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. 6 Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you: Bible Scripture Verse Art
This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died. ... Bible Scripture Verse Art
David built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever. And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites: of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his brothers; ... Christian Canvas Art
He made 300 shields of beaten gold, using three minas of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with refined gold. There were six steps to the throne and a round top to the throne at its rear, and arms on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon. Bible Scripture Verse Art
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Also known as Quella villa accanto al cimitero as if anyone really cared. You have to hand it to the Italian horror directors of the day, they are definitely a group that values style WAY over anything relating to coherence. The true masters of the Italian 'giallo' cinema were Dario Argento and Mario Bava, even when their films were less than perfect they had such a command of horror techniques and used them to create some truly memorable experiences. Then there are those like Lucio Fulci, mere hacks who mask their lack of talent with gallons of gore and impenetrable plotlines.
Fulci gained notoriety with the zombie one-two punch of Zombie and City of the Living Dead (aka Gates of Hell); two nauseating and nasty little pieces of work. The former remembered by a woman's eyeball being slowly punctured on a piece of wood, the latter for the scene where a woman literally vomits up every one of her internal organs. Not pretty. But even if flicks like these are your thing, Fulci failed to even bother telling a story that made sense, compounded with some of the worst acting, dubbing, cinematography and writing imaginable. George Romero made zombie movies too, but at least he made them smart (well, most of them).
Without further ado, I bring to you House by the Cemetery, another Fulci puke opus. To its credit, its not as vile as Zombie, City of the Living Dead, or his true low point, The New York Ripper, but to its detriment, it makes even less sense than those two combined.
Where to begin. We start with a young couple and their son (who is named "Bob", which illicited giggles from me everytime someone called his name, don't know why). They leave New York City to take up residence in a gothic house out in the rural part of the state (yes, you will notice that although the film is set in America the cast is Italian and speak in horribly dubbed English). Anyway, once there, strange things begin to happen..sort of. Again, it's hard to tell what's going on most of the time. The wife is attacked by a rubber bat, they find a sealed grave in the middle of the living room floor and hear strange noises in the basement. All signs point to the fact that they should all get the hell out of dodge, but of course, they stick around.
Where does this all lead to you ask? Again, I'm not entirely clear. Apparantly, an evil doctor once lived in the house who had made a pact with the devil, or something, and he has decided to rise and kill again...or something. A couple of extraneous characters get massacred along the way, and in true Lucio Fulci style, it's done as artlessly and nastily as possible; such as when a real estate estate lady gets her neck gouged by a fireplace poker and we get nice, slow-motion shot of the arterial spray from her neck spurting up to the camera.
Fulci couldn't film a lucid plot if his life depended on it. He throws together anything he can think of and simply waits to see if any of it will gel together. It doesn't. Along with the undead doctor, we have a mysterious ghost girl who befriends Bob, a woman who shows up out of nowhere and is immediately hired as the nanny (and who bares a striking resemblance to a mannequin shown earlier in the film), a strange photograph of the house that may or may not contain clues to the former residents etc. etc. etc. Whatever. The finale has the family, sans Bob, being slaughtered by the evil doctor zombie, who, and I'm not making this up, is wearing a suit and tie! A very well dressed zombie to be sure, dripping maggots and blood and attempting to kill off our hero, Bob.
House by the Cemetery is an obnoxiously tedious affair, chugging along at fits and starts. At any point the story begins to lose focus (which is every 3 minutes or so), Fulci throws in a gory death in hopes the audience won't pay any attention.
Now, I'm not averse to gore films in general; in fact, Dario Argento's Suspiria is one of the finest horror films ever made, and it's just as violent and bloody as some of Fulci's work. But Argento has some things Fulci lacks, namely talent and style. Watch Suspiria and House by the Cemetery back to back and you'll see exactly what I mean.
If you have absolutely nothing else to watch, give House by the Cemetery a try. Don't expect much and you won't be disappointed.
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Satisfaction and Comparison Income (1996)
by Andrew E Clark, Andrew J Oswald
Venue: Journal of Public Economics
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A theory of fairness, competition and cooperation
by Ernst Fehr, Klaus M. Schmidt - Quarterly Journal of Economics , 1999
"... de/ls_schmidt/index.html ..."
de/ls_schmidt/index.html
What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?
by Bruno S. Frey, Alois Stutzer - FORTHCOMING IN JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC LITERATURE , 2002
"... Happiness is generally considered to be an ultimate goal in life; virtually everybody wants to be happy. The United States Declaration of Independence of 1776 takes it as a self-evident truth that the “pursuit of happiness” is an “unalienable right”, comparable to life and liberty. It follows that e ..."
Happiness is generally considered to be an ultimate goal in life; virtually everybody wants to be happy. The United States Declaration of Independence of 1776 takes it as a self-evident truth that the “pursuit of happiness” is an “unalienable right”, comparable to life and liberty. It follows that economics is – or should be – about individual happiness. In particular, the question is how do economic growth, unemployment and inflation, as well as institutional factors such as good governance, affect individual well-being? In addition to this intrinsic interest, there are three major reasons for economists to consider happiness. The first is economic policy. At the micro-level, it is often impossible to make a Pareto-optimal proposal, because a social action entails costs for some individuals. Hence an evaluation of the net effects, in terms of individual utilities, is needed. On an aggregate level, economic policy must deal with trade-offs, especially those between unemployment and
Relative Income, Happiness and Utility: An Explanation for the Easterlin Paradox and Other Puzzles
by Andrew E. Clark, Paul Frijters, Michael Shields , 2007
Neighbors as Negatives: Relative Earnings and Well-Being
by Erzo F. P. Luttmer - Quarterly Journal of Economics , 2005
"... This paper investigates whether individuals feel worse off when others around them earn more. In other words, do people care about relative position, and does “lagging behind the Joneses ” diminish well-being? To answer this question, I match individual-level data containing various indicators of we ..."
This paper investigates whether individuals feel worse off when others around them earn more. In other words, do people care about relative position, and does “lagging behind the Joneses ” diminish well-being? To answer this question, I match individual-level data containing various indicators of well-being to information about local average earnings. I find that, controlling for an individual’s own income, higher earnings of neighbors are associated with lower levels of self-reported happiness. The data’s panel nature and rich set of measures of well-being and behavior indicate that this association is not driven by selection or by changes in the way people define happiness. There is suggestive evidence that the negative effect of increases in neighbors ’ earnings on own well-being is most likely caused by interpersonal preferences, that is, people having utility functions that depend on relative consumption in addition to absolute consumption. I.
Happiness and economic performance
by Andrew J. Oswald - ECONOMIC JOURNAL , 1997
How important is methodology for the estimates of the determinants of happiness
by Ada Ferrer-i-carbonell, Paul Frijters - Economic Journal , 2004
"... Psychologists and sociologists usually interpret happiness scores as cardinal and comparable across respondents, and thus run OLS regressions on happiness and changes in happiness. Economists usually assume only ordinality and have mainly used ordered latent response models, thereby not taking satis ..."
Psychologists and sociologists usually interpret happiness scores as cardinal and comparable across respondents, and thus run OLS regressions on happiness and changes in happiness. Economists usually assume only ordinality and have mainly used ordered latent response models, thereby not taking satisfactory account of fixed individual traits. We address this problem by developing a conditional estimator for the fixed-effect ordered logit model. We find that assuming ordinality or cardinality of happiness scores makes little difference, whilst allowing for fixed-effects does change results substantially. We call for more research into the determinants of the personality traits making up these fixed-effects. The empirical economic literature on self-reported happiness, also termed life satisfaction, seems to be taking off. Whereas in the 1970s and 1980s there was only a trickle of articles on happiness,1 the last couple of years witnessed a spate of empirical studies on this subject.2,3 Next to the economic literature, there are more than 3000 studies done in the last 30 years by psychologists and sociologists (Veenhoven, 1994; Veenhoven, 1997). This means that there is now a large com-bined literature on what causes happiness.
(Show Context)
Citation Context
... to the West German workers in order to avoid the issue of the negative effect of unemployment on satisfaction and the related problem of the strong interrelation between age, health, and employment (=-=Clark and Oswald, 1996-=-; Korpi, 1997; Blanchflower and Oswald, 2000a). Available time-invariant controls are added for (1) but not for (2). In both specifications time-dummies are incorporated for the different waves. Sever...
A model of reference‐dependent preferences
by Botond Kőszegi, Matthew Rabin - Quarterly Journal of Economics , 2006
"... We develop a model that fleshes out, extends, and modifies existing models of referencedependent preferences and loss aversion while accomodating most of the evidence motivating these models. Our approach makes reference-dependent theory more broadly applicable by avoiding some of the ways that prev ..."
We develop a model that fleshes out, extends, and modifies existing models of referencedependent preferences and loss aversion while accomodating most of the evidence motivating these models. Our approach makes reference-dependent theory more broadly applicable by avoiding some of the ways that prevailing models—if applied literally and without ancillary assumptions—make variously weak and incorrect predictions. Our model combines the reference-dependent gain-loss utility with standard economic “consumption utility ” and clarifies the relationship between the two. Most importantly, we posit that a person’s reference point is her recent expectations about outcomes (rather than the status quo), and assume that behavior accords to a personal equilibrium: The person maximizes utility given her rational expectations about outcomes, where these expectations depend on her own anticipated behavior. We apply our theory to consumer behavior, and emphasize that a consumer’s willingness to pay for a good is endogenously determined by the market distribution of prices and how she expects to respond to these prices. Because a buyer’s willingness to buy depends on whether she anticipates buying the good, for a range of market prices there are multiple personal equilibria. This multiplicity disappears when the consumer is sufficiently uncertain about the price she will face. Because paying more than she anticipated induces a sense of loss in the buyer, the lower the prices at which she expects to buy the lower will be her willingness to pay. In some situations, a known stochastic decrease in prices can even lower the quantity demanded.
Beyond money: toward an economy of well-being
by Ed Diener, Martin E. P. Seligman - PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST , 2004
"... Policy decisions at the organizational, corporate, and governmental levels should be more heavily influenced by issues related to well-being––people’s evaluations and feelings about their lives. Domestic policy currently focuses heavily on economic outcomes, although economic indicators omit, and ev ..."
Policy decisions at the organizational, corporate, and governmental levels should be more heavily influenced by issues related to well-being––people’s evaluations and feelings about their lives. Domestic policy currently focuses heavily on economic outcomes, although economic indicators omit, and even mislead about, much of what society values. We show that economic indicators have many shortcomings, and that measures of well-being point to important conclusions that are not apparent from economic indicators alone. For example, although economic output has risen steeply over the past decades, there has been no rise in life satisfaction during this period, and there has been a substantial increase in depression and distrust. We argue that economic indicators were extremely important in the early stages of economic development, when the fulfillment of basic needs was the main issue. As societies grow wealthy,
Lags and leads in life satisfaction: A test of the baseline hypothesis’, SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research No. 84
by Andrew E. Clark, Yannis Georgellis, Richard E. Lucas Abstract, John Haisken-denew, Bruce Headey, Hendrik Jürges, Danny Kahneman , 2008
"... We look for evidence of habituation in twenty waves of German panel data: do individuals, after life and labour market events, tend to return to some baseline level of well-being? Although the strongest life satisfaction effect is often at the time of the event, we find significant lag and lead effe ..."
We look for evidence of habituation in twenty waves of German panel data: do individuals, after life and labour market events, tend to return to some baseline level of well-being? Although the strongest life satisfaction effect is often at the time of the event, we find significant lag and lead effects. We cannot reject the hypothesis of complete adaptation to marriage, divorce, widowhood, birth of child, and layoff. However, there is little evidence of adaptation to unemployment. Men are somewhat more affected by labour market events (unemployment and layoffs) than are women, but in general the patterns of anticipation and adaptation are remarkably similar by sex.
Self-employment in OECD countries
by David G. Blanchflower - LABOUR ECONOMICS 7 2000 471–505 , 2000
"... The paper examines the role and influence of self-employment across the OECD. The overall trend in self-employment, at the economy level in the years since 1966, has been down in most countries. The main exceptions to this are Portugal, New Zealand and the United Kingdom where the trend has been upw ..."
The paper examines the role and influence of self-employment across the OECD. The overall trend in self-employment, at the economy level in the years since 1966, has been down in most countries. The main exceptions to this are Portugal, New Zealand and the United Kingdom where the trend has been upward. For most countries there is a negative relationship between the self-employment rate and the unemployment rate. The probability of being self-employed is higher among men than women and rises with age. The least educated have the highest probability of being self-employed, however, evidence is found that the most highly educated also have relatively high probabilities. The self-employed have higher levels of job satisfaction than employees. I could find no evidence that increases in the self-employment rate increased the real growth rate of the economy; in fact there was even evidence of the opposite. The self-employed are less willing to move from their neighborhoods, towns and regions than are employees, presumably because of the pull of their customers. I developed a flexibility index based on information provided by individuals in 1995. According to this index the US economy was the most flexible,
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/TWD
The Walking Dead Telltale Series
The Walking Dead's Robert Kirkman Reveals How Game Of Thrones' George R.R. Martin Disappointed Him
By Brandon Davis - September 6, 2017 04:06 am EDT
The Walking Dead's Robert Kirkman is serious about keeping his Walking Dead spoilers to himself. While the writer and creator of the hit AMC series and Image comics series knows how his zombie drama will inevitably end, he isn't willing to tell a soul about it.
When asked if he knows how The Walking Dead will end, Kirkman replies, "For the books? I do. I know how the story wraps up."
With issue #155 hitting shelves today, Kirkman still doesn't know when the series will actually conclude. "The big question is when and how far in the distance that is," the writer says of his planned ending. "But I think that most people think, oh, why would he end it? It's so successful, he's going to keep throwing shit at the wall to keep it going. And that's not going to happen. You'll eventually be able to see that it all kind of comes together."
The Walking Dead's TV series may not run as long as the comics have. They've been in print for over a decade and in terms of story telling, they're at an equivalent to season 12 based on The Walking Dead's pacing through six seasons. Yes, it is the highest rated show on television at the moment with no signs of slowing down, but doubling its current lifespan would still be an impressive feat.
Unlike Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead will likely never surpass its source material when adapted to live action. Even if it did, though, Kirkman won't spill the beans on the ending like George R.R. Martin did for his HBO series.
"I would never do that," Kirkman says. "That's the one thing I'm disappointed in George R.R. Martin for doing. He should have just been like, 'F--- you.' You make it up now, I'll get to mine when I'm ready."
The Walking Dead returns for its seventh season in October. Issue #155 is available now.
(source: RollingStone)
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The Walking Dead Showrunner Teases Season 10 Time Jump Brings “Unexpected” Developments
Fear the Walking Dead Is in Meltdown Mode in Mid-Season Finale Preview
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Fear the Walking Dead Showrunners on Alicia’s Fate: There’s “Cause for Concern”
Fear The Walking Dead Recap With Spoilers: Still Standing
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July 13, 2019 at 7pm
Austin trio Greyhounds blends airy keyboards, sharp guitar riffs and soulful vocals into a smooth yet edgy sound that speaks to fans of blues, soul and rock ’n’ roll. Guitarist Andrew Trube first met Anthony Farrell in 1999 when he placed an ad in the LA Weekly seeking a keyboardist. These two immensely talented musicians have been collaborating ever since and for years they toured with JJ Grey’s band MOFRO. In 2016, the duo left MOFRO to focus on Greyhounds, adding Ed Miles as drummer. With a sound that’s been described as “Hall & Oates meets ZZ Top,” the band takes the stage with a confidence and intensity that is based on the dynamic interplay between Farrell and Trube.
Over the years, Trube and Farrell have written a wealth of songs, placing some with artists like Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. In 2009, the Greyhounds opened the tour of American Idol winner Taylor Hicks. They signed a three-record deal with Memphis-based Ardent Records and performed songs from their 2014 release “Accumulator” at Memphis’ legendary Sun Studio. There they met GRAMMY-winning engineer Matt Ross-Spang, who offered them the opportunity to record at the historic Sam Phillips Recording studio in Memphis, Tenn. They recorded their 2018 album Cheyenne Valley Drive in just three days, giving the release some of the spontaneous, raw quality of their live performances.
http://www.greyhoundsmusic.com
Jamie Lenfestey
jamie@ampconcerts.org
No alcohol is allowed on Santa Fe City Park Property.
Beer is available at Second Street Brewing and Violet Crown Cinema. Get there early for a spot on their patios!
Camp/lawn chairs are welcome but not directly in front of the stage/dance area.
Outside food and non alcoholic beverages are welcome.
There are food vendors on-site, as well as local restaurants all around the Railyard.
Friendly, leashed dogs are allowed but not encouraged.
There is parking (metered until 6:00) all around the Railyard and surrounding areas. The Railyard parking garage is open on Camino de la Familia and Manhattan. Concertgoers are encouraged to ride bikes to the concerts along the Railyard bike trail with valet bike parking sponsored by Santa Fe bicycle store Mellow Vello. Bike safely. Wear a helmet and be sure to have bike lights for the ride home!
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Oscar-Winning Documentary ‘Free Solo’ Lands Seven Emmy Nominations
TNT Orders ‘Snowpiercer’ Pilot Based On Movie From Tomorrow Studios
TNT has given a pilot order to Snowpiercer, a futuristic thriller drama based on the acclaimed 2013 feature by Bong Joon-ho that starred Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton and Song Kang-ho. The pilot will be co-produced by Tomorrow Studios — Marty Adelstein’s joint venture with ITV Studios — and Turner’s Studio T.
Tomorrow Studios optioned the rights to Snowpiercer last year, tapping Josh Friedman, who has extensive futuristic/sci-fi credentials, to write the series adaptation. Friedman previously created the Fox series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, also based on a movie franchise, and has written/co-written such movies as War of the Worlds and some of the Avatar sequels.
Snowpiercer is set seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland and the remnants of humanity inhabit a gigantic, perpetually moving train that circles the globe. The show questions class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival. In addition to producing a pilot, the project is getting backup scripts written.
Friedman serves as writer, executive producer and showrunner. Also executive producing the pilot are Tomorrow Studios’ Adelstein (Aquarius, Prison Break, Teen Wolf, Last Man Standing) and Becky Clements (Aquarius, Last Man Standing); the original film’s Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, Lee Tae-hun and Dooho Choi; and CJ Entertainment, which distributed the South Korean movie based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette.
“Snowpiercer has one of the most original concepts to hit the screen in the last decade, and it’s one that offers numerous opportunities for deeper exploration in a series format,” said Sarah Aubrey, EVP Original Programming at TNT. “We look forward to expanding TNT’s relationship with Tomorrow Studios and their take on a world where humanity is pushed to the extreme.”
Snowpiercer marks TNT’s third pilot from Tomorrow Studios’ Adelstein and Clements. TNT previously ordered Good Behavior, starring Michelle Dockery, which went to series that debuted this month, and last month TNT picked up a pilot for the vampire thriller Let the Right One In, based on the bestselling novel by Swedish author John Ajvide, which is also a co-production between Studio T and Tomorrow Studios.
“TNT has become a great producing partner to Tomorrow Studios, and we are excited to continue our relationship with them on Snowpiercer, for which we not only have a pilot but are writing multiple scripts,” said Adelstein, CEO of Tomorrow Studios. “This is an incredibly powerful story and one for which finding the perfect home was imperative to its success.”
The Snowpiercer movie, shot in English and Korean, was well received by critics. It grossed $87 million on a $40 million budget. Here is a trailer.
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Interesting times for the Gulf Arab monarchies
By DR DAVID B ROBERTS
With its double meaning, the Chinese proverb ‘may you live in interesting times’ aptly describes the current mood in the Arab Gulf monarchies. These states (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates) are going through a period of intriguing flux. A range of long-held assumptions across the political, economic, and military sectors are being reassessed. Analysis needs to catch up quickly if it is to keep pace with the atypically quick changes currently cascading around the region. And, more to the point, with some of the region’s political ‘sacred cows’ being deeply challenged, it is interesting to reflect on what other ‘certainties’ and aspects of received wisdom are, perhaps, subject to change.
Among the most notable changes in the region are in the economic sphere. For the seven years prior to December 2014 the average price of a barrel of oil was around $89 whereas from January 2015 to May 2016 it fell over 50% to $46. This had profound effects around the region. All of the region’s monarchies remain reliant on the hydrocarbon industries and thus the price of oil is crucial for their revenues. Even Qatar, the richest state on earth per capita, saw its budget revenues plunge 40% from July 2014 to July 2015. Unsurprisingly, the region’s states shooting from budget surplus to deficit has led to consternation in the financial press. Particular concern is reserved for Saudi Arabia, by far the largest and in many ways most important state in the region, whose income and expenditure looks to be massively at odds in the near and medium term.
The reaction from the states has been striking. Aside from budget trimming across numerous sectors, new forms of indirect tax have been mooted. A region-wide VAT tax is provisionally set, for example, to be introduced by 2018. Similarly, states have found other ways to extract money from their citizens with subsidies being cut. The interesting thing about these revenue streams is that, as mundane as they may seem in a western context, in the monarchies, the nature of the ruling bargain is different. Though the realities certainly differ across the states, the notion of ‘no taxation for no representation’ is a basic assumption as to the modus operandi of state-society relations in the region. To see such a basic understanding come under some kind of challenges is interesting.
Moreover, one of Saudi Arabia’s reactions to this fiscal crisis has been to endorse and launch yet another consultancy-led project to revamp the state’s economy. The likes of McKinsey have been writing these reports for decades and they have had, overall, vanishingly little impact on the core change: meaningfully shifting the economy away from its hydrocarbon dependency. This latest project is perhaps more far-reaching than others, but it is the accompanying announcements of the part-privatization of Saudi Aramco, the national oil company, that is a remarkable step forward. While in a western context, again, this may sound like another mundane reaction, in Saudi Arabia, where the oil company has been the font of the nation’s wealth, so sacrosanct that until last year Royal family members were kept out of senior Aramco decision making circles, to nationalize even a small part of the behemoth company is extraordinary.
It must not be forgotten, however, that this is not the first time that these states have suffered from vacillating oil price. A serious crash in the price in the 1970s and 1980s induced a range of lay-offs and budget cuts. Such historical contextualisation is often forgotten by the press in their alarm. So the states have survived moments where the ruling bargain has been challenged, and the governments have demanded more from their subjects. But, of course, just because they have survived before does not automatically mean they could survive again.
Serious-looking crises and changes are not confined to the economic sphere. Politics in the Gulf region is also going through an era of profound change with new, often younger leaders coming to the fore. In recent years this has happened in Qatar, to a degree in the UAE, and also in Saudi Arabia. Indeed, in the Saudi Kingdom a new Prince has arisen who has hoovered up a variety of critical portfolios. Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud, a thirty year old son of the King, has effectively carved out enough roles to make himself arguably the most important man in the state. In a country that has endured such elderly leadership in recent generations, the shift to this dynamic youngster is a jarring, fascinating development. Perhaps only someone as taboo-breaking as Mohammed bin Salman could have led the privatization of Aramco or, indeed, launched such an unprecedented war (in terms of scale, ambition, and troop deployment) in Yemen in conjunction with another regional hawkish leader, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the de facto leader in the UAE.
In terms of international politics, the Iranian nuclear deal has deeply concerned the Gulf Arab monarchies. When sanctions are ultimately released, they feel that that will allow Iran to grow stronger economically and ultimately militarily and it will then continue its various campaigns supporting its proxy forces around the region (e.g. Hezbollah, the Assad regime) with even more resources. Moreover, since 1979 American-Iranian relations have been frozen. Yet they will now thaw, albeit slowly. Nevertheless, the Gulf Arab monarchies have long feared this kind of ‘grand bargain’ – that the US will, in their desire to make sure that Iran cannot develop nuclear weapons to safeguard Israel’s future, effectively abrogate their role as a de facto protector of the Gulf Arab monarchies as a price worth paying.
It will be fascinating to observe how new, often inexperienced leaderships respond with policies of change and continuity to the regional and international challenges they face in a more constrained fiscal climate. With a taboo-breaking announcement, event, or policy every few months, predicting the direction of travel is fraught with danger. History suggests that the states are more resilient than they may first appear; their downfall has been predicted for decades, yet still they march on into ever more interesting times.
Image: US Secretary Kerry Sits With Gulf Cooperation Council Members Before Meeting in Saudi Arabia. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
July 8, 2016 July 1, 2016 defenceresearchUncategorizedGCC, Hydrocarbons, Middle East, Regional Security
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ORDER ONLINE OR CALL & GET IT TO GO!
DWG TO GO
Dicks Wings and Grill
King of Wings
ONLINE MENU
JAGUARS STADUIM
ATLANTIC BLVD
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ST. AUGUSTINE (SR16)
ST. AUGUSTINE (US1)
ARC Announces Opening of Two New Dick’s Wings Restaurants
LAFAYETTE, La. – October 17, 2016 – ARC Group, Inc. (OTCQB: ARCK), the owner, operator and franchisor of the award-winning Dick’s Wings & Grill® concept, announced the recent opening of its newest Dick’s Wings & Grill restaurant in Atlantic Beach, Fla. and the relocation of its restaurant located in the Mandarin section of Jacksonville, Fla.
The new Dick’s Wings & Grill in Atlantic Beach is located in the Mayport area at 2434 Mayport Road, proximate to Naval Station Mayport and Hanna Park. The restaurant is a free-standing facility with approximately 3,200 square feet of space, featuring an outdoor patio area and interior bar. The new location seats approximately 125 guests and employs 30 team members from the local area.
The relocated Mandarin restaurant is located at 10550 Old St. Augustine Road, near Interstate 295. The restaurant is an end cap in a shopping center, which contains a Wal-Mart, and is surrounded by both residential and commercial developments. It is approximately 4,000 square feet in size and features an interior bar and game room area. The new location seats approximately 165 guests and employs 40 team members from the local area.
Both restaurants feature Dick’s Wings® extensive menu, including its signature Dick’s Wings chicken wings, chicken tenders and hog wings, and its Dick’s Blingz® boneless chicken wings, which offer 365 mouth-watering flavors. The kitchen serves dine-in customers while also offering carry-out and catering services. Hours of operation are from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 12 a.m., Friday and Saturday.
“We continue to branch out into new territories within the Southeast and capitalize on our strong brand name recognition in North Florida,” stated Richard W. Akam, Chief Executive Officer of ARC Group, Inc. “Mayport is a logical choice as it brings us back to our roots with its proximity to Naval Station Mayport. It also expands our brand in our hometown of Jacksonville without infringing upon our other area locations. The relocation of our Mandarin restaurant represents the repositioning of an already successful Dick’s Wings and Grill into a more visible and modern facility.”
“Landlords have seen the revitalization of our brand and are aggressively seeking our restaurants to help enhance their plazas and centers,” added Akam. “These newest restaurants are prime examples of this and represent a continuation of the efficient restaurant conversion strategy that we successfully implemented a couple of years ago. Our conversion model is less expensive and much faster to complete, offering restaurant operators with existing sites an opportunity to convert to a Dick’s Wings and Grill in as little as 60 days.”
Dick’s Wings restaurants are family fun fooderys® where both families and sports fans can go to enjoy a unique restaurant experience from first bite to last call®. Dick’s Wings offers a variety of boldly-flavored menu items highlighted by its award-winning, Buffalo, New York-style chicken wings and hog wings and its Dick’s Blingz® boneless chicken wings, for which it boasts 365 mouth-watering flavors. It also offers customers a variety of fresh sandwiches, burgers, wraps, salads and signature waffle fries. Guests enjoy these menu items in an elevated sports-themed environment that includes flat screen TVs located throughout each restaurant and children’s areas filled with video games and other forms of children’s entertainment.
Dick’s Wings is actively offering franchise opportunities in the Orlando, Tampa, Gainesville and Mobile/Pensacola metropolitan areas. For more information about Dick’s Wings exciting menu offering and locations, and for additional franchising information, please visit www.dickswingsandgrill.com.
About ARC Group, Inc.
ARC Group, Inc., headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana, is the owner, operator and franchisor of the Dick’s Wings & Grill concept and the co-owner of the owner, operator and franchisor of the Wing Nutz® concept. Now in its 22nd year of operation, Dick’s Wings prides itself on its award-winning chicken wings and hog wings spun in its signature sauces and seasonings. Wing Nutz offers a large selection of premium baked chicken wings and other baked products. Wing Nutz also offers its own proprietary line of craft beers under the name “Nut Job Beers”. Dick’s Wings has 18 restaurants in Florida and six restaurants in Georgia. It also has two concession stands at EverBank Field, home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Wing Nutz has nine restaurants in Utah, two restaurants in Texas, one restaurant in Nevada and one restaurant in Idaho.
Safe Harbor Provision
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created thereby. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained herein, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s future financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” or “believes” or the negative thereof or any variation thereon or similar terminology or expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from results proposed in such statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can provide no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and its other filings and submissions with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.
Tyler Deur
Lambert, Edwards & Associates
tdeur@lambert-edwards.com
On October 21, 2016 / Press Releases
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DWG Argyle Hosts Fundraiser
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Digital Dress Collection (15)
The Henry Ford Historic Costume Collection (7)
Meadow Brook Hall Historic Costume Collection (5)
Detroit Historical Society Historic Costume Collection (3)
Firestone, Elizabeth Parke (7)
Pumps (Shoes) (5)
Slippers (Footwear) (4)
Clothing and dress--History (3)
Dodge, Matilda (3)
Buckles (Strap Accessories) (2)
Cohen, Edward (2)
Bendel, Henri (1)
Debusschere (1)
Delicata, R. (1)
French Bootery Inc. (1)
: 1935 Content Type: Image Subject: Shoes
Shoes, 1935-1940
This is one of the few pairs of high heeled shoes in our collection that date from the later 1930s. Mrs. Firestone likely had them custom made to match a specific outfit, now gone. Born in Decatur, Illinois in 1897 Elizabeth Parke married Harvey S. Firestone Jr., son of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey S. Firestone, in 1921.Once described by a friend as, "the most luxurious woman in the history of luxury," Elizabeth Parke Firestone's clothing collection illustrates her impeccable…
Mrs. Firestone likely had these custom made to match a specific outfit, now gone. These likely date to the early 1930s.Born in Decatur, Illinois in 1897 Elizabeth Parke married Harvey S. Firestone Jr., son of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey S. Firestone, in 1921.Once described by a friend as, "the most luxurious woman in the history of luxury," Elizabeth Parke Firestone's clothing collection illustrates her impeccable taste in fashion.
These low heeled, sturdy pumps were used during the summer for more casual day wear and travel. The style indicates that Mrs. Firestone could have used them for nearly two decades. Born in Decatur, Illinois in 1897 Elizabeth Parke married Harvey S. Firestone Jr., son of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey S. Firestone, in 1921.Once described by a friend as, "the most luxurious woman in the history of luxury," Elizabeth Parke Firestone's clothing collection illustrates her impeccable…
This style was favored by Mrs. Firestone in the late 1920s and in to the 1930s. Edward Cohen was her preferredshoemaker during this time.Born in Decatur, Illinois in 1897 Elizabeth Parke married Harvey S. Firestone Jr., son of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey S. Firestone, in 1921.Once described by a friend as, "the most luxurious woman in the history of luxury," Elizabeth Parke Firestone's clothing collection illustrates her impeccable taste in fashion.
Shoe, about 1930
This style of shoe was worn by Mrs. Firestone circa 1930. She is pictured wearing this style of shoe with her 10th wedding anniversary outfit in 1931. This pair was surely custom made to match a specific dress or outfit.She had this same style made in many different colors. Born in Decatur, Illinois in 1897 Elizabeth Parke married Harvey S. Firestone Jr., son of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey S. Firestone, in 1921.Once described by a friend as, "the most luxurious woman in the …
Mrs. Firestone likely used these comfortable shoes for casual wear or travel. Born in Decatur, Illinois in 1897 Elizabeth Parke married Harvey S. Firestone Jr., son of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey S. Firestone, in 1921.Once described by a friend as, "the most luxurious woman in the history of luxury," Elizabeth Parke Firestone's clothing collection illustrates her impeccable taste in fashion.
Platform Sandals, about 1935-1950
These shoes, used in the summer in the late 1930's and 1940's, are one of the rare pair of casual shoes in our collection of Mrs. Firestone's clothing and accessories. She usually favored European designer; the American label may indicate that these were used during the war when many European couture houses were closed.Born in Decatur, Illinois in 1897 Elizabeth Parke married Harvey S. Firestone Jr., son of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey S. Firestone, in 1921.Once described by …
Women's black suede and patent leather pumps from the late '20s or early '30s
A pair of woman's black suede and patent leather pumps. The shoes are trimmed with patent leather pleats. Label: Saks Fifth Avenue.
Women's brown and beige leather shoes from the 1930s
A pair of woman's brown and beige leather shoes with 2" heels, and brown lace ties. The tongue and shoe insteps are beige. The right shoe is marked inside with crossed S's, and The Stetson Shoe.
Women's black suede shoes from the late 1930s or early 1940s
This pair of woman's black suede shoes has leather heels and toes. The toes are a rounded-square shape, and the shoes have T-straps, side buckles, and 2 1/2" heels. Label: Fashion Step, TradeMark Flexible Shoes, Smart Style, Arch Comfort, Metatarsal Cushion.
Braided Leather Slippers with Rhinestone Buckles, 1935
Gold and silver leather braid slippers with anklestraps accented with gold and rhinestone buckles, which were owned by Matilda Dodge Wilson (October 19, 1883 – September 19, 1967),who was the wife of John Francis Dodge (October 25, 1864 – January 14, 1920), co-founder of the Dodge Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan.
Velvet Slippers Embroidered with Gold Thread, 1935
Slippers of red velvet embroidered in gold thread, which were owned by Frances Dodge (November 27, 1914 – January 24, 1971), who was the eldest daughter of John Francis Dodge (co-founder of Dodge Motor Company) and his third wife, Matilda Rausch Dodge (Wilson).
Cotton Slippers Embroidered with Gold Thread, 1935
Slippers of blue cotton embroidered in gold thread, which were owned by Frances Dodge (November 27, 1914 – January 24, 1971), who was the eldest daughter of John Francis Dodge (co-founder of Dodge Motor Company) and his third wife, Matilda Rausch Dodge (Wilson).
Lame and Satin Open Toe Evening Shoes, 1935
Open toed evening slippers of knotted gold lame and white satin with jeweled buckles, which were owned by Matilda Dodge Wilson (October 19, 1883 – September 19, 1967),who was the wife of John Francis Dodge (October 25, 1864 – January 14, 1920), co-founder of the Dodge Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan.
Silk Evening Shoes with Ankle Straps, 1935
White silk evening shoes with ankle straps and trim of silver and white braid, which were owned by Matilda Dodge Wilson (October 19, 1883 – September 19, 1967),who was the wife of John Francis Dodge (October 25, 1864 – January 14, 1920), co-founder of the Dodge Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan.
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The Best New Music in Rock, Alternative, Hip-Hop, and More
Expertly Curated by the CoS Staff
Sam Smith returns with new single “Too Good At Goodbyes”: Stream
Plus, the UK crooner schedules an intimate tour
by Alex Young
on September 08, 2017, 12:43am
Photo by Ruven Afanador
Sam Smith has returned with a new single. “Too Good At Goodbyes” marks the UK crooner’s first new song since “Writing’s On the Wall”, his Academy Award-winning theme for the James Bond film Spectre. It also serves as the first preview of Smith’s sophomore studio album, the follow-up to 2014’s Grammy-winning In the Lonely Hour, due out later this year via Capitol Records.
“Too Good At Goodbyes” was written with Smith’s longstanding collaborator Jimmy Napes, as well as Stargate. According to Smith, “this song is about a relationship I was in and it’s basically about getting good at getting dumped. It’s been a long while since I’ve put any music out and I feel that this first single sets the tone of what is to come.” Listen below.
According to a new interview with Beats 1 Radio’s Zane Lowe, Smith’s new album will be out before Christmas. There two versions of the album, one featuring 10 tracks and the other spanning 14. It includes contributions from Timbaland as well as Malay, who’s known for his work on Frank Ocean’s Blonde and Lorde’s Melodrama. Plus, there’s a duet with an undisclosed musician.
According to @samsmithworld:
New album before Christmas.
2 versions: 10 and 14 tracks.https://t.co/8TI9rRzeAZ pic.twitter.com/smCJYjEymT
— Beats 1 (@Beats1) September 8, 2017
Songs w. Malay and @timberland plus his first duet on record. @samsmithworld talks 2nd album. New Interview here https://t.co/P7Aq3L5ZBQ
— Zane Lowe (@zanelowe) September 8, 2017
In anticipation of the album’s release, Smith will play intimate shows in Los Angeles, New York City, London, and Berlin later this month. Full details, including the location of each show, are forthcoming.
Sam Smith 2017 Tour Dates:
09/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ TBA
09/13 – New York, NY @ TBA
09/15 – London, UK @ TBA
09/18 – Berlin, DE @ TBA
Jimmy Napes
Music Releases
Netflix’s BoJack Horseman Is the Saddest Show on Television
Charlotte Gainsbourg announces new album, Rest, featuring Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel, Paul McCartney
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Search Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto
Manuscript Collection - J. Edward Chamberlin Papers
J. Edward Chamberlin Papers
1970 - 2012 (Creation)
24 boxes and items (5 metres)
Chamberlin, J. Edward
J. Edward Chamberlin was born in Vancouver, and educated at the universities of British Columbia, Oxford and Toronto. Since 1970, he has been on the faculty of the University of Toronto, where he is University Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature; but his interest in stories and songs has taken him around the world, to the hunters of the Kalahari and the herders of Mongolia as well as to the islands of the Caribbean, the England of Queen Victoria, and the wide-ranging literary and cultural traditions that have shaped the Americas. He was Senior Research Associate with the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and Poetry Editor of Saturday Night magazine, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society and an Officer of the Order of Canada. He has lectured widely on literary, historical and cultural issues; and his books include The Harrowing of Eden: White Attitudes Towards Native Americans (1975), Ripe Was the Drowsy Hour: The Age of Oscar Wilde (1977), Oscar Wilde’s London (1987), Come Back To Me My Language: Poetry and the West Indies (1993), If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories? Finding Common Ground (2003), Horse: How the Horse Has Shaped Civilizations (2006); A Covenant in Wonder with the World: The Power of Stories and Songs (2012);and Island: How Islands Transform the World (2013).
Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto
Includes correspondence with various poets in his capacity as Saturday Night poetry editor, some with submissions, and copies of replies, as well as correspondence with other writers and drafts of their work, including Rachel Manley, Lorna Goodison, Derek Walcott (along with the nomination for Walcott to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992), Anne Michaels and Bruce St. John. It also includes books, pamphlets,print and ephemera pertaining to West Indian and Caribbean Literature, history and culture.
Chamberlin, J. Edward (Creator)
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Focus: Compassionate Conservatism?
Focus, Issue 26
Danny Dorling
“It was the Conservatives who first protected working people in the mills; it was the Conservatives who took a great step towards state education; it was the Conservatives who introduced equal votes for women; it was the Conservatives who gave people the right-to-buy. So, of course, it is now the Conservatives who are transforming welfare and introducing a national living wage. This is the party for the working people of Britain.” George Osborne, budget speech, May 2015
“Every day, in every way, Great Britain lives up to its name. And I know we can make it greater still. A Greater Britain. Where people have greater hope greater chances, greater security.” David Cameron, conference speech, October 2015
How do we understand this new conservative rhetoric of equality and apparent assault on poverty when we place it against the reality of rising inequality and the expectation that tax credit cuts will put 200,000 more families in poverty?
The Conservatives won by a narrow majority in May 2015. The result shocked a London-based commentariat. This was hardly surprising as the capital swung to Labour and London remains where life’s winners congregate, a place from which losers must be expelled. Yet, it was life’s losers who did not turn out to vote for the main alternative on offer, a watered-down version of Conservative austerity being sold to them by Ed Miliband. We were then told the Labour Party did not appeal enough to those who were aspirational and wanted more, including people who wanted more irrespective of who would end up with less. But perhaps fear and fantasy greatly played their part, too. An eighth of the English electorate voted for the UK Independence party (UKIP).
In Scotland it was different. All but three of the constituencies fell to the Scottish National Party. No longer a nationalist party, the SNP had become a national party. It now represented as wide a cross-section of society as it is possible to imagine. The former Royal Bank of Scotland oil economist Alex Salmond became an MP alongside young students and aged socialists. So fifty-six SNP MPs set off to London to take their seats and spread their message. Not since 1918, when Sinn Féin took seventy-three seats in Ireland, has a third party performed so well in the United Kingdom. Change is underway, but many of the English elite remain so blindly arrogant they cannot see what’s coming. To them the Scots are no better than restless children.
As the impact of the May 2015 election became felt throughout England, new voices were heard and grew louder. They said the Labour Party had stumbled not by choosing the wrong leader or electoral strategy, but because it had forgotten how to cooperate and be kind. Labour did not ally itself with the Greens or the SNP, and there was little unity among its own members in the Shadow Cabinet. Instead, Labour saw the election as a two-horse race where being the sole winner was all important.
One now-hardened commentator, Zoe Williams, explained: ‘The problem is so much deeper than who the leader is; and so much more exhilarating.’ Labour had not been offering change, just a diluted version of what had gone before. What for some was exhilarating in the days and weeks after 7 May was the opening up of new possibilities and radical alternatives. There were few signs of optimism among the population at large, but for some there were at least glimmerings of hope. Other commentators, such as Bill Gidding, pointed out that in England the votes for radical alternatives rose, and, in fact, there was no swing from Labour to Conservatives between 2010 and 2015.
Concern about the implications of rising inequality is growing among the well-to-do, who occasionally deign to look down from the hill, from over their high garden walls, and worry that neither hill nor walls are high enough. Today, the London Riots of 2011 are often referred to when you speak to the rich about inequality. Clearly, for many of the elite, poverty and inequality would only be of minor concern were it not for the fear of insurrection. As the poor are pushed out of London the elite feel safer, but all the time more people are living on the breadline, especially in London where rents are skyrocketing. Forecasts published the week after the election suggested that London house prices could double to average £1 million a property by 2030, and surveys were released showing that the richest fifth in Britain held on average 105 times the wealth of the poorest fifth.
It is not just in the UK and in the capital that a fear of the impoverished is growing. This is now an international concern. The Canadian Liberal Party leader, Justin Trudeau, issued a dire warning to Canadians as to what may lie ahead if the gap between rich and poor doesn’t narrow: “In short, fairness for the middle class and those working hard to join it is good for all of us. It’s good for Canada, and, I might say, if we don’t deliver fairness, Canadians will eventually entertain more radical options. All of the time I’ve spent with Canadians tells me that the status quo is not sustainable. Change is coming, my friends. What we need is leadership and a plan to shape that change responsibly, for the benefit of all.”
‘My friends’, Justin said, underscoring the fact he was addressing people like himself, a well-heeled gathering at the Canadian Club. Justin was inviting his audience to talk about people like ‘them’, those who might be driven to undefined radical options out of desperation. But is this kind of talk too late? Isn’t it high time the men and women outside the gates of the wealthy pursued those more radical options?
The day before the election, it was revealed that the Coalition government’s Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) had conducted forty-nine reviews of benefit-related deaths. Many of those deaths had been recorded as suicides, but some could have been deaths from starvation. We have no way of knowing as the DWP refused to release the information, leading to an investigation from the information watchdog.
Those forty-nine are a tiny sample of all the deaths thought to be connected to benefit cuts made since the coalition government took power in 2010. Between 2010 and 2013 many thousands of working-age people died in the days and weeks after they had their benefits withdrawn. In 2013/14 the ledger of deaths grew longer. The records do not even include the elderly who died earlier than they otherwise would. A twenty-four-minute silent movie lists some of the younger victims. I stopped watching it nine minutes in. At that point you learn of Christelle, thirty-two, who was pregnant and died clutching her five-month-old son, Kayjah. I could not watch it anymore. She jumped from a third-floor balcony after her benefits had been stopped. We do not know if Christelle and Kayjah’s are two of the forty-nine cases that have been reviewed in secret.
The coalition government was not kind, and the new government will be even less so now the Conservatives are working alone. Not everyone was callous in the Coalition, but most of those with any sympathetic feeling left of their own accord, if they weren’t pushed. In late summer 2013, by chance I met Lib Dem MP Sarah Teather, then the education minister. She was walking alone and in tears. A few days later I heard she had been sacked from the cabinet as part of a broad government reshuffle. Nick Clegg said he was ‘disappointed’ by Ms Teather’s subsequent decision to stand down as an MP in 2015. Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrats’ former leader, said, ‘Coalition is not for the faint hearted.’
In November 2012 Sarah Teather had voted against the coalition for the first time, having called the Benefit Cap ‘immoral and divisive’. Between April 2013 and February 2015 as many as 59,000 households had their housing benefit capped, 45 per cent of these lived in London, where rents are so much higher. Almost all those households will have included children. At any one time over twenty thousand households were being capped, but when you get evicted for rent arrears you come off the list. Her government were not kind, but Sarah was – so she had to go because she couldn’t take part in the heartlessness any longer.
In 2012, 1,046,398 sanctions were applied to people claiming jobseeker’s allowance. The minuscule weekly income of the very poorest people in Britain was being docked, almost always for a petty misdemeanour. These offences included not attending a meeting in a jobseeker office because the claimant was attending an interview for an actual job elsewhere. A further 32,128 people scraping by on the employment and support allowance, because they were not working due to illness or disability, had their benefits cut for some similar infringement. On top of this a further 44,000 lone parents receiving income support, because they had little or no other income, were sanctioned for indeterminate stretches of time during that year and lost income they needed to prevent them and their children going hungry. The parents were already often going hungry themselves. Lives were destroyed, people were shamed, and atrocities were being committed.
We have no record of how many children were harmed by the 1.1 million financial sanctions applied in just one year to Britain’s poorest families. Every single one of these families was already living on less than the Minimum Income Standard for the UK. We know that because benefit levels in Britain remain pegged far below the level deemed minimal to provide an acceptable standard of living by the British public, and those benefits drop further every year. What we do know about the scale of mass sanctions is a result of the tireless research carried out by David Webster of the University of Glasgow, who stated: “Decisions on guilt are made in secret by officials who have no independent responsibility to act lawfully. Yet the ‘transgressions’ (DWP’s own word), which are punished by this system, are almost exclusively very minor matters, such as missing a single interview with a Jobcentre or Work Programme contractor, or not making quite as many token job applications as the Jobcentre adviser demands.”
Webster noted that in the same year that 1.1 million sanctions were applied Great Britain’s magistrates’ and sheriff courts of Great Britain imposed a total of only 849,000 fines. Not only that, but the scale of penalties handed out by courts is less punitive than the sanctions visited on benefits claimants. The failure to make the correct number of token job applications in a week leads to a harsher punishment than shoplifting does. What better incentive could there be to encourage shoplifting, especially now even taking out-of-date food from supermarket waste-bins counts as theft? No wonder Sarah Teather was in tears by the end of the summer of 2013. She knew what was happening and could no longer stomach it, could no longer condone the sadism, unlike so many of her Liberal and almost all her Conservative colleagues.
It’s easy to make cuts if you don’t sympathise and it is easier not to sympathise if you are protected from the cuts and they don’t immediately affect you. The income of the 1 per cent has been protected while incomes and benefits for the poorest have been slashed and sanctioned. At the same time there have been huge cuts to local authority budgets (with more to come) and subsequently massive cuts in services for the most vulnerable – to social care, youth services, mental health services – developments which leave the 1 per cent, and indeed many others, largely unaffected. Wealthier members of society can afford to go private when it comes to health care or education.
If we look at the demographics of the people most affected by the cuts, what we see is very telling. Since 2010 some 79 per cent of all cuts have hit the income of women. In part, this is because most parents raising a child alone are women, but austerity has also taken a heavy toll on public services used by women, and a very large and disproportionately large number of women (as compared to men) who were working in public services have lost their jobs or been made to go part-time.
In 2012 an estimated 3.5 million children were living in poverty. In 2013 the Fawcett Society estimated that a total of £14.9 billion had been cut from benefits, tax credits, pay and pensions, with 74 per cent of this being taken from women’s incomes. By 2014 they found that the inequality gap between women and men was actually rising. Data from 2014 shows that two-thirds of all the welfare cuts in Scotland came from families with children. Lone parents have lost £1,800 a year, £400 more than families with two parents and more resources. But the cuts have been even deeper for the disabled, who have, on average, £2000 less to live on every year.
Because the UK government hid and delayed the publication of the statistics, academic researchers in England have been forced to use data passed to the European Statistical Office. That data shows that George Osborne misled parliament in March 2015 when he said people were better-off than they had been in 2010. Data collected across the whole of the UK actually revealed that living standards had fallen for all but the very richest. Increasing numbers of people have reported falling behind with their rent or struggling just to pay fuel bills. Almost half the population cannot now afford to repair or replace their fridge or cooker immediately should one or the other break down. ‘Only the very richest (those who could make ends meet very easily) saw no perceived fall in their living standards.’
In the UK, the lives of the 1 per cent have followed a very different trajectory to those of the rest of the population. Those who get by ‘very easily’ have not seen a drop in their incomes. But that does not mean they feel any better off. Inequality within the 1 per cent is growing rapidly. At the very top of the 1 per cent, the richest 1,000 families have seen their wealth double since 2005, with each family worth an average of £547 million by 2015. Yet even that is a fairly meaningless average because there is more inequality within the 1,000 richest families in the UK than there is in the rest of the 1 per cent.
Living in a society that tolerates gross wealth and income inequalities makes it hard to empathise with a wide range of other people. The UK is on a trajectory to become the most unequal of the richest twenty-five nations in the world. Those in power in the most unequal of rich countries today, especially the UK, cannot imagine that kindness works. They see kindness as weakness. Had they been kinder, less aggressive, when they were younger and making their way in the world, they would probably not have got to where they are today.
The rich do not think like you and you do not think like the rich. That is why you are shocked by what they do when they hold power. ‘How can they do this?’ you ask. ‘Can’t they see?’ The answers are first, ‘Easily,’ and second, ‘No.’ They are working for what they believe to be a greater good – and you are unfortunate flotsam and jetsam that happen to be in their way. Just as the roofless and the beggars and the poor are ‘unfortunate’, so too are you. It is just unfortunate you are not rich enough to pay your universities fees and have to take out a loan; unfortunate you don’t have a trust fund or at least an inheritance to look forward to. They are simply lucky or ‘gifted’ to be ‘privileged’, or so they are taught to think. With gross inequality comes segregation and a consequent lack of knowledge about how the other person lives.
Luckily, you don’t have to rely on the memories of the old to know that a more equal world is possible, a world where the 1 per cent take a far smaller share of the cake. The 1 per cent by definition will always be those taking the largest slice, but it needn’t be such a great fat slice it leaves only slithers for the rest. Question those who say that it can only be this way. Try to question them kindly rather than with incredulity. A society based on merit would be remarkably equitable compared with what we face today. No one is worth 3,000 times someone else. The 3,000-fold inequalities within the 1 per cent are just as indefensible as those between them and the other 99 per cent.
The creation of what would truly be ‘one nation’ is a slow process a long haul. But it will be worth it when finally we begin to create a more equal country for all. It will be worth it because we will know that although no one can predict the future, the next generation and those that follow them will not have to grow up in a world of ignorant untruths, among them the notion that only a few people are truly able and the rest are commodities and worth very little on the job market. Do we pay them a living wage or a minimum wage, we muse? These are differences in sums of money tiny to many of us.
It will be worth it if we turn the tide because, even if we do not care that much, in our old age people who have the time and peace of mind will care for us, not least because we cared for them when they were younger. It will be worth it because we will know that it could have been much worse had we stood by and done nothing unselfish. No one who is sane dies thinking that if they had just tried a little harder they could have made another million. But they do die lamenting a world they are leaving becoming more cruel, greedy and callous. And they do worry about the generations to come.
Gross inequality creates a lack of respect for anyone who is not like us. There is contempt among the rich for the poor, and that will seed the same among the poor for the rich. Cruelty and hate flourish. This pervasive lack of respect is not new and has grown between groups many times before, over religion, race, nationality, social class, sex and sexuality. These older divisions remain and can easily tear us apart. However, nowadays it is financial inequality, both globally and in the UK, that is the greatest source of division.
What is needed is understanding and generosity, hope and perseverance, but above all kindness. Kindness is patient, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not self-seeking (“And have come to such conclusion before and we’ll be come to them again and in between there is battle for hearts, minds and love.” Corinthians 13, verses 4–8). Every kind action is worthwhile. The greedy waste the lives of others but they also waste their own lives through their greed. They are not worthy of envy.
Danny Dorling is Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography and Fellow of St Peters College of the University of Oxford. This article is based on an edited extract taken from the second edition of: Dorling, D. (2015) Inequality and the 1%, London: Verso.
Image: Sassy Bella Melange CC BY-NC 2.0
2 Comment responses
bigd
Thank you.Your article expresses precisely my take on the current state of affairs.Things need to change
-and fast!
Honestly. Brilliant piece. But what can we as individuals do.
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The Oxford History of Australia: 1942-1988. The middle way
Geoffrey Bolton, Professor of History Geoffrey Bolton
Oxford University Press, 1993 - Australia - 352 pages
Increased dependence on the United States, an influx of European and Asian immigrants, and a series of economic booms and recessions have confronted postwar Australians with the challenge of surviving as an offshoot of European civilization in a largely Asian region and securing a prosperous future with declining support from European markets and investment. This final volume in the Oxford History of Australia shows that while some Australians have resisted the pressures for change, most have adapted to the task of creating a new nation able to survive into the 21st century.
Review: The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 5: 1942-88 the Middle Way
User Review - Katherine Quirke - Goodreads
An important reference book of Australia Read full review
The Oxford History of Australia: 1942-1988, the middle way
Geoffrey Bolton
Geoffrey Curgenven Bolton
Geoffrey Bolton was born in North Perth, Australia on November 5, 1931. He was educated at Wesley College, the University of Western Australia, and Oxford University. He was a professor at the Australian National University, Monash University, and the University of Queensland. He retired from academia in 1996, before serving as the Chancellor of Murdoch University from 2002 to 2006. He wrote 15 books during his lifetime including Alexander Forrest: His Life and Times, Daphne Street, and Land of Vision and Mirage: Western Australia since 1826. He was named an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1984 and West Australian of the Year in 2006. He died on September 4, 2015 at the age of 83.
Title The Oxford History of Australia: 1942-1988. The middle way
Volume 5 of The Oxford History of Australia, Geoffrey Curgenven Bolton
Authors Geoffrey Bolton, Professor of History Geoffrey Bolton
Editor Oxford University Press
Contributors Stuart Macintyre, Beverley Kingston, Jan Kociumbas
Publisher Oxford University Press, 1993
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Up Ghost River: A Chief's Journey Through the Turbulent Waters of Native History
By (author): Metatawabin, Edmund
By (author): Shimo, Alexandra
Subject: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs
NON-FICTION / Canadian
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Indigenous Studies
Publisher: Knopf Random Vintage Canada
From The Publisher* A powerful, raw and eloquent memoir about the abuse former First Nations chief Edmund Metatawabin endured in residential school in the 1960s, the resulting trauma, and the spirit he rediscovered within himself and his community through traditional spirituality and knowledge. Foreword by Joseph Boyden.
After being separated from his family at age 7, Metatawabin was assigned a number and stripped of his Native identity. At his residential school--one of the worst in Canada--he was physically and emotionally abused, and was sexually abused by one of the staff. Leaving high school, he turned to alcohol to forget the trauma. He later left behind his wife and family, and fled to Edmonton, where he joined a Native support group that helped him come to terms with his addiction and face his PTSD. By listening to elders' wisdom, he learned how to live an authentic Native life within a modern context, thereby restoring what had been taken from him years earlier. Metatawabin has worked tirelessly to bring traditional knowledge to the next generation of Native youth and leaders, as a counsellor at the University of Alberta, Chief in his Fort Albany community, and today as a youth worker, Native spiritual leader and activist. His work championing indigenous knowledge, sovereignty and rights spans several decades and has won him awards and national recognition. His story gives a personal face to the problems that beset Native communities and fresh solutions, and untangles the complex dynamics that sparked the Idle No More movement. Haunting and brave, Up Ghost River is a necessary step toward our collective healing.
• JOSEPH BOYDEN is a friend, fully supports Metatawabin and the book, and wrote the foreword.
Review Quote*
Praise for Up Ghost River:
Finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction
"Up Ghost River is a heart song, a love song to a very special people and place, to a geography and a culture that are a foundation of who we are as a nation." Joseph Boyden, from his foreword
"Searing new memoir." Toronto Star
"This aptly titled, well-crafted book is an especially poignant reminder of the harm [residential schools] caused.... A memoir containing a polemic wrapped in native history." Winnipeg Free Press
EDMUND METATAWABIN, former Chief of Fort Albany First Nation, is a Cree writer, educator and activist. A residential school survivor, he has devoted himself to righting the wrongs of the past, and educating Native youth in traditional knowledge. Metatawabin now lives in his self-made log house in Fort Albany, Ontario, off the reserve boundary, on land he refers to as my "Grandfathers' Land." He owns a local sawmill and also works as a consultant, speaker and researcher.
ALEXANDRA SHIMO is a former radio producer for the CBC and former editor at Maclean's. An award-winning journalist, she is the author of The Environment Equation, which was published in 12 countries. She lives in Toronto.
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Lessons about nuclear energy from the Japanese quake and tsunami
Below is the second piece published on BNC on the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis. For an earlier perspective, see: Preliminary lessons from Fukushima for future nuclear power plants.
Below is a Guest Post by Dr. William Sacks.
Bill is a highly experienced physicist and radiologist. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Rice University in 1959, a PhD in Harvard in 1966 (cosmology and general relativity), then did a medical degree and two-year postgraduate training at Connecticut Medical School, finishing in 1979. He followed this up with a residency in nuclear medicine and radiology at George Washington University through to 1985. He subsequently worked for 10 years as a general radiologist at Kaiser Permanente and later as a medical officer in the Office of Device Evaluation in the Center for Devices and Radiological Health for more than 7 years. In that time he worked with statisticians, physicists, other physicians, and many other specialties. He later worked as a clinical radiologist in Tuscon, and recently retired to spend time researching and writing on energy, climate change, evolutionary biology, economics, history, and physics/astronomy/cosmology.
Part 1: The recent events in Japan in context
Early media concentration on the nuclear plant at Fukushima Daiichi created a great sense of fear in people around the world. Reporting was distorted by both exaggeration and omission, focusing more on the reactors than on the quake and tsunami that killed over 20,000 people according to recent Japanese government estimates. Media reports still contain phrases like “222 times higher than the legal limit,” “higher than normal,” “radiation found in the water,” all of which are meaningless without comparisons that permit us to evaluate their significance. The patchwork of “experts” who were interviewed to explain the events, each with her/his own particular knowledge and set of interests, added to the confusion instead of replacing it with a sense of proportion.
An example of omission is the absence of follow-up on the oil refinery fire at Chiba, about 20-30 miles east of Tokyo and over 100 miles south of Fukushima. In fact, it killed 12 workers and required 10 days to put out the fire, which spewed toxic smoke and chemicals far and wide, as well as CO2 into the atmosphere that adds to global warming, and resulted in unknown numbers of latent cancers, heart attacks, asthma, and deaths. Yet once TV images of the flames, falsely linked through association with the nuclear reactors, lost their usefulness, they disappeared from sight.
Nor did the media report widely, if at all, on a hydroelectric dam in Fukushima prefecture, burst by the quake, that flooded 1800 homes, with unknown numbers of deaths. In addition to the estimated 20,000+ tsunami deaths, homelessness and ongoing lack of water and electricity affect hundreds of thousands of people.
Furthermore the Japanese government and the Tokyo Electrical Power Co. (TEPCO), owner of the Daiichi nuclear plant, have their own interests that help determine what they are willing to report or relay to the media. Indeed an Associated Press investigation yielded the fact that Japanese scientists had warned TEPCO that a quake and tsunami of these proportions was overdue according to the history of disasters in that area over the last 3,000 years, but the company rejected this prediction.
This is reminiscent of the ample warnings to the administration that New Orleans levees would not be able to resist a storm the size of Katrina in 2005 and that hundreds or thousands would die. Or of the recent BP oil spill in which collaborative malfeasance of both the company and the government regulators caused 11 immediate deaths of oil workers and uncountable deaths due to the toxic pollution of the Gulf Coast, as well as destruction of hundreds of thousands of livelihoods in the area. Or of the Challenger disaster in which 7 astronauts died in 1986, in an explosion of the rocket, seconds after take-off, in which the engineers had warned the NASA administrators that the O-rings had failed in tests and would fail again with fatal results. But NASA had a schedule to keep, under orders from the administration, and that was more important to them than the astronauts’ lives.
So in the face of such conflicting self-interests, how do we get a sense of proportion about the nuclear reactors? One way is to become as knowledgeable as possible about nuclear energy, how these particular reactors are designed, and the progress and design changes that have been made in the 40 years since they began operation. In fact, there’s no substitute for even a little bit of research on the internet, using sources that are familiar with nuclear technology.
A second way is to become further acquainted with the effects of radiation on health and well-being. And a third way is to become at least as knowledgeable about the comparative dangers of other sources of energy, particularly fossil fuels, that dwarf the dangers of nuclear energy. Only in these ways can we protect ourselves against the often misleading claims of self-interested parties.
The Daiichi plant contains old reactors, six of them, and lessons have been learned from every mishap at any nuclear reactor in the world, the same as with automobiles, airplanes, cruise ships, paper clips, and zippers.
Henry Petroski, an engineer who has written popular books about design, points out that the mother of invention is not necessity so much as failure – failure of earlier designs that require improvement. He counters the illusion that modern versions of technology sprang full blown out of the heads of their many designers, and shows the hundreds, if not thousands, of iterations that were necessary, over many decades, to arrive at current designs. And even these are being improved all the time, as there will always be room for improvement in function and safety.
Part 2: Comparisons of risks from nuclear energy with other sources of energy
The media recently reported on an air controller at Reagan National Airport who fell asleep on the night shift while two planes were forced to land nearly simultaneously on their own. But does that stop most of us from flying? No, we calculate the relative risks of flying and driving, among other considerations, and find that the death rate per mile is more than 250 times greater for driving than for flying. Any fear of flying in the face of nonchalance about driving is extremely irrational.
A documentary movie called Gasland shows how hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for natural gas in the U.S. is contaminating more and more of our fresh water sources with hundreds of cancer-causing and neurotoxic chemicals. This is equally true of leakage into our water supplies of hundreds of gasoline additives from storage tanks.
The book Lives per Gallon by former head of California’s EPA, Terry Tamminen, documents hundreds of thousands of sufferers of lung disease, heart disease, and tens of thousands of deaths in the U.S. alone, from simply breathing oil and coal fumes, amounting to 1 to 2 million deaths world-wide from this same source, each year. While coal scrubbers could reduce this somewhat, there is absolutely no such thing as clean coal, and profit considerations have largely blocked their deployment in any case. Coal mining accidents have killed an estimated 100,000 miners in the 20th century in the U.S. alone, and an order of magnitude greater number from black lung disease, with 4,000 new cases each year even now. This is on the order of 100 times (!) the number of deaths among uranium miners for the same amount of energy produced, and uranium mining has become much safer since the introduction of ventilation. Meanwhile the Chinese government reports over 100 deaths from coal mining accidents per week, which would equal the U.S. 20th century toll in just 20 years.
Fires, explosions, and toxic leaks at oil refineries, gas storage facilities, oil tankers at sea, and oil trucks on land, are rarely reported outside the immediate area of their occurrence, but they are frequent and they kill. Even the bursting of hydroelectric dams, the largest source of renewable energy in the U.S., has killed hundreds of thousands of members of the public throughout the world. Overall, for the same amount of usable energy, the deaths from oil and coal, in all stages of production and use, exceed the deaths from nuclear energy by factors of 1,000 and 4,000, respectively. All this is in addition to the damage that fossil fuels do to the livability of the planet.
Contrast the numbers of deaths from non-nuclear sources of energy with those from nuclear energy production, and we find that fear of nuclear energy is even more irrational than a fear of flying in favor of driving. While there have been a small number of deaths from experimental or military nuclear reactors, no one in the U.S. has ever been killed from commercial nuclear energy production in its almost 60 years. Three Mile Island is the only widely known commercial nuclear reactor accident in the U.S. That event occurred more than 30 years ago and killed, or even harmed, no one. See, for example, the website http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/03/deaths-per-twh-by-energy-source.html for more information on these comparisons.
Ironically, coal fly ash (the smoke stack exhaust) contains about 100 times the radioactive material emitted from nuclear plants, but, even at that level, this is not the source of danger from coal. Nevertheless, if that is their concern why do anti-nuclear environmentalists not put their efforts toward stopping the construction and running of coal plants?
Living on the edge of a major quake zone with a history of strong tsunamis is extremely hazardous at best. So is living in hurricane territory, tornado alley, flood plains, or drought-prone regions. This doesn’t leave much of the earth’s surface for easy habitability. That is, except for the failure-driven ingenuity of humans who can compensate for these problems, if we can but overcome the conflicting interests that so often overshadow safety considerations.
Understanding the nuclear events in Japan can only be accomplished through comparisons with all the other sources of energy — their advantages and disadvantages, their feasibilities, their dangers, their adequacy and reliability. Without such comparisons we cannot possibly come to reasonable conclusions.
Part 3: Hormesis, the beneficial effects on health of low levels of radiation
Perhaps the greatest source of fear arises from the general misunderstanding of radiation and its effects. My earlier article in the March 16 issue of the GV News was criticized in a letter on March 20 for mentioning the hormetic (beneficial) effect of low levels of radiation. Hormesis, said the letter writer, is controversial and “just a theory.” The implication that hormesis has not been proven is simply false. There are more than 2,000 studies from around the world demonstrating its validity and reality, including many Japanese studies of survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombs in 1945.
Low levels of radiation are actually good for you, and insufficient levels are harmful to your health. But don’t rely on the government regulators in the EPA or FDA to tell you this. I know, I worked for the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health for almost 8 years before moving to Green Valley in 2004. While my friends there believe in the hormetic effect, they nevertheless say it would be too complicated to regulate radiation based on this truth.
Instead they use the linear-no-threshold (LNT) approach. LNT pretends that even the smallest amount of radiation causes deaths from cancer. LNT further pretends that a particular total dose of radiation energy will cause the same number of cancers, several decades in the future, regardless of the number of people who share that dose. In other words, it implies that if one person exposed to 2 million mrems (a unit of radiation energy) will get cancer from it, then if 2 million persons are exposed to 1 mrem each, one will still get cancer from it.
LNT deliberately ignores several well known protective mechanisms against radiation damage, including stimulation of repair enzymes to fix damaged DNA, cell suicide to eliminate sick cells before they become cancerous, and stimulation of the immune system to rid the body of cells that are in danger of becoming cancerous. Low levels of radiation, in fact, act like a vaccine – a small dose of the germ and it stimulates your immune system to protect you against larger doses. The very word “hormesis,” like the word “hormone,” comes from Greek, meaning “to stimulate.”
In the U.S. on average we each experience about 360 mrems a year due to natural background radiation, with variation over a range of more than ten to one, depending on geography. This background comes from the sky (cosmic radiation from stars) and from the ground (radioactive elements that have been part of the earth since its formation billions of years ago, including uranium, thorium, radium, radon, polonium, and others). In fact, it is mainly the heat from radioactivity of these elements that causes volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, and even the floating of the tectonic plates, which in turn gives rise to earthquakes and tsunamis. Our food is already loaded with naturally occurring radioactive potassium (K-40) and carbon (C-14). Of the 360 mrems each year, about 20 mrems comes from inside of us from the potassium and carbon that we eat and absolutely need in order to live. That’s right, every one of us already contains radioactive material, round the clock.
Humans and other animals, as well as plants, have evolved in a veritable sea of radiation. If radiation were harmful at these levels, as LNT maintains, we wouldn’t be here. Furthermore the levels of background radiation vary not only within the U.S. but around the world, covering a range of about 200 to 1. The highest levels are found in Ramsar, Iran (26,000 mrem/year), Guarapari Beach in Brazil (7,500 mrem/year), and Kerala, India (7,500 mrem/year). If LNT were true, Iran, Brazil, India, and the Rocky Mountain states in the U.S. would have higher than average cancer rates and lower than average life expectancy. Yet the rates of cancer are lower, or at the very least not elevated, in the regions of higher radiation. Denver, for example, has lower cancer rates than New Orleans, though both the levels of cosmic and ground radiation are higher in Denver. The greater the altitude the less the shielding from cosmic rays, and the Rockies contain lots of uranium, radium, and radon, and the other radioactive elements.
Even the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in January 2011 admitted that low levels of radiation are beneficial. But still the NRC promotes fear by maintaining an admitted fiction in their rules for exposure. See http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/bio-effects-radiation.html. So while hormesis may be artificially controversial, there are no studies that confirm LNT and thousands that prove it false. It would be no more controversial than the causal link between smoking and lung cancer if the government regulatory agencies would finally admit that they have been operating on a false basis. LNT has been called by Gunnar Walinder, former chair of the Swedish Radiobiology Society, “the greatest scientific scandal of the 20th Century.”
Part 4: Other facts about radiation and concluding remarks about nuclear energy
Imagine if governmental regulators operated as though everything that is toxic in high doses were also toxic in low doses. They would outlaw things like vitamins, aspirin, zinc, selenium, and so on, while warning people to shield themselves completely from sunlight, oxygen, and water. That, in fact, is what they are doing with radiation. Everything in the world is toxic in high enough doses and most are also dangerous at inadequate doses, but many are life-saving in a middle range (called the hormetic range). Radiation is no different in that respect from things like vitamins, sunlight, oxygen, and water.
If the regulators would instead identify the thresholds for radiation harm versus benefit, as they do for most other substances, we would be far better off. The LNT fiction contributes to tremendous and harmful fear. This fear, for example, prevents many women from seeking life-saving mammograms to detect breast cancer early enough to cure it, and fuels the anti-nuclear environmental organizations that have often blocked the construction of needed nuclear reactors to replace coal plants and oil-guzzling vehicles. These reactors would save millions of lives over short periods of time and would preserve the planet’s livability for future generations.
To combat this fear it would help to realize that radiation doesn’t leak out of nuclear plants. It is radioactive atoms that may leak, and they give off radiation due to spontaneous emissions of electrons, helium nuclei, or gamma rays (electromagnetic radiation — like light, microwave, TV, radio, etc.). Plants and water only become radioactive when they have radioactive atoms deposited on or in them, or soak them up through the soil. Unlike toxic human-made chemicals that last forever, radioactive atoms decrease continually in number, due precisely to their radioactivity, i.e., tendency to emit particles and gamma rays.
The more radioactive the element, the shorter lived is its radiation. So iodine-131 and cesium-137 found in the Japanese vegetables and water supply are decaying away as we speak. I-131 has a half life of 8 days, meaning that every 8 days the amount of radiation from it decreases by half. In one month it is down by a factor of 16 and in two months by a factor of 256, and so on. Cs-137 is longer lived, with a half life of 30 years, but by the same token, atom for atom, it is far less radioactive, by a factor of almost 1,400. It is not clear yet that any of this radioactive contamination is at all harmful to anyone. It may still be within the beneficial hormetic range and below the threshold for harm. The contamination of truth by fear, however, is most definitely harmful.
Furthermore in addition to the lessening of radioactivity over time, radiation also lessens with distance from the source. The fear that anyone in the U.S. could be harmed by the radioactive contamination near the Daiichi plant ignores this distance factor. Just as light and sound are fainter farther from the source, so is all other radiation. Distance also disperses the number of radioactive atoms in air and/or sea water.
It is not possible yet to say what proportion of the harm to health and lives, following the quake/tsunami, will ultimately be due to the Fukushima reactors. But several things are certain: First, the harm from the nuclear plants will be minuscule compared to the harm from the tsunami itself, and it will be localized to very close to the plant. Two of the plant workers have suffered radiation burns to the skin of their feet from standing with inadequate boots in contaminated water. They will recover.
Second, the safety of nuclear reactors everywhere will again leap forward from the lessons learned at Daiichi, though the improvement in reactor design over the almost 40 years since Daiichi began has already been vast. In particular, the integral fast reactor (IFR) designed at the U.S. Argonne National Labs in the 1940s through 1990s is not only passively safe (no requirement for human intervention), but uses more than 100 times the energy in uranium (almost 100% of it, unlike current U.S. reactors that use less than 1%), and is designed to recycle the fuel within the building and make theft of the plutonium and uranium impossible without immediate deaths to the thieves from extreme excesses of radiation from the spent fuel products, in addition to plant security. They would also render uranium mining unnecessary by recycling spent fuel. The Daiichi reactors are to modern reactors, IFRs and others, like the Wright brothers’ glider is to a 747.
And finally, any objective and quantitative approach, uncontaminated by fear, would show that nuclear energy can provide the safest, most reliable, cleanest, and most sustainable source to save the planet for our children and grandchildren. Other so-called renewable sources like wind and solar may be useful to supplement it, particularly locally, but steady round-the-clock baseload electricity for entire nations cannot be provided by such intermittent and dilute sources. In addition, the U.S. Energy Information Administration continues to calculate that nuclear energy will prove to be the cheapest form, including wind and solar, though cost in human terms should be our most important criterion. In that sense nuclear is ahead by orders of magnitude.
posted 7 April 2011 at 2:27 AM by DV82XL
Natural Radiation In The Environment:
http://www.energyfromthorium.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2865
http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/natural.htm
http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/rp/factsheets/factsheets-htm/fs10bkvsman.htm
posted 7 April 2011 at 2:34 AM by Cyril R
Hormesis should work for all organisms, right? So we should see healthier bacteria and fungi in areas with higher background, perhaps greater antibiotic resistance for example? Could that be checked?
Nitpickery on units and cites:
The main post refers to “mrem” ((millirem? microrem? — annual dose?) Is there a conversion between “mrem” and millisievert?
Conversion tables here, but I don’ t know which “mrem” refers to.
http://www.stevequayle.com/ARAN/rad.conversion.html
Main post says:
> Ramsar … The highest levels are found in
> Ramsar, Iran (26,000 mrem/year)…
> Yet the rates of cancer are lower, or at the very
> least not elevated
Comparison: “millisievert” dose numbers are cited peoplein Ramsar here by a blog commenter and a site Moderator recently, both referencing the same book. Can we get a sanity check/better cite on these numbers from someone knowledgeable?
“”bks, on 4 April 2011 at 11:27 PM said:
There are places in Ramsar that might give a dose of 260 millisieverts/year, but the *population* of Ramsar do not spend there time in these places. The average dose for the population is about 10 millisieverts/year and the modal dose is 1-5 millisieverts/year.
http://books.google.com/books?id=VzgOHWZvJXMC
See figure 5, page 22
That book, on p23/24 says dose rates for the ELNRA are up to 135 mSv/yr, and ~25% of the population are >5 mSv.”
https://bravenewclimate.com/2011/04/03/other-perspectives-fukushima/#comment-123143
posted 7 April 2011 at 3:42 AM by Hank Roberts
Very nice article, Dr. Sacks.
One thing left out is the fact that the Fukushima crisis very likely has caused a number of deaths already- resulting from the evacuation.
It was reported in the news and briefly discussed in threads here that at one point 17 deaths had been attributed directly to the difficulties of living in evacuation facilities, lack of normal and proper medical care, etc.
Like many news articles we’ve seen, that number may or may not be accurate. I have no clue. It would also be difficult to break things down since the majority of evacuations were due to loss of habitat via the Tsunami and many of the “nuclear evacuees” were likely evacuated for either/both reasons.
I point this out because I recently saw a comment in a thread here along the lines of “why don’t they extend the mandatory evacuation out to 30km… it can’t hurt.”
But it can hurt. We will never know how many people died from diseases spread in densely packed shelters, nor will the media care much about that. It is just an example of how people irrationally blind themselves to the fact that all decisions have adverse consequences.
I am not suggesting that the evacuation zone is too small or too large. That is for the experts. I just want to point out that “it can hurt” and should be taken into account along with the LNT type thinking that likely helps set the evac zones.
On the positive side, as far as I know no one died in plane crashes while fleeing Tokyo to take up residence in “radiation free” Denver. Worst case they might just get a little hermetical radiation therapy…
posted 7 April 2011 at 4:02 AM by NR99
Hank: Hormesis should be much stronger for multicellular organisms. Single-cell life forms and colony life forms remain more vulnerable to the background chatter.
posted 7 April 2011 at 4:13 AM by Relgoshan
Yes evacuation can kill… but the question is how many would have died without the evacuation and without the nuclear plant due to difficulties in getting food, water, medical attention. In other words aren’t the evacuation centers more than average in food, water, medical attention?
Cosmic rays from airplane travel might be good for you. Its whole body dose (ie external like Chen’s Taiwanese cobal 60 research) and the dose rate isn’t too extreme.
“…a hydroelectric dam in Fukushima prefecture, burst by the quake, that flooded 1800 homes, with unknown numbers of deaths.”
Which dam was that? I only ask because I have tried to follow this story and failed. The only dam break from the quake I could find is the Fujinuma Dam. It was an irrigation dam, and only five homes have been reported as washed away. At least four dead, which is admittedly more than from the nuclear plants.
And really, even mentioning the carbon dioxide from the Chiba refinery, while true, seems a bit silly. The problem is the carbon dioxide created in using oil, not from disasters.
posted 7 April 2011 at 4:27 AM by Greg Simpson
Thanks Barry & Dr. Sacks – a very lucid and informative post.
Next problem – what do we do about skyrocketing costs for new nuclear?
DaveW
posted 7 April 2011 at 4:34 AM by KeenOn350
Regarding the units:
rad and gray are biologically absorbed dose units. They refer to how many joules have been absorbed per kilogram of biological tissue.
rem and sievert are dose units where type of radiation is taken into account for biological effect. These are the most relevant.
1 Sievert = 100 rem.
m = milli = 1/1000 (one thousandth)
u = micro = 1/1000000 (one millionth)
Ramsar Iran max possible dose is 260 millisievert = 0.26 sievert = 26 rem.
Statistically speaking, how much more dangerous did nuclear power become due to Fukushima?
No one has yet died of radiation and there does not appear to be anyone with high enough dose for that either. However lets not be too optimistic and consider the worker that fell out of a crane and the two poor young fellows that got stuck in some basement and bled to death, poor folks. That makes 3 dead.
Nuclear deaths per TWh is 0.04 with 2600 TWh/year.
http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/03/lifetime-deaths-per-twh-from-energy.html
Add 3 dead makes it 0.041 per TWh. Coal is at 161 per TWh. This makes nuclear power 3900 times safer than coal! Even if we get the world average coal down 10x it is still 390 times more deadly than nuclear power!
> hydroelectric dam story
I’ve also been trying to find the source of the death claims made — so far, no luck (been looking for more than a week). Not saying it didn’t happen, just that I can’t find it. A cite would be welcome.
Here’s info — a meta-analysis study of studies — including some on that Chinese area with high levels:
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09553002.2010.545862
Meta-analysis of non-tumour doses for radiation-induced cancer on the basis of dose-rate
January 21, 2011. (doi:10.3109/09553002.2010.545862)
Hiroshi Tanooka
Radiation Effects Association, 1-9-16 Kaji-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo and National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba, Japan
“Purpose: Quantitative analysis of cancer risk of ionising radiation as a function of dose-rate.
Materials and methods: Non-tumour dose, Dnt, defined as the highest dose of radiation at which no statistically significant tumour increase was observed above the control level, was analysed as a function of dose-rate of radiation.
Results: An inverse correlation was found between Dnt and dose-rate of the radiation. Dnt increased 20-fold with decreasing dose-rate from 1–10−8 Gy/min for whole body irradiation with low linear energy transfer (LET) radiation. Partial body radiation also showed a dose-rate dependence with a 5- to 10-fold larger Dnt as dose rate decreased. The dose-rate effect was also found for high LET radiation but at 10-fold lower Dnt levels.
Conclusions: The cancer risk of ionising radiation varies 1000-fold depending on the dose-rate of radiation and exposure conditions. This analysis explains the discrepancy of cancer risk between A-bomb survivors and radium dial painters.”
Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09553002.2010.545862
I like this short youtube movie. It makes some key points. Hear what Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore has to say!
Does anyone have information about other thermal plants in the area? Coal/oil/gas fired. Big fires, explosions, pollution, damage? Any ash ponds breaking, natural gas and gasoline storage locations? I can’t find that much.
Professionally I am currently involved in design of a large gasoline storage terminal. We have some quite simple and effective emergency burners, squib plastique energised fire extinguishing lines and overpressure protections. However earthquake and tsunami proof is not a criteria. I can’t imagine these large vertical tanks would stand a 9 moment magnitude quake, and the spill design does not take into account all tanks catastrophically failing at the same time. Millions of liters of gasoline going everywhere.
Hope this is on point: when Dr. Sacks raised Katrina, BP, and Challenger I had hoped to see him address lessons learned that addressed the organizational problems at the root of those disasters.
It wasn’t simply that “the administration” hurried or ignored their engineers. The rot was more subtle and deeper than that.
Feynman’s Challenger Report Appendix:
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/51-l/docs/rogers-commission/Appendix-F.txt
Rogers Commission — Silent Safety Program:
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/51-l/docs/rogers-commission/Chapter-7.txt
Nancy Leveson paper discussing the persistence of managerial problems at NASA:
http://sunnyday.mit.edu/papers/controversies-final.doc
I hope that the operators of the new reactor designs don’t delude themselves into confusing “passively safe” with “fail safe”.
posted 7 April 2011 at 5:49 AM by Paul Ritchie
Yeh, the relatively safe designs actually being built now are safe for a specified number of days; after that, they need pumps running to restore the water. Where will the water come from in a worst case drought — and what’s the worst case drought? It’s not simple.
But there aren’t many of those yet.
National Geographic says: (excerpt follows)
“The vast majority of plants under construction around the world, 47 in all, are considered Generation II reactor designs—the same 1970s vintage as Fukushima Daiichi, and without integrated passive safety systems.”
“15 of the 442 nuclear reactors operating in the world are considered Generation III reactors—designs that have begun to integrate some “passive” or “inherent” safety …. the Gen III reactors now in operation date anywhere from 1982 and 2007, according to a list provided by NEI, they aren’t exactly the leading edge in nuclear technology.
That next advance would be the Generation III-plus design, a plant that relies completely on passive safety systems in the case of an accident, as the U.S. Department of Energy categorizes it….
… “These are designs that have fully functional passive safety systems that have the ability to function at least 72 hours without AC [alternating current] electrical power or external cooling water”….
… . The system can provide cooling for up to 72 hours, according to Westinghouse spokesman Scott Shaw.
After that, a small diesel generator is meant to supply power to pump water from an onsite storage container into the reactor core and spent fuel pool at 100 gallons per minute for up to four days.”
So, the arithmetic: at 100 gallons/min., four days is 5760 minutes, so 576000 gallons assuming no waste or spill or leak, just replacing what evaporates. And this has to be clean water since it’s going through the core, assuming the core’s going to be saved and reused.
Has anyone looked at these water tanks? Do they have to also purify the water as it’s drawn out, or is it kept clean enough to pump?
Just curious. The loose ends are the devilish details.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2011/03/110323-fukushima-japan-new-nuclear-plant-design/
Well, assuming they don’t have to keep it pure in storage (if they pump the cooling water through filters on the way to the plant) they could get dual use out of the tank by letting people swim in it: “About 600000 gallons of water fill an Olympic size pool.”
wiki.answers.com
Looking at the comments I’ve seen all over the internet following Fukushima, it seems very few people have changed their minds on nuclear power as a result. The people who hated it before still do, and the proponent’s minds are unchanged. I haven’t heard of anyone who has switched from pro to anti, and George Monbiot and some others have made the opposite switch.
posted 7 April 2011 at 6:37 AM by Huw Jones
I’d like much more detail regarding Tepco ignoring tsunami warnings from Japanese scientists as my understanding, up to now, has been that no seismologist had thought an earthquake with a moment magnitude 9.0 was possible in the vicinity of Japan.
posted 7 April 2011 at 7:22 AM by David B. Benson
i also can not find a confirmation of the dam story.
but wikipedia has a list of damages following the quake.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujinuma_Dam
it looks like the number of houses washed away is 5, not 1800.
not such a big surprise then, that this didn t get reported…
posted 7 April 2011 at 7:27 AM by sod
> more detail … tsunami warnings
Quite a few stories go into this. Two of the better summaries here. IF you use Scholar you’ll find the named scientists’ work on tsunamis, and I’ve quoted from that in earlier posts here (somewhere)
http://www.japan-press.co.jp/modules/news/index.php?id=1689
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-18/tepco-ignored-warnings-about-tsunami-risk-ex-lawmaker-says.html
PS for David, earthquake intensity and tsunami size are not closely tied together; the studies are of historical records for tsunami size.
I did not understand Dr. Sacks’ transition from the failure of TEPCO to heed legitimate warnings into a study of the risks of nuclear power. He leaped over the big question: If TEPCO can’t manage nuclear reactors properly, who can? How are we going to manage a global network of tens of thousands of reactors? How many Fukushimas will occur? At what frequency? What will be the typical contribution to background radiation, etc.
posted 7 April 2011 at 8:09 AM by bks
Hank Roberts, on 7 April 2011 at 7:53 AM — Thank you.
Huw, I switched.
Dr. Sacks: “Low levels of radiation, in fact, act like a vaccine – a small dose of the germ and it stimulates your immune system to protect you against larger doses.”
I am a molecular biologist, but I cannot think of any mechanistic basis to support this claim. True, cells do have well studied mechanisms to repair DNA damages. However, as far as I know, low dose of radiation does not improve cell’s ability to repair DNA damages.
This is in stark contrast to the case of vaccine and immune system, in which we know very well how prior exposure to antigens generate B cells and T cells bearing specific antigen receptors that will protect you from infections later.
Maybe I’m just ignorant. But I’m not convinced unless I’m presented with a mechanism.
posted 7 April 2011 at 10:10 AM by Haru
As an answer to Huw Jones,
Does a change of opinion from “indifferent” to “I support nuclear energy” count? I hadn’t really spent a lot of thought on how energy is won before the incident, but seeing how I am already, at least indirectly, affected by what is happening at Fukushima, informing myself about the plant’s state and nuclear power in general has turned into my main activity since being back in Germany (I was on exchange in Sendai when the earthquake and Tsunami hit). Obviously, there’s a strong personal interest involved aswell, since I’m planning to complete my studies abroad starting May, and I want to make sure that my parents understand that me going back won’t mean me dying a slow painful cancer death.
I’ve always felt like there was a lack of context in the way media handled Fukushima. If you don’t know anything, all those numbers seem terribly frightening, so I’m very thankful for sites like BNC that explain the situation in an understandable way. That doesn’t make a savvy on the subject, but it’s been helping me to understand what’s been going and put everything in perspective.
posted 7 April 2011 at 10:19 AM by Vash
The Economist is hosting a debate with the proposition ‘This house believes that the world would be better off without nuclear power.’ You can join in here.
Further to David B Benson on what was thought seismically possible in the vicinity of Japan, the American Geophysical Union’s Eos magazine carried a piece incorporating this (Scientists Examine Challenges and Lessons
From Japan’s Earthquake and Tsunami, paywalled) a couple of weeks ago. Some quotes give the flavour:
…the inundation area is similar to that of the great Jogan earthquake of 869 C.E., when a large tsunami washed over the Sendai area. The Tohoku earthquake is the largest known quake along the Japan Trench since the Jogan event or earlier…
…eminent seismologist Hiroo Kanamori…said that when the University of Tokyo science department building squeaked and shook hard, he immediately thought it was a large earthquake, perhaps magnitude 8, about 400–500 kilometers distant. “In Japan, to feel some shaking is not surprising,” he said. “But when I was told later that it was a 9, it was a big surprise.” A quake that big had not been anticipated along the rupture zone, Kanamori said. “Even if we were aware of the potential hazards of earthquakes, probably very few people suspected that this kind of really big event could happen there…
But then there’s this:
…scientists have only about a 100-year sample “of quake occurrence
data from instrumental seismology…We shouldn’t be surprised by M = 9 quakes in places where they haven’t yet been known (to us) to have occurred (although probably those areas have had M = 9 quakes in the relatively recent, speaking geologically, that is, past…
(Robert Geller, professor in the Graduate School of Science at the University of Tokyo)
This place had become one of the most studied pieces of subduction zone on the planet in many respects…It was surprising that such a large earthquake happened on this subduction zone, which had been assumed to be capable of having a magnitude 8 earthquake but not a 9.
(Geoffrey Abers, research professor at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory)
and the bottom line:
…researchers are also learning more about the maximum credible earthquake possible in some subduction zones around the world, noting that scientists had
not widely expected a magnitude 9 quake here, nor had such a major quake been fully anticipated off of Sumatra in 2004. “We are still understanding what subduction zones around the world are capable of producing in terms of large earthquakes,” he said, adding that the Tohoku earthquake is a “wake-up call” for the United States’
Pacific Northwest and other potentially vulnerable regions. “It is likely we should be prepared in parts of the world with very high seismic hazards for larger earthquakes than we had previously thought. It’s a sobering message based on a small data set.
(Richard Aster, president of the Seismological Society of America and professor at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology)
posted 7 April 2011 at 10:31 AM by Mark Duffett
@Haru
The French Nationl Academy commissioned a report on the dose-effect response of low level radiation exposure: http://www.radscihealth.org/rsh/Papers/FrenchAcadsFinal07_04_05.pdf
It does touch upon possible mechanisms for hormesis and cites quite a number of papers. It would be interesting to hear any comments on this.
posted 7 April 2011 at 10:48 AM by quokka
TO THE MODERATOR
MY POST WAS COMPLETELY DELETED?
Two were deleted, as you requested, so you could re-post on the correct thread. We do not have the facility to change comments between threads ouselves.
One was deleted because your suggestion as to your personal opinion regarding what other’s should/could do violates BNC commenting rules.
posted 7 April 2011 at 10:58 AM by bRIVERb
@Huw Jones, I know of a few instances at an independent news site I frequent where a few people have commented that Fukushima had brought them back to an anti-nuclear position. I emphasise the ‘back to’ to make the point that they invariably were recent and/or reluctant adopters of a pro-nuclear stance. However, this was in the very early days of the crisis, and it just goes to show that there are still waverers in the middle who are open to being convinced.
Ah yes, Crikey. Occasionally, it’s a little bit like Australia’s own home-grown Huffington Post.
posted 7 April 2011 at 11:05 AM by Luke Weston
Mark Duffett, on 7 April 2011 at 10:31 AM — Thank you. Perhaps the only safe estiamte one can make about regions prone to great earthquakes is that moment magnitude 9.5–9.6 earthquakes is probably all that mantle rock is capable of forming.
posted 7 April 2011 at 11:11 AM by David B. Benson
I did re-post it. You deleted that too. You deleted 4 posts of mine. 2 of which I requested.
As for claiming that I suggested what others should do…
I proposed a good way for promoting nuclear energy and reassuring the Japanese people about the current radiation levels. I will try my best to re-word it all though you repeatedly seem to have no problems with other suggestions on your blog.
MODERATOR I did not delete any re-posting – you are mistaken. I did delete 4 of your posts. 2 which you asked me delete so that you could re-post on the appropriate thread and two that I decided were no more than petty attacks on people on the blog, with childish suggestions that we should all go to Japan and take our children with us and “see if you like it”. BNC is not a sounding board for your frustrations (understandable as they may be)and such posts will also be deleted in future.
I would like to point out that it is not your “right” to comment on this personal blog and if you wish to carry on with attacks (many of which had to be deleted) on the blog and the moderators, for perceived personal slights against your posts, which are onlysubject to the same restrictions which apply to all on BNC (when others here react to moderation with courtesy and grace), you will go from being on the moderation list to the banned list. Make your choice.
[comment deleted as per previous warning]
bks, on 7 April 2011 at 8:09 AM said:
Witnessing some of the fumbling efforts of Tepco many people here wish that an international body be in charge of oversight for nuclear energy plants.
I don’t have the time to carefully read the report that you cited. But it doesn’t seem like it says anything strongly about beneficial effects of radiation, which is I’m specifically questioning.
It is well known that proteins involved in DNA repair are activated when cells are exposed to gamma irradiation or UV or whatever chemicals that cause DNA damages. But activation of these proteins are caused by sensing DNA damages. They can prevent mutations from happening, but it’s hard for me to think that the net effect of radiation is beneficial, however low the level is. Note that the DNA repair mechanisms are not error free. In fact, mutations can be caused by misrepair of DNA. (Alternative pathway is cellular suicide, or apoptosis, when DNA repair fails. In some way, that is a preferable pathway than misrepair of DNA.)
It is not impossible to think of scenarios in which net effect of low levels of radiation is beneficial. And it seems they have been proposed. But it seems that they are controversial and at best the beneficial effects are small.
I am a basic scientist, rather than an epidemiologist. So, I want a strong mechanistic evidence to be convinced.
I think to claim that low levels of radiation is analogous to vaccine as if that is a well established fact is irresponsible, regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the rest of what Dr. Sacks wrote.
Very informative post.
I get that the health impact of the incidents at Fukushima pale enormously when placed in appropriate contexts.
I get that the safety record of commercial nuclear energy thus far has been stellar when placed in similar appropriate contexts, i.e., relative to alternative historical power sources.
Two questions and an additional point:
I’m still not convinced that the waste issue has been resolved with local storage, even while I acknowledge that thus far local storage has been relatively safe. My fear is of a risk of the black swan type, a tail risk that is highly improbable but with disproportionate impact should it ever occur. I conceive of compound events, possibly involving ill intent, i.e., smart terrorists. Is there a cogent treatment of this risk in the public domain that an interested reality-based person can read for themselves? Or all they all classified to keep from feeding ideas to would-be terrorists? Can such a risk be ruled out by reason and science, much the same way most popular-media fear-mongering scenarios can be precluded?
My second question is about cost, and is related to my final point. I very much appreciate the reality-based, respectful-of-science posts I’ve read from nuclear energy advocates in the wake of Fukushima, in the context of the physics-bound risk assessments they have offered. But invariably at the end the author makes the point, as if it is accepted fact, that wind and solar cannot possibly supply large fractions (> 50%) of the world’s power cost-effectively, almost always without reference. This is as offensive to me as the anti-nukes fearmongering: it shows a total lack of respect for established technology and manufacturing cost life cycles. That’s my point.
My question is as to the cost of nuclear. I’m not convinced the US (say) could not substitute solar and wind (hundreds of square miles of concentrated solar power–thermal not PV–in the southwest desert and thousands of windmills in the midwest alley, integrated into a grid such that during the course of a day they complimented one another) for coal at a capital cost cheaper than an equivalent substitution of nuclear.
posted 7 April 2011 at 12:02 PM by Robert Ash
Haru, thanks for the calm sensible comments.
I’m just a longtime reader on this, not a scientist (a family member studied radiation effects on dividing cells at Oak Ridge in the 1950s, so I’ve been reading in the area a long while). Your summary fits the mainstream — if there is an effect it’s small and there are many other forces acting that aren’t well sorted out.
One example (the related paper links lead to many more): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20105434
posted 7 April 2011 at 12:39 PM by Hank Roberts
posted 7 April 2011 at 12:57 PM by smiller
At this moment I am 120 km away from the nuclear problem. We are unable to buy local vegetables, we have been advised that the water is unsafe unless bottled or from a well, and the fish market has been devastated. Business and cultural livelihoods have been turned into questionmarks in the future of our surroundings.
posted 7 April 2011 at 1:00 PM by bRIVERb
posted 7 April 2011 at 1:16 PM by Finrod
The source of the miscalculation/misreading on the irrigation dam along the Abukuma River in Fukushima Prefecture is this report from CNN:
http://www.kpax.com/news/earthquake-causes-dam-to-break-in-japan/
It was 1800 homes in total that were destroyed by the tsunami in Fukushima Prefecture. Five homes and 8 people dead from the dam collapse. You can see a photo of the reservoir and dam here.
It seems to me the appropriate lessons to be learned from Fukushima have to do with engineering, disaster response, and risk management. Some industries do it well, others cut corners and have nobody looking over their shoulder. What is the culture of safety at a power plant. This was a major part of the many reforms that came about as a response to TMI, and it is likely a good reason why the industry has been relatively safe for the last 30 years. Fukushima tells us there is a lot more we could be doing. And it also reminds us to be ever vigilant. Using Fukushima as case study to debunk LNT, draw out false equivalencies with other industries, and even put some kind of measure on a loss of human life … I find pretty problematical as a response to this accident. Minimizing risk and over confidence in past performance does not lead to safer and more reliable power plants, but good engineering, tough oversight, and thoughtful management does! Humility too. And we just got a major hormetic dose of it over the last three weeks. From an article appearing in Reuters today, it appears humility has been there all along (and most likely in a productive and thoughtful way). Now it’s time to act on it!!
posted 7 April 2011 at 1:55 PM by EL
After several warnings, bRIVERb has been banned from posting on BNC for persistent violations of the comments policy.
posted 7 April 2011 at 3:02 PM by Barry Brook
To Robert Ash
Hi, I don’t often comment because, while I have considerable experience with nuclear operations (I was a Reactor Operator in the US Navy for quite some time), I’m neither as eloquent nor as adept as others here in inserting references… I’m rather clumsy on a computer. However, your comment demonstrates that you are a straight thinking individual, and the concerns you express are both common and natural given the quality of information that dominates those topics. I’ll take a brief stab at your questions.
As to local storage (either in pools or dry casks), the only plausible “threat” from bad characters bent on “ill-intent” is to use the material in combination with an explosive to create a “dirty bomb”. The nature of the material is such that, while this would create a large and expensive clean up, the biggest “threat” would be the blast from the conventional explosives used in the caper. “Spent Fuel” cannot be detonated like a nuclear bomb… physically impossible. It’s possible that a large enough conventional explosion could aerosolize a small portion of the mass, but for the most part we’re talking about material that is heavier than lead… it would not likely get far. Any airborne material that did manage to travel a significant distance would be relatively dilute due to dispersion, and the likelihood of detrimental exposure becomes vanishingly small. As for the rest of the material that was not aerosolized… probably on the order of 99.9% of the original material… well it’s a big, inconvenient, expensive clean up, but not a catastrophe. Can the risk of such an event be ruled out? No. The nature of risk is that it can never be entirely “ruled out”. The only rational way to assess risk is to put it into context of probability and the severity of the outcome. Happily, in this case, the likelihood is low, and the consequences are mild. The only way an event like this could be considered anything but a waste of explosives for any self-respecting terrorist is if it was followed by an unwarranted panic on the part of both the public and the local authorities. As has been observed further upthread, an overly hasty evacuation can be deadly, and in this case, possibly more lethal that the event.
Your other points refer to cost, and a personal skepticism about whether the pro-nuke advocates are being fair and up front about the potential of wind and solar. That’s good. You have a serious interest and you have an open mind… you’ve reached an important milestone. If your curiosity is genuine, and you are serious about untangling the Gordian Knot, you have some homework to do. Fortunately, you came to the right place.
I mentioned before that I rarely comment… I haven’t done so in over a year. But the first comment I made here was to Professor Brook, asking if there was a “threshold” moment for him when he really began to embrace nuclear. I was impressed because it seemed to me (having read every entry up to that point) that he had made a transition from favoring a “renewable”, “techno-solar” dominant energy paradigm, to a practical nucear-centric energy mix (allowing for as much renewable contributions as their specific niches would allow). I’ve decided that my surprise at his change of heart has everything to do with my preconceived notions of what a dedicated climate change scientist/environmentalist was all about.
In retrospect , my question to him seems rather foolish. It is obvious to anyone that has followed this site that Mr. Brooks nuclear advocacy is the product of a remarkable and rigorous effort to understand the problem of energy production, and you will be hard pressed to find a better place to get educated on precisely the questions you have posed.
I find it troubling that you were “offended” that someone would state the fatal limitations of wind and solar “as a matter of fact”. You felt it was “disrespectful”. May I suggest… a more useful response would be to be “challenged”. After all, there are questions of science and engineering, not manners and etiquette. At the end of the day, it’s the numbers, not the feelings, that take precedence in an enlightened understanding.
You strike me as a passionate fellow. That’s good. You will need that energy to plow through the necessary analysis to come to a better understanding as to why the author of this piece (and many others, including myself) can make such “matter of fact” statements about the limitations of solar and wind. There is a lot to learn, but it is a welcome effort considering what is at stake. There is a distinct moral/ethical component to this area of inquiry… the graph showing the deaths/TwH makes that clear enough, but I’d take it one step farther. What is missing from that graph is the death toll associated with insufficient and/or unreliable access to energy. I daresay that if that data was added to the chart, every one of the risk factors shown would fade into complete insignificance. And all that without factoring in climate change…
This is arguably the most important conversation being had on the planet right now. You, and many others, are now engaged in a serious way… perhaps this will be the hidden blessing behind the events at Fukushima. But I tell you with the utmost respect, this is no time to be “offended” when your preconceived notions are challenged! Be energized! Most of all, be positive and proactive! Find out why the author could be so confident in making the statements you object to so vehemently! But I warn you, this won’t be a sound bite educational process… it is comprehensive and arduous.
Since I am a computer klutz, I don’t know how to insert the necessary references. Can anyone provide links for Mr. Ash to some relevant BNC articles where the pros/cons/applicability/costing of wind and solar are broken down so meticulously? Perhaps they will motivate him to take up the search himself.
Happy reading Mr. Ash, and best of luck.
Thank you John.
Here is the link to the posts on BNC covering renewable energy.
https://bravenewclimate.com/renewable-limits/
the “TCASE” (Thinking critically about sustainable energy) series
https://bravenewclimate.com/2009/09/27/tcase1/
posted 7 April 2011 at 3:47 PM by John Rogers
bks: ” If TEPCO can’t manage nuclear reactors properly, who can? How are we going to manage a global network of tens of thousands of reactors?”
Could you please expand on this statement for me?
Are you asserting that TEPCO is the best manager of nuclear reactors and if the best can’t do it then no one can?
Or are you asserting that TEPCO is a bad manager of nuclear reactors and that many other better companies will handle those thousands of future reactors better?
posted 7 April 2011 at 4:20 PM by Jason Kobos
[deleted link to 33 page PDF]
Violates citation policy to whit:
Citing literature and other sources — appropriate and interesting citations and links within comments are welcomed, but please DO NOT cite material that you have not yourself read, digested and understood. As a general rule, please introduce any and every link or reference with a short description of the material, your judgement on its quality, and the specific reason you are including it (i.e. how it is relevant to the discussion).
posted 7 April 2011 at 4:41 PM by Jens Lee
Nor did the media report widely, if at all, on a hydroelectric dam in Fukushima prefecture, burst by the quake, that flooded 1800 homes, with unknown numbers of deaths.
I believe this to be a fabricated story. It was reported in the media but nobody I have asked can find anything to substantiate it. The source appears to be an Australian journalist who wrote a pro nuclear piece. It seems to me to be a lie invented to make nuclear power look good and the media look bad for being biased against nuclear. I would suggest that people don’t quote this story without doing some serious fact checking.
posted 7 April 2011 at 4:44 PM by TerjeP
Here is a description, with some citations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujinuma_Dam
In the early morning of 12 March 2011, the dam failed, reportedly due to the Tōhoku earthquake. Locals reported hearing a loud burst before seeing a flood. The flood washed away five houses while damaging others, disabling a bridge and blocked roads with debris. Eight people were missing and four bodies were discovered after searches began at dawn.[2][3][4] Some locals had apparently attempted to repair leaks in the dam before it completely failed.[5]
On 12 March, 252 dams were inspected and seven dams were found to be damaged. Six embankment dams had shallow cracking on their crests and the reservoir at one concrete gravity dam had a slight slope failure. Four dams, including the Fujinuma, were inaccessible and could not be inspected. When the roads clear, further inspections are expected to take place.
The original news feed is here:
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/11/live-blog-japan-earthquake/
[11:54 a.m. ET, 1:54 a.m. Tokyo] A dam has broken in Fukushima prefecture, washing away scores of homes in the area, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported early Saturday. The Defense Ministry says 1,800 homes have been destroyed in Fukushima.
I cannot of course verify the actuality or otherwise of the events, but this is where it was reported, and it doesn’t seem to come from an Australian pro-nuclear reporter — the source was Kyodo News.
posted 7 April 2011 at 5:04 PM by Barry Brook in reply to TerjeP
Robert Ash and John Rogers:
An excellent series of questions and a well reasoned and lucid response.
posted 7 April 2011 at 5:59 PM by Douglas Wise
Fujinuma Dam was a dam for irrigation, not electricity generation, so I don’t think the comparative argument should be made – tragic as it is.
http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/03/hydroelectric-dam-failures-fujinuma-dam.html
posted 7 April 2011 at 6:18 PM by Tom Keen
Barry, from the news feed you linked, it’s not clear that 1800 homes destroyed were due to a broken dam. I tried to find how it was reported in Japanese media. Here is a few that I found. Obviously, they are in Japanese. I will try to summarize, but ask a Japanese person to read if you know someone.
http://www.asahi.com/special/10005/TKY201103120276.html
Asahi is one of the major news papers in Japan. There are many things reported in this article. Among them are that about 1800 homes in Minamisoma city were destroyed and that a dam in Sukagawa city was broken.
http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/News/Sp201103120214.html
Many short reports are listed here. It reports that “About 1800 homes in Minamisoma city were destroyed according to the Defense Ministry.” It also reports that a dam in Sukagawa city was broken and 8 people are missing. But these are listed as two separate reports.
It seems like these two events happened at two separate locations.
posted 7 April 2011 at 6:22 PM by Haru
Looking at the building drawings of these older BWRs, it seems there is plenty of space on the top floor section (with the crane) to put a couple of diesel generators to power the pumps, valves and control room. Very high up safe from tsunamis. Little stack for exhaust to the top of the building. This could prevent the entire Fukushima Daiichi sequence from happening. (remember that the diesel generators were running fine after the earthquake and only failed due to the tsunami).
posted 7 April 2011 at 7:05 PM by Cyril R
Top floor seems to be over 20 meters above ground.
@John Rogers 4/7/11 4:17 PM
John, it is our loss that you “don’t often comment”. There are a lot of BNC readers who do not have experience of electric power engineering, much less nuclear engineering — who are trying to understand the implications of Fukushima. Your contributions are important – not least because we need to be able to help our own circles understand the choices, risks and costs.
So whenever you want to comment I would be happy to assist with formatting, links, etc. Just email your comment to me.
Moderator has already contributed exactly the BNC links I would have proposed for Robert Ash.
posted 7 April 2011 at 7:24 PM by Steve Darden
Thanks for a great piece William.
I’m still reading the 2011 UNSCEAR report
Annex D and think that it shows that even the 2006 WHO report (which I based my assessment of the Chernobyl toll on) was more than likely a conservative overestimate of the radiation problems.
I’m wondering where the 1,400 ratio comes from
that you mention with regard to Cs-137? Is it because it distributes evenly in the body or because of the way it decays?
posted 7 April 2011 at 8:27 PM by Geoff Russell
Further to Cyril’s comment about the diesel generators, why did they put the auxiliary buildings closest to the sea? If they had been placed a few hundred meters back, or in some kind of shield buildings, or even underground, none of this would have happened. That for me, is the biggest lesson to be learned from Fukushima.
posted 7 April 2011 at 8:33 PM by Huw Jones
Pingback: BraveNewClimate
The ratio 1400 comes from the 30 point something year half life of Cs-137 versus 8 days for I-131.
30×365= 11000
11000/8 = 1400
Rough figures.
@Cyril,
you are comparing 30y × 365d/y = 11000 days to 8 hours = 1/3 days
The ratio, therefore, should be 11000/(1/3) = 33000
The lessons to take from this event should also consider the diesel storage tanks that were washed away and the electric switch yard, which was destroyed by the water, preventing the connection of portable generators brought from some off site location.
posted 7 April 2011 at 9:40 PM by Joao
Nope, youre right, it’s 8 days my mistake.
Hank Roberts, on 7 April 2011 at 6:25 AM said:
. Where will the water come from in a worst case drought — and what’s the worst case drought?
NEI Discussion on Nuclear Power Water Use.
http://www.nei.org/filefolder/Water_Consumption_at_Nuclear_Power_Plants_0708_2.pdf
NEI claims an NPP consumes a minimum to 6 gallons per home served of water a day with the average NPP serving 740,000 homes.
6 x 740,000 = 4,440,000 gallons or 16,807 m3
The current water injection rate at Fukushima Daichi #2 is 8m3/hour or 192 m3/day.
So the answer would appear to be that any place that doesn’t have a reliable source of 16,000 m3 of water per day is an unsuitable place to site a NPP.
If a historic drought came along you would have to shut the plant down when available water dropped below 16,000 m3/day.
You would then need to scrape together something on the magnitude of 192 m3 of water a day to keep it in ‘cold shutdown’ mode.
posted 7 April 2011 at 9:51 PM by harrywr2
If the worst case drought causes the sea to dry up, I think we’ve got some pretty serious global warming problems! I’m not sure if our skin would stil be attached to our bodies when the sea dries up!
Can you say, “venus”?
Inland plants can use treated waste water or dry cooling, or both – hydrid wet-dry for optimal economics and water reduction. You can then use the dry cooling portion of the plant in an emergency where you can’t get water (decay heat only a fraction of normal cooling as suggested above). There is a plant in the US, Palo Verde, that has very large onsite water reserves in the form of treated waste water. Enough for months, so this isn’t the problem in a station blackout event.
http://energyfromthorium.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=2960
posted 7 April 2011 at 10:34 PM by Cyril R
I believe I recall on the GE web site that the ABWR design has a diesel generator on the floor below the SFP’s, probably for just that reason? trying to find the web site were I saw the AWBR layout…
posted 8 April 2011 at 12:10 AM by schla
Just had what felt like the biggest aftershock so far. Full Tsunami warming .
posted 8 April 2011 at 12:17 AM by Bruce
Barry Brook wrote:
Lets add some reading comprehension skills to the above news story. “Scores” of homes from a dam break, “1,800” in Fukushima in total from tsunami and after effects. The only confusion regarding this story is coming from pro-nuclear advocates (although it certainly could have been worded better in original account).
posted 8 April 2011 at 12:22 AM by EL
Japan Meterological Agency says 7.4, and immediate evacuation warnings (with projected 2 meter tsunami). These are just precautionary warnings, let’s hope they are wrong.
http://www.jma.go.jp/en/tsunami/
Mag 7.4 Miyagi
This article posts some very interesting points. There is much to learn from what has been happening recently involving nuclear energy consequence, including Japan. I recently saw program in which a panel of experts discussed what we should have learned from the recently nuclear crisis, and what each country can do to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/e02awE
— Carrie
posted 8 April 2011 at 12:30 AM by Carri
Japanese TV reporting no (additional) problems at Fukushima – seems to me a bit early to be reporting that. Tsunami (1 – 2 meters) was scheduled to hit 15 minutes ago.
I thought this plant was designed to survive a more than 2m tsunami?
Plants are designed for 5-6 meter tsunami. 2 meter no problem. Aftershocks never as strong as initial quake.
Initial tsunami on March 11 was reported over 14 meters, in some locations over 20 meters. Biblical.
posted 8 April 2011 at 12:59 AM by Cyril R
2 of 3 external powerlines are down at Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Prefecture, lots of emergency vehicles. A separate facility for spent fuel re-processing has also lost power, and is on backup diesel generators. Live coverage NHK:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/r/movie/
posted 8 April 2011 at 1:00 AM by EL
> dam break
It’s wrong to keep citing the earliest confused report (and misreading it). The claimed thousand-plus fatalities due to the dam break has been debunked. There’s no evidence for the claim being made.
Let’s please stop this.
Set a good example. Push back to your friends who are speaking in public about nuclear power, get them to correct this story.
This is an example of how people get fooled by poor news reporting and how hard it is to catch up with rumor.
Whatever your policy or position, applaud those who works hard to cite sources and read them carefully.
And when you see someone getting it wrong, even if you’re ‘on their side’ — push them to correct errors.
“Just because you’re on their side doesn’t mean they’re on your side.”
If you are interested in another radiation biologist’s view of the LNT theory here is mine, published in Crikey on 18 March (but actually a re-post from 2010):
http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/03/18/radiation-and-cancer-et-al/#comment-127276
Radiation and cancer et al
Radiation:
Michael R. James writes: Re. “Crikey Clarifier: what are the risks of radiation poisoning in Japan?” (yesterday, item 12). On the issue of low doses of radiation here is part of something I wrote in Crikey a while ago:
“There has been a long-running question about cancer risk versus radiation dose. It was assumed that the measurable risks from higher doses would extrapolate to proportional (low but significant) risk from low doses, but it was difficult to get experimental evidence. The “safe” assumption being that there was no safe dose. It turns out the graph is not linear, but actually risk drops off at certain very low doses — i.e. the risks reduce to negative at very low dose.
In biological terms this is not such a surprise (hence the long standing lack of unanimity about it) because we have highly evolved complex repair mechanisms to guard against DNA damage of all kinds (UV light, radiation, chemical, heat) and it now seems the theory was correct: ‘low doses actually trigger these repair mechanisms and reduce the risk to immeasurable; only above certain threshold damage (radiation) levels does unrepaired damage escape and cause long-term effects (cancer).’
An indirect but still intriguing example of this has come from places that have naturally high levels of radiation, such as the Iranian city of Ramsar. The old central part of the city has up to 200 times the background radiation level found in its modern outer suburbs, yet those who live their whole lives in the centre have actually got lower levels of relevant cancers (usually blood types, leukaemia etc).”
In another post I discussed how the role of DNA repair mechanisms protect us against normal environmental radiation is demonstrated by the extremely rare genetic disorder called ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) in which the primary defect is lack of repair of ionizing radiation DNA damage.
Such unfortunate people usually die in their teens from cancers and were first noticed by clinicians because any attempt at radiotherapy caused rapid death.
MICHAEL R JAMES Posted Friday, 18 March 2011 at 7:21 pm | Permalink
@GEORGECRISP Posted Friday, 18 March 2011 at 5:16 pm
If you read my full posts you would see that I do not deny that this question remains contentious. No one would recommend deliberately exposing oneself to low doses, though of course just living does that (radon in houses, flying in jet airliners, medical & dental, burning coal by the trillion tonnes). And so least of all would we expect official organizations like IRCP to be anything other than ultra-conservative — nevertheless if your read their proclamations on this there is an intrinsic admission to what the actual science says: LNT hasn’t really been tenable for a long time now. These organizations may be informed by the science but they are driven by the politics and public health worries these days combined with liability issues.
That does not stop officialdom remaining in denial for all sorts of reasons — and it could be considered a default position of caution that has no adverse consequence — except it might not. In some important ways it could be counter-productive. For example if you believe in the “no safe dose” argument then it is perfectly logical to insist that population-wide breast screening is dangerous, especially as the trend is for ever-younger women to begin regular screening. There is a minority group who advocate exactly that. With ever more powerful screening/analytical non-invasive medical methods (& security screening) being widely adopted, this issue is not going away anytime soon.
Incidentally I did my PhD on A-T and related topics (those cellular consequences you mentioned — especially inducible phenomena/DNA repair) at the UK Medical Research Council Cell Mutation Unit (U. of Sussex) where some of the basics of these phenomena were defined.
posted 8 April 2011 at 1:21 AM by michael r. james
Very interesting James. Thank you.
@David Benson re warnings TEPCO ignored
From an interview hosted by PRI The World: Science March 15 2011 http://www.world-science.org/forum/unearthing-ancient-tsunamis-brian-atwater/ The interview subject, Brian Atwater, is a U.S. Geological Survey scientist whose expertise is studying ancient earthquakes and tsunamis.
The introductory question: what is known about the history of tsunamis of this size in Japan?
Atwater: “The leading candidate is from the year 869, specifically July 13. The story deals with a castle town near present Sendai. The town’s name was Tagajo. There are accounts of great destruction there by seawater coming in. The place is about 4 km in from the sea. Some years back, Japanese scientists inspired by that account looked a little bit south at some farmland. They dug trenches below the surface – they could find sand layers. They were able to identify one of those sand layers as the probable traces of this tsunami in 869. They also found earlier sand layers with a record going back about 3,000 years. They inferred that, on average, about a thousand years elapsed between one of these unusually large tsunamis and the next.”
Here is a 2002 paper by Japanese scientists summarizing what was known about events of that size, specifically 869 event and its presumed recurrence interval: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:Snt4I4BwLFkJ:wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/jsnds/contents/jnds/23_2_3.pdf+%22an+earthquake+offshore+of+northeast+japan+on+july+13%22&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgaJtuxkDBaZKIqUnDS1pDQm4sDx2orzaCQ_FGuUj2592GbkBdqAXpZXskJuQQQXMqByiA5Z4f_2NXajTYLnA6FTXyiB3yXYb0ACZ1zrWitOvMpFKFt3ib-V4gfxKCCpR9F98YB&sig=AHIEtbSTWeTkcq0NGaMTMGoF66sdxd440Q
The abstract states that Japanese science “inferred” the 869 tsunami “to be triggered by a magnitude 8.3 earthquake”.
I thought Fukushima Daiichi was designed to withstand an 8.2
As for those who say the idea of magnitude 9 has not been widely accepted as possible, some of the history of scientific discussion centered on the topic of how strong an event the next giant earthquake off the Pacific Northwest coming from the Cascadia subduction zone will be is available online here: http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1707/chapters/02_Cascadia_6-25.pdf This is a chapter in the online book “The Orphan Tsunami of 1700 – Japanese Clues to a Parent Earthquake in North America” by Atwater et.al. which is available here: http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1707/
posted 8 April 2011 at 2:17 AM by David Lewis
re: effects of Chernobyl
Dr Robert Gale, Imperial College, London, just returned from Japan after providing direct advice to Japan’s Prime Minister, et.al., was interviewed on Canadian public radio, CBC “As It Happens” April 4 2011. An .mp3 may be available at the show’s website archive.
The subject of how does Fukushima compare to Chernobyl came up.
Host: “Let’s compare it to another disaster, Chernobyl. You were also involved in the medical effort after Chernobyl. How did that situation compare with Fukushima?”
Gale: “There are some striking similarities and some striking differences. At the Chernobyl accident we had about 200 emergency workers who rushed in and got an extraordinarily high dose of radiation, and those are the people we focused on in terms of very intensive intervention to try to rescue them. And we did rescue them, not all of them, but most of them. We don’t have anyone at the Fukushima plant so far that I am aware of so far that has gotten anywhere near the doses of radiation that were received by the Chernobyl workers. And if we look at the population outside the plant, that is the rest of the population – you know there were 6,000 cases of thyroid cancer so far, amongst the people [ exposed at Chernobyl ] mostly young persons, living in the contaminated region, and this was from radioiodine, and it was transmitted by milk and milk products, and also because it was not possible under the circumstances to distribute nonradioactive iodine. Now both of those measures, the restriction of milk products and the distribution of nonradioactive iodine, have happened in Japan. And so we wouldn’t expect very many if any cases of thyroid cancer. And finally we have to deal with other cancers. No one has convincingly observed any increase in any cancer other than thyroid cancer after Chernobyl. We calculate what might have happened. It’s a wide range. It could be 2,000, or as many as 15,000 cancers that might be occurring over 50 years. The release from Fukushima so far is about 10% of Chernobyl. So if this stayed true, you might expect something of the order of 200 to 1,500 cases of cancer over 50 years. And that would be diluted in about 20,000,000 normally occurring cancer deaths in Japan in the same period, so it would be extraordinarily difficult to detect.”
Note how Gale, one of the leading experts in the world on the effect of radiation on human beings, talks about LNT. He does not dispute LNT, or claim that the evidence that exists for hormesis is so conclusive he should now talk about how the Japanese are benefiting from their exposure to the radiation released so far from Fukushima. He’ll say “no one has convincingly observed any increase in any cancer other than thyroid after Chernobyl” then says “we calculate” when talking about what science thinks, and he is careful to use the word “might have happened” when referring to the calculated effect which is based on LNT.
Anyone know how long the earthquake lasted and how many jerks of what intensity during that time? It would be interesting to know the accelerations involved — over the distance the land moved.
From today’s news:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2011/0407/Japan-earthquake-today-Tsunami-warning-lifted-but-Fukushima-evacuated
“The Oshika Peninsula, on which the Onagawa plant is located, was also the closest … to the March 11 earthquake, which shifted the whole peninsula 27 feet to the southeast and sunk it 7 feet. The March 11 tsunami reached heights of 42.5 feet, just below the base of the nuclear plant.”
Re: Dr. William Sacks statement “The implication that hormesis has not been proven is simply false”
It is not that simple at all. The Board on Radiation Effects Research of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences in the US has put out a series of reports, over many decades, on what the known effects of exposure to radiation are, i.e. the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation series, the latest of which is known as BEIR VII. http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11340#toc
The panel members are listed here: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11340&page=R4
What the National Academy is is described here: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11340&page=R3
These people dispute what you say about LNT.
You would have us believe that one of the most reputable and prestigious scientific organizations that exists in the world has repeatedly created panels of independent experts who don’t know what “proven” means when it comes to hormesis or LNT. I remain cautious about debating as if what you say is true. I think you are mistaken to advise others to debate as if LNT has been discredited, or as if hormesis has been “proven”, or as if “hormesis” is true.
The BEIR VII summary statement on hormesis starts on page 9 http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11340&page=9 under a headline “Why Has the Committee Not Accepted the View that Low Doses Are Substantially Less Harmful Than Estimated by the Linear No-Threshold Model”
A few exerpts:
“some materials provided to the committee suggest that the LNT model exaggerates the health effects of low levels of ionizing radiation. They say that the risks are lower than predicted by LNT, that they are nonexistent, or that low doses of radiation may even be beneficial. The committee also does not accept this hypothesis.”
“Before coming to this conclusion, the committee reviewed articles arguing that a threshold or decrease in effect does exist at low doses. Those reports claimed that at very low doses, ionizing radiation does not harm human health or may even be beneficial. The reports were found either to be based on ecologic studies or to cite findings not representative of the overall body of data.
Ecologic studies assess broad regional associations, and in some cases, such studies have suggested that the incidence of cancer is much higher or lower than the numbers observed with more precise epidemiologic studies. When the complete body of research on this question is considered, a consensus view emerges. This view says that the health risks of ionizing radiation, although small at low doses, are a function of dose”
“the risk at low doses will be small”
“The release from Fukushima so far is about 10% of Chernobyl”
Does anyone know where this comes from?
posted 8 April 2011 at 3:18 AM by Joao
P.S., from the above cite:
“… sunk it 7 feet. The March 11 tsunami reached heights of 42.5 feet …”
I wonder if that water height is above sea level, or is related to the elevation of the plant before, or after, the 7-foot change drop.
I’d guess the worst case tsunami assumption ought to include a change in elevation from the worst case earthquake.
Release is not that important, dose rates are. Noble gasses such as Xenon are very radioactive but just fly away into the atmosphere, whereas I-131 may appear a minor contributor in total radioactivity, it is the one of the most dangerous isotopes.
So you look at dose not release.
posted 8 April 2011 at 3:34 AM by Cyril R.
re Fukushima release 10% of Chernobyl so far
Dr. Robert Gale said this in an interview available at this link http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/episode/2011/04/04/monday-april-4-2011/ it looks like they start interviewing him about 7 or 8 minutes into Part 1.
Gale coordinated medical relief efforts at Chernobyl, at the request of the government of the Soviet Union. He visited Fukushima and advised the Japanese Cabinet as to what to do.
I like Gale’s talk but calculating from Chernobyl to Fukushima for total cancer is rediculous. First most activity was sent over sea as can be expected from dominant winds that are to sea. Second almost all people in 20 km zone were evacuated. These two critical variables did not occur in Chernobyl!!! Also Chernobyl release was different (several flaws in design caused a large amount of nonvolatiles including plutonium to be released).
Even if you’re going to make linear calculations and agree with LNT you must take into account those factors.
David Lewis, thank you, excellent pointer.
The summary appendix from the National Academies report is here: http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11340&page=332#
“… speculative and not supported by current experimental information…. the weight of the evidence does not lead to the interpretation that low doses of radiation exert what in biological terms is called hormesis.”
It cites all the anecdotes I’ve seen raised by believers and discusses problems with the work, which rather weakens the assertion that they prove something.
As with the IPCC, people will argue with the consensus — but can only do so convincingly if they discuss the consensus first, rather than ignore it.
Argument for different conclusions ought to cite new work not yet read into the consensus.
For example, recent work on sea level change and ocean pH change will inform the next IPCC report.
I was delighted to find the National Academies answers the questions I’ve been asking here about organisms other than humans that nobody had answered: “Much of the historical material on radiation hormesis relates to plants, fungi, algae, protozoans, insects, and nonmammalian vertebrates (Calabrese and Baldwin 2000)”
I would hesitate before telling Dr. Gale what he thought was “ridiculous”.
I thought his interview illustrated an excellent way to talk about LNT and radiation effects in general at Fukushima which I will try to learn from for my own statements. After reading Sacks post I thought I’d post Gale’s words as another example people should consider following.
You should try to get what you know precisely into the few words you are given time to say, time after time, when you are the near the center of world media attention in an incident like this some time and see how well you do.
To Geoff Russell, who said:
While a couple of people have already explained where the 1,400 ratio comes from (namely the ratio of half lives — 30 years to 8 days), I thought I would add some more information. Particularly since Geoff asks a very good question concerning whether the bodily distribution or the way it decays are involved.
While these factors do not affect the relative degrees of radioactivity, which refers only to the frequency of decay events, these factors definitely do affect the biological results from the radiation. However, since Cs-137 and I-131 are both beta (electron) emitters, and furthermore since the energy of the emitted betas is comparable from both isotopes, on the order of half a million electron volts (MeV), and still further since they are produced in approximately equal numbers from the fissioning of uranium and/or plutonium, I felt that the ratio of frequency of decay events was adequate for the relevant comparison.
Cs-137, as it turns out, is also a gamma (photon) emitter, but most gamma photons escape the body without doing any damage. In fact, gamma emitters are common radionuclides used in medical imaging precisely because, once injected into the body, the photons mainly escape and are captured by gamma cameras outside the body. Also for medical imaging they are injected in massive doses compared to their concentrations in food — on the order of millicuries (mCi), whereas the amounts in an ingestible amount of food are on the order of nano- or microcuries.
Neither I-131 nor Cs-137 will do much damage to cells if they are outside the body, since betas lose almost all their energy after traveling only a few feet in air (and only a few millimeters in water), and since they barely penetrate the deeper layers of skin even if they are up against the body. Only if they are ingested or inhaled will beta, or for that matter alpha (only emitted from isotopes heavier than lead), emitters do much damage. And then it takes relatively large doses, since the hormetic effects will be active at lower doses. Where those thresholds lie, I am not sure right now.
As to the distribution in the body, Cs will distribute itself widely while I (iodine) will concentrate in the thyroid gland. This is why the iodine is more dangerous. However, without making light of any cancer, thyroid cancer is very easily prevented with KI tablets that flood the thyroid and prevent it from taking up I-131, and if it develops it is one of the most curable of all cancers, with a better than 95% survival rate after 5 years, or, to put it another way, a death rate only about 4% of the incidence rate. The worst part of I-131 is that it causes thyroid cancer more easily in children.
I want to thank those contributors who set me straight on the bursting dam reports. That’s the problem when we are forced to learn from second, third, or higher hand reports. However, it would not be amiss to point out that bursting dams makes hydroelectric power one of the the deadliest to the public of energy sources, in the immediate sense, and definitely far more deadly to the public than nuclear incidents.
And finally, a note of appreciation to John Rogers, for the exemplary tone of your comments and very useful admonitions to others to avoid ad hominem or emotional statements, as well as for the instructive content of your comments. Your exhortations to others to investigate, study, and learn from their own research is also appreciated, as I also made a similar plea in my original posting.
Bill Sacks
posted 8 April 2011 at 4:38 AM by Bill Sacks
> David Lewis, on 8 April 2011 at 3:56 AM said:
> thought was “ridiculous”.
Where did you see that? (Maybe the MODERATOR deleted what you are refeerring to?)
No – I didn’t delete anything from your post – I don’t think you said that.
Gale’s thoughts are not ridiculous. His inference was ridiculous, but his points are useful, and he seems knowledgeable and has good perspective.
But experts should know not to talk about release and tot talk about dose. This is a Greenpeace level mistake.
Am I the only one that has noticed that the antinuclear zealots are quick to use a government funded source as part of an appeal to authority when it suites them, and reject a government funded source as untrustworthy and obviously corrupted if it doesn’t agree with their position?
Barry – According to the wikipedia article the Fujinuma Dam is not a hydroelectric dam and it’s rupture did not destroy 1800 homes. As such it does not fit the description of a hydroelectric dam collapsing and washing away 1800 homes.
However the news link you offer does seem more likely as the original source than the article I had originally considered as the source. The news article you reference seems written for misinterpretation regarding the number of homes destroyed, but it does not say hydroelectric. The article I read looks like a partial misinterpretation and a partial fabrication. For reference this is the article that I thought was the original source of the reports:-
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/dont-fall-victim-to-nuclear-phobia-20110320-1c24t.html
Either way, whether this mis truth is a lie or casual misinterpretation of events, it should not be propagated. Hydroelectric power is a very safe technology and there is no reliable source suggesting that a hydroelectric dam collapsed and washed away 1800 homes.
posted 8 April 2011 at 6:05 AM by TerjeP
DV82XL, George Monbiot has noticed a general theme of double standards with the anti-nuclear people:
http://www.monbiot.com/2011/03/31/seven-double-standards/
Add to that double standard number 8, sources of authority in matters of science.
By the way DV82XL, I owe you an apology regarding our discussion on EfT. I was wrong and you were right.
I humbly ask your forgiveness.
@Cyril R – an apology is not required from you over that little fracas, although it is nice of you to offer it. At any rate, my time was up over there for several other reasons, and if not that, something else would have prompted me to withdraw.
David Lewis, on 8 April 2011 at 2:17 AM — Thank you. That certainly clarified the situation regarding knowledge of earthquakes in the general Fukushima area of Japan.
Good article and some informative commentary – thanks.
As for issues like hormensis,like mobile phone radiation the pros and cons can be argued ad infinitum without coming to a conclusion.
Minor issues like this pale into insignificance when compared to the effects of continuing to burn fossil fuels at the present rate.
posted 8 April 2011 at 7:18 AM by Podargus
Joao and Cyril R: Thanks for your explanation of the 1400, but I can’t quite believe this is the full story. Other wise concern would be inversely proportional to half-life. Perhaps your explanation is adequate for two isotopes yielding the same decay particles at the same energy and which function the same in humans or other animals when ingested. If not ingested then only the energy of the decay particles matters, yes?
posted 8 April 2011 at 8:03 AM by Geoff Russell
For Geoff Russell–clicking the link you gave to Annex D and using the site search at that page for “1400” finds:
“… For worker exposure, this factor is 1,430 mSv/(J h m-3) (rounded to 1,400 mSv/ (J h m-3)), 5.06 mSv per working level month (WLM) (rounded to 5 …
http://www.unscear.org/docs/reports/2008/09-86753_Report_2008_Annex_B.pdf “
@michael r. james 4/8/11 1:51 AM
Thanks Michael, good posts – I’ve saved for reference. Some other resources: MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering has a new bulletin up today discussing low dose radiation safety limits. And, for reference, the French National Academy commissioned a report on the dose-effect response of low level radiation exposure. The 2005 report is here “Dose-effect relationships and estimation of the carcinogenic effects of low doses of ionizing radiation” [PDF].
Is there any current, credible analysis that speaks to the significance of the radiation monitoring values reported in Japan? Non-professionals like myself do not know whether e.g., when residents of the exclusion zone are likely to be able to safely return home? (today I would guess, if not for risk of future contamination).
Or more importantly, whether TEPCO is running short of particular skills because the workers are nearing their limits and must be replaced?
posted 8 April 2011 at 9:41 AM by Steve Darden
Cyril, regarding double standards, I don’t suppose you ever read this on BNC – before your first arrival?
Hypocrisies of the antis
posted 8 April 2011 at 11:23 AM by Barry Brook in reply to Cyril R.
TerjeP, I agree, you and Hank have provided enough evidence to show that the dam failure story is a beat up. The Cosmo refinery fire in Chiba, on the other hand…
posted 8 April 2011 at 11:24 AM by Barry Brook in reply to TerjeP
Geoff, at 8:03 AM you indicate that you must have missed my response to your very good questions. See my comments at 4:38 AM.
posted 8 April 2011 at 12:19 PM by Bill Sacks
[comment deleted. Violates citation rule – please re-submit with the link to the article. People must be able to read it in full for themselves.]
posted 8 April 2011 at 12:22 PM by James c
Haru,
You are right to be skeptical about radiation hormesis and plausible mechanisms to explain it.
At present, the people who are publishing papers showing dramatic reductions in mortality from cancers following radiation exposure tend to be rather cautious.
Here is a paper by Y.C.Luan et al:
This paper requests that the findings be checked by independent researchers. Unfortunately the people with the money to fund such studies (e.g. the EPA in the US) are committed to the LNT model.
posted 8 April 2011 at 2:52 PM by gallopingcamel
Radiation poisoning is 100% LNT. Radiation is probability of decay of an individual isotope (50% at the half life), and the probability of that energetic particle hitting a DNA strand, and probability that said mutation will prevent apoptosis and uncontrolled growth.
100% LNT, if you are never ever exposed to radiation you will never be exposed to the above. Nothing radiation does is beneficial to the body, HOWEVER the body does react to low dosages of radiation and can have beneficial side-effects.
Imagine if somebody set off a small fire every five seconds, sure that might bring the FD over and they may occasionally find a real fire in the process, but anybody that understands the nature of limited resources can see the folly and the DANGER in this exercise.
The real answer is stimulating the immune system/repair mechanisms not exposing people to low level radiation. However people should not panic in case they are exposed to low levels of gamma.
Also the lives saved by damns should also be factored, their contribution to society is electricity, irrigation, and controlling flash floods, the damages is in biodiversity of the mega projects but its mostly crying over spilled milk. (I am opposed to the Amazon damn though)
[deleted personal scientific opinion presented as fact. Please re-submit with refs/links to support your contentions.]
posted 8 April 2011 at 3:29 PM by Enviromentalist
Enviromentalist,
the body does react to low dosages of radiation and can have beneficial side-effects.
By your own words, the effects of radiation exposure are NOT linear.
The location map (fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-power.jpg ) is inaccurate, in particular, Onagawa is plotted far to the north of the actual location. The map of “csmonitor” article which Hank Roberts referred to on 8 April 2011 at 3:09 AM has good locations.
posted 8 April 2011 at 4:17 PM by Kooiti Masuda
I just read an article in THE AGE newspaper by Dr Karamoskos that left me quite astonished. In the opinion piece, Dr Karamoskos warns the public that all radiation is bad! Now, why do I find this incredible? It’s because Dr Karamoskos is a nuclear radiologist.
Earlier this week I had a heart scan at a nuclear medicine facility. This entailed being injected with a radioactive isotope of Technetium 99m, this is actually a metastable nuclear isomer of Te99 (with a half life of 6 hrs) and it decays or undergoes an isomeric transition by releasing a gamma ray. The total dose was around 1200 MBq, I was assured by the radiology staff before, during and after the injections, that I was in no danger from the short lived radioactivity.
Now, If I am to believe Dr Karamoskos, they were not telling me the truth. Rather than worry me or try to explain the benefits of the procedure over the small danger I faced with the injection, they simply told me a white lie, understandable but not very professional. However, that seems unlikely, for as I mentioned earlier Te99m, is a gamma emitter and gamma rays are the ones you shield with several cms of lead. Therefore over a thousand million gamma rays per second were radiating from my body and yet the medical staff, all well trained in the effects of nuclear radiation, remained in close proximity to me for over half an hour while they assisted me and measured the outcome of required physical testing. They wore no protective clothing and were clearly unconcerned.
When my tests were finished, the next patient (similarly radioactive) was assisted through the same procedure. Waiting for my final scan I was encouraged to visit the Hospital Cafe and enjoy a cup of coffee, denied me for the previous 24 hrs for medical reasons. As I sat over my coffee, I wonder if the young lady opposite me was in more danger from my gamma rays or the cafe latte and cream eclair she was so enjoying.
I think Dr Karamoskos owes nuclear radiologists an apology.
posted 8 April 2011 at 4:50 PM by GCB
The Dr Karamoskos article that GCB referred to is at http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/dont-be-fooled-by-the-spin-radiation-is-bad-20110407-1d63z.html .
posted 8 April 2011 at 8:01 PM by turnages
Certainly the 1400 times more radioactive statement is only part of the danger equation. You also have to know
– what type of radiation (hard alpha bioaccumulating in small organs being worst, gamma radiators that don’t bioaccumulate being least dangerous)
– following from this, it is important to know how much of the stuff decays in your body. For example if you live for another 60 years after exposure to a 30 year half life emitter you get 2 half lives or 75% of the isotopes to decay and put energy in you. That sounds a lot more dangerous than that factor 1400 though now we get into the discussion of acute radiation versus continuous exposure, where clearly the latter is many times less dangerous. How much less dangerous gets into the LNT debate again. Considering other examples of toxic substances I’d say LNT seems silly, for example drinking one glass of beer every weekend for 10 years will not have the slightest health effects whereas drinking 500 glasses of beer in one weekend is extremely deadly. Neurotoxins in tiny doses are stimulating to nerve cells whereas large dosis cause paralysis or even death. Pathogens in small doses increase body immune system resistance whereas large doses overwhelm you, potentially deadly.
Speculating, but what may be wrong in many of the panel analysis I’ve seen is that they do meta-studies, lumping different radiological exposures together, giving mixed results, thus no clear conclusions. However if you look at individual studies there is a trend that non-acute external whole body exposure (eg long airplane travel exposure, taiwanese residents living in cobalt-60 houses etc.) is beneficial, whereas concentrating internal dose from radionuclides such as I-131 gets bad for your health very quickly. Depositing the energy in a concentrated part of your body must be the explaining mechanism, overwhelming local repair mechanisms thought responsible for hormesis.
[Comment deleted. Violation of commenting rules.Please supply a link/ref to support your news/up-date information]
When you quote an article/source, giving new information, you must link to it so that others may read the whole piece and thus be able to comment/give you an answer to your questions.
posted 8 April 2011 at 10:15 PM by Eric Moore
Based on the news report that 3 out of 4 power lines have come down supplying the Onagawa nuclear plan:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/08_20.html
I am trying to find out what would happen if the 4th line had also been damaged. Being just a member of the public I incorrectly thought that cold shut down rendered a plant safe. Am I right that electricity and working systems are needed to keep a plant safe (If so for how long before you do not need electricity.
Cyril R, you’ve given your personal opinions again. I’ve responded to your cites each time, looked up commentary, found followups and citing papers. You’ve got a strong belief, but it goes beyond the sources available.
Can you find any new sources on which to base the opinions you’re promoting? I do think I’ve dealt with the old ones you were relying on in the past. Now you’re saying basically the same beliefs but not citing new sources for what you believe. It seems to be going nowhere.
Eric, the various sets of emergency generators are the next line of defence for circulating cooling water if the offsite power had been lost.
As I understand it, cold shutdown is a safe state, just like power production is a safe state. Cold shutdown is an actively-cooled state where there’s no criticality and no steam production. After fuel rods have aged for about a year they need little more than convection for cooling in the spent fuel pool – effectively a guy with a bucket could keep up with the evaporation. After another couple of years they can be air-cooled in dry cask storage.
posted 8 April 2011 at 11:27 PM by Joffan
[Comment deleted for trolling]
MODERATOR Eric – you are trolling. Constant “Dorothy Dixer’s” are not adding to the content here and your strategy is apparent.
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Aside to Michael James, your summary from your own research on low level radiation issues above is really helpful. One thought — where you wrote “For example if you believe in the “no safe dose” argument then it is perfectly logical to insist that population-wide breast screening is dangerous” — this is consistent with the information I’ve seen, at least from knowledgeable doctors to educated patients. They acknowledge there is some risk from the screening — lower than the risk (for the average member of the population being screened) of an undetected cancer, and point out this is always the case. Someone who has no cancer gets at least the added risk from the x-rays, and sometimes the added risk from a false-positive report; someone with actual cancer gets the benefit (and risk) that treating the cancer offers.
Everything in medicine, and life, has such tradeoffs. A patient who wants to know has the right to ask, and to try to look them up.
I once knew a pathologist who told me that, based on his own long professional experience looking at the results of surgical procedures at autopsies, he never chose to undergo any elective surgical procedure when there was any alternative. He was quite convincing, based on both his own experience and the statistics from his profession.
I’d guess the major risk is that people listen to the enthusiasts who can’t do the math and don’t bother to think about it before giving medical advice about these questions.
[Comment deleted.Violation of the citation rule – plus link needs Japanese font download to view]
posted 9 April 2011 at 12:03 AM by harrywr2
On storing spent fuel, this is a bit old but a good (and clickable-link-available) summary of the issues:
http://web.mit.edu/stgs/pdfs/annurev.energy.pdf
One cautionary note: as with so many other issues, the actual details matter more than people thought about ahead of time. Example:
“Shipment of spent fuel is further complicated because there is no standard size of reactor fuel, so no standard size of canister will be practicable, making it impossible to take advantage of economies of scale.”
Who’d’a’thunkit?
posted 9 April 2011 at 12:21 AM by Hank Roberts
Eric Moore wrote:
I am trying to find out what would happen if the 4th line [at Onagawa nuclear plant] had also been damaged. Being just a member of the public I incorrectly thought that cold shut down rendered a plant safe. Am I right that electricity and working systems are needed to keep a plant safe (If so for how long before you do not need electricity.
While a few of the backup diesel power stations in NE Japan were shut down for maintenance, and some were leaking fuel, about three power plants in the region switched over to back-up power and did fine. There is also a spent fuel re-processing facility in Aomori Prefecture that faced station blackout and switched over to diesel power. It appears it took 3-9 hours to restore external power to these multiple locations. The Onagawa nuclear plant was not shut down as a precaution but because of a fire in a turbine as a result of March 11 quake (not a lot of details). Many of the power plants and spent fuel storage locations in Japan are now requiring mobile diesel generating trucks to be on hand for back-up power (government advised these purchases be made by end of April). Here is a status update from Kyodo on recent aftershocks:
http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/04/84119.html
Some water spilled out of the spent fuel pools at Onagawa as a consequence of the aftershocks. This is consistent with what happened to Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Plants after 2007 Chuetsu earthquake (magnitude 6.6), and presumably at Fukushima (although some are still denying this). I suppose nobody wants to design covers or containment systems for these spent fuel pools, likely because it would be a massive retrofit, and also add even more vulnerable components and safety systems to deal with steam and hydrogen management and electricity backup to run fans, venting, filters, etc. A simple improvement, to my mind, would be to provide battery backup for standby gas treatment system (to vent gas from secondary containment and keep reactor building under negative pressure). As far as I know, the hydrogen gas treatment systems don’t have any separate battery or diesel backup (but relies on the same back up diesel generation that is supposed to run the entire cooling system at the time of a station blackout). Could such a simple secondary backup power source (of minimal voltage) have prevented the hydrogen explosions at 3 of the Fukushima plants?
It is linear, what you are betting on is that your immune system will fix it. You are betting that the FD will put out your small fire.
Your body’s resources are limited, and alternatives are preferable, a healthy immune system can be stimulated without the risk of radiation exposure, just like somebody with AIDS could die from just one photon and lots of bad luck.
Radiation hormesis is controversial to say the least, its a dangerous practice of little reward with big risk. The only consensus is that small doses will not kill you in case of an emergency. But it is LNT.
posted 9 April 2011 at 1:23 AM by Enviromentalist
Hank Roberts, please be more specific. I do have a life and if you disagree with some of my statements, lets hear it with sources. So far it does not appear to me that we disagree on all that much, and your sources support my positions.
Cyril, someone at the Mark Lynas site referred to earlier has followed up in comments another commenter who recommended the same Taiwan/apartment/cobalt study you’ve repeatedly cited.
Turns out it was followed up as the author suggested and the information obtained changed the conclusion.
http://www.marklynas.org/2011/03/the-dangers-of-nuclear-power-in-light-of-fukushima/#more-197
quoting a bit of that; click the link for more. So my suggestion is, read the followup study and refer to that when you bring up the original study.
“the biggest problem with the Taiwan study was that its findings were confounded by age differences. When the first analyses were conducted, the researchers did not have data on the ages of apartment residents. Thus, in describing their statistics, they explicitly noted that their conclusions are contingent on “assuming the exposed population has the same age distribution as the population of Taiwan”, an assumption they identify as “a critical factor.” However, subsequent studies of this case have shown that, in fact, the age demographic of apartment residents was much lower than that of the general Taiwanese population. On its own this would be expected to result in lower cancer rates. Accordingly, a more complete revised analysis was subsequently published in the International Journal of Radiation Biology. When age differences between apartment residents and the general Taiwanese population were finally controlled for, the data showed a significant dose-response effect whereby radiation exposure was associated with increased rates of cancer morbidity(disease, not death) among apartment residents compared to in the general population”
Over the age of 30, the residents did not show higher morbidity rates.
from paper:
Cancer risks in a population with prolonged low dose-rate γ-radiation exposure in radiocontaminated buildings, 1983 – 2002
2006, Vol. 82, No. 12 , Pages 849-858 (doi:10.1080/09553000601085980)
You can put the DOI into Google Scholar and look at the reference for all available copies; most are PDFs; one gives you a HTML version of the text:
http://74.125.155.132/scholar?q=cache:YyPmHai3QpcJ:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5
from which you can verify the quoted text.
I think we do agree on most things; I think we all need to work very hard at looking up what we believe and correcting our recollections and including new information.
We have to be very careful not to do what’s sometimes called “Reverse Citation” — a typical undergraduate mistake where the kid writes down what he believes, then uses Google and picks out links that he thinks might support them.
The moderators here are trying hard to teach folks not to do that and to check — but we have to check each other.
I’d love to believe hormesis is protective from low level gammas. I’d love to believe CO2 isn’t causing global warming. Can’t do it on the basis of the science available.
So I keep checking.
PS, I recommend the joint post, by Chris Goodall of carboncommentary.com and Mark Lynas. It’s at http://www.marklynas.org/2011/03/the-dangers-of-nuclear-power-in-light-of-fukushima/#more-197
It’s a long thoughtful piece.
(The Taiwan/cobalt hormesis notion was _not_ raised by Lynas; it and the update were cited by readers posting in the comments — it’s an example of someone going too far and distracting from the real good science that is actually reassuring)
PS again, another example of going beyond the science and making claims that are embarassingly easy to check — the one you often hear that Denver has less cancer than New Orleans and is higher up. This like that Taiwan cobalt study ignores the demographics needed to make a comparison.
Example of how it’s checked:
http://greenanswers.com/q/217441/health-wellness/general-health/what-cancer-alley-us
where you can read:
“Cancer Alley is an 85-mile region from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, Louisiana with very high cancer rates. The area was originally referred to as the “petrochemical corridor”, but the name was changed with the growing cancer rates.
In 2002, Louisiana had the second highest cancer rate in the nation. It was also second for total onsite releases. Cancer Alley has high rates of industrial accidents and chemical releases, primarily from the Condea Vista company.
Cancer Alley is, demographically, primarily African-American and lower income. Unemployment is high in the area, and most residents lack a college education. ”
How does this differ from Denver? Well, just about every item listed relates to cancer rates.
Let me sum up because this _is_ a distraction.
Radiation health, like climate change, is an area where a very small signal emerges from a noisy statistical background over decades or more. Sometimes more than a human lifetime is needed to accumulate data that will detect the likelihood of a trend statistically.
Biologists can point to signals in nature that are consistent with what’s expected from knowing the physics.
Biologists are often very emphatic about the problems they can see coming from climate change.
Biologists have to be careful to carve OFF the exaggeration, the bogus alarmism, and the hopeful wishful daydreaming that are so terribly tempting when trying to explain the real science to the public — and persistently reject the bogus stuff that will continue to be brought up over and over and over.
Stay with the science, cite sources, read footnotes, read cited papers, check the work — and stay aware that you need to _keep_ checking. New science gets published often; the weight of the evidence changes more slowly and the consensus takes time.
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Hank Roberts, we know very well that cyclic hydrocarbons such as benzene are carcinogenic and genetotoxic, and petrochemical refineries release *lots* of those.
From the Taiwan cobalt-60 data, I noted earlier that they are a lower age population and that this explains perfectly the lower incidence of cancers right at the start, but this does not explain why the total cancer incidence went down hard to very low levels immediately after the buildings were occupied, whereas the overall Taiwanese cancer rate increased. This is explained perfectly if you believe hormesis, it is very hard to explain if you believe LNT.
I read a lot of scientific work, thank you. Two weeks ago you did not know the difference between a fuel rod and a fuel assembly. I’m not going to cite the obvious like the fact that there are actually *multiple* fuel rods in a fuel assembly, but if you want specifics on what you disagree on, I can find you some of the work I’ve read.
Please supply some refs/links. This argument is becoming circular and deteriorating rapidly into acrimony
“Cs-137 is longer lived, with a half life of 30 years, but by the same token, atom for atom, it is far less radioactive, by a factor of almost 1,400.”
Atom by atom, this is correct. But we see radioactivity reported in units like Bq and Ci. 1 Bq of Cs-137 is as radioactive as I-131 now and will last much much longer.
posted 9 April 2011 at 3:48 AM by Haru
I meant 1 Bq of Cs-137 is as radioactive as 1 Bq of I-131 now and will last longer (by about 1400 times, in fact).
This is a repeat post on this thread… please forgive and allow…
There is a debate going on at the Economist… http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/682#
“This house believes that the world would be better off without nuclear power.”
Please go and post your support and vote against this motion.
posted 9 April 2011 at 4:28 AM by Ng Ai Soo
Haru, my point was that there are 1400 times more Bq coming out of the total dispersed I-131 than out of the total dispersed Cs-137, because the numbers of atoms of each are comparable when U-235 fissions. So atom by atom is the relevant consideration. Of course, the Cs-137 will last 1400 times longer, but its biological half life in the body is much smaller than 30 years, so you don’t get as much total over the years as you do from I-131, and, as I pointed out yesterday, the I-131 is concentrated in one part of the body (the thyroid gland), while the Cs-137 is widely dispersed, another diluting factor for the Cs-137.
On Hank Roberts’s point about Denver versus New Orleans, you are correction that this is not a good comparison when applied to natural background radiation. But thousands of other geographical comparison that are not compounded by high concentrations of carcinogenic chemicals (a much stronger carcinogen than radiation, by the way) are also consistent with the hormetic effect, namely lower cancer rates in places with higher background radiation.
The comment that radiation damage is accomplished according to LNT but the repair mechanisms are mere side effects is an arbitrary division of effects. If the “mere” side effects are universal, then they are not mere side effects, but rather effects of the radiation, even if they are indirect.
> thousands of other geographical comparison
> that are not
confounded by other factors
I’d welcome citations to such comparisons.
I have asked for refs to be provided, however, as I have already noted the argument is becoming circular and starting to flood the thread – take it to the Philosophical Open Thread please.
One other point to GCB who had the nuclear medicine imaging study: In the U.S. at least, and I don’t know about Australia, radiologists and nuclear physicians, as well as technologists who take the images, are all trained in the principle ALARA, which stands for as low as reasonably achievable, when it comes to doses of ionizing radiation. I know, because I’m a diagnostic radiologist, and I trained for one year in nuclear medicine, as well. When I first learned of the hormetic effect 8 years ago, from a health physicist, I was already 18 years into my radiology career. I cannot find a single other radiologist who is aware of even the concept of hormesis, never mind whether they believe it. We are all trained in the LNT approach. So if Dr. Karamoskos believes in it, it may be because Australian radiologists and nuclear physicians are also not trained in hormesis.
For me LNT was a case of cognitive dissonance that was dispelled in an instant, when I first heard about hormesis. After all, I knew that the body is capable of developing defense reactions to invasion of germs, chemicals, and other invaders, so it made instantaneous sense that the same would hold for radiation, particularly since humans evolved in a sea of radiation.
Dr. Karamoskos, in short, may be a victim of his training. The best that radiologists and nuclear physicians with that training can do is weigh the assumed risks of radiation against the known probably benefits, and that indeed is adequate for them to advise patients that the radiation will do them more good than harm. For me, it’s simply a distortion of the truth, and without an understanding of hormesis in virtually all chemical and physical influences it is difficult for many people to accept nuclear energy.
looking for studies that control for factors other than geographic location using
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=geographical+variation+in+radiation+exposure
finds a few, but only a handful (surely there are more that can be found by someone who knows how?)
Here is a recent one:
Risk of malignancies in relation to terrestrial gamma radiation in a Swedish population cohort
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT Volume: 409 Issue: 3 Pages: 471-477 Published: JAN 1 2011
Abstract: Results of epidemiological studies on terrestrial gamma radiation (TGR) and related malignancies have not been consistent. This study is a thorough examination of this relationship. Records on all individuals living in two Swedish counties in 1973, along with their annual dwelling coordinates during the 28-year follow-up period, were retrieved from the National Archives and Statistics Sweden. We used Geographical Information System (GIS) to match the individuals’ dwelling coordinates annually to the TGR given in 200 x 200 m grids produced by the Geological Survey of Sweden. Cases of malignancies and deaths were retrieved from the Swedish Cancer Register. During the follow-up period 61,503 incident cases were included in the analyses and in total 11 million person-years were recorded. … Adjustments were made for sex, age, and population density. The hazard ratio (HR) per 100 nanoGray/hour (nGy/h) was significantly increased for total malignancies and for several sites: however, contrary to expectations, an obvious and anticipated linear exposure-response relationship could not be identified. With the lowest exposure category (0-60 nGy/h) as reference, a statistically significantly increased HR for total malignancies was seen in all exposure categories, except in the highest category 96-366 nGy/h. For breast cancer, thyroid cancer and leukaemia an obvious exposure-response could not be seen. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Actually Hank, Denver vs. NewOrleans is a strawman. That is not a claim I have ever heard. If you have heard it other than in a debunking article, let me know.
The claim I have heard is that Denver has higher background radiation rates but lower cancer rates than the average of the rest of the country. And that variation is so well acknowledged that attempts to shore up no-threshold beliefs in the face of that evidence have to conjure, without visible support, the idea that lower oxygen pressure reduces cancer.
posted 9 April 2011 at 5:39 AM by Joffan
Joffan, read the original post that starts this thread.
Then look for a source with Google:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%2Bhormesis+%2Bradiation+%2BDenver+%2B“New+Orleans”
and with Scholar:
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%252Bhormesis%2B%252Bradiation%2B%252BDenver%2B%252B%22New%2BOrleans%22
That story may be like the ‘hydroelectric dam’ story, a dramatic claim so easily believed that people don’t bother checking it.
But “ordinary claims require ordinary evidence.”
Dr. Sacks followed up in the comments, “Denver versus New Orleans … is not a good comparison …. But thousands of other geographical comparison … are also consistent with the hormetic effect ….”
Those should be findable, by someone with better search skills than I have.
As Peter Watts points out: “Science is so powerful that it drags us kicking and screaming towards the truth despite our best efforts to avoid it.”
http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=886
correcting that:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%2Bhormesis+%2Bradiation+%2BDenver+%2BNew Orleans+%2B
dang. Sorry, Word Press is unpredictable about what it does with double quoted strings; copy and paste the string into a search box to get it to work
Some thoughts on LNT and hormesis…
In spite of its’ broad acceptance, I am unimpressed with LNT as a robust scientific theory… given its’ origins as an ultra-conservative standard, imposed (by default, as it were) in the absence of solid, long-term data on the health effects of radiation, its’ singular, stubborn resistance to any refinement after 60 odd years experience smacks of bureaucratic entrenchment and regulatory inertia rather than standing on its’ own merits. Its’ persistence seems to be a product of its’ historical ubiquity and apparent conformance with the “Cautionary Principle” rather than its’ predictive power… in other words, it is not durable because it is robust, it is robust because it is durable. History provides too many examples long-established backward thinking, of well-intentioned, pernicious error, for me to find satisfaction in such flimsy foundations.
LNT is at the bottom of all radiation safety standards, dominating and directing every aspect of nuclear risk assessment… as such, its’ implications are profound. Perversely, it is precisely in the range where it offers the least predictable utility that its’ influence is most powerfully felt! There is no argument about high dose radiation effects… the literature is replete with tangible, repeatable, predictable observational phenomena to support a linear spectrum of detrimental effects at high levels. In safeguarding against these risks, just like in improving energy efficiency, the big gains come early and relatively easily. But at some point you reach a point of diminishing returns, and eventually the effort to achieve inconsequential, incremental improvement overwhelms the value of the end result. However, unlike energy efficiency, where at least there is a measurable result to be observed (regardless of the energy and resources expended to get there), and rational thermodynamic boundaries as to what is possible (< 100% perfection), in the case of LNT the negative effects of chronic low dose exposure remain perfectly unverified in an arbitrary universe that brooks nothing less than an implausible, perfect standard of unity… and so we are left in the dark, pursuing a benefit we have no assurance of approaching, much less hope of attaining. At low doses, LNT is a Will o’ the Wisp. It is an endless journey, of dubious utility, with a destination infinitely far.
This is unsatisfactory to me. I am persuaded that over the course of time, LNT’s apparent conformance with the “Cautionary Principle” has been exposed as an illusion. Due to its impossible demands, it has served to perpetuate an irrational fear of radiation, and is the fuel that feeds the regulatory/bureaucratic conflagration that consumes so much nuclear capital. It has played a huge role in denying much of the world the tremendous boon of clean, reliable, sustainable nuclear power, it has delayed the development/deployment of safer, more efficient reactor designs, and having accomplished that, is at least indirectly culpable for the necessary expansion of coal and the deaths associated with that expansion. To my mind, this is the proverbial road to Hell paved with good intentions.
Radiation hormesis on the other hand, while I don’t consider it conclusively proven, at least has the benefit of being consistent with the observed effects of other potential/actual toxins. Nor is it lacking in tangible evidence… the following snippets from the BEIR VII report provided by Mr. Lewis (Appendix D, pg 333).
“Although evidence for stimulatory effects from low doses been presented, little if any evidence is offered concerning the ultimate deleterious effects that occur.” (emphasis mine)
This is a clear acknowledgement that evidence supporting hormesis had been reviewed by the panel, but in typical LNT-centric fashion, what is “not known” trumps what is “observed” based on an assumption of possible future damage that never seems to manifest itself in any statistically significant way. Much of what follows the above statement would require a board certified geneticist to follow precisely, but, without presuming to expertise in the niceties of cellular biology, my layman’s sense of how this vetting process plays out is like this.
A researcher identifies a statistically significant hormetic event, and proceeds to try and explain the phenomena with a possible genetic/cellular response mechanism. Another group (appropriately) reviews the other groups’ work, and offers counter-scenarios that cast plausible doubt upon the original researchers’ work, without necessarily disproving it. As the back and forth proceeds, each side delves ever deeper into more and more esoteric areas until it becomes clear that no final, conclusive explanation for the event is forthcoming. In the face of the absolute demands of LNT, and a lack of an absolute explanation of the phenomena, with the eyes of the world upon them… it’s hardly surprising that the BEIR panel would elect to err on the conservative side of doubt and uphold LNT. However, in the meantime, the original “holistic” hormetic event remains unexplained, lost in the minutia. Since I’m feeling proverbial today, I suggest this resembles a “Can’t see the forest for the trees” scenario… or perhaps more appropriately, “Can’t see the organism through the cells”.
Under “Adaptive Response”, the BEIR VII folks go on…
“…results suggest that occupational exposure may have induced chromosomal damage in the worker population while protecting lymphocytes from a subsequent experimental radiation exposure administered years after initiation of the chronic exposure. It is unclear whether such competing events would result in a net gain, net loss, or no change in health status.”
Once again, a glaring admission of lack of clarity. Has there ever been a fundamental tenet for an entire branch of research, so dependent on uncertainty, yet so cloaked with impenetrable gravitas, as LNT? Personally, I find it remarkable. Once again, in the body of the text, this (non)conclusion is fortified (muddled?) with abstruse genetic/cellular analysis. From my layman’s perspective, I find myself wondering if this isn’t more indicative of the current limitations of cellular biology than a persuasive refutation of hormesis?
The good people at BEIR conclude (Phase 2, pgs 9 – 10)…
“…some materials provided to the committee suggest that the LNT model exaggerates the health effects of low levels of ionizing radiation… they say low doses of radiation may even be beneficial. The committee also this hypothesis. Instead, the committee that the preponderance of indicates that there will be some risk, even at low doses. As the in this Public Summary show, the risk at low doses will be small.” (emphasis mine)
I think language choices matter. “Does not accept” rather than “rejects”, the committee “concludes” rather than “firmly determines”, preponderance of “information” rather than “proofs” or “evidence”… rather non-committal for my taste, but par for the course. Such imprecision is the necessary mother-tongue of LNT because its’ very nature defies specificity. Its’ boundaries are infinite, and infinity defies precise definition. Not to worry though, no need to wade through the jungle of impressive, $100 dollar words used to debunk hormesis in order to understand LNT, kindly just refer to the “simple risk calculations” in the Public Summary to put your troubled soul at ease… how convenient!
Sorry for the sarcasm, but… really? Between BEIR and UNSCEAR, the acknowledged global authorities on radiation effects, the best they can do after all that work is lay down a tepid conclusion that appears to me an obvious choice between unknowns? Am I the only one not impressed?
But then, I’m a reasonable man. I am not dogmatic about hormesis and am willing to meet the champions of LNT halfway. I suggest a compromise. If we can agree with BEIR and UNSCEAR that there is an indeterminate range of low radiation exposures where negative health effects have not been conclusively and incontrovertibly proven, we can meet on the middle ground of some unknown threshold below which low dose radiation is not a valid concern… as the old joke goes, “now we’re just dickering over price”. At that point, reasonable risk assessment can begin…
posted 9 April 2011 at 7:51 AM by John Rogers
Oops. For those paragraphs where I reference an “emphasis”, I somehow managed to delete the words I meant to emphasize! Dadblamed computatin’ machine! They should read…
“Although evidence for stimulatory effects from low doses “has” been presented, little if any evidence is offered concerning the ultimate deleterious effects that “may” occur.” (emphasis mine)
“…some materials provided to the committee suggest that the LNT model exaggerates the health effects of low levels of ionizing radiation… they say low doses of radiation may even be beneficial. The committee also “does not accept” this hypothesis. Instead, the committee “concludes” that the preponderance of “information” indicates that there will be some risk, even at low doses. As the “simple risk calculations” in this Public Summary show, the risk at low doses will be small.” (emphasis mine)
@John Rogers, Excellent analysis. This is why I dislike the debate being fought as LNT vs. hormesis, instead of LNT vs. threshold. First we need to establish the latter, then look for evidence of the former. Right now the issue is getting falling into the fallacy of the excluded middle (or more properly a false dichotomy)
In other words there are two questions here and the more important one is LNT vs. threshold
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@DV82XL, thank you, and agreed.
There is precious little rational debate on these question, and it’s too important to indulge in a pie fight.
The only certainty is that neither LNT or hormesis has proven incontrovertably robust… that leaves a median threshold almost my default. Kind of an Occam’s Razor situation…
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> “… the risk at low doses will be small.”
That’s the key to emphasize. Very, very small, compared to what we’re doing right now with fossil fuels. In many ways.
Worth reading:
http://backseatdriving.blogspot.com/2011/03/nuke-power-still-too-safe-still-too.html
Nuke power: still too safe, still too expensive, and no one’s changed their mind
where he points to http://www.slate.com/id/2288212/
(outdated on the reactor news but useful for this):
“the most likely alternative energy source is fossil fuel. And by any measure, fossil fuel is more dangerous. The sole fatal nuclear power accident of the last 40 years, Chernobyl, directly killed 31 people. By comparison, Switzerland’s Paul Scherrer Institute calculates that from 1969 to 2000, more than 20,000 people died in severe accidents in the oil supply chain. More than 15,000 people died in severe accidents in the coal supply chain—11,000 in China alone. The rate of direct fatalities per unit of energy production is 18 times worse for oil than it is for nuclear power….OECD’s 2008 Environmental Outlook calculates that fine-particle outdoor air pollution caused nearly 1 million premature deaths in the year 2000, and 30 percent of this was energy-related.”
And he refers back to his 2005 post
http://backseatdriving.blogspot.com/2005/11/definite-maybe-on-nuclear-power.html
in which he wrote:
“… Nukes are ridiculously safe compared to the thousands of people killed annually by coal power plant emissions, so reducing nuclear safety margins and shifting power from coal to nuclear would end up with a net safety benefit. This is politically unacceptable, though, so it’ll go nowhere.
As to nukes producing emissions comparable to coal/gas, I also highly doubt it. Even when I worked for Natural Resources Defense Council and we were fighting some lies on emissions put out by the nuclear industry, we didn’t make this claim….”
Point, same old theme — be clear when the claims being made aren’t supported — including claims made by people “on your side” politically that go beyond the facts .
This isn’t easy.
The best way to spend less money on safety for nuclear power plants is — not to need so many safety features. And it appears the way to do that is to build real Gen4 plants with improved fissionable reduction processing equipment on the same site.
No transportation of large volumes — except to bring spent fuel from old Gen 2 and Gen3 plants in for processing.
Wild idea, huh? Is anybody pushing for that besides Barry here?
I went to Navy nuclear prototype training at INEL, eastern ID, in the 80’s when EBR-2 still powered the site. Took multiple tours, even tried to get billeted out there in a training position rather than going to the fleet right away. It was the original IFR, and an unbelieveably impressive facility. Never got the billet, unfortunately.
Needless to say, I’ve been a frustrated Gen IV advocate for more than 2 decades.
John, Hank, Cyril, DV8 etc. As I said before, the argument is becoming circular and flooding the thread. Please move the conversation to the Fukushima Philosophical Open Thread. Comments on this topic will, from now, be deleted and you will be asked to re-post in the OT. We do not have the facility to move comments between threads.
@John Rogers “.. Has there ever been a fundamental tenet for an entire branch of research, so dependent on uncertainty, yet so cloaked with impenetrable gravitas, as LNT? ..”
An interesting and insightful question. However, my concern is rather expressed by replacing “for an entire branch of research” with “for an entire basis of regulatory limits and actions” , as in:
Has there ever been a fundamental tenet for an entire basis of regulatory limits and actions, so dependent on uncertainty, yet so cloaked with impenetrable gravitas, as LNT?
I can see why it is so- clearly it is an easier and more conservative to set limits based on a linear model. But it may not be the correct model.
Please move conversation over to Fukushima Open Thread. See comments from me down-thread.
posted 9 April 2011 at 9:08 AM by Leigh Bettenay
One lesson is to tsunami-proof other reactors in Japan.
Tsunami countermeasures for Kashiwazaki Kariwa
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS-Tsunami_countermeasures_for_Kashiwazaki_Kariwa-0804118.html
but possibly the more importatn lesson is that peak demand is down about 20% from before 2011 Mar 11 and so the rolling blackouts are over. While some demand decline is due to reduced economic activity this still suggests a quite amazingly (to me) elastic demand for electricity.
@MODERATOR – While I yield to your decision, it seems to me that the issue of LNT is very germane to the general topic of this thread. Pronuclear supporters, have never been comfortable with LNT, but until this incident, it has never been so clear just how much trouble policy based on this idea can cause.
Thus there are lessons pertinent to nuclear energy being discussed.
DV8 – I agree that LNT is germane to this thread and that is why I let it stand here for some time. However, it has become apparent that it is deteriorating into a “I said, you said” argument and getting nowhere – most useful points have been made by both sides of the argument and it is now becoming repetitious – ergo the Philosophical OT is the place to take the argument/discussion IF it is going to continue.I suggest it has run its course for now.
> philosophical
Agreed, going nowhere.
Moderator — once you get the cite you requested for the geographical comparisons, please add it or xref it here somehow. This blog will be a historical reference; loose ends will merit tidying whenever the missing info can be filled in, for later readers.
One lesson I haven’t seen elsewhere that several of us here have remarked on — with multiple reactors on the same site, some (3 and 4?) sharing a single control room — failures can’t be assumed to occur independently and risks assessed one at a time.
That’s even assuming all the maintenance has been done correctly and up to date (and assuming there exists no shared problem due to mistaken maintenance or common flawed hardware or software).
Do we know any details of the risk-based management of the plants?
Another lesson is — when the manufacturer recommends a fix, apply the fix.
Another is: older plants have more problems
“In the five-year period from 2005 to 2009, the latest data available, Daiichi had the highest accident rate of any big Japanese nuclear plant, according to data collected by the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization, a mostly government-funded group that monitors safety and conducts inspections. Daiichi’s workers were exposed to more radiation than their peers at most other plants, the data show.
Tepco says… the plant’s age accounted for the higher rate of accidents, all of which were relatively minor until March 11.”
I wonder if this aging effect is considered when estimating risks — do risks go up as plants approach their original design end of life, as Fukushima 1 has?
My primary concern at the moment is that in sorting through all of the data and updates from fukushima daiichi, they say that they are injecting fresh water into the RPVs at between 6cubic meter and 8 cubic meters per hour. But no where do I see any indication that they have re-established any cooling loop.
So where is all of this water they are injecting going? Do they have cooling loops up and running? or no?
posted 9 April 2011 at 12:10 PM by Bart
Pertaining to safe, or ‘healthy’, levels of radiation:
Are the affects of background radiation the same as the affects from Iodine 131 & Cesium 137 radiation?
These studies are critical to expand the awareness of people about radiation and for the success of gaining popular support. I would like to then see these studies of low level radiation also include an emphasis into any increased effects on children and the risks of birth defects.
[Deleted violation of the citation rule]
Please check the commenting rules, in particular the “Citing literature and other sources”, before posting again. The rules appear on the “About” page, however the citation rule has been highlighted twice down-thread for other commenters.
posted 9 April 2011 at 12:18 PM by commonGOOD
Bill: Got you answer on the 1400, many thanks.
posted 9 April 2011 at 12:44 PM by Geoff Russell
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To Moderator:
Sorry. I have read the rules but I am still not clear as to why some of the post was deleted.
This is what Prof Brook has stated:
BARRY BROOK The commenting rules are not meant to be confusing, they’re meant to be logical. This is not a forum for cut-and-pasting slabs of text, with no other comment other than a link. Tell people why you think they should be interested in reading this, and what it means for this discussion. Otherwise, you’re not thinking and not contributing. Simple as that.
Citing literature and other sources: appropriate and interesting citations and links within comments are welcomed, but please DO NOT cite material that you have not yourself read, digested and understood. As a general rule, please introduce any and every link or reference with a short description of the material, your judgement on its quality, and the specific reason you are including it (i.e. how it is relevant to the discussion).
posted 9 April 2011 at 2:22 PM by commonGOOD
[Comment deleted. Violation of the citation rule]
posted 9 April 2011 at 3:30 PM by Eclipse Now
This is useful additional information that provides some perspective:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12860842
Note, in particular, the high dose rates, ironically, for cancer treatment: 20 Sieverts total for all treatment sessions!
I think an important lesson is that many people don’t understand the units, even SI units like micro and milli, so they are susceptible to fearmongering by the media.
How’s this for a lesson: make radiation and nuclear physics basics a standard course in highschools and college?
Anyone look into the ABWR diesel generator at the top of the building thing? Is this true?
I guess this means that the main problem, at least at the moment, is contamination from the released I-131 and that the radiation intensity being caused by the released Cs-137 is only a tiny fraction, ~one thousandth, of the total radiation intensity. This is the level that will matter once the plant is under control. Does anyone know how this level compares with background radiation?
posted 9 April 2011 at 6:42 PM by Chris O'Neill
People don’t understand numbers, that’s right!
That’s also the reason why Hitler was so succesfull! Have you ever listen to one of his speeches? A lot of emotion, with no rational content at all! Emotions is what people get from the news. Rationality only makes its way very, very slowly, specially only after time has eroded emotion…
We are facing a very difficult fight. Yesterday most media in Portugal reported about “radioactivity leaks” in Onagawa and Higashidori, and those media were copying from the international news…!
posted 9 April 2011 at 8:19 PM by Jose de Sa
I think you have to divide the 1400 factor by the half lives already happened, so about zero for Cs-137 but 3 or 4 for I-131. Lets call it 4 half lives (its been almost a month since shutdown) so 1400/0.5^4)=87 times less. But then we also must compensate for how much cesium versus how much iodine is lying/floating around. But it gets more complicated still because of bioaccumulating, this is much less bad for Cs-137. According to Wiki the biological half life for Cs-137 is 70 days:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesium-137
It gets even more complicated! Because Cs-137 decays to Ba-137 which is a gamma emitter. Though the amount of Cs-137 decaying in 70 days is very small considering its 30 year half life, so this shoudn’t add that much (and gamma radiaton is less concentrating damage than beta from Cs-137 itself).
Rather than guessing its better to look at the trends from measuring points:
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1302227043P.pdf
Highest values from this data set are around 6 microsieverts/hour in Iitate village. This was right under a fallout plume. Trend seems to be downward over the last two weeks (due to not needing steam release anymore and no more hydrogen explosions that can help push nuclides in the air). Trend seems to be to go to 4 microsieverts/hour long term for Iitate village.
It could be that there are some local ‘hotter’ spots under the area near Iiatate, where plants accumulate some of the volatile fission products. This will require investigation.
A 4 microsievert/hour dose would be 35 millisievert/year dose or about 10x background. If you’re a farmer and spend a lot of time outside you might attenuate something like 20 millisievert/year perhaps?
Doesn’t seem so bad to me.
This is a note I received from Ted Rockwell, a longtime nuclear engineer who worked with Admiral Rickover on nuclear submarines and who has authored a number of books and articles on nuclear energy. It was in response to my posting above. Barry Brook suggested that I post Ted’s response here, and Ted agreed to let me do so. I am posting it more for Ted’s interesting comments on Chernobyl:
Bill:
Pls excuse my delayed response. I had to wade through a tsunami of correspondence to get to it. You’ve done an excellent job! Congratulations. The specific examples you cite add a lot to the generic statements. I’m printing up a copy to quote from.
I have a few suggestions for future papers—I wouldn’t try to pack any more info into what you’ve written.
Chernobyl will be much in the news, as we approach its 25th anniversary. There are several wholly different points to be made.
1. We shouldn’t have to mention it at all. We never claimed it was safe. It was a weapons reactor, only incidentally selling electricity. No one is talking about building more of them. In fact, Ken Rogers, then NRC Commissioner, told the Soviets publicly that the design was inherently unsafe and could not have been licensed to operate here. Its biggest inherent flaw is that its graphite moderator make it over-moderated, so that as its water heats up or boils, its neutronics makes it get even hotter, and it overheats and melts down. No physically achievable events could make one of our reactors undergo such a meltdown. To make this case clear, you have to write a long tome on why you shouldn’t be discussing the subject at all. Not a winning rhetorical position.
2. Too much is made of the fact that Chernobyl had no container, unlike our reactors. This is true, but it implies that, inside the TMI containment was a Chernobyl cloud straining to get out. That implies that containment leak-tightness is critical, whereas we learned just the opposite. Measurements inside TMI containment, backed by other data, showed that the swirling cyclone of air, steam and water, plus the multiplicity of cooler metal surfaces, scrubbed most of the worst radioactivity out of the containment air.
3. The Chernobyl meltdown is one of the most carefully studied events in recent history. The official consensus is the public health impact OF THE RADIATON ITSELF WAS MINOR. The various reports by WHO, UNSCEAR, et al., emphasize that FEAR OF RADIATION, and ill advised action based on that fear, was far more harmful than the radiation. This is true, even if we were to accept oft-cited figures as 4000 ultimate deaths. But we shouldn’t leave such unfounded figures unchallenged. Nor should we accept baseless claims of malformed infants, and other fairy tales including six-foot chickens wandering the forests. It’s fair to point out that, even if such claims were accepted, Chernobyl would rank low among industrial accidents. But unsubstantiated claims of “ultimate cancer deaths” are not valid, and reports by self-appointed experts should not be taken at face value. We’re too willing to accept claims that we can still live with, rather than showing many such claims are dead wrong.
We should ask, when people press for more radiation data, what is the fecal coliform count? The pesticide level? The level of other poisons such as mercury?
There are people today saying “One side claims a million people HAVE DIED from Chernobyl, and the other side says the ultimate cancer deaths will be 4000. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.” That sounds very reasonable, but it’s just plain wrong. We have to show why that’s so.
Ted Rockwell
posted 10 April 2011 at 1:24 AM by Bill Sacks
Excellent, Bill! Totally right.
posted 10 April 2011 at 3:11 AM by Cyril R
One of the lessons learned from Fukushima will be the time and astronomic cost involved to clean up the radioactive waste. There are dozens of other aging reactors waiting to be decommissioned. Even under normal circumstances this can take decades and up to a billion dollars each. Are we honestly factoring in these costs when we consider the cost of nuclear power?
End to Japan nuke crisis is years, a fortune away
Decommissioning usually takes three forms: dismantling or decontaminating parts of the reactors so the land can be used; safely sealing off and monitoring the nuclear plant while the radiation inside decays; and entombing radioactive parts in concrete and steel.
With so much radiation spread about, experts said a combination of these is likely to be used at Fukushima. Once the reactors cool, heavily contaminated areas could be entombed by pouring concrete on top and tunneling underneath to insert a slab to prevent seepage. Other tainted areas could be locked down. That would allow the radiation to decay naturally but put on hold usual tasks like dismantling parts of the complex.
“The best solution is to entomb the site for 40, 50, 60 years,” said Arnold Gundersen, who wrote part of the Energy Department manual on decommissioning and runs the U.S.-based environmental consulting company Fairewinds Associates.
A Fairewinds study cited cost estimates for decommissioning the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, whose boiling water reactors are similar to Fukushima’s but have fewer problems, that ran as high as $950 million last year and would likely exceed $1 billion next year. Gundersen said the tab for the Japanese plant may end up being many times that amount.
Hidehiko Nishiyama, chief spokesman for Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, has said ideally the Fukushima complex eventually will be returned to “flat land,” meaning the facility is dismantled and removed.
Though an avid user of nuclear power with 54 plants, Japan has little experience in decommissioning and none involving problematic reactors. The first, the Tokai Power Station’s No. 1 reactor, is 13 years into a 22-year process. Its fuel rods have been removed, and its turbines and other equipment are being dismantled while the reactor is isolated, its vents and ducts closed.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jqy8OhxUmpyx1YzBMXTjOXQqML5A?docId=51b6aefaa40d439c8d50b5379122b8f1
posted 10 April 2011 at 4:05 AM by Shelby
[Comment deleted. Wrong thread.]
Please note that the discussion on radiation has been moved to the Fukushima Philosophical Open Thread where the commenting rules are more relaxed. We do not have the facility to move comments between threads.
posted 10 April 2011 at 11:39 AM by commonGOOD
Shelby, yes those cost can be easily factored in. Put a small amount of money per kWh sold in a fund (bank account). The money piles up and after 30-50 years, when you want to decommission, there is enough money available. In fact 0.02 cents per kWh (yes thats zero point zero two cents per kWh or 0.2 euro per MWh) gets you almost half a billion at the end. The historic cost of decommissioning is more like 0.3 billion per reactor, however some times cost more to decommission, for example the British gas cooled graphite moderated designs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_decommissioning
http://www.europeanenergyforum.eu/archives/european-energy-forum/compind/competitiveness-of-energy-sources-for-electricity-production
We do need to make sure the money is actually there, so making the fund a legal requirement would be a good idea, in my opinion.
posted 10 April 2011 at 4:27 PM by Cyril R
I was wondering the other day how many nuclear power plant workers have died in car accidents on their way to and from work, by contrast to the number (0?) who have died from radiation exposure.
Some industrial installations do track this as part of a holistic safety programme. Even without that, presumably one could get a good estimate just from the number of nuclear power employees and the average car accident frequency. Probably it is in the dozens, if not hundreds, over the history of the industry.
posted 11 April 2011 at 12:43 PM by Martin
Just found an interesting study result from workers of Manhattan Project (ie bomb makers/researchers handling plutonium).
“Twenty-six white male workers who did the original plutonium research and development work at Los Alamos have been examined periodically over the past 50 y to identify possible health effects from internal plutonium depositions. Their effective doses range from 0.1 to 7.2 Sv with a median value of 1.25 Sv. As of the end of 1994, 7 individuals have died compared with an expected 16 deaths based on mortality rates of U.S. white males in the general population. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) is 0.43. When compared with 876 unexposed Los Alamos workers of the same period, the plutonium worker’s mortality rate was also not elevated (SMR = 0.77). The 19 living persons have diseases and physical changes characteristic of a male population with a median age of 72 y (range = 69 to 86 y). Eight of the twenty-six workers have been diagnosed as having one or more cancers, which is within the expected range. The underlying cause of death in three of the seven deceased persons was from cancer, namely cancer of prostate, lung, and bone. Mortality from all cancers was not statistically elevated. The effective doses from plutonium to these individuals are compared with current radiation protection guidelines.”
Now this group is too small for any sound statistical conclusion, but still, interesting.
The estimate on death toll (by cancers) by WHO (World Health Organization 2006 p106) is 4000 among the 600000 most exposed, however with many caveats. (I believe it is too high). http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2006/9241594179_eng.pdf.
This corresponds to a several times higher number for the world population using “LNT” estimates.
Greenpeace presented a document 2006 http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/planet-2/report/2006/4/chernobylhealthreport.pdf p10 mentioning recent studies pointing on 200 000 dead in Russia, Belarus and Ukraina. In recent documents suggested death toll is 93000.
The body which institutionally should make estimates from a trusted source is UNSCEAR (The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation). http://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/chernobyl.html, information to press at http://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/media.html .
An annex to a report which can be said to be the most important recent document on the issue of the death toll of Chernobyl was presented February 28 2011 (two annexes with some bearing were presented still later. The report does not give a projection (estimate) of expected total death toll because of “unacceptable uncertainties in the predictions,” the Committee decided not to use models to project absolute numbers of effects in populations exposed to low doses.
I think it is very unfortunate that UNSCEAR cannot not clearly put a higher limit on what the death toll (global and preferable all time, but at during a century) might reasonable be, ruling out some high numbers suggested. This leaves the floor open for all sorts of speculations what a trustworthy projection maybe. Many reads the UNSCEAR report as the death toll is around 50 and not more (which actually I do not trust in), while many will believe in the magnitude 100 000. Is not scientific precision about what a lot of people have studied a lot of time and society really wants a clearer answer more accurate than that?
The projections are difficult for many reasons. One is that the “LNT” model is in serious doubt and positive effects of radiation has been suggested and such issues must be addressed probably revising the conclusions by BEIR (A committee which derives its mandate from NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES, USA.) Suggests in a report 2006 no threshold on cancer incidence and no positive effect of low doses (hormesis) http://www.nap.edu/nap-cgi/report.cgi?record_id=11340&type=pdfxsum That looks a most trustworthy report regarding its source and it is not old.
posted 11 April 2011 at 7:16 PM by Dag Lindgren
Fear of radiation induced by media hyperbole has caused people near Chernobyl to drink more and smoke more. Both cause cancer. Even before Chernobyl, most people in eastern Europe and Russia were already known for their drinking habits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_and_cancer
http://cancer.about.com/od/smokingandcancer/a/carcinogencancr.htm
[deleted inflammatory comment]
posted 11 April 2011 at 10:31 PM by Cyril R
Dag, one of the interesting things about the BEIR VII report is that they do not actually use LNT. They use a special low-dose version that if anything is even less well supported than LNT, since it makes an arbitrary adjustment called “dose and dose-rate effectiveness factor”, DDREF. See here. Any data set that contradicts LNT can then be accommodated using DDREF.
The report also has something interesting to say on a group whose exposure is carefully monitored – nuclear industry workers.
In most of the nuclear industry workers studies, death rates among worker populations were compared with national or regional rates. In most cases, rates for all causes and all cancer mortality in the workers were substantially lower than in the reference populations.
Hmm – sounds convincing – will this result be allowed to challenge LNT?.
Possible explanations include the healthy worker effect and unknown differences between nuclear industry workers and the general population.
Very woolly.
posted 12 April 2011 at 12:02 AM by Joffan
@Cyril R:
the diesel generator in the ABWR is clearly shown in GE’s documentation on the web:
http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/products/nuclear_energy/en/downloads/abwr_plant.pdf
see item #18 in the diagram.
posted 12 April 2011 at 12:17 AM by schla
How I see it?
It is a fact beyond reasonable doubt that a single decay of a radionuclide may change the hereditary material, which at the end may be fatal. Thus the effects of low doses have an element of linearity without threshold. “Linear without a threshold” (LNT) is an oversimplification, which is both right and wrong concerning Chernobyl. The problem is that the path from decay to effect is not straightforward. The path is individual and very variable. What appear as mutations may be different events. The nucleic acids and their structure may change in different ways. The body has systems for copying, reading, editing, rearranging and repairing nucleic acids; many of the systems also include nucleic acids. The initial event caused by background radiation may be change path by the Chernobyl event. Maybe low doses trigger a repair system and that maybe the explanation of the hormesis effects. Some stages are particularly sensitive (DNA replication, meiosis), there really low doses may trigger something. There are plenty of ways the path may change, an initial damage may be healed, and the triggering event may harm repair capacity rather than a structural gene. The large variation in paths is evident when grouping cases in categories, where things like genotype, sex, stage, type of effect, age etc may have large effects, but the individual cases are of course still more different. For parts of the events low doses will have thresholds. Each case will have its own potential dose-effect relationship although it receives only a certain dose. When data are pooled from many cases the large individual variation may often look well approximated with a linear dependence with a threshold for low doses. But the most useful approximation is probably a low dose linear with a shallow slope and without threshold, which goes over in a high dose linear with larger slope and pointing at the dose-axes at some dose. The key to estimates for small doses to large populations is the slope of the low doses in the range of the natural background.
Thanks Joffan, that is a very good and relevant comment and thank you for focusing my attention on this! One of the reasons I write here is that I hoped for such comments. DDREF is actually nearly what I am suggesting or rather thought about before my time-out (see below)! The complete BEAR report costs money, so I did not look closer if they really used DDREF and the value they assigned it and the reasons to choose that value. Of course we cannot get it from epidemiologic studies. There are studies on mutations in Arabidopsis around Chernobyl; perhaps these data give an idea. And one has to think on how different cancers occur.
Cyril R points out the fear, which is strengthened by the Greenpeace report. However not just Greenpeace, there are authors and acknowledgements in the report and other organizations are behind. And the purpose for most behind may be to benefit Mankind or spreading facts, as we do here.
Who I am?
45 years ago I was a postgraduate student in radiation biology. I followed seminars and discussion which now are highly relevant. Some of the people appearing in the recent debate I have met. I participated in experiment to study dose-mutation response down to the background. We got responses supporting effects of extremely low doses. The trick to get large experimental populations convenient was to use starch composition in pollen grains (male gametes). So no threshold was supported. But the response curves were not simple linear clearly indicating that complex mechanisms played a role. Certainly that made us think in tracks described above. When I made a carrier in a different field and am now retired and returning after 45 years time-out. Not very much has happened since I left the field, e.g. LNT is still a doubtful general model. Scientists must have spent much time thumb rolling the past 45 years.? Opinions about the radiation effect of low doses have widened. We thought radiation induced mutations were a bit more of a threat to the human genome, and thought induced mutations would play a bigger role in plant breeding than they have done. Nuclear testing in the atmosphere, spread of nuclear weapons and build up of huge arsenals for “Mutual Assured Destruction” were on the agenda. Part of the propaganda was the consequences in terms of ionizing radiation. We were living closer to the early times when humans really got harmed by large doses to considerable numbers, like miners, atom bomb survivors and early physicians and scientists. Thus “we” may have overemphasized the negative effects of radiation. Nuclear bombs felt more appealing as target than environment friendly energy production.
posted 12 April 2011 at 1:54 AM by Dag Lindgren
Dag Lindgren, it is fact beyond reasonable doubt that ionising radiation can easily kill a single cell, including all DNA in it.
However, every cell has the DNA code within it.
If the ionising radiation damages DNA it can be repaired by various biological processes such as the enzyme repair mentioned in the main post by Dr. William Sacks.
Certainly this repair mechanism and others as mentioned above by Dr. Sacks have their limits, which is why acute radiation exposure to large doses can be very harmful.
The anti-fracking Gasland documentary is very biased and makes a lot of wrong statements. See http://barree.net/Gasland%20Quotes.pdf .
It isn’t any kind of reputable evidence against “fracking” (hydrofracturing).
The gas industry is subject to some of the same sorts of antagonism as is nuclear power. A lot of people apparently are “idealistically” against various sources of energy, while also driving their cars or SUV’s, heating their houses and using electricity freely. I don’t think much of that kind of idealism!
A lot of people don’t make the effort to check factual claims, or to fact-check their ideas, that’s why the Gasland movie can be as popular as it is, and why the exaggerations about nuclear power risks.
posted 12 April 2011 at 8:37 AM by Laura
Re: Large Historical Tsunamis
@David B Benson, @Hank Roberts, @David Lewis and possibly others
Besides this 869 AD mega earthquake that generated a very large tsunami, there evidently have been at least three EQs in the last 115 years that have generated 23+ meter tsunamis in Japan:
Along the Sanriku coastline (200 km N of Fukushima) there was a 33 m tsunami in 1896 and a 23 m one in 1933. In 1993 there was a 30 m tsunami off the west coast of Hokkaido. Links to sources regarding these can be found at:
http://rogerpielkejr.blogspot.com/2011/03/roger-bilham-on-honshu-earthquake-and.html
In addition, it is common knowledge in the seismological and geological fields (hence I am not looking up a citation thereof) that large subduction earthquakes can cause the dropping of near-shore coastal areas near the source region by several meters or more. This happened at some coastal city during this last event; the city had been hit once before by a 10m tsunami, and so had built a tsunami wall this high to protect it; however, the coastline dropped several meters and was again badly damaged by a comparably sized tsunami (saw this on a NOVA special and a Nat. Geo. special; don’t have a more academic citation for it).
Charles Darwin noted this affect after an earthquake in Chile, during his Beagle voyage. In fact, a large component of coastal paleoseismology entails looking for submerged wetlands and/or forests in the stratagraphic, which are indicative of such earthquakes.
So, in fact, one doesn’t have to go all the way back to 869 AD to find such large tsunamis along the Japanese coast. In addition, some of the above tsunamis were generated by earthquakes smaller than this recent one; in fact, one was generated by a 7.2 EQ. The particular EQ mechanism as well as the local bathymetry strongly affect tsunami size.
Given these fairly recent historical tsunamis, it beggars belief, how the builders of the Fukushima plant didn’t take such events into account when designing the layout of the plant. Due diligence in designing a coastal nuclear plant in a known earthquake/tsunami zone requires it. That such large tsunamis occurred elsewhere on the Japanese coast, suggests that all coastal areas with similar seismic hazards are capable of experiencing a similar sized tsunami event.
It is glaring oversights like this, amongst other safety issues, that give rise to the distrust of the nuclear power industry and skepticism about nuclear power plant safety in general by persons like myself.
The Fukushima plants never should have been built where they are as they are. I’m not just saying this in hindsight; rather, ALL the other nuclear plants similarly built along the coast or near dormant volcanoes (such as the five plants built around Mt. Fujiami) are disasters waiting to happen.
I have yet to hear anything about higher ground emergency generators and fuel tanks being built for Japan’s other coastal reactors, nor have I heard anything about the removal of the spent fuels from their precarious near-ceiling ponds above their reactors. Thus it looks like the Japanese nuclear industry has learned nothing from this catastrophe; nor has US nuclear industry, as it stores its spent fuel rods in the same manner for the same type of plants and has no near-term plans to do otherwise.
posted 14 April 2011 at 8:16 PM by Nuclear Layman
Regarding Fracking
@Laura
Do you consider the scenes where the homeowner lights the gas coming out of his kitchen sink to be biased?
Do you not believe that there is likely causation between a spring-fed stream in a rural area that was potable as far back as people can remember, but is now causing animals to die and has been found to contain chemicals likely part of fracking fluids, e.g. benzene?
Don’t you find it curious that VP Cheney snuck into energy legislation a provision that fracking fluids don’t fall under EPA regulations regarding injecting pollutants into the ground by the reasoning that they are all withdrawn, even though it is well known that all such fracking fluids can’t be withdrawn?
I find it curious that these drilling companies don’t even have to tell the EPA or anyone else what chemicals are in their fracking fluids as it’s “proprietary” information. I’m sure nuclear power enthusiasts would love to get away with such a deal regarding the secret ingredients in their fuel rods…
The director/producer was not against fracking until he started seeing what was happening to his neighbors water wells, and then began interviewing people elsewhere who had sold mineral/gas rights under their property.
I find it most notable that the gas companies tell these folk that their well water will be fine, but when the drilling people are offered cups of the post-fracking well water to drink they refuse.
The whole idea of fracking is to fracture the rock and then to inject fluid to push the natural gas up and out of the drill wells. This crushing or fracturing of rock requires high pressures, which will push the toxic/carcinogenic injection fluids into the outermost regions of these fractures rock zones, that may be intersected by natural fissures that go up to the water table.
Moderator: I realize that this thread isn’t probably the appropriate one for comments on fracking, but I am just responding to someone else who brought the subject up.
posted 17 April 2011 at 1:31 PM by John Bennetts
Nuclear Layman, on 14 April 2011 at 8:16 PM — Please do read “To EnginERR is Human” by Henry Petroski.
I assure you that lessons will be learned from this event.
posted 17 April 2011 at 1:38 PM by David B. Benson
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Future, Nuclear, Policy
Chernobyl and Fukushima – measuring our monsters in the midday sun
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear saga – 2 to 9 April overview
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Rhetorical Strategies in Public Debate: the literary critic as cultural critic
On November 13th, 2012
Stefan Collini (English, Cambridge University and current fellow at the National Humanitiies Center) gave the lecture, “Rhetorical Strategies in Public Debate: the literary critic as cultural critic.”
Stefan Collini is Professor of English Literature and Intellectual History at the University of Cambridge. During 2012-13 he is a Visiting Fellow at the National Humanities Center. His books include Public Moralists (1991), English Pasts (1999), Absent Minds: Intellectuals in Britain (2006), and, most recently, What Are Universities For? (2012). He is a frequent contributor to the London Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement, Guardian, and Nation, as well as an occasional broadcaster.
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The Tower of Babel
1 Now the whole earth had one language and one 1 speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land a of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and 2 bake them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower b whose top is in the heavens; let us make a c name for ourselves, lest we d be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." 5 e But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the LORD said, "Indeed f the people are one and they all have g one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they h propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 "Come, i let Us go down and there j confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." 8 So k the LORD scattered them abroad from there l over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called 3 Babel, m because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Shem's Descendants
10 n This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood. 11 After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
12 Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, o and begot Salah. 13 After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.
14 Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. 15 After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.
16 p Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot q Peleg. 17 After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.
18 Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. 19 After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.
20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot r Serug. 21 After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.
22 Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. 23 After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot s Terah. 25 After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters.
26 Now Terah lived seventy years, and t begot 4 Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Terah's Descendants
27 This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot u Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram's wife was v Sarai, 5 and the name of Nahor's wife, w Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. 30 But x Sarai was barren; she had no child.
31 And Terah y took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they went out with them from z Ur of the Chaldeans to go to a the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. 32 So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations.
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.
'Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, "The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there."'
Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven.
They mount up to the heavens, They go down again to the depths; Their soul melts because of trouble.
There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
2 Samuel 8:13
And David made himself a name when he returned from killing eighteen thousand Syrians in the Valley of Salt.
And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you.
"I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know."
So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.
Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.
"Then it shall be, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for I know the inclination of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them."
Psalms 2:1
Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter.
So the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?
The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand.
You will not see a fierce people, A people of obscure speech, beyond perception, Of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand.
Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel," says the LORD. "It is a mighty nation, It is an ancient nation, A nation whose language you do not know, Nor can you understand what they say.
And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.
When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel.
For behold, Your enemies, O LORD, For behold, Your enemies shall perish; All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations; and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood.
Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?
The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.
The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.
The son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah.
And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.
Joshua 24:2
And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods.
The son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor.
Serug, Nahor, Terah.
No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham, saying, "Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor:
And Bethuel begot Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.
And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder.
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her." And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
Now the LORD had said to Abram: Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.
Then He said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.
You are the LORD God, Who chose Abram, And brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, And gave him the name Abraham.
Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell.
What are some present day or modern times human achievements that can be compared to the Tower of Babel?
Why does Genesis 10:5 say "they had their own language", when 11:1 says they all shared one language?
What does God mean by "let's confuse them"?
11:1 - 4
How soon men forget the most tremendous judgments, and go back to their former crimes! Though t...
Here is an expression after the manner of men; The Lord came down to see the city. God is just ...
Here is a genealogy, or list of names, ending in Abram, the friend of God, and thus leading tow...
Here begins the story of Abram, whose name is famous in both Testaments. Even the children of E...
(1.) In the sense of soil or ground, the translation of the word adamah'. In Gen 9:20 "husbandman...
The language of the Hebrew nation, and that in which the Old Testament is written, with the excep...
And the whole earthH776 was of oneH259 language,H8193 and of oneH259 speech.H1697
Earth H776 'erets
from an unused root probably meaning to be fir...
One H259 'echad
a numeral from 'achad; properly, united, i.e. ...
Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. ...
Others have asked
Genesis 11:1 - 9 • 4 Votes
Genesis 11:1 • 1 Votes
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Tag Archives: BBC
April 18, 2019 festival, Interviewarte, BBC, BBC Storyville, feature documentaries, frontline, hotdocs, james jones, olivier sarbil, on the president's orders, pbs, sheffield doc/festcarolnahra
Hot on the heels of their Emmy award-winning documentary Mosul, James Jones and Olivier Sarbil have delivered another masterful foray into the dark side of human behaviour. On the President’s Orders takes viewers to the Philippines where President Duterte’s brutal war on drugs has led police to murder thousands of drug users and dealers. Arriving to embed themselves with a police force in Caloocan just as Duterte pledges a killing moratorium driving the violence underground, Jones and Sarbil’s film is an astonishingly framed narrative which manages to tell a story full of menace and intrigue. In the lead up to their festival run, before it airs on PBS, BBC Storyville and Arte France, I sat down with the filmmaking partners to discuss how they made it. This has been condensed for length and clarity:
Carol Nahra: Can you tell me how you came to this story?
James Jones: Yes, we were finishing Mosul together and thinking what story we wanted to do and which subject might play to our strengths. I think we had both been aware of the mass executions in the Phillipines. We’d seen some great photojournalism. Basically we went out to Manila to try to get access to the cops. A lot of the coverage had been quite formulaic – dead bodies in the street and sobbing families. We didn’t really get under the skin of it, understand who was doing the killing, the rationale behind the murder. We wanted to see it from the police’s perspective – not sympathising with it but understanding how they could justify this mass murder. And so we showed up in Caloocan which is the hot spot. And Duterte the President had had to basically pause the drugs war and say ‘we’re going to clean it up’. So we actually had very little faith that they were going to give us access. We’d come halfway across the world – they would guess why we were choosing them. But we were lucky, we met the police chief, who quite liked the attention. And there was a kind of push from above to show that they had changed – the drugs war was going to be cleaner. So we just had full access and spent the next six months going back and forth.
Olivier Sarbil: We didn’t go through the official media centre for the police. We tried to get the access directly with the commander because we knew that if we had something too official obviously we would be on the radar of the police; obviously it would be more difficult.
JJ: It was great on the one hand because we had no official oversight. We were able to do whatever we wanted. But there was also this worry that because we had nothing on paper he could just wake up one morning and get fed up with us and kick us out.
CN: How would you define what plays to your strengths?
JJ: I’ve done a film about police shooting in America. So journalistically I was drawn to it and Olivier was drawn to it. And I think in terms of the type of filming Olivier had done in Mosul in terms of getting access to a group of men, it felt like a combination of the two of us. We could win their trust. We could get access that no one had got before. And Olivier would shoot it in a way that was incredibly cinematic. So it felt like on one level an important story – an injustice that we wanted to expose – but also filmically it was set up for film noirish atmospheric: quite dark and beautiful images.
CN: That of course is what is really striking and will gain some attention. How did you go about planning the look of the film?
OS: It’s a story filled with violence and darkness. For the film, we went for carefully composed shots. We wanted to create a style with a dramatic mood and an emotional connection with the city to enhance our characters’ feelings and the story.
CN: You had to build this picture of menace. Did you discuss how you were going to do this as you were shooting?
OS: First we had the shooting recce. We discovered the country and all the lighting and how we would be able to visually tell the story. So we had a pretty clear idea of what will work and how we will make it cinematically. And actually on a daily basis we were working and trying to edit short sequences to see how it works. So as soon as we decided to have a style for the film – the look – we really kept to it.
JJ: We wanted actuality, but actually the thing that was happening while we were there was the killing was going underground. Had we gone six months to a year earlier, there would have been more operations where they just bust into slums in uniform and shot people. Whereas now they were being a bit smarter and it was vigilantes or plainclothes off duty cops executing people on a motorbike. So the challenge was to kind of capture the fact that people thought the police were behind it – and even the cops privately were admitting to us that they were behind it. There were these clues along the way but it was a balance of not damning them by innuendo but making it feel solid that you knew that these guys were the killers.
OS: We didn’t want also to just be focused – if we had the chance to have more actuality with the police we would have followed them. But at the same time we didn’t want to make the film running after the police. We wanted to spend six months with the cops plus going underground, behind the scenes of the killing, and to have a chance to know the people a little bit better.
“They didn’t fully wrap their heads around what a documentary is, and I think were probably surprised we kept coming back and back and back.”
CN: So you were there off and on for six months. How did you plan that schedule?
JJ: We had twelve weeks on the ground, which is a good amount of time. And Olivier doesn’t shoot very much in a day. Visually it’s all very well covered but he’s not someone who just rolls for three hours. So twelve weeks on the ground. Four trips of three weeks. So for the first three trips filming almost entirely with the police and a bit with the funeral parlour director. And then on the last near the end of the penultimate trip we started filming with Axel and the family in the slums.
OS: It was a bit risky to suddenly leave the cops and go to the slums. We were quite conspicuous.
CN: What did everyone make of you?
JJ: They quite liked Olivier and were impressed by his military background and the fact that he had been in Mosul. They didn’t fully wrap their heads around what a documentary is, and I think were probably surprised we kept coming back and back and back. They thought we were more of a news crew but we kept coming back and we’d want to film stuff that to them felt quite inconsequential, which is often the way with documentaries.
CN: Was it just the two of you?
JJ: And local fixers. I was doing sound; Olivier was shooting. Which worked, was a perfect set up for the environment. We would put a radio mic on our main characters and a boom on a stick. In the slums we weren’t out on the streets with our characters that much. We did drone footage later on – a note from one of our commissioners was they wanted to get a sense of the space. With our characters in the slums we mainly filmed inside their flats. And we tried to get in and out as unobtrusively as possible. And the kit would be hidden in bags and we would dash quite quickly.
OS: One of the reasons the filming was stressful was by definition you might think the police were following where we were going.
CN: You were again working in a language not your own, although lots of people do speak English in the Philippines. But there were nonetheless some revelations in what they were saying that I assume you found out back in the edit?
JJ: It was kind of ideal in a way that we could communicate with them well enough in English. So we could establish a proper relationship and give instructions or get information. But because they knew that we didn’t understand Tagalong, they would be quite indiscreet. And say things like ‘I asked the boss if we could go overboard, and he said no’, ie we are not allowed to kill this one. Or ‘the killings have caught up with us sir’, or ‘there are things we should talk about later’. So those little moments which as you say when we are filming we have no idea about but when we get the transcript back realise it’s gold and that there’s something else going on.
OS: Because they got so used to seeing us in the station – at some point we could just walk in and walk out, sit on the sofa, spend the day in the police station, going from one building to another, and no one would ask the question: what are we doing there? We built that trust with the police officers, and sometimes they’d forget that we were there. That’s the magic in observational documentary.
On the President’s Orders, a Mongoose Pictures production, has its UK premiere at Sheffield Doc/Fest, running 6-11 June 2019.
March 20, 2019 InterviewBBC, BBC Storyville, Bertha DocHouse, henry singer, the trial of Ratko Mladiccarolnahra
Henry Singer has been making films in Britain for more than twenty-five years. His body of work is extraordinary – his talent is in telling unusual stories in great detail, with tremendous nuance and respect. He is responsible for some of the most important films made over the past decade or so, including The Falling Man, considered by many to be the classic non-fiction film on 9/11, and The Untold Story of Baby P, about the terrible fallout from the death of a seventeen month toddler in north London back in 2006.
His latest film, co-directed with Rob Miller, is an examination of the Trial of Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb general found guilty of genocide and nine other war crimes in November 2017 at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. Filmed over five years, it tells the story of the trial from both the prosecution and defence sides. I sat down recently with Henry to discuss the film. As usual, this has been condensed for length and clarity.
CN: How did you come to this topic?
The idea came from an executive producer at BBC Bristol – he thought it would be an important idea for a film. He asked me if I wanted to direct it but I said no as I’d just got on commission for a film on Baby P, a big feature length doc for BBC1. But I did say to him –‘Look, if you have trouble getting a commission internally from the BBC I’d be interested in taking it over as an independent’. I knew given the state of British broadcasting at the moment that it would be very hard for him internally to get money for a film that would take years to make that would be partly subtitled. Big important, feature docs commissioned by the BBC are generally made on British subjects; big international films are of less of interest to the broadcaster.
The producer of the film, who did an extraordinary job negotiating access to the court, along with the exec, was somebody that I’ve worked with a lot — Rob Miller. He started off as my assistant producer years ago on a 90 minute film on a working man’s club in Bradford. He was my AP, then he became my co-producer then he produced me. He was the in-house producer at the BBC Bristol and he is the one who supervised the initial shoot – the opening of the trial. The BBC Bristol exec called me up a few month later and said ‘Henry, the film is yours if you want it as an independent’. And I was thrilled because, of course, I knew Rob and had worked very intimately with him, and knew what a talent he was, and because it was an incredibly important story – really, history in the making. So I leapt in on a heartbeat.
CN: How did you come to be co-directors?
At that time the trial was supposed to take two more years. The trial ended up taking five years in the film and sort of took over my life. And I was making this film as I was making other films for the BBC I did one on Baby P, a film on the The Rochdale sex abuse scandal and the death of Diana Princess of Wales and the week that followed.
In amongst that I was juggling the Mladic film with Rob. And Rob had directed parts of the opening of the trial and we realised that it would be incredibly difficult for me to direct it on my own. And so we decided early on that we would co-direct it. It really worked out wonderfully. I don’t know if I could codirect with too many people. We know each other very very well; we share responsibility and we are very close friends. It really worked out extraordinarily well.
CN: The numbers involved in the trial are hugely daunting, aren’t they?
HS: Hugely daunting. It took place for four or five days a week for over five years and there were over 560 witnesses by the end and 10,000 artifacts – not that the latter played much of a role in the film. We obviously couldn’t film every day – no one could have afforded that. So we had to be really strategic in terms of what we filmed and when we filmed. A trial like this isn’t like the O.J. Simpson trial where there are two or three or four key witnesses around whom the trial pivots and will be decided. These huge war crime trials are almost like a tableau, a mosaic, where every witness called by the prosecution and by the defence plays a small but crucial role in putting together a larger narrative –one of guilt or one of one innocence. But there are some witnesses that play a slightly bigger role – either factually or should I say legally, or emotionally in terms of getting the judges’ attention, and we filmed quite a number of those, some of whom became the foundation for the film.
CN: Were there any restrictions on what you filmed?
HS: No, I don’t think there was. One of the reasons we got access and maintained access is that we wanted to shoot both sides. That had never been done before. And, in fact, if you look at the films that have been made of the Balkans conflict, representing both sides really doesn’t exist. I think that was one of the reasons the court – I’m talking about the ICTY now, the judges and what’s called the registry, the body that runs the institution – thought it could be an important, a significant film. This did mean that we had to create a Chinese wall between the two sides. We never spoke to the defence about our conversations with the prosecution. We never spoke to the prosecution about our conversations with the defence. In fact, the two sides very rarely meet except in court.
©Int’l Commission for Missing Persons
CN: It’s striking how professional both sides are, particularly the defence team. Was it more difficult for you filming the defence side given the charges?
HS: Because it was a trial, you had to approach the subject with real objectivity – an accused is innocent until proven guilty. Obviously, that was incredibly hard with someone like Mladic, who had a terrible reputation across the world as the so-called Butcher of Bosnia. But you very quickly checked that at the door because first, it was a trial, and if you were going to be fair and objective and try to make a proper film of it, you couldn’t go in it with bias. And second, we had a lot of respect for the defence. They absolutely believed their client was innocent and we watched them work excruciatingly hard over months and years. And, of course, everybody must have legal representation – our systems of justice are built on that.
CN: How much did you know about this conflict before you began?
HS: Very little. Of course, you remember Sarajevo, you remember the images of Sarajevo, but I’d be lying if I told you it’s a story that has stayed with me. Of course, I knew a bit about Srebrenica – how could you not? But I didn’t know any more than your average consumer of news. So I was drawn to the story, not because of some familiarity with it, but because it was obvious the trial was a very, very important moment in European history – or rather, world history – and the issues that the trial and film would provoke – accountability, justice, immunity – are incredibly significant, even more now than when we started, given what’s happening in places like Syria, Yemen and Myanmar. I also like to make films about stories that are not known, or stories that we prefer not to look at, that we avoid. That trial and that war, even though it was this huge moment in European history – most people know very little about it nor do they particularly care about it. Which is rather extraordinary, given that it’s the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II and involved a genocide, or at least a an alleged genocide. So it fit into my sensibility of wanting to do significant work about things that we don’t know about or that we choose to look the other way about.
CN: How did the edit go? You told me you had shot 400 hours?
There’s a cliche that documentary films are made in the cutting room. It may be a cliché, but it was certainly true of this one. Because we had this massive amount of material. We shot close to 450 hours, we had access to all the court testimony over five years, and there was, of course, the archive. We began by cutting all the sequences from our material that we thought might work themselves into the film – this took three or four months. Over time we reduced that, reduced that, reduced that, and the narrative of the film started to emerge. As we did that, we started pulling the court testimony – the ICTY films the entire trial – from the witnesses who were in those sequences. And of course, we started to pull in archive to tell the backstories – the backstory of the war in Bosnia, of Mladic, of Srebrenica, etc. It was an extraordinary long edit because of the volume of the material, and because of the complexity of the trial and because of the complexity of the region. And we wanted to ‘show’ the film, rather than ‘tell’ it, to use another well-worn cliché. But we were really fortunate to have hugely talented editor in Anna Price, and other really talented colleagues – co-producer Ida Bruusgaard, archive producer Geoff Walton, and too many others to name.
CN: Can you talk about the aesthetic? You went to some lengths to show how beautiful the countryside is – what was your thinking there?
HS: The thinking there was to create a contrast with the handheld, always moving – sometimes even frantic footage of material around the court with the prosecution and defence, and the even more, sort of, ‘thin’ and bland footage of the court testimony. It’s a sort of gritty, handheld on the shoulder documentary look. It’s very immediate – it’s now, it’s strip lighting, etc. That was the feeling at and around the court.
In Bosnia, we wanted a very different feel. We wanted to get across the layers of history, a country that has so much history, so much bloodshed, so many narratives, so many myths. It’s a place, more than any place I’ve been, where the past is the present. So we wanted a much more layered, graded feel. You’ve got the sort of black and white gritty truth of the court – the film is really about the nature of truth – but in Bosnia truth is very grey, and the truths are very different there depending which side you are on. It’s truth mediated by culture, by history. And Mladic is a great example of that, because to his Serb supporters, he’s already a mythical figure, the saviour of his people, whereas to his victims and many others, he’s a mass killer.
And at the heart of the feeling we were trying to get across in Bosnia is the land. Land, territory, is obviously what wars are fought over, and it was true in this case. But the land is significant because so much blood has been spilled on it, not just in the 90s, but through the centuries. And it’s symbolic of people’s belief systems. So we were trying, in a sense, to juxtapose that gritty black and white truth in the court with a much more nuanced sense of truth in the countryside. I’m not sure that comes across, but that was the intention.
January 25, 2019 InterviewBBC, BBC Storyville, dogwoof, feature documentaries, henry singer, mandy chang, Nanfu Wang, netflix, nick fraser, One Child Nation, Sundancecarolnahra
When it launched more than twenty years ago, the BBC’s Storyville strand stood alone as a home in the UK for independently made feature documentaries. Created and nurtured by the revered Nick Fraser, Storyville established a reputation in the global doc community for promoting authored storytelling, nurturing the likes of Sean McAllister, Alex Gibney, Kim Longinotto and Daisy Asquith. (Fraser also commissioned a doc I produced, Secrets of the Tribe, championing it over the many years it took to make).
While it still remains one of the few spaces on British television for feature docs, it’s now battling it out in a rapidly changing online universe where SVODs have become major players in longform documentaries. Mandy Chang has energetically taken up the Storyville reins, relocating to London from her job as Head of Arts at ABC Australia to head the strand. An accomplished filmmaker turned commissioner, Chang is determined that Storyville evolves with the times. On the day after the announcement of the Sundance doc lineup, which includes three Storyville films, I met with her to discuss the strand.
As usual this has been edited for length and clarity:
Carol Nahra: So you have been heading Storyville since October 2017. How has it been so far?
Mandy Chang: It’s been a huge period of assimilating a lot of information about filmmakers all around the globe; about who the major funders are, not just the broadcasters but not for profit organisations, and philanthropists as well. Because we fund via a patchwork of funding — we never fully fund Storyville; we just don’t have a big enough overall budget.
Mandy Chang
CN: What are your priorities for the strand?
MC: Diversity is really really important to me. It’s not just about picking the best films by the most experienced most famous documentary directors. It’s also about finding new talent and growing that talent and those relationships. It’s just hugely complex: the whole ecosystem of documentaries across the world. And the different ways that different broadcasters do things in different countries. To get on top of that has been my goal this year. Next year it’s about strategising and really making an impact with Storyville and where we are going with Storyville into the future. Because the whole marketplace is just changing so quickly. Everything is moving so quickly under our feet.
CN: How does one navigate the new world? I assume you are talking about SVODs like Netflix.
MC: Yes. First of all there’s a lot more competition. Storyville used to be in this very privileged place where it kind of had the pick of all the best stories. And now we have to fight to do that. We go to all these pitching forums and the filmmakers are selling their films and themselves to us. We also have to sell ourselves and what we can bring to their films back to them. And I think that’s new – I don’t think people had to work as hard to do that as before. And I’m acutely conscious of it. Filmmakers have higher expectations of what they want from whoever is putting their film on their platform. Now filmmakers are starting to realise that with those big SVOD organisations, they may not get publicity – they might just be a tile on that great big platform, and their film might disappear way down the trail. Because it’s not the latest thing, or it’s more niche. I think that’s where the BBC can really bring that personalised approach to the film. We really look after our filmmakers. We try to partner them up with people who can bring impact to their films. And we foster a relationship that we want to be ongoing.
Henry Singer’s The Trial of Ratko Mladic is an upcoming Storyville
© ICTY
CN: You talk about partnering up. What do you do in terms of extending the life of the film? Because of course the big hit with Storyville is the broadcast, and then the relatively short IPlayer life. I’m sure an attraction about Netflix is that it will have a longer life on there, whatever the contract is. So how does that work for you in terms of enticing filmmakers?
The other thing that we are doing with Storyville is BBC Three and BBC News often take those films and do cut downs of them. So they appear on other platforms where they might get completely different audiences. Whether it’s current affairs or a younger audience. Again that’s after negotiation with the filmmakers because some filmmakers don’t want spoilers. But it’s a way of getting out there and getting the attention. Because we can’t always rely on the traditional press and publicity departments because they are so overloaded anyway.
CN: What was it like stepping into Nick’s shoes?
MC: It was really tough. I have huge respect and awe of Nick. He has left an incredible legacy for the Storyville brand. I feel very lucky that I don’t have to start from the beginning – he has created this very powerful strand that people know all over the world. You can’t underestimate the value of that. So it’s building on that and bringing my own sensibilities to it without losing the good things – and there are many many good things that Storyville has. And Nick is an intellectual giant. He is always sending me links to books and articles. He’s very aware of the world – he’s a very sophisticated thinker.
As all these right wing government and forces are menacing the world, it’s really interesting that there are a lot of very young women with big voices who want to tell stories.
CN: Can you name a new filmmaker that you’re working with?
MC: A really good example of someone new that I’m really excited about who is a new voice and has access to stories we don’t usually get access to is a woman called Nanfu Wang. Nanfu has made four films in four years about China. She brings a kind of inside track to China and a subversiveness that not many filmmakers can bring. She also lives in New York so she has the security of being able to go to China and make her films and get that kind of access that really gives us those insights. She has put herself in danger but it’s not the same as living in China. She’s made a really fantastic film about the one child policy in China called One Child Nation. She’s really young and an extraordinary woman. She was a victim of the one child policy….grew up in a rural village and now making international films which get into Sundance. She’s a major talent on the international scene.
There are lots of young women making stories about their own countries. It’s a really important time as all these right wing government and forces are menacing the world. It’s really interesting that there are a lot of very young women with big voices who want to tell stories. I’ve really noticed it. And I really want to support it as well.
Nanfu Wang
CN: Do you have other Storyville films at Sundance?
MC: We have Mads Brügger’s film called Cold Case Hammarskjöld, about the death of the UN Secretary General. Mads is very provocative but brings humour to his storytelling. The team dig very very deep and what they have uncovered is extraordinary and very very horrifying. There’s also an Israeli film called Advocate, about an amazing woman named Lea Tsemel who is a lawyer who represents Palestinian people in Israel. Her story itself is amazing, but the story that unfolds in the film, is really shocking about a 13 year-old Palestinian boy who goes on trial for something he wasn’t guilty of.
I have noticed this year there’s a trend at Sundance as well to be going for more international stories. And more provocative international stories. All three films I found overseas at international markets literally by talking to people face to face.
CN: How many British filmmakers do you commission?
It varies but usually between 3 – 6 a year are British, out of 18 films. The British filmmakers come to us as they know we are there. There are a lot of people who want to make single authored documentaries and know they are never going to get that away on mainstream spaces. So they come to us and we welcome them with open arms.
CN: Anything else you’d like to say?
No except that I think Storyville does need to keep growing and changing. And I think that broadcasters will need to start growing and changing. They are going to need to move a lot quicker in the future. It’s very siloed at the BBC – I mean this is very political but I do think we need to be more joined up. We need to be talking to each other more. I think the model of copro is a really useful model for a cash strapped BBC. And they could learn a lot from the model that Storyville has where we make a very small amount of money go a long long way.
Docs You Can Watch Right Now!
May 25, 2018 commentary, reviewsadam gee, BBC, BBC Storyville, Grierson, mark craig, Morgan Matthews, Raw, real stories, Sean McAllister, sheffield doc/fest, sue bourne, The Guardian, youtubecarolnahra
One of my guest speakers pointed out the other day that we average 23 minutes a day searching for something to watch. That adds up to seven years of our lives. Gulp. To make it easier on you, assuming you’re reading this cause you love documentaries, here are some films well worth your time:
I recently interviewed Adam Gee about his original commissioning for the Real Stories channel on Youtube. Here are some of my favourite films that the channel has acquired:
One Killer Punch
I found this programme riveting – not surprising perhaps as it comes from the always outstanding Raw TV.
You can also see the below BMX storyline, which was left out of the original programme, but has gone on to gain many viewers, both through Headway and the Guardian:
Battleship Antarctica
This is an outstanding and overlooked little gem by the very talented Morgan Matthews, and a great example of how observational documentary can lead you to unexpected places.
Mum and Me
As evidenced by her multiple appearances in this blog, I’m a big Sue Bourne fan. Here’s a very personal film she made about her mum:
Meet the Mormons
I found this fascinating – great access, great story, ’nuff said.
Other Real Stories films I recommend are The Drug Trial, My Sister the Geisha (which, admittedly, I worked on back in my development days at Stampede), My Fake Baby, and Fighting the Taliban.
There are a couple Docs on Screens-featured films currently on I-Player: Sean McAllister’s A Syrian Love Story, is available for another twelve days and, for another three weeks Mark Craig’s The Last Man on the Moon.
And I highly recommend Jamie Roberts’ Manchester: The Night of the Bomb (exec produced by Dan Reed), as a gripping, moving and insightful account of the tragedy.
In the last few years I’ve guest lectured for the Grierson Trust’s DocLab, where participants as part of the mentoring programme develop doc ideas. One of the best ideas last year was from Ryan Gregory, who went on to win a new Sheffield Doc/Fest pitch. The film is now up on BBC Three. Below is a short version, with the full film available on the IPlayer:
Lots of good docs on All 4 and Netflix as well, but those will have to wait for another post.
If you live in London and want to dip more into great docs, please sign up for the course I will be teaching at the Crouch End Picturehouse. We’ll be talking about British docs for six Wednesday evenings from mid June.
Sue Bourne’s A Time to Live
May 16, 2017 previewsBafta, BBC, documentary, family, Patrick Holland, santana, sue bournecarolnahra
We know we are all on a one way journey to the grave, but it’s not something most of us care to dwell on. Not so for filmmaker Sue Bourne, who has spent the last year traveling around the UK making a film about people who have been given a terminal diagnosis. A Time to Live manages an extraordinary feat: it’s a life affirming film about dying. But Bourne would be the first to argue that it’s not about death, but, as the title indicates, about living: in story after story, we are introduced to people who have heard the most unbearable of news, and are now navigating a new normal.
Bourne and editor Sam Santana (both have featured in Docs on Screens; this is their first film together) did a Q&A with journalist Stephen Armstrong following a London BAFTA preview screening last week. In introducing the film, BBC Two Controller Patrick Holland said that Bourne is “forensic and unrelenting when she mines the emotion of a very specific experience to reveal wider, universal truths.”
Sam Santana and Sue Bourne prior to Bafta screening
When Bourne approached Holland to say that she wanted to make a film about people make the most of their limited time left, he was quickly on board: “It was one of the easiest commissioning decisions I’ve ever had to make.”
A Time to Live tells the story of twelve people of various ages, and their responses to being told they don’t have long to live. Bourne deliberately sought a selection of people who have acted out in surprising ways, including Annabel (pictured below), a woman whose first act upon receiving her prognosis was to leave her husband.
“I mean what was interesting about Annabel’s story is that it was quite radical,” said Bourne. “I think she had been quite a timid person…what cancer did was it emboldened her. And she thought ‘Bloody hell, if I’ve only got a short time left, I really should do all those things I’ve been thinking about’.”
Annabel – (C) Wellpark Productions – Photographer: Natalie Walter
To make the film, Bourne kept to a small nimble team, as she recounted to the Bafta audience: “Natalie (Walter) joined in and the two of us did all the research to find the people. I don’t like filming until I knew exactly what is going to go in the film. Natalie not only shot it but also oversaw the whole sound; it was remarkable. And then we set off on this van around the country to film all twelve people. And we had to be flexible because these were really ill people…We just moved around the country more or less for three months. We all had flu injections and boxes of supplements because we couldn’t go into their house and be any risk to them at all.”
Shooting completed, Bourne and Santana holed up in Bourne’s house for a ten week edit. It was a new experience for Santana, used to cutting rigged and other narrative driven films: “For me it was the first time cutting a film without what you call evolving narrative or process or intercutting, where you start one character’s storyline and then intercut to another. We didn’t do it…So we kind of felt that we needed to make subtle transitions.”
On the whole the transitions did not employ Bourne’s voiceover, often a prominent feature: “Usually in my films there is quite a lot of commentary. Because I’m kind of the narrative thread, weaving through it. But it became quite apparent early on that I didn’t need to say anything. This was their story.”
As a one woman show at Wellpark Productions, Bourne continues to be the main interface with her contributors, and the edit was frequently interrupted. “Sometimes we’d get news that was not particularly good,” said Santana. “People who we were just about to cut their story or had just completed their story. And we just had to work really hard and keep plowing on. That would be tough.” Bourne added: “And then actually you’re motivated, and you go, okay we really need to tell this person’s story.”
The film proceeds from one story to the next, without interweaving. Remarkably, there are no hospitals or footage of anything medical. The interviews are solely with the twelve contributors – supportive spouses and family are seen but barely heard. At the end, there is no revealing of who has died since filming ended – Bourne wanted their stories to be about their lives rather than their deaths.
The film’s power is in its universality. As Holland noted in his Bafta intro: “We are all of course life limited. What Sue’s film does is make all of us reflect on our own choices. On what a good life means. And what you can do to make a difference to ourselves and others. It’s a profound and challenging film.”
A Time to Live airs on BBC Two on Wednesday, 17 May, 9pm. Extended contributor interviews, made in conjunction with the Open University, will be available via the website after broadcast.
Olly Lambert on Abused: The Untold Story
April 11, 2016 Interview, previews, UncategorizedBBC, British, documentary, independent production, interviews, minnow films, Olly Lambertcarolnahra
It’s not surprising that in entrusting the storytelling of its darkest hour, the BBC has chosen documentary director Olly Lambert. For fifteen years Lambert has steadily forged a reputation as one of the most talented and nuanced directors working in factual television today. Whether piecing together stories from both sides of the divide in Syria (in the multi award winning Syria: Across the Lines) to putting a human face on the many families caught up in the London riots (or torn apart in divorce), Lambert is very adept at drawing out difficult stories from often traumatized interviewees.
It’s a skill he’d need in spades for tonight’s film, Abused: The Untold Story. The abuser left out of the title is, of course, BBC entertainer Jimmy Savile, the unfathomably long running serial abuser, the paedophile who lived for decades as a celebrated children’s entertainer, and went to his grave with his crimes still a secret. Lambert’s feature length doc dissects how the abuse finally came to light after Savile’s death. Most importantly it gives voice to a number of Savile’s victims, some speaking publicly for the first time. I spoke with Olly by telephone about the process of bringing their stories to the screen.
Olly Lambert
CN: It’s a dark topic to immerse yourself in for eighteen months.
OL: Weirdly, now that it is all done – we only finished it on Saturday – there is actually something strangely inspiring about the people in it. What I think comes across is they are so strong. There is nothing victimy about the people. Your starting point with them is a very dark place, the darkest moment of their life, usually. But the fact that they’re able to speak about it really clearly and really powerfully with a bit of distance is an obvious testament to how far they are able to move on from it, and how the very act of talking about it is such a release; almost a physical release. So that sort of becomes part of the film. The act of talking becomes profoundly cathartic. And in a few cases actually quite life changing. So even though it is a dark place to go to I think I’ll be able to look back at it and think “well that was worth doing; it was worth going there”.
CN:You said that with a couple of interviewees it was actually life-changing. Can you elaborate on that?
There was one woman, Dee. She’s found the very act of speaking to a stranger, who is also a man, and being able to tell everything that happened to her for the very first time, made her realise she could say it. And she wouldn’t be causing disgust in me, and she actually realised that she was accepted and that it wasn’t her fault and that there was somebody who would listen. Speaking about it in that way to a stranger, and being part of a chorus of voices within the film that all speak of the same experience, has just been really profound for her. She’s a completely different person to the person I met a year ago. It’s very moving. She’s just transformed.
Dee – (C) Minnow Films – Photographer: Richard Ansett
CN: That is very moving. And it is very sad that it has come presumably decades after the abuse.
OL: Yes, absolutely. She’s an interesting story because when it was Savile’s funeral, she watched it. And she said that she didn’t feel anything about it. She said that she should have felt glad that he was dead. But at the time that he was buried she didn’t realise there were more people like her; she thought she was the only one. It was only when other people started coming forward that this kind of little solidarity developed between people.
CN: Can you talk about how you approach having Savile appear in the film?
OL: There are no images of Saville’s face. One of the first victims I met talked really powerfully about how distressing it was that whenever there was something on the news, that was effectively her story, a story about her, that changed her life. She was exactly the sort of person who should be engaging with the story and yet she wasn’t able to watch it on television because news editors, sort of understandably, but a bit thoughtlessly, would reach for the most garish gross images of Savile as an old man with these sorts of rose tinted glasses and looking very menacing. And of course that makes it very colourful for everyone else but for her it was like just being confronted with someone who had just fucked up her life. Like being confronted by her rapist. There are a few fleeting images of him as a kind of ghost in a way. And it made the film very difficult to edit. Because obviously having images of him would have been the perfect thing to cut to. But it felt absolutely wrong direction to go in. So that means that the film is viewable, or more viewable, to exactly the kind of people who’d be most affected, so it’s keeping them in mind. It’s also honoring the wishes of the people in the film that don’t want to confront his face any more.
Kevin – (C) Minnow Films – Photographer: Richard Ansett
CN: What was the biggest surprise to you in the making of the film?
OL: The thing that really jumped out from the very first conversation I had with a victim of Savile was the way that this single event, which might have been a matter of minutes, decades ago, was how they had completely reshaped a person’s life. Had configured everything in their life. In the case of one person, there was a very serious sexual assault which probably took about ten minutes. Immediately, that little girl never really trusted her mum again, because she felt that her mum had allowed it to happen in some way. She cannot have a relationship with a man; she couldn’t have a physical intimacy. She tried to have a relationship with a woman and couldn’t really have physical intimacy. Because of the nature of the assault she had a phobia of being sick, or being around people being sick. And that meant she would never get on an airplane. So she wouldn’t travel. And you know it’s completely present when you’re sitting in the room with her. You sit down with her in her home, there’s nothing remotely “historical” about her abuse. She’s absolutely living it every day… That was the thing that stuck with me that I didn’t really feel had been covered. So that really became the focus of the film – the way that these assaults ricochet down an entire lifetime. And they’re still being played out now in real time. And the film shows that.
Abused: The Untold Story airs 11 April on BBC One at 8.30pm and will then be available on IPlayer.
Dan Reed on the Charlie Hebdo Attacks
January 6, 2016 Interview, previewsBBC, dan reed, hbo, sheffield doc/fest, terrorismcarolnahra
When your office door is just metres away from your neighbours, you don’t have much need for their landline: it’s easy to stroll across the hall for a chat, or send an email. But the staff of the Paris-based television production company Premieres Lignes were to come to regret not having their colleagues’ number on the morning of January 7 last year. As two gunmen entered the building and stumbled around looking for the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, alarmed Premieres Lignes staff locked their own office door, headed to the roof, and waited helplessly as the massacre unfolded below. Their continuing regrets over their lack of heroic action is one of the most compelling sequences in a remarkable film airing tonight on BBC’s This World. Directed by five time BAFTA winner Dan Reed, Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks lays out in forensic detail the sequence of events that kicked off with the terrible massacre in the magazine’s meeting room.
Premieres Lignes employee Martin Boudot
Reed is no stranger to this territory, having similarly masterfully dissected terrorism attacks in Mumbai, Moscow and Nairobi. He is one of the most accomplished documentary makers working in Britain today (his recent masterclass at Sheffield Doc/Fest is well worth a listen). Docs on Screens spoke with Dan about the making of the Charlie Hebdo film, and what it’s like to continually work in this dark terrain:
Carol Nahra: You start out the film with an acknowledgement of the November attacks. How much did that tragedy affect the making of the film?
Dan Reed: The very last guy we happened to interview was the chief medical officer of the Paris fire service, who was at Charlie Hebdo and is one of the first people into the room. It was Friday the 13th of November, which is the date of the Paris attack, and we were chatting away at the end of the interview. I was saying “Something is going to happen again soon, I can feel it in my bones. It will either happen in Paris or London, there’s going to be another devastating attack soon. And there is no reason why it wouldn’t happen in a way, because nothing has changed to prevent it happening”. Literally, 200 metres from the studio where we shot our interview – which was our regular hangout in Paris where we shot most of our interviews – three or four hours later gunmen turned up and killed 19 people at a cafe on the corner. And the Bataclan was a short walk from Charlie Hebdo. My office in Paris was literally three metres away from the attack where Charlie Hebdo happened. I was working with that TV company (Premieres Lignes). So it all felt very very close… So we had to reference it back and say to people “look this is a film about what happened in November”. And then we had to find a way in the preamble and the wrap up to make a distinction between the attacks.
CN: So much has been published in the media regarding Charlie Hebdo. What was your aim with this film?
DR: For one thing, to try and actually research the story properly, and figure out what exactly happened. We went into mind numbing detail about what actually happened, when and where. There is always drama in the two story of things…in the unfolding of events. There is often a lot of dead time, when people are waiting for police to arrive, and those are dramatic pauses…We did a lot of research to allow us to understand the drama of the story. We also got hold of a lot of images which had never been seen before – a lot of still images from the security cameras at Charlie Hebdo and the Jewish grocery. There are quite a few kind of scoops and untold bits in our story…So it’s kind of untangling the truth from the lies and the misperceptions and really establishing a proper timeline for the story, that took a lot of work. A lot of these people hadn’t spoken before, or hadn’t spoken at the time.
“There’s this strange process where you start from completely on the outside of events, and six, eight months later by the time you’ve corralled all these people together and got them to talk to you, you end up like a single point of contact for all these experiences.”
CN: Yes and they’re talking about very traumatic, harrowing and recent events. So what was that like?
DR: Again, there’s this strange process where you start from completely on the outside of events, and six, eight months later by the time you’ve corralled all these people together and got them to talk to you, you end up like a single point of contact for all these experiences…Every eyewitness is trapped in their often very narrow perspective. And often has a lot of misperceptions, a lot of questions, a lot of frustrating gaps that we’re able to fill in. So the satisfaction of being able to, if you like, piece together the narrative not only for filmmaking but also for sharing with the other victims – the survivors – that’s satisfying. I happen to speak French fluently, because I grew up speaking French. And that really helps. You’re immersed in this world of trauma and loss and people who can’t get these violent images out of their heads. It’s familiar territory I’m afraid.
Charlie Hebdo survivor Laurent Leger
CN: Can I ask you about Premieres Lignes. They’re your co-production partners, is that right? What was it like for them continuing to work in the same building?
DR: Really really hard. I don’t think I’m betraying confidence by saying there are a number of people within that company who would very much like to move, and of course it’s difficult and very expensive and may not even be a good idea. Very much to varying degrees some of them are definitely haunted by what happened and are reminded every day. It’s difficult not to be.
CN: It’s quite different from some of your other “Terror” films. Terror in the Mall had such abundant multi camera archive. Can you talk a little bit about the archive collection process for this?
DR: The key word is frustrating because I knew in particular that security camera footage existed from a number of locations where the attacks had happened. Because the footage was immediately impounded by the police, and because the prevailing attitude is “don’t let people see anything”, it was impossible to prise the moving pictures from the French authorities. And that was very frustrating because of course we would have used it responsibly.
“There is a huge world of difference between having something shocking in a twenty second clip on the web, and having it in a documentary where the people involved speak, and it’s done with care and compassion and sensibility.”
CN: So there’s a lot of footage that you couldn’t get?
DR: We just literally couldn’t get. There’s a really, really strong taboo in France against any images showing pain and suffering. I found it kind of unhelpful in some ways…I think you can understand, but at the same time that really blocks a huge amount of journalism and seals off a lot of images. We live in a world where images are often the key to understanding situations. If they are used responsibly in the form of a longform narrative in particular then I think you can definitely justify the use of quite shocking images, if they’re in a context which creates understanding rather than used for just shock purposes. There is a huge world of difference between having something shocking in a twenty second clip on the web, and having it in a documentary where the people involved speak, and it’s done with care and compassion and sensibility. But no matter how you treat the material, the French are like not into that at all… Notwithstanding that I think we got a huge amount. It’s a more emotional story in a way than the others.
CN: Is doing film after film of darkness taking its toll on you?
DR: I don’t think I can do another one like this. I said this after Nairobi – I was being interviewed by the New York Times, saying “this broke my heart and I don’t think I can do another”. And here I am. But in fact I just turned down Terror in Paris 2 for the BBC, because I said “I can’t do this again. I can’t do this again in the same place.” The nature of the material, the darkness is enveloping, and you can kind of get lost in it. I think I can safely say I’m not going to do another blow by blow like these for a while.
Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks airs 6 January on BBC Two at 9pm.
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Category Archives: Dreiser and fellow writers
Henry Miller and Dreiser
Henry Miller was a great admirer of Theodore Dreiser. He admired Dreiser’s realism; admired the size, scope, and power of Dreiser’s novels; admired the cumulative effect of Dreiser’s massive plots. Dreiser was one of Miller’s major literary influences.
In March 1922, Miller took a three week vacation from his employer, The Western Union Company (the Cosmodemonic Telegraph Company of North America in his novel Tropic of Capricorn). During the vacation, he wrote his first novel, Clipped Wings, which was never published.
Clipped Wings, a novel about twelve telegraph messenger boys, was inspired by Dreiser’s Twelve Men, which had been published three years earlier, in 1919.
Early in his writing career, Miller made efforts to get published in The New Republic which did not meet with success. He wrote a long essay about Dreiser for the magazine that was rejected. However, a brief excerpt from the essay was published in April 1926 in the magazine’s letters to the editor section under the heading “Dreiser’s Style.”
The letter has not hitherto been reprinted. Texts of Miller’s early writings are in many cases unavailable.
The following is the text of Miler’s letter. It was written in response to a review of Dreiser’s An American Tragedy by T. K. Whipple in The New Republic of March 17, 1926. The text of the Whipple review is appended here as a PDF file
Dreiser’s Style
Sir: In his review of Dreiser’s American Tragedy, Mr. T. K. Whipple raises an interesting problem in the art of the novel in in his discussion of Mr. Dreiser’s style. “Dreiser could not write as he does,” says Mr. Whipple, “mixing slang with poetic archaisms, reveling in the cheap, trite and florid, if there were not in himself something correspondingly muddled, banal and tawdry … a failure in writing is necessarily a failure in communication.” This is all very true when the thing to be communicated is an abstract idea or philosophy. The novel, however, is effective because of images and emotions and not because of its abstract ideas. Mr. Whipple’s error lies in applying intellectual criteria such as logic and profundity to art, which affects us by its vividness or beauty.
From this point of view it becomes evident that Mr. Dreiser’s effects are not achieved in spite of but because of his style. The “cheap trite, and tawdry” enable him to present a world which a more elegant and precise style could only hint at. He uses language, consciously or not, in the manner which modern writers, notably Joyce, use deliberately, that is, he identifies his language with the consciousness of his characters. Mr. Whipple evidently expects all writing to conform to the “mot just’ technique of the Flaubert school. But fortunately style cannot be prescribed by rule.
Henry Miller.
New York, N. Y.
T. R. Whipple, review of An American Tragedy, The New Republic, April 1926
T. R. Whipple, review of American Tragedy New Republic, April 1926
See also: Henry Miller, The Books in My Life (New Directions, 1969), pp. 219-220. There, Miller misspells the title of Dreiser’s second novel as Jenny Gerhardt.
This entry was posted in appraisals by non-critics, assessments of Dreiser by his contemporaries, Dreiser and fellow writers and tagged シオドア・ドライサー, シオドア・ドライザー, シオドー・ドライサー, シオドー・ドライザー, セオドア・ドライサー, セオドア・ドライザー, Clipped Wings, Henry Milller, теодор драйзер, T. K. Whipple, Theodore Dreiser on July 3, 2016 by Roger W. Smith.
a message commenting on some aspects of Dreiser studies
The following is an email dated December 27, 2015 from me to a professor of American literature who is an authority on Sherwood Anderson. We had been in touch because she was writing an article that included Dreiser.
Thank you very much for getting back to me.
A few follow-/up comments.
I met Richard Lingeman about 25 years ago at a Dreiser conference in Brockport, NY. At that time, the second volume of his Dreiser biography, which is excellent, was being published. He is well respected. I found him to be friendly, modest, and unassuming.
I was invited to dinner with a Dreiser descendant and her husband at their Manhattan apartment several years ago. I gave her a copy of a biography of Dreiser’s brother Paul Dresser — the songwriter — that had just been published. I thought she would be very pleased, but she did not seem interested. Her interest in Dreiser seemed to be based on family ties and perhaps on money inherited from the Dreiser Trust.
The Dreiser Trust exerts control over publishing and performance rights to Dreiser’s works, at least those protected by copyright. (I don’t know which works these would be.) It is my understanding that Tobias Picker and librettist Gene Scheer had a very difficult time getting rights to An American Tragedy for their opera (2005). Picker was thinking of composing an opera based on Sister Carrie instead. From what I can gather, the Dreiser Trust was committed to the stage adaptation of An American Tragedy in Charles Strouse’s musical version. Then they decided to give the rights to Picker for his opera.
The Trustee of the Dreiser Trust for a long time was Harold Dies. He was a cousin of Dreiser’s second wife, Helen, who inherited all of Dreiser’s papers, which were donated to the University of Pennsylvania. I met Mr. Dies about seven years ago. He was in his nineties then and was very active in the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious group. He held a high position with the organization and had an office in their headquarters in Brooklyn Heights. He was a very nice man, very willing to assist me with Dreiser inquiries. He recently passed away.
I actually think (or at least suspect) that Sherwood Anderson is a better writer (qua writer) than Dreiser. I wish I could say I have read more of him.
Dreiser, who was given to plagiarism and didn’t seem ashamed of it, was guilty on one known occasion of plagiarizing from Anderson in 1926. In the New York World, it was alleged that Dreiser, in his poem, The Beautiful,” published in Vanity Fair, had lifted sentences from Anderson’s story “Tandy.” (The alleged plagiarism was pointed out by columnist Franklin P. Adams.) Anderson, contacted by reporters, said he did not believe Dreiser would have plagiarized: “It is one of those accidents that occur. The thought expressed has come, I am sure, to a great many man. If Mr. Dreiser has expressed it beautifully, it is enough.”
You commented that much of Anderson’s best writing was in the form of short stories. I found this interesting and useful to hear. You mentioned, with respect to Anderson, concision (something Dreiser certainly did not achieve, or aim to achieve), open endings, and ellipses. I have noticed (in passing) Anderson’s use of ellipses.
Dreiser reminds me of Balzac (a writer whom Dreiser discovered early, admired, and emulated), and vice versa. I first read Balzac in French in college. There do not seem to be nearly enough of Balzac’s works available in English translation, let alone good translations.
Both Balzac and Dreiser are easy to get into. Neither seemed to care about style or polish. (Compare, for example, a writer like Flaubert.) I once remarked to a well read acquaintance of mine (he agreed) that when it comes to Joyce — a writer who is in a superior class to which Dreiser does not belong — I find that I do not care about his characters, whereas in the case of the inferior writer, Dreiser (and this is true of Balzac, too), I find that I do care about his characters.
You mentioned your being “forgotten” in bibliographies. I have noticed that foreign works (both by and about Dreiser) tend to get ignored – one might say shamefully ignored – in bibliographies.
This entry was posted in Dreiser and fellow writers, Dreiser's literary influences, Dreiser's style, miscellaneous, plagiarism, rights and permissons, the "Dreiser industry" and tagged シオドア・ドライサー, シオドア・ドライザー, シオドー・ドライサー, シオドー・ドライザー, セオドア・ドライサー, セオドア・ドライザー, Balzac, Charles Strouse, Franklin P. Adams, Harold Dies, теодор драйзер, Roger Smith, Roger W. Smith, Sherwood Anderson, The Dreiser Trust, Theodore Dreiser on June 11, 2016 by Roger W. Smith.
“Dreiser’s Alleged ‘Cribbing’ from Anderson Raises Furor”
downloadable PDF file below
New York Herald Tribune
‘Dreiser’s Alleged Cribbing,’ NY Herald Tribune, September 1926
This entry was posted in controversies, Dreiser and fellow writers, media mentions of Dreiser, plagiarism and tagged シオドア・ドライサー, シオドア・ドライザー, シオドー・ドライサー, シオドー・ドライザー, セオドア・ドライサー, セオドア・ドライザー, George Ade, теодор драйзер, Sherwood Anderson, Theodore Dreiser on April 3, 2016 by Roger W. Smith.
Virginia Woolf, “A Real American”
Virginia Woolf, “A Real American”; from The Essays of Virginia Woolf, Volume III, 1919-1924, pp. 86-88. Originally published in TLS, August 21, 1919.
A review of Free and Other Stones and Twelve Men which appraises Dreiser in general terms.
Virginia Woolf, ‘A Real American’
This entry was posted in appraisals by non-critics, criticism, Dreiser and fellow writers, reviews of Dreiser works and tagged シオドア・ドライサー, シオドア・ドライザー, シオドー・ドライサー, シオドー・ドライザー, セオドア・ドライサー, セオドア・ドライザー, теодор драйзер, Theodore Dreiser, Virginia Woolf on March 2, 2016 by Roger W. Smith.
selections re Dreiser from the diary of Elenaor Anderson
selections from The Diary of Eleanor Anderson
Posted above as a downloadable Word document:
“Selections from The Diary of Eleanor Anderson, 1933-1940,” compiled by Hilbert H. Campbell, The Sherwood Anderson Review, XXVI (winter 2001), pp. 10-11.
Eleanor Copenhaver Anderson was Sherwood Anderson’s third wife.
I wish to thank Sherwood Anderson scholar Claire Bruyère for calling my attention to this excerpt and providing me with a copy.
This entry was posted in diaries, Dreiser and fellow writers, memoirs and tagged シオドア・ドライサー, シオドア・ドライザー, シオドー・ドライサー, シオドー・ドライザー, セオドア・ドライサー, セオドア・ドライザー, Eleanor Anderson, Eleanor Cophenaver Anderson, H. L. Mencken, Helen Dreiser, теодор драйзер, Sherwood Anderson, Theodore Dreiser on February 26, 2016 by Roger W. Smith.
“George Ade Absolves Dreiser”
On September 7, 1926, the New York Herald Tribune printed a story concerning alleged plagiarism by Dreiser, including plagiarism in writing Sister Carrie whereby Dreiser lifted a story by George Ade.
Ade’s reply to these charges, the text of which follows below, was printed in the Herald Tribune of September 9, 1926: “George Ade Absolves Dreiser Of Lifting His ‘Swift Worker’ ”
You have asked if Theodore Dreiser in his novel ‘Sister Carrie’ incorporated in one of his early chapters part of a story which I had written for ‘The Chicago Record.’ Before I reply to your inquiry let it be understood that I am simply complying with your request. To get back. I am not stirring up any charge against Mr. Dreiser, not after all these years. Along about 1898 I wrote for ‘The Record’ a story in fable form called The Two Mandolin Players and the Willing Performer.
In that story I had a character shown as cousin Gus from St. Paul. He was of the type then known as a swift worker. Probably we would call him a sheik today, seeing that we have made such a tremendous advance in recent years. In my little story I detailed the tactics which would be employed by Gus if he spotted a good looker on the train between St. Paul and Chicago.
When the very large and important novel called Sister Carrie came out I read it, and I was much amused to discover that Theodore Dreiser had incorporated in a description of one of his important characters the word picture of Cousin Gus which I had outlined in my newspaper story and which later appeared in a volume called ‘Fables in Slang.’ It is true that for a few paragraphs Mr. Dreiser’s copy for the book tallied very closely with my copy for the little story. When I discovered the resemblance I was not horrified or indignant. I was simply flattered. It warmed me to discover that Mr. Dreiser has found my description suitable for the clothing of one of his characters. Many people came to me and called my attention to the fact that a portion of my little fable had been found imbedded in the very large novel of Mr. Dreiser.
I figured that he had read my fable was about like his character in the novel and that he absorbed the description and used it without any intent of taking something which belonged to someone else. Most certainly I do not accuse Mr. Dreiser of plagiarism even by implication or in a spirit of pleasantry. I have a genuine admiration for him. To me he is a very large and commanding figure in American letters. While some of us have been building chicken coops, or, possibly, bungalows, Mr. Dreiser has been erecting skyscrapers. He makes the three-decker novel look like a pamphlet. He is the only writer on our list who has the courage and the patience and the painstaking qualities of observation to get all of the one _____ [illegible word] into the story.
Theodore Dreiser was born in Indiana and the Hoosiers are very proud of him. I knew rather intimately his brother, Paul, who wrote many popular songs and one highly esteemed here at home, ‘The Banks of the Wabash.’ I was active in planning a memorial to Paul to be placed on the banks of the Wabash down near his old home. While we were planning the memorial I had some correspondence with Theodore Dreiser. I am rather sorry that some one has reminded the Herald Tribune, of which I an constant reader and regular subscriber, that Mr. Dreiser got into his novel something which I read like something written by one before his novel came out.
It all happened so many years ago. It seems to raise the absolutely preposterous suggestion that Mr. Dreiser needs help. Anybody who writes novels containing approximately one million words each doesn’t need any help from any one. As I said before, while most of our guild are at work on tiny structures which stay close to the ground, Mr. Dreiser is putting up skyscrapers. If, in building one of his massive structures he used a brick from my pile, goodness knows he was welcome to it and no questions were asked or will be asked. These are the facts in the case. Mr. Dreiser hasn’t hurt my feelings at any time. I don’t want to hurt his feelings now.
“did Dreiser plagiarize in writing his first novel?”
posted on this site at
https://dreiseronlinecom.wordpress.com/2016/08/01/did-dreiser-plagiarize-in-writing-his-first-novel/
This entry was posted in Dreiser and fellow writers, plagiarism, Sister Carrie and tagged シオドア・ドライサー, シオドア・ドライザー, シオドー・ドライサー, シオドー・ドライザー, セオドア・ドライサー, セオドア・ドライザー, George Ade, теодор драйзер, Sister Carrie, Theodore Dreiser on February 23, 2016 by Roger W. Smith.
James T. Farrell on “An American Tragedy” (from “Bernard Clare”)
The novelist James T. Farrell (1904-1979) was a great admirer of Dreiser. In his underrated novel Bernard Clare (The Vanguard Press, 1946), Farrell pays indirect tribute to Dreiser by having his two main characters engage in a discussion of An American Tragedy, about which the character Eva makes perceptive comments.
Many readers of An American Tragedy (and the admirers and makers of the film A Place in the Sun) have missed the point about the distinction between Roberta Alden and Sondra Finchley made by Farrell (indirectly, through his characters) here, although Dreiser certainly didn’t.
An excerpt from Bernard Clare is posted here below as a downloadable PDF file.
from ‘Bernard Clare’
This entry was posted in An American Tragedy, assessments of Dreiser by his contemporaries, Dreiser and fellow writers, miscellaneous and tagged An American Tragedy, シオドア・ドライサー, シオドア・ドライザー, シオドー・ドライサー, シオドー・ドライザー, セオドア・ドライサー, セオドア・ドライザー, Bernard Clare, James T. Farrell, James T. Farrell Bernard Clare, теодор драйзер, Rogeer Smith, Roger W. Smith, Theodore Dreiser, Theodore Dreiser An American Tragedy on February 23, 2016 by Roger W. Smith.
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Rocker Leon Russell Dies At 74 In Nashville
Filed Under:keyboard, Leon Russell, Nashville, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, Wrecking Crew
NASHVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 09: Leon Russell performs onstage during the Agency Group Party at at IEBA Conference Day 3 at the War Memorial Auditorium on October 9, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for IEBA)
NASHVILLE (AP) — Leon Russell, who performed, sang and produced some of rock ‘n’ roll’s top records, has died. He was 74.
An email from Leon Russell Records to The Associated Press says Russell died Sunday in Nashville. The email cites Russell’s wife as the source of the information. Russell had heart bypass surgery in July and was recovering from that at the time of his death. He had been planning on resuming touring in January, the email said.
Besides his music, Russell was known for his striking appearance: wispy white hair halfway down his back and that covered much of his face.
Russell played keyboard for the Los Angeles studio team known as the Wrecking Crew, helping producer Phil Spector develop his game-changing wall of sound approach in the 1960s.
He wrote Joe Cocker’s “Delta Lady” and in 1969 put together Cocker’s “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” tour, which spawned a documentary film and a hit double album.
As a musician, primarily a pianist, he played on The Beach Boys’ “California Girls” and landmark “Pet Sounds” album, Jan and Dean’s “Surf City,” the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” and the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man.” He also played guitar and bass.
Russell produced and played on recording sessions for Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Ike and Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones and many others. He arranged the Turners’ “River Deep, Mountain High.”
He recorded hit songs himself like “Tight Rope” and “Lady Blue” and participated in “The Concert for Bangla Desh.” John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison played on his first album, “Leon Russell.”
His concerts often ended with a rousing version of “Jumpin’ Jack Flash.” In 1973, Billboard Magazine listed Russell as the top concert attraction in the world. About this time, he was the headline act on billings that included Elton John and at other times Willie Nelson.
In a 1992 interview with The Associated Press, Russell said music doesn’t really change much.
“It’s cyclical, like fashion. You keep your old clothes and they’ll be in style again sooner or later.
“There are new things, like rap. But that’s a rebirth of poetry. It’s brought poetry to the public consciousness.”
In 2011, Russell was chosen for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He also was honored with an Award for Music Excellence from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He and Elton John released “The Union,” a critically received duo album in 2010.
“He was a mentor, inspiration and so kind to me,” Elton John said in a Facebook post Sunday. “Thank God we caught up with each other and made ‘The Union’. He got his reputation back and felt fulfilled. I loved him and always will.”
Russell, born in Lawton, Oklahoma, began as a nightclub piano player in Oklahoma at the age of 14, also backing touring artists when they came to town. Jerry Lee Lewis was so impressed with Russell that he hired Russell and his band for two years of tours.
He relocated to Los Angeles in 1959, where he became known as a top musician, and later to Nashville.
In the early 2000s he began his own record label, Leon Russell Records.
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REVIEW: Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon
Staff writer @TheWeek, reviews for @ElectricLit. Also: @Awl, @Vice & more. Backpacker/moviegoer/baseball attendee. Lange, as in Fritz.
If the name “Kim Gordon” means nothing to you, and the title of her memoir, Girl in a Band, doesn’t spark interest, then maybe it will be the cover that draws you in: a New York City subway car, Gordon’s slightly upturned chin, messy blonde hair, Taurus band shirt. She looks faintly down her nose at the camera and maybe you think, as her fans always have, that this woman is afraid of nothing.
“The music matters,” Gordon writes in the opening pages of her memoir, “but a lot comes down to how the girl looks. The girl anchors the stage, sucks in the male gaze, and, depending on who she is, throws her own gaze back out into the audience.”
Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore founded the no wave/noise rock band Sonic Youth in 1981, going on to produce a number of seminal records including Daydream Nation, EVOL, and Sister. When Moore and Gordon married in 1984, the couple cemented themselves in indie rocker lore as being the ones who made it. “I guess it was love at first sight,” Gordon is quoted as saying in Michael Azerrad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life. But in October 2011, Sonic Youth’s label, Matador, issued a devastating statement saying the couple was separating.
For New York, Nitsuh Abebe wrote, “Picture hundreds of thousands of indie-rock fans learning that their parents were getting divorced.” Elissa Schappell said in Salon, “What’s scarier than a couple deciding — after 30 years of being in a band they created, 27 years of marriage, 17 years spent raising a child — that now they’re done with it?” And on a street in Greenwich Village, my boyfriend turned to me and only half-joking asked, “If Kim and Thurston can’t make it, how can we?”
Girl in a Band begins at the end: the final Sonic Youth concert in Sao Paulo. “Marriage is a long conversation, someone once said, and maybe so is a rock band’s life. A few minutes later, both were over.” Gordon rewinds to her childhood, recalling a youth spent in Rochester, on the Klamath River in Oregon, and also in L.A., Hawaii, and Hong Kong. Gordon notes that her ancestors were pioneers; whether this is to draw a connection to her own travel, or her music, either stands. She also introduces her brother and childhood tormentor, Keller: “No matter how hard I tried, I could never not react to Keller, but neither could I depend on my parents to protect me or take my side…Maybe that’s why for me the page, the gallery, and the stage became the only places my emotions could be expressed and acted out comfortably.” But later, Gordon sourly recalls Keller as being the beginning of her problems with Thurston: “The codependent woman, the narcissistic man…It’s a dynamic I have with men that began, probably, with Keller.”
As if not knowing where to go from there, Gordon changes course to reflect on the songs, albums, and ”times I have the most to say about or remember best.” The transition is clumsy and begs the question why Gordon didn’t compose the entire memoir in such a fashion to begin with; instead, the opening 130 pages are reduced to a sort of extended introduction that doesn’t quite work. Later, Gordon returns to what is increasingly the drive of her memoir: her problems with Thurston. She finds out about his affair through a text message: counseling, promises, and lies follow. “Someone told me later she would have been happy seducing anyone in the band,” Gordon writes of the ‘other woman,’ who she never calls out by name (but is known to be the art book editor Eva Prinz). “In fact, I was the first one she pursued.” Gordon goes on, painting an increasingly ugly portrait of Thurston’s lover: “Everyone who met her or encountered her had the same toxic, dark reaction, the same feeling of ‘What was that?’ as if someone, or something, was trying to take them over.”
At one point, when talking about New York City, Gordon observes that, “It’s hard to write about a love story with a broken heart.” It’s unclear how conscious she is that this is exactly what she’s doing. In fact, to someone unfamiliar with Gordon’s career, Girl in a Band might feel like petty tattling: look what a horrible man my ex-husband is. Although she ventures into talking about the music and art scene of New York, it is often with the same nasty renunciation: “These days, when I’m in New York, I wonder, What’s this place all about, really? The answer is consumption and moneymaking…New York City today is a city on steroids.” Gordon goes on to rant that, “Today we have someone like Lana Del Rey, who doesn’t even know what feminism is, who believes it means women can do whatever they want, which, in her world, tilts toward self-destruction, whether it’s sleeping with gross older men or getting gang-raped by bikers. Equal pay and equal rights would be nice. Naturally, it’s just a persona. If she really truly believes it’s beautiful when young musicians go out on a hot flame of drugs and depression, why doesn’t she just off herself?”
Even the title of the memoir, Girl in a Band, is tinged with Gordon’s bitterness, a nod to her least favorite question: “What’s it like being a girl in a band?” Yet Gordon is so much more than the ex-wife of Thurston Moore, or just “a girl in a band”: she is also a visual artist, the producer on Hole’s first album and friend of Kurt Cobain, creator of the fashion line X-Girl, and has acted in films by Gus van Zant, Todd Haynes, and Oliver Assayas as well as episodes of Gossip Girl and Girls, not to mention numerous musical acts. But despite a long and inspiring artistic life, Girl in a Band always seems to return to the affair. Even as Gordon recognizes that she is writing with a broken heart, she alienates the readers who are–despite her skepticism–more interested in Gordon herself than in any gossip or accusations.
“You’ll never know what I feel inside,” Gordon vows in Sonic Youth’s “Little Trouble Girl.” But now that we do, the spite and hurt might make us wish we’d never asked.
Girl in a Band: A Memoir
by Kim Gordon
How Leonard Nimoy’s Spock Taught Me to Be a Writer
Mar 2 - Ryan Britt Read
The Best Thing About Celebrity Novels Is Scathingly Bad Reviews
We’ve rounded up the most blistering pans of actors, singers, and models who moonlight as novelists
Mar 30 - Erin Bartnett
Is There Such a Thing as a Good Book Review?
And how in the world do you write one?
Jan 26 - Elisa Gabbert
Maybe It’s Time to Do Away with Anonymous Reviews
The latest Kirkus fiasco might not have been such a big deal if reviewers signed their names
Oct 20 - Electric Literature
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This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. Please help improve it to make it understandable to non-experts, without removing the technical details. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. (December 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Post-structuralism was either a continuation or a rejection of the intellectual project that preceded it—structuralism.[1] Structuralism proposes that one may understand human culture by means of a structure—modeled on language (structural linguistics)—that differs from concrete reality and from abstract ideas—a "third order" that mediates between the two.[2] Post-structuralist authors all present different critiques of structuralism, but common themes include the rejection of the self-sufficiency of structuralism and an interrogation of the binary oppositions that constitute its structures.[3][4][5] [6] Writers whose works are often characterised as post-structuralist include: Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Judith Butler, Jean Baudrillard, Julia Kristeva, and Jürgen Habermas, although many theorists who have been called "post-structuralist" have rejected the label.[7]
Existential phenomenology is a significant influence; Colin Davis has argued that post-structuralists might just as accurately be called "post-phenomenologists".[8]
Post-structuralism and structuralismEdit
Structuralism was an intellectual movement in France in the 1950s and 1960s that studied the underlying structures in cultural products (such as texts) and used analytical concepts from linguistics, psychology, anthropology, and other fields to interpret those structures. Structuralism posits the concept of binary opposition, in which frequently used pairs of opposite but related words (concepts) are often arranged in a hierarchy, for example: Enlightenment/Romantic, male/female, speech/writing, rational/emotional, signified/signifier, symbolic/imaginary.
Post-structuralism rejects the structuralist notion that the dominant word in a pair is dependent on its subservient counterpart and instead argues that founding knowledge either on pure experience (phenomenology) or systematic structures (Structuralism) is impossible because history and culture condition the study of underlying structures and these are subject to biases and misinterpretations. This impossibility was not meant as a failure or loss, but rather as a cause for "celebration and liberation".[9]A post-structuralist approach argues that to understand an object (e.g., a text), it is necessary to study both the object itself and the systems of knowledge that produced the object.[10] The uncertain distance between structuralism and post-structuralism is further blurred by the fact that scholars rarely label themselves as post-structuralists. Some scholars associated with structuralism, such as Roland Barthes and Foucault, also became noteworthy in post-structuralism.[11]
ControversyEdit
Some observers from outside the post-structuralist camp have questioned the rigour and legitimacy of the field. American philosopher John Searle[12] argued in 1990 that "The spread of 'poststructuralist' literary theory is perhaps the best-known example of a silly but non-catastrophic phenomenon." Similarly, physicist Alan Sokal[13] in 1997 criticized "the postmodernist/poststructuralist gibberish that is now hegemonic in some sectors of the American academy." Literature scholar Norman Holland argued that post-structuralism was flawed due to reliance on Saussure's linguistic model, which was seriously challenged by the 1950s and was soon abandoned by linguists: "Saussure's views are not held, so far as I know, by modern linguists, only by literary critics and the occasional philosopher. [Strict adherence to Saussure] has elicited wrong film and literary theory on a grand scale. One can find dozens of books of literary theory bogged down in signifiers and signifieds, but only a handful that refers to Chomsky."[14]
David Foster Wallace wrote:
The deconstructionists ("deconstructionist" and "poststructuralist" mean the same thing, by the way: "poststructuralist" is what you call a deconstructionist who doesn't want to be called a deconstructionist) ... see the debate over the ownership of meaning as a skirmish in a larger war in Western philosophy over the idea that presence and unity are ontologically prior to expression. There’s been this longstanding deluded presumption, they think, that if there is an utterance then there must exist a unified, efficacious presence that causes and owns that utterance. The poststructuralists attack what they see as a post-Platonic prejudice in favour of presence over absence and speech over writing. We tend to trust speech over writing because of the immediacy of the speaker: he's right there, and we can grab him by the lapels and look into his face and figure out just exactly what one single thing he means. But the reason why poststructuralists are in the literary theory business at all is that they see writing, not speech, as more faithful to the metaphysics of true expression. For Barthes, Derrida, and Foucault, writing is a better animal than speech because it is iterable; it is iterable because it is abstract; and it is abstract because it is a function not of presence but of absence: the reader’s absent when the writer’s writing and the writer's absent when the reader's reading.
For a deconstructionist, then, a writer's circumstances and intentions are indeed a part of the "context" of a text, but context imposes no real cinctures on the text's meaning because meaning in language requires cultivation of absence rather than presence, involves not the imposition but the erasure of consciousness. This is so because these guys–Derrida following Heidegger and Barthes Mallarme and Foucault God knows who–see literary language as not a tool but an environment. A writer does not wield language; he is subsumed in it. Language speaks us; writing writes; etc.[15]
Post-structuralism emerged in France during the 1960s as a movement critiquing structuralism. According to J. G. Merquior[5] a love–hate relationship with structuralism developed among many leading French thinkers in the 1960s.
In a 1966 lecture "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences", Jacques Derrida presented a thesis on an apparent rupture in intellectual life. Derrida interpreted this event as a "decentering" of the former intellectual cosmos. Instead of progress or divergence from an identified centre, Derrida described this "event" as a kind of "play."
In 1967, Barthes published "The Death of the Author" in which he announced a metaphorical event: the "death" of the author as an authentic source of meaning for a given text. Barthes argued that any literary text has multiple meanings and that the author was not the prime source of the work's semantic content. The "Death of the Author," Barthes maintained, was the "Birth of the Reader," as the source of the proliferation of meanings of the text.
The period was marked by the rebellion of students and workers against the state in May 1968.
Major worksEdit
Barthes and the need for metalanguageEdit
Barthes in his work, Elements of Semiology (1967), advanced the concept of the "metalanguage". A metalanguage is a systematized way of talking about concepts like meaning and grammar beyond the constraints of a traditional (first-order) language; in a metalanguage, symbols replace words and phrases. Insofar as one metalanguage is required for one explanation of the first-order language, another may be required, so metalanguages may actually replace first-order languages. Barthes exposes how this structuralist system is regressive; orders of language rely upon a metalanguage by which it is explained, and therefore deconstruction itself is in danger of becoming a metalanguage, thus exposing all languages and discourse to scrutiny. Barthes' other works contributed deconstructive theories about texts.
Derrida's lecture at Johns HopkinsEdit
The occasional designation of Post-structuralism as a movement can be tied to the fact that mounting criticism of Structuralism became evident at approximately the same time that Structuralism became a topic of interest in universities in the United States. This interest led to a colloquium at Johns Hopkins University in 1966 titled "The Languages of Criticism and the Sciences of Man", to which such French philosophers as Derrida, Barthes, and Lacan were invited to speak.
Derrida's lecture at that conference, "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Human Sciences", was one of the earliest to propose some theoretical limitations to Structuralism, and to attempt to theorize on terms that were clearly no longer structuralist.
The element of "play" in the title of Derrida's essay is often erroneously interpreted in a linguistic sense, based on a general tendency towards puns and humour, while social constructionism as developed in the later work of Michel Foucault is said to create play in the sense of strategic agency by laying bare the levers of historical change. Many see the importance of Foucault's work to be in its synthesis of this social/historical account of the operation of power (see governmentality).[citation needed]
Development criticism
Post-postmodernism
Post-structuralist subject
Reader-response criticism
Social criticism
AuthorsEdit
The following are often said to be post-structuralists, or to have had a post-structuralist period:
Kathy Acker
Wendy Brown
Hélène Cixous
Jacques Derrida
John Fiske
René Girard
Teresa de Lauretis
Sarah Kofman
Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe
Jean-François Lyotard
Chantal Mouffe
e. smith sleigh
^ Lewis, Philip. "The Post-Structuralist Condition." Diacritics 12, no. 1 (1982): 2-24. doi:10.2307/464788.
^ Deleuze, Gilles. 2002. "How Do We Recognise Structuralism?" In Desert Islands and Other Texts 1953-1974. Trans. David Lapoujade. Ed. Michael Taormina. Semiotext(e) Foreign Agents ser. Los Angeles and New York: Semiotext(e), 2004. 170-192. ISBN 1-58435-018-0. p.171-173.
^ Bensmaïa, Réda Poststructuralism, article published in Kritzman, Lawrence (ed.) The Columbia History of Twentieth-Century French Thought, Columbia University Press, 2005, pp.92-93
^ Mark Poster (1988) Critical theory and poststructuralism: in search of a context, section Introduction: Theory and the problem of Context, pp.5-6
^ a b Merquior, J. G. (1987). Foucault (Fontana Modern Masters series), University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-06062-8.
^ , Craig, Edward, ed. 1998. Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy. Vol. 7 (Nihilism to Quantum mechanics). London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-18712-5. p.597.
^ Harrison, Paul; 2006; "Post-structuralist Theories"; pp122-135 in Aitken, S. and Valentine, G. (eds); 2006; Approaches to Human Geography; Sage, London
^ Davis, Colin; "Levinas: An Introduction"; p8; 2006; Continuum, London.
^ Colebrook 2002, pp. 2-4
^ Raulet, Gerard. "Structuralism and post-structuralism: An interview with Michel Foucault." Telos 1983, no. 55 (1983): 195-211. doi: 10.3817/0383055195 telos March 20, 1983 vol. 1983 no. 55 195-211
^ Williams, James. Understanding poststructuralism. Routledge, 2014.
^ Searle, John. (1990). "The Storm Over the University," in The New York Times Review of Books, 6 December 1990.
^ Sokal, Alan. (1997) "Professor Latour's Philosophical Mystifications," originally published in French in Le Monde, 31 January 1997; translated by the author.
^ Holland, Norman N. (1992) The Critical I, Columbia University Press, ISBN 0-231-07650-9, p. 140.
^ Biblioklept (22 December 2010). "David Foster Wallace Describes Poststructuralism". Biblioklept. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
SourcesEdit
Angermuller, J. (2015): Why There Is No Poststructuralism in France. The Making of an Intellectual Generation. London: Bloomsbury.
Angermuller, J. (2014): Poststructuralist Discourse Analysis. Subjectivity in Enunciative Pragmatics. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Barry, P. Beginning theory: an introduction to literary and cultural theory. Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2002.
Barthes, Roland. Elements of Semiology. New York: Hill and Wang, 1967.
Cuddon, J. A. Dictionary of Literary Terms & Literary Theory. London: Penguin, 1998.
Eagleton, T. Literary theory: an introduction Basil Blackwell, Oxford,1983.
Matthews, E. Twentieth-Century French Philosophy. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996.
Ryan, M. Literary theory: a practical introduction. Blackwell Publishers Inc, Massachusetts,1999.
Wolfreys, J & Baker, W (eds). Literary theories: a case study in critical performance. Macmillan Press, Hong Kong,1996.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Post-structuralism.
Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences - Jacques Derrida
The Baudrillard Dictionary edited by Richard G Smith
"Some Post-Structural Assumptions" - John Lye
Talking pomo: An analysis of the post-modern movement, by Steve Mizrach
Information on Michel Foucault, including an archive of writings and lectures
poststructuralism.info - A collaborative website that aims to allow users not only to describe post-structuralist ideas but to create new ideas and concepts based on post-structuralist foundations
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Post-structuralism&oldid=906213538"
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Derrick Jensen, Lierre Keith, Aric McBay
Environmental justice, Social justice
Active in 9 countries[citation needed]
Direct action, education
deepgreenresistance.org
Deep Green Resistance (DGR) is a radical environmental movement that views mainstream environmental activism as being largely ineffective.[1] DGR is also used by group members to refer to their particular political strategies. The group believes that industrial civilization, as they define it, is endangering all life on the planet and that a broad range of tactics are needed to achieve environmental and social justice. They argue for a radical shift in societal structures and functions.[1]
1 Beliefs
2 Origins and advocates
3 Resistance tactics
3.1 Advocating for militant resistance
4 Literature and references
5 Gender issues
6 Criticism
Beliefs[edit]
In the book Deep Green Resistance, the authors state that civilization, particularly industrial civilization, is fundamentally unsustainable and must be actively (and urgently) dismantled in order to secure a livable future for all species on the planet.[1] Civilization can be defined as the development of agriculture and the growth of cities. Deep Green Resistance argues that agriculture is detrimental to land fertility and cities necessarily surpass the natural carrying capacity of land bases. Civilization relies heavily on industry, which operates largely on non-renewable and unclean fossil fuels.[citation needed]
DGR's principles stem from the concept of deep ecology and state that all species are inherently equal, and thus humans are not superior to any other form of life. Deep ecology attributes the current environmental crisis to the anthropocentrism that is embedded in Western perspectives. The term, first used by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss, was quickly taken up by a variety of radical environmental groups, such as Earth First!.[2] Deep ecology provides a foundation upon which to base the cross-cultural nature-based spirituality that is often associated with radical environmental movements.[3]
The movement differentiates itself from bright green environmentalism, which is characterized by a focus on personal, technological, or government and corporate solutions, in that it holds these solutions as inadequate. DGR believes that lifestyle changes, such as using travel mugs and reusable bags and taking shorter showers, are too small for the large-scale environmental problems the world faces. It also states that the recent surge in environmentalism has become commercial in nature, and thus in itself has been industrialized. The movement asserts that per capita industrial waste produced is orders of magnitude greater than personal waste produced; therefore, it is industrialism that must be ended, and with that, lifestyle changes will follow.[1]
Origins and advocates[edit]
The term was created for a conference entitled "Deep Green Resistance. Confronting Industrial Culture" in April, 2007 in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Lierre Keith was the main organizer.
Deep Green theory draws on elements of anthropology, phenomenology, deep ecology and ecofeminism.
Derrick Jensen is a prominent member of the Deep Green Resistance Advisory Board. In addition to being a radical activist, he is also a writer, philosopher and teacher. Lierre Keith, another board member, is a feminist activist, writer and small farmer. Stephanie McMillan, and Jack D. Forbes are also prominent influences on the movement. DGR draws on the philosophy and writings of many authors, including Arne Næss, Richard Manning, Andrea Dworkin, Peggy Reeves Sanday, David Abram, Chellis Glendinning, Chris Hedges, Joseph Tainter, Richard Heinberg, Daniel Quinn, Tracie Marie Park (a.k.a. Zoe Blunt) and Jerry Mander, among others.[citation needed]
Resistance tactics[edit]
The Deep Green perspective argues that the dominant culture, a term that encompasses all the cultures within globalized civilization, will not undergo a voluntary transformation to a sustainable way of living. This includes the dismissal of a possible success of a slow and soft shift to sustainability. Members of the Deep Green movement believe that industrial civilization will inevitably collapse. This notion is based on historical examples of the collapse of major civilizations such as Rome or the Mayan civilization, and statistics regarding the current system's unsustainability. DGR maintains that humans must act decisively before the collapse to ensure the Earth that remains inhabitable for all organisms and that humans build a more sustainably structured society following the collapse.[1] Deep Green Resistance supports an active resistance movement with the objective of accelerating the collapse of industrial civilization.[citation needed]
Within the Deep Green theory, lifestyle or personal changes are not considered effective methods of creating meaningful change. The mainstream environmental movement is seen as being distracted by its emphasis on individual lifestyle changes and technological solutions instead of confronting systems of power and holding individuals, industries, and institutions accountable.[4][5] The founders of the Deep Green movement view technological solutions, no matter how well-intentioned, as unsatisfactory and warn that they could even lead to accelerated ecological destruction and pollution.[1]
Advocating for militant resistance[edit]
Decisive Ecological Warfare:[6]
Well-organized underground militants would make coordinated attacks on energy infrastructure around the world … actions against pipelines, power lines, tankers, and refineries, perhaps using electromagnetic pulses. ….[7]
Proponents of Deep Green Resistance encourage strategies for social action that range from violent to non-violent. DGR's support for militant action (described as a potentially necessary means by which to invoke drastic environmental change) is rejected by many pacifists. Some have called this a potential deterrent to environmentalists who believe in nonviolent activism.[8] The strategy described by Jensen, McBay and Keith largely centers around hard-hitting infrastructural sabotage, such as forcible dam removal, rather than any kind of personal violence.
Jensen predicts, regarding the movement, that acts of personal violence in the future will be almost completely offensive by those countering the resistance movement (i.e. those currently in power) and self-defensive by those enacting the resistance movement. When asked, "If we dismantle civilization, won't that kill millions of people in cities? What about them?," Jensen has responded that "No matter what you do, your hands will be blood red... because the global economy is [already] murdering humans and non-humans the planet over...." and "As this culture continues to collapse, those who are doing the exploiting will continue.... Don’t blame those who want to stop that exploitation. Instead, help to stop the exploitation that is killing people in the first place."[9] Jensen has also clarified such ideas on Democracy Now!: "I get accused of being the 'violence guy'... but I don’t ever think that's really fair, because I really consider myself the 'everything guy', that I want to put everything on the table and talk about all forms of resistance.... We can certainly parse out cases where we think it's appropriate to have militant response or non-militant response."[10]
Keith has discussed in depth the "complexity of the issue of violence" in the organization's eponymous book, and how it is "understandable that people who care about justice want to reject violence; many of us are survivors of it." However, she urges the following distinctions, favoring only the second in each dichotomy: "the violence of hierarchy vs. the violence of self-defense, violence against actual people vs. violence against property, and the [use of] violence as self-actualization vs. the violence of political resistance. It is difficult to find someone who is against all of these."[1]
While Deep Green Resistance maintains that it is a strictly aboveground movement, Keith and McBay have openly encouraged an additional element of underground action, and DGR provides the theoretical and aboveground framework to support such action.[11] The organization's book points to historical examples of resistance movements that relied on an interdependence between aboveground and underground networks in order to accomplish mutual goals.
Literature and references[edit]
A book titled Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Save the Planet by Aric McBay, Lierre Keith, and Derrick Jensen was released in May 2011, from Seven Stories Press.[12] The book is divided into four sections: Resistance, Organization, Strategy and Tactics, and the Future. Each section contains several essays written by McBay or Keith and concludes with Jensen's answers to common questions about resistance. The book intends to provide a framework from which readers can build upon in order to begin fighting for environmental change.[1]
Gender issues[edit]
The organization's official website states that "DGR strives to be a radical organization in every respect, including our approach to feminist struggles."[13] DGR's radical feminism views gender, by definition, as a social system created by patriarchy to coercively and violently control behavior of both males and females; however, within this system, men and masculinity are privileged, while women are trained into subordinated behavior and routinely targeted for institutionalized and socially sanctioned violence due to their sex and/or gender role.[citation needed]
DGR's stance on gender has led some to interpret DGR as transphobic.[14] The controversy especially swelled when a transitioning member of DGR, identifying as a woman, requested to join a women's communal sleeping and showering space and, later, a women's caucus space; the women's caucus discussed the issue collectively and ultimately denied the applicant, citing that ".[13] A year after this, Aric McBay claimed he "left the organization at the beginning of 2012 after a trans inclusive policy was cancelled by Derrick Jensen and Lierre Keith. Many good people and good activists left the organization for that reason. I find these transphobic attitudes to be disgusting and deeply troubling...."[15][16][17] DGR released a note in response to McBay's statement, claiming that "the right of women to define their own spaces" is central to how the organization operates [18] and that McBay's departure was by mutual agreement, after trying to force out founders Derrick Jensen and Lierre Keith.
The organization has denied these claims,[19] explaining that "DGR does not condone dehumanization or violence against anyone, including people who describe themselves as trans."[19] The website asserts that DGR holds "a difference of opinion about the definition of gender" with genderists, and states that "genderists think gender is an identity, an internal set of feelings people might have. Radical feminists think gender is a caste system."[19] DGR's view of gender as a caste system implies that gender is "a brutal and corrupt arrangement of power" that requires complete "dismantling" instead of being made "more inclusive" so that egalitarian, spontaneous, and free behavior can emerge.[13] DGR, as self-described radical feminists, are "critical of gender itself. We are not gender reformists—we are gender abolitionists."[13]
Criticism[edit]
See also: Deep ecology § Misconceptions, and Anarcho-primitivism § Criticism
Critics of Deep Green Resistance have made claims similar to critics of anarcho-primitivism and deep ecology. DGR's ideas have been variously criticized by online publications as polarizing solutions to environmental reform, "elitist", "too radical", or "out of step."[20] Founder Derrick Jensen, for example, has concluded in his earlier work Endgame that "The mass of civilized people will never be on our side.”[21] This has led to the criticism of organizing a strategy that is pessimistic about popular involvement, and therefore aims at forcing change without the majority's consensus. Some critics have, therefore, argued that "radical tactics tend to be counterproductive to the goal of increasing awareness and concern in the general public."[22]
Opponents of Deep Green Resistance further claim that DGR, which predicts massive numbers of human deaths during the forthcoming "crash" of civilization, does not offer a feasible or desirable alternative human lifestyle in seeking to accelerate this crash.[23] Keith and Jensen have both acknowledged this unpleasant reality; however, they have repeatedly claimed that the crash is inevitable (and will only result in more suffering the longer it is delayed) and that they are merely warning of—and trying to prepare the world for—these forthcoming deaths and possible wide-scale violence. Jensen has stated that if activists do not wish to participate in the physical work of accelerating this crash, they, at the very least, should locally prepare and "set up committees to eliminate or, if appropriate, channel the (additional) violence that might break out."[24]
Anarchists who believe that all hierarchically structured relations, whatever the purpose, are oppressive, disagree with DGR's promotion of the use of hierarchical organization within any underground.[25][26] McBay and Keith have both promoted the idea of underground networks organized along hierarchical lines. Keith has advocated for a disciplined "command structure" regarding frontline activists.[27] McBay, in Deep Green Resistance, has argued that hierarchies are an efficient means of organizing underground resistance.[28]
Anarchist writers—among them anarcho-primitivists like John Zerzan and Kevin Tucker—have criticized DGR's Code of Conduct, their historical understanding of revolution and radical history, and the perceived "cult of personality" around Jensen and Keith.[25][29][30][31][28]
Anarcho-primitivism
Environmental impact of agriculture
Radical feminism and transgenderism
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, a 2005 book by Jared Diamond
^ a b c d e f g h McBay, Aric, Lierre Keith, and Derrick Jensen. 2011. Deep Green Resistance. New York: Seven Stories Press.
^ Jacob, Merle. 1994. “Sustainable Development and Deep Ecology: An Analysis of Competing Traditions.” Environmental Management 18(4):477-488.
^ Taylor, Bron. 2001. “Earth and Nature-Based Spirituality (Part I): From Deep Ecology to Radical Environmentalism.” Religion 31:175-193.
^ "Forget Shorter Showers". Orion Magazine. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 9, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2009. CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
^ "Decisive Ecological Warfare". deepgreenresistance.org. Deep Green Resistance. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
^ Ian Angus (May 10, 2012). "'Deep Green Resistance' – How not to build a movement" (Book review). climateandcapitalism.com. Climate & Capitalism. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
^ "Deep Green Resistance". Counterpunch.org. 2011-12-20. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
^ "Millions Killed?". Deep Green Resistance. Retrieved February 2013. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
^ Jensen, Derrick (26 November 2010). "Author and Activist Derrick Jensen: "The Dominant Culture is Killing the Planet...It's Very Important for Us to Start to Build a Culture of Resistance"". Democracy Now! (Interview). Interviewed by Amy Goodman.
^ "Deep Green Resistance Homepage". Deepgreenresistance.org. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
^ Derrick Jensen; Aric McBay; Lierre Keith. Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Save the Planet. Amazon.com. ISBN 9781583229293.
^ a b c d "FAQ: Radical Feminism". deepgreenresistance.org. 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
^ "Deep Green Transphobia". earthfirstnews.wordpress.com. 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
^ McBay, Aric (2013). "DGR and Transphobia". aricmcbay.org. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
^ "Deep Green Resignation and Reclamation | Earth First! Newswire". Earthfirstjournal.org. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
^ "Resistance Ecology Comes To An End". Conference.resistanceecology.org. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
^ "Reponse(sic) to Aric McBay". deepgreenresistance.org. 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013. the right of women to define their own spaces
^ a b c "Protect Women, Feminism, and Free Speech". deepgreenresistance.org. 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
^ Posted on May 10, 2012 (2012-05-10). "'Deep Green Resistance' - A path to certain defeat". Climateandcapitalism.com. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
^ Derrick Jensen. "The Derrick Jensen Reader: Writings on Environmental Revolution". Books.google.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
^ Taylor, Bron (2013-04-26). "Resistance: Do the Ends Justify the Means? | Latest News | Earth Island Journal | Earth Island Institute". Earthisland.org. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
^ "Deep Green Resistance: Occupy Until It All Falls Apart". Therightplanet.com. 2012-01-02. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
^ Jensen, Derrick. "It's Time to Get Out". Endgame.
^ a b Matisons, Michelle; Ross, Alexander Reid (2014–2015). "Deep Green Resistance — a critique". Earth First! Journal.
^ "Anarchy Radio 03-08-2011 : John Zerzan : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". Archive.org. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
^ Deep Green Resistance - Strategy to Save the Planet. YouTube. 12 August 2011.
^ a b "Deep Green Resistance: A Book Review". Sprout Distro. 2013-05-18. Retrieved 2016-06-25.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2012. CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012. CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2012. CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
Deep Green Resistance on Facebook
Deep Green Resistance on Twitter
Deep Green Resistance on YouTube
Interview with Derrick Jensen at Terrain.org
Against Deep Green Resistance by Michelle Renee Matisons and Alexander Reid Ross
Radical feminism
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Ti-Grace Atkinson
Kathleen Barry
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Judith Brown
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D. A. Clarke
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Gail Dines
Melissa Farley
Shulamith Firestone
Marilyn Frye
Carol Giardina
Germaine Greer
Carol Hanisch
Merle Hoffman
Sheila Jeffreys
Lierre Keith
Anne Koedt
Marjorie Kramer
Catharine MacKinnon
Sheila Michaels
Kate Millett
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Irene Peslikis
Janice Raymond
Kathie Sarachild
Alix Kates Shulman
John Stoltenberg
Michele Wallace
Marilyn Salzman Webb
Ellen Willis
Harriet Wistrich
Laura X
Cell 16
Chicago Women's Liberation Union
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women
Lesbian Organization of Toronto
Michigan Womyn's Music Festival
Mountain Moving Coffeehouse
New York Radical Feminists
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Redstockings
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False consciousness
Lesbian feminism
Second wave
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Gender role
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Political lesbianism
Feminist views on pornography
Feminist views on prostitution
Internalized sexism
Social construction of gender
The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution (1970)
Sexual Politics (1970)
Sisterhood Is Powerful (1970)
The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm (1970)
The Female Eunuch (1970)
Lesbian Nation (1973)
Woman Hating (1974)
Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape (1974)
Pornography: Men Possessing Women (1981)
Ain't I a Woman? (1981)
Against Sadomasochism (1982)
Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (1984)
Sisterhood Is Global (1984)
The Spinster and Her Enemies (1985)
Intercourse (1987)
Feminism Unmodified (1987)
Toward a Feminist Theory of the State (1989)
The Straight Mind and Other Essays (1992)
Only Words (1993)
Scapegoat: The Jews, Israel, and Women's Liberation (2000)
Sisterhood Is Forever (2003)
The Industrial Vagina (2008)
off our backs (1970–2008)
SCUM Manifesto (1967)
She's Beautiful When She's Angry (2014)
Actions and ideas
Consciousness raising
Miss America protest (1968)
Womyn's land
Feminism portal
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deep_Green_Resistance&oldid=901846035"
Environmental organizations based in the United States
Feminist organizations in the United States
International environmental organizations
Radical feminist organizations
Anti-consumerist groups
Far-left politics
NPOV disputes from March 2013
All NPOV disputes
Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia
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John Ernst, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
(Redirected from John Ernst of Nassau-Weilburg)
John Ernst of Nassau-Weilburg
(1664-06-13)13 June 1664
27 February 1719(1719-02-27) (aged 54)
Noble family
Maria Polyxena of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg
Frederick, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
Christiane Elisabeth of Sayn-Wittgenstein
John Ernst of Nassau-Weilburg (Weilburg, 13 June 1664 – Heidelberg, 27 February 1719) was an Imperial Generalfeldmarschall, from 1675 to 1688 Count and from 1688 till his death Prince (Fürst) of Nassau-Weilburg.
2 Building
3 Marriage and issue
4 Ancestors
John Ernst was the eldest son of Frederick, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (1640–1675) and Christiane Elisabeth of Sayn-Wittgenstein (1646–1678). After the death of his parents, his regents were John, Count of Nassau-Idstein and after his death, John Louis, Count of Nassau-Ottweiler.
In Juli 1679 John Ernst started his studies at the University of Tübingen. Between 1681 and 1682 he stayed at the court of King Louis XIV of France in the Palace of Versailles.
John Ernst became the only ruler of Nassau-Weilburg when his brother Frederick William Louis was killed in 1684 during the siege of Buda. His territories on the left bank of the Rhine were occupied by France and only returned after the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697.
John Ernst had an important military career. In 1684 he commanded a Dragoon regiment in the service of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. In 1688, at the start of the Nine Years' War, he defended Koblenz. Later he participated in the Siege of Mainz (1689), the Battle of Fleurus (1690) and the Battle of Landen (1693).
In September 1696 John Ernst entered as general in the service of the Electoral Palatinate as General, which enraged his former employer Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. After the Peace of Ryswick, John Ernst became governor of the Palatinate city of Düsseldorf.
In 1701, at the outbreak of the War of Spanish Succession, John Ernst raised an army, participated in the successful Siege of Landau in 1702 and the consequent chasing of an army under Marshal of France Tallard from the Hunsrück. For this achievement, he was made an Imperial Generalfeldmarschall.
When Prince Eugene of Savoy marched in 1703 to Bavaria against the French Marshal Villars, John Ernst stayed on the Rhine to defend Landau against Tallard. This led on November 15, 1703 to the Battle of Speyerbach. It was a terrible defeat. 8000 men were lost and John Ernst's eldest son, Colonel Frederick Ludwig of Nassau-Weilburg was killed. Hereafter, John Ernst never fought a major engagement again and withdrew from active service all together in 1706. He was Großhofmeister of the Elector Palatinate until 1716 and returned to Weilburg, where he died in 1719.
Building[edit]
In the 1700s, John Ernst initiated the expansion of his residence, Schloss Weilburg, from a Renaissance Palace to a Baroque complex, adding orangeries, stables, a church and terrace gardens.
Marriage and issue[edit]
John Ernst married on April 3, 1683 Maria Polyxena of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg (February 7, 1662 – April 22, 1725).
They had 9 children:
Frederick Louis (1683–1703), killed in the Battle of Speyerbach
Charles August (1685–1753) married Princess Auguste Friederike Wilhelmine of Nassau-Idstein
Maria Polyxena (1686–1687)
Johanna Louise (1687–1688)
Charles Ernst (1689–1709)
Henry Louis (1690–1691)
Magdalena Henrietta (1691–1725) married Frederick William, 1st Prince of Solms-Braunfels
Albertina (1693–1748)
a daughter (1694)
Ancestors[edit]
Ancestors of John Ernst, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
16. Albert, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
8. Louis II, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
17. Anna of Nassau-Dillenburg
4. Ernest Casimir, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
18. William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
9. Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel
19. Sabine of Württemberg
2. Frederick, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
20. Louis I, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein
10. William II of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hachenburg
21. Elisabeth of Solms-Laubach
5. Anna Maria of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hachenburg
22. Albert, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (= 16)
11. Anna Ottilie of Nassau-Weilburg
23. Anna of Nassau-Dillenburg (=17)
1. John Ernst, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
24. Louis I, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein (= 20)
12. George II, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
25. Anna of Solms-Braunfels
6. Ernest, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Homburg
13. Elisabeth of Nassau-Weilburg
27. Anna of Nassau-Dillenburg (= 17)
3. Christiane Elisabeth of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Homburg
28. Josias I, Count of Waldeck-Wildungen
14. Christian, Count of Waldeck-Wildungen
29. Maria of Barby-Mühlingen
7. Christiane of Waldeck-Wildungen
30. John VII, Count of Nassau
15. Elisabeth of Nassau-Siegen
31. Magdalena of Waldeck-Wildungen
Ernst Joachim: Johann Ernst von Nassau-Weilburg, in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1881), S. 272-273
Dr. C. Spielmann: Geschichte der Stadt und Herrschaft Weilburg, 1896, Neuauflage 2003
Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Ernst, Count of Nassau-Weilburg.
[1] Worldroots
[2] Weilburg
House of Nassau-Weilburg
Cadet branch of the House of Nassau
Born: 13 June 13 1664 Died: 27 February 1719
Frederick Count of Nassau-Weilburg
1675–1688 Title elevated
New title Prince of Nassau-Weilburg
Charles August
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Ernst,_Count_of_Nassau-Weilburg&oldid=905651742"
Counts of Nassau
University of Tübingen alumni
German army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession
People from Weilburg
Burials in the Royal Crypt of Weilburg Schlosskirche
Field marshals of Germany
Generals of the Holy Roman Empire
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Pogost
"Pogosta" redirects here. For the disease, see Pogosta disease.
Vytegra Pogost, as photographed ca. 1912 by Prokudin-Gorskii.
Pogost (Russian: погост, from Old East Slavic: погостъ[1]) is a historical term with several meanings in the Russian language. It has also been borrowed into Latgalian (pogosts), Finnish (pogosta) and Latvian (pagasts), with specific meanings.
The original usage applies to the coaching inn for princes and ecclesiastics[2] with the word being similar to modern Russian gost' (гость), "guest". It is assumed that originally pogosts were rural communities on the periphery of the ancient Russian state, as well as trading centers (Old Russian: gost'ba, гостьба).[3]
In the end of the 10th century pogosts transformed into administrative and territorial districts. Pogosts varied in size, ranging from tens to hundreds of villages in 11th—14th centuries. As Christianity spread in Russia, churches were built in pogosts. In 1775 the last pogosts that served as administrative districts were destroyed.[further explanation needed] Since then they became known as city pogosts (погосто - место), functioning as parish centers.
In the central uyezds of 15th-16th centuries pogosts were small settlements with a church and a graveyard, like Kizhi Pogost or Kadnikov Pogost. In modern Russian, pogosts usually designate a combination of a rural church and a graveyard, situated at some distant place.
Usage in Finland and Latvia[edit]
The central village of the Finnish kunta (‘municipality’) of Ilomantsi is usually called the pogosta of Ilomantsi (Ilomantsin pogosta), the word being obviously a borrowing from Russian. The local dialect of Finnish shows strong Russian influence, and there is a strong presence of Orthodox Christians in the municipality. Even the name of the local newspaper is Pogostan Sanomat ("The Pogosta News"), and a certain viral disease is locally called the Pogosta disease.
In modern Finnish language, pogosta is also used in references to historical places, as a historical synonym for "parish" or "municipality" in Karelian and Russian contexts.
Pagasts is the name for a basic unit of local self-government in the Republic of Latvia. The word "pagasts" is a commonly used Latvian word equivalent to civil parish, rural municipality or small rural district, originating in the Russian pogost. There are 432 rural municipalities or pagasti in Latvia.[4]
^ Hypatian Chronicle, 947 AD
^ ‹See Tfd›(in Russian) Max Vasmer. Этимологический словарь русского языка
^ ‹See Tfd›(in Russian) Большая энциклопедия русского языка
^ Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments
Slavic terms for country subdivisions
krai
krajina / pokrajina
oblast / oblast' / oblasti / oblys / obwód / voblast'
opština / općina / občina / obshtina
powiat / povit
selsoviet / silrada
voivodeship / vojvodina
darugha
gromada
guberniya / gubernia
jurydyka
khutor
obshchina
okolia
srez
starostwo / starostva
uyezd
volost
Coordinates: 61°12′00″N 42°05′00″E / 61.2°N 42.0833°E / 61.2; 42.0833
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pogost&oldid=769828163"
History of the administrative divisions of Russia
Russian-language designations of territorial entities
Articles with Russian-language external links
Articles containing Russian-language text
Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2011
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Taís Araújo
Araújo, 2013
Taís Bianca Gama de Araújo
(1978-11-25) 25 November 1978 (age 40)
Estácio de Sá University
Lázaro Ramos (m. 2006)
Taís Bianca Gama de Araújo (Portuguese pronunciation: [taˈiʒ biˈɐ̃kɐ ˈɡɐ̃mɐ dʒi aɾaˈuʒu]; born 25 November 1978) is a Brazilian actress, TV host and model. Her first prominent role on television was in 1996 as protagonist of the Brazilian telenovela Xica da Silva by Walcyr Carrasco, in the Rede Manchete. In 2004, she portrayed Preta in Da Cor do Pecado created by João Emanuel Carneiro and she played Ellen, comic antagonist in the telenovela Cobras & Lagartos in 2006. In 2009, she received her first protagonist in primetime of Globo, one of the Helenas created by Manoel Carlos in the telenovela Viver a Vida—making her the first black woman to star in a prime time telenovela.[1][2]
In 2012, she played Maria da Penha in the telenovela Cheias de Charme, the fourth lead role in her career. Her sixth leading role was playing the journalist Verônica Monteiro in technology oriented television series Geração Brasil, as part of the main trio of the plot, alongside Cláudia Abreu and Murilo Benício.
As of 2015, she protagonizes the musical comedy television series Mister Brau opposite her husband Lázaro Ramos.[3] Taís is still touring the country with the play O Topo da Montanha, which debuted in São Paulo in 2015 and earned her a nomination for the Shell Award for Best Actress.[4] As a television host takes part in the program Saia Justa aired at the GNT network.
In 2016, an opinion poll (Pesquisa Qualibest) pointed out Taís Araújo as the woman most admired by young people between the ages of 13 and 20,[5] the fifth most influential artist in television and internet in the country, according to the newspaper Meio & Message in partnership with Instituto Datafolha in 2016,[6] and the fourth most influential in 2017.[7]
In 2017 she was elected one of the 100 most influential personalities of the world under 40 years of age by MIPAD, and for this reason she participated in a debate at Columbia University in New York.[8] In 2015, in the matter of the English newspaper The Guardian on the series Mister Brau, the pair Taís Araújo and Lázaro Ramos was quoted like featured in the Brazilian television.[9] Also was chosen one of the most warlike and stylish women by the American magazine Vogue.[10] She and her husband Lázaro Ramos wer shortlisted out as the most powerful of the national showbizz, in the cover of Veja magazine published in March 2017.[11] In 3 July 2017, she was appointed as the Defender of Rights of Black Women by UN Women Brazil, a United Nations entity for gender equality and women's empowerment.[12]
In her personal life, she and her husband Lázaro Ramos have two children.
1 Life and career
5 Awards and nominations
Life and career[edit]
Taís Araújo was born in Rio de Janeiro on 25 November 1978 as a premature birth of seven months.[13] She is of African, Austrian and Portuguese descent. She is daughter to Ademir de Araújo, an economist and Mercedes de Araújo, an educationist.[14] Araújo is the second daughter of her parents and her sister, Cláudia Araújo—a doctor—seven years older than her. She is also cousin to actor and singer Marcello Melo Jr.[15] During her childhood, she lived with her family in Méier, neighbourhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Until the age of 8, Araújo mainly studied in private institutions. From her younger years through her large extent of her adolescence and youth she lived in Barra da Tijuca. She studied journalism in Estácio S.A.[16] On 18 June 2011, she gave birth to her first son João Vicente de Araújo Ramos,[17] a fruit of her marriage to Lázaro Ramos.[18] On 7 August 2014, Araújo announced that she was with child-a girl.[19][20][21]
Her first character in telenovelas was in Tocaia Grande in 1995, directed by Walter Avancini. A few months later, Walter Avancini was set to direct the telenovela Xica da Silva, of 1996, and chose Araújo to be the lead, in Rede Manchete.[22] The telenovela was exported to a good number of countries. In 2000, she was voted add one of the 50 most beautiful faces in the world by Spanish version of People magazine. In 1997, she moved to Rede Globo to star in Anjo Mau, playing Vivian.[23] That same year he met the director Denise Saraceni, with whom he would return to work other times in his career.[24] In 2004, she received Kikito's Best supporting actress at the Festival de Gramado for her work on The Daughters of the Wind.
In 2004, in the role of Preta, was also the first black protagonist of a telenovela produced by Globo TV in Da Cor do Pecado created by João Emanuel Carneiro
In 2006, she played the comic villain Ellen in Cobras & Lagartos, also created by Carneiro; she had an onscreen romance with then boyfriend Lázaro Ramos. In 2006, she was the first black presenter of the program Superbonita of the channel GNT, where it would remain by three years, until 2009.[25] In 2008, she returned to work with João Emanuel Carneiro, in A Favorita; portraying Alicia, daughter of a corrupt deputy played by Milton Gonçalves, who for the second time, consecutively, was his father in a telenovela, the first one in Cobras & Lagartos. After the end of A Favorita's recordings in January 2009, the actress wrote her first article in the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper in which she reported the inauguration of President Barack Obama.[26] Separated from her husband Lázaro Ramos, she moved to Paris, with an intention to study French. She got an offer from Manoel Carlos, making her the first black actress in Brazilian television history to be the protagonist of a primetime novel—the 8 pm telenovelas that garner a large viewership—a role of Helena that has been portrayed by a number of actresses before.[27] The telenovela Viver a Vida was not as successful, and the role of Helena was marked as the biggest failure in Araújo's career, with the total rejection of the character, being criticized by the media and the viewers. At the time, and she came to think that it would be the end of her blossoming career, going through depression for a period of two years.[28]
In 2012, Araújo played the maid who turns singer, Maria da Penha, in the 7 pm comedy drama telenovela, Cheias de Charme, Created by Filipe Miguez and Izabel de Oliveira.[29] In addition to film and television, she has also performed in the theater. In 2013, she lived the secretary Sheila in the series O Dentista Mascarado, a character of dubious character, owner of many facets, known in the square by various names.
In 2014, portrayed journalist Veronica in the Geração Brasil, working again with the creators Filipe Miguez and Izabel de Oliveira.[30][31][32] Taís was cast to play Michele in the series Mister Brau, with her spouse Lázaro Ramos.[33]. In 2015, alongside Lázaro Ramos, she made her debut in the play the Top of the Mountain that earned her nomination for the contest Shell Prize of Better Actress [4] and took more than 100 thousand people to the theater. In 2016 starred in her seventh film, The Cup Steal, in the role of Dolores inspired by Adele Fatima.[34]
Taís dated the singer and television host Netinho de Paula, at her time in the group Negritude Júnior in the late 1990s until the early 2000s. After the relationship with Netinho ended, Taís dated and became engaged to the jiu-jitsu fighter Marcio Feitosa, with whom they broke up in 2004. Shortly thereafter, she began dating Lázaro Ramos, whom she married in November 2005. In March 2008, the actors decided to separate amicably. Araújo got into a relationship with Allan Espinosa, son of football coach Valdir Espinosa. Months later rumors began circulating that she and Ramos had reconciled. They announced their reconciliation in April 2009.[35] In 18 June 2011, her first son, João Vicente, was born.[36] In mid 2014, Araújo announced that she was expectant. Her daughter Maria Antônia was born on 23 January 2015, exactly at 8:45 am in the maternity ward of Barra da Tijuca, in the West Zone of Rio; Claudia Araújo—Araújo's sister and obstetrician gynecologist—was one of the doctors who did the surgery.[37][38]
On the night of 31 October 2015, the actress's Facebook page was the subject of racist comments, and she stated in a posting: "I will not be intimidated, I will not lower my head either." The hashtag #SomosTodosTaísAraújo became a trending topic on the morning of 1 November. The same case occurred with the journalist Maria Júlia Coutinho and also the actresses Sheron Menezes and Cris Vianna, victims of cyberbullying. The Office of the Prosecutor for Crimes of Informatics launched an investigation to determine the crime.[39] In 2016, for her fight against racism, she received the honor in the Trip Transformadores Prize, of Trip Magazine.[40]
In 2017 she was invited to participate in a Tedx lecture in São Paulo, telling an audience of about nine thousand people about her experiences in social activism in the struggle for equal rights in society.[41] Also in 2017, she was elected one of the 100 most influential Afro-descendant personalities in the world under the age of 40, and received the award in New York.[8] Also in 2017 received a tribute in the Award Claudia promoted by the Claudia Magazine, of Editora Abril, in São Paulo, in the category hors concours, honor granted to the people that act by the equality of rights in the society.[42]
1994 Pátria Minha Aparecia na abertura
1995 Tocaia Grande Bernarda
1996 Xica da Silva Francisca da Silva de Oliveira (Xica da Silva) Main role
1997 Anjo Mau Vívian
1998 Meu Bem Querer Edivânia
1999 Yo soy Betty, la fea Herself Cameo
Você Decide Episode: "O Dragão e a Borboleta"
2000 Uga-Uga Emilinha
2001 Porto dos Milagres Selminha Aluada
2002 O Quinto dos Infernos' Dandara
Brava Gente Beatriz Episode: "Um Capricho"
A Grande Família Maria da Graça Episode: "Vai Pra Casa, Beiçola"
2004 Da Cor do Pecado Preta de Souza Main role
Correndo Atrás Solange
2005 América Nossa Senhora Aparecida Cameo
2006 Cobras & Lagartos' Ellen dos Santos Main role
Superbonita Presenter
2007 Casos e Acasos' Gabriela
2008–2009 A Favorita Alícia Rosa 130 episodes
2009 Viver a Vida Helena Toledo Main role
2011 Passione Herself Cameo
2012 Cheias de Charme Penha Main role
2013 O Dentista Mascarado Sheila (Shaly)
2014 Geração Brasil Verônica Monteiro Main role
2015–2018 Mister Brau Michelle Brau Main role
Yeat
1998 Caminho dos Sonhos Ana Cavalcante [43]
1998 Drama Urbano
2003 Garrincha - Estrela Solitária Elza Soares
2005 As Filhas do Vento Cida
2006 O Maior Amor do Mundo Luciana
2006 Nzinga Nzinga [43]
2008 A Guerra dos Rocha Carol [43]
2014 Pixinguinha - Um Homem Carinhoso Esposa de Pixinguinha [44][45][46][47]
2016 Empreguetes Maria da Penha Fragoso Barbosa (Penha) [48]
2019 Spies in Disguise Marcy Keppel (voice)
Theatre[edit]
1997 Orfeu da Conceição
2003 Personalíssima Isaurinha Garcia
2005 Liberdade para as Borboletas
2007 Solidores [49]
2007 O Método Gronholm [50][51]
2010 Gimba, o Presidente dos Valentes [52]
2011 Amores, Perdas e Meus Vestidos [53]
2013 Sangue na Caixa de Areia
Awards and nominations[edit]
1997 Troféu Imprensa Revelação do Ano Xica da Silva Won [54]
1999 Festival de Cinema Brasileiro de Miami Best Actress Caminho dos Sonhos Won [55]
2004 Festival de Cinema Brasileiro de Miami Best Actress Garrincha - Estrela Solitária Won
Festival de Gramado Best Supporting Actress As Filhas do Vento Won
Prêmio Contigo! de TV Best Actress Da Cor do Pecado Nominated [citation needed]
Best in Romantic Couple (with Reynaldo Gianecchini) Won
Troféu Raça Negra Best Actress Won
2006 Melhores do Ano Best Actress Cobras & Lagartos Won [56]
2007 Troféu Imprensa Best Actress Nominated [57]
Meus Prêmios Nick Favorite Actress Won [58]
Prêmio Contigo! de TV Best Actress Nominated
Best Romantic Couple(with Lázaro Ramos) Nominated
2012 Prêmio Quem de Televisão Best Actress Cheias de Charme Nominated
Prêmio Extra de Televisão Best Actress Nominated [59]
2014 Prêmio Quem de Televisão Best Actress Geração Brasil Nominated
2015 Prêmio Quem de Televisão Best Actress Mister Brau Pending [60]
Melhores do Ano Best Actress in a Series or Miniseries Nominated [61]
Prêmio F5 Actress of the Year Pending [62]
2016 Prêmio Shell Best Actress O Topo da Montanha Nominated [63]
Prêmio Cenym de Teatro Best Actress Nominated [64]
Prêmio Qualidade Brasil de Teatro Best Actress Drama Nominated [65]
Melhores do Ano Best Actress in a Series or Miniseries Mister Brau Nominated [66]
Prêmio Trip Transformadores Homenagem - Trip Transformadores do Ano Herself Won [67]
Geração Glamour - Glamour Cool woman of the year Herself Won [68]
Man of the Year - GQ Brasil Woman of the year Herself Won [69]
2017 Troféu Internet Best Actress Mister Brau Nominated [70]
Prêmio Claudia - Claudia Homenagem - Ativismo social Herself Won [71]
^ "Taís Araújo lembra sua Helena de Manoel Carlos: 'Achei que carreira ia acabar'". Pure People.
^ "Taís Araújo: 'Minha Helena foi um fracasso'". Revista Mundo da Fama.
^ ""Mister Brau" bate novo recorde com a maior audiência da faixa desde 2014". NaTelinha. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
^ a b "Taís Araújo e o sonho possível de falar o que acredita: "Se eu não fizer desse jeito, minha carreira não vai ter graça" | Dirceu Alves Jr. | VEJA SÃO PAULO". VEJA SÃO PAULO.
^ "As 12 brasileiras mais notáveis do País – Meio & Mensagem". www.meioemensagem.com.br. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
^ "Os mais influentes da internet e da TV – Meio & Mensagem". www.meioemensagem.com.br. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
^ "YouTuber é a personalidade mais influente do Brasil - ProXXIma". www.proxxima.com.br. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
^ a b "Taís Araújo e Lázaro Ramos agradecem prêmio internacional: 'Fortalecimento da nossa identidade'". Gshow.
^ Douglas, Bruce (October 7, 2015). "Brazilian television slowly confronts country's deeply entrenched race issues". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
^ "Taís Araújo Isn't Just Brazil's Most Stylish TV Star, She's Also Its Bravest". Vogue.
^ "Taís Araújo e Lázaro Ramos: o casal mais poderoso do showbiz | VEJA.com". VEJA.com.
^ "Taís Araújo é nomeada Defensora das Mulheres Negras pela ONU | CLAUDIA". CLAUDIA.
^ "Taís Araújo" (in Portuguese). Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Pais de Taís Araújo paparicam a atriz". Caras5 (in Portuguese). Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Taís Araújo: uma musa da igualdade". MDE Mulher (in Portuguese).
^ "Taís Araújo se forma em jornalismo". Ego Globo (in Portuguese). Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Nasce filho de Tais Araujo e Lazaro Ramos". Caras (in Portuguese). Retrieved April 6, 2016.
^ "Casamento de Tais Araujo e Lazaro Ramos" (in Portuguese). Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Gravidez de Taís Araújo muda trama e cria novo mistério em Geração Brasil". GShow Globo (in Portuguese). Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Grávida, Taís Araújo também espera bebê em "Geração Brasil"". Televisao Globo (in Portuguese). Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "À espera de um bebê, Taís Araújo muda rumos de 'Geração Brasil' e ficará grávida também na trama". Entretenimento Globo (in Portuguese). Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "A estonteante Taís Araújo é a primeira protagonista negra em novela contemporânea". Paraná Online. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Taís Araújo relembra estreia na Globo em 'Anjo Mau' aos 18 anos: 'Personagem difícil de fazer'". Bastidores.
^ "Taís Araújo deixa comando do "Superbonita" temporariamente - 24/07/2009 - Ilustrada - Folha de S.Paulo". m.folha.uol.com.br. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Folha de S.Paulo - "Eu vi o homem que o mundo espera que defenda um novo tempo" - 23/01/2009". www1.folha.uol.com.br. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Protagonista de 'Viver a Vida', Taís Araújo está no auge da carreira". Terra Networks. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Taís Araújo cita "trauma" após novela: "Entrei de cabeça na tristeza"". Rede TV - TV Fama. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Protagonistas de Cheias de Charme ganham ônibus típico de artistas". Globo.com. Rede Globo. March 16, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Taís Araújo vivera repórter em Geração Brasil". Gshow. Globo.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ Gshow. "Ação! Veja primeira foto de Taís Araújo na nova novela das sete". Extras - Geração Brasil. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ Gshow. "Verônica Monteiro - Personagens - Geração Brasil". Personagens > Geração Brasil. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ iG. "Taís Araújo e Lázaro Ramos juntos em nova série da Rede Globo". RD1. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Taís Araújo revela a origem de sua mulata incorreta em 'O Roubo da Taça' - Cultura - Estadão". Estadão.
^ "Lázaro Ramos e Taís Araújo se casam em cartório do Rio". Correio. Correio - 24 horas. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ Ana Paula Bazolli. "Taís Araújo deixa maternidade: "O bebê parece muito com o Lázaro"". Revista Quem. Taís Araújo. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ Ego, Juliana Maselli. "Taís Araújo dá à luz Maria Antônia e deve ter alta neste sábado, 24". Taís Araújo. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
^ "Nasce Maria Antonia, filha de Tais Araújo e Lázaro Ramos". O Globo. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Taís Araújo é vítima de racismo na web e garante: 'Não vou me intimidar'". Ego. Globo.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Taís Araújo - #SomosTodosTaisAraujo - Trip Transformadores - Homenagem a quem faz a diferença no mundo". revistatrip.uol.com.br. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
^ "Taís Araújo: Ela tem um sonho parecido com o seu". HuffPost Brasil. August 16, 2017.
^ "Taís Araújo recebe homenagem surpresa no Prêmio CLAUDIA e público se emociona". CLAUDIA.
^ a b c IMDb — Taís Araújo
^ "Taís Araújo será Xica da Silva no cinema, diz jornal" (in Portuguese). EGO. May 18, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
^ "Taís Araújo será Xica da Silva no cinema, diz Diário de São Paulo" (in Portuguese). CidadeVerde.com. May 18, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
^ "Taís Araújo intepreta Xica da Silva novamente. Desta vez, no cinema, diz jornal" (in Portuguese). Babado. May 18, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
^ "Taís Araújo deve voltar a encarnar Xica da Silva" (in Portuguese). eBand. May 18, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
^ http://www.tribunahoje.com/noticia/86188/entretenimento/2013/12/04/filme-das-empreguetes-comeca-a-ser-gravado-em-janeiro.html
^ "Três motivos para assistir à Taís Araújo na peça 'Solidores' ego.globo.com" (in Portuguese).
^ "EGO VIU: 'Método Grönholm' traz elenco afinado e reflexão sobre o ser humano ego.globo.com" (in Portuguese).
^ "Os limites da subserviência corporativa em xeque em "O Método Grönholm" uol.com.br" (in Portuguese).
^ "Taís Araújo ganha carinho de Lázaro Ramos após apresentação de peça terra.com.br" (in Portuguese).
^ "Taís Araújo recebe famosos durante espetáculo no Rio de Janeiro globo.com" (in Portuguese).
^ Xica da Silva
^ Caminho dos Sonhos
^ Cobras & Lagartos
^ Troféu Imprensa de melhor atriz
^ Meus Prêmios Nick de Atriz Favorita
^ Prêmio Extra de Televisão
^ Prêmio Quem de Melhor Atriz
^ Mister Brau
^ Prêmio F5
^ "Prêmio Shell de Teatro divulga indicados do segundo semestre de 2015 em São Paulo | Dirceu Alves Jr. | VEJA SÃO PAULO". December 15, 2015.
^ "16º Prêmio Cenym". 16º Prêmio Cenym. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
^ "Prêmio Arte Qualidade 2016 - Prêmio Arte Qualidade Brasil". premioartequalidade.org.br. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
^ Melhores do Ano: conheça os indicados ao prêmio em 2016
^ "O Brasil que a gente quer". Trip.
^ "Taís Araújo é a mulher bacana do ano do Geração Glamour". Glamour.
^ "Eleita mulher do ano, Taís Araújo comenta prêmio: 'Reconhecimento'". Ego.
^ "Troféu Internet de 2017". Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre. January 21, 2017.
^ "Taís Araújo recebe homenagem emocionante no Prêmio CLAUDIA 2017. Assista!". CLAUDIA.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taís Araújo.
Taís Araújo official website
Taís Araújo on IMDb
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Dictionary > Sentence > "earldom" in a sentence
earldom in a sentence
definition of "earldom"
Sentences Mobile
Lady Fforde said she had no regrets over selling her earldom.
The Earldom of Carrick existed as early as the twelfth century.
In 1072, William expelled Gospatric from the earldom of Northumbria.
Thereafter, the Earldoms of Elgin and Kincardine have remained united.
The Earldom is named after the River South Esk in Angus.
His successors have borne the English earldom of March since then.
When he died in 1643 the viscountcy and earldom became extinct.
However, on his death the viscountcy and earldom became extinct.
Walter Devereux was raised to the earldom of Essex in 1572.
In 1807 the earldom of Lonsdale was revived in his favour.
He was unmarried and on his death the earldom became extinct.
He finally obtained the restoration of the earldom in January 1398.
Until 1195 the islands were part of the Earldom of Orkney.
His earldom and associated titles thus passed to his first cousin.
Ralph was deprived of all his lands and of his Earldom.
At which time Henry paid homage to Stephen for his Earldom.
The earldom passed to the 3rd Earl's brother Charles.
The barony and earldom have remained united to the present day.
When Sumarlidi died, Thorfinn asked for his share of earldom.
In 1886 he succeeded his father in the earldom of Strafford.
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How can I put and write and define earldom in a sentence and how is the word earldom used in a sentence and examples? 用earldom造句, 用earldom造句, 用earldom造句, earldom meaning, definition, pronunciation, synonyms and example sentences are provided by ichacha.net.
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Home » Posts tagged 'trans' (Page 2)
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Racism vs. Homophobia: Why No One Wins the Oppression Olympics
March 8, 2013 10:00 AM / 4 Comments on Racism vs. Homophobia: Why No One Wins the Oppression Olympics
I suppose I should not be surprised that even in 2013 we are still hearing debates that compare racism, the lives of people of color, and the Civil Rights Movement with homophobia, the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people (LGBT), and the modern LGBT movement.
It is somewhat ironic that the efforts of President Barack Obama – our first (half) Black president and the first sitting-President to support same-gender marriage – have sparked such debate about race versus sexuality. Back in 2007, he won my support over my initial favorite candidate, then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, because he addressed anti-racist advocacy, anti-homophobia advocacy, and the need to heal the wounds between Black and LGBT communities. Wow!
Since the historical 2008 election, we have seen variations on the debate that compares racism and homophobia, civil rights and LGBT rights, and people of color and LGBT people. As recent as January, we still see the strange question, “is gay the new black?” And, on a recent CNN panel, various commentators and political leaders were asked, “are gay rights the same thing as civil rights?” Fortunately, the first two panelists to respond, LZ Granderson and Roland Martin, noted that, of course, the LGBT rights movement is not the same as the Civil Rights movement; but, “civil rights” refer to the equal rights and status of all people, not just people of color.
No One Wins The Oppression Olympics
Comparing these two communities and their past and contemporary movements for equal rights do many a disservice for a at least three reasons. First, no one wins the “Oppression Olympics.” Taking the time to decide whether people of color have it “worse” than LGBT people is futile. With both groups facing prejudice, discrimination, and violence throughout history and today, what difference does it make whether one group faces “more,” or faced it for a longer period of time? It would be impossible to measure oppression in the first place.
Second, participating in the “black vs. gay” and similar debates gives more weight to the efforts of groups that are both racist and homophobic (and sexist, and classist, and transphobic, etc.) who intentionally attempt to “divide and conquer” various marginalized groups. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), an organization at the forefront of efforts to prevent marriage equality, has actively fanned the flames of resentment within Black and Latina/o communities toward LGBT people. Then, a double standard for homophobia, such that “black homophobia” is used as evidence that Black people are behind-the-times or even un-evolved, while persistent homophobia in white communities goes unnoticed. In fact, conservatives have been (successfully) pitting minority communities against one another for decades.
Third, “black vs. gay” continues to mask that there are a significant number of people who are Black and gay, Latina and lesbian, Asian American and bisexual, and American Indiana and two-spirit. Whereas some members of communities of color are LGBT, efforts to secure the civil rights of Blacks, Latina/os, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and American Indians necessarily implicate LGBT rights. All people of color are not treated equally if our LGBT relatives and friends are prevented from marrying their same-gender partner, are vulnerable to discrimination in the workplace and housing, and so on. Similarly, the efforts of LGBT activists cannot stop at legalizing same-gender marriage, for too many LGBT people of color are disproportionately affected by poverty, ongoing racial discrimination, and the resultant mental health problems.
And, a quick history lesson: the earliest efforts for LGBT rights in the US date back to the 1950s. While Civil Rights activists were beginning their efforts that evolved into a national movement, so too were Homophile activists. When the more radical efforts of the Black Panthers emerged in the late 1960s, so too did those of gay liberation activists leading up to and then taking off with the Stonewall Riots in 1969 (which were led by Black and Latina/o transpeople and drag queens). Gay cannot be the “new Black” because LGBT activism is far from new; and, neither being Black nor the racist oppression that Black people still face has become old or a thing of the past.
But, the supposed black-versus-gay divide is old, and frankly a little tired.
A Gay Guy’s Guide To Feminism – A Brief Introduction
March 4, 2013 10:00 AM / 4 Comments on A Gay Guy’s Guide To Feminism – A Brief Introduction
With the start of Women’s, Womyn‘s, and Womanist Herstory Month this past Friday, I have been wondering what more I can do to challenge sexism — including my own. As I have noted in previous posts, I have an evolving awareness that my own disadvantaged social location as a brown queer man does not make me immune to sexism, nor any other system of oppression.
One important task of my anti-sexist advocacy is to become aware of the ways in which I am privileged as a man. I know this to be a particular challenge for queer men because of our awareness that we are disadvantaged among men. So, I was disappointed to find little beyond a few personal reflections from feminist-identified gay men to guide me and other queer men to understand and appropriately fight sexism. The Guy’s Guide to Feminism seems like a good start, but I find it useful to engage gay men from their unique relationships with sexism, women, and male privilege.
Feminism For Gay Men 101
Though I am just at the beginning of a lifelong journey to understanding sexism and my own male privilege, here are a few lessons I would like to impart to my fellow gay men:
We are men. We hold male privilege. Period.
Yes, number 1 is true despite our sexual orientation and despite our gender expression (no matter how feminine, androgynous, or queer). Though gay masculinity is devalued relative to hegemonic masculinity (i.e., white heterosexual middle-class able-bodied young/middle-age masculinity), it is still privileged over all femininities.
Systems of oppression are linked including — particularly relevant to this discussion — sexism, heterosexism, and cissexism. As such, our liberation is tied to the liberation of ciswomen and trans* people.
While number 3 is true, we are not immune to sexist attitudes and behaviors. And, most importantly, being gay does not make us anti-sexist. Our marginalized status among men may make it easier to understand sexist oppression, but it does does not preclude us from it. Just like heterosexual cisgender men who engage in anti-sexist activism, we must be active in challenging the prejudice, discrimination, and violence against women, and to keep our male privilege in check (i.e., give it up or use it for good).
Though we generally are not sexually attracted to women, we are just as capable of sexually harassing or assaulting women. The root of sexual violence is power, not sexual attraction. I must point out here that too many of us have sexually harassed or assaulted women and naively excused the behavior as innocent because we are gay. Sexual violence by any perpetrator is wrong. But, that of gay men has the added element of placing our women friends and allies in the difficult position of questioning whether to feel violated or upset.
Related to number 5, we must stop treating the women in our lives as objects or accessories. Yes, many heterosexual women are guilty of doing this to us — the gay BFF, every girl’s must have! — which is also wrong. Friendships that exist because of her gender or your sexual orientation are forms of exotification.
Attraction to male-bodied individuals, men, and masculinity must be stripped of the presumed aversion to female-bodied individuals, women, and femininity. We need not be repulsed by female bodies just because we are not sexually attracted to (cis)women. Even when joking, this is no less problematic than (cisgender) heterosexuals who proclaim to be repulsed by people of their same sex.
Certain aspects of gay men’s culture that promote pride and empowerment among us come at the expense of women’s empowerment. To call a fellow gay man “bitch,” “cunt,” and, more commonly in the drag scene, “fish,” is to use a term that derogates women. Though they may be positive in intent and meaning, these are not instances of reclaiming pejorative terms used against us: self-identifying as queer is; “servin’ up fish!” isn’t. Just think how outraged we would be if women decided to adopt “faggot” as a term of endearment among themselves.
Our queer, bisexual, and lesbian sisters are oppressed by heterosexism and sexism. We, as LGBT and queer people, will not be fully liberated by addressing homophobia and heterosexism alone.
Related to number 9, we must recognize that LBQ women are often subject to our sexist prejudice and behavior, ranging from anti-lesbian jokes to outright exclusion (often disguised as innocently bonding with other gay men or even the product of our exclusive attraction to men).
The way that we devalue femininity among ourselves is another arm of sexism. The “no femmes” sentiment, aptly called femmephobia, is nothing more than the hatred of femininity, which is associated with women. Beyond eliminating this silly prejudice in our anti-sexist efforts, we do ourselves the favor of freeing the constraints on how we can behave and express our gender.
We owe it — yes, we owe it — to the ciswomen and trans* people who have fought against the injustices we face to fight against those they face. Even when kept at the periphery or outright excluded, transpeople have fought for equal rights and status for lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Many lesbian and bisexual women served as caregivers to gay and bisexual men with HIV/AIDS during the 1980s and 1990s, while also fighting along side those who worked for better HIV/AIDS health care. Feminists of all walks of life have advocated for our protection from prejudice, discrimination, and violence, seeing it as important in (and linked to) activism against sexist discrimination and violence against women.
We owe it to our ciswomen and trans* friends and allies — and ourselves — to be better feminists.
In Defense Of Femininities — All Of Them
March 1, 2013 10:00 AM / 1 Comment on In Defense Of Femininities — All Of Them
Happy Women’s, Womyn’s, Womanist Herstory Month! Yep, it is March already. A time the US has set aside for obligatory celebration of girls and women and their contributions to the world. Sadly, there is a sense of obligation, with the whisperings of “do we still need this?”
Comprehensive Gender Equality
Yes, we do still need these 31 days — barely 10 percent of the entire year — to reflect on girls, women, feminism, sexism and patriarchy, and gender. By no means have we achieved gender equality. And, we are overdue for broadening our vision of gender and equality.
Some time ago, I blogged about the narrow definition of “gender equality.” In this limited, traditional sense, we are referring to the the equal status and treatment of women and men, still recognized by their gender and presumed sex. This is certainly the dominant vision of mainstream feminism, or was at least in the days of second wave feminism.
There are at least three aspects of gender inequality that remain in this limited view of gender and gender equality. First, this vision reinforces the treatment of “woman” as a singular status and “women” as a monolithic group. The unique experiences and needs of women who are also of color, poor, disabled, lesbian, bisexual, queer, older, immigrant, and so on are overlooked. Second, this focus fails to address the marginalization of transwomen, and transgender and gender non-conforming people in general. Finally, while aiming to free women from oppression, certain gender identities and expressions — namely femininities — remain stigmatized and invisible.
There is a great deal of gender diversity that is too often overlooked within our society that continues to treat sex and gender as binaries: females and males, women and men.
Women, as a group, come from diverse backgrounds: race, ethnicity, social class, sexual identity, nativity, body size and shape, religion, region, and ability. It is unsurprising, then, that various branches of feminism — or, more accurately, various feminisms — emerged to counter the exclusive focus of mainstream (second wave) feminism to the lives of US-born white middle-class heterosexual cisgender women. Some of the prominent feminisms in both activism and academia include Black feminism, Womanism, Chicana feminism, multiracial feminism, Third World feminism, lesbian feminism, and working-class feminism. Today, feminist advocacy and organizations are now more inclusive, but there is still a strong tendency to slip into “single issue” politics.
Related to this diversity among women is the variation within the category of “woman.” Just as thinking of gender in binary terms, women and men, a singular view of women misses the existence of trans* and gender non-conforming people, particularly transwomen. Unfortunately, feminist advocacy and organizations have even excluded transwomen in the past, and many wrestle today with deciding how far their inclusivity should extend (e.g., should women’s organizations serve transmen?).
Beyond diversity in terms of gender identity is the recognition of diverse gender expressions. In reality, there is no universal femininity. Rather, there are multiple femininities. Because of the conflation of sex and gender, we tend to assume that femininity = woman; so the reality that femininity can be expressed through any body, regardless of sex and gender identity, is actively resisted and suppressed. This means we also overlook the hierarchy of femininities, wherein hyperfemininity in female-bodied individuals is rewarded and valued over other expressions of femininity and its expression in other bodies.
Just to make sure the above discussion is clear, I stress that there is a great deal of gender diversity that is too often ignored or erased. “Woman” does not imply white, US-born, able-bodied, heterosexual (or even sexual), cisgender, feminine, middle-class, Christian, and thin. There is no singular status or identity of woman. As a consequence of overlooking this gender diversity, we also miss the inequality that persists among women and among femininities.
In Defense Of Femininities
Despite the many gains that (cis)women have made, and increasing attention to the lives of transwomen, femininity itself remains stigmatized and devalued. In fact, I would argue that some of the gains made toward gender equality have come at the expense of femininity. Indeed, early on, some feminists expressed concern that the elevation of women’s status to that of men’s would largely men that women become men. You can join the old boys club on the condition that you become a boy.
My discipline (sociology) recently tipped over the threshold of gender parity to become a predominantly-female field. Though the “glass ceiling” has been cracked, if not completely shattered, in some of the field’s top-departments and leadership positions, feminist sociologists continue to struggle to gain legitimacy in mainstream sociology.
Further, we continue to prioritize and reward masculine (or even masculinist) presentations of self. On two occasions, I witnessed a woman professor scold women students (in front of a mixed-audience) for appearing to lack confidence and aggressiveness: “don’t do that, that’s girly!” I, too, was discouraged by a (man) professor from being a “shy guy” during an upcoming talk, which, upon comparing notes with another student, realized was the softened version of “man up!” (I suppose I was assumed too sensitive or critical for the more direct assault on my gendered presentation of self.)
These interpersonal constraints are compounded by those at the institutional level. In particular, academic institutions continue to evaluate scholars, particularly for tenure, using standards of the days where (white) male scholars had stay-at-home wives to take care of house and home. Women who become parents face great professional costs, while women who forgo parenthood are rewarded. Of course, an ironic twist to this aspect of sexism is that fathers receive a slight boost.
Liberating Femininities
As an optimist, I see liberating girls, women, as well as femininity as beneficial to all members of society, no matter their sex, gender identity, and gender expression. As a critical scholar, I see this liberation as inherently tied to the liberation of all oppressed groups. Sexism is linked to transphobia is linked to heterosexism is linked to classism is linked to racism is linked to xenophobia is linked to ableism is linked to ageism and so on.
For example, two groups of oppressed men — Black men and trans, bisexual, and gay men — stand to benefit from the liberation of femininity. Just as a hierarchy exists for femininities, one exists for the diverse expressions of masculinity, with that of US-born white middle-class able-bodied heterosexual men as the most valued. Thus, Black masculinity and queer masculinity are devalued, stereotyped, and simultaneously threatened and treated as a threat. As a result, many queer and Black men devalue femininity in society and particularly among themselves. (Some rationalize this by asking, “why would you want to be further stigmatized?”) True racial and sexual equality cannot exist if these men’s gender expressions remain constrained and policed.
It is time, then, to update our feminist vision of the future. Feminism cannot be limited to the goal of liberating (a “narrow” category of) women. We must liberate all women, regardless of their sex assigned at birth, race, age, ethnicity, ability, nativity, religion, body size and shape, and social class. And, we must liberate all expressions of gender, particularly femininities. For women will never be truly free in a society that oppresses femininity.
A Night I Will Never Forget: Seven Years Out Of The Closet
March 22, 2010 10:00 AM / 4 Comments on A Night I Will Never Forget: Seven Years Out Of The Closet
No, as the title might suggest, this is not a post about a party I had to celebrate the seventh anniversary of coming out of the closet, embracing and publicly announcing my (now) queer sexual identity. Though it has now been seven years since I first told another soul other than my own, I want to share the experience of another, yet equally important and memorable event.
A friend of mine recently came out to his family, to which he received a less than positive reaction. Given that I knew that I would be in town, I decided to check with my parents to see if they would be interested in having dinner with him and me. It might sound a little strange, but my intention was to give him living proof that parents who may initially not react favorably to their child coming out can, with time, arrive at near-total acceptance. My parents initially said yes, but with a touch of humor that made me wonder whether they were agreeing to do so only to appease me. I did not get much more from my father, which is not unusual for him (a man of few words on emotional matters), but my mother later sent me a reassuring email, complaining that she found it unfair that LGBT children continue to have to deal with negative reactions from parents.
We met for dinner last week, everyone except for me (because I was on spring break) still in work attire. The first twenty minutes or so were a tad awkward with obligatory questions about how my friend and I know each other, where everyone works, where everyone is from. But, then the elephant in the room was finally addressed – let’s talk about coming out and parents’ reactions. I was confident that my parents would have positive things to share with my friend, but I had no idea just how honest and positive their stories would be. Both my father and mother talked about what shifted them from an initial negative reaction (why did this happen? who is at fault? what could we have done differently?) to one of acceptance. The primary force responsible for this shift was their recognition that I was successful in my career (still in college at the time) and continue to be, and that I decided to accept and admit to them my sexual identity to be happy.
What came as the biggest surprise to me, they recounted things that have happened along the way over the last seven years that reflected back my own experience with those same events. For example, my mom noted the time she and my father sat in our family room (a room we hardly use) in the dark, with her consoling my crying father (who, at that point, had only cried twice in his adult life – the other time being when my grandmother died.) She highlighted how it appeared as though they were grieving my death. This is exactly how I recall the event, so it was quite surprising and validating to hear that she experienced the event in the same way. Finally, what I became aware of through their individual journeys to accepting me as I am is that it seemed that most of the work to reaching acceptance was within themselves. For all of the battles over choice of sexual orientation, what I am doing, who I am sleeping with, what groups I belong to, and what types of things I do on the internet (like blogging), the best thing I did to help them reach acceptance was to continue to be successful in all other areas of my life and be myself – the rest of the work fell on them to wrestle internally with their moral beliefs, religious upbringing, and parental love.
In the end, my parents were quite warm with my friend and did their best to reassure him that he need not feel ashamed of his sexual orientation and that his parents may eventually come around. My mom even offered to connect with his parents, but further down the road when they have had more time to digest the news. Seven years ago, my father reacted as though I had died and my mother had to deal with her worst nightmares as a parent come true (she said she knew since I was five that I was “different” than other boys). There were regular fights and silences that shrouded some topics. Today, my father regularly sends me emails about the debates over Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and same-sex marriage and my mother has looked into getting involved with Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG).
From this event, I feel confident to say that, with time, families can become accepting of their LGBT family members. I should admit that I am not out to a lot of extended family, either because of their age or because we are not all that close. And, I see this as part of the reason why I do not see coming out as the end all, be all for everyone. I do not necessarily think that we should expect everyone to be publicly out, as the consequences for doing so are too great for some people. We as LGBT people are not a monolithic mass; some of us have to worry about the loss of our racial and ethnic communities, or being banished from our places of worship, or being disowned by our families. Although, in one of my ideal worlds we would not need to come out, at least not anymore than heterosexuals, another of my ideal worlds is not needing to have specific labels for people based upon their preferences, tastes, and likes. In the mean time, it is important and powerful for those who can afford to to come out given the impact contact with LGBT people has on supporting LGBT rights, but we also should be careful to avoid setting that standard for all LGBT people as our experiences and backgrounds vary.
There, for once I wrote a post that wasn’t all negative!
Male Privilege 101: Safety From Sexual Harassment and Assault
November 1, 2009 10:00 AM / 2 Comments on Male Privilege 101: Safety From Sexual Harassment and Assault
I won’t lie – I pride myself on my pro-feminist ideology, further extended and nuanced through a black queer lens through which to view the world. I spend a considerable amount of time agonizing over the privileges that have been bestowed upon me because of what is assumed to be between my legs and its extension into my self-presentation to the world. I am aware that, even with a genderqueer identity, my masculine gender expression, especially in terms of clothing and name, grants me an indefinite number of conveniences, leg-ups, head-starts, and other forms of unfairly distributed advantages that are denied to women and transpeople. But, no matter how hard I work to recognize and reject my male privilege, there will always be a block of privileges that are unknown to or unseen by me; hence, this is how privilege sustains itself – it is invisible to its beneficiaries, even those who fight to challenge inequality.
Again, another admission: I wish I could dress and behave in ways that more accurately express my genderqueer identity. But, I’m both too comfortable in boys’ clothing and too afraid/unmotivated to deal with the expected harassment, violence, outcasting, and discrimination that I would face if I were to stop dressing in masculine clothing. So, dressing in feminine or androgynous attire for Halloween is the next best thing. This year, I donned a feminized and sexualized army uniform. I supplemented the costume with my own blonde wig, leopard print bra (that I stuffed for additional bust), fishnet stockings, and men’s combat boots.
My goal was not to pass as a woman, so I didn’t shave my facial hair, legs, or chest – and all of these areas were exposed. If anything, I wanted to be a sexy expression of both masculinity (i.e., hair, boots, and failure to feminize my voice or behavior) and femininity. I would say that the numerous compliments from friends indicated a success!
But, from others at the local gay bar I attended for Halloween fun and dancing, I found that complimenting was not limited to pleasant appraisals of my outfit. In fact, the first two people that approached me decided to grab my breasts in order to measure their authenticity – both were men dressed as drag queens. Then came the man dress as a mail carrier who insisted on giving me a chance to select a free drink from his bag of random goodies. (To his disappointment, I pulled a note that said “happy Halloween!”, the same note I pulled a second time later. Eventually, he just pressed to buy me a drink and I caved so he’d leave me alone.)
Then, there was the heavily intoxicated woman, whose costume wasn’t much more than a ball gown, who decided to give me what seemed to be a mammogram because she was so fascinated by my breasts. (As an overweight male, yes, I have breasts, but I stuffed with a couple pairs of underwear in a way that pushed up the real breasts to achieve an authentic busty look.) There were long, shameless stares; an attempt to see if I had “tucked” my penis; a few anonymous grabs of my butt; two “motor boats” (essentially vibrating one’s head between a woman’s breasts); an attempted kiss by the cowboy friend of the mail carrier, to whom I was introduced as the mail carrier’s boyfriend; and a bit of following during the night (mainly by the cowboy and mail carrier).
Lessons Learned?
I do not attempt here to suggest that I now know what it’s like to be a woman. This experience was limited to a few hours, which were otherwise fun. Most of my “admirers” were men, though there were a few drag queens, one drag king, and one woman. And, this happening in a gay bar rather than a predominantly-heterosexual bar makes this experience somewhat qualitatively different than a night a woman might experience. But, this experience, brought on my by appearance, is one that I do not otherwise have access to. Even if different, I was able to gain some insight into what it’s like to be stared at, felt up, given “free” drinks under the implicit expectation of sex in return, and followed. I could see that others, even if in masculine attire, who bore some skin were often the target of aggressive, sexual attention. In that women face greater pressure to wear very revealing clothing, this skin-as-invitation-for-harassment experience is faced to an enormously greater degree by women than by men.
And, I am certain that any complaints I would make about being harassed would be rebuked with, “well, what did you expect, coming dressed like that?” At one point, I felt it was implied when I did complain. I am well aware of the victim-blaming that is practiced when women are victimized by sexual assault, rape, and intimate partner violence, but I had no idea that victim-blaming was so pervasive, that to bare one’s skin is read as an explicit, intentional invitation to be gawked at, fondled, and propositioned. The double-bind is ever-apparent: wear sexy, revealing clothing in order to get attention, be desirable, and not to be dismissed as an inauthentic or unsuccessful woman; but, then, when you do bare some skin, be aware that you are essentially “asking for” any and everything that comes your way.
Back To Life, Back To Reality?
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. The drag is off and I’m back to my usual genderqueer-identified and masculine-expression self. Though inappropriate touching, staring, and commenting are always a possibility, the rate at which I experienced them last night will never be seen again unless I re-transform into my sexy GI Beyonce self. But, this unintended breaching experiment’s results will not disappear. I am debating, today, about whether to address this new found awareness of gendered sexual harassment and assault in my lecture tomorrow on sexual assault and rape. But, my fear is that my male privilege allows for me to speak openly about a one-time experience, while women and transpeople experience sexual assault and harassment, or at least the threat of it, on a daily basis. In some ways, I resign myself to capitalizing on the privileges I cannot avoid by speaking out against injustices that are otherwise dismissed as a woman’s issue, or a play of the “race card”, or cry-baby complaints.
In any event, even if my Halloween experience does nothing to help others become more aware of the rape-encouraging culture we live in and gendered violence more broadly, I find comfort in the eye-opening of at least one person: myself.
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Greek Religion (Religion Essay Sample)
/ Samples / Religion / Greek Religion
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Check Out Our Greek Religion Essay
Homer and Hesiod have undoubtedly remained influential up to the latest century with their poetic stories that give an account of the gods and past heroes in Greece. Some of the memorable compositions under Homer’s head include Iliad, the composition of Trojan War and Odyssey which detailed the journey taken by Odysseus’ for a whooping ten year duration. Theogony which is Hesiod’s undertaking revolutionized Greeks view of gods in many directions. Through Theogony, Hesiod tells how Greek gods and goddesses came into existence through reproduction which involved sexual reproduction on one front and on the other front without sexual undertaking. Through Hesiod, therefore, origin of gods such as Olympian, Zeus, Hera, Athena, and Apollo among others are well documented (Jasper et. al. 82).
Hesiod and Homer’s description of how their gods look like is one of the most interesting things in Greeks’ view of gods. They espouse that their gods and goddesses are just like any other human beings on the planet in terms of physical outlook and physique. The only thing that makes them different from other human beings is their powerful nature beyond human comprehension, and also the fact that they are immortal beings. More so, their relationship with human beings is much more reflected in the drawings and paintings that were done from as long as classical and archaic periods in Greek history. This relationship is compounded by the fact that the Greek gods and goddesses have bodies just like human beings do have, and the female gods do have sexual feelings and desire for love, something that is a characteristic of normal human beings (Jasper et. al. 85).
Greeks’ worship of gods is explained in terms of the superior qualities gods’ exhibit. For instance, the Greek gods are immortal in nature hence, they live forever. Also, these gods have the ability to see and comprehend what normal human beings cannot see and understand, therefore, the Greeks ultimately rely on them when they faced the circumstances they cannot understand. In short, the fact that the Greek gods possess superior qualities and abilities beyond human understanding forms the basis of Greeks worship of them (Jasper et. al. 85).
Several criticisms can be leveled against the gods as depicted by Hesiod and Homer. For instance, the gods who should be emulated by the Greeks have the tendency to engage in bribery, an action which is evil. This is manifested by Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite gods that were reported to have engaged in a major bribery scandal in order to convince and lure Paris, prince of Troy to choose one of them in a completion organized for them. Another negative attribute of the gods is linked to deception. Indeed as depicted by Homer, they would deceive each other in pursuit of one’s desires, like in the Trojan War where god Zeus blatantly sent a false dream to the king of Greek, who was Agamemnon. To make it more tragic, the king found himself in a state of confusion and believed that the dream he received was a prophetic message prompting him to make a military decision that turned out to be more fatal (Jasper et. al. 86).
The period of tragedy is also considered to be fundamental in shaping the Greeks’ views about their gods. Tragedy which was performed as drama in those years, was meant to give a robust entertainment and go beyond to educate the masses on enormous religious principles and this made the state throw its full support for tragedy festivals. The origin of tragedies is traced to the festivals that were organized to appease Dionysus who is the god of wine and agricultural fertility (Barron and Easterling 92).
The Greek dramatists, who were the cornerstone behind tragedies, had immense knowledge and were able to fully comprehend the inner logic of how human life in the universe should be lived, as a matter of fact it is they and the Greek philosophers who enjoyed this ability. They were instrumental in determining human fate or destiny and together concluded that both physical and social worlds were subjected to certain rational laws. Critical in their analysis is that, when somebody behaved in an irrational unique manner, like being stubborn and narrow minded, they should face punishment as the way of deterring such irrationality. Therefore, the ability of dramatists to comprehend the inner logic of the universe did put them on a higher level than other human beings, necessitating ordinary people to accord then special respect and worship. In shaping people’s views, the content inside tragedies was derived from the myths and legends that Greeks were aware of, like the suffering of the tragic hero from Homer. This expanded people’s knowledge of the gods (Barron and Easterling 94).
The other front of Greek religion is attributed to philosophers such as Plato and Socrates who were on the rise towards the end of the 5th century BC. During this period, the Greek myths were on the verge of collapse as mythological genealogists faced critical extinction as a result of the rise of philosophical and historical analysis of human phenomena. Philosophers like Xenophanes and Socrates who were vocal in criticizing the use of myths in poetic tales brought a significant change in people’s perception of their gods. For instance, Xenophanes blamed the poets for propagating blasphemy against Greek gods. They steal from one another, they deceive people. Indeed, it is recommendable that philosophers opened the eyes of Greeks so that they could view the world in a pragmatic sense and not through fallacies expressed in the poems of Homer and Hesiod (Barron and Easterling 91).
The beginning of the practice of Greek religion to me as a typical Greek in the 5th century starts with the realization that I should contend with the worship of many gods, with each exhibiting distinct personality and domain over human beings. To affirm my obedience to religion, I would assemble a well packaged Archaic and Classical art right inside my house to act as an open symbol of my mythological belief on the different characters synonymous with each god. Having recognized the existence of different gods for different purposes, I would therefore direct my prayers and sacrifices to each god depending on my pressing need at that particular time. My next move in Greek religion would be to know and master by name all the twelve deities that make up the Greek Supernatural being and what is required of each. For instance, I would be required to know that Zeus was the chief deity of the twelve and that according to him, the ox and oak were considered sacred (Albala et. al. 27).
It is important to note that worshipping of Greek gods took place right inside the sacred sanctuaries which were designed according to the uniqueness of each deity, and such sanctuaries were spread all over the country both in towns and in the countryside. Also, the sanctuaries were unique in terms of their architectural design and mostly were separated from the rest of the world by a high wall round it giving a perfect illustration of where to find a sanctuary when one is in need of communicating with his god. Within the sanctuary is the temenos that contained sacred temples embedded with images of cults representing the deity. There was an open altar, erected statues and different votives offered as sacrifices to the gods in it. Significantly, majority of the sanctuaries in Greek derived monumental benefits from the environment in which they were situated, for instance, Sounion temple built for Poseidon who was the god of the sea was located in an environment that enjoyed wonderful views of the sea. This is critical information that I as a typical Greek in the period of 5th century have to be aware of and through it I would be able to draft a robust time table of my worship in the different temples and where to find those temples when I want to worship (Albala et. al. 29).
Greece is labeled as a model city where rituals formed a better part of people’s life and interestingly, Dionysia was the face behind many rituals that took place in the country. Some of the rituals that a typical Greek would always have to master in his or her mind included Anthesteria, the Grater or City Dionysia, Lesser or Rural Dionysia and Lanaea which were performed in different occasions within the year. Anthesteria was a renowned festival that took place every spring of the year with the people coming together to celebrate the vine flower which had a lot of significance to the Greeks, more so, it was wide enough in terms of ritual organization incorporating feasts meant to appease the dead. This typical ritual was majorly characterized as a drinking festival where men were put to sit on different tables and silently would compete in drinking the wine and the winner would be acknowledged. The slaves were not left out in this ritual too as they had equal opportunity to participate with other noble people (Albala et. al. 25).
The next critical ritual in the lives of Greeks was the Greater Dionysian which was conducted in Athens among other Ionic cities and it took place for five consecutive days. The inception of this ritual is traced to Pisistratus during the 6th century when he came up with the cult of Dionysus as an addition to the more common rural type. Dionysian theatre up to date has gained accolades for being among the best rituals in the history of Greek, where democracy was upheld through the universal invitation of everybody who wanted to attend. The ritual’s high status and popularity were manifested in businesses coming to a standstill, people freed from prisons to at least catch a glimpse of the wonderful ceremony. Indeed, Dionysian was one of its kinds. Above all, the ritual was dramatic right from the start to the end, for instance, the phallic assembly and parade stood out to be instrumental as it set out the stage for the images of gods to be born throughout the streets and avenues of Athens city. This was followed closely by the offering of sacrifices which took the form of animals or grains, after which the gods image was born back to the theatre dancing floor being surrounded by able torch bearers (Albala et.al 28).
The third festival in the Greek world was Agriona which was conducted annually at a place known as Orchomenus (Boeotia) and any other subsidiary place to give special precedence to god Dionysus Agrionius. This festival was done exclusively by Greek women accompanied by the priests. The performance of the ritual involved the women skillfully pretend to be looking for a god who has hid himself mostly within the muses. In short, these are some of the rituals that were enjoyed by the Greeks and they occurred mostly at the greater Greek world. On the other hand, rituals like Sacred Marriage or Hieros Gamos were conducted specifically for rites of passage into marriage. Also there were rituals for death appeasement such as Anthesteria (Albala et. al. 29).
Need more Religion Essay Examples?
Religions of the Caribbean
Religious Life on Earth
Biblical Commentary on the Book of Job
The Saints and the Roughnecks
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Apu Rambles: The Wonder of Rap Groups (and Their Possible Shortcomings)
by Apu
I’ve always found rap groups to be interesting. And with that I’ve just won the award for the most generic opening sentence in a written piece for January 2017.
Music made by a good group (keyword: GOOD) can be the coolest thing you hear all day. It’s crazy hearing vastly different personalities colluding, bringing different perspectives, styles, and presences to a track while completely complimenting each other. Many times it can be more exciting to listen to a group than a solo artist; the constant change in performers keeps things fresh in a way that may not always happen when listening to a solo artist. You don’t know which group members will be on which track, or what each member will bring to the table. There’s a support system in the form of friendly competition, where each member pushes the other to go above and beyond, leading to some rappers having the best verses of their careers on group songs. And group music is different than posse cuts. While posse cuts can bring together huge rappers to make great songs, the vast majority of the time, there’s not nearly the sort of unity and fluidity that there is on group music when the mic is passed.
It’s a simple fact. Hip hop would not be where it is now if it were not for rappers forming crews and making music together. Whether it be the earlier years with Sugarhill Gang introducing hip hop to wider audiences, to Run D.M.C., the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, NWA, Geto Boys, the Wu-Tang Clan, Onyx, Westside Connection… The list goes on and on. They were a staple of hip hop in the golden era, and remained to be a driving force in hip hop well into the ‘00s.
I don’t know why they were so big in the formative years, especially compared to now; maybe having a crew onstage helped hype crowds up while performing more effectively than having just a single rapper, leading to better shows and subsequently wider acclaim and greater success. Perhaps that’s why rappers still go up onstage with hypemen, even when they may not need one to help out when the main performer needs to take a breath. Whatever it may have been, there’s nothing quite like seeing a group together. There’s also nothing quite like seeing a group implode after the first album or two because of success changing the approach to making music, causing chemistry to fade and beef to ensue.
I personally think that the biggest contributing factor to a group’s greatness is chemistry. There has to be a foundation for the sound that a group will use, especially when members develop themselves as solo artists with sounds that deviate from the group sound. Take, for example, the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA created that dark, soul-sampled boom bap with Enter The Wu-Tang. However, given that Wu always meant to branch out to become solo artists, the following solo albums each had a different tone from the debut group album. Tical was more bassy and smoked out, Return To The 36 Chambers was muddier and more twisted, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx was more piano and string-driven resulting in a Mafioso tone, and Ironman was more driven by R&B and lighter soul samples. Aside from Liquid Swords, which was fairly similar in tone to Enter The Wu-Tang, they all had their own sound to them to reflect the personality and charisma of each member outside of the group.
However, when they reunited to do Wu-Tang Forever, they went back to a similar style as Enter The Wu-Tang: heavy soul samples and more classic boom bap. Sure, the sound had advanced, but the overall tonality still screamed Wu-Tang as a whole, as opposed to more Raekwon or Ghostface. They had the production base offered by RZA, which meant that other producers like 4th Disciple or Inspectah Deck had a blueprint to follow.
Of course, having that base meant that the subsequent group albums (and even solo albums) were prone to the flaws that came with the failures of RZA. Being that RZA was the de facto leader of the group, him losing beats in a flood ended up creating issues for Wu as time went on. After that, RZA’s decision to change his production style with his Bobby Digital persona made The W and Iron Flag sound off-putting. By the time A New Tomorrow came around, RZA sounded totally uninterested in making music; it seemed he would rather score movies and help Cilvaringz be a cunt.
But he was still the leader of the group, so they had to follow him.
It was a similar situation with D-12. D-12 has two members who produce: Mr. Porter and Eminem. While Proof was the spiritual leader of D-12, as well as musical when they were doing mixtapes and features, Eminem clearly led the group on the albums. Devil’s Night sounded almost like it could have been called The Marshall Mathers LP 1.5: Introducing D12. That’s not nearly even close to being a bad thing – that album is a classic to me. However, it did end up being a bad thing for them on D-12 World. Most of the songs that Eminem produced did not follow a D-12 kind of style. They were like less-gangster G-Unit beats, much like Encore’s production. The only possible exceptions to this are My Band, Bitch, and Come On In (which ended up sounding more like a Mr. Porter beat). Mr. Porter’s beats were perfectly suited to D-12, and showed a potential evolution in their sound from Devil’s Night that could have been very cool, as it was grimy but sillier and jazzier at the same time. Em’s leadership, however, prevented that sound from being explored more aside from songs that Em wasn’t even on. Had he passed leadership to Mr. Porter, the album may have sounded more like Barbershop and I’ll Be Damned and less like Leave Dat Boy Alone and Get My Gun.
While pure democracy in a group would likely lead to no progress at all, one person can’t be the leader for the entirety of the group’s albums. There needs to be a constant passing of the baton. Otherwise the leader may end up running the group into the ground. It seems RZA has finally understood that, because he’s given Ghost the wheel for the next Wu album. Given Ghost’s artistic style with live jazz instrumentation on fairly recent albums like Twelve Reasons To Die I & II, Sour Soul, and 36 Seasons, it will likely be a breath of fresh air for the group, rather than the aimless plodding of RZA’s production on A Better Tomorrow. I’m personally expecting it to be their best in 2 decades.
Groups without chemistry just don’t work. I already know I’m gonna get shitted on by underground hip hop fans, but I personally don’t think Slaughterhouse is demonstrates good group dynamic. Each member is a very talented emcee in his own right (although fuck Joe Budden for life for beating a woman into having a miscarriage). However, there is no feeling of unity among them. Every song that they do sounds like a posse cut. As I stated above, a posse cut can be cool, but if you’re gonna be a group, you have to sound like a unit. It’s weird too, because Joe Budden and Joell Ortiz do back and forth every once in awhile, but they don’t sound natural doing it. Nearly every song either boils down to a cypher that may or may not have a hook in it or an emotional track with each member just saying their piece and not trying to tie themselves into the rest of the group; oftentimes the verses may only share emotion in common and can be about completely different things which throws off the mood of the track. A group needs to have chemistry, otherwise it just doesn’t work. Unfortunately, Slaughterhouse doesn’t have much of it.
Slaughterhouse are also too similar to each other, which oddly doesn’t help their chemistry.
Another part of what makes some groups successful is the roles that members play. When Slaughterhouse do music together, everyone does essentially the same thing in a song. There’s no variety. You need some rappers to be the tough talkers, the more grounded members, and what is quite possibly the most important role: the clown. It can get tiresome to hear so many rappers talking about similar street subjects all the time; you need an ODB to your Wu-Tang Clan or a Sean Price to your Boot Camp Clik (RIP to both) to add some comic relief. The role that guys like them played helped to distinguish the groups from most other hardcore underground groups.
Everyone wants to be the toughest or most lyrical, and people get lost in the mix of everyone else trying to do that. When you put together a group of people trying to be tough or lyrical, that effect may get even worse. Throw a clown in there (who still has skills, mind you), and suddenly your presence becomes more impactful. You have someone who can still spit with the rest of the members, but is spewing clever, witty one-liners and creating a different reaction than the listeners get from listening to the other members. But it’s a fine line; you have too many members who clown around and you’re viewed as a comedy rap group, nothing to take seriously. So a group needs to be diverse, but still maintain similarities enough to where there’s still chemistry.
Groups are wonderful for hip hop. They’re a healthy mix of competition and brotherhood. I wish there were more groups out now; you’d think that with the increased usage of the internet in hip hop music that there would be more groups linking up from city to city, but for some reason that’s not the case. These days it’s always a wonderful treat to see a group either reunite, especially if they haven’t done music in years. With things in hip hop seeming to go back to the way they were (that’s a topic for another time, I don’t feel like opening that can of worms for the basement-dwelling stuck-in-the-90s hip hop nerds to feast on), perhaps we’ll see more groups being formed.
Author Extraordinary NobodiesPosted on January 31, 2017 Categories Rajin RamblesTags Boot Camp, D-12, D12, Discussion, Eminem, Ghostface Killah, Hip-Hop, Music, ODB, Raekwon, Rap, Rap Groups, Wu-Tang ClanLeave a comment on Apu Rambles: The Wonder of Rap Groups (and Their Possible Shortcomings)
Exploring Other Genres: Sunbather – Braneworld
A while back we started a segment called “Exploring Other Genres” to offer fellow hip-hop fans an accessible outlet to a variety of interesting music. More relevant to the here-and-now, our first piece in this segment was on Poor English’s self-titled debut EP. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive, and multiple people asked if we could recommend something similar. By coincidence a few weeks later, Poor English’s drummer Tyler reached out to us about another group that his band-mate Joe is involved in: Sunbather. Sunbather just so happened to have a thirty-something minute album out called Braneworld. Featuring sound distinctly different yet similar to the wondrous pop-punk tunes of Poor English, we were certainly interested in giving it a spin.
We fell in love with the album. In fact, it has been on regular rotation ever since.
As mentioned, there are similarities between the Poor English project and Sunbather’s sound on Braneworld; however, to not approach this album as a brilliant standalone work would be doing it a disservice. Sunbather’s sound is a little more punchy, marginally heavier, and a touch more dense. The way instrumentation is layered on this album is really gorgeous. The guitar work weaves in and out of riffs and licks, dipping between the hyperactive and laid-back in one swift motion. The rhythms are delicious, and provide a powerful driving force behind the leads. Sunbather create a “wall of sound” within their music at times. It feel bigger than it probably should, but it is excellent.
Every moment on Braneworld flows into the next seamlessly. The change-ups within songs are frequent enough to keep one guessing, but smooth enough that they’re nearly easy to miss. At the macro level, each track moves into the next without hiccup. At no time did it feel like the song progression was off. Given that album arrangement is one of the things it seems many artists fail at, it was refreshing to listen to one so skillfully laid out.
To put it more simply the transitions are super slick, period. End of discussion.
Though the album is distinctly rock, its quite interesting to see the band show their influences in other genres at time. For example, the song “Daily Dreams” has a distinct folk spin to it, and “Knucklehead” featured some synthetic sounds similar to that of the underground electronic punk movement. These forays into other musical realms broke up the album nicely, yet somehow sound cohesive in the overall scope of Braneworld. Perhaps more importantly, these moments are used quite sparingly. The band doesn’t become predictably experimental throughout the course of the album. It feels more like an adventurous treat at times, rather than part of the albums overall atmosphere.
It should be mentioned that the album atmosphere is, in fact, really well established. There’s something particular about it that just makes everything work together in harmony. To take a bit of a writers cop-out in lieu of better descriptive words: you will instantaneously understand upon listening.
If you’re still not convinced, look at it this way: Braneworld is rock-n-roll for the working class. In times of relative despair internationally, their music feels soothing. Sunbather brings a sense of wonderment to a rock scene that can, at times, feel way too cookie-cutter. Sunbather’s music also radiates a powerful sense of emotional awareness. The happy songs will lift you, and the more sad songs will offer musical solidarity. The vocals and instrumentation play together in a way that makes it nearly impossible to avoid being smitten with their tunes. It’s honest music, and every song feels heartfelt. There’s no attempt to achieve a level of robotic perfection, and the music is better for it.
Author Extraordinary NobodiesPosted on January 22, 2017 January 22, 2017 Categories Exploring Other GenresTags Album Review, Alt, Alternative Rock, Braneworld, Discover New Music, Discussion, Indie, Indie Artist, Indie Rock, Poor English, Pop-Punk, ReviewLeave a comment on Exploring Other Genres: Sunbather – Braneworld
Album Review: V8 – One Dog Night
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to our very first review of 2017. This is actually a very special review for us, as it’s the very first piece of “early press” we’ve been able to contribute. When our friends at Filthy Broke Recordings agreed to send us a press kit, we were absolutely overjoyed. Though we didn’t get this out as early as we would have liked (stupid actual job causing mayhem), it has still been a pleasure.
Now, onto the review itself. You may be asking, “what album are they so hyped up about?” The answer is One Dog Night, by alternative rapper V8.
The first thing that stands out about One Dog Night is that V8’s vocal performances are really quite monstrous. You won’t find raps full of quotable punches and one-liners on One Dog Night, but it remains an unapologetically gripping listen. V8 has a charming gravel to his delivery on this album, coupled with a wonderful willingness to explore a range of vocal inflections. Whilst drawing you in with what he’s saying, V8 simultaneously begins to construct this dark-sounding environment vocally. The rasp and strain to his voice perfectly sets the atmosphere for what is a grungy album.
Buckle up, because the concept of musical atmosphere and environment are going to be overwhelmingly prevalent while discussing this album.
Backing up his vocals is an assortment of absolutely grimy production that feels nostalgic, yet fresh. One Dog Night’s instrumentation draws inspiration from a wide variety of sources, and it is ever changing throughout the duration of the tape. It’ll have you jamming to a powerful boom-bap beat, then immediately slap you over the head with something completely out of the box and experimental. To be frank, any attempt to verbally explain how diverse-yet-cohesive the production is on One Dog Night will not do it justice. That filthy grunge sound kicked into motion vocally was really well supplemented by the production on this album. A seamless marriage, if you will.
That filth (said affectionately) is further built upon by the usage of interview, news, and other samples between tracks. Though the frequency in which these appear is jarring at first, it quickly becomes a necessary part of One Dog Night.
One Dog Night is the kind of tape that taps into the essence of indie hip-hop that was established through the late nineties and early two-thousands. Those who grew up fascinated by the likes of Myka 9, Radioinactive, Busdriver, and any artist from the Project Blowed heyday will find a welcoming comfort in this album. It’s not the most accessible hip-hop release, but it’s not supposed to be. There are times where One Dog Night almost feels like too much at once; however, the energy and thought that is evident on this album rivals early indie-scene juggernauts, ultimately leading to an incredibly satisfying record. V8 goes against the grain, and his efforts serve as a reminder that abrasiveness can be done tastefully.
Those looking for something to throw on in the background will probably not enjoy this record, and it is beautiful in that way. One Dog Night forces you to pay attention with an in-your-face confidence that many would not be able to pull off.
The cassette release, coming via Filthy Broke, also looks quite intriguing. It is on top end of price point for a tape, but every order comes with a handmade leather case, so the dollar amount is definitely understandable. If you’re a cassette collector looking for something quite unusual, it might be worth having a look at. The cases are super unique, and it’s cool to witness an artist doing something out-of-the-box for a physical release. Really, it’s about as true to the indie mindset as you can get.
Though, they could be gone at this point as only a handful were created. So, you may just be shit out of luck. If that be the case, we sincerely apologize (just kidding, if you snooze you lose).
Author Extraordinary NobodiesPosted on January 12, 2017 February 16, 2017 Categories ReviewsTags Album, Album Review, Alternative Hip-Hop, Carlos Imperial, cassette, Experimental, Experimental Hip-Hop, Filthy Broke Recordings, Music Review, One Dog Night, Review, V8Leave a comment on Album Review: V8 – One Dog Night
Lightning Pill Discusses Experimental Music, Helping the Community Feel Heard, LGBT-music relations, and More
Sometimes you stumble across an artist that just has an aura about them that instantly signals they work on another level compared to most. Maybe they’re involved in social causes, maybe they’re workaholics, maybe they’re incredibly mentally dedicated to their craft and community, or maybe they’re all of the above. Such is this case with Lightning Pill. From experimental music crafting, to making sure others don’t feel left out in the cold, Lightning Pill is a lot of things to the do-it-yourself music community. We’ve been aware of his work for a while, and thanks to an introduction by IHeartNoise we’re able to provide an insight into the mind of one of the hardest working individuals you’ll ever have the chance to know.
Lightning Pill can be found on his Twitter, and website. His blog (mentioned in the interview) can be found at Revenge of the Persona Non Grata, and also at its official Twitter. Be sure to give him a look after you’ve finished reading this interview!
EN: First and foremost man, thank you for joining us today. It’s an absolute pleasure. I’ve interviewed quite a few musicians, and I always love working with those who are socially conscious.
That being said, for those reading who may be unaware of you, how would you describe yourself?
Lightning Pill: I am a singer-songwriter who mainly plays keyboard. I take on multiple genres, all which fit underneath bedroom pop, antifolk, etc. I also make beats every now and then. On my downtime, I blog for Afropunk, IHeartNoise and Revenge of the Persona Non Grata, a blog I began focusing on avant-garde/DIY Hip hop, r&b, jazz and electronica.
I also write poems every now and then, but nowadays, poetry is molded into song.
EN: Did being a DIY artist yourself inspire an ambition to write about those forging a similar path musically?
Lightning Pill: Yes. Very much so. I’ve been in the music-making game for years, and found a correlation between most great DIY artists. They want Pitchfork and SPIN coverage and find themselves ignored despite putting out great work. I literally spent all year finding new music through Twitter recommendations and affiliations because, I wasn’t exactly messing with the recommendations of bigger labels. I understood the need to be on bigger platforms, but you don’t need to do that with blogs such as Afropunk helping.
The second album I put out to Afropunk as a DIY artist was Humanbeyondrepair, an album about having Asperger’s Syndrome. I didn’t have the money to tour, didn’t have a huge following, no labels, and so on, but they covered me. I wished more blogs would do that rather than creaming over the same bands they will slag on later.
Twitter is chock full of original musicians and small labels who want to spread their name with no real help from larger platforms. Since they are what I am, I can’t in good conscience make them feel like no one is paying attention. So, I started RPNG. Really it started as a blog for avant-hop, since there wasn’t a huge niche blog for that. Then it expanded into me giving love to smaller acts trying to get on 2DopeBoyz, Pitchfork or Consequence of Sound.
EN: That’s very similar to the reasoning why I started Extraordinary Nobodies. I really respect that at a personal level, but I have to ask: why do you think it is that major outlets turn their ears off to experimental and DIY music?
Lightning Pill: It feels related as why major labels sign experimental acts: if you are engaging, accessible and at least sound like you have a chance in hell in the mainstream or something, then you are “in”. That’s bullshit too, considering that there are some great acts that do have a fighting chance at connecting with the general public.
It feels like going to high school and the “cool kids” either ignore or bully the weirder kids, only to find that they envy them. Acts like SassyBlack (formerly of THEESatisfaction), and even AJ Suede, can’t be found on 2DopeBoyz even though the music has a chance of reaching the public. Only one clipping. song can be found there, too. People are likely to turn a blind eye to artists that don’t have a huge following, and you get a huge following through either celebrity-based nepotism or “accessibility” within the industry.
Perfect examples are rappers and singers within Deathbomb Arc, one of my favorite labels. Excluding clipping., rappers like Signor Benedick, Hareld and They Hate Change don’t get the attention they worked for in their fields despite being really original and talented artists. They deserve to be known in the same corner as Death Grips and Kendrick Lamar. I had to take matters into my hands and write about They Hate Change and True Neutral Crew in Afropunk. Their coverage would probably still be fairly minuscule, if they hadn’t known that I write for them.
EN: Are there any other acts out there that you especially think aren’t getting the attention they deserve, or is it basically the DIY/experimental community as a whole that’s being ignored?
Lightning Pill: It’s a funny thing. If they do get coverage, TheNeedleDrop and Pitchfork are the ones doing it. Still though, a good amounts of the DIY community pretty much live by their wits. Artists like DijahSB got into music and despite how great her music is I don’t even see Aftopunk covering her, and I sent in a blog about her Blue album.
EN: So, running your own publication very much came out of a place of frustration.
Lightning Pill: It started as a way to fill in the niche that 2DopeBoyz and XXL didn’t, couldn’t or won’t touch. It snowballed into a frustration that I shared with artists over making great music but not getting attention despite how “great” they are. This inspired me to take the reins, and I encourage many others to use the blog as a way to give back to your community. The moment I started the blog, I had plenty of artists say they loved my writing. JPEGMAFIA even said my kind of journalism and research rivals that of empty journalists and music critics today, which made me happy. I’ve even had plenty of people approach me to write something for them. I had no right to turn them down because I was, and still am, them.
Type in THEESatisfaction, milo, F. Virtue, Cakes Da Killa, or clipping. in 2DopeBoyz and watch it come up with nothing. The only real explanation I can find is that their blog mostly focuses on artists who aren’t too experimental, as to gain a huge following.
While I am here, I do want to shout out one slightly well-known blog that does what I do: UGSMAG. They cover nothing but that underground shit. Some avantgarde stuff, too. That blog, and the dearly-missed Potholes in My Blog, inspired me to write the blogs I do.
EN: Do you find it difficult to balance your personal life, music, and working on other projects such as journalism?
Lightning Pill: Only because when I get into these projects, I REALLY get into it. When I write about projects, I listen to 5 albums a day. After that, I find myself wondering when I’ll have enough juice and focus to put into my music. When I do music, I get really into it too. It gets hard because I don’t do any of this to merely half-ass it. I’m in it for the long haul… Even if I don’t get paid for doing any of it. That’s how committed I am to what I do. As for my personal life, people know good and well I don’t sit on my bed and do nothing. I’m always working on something to occupy my time. Whether it be hobby or not, I do it because I find fulfillment in it.
Admittedly, it does get hard making sure that when I am head deep in one thing, I don’t neglect the other.
EN: Throughout the year I saw you getting a lot of love from various outlets and labels, such as Deathbomb Arc for instance. How much does it mean to you to know that what you’re doing is being noticed?
Lightning Pill: Man, it means a lot! Imagine years of making music only to find out that I’ve got fans purely from being deep into the underground. This wouldn’t have been possible without Ilya of IHeartNoise, who heard me and has been hyping up my instrumental works, mostly. But since I started pushing everything, not one person has told me my stuff sucked. One dude did, but that was on a couple of fun bars over Jonwayne beats that got a lot of attention, and got me followed by Jonwayne himself.
The Deathbomb Arc thing had me taken aback because I’m a big supporter of the label. The reason being that Deathbomb is one of few labels that aim to surprise you with every artist they add to their roster. So when they asked me about doing a song for them, I was like “what?!”.
I have fans in Ceschi, Dionne Sheree, Ilya, They Hate Change, and plenty in the DIY/experimental (mostly hip hop) community. I feel blessed and it makes me want to work hard to see to it my next few albums and mixtapes don’t suck.
EN: On that note, do you think more artists need to take a second to step back and enjoy the small scale love they receive, rather than desperately trying to “make it big”?
Lightning Pill: In a short answer, yes.
In a long answer, I understand why people want to get big. They do it for money, for attention, to reach people and change the landscape of music. Everyone has reasons as to why they want to get famous. But even if I don’t ever reach the stratosphere, it’s still heartening to know I have a cult following. I do music everyday and never get paid, but it makes me want to keep going knowing people are waiting for my next work.
I was one of those people who wanted to do music to get paid for it. But the more I made music the more I slowly accepted I may never get paid, or that I may never get known to the level that, say, Atmosphere is. But even having a little fans may give me a new perspective. Perhaps making music for them will lead to them spreading the word and finding out that my music can get better and reach people who aren’t just blindly following me. Some people will become Jay-Z and Lil Wayne and some people will be Atmosphere and Run the Jewels. Either way, just knowing one person loves your work is heartening. All one has to do is keep going and keep making your best stuff, keep trying to one up yourself and watch people slowly reveal that they have been a fan of yours.
I think in time I understand why people say that knowing people love your work and are waiting for the next one is better than money. Often times, if people really love and support you, they’ll pay for it when it is for sale. I’d be just fine being the next Ariel Pink, Dam-Funk or Captain Beefheart. People should take any blessing that may come their way in the form of true love and appreciation for what you do.
EN: I noticed on the RPNG Twitter, you note things such as being a LGBT friendly site. I think that is awesome, and I wanted to ask how important it is to you to be open in your support of such causes?
Lightning Pill: Very much so, seeing as how there are a lot of gay rappers in existence. One of the first I found back in high school was Deep Dickollective, helmed by Juba Kalamka. Their music is basically conscious hip hop from a gay man’s point of view. Since then, I found rappers like Melange Lavonne, God-Des and She, and more recently Cakes Da Killa, LE1F, Mykki Blanco, Abdu Ali and F. Virtue. All of them are getting shunned from larger hip hop for being gay, and hardly ever pushed towards a straight demographic. They are part of the reason why I stretched my blog towards people who just plain can’t get bigger attention over stupid shit.
I read in SPIN Magazine that Juba heard some sites pull the “there’s nothing we can do” stance for making gay music more mainstream… To this day, the only gay rapper the world can even mention is Frank Ocean, who only spit a few bars on a few songs.
It’s very important to notice all dimensions of music in general. People need to stop being brand new about rappers just because it doesn’t fit their universe. I just told Cakes Da Killa, “people would rather hear some mediocre ass dude spit bars than to hear you rap. That should change!” That stemmed from me praising clipping. for having Cakes Da Killa on a track, and working with an actual gay rapper. I couldn’t give less of a single fuck about a person’s sexuality. If you got true bars and can stand out musically, fuck everything else.
I cover LGBT rappers, Christian rappers, anyone who can bring something truly fresh to the table.
EN: Do you think that someone like Fly Young Red, who basically turned the gay rap scene into a meme with “boy pussy” did more harm than good for the LGBT community in hip-hop?
Lightning Pill: Eh… I think we should be past the whole “harm and good thing”, seeing as how there are multiple dimensions of anything LGBT. Where there are people who make gay people look hypersexual, there are people putting a good name on it. It’s the same as black people showing they have respect and intelligence among ratchets thinking they are acting white.
Of course it is doing “harm” as it is showing gay people as hypersexual, rather than people who have more to talk about than just that. You know? But, the same can be said about demands that Nicki Minaj and Rhianna be less aggressive with sexuality in their music. They are doing nothing more than being a mirror for the culture we live in. The only difference is straight people make AIDS and femininity jokes, while giving or getting AIDS from the next girl with a fat ass and a pretty face. Where there is a Fly Young Red, there’s a Cupcakke or multiple amounts of dudes talking about running a train on your girlfriend.
That’s just the way it is, but the ones who have yet to see it that way are straight people.
EN: That’s a great approach to conceptualizing it. My cousin (who is big into LGBT activism, with her girlfriend) has already remained conflicted on people like Fly Young Red, so I thought it’d be interesting to get another perspective.
I’m also very curious on your thoughts about hyper-masculinity in hip-hop. I interviewed Kash Jordan last year, and he really wanted to see hip-hop move away from the trend of hyper-masculine music. Do you share that sort of view?
Lightning Pill: Yeah, and as fast as possible. Back in the day, they said hip hop was for the outsiders and hip hop is revolutionary. If that’s true, then why are all these masculine-ass drunk dudes with guns taking over the game? At the end of the day to me, they are more rap than hip hop. The difference between the two is like the difference between rock, alternative, and punk.
Hyper-masculinity is doing a lot of harm, in that it is controlling the idea that men don’t have feelings. We are hyper-violent, hyper-sexual ne’er do wells with hella masculinity problems anyway. Even worse, some people encourage this shit. I thank God for Kash Jordan and Young Thug aiming to tear that shit down, because hyper-masculinity is a fucking facade. All the way. Show me a man who flexes their manhood like diamonds, and I’ll show you a weak dude who probably wishes he was as brave as LGBT types and hides insecurity with a gun or an equally masculine girlfriend. Or show me a dude who talks shit to other rappers, and you’ll see a woman revealing him to be a “fingerinthebootyassbitch”.
Hyper-masculinity is stupid because it denies that men have a feminine side, which they do. Everyone has a little bit of something. Every man has a bit of femininity and every woman has a bit of masculinity. Point blank! It’s just a matter of when you bring it out, at what time, for what. You know? It gets dangerous, if not tricky, when there’s a clear imbalance of the two, but what can one do about that? You know?
EN: Yeah, I get what you mean – in a lot of ways it seems like hip-hop as a whole is going through a bit of an identity crisis, don’t you think? Like, there’s the hyper-masculine old guard, then this new wave struggling (but trying) to break that binary but facing resistance.
Lightning Pill: It is, but it is necessary. They say music dies when you put out the same shit and things get hella stale… Actually, I wouldn’t call it an identity crisis. Maybe an exploration to see all of what hip hop and rap can actually be and do. It’s a revelation of different dimensions of hip hop that was mostly just banished to the underground. It’s intriguing, and long overdue.
EN: That brings me to my next question, what is your biggest gripe with hip-hop currently? Is it the hyper-masculine environment, or something else?
Lightning Pill: My frustration with hip-hop mostly lies in people’s thought that hip-hop should be one-sided, hypocritical and ignorant of their influence. The same people who admit being influenced by Biggie and Tupac are the same dudes who say that their music is “just music” when they get called out on their ignorance. Anytime these people say they don’t want to be role models, I respect that; but, if they didn’t want to be role models, then they should never have gotten famous… Where everyone can see them and learn from them.
Wherever there’s a person just trying to get a check, there are a group of kids on the bus talking about “smoking dicks”. And the parents only care when there’s music that disturbs the general idea of how society is. They are no less ignorant than anyone else. To them, mainstream music is the only music there is, until someone busts out a hip-hop album that’s better and possibly more revolutionary. The trouble with mainstream rap is that people always think “this is how it is”, and that’s bullshit. There is always more to the world than what people see… Or maybe their ignorance is willful. Either way, I hate that hip-hop wants to use their ignorance as a crutch for why some of them just want to make money and don’t want their music to do anything else. Once you are on the Billboard, you are a fucking role model to someone! Deal with it!
Also, I am not entirely comfortable that entertainment has an upper hand over education at times because of how catchy and gripping the music is. People think all you got to do in music is make hits about what you know and don’t know, but how many of them even know how to play an instrument? How many of them studied the music business to figure out how to get ahead other than just making hits? Kids are like sponges. They learn from artists because in their eyes, artists and entertainers are more intriguing. That’s their escape, and it eventually turns into their education whether they believe it or not. So, when something like hyper-masculinity is a thing, more men are being taught that that is what being a man is. We both know that is absolute bullshit and a complete detriment to their sense of humanity.
EN: It sounds a lot like you want prominent musicians to realize that they’re role models and use that elevated status more wisely.
Lightning Pill: Do they have a choice? They are literally in the face of the general public. Men, women and children of all ages, sexes and creeds see them. They don’t have to completely change themselves, but if that’s what they want to maintain, then they have the option of embracing the private life of others. Hell, they could be underground where you can be anything or anyone and nobody can censor you. Hell, Cupcakke is a rapper who has turned down a LOT of record label offers to do it herself, which might afford her some lowkey privacy compared to much bigger types. As soon as you are eligible for Teen Choice Awards, you should expect eyes on you. Not just in terms of fame, but in having loyal “followers” in every sense of the word. It is inevitable and raging against it would be hella useless.
Though, I wouldn’t have minded much if Cupcakke went bigger because I predict her time infront of the spotlight will be spent offering something for the kids as well as adults.
EN: So, transitioning to something a little more about you as an artist. What can we expect from you in the coming year both musically and otherwise?
Lightning Pill: I have been told multiple times to never tell people things before they are done, or before they happen… But, I have two albums and a long mixtape coming up next year. The long mixtape is called Cincuenta, which I can say is my only truly guaranteed project. The rest might fall to the wayside if I lose motivation and seek to do other things musically. But Cincuenta is a yes for next year.
As for performances? I am working on performing more, and maybe testing out Concert Window or my own YouTube concert inspired by Couch by Couchwest.
EN: I like that you’re always trying innovative things like the concept of a YouTube concert. Have you ever released any physical copies of your music? If not, do you plan to?
Lightning Pill: I haven’t. I wish I had the funds to construct physical stuff. I’m still trying to find labels interested in releasing either cassettes or CDs. For now, it all remains digital. Though, I recently talked to Become Eternal, and if all goes well, they will make cassettes of my old ambient work. So, stay tuned there!
EN: A bit of a random question here, but my curiosity is eating me alive. Where’d you get the name Lightning Pill, and what’s the meaning behind it?
Lightning Pill: I have two explanations for this, both of which actually fit. One day I was walking home listening to Patrick Wolf’s The Magic Position, this whole time I pictured him as this glam folktronic figure. I was already trying to work out a sound that’s like folk music using electronic instruments, as opposed to using electronic instruments to manipulate the sound of folk instruments. I have a tendency to put myself in artist’s shoes to keep my imagination going, and I named myself Lightning Pill.
I thought about it a little further another day when I remembered seeing a cartoon where all of the farm animals ate the pills that were supposed to control the weather. If an animal ate a sunny pill, the sun shines out of your stomach. If you are a rainy pill, a rain-cloud will constantly follow you. If you ate a thunder and lighting pill, your insides will get shocked.
So, my name is a bit more extroverted than my music is willing to match, but Lightning Pill stuck around longer than Charcoal Sketches of the Invisible Man (a name I was now willing to use when in a band or collaborating with an artist).
EN: Alright my man, we’re basically at length for this interview. So my last question is, is there anyone you’d like to shout-out, and show some love to, to close things off?
Lightning Pill: The most important person I have to shout out is Ilya of IHeartNoise. If it wasn’t for him, who knows if, one, I’d be making music, two, you’d know that I made music and three, I’d be blogging or sticking with the idea of making experimental music. He was the first ever person who had not only been blogging about my music, but actually championed and listened to my work. Not to mention, on Twitter, he constantly shouts me out to people looking for new music, new writers and all of that. Without that, who knows if you’d be here talking to me. Who knows if I would be getting as much blessings as I do now?
I’d also like to thank those who have listened to my music, read my tweets, and checked out any recommendations I had sent their way. I’m doing my very best not to let anyone down. It’s a hard process, but I didn’t adopt a workaholic persona for nothing. Thank you to all reading.
Author Extraordinary NobodiesPosted on January 5, 2017 January 5, 2017 Categories General ArticlesTags ambient, deathbomb arc, Discussion, Experimental, Experimental Hip-Hop, IHeartNoise, Interview, LGBT and Music, LGBT Rights, Lightning Pill, Rap InterviewLeave a comment on Lightning Pill Discusses Experimental Music, Helping the Community Feel Heard, LGBT-music relations, and More
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MPWMost Powerful Women
San Francisco Wants to Eliminate the Pay Gap for Women in This Generation. But Will It Work?
Madeline Farber
San Francisco. Photo by DEA / W. BUSS De Agostini — Getty Images
Employers in San Francisco soon won’t be allowed to ask job applicants about their salary history.
The new city law, which was signed by Mayor Ed Lee on Wednesday and is going into effect next year, aims to narrow the wage gap between men and women. Philadelphia and New York have passed similar laws, based on the idea that questions about salary history solidify the gender pay gap, making it difficult for women to escape a cycle of being paid less than men at each new job they take.
Equal pay advocates hailed San Francisco’s move as a way of removing that disadvantage to women, but the question remains: How effective will the new law be?
“We want results immediately,” says San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Mark Farrell, who sponsored the equal pay measure, which passed the board unanimously and has faced little opposition. “Practically speaking, as more and more women interview for jobs, it should have an immediate impact. When that aggregates to statistical differences — that will take a longer time. But you have to start somewhere.”
According to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, women in San Francisco earn 84 cents for every dollar that their male counterparts make, only slightly better than the national average of 82 cents for every dollar. There are already federal laws on the books to address the issue, including the Equal Pay Act of 1963, which outlawed wage discrimination based on gender. But there are subtler forms of disadvantage for women than outright discrimination, and that’s what San Francisco’s new law aims to tackle.
Here’s what experts say are the benefits and pitfalls of the new law:
It’s a start
Equal pay advocates have largely praised the law, saying that while it won’t erase the wage gap, it’s better than nothing. The law “makes it less likely that inequities earlier in your career shape your entire career,” says Emily Martin, general counsel and vice president for workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Center, a non-profit organization that advocates for women’s rights through litigation and policy initiatives.
Martin expects the law to prompt companies to think “more rigorously about how to set pay.” She believes companies will begin setting clearer scales for compensation based on metrics such as experience and skills, instead of relying on an applicant’s salary history.
Some companies have already started doing this. The Massachusetts-based Eastern Bank, for example, has previously said it reviews compensation data regularly to ensure any variation in pay for employees in the same or similar positions is based on experience and performance, not past salary history.
Intel, too, uses similar metrics. In 2015, the company conducted an equal pay audit by comparing employees by job type and education level, experience, performance and responsibility — later reporting that it does not have a gender pay gap.
The law won’t just benefit women
Taking a different approach when setting pay isn’t just good for women, Martin says.
“Asking about salary history harms a lot of people, like people of color who tend to have lower wages, and people who are moving from the non-profit sector to the for profit-sector. It even harms people who are maybe trying to enter a new field and are willing to take a pay cut,” she says. “It’s a step toward fairer pay structures and benefits working people more broadly.”
For example, Pew Research Center found that African Americans earned 75% as much as white workers in median hourly earnings in 2015, another gap that could be narrowed if companies stop asking about salary history.
But there are potential loopholes
While the new law prevents employers from asking about salary history, there’s a significant loophole, experts say: Employers can still ask applicants about their salary expectations. And since women who are making less money than men may give lower numbers for their expected salary, that question could lead to potentially unequal pay, says Joelle Emerson, who founded a diversity consultant group called Paradigm.
“Often with these laws, it’s not always so hard to get around it. If an employer asked about salary expectations, a candidate will give an answer that’s grounded in their current salary,” Emerson says. In other words, “these laws aren’t necessarily going to eliminate the pay gap.”
And it doesn’t solve the issue of salary negotiations
Even if women are offered the same starting salary as men, women still tend to make less money because they are less likely to negotiate their salary. Women may choose not to negotiate because they lack confidence on how to do it, or because doing so presents a socially awkward situation, known as the “social cost” of negotiation. Research shows that women who don’t negotiate are leaving money on the table, and it’s a major reason that the gender wage gap still exists.
That’s why Emerson suggests that companies limit salary negotiations, or stop doing them altogether. At Paradigm, for example, job candidates are told salary negotiations are not allowed — unless the candidate suggests that the salary being offered is lower than it should be. If Paradigm agrees with the candidate, the salary for everyone in the same role is adjusted accordingly. So far, Emerson says this has happened twice.
Accenture, a professional services company, GoDaddy, and Jet.com are other companies that have prohibited salary negotiations. Jet.com, for instance, eliminated salary negotiations in 2015 and instead implemented a compensation structure with 10 levels that sets all employee salaries based on position.
While there’s still more to do, Emerson is optimistic that the San Francisco law will make a difference.
“I think that having greater clarity will push companies to reflect more on their processes, and decide to take a different approach when determining pay,” she says.
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Shadows: Family Stories
March 13, 2011 at 7:08 pm (Uncategorized)
It hardly seems possible that so many years have elapsed since I returned home from Vietnam in the spring of 1965. The public attitude toward veterans of that growing war was not yet hostile then, as it was soon destined to become. People still tended to react with apathy rather than with anger toward our military. It was more a case of, “So you’re back from Vietnam, huh? That’s good. Say, did you see the Yankee game last night?” But that changed quickly, and not for the better.
Truthfully, no one ever spat on me or called me a “baby-killer” while I was in uniform, something many returning soldiers experienced later. In fact, the only “baby-killers” I ever saw were on the other side, and they were devastatingly efficient at it, as I was to repeatedly learn for myself. But when it comes to wars, some people can become quite irrational and deeply mean-spirited in their misguided opposition to those who must fight them.
Going off to the military is something of a tradition in our family. I was born while my father served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. My father-in-law flew 50 missions as a B-17 tail gunner over Europe and North Africa. One of my uncles fought at the “Battle of the Bulge”, and another in Korea. My son Jimmy Jr. was in the Army Military Police during “Operation Desert Storm”. In fact, most of my male relatives served “Uncle Sam” at one time or another in various corners of the globe.
We weren’t always good soldiers, either. I learned that during World War I another of my uncles was slapped into a ball and chain for desertion from the Navy. But the unspoken rule was that we had to show up. So when the growing conflict in Southeast Asia drew me in during the mid-sixties, I grudgingly shouldered my share of the burden in keeping with the family custom.
I arrived in the Republic of Vietnam in the spring of 1964 as an apprehensive 20 year old Army private. There were just 16,000 Americans in-country at the time, and I was not particularly enthusiastic about being one of them. That May, a one year tour of duty seemed like an eternity, with the end a lifetime away.
The Army immediately assigned me to an advisory team located in the I Corps tactical area, which comprised the provinces lying directly below the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Vietnam. I was based in the peaceful and beautiful city of Hue, but spent relatively little time there. My primary duty was to serve as a radio operator at the remote outposts along the Laotian border manned by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). Most of them had little-known and exotic names. But vicious conflict in the coming years would soon make Khe Sanh, Lang Vei, and the A Shau Valley practically household words.
I was fortunate to have missed most of the heaviest fighting. Much of my combat experience consisted of brief sniping engagements or small unit actions. However, I was part of the relief force sent to secure the shattered Special Forces camp at Nam Dong after an eerie night attack by 1000 Viet Cong. It was at the battle for Nam Dong that Captain Roger Donlon won the first Medal of Honor awarded in Vietnam.
I also helped to build sandbag emplacements after North Vietnamese patrol boats attacked American destroyers at sea, precipitating the now-controversial Tonkin Gulf incident that led to a widened war. I saw the first Allied aircraft fly low overhead on their way to bomb North Vietnam. And I watched the initial U.S. Marine combat units come ashore, blissfully unaware of the fate awaiting them in the bloody days ahead.
Many have questioned the value of what we did in Vietnam. For me, there was never any doubt. I saw the relief etched on the faces of simple people who appreciated the security our presence provided. I delighted in the laughing children who followed the Americans everywhere, begging for money, food and cigarettes. I watched groups of primitive montagnards wait patiently in remote villages to be examined by teams of Green Beret medics. For most of them this was the first and only medical treatment they would ever receive. As a result, I’ve always taken special pride in my Vietnam service, even when it wasn’t fashionable to do so.
But during the late 1960s, public opinion of the military plummeted to such a shameful level that returning soldiers were cautioned to travel in civilian clothes instead of uniforms rather than risk ugly confrontations with protesters. The generally-accepted image of the Vietnam vet back then was one of a psychopathic drug addict. That bothers me to this day. I served for a year in one of the most prolific drug-producing areas on the planet, yet never once saw an American soldier using narcotics. Oh, I recognize that drug use became somewhat widespread later on as both the war and society deteriorated. Sadly, that left an indelible stain on the legacy of our fighting men in Southeast Asia. But it wasn’t everyone, and I still fiercely resent the commonly-accepted stereotype of the American Vietnam veteran as a drug abuser.
For 25 years after I left the Army, not one person outside my immediate circle of family and friends ever thanked me for having served in Vietnam. Then, appropriately enough on Memorial Day, 1990, I was shopping at the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island while wearing my “Proud Vietnam Veteran” cap. A young female clerk behind the counter glanced at the inscription on my hat and said rather shyly, “We’re proud of you, too.”
I was so taken aback that I choked up and left the store without even thanking that lovely girl. When I got home and told Maureen what had happened, all the pent-up emotions came pouring out and I burst into tears. That was a legitimate watershed moment in my life. It also marked the approximate point when America’s attitude toward our military began to undergo a dramatic improvement.
Several years ago, one of my clients who had been an avid protester during the Vietnam years approached me. “You know,” he said, “I owe you an apology for the way I behaved back then.”
I was touched. “You should never apologize for doing what you thought was right,” I replied. We remain good friends to this day, which in my view is a wonderful tribute to the concept of human understanding. And my own hostility toward war protesters is long gone now, with one or two notable exceptions.
Today, there’s rarely a day when I wear my “Vietnam Veteran” hat that someone doesn’t stop me to offer a warm “Thank you”. Maureen always laughs when that happens because I never fail to become a bit emotional. But I don’t mind. And it never gets old, I can assure you.
I’m so pleased to see how well our Afghanistan and Iraq veterans are now treated. Yes, I’ll confess to having a twinge of jealousy now and then. But gratitude, though offered late, is much better than none at all. Whenever I encounter active-duty members of the military, I always make it a point to thank them for their service. Sometimes I’ll buy them coffee or cigarettes, or even pick up their lunch tabs. That’s my way of showing appreciation for their sacrifices, which I understand only too well. The look of surprise and gratitude on their faces is the best reward I could ever hope to receive. God willing, we can all do something to ensure that our troops will never again experience the scorn or outright hatred the Vietnam veterans endured for so many years.
As the expression goes, “Freedom isn’t free”. In fact, it can be very costly indeed. We Americans today enjoy a way of life and countless privileges that were paid for with the lives of our soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen. So when you encounter a veteran, I urge you to offer a sincere word of thanks for his or her service. Or, as we Vietnam vets prefer, simply say, “Welcome home!”
John said,
Great perspective, it was a shame how are soldiers were treated back then. You make the reader feel like they were with you.
yeeditor said,
Thanks John. I can always count on you for an ego-booster!
Tom Smith said,
Like you, Jim, I was never harassed after returning from the Vietnam conflict. I spent three years of the war flying C-130s in and out of every landing strip in-country then another two years aboard the USS Hornet operating on Yankee Station (two 7 month periods). From the Hornet I flew mostly coastal patrol searches. To me now, the war was a stupid war which gained nothing but costs the lives on many on both sides.
John T. Mustian said,
I came back in 68 and it very unpleasant. We were not allowed off base or to travel in uniform. I was on riot duty in California when I got back from my return home leave, however once I hit the Dallas / Fort Worth airport it was a different world and Good Old Shreveport was even better. I was treated with the utmost respect and decency. The Delta Airline Flight Attendants moved me up to first class when they saw my ticket and I was feeling no pain by the time we landed in Shreveport!! 🙂 !!
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Home / Celebrities / Steve Holcomb Biography
Steve Holcomb Biography
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Steve Holcomb Biography:
He won the two-guy and combined World Cup titles in 2007, despite suffering from a state that was eroding his sight and exacting a tremendous psychological cost. After getting a corrective process, Holcomb piloted the U.S. team to the gold medal in the four-man event at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Olympic bobsledder Steven Holcomb Jr. was born on April 14, 1980, in Park City, Utah. A self described thrill seeker as a youngster, he became involved in alpine ski racing and attended the Park City Winter Sports High School.
Holcomb tried out for the U.S. men’s national bobsled team at age 18 and just tallied the minimal score on the physical evaluation to qualify. Although he was initially avoided due to his age, he made the team as a pusher after another sportsman was injured.
Holcomb competed in his first World Cup race in November 1998 and made several appearances as a brakeman in the next years. He made the switch to motorist following a hamstring injury knocked him out of competition for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, and demonstrated an instant success because job by winning six of eight races in 2002.
Holcomb made his Winter Olympics debut in the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy, subsequently won both the two-guy and joined World Cup titles in 2007. Surprisingly, he scored these accomplishments despite suffering from keratoconus, a degenerative eye condition that has been slowly making him blind. Holcomb compensated by using his other senses to navigate the dangerous bobsled tracks at high speed, but the stress of his state made him depressed, and he attempted suicide by overdosing on pills.
In 2008, Holcomb got an experimental procedure when a lens was put behind the iris of every eye. The operation was successful, but resulted in a unanticipated side effect: After years of performing by “feel,” Holcomb basically had to figure out how to drive all over again with functioning eyesight. In the wheel of a fresh sled dubbed “Night Train,” Holcomb and his crew stopped a 50-year drought for America by winning the four-man title in the 2009 World Championships in Lake Placid, Ny.
Holcomb shown he was still together with his game by winning the two- and four-man events in the 2012 World Championships in Lake Placid. Entering the 2013 season using a fresh sled, he started training to potentially become a part of the very first American team since 1932 to win back to back Olympic golds in the harrowing sport. Holcomb qualified for the USA-1 bobsled team for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games and failed to disappoint. Although having injured his leg during his second heat, Holcomb recuperated in time to compete in the two-man bobsledding event. He along with his partner, Steven Langton, placed third, earning the U.S. a bronze medal.
Having taken courses in computer programming in the University of Phoenix and DeVry University, the gold medalist is an A and Network accredited tech and Microsoft certified professional. The finish of 2012 brought the launch of Holcomb’s biography, But Now I See: My Journey from Blindness to Olympic Gold, where he detailed the physical and psychological challenges that almost stopped both his career and his life.
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U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Geography Division45
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Tag Archives for Temperature
JOSEPH LOUIS GAY-LUSSAC (1778-1850)
1808 – France
‘Volumes of gases which combine or which are produced in chemical reactions are always in the ratio of small whole numbers’
One volume of nitrogen and three volumes of hydrogen produce two volumes of ammonia. These volumes are in the whole number ratio of 1:3:2
N2 + 3H2 ↔ 2NH3
Along with his compatriot Louis Thenard, Gay-Lussac proved LAVOISIER’s assumption, that all acids had to contain oxygen, to be wrong.
GAY-LUSSAC
Gay-Lussac re-examined JACQUES CHARLES’ unpublished and little known work describing the effect that the volume of a gas at constant pressure is directly proportional to temperature and ensured that Charles received due credit for his discovery.
Alongside JOHN DALTON, Gay-Lussac concluded that once pressure was kept fixed, near zero degrees Celsius all gases increased in volume by 1/273 the original value for every degree Celsius rise in temperature. At 10degrees, the volume would become 283/273 of its original value and at – 10degrees it would be 263/273 of that same original value. He extended this relation by showing that when volume was kept fixed, gas would increase or decrease the pressure exerted on the outside of the gas container by the same 1/273 factor when temperature was shifted by a degree Celsius. This did not depend upon the gas being studied and hinted at a deep connection shared by all gases. If the volume of a gas at fixed pressure decreased by 1/273 for every 1degree drop, it would reach zero volume at -273degrees Celsius. The same was true for pressure at fixed volume. That had to be the end of the scale, the lowest possible temperature one could reach. Absolute zero.
In an 1807 gas-experiment, Gay-Lussac took a large container with a removable divider down the middle and filled half with gas and made the other half a vacuüm. When the divider was suddenly removed, the gas quickly filled the whole container. According to caloric theory, temperature was a measure of the concentration of caloric fluid and removal of the divider should have led to a drop in temperature because the fluid was spread out over a greater volume without any loss of caloric fluid. (The same amount of fluid in a larger container means lower concentration).
Evidence linking heat to mechanical energy accumulated. Expenditure of the latter seemed to lead to the former.
Gay-Lussac was an experimentalist and his law was based on extensive experiments. The explanation of why gases combine in this way came from AVOGADRO.
June 26, 2012 by geoffneilsen Categories: CHEMISTRY, HEAT, HISTORY_OF_SCIENCE, INDEX, NINETEENTH, PHYSICS | Tags: Avogadro's law, Boyle's Law, Charles's law, chemistry, EIGHTeenth, France, Gas Laws, HEAT, HISTORY_OF_SCIENCE, Ideal gas law, Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, Kinetic theory, NINETEENTH CENTURY, physics, Temperature, THE ATOM | Leave a comment
JACQUES-ALEXANDRE-CESARE CHARLES (1746-1823)
‘The volume of a given mass of gas at constant pressure is directly proportional to its absolute temperature’
In other words, if you double the temperature of a gas, you double its volume. In equation form: V/T = constant, or V1/T1 = V2/T2, where V1 is the volume of the gas at a temperature T1 (in kelvin) and V2 the new volume at a new temperature T2.
This principle is now known as Charles’ Law (although sometimes named after GAY-LUSSAC because of his popularisation of it fifteen years later – Gay Lussac’s experimental proof was more accurate than Charles’).
It completed the two ‘gas laws’.
A fixed amount of any gas expands equally at the same increments in temperature, as long as it is at constant pressure.
Likewise for a decline in temperature, all gases reduce in volume at a common rate, to the point at about -273degrees C, where they would theoretically converge to zero volume. It is for this reason that the kelvin temperature scale later fixed its zero degree value at this point.
CHARLES’ Law and BOYLE‘s Law may be expressed as a single equation, pV/T = constant. If we also include AVOGADRO‘s law, the relationship becomes pV/nT = constant, where n is the number of molecules or number of moles.
The constant in this equation is called the gas constant and is shown by R
The equation – known as the ideal gas equation – is usually written as pV = nRT
Strictly, it applies to ideal gases only. An ideal gas obeys all the assumptions of the kinetic theory of gases. There are no ideal gases in nature, but under certain conditions all real gases approach ideal behaviour.
Thinkquest (thinkquest.org)
NASA (nasa.gov)
Charles’s Law (centennialofflight.gov)
Combined Gas Laws
June 24, 2012 by geoffneilsen Categories: EIGHTEENTH, HEAT, HISTORY_OF_SCIENCE, INDEX, PHYSICS | Tags: Avogadro's law, Charles's law, EIGHTeenth, France, Gas Laws, HEAT, HISTORY_OF_SCIENCE, Ideal gas law, Jacques Charles, Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, Kinetic theory, physics, Temperature | Leave a comment
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Get Out There announces new ambassador Nick Troutman
By Ron Johnson • May 14, 2019 | 11:12 PM
Renowned whitewater kayaker and road trip aficionado to share adventures
Although it’s a cliché, there is little doubt that Troutman is living the proverbial dream.
The Beachburg, Ontario native is a professional whitewater kayaker, world and Canadian champion (GoPro, Adidas and Jackson Kayak). But Troutman is far more than just a fierce competitor. He’s an avid adventurer who has made the search for the stoke his life.
Troutman, alongside his wife of 10 years, and another seriously talented kayaker, Emily Jackson (daughter of freestyle kayak legend Eric Jackson) and their two kids and two dogs, travels the world searching for the best rivers to run, waterfalls to hurl their pint-sized watercraft over and generally have adventure after adventure.
Over the last couple months, he finished up the Reno River Festival in Nevada (he won), after having been at the Paddle South event in Georgia (he was second, Emily won the women’s division) in addition to stops in Colorado and the Grand Canyon. He is also eyeing the upcoming Go Pro Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado before he and the fam head overseas to Spain for the 2019 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships beginning June 29.
It’s him and the family on a neverending road trip in his GMC Sierra truck with a 28-foot trailer in tow behind and rivers and adventure on their minds creating exciting social media content and video blogs along the way.
“We’ve been doing this at least 13 or 15 years when Emily and I were just dating I guess then we got engaged, got married and have been married 10 years now,” he says.
“After having kids, it really slowed down the number of travel hours in a day, and it really opened up these rad family adventures, checking out different state and national parks, even smaller town parks and stuff like that.”
Currently, the Troutmans are on what they’ve dubbed their Wild and Free Tour, but they’ll be back home. Eventually. When not on the road, maybe a couple of months a year, the family have a home about 90 minutes south of Nashville, Tennessee.
“When we were young, we were just busting out 16 hour days back to back to back going coast to coast,” says Troutman, whose kids are two and five. “We can’t do that now, so we find something cool along the way every day. And it really is way more fun to do that and check out all these amazing places.”
Before hitting Reno, and after hearing about the recent high water back home in the Ottawa Valley, Troutman returned to his old paddling grounds to take advantage of the epic conditions, while also doing his part to pitch in with flood prevention efforts.
It’s an area he knows very well, and one he considers the top spot for whitewater kayaking on the planet with legendary waves with ominous names such as the Greyhound Bus Eater.
His parents still live in the area, and he returns every summer to visit them with the family.
“We’ll probably hang out there for July and August and then make our way down the east coast for the fall, do a couple of races, and eventually head back down to Tennessee probably around October,” he says.
While there, he’ll also spend some time coaching the Ottawa Kayak School’s legendary Keener Program, which he does every summer. It’s where Troutman himself first learned to paddle when he was in high school
“It’s such a rad program with these kids who are super into kayaking so it’s easy to teach them,” he says. “They are so enthusiastic that I just want to give out any info I’ve got. I usually try to do a minimum couple week, and they continue to stoke me on kayaking.”
For Troutman, he was hooked right away by the whole freestyle aspect.
“You can do all these cool tricks, the boats are way shorter and it’s just a really rad scene,” he says. “I immediately fell in love with the sport.”
He soon became a coach in the program, started entering and doing well in contests, then the travel and the rest is history in the making.
“It’s like a ball rolling down the mountain, we’ve taken on that momentum and I feel like I can’t stop now,” he says. “We want to continue exploring, having adventures with the family. It’s awesome.”
As one of our new ambassadors, our readers will have the opportunity to follow along with some of Troutman’s adventures via our social media accounts and hopefully, learn a few kayaking tips and generally be inspired by some of his exploits. He’ll be contributing content in the near future so get ready to Get Out There.
Make sure you follow Get Out There and Nick on social media to get in on all the fun.
We'll be making another ambassador announcement next week.
“The body achieves what the mind believes.”
More motivation on Facebook
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A True Foreign Beauty: The Winning 2014 Asian Games Stadium Design
Filed to: ArchitectureFiled to: Architecture
2014 Asian games stadium design
2014 Asian games
We can argue about whether it looks like an alien spaceship, a colony on a distant planet, or something else, but let's agree that the winning stadium design for the 2014 Asian Games is mind-blowingly gorgeous.
It looks stunning in the concept pictures and the stadium is actually two-in-one after a two-step process according to Inhabitat:
Designed by Populous (formerly HOK Sport Venue Event) and Heerim Architects and Planners, Incheon's new stadium is designed to hold 70,000 people for the Asian games in 2014, after which it will downsize and transform into a 30,000 seat stadium and public park.
I dread to see how much of the original design will be lost after that conversion, but until that happens I'll keep speculating over just which alien species submitted the yin and yang inspired concept. [Inhabitat]
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Updated: September 5, 2018 1:46 pm
Nova Scotia re-launches FOIPOP website after 152 days of being offline
By Alexander Quon Online Producer/Reporter Global News
Nova Scotia's new FOIPOP website was launched on Sept. 5, 2018
Nova Scotia Government
A 152-day saga came to an end on Wednesday as the Nova Scotia government brought its Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP) website back online after it was revealed in April that a data breach had exposed social insurance numbers, birth dates and personal addresses to the general public.
The new website, developed by Red Sky IT Solutions Ltd., launched on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia privacy website at centre of data breach to be brought back online ‘in the coming weeks’
The new website does not currently have the same features its predecessor did.
FOIPOP requests, which are used by journalists, academics, businesses and activists to obtain government information that is normally withheld from the public, will still need be filed the old-fashioned way by pen, paper and snail mail.
Individuals will once again be able to download previously completed FOI requests, although features such as a payment system, are still being developed separately. Nova Scotia’s Department of Internal Services says those services will be rolled out at a later date.
“Only publicly released access to information requests are available on the site. The site does not host any personal information and is not connected to the case management system,” said a press release announcing the launch.
Any releases made since April 1 will soon be available on the site.
“Work is continuing to eventually restore the ability to file [FOIPOP requests] online. That is separate from the work on the disclosure site,” said Brian Taylor, a spokesperson for the Department of Internal Services.
With the service at least partially restored, here’s everything we know about the breach, the website and what has happened behind the scenes, detailed through internal emails, briefing documents and reports obtained through FOIPOP requests.
READ MORE: Here is everything we know about Nova Scotia’s FOIPOP website — five months after it was taken offline
The breach
A worker at the Nova Scotia archives was the first to detect the breach at the previous FOIPOP website.
In an email sent on the evening of April 4, the employee attempted to re-enter a URL that linked to a released and redacted document he had previously accessed through the FOIPOP portal but mistyped the address.
“Rather than going to another redacted, released document, I ended up seeing an incoming FOIPOP request … It seems that rather than being inside the government system, which in itself is a bit of a shaky practice, the materials are out there, seemingly unprotected, on the web,” the employee said.
“This isn’t what should be happening. I think you need to do something about this.”
Provincial officials quickly jumped into action, scrambling through April 5 to find a solution.
One official wrote that the government should shut down the website “until we get a grip on things.”
Meddy Stanton, manager of the government’s information access program, quickly dispatched an email to Unisys, the company employed by the province, to maintain the FOIPOP portal, which operates using a system known as AMANDA.
“This is a very serious and unexpected situation,” Stanton wrote in her email.
“There are serious breach and communications implications that must be managed by us and on a tight timeline.”
WATCH: N.S. has yet to decide on new contract with company in charge of breached FOIPOP portal
With no immediate solution available, the government yanked down the website at 8:15 a.m. It’s remained that way ever since.
Though there have been promises to find a short-term solution to the problem, emails indicate that a larger issue was at play in the data breach.
“This will be a short-term solution that limits functionality, as CSDC (the vendor which provided AMANDA to the province) will have to modify their core AMANDA code to permanently fix this security issue,” one employee writes in an email detailing the solution Unisys provided to the province.
At the time, the province said more than 7,000 documents were inappropriately downloaded as a result of the breach, while 369 of the documents contained “highly sensitive” personal information such as social insurance numbers, birth dates and personal addresses.
Of the 369 documents containing highly sensitive personal information, 273 (74 per cent) came from the Department of Community Services, which deals with income assistance, employment support and child and youth services.
READ MORE: Department of Community Services most affected by Nova Scotia data breach
Arrest of Halifax teenager
Halifax Regional Police arrested a 19-year-old on April 11 after searching his home, but three weeks later issued a news release saying they would not charge the teen, as “the 19-year-old who was arrested … did not have intent to commit a criminal offence.”
Halifax police said the young man was arrested under a rarely used section of the Criminal Code that prohibits the unauthorized use of a computer with fraudulent intent.
The teen later told CBC that his arrest had been carried out by approximately 15 officers.
The police’s initial decision to charge the 19-year-old drew heavy criticism from the tech community in Canada. Critics say police “overreached” for something that is a common action in the technology field.
Search warrants indicate that a Nova Scotia civil servant told police somebody “hacked” into the province’s freedom of information website, however internal government documents indicate that the province understood the problem to be an issue regarding vulnerability in the AMANDA program and not an attack with malicious intent.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia information and privacy watchdog says access to information laws need strengthening
Ongoing investigations
Two separate investigations into the government’s handling of its citizens’ privacy are still ongoing.
Catherine Tully, the province’s privacy and information commissioner, has also been informed of the breach and is now launching her own investigation into whether the Department of Internal Services was in compliance with the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
“The investigation will focus in particular on the adequacy of the security of the system,” wrote Tully in a press release.
An investigation by Nova Scotia auditor general Michael Pickup is also underway. He’s set to perform an audit of the province’s privacy services.
FOIPOP Request
FOIPOP website
Internal Emails
Nova Scotia Politics
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Working in Kampung Padang with Engineers Without Borders
When we first visited Kampung Padang, their issue with drinking water was immediately evident. They walk half an hour to the well in the village to collect drinking water, twice or thrice each day. Unfiltered and exposed, their water is completely unsafe for consumption. Due to the inaccessibility to water, let alone to clean water, the villagers use the well water only for drinking and cooking. They do not clean their houses and rarely wash their utensils. Even bathing is not a daily routine for them. Unhygienic environment and habits arise due to the inaccessibility of water.
The villagers telling us about their plight.
The villagers once tried to pump water from the well into a water tower they built near their settlement but failed due to technical difficulty. To address the issue, we collaborated with Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Malaysia.
Established in 2012, EWB is one of the most active voluntary engineering organizations in Malaysia. Their main efforts are focused on helping underprivileged communities in Malaysia to have access to the six basic human needs: food, shelter, power, education, healthcare, and water. Knowing that our cause aligns for Kampung Padang, EWB immediately agreed on collaborating. After a few recce trips with them to Kampung Padang, the engineers drew up a plan and together, we started our 2-days 1-night installation on Friday, 22 September 2017.
The first day’s objective was to lay out all the HDPE pipes from the well to the village settlement. We recruited help from the Orang Asli to build a cement platform for the generators and water pumps.
Aki, an Orang Asli, laying out the cement.
As the Orang Asli laid out the cement, we worked on the most time-consuming part of the installation — laying out and unspooling 500 meters of HDPE pipes, which came in 100 meters a roll. One person would hold onto one end of the pipe and start pulling as the pipes unravel like a giant slinky.
Unravelling the giant slinky.
As the giant slinky gets longer, another person would start pulling from the middle to facilitate the first person pulling, and one by one, more people would pull along until the pipes are completely unravelled, and then we started unspooling, where we turn the pipes over until the giant slinky becomes one straight line on the ground. “It started off with carrying the pipes, which was pretty tiring. But I would say that it was pretty satisfying at the end.”, said Govin, a volunteering member of EWB.
Unspooling the HDPE Pipes.
We finished unspooling and laying out all the pipes before 5.30pm and took some time to rest and interact with the Orang Asli. It was during this time we learned that a proper piping system was not the only basic facility lacking in the village, Kampung Padang also has no electricity. The villagers use a carbon-zinc battery to power one small lamp every night, which lasts only 3 days. Knowing this, both Global Peace Foundation and EWB know that to truly help the village, there is still a lot of work to do.
While the first day required the hardest labour, the second day was arguably the most important, that is testing out the engineering design, to ensure it is functional.
The design uses the generator and pumps to draw water out of the well and into a storage tank placed near the well, and with another generator and pump, push the water from the storage tank to a water tower much closer to the village settlement.
Engineers working the water pump.
After many trials and attempts, we finally successfully run the pump. It was a continuous effort to completely fill and flush the pipes with water, only then did the pump started running smoothly. When the first tank started filling up, we rejoiced!
Sanjiv, President of Engineers WIthout Borders, with Dr. Teh, CEO of Global Peace.
Unfortunately, as the storage tank was filling, we noticed a crack at the side of the tank that is causing a major leakage. We placed some duct tapes on the crack to reduce water wastage, but it definitely will not last long. Reluctantly, we had to call it an end for this trip and plan for a next visit to complete the installation another time.
We made our way back to the village settlement to explain to the villagers of broken water tank storage and our plan for the next visit.
We packed up and started our return journey to Kuala Lumpur around 3.30pm. Although we did not manage to complete the installation, we know now that the design works for sure. Now, all we have to do is get a new water storage tank and let us bring on Phase II!
Categories: Clean Water, Community October 17, 2017
Sion: Uniting a Community
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How energy is produced in the American West, the nation’s “energy breadbasket”
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Sea to Snow Consulting
“The State of Energy in the West” from the Western Governors' Association provides a comprehensive survey of conventional and renewable energy resources in the region.
Publié dans : Actualités & Politique, Technologie, Business
In this EcoWest presentation, we review energy production in the West and the region’s contribution to the nation’s energy portfolio. Note: The Western Governor’s Association is a non-partisan organization of 22 U.S. Governors that represent 19 U.S. states and 3 U.S. territories. EcoWest defines the West as the 11 contiguous Western states; thus, “The State of Energy in the West” report includes states which are traditionally excluded from EcoWest analysis. For more information on how EcoWest defines the West, please see: “What is the West?” (http://www.ecowest.org/about/what-is-the-west/).
Narrative: The West is abundant in conventional energy resources. The region accounted for roughly 74% of domestic oil production in 2012; 71% of domestic natural gas production in 2011; 10% of nuclear production in 2012; and 60% of domestic coal production in 2011. Source: “State of Energy in the West,” Western Governor’s Association (2013). http://www.westgov.org/initiatives/energy
Narrative: The renewable energy industry is also expanding rapidly in the West. The region accounted for 70% of hydroelectric production in 2011; 66% of wind energy output in 2012; and 99.5% of geothermal energy produced nationally in 2012. Source: “State of Energy in the West,” Western Governor’s Association (2013). http://www.westgov.org/initiatives/energy
Narrative: Fossil fuels currently make up the largest contribution to state-level employment in the West. In 2009, the oil and gas industry made up over 5%of total state employment in Alaska, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming, respectively. The coal industry in Wyoming bears a particularly significant presence, accounting for 14.2% of state GDP and 8% of employment in 2010. The state’s total coal output exceeds Russia’s. Source: “State of Energy in the West,” Western Governor’s Association (2013). http://www.westgov.org/initiatives/energy
Narrative: In addition to providing an important source of jobs, the fossil fuel industry also contributes to the region’s economy through severance taxes. A severance tax is applied for the extraction of a non-renewable resource, in order to compensate for loss and mitigate any potential negative impacts. Five states in the West – Alaska, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming – have a severance tax endowment, which provides a revenue stream in perpetuity. Among all state-level severance taxes collected across the nation in 2011, roughly 85 percent were collected in the West.*Source: “State of Energy in the West,” Western Governor’s Association (2013). http://www.westgov.org/initiatives/energy*Note: This percentage is based on the WGA’s definition of the West, which includes 22 states and 3 U.S. territories.
Narrative:While the abundant energy resources in the West play a pivotal role in both the regional and national economy, it’s also true that the region’s energy development can bear an environmental price tag. One of the major issues confronting wind power developmentin places like Wyoming and Montana is the presence of the greater sage grouse, an imperiled bird that is a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. In this map, the bird’s current and historic range is shown in green. Source:USGS Sagemap, Michael A. Schroeder, Washington Department of Fish and WildlifeURL:http://rockymountainwild.org/_site/wp-content/uploads/10-032_Sage_Grouse_Range.jpg
Narrative: Solar resources are available in many areas of the West, though the potential is greatest in the Southwest. In considering the installation of solar energy in the Southwest, one key concern is the overlap with critical habitat of the Mojave subspecies of desert tortoise, classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In this map, the location of critical habitat for the desert tortoise is shown in purple. Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Bureau of Land ManagementURL: http://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html/http://solareis.anl.gov/Notes: This map shows the potential for solar photovoltaic panels.
Please visit EcoWest.org to download slides and find other resources related to environmental trends in the West.
1. Energy production in the West 12/2/2013
2. Non-renewable energy production in the West Source: “State of Energy in the West” 1/2/2013 2
3. Renewable energy production in the West Source: “State of Energy in the West” 1/2/2013 3
4. Oil and gas as a share of employment, by state Fossil fuels make up the largest share of state employment in the West. In Wyoming, the oil and gas industry accounts for nearly 16% of total state employment. Source: “State of Energy in the West” 1/16/2014 4
5. Severance taxes (for the extraction of fossil fuels) are an important revenue source in Western states State Severance Tax Payments in 2011 $4.50 $4.00 (in millions) $3.50 $3.00 $2.50 $2.00 $1.50 $1.00 $0.50 $0.00 AK WY NM MT NV CO Source: “State of Energy in the West” UT AZ CA WA OR 1/2/2013 5
6. Sage grouse range overlaps some wind power sites ESA candidate threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation Source: U.S. Geological Survey, WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife 1/16/2014 6
7. Where solar potential and wildlife habitat collide: desert tortoises live in some solar power hotspots Critical habitat for desert tortoise (Mojave subspecies) Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Bureau of Land Management 1/16/2014 7
8. Download more slides and other resources ecowest.org 1/16/2014 8
2013 wildfire season slower than average
China urban population
Financing land conservation in the West
Our EcoWest SXSW Eco presentation
Trends in the American West's snowpack
EIA's portal compares energy in the 50 states
Snow jobs: America's $12 billion winter tourism economy
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Neighborhood Sacramentology: Imaging the Reality of the Table
We are considering the Lord’s Table in the context of neighborhood church and ministry. In the preceding post, we looked at the reality of what is happening at the Table. In this one, we want to consider how to incarnate that reality in a way that is fitting, both to the reality that is occurring and to the context into which we are bringing it. Along the way, we’ll hit the question of appropriate contexts as well.
In a wedding ceremony, as long as certain essentials are covered, the bride and the groom will be married at the end of the day, no matter what else goes wrong. This leaves a lot of room for things to go wrong without having to call a do-over, an emergency “get it right this time” wedding ceremony — for which all thanksgiving. But it also means that there is a lot of room for honoring or dishonoring the occasion. The groom can answer the request for an “I do” with “Why not?” The bride’s dress can be immodest to the point of whorish. The best man can make a pass at the groom. The maid of honor can get drunk and fall into the cake. A wedding ceremony is meant to both accomplish and signify the beginning of a marriage. These things signify something else, something antithetical to what the ceremony is accomplishing. None of them make the wedding invalid, but that doesn’t make them okay. That said, one of the sage pieces of wedding advice is that something will indeed go wrong, and you had best make up your mind ahead of time to laugh about it and roll with the punches.
In these occasions, the attitude we seek is attention to detail and appropriateness tempered by a sense of proportion. If somebody falls into the cake, the happy couple is still married, and it’s a day for celebration. Scrape the icing off the dance floor and carry on.
We want this same attitude in our Lord’s Table celebration.
This has been a challenge for me because I come from an ecclesiastical tradition that rarely even asked the question of how to best represent what was really happening. How to think about it correctly, sure. How to teach it well, of course. How to represent it? Not so much. We figured if we were talking about it right, the job was done.
So how do we? Well, we could do worse than do what Jesus did, I suppose. He passed one loaf and one cup from hand to hand around the table. We are one Body, partaking of one Lord — so one loaf, one cup. We are eating a meal with Jesus, so we pass the elements around the table. Makes sense.
That’s great, if you happen to be observing the Passover feast in an upper room already. But suppose you’re with 150 people in an auditorium? Do you have one loaf and one cup, and invite everybody forward to tear off a piece of bread and sip from the cup? Do you pass around one of those big offering-plate-looking things with a bunch of plastic cups, each containing a thimbleful of juice, and a tray of tasteless little wafers? Do you give everybody one of these?
I have celebrated communion in all these ways. As horrifying as I find that last option, in the service where I encountered it, it was by far the most reasonable choice. It was that or no Lord’s Table at all. The pastors who organized the service made the right call, and may God bless them for it.
When we begin to talk about how to do this in a typical “traditional” church service like this, we enter into a discussion that’s been going for a while. There are some good things to talk about there, but I’d like to talk about something else. Our subject, remember, is neighborhood sacramentology. The first question we encounter is one of simple appropriateness: may we take the Lord’s Table out of the church building and into, say, someone’s dining room on a Thursday night?
I know a good many people who would say no, or at least feel uneasy about it. I used to be among them. But then I noticed something. The original Lord’s Table was in someone’s dining room on a Thursday night! How could it not be permissible? The question is not whether it’s okay to take take communion out of the church building and into the home, but whether it’s okay to take communion out of the home and into the church building. For the first 300 years of the church’s history, we met in nothing but homes…when we were particularly blessed. Too often, we only had forests and prisons, catacombs and caves and dens in the earth for meeting places.
Though there be only two of three of us huddled together in a hole in the side of a hill, Christ is there in our midst. Wherever and whenever we gather, we are the church. And where the church is gathered, what could be more natural than to eat at Christ’s Table?
The objection that always stopped me was 1 Corinthians 11. By observing the Table in an exclusive manner that reinforced division rather than honoring the unity Christ created in His Body, the Corinthian believers heaped up judgment for themselves. For some reason, it seemed to me that the best way to avoid all this would be to reserve the Lord’s Table for an official, called meeting of the church on the Lord’s Day. In that way, there could be no exclusivity — everyone would be welcome, and everyone would know when and where to show up if they wanted to come.
I have come to understand that while that certainly is a way to obey, it is not the way to obey…and it is not, in fact, the way that Paul instructed the Corinthians to proceed. The thing that changed my mind was this: I was talking with a pastor who had originally held my position: save Communion for the church service on Sunday morning only. He spent several years working with an aging congregation, and the experience changed his mind forever. As an increasing number of his congregants were unable to make it to church regularly because of health concerns, inability to drive, or for other age-related reasons, he realized that limiting Communion to the church service did not ensure that everyone could be included — far from it! In fact, his policy effectively excluded the weakest and most helpless members of his congregation from the Table. Convicted, he began to serve the Table in houses, nursing homes, wherever he had to in order to take the Table to everyone in his congregation.
Now, the understanding this man arrived at is actually fairly common in Christendom, which is why you can find a couple of portable communion sets in the back of just about any decent-sized Christian bookstore. But that started me thinking — what better way to avoid reinforcing exclusivity and division within the Body than to observe the Table everywhere, with everyone in the Body? Nothing wrong with doing it in the Sunday service, too — we certainly should — but why only there?
Perhaps there’s a simple set of qualifying questions we could ask. Is the Father with us? He is. Is Christ among us? He is. Is the Spirit here? He is. Well then, if this is our God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — and we are His people, the redeemed, then what could be more appropriate than to lift up our hearts to Him, and to partake of His gifts for His people?
I can hear my high-church friends growling — but what for? When God’s people ascend in worship before Him, we ascend to the Holy of Holies in the heavenly tabernacle, the very throne room of Yahweh — it doesn’t get any higher than that, now does it? And that glorious fact is not in any way dependent on where or when we meet. Heaven is as near to the dankest catacomb as it is to the stateliest cathedral, and glory to God for that.
This entry was posted on Sunday, April 7th, 2013 at 12:00 am and is filed under Ecclesiology, Kingdom Parish, Meditations, The Lord's Table. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Save the date. Conference Interactive Experiences: Visual Aesthetics and the Way We Play
Buy your ticket now!
Tickets: Buy your ticket here.
The conference «Interactive Experiences» is curated and hosted by the Subject Area in Game Design of the Zurich University of the Arts in cooperation with Ludicious – Zürich Game Festival and will take place on January 18th, 2018 at Kasernenareal Zurich. It addresses game designers, artists, and creative professionals. This year’s topic «Visual Aesthetics and the Way We Play» will focus on visual art styles in contemporary game design and their impact on how we play. The goal is to show how innovative aesthetics alter the gameplay experience and generate new modes of interaction. A unique visual appearance has become a crucial factor for the publishing of any game in an increasingly competitive market. We believe, however, that the visual style can be more than merely packaging or depiction of existing game mechanics. We think that visual aesthetics can have an impact on interactive experiences and the nature of games. The conference emphasizes the impact innovative visuals can have on the creation of new forms of play and how they can expand the boundaries of the medium.
The curators:
Prof. Ulrich Götz | Florian Faller | Maike Thies
The speakers:
_Playful Spaces – Starfield, Enthusiast Overlay, Les Metamorphoses De Mr. Kalia
Beatrice Lartigue, Lab 212 (FR)
Lab212 combines art and technology to construct immersive and sensory experiences. Thanks to backgrounds in art, design and computation, the collective develops new modes of interaction. The striking visual art of Lab212’s interactive installations impacts on how we play. Using craft and technology to ignite imagination and convey emotions, day-to-day human gestures are magnified to reach the inaccessible. Lab212’s work is inclusive and their pieces have many layers that can be discovered at different depths.
Béatrice Lartigue is a visual artist working as a part of the interdisciplinary collective Lab212. Founded in 2008 by a group of friends who all graduated in Interactive Design at the School of Visual Art les Gobelins in Paris, the French artist collective puts our daily lives and environments into perspective, highlighting the invisible ties that bind space, movement and time through interactive storytelling. Lab212 draws on science, videogames and music to build poetic and playful sensory experiences.
_Obscure Me Plenty – Memory of a Broken Dimension
Ezra Hanson-White, Outbounds (US)
This talk will dive into the look of «Memory of a Broken Dimension», over-viewing the approaches taken as the game’s aesthetic evolved during development. Core ideas and goals of the project will be covered, related to the direct coupling of game systems with audio/visual design. It will encourage the importance of reinventing, theming or obscuring common indicators of games, to further reinforce the intentions of a project and its imprint left on players.
Ezra Hanson-White is currently developing «Memory of a Broken Dimension», aiming to release in 2018. He has over 10 years experience working in the game industry, primarily as a level designer and currently resides in the Pacific Northwest region. «Memory of a Broken Dimension» is his first solo project, it won two awards at IndieCade 2015 and was a IGF 2015 Visual Art finalist. The game will be released under the recently created «Outbounds label».
_Aesthetic of Nostalgy – Narita Boy
Eduardo Fornieles, Studio Koba (ESP)
As an art director and visual developer, aesthetics in a videogame is fundamental to me. You can find aesthetics references on the internet but you mostly find them in your heart. When I decided to create «Narita Boy», I knew it had to be the game I wanted to play with. I needed to explore all the cultural references of my younghood and understand my connection to each one of them. I believed that if I was able to connect with this place in the past where everything was great, I could connect with future players of «Narita Boy».
Eduardo started his career in the animation industry. Worked as an art director and background artist at the studios in Barcelona. Then he moved to Tokyo and worked for a French game studio as a creative director. Later he worked at the Sweedish game studio in Tokyo to develop the upcoming PS4 game «Vane» as a visual developer. He moved back to Spain in 2016 to create his own game and posted the campaign on Kickstarter. It was succeeded in early 2017. Currently developing retro-futuristic pixel game «Narita Boy» as a game director.
_More is Less – Kids
Mario von Rickenbach, Michael Frei, Playables (CH)
Mario von Rickenbach and Michael Frei will talk about their minimalist approach to design. They will give an insight into their working methods on some of their more recent projects such as their upcoming game Kids.
Michael Frei is a Swiss artist based in Zürich. He studied animation at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and at the Estonian Academy of Art in Tallinn. His films «Not About Us» and «PLUG & PLAY» received numerous awards all over the world. He was invited «Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo» in 2014. In 2015 he completed his first game «PLUG & PLAY». He is now producing and directing the project «KIDS».
Mario von Rickenbach is a Swiss game designer and developer based in Zurich. He studied Game Design at the Zurich University of the Arts, and more recently co-founded Playables. His award-winning works include the games «Mirage», «Krautscape», «Drei» and «Rakete» and «PLUG & PLAY». He is teaching game design at the University of Art and Design Lausanne (ECAL) in the Media & Interaction Design programme.
_Visual Disruption – Spher
Mylène Dreyer (CH)
Mylène Dreyer will explain how, from one visual trick, she conceptualized the puzzle game SPHER. She will show that aesthetic is not only a way of defining game identity. For example, It allows to disrupt the player’s visual perception. Working on these optical special effects can lead to interesting gameplay explorations.
Swiss interaction designer Mylène Dreyer shows her interest for interactive and animated media through games and experimental set up. As a developer and designer, Dreyer’s work focuses on the unexpected, seeking to disturb the player in order to create innovative interactive experiences.
_Keynote: Artificial Truth – Everything
David OReilly (US)
Aesthetic theory has been a core aspect of my thinking and practice for many years. In this talk I will give a broad overview of this subject as it relates to art inside and out of the world of games. I will describe how aesthetics relate to ideas, to the identity of the artist and to the world. How they are created and how they die. I will share my thought process in developing artificial worlds, extending from the ideas put forth in my 2009 essay «Basic Animation Aesthetics».
David OReilly (b. Ireland, 1985) is an artist working in the fields of design, animation and video games. He is the creator of the groundbreaking animated films «Please Say Something» and «The External World», his work has won numerous awards and been the subject of several retrospectives internationally. He served as writer for the television shows Adventure Time & South Park, and created the fictional video game in Spike Jonze’s Academy Award winning film «Her». In 2014 he released his first independent game «Mountain» and followed up with «Everything» in 2017.
© Everything. David OReilly. 2017
© Narita Boy. Koba Studios. 2017
© Les Metamorphose de Mr. Kalia. Lab 212. 2017
© SPHER. Mylene Dreyer. 2017
© Kids. Playables. 2017
© Memory of a Broken Dimension. Outbounds. 2017
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Opponent Preview: The Kansas City Chiefs
Posted on January 13, 2017 by Rebecca 6 comments
As Mike Tomlin might say, this isn’t my first rodeo writing about the Chiefs. The Steelers, as perhaps every sentient being in the English-speaking world is aware by now, beat the Chiefs not only handily but decisively in Week 4, thus leading the bipolar Steelers fan base to assume that “Pittsburgh’s Goin’ to the Super Bowl.” At least until they subsequently lost to the unregarded Dolphins.
And pretty much any sentient English-speaking human being is also aware that 1. Arrowhead Stadium, the former haunt of Steelers Offensive Coordinator (and former Chiefs head coach) Todd Haley, is a really loud place, and 2. The Steelers have to go to said very loud place to play this game, and that prior to mid-season at least they weren’t a good road team at all, and 3. Especially on the road, Ben Roethlisberger has shown an unhealthy tendency to throw the ball to the other teams’ receivers, and 4. The Chiefs are, well, chief in the league in terms of gratefully accepting such gifts, and often cash them in for a touchdown while they’re at it. And 5. The Chiefs are almost certainly looking to avenge their Week 4 beat-down at the hands of the Steelers.
Oh yes, and 6. the Chiefs have a guy (Tyreek Hill) returning kicks and punts who is a really slippery character, and 7. The Steelers’ special teams haven’t been very, well, special, as Mike Tomlin would have it. Did I miss anything?
I suppose what’s missing is any indication as to what’s changed since the Steelers beat the Chiefs, and what those changes (for both teams) mean in terms of Sunday’s game. So let’s cast a quick look back to that game. Beforehand I wrote:
It hasn’t been nearly long enough since we’ve seen the Chiefs. For some reason the Steelers seem to have to play the Chiefs almost every year, and almost every time something bad happens.
I went on to look at the earlier games and found that it mostly wasn’t true. The 2015 game didn’t result in an injury to Ben—he was already out—but the Chiefs won, 13-23, which I suppose is bad enough. Although the 2014 game was without untoward incident, the 2012 game was the famous rib-fest, with Ben providing the ribs. The 2011 game was less memorable:
The game was won by a score of 13-9. It featured plays such as a Mewelde Moore fumble, recovered by the Chiefs, who then returned the favor a couple of plays later when quarterback Tyler Palko fumbled at the KC 39, which was recovered by Brett Keisel. Nonetheless the Steelers had to punt after getting to the KC 24 after a holding penalty on Heath Miller and an 11-yard sack.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the former Steelers-Chiefs games regards the scoring. Prior to this fall’s match, these games represented what are probably the lowest total scores against a single opponent not residing in Baltimore—86 total points for the Steelers, 84 for the Chiefs. This is an average of 17.1 points per game for the Steelers and 16.9 for the Chiefs, more or less. If you remove the relatively high-scoring 2009 game, it is an average of 15.3 points per game for the Steelers, 14.2 for the Chiefs.
So what happened in Week 4? As I wrote before the game:
..not a great deal has changed in the upper echelons. Andy Reid is still the head coach. Alex Smith is still the quarterback. The offensive philosophy is still the short passing game with some runs thrown in which was so problematic for the Steelers’ defense last week.
So far their passing game is averaging 241 yards per game, one yard per game more than last season. That translates to 6.7 yards per pass attempt. The running game has dropped to 91.3 yards per game, whereas it was over 100 per game at the time of the Steelers’ visit. Jamaal Charles has not played so far this season, although he was a “limited participant” in Wednesday’s practice, and by far their leading rusher is Spencer Ware, who has a 4.9 average.
So what is it now? The season average in passing is 233.8 yards per game, which actually comes to seven yards per game less than 2015. It was good for 19th in the league. The running game averaged considerably more than they started out, at 109.2 yards per game. That is 15th in the league. Their leading back is still Spencer Ware, averaging 4.3 yards per attempt for the season. Jamaal Charles hasn’t played since Week 8, and has 40 yards rushing for the season.
At the time of the October game the Chiefs’ offense was ranked No. 16 by Football Outsiders. It is now ranked No. 13. The Steelers ended the season at No. 8 in Team Offense, but were ranked No. 14 back in October. The Philly game really skewed the numbers at the time (as did the lack of Le’Veon Bell.)
In other words, offensively not a lot has changed, other than Ramon Foster, who missed the Week 4 game, will play Sunday, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise. Which unfortunately still doesn’t tell us much about how the game is likely to go.
What about the defense? Prior to the game the Chiefs’ defense was ranked No. 4. The Steelers D had a firm grasp on the No. 26 slot. The Chiefs are now ranked No. 14, the Steelers No. 11. So I guess a lot has changed on that side of the ball, for both teams.
Certainly one of the things that has changed for the Steelers is the makeup of the defense. Cameron Heyward, the defensive star of Week 4, is on IR. Ryan Shazier, on the other hand, didn’t play in Week 4 but has been a force of nature in recent weeks. Other young guys, including Artie Burns, Sean Davis, and Javon Hargrave, have earned starting roles and have made tremendous strides.
But it’s foolish to assume the KC defense was treading water during this time. Unfortunately for the Steelers they have some fine pass-rushers who will be looking to renew their acquaintance with Ben, and some fine defensive backs who will be hoping to reap the rewards. We can only hope the interactions between all parties are fleeting and inconsequential.
Finally, I wrote back in Week 4:
In past years this matchup has often been considered a “trap game” for the Steelers. I don’t think anyone is calling it that after last week’s debacle. The real question is, is it a trap game for the Chiefs?
After all, they must be feeling pretty confident after looking at the footage of the Steelers/Eagles, featuring a lot of familiar-looking game planning. As well it might be, as Doug Pederson [the Eagles’ head coach] was Andy Reid’s offensive coordinator in both Philly and Kansas City before winning his current gig. Let’s hope they breeze into Heinz Field expecting a win and leave with a loss. I wouldn’t risk any money on it, though. Not until I see rather more from this year’s team…
And of course after a few more discouraging weeks we have indeed seen a great deal more from this year’s team.
As for the coming game, the worm may or may not turn at this point. But one thing I’m very sure of—whether or not this is a “revenge” game for the Chiefs, it isn’t a “trap game” for the Steelers. There’s something about the playoffs that sharpens one’s focus to an amazing extent. After all, you might as well “leave it all out on the field,” as the old sports cliché goes, because if you lose you’ll be cleaning out your locker.
Since one of the teams is going to have to do that, we can only hope it is the Chiefs…
tagged with Ben Roethlisberger, Kansas City Chiefs, Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers, Spencer Ware, Todd Haley, Tyreek Hill
Game/Opponent Previews
slatsmagoo
January 13, 2017 6:56 am
#5 gives me the most concern as the Chiefs will be quite angry/embarrassed about the beatdown they received earlier this year. Hopefully they will be more despondent than angry, lol. I think the two teams are well matched and take similar approaches to building a football team. However I’m still sure that the Steelers will win. It’s gonna be a solid, tough game. I can’t wait until Sunday!!!
roxannafirehall
Unlike, Slats, whose comments I like, the Chiefs desire for revenge gives me no agita. The Steelers will be highly focused on the prize and both teams will re really want this game.
What scares me is KC’s dink and dunk offense which is very effective, especially with punctuations by Terrible Tyreek. That dude is scary. I’m not concerned about our running game. It is critical that we run effectively, but no one has shown the ability to stop Mr. Bell. We need to take care of the ball and keep our foot on the gas whether ahead or behind.
I look for a very close game, at least two or three splash plays by KC. That said, we should have some on our own (a big takeaway by the defense would be great). Three point win. Not sure who.
GO STEELERS.
Ice is in the forecast, but the field is supposedly heated. Even so, it’s gonna be slippy n@. The one good thing about slippery fields is they seem to lessen the number of serious injuries.
Homer is concerned about Terrible Tyreek. The Steelers special teams lately have been “special” only like the Special Olympics. Except, when it comes to coverage, nobody on the Steelers gets a medal for participating. KC has Tyreek. Our coverage simply reeks.
Homer is scared, like he is every week, but Bell is football’s best all-weather back, and Ben is a good QB in bad weather, while Alex Smith, with smaller hands, will likely be hampered more by the wet field.
fanofgd
The Steelers rise to the occasion and win by 10. Lord willing and the crick don’t rise. Love it! Bring in the bucket brigade. Haha. Here we go Steelers!
No fear here. I’m old enough to enjoy the journey.
The Steelers are missing lots of pieces and keep giving me wins. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be giving them my all tomorrow, though that usually means sitting strategically, but the wheels have to come off the bus sometime? Don’t they?
Hopefully they’ll pull it into the shop right after riding through The Burg after the Superbowl victory parade.
Now game time tomorrow is a different story.
Conditions will definitely help the Steelers even if they cause the league to relocated the game in Pittsburgh, which I thought was a brilliant suggestion. Alex Smith doesn’t play well in the rain, doesn’t like passing deep even in the best of times, and has very uncharacteristically thrown interceptions in each of his past 4 games, with 6 pics over the second half of the season compared to only 2 in the first eight games. Suffice to say, the Steelers don’t have to be terribly concerned about the deep pass and can focus on taking away the Chiefs bread and butter in the short passing game. For that matter, throwing lots of short passes doesn’t work as well either with a wet ball and cold fingers. I think we can definitely get away with crowding the short zones and daring Alex Smith to throw over the top in the face of the elements and our newly ferocious pass rush.
On offense one of the biggest mismatches in the game is the Steelers running game against the Chiefs (lack of) run defense. The Chief’s run defense isn’t as bad as Buffalo, though, we will need to pass the ball too. I don’t think we should be afraid too, either. The Chiefs couldn’t cover anybody in week 4, and it is not a given that home field advantage and a bye week to gameplan will solve those problems. It’s not like there’s a ton of tape on what our passing game looks like with DHB, Rogers, and Ayers alongside AB, anyway.
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Vanessa Hudgens Praises Ex-Boyfriend Zac Efron
By Jessica Bailey
“I had someone to lean on who was going through the same thing”
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – FEBRUARY 24: Vanessa Hudgens attends the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 24, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Mike Coppola/VF19/Getty Images for VF)
Thirty-year-old actress Vanessa Hudgens has opened up about her four-year relationship with Zac Efron, saying she was grateful to have dated her High School Musical co-star. The couple met on the set of teen film and together, they navigated their way through new-found fame.
“It started off really organically,” Hudgens told the Awards Chatter podcast. “I could not have been more grateful to have that relationship at the time… [High School Musical] was this massive phenomenon and [all] eyes were on me. And it’s just a really weird foreign thing to go through, and by being in a relationship, it kind of kept me stabilised and grounded, and I had someone to lean on who was going through it as well.”
Hudgens did talk about the complications of dating a co-star. When things weren’t going so well in the relationship, the couple still had to film together. “I remember one time we did have a fight and it was while we were at rehearsals, and I remember Kenny Ortega coming around the corner with the most concerned look on his face like, ‘Oh no, is our movie going to fall apart right?’” remembers Hudgens. “I pride myself on being a professional, so I was like that aside we are going to move forward and do what we need to do…and we sorted it all out. I think because I was so young, I think that relationship stabilised me.”
WESTWOOD, CA – JULY 20: Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron arrive at the World Premiere of “Charlie St. Cloud” at the Regency Village Theatre on July 20, 2010 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic)
According to reports, the pair split in 2010 because the relationship ran its course. Hudgens is currently with 27-year-old Once Upon A Time In Hollywood star Austin Butler. They have been together for six years.
Efron is reportedly involved with Danish Olympic swimmer Sarah Bro. The actor will star in the Netflix original Ted Bundy biopic, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile, in May.
topics: NEWS, Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron
Diana Silvers: Meet The Mean Girl Of “Booksmart”
Sarah Hyland Quotes Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Film in Engagement Reveal
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Calls out Donald Trump’s Appalling Racism
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Is A Bombshell In White-Hot Versace
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Equal Justice Society
Transforming the nation's consciousness on race through the law, social science, and the arts.
Implicit Bias
EJS Applauds Equal Opportunity Victory in Caltrans Contracting Lawsuit
March 24, 2011 Keith Kamisugi
Sacramento, CA — A U.S. District Court Judge ruled yesterday that the California Department of Transportation’s equal opportunity program for contracting businesses can continue its mission to ensure that minority and women-owned businesses have equal ground to compete for federal stimulus funds and other federal contracts.
“Federal equal opportunity programs, such as the one at issue in this case, are critically important to ensuring that businesses owned by women and people of color are not unfairly shut out of jobs and contracts,” said Sara Jackson, staff attorney at Equal Justice Society (EJS). “We are pleased that the judge was receptive to the breadth of evidence we presented indicating that marketplace discrimination continues to be a barrier for women and people of color.”
The San Diego Chapter of Associated General Contractors filed the lawsuit–-Associated General Contractors of America v. California Department of Transportation–-in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento in 2009, seeking to invalidate the program. Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (Lawyers’ Committee), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Northern California, EJS and the law firm Bingham McCutchen LLP represented the Coalition for Economic Equity and the San Diego Chapter of the NAACP in the suit. The groups moved for summary judgment in the case, requesting that the judge uphold Caltrans’ Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program. Yesterday, summary judgment was granted, enabling the program’s efforts to ensure equitable contracting for small businesses to continue.
“Small businesses owned by women and minorities are a vital part of our State, employing thousands of Californians and strengthening the communities where they are located. It is essential that these businesses be allowed to compete on an equal basis for federally funded contracts,” stated Oren Sellstrom, Associate Director of Policy and Programs for the Lawyers’ Committee.
“Caltrans’ equal opportunity program is a smart practice that gives businesses a fair shot at competing for federal contracts,” said Jory Steele, Managing Attorney at the ACLU of Northern California.
“We are pleased with the Court’s decision,” added Sujal Shah, counsel at Bingham McCutchen. “It reaffirms a long line of decisions that recognize the importance of these types of programs in combating discrimination.”
Caltrans’ Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program has established a framework for ensuring fair participation in federally funded public works projects in California but has faced challenges. In 2006, Caltrans suspended the program’s race- and gender-conscious elements after a federal appeals court ruled that states had to document the existence of discrimination in the awarding of contracts. As a result, minority- and women-owned business participation on Caltrans’ federally funded projects plummeted — from nearly 11 percent in 2005 to just over 2 percent in 2009.
In 2007, an extensive disparity study commissioned by Caltrans documented discrimination against small businesses owned by women and minorities in federally funded contracts. Caltrans then sought approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to reinstate the suspended elements as a necessary remedy to such discrimination. DOT granted its approval in August 2008, noting that Caltrans has a duty under federal law to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not funneled into an exclusionary contracting system. In June 2009, Caltrans’ procedures were challenged in the lawsuit filed by the Associated General Contractors.
This entry was posted in General and tagged AGC v. Caltrans. Bookmark the permalink.
← Eva Paterson in Huffington Post – Protecting the 14th Amendment
Goodbye and Thank You, Sara Jackson! →
About EJS
The Equal Justice Society is transforming the nation’s consciousness on race through law, social science, and the arts. Led by President Eva Paterson, our legal strategy aims to broaden conceptions of present-day discrimination to include unconscious and structural bias by using social science, structural analysis, and real-life experience.
Join our email list and receive updates about our work, and related news and events. Click here to subscribe.
Trump’s Racist Tweets Escalate His White Supremacy Agenda
Crimes Against Humanity: The Banality of Evil
This Week in White Supremacy, Week 86: Sen. Mitch McConnell’s great-great-grandfathers enslaved 14 people
Updated: Implicit Bias Bill Package Advances in the California Legislature
This Week in White Supremacy: Week 85 – Plain View Project Exposes Pervasive Police Racism
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The Green Howards Museum
The Green Howards Association
Horace Stoney
Timelines: Ribbon of Remembrance
Horace Stoney was born on 7th December 1897. He was baptised in February 1898 at the Free Methodist Chapel, in Leeds close to where they were living at the time. At the age of 13 he was working as an office boy for an engineer and living at home with his parents in Leeds.
On 10th December 1915, three days after he turned 18 Horace went to Leeds, joined the Royal Army Service Corp (RASC) and was posted to the Army Reserve. His service record includes the statement: “Transferred to Learners’ Section” on 10th October 1916. A contract survives, signed by Horace the day previous, declaring that he joined the RASC with a view to be trained as a Motor Transport Driver. Success would guarantee him an additional 1 shilling per day in pay, and provide him with a skill to use after the war. The RASC ensured that ammunition, food and equipment was delivered forming a complex supply network.
Horace survived the war, although he contracted malaria, and was discharged in 1919. The 1939 Register lists him as living with his parents, John and Sarah, and his aunt Harriet, at his childhood home in Leeds. He was working as a Clerk Store Highway Constable and although he is listed married, his wife is not mentioned on the record.
Return to the ribbon
Explore more memories from the ribbon
George Johnson
Edith Purkiss wanted to tell us about her father’s war service. George Johnson Junior was a Richmond lad whose father, also called George had seen…
2nd Lieutenant Arthur F Clarke
2nd Lieutenant Arthur F Clarke was attending the 5th Battalion annual camp in Wales when war broke out. He spent the first months of the…
Robert Codling
Robert Codling was the son of John and Elizabeth Codling of 13 Revesby Street, Tyne Dock, South Shields. At the outbreak of war he enlisted…
The Ribbon of Remembrance
Trinity Church Square
Richmond, North Yorkshire
DL10 4QN
The generosity of our donors is vital in helping us interpret and preserve our collection for all to enjoy
© 2019 The Green Howards Trust (charity no: 1168426). Cookies Strategy & Policy Privacy Statement Maraid Design
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Thanks to everyone who came out Thursday and helped make it such a great night. I say all the time that FGS is the best night of the month for me but last Thursday was something special.
Bill started off the evening with a hilarious story of trying to buy a new car but not wanting the salesman to know that one of his requirements is that it’s big enough to sleep in. I was happy to find out that I’m not the only one who buys cars based on that metric. If you’ve ever had to live in your car it’s always in the back of your mind that you might have to do it again one day. I’m pretty sure that no one driving a Mini Cooper has ever been homeless.
Dan, a first-timer, followed that with a story that went straight into my heart. He told us the story of his 25-year marriage ending and the first kiss a year later that gave him hope that maybe one day he could find love again. I know what it’s like to feel like you’ll never be kissed again. It’s the worst feeling in the world. I wish I could go back and tell every woman who kissed me after years of loneliness and tell them how much it meant to me.
I was very happy I pulled Stephanie’s name out of Mr. Coffee because she got bumped last month and I hate having to look at someone when they give me the “two times in a row?” face. Stephanie has an interesting hobby of getting a tattoo for each adventure she’s been in around the world. Next time I see her at FGS I’m checking her arms for new ink to see if she’s telling a story that night.
Colby told a touching story of having to give up his career as a healer and it reminded me of all the people who have helped me heal through various techniques. I can’t imagine what it would be like for them if they lost that ability. When I listened to the story again I heard something I missed the first time. He also talked about how sometimes we give up one thing in order to get something else and how different that is from losing something and getting nothing in return. That’s a situation I rarely hear spiritual people talking about and now it’s something that I’m going to be thinking about for a while. Thank you Colby.
We had so many great tellers last night I feel like I’m letting you down by not telling you about all of them. Unfortunately, I only have so much time to get this email out and you only have so much time to spend reading it. I wish I could tell you about Janet falling out of a raft in Zambia and instead of being eaten by crocodiles she was rescued by the the most handsome man in Africa. And I’d love to talk more about how Eric grew up with the coolest dad in the world who played air guitar in the living room and still sends his son classic rock mix tapes. Unfortunately, all I have time to say is that if you weren’t there that night you missed a great show.
One teller I want to take time to thank personally is a woman I’d never seen before. I don’t know if she wants her name out there so I’ll just call her C. I happened to standing next to Mr. Coffee when C put her name in and I could tell she was having a rough night. Her eyes were red and puffy and she hesitated before writing her name down. We talked for a moment and she told me a little bit about the story she wanted to tell. I told her I didn’t know a safer place to tell that story in public than where she was.
The story she told was how the year she didn’t make the usual call to her little brother to wish him a happy Thanksgiving. She found out later that it was the night she lost him to suicide. Even though her story was heartbreaking for me to hear I was grateful she chose us to share it with. I don’t know another group of people, who are mostly strangers to each other, who could receive that story with the grace and compassion that you guys did. Thank you for supporting C and all the other tellers over the years who have told these difficult stories. And thank you C for having the courage to tell it. It made a difference to me and I know it did for others.
I wish I could name everyone who told that night but I don’t have my notes with me and I don’t want to forget anyone. As always, special thanks to the first-timers, though, many of whom had never been onstage before. You guys always amaze me.
The audio levels on the recording were a little low but still worth keeping. It just means you’ll have to either turn up the volume or wear headphones. I’m still trying to get this audio stuff dialed in. Send me an email if you told a story that night and I’ll send you the audio of your performance. I only send audio to the people who told a story and it’s only of the story they told. A lot of the stories were hear at FGS are pretty personal so I don’t send them out to anyone but the teller.
Our next show in June 22 and the theme is “Stories of Discovering What You Love.” I’ll get the invite out as soon as I can.
One last thing before I go. I forgot to mention at Roy St. that Transportationchoices.org is hosting a storytelling show and they’re looking for people with public transit stories. If you have a 3-5 minute story about something memorable that happened to you on the bus or other form of public transit they’d love to hear it. I’m not sure if you should just show up at the event or if you need to contact them beforehand so email Rachel Logo at rachel@transportationchoices.org for details.
I pasted the text of her email below:
“I wanted to reach about a program we have coming up that I thought might be of interest to you and your audience. This June we are celebrating public transportation, with our annual Ride Transit Month program, which includes prizes, fun events, and more! On June 15th we are presenting a special live storytelling event that highlights the unique way that transit connects to people, places and community. We are looking for riders of all kinds to share a short 3-5 minute story of a moment they have had on transit.
I’d love to make sure there’s the opportunity for all voices to be included in this event, and would appreciate any help connecting with voices and stories that don’t always get heard.
Transit Talks – Moments in Motion
Date: June 15th, 6pm
Location: Jewelbox Theater
https://transportationchoices.secure.force.com/donations/CnP_PaaS_EVT__ExternalRegistrationPage?event_id=a28A0000001IcX4IAK
To celebrate Ride Transit Month this June we are bringing you a very special version of our quarterly Transit Talks: Moments in Motion. This live storytelling event will feature a collection of stories about connections, told by riders of all kinds, about a moment they’ve had on transit.
A conversation with a stranger, an unexpected reunion, a date. It can all happen when we step out of our bubbles and onto transit.
These true stories will highlight the unique ways that public transportation connects us to people, places, and community.”
That’s all I got, though I suppose it’s enough given the length of this email. I hope you’re all out enjoying the weather. Remember the sunblock! We live in the PNW and are defenseless against the sun.
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NextJuly 1st @ Gettysburg Battlefield: AntiFA vs. The Patriots
State Senator Ralph ‘Switch-hitter’ Shortey, Found in Hotel Room with 17 y.o. old boy, Resigns
This RINO was playing ball for the Democrats
hbg100.com on 25 Jun 2017
State Senator Ralph ‘Switch-hitter’ Shortey, Found in Hotel Room with 17 y.o. old boy, Resigns – NBC KROF
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma State Senator Ralph ‘Switch-hitter’ Shortey submitted his resignation letter to Senate leadership Wednesday afternoon, less than a week after child prostitution charges were filed against him.
His attorney, Ed Blau, provided NewsChannel 4 with Shortey’s resignation letter:
Dear Governor Fallin,
I hereby resign effective immediately from the Senate of the State of Oklahoma.
It has been my honor to serve the constituents of the 44th Senate District since 2010. I appreciate the service the men and women of the Oklahoma Senate provide, and I recognize the need for the business of the Senate to proceed without distraction for the remainder of the legislative session.
Shortey also released a personal statement:
Earlier today, I submitted my resignation, effective immediately, to the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, as well as to Governor Fallin. I thank the constituents of Senate District 44 for the opportunity they provided to serve. Because I take that responsibility seriously, I recognize that the charges against me are a distraction to their interests and the remaining legislative session, which should serve all Oklahomans. My resignation is evidence of my respect for public service and the duties of our elected officials. I ask for the privacy of my family – my wife and four daughters – as I defend myself of these charges.
NewsChannel 4 has reached out to Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Schulz, R-Altus, who said:
“I have accepted Ralph Shortey’s resignation, which is effective immediately. To ensure justice is not impeded, the Oklahoma Senate will continue to cooperate with all authorities looking into this matter. My thoughts and prayers have been, and will continue to be with, all those involved in this tragic situation. With this resignation, the Oklahoma Senate now moves forward with the important business of the people of the great state of Oklahoma.”
Following his resignation, Oklahoma Senate Democrats released the following statement:
“We are aware that Ralph Shortey has resigned his seat in the Oklahoma Senate. We are glad he has submitted his resignation effective immediately and that he made this decision in a fairly prompt and straightforward manner. The people of Senate District 44 deserve a senator they can rely on and respect. They deserve to replace him with a senator who will be focused on the needs and concerns of southwest Oklahoma City as quickly as possible. Therefore, we are calling on the governor to promptly set a special election at the earliest possible date to fill Ralph Shortey’s now vacant seat. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with all those affected by this situation.”
Calls for Shortey’s resignation have echoed in the Capitol since Thursday when the Oklahoma City Republican senator was charged with engaging in child prostitution.
“Ralph Shortey should resign his seat in the Senate,” said Gov. Mary Fallin in a statement last week. “The charges against him do not reflect the character and decorum that we expect of an elected official. It is not acceptable. In the meantime, there’s a criminal justice system in place to review the allegations. We should respect the process and allow it to work as designed.”
The charges stem from a Moore Police Department investigation that began when police were called to the Super 8 motel at 1520 N. Service Rd. for a runaway teen shortly before 1 a.m. on March 9.
Court documents said a friend of the teen watched him get into an SUV near his home.
The friend then followed the vehicle to the hotel where the teen was seen going into a room with an unknown man.
According to a search warrant affidavit, the friend called the teen’s father, who then alerted police.
The man was later identified as Shortey.
Moore police found the 17-year-old boy – who has a history of soliciting for sex on Craigslist, according to his parents – and Shortey in the hotel room with evidence of condoms and a strong smell of marijuana.
Based on the police affidavit and prosecutors, Shortey sought to exchange money for sex with the teen.
Court documents lay out lurid messages that were sent between the teen and Shortey.
WARNING: The court documents in the link below contain GRAPHIC, DISTURBING and ADULT language. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
Shortey affidavit details GRAPHIC messages exchanged between the state senator and teen
He faces three felony counts of engaging in child prostitution, engaging in prostitution within 1,000 feet of a church and transporting a minor for prostitution or lewdness.
“He offered him money for sexual contact, he then picked up that minor and took him to a hotel for that purpose,” said Susan Caswell, Cleveland County first assistant district attorney, at the time.
Shortey, 35, was booked into jail and released on $100,000 bond Thursday.
The next day, FBI agents were seen searching the senator’s southwest Oklahoma City home and carrying out boxes.
However, it is not known what those boxes contained.
Officials said the search warrant is currently sealed.
The U.S. Secret Service is also assisting Moore police in their investigation.
Shortey’s attorney tells NewsChannel 4 his client will likely be arraigned later this week.
One day before charges were filed last week, the Senate voted to suspend Shortey from all Senate activities, stripping his name from all authored legislation.
Shortey has served long enough in the legislature that he can collect is $9,000 a year pension when he retires, even if he’s convicted.
State law strips elected officials of their pension if convicted of felonies like bribery, corruption or perjury – but it does not include prostitution with a minor.
If that’s 25 years of retirement, for example, the state of Oklahoma will pay Shortey nearly $230,000.
Shortey has served in the Oklahoma Senate since his election in 2010, where he has been known to author controversial legislation.
Shortey was re-elected in 2014 after defeating his democratic challenger, Michael Brooks-Jimenez, a criminal defense and immigration attorney.
Brooks-Jimenez announced Tuesday he is throwing his hat in the ring for when a special election is called to fill the 44th District’s senate seat.
“I think you have to convince the voters, the people of southwest Oklahoma City, that you’ve got integrity, and you’re committed to representing their interests at the capitol, instead of being distracted by other things,” Brooks-Jimenez said. “I’ve lived in this district my whole life, and I’ve been wanting strong leadership for a long time and I’m tired of waiting.”
The governor’s office will meet with election officials to determine when a special election can be held to fill the seat.
Posted in: Scandal
Tagged in: Harrisburg100, hillary supporter, oklahoma state senator, ralph shortey
July 1st @ Gettysburg Battlefield: AntiFA vs. The Patriots
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Oregon Ducks Men's Basketball
Oregon State Beavers Football
Oregon State Beavers Men's Basketball
Latest Marijuana News
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Grants Pass Daily Courier
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5 Best Tracks on Queen Latifah’s ‘Black Reign’
BoomBox Staff
Queen Latifah was one of the most recognized women in hip-hop in the early 1990s. Having released two well-received albums and landed some acting gigs in films like Jungle Fever, House Party 2 and TV shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And she's just landed the starring role of Kadeejah James on a new FOX sitcom called Living Single.
But she was still a rapper first, and Latifah had heard criticism that she was becoming more of a crossover star than a serious rapper. Her sophomore album Nature of A Sista had included lots of house and R&B tracks, and she sang on that album more than she had on her acclaimed 1989 debut All Hail the Queen. With East Coast hip-hop embracing the jazzy, hardcore sound of producers like Pete Rock and DJ Premier, Latifah had to deliver something that cemented her credibility as an artist.
In 1993, women in hip-hop were firmly established--but not as commercially successful as their male counterparts. With the notable exception of platinum-sellers Salt N Pepa, there had yet to be a solo female rapper to even land a gold-selling album. That would change with Queen Latifah's third album.
We looked back at Black Reign and picked five tracks that stand out as highlights on Latifah's most hardcore project.
"Rough..." feat. Heavy D, KRS-One, Treach
Prod. Tony Dofat
After 1991s Nature of A Sista was met with some chatter of Latifah going R&B, the Jersey rhymer was eager to remind everyone that she could deliver hardcore hip-hop. On "Rough...," she teamed with KRS, Treach and Heavy for an underrated posse cut that proved Latifah had skills to keep up with anyone.
"Weekend Love"
Prod. Kay Gee
But Latifah wasn't going to stop being Latifah, and as a result, she was able to also deliver smoother tracks, like this island-flavored single that featured her vocalizing with Tony Rebel.
"I Can't Understand"
In 1992, Roxanne Shante had taken shots at MC Lyte, Yo-Yo and Latifah after an incident at a taping of Sisters In the Name of Rap, so Latifah responded with the first verse of this single. "Next time, there won't be no talkin'..."
"U.N.I.T.Y."
It became Latifah's biggest single and made Black Reign her best-selling rap album. It was impossible to escape "U.N.I.T.Y." in late 1993/early 1994; it became one of Latifah's defining songs and an anthem against misogyny and abuse. It also carried a little bit of beef; Latifah took lyrical shots at Detroit rapper Boss in the final verse.
"Just Another Day"
Prod. S.I.D.
Obviously, "U.N.I.T.Y." was the biggest hit; but the best song on Latifah's third album is this smoothed out ode to the neighborhood. Criminally underrated in the wake of the single that preceded it, it remains arguably Latifah's finest moment before she shifted her focus to Hollywood.
50 Greatest Songs By Female Rappers
Source: 5 Best Tracks on Queen Latifah’s ‘Black Reign’
Filed Under: queen latifah
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Tag Archives: Hologram for the King
Trump and Heidegger
Donald Trump and Martin Heidegger
After a short bout of the news last evening, we took a break from my current obsession with the American election, the outcome of which I believe is so crucial to the future of the world. We first watched Tom Hanks in A Hologram for the King. Though we always enjoy the acting of Tom Hanks, this updated and light comedic version of Death of a Salesman (Alan Clay) in both a career and a life crisis that is set in Saudi Arabia, and that is also an updated version of a road movie with Yousef (Alexander Black), was a movie in which the delays and frustrations Alan Clay experiences as he tries to meet the king in a scheduled appointment matched our own frustrations as we waited for the movie to get on with the story. It turned out that Alan Clay had more patience than we did, and we finally turned the movie off to watch a documentary.
Being adrift in a strange place in an encounter with others outside your normal experience can be discombobulating, but imagine this experience taking place, not in a man entering a world which is a marriage of tradition and ultra-modernity that is really a modern version of a culturally arid desert, but by a tribe in the Amazon rain forest reserved for non-contact tribes as the tribe emerges to test contact with a perimeter of the civilized world with its cameras and its guns, its clothes and its medicines? This is the theme of the documentary, The Unconquered: In Search of the Amazon’s Last Uncontacted Tribes.
The exploration of the ideas and presumptions in protecting such tribes in their natural environment in the reserve area on the borders of Peru and Brazil as a tribe emerges to make contact with “civilized” society is explored with sensitivity, nuance and honesty in this film. If you think Tom Hanks trying to sell a 3-D hologram system for convention meetings to Saudi Arabia is an exploration of the interaction between one world and another, an exploration of interculturalism in a 3-D way, imagine what it is to live in a small isolated tribe in the Amazon jungle and make your first steps into “our” world. The most important lesson we learn from the gentle and sensitive work of the Brazilian medical doctor and anthropologist is how the Rousseauian fantasy of the noble savage untouched by civilization living in a Garden of Eden of moral innocence is such BS.
This is what it is like to live in a state of nature. They are often cold. They never sleep well. They often go days without food. They are deathly afraid of panthers. Yet they encounter the same discomforts of infidelity exacerbated by the continuing fear and experience of death of their children, their friends and their parents. Though pleasant, curious and often smiling, they are NOT happy campers. Except for the contact with germs to which they have no immunity and voracious businessmen who have aspirations to exploit the natural wealth of the reserve, escaping the isolation of the rainforest is not so much a seduction by modernity as an escape from a raft of insecurities and a very short life span.
The effects of the clash of cultures is apparent as the Trump world of unreason and resistance to reality, of incoherence and the conviction that personal opinion is superior to considered opinion, as it comes in contact with the uncertainties of a world of compromise and cooperation, of caring and compassion that has to be realized through very imperfect governmental and bureaucratic institutions. Monday evening’s presidential debate was, indeed, surreal. It had both a nightmarish, disorienting quality of a bad dream in which unreal fantasies clash with realities along with the exhilaration and delight, in spite of cynicism, in the tremendous benefits of an ameliorative society of civility.
The first unreality encountered is how the Trump forces tried to spin a clearly disastrous debate from the Trump side into a victory, citing unreliable online polls as contrasted with polls that make an effort at scientific objectivity. According to one example of the latter, two-thirds of Americans thought that Hilary won. Less than one-third, 27%, thought Trump won in a poll that seemed to confirm that one-third of the voting public is immune to counterfactual proofs and detest theories of evolution, conclusions by science of climate change and dislike the benefits of good governance. This is the core of the Trump support as it expresses the gradual deformation of the Republican Party as it increasingly compromised with the voices of unreason in an effort to retain a popular base. This was akin to the compromises the Democratic Party once made with the Dixiecrats that retained American institutions of repression for so many decades.
In a perverse world, doing one’s homework and being prepared are equated with acting that is rehearsed and scripted. This conclusion is not only drawn by Trump supporters, but by liberals who, like Trump supporters, prefer raw authenticity to studied argument. Trump was expressive – sometimes aloof and at other times stressed and irritated, sometimes smug and at other times condescending, but at all times increasingly irritated and somewhat out of control. As one strong but intelligent Trump supporter expressed it, Trump, in winging it, may have appeared more genuine, but his performance was more “tangle and rumble,” more jangle and less humble so that the “authentic” Trump was onstage without the energy of a mass following in a mass rally cheering him on and reinvigorating the performance artist that he had become. The format was truly rigged against him to help bring out who he is when placed in a very different context not under his sole control.
So how did Hillary perform. From the perspective of those who opt for authenticity, whether from the right or the left, she was intelligent and sharp, but also rigid and mechanical. But Trump failed because he had tried to marry his own bluster and indifference to truth presented as telling it “like it is,” with a weak and unconvincing effort to appear presidential, and I stress “appear,” for leaving the panther and going for the throat only left Trump stranded in the desert of Saudi Arabia with all its glitz of modernity but none of the underpinnings. The result – an inability to hit where it hurts as he was caught in the headlights of two clashing cultures and expectations.
Hillary Clinton said that she wanted “to invest in you’ [the middle class], “to invest in the future.” Clinton wanted to expand the welfare state. Trump was still stuck in the belief of living in the abundance of a rain forest and trickle-down economics, in relieving the rich from their onerous tax burdens so they could invest (and accumulate) even more as evidence by his own non-payment of any taxes through the use of tax loopholes that indicated, in his own words, that he was “being smart.” Trump saw the world from a one-dimensional perspective, fretting about the jobs lost in the industrial belt of America through trade agreements, NAFTA in particular, described with Trump’s usual sense of absolute hyperbole as the worst trade deal in the history of mankind, as if he had ever demonstrated any knowledge of or interest in that history. Trump ignored the huge job gains in other areas and the huge trade benefits to the U.S. which Clinton deftly ignored lest she alienate the workers abandoned in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio even more.
So the debate started with two opposed views of the economic world. In one, jobs are “stolen,” ignoring the huge increase in jobs and employment over the last eight years. In the other view, jobs are “created,” ignoring those lost in the process. So Trump, immersed in a world of contradictions and representing a party opposed to more taxes and bureaucracy, proposed more taxes and bureaucracy on companies that import, all in the name of preventing the loss of jobs without calculating the cost of new jobs left uncreated. Trump was a spokesperson for the voices of anti-globalization and for building barriers to the connections of people and goods in an increasingly interconnected world. And this was the advocate who insisted that Hillary was regulating companies out of business with more taxes. But coherence has not exactly been Trump’s forte.
Trump defended “stop and frisk” even though the studies of criminologists and sociologists have overwhelmingly indicated that the practice is inefficient, ineffective and counter-productive, and an exercise in micro-management gone not only awry, but into unconstitutional terrain. But Trump as an exemplar of faith in “authenticity” as he creates modern monuments to the gaudy and contemporary versions of baroque suitable for visions that see the world from a decadent end-of-empire point of view.
So what does this all have to do with Martin Heidegger, reputed to be one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century? (If you want a brief but less antithetical version of Heidegger that is a more subtle version of separating Heidegger from his racist past, there is a relatively short and well-written article by Adam Kirsch called, “Heidegger Was Really a Nazi,” in the 26 September 2016 Tablet. http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/214226/heidegger-was-really-a-real-nazi) A warning. Before I ever knew that Heidegger was a Nazi and a cultural, though not biological, anti-Semite, he was the one philosopher I read in graduate school that I viscerally despised. I belong to the small minority of philosophers who argue that Heidegger does not deserve his preeminence, not because he was a Nazi, but because, in the world of thought, he is as big a blowhard in the intellectual realm as Donald Trump is in the material realm. And that is quite aside from his being a Nazi, though there is a connection between being the kind of performer who advertises and presents himself as being better than anyone around.
Like Trump, Heidegger when he joined the Nazi Party exalted the effort to marry populism with a new national beginning. As Kirsch begins his essay, “In the spring of 1933, a few months after Hitler took power, Heidegger joined the Nazi Party and was elected rector of Freiburg University, where his expressed goal was Gleichschaltung—the ‘alignment’ of the academy with the new party-state. At his inaugural ceremony, the audience gave the Hitler salute and sang the Horst Wessel Song, the anthem of the Nazi party, before Heidegger spoke about “the glory and greatness of this new beginning.” Trump says the same thing in much simpler terms: “Make America Great Again.”
What does making America great again mean? Sacrificing the middle class for the wealthy in the name of collective greatness and the acquisition of wealth by the few. Ignoring the protection of human rights and the constitution in favour of what Mao Zedong called “masslining,” but which I call mass lying. It means never acknowledging and admitting, let alone apologizing for when you are wrong. If anyone thinks that high and lofty thought cannot be reconciled with crude populism, read Giovanni Gentile, the Italian neo-Hegelian [NOT Hegelian] philosophical apologist for Mussolini’s policies. Just as the sweetness and light of the pure Platonic life cannot be so easily separated from crude barbarism as butter can be separated from whole milk, so too the philosophy of bitterness and resentment cannot be so easily separated from the unworldly realm of authenticity and alienation.
For Heidegger as for Trump, the world is depicted as a horror show, a dark and dank place where everything has gone to hell. We do not understand this through science, through evidence, through intellectual analysis, but through our gut. The texture and make-up of the world is only grasped directly by our emotions. Though called a “state-of-mind” by Heidegger, it is really a mindless approach to existence, one in which the intellectual workings of the mind must be deliberately bracketed. Then existence reveals itself, as it did for Rousseau, as a state of submission and slavery, in Trump to the state and “liberals” and the media, in Heidegger, to the entrapment of modernity altogether.
The world is not of our own making but we have been cast adrift in this world – except for those who realize this and rise above it to take advantage of it in a distorted version of Friedrich Nietzsche’s “will to power”. Humans are just there. They are no longer, as in Kant, autonomous agents in making their own history. They are not, as in Hegel, participants in a collective effort of spirit to move beyond current absolutes into a new world. Subjective agency has been removed from humanity, and in Heidegger it has been removed absolutely. This justifies the need for the one great leader who can lead the masses out of the wilderness into a great new world, or, as in Heidegger, back to an authentic world, his version of a “state of nature” even as evidence clearly indicates that the reality of such a state is an illusion while the illusion of such a state deforms reality.
In the Heideggerian “hell,” we are imprisoned in the illusion of Sorge, of a version of care and compassion as the delusion that prevents us from examining how we have been used and thrown onto the dustbin of history. In the Heideggerian world, the only foundational reality we face is death, a world in which a supersalesman like Donald Trump can exhibit and exemplify the illusion of escape. Trump offers us his lived experience of triumph in contrast to the lived experience of betrayal, a triumph of his personal will to acquire and expand the possessive individualist that he is. Both Heidegger and Trump demand we face and challenge this world of despair into which we have been cast. Trump would, if he could, own the world rather than have it owned by the masses to whom he appeals who get caught up in his prescription for escape.
One cannot see this world from the inside, from the bureaucrats who dominate Washington, from the intellectuals who lead and manipulate it, but only from the outside, and best by one who is outside, but who has personally participated actively in its corruption and taken advantage of it. Trump is the smart one because he uses the rules of the system to escape his obligations, to pay no taxes; this is a badge of honour not a moral confession. The world is inherently corrupt and Trump at the peak of Trump Tower has the singular ability to both see it and take advantage of it and even to promise a way out for the masses as he creates a new political and economic delusion.
Heidegger and Trump, in an intellectual and a visceral way, both depict the world as inherently a place of alienation. The reality is that it is not the ones outside the establishment, but the ones who are outside society altogether who have been cast in the role of the “wandering Aramean,” those who live in the world of the cast-outs and refugees at one end of the spectrum of true outsiders, and those imprisoned in a sanctuary, a no-contact world,” who can actually see the wonder of modernity. That is why they pose the greatest danger for both Heidegger and Trump.
If Trump is the exemplar of superficiality and Heidegger is the exemplar of one who wants to return to a real authentic world, a cursory examination reveals them to be two sides of the same coin, head and tails respectively in an illusionary two-state world seen as authentic, or, in Trump’s words, as “beautiful.” That is why cooperation with others for mutual benefit, cooperation with allies to confront evil, why dialogue and diplomacy are perceived as shams. If the world is cast as one of violence and suspicion, of deep irredeemable divisions, then following the Führer might be the only way out.
What about the followers of Heidegger that exalted freedom and individual expression while putting Stalin on a pedestal like Jean Paul Sartre? This libertarian-communist version of Trump’s capitalist delusions is but the Janus face of the core identical philosophical assumptions. The good, the right, truth and falsification, all can be sacrificed on the altar of authentic existence. Is that authentic existence depicted in a material sense of abounding wealth and health, or is it to be depicted as a return to nature, or Heidegger’s updated version of that naturalist thesis? In either world, the slaughter of Tutsis in Rwanda, of Azeris and Syrians in the Middle East, of Jews in the Holocaust, can all but be ignored in the greater task of saving America or Germany from the despondency and desperation of the pictures they paint either in plain and simple English or in convoluted and esoteric German to camouflage the world in the name of revelation and unveiling.
Heidegger and Trump are just both false prophets.
Leave a comment Posted in Ethics, Obama, Philosophy, Politics, Social and Political Musings Tagged Amazon tribes, Hanks, Hillary Clinton, Hologram for the King, interculturalism, Kirsch, Sartre, Sorge
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Tag Archives: Obama
Islam, Obama
President Obama’s Genocide
By Ben Voth
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was released from Iraqi prison custody in 2009, shortly after President Obama came to power largely upon a political promise to end U.S. military involvement in Iraq. Baghdadi was captured in February 2004 by U.S. forces and had been involved in extensive radical activities including kidnappings of many individuals and ransom activities. Under Saddam he had been involved in radical Islamic sects, earning him extra attention from the Baathist government before U.S. forces arrived. Since the premature departure of American forces led by President Obama, Baghdadi rose quickly to power among Islamic supremacists. By 2010, he was acknowledged as the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq. By 2014, his genocidal fantasy with the new moniker of ISIS was already killing 1,000 Iraqis a month in car bombings and various supremacist terrorist acts designed to kill the innocent while attracting more fanatical followers to the idealized task of re-creating the Islamic Caliphate.
ISIS spread across Iraq and Syria and seized U.S. military supplies as it institutionalized savage genocidal policies across the region. Everything from the sale of oil to human organs helped fund this genocidaire’s radical nihilism that was designed to swallow up the entire world if enough allegiance could be gained. Spectacular ‘deaths as text’ filled the internet with videos of people being burned alive, drowned, crucified, thrown off buildings, and an endless quest for more shocking and vivid betrayals of human dignity. ISIS managed to kill 1,200 people outside of its locus of control in Syria and Iraq. Though President Bush predicted in his State of the Union message of 2007 that a premature exit from Iraq would lead to precisely this scenario, the Obama administration continually maintained that one of its most important successes was withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq. More than 30,000 people were killed by ISIS — mostly Muslims but many Christians and Yazidis as well. Christians and Yazidis were begrudgingly recognized as specific genocide targets in 2016 by the U.S. State Department, but the Obama administration did not prioritize their escape to places such as the United States. The refusal to protect the Yazidis was in some sense ideological payback for the fierce support Kurdish groups gave to the U.S. invasion of Iraq since 2002 to the present. In fact, President Obama mocked such religious preferences for the Christians and Yazidis as “Un-American” in 2015:
“When I hear political leaders suggesting that there would be a religious test for which a person who’s fleeing from a war-torn country is admitted, when some of those folks themselves come from families who benefited from protection when they were fleeing political persecution — that’s shameful, That’s not American. That’s not who we are. We don’t have religious tests to our compassion.”
Of course, that is precisely the kind of standard that was necessary to protect Jews from Nazi Germany and it was the standard of military action in Bosnia for NATO to protect Muslims in the mid-1990s over the objections of the United Nations. Moreover, Obama’s misinterpretation of humanitarian asylum norms gives preference to perpetrators of genocide who control public discourse. Obama’s words help prevent Christians, who make up ten percent of Syria’s population, from escaping the genocidal hell on earth created by ISIS. Samantha Power, who some say wrote the book on America and genocide, did not undo that policy argued by President Obama in her role as UN Ambassador. She did have time to recently ask the Russian government if they had any “shame” in their efforts to stop ISIS.
There were three times as many deaths in Syria since 2012 as there were in Iraq from 2003 to 2009. Yet, there were no massive marches in the U.S. and Europe against this violence as there were during the Iraq war. The anti-war movement has never been against war. It is against the United States military and the Israeli military. There have been nearly 70,000 deaths in Iraq since 2009 and the abrupt U.S. military withdrawal. These death tolls were largely ignored by the media in an effort to bolster the false perception that the Iraq withdrawal was a success. These deaths lay squarely upon the Obama administration and an intellectual culture that bolsters the idea that American assertiveness in the world is the root of all evil. Terrorism is a rational response to the reality that America hates Muslims. That pathology is believed among some in the U.S. and among the supremacists in Iraq and Syria. The parsing of terrorism data to create domestic ‘lightning is more likely to kill you than terrorism’ is direct jingoistic dehumanization of victims living outside the United States and part of a larger intellectual pathology of suggesting that America is an evil hegemon bent on harming innocent Muslims.
Baghdadi is a genocidaire who envisions killing every person on the planet who disagrees with his Islamic supremacist vision. He never should have been released from the Iraqi prison in 2009 so he could create ISIS. His rhetoric and actions combined with the callous inaction and deception of the Obama administration created conditions of genocide in Iraq and Syria. Obama’s chief expert on genocide Samantha Power, who mocked the U.S. government in her 2002 book, must now gaze upon hundreds of thousands of lives lost in genocidal activities during her leadership. The thesis that American military withdrawal from Iraq would defuse the motives for terrorism has proven terribly false. The current effort to demonize the new immigration orders for Syria that would reprioritize entry and allow genocide victims to escape this age of genocide is diabolical and we ought not be silent.
Ben Voth is an associate professor of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs and Director of Debate at Southern Methodist University. He is the author of The Rhetoric of Genocide: Death as a Text and co-author with Robert Denton of Social Fragmentation and the Decline of American Democracy.
genocideIslamObama
Israel, Obama, USA
Will Obama be barred from golf club for anti-Israel policies?
Some in Maryland golf club looking to block outgoing president’s application over recent UN Security Council vote fiasco.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama D-Ill., speaks at a Chicago 2016 Olympic rally at Daley Plaza in Chicago Friday, June 6, 2008.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
David Rosenberg//
Members of a predominantly Jewish golf club in the Washington DC metro area are considering barring the outgoing president from joining the organization, after his administration’s refusal to veto a controversial anti-Israel resolution at the United Nations Security Council.
The Woodmont Country Club in Maryland, a posh golf club established more than a century ago by Jews barred from traditional country clubs in the area, is divided over Obama’s application, with some members lambasting him as the most anti-Israel president in history.
While some have extended a friendly welcome to President Obama and even suggested waiving the membership fees – $80,000 for entrance, plus nearly $10,000 each year in dues – others expressed outrage.
“Can you imagine how angry I would be if I had paid $80K to have to look at this guy who has done more to damage Israel than any president in American history?” a senior official at a DC Jewish organization told the New York Post.
“After the UN vote and attack on Israel, I think it probably hurts the club. If there is a club that excludes Jews, he would probably be more comfortable around those folks.”
The club’s general manager, Brian Pizzimenti, said his organization would be “honored to have” Mr. Obama as a member, a source told the Post that opposition to the president’s membership is widespread.
“In light of the votes at the UN and the Kerry speech and everything else, there’s this major uproar with having him part of the club, and a significant portion of the club has opposed offering him membership.”
The president will be able to apply to the club formally once he becomes a private citizen following President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next Friday.
IsraelObamaUnited States
How many more killers sworn to attack America will Obama release?
January 7, 2017 sooth·say·er
By Rick Moran
Earlier this week, President Obama transferred 4 Guantanamo detainees to Saudi Arabia. That leaves 55 hardened terrorists incarcerated at Camp Delta.
But before he leaves office, the president is planning to transfer up to 22 more prisoners to various countries, despite the fact that the review board set up to determine which prisoners can safely be released says that many of those remaining terrorists have promised to return to jihad.
The 4 detainees transferred to Saudi Arabia will undergo “rehabilitation” therapy at a facility the Kingdom says has had great success in “deprogramming” violent terrorists.
In recent weeks, the number of detainees who are expected to be set free by the end of Obama’s tenure on January 20 has varied by news agencies from 17 to 19.
Earlier this week, the White House responded to incoming President Donald Trump’s urging to stop transferring prisoners out of Guantánamo, saying it plans to liberate more detainees before Obama leaves office.
The Obama administration reportedly told Congress last month that the sitting president would reduce the population of Guantánamo, also known as Gitmo, by 19 to 40 detainees.
Now, the Daily Mail reports:
President Obama is planning to transfer at least 22 additional Guantanamo Bay detainees out of the military detention center before he leaves office later this month, DailyMail.com has learned.
The group being released will be drawn from those held at Guantanamo – who include an accused senior al Qaeda bomb-maker, the terror group’s top financial manager, and two intended 9/11 hijackers, who have all been held in the Cuba-based U.S. detention facility for more than a decade.
Of the 59 prisoners still held at Gitmo, 22 have been cleared for release by Obama’s multi-agency parole-style board known as the Periodic Review Board (PRB) and nearly half (27) are considered “forever prisoners,” or too dangerous to release.
However, the PRB has made the decision to liberate prisoners who had already been designated too dangerous to release, which means the “forever prisoner” designation has not prevented the Obama administration from transferring out detainees.
According to the Miami Herald, the remaining 10 prisoners are still undergoing war crimes proceedings at military commissions, including six who are facing death penalty tribunals.
The Daily Mail reports:
The list of “recommended for transfer” prisoners includes a number of top al Qaeda operatives and commanders
Some of the recommended transfers have also vowed to return to jihad if they are ever released, according to reports from US military officials. They have also threatened to assassinate the U.S. president, kill American citizens, and attack other world leaders who are allied with the West.
This is what happens when national security is pushed aside in favor of a political agenda. President Obama promised to close the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and he is willing to sacrifice American lives to fulfill that pledge.
As for the Saudi “deprogramming” facility, the Middle East Institute’s study of the program found that it “has proven unable to rehabilitate the most radical and dangerous militants. Furthermore, the program’s utility as a model for other nations is limited by its reliance on Saudi-specific factors.”
The recidivism rate of Gitmo detainees returning to the fight is close to 30%. That’s nearly one in three terrorists – a low number considering how dangerous the remaining prisoners are considered to be.
President-elect Trump opposes any more releases from Gitmo, but he is helpless until January 20. Trump will be left to deal with any potential fallout from Obama’s release of people who want to kill Americans.
Barack ObamaIslamObamaTerrorism
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Itamar attack
Charles Windsor 13 Mar 2011 14:04 GMT
Israel approves 500 new homes in West Bank settlements in response to Itamar attack: Ministerial committee on settlements with participation of Netanyahu and Barak approve further settlement building as response to the fatal stabbing in West Bank settlement in which family of five were slain. ......... http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-approves-500-new-homes-in-west-bank-settlements-in-response-to-itamar-attack-1.348864 .........
Yishai: Israel must build 1,000 new units in settlements for every person murdered .... Interior Minister says Israel's response to fatal terror attack on family of five in West Bank settlement must be more serious than building several hundred new homes in settlements. ............ http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/yishai-israel-must-build-1-000-new-units-in-settlements-for-every-person-murdered-1.348879 .......... Itamar attack: he 11 March 2011 Itamar attack was an incident in which five members of a family were stabbed to death in their beds in the Israeli settlement of Itamar in the occupied West Bank. The victims included the father, mother and three children, the youngest of whom was a three-month-old infant. ....... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itamar_attack
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LeaguesNHLEastern ConferenceMetropolitan DivisionNew York Rangers
Photo by Bob Fina
Rangers Stumble Again, Lose to Caps
Diana Driscoll
After clinching a playoff spot Thursday, the New York Rangers had a disastrous weekend. The Blueshirts dropped two consecutive games in regulation for the first time since Jan 27-29.
It wasn’t the way the Rangers wanted to welcome back Henrik Lundqvist who played Saturday against the Boston Bruins after spending more than seven weeks on the sideline due to a vascular injury. And it wasn’t the way the Rangers wanted to celebrate clinching a playoff berth. But New York just wasn’t playing desperate hockey.
This weekend the Rangers faced off against two teams that are hungry for more points. The Boston Bruins were outside of the playoff picture when they faced the Rangers Saturday and the Washington Capitals, who beat the Rangers 5-2 on Sunday, want to continue climbing the standings to secure a better spot in the playoffs. It isn’t a certainty that either team will make the playoffs—which is why they played with more urgency.
”There is still a lot to play for,” said Rangers Coach Alain Vigneault. ”We are playing for home-ice advantage. We haven’t secured that. You also want to go into the playoffs playing the right way.”
This weekend the Rangers didn’t play the right way. They lacked energy and fumbled on their execution. New York didn’t exhibit great puck control and made ugly mistakes in their own end. They were also undisciplined as they took nine penalties in this weekend’s two games.
“The number of turnovers, semi-unforced errors that we made — some were forced, but there more semi-unforced — we have to stay away from those,” Vigneault stated. “All you’re doing there is giving the other team momentum, feeding their transition.”
The Blueshirts have gone 3-4 in their last seven, and have now allowed at least four goals in each of their past three losses after going 10 straight without giving up more than two.
“I hope our group understands that there’s a lot of work to be done,” said Derek Stepan.
“We’re just not playing our system,” said Rick Nash. “When we’re playing well we’re getting pucks deep, having no turnovers.”
The Rangers success stems from defending first and having their offense develop from their strong play in the neutral zone and their end. Unfortunately, the Rangers defense wasn’t as strong in the past two games. The Rangers also need to breathe new life into their power play, which has only produced four goals in the last 22 attempts. New York had five power plays against the Capitals and couldn’t find the net once.
Every team hits snags and losing two games in a row isn’t setting off alarm bells yet; it’s just less comfortable to experience at this point in the season. Obviously, the Blueshirts want to finish the season on the right foot, and they have seven games left to do so. That means seven more games for Lundqvist to find his game and shake off anymore rust, for Marty St. Louis to reenter the lineup, and for the Rangers, as a team, to prepare for the postseason.
They may have let their first chance to secure home-ice advantage slip through their fingers, but it is a goal they will be working toward in their next game.
“That’s the next step right now. Obviously, we’re a good road team. But playing in front of your fans, getting that home-ice advantage, in my estimation, is always a positive,” said Vigneault. “It’s something that’s close for us, and we’re definitely going to try.”
The Rangers season is not going to get any easier. The team will face off against Washington one more time (the last game of the season) and will kick off a two-game road trip against Winnipeg and Minnesota—two more desperate teams. With their schedule filled with games against teams that have more at stake, the Rangers will have to dig deep to outplay their opponents physically and mentally; it is the best way for the Rangers to nip their recent stumbles for good.
Alain VigneaultBlueshirtsHenrik LundqvistplayoffsRick Nash
Photo Gallery: Cyclones @ Nailers 3/29/15
Stars Post Season Leaning More Toward Irons Than Ice
Diana has been writing for Inside Hockey since 2009. She started covering the Washington Capitals and the former Southeast Division. After moving back to New York in 2010, she switched her focus to the New York Rangers.
Yandle Goes From Bouncy House To Big Apple
Questions Loom for Rangers as Deadline Approaches
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FINA World Junior Swimming Championships
McLaughlin Earns Spot on Junior Worlds Team
Posted on August 6, 2013 by JSerra Blog
By Dan Albano, OC Register
Katie McLaughlin plans to attend the first day of school at JSerra High later this month. But after that, she’ll be on a well-earned absence.
The rising Mission Viejo Nadadores swimmer sealed her spot on the U.S. team for the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with a stellar performance on the opening night of the Speedo Junior Championships on Monday.
The 16-year-old captured the 200-meter butterfly in a lifetime-best 2 minutes, 9.68 seconds at William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center. SOCAL’s Ella Eastin touched fifth at 2:11.30.
McLaughlin’s time ranks third among U.S. women this year and places her on the U.S. team for junior worlds, which begin Aug. 26.
JSerra starts school Aug. 20.
“I’m so excited,” McLaughlin said. “I’ll be there first day (of school) and then I miss like 10 days. … I’m getting my classes early and I’ve already started to email my teachers just in case.”
McLaughlin finished third behind Cammile Adams, 21, and Maya DiRado, 20, in June at the World Championships trials and said juniors was her main target.
“I’m putting more on myself that I want do better at this meet,” she said. “I’ve been to a couple juniors now, so I know what I should be doing and what I can do.”
The Nadadores’ Nick Norman, 16, also showed what he can do. In the 1,500 freestyle, the Capistrano Valley junior-to-be charged from eighth place at the 200 mark to finish second to Jonathan Roberts of the North Texas Nadadores (15:24.82) in a lifetime-best 15:31.41. Norman sliced just more than 10 seconds off his best.
“That’s what keeps you coaching,” Nadadores coach Bill Rose said of Norman. “All heart.”
Norman appears just outside the top-two ranking needed to qualify for Dubai in the 1,500. David Heron of the Nadadores is ranked first with a 15:24.54 from last week’s U.S. Open, followed by Roberts. In the men’s 200 butterfly, Corey Okubo of Aquazot and University High finished fourth in a lifetime-best 1:58.28.
Posted in Academics, Aquatics, Athletics, Awards, Education, JSerra, JSerra Catholic High School, News coverage, Sports, Swim, The PrideTagged Dubai, FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, JSerra Athletics, JSerra Swim, Katie M, Swim, U.S. Team, United Arab Emirates
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Toy - Happy In The Hollow
Label: Tough Love Records
Format Info: Indies Only Version
INDIES ONLY - limited to 1000 copies on “Behind Blue Eyes” vinyl and exclusive to Indie stores only.
TOY have announced details of their new album, Happy In The Hollow, which is released on Friday January 25th 2019. Their fourth album, and their first for new label Tough Lough Records, it’s unquestionably their most direct and propulsive album to date. Recorded between their own home tape studios and mixed at Dan Carey’s Studio B in South London, the album was entirely produced and mixed by the band. Having recently released a limited 12” featuring ‘The Willo’ and ‘Energy’, the band have today shared the latest track from the album, ‘Sequence One’. Talking about the track, Toy say: ‘Sequence One’ is about running through a war zone of post apocalyptic proportions with your significant other. It was one of the first tracks we wrote when we started making Happy In The Hollow. We wrote it on the 5th Of April. Happy In The Hollow is entirely uncompromising: an atmospheric capturing of a state of mind that touches on Post Punk, electronic dissonance, acid folk and Krautrock. Familiar qualities like metronomic rhythms, warping guitars, undulating synths and Tom’s gentle, reedy vocals are all in there, but so is a greater emphasis on melody, a wider scope, and a combining of the reassuring and the sinister that is as unnerving as it is captivating.' The sound has without doubt expanded — and grown more confident — in part because this is the first album for which Toy has become a self-sufficient five-person unit doing everything for themselves. “Each song was a blank canvas,” says Maxim. “Producers inevitably develop their own patterns over time, right down to certain drum sounds. We were starting from scratch and it felt very creative as a result. It’s an album we feel deeply connected to”. Finally, having recently played a packed-out show at the Shacklewell Arms in London, where they premiered a number of the new album tracks, the band have announced a run of headline shows in the new year. Since 2010, Toy have earned a reputation as a band of integrity, virtuosity and taste, with Tom, Maxim, Dominic, Charlie and (joining in 2015) Max creating a sound that is embedded in the underground tradition, yet distinctly their own. Since their inception, they have released the acclaimed albums Toy (2012), Join The Dots (2013) and Clear Shot (2016), and toured everywhere from Serbia to China. TOY are: Tom Dougall (vocals / guitar), Dominic O’Dair (guitars), Maxim Barron (bass / vocals), Max Oscarnold (synths / modulations) & Charlie Salvidge (drums / vocals).
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Tag: Stephen Schneider
“Bumblebee” 4K UHD Review
Bumblebee – for sequences of sci-fi action violence. Director: Travis Knight Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., John Ortiz, Pamela Adlon, Stephen Schneider, voices of Angela Bassett, Justin Theroux, Dylan O’Brien, Peter Cullen Running Time: 1 hour, 54 minutes Theatrical Release Date: December 21, 2018 Blu-Ray/4K Ultra HD Release Date: April 2, 2019 … More “Bumblebee” 4K UHD Review
Leave a comment “Bumblebee” 4K UHD Review
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